Wasn't really listening to any music, because I did most of this chapter on a break at work. I put up a Charlotte aesthetic on mysamcedesmadness and I couldn't include that dirty photo. They flagged that ASAP. Lol. Tee hee. But, Henryway - This might be the last chapter for a bit. (Not like a long bit, but possibly a week or two, at the most, I hope). Trying to do some irl things such as move out of my ex's apartment, make arrangements about the kids I've lived with and helped raise for 3 years and work on a few other stories outside of this fandom. Meet y'all back here when and if y'all make it back to me. Thanks everyone.
Birthday Blessings
"Piper Hart, what about the claims that your brother is Kid Danger?"
"Kid Danger is dead, Lady."
"So, how do you explain the examples of hypermotility that he displayed during his interview?"
"He did a few magic tricks, so what? A robot arm was donated to him. All of that was probably computerized speed."
"He used both arms to prove it!"
"If you have all the answers, why are you asking ME questions? Get out of my way before I break your camera, or worst yet, your face."
"Miss Hart, did you know that your brother was Kid Danger?"
"My brother is a sad man who was hurt very badly. His entire body was broken. I wouldn't be surprised if he just has brain damage and THINKS he's Kid Danger because they got battered on the same night!" She shoved the reporter and went inside. "I could KILL Henry!" She fussed.
Siren and Jake were seated on the couch, rewatching the interview, trying to see if the hypermotility really was a trick.
"It looks like he did exactly what he said he would!" Jake said.
"Both hands!" Siren concluded.
Piper bit her lip and folded her arms. "Well, if what we're going with is "yes, Henry was Kid Danger," then I'm gonna write a book and make a lot of money! I deserve something if he allowed me to have a crush on my own brother for 7 years!" She stomped up the stairs and Siren was deep in thought.
"All those times that he took off when his watch beeped. All of the excuses. All of the rushing into work… Piper does that too… And, she's working at the same place, with the same kind of beeping watch. Lady Danger emerged the night that Kid Danger died… Piper disappeared from the hospital for hours!"
Jake and Siren rushed up the stairs to Piper's room and knocked on her door.
She closed the Charlotte hologram and opened it, "What?"
"Piper, we don't need any more drastic surprises. Are you Lady Danger?" Siren asked.
"You're joking. You think that if I was a superhero, I'd keep QUIET about it? Does that SOUND like me? I'd have a blog that shows me change into uniform and record every battle on a camera in my mouth mask! Henry has made both of you crazy, to ask me this!" She shut the door and exhaled, and listened to hear them bicker for a little bit.
"She would blab it to someone."
"She'd have to rub this in people's faces, especially after campaigning so hard for the job."
"She'd at the very least shove Jena Tertrazzini's face in it."
"Henry has made us both crazy."
They began to walk away and she left from the door. "Stupid Henry." She opened her line to him, now and he was surprised to see her show up in his hologram. "Our parents just asked me if I'm Lady Danger. They don't want any drastic surprises!"
"I'm sorry, Piper. I haven't been myself."
"You know, you've always been a weird, gross, loser. But at least before, I knew that you were on my side. I can't believe that I tried to actually avenge you." She shook her head and cut him off.
Henry exhaled. "Everyone is mad at me."
"They're justified," Charlotte reminded him. "They'll get over it, especially once you're back to your old self."
"Will you?" He wondered.
She sighed, "It gets harder and harder everyday, but… I'm probably the only person who fully understands what you're going through. Not from experience, of course. But, from all of my reading and studying while you were sleeping. All of my understanding of the injuries, your trauma, the effects, the tests, the results, and everything else… I can't say that any of us wouldn't be as combative if we had to go through it. I just wish that you knew that I'm doing my best for you."
"I know! I'm sorry that I don't show you that." He sighed and intertwined their fingers, "I'm gonna work so hard on it, Char. I promise."
She looked in the rearview mirror and wondered, "Is this vehicle tailing us?"
"I sure hope not. And if it is, it's probably just, I don't know… A Kid Danger crazy?"
"You hope." She turned on a road that she didn't have to turn down (and didn't signal to turn) and hit a U Turn. She waited a moment, on the side of the road with the lights off and sure enough, the vehicle circled back and turned down the road. Their lights were in her eyes, so she couldn't see anything, but she pressed record on her dash cam to possibly catch the plates. The vehicle kept going down the road, probably because they were shocked that she was just there, waiting in the dark. She waited until she saw them turn again and she sped off, and tried to lose them, before they circled back. "Schwoz? Are we still friends?" She asked.
"Of course, Girlfriend!"
"Can you collect the footage from my dash cam and see if you can get the plates of the vehicle in the video and any info on it?"
"Let me see…" He typed some things and said, "It is registered to a Hank Thunderman, but the scanner shows the driver as a Nora Thunderman."
"Nora?" Charlotte pulled over, "Nora Thunderman isn't old enough to drive, I don't think. Maybe, just. But… why would she be following me? She has my phone number."
"Maybe she's following me. I got her brother locked up," Henry said.
"He got himself locked up. That's her!" Charlotte got out of the SUV, with Henry calling her and reaching for her, trying to stop her from getting out. She waved her hands, the car pulled over, and she saw Nora driving and Billy in the passenger's seat, "What's… going on, you two?"
Nora pulled over, in front of the SUV and she and Billy got out. She spoke first, "Our parents won't let us contact you, but we know that you know where Max is being kept. We just wanna see him, to make sure that he's okay."
Charlotte sighed, "He's okay. I promise. I wouldn't let anybody do anything to him."
"Except blast his memory away and lock him up?" Nora asked.
Billy said, "He went bad again. We all saw it happening and none of us did anything to stop it. We just thought he was still grieving. They were twins."
"He needed help, not to be locked up!" Nora fussed.
"He's getting help," Charlotte told them. "I visit him pretty regularly. He's gonna be fine. They're taking good care of him and he doesn't remember the pain that he was going through when he lost Phoebe."
"Their birthday was the same week of their capture," Nora said. "Can you imagine that? Someone that you've been with your whole life, being taken away so near the time that the two of you should have been making another year together?"
Billy stepped forward and pulled Nora away, "Cool off." He looked ashamed. "She's not handling any of it well. We lost Phoebe, then we lost Max, and now, Dad is sick."
"Sick?" Charlotte repeated. Oh no. If Max loses his dad while he's in recovery, then recovers his memory...
"He's probably fine, but Nora wants Max to know. She thinks we can reach him. We saw that Henry was going to be here for an interview, so we bought tickets, just to try to talk to you. You weren't there, then we waited and saw you. I wanted to speak to you then, but you started blasting people and we decided to watch for a bit, to see if that was circumstantial or you were gone dark or something. I guess you made us."
"I still don't understand what you want me to do, though."
"Our family is under a lot of scrutiny for this. A hero who turned on another hero without provocation is a huge scandal in our community. But, you, as one of his victims and as someone of good standing with our government… We thought perhaps you could speak to someone about allowing us to visit. I turn 18 in June, but I still might be met with resistance. If you put in a good word, we might get a chance to see him, reach out to him… Maybe help him, too. I know that you don't owe him or us anything. I just want to see my brother."
"Why didn't you just call me?" Charlotte asked.
"We've had to change all of our information and we weren't allowed to keep any of yours. If either of us contact you on our devices, an alert will be sent to our parents. They think that we're on an end of the school year road trip, right now. They're already gonna flip out when they find out that we were in Swellview."
Charlotte sighed. "Okay. I'll see what I can do, Billy." She folded her arms and looked over at Nora, who was now in the passenger's seat. "Does she blame me?"
"She just wants to see Max. Our parents have disowned him. It's been a hard few years. Phoebe's death broke the foundation and Max's betrayal crumbled it."
"I'll do whatever I can to get you guys a visit." She gave him a hug and he got into the driver's seat and they drove off. Charlotte got back into her vehicle and turned on a certain radio station to tap into the bug that she had put on Billy when she hugged him.
"What did she say?" Nora asked.
"She said that she was gonna do whatever she can. I told you, she's a good person. I could tell that she feels bad for how things went down. She wants to help us."
"If she's such a good person, how did she ruin Max?" Nora asked.
"Max got sick after Phoebe died. That was nobody's fault, Nora. Whenever we next speak with her, you owe her an apology."
"I'm not apologizing to her until my oldest brother looks me in the eye and tells me to."
"His memory is gone. He might not ever get it back."
"There you have it," Nora said. They spoke about their parents and this trip and getting their stories straight, and other trifles before Charlotte was satisfied that they'd been telling the truth. She pressed a few buttons and the station read Self Destruct.
Henry asked, "What does that mean?"
"The bug that I placed on him will basically turn into dust."
"Okay, so you're not about to blow up a couple of kids."
"No!" She said, then under her breath uttered, "Not tonight." He laughed and reached for her hand to intertwine their fingers again.
"Hey…" She looked at him, "I know that you're brave and everything, but I was so scared when you got out. What if they had hurt you? They're supers, Char. And, they have a kind of bad past with you on the account of their brother. Try to… Try to be careful."
"I was positive that I wasn't going to be hurt." She smiled and squeezed his hand.
.
All of the wonder of admitting that he was Kid Danger was snuffed out by Lady Danger reiterating for Swellview, "Kid Danger was temporary, and not to mention, our past. But, some day, Captain Man may need to retire. Someday, he might want to take a break, and the future of Swellview will fall upon the greatest hero that Swellview has ever had, as voted for by you! So, it doesn't matter if Henry Hart was Kid Danger. We loved Kid Danger. We respected him. We gave him all of his accolades when he was here! When he was gone, we grieved him, and we gave him tribute." She booped the Kid Danger statue's nose, "But, now, we have to think about what Swellview is right now, and what it can become. Rest in Glory, Kid Danger. Peace and Blessings, Henry Hart. In the name of the future of Swellview, I, Lady Danger, am the only Danger that you need to be concerned about keeping you safe and keeping our city clean. " And Piper still wasn't speaking to him.
.
Max was sedated before visits. That was just in case he became himself and reacted. Charlotte wasn't 100% on board with that, but she didn't make the rules. "Hey, Max," she said, and took her seat in front of him.
He smiled gently. "Hello, Charlotte. You'll be happy to know that while I still don't remember anything before that night, I did learn some things from my computer. They wanted to see if me playing around on it would bring anything back. Apparently, I'm a pretty good hacker! I hacked my own stuff. There was A LOT of stuff with you and me on there. I felt dirty owning that, so I erased it all."
"You were supposed to erase it long time ago."
"I figured from how well I hid it that it didn't belong there. We were really something."
"It was short lived."
"Did it end because of the…" He pointed at his head and made a circle with his finger.
"Don't do that. And no, you blew it with me long before your breakdown. But, I'm actually here on behalf of your family."
"The Thundermans released all connection and association with me," he said. "There are official banishment forms that I was served."
"Well, two of your three younger siblings want to see you."
"But, I don't know them. Won't it be difficult for them, to look at me and only meet a stranger with their brother's face?"
"Maybe. But, maybe it'll give them closure. I told them that I would see what I can do to make it possible. The warden here has agreed, but you need to consent."
"If you think it's best, Charlotte, I trust you."
"Why would you trust me? You don't even know me."
He sighed, "I know that you are the only person from my life before that night who comes to visit me regularly, and the people who have come through in a limited capacity think that I'm faking or that losing all of my memories was too kind for me. You're the only person that I think cared about me, out there. I think you're the only person who believed in me, probably."
"No. I wasn't. But, one died and the other two just want to see their brother."
"Whatever I can do to help," he said, and smiled sadly. "How is… Henry?"
"He's… alive." She stood up.
"I hope to meet him someday." She glared at him. She was so angry at that casual statement, but he didn't even seem to notice. His eyes were glazed over. "I'd like to apologize to his face. The only time I can remember seeing him, he was in such bad shape. And to think that I did that… I have to have been the world's biggest monster."
"You were definitely a monster that night, but you weren't always, and… You did regret it. Right before you were wiped clean. You tried to fix it. That doesn't mean anything to these courts, but it meant something to me. I don't think that you'll ever meet Henry, though. I don't know if he would ever be calm enough to face the person that did that to him."
.
He'd been awake for almost 3 months when Jasper's birthday was coming around. He set schedules to his robo-arm to focus on his therapy - physical, mental and spiritual. Whenever Charlotte went to Swellview, he would always stay behind, but for Jasper's birthday she had to insist that he pulled himself out of it and come along. Honestly, he didn't want to be in Swellview. He'd apologized to Jasper and they 'made up,' but he still felt like they weren't fixed. They didn't talk much and when they did, it seemed forced. Jasper hadn't told him a thing about how his life was going. He was completely silent on Man Cave business. All they really talked about was "How are you feeling?" and it was usually pretty vague feedback. It was nothing like he and Charlotte.
He and Charlotte were doing pretty well. He was figuring out healthy ways to work through his frustrations - a patio flower bed, painting, sculpting, learning new recipes and cooking, meditating, physical training, martial arts, and his personal favorite - sex. He could spend all day growing flowers, painting portraits, exercising his body, preparing dinner, and then spend the evenings curled up with Charlotte and deep inside of her for hours.
There was something magical about connecting with her this way. It was far more than some physical touch. For one thing, he either had muscle memory or highly sensitive intuition, because she bragged that he touched her exactly the way that he used to. His kisses, his strokes - it was like he already knew exactly what both of them wanted. Then, there was his memory retention. He seemed to remember things about them every time they made love to each other. A great deal of his memory had returned following his orgasms.
Charlotte had an idea for him to go back to his parents' house and live in his room, with them communicating long distance for a while, to see if familiar lifestyle would help to boost more memories, but Henry opposed strongly to both living with his family again, and to living without her.
She warned him that if she needed to sign up for an excavation or something, he'd be apart from her anyway, but he wasn't interested in her hypothetical suggestions. "Wait! Have you signed up for an excavation or something?"
"Not currently, but I certainly will hardly be here by Fall semester."
"Then, I'll live with them for Fall semester," he said, as though it were obvious. She nodded her head. He'd better not give her this same lip by Fall.
.
Charlotte and Jasper kept jumping on the videochat as he planned his party and Jasper's apartment was surprisingly clean. Charlotte wondered if this wasn't Piper's doing, seeing as how she was there most of the time, because according to her, "Even crashing at Jasper's is more peaceful than listening to Mom and Dad obsess over Henry being Kid Danger." They were the ones writing books and booking interviews. Henry pretty much had wanted it off his chest and behind him, he was coming to realize. Piper was sick of all of it, whether she was in or out of costume.
Jasper rarely spent his time at home, anyway. He and Melvin had been hanging out ever since Jasper and Char videochat binge watched Dollhouse online together, and she casually commented that Enver Gjokaj kinda looked like "an older Melvin, like, if Melvin was hot." Then, suddenly, to Jasper, he was!
So, Jasper began pursuing and then sort of dating him.
Piper had accidentally walked in on a make out session with Melvin on the couch after a Lady Danger fight, and as Jasper stammered over words to try to explain away what she'd seen, she simply held up a hand, said, "Dude, I've thought you were gay since I was 4. I'm taking your bedroom unless the two of you get in there now. I'm tired as butts."
"I'm actually bi…"
"Don't care. Bedroom or couch?"
"We're going to the bedroom," Jasper said and reached out his hand for Melvin. Melvin still looked embarrassed as Piper kicked off her shoes and flopped down on to the couch. "Goodnight Piper."
"Yeah, yeah. Use protection, and wash your covers yourself. I don't want to find your sweaty sheets anywhere in the laundry room." She said and laid down, changing the channel on the TV with a little smile that she hid. She couldn't have Jasper thinking she cared too much about his life, but she was proud of him for not hiding too much. Melvin on the other hand wasn't sure. Piper began advising Jasper, and Charlotte just kept juicy secrets, from afar. This was Jasper's 21st, so he told her that he was finally ready to come out to everyone. (Technically, now this meant Henry too, because he hadn't regained that particular detail.)
About a year before, Oliver and Sidney had announced their engagement and Melvin had been really obnoxious about it, despite supposedly being their friend. He could now admit to himself, and to Jasper, it was because they were so comfortable finally being themselves and he still wasn't. Swellview was a pretty tolerant place to live, but he wanted to travel the world. Could he do that with Jasper? Could they enjoy Venetian sunsets cuddled up? Could they surf in Hawaii and make love all night and send their loved ones postcards of them on holidays?
"Melvin, the only thing that would stop me from doing any of that with you is my budget," Jasper declared.
They had been seeing a lot of each other and Jasper had never been shy about admitting that he wasn't looking for some temporary situationship. But, his birthday would be whenever he intended to let everyone who didn't already know, know. His parents, other friends and associates, even the rest of the Man Cave. It was no big deal, because he was who he was and he'd never been embarrassed to be exactly that, but it was a big deal, because who he was, was someone that everybody didn't necessarily know him to be.
.
Henry wasn't really in a partying mood, but he had the feeling if they left it up to that, he'd never be. He had at least learned a few chair tricks and could move enough to do some seated body rolls when it was time to dance.
Char forced him into a decent outfit. He wanted to stay in sweats and a cotton tee, agreeing to "at least wear a nice t-shirt." She yanked off the one that he had on and handed him a floral shirt with a collar, "Put this on." And that was that. She got him out of the sweats and into the slacks with very little help from him, called him a "big baby," and tried some new shoes on him.
"These shoes are nice," he said.
"They were from Jasper, for your last birthday. I think it'd be nice to show him that you have them on. This is a big night for him."
"Because he turns 21? I did that in my sleep," Henry joked. She frowned. "Okay. I'll try my hardest not to make coma or crippled jokes." She cringed. "And not to say the word "crippled," he added. "Can I get a make out sesh before we hit the road? That silk dress is doing it for me."
"We could've, but you made me struggle to help you get dressed. So, think about that next time you're being a big baby." He groaned. "Henry, I know that you don't want to go, but your psychiatrist says that it's better for you to give things that you'd rather not do a try than to stay in your mood and regret missing things later. Jasper needs us tonight. He'd understand if you couldn't make it, but… I believe that you can. So, let's go." They headed out of the front door as she said, "Besides, if you miss this night for your best friend, you won't forgive yourself. I watch you sort through the havoc you created in mourning and you look so sad and lonely."
.
Charlotte packed most of Henry's things to bring to his parents. There were only a few short weeks between Jasper's birthday and the Fall semester, so she was going to get ready to move Hen, now. His dad offered to unload it into his old room while "the kids" headed to 'Jasper and Piper's,' where Siren already was, to help set things up.
Piper rolled her eyes and grabbed her keys. "I won't be home all weekend," she told him.
Jake asked, "Do you mean here, at your parents house?"
"Everybody gets it, Dad. I spend all of my time at Jasper's apartment!" She snapped and marched towards the car. "Charlotte, tell Henry, he's coming in my car," she said.
"Oh…" he, said as he heard her say this. Charlotte just nodded as he lowered the chair and rolled to Piper's vehicle, where Char basically hoisted him into the passenger seat and tossed his chair in the back storage area.
"Should… one person be able to lift that chair?" Piper asked, throwing on her sunglasses. Charlotte laughed it off and got into the backseat. "Seriously, Girl. Are you taking some kind of new vitamins?" She gasped, "Are you on those superpowers steroids that have taken the Internet by storm?"
"What? No! Those are extremely dangerous and not approved by anyone legitimate. They have caused fatal nosebleeds and can cause seizures."
Henry asked, "What superpowers steroids?" And Piper immediately clammed up and glared straight ahead. He threw his head back, "I'm your brother, Piper. You can't give me the silent treatment forever."
She was going to let him know that it isn't "The Silent Treatment" if the relationship is over and you're never speaking to the person again, but that would have made her have conversation with him.
"She's talking about an unorthodox way of trying to obtain or boost superpowers that none other than GWEN created and has been selling underground."
"Gwen?" Henry repeated. "The Muffin Chick?"
"She was one of Max's puppets. Metroburg felt that while they removed every prisoner's memory to erase Max's tortures, it was unethical to keep previously earned degrees and previously learned skills away from them. So, we used one of Schwoz's inventions - you may remember it as the reason you got a 100 on a Puerto Rican History test."
"That thing scrambled my speech and had me shrieking for a week!"
"Yes, but you retained everything that you knew about Puerto Rican History."
"I can't tell you the first girl I screwed, but every celebrity and public figure from PR - no prob."
"Sooo, Gwen got back her chemistry prowess and even though she goes by a different name now and doesn't remember her former life, she managed to get back on the wrong side of crime." Charlotte huffed, "I told President Kickbutt we should wait a probationary period before giving them back skills! Now, people are popping superpower steroids despite all of the fatalities, nobody has been able to catch her, and every time scientists think that they've figured out all of the effects of the drug, a new version pops up with a more advanced formula."
"Sucks for the hero world," Henry said. Piper fumed silently.
Charlotte added, "I think eventually, she'll get the formula right and it'll do what she's trying to make it do. BUT, that poses a completely new set of problems. People all over the world could have access to superpowers."
Piper said, "Yeah, but people like me could also have access to them. Running around fighting crime without one is hard work."
"Schwoz can give you one. He gave me one," Henry said. She just took a deep breath and actively ignored him again. Charlotte strummed her fingers on the back of his neck and he smiled and rested his head. Everybody might still be mad, but he and Charlotte were good.
.
Charlotte found Jasper in the parking lot whenever they pulled up, forgetting that Piper's car wasn't made for his chair, so he had to be assisted out. She headed for the apartment with him as Jasper waved to Henry in the car. "Umm.. Pipe.." Henry started, but she shut and locked the doors and headed inside. Henry was the one fuming now. Piper could be a real jackass, but surely she wasn't going to just leave him here? And why did Char run off? After a few minutes he contacted her through his arm.
"Hen? Where are you?" Her hologram was hovered, probably hiding behind a door or something.
"I was left in the car," he said.
"Oh my God! I forgot it wasn't our vehicle. On my way." She rushed out, petite little silk clad body pulling the wheelchair from the back, and met him at his door.
Now, he was acting like he didn't want her help, but she wrestled and flopped him into that chair whether he wanted her to or not. "Okay. You definitely ARE way too strong. You've got zero muscle mass. How are you this strong?" He complained.
Charlotte bent over, face to face with him, but he was distracted by sparkling cleavage. "Let's make a deal. If you're not a complete butt tonight, we do butt stuff when we get home."
"My butt or yours?" He asked, with his arms folded.
"Your choice."
"Yours."
"Awww. But, you've gotta be nice tonight, or no deal," she pointed at his face.
"And by butt stuff…"
"Your choice, Babe." Because, the possibilities, whenever he got that thing within his grasp and they were alone!
"Okay, so if I go call Piper what I want to call her, no cheeks clapping against my cheeks when we get home?"
"No cheeks doing anything but sitting in bed in my undies while I browse my phone."
"Ugh. But it was messed up, what she did."
"It was. And she's definitely gonna hear from me about it." She stood up and they headed in, Henry a little behind her. Charlotte had such a small frame and seemingly formless figure sometimes, but in the right outfit… or out of it, he smiled. That butt is mine. I can do this. For butt stuff? Definitely.
Jasper seemed happy to see Henry. When he hugged him, Henry knew it was probably because this was his first night of drinking, because he could smell it on him. "Henry! My best friend in the world!" He gave him kiss on the cheek and said, "I thought after what happened you wouldn't show. Even though we made up. We weren't to each other who we shoulda been. You were there, in that dark place and I should have tried to reach you man, and try to pull you out."
"I was wrong. You were right. And of course I wouldn't miss this." Henry spun in a smooth circle in the chair and faced Jasper again after he had taken in every detail in the room within moments, "There's a lot of people here, Man. I didn't realize you knew so many people."
"Ugh. A lot of them are here either to see you, or because they're Piper's friends trying to illegally score alcohol. Joke's on them. Your mom and mine are manning all of it!"
"My mom is gonna drink all of it," Henry joked.
"Not if my mom drinks it all first!" Jasper laughed. "Whew, couple of drunks. Your mom made me my first drink. I think she was making it for herself, because I'm not even half through and I'm already done with drinking, like for the rest of my life. Trying a drink was a very bad choice for me."
"Never let my mom make a drink," Henry said, shaking his head and laughing at his tipsy but giddy friend. "Anything stronger than a Mojito and she might literally kill you with alcohol poisoning."
Melvin came up to them and said something in Jasper's ear. "I should make my announcement, before this drink makes it impossible!" Jasper yelled back.
Melvin looked uncomfortable, but gently offered, "I can hold it for you."
"You'll hold it, alright," Jasper said, grinning. Melvin blushed and took the drink. "Okay. Maybe we'll donate this to Henry." He passed it over to Henry and Henry said, "I don't drink…" But Piper appeared out of nowhere snatched it and shot the rest. "Piper! You're underaged! He reminded her.
"Why don't you go tell the news about it?" She threw the paper cup at him and it bounced off of his head. He followed her through the crowd, fortunately people moved when they saw former super sidekick Kid Danger rolling through.
"Piper!"
She turned around with fire in her eyes. "What?"
"You're being unreasonable."
"I am? Because… you managed to keep a secret from me for years that we were in the same house, but the moment it becomes my thing, you've got so much to say? If you were going to break Captain Man's oath, it shoulda been ta me! I'm your sister. I came to your stupid bedside everyday hoping you'd just get up and make our family whole again, because this family is messed up, but it's what we've got." She scoffed, but continued, "You got up and not only did you cause a deeper gash in our family, but you completely disregarded and disrespected ALL OF THE WORK, that I did in your name." She was fighting to keep herself from crying and poking him in the chest with her finger. "I would have called myself Slash Maiden, but I wanted to pay respects to Kid Danger. I wanted to give you tribute. The first moment you got to openly speak of me, you didn't even acknowledge my success! You called me, "the first replacement they could find!" Now, she was crying. "It's one thing to have broken the hero's oath. But you devalued your fellow hero, and you humiliated your baby sister. So, what? What do you think you can say to me right now that will make me care about a cup hitting you in your stupid, fat head?" She wiped her tears and folded her arms.
"I didn't think about any of that. I wanted to get it off of my chest. I wanted to possibly get some attention that wasn't people feeling bad that I was in a chair. I wanted closure on something that I can never get back. I didn't even consider you and that was so selfish of me. I spent that time being very bitter and very selfish. But, I…" he reached into a space in his chair and pulled out his Pearpad. He had Lady Danger wallpaper and when he unlocked it, clicked on a folder, "I keep up with everything that you do." He handed it to her. "I'm so proud. Henry's proud and Kid Danger."
She bit her lip and shoved it back to him. "I won't apologize."
"That's not really your thing."
"You were horrible to everybody. You made Jasper cry. You made Charlotte cry. You made Ray make weird whale noises."
He nodded, "Yeah, that's how he cries."
"Yeah. You can't make people cry because you're hurting. It's honestly a dick move."
"I know.. can I have a hug?"
"Blech. Don't be gross," she said and walked away from him, smiling to herself about his Lady Danger fanboy collection.
.
Henry lost most of his friends. There were several conversations with him about if he was Kid Danger, what happened during this fight, or whatever happened to that criminal. He kept losing who he came to spend time with and at one point, Jasper, Charlotte and Piper all wound up outside, but by the time he made it from the window to the front door in that crowd, all he saw outside were Melvin and L'Orange, both looking ridiculous AF with the stupidest outfits of the night, and Piper video recording Jena Tetrazzini vomiting in a bush and asking her if she was okay and if she'd had too much to drink.
He went back inside and hung out with the moms for a while, when he saw Charlotte peek out of Jasper's bedroom, looking around. Charlotte beckoned to Henry with her finger and he rolled over to her. "Quickie in Jasper's room? Because, I've been super nice and thinking about butt stuff all night." She pursed her lips and he said, "Or, you know.. whatever you were gonna suggest."
"Come in here," she said and opened the door wider. Jasper was on the bed, crying on Piper's lap and Henry was super confused. He knew that they were "friends," but that was a level of closeness that he didn't think Piper had. She'd never did anything like that with him, and he was her brother! Charlotte said, "Hey, Jasper. Look who I found! I found Hen. He's here for you."
Jasper wailed, "No, Henry can't see this. I didn't even get a chance to tell him again!"
"Tell me now. What's up, Buddy?"
"No. You've been way too mean and I can't take more meanies!"
"Get rid of Piper, then," Henry said, laughing, with his tongue out. Piper was actually surprisingly gentle with Jasper right now and Henry didn't get that one at all! Jasper buried his face deeper into Piper, who was trying to look bored with this, but was definitely stroking his hair protectively. "Jasp. I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything."
Jasper sat up and sobbed. "Melvin and I had a fight.."
Henry reflexively laughed. "Melvin? Nobody likes him. I'm surprised you even invited that doughhead." Piper punched Henry in the arm and Jasper fell back onto her shoulder now. "OW! Sorry! Okay, so we're friends with Melvin? … and you two fought - on your birthday. That sucks, but from knowing how my mom is after a rager, I think you're drunk crying dude. A fight with Melvin is nothing to nobody in sober, real life."
Charlotte suggested, through her teeth, "Henry, instead of offering Jasper assistance, or encouragement, how about just a pair of ears, for right now?"
Jasper continued, "I had to say it tonight! I'm a proper man now! I want to get myself in front of everyone that I know. I haven't been hiding, but I haven't been open. Especially not to my parents. And Melvin! He's not open in front of anyone and so he strongly suggested that I reconsider. I. Said. No. I'm sure about this and he says, "well, I'm not"… and walks away! I followed him outside and we argued for a while until L'Orange comes to "talk some sense into him," and they leave together without either of them telling me goodnight. And now neither of them will answer their phones!"
Piper checked hers, "Well, Melvin just updated his status to say 'We all are on separate paths. Sometimes they cross. Sometimes they part. Farewell, good friend.'
"Good friend?" Jasper repeated, crestfallen.
Piper looked genuinely angry. Charlotte shut her eyes, looking sad for Jasper. Henry's eyes widened and he gasped, "You were banging Melvin?"
"Wow, Henry," Piper said. Charlotte just covered her forehead with a hand.
"Yooooo… I didn't know you were gay, but MELVIN? I'd have rathered you brought home L'Orange in those four leaf clover leggings he had on tonight. And Melvin looked like he robbed somebody on the set of Revenge of the Nerds. Neckerchief wearing poindexter. How did he bag a catch like you? He's the worst!" Jasper sniffled, then laughed. "That snotty voice?" Henry imitated Melvin, "Ms. Shapen, the core curriculum suggests... Suggest deez nuts, Melvin!" Now, everybody but Piper laughed. She was texting. Jasper laughed longer than he expected and Henry pulled off his shoes. "Here." He began to rub Jasper's feet and chant something.
Charlotte felt a stirring in her belly like butterflies, in her heart like a soft breeze, and down below like a slow fire... That was the Buddhist happiness and freedom chant, and was Henry perfectly executing an anxiety curbing foot massage? "Charlotte's holistic care specialist taught me this for self care. I have to do it on myself before meditation. Helps me to find some inner peace and relax. Then, I set in that quiet place inside of me, and meditate. Think about all the things that didn't go wrong, all of the potential good things ahead of me. It takes me out of my current pain for a while. Helps me see past whatever suffering I currently have. Puts it in perspective… that it's temporary."
"What are some potential good things you think of?" Jasper wondered, already feeling the peaceful effects of this footrub, or the sluggishness of Siren's super booze.
"I think about being awake and seeing Charlotte graduate, getting married, having kids and decorating their rooms in Lady Danger stuff, hanging out in the ManCave again, with working legs, but not having to rush to any crimes, seeing you get married and have kids, seeing Piper…"
"You'd better say take over the world," she warned, not even glancing up from her phone.
"The world of motherhood," he said. She rolled her eyes.
Jasper chuckled, "Piper doesn't want kids even though she'd be a great mom."
"Nothing about me makes a great mom and when would I ever make the sacrifices to take care of another human?"
"She says, with a crying dude on her shoulder," Henry pointed out.
She rolled her eyes, "I'm too drunk to move. Why do all of your 'good thoughts' involve kids anyway?"
Henry smiled and switched to Jasper's other foot, "Because kids are the ultimate sign that there is a future. When you can bring them into the world, that means that heroes have done their jobs. That what we sacrifice mattered. It's how my mind manifests my previous life's worth."
She dropped Jasper off her shoulder, "Doofus sobered me up. By the way, I sent the Bilskys after Melvin. They'll show him a parted path."
"Piper!" Jasper called out.
"You're welcome!" She yelled, stepped out of the bedroom and snatched a drink from the first person she saw. Jasper shook his head and said, "She means well, but refuses to acknowledge that all of life's problems can't be solved with thug life." Charlotte and Henry threw each other confused looks. Henry shrugged his shoulders and Charlotte kicked off her heels and climbed into Jasper's bed to give him a shoulder rub while Henry worked on that second foot.
"Are you two trying to give me a birthday threesome? Because, I'm very down with that, but I don't know if I can perform…"
"Absolutely not," Charlotte said. "Never ask again. It won't happen or your darkest day, nor mine."
"Well, I'm also open to seeing you two… do your thing. I heard there would be butt stuff," Jasper said.
Henry gasped, "You discuss this with Jasper?"
Jasper groaned, "Dude! I cannot WAIT until you get your memory back!" Charlotte squeezed a little hard and hurt Jasper. "Ouch!"
Henry froze, but resumed the foot rub, "You and me, both, Jasp. IF that's what's in store for me. I'm getting sharper and stronger all the time, but a lot might just be lost." He stopped rubbing and rolled closer to hoist himself into the bed, too. "But, we can bestie cuddle, since Charlotte's being stingy with all of her goodies." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes. Henry and Jasper cuddled and she now had both of them on her lap, using a hand to stroke each of their hair. Drunk Jasper was even sweatier than regular Jasper. Jasper fell asleep on Henry's chest and when she heard his snoring, she stroked Henry's hair only, "I was extremely impressed with the Henry that I saw tonight. That was old school Hen. The one we all know and love, but with a new school twist. Very familiar, but very fresh. I was moved and touched in a lot of places."
"What I'm hearing is I get seconds and thirds of buttstuff," Henry said.
She laughed, "The gag is, I wanted butt stuff anyway. It was gonna happen whether or not you made up with Piper and really showed up for Jasper.=, but I'm so glad that you did. I'm glad that they both got to see the old you again."
"Joke's on you… I needed to do those things and might not have if you hadn't bribed me with booty."
"Joke's… still on you Hen."
"I get the butt, though, so..."
"As long as we're all happy," she finally ended that exchange.
Jasper said, "I'll be happy if I see you two with some butt stuff."
"For crying out!" Char covered her chest with her hand. "Jasper, I thought you were sleeping!"
"I was, then I heard booty chatter!"
"Booty is magical, Char. Changes lives." She shook her head, and moved to the other side of Henry. "Dude, you know that your party is still raging on out there and we're in here."
Jasper shrugged, "You're the only people I care about spending my moments with." He reached for Henry's hand and pulled it to his chest, then took Charlotte's with the other. Both of them laying, snuggled against Henry like the old days. And Henry smiled to himself that he was still alive to enjoy moments like these in the future.