T'Challa

Bruce Banner/Hulk

In the middle of their discussion, the food arrived. They stopped as the waiters and waitresses put the food in question on the tables in front of them. Once it was placed, an awkward silence took over, everyone digging in, though Darcy complained a bit. ("This gold is tasteless, why do rich people eat it?!") Still, there was a tension in the room now.

They continued to eat in silence for a moment longer.

"..."

"..."

"It's good," Thor said after a moment. "Good food."

"...Another?" Jane asked hesitantly.

Thor looked startled, then smiled. Jane and Darcy smiled back. Jane and Thor's eyes met. Their smiles became a bit forced, then faded away as they went back to eating.

Bruce took another bite. Mentally, he couldn't help but wonder at how he'd assumed this would be easier for Thor.

"I, um," Bruce looked over at Betty, who had a smudge of sauce on her chin. "I still have the orchid."

He thought immediately of the flower in question. An orchid he'd sent her from South America. One she'd grown with painstaking care in her home, despite the fact that everything stood against that orchid. The climate was wrong, the soil was wrong, the air was wrong. And yet, she'd still managed to grow it anyway, turning the small shoot he'd sent her into a full plant.

"You're incredible," he blurted out.

Betty smiled. "I'm a biologist, remember? I'm good at keeping things alive."

He wanted to kiss her. So did Hulk, which was a bit awkward. He held back. Not the time, nor the place. Still, he couldn't stop the smile that filled his face.

Samson awkwardly looked down at his meal.

"Jane," Thor said suddenly. When she looked up at him, he sighed. "Would you like to go for a walk with me, when this meal is over?"

"I think that would be best," Jane said.

"Good," Thor didn't relax so much as firm himself.

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

"Well now this isn't fun anymore," Tony said with a sigh, crossing his arms. "I wanted fun awkward, not harsh awkward."

"All awkward is harsh awkward," I said, feeling a bit of that myself. "Tony, we really shouldn't be watching this, man."

"We? Fanboy, you're the one still standing here next to me. You could always leave," he pointed out.

I winced. "I mean..."

It wasBetty Ross. AndJane Foster. AndLeonard Samson. Not just big characters in the comics, but superheroes in their own right! I mean, if you thought about it, this was a meal between three different Hulks and two different Thors!

Well, and their random friend Kat Dennings from the show2 Broke Girls. Actually, they all fit the weird rule of this universe of being played by famous celebrities. Betty looked like Liv Tyler, Jane was a dead ringer for Natalie Portman (got to be careful about sand around her), and Samson looked like one of the parents from Modern Family.

Honestly, who knew my pop culture knowledge would be useful beyond the Marvel Universe stuff?

"Okay, turning it off," Tony shut off the screen, drawing my attention. "What's up kid?"

"Just looking in on the projects," I said, crossing my arms. "I wanted to ask for some help with one in particular. Project: Star."

"Spaceships?" Tony rubbed his chin. "What, there aren't there enough problems on Earth for you, so you want to go out and find some more?"

"I want to go out andstopsome more."

"Depending on what you run into, finding problems for Earth and stopping them might end up being the same thing," Tony leaned back in his chair as he spoke. "I get what you're saying though. I gotta admit, I'm getting damn tired of being reactive to the bad guys..." he eyed me for a moment. It was a little unsettling, and I was half relieved when he spoke again. "We've got a lot of balls in the air. BRIDGE, the armors, ULTRON-"

"I told you we can't call it that," I said, annoyed.

"Yeah, whatever," he rolled his eyes. "But you're right. Sitting down and focusing on one thing at a time could be good for us. But why a newDefiant?"

To that, I simply waved an arm. It takes time to get used to the holo-screens in Tony's lab and learning how to use them, but I'd taken enough lessons that I was able to bring a floating blue screen in front of me. With some more taps at the screen, eventually I got a set of files up. By then, he'd already figured out what I was looking for.

"Like I said. Project: Star."

"Dumb name."

"I won't argue that, 'Iron Man'," I said with a raised eyebrow.

"Damn it, SHIELD were the ones who came up with that, and it's catchy,Dial" Tony said with a grumble.

"But you get what I mean," I brought up the files. "When I combined with the dimensional viewer, I got a good look at the threats that existed in the other universes connected to this one. But we don't know if they exist here, or what level of threat we face. I'd like to make a ship to scout things out. To head out there and make a connection with the rest of the universe, and if need be-"

"Take out threats before they show up on our doorstep," Tony said slowly. "Gotta be honest, it would be nice if our next visitors were nice enough to ask before they showed up to get their asses kicked."

"Or if they got their asses kicked before that," I said in agreement.

"It's a good idea," Tony said. "What's the catch?"

"I can't make the ship as Jury Rigg or Upgrade. Or at least, I need the most important systems on it to be entirely made without my aliens helping me cheat."

"Why?"

I explained what I'd told to Jen before, that I needed a ship that, while it did incorporate advanced technology, could also be repaired and operated by human hands.

Tony listened to my explanation before replying. "Okay, yeah. Plus, Jury Rigg might add something that turns everyone into clones of each other at midnight, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Yeah, makes sense," Tony smirked, then crossed his arms to think. "Okay. A spaceship. What are we thinking, something big enough for the whole team?" I nodded. "Needs oxygen, food, atmospheric protection, beyond light-speed of course-"

Suddenly the Omnitrix beeped, a voice coming from it. "Sir?"

"X?" I blinked at the watch, raising it to my face. Thank god I'd figured out how to use the Omnitrix as a communicator a long time ago, or I might have had to use my smartphone as anactualphone (shudder). "What's up?"

"Director Maria Hill would like me to remind you of your meeting with Prince T'Challa," he said politely. "Might be best to skedaddle soon or you'll be late."

"Again, why is he southern?" Tony asked.

"Because he decided to be, I guess?" I shrugged. "Honestly, I don't question good things, man."

"Should be British," Tony mumbled to himself. "Okay, I'll get this written up. As long as we find a good balance, I think this can work. Go meet your Prince Charming."

"Why do you have to make it weird?" I said with a cringe.

"Hey, you're moving up in the world man, lots of people want to date a prince," he snarked. "While you're at it, can you ask him if I can meet his sister?"

"...I think Pepper would be mad if I did. Plus, she's underage," I said with real confusion.

He went green. "Oh come on! That's not what I meant, she's a scientist!"

"Well chose the order of your sentences better!"

When I walked into the conference room set aside for our meeting, T'Challa was dressed in casual clothes, a black sweater,and blue jeans, and was frowning severely at a tablet in his hands. He looked up and gave me a smile when I entered, though it didn't seem to reach his eyes.

"Hey, T'Challa," I said, not geeking out at the sight of theBlack Pantherin front of me at all. I seriously needed to get used to meeting superheroes. "How's it been?"

"A mixture of good and bad to be honest my friend," he gestured to the seat next to him, which I took. Once we were both sat comfortably he spoke. "Klaue has escaped."

"...Goddamnit," I nearly snarled. "What happened?"

"We don't know," T'Challa was a lot better at snarling than I was. "He was to do menial labor up until the date of execution, to prevent him from being comfortable during his stay. He somehow managed to get help from the outside, and two of our guards are now dead," when he got to the guards, his voice became pained. He tried to keep his stoicism but it was clear those deaths hurt.

"Forensics, cameras, what did you get?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Cameras and other security measures were shut off. We were somehow hacked, which means-"

"Crazy as fuck advanced tech," I finished.

"Not how I would have put it, but yes," T'Challa said wryly. "Once the cameras were down, a wall was broken through."

"A wall?"

"Whoever helped Klaue escape had tunneled into the prison."

"What the hell?" I asked, shocked.

"Indeed. The only thing we found of those who aided him was some synthetic materials we couldn't recognize that self-destructed."

"...So they found Klaue, knew where he was in Wakanda despite all your security, [i]tunneled[/i] to one of the most secure prison on the planet that isn't straight magical, did all of that without firewalls, seismographs, or just, you know, [i]anything[/i] stopping them?" I asked, aghast. "What about the Panther's Trail?"

In response, he took it out and rested it on the table. The device I'd made specifically to track Klaue was dark. I tapped at it. Yeah, nothing.

"Well, we're in trouble," I admitted.

Klaue was just a weapons dealer. A good one, sure, one who had vibranium at one time. But all of this effort for him? Who could do this, circumnavigate Wakandan tech, and leave so little a trace that even alien Jury Rigged technology got nothing? What did they need him for?

"None of Klaue's former allies have this sort of capability," T'Challa noted.

"No[i] one[/i] has this sort of capability except for maybe… no, if HYDRA knew about Wakanda, and they could do this, Klaue wasn't going to be their target," I mused. "Not when they could have snuck into the mountain itself."

"So this is someone we don't know," T'Challa agreed.

"I hope not," I crossed my arms. "We've got enough enemies. I could do with more friends instead. In the meantime," I grabbed the Panther's Trail, tossing it up and down in my palm. "I'm going to work on fixing this thing in the meantime. If it's not broken, I can find out what is stopping it. We [i]will[/i] find Klaue. I promise."

"Thank you, my friend," T'Challa said seriously. He leaned back in his seat. "In the meantime, Wakanda and BRIDGE have begun negotiating, as you suggested to my father."

"Negotiating?" I asked curiously.

"A formality. We gave a proposal we knew would be refused, BRIDGE asks for more than they actually want," he waved a hand idly. "It's something we expected. In the meantime, a shipment of vibranium was prepared ahead of time, as well as some of our technology."

"...What's Wakanda's space program like these days?" I asked.

T'Challa quirked his head to the side curiously. "It isn't very advanced, as my people haven't been very interested in traveling beyond are borders. Still, we are well beyond current technology for most of the world."

Now wasn't that interesting