Kayla's defense tried his hardest to show Kayla in a better light, but the truth was the truth. Kayla was a wanted criminal and murderer. And honestly, she didn't really care what happened to her now. She didn't know where Steve was, or if he was even still alive. Hell, she didn't even know where Natasha had taken James. She saved these people, over and over again, and when she stood trial, she stood without them.

So when Amora gave her final statements, Kayla sat dejectedly, accepting the woman's words as fact, even if it meant terrible things for her.

Amora turned to face the jury, pushing a stray hair behind her ear, "I think we can all agree on one thing, Kayla Ellis didn't kill anybody at the Summit Gala three weeks ago. She was a victim who suffered a loss, just like many others. The difference is that she's been running from consequences for a long time. She's hurt people. She's killed people. Kayla Ellis has created something that could change the world, or destroy it. She's too powerful, and she's been living unchecked for eleven years. We cannot condemn her for the deaths of the forty-two people lost in December, but we now see that she's a danger to us all. The Red Skull is out there and he'll come for her again. Whether or not her husband is alive, she will draw him back, and we will pay the price. As long as Kayla Ellis is alive, we can't know for sure that we are safe."

The silence that fell over the court was terrifying to Kayla. She stared ahead, realizing what the prosecution was insinuating. She didn't want to put her in jail. She wanted her dead.

The judge ended the session, and the jury filed out to deliberate about Kayla's fate. The guards came and escorted Kayla out of the room, past her parents and Bucky, Sam, Wanda, and Bruce. The Avengers stared at her sadly, not believing what was unfolding before them.

"Where is Steve?" Wanda snarled at Sam and Bucky after Kayla passed, her eyes glowing an angry red, "How can he ignore this?"

"We haven't seen or heard from Steve since the night of the gala. He never came home that night." Sam explained quietly, looking around to make sure nobody was listening, "He could be-"

"No. Don't say that." Bucky cut Sam off, his jaw tight, "Steve can't be dead."

"He'd never leave Kayla in prison. We might have to consider that he's gone, Barnes." Sam told his partner sadly, hanging his head as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his suit pants. "We'll bail her out. We'll find a way, we'll break her out if that's what it takes."

"You're Captain America now, Sam. You can't break her out of jail. Let the system run its course." Mathew Ellis scolded as he pat Sam firmly on the back, "We'll figure it out. Don't give up hope yet." Mathew pulled Sandra closer into his side, but the older blonde woman had a deep-set frown that wouldn't melt away. Wanda mirrored her expression, looking at the door where Kayla had come from. No one had heard from Natasha or Steve, and Kayla was on trial for murder. Something was very, very wrong.

Several hours later, the guards brought Kayla back into the courtroom as the jury filed back into their places. Kayla's head hung sadly, her fiery spirit broken. She was seated next to her lawyer at the table across the aisle from Amora and her team. Amora looked cocky as she leaned back in her chair, smoothing back her hair as she looked at the judge with a smug smile. Kayla looked sadly at the jury, and they looked terrified and guilty and Kayla could feel in the pit of her stomach that her whole life was about to be destroyed.

The speaker for the jury stood and faced the judge, his face pale as he shook, "This was a hard decision. Kayla Ellis was loved and admired. She has so much potential to make the world a better place, however, she also has proven to be impulsive and dangerous. As a jury, we have found that the collective good of the general population has to come first. After everything we now know, about what's out there, we can't take any risks. So we have found Kayla Ellis guilty, and we want her put to death. It was hard, but we can't risk her putting everyone else in danger."

Kayla's jaw dropped at the verdict, looking at her baffled lawyer. She leaned over, staring at Amora and finding the woman twisting her fingers toward the jury. She saw Kayla and winked, and beyond her, the thin man melted away for a moment, and Kayla saw Johann Schmidt smiling back at her. She opened her mouth to cry out, but Amora snatched her voice, keeping her from tattling on the Enchantress and the Red Skull. Kayla grabbed her throat and looked back to the jury desperately, realizing there was no hope of saving her now.

This isn't how the legal system is supposed to work... they are being controlled... I'm becoming a martyr.

Mathew jumped to his feet and began yelling at the judge, as others in the courtroom began to talk loudly, causing the chaos to rise and rise as the judge pounded his gavel. Kayla stared ahead of her, seeing all hope die. Just like she would. The Red Skull would have his revenge. If Steve was alive out there somewhere, he'd see her put to death. If Steve was already buried, then she'd join him soon enough.

"Wait!" Kayla's lawyer cried out, and everyone fell silent, turning to the blonde and her defense. She shook violently as the man tried to form his words carefully, one last-ditch effort to save his client, "She's pregnant. What happens to the baby?"

The judge looked at the girl thoughtfully, "Once you give birth, then you'll be executed. Until then, you'll stay incarcerated." The judge pounded his gavel and the guards lifted Kayla from her seat, guiding her out of the courtroom past all the people who yelled over each other. She turned to her right, seeing the thin man as Schmidt again as Amora appeared in a green dress with a green headband before they both melted into their disguises again. She couldn't warn anybody. She couldn't speak out.

Kayla had reached the end of the line, and she'd live out her last three months alone in a prison cell.

Once Kayla was deposited back into her cell, and the metal bars slammed closed, she began to weep openly as she sat on her cot. She wiped her tears away on the sleeve of her orange jumpsuit, staring at the wall before her as the tears flowed freely from her eyes. She pressed her left hand to her chest and her right hand to her stomach, wanting, praying to feel something there. But the baby didn't move. Was the baby even alive?

Did she barter three more months of life just to deliver a child that wouldn't survive?

This is it. This is the price I pay for living an enchanted life. I've lost everything... everyone... I've lost- everyone...

Kayla laid on her back, letting her long blonde hair fall behind her as she stared up at the ceiling, not bothering to wipe the tears away now. Let them fall, it didn't matter anymore. She tried to remember the good times. She tried to remember before the Soul Stone, before the snap, before the Accords. Had all those years been that bad? Had there been any good times amongst the chaos?

Of course there were. There was Steve.

Kayla could imagine Steve in her mind's eye, his glistening blue eyes, his strong jaw. The way he always placed his hands on his hips, and his laugh. Oh his laugh, she'd miss that the most, only after his kisses. Kayla realized she'd never kiss Steve Rogers in this lifetime again. That was the true tragedy of Kayla's verdict, she'd never know whether or not Steve died first, or if she did.

She spent the next three months like that, staring at the ceiling, replaying every moment of the past eleven years. All the good, all the bad, all the Steve. Until finally, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach, and she knew it was time.

The baby was coming.

Kayla cried out loudly as the pain continued to grow, and she realized she was going to give birth to her child in a prison. A female guard collected her and moved her into the medical wing of the hospital, setting her up in a white bed. Kayla could have sworn she was in a real hospital, and for the first time in three months, she felt like a real person again. She just wished that her family was there. She wished her mom was there, that Steve and Natasha and Wanda were there. She wished Tiffany was there, but that wasn't possible. Tiffany was dead, because of her.

The pain was the worst thing Kayla had felt since she'd taken the anti-serum for Steve. Her whole body rocked with pain as the contractions grew stronger. For hours she cried and clenched the side of the bed, and the brunette nurse urged her to breathe. The nurse was sweet to Kayla, but it didn't matter, she couldn't replace Kayla's family.

"Come on Kayla, push, the baby's coming!" The brunette called as she pulled gloves on, placing a mask over her mouth as she leaned down to deliver the baby girl.

Kayla shook her head violently, tears streaming down her face, "I can't! I can't do this alone. It hurts... it hurts so bad." She whimpered as another contraction shuttered through her body, and Kayla winced as she threw her head back into the pillow. "I can't do this without my husband. I want my husband, I want Steve." She sobbed quietly, her body quaking from the pain as she sweat profusely. She never gave birth to James, and suddenly she couldn't help but feel slightly thankful for that. At least with James, she would have had super-soldier serum keeping her pain tolerance up.

The nurse swallowed as Kayla groaned loudly, her legs quivering as she prepared to push, "Come on Kay, one big push, you got this."

Kayla lifted her head to the nurse, thinking she was imagining the words that came from her mouth. Only her family called her Kay. "What?"

"Push!" The nurse yelled and Kayla did as she was told, leaning forward as she gave a big push, screaming out as she did. After a moment, Kayla felt the release, and she fell back into the bed, crying softly. She did it, but she couldn't look. Kayla slammed her eyes closed, gasping for air as she ignored the silence that hung over the room, reminding her of what she had done to her child on Vormir.

But then the baby cried.

What? No... no, she shouldn't be crying... she's alive. She's okay.

"Is she okay? Is she... wait... where are you taking her? She's mine, please, please bring her back! Please!" Kayla called out desperately as she realized the nurse had scurried off, carrying the newborn out of the room. Kayla began to cry harder, realizing her child would live her life without knowing her parents. She didn't deserve that life. James wouldn't know his parents either. Perhaps they'd never even know each other. "Please!" Kayla screamed loudly as several guards came into the room, trying to restrain the inconsolable woman. After a few minutes of screaming and struggling, a doctor gave Kayla a shot in the arm, and she fell deep into sleep.

Author's Notes:

Guest- I'm glad I could blow you away! I just really love these characters and this story, so I'm glad you enjoy it!

Siobhan- I also cried over Tiffany. I had a lot of doubt and I almost went back and changed it so many times, but it's so important moving forward. I'm glad that the readers have grown to care about her and her relationship with Kayla and Sam and the others. Things are getting much much worse for Kayla, obviously, but luckily this story will go on with or without Kayla Ellis, because her son and daughter are out there somewhere...