The Rogue Assassin | Kate Bishop x Reader

chapter 24 - the aftermath

Y/N'S POV - 

The environment at the compound is tense. Faint noises of TVs echo throughout the building, the incident in Lagos is all over the news. The media blames us, especially Wanda. Tony hasn't said anything yet, making things much worse. A soft knock sounds on my door. "Come in" I say. The door slowly opens, and Kate slips in, "Hey, how are you doing?" 

I sigh and look down at my hands. Kate sits beside me on the bed, wrapping her arm around me. "It's weird... I thought detaining or killing Rumlow would feel... good, make me feel better. It's just... so surreal, him being gone. But it feels like nothing has changed."

Kate begins to rub my back, "I'm sorry. You know, when I first met Clint he was being hunted by a red room assassin who was hired to kill him. I convinced him to let me help track down the source and eventually the boss. Turns out the source, was my mom. She was working for a man named Kingpin. Apparently, my father owed this man something. So when he died, the man came after my mother, threatening my life. I arrested my mom. I'm not pretending to understand what you're going through but I guess what I'm trying to get at is that it sucks. It sucks to finally accomplish something you thought would feel good, and instead, you feel terrible."

I lean into Kate, "Thank you." She smiles down at me, "Anytime."

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I find Wanda in her room, with the news playing. 'What kind of authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria?'. I reach for the remote on the table by the door and turn it off. She just drops her head, not really acknowledging me. I sit down on the edge of her bed, a foot of space between us. "You did well today and... I'm not lying. I know you think that you could have done more. You're putting too much pressure on yourself. You are still figuring out your powers. If you weren't there, who knows how many people Rumlow would have hurt with that weapon. The media needs a story, someone to blame, someone that will get them views. It was a team mission, this is on all of us. Okay." Wanda nods but doesn't say anything. "I'm here if you need anything."

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That night at dinner, Tony finally brings up the incident, "I've scheduled a press conference tomorrow. Steve and Natasha will join me. Wanda, you are welcome to join. Though, it's likely there will be a lot of backlash so I wouldn't recommend it for your sake."

No one speaks up for a minute. The room is filled with the sound of utensils scraping on plates. Steve clears his throat, "This is a tough job. We do our best to protect innocent bystanders, but sometimes we can't protect everybody. In this case, yes, if we weren't there, nobody would have been hurt. But Rumlow didn't steal that weapon for nothing, he would've hurt so many more."

"I have an equation." Vision announces. He always joins us for dinner, even though he doesn't eat. "In the time since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of enhanced individuals has grown exponentially. In turn, so has the number of potentially world-ending events."

"-Vision, I don't think that is helpful right now." Clint interjects. 

"However," Vision says, "If Mr. Stark never announced himself as Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D never found the tesseract,  Earth would have fallen to the Chitauri." The table falls silent as everyone processes. It's scary to imagine a world in which the Chitauri invaded. 

I take a deep breath and speak up, "It sucks, what happened today. But ultimately we have to move past it. We can't allow this to affect our ability to do our jobs. I think we should have a movie night tonight, or something else fun!" 

"I think it's a great idea!" Stark speaks up. The group murmurs in agreement. "No one tell Parker, I don't feel like rewatching another Star Wars Movie." Everyone chuckles. The nerd has an obsession with the series, forcing everyone he meets to watch the movies. To his dismay, none of the other Avengers are not as fond of the franchise. 

We plan to meet at 8:00 in the living room. The debate will ensue over which movie to watch. It doesn't really matter though, as long as morale is raised. 

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Kate meets me on the way to the lobby, "You suggested a movie night, to raise morale?" 

I nod, "I did." Kate just smirks at me, saying nothing. "What?" 

"What happened to my Y/n?" Kate asks. 

I laugh, "I guess she learned a thing or two from some people."

Kate smiles wide, "Who?"

I roll my eyes, "That is none of your business."

She bumps into my shoulder, "You're such a jerk."

The living room is filled with voices arguing over movie options. Tony argues very passionately along with Nat, Clint, and Sam. Steve continues to suggest old-timey movies just not aggressively. Wanda, Vision, Bucky, Bruce, Kate, and I are sitting on the couch waiting for a decision to be made. 

After at least 5-10 minutes they finally decide on a movie. 'Mean Girls'. I'm not quite sure who recommended it. But the consensus seems to be that everyone must experience this movie in their life. Apparently, it is 'Iconic'. 

NATASHA'S POV -

I can't help but notice the two teens asleep at the end of the couch. Kate's head rests on Y/n's chest, her left leg is on top of Y/n's right and her left arm is hugging her. Y/n's left arm is wrapped around Kate's body, her right is placed on top of Kate's. They look so cute. I can't help but feel incredibly proud of Y/n. It is difficult to let someone in after everything she has been through. I still haven't quite learned how to do that, emotionally. She's special I guess.