The bird squawks when it bounces off of him. "Wait, what?" he asks out loud. Birds don't bounce off people. That...was not supposed to happen. And was he - glowing? Henry pulls on the leads of the blimp with all his might, turning it directly into the path of Mt. Swellview. The nose of the blimp grazes some of the trees and begins to crumble in on itself. Here goes nothing, he thinks, closes his eyes, and jumps.

He manages to keep the majority of the tree branches from smacking him in the face with whatever is going on with this green light - a forcefield? - but one manages to sideswipe him and knock off the remains of his mask when the light falters for a minute. Henry lands on the ground with an "oomph!" and dirt flying everywhere, just in time to see the blimp explode in a ball of flames.

He ducks as debris goes flying all over the place. He can feel the heat from the flames and knows that he can't stay here for too long. The sirens from in town sound distant but they'll be here soon, trying to assess the damage and put a stop to any additional carnage. Henry can't be here when they arrive. If he can make it to the tube entrance by the Swellview sign, he can get out of here before anyone notices.

Turning around, he starts to jog before breaking into a sprint as the sirens get louder. He stumbles a few times, over roots and rocks, but finally makes it to the tube entrance. He swings his feet over the side, taps his belt buckle, and says, "Down the tube!"

Nothing happens. Henry tries again. "Down the tube!" Still, nothing. This can't be good. He has to get off this mountain and fast. Patting his pockets, he realizes he still has his phone. He pulls it out and sighs with relief. The phone is in one piece, not even a cracked screen. He dials the first person he can think of to deal with broken tubes. The phone rings for what feels like years, and he's almost given up on Schwoz picking up when there is a silence and heavy breathing on the line. Then, finally: "Hen - Henry?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's me, Schwoz. Look, I've got a situati-"

Schwoz cuts him off. "But, how? Where are you? And - how?!"

"That's a story for another time, Schwoz, cause we've got a prob-" He's cut off again, this time by a rustling sound. He can hear an argument between two people and then suddenly, it's Ray on the line.

"Kid? Kid, are you okay?"

Tears well up in his eyes at the sound of Ray's voice. "Yeah, yeah I'm good, big dog."

"Where are you?" Ray sounds worried, his voice tight.

Henry sniffs, then sighs. "Stuck at the top of Mt. Swellview. The tubes aren't working. I don't know how else to get out of here." The sirens are tapering off now and he can see the flashing lights starting to surround the blimp wreckage. "I've got to get out of here, Ray."

"I know, I know. Schwoz is working on it now. The Man Caves are gone, it caused a jam in the tube system."

Henry swallows hard. "The Man Caves are...gone? But Charlotte - Jasper -" There's another commotion on the line, cutting him off as dread begins to curl in his stomach.

Schwoz is back now. "I fixed the jam. Try it now - you should be able to reach us at the tube exit closest to Planes-A-Plenty."

"Okay. Okay, I'll try." He hangs up and shoves the phone back in his pocket, taps his belt buckle, and says, "Down the tube!" This time there is a whirring noise and then - whoosh! - the floor drops from underneath him and away he goes. The twists and turns of the tube system make him nauseous, adding to the topsy-turvy dance his stomach is doing as he dwells on what Ray said. The Man Caves are gone. Gone. God, he hopes Charlotte and Jasper got out. Can't lose them, not now…

He lands with a thud and before Henry's even straightened up properly, he's being grabbed and squeezed tightly. Ray shakes him a little as the older man says, "Don't you ever - ever - do that to me again. Ever."

Henry squeezes back just as tightly. "I won't ever do that to you again, ever," he repeats back.

"You forgot an ever," Ray sniffs.

"Ever."

"Better." Ray releases, wipes at his eyes. Schwoz takes Ray's place and Henry leans down to hug him back, his stomach settling for just a moment as he reassures himself that at least this part of his family is safe. He pulls back and glances at Ray, who is staring at him like he'll disappear if Ray blinks.

"Have you heard from Charlotte or Jasper? Did they make it out of the Man Cave?" he asks Ray.

Ray sighs, runs a hand through his hair. "No, we haven't heard from them. And I tried Charlotte but - no answer."

"What about Jasper?"

"Yeah, 'cause I let Jasper have my phone number," Ray snorts.

Henry rolls his eyes. "Checks out." He grabs his phone from his pocket, dials Jasper. Straight to voicemail. He tries Charlotte - voicemail, too. The dread curls in his stomach again. They got out, he tells himself. I told Jasper to get Charlotte out. They both got out. "We have to go look for them."

Ray looks from Henry to Schwoz, who shrugs with one shoulder. Then he looks back at Henry before nodding. "Okay. Okay, you get out of -" he waves his hand up and down at Henry "- that and we'll go to Junk-N-Stuff. I can't promise anything, Hen."

"They got out," he says, but even he can hear the slight note of desperation in his voice. He repeats, "They got out," and this time it's firmer, more like he means it. Ray tosses him a gumball tube and he takes one, chews, and blows as quick as he possibly can. Before he knows it, he's back to his normal clothes and they're trudging toward Schwoz's car. Ray wraps an arm around Henry's shoulders and he's got a firm grip on Schwoz's arm with the other hand like he can't bear to part from them.

Henry knows the feeling. He just wants to see Jasper and Charlotte. He feels sick. He thinks Ray does, too, because he lets Schwoz drive with no complaints. Schwoz pushes all the speed limits getting there, making Henry feel like they're flying. The police are all at the scene of the blimp crash, looking for Kid Danger, and they've got free reign of the roads. It takes them a fraction of the time it should to reach Junk-N-Stuff. He and Ray are tumbling out of the car and sprinting around to the front door as soon as Schwoz shifts into Park.

"Be careful!" Schwoz yells after them. "It might be unstable!" Henry pays him no mind because he knows, he knows, they got out. Charlotte and Jasper will be waiting outside for them, not knowing where else to go. They go out, they got out…

They're not there. His heart sinks and his stomach tumbles. They were supposed to be there. Henry reaches for the knob on the door but Ray grabs him by the shoulder and drags him back a little. "Stay behind me, okay?"

"What - why?"

"You heard Schwoz. It might be unstable. Let me go first," Ray says.

"But-"

"No buts, Henry. I already almost lost you today once. I can't -" Ray takes a deep breath, "-can't do that again."

He nods, steps aside to let Ray go first. Schwoz comes around the corner and follows them in. They step gingerly around the broken glass from the cavemen, over strewn junk and broken items. In the backroom, Henry calls for the elevator but nothing happens. The button makes a "bzzt" sound. "The power must be shorted," Schwoz says, and Henry shakes his head, feeling sick again. What if they didn't get out...they were supposed to get out.

Schwoz pulls a keyring from his pocket and nods to the right of the elevator. "The stairs," he says and Ray nods. Henry isn't looking forward to this any more than he did the last time they took the stairs but it's their only option to save Jasper and Charlotte - because if they're not here, they didn't get out and he has to get them out, they have to get out…

They move fast, but quietly, Ray first, then Henry, Schwoz bringing up the rear. The lights are still on in the stairwell, a blessing. Henry is tired, so tired, but he doesn't dare complain. Instead, he prays. Please let them be okay, please. I'll get them out, I can't lose them, this is not how this ends. Please let them be okay, please, please.

When they reach the bottom of the stairs, there is a pause, then Ray carefully, slowly, opens the door to the Man Cave. At least, what's left of the Man Cave. Beams have caved in from the ceiling. There are chunks of rock scattered all over and a huge crater in the middle of the floor, running the length of the Man Cave. It's decimated. Henry falls to his knees on the platform where the tubes used to come down. There's no way anyone survived this. They were supposed to get out…

Ray looks at Schwoz as he puts a hand on Henry's shoulder. "Go see if the Densitizer survived the collapse," he says. "We'll find Charlotte and Jasper." Schwoz nods and starts carefully climbing over beams and rocks, heading for the storage room. Ray puts his hands to his mouth and yells, "Charlotte? Jasper?" There's no answer.

Ray pushes a rock out of the way and a beam creaks ominously as the elevator door shifts. "Henry, come help me," he says, grabbing at the beam. Henry stands, grabs one side with Ray on the other and they shift the beam to the left slightly with a loud scraping noise. They pause, then do it again. Finally, on the third try, the beam tilts and tumbles into the crater, falling into the abyss below. Ray calls again, "Charlotte...? Jasper...?"

There is a banging sound and then Charlotte's voice. "Hello! Help!"

Ray cups his hands to his mouth again and yells louder, "CHARLOTTE?! JASPER!? Where are you?!"

The banging gets louder and then, Jasper's voice - "Ray, is that you? Here, we're in here!"

Henry feels relief wash over him. They both answered. They're both okay. Ray is over at the elevator, yelling something to them through the door over the crater, but the blood rushing through his ears makes it too hard to hear what's going on. Ray turns to him, says, "Go see if Schwoz can find the ladder. The elevator shaft has openings, they can climb up." Henry is off like a shot.

Schwoz finds the ladder easily in the storage room, which is mostly undamaged, and Henry is back within minutes. Ray waves from the stairs entrance and they trudge up about twelve flights, enough to safely allow Jasper and Charlotte to climb up and out of the wreckage of the elevator, Schwoz says. He unlocks the door and tosses the ladder down the shaft as Ray calls, "Heads up! Climb up!"

Schwoz waits by the opening and Ray holds the ladder steady while Henry paces on the other end of the platform. He chews on his nails of one hand and runs his fingers through his hair with the other. They're okay, we're getting them out...they're okay, we're getting them out, he repeats to himself over and over. Then he hears it - Charlotte saying, "Henr-Jasper! It's Henry!"

She slams into him, tripping over her own feet in the rush. He can hear Jasper yelling, but can't concentrate because finally, one of them is in his arms. "Charlotte," he sighs in her ear, tension easing out of him as he pulls her close. She starts to cry and he pulls her closer, rocking them back and forth slightly. "Hey, it's okay, we're all okay," Henry soothes.

Jasper is there then and Henry releases Charlotte to pull him into the two of them. They're here, they're okay, he thinks. They're in his arms, they're all together. That's all that matters.