Chapter 4

They arrived in Wakandan airspace in the early hours of the next morning. The teens they'd picked up were both sleeping in the backseat while the adults talked.

"Cap are you sure?" Clint asked as he held on to a pipe that ran over his head to keep him steady as he stood. Sam was standing behind him leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Across the jet Steve Rogers sat hunched with his elbows on his knees and exhaled a deep breath. Natasha was sitting next to T'Challa as he piloted their quinjet but she had turned her seat all the way around and watched the conversation with one leg crossed over her knee.

"No I'm not sure Barton." He admitted, "But look at them."

All eyes but the King's turned to the teens. The girl was lying down on a long bench seat with her legs bent so her knees were high in the air. The boy was across the jet sitting up but had slid to one side so his head was propped on a piece of machinery along the side of the wall. They both looked so alike it was uncanny and everyone on board could see the resemblance to Wanda.

Barton shook his head. "Cap they're too old. If they are. . . who we think they are then they should be only what? Four? Maybe?"

"But he does have a point." Nat spoke up using her foot that was on the ground to rock her seat left to right, "He can do the same things Wanda could. She moves as quick as Pietro did. And they have the same names. What are the odds of that?"

"Should we give them a blood test when we land?" Sam suggested.

Steve shook his head, "If it's magic I doubt any blood test will prove a relation."

"I think the hair gives it away." Scott spoke up from where he was sitting with his head bent backwards against the wall as his eyes looked to Taylor. A few chuckles went around the room with some shaking their heads.

"We can't tell them though, not yet." Steve said with certainty. "Look at everything they've already been through. I don't want to overwhelm them."

"They will be well taken care of in Wakanda." T'Challa called from his seat. "And you all will have asylum there as long as you need it."

"Thank you." Steve replied and T'Challa gave a single nod before they began their descent from the clouds and the land came into view. Nat rose from her seat and headed over to the boy – Billy. Steve got up and followed her making his way to Taylor. His hand cupped her shoulder when her eyes snapped open and she jolted upright.

"Hey, hey, easy. You're still with us." He told her with his hands up in front of him in surrender. Immediately she calmed but there was still a degree of caution in her green eyes. "We're almost there."

She seemed satisfied at the logical reason for waking her and swung her legs off the bench and stood up before stretching her arms over her head. Steve turned to Nat who was nudging Billy's shoulder as he turned in his sleep peacefully. Just the two different responses reminded Steve that the teens already had so many differences. He knew Nat had been able to download their data from the computers at the Raft and deleted what she could on their team. He was eager to see what files on the teens she'd been able to get. He smiled remembering how she'd told him she'd been keeping an eye on the security cameras and knew what files to look for once she saw him bust out the kids. She was a clever woman he had to give her that.

She shook Billy's shoulder a few more times before he stirred, slowly blinking his eyes a bit before remembering where he was as he sat up slowly and yawned.

"This never gets old." T'Challa whispered to himself from the driver's seat as the quinjet approached the side of a cliff. Behind his seat Cap smirked with his arms crossed as the others looked on with slight worry. No one voiced their concern over the clear problem that they were speeding towards at about seventy miles an hour. But when it looked like they were about to crash the cliff melted away in a ripple and opened up more perfect blue sky that hung above a gorgeous, and clearly advanced, city. While Scott, Clint and Sam exchanged impressed looks they didn't seem too shocked. After all the things they'd seen on missions, and of course their latest battle against Tony and the others, the Wakandan technology was awe inspiring but not jaw dropping worthy. At least to the veterans. Billy and Taylor on the other hand had mouths agape and eyes wide as they stood in the back looking around the men who stood in front of them. The capital of Wakanda was incredible, tall skyscrapers made a skyline nestled in a valley between several lush mountains. A river flowed around the main cluster of buildings and broke off in curved branches splitting the land where more smaller buildings resided. It almost looked like Manhattan – until they got closer. The tops of the skyscrapers weren't nearly as plain as those in New York, and as the quinjet decreased altitude they saw some buildings were designed to look like pyramids while others were like Jenga towers with blocks removed. The architectural beauty of the city only furthered their sense of amazement and seemed to even stun the Avengers with them.

Smoothly and swiftly gliding between the buildings T'Challa set their vessel down on a designated pad where figures in orange waited in two rows. The whirring of the engines slowed to a halt before the ramp opened from underneath them. T'Challa and Cap lead the way out as the others all followed behind, the two teens lingering in the back of the group. Billy kept casting glances at Taylor who seemed adamant to look at anything and everything around her to avoid making eye contact. He didn't take it personally, since this behavior wasn't just directed towards avoiding him, but everyone.

There was a strong echo of several spears tapping the ground twice that drew their attention back to the situation at hand as their group stopped in front of a woman in white who exuded a regal aura that commanded respect. She stood before them flawless, not a wrinkle on her face, her skin smooth without a single mark or blemish. Her posture was immaculate and her white dress didn't have a single inch of fabric out of place and looked pressed into perfection. Without an introduction they could all tell this was the Queen Mother. Her eyes turned to T'Challa and softened beaming with pride and love as a matching smile graced her lips. She spoke to the Black Panther in their native tongue while a younger girl to her left threw in a few comments with a smirk.

T'Challa rolled his eyes at her before replying to his mother and gesturing to the group behind him as he explained. The Queen's eyes turned to them with the seriousness of a leader as she examined each Avenger. Both the teens suddenly felt out of place. Everyone else had used their flight to dress into their gear, anything that had been haphazardly thrown on for their breakout now sat perfectly in place giving them all a professional, super hero quality appearance. Billy and Taylor shyly looked down on themselves, still dressed in their prison garb. The Queen's eyes softened again as her gaze fell on them, they were younger then even Shuri, she thought as her mothering instincts took over and she mentally cursed the men who had tormented the young pair before her. Then she turned back to T'Challa.

"Wakanda can more than afford to be kind to those who need her refuge." She turned to Captain America, "Whatever you need, we will provide you – within reason."

He gave a single nod, "Thank you your majesty. We appreciate your compassion."

The Queen smiled and returned the nod before turning to her daughter, "Shuri, why don't you show these two a room so they can change? I believe the rest of us have much to discuss."

"Of course, mother." Princess Shuri replied before waving the teens forward. They followed the princess and Cap patted Taylor on the shoulder as she passed and gave her a reassuring smile. The corner of her moth twitched but that was all she could reciprocate.

Shuri led them into the building behind her mother, it was made of glass along the entire exterior and when they stepped inside the glow from the sun through the windows warmed the space with its natural light.

"We have prepared a floor for the Avengers so you all can make yourselves at home and not have to worry about any Wakandan business."

"That's very kind of you thank you." Billy replied politely as Taylor snorted and shook her head.

"Is something wrong?" Shuri asked still walking ahead of them as she led them down the halls.

"It's not for our benefit that we're getting a private floor." Taylor pointed out before turning to Billy like he was dumb for not putting it together, "We're outsiders. They don't want us near anything important or risking seeing something we shouldn't."

Shuri stopped walking and turned to them with a stony gaze, "You are a clever one aren't you?" she asked before her mask cracked and a wide ear to ear grin lit up her face, "I like you already."

Taylor gave a small smile in reply before the princess turned and continued leading them to an elevator that looked like a tall clear tube. When it closed behind them Shuri hit a button marked in Wakandan and they began their journey upward.

"There is nothing more irritating then stupidity." She said, "Except maybe my brother. I hope he did not bore you on your flight here."

"I slept through most of it." Billy replied looking at his feet with a shrug.

"Me too." Taylor added then muttered, "Lot of running."

Billy's head turned to her and he asked her hesitantly, "So it does exhaust you."

He'd been wondering if her super speed made her super tired or if her body coped well with it. Taylor crossed her arms and rested her weight on one hip as she looked down at the clear floor under their feet.

"I wouldn't say it exhausts me. It just. . . wears me out."

Billy nodded before looking down at his hands. He flipped them so his palms were face up and he opened and closed his fingers a few times.

"Me too." He said and Taylor's eyes turned to him, "What I do it. . . takes a lot out of me."

He turned to her and their eyes met. The gaze in Taylor's eyes was unreadable and he stared back just as blankly. Shuri caught the exchange and from the front of their group spoke up.

"Are you two related?" she asked looking at them from over her shoulder.

"No."

"No."

They answered in perfect sync making them snap their eyes back to each other in question of the odd timing.

"Are you sure?" Shuri asked before she stopped and a small beeping went off. She looked down at her bracelet where her beads were blinking in time with the small beeps. She held her wrist to the side of her face and spoke into it in her native tongue. The response that came back made her eyes flick away from the teens momentarily like she was worried she'd said something she shouldn't have. She replied quickly before dropping her wrist Then the elevator stopped and the tube slid open. Shuri led them down a pristine white hallway with several doors. at the end of the hall looked like a round common area with tables but they couldn't see much more. Shuri stopped just before the common area and gestured to the doors on either side of her.

"These two are for you. They are identical but you can design them how you like. The technology is simple and straightforward. If you can handle a video game you can handle my designs." She smirked. "After you change feel free to look around the rest of the floor. I'm sure once the Avengers are done talking to my mother they will be along. In the meantime you have the place to yourselves. Have fun."

She gave them a fun mischievous look before she departed the way they'd come. Billy turned to Taylor but she'd already darted into her room and all he caught a glimpse of was the door closing.

Letting a sigh escape him Billy turned to the available room to his right. He stepped inside and found a square space completely empty of all furniture. Like the hall everything was painted white and the one window he had was on the wall directly across from him, high up and stretched like a thin horizontal rectangle. In the wall to his left was a closet door with a touch screen built into the wall beside it. Another panel was just below his shoulder beside the doorframe he was standing in. slowly he closed the door leaving him alone in his new room. As excited as he should be he was overcome by homesickness. Was Wakanda where he would have to stay from now on? What about his family? He still had no idea how much they knew about what was happening to him. Had they ever been told where their son had vanished to on his walk to school? If so, how had they reacted to the news that he was arrested? And for Avengers-level criminal behavior no less. There was no positive scenario in his mind, which only made him want to see his family more, to explain things. He knew one way or another his mom must be a wreck. His dad was probably pacing the floor. And his younger brothers were probably confused out of their minds. Leaning back against the door he sighed again and did his best to keep from sliding down to the ground like he really wanted to. Look on the bright side, he told himself, you're not in prison anymore, you're with the Avengers, this was a fanboy's dream come true.

If that was true why did he have such a knot in his stomach?

Pushing off the door he headed for the closet. He desperately needed to get out of this prison uniform and into normal clothes. Maybe that would help. He tried to slide the door open but it wouldn't budge. The panel glowed to life. There were a few options, thankfully written in English, and like Shuri said, it was straightforward. he pressed all the options on the screen that applied to what he was searching for. Size. Color preferences. Casual. Under 'Type' he tapped just about every option they had, shirts, pants, jackets, hoodies, sneakers, socks, underwear, pajamas. When he hit the 'submit' button on the bottom the screen when dark and there was a sound like a vacuum. A lock unlatched and he tried the door again. A whole row of clothes rested on the single pole and underneath were pairs of shoes in a tidy row.

"Whoa." He muttered before looking over his shoulder at the other panel and getting curious.

It didn't glow until he tapped his finger against it twice but when it did he saw several tabs across the top listing various furniture. Beds. Desks. Nightstands. Dressers. Electronics. Lighting. Chairs. Carpeting. Curtains. Décor.

Tapping the 'bed' tab several options popped up and he scrolled through until he found one that was most similar to his bed at home. Touching the image made a small laser shoot out the top from what he'd assumed had been a webcam like on a cell phone. It created a hologram just under the window. The blue grid image then coated itself in colors and the glowing stopped.

There's no way, he thought to himself before walking over. Bending he reached for the comforter and pressed his hand down. It was soft and very there. His eyes almost fell out of his head at the Wakandan tech. A hologram had just turned into an actual physical object, it almost felt like he'd been sucked into the Sims. Now the excitement hit and he went back over to the panel and started tapping things at a much quicker rate as he filled his room to his liking.
Meanwhile, Taylor was across the hall already dressed, a playlist blasting through the speakers and jumping up and down on her new bed. She'd made it twice the size of the bed she'd grown up on and her walls were already plastered with posters. A green bean bag rested in one corner while one of those orb chairs hung from the ceiling in the corner diagonal. A huge plasma screen was adhered to the wall across from her bed and reflected her jumping image. Some octagon shelves were on the wall across from her dresser, to hold what she had no idea but they'd looked too cool to not pick. The closet was full of hoodies and jeans, tee shirts and tank tops. She picked ones that had cool stitching along the sleeves or neat cutouts. She hated plain jeans so most of those had embroidered or painted designs to please her edgy side. And of course there were shoes. She'd gone a bit overboard on that, but with her speed she wore through shoes pretty fast.

Boots, not booties, that went to mid calf or up to her knees all with various heels, the thick kind not twiggy toothpick ones. She couldn't run in those. Sure, she'd chosen at least one pair of sneakers, but what was impressive about running in those? Now running in heels at super speed, that was impressive. Wedges and block heels were her favorite and like the jeans she only picked the ones with cool textures in the leather. Though right now she only had socks on while jumping on the mattress. Pokémon socks. One Jolteon, one Vaporeon. She might be distrustful of the people here but Wakandan technology was still sick and beat juvie by a mile!

.

.

Meanwhile the Avenger's audience with the Queen had come to an end. Scott and Clint were concerned about their families and Barton was going to try and reach out to Secretary Ross and see if he was interested in a deal. While they took care of that T'Challa had pulled Captain Rogers aside and asked for a moment of his time. Unable to refuse his request and having an inkling as to what it was about, he went with him without question.

T'Challa led him to a laboratory that was brightly lit and filled with white equipment. Sitting on a table, with a new patch around his shoulder was Bucky. He turned at the sound of their approaching footsteps and mustered up a small smile.

"Buck." Steve acknowledged his friend as he reached him and they shook hands.

"How did it go?" the solider asked clearly trying to take his mind off the obvious.

Steve grabbed his belt and nodded as his eyes passed over the room, "Better then expected. No bumps in the road."

"Good." Bucky replied before biting his lip.

"Are you sure about this?" Steve asked concerned for his oldest friend.

Bucky sighed, "I can't trust my own mind. So until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head I think going back under is the best thing. . . for everybody."

Steve nodded as one of the lab techs came over, "Mr. Barnes, we are ready for you now."

Bucky took another deep breath and stood from the exam table. Steve patted him on the back and left his hand on his friend's shoulder as they approached a white pod. Bucky stepped inside without hesitation knowing this was his best chance and that Steve wouldn't let anything happen to him while he was under. This time was different then before with Hydra, he didn't have to be scared. He pressed himself back against the padding as they strapped him in. He closed his eyes as a glass casing rose from the ground and encased him.

Steve watched as the pod filled with white fog and the glass frosted over. Then he let out his own sigh and turned to the glass wall that looked out over Wakanda where T'Challa waited. Captain America approached him but didn't say a word, he just looked out across the landscape deep in thought too. Finally, the royal turned to him and Steve knew it was okay to break the silence.

"Thank you for this."

"Your friend and my father." The Black Panther began, "They were both victims. If I can help one of them find peace. . . " he trailed off, the rest not needing to be said.

"You know if they find out he's here. . . they'll come for him. And not just him."

"The young ones." T'Challa said knowing where the captain was going with this. "Are they who you think they are?"

Steve inhaled deeply and looked back out the window, "I'm not sure. But if they are, and if Ross knows that. . . they're always going to be targets now."

"They will be safe here." T'Challa assured him.

Steve chuckled, "If they're anything like her, they won't stay put for long. And trouble will find them eventually."

"Oh I am sure of that." T'Challa replied with a smirk, "And if your friend Ross is truly aware of the situation I feel he will look under every rock on earth for them. And if by some miracle he or anyone else does find them in Wakanda and wants to take them…Let them try."

They shared a smirk before T'Challa patted Steve's shoulder and left him to his thoughts. There were things with his sister he had to discuss.

But the captain was not alone for long. From behind him Natasha Romanoff approached, her heels tapping softly against the floor. He didn't turn to acknowledge her presence but he didn't have to, she knew he knew she was there.

"If they are who we think they are." Nat began warily clearly having heard the tail end of his discussion with T'Challa, "How long do you think we can keep Vision from them?"

Cap turned to her solemnly, knowing what Vision was capable of and how hard it would be to keep him from his children. "Not long."