— Africa, Wakanda
As the crown prince and Black Panther, T'Challa quickly gave a brief explanation to the captain of Wakanda's Royal Guard before leading Kagura and Cortana to a more secure location for a detailed discussion.
The looming threat of violence had been temporarily defused and effectively avoiding what could've become a massacre.
Rather than heading straight into the city center, T'Challa led Kagura and Cortana toward a cliff on the outskirts of the Wakandan capital.
From what Kagura remembered of the MCU, that cliff was home to Wakanda's Royal Research Center—where, in Avengers: Infinity War, Princess Shuri had tried to remove the Mind Stone from Vision's forehead.
As they walked, Kagura's mind was hard at work.
The situation was delicate, filled with tangled uncertainties.
Judging from the aggressive stance of the Royal Guards earlier, Wakanda had clearly suffered some form of attack and it seemed the Avengers were being painted as villains.
The guards' hatred toward them was almost palpable.
There were only two possible explanations: either the Avengers were being falsely accused, or some of their members had actually done something to deeply offend Wakanda.
"Cortana, have you tried contacting Mr. Stark and the others?" Kagura asked softly, glancing over at her companion. "It's possible something happened on their end."
Cortana shook her head. "I've been trying to reach Mr. Stark and Mr. Rogers since earlier."
"I even attempted secure lines for Natasha and Barton, but there's been no response. It's likely our communication channels are being jammed."
"Huh…? Now that's interesting." Kagura's eyes narrowed. Things were definitely more complicated than they seemed. "So something really did happen to the Avengers…"
After learning that Ultron's next target might be Wakanda, Kagura had immediately relayed the intel to Tony Stark so the Avengers could join the mission.
Both teams had set off almost simultaneously. Judging by their departure times and flight paths, Stark's group should've even arrived faster.
The plan was simple: Kagura's team and Stark's would rendezvous in Wakanda and coordinate their efforts.
Even if the Avengers couldn't penetrate the protective dome over Wakanda, they should've at least been waiting nearby to meet up.
So when Kagura arrived and saw no sign of them, doubt crept in.
At first, she assumed the others had simply been delayed or couldn't pinpoint Wakanda's location precisely.
But now, it was becoming clear—the Avengers hadn't lost their way. They had screwed up.
T'Challa hadn't said much on the way.
He asked a few basic questions about Kagura and Cortana's identities, the current Avengers lineup, and their general status.
Though the exchange wasn't deep, it was thorough.
As the Black Panther and protector of Wakanda, T'Challa himself was qualified to be an Avenger. So when Kagura shared details about the team, she didn't hold anything back.
Honest dialogue was key to building trust.
Especially now, when for reasons unknown to Kagura and the Avengers' reputation in Wakanda was in shambles.
If she tried to hide anything, T'Challa's suspicions would only deepen, making any future cooperation far more difficult.
Besides, based on what Kagura knew about Wakanda, the nation wasn't as isolated as it appeared.
It had its own intelligence agency—PRIDE—with capabilities rivaling even the CIA or SHIELD in its prime.
So Wakanda likely already knew quite a bit about global affairs.
Most information about the Avengers was public anyway.
Their code names, powers, basic personal info, equipment—T'Challa could access all of it without even mobilizing PRIDE.
This line of questioning was likely just a test to gauge Kagura and Cortana's sincerity.
In short, this mutual Q&A had become a quiet, strategic game of trust-building.
Although she didn't yet understand what had happened in Wakanda, Kagura could tell that T'Challa was being extremely cautious.
He was treating every detail concerning the Avengers with the utmost seriousness.
"Prince T'Challa, what exactly happened in Wakanda?" After a brief silence, Kagura finally couldn't hold back.
"Why do Wakanda's warriors harbor such intense hostility toward the Avengers?"
T'Challa didn't answer immediately.
He walked a few more steps in silence, lost in thought. His hesitation suggested that he still wasn't ready to fully trust them.
Finally, he spoke with a heavy voice and emotions tightly reined in. A chill ran down their spines from the weight of his words.
"According to you, the Avengers came to warn Wakanda's king about an imminent threat an evil entity called Ultron, who planned to attack our nation. Correct?"
"Yes, exactly," Cortana replied. "That intel is crucial. It could determine the fate of your entire country."
"You're not wrong, my beautiful lady," T'Challa said quietly.
After another pause, he added, "But Wakanda's king is dead. He died just a few hours ago… And the ones who brought Ultron into our border and allowing him to infiltrate our network and breach the capital were none other than the Avengers."
"…What?" Even Cortana, who had kept a composed demeanor until now, couldn't hide her shock.
"That doesn't make sense. Based on my calculations, the probability of such an event is virtually zero."
"And yet," T'Challa replied grimly, "that near-impossible event happened, just earlier today. Wakanda has already been attacked."
"You arrived too late… No—perhaps I should phrase it differently."
As he looked at the stunned faces of Kagura and Cortana, the prince continued in a slow, measured tone.
"Because the Avengers knew Ultron's target in advance, it gave him the opportunity he needed. And that's how he succeeded in striking Wakanda."
Kagura bit her lip.
She was surprised but not entirely unprepared. It was still within the realm of possibility she'd considered.
She quickly shifted into analysis mode.
Her actions had been sound.
Since she and Cortana hadn't encountered Ultron en route, that meant the weapons and support she'd arranged for the Avengers were likely not at fault.
Then, it was clear the problem must have come from the other Avengers team.
An inside traitor?
A critical operational mistake?
Or perhaps they had fallen victim to one of Ultron's deceptions?
Whatever the case, they needed to find the missing Avengers before any answers could be uncovered.
Right now, the most important thing for Kagura was to figure out exactly how Ultron had infiltrated Wakanda and what had happened to Tony Stark and the others.
'Good thing I stayed cautious and didn't immediately treat the Avengers as enemies of Wakanda,' Kagura thought. 'If we had mistakenly turned against our allies, Ultron's plan might've truly succeeded.'
T'Challa, walking ahead, spoke again.
"Fortunately, I kept my doubts in check as well. Otherwise, we might have misjudged you and Ultron's scheme would have worked perfectly."
He paused, glancing back at Hitomi and Cortana.
"We're almost there. Once we reach the Wakandan Royal Research Center and meet up with my sister Shuri, we can explain the full situation in detail."
Kagura lowered her head slightly, a pang of guilt in her chest.
Even though it wasn't her fault, given everything that had happened, offering condolences felt necessary, especially after Wakanda had suffered such a devastating loss.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble we've caused you," she said softly. "And... for the king."
T'Challa shook his head firmly. "No, Miss Kagura, please don't blame yourself," he replied. "You've already done more than enough."
"In fact, we owe you our gratitude for your warning—without it, Wakanda might have faced total destruction."
His expression grew heavier. "But still... the enemy we are dealing with is far stronger than we anticipated. We must proceed with extreme caution."