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[18] Nightmares and Bruce's Comfort

Feet slammed down along the sidewalk. Puddles splashed up, covering the bottoms of a woman's jeans. It soaked her socks and her sneakers, but she kept going. She had to get away, she had to find a way back to the house that held her precious baby girl. Male voices were getting closer, which meant doom was stalking closer. Her breath hitched as she tripped on the hem of her pants. She was sent to the ground, scraping her hands. They started to bleed a little, but she just sucked the blood off and stood. She could see the outlines of her pursuers, and she squeaked. The woman dashed off once more, the voices in her head encouraging her. 

'Run! You can do it Veronica!' One of them screeched. The woman, now Veronica, put on a burst of speed, and the voices faded and the images vanished. She ran, faster and faster, until she looped around, and found the house once more. She rang the bell, the door opened, and the man from earlier pulled her inside. He looked down at her and kissed her forcefully before showing her their daughter.

"Phil... I can't stay. They're after me, they'll be after her. None of us are safe anymore." Veronica said, tears filling her beautiful brown eyes.

"Don't say that Veronica. I can hide you, I can keep both of you safe if you needed me to. Just, don't leave me." Phil whispered, looking down at their daughter. The baby slept peacefully, and both adults smiled. Phil wrapped his arm around Veronica's shoulders, and she smiled for the first time in a week. Phil kissed the top of her head, and Veronica leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"I'm sorry Phil. I have to be out of town by Friday. I'm not wasting any time. It's for the best. I will come back one day. I promise you." She whispered, walking over to her daughter. She lifted the sleeping child up, and cradled her lovingly. 

"Veronica... I..., Cynthia needs her mother. I need the woman I fell in love with. This family will never be whole without you." Phil whispered, tears filling his eyes. Veronica set the child down, hugged Phil, and kissed him softly.

"I need to go. I swear I will come back, freak's word." Veronica whispered, and she seemed to vanish.

"Goodbye... Oh Veronica..." Phil whispered, glancing down at the box that held the engagement ring he was going to use to ask the love of his life to marry him. And his tears fell. 

_________________

I woke up tears on my cheeks. I was on my back, on the bed, and Bruce was next to me. He looked so worried. He was holding my hand, his thumb gliding over my knuckles.

"Cynthia, what happened?" He whispered. I looked up at him and sat up straight.

"My dream.... I saw my mother. She was like me. She had powers, she had the forms, the voices, everything. And my father, he still loved her, he didn't think she was a freak. He was going to propose to her... Oh Bruce..." I whimpered as he pulled me into a hug. I started sobbing onto his shoulder.

"Shh, Cynthia. It's okay. I promise it'll work out. I swear." He said, comforting me. I continued to cry, and I heard Marie enter the room.

"Daddy? What's wrong with mommy?" She asked worriedly.

"Nothing sweetie. Mommy just had a bad dream." Bruce told her. I was about to lift my head, but I heard Tony show up before I did.

"Fair princess Marie, maybe we should let your mother have a moment. How about we go off for a walk around the city?" Tony asked. I guess Marie agreed, because when I lifted my head, they were both gone. 

"Do you want to talk about it? In depth, I mean." Bruce asked, running his thumb over my cheek. I shook my head, and he held me closer. I started calming down, and Bruce put his hands on my shoulders. I leaned away from him, and I scooted up on the bed. I was going to get up, but Bruce had other ideas. He sat behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him. I closed my eyes, trying hard not to cry once more. Bruce's hands moved to my shoulders, and he started rubbing them gently. I felt another round of tears coming along, so I bit my bottom lip roughly.

"Cynthia, just cry if you need to. I understand how it's a lot to take in all at one time." Bruce whispered. 

"I don't want to cry. I want to not have these dreams. I want to be normal!" I cried.

"Normal is so boring. I like different. And if it weren't for your friend that helped out during the fight, Hulk would still be hard to handle." Bruce smiled at me. I smiled a bit, and leaned back into his arms. I looked up at him, tilted my head, and kissed his cheek. He smiled at me, and Tony appeared with Marie next to him.

"Tony, what's on her face?" I asked him. He looked down at Marie, and he chuckled.

"Ice cream."

"At nine-thirty in the morning?" Bruce asked. He really was getting into this whole father vibe, and it was adorable. 

"I never said it was the wisest decision." Tony said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh, and our old buddies are oming over today." Tony added.

"Who?" Marie asked. Oh boy, she can be a hyper mess around Clint, Natasha, and Steve.

"Will Thor be returning as well?" Bruce asked. Tony nodded, and then his expression turned from happy to serious.

"And so will Rock of Ages."

I looked at Bruce in a panic. Loki was coming back? How the hell is that possible? I thought he would be in an Asgardian prison or something of that sort.

"If he harms Marie, I will kill him."