The meeting Ricky and Ryan had been invited to was to lovingly hosted at a rundown abandon warehouse. They understood why their associates wouldn't want them finding out about any of the society's secret bases of operation, but they expected something a little cleaner than this. The two stayed to the shadows, uncomfortable with the company—An ancient evil and his telepathic son, a pint size assassin, a kidnapped prison guard, and whatever the fuck kind of crazy Asher was. Despite their insanity and sadism, they were thick as thieves. Everything they discussed appeared to be legit, and it seemed like they knew what they were doing. That didn't make the couple any less suspicious of them.

As they were wrapping up the meeting, planning to head out to execute their break-in plan immediately after, Ryan felt the burner phone in his pocket vibrate. He retrieved it, seeing the exact message he feared. His son was shamefully texting him to confess his failure. Ryan flashed his screen over to Ricky.

"Go. I'll take care of this." Ricky placed his hand on the side of Ryan's head, looking deep in his eyes, "I promise."

Ryan pecked his lips, then took off through a portal. He didn't need to say anything else, not even an "I love you" because they just knew. Their connection and care for one another went beyond words. Unfortunately, he couldn't expect the others to understand that. When he turned himself around, they were staring, waiting for an explanation.

"Family emergency." Ricky stated.

"What do you know of family?" Beau snarled.

Covey placed his hand upon his son's shoulder. "Leave it be. We have other issues to tend to. Without Ryan, we're without a proper teleporter. I have it within my ability to open portals but I can't pass through them myself. I'll have to trust you all to see this through."

"We will." His child replied, "I promise."

Croc piped in, "I'll keep 'em in line."

Covey smiled softly, "I have no doubt you will. Alright. We should be going, then."

He moved to an open area of the warehouse. Covey tapped his staff against the concrete three times, then swirled it around as if he was stirring a pot. A swirling black hole formed on the cold, grey ground, twirling away at reality's edges. The less sane, such as Friday and Asher, had no issue in leaping through. Ricky was expectantly hesitant. Years by Ryan's side had taught him the vindictive and conniving ways of magic and it's users. He stepped forward, falling far down into the darkness, only submitting to it's weight because he had no better option.

Everyone found their way through, except Vinny. He stared down the pit like a child scared of jumping into the deep end for the first time. Covey observed him, his eyes glowing a haunting purple from the voodoo magic running through his veins. "If you turn back now, no one will blame you." He said, "Once you go through there, there's no taking it back. You'll be like us—A martyr."

"I don't take myself that seriously, but yeah, guess you're kinda right. No one will ever see me the same. I'll be a bad guy. I know what I'm doing is morally right, and I'm tryin' my best to get better about not giving a fuck about everyone else's opinions." Vinny responded.

He took a deep breath, then leaped in. Covey shrunk the portal so that it was small enough to go undiscovered by the prison staff on the other end, should they run across it. He left it open just a crack to allow Beau's telepathy to travel through to him. His heart ached for Vinny's foolhardy youth, but he wasn't going to save the soul of a boy he barely knew over the life of the man he loved. If the cost of saving Jasper would be Vinny's hero status, that was something he could live with. He's done worse for love before.

—

Ryan returned to his apartment as fast as he could. There were only two things he truly cared about in life—His boyfriend, and his son. The fact that the two didn't get along very well was also about the only thing that ever bothered him. Despite how Ricky felt about Jani, he knew how important he was to his dear love. He didn't even give it a second thought when he told Ryan to go after his son instead of focusing on this mission.

The place was a mess. Glass from the window was scattered all across the floor, along with dirt from the potted plant being knocked over. Jani was knelt down, trying his best to put the plant back in it's home without accidentally scooping glass into the pot. He wasn't at a Poison Ivy level of crazy when it came to greenery. However, because he'd been gifted with the ability to control plants, he did have a higher level of sympathy for them than most people.

Ryan rushed over to him, falling to his knees before his boy, never minding the broken glass. He pulled Jani's head against his chest and desperately told him, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I placed a barrier around the apartment. I don't know how they got through."

"Dad," He whined as he wiggled out of his grasp, "I'm fine. It's fine. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I fucked up, big time."

"No, you didn't. I didn't think Chris had any allies, anyone who would come for him. I thought you were safe. I should've known better. This place is compromised. I'll come back and get Ricky and I's shit later. First, let's get you somewhere safe. Grab your things." Ryan stood up, glancing at the pothos ivy on the floor. "You can bring the plant, too, if you want."

Jani was surprised, but grateful. Ryan never showed any sign of understanding or care for his love of nature in the past. Maybe he was being generous given the circumstances, or maybe Jani just wasn't around enough to see this side of his dad. He did as his father asked, getting his items together quickly. As soon as he was done, Ryan teleported them off somewhere else in the world.

Wherever it was, it was now dark outside. Ryan found a light, flicking it on to reveal a very rustic cabin. This wasn't the type of place Ryan and Ricky usually went for. They liked lavish apartments overlooking the biggest cities in the world. It was both an aesthetic choice and a work necessity. There were more employers for assassins in the big cities. Jani approached a window, seeing only a few small houses in the distance. They were in the middle of nowhere.

"Where are we?" He asked, shocked.

"The countryside of Switzerland. This is where Ricky and I used to come when we needed a vacation, or we needed to let some heat die down. I thought you'd like it because it's so green here." Ryan explained, "I'll bring you back to campus in the morning. I'd just like to watch over you for tonight."

"Okay." Jani muttered. He set his laptop down on the dusty kitchen table. Then, he picked up the plant from the ground and placed it on a nearby bookshelf to rest.

"You aren't hurt, are you?" His father asked.

He shrugged, "A few cuts and bruises. Nothing too bad."

Jani made the mistake of looking at his forearm while he said that. Ryan grabbed his wrist, holding him still while he took a closer look. He saw the small pieces of glass embedded in Jani's skin and sighed. "Anything else you're downplaying?"

"Hmph... Yeah," He sighed, "My jaw is killing me. Probably from getting sucker punched."

Ryan walked into the kitchen and began rustling through some drawers. It may have been years since he'd been here, but the place seemed to be untouched. Country folk tended to mind their own damn business. Out here, they probably just assumed the place was an innocent vacation home for a lovely gay couple. He found the tweezers he was looking for and told his son to sit down. Then, he summoned one of his little sprites to provide him with a better light.

"You could've finished up with your thing, whatever it was. I would've been fine until you got back." Jani mumbled as Ryan began plucking the glass from his flesh.

"Ricky can take care of it. You're more important." He replied.

"I thought you said it was a matter of life and death."

"I did, and I also said you're more important." Ryan stated.

"Oh." Was all Jani would manage to say. He didn't know how to take what his father had said. Yeah, he was kind enough to pay for his tuition, but other than that he'd never been much of a parent. He'd stop by every once and a great while for a visit, usually on holidays and birthdays, but he was never around much. "Aren't you going to ask me about the guy that took Chris? So you can figure out who he was, where he went?"

"Getting attacked by a super villain is a pretty traumatic event, even for a hero in training. I didn't want to upset you. Besides, I was against taking Chris from 42 in the first place. It's a long story I won't bother you with."

"Maybe... You could bother me with a different story?" He purposed. Ryan stopped what he was doing to look up at him, and he continued, "I was wondering, why did you and mom really breakup? I... I know the truth, dad. I found out over the summer, she was a villain, too."

"And how'd you find this out?" Ryan asked.

"I was looking for something in the attic and I ran across a newspaper clipping about you and a female accomplice. They didn't name her, but the date matched up to when you were together."

He sighed, "You were always a smart kid. Too smart for your own good, sometimes. It's... complicated, and understand that I did what I did to protect you. Your mother's a terrible person who can't be trusted with a child."

"How could you say that?!" Jani interrupted, yanking his arm back.

"Let me finish saying what I was going to say." Ryan sighed, "Jani, the woman who raised you, she's not your birth mother. I'm sorry I lied to you, but I hope you still treat Bambi as if she was your biological mother, because she loves you to death. Your real mother, she was a horrible person. After you were born, I took you away from her one night and told her I took you to the hospital because you weren't breathing. I told her you died from SIDS, but that never happened.

"When I was your age, I met Bambi. She was a lovely, beautiful woman, but I knew deep down, her and I were just not meant to be. I loved her with all my heart, and I trusted her. That's why I asked her to raise you. I was hanging around her so much to spend time with you when you were a baby that we ended up getting back together, and stupidly eloped. She was a good woman and probably would've stayed with me and dealt with my demons, but I couldn't let them hurt either of you. I wanted you to have the chance to choose the light."

"How am I supposed to when my entire existence is evil? I was born from evil. You said it yourself!"

"Jani," Ryan softly cooed, reaching out to grab his son's hand, "A bloodline is not a prophecy. You may have come from darkness, but Bambi put a light in you that shines far brighter. Just look," Jani followed his eyes to the plant behind them, which seemed to be flourishing in it's new environment, "Only the light can nurture life like that."

His boy turned back around, revealing his glassy eyes. Between everything that'd happen with Chris and this emotional roller coaster of a conversation, he was drained. Jani finally collapsed against his father's chest and began crying. Ryan held him tight and embraced one of the few real memories he's had the pleasure of making with his son.

—

a/n:
aye comment question, should ryan tell jani who his real mother is? Or should they leave it be?