Chapter Thirty
Alex
God this is taking forever. I feel like a human pin cushion right now. We're eleven hours into this whole thing. I've had so many blood samples taken it looks like I have polka dots on my skin. At the eight hour mark we had to get IV's put in and about a half an hour ago the oxygen masks went on.
I glance over at Soroya, who looks just as exhausted as I do. Bucky's trying to get her to eat some french fries, because apparently salt will keep our blood pressure up. I think if I try to eat something then I'll throw up. Soroya seems to feel the same, because she is refusing to eat anything.
"Shuri are we getting any closer?" I ask.
I think she's about to pop a brain cell, because she has an unhinged exhausted look in her eyes. "I think so. I have been using the ingredients Remington used as a temporary solution to try and find a permanent one. I'm trying to see where that goes."
Soroya leans her head against Bucky's shoulder, letting out a deep sigh. He puts the food down and wraps his arms around her, rubbing her back in gentle circles.
"I think we need a new strategy." Bruce announces.
I glare at him, laying myself down on the table. "You think?"
I hear footsteps on the stairs, sensing Khari and Scott long before they make it to the lab. As he reaches the last steps, I instantly feel better at seeing him.
Soroya is still leaning her head against Bucky's shoulder on her table, and I'm curled up in a ball on my side on mine. Khari crouches down so we're at eye level, leaning forward and kissing my nose. "It will be over soon, my love."
I scoff. "Sure it will. I wish we were on our honeymoon right now. Just imagine; the two of us lying on the beaches of Barbados, drinking margaritas, and looking hot as hell."
Khari smiles at me, slightly shaking his head. "Barbados sounds nice. I'm not a fan of margaritas though."
I sigh. "Neither am I. It's like drinking flavored bleach. Can you even take time off for a honeymoon?"
Khari pushes strands of my hair away from my face. "Probably not for long, but certainly enough time to drink disgusting margaritas with my husband in Barbados."
I can't help the grin that grows on my face. "I like the sound of that."
Bruce slaps his giant hands together, the sound so loud it scares me. I sit up on the table, watching as Khari stands up and sits next to me on the table. We both watch Bruce look to all of us in excitement.
"I got it! Cancer!" He says, looking between Soroya and me.
I shake my head. "Nope, I'm an Aquarius."
Bruce rolls his eyes. "Cancer like the illness. What if we target the animal cells in Remington like one would target cancer cells. We could use radiation to kill the cells."
Shuri nods her head, knitting her eyebrows in deep thought. "We would need more than just radiation though. The radiation could make things a lot worse."
"You're right...doctors use t-cells to attack cancer cells also. They are designed to only attack those cells and not the healthy ones. What if we take t-cells and engineer them to mirror the genetic code of the animal cells in Remington's genes. Then the t-cells we inject her with would only target her animal DNA, not her human DNA. Then the cells would destroy the serum in her genes."
"We would need both though, and there's no way we could do radiation therapy on her at the Siberia base. If this theory is right, we would need to inject her with the engineered t-cells, then inject chemotherapy radiation into her, and then hit her with radiation. That would kill the animal cells and make sure they don't replicate."
Soroya and I share a look with each other. The same question goes through both our minds, but Soroya is the one to ask it; "What does this mean?"
Shuri leans against her work counter, letting out a frustrated sigh. "It means we would have to bring her here, then keep her here a few days to make sure the treatment works. We couldn't just arrest her at the Siberia base and take her in."
Scott, who has been very quiet the past few minutes, looks very confused. "Okay I only understood part of what you said. Is it a problem if we take her back here and give her the cure?"
Soroya sits up, tilting her head. "The problem is that this solution will take a couple days. While she's getting the treatment her powers will still be in her. I'm worried she'll try to escape."
Bucky rubs her arms, giving her a reassuring look. "We'd keep an eye on her constantly. And we would put her in restraints so she couldn't escape."
Scott nods, looking slightly less confused. "Well Khari and I found an answer to the news question. There have been two more animal attacks, so the most recent is getting the most attention. It was in Moscow a few hours ago."
The heartbreak in Soroya's eyes makes my chest hurt, and I can see a similar reaction go over Bucky's face. He grips her hand tightly, trying to give her any form of comfort. Khari sees my distress as well, and he brings his hand up to rub my back gently.
"Did she leave any messages?"
"This time yes," Scott says, sorrow now filling his voice. "It was in blood like the other ones. It said 'You call yourself a hero'."
I can actually see Soroya's heart sinking in her chest, and it makes me so angry I could scream. All I want to do is take her pain away, or punch Remington. Either one works.
I'm grateful for Shuri when she says; "I have enough samples of your blood to test this theory. I think you two should get some sleep. I'll alert you the moment we make any progress."
Without another word I rip the IV and oxygen mask off, looking to my fiancé. "Please get me food."
He nods, helping me off the table. "Already ahead of you. I had Mama make you some chocolate cake with chocolate frosting."
God do I want to kiss him right now. "You're incredible. Whoever has you tied down is a lucky guy. I envy that guy. He's probably really funny, charming and handsome."
I hear a chuckle come from behind me, and I look to see Bucky carrying Soroya bridal style again. They pass by us and walk towards the stairs. "Did you just compliment yourself while complimenting Khari?"
I glare at her. "You know, this is the third time your boyfriend has carried you around. You're an Avenger not a Bond Girl."
She smiles bitterly at me. "You know you'd make Khari carry you around right now if he could."
She's got a point. I let her win this argument, feeling far too hungry to bicker more. But I am far too annoyed to admit to her that she won, so I silently flip her off. She and Bucky then disappear up the stairs, with Khari and I making our way up slowly after them.
-
I have never loved chocolate as much as I do right now. I would marry it if I wasn't already engaged. Khari and I are sitting at our spot in the forest, with the cake between us and both of us making a significant dent in it. I'm starting to feel much better, so much so I hope that Shuri doesn't need any more of our blood. I may throw a saline bag at her if she does.
"Soroya told me about the meeting today," I tell him, taking another bite of cake. "It makes me mad the council is giving all of you shit for helping Soroya."
Khari nods his head. "The council and other tribesman all respect Soroya, but since T'Challa and Shuri have been back, all their attention has been on her. T'Challa may be a man who wants change, but the other tribes will take a while to share his views, they still want the king's focus to only be on Wakanda. They have lived our old secluded ways for centuries."
"She has been loyal to Wakanda for almost a decade. I get that T'Challa just came back, but her life has been on the line. It's not like he hasn't paid attention to Wakanda at all the past few weeks. Do they have to hog him?"
Khari takes another bite of cake, nodding his head again. "The Jabari feel the same as the other tribes. A lot of my people still believe we should stay separate from Wakanda. I had hoped my monthly meetings with the people would solve this issue, but it hasn't."
Khari's once small gathering of Jabari who wanted change has now turned into a meeting where all of Jabariland gathers to discuss issues and solutions. Apparently it's something Khari started during the blip. He truly was a born leader. The Jabari don't know how lucky they are to have him as their general.
"A lot of them also believe I shouldn't focus my time on two outsiders," He continues. "My soldiers told me so after we got back from finding Soroya."
"What did you tell them?"
Khari smiles to himself, looking rather proud. "I told them to shut their mouths. I told them that you are my fiancé and Soroya is my future sister in law. You two will always be a priority, as well as my duties to my people."
I feel my heart flutter. "What did they say?"
"Some want me to resign my position as general. Others want me to call off the engagement."
"Can you get fired for marrying me?"
He shakes his head. "The only person that can fire me is M'Baku, and he is one of the only members of the Jabari who supports the both of us. He trusts and respects you and Soroya. Quite frankly, I don't care what anybody thinks about you two. Everyone else can keep their opinions to themselves."
"You're an incredible general. They don't deserve you."
He smiles at me, setting his fork down. "Now, there's another reason besides your blood loss that I had my mother make this cake for us. It's also a celebration cake."
I raise my eyebrows at him. "What are we celebrating?"
Khari reaches into the pocket of his breast plate, bringing out a pair of keys. "We are celebrating our new house. My parents have been helping me look for one. It's small, but has enough room for us and for when everyone comes and visits. It has a room that I can use as an art studio, and it's close by the train tracks so you don't have to go far to work...of course if you still want to do that job now that you're back."
I stare at the keys, utterly speechless. "You...you bought us a house?"
He nods. "I hope you're alright with that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just wanted to surprise you."
"Alright with it? Are you kidding me? You bought us a house! I'm over the moon."
Khari's smile spreads. "Really?"
I shake my head at him, cupping his face with both my hands and bringing his lips to mine. When I pull back, I take the keys from his hand, saying with determination: "We're going to catch this woman, and the second she's behind bars, I'm gonna marry you. I don't want to wait."
He shakes his head, cupping my face and brushing his thumb over my cheekbone. "Neither do I."
"Will you take me to go see the house?"
"Don't you want to rest more?"
I shake my head. "I can rest later. I want to see my new house. Soroya is gonna be so excited. She'll definitely help us move in, and she'll help us paint too. How do you feel about red? Maybe a chestnut brown? I have so many decorating ideas now. Do they have Ikea's in Wakanda?"
Khari gives me a confused look. "Whose Ikea?"
I chuckle to myself, kissing his lips quickly before standing up, grabbing onto his hand. "Come on, lets go see our new house. Will you carry me over the threshold?"
Khari lets out a sigh. "I mean I can try. With the new house, can you promise to not go crazy on the decorating? No ceramic cats."
I get chills at the thought of the ceramic cats that ruined the memories of my childhood home. "If I ever put ceramic cats in our house, you can divorce me."
Khari smiles, leaning forward and kissing my cheek. "Duly noted."