.

(A/N: Might put another chapter up later today, but not sure yet.)

A Fresh Start

Hank entered HenchCo late in the evening around closing time. He was more than a little uncertain about it, let it be known. Weeks had passed since the night he'd departed from Mr. Hench's company, and he'd neither made contact nor been contacted ever since. He adjusted his suit nervously, drew a deep breath, ran his fingers through his hair, and put on a confident smile, approaching the secretary. "Excuse me, is Mr. Hench…"

"Mr. Perkins! Welcome back sir," the blonde secretary from before said cheerily.

Hank started, blinking in surprise. "I'm sorry, I'm a little confused. How do you know me?" he asked, caught off guard.

"Why we've been eagerly anticipating your arrival for weeks sir!" the blonde replied. "Mr. Hench has had nothing but good things to say about you. Newest member of both his legal team and business management team, correct?"

"Uh, I…" Hank began.

"Go right on up, Sir. He's been expecting your arrival for some time," the secretary said.

"I, he, you… Um, thank you?" he said.

"Right that way," the secretary said, pointing at a hallway. Hank made his way towards it, looking awkwardly back at the secretary as he went before turning ahead once more. Nervous now, he double and triple-checked everything he had on his person just to be sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Portfolio? Check. Pen? Check. Extra pen? Check. He continued going down his list of items as he walked to the elevator and stepped inside. Drawing a deep, calming breath, he let it out slowly and collectedly.

KP

The elevator door opened, and Hank had to take another calming breath before setting off toward Hench's office. He opened the door, peering in. "Um, excuse me?" he said, stepping tentatively inside. The woman behind the desk looked curiously up.

"Hello sir. Do you have an appointment with Mr. Hench today?" she asked.

"Um, no. My name is Hank Perkins and…" Hank began.

"Oh, Mr. Perkins! A pleasure to finally meet you, sir. I'll let Mr. Hench know you're here," she said, picking up the phone and dialing Hench. "Mr. Hench, Hank Perkins here to see you… Of course sir, right away." She hung up and smiled at Hank once more. "Go right on in Mr. Perkins."

"Thank you Ms, um…" he began.

"Tiffany," she said. "I'm Mr. Hench's personal assistant."

"A pleasure to meet you, Tiffany," he replied, feeling a little more at ease and getting into the swing of things.

He offered his hand to her, and she shook it, saying, "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Perkins."

Hank smiled and headed towards the big door, starting to feel nervous again. "Get it together Hank," he muttered to himself. One more deep breath and he pushed open the door.

KP

"Mr. Hench?" Hank said, peering in.

"Hank, welcome! Come in," Jack greeted, facing the door and smiling. Hank did so, shutting said door behind him. "Take a seat," Jack said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. Hank did so. "So, how's every little thing?"

"I… It's good, sir. For the first time in a long time, it really is. Thank you, Mr. Hench, truly. For everything. Now I realize it probably didn't seem like much at the time, but it genuinely made all the difference in the world to me," he said. "I owe you more than you know sir."

"Not at all, Mr. Perkins. It's in my best interests that my employees and contractors are healthy and happy," he said.

"Of course sir," Hank replied. He hesitated a moment. "I uh, I received a call from my parents not long ago," he said.

"Oh?" Hench asked.

"They um, they told me that my debt had been forgiven. That I didn't owe them a cent anymore. It just came out of the blue, so naturally, I was a little suspicious. Usually there's a catch you see, but they assured me there was no catch this time. Congratulated me on my new position even," Hank said.

"That's wonderful news, Hank!" Jack said. "It must be quite the load off your mind."

"It was sir," Hank replied, smiling a little.

"Now it seems all you have to worry about paying down is that student debt of yours. I assure you, Perkins, with the salary you're going to be looking at, it won't take long," Hench said.

Hank nodded and watched the man a moment. Jack kept on the courteous smile, waiting for him to respond. "How long did it take you, sir?" the young man asked.

"To what?" Hench asked.

"To find them," Hank said.

Hench's smile spread ever so slightly wider, a glint appearing in his eyes. "You're a very private and cautious person, Mr. Perkins. It took longer than I'd anticipated," he said, leaning back. "I'm sorry it couldn't have been genuine on their parts."

"I'm done caring, Mr. Hench. I got through life without them back then and I'll get through life without them now," he said. Hench nodded. "I just… You didn't have to do that sir," he said. "I know they wouldn't have just let the debt go, and I suspect forcing them to would have brought more smoke than you would have liked. I can only assume it was far easier to pay them off than convince them to change their tunes."

"I could have forced the matter without raising smoke, but it simply wasn't worth the effort," Hench said.

"A drop of water in an ocean for you I'm sure sir," Hank said. "I'm afraid I might never be able to pay you back though. I'll try my best of course, but…"

"Hank, consider it done in good faith. If everything works out, your services will be worth far more to me than your medical bills were," Hench said.

"Did you tell them to say those things to me too? The congratulations and everything?" Hank asked.

"I'm sorry it couldn't have been genuine on their part, Mr. Perkins," Jack more softly replied, repeating what he'd said before.

"No, it's fine," Hank said. "It felt good to hear either way. Guess that sounds sort of pathetic, doesn't it?"

"I understand the feeling more than you know," Hench replied quietly.

"Well, thank you for giving me this opportunity sir. Thank you for everything you've done for me. Hearing me out, giving me the lead on Drakken, financing the cupcake factory, offering me advice when it went under, taking me under your wing, advocating for me in every possible way… It sounds cheesy I know, but no one's ever done anything like that for me before. Heck, you've done more for me these past few weeks than my parents did for me my entire life. I don't think I could ever truly express how much it means to me," Hank said.

Hench smiled, leaning forward and clasping his hands together. "Mr. Perkins, I know what it's like to be in a bad place financially with a business you feel is failing. Really, I do. I believe I told you the first business I ever had nearly went under more times than I could count. Did you know I was on the verge of bankruptcy and seriously considering selling out by the time I received any help? I was in debt to my Uncle for no insignificant amount, it seemed the store wasn't pulling in half as much profit as I was putting into it, and supplies were so low that I couldn't have hoped to afford to fill the shelves again and still have enough left over to live off."

"You mentioned you found a benefactor, correct?" Hank asked.

"It's a long story, Hank. A long, depressing story that neither of us needs to visit now. To summarize it, yes. Someone showed interest in me, but then so had my uncle, and look where trusting him got me. Between you and me, I think he planned it that way. Planned for me to fail. Planned to make sure I did. Planned to indebt me to him so he could have me under his thumb for the rest of my life or his. I turned the interested party out. Thanks, but no thanks is what I told him. I had enough problems as was. This man though? He saw potential, a lot of it, and to make a long story short, I eventually gave in figuring I couldn't get much worse off than I was already. He helped me clear my debt. Gave me enough money to completely fill the shelves of the store and still have some left over. Not a significant amount, closer to what I started with, but suddenly I wasn't in debt to my uncle anymore. Suddenly my business was filled to the brim. Suddenly I was pulling in a somewhat significant profit. It still took a while for me to get anywhere with it, but I managed. I owe that man everything now. He never asked for anything in return you know. He saw the big picture. Figured that in a few years, I would be more than making it up to him tenfold as a resource, so to speak."

"Who was that man?" Hank asked, eyes wide and curious.

Jack smirked. "Would you believe Senor Senior Sr.?" he said. Hank started, eyes widening even more. "That man taught me everything I know about business and every trick in the book. He fostered my potential and nothing I have today would have ever been mine without him. Now I'm paying it forward to you."

"Senor Senior Sr. was the one who recommended I come to you asking for an investment," Hank said, stunned. "I knew you didn't take investors or anything like that, I told him as much, but he told me to try anyway."

"Then I owe him more than I thought," Jack said with a laugh. "The old man, he's still as sharp as ever. Give or take a mistake or moment of confusion here and there in his old age, but those he works around."

"Right. I remember hearing about that. Vinny Wheeler, correct? Got one up on the old man. Partially Senior's son's fault," Hank said.

"Mostly Junior's fault, Senior is smarter than that, but it's in part his own fault as well for putting everything he had in his son's name as well as his own in the first place. Vinny has a serpent's tongue, I'll give him that," Hench said.

"I looked to him for investment too. He tried to scam me. I laughed in his face," Hank said, smirking.

Hench laughed. "That's my boy!" he praised, grinning. Hank grinned back, lighting up at the praise. "But yes, Wheeler left the Seniors in a bad, bad way. Stole everything they had. The moment I learned of it, I stepped in. Offered my help to Senior at every step. I figured it was the least I owed him. He of course refused, but I got through to him once or twice. Supplied the things he needed for his plan to get his fortune back. Supplied him a few other things too, where he would let me. I may have even reverse-robbed him a couple of times, but he doesn't need to know that. He caught on once or twice and sent the money back, but not every time. I have people that are very, very good at hiding their tracks. One day, you'll have them too."

"If this all works out like you hope," Hank said.

"It will work out, Mr. Perkins. Optimism, optimism, optimism. It's the name of the game. Self-fulfilling prophecy has no place here," Hench said. "At least not when it's a negative one."

"Yes sir!" Hank said, grinning at the man and saluting.

"Now, let's go over your duties, shall we?" Hench asked. Hank whipped out his 'padfolio', as he liked to call it, whipped out a pen, and prepared to take notes.

KP

As Hank scribbled furiously away on his pad, tongue sticking slightly out the side of his mouth in concentration, Jack couldn't help but start to feel a little uneasy. He found himself drawn to this young man. Very drawn. Drawn to him in the same way he was drawn to, well, to Will… That was what concerned him most. There was enough drama going on between him and his son without adding another complication to the mix, yet here he was. Adding it. He and Will hadn't been close for a long, long time. Giving the boy a reason to think he was even less important to his father than he already figured he was, wasn't going to help repair that rift. It would just make it worse. That was the last thing he wanted, and now look what game he was playing. He decided to put it out of his mind for now. Let the chips fall as they may.

"What did the doctor say?" he suddenly asked before he could even think about it, audibly concerned.

Hank froze, stiffening up, and looked nervously up at the man. After a moment he clicked the pen and leaned back in his seat, clearing his throat and considering his answer, fingers tented. "Um, Addison's Disease they think. They're pretty sure," he replied after a moment. "It can develop after an infection. Like tuberculosis. It can also develop when, well, when uh, cancer cells from another part of the body invade the adrenal glands. It's a bunch of complicated medical mumbo jumbo. I got hit with a double whammy either way, so I mean, no one was surprised. They're not sure how long it's been there, so they couldn't tell which one caused it. For all I know, both contributed."

"Did they give you pamphlets? Documents?" Hench asked.

Hank bent down and dug into the briefcase he'd brought in. Soon he pulled them out, examining them briefly then handing them over to Hench. "I don't really understand much of it. It's a hormone thing, I think, which means I'm probably going to need to be on medication for the rest of my life. And have to constantly be on the lookout for something called an adrenal crisis, because that's a medical emergency that can, you know, kill me… The average life expectancy for a man who has it is around sixty-four…" Jack looked quickly up at him in surprise. Somehow that was both longer and shorter than he'd anticipated. "But I'm optimistic that's a cautious number, Sir! One based mostly on those who go undiagnosed. Even if I'm wrong though, average doesn't mean a guarantee. I think I have a great chance of living a full lifetime, just as long as I take my medications correctly and really watch it. Right? Right?"

"No question," Jack replied, smiling reassuringly when he noted the slight strain in the young man's voice. "You know, I love your optimism, Perkins. If anyone can beat the odds, it's you."

"You know it, Sir," Hank replied, perking up again and looking more confident.

Jack smiled and glanced through the symptoms list. They weren't the most pleasant to be sure, but they also weren't the worst. Extreme fatigue, weight loss, decreased appetite, hyperpigmentation, muscle weakness, pain in muscles and joints, low blood pressure, fainting, excessive thirst, salt cravings, low blood sugar, irritability, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea on occasion, abdominal pain, and depression or other behavioral symptoms. None of that had him overly concerned, but it did have him mildly to moderately concerned. He was more interested, though, in learning the signs of an adrenal crisis, because if that was going to be a thing they had to watch for, knowing the signs could save Hank's life. Let's see… Severe weakness, confusion, pain in the lower back or legs, severe abdominal pain, vomiting and or diarrhea leading to dehydration, reduced consciousness, delirium, dizziness, dangerously high potassium which risked heart attack, low sodium, rapid drops in blood pressure, and stroke. Now those? Those were much more concerning. Shaking his head, he handed the pamphlets and documents back to Hank and smiled again.

"I'll make sure to educate myself and my medical staff on your condition so that should anything happen, we'll be equipped to handle it. Any word on the cancer front?" he asked.

"They're running tests. If the Addison's is recent there's a chance I'm relapsing, but that's a problem for future me," Hank replied. "I can't do anything about it without a diagnosis either way."

"Good. Now, with that out of the way, Mr. Perkins, I look forward to hearing what big ideas a young mind fresh out of business school can come up with. As you no doubt know, HenchCo sales have been dipping over the last few years at a fairly steady rate. Needless to say, it's becoming a cause for some concern," Jack said.

"Can I start now?" Hank asked.

"Eager! I like you more and more," Jack said, pointing a finger gun his way. "But let's hold off on that for next time. For now, get settled. Learn your environment. Meet your coworkers! HenchCo is your oyster. Welcome to the team." He offered his hand.

"Thank you, sir. Again," Hank said, shaking it firmly.

"You're more than welcome, Mr. Perkins," Jack replied.

One Week Later

"Hank, you wanted to see me?" Hench asked as the young man entered his office.

"Yes sir. May I?" he said, gesturing to the seat. Hench gestured to it in turn in silent confirmation. Hank took the seat and smiled. "Sir, recently I've been evaluating your business model and strategies as well as company statistics, and I couldn't help but note down a few questions I wanted to ask."

"My ears are open, Mr. Perkins," Hench said.

"Alright. First question. How is your online presence, sir?" Hank asked.

"Elaborate," Hench replied.

"Social media, forums, company website, online purchase options," Hank explained.

Hench stared at him with a blank expression. Hank frowned curiously. "We have a Faceflick page and a Clapchat account. We also have a website, but as for online shopping, publishing our catalogue wouldn't be in anyone's best interests I'm afraid. As you can well imagine," Hench soon replied.

"Of course, Mr. Hench. Given the nature of your business, I understand that not everything you offer can be posted online, but undoubtedly some of it can," Hank said. "As for the rest, well, there are options out there for that sir."

"Go on," Jack said, leaning forward curiously and resting his chin on the back of a hand.

"Well, have you considered setting up a secondary website on the dark web for your… more questionable services and products, we'll say?" Hank asked.

"I'm not overly familiar with the deep web," Hench answered.

"I can tell," Hank said. "The deep web and dark web aren't the same you see, sir. The dark web is a very small fraction of the deep web specializing in things outside the scope of the law in many cases. Given the nature of your clientele, having a secondary webpage set up there could significantly boost your sales. Probably immediately. The dark web is where a large portion of your target audience, so to speak, likes to lurk when searching for the best deals on the sorts of products HenchCo specializes in. I think that if we set something up there, we could knock the competition right out of the water! The HenchCo name carries weight, a lot of it, but your ideal customer has been trending towards staying more in the dark as of late, and HenchCo is, well, no offense sir, but it can seem a little loud. Especially to potential consumers who don't fully understand what it's all about or how it operates. Add to that the fact Global Justice has been on your case lately, and that in and of itself is killing off a good portion of your potential sales. You may not need to lay low, but your clientele? Enough said. If they don't perceive you as catering to that need, they'll view you as inaccessible and will hesitate to seek out your services and products."

Hench, already scribbling notes and looking vastly interested, finished off the last line and looked back up at Perkins. "We'll delve into this more momentarily. Continue with your overview."

"Social media presence. Faceflick and Clapchat are all well and good, but they're falling out of fashion. Especially with the younger demographic. Nowadays the big ones are Flitter, Instantgram, and Flip Flop, to say nothing of UTube. Also, have you looked into Indubitably, the jobhunting site? It isn't only for job hunters you know. It's also for employers. Social media for business is the long and short of it," Hank said.

"You've lost me, Perkins," Hench said.

"You have a teenage son, don't you sir?" Hank asked.

Hench grimaced a bit. "Not one who lives with me. Even if he did, William isn't the type who'd bother with social media beyond maybe Indubitably. Which HenchCo does have a page on, FYI. I just wasn't aware it was considered social media."

"In that case, if you'd like I can do up a presentation on the various social media platforms available to you. It should help explain them more thoroughly, then together we'll be able to figure out which ones will best suit the needs of HenchCo. Soon you'll be ruling the social media scene! That's how you'll draw in the younger crowd, and as you know sir, young people are far more prone to impulse buying."

"Music to my ears, Perkins," Hench replied, smirking.

"Another thing I wanted to ask. Cryptocurrency. Have you thought about it?" Hank asked.

"Convince me," Hench replied. "As far as I can tell, it's a passing trend."

"Ah, either that or the way to the future sir. It may be a risky concept now, but believe it or not, it actually has a fairly decent foothold. Besides that, cryptocurrencies are extremely popular on the Dark Web. One of the preferred forms of currency in fact. You lose very little introducing it and gain far more than it costs to implement. It isn't as if you're investing in it, but that being said, I would seriously suggest you consider that option. Do a little research into cryptocurrency, see how you feel about it, see how it works for you on the dark web, then maybe dip your toes in. Just in case. After all, as they say, 'There's a fool born every minute'. I defer to your judgment in that matter though Mr. Hench. I'm sure you're far more familiar with gauging the stock market and the promise of a product than I am," Hank said.

"Noted," Jack said, jotting this down. "Anything else?"

"Not off the top of my head sir, but I'll keep investigating and digging a bit. If you do decide to delve into the dark web, Francis Lurman aka Frugal Lucre will be your best bet. The man's a bit of a scatterbrain, but he knows what he's doing. Consider contracting all your web designing needs to him for that matter. I've checked the books. He's unreliable with payments at best, so why not make a trade instead? He does some work for you on the side, and you don't send out a debt collector to collect his outstanding balance. It also saves you from needing to write it off. Discounts for work. It seems a man like Frugal Lucre would jump on the opportunity. A cheaper or a waived rate for doing something he loves that benefits you? It's a win-win situation." Hank said.

Jack wrote this down, honestly amazed at the young man before him. The kid was brilliant. To say he had a head for business would be a gross understatement. Jack almost wondered if he really had to tutor the young man at all before recalling the errors Perkins had made with the cupcake factory. Hank was good at seeing the big picture and was a prolific outside-the-box thinker, but when it came to the administration side of things, he struggled with the finer nuances. That was where he needed to step in.

"Um, sir, if I may ask, what's that?" Hank asked, pointing to a document on Hench's desk with the word LEGAL printed across it.

Hench frowned at it and grimaced, hesitating to answer. "Legal trouble involving the Kim Possible sitch," he said.

"I thought you and your wife had, err, resolved that," Hank said.

"We resolved my not suing her. Her continuing to look for a way to arrest me is another matter," Hench said. "She got her hands on some more questionable recordings."

"If I were in your position, I would hold to your original argument," Hank said. "Maintain that you were looking out for Miss Possible's safety and no matter what recordings she has, she won't be able to convict you of anything."

"I incentivized all the villains at the rollout to do a better job at catching Miss Possible," Jack said.

"Because…?" Hank pressed.

Jack smirked ever so slightly, entwining his fingers together. "Because not only did I want to get my property back, I also knew my clientele would go after her themselves. Doubtless, they would have been far less kind in their dealings with her," he said.

"See? You have nothing to hide," Hank replied.

"No. No I do not," Hench replied. "After all, as you said, Miss Possible is worth more to me alive than dead." Hank nodded. "Here. Take a look at it. Make sure nothing's missed," he said, handing the file over to Hank. Hank gasped softly then reached out and carefully took it, flipping it open and starting to read through the documents. "Take it home if you need to. No rush here," Hench said.

"Yes sir," Hank replied, still reading through.

"Dismissed Perkins. We can go into more of your business ideas later," Hench said.

"Yes sir," Hank answered, standing and walking off, nose still buried in the file. Hench chuckled, shaking his head after the young man and folding his arms. He considered something for a moment then picked up a phone and dialed his assistant. "Get me Foggman. I have someone he might be very interested in meeting."

KP

The door to Hench's office was knocked on a couple of times. "Come in, Mark!" Hench called, sifting through some papers.

The door opened and in slipped the egg-shaped, bespectacled man in question. Marcus Foggman was the pride of HenchCo. Head scientist and the best business consultant he'd ever had. Cream of the crop. The man had been under his employ since this company had been in its infancy. Before he'd even dreamed to expand it like this! In fact, Foggman was among the people he credited with HenchCo's success.

"You asked for me sir?" Foggman asked, taking a seat without invitation. At this point, he knew the drill like the back of his hand.

"Foggman, have you ever considered mentorship?" Jack asked.

"I assume you're talking about the young man you've taken a sudden interest in?" Foggman asked, adjusting his glasses. "Say no more, sir. I know him well you see. Or used to. Years ago. Frankly, I'm surprised he was able to make anything of himself at all, given what his home life and parents were like."

Jack started, frowning curiously. "You know him from back then?" he asked.

"Oh yes sir. He's my nephew you see. My sister's son," Foggman replied.

Jack started, eyes widening in shock. "And you didn't think to tell me this until now?" he asked.

"It's been quite a number of years since last I saw him, Mr. Hench. I'm hardly sure he'd even recognize me anymore. I didn't even recognize him until I read his name in the employee records. Then again, I suppose I haven't really taken the initiative to speak to him yet, and usually, when we pass one another in the halls, he has his nose buried in some file or electronic device or other. I doubt he's even caught a glimpse of me yet," Foggman replied.

"Well, well, how convenient. Buckle up, Marcus. It's time for an impromptu family reunion I think," Hench said, tenting his fingers with a glint in his eyes that Foggman knew all too well.

KP

Hank stared in disbelief at the egg-shaped and bespectacled business consultant standing at Jack's side. "Hank Perkins, Marcus Foggman. Marcus, Hank," Jack introduced, a hand on his consultant's shoulder.

"A pleasure Mr. Foggman," Hank said with a smile, offering his hand.

"Likewise," Foggman replied.

"Hank's a mini you, Foggman. Sounds alike, thinks alike, acts alike, every bit as industrious… Are we sure there's no relation?" Jack said, clapping a hand on each of their shoulders.

Hank looked curiously at Foggman again, really looked, and squinted his eyes a bit, tilting his head. Soon, though, his eyes filled with realization. "Uncle Mark?" he asked in disbelief.

Foggman smiled ever so slightly. "Hello, Henry. Quite honestly, I wasn't sure you'd even recognize me anymore," he said.

"How could I ever forget?" Hank asked, excitement starting to creep into his tone. He turned quickly to Jack. "Mr. Hench, Uncle Mark is the extended family I was talking about! The family that looked out for me when I was younger! He works for you? I mean, I suppose that explains why he could afford to step in for me like he did."

"With or without a HenchCo paycheck, I would have helped you, Hank," Foggman said, adjusting his glasses.

"But-but we were never even that close," Hank said, puzzled. "I don't think I've seen you since childhood!"

"Just because your parents kept you squirreled away and hidden didn't mean the rest of the family forgot you existed," Foggman said. Jack started, looking at Foggman in disbelief. Squirreled away? Hidden? "I'm… I'm glad to see you made it to adulthood. For a while there, no one was sure you would. As it was, a good few bets were lost when you reached your teenaged years."

"I'm sorry, what?" Jack asked. Hank winced a bit, shrinking in on himself and avoiding the man's eyes.

Foggman looked to Hench. "My sister wasn't what you'd call the ideal mother," he vaguely explained, expression solemn.

"So I've gathered," Hench replied, crossing his arms and frowning. He couldn't say he was a fan of the secrecy, but skeletons in the closet and all that, he supposed. Goodness knew he had plenty.

Foggman turned back to Hank. "It's good to see you again, Henry," he said. Hank swallowed over a knot in his throat and nodded. Foggman turned to Jack once more. "So, my nephew's the one you had your eye on. You always did have a good eye, Mr. Hench."

"I'd wondered where he got the industriousness from," Hench replied. "Given the similarities, I suppose I really shouldn't be as surprised as I am at this happy little coincidence. Now that the meet, greet, and reveal is done, he's under your wing, Foggman. Show him the ropes. Teach him the ins and outs of the business on the consulting and advising end."

"Of course sir. It'll be my pleasure. While we're here, in fact, I wanted to discuss the progress of Project Awakening," Foggman said.

"Shoot," Hench said.

"It's showing signs of advancement, finally, but the odds of it being stabilized any time soon are slim to none. We've invested a lot into this thing already, so either we're going to have to cut our losses, or we'll have to double down and hope something comes of it," Foggman said. "An undertaking of this magnitude takes time and resources. I'm not sure how much of either we have at our disposal right now.

"Have we thought of looking outside of science for cheaper means of completing it? Now this may be complete crazy talk, frankly I'm not sure how science and magic would even mix, but Lord Montgomery Fiske seems to have had a great deal of success delving into the mystical. Not personal success of course, but undeniable successes nonetheless," Hank said.

"Too risky. For every success Monkey Fist has, a dozen failures follow on its heels. We're talking the revival and reprogramming of a dead or dying brain. We can't afford failure here," Foggman said. "Not unless we all want to live the Running Dead." Hank grimaced a bit at the mental picture.

"I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet. For now, suspend development and put it in the vault. Focus our scientists' attention on more promising projects, but keep an ear to the ground for anything that might serve to make Awakening feasible in the future," Jack said.

"Yes sir," Foggman and Hank said together. They exchanged mildly surprised looks, and Foggman smiled ever so slightly at the young man at his side, body language relaxing a little. He'd oftentimes wondered how his sister and her deadbeat husband could have possibly produced someone like this. Hank was a million times better than either of them could have ever hoped to be. He credited himself and whatever genetics he'd passed on to his sibling's son for at least some small part of that. It was nothing short of a miracle the young man at his side hadn't ended up a total mess.

"It really is good to see you again after all these years, Henry. My, just look at how you've grown," Foggman said, a note of tenderness in his voice. Hank perked up a little, looking hopeful. "Hench speaks highly of you and goodness knows the man has a good sense for people, so it's good to know you became better than your parents ever were. No one was sure you would." Hank deflated ever so slightly. "Don't give me that look. You know how these things usually go," Foggman said. Hank grimaced a little then sighed, nodding his head. His uncle wasn't wrong, after all. Usually, they ended in utter tragedy. Not a lot of success stories sprang up from abusive or neglectful backgrounds. "Now if you two will excuse me, I have a couple of things to wrap up. Then I'll come right back and show Hank the ropes."

"Good man," Hench replied, leaning on his desk with arms crossed. Foggman nodded and walked out. Hank watched solemnly after him.

"So, Henry, huh?" Jack asked.

Hank winced and looked sheepishly at him with an awkward grin, shrugging. Jack smirked a bit. "This matchup will be good for both of you. Foggman is the best there is. Witty too. I visualize you maybe even surpassing him one day."

"It sounds like I have some big shoes to fill," Hank replied uncertainly. "I'm not sure I can meet that expectation."

"Strive for it. There's no shame in trying, even if you don't succeed," Hench replied. Hank nodded in understanding.