Chapter 19: Shockwaves

Shuri worked in her lab without much focus. She was once again in the bird's nest working on the protective shield for talokan. She was also working on some upgrades for her brother's suit. She was going to give it the ability to make it invisible. She had been in bed for two weeks and her husband only visited her once. Not that she blamed him, but her brother discreetly put more Dora around her room and on her balcony. There had been no way her husband could sneak in to see her now. Besides negotiations between their two people had been tense and hadn't gotten anywhere. There was too much debate and too many questions many of them from her people. Wakadians were stubborn.

" princess shuri we are clearing out." One of her crew members said

"Have a great afternoon! See you tomorrow!" shuri shouted from the nest.

As soon as they were gone, her cell phone went off. She didn't see the need for it since no one called her often but put up with it anyway.

"Hello." She greeted

Only very few people had her cellphone number. One of them currently being the loud and boisterous voices on the other end.

" shuuuri!" Riri greeted

Shuri laughed at Riri's excitement.

" hello riri. It has been a while! How are you?"

" Girl, Mr. Stark is driving me nuts. I need a break. And I figure you do to sooo I bought four tickets to Coachella!"

Shuri let out an excited shriek.

"Coachella! Riri you didn't!"

" girl! I did! It's next month can you come?"

" yes! I wouldn't miss it for the world." It was then her beads rang.

Shuri said goodbye to Riri promising to call her later.

"Hello?" she answered.

" Mia amore. Where are you? I have missed you."

It was her husband he sounded frustrated.

" my love, I have missed you so much more. I am in my lab. Are you finished with negotiations?" she asked

"Finished? We haven't even started. To my surprise, it is not your brother who is the most difficult but the council. This is why I rule alone. No elder will tell me how to run my kingdom. I seek their wisdom but my word is law." Her husband then proceeded to rant in his native tongue.

Shuri couldn't help but laugh.

He stopped his rant to listen to her laugh.

"I love it when you laugh. it is beautiful. I could listen to it all day."

"Well, I can make that happen. Can you meet me in my lab? I'll have one of the Dora escort you." she told him.

Once she hung up, she called Nareema. She and Storm had been very good friends when Storm first arrived.

"my princess?" nareema answered.

"nareema. Can you bring Kukulkan to my lab?"

"you want the sea king in your lab? My princess, I don't know if the king or the queen mother would like that."

"Please bring him nareema. He and I have some matters to discuss."

"very well, we will be there in twenty minutes."

As Shuri waited, she laid a hand on her flat stomach. According to the doctor, she was one month pregnant and the effects of it were on full display. Nausea, sore boobs, her emotions on high. And don't get her started on the frequent urination and the heartburn.

She made sure the doctors kept her mouth shut until Shuri was ready to tell her family and the council.

And of course, when she did her test, and calculations griot had to rub it in her face.

That's what I was trying to tell you, princess. The A.I. said. But Shuri shut him up.

Because of her symptoms, Shuri made sure to stay away from too many people. She was quick to stay in the nest and give orders from up there. it worked but it wouldn't work for long.

She still couldn't wrap her mind around it. she was pregnant and the king of an underwater city was the father. he was also her husband.

Shuri groaned. She had broken every tradition and law in Wakanda. But if her husband simply began the courting ritual, maybe they could have a Wakandian wedding before she started showing. But that might now happen the way she wanted to. If they could barely get through treaty negotiations, how in the world could they get through courting, engagement, and wedding customs?

But then again if she appealed to her brother and practiced the ancient custom of presenting her beloved to her king, maybe the reaction wouldn't be as harsh.

All her husband had to do was show up at the citadel doors with a giant dowry and she could handle the rest.

Princess, the king of Talakon, and nareema are approaching. Her lab doors slid open to reveal her husband and nareema.

"Hello, Kukulkan. Please join me up here. Nareema, thank you but I need to talk to the king in private." Shuri directed.

"I will be in the hallway princess. General Okoye's orders."

Shuri sighed.

As soon as nareema was gone, Shuri crashed herself into her husband's arms as he approached her.

"my husband.." she greeted.

"My wife…" he greeted as he lifted her chin to press his lips to hers.

Shuri was grateful the nest was in a blind spot, so no cameras could see them. A fire shot up her legs and into her stomach.

She kissed her husband back passionately.

" Ch'ah… please…" she groaned

"Oh, mia amore. You never have to ask. I am willing to give…" He groaned against her.

Why did the prospect of making love to her husband in her lab with the high probability of getting caught turn her on so much?

When her back touched the floor of the nest, Shuri could only think of one thing.

Isn't this how I got pregnant in the first place?

….

A blush crept on Shuri's face as she showed ch'ah around her lab. He seemed to be impressed by the many things she showed him.

By now she was bouncing on her toes in excitement as she showed him the shield that would protect Talokan.

"my beauty, it is amazing. And you are sure that this will shield us from detection?" he questioned.

"The probability is 100%. you will learn not to doubt my brilliance, ch'ah." She joked as she gently elbowed him.

"brilliance you say? I do not know about that…" he joked back.

Shuri was going to pinch him before Griot interrupted her.

"Princess Shuri, I have the results of the vibranium detector."

"show them to me" she demanded.

"The vibranium detector was created by a riri willimas and mark strong."

Shuri felt as if the air had been knocked out of her lungs. She put a hand out on her desk to steady herself.

"They will be killed." Her husband ordered as he put a hand on her back.

"no!" shuri cried.

Princess the king is coming.

Immediately her brother entered the lab.

"shuri! I need my suit! I have a mission in," her brother stopped when he noticed ch'ah standing next to her.

" what is going on?" he questioned.

Her husband stood with his hand behind his back.

"the princess figured out who created the detector. This young woman and young man created it." he gestured to the screen of Riri and Mark.

T'challa looked at the screen and cursed.

"that girl is Tony Stark's apprentice and Shuri's long-time friend. The boy, however, attacked her in the club a month ago! I knew he was no good."

Ch'ah turned to Shuri, his pupil's slits and glowing turquoise.

"This is the fool who laid his hands on you! The one who marred your skin with his fingertips!"

Shuri gasped as the moisture in the air began to float. She however couldn't focus on that, she needed to calm both men down.

"yes, he is. And he was arrested."

"the file says, he was released a few weeks later!" t'challa suddenly roared.

"do you see why we cannot trust the surface world?" Ch'ah argued. " these people will die!"

" Kukulkan, please. Can we investigate this first? I don't know about Mark, but im sure Riri has an explanation! Brother! Please hear me out!" she argued.

Her brother looked at Shuri with anger in his eyes and then looked at Kukulkan.

"I do not agree about killing these people. However, it seems you and I stand a common ground when it comes to protecting our people. I have a mission in Ghana. Would you care to accompany me? and then you and I can investigate Riri and Mark together? We can bring them to Wakanda for interrogation."

Kukulkan never broke eye contact with her brother as he spoke.

"I will not change my mind about killing them but we will try it your way first. If they give me any motivation of deceit. I will kill them without remorse."

"let us hope it does not come to that. Shuri, my suit. You can assist us from the lab."

Shuri had never felt so helpless.