Moonlight shining down, so bright and full that it was almost blinding, a little girl walked out onto the barren, rocky beach. Her parents were sleeping in the beach house, and she calculated the perfect time to come out. A time when her parents wouldn't know she snuck out and the time in which the moon would be the fullest. It was 2:34 AM, and she had maybe another 20 minutes before the moon would begin to wane. She walked fifty feet out to where the warm Floridian waters lapped at her tiny toes. Pushing her short, curly brown hair out of her cerulean eyes, she gathered every ounce of her strength and took a deep breath. She hoped that her suspicions were right- if she concentrated her focus on the water, then her hands could make the water do whatever they wanted. Moving her arms as if she were to push people back, she realized that the sea in front of her moved with it. She forced her arms to the sides, still reaching out, and the sea parted 15 feet in front of her like she was Moses. Quickly snapping her arms together, the sea closed in a flurry of foam. She heard a small cry to her left. A sea turtle had been watching her the whole time. The girl walked over to it, wondering why it was onshore. She didn't see the blood. "You poor thing," she whispered gently, not wanting to frighten it. "You must need some help getting back into the water." Even though the little girl was only eight, the turtle was pretty large compared to her body size, and already half-submerged into the swelling surf. Walking gingerly to the startled animal, she realized that it was a female, because this is the time of year that turtles come up onto the beaches to lay their eggs. The turtle's eyes were black, and even in the dull light, she could see that they were pleading. Track marks that lead from the water to the beach already told the girl that this turtle already laid her eggs, and just needed to get back home. "I'll help you." She saw the turtle's mangled back flipper, blood seeping out. The turtle must've understood her, because she lowered her head and let the little girl touch her shell. Water came crashing over both of them. A tear came to the girl's eye as she realized that the turtle was really hurt. She wished that she could heal it, like every time she got a cut or scrape she'd go into the ocean and it wouldn't be there anymore, and it wouldn't hurt. As the foamy water pulsed around them, the girl was filled with a wonderful buzzing sensation, and then she focused on the turtle's back leg. Her submerged hands started glowing blue, and the girl wanted to cry out, but she didn't want to disturb the magic that was happening. Closing her eyes and touching the center of the shell, the blue water that filled her hands with the light came out of her and seeped over the turtle's shell and to her injured leg. The girl imagined the leg healing. Opening her eyes, seeing the light pulsing on the flipper, and watching as a soft golden glow appeared on the wound, closing it up, the girl gave a soft cry of joy, and the turtle did too. Standing up, realizing the potential of her powers for the first time, she watched as the turtle stared at her as if saying thank you and goodbye. As the turtle sunk back into the depths of the sea, the little girl walked slowly back to her house, wondering how she was going to tell her mommy and daddy about her discovery.
Sprinting through the helicarrier's Medical Ward from my command post to receive my injured friends, I couldn't help but to allow myself three seconds of feeling nothing but pure terror. I watched helplessly as Tony Stark fell thousands of feet from a space portal that was opened atop his own building, and as Steve Rogers was getting scratched and stabbed by the disgusting creatures that made up Loki's army. I suppressed tears as I saw him duck and get scratched in the side. He seemed to recover quickly, feigning hurt, and proceeded to fling his shield at the Chitauri soldier. Ripping it effectively in two.
I made sure that I pulled up visuals on Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Bruce Banner, and Thor so I could watch everybody carefully, but I had no other medical concerns with anybody else. Clint stayed out of the high intensity by perching himself on a rooftop and shooting his arrows, protecting Steve and Thor's backs as they were in the heart of the battle. Natasha was so stealthy that even the cameras had a hard time keeping up with the Russian woman, so I wasn't worried that intergalactic creatures were going to injure her. Bruce was practically invincible, powering through buildings and knocking out space dragons like it was his job. Which, at this moment, it was. Before I started my race to the other side of the ward, I carefully inspected the Hulk's screen as best as I could, searching for any scratches or punctures, but his green skin was just sheathed with sweat and blood from the aliens he was currently fighting. Thor was a demigod of sorts, and even though there was a slim risk of him getting hurt, I still kept a watchful eye.
And as the battle drew to a close and the Tesseract's portal was being closed, someone ordered a nuke. Tony grabbed it, and hurdled it through the portal, going into space. My heart sunk as the Iron Man's body didn't come through until the last impossible second, hurtling towards Earth. He didn't slow. Something was horribly wrong. Then, Bruce intervened, grabbing him just feet before he slammed into hard concrete. The impact would've killed him, if he wasn't already… No, no, he couldn't be. He wasn't getting up, though. Tony couldn't die. Sure, he was annoying and arrogant… And a playboy… But he was like my older brother. He was family. We all were, because we had nowhere else to go.
Steve. Just thinking of his name sent shudders through me. The way he smiled, the way he laughed… The way he looked at me. Dammit, Keeney, pull yourself together. He doesn't feel that way about you, and he's injured. Don't think about him like that.
I touched my earpiece to talk to Fury when I reached the entrance to the ward, about a three minute sprint. The last thing I saw was Bruce setting down Tony carefully on the concrete he was almost obliterated on. "Fury, I want Stark and Rogers back up here, and in the Ward ASAP!"Dr. Keeney, they are already on their way. Stark has been revived, I don't know how, but he is. I'm on my way to talk to the council; whatever you need, just ask. We cannot afford to lose anybody. Do whatever it takes. Rogers isn't badly injured, but he will need some attention. Nobody else is hurt. Shaken, but okay. Over and out." I heaved a heavy sigh as I impatiently waited for my friends to arrive. I wanted to ask for more details so I could be better prepared, but knowing Fury, he'd already thrown his earpiece across the helicarrier in anger at the council. Turning to one of my team members, Jenny Haynie, I asked her to prepare my pool and an operating room. She nodded and ran off, barking orders.
My name is Ann Keeney, and I am a healer. Only three of us, myself included, have been in existence over the past five centuries. To my knowledge, I am the only one in the long, but hidden history of the Lites, (as I have taken to calling it) who has been a female. Healers can call upon the five elements- water, earth, wind, fire, and spirit to revive and cure people's injuries. Each one has an affinity for a certain element, although we can use every one. To use another element expends a lot of our energy, therefore we get drained quickly. Mine is water. When SHIELD snagged me at 16, some of the council members argued against me, saying my powers were more supernatural than superhero. With the addition of Clint and Natasha and Thor before me, they didn't have much room to argue, with Clint and Natasha just being humans with exponential skills. And Thor was a demigod. Therefore I was admitted and granted full command of the Hospital Ward on the helicarrier, where I have been ever since.
Despite my gifts, I am a certified medical doctor, specifying in emergency medicine. I turned back to my loyal assistant, who just returned from having my orders carried out. "Jenny, please call Dr. Blanchette. I want to make sure his reactor isn't harmed, and get her down here as soon as you possibly can." My best friend, Nicole Blanchette, was a nuclear physicist and worked with Stark on most of his projects, and even helped modify his mini-reactor for a heart.
Hearing the sound of rolling wheels snapping me out of my reverie, I watched as Tony rolled in first. He was my primary concern as of right now. "Put him in Room One, the ICU." Wheeling him in, my staff began to set up monitors for his breathing, and were removing what was left of his suit and clothing. "Oh God, Dr. Keeney, if you wanted me to strip, you should've asked. I would happily oblige, although Pepper might rip your face off. Although there aren't many people who can say that they've ripped off the clothing of Tony Stark," he grinned, looking at a pretty blonde nurse, who was giggling as she ripped his shirt open. "Glad you're feeling better, Stark." I rolled my eyes again and looked at the nurse. "Becky, don't get too excited. No telling how many women he's told that to." Putting my stethoscope to his chest as he breathed, I didn't hear any crackling. Which was good. No visible bruising either. Only a small cut on his right shoulder where it looks like his suit snagged him. I looked at his reactor in his chest, and then to Dr. Nicole Blanchette, who appeared at his door. "Clean up all of the grime on him, and make sure he isn't going to explode before we put him in the pool. I don't want any alien slime all up in my Ward. Oh, and pay special attention to the cut on his shoulder." Nicole laughed at my grinning attempt at humor, and immediately walked to Stark, the flush on her face made her relief visible. My earpiece buzzed to life.
"Dr. Keeney, Rogers is about to arrive." Fury's voice crackled to life. Walking next door to the adjoining room, I prayed he only had a few scrapes and cuts that could be healed with my powers and his own sheer will. Even though he was virtually invincible, everybody has their own capacities. He didn't have a suit of armor, or stealth, or a hulking body to protect him. He was still only human.
"Ann," came Captain America's breathless voice. I spun around to see him sitting up in his gurney as the medevac team wheeled him in. I felt my face light up, my initial once-over on him not revealing anything terribly serious. I placed my stethoscope on his chest and asked for him to be hooked to heart monitors. His heart was racing, but that was to be expected. "Give him oxygen. 100 percent." I commanded as I helped get his suit off. We couldn't cut it, because the fabric was stronger than titanium but softer than velvet. And incredibly stretchy. Thank God he is wearing underclothes. A white t-shirt began to peek out, and then black spandex shorts. I didn't want to deal with the sudden dizziness of the nurses in the room due to Cap's nakedness… Hell, I'd probably be the first to hit the floor.
I gasped when the suit came completely off. The room froze for a complete five seconds. His left thigh was bleeding from a laceration. His right side was stabbed cleanly through the muscle tissue, about two inches of flesh was missing, length and width-wise. When he "feigned" pain from the Chitauri soldier earlier, it wasn't fake. It was small, only nipping his side, but it was bleeding freely now that the tight suit wasn't putting any pressure on it. Steve took one look down at his body and whispered, "Oh." I was the first to move, grabbing gauze and taping the ripped muscle and skin as best as I could. He winced in pain. "I would give you painkillers, but you would burn them right off. I'm sorry." I looked at him with pleading eyes, and he nodded his head, showing me he understood. Looking at the medics who brought him in, I said, "Get him down to the pool. Immediately. No time to clean up."
Dashing out of his room with the gurney close behind, I started throwing off my clothing. First went my lab coat, and then my clingy red top, revealing my red bathing suit. I lost my heels somewhere along the way. Reaching the clear glass doors that lead to my Olympic-sized warm saltwater pool, I flung off my black slacks and helped ease Steve into the shallow end. The medics stayed on hesitantly. "Keep the oxygen tank here. You may leave. But on your way out, tell my people to bring Stark to me in an hour, and a robe for Steve. Thank you." All of the medics nodded, and left me to my devices.
Steve groaned. "I know it doesn't feel very good right now, but I promise I'll make you stop hurting in just a few minutes." He looked at me with his blue eyes, full of physical pain. Although his body was already healing, it was a slow process for him to be injured. And it's not that it was dangerously bad; muscle injuries take time to heal, and they are sore for weeks. We didn't have weeks. Even with his superhuman capacities, Steve was going to be hurting for awhile. He was only up to his mid-calves in the pool, and he needed to be up to his shoulders at least, if I were to heal him all at once.
"Hey, can you sit down?" I asked hesitantly as I placed a hand on his shoulder. Steve looked at me and shook his head. "I don't know. I'm pretty weak right now, ma'am." I put my hand on his neck. "What did I tell you about calling me ma'am? Now, I can help you sit down, but I am going to tell you that the saltwater will hurt for a few minutes, but you'll feel so much better when I'm done."Alright, Ann. Thank you." His eyes were wide as I told him to close them. "Trust me." I whispered, and raised my hands in the air, slowly moving them as if I were to wrap Steve in a hug. In through your nose, out through your mouth. You can do this, Keeney. You've practiced. You can heal him. I made the motion as if I were to cradle him in my arms, but I felt wind blow around us, lifting him up out of the water. The wind was mimicking my arms. I carefully made the air cradle him like a bride would be carried by her new husband. Steve's eyes flew open as he looked down, only three feet away but four feet above me, suspended in the air. I found the steps and gently set him down in the three feet of water. He gasped and bit back a moan as the saltwater stung his open abrasions.
"I'm sorry. I know that it hurts." I winced with him as I saw the red start to seep through the water. I sat carefully on the steps next to him, not disturbing the water in the slightest. My breathing was slow and calm as I felt the water around me. Surrounding me. Giving me power. I lifted my hands out and let them hover over the top. My head went back, and water droplets started rolling onto my hand, flowing into my skin. Like a backwards dripping. My pool room was filled with a soft light, and in a few minutes filled with silence, the palms of my hands glowed a soft blue. I could feel my heart beating like the smooth, calm rhythm of the sea. My energy replenished from calling the air, I turned to face Steve. His eyes, though pained, were filled with wonder.
"Ann, how did you..?" I smiled. "Magic."