Adoption

[WP] The hero and villain meet out of costume on accident. The villain has a young child with them, who sees the two adults give harsh greetings and small snarky remarks and asks the hero, smiling, if they are going to be their new mom/dad.

*****

Damien really wished he had sabotaged the city marathon.

The route formed a circle around downtown, preventing any traffic in or out of the city. When his son, Jude, begged for a "brekkie sandwich" from their favorite shop, Damien considered simply calling in a bomb threat to stop the race so they could drive. Or, even better, planting an actual bomb.

But being a villain is time-consuming, and by the time a proper bomb was placed, Jude would be a mid-hunger tantrum. Which left only one option.

Walking.

At least it was a beautiful day. Damien worried that Jude didn't get outside enough. At just 6 years old, his son was more concerned with his dreadful iPad than he was with the great outdoors.

Perhaps Damien's next great scheme could be disrupting the Apple product supply, or blowing up all the Apple stores in the city.

Truly, everything he did was for his son. For the last 6 years, Damien used nefarious means to try and make the world a better place for Jude to grow up in. That included murdering corrupt politicians, destroying power plants known to pollute the environment, and blackmailing pharmaceutical companies into lowering their prices.

When Jude's mother died giving birth, Damien knew he couldn't raise his son in the world alone. But he didn't have a choice, someone had to raise him. Damien couldn't bring Diana back to life, but he could try and make the world a little better for his son. Make growing up without a mother less difficult.

The media painted him as some great evil, but he considered himself a motivated father.

Damien would have gotten a lot more done if it wasn't for his holier-than-thou nemesis.

Angel.

Named so for her signature winged costume, bright blonde hair, and fair skin. Golden bangles glittered on her wrists when she flew by, and a golden mask in the shape of wings covered the top portion of her face. The annoying chit really leaned into the Angel motif.

Damien himself had dark hair and eyes, and chose to don a blood-red bodysuit when out on missions. Paired with a black mask that covered his nose and mouth, which was perfect for protecting his identity and keeping him safe from poisonous gas, when he chose to use it.

He couldn't help but laugh when the media started calling him "Demon." A feud for the ages, truly.

"Jude," he admonished, "Don't skip ahead. A runner will plow into you."

His son turned toward him with a sheepish smile, and Damien's cold heart melted just a bit. "Sorry Daddy. How much farther?"

"Just a couple blocks. Come hold my hand until we get there. I don't trust you not to run into the street," Damien joked.

Jude obliged. His little hand was completely dwarfed by Damien's big one.

They walked another block in silence before Jude's energy became too much, and he ran ahead again. His little legs had already carried him a block ahead before Damien could call his name. In the blink of an eye, Jude ran right into someone walking down the street in the opposite direction.

"Careful there, honey! Lot's of runners out today, they may not be able to stop for you!"

The woman took Jude by the shoulders to straighten him. She squatted down to his eye level and smiled at him warmly. "What's your name, sweet boy?"

"I'm Jude, who are you?" the little boy asked with a toothy smile.

"Seraphina. But everyone calls me Sera." She brushed of his dark hair out of his eyes. "What are you doing out here all alone?"

"I'm not alone, I'm with my Daddy." Jude pointed behind him to the man running at a full sprint toward them. Jude wasn't concerned, though. He knew his Daddy would catch up.

"You're really pretty. Like an angel."

Sera snickered. "I get that a lot. We should wait for your Daddy to catch up, shouldn't we?"

Jude nodded. "He always catches up. Daddy is really fast. The fastest man alive! He could be a super hero if he wanted!"

"Jude! What have I said about talking to strangers?" Damien said frantically once in earshot.

"But Sera isn't a stranger. I know her name, and she knows mine. That means we're friends!"

Damien scrubbed his face and sighed. "Not everyone who knows your name is your friend, Jude."

Sera swooped in for the save. "Your Daddy is right, but I'll still be your friend if you want."

Jude jumped and cheered. He turned to his father. "Daddy, do you wanna be Sera's friend too?"

"I'm sure 'Sera' is very nice, but..." Damien trailed off as he finally got a good look at the woman who befriended his son. The long, bright blonde hair. The fair skin. The cupid's bow lips. Her mask was missing, but he would recognize her anywhere.

When the locked eyes, Sera's world was rocked. The Demon? Missing his red jumpsuit and black mask, it was hard to tell, but those eyes....unmistakable.

Jude was confused by the adults that, for some reason, refused to introduce themselves and become friends. He grabbed his Daddy's hand and tugged him closer.

Sera cleared her throat, and stood from her crouched position. "Uh, Jude honey, you say this is your Daddy?"

"Yep!"

Damien recovered from his shock swiftly. "Sera, was it?"

"Seraphina."

He chuckled. "Of course that's your name. Not one to stray from the brand, huh?"

"I'm sorry," she said sarcastically. "What was your name again, Demon?"

To her surprise, Jude giggled. "Daddy's name isn't Demon, silly. It's Damien. You were close though!"

She smirked. "And you lecture me about branding."

Damien looked sour. "As if I named myself."

They stood there awkwardly. Hero and Villain, in civilian clothing, without the stress of battle or ticking bomb separating them. Jude looked between the two adults. Even at six, Jude knew what tension looked like. All the mommies and daddies on his favorite tv shows had similar tension. And he like Sera. She was nice, and golden, and very very pretty.

He tugged on his Daddy's jacket, breaking the moment between the two enemies. "What is it, Jude?"

"Can Sera be my mommy?" Jude whispered in that childish way that wasn't really a whisper, and was definitely heard by all present.

Sera choked. "I don't think that's..."

Damien cut her off "That's not how it works, buddy."

Jude's lips quivered in the way that meant a tantrum was coming, exacerbated by the fact that he still hadn't gotten his brekkie sandwich. "But all heroes should have a partner Daddy. You can't save the world alone."

Sera choked, again. "Hero?"

Jude turned his watery eyes toward her. "Daddy makes the world better. He fights evil corporations and big Pharma and he helps the environment. But he would get so much more done if he had a buddy! And then you could be my mommy!"

Disbelieving and distrustful eyes bore into Damien's skull. He cringed internally, praying to any god that would listen that Angel would have a spontaneous stroke and forget this entire encounter, lest she out him to the entire world and get Jude taken away by CPS.

"Fighting evil, huh?" she asked.

Damien shrugged. "You would notice if you paid attention."

She quirked an eyebrow. "The councilman?"

"Took bribes and molested interns."

"....the refinery?"

"Dumped chemicals into the lake."

"The CEO of--"

"Ran an underground drug ring in my neighborhood for some extra cash."

"Okay, fine, but what about--"

"Amazon? Those warehouses are basically slave labor. Disrupting their supply chain for a week during Christmas gave those people time off to spend with their families. Besides, they got up and running again by New Years, if I recall."

Sera puffed out an exasperated breath. "That doesn't excuse your methods."

Damien quirked a brow and smirked. "I've done more 'good' than any think-tank, activist group, or philanthropist has done, combined."

Jude was smiling widely now, pleased with this outcome. Sera was familiar with his Daddy's work. It was only a matter of time before she decided to help him save the world and then it was a fast-track to being his new mommy.

His little hand took hold of her feminine one and held tight.

"Do you like brekkie sandwiches? Daddy knows the best place."

Sera looked wide-eyed between Jude and Damien. Both just looked at her expectantly.

Truce? Damien mouthed, smiling down at his overly-friendly son.

Sera nodded. With the Demon here, she knew the city was safe for the morning. What could one breakfast hurt? Plus, she couldn't deny her intrigue at his claim that everything he did was for...good? It just didn't make sense, and she had to know more.

But as they walked down the street, Jude between them, each holding on of their hands, Sera couldn't help but wonder just how evil the Demon could be if he was raising a son as sweet as Jude.

*****

THE END