Piper's teacher turned the video off when Kid Danger was revealed. Some kids began to cry on sight at the battered hero. Piper rolled her eyes, grumpy that she couldn't watch the rest.
"Wimps," she muttered, scowling at the crybabies around her. Although the sight made her just as uneasy, she couldn't break down like the rest of them. She had a reputation to uphold, after all.
By the time she got home from school, the video was everywhere. It was trending on every social media website Piper turned to. Her parents were talking about it, too.
"I don't know how I feel about someone like that being in our city," Siren said, pulling a pizza from the oven.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Captain Man is all over it," Jake reassured.
"Probably. Poor Kid Danger, he looked terrible." Siren shook her head, eyebrows creasing with worry as she began to set the table.
"I didn't get to watch the whole thing," Piper complained, dropping on the couch. "The stupid kids in my class couldn't get through it without crying."
"Maybe that was for the best," Siren reasoned. "It was very graphic."
"I still wanted to see it," Piped grumbled.
"I'm sure it's online somewhere."
"Jake!"
"What? She's going to find it anyways!"
Oh, yeah. She had forgotten that the video was all over the internet. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she began searching. It wasn't hard to find, not with Kid Danger captured and Kid Danger hostage popping up first after she only typed the letter K.
She chose the first video that came up. It had been viewed over one million times in the past hour already.
"Citizens of Swellview…" Piper turned the volume up, drowning out her parents' conversations. She tried to figure out who the man was, but his voice threw her off. It was dark and horrifying and should be unforgettable, yet she couldn't place it.
Even though she had seen Kid Danger's state already, a chill still ran down her spine when he was revealed.
"Captain Man, you have twenty-four hours to find us before I bury your precious sidekick six feet under."
"Don't worry about me," Kid Danger said as the villain walked away. "I'm okay."
Funny, he sounded just like Henry when he got into that fight when they were younger.
Wait a second.
Piper thought back to Halloween a few years back. Henry was dressed as the blue ninja turtle and Jasper was the red one. Piper remembered some kids from Henry's school making fun of him and Jasper. She couldn't remember much, just that punches were thrown and Henry went home that night with a black eye.
Piper had been uncharacteristically worried that whole time, even suggesting they turn in early. She felt bad that his night had been ruined, but he shrugged her off.
"Eh, don't worry about me," he had said, waving his hand carelessly. "I'm okay. 'Least they didn't take my candy."
Smack
Piper jumped. The stranger had just punched Kid Danger.
"That's enough out of you," the man spat. The bloody grin Kid Danger flashed behind the stranger's back made Piper gasp.
"Tick tock, Captain Man. His time is running out."
She cut the video before Kid Danger's pained screams could haunt her. The Halloween incident replayed in her head over and over. With a frown, she dragged the video back to the near beginning when Kid Danger was shown off. She paused the video and leaned back, studying the boy's face. He was the same person she'd been watching for the past four years. There was nothing different about him.
Yet at the same time, there were a lot of things different about him. Kid Danger reminded her of Henry, something she never even considered. They were both blond and about the same size. Piper leaned forward, squinting at his face. He and Henry almost looked similar in facial features, too.
And the more she thought about it, the more things seemed to make sense. Why Henry was always home late, why he was always so secretive about anything involving his job, why he sometimes came home with a limp or a bruise that he never liked explaining…
Her phone slipped out of her hands as realization crept in.
With her heart heavy with dread, she raced upstairs. For the first time in her life, she hoped to God she was wrong.
•••••
Schwoz frantically swiveled around the control panel, each monitor displaying a radar scanning different areas. Ray was sitting at a table, a troubled look on his face as he cleaned a pistol. Charlotte and Jasper were a bit thrown off at first; they didn't think Ray had any actual guns. Blasters and lasers sure, those things can only stun, numb, or momentarily knock somebody out. But a gun? Those do nothing but hurt and kill.
Up until that point, the idea of Captain Man killing someone just didn't fit. There was a certain look in his eye that day, though.
"Schwoz, please tell me you're working on finding Henry," Charlotte begged. She pressed her thumb to her mouth, ready to nervously chew another layer off her nail when she realized her nails had resorted to nubs only half an hour earlier.
"I'm tracing everything I phone, watch, traffic cams…"
"Any luck?" Jasper asked hopefully."
Schwoz shook his head slowly. "Not yet." He frowned as the kids' shoulder slumped with disappointment. He wished so badly he could tell them something different, at least something to reassure them, but the situation seemed hopeless at the moment.
Charlotte leaned on the table in front of Ray. "You haven't said anything yet."
Ray tilted the gun forward and stared down the barrel of the gun. "I don't know what to say," he admitted. Laying the gun on the table, he leaned back with a sigh and dragged his hand down his face. "Every time I think about Henry, I'm reminded that it's my fault."
Jasper shook his head. "It's not your fault, Ray. You couldn't have known-"
"It was my idea to split up," Ray interrupted sharply. "If I had stayed with him, this wouldn't have happened."
Charlotte pulled her lower lip between her teeth. Just then, an alarm went off. Schwoz sat back in surprise. "Is a video call," he announced.
Slowly, Charlotte approached the monitors. What if it was the mysterious man with another message? What if he wanted to gloat about having Kid Danger as a hostage?
A face appeared on the gritty screen. Charlotte lurched forward, a smile spreading across her face when she realized it was Kid Danger.
"Henry!" she cried. Jasper and Ray rushed over, faces falling with relief when they saw the screens.
"Hey," Henry smiled. There were dry blood stains beneath his nose and a cut under his left eye. His mask was torn at the edge and half of a large bruise could be seen on the side of his neck.
"Are you okay?" Ray asked. He leaned on the back of Schwoz's chair.
"I've…" He laughed softly. "I've definitely been better." He was trying to lighten the mood, but it was hard when the humor didn't reach his eyes.
"Who's doing this?" Jasper asked.
Henry's smile fell. "Dr. Minyak."
Ray narrowed his eyes. "No way. I mean… I thought we defeated him for good two months ago."
Henry shook his head slowly. "You wouldn't be able to recognize him, but it's him." There was a noise in the background. Henry looked at something off screen. "He's back." Glancing back at his friends, he pleaded, "Please tell me you guys know where I am."
"You don't?" Charlotte questioned.
"The only thing I know is that I'm in an abandoned gas station in the middle of nowhere."
Schwoz suddenly leapt to his feet, throwing his hands in the air. "Found him!"
Ray sighed with relief. He smiled at the teen, promising, "I'm coming to get you, Henry."
Henry nodded. "I know. Just… Hurry."
"How did you free yourself?!" Minyak shouted.
Henry lowered his arm and turned toward the man. Minyak's hood was down and his bandana was gone. The picture was blurry, but the team could barely make him out. Charlotte noted Minyak's loss of hair and frowned, wondering what had happened.
"Who're you talking you?" the scientist demanded, surging forward. The world moved in a blur as Henry raised his arm to defend himself. Then, the screen cut to black.
Ray spun around, grabbing his gun from the table and pouring a piece of gum into his hand. "I'm ending this today."
Jasper looked back at him. "Wha-Wait, you're not gonna…" He watched the man load the gun with ammo.
Ray sighed. "Putting him in jail has proven useless. Clearly, we need a more permanent solution. Besides, he kidnapped Henry." He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not just about to let him get away with that."
Charlotte stepped forward hesitantly. She and Jasper still looked unsure. Ray didn't like it anymore than they did. "Trust me," he pleaded.
"Just bring him home," Charlotte said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Ray nodded and blew a bubble. After his transformation, he raced to the tube platform and pressed his belt buckle. The tube dropped down over him. He looked at the kids and Schwoz who stared back with concern.
Jasper pulled Charlotte into a side hug when he heard her sniff. That only fueled Ray's anger. These kids were too young to have to deal with anything like this.
He was going to make Minyak pay. That, he could promise.
"Up the tube."
•••••
Henry's watch crushed under Minyak's foot.
"Doesn't matter," Henry sneered as the man neared him, "Captain Man's coming for you."
"I don't care."
"You should, he looked pretty ticked off."
Minyak smirked. "Good."