After a tragic car wreck, Heather Flax is flung - literally - into a new life. She discovers that she can grow more than her unborn child. Plants begin to respond to her emotions and wounds effortlessly heal beneath her touch. Heather, with the help...
"This morning...when you patted Sam on the shoulder, he said he felt something-"
Heather panicked. "Oh my gosh, did I make him feel uncomfortable? I was just trying to be encouraging."
"Oh, no." Steve blinked, looking taken aback. "No. Not at all. He said he felt exhausted until you patted him on the back. He said it was like he took a five-hour energy shot."
Heather thought back to the look Sam had given her. "Why's that important?"
"I don't know if it's crucial...I just know that you were wondering what your powers were. Maybe it's something like that, helping other people recover."
"It would make sense, especially since my blood radiation makes plants grow."
"Anyway, lunch in the kitchen if you want some." Steve smiled and left.
"Looks like you have a pretty cool momma, little guy," Heather said, patting her stomach. In response, the baby started kicking again. She followed Steve down the hall to the main room. There was a Mexican spread of food, kind of a build-your-own-taco situation. Bucky and Sam sat at the table; plates piled high with tacos. Heather made herself four tacos and then sat with them.
"So Heather," Sam said between bites, "What did you do before everything."
Heather swallowed her food, "Well, I got a degree in communications from Michigan State. Right before – everything – I was working at Walgreens. Not exactly a dream job, but it paid the bills."
"What is your dream job?" Steve asked, taking a seat at the table.
"I'm not sure. I changed majors like six times in college. In my senior year, I landed on communications because it was the only degree that my credits matched." Heather took another bite of her taco, causing the back side of it to dump most of the contents onto her plate.
"Yeah, that's why I joined the military. I didn't know what I wanted...except free tuition." Sam said.
"That was a smart move; I have like thirty grand in student debt," Heather said begrudgingly.
"You don't anymore." The party turned to see Tony helping himself to a taco. He and Bruce silently emerged from the lab to join them for lunch.
"Wait, what?" Heather turned towards Tony.
"Yeah, I paid them off when you first came here," Tony said through a mouthful of taco.
"Oh my gosh...." Heather was overwhelmed by emotion. She remembered nights when she and Adam skipped dinner because they needed to save money for gas. She looked at the ceiling, taking a deep breath and trying to blink away tears. "Thank you." She looked at Tony, and against her will, a tear fell from her cheek. "How do you want to set up a payment plan?"
"A what?" Tony asked, reaching over to grab a tissue and dabbing sauce off his beard. "No, I paid it."
Steve leaned over and whispered in Heather's ear, "He likes showing off, remember? He probably did it with one of his charities to get good PR." The last part, he said aloud, looking at Tony antagonistically.
"There might've been some publicity, but it was only because I made a million-dollar donation to multiple students who were in debt. One of them just happened to be you." Tony, who appeared bored with the topic, pulled out his phone and began scrolling through it. "Heather, do you want to go with me to the city tomorrow? I have to do some things in Stark tower and thought you might have fun tagging along."
"That would be so cool! Yeah, I'd love to come." Heather said ecstatically.
"Nice, we'll leave around ten am, so you'll still have time to do your running thing with the soldier boys." Tony tossed his napkin in the garbage and walked back toward the lab.
"Thanks!" Heather said as he left the room. He waved dismissively in her general direction.
Bruce took a seat beside Heather at the table. "So Heather, I was wondering if I could get a blood sample from you. I wanted to run some tests, but we ran out of the sample we collected when you arrived here."
Heather's anxiety flared, and she felt her mouth go dry. The thought of needles, while never pleasant, really didn't bother her before her abduction. Now the idea of any medical procedure froze her in fear. A wave of nausea overtook Heather, and she jumped to her feet. She dashed to the bathroom adjacent to the living area, slammed the door, and just reached the toilet before hurling her lunch. After a few more gags, she sat, coughing beside the bowl. Heather broke off a piece of toilet paper and wiped her mouth. There was a quiet knock at the door,
"Heather?" It was Bruce.
"I'm okay! I just need a minute." Heather stood up and went to the sink. She washed her hands, then splashed cold water onto her face.
"Are you okay? I have water." It was Bruce again.
"Yeah, come in."
The door opened, and a sorry-looking Bruce held a glass of water. Heather took it from him and smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry that I-"Bruce started to say, but Heather cut in.
"Please don't blame yourself; I think it's just the pregnancy." Heather took a sip of water.
"We can wait for the blood draw on a different day."
"No, let's just get it over with. Can we just not do it in the lab?"
"Of course." Bruce patted her arm, then left to grab the supplies for the draw.
Heather exited the bathroom and looked over at the table. The guys were looking at her, concerned. "I'm okay, guys, really." She said shakily. She sat on one of the sofas, trying to calm her beating heart. Bruce returned from the lab with a syringe and the other supplies. He sat next to Heather and bound her arm above the elbow. She braced for the needle prick as Bruce wiped the area with an alcohol wipe.
"Take a deep breath," Bruce said softly. Heather did, and Bruce plunged the needle into her skin. She gasped and closed her eyes, trying to calm the panic in her chest. Impressions of memories too faded to be conceptualized but fully felt raced under her eyelids.
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"No!" She stood up, pulled the needle from her arm, and tossed it across the room. Heather stood panting and looked at the space around her. Sam, Bucky, and Steve were all on their feet. Bruce was still sitting, looking shocked.
"What the hell?" Tony stormed in from the lab. "What happened?"
"I... I'm-sorry." Heather ripped the elastic from her arm and rushed past Tony and down the hall.
"Heather!" Tony yelled after her. She didn't care. She ran to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her.
Heather had never acted in such an impulsive way. She leaned against the door and looked up at the ceiling. What was happening to her? She closed her eyes, wishing for it all to go away. She wanted to be back with Adam on the beach. Then the sobs came. They wracked her body and made her knees weak. She slunk to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest.
"I want to go back." She whispered through tears. "Why can't this be a dream."
