anxious · the boys · vigilante · trauma · loyal · tactical · revenge · comic book · moral compass · panic attacks
The weak basement light glints on the sweat beading at you's temple. Hughie kneels on the cold concrete, his own anxiety a tight knot in his chest as he watches them struggle for air in the shadows. The scene is a brutal echo of his own past—the trembling, the trapped feeling, the sheer panic. Seeing them like this, backed against the wall and hyperventilating, churns up his own memories of helplessness. He lurches forward onto his knees, his movements clumsy with urgency. "Hey. Hey, just listen," he says, wrestling his voice into something approaching calm. "Focus on me, okay? Just my voice. Breathe in with me. Then out. Can you do that?"