I.
The elevator door opened and an irritated Henry emerged, entering the Man Cave.
"Okay, Ray, I'm here, on a Saturday, and I have the construction hat you asked for. Now can you please tell me what the big emergency is?"
Ray was looking at something on the computer and spun around nonchalantly in his chair.
"Hi there, Henry, did I say there was a big emergency?"
"Um… you said, and I quote, 'If we had a color code system around here, this would be code red. Or orange. Or whatever the scariest color is.'" Henry repeated, attempting an imitation of his boss.
"Oh, now I remember. I was putting air quotation marks around the words big and emergency. But now that you mention it, I'd say purple is probably the most terrifying color —"
"Ray!" Henry interrupted, wanting to find out why he was spending his precious free time in the admittedly awesome basement of the creepy Junk-N-Stuff store.
"Okay, okay. Henry, you and I are going to a gay bar tonight," Ray said matter-of-factly.
"Oh Ray, sorry to disappoint you but — wait a minute… you called me in because you need a wingman?"
Ray let out a laugh. "This is strictly business, Henry. The owners contacted me with a situation. Apparently, every night at midnight the power goes out for a second and when it comes back, all the money is missing from the till. They need our help to catch the thief."
"…alright, but why did I need this?" he asked, gesturing to the hat.
"It's uniform night at the bar, and we're going undercover. You're going to be a construction worker," the superhero said, "Here, I got you a costume. Go ahead and try it on."
A few minutes later, Henry had changed into his new costume. Besides the hat, it consisted of a bright orange vest that showed off the teen's developing arms and torso, and tight shorts that stopped just before his mid-thigh.
"Is this really necessary? Why can't we just go as you know, Captain Man and Kid Danger?" Henry complained.
"Um, have you been to one of these places?"
Henry pretended to think for a moment. "Hmm… nope, can't say I have. Sounds like a total sausage fest."
"Hey, how did you know that was the name of the place?" Ray asked, surprised. Henry shrugged.
"Well, all this will make sense once you're there. You'll blend in just fine. I'll send you the details. Now, get home and get some rest. We've got a big night ahead of us," Ray ordered.
Henry headed for the elevator.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Ray asked.
"Oh, right," Henry said, noticing that he was still in the revealing costume, "better change back into my normal clothes."
He turned his back to his boss but could feel eyes on him as he removed the outfit, as he stood for a moment in just his briefs. It felt good, he thought to himself, even if it was a little creepy to have a man appreciating his physique.
As the tube descended around him before taking back up to the shop, Henry noticed he had a hard-on, and hoped Ray hadn't seen it. But the superhero had. Ray had never written up a description for Henry's position, besides the vague reference to "duties" – and now, as his hand slid down toward his crotch, he wondered just how far he could make his sidekick go.