6785/1943: The Princess and Agent Jiminy Cricket

1943: The Princess and Agent Jiminy Cricket
Date of Scene:	03 July 2021
Location:	An empty house, Brooklyn, New York, June 13th, 1943
Synopsis:	Cael and Shuri find themselves roommates in 1943. Cael gets judgey. ...Shuri finds herself agreeing. An accord is reached.
Cast of Characters:	Cael Becker, Shuri

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Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael still has a half-finished bottle of whiskey in hand when she makes her way into the room she's to share with Shuri for the evening, along with a blanket Jethro Glass had bought during his shopping trip. She glances around the empty room, in the house they've broken into - before letting out a tired sigh. "Well. This is going to be a comfortable evening," she mutters. "Great. I'll just add this to the long list of reasons why I hate 1943." As if it was the era's fault for them being in a home devoid of furnishings...

Shuri has posed:
    Shuri, for her part, has seemed decidedly unhappy about being in 1943. Decidedly /annoyed/, too. She hasn't articulated much of her reasons for it yet, but something is clearly on her mind. She's in her modern clothes, since they're indoors, though not in the Panther Habit anymore. Just a pair of black leather pants, and a brightly colored orange-and-blue top with wedge-heeled sandals.

    She looks over as Cael comes into the room, and replies "If you've had the first half of that, I don't think you're going to be worrying too much about how comfortable anything is going to be. At that rate, you aren't likely going to be able to feel your face, much less any pain."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Oh, Sam helped," Cael remarks - dangling the bottle out for the princess to take if she'd like.
    There's no glasses anywhere in evidence. Almsot certainly, she and Sam had been swigging from the mouth of the bottle itself.
    "He's a good man, you know, Sam. I've decided that I like him." As if that's something that needs announcing.
    Whether or not Shuri has taken the offered bottle - Cael folds up her blanket into a cushion and drops it on the floor by one of the walls, flopping down to sit atop it with a sigh, as she leans back against the wall behind her. "I guess I should just be glad we have a roof over our heads. But damn."

Shuri has posed:
    Shuri looks at the bottle with some amusement. "You realize by American laws I'm underage, yes?" She'll take it, though she doesn't drink from it. Maybe she just thinks it's better if she has it than Cael. "Sam is great." She confirms, as she looks back over. "And things could be worse. They are horrible, but they could always be worse. At least inside a building in the nineteen forties of America, nothing is immediately coming to kill us." Perspective?

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael lets out a snort of amusement. "Hell - then I probably shouldn't tell you what age I started drinking at," she remarks. "And look, by my reckoning, anyone who can glare Barnes into submission? I'm not keeping a bottle of whiskey from them. I don't need that kind of trouble in my life. Yeah?" So apparently Cael has decided that Shuri is Trouble?
    Potential trouble, anyways.
    "Things could always be worse. Still, I'm half-convinced this is some sort of dream and I'm going to wake up, blink at my ceiling, and go 'what the fuck even?'" Does she sound a little hopeful there? ...almost certainly.

Shuri has posed:
    "Probably not a dream. And James just knows I am not going to put up with any of his moody nonsense. I deal with enough brooding from my brother; I'm not going to take any from him." She doesn't actually drink from the bottle, though she is holding it and using it to gesture as she talks.

    "You must not have been around this crowd very long if this is something that surprises you too much, though. With them, "expect the unexpected" takes on whole new meaning. Though, they had better find a solution here soon. I am NOT living out the rest of my life in this time period." She shakes her head, dismissively.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael's gaze goes from fixed on the wall across from her, to turning to stare at the 'Princess' at her words, a frown tugging at her lips for a moment. "Honestly? I think they're in part hoping //you// will figure a way out of this. Something about 'tech genius'? Me, I'm completely out of my depth. I mean, maybe if Alis were he-" She cuts herself off abruptly, and returns her gaze to the wall across from her, her frown deepening.
    "Anyways. No, I haven't been around them much. Only ran into Barnes for the first time in... well, a //long// time a few weeks back. And my life has been getting increasingly strange since. I think this one's the cake topper, so far."

Shuri has posed:
    Shuri sighs and pinches her nose. "Because of course they are. Because everyone does." She sits, back against the wall, and now she DOES take a shot of the bottle. "That's what everyone wants. Think a way out of our problem. It would be nice to be more than just tech support for people sometimes."

    Another shot. "And I can think of a few possibilities. But most of them are either going to require getting us all to Africa, or at least six months lead time. Being in the forties, I'd need to build machines to build the machines to build the machines that I'd need to build the components we'd need. I can't exactly go pick up processors and memory off the shelves in this time."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...great," Cael mutters quietly. "But, given six months, and the necessary funds it's- you could actually build a time machine?" she asks? She frowns as she considers this.
    "I've got a bit of a concern that having six months to stew will lead to one or more of doing something stupid. Like trying to 'save Barnes.' Or, you know, kill Hitler. Or take a go at Hydra." There's no way this group of idiots just sits on their hands for six months - and she's including herself there.
    "So I guess we hope Barnes and Rogers are right about this weird clock machine things being at this Expo. And that you'll be able to figure it out how it works to get us back home."

Shuri has posed:
    Shuri nods, and looks over. "If it's there, I can probably figure it out. I probably could have before this started, except everyone decided that the proper way to handle unknown technology was to start poking at it." She wisely sets the bottle down, rather than keep it at hand.

    "As for the six months...have they told you anything about Wakanda yet?" While most of the world only knows them as a third world agrarian nation, she has no clue how long Cael's been with the SHIELD crowd, or how deep she's in.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I mean... I know it's in Africa," Cael remarks.
    So that's a no.
    "I'm not the most well-traveled person around. In fact - I've never left the States," she admits. "I bet Africa's nice, though." There she goes. Typical America. Just lumping the whole African continent together.

Shuri has posed:
    Shuri gives a nod, as if that's more or less what she was expecting. "Let's try another approach. Have they told you anything about vibranium?" That, at least is usually more well known, even if it's only in the realm of "rarest metal on earth" and "OMGWhereDoIGetSome".
    Cael earns a large measure of trust because Bucky trusts her, but she still seems to be easing into telling the Big Secret here; she's going to get an earful of it from T'Challa. Of course, that's going to happen either way; her dynamic with Bucky is often an inverted version of her relationship with her brother.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "What - like Cap's shield?" Cael asks.
    And there you go - just about the extent of her knowledge of 'vibranium' right there. She gives a shrug of her shoulders. "Like I said - I only ran into Barnes a few weeks back. And we haven't really shared a lot of 'down time.' It's been a lot of... trying to pull their asses out of the fire, really."

Shuri has posed:
    "Like Cap's shield." Shuri confirms. "Even if that involved taking the most advanced material on the planet and making a frisbee out of it." She shakes her head. "In any case...vibranium has /a lot/ of uses and capabilities. Wakanda is sitting on the largest deposit on the planet. We're comfortably what I would call a century ahead of the rest of the planet technologically. Maybe more. And only a few people on the planet know that, so please, don't go around telling anyone that."

    "In any case, not only is Wakanda well-ahead of the curve, but I'm also the country's head of R&D, in addition to being the princess." In other words, it puts her soundly as a contender for smartest person on the planet. "So, yes, there are options. If I have to, I'll sacrifice what I have on me. I'd rather not do that if I can avoid it."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Wait- what?" Cael asks - her gaze fixing in on Shuri again as she tries to sort through all this information. She's not entirely convinced this isn't more evidence in favor of the 'it's a dream' option. "A hundred years ahead? Like... how? What do you guys have that the rest of us don't?" She frowns slightly before asking, "...is that how SHIELD gets some of their weird toys?" Like Sam not looking and sounding like Sam for a while there. That one had been weird.

Shuri has posed:
    "Some." Shuri's not prepared to spill the details on where all SHIELD's goodies come from. Hell, even she doesn't know where all SHIELD's goodies come from. She touches her necklace, though, and the Panther Habit creeps over her skin, covering her from the neck down. "Nanotech. Antigravity. Kinetic absorption and redirection. Vibranium weapons and armor in mass quantities. Force field technology. Sonic weaponry. Nerve regeneration." She rattles off just a short list, and then takes a kimoyo bead off the necklace, and holds it in her palm, as it displays the 3D imaging display of Bucky Barnes and his current immediate surroundings, as well as a pop-up medical readout next to it showing all his vitals.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...nerve regeneration," Cael repeats - before her eyes widen slightly. "Our primitive medicine! //Damn//."
    And then she's frowning at the display from Shuri's bead - showing Bucky laid out on his own bed, in his childhood home, a few doors down, - and she levels a finger on Shuri. "Okay - that feels very much like an unethical privacy violation. Don't you guys have... privacy laws in Wakanda too? You can't just... just... spy on a guy whenever you like, like that. Even if he is-" What? A dangerous and relatively unstable individual? She winces and looks away, gritting her teeth for a moment.
    "And nerve regeneration? Can you heal broken backs? Just think of how many people that could help - and you guys are just sitting on it? There's no way to leak that out to the greater medical community? How can you just... just... withhold something like //that// from the rest of the world?"

Shuri has posed:
    Shuri puts the display away, and touches the necklace again, the Panther Habit retracting into it. "There are a wide variety of laws. But we are also a monarchy. Being a princess largely puts me above most of them. Besides, you know James. If people weren't looking out for him on an almost constant basis, he would have gotten himself killed multiple times by now. Just consider me his guardian angel."

    As for the rest, she sighs. "Yes. We can. And our country's solitude has been our protection up until now. In fact, not just OUR protection, but everyone's. Think it through. If, here in 1943, the rest of the world was to learn that Wakanda has energy weapons, turn-of-the-millenium computers, and armor that no bullet can penetrate? And all of this from an African country? They would come demanding it. Both Allies and Axis. We then either have to turn into a superpower and practically govern the rest of the planet, or we deny the request, and then they would try to take it by force. And we would have to defeat them for our own protection."

    It gets a heavy sigh from her. "It is not the best answer. But I don't know what is. Part of the reason I am glad that I am Princess, and not Queen." She looks back to Cael. "They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I'm not convinced that makes //any// of this okay," Cael responds - disapproval bordering on //anger// showing in her gaze. "I mean - there's no way to leak medical advances to the rest of the world? Forget the shields, the weapons, the computers - whatever. I don't care. //Medicine//. People have //died// from spinal injuries your people could have healed. How long have you had that?"
    She lets out a heavy, frustrated sigh, looking back to the wall again. "I want Barnes safe as much as anyone else. More than most, really. I... owe him a debt. But spying on him like that? It isn't right. He gets to make his own damned stupid ass choices - just like the rest of us."

Shuri has posed:
    Shuri sighs, and pinches her nose again. "Not long. I developed it." Yeah. That's the level of smart she's on. "I've talked with my brother about it, Cael. He is King. Ultimately, the choice is his to make, not mine. I am not even supposed to TELL anyone about any of this. But, here we are, sitting in 1943. You deserved to know."

    "And as for spying on him...if I have to choose between spying on him against his wishes and keeping him alive, or not doing it and letting him die? I choose his life over his death, every time." She seems resolute on that point.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah, well, no one's going to hear it from me," Cael mutters. She sounds partly mollified - but she still doesn't look happy. "But there are other geniuses out there, yeah? There's got to be someway you could collude with one of them, to guide them into 'making the discovery.' It means giving up credit for the discovery, but it saves and improves lives. There's... there's gotta be a way."
    For all her rough ways, and coarse language - yes. This is very much what Cael is caught on. Forget the technology. Forget the weapons. //Medical advances// should never be hoarded. //Never//.
    She lets out a heavy sigh before she adds, "Does Barnes know you're spying on him to that degree?"

Shuri has posed:
    "Even if I were to tell them the techniques, it requires vibranium to work. And I could probably put all the vibranium outside Wakanda in a twenty-pound container with a lot of room to spare." Shuri explains. "And unless T'Challa changes his stance on it, they have no way to /get/ any. Which takes us back to the same problem as here and now. They would have to invade Wakanda to get it. And then we would have to act to stop that. Even if I agree with you...and in some ways, I do agree with you...I have no power to make it actually happen.

    It gets a large sigh of relief when Cael changes the topic. "I feel confident he suspects." Which is a lovely evasive way of not answering the actual question.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "It's wrong," Cael repeats quietly. "Why should your people get better medical care?" She drops her head forward, resting her head in her hands, and lets out a quiet groan. That world deserves to know about shit like this. And yet... "God damnit," she mutters. There has to be some other way.
    "Tracking his vitals is bad enough. But- spying on his surroundings? His life hasn't been shitty enough? You don't think that's going to make him feel... trapped? Controlled? //Again//? And this time, by someone who's supposed to be his friend? He hasn't had enough of that already?" she asks pointedly.

Shuri has posed:
    "My sensors are on /him/, to track /him/. But they do have the ability to visualize the area around them. Partly because they also have a limited capability to protect him, too. I can't knock out someone about to stab him in the back if I don't know they're there." Shuri says, defensively.

    "Besides. He /asked/ me for four of them, because he needed sensors with the ability to perform precision scans through various thick walls to tell him where the opposition was." Mind, she didn't tell him at the time that she could also access that feed, but...

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael lets out a snort. "That man did not //ask you// to track him and spy on him," she says pointedly. "Don't try telling me that. He's- look, I don't know the whole story. I probably know less about what happened to him than most people here. But tell me if I'm wrong here." She lifts her head to look at Shuri again.
    "He's had things done //to// him. Against his will, without his consent. Probably without his knowledge or understanding. He's been controlled. Trapped. Tracked. Monitored. He's been //used//." She keeps her eyes locked on the woman.
    "Is that something you can really comprehend or relate to - Princess? Because I sure can't, and my life has been shit. But not... that kind of shit. And now his friend is tracking him and spying on him. Without his full knowledge - and without his consent. You don't think that's going to hurt him? You don't think he deserves control over his life - after everything he's been through?"

Shuri has posed:
    Shuri looks back to Cael. And apparently the approach has even battered down Wakandan Princess Sass. There's a long sigh, before she says "You're right. I will talk to him about it, soon." She promises. "When he's capable of having a rational conversation about it. Adding it to the pile of stress he has going on right now isn't going to do him any good." But at least she's promised to talk to him about it, which is something.

    "What I NEED is for his life to stabilize a bit, so I can actually do something to /really/ help him. If I could get a few months with him, we might be able to /break/ that damned conditioning. And I can certainly do better than that archaic Russian antique he has attached to his shoulder right now."

Cael Becker has posed:
    At Shuri's words - Cael's expression shifts to a brief moment of suspicion, as if she doubts the woman means what she says. She finally relents with a nod of her head, however. "Good," she agrees. "You're... probably right. It might be a bit much for him - right this moment. This is a challenging moment in history." She lets out a heavy sigh, leaning her head back on the wall behind her once more.
    "I'd like him to get a break, myself. I mean, I owe him. I owe him //a lot// - but I don't know him well. And even I can see how much he's... struggling. I wish I knew how to help, you know?"

Shuri has posed:
    "That's the problem." Shuri says, looking exasperated. "James blames himself for actions he took while under the control of someone else. Practically every aspect of his life is dedicated to paying penance for crimes he had no say in. But in order to help him...to REALLY help him...it requires him to take time. Self-care. Therapy. And letting other people help him. And right now, he feels partly that he can't take that time, and I think, partly, that he doesn't really believe he deserves help."

    "He is trapped in a self-destructive cycle, and that cycle is only going to end in one of two ways. One is with him receiving the help he needs, and that means getting him to accept that help. The other is in his death when he inevitably pushes himself beyond his limits." She lets out another heavy sigh. "That's why I'm watching him, Cael. I don't want him dying before he has a chance to get the help he needs, and deserves."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Neither do I," Cael agrees. "But how much damage does it do to him - when his friends betray him in the same way as his worst enemies?" she asks. "How can he trust us - if we don't trust him? How do you get him to //accept help// - if you force him away from you like this?" She gives a shrug of her shoulders. "He might get himself killed. It's the trajectory he's got himself on, for sure. But we don't get him off that path by... by compromising our own morals and ethics. We don't save him by behaving like the people who did this to him. Yeah?"

Shuri has posed:
    "You're right." Shuri repeats. "I just don't want to see anything happen to him. Like you, I owe him." The girl looks, suddenly, tired, and every bit of her not-yet-twenty, her youth showing through in a way it rarely does. "We'll get out of this mess. And then we'll sort out THAT mess."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "That we will," Cael agrees. She silent a moment before asking - her tone surprisingly gentle in this moment, "Do you want to share? What it is that he did for you. Or is that not something you..."
    Look, sometimes people like to talk about things. And sometimes there is nothing that they would rather avoid.

Shuri has posed:
    "He saved my life. Like he saves a lot of people's lives." Shuri pauses, and then says more. "Wakanda has, historically, been very isolationist. And I am the youngest child. And, currently, the heir to the throne. Everyone is very, VERY protective. Overprotective. TOO damn protective."

    She grabs the bottle almost angrily, and takes another drink from it. "Until recently, I was not allowed to leave Wakanda. Too dangerous. And I am too important. For what I can do. For the science I can give them. For my blood and my role as heir."

    "James saved my life. And he never told T'Challa. If he had, I would have been locked away again, under double the guard. The little bit of freedom I have gone. I owe him not only my life...but the life I have started to make. He treated me like a person. Not an heir, not walking tech support, and not a child." Not just life, but living. Though that might also explain her angry reaction at Bucky calling her "fuckin' brat" the other day, too.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Oh, good, so I don't have to bow and kowtow around you after all, Princess?" Cael remarks in a teasing tone - amusement breaking her features into a smile for the moment. "...I mean, because I wasn't going to. If that weren't clear enough already."
    No, Cael, it was perfectly clear.
    Her expression goes more serious as she adds, "Yeah, that's how he is, isn't he? He saved my life, too. I mean- well. I'm not sure if I'd be dead or not right now, without him. But probably. If I were still alive, though? I wouldn't be //me// - not who I am today. I'd be some... thug. And probablys strung-out, too."

Shuri has posed:
    Shuri raises her hand, all four fingers up but her thumb tucked against her palm, and then ticks off on her fingers. "First, you're not Wakandan. Secondly, Americans don't have royalty. Third, right now I won't even be born for another fifty-plus years. So fourth.." Only one finger left, and yeah, it's the middle finger, which she ticks off. "Call me Shuri."

    Cael may have gotten Shuri to admit wrongdoing (a herculean effort), but the sass was only suppressed, not gone. Besides, she sort of thinks Cael is the kind of person to appreciate it, given her colorful vocabulary.

    "In that case, let's work together to try and keep his stubborn ass alive and get him to a point where we can actually help him."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Shuri thinks right - to judge by the smile, followed by a quiet chuckle she gets as she is flipped the bird - by royalty. "Princess!" she exclaims - lifting a hand to her heart. "I am shocked! Absolutely shocked!" No, no she isn't.
    As her hand drops away from her chest she adds, "Fine - Shuri. But I reserve the right to use 'Princess' for dramatic effect."
    She gives the woman a relaxed smile before adding, "That is just the sort of deal I can drink to!" she exclaims - leaning over to reclaim the bottle long enough for a single swig. "To keeping Barnes stupid, stubborn ass out of the fire." She lets out a sigh before adding, "And either Cael, or Becker is fine by me. I'm used to answering to either."