Chapter Sixteen
Soroya
As soon as the ship touches the ground outside the palace, Alex jumps up from his seat and makes his way off the ship. As Bucky and I make our way down the steps, I see Alex and Khari embracing tightly. Khari looks filled with relief and indescribable happiness at having Alex back. As they pull away from each other, I see the same look on Alex's face.
Khari pulls his attention away from Alex and towards Bucky and I. The look of relief and happiness doesn't fade, and he hugs me just as tightly as he did Alex.
"I'm so sorry," He whispers to me. "I know going back to your house must have been difficult for you."
As I pull back I gently cup his face, giving him a small smile. "I just hope we can get Analiese. I want these attacks to stop."
Khari gives me a reassuring look. "We will. What's our next move?"
I let out a sigh, reaching into my backpack and grabbing the file we found. I hand it to him, watching as he skims through it's contents. "I want to test my blood to see if the serum in this project is in my DNA. I already called Shuri and asked if she can do it, and she said genetics aren't really her territory. So I called someone to help us."
I hadn't told Alex or Bucky about this, so all three give me a curious look. A smile comes over my brother's face and he asks excitedly; "Did you call another Avenger?"
I nod to him. "He'll be here in a couple hours. I called Okoye and she is going to get him now. He and Shuri should be able to help us find answers."
Bucky tries to hide his uneasiness but fails. "Who did you call?"
I smile at him, clasping my hand with his. "Bruce Banner."
-
T'Challa and Nakia were both in the throne room when we arrived. We caught them both up to speed on what we found. I told them Bruce was coming, and T'Challa had no objections to that whatsoever. He said there was some matters he had to deal with however and couldn't come to the lab. The queen mother has been at a meeting in Kenya for the past week, making the council's need for T'Challa's attention even greater. Ramonda has been helping T'Challa adjust back into his roll as king after all this time, getting him up to speed on the current issues of his country. It's proving to be difficult. Okoye is needed needed at the palace as well. Apparently there's trouble with the positions of his army now that members of the tribes have returned. There's too many people that have claim to the same jobs. I can tell T'Challa feels guilt for not being able to accompany us to Shuri's lab, but I assured him he has no reason to be. His kingdom needed him.
I was grateful to all of my friends here; while I was gone, all of them spent every spare moment they had trying to track Analiese, trying to find any other information on her. Okoye has been keeping track of the police reports in Germany, which is how she heard of the attack at my old house. Besides that, they haven't found anything else. You would think a scientist working under someone like Emma Becker would have more files and documentation, but it's like this woman doesn't exist. But perhaps that is exactly what she wanted.
When Bruce arrived, Okoye took him straight to Shuri's lab where the rest of us have been waiting for a little while now.
Bruce smiles at me when he sees me, wrapping one hand around me and pulling me in for a gentle embrace. I return his embrace, feeling eternally grateful for him agreeing to help.
"Bruce, you remember Khari?" I ask.
Bruce nods, smiling Khari's way. "I do, it's good to see you again."
"This is my brother, Alex. Alex, this is Bruce Banner. Otherwise known as the Hulk."
Alex looks like a twelve year old boy as he nods to Bruce. "Big fan, love your work."
My eyes fall onto Bucky and I gesture for him to come closer. "Bruce, you know Bucky Barnes."
Bruce knows exactly who Bucky is, not only because of the last couple months we spent together, but because of Steve. Bruce was there when Steve went back to the past, but they really haven't officially met.
"It's nice to truly meet you. Steve and Soroya talked about you all the time. I'm sorry we didn't get to talk before."
Bucky nods his head. "Dr. Banner, thank you for agreeing to help." He says, sincerity in his voice.
Bruce waves his large green hand. "Anything for her," He says, winking at me. "Now, you briefly told me what you found at that HYDRA lab. Can I see the file?"
I nod, walking over towards Shuri's work table and grabbing the file, handing it up to Bruce. As he reads, Shuri reads something on her computer, looking very serious. I make my way over towards her, finding that she's doing research on genetics.
I smile at her. "I appreciate you helping me with this."
"You're my best friend, you don't have to thank me for helping you. Besides, I'm furthering my genius by learning another area of science."
I squeeze her shoulders. "I have faith in the both of you. Where do you two need me?"
Shuri closes the computer tab, gesturing to the operating table on the other side of the lab. Alex and Khari are standing near the glass wall, wanting to give the geniuses space to work.
Bucky doesn't leave my side though, but he gives Shuri and Bruce adequate space to get blood samples from me. They take about four viles of my blood, plugging it into a machine I don't know the function of. Bruce starts giving Shuri explanations on what to do, and the two of them begin discusses whatever my DNA is showing on their screens.
I'm sitting on the operating table now, putting pressure on the spot the needle was in my arm. As Bruce and Shuri continue to talk to themselves, Bucky puts a bandage on my arm, rubbing the spot gently. He sighs at the bandage, forcing a smile. I know this whole situation makes him very uncomfortable. I try to smile back at him, silently reassuring him everything will be alright.
Shuri and Bruce turn their attention towards us, with Bruce taking a step forward, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Alright, so I read through the notes in the file. It does detail the formula for the serum Dr. Becker used. In PROJECT SAVAGE, she mutated the DNA of starfish, cuttlefish, and immortal jellyfish and formed it into a serum," Bruce says, pulling up the screen showing my DNA strands. He points to them, specifically to the base pairs. "In your DNA you have the DNA of all three animals."
I thought so. I let out a sigh, shifting in my seat. "In the file it said Becker used those three animals specifically to allow for shapeshifting. So is this serum the reason why I can shapeshift?"
Bruce nods his head, gesturing again to the screen. "Yes and no. You definitely have PROJECT SAVAGE in you, there's no doubt. But besides the animal DNA strands, you also have another abnormal set of DNA in you. Along with mutated animal cells, you also have mutated human stem cells as well."
I glance back at Bucky, who looks just as confused as I do. Alex and Khari have now come a bit closer to the rest of us, and my brother is the one to ask; "Well what the hell does that mean?"
Shuri now chips in. "The mutated human cells in you isn't in the formula detailed by Becker for PROJECT SAVAGE. This chemical compound could be from the project you were apart of when you were taken by HYDRA, but we would need the formula to know for sure. Do you have it?"
I nod rather numbly. "I do...but I have an idea. In her house in England she had left samples of the serum in bottles. We could get the serum and have you test it directly."
Bruce and Shuri share a look before they both nod. Everyone here is looking at me in concern, all except Alex, who looks as confused and frustrated as I do.
"The other test subjects for PROJECT SHIFTER died within hours of receiving the serum Becker gave them. I was the only survivor," I begin to think aloud. "I was the only survivor...and I always thought I lived because of a mistake. That's what the message meant. Analiese is telling me that me surviving wasn't a mistake."
Alex nods his head, following my train of thought. "So if we get the sample of PROJECT SHIFTER's serum and we find it matches the serum in Soroya, then she has both projects in her. And if that's the case, someone tampered with her batch of serum."
"And yours, too," I point out to him. "You and I have the same powers. When Becker gave you the serum, she must have given you the same batch she gave me. It explains why you didn't die, too."
Bruce nods his head. "We'll know for sure once you get that sample. I still want all the files you have on the project though. When will you leave to go get it?"
I glance over at Bucky, who nods. "I'll go start the ship up."
Alex nods as well. "I'll go help him."
I grab his arm, shaking my head. "No, you're staying here."
Alex gives me a confused look. "The hell I am. I'm going with you."
I shake my head again, gripping his hands tightly. "You need to stay here with Khari. He can't stand being separated from you and I know you can't either. This trip will take a few hours. We don't need any extra help."
Alex lets out a stubborn sigh. "You're right, I can't stand being away from him. But I can't stand being away from you either."
I squeeze his hands. "Khari needs you. I'll be fine, I promise you."
Alex stares at me for a long moment, before reluctantly nodding his head. "The moment you get into trouble you call me. You hear me?"
I nod to him. He leans down and kisses my forehead gently, before pulling away from me and going back over to Khari. I'm hoping while we're gone Khari will pop the question, but I doubt he will during such a hectic time. Khari and I make eye contact for a moment, and I raise my eyebrows at him, trying to convey the message clearly.
He gets what I'm trying to say and slightly glares at me. Now that I know about the proposal, I think he knows I'll nag him until he does it. Hopefully the idea of me nagging him about it will make him do it while we're gone.
I walk over to Bruce and Shuri, lowering my voice. "Will you test Alex's blood while we're gone? Just so we know for sure? He knows where the files for PROJECT SHIFTER are, just tell him to get them before you test him."
They both nod. "Will you be okay in England?" Shuri asks me, concern in her voice.
I wink at her. "Don't worry, we'll be back in a few hours. Maybe tonight we could watch Star Wars? That'll get our minds off of everything."
She nods. "A movie night sounds nice, but we're not watching the one with the annoying talking creature with the long ears."
I squeeze her hand. "The original trilogy it is. You want to join, Bruce?"
He nods, absentmindedly touching his injured arm. The flesh is still healing from holding the infinity stones. "Sure, it'll be just like at the compound."
The compound. A large part of me still ached for the Avengers compound. It feels like years ago that Nat, Steve, and I would order Chinese on Friday nights, that Bruce and I would watch movies in the living room, that Tony made inappropriate jokes about everyone at the dinner table. It feels like another lifetime. I absentmindedly touch the dog tags around my neck, as I always do whenever I'm sad. I can't help but think about all the Avengers who aren't here anymore, and how hard things are without them.
I wish Steve was here. Of course he wasn't dead, but he also wasn't truly with us. I know Bucky would feel better having Steve around, but Steve found the life he wanted. Hopefully after we deal with Analiese, I can do the same. After all we faced with HYDRA and with Thanos, I think I deserve to find that peace. We all do.