just someone

My Official Debut as a Hero

Meet Cute with Debbie Grayson ❤️

Oh, and the Guardians of the Globe are here, too. Yippee.

NOTE: Had a bit of a fever while writing this so I’m sorry if it’s a bit jumbled :(

WC: idfk, a lot

PROLOGUE Chapter 1

You were trying very hard to look normal.

It was not going well.

It was a conscious effort in every step you took. Your shoulders were slightly hunched forward, your stride shortened just enough to feel unnatural, your posture carefully adjusted to shrink yourself down into something more… ordinary. It went against every instinct your body seemed to have now.

Standing straight felt right.

Moving efficiently felt right.

Taking up space felt right.

So, of course, you did the opposite.

Your fingers tensed slightly around the handle of the briefcase as you walked with the steady flow of pedestrians. No one paid you much attention, which you clung to like a lifeline. A few passing glances here and there, nothing lingering, nothing suspicious.

Good. That was good.

Invisible was good.

You adjusted the glasses perched precariously on your nose— purely decorative and completely unnecessary. (Your eyesight was better than perfect, you noted bitterly. A hell of a lot better than your eyesight back home.) You resisted the urge to straighten up again.

This was the plan. Blend in.

Be normal.

Go to work like a completely average person who definitely did not have enough strength to level a building if you sneezed wrong.

Your mind snagged, unhelpfully, on the briefcase.

More specifically, what was inside it.

The suit.

Your suit.

Even now, just thinking about it sent a strange, giddy thrill through your chest. Something bright and unreal that clashed violently with the low, constant anxiety simmering underneath everything else. It felt ridiculous to care about something like that right now, and yet—

It’s an actual superhero suit.

The thought refused to go away.

You forced yourself to look ahead instead, focusing on the street, the people, the rhythm of the city around you. Cars passed. Conversations overlapped. Somewhere nearby, a phone rang and you had to actively not focus on it when your hearing tried latching on to the sound.

Normal, you needed to act normal.

And something tells you eavesdropping on some random stranger will blow this whole undercover operation sky high.

Your breath came out slow and controlled as you grounded yourself in the moment. Just get to work. That was the goal. One normal task. One thing you could do without breaking anything, without drawing attention, without—

A soft ding cut cleanly through your thoughts.

Your grip on the briefcase tightened until the sound of creaking metal echoed above the bustling city life.

Just one moment is all you want from this fucking, stupid ass System—!

The interface appeared in front of your vision again, semi-transparent but impossible to ignore. It slotted itself neatly into your line of sight like it had every right to be there.

[TIME LIMITED QUEST DETECTED]

Your stomach sank as you kept going, your pace only faltering slightly before you forced it back into rhythm. No one else reacted. No one else could see it.

The thought was more troubling than it should be, meant you were truly alone with this fucking thing.

You already have to make it to work on time and now it’s trying to dump another quest on you!

You hated this.

The panel expanded.

[EMERGENCY QUEST: CIVILIAN PROTECTION]

Location: Downtown Chicago

Threat Level: High

Threat level…?

This quest has a threat level and you’re supposed to deal with it?! You don’t even know how to fly! This thing is trying to get you killed—!

Description: A hostile entity has emerged. Immediate intervention required.

WARNING: If no action is taken, response time from local heroes will be insufficient.

Estimated Outcome:

Multiple Civilian Fatalities

Severe Structural Damage

You could physically feel your pulse spike, the words hitting harder than you wanted them to. If you didn’t act, those people…

[DO YOU ACCEPT THIS QUEST?]

[YES] / [NO]

This isn’t fair.

[YES] / [NO]

You didn’t ask for this, you thought that stupid dream was just a dream.

[YES] / [NO]

Your hand lingers where the screen had been, fingers suspended in empty air as if the choice might still be undone. Below, the sidewalk blurs beneath your gaze. The weight of what you’ve just agreed to settles in your chest, heavy and unrelenting.

Tears sting at the corners of your eyes, threatening to spill, but you force them back, jaw tightening as you swallow hard.

You’re scared.

[QUEST ACCEPTED]

Objective:

Intervene and reduce casualties (0/1)

Delay threat until additional support arrives (0/1)

Time Remaining: 07:42

Seven minutes.

Seven minutes.

Your thoughts stumbled over the number, trying to process it, to make it mean something other than not enough time.

Threat Identified: Fire-Breathing Kaiju-Class Entity

That did it.

Your breath caught sharply as your gaze snapped upward, scanning the skyline without thinking.

It didn’t take long to find it.

Smoke curled into the sky in thick, dark plumes, rising fast enough to be unmistakable. Even from the distance, you could hear something— low, angry, rumbling in a way that made your chest feel tight.

A roar followed, faint but distinct.

You’re so fucking dead.

‘That’s not small. That’s not manageable. That’s not something I can just— handle!’

A large part of you wanted to quit, throw in the towel and wait for The Guardians to deal with it. That’s their job, isn’t it?!

Big bad shows up, they defeat it. Simple. Easy.

‘Response time will be insufficient’

The System’s words pressed back in, cold and unyielding.

You swallowed dryly.

‘No. They’ll make it.’

Except you knew better.

You knew how often “too late” happened in this world. You knew how fragile that gap between arrival and aftermath could be.

Another roar, louder this time. And beneath it—

Screaming.

Close enough that your enhanced hearing picked it up whether you wanted it to or not.

‘I can’t fight that.’

The thought came fast and sharp, cutting through everything else.

‘I don’t know how to fight anything, and this— this is a Kaiju. This is city-level destruction!’

The people around you finally took notice of the calamity happening only a few blocks away. Hushed murmurs and anxious whispers muddled your thoughts, preventing you from just thinking.

‘…I hate this.’

Ducking into the nearest alleyway, the latch of the briefcase snaps open before you fully register the decision.

It falls open in your hands, and there it was.

Red.

Blue.

Gold.

For a moment, everything else faded again. Not completely, the world wasn’t so kind, but enough for your brain to latch onto something simpler. Something easier to process.

‘That’s mine.’

The suit lay folded with impossible precision, the colors richer up close—deep, almost luminous red paired with a bold, clean blue. The fabric was something between cloth and armor— smooth and seamless, like it had been designed to move with you rather than against you. A gold belt wrapped around the middle of the suit, the front of the belt forming a shallow ‘V’ shape. Gold cuffs sit near the bottom of the case, looking like they’re patiently waiting for you to put them on.

And at the center—

An iconic emblem.

The iconic symbol!

Your breath hitches for half a second.

‘Oh, this is— this is actually happening.’

Another explosion cracks through the air, sharp and immediate.

Reality snaps back into place as a grimace pulls at your face.

‘Right. People are actively in danger. Focus.’

Your hand shoots forward, grabbing the suit without hesitation this time.

The world warps around you as you step out of sight between one blink and the next. Motion comes instinctively, faster than thought, faster than panic, your body moving in a blur as you change in seconds. The suit settles against your skin like it has always belonged there.

You bent your knees—

—and immediately hesitated.

Wait.

There was no tutorial for this.

No instructions, no “press X to fly”, no helpful little System prompt explaining how you were supposed to launch yourself into the sky without turning into a human missile.

Your gaze flicked upward, then back to the ground.

‘Do I jump? Do I— lean? Is this a thinking thing? A muscle thing? Oh my god, what if I just— faceplant into a building?!’

“Okay,” you muttered under your breath, more to yourself than anything. “We’re committing.”

You pushed off the ground.

Too hard.

The pavement exploded beneath your feet with a sharp crack, sending fragments of concrete outward as you shot upward.

…And immediately lost control.

“Fuck—!”

The city dropped away too fast, the sky rushing up to meet you. Your body tilted sideways, momentum dragging you into an unintentional spin as your arms flailed for balance.

‘THIS WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA!’

Wind tore past your ears, loud and disorienting, your stomach lurching as your sense of direction completely abandons you. Up didn’t feel like up. Down didn’t feel like down. Everything was just—

Movement.

Fast.

Too fast.

You tried to correct.

Overcorrected.

Your body jerked in the opposite direction, sending you into a sharp, uneven arc across the sky.

You sent a silent plea to whatever would listen that the people below wouldn’t look up. That’d be so fucking embarrassing.

‘Okay— okay, no, this is fine, this is just like— like learning to ride a bike… if the bike was several hundred feet in the air and could kill you instantly—‘

You narrowly avoid grazing your back against the pointy top of a skyscraper.

‘Superman makes this look so fucking easy— wait! SUPERMAN!’

You manage to flip over onto your stomach and stretch your arms forward, your hands curling into fists.

The change is instant.

Your limbs stopped flailing as much. Your center of gravity settled. The rushing sensation of falling smoothed into something steadier, something controlled. The air no longer felt like something you were fighting against, but something you were moving through.

A bright, surprised laugh rends itself free from your throat.

Your body knew what to do.

You leaned forward slightly, and instead of spiraling—

You moved.

Clean, direct, intentional.

You tilted your right arm and your trajectory shifted smoothly. No jerking, no panic, just… motion.

“I’m flying,” you said under your breath.

Flying.

The fear didn’t disappear, but it changed— morphed into something brighter, threaded with something dangerously close to exhilaration.

The city stretched beneath you now, no longer a blur but something you could track. You dared to dip closer, enough to see a child look up at you with wide eyes.

Your focus snapped back into place.

Right.

There was still a giant fire-breathing problem waiting for you.

Your body reacted before you could second guess it, angling forward as you accelerated— faster now, smoother, the air cracking faintly around you as you cut through it.

[TIME SENSITIVE QUEST: ACTIVATED]

Time Remaining: 07:42

The closer you got, the clearer it became.

Burning cars.

Collapsed storefronts.

People running— no, scrambling— through debris-strewn streets.

And towering above it all—

The Kaiju.

‘Fuck me gently with a chainsaw— how the fuck am I supposed to fight that?!’

The creature roared, the sound vibrating through the air and straight into your chest as it stepped forward.

One massive foot lifting—

And coming down.

Toward a figure frozen in the street.

A woman standing just outside a damaged storefront, one hand still clutching a fallen purse, her body locked in place as if her brain hadn’t caught up to the reality unfolding in front of her.

Her head tilted up.

Eyes wide.

Not moving.

‘She’s not running.’

The realization hit hard and fast.

‘Why isn’t she moving—‘

No time.

Your body reacted before your thoughts could finish forming.

You dove.

The air screamed past your ears as you angled downwards, the ground rushing up in a blur. For half a second, you thought you’d miscalculated— too much speed, wrong angle—

‘Adjust—adjust—!’

You twisted midair, one arm shooting forward as you closed the distance in an instant.

Your hand caught the woman around the waist.

Momentum carried you both.

Hard.

You hit the ground, your boots carving into the pavement as you fought to slow down without turning it into something worse. Your free hand slammed down, cracking the asphalt as you forced yourself to stop behind a partially collapsed car.

The Kaiju’s foot slammed down where the woman had been standing.

The impact shook the street.

For a moment, everything went quiet.

Your heart pounded in your ears.

The woman in your arms was still.

Alive.

Unhurt.

‘Okay— okay! Good!’

You loosened your grip immediately, carefully—carefully—setting her down.

She’s… wearing a familiar green shirt…

“You’re okay,” you said quickly, voice steadier than you felt. “Deep, slow breaths, ma’am. Everything will be fine.”

The woman blinked up at you, still clearly processing what the hell just happened.

“…I—“

Her gaze flicked past your shoulder toward the destruction, then back again, confusion and shock warring across her face.

“Can you move?” You asked, already scanning the street for the next threat.

A beat.

Then a shaky nod.

“Yes— yes, I—“

“Okay, good. You need to get back,” you said, gesturing quickly toward the safer end of the street. “Away from the main road. Stay behind cover if you can.”

The woman hesitated, just for a second— like she wanted to say something more.

Then another roar tore through the air.

Decision made.

She turned and ran.

You exhaled sharply, your shoulders dropping just a fraction.

‘Great. First save: successful. Didn’t drop her. Didn’t break anything. We are thriving.’

You tried to shake the feeling of familiarity that the woman instilled in you. There was no way you knew her—

[Time Remaining: 06:34]

The Kaiju did not hesitate once it locked onto you.

Its massive head turned with a low, grinding motion, embers spilling from its jaw as it exhaled heat in uneven bursts. Up close, it was worse— its sheer size warped perspective, each step shaking the ground hard enough that you could feel it reverberate up through your legs even while hovering.

Your stomach twisted.

‘Shit… that’s bigger in person. That’s significantly bigger in person.’

It roared, the sound loud enough to rattle your bones.

You flinched— but didn’t move back.

‘Right. It’s a big target. A really big, very angry target. You’ve seen this before. Kind of. On a screen. Which is not the same thing. Not even a little bit the same thing.’

The Kaiju stepped forward, claws tearing into the asphalt as it advanced. A car crumpled under its weight like paper, alarms blaring uselessly as flames licked up the sides of nearby buildings.

Too many people were still in the open.

You moved first.

But not to attack.

You darted downward, grabbing two civilians at a time, relocating them behind debris, behind walls, anywhere that looked even remotely safer. Your movements were fast now, less frantic than before, though still far from polished.

[Time Remaining: 05:10]

‘None of you have any self-preservation skills whatsoever— why are you just standing around, waiting to be stomped to death?!’

A sharp bark cut through the chaos.

Your head snapped to the side.

There— a small dog stood stubbornly in the middle of the street, paws planted, ears pinned back as the Kaiju’s shadow swallowed it whole.

‘Of course there’s a dog, and of course it’s not moving. Why would it move? That would be too easy—!’

The creatures foot lifted.

You didn’t have time to reach it.

Your lungs pulled in a sharp breath on instinct, something cold blooming deep in your chest. It was a strange sensation— like inhaling winter itself— and when you exhaled, the air that left wasn’t normal.

It crystallized.

A controlled stream of frost spread across the pavement beneath the dog, coating the ground in a thin sheet of ice. The dog yelped as its paws slipped out from under it, sliding backward just in time for the Kaiju’s foot to slam down right where it had been standing.

Time Remaining: 04:05

‘…Holy shit, that actually worked.’

The Kaiju turned toward you again, slower this time, its attention sharpening.

You’d officially annoyed it.

“Great,” you muttered. ‘Love that for me.’

It lunged.

You reacted on instinct, shooting forward to meet it instead of backing away. Your fist connected with the side of its jaw in a solid, ringing impact that sent a visible ripple through its massive frame.

The force shocked you more than it did the creature.

‘Fuck me—!’

The Kaiju staggered.

And then—

It started to fall.

Backward.

Directly toward an office building.

‘No, no, no—!’

You moved instantly, disappearing from in front of it and reappearing beneath its collapsing weight. Your arms shot upward, bracing against its body as it came down.

The impact drove you into the pavement, cracks spiderwebbing beneath your feet as the sheer weight pressed down.

It was heavy, overwhelmingly so.

For a split second, panic flared.

‘I cannot hold this, I absolutely cannot—‘

But your body didn’t give out.

It held.

Your teeth clenched as you adjusted your footing, forcing your legs to stabilize, pushing upward with everything you had. Muscles you hadn’t known you possessed strained, but they responded, rising to meet the demand like they had been waiting for it.

The Kaiju’s descent slowed.

Stopped.

[Time Remaining: 02:05]

Hovering just inches from crushing the building behind you.

Glass rattled above your head and you glanced up.

Rows of office workers pressed against the windows, staring down at you in stunned silence.

For a brief, completely surreal moment, you raised your voice.

“Are— Are you guys okay up there?”

A few nods. Someone raised a trembling hand in a thumbs up.

“Okay! Stay back from the windows,” you called, before shifting your focus back to the much larger problem currently trying to crush you.

With a sharp exhale, you pushed.

‘Shit, that was a bit too much force!’

The Kaiju’s body tilted away from the building, its weight redistributing as you directed it off balance. It stumbled sideways, regaining its footing with an angry roar that shook the air.

You dropped back, breathing harder now.

‘Well, at least now I know I can become breathless. That’s kinda interesting—‘

You barely had time to rest before something slammed into your peripheral vision.

The Kaiju’s tail whipped through a nearby hotdog stand, reducing it to splintered wood and twisted metal. The impact sent debris flying outward in wide arc—

Your eyes tracked it instantly.

Trajectory. Speed. Spread—

And then you saw her.

A little girl.

Standing in the open, completely unaware.

Facing the wrong direction.

‘How the fuck are you this oblivious?!’

There was no time to think.

You moved.

The world blurred as you crossed the distance in less than a second, appearing behind the girl just as debris reached her.

One arm wrapped firmly across the child’s chest, pulling her back against you.

Your other hand came up immediately, cradling the back of the girls head and pressing it down to her chest.

“Don’t look,” you said quickly, your voice low but urgent.

Then you turned your body—

Positioning yourself between the girl and the incoming debris.

The impact came a heartbeat later.

Glass shattered against your back. Metal fragments struck your shoulders and scattered harmlessly, clattering to the ground around you. The force pushed you forward half a step, but you didn’t budge beyond that.

The girl flinched in your arms, clutching onto you.

But she wasn’t hurt.

She’s safe.

That’s the only thought anchoring you as your breathing comes in uneven bursts, your chest tight, your pulse too fast.

[QUEST COMPLETE: CIVILIAN PROTECTION]

The screen slams into your vision so suddenly you flinch, eyes widening.

It’s brighter this time. Louder. More… alive.

Rewards:

+Reputation (Local)

+Public Awareness

+Hero Identity Credibility

+1 Level

Skill Unlocked: Minor Regeneration (LV1)

Stat Points Available: 5

You blink.

Once.

Twice.

Your brain… doesn’t catch up.

Skill?

Your grip tightens slightly around the girl without you meaning to, and she lets out a small whimper. You immediately loosen, swallowing hard.

“Sorry— sorry, I’m sorry,” you whisper, voice shaky.

But your attention drifts back to the screen almost immediately, your brows knitting together in confusion.

None of this had been mentioned before. The System never said anything about skills, or stat points, or… anything beyond completing the task. It told you to save people.

That was it.

So why does it feel like you’ve just been handed something far more complicated than what you agreed to?

Before you can fully process it, a strange warmth begins to spread through your body. It starts in your chest, subtle and almost easy to miss, before slowly radiating outward in steady, controlled waves. You freeze as the sensation builds, your breath catching as you wait for pain that never comes. Instead, the ache in your muscles dulls. The sting of cuts and bruises fades into something distant, manageable, like your body is quietly repairing itself without your permission.

Your lips part slightly as you try to make sense of it. Your gaze flicks back to the words hovering in front of you.

Minor Regeneration.

The name settles uneasily in your mind. You stare at it as though it might offer an explanation if you look long enough, but it remains exactly what it is— an answer without context. A rule you were never taught. A reward you were never told existed.

Another crash echoes through the city, louder this time, and your head snaps up instinctively. The mission. You completed it. That realization lands a split second before the next one follows.

The heroes are here.

Your stomach drops as the thought fully settles in. You hadn’t really considered what that would mean. In your mind, it had always been vague—some distant group stepping in once things got too big for you to handle. You assumed it would be a handful of local heroes, people used to cleanup and evacuation, not the kind who headline disasters like this.

You were never supposed to be seen.

You were just supposed to help.

Another impact ripples through the street, and this time you turn toward it without hesitation. What you see makes your breath catch.

They arrive all at once, not as scattered individuals but as a coordinated force. Figures move through the air with impossible speed, some flying, others launching from building to building with precision that speaks of long-practiced teamwork. Even from a distance, there’s a presence to them— something unmistakable.

Recognition hits you almost immediately.

The colors. The formations. The sheer scale of their response.

The Guardians of the Globe.

The realization sends a sharp wave of panic through your chest. Your grip on the girl tightens again, though this time you’re careful, pulling her closer more out of instinct than necessity.

These aren’t just heroes. They’re the heroes. The ones people rely on when things are at their worst.

And now they’re here.

Which means they might see you.

Your thoughts begin to spiral before you can stop them. What if they already have? What if they’re wondering who you are, why you’re here, how you were involved? What if they start asking questions you don’t know how to answer?

Your gaze flickers briefly back to the fading blue screen still hovering faintly in your vision.

What if they know you don’t belong?

The possibility sends a fresh spike of anxiety through you. You take a small step back without realizing it, then another, your body already trying to retreat from a situation you were never meant to be part of.

You shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t be anywhere near them.

One of the Guardians lands nearby with a force that you feel more than hear, the impact sending a rush of displaced air through the street. The wind tugs at your clothes and hair, making you instinctively lower your head as if that alone might make you less noticeable.

Your heart pounds loudly in your ears, each beat faster than the last as you try to make yourself smaller, quieter— just another civilian in the aftermath.

(Hopefully they think the costume is just some cosplay instead of, y’know, real.)

Just someone scared.

Just someone who doesn’t matter.

“Hey.”

The voice is close. Too close.

Your entire body goes rigid as the single word cuts cleanly through the noise around you. Your breath catches, and for a moment, you don’t move at all. Then, slowly, almost reluctantly, you begin to turn your head.

It becomes immediately clear that you weren’t as unnoticed as you thought, because The Immortal is standing a short distance away, looking directly at you.

‘God, just strike me down right here.’

Up close, he’s… overwhelming. Not in the loud, explosive way the battle behind him is, but in something steadier, heavier.

Grounded.

Like the kind of presence that doesn’t need to announce itself to be felt.

His attention is fixed on you— not in suspicion, oddly enough— but in sharp, assessing focus, like he’s already trying to piece together where you fit into everything that just happened.

Your thoughts immediately trip over themselves.

Say something.

Do something.

Why is he looking at you?

Your arms shift instinctively, and that’s when it hits you— you’re still holding the girl.

“Oh—,” the realization comes out under your breath as you quickly crouch, carefully setting her back on her feet. “You’re okay,” you add softly, your voice gentler now, trying to reassure her despite the lingering tremor in it. “You’re safe.”

Your hands pull back, hovering uncertainly in the space between you, unsure where to go now that they’re no longer shielding her.

The girl doesn’t move away.

Instead, she lingers.

Her small hands clutch tightly at the front of your suit, her wide eyes flicking past you toward the distant chaos before returning to your face. There’s hesitation there— uncertainty, fear that hasn’t quite caught up with the fact that she’s no longer in immediate danger.

You feel it immediately, that quiet, fragile dependence, and it makes something in your chest tighten.

“It’s okay,” you murmur again, softer this time, though you’re not entirely sure if you’re reassuring her or yourself.

She hesitates for one more second before stepping forward instead of away, her arms wrapping around your middle in a quick, tight hug.

You freeze.

It’s brief— just a moment— but it’s enough to catch you completely off guard. Slowly, almost cautiously, you return the gesture, one hand coming to rest lightly against her back as you hold her there.

“Thank you,” she mumbles against you, her voice small but certain.

The words hit harder than you expect.

Your throat tightens slightly, and for a second, you don’t trust yourself to speak. When she pulls back, it’s on her own terms this time, her grip loosening as she takes a small step away from you. She gives you one last look—like she’s committing your face to memory— before finally turning and hurrying toward the nearby group of civilians.

You watch her go a little longer than necessary, just to make sure she actually gets there, that someone else reaches her, that she’s truly out of danger.

Only then do you remember.

Slowly, your attention drags back up.

Right.

Him.

Your shoulders stiffen as your gaze lifts, only to falter again under the weight of The Immortal’s attention. You straighten a little too quickly, your posture awkward as your hands curl at your sides before you consciously still them.

“Uh…”

‘Fantastic start, really intelligent.’

You manage to glance up at him for a split second before looking away again. There’s something about the way he watches you that makes it hard to hold eye contact— not because it feels hostile, but because it feels like he’s noticing too much.

Behind him, the sounds of the battle continue— distant impacts, a roar that shakes the air— but his focus doesn’t shift.

“You got civilians out,” he says, his voice even, steady. “That was the priority.”

You blink, caught slightly off guard by the simplicity of it. It isn’t a question, and it isn’t exactly praise. It’s just a statement. Acknowledgment.

“I—yeah,” you reply, your voice quieter than you mean it to be. “I was just nearby, and I—”

You stop yourself before you can spiral into rambling. Your thoughts scramble, trying to land on something normal, something that won’t invite more questions.

“I just helped where I could.”

It sounds thinner than you’d like.

Your heart is still racing, your mind still running too fast. You can feel it creeping back in— that sharp awareness that you’re standing in front of someone who knows this world far better than you do. Someone who might notice things you don’t even realize you’re giving away.

Like the way your gaze flickers ever so slightly to the side, toward something that isn’t there anymore.

The System screen has faded, but the awareness of it hasn’t.

You force yourself to stay still.

Across from you, The Immortal studies you for another moment, his expression unreadable but not unkind. There’s a pause, brief but deliberate, like he’s deciding how far to push.

Then his posture shifts, just slightly.

“You’re not hurt?” he asks.

The question is simpler than you expect, grounded in something immediate and real.

You hesitate for a fraction of a second, your mind flashing back to the warmth that spread through you, the way your injuries dulled and faded under something you still don’t understand.

“I’m… okay,” you answer slowly. It’s true, in a way that still feels strange.

Your fingers twitch faintly at your side.

His gaze lingers, like he’s weighing that answer, but he doesn’t press.

Behind him, the battle sounds more controlled now—less chaotic, more contained. The kind of shift that tells you the situation is being handled.

Which means you’re no longer needed.

The realization settles awkwardly in your chest.

You shift your weight slightly, the urge to step back creeping in again. To leave before more questions come. Before you say something wrong. Before—

“Stay with the evacuation groups,” he says, cutting cleanly through your thoughts. His tone isn’t harsh, but it carries quiet authority. “Med teams will be moving in. If you can still help, help there.”

You nod quickly. “Right. Yeah. I can do that.”

A task. Something clear. Something safe.

You latch onto it immediately.

For a brief second, his expression softens— just slightly— before his attention shifts back toward the fight. He turns, already preparing to rejoin it.

“You did good,” he adds, almost as an afterthought.

The words land heavier than you expect.

And then he’s gone, moving with sudden speed back into the battle, leaving you standing there as the noise of the world rushes back in around you.