"He...lost?" Ross repeated with a frown of confusion "But what does that mean? Harper…? What does it mean?"
He was calling after her as she left the room, her chest feeling tight with panic. She needed to find Shuri, to make sure she was okay and that she was safe, to get confirmation about what she feared…
T'Challa couldn't be dead.
A gasp passed her lips as she turned the corner, bumping straight into another person "I'm sorry, do you-" she paused as she glanced up to see Erik Killmonger staring down at her.
Everything she had been thinking about was wiped from her mind as he smirked, his head tilting to one side as she took a step back and his eyes flickered over her.
"Well. What do we have here?"
The words stuck in her throat as her mouth opened to answer him. Her stomach plummeted and, at her sides, she curled her shaking fingers up into fists to hide them. It felt as though that moment was it, the end of the line, T'Challa had accepted both her and Bucky into Wakanda's protection but Erik was a new king. One without loyalties.
"I'm afraid I only know you through reputation," he said, his smirk turning into a smile "But what a reputation it is. So many kills for someone so young."
Her heart sank slightly but she pushed herself into standing straighter, squaring her shoulders. She wanted to tell him that that wasn't her, she didn't do that anymore...she was just there as a guest of the royal family.
But she also knew that wouldn't help her. He wanted Leonie Revoir, The Black Mamba, not Harper Rhodes, a broken foster kid who spent her evenings talking to a frozen guy through a door.
Despite everything in her telling her not to, she found herself extending her hand to him "Leonie Revoir," she introduced herself, the name feeling alien on her tongue. If she could get on his good side she could find out more about what had gone on with T'Challa, she could find Shuri and make sure she was okay, she could make sure Bucky was safe where he was being kept…
"The Hydra Black Mamba," Erik answered with a chuckle, grasping her hand in his for a couple of seconds, "You were a legend."
"Were?" she replied, taking her hand back and turning her nose up. In her chest her heart skipped a couple of anxious beats "Huh."
To her surprise he looked apologetic for the beat of silence that passed between the two of them before he spoke again "Seems like I've won the lottery, crowned king of Wakanda and one of the best assassins at my disposal," he said "Come with me. I have another ceremony to get through."
She closed her eyes as he continued passed her. He had beaten T'Challa, he'd just confirmed it for her, and she was pretty sure she knew exactly what that meant.
"Now," he barked over his shoulder and she pushed herself to move.
Glancing behind her, to where she had been headed to try and find Shuri, she turned to follow him toward the Hall of Kings.
She hadn't attended this part of T'Challa's ceremony so, as she stood to the side and watched one of the shamans greet Erik, she wasn't sure what to expect.
As she watched on, slightly confused, the shamans began to bury Erik in a dirt plot. Shuffling on her feet to get comfortable she linked her hands in front of her, irritation spiked at her pulse as her fingertips touched the kimoyo beads sitting around her wrist.
If she'd used them to get in touch with Shuri instead of rushing off without thinking she would probably be with her instead of somehow becoming the right hand assassin to the new king.
With Erik distracted and the shamans working she slid the bracelet over her hand and tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. She didn't want to risk him finding it and confiscating it. The one thing she had to hold onto was that Shuri and Ramonda were with Okoye and Nakia, if Erik got hold of her kimoyo beads he could track them down and make sure there was no one out there working to get him off the throne.
That was what Harper was hoping they were doing anyway.
"Breathe, my King. Breathe!"
Harper glanced up in time to see Erik was on his feet, gasping for breath and glancing around the hall "The Heart Shaped Herb did that?" he asked, his chest still heaving as he gestured to the purple plants around him "This is all of it?"
"Yes," the shaman who had buried him answered "So when it comes time for another King, we will be ready."
"Another king…" Erik began, turning to exchange a glance with Harper as he shrugged his shoulders in disbelief "Yeah, go ahead and burn all that."
No one moved. Harper bit down on the inside of her cheek to stop her eyebrows from pressing into a frown at his words.
"My King," the shaman began, "We cannot do that, it is our tradition…"
Before he could finish his sentence Erik had reached out and grasped him by the throat. Automatically Harper burst into action, pushing away from the wall she was leaning against and coming to a stop when Erik held up his free hand.
"When I tell you to do something, I mean that shit," he said, sending her a warning glance as well "Burn it all."
Over his shoulder Harper spotted movement, Nakia had appeared from the catacombs. Bent down she seemed to be digging up one of the heart shaped herbs as the shamans moved into action around her.
"I didn't realise that was how you were going to run the place," Harper said, a little louder than she usually would, grabbing hold of Erik's attention before he could turn and see Nakia "You're burning the heart shaped herb?"
He let out a laugh, turning to face her just as Nakia straightened up and sent Harper a nod before she disappeared "They won't need a new King," he said with a scoff "They have me and I have you. There ain't going to be no one coming to challenge this crown," he continued, a smile coming to his face as he turned to face the burning herb garden.
She took in a breath as she fell into step beside him. Her stomach squirmed uncomfortably at his words but she made sure to keep her face neutral, the heat from the flames warming her skin.
"Come," he ordered after a few moments, turning to leave the hall and gesturing for her to follow him "You can show me what the princess was working on in her lab."
Harper's eyebrows furrowed as she followed close behind him "I can't show you that."
His expression was angry as he spun around to face her, stopping her in her tracks "You no longer work for T'Challa, he is no longer king," he snapped his reminder "You work for me now and when I tell you to show me something you show me."
Her own irritation washed over her in a wave as she glared up to her, all pretense of being The Black Mamba once again pushed to the back of her mind as she opened her mouth to speak "You have the wrong idea about me, King," she spat "Whatever you think I am doing here you're wrong. I'm no longer an assassin, I no longer follow orders...especially from you. I don't do that anymore."
She had stepped up closer to him so they were standing toe to toe. Her fingers had curled back into the tight fists once more as she glared up to him, her chest heaving with angered breaths.
Infuriatingly a smile of amusement spread across Erik's face as he looked down at her "You think I don't know about your little quest to put your past behind you?" he asked, arching an eyebrow "You think I don't look into potential threats before I throw myself into something, Harper Rhodes?"
She kept her stance as he loomed over her, ignoring the squirming in her stomach and the terrified bile rising up in her throat "I-"
He arched a brow as he leaned closer to her, his fingers reached for the chain around her neck and pulled Bucky's dog tags from beneath her shirt "I have no reason to not extradite you and your little boyfriend back to the US for them to do with you whatever they please," he continued, cutting through her sentence before she could even really start it. His fingers began twisting the chain tighter and tighter "But I do have reason to keep you here. I could use your help, your skills, so what do you say? You wanna leave or you wanna stay?"
She stared up to him for a moment, his gaze pointed with no sign of backing down "Fine," she answered, trying to keep her composure as he let her go and she stumbled back a step "I'll stay and help."
The smile, the one full of charm, was back on his lips as he took a step back and spread his arms wide "See? Was that so hard?" he asked with an arch to his eyebrows "Now this lab," he began, clapping his hands together "You say you're not here to help T'Challa but I've heard there's a suit and a training center ready and waiting for you to use whenever you need them."
Her jaw tensed but she nodded, he'd got the totally wrong idea about the training center she had asked Shuri to put together to relieve her boredom and the suit Shuri had insisted on putting together to practise using different types of materials.
But after his threats she wasn't about to disagree with him.
He straightened up with a nod of his own, his smirk knowing despite the information in his mind being totally wrong "What are you waiting for?" he asked, nodding down the corridor in the direction of Shuri's lab "Lead the way."
"Thank god you're here," she said breathlessly, a smile coming to her face as she spotted him waiting for her.
He looked concerned as she made her way down and she didn't blame him. Not only did her marked throat ache from how tightly Erik had twisted her chain but there was a limp to her gait, her joints feeling heavy with how long he had kept her training to show him her skills.
But she found herself frowning as all Bucky did was stare at her silently.
And not only that. It seemed with every step she took closer to him he was getting further and further away.
"He wants me to be his right hand assassin," she said with a shake of her head, repeating the phrase Erik had said over and over again, attempting to get his proper attention "And I don't think I can, I don't think I can go back to doing that kind of thing," she said, her chest feeling tighter and tighter with the panic of the situation.
"Bucky please, please come back and help me…"
The words from her dream echoed in her mind as she woke slowly, her back aching from the uncomfortable floor beneath her. It took a few moments for her to realise where she was and what had happened the previous day.
She had taken Erik to the lab, every cell in her body screaming about how wrong it was to see him standing in there looking as though he owned the place. She showed him the training room and the simulation and, for the first time, set eyes on the suit Shuri had been putting together for her as she opened up one of the cupboards built into the wall.
He had taken a shine to the golden Black Panther necklace T'Challa had written off, plucking it from the mannequin it was sitting on and placing it around his own neck. He'd stood taller as it lay on his chest, his neck stretching from one side to the other as he got used to the weight of it.
"Okay," he'd said, after she'd shown him how the simulation worked, he had put her through her paces and he'd figured out how to activate the suit he had chosen "You're off the clock."
Relief had flooded through her, she couldn't wait to head back to her place. She needed to get to her laptop, after he'd confiscated her phone, to try and get in touch with Steve, Natasha or Sam. "Okay," she'd answered with a nod of her head, trying to stop the smile from coming to her lips as hope reignited in her heart.
"Okoye," she'd frowned as he called the general over "Take The Black Mamba to her place of residence."
"My place- I know where I live my King," Harper said with a frown, stepping away as an unimpressed looking Okoye reached her side. "I'm pretty sure I can find my own way to my apartment."
But Erik had turned on that irritable smirk once more and told her she wouldn't be going too far out of his sight.
Which was why she was waking up on the floor of one of the meeting rooms, huddled beneath a blanket too small for even her and staring across to her suit as it lay over one of the chairs in front of her.
Pushing herself up into a sitting position she pulled her knees up to her chest, leaning her arms on her thighs and pressing her face into her palms.
Whispering to her beneath her breath she'd tried to convince Okoye to look the other way and to let her go, let up with the grip around her arm so she could run for help…
But, of course, The General of the Dora wasn't having any of it. Her loyalty, as much as she wanted to go against it, was toward the crown and whoever was running the country beneath it.
She'd guided Harper into the allocated office room with a hint of an apologetic expression on her face, pausing for a second before she closed the door and locked it. Leaving her to make herself as comfortable as possible with what little resources she had been left with.
Including only having her jacket to fold up and place beneath her head.
A knock at the door caught her attention and she got to her feet, making her way over to it tentatively. She slid her feet into her boots as the knocking came again, her brow furrowing as she stepped closer "Hello?"
"Step back from the door," Okoye's voice replied and Harper felt relief flood through her.
"Okay," she called back, raising her hands innocently as the door slowly opened and the general stepped inside.
"I'm here to take you to the bathroom," she said, not even hiding her disgust at having to play babysitter "Then you are to change into your suit and accompany myself and the King to the tribal council room."
"Okay," Harper repeated, her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she followed Okoye out of the room. She wanted to run but knew it would be pointless, not only was she herself unarmed but she knew she was no match for Okoye.
So she followed her obediently, not asking any questions and not causing any trouble. She used the bathroom quickly and showered swiftly, tugging her wet hair up into a high bun before joining Okoye back out in the corridor.
Neither of them wanted this to be happening so there was no point in making it more uncomfortable than it already was.
Okoye let out a sigh as they reached the door leading into Harper's cell "Knock when you are ready to come back out," she said as she opened the door for her, stepping to one side so Harper could cross the threshold before closing the door and locking it behind her.
She crossed the room slowly, reaching out and plucking the suit from where it was draped over the back of one of the chairs.
It felt light in her hands and was a black so dark she felt like she was staring into space. A smile came to her face as she traced her fingers along the purple lining down the front of the suit, remembering the conversation she'd had with Shuri late one night when they were watching movies and discussing their favourite things in the world.
"Definitely purple. Ever since I was little one of the main things I remember is that my favourite colour was purple...I even dyed my hair once! Purple ends because I wasn't brave enough to go the whole head."
She missed her. It had only been a day yet she missed being woken early by a text pinging through to her phone, reminding her to stop and get her a croissant on her way in. She hadn't even known Shuri that long but she still couldn't imagine never seeing her again.
As predicted the suit fit like a glove, not too tight but not too loose, moving with her body as though it were a second skin. She smiled to herself as she flexed her joints in it, stretching her neck from side to side and reaching her hands out in front of her. She ran her fingers along the chain around her neck, the indent of it still in her skin beneath, before she tucked Bucky's dog tags away from sight.
She frowned as she noticed the slightly weighty gauntlets on the ends of her sleeves, lifting them to inspect them closer; she wished she'd had time to try it on while Shuri was still there to explain all of the aspects to her.
"Are you changing your clothes or have you fallen back asleep in there?!"
Harper smiled slightly at Okoye's shout as she tugged her usual boots back onto her feet "I'm coming," she called back, her frown becoming deeper as her fingers ran over the empty holsters at her hip and thigh "You know this is lacking a few things right?" she asked once Okoye had opened the door and she'd stepped out into the corridor to join her. She knew Shuri had developed both knives and guns which fit the holsters perfectly because she'd seen them...she hadn't been able to touch them but she'd seen them.
Okoye's eyebrow arched "The King does not want you armed as yet," she said, nodding her head for Harper to follow her.
"You're kidding," Harper answered as she hurried to keep up "You're not kidding," she said, more to herself, when she spotted the unimpressed look on Okoye's face "Huh," she continued, her eyebrows arching and the corners of her lips turning down "Interesting."
"I wouldn't bring it up when you see him," Okoye warned as they came to a stop outside of the council room "He should be here any moment."
Harper nodded, reaching up and miming zipping her mouth shut. She could have sworn a slight smile tugged on Okoye's mouth.
They weren't waiting there for long before Erik approached them, the golden Panther necklace still laying around his neck "Nice suit,' he said, sending a wink toward Harper and ignoring the glare she sent right back "Now everyone's in here, waiting to hear me speak, so try not to embarrass me alright?" he continued, reaching out and pinching Harper's cheekbone, letting out a chuckle as she shied away from him "Come on."
Both she and Okoye fell into step at his sides, sharing glances behind his back as he opened up the door and led the way into the full council room.
They followed him toward the throne at the opposite end of the room, the elders, the border tribe military leaders, the kingsguard and the rest of the dora all watching as they did.
"You know, where I'm from, when black folks started revolutions, they never had the firepower or resources to fight their oppressors," Erik spoke as he walked, looking each and every person in the eye as he passed by them "Where was Wakanda? Hmm? Yeah, all that ends today. We got spies embedded in every nation on Earth. Already in place."
Harper bit down on the inside of her cheek as she stopped when he did. She kept her eyes looking straight on, not able to glance between the elders without seeing Ramonda or Shuri along with them.
"I know how colonizers think. So we're gonna use their own strategy against them," Erik continued "We're gonna send vibranium weapons out to our War Dogs. They'll arm oppressed people all over the world, so they can finally rise up and kill those in power, and their children and anyone else who takes their side. It's time they know the truth about us. We're warriors. The world's gonna start over and this time we're on top."
As he sat both Harper and Okoye moved to stand on either side of the throne, Harper on the left and Okoye the right.
Erik settled back in his chair "The sun will never set on the Wakandan Empire."
Out of the corner of her eye Harper could see Okoye was becoming uncomfortable. Her grip on her spear was so tight it caused the long pointed stick to wobble slightly, her jaw was tense and her eyebrows more furrowed than Harper had ever seen them.
Despite her warning Harper not to say anything Okoye opened her mouth "Wakanda has survived for so long by fighting when only absolutely necessary."
"Wakanda has survived in the past this way, yes," W'Kabi spoke up from Harper's side of the room, continuing with a defiant expression on his face "But the world is changing, General, Elders, it is getting smaller. The outside world is catching up and soon it will be the conquerors or the conquered. I'd rather be the former."
She was biting down on the inside of her bottom lip again as the anxiety of the situation caused her chest to ache. She risked a glance across to Okoye, the look on her face showing her W'Kabi had actually said what she'd thought she'd heard.
"You heard your orders," Erik said, getting back up to his feet and gesturing for both Harper and Okoye to follow him "Let's get to it."
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you've had a good holiday period :)
Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I did nanowrimo and that took over my life for the month, then Christmas and it all just ran away from me haha! I hope you enjoyed :)
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