A/N: I AM SOOOOOO VERY SORRY that I couldn't get this before Christmas last year but, I got sidetracked with Lord of The Rings and a bunch of other things. Anyhoo, below is an updated list of all of Katya's talents. I added and threw out some languages so, don't refer to the original list that I gave you. I will still translate everything as best as I can. FYI, nicht means no and kollege is colleague.
Languages: Russian, English, Latin, Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Mandarin, and Norwegian.
Musical: Cello, violin, piano, pipa, guzheng and a soprano voice. She has perfect pitch but, she tries to hide it as best as she can.
Academics: Very smart.
Miscellaneous: Prepares tea the Chinese way, plays weiqi chess. She's really good with poisons and has an in-depth knowledge of botany and the human body. She's trained in the Martial Arts and most of her poisons are derived from wuxia novels she reads.
Now, on with the show!
New York City; the Avengers Tower
Phil's POV
I laugh at Katya's antics. She acts really cold around strangers, but with the team and me, she's just a normal teenager. And one who just got accepted into a really prestigious high school, if I do say so myself! She suddenly stops and whirls around to look at me.
"Oh my God, Phil, I still have to get my school supplies and textbooks. And do I have to wear a uniform, where do I get one if I have to and…"
"Katya!" We all interrupt her.
She blushes, "Sorry."
"No, it's fine," I smile, "It's normal to be nervous. We can go supply-shopping tomorrow, you'll get your textbooks next week, we don't have uniforms but, we do have a school dress code. Oh, and I suggest you start familiarizing yourself with classical music. Both Frau Schmidt and Monsieur DuPont are big fans of movie soundtracks and musical theatre."
"Ok, so I'm gonna need music books for Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera...um, am I missing anything?" she asks, looking around at us. We all look at Tony who's smirking.
"I think it's time for young Katya to be introduced to the cinema," he says gleefully, rubbing his hands together. And so her education in classical movies starts. Tony first has her watch any of the old films of the books that she read. After that, he gets the DVDs for the 10th and 25th anniversary concerts for Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera and lets her watch it to her heart's content. After she memorizes every song in each of the concerts, Natasha and Tony each introduce her to the most iconic films in history; The Titanic, The Harry Potter series, Pride and Prejudice 2005, The Godfather, Schindler's List, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, How to Kill a Mockingbird, ET: The Extra Terrestrial, Gone with Wind, The Sound of Music, the Sherlock Holmes movies, Twelve Angry Men, and Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet. After the flood of movies, Katya and I go school-supply shopping. We get the standard school supplies plus, some extra things; music books for choir and orchestra, a new cleaning kit for her violin, and a light purple iPod with Skull Candy headphones. With the iPod, I teach her how to use it and get her started on her music collection. Because she was spending so much time with us, and with Katya spending every spare moment that she has, pestering Fury to let her move in with us, Fury decides to let her move in to the Tower. Tony's delighted; he's been waiting for forever to get Katya's room decorated. It's a large room, with white walls and a queen-sized bed with a lilac bedspread. The room also has its own bathroom, desk and a rather large walk-in closet. The day she moves in, Natasha is up SUPER early and is nervously pacing the length of living room. Bruce is watching her, rather exasperated but, amused. Clint and I come in, laughing at the state Natasha's in.
"Come on, Nat. Stop being so nervous," Clint claps his hand on her back.
"I know, I just…I can't…ugh!" frustrated that she can't speak even say a complete sentence, she throws herself on the couch in a huff. We sit down on the sofa next to her.
"Nat, it's not that bad. Remember, the DNA tests haven't come out yet," I reassure her, as I correctly guess why the infamous Black Widow is so nervous. Clint glances at me and nods in understanding; Nat was nervous because she wanted to make a good impression on Katya, even though it hadn't been proven that they are sisters. Natasha sighs and leans on Bruce's shoulder.
"I know that, Phil…"
"Well, if you know, then you shouldn't be wearing a hole into the ground," Loki says sternly. He plops down on the opposite side of Bruce. Natasha hums in assent. Tony, Steve, Pepper, Rhodey, Thor and Jane all come walking out of the elevator and the morning continues to flow regularly. At 11:00, the doorbell rings.
"Sir, Miss Katya has arrived with her luggage," JARVIS says.
"Let her in, let her in," Tony waves his hand in the air.
"Right away, sir."
Soon, we hear the hiss of the elevator doors opening and out walks Katya in black skinny jeans, black ballet flats and a white blouse with a jean jacket. Her crimson red hair is French-braided down her back.
"Hey," she smiles. Everybody smiles and we all hug her in turn. The family's almost complete, all we need now are the DNA tests to prove that she's Natasha younger sister. The rest of the week passes quickly. Soon, it's the night before the first of September and Katya is in the living room, going over her supplies and the map of the school one more time. Clint and I are sitting on the couch watching TV.
"…I have 10 mechanical pencils, my class schedule, music books for both choir and orchestra…"
"Haha, Katya, don't you already have that memorized?" Tony asks, chuckling. Katya sticks her tongue out at him and goes back to checking her stuff. Steve sits next to her on the couch and peers at her schedule.
"Whoa, why are you taking so many hard classes?"
She glances at her schedule. "No, I'm not. It's just AP World History, Choir, Orchestra, PE, AP Calculus and Physics. My language teachers have already told me I should take online language courses from Harvard so I have seventh and eighth open. I'm not overtaxing myself."
I chuckle at Steve's shocked expression. "Steve, your definition of hard and her definition are very different."
Katya smirks, "Can you help me double checking all of this? I'm pretty sure I have everything," she gets up, and goes around the coffee table to look for something, probably a pack of paper. Steve picks up the school list and looks it over. Katya comes back around with the pack of paper and the two of them start to go over the list. Tony comes in, leaning on the doorframe and looks at Steve contentedly.
"…1 graphing calculator?"
"Check."
"Your laptop?"
"Right here," Katya pats the lavender-covered laptop. It was a gift from Tony who wants to literally spoil the young Russian girl with only the newest gadgets, all of them courtesy of Stark Industries of course!
"All right, then. You've got everything." The two of them start to clean up, putting everything back in the plastic bags.
"Thanks, Steve," she stands up, giving Steve a hug. Katya takes the bags in hand and walks out of the room, pausing to give Tony a one-armed hug. The two boyfriends give each other a smile as Tony hugs her in return. She walks down the hall and turns a left towards her room. Tony comes in to the room and sits down next to Steve. The WWII veteran lays his hand in Tony's lap and puts his head on his shoulder. Natasha and Bruce walk in just as Pepper and Rhodey come up from her office. Thor and Jane also come up in a different elevator from her lab with Loki following them. They all seat themselves around the living room.
"Do you really think she is ready for school?" Loki asks.
"Yes, I do think she's ready. If she isn't given something to do, she would've exploded," I reply.
"Why are you so sure?" Steve asks.
"Because she gets impatient whenever she isn't kept busy. We all know this; we have to be kept busy or else we'd go crazy. It's the same with her." They all nod in understanding. We watch a bit more TV before we all retire for the night.
The next morning; the Avengers' Tower
Katya's POV
I wake up at 6:00 in the morning and spend what feels like an eternity with thoughts swirling around in my head. What if the other students didn't like me; what if the teachers didn't like me; what if they found out about my past? Bozhe moi, I can't let them know about my past. Finally, I roll out of bed and get ready for school. I slip on a green buttoned-down shirt, thread a black belt through it, and pull on a pair of black skinny jeans and a pair of black leather thigh high boots. I pull my unruly red hair back in to a ponytail and let my bangs hang down. I slip a pair of silver hoop earrings through my ears and clasp a get silver double-hooped necklace around my neck. I grab my school stuff and phone and go to the kitchen to get some breakfast. As I grab 10 eggs and start up the stove to cook it, the rest of the Avengers start trickling in. They grab their cups and start filling the up with their morning drinks.
"So, how do you feel?" Tony asks.
"Nervous," I say, "I can't seem to stop shaking," As if on cue, my hand shakes so much that I almost let go of the spatula. I grip it tighter and finish the scrambled eggs with an almost single-minded determination. I hear a grunt behind me and I deduce that Steve must have elbowed his boyfriend in the stomach. I finish scrambling the eggs and put the plateful of scrambled eggs on the table. They all dig in as I get out a bowl of cereal for myself. I sit down beside Natasha as they all talking about what they're going to do today. Phil and I need to get to school; Clint, Natasha and Loki are going to the Helicarrier to get the new recruits broken in; Thor and Jane are also going to the Helicarrier to do some astrophysicist research for SHIELD; and Tony, Bruce and Steve are going to work in the Science Brothers' lab. After breakfast, we all split up to start our day. After double-checking my school stuff, Phil helps me get it all into his black Lincoln car. Clint, Loki and Natasha walk into the garage at the same time.
"Hey, good luck with the recruits today," I say.
"Thanks, Katya," Loki says. Natasha nods in agreement, and Clint smiles at me. The three of them pile into Natasha's blue Prius and Natasha backs it out of the garage. Phil and I wave at them then we get into the car and go to school. It is a relatively comfortable silent ride and soon Phil's driving into the parking lot and parking in his reserved principal spot. I let out a breath, thanking the Heavens that we arrived early enough to avoid stares. Phil guesses what's on my mind but, says nothing. We walk into the school, and go to my locker to put my stuff away. I organize my stuff then, put my morning classes in my backpack. I shut my locker and Phil walks me to my first class; AP World History. The teacher, Professor Jones, is in the classroom when we get there and Phil introduces me to him.
"Stefan! It's wonderful to see you. I have somebody to introduce you to. Stefan, this is Katya Romanov. Katya, this is your AP World History professor, Professor Jones." We shake hands.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor. I hope to learn a lot in your class this year."
"Likewise, Ms. Katya and I hope to learn a lot from you this year, as well."
Phil smiles and says, "Well, now that introductions are out of the way, Katya, are you sure that you don't want wait with me in the office?"
"I'm fine," I smile, "I want to peruse the textbook, anyways. I'll see you afterschool," Phil smiles then, after talking to Professor Jones for a few minutes, he gives me a hug then, walks out of the classroom. I sit down at a desk and take out my AP World History textbook. I flip through it, skimming the passages and reading the headings. Professor Jones walks to his desk and starts to get ready for class. Soon, it's time for class and the students start walking in. At the start of class, the professor motions for me to walk up to the front of the class.
"Class, we have a new student, Katya Romanov, with us. I hope you will all give her a warm Chaplain High welcome," He smiles, looking around at the students. A few students smile friendly at me, others nod in understanding and a group of guys and girls in the back giggle upon looking at me. Professor Jones glares at them and they promptly stop. I return to my seat and Jones begins to introduce us the course. 50 minutes later, the bell rings and I leave to go to my next class. A red-head with green eyes and her blond friend walk up to me and introduce themselves.
"Hi, I'm Mary Jane Watson, but everybody calls me MJ. This is my friend, Gwen Stacy."
I shake both their hands, "Hi, I'm Katya."
"Katya," Gwen muses, "Is it short for anything?"
"Yes, it is. It's short for Yekaterina. It's the Russian version of Catherine."
"Ooh, pretty," MJ says. I smile and we start walking down the hallway. Suddenly, the group of guys and girls that laughed at the beginning of class appears in front of us.
"Pick up a new stray there, Watson?" the girl in front sneers. She has long auburn hair with sharp, grey eyes. Her figure is the epitome of the hourglass figure and she looks to be wearing designer clothes. Now that I look at her and her friends, it seems that they're ALL wearing designer clothing. The rest of the girls snicker and the boys glare at us threateningly. Or at least, they are trying to, from my standpoint. MJ and Gwen certainly look scared but, they're bravely trying to make it seems as though they aren't. I cross my arms in front of me.
"What is it to you?" I ask.
"Ooh, a feisty little one!" one of the boys exclaim. He reaches a hand out to touch me, but I take a step back.
"Look, whatever your problem is, could you please let us through? We need to get to class."
"Hmm, no, I don't think so, bitch!" the boy in front throws out a punch towards me. I quickly duck to my right. The boy seems surprised and throws out another punch. I sidestep it and let him fall to the ground.
"Come on, let's go or else we're going to be late," I say to MJ and Gwen, who just stare at me, dumbfounded. I pick up my backpack, which I had dropped earlier and the three of us continue walking.
"You bitch, don't think I'll be forgetting this any time soon," the boy snarls quietly. If it weren't for my sensitive ears, I wouldn't have even heard what he said. I think about turning around and show him REAL fear but, I decide not to. No use going around, further destroying my image of an innocent. Although, I do smirk, rather evilly if I do say so myself, and my two new friends are look at me a little worriedly. They don't say anything and we split up, me to Choir, Gwen to AP Government, and MJ to AP Econ.
The rest of my morning periods go by relatively quietly. Frau Schmidt, Monsieur DuPont and I exchange pleasantries before class and my classmates for Choir and Orchestra were nice. After Orchestra, I had lunch. MJ and Gwen introduce me to their two guy friends; Peter Parker, Derek Clark and Harry Osborne.
"So, I hear from MJ here, that you managed to piss of the resident Queen Bee and her posse this morning," Harry smirks, "A job well done, I must say. It was very amusing to see Krissy come in all angry and huffy," Peter laughs at the image.
"So, what can you guys tell me about them? I'm a little confused."
"Well, Kristina Eleanor Laverne is the most popular girl in the school. She's also the stereotypical mean girl. Her boyfriend is the star basketball player, John Dorian. Their friends are all stupid, but somehow still able to get into AP classes. Oh, and try and stay out of their way. You really don't want to find out if they're going to take revenge on you."
I nod then, we get on to talking about classes and favorite books and movies. Soon, lunch is over and Harry, Peter and I go to PE while Gwen heads off to Glasswork, Derek goes to AP Bio and MJ has an open. She walks with us to PE. Since it's the first day, the teacher, Mr. Brown, doesn't have us do a lot. We get our lockers and given the regular syllabus spiel. Afterwards, he lets us go to do whatever we want. The four of us decide to play volleyball; guys against girls. We split up and Harry serves the ball. We play until Peter and Harry can't keep up with me and MJ anymore.
"Nice game, boys," MJ smirks. I laugh at the picture the two make. Both are sweaty, leaning against the bleachers and breathing as if they had run a marathon instead of playing volleyball.
"Come on, what was that for? We're not SUPPOSED to get sweaty on the first day of PE!" Harry yelled.
Peter laughs, shaking his head. "Do I even want to know where you two learned to play like that?"
"Ahh, no," MJ and I answer at the same time. To compensate for us beating them so horribly, MJ and I help carry their stuff once class is over. Harry, Derek and I go to AP Calculus while MJ and Peter meet up with Gwen to go to AP Physics.
"Remember, you guys have to tell us what Howl is doing in Physics!" Derek reminded them. The three of them nod and go down the stairs while the three of us go up the stairs to AP Calculus. The class itself isn't at all hard; it's trying not to fall asleep which is the chore. Harry must feel sorry for me since he's already had to nudge me in the side 5 times since class began. Derek has a hard enough time trying to figure out what's going on. Soon enough, the bell rings and I am able to get out into the sunshine. Then, I remember that I have Physics. I feel my shoulders immediately droop. My two friends laugh as they see my downtrodden expression.
"Oh, come on, Katya. Physics can't be that hard," Derek teases me.
"It's not that it's hard, it's just too easy," I grumble.
"What!? Physics, easy? Hahaha, Harry, I think we've found the one person who agrees with you!" I smile, leaving the boys to their bantering. You would think AP Calculus and Physics easy as well if you had Bruce Banner and Tony Stark tutoring you throughout the summer. Personally, I am not gifted in math OR science, it's just that I have two really good teachers. I am more talented in breaking computer codes and breaking in to other computers. As I walk down the hallway, my thoughts turn toward all the…skills that Red Room taught me. It scares me to know that I can be normal one minute, but then turn inhumanely cruel the next. That's the way Red Room trained me; an unassuming beauty who's as deadly as the cobra. I shiver, rubbing my arms. Thankfully, we've arrived at the Physics classroom. Professor Howl ushers us in. The class sits down and he begins the normal introductory speech. After that, he gives us a basic worksheet to do. I finish it in 5 minutes, and then I take out my iPod to listen to music. I'm in the middle of Caruso when the bell rings, signaling the end of the day. Finally! I pocket my iPod and pick up my backpack. Derek and Harry are already by the door, waiting for me.
"So, what do you have next?" Harry asks as we start walking down the hallway. Derek says that he has Open then, Spanish. I smirk, knowing that both boys will be seriously jealous that I'm technically already done for the day.
"I have 7th and 8th open, so I'm going home. Don't look at me like that. Once I get home, I still have to go online to take my language classes."
"Wait, you said language classes, as in plural. What languages are you taking?" Harry asks.
"Latin and Greek."
"Why are you taking Latin and Greek?" Derek asks, furrowing his brows in confusion.
"Stop that, you're going to have an unhappy life if you keep doing that. And as to why Latin and Greek," I say, shrugging my shoulders, "I already know Spanish, French, Italian and German fluently, Russian's my native language and as you can tell, my English is impeccable. Besides, it'll be easier when Frau Schmidt has us learning arias that were written in Latin. All right, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Tell MJ, Gwen and Peter I said hi!" With that, I turn to go down the stairs. I arrive at my locker a few minutes later. Opening it, I mentally go through my day to see if I have any homework. The only homework that I can think of is Choir and Orchestra. Both Frau Schmidt and Monsieur DuPont want us to get ready for annual Chaplain High Christmas Recital. This year, the choir is performing Beethoven's Ode to Joy and the orchestra is performing Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. I take out my choir and orchestra books to take home, recheck my stuff then close my locker. As I walk out, I think, 'Well, that wasn't so bad for the first day.'
A/N: Oh, thank God I'm done with that! Now, all I need to do is get the Christmas part up even though it's late. After that, I've got the Chinese New Year part and Valentine's Day part. Hope you guys' have had some homework-less days!