The two assassins swung their daughter up in the air between them while subtly scanning the busy square for their mark. He was a paranoid man and rightly so after stealing top secret information from S.H.I.E.L.D. Trusting only a handful of beefy goons, he was hoping for a quick deal today, landing him in a pile of cash that would enable him to jet off to a secluded part of the world out of S.H.I.E.L.D's radar where he could live out his years in peace. Knowing that S.H.I.E.L.D didn't train children- unlike many other secret services- he felt it safe to assume that the young families in the square posed no threat. Any wandering couples or people sitting in solitude however, no matter what age they appeared to be, were being watched closely by his men.
This was exactly the reason Fury had assigned this mission to Black Widow and Hawkeye. Apart from being two of the best agents he had, they also had a daughter, Philippa, and Fury thought at age four she was ready for her first assignment. Natasha, of course, had protested venomously and threatened to castrate Fury on the spot but Clint had seen the logic behind the proposal and after reminding his wife of the number of ways their preschooler could already kill a man she reluctantly agreed.
"Two o'clock." Natasha informed Clint quietly through closed lips as Philippa gave a squeal of joy. "Contact just sat down." Clint swung Philippa higher and turned slightly so they were facing the closest goon. "One." He squeezed his daughters hand tightly to let her know of the plan and she joined his countdown. "Two. Three!"
On the third swing the assassins let their daughter go and she went barreling into the goon. After biting him hard on the nose and kicking him in the groin, Philippa took the gun from his inside pocket and slammed the butt into his thick skull with a force and determination not normally seen in a child so young. The man crumpled beneath her and she landed on his ample belly with a broad grin on her face.
Clint picked her up with a matching smile. "Brilliant work, Pip." The two agents had managed to knock out or kill the five other bodyguards and Natasha now had the two dealers at gunpoint. She confiscated the pendrive and called for a cleanup squad. It had been a ridiculously easy mission but Fury had undoubtedly chosen it for that reason. If Philippa had been in danger at any point during this mission the assassins would have kept her out of assignments for at least the next ten years.
"Ah, the Bartons return." Tony Stark proclaimed from the sofa as the trio entered the living room, seemingly unscathed. "Did you get the bad guy, Pippa?" He asked the youngest of the three.
"Yes." She said with enthusiasm. "All by myself." Tony smiled at that but Philippa's parents were sending him angry glares. What had he done now? As Clint lead Philippa to the kitchen for her dinner he got his answer. "I thought we told you not to call her Pippa. It's a disgusting word in Swedish." Natasha chastised him as she took out the first aid box and applied antiseptic to a gash across her palm. "And in Italian!" Clint supplied from the kitchen. "And Polish." He added, trailing off as he realised how many languages had Pippa as a rude word.
"Just don't use that nickname." Natasha said as she bound her hand and threw the first aid box to Clint, who caught it without turning. "Even your son has learnt not to and he's only two."
"Max got his brains from Pepper." Stark muttered. "So what should I call Philippa then?" He asked.
"Pip." Clint said, breaking off the Russian conversation he was having with the four-year-old to answer. "That's what we call her. Isn't that right, Pip?"
"да" She confirmed, shoving the pasta in her mouth. Philippa had her fathers eyes and hair, much to his disappointment, but even at that age she resembled her mother. With her remarkable martial arts, multiple languages and weapons skills there was no doubt as to who her parents were.
"Uncle Stark, can I go play with Max?" Philippa asked as soon as her dinner was finished.
"Sure, honey. He's playing with the lego with Uncle Steve." Stark told her and the energetic girl ran off.
"Where's Bruce?" Clint asked, bringing Natasha her plate.
"Testing some weapon for one of you. No idea what." Stark said flicking through the numerous sports channels.
"It's not like you to be missing out on the explosions" Clint commented. Stark sighed.
"I know but with Pepper getting bigger by the day I said I would take over the paperwork." Tony gestured at the pile of files on the table with distaste. "I really can't do it though. That's why I hired Pepper, and you for that matter." He said, looking at Natasha. "Not that paperwork was your priority." She smiled guiltily at him.
"I do this work if you want." Natasha offered. "You look like you could use some rest and our mission wasn't exactly taxing."
"Really?" The poor man looked like he was about to break down and cry. He had probably been ploughing through the work all afternoon. "Thank you so much Natasha." He stumbled out of the the room, the lack of nickname betraying how drained he was.
Natasha leaned her back against her partner and opened the first file. Number crunching- great. She didn't get very far before he interrupted her. Philippa was really amazing today. Disabling a full-grown man with her bare hands and then knocking him out with his own gun. At four. Most kids can't even tie their shoelaces at that age." He went quiet and Natasha focused on her work again but it appeared Clint had had a brainwave and he continued. "She's like one of those frogs we saw in Suriname, the blue ones. They look cute and harmless but if you touch them you're as good as dead." Natasha's eyebrows rose. He was comparing their daughter to a frog.
"Poison Dart Frog?" She guessed.
"Yeah, Pip's a Poison Dart Frog." Clint decided. Natasha sighed.
"Just don't let Tony hear you say that. He'll make her superhero name Poison Dart, and give her a blue suit like the frogs, and make her poison arrows..."
"But Tasha, Poison Dart is a cool superhero name." Clint pouted.
"Clint, Philippa is four. She does not need a superhero name."
"Yet." He added with a grin.
Unluckily for Natasha, Tony had gone through the security footage to check on his son. He thought the Poison Dart theme was a fantastic idea. Philippa's 5th birthday was in June, just a few months from now and he thought a suit would be the perfect present.