Legendary

The next day when I went in to work, Margaret's door stayed closed, as did Aslyn's. It wasn't until mid-morning that Aslyn came in. She looked tired but she was laughing. "Guess what happened to Margaret last night," she said, snorting a laugh. Well, if she was laughing, Margaret wasn't in the hospital.

"With Margaret, anything is possible," I replied. "C'mon, just tell me."

"I had to bail her out of jail."

"What?" I sat up straight, and across the room, Torunn looked interested, putting down her book.

"She was on a date with that guy she's interested in," she said, and I nodded. "She saw Vanilla at the bar," Aslyn continued. I sucked in a breath. "She was so pissed that she forgot she was angling to bed her date that night and charged over, swinging. " I snorted a laugh. "She was yelling at him about being responsible for getting her killed and putting us through hell and how he wasn't fit to be alive again. She inflicted a lot of superficial damage on him and gave him a concussion when she smacked his beer bottle over his head, but the bastard is going to be fine. So she got nicked for battery and I got her out this morning. She has a hearing tomorrow morning, so she'll be out from work too. I told her to take the day off if she had nothing pressing and calm down. She's a real fire-breather," she said fondly, starting to laugh again. I did too.

"I shouldn't be laughing," I said, wiping my eyes. "She could have really hurt him which would make things worse for her. But I bet it was cathartic." That set us off again. A brief explanation to Torunn was in order because she was looking at us like we were loony tunes.

The next day, I pounced when they came in after the hearing. "What happened?" I wanted to know.

"Vanilla declined to press charges," Aslyn said briskly. "And given the circumstances, the prosecutor wasn't too zealous and the judge was lenient."

"I got a fifteen day restraining order and a sternly-worded warning not to do it again," Margaret said philosophically, although she was still seething. "So it could have been worse, and I would have accepted more punishment without complaint. It was worth it. All he had was prison for theft of the building plans and accessory. He got off light. Even a concussion wasn't enough." She bared her teeth.

"Well, it's over now," Aslyn said, and after a supportive hug, went to her office. I waited until Margaret went into her office before adding some advice. "If you want to pummel somebody, you ought to take up boxing. If you really want to inflict some damage, take Krav Maga classes. And if you need help hiding a body, call me." I winked, and Margaret huffed out a laugh.

"I forget how practical you can be."

I rolled my eyes. "Just because I'm knitting baby booties doesn't mean my brain's gone soft. And I absorbed a lot more from Uncle Bucky's stories than even he realizes. So don't threaten him in front of witnesses and try not to make a mess, because bloodstains are not only an incriminating tip-off but it's harder to make a clean disposal."

Margaret's anger cooled. "Ok," she said after a moment. "Thanks for the tip." We looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Yeah, I think I'll be satisfied with giving him a concussion." My work was done. I went back to my office; I had things to accomplish before my doctor's appointment.

My weekly wellness check went well, I was well, the kid was well, and the doctors had a new gizmo that they wanted to try. It was some kind of highly specialized ultrasound, as near as I could figure out, that could be used to diagnose very small tumors or abnormalities. And as near as I could tell, they were excited to try it out and could justify using it on my pregnancy because my other had been risky. But I knew they just wanted to play with their toy. That was ok, I was really interested in the offspring. It was too bad Damian wasn't here for it, but he'd come next time for the show. "Well, Alex, see that spot there, about the size of a blueberry? That's the next Barnes-Wayne. Way too soon to tell what sex it is just yet, though."

I chuckled. "It's ok, we're decorating using lavender and green." He laughed too, and scanned the rest of the uterus to make sure that everything was good with the muscle. The wand hesitated. "Doctor?"

"You must be a hyperovulator," he said. "It's more common with women in their thirties but not unheard of in women in their mid to late twenties, which is where you're estimated to be since the time of the Return."

"Doctor," I said again. Well, more like barked.

"Congratulations, Alex, you're having another set of twins." I looked at the holographic display again and kind of goggled.

"Wow," I managed, surprised. "Damian's going to be sad he missed the big reveal." Then I thought about it. "Why am I having all these twins? Nobody else in my family has them." The doctor shrugged, finished the check after checking the fallopian tubes, and put down the wand.

"Even with all the advances in medical science, there are still things we don't know. And we checked your DNA; it's not something you're predisposed to have. Apparently you just ovulate very generously." I had to laugh at that and he printed out the images of my two little blueberries. Some sharpening of the images showed the little nubs of arms and legs and the little tail.

I recoiled a little. "Lord, they're ugly," I said involuntarily. And looked around. "Don't tell anybody I said that."

He smiled. "Doctor/patient confidentiality," he said. "You weren't much to look at at that stage either. I laughed, and took the printouts.

Before going back to the office, I went by the lab. Ann was due in a few weeks, and Tony was as nervous as she was serene. After a little conversation, I hunted up my husband, who was on a call that involved him getting his way over the construction of a manufacturing plant in Germany. After he hung up, he beamed at me. "How was the appointment?"

"Really good, actually," I said brightly. "They have this new thing that allows imaging of the fetus from a really early time." I handed him a set of images. "The first one is life size, the other is a closeup."

"That's really small," he said, peering at at it, and like me, recoiled from the more detailed image. I nodded.

"I know, it's not much to look at now." He chuckled a little, and I passed him the second set. He frowned at them, comparing, and then the light bulb clicked on.

"One of the things I love about you, Alex, is that you're so practical. Why have two pregnancies when one will do?" He came around his desk and tugged me to my feet for a hug, holding me tight to him and lifting me off my feet.

"It's really about the diapers," I said. "One round is better than two, even if there's more work in round one."

He put me back on my feet although he kept his arms around me. "Oh, my dearest love. Just when I thought I couldn't be any more excited."

Tony poked his head in and frowned. Damian wiped the tears off his cheeks, but he kept one arm around me. "Don't tell me there's trouble," he said grimly. I beamed at him.

"Twins again. And I'd like you to be a godfather to these ones, too. Just getting my bid in early," I said fondly, and his face relaxed.

"Overachieving much, Barnes?" he said, leaning against the doorframe. "I suppose I have to be a godfather. Somebody's got to provide bail money," he said flippantly, standing up straight. That made me laugh, and I told them about Margaret's brush with vengeance. Tony came over for a hug and patted Damian on the shoulder. "Congratulations," he said sincerely. "I'm glad that things are going better this time around, Alex," he added.

Damian and I decided to leave work early and make the rounds of family before telling the rest of our friends. I told Torunn when I got back into the car and headed back to the office, and asked if she'd be a godmother. Damian and I had discussed candidates, wanting a wide variety of people to give our kid(s) a broad outlook on life and also responsible adults they could trust. Normally, I'd have waited longer to do this, but I wanted to get everybody lined up before they realized how much work twins actually were. When I explained what godparents were, she was delighted to accept.

We picked Damian up later and made the Wayne Enterprises building our first stop. We could hit a bunch of relatives there. Martha was visiting her husband just then, before they went to dinner and the symphony, so we got Damian's grandparents, his dad, and Mark and Daniel all in one go. Group notifications are definitely the way to go. Our grown kids and J were coming out to the house for dinner, so our next stop was the zoo, where we tracked Bucky down in the penguin exhibit. He had so much fun with the birds, and it really pissed me off the HYDRA wanted to take that away from him. Since penguins were an animal that visitors could interact with, we got to go back in the exhibit. I hung back a bit; since I couldn't clean the cats' litter boxes anymore I wasn't sure that I couldn't pick up something from zoo critters.

"What did the zoo say about you rejoining the Avengers for special assignment?" I asked. I was worried that his employment would be in jeopardy.

"They accept it," he said after giving me my hug. "They're treating it like I'm in the National Guard, so I don't have to worry about losing my position here. But they were going to start training me to work with the big cats, and now that's going to have to wait. I like the penguins a lot, though. And I've applied for a vet tech training program that will allow me to help the zoo's vets with the animals, see if that's something I really want to do, and if I get that, I'll probably have to postpone it for a bit." He saw my face and gave me an extra hug. "It's ok, sweetie. It's a postponement rather than a denial." I nodded, then remembered why we came.

"So I've got news too, Uncle Bucky," I said, brightening. "I found out today that I'm having twins again." He looked surprised, then happiness spread over his face. This time Damian got a hug too and we chatted briefly, inviting him over for a family dinner later that week. We collected Torunn on the way out. We'd have to come back; she'd never been to the zoo, it turned out. A stop at Mom and Dad's, where they were thrilled to hear about their new bonus grandchild, and home. Eira had been excited to learn that there would be two puppies for her to play with, but she was tired and headed immediately for the library. We found Alfred in the kitchen, working on dinner. He gave us heartfelt congratulations on hearing the news.

"We'd like you to be one of their godfathers," Damian said to him. He squeezed my hand as we watched Alfred process the request, and we beamed at him as he choked up a little before assenting.

"It would be a very great privilege and a pleasure, Master Damian," he said finally, and gave him a hug. Then Alfred held a chair for me at the kitchen table so we could talk as he worked, and he asked what the doctors were recommending for me. I wasn't the only one slightly haunted by that first pregnancy.

"Eat a lot of good stuff--which is so easy thanks to your menus--and they want me to try yoga for preggos," I said, snapping into a celery stick that he had quickly prepared, and handing over the information that they'd copied for me. Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"I fail to see how you will fit a new class in with the dance classes, the boxing, and your self-defense classes," he said, looking over the nutritional information.

"Well, they want me to suspend the hand to hand classes and restrict boxing to just hitting the bag," I said. "It makes sense, injuries can happen unintentionally and Bucky would be devastated if he accidentally hurt me, but I just don't think that I'm a yoga type of person. And farther along, I'll have to really cut back on weight lifting when the hormones start to loosen everything up. I like to be active." I pondered as Damian laughed. "Maybe I'll be bored enough to do the yoga when I'm too big to do anything else." Then a thought hit me. "Shoot. I'll have to give up flying for awhile."

Alfred turned from the stove, an expression of concern on his face. "I know you love your flights through the orchards as much as you enjoy the grace and discipline of ballet and the joy of hitting something, but it will only be temporary, Miss Alex."

"Yeah, and I don't have to stop right now," I said, selecting a slice of bell pepper next. "They said I could keep flying until I got too heavy to get off the ground as long as I don't do anything challenging." So there was that as well. If I ran into Hawkman or Hawkwoman, any corrections to their world view would have to wait until I delivered and got back into shape.

Everybody was excited by our news, but I got maybe my favorite reaction when I stopped by Steve's. He heard the news with a great deal of pleasure, and immediately started thinking of a second christening gown. The premieres of the workroom immediately offered their congratulations and hurried off to look at the fabrics they had. "I wondered if you'd be a godfather," I asked him. "Everybody should have an Uncle Steve."

His twinkling blue eyes filled. "That means so much to me," he said, swiping his cheeks. "I always planned to be around for Bucky's kids, and I missed out entirely on you."

I sniffed too, and patted his hand. "And the fun thing will be that your kid will have some playmates too. Emma's due soon, so there will only be a few months in between them." Steve's smile was bright, and he jumped up to escort his wife as she appeared in the door. She was puffing a bit from the stairs. Emma didn't enjoy working out much, but she looked great. She gave me a hug and was thrilled to hear my news.

"They've asked me to be a godfather too," he said proudly, and Emma smiled at him.

"And we'd like you to be a godmother," I said to her.

"Are you sure?" she asked me, and I knew she was remembering that we hadn't always been close.

"Absolutely. The godfathers are probably going to be overly indulgent. I need somebody who is clear-sighted and firm as well as loving," I said earnestly, and she accepted with pleasure. She put her hand to the small of her back and groaned.

"I don't know how you can do twins," she said. "One is hard enough. "

"I don't expect it will be too bad until the last couple of months, when I might take maternity leave a little early and lounge around at home." She laughed.

"That sounds so good. But at least I get to sit a lot at work. I was going to call you, but since you're here, I wondered if I could impose on you and have you take Sigurd and Torburn for awhile. They're such good boys, but but I just don't have enough energy to keep up with them, and Steve's here or at the tower a lot."

"I'd be happy to. They can run around on the estate and I know Eira will love to have them stay for awhile." Eira did perk up and wag her tail. Emma smiled at her.

"I'm also sure that the boys would be fine with taking turns on guard duty," she said. "They like to keep busy, and that will give them more time to play with Eira." They came down at her mental call, and she explained her plan, making sure to let them know that they weren't being punished or exiled, just being given a more high-energy environment than she could provide right now. They were pleased at the change in routine, and since Emma was only a couple of weeks away from delivery, knew that it wouldn't be for long. They also were interested in the prospect of a human puppy. When I left, I had two additional dogs in tow. The effect of all three beautiful dogs was stunning, and they were thrilled to see Torunn.

It was a tight squeeze in the car, and Damien asked if we could borrow one of Daniel's bigger cars for a bit. Damian looked thoughtful after the call. "We should probably get one for ourselves; after all, even after HYDRA is brought down and Torunn goes on to her next step, we'll still have us, the two kids, and often Eira, just at a minimum." So we started looking in to family vehicles. Maybe I wasn't in the mood, but the options were unexciting.

"How's Tony doing on his cars, anyway?" I asked, frowning. "I haven't kept up; conversations have mostly been about HYDRA or babies."

Damian sat up straight. "He's got models pretty close to prototyping," he said, and brought up some files from work on the projector.

The first one was a hot little number, a two-seater sports car that I instantly coveted, but which would only fit me and one child. I'd hate to have to play favorites from the start. The next model was a four seater, still good looking, but we could take one child and Eira. The last one wasn't the minivan I was expecting but an interesting elongated sedan; there was a forward compartment for the adults and a rear compartment that had four seats that faced each other, a small pull-up table between the four seats, and room for a large dog. Huh. It even had a cutting-edge entertainment and information package, the AI driving option, so many airbags, and safety glass that automatically tinted to keep the light in the vehicle to optimal levels. The four rear doors opened elegantly from the sides so that there was no center pillar to impede access. It was styled nicely, giving the impression more of a limousine than a family car. Damian looked at my face, smiled indulgently, and got an open line.

"Tony? Listen, I know you said you were going to prototype the sports car first, but how would you feel about starting with the family car?" He listened intently; I could hear the tone of Tony's voice as he shot questions at Damian and smiled. "Well, Alex is interested. There's room for two kids, the dog, and Torunn, and later there's space for the kids' friends." There was a pause, Tony said something fairly brief, and they hung up. "Tony's agreed to switch priorities," was all Damian said, smiling.

I was tired from the joy of spreading my news around, so I went up to bed early; Damian was going out. The bat family was trying to shake loose information on HYDRA, but so far our scum didn't intersect much with that scum.

The next morning, Damian chuckled as we got ready. My waistbands were tightening up already even though I was only just starting to show a slight roundness and the doctors said my weight was fine. If anything, they said I could stand to put on a little weight. I'd have to put away some of my favorite clothes and start investigating maternity clothing so I'd have something when all the waistbands were too tight. He distracted me from my thoughts. "When I got in last night, you were sound asleep, Eira was taking up my spot, Charlie was sacked out on his back between you, and Signe was curled up on your stomach. It's a good thing Frank and Sam sleep on Alfred's bed. As it was, Eira wasn't pleased about having to shift." I laughed too.

"I dreamed that I was caught in a very comfortable, warm cocoon," I told him. "I was being fed fudge and champagne, which sounds gross right now but in the dream was sublime." He took my brush and stroked it through my hair a few more times before twisting it up and securing it with a few hair pins, then kissed the nape of my neck.

"Well, no champagne for awhile, but I bet Alfred has something delicious for breakfast."

"Of course, it's Alfred," I said. We had French toast, bacon, and fresh fruit. And coffee. Thank heaven the doctors weren't cutting that out, I'd never survive. At the door, he handed us each a boxed lunch, and I got a bonus box of brownies for the office and quietly gloated. Damian looked at Alfred pathetically.

"Miss Alex is eating for three," he said sternly. "You're only eating for one, Master Damian, and if you overindulge you won't be able to fit in your Nightfall suit. Not to mention what Master Dick will say about love handles or a muffin top." Damian rolled his eyes, I thanked Alfred, and we went off to work. I gave Damian a brownie for later once we were on the road. Torunn kept silent about that; I'd share with her once we got to work. And Eira too; chocolate wasn't poisonous to the Asgardian dogs and she enjoyed it occasionally.

To my surprise, I already had six resumes in my inbox in response to my ads. I made a happy noise and started reading. Midmorning, Serena came in at the same time the coffee cart came around. After refreshing our beverages, I offered her a brownie and told her to keep it a secret. There were only five left; Alfred was definitely a small-batch baker to ensure quality, and I didn't have enough for everybody. She agreed; violation would result in a temporary cut-off from the source, and nobody wanted that. "I got good news at the doctor's visit yesterday," I said, and she looked interested. "Another set of twins." Serena whooped and came around the desk for a hug.

"Congratulations!" she said enthusiastically.

"I'm glad you are excited, because Damian and I would like you to be one of the godmothers."

"Aw, Alex, I'd love to. Who else are you lining up?"

"You, Torunn, and Emma for godmothers, you all survived Ragnarok, so you've had good training for twins. Steve, Tony, and Alfred for godfathers, but I think I'm going to add in Daniel too. He dates, but he's not finding anybody," I fretted. "The boy needs family, and maybe this will be a bigger nudge to making his own." Both Torunn and Serena laughed.

"I"m kind of surprised about Tony, though," Serena said.

"I'm not in love with him anymore, but he's always going to be special to me and this is a way to show it without embarrassing him. And he and Damian are good friends too. Plus Tony can be childlike sometimes, in the best possible way; he's never lost the sense of wonder when he encounters something new and interesting, and he's fun. Martha and Xander adore him, always have, and he also provides an additional connection between the sets of twins. Steve, because he missed out on a lot and he'll be a great example, and Alfred, because...well, Alfred." Serena and Torunn nodded. That was enough of an explanation. "You should see the Pinterest board he's got going for the nursery." It was extraordinary.

We chatted about that, then I mentioned I had several responses for the ad for an assistant. Serena smiled. She'd had a similar response, and she was warming more to the idea. "I initially dropped by to tell you that I'm taking a business trip next week to Portugal. The Avengers put out feelers to known and trusted superhero groups overseas, and the one in Portugal contacted us with suspicions of their own regarding their business and political leaders. So officially, I'm going over to get information to bid on a new visitor center for Monserrate Palace, but I'll be doing some Avengers business as well." She'd be gone for eight days, which was perfectly doable.

"That's one of the most beautiful palaces in the world," I said enviously.

"Portugal does allow tourists," she teased me, and after a little more conversation, she went back to her own work. I puttered around until it was time for lunch, which featured thick-cut rare roast beef sandwiches and a delicious salad. After that, we walked to the library, where I had some work to inspect and to meet with Carol and the director who was our connection with the library. Torunn had questions about the city, the buildings, and the people although she was primarily absorbed in watching for threats. Eira brought up the rear, guarding me from behind. She liked the library, and Barbara, when she was on duty, would slip her a dog biscuit. Sure enough, Barbara was on duty, and after we chatted a bit and Eira inconspicuously consumed her treat, Eira ambled toward the children's room where she was a known and beloved presence, and I went up to my meeting. Barbara offered to show Torunn around the library, so everybody was happy.

The directors were being sticky about the replacement of some of the ornaments which, to be fair, weren't awfully bad, but Carol produced a new architectural carving she'd done and held it up to one of the ornaments in question. The difference in quality was clear, and the director caved and said she'd go back to the board with a request for the additional funds. But we pointed out that the budget included a whole new floor, and Carol said that we could replace the most damaged portions of the parquet and sand and refinish the rest, which would free up quite a bit of funds. Carol had some tricks up her sleeve, so the newer wood would look like the old. That made the director a lot happier, and we discussed some other issues before everybody was happy. The director had selected the artist to touch up the mural on the ceiling, and he was set to begin after the repair work on the ceiling and near the top of the walls was complete so that our restoration wouldn't damage newly restored images. It was all looking good.

Back at the office, I had five more applications. I thought I'd let the ads run a couple more days before cancelling them as I had some promising candidates, and made my first cut, sending out emails to seven of the applicants that thanked them for their interest but at this time I would not be asking them for an interview. I'd keep some of the resumes on file, though. I sent the remaining four to Aslyn with a request to do a general background check.

The next few weeks passed peacefully. Damian was enthralled with the images of the developing kids and came with me to the appointments where he got new pictures each time that he showed to anyone he could corner. The kids were about the size of grapes now and I was still enjoying no morning sickness. I was getting mood swings, though, from laughing wildly, filled with joy to my normal equilibrium. I knew I could do the parenting thing, and I had I had strong support from my medical team, so I was keeping my promise to myself and enjoying the hell out of this pregnancy. Serena came back with proof that HYDRA had insinuated itself into governments and businesses in Europe, and more specific information was sought, not just from Europe but all the continents. Nico somehow broke out and vanished. I knew something was up, because Uncle Bucky wasn't particularly concerned. All he'd say was that he hadn't been assigned to the retrieval. Natasha looked shifty, though, and Hawkeye just changed the subject when I asked him. He'd invited me to take up archery again since hand-to-hand was out, and I enjoyed the concentration it required. Steve said that they'd extracted all the information he had, anyway.

And finally, we were ready to get moving on the renovation of the Hall of Justice after having finally gotten all the permitting straight. Dagny, Serena, Torunn and I took an air car down to DC where we were due to meet with members of the League. This was going to be fun.