Chapter 4: Fire and Ice (Part 2)

Katrina didn't answer. She was far too scared of losing her partners to her mother's fury to answer. Her eyes were as wide as two full moons, and she was trembling. How could she tell her mother that she had met Stiria and Nix by pure chance that one afternoon? How could she tell her Mom she was an Aquos Brawler? How could she tell her Mom that her friends were aliens from a parallel realm? How could she tell her Mom that not long after she found Stiria and Nix, she'd joined a site for Brawlers that allowed them to video chat with one another and, if they lived close enough, could arrange to meet and Brawl?

"Tasha? Katrina? What's going on?"

She hung her head. It would only get worse, she thought, if her Dad found out as well. She had been committing the sin of omission all this time, and now she had been busted. Big time. Her heart raced in panic in her chest as she heard her Dad get closer and closer. He finally arrived at the unspoken stalemate between mother and daughter. He raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

Natasha turned to face him.

"Well, Clint, it would seem that our daughter has been hiding quite a few things from us, and I've obviously caught her red-handed!" She snapped, glaring in the direction of Katrina. Clint looked at Katrina. He then turned to Natasha and shook his head.

"Nat, you can't interrogate her like she's some criminal! I'm sure she can explain this, but you're being too harsh on her! She's your daughter, not some terrorist!" He scolded. She hissed, but secretly knew that he was right. Clint turned and walked the rest of the way towards his daughter. He knelt down, and looked gently at his beloved daughter. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him.

"Let's make a deal, okay? You go gather yourself, take a few deep breaths, okay? Then, figure out how to tell us what you've been hiding. We'll talk about it over dinner. Deal?" He asked, smiling. She nodded.

"It's gonna be quite a story."

"Looking forward to hearing it."

"This. Is. AWESOME!"

Serah was currently browsing the Bakugan Brawler website that she had joined in the past week. Her popularity had skyrocketed in a matter of days, both online, and now, it was starting to affect her real-world life. Apparently, the moment the world learned that the daughter of Tony Stark was a skilled Pyrus Bakugan Brawler, the world's view on her changed from disdainful to loving. Claire was now busy managing Serah's Brawling schedule, and both Serah and Brynhildr couldn't be happier. Of course, when her Dad heard Brynhildr talk, Serah had a field day messing with her Dad's head.

It was then that the Mark I Flame Valkyrie armor had a Pyrus-designed Bakugan Shooter and Holster installed. The aforementioned Shooter and Holster could also be detached from the suit, so she could use it whenever she wanted to. It also came with a highly-advanced Brawl Display, so she had access to every bit of data in any Brawling situation, and also had Claire in her Brawls. Finally, Serah was happy.

She had just logged on, turning on the video camera so she could cheerfully greet whoever she talked down in that session. It was then that she saw a name that she had a hard time believing was really… well, she couldn't believe that the individual in question was really on a Brawling website. She knew this person very well, and although this person was a skilled Brawler, this individual was known for not being the most social of people.

The name was Katrina Romanoff. One of the few people who had never seen Serah as the daughter of Tony Stark, but as just another girl. Another girl who happened to have more money than all of the staff of the school combined, but the money and lineage wasn't a problem. Probably because when their parents' jobs weren't in the way, the two used to play. The daughter of Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton. A master Aquos Brawler. Serah was suspicious.

She clicked on the video chat link, and was surprised to see the face that greeted her. She smiled, and for once in her life, was happy to be proven wrong. Brynhildr sat on her right shoulder.

"Serah? Since when do you Brawl?" Katrina asked, shocked to see Serah.

"Since I found my first Bakugan and Claire had a Brawling program in her coding. Anyways, I'm the one that's more shocked here-what are you doing on this site?" Serah asked in turn.

"Since I found my partners, I became a lot happier and more confident. Sure, I had a bit of a rough spot last night, but Stiria, Nix, and I are friends forever!" Katrina chirped.

"Rough spot… let me guess… your parents found out everything?"

"Heh. You know it, but my Mom is the Black Widow, and my Dad is Hawkeye. To be honest, what surprises me is how I was able to keep it hidden for as long as I did!"

Serah snorted.

"That's certainly true. So, what are you-"

Serah's words were cut off by a sudden explosion.

"What just happened?!" Katrina exclaimed.

"To hell if I know! Claire, can you tell me anything?!" Serah snapped, looking towards her Monitor.

"The explosion did not breach the Tower. Trajectory suggested that the blast itself had no true aim. It simply scattered and dissipated." Claire said in a calm tone.

"No aim… scattered and dissipated… It was just an attention-getter?" Katrina wondered.

"Well, I'm not just going to leave it alone. You think you can get there in about… fifteen minutes?"

"Yea. I can get there. Just send it to me."

"Bring the Bakugan, and some of that arsenal you got from your Mom. We're gonna bring the party to whoever did this."

"Alright, see you there!"

Katrina got off the chat. Serah turned off her computer.

"Claire, get the Shooter and the Holster. I'm going to pick out my troops."

"Right away, Master Serah."

Claire went away for a moment to go detach the Shooter from the Mark I Flame Valkyrie Armor. Serah waved her hand over a section of her bedroom wall. The EM Wave Neural Interface in her body responded instantly, causing a blue line to go down the back of her arm, into her hand, and through her fingertips. This caused an EM Wave Pulse, invisible to the naked eye outside of her Interface when it was active and revealed, to be sent from her fingertips into the wall. Two rectangular sections parted, quickly bringing out a small collection of Pyrus Bakugan. She looked at Brynhildr. The two looked at each other.

"Ready for a party?"

The Bakugan smirked.

"Bring it on!"

Brynhildr leapt off her shoulder perch, right into Serah's hand. Serah picked two other Pyrus Bakugan up, before sending another EM Wave Pulse out of her hand, putting her collection away. Just then, Claire returned with the detached Shooter and Holster. Serah walked to another area, closer to her regeneration alcove. Claire took control of mechanical arms, attaching the Holster to Serah's waist and opening it. Serah put her three choice Bakugan into the Holster like a cowboy would holster his gun. She shot her hand forward, and the arms installed the Shooter, syncing it with her Interface. It let out a final blue glow before seemingly disappearing back into her arm. With all of her equipment ready, she smirked.

"It's party time, Claire. Let's go."

The Monitor took on a glow as Claire finished downloading herself into the small, wrist-mounted device.

"I am ready whenever you are, Master Serah."

Serah smirked, and tore out of her room. With a few button presses, she took the elevator to the garage level. She took a motorcycle, mounted it, and sped off in the direction of the blast.