Chapter 39: Into Wakanda

Sunday, November 16th, 2020. Wakanda, Africa.

Only a day ago, Bronte was in New York again after being gone for three years. And just like when he left back then, his heels were being nipped at by the Lupines. They wouldn't be nipping again for quite some time.

Bronte and his feral blooded siblings were tossed into an entirely new world. A world where men riding armored Rhino's like horses was normal. A world where reflective silvery windowed skyscrapers that made New York look primitive was normal.

The journey to Wakanda was..... underwhelming. Just a day between the normal and where he was now. Something he couldn't even fully comprehend. As he walked through the long sanded over streets, he found that he had to frequently remind himself to breathe. The world kept taking it from him.

He'd never seen civilization so advanced. So personalized and rich with culture untouched by the rest of the world.

Despite the massive number of people around them all, it was silent. Walkways twisted and intertwined through the entirety of Wakanda. Each one filled with people of all walks of life. Transporting goods, carrying children, traveling to work. It felt almost too mundane for such an advanced looking region.

They stood at the edges, looking down at Bronte and the rest of them, holding their arms up over their chests in an x symbol.

Bronte walked closer to Laura, whispering to her, "What are they doing?"

Laura took her eyes from Azari's backside and looked at the people. She somehow didn't look affected by it all, "They're showing their respect. The Wakandan Salute I believe it's called..."

Street performers on the ground with them hidden in the spotless alleyways and beside the streets played music on instruments Bronte couldn't recognize. The quality of the sounds and clarity of cultural rhythm was as clear as the rain beginning to fall from the sky. Bronte's hair flickered in and out of white as the music and people of Wakanda followed them. As the music symphony rose with more people beside the streets joining in, exotic birds flew across the skies, ducking and dodging the flying reflective vehicles journeying between the massive buildings and technological pyramids.

"...This is wild." Was all Bronte managed.

"We are more tame than any of your western regions, I promise you that." Azari casually said back to them. Arrogantly.

Bronte's face twisted with irritation. He knew when his presence wasn't appreciated. He'd dealt with it for the past three years. Then again, it didn't take a genius to see that Azari T'Challa wasn't too hype to find that he had a long-lost brother.

Before he could think any more on the matter, Raze came up beside Bronte and slung his arm over his shoulder, "Say..... Mr. T'Chilla--"

"It's T'Challa." Azari caught him immediately without stopping as they headed deeper into Wakanda.

Raze's jaw clenched before he smiled wolfishly, "....Right. How old are ya?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business." Azari replied. They stopped at a crosswalk of sorts. Immediately, the silent engined cars came to a stop as men and women hopped out to show respect.

He noticed some of them had odd features. Fur hidden beneath their cream white and silver kanzus. Or glowing eyes and scales.

Mutants.

A lot of them. Like more than usual....

One of the Border Tribe members that escorted them on Rhinoback leaned down to Raze, "Our Prince is coming into his manhood at fourteen years of age next month."

Azari looked back at the Border Tribe member, irritation in his eyes. Nothing too insane. The Border Tribe member dropped his head in apology as they crossed the street, all while the frozen members of traffic began singing with the street performers. Bronte wanted to sing along so bad it wasn't even funny.

"So.... fourteen, huh." Raze said as he shook Bronte by the shoulders.

Azari sighed, "Mhm."

"Any bills." Raze asked.

"Alright, bro." Bronte said as he finally looked away from the people. "Be easy."

"No." Azari replied to Raze.

"Any lifelong vendettas? Oversaturated revenge plots??" Raze's eyes glowed yellow with the rising of his excitement. The Rhino's walking beside everyone huffed in discomfort.

Gabbie pulled at his arm from his right, "Raze... stop being a stupid ass!" she whispered. "Sis tell him!"

Bronte looked over to Laura with his sister to find her talking with one of the Border Tribe members about the abundance of Mutants.

He would've been able to hear the answer if not for Raze. Always Raze.

"No? Oh ok... THEN WHY IS THAT STICK SO FAR UP YOUR BONY BLACK ASS?!" Raze's neck extended and his skin gained sporadic blue spots.

Bronte grabbed Raze, placing his hands on either side of his head and sending a focused shock through his brain. The blueskinned psycho went limp in a flash. Bronte slung him over his shoulder effortlessly.

Azari stopped. Seemingly uncaring of all the people who witnessed.

If they got screwed out of true solace this fast Bronte would skin Raze enough times to make a clothing line out of him.

Laura stopped talking with the Border Tribe member, looking over at Bronte.

Bronte pinched the bridge of his nose with irritation, "Aye..... uhm. Prince Azari, that's my bad. My brother has behavior issues. Again, he didn't mean any harm."

As he spoke, Laura looked back at Daken and motioned to Azari at the front of the line.

Daken sighed and cursed himself before using his pheromones to calm everyone. Even the tensed bystanders.

After a few seconds, Azari coughed and shook his head.

"Keep him under control. My home is less than a kilometer away."

"Got it." Bronte replied.

They traveled the rest of the way in silence. Bronte didn't mind, he wanted to take in all of Wakanda.

Not that a single kilometer of travel would allow him to do that. Either way he took in what he could. The people, the Mutants.... the art. It was sprayed across buildings with a spray paint that stood over the surface of the walls like a hologram. It felt religious. Pictures of a woman in the sky. Her hair was the clouds, her tears the rain and the breaths coming from her screams were the winds. Other pieces had her as the sun, shining over crops and a growing outline of what had to be Wakanda. And in every one of the pictures, there was a panther. Hell, there was a panther on everything anyway.

He suddenly felt out of the loop on Black Panther, the King of Wakanda. Then again, it wouldn't stay that way. A simple fact he became aware of as they reached their destination.

A staircase that seemingly ran a mile high awaited them. The color of sand, like most other buildings except it lacked the silver accents of tech metal. On each side of the steps, massive statues of snarling Panthers stood at over a hundred feet tall. Like the Sphinxes of Egypt. Only they were made from a metallic black substance instead of stone. Trees and beautiful plants lined the steps neatly and gave way to the monochrome massive building that must've been Azari's home. The front at least. Despite it lightly raining everywhere else, there was no rain there.

Someone else was controlling the weather. He could feel it.

Azari suddenly turned to face them and gave a Wakandan Salute to the Border Tribe escorts, "I wish you safe travels back to your post. May Bast bless you."

The Border Tribe members returned the salute, "Likewise, Prince." They said in unison before heading back the way they came.

Bronte looked away from them to find Azari watching him. If he stared hard enough, he could see how similar they looked in some regards. They probably would've looked more alike before Bronte's maternal Mutant genes awakened... and before he ate a Wendigo. Azari must've been seeing the same in a way.

"Let us go." Azari finally said before turning and leading them up the steps.

***

They made it to the top in a few minutes. The rest was a cakewalk, with more staring and anxiety. The beauty of Wakanda blurred his mind previously, but now inside the walls of their home, he was left to think of what it all meant. He was about to meet the woman who gave birth to him. She didn't raise him. She didn't mold him into the man he was, but damn. If there was one thing most foster and adopted kids wanted, it was to know their biological parents. To see the superficial wonders of physical likeness. To hear them explain themselves.... something. Anything.

"You good?" Laura whispered to him as they waited in an elevator. It was the largest elevator he'd ever been in. Also, the only see through elevator he'd ever been in. They seemed to be rising on pure magnetism. He could almost feel it pulling on his bones as he watched people working, training and talking throughout the building and courtyards beyond.

"....Yea. I'm.... I'm good." Bronte ran a hand through his dreaded braids.

"It's ok to say you're nervous, hermano." Laura said as she bumped shoulders with him.

"Yea bro. We're about to meet a King and Queen..... you're a Prince! Like in the folk tales. This is insane by the way." Gabbie said from beside Daken.

"There you go, mija. See, Bronte..... it's fine."

"Alright-- I'm uncomfortable. Now what?"

"That's it." Laura said simply with a shrug.

"Just don't make an ass out of yourself." Daken said at the back corner of the elevator.

"Please watch your tongue in the presence of the King and Queen." Azari said without looking back at them.

"I'll say what the hell I want, Panther Junior."

Bronte sighed loudly, "AYE MAN-- please be so forreal right now." He pleaded to the sky. He didn't really have a distinct religion but maybe Oshtur heard him and she could smite Daken into shape later.

Before Azari could reply, the elevator seamlessly came to a stop and the doors opened.

"Thank fuc--" Daken didn't get to finish his words as Bronte looked over at him with a glare sharp enough to sever diamonds.

"Tighten. Up." He mouthed to him.

Daken rolled his eyes, "....Thank Bast. I hate elevators."

Azari seemed content with everyone and led them out onto the massive courtyard/flightdeck/training field/royal grounds.

Despite the many different aspects melded together it didn't feel cluttered.

Grass hedges and beautiful plants lined the railings around the area, giving it color where everything else failed. A unit of woman stood at attention like soldiers on either side of the elevator they exited.

They saluted them all with spears in hand. A special unit of sorts he guessed based on their bald heads and bright red and gold clothing. They were beautiful. Not like a model on the internet. But like a Tiger in a forest. Fierce.

"What's going on." Bronte nodded to them.

They nodded back.

Overhead, flying vehicles that looked like advanced models of the Quinjet flew and landed on the strip in the distance that took them inside a larger portion of the building. He could smell that the place was where many pieces of technology were manufactured.

On the opposite side of the courtyard, more bald women trained with the spear. To Bronte's surprise one of them was a Mutant. She dodged the other lady's attacks by turning into a thin black smoke before recollecting behind her.

"Woah...." Gabbie commented.

Directly ahead, two thrones sat up another set of steps. The backdrop of Wakanda made the seats look even more majestic, covered in flower and panther esque regalia.

Bronte expected to find two gaudy and overly beautiful people seated there. Looking down on them like gods as they approached.

But the thrones were empty.

And when the royalty entered, it was as casually as two pedestrians in New York walking the streets.

T'Challa, The Black Panther. And Ororo Munroe, Storm.

They were talking over ideas with a man carrying a see-through touch screen device. Defense plans for something to do with the water. More of the bald warrior women followed them.

He didn't know what to expect of The Black Panther, but the man looked just as that. A man. He was tall, over six foot two. His skin was dark like Azari's and smooth. He kept his hair low and had no beard. It made guessing his age difficult to say the least. But he looked strong. Bronte could see the muscles in his arms move beneath his Kanzu as he fiddled with the touch screen device.

On the other side of the man they walked with, Ororo Munroe watched. She looked just as intense as she did when they were with Oshtur. She wore dreads. White as clouds on a sunny day. Jewels and silvery bands were wrapped around a few. She wore a top piece of white accented with silver. It matched the dress around her waist.

He was almost surprised by her pure white eyes. Even more so when he found them focused on him.

In the silence he suddenly realized everyone had taken a knee.... and a giant Panther with glowing tattoos was running directly at them.

The beast bounded across the walkway, pushing through Ororo and T'Challa to pounce on Azari. The two rolled around playfully as the Panther purred and licked his face.

"You....Kivuli.... need to read the room." Azari said casually as he petted the Panther before shoving it off him to get to his feet.

The panther-- Kivuli, backed away from Azari and immediately looked over at the others. Casually, the beast began purring as it walked through the group, brushing against them.

"Ohhhhhh my god....." Gabbie said in a whisper.

Azari looked back at Bronte, "This is Kivuli. My sister, Kymera's Companion. You will mee--"

Bronte's world went silent as he heard his name from a familiar voice. He looked up at the bald warrior women standing behind the king and queen. Out from the ranks stepped a woman. She didn't look exactly like the others. She was older, had a little weight to her. But she was still beautiful. She had a warmth that only a mother could. Only his mother could.

"Ma....."