Hello Reader!!! I wanted to address some things in the last chapter first before this chapter begins. First, I wanted to apologize if you feel that Heatblast was nerfed in the last chapter. That was not my intention. I was trying to make the proper buildup that this is Devin's first time using his powers in actual combat. And with one of Batman's most formidable supervillains no less. Second, up to this point, it has been for you all to understand Devin's character traits. I want you all to see that Devin will always prioritize the safety of the bystander and find the best way to stop the villain and minimize damage to the areas where a battle takes place. From this point on, his character development begins.
I also want to apologize for the inconsistency. I'm trying to think of what content to add for future chapters that will keep you all entertained. I only just got back into this after two months of not writing anything, so I'm a bit rusty when it comes to creativity.
Please enjoy the chapter!!!
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Devin woke up with his body sore and his head pounding. He looked at his surroundings and realized he was in an alley. His mind was filled with confusion until his memories came back to him. After his battle with Mr. Freeze, he escaped using Ghost Freak. He was trying to make it back home while staying invisible but crashed into an alley when he unintentionally turned back to human. That fight had drained him more than he thought, causing him to become exhausted. Not only that, but he had an injury on his back from that bullet from one of the goons.
He used his other arm to reach around his back to touch the injury. He winced when he touched the wound and was greeted by a faint wet texture. When he brought his hand back, he saw his own blood. It wasn't a lot since it was just a 'chip' from when he was Heatblast, and the wound had mostly stopped bleeding.
From the depths of his memories, Devin recalled Kevin using his armor to regenerate his hand after it got chopped off.
'Perhaps that applies to injuries like this too?' Devin thought before placing his hand on the concrete ground. He concentrated, feeling the power beneath his skin and focusing on absorbing the material. His powers responded, and the concrete began slowly flowing up his arm until it stopped halfway up his wrist.
Veins appeared on his forehead as he concentrated harder, trying to push the matter absorption further. A moment later, the armor receded, and he was breathing heavily. His body was too exhausted and injured to fully utilize his powers.
Devin stood up. The action required more effort than it should have. He fell from 20 feet into the air due to exhaustion and was sure he had a few bruises. The only good thing was that he fell on a pile of discarded cardboard, which broke his fall and protected him from more fatal injuries.
"Great." he rasped, his voice sounding small in the vast, empty alley. "Note to self: falling is not a super-power."
Devin looked up and was greeted by the night sky of Gotham. A feeling of trepidation crept in because most crimes in Gotham occurred at night, and he wasn't looking to be its next target.
Through pain and determination, Devin walked out of the alley and began making his way home.
---
As Devin began his journey home, he made sure to keep his breathing under control and maintain a calm expression. The less attention he drew to himself, the better.
It would've been logical for him to go to a hospital, but that wasn't an option. Doctors would ask questions about how he got injured, and that was something he didn't want to answer.
Devin replayed the encounter with Freeze in his mind. He thought of ways he could've better utilized his powers as Heatblast. This fight highlighted that he needed to be more tactical in the future. Not only that, but he needed to learn how to fight. He could fight in the general sense like any human but had no experience in martial arts. He didn't want to be like those heroes who only relied on their powers and were nearly useless when they lost them.
CLATTER
Just as Devin was thinking about his future, a noise caught his attention. The noise was coming from an alley he was about to pass. He knew that in this city, noise in an alley was likely not a good sign. Curious about what was going on warred with the logic to get home and tend to his wounds. He let out a sigh as it seemed he couldn't catch a break today. In the end, he decided to check it out. He stepped into the alley to find the source of the noise.
As he got closer, the sounds became clearer. When he reached the corner, he stopped before peeking around.
Around the corner, he saw a single person who was clearly female due to the shape of her body. He couldn't see her face because a mask concealed it, but he was sure she was a teen due to her height. Surrounding her were 3 men who wore creepy smiles. A sign of malicious intent.
"Ya got nowhere to run, girl." one of the men spoke confidently. "You made this too easy."
"Don't worry. We'll be sure to treat you well." another spoke, his voice clear with intent.
"We won't hurt ya too badly." The third spoke, and they all began to close in to restrain her.
Just by their words alone, Devin knew what these men were planning to do. He might have been injured, but he wasn't going to allow that to stop him.
Before Devin could act, the girl did something unexpected. Just as one of the men was about to grab her, she took hold of his outstretched arm and applied a controlling twist, forcing it into a restraint position behind his back.
Shock appeared on the man's face as he struggled against her hold. While he may have been stronger, the position he was in gave him little mobility.
"Let me go!" the man barked, trying to get free.
At that moment, one of the other men charged recklessly towards them. The girl noticed this, and a smile appeared playfully under her mask.
"As you wish." She said before pushing the man into his approaching comrade. The approaching man tried to dodge, but the place of the alley provided little room.
WHAM
Their bodies collided, and they fell to the ground.
The third man stepped forward with his fist clenched and anger marking his features.
"Big mistake." The man lunged forward with his fist raised. He swung his arm out towards the girl's face, intent on delivering a devastating blow.
The girl merely sidestepped before sweeping the man's legs from under him, which resulted in him falling on the ground.
One of the men that she had taken down first had stood up and snuck up from behind. The man wrapped his arms around her, successfully managing to restrain her. The one she swept also stood up and smiled cruelly when he saw her restrained.
He charged at her again with the same tactic. When he was in range, the girl brought her legs up and thrusted them into the man's chest.
WHAM! CRASH!
"Gah! The air left the thug's lungs as the blow connected with his solar plexus and sent him tumbling across the ground.
As for the one holding her in a vice grip, she stomped on his foot with such force that the man cried out in pain and instinctively let her go. She followed up the attack with a jab to his throat. The next thing he knew, his head was being grabbed, and he felt a powerful impact to his chin. The girl had sent a knee into the man's chin. The impact caused his brain to rattle before falling to the ground unconscious.
The third and final one stood up with an expression of pure rage on his face.
"You're going to pay for that!" he shouted before pulling out a knife from his pocket.
The girl showed no fear. Instead, her eyes showed something that might've been amusement.
The man charged at her. When he was close enough, he swung his knife frantically, hoping to land a hit on her.
The girl dodged with calm evasion. Ducking, redirecting, stepping back, etc. She moved just enough with the space she was provided.
Devin peeked from behind a dumpster that was in the alley. He watched the altercation with awe, taken aback by the girl's fighting prowess. Her movements weren't violent. Instead, she moved with fluidity and grace despite the situation.
She wrenched the knife from the man's hand, causing him to drop his weapon. She moved behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a chokehold. The man struggled and tried to loosen the grip around his neck, but the girl was strong despite how she looked. The man's vision became clouded, and he quickly lost consciousness.
The girl let him go, letting his body slump to the ground along with the others. She stood victorious over her defeated foes. She was silent for a moment.
"I know you're there."
Devin hid behind the dumpster just as the girl turned her head. His heart hammered in his chest, and sweat trickled down his forehead as he tried to stay silent, hoping the girl would just leave him be. Just by seeing her combat skills, he knew he was no match for her. He'd have a chance if he absorbed some stone or metal, but the fact was that he was still injured and wasn't sure how long he'd last if a fight were to break out between them.
TAP.
Suddenly, Devin felt a tap on the top of his head. didn't even have time to flinch before she was above him, perched on the edge of the dumpster like a gargoyle. Startled, he stumbled back and fell on the ground after losing his footing, and fell on his back directly on his wound, causing him to wince.
An amused look appeared in the girl's eyes before it turned to genuine shock when she saw his face.
"Devin?" The girl's voice was tinged with recognition.
Devin was shocked when he heard the girl say his name, since he was sure he hadn't met this person. Before he could ask how she knew his name, she hopped off the dumpster and stepped closer to him.
The girl removed her mask, revealing her face.
Olive skin.
Vietnamese features.
Black hair.
"Jade?!" Devin said with shock and surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Jade asked with narrow eyes.
Devin stood up, the shock making him forget his injury.
"I was... walking home when I heard a commotion coming from an alley. Sure enough, I saw you about to be mugged. What I didn't expect was for those guys to be taken down. And easily at that." Devin replied honestly.
The suspicion in Jade's eyes lessened, and she replied.
"It wasn't anything I couldn't handle." She thought about the harsh training her dad was putting her and her sister through.
"Yeah. You seem like you can handle yourself pretty well in a fight." Devin replied with a chuckle but winced when the action made his injury flare. His wound reopened when he landed on his back when Jade startled him.
Jade noticed this and went to his side.
"What's wrong?" she asked with a concerned expression. When she placed her hand on his back, she felt a wet sensation. She looked at her hand and saw blood. "You're bleeding!"
"That is unfortunately the case." Devin leaned on the wall. "Occupational hazard." He forced a smile, despite the pain.
"We need to get you to a hospital." Jade urged, trying to move him.
"No!" Devin protested, his eyes shone with desperate intensity. "No hospital! No records! Please! "
Jade searched his face for a long second. In a city like Gotham, "no records" was a language she understood perfectly. She let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. My house is two blocks away. My father isn't home. Walk. Now."
"Really!?" Devin looked at her with surprise.
"Don't get any ideas." Jade said coldly. "It'll be a problem if you collapse without getting any medical attention."
"Still, thanks." Devin smiled warmly.
Jade didn't show it on her face, but she felt slight warmth seeing Devin's honest smile.
---
Devin and Jade walked the streets of Gotham with Jade supporting him by holding his arm over her shoulder. Eventually, they made it to her home.
Devin had guessed this would be the case. Since he didn't want to go to a hospital, it was common sense to have some sort of medical supplies in one's home.
Jade had told Devin to go to the back of the apartment building and use the ladder to get to the rooftop. Once he made it to the rooftop, he waited for five minutes before Jade finally came up while holding a small box.
When she opened it, there were bandages, alcohol pads, and a suture kit.
"Shirt off." she said, her voice clinical.
Devin removed his shirt and allowed Jade to tend to his wound. He had to bite down on his shirt because the moment the alcohol touched his skin, he wanted to scream. After the wound was cleaned, Jade sewed it shut before placing a bandage over it.
Though he couldn't see her, he could feel the way her hands moved. Her movements were rhythmic and practiced, the needle dipping in and out of his skin with surgical efficiency. She didn't look like a teenager; she looked like a soldier who had spent her life patching up battle wounds.
"Those were some cool moves back there." Devin spoke, trying to make conversation. he was referring to the alley fight.
"Life in Gotham teaches you that. In this city, you're either the one with the knife or the one being cut." Jade replied, her voice professional, but Devin could hear the hardness in her voice.
"All done." She tied off the final knot and snipped the thread. "You'll live. But don't go looking for more trouble tonight, Devin. You're out of luck."
"Thank you." Devin replied, putting on his shirt. The pain was finally receding into a dull throb. He turned to her and looked at her with gratitude. "I owe you one for this."
"Be careful what you say." Jade replied with a cold expression and arms crossed. "In this city, debts are usually paid in blood."
"I'll keep that in mind." Devin said with an amused smirk.
"Anyways, I should get going now." he looked at the night sky. "It's late, and I prefer not to get into any more trouble."
"That you should." Jade agreed before walking away.
"Thanks again, Jade." Jade stopped in her tracks and glanced at Devin. "I appreciate you helping me and tending to my injury."
"Not one for all that mushy stuff." Jade replied, continuing to walk away. "You should get home before someone decides you're an easy target." She left the rooftop and went back to her house.
Devin showed an amused smile at their interaction. It was certainly unexpected that they would meet each other. It wasn't unwelcome but rather very helpful. He then climbed down the stairs and began making his way home.
His thoughts drifted to the day's events and outcomes. He felt smaller, humbler, and very aware of his own mortality. He had powers, but Jade had the skill.
"I need to learn how to fight." he thought, his fist clenched with resolve and determination. "Because the next time, a pile of cardboard might not be enough to save me."