Marvel: Batman x Ironman

AN: Vol-2 will start on 1st Jan. See ya till then. 

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Morgan paused, her eyes cold and calculating, but Bruce put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. It was a comforting gesture. It was time to make her choice. The traitor, her mother's fate was in her hands now. She took a deep breath and moved forward.

Pepper looked at her daughter, her heart aching at the sight in Morgan's eyes. That guarded, almost hollow look. Pepper wanted to say something, to speak, but there was no word within. So she let her head bow down in shame instead.

In a calm but cold voice, Morgan asked, "Did you ever love me?"

The question struck like a thunderbolt. Pepper's breath caught in her throat, her lips trembling as she spoke, "Morgan… Of course, I—"

"Don't lie to me!" Morgan's voice cracked, rising above the hum of the prison. She clenched her fists and took a step closer to the cell. "Was it real? Or was it all just part of your mission? Was I just another tool for Hydra?"

Tears began to prick at the corners of Pepper's eyes, and she looked down at the ground, unable to look up and meet Morgan's piercing gaze. "When they first told me about the mission, I didn't have a choice. I followed their orders because I thought it was for the greater good. But then… then you were born. Things changed, but I couldn't escape their grasp," She said in a low voice.

Morgan's expression remained icy, though her lips quivered. "So, what? You decided to play house until they needed you again? You let them trap me like some experiment while pretending to be my mother?"

"No!" Pepper exclaimed, her voice desperate. She stepped closer to the bars, her chains rattling with the movement. "I fought for you, Morgan. I tried to protect you. I begged them to stop, to let you live a normal life. But Hydra doesn't listen. They don't care. I... They brainwashed me. I... I resisted but they didn't listen."

"Neither did you," Morgan shot back, her voice filled with venom. "You could have run. You could have told someone. You could have done something! But instead, you stood there and watched them destroy everything Dad built. Everything we were."

Pepper crumbled to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "You're right," she admitted. "I failed you. I failed Tony. I failed everyone. I don't deserve your forgiveness or your love. I don't even know what is real or fake memories anymore. These emotions... I would like to believe that what I felt for you was real. Every hug, every bedtime story, every smile… that was me, Morgan. Not Hydra. Not their mission. But in the end, I was just a puppet without any free will, just like a programmed machine."

Morgan's face softened for the briefest of moments, but her walls quickly went back up. "You can't hide behind that anymore," she said, her voice quieter but no less sharp, "I lost my childhood and some of the best years of my life... The pain and nightmares... I can never forgive you."

Pepper didn't answer. She couldn't. The silence hung heavy in the air, punctuated only by her muffled sobs.

Morgan turned to Bruce, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I've heard enough," she said. Her voice wavered.

Bruce nodded. "Your choice, Morgan. Whatever you decide, I'll support you."

Morgan looked back at Pepper one last time. "I don't know if I can ever forgive you," she said. "I know you want to die. If you think I will let you take the shortcut just to get this over with, you're wrong. You will live the rest of your life in regrets, alone, without any of us. Without anyone. I just want you to disappear and never show your face to us ever again. This is goodbye."

Pepper's sobs grew louder as Morgan turned away, her words echoing in the cold, sterile air. The weight of her daughter's condemnation was heavier than any chain Hydra had ever placed on her. She collapsed fully to the floor of her cell, clutching her chest as if her heart might shatter under the strain.

"If only you had said something... Maybe I could have..." Bruce muttered, glancing at her, before following Morgan, who was already halfway out of the corridor.

Bruce led Morgan out of the facility in silence, his presence a steadying force as the tension weighed down on them both. Morgan's shoulders trembled, but her steps were deliberate. She refused to let herself fall apart—not here, not now.

Once they were back outside the prison facility, the cool breeze hit Morgan's face. She stopped and leaned against the railing, staring into the distant horizon. Her hands gripped the cold metal tightly, her knuckles white.

"You did the right thing," Bruce said softly, breaking the silence. He stood beside her. "It takes strength to confront someone like that, especially someone you loved."

Morgan let out a bitter laugh, tears finally spilling down her cheeks. "Did I? I feel like a monster. She's my mom... or at least, she was supposed to be. But every time I look at her, all I see is betrayal."

"You're not a monster," He said firmly and hugged her. "You're human, Morgan. What you're feeling is human. Anger, pain, confusion—they're all valid. What matters is what you do with them. You did good back there. Better than what I would have done. Now, it's all over. Let go of that anger. Don't let it eat you up from inside. You have a second chance, use it. Live your life freely. And this time, I ain't going anywhere. So, let it go."

Morgan embraced him back. Tears dripped down her cheeks with no hold whatsoever. Her cry started off softly, but within minutes began to help shake her frame in utter despair. Bruce held her close in a tight hug, and gently stroked along her back, giving her the time to let out the anguish. He remained silent.

After sobbing her heart out, she finally drew back and wiped away the remaining tears from her cheeks. "Thank you, Dad," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

Bruce offered her a sorrowful, tired smile. "There's no need to thank me; I'm your dad. Whatever happens, I'll be here for you pumpkin. Always," he whispered.

...

[Meanwhile, in the Void]

For eons, he slumbered. The Fallen One, the first herald of Galactus, had been cast into the unyielding darkness of the void. Deprived of his goal, his strength, and his ego, he had lingered in that desolation, alone with his thoughts. The dark energy that once coursed through his veins—a fragment of the primordial void—had been torn away, siphoned by Galactus to fuel his endless hunger.

But the void is eternal, and remnants of power endure there. For ages uncountable, the Fallen One reached out, seeking even the faintest trace of that ancient energy. His efforts bore fruit when he felt a ripple in the fabric of the void. A whisper of dark energy, faint but distinct, stirred him from his dormancy.

To escape, a price must be paid.

The voice came from within and without, a chilling echo that gnawed at the edges of his consciousness. He understood the cost: a fragment of his essence, sacrificed to breach the void's boundary. He did not hesitate.

"ARGGGGG!!!" With a deafening roar that was lost in the nothingness, he tore away a piece of his soul, hurling it into the abyss.

The void trembled. A fissure split in the impenetrable darkness, and out he stepped, his body swathed in darkness. His powerful limbs seemed withered, his bright shining armor dented and dull. The spark of dark energy within him was faint, a fragile ember. But he was free.

His weak legs gave out and he fell to his knees, huffing in exhaustion. He looked around and saw the barren land. The sky was filled with endless thunder and he couldn't sense any life around him. He clenched his fists. His pale, sunken eyes burned with resolve. "Galactus," he rasped, his voice a hollow whisper that carried the weight of millennia. "You stole my power, my purpose, my very essence. I will have my vengeance."

The void-born energy within him flickered, faint but alive. He knew it would take time to regain the full extent of his power. 'Time... I need time...' The Fallen One would bide his time, destroying planets one by one, ensuring Galactus could not feed. He would starve the World-Eater until his once-mighty foe was weak enough to fall. 'Another eon is nothing to me. I have waited this long.'

[Aboard Brainiac's Vessel]

Far away, in the cold reaches of another galaxy, Brainiac's sensors registered a peculiar energy surge. It was faint but unmistakable—a signature of dark energy unlike anything in his vast collection. His neural matrix processed the anomaly in an instant, correlating it with ancient records.

"The dark energy," Brainiac mused aloud, his voice metallic and devoid of emotion. "An entity has breached the boundaries of the void. This anomaly will be added to my collection."

Brainiac's ship, a sprawling biomechanical colossus, pivoted toward the surge. He calculated the coordinates and adjusted the course. The prospect of acquiring the dark energy, a force beyond mortal comprehension, was too tantalizing to ignore.

As the ship neared its destination, Brainiac's artificial mind began devising strategies. The Fallen One was an unknown variable, but no entity—no matter how powerful—had ever resisted assimilation. Brainiac's mechanical tendrils coiled in anticipation. "Prepare for capture," he ordered, his drones springing into motion.

...

On a barren land, the Fallen One meditated, drawing strength from the void spark within him. Slowly, his broken form began to repair. His gaunt figure became more imposing, his armor mending itself as if responding to his will. But before he could delve deeper into his restoration, a shadow fell over the moon.

He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and wary. Above him loomed Brainiac's ship, its immense form blotting out the stars. The Fallen One felt the pulse of the ship's energy, a cold and calculating force, like the beating of a mechanical heart.

From the vessel descended a swarm of drones, their claws outstretched, their purpose clear.

"A new challenger," the Fallen One muttered, his voice cold. "Do you think I have forgotten how to fight?"

He rose to his feet, and the faint ember of dark energy within him flared. Though it was but a spark, it was enough. The first drone lunged at him, and with a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a tendril of dark energy that tore through its core. The others hesitated for a fraction of a second—long enough for him to strike again.

Brainiac watched from his command station, analyzing every movement. "Impressive," he remarked, "but futile. You are weak, an ember of what you once were."

The Fallen One's lips curled into a snarl. "Then come down here yourself, machine. Let me show you what an ember can become."

"Taunting, screaming, honor, pride... All useless, primitive, unnecessary feelings to possess," Brainiac unleashed more drones.

The Fallen One fought with every ounce of strength the void spark allowed him. Each tendril of dark energy he unleashed obliterated drones in flashes of black and violet light. But no matter how many he destroyed, more came. Brainiac's forces were relentless, an endless tide of precision and efficiency.

Despite his ferocity, the Fallen One's weakness was undeniable. His power, once limitless, was now but a faint shadow. He lashed out again, shattering a massive drone, only for two more to take its place. His movements slowed, and his breathing grew labored.

Brainiac's voice echoed from the hovering ship, cold and impassive. "Your defiance is noted. But it is meaningless. You are an anomaly to be cataloged and preserved, nothing more."

The Fallen One growled, summoning a desperate surge of dark energy to form a protective barrier around himself. The energy pulsed and flickered, but Brainiac had already adapted. His drones coordinated a synchronized assault, overwhelming the barrier with precision strikes. The void energy shield collapsed in an explosion of dark light, leaving the Fallen One vulnerable.

Before he could react, tendrils of green energy surged from the drones, binding his arms and legs. He struggled, but the restraints tightened, siphoning away what little strength he had left. With a mechanical hum, the drones dragged him upward toward the massive ship.

..

The Fallen One found himself suspended in a containment field, his body immobilized. The chamber was vast and sterile, its walls lined with rows of other captured beings—an endless array of lifeforms, each encased in their own prison, each a testament to Brainiac's obsession with perfection and knowledge.

Brainiac's humanoid avatar descended from above, his cold, glowing eyes studying the Fallen One with detached curiosity. "You are the first to escape the void in eons," Brainiac said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Your power is but a fragment of its former glory, yet it is a unique anomaly. I will study it, extract its secrets, and preserve you as part of my collection."

The Fallen One glared at his captor, his voice a hoarse growl. "You think you can contain me? You're a fool. The power I wield is beyond comprehension."

Brainiac tilted his head slightly, his expression unchanging. "All power can be understood. All anomalies can be cataloged. You are no exception."

He extended a hand, and a beam of energy scanned the Fallen One's body. The dark spark within him flared, resisting the probe, but the containment field suppressed it. The Fallen One grimaced in pain as Brainiac's machines began their analysis.

"You are weak," Brainiac said, his tone clinical. "But your essence contains a trace of the void—a power that defies conventional physics. It will be mine."

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