Arm in arm, Harry and Daisy wandered through the market below the palace and to one side of the main city. Everyone here was dressed in traditional clothes of the Wakandan people. At least, that's what they assumed. The colours that they wore were a either bright or reflected the nature that surrounded them, just as the architecture did.

There was definitely a distinct variety in the people, though. If Harry had to guess, he'd say that there were at least three, possibly four different tribes that made up the Wakandan people. Regardless, they all had the same thing in common: all were extremely friendly to the pair of white faces that walked among them and were extremely happy to show off their wares, be they food-stuff, man-made or something natural.

"Come on, Harry, try it on," Daisy insisted, accompanying the suggestion with an exaggerated pout. "You'd look good in it."

Harry frowned at the garment that Daisy had plucked from the pile of clothes on the table of the stall that they were currently in front of. His first thought was that it reminded him of something that wizards would wear, it was definitely robe-like. The big difference were the wide, billowing sleeves, the open neckline and the colour. But then, as Harry thought back to some of the robes that Dumbledore or Lockhart wore, it really wasn't that outlandish. And the rust brown with black and gold highlights did actually look good.

Acquiescing to her request, Harry shrugged off his jacket and swapped it for the Wakanda robe. After dropping it over his head and giving it a good wiggle to ensure that it was sitting right, he looked down at himself. To be honest, it actually looked fairly good. The only problem that he could feel were the sleeves. Within seconds, he had to lift up his hands and give them a shake to get the wide, flowing material to sit right.

Movement from his side had him looking back up and he found the middle-aged woman who owned the stall holding out her hands towards him, a 'yes' expression on her face.

"If you pull here," she said in her native language, a language that was translated instantly for Harry through his earing, as she tugged at what he'd originally thought was a loose thread just inside his sleeve, "you can tighten them up, make them fit snug against your arm."

Harry smiled widely at her to show that he was not only pleased with the result but that he understood.

"Perfect!" Daisy beamed. "We'll take it. How much?"

While Daisy was trying to barter with the woman using two different languages and a lot of gestures, Harry found himself looking around some more. A tang in the air that was there one second, gone the next, had him jerking his head around, trying to find the unknown something that had caught his attention.

And then he found it. Or, more precisely, them.

Two boys, maybe ten or eleven were walking through the market, and while one carried a basket of some kind of melon, above their heads, dipping and swirling and spinning backwards and forwards from one to the other, were four of the fruit. Instantly, Harry strode towards them. This was magic. He was certain of it. He could feel it.

Looking closer at the boys as he approached, he noted that neither of them were holding a wand. His eyes widened at the extraordinary control that they were displaying with their magic. Yes, all they were doing was a simple levitation spell – a Hogwarts' first year spell – but no child that he'd seen, really very few adults that he'd seen had that kind of control over their wandless magic. And then he noticed the way that they were holding their hands, with their pointer finger out, directing the fruit. And on the pointer finger of both boys was a small, wooden ring.

"Hi, boys," Harry said, trying to catch their attention.

Apparently, he'd startled them, for both jumped, their eyes darting away from the fruit suspended in the air above them. With a wave of his hand, Harry caught them; a second wave had them directing themselves into the boy's basket like a little procession.

Noting their widened eyes, Harry grinned at them and hunkered down onto one knee. Glancing around quickly, he found a small stone, picked it up and held it out in the palm of his hand. Then, passing his other hand over the top of the stone, he concentrated on his magic and the transfiguration that he wanted. When the 'stone' was revealed once again, it was no longer just a stone, but a miniature, aminated dragon that lazily unfurled its wings and opened its mouth in a great yawn.

The boys instantly clapped and began yammering at him and, while Harry could understand them, he knew that they'd never understand him in return.

"I'm magic," Harry said, holding his empty hand to his chest as he said it, willing them to understand.

Obviously, the two did understand, for they nodded vigorously, beaming great smiles. Holding out his hand towards one of the boys, he offered the small dragon. Carefully, the boy picked it up while his friend began rooting around in the dirt until he found a second rock and offered it to Harry. Grinning, Harry repeated his transfiguration so that there was a second rock dragon for the other boy as well.

"You're good with kids, Magic Man," Daisy said, as she threaded her hand around his arm as the two of them stood to watch them run off, waving backwards at them as they did.

Harry shrugged. "Guess so. Gotta admit, it's nice seeing kids being able to be themselves here, using magic out in the open where the non-magicals don't even bat an eye. I wish the whole world could be like that."

"Who knows, maybe one day it will be," Daisy said, giving his arm a squeeze. "Come on, let's see what else we can find here."

ooo00ooo

Francine staggered out of the warehouse door and instantly had to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight. Blinking up through her fingers, she saw that the sun was high in the sky, maybe a little past its zenith.

After noon? she wondered. But it was still early night when I went in there.

That didn't seem right at all. Could she really have lost so many hours? Looking down at the street, she couldn't even see any puddles or damp patches. And after that storm last night, she was sure that she'd still be able to see evidence of it.

As hard as she tried, she had trouble thinking back to what had happened. Yes, she remembered her glee at hearing that the Avengers were no more. She remembered being out in the rain on the streets, looking, hoping to see some bad boys or girls having fun. Behind her was the very door that the two guys had broken into and that she'd followed them through.

She remembered climbing the ladder and having to take off her shoes so that she wasn't so loud. Then she'd fallen into a vat of something. She'd climbed out of that only to ... only to, only to fall into another. After that, things got hazy. Light. She remembered light. And pain, agonizing, excruciating pain.

And then nothing until she'd woken up just a little while ago lying on the cold, hard, metal catwalk about the vats.

Feeling the caked-on stickiness all over her body, pasting her hair and even inside her very clothes, all Francine really wanted right then was a shower. Or three. Really, as many as it took to get this stuff washed from her body and the stink that clung to her gone forever.

Pushing herself from the wall, she orientated herself and lurched down the sidewalk in the direction of her apartment.

People everywhere that she passed gave her a wide berth, many wrinkling their noses, others turning them up at her, some even crossing the very street to get away from her. Seeing a couple walking towards her, Francine reached out to grab a metal light pole to go around and promptly jumped as an arc of electricity jumped from the metal to her hand. The strange thing was that it didn't hurt in the slightest, there was only a slight warm, tingly feeling.

Shrugging it off, Francine continued her trek.

Finally, after far too long with dozens of people staring at her, she reached the safety of the outer door of the building. Once again, that pleasant, tingly feeling warmed her as she felt the electricity arc into her hand from the metal doorhandle into her palm. She shivered in delight and her eyes widened in amazement as blue crackles of electricity filled the entire inside of the elevator as soon as the door closed with her inside it.

Francine had absolutely no idea what was causing all of the sparks to jump around her and to and into her and it was a little scary, if she was being honest. But that was secondary. This, this was purely exciting and ever so much fun. There was no pain as she might have expected. Instead, it was almost as though the electricity was welcoming her into it.

She wondered if anyone else had ever felt anything like it before.

Tearing her eyes from the blue arcs, she focussed on the button for her floor. As she reached out her finger to press it, an intense burst of electricity burst from her finger, hit the button and the elevator jolted upwards. Francine's head cocked as she looked at her finger.

Did that really just happen? she wondered. Did the electricity really just obey her wishes?

She jigged on her feet in giddy happiness. Something had happened to her in those vats with those two different goops and that bolt of lightning. She had no idea what it was but if this was what it did to her, all this electricity, then she instantly decided that she was never having a shower again. Not if it meant that she could finally be like her heroes, and even better, like her superheroes.

ooo00ooo

"This is all vibranium?" Steve asked in awe as he looked out the great glass windows.

"It is," T'Challa replied, clearly proud of what his people had accomplished.

And why wouldn't he be? Steve wondered. Stepping closer to the glass, he looked down. From up here, he couldn't see the bottom. But what he could see ...

The mine was deep and incredibly wide. Veins of silver and purple marked where the vibranium could be seen, awaiting extraction. There were dozens of strange-looking craft flying around inside with enormous space, moving people and ore about as needed. There even looked to be a futuristic train that ran on tracks around and throughout the mine.

"I'm guessing Dad didn't actually get the last of it," Tony commented.

Steve looked at him. "We knew that after Sokovia."

"Your father was sold the last of the vibranium that was released out into the world outside Wakanda," T'Challa stated.

"How much is out there, apart from my shield?" Steve asked.

"Very little," T'Challa replied. "Most of what was sold over the years had managed to find its way home. And with the vibranium that Klaue sold to Ultron having been blasted into space thanks to the Avengers, we can be sure that it is used wisely."

"Yeah, about that," Tony said and something in his voice had Steve fully turning away. "If that vibranium's out in space, that means that it doesn't belong to anyone anymore, right? Full salvage rights to whoever finds it?"

T'Challa's eyes narrowed slightly. "There is currently no known way for that vibranium to be retrieved. Do you expect it to re-enter orbit and fall to Earth at some point?"

"No, zero percent chance that that will happen," Tony stated.

"Tony? What did you do?" Steve asked before snapping his fingers. "The space quinjet. We brought that one here yesterday, didn't we? And Harry said that you went for a jaunt?"

"I may have been feeling the need to stretch my wings, as they say," Tony replied carelessly.

"You went into space and retrieved the vibranium," T'Challa said and it clearly wasn't a question. "Where is it now?"

"I dropped it off in the ocean not far from an island that I recently bought. It won't do any harm there," Tony replied.

"Come with me," T'Challa ordered.

Placing a hand on Tony's back, Steve guided him after the Wakandan prince, noting that half a dozen of the Dora Milaje, Wakanda's all-female security force, had formed up around them.

They were led into a curving corridor that was lined with dozens of large pieces of art, all showing scenes from Wakanda's past, interspersed with huge screens that had Tony veering towards them as often as he could, obviously wanting to 'play' with them.

As they reached a more open area, obviously some kind of lab from what Steve could tell, the Dora Milaje peeled off to take up positions near the entrance. A young woman who barely looked out of her teens stood waiting for them. She was dressed in a form-fitting white dress and promptly bowed when T'Challa approached her.

"My King," she murmured.

"Cut that out," T'Challa said, "and I'm not King yet."

"You will be, brother," the girl grinned as she stood and performed a complicated handshake with T'Challa.

"Captain Rogers, Stark, you remember my sister, Shuri, the head of the Wakandan Design Group, our research and development and scientific advancement department?" T'Challa said proudly.

"Her?" Tony blurted. "She's in charge of that?"

"Tony," Steve warned, a warning that was promptly ignored.

"She's what? Ten, eleven? Barely out of diapers, anyway and you have her in charge?" Tony asked.

"I am. You got a problem with that?" Shuri asked, a fierce expression on her face, her fists clenched at her side as she stepped forward. "I may be young but most of the designs that you'll see around here are mine! I'm not just some old has-been who keeps redesigning the same thing over and over again."

"Shuri," this time it was T'Challa issuing the warning and who was also promptly ignored.

"Yeah? You think you're so good, little girl? Prove it!" Tony challenged.

"Come with me!" she ordered.

T'Challa waited for Steve to fall into step alongside him before the two followed the inventors.

"This isn't going to end well, is it?" Steve asked sotto voce.

"No, no I don't think it will," T'Challa replied.

They were led across to three mannequins, one wearing a black and silver suit that looked suspiciously like a panther, the other two simply wearing necklaces – one gold, the other silver. Tony, of course, was instantly examining the suit, running his hands over it and peering in closely at the weave.

"Vibranium weave? Should be bullet proof. Looks highly flexible while still being light," Tony remarked. "Not a bad design."

"Thank you," T'Challa said. "I designed that one myself."

"Old tech," Shuri stated. "Functional but old. Everybody is shooting at me, wait, let me put on my helmet."

"Hey!" T'Challa protested.

"Look at these, brother," Shuri said, ignoring him and pointing to the two necklaced mannequins. "Which one?"

T'Challa stepped up to them, his head switching between the two.

"Tempting," he said of the gold necklace, "but we want to be inconspicuous. This one."

In response to his choice of the silver necklace of teeth, Shuri nodded and held up her bracelet to his neck.

"Um? What was that?" Tony asked, holding up a finger as both the bracelet and a part of T'Challa's neck glowed.

"Kimoyo beads," Shuri replied. "Made from vibranium to do a whole host of different tasks, depending on what they've been designed for. In this instance, I have just linked the necklace to T'Challa's implant allowing him to control it. Brother? Tell it to go on."

Obviously, it was a mental command, for Steve didn't hear T'Challa say anything, despite the fact that an entire suit, very closely related to the other one, materialised out of the necklace and grew over the mannequin.

"Nano tech?" Tony asked and received an affirmative nod from Shuri. "I've dabbled but haven't spent a lot of time with it yet."

"Be my guest," Shuri said, gesturing at the suit. "The entire suit sits within the teeth of the necklace."

After Tony had spend some time examining both the suit and the necklace, he nodded seemingly at least sharing a portion of the amazement that Steve himself was feeling at the sight of the advanced tech.

"Strike it," Shuri commanded.

"You want me to hit it?" Tony asked.

"Yes. As hard as you want, wherever you want," she replied.

"As hard as I want? Well, if you insist," Tony said.

He then stepped back, examined the suit for a moment and then flicked his wrist, producing a miniature glove and repulsor from his watch that spread out to cover his hand.

"As I said, I've dabbled," he smirked.

Then, lining up a shot, he fired a microburst at the suit, sending the mannequin firing. Immediately, Shuri was racing across the room to retrieve it and to return it to its original position.

"It's glowing," Steve frowned at the purple glow in the chest area of the suit where Tony's repulsor blast had hit it.

"Don't worry, it's supposed to do that," Shuri replied and tapped one of the beads around her wrist to produce what looked to Steve like a small holographic camera. "Now, hit it again in the same spot. With your fist this time."

"You're recording?" T'Challa asked.

"Scientific purposes, brother," Shuri shrugged. "An inventor's work is never done."

"She's got you there," Tony nodded. "The same spot?"

"Please."

This time, Tony stepped up to the suit, one foot in front of the other, leant back and struck the suit as hard as he could with his fist. However, instead of the suit being knocked backwards, it was Tony who was sent flying backwards, across the lab, over a table and crashing to the floor. Shuri, of course, burst out laughing.

"Tony!" Steve yelled and rushed towards him.

"What ... what was that?" a wobbly-sounding Tony asked, lifting his head.

"Shuri," T'Challa said and it was clear that he wanted an explanation.

"The nanites absorb the kinetic energy and hold it in place for redistribution later," she replied, her eyes shining.

"Very nice," T'Challa said, his fingers running over the suit.

"Right, I give, you clearly have some smarts," Tony said as Steve helped him to his feet. "What I want to know is, what is the world coming to? First Parker and now her? And neither of them are out of their teens yet!"

"I guess you'll just have to work harder if you want to catch up," Shuri beamed smugly.

"You can bet your sweet ass that I will be," Tony retorted.

"Tony! Language!" Steve reprimanded and then, noting Tony's look, instantly groaned.

ooo00ooo

The procession that descended down into the very bowels of the Earth below Wakanda was long. For this occasion, it seemed that everyone from the country wanted to attend. Men, women and children from the five united tribes of Wakanda – the Panther Tribe, the Border Tribe, the River Tribe, the Merchant Tribe and the Mining Tribe – all intended on paying their respects. It was easy for the outsiders to tell the different tribes, for, even though they all spoke the same language and had the same respect and downcast eyes, they all had their own unique dress and ornamentations.

What surprised the mourners, at least from what Harry could tell by the way that T'Challa, his mother Ramonda and his sister Shuri acted with their unexpected stiffening of their backs and sharp looks, was the appearance of a sixth tribe.

"Jabari!" the whisper swept through the procession.

As Harry, Daisy, Steve, Nat, Tony