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Chapter 28
Technomancer in MCU
Council Meeting Room, Wakanda
–T’Chaka–
The elders had been waiting for me to explain this whole situation for a while now.
I could see it on their faces as I walked to my throne.
In a way, I could understand their anxiety.
If I didn’t know all I did, I would be running around in anxiety as well.
Now, knowing what I know, I just stew quietly in resignation.
Just as I was seated, the questions came pouring in from all of the elders.
“What happened in the meeting with Ed?”
“Why did he bring a fleet with him and why weren’t we allowed to respond in kind?” The Border tribe leader asked.
“Why did he leave?”
“Who is the one who came with the outsider and is still here?”
“Why did you take him to the sacred vault and even the mines?” asked the mining tribe leader.
“We have reports of the J'Abari tribe’s movements, probably due to the outsider's massive presence in our city. What are we to do about that?”
Sighing, I pinched my forehead as I thought of the best way to answer their questions, clear this meeting and go home to my wife.
Today has been a very stressful day.
“Enough! I will answer each of your questions briefly. We will hold a much more comprehensive debriefing when all the reports from the military are compiled and I have had a chance to see them. Got it?” I asked them.
I could see that none of them were happy about me being dismissive of their legitimate concerns but I was King and they obeyed my words.
They nodded back, agreeing with my decision.
Seeing that they were finally listening, I said, “Ed was here for an alliance. The fleet was just a show of strength to make sure that we listen to them.”
“He has very minimal requests in exchange for a comprehensive alliance that benefits us….”
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The Royal Palace, Wakanda
–T’Challa–
I don’t understand why Baba wouldn’t let me attend the meeting with him.
While this Ed person may be a supposed hero who saved the city of New York, how do we know that he is a trustworthy person?
He nearly gave Baba a heart attack in their first meeting itself!
I don’t understand how Mother could allow all of this.
And now this, while Baba is back and finally available to answer my questions, Mother sends me to fetch Shuri and bring her to meet some person.
Honestly, who could this guest be that it was so important to drag Shuri from her lab and me from the council meeting where I should be as the future Black Panther of Wakanda?
“Who are we meeting, Brother?” Little Shuri asked me as she skipped alongside me in her adorable lab coat.
She looked so cute playing a scientist in her lab.
She has intelligence in spades and yet, Baba still doesn't allow her access to the Royal Laboratories.
“I don’t know, Shuri. But we will reach there soon enough and you will be able to ask them yourself.” I told her.
She nodded and continued to walk alongside me.
Soon, we reached the hall and what I saw made me push Shuri behind me and assume a combat stance immediately.
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–N’Jadaka–
Man, I was so bored of this.
King T’Chaka had told me to stay here for some reason.
I hope it's not an assassination attempt.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
That would be really stupid on his part.
He doesn’t seem like that kind of guy anyway.
Then again, he is the same person who killed his own brother so what do I know?
I got sick of sitting on the ridiculously comfortable sofa so I started walking around, looking at some of the art on display.
The Dora Milaje for some reason looked really pissed off whenever I tried to interact with them.
It's not like I threatened their King, it was the Boss, and Alfred to some extent.
Just as I was about to give up and high tail it out of here to some of the sparring rings I had seen outside, the sound of doors opening entered my ears.
Finally!
Whirling around to meet them, instead, I came face to face with an irate-looking T’Challa in a combat stance hiding somebody behind him.
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Time out man. I ain’t here to hurt you.” I said to him.
“How did you get here? Did you not go back with Ed? What are you doing here?” he asked me in rapid fire.
Instead of letting me answer his questions, he instead looked towards one of the many Dora Milaje “guarding” me and asked them the same questions.
I looked behind him only to come face to face with Princess Shuri.
She was looking at me inquisitively.
Her eyes held a lot of intelligence in them.
She was supposed to be in the running up to become the smartest person on earth.
All according to the reports Alfred had on her.
Rolling my eyes, I went ahead and sat back down on the comfy sofa since the Prince had no intention of listening to my answers.
He still kept me in his line of sight and Shuri out of mine.
It was adorable.
Like he could stop me if I wanted to hurt them.
Say what you will about Frank, his mental state, his personality but man does he whip you in shape.
Dude trained me harder than I ever did in my life and I was in the most demanding section of the U.S. military.
Just as I was about to head out of here, T’Challa’s suspicions be damned, I heard another opening of doors and a regal voice said, “I see that you have met our cousin, T’Challa and Shuri.”
“Mother,” said T’Challa and Shuri both.
The Dora Milaje T’Challa was talking to, bowed to the Queen and went back to her post.
T’Challa and Shuri went towards their mother and I stood up from the sofa.
Gotta give some respect to the queen of the most powerful nation on the planet.
I walked near her and bowed respectfully, “Queen Ramonda”
“Prince N’Jadaka”, she nodded back.
T’Challa’s neck must have suffered whiplash as he snapped his neck towards his mother so fast.
She ignored his gaze and gestured to the sofas, telling me, “Please. Be seated. I told my husband to arrange this meeting so you could meet my children.”
Nodding at her words, I wordlessly went back and sat down on the sofa that still had my assprint on it.
Once they all got seated, one of the Dora Milaje with a noticeably more pleasant look on her face brought tea for all of us.
The Queen personally poured tea for me.
Quite flattering, if I do say so myself.
I could see that T’Challa had a ton of questions to ask his mother but held them back due to me.
“So, I won’t pretend to understand your earlier circumstances, N’Jadaka. What happened to you was reprehensible and I don’t think I can look at my husband the same way I used to but he thinks that you are going to be a very important part of Wakanda in the near future and I am inclined to believe him,” she stated.
“That’s why I called for this meeting while my husband goes to deal with that council of his.” she continued.
“I believe you two have already met”, she said while gesturing to T’Challa.
“And this is my daughter, Princess Shuri,” she said while gesturing to Shuri.
“Nice to meet you,” Shuri bowed.
“You must be my cousin, then?” she questioned.
“Yes. I am N’Jadaka or Prince N’Jadaka now.” I answered her question.
“Where were you till now?” Shuri asked me innocently.
I paused at that.
I guess they still don’t know my history.
What I did before all of this.
Before I met Ed.
The blood I have on my hands.
I sighed and was about to lie when Queen Ramonda interjected, “I believe that’s a question for another time. When he is more comfortable with us. Okay, Shuri?”
Shuri nodded obediently, “Yes, mother.”
She then kept looking at me intensely.
T’Challa finally lost his patience and was about to ask me something when he paused.
There was a faint humming noise in the air.
It was coming from me, more specifically, from my front shirt pocket.
The only thing there was the ......
My face paled as I hurriedly put my hand in the pocket and removed the mask from it.
The damned thing had shrunk down when I tried to put it in my pocket.
My hand got burned when I tried to remove it from my pocket.
Without thinking, I threw it up into the air.
It somehow returned to its original size and kept on enlarging.
All of us looked at it in astonishment.
Soon, it reached the peak of my throw and started floating there, slowly rotating.
I looked around only to notice that the entirety of the Dora Milaje present inside the room had surrounded me and T’Challa too had a spear in his hand, probably taken from one of the Dora Milajes.
The only thing that was stopping them from trying to hurt me was Queen Ramonda’s raised hand.
She was looking at the mask with an intense worshipping look.
Seems like she knew a thing or two about it.
I was about to ask her about it when the mask emitted a high-pitched noise and released a blinding white light.
I covered my eyes as it became unbearable to look at anything in my vision.
Soon, the light dimmed down.
Blinking out the spots in my vision, I looked around only to find myself falling on my ass and everybody else recovering from the surprise flashbang.
I looked around, trying to find any sign of the mask.
It was very important.
That bald lady had said that it was the future of Wakanda and if I lost it now, Alfred would burn me alive using one of the flamethrower bots that he loves to sic on us whenever he gets annoyed with any member of our team.
I was about to get up and start looking around for it when I heard a childish scream.
Snapping my neck towards it, I found myself looking at a silver cocoon with what seemed like Shuri’s pained voice coming through it.
Mine and T’Challa’s eyes met and the next thing I knew, he was leaping towards me with absolute murder in his eyes and a deadly vibranium-tipped spear in his hands.
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Word Count - 1796