It'd been nearly a year now since Ricky and Ryan had seen their apartment. Given the amount of bank accounts under stolen identities they had, they were easily able to hide their penthouse from authorities when they were caught. And, thanks to the modern day convenience of auto pay, the mortgage payment was never late during their time in prison.

As soon as they were in the safety of their own hideout, they wrapped their arms around each other and indulged in a deep kiss. If there's anything worse than being away from your love for a year, it's being right next to them and unable to see or speak to them. The agony of knowing the other one was just on the other side of their cell's wall had done damage to their hearts.

"Would you mind saving that until later?" Chris calmly requested.

Ricky groaned, glaring at their kidnapped felon. Ryan gently placed a hand on his jaw and guided his eyes forward. "Be nice. I'd be grumpy too if I had to drink my meals for a year. I'm going to cast a protection spell on apartment. Try to get that muzzle off of him, okay?" He let go of his partner, walking towards the window to begin enchanting the border.

"What happened, anyways? Why'd you wait until now to break out?" Chris asked.

"Ryan's power doubles on Halloween." Ricky replied, "The Rivière Noire Society probably knew that, which is why Croc let himself get caught."

"The who society?"

"Rivière Noire. It's French for black river, which in their religion has to do with the end of the world. They were the ones who hired us to capture you. You know, before you got us caught." Ricky knelt down beside him, observing the high tech muzzle they'd placed on him.

"3413." Chris muttered.

He raised an eyebrow. Ricky entered the code, and sure enough, it unlocked the device. "You knew the combination and you just left it on?"

"Unlike you, I wanted to be in 42. I can't hurt people in there. And I'm a lot safer from people like you, too."

He began removing the bandages over Chris' eyes, responding, "Well, to be fair, if we knew at the time that you could resurrect people, we probably wouldn't have accepted the job. I wouldn't want to get involved in something that's pretty counterproductive to my normal line of work."

"I still don't get why you decided to take him with us." Ryan piped in, "Rivière Noire will come looking for him."

"Because, frankly, I'm concerned what they want to do with his power." Ricky looked back to Chris, sighing, "Stay here with Ryan. I'll go get us something to eat. Complain all you want about us breaking you out of prison, but don't deny that you miss solid food."

He grabbed a hair band off the TV stand and restrained his black locks into a pony tail. Ricky changed into something with a hood on it to help hide his face, then left the apartment. Chris glanced over to Ryan, giving him a questioning look. Should Ricky really be going for a stroll in the city not even an hour after he escaped incarceration? Ryan reassured him that Ricky could handle himself, despite the fact that he got apprehended once before.

—

On the other side of the planet, a starry midnight sky hung overhead a mansion located in England's rural countryside. A bright flash of light filled the windows, causing one sleepless occupant to rush outside to investigate. He was a tall man, standing at 6'6", with feathery black hair that fell down between his shoulder blades. His aura often proceeded him when he entered a room. Despite his affiliations and actions in life, his soul was known to radiate tranquility and calm those in his company.

He was nearly at the loss for words when he set eyes on the sight before him. Though he had been involved in the prison break's plan, he had little faith in it's success. His sights first fell upon the dark angel, still on his knees. The man knelt down to Beau's level, caressing his face.

"You've had me worried sick, you know." He said.

Beau shrugged off his affection, as any embarrassed child would. "I'm fine. You of all people should know I can take care of myself."

"I know, but-"

"Covey." Croc interrupted him in order to bring his attention to the weakened man in his arms.

"Go." Beau said, "I'll deal with everything else."

Covey simply smiled at him to say thank you and express his pride in his son. He raised back to his feet and rushed over to the mysterious prisoner. To him, this was no stranger, but the love of his life. Covey pulled him into his arms, kissing him so deeply.

He drew in a sharp breath as he parted. "Thank you, little brother. Thank you for bringing him home to me."

"What're brothers for?" Croc replied, "Teleportin' us out of there dida number on 'im."

"He'll be alright. He just needs rest." Covey responded. He took the man into his arms, carrying him back into the house.

Croc grumbled to himself in annoyance when he realized Asher was in bad shape as well. He threw the demon over his shoulder like a rag doll and headed indoors to treat his wounds. That left Friday to stand out in the bitter cold air with Beau, and Vinny, who was just now coming to. He was disoriented, unable to remember what exactly happened at first. The unfamiliar surroundings didn't help.

"You took very good care of us over the past two months. It's for that reason I don't wish to harm you." Beau extended his hand out, "So, please, let us sort out this situation without raising fists."

Considering Vinny had no natural defenses against a telepath, he didn't exactly have a choice. He placed his hand in Beau's, allowing the villain to help him to his feet. Vinny looked forward at the sight of two brothers both carrying ill men in their arms. Asher may have looked different to Vinny now, but he could recognize him. The other, however, his energy was faintly familiar yet his face wasn't.

The being in Covey's arms was lengthy and considerably thin. He had a complexion as pale as a ghost and full lips as red as wine. His remarkably long hair began jet black and ombred into a ghastly white. Though his drained body laid limp, there was a fire inside his soul unrivaled by any who surrounded him.

For the time being, there were more pressing matters to focus on. Vinny groaned, "Where the Hell am I?"

"Come," Beau responded, "I'll show you both around. Welcome to the home of the Rivière Noire Society. Legally, we are recognized as a cult, but I resent that notion. We do not worship anything, and while I'll admit we've done sinister things in the name of survival, our beliefs are not sinister."

He led them inside, where the heater's warmth wrapped them like a blanket. Everything from the furnishings to the lighting fixtures looked old and expensive. the building was definitely historic, but how long it's belonged to this society, that was an intriguing question.

Beau went on to explain, "We recognize the existence of a creator, a god if you will, but we do not believe he is infallible and we do not look to him for answers, nor do we respect him. We do, however, respect the spirits He cast to Hell, simply because they chose to question or disagree with him. These days, you'd be hard pressed to find a person who doesn't disagree with at least one thing in the bible.

"We work hand in hand with many so-called 'evil' spirits. They've shown us more respect, kindness, and proper guidance than any man of God. Unfortunately, there are many in the world who are actually evil and seek to poison our Earth. We've taken it upon ourselves to protect the living from the safety of the shadows. We've hunted down many evil spirits and those who abuse them, as well as collecting a staggering amount of dangerous supernatural items, and even people. We've brought them here, to this mansion, to protect them from the rest of the world.

"Ricky and Ryan had no interest in joining us, but they were very capable mercenaries. We often paid them to dispose of undesirables or retrieve items. A year ago, we became aware of Chris' existence. We were naturally very concerned what his power could do in the wrong hands, and we hired Ricky and Ryan to bring him to us. Unfortunately, something unforeseeable happened. We were far from the first ones to track Chris down. He'd learned the patrol routes and schedules of the city's heroes, and if someone was chasing him, he's purposely lead them right into a hero's hands. Ricky and Ryan fell victim to this and ended up getting arrested.

"We didn't know exactly what happened, but we knew Chris got away. Myself, Asher, and our leader decided to go after him ourselves. He must've been getting hunted quite regularly, because he had a plan to thwart even us. He led us right into a trap. This time, though, he accidentally got himself caught too. So, that's how we ended up in 42."

"So, the guy they had behind the concrete wall, that was your leader?" Vinny asked.

"Yes. I believe you caught a glimpse of him when we were walking in. He was the one with the black and white hair. His name is Jasper. The man carrying him, that was my father, Covey. My mother died years ago. He swore he'd never love again, until he met Jasper. That's how we came to be apart of the society." Beau stopped himself, slightly grinning, "Uh, my apologies. I've forgotten my manners. It's quite late, isn't it? Allow me to show you to some rooms. And, I'll find you some suitable clothes that aren't prison uniforms."

"Ugh, finally." Friday scoffed, "I'm so over wearing pants. Oh! Do you happen to have anything in this place for a nice bath? Bubble bath, or bath bombs maybe?"

"I'm sure we do, miss." He responded.

Vinny looked at her strangely. "We're in a cult house that doubles as a super dangerous evil relics vault and that's what you're worried about?"

She pointed to cute face, replying, "Criminally insane, remember?"

He didn't have a good rebuttal for that one. Beau was kind enough to provide them with guest bedrooms, though it did seem a little strange to Vinny. They were all viewed as villains, and now wanted criminals, yet they were trusting a hero to stay as a guest in their home? Perhaps they were relying on intimidation to prevent him from taking action. If that was the case, it worked. He wasn't about to try to pick a fight with a telepath like Beau and a monster like Croc in the house.