"Heroes fight for people they don't know, villians fight for people they do"-Unknown

"So are you sure that sneaking out to fight supervillains is what we're supposed to be doing. I don't want to be that guy... But I'm pretty sure that was the exact opposite of what Flash told us to do" I said to Dick, whispering as he tried to unlock the gate to the garage, and failing pretty miserably. I wasn't a complete idiot, I knew that the specific words both Dick and Barry used in their last exchange were weird, but I wasn't sure it was so weird we were supposed to completely go against his orders.

"I've told you twice now, yes, he was giving us permission to help fight" Dick shot back, still messing with the lock, "I've been a sidekick for a lot longer than you have, so can you just trust me on this one."

"Absolutely not." I grip his arm, forcing him to drop the lock and face me, crossing my arms over my chest in what I hoped to be a message that I was serious. "We are going to fight deadly supervillains, without backup again, also, we haven't recovered fully from our last mission, and finally, because, you haven't looked at me since you started this escapade, which leads me to believe you are lying about something, and if it's about the legality of fighting fucking Supervillains, I would like to know!" I almost stamp my foot, but realize that what be too childish and stop.

While I know that some level of disobedience was common in all sidekick/mentor roles in the comics and shows, the fact that we were rushing to capture villains that could go against the Flash made me hesitate to fully commit. Plus, I had a sinking suspicion that something was "up" with Dick, because he was acting super-haha- committed to this decision to fight villains.

"Do you really want to know about the fucking legality of fighting villains?" We can help fight them, and so that is what we are going to do, I told you that Flash isn't supposed to officially have us fight due to our position as heroes, so can you just please drop it?" Dick spins away in a huff, turning back to the lock, this time pulling small tools out of his belt, and slowly messing with the insisted of the lock.

"No!" I shout, spinning him around again, this time with more force. "I have spent the last two weeks having to go learn a whole new planet, and I'm sick and tired of everyone assuming that I know things I don't. You've said our position as heroes several times but I don't know what any of that fucking means, much less how that affects if we can go fight crime or not! I don't care about the exact letter of the law, just that someone can actually explain to me fully what is going on, and they are focusing on a shitty lock that I could easily break with my Omnitrix!" Even though I'm panting at the end of my tirade, I needed to get that out. While I did exaggerate how much I didn't know, having to adapt to a whole other culture with none of the same social references, apparently 90 percent of the TV shows and movies I had seen never existed, was extremely frustrating. The whole revelation about the nuances of villainy also made me irritated, as no one had ever slightly implied any of it.

"Oh fuck you!" Dick hits the top of my head with his hand, hard enough that it barely hurts, but not hard enough that I would get actually injured. "All I've heard from you is how hard it is being here as if I wanted to get stuck babysitting an inept hero for three weeks. Do you want to know why I have to fight those villains? Wayne said that if I prove myself on this trip, I'll move up from being a sidekick to an actual full-fledged member of the League, and implied someplace in command over my own team. I have been a sidekick for the past eight years of my life, and I've done more good than half the people in the Justice League, and am still passed over because of my age. And this isn't just for me either, this is your chance to prove to everyone that you deserve to be a hero, and be able to help, not get stuck being tested because of your watch." Dick swings the lock with his hand making a dull clacking sound, then moves out of the way giving me full access. "Now please break the lock so we can go."

Silently, without saying anything or looking at Dick at all, I walk up to the lock, transforming to XLR8 as I do so, but this time the urge to call out my name doesn't come. Breaking the lock with a flick of my tail, the only thing I can feel is numbness, spreading from within filling my body up, and I couldn't muster up any anger at it. I knew that Dick and I weren't best friends, but I still thought that he didn't hate spending time around me. Tapping the dial on my chest, I shift back into my human form, but the emptiness inside of my stays, still as empty as when I was a Kineceleran. I slowly follow Dick outside of the Garage, trudging along under the night sky. I knew if I looked up I would see the stars I saw before, but I locked my gaze on the ground, not wanting to look up.

-----

The ride through Central City seemed dimmed, the lights were less bright, and while there still were crowds of people, despite the fact it was almost midnight, they acted subdued in a sense. Even though some part of me was thrilled to ride on a motorcycle, the circumstances still gripped me, made me hold my tongue. Part of the reason the ride was subdued, was that Dick and I had still not spoken since our own outbursts, and I didn't want to be the one to reach out, especially since Dick's words sunk in.

I didn't blindly believe we were that close, I knew we had only been hanging out for the past couple of weeks, and a large part of that was without Dick's freedom, but I still had thought that some part of him didn't see me as an assignment. I could recognize that I was still new to this type of hero action, but I didn't think I was that unknowledgeable that my interactions were a pain to people.

I closed my eyes, trusting in my driver's ability to not crash, and allowed the soft sound of the wind to soothe my nerves. I was still mad at Dick, but if we were about to fight someone, I needed to be in a somewhat collected mental state. I had a small feeling that rampant emotions would make the Omnitrix more variable, and while that would be better to unlock more aliens, in a practical setting I needed the watch to be as obedient as possible.

Stolen story; please report.

In the shows the watch was less of a tool and more of a companion, giving Ben the alien he needed to defeat the bad guy, with just enough unpredictability to advance comedy and make the show more interesting. However, I didn't have the same amount of plot armor, so a switch to a useless alien could have a much stronger emphasis in a world where my survival wasn't guaranteed. The flippancy that I grew accustomed to relating to the Omnitrix needed to be carefully explored, or my inability to control the Omnitrix could be a hindrance.

The gentle stop of the motorcycle shook me out of my thoughts, and when I looked up I saw we were in the parking lot to an... Ice rink? As Dick started to walk towards the entrance, I quickly followed, debating whether asking a question to explain why we were here was worth talking about first. The itch for more information rose within me, and I cleared me through, resigning myself to "losing" the silent battle between myself and Dick.

"An ice-rink?" I winced when my throat cracked, clearing it before trying again. "Please don't tell me Captain Cold chose this place for a thematiccly relevant background, I can't handle witty dialogue right now, I don't think." My words echo out as we keep walking, and I wince when the gap lengthens. I consign myself to having lost whatever that connected Dick and me, and I especially don't wipe my eyes, when his voice sends relief through me.

"You know, a lot of villains do tend to hang out in places that fit their "aesthetic", he air quotes, but walks slower, letting me catch up. "Besides, this is the first mini-boss, they’re always snappy in some sense. Case in point, I've heard every pun relating to riddles, penguins, and plants, several of them twice during the same fight." His voice turns pained, and he suddenly looks a lot older than the eighteen years I know he is. "You don't know true pain until you have to hear the same exact punchlines for the same jokes for years in a row."

I nod, thinking back to the explosive social media trends that would drown out every other joke than slowly die off, and feel a pang of sympathy. I'm content to keep walking side by side, but as we get closer to the door, something he says makes me freeze. "Wait, did you just say mini-boss?" I ask, shaking Dick's shoulder lightly.

"Yeah, you know the lower level bosses that are hard enough to beat after a little bit of effort, but not easy enough to go running in ill-prepared, those. Wait, do you not have video games where you came from?" He freezes and looks at me incredulously.

"I know what a mini-boss is, obviously. But you called Captain Cold one, like just now," I try to explain. "You acted like this is some kind of TV show or game, but this is real life, right?"

"Where do you think mass media came up with the idea of a mini-boss came from" What?? He goes on, slightly looking up, scratching the side of his head. "Usually when a group of villains attacks a hero, there's an overarching plan for various things. The main bad guy wants to give that plan as much time as possible, so betrays the smaller villains to the heroes, hoping the heroes focus on them first. For instance, we got the location for Captain Cold from the Reverse-Flash, because either we focus on Cold and give him more time, or if we engage Reverse-Flash first, all the lower-level villains can cause havoc, or help the villain at the last second."

I blink. I stop moving entirely, trying to comprehend the last couple of sentences- villains betraying each other, all for an extra bit of time? "I am going to be honest, that makes no fucking sense to do that, why wouldn't all the villains fight in the same location?" I ask, trying to war my head around it.

"Well, some heroes have abilities that affect multiple people in the same close area, so staying close could allow for your whole plan to be ruined at once. More practically, heroes spend a lot of time training together, when some villains have no reason to share their weak spots, due to the third reason. Villains will betray other villains, and so Cold, cant betray someone halfway across town. It's actually not a horrible strategy if the villains are just strong enough for an actual hero to fight them, then if someone is all by themselves, it would take a bit to fight four villains across town, and they can't go for the main villain because they usually know where the locations of the mini-bosses are. This is common stuff really, did no one tell you this?"

"You would tell me this, you realize that right? That the only person that would tell me how to become a superhero is you, I still don't even have a phone, and I asked Wayne for one like four times before we left." I still never got one either, which was sad because I had wanted to see what social media websites were like with real-life superheroes, but never had any technology to do so.

"About that......" I glance at Dick, only to realize that this is one of the only times I've seen him look abashed before, and a suspicion dawns on me. My worst fears are realized when Dick keeps talking. "I might have a box that Wayne told me to give you a while ago that was the same shape as a phone, but I promise I actually forgot about it."

"Do you have any idea on how bored I was, about all the information I couldn't look up because I didn't have any way to do so?" I say, forcefully trying to inflict terror, but by the looks of an unfazed Dick, it's not working that well. "You know what, never mind, let's go kick this guy's ass, and then as soon as we get back to STAR Labs, you owe me that phone, or I'll take yours."

I walk ahead, testing the doors to the Ice-Rink and they open immediately, without us having to break in. I looked back at Dick, but he just shrugged and walked in, and I quickly followed him.

The inside was dark, and I squinted trying to see any object that would clue us into the location of Captain Cold.

"You know, if I had a phone, I could use a flashlight so we could see when it's dark." I pushed down a grin, as Dick looked back and seemed annoyed. While our brief conversation didn't solve the issues, the friendship seemed better somehow. A small sound made us both freeze, and we slowly turned around to see someone standing in the entrance, brightness shining behind him. As darkness began wrapping around his limbs, turning the room even darker, I gulped, unsure of what was going to happen. As birds made from darkness began to coalesce on his shoulders, I hastily stepped back, guessing that whoever it was, they were not going to be helpful.

"Uhmm.. wait, let me try diplomacy, Dick." I raise my hand towards the teenager and focus on the two crows perched on his shoulders. "Chno Sve Noc?" I ask hesitantly, hoping for a positive reaction. As darkness exploded out of the figure, covering me instantly, all I could think was

Why do I always get knocked out?