Is the apartment on fire? I slowly open my eyes seeing a weird red glow coming into my room. I get out of bed and open the door to see dad burning something in the pan and then throwing the pan into the sink, "Shit." He mumbles.
He jumps when he saw me standing there watching him, "You shouldn't swear in front of kids."
Dad sighs, "I'm sorry, Mil. I was just trying to cook you a nice breakfast and I burnt it all." I shrug as I stand beside him, he hugs me tight, "Happy birthday by the way. Sorry, I ruined your food."
"You tried, that's the important part."
He snickered. He kisses my head, "You still need to go and see Bruce." I roll my eyes, "Later though. I got you a present." Here we go, more books. I sit on the bench as he goes into his room. It took a while actually.
He returned with a large cardboard box and placed it on the floor, "Is it from Ikea?" I smile.
"No, it's..." Why is the box moving? I sit on my knees and open the box. It's a cat? There is a living, breathing cat staring up at me. Grey fur, tiny pink nose and folded ears. One of her eyes is a deep blue and the other is hazel. She tilts her head and I copy her. "Do you like it?"
"You brought me a cat?" He nods. I glance in between him, and then the cat, "And I can keep it forever?" Dad laughs as he nods. "Holy shit!" I shout. I pick up the cat and look at it, "This is mine?"
Dad looks at me, very confused, "Yes, Mila, it's your cat. You need to give her a really good name."
"Lunch."
"What?"
"Lunch. I want to call her lunch."
"Milana, pick another name. You can't call her Lunch."
I roll my eyes, "But it will sound so silly. Imagine, it's night time and you need to take Lunch outside. You'll sound so funny when you say it." I sway her in my arms slowly, "She is perfect. My Lunch. See? It's funny already."
Dad shakes his head slowly, "Are you happy?"
"It's a pet, I don't think I can get any happier." I hold her up to dad, "How cute is lunch?"
Dad smiles at me, "I'm glad you're happy. You still need to go and see Bruce this morning." I roll my eyes and place Lunch onto the floor. I was going to get changed, but it's my birthday so I don't care if anyone sees me or my bugs bunny pyjamas.
I cringe. Wow, that burning smell went everywhere didn't it? I peer down at my feet, Lunch is following me? I pick her up and smile as I walk down to the lab. I wasn't going to take her, but she likes me.
Bruce looks up from his paperwork, he smiled, but then it dropped, "Why'd you bring the cat?"
"She followed me in, isn't she adorable?" I hold her up to Bruce's view and watch her swat at his glasses. Bruce carefully lowered her then glances at me, "Well, I think she's perfect."
"I'm glad you're enjoying your birthday. Come on, this shouldn't take too long." I jump up onto the bench and place Lunch onto the floor. Ha, lunch on the floor. Tony comes down to the lab and jumped.
"Why is there a cat in my lab?"
"She followed me."
"Mila, you can't bring a cat in here."
"I guess I'll just have to leave and take her upstairs, huh?"
"Nice try," Bruce mumbles, "Just hold it still while you're here, then you may leave. Have you eaten this morning?"
"Dad almost burnt down the house, so no, but I'm not hungry right now. Which is a good thing right?"
"Or you were binging in the kitchen at 2 am again," Tony cuts in, "Happy birthday by the way. How old are you now, 7? 8?"
"How old are you? 80? I wasn't binging, I just helped myself to a midnight snack like a normal person. What were you doing up at 2 am?"
Bruce sighs, "Mila, knock it off. When the bag is empty, you may leave." I pet Lunch and move to the sofa. I spin around and look down at the common room. My head feels funny. I lean back and look at Lunch as she spins around then lays in my lap.
Maybe I am hungry. I stand up and look at Bruce and Tony as they got back to their experiment. I'm sure they won't mind if I just eat something. I walk across the room then feel my hands slip and grip onto the table.
I look up at Bruce as I slowly tilt to the left, then fall onto the floor.
-
OW! I jerk up and hit my head straight into another person, "God, ow!" They yell, "That's the last time I check to see if you're still alive," I cringe at Tony's voice then lay back down, rubbing my forehead "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit, what happened?"
"Mila," I gulp and look over at dad, "Watch your language. You passed out in the lab, are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, can I go please?"
"Not until we figure out what happened to you. Banner will be back soon," Tony tells us as he left, "See you later, Marilyn Manson." I glare at the door as my dad closes it. He sits next to me again and touches my forehead.
"Seriously, dad I'm fine."
"No you're not fine, Mila you haven't had an episode in years. Why is this happening now?" Bruce comes in and looks at me. He knows. Bruce smiles at us.
"Low sugar. She's alright, Fury needs to see you, Barnes."
Dad looks at me then kisses my head, "You're grounded if you pass out again."
"Bye," I say as he leaves the room. I sit up and look at Bruce. He shakes his head, "How bad is it really?"
"You have a stomach bug. Your immune system isn't used to it so it panicked and shut down your entire body. You're going to be in bed for a few days on a new medication that will build up your immunity which will be a bit painful."
"Perfect," Lunch jumps up and I smile petting her head, "At least I have a friend now."
"She didn't leave your side the whole time. Good birthday so far?"
"I have a cat, and I passed out. Better than last year when I broke my wrist." Bruce smiles, "I promise I won't go out again."
"Thanks, Mil," I laid there for a while with Lunch on my chest before I decided to leave and find my dad. Instead of him, I found all of the Avengers in their meeting room. Fury was there talking to them all.
Another secret meeting? I hold Lunch in my arms as I listen in. There was a video of two kids savagely beating each other up. "When was this taken?" Natasha says.
"Eight days ago. Teague is taking these children and turning them into the enhanced that we have been finding all over the world." My dad looks so scared. He never truly shows his fear around me, but I can pick up on his ticks.
He takes a deep breath, "Is Mila going to be safe?"
"His attention isn't on Mila anymore, it's on what she can do. She doesn't have full control of her abilities yet and if she can't use them, he will take them from her." I walk away when Steve looked in my direction.
I carry Lunch back to the living room and saw the scraps of a party they were going to have for me. I sit on the sofa and lay Lunch on the floor. "Happy birthday to me." I whisper.
