Prince T'Challa stood in one of the rooms of the Avengers Tower and looked at the blue furred man in front of him with open interest.
The prince had seen many strange things since he left Wakanda, but this new group of people still managed to surprise him. He kept his voice polite and clear as he asked the question that had been on his mind since the introductions ended.
"So you are mutants? A kindof human with some gene activated?" Prince T'Challa asked Hank.
"Yes," Hank replied. He did not seem bothered by the question. In fact he seemed used to explaining his nature to people who had never met mutants before.
Hank McCoy stood at his full height, the soft blue fur covering his large frame, and he answered without any shame or hesitation.
T'Challa's eyes widened a little as he processed the simple answer. He wanted more details so that he could understand the full picture. "From another universe and another Earth that had been destroyed by another mutant? And you arrived here with the help of the Avengers who saved you?" T'Challa asked with curiosity and amazement that he had not felt for a long time.
The idea of entire worlds existing beyond his own, and of people traveling between them, felt almost too large to accept at once. Yet the evidence stood right in front of him in the form of these new teammates.
"Yes," Hank again nodded.
T'Challa looked at Hank's blue beast form for a long moment. He looked at Logan sharpening his metal claws that were coming from his skin.
T'Challa then looked at Bobby making ice from thin air and putting it in his cold drink. These people carried powers that came from their very bodies, not from vibranium or advanced suits.
"Unbelievable. Truly Wakanda would have been in so much in dark about the world and about the universe if we had refused to join the Avengers," T'Challa said.
"We will request if you keep the existence of us from your people and at most just tell your king," Hank said.
T'Challa nodded. "I understand." He gave his word without delay. The prince already knew the value of secrets. He would speak only to his father when the time was right and would protect the knowledge until then.
"Hey prince, can I ask you for something?" Tony called as he took T'Challa somewhere private.
--
Natasha looked at Kakashi while the others moved around the room. "We have got another member in the Avengers. Black Panther. We have really gotten bigger than what Fury thought of the Avengers as only a five or six superhero group."
Kakashi simply said, "Yes."
"With so many of us, we could do much more," Natasha continued. She listed the recent activities in a clear and steady way. "Logan, Iceman and Storm along with Cap and Clint have been going out on the street level to help the people. This is helping us build our reputation."
The smaller missions of stopping ordinary crime and helping citizens had started to change how the public saw the team. People no longer thought of the Avengers only as the ones who fought aliens in the sky. They also saw them as protectors who walked the same streets.
"That is good. We would need people on our side," Kakashi answered.
"Why did you ask us to build our reputation? We already have a big reputation after the Chitauri invasion," Natasha asked.
Kakashi closed the book he had been holding and explained his thinking in full sentences so that nothing remained unclear. "Hydra leaders are at high positions in both power and politics. Having the general public on our side would prevent them from causing movements like saying the Avengers should be disbanded or declared illegal or should be brought under the preview of the government."
The enemy did not only hide in secret bases. Some of them sat in offices and wore fine suits. If those men tried to turn public opinion against the team, a strong and positive reputation would act as a shield. Ordinary people who saw the Avengers helping their neighborhoods would be less likely to support any call to shut the team down.
"They cannot also say our job is to protect the world but we can do small work like catching criminals. No one would mind that," Kakashi explained further.
"You sure you were not a politician sometime before in your life?" Natasha asked with a small smile. The careful way Kakashi spoke about public opinion and political traps reminded her of the shrewd people she had met in intelligence work.
"Nope, but I had to deal with politicians sometimes," Kakashi said as he flipped through another book.
"Why are you reading books? Should we not raid other Hydra bases?" Natasha asked.
"No, there is no need to raid their bases because all the bases that we would be knowing are either already destroyed by us or would be abandoned. We now wait for Hydra to do something or for Fury to make his move," Kakashi said.
"Fury?" Natasha asked confused.
Kakashi smiled underneath his mask. "There is no way that paranoid bastard would sit still after knowing that his organisation is compromised. And when he makes a move, the Hydra would come out to deal with him."
Natasha gave him an eyebrow raise of curiosity. "So what are you reading in the books?"
"I am trying to find if any of the Kamar Taj books on the Infinity Stones have a clue on where the Soul or Power Stones might be," Kakashi answered. He turned another page with careful fingers.
"Infinity Stones?" Natasha asked.
"Yes. Loki already has two, the Mind and the Reality. We have the Space. The Ancient One has the Time. We cannot let more of them fall into Loki's hands or worse, even Thanos," Kakashi said.
"It is time for us to stay ahead of both Loki and Thanos for once," Kakashi said.
-----Author Notes---------
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