When Ana sent Shuri her father's Mark 42 footage, Shuri began to realize how serious his PTSD actually was. But when Mr. Stark went into full-idiot mode, openly challenged the Mandarin, and gave him his home address, it wasn't fun and games anymore. Shuri's heart came to her mouth while watching the attack on the Malibu Mansion. Thankfully, Ana called her shortly afterward, to let her know that she was fine, that she wasn't even at home during the attack. But when Shuri called her again a few days later, it was Ms. Potts who answered and helped Ana speak, because Ana had lost her hands. Yes, her hands. Both of them. When a guy named Aldrich Killian, AKA the real Mandarin, had kidnapped Ms. Potts, Ana, too, had gone into full-idiot mode, tried to rescue her, and got captured by Killian. He had injected Ms. Potts with a nano-tech virus called Extremis, and cut off Ana's hands. Ana was pretending like everything was fine. She only complained about the awkwardness of having to rely on Pepper to go to the bathroom. Shuri immediately invited them to Wakanda—surely they could find a way to fix her here—but Ana refused, saying they would soon have a solution ready.

Then Mr. Stark himself called her on the same day. He looked like an absolute wreck, but Shuri had no sympathy for someone who needed his daughter to be mutilated and his girlfriend tortured in order to learn to take his enemies seriously, and she wasn't going to pretend otherwise.

"Hello, Shuri. You seem upset."

"I'm not one of those fangirls you can impress with your reckless actions, Mr. Stark," she said insinuatingly.

"I wasn't trying to impress any…" he started, but then changed his mind. "Look, just help me make this right, then you can berate me all you want, okay?"

"How exactly are you planning to make this right? Ana was butchered, for Bast's sake! And Ms. Potts will have to live with the fear of spontaneous combustion for the rest of her life. But then, they're lucky to still be alive in the first place…" She knew she was being brutal, but he needed to hear it.

He went even paler, but answered the question nevertheless. "I found a way to neutralize Extremis for Pepper, and developed a safer version to use on Ana. I'll neutralize it as well, once… the regenerative properties serve their purpose."

Shuri frowned. She had assumed Stark was working on prosthetic hands, not on the very thing Killian had used to torture Ms. Potts. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

He rubbed his forehead, and let out a troubled sigh. "Come on, Shuri. You're an engineer, too. You know how much precision Ana needs. The prosthetics will never be good enough, and soon, she'll be off to the SHIELD Academy. I'm not sure why, but that's very important to her. Do you know what was the first thing she asked from me once we were safe?"

It is important to her because she thinks if she earns Fury's trust, he can give her some answers. "What?"

"A speech-to-text program, so she could keep writing her dissertation."

Shuri sighed. Typical Ana. "What do you want from me?"

"Banner is helping, but I could really use a third opinion before tinkering with the girls. I don't want to make a mistake that can't be unmade."

He was afraid, and he wasn't even trying to hide it. Even the slightest miscalculation in something like Extremis could kill them. And Shuri would make sure that wouldn't happen. For Ana's sake. "Alright. Send me your research."

"I'm on it."

A few seconds later, Shuri received the Extremis files, and took a quick look. Extremis was an artificial, nano-tech virus, indeed. It affected an unused area in the brain, and by harnessing bio-electricity in the body, triggered regeneration abilities, similar to the ones some lizards had. Maya Hansen's formula had very fast and effective results, but it was also equally unstable. Stark's formula, on the other hand, seemed safe enough… It would work slower, but at least Ana wouldn't explode while growing her hands back. Still, it might not be a smooth ride. And his solution to neutralize Hansen's formula was alright.

"I think Ms. Potts will be fine," she said. "As for Ana… You know how stressful it is for salamanders to regrow limbs, right?"

"She'll be sedated."

"She might wake up during the procedure."

"I know that. She knows that. She doesn't care even if she has to be wide awake during the whole thing."

"Well, then I guess we're going to have to respect her decision."

They were both silent for a moment, but they didn't hang up either. Then he asked, "Do you know what's going on with her?"

"She wasn't the one who gave her home address to a terrorist, Mr. Stark," Shuri reminded sharply.

"That's not what I'm talking about. Look, I know I screwed up. But still… What was Ana thinking, sneaking into Killian's base like that? She's not a fighter, she knows that. It's just… not something she'd normally do."

He had a point. Normally, Ana was a realistic, logical, calculating person. She would let the capable ones do the fighting. If she had to confront an enemy herself, it was for a good reason, and even then, she wouldn't do it without a solid backup plan. That was how she had done it while confronting Loki, for example. She was having a rough time, Shuri knew. A nameless threat was giving her father nightmares, and she was trying to decide if the things she knew would make his condition better, or worse. But that wasn't for Shuri to tell, so she said she didn't know what was wrong with Ana. Stark thanked her politely, and hung up.

…

Despite 2013 had started with a dangerous Extremis procedure, and her father's heart surgery, Ana still graduated summa cum laude that summer. Shuri wished she hadn't dropped out, so that they could have graduated together. It would have been fun. She had come home to be able to have access to all of Wakanda's resources, but so far, Wakanda's resources hadn't brought her any closer to answers. There was no record of the Infinity Stones in the whole world. And apparently, "Nexus" was a cool name many people chose for their inventions and start-up brands, but none of them offered a promising clue either.

And when she saw the spaceship that attacked London, her heart came to her throat once again. She was working with the Design Group in the labs when the attack started. Her first reaction was to wonder if this was Thanos. The big, black spaceship reminded Shuri of the one in her vision, but she couldn't be sure.

If this was really Thanos, then they had been caught totally unprepared. Everything they had done so far had been for nothing…

"Princess, are you alright?" one of the scientists who had gathered in front of the largest screen asked. Only then, Shuri realized how badly she was shaking.

"Yes," she said quickly. "Yes, I am fine."

He didn't seem convinced. Not that Shuri had expected him to. "Do you want me to call your brother?"

"No, thank you," she said, and made for her private lab. Once she was alone in there, she locked the door, closed her eyes, and tried to think.

London… Had there been any warnings about London? No, she was certain that there hadn't. But if this was a different timeline… Maybe that bastard, Loki, had somehow been able to tell Thanos that there were people conspiring against him on Earth, hoping he would earn his forgiveness… Because of the butterfly effect, anything was possible…

She thought of calling Ana, but then changed her mind. She was at the SHIELD Academy of Science and Technology now. Before leaving for the Academy, she had said she suspected all communications on the campus were monitored. The two girls had set up a private secure server, but Ana didn't want them to take any risks unless they absolutely had to.

Shuri told Griot to give her everything he could find on the London attack. Quickly, but carefully, she browsed every picture and video that had been posted online. Even though the attack had started less than half an hour ago, there was no shortage of them. A bunch of university students who were at a library nearby were even live-streaming the whole thing. Shuri decided to focus on that one. Unlike Shuri, these students actually seemed pretty excited to witness an alien invasion. Shuri wasn't sure if they were brave, or just ignorantly stupid.

"…As you can see, guys, that's Thor, swinging his hammer and everything… Wow, look at these guys. I wonder if they're elves. I mean, they got pointed ears and all…"

He was right. These aliens were wearing dark armors, and covering their faces with masks, but they clearly had pointed ears. Shuri realized that after everything, she still had no idea what Thanos looked like. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to know.

Why have I suddenly become such a coward, she wondered. Shuri decided to do what she did best and started observing them more carefully. Unfortunately, for some reason, these space elves were constantly disappearing and reappearing. It seemed to be random at first, but maybe she could find a pattern…

"Shuri?" T'Challa was knocking on the glass door. He seemed worried about her.

"Let him in," she said, and the door wooshed open.

"Shuri, are you alright?"

"Do you know what's going on?"

"I spoke with our spies in London. This has something to do with the… Convergence. That is all they have been able to find out."

"Convergence?"

He shrugged.

Convergence… Yes, now that she thought about it, the Design Group had recently noticed gravitational anomalies around the world. But then, no warnings about a Convergence either…

"You don't think this is Thanos, do you?" she asked. She tried to hide the fear in her voice, but T'Challa had understood. He would always understand.

"No."

"So, just a random alien attack… Are they a thing now?"

He didn't tease, or embarrass her. Instead, he just pulled her into a hug, and kissed the top her head. "Perhaps. And perhaps this is a good thing. Sigyn said the Avengers were our best hope against Thanos. They are going to need practice."

"It is just Thor, though… I wonder where the others are." She knew Mr. Stark had destroyed his suits. Ana wasn't very happy about it, but she said it had actually improved his mental health, so she hadn't protested. Besides, he was still recovering from the surgery. Captain Rogers, Agents Barton and Romanoff worked for SHIELD, and SHIELD hadn't shown up yet. Perhaps they needed permission from Fury before they could get involved in such things. Or perhaps they were busy with another mission. Either way, Thor was on his own. At least he seemed to be doing fine. Compared to the one in New York, this army was rather small.

The fight was over in half an hour. Bast bless that ignorantly stupid student who had live-streamed it until the end.

"I told you," T'Challa said, almost cheerfully. "Thanos wouldn't have been so easily defeated, would he?"

"Right. I guess I was worried for no reason. I hope no one is hurt."

"Shuri?"

"Yes?"

"Even if it had been Thanos, I wouldn't have let him lay a finger on you. You know that, right?"

"Do you really think I was scared for myself?" she asked, her voice now cracking. There was a huge lump in her throat. She tried to swallow, but it didn't help.

Shuri was a lucky girl. Despite everything that had happened, she had never thought otherwise. She was lucky to be a genius, she was lucky to have been born in the most technologically advanced country in the world, to have such wise, supportive, and loving parents. But most of all, she was lucky to have a brother like T'Challa.

T'Challa put her hands on her shoulders, and promised her, "I'll be fine. In this future, things will be different."

…

If there was anything more unexpected than the random alien attack in London, it was that creepy selfie Ana sent her via their secure server one day. Would a picture of your future self's corpse in a cryo chamber count as a selfie?

"WTF?" That was all Shuri was able to type back.

"Fury knows."

"How?"

"He sent me on a mission with Hawkeye. He must have wanted me to see that body. And secure Loki's scepter. I think something is wrong in SHIELD."

"You have the scepter?"

"Yep."

"What about the body? What if someone else finds it?"

"The whole facility is gone now. Fury isn't one to leave his secrets lying around. Btw, I took DNA samples from the time-traveler."

"You ARE a genius." The possibility of being stuck in a time loop was another thing that had been giving Shuri nightmares since Ana had shown her the time-traveler's message. Now, Ana could analyze the DNA samples to see if her future self had been given the Extremis treatment as well. If she hadn't, it would prove that they were definitely not in a time loop and prove the multiverse theory right. If she had, it didn't necessarily mean they were in a loop, of course, but the possibility would still exist.

She decided to find T'Challa and tell him that Fury wasn't as oblivious as they thought he was. Okoye said he was sparring with W'Kabi, and they set off to the training grounds together.

Okoye's eyes narrowed in suspicion as they walked. "Something is happening, am I right?"

"How can you always tell?"

"It is my duty… Besides, I am curious."

"Curious? About what?"

"About all this. After King Bashenga, you are the second Wakandan Bast has chosen to help. It is a miracle. And a great privilege to witness."

To be honest, Shuri was a bit baffled. Okoye had never said what she thought of this. As a general of the Dora Milaje, she had listened, counseled, and obeyed. But the Dora usually kept their personal thoughts to themselves. "When did you start to believe me? Be honest."

"I think I have always believed you. Right from the start. Perhaps that is why nothing has ever surprised me. Not Elliot Randolph, not the Stark girl, not even the Battle of New York. I think a part of me was expecting such things to happen. W'Kabi, on the other hand…" She paused, and chuckled. "His skepticism has been tested so many times, yet he is still as stubborn as a rock."

"Perhaps he is just too proud to admit that he is wrong."

"Perhaps. Anyway, you were saying…"

"Oh, right…" When she took out her tablet, Okoye's face wrinkled.

"I don't understand how a genius like you can stand such an old piece of tech."

She shrugged. "I wanted to give Ana a set of Kimoyo beads, but she said they were too conspicuous." Unfortunately, Kimoyo beads and the satellite connections that were used in the rest of the world weren't compatible. It was like trying to connect the internet with a typewriter. So, she always carried an old-fashioned tablet and cell phone around because of her paranoid American friend.

She showed Okoye the picture. Okoye frowned, and studied the picture for some time. Finally, she asked, "What is this supposed to mean?"

Shuri opened her mouth to reply, but then realized they were at the training grounds. T'Challa and W'Kabi froze when they saw Shuri and Okoye.

"Princess, my love… What do we owe the pleasure?" W'Kabi asked them, still panting. These two would never go easy on each other while sparring.

T'Challa took a sip of water from his bottle. "I bet my sister has something for us…"

I am becoming too predictable, Shuri thought.

"This," Okoye showed them the picture of the time-traveler. Calling her "the time-traveler" was easier than calling her Ana. After all, she was dead.

"Fury sent Ana on a mission with Agent Barton to secure Loki's scepter. This is the other thing she found there."

"SHIELD knows," Okoye said.

"Not SHIELD. Fury," Shuri corrected her. "It is not the same thing. The facility where this body was kept was destroyed after Ana and Barton left. It has to be some kind of self-destruction protocol."

"What about Agent Barton?"

"I think he only knows about the scepter."

"Why now?" W'Kabi asked. "Why did Director Fury wait until now to tell your friend that he knew?"

"I don't know. But Ana thinks there is a problem with SHIELD."

"A problem? Like what?"

"I have never trusted these intelligence organizations," Okoye said. "SHIELD might have been compromised. The only question is, by whom?"

"Brother? You are too quiet…"

"Come," T'Challa said softly, and led Shuri away. Okoye and Wakabi didn't come after them. They went inside the palace, and then Shuri's room. T'Challa wanted to talk to her in private, then. She was starting to get curious.

"There is something you need to know about Fury," he said once they were alone in her room.

Shuri hopped on her bed and crossed her legs. "Alright. I am all ears."

"Years ago, our father and Fury made a deal."

She thought for a moment. Yes, Director Fury, along with two other SHIELD agents, had visited Wakanda once. "I remember… He bought a hard-drive, and a containment chamber design for enhanced people."

"Yes, but money wasn't the only thing Baba asked in return. He also asked Fury to share any information regarding Sigyn, Loki, or Thanos with us."

She looked at him, taken aback. "SHIELD and I came to a mutual understanding," her father had said. She had had no idea that "mutual understanding" could be about Thanos. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"To protect you. Baba didn't want to give you any false hopes. I mean, you have seen what Loki turned out to be."

"So, Fury lied to us…"

"Obviously. But at least he told Sigyn that we were looking for her. It was Sigyn who wished to remain hidden and refused to contact us."

"Why am I not surprised?" Sigyn was such a bitch.

"Don't judge that woman so harshly."

"Why not?"

"When I met her, she just seemed… lost. I have a feeling that sooner or later, she will come around."

"We are just wasting our time. It would be nice if we at least knew what the Infinity Stones are, you know."

"I know. But right now, I have a different concern."

"Which is…"

"SHIELD. Okoye thinks it might have been compromised. What do you think?"

"That explains why Fury keeps secrets from his own people."

"If that is the case, I wonder how deep the corruption goes… I will speak with Father. Do you want to come?"

Shuri nodded, glad that her brother didn't want to leave her out of such conversations. She knew her father sometimes kept secrets from them, but she felt like she should have been told that her father had made a deal with a super spy about the people in her vision.

…

It didn't take long for them to find out by whom SHIELD had been compromised, and how deep it went. The next day, as three helicarriers destroyed the Triskelion, a SHIELD HQ in Washington DC, all SHIELD files were released online by Natasha Romanoff. Okoye had been right. But even she couldn't have guessed that it was HYDRA that had been secretly taking over SHIELD. By using Project Insight, they were planning to kill millions of people who were a potential threat to their new world order. T'Challa, Shuri, their father, and even Nakia were among them. So, the Design Group began to work day and night to find out how much HYDRA knew about Wakanda. All files had been released, but most of them were still encrypted, and the amount of data was massive, even for the Wakandan computer servers. In the meantime, Ana had analyzed the DNA samples and proven that they weren't in a time loop. At least that was some relief.

It took two weeks of hard work for Shuri and her team to go through the data dump, but they were able to discover how HYDRA knew of Wakanda's secrets at last. One of their leaders, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, had business relations with the Ungumbuali. Klaue had even sold them a small amount of vibranium, and HYDRA had used it to make a pair of Ring Blades, similar to the ones Nakia used. For whom, the Design Group hadn't been able to find out. They immediately deleted every trace of this information from the internet.

The Elders became restless when they found out. They wanted Strucker to be silenced for good as soon as possible. T'Challa thought Baron von Strucker could lead them to Klaue. Shuri thought this was the perfect excuse for him to join the Avengers.