Cw: Sidekick referred to as kid but is 17/18/19, magical exaustion, sidekick whump.
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“Again,” Villain instructed. Sidekick whimpered, lowering their shaking arms, “P-please Villain, I cant… it's too heavy!!!” Villain sighed, squeezing the bridge of their noise with their thumb and pointer finger, “That was an order, Sidekick, not a request.”
“Villain, i cant, I really cant!!!”
Villain growled, backhanding Sidekick hard across the face, “You think you're better than me, don't you? You think you don't need all this training. Making me out to be the bad person here. I saved you sidekick, I put a roof over your head and I can easily take it all away from you.”
Sidekick’s eyes blew wide, “N-no.. please.. I'm sorry, I don't think that at all!!!” Villain took a step forward, “Then.do.it.again.” Sidekick gulped, shakily lifting their hand as they quickly used their powers to lift Villain’s car, lifting it up with grunt and setting it back down to the ground. “Good, now teleport.”
Sidekick bit their lip to hold in a whimper. They closed their eyes and blipped to the inside of the car before back to their original position, stumbling slightly but managing to catch themself. Villain simply nodded, “Good. Now suit up, we have our mission today.”
Sidekick nodded, quickly running into the base and into their room. Their hands shook like mad as they changed into their uniform. Keep yourself together. It was too much. Villain’s constant training was ruining them. Everytime they teleported, they felt as if they could collapse, everytime they lifted something heavy, they felt as if their knees would collapse from under them.
Oh shut it, stop feeling sorry for yourself.
They let out a sigh, looking at themselves in the mirror, fluffing their hair slightly before dusting down their uniform and nodding. They thought it would be best not to collapse before the mission so they walked back to Villain who was waiting for them outside the base.
“Oxford bank, teleport us there.”
Sidekick gulped, quickly blinking back tears as they slowly nodded. They placed their hand on Villain’s shoulder, closed their eyes and blip.
They quickly clung onto Villain as they stumbled, starting to feel weak, “S-sorry…” Villain shoved Sidekick’s hand off, “Hurry, grab what you can before Hero gets here.”
Sidekick nodded once more before running into the bank, trying to ignore how their vision swayed. Villain worked with the safe as Sidekick went to the smaller rooms, full of wads of cash. They took out their bag and quickly shoved as much money as they could into it.
“Drop the bag,” A voice came.
Hero.
Shit.
Sidekick yelped, spinning around quickly, met with Hero’s eyes as they held a gun pointing at Sidekick. Sidekick quickly raised their shaking hands, not dropping the bag, “W-wait… don't shoot…”
Hero smirked, taking the safety off of the gun, “Oh? Then drop.the.bag.” Sidekick whimpered, Villain would kill Sidekick if they ruined this mission!!! “I-I can’t…”
“Oh, you cant, can you? You even have a superpower which could save your life right now and you're not even using it. Villain mustn’t be training their Sidekick very well, so why don't we start training?” Hero smirks before quickly firing the gun.
Sidekick cried out, blipping to the other side of the room to dodge the bullet, making Hero chuckle, turning around slowly, “Hm, you don’t look too good, Sidekick, something the matter?” Sidekick couldn't tell them! If Villain found out they had snitched to them, oh boy- they would be dead.
Hero raising their gun once more was enough to make Sidekick blip to their original spot, stumbling sloppily as they clutched onto a vault. Hero chuckled, “Tired already? My my, Villain is a terrible mentor!!!”
Hero barked out a laugh, “Oh, I'm not doing anything, you're the one who's tiring yourself out, dear!!!” They raised the gun once more, Sidekick didn't fall for it this time until they say Hero’s finger slowly press down on the trigger, they yelped and quickly blipped, but this time, they glitched.
They glitched, stumbling into Hero with a sob, their whole body seizing in pain as they broke down crying, “‘m s-sorry…I ca-cant.. Pl-please.. No m-more!!!” Hero’s eyebrows furrowed in concern , quickly dropping the gun and holding Sidekick close.
“Woahwoahwoahwoah, kid, hey, it's alright, what happened, buddy?” Sidekick sobbed against Hero, their whole body shaking, in abysmal pain They couldn't manage any words, a cloud of pain filling their brain.
“Sidekick I-” Villain paused, their face darkening, “Let go of my Sidekick, Hero.” Sidekick felt as Hero tightened their grip protectively on Sidekick, “Not happening, what the fuck did you do to them?”
Villian only scoffed, “Oh will you stop falling for their dramatics, they’re fine! Now I suggest you let them go before I make you.”
“Villain, I am not letting this slide, you're clearly not training them properly if they show up to a fight. Their power drained.” Villain’s face darkened as they raised an eyebrow, “Oh, well their power better not be drained because I warned them what would happen if they run out of power so they can’t teleport us home.”
Hero felt Sidekick flinch against them, realizing their mistake. Hero only ran a hand through Sidekick’s hair gently, feeling how they leaned into the touch. Villain took a step forward, hand raised, fire blazing from their palm, “Let.Them. Go.”
Sidekick looked around them, just before Villain’s blaze could touch Hero, Sidekick raised their shaky arm, picking up a money box from the corner of the room, using all the rest of their power to move the box through the air at full speed, quickly knocking it into Villain’s face, sending them sprawling back unconscious.
Sidekick fell limp against Hero, just about conscious, Hero held them tight and gently rubbed their back, “Heyheyhey, it's alright, I got you kid, you're safe. You don't have to put up with them anymore.”
Sidekick sobbed into Hero’s shoulder, clinging onto Hero’s shirt as tight as they could.
The one thing that surprises Otabek the most when it comes to Yuri, is that the younger man wavers, just a bit, before each competition. Performance anxiety, Katsuki Yuuri explains, though Otabek is more than able to work that out, and more than able to see it isn't just that. Yuri usually deals with it alone; in the seconds before he's due on the ice, but one day, Beka walks into the changing rooms, and simply pulls him into his arms, murmuring, counting helps, Yura. Count with me now, da? Forward, then backward, then forward again.
After that, Yuri would go to Beka when he needs the assurance, but he doesn't because Otabek is automatically there before each competition, and together they count - even when its over the phone and miles away from each other, until Yuri feels like himself again.
[Cole accidentally hurts a teammate in training, and Zane is there to reassure the earth ninja afterward.]
A/N: tryna catch up life’s a bitch. i like how zane’s either being traumatized or being therapist in my fics. anyways i think cole would accidentally forget he’s strong and break stuff and break people i mean uhhh read the fic
@summer-of-whump *coughs in I just realized I had to tag you for a reblog I'm dum*
• • •
The thing is that Cole knows he has super strength. He’s always had a heavier body build, and reaching unlocking the full potential of his elemental powers only multiplied it even more.
And he tried to keep it under control, he really does. He stops fidgeting with cups, having broken too many handles already. Jay offers to design a special durable one for him, but he declines, not wanting even more work for the lighting ninja.
He limits physical affection as much as he can, afraid to accidentally hurt someone in a touch or a casual hug.
It’s all a bad coincidence, in the end.
They’re split up into pairs for training, and Cole’s confident enough in Lloyd’s skills to let loose with his powers a little.
He swings at the wrong height, Lloyd ducks at the wrong time, and is sent flying across the room, back hitting the opposite wall with a terrible crash. He lands on the floor with a cry, nose already streaming blood to the floor.
“Lloyd?”
The others are at his side in the matter of seconds, and the fire ninja peers down at his worriedly, kneeling down to help him up.
“Shit.” Lloyd mumbles, propping himself up weakly, and reaches up gingerly to dab at his nose. The crimson only flows faster, and Kai bats his fingers away with a frown.
“Careful, you might’ve broken your nose. Don’t wanna let your super healing set it the wrong way.” He says, and Lloyd lets out a groan.
“Serios’ly? Ab’ain? I swear, Jay just did that la’d mission when he sla’bed his nunchucks’ a’ross my no’de.” He complains, wincing as he talks, and Kai gives a short laugh, slinging the blonde’s arm across his shoulder.
“I told you it was an accident!” The lighting ninja lets out a cry of disdain, and his argument goes down with a chilling glare from Lloyd.
“You broke it by smashing your weapon across my face.”
“Accident! I said I was sorry, and you were fine like five minutes later!” Jay protests, and Kai waves him down.
“You have special Oni healing, it’ll heal in like an hour. Let’s get you to the medbay. Cole, some help?” The fire ninja glances over to Cole’s earlier spot, only to see a quietly swinging door in response.
“I will go.” Zane tells him, and Kai nods gratefully back.
“Tell him it wasn’t his fault!” Lloyd calls back as he’s being half dragged away by the fire ninja, waving his remaining free arm at the nindroid. “Jay broke it way worse two weeks ago!”
“ACCIDENT, LLOYD, I SWEAR TO GOD— “
• • •
Zane finds the earth ninja sitting on his bed, expression sullen and dull. He doesn’t look at the nindroid as he walks in, eyes flitting to the floor.
“Is Lloyd okay?” Cole asks, and he nods steadily.
“Kai and Jay brought him to the med room, and his Oni blood should take care of the rest easily. It wasn’t your fault, Cole, everyone loses control once in a while.”
“I can’t. I’ll kill someone if I do.”
Zane gives him a small smile, and holds out his hand wordlessly. Cole looks at it, eyes filled with fear, like it’ll crumble if he touches it.
“It’s okay. You could never hurt me.” He taps on his wrist, a dull metal thunk sounding. “Metal, remember? Even you can’t break this, enhanced strength and all.”
Cole glances up at his face, dark brown eyes to icy blue. He hesitates, but puts his hand into Zane’s.
“Sometimes I wish I could go back to normal,” he says to Zane quietly, after a few moments of silence, and the nindroid furrows his brows in confusion.
“Normal?”
“When I didn’t have to remember not to accidentally hurt people.”
Zane thinks back to his days in the forests and the small village, where days were peaceful and short and sunny. He didn’t have to worry about being attacked, or hacked into, or where his family’s next meal would come from, or anything, besides the next day and the next.
He gets it.
“I know what you mean.” He says softly, and Cole hunches further into himself, anger coming off in waves.
“It’s so stupid. They’re part of me, and I still can’t contain them.” He breathes, and the ice ninja nods, giving his hand a small squeeze.
“Then we’ll learn.” Zane tells him.
Cole looks up at him, and this time his gaze is a little brighter.
this definitely isnt nearly two days late what are you talking about
full version with OCs and worldbuilding here (about 150 words longer)
Caretaker snarled as the guards dragged him towards the pillar, tugging painfully at the chains that circled his ankles. So he was going to get beat up again, who cared. Just a bunch of sick fucks who got pleasure out of torturing. But his open wounds already throbbed and smarted with anticipatory pain.
"Caretaker."
He stiffened. He knew that voice, he knew. Twisting his neck, Caretaker jerked his head back, looking around wildly.
And locked eyes with Whumpee.
His messy hair and dark eyes and fucking pain stood out from the dark writhing mass of bodies and cruelty that closed in around him.
No. No, no, no. What was he doing here? He wasn't supposed to be in this nightmare.
"Wait," he muttered, stiffening. "Whumper…. W-Whumper, wait."
Caretaker felt the razors in Whumper’s smile. "What do you want, little Caretaker?"
"Take him out of here."
The razors sharpened until they could draw blood. "What do you mean?"
"Not in front of Whumpee. He cant see me like this. You can fuck me up however you want, just don't..."
Just what? Spare his dignity? His pride? His fucking friend cuz god knew Whumpee would be horrified and never look at him the same again?
"...Don't make him watch. Please."
"You unworthy, ungrateful wretch." Whumper curled their fingers in a fistful of hair, pulling back Caretaker’s head until his back arched painfully. "I gave you a far lower punishment than you deserve, and you repay my boundless mercy with this audacity?"
Caretaker glared at Whumper, gritting his teeth through the shocks of pain shooting through his skull.
"And yet, you did debase yourself to beg," they murmured, eyeing him with disdain. "That deserves recognition. Guards!"
Three uniformed monsters detached themselves from the crowd and approached.
"Bring Whumpee forward," Whumper ordered, "Caretaker feels it's beneath him to be punished, so Whumpee will take it in his stead."
"What?! No! No! That's not what I wanted!" Caretaker thrashed in the grip of the soldiers, digging his fingernails into the pillar with all his might. "Stop! Take me back!"
"You had the chance, little Caretaker. But you chose to murmur against my will."
"Damn you!"
"It's your pride that's damned him. Consider that."
Oh god, it was Whumpee and he had handcuffs on his wrists. Why did he look so calm? How long had be been here? God, had he been through this before?
"Whumpee," Caretaker stammered as the creatures brought him close, "What the hell are you doing here? You've got to get out of here, don't let them do this!"
"Caretaker, it's okay," Whumpee said quietly before the guards shoved him forward. "I'll get through it."
"No! Whumpee!" Caretaker strained against the chain around his neck. "Don't touch him, you sick fucks!"
"Watch closely, little Caretaker," Whumper said, holding his jaw between their fingers, "You chose this, after all."
The first hook dug into Whumpee's flesh, curved and precise. He staggered and clung to the pillar, wings flailing. White hot rage blinded Caretaker, and he lurched forward, screaming curses and unintelligible threats.
"I swear to god, Whumper, i'll tear every fucking bit of flesh off your goddamn body! So help me god, I'll make you pay!"
"Caretaker--" Whumpee coughed, "Caretaker, stop it. That's what they want--hnng--"
Three more lashes cut through Whumpee’s body in fast succession. Whumpee's bit down cries of pain hurt Caretaker more than the beatings of the last three days.
"Stop it! Leave him alone! Punish me!"
"Oh, I think I am," Whumper murmured, "Look at how much pain you're in?"
They motioned to the henchman. With a nod, the creature cracked the weapon against Whumpee once more. The hook dug into the base of his back, dangerously close to his spine.
Whumpee shrieked in agony. With a sneer, the henchman approached and shoved it in at an angle. Terror skewered Caretaker' chest, robbing him of air.
"No. You wouldn't." Caretaker looked up at Whumper. "Y-you wouldn't dare."
"Wouldn’t I? You're not in a position to tell me anything."
They motioned with their fingers. The guard tugged at the embedded hook, tearing another cry out of Whumpee's throat. Whumpee gripped the chain with shaking hands as his body spasmed with agony.
"“He’s hitting his spine! You’ll paralyze him! Whumper, please!"
Without a word, Whumper turned and struck Caretaker across the face, knocking him to the floor.
"Hold." Whumper turned back to the guard, raising their hand.
The guard waited expectantly, but Whumper shook their head and lowered their hand. With a roar, it removed the hook in a violent, swift gesture. Whumpee staggered and clung to the pillar, gasping and sobbing.
"Do you understand your lesson, worm?"
Caretaker nodded frantically. "Yeah-- yes. I do. I have--"
Whumper leaned down and grabbed the chain around Caretaker's neck, roughly pulling him up.
"Do you understand?!"
"Yes! Yes, I've learned my place!" Caretaker's voice cracked. "Just don't--don't hurt him anymore. He doesn't deserve this."
Whumper flung Caretaker back to the floor with a sneer.
"Don't take him away just yet," they ordered the guards, "I want him to really see what he's done."
Monster Whumpee had always been a disappointment to their Handler. They'd been smaller and less impressive than the rest of the team's monstrous companions from the beginning. Handler, feeling slighted at having been stuck with a companion so beneath their station, hadn't bothered to help Whumpee develop their own skills. Instead, Handler endlessly berated and even beat Whumpee for failing to keep up, literally or metaphorically, and for making them look bad.
The idea of Handler giving up on them was terrifying - both because of the nature of the bond between a monster and their chosen human, and because Handler made it very clear that no one else would want such a useless companion.
So when Whumper captured Whumpee and the rest of the team's monsters, they found the separation as painful as the other, much more cherished companions did. Maybe even more. Nothing that Whumper or their associates could inflict on Whumpee - starvation rations, cramped conditions, brutal collective punishments for the monsters' escape attempts - compared with the crushing anxiety over what had happened to Handler, and whether they would ever find Whumpee. After the first few days of frantically throwing themself against the wall of the cell, they spent most of their time face down on the floor in an agony that started to become as physical as it was emotional.
The team eventually came for their companions, though. Whumpee looked up at the sound of creaking doors, concerned human voices, and overjoyed roars and shrieks from adjoining cells.
And then Handler opened the door.
Whumpee sprang forward with their own raspy screech of relief. Or tried to. Instead, they tripped on weakened legs, skidding against the rough ground up to Handler's feet.
Handler prodded their frail body with a sturdy riding boot, and Whumpee let out an involuntary gasp of pain. "Pfft. Even more useless than before," they said with contempt, more to themself than to Whumpee.
Whumpee looked up at them, surprised and then crestfallen.
Handler rolled their eyes and turned to go. They didn't so much as look back as they slammed the door to the cell directly in Whumpee's face.
Whumpee let out a panicked scream and launched themself at the door with everything left in them. They smashed their head repeatedly against it, crying out for Handler to come back and please, please just take Whumpee home, or maybe just come back and spend one more minute with them, they'd waited for so long…!
"It's too damaged," they heard Handler say to their teammates through the door.
"You could at least put the thing out of its misery," one of them responded.
"Nah. It'd be a waste of a bullet."
At that, Whumpee collapsed in a heap on the floor with a last, long scream of despair. They stayed like that for a long time.
Over the hours, and then days, they sporadically called out, hoping for anyone to respond. First Handler, then any of the rest of the team, then even for Whumper. Nothing but echoes. In their loneliness, they wished creatures like them could starve as easily as humans did.
One day, though, an echo screamed back.
Whumpee let out a softer, questioning cry, wondering to themself if they'd just imagined it. They coughed with the effort of calling out again so soon.
"H-hello…?" a shaky voice called out. A human voice. Not Handler's, but it was something. Someone.
A hooded figure with bright, curious eyes looked through the window into the cell, and their eyes widened, but then they disappeared from view. Whumpee's heart sank.
Then the door rattled, and slammed open. The newcomer stood in the entrance, their face slowly widening into a grin as they pulled down their hood. The same one that had been on Handler's face, ever so briefly, the day they'd first met Whumpee.
But this human's smile only grew. "You're a… haha, this is AMAZING! Whoa, whoa, whoa, careful there, you don't need to get up. Sheesh, how long have you been stuck here on your own?!"
Everything in Whumpee wanted to throw themself at their… no, they didn't dare think of this person as a rescuer yet. In resisting the urge, though, they remained stock-still, large eyes blinking at the human as they tried to figure out the best way to convince them to stay. At least for a while.
And then the human sat down right in front of Whumpee, tiny nose only inches away from Whumpee's much larger snout. "I'm Caretaker, by the way. It's okay if you don't have a name yet. We'll think of one!"
We'll…?
Whumpee let out a fragile sound of hope, staring at down at Caretaker with luminous eyes nearly the size of the human's head. Caretaker responded by reaching a hand toward Whumpee, who readily rubbed their head into Caretaker's soft palm.
"If that's alright with you, I mean," Caretaker added, running their fingers gently over Whumpee's forehead. "I'd say I'm taking you home, except I don't really have one anymore. But I guess if you're up to it, we can find one together."
Whumpee let out a happy trill of agreement, and wrapped themself tightly, protectively around the laughing Caretaker. They already felt more at home than they ever had with Handler.
“We have to go,” Imogen shouted from several feet back from Ashton’s position, her magic flickering as her concentration wavered, “Orym, Chetney, Ashton, we have to go!”
Deep in the throws of rage, Ashton brought down their hammer again, a claw sinking into his side once again.
“Ashton come on!” Orym’s voice went in one ear and out the other as he dropped back, a bloodied Chetney slung over his shoulder as he did. Ashton didn’t even turn his head. “Ashton!” He repeated, his eyes wide with worry as Ashton was thrown against the nearby wall.
They’d made their way behind cover by then, FCG desperately hurling healing spells to Ashton as the Hells huddled behind a cluster of trees.
As their head collided against the bricks, Ashton’s rage began to fade. Slowly, he looked around, re-orienting themselves into combat, wondering whether someone was preparing a Hail Mary, if Letters could get him a little bit of healing, hell if anyone had any semblance of a plan.
But no one was around.
There they sat, bleeding on their back in front of the very jaws of death, once again alone.
Abandoned.
Ashton fought the urge to call for them as he scurried upward, fear licking their stony expression. He stumbled away from the creature, clutching his side with a grunt and robotically getting out of harm’s way. A cynical part of them wondered why they’d ever expect anything different from this new group.
Why they’d think anything different from the last time this happened.
Because he was as good as dead.
They were bound to leave him.
“Ashton!” Orym’s voice came from a place they couldn’t see, their mind, likely, but it felt nice to hear regardless.
“Over here,” Ashton called lazily, a part of them feeling stupid for responding.
It was then that they felt a wave of familiar healing wash over him. It nearly took Ashton to their knees in relief, their posture straightening shortly after as he let out a long, grateful groan.
When their eyes flickered open, by some miracle Orym’s face was the first thing they saw. Orym instantly helped him away from the center of combat, watching his back without having to be asked.
“FCG is right back there, Ash,” Orym encouraged, “Just a few more steps, come on.” Grunting and limping, Ashton grew closer to the group. To his surprise, they welcomed them with gentle smiles and apologetic glances.
Ashton slumped against the wall as FCG healed them, exhaling in utter relief. Blankly, Ashton looked to each of them.
“Why’d you come back for me?” Ashton asked softly, immediately feeling stupid as the words left their mouth. Orym rested a hand on their shoulder with a sad smile.
“We’re a team, Ashton,” he looked around and received a group of affirming nods, “no one’s gonna leave you behind again.”
Ashton rested their head on the wall, eyes closed and contemplative.
And even after FCG healed him, even after the combat had died down, they stayed with them.
If only they could get the courage to believe that it really wouldn’t ever happen again.
Written for @summer-of-whump, day/prompt 25: "Don't leave me."
Summary: 'It took Maverick a full minute to notice Rooster had not moved at all. One might assume he needed a moment, but the look on the young man's face told Maverick something was seriously wrong...'
Contains spoilers for Top Gun Maverick. Larger summary inside the story due to possible spoilers.
Characters: Pete Mitchell, Bradley Bradshaw
Genre: hurt/comfort, angst
Warnings: contains descriptions of blood, gunshot wound and anxiety. Mentions medical procedures / surgery.
THE SECOND AND FINAL CHAPTER IS NOW UP!
Read on FF.net: click here
Read on AO3: click here
------------------------------
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