Hero (H) was seriously injured during a failed mission to capture Antagonist (A). Sidekick (S) knows they can't afford to let A escape again & makes it their responsibility to stand in for H & guide the team whilst they're recovering. S however has only just recently rejoined the team after having spent almost a year convalescencing from an injury themselves, as well as overcoming the emotional trauma that came with it. Having spent such a long time away & feeling largely out of practice, S 1/3
has doubts about whether they're still the great fighter they once were. The fact that the team appear to be acting strangely & mollycoddling them as if expecting them to break makes them doubt their abilities even more. Fearing they would no longer stand a chance against A at hand-to-hand combat, S ends up pushing themselves excessively hard in training, desperate to regain their strength/technique & prove to the team that they've still got it. S however ends up over-exerting themselves to 2/3
the point of feeling dizzy & unwell & ends up collapsing. When S comes round again they find themselves in a bed next to the H's. S feels once more like a failure for being unable to be there for H when they most needed them. They get up & collapse beside H, telling them in a small strangled voice that they're sorry. H is still very weak & too exhausted to talk but reaches their fingers out weakly to brush against S's hand, reassurance that they could never let them down. 3/3
