"Lady Pepper, always a pleasure to see you." Thor boomed as he walked into Avengers Tower. "Where has the team gone? I've gotten word that Loki's scepter has been tampered with. The energy traces are off the charts here on Earth."
"You just missed them, but I can get you a flight to Utah if you'd like?" Tony's girlfriend offered sweetly as her heels clicked against the tile.
"No need Madam. I can always just ride the plane here. That's how I made it from London to here, Jane just pointed at a plane and told me it was headed to your home, I rode the wing all the way here over your great ocean."
"Wow, that's very strange." Pepper answered as the elevator door dinged, doors opening to reveal Kayla and Zawadi. "Kayla! This is Thor, Thor, this is Kayla. She's Steve's girl." Pepper added with a wink.
"The Captain has a girlfriend? And a beautiful one at that." Thor greeted with a bow, taking Kayla's hand and kissing it. "It's nice to meet you, Madam."
"The pleasure is all mine." Kayla responded professionally, then pointed to her dog, "This is Zawadi. My dog."
"I've heard of dogs! Man's best friend or something like that correct?" He looked up at Pepper questioningly as he knelt down and scratched the dog's large head.
"Yes." Pepper stated, smiling down at the large man. "Would you like to freshen up in your room from your...flight?"
"That sounds like a great idea! Once I return I shall contact the team using one of your magic screens and see if they need my help with the mission. If not, I'll just rest here until they return." Thor stood and stretched, then made his way to the elevator, which visibly dipped under his weight.
As the doors closed, Kayla turned to Pepper with a gawking expression on her face. "Is this guy real? My God, he's bigger than Steve!"
Pepper chuckled as she made her way around to the bar, setting down her iPad as she leaned against the wood. "He's a character. Good man." She studied Kayla for a moment before she continued. "I hope you don't mind me telling him you are Steve's girl. I just assumed you two were back together."
"Oh we are!" Kayla interjected, not wanting Pepper to think she was single. "We never broke up, officially. I just got taken away, forbidden from seeing him, and then I ...died..."
"You just seem to be struggling a little in your relationship with Steve after the serum. I understand changes like that are hard. Tony acted differently around me after Aldrich Killian exposed me to the Extremis Virus. I was scared, and Tony was scared. He took care of me, and he helped me through it. He fixed me. If you want to be cured of this, let Steve know. Between you and Doctor Banner I'm sure you can figure something out." Pepper looked the woman up and down, now that she was in jeans and a blouse Pepper could see how the serum had affected her. "I think Steve just appreciates having someone who's like him. He's one of a kind. And that can be pretty lonely."
"No, you are right," Kayla answered, "I've been struggling and I'm taking it out on Steve because I feel like he likes me better now." She gestured to herself weakly, "And I liked who I was before. I thought I knew who I was, but not I'm not so sure."
"You can be whoever you want to be Kayla. You wanted a clean slate and now you have it. Make the most of it. Don't blow it." Pepper advised, squeezing the girls arm supportively, but she looked down in shock. "Wow."
"I know right? It's great being hot and not having to work for it!" Kayla laughed loudly, smile gleaming.
"That's the spirit. I've got to go do some work. Let me know if you need anything. Banner is in the lab, Thor's floor is 85. Let Jarvis know if you need me, I'll be here all day. Enjoy the quiet, it doesn't last when everyone's around." Pepper winked as she walked away.
Kayla found Zawadi chewing on the corner of Stark's expensive couch, so she quickly shooed him towards the stairwell and took the stairs up. She was too antsy for elevators and wanted to burn off some of Zawadi's pent-up energy.
Once back in the apartment, Zawadi settled down on the bed and Kayla stood in the bathroom, looking into the mirror. Acceptance. Her life had changed. How would she change with it? The waitress at the cafe had recognized her, which only meant it would continue happening.
"Jarvis?" Kayla asked tentatively to the air, unsure of how to work the AI.
"Yes, Miss Ellis?" The room answered.
"I need to change my appearance. How would I go about doing so?"
Suddenly, the mirror became covered with options on each side, showing different avenues her features could take. "I recommend, Miss Ellis, testing out different options. Once you've found the look you want I'll contact a stylist to deliver the desired result."
"Wow, thanks, Jarvis," Kayla answered, staring at the mirror. She hit a button that looked like hair, and hundreds of different haircuts showed up on the side. Just for fun, she clicked on the pixie cut and nearly had a heart attack when her reflection showed her with barely any hair. "That's a little too extreme. Not right now." She mumbled, playing with different options. She tried out a bob, a lob, asymmetrical, even an option making her hair to the floor. She hummed to herself as she clicked on a tight perm option, gagging a little at the tight blonde ringlets on her head. "Nope."
But the curls were definitely a disguise, she continued looking at the curlier options and found a loose perm that wasn't too extreme, but the permanent beach waves would be a nice contrast to her naturally straight thick hair. She added side-swept bangs to be sure the look departed from her own, finding that hiding her forehead helped her face be less recognizable.
"Now for the color." She babbled to herself as she selected the style she wanted to keep. Even with curls and bangs, she'd still look too much like herself to live undetected. She had to make at least one drastic change to truly kill Kayla Ellis, and it terrified her.
She clicked on the black, and her current hair turned from blonde to inky darkness, causing Kayla to shiver, "Too supervillain. Not the vibe I'm going for." She then clicked on the red option and saw a Natasha Romanoff look-alike staring back at her. She chose the brunette and a pang in her chest told her the brown curls would only remind Steve of Peggy Carter, someone she admired, but didn't necessarily want to copy. She didn't want Steve to be with her because she'd turned herself into a clone of his old love.
"This is harder than I thought," Kayla mumbled, touching her own honey blonde locks affectionately. She tapped the mirror, adding a hind of caramel to her hair, darkening the blonde. She brought back the loose perm and bangs, then stood back and admired her reflection. It wasn't a huge change, but it was enough
"Jarvis. This is it. How soon can you send someone over?"
Several hours later Kayla emerged onto the party deck, her long hair wavy and caramel. Her long bangs curled off to the side, slightly covering her right eye. Zawadi ran ahead and jumped onto Thor, startling Doctor Banner.
"Zawadi, no!" Kayla yelped, realizing the dog's appearance could cause the Hulk to emerge.
"He's fine Lady Kayla, he's a very friendly creature. I don't mind his company." Thor assured her, but Kayla's desperate glance fell to Bruce.
Bruce just shrugged, readjusting his glasses, "I've spent the past year living here in the Tower with Tony Stark. Nothing your dog does can possibly be more startling than that." Bruce looked her over, taking in her new appearance, "Your hair is nice Miss Ellis. It will help you lay low for sure. And your eyes? Didn't they used to be green?"
"They are contacts." She shrugged, gesturing to her brown eyes. "My eyes are something I'm known for, so... I had to change them."
"You are still gorgeous Madam," Thor stated quietly, taking her in. "Steven is a very lucky man to call you his own."
Kayla blushed at the demi-god, pushing a loose curl away from her face. "Thank you. I consider myself very lucky to have him. He's a good man. He's caring, brave, handsome..." Kayla grabbed a water bottle and took a swig, trying to calm her red hot face.
"A good lover too I'm sure." Thor winked at the woman and she spit the water out.
Bruce and Thor stood there in shock. Bruce hadn't expected Thor's statement and Thor hadn't expected her response.
"Uhhh, sorry." She mumbled, wiping the water off her face.
"It's fine Kayla, I don't expect you to tell me the details of your time with the Captain. I'll get those from him later when he returns." Thor elbowed Bruce in a jesting way, but the doctor continued to stare ahead, feeling uncomfortable in the situation Thor had created. Thor felt no shame though, as the Prince of Asgard he was very used to stating his feelings openly with no repercussions. He was also used to joking around with the Avengers, who he considered some of his closest friends.
"There are no details to award. I don't know whether or not Steve is good in bed because he's not ready for that." Kayla said devilishly, her mocking tone sharp with resentment. Her demeanor softened with Thor's surprise so she added, "It's been difficult for me to be patient."
"I'm sorry for overstepping Miss." Thor apologized, turning his attention away from the woman to pet Zawadi with heavy strokes that made the dog pant with bliss. "I understand your reaction to my statement now. If you would like, I'll talk to Steven and tell him how you are feeling?"
"Oh, oh no, that's fine. You don't need to do that..." Kayla backpedaled, realizing it wasn't a conversation she wanted Steve to be on the receiving end of. If Thor revealed that, Tony would never let Steve forget it.
"Don't do what?" A voice came from the door to the quinjet pad. Kayla, Thor, and Bruce turned as Zawadi ran full speed towards the returning team.
"Welcome back Avengers! I've been waiting patiently for your return!" Thor boomed as he rose to greet his teammates. He scooped up little Natasha in a hug, which she didn't seem to appreciate. He shook hands with Clint and Tony, then clamped a massive hand on Steve's shoulder in congratulations. "I've met your lady Captain, I must say she is quite stunning." Thor winked at the soldier, who was visibly moved by the larger blonde's grasp.
Steve looked from Thor to Kayla, then did a double take when he realized she had changed. "Kay..." He walked away from the Avengers towards his girlfriend, who smiled widely at him, "You look amazing. Different, but amazing." He breathed, and she leaned up to kiss him, hands resting on the star on his chest.
"Thank you, darling." She sighed into the kiss. "Also I apologize for any awkward conversations Thor has with you later. I may have let it slip we haven't had sex."
"How the hell did that come up in conversation?" Steve laughed, wrapping his large arms around his lady.
"Don't worry about it." Kayla giggled back, kissing him again. "Are you ready to change?"
Steve looked up from Kayla, turning to look over his shoulder, "I think we better debrief first. Then we'll get changed and have dinner together as a team if that's alright?"
Kayla scoffed, "Of course it's alright. I'm not going to control you Steve. I want to be beside you."
That's what scared Steve. She'd already died once because she couldn't stay out of trouble. Fate had given her a second chance, but would she get a third? He couldn't risk it. But he also couldn't stop. He couldn't stop fighting for what was right. He loved Kayla, but he had a duty to the Avengers, to the world. He had a duty to America, which her father was still the leader of. He couldn't turn his back on his responsibilities, but he couldn't let her get hurt again. He'd learned though. Leaving her only led to her getting kidnapped or hurt. The only place she was really safe was with him.
"Tomorrow we start training. In the afternoon we fly to Shanghai to take care of that Hydra base."
"And find Loki's scepter," Thor added, leading the other Avengers to the couches where Bruce sat. "Somebody is tampering with the scepter and the sooner we get it the better."
"SHIELD had it, but Hydra grew within SHIELD. We can only assume that one of these Hydra bases is holding it." Natasha explained to Steve.
"We rest up tonight, continue searching tomorrow." Steve decided, then turned to Kayla, "The scepter is dangerous, however, you are a brilliant scientist, you may be able to help us safely retrieve it. Tomorrow at 0600 hours we'll meet in the training room for self-defense training. Romanoff, you'll join us. What's a super soldier without any training?"
"Your girlfriend." Kayla smiled as she kissed him again, happy that she finally got her way.
"Avengers, we'll meet in the debriefing room to talk strategy. Jarvis, order in pizza. Lots of it. Have it here within the hour. Let's move out." Steve commanded, and Kayla nearly swooned, fanning herself as she took a step back. He looked down at her, eyes scanning her familiar features and her new curly hair. "Take those contacts out. When we are home I want to see our eyes." Steve told her sternly.
"Yes Sir." She breathed as he turned to walk away, leading the team to debrief.
She loved Steve Rogers, but she adored Captain America.