Villains

Chapter 20: Scarred

Kaldur and the rest of his team had not been informed that Nyx was located, nor that the League had gone to save her, until after the mission ended. In fact, they hadn't been informed by the League at all. Zatanna's father had been called for the rescue mission in case Klarion showed and so she snuck over, telling them about Vandal Savage's sighting and supposed water balloon battle. The Team gathered around the zeta tube for a suffocating 15 minutes, anxiously waiting for more news or the arrival of their friend.

When the lights flashed and Nyx stepped inside, the sound of the computer announcing her arrival, the sound of Black Canary speaking, and the rest of the world became distant and muted. Kaldur's eyes flitted over her, noticing the white bandage around her leg and her arm, as well as the various rips and scratches across her frame. Nyx looked as if she had been tied to the end of a semi-truck by her foot and dragged down an underused dirt road.

His gaze reached her eyes and the two of them stared for a moment before Nyx walked away, leaving Canary in the middle of whatever Canary was saying. The older woman looked after her in exasperation and Kaldur stepped forward, following after Nyx.

"I'll go make sure she gets to the med-bay."

Canary sighed. "Thank you, Kaldur."

Glad to be excused, Kaldur quickly went after Nyx, who walked faster in a vain attempt to avoid him. Kaldur jogged and caught up with her. A small breath left the girl and she slowed down, but did not look at him.

"Nyx," Kaldur frowned, "what's wrong? What happened?"

She only shook her head.

"Alright," Kaldur relented, not wanting to irritate her, "but you need to go to the med-bay. You look terrible."

Nyx didn't react much to the tease, only nodding once and continuing down the hall.

Kaldur frowned. "I didn't really mean that. You're covered in wounds and walking around like a pro. In fact, you look pretty cool."

Nyx put a hand over her face and her ears turned red. Kaldur gaped a little and Nyx quickly went into the med-bay, turning away from him fully. He lingered in the doorway a moment before rushing forward and pulling supplies out of the cabinet.

"Is there anything you need attended to in particular? Broken bones? Deep cuts?" Kaldur glanced at her. "Where do you hurt most?"

Nyx was facing away, her hand resting on the counter. Silence loitered across a long stretch of tension before she all but ran for the door.

Kaldur stepped forward. "Wait, I-"

Instead of running away like he'd predicted, Nyx shut the doors. Her back quivered before she turned around to face him and pulled down her hood. Kaldur's heart melted at the sight of her beautiful purple eyes, shining with fear and desperation. He moved forward immediately and wrapped his arms around her. She breathed in deeply, trying and succeeding in keeping her tears in her eyes. Slowly, she returned the hug, and after a moment, she dropped her head into Kaldur's shoulder.

He pulled away and held her at arm's length, his face filled with concern. "What did he do to you?"

Nyx lowered her gaze and said nothing. Kaldur waited patiently, but before long, it became evident that she didn't plan on saying anything. He sighed and turned around, grabbing a cloth and alcohol from the supplies he'd gathered on the counter. Then he looked back to her.

"Where do you want to start?"

Nyx rose her hand slowly and grabbed her mask, but hovered there, glancing up to look at him, almost as if she was scared of him. Kaldur couldn't imagine why, but still, he attempted to soften his stance and his expression. Nyx noticed his attempt at making her more comfortable and she took some solace in that, lifting the mask from her face.