#Bruce is known as a terrifying omega who will throw down if his kids are so much as insulted | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

evilpixiea · 5 years

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Omegaverse AU where Dick is an omega and Bruce is overprotective of him to where Dick acts out and retaliates. He often runs off with the Alpha Slade who has become is sugar daddy.

Slade heard the window open and close. Of course he did. The kid wasn’t trying to be quiet. He wanted Slade’s attention.

Slade didn’t give it to him. He ignored the sweet sticky scent of the young omega and kept cleaning and oiling his guns, slowly, piece by piece. When he was finished he reassembled them, packed them away, and turned to find Robin sitting on his sofa, watching him.

Except it wasn’t Robin.

Civilian clothes, face and scent exposed.

Dick Grayson, looking both pissed off and a hell of a lot younger than his nineteen years.

“What are you doing here, kid?”

“You know what I’m doing here,” he snapped.

He did. “You’re hiding from your daddy.”

Dick’s eyes flashed like steel. “Fuck you.”

Slade ignored him and walked across the room to pack the firearms away.

“Look at me, Slade.”

He ignored him.

“I said look at me!”

“Why? Are you a threat?”

“I’m an omega in your territory.”

“And?”

“And so you should look at me!”

“We’ve been down this road before, kid.”

“I’m not a kid anymore.”

“You and your daddy fight…”

“Stop calling him that.”

“…and you come here looking for something you think I can give you.”

“Why can’t you?” Dick rasped. “You want me. I know you do. All you need is a cock. You’ve got one of those don’t you?”

“You want ammunition against Bruce,” Slade said, turning to face him. “That’s all you want. You want to ruin yourself on some super villain so you can tell him he’s failed to keep his precious baby omega safe.”

Dick glared.

They both knew Slade was right.

“Dangerous game, kid.”

Instantly Dick was up and flying towards him. “I’M…!” A kick to the head. Slade blocked it easily “…NOT…!” Another kick. Another block. “…A…!” The third kick went wide. He was angry. Sloppy. “KID!” A punch. Slade let it hit him. Let Dick feel him absorb the force of it. Let it throw him off balance. When it did Slade grabbed him, slammed him into a wall, and held him.

“I know you’re trained better than that.”

Dick peeled back his lips and hissed at him.

Slade growled back. Low and deep. An alpha’s growl.

Dick went very still. His eyes widening.

“You’ve never been with an alpha,” Slade said, quiet, so soft it was almost a whisper, face inches from Dick’s. “Let alone an augmented one like me. You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

Lips stiff. “I’m ready.”

Slade studied him.

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t tempted.

Dick was perfect. Every inch of him. His body, his scent, his mind.

That last one was the most alluring thing being offered to him.

Because it was being offered. Dick didn’t know it yet. He, like all young omegas, thought he understood the compulsion an alpha had over an omega. He thought he would be able to shrug it off and walk away. And maybe he would.

But omega instinct was a powerful thing, and Dick wasn’t nearly as in control of his as he would like to believe.

Slade knew, if they mated tonight, all he would have to do is wait. And then, years from now, in the heat of battle, when Dick’s mind was focused elsewhere, Slade would growl the word ‘down’ and Dick would fall to his knees.

And oh… just the thought of it… it was more than merely tempting. It tugged at something deep inside him. Something primal. Something alpha.

He leaned forward. Barely an inch.

Dick sucked in a small shallow breath, both wanting and terrified.

Slade froze.

He wanted Dick Grayson. He did. He wanted to see him kneeling at his feet. He wanted to see him arched back on the bed. He wanted to see him spent and sleeping on his knot.

But, more than any of that, he wanted Dick to choose him.

Not because he was angry at Bruce. Not because he didn’t know how powerful the bond between alpha and omega could be. But because he wanted him.

“You’re not ready,” he told him.

Dick blinded. “What?”

“You’re not ready,” Slade said again, louder, and stepped back, releasing Dick from his pin. “It’s time for you to go home.”

Dick stared at him in disbelief.

Slade turned and began walking away.

“I’ll go to another alpha!” Dick called after him. “I will!”

“Do that,” Slade said. “Go to several. Get yourself nice and stretched out for me.”

Dick’s face was white with fury. “Fuck you,” he said one more time before turning and clambering back out the window.

Slade let him go.

Maybe he’d see him again. Maybe he wouldn’t. He didn’t know. He wasn’t the world’s greatest detective. But he wasn’t half bad either and he’d known the kid for a long time.

He had a feeling he’d come back. Maybe not this month. Maybe not this year. But he’d come back.

And Slade would be waiting for him when he did.

—

Sorry I went away from what you asked for, anon. I hope you like it.

Ko-Fi

#sladin #omegaverse #my writing

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ty-talks-comics · 5 years

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Best of DC: Week of July 31st, 2019

Best of this Week: Batman: Last Knight on Earth #2 - Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia and Tom Napolitano

The last case Batman will ever solve, might just be his most terrifying.

Beginning with Batman confronting an older Joe Chill in the past over the dead child in Crime Alley that looks eerily similar to Bruce. Our hero kind of surprises and disarms him by removing all of the weapons he’s hidden around his apartment. Chill seems to have been expecting him, preparing what he calls an “end of an era feast” for Bruce, implying he knows his identity. To make matters even more interesting, he insinuates that he didn’t even kill the Waynes for Marth pearls and makes it seem like there was an even larger plan afoot than anyone realized.

Cutting back to the Nightmare future, Batman and Joker’s Head are taken by surprise as a Speed Force Storm tears through the desert. Never let it be said that Greg Capullo hasn’t been improving his skills at body horror because the tornado is terrifying. Consisting of the constantly shifting, twisting and stretched bodies of Barry Allen, Bart Allen, Jay Garrick and possibly others, the faces scream and cry for Bruce to help them. It’s a shocking and unsettling sight as one can almost hear the deafening cries of atom splitting agony that they’re going through. The deep red of the storm doesn’t help as it just makes things FAR more threatening than they need to be. Bruce and Joker sit in a cave for safety while Bruce laments that there is absolutely nothing that he can do to save them.

The pair continue on, hang gliding through the air, crossing over a base named Fort Waller. Joker tells Batman that originally it was the last bastion of hope, where Mr. Terrific, Dr. Sivana, Ivo and others could combine their knowledge with the powers of the new avatars of the Green and Red to repel those incensed by Luthor. Batman asks him what happens and Joker’s narration ends as they watch the battle. Unknown Soldiers fighting abominations of the Red in a hellish battle of blood and fire until a Swamp Thing appears from the crimson dust of their fight, no longer appearing to have any faculties or emotion other than: KILL.

The tone shifts as they reach an area known as the Plains of Solitude, seeming a mass of crystalline structures similar to Superman’s secret base. The cool blues of this area offer something of a safety in a book that has otherwise been overbearingly tense since it began. It doesn’t help that Joker’s been doing variations of “can I be Robin, are we there yet, and knock knock jokes the entire time. Bruce snaps that he could never be Robin because Robin was a good guy and who in this world was still like that? Pods shaped like Superman’s baby rocket start landing close to Bruce and Joker before the pair are saved by… Superman?

Or so we think, this “very talkative” (end sarcasm) Superman leads the pair to a farmhouse in the middle of the plains where a surprisingly alive and potentially insane Lex Luthor greets them. Batman, furious at the state of this world demands to know what happened, what did Luthor do? Luthor answers that he had a debate with Superman. What makes this so interesting is that, Luthor says that he knows that he should have lost. The stakes were such that, the loser would be impaled by spike of Kryptonite and Luthor, having almost crapped himself a speech mostly using platitudes from others in his own words, didn’t hold a candle to Ka-El… but in the end, Superman ends up skewered and the world goes to hell with him.

It begs the question of, what happened? Did all of the people just side with Luthor on impulse? Did something happen to sway them or was someone else manipulating things? Everything is speculation. Things are cut short, however as Bane and Scarecrow show up to punish Luthor and bring Batman to their new God, Omega. Bane appears to be absolutely rotting with venom as his veins are green and his skin is pale. Scarecrow looks absolutely scraggly with long, gnarled fingers with syringes at the end of his fingers. Scarecrow has poisoned the Superman clone and forces him to try and break the Bat.

Suddenly, as Superman lifts Batman above his head, a sword pierces his chest as it’s revealed that Wonder Woman has returned to save the Caped Crusader. The two are told to run away by Luthor, to save the world as he opens a portal for them and is summarily torn apart by other infected Superman Clones.

We see the full extent of the utter destruction Luthor’s actions have caused as they land on the cloak of The Spectre. Wonder Woman tells Batman that the fighting eventually spilled over and destroyed both Heaven and Hell. It only makes sense, doesn’t it? The forces of magic are very powerful in the DC Universe. How much trouble would it take for a Mordru or Neron to tangle with Doctor Fate or Zatanna, culminating in the ruination of the afterlife, damning everyone to a non-existence at the end of everything?

They enter the cloak and take a ride down the River Styx. Diana tells Bruce that the voices of the dead will be calling out to him for sending them there. Capullo stuns with a double page spread of many of DCs biggest heroes, showing Batman the sheer weight of what his as-of-yet unknown role in Luthor’s scheme was. There are far too many to name, but I will say that I appreciate Capullo putting Kyle Rayner among those in the front. His deaths in many alt-stories will always irk me, but I do like seeing him recognized and put higher than Hal Jordan or even John Stewart.

Things take an even darker turn as Alfred shows up among the dead and Batman almost climbs out of the little boat, knowing that he just saw Alfred not too long ago and he and Wonder Woman make it to the real Gotham City with a cliffhanger and a surprising reveal at the end.

Last Knight on Earth pulls no punches when it comes to depicting a desolate world where Doom wins. I want to say that it’s almost dour to the point of being almost being hopeless and that’s exactly what I love. I adore how much is being packed into this story, how many references to the greater DC universe we’re getting. Capullo’s art is probably the best it has been in years and the quality of the writing is right on part with Dark Knights: Metal. It’s a righteous trip as Batman lugs the annoying head of the Joker around like a planet hopping adventure. It’s really fun and very dark.

---------------------------------------------------

The world needs more Swamp Thing stories.

Runner Up: Justice League Dark Annual #1 - James Tynion IV, Ram V, Guillem March, Arif Prianto and Rob Leigh

This annual was dark, far darker than most of the Justice League Dark tales so far because of how self contained it was and the sheer weight of the situation therein. Sure, it wasn't a world ending cataclysm like the one they just stopped, but that doesn't make it any less horrible. I'd never heard of Ram V before, but their storytelling, combined with Guillem March's art makes me feel like I've been pulled back into the old days of Vertigo.

Magic is broken. After Wonder Woman and Zatanna used the Ruby of Life to repair the damage they did to magic after defeating the Lords of Order, magic itself is repairing itself, but in a manner that throws the old rules out of the window.

Consequently, the Parliament of Trees has been destroyed and now Swamp Thing has no one to answer to as the new Parliament of Flowers is seeking a new champion. After confronting Constantine about coming on as a consultant for the League, the con-man convinces Swamp Thing to go on the search for the new Avatar before he loses his humanity like Swampy did. Swamp thing tries to act like he doesn't care, but goes off to find the man.

The story descends into something of a tragedy as we're introduced to Oleander Sorrel, a flower botanist, and his wife Natasha.

What makes this story so great is that, like the best Swamp Thing stories, it focuses on other characters and their own personal situations. The pair suffer in a broken marriage after the death of their son which causes Natasha to leave Oleander and himself delving deeper into his work, later resulting in his death. He becomes the Avatar of Flowers, but refuses to let go of his humanity after Swamp Thing tries to convince him that he is no longer a man.

He seeks out his wife and watches over her until Jason Woodrue, a very old DC villain that really hasn't been seen since the early days of The New 52, whispers in Oleanders ear. Oleander listens and suddenly a boy that looks very close to their son appears at the door. Natasha is happy, then another child appears and another until Natasha is absolutely blind with love for her new kids.

But not all gifts are good. There's no way that Woodrue doesn't get something out of this himself. There's always an underlying plot and Swamp Thing manages to uncover what really happened to Oleander. The fire that killed him was actually a pool of caustic that he laid in his flower bed and kills himself in. Oleander did die in the pool, but his memory lived on in the flowers that he planted. This revelation stuns Oleander and the children he created out of flowers begin to dissipate. He grows weary, knowing that Swamp Thing was right and Woodrue manages to convince him to rest for a while before feasting upon his flower flesh, regaining his own connection to The Green.

This annual definitely fit the title. It was Dark, not only from a storytelling standpoint, but also visually. Natasha’s post crying face was heart wrenching to see and Gullem March squeezed every bit of emotion out of it that he could. Her lips quivered, her eye makeup ran just a bit and there was a hopelessness that could be felt. Oleander’s transformation was a beautiful kind of macabre with his appearance, composed entirely of flowers, looking very sinewy and skeletal at the same time. Colors are very warm, juxtaposed against an ever growing sense of dread that culminated in the most haunting scene of Oleander growing more and more flower children. The shot is perfect as Oleander is shown to be a hapless man whose only intent is to make his wife happy, but his methods are horrifying almost wrong.

When the children begin to disappear following the revelation, light is shown on them while the background remains dark. Their petals waft away with the night winds as Natasha has to watch in horror, likely to be absolutely broken by the experience of losing her kids. Woodrue eating Oleander afterwards, however, is brutal. The color shifts to a deep red and Woodrue furiously munches on the flowers, gnawing and tearing his way into Oleander’s body and emerging as a new creature unto himself.

I haven’t been able to find anything about this Ram V person, but I want to read more of their work. This book was absolutely stunning and I hope that it does well enough to warrant another Swamp Thing mini-series or full run. Amidst the cancellation of the show after just one season, it’s definitely something the world needs more of. This story was chilling, well paced and had a great focus on someone else while keeping it’s main star tangential as he should be in things like these. This is a definite high recommend from me.

#comics #dc #dc comics #batman #last knight on earth #the joker #joker #scott snyder #greg capullo #lex luthor #omega #wonder woman #justice league dark #swamp thing #ram v #guillem march #floronic man

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not-close-to-straight · 7 years

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“Broken” (Chapter Sixteen)

ADDITIONAL CHAPTERS HERE

Enjoy :)

******************

There was a stunning brunette in the common area when Clint made it back downstairs followed closely by Steve, and a little further behind by Bucky. They had napped on and off together for hours, Bucky staying mostly awake to keep an eye on them, and even now he was feeling protective, and eyed the unknown woman uneasily as they passed through the kitchen.

“Wanda?” Clint lit up when he saw her, and shouted excitedly, his words sounding the slightest bit off because he hadn't put his aids back in yet. “Wanda, what are you doing here?”

“Clint!” The woman looked young, maybe her early twenties at the most, but she nearly ran across the room to throw herself into Clints arms, exclaiming happily when he swung her around in a hug. “I’m so happy to see you!” The girl was signing as fast as she was talking. “We came with Phil—“ she stopped, obviously seeing Clint’s face fall, and whatever she said next was softer, her hands still moving, but slower now.

Steve watched for a minute before looking back to motion Bucky closer to the room. “That’s Wanda.” He said in explanation. “Clint saved her and her brother Pietro a few years ago from a Hydra holding facility. It was just-- just a really bad situation, and Clint swooped in and saved them and basically dropped them on Tony's door. They are practically his kids, so it’s good they’re here. It will keep his mind off of Phil.”

“What--” Bucky narrowed his eyes, watching the girl cautiously. “What is wrong with her? She scents...off. And her wings aren't right.”

“Nothings wrong with--” Steve started to protest, but stopped, remembering that Bucky had never seen anyone quite like Wanda before. “Oh. Wanda is something of a… something of a puzzle. Her mutation affected her wings, and she has… I guess bat wings? That's what they remind me of. Except you know… big.”

“Is her mutation like Bruce?”

“No.” Steve shook his head. “Nothing like Bruce. Wanda is unlike anyone we have ever met before. We aren't even sure if she was born with powers or if it's a direct result of experimentation-- we just don't know. She can distort reality or bend our perception or… something. Levitate things-- honestly I don't understand all of it, but she is very powerful.”

“Really.” Bucky didn't sound impressed, listening to the girl giggle out loud as Clint said/ signed something to her. “Powerful?”

“If I didn't know and love her, I would be terrified of her.” Steve said frankly. “And her brother is a whole other thing.”

“Her brother--?” Bucky suddenly shoved Steve away from him, spinning around and dropping to one knee, his left arm held out defensively, his wings raised high, metal tips glittering dangerously. “Something is coming. Fast.”

“Wait, Bucky! It's not what you think--”

“Shit!” There was a yelp, a smell like burning rubber, and a tall blonde with silvery hair and no wings at all skidded to a stop a bare inch from the edge of Bucky's feathers. “Hey! I'm walking here! Put those things away!”

Bucky stumbled back a few steps, standing up straight and leveling the blond with a glare that should have melted him where he stood. “Who the hell are you?”

“Who the hell are you?” the kid shot back and Steve stepped between them with a sigh.

“Alright. Bucky, wings down please. This is Pietro. Pietro, this is Bucky. Trust me when I say he will kill you if you mess with him, so maybe slow it down.”

Evidently satisfied with that answer, Pietro shrugged and grinned, saluting Steve before walking purposefully slow past them, then speeding back up and launching himself onto Clint’s back, who hit the floor under his weight.

“I thought running was supposed to keep the weight off.” Clint yelled, and wrestled out from under the boy.

“What? You didn't see that coming? Maybe you’re just getting old and weak!” Pietro shot back, and then glanced at Clint’s ears before starting to sign rapidly, to which Clint burst into laughter and hugged him again.

“Clint saved them?” Bucky asked and Steve nodded. “From Hydra?”

“Yep. Clint treats them like his own kids. It's pretty cute.”

Bucky looked over to where the off trio had moved to the couch, one sibling on each side of Clint. They were all signing quickly, talking over each other and slapping hands away with laughter as they tried to catch up. After several minutes, Wanda reached out and touched Clint’s temples, urging him close and closing her eyes, with Pietro leaning in close against Clints back.

Bucky raised his eyebrows when red light moved from Wanda’s fingertips to Clint’s head. “Stevie---”

“Yeah. We aren't really sure if she can read minds, or check our emotions or what. Like I said, Wanda is nothing like anyone we have ever met. Its really pretty terrifying to think about what Hydra could have turned her into.”

“And her brother?”

“Pietro. Smart ass. Fast, as you know. He outran one of Clints arrows one time, and Tony won't let him see if he’s faster than bullets, so really we aren't sure how fast he is, or how it happens, or if he has any other powers that comes along with it. Oh, and if you want to get on his good side, he likes to be called Quicksilver when he’s feeling cocky.”

“Which is all the time.” Tony and Bruce came up behind them, and Tony stood on his toes to kiss Steve, touching Bucky's arm lightly as he passed. “Cocky frickin’ kid, and I'm smelling burnt rubber which means he isn't wearing the shoes we designed for him. Pietro!” Tony raised his voice. “Are you ruining my floors again, you speedy little bastard?”

“Tony.” Pietro jumped to his feet and wings in a startling shade of bright blue burst from his back, fluttering in a greeting for the Alpha. “Sorry. I lost the shoes you made me. And Wanda wouldn't let me come over barefoot.”

Tony narrowed his eyes in something of a “dad” look before sighing. “I'll have another pair for you tomorrow morning. In the meantime, if you burn a path onto my floor I will make you replace it on your hands and knees.”

“Yes sir.” Pietro saluted and folded his wings back in, his face pinching uncomfortably as they disappeared into his shoulders. “Thank you.”

Bruce patted Bucky on the shoulder as he gaped at the kid. “Yeah. Yeah, no one can figure out why his wings are that shade of blue, or how they disappear into his back. For all intents and purposes, he is just as much of a mystery than his twin, and that’s saying something.”

“Twin.” Bucky was starting to feel like all he did was repeat what someone else said about the newcomers. “They are twins. But she is-- and he is--”

“A mystery.” Bruce finished. “Exactly. Welcome to the family Bucky. We are crazier than you think.”

Bucky couldn't do more than grin about that.

****************

When Natasha walked through the door, the twins went running to greet her as well, speaking in Russian as fast as they could, and Tony watched with a smile as Natasha hugged both of them close, answering calmly in their shared language, looking up at Clint and signing quickly to check on him.

Once she knew he was okay, she let the twins bring her over to the couch, laughing and slapping Pietro’s hand away when he tried to touch her hair, looking appropriately impressed with Wanda’s outfit, asking them about how their work was going in Sokovia, how the orphanage was doing, and whether or not they had agreed to work with SHIELD officially.

It was really remarkable how Natasha could go from the most terrifying member of the team to sweet and motherly just in the presence of the twins. Really in the presence of anyone she loved, but more so with the twins, which was surprising all on it's own. They were friendly enough, of course, but in a world ran by scents and hormones and secondary biologies, anyone with mutant tendencies or wings that weren't considered normal was shunned, or at the very least avoided, because they smelled off. There was just something off about them.

And even those who had nothing physically different about themselves, but had lived a hard life, like Natasha, like Clint, like Sam-- their scent changed as well, an edge of danger, awareness, secrets burning the noses of people not used to it.

Just another reason that the Tower and the family were so important. For most of the team, the people who lived within these walls were the only ones they could be comfortable around.

Even Sam, who was undoubtedly the most well balanced of all of them, found refuge in the Tower. And Steve, who had never adjusted as well as he wanted to to life in the 21st century. Clint, who had been a wreck after breaking his bond with Phil, and had been relieved to have a safe place to stay that didn't remind him of the Alpha. Bruce, who was wanted by some of the most powerful people in the world, but couldn't be touched as long as he was known to associate with Tony Stark. Pepper, who didn't live here full time, but still came to escape the world. Now Bucky, who needed a home so badly. And the twins, who only came by a few times every couple months but needed the stability and love the family could provide.

And Tony was proud to be head of his family, Omegas, Betas, Mutants and anyone else.

Tony was proud to be their Alpha.

******************

Music was playing over the speakers, a dozen and a half pizza boxes spread over the common area, and the family was relaxed, piled on various couches and chairs, talking and laughing together when Wanda stepped away from the party and moved to Bucky's side.

“Sergeant Barnes, can I sit with you?” She asked quietly and he blinked up at her in surprise before moving over on the couch so she could sit. “Thank you.”

She sat gracefully, folding her odd wings in easily. “You do not join the party.”

“Not much for partying.” Bucky grunted.

“And yet you have not taken your eyes off the family. You want to join in but do not let yourself.”

Bucky just looked her that time, looked at her and shifted a little further away.

“My powers make you uneasy.” Wanda observed. “I am aware that being able to do what I can keeps many people from getting too close, which is why I love it here so much. Here we are accepted regardless of our… quirks. Tony has created a home for those of us who have never had such a thing.”

Silence.

“You do not remember me.” Wanda said after a minute. “You do not remember Pietro either, of course, but I have been told I am particularly memorable.”

“Why would I remember you?” Bucky tried to keep the bite from his voice, but he could tell by her amused expression that it hadn't worked. He wasn't trying to be rude, he was just a little overwhelmed with… everything right now.

Coming off his heat had been brutal, even with the help from the team. He was second guessing every interaction with the Alpha, which was making his stress even worse. The incident with the new Alpha and Clint’s near break down, coupled with the appearance of both Wanda and her brother--

“Why would I remember you?” Bucky asked again, shaking his head to drag himself from his thoughts.

“I suppose there isn't a reason for you to remember me at all. But we have met before. I was there, one time, when they woke you up.”

Bucky stiffened. “When they woke me up. At a Hydra base.”

“Yes. It was years ago.” Wanda reached to touch his left hand, nodding in understanding when he moved it away. “They had pulled you from the freeze. I was young, barely a young woman, and my powers had intensified suddenly with my age. They were eager to see what I could do.”

“What did you do?” Bucky's voice dropped into something terrible and Wanda shushed him quietly.

“Nothing. I did nothing. They wanted me to look into your mind, to try to change your memories or perhaps your perceptions so you would never slip your conditioning again. Something had happened, they had brought you to Brooklyn and---”

“I remember that.” Bucky's left hand tightened into a fist. “I woke up in my old neighborhood and didn't know how I had gotten there. It took them three days to track me down.”

“They were worried about it happening again, so they asked me to change your memories, or to make you fear something from your old life so you would avoid it at all costs.”

“Did you?”

“Of course not.” Wanda lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “It was beyond the scope of my powers then, but that's not why I refused.”

“Why then?” Bucky couldn't quite look at her, uncomfortable with the conversation and not sure why she was bringing it up.

“Because I looked into your eyes and could see the pain, the torture and I--” Wanda sighed. “I could not add to that. You were already hurting so badly, already so lost within your own head, that I could not bring myself to hurt you more. So I refused. And when they ordered me to, I refused again.” She lifted her hands, let her power arc between her fingers in bolts of red. “And it's not as if they could force me to comply.”

Silence, because Bucky didn't know what to say to that.

“Your eyes now.” Wanda continued. “They are clear from the torture and clear from the pain. You still scent of fear, but I remember how badly it burned my senses then, and now it is nearly gone.” Wanda did touch him then, her power flowing from her hand to the cold metal, warming it beneath her touch. “Even now, in the face of what I could do, at your core you are barely afraid. Do you know why that is?”

Bucky just looked at her.

“It is because you have found home, here with the family, with Tony. You aren't tortured anymore since coming home. You have no reason to fear the unknown because you know they are here to help you.”

“You’re right.” Bucky looked across the room to the family, to Clint who was joking with Pietro, Natasha and Sam with their arms around each other. Pepper was sitting in Tony's lap, curled up in a recliner, and Steve was at their feet. Bruce was in his own chair, like usual, but his smile was huge as he watched them all, throwing in his own contributions to the conversations that flowed around him. “I'm not afraid anymore.”

“My brother and I are not either.” Wanda kept her hand in his. “Experiments on a child, our mutations exploited and tested, these are not things you would think to recover from, but when Clint rescued us, he brought us here and Tony gave us a home. And here we are. Healed. Better. Smiling.”

“But you don't live here like the rest of the family?”

“No.” Wanda shook her head. “We stayed for a year, but when Tony offered to fund a facility in Sokovia for us, to help us give a home to other orphans and a base to help rebuild the area-- we could not refuse. With my powers and Pietro’s speed we can do far more good rebuilding our cities than we can here with the team.”

“You don't call Tony your Alpha.” Bucky pointed out with a frown.

“No.” Wanda shrugged. “He is a father figure, a mentor. We are children in his eyes. He is the Alpha of this family, but Pietro and I do not have a secondary gender, a separate biology. The term Alpha is nothing more than a term of respect for us, but it seems odd to use it.”

“Why’s that?” Bucky finally turned to look at her, and Wanda gave him something like a smirk.

“Clint is like a father figure to us as well. And believe me, I cannot call Tony Alpha when I have heard Clint crying out for him through the walls.”

Bucky burst out laughing, and after a second of surprise, Wanda joined him.

“Please don't ever say that again.” Bucky managed after a few minutes, and Wanda tugged at him until he stood with her so she could lead him back to the common area, closer to everyone else.

“You were the one who asked, Bucky.” she reminded him. “Perhaps you rethink your questions next time.”

****************

Tony looked up from whatever Bruce was saying when he heard Bucky laugh again, his eyes dropping to where Wanda was still holding Bucky's hand.

Pepper snuggled closer and kissed his cheek. “Are you happy, Alpha?”

“So happy.” he whispered back. “So happy, Pep.”

**********************

#ncts fics #alpha tony stark #wanda maximoff #pietro maximoff #bucky barnes #clint barton

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