Swellview XXII
Summary: Cactus Con
Evie's Notes: I'm back! A year later my Henry Danger/Thundermans hyper fixation has returned. I hop you all enjoy this new chapter!
Henry was so proud of his little sister for being elected the Cactus Queen at this year's Cactus Con. The girl had worked extremely hard to keep her grades up to snuff and ran a great campaign. Even though he had known she would win, since it had happened last time he lived these years, Henry still felt the same amount of pride and joy at his sister's accomplishments.
Trying to buy tickets to Cactus Con was just as nerve wracking as it was the last time around.
"I don't know why everyone likes this cactus convention so much" pouted Schwoz as the time traveling trio and Ray frantically tapped their phones in hopes of scoring tickets.
"What!" shouted Ray, taking offense at the honor of Swellview's favorite convention being insulted. "Tap my phone for me will ya? Thanks little buddy" directed Ray, ruffling Henry's hair and passing his phone over to the boy.
"Cactus Con is Swellview's best convention" argued the man. "It's better than Wallet Con, Squirrel Con and Shakka Con".
"You can tap one more, right?" asked Charlotte, as she pushed her phone over to Henry.
"Uh No" protested Henry
Charlotte ignored him though, and went to add her thoughts, "Thanks champ! Schwoz, there is great food there too! Like cactus milk, cactus tacos, cactus jerky".
"That all sounds disgusting," disagreed Schwoz.
"And my sister is the Cactus Queen this year," added Henry.
"Charlotte and I designed Piper's dress with her friend Patina," bragged Jasper, tossing his phone to Henry as well. The blonde boy struggled to tap each phone
"Yeah, it was a little weird given that she couldn't be there in person," began Charlotte
"Why not?" asked Schwoz
"Patina has a really rare allergy"
"What's she allergic to?" asked Ray
"Air" explained Jasper, only to be cut off by the laughter of the two older men.
"No, seriously. What's she allergic to?" asked their boss.
"She's allergic to unfiltered air, so she can't go to school in person" continued Jasper.
"Yeah, she has a nurse who pushes around a video monitor which shows a live stream of Patina from her sealed up house" finished the boy.
"I swear I do not understand your generation" grouched Ray.
"Yeah, the monitor thing is a little weird at first, but then you get used to it" shrugged Charlotte
"We Got Tickets To Cactus Con!" shouted Henry, cutting off the conversation.
Henry was so excited that he had gotten the VIP tickets that he celebrated by doing a backflip.
The sounds of celebration abruptly ended when Ray freaked out about his backflip.
"Holy Crust! Did... did you just do a backflip?"
"Yeah" nodded Henry, confused as to why his boss was making such a big deal out of this.
"Is no one else impressed by him just doing a backflip?" demanded Ray.
"It's just a backflip" dismissed Charlotte, the trio knew FAR more impressive stunts after their time in Dystopia.
"He only did one," scoffed Schwoz.
"Yeah, everyone here can do a backflip," agreed Jasper.
"I don't believe you," argued Ray.
Jasper simply put down his drink and did a perfect backflip.
"Is this real life?!" freaked Ray.
Charlotte put down her phone and also did a perfect backflip. The final nail in Ray's coffin though was when Schwoz also did a backflip. Ray looked like his head was going to explode.
"Can you not do one dude?"
"hmm?"
"Can you not do one dude?" asked Henry, it seemed to him that backflipping was vigilante 101.
"Of course I can," scoffed Ray.
"Okayyyy" laughed Jasper, before noticing the time. "We should get going"
"But you're at work?" asked Schwoz, confused by their sudden exit.
"We have to get home for Piper's fitting," explained Charlotte, as the trio collected their things.
As the doors to the elevator closed Charlotte and the boys spotted Ray trying to do a backflip and ended up face planting. The trio laughed all the way home.
*A New Hero - A New Hero - A New Hero*
The entire Hart house was covered in cacti which Charlotte and Jasper were using for inspiration while designing Piper's dress.
Henry helped himself to a big bowl of grapes for a snack and planned to veg out and watch TV while his friends stressed over Piper. Strolling over to the couch, Henry grabbed the remote and went to sit down only to be stopped by his sister.
"Don't sit there" warned Piper, as Charlotte added careful stitching to the cactus gown.
"It's my house too, Piper" scoffed Henry. "I sit where I want". Unfortunately as he sat down, he discovered his sister actually had a reason for her warning beyond messing with him. "OUCH!"
"Told ya! That's where the extra cactus needles are being kept".
"I feel that now" squeaked Henry uncomfortably.
"Also, I'm gonna need those needles back, Jasper is going to put them in my crown" explained the girl.
"Sure thing," groaned Henry, as he began the painful process of removing cactus needles from his skin.
The rest of the dress fitting went smoothly for the group. The friends were so excited for the upcoming Cactus Con. Sure they knew Rick Twittler was going to try and steal the World's Most Poisonous cactus, but Henry had already called the mayor and cleared Captain Man and Kid Danger to work the event.
Kid Danger: One more sleep until Cactus Con, can't wait to see you all there.
*A New Hero - A New Hero - A New Hero*
Cactus Con was just as awesome as Henry remembered it being. Working security also came with the perk of getting into the convention early. Since Char and Jasper had designed Piper's dress, they also got to get in early, to help set Piper up. The trio had never discovered just how Twittler had succeeded in stealing the world's most poisonous cactus, so they planned to stay on high alert throughout the day to ensure the plant's safety.
"Hear me! Hear me!" shouted Piper to the assembled crowd. "As your Cactus Queen, I declare the Swellview Cactus Convention… Open!"
Strangely, nobody moved after this announcement.
"You have to tap your staff on the ground, my Queen," explained the loud security guard whose name Henry couldn't remember.
"Open!" shouted Piper, as she slammed the staff twice on the concrete floor.
The guards quickly removed the golden rope, allowing the excited visitors to enter the convention hall.
"It's just a backflip bro," scoffed Henry as he and Ray circled the exhibits, Henry in Kid Danger gear and Ray in street clothes. "You just do it. You just flip… backwards"
"Yes, but how?!" asked Ray, tired of falling on his face and frustrated he hadn't been able to successfully learn the skill.
"I don't know how else to explain it! It's like trying to explain to somebody how to walk. You know what I mean? Just right foot, left foot repeat"
"BACKFLIPPING IS NOT THE SAME AS WALKING"
"well, yeah… but it's equally as easy"
"NO THEY ARE NOT"
"Well maybe not for you… but for most peo-" began Henry only to be cut off by Charlotte's sudden arrival.
"uhhh, you guys" whispered Charlotte to the squabbling pair.
"Hey, what's up Char?"
"What's going on?"
"Maybe since you don't know each other, Ray and Kid Danger, you shouldn't be talking"
"Oh yeah!" nodded Henry. "You should go change and come back dude"
"Right, see you both in a bit. Scatter, scatter" directed Ray as he headed off in search of a place to transform. Unfortunately in his hurry he ended up running directly into a very prickly cactus. "OW! What the butt?"
"Hahah," laughed Henry, "Dude, you just bumped into the World's Most Poisonous Cactus"
"How do you know that?" scoffed Ray dismissivly.
"Cuz there's a sign that says it right there: World's Most Poisonous Cactus… don't bump into it. Good thing you're invulnerable bro"
"oh. Well someone should be guarding this thing" demanded Ray
"Yeah, that's what we're here to do" sassed Henry, rolling his eyes and heading off to do some recon and scope out the exits.
Ray turned back around and bumped into the cactus a second time, only to be yelled at by the loud guard.
"Hey Hey Hey! Be careful with that. That there's the World's Most Poisonous Cactus. There's only one in the world and we got it!"
"So don't you think you should be guarding it?" demanded Ray.
"I was on an ice cream break," argued the woman.
"Didn't this place just open?"
"Yup! I got the first ice cream cone!" she declared loudly. "OOOH! Balloons!"
Ray shook his head in disappointment as the security guard raced off after the cactus balloon vendor.
Suddenly a little boy raced up the World's Most Poisonous Cactus with his hand outstretched clearly on a mission. Ray jumped into action stopping the kid just in the knick of time "Whoa! Careful there!". Thinking quickly he snagged a small cactus from a nearby table and offered it to the little boy. "Go have fun with this nonpoisonous cactus".
Ray again went to try and find somewhere to transform only to freeze as his phone rang. Answering it, he found he was on the line with both Schwoz and Henry.
"Wassssup?" he asked.
"Wasssup is that the Man Cave got hacked!" announced Schwoz anxiously.
"What?" gasped henry shocked, channeling his metroburg community theater acting lessons.
"I thought you said the Man Cave was unhackable?" whisper shouted Ray.
"I thought it was, but clearly someone did it. Now every computer in the Man Cave has the same message on the screen"
"What's it say?" asked Ray.
"It just says, 'Game on' over and over," shouted Schwoz.
"Game on? What does that mean?" wondered Ray out loud, as Henry rejoined him by the cactus.
Jasper and Charlotte twisted their rings as the room filled with the chimes of everyone's phones as they received the same text message. Now that they were in costume they hustled over to the cactus and took up a post to protect the plant.
"Hello Swellview, I will pay one million dollars to whomever can bring the World's Most Poisonous Cactus. Sincerely R.T." read Ray.
"Who's R.T.?" asked Piper.
"Uhhh… guys we have a big problem" alerted Charlotte as the festival attendees turned their attention to the World's Most Poisonous Cactus… which was right behind them! The mob began to angrily shout as they tried to figure out how to get the cactus.
"Okay! Okay! Everybody calm down!" shouted Jasper, his uniform conveying a sense of power.
"Calm down and relax" ordered Charlotte, her purple jacket standing out in the crowd.
"Look, we know that you all want that million dollars that some mystery person promised for that cactus".
Unfortunately those statements just served to make the mob angrier.
"HEY! Hey! Hey!" shouted the large guard. "Team Danger is right"
That comment caused Ray, still untransformed, to choke in shock and anger.
"That cactus is worth a lot of money! So let's get it".
The crowd surged forward, causing the trio to pull out their lasers and start firing at the floor.
Ray, enraged at seeing Charlotte and Jasper in uniforms and being recognized as apparently 'Team Danger', ducked behind a cactus to transform.
"What's everyone waiting for?" asked the Security guard when the mob started to back off.
"They've got zappy things" shouted one of the possible thieves.
"So what? There's a lot of us and only three of them" snapped a second security guard.
"Wrong!" shouted Piper, racing down from her cactus throne to join the trio by the poisonous cactus. "There's four of us… Come at me bro!" with that Piper began to spin her sharp cactus staff and threatened to whack the nearby mob members.
With that the room descended into chaos as lazer bolts, cacti and insults flew. Team Danger, Piper and Ray did their best to protect the cactus. The fight lasted about ten minutes as they attempted to subdue the mob and keep the World's Most Poisonous Cactus safe.
Eventually only the Super Heroes were left standing, Jasper having zapped Piper and knocked her out as the fight came to a close.
"We did it!" cheered Jasper excitedly.
"Yes! I did! I saved the citizens of Swellview yet again" declared Ray proudly, his eyes scanning over the roomful of groaning and collapsed citizens.
"Good work with the lazer" complimented Henry, wrapping an arm around Charlotte's shoulders.
"Thanks, I really enjoy zapping people," laughed Charlotte.
"At least we saved the World's Most Poisonous Cactus," grinned Jasper, only to glance back at the stand and groaned "which is gone".
Hurrying over to the stand, Charlotte picked up a card with the familiar red symbol on it, "Thanks for the Cactus, Game On".
"Frittle Chips, this really really sucks" muttered Jasper, running a black gloved hand through his slick back hair.
"Does anyone want to tell me what is going on here," thundered Ray.
Uh oh… well they had gotten away with hiding their identities for longer than they had expected.
"The World's Most Poisonous Cactus got stolen" suggested Henry, hoping Ray would take the bait.
Unfortunately for the trio, today wasn't their lucky day. "I don't care about that. Why are you two in costumes? And why did the mob call you Team Danger?"
"Oh, yeah. We decided to design costumes for ourselves so that if ever have to help out we can just jump in without fear of exposing ourselves or you" lied Charlotte.
"Ok… but why did that lady call you Team Danger?" pressed Ray, a dark look on his face.
"Oh, well we decided to call ourselves versions of 'Danger' like how Hen is Kid Danger. So I guess she got confused" rambled Jasper, playing up his supposed obliviousness.
"I mean obviously we are all on Team Man" chuckled Henry awkwardly.
Ray still looked suspicious, but his desire for nothing to change out weighed his questions. "Well alright then, let's head back to the base then".
The trio let out silent deep sighs of relief. There would be a right time to declare their independence, but not yet. In the meantime it was best to keep working in the shadows. Henry stooped down to pick up his unconscious sister before following the others out of the convention space, another fight done and dusted. Twittler would get what was coming to him soon enough, now it was time to rest up and prepare for the next battle.
Evie's Notes 2: I love hearing from y'all! Let me know what you think of the chapter and the story so far in the comments or my Tumblr Find-y0ur-j0y! - Xo Evie ️