"I promise to take you on a real date one day," Doc apologized as he was handed over a small bowl of shaved ice from his boyfriend as he sat next to the hero. While Bdubs was in his civilian look, Dynamight was obviously still in costume. They were sitting under a willow tree in a secluded part of the city park. He had declined Angel's offer to go on a date, as he was still hesitant with his identity.

"I'll hold you to that," he laughed, gingerly diving into his own bowl. "But seriously; I understand. Don't apologize, okay?" Placing a hand on his thigh, Bdubs reached up and kissed his metal cheek.

The two leaned against each other, eating in a content and comfortable silence.

Unfortunately, it didn't last too long as suddenly, Bdubs' phone vibrated. Dynamight glanced down at him as he checked it and a frown formed on his face, despite his eyes lighting up. "Sorry, I gotta run. Warlock needs me right now," he said, getting up.

Standing up as well, he pulled him into a kiss. "Everything okay? You guys have been a little too quiet all week," he said, lightly laughing.

Grinning, the shorter booped his nose. "Don't be impatient, you'll find out soon enough," he teased.

-

As it turns out, he found out a lot sooner than he realized.

A day later, he was on his way to work as usual, but employees were running out when he got to the building. "Woah hey," Doc found someone from his department, Zedaph, and stopped him. "What's going on?"

"W-Warlock and Angel crashed in- into- the building! Th-They're- they said-"

"Deep breaths," he assured him, squeezing his shoulders. Closing his eyes, Zed took a few deep breaths.

"They want the master drive from the medical department!"

Inhaling sharply, he let his colleague run away, claiming he was going to do the same. And, to be fair, he did run away, but only to a nearby alley to hide and strip his outer layer. Once in costume, he quickly climbed up to enter the lab from above.

-

It didn't take him long to find Warlock and Angel. He managed to intercept them before they made it to the medical floor.

"Sorry, no visitors today," Dynamight called from behind them on the staircase. The two whipped around and he narrowed his eyes.

Warlock took a step back up the staircase. "I'm afraid we don't have much time to chat. Thanks to you we've fallen behind schedule," he said with a small frown. He turned to Angel and gently stroked his hair. "Stall for me, will you?" Warlock sweetly asked, snapping his eyes to Dynamight once more before turning around heading up and through the door.

Angel pulled his dagger out from behind his bag, twirling it in his hand. "Ready to dance, lover boy?" He teased.

Scoffing, he couldn't hold back a smile. "With you? Always."

It amused him to see him become so quickly flustered, his fighting stance faltering. Using the opportunity, he braced himself as he blasted Angel backward.

The smoke set the sprinklers in the stairway off, but Bdubs quickly created a large bubble around the sprinklers. "That probably isn't a good idea," he pointed out, glancing up.

Oh sh-

He quickly raised his robotic arm to shield himself as he realized the dagger was tossed his way. It caught itself in one of his panels, but thankfully it didn't cut deep enough to affect anything. Pulling it out, his smile grew as he hurled the knife back, catching Angel's cape and sticking it to the wall while the villain was floating midair.

The sidekick muttered curses to himself as he struggled to free the dagger.

"Have fun!" Dynamight teased, leaving him behind.

-

Bdubs wasn't worried as he knew what was awaiting the hero. Finally, he pulled his dagger free and slid it into its scabbard before flying through the doorway.

He touched down, surveying the scene. The two somehow managed to start a small fire on the far side of the lab room. Dynamight was struggling to fend off the magical entities summoned by Warlock. "The hell are these things?!"

Muffling his laugh with his hands, he walked over to where his boss was standing and joined him in watching the poor guy attempt to fight off the beast-like spells.

"Shouldn't we be going while he's busy?" He quietly asked, glancing up at Warlock.

He smiled, shaking his head. "Oh but then we'd miss the fun part! Besides, you still owe me for Dynamight's escape. Why don't you join the fight, hm?"

Guilt swarmed his stomach and he nodded, reaching under his half-skirt and pulling out the dagger. Raising his free hand, he sent a swarm of different colored bubbles to disorient the hero.

When the hybrid raised an arm to blast him away, he sliced at his palm, and although he purposefully missed, Dynamight still flinched his hand. Jumping into the air, he pulled his arm up to make him stumble. Once he began to fall back he let go, staying hovered in the air.

The beast spells became shimmering blue lines of mist and held the hero down against the ground, his arms spread. 

Slowly, Bdubs descended, a knee on either side of his waist. "How much do you need this arm of yours?" He asked, tapping his robotic bicep with his dagger. He trailed the knife up and held the blade against his throat as he awaited a command from Warlock.

"Go on," he calmly encouraged from behind. "You don't need to kill him, just make sure it really hurts." The smile in his voice stabbed him in the chest. Despite how he nodded, his heart was racing with anxiety.

He tried to keep a still expression as he raised the knife. But then Dynamight gave him a small, reassuring smile that Scar couldn't see, a sign that it was okay. His face faltered for just a moment, but he refused to break.

However, Bdubs was screaming inside. 

He didn't want to hurt him, no, that was the last thing he wanted.

But his body was already moving.

With a sharp breath, he plunged the knife into his left shoulder.

-

Doc gasped, choking back a scream. His eye glossed over with tears, clouding his vision.

"You see, Dynamight," Warlock began, slowly walking over and crouching down. "For far too long I've been going easy on you. But now, maybe you can finally see just how deadly my weapon could be." He turned to his sidekick as he spoke, gently stroking his hair again. Despite the stone-cold expression on his face, he could see in Bdubs' eyes that he was in pain. He watched as Warlock leaned over and whispered into his ear before standing up.

The brunette pulled out the dagger from behind his back and Doc refused to break eye contact with him as it was driven into his side. The hero leaned his head back, biting back another cry, though he couldn't stop the tears dripping from his eye.

Angel also refused to take his eyes off of him until Warlock had left the room.

The rising heat in the room told him the small fire he accidentally started was quickly spreading.

His boyfriend's face broke, worry washing over his expression. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. I-I still have the crystal, I can-"

"Hey, it'll be okay," he assured him, wishing he could break the restraints and hug him. "Just take them out and go. I'll be alright."

Blinking, he nodded. After softly kissing his forehead and his nose, he sniffled as he pulled the daggers out. Doc gritted his teeth as he endured the pain. He could tell he still wanted to stay and help, but he refused. "Don't make him wait," he whispered.

-

Not a minute later, the spell faded.

Groaning in pain, he sat up and quickly clotted the blood on his shoulder and side. As much as he wanted to scream in pain, that'd have to wait. Pulling himself to his feet, he staggered out of the room and headed towards the location of the master drive.

Bdubs and Warlock were already there when he got there, his boyfriend pulling the device from its cabinet.

"Hey."

When the two turned around, his arm was already extended. He saw a twinkle of relief in the shorter villain's eyes, which put him at ease. Positioning his arm up, he set off a small explosion, bringing part of the ceiling down on his enemy.

Once the smoke cleared, he found the two shielded by a bubble, the drive still in Angel's hold. He charged them despite the pain and the moment the bubble dropped, he kicked his boyfriend in the gut, sending him flying backward. The drive slipped from his hold and he snatched it from the air.

Warlock guided three different crystals from his robe pocket, having them hover above his hand. Before he could make his first move, Dynamight reached into his utility belt. Thankfully on his way through the building, he managed to score some mushrooms from the mycology area, which happened to be the wizard's weakness.

Tossing the fungus in his direction, he followed with an explosion, covering the other in bits of mushroom. The crystals dropped to the ground as he fell to his knees, strangled coughs leaving his throat.

Well aware it wouldn't hold him off for long, he headed off. But not before giving Angel a second glance to make sure he was okay. (And he was)

-

"Get this somewhere safe, where they can't find it," he instructed one of his coworkers as he handed over the white box. The zombie employee nodded and turned to the others. They all fled the scene as quickly as possible while the fire had begun to consume the building.

The fire department arrived on the scene as Warlock staggered out. Dynamight seized him by the forearm, determined to take him in.

"Where's your little sidekick?" He sneered, masking his concern with a scowl.

"He's trapped in there, no thanks to you," he muttered before breaking down into another fit of coughs.

"How is it my fault?" He scoffed. His enemy only glared at him, but he could see the worry in his eyes. It then hit him that it was technically his fault, his carelessness that started the fire.

The fire that is most likely trapping Angel in the building.

The hero turned to the firefighters and shoved Warlock in their direction. "Don't let him out of your sight," he instructed before heading back into the building.

-

"Angel? Angel!" He called, retracing his steps. The smoke was coming down and the more he walked the hotter the air got. He covered his mouth with his arm, a small fit of coughs overtaking him. With his other arm, he gripped his side, the pain refusing to subside.

He saw a pile of debris shift and hurried over. Effortlessly pulling it off, he let out a breath of relief to find his boyfriend still partially conscious. "Bdubs?" He whispered, kneeling. He stroked his cheek with his thumb and melted when the brunette leaned into his touch.

Angel opened his mouth to say something, but broke down coughing and curled up. When Doc gently rolled him back over to examine him, he realized blood was seeping into his mask from his head. His breaths were more labored as he completely shut his eyes.

"I'm going to get you out of here," he promised, pulling him into his lap and ignoring his own pain.

"B-But you're hurt," Bdubs mumbled. "I hurt you." He weakly gripped his shirt.

Doc realized something.

If anything, he realized it back when he watched Bdubs heal himself from the gunshot.

Never before had he so much to lose.

And now he had the world, but it could easily be ripped from him at any given moment.

He could lose him, and Bdubs would never even know who he was.

Sighing, he pulled his mask off.

The freckled male blinked at him and reached for his face. He touched his metal cheek as a soft smile formed on his face.

"I recognize you," he whispered.

Leaning down, he connected their lips for just a moment.

A creak in the remaining ceiling threatened to bring more down on them, so he slipped his mask back on. Despite his protests, Angel got up on his own and even offered a hand to him. But when the lighter brunette stumbled, he put his foot down. "Let me carry you," he insisted, squeezing his arm.

"I'll be fine, just- we should get away from here and I'll use the last of the crystal to heal us up."

"Then if you're going to do that, I'll just carry you now."

Refusing to let him argue anymore, he scooped him up into the arms, wincing as his shoulder screamed at him. Sighing, Angel closed his eyes as the fire began to die around them.

When they got outside, a firefighter immediately apologized, explaining that Warlock had opened a portal and disappeared.

After claiming he'd be taking Angel to the authorities, he bit through more pain as he took to the rooftops.

Once far enough away, Dynamight carefully placed him down, leaning him against the wall of the entrance to the building's staircase. He too sat down and gripped his shoulder and side.

"Here," Bdubs murmured, fishing out the crystal. "Let me help you." Gritting his teeth, Doc nodded. The shorter held out his hand and the crystal floated up between them. It emitted a soft glow as the pain quickly disappeared. His lungs even felt clearer. Once it was over, the crystal became dull and crashed on the floor.

As the two sat under the late morning sun, the hero slowly took his mask off again. Smiling, Bdubs held his face. "You're gorgeous, y'know that?" He placed a flurry of kisses all over his face, ending with his lips. "I don't think I can handle stabbing you anymore," he bitterly joked, staring at his shoulder.

"Hey," Doc said, lifting his face to look at him. "It's okay, you had to. I understand." He pressed a reassuring kiss to his forehead.

Letting out a deep sigh, Bdubs moved into his lap and leaned against his chest. "One day I'm going to take over the world, and I'll make sure no one will ever be able to hurt you again," he whispered.

"But if you try to take over the world, don't I have to stop you?" He teased, poking his side. 

Angel just laughed. "I mean, you don't have to, but you can try!"

Humming, he buried his face in his hair and closed his eyes. An image of Angel's face as he stabbed him flashed in his mind. He looked so conflicted and hurt. Doc kissed his head, slowly leaning back to lay down. 

As he held him tight, watching him rise and fall with his chest, he couldn't help but wonder;

Could they really make this work? 

Nice long chapter for y'all as a treat (: