"Hey Wanda, hand me my holster, will ya?"

"Yeah, sure."

Ophidia watched in silent awe as Wanda handed her what was requested and Natasha holstered her batons.

Today was the day of another Avengers mission, one where Nat and Wanda were involved. They'd be going in one of the Quinjets to some dangerous land overseas to fight bad guys and kick their butts. It happened a lot before the mean robot guy, and now it was even cooler now that Wanda went along on missions. Ophidia could only gush at the thought of Wanda's awesome red power stuff used in action with Nat's cool super-spy skills. There were only two things that ever seemed wrong with these events. One being that was never around anymore, having gone far away on vacation, as Nat explained it. The only thing cooler than her two favorite superheroes in action would be her three favorite superheroes after all.

The second thing was Ophidia herself. She hadn't quite known it at first, but by now the young girl knew she longed to be helpful to her favorite heroes. Not by organizing Nat's weaponry or helping Wanda with her aim, or a combination of both. The girl wanted to be a physical help; to join them in kicking the butts of bad guys and keeping people safe...to keep them safe. There were times that Ophi vividly recalled of Natasha coming back from a mission worse for wear, sporting bruises to the face or even a fractured bone somewhere. While Wanda hadn't come back with any injuries like that yet, Ophi wanted to be there to extend that kind of luck. If only she were bigger.

"Hey, kid. What's on your mind?"

Ophi looked up sharply. Through the mirror in front of her, Natasha was gazing back at the girl expectantly. "Uh...nothing."

Natasha, always the one who seemed to sense anything off with Ophidia at all times, pursed her lips. "Doesn't seem like nothing. Seem like nothing to you, Wanda?"

Wanda crossed her arms. "Seems like something ."

Ophidia humphed and crossed her arms, sticking her tongue out at the double-crosser. After Wanda did it right back, the girl looked to Natasha's reflection. "I just wanna be taller, is all."

"I can ask to make stilts for ya."

"No, I wanna actually be tall. Tall enough to go with you guys."

Natasha turned to her with a soft smile. "You can't go about wishing you could grow up faster. Savor your childhood."

Ophidia sighed and looked down at the shiny metal floor, her own reflection looking back up at her. "You don't understand…"

After a brief bit of silence, Natasha's boots stopped before her reflection. The woman herself crouched down to be at eye level with Ophidia, who pouted up at her. "No, I do." She still smiled, perhaps wider. "You want to help us do the right thing. I'm proud of you for that. Because you already have the makings of a hero."

The girl's eyes widened. "...I do?"

"That's right." Wanda helpfully added. "Maybe even more than either of us."

"Who knows how soon it'll be before you're with us? Just try to be patient." Natasha held up a hand for a high five. "Deal?"

Ophidia crumbled; she smiled widely and slapped her tinier palm to the woman's. "Deal."

With the girl's heightened sense of hearing, she was able to detect the buzz of Natasha's commlink. "Alright team, " 's voice said. "Let's head out."

Natasha stood to her full height again and smiled as she and Wanda began to head towards the door. "We should be back by the end of the day. Try not to worry about us, okay?"

Ophidia nodded obediently, but couldn't stop the slightest tinge of worry when they both disappeared through the doorway. With a sigh, she found herself looking down at her own reflection again. She imagined herself bigger-taller and doing amazing fighting moves like Natasha. She smiled a little.

She just had to be patient.


A Long Time Later…

Natasha just barely managed to duck behind the destroyed car, bullets whizzing over her head by the time she finally hid enough.

She'd clearly underestimated just how many fodders she'd be going up against this time. A brief glance through a cracked window offered her a glimpse of a small army advancing in her direction. Two big trucks, perhaps a dozen armed soldiers would be upon her in mere minutes. Just her luck that her Commlink fell out of her ear at some point, leaving her technically stranded from any help. The Black Widow reloaded her pistols quickly as more gunfire soon peppered the car. While it was holding up enough, she doubted it would be the perfect cover for too much longer. Given the nature of her circumstances, it made sense for her to be utterly dumbfounded when one of the soldier's landed unconsciously in front of her.

She looked through the window again, to see what was going on. One of the truck's had caved in one side, and now the whole thing was being picked up and used like a sort of oversized baseball bat. Soldiers were knocked aside by the invisible force wielding the truck, scattered bodies laying everywhere as the unseen assault continued. The other truck tried to back out and the demolished vehicle was quickly discarded. The driver of the truck was yanked through the windshield and thrown to the dirt before the entire truck was slowly pushed over onto it's back.

By this point, Natasha got up in relief and walked towards the invisible rescuer, clapping sarcastically. "Very efficient work, kid."

Ophidia timidly faded out from her camouflaged state, grinning slightly. Some days, Natasha truly wondered how a little girl who barely reached the height of her knee grew to be a head taller than Thor. While dark green vest and ensemble were peppered with bullet holes, it seemed her bulletproof scales were working out even better than she expected.

"Really?" She asked, voice slightly deeper than her childhood days. Her long tail swished on the ground behind her. "This isn't like a fake compliment or anything?"

Natasha smiled even as she rolled her eyes. "You've got a little more work to do, of course...but not bad for your third mission."

"Yes!" Ophidia smiled wider, brushing back a snake from her head full of students, increased since her younger days. "Are we done here, though? I'm kinda starving."

Nat laughed a little as she started off in the direction of the other Avengers. "Your metabolism never ceases to amaze me."

"Well, just be patient." Ophi gave her a cheeky grin as she followed. "And maybe it will."


Wanted to show a brief glimpse at what the future could be like! I do plan on doing a chapter or three on her growth spurt eventually. And then maybe stuff like Civil War, IW, and Endgame...as sad as that will be.