Pairing: Kate Bishop x Fem!Reader
Summary: Kate's past comes crashing down on her when Kingpin's mafia makes her their new target.
Warnings: Invasions, murder, mentions of death, I put the slow in slow burn, cursing, fighting. Reader's motives (basically involves all of the warnings).
Author's note: This chapter has a huge plot twist, and it explains A LOT of the confusion. The reader's side of the story is harsh.
I Chapter One I Chapter Two I Chapter Three I Chapter Four I Chapter Five I Chapter Six I Chapter Seven I Chapter Eight I
Some people could never move on, and Kate was one of them.
And maybe thatâs why she was able to unravel the secrets no one was looking for anymore.Â
Sheâd always go to her fatherâs study, despite her mother occupying the place now and having trinkets all over the place, it was the place where she mostly felt Derekâs presence. Not her room, not anywhere else. But the study.
A sudden curiosity had started rising upon her chest as she playfully searched every drawer on the desk, every dusty book on the shelves. She had no idea what happened when a sudden hidden door opened behind the books, throwing everything to the ground. She gasped, gripping the file quickly and going through the papers.
It was all evidence on someone named Kingpin, and things written in her fatherâs handwriting. Tears prickled on the archerâs eyes as she quickly closed the file and looked at the study. Did her mom know about this?Â
Doubtful, she made a point to forget Derek and that night, focusing solely on Kate and the company.
Kate put everything back in place and took the file with her. Everyone had thought her fatherâs killer being in jail had brought justice to his name, but Kate didnât.Â
Because it had to be bigger than business deal gone wrong for people in tactical clothes to invade the place, wreaking havoc, murdering Derek in cold blood in the middle of the night in his study instead of waiting for when he went out to work. And it made much more sense for him to have pissed off someone named Kingpin than for someone to hire a mafia that only wore tracksuits â and wasnât even wearing it in the attack.
If no one cared anymore, Kate did.
âWhy are you helping me?â Kate questioned, studying the strangerâs movements. The woman had sat on the ground and was going through a part of backpack with some armory. âWhatâs even your name? I think I deserve those answers.â
âI saved your life, isnât that enough?â The stranger dodged by making another query. She didnât look at Kate, but her movements had become stiff, her breathing quickened by a notch. There was more to it, more than she was willing to share.
âNo.â Kate shook her head, seating down in the opposite direction, eyeing the woman. âHow can I trust your motives if I donât know them? Or else, Iâll just call you Grumpy.â
The strangerâs eyes moved to meet Kateâs before she groaned in displeasure, as if she found that the most ungrateful act ever seen by humanity. As if Kate was her Judas.
âNameâs Y/n.â She says after a long moment of silence, barely looking at the raven-haired woman. âKingpinâŠâ The words seemed stuck in her throat. âHis mafia killed someone important to me a long time ago.âÂ
As Kate absorbed the stranger's words, a subtle shift in her demeanor caught her attention. Breaking the usual veneer of confidence and authority, there was a hint of sorrow, a glimpse of pain hidden behind steely resolve. It was a fleeting moment, gone in an instant, but it left a lingering impression on Kate's mind, a nagging curiosity about the Y/nâs past.
âIs that enough?â The womanâs voice and demeanor came back to its usual way. Serious, stoic. Like she didnât care at all, but it made Kate feel like maybe she cared too much.
âNo, but I doubt youâll give me more.â Kate states as she looks at Y/n, trying to catch a hold of her, to understand her. But all she does is nod.
Y/n looks at Kate, whoâs looking expectantly before Y/n huffs heavily, as if sheâs making tremendous force just to open up. Although she seems to know that she has no choice but to say more. As much as sheâs saving Kateâs ass, the archer is as stubborn as they come.
âLook.â Y/n starts before her jaw is tightly locked, anger seeping through her pores and being visible in her expression. It wasnât directed at Kate, she wasnât even looking at the archer. âI am well aware you have a lot of questions, but I do not have answers to all of them. Know that I hate Kingpin as much as you do, and our forces are stronger combined.â
âFine.â Kate seems to realize that she wonât be able to push further than that. âAt least now I know you wonât kill me.â
âTook you long enough to realize it.â Y/n said, eyeing a gun magazine like that was the most natural thing in the world. Then she pulled a vanity bag from the backpack and shoved it in the archerâs direction. âThereâs a change of clothes in the backpack and some food there, if you want to eat.â
Kate eagerly opened the vanity bag, not wanting to keep looking at the stranger messing with guns. âChocolate and energy bars? Thatâs food?â
âExcuse me for not having a five star Michelin meal, but weâre on the run.â Y/n shook her head in disbelief at that.
âRight, and you think chocolate will do good with the amount of adrenaline in our bodies? Weâll run alright, but to the nearby bathroom!â Kate shook her head negatively, picking up one of the energy bars and opening it up. âThatâs the most embarrassing death ever, Grumpy.â
Y/n sighed and didnât answer, she seemed to be finding Kate infuriating. Instead, she focused on something else, getting up. âIâll keep guard, you should rest.â
The archer could only look as the woman got out of the room, closing the door behind her, the steps getting farther and farther. Kate sighed as she bit the energy bar before she seemed to finally realize, in the middle of rushing out of the place she didnât pick her phone up. News travelled fast, her mom was influential and the owner of a security company, it was a matter of time before she discovered everything and sent a search party after Kate, which meant she could become a target too. Munching the food in pure anxiety, she allowed herself to fall into the sleeping bag.Â
What was the deal with Y/n, anyway? There was a lot to unpack there, and she certainly werenât a therapist to help whatever the hell that was. But she couldnât deny it, Grumpy Sneaky-McSaverson was going to be of help. And if anything, she was the only one Kate could rely at the moment.
It took all of Y/nâs self control to resist the urge to flee the room; The sensation of flying too close to the sun, akin to Icarus, was overwhelming. Being near Kate was overwhelming. Of course, Kate found her sketchy; the skepticism etched across her face made it painfully evident. Of course, she couldnât comprehend why a stranger would possess such detailed information and risk everything to save her. Kate was intelligent, and it was only a matter of time before she realized that Y/n held more secrets than she was willing to divulge.
Until she realized that Y/n knew her.
It was like any other day. The warmth enveloped Y/n's heart as she finally arrived at the place that felt like home, where comforting hugs awaited, pecks elicited giggles, and the sweet smell of lavender lingered in the airâa scent she associated with her fiancĂ©e, Kate. She had, not so secretly, appropriated Kateâs favorite shirt to keep her presence close, even when they were apart.
âSo I can have you near me, even if weâre afar.â Had been the motive for stealing the shirt, and truth be told, Y/n wasnât lying.
But when Y/n reached Kateâs apartment, an eerie silence greeted her. The dogâs normal ruckus wasnât heard - he normally seemed to sense her presence even before she stopped at the front door - and there was nothing to state her girlfriend was even home. The sound of arrows hitting their targets, laughter or any Taylor Swift album loudly blasting was conspicuously absent. Which was weird, because Kate knew she was coming and she knew better than to do pranks like this.
Upon trying to put the keys in the door, it opened slightly. Y/n finished to push it open, and the previously well-oiled door groaned ominously, revealing a scene of chaos within.
Her fiancĂ© wasnât the most organized person in the world, but this chaos was beyond her usual messiness. She cared for independence and all of the trinkets that were now scattered all around, broken beyond repair. Including many that Y/n had gifted her. The table was upside down, the couch had been ripped and was full of bullet holes. Y/nâs heart raced as she cautiously stepped inside, the crunch of glass beneath her feet punctuating the silence. It was part of the cheesy snowglobe they got last Christmas.
Kate loved that damn thing too much to not try to fix it immediately.
âLucky?â Y/n called out softly, her voice tinged with fear as she spotted the dog's tail.Â
She approached Kateâs training spot underneath the stairs with trepidation, her senses on high alert, a sense of foreboding settling in her chest instead of the warm feeling that would always be there at the mere thought of the cozy apartment.Â
And then she saw himâLucky, lying on his side, a pool of blood staining the floor beneath him, a stark contrast against his golden fur. He was gone. The vision made her heart and stomach drop, she used to think of Lucky as the first of their furry kids.Â
Y/n's voice caught in her throat as tears streamed down her cheeks. âNo, LuckyâŠâ With trembling hands, she brushed past shattered memories, each broken trinket a painful reminder of what had been lost and leaned down to mourn with a gentle hand caressing Luckyâs head when a sudden thought stopped her on her tracks.
With a sinking heart and blood turning cold, Y/n rushed to the bedroom on the second floor upon realizing there was no sign of her lover on the first one. She stumbled over discarded and bloodied arrows, heart fast against ribs and loud against ears.
The bow was on the ground, and so was Kateâs motionless body. Eyes closed, her cozy sweater â the one Y/n had stolen so many times before was stained crimson in the chest. There was no rise and fall of her chest, no sign of the Kate full of life she once knew. Instead this was a pale shell of her fiancĂ©. Y/n fell to her knees beside her, vision blurred with the amount of tears falling and praying for it to be a nightmare, the world spinning as she cradled Kateâs lifeless form.Â
"This isn't how it ends. I'll find who's responsible," Eleanor had vowed as they stood side by side in the cemetery. But as Y/n stared blankly at Kate's tombstone, clutching Kateâs engagement ring-turned-necklace â the only tangible remnant of the woman she loved â she felt nothing but numbness. The tears had long dried up, leaving behind a hollow ache.
Despite Eleanorâs promise, three years passed. And Kateâs death remained unavenged when Y/n met her demise at the hands of the same culprit.
Isn't it ironic, she mused bitterly, to travel back in time and get a chance to save your fiancée from being murdered when you used to be a mere film student that could barely hold a camera without shaking too much?
Y/n wiped away her tears, upon waking up back in her younger selfâs body, she realized that while she could relive those ten years, loving Kate all over again, she couldnât prevent her from seeking vengeance against Kingpin. Kate would fall for her, but would she listen? Would she believe Y/n? Would she take the necessary precautions to stay safe? Kate was so fucking stubborn, and she wouldnât bear the thought of Y/n spiraling down a dark path, becoming consumed by vengeance. That was not the justice Kate sought, but it was the only one effective enough to end the nightmare considering the archer would never let go, consequently neither would Y/n. Worst-case scenario, they'd both end up dead.
So, Y/n made a choiceâto observe from afar, ensuring Kate's safety while she assumed the role of a monster, infiltrating the Tracksuit Mafia, gaining their trust without arousing suspicion. She'd bide her time, waiting for the opportune moment to strike, to eliminate the threat and save Kate. Despite the uncertainty surrounding her sudden journey through time, Y/n would use it to her advantage. All that mattered was keeping Kate alive, even if it meant that this was nothing more than her dying mind's attempt to make amends for failing to protect her.
And that's why, despite bringing Kate's favorite chocolate and energy bars, despite yearning to hold her close and assure her that everything would be alright, Y/n built walls around her heart. She'd save her fiancée this time, even if the cost was losing herself and everything she ever loved to do.
