When Beau received a message from Ricky and Ryan informing him that the two murderous lovebirds would help, he was grateful, but understandably suspicious. Their plan was ready to move forward, which meant it was time for Ryan to retrieve their hostage's babysitter. Chris certainly wasn't expecting it to be a young kid with dyed hair and lip rings.

"Hi, Jani." Ricky addressed him as he entered the room.

Jani didn't pay him much mind. "Hi, Ricky."

There seemed to be some unexpected animosity between the two. It clearly bothered Ryan as well, but he tried his best to move the situation along. "He's not violent," He said, in referring to Chris, "But, if it would make you feel better, we can bound and gag him."

"It's fine. I'll be fine." Jani pulled a textbook out of his bag and set it on the kitchen table. He sat down, retrieving a notebook as well.

"Okay." Ryan sighed, "If you need me, you know how to get a hold of me. Don't hesitate to. We're... Gonna go now."

Jani muttered some kind of acknowledgement. Ryan tore open a portal, he and Ricky disappearing into it moments later. The boy glanced up at Chris briefly. He was sat on the couch, drawing in a sketchbook, and seeming suspiciously normal. No sign of an attempt to escape, not even a thought of it.

"What'd you do to incur their wrath anyways?" Jani asked.

"Existed." Chris replied, "How 'bout you?"

"Same. Ryan's my dad. Him and my mom split up when I was like, three. The whole super villain thing kinda got in the way." He explained.

"Huh. Never thought he was old enough to have a kid your age. So, his power, it's hereditary then?"

"Kind of." Jani responded, "I got the whole magical being part, but I don't use blood magic like him. I'm not a killer. If he'd never crossed that line, I wouldn't have grown up in a broken home. I probably shouldn't be telling you all of this, should I?"

"Despite what you might read about me, I'm not a villain. I'm just abused by them." Chris said.

He fell quiet, letting the boy go back to his homework. Jani tried to focus, but found it difficult. Retrieving his laptop from his bag, he opened up a website that archived all public information on known super villains. Before Ryan was captured, he usually preferred to avoid this site. There was something about seeing his own father's image displayed under the text "Most Wanted" that always made him sick to his stomach.

Now, Ryan and Ricky have both been removed from the site's homepage and their information only accessibly to those who went looking for it. Surely rumors had to have gotten out about the breakout, yet the government refused to acknowledge that either villain was free. Jani didn't mind that as much. Deep down, he was happy his father wasn't rotting away behind bars.

There were still so many villains on the most wanted list, yet none seemed to match Chris' description. Jani went into the archive of imprisoned villains. Narrowing it down to North America, based on his accent, he scrolled over hundreds of photos until he found what he was looking for. Chris didn't lie to him. He was, in fact, registered as a villain. According to his profile, he was currently being held in 42. Clearly, that bit wasn't accurate.

The profile went into detail about his abilities. He had a dual personality, and when his nastier side emerged, it turned him into a juggernaut. He also possessed the ability to produce a sonic scream. Any who heard it would turn deranged and seek out innocent civilians to attack them. Those who had fallen victim to his scream in the past have either killed themselves or are currently locked up in a medical ward. Doctors have been working frivolously to find a cure, but to no avail. While it was an impressive power, Jani couldn't understand what value Ryan and Ricky would see in him. Sure, he could create an army, but the two of them were one man armies themselves.

He became distracted as it suddenly started pouring heavily outside. Giant raindrops pelted the glass. "Rain? In November?" Jani wondered out loud.

"It was a warm day out." Chris replied, gaining a little grin, "It can't rain all the time. Have you ever seen that movie? You might be too young."

"Um, I don't think so. What movie?" He asked.

Chris looked up at Jani. He seemed... Different. "The Crow."

Jani stood up from his seat, feeling uneasy. The window beside him shattered inward, glass raining down on him as a shadowy figure bust in and knocked him to the ground. A hand wrapped his throat as the intruder's weight pressed into him. He heard Chris tell the man not to kill him. In the moment he was distracted, a vine sprouted from a plant in the corner of the room and wrapped around the stranger, restraining him. As Jani started to struggle back to his feet, Chris punched him back down. The hit was enough to knock him out and release his control over the penthouse's plant life.

"Took you long enough." Chris teased the hooded figure.

"What? Did you think I was going to try my luck with the other two? I'm not suicidal." When he spoke, his voice was far more delicate than most would expect. In fact, violence was far from his nature, but he'd do what he had to in order to protect his love.

Chris pulled him into his embrace, locking their lips in a long overdue kiss. "We should get out of here before they come back."

The man took him by the hand and pulled him towards the door. "I know a place."

Just like that, they were gone. Within minutes, the rain stopped. A half hour later, Jani started to come to. His face was stained with the blood that had run from his nose following Chris' sucker punch. A few small cuts covered his arms from the broken glass, but it was nothing serious. The cold air gusting in from the hole in the wall was bothering him more.

He retrieved a burner phone from his bag. His father had given it to him years ago, in case of an emergency. Jani typed out a message and regretfully informed Ryan of what happened. He wasn't looking forward to the fallout of his fuck up. After sending the text, he slouched down in his seat, staring emptily at his laptop screen. Chris' criminal profile was still open and now mocked him. Jani hit the down arrow on his keyboard to continue reading what he hadn't finished earlier.

There, at the bottom, where "known accomplices" was listed, there was only one photo. It wasn't a mug shot, but a fuzzy picture from a CCTV camera. Whomever this man was, he had yet to have been caught. Upon clicking the link to his profile, Jani discovered a disappointing lack of information. All that was useful to him was a guesstimate of his abilities, which included military training and shadow manipulation.

—

Somewhere, on the other side of the planet, Chris and his rescuer had teleported into an abandon city. The plants were wildly overgrown from the recent increase in rainfall, of which resumed the moment their soul inhabitant returned. They hurried into a nearby building to avoid getting soaked.

Once inside, they stopped and took a much needed deep breath. Chris pulled down the man's hood, revealing his beautiful long black hair and baby blue eyes. They shared a kiss far deeper and less rushed. Chris caressed his face softly, marveling at just how gorgeous he was. "I missed you so much, Ange."

"I missed you, too, Chris." Angelo used his fingers to brush Chris' hair out of his face. After over a year of waiting for a reunion, it was hard for him to contain his happiness. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No. Ricky seemed like he wanted to, but for some reason, he didn't. The kid that was watching me, he was just doing it because Ryan was his father. He wasn't a bad person himself. That's why I told you not to kill him." Chris walked over to a nearby table, seeing several framed photos laid out. They were all of him and Ange. The two had been inseparable since high school. "How long have you been here?"

"After you were arrested, I spent a few weeks moping. Then, I decided whenever you did get out, you'd need a better place to hide. So, I found this place and set up shop."

"You've been all alone, isolated, for a whole year, and it's all my fault. I'm so sorry, my love. I never wanted this for you-"

"Hey," Angelo placed his hand on Chris' chest, looking up into his eyes, "You would've done the same thing for me. I don't want to think about it. I don't want to worry about the past. I just want you make up for lost time. Okay?"

His response was to tilt up Angelo's chin and bring their lips together. Chris lifted him up onto the table, trailing his kisses lower and lower. His guilt wouldn't simply go away, but for the time being, he could push it to the side to remind his little bird just how much he loved him.