Marlena was stuck. She was stuck on the words Tony had spoken only a few short minutes prior to her return home. She was used to being told how dangerous she was. She was used to being told that her abilities were catastrophic at best. She was used to living a life knowing that no one would ever truly accept her because of how catastrophically dangerous her abilities could be, and it was something she now knew would never change. It didn't bother her that much, but what did bother her was knowing that her daughter would grow up walking on eggshells around those she came into contact with for the sake of not scaring them. That hurt her, especially knowing just how sweet and loving her little girl was. She would never dream of hurting anyone, but that wouldn't be what everyone else saw.
"Was it really necessary to take that from Sam's?" Bucky questioned Marlena.
Marlena chuckled dryly and hugged her new bottle of alcohol to her chest. "Of course it was. I don't know about you, but champagne is about to be my best friend for the night."
Bucky shook his head and hurried over to the Jeep. "And how do you think he'll feel when he realizes you took that from him?"
"He won't care after I replace it," Marlena shrugged and hopped out of the Jeep; the two had just arrived back home from Sam's. "If anything, I need this more than he does."
"Yeah," Bucky said slowly. "You and Stark, what was that conversation about?"
"The impending cataclysm that is my life."
Bucky simply pursed his lips in response to the remark and made his way towards the front door of his house. "Yeah, just don't drink too much. I don't really feel like dealing with a drunk Marlena," he sighed.
Marlena laughed and tucked the bottle into her purse. "Once you know everything Tony just told me, you'll wanna get drunk with me, despite not being able to."
"Is it that bad?"
"Depends on perspective," Marlena shrugged.
Bucky only shook his head at her and opened the front door. The moment the two walked into the house, they were greeted by their children, both of whom seemed very excited for some reason.
"Hi, guys," Marlena said with a bright smile on her face.
Bucky walked in behind her, and the twins moved from Marlena to him, leaving him very happy. Marlena headed further into the house while Bucky remained with the twins, and when she got to the living room, she stopped when she noticed three men instead of two. Kellan was with Mason and Greyson, and the sight of him unsettled Marlena slightly. She was still convinced he could not be trusted, but it wasn't something she could exactly come right out and say, especially not to Mason himself.
"Oh, um, I wasn't aware Mason was having you over tonight," Marlena said with a small smile on her face.
Mason looked away from the television long enough to answer. "I texted you, but you never answered."
"I must have left my phone upstairs," Marlena told him. She averted her attention to Greyson, who was playing some sort of game on his phone. "Greyson, can I talk to you for a second?"
He looked up at her. "Is this about what I walked in on earlier?"
"Did you walk in on her and Buck jumping each other's bones?" Mason asked with a snide smirk on his face, eliciting a laugh from Kellan. "I apologize for the mental scarring, buddy."
"Shut up, Mason," Marlena said with a roll of her eyes. "Greyson, please?"
Greyson only let out a breath and got up from his seat. Marlena grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the kitchen to prevent from being heard.
"So, what's goin' on, sweet pea?"
"Charlie is developing a set of abilities similar to those of mine, and Bucky and I are convinced that in time, Jay will develop a set of abilities similar to his," Marlena explained to him.
Greyson snorted and walked over to the fridge to grab a soda. "You didn't know this? I always knew your kids would be like either one of you. It's all about the DNA, Marlena."
"You knew and didn't think to tell me or Bucky about it?"
"I figured you knew," Greyson shrugged his shoulders. "Weren't you studying biology when you were in college? Shouldn't you know this?"
"The textbooks never said anything about breeding super babies, Greyson," Marlena informed him. "That was also seven years ago; having superhuman kids or kids at all wasn't exactly on my mind at the time."
"Well, if you think two superhumans aren't gonna produce superhumans of their own, you're an idiot," Greyson chuckled quietly to himself. "Your abilities are in your DNA, which you passed down to your kids. It's a mixture of science and common sense. Maybe you should go back to school and learn it."
Marlena shook her head and sat down at the island. "I just don't understand what I'm supposed to do when my daughter gets mad at me and decides to take her anger out on me by using her abilities. The same goes with Jay."
Greyson took a sip of his soda. He looked at Marlena with a raised brow and clapped her on the shoulder. "You're one of the strongest people on the planet; I'm sure you can handle a couple three-year-olds."
"I guess you're right." Marlena stopped for a moment when she felt a presence behind her, and she turned around to see Kellan lingering at the kitchen door. She wanted to narrow her eyes in suspicion, as she wasn't aware of just how long he'd been standing by the door, but she decided against it.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Kellan apologized. "I just came to get something to drink."
Something told Marlena he wasn't being completely honest with her, but she didn't think to question him about it. She would learn of his true intentions, and she would make sure of it. "Don't sweat it," she assured him.
Marlena hopped up from her chair and started towards the kitchen door, though she didn't forget about Greyson. "Watch him, please. I don't trust him," she said to him.
"Got it, kid."
Marlena made her way into the living room, where she caught sight of Bucky. She pursed her lips and headed for the stairs, leaving him to stare after her in wonder.
"Can you come upstairs so I can talk to you about what Tony said?" Marlena spoke telepathically to her husband.
Bucky didn't respond telepathically or verbally. He only got up from the couch and made his way up the stairs, alerting his children and brother-in-law he would return.
"How bad is it?" Bucky questioned her as the two headed towards their room.
Marlena shrugged and opened up the bedroom door, immediately rushing over to the bed while Bucky closed the door behind him. She sat her purse full of alcohol on the floor beside the bed and plopped onto the mattress, Bucky following her actions shortly. "Apparently I'm a lot more powerful than I ever knew," she told her husband.
"I thought we already knew that?"
"I thought so too," Marlena sighed and looked over at him with glistening hazel eyes. "But Tony's been studying the scientific makeup of mine and Wanda's abilities for several years now, and new information has surfaced regarding my abilities. My abilities weren't created with just one Infinity Stone, but two."
Bucky's eyes widened slightly at the sound of her words. He didn't know too much about the Infinity Stones, if anything at all, but he knew enough to know that whatever they were, they were dangerous, and they were unnecessarily powerful. Knowing that Marlena's abilities came from not one, but two of the stones, frightened him tremendously, as he was not aware of just how much power the brunette sheltered inside herself. It scared him to think of something happening to her simply because she was incapable of controlling the aspect of herself she now knew nothing about.
"Does he know which one it is?" Bucky asked her.
Marlena only shook her head. "I do know a couple of someones who could find out for me," she answered.
"Who?"
"Wanda and Vision," she answered slowly.
"Then why don't you call them and ask?" Bucky replied as a new thought popped into his head. He remembered everything that had been happening with his daughter over the last couple of days, and whatever was inside Marlena, was inside her as well, which meant his three-year-old was more of a danger to herself and others than she knew.
Marlena rolled her eyes at Bucky and stood up to undress herself. "If it was that simple, I would call her, but it's not."
"And why isn't it?"
"I can't tell you," Marlena told him as she pulled her pajamas on. "But what I can tell you is that it's gonna take a lot more than a phone call to figure out what's going on with me."
"What do you mean?" Bucky asked. He decided against asking her why she couldn't tell him why a phone call wasn't a good solution, as he wasn't sure he really wanted to know the answer.
Marlena shrugged and sat back down on the mattress beside Bucky. "It's a bit complicated to explain, but Wanda and I have been getting stronger as the years pass, and we've been unlocking new knowledge about our abilities as the years pass. I've only done this once for the sake of knowledge, but she's got this thing with Vision, where she's capable of using her abilities to help him learn more about the Mind Stone. She's the reason he's figured out how to phase into a normal-looking dude to prevent from drawing attention, and she's the reason both of us know so much about the Mind Stone."
"And how exactly does she do that?"
"She manipulates the energy inside the Mind Stone, which helps her determine the properties within it that are worth being aware of," Marlena explained to him. "She's helped Vision learn so much about his abilities this way, and if she can do that with me, if she can manipulate the energy inside of me, maybe she can figure out where it came from and help me determine what exactly it is I need to be afraid of."
Bucky seemed genuinely curious about what she had to say. While a part of him was terrified of what Marlena and Wanda had the potential of doing, the other part of him was more or less enthralled by it. "Aren't you two just a pair of powerful people," he chuckled.
"So it seems." Marlena smiled at Bucky, to which he responded to by pulling her small form closer to his body. She wrapped her arms around him and sighed in content. There was nothing she loved more than being in his arms. It was the one place she wished she could stay forever.
"Maybe one day life will be a lot less complicated," Bucky said.
Marlena chuckled and shook her head, not at all convinced that his words would ever be true. "For people like us, I don't think living a simple life is an option."
"I guess you're right," Bucky agreed.
The sound of Bucky's phone ringing in his pocket grabbed his attention, and he pulled away from Marlena in order to answer. She laughed when she noticed Shuri's name on the screen, while Bucky simply sighed and shook his head, answering the phone before putting it on speaker.
"Isn't it like 2 in the morning in Wakanda?" Bucky asked the young girl. "Why are you calling me, Shuri?"
"Easy, white boy," her accented voice came back through the speaker. Marlena couldn't help but laugh, which grabbed the African princess's attention. "Hello, Marlena."
"Hi, Shuri."
"Now, to the reason behind my calling," Shuri chimed. "I've been up all night working on something special for you, and I would really appreciate it if you would come see it in person and tell me how much you love it for the sake of my ego."
Bucky laughed at her and shook his head. "Is it an updated arm?"
"Yes, yes it is."
"As much as I would love to, I can't come all the way to Wakanda just for a new arm, Shuri," Bucky said to her. "I have a family, remember?"
"Yes, but need I remind you that you have a family here in Wakanda as well, White Wolf?" Shuri remarked. "It's been years since we've last seen you, and T'Challa will never admit it, but you are deeply missed here."
Bucky looked over at Marlena, who was sitting beside him with a grin on her face. She'd always loved Shuri and T'Challa—they protected and took care of not only Bucky, but Steve and Marlena as well so many years ago, and that was something Marlena would always be grateful for. She couldn't be bothered by Shuri asking for Bucky to make an appearance. In fact, Marlena thought he could use the time away. He'd been so exhausted lately, and the sight of it only drained her in return. She also believed him being gone would allow her an opportunity to see what Wanda and Vision could tell her about her abilities.
"I think you should go," Marlena chimed in before Bucky had the chance to respond. "It'll be good for you to get away for a bit."
"And the wife agrees with me," Shuri replied with a chuckle.
Bucky rolled his eyes at the two. "Of course she does."
"I'm glad she does, though, because there is a jet waiting for you at the airport," Shuri informed him.
"Seriously, Shuri?"
"Seriously, James."
Bucky only shook his head at her and looked over to Marlena, who was giggling away. "You women always get your way."
"Often times princesses do get their way," Shuri snickered.
"I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Alright," Shuri chimed happily. "Bye, Marlena."
"Goodbye, Shuri."
Bucky hung up the phone and fell back onto the bed, letting out a sigh. "We have kids, Marlena," he reminded his wife.
"Both of whom have their very cool mother to keep them company while you're gone," Marlena said with a smile. She got out of bed and headed over to the closet to pull out a suitcase for Bucky, wasting no time at all in throwing a plethora of his clothing into it. "And while I'm gone, Greyson and Mason will be here to look after them."
"Wait, where are you going?"
Marlena shrugged and continued throwing clothes into his suitcase. "Like I said earlier, I can't tell you anything."
"What about Charlie?"
"That's why I'm leaving," Marlena responded and threw another shirt into his suitcase. "I have to know what the hell is going on with me, otherwise I won't be able to help her, and all I care about is helping her."
Bucky took notice of the amount of clothes in his suitcase and moved to stop Marlena, though she was very adamant about allowing that to happen. "I'm going to Africa, Marlena, not Jupiter."
"I'm just making sure you have enough clothes to get you through your days," Marlena told him.
"I'm sure the most technologically advanced country in the world has a washing machine I can use, I don't need my entire wardrobe," Bucky responded.
He removed his clothes from Marlena's hold and grabbed her hands, pulling her back over to their bed.
"You do not have to pack my clothes for me, okay?" Bucky spoke softly. "All you need to do is sit your beautiful ass down and let me hold you until I decide to leave."
Marlena smiled and wrapped her arms around Bucky once more. "I can definitely do that."
Bucky planted a kiss to the top of her head and pulled her in closer, basking in the comfort of her presence before he was forced to leave it.