Disclaimer - I don't, and have never claimed to, own Marvel or its Intellectual Property. This is all just so that I can take my maladaptive daydreaming and turn it into something so that it does not ruin the rest of my day.
DoorMan #32
Royal Laboratory, Wakanda [January 20, 2008]
–T'Challa Udaku–
This was bad. Very, Very bad. Shuri has had some pretty intense sights with Baba over the years, related to Scientific practice, funding, applications of technology for worldwide application, and more, yet, this was the first time he had seen Baba this disturbed by the whole thing.
It had been over four hours since Shuri locked herself in her personal lab, the one place where no one except her had the authority to go. Not even the King's access codes could open the damned door, and with the way Shuri built the whole lab, it was basically impossible to force their way in without destroying what was inside as well.
So, they were all stuck out here, in front of a closed door, unable to know what was happening inside. The Dora Milaje tried everything and the rest of the Royal Labs members tried to come up with something to get past the encryption keeping the place locked down but they had known from the start that it was a fool's endeavour.
Shuri, his little sister, was always the smartest person in the room, capable of dismantling anything and everything with her eyes and creating new inventions seemingly on a daily basis. There was no way anyone else could crack her code and it was as they feared.
Without using a particle cannon, something that had the potential to punch through Vibranium, they had no other way of getting inside the laboratory. According to SHuri's own words, the lab was self sufficient with enough food, water, and energy inside it for an entire team to live out there for weeks.
He confirmed the data and it was only Shuri inside.
"Baba, what exactly happened?" He asked his father for the nth time, still curious as to what could have happened to set Shuri off like this. His eyes narrowed as both his mother and his father did not meet his eyes as Baba replied with the same answer as before, "I cannot tell you that, T'Challa. Maybe once you are King."
That made no sense unless it was something classified but if it was so classified, then how come SHuri knew about it and he didn't?
Knowing that it was futile asking his father, he turned around and began speaking, once more, into the intercom system, hoping that his sister was still listening. It was horrible, not being able to help his sister.
What use was having all this power, the power of the Black Panther coursing through his veins if he couldn't even help his sister when it mattered–
He stiffened and lept back as he heard something. The door's locking mechanisms clicked for a second before the doors began to recede into the ground. The giant bomb door was a two piece door, one part went up into the ceiling and one part into the ground.
"Stop! Don't go any further!" He snapped at the Dora Milaje advancing steadily as he was still hearing a buzzing noise. He was proven correct a moment later as a blue grid of crisscrossing energy became visible before it too dissipated a moment later. Then, they saw yet another blast door and another energy grid collapsing before the final wooden doors were visible.
The same ones that he thought were the main entrance to the lab. How in Bast's name did Shuri build so many security measures without anyone even realising it was a question that was going to haunt the Palace security team for years to come.
Leaping over the space where the previous security measures were, he landed silently near the doors and without wasting any time, pushed them open. There was no telling what might have happened to Shuri. He had to be there–
He stiffened as soon as the doors opened completely, revealing the scene of the Lab to him. Involuntarily, he lept right back, landing right next to Baba who sported a look of complete incredulity on his face.
He was pretty sure he had the same face right now.
There, standing in front of a broken glass tube, was Shuri, in a hospital gown, and yet, it felt like she was the strongest warrior he had ever faced.
He, the Black Panther, was feeling afraid of the person who was in front of him. More importantly, his body was somehow registering his own sister as a threat to his life.
How could that be?
"H-How? What? What did you do?" Baba whispered from the side as he watched, for the first time in his life, his father looking completely resigned to something. Shuri watched all of this with a stone cold look on her face.
He helped steady Baba as they both came to terms with what Shuri had done and what she had become. She had received Bast's blessings and approval and had officially become a Black Panther.
Shuri was a Black Panther.
The thoughts registered in his mind and yet, they seemed incredibly difficult to believe.
Not just a Black Panther, Shuri had done something, bypassing the traditional way altogether, and become much stronger than him. There was no way she was a normal Black Panther now.
Credit to the Dora Milaje, all of them took a step forward, without pointing their weapons at a member of the Royal Family because that was treason, in response to Shuri gliding across the distance between them simply with a single tap of her leg.
He tensed in response, unsure of what was happening but Baba seemed to go slack in his grip, resigned to everything.
Somehow, he found his voice in between the madness, "Shuri? What have you done?"
Shuri looked at him and he exhaled in relief, the tension bleeding from his body as she subjected him to the same look she always did, one of pure disdain and contempt.
Without saying a word, she looked at her Baba and said, "Using my Authority as the premier Guardian of Wakanda, with Bast's blessing, I hereby declare the end of Project Greater Good. If you all wish to go against Bast's will, please feel free to challenge me."
That was…impossible because Bast's word was absolute in Wakanda. If she wished for people to start killing themselves, the people might just do that.
Shuri sneered, "How you had the audacity to call the Project that will always remain a question for me. Now, please leave, I have some tests to run."
Saying her piece, with the same languid movement, she tapped her foot on the ground and landed dozens of feet away, in the same spot he had seen her for the first time. He could do nothing but watch, in shock and awe, as the doors closed on their faces.
As soon as that happened, Baba collapsed, and they all had to rush him to the doctor.
What was Project Greater Good? And why did Baba react so adversely to Shuri becoming a Black Panther? Wasn't it for the better of the Kingdom if Bast deemed her worthy?
Later on, he would find out that having two Black Panthers exist at the same time was an omen, passed down from Shaman to Shaman who were responsible for protecting the Heart Shaped Herb, depicting a scene of Wakanda being split into half, its legacy exposed to the world, as the end of the existence of the country began with the introduction of a Second Black Panther.
____xx____
Meanwhile, back on Mars, in the Red Hearth
–Colin Baxter–
Unaware of what kind of political as well as divine turmoil was happening in Wakanda over the fact that he was going to be targeted by the War Dogs soon, Colin was in the elevator, with a hot bowl of soup made up of ingredients sourced directly from Ta-Lo, as sort of a welcome gift for Dr.Banner.
He was going to show Dr.Banner his real face, his original identity because the man was an incredible ally to have, and a show of trust like this should go a long way in securing the support of someone who was basically the one person not tied down to a country or an organisation who could match the likes of Tony in terms of intellect and Thor in terms of power.
The elevator dinged open and he entered the kitchen, smiling at the now standing form of Dr.Banner who gawked at his open face. He expected the man to say something, anything other than, "Holy Shit! You're just a kid!"
He slumped. Okay, that was fair. He was, "just a kid" in the Doctor's eyes but that was only because the man was so much older than him.
"Hey! I am 18 now. Plus, according to some ancient cultures, if you had the ability and mentally to be able to kill a man with your bare hands, you were considered an adult in the eyes of society. Soup?" He offered the bowl of piping hot soup to the man, who took it robotically and sat down on the dining room table.
"So, how are you liking the Red Hearth so far?" He sat down opposite the man and casually asked the man.
"Eat it while it's still hot. It's awesome, trust me," He gestured at the bowl of soup, while he mentally called on Jin'Ya. Since he was here, might as well introduce the Doctor to the Guardian of the Red Hearth.
Better to avoid complications later on. If he remembered correctly, each and every outer wall, the actual shell of the Red hearth was fortified to such a degree that the Hulk would need multiple full power hits to break out of them but even then, both he and Jin'Ya agreed that in case of a disaster like that, the best bet was to open the hole in the roof and throw the Hulk out of it.
Once the Hulk passed out, they could bring him back in. It will be painful and uncomfortable but that was their best bet to control the Hulk without damaging anything in return.
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