Damian Wish
Summary
After pursuing an interdimensional anomaly detected in a remote village, Jon and Damian encounter a villainous figure. In a brief fit of anger, she grants Damian his deepest wish, but neither seems affected or so they believe.
Chapter 1
The truck came to a stop in front of a crooked sign that read, âWelcome to Pine Hollow.â The letters were half-faded, and someone had spray-painted underneath: âWeâre not.â
âNice place âJon muttered, looking out the windowâ. It has the same energy as an old toaster.
âFocus âDamian replied, shutting down the portable Batcomputer communicatorâ. Father said the energy readings were unstable.
âYour father also says theyâre unstable when there are fireworks.
âAnd heâs almost always right âDamian shot back, stepping out of the truck with that âIâm the only adult hereâ seriousness.
The air smelled like damp earth and gasoline. There were no signs of life beyond the hum of an electrical pole and a cat that looked at them like, âyouâre not from here.â
Jon stretched his neck. âWhat do you think happened this time? A dimensional rift? A Lex experiment? A superpowered cat?
âDonât make absurd assumptions âDamian replied, though his eyebrow twitched, very slightly.
âAbsurd? Dude, weâre in a town where chickens probably pay taxes.
Before Damian could answer, something glowed in the middle of the street: a white, flickering light, like a lightning bolt trapped in slow motion. The air trembled, and with a dry pop, someone fell flat on their back onto the pavement.
âOw, my phone! âa female voice was heard.
Jon and Damian looked at each other. Jon smiled. Damian sighed.
The girl on the ground lifted her head: her hair was shoulder-length, her glasses slightly crooked, and she held her phone like it was a sacred artifact. She wore normal clothesâtoo normalâto be in the middle of an interdimensional mission.
âWhat⊠is this? âshe stammered, looking aroundâ. No, no, no, no. This wasnât in my story⊠I was just testing the writing spell, and now⊠âshe looked up, and her eyes locked onto the two heroes in front of herâ. Wait. Why are there two guys dressed like theyâre going to a superhero convention?
Jon let out a small laugh. âTechnically, we are.
âWhat? Superheroes? Really? Oh, great! âshe replied, sarcasticâ. Whatâs next, a billionaire bat and an alien boy scout?
Damian looked at her with absolute coldness.
âI donât see anything funny about this.
âI do âJon said, crossing his arms with a smileâ. Thatâs literally the description of our parents.
She looked at them, sighed, and checked her phone.
âNo signal. Great. And my notes app says âtextual materialization detected.â
âShe pausedâ. You wouldnât understand that, right?
âTry me âJon said.
âLetâs just say⊠what I write⊠sometimes comes to life. But it shouldnât have crossed dimensions. I mean, that wasnât in the contract.
Damian stepped forward. âName?
âUh⊠letâs say⊠the confused writer?
âYou donât trust us.
âYou donât look trustworthy either âshe shot back with a half-smileâ. You look like an angry cat with a Napoleon complex.
Jon nearly choked holding back laughter. Damian shot him a glare.
âSuperboy, if you dare laughâŠ
âToo late, Bat-cat.
The girl looked at them with a raised eyebrow. âSo⊠is this normal for you?
âMore than it should be âJon replied, smiling.
And right at that moment, the sky above Pine Hollow began to fracture like shattered glass.
Damian frowned. âTell me that has nothing to do with your⊠ânotes.â
She swallowed. âUh⊠depends. Is it a cosmic hole with glow and mechanical keyboard sounds?
Jon stared at her. âWhat the hell were you writing?
âJust⊠a story with a couple of attractive guys.
The silence that followed was so awkward that not even the pole cat dared to meow.
ââââââââăâ§ăâââââââââ
The sky kept trembling, and the air filled with a strange sound, like someone typing from the clouds.
âTell me thatâs not normal on this planet âthe girl said, eyes wide.
âDepends âJon repliedâ. Why does it sound like the sky is updating its operating system?
Damian just frowned. âExplain yourself. What exactly did you do?
She raised her hands. âNothing. I mean, almost nothing. Maybe I wrote âwhat if I try to add emotion to the scene?â and now the universe decided drama was the same as apocalypse.
The wind blew hard, lifting dust and leaves. A glowing crack slithered through the air like a scar of light.
âPerfect âDamian mutteredâ. A dimensional failure caused by an irresponsible writer.
âHey! Iâm not irresponsible âshe snapped, crossing her armsâ. I just like experimenting.
âThere are corpses that were also part of your âexperimentâ âDamian said in that signature Wayne cold tone.
Jon looked at him, incredulous. âCould you try not to sound like my dad when he talks to reporters?
She sighed, looking at her phone. âGreat. Iâm trapped in a comic with a morality complex.
And thatâs when Damian, unable to hold back, said:
âAt least you could try to act like someone useful.
âUseful? âshe repeated, raising an eyebrowâ. I was just trying to write a nice story about two people who love each other despite how different they are, but everything got ruined when I tried to add drama âshe yelled.
âIf thatâs the case, then explain how you ended up in our world âJon asked.
âMaybeâ âthe girl clutched her jacket tightlyâ. the story was about two heroes and the universe sent me here.
The air grew heavy. None of them wanted to dig further, because they felt theyâd regret it. The phone screen glowed with a reddish light.
âTsk, in conclusion you donât even know how you got here or how to leave. Thatâs very helpful âDamian said sarcastically, removing his mask.
âDami, your idenâ
âIt doesnât matter, sheâs so dumb I doubt sheâd even dare expose me âthe dark-haired boy sighed.
âYou know what, junior millionaire cat? âshe said with a very calm smile, the kind thatâs actually scaryâ. Letâs see if this teaches you some humility.
She began typing quickly. The keyboard sounded like falling rain.
Jon stepped forward. âWait, what are you doing?
âNothing serious âshe replied, sarcasticâ. Just⊠âgrant Damian Wayneâs deepest desire.â
A hum vibrated through the air. Everything paused for a moment, as if the world was holding its breath.
The sky stopped fracturing. The wind ceased.
And then, simply, silence.
âWas that it? âJon asked, looking around.
âSeems like it âDamian replied, adjusting his capeâ. I donât notice any difference.
âMe neither âshe said, biting her lipâ. Maybe it didnât work. Or maybe it did and it hasnât activated yet⊠I donât know, Iâve never tried it with sarcasm.
Jon raised an eyebrow. âDoes that⊠happen to you often?
âDefine âoftenâ âshe replied.
The portal began to close slowly, swallowing the remaining light. Damian watched it for a few seconds before speaking:
âIf you can really alter reality, you could stabilize it.
âI can try âshe replied, exhaling deeply. She opened her notes app and wrote something brief: âClose narrative cycle without erasing me from the plane of existence.â
The air vibrated again. A surge of energy wrapped around them. Jon grabbed Damianâs arm as the light covered them.
When it faded, only the town remained, quiet and empty. No trace of the supposed villain. Just the phone, lying on the pavement, its screen displaying one last line:
âWell, at least one of you got what they wanted⊠even if they donât know it yet ;)â
Jon read it, blinking. âWhat is that supposed to mean?
Damian shrugged. âNothing relevant, most likely.
But as they walked back toward the truck, something in the air still felt different.
As if the universe, silently, had decided to rewrite a page.
Available on Ao3
Usser: Katnxmi.
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