Chapter Thirty
"Does that cat hiss at everyone it sees?"
"She doesn't hiss at me." Alya deadpanned, feeding Mischief a piece of turkey bacon from off her plate.
It has been a couple of weeks since she landed in New York, and this was the very first time she's seen Tony. The man came trudging out of the elevator from his lab to get some breakfast. Alya was sure that Pepper had something to do with him finally coming up to see her.
That man very rarely left his lab. When he worked on his projects, he really lost track of time and forgot to leave to eat and sleep.
There was plenty of food left for him to eat, but the man decided to pour himself a cup of coffee instead.
"By the way, you have school in an hour." He spoke nonchalantly, taking a sip.
"What?"
This was the type of thing that Alya should've known in advance. Why was he telling her this now?
"You have school in an hour, so you'd better hurry up and eat."
"And just where am I going?"
"You don't need to worry about those details. Happy's downstairs waiting to drop you off."
Maybe she was overreacting, but in that moment, Alya could feel her temper rising. She was going to school, but apparently she didn't need to know where that was. It wasn't important.
And maybe her brewing anger was evident, because Tony elaborated. "It's the same school you were going to before, which is convenient for me, because there's someone I need you to look out for."
"Who?"
"His name's Peter Parker. He goes to the high school right by your school. He's my intern and I just want to make sure he's getting along alright."
Intern?
In all the years that Alya had known Tony, she knew that he had never once had interns. He didn't see the need in hiring people to do work that they weren't going to get paid for. Interns always got underfoot anyway.
His words, not hers.
"And you need me to be your spy?" She assumed.
"It's what you're good at, isn't it? It's in your blood." He quipped so quickly, as if he was just waiting to fire that one off.
It was so blunt and so nasty that it shocked Alya. What had even provoked that kind of response?
Out of respect for Pepper, she didn't dignify it with a retort.
It wasn't worth her time.
"Hey, watch it!"
Alya furrowed a brow at some kid who had just bumped into her. She was slightly taller than she was and, apparently, she wasn't alone.
A little posse of other girls surrounded her like lackeys, daring anyone who was willing to challenge them.
By the way everyone else in the hallway was scrambling to get out of their way, they must've been the school bullies. She didn't remember them from the last time she was here, so they must've been new.
Either that, or she just didn't pay attention.
"Didn't you hear me?" The tall blonde snapped, clearly annoyed that Alya wasn't running like everyone else. "Get out of my way."
"There's a whole hallway for you to walk through." Alya told her. "I'm not in your way."
She wasn't thrilled with the idea of going back to school. Her grades were great, she didn't struggle with the work. She just couldn't stand to be around kids her own age.
She never could.
They were always worried about silly things, like what happened on an episode of a primetime show, or what shade of lipstick they should be wearing, what team won at the super bowl…things like that.
And sure, Alya liked to watch tv and play in her mother's makeup when she wasn't around, but there were more important things in life.
She preferred to be homeschooled to get away from all of this.
"Aren't you that loner kid that left in the middle of the year?" The girl smiled as if she were a cat that had just found its prey. Little did she know, that if she kept this up, the roles would reverse. "What an idiot."
Alya had heard worse. You don't come out of the Red Room crying over petty little insults like that.
"Yeah, I've heard about you." The girl kept going as her little posse stood tall behind her. "Your mother got pregnant and your father took off as soon as he found out."
Now, Alya didn't know where that story came from, but if that's what people believed, then she wouldn't stop them. It only made her cover that much more authentic. No one had ever found out that she was the daughter of an Avenger because Natasha had kept that information under lock and key. It truly wouldn't benefit anyone if the public found out now.
"He probably didn't want some half-breed kid to take care of." Her artificially light hair fell just below her shoulders as she let out of laugh.
Alya took a deep breath and bit her tongue. She was trying not to add fuel to the fire. This girl knew nothing about her and she knew nothing about her mother.
But that logic was only making her angrier.
She didn't know her and she didn't know her mother. So what gave her the right to say those things to her without consequence?
"You carry his eyes. What a waste. Beautiful eyes on such an ugly complexion."
The answer was, nothing.
Before Alya could think, her fist was connecting with the girl's nose. She felt it move slightly under her fist just before it began to bleed, ruining her expensive looking blouse.
Pity. It was a nice blouse, too.
Such a nice looking blouse on such an ugly person, what a waste.
The girl screamed in terror, though Alya also believed it could've been due to the pain as well, and her books fell from her hands as she tried to stop the bleeding. No amount of crying or pinching was going to help.
"My nose!" She shrieked. "You broke my nose!"
"Yeah. I did." Alya grinned humorlessly while the rest of the group backed away at the look on her face. "Next time, I'll knock out some teeth."
Seems that group of friends weren't so loyal after all. As soon as trouble came, they were gone, leaving her to suffer all alone.
Alya looked down at her hand and made sure there wasn't any blood on it before she dug through her pockets and pulled out a tissue. "Here." She held it out to her. "You're making a mess."
She didn't wait for any response. She just walked away with her head held high. The day wasn't over yet, she had classes to attend.
A smile tugged its way onto her lips at the sound of that bully's panicked shrieks that grew softer and softer as she left her behind.
"Alayna Serrano?"
Unfortunately, the power walk wasn't such a power move. That girl that Alya decked had gone right to the principal to tell him what happened. Or rather, her version of it.
And that's exactly how she ended up in his office, right beside her.
Things weren't really looking good for her. She hadn't been in any physical danger, but yet she lashed out and she broke someone's nose.
She was going to be in a lot of hot water for this, but honestly, she didn't care.
"I assume you know why you've been called here." Principal Murray looked at her from over his glasses.
"I do."
"I've been told by Serena, that you broke her nose after she politely asked you to move out of her way. Is that true?"
So that was her name, Serena.
"No."
"So you didn't break her nose?"
"No, that part is true." Alya clarified, causing him to raise a brow at her unyielding honesty. "She did not politely ask me to move out of her way. She tried to bump me out of her way and told me to move."
It didn't really matter how all of this was resolved. Alya's patience was wearing thin. If this Serena girl and whoever else was like her wanted to spout nasty things like that to her, then they could look forward to her lashing out.
"So you broke her nose in retaliation?"
"Sure, why not." Whatever got her out of there sooner.
"Fighting and bullying are prohibited at this school, Alayna. I have no idea what's going on at home, but you can't bring it here and take it out on others. It's unacceptable. A bright student such as yourself should know better." Murray lectured. "What would you have done if you had injured Serena further than breaking her nose? I understand, like most girls, the Black Widow may just be your role model, but she has gone through a lot to be where she is now. Things you have been privileged enough not to go through—"
"Sloppy, Alyona." Madame B scolded. "Again."
Alyona heaved a cough before she sent another kick to an opponent's side, making the girl scream in pain.
"Better." The older woman nodded in approval. "Now, finish the job."
Alyona looked anywhere but her opponent's eyes for fear of chickening out at the last minute. Looking into the younger girl's eyes would humanize her too much. It was easier this way. If there was no face to go with the kill, then there was no guilt to feel.
"You will not have all this time to waste in the real world, Alyona. It is your life or theirs. Choose wisely."
Alyona looked over at her handler, who gave her a nod of encouragement, before she raised her gun and wrapped her fingers around it.
"You will be the greatest child assassin since Natalia Romanova and Yelena Belova."
In her head, Alyona counted to ten, never taking her eyes off of the girl's forehead before pulling the trigger.
The nameless little girl slumped over as soon as the shot rang out. Only then could Alyona look at her.
She was younger than Alyona, smaller, slower. It hadn't take much for her to overpower her. All she had to do, was grab her wrist and twist, distracting her with the pain before she swept her legs out from under her.
The little girl was so nervous that she couldn't remember how to properly defend herself from such quick onslaughts of attacks and she just folded like a house of cards.
Part of Alyona wanted to reach a hand out and help her up, but she refrained. She had done it before with severe consequences. Madame B's bamboo stick was not there for show and it cut through the air like a knife, leaving painful welts wherever it landed.
And when that wasn't enough, being sent to General Dreykov's office for extra exercise training often did the trick.
He'd make the girls jog in place, do sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups for as long as he felt it was necessary.
Hesitation was weakness and compassion was forbidden.
A widow did not want to get caught for either.
"Better." Madame B complimented, placing an uncharacteristically soft hand on her shoulder. "Much better. Don't you think General?"
"She has promise." Dreykov nodded from his place on the sidelines where he had been observing the entire fight. "It is a wonder what you can accomplish when you are not being coddled relentlessly. Isn't that right, Alyona?"
"Yes sir." Was Alyona's automatic response, her hands firmly clasped behind her back.
"Get her down to the kitchen for a nice dinner. She's earned it."
"—You don't know me."
"Excuse me?"
"You don't know me." Alya shook her head, trying to get the foggy memory out of her head. "You don't know me."
Where was all this coming from? Why wouldn't it stop?
Whether or not she was speaking to Dreykov and Madame B, or to her principal was unclear.
"I know enough."
"You don't know me."
Alya could feel her palms beginning to sweat and her heart rate began to increase. She took a couple of deep breaths, inhaling before exhaling very slowly to keep herself from freaking out in the middle of the office.
But it was proving difficult.
"Please? Please don't make me do this?" Alyona pleaded, looking at another pupil opposite of her. The girl had tears in her eyes and fear was written all over her face.
"It is necessary. You have the potential to be the best."
Madame B's bamboo stick whizzed through the air and landed directly on Alyona's calf. The child had to bite her lip to keep a scream from escaping her throat. Instead, she only let out an audible grunt.
"Widow." She spoke sternly, leaving no room for arguments. "You know what you have to do."
"We're not getting anywhere with this preteen angst act of yours." Murray pulled out her file and began to dial her emergency contact.
Alya felt the heat rising in her cheeks. Not from embarrassment of course, but from pure rage. Ever since Russia, she found herself becoming very angry at things she would normally just brush off.
It was almost as if once she began to remember the early parts of her childhood, gaps of her personality had begun to fill in.
She was trying hard to come to terms with what she was. Sometimes it was hard just looking in the mirror.
All that stared back at her was a child assassin. She no longer saw herself as that happy go-lucky little kid that loved cuddling and all the other simple pleasures in life.
She saw a monster, a weapon.
And like a weapon, certain things triggered her and set her off. Sometimes, things out of her control.
Was it hot in here? Did they have the heat or the AC on? It was too early for the heat, so why was it on?
Alya was so hot! Her fingers reached down to roll up her sleeves, but it did nothing to relieve her of her discomfort.
"I'm here for Alayna Serrano?" A new voice interrupted her thoughts.
Murray had never expected to see Tony Stark's CEO walk into his office, he couldn't help but be a little starstruck by her.
"You've come to the right place. Please, come in."
All of a sudden, his little lecture based off of assumptions was no longer important.
Pepper stood right beside the chair Alya was sitting in and did that thing where she'd tap her foot, waiting for the child to look up at her.
Alya hated it when she did that. She knew she was in trouble, there was no need to rub it in.
It felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest.
"What seems to be the trouble here?" The redhead asked.
"As I told you on the phone. Alayna has gotten into a fight with one of the older students."
Pepper glanced over at Serena, who was sitting in the waiting area, and grimaced at what she saw of the girl's injuries. How could someone as small as Lainey have done so much damage?
"I'm sorry, she knows better than that. What prompted the fight?"
"Apparently, Serena tried to get her to move out of her way by pushing her. Lainey took it upon herself to exact justice."
"Oh, Lainey." Pepper muttered under her breath. "Are you sure that's all?"
"It's all she's been willing to tell me." Murray shrugged. "And based off of that, she is suspended for the rest of the week. I won't put this on her record, but let this be a warning."
"I trust that Serena will be punished as well? Pushing, while not as severe as busting someone's nose, is still an issue."
"Serena will have two weeks worth of detention for her troubles." Murray nodded. "You may take Alayna home."
"Let's go." Alya felt Pepper's hand firmly grip her shoulder and nearly panicked before remembering that it was only Pepper before she stood up, allowing the woman to lead her away.
The car ride was silent. Neither Alya nor Pepper said a word to one another the entire way to the compound. The former wasn't very sure if it was because Pepper was upset with her or because she didn't feel there was anything to say at all.
Pepper didn't look very upset. She just kept her hands on the wheel and her eyes on the road. The radio was on one of those stations that played music no one wanted to listen. It was on just to fill the silence and Alya wasn't about to open her mouth and ask her to change it, for fear of starting a conversation she didn't want to have.
Those drives from the city, to the Compound were pretty long. But they had never been this icy. Alya had to rethink and assume that Pepper was upset with her when the woman parked the car and got out without saying a word.
"Aunt Pepper….." The preteen tried to get her to say something now that they were back inside.
"What were you thinking?" Pepper stuck her hands on her hips, setting her jaw. "Your parents are international fugitives. You're supposed to be laying low and staying safe while you're here. What were thinking getting into a fight with that girl?"
"I wasn't."
"That's right." Pepper began to pace, her high-heeled work shoes clacking against the tiled floor. The louder the clacking, the angrier Alya knew she was. "You weren't thinking. You lost your temper and you seriously injured someone else. You broke that girls nose, Alayna. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I'm sorry?" Alya was all mixed up. She didn't know what to say or what to feel. It was scary to think that when Pepper told her that she broke Serena's nose, a bit of satisfaction burst through her veins. Someone had hurt her and she had hurt them back.
But it was also frightening, because she had hurt someone without a second thought.
"Sorry isn't going to cut it. You're suspended. Do you have any idea how that makes you look? I'll tell you, it make you look like you can't control yourself. Like you've got a dangerously short fuse."
She was dangerous. Even Pepper believed it.
This incident just proved it.
"I love you, honey." Pepper began to calm down once she got her point across. "You need to learn to reel it in a little. I know these past few months have been hard on you, but you can't act out because of it."
Was that what she was doing? Acting out?
Was she crying out for attention?
Alya didn't think so. If that were the case, she would've starting doing things a lot more risky than fighting some school bully.
She could've walked away, though. She could've found an adult to help her. She could've just ignored her.
Why didn't she?
When had violence become such a knee-jerk reaction that she was now breaking bones?
What was happening to her?