18. Vengeance

"You didn't have to do this," Shuri told him with tears in her eyes. "You didn't have to take my mother from me. Another way wasn't even an option for you."

His jaw clenched, but he said nothing. No words could soothe that hurt.

She continued, "I don't care if Wakanda has to fall."

She laughed bitterly. They faced each other at a standstill on the beach. Her fists were balled, and she wore the same tracksuit from before.

"It's a shame that Talokan, an underwater civilization untouched by colonization, is beneath the depths of the ocean. They also have vibraninum. Their ruler is Namor as you can see with the pointed ears and winged feet. He may be immortal. Unlike blue-skinned Talokans, he can subsist on land and water. Extremely dangerous. Avoid direct contact. "

He couldn't even will away his own look of surprise before murderous darkness settles over him. Even if it's her, he cannot allow her to live.

She's still laughing, off-kilter a bit unhinged. "The biggest shame is that Griot has been live-streaming this entire exchange for the United Nations and all of international media to see." Shuri spat at his feet. "If you burn the world, I hope you burn first."

His face was the devil himself, but it didn't matter now. Talokan had already been ruined.

19. Reset

When Shuri lost her memory, it was like a reprieve. Things went as they should've been before the fighting.

She called him K'uk'ulkan with no hesitation. Was intrigued by him. Wanted to learn more. Still didn't want to burn the world with him (her convictions didn't change), and he didn't dare ask again.

Shuri kept wondering where her mother was, but Namor kept interrupting every time she tried to get an update from Griot. There was always so much to be distracted by in Talokan.

Not even three nights ago, she placed a shy kiss against his mouth. And he returned it with full fervor. She melted and fit snugly in his arms. This is the first time he felt a real sense of guilt.

The second is when he couldn't thwart Griot anymore. At some point, she found out and stormed into his room in Talokan. She had time and no burning hatred stopping her from wanting to improve and successfully rebuild a non-bulky water suit.

"K'uk'ulkan, they're saying my mother drowned, saving a young girl. I ... I feel like the girl's name was Riri. Where was I when this happened?"

She cried in his arms, and he held her. Rubbed her back while his stomach roiled in disgust at himself. He has never reveled in all he had to do to protect his people, but this, this is truly evil. Shuri is wanting protection from the one who caused her so much demise.

The young woman is still a genius, and each day she remembered more and more in bits and pieces. Sometimes, they'll be talking and she'll stop, knowing and saying, 'you've told me this before.' Then, her beautiful face would scrunch in confusion while she tried to remember the rest. Before he didn't interfere, but now he wanted to stop her at every turn.

Even guilt badly affected centuries-old god, he knew it wasn't right to be engaged and sleeping aside her each night. But this is how things should have been, and he's afraid to go back.

20. Mindwipe (*inspired by poncho_anything's artwork)

Namor lost his memory during his blackout from the pain. Shuri had told him she was going to heal his wings. The itchy stumps had been bothering him, aesthetically and physically.

Intelligent men were never that "smart."

With no consideration (or maybe it was trust on his part) to their past, Namor had allowed her to treat him in Talokan. She explained how painful the process would be (how much she would make it be), and he agreed with no hesitation.

In Talokan, she gave him a simple physical though she was no doctor. Even gave him temporary joy at his wing growing back from the stump. The rest would have to be done in her lab in Wakanda she had insisted. The recovery process would be lengthy, but he had agreed, leaving Namora and Attuma to handle things in his absence.

When her machinery cleanly ripped the other wing from his ankle, he abruptly woke from his medicated sleep. Shuri didn't care. Immediately, she had the remains of his other wing agitated and ripped out again. She had been prepared, her panther suit on underneath her lab coat, for his murderous rage. A second fight. But she saw his face contort in pain, then a blank stare before he knocked out into a heavy sleep.

By the time he woke again, she had removed all his jewels and clipped the tops of his ears. They weren't rounded, but they wouldn't hint at him being anything other than human.

He was more man than god now. As he looked around in confusion, she accessed the trauma had caused the memory loss.

And a sad, sad traitorous part of her liked the false peace. This was the way things should have gone.

Even dressed in a hoodie and gym pants, he was regal and self-assured, yes. But oh, he was so sweet! It was a matter of hours before he was confessing an attraction to her. Wanting to get to know her. Only a few weeks before he was writing love poetry for her in Spanish. She had heard of people speaking different languages after brain damage or a traumatic event, but that just felt wrong.

At first, she shooed away his desire with jokes. "You aren't the type of man to fall in love with your doctor, are you? Because I'm a scientist, Namor." He had only blushed with none of his affection waning.

It was an arduous process to keep Namor hidden away, but Wakanda was huge thankfully. Shuri could suspect his people were concerned after 3 months even if surface time passed differently. If they were chanting or sending sound waves for him, his clipped ears couldn't hear. And Namora and Attuma couldn't react without a king's command. So, within a year, Talokan had no leader.

And Shuri allowed herself to fall in love with him under false pretenses. Only once did she think he had regained memory and was faking. He had lovingly stroked his mother's bracelet on her wrist and pulled her into a shadowy corner, asking to kiss her before the Dora Milaje rounded the corner. How much of that was accurate perception or an educated guess? Shuri didn't know.

It was easy enough hiding Namor in broad daylight. Wakandans weren't privy to his face and without the royal regalia, wings, and pointed ears he looked nothing like himself.

Some things were consistent though once his body had healed. He took a job doing construction and freelance painting. Namor was good at building things (and ruining lives) it seemed. Still, he didn't think anything of his aptitude for water, and Shuri tried to keep him away from large bodies of it as much as she could.

The one time she felt true guilt was after a night of slow dancing with him on the balcony. She couldn't say she was truly surprised as he had made his affections known in mere hours when he first awoke. He produced a rose for her and bent down on one knee. Shuri accepted his proposal with shaky legs.

"Once I've completed some projects, yes, I'll marry you," she answered. He had squeezed her in a crushing hug. His smile was ethereal.

But Shuri was giving him time to wake up from this nightmare? Perfect dream? What he'd think of this false life, she had no idea.

It wasn't right, but this was the version of Namor she could've spent her life with.

Shuri needs more wins, and Namor needs to suffer.

*20. inspired by twitter user's art, at: poncho_anything