Work Text:
Earth-616
Nari was attempting to use the blood-soaked knife to jimmy the Vibranium coffin open. She was sweating all over as she attempted to free her rival.
“Like you, Ororo, I can open any lock.” She muttered.
Death hovered over me. Taunted me. Weakened me. I cried, screamed, and asked for Death to befriend me, to deliver me from this pain and torment. But Death would not answer my call. I screamed. I suffered.
Meanwhile, a few yards away from the helicopter, Cole was shouting at T’Challa’s limp body. He held the boy up, with both hands gripping his neck.
“Wake up, boy. Wake up so I can beat you unconscious again!” Cole demanded, before throwing T’Challa down into the dirt. “Wake up so I can beat you into your grave. ” He said, leaning over the Prince. Suddenly, T’Challa’s foot hurled itself directly into the Poacher’s crotch. He let out a pathetic, strained cry of pain and fell to the floor. His face was red as he said about every curse from every language he knew. T’Challa scrambled onto his feet, angrily glaring at the Poacher.
My parents are dead. That world, gone. Killed by another man’s war. By man’s hatred of man. The smell of their hard times lives in the air. Its scent as strong as Changaa. Teacher would drink Changaa, he had it imported from Northern Kenya. From my homeland. Where my Mother was born. The land my Mother left for her own reasons. A land I may never see.
Whether in the slums of Nairobi… Darfur… Samburu… Ethiopia… Sex, alcohol - we all search for ways to drown out our sorrows. But that homemade alcohol. If you dip your finger in that concoction and put that finger to a flame, it will create a beautiful fire. A truly sensual fire. Homemade alcohol can corrode a goat’s liver in a matter of minutes. It could kill a man or simply steal his sight.
Nari finally pried the coffin open and a huge puff of fog bellowed out of it like a chimney. Nari reached inside, grabbed Ororo and threw her out of the helicopter. Nari was pissed.
“Everyone is dead, Ororo. Hakiim. Abdul. Petiri. Teacher. The whole village is nothing but a smouldering ash pit!” Nari spat.
“No…” Ororo groaned, weakly.
“All because you had to have that fucking camera!” Nari continued. “This man tried to rape me, Ororo. The closest thing I had to a Father is dead. Why did you come to our guild?!”
“ You’re the one who encouraged me to get the camera, Nari. Why do you hate me so much?” Ororo muttered.
“ BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL! Run, Ororo. Run so I can slaughter the slowest zebra. For my Father’s death… for every death. You will pay. Run! ” Nari shouted, furiously, holding the knife. Ororo tried to scramble away, but she was still weak from the tranquiliser dart and from being subjected to her worst fear.
“You are pathetic. And to think my Father wished you were his daughter. He’s sacrificed all of us to protect you. That old fool only ever said one thing that made sense: Always kill your enemies. ” Nari growled.
Cole was still on the ground, whimpering and groaning in pain. It wasn’t until a huge shadow loomed over his body, he looked up.
“Excuse me, sir. Your big brother would like to have a word with you.” The Bull’s assistant said while the large man stood next to him. He still had a couple of darts in his body, but somehow he was awake and moving. But before The Bull could get his revenge on his little brother, a loud crackling noise pierced through the jungle.
Nari screamed in agony as Ororo blasted light blue electricity into her enemy. The other side of Nari’s body was now littered with new burn marks as she fell backwards into the grass. Ororo stood up and looked over Nari, scared and confused. Then she saw a pillar of fire and smoke billowing towards the sky, not far from her. The remaining Poachers must’ve gotten bored and torched the nearby village.
“Rain… Please… Save them…” Ororo mumbled to herself. Dark clouds started forming over the village, then poured rain down onto the flames, gradually dousing them.
WHUMP!
Cole’s unconscious body fell with a thud next to Ororo, making her jump with surprise. His face looked bruised and battered as The Bull stood over him.
“No…” Ororo gasped, looking up at the scary man. “NO!” She shouted, before shooting much weaker electrical beams into The Bull’s abs and chest. But he just stood there, unaffected.
“Remarkable. You channel lightning at such a young age. When you are rested, you will be more powerful than the young Wind-Rider who eluded our Father.” The Bull told her. “You’re more valuable than I realised.” He said as T’Challa hid in the trees above him. The Bull reached down and grabbed Ororo by the throat and started lifting her up. T’Challa landed on the ground, catching the Bull’s attention.
“This is how you win your battles? By choosing to fight the
wounded?
” T’Challa taunted.
“No. This is how a weak man loses his battles. Because of a woman.” Andreas claimed, choking Ororo as she was held in the air. “Come any closer and I snap her neck like a twig.” He warned T’Challa. The Prince remained still. He didn’t dare risk Ororo’s safety.
“Chain him up.” The Bull instructed his assistant. He did as he was told and chained T’Challa’s ankles and wrists together. Then the Bull dropped Ororo to the ground. She coughed and wheezed.
“Chain the Wind-Rider up, too.” The Bull commanded. The assistant did the same to Ororo.
“What about your brother?” The assistant asked.
“Leave him.”
“He tried to
kill you.
Why spare him?”
“Because he is still my brother.” Andreas sighed.
Ororo and T’Challa were carried into the helicopter and it soon lifted from the ground, abandoning Cole and the other Poachers. They had dumped the rapist out into the grass, before taking off.
“What have we done to you? Why are you hunting us?” Ororo asked, scared.
“Your boyfriend is the key to Wakanda. The key to Vibranium. The key to money, wealth, power. And you, young lady, appear to have the ability to control the weather. ” The assistant explained. “If your emerging powers can be harnessed, you could create lightning, hurricanes, monsoons. You could destroy enemies at will. All of that raw power… guess I’d call it a weapon of mass destruction. And with Wakanda’s unlimited money and never dwindling resources, he who owns both your power and Wakanda’s technology could rule the world. ” The assistant explained. “Around three decades ago, there were rumours that there was another like you in the country. Only, that Wind-Rider vanished after my employer’s father attempted to cap-”
“Would you shut up?” The Bull cut him off.
“She asked. Didn’t want to be rude.” The assistant shrugged. Ororo leaned back and looked over to T’Challa, feeling defeated.
“Is this what I was born for? To always be hunted like I am an animal?” Ororo asked, sadly.
“They want to use us to enslave the world.” T’Challa said, morbidly.
“Is that possible?”
“I’ve been taught to believe that anything is possible.” T’Challa nodded.
“They’re gonna experiment on me, aren’t they? Dissect me?” Ororo realised.
“Evil owns no boundaries.” T’Challa said. “They want to make us their slaves.”
These heavy chains. They shot me with poison and put me in a coffin. Weigh me down with chains like I’m a wild animal.
Ororo’s eyes lit up. T’Challa quietly gasped as the mutant’s wrists started sparkling and fizzling, but the sound of the helicopter drowned out any noise it created. And just like that, Ororo’s chains unlocked from the static electricity seeping into the keyhole.
“Ororo? How?” T’Challa whispered.
“I pick locks to survive. This is just a new tool.” Ororo whispered back to him with a smirk.
“You are quite the warrior, Ororo.” T’Challa smiled, softly.
“In my world, every day is a war.” Ororo said, before doing the same to T’Challa’s chains - taking extra special care not to hurt his skin.
“If what he says is true… About me… and these gifts…” Ororo whispered.
“Can you…? Are you strong enough?” T’Challa asked.
“I guess we’ll find out…” Ororo said before her eyes lit up. Bright white lights replaced her pupils as she gritted her teeth. But nothing happened and the lights faded away. She let out a gasp before leaning back into T’Challa’s arms.
Why do the Gods abandon me now?
“You’re too weak. We’ll have to wait until we are closer to the ground. Until we land.” T’Challa told her.
“No. We will land and there will be more like them. I will not become a slave to their wishes. I will not allow anyone else to die.” Ororo told him, sternly.
“You are without a doubt the strongest woman I’ve ever known, Ororo.” T’Challa whispered, giving her temple a kiss.
“I am?”
“Without a doubt.” T’Challa nodded. Feeling invigorated by T’Challa’s love and kindness, Ororo leaned in and kissed him.
All the emotions in my heart. All the instincts in my head. They told me to save and protect T’Challa. My beloved.
“Ummm, sir? I think we have a problem.” The Bull’s assistant said.
“What now?” Andreas groaned, before following his assistant’s eyes towards another helicopter flying alongside them.
“I think it’s your little brother, sir. And he appears to be pissed.” The assistant said, nervously.
“Your brother is the
least
of your problems.” T’Challa growled, holding the end of a link of chains and wrapping it around the Bull’s neck.
“What the- GRKKK!!” Andreas blurted out. Ororo’s eyes had lit up and she whipped her own, electrically charged chains against the assistant’s face. Teeth fell out of his mouth as he shouted in sudden agony. Machine gun bullets suddenly sprayed through the helicopter’s walls, from Cole’s helicopter. Nobody was hit, but the controls were. They erupted in sparks and flames as an alarm in the helicopter blasted. But T’Challa only continued to choke the Bull.
“Stop! Before you kill us all!!!” The assistant cried through a bloody mouth, opening the door of the helicopter so the smoke had somewhere to go.
“I’d rather death than be your slave!!” Ororo said, before shooting lightning from her fingers and letting it surge through both The Bull and his assistant. T’Challa released his hold on the Bull just a second before his girlfriend could display her power.
“ARRRRAAAARRRGHHH!!” The Bull shouted, before charging towards T’Challa. With one tackle he pushed the Prince out of the chopper. They both fell out of the vehicle, as Ororo screamed after them.
“NOOooo!!” Ororo shouted while T’Challa and the Bull punched each other through the air.
This gift. These powers. If they can harness my gift… then I can control them. I have no choice. I’d risk it all for T’Challa.
Another spray of bullets was fired into the helicopter, this time littering the assistant with holes. Ororo jumped out of the helicopter and as she fell, she blasted a bolt of lightning at Cole’s helicopter.
BOOOOOMMMM!!!
The chopper erupted in a ball of flames, killing anyone and everyone inside. Ororo zoomed through the air like a bullet, making her way towards T’Challa. Given how much heavier he was, The Bull had fallen further and faster than the Prince. Ororo focused on T’Challa. Getting closer and closer and closer before finally catching his wrist.
Control it Ororo. It comes from inside you. I stopped asking the winds. Instead, I demanded the winds to obey.
WHOOOOSSHHH!!
Suddenly, a huge current of air started slowing their fall. T’Challa watched as the Bull went splat into the ground below, while the winds Ororo commanded let them glide down. Their feet gently landed onto the grass, in a small village. The fiery helicopters above crashed nearby with a loud explosion.
“Rain! Come to us!” Ororo called out. Again, rain sprayed down again and poured all over the fiery debris, extinguishing them slowly.
“You did, Ororo. You did it!” T’Challa beamed, before giving Ororo a tight hug.
“I… I did…” Ororo muttered, just as surprised. But the villagers around them were freaked out by what they had seen. A woman being guided by the winds brought rain down with just a few words. Nari, with fresh burn wounds, emerged from the crowd and saw an opportunity.
“You are… You are the devil! You are the devil!!” She shouted. But not everybody seemed convinced.
“Maybe I am… Run. ” Ororo growled, before shooting electricity down at Nari’s feet. “Run, Nari. Don’t be the slowest zebra. Run. ” She commanded. Nari cried as she ran away, scared of her special rival.
“Are you God?” A little girl asked, coming over. She couldn’t have been more than seven years old, but everyone else seemed to think the same. They all bowed down before Ororo.
“You came from
heaven.
Are you God?” The girl asked again. “Is he ‘Mr. God’?” She added, pointing to T’Challa, who looked amused and proud.
“I… I don’t think so.” Ororo blushed.
“She is an angel.” T’Challa declared, before leaning in and giving Ororo a passionate kiss.
They called me Wind-Rider. They said there was another one before me. All my life I’ve had to prove myself worthy. I just want to be accepted for who I am. I just want someone to look at me like I am normal.
I was a thief.
An orphan.
A woman in search of friends. In search of family.
I found my first love.
True love.
The love that will outshine all the rest.