superworld

[Raven]

Aaron considered him for a moment. "I'm your grandpa," he finally said, simply. If convincing the boy didn't work, he would figure something else out. He doubted Liam wanted to stay here. "It's nice to meet you, Liam. I've been keeping tabs, to see if there's anything I can do to help."

[Gifted]

"Grandpa? Wait, as in my dad's dad? Aaron Villein?" Liam asked in shock. The man so terrifying even Liam's father was scared of him. Liam felt the familiar gnawing of fear in his stomach.

[Raven]

"Yep. Does that worry you?" Aaron asked gently.

[Gifted]

"...Kind of." Liam admitted. The worst fear of his worst fear was not something to be trifled with... was it?

[Raven]

Aaron crouched in front of Liam. "You don't need to be afraid of me, I promise."

[Gifted]

Liam's eyes flicked away so he wasn't looking into Aaron's. He wasn't entirely sure he believed that. Aaron seemed nice enough, but his dad could pull off a good first impression too. "What are you doing here?" He asked curiously anyway. "I've never heard from you my whole life."

[Raven]

"I realized how your dad was treating you and wanted to see if I could help you. It's been pretty lonely at my house since my kids left, and I get to see some of my other grandkids sometimes, but never you," Aaron said.

[Gifted]

Liam shrugged. "Not much to be done without getting rid of my dad somehow. Can you do that?" Anyone else would not have gotten that question. But if his dad was scared of Aaron, he must have something to be scared of.

[Raven]

"Not currently. But I could take you away from here," Aaron said.

[Gifted]

"But couldn't he just find us?" Liam asked anxiously. "Anyone we ever talk to is a trail."

[Raven]

"I may not be able to get rid of your father entirely, but he wouldn't dare take you while you're under my care," Aaron assured him. "Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't get close enough."

[Gifted]

Liam smiled. "You could protect me?" Hiding out with the man his dad feared most actually seemed like a good idea. "What about my sister?" He asked eagerly.

[Raven]

"If I brought both of you, your dad might get ideas. He wouldn't be able to do much, but with time and the resources he has, he might get at one of the two of you. If we manage things more carefully, he won't get that advantage," Aaron said reasonably. "We'll work towards getting you both free of him for good, but until I know for certain we can deal with him permanently, I don't want to make the risk worse."

[Gifted]

Liam looked anxious at that. "So we're just going to leave her there? No way, she can't take it like I do. I've got to protect her..."

[Raven]

"It's only temporary, and she has memory problems, doesn't she?" Aaron asked, pretending to be concerned. "She won't be able to help me the way you can."