SWORD & GUN || [p. parker]

i. get me some coffee

one.

ALEXIS WAS GOING crazy. Not just crazy-- absolutely mad. Not only did her dad just turn down another one of her thousand: top-ten-reasons-to-let-me-join-the-avengers powerpoint presentation that she sacrificed her precious sleep to finish, Clint had broken the fucking coffee machine. And it was Monday. How bad can this week get?

Tony Stark had dismissed her the second she had pulled out the presentation, interrupting her with a very sickening and anxiety-inducing: "I have news."

"...what?" she blinked, dumbfounded, immediately regretting not getting a proper cup of coffee before Clint messed up her precious coffee machine. 

Her dad sighed, "I'll get straight to the point cause I got to run, Lex. Your mom and I have decided that when you reach twenty-one, you can officially become an Avenger."

"Twenty-one?!" Alexis ran the number through her head, "That's in what? Six fucking years?"

"As Steve would say, language," Tony flicked her forehead, "And yes, for your twenty-first birthday, not only will you be able to drink, you'll also be an Avenger. Great right?"

She rolled her eyes, trying not to let her disappointment show. Twenty-one years old? Hell no. If she had to wait that long, she might as well just steal one of Fury's files and assemble a team of her own. "Dad, please...?" Alexis chose her puppy-eyes card, aiming for success.

"Lex..." her dad faltered for only half a second before the door slammed open. Natasha Romanoff walked through the door, shooting him a piercing glare almost to say: 'don't you dare'.

"Hey Lex," Her mentor smiled.

"Nat..." Alexis frowned.

"Have you made progress with controlling plant growth?" the red-head marched up to the father and daughter, words as firm and clear as always. Especially today. Alexis narrowed her eyes. She adored her mentor, but hated the way she was always so set on not letting Alexis be on the actual field no matter how good she was.

Making plants grow, that was all her power was good at. "I should talk to Mr. Fury to see if I could go through the records. Maybe I can find some info that can get me to learn some form of attack with these... useless powers," Alexis didn't even bother to hide her impatience.

"No attack yet, Lex. Not yet. Remember that last time you grew a vine to the top of the tower, sticking right through the roof after you lost a game of Mario Kart and scared the shit out of Bruce?" Natasha narrowed her eyes right back, with more intensity.

"That's only because my pride was so damaged when Steve managed to beat me." Alexis mumbled. "I lost my golden title of queen of Mario Kart to the capsicle."

Tony struggled to suppress a snicker while Natasha shook her head with disbelief, "You two are ridiculous. Anyway, no, Lex. You can use the simulation room for physical training but not to test your geokenesis. I'll speak with Fury so don't you dare try sneaking into his office again."

"Fine."

"Anyway, you should try your suit on," Her dad interjected.

"Suit?" Alexis tilted her head with curiosity as a new flood of excitement coursed through her. "Wait you made me a freaking suit, dad?!" She didn't want to get her hopes up for joining the Avengers, but she had always longed for a suit of her very own. Maybe all those years of begging her dad to give her one of his spares had paid off.

Her dad tossed her two bracelets. "Give it a call when you need. Not in the tower," he interrupted when a mischievous glint lit up in his daughter's eyes.

"Why not? You activated it inside the house during..." she trailed off. The Battle of New York. She hated that fight and loved it at the same time. Hated her dad for risking his life. "Yeah, I'll do it outside," she settled on at last.

"Enjoy," Tony gave her a quick hug and a kiss on her head, "I got to run, Lex. Got a big important business trip overseas with Pepper. We'll be back on next week."

"Yeah, I think you can call that a vacation."

"No, there's gonna be business talk," he grinned, "You'll see me on television. Love you, bye," Tony picked up his suitcase and entered the elevator.

"Love you too, dad," Alexis gave a small wave as the elevator doors closed, leaving her in the large living room with just her mentor, Natasha and the small silver bracelets around her wrists.

"Well I'll be in the training room," Natasha smiled before walking away.

A beat of silence passed and elation returned to her. Alexis suppressed the urge to jump up and down and scream. She had finally had a suit of her own. She should go test it out, most definitely, immediately. She was happy to the point that she could burst and consider not pranking her dad for at least a couple of months. Still... she stopped in her steps... six years until she could actually be on the field? That was ridiculous.

"Lex, stop crying and help me," Clint whined from the kitchen, a mop in one hand and a cup full of broken glass on the other. "We get it, you want to join the Avengers but--"

"You broke the coffee machine and your cup?" Alexis death-stared him incredulously. "Even I only break things one at a time!" she snapped before storming up the stairs.

"We get it, you're upset. Don't take it out on us!" Clint called after her, "Actually, you can blame Nat. I'm pretty sure she had a word to say once Tony brought up the topic."

"Nat?" She whirled around, eyeing the spot where the red-head had just been standing at.

"Yeah, you know Natasha had always had this thing against you jumping into action," he shrugged, oblivious of the murderous thoughts running through her head, "She might be right, you know. You're only fifteen."

"Well Nat was in the field when she was eleven. She doesn't get a stay," Alexis tapped her finger against the handrail of the stairs, "traitor," she mumbled. The Black Widow, her mentor in the current moment, had gotten her hopes up for nothing.

"If you're aiming to steal one of her Glock 26's, don't tell her I said anything."

"Nahh, I'd rat you out the second she asks," She grinned. "That is, of course, if I get caught because of your bad training of sneaking through the vents undetected. I got a new suit so I think I'm good," She shot Hawkeye a wink before vanishing from the stairs.