Beyond Wakanda, the skies are vast. W'Kabi should be out here on patrol, instead of hunting with a bunch of black and Jewish men...
On a broad pair of mutant metal-feathered wings, an angel flies. The sun glistens off of them. He keeps his arms spread, as he flies. It's a lovely world down there, in the Abyssinian Highlands...
All across the Ethiopian States, labor unions work hard. Their bosses will be lucky if they don't go on strike one more time.
Atop several grassy humps, gelada baboons graze. There are always lots of them.
Walia ibex wander around, among them. They'll bleat a bugle of alarm, in case there's danger.
As he flies, Warren wears a pair of goggles. Through them, he can see the dome of invisibility that cloaks Wakanda from the world. His goggles send a signal to the Border Tribe, telling them who he is, and why he's there. Once they understand, they weaken the dome's shield just long enough to let Warren fly through.
Warren flies in loops all around the vibranium hovercraft, en route to the queen's palace. Warren doesn't usually come out here...but even so, he just can't get over how technologically advanced this country is...especially in contrast to his father's company, Worthington Industries.
Worthington has traded with the Merchant Tribe a few times... But never enough. The Wakandans STILL aren't used to trading openly with the rest of the world.
For Ms. Munroe, it's been a long day of ruling. So, she retires to her chambers.
The headboard of her bed looks like it's got an elephant tusk speared through the top...from left to right. The tusk is pointed at both ends. There are hides in the bedding; a sable antelope's, a fallen black leopard's, and a Cape buffalo's, at least.
Black. No cream. No sugar. The national rugby union team of New Zealand couldn't do better. (Which is ironic, because the win almost every year at the Rugby Championship...)
The head of a black rhino hangs on the wall, just above her bed. Sometimes, she hangs her bras on its big horn, whenever she has a gigolo over. Frankly, Ms. Munroe would love to replace that rhino's head with the head of Aleksei Sytsevich sometime... Or hell, even Cain Marko, anti-telepath helmet and all...
Alone at last, Ms. Munroe releases her robe. It falls to the floor. Soon, so do most of her clothes...save her revealing sheer lingerie...
She stands tall, closes her eyes, raises her arms, and waves them, causing a storm to blow open the glass doors to her balcony. She keeps standing, with her arms spread, breathes, and takes in more of that storm, as it blows the dry spots between her legs. And there are LOTS of those, that the life of a full-time royal doesn't do much to keep cool...
Ah, this life is SO much more lovable than the X-Mansion... Ms. Munroe could settle here, and stay the fucking queen of Wakanda her whole damn life...
Something's blocking her wind. She opens her eyes. Lighting blots flash across her eyes, as they narrow.
Nearby, a bo staff leans against the wall. She snatches it, whirls, and creeps outside, onto the balcony. Someone's out there. Someone's blocking her wind...
She creeps to the ivory-like railing, and looks around...and down. She can't quite figure out what could be doing that to her wind...
From above, a giant winged man lands in front of her, lands on the rail, and spreads his wings. Ms. Munroe screams, spins, uses the staff for balance, and kicks the intruder in the nuts. He falls off the rail, and keeps falling.
Ms. Munroe doesn't see the error in what she's done until it's too late. That was Warren! Covering her mouth, she runs to the edge of the railing, and looks down and around, for him. He's nowhere to be seen.
"Warren?! Warren, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I thought you were a stalker!"
Behind her, he lands on the balcony. "I am a stalker," he tells her. "Lucky for you, though, your Majesty, I'm not here to hurt you. THAT'S the Brotherhood's job."
In her lingerie, she rushes to him, embraces him, and kisses him. Moments pass, before she senses how awkward he feels.
"Sorry," she runs her hands over her own white hair. "I don't know why I did that."
Warren smiles. "Don't feel bad. You...wanna go somewhere, and talk?"
They both fly up to the main spire on the palace roof. They sit next to one another. She's still in her lingerie. Becoming queen hasn't changed how secure she feels around him.
"I fucked a dark elf," she tells Warren. "I thought he was T'Challa."
He studies her. "A dark elf? You mean like one of Thor's?"
She nods.
"What would a dark elf be doing in Wakanda...besides having the same skin color as the locals?"
She shrugs. "The Brotherhood found him in the Congo. He was killing the jungle with his darkness-control powers. Anyway, I sent him to the dungeons after I fucked him."
"What was it like?" He studies her. "How was it, being with a man who looks like T'Challa?"
She sighs. "It wasn't the same...and the same, at the same time. He reminded me a lot of him. He...could've done less with the pointy ears, and the spontaneous phrases spoken in Shiväisith, but..." She scoffs. "He kept darkening the room with his shadow-control powers. T'Challa never had those, but... I once suggested to him, several times, that he could afford to take a few Darkforce-controlling lessons from Cloak or Black Mamba, or someone of that sort." She looks up at him. "How is Cloak these days, BTW?"
Warren shrugs. "He's spending more and more time with Dagger, as always. At least one couple in the Marvel multiverse still thinks that monogamy is a good thing. Funny thing, too; they're not even old."
"Yeah, well... Their powers are older than the world's oldest living person, I suppose. Didn't the SSR catch Madame Masque playing with Darkforce magic, once?"
He scoffs. "She wasn't called that, at the time. And that's not what SSR called it, either. The Secret Empire caught her with it before SSR did. Back when, they still called themselves the Council of Nine. Speaking of Cloak, one of Roxxon's CEOs was on it, at the time." He laughs. "Peggy Carter had a load of fun with him, shocking his memory into forgetfulness, each time he tried to rape her, as she was trying to break into his office, repeatedly... I'll bet that CEO contracted Alzheimer's two decades earlier than he would've otherwise...if he was even destined to contract Alzheimer's before that."
Ms. Munroe smiles, and shakes her head. "I miss having you around, Warren."
He studies her. "Really? Enough to rejoin the X-Men?"
She scoffs. "Don't be silly. If you could become the king of a country on a whim, would you be that fast to abandon all that...especially if you were going back to something cheaper that you've already had?"
Warren shrugs. "Sometimes the cheap stuff that we've already had is more valuable than the expensive stuff we haven't."
She scoffs. "You're a Worthington. What would you know about that?"
He studies her.
She shakes her head. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
He shrugs. "It's a fair accusation. I can't really say I've been a better example to the X-Men that way over the years... Or hell, even to the Horsemen of Apocalypse..." He slows down, and leans towards her. "We're...not active in anything with that, just so you know..."
She shrugs. "I wouldn't expect you to tell me, if you were."
He sighs. "Look, I'm sorry I left you that one time for Apocalypse, but..."
"Please don't. That was a long time ago. You're still alive. And you have NO idea how lucky you are to be that way...if I daresay so."
He sighs, and looks up at the sky. "I feel like I've lost you again. It doesn't seem to make a difference that it isn't my fault this time."
She studies him. "O...my...fucking...god!" She slaps his arm. "You're trying to win me back!"
He looks back at her. "What?! No! No, why would I do that? You're a fucking queen! I'm just a..."
"A what? A spoiled rich playboy who can buy any girlfriend he wants?"
He sighs. "I've talked to you about that. I don't want..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah; visitation's up. I'm going to bed."
With that, she leaves him. Warren sticks around for a while, brooding in his misfortune. He does still love Storm. But then...who'd blame him?