Confidentiality

Chapter 28

Patton woke up two days later. 

They had all been taking turns sitting next to the blond’s bed, waiting for his bluebell eyes to open. The rest would all spend their day not too far away from the room, minus. Logan who was constantly in his lab. 

Remus hadn’t been able to find that ball of light, having lost track of it in the city.

The one who got to see the hero’s eyes open was Virgil, and he quickly called for the others.

When Janus entered the room, Patton was sitting up, his knees tucked to his chest and his arms wrapped loosely around his legs. He was staring blankly at the wall, a grief in his eyes. 

“Patton?” Roman asked as Logan, the last person, entered the room.

“They’re gone.” Patton whispered, not turning to look at any of them. 

All the heroes froze, though they weren’t even sure what he meant. 

After a moment of silence, Janus shakily spoke up. “What’s gone?” 

“My powers.” Patton looked at them, and Janus almost wished he hadn’t. A small, self-loathing smile was on the blond’s face, and his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. “My powers are gone.” 

Janus’ eyes widened, and he felt sick to his stomach. “What?” 

“You--” Virgil shook his head. “Are you sure?” 

Patton frowned. “I can feel it. It’s like a hole in my chest. They’re not there anymore.” 

Before anyone could say anything, Remus had pulled a pocket knife from nowhere, flicked it open, and sliced a thin cut into his index finger. He roughly shoved it towards Patton. “Heal it.” 

Roman inhaled sharply. “Rem--” 

“You didn’t test it, right?” Remus’ voice trembled. “So, heal it. It could work, and you just don’t know it.” 

Patton stared wide-eyed for a moment, before he slowly lifted his hand above Remus’ finger. 

They all waited with bated breath.

But nothing happened. 

Janus had taken his powers away. 

It was cruel. It was calculating. It was seemingly senseless. 

It was just like his mother. 

“Come on, Pat. I know you can do it.” Remus’ eyes were wet now too. “Just heal it.” 

“I can’t.” Patton whispered, looking up at him. The tears spilled over his eyes, and he shrunk in on himself, slapping a hand over his mouth as a small sob escaped him. Roman quickly shot forward and wrapped his arms around the smaller man protectively. 

“Who did this?” Roman questioned softly, looking up at the rest of them. 

“I tested the tea.” Logan spoke up. “Countless times. As well as the mug and the tea leaves. Nothing. It was like whatever they had put in it vanished from thin air.” His expression darkened. “Like…magic.” 

“The Dragon Witch.” Roman breathed, eyes widening.

“Those bastards.” Virgil snarled, glaring at the floor. “I’m going to fucking kill them.” 

“How did they even get in?” Remus asked, closing his pocket knife and putting it away. “They’ve never managed to do that before.” 

That was Janus’ fault too. Simply by existing, he had sealed Patton’s fate. “They clearly found a way.” Janus said instead, his voice sounding dull to even his own ears.