"Dad, please..."
At that mont, half of Ryan’s feet were already hanging over the edge of the roof.
His fair little face was full of despair.
Holander stared at the fear reflected in those bright blue eyes, eyes exactly like his own, and froze slightly. He had been about to keep coaxing him.
For so reason, a scene from his childhood in the lab flashed through his mind.
Little John, wearing nothing but a thin hospital gown, had been forced by a group of expressionless scientists onto a towering test platform.
Back then, he had looked just like Ryan did now, staring desperately at those adults, those so-called elders, begging them again and again with his eyes.
But those scientists had not agreed.
They had only told Holander,
"Jump, John. Trust us. It won’t hurt you."
That was probably what they had said back then too.
But there had been no way around it. It was to awaken his superpowers, to make him control his superpowers...
Holander’s cheek twitched, and a hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.
Then he rembered what Ryan had said earlier, worried that because "Grandpa can’t fly, I inherited that from Grandpa, so I can’t fly either."
Holander did not know what to do anymore. If he really made Ryan jump today, Ryan truly would not get hurt, but...
Then what difference would there be between him and those scientists in the lab?
Holander took a deep breath.
He looked at Ryan, trembling all over, and sighed helplessly. In the end, his tone softened.
"Okay, Ryan. We’ll do it another way."
Holander took a small step forward and held out both hands as if ready to catch him.
"Here’s what you do. Jump down and try to feel the wind.
If you really can’t fly, Daddy promises you, before you hit the ground, I’ll fly over and catch you in an instant.
I’m faster than a bullet. Nothing’s gonna happen to you. How’s that?"
Hearing that promise, Ryan froze for a mont.
The little guy thought it over as fast as his still-immature mind could manage.
He had seen how fast Dad was. When Dad took him flying, he could not even keep his eyes open.
Since Dad promised he would catch him, then maybe this really could work...
No matter what, his begging had worked in the end. Dad still loved him.
"O-okay, Dad."
Ryan gritted his teeth.
"Count three seconds. After three seconds, I’ll try to jump down and fly by myself... but you have to catch , Dad! You really, really have to! Don’t lie to !"
Becca was stunned, still frantically shouting for Ryan not to do it.
Holander ignored Becca and said,
"Okay. Don’t worry, Ryan. Dad would never lie to you."
Holander smiled and nodded, even gently straightening Ryan’s collar.
"Three..."
Holander slowly said the first number.
Ryan took a deep breath, clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and tried hard to stop his weak legs from shaking.
In his heart, he kept telling himself that when Dad counted down to "one," he would bravely jump.
But...
Just as Ryan was still trying to psych himself up.
Before Holander could even say two, he pressed his broad palm against Ryan’s back and shoved him hard.
"Down you go!"
"Ah, fuck!"
Caught completely off guard, Ryan plunged straight down from the six-ter-high roof. The sudden rush of weightlessness swallowed him whole.
...
Down below.
"No!"
Becca, who had been looking up and staring fixedly at the roof the whole ti, completely broke down when she saw it.
She had been begging desperately from below, screaming herself hoarse, but nothing had worked.
That demon had really pushed her precious son off the roof.
"Whoosh!"
Just as Ryan was about to hit the ground.
A figure flashed across the ground.
Holander dropped smoothly to one knee and caught the still-terrified Ryan in his arms with perfect precision.
The whole thing was effortless. Ryan did not feel even the slightest impact.
Of course, he did not feel himself fly either.
"Hahahaha! See? I told you I’d catch you!"
Holander stood up with Ryan in his arms, laughing.
But Ryan did not find it funny at all.
He gulped down air, his little face deathly pale.
Ryan struggled desperately, jumped out of Holander’s arms, and ran without looking back toward Becca as she rushed over.
"Mommy..."
Ryan threw himself into Becca’s arms.
"My baby! Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"
Becca held Ryan tightly, trembling all over. Worried and terrified, she still softened her voice to comfort him.
"It’s okay. It’s okay. Mommy’s here... You’re okay, baby."
"Co on, he didn’t even get hurt!"
Holander argued, "I caught him, didn’t I? Sure, he wasn’t ready, but this is a necessary step if we’re going to unlock his potential.
Bottom line, he didn’t get hurt at all, right? Not a scratch!"
After a pause, Holander added,
"And... hell, even if I hadn’t caught him just now, with the genes in his body, a little six-ter fall wouldn’t have done a damn thing to him."
Hearing that pathetic excuse, Becca turned around and glared viciously at Holander, cursing him outright.
"You goddamn lunatic! You cold-blooded monster! You inhuman piece of shit!"
"He’s seven years old! How could you do sothing so cruel to him? You don’t deserve to be a father!"
At Becca’s insults, Holander’s eyes shifted slightly.
Holander advanced on Becca step by step and shouted,
"Listen, I’ve seen Vought’s files. Ryan is the perfect Supe child! You know why?
Because he’s my son. Soldier Boy’s grandson. The continuation of the most powerful bloodline in this world!"
"And you?"
Holander pointed at her accusingly.
"You’ve kept him caged in this fake little world! You’re ruining him!"
"You don’t deserve to be his father... Ryan, co on. Don’t listen to this deranged psycho!"
Becca had no intention of listening to this monster’s insane bullshit. She grabbed Ryan’s hand and turned to head back inside.
The mont he heard the word "deranged," Holander reached out and grabbed Becca’s arm with his large hand.
"Everything I’ve done is for my son’s own good! But you keep raising him like so little girl!"
"Let go of my mom!"
Ryan, who had been protected behind Becca the entire ti, finally got angry when he saw his father bullying his mother.
Ryan used no technique. He acted purely on instinct, reaching out with his two small, fair hands and gripping Holander’s arm as hard as he could. Then, using every bit of strength in his body, he wrenched it outward and shoved Holander hard.
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