Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You know that there are more kids, right?”,  Brian asks, about two weeks after the rescue and Tyler nods, mood sinking with the reminder, “Were. They're dead.”

Furrowing his brow, Brian asks, “How do you know that? According to the files, they have been given to other labs or sold to different people or organizations.”

“What?!”, Tyler exclaimes alarmed, head turning to Brian with urgency, who nods, getting out his tablet to show him an example. Opening one file that reads’ John, Heron-Shifter.’ and scrolling to the end where in bold red letters ‘Sold! → Brutus Casimo’ is written.

Brutus Casimo. Leader of the Casimo gang,  a gang specializing in drug dealings, very influential and dangerous.

Tyler's head is spinning, thinking about what Nelson had told him. He had been so sure and Tyler hadn't even questioned it but thinking about it for more than two seconds this makes sense. The kids were either told that their friends were dead or they had come to that conclusion by themselves when they didn't return. They had no choice but to believe the words of the researchers and it would be a logical conclusion to make given their knowledge of the world.

Selling them would be more profitable than getting rid of them though. The lab must have partially funded itself through that.

This is great news. Alive children can be rescued. The kids already in their care will surely be over the moon if they can see their friends again.

Brian smiles at him when Tyler looks up from the file, surely thinking the same, “You want to get them?” Despite the initial awkwardness, Brian had quickly taken to the kids, now a definite member of the ‘We're keeping them’ faction. A faction consisting of everyone but Evan, who is still too proud to openly admit to being a part of despite all of them seeing him get softer and softer for the kids each day. Tyler's kittens are very good at winning over even the child skeptics of the crew.

“Of course. Let's tell Jon.”, Tyler smiles back and Brian chuckles, following him to go behind Evan's back to Jon. There's no way they won't get the results they want.

The next few months will be spent gathering all of the lost kids and destroying the lives of anyone who harmed them.

Chapter Text

The first kid they get is John, the heron shifter bought by the gang leader Brutus Casimo.

—---

Evan looks down at the heron flying a little in front and under him, waiting for Brian to give the go ahead.

Casimo had bought John to show off his wealth, keeping the poor kid in a too small cage in his office most of the time. A status symbol. Forced to be in constant shift to be gawked at.

Fortunately for the crew, he sometimes has to play drug delivery heron for the really important clients. From gang leader to gang leader as a sign of respect and another way to show off prestige. While they probably could have gotten the kid from the office, it would have been excessively difficult.

Not that this plan is easy. Just easy in comparison.

Casimo keeps a close eye on his prized possession. John has a tracker in the base of his neck and they know from recon that Casimo watches his location closely when he is on one of those delivery flights. One suspicious movement and all hell will break loose.

So they need to distract him long enough to get the kid, remove the tracker and be long gone before his men can investigate. Getting the ire of one of the most influential gangs in America wouldn't be favorable after all.

Brian has found a spot on the current route without cameras. Jon and David will cause trouble big enough to necessitate someone calling Casimo and then Evan will get the kid down on a building in that spot, Brian destroys the tracker and Brock will teleport them to their car, parked a safe distance away.

“Distraction go.”, Brian's voice rings through the earpiece and Evan readies himself for the dive, “Vanoss, go!” Swooping down, Evan grabs John's back, catching him by surprise and going down without much difficulty. He shifts back just before colliding with the roof, holding the heron protectively in his arms, making sure to keep him from harm.

John struggles immediately in a panic, even more so when Brock and Brian appear out of nowhere in front of them and Evan tightens his hold, trying to keep him as still as possible.

“He needs to shift back so I can remove his tracker”, Brian supplies after kneeling down in front of them and Evan turns to the struggling heron, commanding “Shift back.”

Nothing happens and Brock lets out a long suffering sigh, giving Evan a disappointed look before turning to John, kneeling down as well, softly but quickly explaining, “We don't have much time so we will explain in detail later but we aren't here to hurt you. You still remember Nelson and Christopher, right?”, the struggling stops and John turns his head to Brock, who gets out his phone and pulls up a picture of the two, laughing while running around in the garden, “We rescued them a little while ago. They told us a lot about you and the other kids from the lab. They're gonna be so happy to see you again but you need to shift back or we can't take you.”

For a moment John just looks at the phone but then he shifts and Evan has a teenage boy in his arms instead of a heron. John grabs for the phone and Brock lets go of it easily, “See? There are more pictures. Jaime is there too.”, he flips through a few of them, John's eyes glued to the screen, motioning for Brian, “We are going to take out your tracker and then we can go to them, ok?”

John's eyes are unimpressed as he eyes both Brock and Brian with suspicion but he nods after another look at the phone and Brian puts his hand on his neck, “That will hurt a little.”

The kid barely winces at the small incision made at the base of his neck and the little chip is promptly crushed between Brian's fingers, “Lets dip.” Standing up again, Brock puts his hands on Evan's and Brian's shoulders and teleports them to their car. After shaking off the initial disorientation from the teleport, John elbows himself away from Evan, guard still up as he glares at them with distrust, still clutching Brock's phone to himself.

“Got him. Meeting back at base”, Evan instructs into the earpiece and waits for confirmation before opening the car door, tilting his head for John to get in. Eyes jumping between them, the kid slowly moves to acquiesce and Brock hisses at Evan when the door is closed again, “How are you so useless with children? He's not one of our marks you can intimidate into obeying, he's an abused child. ‘Shift back’! Have a little tact.”

“We were pressed for time.”, Evan defends himself but it's halfheartedly and Brock rolls his eyes but lets it go. The kid spends his time during the drive between glaring at them and staring at the phone with an unreadable expression, curled up in his seat to lean as far away as he can. He is shivering and seems sluggish, a side symptom from the strain of shifting for the first time in years. Brock tries talking to him but he flinches when addressed so they decide to postpone the explanation to later, when he had the chance to reunite with the other kids and is hopefully not as on edge anymore.

Arriving at home, Brian goes in immediately while they let John set the pace of leaving the car and following them inside, which he does with hesitant steps.

He looks around the house with a poker face while Brock leads him to the living room and stops when Brock stops, keeping a distance. Smiling at him, Brock gestures to the couch, “Do you want to sit down? Brian is already getting…”

A loud, “Surprise? What? What?”, interrupts and all of their heads snap to the side where Christopher rushes around the corner, nearly falling when his socked feet slide over the wooden floor. He comes to a stop, scanning the room, and freezes when he spots John, eyes turning wide and confused.

John doesn't freeze, not hesitating to hurry across the room, and grabs Christopher’s face, turning it all angles and poking at his ribs, clearly looking for injuries before pulling him into a tight hug when seemingly satisfied with his findings. It takes another few seconds for Christopher to come out of his stupor and then his eyes fill with tears as he clutches at John, hiding his face against his shoulder as he starts to cry.

“John?”, Nelson asks in a small voice from where he entered shortly after Christopher, having walked a more normal speed than him and John's head snaps up and then to him, letting go of Christopher to hold both arms for Nelson to run into, Christopher's arms still tightly around his waist. He does the same check up with him and then wraps his arms around both, holding them as close as possible.

Jaime comes in next with Tyler, who is carrying Max, the kid always trying to get as much touch as possible, and Brian, who he is keeping a distance from. The crew's wardrobe has significantly more red in it since getting the kids and at home that's the dress code now but they managed to convince the kids that they don't suddenly turn evil when they wear different colors when outside. ‘Undercover red’, they call it, to trick other people. The kids have reluctantly accepted it but still act stiff around them when not in red clothes.

Jaime doesn't freeze up or stare in disbelief, immediately running towards them after he spots them and collides with John, arms going up and demanding, “Up!” John grabs him under the arms, clearly an interaction they had often before, and attempts to lift him up but his current state makes him too weak and both kids grow visibly distressed the longer they struggle.

“Hey…”, Brock begins and John flinches, gathering the younger kids in a protective hold, face flashing back to an impassive glare as his head snaps around, “Why don't you guys move to the couch? You're exhausted, right? And cuddling would be so much easier.”

John doesn't react apart from his eyes flickering to the couch but Nelson and Christopher start dragging him along and onto the couch, Jaime following and climbing into his lap, curling up with his face hidden in John's chest. Tyler sets Max down, who keeps at his side, looking unsure and lost. He had been just two when John had ‘died’ and he probably doesn't remember him that much so Tyler understands his hesitation.

“Max!”, Christopher's head turns to them, hands making grabbing motions in his direction and Max startles into moving, getting dragged into Christopher's lap and shown off to John like he had been to Tyler several weeks ago. He preens at John's gentle hands petting his head and the adults decide to let them catch up in peace, leaving the room.

—---

Straight up killing Casimo is out of question as the power vacuum left behind would bring more harm than good. Emptying his bank account and tipping off the police with more evidence than they could ever need to put him and most of the high ranking people of the gang behind bars is another matter though. Saving a few victims of the gang is just an added bonus. And if Evan pulls a few strings so that his influence means shit all in prison and he is on the shit list of all the guards then that's that.

The money is better spent on whatever the kids might need for recovery anyway.

Chapter Text

The next kid is Eli, a krait shifter. The same age as John. Arguably one of the easiest kids to get as he was given to another lab specializing in poison and research about chemicals and they have the address and several contact information from the files. The only reason they got John first was proximity.

While the lab has tightened its security in response to the lab that the crew destroyed going dark on their radar, Brian still has a laughably easy time hacking their servers remotely and with the ground plan, time tables and guard shift rotations in their possession getting the kid and capturing the personnel will be easy.

Of course they still won't just waltz in guns blazing, they will never make the mistake of being confident to the point of foolishness. It's impossible to foresee every variable and the wellbeing of the kid is their highest priority.

The plan is simple. Brian stays outside in their car, intercepting all communication going out and keeping an eye on the cameras to direct the others should something go awry. Brock is going in first, teleporting his way deeper in to avoid confrontation and being seen. Get the kid, get out and then the others will apprehend the people present. And maybe wreak a little havoc. They can allow themselves some fun after the kid is safe and sound in the car with Brian and Brock.

“Clear.”, Brian's voice rings in their ears and the door opens. Brock follows the path previously laid out for him, avoiding cameras and guards alike until he is in front of the closed door of Eli's room.

“In position.”, he murmurs just loud enough for the ear piece and waits for the go ahead. They deliberately picked a time right after a poison extraction. Eli could lash out in fear after all and while they have an antidote it would still be highly inconvenient.

“Wait. They are still doing it. Just one person and Eli.”, Brian instructs and Brock clicks his tongue, itching to teleport in and rip the scientist away from the poor kid.

“Clear.”

He teleports in, just inside the door, quickly taking in the layout of the room and the people in it before adjusting his position to be between the scientist and the terrarium with the snake in it, gun between the woman’s eyes.

The woman drops the cup, the poison spilling between them, a short, startled scream filling the room.

“Quiet.”, he orders coldly, “No sudden movements. To the wall, face forward, hands behind your back.” He motions towards the wall opposite of the door and the woman complies without another word, white as a sheet. He cuffs her and makes her kneel, binding her feet together as well. He would like to shoot through her knee instead but he doesn't want to do that in front of Eli. He's not here to inflict more trauma.

He turns to the terrarium after being sure that the woman is properly restricted. Keeping his movement slow but steady he approaches. The black and yellow striped snake is curled up in a corner of the mostly empty space and they lock eyes. Just a little dish with water is in it with him, no species appropriate foliage or pet appliances, giving Eli no hiding opportunities.

“Hello. I'm Mooo.”, he introduces himself with a soft and warm voice, “You're Eli, right?”

He gets no reaction but he expected that, “I know it's hard to believe but I'm not here to hurt you. I know that you're a shifter. I want to help you get out and I'm sorry that I have to rush you but we don't have a lot of time.”

He takes his cell phone out of his pocket, using the same strategy they used with John, showing Eli pictures of his friends, “You still remember John, Nelson, Christopher and Jaime, right? Me and my friends helped them too and they are in a much better place now. Look. We want to reunite you with them.”

Eli's head twitches at the mention of the others and he actually moves closer when shown the pictures.

“You can trust me, ok? I'm gonna open the door now.”, he swiped the key from the woman earlier and slowly opens the door. Eli scoots back at the movement, “It's ok. I won't hurt you. You won't have to see the people here ever again, I promise. You just have to trust me this time. We don't have much time before they will notice that she hasn't come out yet.”

He holds out his hand and waits. Eli doesn't move for a moment before slowly coming closer, stopping again and again. Brock smiles encouragingly, holding his hand as still as possible until the snake is curled around his arm.

“Good. Hold on tight ok? The feeling will be a little disorienting. I'm gonna put my hand over your head, ok?”, he broadcasts his movement clearly, slowly shielding Eli's head, who flinches at the hand coming from above, “I'm sorry. It will be over in a little bit.”

“Ready to go.”, he says for Brian, who then gives him the best teleporting points back and before long he sits in the car.

“Kid's out. I'm opening the doors. 15 seconds then lockdown for 30 minutes.”, Brian informs the others who confirm, eager to get their kicks in.

Brock smiles at Eli again, taking his hand away from his head, “We're out. We have to wait a little for my friends and then we can go back to our home and you can reunite with John and the others. That's my friend Terroriser.”

Turning around in the front seat, Brian smiles, “Hello Eli. The others will be so happy to see you again.” Nodding subtly with his head, Eli acknowledges Brian, head swiveling to look around the car after.

“Do you want to shift? I promise it's ok. No one would be angry and there won't be a punishment.”, Brock reassures.

If Eli is anything like John he will jump at the opportunity. John hates shifting after having been barred from his human side for so long, shaking his head when Evan offers to shift with him or someone asks him if he wants to. Not that the crew expects him too. He's free to decide for himself now. They can work on him being comfortable with both of his sides when he is older and if he never wants to again that is his decision.

The kid coils himself tighter around his arm, cowering as much as a snake can, shaking a little, and Brock quickly shushes him, “You don't have too. It's ok. You don't have to do anything you don't want.”

The shaking goes away after a while of reassuring words and they sit in silence for a while, Brian's quiet instructions the only thing breaking it. Brock shows Eli a few more pictures and videos of his friends and sometime during the wait he relaxes enough to curl up in Brock's lap, a blanket over him to make him more comfortable and warm. He's a species that needs a warm climate after all. They need to check if he is ill after going home. His living conditions until now weren't exactly ideal for a south east asian snake and the kid is way too lethargic. Brian and Tyler have already basically turned his designated room into a big heater in preparation for his arrival.

He's asleep when the others return, pressed into the warmest spot he could find and Brock gently wakes him when they get home, carrying him inside with the blanket wrapped around his arm after he curled back around it, scared of the other adults.

Jon is already waiting at the door, the kids peeking out from behind him. They told them this time that they would get Eli, confident that they could keep that promise and they had been ecstatic. He holds John by the shoulders to stop him from rushing to them, the kid less inclined than the younger ones to listen to their every word after realizing that they won't hurt him for it.

His eyes wander over them frantically instead, signing, “Eli? Eli? Eli?” Evan signs back, “Calm down.”, and he reluctantly stops pulling against Jon's hold.

The crew has started learning sign language more seriously than the odd words like ‘wait’ or ‘go’ that they use for missions. John will never properly learn to speak and Nelson and Christopher will never be completely fluid so they turned to sign language as an alternative. The younger kiddos still struggle a little, mostly prefering to speak, but John loves it, turning from the stoic teenager they picked up into a chatterbox, practicing nonstop, ‘talking’ everyone's ear off, delighted to be able to communicate.

Honestly they had expected him to stay hostile and distrusting much longer than he did but the trust of his friends was apparently enough to convince him. He still observes them closely of course, especially when they handle the others, all overprotective older brother, but he seems pretty content not to overthink the first good thing that happened to him.

Eli suddenly shoots from the blanket towards John, who holds his arm out and before long he has him wrapped around his neck like a scarf, smile blinding.

“Eli!”, Christopher exclaims happily and the snake moves from kid to kid for a while, curling around arms and necks and even Max reaches out to greet him, giggling at the ticklish feeling of him gliding over his skin.

Tyler and Evan exchange a look, unhappy that he doesn't shift even when meeting the others, a bad sign for his mental health for sure. Also bad for them if they want to check him over, having talked with Brock in the car about the state of his terrarium, and Evan clears his throat to get their attention when Eli is wrapped around John’s neck again.

Brock first wants to interrupt but Evan has gotten better when dealing with the kids so he restrains himself, trying to cut him some slack “Hello Eli. I'm Evan. Could you shift for us? It would making sure you're not injured and sick a lot easier for us.”

Brock winces a little when Eli tries hiding by gliding under John's shirt but he can't really fault Evan, apart from his still awkward delivery, because he didn't know that Eli reacted strongly to that suggestion before.

The crew looks at each other, unsure if they should press on. They could wait until he is more comfortable with them but they would feel better if they could address his health sooner than later.

It's Nelson that comes to their aid, pressed to John's side, reaching out to pet over Eli's scales, “Eli.” The snake turns his head to him, “Ok. Gentle. Take hurt away.” Jaime nods along with the words.

The teenager that stands before them seconds later is way skinnier than the others had ever been and immediately greets them with a cough, shaking pitifully and definitely sick. He nearly collapses on the spot from shift exhaustion, held up by John and flinches when Brock steps closer.

Crouching down to be a little below his eye level, Brock holds out his hand, “How about we get you back into the blanket, give you some food and then we can see what makes you sick and fix it, ok? Your friends can join you on the couch.”

John nods when Eli glances at him and he slowly reaches out to take Brock's hand.

—--

The crew is quite busy after the rescue with finding good homes for all the other animals that had been in the lab, fortunately no other shifters though, and disposing of the lab personnel, some in more brutal ways than others. Working through all the files is a behemoth of a task in and of itself but it's worth it for the satisfaction of sicking different organizations after similar collaborating labs by leaving a few anonymous tips alone.

Eli's room has turned into a giant terrarium, the kid preferring being a snake over a human, full of foliage and mimicking a Krait’s habitat. There's also a separate kid space where he can shift if he ever wants to. All funded with the money the lab made with their illegal dealings.

Chapter Text

The next two kids are a little bit trickier to get, needing more planning time and more time for the execution, if only because it involves fake personalities and infiltration.

—---

Jaren and Matthew have been sold together, small mercies, to a ridiculously rich asshole with an unhealthy obsession for plants. At least that's how Brian described Fabian Augsburg, a rich heir with too much time and money on his hands and the right connections to not only buy a whole giant penthouse in L.A. and rebuilt it into a massive greenhouse but also to buy a little water manipulating boy and an even littler plant growing boy to manage it.

Not that anyone protested that description.

“Oh please! Call me Fabian”, the rich asshole says with a laugh as he opens the door to his greenhouse, gesturing to follow him in, “I don't like all this formal shit.”

Brian copies his obnoxious laugh, having taken the lead in their ruse because he ‘fits the posh asshole stereotype the most’ according to David's gleeful teasing, “I feel that! I'm Justus, nice to meet you.”

He playfully holds out his hand for a handshake as if they are meeting for the first time even though they have been in contact before and Fabian laughs again, delighted at the joke and shaking his hand.

“I like you! We should party at my yacht sometime!”, he joyfully offers and Brian nods, pretending like that is the best idea he ever heard. “Definitely! But I'm more interested in the plants right now.”, he says while looking around, making a high, impressed whistle, “Wow! This is even better than you described.”

They are currently pretending that Brian is another trust fund plant lover who heard that Fabian has some rare flowers he just has to see and maybe get a few offshoots of, approaching Fabian for that purpose.

It had taken a few weeks but he finally got invited, of course needing to take his security and two of his very own botanists with him.

“Isn't it? It's my masterpiece. My little escape from the stress of the world. My oasis if you will.”, Fabian brags boastfully, spreading his arms wide and grinning at Brian, who nods along with his words, pretending to be mesmerized by the greenhouse, keeping an eye out for the kids. The rest of the crew does the same.

“Let me show you my pièce de résistance! Right this way!”, Fabian croons excitedly and Brian's head snaps back to him, “Of course! I can't wait! Do you mind if my people look around in the meantime? Maybe gather a few offshoots?”

Fabian dismissively waves his hands in agreement and they break off into smaller groups, all accompanied by a guard.

David stops at a yellow shrub when Tyler twitches next to him, understanding the silent tell that he sensed something, and turns towards the foliage, pretending to be interested in the plants, “Oh! A Genista? How out of place between all this rare plants. It's…”

He rattles of a few facts about the shrub, him, Brian and Jon having learned just enough botany to not be suspicious, eyes searching for signs of the kids.

“...very pretty.”, he praises the shrub and one of the shrubs a bit further away rustles slightly. He doubles down, “A beautiful yellow, isn't it? Genista are a very strong plant. A good choice by all accounts.” A head slowly becomes visible, a small body following as the boy slowly moves closer.

David looks closely at the small boy that's peeking out from between the bushes from the corner of his eye. Wild, unkempt, long hair, dirty skin and barefoot. Skinny but not to the point of starving. Only clothing a shirt that may as well be a dress on him, looking like one of the shirts the security here wears, maybe given in pity.

“Genista symbolises hope.”, he explains further.

The boy shuffles closer just a bit, eyes hidden by his bangs but head tilted in the curious way David recognises from his children. He takes the chance and shifts his head, looking at the boy openly.

Immediately another boy, slightly bigger than the first one, darts into view, having been hidden by the foliage beforehand, and drags him back behind the bush.

The confirmation that both boys are there was all David wanted and he forms a dome around them, the edge far enough behind the boys to not be claustrophobic, while Tyler apprehends the guard standing with them, giving David a quick nod before moving out of range, the shield briefly opening to let him out.

He presses into his ear piece and crouches down.

“Secure.”

The atmosphere outside the shield changes in a flash, unseen and unheard by the children.

“Justus? What's…”, Fabian starts fearfully, staring into the barrel of Brian's gun but Evan swiftly cuts in, sitting down into the chair that Brian vacates for him, their demeanors shedding the pretense of rich idiot and his bodyguard, making it clear who is giving the orders here, “We're asking the questions now, Mr. Augsburg.”

“Sebastian!”, Fabian screeches, shooting up from his seat and head snapping to his right only to see his own bodyguard already down on the ground, next to three other guards, Brock standing next to them. Tyler comes into the small pavilion that they have stopped to drink coffee in from one of the paths, dragging two unconcious guards with him and dropping them next to the other ones. Lastly Jon arrives with the two people responsible for managing the greenhouse, making them walk in front of him at gunpoint.

“Sit down.”, Evan says calmly, shoulders relaxed as he musters him shakily sinking back down into his chair.

“If you want money, I can…”, he stutters out but shuts up quickly when Evan lifts his hand for him to stop, eyes nervously flickering from his face to the gun still pointed at him.

“We're here because of Jaren and Matthew.”, he says and agitation stirs in the back of their minds at the clear confusion on Fabian’s face, “I don't know anyone like that. You must have the wrong person. Please, I….”

“Jaren and Matthew. Bought two years ago from a lab. Water manipulating and plant growing powers respectivley. We're very invested in their wellbeing.”, Evan cuts him off again and this time it clicks. “The little freaks?”, he asks and flinches when Evan's eyes narrow and he signs for Tyler, who menancingly moves towards him, Fabian starting to hysterically beg, “No, please! I don't know. I bought them, yes, but I didn't interact with them after that. I don't know! Please!”

“Who is responsible for them?”, Evan asks and Tyler changes target to the man that Fabian points to, taking his arm and slamming him face first onto the table. Fabian starts to cry.

“Tell me how you treated them.”, Evan now directs at the man whose breath hitches in pain and panic, “They're fine! I swear!”

Evan says nothing, staring him down while Tyler tightens his grip until he starts babbling, “They are supposed to be out of sight and no one but me is allowed to talk to them. If they don't obey they don't get food but we don't hit them. Never! Not once! Please, it's the truth!”

Evan hums and David clicks the connection on his ear piece close, having heard enough to plan his course of action.

Severe emotional neglect but no physical violence. Workable.

He smiles in the direction the kids were last, “Hello. Do you like Genista too? It's a nice plant, isn't it? Do you want to talk a little?”

The shrub rustles again, both heads peeking out, faces unreadable again because of the hair. David makes sure to keep his posture open and non threatening.

“There you are! So nice to see you!”, the bigger boy, Jaren, twitches at that, his hold on the younger, Matthew, loosening, “Did you grow the flowers? Good job! That must have been a lot of work.” He holds one hand out when Matthew slowly worms out of Jaren's arms and prompts further, “What's your favorite flower?”

Matthew seems fascinated by his attention. His head moves to look at Jaren and he answers in a very quiet, shaky voice, “I like water lilies.” Jaren flinches slightly when he speaks, as if waiting for a reprimand but David can also see a little smile directed at Matthew because of the answer.

“Oh pretty! I like those too. Seeing them on lakes is always a treat. Like decoration for the water.”, both kids turn back to him and Jaren doesn't pull the smaller kid back this time when he inches towards him, “My favorite flower are forgetmenots.”

Matthew stops and sits up on his knees, just barely in touching distance, pulling one hand up and a little flower of forgetmenots starts growing. He holds them out for David.

“For me? You're so nice. Thank you so much.”, he holds his hand out for the flower, raised in the air a few centimeters away from it. He's not gonna touch first and he’s not gonna pull away first should Matthew decide to touch him. All the power needs to be on the kid.

They stand still in silence for a few heartbeats and then Matthew gives himself a push, closing the distance and dropping the flower in his hand, their fingers brushing. He hastily pulls his hand back, body curling into himself.

David keeps his hand where it is, not moving a single muscle, “Thank you. I will cherish them.” Head turning back to him and tilting confused, Matthew reaches out again, brushing his fingers across David's hand with a featherlight touch, growing bolder with time. Smiling warmly at him, David keeps encouraging him with soft praise until he has him cuddled up against his chest, one arm securely curled around him.

Jaren has moved too, halfway to him but still unsure, more cautious than his younger brother. David holds his other hand out for him, “Hello to you too. I didn't introduce myself yet, did I? My name is Nogla.”

Head turned slightly down, obviously looking at the hand, Jaren starts moving again, saying barely above a whisper, “I'm Jaren. That's Matthew.”

David slowly turns his hand to be palm up and then brings it up and towards Jaren's face. Jaren briefly freezes when he strokes his hair behind his ear so he can see his eyes and then cups his cheek, thumb gently stroking over his cheek bone, but then he leans into his palm, clutching David's wrist between his hands.

David slowly pulls his hand back towards himself, Jaren following the movement until he has him as close as Matthew and he takes a moment to hug both of them close before whispering, “Do you want to come with me? I can pick you two up and you can stay with me and my friends. It's a lot nicer at our home.”

The kids tense, Matthew looking at Jaren with questioning eyes, and stay silent for a few seconds. Looking up at him, Jaren hesitantly relaxes back into his shoulder, Matthew copying him, “Are your friends the ones you came in with? Are they nice like you?”

Snorting softly, David reassures easily, “Some are even nicer than me.” Matthew's eyes widen disbelievingly, “Really?!”

David nods, slowly picking them up and walking towards the exit, keeping the conversation going, “Yes, really! Delirious is suuuuuper nice. You'll see when we get home. The one who was walking with me is Wildcat. He's gonna play so much with you. Oh! Surely you still remember…”

He keeps talking until he reaches their car, shield up the entire time, both of them hanging onto his every word, growing excited when their old friends are mentioned, and presses his ear piece one last time, “I'm in the car with the kids.”

The ride home is quiet at first but the kids taw surprisingly fast out of their shyness, delighting in any attention on them. Attention the crew gladly gives.

Jaren wiggles happily at the mention of John and surprises all of them when they get home by taking a deep breath the moment the door to the house opens and screaming as loud as he can, “JOOOOOOHN!!!”

He takes off the second John comes into view, flinging himself into his open arms, very clearly trying to laugh instead of cry. Matthew joins them but detaches when the other kids enter the hallway, getting crushed in several hugs.

The crew ushers them into the living room to the couch where all previous reunions were held and then give them their privacy to find Scotty and Anthony, friends of the crew who babysit for them occasionally, to ask if everything went smoothly while they were gone.

This boisterous reunion is only the beginning of a more eventful home life. Their two newest kids want as much attention as they can get. They adore being loud, adore being messy. Adore being seen and heard and touched. They talk and scream and drag their brothers into shenanigans. They jump into the crew's arms and run around them and beg for cuddles. The crew hadn't even noticed how quiet and still the other kids normally are, not just because of the talking problems, having learned through violence that the less attention is on them the better they will fare, until the two whirlwinds had come into the house.

They bring a liveliness into the house, a new form of lightness, that benefits the whole household greatly.

—--

Fabian Augsburg is still alive. For now. They threatened and blackmailed him into silence, Brian keeping a close eye on his whereabouts. His generous ‘donations’ enabled the crew to build a species-appropriate pool in their basement for Christopher, who loves it very much, spending most of his time there, often accompanied by Jaren to play in the water.

Other modifications of their house are already planned. Next is a bigger garden for Matthew to let loose in. And for Nelson to stretch his legs as a bear. They have plentiful sources of income by now after all.

Chapter Text

Eric, a kid with shadow manipulation and shadow hopping powers, is found purely by coincidence. Or more fittingly because he let himself be found.

—---

Evan grunts as he is pushed into a chair, his hands tied behind his back. One of the two burly men that ‘escorted’ him to the little backroom steps into his view, giving him a glare that he is sure is meant to be intimidating.

Too bad for them. Evan isn't one to be intimidated easily and he smirks at the man provokingly. He's just here to buy time after all.

He and Jon are on an intel mission and Evan is distracting the goons while Jon sneaks around the building to gather what they need. Fucking around and getting caught on purpose was the plan and it worked beautifully. Now he just has to keep them busy until Jon is out with the intel.

“The fuck are you doing here?”, the man in front of him growls, flexing his fists in warning, but Evan just shrugs, “Nothing. Just loitering around.” The man's eyes narrow and he can feel the one behind him stepping closer.

The interrogation goes on for a few minutes, the two men getting more and more angry with every dismissive answer from him until their patience snaps.

“Answer the damn question!” the first man shouts and pulls back his arm to swing for a punch. Evan prepares to dodge.

The punch never comes as a kid suddenly hangs from said arm, kicking the man's side, “Don't hurt my Daddy!”

Surprised the man flings his arm to the side, the kid getting tossed away, and Evan panics, quickly shedding the handcuffs and incapacitating the man with a nerve strike to the neck and then turning around, kicking the chair into the other goon, rushing him before he can recover and putting him in a chokehold, squeezing until he loses consciousness.

Breathing heavily, Evan looks around for the kid, unsuccessfully scanning the room for signs of him.

He wracks his brain, going to the files from the first lab in his head. It must be one of those kids, surely. What power could make him appear and disappear so quickly? One file comes to mind and he takes the change.

“Eric?”, he asks the room, trying to make his voice soft, he has been getting better at that, and the shadow of one of the chairs wavers. Focusing on that shadow, he crouches down in front of it, the shadow seemingly shrinking away, “Hey. You're Eric, right? Uhmm…you don't need to be afraid. Could you come out?....Please?”

The shadow shudders a little but nothing happens and Evan thinks back to what the kid said, slowly opening his arms and cringing internally at his next words, “It's ok. I'm not mad and there is no danger anymore. Can you come out for Daddy?”

That does the trick, maybe a bit too well as Eric materializes and flings himself into Evan's open arms, cuddling into him with a familiarity as if he had done so countless times before, starting to cry.

Evan has learned how to treat his kids. What actions make them calm and happy. If not through parental instincts then through observation and try and error. He doesn't have any experience with Eric but he knows how his kids want to be comforted so he mimics that, closing his arms tightly around his trembling form and standing up with him, humming comfortingly and gently petting his head.

It works with his newest child, no doubt in his mind about that fact, Eric slowly calming down and Evan brushes the last tears away from his face, “That was very dangerous. You shouldn't have done that.”

“He tried to hurt you.”, Eric answers, still sniffling a little, and Evan sighs, hoisting him up a bit higher, ”Yes. That's part of my job. Thank you for helping me but don't do it again.”

“But he would have hurt you.”, the kid insists and Evan's face scrunches up, deciding he's not the right person to explain that to the kid, “Delirious is gonna talk to you about that later Eric.”

Face turning shy, Eric hides back against his shoulder, mumbling, “Dooo.”

“Mhh?”, Evan hums questioningly, comfortingly rubbing his back, prompting him to look at him again and answer, “I'm…my codename is Dooo.”

While Evan had been sure that the kid must have been following them for quite a while, why else would he consider him a parent, that confirms it completely.

Jaren and Matthew haven't only brought more life into the house but also some other changes. They latched onto the idea of codenames after it had been explained to them why Nogla was suddenly David, immediately creating some for themselves, the other kids excitedly following along, and refusing to be called anything else.

Only Eli and John don't really care for it, John half heartedly picking one to humor his little brothers but preferring his own name over it.

“Ok, Do….”

“Dooo.”

“Do?”

“Dooo!”

Evan sighs again, kids are so complicated, and presses his earpiece, “Backup needed.”

The mission can wait. Getting Eric to safety takes priority.

—---

“Surprise!”, Jon yells when they enter the house, Dooo still in Evan's arms, and they can hear the scrambling of several feet coming their way. The kids always greet them enthusiastically when they were away for a while.

Blarg turns the corner first, stopping abruptly when he sees Dooo, cocking his head in question until Droid collides into him, both of them falling down, not being able to stop in time because he didn't expect Blarg to stop.

“Who's that?”, Smitty asks curiously, peeking around the corner, before brightening when Dooo turns his head to them and jumping over Blarg and Droid, “Eric!”

Dooo's corporeal form wavers a little but Evan comfortingly tightens his hold and he doesn't hide in the shadows, instead squirming out of his arms and to hug Smitty, “Smitty!”

It doesn't take long for everyone to join them at the door, the kids excitedly greeting Dooo, a bit used now to old friends just appearing.

Only John hangs back a bit after checking the newest sibling over, pouting at Evan and Jon. After Smitty and Blarg he had given the crew the cold shoulder until they promised to at least tell him when they go to get another one of the lab's kids. Jon sighs and gestures him closer, the crew following, and Brian asks in a hushed tone, “Why do you have a new kid? This wasn't a kid retrieval mission….right?”

“That is Eric, the shadow one, and he has been following us around…”, Jon puts one hand on John's head to ruffle his hair, “...since we rescued John. His codename is Dooo.”

They got the whole story out of Dooo on the way home, the kid sitting on Evan's lap and eating a snack. Jon always has some food for the kids in his storage pocket.

He had been sedated to be transported but they messed up the dose and he escaped when he woke up before they had him in the new location. Lost and not able to find his way back, he had been aimlessly moving from place to place until he overheard low level gang members talk about the drug carrying heron of their boss.

He stayed hidden after finding John, comforted by his presence alone, stealing scraps of food when no one was looking, and followed them when they rescued him, staying with them since then, too afraid to reveal himself after years of being in the shadows.

John makes a hurt noise when learning that Dooo had been with him this whole time and he didn't know, going to the cuddle pile of children and fishing him out, tightly hugging him.

“He's been here the whole time?!”, Brock asks, besides himself with that heartbreaking revelation, “Living of leftovers in our own house! And we didn't notice?!”

Evan shrugs and nods.

Any other conversation gets interrupted by Dooo's loud bragging, “I saved Daddy!”

All of the crew's heads, even Jon's who hasn't heard him say it yet, snap to the kid and then back to Evan who shrugs again, helpless this time, “Yeah…..”

—---

The arrival of Dooo changes surprisingly little beside another chair at the table and another room claimed. The kid is already perfectly integrated into their normal day to day life and not shy at all, having formed a deep emotional bond to the crew already after months of pretending to be part of the family from the shadows, following their routines and rules in secret.

Sometimes it's a bit disconcerting just how familiar he is with them when they know basically nothing about him. A thing they are rapidly rectifying by keeping him close and giving him a little extra attention for now. He still needs to be called out of the shadows and reminded that they know he's there often. It's quickly getting better though. Especially with the help of the other kids, Blarg in particular, who want him around just as much.

Despite changing surprisingly little, his arrival also changes everything at the same time. The kids haven't been familiar with the concept of father and mother and the crew felt uncomfortable making them address them like that if they can't understand fully.

Dooo has a little street knowledge though and has skipped calling them by their names altogether, happily addressing them as Dad or Daddy. The other kids follow his lead.

They weren't emotionally prepared for Pezzy standing in the hallway late at night with one of his plushies pressed to himself and asking to “Sleep with Daddy.” because he had a nightmare or for Grizzy to laugh “No! Dad, no!” while play fighting or for John to add the prefix for Dad in front of their names when signing to or about them or for any of the other countless examples.

But it's not bad. The change Dooo's arrival brings.