Kalopsia ⊰ The Avengers

Therapy

Her throat was still raw and just uttering that single word hurt her. Jemma smiles at the girl, complementing her on her attempt to speak but urging her to rest for the time being. Lalya just nods, closing her eyes in relief for once. 

The world was a mere whisper. All she could hear clearly were the people around her. She felt normal for once. 

From the left she could faintly hear Tony asking Bruce to call in the specialist but she paid it no mind. She was just so comfortable at the moment. 

Metal against metal brought her out of her relaxed state, the girl opening her eyes in slight panic. Jemma just placed a comforting hand on the girl's arm and nodded her head to a tray of food besides her. "You need to build up your strength." She whispers. 

Layla nods, although skeptically. Why would she need to build up her strength? Were they going to use her for something? Were they just like the other people?

She wanted to think of them as different but years of the same treatment affects a person deeply. 

She nibbles on the loaf of bread, straying away from the other hardier items of the meal. When in confinement bread was the center piece of most of her meals. It was the one piece of food that she felt comfortable with out of everything on the tray. 

Jemma frowns but decides that it was better that she was at least eating something. 

The process continues over the next month. The Avengers give Layla her space to recover and Layla works on building her strength. With the help of a speech therapist and a physical therapist Layla Chase-Mason makes considerable progress. They start her off with basic exercises slowly progressing to running and speaking full sentences. 

Layla was hesitant the entire time. She wondered why they were doing this. What they wanted from her. 

She had never known someone to go to such lengths unless they wanted something in return. And now with her powers being restricted she had no way of knowing what was going on in the world around her. It felt so foreign to her. 

It was a relief but it made her feel scared. She felt really isolated. 

Now Layla stood by her window, watching the world around her. After she was able to walk around on her on and be completely stable she was moved to a more comfortable room. She even managed to ask for a window which the Avengers gladly gave her. 

The door slide open behind her, a man knocking on the doorway. 

Layla doesn't turn,  already knowing who was there. Earlier in the day her speech therapist told her that they were bringing in a specialist for her. His name was Leo. He didn't have a last name as far as she was aware. 

"May I sit?" Layla nods, turning to face the man. He has a kind face, wrinkles prominent around his eyes and mouth. Probably from smiling. The man sits at the small table in the corner of her room. Holding her sweater close to her body, she moves towards him.

"You are the specialist? Correct?"

He laughs, "I guess you could say that." Layla sits across from him, pulling her legs up to her chest. "My name is Leo. I'm a therapist and psychologist."

Layla tilts her head, "And?"

Leo smiles softly, "And an empath. They told me you would be able to pick up on it even with your powers under control." She shrugs, looking down at the bracelets around her wrists. She wanted to take them off but she still didn't know if she was strong enough to control them. "Do you know why I'm here?" She shakes her head. "Your body is recovering but your mind is interfering. You can't heal fully until you process your emotions."