REUNITED ~ STEVE ROGERS [4]

Chapter Eight

The next day, I wandered down to the lab. It was filled with colourful artworks, many of which I recognised as my own designs. Everywhere I went, people bowed and showed great respect to me. I didn't quite know how to handle it, and many were left with confused looks on their faces as I mumbled thanks and hurried away as fast as my injured body would let me. But there were also those who gave me dirty look, who despised me, who muttered 'coloniser' and 'alien' under their breath. It was treason, what they said, but they knew I would never report it to T'Challa. He had enough to deal with.

"Sister!" I was greeted with an enthusiastic call from Shuri as I descended the stairs, grunting quietly as my newly healed hip grinded as I walked. My arm, completely shattered, was going to take the longest to heal and would probably never work as well as it used to.

"Shuri. What are you up to today?" I said, curious. I always knew she would be a genius, but running the whole defensive department as well as her own projects at only 16? Incredible.

"You're just in time to see my prototypes for your new suit." Shuri spun around on a tall stool, looking elegant in a white mesh dress and her hair rolled up in a delicate coil. I cocked my head to the side as I made me way to her.

"My new suit? What was wrong with my other one?" I asked, joining her on a stool. She laughed loudly.

"What was wrong with it? Well for one thing, it got completely ripped to shreds after being crushed by a falling building." I winced, but she carried on. "And, well, its impractical. Imagine that, having to get changed every time you want to fight someone. What do you say? 'Oh sorry. Let me just duck behind this bush while I get ready to fight you'?" She chuckled, and so did I, a bit.

"Well, I didn't design it. And it did the job, didn't it?" I said.

"Barely," Shuri scoffed. "Stark is only good at building metal suits. Its time you have a look at mine." She got up and lead me over to a row of 3 mannequins, each wearing a slightly different bejewelled choker necklace.

"I thought you said suits, not jewellery," I said on confusion. Shuri smirked.

"Open your mind, sister. They are more than they seem." She tapped the side of the purple one, and like a wave, the suit appeared over the mannequin, its sleek black and purple surface glittering under the lights. It seemed to be both colours at once. It covered everything, including hands, feet, and most of the face, leaving room around my mouth and nose and my hair. I stared in disbelief.

"Is that, nanotech?" I asked, circling the suit.

"The very best. I've been working on it for a few months now. This suit matches one I made for T'Challa, in case you wanted to be, I don't know, a little team. If not," she gestured to the green and orange necklaces. "I have other options."

I touched the orange one, and the same thing happened, only this one shimmered with a gold sheen. I did the same to the green one, and the fabric unravelled like a green and black wave. I shook my head.

"You didn't have to do this, Shuri. Really, it's too much," I said. She shrugged her shoulders.

"It was no trouble. Now, what do you think?"

"I think they're incredible. How on earth did you get the transition so smooth? Even Tony's isn't that good." I spoke without thinking, and when I realized I had said his name, it brought back all the memories of the last few days. Of the hurt, of the betrayal. I winced. Shuri noticed.

"That's because I'm better than Tony Stark. Welcome to the world of real science, sister. Now come on, which one do you want? Of course, I'll keep them all as backup." Shuri looked up at me enthusiastically.

I pondered this. I was drawn to the green one, after all, it was my signature colour. But it represented everything that had happened, every bad thing I had done, every mistake and every mess up. I had worn green during all my failures. But maybe I didn't want to be that anymore. Maybe I should take this chance to reinvent myself, become more than Toxin, more than a disaster. I looked at the purple one. They were my brother's colours; they were royal and I shouldn't take them. I wasn't worthy of them. But the gold one, maybe that could work. Maybe it could be my new beginning, my reinvention. Maybe if I wore another colour, a new colour, I could be more than this. I could be good. My eyes would still be green but gold could change me. Maybe even the world would see me in a different light.

Maybe Steve would too.

I smiled.

"I'll take the gold one. But could you make it so it doesn't have feet on it? I like wearing my own shoes, if you don't mind."

Shuri looked at me with a raised eyebrow but nodded her head.

"Weird flex, but ok. No feet." She went to turn around but stopped. "And by the way, the necklace part is imbedded with tiny filters that contain a little concoction I made out of some vibranium and mamba venom. The sensors on the inside of the necklace read your energy levels and injects you with tiny amounts of the concentrate every time your levels fall below. Cool right?" she beamed at me. I couldn't help but smile wider. She really wanted to help me and was willing to invent a crazy gadget just for my benefit. She hardly knew me, hadn't seen me for seven years.

Seven. Years.

Even Tony Stark hadn't done that.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Shuri bet me to it.

"I was thinking," she strode over to her desk, and pulled up a holographic diagram of the suit. "Did you want to change your name? Not your name name, your hero name. Because you know, changing the suit, the whole vibe, I don't know maybe you wanted to change the name too?"

"Um," I bit my lip. "Yeah, I would, actually. Do you have any in mind?"

"I am just pulling up a list now." She swiped up and a list if what appeared to be Nordic names appeared in the air. "Now, ignore that for now. I was looking into using something Nordic in your new name, you know, to honour your Asgardian heritage." She didn't notice how widely I smiled at that. I glanced at the list of names, and I was surprised how many I knew the meaning of. It must have been hardwired into me. There was Dagny, meaning New Day Started. Or Gunhild, meaning Battle in War.

"So, I have a heap of names based on bird meaning which I thought was cool, then there's a sub-category with mammals, and then I also have another list of flower meanings too, so there's plenty of options," she looked up at me with a shining smile. How happy she was, how young and unbroken.

She spun the list over to me, and I looked through it. Dove meaning purity and peace. Sparrow meaning renewal and rejuvenation. Sunflower for loyalty. Rose for love. I sighed and kept scrolling. None of them stood out to me, none of them screamed 'Choose me!'

Until...

"This is it. This is the one," I sighed, spinning the list to show Shuri. She looked at it for a moment, and then broke into a broad grin.

"You like it?" I asked. She bopped her head up and down, and then threw her arms around me. I tensed, not used to this sudden outburst of affection. But it was nice. She patted my back.

"I do. I like it a lot, Firebird."   

Authors Note

Omg this was emotional.... Keight is finally becoming her true self and stepping away from her old name of Toxin.... Its actually a very pivotal moment and even though green has been somewhat symbolic for her, I think gold represents rebirth, like a phoenix from the ashes.

Comment your thoughts!

~JJ