Sunday-4pm Wakanda

God he was such an idiot. When he had answered that phone call in the middle of the night almost a month ago he never thought he'd end up like this. He thought he would end up fighting a few bad guys, save the world with Captain America and get a nice pat on the back from the President for all their good work.

He was dead wrong..

Now here he was, stuck in a some foreign country he'd never really heard of, a wanted man once again. Governments around the world were out for their heads, and the man he had chosen to follow seemed so sure that they'd all be fine if they just laid low. If they wait, eventually it would "blow over" as Steve had said. Then he could go home and be with his daughter..

Cassie..

As he sat on his bed in this stunningly beautiful room in Wakanda all he could think about was Cassie. How he'd let her down again, even after promising her that he wouldn't do anything that could take him away from her again. After promising Maggie that he would be a better father..God, she would never let him near Cassie again.

What the hell had he been thinking?

I wasn't thinking, he told himself. When Captain America asks for your help you don't ask questions, you just do it. He had been so excited when Barton called, saying Captain America needed him that he dropped everything and left. He didn't even question it. His childhood hero needed him. Anyone in his shoes would do the exact same thing.

Wouldn't they?

I should have asked for more details, more information, should have gotten gotten some kind of proof of what the Captain had been saying was but diving headfirst into a situation he knew nothing about.

But he hadn't. He just ran off with nothing but the word of a man he'd never even met before. Captain America was supposed to be the model American everyone wanted to be. A moral man, compassionate and wise..The icon of the free world..

Wasn't he?

He honestly thought he was going to help Rogers fight some long forgotten super soldiers. Not level an airport facing off against half the Avengers.

Rogers had told him Stark was trying to stop them from protecting the people against a possible global threat. That Stark had turned his back on the people that the Avengers had sworn to protect by siding with the government. That he wanted their right to defend innocent people taken away from them.

But it wasn't Stark..

Stark hadn't turned on anyone. He hadn't abandoned the people. That was as clear as day now to Scott. Stark was only doing what people from around the world were asking of them.

Stark was the one who was listening.

While the Captain seemed content to ignore them..

Scott thought he had been doing the right thing at first, going out to fight and defend those that can't defend themselves. But 117 countries that approved the Accords, 117 governments that were chosen by those people. Those countries were all screaming they for an end to all the unwanted destruction. Unless there was some kind of a global catastrophy.

Now after seeing all those news reports Scott wasn't sure what was to do. Because on one hand the people were right, but on the other..There were some things that regular law enforcement just couldn't fight against. Then what happens? Would those who signed just stand back and wait to be told to help. What if they waited and numerous lives were lost? What then?

What if they could do something to diffuse the threat quicker than law enforcement?

I probably should have actually read those Accords before I went through all this shit, Scott thought.

He stood up and began pacing restlessly around his room. It was definitely the best place he'd ever had the priveledge of stayin in. Had he not been worried he could be drug away at any moment he would have enjoyed it more.

The palace itself was nestled halfway up a sloping jungled hillside. Trees that had been cleared away probably centuries ago for the construction had crept their way back up to squeeze against the palace walls. From a distance it was hard to spot it out, naturally camouflaged by nature.

The palace grounds were massive, boasting five swimming pools, tennis courts, three basketball courts and a baseball and soccer field. And those were just reserved for guests at the palace. Each member of the Royal family had their own private wing, for their use only. And a private runway with hangar. They probably had private pools and lush gardens just for themselves.

The room he had chosen was rather oddly shaped, almost like an octogon. Even the ceiling was slightly rounded. The walls and floor were made from some bamboo that was native to Wakanda and windows went from the floor to halfway onto the curved ceilings. It was done in a classic African style with some really cool art and animal skin rugs.

All the statues and paintings made him nervous.. They were probably antiques and worth a fortune.

He sighed to himself, thinking about the others.

Yesterday, Wanda and Clint had asked him if he wanted to snoop around with them to see if they could find something fun to do. He had told them no.. He was a guest in this place and he didn't think it was right to go prying through someone else's personal space. Plus, he had heard T'Challa tell the Captain before he left to stay in their wing he had set up for now.

He'd also heard bits of Rogers and Romanoffs conversation after the King had left.

That had been his first clue that he had fuuuuucked up.

He had left the kitchen to thank T'Challa for letting him stay here, but before he rounded the corner where they were he heard Romanoffs voice pop out of thin air. So he did what any smart, handsome, former criminal would do.

He eavesdropped..

As quietly as he could manage.

He was pretty sure they didn't know he was listening. People thought he was a little on the stupid side, but appearances were deceiving. It was better to be labeled a fool sometimes, because people tended not to think much of the fool. They were usually ignored.

And being ignored could have advantages.

Like hearing Rogers discussing the fact that Natasha had shot the King while he slept with some weird tranquilizer drug to make sure he wouldn't wake up. While she apparently concealed a plane and a person somewhere in the jungle. The fact that Rogers was ok with that made his skin crawl..

Or hearing Rogers say he would ask Scott to go in and find the tranq dart she'd left behind and dispose of it. To get rid of any thing that could jepoardize their sanctuary here in Wakanda. A safe haven given to them by the very man they shot..

Then she mentioned Stark..Making his breakfast turn nastily in his stomach. Stark was down.. He had a heart attack because of something the Captain sent him. He was in the hospital and they didn't even seem to give a shit about the man.

Hadn't they all lived in Stark tower together? Did they really hate him that much? Scott knew that Hank hated the Starks but that was mostly because of Howard. He only despised Tony because he was Howards son.

But that conversation was his first wake up call. His first sign that he had fuuuucked his shit up.. Bigtime.

He thought about the dart he'd stuffed into a bag and shoved under his mattress. After hearing the Captain, he made the decision to go in and get it before Steve could ask him, then tuck it away for safe keeping til he could figure out what he should do.

So he'd put on the ant suit and snuck in under the door. Found the evidence and slipped back out to his own room, where he carrefully hid it. Hopefully Rogers wasn't smart enough to figure it out. Maybe he would just think a cleaning crew tossed it when they straightened up the room.

With luck he'd send Romanoff back in and someone would catch her snooping.

Scott was pretty sure that Rogers had tried to approach him several times to ask to go in and find it, but Scott had managed to hurriedly excuse himself before the Captain could get the chance. He tried to avoid them as much as possible since that first morning but he knew he'd look suspicious if he stopped talking to them completely. So he had continued to share breakfast with them each day.

For now he had chosen to keep all he found out to himself, just in case he might need it. He wasn't afraid to use it as some blackmail material.

Last night, after dinner, they had all went into the lounge area to relax and watch some TV. Their rooms weren't equipped with them and Sam had wanted to catch up on the news to see what had been happening in the Avengers abscence. At first everything was fine but then a special report had come on.

The UN had branded them all as international terrorists. They had illegally crossed the borders of many countries, leaving behind a trail of destruction in their wake. All but Wanda, since she wasn't a US citizen, were wanted for treason against the United States. Their faces were being broadcast 24/7 across every news channel around the globe. The US, Romania and Germany all wanted their heads.

Scott was scared. This was by far the worst thing he'd ever gotten caught up in. VistaCorp was like a childrens game compared to this. He was glad he only had a small role in all this. They could try to charge him with terrorism, but in his defense that airport was empty so there was no one to terrorize. He'd definitely get charged with illegal border crossing and violating his parole, he wasn't even supposed to leave the US. The destruction of the airport would likely fall mostly on him too, since he went gigantor and smashed shit up.

Thankfully he wasn't being charged with any deaths according to the news.

But he was now a traitor to his country, to his family..His daughter..

Hope.. Well that was over before it really even began. She would beat him to death if she saw him. At least he wouldn't have to worry about prison then. He had taken the suit out of the country without their permission.

He thought of the reports from Romania. Eight men dead, two children.. The Raft...Rogers had killed those me trying to get them out.

Sam had become furious..Apparently he hadn't known about the amout of people who died on their quest to save Barnes. Or that there were kids involved. Sam had two small nephews about the same age those kids had been. He had nearly broken down then and there in the lounge, then had started screaming at Rogers, calling him a liar and a hypocrite, then took a swing at him.

Poor Sam..He was facing the possibility of a life sentence or even the death penalty..The reports said he was being charged with 10 counts of accessory to manslaughter, including the two kids, harboring a known terrorist (Barnes), one count of aiding a terrorists escape (also Barnes) and 3 counts of international terrorism. Not to mention all the destruction of property charges.

The others weren't fairing any better. Rogers new rap sheet was far worse than Sams. There was talk of trying to enforce the death penalty, but given his abilites the governments weren't sure if it could even be done. Not humanely anyway.

After hearing all this, then finding out Rogers had known about all those deaths and not saying anything, Sam had blown a fuse.

He had socked Rogers in the face, cursed at him til he was out of breath and left the room. Scott hadn't heard from him since. He wondered if Sam's view on this was starting to change too. Maybe he could talk to him and see if they could work out some kind of a deal..To help each other out.

All Rogers assurances that it would die down and they would go home were bullshit. If they were found out here, they were all going away. Some may be permanent.

Neither of them had left their rooms since dinner. Sam was to angry and Scott was to depressed. He missed his daughter so much..And now he may never see her again.

Cassie was only 8. If he got lucky he might get to see her again by the time shes 40.. He would be going away for a long time. He knew he would, after seeing everything in a different light he knew he had made the wrong choice. It was to late now, there was no way to fix this.

But maybe there was a way to at least try.

Groaning irritably, he threw himself down onto his bed. He wanted to get his hands on a copy of the Accords, so he could decide for himself if this had been worth it all.

And there was only one person he knew who might have one.

He made his way to the door, peeking out to make sure none of the others were around. Seeing no one, he went back to put on the suit, he'd rather do this small than to risk being seen by Rogers.

Then he went to the bed to retrieve the small bag that housed his evidence. Right now he'd do almost anything to help plead his case. And after all he'd seen with his "teammates" the last four days, he just wanted to do what he thought was the right thing.

He shrunk down and left his room for the first time in almost twenty-four hours. Determined to find the only man who might be able to help him save his life.

Now, if he could just remember where T'Challa's office was. This place was so large it was impossible not to get lost.

Screw it.. I'll just slide under every door until I find him, Scott thought.

He set off in a random direction, unaware of all the eyes watching his every move.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shuri leaned back in the chair behind her fathers old handcarved desk. The screen in front of her showing the new "guests" having quite the wonderful time. The witch and the archer lounging by T'Challa's pool. Laughing and drinking with not a care for the world around them.

She was fairly sure the archer had stolen her brothers swimwear, but he would have had to have entered his personal chambers for that. She had not seen anything on the cameras so she wondered where they had come from. The mere prescence of these creatures was already starting to test her will.

Then there were the others..The ringleaders of this circus.

The Captain and the harlot had honestly had the insolence to leave the palace grounds.

The nerve of them. Walking out as pretty as you please to go window shopping and dining out in the city..Donning some sort of tech to change their appearance.

They should be awating their trials from a prison cell. Not out shopping..

The cowards..Innocent people didn't hide themselves away and wear masks. They went out and tried to prove their innocence.

They were probably waiting for T'Challa to do it for them, Shuri thought. If she had her way they wouldn't be coming within a mile of her brother again. Not after what they've done.

She hoped that T'Challa had not given them any money. Surely her brother wasn't that stupid. The thought that it was possible troubled her. He had seemed extremely troubled recently, he had many things on his mind so it was entirely possible that he may have unconsciously given Rogers money if he asked..

But if he hadn't.. . If her brother had not given them money then where did they get it?

She sighed tiredly. Now she was the one with entirely to much to deal with. She hadn't spoken with Stark since he arrived at his tower this morning, giving her a quick update on T'Challa. At the time it had been to early to really tell her what was happening , but moments ago she had opened the email from the man with an update on his condition.

The news had nearly brought her to tears again. While Stark stated that while Banner had concocted an antidote, there was a massive amount of internal damage her brother was suffering through. The shear size of the list took up her entire viewing screen.

According to his doctors , his lungs were only functioning around ten percent, he was currently being assisted by a ventilator, having massive amounts of oxygen pumped into his system. And there was cause for concern over the state of his eyes. Apparently he may suffer from temporary blindness for a while. And even after his vision returned he may have some permanent loss. Needing to wear glasses for the remainder of his life..

While her brothers condition was her main concern, she also had to worry about Wakanda in his abscence. Eventually the members of the Parliament would start asking questions if T'Challa didn't return soon. He was only to have been gone a day at most. Such a long trip so soon after being crowned King would not sit well with them. He'd already been out of Wakanda for five days, and he hadn't bothered to tell the cabinet members where he was going.

If their calls went ignored for to long Shuri would either have to tell them what's happened or step into T'Challas place. She didn't want to do that to her brother but there may be no choice...If something happens to T'Challa she would have to take the throne.

Wakanda came first.

Always..

The ping of her tablet brought her from her thoughts. It was another update from the Dora Milaje. Luckily, Nakia and Okoye were very good at their jobs. They had been tailing the pair all day, slinking back into the shadows. Sending Shuri every little detail about what they were doing.

She knew the two Dora were hoping they would make one wrong move so they could "dispose" of them. Okoye especially.. She and T'Challa were the same age and had been the best of friends since the early years of life.

After revealing to them the King's current condition and his whereabouts in America, the two had been a bit to eager to shadow the monsters. While Shuri knew she could trust them not to disobey her orders, she hoped this one time they would defy everything and just kill the bastards..

It would be easier since practically no one knew they were here. Wel,l except for Mr. Stark and his remaining crew. But she could just say they disappeared and no one would be the wiser.

But no.. She had made a promise to her brother, so for now the filth would remain.

She had been sitting here in his study since she left the panic room this morning. After dismissing the eldest members of the Dora with their orders, she assigned the remaining ones the tasks of shadowing the others. Some of the younger members were not as well equipped to deal with the Captain and the Widow, so she had given them the task of watching the archer and the witch.

They did have special instruction not to get to close to the witch. Just in case she may pickup on the thoughts in their heads. Shuri was not sure how far her powers were able to go, but deep down she knew none of them would be able to handle her. They needed someone with a similar ability, someone who could move and manipulate things with their mind.

A wizard, or an enchanter. A sorcerer or a trickster..

There had to be someone out there somewhere. Surely Maximoff couldn't be the only one with this kind of power on the planet.

She went back to watching the screen. Clenching her fist so tight a thin line of blood slid out from her nails cutting into her palm. But she barely even felt it.

Look at them. Not even bothering to hide their arrogance. Flaunting around as if nothing had happened. Laughing and drinking, like they rule the world. She couldn't wait to wipe that smile off the witch's face..

The palace had cameras everywhere. Multiples in every room, hallways, they were even in the floors and ceilings. There was hardly an area where one couldn't be seen.

Or heard..

Unfortunatley, the audio feed on nearly every camera within the palace grounds had all mysteriously went out. Shuri wasn't naive enough to believe that her new guests had nothing to do with it. Everything worked perfectly until their arrival.

Luckily, several years ago T'Challa had insisted that all the cameras be upgraded to run on more than one system. He had been the target of an assanation attempt and his would be killers had somehow taken out the palaces camera systems and power grid. Managing to lockdown his section of the palace, leaving him to fight them all off by himself.

He hadn't been able to get to his armor in time and had suffered some extensive injuries.

After, T'Challa had come up with his own design, creating a small, yet extremely efficent product. They were tiny cameras, barely larger than the face of a wristwatch. Looking at them with a naked eye, one would believe that the AV feed ran on the same line. So anyone wishing to disable them would only have to sever the connections with the main server.

All the camera footage looked to be fed into the same server room, but her brother, with his genius mind, had created backups within the system.

While the footage did go to a main server, T'Challa had designed each tiny camera with what was probably the worlds smallest memory card and battery, equipped with a wireless transmitter whos signal changed every two seconds. The total size of the two were no bigger than the camera lens of a phone. The vibranium casing covering the cameras made them impossible to pry into from the outside.

If the main line into the cameras were cut or if access to the main server cut off, the cameras would continue recording everything by immediately switching over to the small battery backup. The footage transmitting through the wireless signal to a different set of servers that were hidden beneath the panic room she was in earlier.

If the wireless signal was somehow disabled, the footage would be stored inside the small memory card held within the device. It had the capacity to store months worth of footage and the battery power supply was similar to that of Starks reactor. It could power the cameras for years to come. The card could only be removed by the members of the Royal family, or the senior members of the Dora Milaje, the only way to open the casing was by a built in retinal scanner.

T'Challa had even installed some hidden cameras throughout his and Shuri's quarters. They were far smaller than the main ones, not visible unless one knew where to look.

The brightest minds in Wakanda were currently trying to find the cause of the audio problem, but so far had come up with nothing. Whoever had tried to tamper with them had some skill with technology. If they had taken out both the feeds instead of just one, it would raise suspicion. But they had managed to get far enough into the palace's security to be able to seperate their connections.

If tried and convicted for crimes against the crown, the penalty in Wakanda, was death.

She had absolutely no problem with that.

Another ping sounded from her tablet. Glancing at the screen she saw it was a message from Tony. Please don't be more bad news, she thought.

Under normal circumstances she would have been more than happy to be receiving messages from Tony Stark himself. The man was a known charmer, and Shuri had no doubt that all the tales she'd heard of him being a phenomenal lover would be true. She'd like to find out for herself..

Plus, he was very easy on the eyes.

She let out a long hiss of breath. The timing for her never turns out right.. Maybe one day.

She opened Starks latest email, glad to read that it wasn't any more bad news about T'Challa. But it was an enquiry about the state of the audio of the cameras. Tony had not hidden from her that he had snuck into the palaces security. It was the first thing he had told her when they spoke for the first time. At first it had been a bit unnerving to know the man had been watching her without her knowledge, but once she realized Tony was only concerned for their safety she had no trouble with him being there.

(Do your cameras have any audio or are they strictly visual?) TS

Well at least he had noticed, she thought, opening her messanger

[ All the audio feeds in the palace are not working for "unknown" reasons. Senior analysts are working on it, but nothing yet] PS

She wasn't the least bit suprised to recieve an immediate reply.

(Freaking Romanoff. I'm having Friday doing some diagnostics on your system. Let uknow if I find something) TS

[Thank you Tony] PS

(NP, btw did u know TC has hidden cameras n his rooms? Fridays sending you something, wasn't sure if you'd seen it yet. She caught something repulsive) TS

[Yes I knew. Suprised you manaaged to find them. TC has them very well hidden. I'm almost afraid to see what she found. I'm already angry enough, Stark] PS

(Well then ur gonna love this..Might wanna prepare yourself.) TS

Son of a bitch..That sounded bad..

There was a second ping letting her know the new email had arrived. But before she could open the file Scott Lang in his Ant-Man suit materialized out of nowhere right before her eyes.

Before he even had a chance to speak, she had pulled a dagger out of her dress and threw it full force at his head. He dodged away just before it could embed itself in his skull.

Shuri was up and over the desk in a flash. Her cat-like reflexes had him against the wall with a knife against his throat before he could blink.

"Aaahhhh! OH MY GOD..SHIT! I am so sorry, I thought this was T'Challa's office! I couldn't see your face behind the screens so I just assumed it was him. Please don't kill me. I come in peace!" Scott pleaded, trying to raise his hands in surrender. "Hi, I'm Scott, nice to meet you."

"Have you never heard of knocking Mr. Lang? Are all Americans so disrespectful? Or is it just the Avengers?"

"To be honest, it's mostly just the New Yorkers. I was born in Florida, we tend to be more mellow.." He grimaced when the knife pressed harder against his throat, piercing through the protective layer of mateial covering his neck, he felt a small drop of blood slide out.

"You do know that threatening a member of the royal family could lead to your death Mr. Lang. I do believe I feel threatened, very threatened. Traumatized even, throw myself to the ground, maybe I should shed a few tears, play the damsel in distress. Perhaps I should cut myself with this knife, it would be so easy to say it was you who attacked me, after all no one would believe I did it to myself. My word against a terrorist, perhaps I should call in the Dora Milaje."

"Uuuhh, ok um. You're totally not what I was expecting..." Scott gasped, his air was being cut off. This woman had a hell of a grip. "Eeeeeucaahh!"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have you tossed to the panthers." Shuri said, eyes glinting visciously. Keeping the knife hard against him , she took her free fist and punched through the wall right beside his ear.

Wood splintered, as she pulled her hand out, small pieces sticking to Scotts face.

She actually growled.. Moving her face to within an inch of Scotts. Fuck, she was scary!

He cringed back against the wall, a whine escaped him. "Because I'm an idiot who didn't think about what I was doing before I followed some guy I never met, to save some other dude I never met who was gonna be killed because of some documents I didn't read but I should have, and I feel like a total ass for destroying that airport and smacking that little red bug dude, and I'm never gonna see my daughter again, my ex-wife is gonna hate me even more, then I found out the people I was working with are total dicks and one of them shot the King and I need help, and I don't know what to do..." Scott ranted.

Shuri backed off instantly. "You know what was done to T'Challa?"

"Yea.. And a few other things too..Look.. I screwed up bigtime. I want.." Scott paused taking a deep breath, "I want to read the Accords. I want to see for myself what they are, how they work for the Avengers. I want to know them inside out. Everything. I feel like I've been led in the wrong direction. I wasn't told the entire truth about anything that's happened..I'm not like them...This is not me.."

"Why now?" Shuri asked. "Why suddenly have a change of heart?"

"Because some of the things they do..No person with a conscience could do that shit. I may not seem entirely bright to you, but I know the difference between right and wrong." Scott hung his head sadly, "I want to be able to see my daughter again. Even if it's from a prison cell. I want to apoligize for all the damage I caused, to anyone that I hurt..I want to make things right again."

Shuri eyed him warily. " And how do I know you speak the truth? What reason do I have to believe you?"

Scott gave her a determined look, then reached into a compartment on the suit. Pulling out a small bag, he held it up for Shuri to see.

"I know Romanoff shot T'Challa with this. I have no clue what it did, but I know why she did it. And if you help me...I'll tell you everything I know.. " Scott paused, "I really don't know alot but what I do could help. But I want you to promise me you'll try to help me. I can't live like this, it's eating me up inside. I don't wanna end up like them..Please.."

Before Shuri could open her mouth to reply the door burst open and Sam Wilson burst in. Looking more haggard than Scott had ever seen him.

Scott quickly hid his baggie back in the suit and jumped far away from Shuri. Folding his arms behind his back trying to look innocent.

"Is this a bad time?" Sam asked. Giving them a weird "wtf" look. "Cause, you know.. I can come back if ya'll need some privacy, or whatever." Looking back and forth between the two.

Scott and Shuri had nearly matching scrunched up expressioins of confusion on their face as they stared at him. Then it dawned on Shuri that Sam must have thought he walked in on some private romantic moment. Eeew..

She simply place her palm on her cheek and blew out a long breath, wondering what she had done in her pastlife to be saddled with such idiots now.

Someone out there must truly hate her..