Yin and Yang [A Superhero AU] - Book Three

Chapter Nine - Phil's House

When Dan reaches the institute, he immediately heads to his bedroom and starts tossing clothes and toiletries into his backpack. The room around him is suffocating, and more than anything he wants to forget that Jack is gone and that most likely, the boss will punish them for it. Hot tears start burning his eyes, and he stubbornly wipes them away. He's not going to cry. He's not.

"Dan, what are you doing?" Cry's voice comes from the doorway, and the Brit puts his bag on his bed and stubbornly scrubs at his face.

"I'm going out for the night," he replies, refusing to look at the masked villain.

"Where are you going to go?"

"Somewhere safe."

Cry exhales heavily, his exhaustion obvious despite the mask in the way. "I won't stop you from leaving, but... the boss wants to see you, and if you go to him first and then leave, he won't be suspicious."

"Okay," Dan mumbles. He wipes at his eyes again and brushes past Cry, trying to hide the fact that he feels like he's losing his mind. Why can't he just go to Phil's and forget today?

He walks towards the boss' office hesitantly, dread weighing on his chest more and more with each step he takes. If he gets called into the boss' office, it's not good. He'll most likely have to wear long sleeves and pants when he heads over to Phil's so the bruises are hidden. When he reaches the door, he brushes the last of the moisture from his eyes and cheeks before stepping inside.

The boss sits on his desk, his eyes cold and hard as his watches Dan enter. He looks particularly unwell today, dark bags under his eyes clashing with his yellow-tinted skin. His fingers are clenched around the edge of his desk, and under his gaze Dan wants to shrink.

"I've already heard about what happened during today's mission from dear little Matthew, so don't try to dance around it. How did Seán get captured, Daniel?" he asks, his voice a dangerous calm.

"The heroes, I think they cornered him," Dan squeaks.

"You think?"

"I didn't see it all happen."

The boss stands and Dan flinches, his heart racing. The man grabs his chin roughly and the villain has to stop himself from heating up his skin and burning the boss' hand off.

"Why didn't you get him back?"

Dan tries to calm himself down to no avail. "I was trapped. I couldn't get to him."

The boss releases his face by shoving backwards, causing Dan to stumble. Despite his illness, he seems to gain a disturbing amount of energy when fuelled by rage. He storms forward and lands a swift punch to the villain's gut and Dan crumples. Through pained wheezes, he struggles to stand tall.

"You have the ability to control fire! You should be able to melt an entire team of useless heroes in a single fight!" he exclaims, winding up to punch him again. Dan blocks with two heated hands and the boss howls as his fist sizzles. As soon as he recovers, the boss scowls at the villain. "How DARE you..."

Dan cowers as the boss kicks and punches him over and over again. One thing the boss barely does is punch their faces or heads, which Dan might be grateful for if it wasn't for the reason. A black eye or a swollen cheek is too obvious for passers-by, so he keeps his abuse below the neckline. That way, nobody will know unless they get one of the villains naked. Silent tears stream down his face as he waits for the abuse to end, willing his mind to go to a better place. A few seconds like this feels like hours, and by the time the boss finally backs off Dan's face is soaked with tears.