Janus officially hates these heroes, if he didn't before, he does now.

They attempt to act so innocent, so sweet. Janus isn't an idiot, he knows of their true intentions, they're going to throw him in jail once he recovers, they don't care for him, and he doesn't care for them. Simple.

He had reluctantly followed Patton outside but refused to hold his hand. He crossed his arms, almost hugging himself protectively, watching Patton carefully as he leads the way. To where, Janus has no clue, but he doesn't care to know.

"This is a waste of time," Janus snarls as Patton walks, swinging his arms cheerfully and humming a little tune.

His happiness is sickening and off-putting.

"Why do you say that?" Patton asks, turning his head ever so slightly to get a look at Janus. Janus glares, gritting his teeth.

"Because you're only going to send me to jail after I recover anyway, let's skip the emotional speech and head back so I can lay in that hospital bed before being sent off. I'll escape, of course, the walls of a mere human jail mean nothing to me."

Patton stops walking and Janus narrows his eyes. Patton sits on a bench and pats the seat next to him, Janus denied his request and sits under a nearby tree instead. Patton sighs but doesn't protest his defiance.

"We're not sending you to jail," Patton reveals. Janus raises an eyebrow, searching his body language for any signs of deception.

"Why? What is it you want from me?"

Patton brings up his hands, waving them nervously in front of himself with a reassuring smile. "Oh, kiddo don't worry! We don't want anything from you, but Logan and I spoke to each other, and after a long discussion we decided prison isn't the best option for you. You're superhuman, you could escape so easily, so," Patton begins, swallowing his nerves. "We're going to start you on a rehabilitation program."

Janus blinks. He does not like the sound of that.

"Excuse me?"

"It's harmless," Patton assures him as he scoots back, glancing around for an exit. It was useless, Janus wasn't going to go far with a hurt ankle and wounded arm.

"Harmless," He mocks. "Right."

"It's called age regression," Patton rushes, watching as Janus climbs to his feet, glaring at Patton. "It'll help you."

"I don't need your help! You stupid heroes!" He hissed.

"Janus please, you're getting worked up and I don't want your body to overwork itself-"

"Stop! Stop acting as if you care!" He demands, his eyes beginning to glow. It's dim, as he's rather weak, but nonetheless, it's there.

"Janus, Kiddo, don't use your magic, your body hasn't recovered!" Patton exclaims, standing up quickly.

"I don't care!" He growls out. It physically hurt, his chest burned and his body begged him to stop, to rest, but his anger fired the ability to shift the bench Patton had previously been sitting on into a normal snake that hissed threateningly at Patton and bared its fangs.

"Patton!"

Janus whipped his head over and noticed Logan jogging over. His eyes lit up in a dark blue color and suddenly the snake was floating. The snake hissed and struggled, but could not escape the iron grip of telekinesis.

Janus felt his knees stutter and he had to lean against the tree he stood under, panting as he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

"I'm fine, Logan, he just got upset, reasonably so. The snake isn't venomous, and it's not very big either. If it had bitten me, the worst effects would be bruising and pain," Patton explains calmly. He watched as Logan's shoulders relax before he glances at Janus, who looks ready to pass out.

"We should get him back to the hospital room, he is very weak, the use of magic stressed out his body further, I'll try and look for a pair of the magical restricting handcuffs to assure that he can't have access to his magic until he recovers, he can't keep doing this," Logan explains, dropping the snake. He watched it fall and slowly disappear as any ounce of magic left in Janus was drained.

Janus felt a round of nausea hit him like a bus, however, he wasn't awake long enough to vomit. He felt himself falling, yet, felt no pain. He figured plummeting face first would hurt, yet, all he felt was relief as his body gave in.

---

"I tried Logan, I tried explaining-"

"Patton, he isn't going to do this willingly." Logan points out, pressing a warm cloth to Janus' forehead. His unconscious body shuddered at the warmth. His body is naturally cold, it's a curse he has lived with since he was born, during the winters he is stuck curled up in every blanket in the house with a fire burning bright all day and night, and a heat lamp. The whole time, he is miserable, hell, sometimes in the middle of July he feels cold!

"I know but," Patton begins, trailing off, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "It just feels wrong forcing him into this. You said age regression is supposed to make you feel safe, how is this-"

"I understand your concerns," Logan interrupts. "This is Janus, he won't cooperate at first, in fact, he'll probably be a nightmare. We need to ease him into it. We have to be careful not to overwhelm him more than necessary. This process is meant to break him down and help him. It's meant to dig into the roots of his problems and tug out the weeds-"

"And leave a beautiful flower?!" Patton chirps, finding the metaphor rather cute.

Logan nearly snorts and quickly recovers from his lips quirking up, growing serious. "Yes, precisely, that's why I believe while we will discuss such a solution with the other three, they should distance themselves from Janus as much as possible. He'll be fragile and vulnerable, and most likely humiliated, we don't need those three butting in and ruining any progress we wish to gain."

Patton nods, Roman has a tendency to mock people, Remus has zero filters, and Virgil hates Janus' guts, it's definitely a good idea to distance them from him.

"Do you really think it'll help? What if it doesn't work?"

Logan thinks for a moment. "After the beginning week, we will explain that if he dislikes the age regression after six months, he will be allowed to leave and be transferred to prison."

Patton purses his lips, he isn't fond of allowing Janus to be sent to prison where he'll escape the moment he arrived, but he doesn't want to force him into anything either, he genuinely wants to help him become a better person.

"Okay, six months."

"Who knows? Janus could actually fancy it. Six months is half a year, after all."

"That's a long sentence though, don't you think? What if the other villains come looking for him?" Patton asks anxious, frowning at the ground.

"Patton, for the villains to find Janus, they need to find our base. And second, Janus is a wanted criminal who has injured thousands of innocent civilians, he has a part in nearly murdering us as well," Logan reminds him, Janus isn't exactly an innocent child, after all, he is a criminal.

Patton sighs at the reminder and Logan softens. "I understand Patton, you see something good in him," Logan points out, and Patton nods. "That is why we need to do this, we need to bring out the sweet parts of him and help him through whatever is causing such anger and hatred towards the world."

Patton smiles in agreement and leans forward, wrapping his arms around Logan's neck. He tenses, his skin heating up as Patton rests against him and gives a light squeeze. Logan's hands hover awkwardly over his back and he swallows harshly, he isn't one for human contact.

"You're my hero Logan."

Logan could feel steam coming out of his ears as he stared down at Patton's frame hugging his own, finally having the guts to rest his hands against his back. Patton takes this as a sign to relax further and Logan followed his lead, his shoulders slumping from their professional state.

"We are all heroes," He mumbles, attempts to calm his blush, however, he failed, especially as Patton gave a soft giggle.

"Yeah but," He begins, peeking up. "You're my hero."

Logan.exe has stopped working.