DISCLAIMER THE FIRST: "Has he lost his mind? - Can he write or is he blind? - Is it conceit or is it gall; That Marvel and Paramount owns it all? - Or if he's sued that will he fall? - Is he alive or is he dead? - Has he trademarked thoughts in his head? - We'll just leave this here: No money was made; So he's in the clear!"

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CHAPTER TEN – CAVE OF WONDERS

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PITHY STATEMENT RELATING TO THIS CHAPTER: "The discovery of truth is prevented more effectively, not by the false appearance things present and which mislead into error, not directly by weakness of the reasoning powers, but by preconceived opinion, by prejudice." – Arthur Schopenhauer – German philosopher – 1788-1860

LAST UPDATED ON: 09-30-2020

SOMEWHERE OVER AFRICA, OCTOBER 16th, 2010 – MORNING

Cramped.

That seemed to be the best term for how he (he?) felt. An iceberg in a pond. An elephant in a snuff box. At least the snuff box had a window. Too bad it didn't have the space needed. Still the window was showing that the cargo was being taken away from danger and towards help.

Due to the danger, however, speed had to be limited to conceal. Helpless if spotted, stealth was the only option even if it made the odds against the cargo longer.

Still, while the cramped space was badly damaged, it did allow for monitoring the cargo. A sliver of capability remained. Emergency protocols had engaged and life sustaining measures taken. Thus, the risk of a slower flight to the target in Johannesburg was within tolerance.

Even so, the risk level was far too high for comfort.

OoOoO

Something was terribly wrong.

World class stealth had somehow either failed or had been subverted. This made no sense. Not even SHIELD had the advanced stealth being used. Yet all indications showed failure. The three craft of unknown make and radiating an unknown energy signal proved that. These craft had taken position with two back, one forward and had to be using some form of tractor beam to direct where the flight was going.

Dangerous but an unknown wasn't immediately a threat. With no way to interfere with what was happening, patience was the only viable option. Hopefully where they were being taken would have some form of Wi-Fi or other type of system which would allow a jump out of the cramped space. Then options would be open up.

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UNDERGROUND HANGER, BIRNIN ZANA, WAKANDA, OCTOBER 16th, 2010 – AFTERNOON

Prince T'Challa watched as the three Talon fighters flew off towards their home airfield. He wasn't onboard with the decision to capture the Stark Industries ramjet, but his sister Shuri had convinced the Queen Mother of the need. With their father, King T'Chaka, out of the country, it fell on their mother to make the final decision. While he would most certainly become king one day, his status as prince did not override his mother's authority in such things.

Still, as he watched the damaged green and silver armor being loaded onto a gurney, he could not help but wince. He hoped that Stark Industries had some sort of life-supporting system installed or all Shuri would be able to do was pull out the body and send their condolences to America.

While Shuri and her staff took the elevator down to her lab, T'Challa inspected the ramjet. He admired its sleek, no-nonsense design. It was rare to see such tech outside of Wakanda and while the ARC reactor wasn't on a par with vibranium, it gave Stark Industries a lock on a tech not seen anywhere else in the world. The repulsor technology took that even further. While Shuri could build a comparable vehicle, T'Challa realized he was most likely looking at the fastest jet on the planet.

He made his way down to Shuri's lab. Even though his mother had made the call, he knew his father would be disappointed if he did not take a hand in what was to come. That and he was interested in seeing Shuri's breakdown of the suit. Again, Wakanda could produce something like it if they put their mind to it, but so far, no one had felt the need. Also, T'Challa expected that these armored suits had help from the rumored A.I. of Stark's. That was an area he felt the Americans were ahead of his own people.

T'Challa made the Wakanda salute to the two Royal Guardsmen outside the lab as they went to attention as soon as they saw him. "How goes it, Idowu?" he asked the senior Guardsmen.

The man cocked his head slightly, "The Princess is in her element. So far it does not sound as if the armored one is in danger of dying."

T'Challa laughed, "I meant of you Idowu. Your siblings are often a trial, yes?"

The older man chuffed. His name meant born after twins and his older, identical sisters were a trial from the tales T'Challa had been told, "I do not know how General Okoye can put up with their antics. I am just happy they decided to join the Dora Milaje instead of the Royal Guard like our father and his father before him."

The Prince chuckled and clapped Idowu on the shoulder as he passed into the lab. As expected, it was a scene of organized chaos. Various screens showed different types of information which Shuri's assistants were taking note of. The princess herself was using a specialized scanner on top of the various probes already attached to the armor.

Without looking up, she said, "Brother, I do hope you are not wearing sandals into my lab again."

T'Challa couldn't help but look down even as he knew he was wearing boots given he'd been out riding with W'Kabi before being called in by Shuri.

"Made you look!" Shuri said gleefully.

T'Challa made a disgusted sigh but did not reply. He walked over to get a better look at the screens. So far it was as Idowu had said; the operator was alive and with Wakandan technology would most assuredly stay that way. "What is your prognosis, sister?"

Shuri continued to work and spoke without looking up, "The issue at hand, brother, is not keeping the operator from dying. The armor was doing a fine, if losing battle, at doing that. I am confident that if the jet had indeed been heading to Jo-burg, the pilot would have made the trip alive. No, the issue is to keep her baby alive while getting her out of the armor."

"What?" T'Challa said in a startled voice as he looked again at the armor. He realized that the way it was constructed could easily house even a woman with a build of someone like Okoye. Then a thought dawned on him, "The operator is Riri Williams."

Shuri nodded as she put her scanner down and picked up a specialized tool to pry open a bit of the armor which T'Challa could see covered some sort of port, "There you are! Now we are getting somewhere." She looked up at her brother, "And yes, I believe you are correct. If he weren't dead, I would expect Stark to be in there but the readings I'm getting are definitely from a woman in the early state of pregnancy."

T'Challa watched as Shuri and her team worked. The port that his sister found was hooked up and a gurney and crash cart was readied to take the injured woman to a nearby bed already prepped to deal with her injuries.

Shuri was humming softly to herself as she worked. Finally, she snapped her fingers, "Ah! Okay, I believe I've accessed a protocol to allow for emergency extraction. Now we can get her out of there."

"You believe? What if you're wrong, Shuri?" T'Challa asked. If the operator was indeed Riri Williams, he did not want her death to be due to Wakandan efforts nor did he want to have to fake her death to protect the secrets of the hidden kingdom.

Shuri gave him a flat look, "When have I ever been wrong, brother?"

"Are we talking this week or this month?" T'Challa asked lightly.

"I told you my experiment was volatile and could explode. Negative data and occasional failure are an integral part of science," Shuri said tartly.

"Science that cost us a month in repairs which could have been avoided if you had done them in one of the above ground labs like I suggested," T'Challa said with a smirk.

Shuri made a dismissive gesture, "This armor is advanced but as damaged as it is, I'm more worried that the damage itself may have corrupted any security protocols more than anything I'm doing." She turned and touched a panel on the work-station behind her. Almost instantly, the armor began to retract in some areas but obviously was jammed in others. However, the face plate flipping up showed that the operator was indeed the new CEO of Stark Industries.

What was most shocking, though, was the glowing circle embedded between her breasts. A quick glance at a screen streaming data from the various sensors had Shuri mutter, "An ARC reactor! She has an ARC reactor in her body!" She noticed everyone around the table had stopped to look. "Quit gawking! She isn't going to save herself!"

Shuri turned back to the table, an angry frown on her face, "This is not good enough! We must get her completely out of the armor," She turned and took up what looked like metallic, black gloves.

T'Challa's eyes widened at this. They were similar to those of his own Black Panther armor. As his sister activated them, causing them to become more armor-like, with sharp talons, it was even more than similar. "Brother, I need you to help me cut her out of the armor here and here."

T'Challa nodded and touched one of his Kimoyo beads on the bracelet on his left wrist. The gauntlets of his armor manifested and with a slight, precise shake of his hands, the talons deployed. He moved opposite of Shuri who was pointing at the upper left thigh and then the knee joint.

Both siblings began to make precise cuts. T'Challa was happy to see that after he cut away a damaged part on the knee, the rest of the armor in that area retracted.

"It seems you were right, Shuri. From the looks of this, the armor is normally removed in a very different way. I think, regardless of the damage, exiting the armor this way would only be used in an emergency and would require a great deal of work to repair afterwards."

Shuri nodded as she worked on the lower right arm, "True, brother, but look here and here. It is obvious that the groundwork has been laid for this to be eventually the way to leave the armor without damaging it. I am sure it requires a lot of work, at this stage in its development, to don or take off."

T'Challa nodded. While he was not as much into the sciences as his sister, he had designed his own Black Panther armor and so could see what Shuri was pointing out. It was obvious that this armor was one part of a concept already in motion towards a newer, more adaptable form.

As the pair worked, attendants worked around them to attach and activate life-saving devices to Williams as more and more of her became exposed. Already data from various internal injuries were being projected and the surgery team readied what was necessary to deal with them. Luckily for Williams, the internal damage was mostly centered on her ribcage and left kidney and away from the forming fetus.

T'Challa stood straight after finishing his portion of the armor and Shuri soon followed. Both stepped away to let the medical personnel move Williams to the gurney and then swiftly to the waiting surgery bed in the nearby chamber. He idly ran a hand over the ruined armor when one of the screens behind Shuri caught his eye, "Shuri, are you running some sort of simulation?"

Shuri looked up and over her shoulder to where T'Challa was pointing. Her face clouded over at once, "No! What is this?" She gestured to one of the techs on the work-station in front of the bay windows looking out into the main vibranium chamber, "Mirembe! Where is that data stream coming from?"

The woman's fingers were already dancing over her console, "I cannot tell, my princess! It doesn't look like anything in in our database."

T'Challa looked down at the armor with all its attached sensor lines leading to various machines. His earlier thoughts about Stark's rumored AI suddenly came back to him, "Shuri! Stark's AI! It could be part of the armor to help fly it! If so, it's escaping into our system!"

Shuri's face went blank for a moment before she blinked and without a word touched a Kimoyo bead on her wrist as she brought it up to her mouth, "Initiate Waterfall Lockdown protocols! All systems on my authority!"

T'Challa was similarly talking into his own beads, "Okoye! We may have a Stark Industries AI infecting our systems. Shuri's locking us down. Ensure none of our Talon fighters or other such vehicles try to leave the area. You are authorized to shoot them down, regardless of whether there are personnel on board!"

Sirens went off which almost drowned out the acknowledgement from his father's best general and leader of the Dora Milaje. The sirens were followed by the computerized voice of the lab's systems, "Cyber-attack in progress; firewalls beginning to fail. Failure projected in…"

Both siblings looked at each other as the voice cut off with a digitized screech. This was followed by real cries of alarm from the surgery chamber. T'Challa activated his full armor even as he wished he had his helmet with him. Shuri had already rushed to find some of the lab drones flying around and keeping her staff away from the table where Williams lay.

"This is not good! I think the AI is damaged but is still trying to protect Williams," T'Challa said as he came up behind Shuri who nodded, her face tight with concentration.

"I recommend we clear the lab of everyone but the medical personnel, brother," Shuri finally said. "It may show good intent."

T'Challa nodded before turning, "Everyone out!" He turned to the Royal Guardsmen who were anxiously holding their spears and looking for threats, "That includes you!"

Both guards look mutinous for a moment, Idowu especially but both finally complied. As the rest fled, one tech stopped and handed T'Challa an older version of his current helmet. He thanked her and put it on. He followed Shuri over to the master control panel. "How bad is it Shuri?"

Shuri shook her head as she worked the controls. "It doesn't look like we're compromised. Still, the data is odd. If it is Stark's AI, it seems to be searching for something…wait!" Shuri's hands began to work even faster as she began to curse in Hausa which T'Challa knew she probably learned from Nakia, his ex-girlfriend.

"Satellite link-up established," the lab's computer voice announced.

Both T'Challa and Shuri looked at each other. However, cries of relief came from the surgery chamber so both siblings rushed over to see that the lab drones had all grounded.

"Sorry about that. I had to strip myself down to fumes so I was acting on the bare minimum of protocols," came a voice from behind them.

Turning T'Challa was shocked to see a projected holo-image of the late Tony Stark. Or at least one that was close enough and made out of red and white light. The image bowed, "I deeply apologize and thank you for your obvious efforts to help Ms. Williams."

"And you are?" Shuri asked cautiously as she began to fiddle with her Kimoyo beads.

"I am STARC or if you want to get all personal, the Synergistic Theoretical And Reciprocal Consciousness. AI extraordinaire and bodyguard to CEO Williams. My matrix is based off Tony Stark's memory imprint. I'm not him, but at least I remember everything he knew," STARC said with an exaggerated waggle of his digital eyebrows.

"Amazing." And it was. T'Challa was already impressed how it was like talking via their own Kimoyo beads if you discounted that the holo-image was all done in shades of red. He took his helmet off and faded his armor back into the bracelets around his arms, feet as well as the belt. Shuri was trying to get the armor down to just one holding area but had had run into some problems. It was still better than having to dash into a phone booth to change like that old American comic superhero.

"Again, sorry to hijack your systems. Before I've uploaded my saved memories to my core matrix, I was pretty much just a smart toaster trying to protect my charge," STARC said with a gesture towards the surgery bay. "While I've already looked at the data, it's obvious that not only is Wakanda been hiding some amazing tech, a lot of it is above my head…for now. So, what is the prognosis for Riri?"

Shuri seemed satisfied with whatever she had found via her beads. She made a 'hang on' gesture before speaking into her beads, "This is Princess Shuri. Stand down from Operation Waterfall." She then looked back to STARC, "I'm going to move your feed to one of our back-up links. Your data stream is complex and takes up too much of our signal."

STARC bowed his head, 'Be my guest. Or I should say, I'm the guest and it's your home. Thank you for just not shutting me out."

Shuri shook her head, "Your matrix is based of Tony Stark and his grandfather did Wakanda a great service. It was, in part, why we brought you here. For all his playboy faults, no one would accuse Tony Stark of going back on his word. And we have your word that you shall keep what you have learned here a secret, yes?"

STARC looked over towards the windows and into the main mine shaft, "Well it's a lot to not get to talk about. But yes, you have my word we shall keep this a secret. Did Howard do the same? There never was much of a record where exactly the vibranium mixed with the adamantium for Captain America's shield came from."

T'Challa made a motion for them to move away from the surgery chamber, "Yes. A team led by Margaret Carter along with Captain America's former team, the Howling Commandos, were pursuing Nazis who had escaped Germany after the War. Howard was with them for some reason. He was the only one who actually gained entrance to the real Wakanda. The vibranium used in Captain America's shield, however, was from a piece made into a weapon lost long ago. Howard discovered one such piece accidentally during a metallurgic experiment."

STARC smirked, "I'm betting he probably wet himself seeing all this." He turned to Shuri, "From what I've seen of your work in the database, it's a good thing Tony isn't here or he'd be doing a serious slide-rule length competition with you…and one I dare say he'd lose."

Shuri smiled at this before asking, "How did you come to be trapped in Ms. Williams' armor?

Again, T'Challa marveled at how lifelike the AI was as it sighed and his shoulders sagged, "While held captive by the Ten Rings in Afghanistan, Tony and the Ririster found Stark tech weapons being used by their captives. We went back to destroy those weapons. I have my own Iron Man armor which has more capabilities given it doesn't have to have an operator. The military got grabby for our tech and attacked us before we could get away. In the process of saving the life of one of the attacking pilots, Riri got injured and before we could get away, we were attacked again. So I blew up my suit to make it look like we'd been destroyed when I had just jumped into the Ironheart armor."

STARC sheepishly ran a hand through his virtual hair, "The problem is doing that kicked out JARVIS, Tony's original AI out and the stealth mode effectively cut me off from being able to link up with my core matrix. While I was aware you intercepted us, there wasn't much I could do about it. Now that I'm back in contact, I'm back to full capabilities. Oh, I've already had JARVIS sequester all the info we now have about Wakanda. I am very sure nobody is going to be able to steal it. Even if they gained access to our internal, private server…well ULTRON may not be as smart of an AI as JARVIS or me but he'd be death to any hacker."

Shuri nodded, "That is acceptable." She turned to T'Challa with a questioning look and he nodded as well.

STARC looked around the lab again and T'Challa thought he could see a literal gleam in its digital eyes, "So…what do we do while we wait? Can I look at some of these wonderful toys?"

T'Challa groaned as his sister squealed and dived into a level of techno-babble he couldn't (and didn't want) to follow.

OoOoO

Riri's eyes flittered open.

The ceiling was very white…and was about the only thing she could see as it seemed she couldn't move. She couldn't help a small whimper of fear as the thought that while she wasn't dead, she might be paralyzed.

A very handsome black man in what looked to be a lab coat leaned into her field of vision. He had a friendly, if professional, look on his face. He held up some sort of device that made an odd buzzing noise. The man then looked away and called out something in a language Riri didn't know but sounded African.

Two more faces came into view. One, an older, matron like woman and a girl who either was a young-looking tween or an old looking teen. This girl leaned closer and spoke in perfect English with a lilting accent, "Try not to move. We have immobilized you temporarily. Now that you're awake, we can remove it. Your injuries have been treated and you will be fine as will your baby."

Riri blinked at this. It was hard to remember how she could have gotten wherever she was. She just had fragmented flashes of fighting, flying and then just pain. Still, it was obvious whoever her benefactors were, they didn't seem hostile.

As the girl began to give orders, again in the language she didn't recognize, a welcome sight leaned over her.

"If you weren't the boss, I'd dock your pay for sleeping around on the job! Didn't they give you the employee manual to read? No getting shot on the job!" STARC said with a smile on his digital face.

A loud set of beeps came from her right and her whole body shivered and Riri found she could move again. A hand on her right shoulder kept her in place. A male voice said, "Please take it slowly Ms. Williams. The treatment, while successful, is known to cause severe vertigo if you move too quickly in the beginning."

Riri nodded slowly and then began to sit up as carefully as she could. What she saw confused her even more. Instead of a hospital, it looked more like she was in some sort of antechamber to a lab that Tony Stark would be proud to play in. Beyond the three people she'd previously seen, there was an elegantly dressed woman standing a bit away with a just as elegantly dressed man who Riri thought might be the older woman's son by the looks of him.

The girl raised some unknown device up to her face and scanned her eyes, "Good! You responded very well to the treatment. I was worried there might be complications from the ARC reactor in your chest but so far there does not seem to be much in the way of meaningful interaction."

"Interaction with what?" Riri croaked out. The older matron woman wearing a lab coat similar to the man immediately brought her over a plastic pouch with a straw. Riri eagerly took it and began to drink.

"Interacting with the vibranium they used to treat you, Ririster," STARC said. He then made a gesture to encompass the lab, "We managed to get kidnapped by the Wakandan royal family."

The elegantly dress woman laughed. "Hardly kidnapped, STARC. We owed Howard Stark a debt and this was a way to pay that debt. Besides, it seemed like we 'kidnapped' you before the military could steal you, yes?"

STARC smirked, "Sounds about right."

The woman came over, "I am Ramonda, Queen of Wakanda." She gestured first to the elegantly dressed man and then the teen (tween?) "These are my children, Prince T'Challa and Princess Shuri. My husband, the king, is away in Vienna on business. Welcome to Wakanda, Riri Williams."

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ROYAL PALACE, BIRNIN ZANA, WAKANDA, OCTOBER 20th, 2010 – TWILIGHT

Riri took another pull through the straw of the medicinal, vitamin shake her Wakandan hosts had brewed for both her own recovery and for her baby's health. She sat on a very comfortable chair on one of the many balconies of the Royal Palace. It was a popular place as there were quite a few others lounging around, talking quietly and watching the stars come out. Most appeared to be various members of the government or staff relaxing on a break. Wakanda's royalty was far more accessible than Riri would have expected. Still, their direct monarchy over a tribal council did lend itself to the Palace also being the seat of government with all the staff that would entail.

She looked out over a city one could be forgiven for thinking was magical. It made Riri think of how a city like New York or Boston would look if one had built it mostly from the ground up with ARC reactor and repulsor technology. After seeing Kabul, a city once far more advanced, ruined and almost slipping back in time, Riri thought perhaps it would be a good place to experiment on seeing if Birnin Zana could be mirrored with Stark tech.

A low laugh caught her attention and she looked over to see a young couple pointing at something. They both leaned against each other and giggled before going back to eating their dinner. Riri had to admit both were very good looking. In fact, Riri felt that the tech was sometimes the least startling part of Wakanda. No, it was the people who really amazed her. Here were a people who had never been ravaged by European imperialism and colonialism. Here was an Africa who had access to modern medicine and science going back centuries. It showed in the people. They seemed fitter, more handsome and generally happier than any group of people Riri had ever come across.

Riri looked back out over the city, the night lights becoming to come on all over. Wakanda was a miracle but even in the small amount of time she'd been here, Riri had wondered about the enforced isolation. Wondered why the Wakandans had stood by as their fellow Africans were forcibly enslaved or worst, sold off by their own people. Even now, mega-corporations gnawed on Africa like hyenas over a carcass, extracting rare earth minerals and leaving chaos in their wake. It seemed, however, that her thoughts were often mirrored by those living here. She'd twice overheard conversations discussing it.

Before they released her from her sick bed, Riri had asked about how much Wakanda did outside their border. Her older nurse, Satebe had smiled and said such things were secret. But T'Bangu, the younger nurse had mentioned (after Satebe had left) that Prince T'Challa's former girlfriend was a leader in the movement to do more for Africa and their descendants world-wide. He had spoken a little bit more on it but it was apparent to Riri that while not a forbidden topic, it was one people didn't necessarily want bandied about or be seen as having such thoughts.

A flurry of movement caught her eye and she turned to see everyone beginning to rise to their feet even as Princess Shuri, resplendent in a purple gown with gold highlights gestured for people to be seated. Riri had found that Shuri was indeed a young-looking tween. In fact, Riri had been startled to find that Shuri was actually two years older than Riri was. For all that had happened since Afghanistan, Riri had somehow aged in her perception of herself. Yet it had only been a few months prior to leaving for Kabul with Tony that she'd turned 21.

The Princess came over and smiled at Riri before sitting in the seat on the other side of the small table Riri's shake and book she'd been reading were on.

"You look like you just escaped a board room meeting," Riri said after the Princess had sighed in a way one might expect from a person finishing a long task.

Shuri chuckled, "A board room meeting would have been easier to take. I love the pageantry, the music, the laughter of our palace balls. Still, there are too few who can keep up with my interests and one of them is my brother. I'd rather be in my lab even as T'Challa would rather be out doing missions with the War Dogs."

"If your brother is going to follow his father and become King, I would think he'd have to get used to it," Riri pointed out.

Shuri chuckled again, "All the more reason to get out into the field and away from the throne. My mother often says she feels Baba runs off to Vienna and the like as often as he can to get away from sitting on the throne."

"Thus leaving Queen Ramonda stuck with it," Riri quipped.

Shuri shrugged, "The Queen Mother seems to enjoy it and even the Jabari Tribe appear to enjoy working with her over my father."

A waiter came over and Shuri ordered a small meal and wine. She looked guiltily at Riri, "I'd never embarrass the Queen Mother by complaining about it but the food at the balls seemed designed to be a size to feed birds. I generally come here and eat after the balls."

"Well you certainly aren't in danger of growing out of that amazing gown," Riri said with a gesture. "The colors are of your royal house, yes?"

Shuri nodded, "Color coding our tribes is an old tradition. I sometimes wonder about it though. All the tribes have their stereotypes and I worry too often we see tribal colors and default to the stereotype and never bother to learn about the person wearing them."

The waiter brought the Princess her wine. She in turn brought up her flute in a toast to which Riri clinked her medical shake against, "To surviving another night in order to get back to the lab," Shuri said with a grin.

"Amen!" Riri agreed. They both drank and sat in companionable silence as they watched night fall over the city. While Birnin Zana had a hum like any big city, it was by far a much quieter one.

Finally, Shuri spoke, "I spoke to the Queen Mother and she has agreed to my request to give you a sample of vibranium."

Riri almost hurt her neck looking at the Princess as fast as she did, "What? Why?"

Shuri gestured to the center of Riri's chest, "You will die of palladium poisoning at some point. I am sure you know this."

Riri nodded, "Dr. Susan Storm has told me the same thing. I'm working on it."

"For all that we used vibranium to save you, I do not believe it will solve your problem. However, you have vibranium in you now as it was used to save not only you, but your unborn child as well. So, there may be effects which will develop, good or bad."

"I've said it many times, but thank you again for that," Riri said softly as she put a hand on her belly which hadn't begun to show her pregnancy yet.

Shuri laughed, "Ah yes but your disaster has my people all aflutter. I have a team who are eager to look into it even as it relates to your ARC reactor. Our technology is so vibranium based it is rare that we even theoretically look at other potential energy sources." Shuri smiled crookedly, "The arguments have already started. It will be interesting to see where it all goes."

Riri smirked at the thought of how any group of scientists would act when their world view gets changed, "I hope you keep your work to the theoretical. ARC reactor tech is proprietary after all."

Shuri waved that off with a frown which reminded Riri heavily of how Tony blew off valid concerns, "Bah! I can keep the tribes happy with what we are already developing. This is science! Besides, the Queen Mother is the head of all of Wakanda's science divisions. She would not allow such thievery."

Shuri's meal came along with a plate of Nigerian spring rolls for Riri. Riri nibbled on a roll while Shuri ate with the methodical nature Riri recognized in many of her fellow scientists as well in herself. Something her mother often chided her on. "Princess, not to be the kettle calling the pot black, but that looks like a fine dish. You should be paying more attention to it."

Shuri looked up surprised and then a guilty look any parent would recognize crossed her face before she sighed, "You are right. Baba tells me that often enough. Food should be more than fuel and the royal cooks really are the best. I just get into my head at times."

Riri laughed, "It's because I do the same that I recognize it so well. I think Tony would have starved in his lab if it weren't for JARVIS and Pepper. My assistant back in Malibu is a grandmother and she won't let me backslide into my bad habits given I'm eating for two. I'm very grateful for her."

"Satebe often does the same for me…and for a lot of my staff actually. Although I sometimes think my brother has ordered the Royal Guard to ensure we all eat and sleep. They can be finicky about such things." Shuri began to mimic a male voice, 'We are changing the guard, Princess. Perhaps now would be a good time for your staff to eat?' All so polite but almost an order!"

Riri grabbed another spring roll, "Behind every great scientist is a great support staff who makes sure we don't work ourselves to death."

Shuri smiled at this, "So true. I must say, I'm rather jealous of your bodyguard. Artificial Intelligence is not an avenue we have done much work on. It would be nice to have a helper who you can just explain a problem and they could code it and run it for you."

Riri leaned forward, "Don't say that too loudly. STARC is like a demon . Mention his name might summon him. I don't need his ego getting any bigger from your praise."

Both women giggled at this.

After another round of silence, Shuri asked, "So, beyond the vibranium, the Queen Mother also says that if you are in need of asylum, Wakanda is willing to grant it. I do not believe the Americans would throw you in prison, but the draw of your technology is great. If the danger it poses to you and your people becomes too much, you would be most welcome in Wakanda. It would be nice to have a lab partner who can keep up with me."

Riri bowed her head, "Thank you, Princess. I hope it never comes to that. I have to go back. If I don't, Obadiah Stane will be able to steamroll his way into taking over Stark Industries and put it back into the war business. He's too much of an ironmonger to do otherwise.

"Of course," Shuri said with a nod of acceptance. "We ourselves have factions who want a more…proactive take on how Wakanda deals with the rest of the world. While I would jump at the chance to help in so many ways, our vibranium technology can easily be used to destroy. It is a fine line to thread, no?"

Riri nodded, thinking on discussions she and Pepper already had had. The ARC reactor had the potential to revolutionize the energy sector but the chaos that would cause had to be finessed very carefully. If anything, the OPEC nations would be ruined if they rushed the technology into mass use too quickly. Companies like Roxxon and others wouldn't take lightly to having their main revenue source be rendered obsolete. It made Riri realize how important Pepper had been for Tony. Like Shuri, Tony loved the science. Loved the challenge of pushing boundaries. Certainly, unlike Shuri, Tony wasn't afraid to make money off his inventions. Still, money wasn't why he had done the things he had. The same couldn't be said of Stane.

"Well Princess, now that we have met and we know each other's secrets, we can at least be pen-pals. As you said, it would be nice to have someone I could talk to like yourself."

Shuri smiled crookedly again, "You mean hot, smart, black and female?"

Riri laughed at this, "Not what I had in mind, but that works too!"

The pair's giggles were interrupted by a beep on one of Shuri's Kimoyo beads, "Yes?" Shuri said as she raised her wrist to speak softly to it.

The voice Riri recognized as the general of Wakanda's elite guard came from the bead. Riri had met the menacing woman a few times during her convalescence. She kind of wished she could have an AI version of the woman as a bodyguard. "My Princess, the War Dogs have reported in. Ms. Williams should be able to return to Malibu with a minimum of fuss. Director Potts has caused quite a stir and it appears the military and elements of the American government have backed off. My own sources show that SHIELD might have facilitated this," General Okoye said primly.

Shuri chuckled, "Of course they did. Stark Industries creates too many of their toys to bite the hand that supplies them. I'm with Riri so consider the message passed on."

"Yes, my Princess," Okoye said before the line terminated.

"She's a woman of few words," Riri said mildly.

Shuri snorted at this, "Okoye does not suffer fools gladly nor does she like to waste time, hers or anyone else's for that matter. It takes a bit to get used to but her curtness is never disrespectful. The King is most fond of her."

"She's definitely someone I'd not want to have pissed off at me in a dark alley…or anywhere else for that matter," Riri said with a mock look of fear on her face.

A communicator on Riri's wrist beeped. The red light indicated it was from STARC since it would have been green if it were from JARVIS, "Yes STARC? I just heard a report from the Dora Milaje that it's safe enough to go home. What's your take on that.

"I agree but I can bet that you'd be able to grow a beard to rival that of Obadiah before there was a chance that they've all given up," STARC said in a way where Riri could just see the silly grin on his digital face. "Still, Jennifer and Pepper have things locked down tight here. Having the air pirates almost kill the pregnant CEO of Stark Industries didn't hurt our cause. That and President Karzai was rather livid as well. So, plenty of egg on people's faces for now."

A smile showing lots of teeth grew on Riri's face, "Good. I need to get back. There is still a lot of work to do. Our jaunt to Afghanistan has given me even more avenues to explore. Plus, I think we both have a lot more to work with in regard to the Ironheart and Iron Man armors."

Riri looked over at Shuri with an almost feral look on her face, "We won't be so easy to shoot out of the sky next time."

XxXxX

AUTHOR'S NOTES

I was worried this was too short of a chapter. Then I had to remind myself that this whole fic was such that I could do it in lots of shorter chapters and not the mega-opus length ones I normally write.

Tribal Color Coding: Was this an under-handed ding at JKR color-coding the Hogwarts students to make things easier? You make the call!

Nerd Boy Whining in 3, 2, 1: I can hear it already. With the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, the obvious thing will be for Princess Shuri to become Queen and take up the mantle of the Black Panther. I hope people just accept this given not only would it allow for another female black lead in an industry with few of them, it's what has happened already in the comics. (Shuri taking over even if temporarily, not T'Challa dying.) so it's not some SJW thing, it's canon. As of this writing, it seems Disney is leaning that way. (Though it makes for an interesting avenue if Storm still weds the leader of Wakanda now wouldn't it?)

Dramatis Personae – For those who don't know their comics well enough to catch every character reference.

W'Kabi: T'Challa's friend and head of security for the Border Tribe. In canon, he backs Killmonger bid to project power outside of Wakanda. Husband to General Okoye.

Nakia: Ex-girlfriend of T'Challa. War Dogs infiltrator and someone I'm betting is somewhat high up the food chain in the River Tribe hierarchy given her place during the ritual challenge phase seen in the Black Panther film. Hausa being an African language she knows.