I closed the car door behind Morgan as she walked forward. She had her backpack around her shoulders and held her stuffed rabbit to her chest.
"Someone's here." I turned my head hearing Bruce's voice. My eyes glanced at the light coming through the windows of the living quarters of the compound.
"I bet Sam and Bucky are back then." I said out loud as I locked the car.
"Who are they again?" Dick asked me. As I approached them, Morgan held her free hand out to me. I took it instinctively and led her along side Bruce and Dick.
"Sam's the new Captain America. Bucky is a super soldier that fought alongside Steve back in World War II." I answered.
Dick raised a brow, "A super soldier? What can they do?" He asked. Bruce opened the door and we walked in as Dick asked his question.
"A lot. Super soldier's have enhanced strength, speed, durability, reflexes, healing and longevity. He's over a hundred years old but doesn't look a day over thirty-five." I answered as we headed for the living quarters.
"You're forgetting I was also frozen. That's why I look as good as I do." I glanced forward with a smirk hearing Bucky's voice.
He stood at the beginning of the hallway with his arms folded across his chest. He currently wore his comfortable clothing which consisted of a plain t-shirt and sweats. His vibranium arm instantly caught the attention of Dick who stared at it wide eyed.
"You have a metal arm?" Dick asked with a grin on his face. Bucky gave a smile and held out his left arm.
"Yeah, it catches a lot of attention." Bucky eyed at me, "I told Sam I saw your room open when we got back. He said I was just imagining it and that you weren't back. Looks like I was right." Bucky stated proudly.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, man." I heard Sam say before I saw him walk out from his room.
I chuckled, "You're gonna hold that over his head aren't you?" I questioned Bucky.
Bucky grew a shit eating grin and glanced at Sam, "Oh yeah. As much as possible." He said with a chuckle.
I could see Sam roll his eyes as he walked over to us, "Are you going to introduce us, Mel?" Sam asked and gestured to Bruce and Dick.
"Sam, Bucky, I'd like you guys to meet Bruce and Dick. My husband and son." I introduced them. I got looks from both Sam and Bucky when the word "son" left my mouth.
"So this is him. I gotta know, you really dress up like a bat?" Sam asked as he held his hand out.
Bruce chuckled as he hung his head before clasping Sam's hand in his, "Mel told you about that?" Bruce shook Sam's hand before he let go. Bucky held his vibranium hand out.
Bucky chuckled, "She told everyone in the Avengers. Your alter ego goes by Batman right?" Bucky asked as Bruce shook his hand next.
Bruce nodded and his brows furrowed as he shook Bucky's hand, "That's right. That is a grip you have there." Bruce commented as he let go of Bucky's hand.
Bucky grimaced, "Sorry, I forget my own strength sometimes. Well huh, you guys are up for games?" Bucky asked and gestured to us.
"What kind of games?" Dick asked.
"Poker. It's always Poker with these two." I answered without missing a beat.
"We make it kid friendly by betting with snacks. This one needs to work on her poker face more. She lost all of her pretzels last time." Sam said and gestured to Morgan.
"No, Aunt Mel said you cheated." Morgan called out Sam. Bucky and I chuckled as Sam shook his head.
"I did not cheat and I will prove it by taking all of your pretzels again." Morgan answered back by giving Sam a stink eye look. Sam returned the same look back to her.
"Gaining up on a six year old. How's that fair?" Bruce questioned. He had an amused look on his face as he crossed his arms.
Sam shrugged, "Kid's got to know the right way to play. That means no holding back." Bruce raised a brow at that.
"In that case, I think I'll help Morgan beat everyone." Bruce challenged. Oh boy, Sam and Bucky have no idea what they're in for. I never played against Bruce myself but I've seen him play at company parties. Bruce is extremely gifted in reading people and can pick up bluffs easily. He's always been the winner at those parties.
Sam raised his brows and gave a smirk, "Okay, somebody's confident in their Poker game. Bring it on then." Sam turned and headed down the hall to the main area. Bucky followed soon after.
I glanced at Bruce and he looked back at me with a smirk on his face. I looked back at Sam and Bucky. Yeah, they have no idea who they're dealing with.
"Read 'em and weep. Four of a kind." Sam stated as he flipped over his cards.
Bucky huffed and let his cards fall onto the table. He leaned back and gestured to Sam, "Seriously? I don't get how lucky you get with this." Bucky complained.
Sam rubbed his hands together and laughed, "Sorry, but there's no way any of y'all are beating that." I rolled my eyes and set my own hand on the table. He beat me easily. My hand was terrible. Dick huffed and leaned his cheek on his fist. Since Bruce was helping Morgan, I teamed up with Dick to help him learn the game.
Sam got up to move the rest of the snacks to him but Bruce put his hand over his stack. I immediately noticed the corner of his mouth slightly upward in a smirk.
"Not so fast, Sam." Sam paused and raised a brow at him.
"Oh really? You're telling me you have a flush in your hand right now?" Bruce's smirk widened as he flipped over his cards to reveal a straight flush.
Bucky immediately threw his head back and began to laugh. Sam's jaw dropped seeing the cards in front of him. I grinned and chuckled. Dick gave a smirk of his own.
"Nice one, dad." Dick complimented which earned a quick wink from Bruce.
"That means we win, right?" Morgan asked, looking up at Bruce.
Bruce looked to the six year old, "Right." He answered with a slight nod.
Sam pointed at Bruce, "I respect your Poker game. I don't think I caught a single bluff from you." Bruce simply shrugged his shoulders.
"You tend to play a lot of Poker at some very boring company parties held by the board and shareholders." Bruce stated.
Sam turned to me, "Didn't Tony do the same thing?" He asked me.
I shook my head, "No, Craps was more of his game when it came to gambling. I should know considering the amount of times he made me blow on the dice." I noticed Morgan let out a large yawn before rubbing her eyes. It's somebody's bedtime.
Bucky nodded his head, "That sounds about right." I stood from my spot around the table.
"You up for another game?" Sam asked, seeing me get up.
"I am but first, it's bedtime for the kids." I announced and looked at both Morgan and Dick.
Dick leaned his head back and groaned, "Really? Even on vacation?" He complained.
"We have plans tomorrow, Dick. You need to sleep." Bruce gestured down the hall, "Go to bed." He instructed our son. Dick gave a huff but stood up. Morgan climbed out of her seat and I led her down the hall.
I opened the door just across from the room Dick was staying in. I looked over as Dick opened the door handle.
"Night Dick." I told him with a small smile.
He paused in the doorway, "Night Mel." He replied back and walked into the room. He turned on the light as I could see him grab his toothbrush from his suitcase.
"Aunt Mel, can you tuck me in?" I turned my attention back over to Morgan.
I gave a smile and walked into the room, "Of course I can. I always did in the past." I reminded her. I helped her change into her pajamas and she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
While she did that, I pulled back the comforter of the queen size bed. Morgan finished in the bathroom and came bounding to the bed. I patted my hand on the mattress as she climbed up. I tucked the comforter just under her arms.
I reached down and grabbed the stuffed rabbit and gave it to her to hold. I smiled at her as I moved some stray hairs off her forehead.
"You still need your nightlight?" I asked her.
Morgan shook her head, "No, I'm not afraid of the dark anymore. Mommy says there's nothing scary in the dark." I held an impassive look on my face. I know Pepper just said that to help Morgan get over her fear of the dark, but there's a lot of things to be scared of that lurk in the dark. Although, there's good things too or should I say one good person that hangs in the shadows.
"Even if there were, they'd have to go through me to get to you. I don't think those monsters can beat Voltess. What do you think?" I asked her with a raised brow.
Morgan smiled and shook her head, "No. You always beat the bad guys." Morgan stated.
I gave a sad smile, "I try to always beat them. Get some sleep, squirt. We have a full day tomorrow." I told her softly.
I bent down and gave a kiss on her forehead before standing up, "Sleep tight. I love you." I whispered to her.
"I love you 3000." I grew a fond smile hearing her phrase once more. I walked out of the room and quietly closed the door behind me.
I looked across to see the light out in the room Dick was in. I quietly walked into his room. I stopped seeing he was already in bed on his side.
I smiled and grabbed the door handle. I didn't want to wake him if he had already fallen asleep.
"Sleep tight, Dick." I murmured under my breath and gently closed the door.
Mine and Dick's relationship was certainly getting better and closer. Neither of us had yet to tell the other "I love you". I knew where I stood but I didn't know where he did. Dick isn't the type of kid to wear his emotions on his sleeve so it's hard to tell. I had already told myself I wouldn't go that next step until he had done so first. That would be the most comfortable way for him or at least that's how I view it. One day, we'll get there.
I sat on the king size bed of my room while leaning against the headboard. I had my laptop resting on my lap. Bruce was in the bathroom getting ready for bed. I had the Captain America museum's website pulled up.
"Huh, they recently added Sam to the museum now as the current Captain America. That's new to me." I said aloud.
"I'm still in disbelief that your world has an entire museum dedicated to one man." Bruce said from the bathroom.
I shrugged, "It's not entirely just one man. Steve was just the first successful super soldier. You know originally, they wouldn't let him fight. Captain America was just a figurehead that helped sell war bonds in the beginning. Bucky could tell you more about it since he was actually there." I kept my attention on the screen. In the corner of my eye I could see Bruce turn off the bathroom light.
"Now, Captain America is more of a mantle that gets passed down. There'll always be a Captain America. He's our symbol of hope here." I said in reference to Superman.
I glanced up at Bruce who had a smirk, "At least he just has a star on his chest and not an 'S'." I chuckled and turned back to the screen. Bruce lifted the comforter up and got into bed next to me.
I scrolled down the page of the website but paused feeling eyes on me. I turned slightly to see Bruce staring at me with this look of pride in his eyes. I furrowed my brows.
"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" I asked him warily.
Bruce smiled, "What? I suddenly can't admire my beautiful wife?" I raised a brow at him now.
"Are you playing suck up because you want something?" I questioned him.
Bruce chuckled and shook his head, "No," Bruce put a hand on top of the laptop to close it, "I'm saying that this vacation was a good idea. We haven't been able to just relax like this and enjoy being us since our honeymoon." Bruce then took the laptop and reached over to me to set on the end table.
My ice blue orbs stared into his hazel ones, "No Batman, no Voltess. Just Bruce and Melody Wayne." He stared intensely at me. His smile stayed on his face as he rested his hand on my stomach.
"Our lives are going to get even more hectic once the baby's here. We'll have less time to spend with each other like this. I want to enjoy the time we have now." He whispered gently.
I leaned forward and captured him in a gentle kiss. The hand that was on my stomach moved to cup my cheek. I pressed one hand on his scarred bare chest. I applied pressure signaling to him that I wanted to lay down. Bruce got the hint and leaned back until his back was flat against the mattress.
I broke the kiss and snuggled up against Bruce's side. Bruce put an arm around my side and I felt him kiss the top of my head. My fingers lightly traced his skin on his chest.
"Speaking of the baby. We really should start thinking of names." I brought up softly. Bruce hummed in thought as his thumb stroked my arm. I moved my head so I could see him. He currently kept his eyes on the ceiling of the room.
"I have an idea for a boy's name." I lifted my head. Bruce's eyes glanced at me as I gave him a curious look.
"Really? What did you have in mind?" I asked him. Bruce put an arm under his head and turned to me. He moved his other hand from my arm to twirl a lock of my blonde hair in his fingers.
"Talking to Pepper earlier reminded me that she and Tony named Morgan after you. They did that in honor of you believing you were gone." I frowned. Where was he going with this?
"Yeah…what does this have to do with the name?" I asked confused.
Bruce gave a small smile, "What was Tony's middle name?" Now I really want to know.
"Edward why?" Bruce raised a brow at me and gave me a look. I tilted my head slightly until it dawned on me. Morgan was named after me in honor of my supposed "death". Tony's gone…
"You want the name to be Tony's." I muttered in realization.
Bruce nodded, "If we have a boy, yes. I think it's only fair. Tony named his daughter after you so we should name our possible son after him." Bruce stated.
A smile grew on my face, "I like that idea and I think you just gave me some inspiration for the middle name." Bruce raised a brow at that. If we were naming after people in our lives then…
"Daniel Thomas could be both his middle name. After our fathers." Bruce grinned.
"Edward Daniel Thomas Wayne." Bruce spoke out loud. He nodded his head in approval.
"I like how that sounds. We could do the same idea if it's a girl. With our mother's names instead." Bruce suggested. I smiled knowing in another universe that little girl already existed.
"To make it fair though, if a boy is named after my best friend. It'd only be fair if the girl's name is after yours. Rachel's middle name was what again?" Bruce's expression suddenly turned into one of shock.
"Really?" He asked in disbelief.
I smiled softly at him, "You grew up with Rachel. I know how important she was to you. Just like how I wish you could have met Tony. I wish I could have met her." Bruce's shock wore off and he chuckled with a smile.
"She would have loved you." Bruce said gently. He moved his hand from my hair to my face. This thumb gently stroked the soft skin of my cheek.
"Elizabeth. That was her middle name." Bruce finally answered my earlier question. I reached my hand up and clasped my hand over his. I moved his hand from my cheek and held it in the air.
"Then we have our names. Edward Daniel Thomas if it's a boy or Elizabeth Caroline Martha if it's a girl." I stated with a smile on my face.
"Either way, we'll love and protect this child with everything we have." Bruce added and I nodded my head in agreement. I leaned down and kissed Bruce fully on the lips.
I broke the kiss and leaned back, "Let's get some sleep. We have to keep up with a six year old tomorrow." Bruce chuckled as I laid down on my side of the bed. I felt Bruce's arm wrap around my waist and pull me into his chest. I closed my eyes and leaned into his warmth.
"I love you." I heard him whisper.
I smiled, "I love you too." I whispered back. I felt Bruce kiss the top of my shoulder before getting comfortable.
It didn't take long for me to fall asleep. I've always felt the safest in Bruce's arms like this. Though I knew later on in the pregnancy he will get over protective. I can't exactly blame him for doing it though. Neither of us want a repeat of what happened years ago. We want to be able to meet and raise up little Edward or Elizabeth.
I tilted my baseball hat forward and kept my head down as I walked through the museum. My eyes glanced up from underneath the lightly blue shaded sunglasses. I kept Morgan in my line of vision as she rushed ahead of us.
"Do you really have to wear that?" My eyes flickered to my left where Dick walked next to me.
"I don't have a secret identity here. If I wasn't wearing any of this I'd be getting swarmed right now. There's a lot of fans here if you couldn't tell." I referred to the many people surrounding us. Many people were wearing some sort of Avengers apparel. T-shirts with symbols of respective Avengers members, plastic Captain America shields, plastic Mjolnirs, fake Hulk fists, and many more.
"You never mentioned how much marketing goes on with the Avengers." Bruce said with amusement clearly in his voice. He looked around the main lobby of the museum. There were several advertisements with Avengers members on them.
Dick suddenly let out a chuckle causing us to turn to him. He looked at me with a small smirk and pointed. I looked where he pointed and immediately groaned seeing a cardboard cutout of myself in my Voltess armor.
"Voltess has her own energy drink brand?" Dick asked, highly amused. I huffed seeing the cardboard cut of me holding a can of what's called "Voltess Energy".
Bruce grinned and chuckled, "Recharge like Voltess." He read off the slogan of the energy drink.
"Morgan's going ahead. I'm catching up." I muttered under my breath and quickened my pace.
"We're hitting the gift shop after this right? I need to bring some of this back and show the others." Dick asked as him and Bruce caught up to me. He had a smirk on his face. He was liking this a little too much.
"Others?" I questioned but was afraid to know the answer.
Dick's smirk widened, "The rest of the League. Barry would love some Voltess merch."
I groaned, "I'll never hear the end of it from Arthur if you do that." I muttered under my breath. I could already see Aquaman himself teasing me mercilessly for some of the Voltess merch sold here.
Bruce chuckled, "Alright Dick, that's enough. You've had your fun with teasing." He told the boy.
"I was just getting started, dad." Dick countered. I gave a look to Dick and shook my head. What did I ever do to him to deserve this treatment right now?
I heard running footsteps coming to me. I glanced over to see Morgan running up to me.
"Aunt Mel, you didn't tell me there was a statue of you!" She said ecstatically. She pointed her hand behind her. I looked up to see the large area of the museum before it split into different wings.
In the center of the room was a large statue of the founding members of the Avengers. I stopped right in front of it and gave a look of endearment towards it.
Steve's statue was front and center in his Captain America suit with his famous shield in front of him. On either side of Steve was Clint and Nat in their respective suits. Clint had his bow and arrow drawn while Nat held a gun in her hands. Next to Clint was Thor with Mjolnir lifted in their air. Next to Nat's statue was mine in my original Voltess suit posing on my board as if I was in flight. In the middle was Hulk looking as angry as he did back then. Directly behind Steve and above Hulk was Tony's statue floating above us as if he was flying. He had one hand out revealing the repulser on his palm.
A plaque stood just in front of the statue with wording written on it. It read: "In Remembrance of the Founding Members of the Avengers. Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Iron Man, Voltess, and the Hulk. The Heroes of New York 2012."
"Whoa…" I heard Dick say just above a whisper. He looked at the statue in awe. Dick then glanced at me after staring at the statue. I kept my gaze on the statue until I felt something tugging my jeans. I looked down to see Morgan.
"Can we see the exhibits now?" She asked. I snapped out of my daze and smiled at her.
"Sure, which one first?" I asked her.
Morgan looked back over at the statue before coming back to me, "Iron Mans." My gaze softened at that response.
"Sure thing, squirt." I muttered and ran my hand through her brown hair. She grinned and I took her hand in mine as I led us to the Avengers section.
"What do you want to see Dick?" I asked as I turned my head to the boy. I had a slight pause seeing the sudden frown on his face.
"I don't care." He muttered and glared at the floor.
"What's with the attitude all of a sudden? I thought you were having fun?" I stopped walking and confronted him.
Dick scoffed, "How can I have fun with her around?" My sensitive ears picked up the muttering under his breath. I instantly frowned knowing he was referring to Morgan.
"Excuse me?" I said with a strict tone to my voice. Bruce looked at me briefly before looking at Dick. He knew I heard him say something he himself couldn't hear.
"Dick, what did you just say?" Bruce demanded.
"Nothing!" Dick snapped back at Bruce quickly.
I shook my head, "That was not nothing. Morgan has done nothing to you to invoke your anger towards her." I scolded Dick. Morgan eyed me before glancing at Dick with confusion in her brown eyes.
Dick looked at me and glared, "Why is she even here? She's not part of our family. She's just your dead best friend's kid yet you treat her like you're her mother. You're not." Dick spat out coldly. My jaw clenched as a serious expression grew on my face.
"I've heard enough. You're done, Dick." Bruce went to grab Dick but he quickly took a step back from him.
"No, I'm sick and tired of seeing Mel pretending to be a mom when she isn't one. She isn't mine and she isn't hers!" Dick raised his voice.
"Hey everyone, it's Voltess!" Dick suddenly shouted and pointed at me. I looked up in alarm as people stopped and stared at me.
"Oh my god! It is her! It's Voltess!" I heard someone shout. I looked at Dick in shock as a crowd of people began to rush over to us.
"Dick!" Bruce yelled angrily. He tried to rush to Dick but the twelve year old quickly turned and disappeared into the mob of people.
I kept Morgan close to my side as multiple people began to crowd around me. Several people taking photos with their cellphones, some asking for autographs, and others asking random questions.
I could see Bruce push past several people as he left in the direction Dick took off to. People began to shove and I lost my footing for a second with somebody trying to get to me. I heard Morgan cry out which snapped me into protective mode. I looked up to see the glass ceiling above.
I tapped my bracelet to activate the Voltess suit. I gripped Morgan in my arms and immediately activated my flight thrusters. I threw a bolt at the glass above and covered Morgan from the falling broken glass. I flew past the broken glass and hovered in the air as Morgan clung to me.
"Aunt Mel, I'm scared." She whimpered. I held her tight to me as I looked down below. I could still see the crowd of people with their phones out.
"I know, squirt. I got you. You're safe now." I reassured her, "Athena, call Bruce." I told the AI.
"Right away, Mel." I heard the dial tone in my mask before finally picking it up.
"I saw you fly up. Are you and Morgan okay?" Bruce's voice came through my earpiece.
"Mob mentality set in and almost trampled us. We're fine now. Where's Dick?" I asked, wanting to know where our son was.
I heard Bruce sigh, "I lost him in the crowd. I'm outside right now but I don't see him anywhere. I don't want to think about it but…Mel, I think it's safe to say he's run away from us." I could feel a pit in my stomach hearing those words. Dick's gone and we have no idea where he is.