I winced as I lightly touched the bruise on the right side of my face. I could see from the mirror in the bathroom the purple bruise starting from my temple and stopped just below my orbital bone. Note to self: Don't get hit by Penguin's umbrella.

It had been about an hour since we got back to the penthouse. The sun was up at this point and I had already called Mr. Fox. I told him what happened and he said to take the day off. I wasn't going to argue with the boss on that one.

Bruce had stayed down in the Batcave to pull up the tracking device he placed on Penguin's getaway car. I had gone up to the penthouse to get changed and with Alfred who insisted on giving first aid.

"Here we are, Miss Moser." I turned my head to the side as Alfred walked in.

He had what looked to be a warm compress and a bottle. He handed me the bottle first.

"This is a prescription grade gel to place on the bruise. Put the warm compress on it for fifteen minutes after." Alfred instructed.

I grabbed the bottle from him, "Thanks Alfred." I said with a smile.

I pressed on the cap of the bottle and squirted some of the green gel onto my fingers. I held back a flinch as I applied it to the bruised skin.

"How does that suit of yours protect you from bullets and knives, but not a bloody umbrella?" I grinned and chuckled as I looked at Alfred through the mirror.

"It would have been worse without it. The vibranium cushions blunt force to an extent. The fact that the Penguin left a bruise through my suit means that without it on. That hit could have easily fractured my skull." I informed Alfred.

"Considering where the bruise is located I think it's safe to say that hit could have possibly killed you. The temple is the weakest part of the skull after all." Alfred commented.

I let out a drawn out sigh, "Wouldn't be the first time a villain's tried to kill me. It won't be the last either." I muttered under my breath.

I washed the rest of the gel off my fingers before grabbing the hand towel on the counter. Alfred handed me the warm compress and I placed it on the bruise. It hurt at first but then the bruised skin welcomed the warmth.

"Is he still down there?" Alfred looked at me through the mirror and nodded.

"He was quite upset when he discovered Penguin had taken you. Knowing Master Wayne, he wants vengeance on the man that hurt you. He tends to get tunnel vision in instances like these." I gave a sigh and turned to walk out of the bathroom.

"Well he needs to get in line. I called dibs on kicking Penguin's ass." I said I headed for the elevator.

"You might want to tell him that." Alfred spoke up as I pressed the button.

"Planning on it." I said as the doors closed. I felt the elevator start to go down.

After a minute the elevator doors open to reveal the Batcave beneath the penthouse. I walked out and checked the main hub of the cave first. Bruce wasn't by the monitors anymore. Where'd he go?

I started to wonder about the different rooms of the Batcave. I walked up to the top floor of the staircase. I heard the familiar sounds of something getting hit. I walked further into the room and saw a built in gym.

I could see the back of Bruce. He had a white tank top on and black athletic pants on. I raised both eyebrows seeing the way he was beating the dummy. I could tell that he had his hands wrapped and he was currently barefoot on the mat below him. He gave the dummy a powerful hit that caused it to fall on its side.

"Whoa what did the dummy ever do to you?" I spoke up.

Bruce turned around surprised to hear my voice. I could see the beads of sweat on his face and his usually well groomed hair was matted down by sweat.

"I didn't hear you walk in." He stated. He bent down and picked up the dummy from the ground.

"Probably had something to do with how hard you were hitting Bob there." I said in reference to the dummy.

"How's your head?" Bruce changed the subject. He started to unwrap his hands.

"Tender but it should be gone later today. Benefit of having accelerated healing." I said and removed the warm compress.

Bruce chuckled, "Of course you do." He finished unwrapping his other hand.

"So, are we going to talk about the reason why you just went overkill on the dummy?" I turned the subject back. I tossed the hot compress onto a weight bench.

Bruce sent me a warning look, "I don't want to talk about it." He gave a short reply.

My lips made a tight line as I glared at Bruce, "Well that's too damn bad, because I do. How about I start off the conversation then? You imagined that it was Penguin, right?" I gestured to the dummy.

Bruce said nothing but I could see his body tense up. That told me I was right in my assumption.

"Bruce, it's fine if you channel your anger through your punches. I do the same thing with my powers. But instead of being down here beating the dummy into submission, we need to start planning our next move on Penguin. We have the upper hand now." Bruce shook his head.

"No. There's no 'we' going after the Penguin. Just me. You're staying here." Bruce argued and threw his wraps in the wooden locker beside him.

Anger flowed through my veins. I am sick and tired of him treating me like I'm fragile. That's it.

"The hell I am! I need to settle the score with this bastard! Penguin took me, not you!" I raised my voice at him.

"That's my point! You got taken!" Bruce's voice erupted in a shout.

"I saved myself, Bruce. I got out of my binds and met up with you." I reminded him in a stern tone.

Bruce glared at me, "You're not going. End of story." He stormed off in the direction of the door.

I quickly sent a stream and slammed the metal door closed. A click of the door locking sounded.

Bruce turned around angrily, "Mel, knock it off." I canceled the electrical stream.

Bruce turned back around and reached for the handle. As soon as his hand neared the door handle a spark of static electricity hit his hand. He instantly recoiled his hand back. His head whipped in my direction.

"Melody!" He yelled my full name.

I crossed my arms, "We're not done. I'm not letting you out of here until we're finished talking."

"We are finished."

"No, we're not! You're trying to control what I do and I do not appreciate it! Why are you doing this? Do you think I can't handle myself?" I was begging at this point to get an answer from him.

"No, I know you can." Bruce shook his head. I could see his frustration coming through at me.

"Then why are you acting like this?" I demanded.

"Because I could have lost you, like how I lost Rachel!" He snapped and I stared at him in shock. Now it makes sense. I didn't even know her name until today.

Bruce sighed and sat down on one of the weight benches. He propped his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Bruce," He looked up at me, "I'm sorry about Rachel. I'm sorry that she's gone, but I'm not her." I said with a slight shake of my head.

"I've been captured before and I have gotten myself out of those situations in the past. I have been hurt worse than just a hit on the head. I have been shot at, cut, beaten, blown up, and thrown off a building. I didn't always have this suit to protect me. My body is riddled with scars that are my reminders of why I get out there and be Voltess. There is too much bad out there in the world for me to hang up my suit. At least not yet." Bruce stayed silent as he soaked up my words.

I shook my head and continued, "No one can ever tell me to stop what I'm doing. Not even you and I have a feeling you would react the same way if I told you to stop being Batman. If you really want to be with a woman who sits on the sidelines and watches you alone go out there and take on the bad guys…then I'm sorry, Bruce. I will never be that woman." With that being said, I used my powers to open the door and walked out. Leaving Bruce sitting on the weight bench in his thoughts.

I pulled up my motorcycle up to my assigned parking space at Wayne Enterprises. I put the kickstand down and turned off the engine. I put the keys in my pocket and took off my helmet.

I tucked my helmet under my arm and ran a hand through my hair as I walked. I entered through the front of the building. The secretary, April, looked up at me in shock.

"Miss Moser? Mr. Fox said you had the day off today." April asked, confused.

"I'm just checking something in my office." I said. April gasped when I got closer. She pointed to my face.

"What happened to you? Are you alright?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, it was an accident. It looks worse than it actually is." I stated and walked by the desk to the elevators.

I waited for the elevator door to open when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I dug for my phone as the elevator doors opened. I stepped inside and pressed the button to my floor. I took out my phone and saw it was Bruce calling me.

I stared at it in debate of if I should answer yet or not. I decided against it and refused the call. I put my phone back in my pocket just as the elevator stopped on my floor.

I walked out and headed straight for my office. I saw my coworkers at their cubicles stop and stare seeing the bruise on my face. I ignored the stares and approached the white door.

I grabbed the door handle and sent an electrical surge to bypass the ID badge scan. I opened the door and turned the light on the office.

"Athena, is the interface done downloading on the machine?" I called out. I set my helmet and phone on my desk.

"Yes, it just finished this morning. The interactive hologram UI should be functional now." Athena answered.

"And what about the data from the old Applied Sciences department?" I asked as I walked up to the modified 3D printer. I turned on the machine and stood back as holograms popped up as it whirled to life.

"It's been imported."

"Great. Pull everything you have on Batman." In an instant images of the bat suit and gadgets appeared on the hologram.

I needed to work to get my mind off my early conversation with Bruce. I might as well start the design of the next suit. I selected the image of the arm guards and dragged it to the main hub of the interface. The image instantly enlarged.

I heard the door click behind me, signaling somebody was opening it. I closed my eyes silently hoping it wasn't Bruce.

"I believe I told you to take the day off, Miss Moser." I opened my eyes and inwardly sighed in relief. It was Mr. Fox.

"I know but I needed to clear my head. Bruce and I had a little disagreement this morning. Working gets my mind off of things." I said without turning to face Mr. Fox.

"I see." I turned my head slightly as Mr. Fox stopped beside me, "So that's the present Penguin left for you?" He pointed to the side of his face.

"Thoughtful of him, right?" I joked. Mr. Fox grinned and chuckled. He turned back to the hologram.

"This technology is fascinating. Is this the data I gave you earlier?" I nodded my head.

"Everything related to Batman's gear is now on here. I told him I'd be making a new suit." I said and paid attention to the screen again.

"And what is it that you have in mind for this new suit?" Mr. Fox looked at me in interest.

I gave a small grin, "I was thinking a higher tech suit wouldn't hurt. You wanna help?" Mr. Fox grinned.

"I thought you'd never ask, Miss Moser."

No One's P.O.V

"Are you going to try Miss Moser again, sir?" Alfred asked. He refilled the tea cup in front of Bruce.

The said man was currently sitting at the bar height counter of the kitchen. He had his arms folded on top of the counter and stared aimlessly at the granite.

"She forwarded my last call. I doubt she wants to speak to me right now, Alfred." Bruce remarked.

"She's a lot like you, Master Wayne. She just needs time to clear her head. She is right though." Bruce turned his head to the butler.

"Miss Moser is not Miss Dawes. It seems to me, sir, that you keep forgetting that you're in a relationship with a Meta-Human. Miss Moser is not like any other woman you've met before. It should have been no shock to you in the way she reacted. I think in a way, Master Wayne, you are putting Miss Moser and Miss Dawes in the same category because of your feelings towards them. I'd advise you to separate them before you push Miss Moser away for good." Bruce turned his gaze back to the granite.

He gave a huff, "I hate it when you're right." He muttered under his breath.

Alfred grew a smirk on his face, "I know, sir." Bruce stood up abruptly from the bar stool. He walked to the server and grabbed his keys from the key rack hanging above.

"Do you even know where she is?" Alfred called out.

"No, but I have a few places in mind." Bruce called back as he walked through the front door.

Melody's P.O.V

"Okay, so we need shock absorbers in the knees and ankles of the suit that line up with the titanium plates." I said as I rotated the hologram. It showed two separate pieces. The armor for the knee and the boots.

"Hm, I think it would be better if we connected the two pieces." Mr. Fox said.

I tilted my head and watched him as he connected the two pieces together.

"It'll act as a shin guard as well for kicks." Mr. Fox smiled and nodded.

Mr. Fox has been a great help in designing this suit. He designed Bruce's last two suits so his input was greatly needed. We had started on designing the suit from the cowl and worked our way down. We hadn't actually had the machine craft any gear yet. We wanted to make sure everything was how we wanted it before using the fiber. There was only enough to make one suit at the moment.

"Okay, that was the last component. Let's see what it looks like." I tapped back on the UI and pulled up the full image of the created suit.

This suit had more titanium plates than the current one. The titanium plates covered from just below the chin to the shoulders down to the chest and abdomen in the front. On the back the plate started at the back of the neck down the shoulder blade and stopped at the mid back. The arm guards and top of the gloves. Lastly, the plates on the knees that went traveled down the shin and eventually made the outside of the boots.

The new synthetic spider silk fiber made the rest of the suit under the plates. The cowl was made of a hardened version of the fiber that would click on to the neck piece of the suit. Kind of like a helmet. This was our design choice so Bruce could move his neck and still have the protection it needed.

"I'm liking it. What do you think, Mr. Fox?" I asked and turned to him.

Mr. Fox nodded and smiled, "It's a work of art. I think we should get Mr. Wayne's input before crafting the suit."

I gave a large sigh through my nose, "Yeah…we should." I admitted. This is going to be Bruce's new suit after all. He has the final say since he's the one wearing it.

My ears picked up on the familiar sound of the door unlocking. You've gotta be kidding me.

"Did we just summon him by mentioning him?" I muttered under my breath. I looked over my shoulder as the door began to open.

"I believe we did." Mr. Fox joked back. Amusement clearly in his eyes.

Bruce walked halfway through the door and stopped as his eyes laid on Mr. Fox.

"Mr. Fox, what brings you here?" Bruce asked. He walked the rest of the way in and let the door close.

"You have perfect timing, Mr. Wayne. Miss Moser and I just finished designing your latest suit." Bruce perked up in interest.

His heavy footsteps thudded against the floor as he walked around the central console. I moved over to the side as Bruce stopped next to me.

I tapped on the rotate button and the image of the suit began to rotate. I glanced at Bruce to see a reaction from him. His expression remained neutral so I couldn't tell if he liked it or not.

"If there's something you don't like we can still change it." Bruce's eyes flickered over to me as I spoke.

A small smirk grew on his face as he looked back at the hologram.

"I like it. When can it be made?" Oh thank god, he likes it. That was a relief.

"I can have the machine start making it now. The whole suit would take the entire night. Each piece has some kind of tech installed. Your arm guards will take the longest because of this." I pulled up the image I needed.

I tapped my bracelet once and pulled it down until it revealed my command console. I held up my left arm to the hologram.

"A command console like mine. It'll have the same hologram tech. Like the name says, this controls your entire suit and more. Think you can wait a whole night before taking the new suit for a test drive?" I asked with a smirk.

Bruce chuckled, "Well then it's a good thing I'm a very patient man." My smirk turned into a smile.

Mr. Fox looked between the two of us, "I'll be heading up to my office now. Miss Moser, it was a pleasure working side by side with you."

"The pleasure was mine, Mr. Fox. This wouldn't be happening without your help." I held my hand out to him. He smiled and shook my hand.

"I'll always be available if you need a fresh pair of eyes." He joked. I chuckled and let go of his hand. I watched as he left the room and then turned to Bruce.

"I'm sorry about leaving the cave like that earlier this morning…and dodging your call." I apologized with a grimace.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Mel. I'm the one that needs to apologize. You're right. You're not Rachel and I shouldn't have been treating you like you were. We're partners…and I should be treating you like one." I gave him a smirk and raised one brow.

"You sure about treating me only like a partner? Not anything else?" I hinted at him.

Bruce smirked in return and grabbed one of my hands, "Batman and Voltess are partners. Bruce Wayne and Melody Moser are more than that."

He pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around my waist. I put my arms around his neck as he bent down to capture me in a deep kiss.

I kissed him back with the same force he was. Eventually we had to break for air. Neither of us let go of the grip we had on the other. Leroy's words from the other night echoed in my head.

"Then tell the young man already!"

I felt a lump in my throat form and butterflies in my stomach. This was so much harder to say than I thought it'd be.

I pulled back my head, "Bruce?" He looked at me with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Come on, Mel! It's just three words. Say it!

Bruce's brows furrowed in concern, "What's wrong?" I shook my head.

"No, nothings wrong."

Say it.

"Then what is it?"

Say it!

"I love you." Finally!

Bruce froze and he stared at me with his mouth slightly ajar. Okay…not the reaction I was expecting but okay. Now it was my turn to be concerned.

"Bruce? Are you okay? I th-"

I couldn't finish my sentence as Bruce crashed his mouth onto mine unexpectedly. I was taken aback at the sudden force of the kiss. I quickly recovered and returned the kiss with the same force.

I felt Bruce lift me up with ease. I wrapped my legs around his midsection to keep from falling. All while not breaking the heated session we were having.

I didn't even notice Bruce was walking until I heard the sound of different things falling to the ground. He set me down on what I was guessing was my desk. I felt him gently bite and suck on my lower lip. A moan escaped from me and I ran my nails through his hair.

I heard Bruce make almost a growling type of noise that I only ever heard him do when he had the suit on. I held back a gasp when I felt his hands slip underneath my shirt.

I broke the kiss for a brief second, "Fox can walk back in." I stated breathlessly.

Bruce's hazel eyes met my ice blue ones. I could see lust clearly in them.

"I seem to remember," He placed a kiss on my lips, "that a certain woman," I tilted my chin up as he placed another kiss just below it, "can lock a door," He trailed down to the middle of my neck, "with her powers." He finally finished the sentence and was now at the base of my neck.

I felt shivers run down my body the entire time he trailed the kisses down. I shot a bolt from my fingertips that hit the security lock to the door.

Bruce moved back up to my mouth. I began to pull back his blazer jacket. He broke off the kiss to quickly shrug off the blazer and tossed it to the side. Without the blazer blocking the white button up shirt beneath, his muscles showed slightly through the material.

"You know, my eyes are up here." Bruce joked with a grin.

A large grin appeared on my face and a laugh escaped my lips. Bruce smiled softly and ran one hand through my blonde hair.

"I love hearing your laugh and I love you even more." He whispered as his face neared mine again.

"I love you too." I whispered back.

Bruce smiled and captured me in a loving kiss. I placed my hands on top of his shoulders before sliding them over his neck. He placed a hand on my back. I started to lean back as he leaned forward. I felt his free hand start to lift up the hem of my shirt. He was going straight back to where we left off.

My rapid heartbeat thudded against my chest during the entire interaction. I can admit now. I am completely in love with this man.

I had my arms crossed as I stared at the ruby figurine in front of me. I titled my head and furrowed my brows as I stared at it. It was smaller than I expected. It was about the same size as a kids baseball trophy. Penguin really wanted these things? I heard a deep chuckle come from behind me.

"It's a statue, not a painting in an art gallery." I looked over my shoulder to see Bruce. He had his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

We had left Wayne Enterprises a while ago and we're back at the penthouse now. Mr. Fox said he would stay while the suit was being crafted. Bruce had won the ruby penguin at the auction last night and it had just arrived.

I rolled my eyes at his comment, "Funny. I just can't see how this little thing caused all of this. Penguin's obsessed with them. What is it with bad guys and taking the littlest thing too far?" I said.

Bruce's look hardened, "Who knows why they do anything?" He asked rhetorically.

Speaking of bad guys, Penguin mentioned Ryan got sent to some place called Arkham Asylum. That was the first time I've heard of this place.

"What's Arkham Asylum?" I asked suddenly. Bruce looked taken aback by my question.

"It's where Gotham sends the criminals if they're declared mentally unstable. Why are you asking?" Bruce asked. A slight frown was beginning to form on his face.

"Penguin brought up Ryan and mentioned Gotham PD transferred him there. I had never heard of it until last night. Although, I wouldn't have classified him as crazy." Ryan was a lot of things but he wasn't crazy.

"Gotham's never had a Meta-Human prisoner before. It was probably the only thing they could think of. They can keep him sedated there if need be." Bruce explained to me.

I raised my eyebrows at that, "None at all?" He shook his head.

"Nobody in this city had seen a Meta-Human until you showed up. You're the first, Mel."

That explains why Morozov called me a freak when I fought him. He had never seen anything like me before. I hated being called that. It's not like I asked to be struck by lightning.

"I wonder if Ryan was right then. That we're the only two Meta-Humans in this world." I said sadly.

Bruce gave me a sympathetic look, "I think the whole world would have known if there already was." He said softly.

I gave a light chuckle, "Makes me miss home. I'm not alone there." Bruce grabbed my hands in his.

"You're not alone." He argued.

I gave him a smile, "That's not exactly what I meant. I know I'm not physically alone. I have you and everyone else I've met here that I consider friends. I meant alone as in my world, there are other Meta-Humans like me. The only other one here has tried to kill me multiple times."

"The world's a big place, Mel. Maybe there are more people like you out there. They just haven't shown themselves yet." I smiled. I removed my hands from Bruce's and hugged him.

Bruce hugged me back tightly. I felt him kiss the top of my head and leaned his cheek on me.

"One can only hope." I muttered against his chest.

A sudden beep from my wrist sounded and the red light was blinking. Bruce grunted in dissatisfaction. He knew what that sound was by now.

"Him again?" He said in annoyance.

I pulled away from the hug with a grin on my face. I tapped on the bracelet and had the vibranium stop just below my chin.

"You know he's married right? No need to be jealous." I teased.

Bruce narrowed his eyes at me, "That hasn't stopped people in the past or did you forget about Jenny?" I rolled my eyes.

I walked up to him and pulled him down for a kiss. Bruce immediately caved and returned the kiss. He placed his hands on top of my hips and pulled me slightly closer to him.

I broke the kiss, "I love you, Bruce. Not Martin. I'll be back." I told him.

"I love you too. We'll discuss the plan for Penguin when you get back." Bruce said and let go of me.

"Then start thinking of a way to use that gaudy thing to lure him in." I said and pointed to the ruby figurine.

I walked to the pier and threw my board down. The vibranium covered my face as I stepped onto the board. I took off over the lake and headed in the direction of the Gotham PD building.

My feet landed on the rooftop, "This better not become an everyday thing, Martin. I'm the one that gave you the pager and I can easily take it back. I have a life outside the suit, you know?" I told him.

Martin grinned and chuckled, "Right, it kind of slips my mind that you're somebody else behind the mask. I swear this is important." He handed me a file.

I took the file and opened it. I felt my heart almost stop seeing photographs from last night at the auction. Oh no. Please tell me they didn't get pictures of me suiting up.

"What are these exactly?" I asked in a steady voice.

"Those are pictures from the private auction last night. We couldn't get in but we could get some guys to stake it out. We got photos of every single person that attended the auction."

I recognized many of the people in the photos from the auction. I slightly stopped seeing a photo of Bruce and I entering the building.

"Is everyone a suspect?" I asked and continued through the photos. I inwardly gave a sigh of relief seeing they only took photos of who entered the building and not when they left. My identity was still safe.

Martin nodded, "Everyone including your source if they were there that night. We can't be too careful. We're getting a warrant right now to have the auction results given to us. Whoever won the bid on the ruby statue is our best bet." Crap, crap, crap! Our plan backfired! I need to tell Bruce to get rid of the stupid thing!

"Once we have the warrant we can work on making an arrest. I was hoping you'd tag along. You've been part of this case as much as me and my men have been." Martin offered.

"Why not? After that, you need to cool it with the pager." I warned him. I need to get out of here and call Bruce. The sooner the better. Hopefully we can play it off as he bought it for somebody else.

"Promise." Martin said with a chuckle.

I barely put one foot on my board when the door to the roof access door swung open. An officer had barged through the door. He was heavily breathing since he just ran up the whole flight of stairs.

"Martin, we got the warrant! You're never going to believe who won the bid for the statue." My blood ran cold. No, it was too late.

"Who?" Martin asked. He turned around to face the officer and placed his hands on his hips.

"Bruce Wayne."