Chapter 12
Breathing in deeply, Shuri focused on calming her heart rate as the water rose to flood the waterlock. She could feel it pressing in around her with its cool temperature, but her suit was holding strong and she didn't feel a single drop touch her skin. It had taken her two nights straight to figure out the correct way to integrate a pressurized deepwater suit with vibranium nanotech. Her original prototype from a few weeks ago never passed the pressure tests, and the crunch time to build something functional had her nearly pulling her hair out in frustration until a message had pinged on her kimoyo beads.
"Princess, my research team here has designs they would like to share with you regarding ideas for deep water suits for your soldiers. I have scanned them here. Your beads have only exhibited strange behavior in proximity to the sun, where they seem to vibrate the water around them in a strange manner. I also believe I may have found a solution to your affliction that does not involve eating fish. We have a pain tonic here made using ingredients harvested near thermal vents that may interest you with its restorative properties."
At the time, she'd been so sleep deprived she'd barely noticed anything but the scans of the suits attached to the message. As soon as she'd reverse engineered them to blend with her own tech, the last sentence and its implications hit her like a tidal wave. A cure. Talokan might hold a cure for these incessant episodes. And now she was going to see what it was.
The whirring of the door in front of her pulled her attention to the energy coiling in her stomach. She'd had so many questions about Talokan the last time she was here, and digging through the archives of information hadn't quenched her thirst nearly as much as seeing it all in person had. Namor’s armor glinted in the water next to her, and her eyes were drawn to his gold and bronze figure as he leisurely twisted in the water to lead her out of the facility. Her hands itched to take his kimoyo beads off his wrist and start examining the data they'd been gathering, but she held back and tried to stay neutral as she swam behind Namor.
He looked back at her with a gentle smile and led her to one of the pillars he'd used when he'd shown her around the capital. Excitement thrummed in her veins watching how the gesture of his hands activated the powerful current that would take them to the rest of the nation. The familiar rush of energy filled her as her mind began whirring at a thousand miles a minute. She was nervous, excited, and cautious all at once in a way she hadn't been in years. The chance to learn a whole new field of information was rare with all that she already knew, and she felt like she was 13 again, figuring out how quantum physics could be applied in a practical setting while painting her nails on her bed in the palace.
Namor offered her his hand and she found herself staring at the open palm with trepidation before gingerly placing her hand on his and allowing him to guide her into the highway current. The water rushed around them, propelling them forward and Bast, it was so much more invigorating when she wasn't in a clunky metal can. The sights of the Atlantic Ocean raced by them and she turned to gape, glad she'd chosen to go with a fully open face for her mask design this time around. The narrow eyes of the panther were great for battle, but the clear mask allowed her to really see every inch of water around them.
The hand holding hers was warm and firm, and she trailed her eyes from the sights of Talokan towards the place where their hands joined. He hasn't let go. The feeling was odd, but… nice, in a way. It was the first time since he gave her his mother's bracelet that he had touched her without trying to either kill her or offer some tangible agreement of some kind. Aside from the sushi in the lab. And the sparring in the exhibition match. And the weird Talokan head touch thing that had nearly given her a heart attack. Okay so maybe it wasn't the first time, but it was the first time she had really noticed it.
Even through her suit, she could feel a singing in her veins from where their hands met, and it struck her just how rare it was that anyone casually reached for her anymore. Her family had always been the ones to comfort her, stroking her back, holding her hand, or letting her fidget with their fingers. The familiar dull ache of grief welled up as she thought back to those times, but it was lessened somewhat by the constant pressure around her fingers, and she let herself enjoy what small comfort she was offered. Blinking back the feeling, she forced her attention back to the world around them, zipping by at lightning speeds.
It didn't take long for her curiosity to take hold in place of her emotions, and she found herself speaking. "How did you manage to harness the ocean's natural currents into your own transportation system?" The king cocked his head to the side, staring at her strangely before he responded.
"Truthfully, I do not recall. When I was a child, there was a brilliant Talokanil that learned how to harness vibranium's natural wavelength into a form that could shape water at will. At the time, I was uninterested in the subject, but if you'd like, I can guide you to our library and you can discover it for yourself." As he spoke, he kept his body angled towards her and shifted his weight seamlessly to guide them through the water like a blade. It was almost mesmerizing to watch the way he twisted and shifted in front of her with no effort at all. His muscles were clearly working just under his skin, but you wouldn't know from looking at him with how effortless he made it all look. She felt more like a lanky ragdoll being pulled around behind him, and she tried to copy his movements in an attempt to feel more in control of herself.
His words were a bit muffled as he spoke, an unfortunate side effect of the insulation of her suit, but she could understand him all the same. "The beads around your neck, are they kimoyo as well?" His eyes were sharp and open, dark and glittering in the strange glowing light of the water.
"Yes, they're meant to help monitor my vitals, as well as project my voice into the water. If something goes wrong, I can use them to repair my suit or heal minor injuries." His gaze was fixed to her neck, where the beads laid, and he seemed to come up with some kind of idea because next thing she knew he was pursing his lips and looking around.
"What? Is something wrong?" He didn't answer, instead opting to suddenly shift his weight hard to the left, sending them into one of the intersecting currents. She barely kept a yelp from slipping out as he pulled her body up parallel to his own, spinning them around each other for a moment. His eyes were directed up, one hand out to balance them while the jetstream took them into the capital. She didn’t know what to do with her body, so she limited her movements and turned her attention up, towards the gleaming city of Talokan. This stream seemed to go under most of the others, bringing them in underneath the overlapping structures of the city center.
A squeeze came from the warm hand around hers, and she snapped her gaze to Namor, who was smiling softly. When he does that, it makes his septum piercing crook up on one side. She looked at him questioningly, but he merely jerked his head in front of them, at an opening in the stream that carried them.
“Your turn, princess. I will follow behind you.” Nodding, she eyed the opening rapidly approaching them. She was never a strong swimmer, but she figured if she kicked both her feet at the right time, she’d be alright. …2…now. Bracing both legs together, she kicked hard and propelled her body out of the current through the opening. Problem was, she’d forgotten that her super strength still worked underwater and now she was shooting through the water and towards a building. Reflexes caught her just in time and she flung her limbs out to stop her momentum. A rush of water pushed into her from behind, and there was Namor, mirth in his eyes and a single pointed brow raised in amusement.
“Got your sealegs yet, princess?” Her eyes rolled on their own and she turned to look at where they’d ended up. This neighborhood seemed to be older, made of stone bricks and lined with plants. There was sand underneath her, so this must be the bottom level of the city. Looking up directly above her took her breath away. As far as she could see, there were overlapping archways, people swimming around, and vibrant colors lining the walls all the way up to the buildings on the ceiling of the massive cave.
Looking around, she began to swim in the direction of a bright patch of water, absorbed in the wonder that was this marvelous city. People smiled and greeted them, and she looked over to find Namor returning their gestures with his own. He looks just like he did when he showed me around the first time. His expression was open and gentle, pride in his eyes and kindness in his greetings. Flashes of the rage that contorted his face on the burning beach entered her mind, but the images just didn’t line up with the man floating beside her now. She was caught in her staring when his eyes flicked over to her, and she pointedly ignored the flush trying to rush to her cheeks.
Reaching the bright patch, she looked up to see a large colosseum in front of her, and above it: the shining vibranium sun. Namor swam to her side and looked up with her. Golden light cut through the water all around them and cast every figure besides them in shadow. The last time she’d seen the sun, she had been at the base of the stairway leading up to Namor’s throne. Now, she floated at the very bottom of the city, staring up from between the geometric archways of Talokan at their beacon of hope. From down here, it looks no different than the Sun that I know.
“Shall we continue, princess?” Namor’s voice was even and gentle, the low timbre of it vibrating the water in between them. Her head tried to wrap around how he could speak so clearly underwater that only her suit distorted the sound of it, but no answers were coming to mind. I should convince him to let me examine him. The data I could glean from his physiology alone would be revolutionary. Realizing that she’d been staring at him without answering, she turned in the water and resisted the urge to fiddle with her kimoyo beads.
“By all means, lead the way Namor.” A hearty chuckle sounded from beside her, followed by the swirling of water around her body as he began weaving his way towards the heart of his city. She found herself studying his movements again, this time allowing her full strength as she copied them. She followed him in silence for a few minutes and already in that time, she was becoming more and more comfortable swimming at his pace. Excitement simmered just under her skin, and she felt giddy with the ease that she could cut through the ocean waters, something she had never thought possible before.
It wasn’t just her that was brimming with energy; the water around them was thrumming steadily with the telltale hum of vibranium, and as they reached the palace steps leading to the throne, she noticed the water around her kimoyo beads starting to shimmer. Namor led her all the way to his throne, nestled between the massive jaws of an ancient shark. There, he turned around and offered his hand.
“Come, you wanted to see the interactions of your kimoyo with my sun, yes?” She found her hand slipping into his, where he pulled her up so they were face to face with each other. His left hand rose in the space between them, and her eyes flicked down to see the same shimmering on his beads that had appeared on hers. Pulling her hand from his, she reached down to hold his wrist in place while she examined the odd appearance of the water around her technology.
Running her fingertips over the beads didn’t help much, since the insulation of her suit meant that her sense of touch was heavily limited to only broad sensations. All she could glean was that the shimmering was accompanied by a pulsing vibration in the water around Namor’s wrist. Raising her own beads to his, she pursed her lips. No unusual readings from either of them. They don’t act differently in proximity to each other, either. The vibrations are all wrong for the standard frequency of refined vibranium. So lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice how close Namor was to her until she pulled her head away from their hands and found herself nearly nose to nose with the man. Her head jerked back in shock, more worried about accidentally headbutting him than anything. Bast knows I’ve done that to almost everyone that’s stood too close while I’m focused on something.
His eyes were trained on her neck, fascination and something akin to worry on his face as he dipped his head down to get a better look. She stilled her whole body, trying not to breathe as he raised his fingers to lightly run across the beads around her neck. “These beads, they are glowing, Princess. Is there any chance they may hurt you so close to your neck? I do not wish to cause the Panther any harm by bringing us closer to my sun.” Glowing? They shouldn’t be glowing. They’re all the same model of kimoyo bead. Registering his words took her a few seconds as she pulled her thoughts away from potential malfunctions and back to the real world. He’s worried I’ll be hurt? Does he really think that lowly of my technology? Indignation flared and set her mouth in a pout as she responded.
“They’re not going to hurt me, Namor. They’re communication beads. Repair beads, at most. There’s literally no way for them to get underneath my suit to cause any damage.” Her eyes rolled of their own accord, and she tried to tamp down her tone for her next words. “How close can I get to that sun?” The paranoid part of her head was whispering, urging her to gather information. To protect herself. I need this data. If he decides to attack again… She tried not to dwell on it.
If he noticed her unease, he said nothing. Instead, he offered his hand once more, waiting until she'd placed hers in his again, and lifted them both up to the grand sun above them. It was so bright it nearly blinded her this close, and she was so tempted to reach her hand out to touch it. The fingers of her free hand reached, mesmerized, but he caught her wrist lightly with his right hand, shaking his head at her as he pulled her arm back.
"Look, princess." He gestured with his chin in the direction of their joined hands, and she noticed the runes on his kimoyo were now glowing a deep indigo. Glancing at her left wrist, she found the same deep color radiating from her own beads as well. The shimmering from before had become a solid light, and the odd vibrations were now strong enough that she could feel each pulse ripple through her suit and nearly into her bones. Fascinated, she drew her fingertips over the beads on his wrist, committing the pattern of the vibrations to memory. Shifting her attention to her own beads, she pulled a bead out of the bracelet and used it to scan and record the current behavior while her mind whirred with possibilities. Her attention was drawn up again at the sun so close it was blinding, and she reached up to scan it as well.
Namor said nothing the whole time, allowing her to study and examine his wrist and his sun without complaint. She found that she had to kick lightly to keep herself level with him, even though he was frustratingly still in the water. A light pulse told her that the scans were successfully added to her private database, and she looked back at Namor, ready to ask to head back down. Dark eyes met hers and the words stilled in her throat. His figure was bathed in a golden glow, reflecting off the ornate armor he always wore. Even then, somehow his eyes were the brightest thing about him, staring at her so… tenderly. Discomfort swam in her belly, and she didn’t know what to do with her hands that were still lightly tangled with his own. Why is his gaze always so intense? Doesn’t he know that makes people uncomfortable?
The water around them was overflowing with the energy from the vibranium sun and she felt her own body filling with nerves to match it. Eventually, it became too uncomfortable for her to stay still and she turned her head away, looking out to the reaches of his capital city. From here, her eyes sharpened to make out nearly every curve, color, and shadow of his home and the breath was knocked from her lungs as she saw so much of Wakanda’s history mirrored here in Talokan. She could spot the age and wear on many of the buildings making up the central-most section of the city. The colors were more vibrant on the middle section of structures, and she could just make out the kelp forests on the outskirts of the farthest reaches of the city. A sense of calm washed over her, filling her from within and easing the anxiety that always seemed inches away these days.
Pensively, she asked the man beside her what was on her mind. “How did you figure out how to build down here? This city is gorgeous and defies everything I was ever taught about architecture, but it works somehow. Have you just been building for the last five centuries?” A soft chuckle reached her ears and she turned to find Namor looking out over his kingdom like a proud father.
“Yet again, you ask a question I am too young to answer, princess. Come, I will show you where to find the answers.” Without thinking twice about it, she grabbed his hand again and allowed him to swim them up towards the ceiling of the city. Buildings reached down towards her like fingers, and she felt a dizzying sense of vertigo swimming up into them. The god-king led her up to a spiral structure, grinning back at her as he led them inside. From floor to ceiling, the walls were filled with slots and slots of what appeared to be glass tablets. The lightest touch on her back made her look once more to the man beside her, who was smiling from ear to ear.
“Welcome to the library, princess. All of the written data of Talokan is stored here, transcribed by our brightest storytellers and scientists. As long as you stay here, you are welcome to explore to your heart’s content. Though, I hope you’ve brushed up on your Maya.” Baffled, she looked around, almost overwhelmed with excitement and the curling wisps of joy. Eagerly, she swam over to the closest shelf and looked at the labels along the slots. Whale species training guide. Altered behaviors of endangered species. Her translations felt a little off, but she’d been practicing enough to understand the glyphs without needing her kimoyo beads.
A joyful squeal bubbled up from her heart, and she became lost in the soft glow of the spiral library. Spinning around, a laugh broke free from her chest at the sheer beauty of the records around her and she found herself almost frozen with indecision. Where to start? What to read first? Turning to look at Namor, she was at a loss for words, gesturing around her with awe.
"How far back do these go?" The man across from her smiled an infuriating grin as he drifted towards her at a leisurely pace. His tone was full of mirth and pride when he responded.
"Oh, about as long as I have been alive. Our storytellers have incredible memory, so even though this library is much younger than I, the information in it is all accurate up to and even before my birth." Memory?? Does Talokanil memory function differently from human memory? Or is it a side effect of the Mayan culture surrounding storytelling? Her eyes couldn't pick a single spot to focus on, her mind couldn't pick a single thought. Every minute she spent in his city felt like a benchmark achievement. It hardly felt real, but gods was she glad it was.
"Is this information available in the culture exchange database?" She couldn't help but ask. She hadn't read it all, but she'd read a decent amount of the entries coming through in Wakanda, and she was pretty sure half the titles around her weren't included in the transmissions.
A deep chuckle sounded from much closer than she was expecting, and she glanced to find Namor floating right next to her, looking over her shoulder at the lines of shelves behind her. "No, princess. Only a handful of these records have been selected for our culture exchange." His eyes flicked to hers and held her captive for a moment before he continued. "And as much as I would love to set you free in this place, I believe you were interested in the development of our pain tonics, yes?" The cure. Bast, please don't let this be a fluke.
Her head bobbed up and down heartily, her focus suddenly single-minded on the medications of Talokan. "Please, where do I find the research on that? Is there a system in here I should follow?" She still wasn't entirely sure how to speak to him when it came to some topics, and she knew the default formal tone she took up was painfully obvious when his dark brow rose on one side in a pointed expression. At this point though, so close to answers that didn't involve fish and seaweed, she had to stay focused and serious. Focus, Shuri, you can stay focused.
Namor smiled gently, with just the slightest glint of white catching her eye before he was turning, speaking with her as he swam in the direction of the library's entrance. "I am afraid those answers lie on the other side of the city, princess. But the library is always open, feel free to ask the attendants for assistance, and as I said: help yourself to whatever catches your eye here. For the length of your stay, what is mine is yours, Panther." With that, he offered his hand in the water between them, and she didn't think twice about it when she easily took it and followed behind him. One last forlorn look was tossed over her shoulder at the beautiful library before they took off in the direction of the thermal vents.