Damsel[ed]: No Rescue Required

Chapter 27: The Girl Beneath the Mask

Gats.

"Just kiss him!" I shout, about to punch the idiot of a hero. Galaxy glares, shaking her head.

 "He's unconscious! What do you think I am? A creep?" Little Miss Stubborn heaves Angel over her shoulder, grunting. An angry rumble builds in my throat. Oh, of course, she cares about bloody ethics!

"Well, sleeping beauty it then! I'm sure he won't mind, and besides, it's the only way you'll break that stupid spell!"

She sighs, her armor quaking with the effort. We're padlocked in here, stuck to pace this abandoned 'guest' room in the Neutrals' lair. And to top it off, Angel's completely out of it. Apparently, too much shocking revelation and kryptonite does that to certain superpowered beings. I keep my eyes on his limp form, half-suspicious he'll burst into those purple flames again.

Galaxy lowers him onto the bed. I watch, transfixed as she runs her fingers through his hair. "Well," I say, "if you aren't gonna kiss him, at least drop the armor. You're killing yourself!" Why is she stubborn? Can't she see she's hurting herself? And Angel, for that matter!

The super sighs dreamily at the ceiling, and I shrug off my sleepiness.

"Galaxy?"

"That villain's so...handsome. Would it really hurt to like him?" She slips to the carpet, melting into a puddle of love-struck hero.

"Galaxy!" I thunder over, about to whack some sense into her.

She jolts to her feet, panting. Her shaking hands clench into fists, and she gasps, swearing. "Good God! What has he done to me?" I poke my claws. I'd hate to imagine all her crazy inner conflict. She undoes the bottom of her mask, turning her back to me and facing the bed. My heart thumps. Kiss him. Kiss him, damn it!

She leans over to do the deed...but...but...

"I can't," she says, so quiet I strain to hear. 

Whoa! What? Yes, she can! She's Galaxy! She can do anything! "Don't say that!" 

She drops to her knees, hands grasped around the bed's edge as if she needs it for support. "You don't know, Gatsby! I don't think I can take any more of this."

"Huh?" I plop beside her. "What are you talking about?"

"Fibbs was right," she says. "I'm playing God. Starlight deserves better than me."

"Don't say that!" I repeat, squeezing her plated arm. She can't break! Galaxy's the strongest person in the city!

She's the people's hero, the girl that rescues kittens and fights villains. She's invincible, unbreakable.

But is that realistic? When something doesn't bend, it shatters. And maybe that's happening to her. "All I want is to protect you, Gats. You and Angel should be at home. Neither of you chose this..."

Gats? Maybe she overheard Angel call me that, but it's so weird to hear a celebrity hero call me by such an intimate nickname.

"...I should've never come so close to you," she says, "maybe this wouldn't have happened."

I sigh. "It isn't your fault."

"I wanted to be your knight in shining armor, and I failed." Her voice rings through the room with the hauntedness of a church chime. My knight? I don't need a knight!I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself!

"Look, miss, I know you're the people's defender and all, but I don't need your protection."

She chokes. "Miss?"