Summary:T'Challa shows Mari some of Wakanda's tech and they discuss how to further their aims in Genosha Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
  |
The Wakandan Embassy is a comfortable, secure place. T'Challa feels at ease letting his 'hair down' here a bit and because Mari is 'cleared' he can break out the advanced technology. Which is how he knows that the raid on the facility in Downtown Hammer Bay met with unexpected resistance. They still did the damage they need to did and it doesn't LOOK like they got caught. But goodness this is going to have repercussions later.
Sighing the Wakandan prince pours himself a coffee and looks at various newsfeeds and video screens showing fire department response, police activity and so on. There's been unrest in the slums tonight. Again. The magistrates had to crack down hard.
"This is going to get out of hand." He murmurs mostly ot himself.
Mari has been watching the same feeds and pours herself a coffee as T'Challa murmurs. "It is and that will be to the benefit of those funding these insurrections. I don't think for one moment that the people here would be able to mount a reasonable resistance without that."
It worries her though - a lot of the rioters are just people, simple people who didn't as for what the magistrates have done to them and now they're going to get hurt so others can further their goals.
It worries them both. Clearly there is manipulation occurring here. Actually multiple layers of manipulation. The people are being manipulated, yes, but the magistrates are as well. HYDRA, if the Embassy's information is correct, is playing both sides. And to what end? Only they know but it is near certain to benefit HYDRA first and foremost and anyone else only as a coincidence.
"Yes, this generates more anger and resentment and fuels the demand for the weapons that HYDRA is apparently importing." T'Challa sighs. "If only we knew if Kraken and Zemo were working together or against one another we'd have some idea of what their endgame is. We need to get some answers from one or the other or both."
The prince shakes his head. "That'll take more digging and you and I are under a microscope here. Do you think Vixen can slip out unnoticed?"
"We can't even assume they are. HYDRA is so divisive that that isn't a given." Mari says as she leans against T'Challa's arm "That, for certain but it also cements in the Magistrates minds just how bad mutants are. "
The ex-model glances up and looks at the Prince. "She might be able to. I'd say the Panther had a better chance than she did though. What are you thinking? You want to me to hop, skip and jump over the roof tops and have tea with one of these people?"
"Yes, not that they really need any help. Genosha was built on the back of mutant labor and mutant abilities. Anyone who knows anything about Genosha understands that and that is true for their citizens as it is for outside observers. They need things to remain the way that they are or Genosha as it is cannot continue. Anyone with a vested interest in the status quo wants to see things continue as they are."
'Challa stares at the screens for a little bit and takes a sip of his coffee. Then he puts the mug down to put his hand on Mari's.
"We need to find out how the dissidents are being supplied and by whom and then we need to get from that information what the suppliers want out of it. The dissidents, I doubt they're asking too many questions, so we're going to go after the HYDRA agents running the weapons. I'm sure the magistrates would love to know who that is too but I'm not keen to be openly cooperating with them." Too many liabilities that way. So they'll do this in secret. That way they have the advantage of using the information as they see fit.
"Are we now?" Mari asks, glancing up at T'Challa and turning her hand up to lace her fingers through his. "I suppose we know where they are and Vixen has proven to be quite persuasive, as well as as having a penchant for collecting eyes." The dark skinned woman lets out a very long breath.
"They will know that Vixen is me, T'Challa. Do you think this is the wisest course of action? I can move quickly and use my spirits for many abilities but I don't know that I can be completely undetectable."
And if she's caught - it will go badly for them all. Then again, T'Challa can always disavow her.
"Don't use your costume, then. If you can dress right and make it into the slums you should be able to blend in. But there's risks to that. If you do and are caught you may be assumed to be a mutant and they may treat you as such before the matter can be… cleared up." It goes without saying that being caught would blow their cover. T'Challa isn't worried about that. He IS worried about what might happen to her if she were a 'mutant prisoner.'
"There might be things that we have here in the embassy that can help. Things to avoid detection." After all the Wakandans are… very advanced. More so than anyone realizes. Well, Mari knows now but it's an easy thing to forget.
"Don't … use my costume." Mari looks at T'Challa as if that's a revolutionary idea. "I … can do that. Until you helped me upgrade it, it was just reinforced leather." She's musing herself and working that through. "Among the slums my face might not be known, but the police and the military might. I will wear a hood to alleviate that."
There's still the small issue that her spirits form a glowing silhouette behind her and Mari hasn't worked out how to stop that, if indeed it can be.
Her worry too is if she's caught, she'll be identified as a mutant and …. well, yes … what would happen to her? What happens to any mutant in Genosha? "You'll give me some of your toys?"
"Of course. Would you like to go look at the playroom?" T'Challa gestures upstairs. The playroom must be hidden because Mari hasn't seen it and of course that would be natural. Couldn't have Genoshan spies discovering it. But it is there and it does most definitely contain spy gear. Spy gear that frankly T'Challa has been DYING to show off to Mari. I mean what is the point of being from a technologically advanced nation if you can't use that to impress your lady, really?
Perfect Wakandan logic, really.
Give might be a strong word under the circumstances, but 'lend' is probably more appropriate. "No. I don't want to see the playroom." Mari teases. "Of course I do! You've yet to show me what that stuff back home does." Home. She spends as much time at his place as she does at hers.
"Lead on, your highness and demonstrate away." Mari doesn't waste another moment as she tugs on his hand.
She'll be impressed … probably.
T'Challa guides Mari to, amusingly, a wall that slides back to reveal a vault like door. After taking his retna scan that door opens and he steps into a very high tech armory and monitoring center. He lifts the beaded bracelet he always wears over his right wrist and detaches one bead to feed it into a port on a computer which comes to life.
"Patch me through to R and D." He says. A screen comes up with a Wakandan in a lab coat.
"Oh! Your Highness. And you have company. This is unexpected."
"Calm down Doctor Okoye." T'Challa chuckles. "This is Mari McCabe and she is going to be doing some work for us in Genosha. We wish her to be able to pass unseen. What do we have for her on site?"
"On site? A standard stealth suite. But I take it that you want something custom? I can microfabricate it. Miss McCabe would you please step up onto the pad in front of you so I can get your biometrics?"
"Can my bracelet do that?" Mari asks, fingers running over the beads that T'Challa had given her some time ago. Well, not that exactly but similar functions. She knows they're connected to her phone for example.
"Hello Doctor Okoye. I'm pleased to meet you." The dark skinned woman squeezes T'Challa's hand and looks around. "Oh, I don't know I need something custom, Doctor. I have … abilities … that will protect me but stealth, well camouflage really isn't something that I do well."
The woman steps onto the pad though and looks around. "I don't see any microfabricating equipment."
"It is in the wall." The pad lights up and Mari can literally see herself being holographically scanned and rebuilt on the other side of the screen. Everything the doctor does is mirrored in a smaller holo display in front of Mari.
"They can yes, if they're fully enabled. Mostly it was to help me talk to you as Black Panther and also help me find you in the event that something happened." Ahem. T'Challa has the good grace to blush slightly.
"I have your full measurements now. So. What are we thinking."
"Stealth, protection and some deception if at all possible."
"Deception. So you want her to blend in. Pseudo-Leather then. We can distress it a little and make her look like one of the lower classes there. I presume that was the intent?" Some things start to appear and now THIS is Mari's wheelhouse. Design.
"Find me?" Mari gives T'Challa an amused look. "I … I think I'm touched." She doesn't dwell on the secret he kept - they all have secrets and some of them just can't be shared. The blush gets a cocked eyebrow from the woman, it's kinda cute really.
"Something worn yes. I was going to put a hood on, to make my face difficult recognise. If I'm caught …" She looks at T'Challa, the concern still there. He'll have to disavow her if that happens. "Psuedo-leather will have some durability. If I get into trouble, I'm … tough on my clothing. If not, a cotton blend that matches the local garments more closely - I don't want to be given away if someone manages to get a hand on me."
"I'll need someway to record things I find - visually, audibly and digitally. What can you do?" That's to T'Challa. "And I suppose you'll be tracking me, so you can find me, if you need to?" Now she's teasing.
"We can put that in there. In fact if you will permit me we can use some of the same designs you have used in your own wearable electronics…" The doctor says. "We'll add a light vibranium weave in between the layers which will let us provide protection and still keep it light. And a hood and mask… there. How is that?"
T'Challa just laughs a little. "When am I not tracking you?" That's probably a joke but yes he will be keeping close track of where she is and where other things are.
"If you like I can add some dampeners to maybe suppress the visual effects of your powers, Miss McCabe." The doctor offers. "We have had some success with similar designs used to stabilize the mutations of Wakandan mutants. Its a bit theoretically iffy but a wearable version should work. That way we don't have to tattoo you."
"No Tattooing Mari." T'Challa instructs.
"Yes, that would be acceptable. It's T'Challa's design, after all." Mari answers slowly. The mask has her blinking. "That's very fetching and will work nicely. How can you suppress my silhouettes?" It's something she was concerned about. "If you can, that would be excellent - they are rather eye catching in the dark of the night."
She snickers a little at the idea of a tattoo and flashes T'Challa a bright grin. "I don't know, a panther might be appropriate, don't you think?" She doesn't follow through with the rest of her thoughts.
"I suppose you can have all this ready for me in the next hour or so?" In a way that's a flippant question, she expects it to take a day or more.
"More like three hours but soon yes." Doctor Okoye says as she taps at what is possibly a keyboard but might not be. "And the while I am sure a vibranium panther tattoo would be eye catching we don't actually want to stabilize anything with you. Your powers are working as intended. We simply want to mute the expression."
"In Wakanda…" The Prince explains while the doctor works. "We use vibranium tattoos to bring about a type of genetic stability that makes mutant awakening less painful and less dangerous and affords more control over ordinarily uncontrollable powers. It is not used in all or even most cases. Only when the mutant in question has a very dangerous power that they have a difficult time controlling. Then, we help them attain that control."
So the opposite of what Genosha does. "The doctor likely believes that we can cause the vibranium to drink some of the EM energy that your spirits light show gives off and thus make the silhouettes more muted. Well, in theory anyway. It is magic so…" Who knows.
"Oh, as long as that, Doctor?" Mari says with grin. She's totally teasting. "A *vibranium* tattoo? How novel. I was thinking of just a plain one, actually." Still with T'Challa explaining, Mari listens and her expression becomes slightly more serious.
"I think, that any one born a mutant in Wakanda is fortunate, T'Challa and I hope to get the chance to speak to them."
Mutants haven't been treated particularly well across the world, generally. There are a couple of exceptions with Wakanda being one of them.
"In theory that sounds like it might work. I'm not sure anyone has tried to 'measure' my silhouettes." The ex-model looks at T'Challa and offers a grin "Unless you have while you were tracking me." He's not going to live that down.
"When we have the new clothing, we can test it at least. If it doesn't work as expected, I'll just be … careful."
"Mmm. Vibranium is very useful as I am sure you have worked out. Wakanda's entire technological base is predicated on it's use." So not having Vibranium would be a problem. That isn't going to be an issue for them, they have lots. But they REALLY don't want to have to fight everyone for it. And they WOULD have to fight everyone for it.
"Well they do have a certain verifiable brightness. They must be emitting light as we understand it. Regardless of the source of that light, we should be able to affect the light itself. Or, that is the theory. Prince T'Challa is actually the one who has been pushing the boundaries of Arcano-Scientific theory, so you'd have to ask him if you wanted more specifics."
That might be INTERESTING to Mari.
"I figured as much. Though I'm not all that acquainted with what all it can do. I'm sure I'll learn as time goes by." Mari admits. "And I understand that it's not something that Wakanda is advertising."
T'Challa gets a look, he's been very quiet through all this - despite her teasing - "Oh? You planning on becoming a techno-mage, T'Challa?" She is very interested in this and wants to know more.
"No, I am simply expanding the limit of science. One of the greatest weakness of modern science is its insistence upon the idea that some things are impossible because they violate what we think are the laws of the natural world. But that isn't scientific is it? These things must be tested. And when confronted with something that does not conform to our ideas, those ideas must be revised."
The Prince chuckles and gestures to himself. "And anyway, Mari, I am the King of a land of the dead now. I wish to understand what I have gotten myself into and this is one of the only ways I know how to do it."
"He continues to upset some of our more traditionally minded researchers with his theories and the fact that they stubbornly refuse to be disproven." The doctor on the screen laughs.
"Well, I had wondered how that worked … " Mari smiles and slips her arm through T'Challa's as they stand there. "How do your scientific minds reconcile that, by the way. Being King of the Dead and what you can do?" Of course, Mari doesn't know the full extent of the ritual to become the Black Panther either - she knows the bare bones of it and that's all - but if she did she'd wonder the Scientists were being so stubborn.
"Ah well, I hear that's a thing isn't it? Discount the theory, Discount the Scientist and when you finally adopt the theory, attribute it to the wrong person."
She's mangled that but it's close.
"Well yes." Doctor Okoye says. "If nothing else it makes weekly meetings of the national science foundation interesting. There's usually some law the Prince's theories has violated that we discuss amongst the more banal things like funding and politics."
There's a noise in the wall and Mari can see some machine go to work 3D printing a leather outfit. That… is remarkable. It will still take a few hours but the ability to do that is nothing short of groundbreaking.
"Some of the minds do not reconcile it. I am more among the 'I prefer not to think about it too hard' camp. Very good now. We are printing. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Mari notices that T'Challa isn't saying much and glances up to check on the Prince. "I imagine, Doctor, that he states his theories with a small smile on his face and then sits back to watch the mayhem he's sowed." There's a small laugh as her eyes track to the printer in the wall. It really is amazing that it can be designed and set to print so quickly.
"You've amazed me with your technology already, Doctor. I hope one day, we can meet in person and perhaps you'll show me some more of the 'toys' that T'Challa seems so proud of."
"I'm not sure I have anything else but have I missed anything, T'Challa?"
"Sometimes I print them with a small smile and have to imagine the mayhem." T'Challa says with a chuckle and a laugh from Doctor Okoye
. "He does that yes."
"I cannot think of anything else. Thank you for your time, Doctor."
"Of course your Highness. Pleased to meet you Miss McCabe. Perhaps you will be able to visit our city one day."
"Oh I think that likely." T'Challa says as he ends the conversation and turns to look at Mari. "So. What do you think?"
"Thank you, Doctor. I hope so too and I hope that you will call me, Mari in future."
When the conversation ends and the video, hologram, whatever it is, goes dead, Mari turns to T'Challa. "I'm impressed of course, but you knew I would be. I'm dying to see more of your technology and how you use it. Weapons of course but also the other applications you have for it."
The ex-model is quiet as she plays with the bracelet on her wrist. "Are you really tracking me? Were you concerned that something might happen?"
"I am happy to take you to the city sometime. After this is over we can go. Almost any time. It is… simple enough for me to get there." And he would love to give her a proper tour of the capital. And folks would like to see it to be sure.
"I was concerned that Klaue might make a direct play for you. He knew, of course, who I was and seeing me working with someone he might decide to target them." That he hasn't thus far probably speaks more to lack of ability rather than lack of desire.
"Do I need to worry about your family … interrogating me?" Mari asks, hugging his arm a bit as they talk. "I would love to see Wakanda, the Wakanda that you know I mean and not the face that you show to the world.
"I'm not upset that you did, T'Challa. In a way, I'm touched. It's been … well, I've never really had someone to share this all with." That's not an unusual story - with people hiding their persona's. "That you trust me enough to do so, I get how precious that is."
"Klaue might still though. Particularly if we continue to be seen together. The more he thinks that I mean to you, the more he's likely to try it. It's something to think on, if we can't break his operation."
"Not really, no. Interrogating you isn't their style. Besides they have a whole intelligence service at their disposal." It's not very clear whether or not T'Chally is joking about that.
"Klaue might still yes. He might even after we break his operation if we don't break him while we are at it. And Klaue is… slippery. He seems to pop up time and again. We've never managed to hold him in Wakanda. Most of the time he somehow manages to wind up in someone else's custody. Which is… convenient for him."
Mari is sure that T'Challa isn't joking about that. "Well that's good to know, I suppose." She says a little dryly.
"Well, we know he might, so it's something to consider. And something that we might be able to use to our advantage." T'Challa has observed previously, that Mari can be a little a reckless sometimes and this could well be one of them. "Now, tell me T'Challa. What else do you have planned for the immediate future while we wait for that suit to be printed?"
"Well I thought I would go with the bold and innovative plan of… dinner." Hey, it's meal time and there's no reason not to have it. After all the suit will be printing for a few hours anyway.
"Would you care to join me in this bold, innovative, never before heard of venture?" Of eating in the evening?
"Among other things, yes. I'm sure I can find other ways to keep your attention." Mari smirks and lifts her chin.
"Lead on. Prince of my heart and we'll start this bold endeavour."