Chapter 3 Powers & Timeskip

[POV Tariq]

It has been 16, years since the day that I came to Wakanda. From the time that I have been here every day has been interesting. Every day I have gained significant knowledge of different subjects. As a prince of Wakanda, I have been given access to various libraries and tutors. Every day was a learning experience, when I was 7 years old I started my combat training with different warriors of Wakanda.

Training with the Dora Milaje was the worst. Even though they were always nice to me they could be extremely brutal during combat training. When I was 8 one day, I stepped into the arena, Shuri watching from the stands as I walked forward, facing three Dora Milaje with wooden staffs in hand while I am fighting barehanded.

As soon as my foot touched the ground inside the circle, the Dora Milaje charged at me with their staffs in hand. The sound of their battle cries echoed throughout the arena, filling me with a mixture of fear and adrenaline. I took a deep breath and readied myself for the onslaught.

The tallest Dora Milaje took the lead, running towards me with her staff held high above her head. The woman to her left had a wooden staff with a spear tip and leaped into the air, aiming for my head. I dodged to the left just in time, feeling the wind of the staff passing by my ear. The woman landed gracefully, and with a fluid movement, she spun around to face me.

Meanwhile, the third Dora Milaje was charging towards me from the right, her staff raised for a sweeping strike. I quickly rolled forward and evaded the attack, getting back on my feet just in time to dodge a downward kick aimed at my head by the middle Dora Milaje.

I managed to flip backward and narrowly avoid the attack, but before I could even catch my breath, the third Dora Milaje was already at my side, delivering a powerful hit to my ribs. The impact sent me flying backward, and I landed on the ground with a thud, coughing and gasping for air.

Shuri's laughter filled my ears as I lay on my back, trying to catch my breath. The Dora Milaje rushed over to check if I was okay, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was the tallest Dora Milaje, who helped me sit up and looked at me with a stern but caring expression.

"You did well, young prince," she said. "But you still have much to learn."

I nodded, still catching my breath, and looked up at the Dora Milaje with a mix of respect and awe. I was young and still had much more to learn. I needed to get strong in this universe otherwise I would be crushed and I don't want to test my luck in dying again.

One year later, my combat skills started to improve at an alarming rate. I would feel a rush of knowledge when I would step into the arena, it would disappear once I was away from the Dora but it helped increase my foundation and I continued to learn. I surmised that I was probably a mutant or something of the sort. Where I would get my ass handed in 10 minutes she would last thirty before being defeated. Shuri would always laugh after my defeat and say, "Brother, you do not looks so good." Then she would chuckle, I could only smile wryly in response as I watched her skill while fighting.

During a spar, a rush of knowledge flowed to my head. I was able to accurately see the patterns of the different martial styles and able to see the flaws in their formation. When one went for a kick to the stomach I ducked under and was able to counter with my own spin kick to the ribs, while sending her crashing into the other two Dora Milaje.

Ever since then, I have been able to go fight back until I ran out of energy, I tried to assimilate the temporary skills to become permanent..

I started to think about who else had this ability and remembered that there was a mutant with the ability to acquire the skills of anyone to who he was in close proximity as long as they did not have some sort of mental barrier up. His name was David Alleyne. David Alleyne also known as Prodigy had the mutant ability to subconsciously absorb the knowledge of people around him telepathically.

His telepathy works by creating a psychic link between himself and the person whose mind he wants to read. Once the link is established, he can delve into their thoughts and memories, seeing everything they have experienced and learned. He can also project his own thoughts into another's mind, allowing him to communicate with them mentally. But his telepathic powers come with a caveat. Prodigy's abilities only work when he is in physical contact with the person he wants to read or communicate with. This means he needs to touch them in order to establish the psychic link.

.....

[Present Day]

Tariq was sitting at his workstation, tinkering with some circuitry when Shuri walked in.

"Hey Tariq, have you made any progress on the new Vibranium energy shields?" she asked.

Tariq looked up from his work and grinned. "Actually, I just finished programming the last prototype. Want to test it out?"

Shuri's eyes lit up. "Yes! Let's go to the training room."

As they made their way to the training room, T'Challa appeared behind them. "What are you two up to?"

"Testing out the new Vibranium energy shields," Tariq replied.

T'Challa raised an eyebrow. "And you're doing this without my supervision?"

Tariq chuckled. "Don't worry, big brother. We know what we're doing."

They entered the training room and began testing the shields. Shuri was impressed with the results, and T'Challa couldn't help but smile at his siblings' ingenuity.

"You two never cease to amaze me," T'Challa said, clapping them on the back.

Tariq grinned. "That's because we have the power of Wakanda on our side."

T'Challa interjected, "That is true Bast is with us. Tell me what you guys are working on."

Shuri pulled up a holographic display. "We're still working on improving the Black Panther suit. I think we can integrate the Vibranium energy shields into the suit's gauntlets."

Tariq added, "And we are working on improving our nano-tech so that we can make the suit even more durable and efficient."

T'Challa nodded in approval. "Excellent ideas. Get to work but don't stay up too late Mother will scold all of us. I can't wait to see what the two of you come up with."