~Race for the Scientist~

Cambridge, Massachusetts

"My Queen, we have located the scientist. Her name is Riri Williams."

"Where?"

"A university campus."

"Please tell me she's a professor."

"No Mother, she's a student," Shuri told her.

Kalyna, Okoye and Shuri all stood in the campus parking lot, looking 'very discreet' in sunglasses.

"Namor would kill a young girl?" cried Ramonda, aghast as they all were.

"Another reason why we must get to her first."

"Bast be with you." And the queen disconnected from the call.

"We don't need Bast," Shuri muttered. Then she announced, "Okay I'm going in."

"Out of the question!" scoffed Okoye.

"But I can blend in as a student," Shuri protested. "I can be discreet."

"She does have a point," Kalyna agreed.

"Thank you! Come, on Okoye."

"I can be discreet," Okoye grumbled. Finally, she conceded. "You have five minutes."

Shuri cheered. "Yes!"

"Get out of my dorm!" When Okoye and Kalyna entered the scene minutes later, Riri was shouting at Shuri.

"You had five minutes," Okoye reminded her. "I gave you six."

"I had it under control!"

"Looks like it."

"GET OUT!" Riri grabbed a portable speaker. "I'm warning you, do not take another step!"

"Oh!" gasped Okoye. "You see how they teach the children to treat their guests."

Done with hesitating, Riri launched the electronic device across the room - only for it to be speared in half, literally. Sliced cleanly in two by Okoye's spear, always kept close at hand.

"You brought a spear in here?!" cried Shuri.

"It's all right Princess." Okoye turned back to Riri. "Small, small girl, I am going to give you two options: you can come to Wakanda conscious or unconscious."

"You need to be conscious of the way that you look, walking around here with that ash on your head," Riri fired back. Okoye had tried to cover her head tattoo with makeup.

Both Shuri and Kalyna promptly burst into a fit of giggles, silenced only when the General swiveled around sharply to face them. "Oh, it's funny?"

"No."

"I told you!"

"You look good," Shuri assured her.

"Okay that's it!" hollered Riri. "I'm calling campus security!"

"Okay, okay," Kalyna jumped in. "You know what? We tried, we did our best. Very sorry to bother you, Miss Williams. Enjoy your class."

"Yes," Shuri played along. "I think we should leave her to the mean merman and let her deal with that on her own. Good luck dealing with him with your heater." She finished off by nodding to the portable heater in Riri's hands, the next item she was prepared to throw, to launch at them.

Riri blinked back and forth between the three other women, her expression priceless. "What?!"

It didn't take much convincing after that, thankfully. Riri led them to her work space - a garage - where she could gather a few things for her stay in Wakanda.

"Princess," Griot alerted them suddenly. "I am afraid the building is being surrounded."

"By who?"

"The FBI."

"The FBI?! The feds?!" Riri cursed. "You know what? I think I wouldn't mind facing this merman or whoever he is cause at least he never brought the FBI right to my garage!"

"They are preparing to open the door by force."

"We can outrun them," Okoye said, already formulating a plan.

"Yes, we should split up," added Shuri.

"Yes, Riri and I can take to the skies and you take the road - perfect chance for me to try out my new suit," Kalyna said with a grin.

"Out of the question!" Okoye shot it down. "We will take the car, and Miss Williams can take her suit, if she wishes."

"Just please be careful with that car," Riri told them.

"Here-" Shuri handed her a comm link. "We'll get you out of here, I promise."

With that, Riri took off.

"I'll follow behind." Kalyna pressed one of the beads on her Kimoyo bracelet and her suit instantly covered her body.

"Wait, I don't need Okoye to babysit me!" Shuri cried as the two others flew off.

"Yes you do!" Okoye was already in the car. "Now let's go!"

"Yes, let's go." Shuri attached a bead to the car, which instantly sped off - without her. She was much more interested in taking a motorcycle.

"Let's go!" Riri gave a whoop and soared up into the skies.

"Hey, nice suit," Kalyna commented.

"Thanks, Your Majesty - you too."

"It's all thanks to Shuri." She extended the wings of her suit out to their full capacity. "Whoa - now that's what I call a wingspan!"

"We've got a surveillance drone following us," Shuri announced over the comms. By the sounds of it, Okoye was still arguing with Griot over control of the car.

"Leave that to me!" Riri shot up higher into the sky.

"Riri! You can't breathe at that altitude!"

But that didn't stop her. They couldn't tell if she shot the drone down, but suddenly she was plunging, unconscious, back to the ground.

"Riri, I got you!" Kalyna swept in, catching her.

Riri snapped back to focus. "Thanks, sis!"

"Any time!"

"They're cutting off the bridge," Shuri updated.

"It's okay, I've got a little surprise headed for y'all-" Riri told them.

BLAST!

In perfect timing, the drone smashed in, quite literally, cutting them off from the FBI by flame.

"Nice one!" Kalyna cheered. "Sometimes you've just got to play with fire!"

That wasn't the only surprise they were in for, as it soon became very apparent.

An explosion shook everything from behind - it must have caught the river as well because everything was wet.

Whales - whales, in the river - jumped up and from their backs several people in beaded and fathered armour landed on the bridge. People with blue skin and masks over their noses and mouths.

The fish man - he had found them.

Duh duh DUHHHHHH! Haha! ;)

Work has been CRAZY, but I'm glad to have some time to sit down and read and write! :)

Alex Livinalli has the most amazing hair - also I love how serious and intense Attuma, Namora, and Namor all are but Tenoch, Alex, and Mabel are all so goofy and sweet!

Anyone else really want to go swimming after seeing the movie? ;)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)