Justice League vs Teen Titans; Eagles Fly (Damian X OC)

Chapter 19: We Panic a lot of Places, Including the Disco

We hit a rough patch, but I think I have my mojo back.  We shall see.  I hope this is good.  Distractions are everywhere once you try and write. 

The welcome that Tessa received from the rest of the Titans was nothing short of exhausting, in her opinion. After hugs were exchanged and questions were dodged, she was tucked into a huge meal.

Damian managed to seat himself next to her, and kept stealing glances at her out of the corner of his eye. When he had returned from patrol, the first words out of his mouth were 'How is she?' When she walked in, he wrapped her in a tight hug, not even bothering to remove his mask.

"Good to see you too," she chuckled, clutching the fabric of his cape. His suit still held the cold of the night air, and she rested her cheek against it. Being with the Titans is so much better.

***

Tessa lay in bed, unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the suits and their horrific tests. And she wasn't tired. Sleeping for two weeks will do that.

She tossed and turned, trying every possible sleeping position. Giving up, she looked over at her clock. It read 2:22 am. She sat up and looked around her room. The blankets had been thrown from her bed, and feathers were strewn haphazardly around her room.

I'm not going to be able to sleep, so I may as well do something useful, she thought as she found clean clothes.

The feathered teen padded out of her room and down the hall, barefooted. She had no real goal, just to find something to take her mind off of her traumas. Her wanderings eventually took her to the training room. Her body was eager for movement, wings twitching involuntarily.

"A little training can't hurt. Right?" Her words echoed in the empty room as she turned on the simulator.

At first it was easy. Just beating the crap out of simulated enemies. As time went on, she fell into a rhythm. Her body took over, and her mind began to wander. It wandered back to her time in the Cage. To all of the experiments, to all of her mistakes.

The girl sucked in a shaking breath, trying to snap herself out of her own mind. As she was trying to refocus on the fight, an opponent grabbed her from behind, trapping her arms and wings to her body. Her mind went blank with fear as she was slammed full force back to her days at the Cage.

The training room disappeared, and all she could see was the darkness of the hallways. She could feel the vice-grip of the assistants as they dragged her; be it to her cell or to some new test she didn't know. And she could hear someone screaming. Such horrible screams.

She thrashed, kicking her assailant's knee and headbutting them in the face. Their grip loosened, and she whirled around and punched them as hard as she could in the solar plexus. The simulation flew back and disappeared, and the lights blazed to life.

Tessa blinked and spun around, heart beating wildly. She was in the training room at Titans Tower.

"Tessa?"

This was all so wrong. Everything was normal, she was home, but it was wrong. They were here, and they were going to take her back. Her fingertips started tingling, and the edges of her vision began to darken. What's happening?

"Tessa!"

Her breathing was way too fast. But why? She sat down and looked around the room. It was empty, save for her and Damian.

Damian? What's he doing here? Small drops of water splashed down on her hands. She looked at them in confusion. There was a strange salty taste on her tongue.

"Tessa, can you hear me?" He was crouched down right in front of her, lines of worry drawn on his face. His green eyes shone in the light, glinting with worry.

"Dami—what's happening?" she stuttered. Sobs were building in her chest, and she didn't know if she would be able to hold them back.

"I came down to train, and I found you freaking out." He tried to reach out toward her, but she shrank away.

"I don't-I don't know what's happening. I was-I was-I was just training, and-and-and-and then I was back there, and I-I don't know why!" Her whole body was shaking, and the sobs were tearing themselves out of her throat between words.

"Tessa," he restated. "You're having a panic attack. It's probably because of all of the memories that were brought back." She turned her full attention to him. "Will you let me help you?"

She sat there for a moment, sobbing and rocking back and forth, before nodding. This time, when he reached for her, she didn't shrink back. He rested his hands on her forearms, and just sat there for a moment, before speaking.

"Alright, I want you to breathe in for four seconds. One, two, three, four. Now hold for seven. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Now out for eight. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight."

"It's not doing anything," she cried.

"You need to do it more than once," he replied, a small smirk on his face. "Try it with me again. In. Out. You're doing great."

If Tessa had been able to focus on anything other than the crippling fear, she would have noticed how uncharacteristically gentle Damian was being, and how he had moved to wrap his arms around her. Any other person that had walked in would have been confused by the sight before them.

The son of the Batman was sitting on the floor, with a crying, shaking girl wrapped in his arms. His face was calm and gentle, far more so than any had seen it before.

They sat there, just breathing. Tessa's sobs diminished into whimpers, then into nothing. She shut her eyes tight and clung onto Damian. He held her, and rubbed small circles on her back between her wings as he gently rocked her.

"Thank you." The whisper was cracked and broken, but audible all the same.

"It's not like I could just leave you," he mumbled. His voice vibrated through his chest, passing into her limbs where they touched. "I think this is what Father was talking about when he said I needed to learn to become part of a team," he mused. Tessa couldn't help laughing.

"Yeah, this might be it." She pulled away and looked into his eyes. There were dark circles underneath, and his skin was ashen. "You look exhausted," she noted, finally taking in his appearance. He was dressed in his dark jeans and a black turtle neck shirt, but the clothes were wrinkled as if they'd been sitting on the floor. And if she wasn't mistaken, his shirt was on backwards.

"It was a bit... rough, while you were out," he answered. Surprisingly, he didn't pull away or shut her out. He only turned slightly red. "Everyone was tense and upset."

"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble," she began. She had seen they had all looked tired. It was all her fault.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." His hands were on her shoulders as he started fiercely into her eyes. "If it hadn't been for you, I don't think I would have found out what it means to be part of a team. And as horrible as this whole incident has been, it's made me realize just how important a single person can be to a team."

Tears began to fill her eyes once more as she looked at him. Titans Tower had been her home for just over a year now. It had taken her forever to trust the others, and even longer to feel like she was part of the team.

"I'm really glad I could help," she whispered, hugging him tightly.