Swellview XXIX
Summary: Piper finds out, Team Danger parties with a mob boss and Chensper has a long awaited talk
Evie's Notes: Happy Saturday! I hope you all are having a wonderful week! Thank you guys so much from the bottom of my heart for all your support. I hope that you all enjoy the this new update it is one that I have been looking forward to sharing with you for a while! - XO Evie
"And you're sure she's ok?" asked Henry for what seemed like the hundredth time that evening. Jasper and Henry were cuddled up in bed while Charlotte sat at the vanity doing her skin care before going to sleep.
"I promise she is fine" soothed Jasper as he hugged Henry. "I was able to heal the injury. She's going to take it easy for the rest of the week just in case, but she'll be good as new when we see her next Thursday".
"Ugh, I am sooo looking forward to spending some time away from Swellview" said Charlotte, hanging up her robe and climbing into bed.
"Yeah, it will be nice to have two weeks to relax and get to know the town more" agreed Jasper, placing a kiss on Charlotte's head. "Hen, did your parents say what their plans for the Holiday are?"
"Yeah, Mom already left for her vacation to Cabo with her "Tennis instructor" while Dad is on a "work trip" with Mrs. Hendricks from next door" scoffed Henry. "They didn't even stop to think about Piper. You would think that us suing them for custody of Piper would make them more attentive to their only remaining child, but instead it seems to be the exact opposite".
"Well we will have a wonderful Holiday with Piper. Another two months or so and Judge Tutti will have her final ruling on Piper's guardianship, that is unless your parents sign the papers earlier" promised Charlotte, reaching over Jasper to squeeze Henry's hand encouragingly.
"Thanks Char" grinned Henry, squeezing her hand back gratefully.
"Let's try to get some sleep, we still have work tomorrow" sighed Jasper, turning off the switch.
The trio snuggled up to get some much needed rest before dealing with another busy day of crime fighting.
*A New Hero - A New Hero - A New Hero*
Henry was sitting at the kitchen table chatting with Piper as Charlotte and Jasper finished making lunch.
"So do you have any other plans for today besides homework?" Henry asked
"Janna and I got invited to this party, and since you shredded my license…" Piper actually looked up from her phone, if only to glare at Henry. "Mrs. Tetrazzini is going to drive us, she'll be here at four to pick us up"
"That sounds like fun" replied Henry ignoring the dig about her license, he was only doing what he could to protect his little sister. "Which friend is having a party?"
"She's not a friend, she's a celebrity," stressed Piper. "Her name is Joss".
A loud clatter filled the kitchen as Charlotte dropped the luckily empty tupperware in shock. "Joss Moss?" she shrieked from her space unloading the dishwasher.
"Yeah, you heard of her?" as Piper casually.
"Uh duh, her father is the known mob boss of Swellview" snapped Jasper.
"Well Joss is an influencer and so am I, so I was invited to the party" shrugged Piper.
"I'm not sure how I feel about you going to the home of a known Mob Boss" worried Henry, sure nothing had happened to Piper last time, but there were no guarantees that everything would go so smoothly again… well if you count Ray almost getting cooked alive smoothly.
"Ugh! Why do you have to be so controlling! Her father probably won't even be there!" shouted Piper angrily. "Plus I already told all my followers I would be there. I can't just not go!".
"Pipes, I just want you to be safe" sighed Henry.
"Yeah but in keeping me safe you're ruining my life!" yelled the girl.
"Is your life really ruined Piper?" snapped Henry. "You've got a boyfriend, a social media following, and a minor commercial acting career. You're the head of the Man Fans and have a sizable allowance. What more could a thirteen year old girl ask for?"
"For you to butt out of my life" yelled Piper, before bursting into tears and running up stairs loudly slamming her door.
"Ugh I could have handled that better" groaned Henry, dropping his head into his hands in defeat.
"It's alright Hen, just give her a couple minutes to calm down" comforted Jasper, placing plates of sandwiches, salad and fruit on the table.
"Why can't she just see that I want what's best for her" whined the speedy superhero.
"Because she's thirteen and teenagers are notorious for their stubbornness and rebellion" replied Charlotte.
"We never rebelled as teens"
"We were actual vigilantes," laughed Jasper.
"Ok, fine. But I'm still worried about her. She's been off the last couple days"
"I can't argue with you there" shrugged Charlotte. "Though I truly don't think that there's any danger in her attending Joss's party since we will be there as well"
"I guess you're right," agreed Henry.
"We'll just have to remember to wear tropical clothes instead of suits this time," laughed Jasper.
*A New Hero - A New Hero - A New Hero*
Once the trio finished their breakfast, Henry made up a plate of food for Piper and took it upstairs.
Knocking on the door Henry waited for his sister to yell out "WHAT!?"
"Can I come in? I've got food"
He waited for a few seconds before Piper reluctantly called, "Fine".
Pushing open the door, his heart broke as he found his sister lying on her bed, her eyes red from crying. Passing the plate and silverware to his baby sister he quietly asked, "Pipes, what's going on? This isn't just about me being worried about the party".
Piper remained stubbornly silent as she ate her lunch. Unfortunately for her Henry was just as stubborn, taking a seat in her desk chair he pulled out his phone and made himself comfortable as he waited her out.
It took about twenty minutes for the silence to get to Piper and her to finally break.
"Why are you doing it?" she asked quietly, not meeting Henry's eyes.
"Doing what?" he asked, confused.
Piper just pointed to a stack of crumpled papers on her desk. Picking them up, Henry winced seeing that they were a copy of the guardianship papers that he had filed with the Swellview Courts.
"Where did you get these?" he asked.
"Mom gave them to me before she left on her latest trip. She said to give them to you and that I'm your problem now".
Henry's eyes flicked down to the bottom of the page and saw that yes both of his parents had signed the papers. Which was quite a shock given that in the last meeting between the parties with their lawyers the Harts had been adamant that they would not give up guardianship of their daughter.
"Piper -" began Henry only to be cut off by his sister.
"Why don't they want me anymore? What did I do wrong?" sobbed the girl.
"You didn't do anything wrong" promised Henry, moving to sit on the bed so that he could hug the distraught girl. "I am so sorry".
"Why didn't you tell me you were trying to take me away from them?"
"Piper, you know that I graduate at the end of this year. Jasper, Char and I are planning to move to Hiddenville with Amelia. We want to bring you with us. I can't imagine leaving you here all alone. We weren't sure that the law would go in our favor though so we didn't want to get your hopes up until further into the process. Clearly that was the wrong move and I apologize for hurting you. I just want what is best for you sweetheart, and being here with mom and dad isn't the answer. They aren't suitable caretakers".
"I know. I just sucks" sniffed Piper. "Mom and Dad are never around when I need them… hell I had to talk to Char when I got my period for the first time since Mom was in Greece and Dad doesn't know anything. I know I'm too much, but I never expected them to just get rid of me".
"Hey, you are not too much" softly scolded Henry, squeezing her tightly. "You are my amazing little sister and you are perfect just the way you are".
"I wish that you had told me," sniffed Piper.
"I know that now, and I promise to loop you in on any further conversations about our move. I love you, Pipes"
"I love you too," mumbled Piper. "Thank you for choosing me".
"Always" promised Henry seriously. "So was it just the papers that have been bugging you?" asked Henry
"No… Jackson and I broke up"
"Oh, that really sucks Piper. I'm so sorry".
"Yeah, he and Marla started dating last week".
"Your friend Marla?"
"Yeah" replied Piper, miserably.
"Well then she is not a true friend, and you can do so much better than Jackson Bartell" declared Henry.
"Thanks Henry"
"How about we do a movie night tomorrow night and eat our weight in ice cream?"
"Why tomorrow?"
"Well tonight you've got Joss's party" replied Henry with a grin.
"REALLY?!"
"Yes, really. I talked it over with the others and they reminded me that mob boss Rob Moss is most likely not even going to be there… even if it's Joss's 16th birthday"
"The most important of all the girl birthdays" nodded Piper sagely.
"I know how important this is to you so you can go with Janna, but Jasp, Char and I will be coming a bit later"
"YOU got invited? But you three are total nerds"
"Yeah, well my boss hooked us up with invites," shrugged Henry. "Now if you're going to go with Janna you better figure out what you're going to wear since she'll be here in a couple hours to pick you up".
"YES!" shouted Piper, jumping up excitedly and beginning to rifle through her closet.
Charlotte poked her head in the room after knocking on the door. "The yelling stopped, I just wanted to make sure everyone's still alive," she joked.
"Yeah, we're good now Char" said Henry. "Piper's just about to get ready for the party".
"Well then I have perfect timing then," grinned Charlotte stepping fully into the room holding a beautiful hot pink dress with orange, yellow, and purple flowers printed on it. "I ran out to the shop to pick up something to wear tonight and this dress was just screaming you"
Piper took the dress and eyed it appreciatively, "This is gorgeous Charlotte. You really got it for me?"
"You bet. And if you and Henry are done talking I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the salon to get our nails done? I've needed a touch up and this is the perfect occasion for a girls date".
"That would be awesome," grinned Piper shyly.
"Awesome. Let me just grab my keys and purse and I'll meet you at the car" smiled Charlotte waving goodbye to the Hart siblings.
Pressing a kiss to Piper's forehead, Henry left her to get ready for her outing.
*A New Hero - A New Hero - A New Hero*
Mrs. Tetrazzini picked up Piper at four o'clock as planned, letting the trio head over to work. They arrived via the tubes just in time to get a call which the future heroes knew would be from the town's Vice Mayor.
"It's the Vice Mayor" called Charlotte, taking her seat at the Man's nest computers.
"Ugh... fine. Put it on the monitor and change" ordered Ray. Over the last few weeks he had given up fighting with the trio about Charlotte and Jasper's hero personas. He still wasn't thrilled but could tell that the teens were not going to budge.
Charlotte answered the call as she, Henry, Ray and Jasper changed into their uniforms.
"What's up, I'm eating a reckless dinner and I'm not gonna stop" greeted Ray as he stuffed a bite of chicken in his mouth.
"Cherrio! Good evening, Captain Man. Kid Danger. Professor Danger and Doctor Danger" called the Vice Mayor in a bad British accent. He was decked out head to toe in the English flag.
"Why do you look so funny?" asked Henry as Ray, with his mouth full, said something incomprehensible.
"Captain Man says, "Why do you sound funny?"." added Jasper.
"I've been in England on holiday" announced their caller.
"That means vacation in English" explained Ray as he stuffed another large bite of chicken in his mouth.
"Take it easy man," said Henry, afraid the older vigilante would choke.
"I have a mission for you four. I want you to capture Mob Boss, Rob Moss".
"Who's Mob Boss Rob Moss?" asked Henry, playing dumb, as Team Danger had yet to fight this particular villain in this timeline.
"He's a Mob Boss," said Ray.
"Precisely. You can see him here in the annual calendar of Swellview's Hottest Villains" agreed the vice mayor holding up said calendar.
Ray shoved another insanely large piece of food in his mouth, making everyone around him uncomfortable.
"That's just not safe," commented Charlotte, looking disgusted.
"I'm indestructible" shrugged Captain Man.
"Yeah, you can still choke," argued Jasper.
"Righty-ho, here it is" cut in the mayor, holding up the picture of Rob Moss surrounded by many men dressed identically to him.
"Uhh... which one is he?" asked Henry. Even having fought the man previously, Henry still struggled to pick out the head of the notorious crime family in the photo.
"Yes, that is the question" agreed the Vice Mayor.
"He surrounds himself with lookalikes. That way no one can ever be sure who the real Mob Boss Rob Moss is" explained Ray.
"Precisely! That's what makes Mob Boss Rob Moss such a slippery biscuit" declared the Vice Mayor.
"Hmm?" asked Henry, trying not to laugh.
"A slippery biscuit!" repeated the man. "Which means he's absolutely delicious but impossible to catch".
"I caught him five times myself. Or at least I thought I did. Each time it turned out to be…mmmmmhhhhhh" bragged Ray, shoving yet another bite of his dinner in his mouth.
"A lookalike?" guessed Henry
"Precisely".
"Okay Dude, but why would you take a bite mid-sentence?" asked Henry only to roll his eyes as Ray did it again. "You know what, I don't- I don't even care, just choke".
"How are we gonna find this wet biscuit guy?" asked Jasper trying to get them back on track.
"The city's police sources indicate that he's going to be attending his daughter's sweet sixteen birthday party".
"Hmm...sweet sixteen… the most important of all the girl birthdays" commented Charlotte.
"Precisely. Now, I'm the Vice Mayor, not the give-you-advice Mayor, but the party is at Moss Manor, so when you sneak in I suggest you dress as well as you possibly can, otherwise you'll stick out like a llama on the loo".
"Roger that. And, as always, on this mission we have a license to kill" said Ray.
"There is no such thing as a license to kill," disagreed the Vice Mayor.
"Oh, so we don't need one? Great. Time to let the big dogs eat!" celebrated the 'Hero'.
"What, no, dude… he just means we can't kill people" sputtered Jasper.
"Oh, I hear you. Wink" smirked Ray to the Vice Mayor.
"You've utterly misunderstood my meaning" protested the elected official.
"We're on it! Click" called Ray ending the video call.
"Dude, we're not allowed to just kill people–" protested Henry only to pass out as he was hit by something sharp in his neck. He regretted the choice to keep his boundary power a secret from Ray and Schwoz as he fell towards the floor of the man cave, Jasper scrambling to catch him. The last thing he heard as he lost consciousness was Schwoz's voice laughing and calling out "Sleep dart!".
*A New Hero - A New Hero - A New Hero*
Henry woke up to find his head lying in Jasper's lap as the boy carted his fingers lazily through his hair.
"Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty" smirked Jasper, winking down at Henry causing the young man to blush. "We're doin' gadgets! You up for it?".
Henry groaned as he sat up, his neck still stiff from the dart. "How long was I out?"
"Long enough for Schwoz to bring out a bunch of cool gadgets to help with our mission tonight".
"Hey look who finally decided to wake up from his little nappie" teased Ray reentering the room carrying a bucket filled with laser guns.
"Schwoz shot a sleep dart into my neck" protested Henry making his way over to the gadget cart.
"Sounds like it was an excuse dart," sassed Ray.
"Wow…" snapped Henry rolling his eyes.
"Show him how the cuff links work on the Captain Mannequin" Ray ordered Schwoz.
"See this mannequin over here is wearing what look like regular cuff links, right?" asked Schwoz.
"I definitely know what cufflinks are… and those look like regular ones. Proceed" agreed Henry.
"Okay, now I'm just gonna take one of them off and put it in your pocket real quick. No big deal." said Ray as he strode across the room and slipped his hand into Henry's pocket, fully invading his personal space.
"Okay, first of all don't put your hand there!" yelped Henry, pushing away the older man.
Henry's protests were ignored as Ray yelled, "Hit it, Schwoz!"
The manikin flew across the room slamming into Henry and knocking him to the floor.
"The cuff links are electro-magnets! Really powerful!" explained Ray excitedly.
"I can see that" groaned Henry as Jasper helped him to his feet.
"Hey you wanna see something else that's really cool?!" asked Ray, bouncing in place from excitement.
"I don't think I do".
"Too bad! Jasper, show him the DNA glasses".
Jasper shrugged and passed Henry the DNA sunglasses.
"No, these look like regular sunglasses right?" began Ray
"I bet they're not" sassed Henry putting on the glasses.
"Well they're NOT! They've got DNA scanning technology. Let's say you run into a guy that you might think is Mob Boss Rob Moss…" explained Schwoz
"But you're not sure because he has all those lookalikes," added Ray.
"So you just press this little button right here on the side of the glasses… And it'll use DNA to tell you exactly who it is!" finished Jasper.
"Looks good" said Henry as the DNA Technology scanned his best friend, and showed him facts about Jasper.
"The new gum balls are done!" announced Charlotte as she strolled into the room. "Special gum for a special occasion. The Vice Mayor said we have to look extra fancy tonight, and Piper's Envygram account says the theme is Tropical Holiday. I think these will do the trick".
"Ahh. These taste terrible" protested Ray as he chewed the gumball.
"Yeah, they taste like uh like…" agreed Henry.
"Like butt" decided Jasper
"Yes! Couldn't quite put my finger on it!" declared Ray. "Tastes like butt".
"It's Schwoz's recipe. I just mixed the ingredients and turned the gum maker on" protested Charlotte as she chewed her own disgusting gum ball, she much preferred the rings the trio had for their uniforms. Henry was still using the gum balls made by schwoz for the time being, but would switch over to his ring once he transitioned into the persona of Detective Danger.
"You mix in some butt?" asked Henry teasingly.
"Just blow a bubble!" snapped Char.
"Heh. Ha ha." laughed the boys as the four blew their bubbles.
"I put some butt in there," admitted Schwoz.
"Sorry?" asked Char, confused.
"Just a little," admitted the scientist.
"Whooo HOOOO!" catcalled Jasper as he approached a transformed Henry. Seeing the confused and incredulous looks Ray and Schwoz shot him, he defended his catcall. "What? He looks hot". Jasper took Henry's hand and gave him a little spin taking in the white pants, blue open cut tropical shirt and tan hat.
Ray and Schwoz looked over to Charlotte wondering if she was going to take issue with her boyfriend openly ogling their best friend. Little did they know she felt the exact same way.
"I mean he's not wrong" grinned Charlotte as she eyed the young man appreciatively.
Charlotte was dressed in a white halter style midi dress with a green leaf pattern. Jasper had chosen to wear an outfit similar to Henry's though his shirt was a different leaf style. He also had added several jewelry pieces to his desired outfit. Ray was dressed in a simple pair of bermuda shorts and a parrot shirt.
"Great. You should all blend right in" declared Schwoz as he ushered them over to the tube platform and off to the party.
*A New Hero - A New Hero - A New Hero*
"Alright, we need to stay focused. Try and find Rob Moss" ordered Ray the quartet split up once they got past the party's security. Henry went with Ray to at least try and limit some of the destruction.
"Alright. I got my glasses right here so–" said Henry, planning to scan the crowd and pick out the mob boss.
"Bingo!" yelled Ray, punching a passerby.
"What?" yelped Henry.
"That's Rob Moss," declared Ray proudly.
Rolling his eyes, Henry scanned the unconscious man's face with the glasses. "That is… not Rob Moss. His name is Jeff Martin".
"Huh?"
"His name is Jeff Martin," repeated Henry.
"Huh...must be one of the lookalikes then" shrugged Ray unbothered.
"Yeah, that looks nothing like Rob Moss," protested Henry.
"Well, you know what they say…"
"Uh, don't punch randos in the face?"
"Nah" disagreed Ray. "Secrets, secrets are no fun. Always, always punch someone".
"There is something wrong with you" sighed Henry, already feeling a massive headache he was calling Ray forming in the front of his skull.
"There's something wrong with your face," replied the grown man childishly.
"What does that even mean?"
"That's right.
"Hey. You made it!" greeted Piper only to almost get punched in the face as Ray yelled "Bingo!".
"Ah! What the heck, man?" shrieked the girl ducking out of the way.
"Piper! Hey bud, what's going on?" asked Henry, moving between his volatile boss and his sister.
"Feelin' good, lookin' better"
"That's great. Where's Janna?"
"She's off talking to some guy at the bar".
"Huh, well I am about to hit the bar myself. Can I get you something?" offered Henry.
"Sure, I'll take a cranberry mango fizzy punch".
"You know, I actually have a can of punch right here in my pocket, just come over here and I'll give it to ya" threatened Ray.
"No, no. I will go get you a cranberry mango fizzy punch" promised Henry, signaling Jasper to come and get Ray.
Henry made his way over to the bar and asked "Hey, can I get a cranberry mango fizzy punch?"
"Ha. Cute" snickered a girl behind the bar. Looking over Henry tensed as he realized this was Joss Moss, the not too far in the future, head of the Moss crime family.
"Oh, the drink's not for me. It's for my little sister" Henry replied.
"Well I wasn't talking about the drink," flirted the girl.
"Uh... Whaaa...ha…" Henry's brain blue screened for a moment. Last time around he had stuck around and flirted with the girl… but that did not seem at all appealing this time. "W-what were you talking about?"
"I was talking about you. Because I think you're cute" replied the girl moving closer to Henry and laying a flirty hand on his upper arm.
The waiter placed the can of punch down between them. "Make it two. Unless you have to bring that to your sister".
"I really should…" said Henry uncomfortably.
"Hen, there you are. I've been looking all over for you" called Jasper as he suddenly appeared at the bar. He slid an arm around Henry's waist, "Come dance with me babe". Joss's smile dropped as she took in the pair.
"Yeah, ok!" agreed Henry, instantly brightening. "Talk to you later" he called back to Joss as Jasper led him onto the dance floor. The pair danced for a couple songs before they were interrupted by the DJ instructing everyone to clear the dance floor. They went to join Charlotte at a table off to the side of the main action.
"Ladies and gentleman, please direct your attention to this special video message from your kind host, legitimate businessman Rob Moss!" called the DJ as a hologram formed in the middle of the floor.
"Hello, everyone. I'd like to wish a happy birthday to my beautiful daughter, Joss, on her sweet sixteen, the most important of all the girl birthdays" said the hologram. "Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding with the Swellview Police Department regarding a number of crimes I definitely DID NOT commit, I'm unable to be there in person"
"Aw, come on!" yelled Ray. "I got all dressed up in this stupid shirt and the guy's not even here. I mean how am I supposed to go undercover and bust this guy if he's not even here?! I mean… I can't punch a hologram, can I?"
Henry internally face palmed as Ray revealed their whole plan to one of Moss's employees.
"So... you're here to bust Rob Moss?" asked the waiter who Ray had been unsuccessfully flirting with all evening in hopes of getting information.
"Oh what, now you can say things other than 'Nope'?" sassed Ray.
"Joss, I'm sorry about tonight. But I do have a surprise for you. Surprise! I'm here!" declared Rob Moss as the hologram faded to reveal the crime boss standing in the middle of the dance floor. It was a cool piece of tech that Henry would have to remember to ask Char how it worked later.
"Dad!" cheered Joss as she ran onto the dance floor to hug him.
The waiter signaled a bunch of lookalikes to grab Ray.
"You're not really a waiter, are you?" asked Ray.
"Nope… Take him to the beatin' room" ordered the waiter.
"Well I don't like the sound a that…" chuckled Ray as he was led off through a fake wall.
"Did you guys see that?" asked Henry worriedly.
"Yeah. Joss just got a diamond tennis bracelet…" said Charlotte enviously. Joss had begun to open her presents revealing so many cool gifts.
"Gorgeous" commented Jasper, sipping the can of cranberry fizzy punch Henry had abandoned earlier.
"No! Ray just got dragged off by three huge Mob Boss Rob Moss lookalikes!" said Henry.
"That's a Gherkin bag!" shrieked Charlotte. "Joss just got a Gherkin bag!"
"Gorgeous!" agreed Jasper.
"You guys…" attempted Henry.
"You want me to steal that Gherkin bag again?" offered Jasper.
"Uh, Yes!".
"YOU GUYS!" snapped Henry, clearly he was the only one still in mission mode.
"Her dad probably stole it first. It's not stealing if you steal from a criminal" said Jasper.
"Not accurate, but I like what you're laying down," agreed Charlotte.
"Ok, can we please just focus on what just happened to Ray?!" asked Henry.
"Ehhh. He's indestructible. I'm sure he's fine" dismissed Charlotte.
"Yeah, you're right, I'm sure he's fine for now" sighed Henry.
"I'm always right. Now you owe me a dance mister," ordered Charlotte, jumping to her feet and leading Henry onto the dance floor.
The pair were finishing their second song as Rob Moss was pulled away by one of his henchmen. "Rob Moss on the move. Gherkin bag still in place" quipped Charlotte. "Did you see where they took Ray?"
"Yeah, but there's a big ugly dude guarding a secret passage… which I gotta say is pretty cool" remarked Henry.
"You know what's pretty cool? A Christian LaBoutin dog carrier that I didn't even know existed!" squealed Charlotte glancing over Henry's shoulder as they danced to check out the latest Joss present.
"I think I can get in there, I just need a distraction to change," declared Henry.
"Alright, but you owe me at least one more dance when this is done. Jasper got you for four".
"Henry!" yelled Piper sneaking up on the dancing pair. "Where's my cranberry mango fizzy punch?!"
"Umm, I'm gonna…" began Henry, wincing over the fact that he had again forgotten Piper's drink. "I'll get you the punch"
"Will you? 'Cause I heard that from you, like, thirty minutes ago" sassed Piper, putting her hands on her hips. "You're too busy dancing with your girlfriend and boyfriend".
Henry struggled to think up a comeback, "Uhh, they're not my…"
"Oh please. Nobody in all of Swellview believes that," scoffed Piper rolling her eyes. "Least of all me. I literally live with you three. You can't keep anything from me".
Henry had to hold back a smirk as he considered all the secrets he was actually successfully keeping from his little sister.
"Here you go," said Charlotte, passing Piper a punch which she had shaken up outside of the girl's sight.
"Thank you, Charlotte. See this is why she's my favorite" commented Piper before stalking away.
"Okay, I just need to create a distraction" whispered Henry to Charlotte, hoping that they could just ignore Piper's comments.
"Just did," grinned the girl.
"What?"
"I gave her a soda. Shaken, not stirred".
Across the party, Piper opened the soda causing it to explode everywhere and her to scream drawing the attention of all the guests and guards.
"Ooooh! You are an evil genius" chuckled Henry appreciatively.
"Thank you, Thank you very much" grinned the girl, before shooing him away to go save Ray as she went to dance with Jasper.
*A New Hero - A New Hero - A New Hero*
Henry efficiently disposed of the Rob Moss lookalikes and freed Ray from the spit he was being roasted on. The pair handcuffed the real Mob Boss Rob Moss and handed him over to police custody.
Henry quickly changed back into his party clothes and rejoined the few remaining guests. The arrival of the cops had killed the party mood, driving away many of the attendees. Charlotte insisted they have their final dances before they leave. As the pair spun around the dance floor, Jasper sneakily stole several presents from the gift table while Joss was distracted with the police.
It was finally time to go though, especially since Piper was falling asleep at one of the tables. So Henry scooped up his sister in a princess hold and carried her out of the party.
"Bye Joss" said Charlotte as they hurried past the birthday girl, her arms filled with presents and the desired Gherkin bag.
"Great Party" complimented Jasper.
"Had so much fun," commented Piper drowsily.
"Thanks for having us," added Henry.
"Is that my Gherkin bag?" asked the girl.
The group just quickened their steps as they fled to their van that they had placed there earlier in the night for a quick get away.
*A New Hero - A New Hero - A New Hero*
Since he had promised Piper a movie night, Henry convinced Ray to let the trio just work the day shift instead of their usual evening crime fighting. One of the many plus sides to working the day shift was the fact that they rarely got any emergency calls, criminals tended to prefer to commit their crimes under the cover of darkness. One of the downsides was actually having to work in Junk and Stuff, Charlotte and Jasper were currently up in the store helping customers. Henry contented himself with the fact that the money from the store's sales was going towards their future in Hiddenville… speaking of which it was time to start planting some seeds with Ray.
Yawning obnoxiously, Henry hit record on his phone and began to type loudly on his keyboard drawing Ray's attention from where the man was lifting weights.
"Whatcha workin on buddy?" asked the hero as he drank some water.
"Some boring paperwork for college," said Henry.
"WHAT? Since when are you going to college?" asked the man, sitting up surprised.
"Since I got my Neighborville College acceptance letter" shrugged Henry. "Jasp, Char and I will be moving in five months"
"Oh that's like forever away" dismissed Ray.
"Yeah, so we won't be working here after graduation on May 30th, since we'll be moving," said Henry as plainly as possible. "You should probably start thinking about finding our replacements".
"Yeah, yeah. I've got plenty of time" waved off the man, laying back down on the weight bench. "Now come over here and give me a spot".
Stopping the recording Henry made sure to save it for future use. There would be no accusations of miscommunication this time. Standing up he made his way over to the workout station to spot Ray.
*A New Hero - A New Hero - A New Hero*
Henry returned to the living room, after carrying a sleeping Piper to her bed, to see Jasper and Charlotte cleaning up the mess the four of them had made during their movie night. Henry had kept his promise and had plenty of ice cream for the broken hearted teen as they watched Tangled and sang along to all the songs.
"Thank you guys for being so awesome and helping cheer Piper up tonight" said Henry as he joined the other two in the cleaning.
"Of course, we love Piper, you know that" said Charlotte brushing off the thank you.
"Still, she's understandably been feeling very out of sorts between the break up and finding out about the guardianship situation… so it means a lot to both of us that you guys are spending time with her".
"It really is our pleasure," promised Jasper. "She might not be the Piper we remember from our time, but she's better for it with all the changes you are making for her".
"That's right," agreed Charlotte. "Piper is really lucky to have you as her brother".
Henry blushed at the praise, "Aww, thanks guys. It's still pretty early, at least for us, what do you guys want to do?".
Jasper and Charlotte traded looks which Henry couldn't decipher before they both moved to tug him down on the couch between them.
"I think we should talk" said Jasper
"Ok… cause those aren't the five most terrifying words in the English language" quipped Henry laughing nervously. "I'm not sure…? We could play a game instead?"
Charlotte placed a hand on his face and said "Oh Henry, darling, I'm going to blow your mind" before pulling him into a kiss.
Henry's eyes widened in shock as he felt one of the most important people in his life's lips against his. Charlotte pulled back leaving Henry in shock.
"Whaaa" his mind truly blown to smithereens
Jasper placed his hand lightly on Henry's neck and turned Henry to face him. "You're so cute when you're confused. Your eyebrows do that adorable scrunchy thing"
"I am not cute" protested Henry… so lost as to what was going on.
"Yes you are. The cutest" declared Jasper before he kissed him as well. Henry could faintly hear Charlotte agreeing in the background, but his mind was all too consumed by how good it felt to kiss his other best friend.
Pulling back from the kiss, Jasper fixed Henry with a look that made Henry feel weak. "How was that?"
Henry's mind was blank so he just said the first thing he thought of, "Feels gooood!"
"I thought so" chuckled Charlotte, "So do you still not want to talk?"
Henry frantically shook his head, making the other two laugh. The trio talked for quite a bit admitting their feelings and outlining how a relationship between the three of them could work. Charlotte and Jasper had done a good amount of research prior to this conversation, they promised to text Henry the links they had read and that they would take things slow as they figured out their new dynamic. The trio headed to bed that evening with happy hearts and swollen lips.
Evie's Notes 2: Lol, it only took 60,000+ words but Chensper is finally cannon!
I love hearing from y'all! Let me know what you think of the chapter and the story as a whole in the comments or my Tumblr Find-y0ur-j0y! Have a great week and stay safe! - Xo Evie