The first time Peter met Shuri, Eugene "Flash" Thompson was hissing insults in his ear whilst Principal Morita, droned on about behaving properly during the presentation.
"Been dumpster diving again, Penis Parker?" Flash snickered, laughing at his own joke. Peter's plain T-shirts and patched shorts that came from the local charity stores were miles away from the designer outfits that Flash flounced around in. Thankfully, the principal interrupted just before the humiliation could get any worse.
"Flash, stop talking. And now, students, please welcome Ms Shuri Udaku to Midtown School of Science and Technology."
Everyone clapped politely, some rolling their eyes in boredom and some edging forward to hear more clearly.
She stepped onto the center of the stage with a wide smile, donned in a chic blue dress with her hair done up in intricate braids, each perfectly coiled into buns on top of her head. Peter immediately likened the sight of Shuri to Princess Leia from Star Wars, his secret fictional character crush.
"Hello everyone, I am Princess Shuri of Wakanda, Head of Science and Information Exchange. I'm here to talk to you about the technology that Wakanda possesses. We source much of our energy from an element called Vibranium, which is abundant in Wakanda. That energy is then harnessed to be used in our technology. Here are some examples of my inventions that are now used in various ways to help Wakanda's citizens." Pride radiated from her voice and she spoke excitedly on her country's advanced creations.
"Any questions?" She finished her presentation.
"Me!" Flash yells from behind Peter.
"Yes?"
"Will you go out with me?" Flash smirks, already confident that he knew Shuri's answer. Anger surged through Peter, how could Flash ask such an inappropriate question?
"Well," She smirks, "You'll have to get through my brother first."
Principal Morita quickly shut down the time for questions in case he lands in any trouble with the overprotective King of Wakanda.
"Ok everyone, let's thank Princess Shuri for her wonderful presentation, and can the Academic Decathlon team please stay behind for a team meeting." He left hurriedly, retiring to his office to eat his lunch in peace.
Everyone filed out quickly, eager for their lunch in the cafeteria whilst Peter walked down the stairs to the stage, where the rest of the decathlon students gathered.
"Guys, listen up." MJ, the captain of the Academic Decathlon team, shouted at the group. "We have the privilege of having Princess Shuri actually show us some of the inventions she has created as well as explaining more in-depth as to how they work."
Shuri pulled out a black briefcase, just for the dramatic look she had joked, then withdrew…some bracelets.
Flash scoffed immediately.
"Jewelry? How typical of a girl."
Shuri just smiled coolly at him.
"Why don't you put it on?" She challenged.
"Okay," he shrugged, oblivious to Shuri's malicious intent.
Tapping her own bracelet, Shuri swiftly entered a command.
Flash screamed in agony, hundreds of volts of electricity coursing through his body. But she only shrugged and ignored his cries, busy addressing the rest of the Decathlon team.
"These are Kimoyo Beads. Each Wakandan receive their own at birth, which then becomes personalised as they grow older, containing medical knowledge and of course in the age of technology, instantaneous communication. What you just saw here," Shuri gestures to a groaning Flash, "Is an example of a Weapon Kimoyo Bead. It can discharge up to 500 volts at a time, although I only used 180V on this rude boy. For example, Wakanda's security personnel have the authority use this when handling prisoners and to subdue an individual if needed."
She glared at Flash whimpering on the floor.
"So, in short, Kimoyo Bead bracelets are not 'jewelry', it is an advanced piece of technology that has helped Wakandans stay safe and informed."
Shuri tapped her wrist again, and Flash's groans subsided as the beads healed him.
Cindy's hand shot up.
"Can we try the communicative features?" She asked.
"Sure!"
Handing Cindy a bracelet, Shuri directs her to move to the opposite end of the theater.
"Okay, please accept my incoming call by pressing on the holographic screen." Shuri instructed.
Soon enough, Cindy's face appeared on Shuri's screen.
"Uh, hi?" she grinned excitedly.
The team crowded around the princess in their excitement, as Shuri dictated the communicative capabilities of the Kimoyo Beads, far superior to the most advanced of American technology.
The team took turns wearing the bracelet, and when it was Peter's turn, he listened attentively. He was meeting Mr Stark later today and intended to tell him of the updates that could be made to the Iron-Man suit from Shuri's talk.
"The incoming video is of HD quality with a screen size of…Hey! Don't touch that!" Shuri noticed a troublesome boy opening her suitcase and extracting a dangerous item.
Flash whirled around as he registered Shuri yelling at him. In his panic, Flash accidentally pressed the button on the Vibranium Gauntlet, and it fired straight towards her.
Peter's spider senses kicked in instantly. He yelled, "Move!" to the other students frozen in shock and ran down to throw himself in front of Shuri.
They thudded to the ground, thrown backwards by the impact of the powerful blast.
"Are you alright, Princess?" She coughed slowly and looked up to find Peter standing above her, an arm extended out to help.
"Yes, thank you." Shuri clutched her head and stood up, smoothing her dress down carefully.
The principal came running into the auditorium.
"What happened?" He asked, fearing for his own safety if the Wakandan representative and royal heir was injured.
Ned answered, "Flash set off a weapon that almost killed us!"
"This is session is now over. Please leave to go to class." Principal Morita sighed deeply and pointed to the exit.
They murmured their thanks and left, not expecting to have such a close encounter with death on their school incursion.
Peter, who was still supporting Shuri, moved to leave as his principal apologised for Flash's actions.
"Wait!" Shuri said from behind him. Peter turned around in surprise, wondering what she wanted.
"The bracelet. You're still wearing it." Shuri grabbed his wrist and expertly undid the circlet's lock to slide it off.
"Oh, um sorry." Peter waited awkwardly during the weirdly intimate gesture, admiring her affinity with handling the technology.
"It's okay." Shuri eyed him strangely when she had finished. "What's your name?"
"Peter." He gulped nervously, wondering if she would report him to the Wakandan authorities and have him arrested for attempted robbery of the Princess.
"Thanks for helping me today." She smiled and walked away.
When Peter arrived at the Stark Business Tower, he went straight to Mr Stark's office. Tony Stark, of Stark Industries read the plate on the door. Peter pushed the door open and found Mr Stark on the phone.
As soon as Tony noticed his "intern" enter the room, he ended the call and walked over to Peter.
"I've got something important for you." Tony looked straight at Peter
"Uh, yep okay Mr Stark." Peter stumbled over his words in his excitement.
"Good, meet me in the lobby in 15 minutes."
"Got it."
"Oh, and Peter? This is important company, so you might want to…change your outfit." Tony waved Peter out of the room and hurried back to his desk, picking up his phone and dialling.
"Hello, your Majesty, my intern and I will be there to escort you up immediately."
Peter wondered what was going on. Tony usually had important guests over, like the Presidents, rich billionaires and celebrities. He couldn't even begin to count the number of times he had seen Robert Downey Junior, a famous actor, around the building.
Heading to his allocated room, in a dusty corner of a random floor, Peter selected a button up long-sleeve shirt and added a jacket suit with matching pants to complete his outfit. He was no fashionista, like the way Shuri was dressed today, but it was the best he could do.
Hurrying down to the lobby, Peter stepped into the elevator, pressing the button multiple times, which was pointless but helped him release some nervous energy. Arriving on the ground floor, he straightened the collar of his shirt and checked his reflection in the mirror before walking out. Peter stopped dead in the middle of the room, staring at the surprise visitor.
It was her again.
Shuri swept into the room, chin held high like the important Princess she was, this time wearing a white chiffon shirt with the sleeves rolled up and navy jeans, equally casual yet fashionable at the same time. King T'Challa soon followed, almost rolling his eyes at his sister's dramatic entrance. A stoic faced woman trailed behind them.
"Kid! What are you doing just standing there? Get over here!" Tony hurried Peter over.
The royal entourage stopped in front of the hosts.
"Hello and welcome to Stark Industries! I am Tony Stark, and this is my intern, Peter."
"Please to meet you, Tony. This is my sister, Princess Shuri and my general, Okoye."
Shuri's eyes flicked from Tony to Peter, so quickly it was almost imperceptible, but Peter's Spider-Sense caught it in time. Would she even remember me? He wondered.
Okoye, who was standing beside Wakanda's ruler said,
"My King and Princess, I will be waiting here for you." And the armed woman marched off.
Tony led the group straight to his office, offering commentary of the recent renovations and projects that his business had commissioned.
"We currently offer several on-site tutorials of mechanics and basic robotics for interested students. They eventually progress from copying their mentors, to designing and building their own inventions. During the End of Year presentations, a winner for most advanced, most useful and most aesthetic design is chosen. Offsite classes are held in various locations, such as Athens, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne and London for an international experience. Our teachers include professors at prestigious universities, world innovators of the latest technology and many more of equal importance."
Tony's chest puffed out as he dictated his father's company's rapid growth. Peter could see pride radiating from his albeit tiny figure. What would his own dad make of Tony? Would he approve of Peter working with Tony? Admittedly, the Stark Industry owner was the closest thing he had left to a father, after the dose of Aunt Mary's husband, Uncle Ben.
Peter snapped out of his deep thoughts immediately when Shuri spoke.
"So 5Ghz is the highest bandwidth available?" Shuri asked innocently.
"Uh, yes." Tony answered.
"And the holographic screens aren't transportable?"
"Ah, yep."
"Huh." She pursed her lips and looked away.
"Shuri! Let's not be rude. Tony and Peter are our generous hosts." T'Challa reminded his sister.
Ignoring her brother's reprimands, Shuri asked, "Can we see the labs, if possible?"
"Right this way," Tony led them down more corridors to the Invention Rooms.
"Here are our research labs, that create and test our designs. For example, here is the latest prototype of a high-spec glasses that allow the user to look through the lenses and see the world through a screen."
Shuri walked closer to the workbench to get a closer look.
"What if you add an AI to the glasses?" She suggested, picking up the lean frames.
"Well, um, hypothetically it might be possible but right now, we don't yet have a way to do that." Tony responded, slightly crestfallen that the young technological genius had already pointed out a flaw in his company's designs.
"It's okay, I'm sure you guys will try your best." Shuri flashed a smile before moving to the next bench.
"A nano-byte powered bio-medical scanner?" She raised her eyebrows, impressed. "Neat."
T'Challa coughed politely and said,
"If possible, I would like to start negotiations between Wakanda and Stark Industries now, as we are to be arriving at the Avengers Facility in 2 hours."
Nodding enthusiastically, Tony agreed immediately.
"Of course, your Majesty! We'll head to the Conference Room."
"And would Princess Shuri like to be present for the meeting? Otherwise, my intern can bring her to the Avenger's Facility and show her around there."
His eyes met Peter's and seemed to say, C'mon kid, this is where you come in. Help me out here while I close this deal.
Peter nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah, we have a new training arena there if you would like to visit." He grinned nervously.
Shuri just shrugged and told her brother,
"It sounds better than hearing you argue back and forth about money."
T'Challa chuckled and said,
"Okay Usisi (sister in Xhosa). We'll see you there in a while."
Shuri left the room, closely followed by Peter after he glimpsed Tony's mouthed, Don't tell her about your 'alternate' activities. They rode the elevator down to the bottom floor in strange silence, then walked across the bottom floor towards the exit. Okoye immediately noticed the pair.
"Princess!" She spoke in Xhosa with concern. "What is going on? Where is T'Challa?"
"Don't worry Okoye," Shuri responded, gesturing to her and Peter. "We're heading to the Avenger's Facility now. T'Challa and Tony Stark will meet us there."
Okoye nodded in understanding and stepped out of the way to let them pass.
"Keep your Kimoyo Beads on!" She called after Shuri.
Happy met them outside, standing next to a polished black car that had the words, Stark Industries emblazoned in white on the outside.
"Afternoon, Princess, Peter." He greeted as he opened the car door for them. They slipped inside and Happy started up the engine.
Peter darted a glance at Shuri, who was busy on her phone and Kimoyo beads, alternating between the two like the technological genius she was. Feeling awkward, he too pulled out his phone and opened the Messages app, beginning to type.
Peter: Dude, I'm in a car with a freaking princess!
Ned: Really? Wait, who?
Peter: You know the girl who gave the presentation today?
Ned: the tech princess lady?
Peter: yeah
Peter: Mr Stark told me to take her to the Avenger's facility, where she's staying.
Ned: Does she know that you're, you know, Spider-Man?
Peter: No way!
Ned: You should!
Peter: Why? She'll think I'm weird
Ned: As if! Spider-Man is totally cool, literally everyone knows about you
Peter: But she already knows who I am in real life, just a nerd!
Peter groaned, knocking his head against the glass window. When did things start becoming so complicated? He looked down at his phone again, finding a new message from Ned. It read,
Trust me Peter, she won't be freaked out. She's the Princess of Wakanda, what else is new to her? Plus, she's into science too, so you guys have that in common to talk about.
Peter mentally thanked his best friend for the unending support and advice Ned always gave him.
Glancing back behind him, Happy internally sighed at the two teenagers on their phones.
"So how was school, Peter?" He asked conversationally, attempting to spark some sort of chat between the youngsters.
Peter coughed in embarrassment. Why was Happy asking about his school in front of the princess? Who also happened to be a brilliant science prodigy sitting right next to him.
"Uh, it was fine, thanks."
"And what about you, Princess Shuri?"
She glanced up from the screens in front of her.
"Call me Shuri," she said then added, "I think the presentation went okay, right Peter?"
"Uh yes," He stuttered nervously. "It was great to hear about the different types of technology found in Wakanda."
Shuri smiled gratefully, then worried frown grew on her face.
"T'Challa told me not to bring any advanced weapon technology," She murmured softly. "Wait till Okoye gets the report and tells him about what happened."
She fiddled with the edge of her shirt, deep in thought and from what Peter could understand, a whole lot of trouble.
"Guys, we're here now." Happy broke the silence that reigned across the car.
Peter thanked him for the ride and climbed out of the vehicle with Shuri. The building stood magnificent and dominating as he buzzed the intercom.
"Is my pizza here yet?" Thor's voice blared through the speakers. Then catching a glimpse of the two confused looking teenagers, one of which he recognised and the other he thought looked quite pretty, Thor added, "Lord Peter? How are the spi-"
"Uh, yeah hi, Thor." Peter interrupted quickly. "We'll just be going in now." And he cut the transmission and they entered the building.
Wait, what am I supposed to do again? Oh right, a tour.
"Ah, so this is the, uh, Avengers Facility." Peter led the princess from the Ground level with a reception desk and foyer, to the level above.
"Good afternoon." A tall, straight-backed man dressed in a highly decorated military uniform passed by Shuri and Peter.
"Mr Rhodes, hi, this is Princess Shuri of Wakanda."
Rhodes stopped and nodded to the princess.
"Sorry to bother you, but I noticed that the braces around your legs are only made of titanium. I work in aiding trauma victims recover back in Wakanda. The wound looks a couple of years old, but I would still be able to add improvements that might help." Shuri offered.
Rhodey blinked, momentarily surprised by the young girl's genius.
"Thank you. I will have a think about it."
"Sure. If you need to contact me, Tony has my details." Shuri nodded.
He turned to address Peter.
"Oh, I believe Wanda had selected a wildlife documentary for Friday's movie night, so you may not see me then. If you end up choosing again though, let me know so I can suddenly be available again." The soldier added with a laugh before continuing to his destination.
They continued on and strolled through the screening room and lower and upper living room, comfortably decorated with wide bookshelves and comfy sofas to rest on. Turning the corner, Shuri gasped, "Is that a home movie theatre? So cool!"
"Tony insisted, he's very generous to all of us." Steve walked into the room.
She whipped around and was rendered speechless at the sight of the famous Captain America.
"Princess Shuri, this is Captain America." Peter introduced, ignoring Shuri's star-struck reaction.
Shuri blushed slightly as she walked over to shake his hand.
"Hello princess, you can call me Steve." He offered politely.
A small stammered "Hi" was all Shuri could manage.
"Glad to see we're all getting along so well here." Natasha drawled from the doorway.
"And this is the deadly Black Widow." Peter added.
"Pleased to meet you." She took a seat on one of the various couches scattered in the room.
"Where are all the other Avengers?" Shuri asked, coming out of her surprise and shock at meeting her secret celebrity crush.
"Clint's got his head stuck in the clouds, probably on a farm somewhere practising archery, Wanda's finishing up at the uni in an hour- lawyers always have to study for so long, Bucky's probably in a bar somewhere, Pepper and Tony are at the company and the rest are out on a mission in Brisbane." Natasha replied in her raspy voice.
"So, what brings you to the Avengers Facility?" Steve asked after a lull in the conversation.
"My brother, whom I presume you would remember from the previous Wakanda-America alteration, after which I spent hours repairing his suit by the way, is meeting with the American government for trading and diplomacy reasons. He brought me to talk to schools about the integration of Wakanda into America and discuss Wakanda's technology. Tony has kindly offered to provide residence for us whilst we are here." Shuri answered.
"Wait, you're staying in here?" Peter burst out.
"Yes."
"Like for how long?"
"Two weeks. Is there something wrong?"
"Uh, no."
But inwardly, Peter wondered how he could manage to conceal his secret identity for another two weeks?
Steve and Nat exchanged an amused glance at the scene playing before them.
"Princess Shuri, I think Peter might want to show you the newly refurbished training arena. I've been coaching him in his, ahem, spare time when he's not Stark's intern." Nat suggested with a smile.
"How about we meet you in half-an-hour at the gym after the tour?" Steve added.
"Sounds like something I can't miss." Shuri smiled.
The three turned towards Peter, who groaned and said,
"Alright, fine."
"See you then, Peter. Don't be late, time sure flies when you're having fun." The two highly trained warriors headed out of the room and to the exercise area.
"So, where are we going now?" Shuri asked.
"Well, the next few levels are basically just the Avengers' rooms, work-spaces, conference rooms and kitchen." Peter's stomach growled loudly at the last word.
She giggled and they moved to the kitchen.
"Want anything to drink?" He asked, pulling open the fridge door.
"I'm okay, thanks." Shuri watched Peter take out a massive meat sandwich and begin devouring it.
"You know," She mused. "You're very familiar with the layout and the rest of the Avengers. When did you say you first began as Tony's intern?"
"Uh, like end of last year?"
"Right so only a few months. And he usually sends you to the Facility instead of staying at Stark Tower?" Shuri raised an eyebrow at Peter expectantly.
"Oh, look at the time! We'd better get down to the gym now, otherwise Nat will think I've forfeited, and she'll get back later for it." Peter shoved the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and ran downstairs to the gym.
"Ready, Peter? No tricks, no weapons and no swinging around. Remember what I taught you." Natasha raised an eyebrow at her young opponent. He grinned in excitement. She rolled her eyes at his reaction and almost smiled. God dammit! She was the Black Widow, fierce, determined and uncaring for anyone. Especially for a certain captain standing to the side watching with the princess. Love was for children, and Natasha was no child. She was a lethal weapon.
The bell rang and the skilled assassin made the first offence. Peter dodged it easily, then retaliated with several blows of his own. Nat blocked each one, lightning fast before executing a spinning kick with deadly accuracy. The scrawny teen ducked and began an attack aimed at his enemy's balance, but she was light on her feet and sidestepped each one of them. But Nat wasn't the only one who seemed to be able to avoid strikes as if she could already see them coming, Peter held his own and neither were able to gain the upper hand. However, the fiercesome Black Widow had decades more experience under her metaphorical belt (as she was wearing a pair of sweat pants and a casual T-shirt) and was soon able to distract Peter long enough to land a hit to his cheek.
From the sidelines and hidden behind a hand-held old-fashioned camera, Shuri gasped. The two fought with an intensity that she hadn't expected. Would someone wind up getting hurt? Was this a regular occurrence? Maybe Peter's quick reaction to saving her earlier was only a result of his training. Shuri suddenly doubted the original hypothesis she had formed earlier. If Peter is Spider-Man, then he could be my first friend. But what if she was wrong?
Soon enough, the bell sounded again, and the opponents finished their fight with Peter on the floor by his arm and Nat victorious. They stepped out of the ring and Steve clapped Peter on the back.
"You're getting better, don't worry." He said reassuringly.
"Next time, Peter." Nat nodded sharply and left.
"Well, I'll see you both around then."
Peter didn't miss Shuri's gaze following Steve as he turned and went upstairs.
"Do you want to see the rest of the floor's rooms?"
"Okay."
They moved onto the right side of the corridor, Peter opening the rooms to the Shooting Range. The targets' bullseyes were shot straight through. Loaded artillery weapons glittered along the walls, intimidating and warning to the Avengers' enemies.
Shuri raised her eyebrows, spying clumps of web solution sprayed on nearby targets.
"Looks like someone has been busy." She observed with a laugh.
Peter chuckled nervously along with her, desperately hoping not to arouse Shuri's suspicion about the connection between the similarities between Spider-Man and himself. What would she think if she knew?
Shuri asked thoughtfully, "I wonder what the webbing is made of?" She reached over to the target to obtain a sample, testing its strength and stickiness with her fingers. "Is that toluene? And maybe potassium hydroxide?" Shuri glanced curiously at Peter
"I don't know, it could be potassium carbonate instead? That way it might be able to withstand higher temperatures." He shrugged casually to maintain an image of disinterest then gripped his hurt arm, wincing at the slight discomfort. Shuri frowned, noticing.
"Where are the labs?"
"Uh, one floor down."
She exited the room hurriedly and Peter followed her, wondering what was going on.
They entered the lab and Shuri immediately began searching in the cupboards for something whilst Peter stood waiting to the side.
With a loud 'ah-ha!' she turned to Peter, holding a small bottle of a muscle ointment Peter had never seen before.
She pulled a spare table up and took a chair for her to sit on.
"Sit up here and take off your shirt." Shuri instructed.
Peter immediately began protesting.
"Chill, Peter." She giggled. "I've fixed broken white boys before."
He reluctantly climbed onto the table and lay down as she grabbed a lamp for her to examine the wound closer. Shuri checked the blooming bruise on Peter's cheek first, then moved downwards to his shoulder and carefully prodded the injured area, feeling for an out of place bone or any other kind of anomaly.
"That's interesting, you seem to be healing already." She noticed.
Shuri opened the packet of medicine.
"So, the contents are aqua, benzyl alcohol, glycerin and…ethyl chloride."
Peter immediately jumped from the table and ran across to the other end of the room.
"No, not ethyl chloride!"
"Why?"
"Because I'm, um, allergic."
"Funny how spiders and other insects are also allergic to ethyl chloride too, as it's a common pesticide."
"Right. I'm very sympathetic towards them, so I prefer to stay away for their sake."
Shuri planted her hands on her hips defiantly.
"Peter, please tell me how you are able to react at an inhuman speed and move insanely fast to a situation that even my technology hadn't yet detected, then recover from damage that even well-trained adult would need time off for, plus be around the Avengers often enough to be part of 'Sunday Movie Night' even though you're an intern, and avoid ethyl-chloride like your life depends on it? You also know the formula of Spider-Man's webbing. If you aren't Spider-Man, then what are you?"
She waited expectantly for his answer.
Peter sighed in defeat.
"You're right. I am Spider-Man."
Shuri smirked gleefully.
"I win!" Her grin was as wide as the eyes of Peter when he witnessed the Princess's reaction.
"My bodyguards at home are big fans of you, so when they heard I was going to visit the Avengers in America, they bet I couldn't find out your secret-identity. They're gonna be so annoyed they missed seeing you." Shuri clarified, noticing Peter looking incredibly confused.
He smiled at the idea of fans in Wakanda. Was the Princess also a follower of Spider-Man too?
"Oh, wait." She plucked the strand of Kimoyo Beads that were used at the school demonstrated from her pocket. "Hold still for a sec."
Peter obliged, standing straight whilst Shuri activated the beads and attached them to his wrist.
"Almost done," She muttered. He tried not to think too much about how close Shuri was in front of him, or the fact that he was still shirtless.
"Okay, there we go." Tapping her own piece of technology, Shuri synced their beads and pulled up a holographic screen of Peter's body with all the stats listed on the side.
"See here? This was just before that kid triggered the Vibranium Gauntlet. Your heartbeat soared far above even an Olympic athlete in half the required time. Your bone-structure is also different, presumably more like that of a spider, allowing various tricks to be performed without sufficient training. Additionally, if we take a closer look at your brain," She adjusted the screen to zoom into a 3D projection of Peter's brain. "The parietal lobe is heavily enlarged, meaning you have extremely heightened senses. This would most likely resemble a spider's enhanced senses, right?"
Peter crossed his arms over his chest and gazed towards Shuri who was still chatting about the proportional body strength of a spider, impressed with her depth of knowledge and dedication to science.
"So," she continued, oblivious to Peter's growing admiration. "Your immune system is accelerated so much so, that you can heal from a wound that can incapacitate a fully grown adult in hours."
Peter grinned ruefully, not denying anything. It was quite pleasing, being complimented by a beautiful princess and fellow science nerd.
"But." She sent a disapproving glance at Peter, now a concerned and scolding doctor.
"The sustained damage has impacted the efficiency of your body. After each injury, you spend all your resources on healing, but then don't replenish it. When was the last time you had a check-up? You need to take these vitamins once a day, and oh! Here's a non-ethyl chloride muscle rub. Do you still want to use it?"
"Uh, sure?"
"Ok, lie down on the table."
Peter got on and waited as Shuri opened the medicine. She applied the mixture carefully, using gloves.
"Do you do this often?" He asked.
"Do what?"
"Fix people. Are you a licensed doctor?"
"It's complicated. I originally started in robotics, but when someone who needed a way to diagnose diseases using non-invasive means. Before there were only diagnosing methods such as blood tests, taking samples or biopsies. I researched into common ailments and I decided I really liked learning about it. My brother then suggested that I could combine my two interests, technology and medicine, to help Wakanda. So, I gathered some others who were interested in developing new technology for Wakandans and we began the WMSI- Wakandan Medical Sciences Institute. We ended up creating over a dozen different devices that are now implemented throughout the country." Peter watched Shuri's smile grow at the fond memory.
"Kid! What's going on?" Tony's shocked face appeared by the door.
"Mr Stark! I…um…we…" Peter sat up startled.
"Yes, what is going on?" T'Challa strode threateningly into the room.
"Hello Brother, Mr Stark. Peter had a sparring training session with Natasha earlier, somehow winding up injured and we found some medical supplies in the lab, so I helped patch him up here." Shuri answered smoothly, walking over to pick up Peter's forgotten shirt off the floor at tossing it at her patient.
"Is that right, Peter?" Stark glanced at his intern.
"Uh, yes sir."
"Okay, well I think Pepper has dinner organised for us upstairs, so let's go." He pointed to the door.
Shuri slipped out the door, shooting a triumphant look at T'Challa and shouting, "C'mon Spidey!"
Peter gave an apologetic glance to Tony, who sighed and shook his head while T'Challa chuckled quietly, having knowledge of Shuri's bet with her guards and what the outcome appeared to be.
Okoye met them upstairs, nodding in acknowledgement towards their hosts.
"Ready for dinner?" Pepper asked cheerfully.
"Only if we're having French Flies." Shuri winked at Peter.
He covered his face and groaned. She would never stop teasing Peter about it now.