Over the next few months, a lot of things changed for Vanessa. Wanda and Vanessa had become really good friends, as they helped each other with their problems. Whenever Vanessa wasn't talking to ghosts she could most likely be found with the witch. Wanda had been put in charge of Vanessa's magical training. Was Vanessa enjoying the training sessions with Wanda? No, most definitely not.
Whenever they had one she ended up with a wicked headache. Believe it or not, training mostly consisted of a lot of meditation. "Strengthen the mind," Wanda said. "That's a load of bullshit" Jason would usually comment. "Shut up and let them do their thing," said Pietro. For some odd reason, the two ghosts just couldn't get along. Jason hated Pietro more than he hated Nate, and that was saying something. Vanessa wasn't sure why.
Vanessa was still taking medication, and she would continue to take it until she could get the voices under control. Steve had mentioned that he wanted to eventually take her off of it. The voices, that was another thing that changed. During the day they were almost like background noise that was constantly there. But during the nights they were loud, screaming and trying to get to Vanessa. This not only caused her to get little to no sleep but to sometimes lose control of her powers. Meaning any ghost who was near her suddenly could touch her.
But, overall Vanessa was doing well. Wanda believed that her powers consisted of more than just being able to talk to ghosts and that maybe with more training they could discover them. "You know once you get full control of your power you could be an asset to the Avengers. Maybe even join us" said Steve. Vanessa laughed because this had been a constant conversation between the two of them, one that always ended in her saying no. "Yeah, no. Look I appreciate the offer, but I don't fight or I don't know how to fight. I would be more of a liability than any help" Vanessa said. "Well if not being able to fight is your biggest concern I might be able to help with that. Wait here for a minute" he said.
Steve walked around the Avengers compound until he found the person he was looking for. "Nat!" The woman turned in the direction her name was called. "Are you busy at the moment?" Steve asked. "Not particularly. I was going to go train for a while" Natasha said. "Great, I need to ask you for a favor." And that is how Vanessa ended up training 4 days a week with one of the deadliest assassins. And she hated it.
Vanessa was not what you would call fit. She was skinny but that had to do with the fact that she used to hardly eat much when taking drugs. "You're getting better" commented Nat. "Really? Cause I feel like the only thing I'm getting better at, is dodging your punches." "Well if you can dodge my punches then you can dodge the enemy's punches." "I like her," said Jason, who had also been following along with Natasha's training. Of course, he didn't have anybody to practice with, other than on occasion punching Pietro for no reason.
Natasha suddenly stopped and looked down at Vanessa, who was laying on the floor trying to control her breathing. "Vanessa, how would you feel about joining The Avengers?" Natasha asked. "Oh God, not this again. I already told Steve that I don't think I would be a good fit, and I would probably just put you all in more danger" said Vanessa. She really was being genuine, Wanda, Natasha, and even Steve had all helped her out in some way and she was thankful to them for that. Which was why she didn't want to put their lives at risk because she wasn't good enough. "Alright for now let's drop it, but I do think that eventually, you could do well with us." "Maybe."
The next time she and Natasha trained, the red-head showed up with a case full of knives. "What you going to skin me or something?" Natasha looked up and smiled, "Or something." Natasha opened the case and pulled out a box from inside and handed it to Vanessa. "What is it?" She asked. "An old friend of mine gifted them to me, but I don't really like them. Too aesthetically pleasing for me, but I think they would be perfect for your aesthetic" said Natasha with a big smile on her face. "My aesthetic? I don't have an aesthetic" answered Vanessa. "Really? The tattoos were not for an aesthetic purpose?" Natasha asked with a teasing tone. "There was another reason for those other than just aesthetic," Vanessa said.
She sat up on the floor and opened the box. Inside were two daggers. One of them was a shiny Kris dagger with a silver hilt and a black wrapping. The other one was also a Kris dagger with a silver hilt, but with a white wrapping. They were the twin daggers, the same in all senses but for some reason, they felt different from one another. "Those are for you I want you to learn how to use them and fight with them. We are starting with these" she said pointing at another pair of daggers, "they're dummy knives, meaning they won't cut. Let's get started."
Vanessa was much better with knives and daggers than she was at punching. She easily got the hang of how to use and throw them at opponents. And she loved them. The better she got in her training the more insistent both Natasha and Steve became about her joining The Avengers. "Look we are going on a mission to Lagos, Nigeria and we would like you to come with us" said Steve, "You have gotten really good with your training and we think you are ready." Vanessa nodded her head and answered, "I don't think I am. I know, I know, I have gotten good with my training as you say, but I'm not at the point where I think I can handle fighting someone who is twice my size. We'll talk about this when you get back. And I mean really talk about your proposition" Vanessa explained. "Okay, but we're going to talk," said Natasha. And Vanessa had never been more glad that she had decided to stay behind for that mission because everything went to hell from there on forward.