ACT ONE.  CHAPTER IX:
TROUBLE IS COMING

BIRNIN ZANA, WAKANDA.
2016, APRIL 12.

"You've been spending a lot of time in your cabin lately. Any new invention in the works?"

Smiling slightly, Sade simply glared at her sister before turning her attention back to the prototype weapon in front of her.

"Perhaps."

Shuri, squinting, looked intently at her older sister hoping to detect a twitch that would give her away, eventually huffing exaggeratedly when she saw her stoic face. She might be curious about what she was up to in her remote corner of the beach, but she would never dare violate her intimacy by inviting herself there without her consent. Then again, maybe she'd get nuked on the stoop with the number of security systems the young princess had installed.

"Okay, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time. But-"

"I don't remember you being this talkative, Minimoy."

"I don't remember you being this secretive, Gollum." Shuri replied immediately, her grin intensifying as she saw the incredulous look on her sister's face when she heard her talk back.

"Just wait, I'll put some sense through you soon."

Casting a false expression of shock and fear, the youngest of the Udaku began to gesture dramatically. "I'm so scared, fear is consuming me so much from the inside that life is draining from me, I-"

"Shut up."

"Rude."

Sade rolled her eyes as she continued to pay attention to the blueprints she had scattered across her table, barely looking up as she heard Shuri snicker as she walked away towards the entrance of the lab. The young woman could barely concentrate, her thoughts all converging on the same person, sparking her frustration. Her mind was just rereading the last few lines of the sheet he had left her, wondering how much of it she should take as true. It wasn't that she didn't believe him, but it was far too easy to write on a piece of paper left at a sleeping person's bedside than to tell them to their face. In a way, that was why she continued to play the game between them, he himself had to make clear whatever he felt about her. As for her, she was perhaps just as confused as he was, having never been confronted with such feelings.

"Thinking about your lover?"

"For fuck sake, what is wrong with all of you? I can't even be happy in this household without people asking me if I'm seeing someone. I don't have a lover." she huffed slightly as she heard T'Challa's voice near her ear, turning to glance at him. Detailing his new clothes, she eventually stifled a scream of horror when she saw his feet. "What are those?"

"That's exactly what I told him!"

"That's so disgusting I wanna barf. Don't you have any shame, you whore?"

The new king widened his eyes, opening his mouth several times before closing it again. "Did you just call me the w-word?"

"Wouldn't be the first time." replied Shuri, handshaking her sister with a giggle.

"Is there ever a day when you'll stop harassing me?"

Making another face at the sight of her brother's "royal" sandals, Sade replied, "I'll harass you even in the afterlife."

"That's... reassuring to know, I guess. You're coming with me by the way."

"Where?"

The two siblings turned to their sister, their expression inquisitive. The young woman was always the first to know about extra-territorial missions, and she was always the first to intrude.

"What did you do yesterday to get up so late, so you don't know what's going on here?"

I watched Avatar with the male version of Ariel.

"I was working." she replied simply, not wanting to add any more details that would compromise her. "So, what's the big deal this time?"

Shuri exchanged a look with T'Challa before shrugging. "You're going to Busan to catch Ulysses Klaue who's back in the vibranium business."

Making an annoyed pout, Sade took her head in her hands. "Again with that 'Easy' Andy from Aliexpress? Can I pass?"

"Sorry but no, you're coming with me. King's orders." insisted T'Challa, giving her a petty smile. "Oh yes, I forgot, I'm the King. You're coming."

"Fucking bitch."

"Always so classy, sister."

"Well, if you're done bickering, I've got something to show you," Shuri interrupted them, taking two soles from a nearby table in her hands and placing them on the floor. "Try them on. Fully automated. Like the old American movie Baba used to watch."

"Mmm."

"And I made them completely sound absorbent."

"That was my design?" said Sade suddenly as she approached them, squinting at the shoes.

Stifling a snort of laughter, Shuri winked at her with a shrug. "My improvements made them better."

"I'm not even going to answer because I'm already sick of you."

"Don't be silly. Guess what I call them." their little sister immediately added as she looked at them in turn, a proud smile on her face. "Sneakers."

T'Challa blew softly through his nose, shaking his head as Sade stared at Shuri for a long moment, blinking.

"Because you... Nevermind."

"Bast, you're so cringe my eyes are filling with tears."

The youngest girl slapped the back of her neck, causing her to let out a small shriek. With a raised eyebrow, Sade approached her before their brother came between them.

"Wow wow, let's calm down here."

"She hit me!"

"She told me I was a cringe!"

"I'll whoop some sense into you!"

"This is child abuse!"

"What child my ass-"

"Silence! Both of you!" suddenly exclaimed T'Challa, placing his hands on their shoulders. "You shut up or I'll tell Mom. Everybody's looking at you."

The young man watched his younger sister squint at the cheeky grin Shuri gave her before pulling away, taking her notebook from her small desk space.

"I'll cut your hair in your sleep."

BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA.
2016, APRIL 12.

"Can we go eat?"

"Imani this is not the time."

The young princess crossed her arms in a loud exhale, following Nakia through the market they had parked in. The mood was rather odd between the fact that T'Challa had decided to bring his ex on this mission, and Okoye wanting anything but to be there.

"You look so hot with this wig, Okoye. Purr."

The members of their little group suppressed a laugh as the general tugged at her wig in discomfort.

"It's not funny."

"And I whip my hair back and forth. And I- Okay I'll stop." added Sade as the woman flashed her a dark look, chuckling slightly.

"This is such a disgrace."

The group eventually approached a saleswoman whom she heard Nakia call Sophia, engaging a conversation in Korean with her. Standing next to her brother, she only managed to understand a few snippets of their exchange, understanding that they were supposed to be acting like rich Kenyan friends coming to spend their money at the first opportunity. It was surely something she would do, but the first thing she would probably not do was to come to a casino in the middle of nowhere.

The said Sophia, offering a smile to Nakia, ended up pointing to a door behind her, guarded by a man who removed the plastic covering.

It looks like a place for human traffic.

The sight of the security gate made her frown as she thought about the dagger she had hidden on her thigh. Sade winced slightly as she walked through it, hoping she had done the right thing by taking the only weapon she had tried her metal concealment system on. Closing her eyes slightly, she apprehensively opened one as she realised that no bell had rung when she had passed, making her smile slightly.

"I know that smile," T'Challa finally told her as she joined his side. "What did you do?"

"I covered our backs."

Winking at him, she walked over to the balcony overlooking the casino where Okoye and Nakia were already standing, peering down. A myriad of people, all dressed in clothes that alone revealed their economic capital, moved across the room between the particularly crowded tables.

"Spread out. The buyer is probably already here," T'Challa told them, hands behind his back before turning to her. "No messing around."

"I'm not ten."

"How much do you spend on those useless figurines you collect?"

The young princess opened her mouth before closing it again, not wanting to confirm his words. Sticking her tongue out at him, she eventually began her descent down the stairs, deftly throwing a few glances here and there.

Far too easy.

Sade sat silently at the bar, not having had time to address the bartender before a voice behind her beat her to it.

"Two whiskey on the rock for me and the beautiful young lady here."

The man leaned slightly against the surface of the bar, meeting the young princess's stunned gaze. "Did you miss me, Princess?"

"Imani spotted an American."

"I count four."

"Six. How could you miss Greased Lightning there behind you?"

"Seven. Just spotted an old friend who works for the CIA. It just got a little more complicated."

"Cat got your tongue, sweetheart?"

"What are you doing here, Carter?" Sade finally asked him, glancing at the drink the bartender had set down for her. "We haven't seen each other since-"

"Since you disappeared without a trace and took my car with you? Yes, I know. Maybe I should thank you for bringing it back to me, by the way?"

Simply surveying him, the young woman said nothing, turning her gaze to her brother who had moved to Agent Ross' side. The blond of his hair had given way to a darker colour that looked more natural. Only the colour of his eyes had not changed, their waters seeming to have cooled since she had last seen them rest on her.

"I could have kept it."

Carter simply smiled before bringing his glass to his lips, watching the young woman sitting across from him. His eyes took the initiative to detail the dress she had donned before refocusing on her neutral face.

"I remember you getting goosebumps when I looked at you like that."

"What are you doing here?" she asked him again, ignoring his statement as he arched an eyebrow.

"I have... some business to attend to."

Sade squinted slightly as she detailed him, sensing that there was something wrong with him. She felt like he had changed more than just his appearance, or that she had been manipulated into believing the person he was before.

"You want to share some thoughts with me?"

"You're not really Carter."

"Was I even Carter?" he replied, laughing slightly. "What? You don't like the change of look? That's what people often do after a break-up."

"We have never been together."

"Ouch, you wounded me love. You're never going to find someone who satisfies you better than me. And I can say the same for you. At least I've accepted the hard truth."

The young woman broke away from her chair and gave him a simple smirk before patting his cheek. "Seems like a you problem."

"What did he mean by satisfying?" came T'Challa's voice in her earpiece, reminding her that they surely had been listening to this entire exchange.

Carter returned her smile as she planted a kiss on the inside of his wrist, which he had seized. "If you only knew who you were talking to."

"Klaue, plus eight!"

Sade glanced towards the entrance, not forgetting to notice the mischievous look in the eyes of her rediscovered acquaintance.

"Six more. It's a setup."

"Feeling unwell, love?"

"Are you done with your nicknames? I've got work to do."

"For the vibranium?"

No sooner had he finished his sentence than a commotion overhead caught her attention, giving him time to slip away. The man Okoye had swung over the railing crashed into the middle of a table, causing everyone to scream in fright as Klaue began firing into the crowd.

"Imani, where are you?"

"Um, I'm fighting right now!" she replied, sending her elbow into the forehead of one of the men standing near her.

Finally some action.

Moving closer to T'Challa, she thrust her dagger into the abdomen of another, narrowly dodging the fist he aimed at her face.

"Where did you get that dagger?"

"It was supposed to be our backup!" she shouted at him, trying to make herself heard over the sound of bullets flying from all sides.

Swinging her foot into the back of the knee of an assailant who was moving towards Nakia, she planted the heel of her shoe on his hand to retrieve the weapon he was holding, finishing him off immediately.

As she shot at just about anything that moved, she felt a hand pull her hair back, catching her off guard. Turning around in spite of the pain, she struck the man in the temple with her rifle butt, and he staggered slightly before throwing himself at her, barely giving her time to shift so that he would lose his balance and she could push him off with her foot.

"You know how long it takes to do that haircut?" she said, more upset that he'd pulled her hair than that he'd tried to kill her before shooting him dead.

Tossing three more men into the crowd, she rushed over to her brother who had ended up in the debris of a table after his altercation with the arms dealer.

"You okay?"

"Normally I should be the one to ask you that." he told her as he grunted slightly from the pain, taking the hand she had held out to him.

She rolled her eyes before running out the door, looking behind to see if he was following her.

"Shuri!"

"Wait! Which side of the road is it?" the youngest asked through their earpieces.

"We don't give a fuck! Just put the damn car in gear, I'm tired of running in heels!"

"Okay, calm down. So rude."

"Imani-"

"You take the car, I'll manage." she replied quickly to her brother, making sure he was on the remote-controlled car before activating her costume.

Taking one last look behind her, she quickly scaled a building before running across the rooftops, looking down for the car containing Okoye and Nakia.

"Nakia, your location?"

"We're going to pass under a major road, they split up."

"Which car contains Klaue?"

"We don't know."

"Fine, I'll also take the right." she replied before teleporting to the nearest rooftop of the convoy of cars. "You can handle yourself, brother?"

"Watch yourself."

"Like always."

Smiling under her mask, she teleported to the roof of one of the cars, wanting to play on the surprise effect. Putting her head on the windshield, she waved her hand slightly before breaking the window, grabbing the driver by the collar and throwing him onto the road. One of the men tried to hold the car up as best he could while the other began to shoot at the ceiling, hoping to get rid of the other panther in pursuit.

"For fuck sake can he stop with his toy!" shouted the young woman as she clawed open the car, retrieving the gun and the man before throwing him away. She shot the remaining man in the centre of his forehead, barely giving him time to retrieve the gun he had dropped on the passenger seat. Exiting through the hole she had created, she threw herself at the car driven by Nakia before the one she had just emptied of its passengers exploded against a railing.

She loved the adrenaline of missions like this, the dangerous experiences that made her pulse race at unimaginable speeds. Still, the young woman suppressed a smile as she imagined the look on Namor's face when she will tell him what happened, clearly hearing his voice in her head asking if she was insane.

Seeing Okoye's hand come out of the car, Sade took that as a sign to return to the rooftops, teleporting further away again.

"T'Challa, your location?"

"The bridge."

Reappearing for a few moments on the trunk of the remote-control car, she watched as the car containing Klaue took a right turn. With an exchange of glances with her brother, she nodded briefly before throwing herself at the buildings' advertising signs. The young princess dug her claws into them for support before leaping onto the roof of the car, watching as her brother was thrown through the air by the gunman's shot. She stayed in her spot for a few moments, simply rolling her eyes at the shots she was receiving through the vehicle's bodywork, before stepping down slightly to rip off one of the wheels at the sight of the large planters in front of them.

Although she was pleased with the flips the car made, she grunted slightly at the pain caused by her induced fall, massaging her lower back. Her desire to enjoy the coolness of the ground evaporated as soon as she saw her brother approaching Klaue after he had shot her.

Then I'm the one who makes stupid choices.

Quickly rising to her feet, she started walking in their direction before running when she saw him rip the prosthetic arm off the man they had come to find.

"You savages didn't deserve it!"

Kinda racist man.

Sade looked for a moment at Klaue who was pinned against the car, wondering if she should let her brother finish what he wanted to start. But the crowd around her brought her to her senses, putting a hand on T'Challa's shoulder as he turned his head towards her.

"Enough." she said simply, grabbing his wrist. "Everyone's looking at us."

"Yeah my King, listen to your sweet little sister." sneered Klaue as he looked at him, his back still pressed against the car.

I'll show you how sweet I can get.

BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA.
2016, APRIL 13.

"Now he's acting like a bootleg Joker, ugh."

A shadow of a smile covered T'Challa's lips as he continued to look at Klaue behind the glass, Okoye at his side.

"So this is a big mess, huh?" Agent Ross finally said as he approached them. "I figured we could go good cop, bad cop."

Sade turned her head slightly towards him at his sentence, looking him up and down.

"I'll talk to him first, then you guys go in."

"We can't let him talk to Klaue alone." cut him off Okoye as she turned to T'Challa who smirked looking at a confused Ross.

"Better to let him talk to Klaue alone for five minutes than to make a scene here."

Everett Ross threw her a look of incomprehension that simply made her smile as her brother finally addressed him.

"After your questioning, we will take him back to Wakanda with us."

The CIA agent shook his head slightly before addressing him again.

"What? No. Look, I like you, a lot. But he's in my custody now. He's not going anywhere." he said, thinking he'd changed their minds. "Listen, I'm doing you guys a favor by letting you even be here." he finishes, touching T'Challa lightly.

His action caught Okoye's attention as she looked at the spot where he had placed his hand, making Sade laugh.

"I feel bad for you, Ross." she let out in a breath, puzzling the agent.

"If he touches you again, I am going to impale him to this desk." she stated, pointing to the said table.

Everett swallowed slightly, sensing the thin rush of violence that had escaped from Okoye's words despite the language barrier, looking at her for a moment before returning his attention to the King.

"Does she speak English?"

"When she wants to." she replied with a cheeky little look that made the young princess smirk.

"Huh. I'm going in. When I'm done, you guys are up."

"Agent Ross?"

"Yeah."

"I do appreciate your help in Busan," T'Challa added as he put his hand on Ross' shoulder, discreetly placing a micro audio bug on it.

"You see that?" he asked, turning to Okoye. "It's called diplomacy. You're welcome."

As soon as he closed the door behind him, the new King turned to his general who had just clapped the hand that Sade had held out to her, the latter releasing the laughter she had been holding in until then.

"Okoye."

"'Eh, Americans."

Leaning against the glass and keeping her back to the interrogation that was going on behind her, the young woman looked at the people bustling around them. She just couldn't wait for this to be over and for her to go back to the warmth of her bed. Listening vaguely to what Klaue was saying behind her, Sade's brain tilted to the fact that the man wasn't acting like someone who was going to spend the rest of his life in prison. It definitely was in his character to be cocky, but he should have at least tried to negotiate his case.

The sound of a door closing snapped the young princess out of her thoughts as she saw Agent Ross walking towards them.

"Your father told the UN that Klaue stole all the vibranium you have. But now he's telling me you have more?"

Act like you don't know who you're working for and with.

"And you believe the word of an arms dealer, strapped to a chair."

Sade squinted, mentally slapping her face at her brother's sentence.

What kind of answer is that?

And she was right to doubt the effectiveness of his statement for Everett did not remain hesitant for long.

"How much more are you hiding?" he asked before being taken aback by Nakia's arrival in a rush, unfazed by the guns pointed at her by the CIA agents present.

"Something's happening out back."

As soon as she finished her sentence, a detonation erupted, revealing a hole in the wall of the interrogation room. The smoke slowly dissipated amidst Klaue's maniacal laughter as a mask appeared. The person hiding behind it then opened fire, shattering the glass and surprising the young princess, who didn't have time to dodge a bullet that lodged in her shoulder. Biting her lip violently to suppress a scream, she ducked down to see her brother's suit forming, protecting a CIA agent.

"You good?" he asked from his position, seeing the blood staining her hoodie gradually disappear with the appearance of her own costume.

"I'm good. I'm good." she repeated before her gaze fell on the object that had just landed not far from her.

"Grenade!"

Grunting slightly from the pain, she threw herself at the explosive, which blasted off without harming anyone, the power of its explosion turning into kinetic energy now locked inside her suit.

"Imani!"

"Get that asshole, I'm okay!"

T'Challa nodded slightly before heading towards the hole caused by the explosion, running after the truck that had started to move. The man wearing the mask shot at him, causing the energy stored in his suit to be released and sending him crashing into a wall. Sade, who had risen to her feet, widened her eyes and blinked several times, convinced she had seen a ghost. Her eyes followed the dangling ring around the man's neck before it disappeared.

Baba's ring?

AUTHOR'S NOTE

forget what i said about finishing act one before new year, i've been staring at my screen for three hours 🧍🏾‍♀️it's too tiring to write those parts because i have to stop the movie each time and ugh- so the little fight between our fav sisters, i got into a fight at christmas eve with one of my cousin, so some self-insert 👩🏾‍🦯 (i won)
about carter. i actually forgot about him and i had another character in mind to introduce somewhere in the story, not an oc but important character (i hope they introduce him because... because yeah) so was carter really carter as he said? 🤔 trafficking business, vibranium, hum, i wonder who he really is 🏃🏾‍♀️ for a faceclaim you can go with henry cavill, because i saw him being fancasted somewhere and it's cuuuuuuffing seaaaaasoooon. so beware of (not) carter 👀

and some memes about previous chapters made by -jaeger, i don't know if i told you but i love them 😭 💗

nah fr, just get a room 🙄 ah yes, i'm the author, won't happen soon 👩🏾‍🦯

namora is next 🏃🏾‍♀️

man got sweaty and all that 🙄

meeeee??? come on i only write fluffy normal things 🧍🏾‍♀️

at this rate i'll create a graphic gallery for all those memes bc-

now some chapter 9 (idek my chapters bye-) memes

we love sisters that love each other so much they need to show it with force 🥰

I WHIP MY HAIR BACK AND FORTH *willow playing in the back*

can't wait until the foundation roast *rihanna little merchandising*

nah fr i just wanted to fill some blank and it turned well with where i wanted to lead the story soooo 👩🏾‍🦯

all my ocs need to stop having so much expectation from me

making suffer is caring 🫶🏾

istg all of this will be worth it in the end, i'll write the kiss scene everyone deserve 👉🏾👈🏾 and i won't tell you when it'll happen, it'll be a surprise 👩🏾‍🦯

... it may be soon tho

but now... what does soon mean?

that is the question

&& don't forget to vote, comment and share 🫶🏾

© ADONYSIAC ― IZIA™