Talia and Everett followed Nakia through the trees in the dark, escaping the palace before they could be seen. Talia was unusually quiet as she brought up the rear, but Everett knew nothing he could say would make it better. Her childhood horrors were her own, no matter how much he wished otherwise. The only thing he could do was keep one hand clasped around her wrist, keeping her with him as they weaved their way through the underbrush.
At length, however, Everett felt compelled to ask, "What about the Queen?"
"We are going to the Queen Mother and Shuri as we speak." Nakia answered and Everett shook his head.
He hadn't doubted Nakia would save her queen and Shuri first before she came for him and Talia. He would have done the same. Instead, he'd had a different question in mind.
"No, I meant, she's technically regent, right? She was married to the previous king, even before T'Challa." Everett pointed out, only for Nakia to cut him off curtly.
"No."
"No?" Everett asked in confusion. Nakia glanced back at him with sorrowful eyes before she looked back toward where she was leading them.
"T'Challa earned his rightful place as king upon his return to Wakanda. He was rightfully king when he was challenged by this outsider, and since he, he..."
She trailed off. Her inability to finish gave away far more about the depth of her pain at T'Challa's passing. Everett filed away that insight for the moment.
"You mean the Queen can't usurp him." He asked and Nakia shook her head.
"No. The only way would be if she challenged him, but that is suicide."
Everett relapsed into silence as Nakia led them deeper into the forest. Beside him, Talia tugged the red cloak tighter over her head. Everett noticed and he squeezed her hand, before Talia's nose twitched and she glanced off to the side as she heard Shuri's voice from afar.
"First Baba. And now my brother." The princess's voice cracked before she weeped, "Mama, we didn't even get to bury him!"
Nakia moved in the direction from where Talia could hear Shuri's suppressed sobs and another woman - she supposed the Queen - breathing heavily as she too obviously held back tears. Nakia broke through the trees moments later with Everett and Talia right behind her, and Everett flinched as a ring blade was instantly drawn in their faces.
"It's me." Nakia whispered, raising her hands automatically in surrender while Talia instantly stepped forward to place herself between the weapon and her father.
"Nakia." A stately woman breathed in relief but didn't lower her weapon immediately as her eyes moved from her loyal subject to the two Americans. "Who are these people?"
"They are friends of T'Challa's. He saved my life, and she has fought by his side before." Nakia replied quickly, staying her Queen's hand.
The Queen didn't lower her blade and her eyes remained wary as she watched Everett with distrust while she asked Nakia, "Where's Okoye?"
Nakia tensed. And Talia's eyes widened in shock as Nakia admitted grimly, "Okoye's not coming. She and the Dora Milaje will serve the new king."
At this shocking revelation, the Queen seemed to lose energy. She slowly lowered her blade and Shuri huddled beside her mother, distraught. Everett and Talia exchanged uneasy looks while Nakia watched her friends with empathy but also firm determination. Her task was far from done yet.
"Wait here." She instructed, leaving Everett and Talia with the emotionally exhausted Wakandan royals.
The Queen didn't even seem to have the energy left to protest as Nakia slipped away. Instead, she gazed mournfully out into the distance. And Talia's heart clenched with sympathy as the Queen whispered, "What has happened to our Wakanda?"
May 2016
Berlin, Germany
It was now all-out war on the airport runway.
Stark pounded down on Rogers's shield as the captain barely managed to protect himself, while Sam Wilson charged Rhodes. Maximoff brought Spider-Man crashing down as Ant-Man charged Romanoff, and Barton shocked Vision with his arrows while T'Challa tackled Barnes. Talia meanwhile swerved from her apparent course to join T'Challa to instead help Stark; somehow, she sensed that if they could subdue Rogers, not only would it be a blow to his team but Barnes would quickly give up too. They were very, overly loyal to each other in that way from what she'd read in their files, and it had apparently only gotten worse with time.
Unfortunately, bringing down Rogers (especially without killing him) was a lot easier said than done. Not only was the supersoldier easily one of the most hardened fighters on the planet, but his team was out to protect him first and foremost. Rogers punched Stark back, apparently unfazed by the fact that he had just slammed his fist into hard metal. Talia ducked as Stark was knocked off balance before she swung her foot around to kick Rogers in the head. He blocked her, grabbing her foot and trying to spin her around onto her back. But Talia broke herself out and backflipped a few paces to safety as Stark flew in at Rogers.
Rogers blocked Stark's offense before he whacked Stark in the chest with his shield, knocking the man back again. Before Stark could recover, one of Barton's arrows hit his chest and exploded. Stark went careening further back while Talia dodged as Maximoff started sending cars flying right at her and Spider-Man, keeping them off her friends and teammates. Barton and Romanoff ended up engaging off to the side as Ant-Man hurried to help Rogers. Talia glanced their way briefly; her mistake.
Without warning, Talia found herself being thrown back as a red energy encircled her. She hit the metal support under a bridge and she landed with a thud on the ground, groaning. Meanwhile, Wanda turned her attention to where T'Challa was about to claw into Barnes' neck - she stopped the Wakandan before she tossed him into a passenger bridge on the opposite side from Talia.
Talia lifted her head at that moment and she growled. Reluctantly pulling a gun she'd been keeping holstered, she inserted a stun bullet. Her orders were not to kill but they weren't doing very well. They needed an edge. And besides, this wasn't going to kill; only bring a lot of pain.
Stark apparently saw her as she aimed and he had to make a quip. "Land the shot, kiddo, and I'll buy you a drink. That's legal here in Germany, even for you, right?"
Talia's eye twitched irritably but she didn't hesitate. She saw an opening and she fired. Maximoff screamed as the stun bullet hit her and the shocks ran through her body, knocking her down for the moment. Barnes spun around at the sound and he lunged out of the way as Talia fired at him next. She chased after him, following him as he ducked behind an overturned luggage cart.
Barnes leapt out from the other side and he managed to disarm her although he failed in swiping her foot out from beneath her. Unarmed, Talia engaged in hand-to-hand with Barnes again. She still had another pistol tucked into her boot but, this close, she doubted she would get her pistol in without him noticing and disarming her first.
"Look, I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong guy." Barnes insisted as he blocked her fist and twisted them so they were almost pressed against each other's sides. He didn't quite meet her eye as he spoke; he'd learnt his lesson.
Talia scowled and she shot back, "You realize you're a partially mind-controlled supersoldier? For all we know, you could have imagined the whole thing. If you're not outright lying."
He flinched at her inflection but he shook his head at the rest of her words. "I'm not lying."
"Innocent people don't run." Talia spat back as she shoved him off of her.
It was easier than it should have been to push him away and her eyes narrowed. Barnes was apparently going easy on her, although she was highly skeptical that it was because he was afraid to hurt her. But it did create a good opportunity… If only she could take it. He was strong and on guard against her mesmerization, but Talia knew she could turn the tables. Except...
As she hesitated yet again to take the last measure she knew would win her the battle, Talia sensed something coming at her.
She started to turn but it was too late. Rogers's shield smacked into the side of her head, dropping her like a deadweight. And Talia collapsed, momentarily knocked out cold.
Present
Wakanda
"So, where are we going again?" Everett asked as they trudged across a snowy mountain trail.
The sun had already risen and was starting to fall by this point, but his words were the first to break the quiet they had travelled in. Talia was even more on edge now than she had been in the dark forest and her eyes darted across the white covered landscape with an uneasy frequency. Everett had known she disliked snow but he realized now that it was more than that. Something about the snow-covered soil made Talia skittish; and he had a feeling he knew what it was. There was only one horror story of hers that he didn't know the full details of. The first tragedy in Talia's young life.
"We're taking the Heart-Shaped Herb to Jabariland." Nakia answered Everett's question, drawing his attention back to the Wakandans who trekked in near silence beside him and Talia.
Shuri was still deeply mourning her brother's death while the Queen remained poker faced although she appeared to be reluctant as she followed them. Everett strove to continue the talk, just to have something else to do besides shiver as he had for hours during their hike away from the main city.
"Heart-Shaped Herb? What is that?"
"It gives whoever takes it heightened abilities." Shuri replied, speaking for the first time since they'd learnt of Okoye's decision to stay in the main city.
"It's what made T'Challa so strong." Nakia added.
Everett nodded thoughtfully, when they were brought to a stop as the Queen called, "Nakia."
They all turned to see the Queen had stopped slightly behind them. Everett and Talia waited as Nakia moved back to her Queen quickly. Shuri stood aside while the Queen took Nakia's hand as she said in hushed tones, "I don't like this. The herb belongs to us. We may be creating a bigger monster with M'Baku."
Nakia glanced up along the path they were on and into the distance where they could just make out the outlines of a gorilla around a cave opening in the mountain side. The entrance to M'Baku's land. A region of the kingdom known for their savagery and refusal to pledge to T'Challa's Golden Tribe.
Nakia couldn't disagree with the Queen's worries but she was surprised when the Queen continued urgently, "Nakia, you should take it yourself."
Nakia stared at her Queen incredulously.
"I am a spy with no army. I wouldn't stand a chance." She protested, her tone stern and unyielding.
The Queen's last hope seemed to be dashed with those two sentences. But she remained regal as she was trained to be since birth, even as she dipped her head in defeated agreement.
"We'll go."
Nakia nodded and started to move back toward Everett and Talia, when Talia suddenly stiffened. Her entire posture straightened and she whirled around, eyes flashing slightly in the sunlight while her nose twitched. Everett knew that reaction like the back of his hand. He glanced around quickly, eyes searching for the danger Talia had sensed.
"What is it?" Shuri started, staring at Talia.
"Sh!" Talia hissed, raising her hand as her nose twitched again almost like a dog's before she jerked back in a protective movement in front of Everett.
He stiffened as Talia whispered under her breath, "There are too many."
As though summoned by her warning, dark-skinned figures appeared from all around them, encircling their little group while grunting in a sound not unlike those a gorilla would make.
"Oh, shit." Everett muttered as he realized Talia was right. They were surrounded as more and more armed men appeared. And they were in no position to try and fight their way out of this; especially not when they had nowhere to go.
"Look down. Stay calm." Nakia instructed as the Queen pulled her daughter behind her.
"Shuri. Look down." The Queen whispered firmly, forcing her daughter's gaze down in a sign of submission.
Talia stood beside the Queen with her feet planted in front of Everett, shielding him in the center of their little circle. She was one of the last to lower her eyes as she glared defiantly around with bright amber-colored eyes, before she finally cast them down as they were completely surrounded.
It was late again by the time they were finally awarded an audience with M'Baku. The great Gorilla sat upon his throne, staring down at them from an elevated position that made him look even larger than he already was. All around him, guards stood dressed in animal skins and furs, and wielding sturdy wooden staffs mounted with sharpened stone.
Talia and Everett remained slightly behind Nakia at her silent gesture, huddled still in their surprisingly warm woven blankets, while Queen /a stepped forward from beside her daughter to address M'Baku.
"My son… was murdered in ritual combat." Ramonda declared, her voice wobbling ever so slightly.
M'Baku, however, remained unmoved as he questioned, "Were the odds fair?"
"Yes, but-" Nakia started but she was cut off by M'Baku's impassive correction.
"So it was less a murder than a defeat."
"Do not rub our noses in it!" Shuri snapped but M'Baku barked at her.
"Silence!"
Shuri went quiet at her mother's warning look while M'Baku continued in their native Xhosa, "I make the pronouncements here, girl."
As a tense silence threatened to fall upon the group, Everett stepped up.
"Look, uh, your Highness, the new king is a US-"
M'Baku whipped his head around at Everett and he suddenly let out a threatening grunt, much like a gorilla.
Everett paused, taken aback by the other man's aggression, before he tried to say again, "The new king-"
M'Baku grunted again, his men picking up the warning as they all threatened Everett into silence. The group glanced around warily and Talia especially tensed while the grunts slowly subsided as Everett closed his mouth.
"You cannot talk! One more word, and I will feed you to my children." M'Baku threatened harshly, his dark eyes drilling into Everett's.
The group shifted uneasily, and M'Baku snorted before he shared with the Wakandans, "I'm kidding, we are vegetarians. But this ignorant colonizer doesn't need to know that, does he?"
At the man's words, Talia's eyes flashed with anger. And for the first time since T'Challa's death was announced, she stepped forward to snarl, "Insult my father again and I will kill you, you great baboon*."
All jaws, except Everett's, dropped in shock and all eyes turned to the slight woman with undisguised surprise. It was more than the fact that Talia had insulted M'Baku… it was the fact that she had spoken in perfect Xhosa with barely any discernible accent. For a long moment there was silence and then finally M'Baku spoke again.
"You speak Xhosa?"
"I do. You're not the only ones who can talk behind others' backs, you know." Talia snapped.
"How are you able to speak Xhosa?" M'Baku asked sharply, eyeing her with a new wariness as though wondering if she were a spy.
Talia scoffed but answered readily enough. "I grew up in South Africa."
There was another silence and glances were exchanged. It was almost too impossible to believe - this young woman from one of the few countries in the world that spoke Xhosa? And yet, it had to be so. Shuri and her mother, and several of M'Baku's men looked at each other. Nakia meanwhile looked toward Everett, but it was more to gauge whether he shared his adoptive daughter's understanding of a language they had been so sure their guests didn't know. Based on his somewhat baffled expression, he didn't. But based on the smug pride radiating off of him, he had been very aware of his daughter's ability.
Talia meanwhile wasn't done.
"You assume my father is racist and yet none of you ever thought for one second that either of us might be able to speak your tongue." She said accusingly for Everett to understand before she switched to Xhosa to hammer in her last point. "I may not have been born in South Africa, but for ten years from when I was just older than a babe until I was more than a grown child, I lived as a South African. I could have grown up forever a South African; but you have not even once considered the possibility I too could be African."
She switched back to English, just to prove her point.
"There are plenty of people out there who would call Africa their home but who have different skin to you. But you see only someone different, someone to call inferior and someone you would cast out; even though you would embrace someone who shared your skin colour even if they had spent all their lives, had gone generations, on a different continent."
M'Baku stared at her silently as Talia finished in a warning tone, "The world has changed from your ancestors' time. Home is more than one place for a great many people and identity is more than just where your father's father was from. And if you still want to argue, then let us recall that all life apparently started in Africa to begin with. So if you really want to make that argument, we are all brothers and sisters in a way. Wouldn't you say, Great Gorilla M'Baku?"
For a long moment, M'Baku simply looked back at Talia. They all knew she was right. But now it was a question of whether the Wakandan lord would be so greatly offended by her truth that he threw them out. Or whether he would recognise what T'Challa had in her and actually hear them out.
"Why are you here?" M'Baku asked as he finally turned his gaze back to the Wakandans although he added with a pointed look at Talia, "I doubt it is to lecture me."
Slightly relieved that they weren't about to be thrown out, Nakia stepped forward beside her queen and she opened her hand to reveal a familiar purple flower.
"Great Gorilla M'Baku. This is why we are here. To offer this to you."
M'Baku's face changed as soon as he saw the herb. But none of them could read what he was thinking as Nakia continued passionately, "An outsider sits on our throne. Only you can stop him."
The word 'outsider' seemed to sink heavier than usual. All of them could feel the weight of the meaning underlying Nakia's plea. It was true Erik Stevens was Wakandan through his father and technically in line for the throne through that bloodline. But he was not Wakandan. Like Talia was not Korean by anything other than her heritage and Everett was not British but American, Killmonger was not Wakandan. He had not grown up with the culture, had not felt the pride of their country in his bones. He was an outsider, whether that was right or wrong.
The same understanding swept over the small group, but still they couldn't get a read on M'Baku. His eyes had lifted from the herb to examine each of them in turn, lingering on Nakia and Talia. At last, however, he stood with a strange grimness.
"Come with me."
*A/N I just wanted it to be clear that Talia calls M'Baku a baboon because she knows his tribe is represented by gorillas. The scene is not intended to suggest she is stupid or that she can't differentiate between the two types of apes, only that she wants to insult M'Baku but at the same time her Xhosa is fairly limited as she learnt it as a child.