Jay and Lloyd walked into the hospital room. Cole was lying on his right side. Even though his eyes were semi-open, they knew he couldn't see them. Lou was reading a newspaper, but he looked up when he heard them enter.

"I wanted to let you know, we have a plan," Lloyd said before Lou could say anything.

"Oh?" Lou put the paper down and gave them his full attention.

"Yes. I know you're angry with her, but it really would be useful if you could tell us about Morgen."

"We were married for five years, and we were together for three years before that. And I have spent the past twenty years trying to forget," Lou sighed. He looked down at his empty ring finger.

"But to throw away an eight-year relationship overnight?" Jay asked.

"She went nuts. I don't know what happened, it was like a switch was flipped in her brain. I tried to talk to her. I wanted to understand why she stabbed me and… She told me where I could shove it in no uncertain terms. Then she disappeared. Until a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea where she was or if she was even still alive. The only good thing to come out of that relationship was Cole." Lou stroked Cole's hair.

"So you aren't going to tell us anything else about her?" Lloyd asked.

"No. I never told Cole the whole truth, how can I tell you?"

"Fine. Does the name Hermes mean anything to you?"

Lou flinched at the name.

"I guess that's a yes?" Jay asked.

"Trust me, you don't want to get involved with the likes of Hermes," Lou said.

"Why not?" Lloyd asked.

"First of all, he never liked me. Second, when he found out Morgen and I were getting a divorce, he broke into my house and demanded to know why. He didn't like my answer and took it out on my stuff. Long story short, he got to spend the night in jail and I haven't seen him or Kelly since. Thankfully, my mother had taken Cole out when everything was going down, so neither of them have met Cole."

"Don't they have a right to meet their grandson?" Jay asked.

"No."

"Oh come on, Lou. We need someone to teach Skylor how to use Earth. Cole's out, so Hermes is our only option."

"I doubt he will. I didn't even know he or Morgen had elemental powers. I didn't know elemental powers existed until Cole started glowing. Even after everything, she refused to tell me." Lou looked at the ground, trying not to think about the woman he once loved.

A week after the attack, Lou was back home. His parents were staying with him to help out until he was back on his feet. He hated how his mother fussed over him, but he admitted he needed help with Cole. He got his parents to move Cole's bassinet into his room. Lou was pretending to watch TV, but really he was watching Cole sleep on the bed next to him. He subconsciously fiddled with his wedding ring. He jolted when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

There was silence.

"Hello?" Lou repeated.

"Don't hang up." The voice was small and emotional, but Lou recognized it instantly.

"Morgen?"

"I'm sorry you were hurt, Lou. I'm so sorry. You weren't supposed to be there." Morgen sounded like she was crying.

"Morgen, what is going on?" Lou sat up slightly, though the stitches in his stomach prevented him from moving too much.

"I… I can't tell you. You wouldn't understand."

"You can't tell me?" Lou scoffed.

"Lou, please. You said you would love me no matter what."

"That was before you tried to kill our son."

"I have to! If I don't, he'll… he'll…" Morgen broke off in a sob, but Lou wasn't buying it. He couldn't.

"He'll what, Morgen?"

"What's inside of him, it doesn't belong to him. It will kill him if I don't!"

"What are you talking about? What's inside him?" Lou looked over where Cole was still asleep.

"The power."

"… You need help, Morgen."

"No, I don't!" Morgen screeched.

"Yes, you do. Please, come back and get some professional help. I won't judge. I want to help you."

"If you really wanted to help, you would let me kill that beast! He's a monster! A liar and a thief!" Morgen yelled, suddenly not crying anymore.

"He's less than two weeks old. What could he have possibly done?"

"You'll see, you'll all see! You can take your pleas for me to stop and stick 'em where the sun don't shine. One day, he'll show you his true colors, and you won't like what you see. And you'll know that I was always right about him."

"No. I refuse to believe that. And until you get professional help, you aren't getting within a hundred miles of him."

"Like you think you can stop me."

"I can try. Starting by filing for divorce. I'll see you in court."

"No. You won't. You'll never see me again." The line went dead.

"Morgen?" Lou sighed and hung up the phone. He picked up Cole, careful not to move the infant's broken arm too much. He wrote off what Morgen said. She was certifiably crazy, there was no way what she was talking about, whatever it was, was true. Eventually, Lou forgot all about that conversation.

Until fifteen years later, when he heard Cole talking about stealing the Blade Cup with his friends. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had Morgen been right? Was Cole destined to become nothing more than a liar and a thief? When Cole said he was a ninja, Lou had to get away. He pushed the conversation out of his mind. He knew Cole had run away from the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts, since the school had called him to tell him Cole was missing. He hadn't wanted to send Cole away, but he felt like he couldn't protect Cole from Morgen after Anna's death. After the school called, he reluctantly decided to let Cole go down his own path and hoped beyond hope Morgen was wrong. It looked like he was the one who was wrong.

Lou was all set to go home when he heard the music on stage. Curiosity got the better of him and he cracked the auditorium door open and saw snakes going after the Blade Cup. The ninja fought back. Lou watched them fight. Fight and win. He ran backstage. He knew he needed to have a long talk with Cole. Pythor tried to stop them, tried to kill Lou. Lou was sure he was dead, until he saw a bright light lift up the heavy stage lights off him. He couldn't believe his eyes when he realized it was Cole who was glowing.

Back at the house, the ninja explained elemental powers to him. As they talked, Lou realized that Morgen must have had the same powers, but lost them when Cole was born. That must've been why she didn't want any children. When the ninja left, Lou watched them go, confident that Cole could handle his own if Morgen ever attacked him again.