The Mimic

23

Once the team had showered and cleaned themselves up, they were given free reign to explore Wakanda. Everyone had a spare change of clothes on the quinjet - mostly out of precaution in case they had to go undercover, but at least now they didn't have to parade around in their mission suits. 

Peter decided to stay in the lab, much more interested in Shuri's creations. Peter strolled around the lab slowly, mindlessly talking to Shuri about training - as if she hadn't watched the whole thing through the window. "Woah... Are these hand canons?" He asked, making his way toward the mysterious weapons, reaching a hand out to touch them. Shuri's eyes widened, quickly putting down what she was working on so she could stop Peter. "Don't touch that!" She exclaimed, quickly standing in between Peter and the weapons. "Those are my vibranium gauntlets. Much better than hand cannons." She grinned, turning around to make sure that the gauntlets were still off. Peter quickly moved his hand back when Shuri scolded him. He tilted his head to the side slightly in curiosity as he looked at the gauntlets - god, they looked cool. "Well, if they're better than hand cannons, can you show me how they work?" Peter asked in a sheepish tone. Shuri froze for a moment at the question, nobody was ever this interested in her tech. "You know what? I can." She grinned, picking up the gauntlets carefully. "Come on then, Spidey Boy!" Shuri exclaimed as she begun to make her way down to the training room. Peter silently cheered to himself when Shuri agreed, of course making sure she wasn't watching. "It's SpiderMan!" He called out as he hurried after Shuri, just earning a laugh as a reply.

Y/n and Wanda had decided to explore together, managing to find one of the small villages a little further away from the main city. Y/n was happily playing along with a group of kids who seemed to take a liking to her. She was sat on a rock with the kids sat around her, showing them a few of her powers. Y/n had formed a small flame on her pointer finger, carefully showing it around the children before she blew it out. "Watch this." She grinned. Y/n then tilted her head up toward the sky, forming an 'o' shape around her mouth with her hands and blowing, making the illusion that she was breathing fire. The kids squealed excitedly, speaking to one another excitedly in Xhosa. Y/n was able to make out the word 'dragon' a few times, which made her smile. It was nice to appreciated by the children, usually y/n avoided them. She had so many memories where she saw terrified children on missions, she felt like a monster. So this was nice. Y/n clapped to get their attention again, a bright smile on their face as they all listened to her. "I'm not just a dragon," she cooed. "Watch this." Y/n then clicked her fingers and disappeared, teleporting behind the children. The children gasped in shock as y/n disappeared, immediately looking around in attempt to find her. "Boo!" She exclaimed, tapping a few of the kids' backs to get them to turn around. The children squealed and laughed when they realised y/n was behind them. Some of them grabbed hold of her hands in attempt to find her powers, whilst the more rowdy ones just piled on top of her with laughs. Y/n laughed happily as the kids piled on top of her, laying on the floor with a genuine, happy smile. Some of the mothers that were watching smiled fondly, not seeming nervous to have y/n around their children. 

Wanda was sat on another rock with just one child. He seemed shy and that was what had drawn her to him. She knew how it felt to not fit in with the rest of the group. Wanda was making a few rocks and twigs float in the air, smiling as the boy watched with pure wonder in his eyes. He reached up to add another rock, his face lighting up as Wanda made the little rock float too. "It's fun, isn't it?" She cooed gently. The little boy nodded happily, trying to copy Wanda's hand movements. Wanda moved the twigs and rocks to they floated above the little boy's hands as if he was making them float, watching as his little face lit up with joy. 

Bucky and Vision had been searching for y/n and Wanda for about an hour now, finally coming across the village they were in. Bucky stopped a few feet away, smiling fondly as the kids tickled y/n. Her laugh was infectious. He'd never heard her laugh that genuinely, it was nice. Bucky strolled towards the giggling group, scooping up each kid until y/n was free. The kids squealed and laughed as they were picked up, immediately intrigued by Bucky's metal arm - reaching out to grab at it. Some of the mothers scolded them for grabbing at his arm, but Bucky gave them a reassuring smile that let them know it was okay. He looked down at y/n with a fond smile, reaching his spare hand out for her to take. "Having fun?" He asked, lifting his metal arm up so the kids could hang off of it. Y/n nodded with a bright smile, taking Bucky's hand as she was hoisted back up to her feet. "They think I'm a dragon." She giggled, demonstrating it to Bucky by blowing fire up to the sky again. "So you're their little performing clown?" He teased, lowering his metal arm up and down so the kids could take turns hanging on. Y/n slapped Bucky's arm playfully. "I like it! It's nice." She hummed, allowing a few kids to inspect her hands. Bucky hummed a little, it was nice to see y/n so comfortable. "Well, I was thinking we could explore some of the markets before dinner. So you need to say your goodbyes soon." He grinned.

Vision made his way toward Wanda and the little boy, slowly sitting down beside her. The little boy's eyes widened at the sight of Vision, seeming to be a little nervous of him. Wanda noticed the nervousness and shook her head, carefully setting the rocks and twigs down. "It's okay. This is Vision... I got my powers from this little thing in his head." Wanda cooed, tapping the mind stone on Vision's head. Vision smiled down at the boy, opening his mouth to give a more logical explanation, but Wanda hushed him. He was only a kid, he wouldn't understand.