“Some people say that blood is thicker than water.”
“But those people seriously devalue the importance of water.”
“A human being for example is up to sixty percent water.”
“The Odyssey Pool, that brought us Maxwell’s truest form in Blaze, is primarily made up of water.”
“And a little drop of water might’ve changed everything for Burning Justice.”
“Your lives were brutally upended, there’s no denying that. The fire that took your wife was unfortunate and it spurned a series of events that even to this day have a knock on effect on both of your lives.”
“But Blood wouldn’t have stopped that. No amount of it would’ve changed your fates or fortunes.”
“And now Maxwell has his son convinced that blood is all that matters. He has him convinced that blood equates to family; it does not. Blood doesn’t automatically qualify any decision as the right one. It doesn’t always make sense and it isn’t always the answer to a question of love.”
“When your father burnt down the Doom Factory, he knew blood couldn’t stop it. He knew blood couldn’t save it. How could he even be sure that your life wasn’t in danger when he did it, James?”
“All those years ago when that fire ravaged your home, took your mother and sent your father into hiding, blood abandoned you. Blood ran away and hid himself from the world because he couldn’t come to terms with what he was. He was no father. He was a coward and blood didn’t stop him from leaving you to fend for yourself, motherless and in belief of being fatherless too.”
“Do you know what might’ve saved them all, James?”
“Water.”
“When I put you in the pool, I wanted the water to save you. I wasn’t punishing you. I was saving you. When Felix and I invited you into our family, we became the water. We doused you in our love and made you feel accepted. We were the water.”
“All your life, all you needed was water and all blood has ever brought you was fire and flame. It ripped through your entire existence until we came along, James. We poured water on the burns of the past and let you swim in the ocean of family. That’s what the Pool Boys was; a family. Your father helped rip apart the one you had. That’s what blood did.”
“At Locked & Loaded, this is about more than our titles. This is about blood and water.”
“And your father will kneel and bleed before Doom.”
“And when it’s over, James, you are free to let the water wash over you once more and return to your rightful place in The Pool Boys.”