I had a pair of safety goggles on and lab gloves on. A beaker sat on a counter with other chemicals by me. I was busy working on changing the formula of the web fluid. I had been here for hours now and Bruce had not shown up yet.
I had a feeling he stayed up later than I did last night which meant he'd be here sometime in the afternoon.
"Athena, pull up the adjusted formula." I looked back and read off the chemicals on the hologram screen. I grabbed a test tube filled with a chemical. I needed to find a way to solidify the web fluid and make it to where it wouldn't dissolve.
"Okay, start recording Athena."
"Recording in session, Mel."
"First test of modifying the web formula. Turning it from a dissolvable fluid into a solid fiber that is non degradable." I said out loud. I poured the chemical in and saw it reacting to the web fluid.
I took a glass stirring rod and began to stir the chemicals together. I pulled the glass rod out and I had slight resistance from the web fluid sticking to it. The chemicals then stopped responding. I frowned and looked over the beaker just in time for a slew of web fluid to hit my safety goggles from a sudden pressure increase.
I blinked behind the goggles and I could feel the web fluid covering my mouth and nose as well.
I took a step back and looked right at the camera. I took off the gloves and grabbed the web fluid. At the moment I heard the familiar click to the office door. Of course he would choose now to come here.
Bruce walked in and stopped seeing me pull the stringy web fluid off my face.
"First test was unsuccessful and…" I pulled the web off from my face, "messy. I'll have to adjust the formula some more and try again. End recording session, Athena."
"Recording stopped." Bruce frowned hearing the AI's voice.
I removed the goggles that still had web fluid on them, "You had great timing." I said and tried to shake off the web fluid that stuck on my hand. I frowned when it wouldn't come off and proceeded to shake my hand more.
"I see you're trying to make that fiber you were speaking of." Bruce said, slightly amused at watching my struggle.
"Trying and failing." I remarked and grabbed a nearby cloth. I grabbed the web with the cloth and took it off my hand before throwing it and the cloth in the trash can.
"Well while you were working on that. I managed to get this." He pulled an envelope from his inside suit pocket. He held it out for me to take.
I took the envelope and opened it to reveal an invitation to the mayor's party. "You say it like it was difficult for you to get the invitation when I highly doubt that was the case." I handed the invitation back to him.
He smiled, "It was easy enough." He tucked the invitation back in his inside suit pocket.
"So who exactly is this boss of the Russian mob? It sounds like you know of him." Bruce nodded.
"He goes by Morozov. I've targeted him in the past but he's stayed relatively low key. He's been getting bolder now his group is the last mob that's not behind bars right now. Gordon has been trying to nail him for months." Bruce explained.
"Well you have your way in. I'll need to get my own way in." I said and crossed my arms in thought.
"The invitation comes with a plus one." I shook my head.
"No offense but you're too high profile. You won't have much luck escaping the crowd as well as I could. I'm a nobody here so I can easily disappear in the crowd and catch the mob red handed. Besides, I'm sure you of all people have plenty of women lined up to take as your plus one." I turned back to him to walk over to the center console.
I missed the sad look that grew on Bruce's face, "You're not a nobody, Mel." He said softly.
"Here in Gotham I am. Which is fine. It's a breath of fresh air not getting recognized as only Voltess." Bruce slowly nodded.
"Have you ever thought of hanging up the mask for good?" His hazel eyes met my icy blue ones. That same intense look of his that makes it hard to look away.
I leaned against the center console and rested my hands behind me, "Once but I realized that I couldn't. Being Voltess means I can't exactly live a normal life but I can make a difference in other people's lives. Too many people count on Voltess to save the day for me to hang up the mask to be just regular Melody Moser again. Sure it sucks that I can't do some things because of these powers. Especially in the dating scene. I tried it once and it was not going to work." I said the last bit with a chuckle.
"When was the last time you were on a date?" Bruce asked, curious now.
I snorted, "It's been years. Last date was to a charity event my best friend was hosting. Said friend tried to be my wingman and set me up on a date. All the guy could do was brag about himself and saying how dating Voltess would boost his image even more. He ended up having spilled champagne on his suit by the time he walked out from the event." Bruce chuckled.
"You actually did that?" I gave a small chuckle and nodded, "I did. I dumped it right on top of his head." Bruce leaned his head back as he laughed
"He had some choice words to say about me after that. My friend eventually kicked him out for causing a scene. I'm pretty sure I scared off any other potential eligible bachelors that night." I stated with a smirk.
Bruce smiled and took a step towards me with his hands in his pockets, "I wish I was there. I would have wanted to talk to the woman that was bold enough to do that in public." I raised a brow at him.
"Oh really? You wouldn't have been preoccupied with the other women you have taken in this hypothetical scenario?" He took another step forward. He held a smoldering gaze as he did so.
"I would have snuck away from them if it meant a chance to talk to you." My heart pounded in my chest as he stopped right in front of me.
I stood up straight seeing his frame towering over mine. I could smell the expensive cologne on him. Our eyes locked together. Neither of us said a word to each other. He removed his hands from his pockets and moved one up to my face.
He tucked my blonde hair behind my ear and I felt his other hand gently grab my right wrist. I could feel the same sparks I felt on that day he had put his hand on my back.
The gap between us got smaller as Bruce leaned in. My eyes slowly closed as I felt his lips brush over mine in a gentle kiss. I felt his hand that was by my head cup my cheek and his other hand moved down and interlocked our fingers together.
I placed my free hand on his chest. I could feel how toned his muscles were through the fabric of shirt. I began to kiss him back which caused him to now wrap his arms around my waist. I trailed my own hands until they were around his neck.
I felt him lift me up effortlessly and placed me on top of the center console. He used his arms to pull my upper body flushed against his. The kiss was getting more heated. I ran my fingers through his hair. Bruce left my lips and began to trail kisses down my jaw and onto my neck. I moved my neck to give him better access to it.
The whole time I could those intense sparks throughout my body. I couldn't tell if it was just my powers acting up or if this was just the effect Bruce Wayne had on me.
The sound of his cellphone rang through the air, interrupting the moment. Bruce ceased his kissing on my neck. We looked at each other for a brief moment. Our breathing was heavy and I could tell my face was flush. We stayed in our current position as he took out his phone and answered.
"Yes, Alfred?" He turned his head to the side as Alfred talked on the other end.
His eyes suddenly flickered over to me, "Be right there." He hung up on his end.
"Alfred found something." He stated then an awkward silence fell between us.
"Do you want to talk about what just happened?" I asked softly. Bruce let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry if I overstepped. I-I don't know what I was doing. The way you were standing and how beautiful you looked…I couldn't stop myself. I-" I interrupted him by placing a small kiss on his lips again before pulling back.
He looked at me with slight shock, "It's okay. I didn't say that I didn't like it. I just wasn't expecting it. I didn't know you felt this way." Bruce's shocked expression turned into a smile.
"I told you I was interested in you and that was before I found out you're Voltess." He said softly.
"And now that you know?" I asked in the same soft tone. His gaze softened and his hand cupped my cheek again.
"Now I'm more than interested." He leaned in and captured me in another brief kiss before pulling back. He picked me up and set my feet back on the floor.
"We should get going. Alfred has information on the mob." I nodded. He took my hand in his and led me out the door.
He opened the door and I took my hand out of his. He gave me a look that held a glimmer of hurt in it.
"You're technically my boss and coworkers will talk if they saw us." I whispered in his ear before walking to the elevator.
Bruce seemed to understand where I was coming from and followed me to the elevators in a professional manner.
I frowned looking out the car window when Bruce didn't take the road to the lakefront penthouse.
"I thought you said we were meeting up with Alfred?" Bruce looked over at me with a smirk.
"We are. Just not at the penthouse." I frowned in confusion and stared ahead. We were approaching the lake, fast. I was growing concerned until I saw the water move. A ramp opened up under the lake. Bruce drove down the ramp and I was amazed to see an entire lair under the lake. As far as hideouts go, this is by far the best one I've seen.
Bruce slowed down the car to a stop and turned off the engine. Alfred made his way down a metal staircase. I got out of the car and looked around at the massive cave. I distantly see bats hanging at the top of the cave.
"What do you think?" I turned to Bruce. He had a smile on his face and leaned one arm on the open car door.
"It's incredible. I never would have expected this to be underneath the lake. Every superhero needs a lair." Bruce chuckled.
"Welcome back Miss Moser." Alfred greeted.
I smiled back, "Nice to see you again, Alfred."
"What were you going to show me, Alfred?" Bruce asked.
"The cameras you set up last night picked up something I think you'll find interesting." Bruce nodded and followed Alfred to go up the metal stairs.
"That's what took you so long to get out of there. You were setting up cameras alongside your message I take it?" I asked as I followed them.
Bruce nodded, "I needed to get as much information as I could from them. Like I said, I've been tracking these guys for a while now." The metal staircase led to a desk with several monitors hanging from a unit and a large chair in the middle.
"Not too bad of a set up." I said as I looked at all the monitors.
"It's not as high tech as your hologram ones but it works fine." Bruce commented with a smirk.
Alfred sat down on the chair and typed on the keyboard. Footage from one of the cameras that Bruce had set up at the hideout of the Russian mob pulled up.
The footage showed a large man sitting in a decorated office. "Is that Morozov?" I asked. I looked at Bruce and he nodded.
I could see the door of the office open and Morozov stood up quickly. I couldn't see the figure that walked into the office due to the angle of the camera. It was facing the desk and not the door to the office.
I squinted my eyes at the screen, "Why is Morozov acting scared?" I asked as I watched the silent footage. There was no audio but the man's body language was screaming that he was fearful of whoever walked into the room.
"I'd like to know who could scare a mob boss such as this man." Alfred commented.
"Unless Morozov answered to somebody higher than him." Bruce said as wrinkles showed up on his forehead.
"Are you saying Morozov is possibly just a figurehead?" I asked. Where was Bruce going with this?
"Either that or Gotham has a new mob on its hands. One that Morozov partnered up with. It would explain why he's suddenly gotten bolder overnight." Bruce theorized.
"We have to let the Commissioner know. If we can successfully apprehend Morozov at the party then the police can interrogate him and get some answers." I informed him.
"Batman's supposed to be meeting him tonight to go over the plan. I'll let him know then." Bruce commented with a smirk.
I pulled out my phone to look at the time. It read 4pm. "We still have four more hours until the sun goes down. We should probably finalize the plan now. We already know you'll go through the front doors." I said in reference to Bruce.
Bruce crossed his arms and gave me a stern look, "You still refuse to be my plus one?" He asked.
"Yes, I stand by my earlier choice. I can sneak in and disguise myself as a worker. That would let me sneak to the back without much suspicion." I told him my plan.
"If you're going to do that, we'll need to go in with comms. I would need to know your exact location in the building." I raised an eyebrow at that.
"That might interfere with what I have planned. Athena is normally my navigator amongst other things when I'm in stealth mode." I stated.
Bruce furrowed his brows, "I heard you say that name earlier. Who's Athena?" I smirked and walked to the computer tower.
I placed my hand with the bracelet on my wrist on the tower. I let blue sparks crackle underneath it. A downloading bar popped up on the multiple monitors.
"Athena's not a who but a what." I said as the download finished.
"Athena, can you hear me?" I called out to the AI.
"Loud and clear, Mel." Athena's female robotic voice sounded. Alfred and Bruce look taken back.
"I have some friends here, Athena. Why don't you introduce yourself?" I stated.
"Hello. I am Melody Moser's personal AI created by Tony Stark to assist the needs of Voltess. I have been given the name Athena by Melody Moser to be addressed as." Athena introduced itself.
"Tony Stark?" Bruce muttered and looked at me, "Who is that?"
I smiled, "That's my best friend I mentioned. He's a technical and engineering genius. Tony created Athena specifically for me for my outings as Voltess. The eye pieces to my mask are digitally connected to her AI. Anything she pulls up, I can see it myself. She's my eyes and ears when I have to go undercover."
Bruce stared at the monitors in thought, "I'd still prefer for both of us to be on comms. There's no way to do that simultaneously?" He questioned and stared back at me.
I sighed, "You're stubborn. I could wear a separate earpiece from my built-in one in my suit." I gave in. I knew he wasn't going to take no for an answer. One thing I know about Bruce Wayne is that he seems to get what he wants…a lot. Bruce said nothing more but had a smirk on his face.
No One's P.O.V
Batman hopped down from the power box as Commissioner Gordon approached him. Gordon stopped and gazed around. He was looking for Gotham's latest superhero but didn't see the heroine anywhere.
"No Voltess this evening?" Gordon as the masked vigilante.
"She's not needed right now." Batman answered with his voice synthesizer on.
Gordon nodded, "I assume you two have a plan for tomorrow night?"
"We do." Batman briefly answered.
"Are you going to tell me the plan?" Gordon asked but he already knew the answer.
"No. Just have your men ready at the forest's edge." Gordon frowned.
"The forest? Why would I station my men there?" He argued.
"The building has an old cave system that leads there. If any of Morozov's men escape then that's where they'll flee. There's something else you should know, Gordon." Gordon stayed silent and Batman continued.
"I have suspicion to believe Morozov has either allied with a new mob boss or somebody's above him." Gordon looked shocked at this revelation.
"You're not sure which one it is?"
"No. We'll catch him for you and your men to interrogate him to find out." Gordon rubbed his forehead with his hand. His hat getting lifted slightly from his action.
"Just when I thought all of Gotham's mobs were behind bars, there might be a brand new one forming. I'll have my men posted by the caves in the forest. I hope yours and your new friend's plan will work."
"It will." With that said Batman took off from the building. His night had just started with continuing his nightly patrols.
Bruce had left Melody in the Batcave with Alfred. She was getting things ready for the next night before getting a well deserved rest. Bruce had used that four hours before sunset to rest himself. Melody did offer to come with him but he had refused. He could tell she was exhausted.
Batman grappled to a new rooftop and perched on the ledge as he watched the streets below. His mind wandered back to what happened at Wayne Enterprises. He truly hadn't planned on kissing Melody. He got lost in the playful hypothetical scenario they made up. He had imagined himself at that charity event and meeting her.
He couldn't stop staring into her ice blue eyes or her rose tinted lips. They held a smile on her face that he was growing to love. He was finding out that he wanted to do anything to see her smile or to hear her laugh.
He had meant what he said to her after their first kiss. He was far more than just interested in her. His feelings for the blonde heroine were growing.
Melody's P.O.V
I had several of my Voltess tools laid out on the stainless steel table. I finished setting up the comms for tomorrow. Alfred was prepping some things for Bruce and had already finished. He had gone up the elevator to the penthouse to make some tea.
The Batcave supplied the tech I needed to make some more gear and fix some of them. After a while, my black magnetic disks get beaten up and need to be repaired or completely replaced.
"Miss Moser, here is your tea." I looked up as Alfred set down a white mug on the table.
"Thank you, Alfred." I grabbed the tea and took a sip of it.
"Do you need any assistance?" Alfred offered.
"No thanks, some of my stuff can be hazardous with the electricity. I wouldn't want you to get zapped." I said honestly. I set the mug back down. I picked up one of my electrocuting disks and prodded at it with a soldering tool.
Alfred nodded, "Miss Moser," I stopped and looked up at him, "I want to thank you." I frowned and set the disk and soldering tool down.
"Thank me for what?" I asked in utter confusion. I hadn't done anything recently, so why is Alfred thanking me?
"Master Wayne has always had difficulties when it came to women accepting both sides of him. As Bruce Wayne and as Batman. I'm sure you are aware of his last love interest?" The memory of being on that roof came back. I had confessed to Batman about what happened to Pietro and that I blamed myself. He too blamed himself for someone dying. That person being a woman that he loved.
"He mentioned it." I said softly.
"She could not accept the other side of Master Wayne and it drifted them apart. It did and still does tear him up inside after she passed. He told me that he vowed he wouldn't let anyone else into his heart again. He wouldn't be able to take that pain again. Then you came along, Miss Moser." I stared at Alfred in a complete trance. I had no idea about this.
"You walk the same path that he does. You are Melody Moser and Voltess. You are able to understand Master Wayne better than anyone else. He needs somebody like you in his life. Somebody who can accept both sides of him. I do hope that you will be able to remain in his life, Miss Moser. Have a good night." Alfred turned and left back for the elevator.
I looked down and stared at my disk with a blank stare. The words Alfred spoke were soaking in. I never thought of that before. I never felt alone or the need to hide who I really was. I think that mainly had to do with being an Avenger. I was surrounded by people who were just like me all the time. I never had to put up a front but Bruce does.
That would explain the acts I often saw on Bruce when he was out in public. He's hiding who he really is to the rest of the world. The playboy billionaire was just an act. His world sounded lonely and it seems that Alfred knows that it is.
I picked my disk up and got back to work on it. I'm starting to think I was sent here by the Infinity Stones for a reason. Maybe I'm supposed to be here. Gotham may be my new home and I might never see my friends again. That thought alone put a pain through my heart. I missed my world, my home, and my friends.
I felt a tear trail down my cheek. I didn't even realize I had begun to tear up. I set down my disk again. I suddenly felt emotionally drained. I wiped away the tear on my cheek and folded my arms on the table. I rested my cheek on my arms. I closed my eyes shut as I felt more tears threaten to escape.
I gave a deep and ragged sigh. I hugged myself and buried my head in my arms. I held back a sob and my body shook as I finally let the tears flow freely down my face. The reality of the situation crashing onto me all at once. I was never going home.
No One's P.O.V
The underwater ramp opened as the Batmobile drove through the secret entrance of the Batcave. Bruce pulled the vehicle into its normal parking spot in the cave.
He opened the hatch and climbed out of the vehicle. He took off his cowl and looked up to see the light in the tech room was still on. He frowned at the sight. Had Melody worked through the whole night? The sun would be up in an hour from now.
He walked off to the changing room to hang up his suit for the night. Once he had changed out his suit he headed to the upstairs tech room.
"Mel?" He called out and entered the room. He stopped seeing the blonde woman passed out on the stainless steel work table. She had her arms on the table and supported her head. He walked quietly over and he could see her body slightly move with each breath.
He stopped and looked at what was on the table. His eyes scanned the gadgets that he had seen on her belt when she wore her Voltess suit. He had been meaning to ask her about them. Bruce had only seen her use her gadgets when she stopped the car.
He looked back at the sleeping woman and a small smile grew on his face. He took his hand and gently moved the loose strands of hair that fell over her face. He stopped when he noticed what looked like tear stains on her cheek. He immediately frowned at the thought of her crying. Did she have a nightmare? He got a pain in his chest just thinking of her crying down here all alone.
Bruce gently put an arm under her knees and the other around her back. He was careful as he picked her up so as to not wake her. Her head slump against his chest as he adjusted her body in his arms. He looked down at her sleeping face and saw the same tear stains on her other cheek. His jaw clenched as his heart ached. This felt more than just crying because of a nightmare. Something else obviously happened to have made her cry that much. The question is what? He began to think it would have been better if he had come back after his talk with Gordon. He could have been there for her.