Wakanda Welcome

- - - - -

The atmosphere cracked with bolts of lightning as the wind picked up, carrying the waves of the ocean to dangerous heights. The weather was loud, strong, and brutal. It concerned the population of many islands located throughout the Atlantic. Namor, the King of Atlantis, had taken a handful of his guards from the palace to patrol the seas for any unwanted human accidents. He hated it when ships ignored weather warnings because that meant he would have to clean up after them. The seabed was littered with shipwrecks, and that alone invited creatures looking for trouble.

Namor stopped suddenly when a bolt of lightning hit the water above him. It was so bright, he had to lift his arm in the water to shield his eyes. He ordered his guards to branch out in different directions and start searching for messes that needed cleaning. It was dark out, so if there were humans around, they wouldn't see him. Namor swam to the surface, tilting his head up to the skies to observe the harsh conditions. The water surrounding him was freezing, but his body was unlike humans. He wasn't at all bothered by the low temperature. He was used to it.

His hearing picked up the distant boom in the atmosphere. At first, he waved it off as another thunder strike. Then, he saw it. Saw her. The woman had quite literally fell from the sky. She must have been unconscious or dead because of the way her speed picked up. She was heading towards the water at a dangerous pace. Namor wasn't sure if he should interfere. Interfering would mean exposing himself to the person. He had kept his kingdom concealed from the human world for years, and he would like it to stay that way. He ducked his head under the surface and used his sonar ability to search for any freighters or ships nearby. He came up short in the end, and closed his eyes briefly, mulling over his next move.

"Just this once..."

Namor raised above the surface of the ocean, and calculated his first step. As soon as the woman hit the water, her bones would become like glass, shattering into a million pieces. He dove deep into the Atlantic, getting some distance between him and his catch of the day. Once ready, he bolted to the surface, and flew into the air. The forceful wind wouldn't allow the unconscious woman to fall into his arms, and she was pushed further away from him. Namor grumbled and switched his path, increasing his speed, allowing him to get a better look at the mysterious woman.

"I know you." He said to himself, before latching onto her, and stopping mid flight.

Ana laid limp in his arms, unresponsive to his shakes and calls. Not even the booming thunder could get her to wake up. But she was breathing. Namor looked her over for any injuries, though it wasn't easy from the suit she wore along with the cape that had circled around her body. Namor thought back to the day they met, and recalled how she had asked him for the way to Wakanda. She must have had friends there, and since it wouldn't be wise to bring a human into his kingdom, he thought it would be best if he took her to the kingdom that she was familiar with.

To the Black Panther, and King of Wakanda, T'Challa.

"Namor?"

T'Challa motioned for the warriors of the Dora Milaje to stand down as he emerged from their protective circle. Okoye complied without question and grunted, signalling for her soldiers to exit their defensive stances and lower their spears. Her eyes were intently on Namor and T'Challa as the Kings stopped in front of one another. Wakanda and Atlantis were perfectly fine keeping to their own kingdoms. They had an understanding. If Namor showed up out of the blue in the middle of the night, it would be considered as surprise to all of them. And he didn't come alone.

Namor nodded at T'Challa grimly, not having seen him in years. It was the first time he was in the presence of Wakanda's new leader. The last time he made contact with Wakanda was when he and T'Chaka enforced a treaty that had been honoured for decades.

"T'Challa." He greeted. "First, let me offer my condolences for your father's passing. T'Chaka was a good King." Namor started off. He had draped a wool cloth over Ana to keep the cold wind from getting to her.

T'Challa eyed the body Namor carried sceptically. "Thank you." He said.

Namor pulled back the blanket from Ana's face, "She fell from the sky. I brought her here because she had mentioned Wakanda when we first met. Is she familiar to you?" He questioned.

T'Challa's eyes widened, "Yes, she is. You said she fell from the sky?" He glanced at Namor who nodded.

"Yes. But I'm not sure why. I suppose you'll have to ask her that when she wakes up... if she wakes up." Namor stated.

T'Challa placed Ana down on a medical stretcher Okoye supplied him with, and extended his hand for Namor to take. "Thank you, again." He said softly.

Namor took his hand and shook it. "Make sure she knows it was I that caught her. I expect her undying gratitude and appreciation. Some chocolates too." He smirked, before flying into the sky, saluting the Wakandans, and making his way back to his home.

T'Challa rolled his eyes. "That is never going to happen."

"Another broken white person?"

Princess Shuri looked up from her workstation and stared at the incoming unconscious woman that was in her laboratory. Okoye and T'Challa were observing Ana, curiously. Shuri joined them as Okoye activated the screens. The stretcher acted like a scanner and brought up Ana's vitals on the screen for everyone to see and assess. Shuri pinched Ana's starfield cape that was slightly damp from the rain, and lifted it to her eye level. She then traced the fabric of Ana's suit, trying to put a name to the material. She pulled her fingers back when she felt liquid, and saw the bright red smear along her fingertips.

"Is this an alien?" She asked her brother, backing away slightly.

Okoye nudged her forward, and tapped away at the screens. "No. She is a friend of T'Challa's. You might recognise her — she was an Avenger."

T'Challa rested his hands on the stretcher, leaning down to get a closer look at the marks on her jaw. He wondered what she had been through to end up in a state such as this. "Her name is Katiana Michaels, but she prefers it when people call her Ana. She is also one of Sergeant Barnes' close... allies." T'Challa worded carefully, squinting at Shuri. If he was honest with himself, he didn't even understand the terms of their relationship fully.

Shuri acknowledged the information on her new patient and circled around the stretcher. "How broken is she?" She asked Okoye.

"She appears to be... sleeping?" Okoye informed them, unsure from the readings. She blinked a couple of times at the monitor, making sure what she was seeing was correct. "The EEG is reporting progressive delta waves. There are also traces of cosmic radiation in her system, a lot of it."

Shuri mouthed Okoye's last statement, and her eyes enlarged in alarm. She was well aware off the effects of cosmic rays in reach of technology and computers. Her hands flew to the stretcher, "I need to conceal her in a chamber otherwise energy fluctuations may interfere with my technology. My computers might experience errors the longer she is near them." Shuri rambled.

"Where?" T'Challa asked.

"Downstairs." Shuri started pushing the stretcher towards the stairwell in the middle of her laboratory, descending to the bottom level. The basement of her lab was where she would carry out experiments on her inventions, and in the centre of the room sat a large chamber made from pure Vibranium. As Shuri veered off to activate the magnetic barrier within the chamber, T'Challa positioned Ana in the centre of the chamber, before stepping out and closing the door.

T'Challa looked at Ana, lifting a hand to his jaw in thought. "The last time we saw each other she seemed like she had to leave. I'm guessing her arrival wasn't planned. When she wakes, she could feel overwhelmed."

"What's her thing?" Shuri asked.

"Her thing?" T'Challa repeated.

"Her superpowers." Shuri added. "She's an Avenger, isn't she?"

"She has remarkable super strength. As well as enhanced senses, reflexes, and healing." T'Challa listed.

"How did she acquire them?" Shuri asked.

"She inherited the traits from her parents — who both died when she was born."

Shuri paused at the keyboard, letting her eyes flicker towards the unconscious Avenger. Her father's passing was still very new to her despite it being over a year since she lost her Baba. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it must feel like to live without parents at all. "She doesn't have any other family? Like a sister or a brother?" She asked, glancing at T'Challa who shook his head softly.

"I'm sure she considers her friends as her family. And Ana has many friends." T'Challa said, resting his hand on Shuri's shoulder for a brief moment.

Ana was breathing slowly. She seemed relaxed. T'Challa wasn't sure he should interfere with that and considered leaving her be, though when blood mixed with water began to trail off the stretcher and drip onto the floor, he realised the more they let her sleep, the more blood she would lose. Her wounds had been covered in a thin layer of ice from her time in space, and now that she was inside Earth's atmosphere, the warm air melted those layers away.

Shuri's eyes focused on the way Ana's fingertips twitched. She glanced up at the monitor, "Brother, she's waking up. What do we do?"

"We wait." T'Challa answered, crossing his arms.

Ana's eyes moved rapidly underneath her eyelids. Gradually, her senses were coming back to her. She could hear hushed voices conversing. She could smell metal, rain, and blood. She could feel throbbing pain everywhere on her body. When she opened her eyes though, she couldn't see.

All she could make out was green smoke, an after-effect of the Enchantress' magic.

Ana's brows furrowed when she tried to recall the moments prior to her waking up. Within a few seconds, she remembered. She remembered letting go of the ship. She remembered the look on Thor's face. She remembered feeling the waves of energy the effects of Ragnarök released when Surtur buried his sword deep in Asgard's ground. She remembered a bright, white light, and then nothing, until she woke up.

"What...?" Ana muttered, before gasping, lurching forward into a sitting position.

Amora's spell, the one she placed on Ana when she kissed her cheek, took it's effect. It was a memory spell, an overwhelming, rapid experience where one person takes on the memories of another. And in Ana's instance, the other was her father. Marcus' life flashed across Ana's mind in a hazy, random sequence. It was over before it even began. Ana couldn't even recall the memories, and scrambled about uneasily, unaware she was on a stretcher.

T'Challa punched the button that opened the door to the chamber when Ana fell over, landing on the ground. Okoye and T'Challa rushed to the wounded Warrior's side, turning her over on her back. They shared a look of confusion when green smoke could be seen over Ana's irises. When their attention went back to her, it had disappeared, and for a second, they reconsidered seeing it in the first place.

"Ana, are you okay?" T'Challa asked as he placed pressure on the wound on her side.

Ana's teeth gritted together as she breathed through the pain. It felt like she had a frostbite all over her body. Her hands were shaking violently from how cold she felt, and she forced them to her sides. She saw T'Challa clearly, as well as Okoye, and her eyes widened. She was back on Earth?

"Where am I?" She whispered, before hunching over with a groan. "Am I back on Earth?"

Okoye glanced at Ana skeptically. "You weren't on Earth before?"

"Make way." Shuri dashed inside and inserted a Kimoyo Bead from her wrist inside the wound on Ana's side. She and Okoye stood up as T'Challa carried Ana and placed her back on the stretcher. Ana let out heavy breaths, feeling the painful areas start to numb. She looked down at her side, spotting a black bead pulse with light in the wound.

Ana lifted her eyes to the young girl staring at her. "What are those?" She questioned.

Shuri suppressed a laugh, her shoulders shaking slightly when a Vine came to mind. She cleared her throat when T'Challa threw her a look, and said, "They're Kimoyo Beads. They'll stabilise the bleeding and speed up the healing process."

"You're in Wakanda, safe and sound." T'Challa told Ana, supplying her with a warm blanket. Ana draped it over her shoulders with the help of Shuri, and closed her eyes from the warmth.

Ana looked around the lab, overwhelmed with bewilderment. "How the hell did I get from Asgard to Wakanda?" She mumbled under her breath, eyes lowering.

T'Challa cleared his throat, "Namor said you fell. He caught you and brought you here." He explained. Shuri's nose scrunched up at the mention of the King of Atlantis. Ana nodded in acknowledgment, and smiled.

"Wow, those Kimoyo Beads are great..." Ana said, and tilted her head, sending Shuri a soft smile, "Thank you."

Shuri offered her hand. "I'm Shuri." She introduced as Ana took her hand daintily.

"My little sister." T'Challa added.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Princess." Ana lifted her eyes to Okoye. "Hi, Okoye. Thanks for not punching me in the face this time."

"Hi." She replied.

Behind Okoye, Ana could spot broken glass on the floor outside the chamber, noticing a window had been blown to pieces. She pushed herself up into a sitting position despite Shuri's input to lie still. Ana assured the young girl that she was fine, and lifted a hand to point at the mess.

"What happened there?" Ana asked.

"Long story." T'Challa replied. "You should rest." He went to push her back down, but she waved his hand away.

"What? No, I'm cool. I'm alright." Ana insisted. She swung her legs over the edge and hopped off. When her feet hit the floor, her knees buckled, and she was caught before she could fall. T'Challa's reflexes allowed him to grab her arm with lightning speed and keep her standing. He gave her a dry look, earning a shrug in response.

"For now, I strongly suggest you stay and heal." Shuri said, "You are in no shape to move just yet."

Realising she was right, Ana let out a long sigh. With T'Challa's aid, she got onto the stretcher once again, and sat down, angling her torso so that she didn't feel her side throb as much. "I guess I could relax for a few minutes." Ana mumbled, brushing a hand through her hair. She grimaced when she could feel knots in the strands. "The universe isn't in trouble for now, right? Alright."

"Do you need anything?" Shuri asked, handing Ana a towel.

Before Ana could reply, T'Challa brought up her vitals on the wall of the chamber. "Your blood sugar levels are practically nonexistent. I'll bring down some lunch." He suggested.

Ana smiled. "Thanks, T."

Okoye quirked an eyebrow at her friend, before smirking slightly. "Get me some of those rye sandwiches."

Shuri grinned, noticing her brother's annoyed expression. "I'll have some too." She added. T'Challa narrowed his eyes at them, before walking off, hearing the women laugh behind him.

As Ana wiped down her face with the fluffy towel Shuri provided her with, Okoye turned back to observe her, and gestured to her suit. "You're armour, is it of Earth origin?" She asked as Shuri sat next to Ana on the stretcher.

Ana looked down at her suit, and shook her head. "No, I got it in space where I was forced to fight in an arena against alien gladiators." She said casually, unaware of the sceptic looks that flashed across Okoye's and Shuri's eyes.

"Alien gladiators?" Shuri frowned.

"Some of them were cool, like my friend, Korg. He was made of rocks and had a cute New Zealand accent." Ana explained, laughing lightly.

Okoye faced Shuri, plastering a forced smile on her face. "Does she have a concussion? Brain damage? Traces of narcotics in her blood?" She asked in their language. Ana eyebrows rose up in puzzlement, understanding their language, though unsure why they would question her words.

Shuri strained a smile, "I'll double check."

"Y'know, I understand what you're saying."

- - -

After some food and a well needed nap, Ana looked down at her legs, mentally begging for them not to let her down as she held onto the stretcher she was sliding off from. The heels of her shoes lightly padded the pristine floors of the lab, and she placed more pressure on the limbs until she found that she could stand. A sharp exhale left her lips, and she nodded to herself. Her body was screaming at her to stop moving, but she had to push through. Blood and dirt stuck to her suit and face, and she could use a warm shower judging by the scent of sweat underneath her arms. Ana scrunched her nose up, mumbling out a few incoherent curses.

"Come on..." She muttered, putting one foot in front of the other. She reached up to her collar bone and unpinned the cape from her shoulders, bunching the material up in her hand. As she made her way outside the chamber, and towards Shuri who had her back to her, Ana moved a hand in a circle, collecting the broken glass along the floor with a simple spell, pushing it into a trash can she spotted on the other side of the room.

Ana glanced back to Shuri, noting she hadn't seen the magic, and approached her. "Princess, I'm sorry to bother you, but is there anywhere I could clean up?" She asked.

Shuri put down the EMP disks she was upgrading and faced Ana. Her brows knitted together when she realised Ana was out of the chamber. "My brother told me I had to keep you on bed rest until he came back. Your injuries are-"

"Are tolerable." Ana interjected, giving her a reassuring smile. "And healing thanks to your tech. It's just that I can't stay still any longer. I need to go home." Her smile fell slightly.

"I understand." Shuri sighed, "And I'll show you to a room where you could shower and change your clothes." She looked down at her wrist when her Kimoyo Beads blinked. She activated one of them and a hologram of T'Challa appeared above her open palm. Ana looked on, intrigued by the design of the technology.

Shuri smiled as Ana waved her hand through T'Challa's image, and quirked an eyebrow at the King. "Yes, brother?"

"I have made plans for us to visit California. If Ana is alright to come along-"

Ana moved next to Shuri and waved at the hologram. "Hi, yes, I'm all good to go. Just need to freshen up a bit."

T'Challa nodded. "Good. Another guest will be joining us in America, and Ana, please don't freak out when you see Agent Everett Ross."