Wayne Manor, Damian's Room
5:56p.m.
{Jonathan}
I arrived at the manor earlier than expected. I flew straight into Damian's room and just as Alfred said, he was waiting for me. By his side, tons of medical stuff rest.
I landed on the balcony to which I almost fell because of the pain. I look down to see my leg is still heavily bleeding, causing a mess on the balcony steps.
"My Lord!" He said shockingly the moment he saw me. He rushed towards me and carefully walked me over to the edge of the bed. He grabbed an extra-large towel from the closet and spread it around me.
He sat me down and wasted no time in mending up the wound. He took the medical kit and pulled out some fresh cotton balls and iodine.
The classic.
He drenched the cotton balls into the iodine and gently wipe off the wet and dry blood from my leg.
No doubt it hurts but compared to the shark bite, this is slightly more tolerable.
"How did this happen?" He asks. "What kind of creature bit you? Because these are some huge teeth marks."
"A great white shark," I said, trying to avoid the pain.
"A great white?!?" He almost raised his voice. "Where in heaven's name were you to attract such a big beast? The deep-sea?"
I nod. "It wasn't that deep... I swear."
He sighs.
"May I ask why?" He asks then changed to a new cotton ball.
"I just wanted to swim further away from the crowd... I can't let them know that there's a flying boy in their midst." I said. "I'm afraid there might be some people who're out to get me."
"Jonathan, you're Superboy... and you don't wear a mask." He said. "You don't have a secret identity to protect."
"One can never be too careful, Alfred," I respond.
He scoffs.
"Is that what Superman tells you?" He asks.
"You can say that," I said.
"He's not wrong." He said after a while.
"I was expecting a small wound like a scratch from a coral or maybe a crab pinch... but not this big." He said as he kept damping the wound.
"The wound is so severe that some big pieces of your flesh are hanging out."
"Don't remind me," I said before noticing that I'm starting to sweat because of the pain. "Just please stop the bleeding, fast."
He's almost used up 6 cotton balls to stop the bleeding but it still isn't. It has come to a point where he ran out of cotton balls. He put down the last cotton ball that was soaked with blood and started studying the bite marks.
It took him a while to really look at my leg and come to a conclusion that the wound needs to be stitched while the torn flesh needs to be cut off in order to not spread the germs throughout the body.
"Don't move, I'll be right back." He got up and rush out towards the exit.
Soon he was out of sight.
Honestly, the pain is slowly easing up but the bleeding remains unchanged. It's still bleeding in the speed of an ice cream melting.
Since Alfred said not to leave the spot, I crash onto the bed and stare at the ceiling for a good minute.
"Even the ceilings have fancy patterns," I mumbled while staring at the ceiling with lots of cursive sophisticated patterns.
I then looked away and reach for my phone in my pocket. I unlocked it and opened Spotify and hit shuffle play. It wasn't for listening but to have some background music. The room is so quiet I can hear the cricket music that is coming from outside the manor. I then kept the phone aside and just wait.
While lying down, my body begins to get comfortable. It didn't take long for me to release a yawn. Only then I realized how exhausted I am from today's unexpected fun and chaotic time. There were pillows all over me, a soft silk-like a comforter, and of course, a small pillow to hold closely against your chest.
So this is how Damian sleeps huh. I'd say he's more of a teenager then I'll ever be because I still sleep with some of my favorite stuffed animals. What's even more humiliating is that they have names.
I picked up the small pillow and lightly glance around it before pressing it against my chest. The pillow smelled exactly like him. This made me remember of times where we would hug, cuddle, take long naps together and so many more
I miss it so much.
God only knows how long I'm going to hug him when he comes home as a human.
5 minutes later...
"Jon" I felt a nudge on my shoulder. "Jon, wake up."
To that, I flutter my eyes open... and to my surprise, Starfire was standing beside me.
"Kori?" I call her to make sure I'm not dreaming. The first thing to catch my eyes was her outfit. I rarely see her normal clothes but her uniform. She has on navy blue skinny jeans with a bubble gum pink half shoulder crop top. She also had on a silver bracelet on her right wrist. The color choices just match her skin tone. Not to mention her red hair and Adidas sneakers just compliment her style.
"Good, you're awake." She said. "Come, sit up."
"Why are you here?" I ask as I use my elbow to support myself as I slowly sat up. When I did, Alfred was standing in front of me. "Hey, Alfred."
"Apparently miss Koriand'r stopped by to drop off Master Dick's electrical blast staff for which he has left at the Titan's tower." He said. "Another news, I seem to have run out of surgical threads for your wounds but luckily, she is here to help you out."
"Quite a coincidence don't you think?"
"I'll say." I tease before meeting her eyes.
"Honestly Jon, you have to stop coming back with injuries." She said as she studies my wounds. "Don't move much... this might sting a little."
She places her hand directly above the wounds and purple-ish flames came through her palms instead of green which is her usual color. It felt as if there was a really hot piece of metal on my skin. It hurts like hell but in no time, I felt my skin repairing and it was fully healed. I look down to see my wounds gone... no scars, no bruise, nothing. It's like it never happened.
"Raven isn't the only one with healing abilities." She smiles as her green eyes met mine. "Only her powers prevent you from feeling the pain but mine doesn't."
"Either way, thank you so much," I said as I cross my legs together.
"You're welcome, Jon." She said. "Please, be careful next time.
"I will," I said.
"Okay, now that that's solved, I'll head on downstairs to prepare dinner," Alfred spoke out as he started collecting the medical appliances. "Would you like to join us for dinner, miss Koriand'r?"
"I'm good Alfred, thank you." She said. "Apparently Gar's in charge of dinner tonight and we promise to attend."
"Tofu?" I ask.
"Most probably." She chuckled.
"Of course," Alfred said. "I shall take my leave now. I'll inform you when dinners ready."
"Thanks, Al," I said.
With that, Alfred left the room, taking the medical appliances with him.
It's just me and Kori now. I thought of having some small talks but she immediately looked at me with serious concern eyes. Like how a mother would look after her kid got into a fight.
"Jon, what happened." She asks sternly. "If you were attacked by a shark, why do I sense magic involved while healing your wounds."
"Magic?" I ask, feeling confused and frightened. "What kind?"
"I don't know... it's nothing I came across before." She said as walks over and took a seat next to me. "But I do know that it's not good."
I started recalling how the shark attacked me. I knew how it happened... every detail. But I don't know how to explain it clearly because it's so... unreal. But so very real at the same time.
Kori said there's magic involved... which might explain why I am so weak and bleeding over normal human accidents.
"A great white attacked me... that is true." I start off. "But, how did I get caught in its teeth? It's just weird and it might not make sense."
"Try me." She said.
"Everything was going well... I was swimming, looking at the creatures under the sea, and just taking it all in." I said.
"But then all a sudden, I hear a song... and I'm not talking about a song from celebrities or jazz or whatever. It's like nothing I've heard before. It's so beautiful. The melody, the rhythm, the voice... it caught me... like literally."
"I was so focused on the song that I didn't realize I was running out of air or anything around me." I can still remember the song as I tell her what happened. "Then from a distance, I saw a creature... it was so far away and I was wearing goggles which makes it harder for me to see it. At first, the creature looked like it had hands and a tail.
But soon I saw it was a human body because it had legs, hand, and a head."
"Wait... you don't mean that's...
"It is." I finish her sentence. "I saw Damian in human form."
Her expression was all over the place. I couldn't tell that she's shocked, happy, afraid, or just lost.
Kinda like how I reacted when I first saw Damian in his Siren form.
"But how is that possible?" She asks. "Where is he now??"
"It wasn't him," I said motionlessly. "At that moment, I was left speechless. I saw his face... his eyes... of course, I wouldn't leave so fast."
"But I also knew that something was wrong because I can't move... I was paralyzed. Every second, he gets closer and closer and the song gets louder and louder in my head."
"Soon he was floating in front of me. His eyes were his eyes but at the same time, they weren't because they looked... dead."
"The song stopped... and then I felt a painful grip on my leg... that so-called Damian was a huge great white shark."
"So in other words, I saw a mirage but underwater... and I don't know why or how it happened," I said. "Not only that but I realized that I'm feeling very weak."
"What do you mean?" She asks.
"Before any of this happened... before the tsunami, no human accidents can make me bleed... Doomsday once drag my face in lava and I didn't even get a bruise. But now, a shark bite... caused me to bleed non stop."
"I don't know what's happening... or why am I suddenly getting so weak."
"I can't deny that what happened to you under there was... unexpected." She said. "But I'm very sure that there's magic involved."
"Your blood had stains of dark magic all over it."
"Who do you suppose it's from?" I ask.
"I don't know... maybe it's more of a " what" than a who." She said.
"Maybe." I nod.
"I have a sample of your blood in my powers." She said. "I can ask the League magicians or Raven, see if they know who or what it is."
"If it's not too much trouble," I said.
"Oh Jon, you're family... I'm not going to let something this... bizarre to just slip through my fingers without knowing what caused it." She said.
"Thanks, Kori." I smile. "For the healing as well. I appreciate it very much."
"You're welcome." She said as she playfully messed my hair.
Kori then glances towards the window looking outside. And so did I.
The sun is minutes away from being fully gone. The moon shines next.
"Guess I better head back to the tower before Gar thinks I abandoned his tofu dinner gathering." She chuckles.
"And I better clean myself up before heading downstairs to see the Bat-family," I said while running my fingers through my sandy hair.
She got up and sighs. I then got up. Kori wrapped her arms around me for a hug and I hugged her back. It was expected because Kori is a hugger, just like me.
"Stay safe okay." She said as she slowly pulls back. "I know you're trying to clear your mind from this whole situation... but do it in a safe way... not by putting yourself in danger and coming back with blood all over you."
"Alright, Kori," I said.
"Good." She smiles. "Have something to eat and get some rest for which you clearly need some... and don't worry about you being weak. We will help you out."
"Thank you," I said.
She smiles as she cups my left cheek. This was the first time I saw her eyes up close.
All this time, I thought she didn't have iris because her eyes were shining bright neon green. But she actually has iris and pupils... like any normal eyes.
She made her way towards the balcony. It was already night and the full moon is shining down brightly on Gotham today.
We waved at each other just before she takes off. I watched her as she slowly disappears into the night.
She was out of sight now. I closed the balcony doors and the curtains after that. I then head over to the closet to pick up a towel because I seriously need to get the sand out of my hair for it is becoming itchy. When I got out of the closet, the smell of whatever Alfred is cooking downstairs filled the atmosphere which made my stomach rumbled. I didn't know I was hungry till I smelt food.
"What a day."