The White Wolf

IX

"My parents were killed when he attacked," W'Kabi spoke up, gaining everyone's attention, "Not a day goes by when I do not think about what Klaue took from us. From me. It is too great an opportunity to pass." He insisted, contradicting the Queen. "Take me with you, we will take him down together, side by side." W'Kabi smiled, trying to convince T'Challa to go after the enemy, which seemed to be the way the king was leaning anyway.

T'Challa waved his hand at W'Kabi in denial to his offer to help. "I need you here protecting the border." He said. With Klaue on the loose, he could not be too careful in protecting Wakanda while he was away on a mission.

W'Kabi, T'Challa's most loyal friend, gave a solemn nod. "Then I ask you kill him where he stands." He paused. "Or you bring him back to us."

"You have my word." T'Challa smirked proudly, giving a nod to his friend. "I will bring him back. We will proceed with the mission." He said, rising to his feet. "Okoye, you and Nakia will come with me to plan the mission. Shuri and Ava will prepare our weapons."

Ava nodded and stood, smirking at Shuri with excitement. Any chance she had to go on a mission, she took it. Shuri smiled and got up as everyone dispersed to carry out their duties. The two women set out for the laboratory as Okoye and T'Challa left to find Nakia, wherever she was.

***

Hours had passed since the meeting had been conducted and the weapons were prepared for T'Challa to choose from. Shuri waited by the door for T'Challa to come check her work while Ava finished up her inventory on the items. "My King." The Princess feigned a bow to her brother as he entered the lab.

T'Challa smiled and rolled his eyes dramatically. "Stop it, stop it." He chuckled as he approached.

Shuri grinned and walked beside him toward the work station.  "I've already sent a car ahead to Busan for you. Who are you taking with you to Korea?"

"Okoye, Ava, and Nakia as well." T'Challa said with a smirk.

 Ava perked her head up at the mention of her name, smiling just a little as she put away her things, joining the siblings as they walked. "Are you sure it is a good idea to bring your ex with you on a mission?" She teased the king.

T'Challa smiled and looked at Ava. "Is it a good idea to bring you on a mission?" He countered with a laugh. "We will be fine. Besides, Shuri will be on call in case we need backup."

Shuri's eyes lit up and she fist-pumped the air. "Yes!" She cheered, placing a hop in her step as they approached the table with tech and weapons laid out across the flat, white surface. "I have great things to show you, brother." She said, motioning to the table. On it, where small, flat, black, circular pads encased in a clear container. "These are your communication devices for Korea. Unlimited range, also equipped with audio surveillance systems." She smiled proudly.

"Check these out." Ava smirked, motioning to the next piece of tech Shuri had created. "Remote access Kimoyo beads. Updated to interface directly with Shuri's sand table."

T'Challa nodded, looking around at the table, pleased with the designs. "What are these?" He began to reach for another device from the table.

"The real question is," Shuri smirked, "What are those!" She shouted, pointing at his feet dramatically. Ava burst out in laughter as T'Challa picked up his foot and placed it on a stool in front of him. His feet were bare, only thin sandals protecting them from the ground. "Why do you have your toes out in my lab?"

"What, you don't like my royal sandals?" He grinned, wiggling his toes. "I wanted to go old school for my first day." He said as he put his foot back down.

Ava chuckled and crossed her arms. "I bet the elders loved that." She rolled her eyes and grabbed the item that T'Challa was asking about, handing him the flat, black slips of material. "Try them on."

T'Challa arched a brow and set them on the floor, taking off his sandals, and stepped onto the devices. As soon as he stepped into them, vibranium microfiber shoes enclosed his feet like the ones on his suit. "Fully automated." Shuri explained. "Like the old American movie Baba used to watch. And I made them completely sound absorbent."

The king nodded, tapping his foot on the ground, producing no sound. "Interesting."

"Guess what I call them?" Shuri smirked childishly. "Sneakers." She giggled, waiting for a reaction. Ava rolled her eyes, but T'Challa stared at his sister quizzically. "Get it? Because you... Never mind." She sighed and shook her head with disappointment. "This way." The teenager instructed, motioning for him to follow. 

T'Challa quickly changed back into his sandals and trotted after his sister and Ava to a row of different mannequins, one of them bearing his black panther suit, another with a wide, gold band of panther claws around the neck, and the last holding a necklace of thin, silver panther claws. "If you are going to take on Klaue, you are going to need the best the design group has to offer." Shuri said, motioning to the suited mannequin. "Exhibit A."

"My design." T'Challa gave a simple nod and a smile.

Shuri shook her head. "Old tech."

"Old?"

"Functional, but old." Ava nodded, placing her hands on her hips. "'Hey, people are shooting at me! Wait, let me put on my helmet!'" She grinned and imitated him. 

T'Challa rolled his eyes yet again. "Enough." He smiled.

Shuri smirked in pride at Ava's joke before motioning to the other two mannequins. "Look at these." She said, watching her brother inspect the large, golden necklace. "Like that one?"

"Tempting." T'Challa nodded, but shook his head. "But I think the idea is to not be noticed." He said, pointing to the smaller, silver necklace. "This one."

Shuri nodded and stepped out of the way for him to look at it. "Tell it to go on." She said. T'Challa nodded and did as she said, the black suit suddenly spreading out over the mannequin from the necklace. "The entire suit sits within the teeth of the necklace." Shuri smiled proudly. T'Challa grinned in admiration, grazing his fingers over the vibranium weaved material. "Strike it."

The King arched his brow and stepped back. "Anywhere?" He asked, to which Shuri nodded. He took a breath and go into a striking stance before sending a kick into the middle of the mannequin, sending it flying across the room.

"Not that hard, genius!" Shuri snapped at him, running after it. Ava bit her lip to hold back a laugh as she watched her friends bicker, standing off to the side and out of the way. 

"You told me to strike it! You didn't say how hard!" He defended himself.

Shuri set the mannequin back where it was supposed to go and brushed the dust off of it from the floor. "I invite you into my lab and you just kick things around." She muttered.

T'Challa shrugged. "Well maybe you should make it a little stronger." He said, looking at the suit. He cocked his head and leaned closer, touching the glowing purple markings inside of the fabric curiously. "Wait a minute." He hummed.

Ava smirked at Shuri and stepped closer, remembering when her and Shuri worked on the design of the suit. "The nanites absorb the kinetic energy and hold onto it for redistribution." She said, slowly joining Shuri's side and grabbing her arm, pulling her back as she stepped back, watching T'Challa. "Strike it again in the same spot." She said, glancing at Shuri. 

Shuri hid a grin and brought up a recording function of her Kimoyo beads, beginning to film him. "You're recording?" He glanced back at Shuri when he heard the beads beep as filming began.

She shrugged innocently. "For research purposes." She said. 

T'Challa pressed his lips together before turning back to the suit, swinging his leg up and kicking it in the same spot, only for the energy in the suit to blow him backward across the lab, tossing him on his back as the two women howled in laughter, nearly doubling over when T'Challa sat up as fast as he could, pointing at them and demanding that they deleted the footage.