A/N: This is the first novel that I've written. At least the first novel I intend to finish as I've done mostly some loose drafts here and there, and english is not my first language, so do understand if you see some wonky grammar here and there or if the writing style changes from chapter to chapter, as I'm doing my best to get a bit better every day. Having said that, hope you enjoy my first work ever.
A/N 2: Chapter got a slight revision, mostly to the later dialogues as after looking back on it I really didn't like how dry the dialogues are, I swear shit gets better after chapter 5 or so.
After an unknown amount of time, in a room that looked exactly like you would expect a teenager's room to look like, with the exception of being clean and tidy for the most part. You could see posters decorating the walls, an electrical piano that looked way too short to be a piano, a piano keyboard, a wardrobe with a mirror on one of its doors next to a computer on top of a wooden desk and a cozy bed with black sheets with white accents opposite of said wooden desk.
*Huuuff*
'Fuck… What happened? Where am I? I got stabbed… I heard the sirens, why does it not hurt? More importantly, why am I not in a hospital or in my own room, this looks like a stranger's room but why do I feel like this room feels familiar? Like I put all these decorations in place…
[Well, I can answer that for you, host.]
"Fuck was that??? Good fucking god, as if I didn't have enough mental illness, now I hear voices in my head".
[Ha, you got me, as expected of us, we are smarter than to fall for the the whole [Host] trope.]
"Why the fuck can I hear and read you at the same time, is my schizophrenia premium or something?"
[Nah, but in all seriousness, I am not a voice in your head. Well, technically I am, but I'm not a product of mental illness, it's hard to explain shortly, but let's begin with the basics. You died, host.]
"Well, I feel very much alive, and what's with the [Host] shit, didn't you say 'we' wouldn't fall for such a 'trope' ".
[I mean, yeah. But I'm using this term on purpose, it helps you separate us in different identities, which we technically are too, by the way. Let me explain, as I've said before, you died. Something you're taking quite in stride-]
"Yeah, I can't really process that yet, nor can I trust your word, 'our' word?"
[It's rude to interrupt others, you know that, right Host? And if you don't believe me, there's a full body mirror in the room, take a look.]
While Damian couldn't quite believe the new uninvited guest in his head, he could rely on his own, as he always did, to check something he couldn't nor wanted to believe. So he carefully, almost scaredly, got up of "his" bed, noticing himself quite shorter than what he was used to, from his usual 1.96 cm (6'4 in freedom metrics) long height to at least a head shorter than that, and made his way to the mirror a couple meters away from him. However, what greeted him wasn't the trained bronze colored body he spent countless hours in the gym sculpting, nor the visage of a handsome but weary full grown man with his always sharp five o'clock shadow, nor his shoulder length wavy jet black hair he always kept in a man-bun at work, but the body and face of a teenager, one who was 90% similar to his own younger self, lacking the hard defined muscle, the beard or the long hair, he was also a whole shade paler, closer to looking like an ambiguous mixed kid. His beloved and familiar golden brown tone was no more. Thankfully his hair kept a semblance of waviness, although shorter than before, and his eyes remained the same vivid emerald green he inherited from his mother, which was his biggest relief.
[See, you are not the same you.]
"Yeah, I CAN tell. Having said that, who is he supposed to be?" Said Damian while pointing at the mirror.
[Well, that's you, obviously. A new you, to be more precise. As I was saying, before getting rudely interrupted, you died. However, that wasn't your end, turns out the afterlife is real or more like the second life.]
"I'm starting to really believe we are not the same with each passing moment, I could never make up such stupid one-liners and say them without a smidgen of a change in my tone".
[We both know that's not true, especially when you're sleep deprived, but that ain't here nor there. Anyways, it seems life does give second chances, albeit strange ones, seeing as your second life shares the same name, but slightly different parents, eerily similar mother but different father. Don't worry, you still retain similar roots too, now you just have dual citizenship thanks to your father.]
He said in an incredulous tone "Well, isn't that convenient".
With the same even tone, the voice continued. [Tell me about it, host.]
"Why then do I not remember living this new life at all? I sort of feel a sense of familiarity with this room and with my new face, but I can't recall anything from this new life even if I try".
[Well, the short answer, trauma.]
Laughing darkly at his predicament, he said. "Haha, I guess some things never change, huh?"
[Yes, trauma, but this one is different… I'm sorry to say this abruptly, Host. But your parents have recently passed away.]
"...Haa… some fucking things never change, huh?"
[...]
Taking a moment to recompose himself, Damian got back on topic. "Well, how does that link itself to my lack of memory?"
Saying with a tone that had more warmth in it than before, the voice explained. [In this life your parents raised you with love and care, Host. So you never faced the cruelty and hardships of this word firsthand in your 17 years of life. Contrary to your first life, Host.]
"...Go on".
[Your parents–they were on their way to visit your mother's homeland due to her last parent passing away. They were going to your grandmother's funeral… And you were supposed to join them. Your flight was scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday morning, since they didn't want you to miss your classes at school. Today, your father's long time friend came to break the news to you. It seems their plane suffered an accident and crashed. This happened yesterday. From what I can tell, it looks like this was too much of a shock for the sheltered you. The trauma caused by this loss seems to have made your brain black out. Thanks to that, the suppressed memories from your past life seem to have awakened. As for why you kept those memories, I have no idea. Sorry, Host.]
"...So if I get this right, the shock of my parents' sudden death made my brain 'make' my consciousness black out? Then why do I not remember anything about this life?"
[I can only speculate about the why, but seeing as only your past life memories have 'recovered'... We can only assume your current life's ego was wiped, somehow.]
Taking a moment to process the theory this voice presented to him, he muttered. "So, did the trauma make my 'ego' collapse? That's… Dark…" After taking a deep breath, Damian decided to confront the other problem. "However, that doesn't explain 'you'."
As if waiting for this question, the voice wasted not a moment to commence its explanation. [Well, that's the good news in all this mess, Host. The place we reincarnated in is not your old world nor any normal world, but one you're well acquainted with, but rather than just tell you, let me show you.]
Confused at her words, he asked. "What do you-"
Before Damian could finish his sentence, he was invaded by a flood of information in the form of sounds, images, scents and emotions. He started to relive this new life from a 1st person's perspective, from his days as a toddler to the last time he talked with his parents, all the experiences happened in front of him as if he had a VR headset on and he was shown somebody's whole life in a matter of seconds.
*Huuff-Haa*
Perspirating and with a mild headache, Damian was struggling to process what had just happened. "W-What the fuck was that?"
Talking in a soothing tone, the voice answered. [Your life, up until this point, Host.]
Not daring to believe he got a literal crash course on his own new life, Damian rebuked the voice. "No fucking shot all of that is real–I just saw the fucking Hulk on TV fighting the Abomination as if it was a news report rather than a movie".
Taking a moment to let Damian's words simmer, the voice only said. [Yeah, about that… I should say. Welcome to the Marvel Universe, Host.]
If the previous experience was a mind bender, this news were something he outright refused to believe was real. "You're fucking with me, right?"
Not losing its warmth or composure, the voice merely rebutted. [I think my existence should be enough proof of my words, Host.]
After that, Damian simply walked back to his bed in silence. Doing his best to reason if he was dreaming it all or if this was actually happening, the voice giving him space and quiet to think. After some time, he asked, still incredulous. "Then, is this all real? My new parents… so this is… how it feels to be loved? But… they're gone… again. Fuck."
*Pitter-patter*
"What the fuck is this? Water? Why is it warm?"
Damian was disoriented, unable to process all this at once. So much so that it took him an extra second to recognize that what was falling in his thighs wasn't warm water but rather his own tears, he was crying for what felt like the first time in years, because it was.
*Sniff* 'Fuck, get your shit together Damian Rossi, since when do you cry? When has that ever helped us? Nobody will come and console you, dumbfuck. Shit. FUCK'
As hard as he tried, Damian couldn't shake off the grief of feeling loved for the first time and losing that love in what felt like the same minute, since it was so from his current perspective. Yet, he wasn't a man to crumble but rather a man that would die standing on the hill he chose to defend and such a man not only was used to dealing with grief, but wasn't alone anymore.
[Well, if it makes you feel better, Host. You are not alone anymore, at the very least you have me.]
"Haha, thanks voice in my head, your words sound oddly comforting as though I could feel your telling the truth".
[Well, that's because you can. I showed you your new memories not because I am you, but because I am a new part of you, Host.]
"Do you mean that?..."
[Exactly so, Host. Your trauma didn't only bring about your old ego to the forefront of your conscious mind, but it also awakened what people here call your "X-Gene" and your mutant powers are so awesome that they manifested a consciousness of their own so you wouldn't high wire and end up destroying yourself and your immediacies, that's how awesome your new powers, or in other words, I am.]
"Well… that's another goddamn bomb you threw my way. By the way, do you have a name? Well, I guess you were just born so it's stupid of me to ask…"
[You're right, but you can always name me whoever you want, Host. I am your power and a part of you after all :>.]
"Alright then, since you have a woman's voice for whatever reason".
[A subconscious choice, Host. I adopted a pitch you would find pleasing to hear, therefore making you more receptive to my existence, I can technically become whatever you want me to be.]
"That's that… So how about Evangeline Rossi, or Eva for short? Since you aren't quite my child but you were created from a piece of me?"
[Does that mean I'm your first wife, Host? I guess it would be rude of me to reject someone so avert to being hurt emotionally, so I'll gracefully accept hehe.]
"Ha-ha, very fucking funny. But you do have a point, I guess we are indeed partners for life from now on, so you can think of our relationship however you see fit, Eva".
[How unromantic, Host.]
"Stop that whole Host thing, it's not necessary anymore".
[Would you prefer Master, then? Husband, perhaps?]
"Damian is fine, Eva".
[Sure thing, then. Damian.]
"Well, I guess that's out of the way so tell me more about you, what can we do? What are your limits? What is your nature? Are you so strong that unless you manifested a sense of self to control my powers we would've been in danger?"
[That's a lot of questions but to start somewhere, let me say indeed I am strong, for what I can feel and from your memories, of which I have complete access, I can be classified as an Omega level mutation]
"I supposed that, I haven't read that many comics nor have I watched that many video essays on Marvel, but I'm pretty sure I haven't heard of a sentient manifestation of the X-Gene, even on the most powerful of mutants, but I guess it isn't exactly right to correlate your sentience with a superior power, or is it? You are quite the unique case".
[I know I'm unique but it is nice hearing you say that. However, until we can compare directly with other Omega level mutants, I can't give a proper assessment of where we are in the power scale, but it is safe to say we are quite above even in the Omega level, but I digress. Although I can't quite give an accurate assessment without experimentation, an advantage of being a sentient form of power is that I do have some innate knowledge of my capabilities that you wouldn't know unless you tried and tested your powers blindly yourself. One such aspect is the nature of my existence, I am a force of manipulation, reality manipulation to be precise. I am able to draw from a seemingly infinite pool of energy, or what I assume to be energy, from a source I can't quite describe or understand yet, but going off of your knowledge, it would be a similar place to "The Source" in the DC universe, a location of a form of energy that can transform in quite literally anything. I myself was able to make you relive your current life because A) I have always been there to witness you as I am but a part of you and B) I used this source as a catalyst to make you experience it all over again by extracting a copy of what I've witnessed. That all is but one aspect of what we can do.]
"...So, if I understand, aren't we basically God? We can tap into the same power that The One Above All uses, right? But I don't feel like any sort of omnipotence or omniscience. Shit, I feel weaker than I was before I died".
[That's because neither you or me are one of those things. I said that I can tap into this source, not that I can control it, very different concepts.]
"How so?"
[Well, the short answer is that I can only exert myself as far as you can support it. You are a vessel of this power, a conduit. Think of it as you being a bucket, while I am the faucet, a faucet which is connected to an infinite ocean. You can only handle a bucket worth of "water" at a time which you can use and mold however you want, but I can only give you as much as you can hold to use at once. On another note, I seem to also be able to draw from your stamina to lessen the amount of energy I need to act, you may or may not be able to tell, but you are currently a percentage more drained than you were when you woke up, it's not only the mental exhaustion of assimilating everything thus far, but also a very much real stamina loss from when I opened the faucet to manipulate myself in order to give you your memories.]
"Negligible, I barely feel anything from that exertion, maybe because you used mostly that energy or maybe because such a thing didn't require much energy and stamina to begin with. As for the other stuff, I suppose it's an understandable limiter, but can you bypass it should we ever need to? Quite like how our body can exert more force than we think but due to our innate limiters we don't go beyond them so we don't self-destruct as a collateral".
[That I can't tell, we would need to test it but I advise against it right now, in your current state it would be suicidal to test that without the means to heal the possible damage.]
"Hmm, got it… Wait, the way you worded that makes it sound like there is a way to make it safe to test our limits, what else are you not telling me?"
[As I said before, my nature is to manipulate reality, Damian. You can change your physiognomy whoever you see fit, we only have to start slowly as you can't receive too abrupt of a transformation in your current ordinary human teenager body.]
"That's… quite the news, haha".
[You don't have to hide your thoughts behind your neutral face like you usually do, Damian. It's fine to act however you want in front of me, I am just as much of myself as I am a part of you, silly.]
"I understand that, Eva… It's just that I have a bittersweet feeling right now, on one side one of my lifelong wishes just fell on my lap but on the other, one of my life's longings was given and taken away from me on what feels like the same day. It's hard to know how to feel".
[It is alright to feel both sadness and joy Damian. You are human, you are incredibly human. I am connected to you, remember? I can feel how much grief you feel for your deceased parents in spite of having a part of you steel feeling like all of this is a dream from which you could wake up at any moment. I may be a couple minutes old, but knowing what you know lets me say with confidence that there's not many humans who could feel genuine grief over the death of parents they don't even know are real or not.]
"Thank you, Eva. You really know how to make a compelling case, I guess you do know everything I know".
As Damian thanked his new "partner", he could notice through their metaphysical connection a certain feeling of restlessness and unsettlement coming from Eva, maybe because as she said, she was a couple minutes old and couldn't hide her feelings or because the nature of their connection made it impossible for anything to escape each others notice but he was sure there was something she was not spilling.
"What is it, Eva? You know it's useless to try and hide from one another right? I can feel everything about you as much as you feel everything about me".
[Okay, I do have a couple things more to explain, one which involves me using my powers a second time or the first time around, depending how you see it. But before I speak, can you promise you won't get mad?]
"I promise I can try, but you know I don't seem able to hide anything from you and vice versa".
[Haaa, here goes nothing I guess. The thing is, from the moment you woke up, I have been using my powers in a subtle manner, subtle enough for you to not notice and subtle enough that you can't feel any loss of energy either.]
"To do what, exactly?"
[To calm you down, kind off. To be exact, remember I said I manifested in order to contain myself so as to not hurt you, right?]
"Yes".
[Well, I knew this initial talk would be a lot to take in, so I made use of our powers to influence your mind, nothing serious, I swear. I just made it so your emotions wouldn't "flare up" as aggressively as they normally would while reacting to all this loaded information. However, I believe I was right in doing so, even when you aren't sure this is all real, you still feel deep grief about your parents, you still remain in shock of being thrown into a world you considered nothing more than fiction, and there's also the fact that you are completely ignoring who your Aunt is…]
"...Eva".
[Please don't be mad, I swear I did it to protect you! I did it to protect us! I didn't mean anything ba-]
"Calm down, Eva. I'm not mad, you can feel our connection to confirm that I'm stating the truth".
[You're really not mad?]
"...I am… not, surprisingly. Mostly in disbelief something like that is even possible, but I can feel that you are being truthful with me, at the very least".
[Of course, I would never deceive you!]
"Is your influence still in effect?"
[...Y-Yes]
"Good, keep it that way for now. You are right, I'm already overwhelmed as it is with this dampener on my emotions, I don't know if I could take it all right now and since it has a negligible spending on my stamina, let's just leave it on until I get my shit together".
[Okay, but know that you can always turn it off yourself, you are ultimately the master of this power, of myself. You just need to get accustomed to using me. Also, with that out of the way, I have good news to uplift the mood!]
"Haa… I was kinda hoping that was the end of the info dump but sure, go ahead".
[Well, info dumps are necessary for the story to progress you know, skipping the chapter will make it so the tacit explanations are lost on you afterwards, if not ask the readers!]
"I'm all up for the jokes, Eva but that's Deadpool's thing. There's a lot of things I'm planning to steal and or copy with our powers but the breaking of the 4th wall is not one of them".
[Boo, joykiller! Oh well, where was I? Ah yes, the other good news is that as you've guessed, there is a way to manipulate your bucket of water and turn it into a hypothetical infinite water holder, eventually at least. The other piece of good news is that I got a clue on how to do that when I made you relive your current life!]
"I'm all ears".
[I noticed that as you were experiencing all the memories and moments that made you "You", for lack of a better definition, and incorporated those moments into the "current you", your vessel started to grow in real time as you relived and assimilated everything. This gives us a couple of ideas as you may have speculated by now. The theory that makes the most sense in my opinion is that as you lived your life all over again, you gained a deeper sense of the self, we could say your "ego" as in "id", "ego" and "superego" became… more of itself, like it became…]
"More present, more reaffirmed into the web of reality perhaps? Interesting, if that's the case, maybe getting to know myself better could be quite a real superpower. What bullshit of a superpower, damn. Hold on a second, if your theory is correct, I should have a goddamn olympic pool or a small lake rather than a bucket in terms of size. I don't mean it in a boisterous way, but I am a smart man, I've always been. Equally so, I've always been deeply aware of who I am, what I like, what I hate, my virtues and my weaknesses, my wrongdoings and contradictions too".
[I know that, but my example was that, an example. We don't have anything to compare the size of our vessel with, yet. What is not figurative is that your vessel expanded considerably after reliving your current life, almost doubled. And it's only getting more solid and bigger as you truly process all this information in a more complete and permanent manner. As things stand, I'm confident we can do quite a bit of experimentation including what you have in mind before we start needing to draw on your stamina. However, it seems the problem you've been trying to avoid is about to knock on your door, literally.]
"What do you-"
*Knock-Knock*
Before Damian could keep discussing with Eva, he was interrupted by an abrupt knock on the door followed by a beautiful but concerned voice.
"I heard some noise coming from your room, are you up Damian? Can we talk?"
"S-Sure, Aunt Nat, you can come in!" 'Goddamit, did I fucking stutter? What is wrong with me, she's like a real aunt to you now Damian for fucks sake, get the weird thoughts out of your head!
As the door opened, Damian could see the last nail in the coffin, a definitive piece of evidence that he was really in the world of supers and not on his old Earth anymore. What walked through the door was a woman Damian could hardly mistake for anybody else even if he tried. The woman who walked through the door sported long fiery and slightly wavy red hair that reached her lower back, connecting with a face that could only be described as "comic book pretty", putting models and idols from Damian's previous world to shame, with almond eyes the same color as jade, vivid and striking, framed by well defined eyebrows and a perfectly shaped nose surrounded by high and prominent cheekbones, followed by beautiful and full lips, not too plump but not thin either, with a well defined cupid's bow. All contained in a sharp yet feminine face contour. Then there was the rest. A prominent yet graceful bosom that couldn't be hidden behind the loose shirt and short shorts that perfectly accentuated the impressive hips and legs that were as full as they were long, creating a figure that no amount of modesty and comfort clothes could hide. Even the first rays of the sun seemed to want to highlight the beauty in front of him as the light seemed to make her fair skin shine with a rosy glow.
'Well, technically speaking, we aren't even blood related. My dad was merely her brother in spirit'.
Before Damian could continue to rationalize his horniness, half teen hormones and half seeing the prettiest woman he has ever seen for the first time, he was doused by words that acted like a bucket of cold water.
[Hey, pervert. You should really stop thinking with your lower head and start thinking with the upper one, she can probably hear the change in your heart beat and clearly see the dilation of your pupils.]
'Shit, you're right. I can't believe I'm having problems controlling my own impulses, why did I have to become a teenager again'.
Thankfully, and much to Damian's guilt, Natasha seemed much too concerned with Damian's mental state or decided to turn a blind eye to his subtle signs. Without giving much room for thought she leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "You alright? Heard some noise".
Clearing his throat, he forces himself to calm down "Yeah, as good as it could be, I just had a bad dream…"
Natasha doesn't buy it. She steps inside, her movements fluid, and sits on the edge of his bed. For a moment, she just studies him. Then, to his surprise, she pulls him into a hug. Firmly and without letting go, comforting. To which Damian freezes, unsure what to do with his hands.
With a low voice, she almost whispers to him "First week's the hardest. It get's… less sharp afterwards.
Damian swallows, something seemingly keeping his emotions in check, preventing them from overflowing "Thank's… I think I needed to hear that".
Still, as with most things in life. The good moments can't persist long enough and Damian's teen body betrays him at the worst time possible
Natasha, ever observant, glances down. Then back up. A slow, wicked smirk spreading across her lips "Really, kid?"
"Hm, what do you-" Realizing what her comment was about, Damian wished he could use his powers to erase his existence and in a rare moment of vulnerability for adult Damian, while one half of the flood was going down, the other went straight to his cheeks in the biggest embarrassment blush Damian has had in decades. Still, Damian is Damian, so he just deadpanned, acting like his face wasn't on fire and shot back "Blame biology. And you for invading my personal space".
Just laughing in response, Natasha broke the hug as she got up, slowly and sultrily catwalking towards the door "Uh-huh. Next time, I'll send a memo before hugging my grieving nephew".
Giving a view that was tempting beyond belief to the current him, he almost lost to the desire to watch Natasha walk away. Keyword, almost. Damian knew better than to stare at a woman's ass, especially when the woman wants you to look. They can somehow feel it every goddamn time, that's what experience taught him. 'Good fucking lord, we must stay focused brothers, we must stay focused!'
[She's surprisingly a good natured woman, I expected a super soldier spy temptress to be a bit more cold, especially one that has lived for so long already.]
'I guess so, still that's so fucking embarrasing. I can't believe I popped a boner in front of the goddamn Black Widow herself like a fucking horny teenager'.
[You are a horny teenager right now, Damian.]
'My fucking body is, not me! We both know this would never happen if I had my adult body'.
[Tough luck buddy, you're stuck on this body from now on.]
'I know, dammit. I also know that she did it on purpose, she probably just wanted to distract me from thinking too much about mom and dad, even if for a brief moment. You're right in that she is a good woman, but that doesn't lessen my desire to kill myself right now, this is probably the most embarrassing moment of my life and I've only been conscious for ten fucking minutes!'
Taking a moment to calm down, Damian had to admit his Aunt was quite the adept social creature, all of her words and actions from start to finish were useful for Damian one way or another, in the span of 1 minute she managed to comfort him, lessen his grief and worries, change his mood and even make him focus in something that wasn't a motive of grief. Even if he couldn't confirm if this was on purpose or her learned abilities translating into her interpersonal skills subconsciously, but in either case he wanted to believe, as he "usually" did with people he considered were good or close, that it all came from a place of concern and thoughtfulness.
'Whatever the case might be, since I have a couple weeks to organize my thoughts before I have to pretend it's natural to not only go to the same high school as Spiderman, but also pretend that it is natural for me to be close buddies with him, and Gwen, and Ned, or the damn MJ, let's just rest before testing out my powers. Sleeping is a cheat code when it comes to resetting your brain and helping you assimilate new information. And right now my brain is feeling overloaded, even with the dampener on my emotions still on'.
"Eva," he called. And she answered. [Yes?]
Putting two and two together, he asked. "You seem to be able to feel Natasha's presence, right?"
[Well, I can pretty much feel any presence, or really anything for that matter in a couple meter radius passively and I think I can augment that radius, at a cost.]
Getting the confirmation of his suspicion, he requested. "Perfect, can you wake me up when you feel Natasha leaving the house?"
[Are you seriously asking me to be your proximity alarm clock?] She said with bafflement palpable in her voice.
Mustering a cheeky grin, he looked at the void as if Eva was standing there. "Yes."
With no words to express her feelings correctly, she muttered. [Tsk, you're lucky I like you, bastard.]
"Of course you like me, who wouldn't? He joked.
"But in all seriousness, thank you. I haven't been here for long, but you have already been the biggest helper I've had so far, both lives included. See you in a bit, Eva."
[Yeah yeah, just go to sleep sweet talker, your charisma won't work on me like it did on your little exes.]
"Are we on the jealousy stage already? And you said my charisma won't work on you."
[You really should learn when to shut up, lest you choke with your own damn tongue.] Said Eva while figuratively rolling her eyes.
"Ha, I have a feeling you'll save me if that were to happen."
[Do you really have to always get the last words?] She said in mock exasperation.
"You've seen enough of my life to know I don't like to lose, but I'll let you have the first win, to start on the right foot, haha."
With a tone of defeat, Eva responded. [You're insufferable...]
"That I am…" He chuckled.
As Damian bantered with his new partner in crime to distract himself from any negative thoughts, he slowly started to drift asleep, as the bombardment of information took a toll on his mental fortitude. As resilient as he may be, not even an extra power nap could prepare him for the adventure he was about to embark on, but he was ready to take things as they come in the only way Damian knew, with charisma, sarcasm, stubbornness and a fuck ton of cursing in between those three.