Confidentiality

Chapter 40

It had been a week since Janus went back to the heroes, and things had been oddly quiet. 

Well, quiet in terms of the villains. The heroes have been loud. There was constant arguing between the members, usually between Logan and Roman. The former was opposed to the latter joining them in the fight against the villains, due to the unhealthy mental state the hero had been in. 

If you asked Janus, he didn't think any of them were in a healthy state of mind, but none of them really cared for his input at the moment. 

Logan had been trying to brainstorm a way to defeat Ms. Libelle. He’d run through dozens of scenarios, calculating the probability of success of each of them. He didn’t share most of them, only the ones that seemed most likely to work. And even then, the highest percentage of success he’d calculated was 72%.

“And that’s not including the margin for error.” Logan had told them one late night, exhaustion seeming to radiate from his very soul. “In the perfect world, we’d have only a 72% chance of success.”

It was better than nothing, but Logan didn’t want to risk it. So, he kept on brainstorming when he wasn’t fighting with Roman. Those two things were really the only thing Janus had seen him doing all week, he wasn’t sure if the hero was even sleeping.

Virgil had been in and out all week. He would be out all night, only returning the next morning when Janus was just waking up. It was awkward between the two of them, at least it was for Janus. It was clear that Virgil was the only one who Janus hadn’t won back the trust of, if the scowls he received from the former were any indication. 

It hurt, but Janus couldn’t say he didn’t deserve it. 

It was clear that something was bothering the purple-haired hero. Though, it was also clear that something was bothering all of them.

Patton had been fussing over Janus’ ankle all week. The latter had barely been allowed to get out of bed in the morning, the former insisting for a few days that he would deliver his meals. It was strange, Janus had never been fussed over like that before. 

Patton had placed Janus’ ankle in a brace that the heroes had in case of emergency. They had thought it would go to waste, since they assumed Patton’s powers would invalidate their medical supplies. Thank god for Logan and his need to always have a backup plan.

Roman was training almost 24/7, only stopping to eat small meals, get into arguments with Logan, and sleep when he physically couldn’t train anymore. 

And Roman could train for a long time. Currently, he has been going for two days straight. 

That was why Janus stood watching in poorly concealed concern as Roman punched and kicked at the training dummy.

He doesn't even know how long he had been watching the hero. It had to have been a couple hours, at least. 

"You're going to injure yourself if you keep going like this." Janus spoke up for what felt like the first time in days. "Can't fight the villains like that." 

"The villains wouldn't stop during a fight, so neither will I." Roman replied shortly, not even slowing down his attacks on the poor dummy. 

Janus frowned. Maybe he shouldn't have told Roman about the possibility of getting his brother back. The thought had passed through his mind over the week, of course, but it really sunk in as he watched The Prince run himself ragged. 

"When was the last time you had something to eat?" Janus asked. "And I mean a real meal. Not the ham sandwiches you've been having."

"They're enough to keep me moving." Roman said.