Ever since Ray accidentally became indestructible due to his father's scientific mishap, he pledged to use those powers for good and became Swellviews protector, Captain Man.
Over the years he guarded the town from harm and with that came taking damage despite being indestructible, causing him minor injuries, so over time it became more difficult to keep up appearances.
Thanks to his powers, Ray never got sick, but that didn't always stop his health from deteriorating once in a while...so then he met Schwoz out of nowhere. The two became friends, and due to Schwoz's skills in science and engineering, the man decided to stay and help out.
That was when it was decided that despite Ray barely ever getting sick, and being indestructible, Schwoz would once a year check him over thoroughly, in case something wasn't right.
Since then, Ray had let Schwoz give him a yearly checkup, though it was rare he found something that needed to be healed besides his uniform needing constant mending. No surprise there though, he was a hero who fought, of course his uniform would get battered in the process too.
This year on the other hand wasn't like previous years...
This time, Ray had a sidekick, who hadn't been through this part of being a hero yet, therefore that's what needed to be done.
The sun had only just peaked over the city, telling Ray it was time to get up and get ready for the day. Rolling over in bed, his expression grew annoyed when he saw the day's date.Great, just what I need today...The yearly health checkup.Ray groaned, knowing today was gonna be long and super tiresome.
That's when he remembered a vital detail, and he sat up more urgently.
"Good morning Ray!" Schwoz greeted, already up and preparing breakfast. "Why do you look so stressed?" Seeing Ray's expression, Schwoz set down the plate and went over to him.
"Oh, it's just that I need to figure out how to get Henry to the Man Cave for the checkup...because I doubt he'll come willingly if I tell him the truth, especially today when he is supposed to be free from work." Ray explained, pondering about what to do. Picking up a piece of toast from his plate, he continued thinking while Schwoz went over to grab his phone, handing it to him.
"You can always trick him and tell him it's an emergency." Schwoz said blatanlty. Ray nodded skeptically, but then thought it over again. No, he couldn't do that to his sidekick...
"Nah, I'll trick him via his parents instead...He is more likely to come here if it's his parents who intervene." Ray said, grabbing the phone to dial. A moment later Henry's mother, Kris Hart answered.
"Who is this?" Kris asked, her tone skeptical.
"This is R-" No, wait he couldn't use his real name! "This is Dr. Beam from Manus Cavus Hospital...I see your son has an appointment with us today and I was just wondering if he can come this morning. It's very important he does you see..."
A few moments of silence passed before Kris spoke again. "I don't see anything in my calendar about some hospital appointment, but I guess maybe this is something my son booked himself then?" Kris muttered to herself.
"Yes, that's probably likely. Anyway, will you tell him to come? The address is in the same building as the store Junk n' Stuff, down the stairs." Ray explained. Kris sighed and nodded, hanging up the phone to go and find Henry wherever he was.
She found him in the kitchen eating breakfast, approaching him quietly. "Henry, I just got a call from some person called Dr. Beam about an appointment at Manus Cavus Hospital. He told me you had to go there now, and that it was important." Kris explained. Henry stopped chewing his oatmeal and looked up at his mother with a surprised gaze.
"Manus Cavus...? I've never heard about it before...Where is it?" Henry asked, seeing her pull up her phone to find the location. "It's apparently in the same building as Junk n' Stuff? Sure...I'll go."
Henry quickly understood it was Ray who had called in an attempt to make him come to the Man Cave on his free day for some reason, but he didn't feel like going. He decided instantly that he wasn't gonna waste his time to go to the Man Cave with a cheap trick like that, it was way too obvious.
If he needs me, he can just call me first and ask...Why use tricks like that? Besides, he knows I'm busy today so why would I come.Henry scoffed, finishing up his breakfast, then he headed outside to the city to meet up with Jasper and Charlotte.
An hour had gone by since Ray had called Kris to tell her that Henry needed to come to the so-called hospital. It didn't take long to realize that his sidekick had completely ignored him, apparently having seen through his lie.
Fine, if that's how you wanna play Henry, let's play.Ray gritted his teeth, scanning the CCTV to see what his sidekick was so busy doing on his free day.
"Ray...What on earth are you doing? It was your idea to call his mother, of course he would see through that." Schwoz sighed, sitting down next to him by the monitor. "Besides, if my theory is correct about him disliking medical scenarios, then that might explain why he ignored a so-called hospital visit..." Hearing this, Ray thought back to a mission they had only a few weeks ago, and it clicked.
"You're right...That might be the case, even though that's probably not what he thought now. This time he just didn't want to come in on his day off, that lazy sidekick." Ray muttered. Zooming in on the park, he finally found the friend trio hanging out there.
"So are you gonna go with plan B?" Schwoz asked, seeing Ray pick up his communicator.
"Yes, I am," Ray responded to Schwoz's earlier question. Plan B was basically to lure Henry to the cave by telling him it was an emergency, therefore he wouldn't have much of a choice to ignore him. A sidekick always helps their mentor, especially in cases of an emergency on their off day.
As soon as the line connected, Henry was the first to speak. "If you need me Im free today, and your little attempt to make me come in earlier failed so don't even try-"
"Kid, there's a breach in the cave! You need to come right now, it's an emergency!" Ray yelled, sounding panicked. As soon as he'd said this, he grinned when he saw Henry scrabble from the swing in an instant, looking panicked himself.
"Im on my way!" Henry responded, then sprinted toward Junk n' Stuff. Ray sat back and watched his sidekick disappear from view, then patiently waited for him in the cave.
Sure, Henry probably wouldn't be very happy when he found out there wasn't actually an emergency, but this day was just as important as the other events his role as sidekick included. If one way doesn't work, then try another, just like Ray did.
Around ten minutes later Henry zoomed down the tube elevators, bursting into the cave in sheer panic. Finding both Ray and Schwoz in such a calm manner was definitely not what he had expected.
"Where's the breach?" Henry asked, stepping deeper into the Man Cave, wearily looking around to see if there was anything out of place. "And why are you so calm?! You said it was an emergency!" Based on the two older men's way too calm demeanors, Henry quickly understood there never was an emergency.
"Calm down Henry, I had to do that to get you to come," Ray explained, shifting uncomfortably seeing the anger in the kid's eyes. He was pissed, to say the least.
"I want you to give me ONE good reason to why you tricked me into coming here with an emergency on my OFF DAY!" Henry snapped, walking up to Ray, shoving a pointed finger in the man's chest. Schwoz got in between the two and eyed Ray carefully.
"Let me explain Henry...You see, ever since I became Ray's assistant, I've given him a health checkup despite his indestructibility just as a safety precaution, because you never know what you might find when you have that sort of power. So, that means because you are Captain Mans's sidekick, this health checkup includes you too now." Schwoz explained, seeing the previous anger turn to fear in the boy's eyes.
"You...You tricked me to come here to poke and prod me!?" Henry snapped, backing away from the two. He was Kid Danger, he didn't need some checkup! He was perfectly healthy and wasn't gonna subdue himself to this.
"Kid...?" Ray spoke, gently approaching his sidekick, only to be met with the same angered glare as before. "Come on, you have to do this, you don't have a choice."
"And what if I don't?" Henry snapped. He saw Ray and Schwoz look at each other, and he got chills...He probably knew the answer to that question already.
"You don't have a choice Kid. Come on, let's head to the room next door and get this over with." Ray sighed, guiding his sidekick to the room Schwoz had prepared for the checkup.
Upon entering, Henry froze so Ray let him go, and instead discreetly went to lock the door while Schwoz went to get the supplies ready.
"I take it this is something you don't particularly enjoy, correct?" Schwoz asked despite already knowing the answer. Henry nodded and involuntarily let the short man guide him over to the gurney at the far end of the room, where different tools and machines were lined up for the checkup.
"Why do I have to do this, Im perfectly fine!" Henry urged, sitting down uncomfortably. "I might not have invincibility like Ray, but that doesn't mean I'm weaker! I have powers too!" Taking a deep breath, Henry saw neither Schwoz nor Ray took his pleas seriously.
"Can we get started now?" Schwoz asked, seeming a tad annoyed. Henry gulped then slowly nodded, seeing no point in trying to get out of this anymore. "Great, then you can start by taking your shirt off so I can listen to your lungs and heart." Doing as he'd been told, Henry stripped his shirt and waited for the cool touch of the stethoscope.
Wincing at the sudden cold metal on his chest, Henry shivered but didn't say anything...He wasn't about to complain over such a small thing.
"Everything good?" Henry asked, seeing Schwoz's expression was very concentrated. Was that normal?
"Yes, everything is fine. Your heartbeat is slightly elevated, but Im guessing that's because you're stressed." Schwoz guessed, and Henry nodded. Ray went over to him and placed a comforting hand on his sidekick's shoulder, calming him.
"Moving on...Let's check your ears, nose, and mouth." Schwoz said, grabbing a new tool to use for the task. Henry glanced wearily at the tool but reminded himself, that the sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could go back to Charlotte and Jasper. "Open up."
Opening his mouth, Schwoz shone a light into his mouth and nodded. He then proceeded to check his ears and nose too, concluding they were fine as well. Suddenly, Henry felt the urge to cough, awkwardly turning around to cough into his elbow crease. When he was done, both Ray and Schwoz stared at him in concert.
"Im fine, it's just dusty in here..." Henry muttered, clearing his throat. "Anyway...What next?" The moment he asked he regretted it, seeing Schwoz take out a thermometer.
"Now then-"
"Where is that going?" Henry asked, feeling his mouth going dry. He stared at the thermometer in horror, then at Schwoz who glanced at him in amusement.
"It goes under your tongue, don't worry." Schwoz chuckled, waving the thermometer in front of Henry's face. Sighing in relief, the teen opened his mouth and let Schwoz adjust the thermometer under his tongue, patiently waiting for it to beep.
Don't think for a second I would let you stick this somewhere else...Henry thought, glaring at Schwoz who sat and looked at him in amusement. He probably knew what the teen had been thinking at first, and it made him uncomfortable.I need to get out of here...
"Henry, you look a little pale. Are you okay?" Ray asked, studying his sidekick's face. Nodding slowly, Schwoz finally took the thermometer out of his mouth and checked his temperature.
"You're not usually this warm, are you?" Schwoz asked, showing Henry his temperature. Seeing the number, his face paled.
I have a fever ?!Henry internally panicked, but played it off with another cough, this time not as violent. "No that's my normal temperature..." Henry responded, fidgeting with his shirt hem.
"Usually, this temperature is an oncoming fever...I'll keep an eye on it in case it gets worse then," Schwoz said, finally putting the thermometer away. Before Schwoz could move on to the next thing, Henry got up and scooted over towards the door.
"I uh, have to go to the bathroom," Henry explained nervously. They would let him go to the bathroom right?
"Alright, but don't be long." Ray sighed, and unlocked the door, letting Henry out. The teen hurried off toward the bathroom and closed the door.
Now what? He needed to get out of the cave somehow...
Realizing he had little time to come up with something, Henry thought over the different escape routes out of the cave. The tube elevators, the stairs, and...the hangars.
I can't take the tube, it's too close to the room...and the same goes for the stairs. Hangars it is then!Opening the door, Henry gently opened the door and quietly tiptoed to the hangars, praying the door was open.
To his relief it was, and he slipped inside, scanning the darkness for the door on the other side: the one that led out to the town's sewer system. managing to make it out, Henry wasted no time sprinting the rest of the way, back to Jasper and Charlotte in the park.
"You're already back? What was the emergency?" Charlotte asked, seeing the odd sweaty paleness in her friend's face. That was slightly concerning, but she decided not to comment on it...yet.
"Oh, it was nothing really, just a little prank. Anyway, I'm thinking of going home. Since it's my day off I think I should catch up on some sleep." Henry explained, hurrying off before the two could object. Managing to barely turn the corner, he started coughing again...It might be more than dust...Henry sighed, knowing he was becoming sick. Ray and Schwoz were still down in the Man Cave waiting for him, though Henry had no plans on returning so they could wait all they wanted.
Getting home, Henry went to chill on the sofa, ignoring Piper who was also in the kitchen doing something he didn't care about. Probably something girly like she always was doing.
"You're already home?" Jake, Henry's father asked. The sudden approach made Henry jump and turn around to see his father entering the kitchen with groceries. "Your mother told me you went to Junk n' Stuff or whatever, but you weren't even there an hour?"
"Oh no, that was just a prank call from my boss to make me come to work on my free day," Henry responded dryly, knowing there was truth in what he said. Ray had really tried to trick him into coming...two times. Pissed, Henry went back to watching the TV, meanwhile trying to stifle coughing fits his body were throwing at him. He sat there internally panicking since he had a feeling Schwoz hadn't been convinced that temperature was normal, even for him...and once he would figure that out and see Henry ignoring his sickness, the teen knew he was probably screwed.I'll encounter that problem when it arrives...Henry sighed, turning his attention back to the TV, letting his mind forget what he'd just done: Escape a health checkup to go home and let himself become sicker.
"So...He's escaped," Schwoz muttered, coming back from the bathroom to see why Henry was taking so long. Finding it unlocked and no sidekick in sight made him realize that the teen had taken the moment to swiftly leave the cave somehow. "Funny how he thought we would just give up because he managed to leave..." Scanning the CCTV they had secretly put up in Henry's house, they found the teen chilling on the sofa at home, aimlessly watching TV.
"He went home to watch TV?!" Ray spat, feeling annoyed at his sidekick's blatant ignorance. Studying Henry a bit closer, he frowned. "Does he look worse to you than before?" Schwoz scooted closer and analyzed the teen the best he could from a camera recording, but he too could tell Henry wasn't looking too good.
"I knew that temperature wasn't normal..." Schwoz muttered, getting up to get his things. Ray turned around and looked at his assistant with a curious gaze.
"What are you doing?" Ray asked, seeing Schwoz grab a disguise he'd used on a previous mission. "Oh, you're gonna go to him...smart." Confirming the plan, Schwoz got dressed up in his doctor robes and put on a fake mustache.
"I might need help, so you grab a disguise too," Schwoz said, gesturing to the costume box for the second pair of robes. Nodding, Ray put on robes too, and followed Schwoz up the tube elevators to head to Henry's house.
Upon getting closer to the teen's house, they cautiously approached the door. Ray knocked on the door and the two waited a second before Piper opened the door.
"Uh...Who are you?" Piper asked, taking an awkward step away from the two men at the door.
"Don't be afraid little girl, we are doctors. We've come to speak with Henry, so may we come in?" Schwoz asked, muffling his accent more than usual so Henry couldn't hear it was them. Too bad for them the teen instantly knew it was them at the door and he quickly headed up to his room to avoid them, knowing he didn't have long before they would come after him.
They actually came to my house? Seriously?! Henry thought, closing his door slightly, leaving enough of a gap to hear the conversation going on downstairs.
"Are you possibly the doctor who called from that hospital this morning?" Kris asked, just noticing the two new people by the door. Shooing Piper away, Kris took her place and welcomed them in.
"Uh yes, I was the one who called. You see, Henry didn't show up this morning and it's vital he gets this checkup, so we've come to get him...personally" Ray explained, shuffling awkwardly beside Schwoz who was half his size. It looked somewhat odd to have a full-grown man, next to a man who looked the size of a toddler. "And I know it might be unorthodox to do house visits, but we reassure you it's for your son's own benefit, so ask him to come down here please." Kris nodded and made her way up to Henry's room, and she took her time.
Ray glanced at Schwoz since they knew they might have to intervene if it got to a point where Henry straight-up refused.
"Henry, come back here! These doctors just want to help you!" Kris yelled, suddenly coming down the stairs in a high-speed chase after Henry himself.
"I said no, why can't you just understand that!" Henry snapped, eyeing Ray and Schwoz in anger. He knew it was them. The taller man-obviously Ray in an absurdly bad disguise, was standing next to a shorter man in the same outfit. "I'm not going!" Sprinting off to another room, Kris ran after him in an attempt to grab him, but Henry was quick to lose her and she didn't have a choice but to give up since her son was out of reach.
"I...tried..." Kris panted, coming back to Ray and Schwoz by the door. "You can have a go now." She gestured to the room in which Henry had locked himself into. They nodded and silently headed over to the room, acutely aware that Kris was watching from afar.
"Henry, this checkup is for your own benefit and you know it. If you don't come willingly, we might have to use force and you wouldn't want that right..." Ray said, banging on the door. With no answer, Ray glanced at Schwoz who nodded.
They would have to force the door open, otherwise, it would take the whole day to get Henry out of there.
"You leave us no choice then." Schwoz threatened, starting to pick the lock on the door. A few seconds later the door clicked open and they were met with Henry threatening them with a pencil.
"Grow up Kid," Ray muttered in annoyance. Heading towards the teen, Ray easily ripped the pencil out of Henry's grip and tripped him from behind his legs making him fall on the floor.
"Ow!" Henry yelped, making contact with the floor harshly. "I said im not going!" Trying to make another escape, only resulted in Ray pinning Henry down on the floor. Seeing as Ray was much stronger than the teen, it was easy to subdue him. "Let me go!"
"No Henry, now you listen here. You're coming back to the cave whether you like it or not. This IS happening! You signed up for this when you became my sidekick!" Ray snapped, glaring down his sidekick in frustration. To think that such a simple thing had turned into such a mess. "Schwoz, if you will..."
A second later, Schwoz pulled out a device from his pocket and jabbed it into the teen's neck before he had any time to protest further. "What did you do to me?! This is illegal!" Henry shrieked, desperately trying to get away but to no avail.
"Nope, youre my sidekick. That makes this completely legal." Ray reponed. It didn't take long for Henry to feel his body start to lose strength and he realized he'd been injected with a sedative of some sort...
Ray and Schwoz waited patiently for Henry to fall unconscious before Ray picked him up, heaving his sidekick over his shoulder. The two went out of the room and were met by Kris's shocked expression, seeing her son slung unconscious over the so-called doctor's shoulder.
"What did you do...?" Kris asked, taking a step toward them, only to be stopped.
"Don't worry, it was necessary. He'll be back here once this ordeal is over, don't you worry." Schwoz explained, getting out of the house with Ray in tail before Kris could ask anything more about the situation.
Hurrying through town, Ray and Schwoz soon came back to Junk n' Stuff, proceeding to head down the Man Cave. Ray placed Henry down on the gurney again, this time nervously hovering him in case he would suddenly jolt awake and attempt to run off.
"Do you think we should like...restrain him?" Ray asked, glancing at Schwoz who gave him a cold look back.
"Yes," Schwoz responded, already having prepared restraints beforehand. His assistant had already predicted the outcome of this health checkup before they had started...Either that was weirdly obsessive or really impressive. In any case, it was a good thing Schwoz knew how to handle such cases because its just what had happened now.
"He managed to make his sickness much worse by going back home instead of letting me fix it, so he's gonna feel worse when he wakes up..." Seeing Schwoz take Henry's temperature again, he could see his body heat had gone up significantly.
"If you thought his temperature was high earlier, then what is that...?" Ray asked, pointing to the even more elevated temperature than earlier. Schwoz frowned and looked miserably at the teen lying beneath them. "So it's that bad huh...Well, he's only got himself to blame for this. Do what you must."
"Oh, I will," Schwoz said coldly, proceeding to start restraining the teen. Once Henry was restrained, it was safe to wait for him to wake up from the sedative, since he couldn't leave the gurney and make matters worse for himself. It thankfully didn't take long, and soon Ray and Schwoz heard Henry start to stir awake.
When Henry woke up, his head was pounding. Blinking groggily he realized he lying flat on his back. Trying to move, he found his arms and legs were strapped down to the gurney he'd tried to escape from. Panicking slightly, he glanced down to see he was bound to the gurney with Schwoz's self-made restraints. Henry knew based on that, he would never get out of those despite how much he struggled.
"You sedated me...In my own house!? That's a new low even for you." Henry snapped, seething with anger at the sight of Ray and Schwoz standing close by, glaring at him.
"Yes, we did what had to be done. Now that you are finally awake, we can proceed with the checkup, which by the way had become significantly more work because you decided to do what you did." Schwoz hissed, putting on gloves. Coming over to the teen, he wasted no time in resuming the checkup.
"Ah!" At Henry's sudden audible wince, Schwoz stopped his prodding over the spot the teen had reacted to. "No it was nothing, it was just uncomfortable..."
"Are you sure about that?" Ray questioned, pointing to a bruise not far from where Henry had reacted. "Because that wasn't there earlier this week." Schwoz proceeded to inspect the bruise, measuring the size to a staggering four centimeters.
Seeming unconvinced that it didn't hurt, Schwoz pressed down gently on the spot making Henry whine.
"What happened here?" Schwoz asked, waiting for the teen to explain himself. Seeing that he looked somewhat embarrassed, Schwoz could only guess it came to because of sheer stupidity.
"I hit my leg on a fence when we were chasing Drex last week...I sucked it up then, but it's been hurting for a while now." Henry sighed, looking away. Schwoz nodded and continued checking the teen over for any more abnormalities, not finding anything else besides the bruise.
"The bruise will disappear on its own, so besides that, you're fine on that front. Now, the next part is your fault..." Schwoz sighed, showing Henry the readings of his temperature from when he still was unconscious. Henry's face paled when he saw it had increased, undoubtedly deeming him to have a fever; a bad one at that.
"I uh..." Henry stammered, but couldn't find anything to justify his actions. He gulped, scared of what Schwoz would do to him now with an even higher fever. "Couldn't you just have let me rest at home instead of dragging me back here?"
Schwoz gave Henry a cold look before replying, "You made this worse by going home in the first place. Now with a fever that high, I'm gonna need to take more drastic measures to ensure your body can start healing." Schwoz said, walking over to an IV stand nearby.
Rolling it over to where Henry was, he proceeded to start filling up a bag with fluids, connecting it to an IV needle.
"What?! No, you really don't need to bethatcareful to ensure me to get better!" Henry shrieked, starting to struggle with the restraints in panic. "No, get away from me!" He hated needles. The thought of something sharp piercing his skin made his stomach churn, and the idea of being there to an IV would only make him feel trapped.
"Keep still." Ray soothed, coming over to Henry's side to calm him. "Youre only making it worse for yourself." At that, Henry gave up, realizing it was true. It was his own fault for making his sickness significantly worse.
"Remember this for next year." Schwoz sneered, walking over to insert the needle in Henry's arm.
"OW!" Henry yelled, wincing as the needle entered his arm. In addition to the pain, the uncomfortable feeling of cold fluids entering his body wasn't making it any better. "It's freezing..." Shivering at the cool fluids seeping into him, Henry saw Schwoz and Ray sit down nearby to wait for the bag to be emptied. However long that would take, Henry didn't have the energy to ponder about before he fell asleep.
Who could've guessed that having a high fever would take such a toll on one's body?
Waking up about an hour later, Henry had hoped that the IV fluids would do its thing and make him better, but when he opened his eyes the room was spinning and he felt nauseous. Just as he closed his eyes to sleep again, Ray and Schwoz's voices reached him, distant but undeniable.
"Ray...He's not looking too good." Schwoz muttered, hinting concern in his tone. "The fever should've gone down by now, but it's not. We probably need to give him more fluids..."
Henry groaned, his eyelids fluttering.No, please, no more.
Suddenly Ray's voice cut through the haze in Henry's mind and he jolted in surprise. "Kid, you still with us? We need to take a look at the IV again."
Barely managing to open his eyes, he squinted at Ray's concern hovering above him. "Im fine..." Henry muttered, his voice thick with exhaustion. Ray didn't buy his facade, taking a step back.
"No youre not. That fever is way too high. We're doing another round kid." Ray sighed. Henry could only groan in protest.
"Im fine, I don't need another round." Henry objected, but Ray didn't seem to be listening to him, and the teen was losing the will to be awake, sinking deeper and deeper into his fevered haze, the sick heat consuming his body again. His muscles felt sore, the pounding in his head only getting heavier. "I'm fine," Henry said again, closing his eyes against the blinding light overhead. He was too tired to care anymore...
Taking the opportunity Schwoz started the second round of fluids. Henry winced as he felt the cold drip from the IV seep into him again, soothing his feverish body.
"Told you that you would feel better." Ray smiled, glancing down at his sidekick's relaxed expression.
"You guys are the worst," Henry muttered quietly.
"You'll thank us later," Ray responded, before going to sit down with Schwoz. "Now rest. You'll feel better when you wake up again."
Henry, his body still barely conscious didn't respond. His body finally gave in to the relief from the fluids and he sank into a deep, feverish sleep his body desperately had craved.
About an hour later, Henry's eyes fluttered open slowly, a wave of grogginess washing over him. His body felt heavier than usual, but there was something comforting about the feeling now—like a warm, welcome blanket.
As he blinked, the world around him seemed to come into focus, though the haze of his fever was still there, lingering on the edges of his mind. He shifted slightly, glancing around to see Ray sitting in a chair nearby, looking over a tablet, and Schwoz pacing back and forth in the corner, muttering something about medical charts.
"Ugh..." Henry groaned, rubbing his eyes. He felt drained but surprisingly not as feverish. The burning heat inside his body had finally subsided.
Ray noticed immediately. "Ah, you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"Like I got hit by a truck," Henry muttered, trying to sit up but finding the effort to be a little too much. He felt weak but... not as bad as before. His mind was still foggy, but his body no longer felt like it was on fire.
"Yeah, well," Ray said with a chuckle, "you went through a lot, kid. You're lucky Schwoz and I found out you were sick when we did." He tapped his tablet, scrolling through something Henry couldn't see. "You were pretty out of it."
"Yeah, thanks for that," Henry responded flatly, rolling his eyes. He shot a quick glance at Schwoz. "You two really had to come to my house and drag me out of there like that?" His words came out more tired than angry, but there was still a bit of frustration behind them.
Schwoz paused his pacing and smiled. "It was for your own good! You wouldn't let us help you, and you were getting worse. So, we made sure you got what you needed."
Henry sighed, slumping back against the gurney. He wasn't about to argue—it felt pointless. In the end, they had done what needed to be done. But that didn't mean he had to like it.
"So can I go home now?" Henry asked.
Ray's face became more serious. "Your mom called earlier to see how things were going. We made sure to tell her you were going to be okay, but she... wasn't too happy we handled things back in the house."
"I'll bet," Henry muttered. "She would flip if she knew what happened down here."
"Well, yeah you can go home now. Your fever had subsided and as long as you feel fine then we won't keep you" Ray sighed, helping Henry up from the gurney. Taking a few wobbly steps at first, he soon found his balance and headed out.
"Don't think I'll ever let you do this to me again." Henry snapped, taking his leave before the two grown-ups could respond. Schwoz exchanged a glance with Ray and smiled.
"He knows this is gonna happen next year too. He won't try to recreate this ordeal again, he wouldn't dare." Ray grinned, threateningly glaring at his sidekick who just went up the tube elevator. "Hell be back in here this time next year, and if he isn't then hell regret it."
"He sure will..." Schwoz added, starting to pack up the equipment.
Henry walked with quick steps back to his house, afraid that his mother would send out a search party because he'd been gone the entire day with no word. Opening the door, his family all sat and watched TV, glancing at him as he came in.
"You've been gone a long time..." Kris stated suspiciously. "What did those doctors do to you that took the entire day?" Henry uncomfortably went to sit down on the sofa, feeling three pairs of eyes stare at him, expecting an answer.
They were all curious of course, because checkups usually didn't take that long so it was odd...
"Yeah Henry, what happened?" Piper asked, intrigued to hear the story as well. What was he supposed to say? He could exactly tell them the truth!
"Um...The doctors gave me a checkup. Why it took so long was because I was...a bit stubborn and kinda made it ten times harder for them to do their job."
His family stared at him in disbelief.
"Im guessing they found out the hard way about your dislike for hospitals..." Jake muttered, not even surprised about hearing his son tell them that.
"Yeah, they found that out the hard way," Henry responded, shifting awkwardly on the sofa.
"Well, you're not off the hook just yet. This will result in extra chores, no arguments." Henry just nodded, hearing his mother's order. He should've expected a small punishment for causing trouble, so he just accepted it-no use in arguing, it wouldn't help.
"Well, at least you're home now. That's all that matters." Kris added. Henry smiled weakly, grateful to be home, even if the situation had been... less than ideal. He had to admit, he appreciated Ray and Schwoz's persistence—even if it wasn't in the way he would've preferred.
"I'm sorry, Mom," Henry whispered, his voice soft. "I should've called and updated you on the situation. I didn't mean to worry you."
Kris smiled warmly. "I know you didn't, but next time maybe just... don't put yourself in that situation again. It's not worth it"
"I'll remember that for next time," Henry reassured. Turning away from his family's attention he added "Because, when I get my revenge, Ray and Schwoz are toast. Henry muttered under his breath.
THE END