The rain splattering on the sidewalk was almost loud enough to drown out the thundering of footprints as the two partners turned down the alleyway. Breath ragged and chest heaving, all she could really think about was how frizzy her hair was going to be tomorrow.
She risked a glance behind her, and wasn't sure if the empty street she saw was a good thing or a bad thing. Turning back to keep up her pace, she called over the rain, "We can't keep running like this!"
Minyac turned to hiss at her, coat slinging rain in her face which she flicked off with a grumble. "What do you think I'm trying to do, Cohort?" His voice was raspy with fear and it almost made her want to stop and turn the other direction.
Instead, she slipped on the not-so-manicured pavement of the alleyway, and came to a stop to regain her footing. With a heaving breath, she held her hands out at her sides. Seriously, why did she keep coming back to this man? "Do you even have a plan?" She asked, blinking rapidly as the rain pelted her face.
Her partner (though he would be hard-pressed to call her anything other than a henchwoman) came stumbling to a stop, looking around frantically, gaze landing on a boarded up door. He pointed hastily towards it. "In here! Hurry, before –"
"Before what, Minyac?" came a booming voice, and Nurse Cohort felt her face flush once again. Spinning around, the two villains found themselves face to face with Captain Man, hands on his hips and head tilted down in an annoyed manner.
"So much for your plan," Cohort grumbled under her breath as she backed up to stand next to Minyac. She could feel him roll his eyes, though his hands kept bouncing all over the place in some vain attempt to find something to fight back with.
"Shut up," he hissed, turning back towards the superhero, who'd leaned up against the side of the building blocking their escape.
"So," Captain Man said, "what'll it be, Minyac? Are you gonna come with me quietly or are we gonna have to tango?"
Cohort instantly threw her hands up in the air. She was a scientist, not a fighter. And even if she was a fighter, her glasses were clogging up with enough condensation to leave her blind. Besides, it's not like she couldn't slip away while Minyac and Captain Man were fighting…
She didn't know where his sidekick was, but she wasn't going to stick around to find out.
"I'll go with you over my dead body," Minyac spat, still trying desperately to sneak away. Cohort rolled her eyes with a disgusted grumble and tried to avoid Captain Man's gaze.
"I'm not so sure you want it to go that way," the superhero straightened up, and Cohort's heart jumped as his hands balled into fists, "But sure, let's go."
The two men began their fight with an unceremonious yell from Minyac, and Cohort took that as her queue to start her escape. She reared away from the two men, stumbling until she found her back pressing against the brick wall. She was still out of breath, and she knew she was wasting precious time watching the punches being thrown, so as soon as she could, she began to inch her way out of sight.
Minyac was thrown against a dumpster with a nasty-sounding clang, followed by a wheeze from him as Captain Man grabbed at his coat and hoisted him back upright.
Cohort's fingers tightened against the brick wall, trying to clasp onto something for comfort at the sight, and her pace quickened. Except, she didn't notice the tire rim that was leaning up against the wall until her heels were connecting with it, and it clattered to the concrete with a splash and clatter.
She looked up with a sudden tightness in her chest to see Captain Man staring at her, Minyac rearing back to catch his breath.
"Hey, Kid, you mind helping me out here?"
"Sure," same a voice that was suddenly right next to her.
Cohort turned, and a yelp ripped her way out of her throat at the sight of the sidekick, who was now leaning against the same brick wall she'd been inching along.
Damn it.
The teenager nodded his head towards her and his usual snarky grin was breaking out on his face. "Sup."
Any comeback she would have said was caught in her throat as she stumbled backwards. Where had he come from? She was sure he hadn't been nearby a few seconds ago.
Turning and spraying rainwater in his direction, Cohort tried to run the opposite way –
Except there he was again, on the other side of her, still leaning against the wall as if he hadn't moved.
"Yeah, that's not gonna work." He quipped, giving her a look that was maybe just a bit too bored for her liking.
Still, he'd left the entrance to the alleyway wide open. As quickly as Cohort had turned to go one way, she spun back around and began sprinting back towards the sidewalk.
The sigh that Kid Danger let out sounded almost…disappointed? She turned back, expecting to see him still leaning against the wall – no, now he was standing straight up – Cohort stepped into a puddle as she exited the alleyway just in time to see the teenager turn, quite literally, into a blur.
And she barely had time to register that before there was a hand on her shoulder and she was yanked backwards with a surprised yelp, nearly losing her glasses in the process. She still didn't consider herself a fighter, but being grabbed like that was enough for anyone to fight back.
With her free hand, Cohort reared back to hit Kid Danger in the head, but he was out of her arm's path before she could even blink. She stumbled forward, and the only thing keeping her from face planting was Kid Danger's grip.
Again, she turned to try and yank free — except now she was falling into Kid Danger. How was she falling into him, he was supposed to be on her five-o-clock. How did he get to her eleven?!
She bounced off the teenager's chest and stumbled as her glasses fogged over once again. She couldn't believe it, it was like – one moment he was there, and then literally in that same moment he was somewhere else, how could he –
Her hands fell to her wrist, where he'd planted a firm grip and she tried to pry his hand off her. Except, like he was made of water, or lightning, his hand would move to a different part of her arm before she could even get a grip on him. How was he moving without her feeling him doing it?
"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna work, either." He almost laughed.
And then it clicked.
Superspeed.
Her eyes widened as she remembered an article she'd read while catching up on the world events she and Minyac had missed during their incarceration: something from a few months ago about Kid Danger and his powers.
And now she was painfully outmatched. Not that she wasn't before, but at least before she could sneak away.
Now she couldn't even do that. Great.
She was in cuffs before she even realized and was being walked back into the alleyway to sit next to Minyac, who had also been defeated in the so-few seconds she'd been trying to escape.
With an irritated sigh, she slumped forward as the two superheroes congratulated each other and began going through a process that she was also too familiar with.
Back in jail it was with them. Again. God, she really needed to get out of this partnership.
Henry watched as the police car wheeled Minyac and Cohort away, hands on his hips as Ray leaned an elbow on his shoulder – an increasingly harder thing to do, as he was getting close to the same height as Ray with every passing day. (Jasper kept saying they'll be the same height, but Charlotte kept countering that Henry will surpass Ray, which the sidekick kind of hoped ended up being true.)
"Nice job today," Captain Man quipped, and Kid Danger turned to look at the superhero upon feeling the man's head swivel.
A smile broke out on the sidekick's face, "Who, Lil' Ol' Me?" He laughed, elbowing his boss in the ribs.
Ray rolled his eyes and shoved Henry off him with a clearing of his throat, "You know, I also did a great job," He said, flexing an arm, "so you've still got some catching up to do."
"I actually beg to differ on that." Kid Danger crossed his arms over his chest as the two superheroes began walking down the sidewalk.
"Oh yeah? Uh, who was it that fought Minyac, hmm?" Captain Man's steps kicked out playfully as he swiveled to tease his sidekick, "If anything, I did most of the hard work today."
"Yeah, if you call driving three miles instead of running it harder work, then sure." Henry quipped, "and not only that, but getting there last on top of that." He pulled out his phone as Ray let out a dramatic gasp, ducking out of the way just in time to avoid a smack to the back of his head.
"At least I didn't watch from the shadows like some creep…" Ray grumbled.
"Oh, now who's complaining about dramatic entrances?" Henry turned to give his boss an incredulous look.
"I'll dock your pay if you keep bullying me like this." The man said, and Kid Danger laughed as he pulled up the messenger app.
Captain Man leaned in curiously. "Is everything okay back at the Man Cave?" he asked with a sudden tone of seriousness amidst the humor.
Henry paused to read over the messages that Charlotte and Jasper sent him, "Yeah, everything's good so far." He watched his boss out of the corner of his eye, waiting for a nod. When it didn't come, he turned to him with a disappointed tilt of his head, "oh, come on, I promise you Piper isn't going to blow up the Man Cave."
"Still, I'd like to get back before she tries," Ray muttered through gritted teeth and began leading his sidekick towards a precariously parked car that, if it was sitting there for another few hours, would undoubtedly have received a parking ticket.
The tubes spit them out from the hangar half an hour later to reveal, contrary to Ray's fears, nothing out of the ordinary. Despite the fact that Henry had been the one to reassure his boss, a sigh of relief still left him at the sight. It was only Piper's first day, and considering her last escapade through the Man Cave, it was almost a miracle that nothing had been accidentally singed by a misplaced weapon.
His little sister, unused to the sound of the tubes, spun around in alarm at the noise from where she sat on the couch. She blinked once she realized who'd entered and gave a half-hearted wave before turning back to the laptop in front of her.
"I can't believe this is the official account," she stated with disgust as the superheroes blew a couple gumballs and returned to their civilian forms, "I mean seriously? 2015? That's the last time you posted on here?"
Ray shrugged indignantly, "I don't like Twitter."
"God, you're such a boomer," Piper grumbled under her breath as Henry leaned over the back of the couch to look at the feed.
"I am not!" Ray shrieked, lips pressed firmly together as he sent his 'warning glance' towards Henry, who immediately jumped into action.
"Technically, he's a Millennial." He came to his boss' defense, head lofting towards his sister to send his own warning glance.
Piper dismissed both of their claims with a roll of her eyes, slapping Henry's hand as he tried to touch the mousepad. "Get back, you're wet. This is a brand new laptop."
With a snort, Henry slapped a hand gently on the couch as he reared back, looking up in time to see Charlotte spin around in her chair, "I take it the mission went well?"
"All in a day's work!" the sidekick grinned as he cracked his knuckles, "You should have seen the look on Nurse Cohort's face when I sped around her." He chuckled, "Did you see it, Ray?"
Their boss was currently hunched over the autosnacker, probably pouting. "I was kinda preoccupied with Minyac, y'know…" He grumbled.
Unperturbed, Henry turned back to his story, "yeah, well anyways –"
"Ugh, blah blah blah, you caught them, can we talk about something that actually matters?" Piper interrupted, turning towards Ray, who was boasting a fresh bowl of popcorn chicken. "I think it would be cool to set up an alert system here." She gestured to the laptop with a flattened hand, "like, some mass tweet to go out when there's a real situation going on. It'll keep the account relevant, even if you don't post."
Ray walked skeptically up to the finally-teenager, raising an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound…awful." He admitted, and Henry gave up on trying to continue his story. The sidekick threw his hands in the air as he walked over to Jasper's medical stash, grabbing a towel and rubbing it in his hair.
He heard his sister continue as he ran the towel over his arms, "also, 'professionalism' is out. If you really want to gain a following on here, you're going to need to get with the trends. I'm thinking we put together some fake beef between you and Kid Danger's account."
"Fake Beef? I can't believe this, Kid, are you hearing this?" Henry turned to see Ray looking at him with a look that was utterly bewildered, causing Henry to snort.
"You've gotta trust the process, Dude. I'm telling you, she knows what she's doing."
A hum of agreement left Piper and she turned with a bat of her eyelashes to Ray, who turned back with a still-incredulous look. "I don't mean it has to be an argument, I just mean like, transferring some of your banter to social media. I mean, unless you want to start some fake beef, cuz if you do I've totally got some ideas for that –"
"I think we're good." Ray cut her off before she could fully entertain the thought. "...you really think this is going to work?"
"I'm not verified for nothing." Piper quipped, "also, we're creating a separate account only for Captain Man. The Captain Man Team should be reserved for, like, sponsorships and stuff."
"Uh, do we have to –"
"I've already emailed Twitter. Someone's been hoarding "CaptainManOfficial" since like, 2012."
Henry walked up next to Ray to elbow him in the ribs, "you've done all of this in the hour we've been gone?"
"Don't think you're in the clear, either. We're changing your handle from "KidDanGeorg"."
Gasping dramatically, Henry protested, "What? Come on, it's comedy gold! I am Danger Georg, who gets into more danger than the average person, and therefore should not have been added to the subject pool. You can't do this to me."
"Actually, she can. She is the social media manager." Charlotte smirked.
A sad grumble left Henry as he sank onto the couch, using his superspeed to sneak a couple pieces of chicken from Ray before he could notice. The sidekick threw them up into the air and caught them in his mouth just as his boss realized what had happened, and another shriek left him.
"Bullies, the lot of you!" The man cried, pulling his bowl close to his chest, "I take it back, you're all fired."
"Aw, c'mon, I didn't even get to have one yet!" Charlotte laughed, "...can I have one?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No!"
"Please?"
"No!"
"Pretty Please?"
"...fine."
An excited giggle left Charlotte as Ray neared, and she picked a couple of her own pieces of chicken from his stash. "By the way, what time are you guys thinking about heading out today?"
Henry shrugged, "Assuming there's no calls, I'd say like…what, 1:30?" he turned towards Ray, "What do you think?"
"1:30 sounds good. It'll get us there a couple minutes early, so." Their boss agreed, "seems like a plan."
"What time will you guys be back?" Piper asked, pausing briefly from her perusing of the laptop.
Henry kicked his feet up with a groan, which Ray promptly pushed back off to sit down. "I don't know, depends how long the hearing lasts. Late afternoon, probably." the man answered, "Why?"
"Don't ask questions," Piper chastised with too much audacity, "but you may have an entirely reorganized social media presence by the time you get back…"
"God, she's a maniac," Ray stage-whispered as Henry hummed, a smile breaking out on his face.
"Welcome to the club."
Their attention was grabbed shortly afterwards by Schwoz's appearance from the back room, hands full of various pieces of scrap metal that Henry was sure would become a new invention in the next couple days.
The inventor paused to dump the contents on the table with a satisfied hum, prompting Ray to ask, "What's up?"
Schwoz tsked, "Burn out. But only for now," he turned to Henry, "How are your new soles performing?"
If he was still in uniform, the sidekick would have lifted his boots to show them off, but a verbal answer would have to suffice. "No more heat and still no more wearing down. Seriously, Schwoz, they're fine. You don't need to keep worrying."
"At 700 miles per hour, I will beg to differ." The man grumbled, but a smile was still on his face.
Henry shrugged nonchalantly with a purse of his lips. His superspeed seemed to join him in his antics, and a snort left the sidekick as Schwoz turned away.
He caught Ray's equally mischievous look. "What? I wanna try and break the sound barrier at some point."
With that, he snatched another piece of chicken from his boss, who promptly retorted, "Yeah, because being a food thief requires a sonic boom."
Ignoring the obvious sarcasm, Henry sent him a pair of finger-guns.
Jasper entered a few moments later, carrying a literal stack of papers with him. (His ability to have them remain in a neat stack after the elevator ride was still a mystery that no one had figured out yet). "Hey, I found those documents you wanted, finally." The blonde muttered the last bit to himself as he set them down on the table.
"I didn't ask you to find anything?" Ray said, to which Piper spoke up once again.
"I asked for them. We're gonna start tackling that mess of a file room you have back there, too. Starting with digitizing all of the past reports."
"You do realize you're just the social media manager, right?" Ray tried to protest, only to have Piper retort back.
"Oh yeah, like Jasper's just the guy behind the counter? Please." She scoffed as she pulled off the first document and began skimming over it, "You're gonna thank me later."
"...oh, I hate this." Ray whispered theatrically, letting his head thump against the back of the couch.
Charlotte snorted, "I've been telling you we needed to get that done for years now. Don't kick a gift horse in the mouth, Dude."
Ray dragged himself to his feet dramatically, sluggishly making his way back to his room. "Oh, I'm not going to kick it in the mouth…" He grumbled, and then seemingly resigned to his fate. "Call me when it's time to go, I'm taking a nap."
The teenagers waved their boss off with a series of uninterested grumbles, and Henry was quick to get up and make his way over to Jasper.
It took a few minutes before Piper voiced her concerns, prompting Charlotte to scoot into Henry's place. "I can't believe this," the girl grumbled, "I mean, an alternate dimension? She tapped the page with the back of her hand to make the older girl take a look. "Are you seeing this?"
Charlotte smiled and her eyes rolled. "I've seen a lot of things." She nudged her playfully, nodding towards Henry and Jasper, who were attempting some sort of superspeed-enhanced cup-stacking game.
Not that either of them actually knew how to stack cups. She supposed Henry was moving them too fast for anyone to be able to register the formations, anyway.
She turned back to see Piper watching them with a look of exasperation on her face. With a chuckle, she brought the girl's attention back to the pages.
"Trust me, girl, this is just the beginning."
Being a Saturday, the courthouse wasn't crowded, which was just as well. Kid Danger and Captain Man were early for once, and as such were waiting in the lobby.
They were in the middle of a conversation when there was a commotion at the door that caught Henry's eye, and the sidekick leaned away slightly to spy the issue. It took him a couple seconds to assess the situation, but once he did he excused himself and made his way over to the entrance.
Opening it widely, he gave a warm greeting to the newcomer. "Mr. Bowry," Kid Danger nodded.
Jim returned the greeting with a smile, "Kid Danger. Glad to see you under…well. Less harrowing circumstances." The man joked as he pulled himself through the door. He gestured vaguely with the cane in his hand, "Though it does seem that you're still helping me. Thank you, with the door by the way."
The sidekick let the door close behind both of them, "well, that is my job. You don't suppose you deserve the help?"
Jim rolled his eyes with a smirk. "My P.T. says that opening doors isn't gonna kill me, but I also don't think not opening doors is gonna kill me either. I survived one building, there's no way I'm letting a second one finish the job."
Captain Man turned towards them as they neared, arms crossed over his chest. "Bowry, right? Are you here for the hearing as well?"
Nodding, Jim sighed, "Please, call me Jim. It took some strings to pull, considering my profession, but I'm allowed to make the statement."
Kid Danger looked towards the courtroom doors, "I'm glad."
"Yeah, me too. I thought I'd have to pull the cripple card," the man stated, lifting his cane to knock briefly against his leg, which let out a dull clang.
A laugh left the sidekick as he leaned against the wall, and a similar chuckle left Jim.
"I gotta admit, I've never been that great at public speaking. So. I'm not sure it'll go over smoothly."
Ray scoffed, "Oh don't be so hard on yourself. You're gonna do great." He leaned in closer to Kid Danger with a sly grin, "Course, I could probably do better, but…"
Henry shoved his boss off him with a playful punch, "I didn't know you could give a speech about anyone other than yourself."
Ray's eyes narrowed, "Hey, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of self-love."
"Oh, is that what we're calling bragging now?"
Kid Danger couldn't help the smile on his face as Captain Man reared back in embarrassment, "I wouldn't call it…bragging…"
"Really? What would you call it then?" The sidekick chuckled.
"Yeah, I'd like to know, too."
Henry turned to see yet another familiar face, hands, as usual, placed on her hips. A smile broke out on his face.
"Detective Reed!"
The woman smiled at her title, stepping closer to the small group with a swing in her gait. "What's up, Kay-Dee?"
"I didn't know you would be here," Henry said, happily surprised, "how's the station?"
Reed shrugged, "ah, I was here for a different hearing. Saw you guys and figured I'd say hi. The station's doing well, we've got some new recruits that have promise. Though that's not saying much compared to the old timers there." She whispered the last part out of the corners of her mouth.
Henry was glad to hear that things seemed to be turning up. He and Ray had seen it in the backup that was more readily available to them, and in the diminishing amount of trivial calls from the hotline. They'd been skeptical — the former mayor's influence had been enough to give Reed a head start as a detective, but that wasn't a guarantee that anything would improve.
But then again, it only takes one domino to make a chain reaction. And they seemed to be one of the lucky few to have that happen.
"But enough about me," Reed dismissed, gesturing to Captain Man, "I'd still like to hear this man's explanation."
Throwing his hands up, Ray turned away. "It's not bragging!"
Reed snorted, "oh yeah? Then what is it?"
The superhero's eyes dipped to the tile floor, scuffing a boot in a way that looked blatantly childish, "…none of your business."
Both Kid Danger and Detective Reed snorted, and Jim shook his head in amusement.
Henry turned to the woman as she clapped him on the shoulder, "you're giving a statement, right?"
He'd, admittedly, been asked to, but he felt that he had to turn it down. "Nah. I did recommend Jim over here, though."
Reed hummed, turning to the prison guard with a polite smile, "well then, I'm sure you're gonna do great."
"I already told him that," Ray spoke through gritted teeth, and Reed rolled her eyes.
A sigh left Kid Danger and he fiddled with his elbow pads, "let's not jinx it, you two."
"Are you gonna stay to watch?" Ray asked, obviously trying not to sound offended, and Reed gave him a look that almost rivaled Kid Danger's own sly grin.
"I just might. I could use some fresh eyes on this case I'm working on…maybe from someone whose, oh, I don't know…had experience hunting down criminals before?"
Mood suddenly changed, Captain Man turned back to the detective with an interested purse of the lips. "…you mean me?"
"Well, you can't be any worse than my predecessors."
"I'm going to choose to ignore that."
Kid Danger laughed, and Jim shook his head rather fondly.
It took a few more minutes before the court doors opened and a stream of people left. Once the bulk of the crowd left, two security guards poked their heads out, immediately finding the small group.
"The next hearing will start in five minutes," the shorter one said, and Kid Danger nodded in acknowledgement.
"Well…should we go find some seats?"
Jim let out a restless breath, "Sure."
The courtroom was on the colder side, though Henry supposed he'd rather it be that instead of hot. It took a few minutes after he and the others had settled down before a door to their left opened and in walked the man they were there for.
Mike was dressed in a freshly-pressed suit, shoulders tight as he glanced around the courtroom. He found the small group pretty quickly, and a visible sigh left him as Kid Danger lifted a hand to wave.
The man sent a nod back to him as the judge cleared his throat, "everyone please stand."
A small engagement that felt very official followed before they were allowed to sit again. Mike's attorney spoke for a bit, followed by a bunch of other stuff that was definitely not on Dog Judge, but eventually the time for Jim's statement came.
The man whispered a shaky "wish me luck" under his breath as he stood, making his way over to the stand.
Henry shared a glance with Ray, who had paused amidst his conversation with Reed. He raised his eyebrows from under his mask at him in a way that said, "relax, Kid".
So he tried, forcing his shoulders to fall as Jim adjusted the microphone.
"I began work at Swellview State Penitentiary ten years ago," Jim started, "since then I have seen hundreds of prisoners come and go."
He paused to swallow, glancing over to Mike, who was sitting by his lawyer with an anxiously clenched jaw, "As I'm sure many of you know, during Pyromania's attack on the prison a few months ago, I was caught in the explosion. I saw many men there make a run for their chance at freedom. Most of those I saw didn't even give me a glance."
Kid Danger's head fell as images of the caved-in roof flooded his mind. He felt Ray set a hand on his shoulder, and the sidekick let out a sigh.
"I'm fine," he whispered and lifted his head to glance at his boss before Jim continued.
"I lost my leg that day." Jim shifted to lean onto his cane, "I'm lucky to be alive. I am alive, because Michael Raza didn't hesitate. He knew that the cell I was in was collapsing, and still came in to rescue me anyhow."
Jim swallowed and turned to look at Kid Danger, "I credit the first responders and doctors that were there that day for saving my life. But I have no doubt that, without Mike's quick thinking, there would have been no life to save."
He turned to look at the judge, "His selflessness is something that I have only seen a few times in my life, and his humbleness is even more so. Mike could have easily escaped that day, but he didn't. It takes a special kind of person to be a hero under regular circumstances, but to be a hero behind bars? That is something I haven't seen before, and am certain I will never see again."
The prison guard looked back towards Mike, "I would full heartedly trust him with my life again. To deny him parole would be to deny his nature. Mr. Raza told Kid Danger and I, that day, that he was working to be a better person. I, personally, think he's already there. He saved one life behind bars. I can only imagine the good he could do outside of them."
Jim ended his statement with a quiet thank you, making his way back to his seat rather easily as the judge called for a quick intermission.
Henry tried not to let the Judge's indifference get to him – that was the man's job, after all – but still, the sidekick couldn't help but feel like something more should be said.
But, he supposed, that would be something worth a lot more words than a five-minute statement.
"And did he get parole?"
It takes Henry a moment before he nods, eyes intently staring at his hands as he traces the lichtenberg scars that remain from the time machine. "He was let out last week. He sent us a picture of his new apartment."
Doctor Aeson's notes are balancing gingerly on her knee as she smiles: a soft, satisfied curl of the lips. "It seems he's adjusting well, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah," Henry swallows and he nods in agreement, "Yeah, I'm happy for him."
"Good. That's good." Aeson says with a similar nod, and they dwindle into silence as she jots down something or other. Henry continues twiddling his thumbs. He wants to check his phone, but he knows that his therapist doesn't like that during their sessions, so he remains put.
"How was that test this last week?" She asks, "I know you were studying hard for it."
In an increasingly familiar sight, Henry's heart soars at the reminder of his grades. "I got a B-plus!" He states. He knows it's not the same as Charlotte's straight-A's, but it's something that he's proud of. It's something that his parents are proud of, even if they still don't fully understand why it's so meaningful to him.
Aeson nods, "So your revised schedule is working, then?"
This time, Henry gets to nod. "It's…better." He admits, "Having Piper in the Man Cave helps spread out the lesser tasks. And Ray's been a lot better about…the double-life thing."
"In what way?" Aeson presses, and Henry sinks back into the couch to think.
After a while of finding the words – a silence lapses between them as he conjures them – Henry answers. "He's…always been good about letting me do homework. I mean, the week I got my superspeed…that was a fluke."
He's still, admittedly, getting used to not jumping to Ray's defense. He knows that these sessions are for him, and at some point he's sure they'll get to the bottom of why he tries to do that, but for now he'll talk about the things he can comprehend.
"Actually," He blinks and brings a hand up to rub at his cheek, "Detective Reed's done just as much to help me as Ray has. She's…actually recruiting officers that want to do their jobs, now, so…less work for us."
Henry doesn't really know how – it wasn't like the woman was Chief – but her stubbornness is probably strong enough to break bulletproof glass, so it doesn't surprise him.
"And how is that?" Aeson asks.
Again, Henry shrugs, "I mean…most of my school issues are with absences. Ray didn't really…police me when it came to ditching school. He tried, I guess, he really did have no problem with me doing homework on shift. But…you know, he needs Kid Danger regardless of the time of day."
"And why do you think you were so willing to ditch school for missions?"
"...I never really liked school." Henry admits with a purse of his lips. "But I do like being Kid Danger. I don't know, being him makes me feel like…I'm doing something that matters."
"And that's why you were so scared, during those days following Time Jerker's escape?"
Suddenly lost for words, Henry nods. It takes a moment of silence before he looks up to meet Aeson's gaze. "I think…" he starts, but his thoughts won't form into comprehensible words, so he trails off.
Thankfully, Doctor Aeson doesn't push this. "Is there anything else on your mind?" she asks, and Henry's brow pulls together as he tries to think of anything.
Eventually, he shakes his head. "I don't know what we'd talk about." He admits.
Aeson hums. "Can I suggest something?"
"Sure," Henry says, and he means it. Doctor Aeson is great at her job, and sometimes he needs guidance to continue their conversations. He would feel bad if they cut their session short. His parents would still be paying for the full hour, anyway.
Clearing her throat, Aeson shifts in her seat. "Well, Henry, we've been talking for a while. You've been very forward to me about what happened to you when your superspeed awoke. But I don't think we've spoken about how you became Kid Danger in the first place. It seems like you're still trying to find the balance in your double life. I've learned that starting from the beginning can oftentimes make it easier to digest."
Henry stays silent while she continues, "It's just a suggestion, of course. We can come back to this next week, if you'd prefer."
For some reason, the breath Henry lets out is shaky and he finds himself crossing his arms over his chest. "No, I wanna talk about it, it's just…I don't know where to start, I guess?"
Doctor Aeson nods, like she's had this conversation before. "What's the first thing that comes to mind?"
Swallowing, Henry's gaze falls to his hands, the scars from the portal are still there, weaving just underneath his skin. "I don't know, I guess…" he starts, and closes his eyes as he summons his superspeed.
It perks up, jumping to the place right between his collarbones, and a small moment of clarity hits the sidekick at the buzzing sensation. He looks up from where he'd been tracing the lightning patterns on his hand, and for the first time in a long time, neither are things that happened to him, but are instead things that are a part of him.
"I guess it all just kinda…happened."
Well…that's it.
She's done.
There were a lot of things I wanted to put in the epilogue, and if I'm honest with myself, I rewrote it so many times that I probably couldn't even count. At the end of the day, I'm proud at what it (and this fic in general) has become. I can't believe this started out as a self-indulgent 'superspeed angst' oneshot that was born in an Instagram DM.
I want to thank all of my readers – especially my regulars, your comments never failed to make my week. Like holy shit, opening my email to see you guy's words gave me such JOY these past two years. Ah, look at me, getting sappy. But seriously. I mean it.
Is the last sentence cheesy? Perhaps. But I think it fits the source material quite well.
"I honestly think it's very brave of me that every single day I wake up and I'm determined to look like a slut, okay, like, this mini skirt? My battle uniform. This top? That's my armor, okay? Braver than the troops, okay, who am I protecting? The girlies, the gays, all of my babes okay like the United States of this Pussy. Oh me oh my!" user "chrissychlapecka" on tiktok.
Keep on reading, my lovelies.
~Local Dragon Haunt