Chapter Text
When Charles Xavier suggested for Shuri of the Golden Tribe to help create more places where young children with special abilities could be safe to hone their talents, all she could ask was why.
"It's preposterous! I'm a scientist!"
"You are a genius with mutant capabilities. Granted, yours came from a special herb, I believe you still know what it means to be born with great power, Princess. Besides, special children should not have to fly out to the West to find a place where they can be safe and learn," he said.
When Shuri told him she would think about it, it was mostly to end the conversation.
She could not have predicted for the idea to actually take hold of her. Shuri, for all intent and purposes, was now considering what was essentially a boarding school for superpower babies.
Preposterous, she remembered thinking.
A month later though, Shuri would conduct an assessment of how many "gifted children" there were in Wakanda and surrounding countries. Six months later, she drafted the formal proposal of a special Wakandan outpost to the tribal leaders, including her mother, the Queen.
A year later, construction of an outpost began on a hidden island in the Atlantic Ocean, near the western coast of Africa.
Shuri oversaw the creation herself.
As the school was now formally opening, Shuri thought of her brother, who wanted to share their country's blessings to the world, especially to those in need.
This was an unusual way to go about it, but Shuri was sure that T'challa would be proud of her.
Her mother certainly was, as she kissed her cheek again and again as giggled.
"I am so happy you're doing this Shuri, I'm so proud of you," said her mother as they watched children stroll into the school by the bay.
"Thank you, mother. I will have to be away for a few months but—"
"Yes, I know. You're one call away," Ramonda said, tapping her Kimoyo bead.
The beach had the finest of sand, and Shuri breathed in the fresh air, tinged by the smell of saltwater.
Xavier strolled over to them, beaming with happiness.
"What a happy day, Princess Shuri. You have done marvelously," he said.
"Many of these are Wakandan practices, Mr. Xavier. We teach our children to be a community," said Shuri.
"Spectacular," he said. "I have also read the syllabus and I certainly would like to apply many things to our own school."
Shuri, Ramonda and Charles chattered away by the seashore.
Beneath the waves, just out of sight, a sea king was listening.
K’uk’ulkan was a father to all of his people. He had seen generations of Talokanil born, grow, and eventually die. While he never took on a partner or had biological children, he considered all of Talokan his kin. But when a civil war broke out between two tribes and left Namora and Attuma without families, he took them on as if they were his own flesh and blood.
Someday, they will be his most trusted generals, his fiercest of warriors. Namor looked forward to that day.
But right now, they were seven years old and fighting over a doll. All Namor could do was pinch the bridge of his nose as the kids' yells reverberated around the water.
"It's mine Attuma!" squealed Namora.
"No! I want it for target practice!"
Namora cried out and hit Attuma in the face, knocking him away.
"Enough!" Namor swam swiftly between the two crying children. He swept a sobbing Attuma into one arm and held Namora's hand with the other as she tried to escape with the doll. He called for a servant but he knew it was only a temporary solution. He did not want to raise them through servants.
Namor was a father to all, yes, but he is yet to be a dad. He himself did not have a father, and it had been so long since he even had a mother. How was he to raise these two children to become good people?
The King of Talokan needed help.
"My King, there appears to be a disturbance in the eastern seas. The surface dwellers are building a structure on one of the islands we use for reconnaissance," one of his generals, Kaax, reported during a meeting.
"That is one of the African outposts, yes? Are they American? Or Western?" asked Namor.
"No, my King," he replied.
"Then it is expendable to us, " Namor said.
"Yes, my King. However, during our surveillance of the area, we detected that they were using vibranium," said Kaax.
Namor frowned.
Another nation with vibranium?
It was something he needed to see for himself.
Namor watched from afar as surface dwellers who called themselves Wakandans erected buildings on the island with vibranium. Much to his surprise, they did not destroy much of the existing flora and fauna. If anything, they incorporated the ecology of the island into their structures.
Kaax also told him that this was not a military base, but a school.
The King was curious, but ultimately decided that it was not a threat, and therefore should not be minded. He told his generals to go back to Talokan without him, as he could use some time alone.
In truth, he missed seeing the sunset sometimes. Most things about the surface world, he did not care for.
But the sunset was one of the things worth being on land for. Namor sat on rock formations near the island, hidden from sight, and waited for the sun to fall.
And then he saw Her.
She walked to the edge of the cliff. For a moment, Namor was afraid that she would jump. But no, it seems she had come here to do the same thing he was doing: to watch the sunset.
The woman was in her twenties, it would appear. She had beautiful, dark skin and hair that fell in bushy curls. Her eyes were dark, but they teemed with a mix of hope and sadness. Something about her evoked a feeling inside of Namor that he had not felt before.
Alarmed at the sudden spur of the emotion, Namor dove back into the water without thinking. The splash caused the woman to look around, alarmed. She almost looked like a cat who had been alerted by a sound.
Namor was too busy thinking about her eyes to wonder how she could have heard him above the noise of the sea constantly crashing into the shore.
A week into the opening of the school, Shuri still felt uneasy. Everything was going great on paper. The children were settling in nicely. The teachers—a mix of Wakandan scholars and heroes—were getting along with the lessons rather well.
There was a child who set a dodgeball on fire when he sneezed but the teachers are all well-equipped to handle such incidents and nothing was lost except for the boy's eyebrows.
Even her own classes were going well. Shuri did not think herself to do well around children but the little ones wormed their way quickly into her heart. One student named Riri Williams especially caught her attention. She did not possess special powers like her mutant classmates but she was a super genius. It reminded Shuri of herself.
For the first time since T'challa passed away, Shuri felt like she was truly helping people again. Moving forward and onward by helping build a better future, like her brother wanted.
Still, Shuri could not help but sense that there was something unaccounted for. Something was escaping her watch.
She double checked all of the records, footage, every student and teachers' profile, the balance sheets. Shuri even checked the inventory for the pantry.
But on paper, everything was fine.
She walked to her private spot, the moon gently lighting the way, and her enhanced senses guiding her.
Shuri needed to think. The night was calm. The breeze kissed her skin gently and she sighed, taking it in.
Then she heard something moving in the water. Her instincts flared and she was suddenly wrapped in the Black Panther suit. She was right, something had been amiss.
An intruder.
She squinted her eyes, seeing where the movement came from.
"I am not here to hurt you," a voice said in English.
Shuri watched as he rose in front of her. She knew right away that he was flying, as the cliff she was on was a good twenty meters from the water. Hearing the fluttering of feathers, Shuri realized that he had wings on his feet.
It was not that he was flying that struck Shuri though (everyone seemed capable of flying these days). It was the jewelry he was adorned with.
He was wearing vibranium.
"Who are you? How did you get past our defenses?" Shuri asked, retracting her Panther mask.
The man's eyes met hers and she could tell that he was assessing her. Shuri did not look away.
"I have many names. My people call me K'uk'ulkan, but as a surface dweller, you may address me as Namor," he said, landing in front of her gently. "As to how I got past your defenses," he said. "I did not. You have blind spots in the waters. Besides, this is my island. I should ask you why you are here."
Shuri knitted her brows in confusion.
Surface dweller?
"The island was unoccupied, we made sure of that. What makes it yours, Namor?"
"You ask me many questions, and I have answered them. I should be the one asking you."
"That's fair, Namor. Ask away," said Shuri, determining that if she can avoid a fight, she will. Namor did not seem to be an active threat.
"What is your name?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
"My name is Princess Shuri of Wakanda," she said, not giving him more information than what he asked for.
"Why are you here, Princess Shuri of Wakanda?" he asked, now circling her. Namor said her name in a way that made her heart beat fast all of the sudden. There was a danger to him that Shuri felt familiar with.
Shuri allowed him to look, against her better judgment. "I built a school for gifted children," she said, turning to him suddenly. "Two for two questions. It is my turn. Where did you come from, Namor?"
Namor looked at her. Shuri tried not to look at his bare chest. He pointed towards the sea. "There," he said simply.
"There is nothing out there for miles," Shuri said, raising an eyebrow.
"No island, yes," said Namor, a smile forming in the corner of his lips. "But that does not mean no people."
He looked at her, as if quietly making a judgment call.
"I have two children who are… gifted," Namor said quietly.
Shuri already knew what he meant, inferring from his powers that he must have mutant children as well.
"I need someone brilliant to teach them, Princess," he said.