Here there be whump

taking off a mask to reveal what lies beneath as a romantic gesture is overdone, and besides i want to see the romantic or even platonic potential of protecting someone's identity beneath the mask, without any expectation of ever being allowed to see what's under it. picking it up and holding it gently to their face when it's knocked off and they're in danger of being exposed, without trying to catch a glimpse of what they "really" look like under there. throwing yourself in front of them to hide them from view while they put themselves back together without taking advantage or looking back to see what you're protecting. learning to read them by body language, tone of voice, and behaviour so well that you never need to see their face to feel like you know and understand them.

I am not immune to the trope of "character overextends themselves in a bout of god-like power and immediately passes out afterwards".

Bonus points if they do a superhero landing and / or crack a one liner before collapsing.

Double bonus points if right before they collapse into a puddle the last thing they see is their friends / love interest sprinting towards them at high velocity.

“They say he gives amazing speeches. Though, I’ve heard down the vine he was an even better writer. Damn shame he wasn’t left handed." 

↳ Commissioner Harding to Agent Orsini in regards to the leader of the street riots. 

((AU: Super Heroes))

"Nobody actually knows this guys real name. They just call him Prometheus. The poor call him their savior. The rich their undoing. But he’s just a guy missing an arm covered in scars, right? Yeah, we wish that was the case. Apparently he’s a mutant. His power involves altering chemicals in other people? Not sure the science of it, but we know he controls people’s emotions, pretty much to the extent that he brainwashes them. He’s got a vendetta against someone or something, and he’s more of a threat than anyone wants to admit." 

Whump prompt:

Once Villain's reign is ended and their organisation is dismantled, they're put on trial for their crimes. By committee decision they are sentenced to some horrible fate, as is everyone who worked for them.

The committee has some trouble over one of the associates found in their compound, someone kept in chains but who was seen helping Villain with atrocities meant to keep the population under their strict control.

Eventually, though details of mind control and torture come to light, it is decided that no leniency can be given, and Whumpee is to meet the same fate as the rest of the organisation.

Hero steps forward making a heartfelt plea that Whumpee cannot be punished for something they had no control over. The committee is hard to convince, and the only way Hero manages it is to agree to take full responsibility for Whumpee; if any further trouble is caused by them, they will both pay the price.

Whumpee, trembling and terrified, is brought over to Hero in front of the waiting crowd. The end of their chains is handed to Hero who guides them from the chamber, off to a new life, neither sure what they're going to do next. What will life look like? Is Hero just a new Master to please? Will it be some kind of atonement and rehabilitation? How strict will Hero have to be to prove that Whumpee is no threat to anyone?

Neither is sure, and there's every chance Hero has damned them both. Maybe it was just Villain's last trick, a ploy to bring Hero down with them. Only time will tell.