Okay guys, take 2! This one is definitely not going to be as dark as the first attempt (again, I was not in a good place to write, there was so much going on I'm sorry to y'all for even attempting it) but it's going to have a few stabby-kill bits in it, we are dealing with assassins after all and we'll talk a bit more about Kate's background as well. I will warn you guys I am probably gonna be slow to update cause I am still working a lot and I'm getting ready to start my next and final semester of school next month! I'm nervous but excited!

As always, please review :)

"They have the package in the red Lexus heading towards 34th street." Kate said calmly as she watched from the rooftop, an arrow in place. She needed there to be less cars before she could fire.

"I'm on it." Peter's voice echoed through the communicator in her ear seconds before she watched him swing by.

Kate smiled as she felt the electricity crackle in the air from the coming storm. "Carefully this time." She instructed as she moved to get a better vantage point. "Let's avoid having to fish the car out of the river this time."

"Hey, I resent that." Peter said. "It wasn't my fault you took out the front tire on the car."

"I wouldn't have had to if you had gotten to Gargan before he got in the car." She replied lips quirking slightly. "We are not winning points with that guy though, that makes the second time he's been launched into the water."

"Stay focused." Steve's voice came over their coms, serious instruction as ever. "This may be an exercise but that doesn't mean you can just goof off."

Kate grinned brightly as she listened. "Yes Captain." She replied.

"Sorry sir." Peter said at the same time.

Sticking close to the ground and looking out for the little guy didn't mean just preventing petty theft. After the initial rejection of the offer to join the team, the Avengers began incorporating the teens into training, keeping Peter in New York while Kate participated in small roles on global missions when she wasn't in school, though she was still kept out of the spotlight. Summer had been busy for the two.

"Slight hiccup." Kate said looking down. "Traffic standstill coming up because of a flash mob. We need to stop that car now or there's gonna be a body count."

"I'm on it." Peter said.

She watched Peter swing in, heading on an intercept course for the car but a flash of light caught her eye. Looking up, she scanned rooftops and windows. "Hey Cap." She said feeling a knot tighten in her stomach. "I think we're being watched."

"Where?" Steve's voice was tense.

"I'm not—" She felt the presence close to her, turning she scanned the area. Turning her eyes up, her gaze moved over the surrounding rooftops and balconies as it vaguely registered that Steve was telling her something.

Pausing as she faced a building to the east of her, she noticed the outline of a figure, faint against the darkening clouds about forty stories above her. Tensing, she noticed the position, like they were hunched behind a rifle.

She heard the screech of tires and a few startled cries down below and she whirled back to see that Peter had spun a massive web that had caught the car their target was in, much to the surprise of the crowd that was barely twenty feet away from the web. Seeing the scene secure, she turned back to look at the building barely lit by the fading light, only to see that whoever it had been there, no longer was.

"Kate."

Jumping, she turned, arrow drawn back but instantly lowered it with a gasp as she noticed Steve had joined her on the roof. "I'm sorry." She said before looking back towards the other building.

Steve followed her gaze for a second. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said turning her eyes back to him.

"What did you see?" He asked.

Kate shook her head. "I'm not sure." She said. "It was probably nothing."

Steve frowned slightly, not at all convinced. "Kate, if you saw something—"

"I don't know if I did." She replied. "Seriously Steve, I'm not being deflective, I don't know if I saw anything or if the storm is just making me a little jumpy."

Steve looked into her sincere gaze and seemed to let it drop for the moment. Both turned at the sound of sirens to see police approaching the chaos going on in the street.

"Police are on site." Steve said into the coms. "Peter, wrap it up and get out of there. Meet us at the rendezvous."

"Got it!" Peter replied and Kate watched him launch himself up from the street.

Steve reached out and touched her arm to get her attention. "Come on, let's get you guys back." He said with a smile. "It's a school night."

…

Kate was lying on her bed, lights out, listening to the sounds of the rain pelting the window and Lucky's soft breathing, head resting against her blanket covered thigh. It wasn't terribly late, only 10:30pm, but she couldn't sleep, she couldn't get the feeling of someone watching her to leave her mind. Steve, being Steve, had mentioned to Clint and Natasha that Kate had felt like they were being watched and that had launched a whole inquiry, but Kate had pleaded that she saw nothing, finally managing to escape to go to bed.

A slight shadow moving by her balcony made her pause. She didn't lift her head but turned just slightly to try to see if her eyes were playing tricks on her in the dark. However, a brief rhythmic tap on the sliding glass door caused her to relax and she smiled, slipping out of bed carefully and walking over to the glass.

"Peter, what are you doing here?" She asked in a whisper as she opened the door, smiling as she watched him pull his mask off, shaking his head a little like a dog considering he was more than a little soaked.

"I was close by." He said with a big smile.

"We'll see each other in a few hours." She replied even as she stood on her toes to kiss him.

Peter returned the kiss, the heater in his suit drying him quickly as they stood there. "Yeah, but that's in a few hours." He replied with that same bright smile that made her get butterflies.

"Clint and Natasha are just out there." She replied. "If you get caught, we're both dead."

His eyes flickered to the door and then back to her. "I'll know if they're coming." He replied. She rolled her eyes affectionately. His smile faded after a second. "You seemed out of it on the mission today, I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Kate smiled faintly. "Yeah." She said quietly, not quite convincingly.

Peter furrowed his brow in concern. "You've been a little off since you guys got back from Iowa." He said. "Did something happen?"

"No. Peter, I'm fine." She said with a better smile as she kissed him again.

A quick crack of thunder startled the two and they looked back to the window as lightning flashed.

Lucky, awoken by the thunder, lifted his head and gave a single bark.

"Time's up." Kate said looking at Peter.

"I'll see you in the morning." He kissed her once more before pulling on his mask and moving back to the door.

Kate climbed back into bed. "Text me when you get home." She said and watched him close the door behind him before slinging off with his webs.

A few seconds later, the door opened quietly, and she saw the familiar shape of her brother.

"I'm awake." She called and the lights flicked on.

"Can't sleep?" Clint asked as he leaned against the doorframe.

She shook her head. "Just the storm I guess." She replied. "They seem so much closer in the apart."

Clint nodded and looked out the window as the lightning flashed just seconds before the windows rattled with another bang of thunder causing both to tense. "Wanna come out and watch a movie?" He offered. "Nat's making hot chocolate."

Kate nodded, the storm putting her on edge. Pushing the blankets back, she stood, Lucky already having raced out of the room to claim his spot.

"Next time you can tell Peter he can stay for the movie too." Clint commented off handedly.

Kate bit her lip guiltily, but Clint just offered a smile and they moved out to the living room of the condo. Natasha handed out cups of hot chocolate before they all went to the sofa. Kate sat between the two so she and Natasha could share a blanket and Clint rested his arm across the back of the sofa, holding them both as he selected a mindless movie for them to watch.

Kate found herself drifting off to sleep before they were twenty minutes into the movie, resting her head against Clint's shoulder.

~ The wind was picking up and dark clouds were rolling in fast, disrupted briefly by flashes of lightning. A distant rumble of thunder could be heard getting closer.

Kate stood on the porch looking out at it. Storms always seemed more impressive to her at the farmhouse, watching them roll in was a sight amongst the vast openness of the land surrounding the house. However, it made the occupants of the house no less nervous whether here or in the city.

"Lucky!" Kate called cupping her hands around her mouth. The dog usually had free roam, but she needed to bring him in before the rain started.

Within seconds she saw the taller grass shifting before the dark fluffy shape exited, racing towards her. He was halfway between the barn and the house before he skidded to a stop, ears pricked as he scented the air.

"Lucky?" Kate called again as she stepped off the porch. "Is it the neighbor's cat again?"

She was probably five steps from him when his ears lay flat, teeth bared, snarling in the direction of the barn. Freezing for a second, Kate gave a sharp whistle and Lucky backed up to her, still facing the barn. Approaching carefully, Kate watched the open door to the barn for any sign of movement.

"What is Lucky growling at?" Natasha's voice suddenly echoed out before the redhead appeared at the opening to the barn.

Lucky had stopped and was looking at Natasha with perked ears, tail thumping lazily against Kate's leg.

"I don't know." Kate said suddenly unsure. She looked down at Lucky who looked up at her, tongue lolled to the side. "Goof. Maybe it's the storm."

Natasha smiled. "I'm just gonna shut the barn up and head inside." She said.

"I can help." Kate offered but Natasha shook her head.

"I've got it." Natasha replied. "Go make sure Clint hasn't burned the kitchen down yet. It's always dicey when he decides to cook."

Kate laughed lightly and nodded but she was uneasy. Something was wrong.

Natasha turned and walked back into the barn but not before Kate caught sight of something red staining the edge of the green shirt Natasha was wearing. ~

Kate woke up in her own bed, the rain pattering lightly against the windows of her room, Lucky laying on top of her making her extra warm. Looking at her clock she noticed it was only 4:30 but she was wide awake.

Gently pushing Lucky off, she got up and went to her bathroom to take a shower.

Standing under the spray, she closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the shower, drowning out other sounds like white noise.

~ Kate sat at the window in her room that faced the barn. It was late, dinner had been finished, dishes put away, and she had changed into pajamas. She was more than a little tempted to see what happened in the barn, though she'd have to wait until Clint and Natasha went to bed.

As she sat watching outside, vision obscured by the rain streaks on the window, she noticed Natasha outside again with Clint walking beside her. Both were heading to the barn.

Not waiting another second, Kate pulled her boots on and hurried downstairs. Exiting the house, she went to the barn, ignoring the way her clothes soaked through instantly. Her boots squelching in the mud, she got to the entrance of the barn and froze as she looked inside. ~