Miss Romanoff-Barton

I will kill you

Just to clarify, some of the chapters contain POV switches, they should be highlighted clearly but I just wanted to give you guys a heads up :)

I own nothing but the characters I have created for the purpose of this story. Everything else is owned by Marvel. 

Alexa's POV

We're excused to our rooms again after the exam and I run through my plan for tonight's midnight training session.

We have roughly three hours before lights out so I take my time walking back to the room, honestly trying to avoid being in the other girl's presence for as long as possible.

Eventually however I do have to go back so I gather my dwindling patience and enter the room again.

As expected, I receive immediate hostility.

I try to just brush it off and vault up onto my bed.

Just as I think things might be fine, Veronica decides to open her mouth.

"Oh look, the spider's back".

By now, I'm fed up with her and roll my eyes dramatically.

"Yes Veronica. That's what happens when I sleep here"

I shake my head at her pettiness, climb down from my bed and open my closet.

I grab two wrist braces from my bag in preparation for tonight as I hear a scoff from behind me.

"She's probably planning to sleep with half the class tonight"

I bristle at the accusation. Starting rumours already? But I work to relax my posture despite the cloud in my eyes.

Clearly not getting the reaction she wanted, Veronica opens her mouth again.

"I mean look at her mother, we all know the reputation she has. Baby Spider-Hawk here is clearly a not-so-happy-accident".

I stand up sharply.

I can take insults well. I brush them off, ignore them. What I can't ignore however, is when someone insults my family.

"What did you just say to me?" I ask quietly as I turn, my voice barely louder than a whisper.

Any other person with basic common sense would stop talking right about now. But of course, she doesn't.

The sneer on her face taunts me as she smiles sickly sweet.

"I was just saying that your supposed 'dad' clearly just wanted to sleep with the famous black widow. And after having slept with almost all of SHIELD. It probably wasn't a very difficult task."

That's it.

Before she can process what's happening, I've pulled a knife from a strap around my waist and have her pinned to the wall with the blade at her throat.

The other girls scream and I watch Veronica freeze. Fear flicking across her vision. She shakes against the blade.

I fight to keep my voice from wavering. Even though I can barely hear my own voice over the ringing in my ears. In the end, I speak clearly and slowly.

"If I hear you speaking about me, or my family in that way EVER again. I. Will. Kill. You. And make your death look like an accident. Do I make myself clear?"

The small nod is all I need before relieving the pressure on her artery and plunging the knife into the wall beside her head.

I stalk back to my bed before grabbing the wrist braces and slip them on as I walk out the door, the girls cowering.

I storm out of my room and set a blistering pace towards the gym. I Need desperately to hit something and don't wish the resulting pain on an unsuspecting agent.

Thankfully when I arrive the gym is deserted. With the setting sun bathing the room in gold.

I'd think it were pretty if the thoughts in my head weren't swirling like a storm cloud.

Walking straight past all the equipment I zero in on the punching bag.

The trainers usually insist on wearing gloves, or at least tape.

Formalities are immediately forgone. The need to feel the nylon on my knuckles blinds me of rational sense.

I fall into a static rhythm.

Punch. Breathe. Punch. Breathe. Punch. Breathe. Punch. Breathe.

My mind races in time with the slap of the bag against my fists.

Veronica.

My family.

The knife to her throat.

Veronica.

My family.

I feel the sweat trail down my back and my arms, collecting in my hair and dripping down my face.

My knuckles split at the repeated abuse to the skin. The blood spills. Hot, sticky and red.

The stab in my knuckles joins the cacophony in my head as I speed up my hands alongside my thoughts.

Punch. Breath. Punch. Breath. Punch. Breathe.

A hand touches my shoulder and I whirl on the spot. Throwing a punch at the person behind me.

The person ducks and stands up fast. Wrapping me in a bear hug.

I fight the unrelenting grip mercilessly, but exhaustion catches up to me and I collapse.

The silence stretches for what must have only been minutes, but felt like hours.

"Alexa? Are you OK?"

Wait. I know that voice.

I pull back from what is probably a very gross hug and see him looking directly at me. Worry obvious on his face.

I hug him again, tighter this time and after a beat he pulls me gently to the mats beside the punching bag.

After we sit, he asks again.

"Are you ok?"

I sit there in silence for a bit. Contemplating how I actually feel. I intend to answer honestly.

I certainly feel better than I did when I first walked in here. But I don't think I'm 'ok'.

"I'm not sure." I end up saying. "I may have done something stupid."

I practically hear him smile next to me.

"Let me guess"

I can tell by his tone he knows exactly what I did.

"You flipped out on Veronica, turned into a rage monster, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her."

I nod at the almost perfect summary. Note that I said ALMOST perfect.

"Yup, that sums it up. Though you missed the part where she insulted my family and called both me and my mother a slut".

I watch his face carefully.

He goes through shock, anger, resentment, annoyance and finally understanding.

"Alexa I'm so sorry".

I shrug. Not wanting his pity.

"It's fine"

I let my mind finally sit for a moment before thinking back.

"Probably shouldn't have pulled a knife though".

"Yeah, probably not".