Chapter 4: A Son Sacrificed

The Boy's eyes were cold, yet the smile on his face reflected the dark intent that was in store for the family that watched as Aaron, the young boy they all cared for, hung by his shirt, held by a nightmare in the flesh. The air was thick with dust from the debris but even more so with the tension the family felt. The Boy's gaze shifted to Mary, observing her horrified expression, giving a scoff of disbelief. "I heard all of it, so you know. Your explanation down there. While you were correct, you must be some kind of mentally disturbed to think that line of thought was excusable." He said, looking over Aaron's face as he hung, unconscious. He wasn't injured in any visible way other than his unresponsive appearance.

Ray was red with anger as he watched his son be handled like he was nothing. It was a helpless anger, as there was nothing that he could possibly do without getting hurt or killed, himself. The normally charitable and forgiving man would've been driven to murder if this was a scenario with another mere man. But this wasn't. It was a familial struggle between Gods. Angels. Between Super-beings. Hancock, though, was another case. He took a tentative step forward, reaching out a hand that seemed to plead the Boy on its own

"Listen, this...this is between you, me and your Mother. Let's keep Aaron out of it. He's just a boy." The man spoke, trying his best to make the Boy see reason. "Your name? What do you want me t'call you?"

"Isaac. I was never a fan of the name, as apparently, my Mother is the one who chose it. But it has some meaning. A son sacrificed. Biblical, don't you think?" Isaac answered, watching Hancock as he took his step forward, his expression showing his discontent.

"Isaac, then, please. Gimme the boy." Hancock pleaded again.

Mary's hands covered her mouth as tears streamed down her reddened face, concentrated on her nose and cheeks. She soon took her own step forward, to the right of Hancock. Isaac's eyes locked on her as she moved forward, not so much bothered by Hancock's presence. His form lifted, his feet lifted from the floor as if the word was in a zero gravity state, moving backward toward the wall missing from the room.

"That isn't part of the plan just yet, Hancock. It seems that I know very little about this little brother of mine." He said, rotating his body in the air, Isaac spoke from over his shoulder. "And brothers must bond." And with that, he burst from the room, blasting Hancock and the couple backward.

Though Hancock was defeated just yet, showing this by bounding through the hole in the home, shooting into the air himself, zooming after Isaac. Mary stayed behind, looking at Ray as the man could only stare through the hole that was blasted in his home. The shock of his son being forcibly removed from his home was weighing heavily on him. He couldn't even look at his wife.

"Ray. We're going to fix this…" Mary choked out, backing toward the open space.

"Just go get my son." Said the almost comatose Ray.

Without another word, Mary shot into the air and followed after Hancock and Isaac. At the moment, her face wasn't wrought with worry. She wasn't crying, her brows were furrowed with determination. She would fix this. Though, she didn't know if she could get Aaron back and fix things with Isaac. But she would try. Ahead, she could see Hancock just behind Isaac and Aaron. Hancock was gaining on Isaac, quickly, soon getting to his right flank. He decided that it was time to start taking some action, rather trying to plead and appeal to his supposed son's better nature. The hero shot toward his son, hoping to ram him, but his speed slowed, remembering Aaron in his hold. Isaac spotted Hancock from the corner of his eye, reacting to his oncoming attack, he'd back right, sharply to send himself into a barrel roll right over the top of Hancock's form. His arms carefully braced Aaron, not wanting the boy to be injured during the flight. The little blonde wasn't to be hurt during the flight. But, what Isaac hadn't been able to account for was Mary's fierce approach, barreling right into his back mid-spin, causing him to let go of Aaron, sending the boy careening downward. Hancock shot after Aaron, while Mary wrapped his arms around Isaac, tightly.

"Let go!" Shouted Isaac, struggling in his Mother's arms, his eyes searching the sky for Aaron and Hancock, noting that he could still get to the boy if he broke Mary's hold.

"Leave Aaron out of this, Isaac, please!" Mary cried, pleading her lost son.

A sharp elbow was thrust back against Mary's ribs, causing her to recoil and loosen her hold on Isaac. He spun, planting his feet against her sternum to use her as a springboard, shooting himself down toward Hancock and Isaac, diving through the air, his clothes rippling due to the resistance of the air. "At least you care for one of us." He spoke,

Reducing the distance between he and Hancock was simple, he was far faster, but Aaron was further ahead. Isaac's body collided with his father's, using the same technique as the one he used to escape his mother. Carefully adjusting his speed, he caught Aaron on their downward path, steadily changing course as not to injure the boy due to sudden stoppage at high speeds. He dipped into the clouds that adorned the sky, bracing Aaron as he pushed the limits of his flight, zooming away at a speed that Hancock and Mary could never reach. Not with each other so close. A look of defeat formed on Hancock's face and Mary couldn't stop a tear from sliding down her face as she looked at the man that had been her salvation on so many occasions.