Her head was pounding as she slowly came around from her deep and dreamless slumber. Despite all of the painkillers she was on and the work Shuri had done with her she still felt the remnants of Tony Stark's metal arm slamming into her jaw.

Leaning over to the cabinet at her bedside she grabbed hold of the mirror sitting on there. Holding it up in front of her she winced as she took in the purpling bruise across her face, lifting her free hand she gently prodded the swelling with the tip of her fingers.

The sound of the door to her hospital room opening up caught her attention and she jumped, scrambling to place the mirror back down to where it had been.

Taking in a deep breath she attempted to tame the knotting hair falling down over her forehead. She was still getting used to the fact that the next King of Wakanda and Steve Rogers were her regular visitors, telling her all about the apartment that was being set up for her and plans about breaking people out of prison.

Relief flooded through her and a smile came to her face when she spotted it was the young princess.

"Hey," she said, managing a pained smile, as Shuri made her way across the room, her eyes scanning over the machines surrounding the bed before she smiled back.

"You're doing better Miss Rhodes," she said as she took the seat beside Harper's bed "How are you feeling?"

"I'd be even better if you'd call me Harper," Harper answered with narrowed eyes "It aches a little but it's much better thank you," she continued, lifting her hand up and gingerly touching the side of her face once more.

"That could be the messing about I did up there as well," Shuri said with a smirk as she wriggled her fingers by Harper's temple "You want to know what I found out?"

"I don't know, do I?" Harper asked, her memories had been coming back in a messy scrapbook of dreams. She felt like she was piecing them together bit by bit every time she woke up from a flash, desperately trying to remember every little detail before they escaped from her grasp once more.

Whatever Shuri had to tell her would either make everything make sense or make it even worse.

"Go on," Harper said, slowly pushing herself up into a more upright position so she could turn and face Shuri properly. To her it was a lose lose situation but at least if Shuri helped make sense of the memories she wouldn't be in the dark.

"The Black Widow released a lot of Shield files and therefore a few Hydra ones as well," Shuri began, patting the folder sitting on her lap "You were recruited young, taken from your foster home by your uncle on your father's side, trained up and given the serum."

Harper nodded, her fingers nervously wringing together in her lap "I remember bits and pieces," she admitted, her eyes darting down to the folder "There's more in there though isn't there."

"A lot of it is redacted," Shuri answered, flicking through the pages, and Harper let out a sigh of relief. She liked both T'Challa and the princess and didn't want to think of them trawling through all of the information on her dark past.

"The serum didn't take as well as they'd hoped, not knowing how such a young teenager would take it they only gave you a small dose and you fought it," Shuri said, a slight smile coming to her lips. She glanced up from the sheet she was reading, her smile falling as she shuffled uncomfortably in her chair "They couldn't control you so...they gave you trigger words."

Harper opened her mouth to speak but no words came out, her throat aching and her eyes closing "Of course they did," she said in a whisper, leaning her head back against her pillow and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You fought those too," Shuri said with a hint of amusement in her tone "You have amazing mental strength."

"Thanks I guess," Harper answered, a deep pit in her stomach when she thought back to how Bucky had completely changed after his words were spoken. How he wasn't in control of his actions and had no memory of what he had done when he came back "So what happens now?"

"Oh I'm pretty sure I fixed them," Shuri said with a confident shrug of her shoulders "They weren't as ingrained in you as they are in Sergeant Barnes. Your training was terminated before they could take it any further."

"Did you find out why?"

Shuri smiled apologetically "No, sorry," she said with a shake of her head.

Harper nodded, burying down the hope that her father had somehow stepped in to stop what was happening to her "Don't worry," she said with a forced smile "So, how do you know these words are out of my mind then?"

One of Shuri's eyebrows raised as she flipped the page, the next words she spoke were in Russian "Revoir...Yari...Efficient…"

Panic gripped at Harper as she scrambled over to try and get Shuri to stop, her brows furrowing as the younger girl dodged away from her "Shuri, no."

"Sunrise...Legacy...Ten…"

They were alone in the room, no one else around to help if this didn't go as planned, and Harper felt sick at the thought of her losing her mind. If she switched she could attack, just like Bucky had, and Shuri would have no chance "Shuri, please."

"Elapidae...red...isolated…thirty…"

Harper's eyes were squeezed tightly shut, her hands gripping onto the bed sheet covering her legs, when Shuri stopped. She waited a couple of seconds before she slowly opened her left eye, glancing down to a pleased - and slightly smug - looking Shuri "It worked."

"It worked," she confirmed with a nod and a grin.

"It worked!" Harper repeated in an exclaim, her fingers unfurling from where she had them gripped so her arms could spread in celebration "You are a genius!"

"I know," Shuri said, brushing her shoulder and smirking "Harper, you don't have to worry any more okay?" she continued, getting to her feet and grasping one of Harper's hands.

Tears stung her eyes as she looked up, she hadn't even known there was anything to worry about and yet she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders "Thank you," she whispered, squeezing Shuri's hand back.

She stared blankly at the wall opposite. Her eyes stung with exhaustion and her body ached with the extensive training Erik had insisted she go through, yet when night came she found that no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't sleep.

Though it had only been a handful of days everything around her had changed.

Where she was being kept had received somewhat of an update for a start. The room which once held a large table for royal meetings had been turned into her own personal cell, complete with rock solid mattress and a stronger lock on the door.

Her holsters were, at least, full. The knives and guns she had been provided with didn't quite fit, no one able to find the ones Shuri had custom made for her before she left, but they were still there.

And, if she was really honest with herself, she couldn't stop feeling slightly powerful.

Reaching into the holster resting against her thigh she plucked one of the knives out, resting it in the palm of her hand and staring down at it for a couple of seconds as memories of her training sessions rushed through her mind. The simulation was no longer about fun or getting over what had happened in the past but for rigorous training she didn't get a say in that put her through her paces and let her stretch muscles she hadn't stretched for an awfully long time. Erik had come up with scenarios to push her to the limit, choosing between people to kill to save herself and scenarios which mirrored Hydra missions she had been sent out on.

She couldn't stop the helpless feeling from forcing its way back into her veins as she thought back to the sessions, squashing down any sense of power handling the weapons gave her. Wakanda had become a place even she, a newcomer, didn't recognise and she knew there was nothing she could do about it. She was no longer there as a refugee, thankful for the help they were giving her and Bucky, but as the right hand assassin to the new King.

Despite the fact it came at the same time every single morning the loud knock at the door still made her jump slightly. Pushing up onto her feet she placed the knife back into its holster and stepped across the room.

"I'm ready," she called, linking her hands behind her back and waiting for the lock to click and Okoye to push the door open.

As usual there were no words exchanged between the two of them as Harper joined her out in the corridor, only a knowing glance shared. Though the relationship between the two had improved there was still a tension between them that Harper understood, no matter how helpless she felt with what was going on Okoye had it even worse.

"How are you coping?" Harper asked beneath her breath as they began their usual walk down to join the new king.

Okoye glanced at her out of the corner of her eye "Not the best today," she said, her fingers flexing around the spear she was gripping onto.

They had reached the day Erik had decided to start putting his plan into action, shipping vibranium weapons out to the spies placed across the world...a tough time for any Wakandan unsure about letting the outside world in.

"And have you heard anything?"

There was a stumble in Okoye's usually infallible step before she shook her head "I've heard nothing," she said regretfully and Harper's heart dropped slightly at there being no word of Shuri, Ramonda and Nakia's welfare.

She nodded in reply, squaring her shoulders and raising her chin "We'll have it ready for them, when they can come back," she said defiantly, Okoye glanced at her out of the corner of her eye once more.

She looked as though she was about to disagree, to tell Harper she was dreaming once again, but she decided against it "Yes," she said in a whisper as she thought back to the spare and stolen moments Harper spent in Shuri's lab making sure everything was kept as close to how she left it as possible "Yes, of course."

They made their way, walking shoulder to shoulder, down the corridor and out of the door. A silence rested between them as they approached where Erik and the rest of the Dora Milaje were waiting for them.

"You're late," he said when they reached him. He was dressed casually, grey trousers matched with a long black jacket that lay open to show off his bare chest and the golden panther tooth necklace which lay upon it.

"That's my fault," Harper answered quickly, not chancing a glance across to Okoye. "I wasn't ready."

Erik glanced between the two of them, his eyes narrowed, before he nodded his head "Come on," he said, waving his hand for them to follow as he made his way over to where W'Kabi was waiting.

"Everything is on schedule," W'Kabi said as they approached the Talon Fighters being loaded with vibranium cargo ready to be shipped out.

"Have the spies been alerted?" Erik asked as Harper and Okoye fell back a couple of steps, watching on as the two men checked over the cargo.

"Yes," W'Kabi nodded "Some have been resistant to our new mission, but the War Dogs in London, New York and Hong Kong are standing by."

"We'll strike there first," Erik answered and Harper rolled her eyes behind him, beside her Okoye dug her elbow into her side as he continued "The others will come around, even if we have to send in reinforcements to convince them," he said, turning and arching his eyebrows in Harper's direction, a smirk playing on the corners of his lips.

"It's not worth it," Okoye said beneath her breath, reaching out and grasping Harper's wrist before she could retaliate.

"How do you know?" Harper asked as Erik picked up one of the Kingsguard spears "You don't know what I'm planning," she added, taking note of the amusement spreading across Okoye's face.

"Look at this. A handheld sonic cannon powerful enough to stop a tank, untraceable by metal detectors, and we got thousands of 'em," Erik said, raising the spear to get a better look "The world's gonna find out exactly who we are."

Harper caught Okoye's shoulders slumping as the door to one of the other Talon Fighters was slammed shut and the engine started. All of the Wakandans felt it, the reminder of the last time they were opened up to outsiders only for it to come back and bite them when Klaue started the revolution.

This was not what they wanted and they all felt the same helplessness as they watched the Talon Fighter rise up into the air.

The explosion roared into the air not long after, Harper and Okoye reaching out for one another as the Talon Fighter burst into flames above them "What is going on?" Harper called over the noise, lifting her arms to protect her head as debris fell from the sky.

"I don't know," Okoye answered as they both straightened up, turning around to check on the rest of the Dora before they both caught sight of the look Erik was sending them.

"Fine," Harper said with a sigh as she reached into one of her holsters to pluck out her gun, holding it up to show him she was ready.

Up ahead, several hundred yards in front of them, a figure emerged toward the bottom of the mountain, becoming more and more visible as the smoke cleared.

Harper's eyebrows furrowed as disbelief flooded through her, she didn't dare to hope as she lowered her gun to step forward and get a better look at the man approaching them.

Beside her Okoye gasped slightly "He lives…"

As the figure came closer he retracted his mask, showing his face to everyone watching on.

"N'Jadakalll!" T'Challa called, spreading his arms.

"Wassup?" Erik answered, a nonchalant shrug to his shoulders as his head nodded.

"I never yielded, and as you can see, I am not dead," T'Challa said as he continued to approach.

Harper and Okoye closed up, the rest of the Dora behind them exchanging glances of confusion. If Erik Kilmonger hadn't defeated T'Challa who was king?

"All that challenge shit is over with, I'm the King now," Erik said with a wave of his hand before he turned to the Kingsguard "Get those planes in the air! Carry out the mission!"

With T'Challa distracted, talking into his comms to who Harper could only hope was Shuri, Erik turned "Aren't you going to do anything?" he asked her, gesturing toward T'Challa.

She shrugged her shoulders "That depends," she said, reholstering her gun "I have no loyalty to you now."

"Oh you don't?" he asked, folding his arms over his broad chest as he stepped closer to her. She stood her ground, his chin raising as she dared him to try something. When he opened his mouth again he was speaking Russian "Revoir, yari, efficient, sunrise…" his eyebrows furrowed slightly when he noticed he wasn't getting any kind of reaction but he carried on nevertheless "Legacy, ten, elapidae, red, isolated, thirty…"

A second passed...and then another one before Harper tilted her head to one side "I'm sorry, did you expect something to happen there?" she asked "I'm impressed. You've clearly done your research but research only goes so far."

Erik's jaw tensed as he glared down at her, knowing he didn't have time to focus on her insubordination he turned back to where W'Kabi was watching on "W'Kabi, kill this clown while I deal with the Black Mamba."

"Oh boy, I'd love to see you try," Harper said beneath her breath in amusement as she plucked one of her knives from her holster and twirled it around her fingers.

"W'Kabi," Okoye spoke from beside her, "The challenge is not complete."

There was a moment of stillness as Okoye's warning stare crossed what was to become the battlefield. Harper's fingers gripped onto the knife they were holding as she locked eyes with Erik.

"What shall we do?" a commander of the Border Tribe asked, his eyes flickering between W'Kabi and Okoye. There was a nervous look on his and his soldier's faces as their gazes crossed over to where T'Challa was approaching.

W'Kabi turned away from Okoye, raising his hand in the air "Border Tribe!" he exclaimed "Phambili!" he continued as he pulled out his sword, triggering the sonic field around it and pointing it toward T'Challa. Around him the Border Tribe lined up in battle formation so they could charge toward their previous king.

"You!" Okoye called, the stare turning toward Erik "Your heart is so full of hatred you are not fit to be a king," she said, slamming her spear into the ground. As she did the rest of the Dora Milaje fell into line around her.

The cocky expression on Erik's face fell slightly, a determined one replacing it as he pulled out his blades and activated the suit from his panther suit necklace. Behind him, as he prepared to fight, more of the Talon Fighters raised into the air.

"Ayo," Okoye said, turning to one of the Dora standing beside her "The King," she continued, nodding toward T'Challa and sending part of the Dora off to fight on his side.

As one of the Dora jumped toward Erik Harper took a step backwards, her gaze darted around as former allies began to fight. Her eye caught Okoye's as she raised her spear, the General nodding her head toward her.

"Go."

So Harper did, dodging passed members of the Border Tribe fighting on the side of the wrong king, she ran back toward the palace. Her heart beat loudly in her chest as she pushed her way passed person after person.

Overhead a Dragon Flyer began shooting sonic blasts down toward T'Challa, rocking the earth he was trying to run across and creating large holes in the dirt. Harper felt torn, knowing he probably needed help back there, but she kept going.

Her hands pushed and punched at the second wave of Border Tribesmen heading her way, she flicked the knife she was holding over in her fingers as she defended herself against their shields and spears. She ducked and dived, her breaths coming out in a panicked manner as she tried to force herself to focus, to think of what was happening as a part of Shuri's simulator instead of real life.

"W'Kabi, stop this!" she heard T'Challa exclaim "Stop this now!"

Harper, a little bruised and battered, reached the doors to the palace just in time to hear the echo of W'Kabi's horn and to catch sight of a duo of armoured rhinos making their way into the fight.

But she couldn't turn around and help, as much as she wanted to and as much as she thought she was needed.

She had to find Shuri.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed :)

Reaching the end of this mini fic, with only 3 more chapters to go!

If you wanna see more Harper and Bucky you can follow my tumblr - sgtbuckyybarnes