Chapter Text
Wiwaxian: the bug-like creatures that emerge from The Breach. They have copper-based blood instead of iron-based, which accounts for the rich blue color. So far the Wiwaxian fall into three subspecies: Razvedchik, Drone, and Kaiju. They are taxonomically categorized by size and exoskeleton makeup. Little is known of their actual intelligence as all attempts of communication with them have failed, but a hivemind was discovered among the Wiwaxian in the late 1980s by SHIELD.
- Leaked WCO Documents (obtained from Reddit, user only has the one post.)
She lingers in front of the Jaeger for some time after Kate leaves, listening to the other woman’s footsteps recede and echo, and eventually fall into silence. In front of her the crew continues to steadily work on the head of Dark Talon. It's nearly meditative, and it keeps her from going back to the dorm room she shares with Kate. She had briefly considered going so far as to go back to her old dorm room, but her phone charger and clock are both in the new one, and it's practically the same looking in the dark anyway. So whatever.
But here, in front of the Jaeger she's so familiar with, even as it's upgraded over the years, she doesn't have to think about that. About Barton, or Kate. And burdenless she finds it's easier, even clinical, to think about them now.
She's made up her mind to go forward with Kate as her partner; this, to her, is non-negotiable. But everything else has to be thought of now. What can she do about Clint Barton in the drift? It wouldn't work for her to ask Kate to simply not bring him into the drift. It's like telling someone not to think about white elephants. Sometimes it can be done, but more often than not the simple act of trying makes it worse.
Just like she told Kate, it's up to themselves to control their reactions. It's what she trained for her whole life. She should be good at this. The high drift sync complicates things, makes it easier for RABITs to flow. So, she constructs a plan: she'll try to clear her mind before drifting. A meditative practice she always loathed, but until she gets used to drifting with Kate it will benefit them both. Then, in her mental schedule to bring them up to speed, if she can extend their drifting time, more drifts for longer, it'll help build her (and Kate’s) ability to tame reactions.
The plan, as loose and vague as it is, does make her feel better.
She leaves the Jaeger, and heads back to the room. Settling in for the night, she notes all the ways this room is different. All of it boils down to Kate: her knick-knacks, books, boxes. Otherwise, everything is the same: standard issue rock-like mattresses, furniture made of particle board or aluminum, and all the fixtures are utilitarian and square shaped. Boring. The rooms had been, in the past, a place for her to lay her head. Seeing all the stuff Kate has with her, even as just things in boxes, a little desire has sprung up like the first warm breeze at the end of winter, to make this more home-y. She's not even sure where she would begin, but in her mind she thinks about colors and textures. What could she bring here to make this place more than what it is, what it has been?
She shakes her head to rid the thought. Just ridiculous. Even her apartment with Natasha had been sparsely decorated, the most personal touch being a sad, dying plant given to them as a housewarming gift that somehow barely lived. Ah, fuck. It's probably dead by now.
So, she reasons, she can get a little something for the room some time soon. It won't even be a big deal. And it definitely won't be a plant. She weighs each item she thinks of — paintings could be nice, if a bit much. Vases are stupid. Statues and books could be fun. She sighs as she drifts to sleep and knows it will take her a long time to settle on what she wants.
The next morning after breakfast she goes to one of the gyms. It's small, the room designed specifically to facilitate training new drifting partners. She's ready herself, loose sweats and a standard issue tank top. But they'd still spent the night apart, so there is just a small part of Yelena that’s afraid that despite their talk Kate will ultimately decide she can do better.
She feels relieved when the door slides open and in walks Kate Bishop, also wearing clothes to train in.
When Kate catches sight of her (immediately) she grins, and Yelena feels herself pulled into a smile too.
“Kate Bishop.” She says, drawing her name out in greeting.
“Hey!” Kate says, walking up to her, ponytail swaying behind her. “I'm — good morning.” She says, instead of whatever she was going to first say. “So, what're we learning today?” Kate asks, stepping closer to Yelena.
“Well for today I thought we would learn some Jaeger Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. We both have good hand-to-hand combat training, so this should be easier to pick up.” Yelena says, and the class is new for Yelena so she finds the prospect of this new thing a little exciting, small though it may be. She also knows the original trainer worked closely with Natasha, and this style, while good for any lightweight Jaeger (which were few), was designed specifically for the Dark Talon Jaeger. It wasn't uncommon for A-Squad (and some B-Squad) teams to have fighting styles developed specifically for their Jaeger, but she doesn't think Natasha and Clint ever got the chance to really use this one.
She goes to a small console in one of the walls and types in some commands. The AI announces ‘accessing archives’ as a projection turns on.
A translucently blue woman appears at the head of the room and begins to introduce herself in that falsely cheery way that all the recordings do.
“So, it's recommended we warm up first.” Yelena explains, talking over the woman who is giving a very long winded explanation for what Jaeger Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is, how it's been modified for use in a Jaeger, and recommended routines to start with.
They both start warming up with a few practice individual sets, until the AI announces their heart rates are sufficiently high to begin.
The projection walks them through the first move — a simple takedown and pin. They are to each practice it, and hold the pin in place for the five seconds it takes for the electric burst to fully charge.
First they watch the projection show the move, zooming in to show hand and feet placement before they separate and go into their own stances.
“Okay Kate, you have a black belt, right?” Yelena says, putting herself into a stance to run at Kate.
Kate nods. “Yeah, I do.” She also lowers herself into a very professional, very textbook stance. She waves Yelena on, a cocky smile on her face.
Yelena rolls her eyes, as though this were some sort of sparring match instead of training. She runs at Kate, her arm cocked back in a swing so wide a drunk person could dodge it.
Kate grabs Yelena’s wrist, spins her so Kate’s shoulder is firmly planted against her torso, moves her leg behind Yelena’s and pushes — it's a good, swift motion and Yelena lands on her side where Kate continues to move her, pushing her down and holding her in place by her wrist.
Kate holds it for five seconds and lets go.
Yelena gets up, and chuckles. “Okay, very good. Yes, yes AI, we agree. Very textbook. Are you ready for me to put up a fight now? A Wiwaxian won't let you flop them around.”
Kate laughs, “Alright Yelena, bring it on.” She drops back into the stance, looking ready for the next set.
She starts low, as she's seen a Kaiju do many times before. Kate easily sidesteps, and Yelena turns back, going for a grab.
Here is Kate’s opportunity, and she takes it — immediately going for the takedown.
Yelena pushes back, struggling to maintain her upright position as she knows a Kaiju would — by leveraging her weight and strength.
Kate grunts and resituates herself. The foot that comes around to assist in the takedown is good, meeting Yelena's ankle and hooking around. Kate pushes Yelena down, and Yelena yanks her hand back. It's probably a little too strong and Kate topples over, landing on Yelena’s side with an ‘oof’.
She laughs as she rolls onto her back, poking the exposed skin of Kate’s side. “Kate Bishop, what was that? You're supposed to pin me.”
Kate laughs, the feeling of it sending vibrations from Kate’s body to Yelena’s as she hoists herself up. Yelena grunts as Kate's palm digs into her stomach as she goes.
“That? I feel like I should be asking you.” Kate counters, sitting back onto her knees, face red.
Yelena chuckles and sits up too. “Well, that's how Kaiju fight. Very… hm. How to describe it?” She gives a sharp tsk in thought. “Bestial!” She says with a finger snap.
Kate’s getting to her feet and offers Yelena a hand up. She looks thoughtful. “Can you go through that again? Slower, though? I think I can maneuver it.”
She nods as she lets Kate help her to her feet. “Yes, I can try.” And in her mind she charts the steps she took, tries to think of the ways she could break it down so Kate could adjust.
So now with a plan, Yelena does her best to hold back — more than she already has been, and it ends with Kate huffing, offering Yelena a hand up and saying “Okay, not that easy, I mean c'mon.”
She just sighs. The AI has remained silent, only offering correction on stance and grips. It's a wonder to Yelena that anyone manages to take down any Wiwaxian at all.
“How about we switch places?” Kate offers.
“Sure.” Yelena says, rolling her shoulders and waving Kate on.
Kate nods once, serious now, and she charges at Yelena much like Yelena had her second time, coming low and swinging wide, mimicking the moves pretty well.
Yelena repeats the actions the way she saw them, grab wrist, turn body, hook foot, push, and pin. As she goes she realizes Kate’s issue is her speed. She's got to go faster between the push and pin. This is something that comes either out of practice or desperation.
Kate winds up on the floor and Yelena pulls her wrist behind her back and pins her.
Kate grunts and squirms a little under her, trying to get her legs back under herself.
“Ah-ah-ah.” She tuts, even going so far as to wave a finger of her free hand in front of Kate's eyes. She waits a second and loosens her grip. “Okay, we're good.”
Kate rolls her eyes and takes Yelena's hand up. “You picked that up really fast.”
“Hm. Comes with the territory. What do you say, want a second round of me kicking your ass?” She says, enjoying trying to get a rise out of Kate.
Kate rolls her eyes, easily playing along. “Okay, if this was a real fight I think I'd be doing a lot better.”
Yelena cocks her head to the side. “So why don't we make it one? First one to perform the take down and pin gets to decide what we do in the city.”
The grin Kate fixes her with could light the building. “We can go to the city?”
“Of course, as celebration for getting a Jaeger we get permission to leave base some time next week. Did I not tell you?” Yelena says, clapping her hands together once and pacing to keep her body warmed up and ready to go.
“No!” Kate practically exclaims, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “There's so many places we could go!”
“Well win and take me to them.” Yelena says, going down into the stance. “I won't go easy on you though.”
Kate points. “You're so on!” She gets down into her stance too, and they begin circling each other.
It's just like before when they tested for drift compatibility, but this time there's an undercurrent of tension in the air. (Or, more likely, is noticeable enough to be palpable, thick enough to be nearly distracting, to curiously pluck on that thread and see where it stops.)
Yelena goes in first, not really needing to take time to assess Kate. Instead she goes in for a fast leg sweep. Kate jumps over it, her other hand coming out and grabbing Yelena’s wrist.
Once Kate lands, Yelena yanks Kate closer, “You'll have to do better than that.” She says and shoves her away.
Kate’s cheeks flush and she turns to shoulder Yelena, letting go of her wrist at the last minute.
She moves backwards in an attempt to lessen the impact, but Kate’s long legs do her some good and she turns the check into a tackle, bringing Yelena down to the floor.
Kate straddles Yelena’s hips and juts her eyebrows up and down. “How's that? Better?”
Yelena smiles up at Kate, who’s giving her a cocky smirk. “Much.” With a twist of her hips and a hand on her shoulder she pushes Kate off her. Kate rolls away to keep Yelena from turning the position compromising.
They both spring back to their feet, arms up and ready for the next bout.
Kate comes in close fast, attempting once more to grab her wrist. Yelena tuts again as she escapes her grasp with ease.
“You're going for it too soon, Kate. It's got to be natural, you have to feel it.” She says, stepping into Kate’s space and grabbing her wrist. She doesn't go for the takedown, instead she uses the wrist to guide Kate into a roll.
So roll Kate does, then springs back to her feet and turns. Her face is much more thoughtful, looking Yelena up and down, reassessing the fight before her.
“Have you ever been in a fight, the ‘maybe I'll die from this, so I'll have to kill them first’, fight?” Yelena asks, and she figures the answer is no. People who have been fight like something's wrong with them. But that is how Kaiju fight, with seemingly no other purpose but to kill or be killed.
Kate's shaking her head, eyes flashing as it looks like she will rebuttal — but Yelena uses the information to reform her strategy for this lesson.
“Don't worry, once I perform the takedown on you, you will see what it means to feel it.” Yelena says, hoping to tap into Kate’s clearly competitive personality to fuel her desperation. Then she goes at Kate again, this time swinging wide so she can crowd Kate’s space.
Kate responds in kind, kicking at her knee, and punching at her head — the kick is easily dodged but the fist lands squarely on her jaw, firm enough that she bites down on her lip. Kate steps back, “Oh God, I'm sorr—”
“Don't apologize.” She wipes at her lip, and comes away with blood. She fixes Kate with a grin. “It was very good. More of that!”
Kate’s worry dissolves into determination, she goes at Yelena now, using her kickboxing maneuvers to keep Yelena from being able to reach her while she throws fast, powerful hits. It's much more coordinated and thought out than trying to just go for the take down. Kate is a fast learner.
Yelena catches the third such kick, trapping Kate’s calf between her torso and arm. She lifts up and drags Kate forward before pushing her to the ground. Kate lands with an ‘oof’ and now Yelena straddles her hips. Kate’s body is much warmer than it had been, the exercise making her body overheat.
“How's this, Kate Bishop? Better?” She waggles her eyebrows. Now having a moment to reassess her status, she's fine. She can go for a long time. Kate though is taking purposeful breaths, and her heart rate is elevated. She is in the fight enough now that Yelena thinks she could perform the take down well.
She absently reaches up to wipe at sweat tickling down her temple and Kate bites her lip. Yelena's eye catches on the movement of her jaw, drags lower along her neck and down to the sweat gathering at the place where Kate’s collarbones meet. Her eyes flit back up to Kate's who grins.
Now Kate twists her hips and shoves Yelena off. She rolls away and they both get back to their feet.
Not leaving any time to recover, Kate starts again, taking a page from Yelena's book and crowding her space.
She grabs Kate’s wrist and twists, but Kate turns it around on her, spinning in place and hooking her foot at Yelena’s ankle. As she's going down, she finds that she can bend away, or bring Kate down with her, perhaps even change the direction slightly enough to move into Kate’s body and throw off her balance. Instead she closes her eyes and lets herself finish hitting the floor. Kate’s kneeling over her, the speed between the push and pin is excellent. She's good and pinned but just to be sure she attempts to buck Kate off. A solid grasp, Yelena can tell Kate’s got the maneuver down enough to perform it well. It'll still take a few repetitions for this to come easy to Kate, for her to respond to whatever counters Yelena can think of, and for the fluidity and speed to make it inescapable. This will do for now, though.
After five seconds Kate lets go and as she helps Yelena up, she catches a briefly curious look that’s just fading (a crease between her brows smoothing out), giving way to a broad, cocky smile. “Well! I guess you could call me ‘The Hammer’ with the way I nailed it .”
Yelena laughs and shakes her head. “No. I'm not calling you ‘The Hammer’.”
“No?” Kate says, wiping at her red face with a towel. “Okay, how about, call me im-Press-ive the way I crushed it!”
This was a reach, and they both knew it. Kate by the way her grin turned cheesy and jutted her eyebrows up and down, and Yelena by giving a blank stare. Kate opened her mouth, and to stop whatever worse pun she just thought of, Yelena speaks first: “Yes, yes, fine, very impressive, Kate Bishop.” And even though she meant it to sound sarcastic, she does mean it. Kate hadn't waited for an opening, she'd made her own. Which was besides the point Yelena was trying to teach her, but really that's her own fault. It technically was a good way to fight.
Kate takes a few minutes to wind down, and while she does, Yelena lazily stretches. She absently watches Kate’s back muscles move from stretch to stretch, well defined shoulders rounding and defined nicely through her shirt.
All the while Kate looked thoughtful, and finally after she's done and grabbing her stuff says “Okay, first of all, there's so many places we can visit in the city so you're going to need to give me a list of places you've been to.”
“That's easy. Nowhere.” Yelena says, wiping off the invisible grit from the floor she could feel on her hands.
Kate, who had been lifting a water bottle to her lips, pauses, looking shocked. “Wait, for real? But it's like, right there.”
She shrugs. “And? A city is a city, isn't it? What makes it different from St. Petersburg?”
“Um, well I haven't been to St. Petersburg so I don't think I can really say. But St. Petersburg doesn't have Broadway, right?”
“No, but there's Ruth Eckerd Hall. They put on Broadway performances.” She says, though she thinks the only time a Widow was ever there was to kill someone, so not much enjoyment of the shows was had.
“Right, Broadway performances! The OG is right there!” Kate says, pointing in the wrong direction for the city, face earnestly imploring.
“Bah, okay, Kate. Wow me. Take me somewhere that will convince me, okay?” Yelena says.
“Okay! You're so on.” Kate says with a nod, rising spectacularly (beautifully?) to the challenge as Yelena thought she might. Also she no longer has to plan the trip to the city herself.
Together they head for the exit. And Yelena is okay with this lie of not having been to the city, sure (only a little) that Kate figures it's a lie. But going to a city she's been before with Kate makes it seem like it'll be new and interesting. Besides, it was just a small lie, she only ever really went as a Widow and then later for business. She doubts it will be the same.