prologue
At three o'clock sharp Wednesday afternoon, a live video disrupted every TV channel and cell phone signal in Swellview.
Charlotte and Jasper sat in english class when everybody's phones began talking at the same time. The TV over the teacher's desk sprung to live and a hooded face filled the screen. Across town, Ray and Schwoz gathered around the monitors in the Man Cave curiously. Few streets over, Siren and her husband Jake were preparing dinner. Jake called her over frantically as the video began to play on their television.
"Citizens of Swellview," the hooded man said, "you thought you were rid of me, didn't you?" His voice was unrecognizable; it made the teens shudder. "Well, you are not. I've got a surprise for all of you, specifically everybody's favorite superhero."
Charlotte and Jasper glanced at each other across the isle; they had a bad feeling of where this was going.
The man stepped away from the camera. He stood in a room of tattered walls and dusty floors. Sloppy graffiti was painted across the room and a single light hung from the ceiling, gently swaying back and forth.
Swellview's hearts dropped when the man stepped out of frame. Charlotte gasped. Jasper's stomach jumped to his throat. Schwoz stared. The color drained from Ray's face.
Kid Danger raised his head slowly and blinked at the camera. He was bound to a chair, ropes wrapped around his chest and ankles. His uniform was dirty and torn in some places. Blood streaked his cheeks, bruises were painted down his neck, and there were tears in his eyes.
He clenched his jaw and stared into the camera. He refused to let his tears fall, not with everybody watching.
"Captain Man," the stranger began, walking behind Kid Danger and grabbing the boy's shoulders, smirking as the boy hissed in pain, "you have twenty-four hours to find us before I bury your precious sidekick six feet under."
While the man walked toward the camera, Kid Danger began to speak. "Don't worry about me," he said. "I'm okay." He tried to reassure his friends, but the tremble in his voice gave his secret away.
They need to worry; he wasn't okay. He was actually very far from it.
"That's enough out of you," the man spat, punching the boy in the mouth.
Jasper jumped. Charlotte covered her eyes; her stomach churned painfully. Ray grit his teeth.
Kid Danger glowered. He spat at the man, blood splattering across the hood.
"I'll deal with you in a minute." As the man turned, the viewers caught a quick glimpse of Kid Danger's bloody grin. "Tick-tock, Captain Man. His time is running out."
The video ended with a painful scream from one of the city's beloved heroes, something that'll haunt the citizens of Swellview for weeks.