Hey guys, I got a brand new story for yall! However, if this story looks familiar, that's because I am reposting it. I didn't realize that it was completely unreadable the first time sooo I'm trying again.

For some context, this takes place in the first season of the show after Charlotte and Jasper have found out Henry is Kid Danger. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Henry walked through his doors and immediately sighed in exhaustion. Another day at the base, training. It seemed like Ray had been working him extra hard today, not that he was complaining. Luckily, there had been no bad guys because he really had a history test to study for and his grades already weren't looking good. He caught a whiff of himself and cringed. He needed a good shower and a change of clothes. With another sigh, he tried to stretch and go to his room. Before he could do that though, his stomach growled. Right, he forgot that. He had eaten before training but not after. Hopefully, his mom had left him some dinner, he could really go for some of her pot roast right now.

Walking across the house, he was only focused on the fridge. With a smidge of hope, he looked through the contents of the fridge, searching for a covered plate. As deep as he searched he didn't see anything of the sort. Jake must have come home. Whenever he was around, his mom essentially ignored his existence. His stepdad hated him and always would. Henry simply wasn't part of his vision of a perfect family. The hero tried not to let his stepdad occupy his thoughts because that made him get down on himself. On the bright side, he did find a hot pocket buried in the freezer so it wasn't the worst day ever. Setting the timer on the microwave, he took the time to look around.

It was only then that he realized that he hadn't heard anyone else since he had come back. Jake didn't have the TV on, Piper wasn't yelling about something on Instagram, and his mom wasn't on the phone with someone. His watch told him it was almost 10 at night. They could just have just gotten out to eat, although they should have come back by now. He wasn't too concerned however, they would most likely be home soon. He could call his mom but he knew she was off-limits when the three of them were out. That would get him a stern yelling at. His food was done before he knew it. He took it up to his room to study while he ate.

Deep in study, two hours had passed before he knew it. Charlotte and Jasper had called him to help him out. He felt pretty confident about his test tomorrow. With a deep sigh, he closed his books and glanced at the clock. Almost midnight by now. He suddenly remembered the rest of his family. He didn't recall hearing them return but he was studying hard and his door was closed. It was still quiet but they would have all been asleep by now. For a moment, he considered going to bed but for peace of mind, he stuck his head out of his room to check. Again, no noise.

Walking down the stairs, he turned on a light to see the living room better. He was shocked to see no sign of life, nothing different than when he had walked in. The pillows were just as straight as they were when he walked in. Now he was concerned. Why would they not come back? There were no shoes by the door, no coats on the coat rack, and no smell of his mother's perfume. He knew it would get him in trouble but he had to find out where they were, just for peace of mind. He ran upstairs to grab his phone. As he did so, he decided for a moment to just open Piper's door to see if she was there. If she was, then he could come up with some more … comforting theories than he currently was. Looking in, he found no sign of life. He stood for a moment trying to calm his heart and think of all the possible reasons that his family did not come home tonight. He saw them in the morning and everything was relatively normal. They had breakfast, he kissed his mom good bye, and reminded her that he had work that night. This had never happened before. Maybe an impromptu vacation? But, it was the middle of the week, in the middle of the school year. Neither of his parents would interrupt Piper's education like that. Did something happen to them outside? Something tells him that someone would have called him by now.

His thoughts only got worse and worse. He remembered his original goal and ran to his room to grab his phone. He hurriedly dialed his mom's number and waited for it to ring. Instead, it immediately went to voicemail. His mother never turned off her phone, so why was it going to voicemail? Something must have happened to them. They could have gotten in an accident or been kidnapped or something even worse. He wanted to throw up. Even if Henry didn't like most of his family, he didn't want them gone. With his phone in his hand, he ran downstairs to look around. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for but he just needed something to tell him he was wrong. Running through the living room, he tore it up looking for a sign of life or where they had gone to. Ray had always told him he had a keen eye, so why couldn't he find anything? He next turned to the kitchen. Like a sign from heaven, he found a yellow piece of notebook paper. He must have been really hungry before because he hadn't noticed it at all. He was immediately relieved that this had been planned and there was a reasonable explanation.

Looking through the letter, he found his mother's handwriting comforting. Finally, he took the time to look through what she had actually written. He stopped at the first sentence. I'm sorry, Henry. Sorry? Sorry for what? She hadn't done anything. As he read on, his heart dropped.

I'm sorry, Henry. This may be confusing to you now, but understand that I had no choice. I hope one day you'll forgive me for what I've done. Jake, Piper, and I have moved out to start a new life and get a new start. I've left money and the fridge is full. I trust that you can manage. You were always so responsible. Always took more care of me than I did of you. I love you and will always love you.

Mommy.

Henry's reaction was to laugh. What a weird joke to pull on someone. After all, who would just leave a 13-year-old in a house by himself, essentially abandoning him? That didn't make any sense. Nonetheless, he read, and reread the letter over and more again. Still a joke. So why were his hands shaking? Why was his throat burning and his eyes stinging? The more he read the letter, the less it was a joke to him. But the question still remained: What kind of person would do that to a 13-year-old, let alone his mother? It didn't make sense. Again and again, he reread the letter, looking for a hidden message, a sign that this wasn't what was actually going on. That he hadn't just been left to fend for himself.

He took a moment to look over his surroundings carefully. He entered his parent's room, still clutching the letter. The bed was made perfectly as it always was but he noticed things here and there missing, things you couldn't move without. He wasn't looking at that, however. He ran to the room in the corner and sure enough there was nothing inside of it. The closet was completely cleaned out. There were no clothes, shoes, jackets, anything. He thought about it again and realized that they had been planning this. They must have been. He left for school at 8:00 and came back at 4:00, left again and came back at 10:00. If they had just started when he had left for school, he would have at least noticed a box or two. No, they had been packing little by little. This time, he didn't stop the cry that came out of his throat and out of his eyes. He was physically in pain. This was worse than any punch that had been thrown by any villain. This hurt more than that one time he was hit with a laser.

He began sobbing on his parent's bed. Henry had never cried as hard as he had in that moment. Of course, his life hadn't been peaches and cream. For most of his life, it had just been him and his mother. They were quite poor but they had each other. Once Jake had entered the picture, his mother had been a little distracted with the lifestyle she had always wanted but she was still there for him. Now he was alone. Completely and utterly alone.

Suddenly, he heard a knock at his door. He froze to see if it was real and not just a figment of his imagination. Sure enough, they knocked again and Henry felt a spark of hope. Maybe the whole thing was a huge joke. Maybe that was his mom on the other side to laugh at how good she had gotten him. Henry ran to the door, not even checking to see who was on the other side. Instead of his mom, he was face-to-face with Captain Man himself, Ray. Albeit it a very concerned, very tired Ray.

"Ray?" Henry couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice even if he tried. He was never disappointed to see his mentor but he really needed to see his mother's face.

"Kid, is everything alright?" The older man pushed his way inside, though Henry didn't have the strength to stop him on a good day. He looked on as Ray entered the living room and stopped. The state of the living room would be enough to see that everything was not alright. It was still a mess from earlier. Instead of addressing that, Ray decided to talk about why he was here in the first place.

"I got a voicemail from your mother hours ago." That peaked Henry's attention. So her phone was working. "She said some very concerning things and mentioned that I should be here for you. She's not here, is she?"

Henry shook his head, mournfully. Instead of saying anything, he silently handed Ray the letter, now wrinkled from how hard he was holding it. Clearly taken aback he sat down, muttering a quiet 'jeepers'. He reread it as well, clearly not believing what he had seen. Henry only stood next to him, lost in thought over what he would do and how his life would be different after this. Did his mother expect him to just stay here by himself? He was too young to do that. Maybe he could stay with Jasper or Charlotte. Jasper's mom would never go for that. She hated kids and barely liked having Jasper home. Charlotte's parents were usually MIA but the whole place was rigged with cameras and they also didn't like people over. Maybe he could-

"Henry! Hello?!" The sidekick's thoughts were interrupted by a hand waving in front of him. He didn't even notice Ray was calling him.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Normally Ray would have responded with a sarcastic comment about how he wasn't. But, he stopped himself with a sigh. The boy was going through a pretty significant event. He was clearly exhausted, anxious, and could probably use a break. Ray decided to try his hardest and give Henry a break. He did care about his sidekick, he wasn't heartless. That was the least he could do.

"When was the last time you heard from your mom?" Ray asked, getting back on topic.

"I saw her before I left for school. I tried calling her a half hour ago but she didn't pick up."

"You left the base at about 10. Why didn't you try calling her then?"

"I assumed she was at dinner with Jake and Piper. When she's with the two of them, she's off limits. And then I was studying for my test till almost midnight and I forgot about it. I'm so stupid. I should have called her earlier. She probably would have picked up."

Ray should have listened to the rest of what he was saying but he was caught on something he had said in between his rambling.

"Off limits? What do you mean by that?"

"Jake doesn't like when I interrupt his time with her 'real family'. I got the yelling of a lifetime the last time I tried it. Jake always came up with these weird rules when it came to my mom. He wants to cut me out of her life completely. I know that's why he did this." Henry was now anxiously pacing back and forth, biting his finger nails. Ray grabbed him by his arm to bring him back to the situation at hand and not whatever he was turning over in his mind. He was facing him but he was looking through him and clearly still thinking of anything but the present.

"Okay, okay Henry. Look at me, over here." Henry again had to be brought back to reality by Ray. His ears turned red in embarrassment. He wasn't paying attention again. "It's pretty late so we're going to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we'll get some breakfast, go to the police station, and explain what happened. They'll tell us what to do next and they'll find your mom. Don't freak out."

Henry nodded. He wasn't entirely consoled but at least they had a plan of action. Whenever Captain Man came up with a plan, it worked. Most of the time at least. Ray patted him reassuringly and sat up.

"Do you need to grab anything before we leave?"

Henry remained on the couch and looked at Ray in confusion. "Leave? Where are we going?"

"To my place." Ray said it as though it were obvious but Henry only looked more bewildered. "You can't stay here by yourself. Besides, your mom mentioned that I should take care of you."

That took Henry aback. "She did?"

Ray only nodded. For a moment, the gravity of what was going on struck them. Henry's mom had not only left, but put him in the care of someone else. She had neglected him. Did that make him an orphan now?

"Henry, don't be ridiculous. You're not an orphan." Apparently he had said that out loud. Ray walked back from the door and sat down again next to Henry. "If Jake is as bad as you say, she is probably under alot of pressure and doesn't want to do this."

"Yeah, you're right. She's probably crying her eyes out right now. She wouldn't just leave me willingly. We need to help her."

"And we will. Tomorrow. Now, let's go."

'But, my stuff. I won't have time to pack it tonight."

"It's almost one in the morning, Henry. We'll be back tomorrow. You can pack then."

"Can I just stay here for tonight? Please." The thing with Henry was that he hated this house. He hated that Jake bought it for them and that they owed it to him to stay in it. He would forever associate the place with his evil stepfather and how small he made Henry feel in it. But, the one thing he lived above all was his room. He loved that he had his own space where only people he allowed could come in. He couldn't just give that up without a final goodbye. Ray was about to tell him no but then he looked at his face. And he was giving him puppy dog eyes. The more he looked, the more his resolve was shaking. He was getting a little bewildered at that point. Since when was he weak to Henry's puppy dog eyes. All the same, he sighed heavily and dramatically. He was trying to cut him a break after all.

"Thank you, Ray! I promise we can leave first thing in the morning."

"Whatever. Just help me put together this couch so I can sleep on it."

"Alright." Together, the two of them organized the pillows and cushions on the couch. Once they had finished, Henry went in search of a blanket and pillow for Ray. Before Henry left for bed, Ray called his attention one last time.

"Henry, get some sleep tonight. Like actual sleep. Don't stay up thinking about this. There will be time for that time tomorrow. I promise we'll work it out. Just, get some rest." Henry only nodded and left Ray with a final goodnight before going upstairs. As he walked up the stairs, he couldn't help but think of how different his life was from when he walked down them earlier this evening. What would happen to the house? What about everyone's room and their things? Clearly they took what they needed when they left. They just forgot about him.

As he closed his door behind him, he felt himself choke up but he didn't cry. He just dragged himself to his bed and felt the weight of everything on his shoulders. He didn't know how Ray expected him to get any sleep. How could he when he was just abandoned by the only family he had ever had? A bit of anger now swelled in him. At first, he directed it towards Ray for expecting that from him. But, he realized that that was unfair and he wasn't really mad at the older man. He was mad at Jake. As much as he had always resented him, he just couldn't find himself angry at the person who made his mom so happy. And he really did at least most of the time. They had their moments where he didn't think Jake treated his mother properly. But she always reassured him that everything was fine and if it wasn't, she would handle it. Sure enough, the next day things would be back to normal between them. But that was before, Jake had crossed the line now. Forcing his mother to leave him, wasn't something that they could handle. That would be the end of everything, he was sure of that. His mom could put up with alot but this is too much.

His mind was racing for longer than he thought, but eventually he calmed down as sleep caught up with him. As he fell unconscious, he could only think of how he couldn't wait to be with his mom again.