fortress | kate bishop

twenty-one.

2024
Manhattan, New York

"I wanna put the star on the tree!" Elena exclaims as she tries to grab the star from her mother's hands.

"We've been over this Elena, it's Franklin's turn," Natasha says as she looks at her eldest daughter.

"But Franklin isn't tall enough!" Elena insists.

"Neither are you," Diana responds as she looks at Elena. Diana was the tallest of her siblings which was unfortunate for Elena who as the eldest felt that she should be the tallest.

"If Elena wants to put the star on the tree, she can. I don't mind," Franklin says as he sits on the floor with Tolkien and Lucky, rubbing the dogs on their belly.

"No," Diana states, "You cannot just give Elena things because she's a whiny baby."

"I am not a whiny baby!" Elena argues, "I get in fights for fun."

"Yeah with people who can't fight back!" Diana exclaims, "I bet if you were to fight Anya or Aunt Yelena, you'd get your butt kicked."

Anya looks up from her computer and at the children who were arguing in the living room, "Why am I in it?"

"Because you're here," Diana responds, "Do you think you could beat Elena in a fight?"

Anya looks back at her computer, watching surveillance footage from Clint's hotel. It showed the archer leaving but not returning so she wondered if Maya had completed the job, "I could take anyone in a fight."

The three children all look over at her with surprise on their faces.

"You could fight Thor?" Elena asks.

"Or Spiderman?"

"Or Ironman?"

"Or Groot!" Franklin asks, he'd really liked Groot.

"Okay," Anya says, "I could take any regular human in a fight."

"Even Mama?" Diana asks.

Anya looks over at Natasha who was decorating the tree and shrugs, "Yeah."

"Okay," Natasha says as she spins, ornament in hand, "There is no way you could beat me in a fight."

"Nat, I've studied you for like all my life. I could totally beat you in a fight. I know your moves, and I know how to counter your moves, besides you're a mother and a retired Avenger. You've let yourself go."

Natasha's jaw dropped, "I saved the world last year."

"Technically, Kennedy saved the world last year. I don't think I could beat her in a fight. Well actually I could because she would hold back because she doesn't want to hurt me," Anya says thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it," Natasha responds as she goes back to decorating the tree.

Anya closes her laptop, "Speaking of, where is she? I would expect her to be redoing all the ornaments on the tree, not you."

"Well," Natasha says, "Kennedy wants to honor Santa Claus with an exact replica of himself on the roof."

Anya's brows furrow, "She's getting a Santa?"

"To put on the roof," Natasha states, "He will be very lifelike and pulled by reindeer that also look lifelike and cost half a quarter million."

Anya's eyes widen, "The hell?"

"Swear!" Franklin exclaims.

"I think Mama will excuse that one," Diana states, "That's a lot of money."