Hey guys, so I haven't been on this side of the site in what feels like years, because I'm really trying to finish a different story, but I have major writer's block and I couldn't get anything done. I read back this story, and I had to take my mind off, so I decided to do ANOTHER alternate. This one is definitely not as happy as the last one ended, and if I have my way, there may be a third and final alternate. But we'll see. So I don't know if I need to warn you, but this one has character deaths.
Anyway, I'm back just for now, and I hope you enjoy!
Once the door broke down, all four of them ran out of the room as fast as they could. They didn't want to be trapped down with a bomb, but no one really knew where the exit was. Villains could never make anything easy. Captain Man hung back of the group to keep with Kid Dangers
"Are you sure you're ok, Kid?" Captain Man asked for the billionth time.
"Yes, I'm fine." Kid Danger answered through gritted teeth, rolling his eyes and forcing a smile for Ray's sake. But he really wasn't ok. His chest hurt with every breath he took, his head was pounded and he felt like his body was on fire. The only problem left was escaping with what they had left from Dr. Minyak and all his henchman.
As the group of heroes moved forwards, they seemed to face waves of enemies, the next one harder than before. The first wave of henchmen was the easiest. They all seemed to be newbies, completely inexperienced. A quick couple of punches from Kid Danger and Captain Man knocked them out cold, leaving behind a trail of evil-doer.
The next waves were harder. These men were better trained, many of them armed with guns or pipes or anything they could get their hands on. Charlotte and Schwoz used their laser guns to blast away enemies, while Captain Man and Kid Danger continued to use their fists.
Charlotte growled as she shot one henchman that got a jump on her, only to be cornered by another.
"Danger!" She shouted, backing away from the advancing bad guy. Henry knocked the guy he was fighting unconscious with a hard right hook and ran over to help Charlotte. He took in the enemy and judged. He didn't have any sort of laser gun, but the lead pipe glinting in the dim light of the underground hideout made him look just as dangerous.
Henry ran up behind the unsuspecting bad guy and jumped on his back, using one arm to grab the metal pipe and the other to wrap himself around the henchman's neck. The man suddenly leaned forward, throwing Kid Danger off his back, and hit the ground in front of Charlotte. He couldn't help but let out a small groan, but instantly stood up, protectively sticking his arm out in front of his friend.
With an evil grin at the chivalrous move, the bad guy swung the pipe at Henry's head, which he easily ducked and returned with a punch to the gut. The massive bad guy seemed barely affected by the hit and responded with his own tricks. He threw a fake punch to Henry, but when Kid Danger dodged the false hit, the henchman swung the pipe around the other side and connected to Kid Danger's knee.
Henry cried out in pain as he heard bone shattering cracks, collapsing and hitting the ground. "Kid!" Captain Man yelled, running over to his fallen sidekick. Charlotte and Schwoz blasted the rest of the enemies away and ran over to Captain Man and Kid Danger.
"You ok, Hen?" Charlotte asked in concern, completely forgetting about secret identities. There was no one around yet, but the heard the stomping feet of the next wave of bad guys. Henry held back a shudder, and his mouth was pressed tightly together until his lips were a single white line. He shut his eyes and breathed through gritted teeth until he could nod his head. Captain Man took this time to look over his friends.
Schwoz was mostly fine, on an account of being short and having a powerful hot dog gun, he had been able to evade most of the punches.
Charlotte wasn't used to fighting with the heroes, so she had taken more hits than normal, but she was holding her own with the laser. Quite frankly, Ray was impressed Ray then realized why Henry was best friends with her, she kicked butt.
Henry was in the worse shape. His eyes were slightly dilated, in the works of a concussion. The stitches on the side of his head had reopened, uneven breathing suggested bruised ribs, and his swelling knee was getting bigger from underneath his suit.
"Ok, guys here's the plan. Schwoz, you go ahead of us, use the hot dog and shoot everything in sight. You need to clear the path for the rest of us."
"Okie-dokie!" He shouted with a little Schwoz-style hop and ran ahead.
He turned to Charlotte. "You and I are going to help Henry stand up, and walk out of here. Use one arm to help him walk and use the other to shoot anybody that comes out. If worse comes to worst, I'm going to have to let go of Henry and you are going to hold him. Alright?" Charlotte grimly nodded, faced with the situation.
Henry cried out again as he accidently put pressure on his leg when they were helping him up. As soon as they were settled, the trio was off, going as fast as they could.
"What's the time?" Charlotte shouted over the sound of blasting guns and falling bodies. Schwoz was doing a good job of hitting all the bad guys, and occasionally could hear him laughing from up ahead.
Captain Man looked up at a wall. "Three minutes left."
Charlotte noticed a map plastered on the wall ahead of them. "We're almost there!" She cried.
They saw the exit in front of them when all of a sudden, Dr. Minyak and two of the beefiest henchmen anyone has ever seen blocked their way. Schwoz tried shooting them, but they easily dodged the lasers, which was surprising due to their massive size.
With one look, Henry knew that they weren't going to make it out in time. It just wasn't possible. Only three minutes were left, there was no chance that they were getting out of their alive. Henry needed to do something, something to save his friends.
Captain Man leaned him up against the wall to the side. "Stay here, Kid, alright? We'll get you out of here, safe and sound." Henry nodded and forced a smile, but knew it wasn't true. He made himself a promise, he was going to make sure that his friends made it out. No matter what.
Testing his injured leg, tears pricked his eyes as soon as he put pressure on it, but he would have to live. Thinking quickly, he grabbed some medical tape he kept in his back pocket and wrapped it around his knee, over the knee pad. Hopefully, it kept down the swelling and kept it from popping out when he walked.
Putting pressure on it once again, the pain was still as strong, but it was a little better with the tape. He glanced up at the wall where the timer was, two and a half minutes left.
Captain Man, Charlotte, and Schwoz were up ahead, shooting guards with lasers left and right, more guards appearing out of nowhere. The two big guards were still standing in front of the exit, while Dr. Minyak waved a farewell and sprinted up the ladder, leaving them all. Henry guessed that the guards wouldn't stop coming, not until they were all captured, or dead.
Which is why he needed to move. He needed to find the bomb, and deactivate it. But first, he needed to get them up and out of the lair. Getting off the wall and grabbing a laser gun he found discarded on the floor, he joined the rest of them in shooting the guards.
Captain Man looked at him concerned but continued to fire lasers. Once the group of guards had become less and less, Captain Man signaled to the rest of the group to move forward.
"I've got you covered! Run!" He shouted, and Charlotte and Schwoz sprinted towards the ladder. Just as they were about to make it, a hidden group of guards ran out and stopped right in front of them, blocking off their entrance. Colorful words were exchanged and the two others ran back to Captain Man.
"What are we going to do?" Charlotte said, the group completely surrounded. Henry was in the circle, and he would have to move now. They had less than a minute left, and he needed to get them up the ladder.
"Ray, on my go, take out the guards and get yourself with Charlotte and Schwoz up the ladder. I'm getting a distraction, and you guys need to get out." Henry whispered, and Ray's eyes widened beneath the mask.
"What? No… Kid that's not going to happen, we're going to get out of here, all of us!" Captain Man whispered forcefully, gripping Henry's shoulder.
"I'm just going to slow you guys down, we're not going to have enough time," Henry said, glancing at a timer. There were only thirty seconds left. "Thanks for everything Ray, I'll see you on the other side."
With a sad smile, he turned to Charlotte, who he never go to fully explain his feelings to. "I'll see you later, Char," Henry said and quickly kissed her on the cheek. She looked up in shock, and Henry sprinted out.
"Hey guys, I have the detonator! I'm going to stop the bomb!" Henry shouted, waving a thick rectangular rock that he had picked up earlier in the air. All eyes of the henchmen turned onto him, and recognizing the signal, Ray pushed Charlotte and Schwoz up the ladder.
"Wait, what about Henry?" Charlotte screamed, and Ray just pushed her harder.
"I'll get him, go!"
Ray looked back at the clock with only seconds remaining and stared at the hallway, where Henry was running as fast as he could with a limp. Ray knew he would be fine, even with the explosion. But Charlotte, Schwoz, and Henry weren't. Henry had given the distraction, and they had gotten the chance to escape.
"HENRY!" Ray screamed, as the clocked ticked down to the last five seconds. Henry chucked the "detonator" as far as he could from him, but he was on the opposite side of the hallway, barely close enough for Ray to see.
As the final seconds disappeared, Ray saw Henry with a faint smile and shot him a two-fingered salute from the opposite side of the hallway. Ray felt tears slipping down his dirty cheeks and he was sure Henry was crying.
Before the last second, Ray returned the salute, and the last thing he saw was a small wave from his Kid Danger before the bomb exploded and there was a flash of red, and everything was black.
The next time Captain Man saw his Kid Danger, he wasn't in his suit. Or at least, not the suit Ray was used to. Ray couldn't help but let the tears fall as he looked at Henry lay eerily still in his pressed black suit. His eyes were closed, and his small, teenaged hands were at his side. The casket was almost too small for Henry, but it was the closest thing. Charlotte was standing near Ray, mourning the loss of her friends, who could've been so much more. His family stood near the casket as well, having been told by Ray what Henry really did after schools and at the shop. They were shocked at first, but then they understood. Their son was a hero.
Ray had woken up outside of the burning bunker after the explosion, with a worried Charlotte and Schwoz, asking about Henry. It took days for Ray to start talking again.
With a final sigh, Ray looked over Henry, who had given his life to save the rest of them and the town.
Ray mimicked the salute that Henry had given him right before the bomb went off. "You are Swellville's hero."