Chapter 43: Carol Enlists

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Carol Enlists

Time quietly slipped by.

Before they realized it, more than a month had passed.

After spending every day together during that time, King T’Chaka’s plan had worked perfectly.

T’Challa, Daniel, and Carol had become genuine friends.

The three of them were close in age, all young, and their personalities got along surprisingly well.

What started as acquaintances gradually turned into a real friendship.

When T’Challa had first arrived at Daniel’s house, he had been somewhat reserved.

After all, Daniel was terrifying.

His abilities were downright monstrous.

But after spending enough time together, T’Challa discovered that Daniel was actually easygoing, kind-hearted, and surprisingly approachable.

If you ignored those frightening powers of his, Daniel looked no different from an ordinary teenager.

Nowadays, T’Challa wasn’t afraid of Daniel at all.

The person he feared was Carol.

Among the three of them, Carol was unquestionably the boss.

Neither Daniel nor T’Challa dared provoke her.

That woman was impossible to deal with.

T’Challa and Carol had received their enhancements at roughly the same time, so both of them were still fascinated by their new abilities.

As a result, Carol dragged T’Challa into sparring sessions almost every day.

Their physical capabilities were nearly identical.

That meant the deciding factor was fighting skill.

T’Challa had been trained since childhood by Wakanda’s finest warriors.

Carol, meanwhile, was mostly self-taught.

How could she possibly fight him?

The problem was that T’Challa didn’t use his full strength.

Sometimes, when the sparring got intense and he was about to throw Carol to the ground.

A chill would suddenly run down his spine.

Then he’d feel a certain someone’s death stare burning into his back.

The fights were unbelievably frustrating.

The worst part was that Carol genuinely thought she was doing well.

After every match, she’d confidently comment on T’Challa’s performance.

"You need more practice."

"You’re not that impressive."

"You almost had me that time."

Every word stabbed directly into T’Challa’s soul.

’Without your brother watching, I’d put you down in ten moves.’

T’Challa silently suffered in his heart.

Eventually, he refused to spar with Carol altogether.

Whenever she came looking for him, he’d immediately lie down on the ground and pretend to be dead.

The kind of dead that couldn’t be revived even with kicking.

...

Soon, the three of them found a new hobby.

Playing superheroes.

The underground criminal world of Boston had practically been destroyed by their activities.

Businesses couldn’t operate.

Criminal organizations couldn’t make money.

Everyone was on the verge of unemployment.

Nobody knew where this mysterious group calling themselves the "Trinity" had come from.

Every time someone tried to commit a crime, the trio would suddenly appear and stop them.

And they were ridiculously strong.

No one really could beat them.

Many criminal groups had already begun planning to relocate.

Boston had become unlivable.

Several gangs had even agreed to leave together on August 10th and establish themselves elsewhere.

Unfortunately for them, they didn’t know that August 10th was also the day the Trinity would temporarily disband.

...

August 20th, 1988.

Smallville was as hot as ever.

Today was Carol’s enlistment day.

Last night, Daniel and T’Challa had organized a farewell party for her.

Well...

"Party" was perhaps an exaggeration.

The three of them had simply set up a barbecue in the backyard and shared a few drinks.

T’Challa ended up getting a little drunk.

The dignified prince vanished completely.

In his place appeared what Daniel could only describe as a rich parent’s stupid son.

While Carol had gone inside to grab more ingredients, T’Challa suddenly grabbed Daniel’s arm and insisted they sneak off to Boston that night to...

Ahem...

Certain entertainment districts.

He even suggested they do it the same way they always did.

Sneak out after dark.

After all, Daniel could fly.

The round trip would be quick.

Daniel had naturally...

Rejected the proposal with absolute righteousness.

To be fair, for a brief moment, he had been tempted.

It would’ve been a brand new life experience.

But my man... did you not look behind you before speaking?

Carol was standing right there.

Besides, the criminal groups running those businesses in Boston had all been beaten to pulp by T’Challa himself just a few days ago.

Was there even anything left to visit?

Carol had immediately kicked him nearly ten meters across the yard.

Thinking back on it, Daniel still felt lucky.

Fortunately, his hearing was excellent.

Otherwise, he might have gotten caught up in it too.

Ah... looks like the little panther had entered puberty.

...

Now the three of them stood outside the airport departures.

The Air Force base where Carol was heading for training was halfway across the country, the Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

Earlier, she had already said goodbye to Mary and John.

The couple were currently waiting inside the car, deliberately giving the three of them some private time.

After a long silence, Daniel spoke first.

"When you get there, don’t stand out too much."

His tone was unusually serious.

"Hold back a little. Your physical abilities are way beyond normal people now. Don’t expose yourself."

"I know."

Carol sounded somewhat impatient.

Maybe it was because Daniel rarely spoke to her in such a serious manner.

Maybe it was because she was upset about leaving.

Probably both.

"Also don’t go looking for trouble, but you don’t have to tolerate it either."

Daniel continued.

"If anyone gives you a hard time, don’t just endure it. Hit back hard."

He pointed at himself.

"You’ve got me backing you up. My support is stronger than Captain America’s shield."

"Whoever it is, get even. If anything happens, I’ll handle the consequences."

Daniel had heard enough stories about the chaos inside the military.

With Carol’s current strength, nobody could truly bully her if she fought back.

His concern was that she’d choose to endure things to avoid causing trouble.

After all, she loved flying.

Anyone who saw how often she begged Daniel to take her into the sky could tell that.

If she got herself expelled because of some conflict, she’d be devastated.

That’s why he kept repeating himself.

"I know."

Carol replied with same words again.

"You don’t need to be afraid of anyone," Daniel continued, sounding more and more like an overprotective parent.

"Worst case, we cause a huge scene and then move mom and dad to Wakanda."

He pointed at T’Challa.

"We’ve got a future king right here."

T’Challa immediately nodded.

"That’s right. Wakanda will always welcome all of you."

Carol let out a cold laugh.

"Oh really? Funny. I seem to remember someone drunkenly shouting last night about visiting..."

T’Challa instantly looked awkward.

He desperately wanted to interrupt.

Unfortunately, Carol wasn’t finished.

"I’m warning both of you. Don’t do things like that. It’s incredibly tasteless."

T’Challa silently lowered his head.

He was drunk, okay?

Drunk!

He remembered absolutely nothing.

Nothing at all.

"And another thing."

Daniel suddenly became serious again.

"If a guy starts pursuing you, or if you get a boyfriend, you have to tell me."

Carol blinked.

Then stared at him.

Daniel wasn’t joking.

Even though he was younger than Carol, he had memories from another life.

He had practically watched her grow up.

Deep down, he had always treated this so-called older sister of his as a younger sister instead.

If some random guy secretly stole his sister away... Daniel felt like he might actually explode.

Who knew what kind of fool might take interest in her?

"You should worry about yourself first."

Carol rolled her eyes.

"I’m the older sister."

"But you’re too straightforward."

Daniel shook his head.

"You!"

Carol glared at him.

The look on her face was dangerous.

"Anyway..."

Daniel scratched his head.

"Take good care of yourself."

It was his first real farewell speech.

He didn’t really know what else to say.

Everything kept coming back to the same few phrases.

Finally, he smiled.

"Go become the best pilot."

Carol raised an eyebrow confidently.

"I was planning to."

For the first time, her expression softened.

"And you should take care of yourself too."

"Try talking to more people."

She poked his shoulder.

"Look at you. You’re this old and barely have any friends."

The irritation from earlier had faded.

Most of it had simply been sadness over parting.

"Yeah."

Daniel nodded.

Carol suddenly spread her arms.

"Come here. One hug?"

Daniel stepped forward and embraced her.

Afterward, Carol hugged T’Challa as well.

"See more of this country," she told him quietly.

"Think carefully about what kind of king you want to become in the future."

T’Challa nodded seriously.

"I will."

"And stop letting Daniel spend your money."

Carol shot Daniel a look.

Daniel immediately looked away, as if he were clearly guilty.

Finally, Carol waved her hand.

"Alright."

"I’m off."

"Bye."

She turned around and walked towards the boarding gates without looking back.

Just like that, it was simple, decisive and confident.

Daniel remained standing where he was, watching her retreating figure for a long time.

Her flight hadn’t even departed yet.

But he already felt uncomfortable.

For as long as he could remember, the two of them had always been together.

Now, for the first time since childhood, they were going their separate ways.

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