"Where am I?"
Kayla looked around, fully aware of herself. There was no conflicting power in her soul, telling her to be something she wasn't. Her black boots were ankle deep in orange water as she took a step forward, the liquid sloshing as she moved. She spun around again, looking for someone, anyone. Anything that could tell her what was happening.
"Hello!" She called hopelessly, wondering if she was trapped in this lifeless, golden-tinted world. She turned around again to find a large door behind her. She could hear a string quartet playing elegant music behind it. Kayla looked over her shoulder again, seeing nothing behind her.
She pushed open the wooden door to reveal a massive ballroom. She remembered this gala- it was the Governor's Ball 2013. It was the night she met Steve and the Avengers. But there was no one here. The string quartet was non-existent, even as the music haunted the empty hall. Kayla walked into the middle of the dance floor, the water still surrounding her shoes.
She heard a woman chuckle from one of the tables nearby and turned quickly. She saw the green woman she'd only caught a glimpse of at the battle against Thanos. Kayla approached slowly, cautiously, still unsure of where she was and why she was here. She took another step toward the woman, tilting her head to the side as she studied her red-tipped hair and brilliant smile as she laughed at the approaching blonde.
Kayla was suddenly very aware that her feet were soaked, and looked down to see her favorite black stilettos immersed in the water as her long blue ballgown floated behind her. She looked down to see her arms bare and her hair in voluminous curls. Her muscular arms and chest filled out the dress much better than she had when she was young and slim. She felt something dangling around her neck and grabbed at it, realizing it was Steve's dog tags, something she hadn't had at the gala a decade ago.
"You are so conflicted. You're so frustrated. You can't control the power you possess. Your heart is too dark- the stone reads its host. Your selfishness is what causes it to crave chaos. You'll go mad."
Kayla frowned at the woman sitting lazily in the chair, her leather-clad leg slung casually over the other as she leaned on the back of the chair watching Kayla approach. She didn't seem fazed by the strange setting and watery amber world. She seemed... resigned to it. "Who are you?"
"My name is Gamora. The daughter of Thanos."
"Thanos?" Kayla spat back, trying to swallow down the lump in her throat at the name. After a moment, it hit her, "You're Nebula's sister."
Gamora rose from her chair, closing the space between herself and Kayla as she looked to the blonde with desperate, hopeful eyes, "You know my sister?"
"I do. She helped us defeat Thanos. We undid the snap. We won. We brought back everyone who was lost. Well... not everyone." Kayla admitted, looking over her shoulder around the ballroom before turning back to Gamora, watching her skeptically, "I saw you at the battle. But you've been here the whole time, haven't you? Since before the snap."
"Yes." Gamora admitted, searching Kayla's green eyes for any sign of deceit, but she found none, only concern, "How did you undo it?"
"We went back in time and got all the Infinity Stones before Thanos. We snapped our own fingers. We lost some of our own in the process. My husband, Captain America, he put all the stones back... all but one." Kayla turned over her hand to show Gamora her palm, closing her eyes and creating a vision of the Soul Stone. Gamora stared at the stone in disbelief, having never been fortunate to see what her death was for. Kayla opened her eyes and looked from the stone to the woman before her, "Why did it choose me? Why did I take it from the case instead of letting Steve take it back to Vormir?"
"I don't know. Nobody knows anything about the stone but the Stonekeeper." Gamora admitted, looking past Kayla's shoulder in a daze. After a few seconds, her expression twitched slightly, alerting Kayla to the arrival of someone else.
Kayla turned around, her blue dress twisting behind her lean legs as her hair whipped over her shoulder at the swift movement. "Natasha." Kayla breathed, wanting to run and jump into her friend's arms... but being afraid. "Natasha?"
"Why are you here Kayla? What have you done?" The assassin asked as she approached, wearing her Black Widow stealth uniform that she'd been wearing when they left the compound. Her braid was messy, and her weapons were broken, but still strapped to her back. She looked at Kayla as if the blonde was an apparition, something interesting but terrifying. "Did you go back to Vormir?"
"No. I did something much worse." Kayla admitted, knowing Natasha would be disappointed in her. Because for Natasha, her death was the noble sacrifice of a hero, the final act to clean out the red in her ledger. For Kayla, the Black Widow's death was a curse, something she couldn't have stopped in any lifetime. So Kayla was very aware that Natasha wouldn't approve of her efforts, even if they came from the best of intentions.
"You took the stone. Why? You can't bring me back, Kay. Let me go." Natasha begged, looking from her friend to Gamora, who just shrugged her shoulders with a sigh. "Right?"
"She has the power of the Soul Stone. Its the most powerful of all the Infinity Stones, it can control all life in the universe if used to its full potential. She can distort a person's soul. She can kill them, manipulate them. And, potentially, she could bring back a soul that's been lost." Gamora explained slowly as Kayla closed the gap between herself and the shorter assassin.
"Let me try. Please, Nat. Let me do something good for once-"
Natasha took a step away as Kayla reached out for her, shaking her head as she bit her lip, "No. Kayla. You can't wield the Soul Stone. It'll cost you everything-"
Kayla gasped as she sat up, shaking as Wanda and Carol both had their hands aimed at her, ready to blast her back to sleep if she woke up fighting. But Kayla didn't. She woke up with a new sense of purpose, and a new clarity in her head. "We have to go to Vormir!"
The words caught Carol and Wanda off-guard and the two women shared a knowing look. Wanda pleaded Carol to take over the conversation, knowing Wanda's connection with Kayla would only make her more upset at the news. Captain Marvel groaned and looked down at Kayla, not the slightest bit in hurting the woman's feelings, "No."
Kayla pulled her head back in confusion as she leaned on her elbows, looking up at the two women, "What do you mean no? We have to, I can bring Natasha back."
"Nat's gone," Wanda said sadly, "Kayla, you need to move on. People die sometimes. You think I don't want to bring Pietro back? To bring my Vision back? We need to figure out how to save you. The stone's controlling you..."
"Stop. Stop telling me no." Kayla's eyes glowed, and Carol and Wanda saw the shift. It was in control. The more Kayla felt like they were trying to control her actions, the more she became possessed. They needed to let her be. Otherwise, she'd kill them all.
"Okay. Let's say we go to Vormir. What's the plan then?" Carol asked, changing her tactic as Sam opened the door and approached slowly. Wanda looked up to see Bucky looking out the window from the second story, watching the event unfold.
Kayla leaned back on her hands and pushed herself to her feet, landing inches from Carol and Wanda as her eyes settled back to green, "We have to go back to the moment she died. We'll be there. And I'll use the Soul Stone to save her life."
"With that logic, why don't you just catch her and save her life so she never dies?" Sam asked, eyes darting between the three women as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his brown jacket.
"It'll create a branch reality. If she dies, and I save her, everything happens as it's supposed to, and then we move on. No branch realities, no alternate timelines." Kayla explained, holding her lip with her fingers as she thought, "We need to go to Clint. Then we go to Vormir."
Carol nodded to Sam slowly, telling the man to play along. "Alright, but you've got to do something first. You need to fix Tiffany and Steve. No more soul swapping or changing or whatever you did to them. Bring them back, and we'll do whatever you say. Got it?"
A subtle smirk pulled at Kayla's lips as she sized up Sam Wilson, "I think I can handle that." Kayla trotted back to the house to find Tiffany standing at the window with her parents. Sandra and Mathew stepped away quickly as Kayla's hands began to glow. Tiffany stood still, watching Kayla with nothing but faith and love. Kayla pulled her right hand back, stretching her wrist before releasing it, causing Tiffany to jolt back a little. The smaller woman shook her head, trying to straighten her thoughts as her hands flew to her chest.
"Kay? What did you do?"
"I'm sorry. I'm... working on it." Kayla apologized, pulling her best friend into a hug. Tiffany patted her back, trying to figure out why she felt so different than she had a moment ago, and why she felt so normal compared to then.
Kayla pulled away from Tiffany before rushing up the stairs three at a time to reach her husband. When she entered the room, she saw Bucky standing by James's crib, his real right hand holding the side of the wood as his metal hand flexed, preparing to protect the child from his mother if it came to that. Kayla ignored Barnes and ran to Steve, who was still sitting lifeless in his desk chair. She straddled him effortlessly and kissed him deeply, giving everything she had to revert him to who he really was.
Steve awoke with a start, and practically dropped Kayla off of his legs until she reached out and grabbed his shoulders. He panted as he looked around, seeing Bucky by the crib and Kayla staring at him sadly. "What the hell happened? Are you alright?"
Kayla sighed in relief, "I'm fine. You're fine now. I'm so sorry." Kayla wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, pressing her lips against his skin at the nape of his neck. "I'm trying. I have to go to Vormir."
Steve pushed Kayla away so he could see her face and shook his head, "No you don't-"
"I have to get rid of the Soul Stone. I can't live like this. Whatever it takes." Kayla told Steve and felt an ache in her chest as her own soul lurched from her admission. "There's too much darkness in me Steve. I can't be trusted as long as I have the stone."
"We don't have the slightest idea how to get rid of it..." Steve started, looking up at Bucky for answers, but his best friend had none for him. Steve smoothed back his long blonde hair as Kayla stroked his cheeks with her thumbs sweetly, smiling grimly.
"That's why I have to go to Vormir. I have to bring Natasha back and give back the stone. I'm going to give up the stone for Natasha. I'm going to try. I have to go to Clint. Figure out what I need to know about the moment she died." Kayla told Steve as he held her lower back. His blue eyes fell to her stomach and locked on for a moment until she noticed his gaze and looked down as well, "I promise I'll take care of them. I promise I'll protect them. I have to get rid of the stone, or I don't know what will happen to our children."
Steve hooked his hands tighter around Kayla's waist as he began to stand, and he lifted her up with him, carrying her to their bed before laying her down gently. "Okay. I'm coming with you-"
"No. You need to stay with James. I got myself into this mess. I'll go with Carol and Wanda. I don't want you anywhere near that place."
"And if something happens to you? Then what will I do?" Steve asked darkly. He walked over to Bucky and nodded at his best friend. They didn't need words to understand what the other was saying, and Steve wanted Bucky to leave. Barnes shot one last warning look at Kayla before smiling down at the baby named after him. Once he closed the door behind him, Steve turned back to Kayla and pulled off the thin white undershirt he'd been wearing. He still had on his blue pants and boots from his uniform. He knelt down to unbuckle his boots and Kayla crawled to the edge of the bed, laying on her stomach as she watched him intently.
"You'll be okay." She answered quietly, laying her head against her arm as she waved her boots in the air. Zawadi hopped up onto the bed and snuggled up to Kayla, laying his snout across her shoulder blades lovingly. "You'll all be okay."
Author's Note: I don't know why comments aren't showing up- at least not for me, but I've gotten the emails about them so I can respond here!
amberhardy- OMG it should have been Loki! lol, I keep telling my husband that one of my biggest regret about this story is that I haven't had the opportunity to write Loki except for that small bit during the time heist. I'm glad you like it so far! Steve cannot catch a break, and he does reach his breaking point soon...
19vanelkc- Your review might be one of my favorite reviews/comments I've ever gotten. We'll see a bit more of Carol in the next chapter.