“You’re going to blow out your arms,” the villain observed. They watched as the hero merely grit their teeth, shoving themself through another pull-up. It looked painful, and if the sweat slicking the hero’s brow was any indication, it was.
They waited for the hero to let themself drop from the bar and accept the villain was stronger. But they didn’t.
Three more pull-ups, and the villain stepped in.
“Hero,” they said slowly. “You’re about to tear the ligaments in your arms. You need to stop.”
The hero blew out a shuddering breath. Struggled for purchase, fighting gravity—and let themself drop.
The hero’s hands were bleeding, calluses torn open by the bar. The hero didn’t seem bothered when their own hands shook so much that their blood began to splatter on the gym floor.
For a moment, the villain could only stare at them.
Shit.
They didn’t know how to handle this. They knew the hero was dedicated. They knew the hero was strong, and perpetually trying to be stronger, but they hadn’t thought…
They hadn’t thought the hero would be so willing to tear apart their own body for success.
It was supposed to be fun, the villain thought. They felt a little sick as the hero pressed their palms together to soothe the bleeding, an action that was practiced and familiar. As if they had done this before.
The hero reached for something in their bag, smearing blood on the side, and pulled out a roll of blue electrical tape. The villain didn’t understand why, until the hero tore a strip off and made to wrap their hands with it.
The hero would be the death of them.
They crouched in front of the hero, plucking the electrical tape out of their hands.
“What are you doing with this?”
The hero blinked at the villain like they were the strange one in this situation.
“Wrapping my hands?”
The villain hissed in a breath.
“With electrical tape?”
The hero flushed slightly, looking down at their bloody hands. They looked close to tears.
“It…sticks to skin, really well. And it doesn’t move, either, when you move your hands or wherever else, even if you’re fighting. Plus, blood doesn’t make it come off, at least, not for a while.”
The villain blinked at them.”
“Blood doesn’t make it come off,” the villain repeated, processing. The hero nodded, reaching for the electrical tape. The villain settled it out of reach.
“Not if you wrap it right.”
Dimly, the villain realized that meant the hero had done this enough times to have it down to a science.
“And you couldn’t use a bandaid?” The villain asked incredulously. The hero shrugged a shoulder, then winced at the motion.
Yeah, the hero had absolutely blown out their arms.
“Bandaids move—“
The villain hushed them.
“Be quiet for a second.”
The hero, wisely, went quiet.
The villain rubbed a hand over their face, then studied the hero for a moment. They took one of the hero’s hands into their own, studying the damage.
“Why did you do this to yourself,” the villain murmured.
“What do you mean, why,” the hero snapped. “It’s my job.”
“Your job is to save people,” the villain corrected. “Not destroy yourself.”
“I’m not destroying myself—“
“You are.”
“Shut up—“
“Hero.”
“I need to be better,” the hero snapped. Their voice rang out across the gym, echoing into the rafters, and they both froze. After a moment, the hero spoke again, voice soft. “I need to be better.”
They said it like they needed the villain to understand. The villain wondered who they were really saying it to—the villain, or themself.
“Better than who?”
“Everyone.” It was hushed, like a secret.
The villain watched them, waiting.
The hero took a shaky breath
“My whole thing is being the best. I have always been the best. That’s the only reason I matter. If I’m not strong enough, then I am nothing, so I need. to be. better.”
The hero had started crying, very quietly, like they were afraid to take up too much space.
The villain was not equipped to handle gifted kid burnout.
“There’s more to you than just being a good athlete,” the villain said hesitantly, and the hero shook their head.
“No. There isn’t.”
“Hero.”
“Can you give me back my electrical tape?” They hiccuped to contain a sob.
“No,” the villain said firmly, and then the hero really was sobbing.
“You don’t understand—“
The villain didn’t. Not really. They had never been the kind of talented that the hero was.
They wondered now if maybe that was a blessing.
“I don’t,” the villain agreed. “But I do understand that you’ve saved half the city, and you give everything you have to give, and you always do your best.”
“But I-“
“No.” The villain stopped them. “You are doing your best.” They tipped the hero’s chin up until they met the villain’s eyes. “And it is enough.”
The hero froze, eyes darting over the villain’s face. They wondered if anyone had ever said that to the hero, if whatever mentor they had was giving them anything other than orders to be stronger. Be better. Be more.
The villain had some new targets to take care of, it would seem.
For now, though, they had to take care of hero.
“We’re going to go wrap your hands,” they said softly. “And then we’re going to take care of your arms, and you’re going to take a nap.”
The hero nodded, watching them like they were some kind of good, selfless person.
“And if I ever catch you using electrical tape again, so help me, I will put you six feet under.”
That startled a laugh out of the hero, and they let the villain guide them to their feet.
“Fine.”
The villain turned to them. “Okay?”
Are you going to be alright?
The hero seemed to understand.
“Okay,” the hero agreed.
Yes.
And so, it was.
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DC/DP Crossover #9 where Damien and Danny become friends through their civilian identities and bond through their unhinged adventures, dog parks with their pets, zoos, and eating vegan food together as they chat (and maybe talk shit shoosh shoosh). Their identities aren’t revealed during this time as Damien doesn’t see why he should and Danny just doesn’t ask questions about certain mildly questionable things about his new slightly bloodthirsty friend as he has his own skewed version of what’s normal so a lot of what they do is just an average Tuesday for him.
Maybe Damien makes the guess that Danny’s a meta so he doesn’t question some things that the boy does that isn’t normal for humans. Or socially but Damien probably doesn’t realize.
The thing is that Damien never tells the Batfam where he’s going and doing for several hours.
(Dicks just happy he’s getting sun on him)
So naturally, they try to follow him.
It goes as well as you expect.
Damien manages to loss them a few times before they manage to get to wherever Damien and Danny are planning on meeting up, but they can’t really see Danny as he’s always at an angle where you can’t really see him that well, and no video recordings or pictures of him ever come out right instead going static every-time Danny’s on screen.
Maybe Danny and Damien have a continuous thing where one day either on the weekday or weekend, Danny sneaks up to Damien’s window to get let in and Damien makes the preparations to request that Alfred makes extra cookies so he can bring them up and eat them with Danny.
Duke notices this and brings it up later to the Batfam. Which leads to someone if not a few of them trying to get into Damien’s room when it’s that day and either Damien’s already in the room or they do it when he leaves.
Weird that every-time they go in it seems to be completely empty or just Damien glaring at them annoyed and currently reaching for the sharpest weapon that’s closest.
(Later, Damien asks demands how Danny managed to hide from his brothers, and the boy shows off his invisibility, this is later used for chaos)
The Batfam is tearing their hair out cause they can’t figure out who this motherfucker is and to make things worse, Damien has been missing since Friday and they can’t find him anywhere.
(Damien went to go visit Danny’s home Amity Park for once and decided to stay there for the weekend. Which leads to some ghosty mayhem and a little Phantom reveal)
He comes back and promptly lectured, grounded, and benched from Robin. Damien is super pissed about this but luckily Danny decided to come over again(just straight up flying in at this point)and they hang out a lot during Damien’s period of punishment which makes it more tolerable.
Which makes the Batfam suspicious cause, Damien? Is being rather?? Calm??? About this??? What?? The?? Fuck???? Who is this??
Tim swears he hears two voices talking in the dead of night when he lurking down the halls for another cup of coffee.
The reveal happens when one of the brothers comes down in the early morning to greet Alfred who would be making breakfast and is instead greeted by the sight of Alfred and another boy that’s roughly around Damien’s age but isn’t Damien who’s cautiously helping around with gloves on.
Or alternatively: It’s the middle of the night and they meet a Danny who’s rummaging through the fridge and snaps his head around at an inhuman angle with the fridge light reflecting off his eyes.
Either way they meet Danny in the end.
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