The night air was hot and thick with moisture; the temperature easily still sitting in the nineties. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of her dirt-smudged face as she waited for the caravan tracking signal to come into range. Nakia had assured her of the truck route four days prior and told her to be ready at 22:30. The problem was that, with Nakia, you never really knew what be ready meant until you were either shaking hands with a dignitary or knocking a couple over gunned war criminals on their ass.

So Aurora sat calmly on the bike that she would be using to follow the caravan into whatever town or prison camp the slaves were being transported to. She glanced down to the watch on her wrist, reading 22:25, and breathed out a heavy sigh. Her hands moved on their own, checking her weapons once more. A glock at her thigh, two knives at her waste, a dagger in each boot, and the two slightly larger blades that sat crossed between her shoulders.

Ready.

She steadied her breathing when the rumble of several engines hit her ears; it took another thirty seconds before their headlights came in to view. Quickly she threw the camouflage covering over her and the bike and waited patiently, counting trucks and men as she could see them. Three large transportation vehicles and several other trucks carrying a small militia, at least fifteen or twenty men, all heavily armed.

In that moment she was ever thankful for the gut feeling that usually steered her towards what type of "ready" to be. Its not like you usually meet dignitaries in the middle of the jungle at night anyway.

When the last truck rumbled past her position, a quiet beep let her know that the tracker on the truck carrying Nakia and the refugees had been activated. She started the bike and kept a far enough distance so that she wouldn't draw notice. She had spent the last two days in a small mechanics shop trying to make the bike as soundless as possible.

The trucks were moving at a high speed, letting her know they were in a hurry; and when people were in a hurry they got sloppy. Hopefully she and Nakia could use that to their advantage. Her pulse spiked and adrenaline coursed through her veins as she put the bike in third gear and kept moving.

She hadn't been following for more than five minutes before she heard a loud crash. The small monitor attached to her handlebars showed her that the tracking beacon had stopped moving. She slowed down as quickly as she could, turned off the bike and pulled up behind a tree about twenty yards back. Ahead she could see that several of their vehicles had suddenly stopped working.

Stepping quietly from the bike she crept forward, staying as low as possible. Several armed men were spreading out in all directions; two of which were headed her way.

They're looking for something, she thought, or someone. It meant that this wasn't their mechanical failure. Something else was in play here that neither she nor Nakia were aware of.

Well shit, here we go again.

Aurora pulled both of the short smooth blades from the bracers at her back before inching forward. The sweat on her skin had saturated her shirt, making it pull uncomfortably with each one of her movements.

A dog barking at some trees up ahead drew most of the men back in the other direction, but the two heading towards her were still moving cautiously forward.

Her boots made an almost inaudible crunch as she crouched quickly behind another small tree and bush to try and observe the group ahead. The crunch of heavy boots let her know that she didn't have much time till the two armed men discovered her.

Just as she was about to jump forward the atmosphere surrounding the caravan burst in to action. Her mouth opened in awe as one of their men flew out of the trees up ahead and hit the side of a truck so hard it left a crater sized dent; he fell to the floor like a limp sack of bones.

The sound of shots being fired rang out, and when Aurora saw Nakia jump out from the back of a larger truck she finally made her move.

The two large men took notice of her as soon as she stepped from behind the tree and started moving. With their guns ready to unload, she rolled quickly to the ground between them and with two quick swipes of her blades, she rolled back to her feet just as the men collapsed to the hard jungle floor.

Nakia met her with grateful eyes as she quickly tossed her a knife. Nakia nodded towards the back of the truck as she took down another armed man.

Nakia spoke quickly, in a hushed tone as soon as she reached Aurora, "We need to get them out of here."

The sound of several automatic weapons unloading their clips filled the night air without stopping. The entire road was in chaos as a dark figure moved quickly through the militia of men as if they were nothing. Nakia grabbed Aurora's arm and pushed her towards the back of the large truck carrying the abducted women, then disappeared from her sight.

She moved to the back of the truck and opened the curtain. A group of maybe eight women jumped back in surprise and fear. She raised a finger to her lips and motioned for them to keep quiet. They all nodded quickly. She closed the curtain and turned around in time for a large fist to connect with her jaw, the blades in her hands slipping from her fingers in a moment of pure disorientation.

Ouch.

The world spun and her mouth filled with the familiar copper taste of her own blood. She spat quickly, and then lunged at the man blocking his attempt at another swing. She bent his elbow and stomped down hard on the side of his knee causing him to cry out in pain. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw a punch that made the bones in his cheek crunch under her fist. He collapsed at her feet with a heavy thud.

The sound of pounding footsteps gave her enough time spin on her right leg and throw out her foot so the heel of her left boot connected with the jaw of another aggressor. As he fell, she used the leverage of his crumpling height to scale the taller man accompanying him. She wrapped her thighs around his neck and with a brutal twist, she threw the entire weight of her body and flipped him over, leaving him unconscious on the floor.

She grabbed the two knives from her waist and got ready as another three men ran at her. Years of training and experience had them on the floor in less than a minute.

Aurora's breath was coming in short bursts, and the burning in her ribs told her that at least one of them had gotten a good shot in. The gunfire had since stopped and when she lifted her head, she was staring in to the familiar and friendly face of Nakia while two unfamiliar people stood next to her. The man was tall and handsome, and dressed in some sort of cat like suit, but he had since removed his helmet. His face held a curious and slightly amused expression; if not also a little apprehensive.

The dark figure from earlier… how did he take down so many men at once? Another super soldier serum?

Her mind raced with unanswered questions as her eyes moved to the severe looking woman next him. She was beautiful in a brutal sort of way. She wore intricate armor and bore a pattern of fierce tattoos across her head.

Their wary yet interested expressions told her all she needed to know. 1) They had no idea who she was either and 2) they were impressed if not completely surprised; though the woman showed hardly an emotion at all. She got that reaction a lot considering her 5'4'' 130 pound build. She didn't exactly scream intimidating; more so angry kitten. Its what made her so good at what she did; she was constantly underestimated.

They might faint, she thought and laughed to herself, if they saw what I could really do.

She bent over to grab her blades from where they had fallen by the truck, then opened the curtain to encourage the women to get out. Turning towards Nakia she gestured sarcastically to the six men laying either unconscious or dead on the floor, "Thanks for the help."

Nakia just laughed and shrugged, "I knew you had it handled. Plus" she smiled "I had to make sure you still had it in you."

"I wasn't exactly on vacation in Somalia you know." Aurora threw out sarcastically.

They shared another laugh then turned serious as Nakia stepped forward. Aurora felt the eyes of the strangers during the whole exchange but kept her focus on Nakia. They kept looking at her then back at each other, speaking without words.

"Thank you" Nakia said seriously while placing a soft hand on her shoulder "for coming. I wasn't sure you would get my message in time."

Aurora gave her friend a curt nod and all she could think to say was "Of course", because it was as simple as that. She had met Nakia just over a year ago and they had become fast allies through their work with refugees as well as gathering information on corrupt governments and radical terrorist groups. She knew Nakia worked for some sort of government, but thankfully the woman didn't seem to care or question that Aurora was on her own, without orders or allegiance. She just tried to help when or where she could.

She looked back to the people watching them, briefly making eye contact with the tall man, then looked back at Nakia; questioning again in the back of her head why Nakia would need her if she had such competent back up.

"Though I'm not sure that you needed me, who are your friends?"

Nakia looked over her should when the bald woman said something quickly in a language she couldn't understand, shaking her head when the man simply gave Nakia a serious look, but nodded slightly.

"I trust her." was all Nakia said before turning back to face Aurora, not missing the disapproving stare the other woman was sending her way.

"This is Okoye, General of the Dora Milaje, of Wakanda" The woman, Okoye, nodded once. "And this, is Prince T'Challa, soon to be King of Wakanda, his father has just passed." She looked over her shoulder again at T'Challa and Okoye. Aurora watched as her eyes became somber and jaw tight. She dropped her voice when she said "I didn't know they would be here."

Wakanda? Why does that sound so familiar. Aurora racked her brain for several moments and then it clicked.

She had received word about a week ago from one of her sources describing a bombing at the UN during a peace conference and what was supposed to be the signing of the Sokovia Accords. His father, King T'Chaka, had been one of the many victims. Her heart grew heavy as a piece of her past she normally kept pressed down resurfaced. She knew what it meant to lose a father, and so she turned to him with heavy eyes.

"My name is Aurora your highness," she bowed her head respectfully then continued, "and I'm so deeply sorry for you loss. I heard what happened and my sources tell me that your father was a great man."

The woman, Okoye, seemed to soften slightly at Aurora's words. T'Challa nodded his head once and met her with an intense stare and Aurora realized she had yet to hear him speak. He opened his mouth to respond when three men who had been unaccounted for came from behind the truck with weapons held high, yelling savagely and gesturing to the group of women behind them who wailed in fear at their appearance.

The next few moments came in a blur. Okoye moved in front of the Prince and took care of the nearest man to her with a heavy blow from her spear. T'Challa moved faster than what seemed possible and imbedded his claws in the second man's chest. The third man had moved forward with a gun pointed straight at Nakia's chest. Aurora didn't even hesitate as she pushed Nakia roughly to the ground just as the man pulled the trigger. Two sharp shots sounded in her ears as Aurora dropped to her knees. Okoye drove her spear through the man's chest but it was too late.

Time slowed and it was like she was on fire and drowning all at once. T'Challa placed strong arms on either side of her to keep from falling too hard onto the ground. On his knees now, Aurora collapsed into his chest gasping for breath before her head lolled backwards as she gasped for air. With T'Challa's arms still supporting her, his fearful eyes were the last thing she saw before her world went black; Nakia screaming her name was the last thing she heard.