What if...? // K A T E L E N A

Chapter 20: Lucy Miller

The cold, sterile light of the operating room cast sharp reflections on the metallic surfaces as Lucy pushed open the double doors.

In her grip was a gun fitted with a silencer.

The team of doctors, clad in surgical gowns and gloves, froze in shock. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor filled the silence.

One of the surgeons, an Asian middle-aged man with sharp eyes and an air of authority, stepped forward hesitantly.

"Miss! Hello?" His voice carried both concern and confusion.

"Hey! Miss!" Another doctor echoed, raising a hand as if to calm her.

Lucy didn't acknowledge them. Her gaze was locked onto the glowing monitor, displaying a detailed scan of the patient's brain.

"I need help," Lucy said, her voice low but unwavering. "It's urgent."

"You cannot be in here," he said firmly. "We are in the middle of an operation. Please, get out."

Lucy didn't hesitate. With cold precision, she raised the gun and fired a multiple muffled pop to the patient on the table.

Gasps filled the room. The heart monitor let out a long, unbroken tone. The doctors recoiled in horror, their bodies frozen mid-motion.

"You wouldn't have been able to save him anyway," Lucy stated flatly, pointing the gun to the doctors. "The tumor had already invaded too far."

She reached for the lifeless body, her fingers curling around the patient's arms. She yanked the corpse off the table, letting it collapse onto the cold floor.

Without breaking her stride, Lucy climbed onto the now-empty operating table, keeping her gun raised at the doctors.

Then-the air crackled.

A violent burst of energy split the room apart. A vortex of swirling blue and gold light erupted from thin air, distorting the sterile atmosphere.

Before anyone could react, five figures tumbled through, crashing onto the pristine floor in a chaotic heap.

Kate Bishop. Yelena Belova. Kamala Khan. Cassie Lang. America Chavez.

Lucy barely blinked. Her mind worked at an unnatural speed, assessing, their postures, their fragmented conversation.

"Parallel universe." She hummed under her breath, almost dismissively. "Interesting."

The vortex behind the newcomers snapped shut with a final crack.

"Did we just turned into Cartoon!?" Kate gasped and exhale in relief.

"I saw you have red hair!" Kamala giggled in amazements. "Awesome!"

The male doctor, still pale, barely seemed to register what had just happened. He turned to Lucy, eyes darting between her and the fallen heroes.

Kate scrambled to her feet, "Oh my god, it's black widow."

But it was Yelena who didn't move after she stood up, wide-eyed, her entire world shattering around her.

Lucy's resemblance to Natasha Romanoff was uncanny-too uncanny. Her posture, her voice, the effortless way she calculated her surroundings-it was Natasha. And yet, it wasn't.

"Still not our reality," Kamala muttered, turning to America, who groaned in pain. Cassie struggled to keep her steady.

"They put drugs in me," Lucy interrupted, her voice still eerily calm. She turned back to the doctor, her gaze like a scalpel. "You have to get it out now. It's leaking."