You Must Remember This (WIP)

Chapter 1 - Bucky's Nemesis

Wakanda, 2016 

It really had been too much to ask for a few days of peace. Steve should've seen it coming. No way him going rogue and breaking with the Avengers wouldn't have repercussions. He just hadn't expected it to happen so soon. The kingdom of Wakanda was supposed to be impenetrable, and no one knew they were here. So how the hell had the US government found them?

"How many were there?" he inquired of his host, matching the brisk pace to keep up.

"Just one woman," replied Crown Prince T'Challa in a grave tone of voice.

"Wait, what? Only one?"

"You will find, Captain Rogers, that she is far more than she appears."

T'Challa led the way through the black-walled and brightly lit corridors to the holding cells on the lower levels of the palace. Steve paid close attention to the route they took. He'd been in Wakanda for several days now, ever since the royal family offered asylum, and he still got lost. The palace alone was an absolute maze. The Golden City was even worse. 

"Do we know how she found her way to Wakanda?" asked Steve. "This place isn't on any map. How did she even get past the shield and the Border Tribe?"

"We believe she snuck in with the last convoy that returned from delivering supplies to the villages just outside our borders. The driver and guards were found unconscious, but by then, she'd already made her way to the medical wing. And she had this." T'Challa handed Steve a tracking device. "We have yet to uncover what it is connected to. My sister has made it her priority and is already going through the data she downloaded."

Steve looked the device over. He recognized the military design, but this definitely wasn't a standard issue. It had been modified and upgraded by hand multiple times. Whoever did this had some great technical skills. The only person he could think of was... But no, this wasn't Tony Stark's MO. If he knew where the murderer of his parents was, he would come down here himself, in full Iron-Man armor, to finish what they had started in Siberia. 
That day still weighed heavily on Steve. He would never forget the look on Tony's face. That horrid expression of rage and betrayal. But what else could he have done? Bucky was his best friend. And the Accords had already caused a rift between the Avengers. What happened at the airport of Leipzig, Germany, had only sealed the inevitable. The choice was made. Steve would have to learn to live with it. Somehow...

They turned into yet another corridor, absent windows or doors, safe for one. It looked like every single member of the Dora Milaje stood guard at that one door. The tension was palpable and made worse when Steve caught the women's grim and anxious expressions. Several had some nasty cuts and bruises, including their leader, Okoye. Her face was swollen, and her arm was in a sling. The torn red, yellow, and orange garments of the Dora general were a stark contrast to the undamaged black panther suit T'Challa wore. She limped over, using her spear for support.

"Okoye, what are you doing here?" T'Challa clicked his tongue in disapproval. "You should be resting."

"I am fine." Okoye grunted, halting before her Prince. "Most here are. Ayo and Xoliswa were less fortunate and are in surgery. Tell me this intruder will pay for this."

"We must first learn why she is here. Is she awake?"

"Yes. But I do not understand how after getting hit in the chest with the highest voltage of those new vibranium beads Shuri gave us. That should have knocked her out for hours."

"I have a theory. Please, show the Captain the security footage."

Okoye called for one of the other Dora to hand her a tablet. She pressed some keys before passing it on to Steve. His heart nearly stopped when he recognized the white walls and medical equipment. It was the room with the cryostasis pod — the one Bucky was in.
Steve watched as two guards appeared on the screen. They tried to hold off a black-haired woman in a suit similar to the one Black Widow wore. She disarmed both with ease and knocked them out with a single punch. Then she approached the cryo-pod and looked inside. She reached for the gun at her hip and shot, but there was barely a scratch on the pod. Thank God for bulletproof vibranium.
The woman moved to the controls. That's when Steve saw her face — or rather, the mask covering her face. It eerily resembled the one the Winter Soldier had worn. Just when the woman was about to open the pod, she had to dive for cover. Three members of the Dora Milaje arrived, and a fight ensued.