Kayla did a great job of ignoring the cell phone photos taken of her as she was led into the pediatric hospital by Tiffany and Natasha. Rumors still swirled about how she had survived all this time unnoticed, but seeing as she released no comment and didn't cause any immediate scandals, the rumors fizzled out.
The reporters began reporting that the infamous Kayla Ellis had a change of heart. She wasn't seen at parties or premiers and she most definitely wasn't seen out and about with various men. She also wasn't doing her usual outreach programs or working at the charities she once ran. Kayla Ellis had become positively boring. It was a situation that baffled the world of social media to no end because she did nothing interesting.
Something had happened to break her down.
Kayla was aware of all of this as she let Natasha drive her and Tiff to the hospital for her checkup. She'd been dreading this moment, avoiding it really, but she knew that her baby was still growing, and she had to be prepared for what was to come. Once through the automatic doors, Kayla pushed her large sunglasses up over her thick hair that was pulled into a loose bun. She wore purple tennis shoes with baggy running shorts and a purple tank top, loose enough to give her growing belly some breathing room and to hide her size from prying eyes.
"Miss Ellis!" The receptionist scrambled as she stood, her arms shaking nervously, "We've been expecting you."
Kayla frowned and looked down at her white silicone watch, "My appointment isn't for another thirty minutes."
"We were still expecting you. Everyone is curious about... you know... the baby." The woman stammered as she handed Kayla a brown clipboard with paperwork to fill out. Kayla handed over her insurance card, and the receptionist looked at it for a moment before speaking up nervously, "This, uh, expired seven years ago."
Kayla pressed her cherry lips together in a firm line, nodding understandingly, "Yup. That tracks. I'll pay cash then."
"No, no I'll make some calls, see what we can do. Everything is all wacky after the return of the Vanished. I myself vanished, but I'm back now. Really thankful they let me have my job back, even if all my coworkers have moved on or- died." The woman finished, realizing that Kayla Ellis didn't want to hear about her personal troubles.
But she was wrong. Kayla's fingers stopped moving against the paper as she thought for a moment, staring down at the lines blankly. "Isn't there somebody in charge of that? Recovery I mean? From the snap?"
"Not that I know of. President Anderson is scrambling to rebuild the government, but it's an election year and he's not running for reelection." The woman shrugged a little, then went back to her typing at her computer, "I'm sure they are working on something. It's only been a couple of months."
"A couple of months with no one in charge of putting the world back how it was supposed to be." Kayla reiterated and Tiffany's brow shot up in question at her friend's train of thought.
Natasha leaned against the counter expectantly, waiting for Kayla to come up with some brilliant scheme. That was the Kayla Rogers way- find a problem, jump right in with the first solution that came to mind. But no more words came from the blonde. She finished filling out her paperwork and handed it back with a smile.
"Wait here, I'll have someone escort you up to the room." The receptionist explained as she paged a nurse to be their personal guide to the examination room.
Natasha grabbed Kayla's hand and gave it a supportive squeeze, "Whatever happens, I'm proud of you. You've been very brave in a very hard time."
"I regret nothing Nat. Nothing at all." She told the redhead with a bittersweet smile. Kayla took a deep breath through her mouth as the nurse arrived to take the three women to Kayla's appointment. It had been four months since she left that New Jersey hospital. She'd insisted on Bruce checking in on her, and Bruce alone, but finally Doctor Banner informed Kayla she needed to see someone with more advanced equipment than him. He'd done everything he could and had seen little change except for normal growth. She'd have to see someone else if she wanted any more answers than that.
"Miss Ellis, its a pleasure to meet you, I'm Doctor Hervins." The doctor waltzed in gracefully, unaffected by the high profile patient before her.
"Nice to meet you too." Kayla responded lightly, taking a seat on the examination table.
"I'll give you a moment to prepare, then we'll do an ultrasound and run some tests. Doctor Banner sent me your charts. You... haven't seen an actual doctor since you were in the hospital?" Doctor Hervins asked with a hint of judgment in her deep voice.
Kayla snorted, throwing her neck back in offense, "Doctor Bruce Banner is a real doctor-"
"He's a friend. Kayla has been in contact with the Avengers since 2013 when they saved her from a kidnapping. Although he doesn't currently practice medicine, Doctor Banner has experience and training in the medical field." Tiffany explained in her 'assistant to Kayla Ellis' way. The doctor nodded, flipping through the printed information Banner had sent to the hospital.
"I'll be back in about five minutes." Doctor Hervins said quietly as she left the room, closing the door behind her.
"I want to run away." Kayla jumped to her feet, but Natasha pushed her back down with a forceful hand. "Okay, okay. Fine, Widow."
Suddenly, there were hush voices outside the door, and Kayla snuck to the door with her index finger to her lips to listen, thinking it might be about her.
"Mrs. Byrne, I'm sorry... there's nothing we can do."
"Please Doctor, he's dying. He's my son."
Kayla leaned against the door, pushing her hand to it sadly. This was so much worse than if it had been about her.
"Doctor Hervins has done everything she can. His organs are failing. I'm sorry, this is beyond even the most modern medicine..." The nurse tried to explain to the weeping mother.
"Our world is filled with aliens and gods and you're telling me I waited five years to get my son back only for him to die now?" The mother screeched and suddenly her voice was getting farther away, either from being led away or from storming away, Kayla couldn't be sure. But something told her to open the door.
As the door flew open, the nurse fell back a step at the blonde's presence. "What's he dying from?" Kayla asked quickly, not bothering to hide her eavesdropping. Tiffany and Natasha scrambled to flank Kayla, but the damage was done as the honey blonde nurse looked at Kayla with wide brown eyes.
"He's suffering from heart failure. It took two and a half months to get him in. We were pummeled after everyone reappeared. We were too late."
"Who decides who gets in and who has to wait?" Kayla asked, tapping her fingers against the doorframe. "I called yesterday."
"It's based on insurance. It has to be." The nurse stammered and Kayla tightened her jaw.
"But I don't have any."
"You're the former President's Daughter. You get special treatment-" The nurse stammered, but Kayla was turning redder than Natasha's hair.
"That's not right. That's not right at all, we have to fix this... We have to fix this. I can help the boy." Kayla notified the nurse, and Tiffany began to shake her head violently as Natasha grabbed at Kayla's mouth.
"No. Are you insane? You can't just give that shit to people. If you were that confident with it, why don't you use it on yourself?" Natasha hissed into Kayla's ear as the nurse looked between the women, backing away slowly.
Kayla pushed Natasha's arm down roughly and turned to her friend, grabbing at her upper arms as she began to explain her plea, "Let me do this. I can save him. And if I can't, he's no worse off than he is now. It works, you know it works, and I'm not hiding anymore. I've created a watered-down version that could be enough to help his heart..." Kayla turned from Natasha to the nurse. "Get me the boy's information. I'll be back tomorrow morning."
"Oh, okay." The blonde nurse stammered, going off to get the family's information and leaving Kayla to close the door and plop back on the examination table for her ultra-sound.
Kayla stared up as the doctor moved the ultra-sound around her swollen stomach. She worked hard to keep her breathing even, even if her heart was pounding in her chest. The doctor looked at the ultrasound, then back to Kayla before speaking, "You're about six months along, correct?"
"Yeah, something like that," Kayla mumbled, not meeting the doctor's eye.
Doctor Hervins chuckled, "You're so nervous. The baby's doing well. It's very small. I see what Doctor Banner meant about the brain activity, but I wouldn't give up hope quite yet... do you want to know what it is?"
The corners of Kayla's lips pulled up into a sad smile, already knowing her child was girl, but hating how everybody referred to her as 'it'. "Yeah."
"A girl." The doctor responded, and Kayla finally turned and looked at the ultrasound. "Obviously you still have a long way to go and I expect to see you more often. But she's a girl."
Kayla felt the tears in her eyes as she forced them back, nodding while the doctor turned the equipment away, "Alright."
"See you in three weeks, Miss Ellis." Doctor Hervins said sharply as she left the hospital room.
"What do you need?" Natasha murmured once the older doctor was out of the room. Kayla looked at her questioningly, her brows squished together. Natasha cleared her throat, repeating herself, "What do you need? For the serum? I'll call in a few favors. You said you'd help that boy."
Kayla nodded, pulling down her purple tank top over her stomach, "I'll make you a list."
"You sure about this?" Tiffany warned, pushing her hand through her brunette hair anxiously.
Kayla met her friend's eyes, "Yes. I'm sure."
"Alright Warner, Mrs. Byrne, the doctor should be here momentarily." The honey blonde nurse explained as the young boy with inky black hair stared up at her. He was scared. He was weak, his heart was giving out. His mother tapped her fingers together anxiously, waiting impatiently for this new doctor who thought they could help her son.
As the nurse waited with the mother and son, Kayla Ellis strode into the room in a white lab coat with Natasha Romanoff right behind her, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved back turtleneck. The assassin crossed her arms and leaned against the door, watching Kayla closely as she approached the family. Warner's mother gawked at the confident blonde. "Kayla Ellis!"
"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Byrne. Warner, is it?" Kayla turned to the boy, who looked to his mother questioningly, not recognizing the woman. Kayla opened up a black case that she had brought with her, looking through its contents carefully, "Your nurse tells me that you are experiencing heart failure and that you are too far down on the transplant list. It's not looking good for getting you a new heart, kid." Kayla rambled as she popped a metal vial out of its casing. She untwisted the cap and slid out a glass container with sky blue liquid in it. She looked up at the young boy as she grabbed a syringe. "So if we can't get you a new heart, we'll make this one stronger."
"Are you a doctor, Miss Ellis?" Mrs. Byrne asked apprehensively, keeping a strong grip on her son's frail arm.
"No." Kayla quipped easily, drawing the liquid into the syringe before turning to the woman and her dying son, "But I'm a scientist. And I'm a mother. I lost my son in the snap too. I understand what you must have gone through."
Mrs. Byrne continued to stare at Kayla with narrowed eyes as Warner looked up at his mom for direction. "What are you giving him then?"
"I told you, I'm going to make his heart stronger. Experimental, but, I've had good results in the past." Kayla assured the woman as she approached her son. "Tell me, Warner, do you like superheroes?"
"I do." He replied in a hushed voice, unsure if his mother wanted him to answer.
Kayla smiled knowingly, kneeling down beside the boy, "Do you have a favorite?"
"Iron Man."
"He was pretty great wasn't he? He was very brave, I met him a couple of times. He took a lot of risks, and he never knew if it was going to work out or not. What do you say? Are you willing to try and be brave like Iron Man today? See if this saves you?" Kayla questioned, giving the boy's arm a gentle squeeze with her left hand as she smiled into his eyes reassuringly.
The boy looked from Kayla to his mom, then side-eyed Natasha nervously before looking back to his mom. Mrs. Byrne stared at her son for a moment, missing the way his eyes used to get excited when he saw reports of Iron Man on the television or when he played Avengers with his friends. The light was fading. This was their last chance, the nurse had made this abundantly clear.
"What do you say, honey?" Mrs. Byrne asked, leaving the choice up to her son.
Warner turned to Kayla Ellis and nodded, "I'll be brave."
"Good. Now, this might sting a little, needles are the worst." Kayla explained comfortingly as she stood, "Once the serum is inside you, it's probably going to hurt a little more, but it'll be okay. You can squeeze my hand as much as you want, I promise." Kayla told the boy as she grabbed the needle and moved to the left side of the boy, "Now look at your mom okay, do you want me to count down or surprise you?"
"Umm, surprise- ouch!" Warner winced as Kayla injected the serum into his left arm, holding his hand tightly as she kept him distracted.
"So, Iron Man huh? You like the suits?"
"Yeah." He cried, trying to look at his mom as she held his other hand tightly, tears streaming down her own face.
Kayla nodded thoughtfully, carefully pulling the needle from the boy's arm, "The suits are cool, but Tony Stark... he was something else. And his best friend is Bruce Banner. Do you know who Bruce Banner is?"
"He's the Hulk." Warner winced as he felt the serum spread through his bloodstream. He gripped Kayla's hand tighter and she smiled, seeing it working.
"Yeah, but he's so smart. He's Professor Hulk now. Maybe sometime, if you'd like, you could meet him? Him and I, we work together. He helped me develop this medicine for you." Kayla explained with happy tears in her eyes. She looked up at the nurse, "Give it about ten minutes, then we'll run some tests, see if it worked?"
The young nurse nodded, leaving the room as Natasha opened the door for her. The assassin kept eyes focused on Kayla as she knelt down beside the boy, letting him grip her hand so tightly it was beginning to turn red. Steve would be so proud of his brave wife. He'd be even more proud that Kayla used what she knew about his serum to save others.
"It hurts really bad." Warner mumbled as he panted, closing his eyes tightly, and Mrs. Byrne stared at Kayla with furious eyes.
"What's happening to him? What have you done to my son?"
"Don't worry, it's going to be okay. It's gonna be okay Warner, I promise." Kayla assured the child as his breathing steadied. It steadied so much Mrs. Byrne began to suspect he was dying. She began to cry harder against his head, willing her boy to pull through.
After a moment, Warner opened his eyes and looked around, breathing easily. Mrs. Byrne pulled away to look at her boy, seeing the color return to his face. He loosened his grip on Kayla's hand and looked at his mom excitedly. The six-year-old boy's eyes sparkled happily. He could feel it. He was better. Mrs. Byrne looked to Kayla as the blonde rose, relief clear as day on her pretty face. Mrs. Byrne stood and crossed to Kayla as Natasha let Doctor Hevrin and the nurse into the room. The doctor looked at the heart monitors hooked up to the boy and turned to Kayla in amazement. "How'd you do this?"
"It runs in the family." Kayla winked as she closed up her case and walked toward the door. Before she followed Natasha though, she turned around and looked at Warner, "Make the most of your second chance, okay?" Then she turned and walked out, grinning from ear to ear.