fortress | kate bishop

thirteen.

2023
Staten Island, New York

"Anya?"

Anya looked up from her phone to see Elena standing in the doorway of her room with a piece of paper.

"Yes?" Anya says as she looks at the young girl.

"I have to do an assignment for class," Elena says as she enters the room and takes a seat on the bed beside Anya. With Kate in Santorini, Anya found herself spending a lot of time at Natasha's house simply because the apartment was too lonely without her. At her sister's home there was constant noise thanks to their four kids.

"What type of assignment?" Anya asks curiously.

"I have to talk about what I want to be when I grow up," Elena says, "But I don't know what I want to be when I grow up."

"Okay," Anya says thoughtfully, "Well what are jobs that you think are cool?"

"None," Elena answers, "I don't want to work."

Anya chuckles, "Well unless you plan to live with your moms forever, which I sincerely hope you don't, you might want to get a job."

"But what job is fun?" Elena asks, "Everything seems so boring. Like Mommy's a doctor. All they do is listen to hearts and stuff. That's boring!"

"Whoa there," Anya says, "Your mom's job is a lot more complicated than listening to hearts. She could be the difference in whether a person lives or dies. She's kind of a hero."

"Mama's a hero," Elena states, "She's an Avenger."

Anya sighs, "So is that what you want to be when you grow up?"

Elena shrugs and Anya shakes her head as she looks at the young girl. Suddenly Elena looks at her thoughtfully, "What was Aunt Yelena?"

"What do you mean?" Anya asks.

"Like what was her job?" Elena wonders.

"Well," Anya begins wondering how she could tell Elena about Yelena's profession without telling her about Yelena's profession, "Yelena was like your Mama. She saved people."

"Really?" Elena asks, her eyes lighting up.

"Mhm," Anya responds, "She even saved me."

"Wow," Elena says with a smile, "She must have been really cool if she saved you!"

Anya laughs softly, "What do you mean?"

"It's just that you're super cool Aunt Anya. Mama shows us when you're on TV sometimes talking about sports, and they even told us that you're president of something! Not to mention you're dating Kate."

Anya's eyes narrow slightly at Elena, "Do you have a crush on Kate?"

"What?" Elena asks, "Absolutely not! Crushes are for losers, and I am not a loser!"

"Okay," Anya says, "But just for the record, Kate's mine."

"Diana says that you guys are grossly in love. It's pretty obvious that she's yours," Elena states.

Anya scoffs, "We're not grossly in – we're getting off track."

"So Aunt Yelena was a superhero?" Elena asks.

"She was."

"And I'm named after her?"

"You are," Anya answers.

"So, then I should be a superhero when I grow up, right?" Elena asks, "Since Aunt Yelena can't save people anymore, I can do it?"

Anya stares at Elena before her lips curl up in a small smile, "Yeah. In fact, I have something to give you."