Arc Eight. Chapter Two Hundred Thirty-Three. Old Enemies

After Cindy had calmed down, Peter spent a few minutes checking Silk, and for some reason, she was still hurt. Whatever Hank had done to her required more than just a quick infusion of cells. He would have to unbond the pair and treat Silk separately, something Cindy was unwilling to do while in Wakanda.

She would be heading to New York for Liv to treat while he was heading to the dig site in Egypt. He was meeting Reed and the rest for the first time, the field seemed like a good place to see how professional they could be and Aldrich had already put in a good word.

He wrote out several more messages to give to the Dora Milaje who was his shadow. He had spotted her the moment she entered his senses and she scowled but accepted that his powers would be more of a challenge to defeat. His phone, as had all of his technology, had been confiscated. Wakanda was still a secure nation once you reached the capital. No foreign tech in or Wakandan tech out, and the punishment was more than just a slap on the wrist. If Shuri was right, and Scott was planning on smuggling tech out, Hank Pym was about to get a very rude awakening, bigger than the one Peter was about to give him. He had promised Shuri he would wait until after his visit, to give them more rope. If Hank chose to hang himself, they might as well let him do it properly.

As Peter exited the room, leaving Cindy to speak to Silk he noticed the entourage for the totemic warriors. Not just Eddie, whose face fell into an angry scowl, but Fisk was there. The rest, he only recognised from pictures, and they really didn’t register on his radar. Fisk though, he owed him for Laura and seeing the size of the man hadn’t changed, knew exactly where he wanted to carve his pound of flesh from.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Eddie finally shouted at him angrily, “you’re a crook, You’re a murderer.” and Peter shrugged.

“Hey Spider-Man, nice friends?” and as Eddie looked at Fisk and the rest, grinning, he curled his lip in disgust,

“Don’t lump me with these low lives.” he spat back,

“I dunno, losers run together, and you, Fisk, definitely losers. Oh Fisk yeah, we told Shultz or whatever the hell his name was, where you were. Got a nice finders fee as well. Seems running out on the mafia really pisses them off.” but Fisk just laughed

“Pathetic. I already dealt with them,” and the giant man cracked his knuckles, “and you’re next. I heard you started a business, I hear a lot of things Mr Parker, and you have the gall to call me pathetic.”

Peter shrugged, “I want the one crying and bleeding on the floor, so, yeah, nice powers, grape ape. See they didn’t make you smarter,” and as Fisk speed forwards, a well-tailored man, in a Nehru jacket and black trousers stepped forwards putting a hand on his chest,

“You might wanna stow that shit, Parker. Mr Fisk is an honoured guest of mine, and of Wakanda.”

Peter shrugged, “Paedophiles and drug pushers can suck a tailpipe, Mr uh?”

“Stevens and you have proof? Or is this like Stark, and it’s all hot air.” and he smirked,

“Oh you mean the files and photos we took from Fisk’s files, the records and the paper trail we digitally recovered from the computers he was too hamfisted to clean properly? The files we handed to Wakanda. That kinda proof?” Peter grinned, “Nah, we don’t have anything like that. That’s why, Shuri, oh, Shuri, high priestess of the Golden Tribe, and my very attractive fiance granted me permission to beat the shit out of him, but you know, hiding behind someone seems more like his style.” and Fisk growled,

“Yeah, You’d think that huh, but right now all I’m doing is making sure he doesn’t get blood on his suit. Gotta look good for the Royal Council.” and turning he brushed the lapels of the giant man down, “but you’ll get your chance, pity your powers didn’t make you smarter. Fisk isn’t the man you fought before.”

Peter was about to respond when his Dora escort put a hand on his shoulder and as he turned, he caught her shaking her head out of the corner of his eye. With her hand there, 

Fine, I’ll behave, and she smiled.

“Yup, I think he’s put on weight, maybe a little chubbier. I hear sucking off Darren Cross for doughnut money will do that.” and as his escort sighed, Fisk roared and swung a punch at him. Peter simply moved to one side and with one finger pushed the side of Fisks arm, sending the giant man tumbling into a wall.

“Temper temper. I might have a banana. Monkey want? Monkey want a banana?” and it wasn’t until his escort cleared her throat that he realised what he just said might be taken in an entirely different context and Peter decided this time to really shut his mouth. “You were right though, Don’t want to get loser juice on my clothes.” and as his escort shook her head he was guided to a separate waiting room, where he smiled at her.

“Mr Parker, I am not allowed to interfere, but really. You are not making my job easier.” and as he sat back and took a grape from the fruit bowl on the table he sighed and after popping it in his mouth raised his hands in surrender,

“I know, I know, I’m sorry, He just pissed me off. And yeah, I’ve got a big mouth, so. I apologise. I’ll behave, honest.” and as he looked at the tall ceremonial guard, “Are you one of the ones who?” and she stared at him,

“I refuse to comment.” but Peter could feel the curiosity and slight embarrassment of his casually asking bleed from her normally stoic and calm emotional aura.

“Yeah, It’s fine. I do have a question though,” and as she raised an eyebrow he laughed, “no, not about that. Once I go home, if I marry Shuri will I get a guard permanently? I mean, you were guarding Ororo right?” and she nodded,

“As a consort, you will be assigned a detail. As Shuri is the only member of the Golden Tribe, and King T’Challa is on the throne, she is given a full escort. You however will only be escorted by one or two. As your powers seem to be quite amazing, I will say that it will only be a single guard.”

Peter nodded, “you?” and she nodded once, “How did they pick you?”

“I was Second, only to Okoye. If I refuse the detail I will become the leader of the Dora Milaje. It would be a great honour.”

Peter leaned forwards and took another grape, “so why are you guarding me then? I mean, not to make me sound like a loser or anything but leading all the royal guard, that sounds amazing, I really can’t rank higher than that.”

“I,” and she shook her head, “I do not wish to discuss this with you.” and Peter could feel a small hint of pain beginning to tinge her emotions.

“I’m sorry, So, uh, I guess I accept, so, you can call me Peter, or Pete I guess,"

“I am honoured to serve Mr Parker, I will call you Peter when we are not on official business.”

Smiling, Peter held out a hand but she simply stared at it and raised an eyebrow, “We don’t do that here.” and he half shrugged and leant back,

“Yeah, there were a lot of scrolls to read, and I really didn’t get a chance to look through them.” and Nakia frowned and shook her head,

“Then you make time. Royal Consort is not a joke Mr Parker. You will be expected to know the correct responses in various ceremonies. Even if you are never called for them.” and Peter nodded,

“I know, I know.” and as he lifted more grapes, “I’ll read them, I promise.” and he smiled as he popped them into his mouth. “Tell me about this one though, and yes I read the scroll. Ceremonial Combat, me and Fisk as M’Baku had some kind of deal with T’Challa about Shuri. I want to know what you know, not the official bullshit.”

“I am your escort, not your secretary, and it is forbidden for me to talk on matters I have no business in discussing with an outsider.” and Peter raised an eyebrow and smirked,

“Oh, but taking a video and spying on my naked junk was okay?” and Nakia coughed and looked away, 

“We were suitably punished for that,” but Peter refused to give in,

“Oh, was the punishment long and hard? Did it leave you-” and Nakia banged the butt of her spear on the ground, 

“Fine, fine. I am reconsidering my application for your guard if this is how you will treat me. Shuri was to be wed to M’Baku, for his approval of T’Challa’s ascension to the throne.” but Peter leaned back, and looked confused,

“But isn’t he the next in line?” and she shook her head.

“He is, but a member of any tribe can challenge him for the throne. Just no one ever does, but M’Baku is,” and she pursed her lips and nodded slightly, “ambitious. It was only Shuri crippling our security systems that made them both back down. As she has taken you for a consort, M’Baku is using the situation to leverage more power.”

Peter crossed his fingers and lay his hands on the top of his head. This was why Shuri wanted him to leave Fisk alone. If he killed him, he could force M’Baku into a corner, and make T’Challa’s life harder.

As he sighed, he gave her a sorrowful look, “I really hate politics, and the video thing. Sorry, that was mean.” but she shook her head,

“No, taking it in the first place was mean, and disrespectful. It will not happen again.”

Peter could feel there was more to this story, as her emotions were in turmoil. He doubted it was over him though, as far as he was aware this was the first time they had met, maybe he should ask Shuri, just in case he really made a mess of things and alienated his guard.

“So, ritual combat, I get the depowering thing, but can we just skip that and fight?” and Nakia shook her head,

“Powers do not make a man, and while a man must be able to wield the power he is given, he must first prove that he is worthy of it.”

“You all know I can’t give up my powers right, and using the de-powering formula on me might even kill me.” Gwen had warned him that as his body was a human hybrid with symbiote cells and now Extremis cells making up a large part of his biology that using anything that stripped them away might do a lot of damage. Citing Banner and the Gamma Formula as an example, while her own de-powering formula seemed to have no effect they had been denied access to both the Purple Heart flower, and its sister formula, the one they used to remove its effects.

“Then you were not worthy to hold them. If your body cannot live without your powers, then you are nothing. A man must be able to stand on his own. A man must earn what he has been given, and be ready to fight for it at any moment.”

“And not just that but I need to prove that I’m worthy of marrying Shuri?”

Nakia nodded, “would you entrust the favoured Princess of the Golden Tribe to a man without honour? A man without backing? Who so far has only been shown to have one redeeming quality, even if it was impressive.”

Peter sighed, “Then I guess tomorrow I prove to all of Wakanda that Peter Parker isn’t just a massive dick.”

As Nakia snorted and struggled to hold back her laughter, Peter just frowned,

“That sounded better in my head.”