Chapter Text
Bell.
The first time I took you out to the park you were around a year old but you looked practically 3. Your growth was slowing down, I’ve had Jarvis running scan’s to see if there was a pattern but it’s alternating. Your mama told me I should wait until you were old enough to understand what a park was before I took you out like that. I should have listened. We came into the children’s play area with the large sandboxes and climbing frames and I let you loose on the thing seeing as you were practically twisting out of my arms to get there. I was in disguise, Bell, I had Bruce there with me and Steve! I never anticipated that Doom would come down and attack us. I never anticipated that. But your uncle Steve managed to get out all of the other kids from the playgrounds before your uncle Bruce turned into that big rage monster. You’ll learn about him when you’re older.
I don’t recall when it happened but I saw you up in the arms of Doom and I felt my stomach turn. I’ve never felt as sick as I had at that moment. Just… Just thank God your mama had made me take a portable suit. Steve was still evacuating people, creating a border and tackling the two bots Doom had bought while Bruce acted like a Cat trying to get at a string dangled from above. Eventually he’d got so frustrated he took apart the playground and used the pieces of metal as ammo to throw. I remember listening to everything as if it were in slow motion and I were underwater. I could hear you screaming for me in that slow drawled out way, the emphasis on the ‘Dy’ of Daddy.
Soon as I was up in the air and trying to find a weak spot I saw Bruce catch Doom on that weird floating device he uses, and he was falling with you with him. I felt my stomach flip again. But your uncle Bruce caught you. He caught you just like he caught me, remember? You were safe but when Doom’s device exploded you got a little cut on your cheek. Steve said afterwards that I didn’t need to take you to the hospital but you were crying so much and I was so worried…
I wouldn’t let you out of my sight for a week after that, and after a while sleeping on the floor of your room by your crib started to hurt my back. And I’m not afraid to tell you that I cried when I got you back in my arms. Not at all.