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Chapter 4: It's a Matter of Trust

Day 3

Cannon fodder.

By definition, it was the term given to frontline soldiers that were expected to die for some great strategy to aid the real offensive.

Right now, Jason was feeling a lot like cannon fodder.

That... or just dead meat

He held Sam tightly who had murmured something about being cold and snuggled in closer to Jason. Seeing the slumbering wolf, Dan and Robin appeared like they held their shouts of anger and gave Jason a slight nod.

Slowly, Jason unwound from around his son and gently slipped his arms under Sam's body, hoisting his son up in his arms. A different kind of heat was building inside him, the heat from embarrassment and fear as he carried his son off the cum-stained carpet.

"You can use your old room, Jason," Dan whispered softly.

Nodding, Jason slinked away with Sam in his arms up the stairs and straight into the room he had used for so long. It remained mostly the same since Dan had opted to keep it much the same way Jason had left it. Same books, same sheets and same desk with cum-stained computer on it. Jason smiled at the memories that came with this room.

He set Sam down on his bed and turned back to return downstairs.

Something gripped his wrist however and he came to a jarring halt.

Sam was wide away, staring up at him with those sapphire-blue eyes.

"Hey dad..." the black and gold wolf began softly. "I meant what I said down there... I really want you to be my dad... in more than just name."

Jason's heart swelled and he was suddenly torn between going back downstairs and saving his mate - who was still tied to Warren - from the wrath of a woman scorned (AKA Robin) or wrapping his arms around his son here and now and telling his son - his SON - just how much he loved him.

_"Want me to toss a coin?"_Reason asked.

Please...

"You do realise this really isn't up to chance and is just your subconscious tricking you into thinking_it is right?"_

Just do it.

Reason tossed an imaginary coin. "Call it."

Heads I stay, tails I go back downstairs.

Reason caught the coin and flipped it over in his hand. "Heads."

That settles that!

"Sam, you are more than just a son to me." He lay down next to his son, slipping beneath the sheets in tandem with Sam. They wrapped their arms around each other, their legs twisting together to preserve the precious warmth. "You're a part of my soul, Sam... always have been."

"Man that's corny," Sam chuckled, pushing away slightly. However, he pulled back in almost instantly, nuzzling Jason's neck. "But I guess I wouldn't love you otherwise if you weren't that cheesy." Sam licked his lips playfully. "Hmmm... Corn and cheese..." He sat up and grinned. "I'm hungry."

What a way to kill the mood...

"I'll go get something from downstairs," Jason answered, sitting up as well.

Sam's hand suddenly wrapped around Jason's cock, making the latter give out a soft eep. "Nah, I got my corn and cheese right here."

"What the -?" Before Jason could proceed any further, Sam bent down and wrapped his muzzle around his cock. He gasped at the sudden pleasure and let out a soft moan. "Sam... We... Ugh... We just..."

Sam pulled away from him, grinning. "Yeah, I know. But Warren was there. I just want this between you and me, dad."

Despite fully knowing there was a lot more weight in the pronoun, Jason still couldn't help but get ridiculously hard. As much as he didn't want to stain their relationship with just sex, he had to admit that after the little 'warm up' with Warren, he was bouncing for another round... This time one more meaningful

Brett has to be here.

"Hold that thought," he said, poking his son's nose. "Wait until your other dad is here."

Sam sighed heavily and it was clear he was disappointed. He sat back, just lounging about with his foot-long cock throbbing against his nicely shaping abs. It was definitely clear that Sam had gotten bigger just over the weekend. His features were definitely become broader and the fox-light physique was quickly fading. Hell, it seemed like those golden 'socks' and 'glove's of his were starting to recede from both his forearms and his fingertips. Eventually, they would probably meet somewhere in the middle, perhaps on his wrists and ankles, giving him 'bangles' instead.

Despite that, his fur was getting much thicker. That heart-shaped crest on his chest was definitely getting much fuller in body even as his torso was broadening and those pecs began showing through that fluff. Jason couldn't wait to bury his muzzle in there and search for those nipples. He wanted to see if Sam had inherited the Wolfe's family trait of sensitive nipples.

"You don't mind if we snuggle a bit before then, do you?" Sam asked innocently.

Jason grinned and held his son tightly, their pulsing cocks pressing against each other and dripping precum over each other's fur. "What has that horny bear done to you? He's turned you from an innocent, smart, insightful boy to a horny wolf. Just like your dad."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I've always been horny. Just never had anyone to share it with."

"What about Todd?"

His son shrugged and crossed his arms behind his head, lounging back against the pillows with a soft smile on his angelic features. "Todd is a great guy but I feel like he's hiding a lot from me and he's hanging around me because of some obligation."

That's right...

Brett did mention that their relationship is built on a foundation of exchanges of favours and goodwill...

"I mean, it's great that when one mortal cares about another to the point where they base their lives around said mortal," Sam continued, "but you don't want to be living like that forever. Living for someone else isn't living."

"What about love?" Jason asked. "Don't you live for your mate?"

"You live with your mate," Sam corrected. "And they live with you." He glanced past Jason at the closed door that separated them from the warzone that had to be the lounge room. "The exchange of rings and vows isn't a sentence to forever serve the needs of the person you care for. It's an agreement that you'll work things out together. If you're living for someone, that's not love. That's slavery. And... I just feel like I that's kinda what I have with Todd..."

Sympathy instantly flooded Jason. This was his son's first love and it was already crumbling. There was a curse to having such an insightful outlook on life... and that was the constant need to find perfection in the world. Jason reached out and gently ran his fingers through the forest of thick, golden fur on Sam's chest.

"You shouldn't be looking for perfection the first time around..."

"I'm not," Sam replied with a grin. "I'm the one that told you that relationships are about adjusting yourself to the ones you care about, remember? I know Todd and I aren't perfect together. I get this feeling it won't work out. But, as mortals, we all change with time. As the clock progresses, we all evolve and we have to be careful who we allow to change us and what changes we undertake because sometimes, we might just end up going backwards."

The black and gold wolf held out a hand into the air, reaching for something invisible in the skies. "Every person we meet, every decision we make and every choice we are given is a door. A path into a future that we make for ourselves. We carve our path through the forest of doors but ultimately, it is our choice whether we want to open that door and step through, because most of the time, there's no going back. But we always have to remember that there's someone waiting on the other side of that door and in order to truly appreciate the change beyond, they have to open it for us. We can't force our way in."

Sam turned to Jason, lowering his hand so that it rested on Jason's chest. "Dad... I want to open the door that makes me your son... Will you open it for me?"

Yes! Hell yes!

"Hang on,"_Reason warned, _"you're missing Sam's point. You're not a god. You're not infallible. You too are mortal. You're changing too. If you want to open the door to let Sam in, he should return the favour."

Jason nodded and reached out, taking Sam's hand and pressing it against his chest. "I will if you open your door for me."

Sam's grin grew broader. "Gladly!" He suddenly sat up, crossing his legs and with his black member bouncing against his abdomen excitedly. "Go on! As me anything! I'll answer them all honestly!"

Mirroring his son's grin, Jason sat up as well cross-legged. "Alright, but we gotta make this a fair trade. You can ask me anything too."

"Sure thing, dad."

There was that word again. It sent shivers through Jason's spine and he restrained himself from making love to his son there and then.

"I'll go first," he said. "Sam... Who were your parents?"

Sam's grin didn't falter. "Their names were Isaac and Rebecca. Two wolves. They couldn't figure out timber why I was so oddly coloured but they loved me nonetheless. My dad was a university professor and my mom was an architect."

Jason didn't want to press the issue. "Anything you wanted to know?" he asked.

For a second, Sam thought about it then broke into a grin again. "So, when granddad becomes F6 again, what's the deal? Do we all get to live in his palace in the sky or something?"

Aw crap...

"Sam... I... He can't take us with him. Part of the deal that Dan made with R3 was that he could get one lifetime with us... but when he passes on, he can't take any of us with him. Actually..." Jason winced at his next words. "He can't take me with him..."

Sam suddenly leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Jason's shoulders. "Well... I don't want to be anywhere you're not, dad. I'm sure Dan will be looking down on us wherever he goes but I'm happy with you." His tail started wagging. "On that note..." He pulled away a big grin on his face. "Since I'm going to be a fully-published author, I was thinking I could maybe get a car...?"

Jason gave his son a sour look. "Wait... Was that all a ploy just to get a new car?"

"No! Of course not! I'm not that shallow." And yet, Sam was batting his eyes. "But since we're on the topic..."

Sighing softly, Jason said, "Tell you what. When you're old enough to be put in a wheelchair, then I'll get you a car."

"Aww! But that's not fair! You got a car before you even hit twenty!"

Jason folded his arms securely. "Save the world and then we'll talk."

Sam averted his gaze. "I just might..." he whispered.

Alarm bells began ringing in Jason's head and he remembered the Limitless Sky Program... Remember Sam's potential as a super... his control over emotions...

"What did you mean by that?" Jason asked, feeling his heart pounding against his chest. He had never seen Sam so... distant before. While he was never there to witness his son's puberty, he was pretty sure this was pretty similar.

Damnit...

We finally closed that gap a little and now we're being pulled apart again...

But... I have to press on...

There's something that needs to be said here...

"I don't think I should say..." Sam murmured.

Okay... Different tactic.

"Why don't you wanna join the football team at school?" Jason asked.

"Football team?" his son repeated curiously. "They have openings?"

Just as he had suspected. Coach Townes hadn't tried to get him to sign on Sam as part of the football team... It was all a lie to get Jason to use his authority over Sam to get his son into the Limitless Sky Program...

I'll address Townes and Norwood later...

"No... They don't," Jason replied, staring at his son squarely in the eye. "But they have a program called Limitless Sky."

His son suddenly bristled and was on edge, Sam's hackles rising slightly. Clearly, he was agitated, something Jason had never seen before.

"So they asked you huh?" Sam asked, his voice lowered with a dangerous edge. "Did you sign their papers?"

"No. I wanted your opinion first."

Sam turned away, his golden eyebrows almost touching. "Limitless Sky is a great program for some... but not me... I'm not cut out to be a superhero."

Paternal instincts kicked in and he reached out for his son, positioning himself behind the smaller wolf and wrapping his arms around Sam's chest. He nuzzled Sam's neck lovingly, gently licking at the lithe, corded muscles there. His son's thick fur was surprisingly deceptive. There was hard, iron-like muscles there. Part of him was tempted to shave Sam and just see how defined his son was.

"Give it a shot, Sam... You never know..."

"Bet they don't even have my powers down..." Sam grumbled angrily. He crossed his arms trying to wiggle out of Jason's grip but only progressed to push himself deeper into his father.

"What are your powers?"

"Weird ones..."

"Like control over emotions?"

Sam went rigid and glanced over his shoulder. "What? Not even close!"

Huh?

"It's Gravity Control."

Say WHAT!?

"Here, check it out," Sam offered, holding out a hand towards the nearby pillow. The cushion lifted into the air with ease, hovering there for a second before the other two on the bed accompanied it. The trio circled Jason and Sam, orbiting them. One even playfully rubbed against Jason's back.

"Whoa..."

Sam stuck out his tongue. "Had a lot of fun with Todd figuring that out. Having sex in midair is awesome."

Hmmm...

It was weird... Having a winged husband, Jason would've thought aerial sex would be one of the first things they would've done... and yet it had never occurred to them... Imagining what it'd be lie to be coupling in mid air, their bodies twisting around one another while Brett lazily flapped his shadowy wings, the clouds drifting around them like an endless, fluffy cushion, moonlight shining upon them, the tiny water droplets catching the silvery rays and glistening against their dark fur...

"Dad... You're missing..."

Jason glanced down and saw his cock riding up his son's back. Grinning sheepishly, he hugged Sam tighter and kissed his son's cheek. "Anything else you can do with that?"

Sam shrugged. "Well... I can create miniature black holes. It's how I get my room so clean really quickly."

So that's_how he does it..._

Jason always wondered how his son could get his room so clean so quickly. Most of the time, Sam had books scattered everywhere, papers strewn on the floor and his underwear scattered everywhere. It didn't help that he kept trying to play 'paper basketball' when he was bored. When it came down to their weekly cleaning, he'd always hear a vacuum in Sam's room and when he'd come in to check a second later, the entire room was devoid of rubbish.

"Oh, and I can create intense gravitational fields that connect two places in space at the one time! I can teleport!"

Wow...

My son's superpowers are awesome!

... and mine kinda suck...

Suddenly, Jason was feeling a bit inferior. Compared to his father, Brett and Sam... he seemed to get the shorter end of the stick. All he could do was summon a sword that disintegrated anything on touch. Sure he had the standard speed, strength and agility that came with being a super but his father could alter the shape of all physical matter, his mate became pure shadow and Sam could alter gravity itself!

And Sam has a bigger cock than I do...

"But that still doesn't answer the question why you don't want go with the program," he said, pushing aside his pettiness. "It could be good for you."

"It's a change I'm not willing to undertake." Sam turned his head towards Jason and their lips met briefly. "I wanna learn from the pro."

Okay, good enough reason.

Suddenly, that fantasy of himself, Brett and Sam running around the city saving people and coming home to 'celebrate' wasn't so preposterous anymore.

"You'll need to crawl before you can walk, pup," he chuckled, licking Sam's ears lightly.

"Who says I haven't?"

Huh?

"I've been running around a bit too, dad."

Panic shot through Jason.

Supers 'working the field' weren't allowed to just do so at their own discretion. They had to be registered. If they weren't, their actions - no matter how chivalrous - were considered criminal.

Sam could go to jail!

"Sam, you -"

"Don't worry, dad, it's never been anything serious," Sam laughed, holding up a hand in a solemn swear. "I just head up into the mountains and practice. Sometimes, I go over to Todd's place and he lets me practice there. I've never been out into the city to stop criminals or anything."

"Oh... Okay..."

A wave of relief washed over Jason and he snuggled in against his son, slowly pushing Sam back onto the bed. As they lay there, Sam pressed against his much broader chest, he pulled the blanket over them and let the warmth settle back.

A door had definitely opened... and Jason was happy to find his son on the other side. It seemed that a that they had stepped through that door at the same time and they found each other in their arms...

But...

Jason still had one foot on his side of the door...

There was still one thing he had to get off his chest before he could fully enter his son's life...

"Sam... There's something I need to tell you..."

"You can tell me anything, dad."

Yeah... I know that...

I just don't know how you'll react...

Jason took a deep breath... More than anything, he wanted to step through that door... to truly change with his son... Sam had told him his biggest secret... and now it was his turn...

"You're my son, Sam."

A soft chuckle was his reply. "Yeah, I know that."

"No... No you don't." He felt Sam tense a little. "Sam... When Envy controlled Brett... I gave up a bit of my light to save him. Envy took my light and fused it with its darkness to create an entity of pure colour, a creature it wanted to use against the No Ones and against the world. R3 killed Envy and took the entity. He then placed it into the womb of a woman who gave birth to a son...

"That woman was your mother."

Sam was suddenly completely rigid... and even the warmth of the blanket didn't seem to affect just how cold he felt.

"R3... R3 manipulated events so that you would end up with us... your real parents. You helped me get back together with Brett... Through that act, you helped me save the world... Sam... The reason you're part-wolf and part-Rottweiler isn't because of some genetics your parents had... it's because you're really from me and Brett..."

Sam wasn't moving...

Jason prayed to see the understanding side of his son come out... For Sam to put some positive, insightful spin on the events... To say something about the door being wide open...

"So for two years... you kept this from me...?"

Uh-oh...

Reason poked his head out from what appeared to be a bomb shelter. "You're on your own, kid."

"Sam... I -"

"I just came into my powers a few months ago... Had to figure things out... But you knew for two years and you didn't tell me!?"

Sam erupted in a burst of dark, twisting energies before a flash of bright light exploded out from the foot of the bed and he reappeared, fists clenched and tail rigid.

"I just didn't know how to tell you!" Jason pleaded, sitting up from the bed. "How was I supposed to tell you that your birth was all part of R3's plan?"

"I don't mind being used by R3," Sam growled, glaring at Jason over his shoulder with laser-like eyes. Jason felt his heart start to burn in his chest at that stare. "It was his choice. His decisions. I'll kill him for it later! But it was you who decided to keep this from me for so long! Did you think we'd just keep living like this without me knowing!?

"I lost two sets of parents because of this! Don't you think I deserved to know why? I loved them!"

It was true... Sam was still affected by the loss of his parents... Only now did Jason realise just how heavily the weight of this truth bore on the young wolf. Suddenly... all those months living in his little blissful existence seemed to have been a colossal waste of time... Time spend slowly filling the bomb of this conversation with more and more explosives. The more time went by, the bigger the bomb grew...

And now...

Jason was left completely speechless.

Suddenly, he was having visions of his own father coming to pick him up... to drag him away from the world he knew and into a new, alien one. He had exploded in fairly the same way after he had stepped into this very same house... into this very same room, in fact...

His old bedroom didn't seem so nice anymore...

"I'm sorry I kept it from you for so long," Jason murmured softly. "I was just... just afraid..."

Afraid that I'd lose you...

_"Like you're losing him now?"_Reason asked, poking his head out of the shelter.

Get back in there. If you'd been around two years ago, you could've stopped this.

"Somehow, I highly doubt it."

"Afraid of stepping through that door," Sam huffed loudly. "Afraid that what you found wouldn't be to your liking. Well, here's what's beyond, dad!" Sam gestured at himself, crossing his arms. "See anything you like!?"

Jason winced.

The term 'dad' suddenly took on a mocking edge...

"Sam..." he whispered, trying to steel himself. "I... You..."

Sam shook his head, grimacing slightly. "I need some time to think..." His eyes flicked briefly towards Jason. "See ya later, dad."

His son vanished in a burst of darkness... Light even unable to escape the grip of Sam's powerful control over gravity.

Jason wasn't sure how long he just sat there... feeling cold and empty...

The moment he had feared most had come true... He didn't think it would happen... but it did... And suddenly... Here he was... His son had run away... Run away from him... Because he had kept something so important a secret...

It was like one of those crushing moments in the soap operas where the parents told their child he was adopted... except... the reverse...

The door to his room swung open and Brett stepped in. "Hey, Jase. I finally got out of Warren and -" His Rottweiler froze. "Jase...? What happened? Where's Sam?"

There was no other reply...

Jason just buried his face into his hands and broke down into tears.

****

Day 4

Apparently, a person had to be missing for an entire day before they could be legally declared 'missing' and therefore a search party formed. Even in a world of supervillians, ingenious crime bosses and world-ending scenarios occurring every couple of days - not necessarily in the same place - police still waited 24 hours before forming a search party.

It didn't matter of the missing was the son of a well-renowned superhero.

24 hours.

That didn't stop Jason, however.

Or Robin, apparently.

Jason felt a little unnerved as he drove through Newroads to visit all of Sam's old haunts. Sam had quit his jobs when he started attending high school and made do with the allowance he had received from Jason and Brett. That said, he was still a highly independent young wolf so it wouldn't have surprised him if Sam had found some job to help support himself in the short while he had left.

Normally, Jason would be desperately running from place to place looking for his son... but with Robin by him... he wasn't in such a rush.

Oddly enough... she didn't look angry or any sort of furious. Her pose was more... dejected... broken... Her head rested against the window and her eyes were cast into the distance.

He felt he should say something... Guilt buried itself deep into his heart knowing that everyone of her boyfriends he had somehow managed to ruin. Not purposefully but still... Each of her breakups always involved him somehow.

There was David who turned out to be bisexual predator who attempted to blackmail Jason with sex.

Then there was Dominic who ended up being a Malefactor Host...

"Warren does love you, you know."

Robin let out a short, cynical laugh. "I'm sure he'd love me more with a cock and without these." She made an effort to jiggle her breasts making Jason wince. "Though... I get this impression he wouldn't mind having a child either... A little dick he could play around with and suck off..."

Reason leaned gently against Jason's neck. "By the sounds of it, she wouldn't mind being a guy just to be with him."

"Are you saying you're rather change your gender just to be with him?"

"You think the No Ones would let that happen?"

"No. No we won't. Unless it's absolutely necessary. It's happened from time to time."

Jason stared at Reason incredulously. It seemed his subconscious was starting to act a lot like R3...

"You're just making assumptions again. Assumptions are dangerous things."

Sighing, he turned his attention back to Robin as he parked right outside the cafe where he had first met Sam. It was mid-afternoon so the sun was hiding behind a thick cover of clouds high above them, casting a dull, grey colour on the waves of the seaside boulevard. It was a long shot but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Robin, you know how the No Ones work," he said, opening his door. "It's your story. They won't interfere unless the world is really in danger."

"Maybe I should hold the world ransom so that they'll make things right..." she murmured.

That brought a small chuckle from him. "You don't mean that."

"Doesn't she?"

It hit Jason that she while she meant the statement as a joke... the sentiment behind it was utterly serious.

She truly loved Warren...

Wow...

"Kinda funny how she always falls for the gay or bisexual guys, huh?"_Reason said absently. _"I mean, first there was Connor, then David, then Dominic and now Warren. Perhaps there truly is something attractive about the unattainable."

Try the 'impossible'...

"Nothing is impossible. Every destiny, every path, every road taken is barred by a door into a new future. Sometimes, we can open the door ourselves but other times, we need someone else's help. Whether that person is on our side of the door or on the other side, it doesn't matter. There are some doors we just can't open by ourselves.

"We think them impossible to breach but doors are meant to be opened."

Jason stepped out of the car, staring into the cafe.

Um... What about those weird doors in all those fantasy movies that keep evil creatures locked away. Or jail cells? Aren't they doors.

"If people really_wanted to keep things locked away, they wouldn't use a goddamn door. They'd use_ walls_. Only_ then_would it be impossible to open because walls aren't meant to be opened. Doors are."_

...

It was frightfully true.

And Jason realised that this was a door Robin couldn't open herself. She needed someone too... The same went for Warren...

They were both stuck trying to open the same door... but they were on opposite sides. The more they tried to pull it open, the more they resisted each other... Both sides tried to pull things their way... so the door remained shut...

Someone had to give way... or...

Both of them just need to find a different door...

Jason got back into the car, shutting the door securely. Robin stared at him in surprise.

"Aren't you going in?" she asked.

"Sam's not there."

"Wouldn't it be funny if he was, though?" Reason asked.

He'll still be there when we get back.

Jason regarded his R3-like subconscious.

And since when have I been so insightful?

Reason shrugged. "Could be that you're just growing up. That you're actually getting out of that panicky teenage form and becoming a real man. You've opened a lot of doors in your life but it's only now that you're stepping through them."

"How can you tell Sam wasn't in there in the ten seconds you were outside this car?" Robin asked.

Jason locked the doors and stared at her squarely in the eye. "Look, I know you care about Warren a lot. But it's not fair for you to demand so much from him knowing who he is. You and him have to find a compromise. There's a door out there waiting for both of you to open. Right now, you're trying to pull open the wrong door."

"What are you talking about?"

His words sounded incredibly mechanical and fake. Some random thoughts he had put together that really didn't make sense. It was little wonder that Warren hadn't gotten his point even in his drunken state. Jason growled softly and collected his thoughts.

"Okay... Do you love Warren?"

Robin averted her gaze. "I don't know..."

"Yes or no question. Do you love Warren?"

...

"Yes..."

"Why do you love him?"

Again... there was a pause before she responded. "Warren... Warren is strong... He's honourable... well... mostly honourable. I know, in his own way, he treasures me too... He makes me feel loved and it isn't just the stupid things like romantic dinners or sappy words. Just the little things... He holds my hand when we go out, he wraps his wings around me when it gets cold and he even carried me this one time when my heel broke.

"Warren... Warren is something else, Jason... I don't want to lose him..."

Reason pushed Jason forward slightly. "Go on... You know exactly_what to say this time."_

"And maybe that's why you're so desperate to cling onto him?" Jason prompted. "You're trying desperately to make him your man, clinging onto him and suffocating him with your demands. What did you expect him to do but try to break free? He's been loving you in his own way... and then..."

Jason stopped...

And then when things changed... you tried to stop the changes...

... You tried to make things go back to the way things were...

"We're mortals, Robin," he murmured softly. "We change... we evolve... physically, mentally and emotionally... If we keep looking backwards and trying to move away from the door to our future... you can't expect the ones we care for to follow.

"I think... I think Warren really does want to have this child with you, Robin... You've just been busy trying to live in that state of bliss to see it."

"What about his drunken 'I love cock' rant?" she replied, crossing her arms angrily. "He seemed quite genuine there..."

"Well, he said he loves cock, right?" Jason replied with a smile. "But he never said he doesn't love you."

For a second, Robin looked like she had been slapped. Then she shook aside her shock. "But he said he didn't like girls because they got pregnant."

Uh...

_"But he never said he didn't want to have the child,"_Reason offered.

"But he never said he didn't want to have your child," Jason repeated.

Again... that expression of being slapped hard.

"And what about 'guys getting guys'?" she asked softly.

Erm...

"Guys get guys. Girls get girls. Love gets love."

Wow... That's good.

Reason struck a smug stance. "I know."

"Guys get guys," Jason said, smiling brightly. "Girls get girls." He reached out and rested a hand gently on her shoulder. "Love gets love."

This time, Robin looked like she had hit on the head with a massive, wooden mallet. It some somewhat relieving not to be the one getting hit by imaginary 'revelation items'.

"You think... You really think there's a way we can be together?" Robin whispered softly.

"Of course I do!" Jason answered, grinning broadly. "You just need to find the right door to your future to open."

She chuckled softly. "Where'd you get that from? A Fortune Cookie?"

His grin faded slightly. "No... I got that from Sam..."

"Oh... I see..."

Jason shook his head and gave Robin a shaky smile. "Come on, let's go see if Warren has gotten over his hangover."

He drove in silence back to Dan's house. Warren had opted to stay there for the night since he obviously wasn't welcome in the apartment that he and Robin shared. It was the same apartment that Jason and Brett lived in two years ago before they got married.

Once he was parked, he stepped out and escorted Robin straight up to Dan's place. There was absolute silence coming from the other side and he guessed it was because every sound was amplified to Warren. He tried knocking as quietly as he could.

Brett answered the door. He looked both disappointed and surprised. Disappointed that Sam wasn't with them and surprised they were back so early. "You couldn't find him?"

"We decided to take a little break to patch up another wound," Jason answered, pushing Robin into the house.

She walked stiffly to the lounge room where Warren lay on the couch with an ice pack pressed against his head. The big dragon winced when they approached and upon seeing Robin, he grimaced and turned away.

"We need to talk," she said firmly.

"Can this wait?" he growled. "My head feels like it's about to explode..."

"Good." She immediately sat on the couch, pushing his legs off and forcing him to sit up. "Because that saves me from hitting you multiple times for what you've done and said."

Warren growled and turned his head away from her. "I meant everything... I like guys, I love cock and I love getting my ass pounded."

Robin took a deep breath... it seemed like she was trying to seriously control herself. Jason found himself holding his breath as she slowly shifted next to Warren and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"I know you do... And it was stupid of me to ask you to change. But I also know that this right here" - she patted her stomach - "is something you also love. It's your child, Warren. And I also know that..."

Their eyes met.

Their lips slowly drew together...

"I love you..." Warren murmured.

For the first time in his life, Jason could actually stand seeing a man and a woman kiss without yelping loudly and burying his face in something - preferably some guy's crotch. His heart leapt for joy seeing the two patching up their differences. Not just for the baby either... for themselves.

"Uh... Jase..." Brett began. "Little tight there."

Jason glanced down and realised he was holding onto Brett's crotch rather tightly. He grinned and gave it one tight squeeze before pulling away. "Sorry. Just a little friendly reminder."

"I'll bet..."

In his mind however, he saw the Robin and Warren standing at the door to their future, the keys in their hands. They turned the key... and stepped through into a brilliant, dazzling, white-picket-fenced home with their half-dragon child running around. Warren would be rocking absently on the porch with a pipe in his muzzle and a newspaper in his hand while Robin was standing at the kitchen window cooking an apple pie.

The child, however, he couldn't fathom...

What would a half-dragon look like...

"Won't have to worry about that,"_Reason said. _"She's going to have twins."

What!?

"Trust me. It's twins. One will be a dragon and the other will be human. A boy and a girl if I'm not mistaken."

Jason regarded his subconscious incredulously. A thought was creeping into his mind... and he was really scared about it.

Wait... You're not...?

You're not R3 are you?

"We really_need to get you a less active imagination,"_ Reason replied with a shake of his head. "Seriously though, this is how things like this usually work." He gestured at Robin and Warren. "She's going to have twins. I just know it. A girl for her and a boy for him. What that means is entirely up to you to consider. Might end up that Warren gets his cock after all."

For some reason, imagining Warren screwing his own son or getting screwed by his own son was oddly arousing... Then again, he did the same with his father so...

"Remind me to ask if I can be a godfather," he whispered to Brett.

Brett rolled his eyes. "Well, now that that's settled, shall we go look for Sam?"

Jason nodded grimly. "Yeah. Let's -"

Rrrrrrring!

The phone...

Robin and Warren broke their kiss and were regarding each other. They were sharing a conversation, mostly consisting of apologies. That was a good sign.

Jason tore away from the lounge room and picked up the phone from the kitchen.

"Hello?"

"Oh thank god it's you, Jason!"

It was the Mayor of Newroads... That could only mean...

"Jason! Come to the old Riley Corporation building! It's Legion! He's attacking!"

A thought crossed Jason's mind. "On my way. But before I do, can I ask you a favour mayor?"

"Anything!"

"I need you to find someone for me..."

****

The situation was bad.

No... it wasn't just bad.

It was hellish.

When Kevin Riley died during the Descent Incident, the majority of the company's ownership went to the Board of Directors. Only a few personal investments went to Mrs. Riley, Kevin's mother. While the Board maintained the company name, they ran independently from Mrs. Riley. They had expanded their corporation from medical and technological research to information technology, programming, weapons research and even military funding. There were rumours that half of the codes for Alderon's nuclear arsenal were actually held by the Riley Corporation.

It was still a very powerful organisation.

So it would be incredibly daring for any one super to attack it... especially in broad daylight.

Jason exchanged glances with Brett as they stood with their backs pressed against the two, large double doors that led into the board room at the very top of the skyscraper. He gave his mate one, firm nod and gripped Genesis tightly.

Brett nodded back.

He spun and kicked down the crimson doors and charged in, Brett right behind him.

The board room was a broad, semicircular room with an enormous horseshoe shaped table at the centre. The walls were almost made completely out of glass, overlooking the city's northern face. The only walls that were made of plaster were the ones flanking the doors and portraits of Kevin Riley and Vale Riley - Kevin's father - hung on them.

The blackened bodies of countless board members lay all over the room. There were only three remaining alive. Two were pinned to the walls by several of those strange, silver swords with blue circuitry running through them and the last one - Liam Parkes, the CEO - hung stiffly in Legion's grasp, sword levelled at the puma's throat and feet hanging a foot off the ground.

"Well!?" Parkes barked. "Are you going to save me or what!?"

...

Suddenly, Jason wasn't in the mood act the hero.

He didn't like Parkes. The Board was well aware of Kevin Riley's involvement in the Descent Incident. The instant Kevin died, the dug deep and found out what Kevin really wanted to do. While they weren't aware of the Malefactor infecting Kevin, they knew bringing Reprieve - the orbital space station superheroes once called their sanctuary - crashing to Enria and spreading Descent into the masses was exactly what Kevin wanted.

It had taken a lot on Dan and many superheroes' parts to silence them.

They had even asked Jason to testify against Kevin.

All in a bid to gain the company for himself.

But... I'm a superhero...

I got a job to do...

"Put him down, Legion."

Legion scoffed loudly, his eyes hidden by that black helm. "You should know that's the last thing you say in this situation."

Wait!

Without warning, Legion threw Parkes right out the window. Time seemed to slow as the short, rotund puma smashed through the glass and tipped backwards, dropping away from sight.

"I got him!" Brett shouted, erupting into a burst of darkness that shot out through the gap in the windows and after Parkes.

Jason grit his teeth, shifting Genesis into its double sword mode, gripping a blade in each hand. Legion snorted and two swords extracted themselves from his wings shooting into the chests of the two other board members pinned to the walls.

"No!" Jason cried but it was too late.

The two poor civilians gave out deathly rasps as the light and life faded from their eyes and their flesh blackened. Jason let out a roar of frustration and charged straight at Legion. The swords pinning the corpses to the wall flung out and swung at him. Jason swatted them aside, his own swords slamming against them and sending a shower of sparks against the mahogany table.

CLANG!

"They're innocent civilians!" he roared, nose-to-nose with Legion. "What kind of hero are you!?"

"How quickly we forget," Legion replied calmly, his own two swords blocking Jason's with ease. The renegade pushed Jason back, spinning his swords in his hands just like R3 used to...

Damnit... He must_be R3..._

_"And here you thought I was..."_Reason chuckled.

Not now.

"Weren't you the one who said the world doesn't need more heroes? It just needs people that can get things done?"

The words struck him... He had said that... At the end of the Descent Incident... When the superheroes had descended from their pedestal high in the skies and come back down to earth...

What is he saying...?

And how did he know...?

"Your biographies?" offered Reason.

Right... Must be...

"Times have changed," Jason growled.

"So have you apparently." Legion took a few steps back, his armoured boots resting on the ledge of the broken window. "Just because as mortals we change, it doesn't mean we should forget who we were."

"Who are you to lecture me?" Jason gripped his swords, looking for some way to get Legion away from that window. The renegade could fly. He couldn't. "You keep killing people! How do you expect people to change when they're dead!?"

"Death is the greatest change of them all, Jason Wolfe. If one can embrace death...." Slowly, Legion released the swords from his grip, the blades swinging back to reassemble his wings. The remaining swords also flung back and reformed those metallic wings. "... then one will undergo the greatest change of them all."

Jason narrowed his eyes. "What? You're saying you died and came back? What for? Revenge?"

"No." Legion reached for his helm... and pulled it off... "I came back..."

Jason's heart stopped beating for an entire ten seconds.

Horndog, Optimist and Pessimist poked their heads out and their jaws dropped. Reason barred their view, chuckling softly.

"Bet you didn't see that_coming."_

No way...

Black eyes... black fur... black hair...

All black...

... a wolf...

One name...

... two titles...

"For repentance."

Chris Thornton.

The Blue Wolf...

... and the Pride Malefactor.