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the-widow-sisters · 9 months

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And So the Student Becomes the Teacher

Summary: When a new Avenger-in-training is brought to the compound, Kate is assigned as one of the primary instructors. Little does she know, Cassie Lang is someone that, while startlingly similar to Kate, also has a fighting spirit in her that more than qualifies her for the job.

Or Kate and Cassie spar and play Kate's own version of twenty questions to get to know each other better.

Word Count: 3.1k+

A/N: Well, hopefully this one didn't turn out absolutely terrible 😅 I just had a mouth surgery the other day that I had to be put under for, so I've been a little out of sorts. Maybe it hasn't affected the writing quality 😅😬

I hope y'all enjoy this one!!! 💖💖💖

“Hey, Kate!” someone called suddenly.

Kate furrowed her brow a little, stopping in the midst of her warm-up as she turned to look in the direction of the voice. To her surprise, it was Scott Lang coming her way.

The last thing that Kate had expected was to be interrupted in her training by Ant-Man of all people. He was not one to frequent the compound anyways and seemed to be more focused on his own personal life than the superhero side of things.

However, she could not deny that at this point, she was extremely curious about what had brought him.

“Hi,” Kate replied, smiling despite her intense confusion. She offered the man a onceover, considering what he could possibly be doing looking for her.

“You remember me, right?”

“Of course! Scott Lang the Ant-Man,” Kate replied effortlessly, and he instantly looked extremely relieved.

“Oh, good. That would’ve been a weird conversation. But, umm, the reason I’m here… I’ve got somebody I want you to meet,” he told her with a warm smile, stepping aside as he revealed the girl standing a small distance behind him. She was looking around the gym, slowly turning in circles as she took in the sight of all of it.

“Hey, Peanut, come over here. I’ve got somebody for you to meet,” Scott called, and the girl instantly looked at him, almost seeming embarrassed as she caught sight of Kate.

“Dad, not in front of people,” she whined under her breath as she strode over.

Scott wrapped his arm around her back as soon as she was close enough, squeezing her arm on the opposite side from him. He did not seem to be affected in the least by her embarrassment at the nickname.

“This is Cassie, my daughter. Cassie, this is Kate, Clint’s protégé or something like that,” he told her, choosing to ignore her comment.

“Good to meet you, Cassie,” Kate greeted cheerily, and Cassie nodded to her. She was still confused as to why exactly she was getting an introduction and what he needed with her, but she was still pleased to meet a potential new friend.

As if he had read her mind, he cleared his throat, speaking up again.

“Well, umm… you’re probably wondering why I’m introducing you to her and all that, so I guess I’ll just go ahead and tell you,” Scott expressed, letting his arm drop away from Cassie as she continued to study the room, alternating between looking at Kate and eyeing the equipment with a certain interest.

“So… I didn’t know if you knew, but we came to Captain America and a couple of the others and asked about Cassie possibly joining the Avengers program. He just gave us the okay just the other day, and I’m coming here to drop her off,” he proceeded to explain the situation to her.

“Kind of makes me think of some kind of superhero college thing or something,” he laughed wryly, and Kate just listened carefully.

Cassie rolled her eyes heavily, and it led Kate to believe that this was by far not the first time that she had heard this joke from him. Something about the familiarity of the whole thing left a small ache in Kate’s chest as she remembered her own father and his same old jokes that he always told. It made her miss him deeply.

“Of course, she’s going to have to have some tests, and probably a little more training, but we’ve got a pretty good basis since she’s already learned some martial arts and stuff. But um… honestly, that’s kind of why I’m here talking to you,” Scott finally started to get to the point. Kate nodded to him, just patiently waiting.

“I was wondering… Well, I mean, I’m her primary mentor, but like… Cap suggested we talk to you and ask if maybe you would be willing to help train her?” Scott questioned.

“He said it’d be a good experience for you both and she might learn better from someone not too far from her age, and—”

“I am literally so willing,” Kate interjected, and she instantly noticed the almost awkward quiet as he paused mid-sentence. She smiled nervously, flashing him an apologetic look despite her excitement.

“Sorry,” she expressed, wincing a little. She honestly could not help her interjection. She was really excited at the prospect of getting to train someone and finally do them the favor that had been done for her.

Granted, Kate had a black belt and was an expert fencer before she came to the Avengers, but the Avengers taught her martial arts like she had never done before. Natasha and Clint’s teachings were far beyond anything she had learned, and some of Clint’s sword skills were certainly not in her fencing lessons that her mom had paid for.

To have the opportunity to pass those teachings to someone else was extremely exciting for her.

“Oh, no, no, that’s great news! I’m super glad to hear it,” he expressed, and Kate glanced at Cassie with a smile.

“We can get started right now if you want? I mean, I was just warming up, so if you want, we can go and see where we’re at,” Kate offered, and Cassie looked at her dad with a sigh before looking back at Kate.

Kate was slightly taken aback at the slight lack of enthusiasm, but she wondered if it might simply be some manner of shyness.

“Sure,” she replied, and Scott grinned widely at the both of them before a sudden notification went off on his phone. He furrowed his brow, checking it before looking at Cassie.

“Hope needs me to come help her with something. You good here?” Scott checked with her. She sighed deeply and unhappily.

“Got it, Dad,” Cassie answered after a brief moment.

“Alright. Have fun, Peanut,” he told her, reaching out to grab the back of her head as he pulled her near for a brief forehead kiss.

He then hurried off toward the door, lifting the phone to his ear as he presumably called Hope.

Kate looked at Cassie, letting out a deep breath as she grinned.

“So… Wanna get yourself some gloves and stuff?” Kate offered, and Cassie raised an eyebrow at her, not overly impressed. Kate was definitely beginning to rethink her assumption that Cassie was just shy. The girl seemed to be in a not too great mood.

“Where do you guys keep them?” Cassie questioned, keeping the conversation fairly flat.

“Over that way,” Kate pointed her own gloved hand, and Cassie headed over.

Kate thought it through, knowing she had to think of some way to get Cassie invested and involved in the whole thing. She would love to get to know her better, so maybe she could start with that idea.

Once Cassie was geared up and she hopped into the ring with Kate, Kate smiled at her kindly.

“So I’ve got an idea,” Kate started. Cassie looked at her somewhat strangely, but there was some interest in her gaze.

“Okay… What?”

“Let’s play twenty questions while we spar,” Kate presented her thought, and Cassie raised an eyebrow.

“Okay,” Cassie chuckled just a little, not seeming over impressed with the idea, and Kate shook her head.

“But not twenty questions like you think,” Kate explained to her, and Cassie just eyed her strangely.

“I’m thinking twenty questions like we alternate back and forth asking each other stuff to get to know each other,” Kate suggested, and Cassie looked at her strangely.

However, after a couple of beats, she shrugged, amazingly not seeming overly against it.

“Okay, why not?”

“I’ll ask something and then you ask, okay? We’ll each have twenty questions for the both of us,” Kate explained her slightly tweaked version of the game.

“Alright.”

“Now get in position and let’s get started,” Kate told her, and Cassie complied, nodding a little. Kate could see the concentration in her face as she offered Kate a brief onceover.

“Let’s go,” Kate spoke, officially starting the fight.

They circled one another for a moment, debating where to go in first. After all, they did not know one another. They did not know each other’s weaknesses or their strengths, and this entire battle was going to be full of surprises.

“Favorite color?” Kate questioned, hoping to throw Cassie off a little before moving in.

To her surprise, Cassie came at her as soon as she asked her question. Kate quickly blocked her and effortlessly used Cassie’s momentum to knock her to the other side of the ring just as Natasha had taught her in the past.

Cassie caught herself just before hitting the guardrail, but only barely as she turned to look at Kate again. There was a renewed respect in her eyes and a hint of curiosity as she watched her. Surprisingly, the grumpiness from before seemed to be fading.

“Purple. What’s yours?” Cassie questioned, and Kate grinned widely, unable to help laughing a little at the irony of the whole thing.

“Purple, too.”

“Oh… Wow, that’s crazy,” Cassie smiled just a bit, starting to brighten just a tad.

Kate dove in for an attack, swiping several sharp punches unpredictably as she avoided looking in the direction of where she was going to hit. Cassie apparently had not been expecting it, but she handled it rather well considering. Cassie even managed to get in a kick of her own that harmlessly was dodged by Kate’s quick reaction time.

“Birth year?” Kate asked, and Cassie huffed, narrowing her eyes a bit.

“Two-thousand-seven. You?” Cassie replied simply, looking like she was waiting for the right time for another attack as she looked Kate over and seemingly tried to gauge any weak spots.

Kate did not give her the chance to have the luxury of deciphering such things as she rushed her and aimed several sharp kicks toward her midsection and head. Cassie remarkably managed to dodge, but Kate’s foot grazed her face despite her best efforts to the contrary.

“Two-thousand-two. You okay?” Kate asked, and Cassie huffed, nodding as she looked at Kate closely.

“I’m good. Don’t worry about me,” Cassie assured her, and Kate was not entirely sure whether she was simply trying to be tough or if she genuinely was fine. Kate made the decision to avoid her face for at least until she could get a better read on what Cassie could handle.

“Okay… Only if you’re sure?”

“Is that your next question?”

“No,” Kate responded, and Cassie actually smiled widely at her. Kate could not help but return the gesture.

“What’s your… superhero name?” Kate questioned, and Cassie thought it over for just a second, never taking her eyes off of Kate as she considered it.

“Stinger. Or Ant-Girl. Haven’t decided yet. Yours?” Cassie asked before swinging at Kate’s head unexpectedly.

Kate took her wrist, knocking it out of the way and landing a hit in Cassie’s currently unguarded stomach area. Cassie jumped back, trying to stop any more onslaughts of hits.

She was starting to loosen up in her fighting, and Kate could see the determination in her gaze as she waited to get in another hit in return for Kate’s attack. They were starting to get more comfortable with one another, and Kate knew that they were about to get into the real fighting that they had been warming up for so far.

“Are you going to just repeat my questions back to me?” Kate asked, stopping for a brief moment despite the fact that they were in the middle of a fight. Cassie shrugged, raising her eyebrows just a little.

“Hey, the whole point of this was to get to know each other, right?” Cassie asked, slightly winded from the hit to the gut.

“Touché,” Kate replied, laughing as Cassie mustered a grin.

To Kate’s immense happiness, it seemed like Cassie had just been in a less than perfect mood earlier, and as Kate pried at her, it appeared to be that Cassie was naturally a lot like Kate in personality. She had a sense of humor and she seemed to be goofy despite what Kate sensed was a slight rebellious streak within her.

“Answer is Hawkeye, by the way,” Kate answered her, and Cassie furrowed her brow.

“I thought that was Clint Barton’s name,” Cassie stated in a manner that was more of a question. Kate moved her head in a nonchalant sort of gesture.

“We share it. It was part of the agreement when I became an Avenger,” Kate explained.

“Hmm… Interesting.”

“Superhero crush?” Kate asked, and Cassie let out a breath, shrugging.

“Thor’s hot,” Cassie simply stated.

“My best friend thinks that same thing,” Kate could not help but laugh a little in reply, thinking of Darcy's crush on Thor.

“Favorite musician?” Cassie asked a question of her own, making the mistake of glancing at Kate’s legs as she tried to swipe them from underneath her. Kate started to go for the ground, but she maneuvered to turn her fall into a somersault as she popped back up and on her feet.

Cassie watched her, utterly impressed with the move, and Kate prepared to come at her again as she answered her.

“Avicii probably.”

“That’s a really good one.”

“Your favorite artist?”

“Who’s repeating questions back now?” Cassie asked, laughing, and Kate just huffed, rolling her eyes as she enjoyed the girl’s sense of humor.

They could strangely relate on a similar playing field. Their thoughts on what was funny was strangely alike and their fighting was remarkably well-matched considering their natural tendencies to lean toward certain moves and even certain weaknesses. After all, Kate had been the worst about looking at the area where she was going to hit someone.

“I don’t know… I like M.I.A. She’s a fighter,” Cassie informed her, and Kate nodded, trying to remember if she had ever heard the woman’s music.

“That’s valid—”

To Kate’s sudden surprise, as soon as the words came out of her mouth, Cassie suddenly launched toward her, shooting several kicks at Kate’s left side. Kate was not fully prepared to protect herself on that side given the fact that it was one of her weaknesses, and Cassie actually managed to get a good kick in.

Kate sidestepped, trying to get some room so she could come at Cassie with an elbow toward her chin. At this point, Kate felt that the girl could handle it.

Cassie almost fell backwards in her effort to dodge it, and Kate was going to let her take position on the opposite side of the ring when Cassie suddenly came at her again with a renewed vigor. Kate instantly fought to keep the upper hand, blocking Cassie’s hits.

Kate finally managed to get one in on Cassie’s gut again, taking advantage of the opening once more. Cassie fell back, and Kate raised her eyebrows.

“You’re good.”

“You, too,” Cassie replied, somewhat out of breath as she offered her a thumbs-up and a somewhat goofy smile. Kate offered a thumbs-up and a smile of her own.

“I think you are holding out on me a little, though, Kate. Don’t be scared to fight me. I don’t want to be treated like a little kid,” Cassie informed her, defiance in her eyes, and Kate paused briefly, looking at her with some surprise.

However, she ended up nodding in reply to her, agreeing to stop going quite so easy on her. Cassie apparently could handle it from what Kate had gathered from fighting her, and Cassie wanted her to go harder and not coddle her.

And so they continued to fight and ask questions as they went.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Okay, let’s… Phew, let’s take a break,” Kate spoke up, and they both sat down on the floor of the ring. They were both breathing heavily, and Cassie laid down on her back as her chest heaved. Kate laid down with her.

“What question are we on now?” Cassie questioned, and Kate shook her head, honestly having no clue.

“Let’s call it our last one. ‘Cause… ‘Cause I’m tired,” Kate pointed out with a chuckle, and Cassie huffed in reply, grinning.

There was silence between them for a few moments, and Cassie looked at Kate after a moment. Kate looked back at her, somewhat confused.

“What?” Kate questioned, and Cassie raised an eyebrow.

“Aren’t you going to ask a question?”

“Oh! I thought it was your turn!” Kate declared, and Cassie furrowed her brow, trying to remember now that Kate had thrown her for a loop.

“Wait, is it your turn?”

They both laughed, unable to even consider it logically for a few moments as they closed their eyes and tried to catch their breaths. They rested for a moment, reopening them slowly as they observed the ceiling.

“I’ll just go,” Kate told her, and Cassie nodded.

“What do you think about training here under me and your dad?” Kate asked, curious to know the answer now that she knew Cassie a little better after all their questioning.

Cassie was quiet for a long few moments, thinking it through as she debated her reply.

Finally, she sighed, clearing her throat as she spoke up.

“Honestly, Kate, I wasn’t so sure about this entire thing at first. I thought I learned pretty much all I needed to know and I was pretty sure that this was just some goofy formality that my dad was making me go through,” Cassie explained, and Kate raised an eyebrow as she took in a long, deep breath.

“Have you changed your mind?” Kate questioned as she tentatively sat up, balancing herself on her elbows.

“You were on your last question already,” Cassie acknowledged, and Kate shrugged.

“It’s a bonus round,” Kate told her, grinning a little as she took in a deep breath.

“Hmm… Well, I think I might have a little more to learn. Not too much but maybe some,” Cassie granted, and Kate hummed in acknowledgement.

“I think you’ll like it here. There’s a bunch of really great people and they all are there to help you succeed and to lend a hand,” Kate assured her, and Cassie nodded.

“You got one more question if you want to go for it,” Kate told her, and Cassie was quiet as she thought it through, deciding on what she wanted to ask.

Cassie finally looked over at her.

“You, um… Wanna be friends?” Cassie asked.

Kate looked at her with some surprise, and Cassie just eyed her with only a bit of trepidation in return. A few beats passed, but then Kate shrugged with a wide smile, nudging her playfully.

“I think that could be arranged.”