Scorpio

TWENTY FIVE - Hit Me

"Estella?" Nat's questioning voice brought her back to the present. Seeing Estella blink herself to attention again, the ex-assassin lightly cuffed her over the ear.

"Never let your guard down," Nat warned, before setting her scarred hands up again. "Now, hit me."

Uncertainly, Estella brought her fists to her temples, and Nat gave an approving nod. The scar seemed to be taunting her. But the captain said we had to train to stay, and he wouldn't have sent someone who was too injured to fight. Estella thought back to what Sam had told her the day before.

"People like these guys could easily be sitting in a circle at a church, attending my veteran therapy meetings," the African-American man had said, before glancing over his shoulder to where the rest of the vigilante Avengers were settled, listening in to Peter's account of their journey over. He then looked back to Estella, who listened with rapt attention at every word the ex-military man uttered. "They don't, though. The world could be at its end and they'll still be on their feet, fighting for what they believe in. Nothing can push them down."

Squinting her eyes - as if her inability to see the motion would erase its existence - Estella thrust her arm forward.

"Oh, wow."

Estella looked up at Nat to find her face scrunched in barely-concealed disgust, then followed her eyes to the object at fault. A strangely stout snake was wriggling about on the floor.

Her arm.

"That's disturbing," Nat commented drily as Estella quickly reached down to reattach her arm, flushing slightly. A strange, squelchy sound sealed the cut area, and she cringed, an apology on the tip of her tongue.

"It's alright," Nat cut in. Despite her grossed-out expression, the ex-assassin put on a brave smile and raised her hands again. "How about, I make a promise not to flip you again, and you land a good punch. Deal?"

Estella nodded weakly. "Deal."

After dozens of punches, each more confident than the last, it happened.

The redhead had been calling out encouragement to Estella, trying to get her to punch harder when suddenly, something struck a chord in her.

Estella wasn't even sure exactly what it was. It was...a word, yes. Something about being annoying? Or maybe it was a type of food Estella didn't like, but...couldn't remember that she didn't like it? That makes absolutely no sense at all. All she knew was Nat said it, and in the second it registered in her mind she forced it back out again through a punch so intense the ex-assassin had been thrown back, her fingerless gloves disintegrated completely.

Maybe it was a joke Alycs said before, that she didn't like. Or one of Nick Fury's orders before she was pushed and prodded into a locker like some sort of exotic animal. Maybe it was simply the name 'Alycs' that set her off, and she was lashing out like some petulant, attention-seeking child because her best friend and trusted companion had traded in babysitting her for being cool to his heroes and mentors.

"I'm ok," Natasha groaned from the dusty ground, pulling Estella from her thoughts that only seemed to spiral further and further into a void of self-loathing. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Estella hurried over, offering a hand, and the ex-assassin clasped Estella's forearm as she pulled her back to her feet.

"What happened?" Nat asked, dusting off her backside.

"I'm- I'm not sure." Estella swallowed slightly, preparing for a telling-off from the ex-assassin. However, what she didn't expect was Nat to raise her hand, holding it out for a high-five.

"That was pretty good. A punch like that could probably save your life," Nat complimented, and Estella took the high-five bashfully, only to do a slight double-take. The ex-assassin's palm was smooth - no sign of those puckered scars, even though her fingertips looked calloused as ever. Maybe Estella imagined the whole thing?

"It seems we'll be heading back a lot faster than I originally planned," Nat grinned, before turning back to the treehouse. Estella scampered after her, hoping the ex-assassin meant she was now free from the rest of the training plans for the day. Sadly for her, this wasn't the case.

Natasha sauntered into the new room proudly as the elevator doors slid open, revealing a jungle of machinery, elastic bands, and weights. A punching bag hung from a banister, several more punching bags piled up in a corner beside it. A tire leaned against the curved wall. A water-refilling station stood opposite it. Nat tossed Estella water bottle, a familiar letter A printed on its side. She barely caught it, still trying to take in the massive gym room.

"Make yourself comfortable!" Natasha called, dragging out two large freestanding punching bags. "We'll be here for a long time."

A/N - Bit of a filler chapter here, but I promise you, much more interesting things will be coming up soon :) As always, let me know what you think!