42 | Sitkolson

Chapter Nine | Reason

Chris rested his arms on the window seal, looking out at a colorful city. To say boredom had consumed him was an understatement. The time he'd spent in Philadelphia was short lived before his captors moved him to a different safe house, located in the heart of Seoul, South Korea. It was a lovely view, but even something as breathtaking as this got old after awhile.

"Are all of your hideouts penthouses in major cities?" Chris pondered.

"Most." Ricky replied, "Ryan does a lot of his work in underground and backwoods type places. A view like this makes him happy."

"Have you two ever thought about, I don't know, not being professional killers instead?" He asked, glancing back at the mercenary.

At the moment, Ricky had been in the kitchen, preparing dinner. He glared at Chris, responding, "We all have our reasons."

A portal opened into the room, silencing their conversation. Chris turned back to the window and continued to watch the city lights. Ryan closed the entrance behind him and journeyed over to the kitchen to kiss his love. There was still fresh blood drenching his white dress shirt. He'd been busy with the type of job Ricky couldn't pull off. There were plenty of days where his brains and brawn got him far, but those things were no replacement for the supernatural.

Ryan took a close look around, seeing his mate was running behind on meal preparations. The kiss he'd given him was distant, too. "You're distracted. Something's on your mind?"

"It's nothing." Ricky replied.

"Is that why you've been even more of an asshole than usual?" Chris interjected.

Ricky slammed the knife down on the cutting board, his short temper getting the best of him. "You know, you really mouth off at us a lot for someone who knows what we're capable of."

He rolled his eyes. "What're you going to do? Torture me? Have fun dealing with my insane side. Kill me? Good. I'm better off dead. Alive, I'm just a living weapon for people to objectify and abuse."

"Why bother living at all, then? Why haven't you just killed yourself?" Ricky snapped at him.

Chris turned his head back to look at him. His expression was dead and his tone flat, "We all have our reasons."

Ryan placed his hands calmly on his boyfriend, shushing him before he could explode again. "Let him be. He's just trying to get you riled up." He brushed Ricky's hair out of his face and delicately kissed his forehead. "Tell me what's bothering you. Even if it's just nothing, I'm here to listen."

He sighed, "I saw Beau a few days ago. He tracked me down on a job. He told me that while Jasper was locked up at 42, the staff found a way to take some of his power. They're going to try to get it back."

His eyes doubled in size. "Ricky, that's not nothing. Jasper can nullify blood magic, even mine. If the government figures out how to weaponize his power, there's no future for me."

"They'll get it back. They always find a way." He numbly replied.

"Do you really think they'll be able to break into the world's most secure prison? Even for them, that's insane. There's no way Jasper is strong enough for it right now. It's suicide."

"This is why I didn't want to tell you." Ricky said, "I knew you'd want to help them?"

Ryan moved his hand up to his boyfriend's face. "And you don't? I know if the government does find a way to weaponize Jasper's power, it wouldn't affect you, but, Baby, it could kill me. I'll go on my own if I have to."

"No." He took Ryan's hand in his own, continuing, "Sorry. I've just been stressed out lately. I wasn't thinking about you, and I should've been. I'll go with you and we'll keep those idiots from killing themselves. But, we can't leave Chris here alone. There's only one person we can trust to watch him, and he's not going to want to see me."

Ryan groaned, "I was afraid you were going to say something like that. Just... Let me eat dinner first. It's only 10AM there."

Reluctantly, Ricky agreed. As much as he worried for Ryan's safety should the goons at 42 utilize Jasper's power, he was far more concerned with the dangers of a prison infiltration. Relying on cult members didn't bode well either. It'd be an uneasy alliance, to say the least.

—

After a wonderful meal and enough time to lull himself into a false sense of security, Ryan took a portal back to the states. The sun was shining bright on a brilliant morning. He hated it. However, nothing was worse than the brain-drilling sound of a school bell. The building in front of him housed the heroes of tomorrow. Or, at least, that's what they preach. It's where pro heroes are taught how to destroy villains like Ryan.

He figured it'd probably be best if he stayed out of sight. By now, the students should be heading to lunch. Ryan slipped into the dorms, somehow managing to go unnoticed in a cesspool of supers. He sneaked inside the junior boys hall and checked through a few rooms. Finally, he found a room decorated in creepy dolls, retro lunchboxes, and Marilyn Manson posters. Ryan took a seat on the bed and simply waited.

A few minutes later, he heard a familiar voice down the hall. "Yeah, just let me grab my wallet-" The boy stopped as he opened his door. He turned his head back into the hallway, "On second thought, I think I'm going to stay in. I have a paper overdue... Yeah, I got plenty of food here... Alright, catch you later." He closed the door, locking it up. "What the Hell are you doing here?! I thought you were in prison!"

"Did the news not report on the breakout? Or do you kids just not watch the news?" Ryan asked.

"I'm sure if it was public knowledge, I would've gotten an emergency alert on my phone that a serial killer was loose!" He responded, "The school already gives me a hard time because one of my parents is a super villain. They'd expel me if they found out you were here!"

He scoffed, "Expel. You could've just let me teach you. You should be getting real world experience. This place, it's just apart of the show the government puts on for people to make them feel better about metahuman safety. But, that's not why I'm here. I need your help with something. I just need you to look after someone for an afternoon. Do this for me, and I'll do anything for you that you want. Name your price."

"No! Everyone thinks I'm going to end up like you. It's my job to prove them wrong."

"Please, Jani." Ryan pleaded, "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't a matter of life and death. I'm glad you're on a good path. If I didn't want you doing this, I wouldn't be paying off your tuition for you. If I die, it's going to be a little hard for me to do that."

The boy sighed, falling down onto his bed. "Fine."

"What'd you want in return?"

"I don't know." He said, "I'll have to think about it. When do you need me?"

"Sometime this weekend, probably. I don't have all the intel yet. Between you and me, I'm worried that this could be a lot bigger than some of the people involved think it is. There's this guy, type of guy they don't put on the news. Public couldn't handle the truth of his existence. Some people in the prison I was being kept at, they figured out a way to take some of his power. That's not what worries me, though.

"For the first six months I was locked up, I was being guarded day in and out by a powerful pro hero. Then, one day, he stopped coming to work. Supposedly he lost his abilities in a villain attack. It rubbed me the wrong way at the time because I didn't know any villain who could manage that. Now, I'm worried they could've turned this tech on their own people. If they're willing to do that, one has to wonder what else they're planning."

The click of the door made Jani panic. He turned around, seeing his father gone with only a puff of smoke left in his wake. His roommate walked in nonchalantly, completely oblivious to the fact he just missed a murderer.

—

a/n

I know people have wanted Jani to make a reappearance in other universe for awhile now, & I thought I'd make a drastic change to the nature of his character as a plot twist, muwahaha <3