The Price We Pay for Family - 32

 

Cont...

When Cass got back from school, there were cop cars everywhere. The last time there had been this many cop cars was when they had been kidnapped. Interpol was even there, which was scary. Uncle Sam looked annoyed with it all at three different people who were trying to ask him questions. He brushed them off and came over to Cass, "How was school?" 

"Good considering the cops didn't show up. What happened?" Cass quipped, looking around as the masses of people milled around.

 "I'll tell you later. I need you to go inside and find a quiet place to sit while me and your mom figure this out, okay?" Sam said with a tone that said it wasn't a question. 

"Okay." Cass agreed before weaving his way inside. He chose the booth in the corner with some boxes stacked in front of it. He went to slide in and his legs brushed against something warm. Looking down, he found a teenage girl staring back at him. 

"What are you doing?" Cass asked. 

"Hiding." The teenager answered, "I'm sick of being asked questions." 

Cass considered her answer, "Are you the one they're here for?" 

"Bast No! They're here for Sharon." The teen shook her head firmly. 

Satisfied, Cass tossed his backpack farther in and slid in, careful not to kick the girl, "Are you Wakandan?" 

"How did you know?" The girl asked, still sitting under the table where Cass couldn't see.

 "You swore by Bast. The only person I know who does that is T'Challa." Cass explained. 

"You know my brother?" The girl asked, surprised. 

"You're Shuri?" Cass asked in surprise. 

"Yes. I am here because Sam asked us to help with something." Shuri said, shifting on the floor so they could see while still being hidden from outside observers. 

"Uncle Sam asked you here? Cool. You're head of R&D in Wakanda right?" Cass asked, putting his backpack on the table.

 "Yes. You're Cass, right?" Shuri asked in turn. 

"Yeah." Cass wanted to ask how she knew, but he faintly recalled a teenage girl flanked by two grave-faced guards at the funeral. 

"Hey, Cass." Suzanne, one of the waitresses who worked for Mama, asked, "Can I get you anything while your mom works this out?" She gestured back at the mass of cops. 

"Yeah. Can I get two glasses of iced tea and a plate of mozzarella sticks?" Cass asked, pulling out his homework.

 "Two?" Suzanna repeated giving him an odd look. 

"Yeah." Cass shrugged. 

"Okay." Suzanne backed off, still giving him an odd look, "You got it." 

"She's suspicious now," Shuri commented after Suzanne left. 

"Eh. I can down a pitcher of that tea, easy. It's not that crazy." Cass shrugged.

 "You don't seem that phased with this," Shuri commented.

 "My uncle is Captain America. My other uncle was the Winter Soldier. I've lived through half the world disappearing and reappearing. Things happening is life now." Cass shrugged. 

"That is true. Out generations will have to grow up with magical and space disasters." Shuri sighed. 

"You ever wonder if our parents or grandparents had it easier? Without all this mumbo jumbo? Gods and magic?" Cass asked thoughtfully, "Just life as it is?" 

"I think they would have thought that their lives were hard then. That the things they faced were the worst it could be. I don't think it was easier in their minds. I think it was just different." Shuri said quietly.

 "Yeah. I could understand that." Cass nodded thoughtfully, "War after war, civil rights moments, terror acts, the world before aliens and magic weren't any less chaotic, I guess."

 "When you look at it that way no. Our world is mired in war and disasters," Shuri said sadly.

 "It's kinda depressing if you think about it too hard." Cass agreed. 

"Yes. It's no wonder the galactic associations call it a death world." Shuri sighed. 

"Seriously? They do?" Cass blinked; that seemed an over-assumption.

 "Yes. They call us death kissed. They say we are uncivilized but powerful. They respect us for our power, not our advancements." Shuri sighed.

 "That must be annoying, being the leading genius on earth and getting told it's nothing by those out there." Cass waved his hand at the sky vaguely. 

"Yes, but there is always more to learn, discover. It's frustrating and exciting like finding a door that opens a whole new world to only be told you're too dumb to walk through it." Shuri nodded, "But there's so much out there to learn. I can understand why they say what they do. It's just annoying sometimes." 

"Seeing everything you want but being helpless to make it happen? I can relate." Cass said softly thinking of all the things he'd wanted or lost in his life.

 "I think everyone feels like that every now and then." Shuri admits, "Feeling like everything you want is passing by as you're rooted to the ground." 

"'The world spins around while I'm forced to my feet and the people that I know keep go on rolling down the street.'" Cass sang in agreement. 

"Yeah, exactly like that." Shuri agreed, a smile leaking into her voice.

 Suzanne came back with his order and gave him another sideways look before leaving back into the safety of the kitchen. Cass handed Shuri one of the iced teas when no one was looking. 

"It's very sweet." Shuri hedged after sipping it. 

"It's southern." Cass deadpanned, making her snort. 

She sipped in silence and Cass pulled out his English homework. Upon reading the assignment, he sighed, "I hate English." 

"Why? You all call it such a stupid name. The English did not create the written language, but it is fairly universal how it works. What is the problem?" Shuri asked.

 "Their assignments are always so theoretical. Like 'write about how spring feels ushering out winter' or 'your best joyful memory' or 'What if you could find everything you've ever lost what would you find?' It's so open-ended, so stupid!" Cass lamented. 

"Hmm. Yes, they are. But wouldn't it be fun to find all the things you've lost? Like never losing the other sock or earring." Shuri pointed out.

 "Or your left shoe. Or your favorite jacket." Cass continued smiling.

 "I wonder if it finds other things too, like your sense of childish wonder or innocence." Shuri mused.

 "Or creativity or motivation. Or the will to live." Cass snickered. 

"Wow, that got interesting." Shuri chuckled. 

Cass stopped snickering slowly as he thought about it, "Do you think it could find Uncle Bucky?" 

Shuri was silent for a long moment, "I don't know, maybe. Depends on how powerful the machine is. Depends if he's really lost." 

Cass thought over her words for a long moment as he nibbled on his mozzarella sticks. Depends if he's really lost. Shuri's words echoed in his head even after she got pulled out from under the table by her guards and after they left. If he's not lost, Cass wondered, what is he? 

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