Hello again, bet you weren't expecting this so soon. Which is a sad commentary on me. But here you go: Part 2! Now, before we get into this episode, I want to apologize in advance. This one is brutal. It was painful to write and I fought how to make the thing herein not happen, but I lost that battle with my creativity, so here.
I hope you read and appreciate this episode. Please leave a review, I love to hear from you. It helps me keep my motivation up when I'm struggling to write much.
S2E9: The Lone Danger Part 2
The jungle at night is impossibly dark. It's also incredibly loud. Henry and Flunky have settled down in a mossy grove surrounded by tall ferns. They intend to get some sleep but are disturbed frequently by things calling out or moving through the foliage. Flunky shifts around and sits up, looking toward the sound of small shuffling footsteps. "It's just an animal," Henry mutters.
"Sure," Flunky mutters. "And it doesn't want to eat us, right? You're absolutely sure."
Henry sits up too. "Whatever it is, it does not sound big enough to eat us. And I'm pretty sure predators are usually much quieter."
"That's comforting," Flunky says sarcastically. "So, I don't need to be worried until I hear nothing, then?"
Henry's sigh turns into a tired laugh. He shakes his head, "I don't actually know. I grew up in a city. I've been camping, but I don't know that much about Asian jungles."
Flunky slumps. "You're really bad at being comforting."
"I have a forcefield," Henry reminds. "I'm not going to let us get eaten by any animal."
Flunky nods. "You're probably right, anyway. That sounds like something they'd say in a high school biology class. Something about the evolution of hunting."
"I wouldn't know, I missed a lot of classes in high school," Henry says.
"To be Kid Danger?" Flunky wonders.
"Yep. Took over my whole life." Henry shakes his head and shrugs. "What about you? You actually attended your high school classes?"
"Eh, mostly, there may have been a few times I sluffed, but my mom always kept me on track," Flunky says. "Did well enough to get into the college I wanted."
"College?" Henry chuckles.
"Yeah, so? That's what most people do after high school." Flunky says. "Didn't you ever want to go to college?"
Henry shrugs. "I barely graduated high school. And that required a little fudging of facts. I haven't thought much about college, though it might be nice to do something so… normal."
"What would you study?" Flunky asks.
"I have no clue," Henry shakes his head. "What do you study?"
"Law," Flunky says. "At least I would've. This whole Dystopian misadventure probably killed my application for the program. I'll have to wait at least another year to reapply."
"How long have you been here?" Henry asks.
"Uh…" Flunky thinks. "Six? Maybe seven months. I honestly don't know when it is anymore."
"It's the end of May," Henry says.
Flunky nods with a frown. "Yeah, then it's been almost seven months."
"That sucks," Henry says sympathetically.
Flunky snorts. "I got abducted on my birthday. I was out with some friends, and I got snatched and brought to Dystopia to be the plaything of some mutated, inhuman degenerates."
"Yeah," Henry hums. "That needs a word stronger than sucks."
Flunky laughs dryly. "I don't think there's a word strong enough."
"No," Henry agrees. Flunky slumps back to the ground. Henry searches for something to say to lift the mood. "So… you're birthday, seven months ago? That'd be… October?"
"November," Flunky grumbles. "And it was one of the worst days of my life."
Henry flinches sympathetically and says, "Uh, yeah. My last birthday was really awful too. Sorry."
They sit in long, somewhat awkward silence. The only noise coming from the creatures still moving through the foliage. The heaviness of the subject for them both and the direness of their situation holds both their tongues for the longest while.
"I wanna go home," Flunky finally whispers into the blackness around them.
"I'll get you there," Henry promises.
"You can't promise that," Flunky says. "We're on the other side of the world, wandering lost through the jungle. I'm not even sure we're still walking away from Dystopia and not back toward it. We have no food or water and only the scraps of clothes left on our backs after having been cut to pieces by giants. We'll be lucky to survive through tomorrow, let alone long enough to make it home."
Henry doesn't answer immediately, opening his mouth and closing it again. He takes in his own shredded clothes. His jacket and vest are gone and only the dark blue undershirt gives any coverage to his torso, though that coverage is limited by the long slits cut in the fabric by the giants' scalpel. There are less but still several such cuts in his pants as well.
Flunky's clothes are worse off than his. Henry had only received those incisions they had deemed necessary for their experiments because he had been numbed by a sedative. Flunky had not been numb and therefore had been used for the giants' entertainment as well as the experiment. He'd been tortured by them almost to the point of death. He was only alive because Henry had managed to get the cursed magic living in him to heal his lookalike's injuries.
"Yeah, alright, things are bad," Henry consents.
"We're going to die out here," Flunky sounds so sure.
Henry can't match his surety, but he tries for some optimism. "No. We're going to be alright. I don't know how. But I'm going to get us out of here. And if only one of us gets out of here alive, I'm gonna make sure it's you."
Flunky takes a moment before responding. "That's not as comforting as you want it to be."
"We're going to get home," Henry repeats. "I know that sounds impossible, but I swear we will. We'll figure it out. We might even find some help out here." He adds trying to give them both some hope.
"From who?" Flunky wonders.
Henry's answer comes slowly. The promise had been said without any idea behind it. But as he considers, it hits him. "The Railroad."
Flunky perks up and turns towards Henry, questioning, "What?"
"They're a group that works to get people out of Dystopia, the people tricked or abducted and brought into the country." Henry explains.
Flunky huffs a sharp breath. "Yeah, I know of the group. But what help will they give us?"
"They have people out here in the jungle who know how to get us out of here and get us home." Henry says enthusiastically.
"And you trust them to actually do that?" Flunky scoffs.
"Yes," Henry says. "I know them, or at least some of them. I know the couple who runs it. I used to help them out sometimes."
"So, they needed your help and you think they'll be able to help us?" Flunky scoffs. "From what I've seen they don't even help their own."
"What? What do you mean? The Railroad help a lot of people." Henry asks.
Flunky grumbles and answers, "Someone with them helped a few of us escape the creeps who had me captive before the giants. But when they took us to what was supposed to be their safe-house, it was being overrun by the giants and we just ended up their prisoners. None of them that got out ever came back for us or even their own guy. The giants tortured and ate him."
Henry shakes his head with a frown. "They won't get into open conflicts. They know they can't contend with the strength of the Nephilim or the power of the Dark Angels. Staying hidden is their only asset. They do what they can, but they're realistic. They can't and don't try to save everyone." Flunky scowls. "But they are good people, and they will help us if they can. If we can find them."
Flunky sighs. "Okay, how do we find them, then?"
"I don't know," Henry admits. "We get lucky."
Flunky runs his hand through his hair. "Luck isn't really in my arsenal anymore. That's how I ended up here."
"Yeah," Henry cringes. "I guess we'll just keep walking. We'll figure it out."
"Joy," Flunky groans sarcastically.
"You've got a few hours yet 'til we get back to that. For now, you can get some sleep." Henry prompts.
"What little is possible with these roots in our backs," Flunky mumbles and yawns. "And as long as the jungle doesn't go silent all of the sudden."
Henry bursts into helpless laughter, fueled by his own exhaustion. "I'll stay up and make sure nothing tries to eat us." He offers.
"You need sleep too," Flunky says.
"Eh, I don't sleep well," Henry shrugs, leaning against a tree. "Especially after the last few days I've had. You go ahead. I'll be fine."
"You sure?" Flunky asks.
"Yeah, get some sleep," Henry presses.
"Well… okay," Flunky lays down, shifting around in his attempt to get comfortable. He manages to fall asleep pretty quick despite the uncomfortable position
Henry manages to doze off a few times throughout the night for short periods. He wakes up abruptly and gets little ghost visits with each short nap. He does his best to assure each of them that they're going to be okay.
When not managing to doze, he turns his focus inward, locating the magic in him and trying to make it do things. Really, it only serves to make him feel sick and hurting, and bring a few more ghosts to see him.
Slowly the jungle begins to grow a little less dark. For the first time in several hours, Henry can see his sleeping companion and their surroundings. The birds of the day start cooing in the trees and the creatures of the night slink back towards their hiding places.
Something big moves nearby, cracking branches, and the rest of everything stops. No other creature moves or makes a sound. The sudden and absolute nature of the silence is as startling as an emergency alert at home. "Oh, that is eerie," Henry says.
He looks around for the source of the disturbance. It doesn't take long to find it. Across the mossy clearing, staring at him, is the smoky, silvery-grey unicorn that had taken him and Flunky away from the Dark Angels. Its gaze is severe and focused on him. He freezes, his instincts screaming in alarm. Though it had stopped moving where he spied it, it paws the ground anticipatorily and snorts heavily.
Henry is afraid to move and provoke it, but he slowly reaches one hand toward Flunky. The lookalike startles a little as he wakes and gasps nervous questions. "Shh!" Henry hisses at him quietly. "Stay still."
"What is it?" Flunky asks, sitting up despite Henry's meek attempts to stop him.
"The unicorn," Henry mutters. Flunky follows his eye-line to the creature.
"Holy-!" Flunky yelps. The unicorn rears and whines aggressively in response.
"Shh!" Henry hisses at him again. "I don't think it's friendly."
The unicorn stomps repeatedly with more furious snorts and whinnies. It shakes its head, raking its horn against a tree. The tree at once withers; it cracks with a sound like a canon and falls to the ground. The two young men can't help but jump at the massive crash. The moment they do, the unicorn rears again and charges them.
Flunky yelps and scrambles backward. Henry activates his forcefield. The unicorn rams into them and they are thrown violently through the trees. The forcefield protects them from injury but they end up in a tangle of broken branches and vines. Henry curses and drops the forcefield.
"What are you doing!?" Flunky cries.
"Move!" Henry responds, pushing him to get out of the bramble. The unicorn has caught up to them and is ripping through the branches with its horn. "Go! Go!" Henry eggs more insistently.
The scramble they make leaves them with scratches and nicks from the branches all over their arms. They run as fast as they can once out of the bramble. Henry catches up to his lookalike and reactivates his forcefield around them while they're moving.
The unicorn breaks through the bramble and charges toward them again. It has no difficulty in catching them again, and again they are launched forward.
The cycle repeats. The young men trying desperately to get away. "It's coming again!" Flunky warns, breaking for impact.
"Dodge!" Henry shouts, leaping to the left and bringing Flunky with him by the inner wall of the forcefield.
"Dude!" Flunky complains. Henry pulls him back to his feet, only slowing down a bit. Flunky manages to stumble back into a running pace with Henry's help. He gets his eyes looking forward again before Henry and cries out a warning. "Henry!"
Henry whips his head forward and they barely manage to stop themselves from running off a cliff. "Woah!" Henry shouts; his legs give out and he falls to his knees on the ledge.
They breathe heavily and relieved for a handful of seconds before the pounding hooves of the unicorn catch up with them again. They don't have time to dodge and are launched off the cliff by the aggressive beast. The words that come out of Henry's mouth as they fall are words he'd never thought he'd say.
The cliff is not very high. The trees they fall through are not young and only a dozen or so feet tall. Nonetheless, it is jarring. The forcefield protects them from the fall itself but within that protection they collide with each other. On the ground, the two crawl away from each other, clutching their most bruised places and groaning.
The unicorn whines loudly above them, then it can be heard galloping away. "It's gonna come back," Flunky grumbles.
"Yeah. We've gotta keep moving," Henry agrees.
Flunky huffs heavy breaths but agrees. Together they lift each other to their feet again and walk into the jungle, keeping the rock face of the cliff in sight as a reference of direction.
It is slow going, their limbs ache from their desperate run and crash. Their stomachs rumble with hunger. They trip over roots and are eaten alive by bugs as they walk. The further in the sky the sun rises the hotter and more humid it gets. They have to wipe sweat from their eyes and swat at mosquitoes endlessly. Only fear and determination keep them going until they collapse to the ground.
It comes when Flunky stumbles over a little stone. He can't catch himself and on trying Henry only manages to fall over too. He lays there, face in the dirt and moss, panting. Flunky lays next to him, partially under him. "I can't…" he mutters.
"Mm," Henry groans in agreement.
Neither moves for a long time.
The highest branches rustle in the wind. Animals moves around them. A few creatures come sniffing and poking at them: a small reddish raccoon, a group of some sort of monkey, a little spotted cat. Neither boy reacts much to them, weakly waving them away. The cat nips and hisses at them; but Henry rolling over and zapping it with a laser remote has even it scampering away.
Henry rolls again onto his side, facing Flunky. "We can't stay here," he says, begrudging it.
Flunky breathes and closes his eyes against a tear beginning to well therein. "I can't keep going."
Henry doesn't argue. He feels the same. Making an attempt to get up, he gets only a couple inches off the ground before dropping back to the dirt.
It takes him three more tries to sit up. He leans against a tree and takes in their immediate surroundings. There are all kinds of plants. Funguses grow at the base and from the trunks of trees. "Something around here must be edible," Henry ponders.
"Oh god, I'd kill for some food right now," Flunky says.
"There might be some fruit in the trees. There's mushrooms there. I just don't know if they poison us or not," Henry says.
Flunky's stomach rumbles painfully. "I'm almost ready to take the chance."
"Alright. You got the strength to climb a tree?" Henry nudges him with his toes.
Flunky groans. "I don't have the strength to sit up. You're the superhero. You're supposed to save the day."
Henry chuckles. "I was put on a mandatory break from superheroing a little over a week ago."
"You been trying to save my life for two days," Flunky protests.
"I didn't say I was doing well at taking a break," Henry retorts. "I might've donned my uniform twice in my four-day vacation in New York. And getting kidnapped by Dark Angels and brought to Dystopia completely mandates fighting bad guys. In order to, you know, live. But climbing tree to find fruit? Not in my job description."
"That's where you draw the line?" Flunky laughs. Henry shrugs, glad to have at least got a happy response from his lookalike.
"I don't have the strength to climb a tree right now," Henry says. "I'll use whatever excuse I need to."
"Then we're going to lay here and starve," Flunky says in a tone making Henry wonder if he might be joking. "Cause I'm a not as strong as you. So whatever fruit is or isn't in those trees is gonna stay there."
"Uugh!" Henry groans in complaint. "Don't say things that insight the heroic instinct in me. Now I'm gonna have to do it. I can't consign us to a future of starving to death."
Flunky laughs again, this time Henry joins him. "Well, I gotta convince you to save me somehow!" Flunky is certainly joking now.
Henry chuckles even as he complains. "Dude! That's so not…"
Flunky cuts off his comment with a sharp whisper of, "Henry."
"What?" Henry asks, catching the alarm in his lookalike's voice. It's a sharp change from the mood they'd been building. "What's wrong?"
"I don't hear anything," Flunky whispers nervously.
Henry doesn't understand for a moment. Then it hits him, the jungle has gone silent. The shuffling of creatures and the hum of bugs has cut out. "Oh crap," he whispers.
"Unicorn?" Flunky worries.
"I don't know," Henry admits. With a shot of adrenaline, he gets himself moving easily enough. He kneels beside Flunky, grabbing him by the arms and pulling him up to sitting position. "Okay, seriously, how much can you move?"
Flunky's clearly got a shot of adrenaline too. He's shaking but nodding, "I can move."
"Good," Henry says. "Get up."
(Theme song:"It all just kind of happened," Henry says, rubbing his face wearily. "I helped end a killer and now his victims haunt me. Every time I win a battle, I end up with more problems. Whatever happened to happy endings and victory celebrations? My life is seriously nothing but Danger… the music of the theme song overlays his voice. The scene cutting to the credits…)
Another two days and nights in the jungle really has Henry and Flunky in bad shape. They'd given in and started trying plants that looked like they might be food. They'd sipped at a little stream. They'd been attacked by and run from the unicorn thrice more. Now they were leaning against each other in a divot between some trees, mostly awake but truly without the energy to get up. Between their exhaustion, possibly infected wounds and insect bites, and some bad fruit-thing they'd eaten the night before, the likelihood of them getting up at all was feeling very slim.
They certainly aren't prepared to respond when someone drops into their mostly hidden resting spot. Nor for the long knife that is brandished at them by that person. Flunky goes cross-eyed trying to look at it and gives a fearful squeak. Henry blinks, and shifts to get up to face the person.
"If you want to keep your heads, I would not move," their captor says. They obey. Being still in their place. Their captor goes on to question, "Who are you? What are you doing in this jungle?"
Flunky can't get any words out. His mind only able to run on a single track because of his exhaustion, is still caught on the point of the knife aimed at him. Henry doesn't let more than a couple seconds lapse in silence before finding his tongue. Deciding to not show weakness inasmuch as he is able, his response is snappish. "How 'bout you tell me your business if you expect to hear mine."
There is a short pause before their captor speaks again. "How about, I'm the one with the knife, so you answer whatever questions I ask."
Henry huffs, "Fine, my name is Danger. And if you don't get that little knife out of my and my friend's faces, you're going to find out why."
"Oh, a tough guy?" They snort at him, waving the knife careless of his threat.
"We escaped Dystopia!" Flunky yelps. "We're on the run."
Henry frowns at him, trying to communicate silently with his friend to shut up.
"Dystopia? Escaped?" The captor wonders, sounding amused. "That's not a very believable story."
"We're just trying to get home!" Flunky insists.
"Really?" They mock. "That must be a long journey on foot. Have you considered taking a train? It's a lot less loco, if speed is your motive."
"Uh…huh?" Flunky hums confused.
Henry freezes, thinking over the words. It sounds like a code, very similar to ones he'd used before in Dystopia, but he doesn't know the counter sign. He decides to instead openly question, "Are you with the Railroad?"
The captor with the knife doesn't respond, but they definitely grow more tense. Henry turns over to look at the person over them. She, for it is certainly a woman, flicks the knife reflexively with a command of, "Don't move."
Henry responds with a quick forcefield that deflects the knife away and gives her a hard, serious look. "Are you with the Railroad?" He repeats.
She stares back at him in shock. "Who are you?" She questions.
He gets to his knees and says, "I told you, I'm Danger. Now you tell me. Who are you? Are you a Railroader?"
She considers him for another moment before turning and dashing off into the jungle. Flunky army-crawls to see over the edge of their divot. "They clearly know their way around here. Did you have to scare them away? Maybe they could've helped us, especially if the Railroad really are friendly."
"She'll be back," Henry says. "And probably with friends. Which is good news if she is with the Railroad. If not…"
"Don't say it'll be worse," Flunky begs, dropping his head into the dirt. "Does this mean we have to get up again?"
"We won't go far. But let's find a better position to see her return," Henry encourages.
They tuck themselves under a thick cluster of ferns some hundred yards away and at a higher vantage point than their last place had been. From here they can see when the woman with the knife returns.
It's a bit of the wait for them, but she does return and, true to Henry's guess, she has others with her. They are very near silent as they move through the trees. Though they don't take the same precautions as they speak. "The two were here," the woman tells her friends. "Though they have obviously vacated the area."
"Sean can track them," says another, a stocky man with greying beard and calloused skin.
"I'll do what I can," the man who must be Sean nods. "What evasion skills did Hart have?"
"If this is Hart," the other man prefaces, "Then tracking him through the forest shouldn't be too difficult. It's up close that he gets dangerous."
"They know you?" Flunky questions quietly.
"They're Railroaders," Henry smiles. "The older guy is one of the founders, Ryder. He's an old friend. Would've guessed it's me because of my forcefield."
"You're sure they'll help us?" Flunky questions, giving the Railroaders a somewhat distasteful look.
"Yes." Henry reassures. Then he cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, "Ryder!"
The group of Railroaders startle and turn about, searching for the source of the voice. "Somehow, I think they didn't go far," Sean surmises.
"No." Ryder agrees. "Hart is that you?!"
"That depends," Henry calls back. "How's your stream engine?"
Ryder smirks. The woman questions "What? Is that one of our codes?"
Ryder answers Henry's prompt. "My train of thought has no track, it fell in the stream of consciousness."
Henry begins crawling out of his and Flunky's hiding spot. "C'mon," he tells his friend. Flunky follows less enthusiastically.
"It's an old code," Ryder explains to his crew. Henry and Flunky clamber clumsily to their feet and approach the Railroaders. Ryder smiles at them with a keen and kind light in his eyes, then his look turns to confusion. "Well, I'll be. How're there two of you?"
"There's not," Flunky protests. "Do we really look that much alike to everyone?"
Ryder looks between them repeatedly. "Yes. If he wasn't wearing a mask, I'm not sure I'd be able to tell which of you was Henry. You are Henry, right?" He questions.
"Yes." Henry answers. "This is Flunky, my new friend and doppelgänger."
"I still don't see the resemblance," Flunky decrees.
"Well, you may know who's who between you two, but to me you're virtually identical," Ryder says, offering Flunky a handshake and clapping Henry on the shoulder.
Henry accepts the gesture of friendship gratefully, Ryder's steady strength gives him something to lean on. "What are you doing out here?" He asks Ryder.
"I could ask you the same question. I never thought we'd see you around here again. Didn't you go home and become some massively famous superhero there?" Ryder says.
"I am not here because I want to be," Henry assures.
"Does anybody want to come here?" Flunky scoffs.
"Not many," Ryder says. "And fewer who get out ever come back. That's why I asked."
"Again, I did not come willingly," Henry says. "And now, I really need to get back home."
"Ditto," Flunky says, folding his arms and prompting, "Henry says you can help with that."
Ryder raises an amused eyebrow at him. "Maybe so. I suppose that depends on what you're expecting."
"Honestly, my expectations for your organization are not high," Flunky responds.
Ryder looks curiously surprised. The woman with the knife, however, gets offended, demanding of him "Excuse me?"
Flunky gives her a displeased look. "Your Railroad has cause me more trouble than help. If I don't end up on another giant's torture chamber as a result of this interaction, I'll maybe consider that you're not completely useless."
"Dude, chill," Henry requests, stepping closer to him. "You're okay now. They can help us."
"Giants? The Nephilim?" Ryder questions, he has remained cal.. "You were in their cooler? At our former base?"
"Because your man took me there," Flunky sighs. "Under the guise of a rescue."
Ryder nods. "You were part of the rescue effort from the Lecherfinisious cult. We put that in action just before the Nephilim attacked us."
Henry reacts alarmed at the name and says, "You never mention that group was the one you were brought in by."
"They weren't. They were the one that killed the guys that first abducted me and then took me for themselves. And I never knew their name, only what they did to me," Flunky says.
"Damn, Dude," Henry doesn't know what else to say. Neither it seems do any of the others, as they look away with guilt, shame, and/or terror coloring their faces.
Ryder alone remains able to speak to him. Though sorrow and pity fill his expression, he addresses Flunky kindly with, "I'm sorry. That should never have happened to you. I'm sorry our rescue only led into another perilous trap. I'm glad you were able to escape the Nephilim as well, and I promise my Railroad will do everything in our power to help you now."
Flunky makes only brief eye contact with Ryder, the man's genuine apology contradicts Flunky's own hurt and anger toward him. He doesn't say anything else about it. A long pause holds them all in its grasp.
Ryder eventually speaks again. "We have a camp a little ways from here. Can you make it there? I can see you're both hurt and exhausted. But we will best be able to help you there. We have food, fresh clothes and medical supplies, and once you're patched up, we can discuss how best to help you get home."
Henry considers Flunky, who doesn't seem inclined look him in the eyes either. "We're not in great shape. But if it's not too far, I think we can make it."
"As long as the unicorn doesn't attack again," Flunky comments lowly.
"Unicorn?" Ryder asks.
"Um, yeah. It's a bit of a long story," Henry says.
"Tell me as we walk," Ryder requests.
(Commercial break)
As soon as the group had reached the camp, Henry and Flunky collapsed gratefully into the makeshift seating they offered. Even greater is their gratitude for the bowls of rice and veggies Ryder brings them. "We got some meat on the fire too, it'll be ready soon. Don't feel bad about having seconds. We never run outta rice around here." Ryder tells them.
"Thank you," Henry mumbles between mouthfuls.
Ryder nods. "You're welcome. Eat up." A little old woman approaches them with a bag. Ryder introduces her. "This is Jing. She'll tend to your wounds while I go track you down some better clothes."
He takes his leave. Henry and Flunky eat their fill while Jing bandages their wounds, mostly Henry as many of Flunky's had been healed by the magic in Henry. Henry pops a gumball and his outfit returns to his travel sweats and no top, giving her easier access to his giant scalpel cuts. Flunky gapes at him when he does, bean sprouts falling from his mouth as he does. "What the heck? How did you do that? Have you had a change of outfit this whole time?"
Henry laughs. "I have these pants, or my Danger uniform. The gumballs are how I get into uniform so fast, then they can turn me back into the most recent civvies I was wearing. They only do the back and forth, and this was not better than what I was wearing before."
"You could've double bubbled and had a fresh uniform though, couldn't you?" Ryder points out returning with a bundle of things.
"Well, yes. But Flunky still would've been in his rags and that didn't seem very fair," Henry says.
"Then let him pop a bubble too," Ryder says.
"I am not putting him in my uniform," Henry says. "Everybody we've run into since we met already thinks we're identical. The last thing he needs is help being assumed he's me. He'd be attacked in a second if any of my enemies spotted him and he doesn't have any powers or training to defend himself with."
Flunky has followed the conversation with interest, much happier now that his belly is full and he's got a safer and more comfortable place to rest. "Uh, yeah, as insanely cool as it would be to wear a real superhero costume, I have to agree that I don't want to be mistaken for Danger, or Hart, or whatever you call him. I don't think I could survive everything that gave him all those scars."
Henry looks at his own skin, considering the marks there on for the first time, acknowledging there are a fair few. Aloud he blows it off jovially, "It's just a few scrapes, a couple gunshot wounds. Those are from explosions, Drex's claws, a red hot fire poker, screws," he trails off his list, not finding it so funny anymore as he recalls where each scar came from.
"Damn dude," Flunky says, not knowing what else to say.
"I'm fine," Henry tries to convince.
"Right, how 'bout you two just get dressed," Ryder suggests, tossing them each a small bundle of clothes. "Unless you're gonna don your uniform again."
"I could. I don't think it'd be my best option, but if you need me to put on my mask so you can be sure which one of us I am," Henry jokes, pulling out his tin and giving in a teasing shake.
The clatter it makes has him frowning. He twists the top over to release the next gumball and his suspicion is confirmed as it drops into his hand. He stares at the gumball, shakes the tin again and curses at its silence. "I've only got one gumball left!" He complains.
Ryder raises an amused eyebrow. "I think I'll manage on keeping the two of you straight. Save your gumball for an emergency. Put on the clothes I gave you and stop being a troll." He harasses back.
"This is my last gumball," Henry reiterates, holding it out and looking alarmed.
"So?" Flunky asks.
"I've never run out of gumballs before! This means I've only got one more bubble until I get home and get a refill!" Henry stresses.
"And is it really that important?" Flunky asks. "Why would you need to change outfits back and forth while we're in the jungle?"
Henry doesn't know how to explain his stress. He just knows he doesn't like the idea of running out of gumballs. Ryder shakes his head. "Go put on the clothes I gave you," he commands. "You're gonna be fine."
Henry replaces the single gumball in his tin and huffs off to a tent to change.
Henry and Flunky return to the makeshift sitting area once dressed in the clothes. Both are far more comfortable now than they had been for days. Ryder is packing two bags when they rejoin him. "Ah, there you go. Fed, bandaged and clothed. Now we can get down to the serious business."
"Which is?" Flunky questions, retaking his seat.
"Getting you out of here," Ryder says. He tosses one of the bags he'd been preparing to Henry and passes the other to Flunky. "These are for you. I've packed them with all I can to help you survive your journey."
"Journey?" Flunky asks.
"You want to go home, right?" Ryder answers. "That's not a simple endeavor from here. You're gonna have put in the work for it." Flunky frowns a bit, not pleased with and a bit nervous about that news. Though, he doesn't object. Ryder moves the conversation on. "First thing, where is your home? I know where Henry's from and I assume you're also from America. But I also assume you have a more specific destination in mind."
"Hiddenville," Flunky answers. "It's a little town in California."
"Alright, how close is that to Swellview?" Ryder asks.
"Uh…a few hundred miles," Flunky says.
"If you can get us both to Swellview, we'll be able to get him home easy." Henry says. "Heck, if you can get us anywhere with a working phone, I can call Miles to pick us up by teleport."
"Okay, that's useful." Ryder strokes his short beard, considering the information. "I was trying to figure out how to get you on an international flight from Hong Kong when neither of you have any I.D. or passports with you."
"Hong Kong?" Henry asks. "You want to send us that far?"
Ryder nods. "You're being hunted by the Dark Angels. Hong Kong isn't the closest city, but I think getting you a little further away will give you a better chance of escape. Sean can get you there without any trouble, he knows this whole region better than even the locals. There's enough provisions in your packs to get you there. There's also some cash for when you reach civilization. You'll be able to find a phone in Hong Kong, I'm sure."
Henry nods. "Or I can at least charge mine."
"You can do that here," Ryder offers. "We got some power, just no signal."
"Well, where's the closet place with signal?" Flunky asks. "If all he needs is to make a call, we could be out of here a lot faster by going to the closest place."
Ryder nods. "I'll update Sean, he will be the one to make that decision based on what he thinks best. Just follow where he tells you to go. That will be the best and fastest way to get home."
Henry gives his acceptance of the plan quickly. Flunky is not as sure but agrees as well.
"You'll be leaving in the morning. After you've both had a good night's rest. Sean will lead you out after you've had breakfast." Ryder says.
"You're not going to be here?" Henry asks.
"No, I'm leaving soon, taking a few out to search for the tear in the barrier you mentioned. I haven't been able to get back into Dystopia since the Dark Angels sealed it up. I've got to get home too, get back to Harriet."
Henry nods along, understanding. Flunky shakes his head. "Most people wouldn't consider being stuck outside of Dystopia as an issue."
"It's not exactly a want to live there, but it's the life I chose and I won't ever regret choosing it." Ryder nods.
"Well, good luck with it all. Tell Harriet I said 'hi'." Henry requests.
"Absolutely," Ryder agrees, clasping Henry's arm as he stands. "Until I see you again, Hart. Be it in this life or the next."
"Thank you for everything, Ryder," Henry bids him farewell.
(Commercial break)
Henry tries his hardest to sleep that night. But seeing as that is oxymoronic, it doesn't work very well. He is awake before much light has penetrated the tent he and Flunky had been loaned. Flunky is awake not much later, much to his own frustration.
"You can go back to sleep," Henry prompts. "It can't be seven yet. The Railroaders are only starting to get up. I'll wake you for breakfast."
"That'll be too soon," Flunky complains. "As soon as it's over we're going to go hiking through the jungle again."
"That's the only way to get out of it," Henry says.
"We only got one night to rest properly," Flunky explains.
"But the sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get home. It could be a matter of days until you get to see your family and friends again. Then you can rest and eat and study law as much as you want." Henry says.
"Could be. I'd like a guarantee, and I'd like it to be by tonight," Flunky wists.
Henry chuckles. He is prevented from saying anything else by Sean bursting into the tent and saying with a severe urgency, "Get up. Something's happened. We need to leave, now."
The lookalikes look at him alarmed. "What happened?" Henry asked.
"If I knew, I would've said," Sean answers. "Get up. Your breakfast is waiting out here. We leave in five minutes."
Sean ducks out. Henry and Flunky scramble to get their shoes on and follow him. "And there goes the rest of our little break," Flunky sighs dryly. Henry smirks and shakes his head. Before they've pulled the straps of their packs over their shoulders, there are screams coming from outside. They clamber out at top speed.
The Railroaders are throwing their own packs together and running in all directions into the jungle. Well, all but one direction. From the direction of Dystopia, a stream of dark tendrils is writhing through the foliage. Trees wither or burst as the appendages of magic make contact with them. The screams are also coming from there. Two Railroaders had been caught by the tendrils and were being caustically burned. Worst of all, through the dying forest, the shapes of dark-winged people can be seen coming closer at a rapid pace.
Henry curses violently, startling Flunky. "Dark Angels." Henry explains. He grabs his friend by the hand and pulls him along through the camp, away from the enemy.
Sean finds them. "Make that now. We're leaving now." He asserts. But it's too late. Their path, and those of all the rest hoping to escape, are cut off by dark angels. They're surrounding the camp, and they're not taking prisoners.
Sean draws a machete. Henry uses his forcefield and bowls into the dark angels in their way. Sean slashes at them too and the three men make a run for it. "HART!" The voice of Rajani calls furiously after them.
Henry dares a glance back at the enraged Seraph walking towards them. More of the army of Dark Angels are closing in on them. He makes a decision in that second of seeing it all. He stops running and turns around. Flunky sees this and stops quickly as well, questioning, "Henry?"
"Go!" Henry retorts. "Sean get him out of here!"
"What?" Flunky protests. "But, you're coming too!"
"No. Go! Get him home," he repeats. "They're here for me. Don't wait! Go!"
Sean obeys, dragging Flunky away even as he protests, "But, no. Henry. We can't…"
Henry glares insistently at his lookalike, imploring him to listen. Then he sets about attacking the nearest dark angels to Flunky and Sean, trying to keep the path clear for their escape. It works for a few moments. Flunky and Sean disappear through the trees. But Henry is quickly over run. Dozens of dark angels move to grab him. He activates his forcefield to get them off.
"Hold Angels!" They are ordered. "Keep him there! Don't engage!"
"What? You want to go one on one, Raj? Do you really think that'll work out for you?" Henry calls.
Rajani comes closer with a furious loathing in his eyes. His injured wing is patched with a thick paste-like substance, cracks still webbing out from the shattered center. "You haven't even healed it?" Henry questions. "Are you really so mad that hunting me down is more important than fixing your wing? You couldn't let your friends do it without you?"
Rajani's glare hardens beyond its already obsidian edge. He takes a few more steps toward Henry, stopping before he's gotten very close with a wary hesitance. "Find the twin," he orders his underlings. "Kill anyone else."
"He's not my twin," Henry protests. "And your beef is with me!"
Rajani ignores his words and sends an attack at Henry's forcefield. Henry rolls his eyes at the useless ploy. He knows Rajani knows that no magic spell will break the shield. But constant attacks on it mean Henry must maintain it, and Rajani knows that too. Flunky's scream cuts the morning and Henry sees the evil plan.
He glares at Rajani and acts. He drops the forcefield and runs straight for the Seraph, pulling out his most desperate move and throwing an energy blade, despite the way it makes his heart jump into his throat to use. Rajani moves quickly to avoid it, tripping over himself with a gasp and falling to the ground. The blade cuts through another dark angel behind him, sending them to the ground with blood gushing from the wound. A handful of the dark angels around them fly towards their master with alarmed exclamations.
They stop when Henry fires another energy blade their way. This hits no one but a tree, but all the dark angels have frozen and are watching him nervously. "What?" Henry questions, especially confused by the matching expression of Rajani's face as he gets to his feet. His eyes hold utter loathing but he moves noticeably further from Henry as he does stands, wincing in pain and turning his injured wing away from the hero's view. "You're not… afraid of me? Raj?" Henry puzzles.
"I fear nothing, fool! I am a being to be feared," Rajani insists vehemently. The momentary hesitation he displays beforehand is an obvious counter to his shouting.
Henry turns from him confused. Why Rajani would fear him does not quite make sense to him. He had hurt him, and while injuries were certainly rare for the Dark Angel, they also shouldn't be an issue. The Dark Angels could heal themselves with magic easily.
Putting it aside, he turns to where Flunky had screamed. His lookalike friend is being hauled roughly back into view by a pair of dark angels. "Henry!" Flunky cries desperately. Henry fires a third blade at them and they drop Flunky. The blade slices one of the angels' upper arms to the bone. Flunky makes a run for Henry as soon as he's free, calling out his name again.
Rajani takes the moment of distraction to prove his claim of fearlessness by attacking Henry from behind. He tackles Henry to the ground, lashing a cord of magic around his wrists and pulling his arms behind him forcefully. Henry's shoulders don't like the treatment. He retaliates furiously, a blade shooting from each hand. Rajani dodges again and the blades slice into the branches far above them. Henry rips his arm around and elbows Rajani harshly while the Seraph is still trying to rip the other arm from its socket.
They roll over each other, seeking to shove the other into the ground. Rajani fights furiously but can't quite get Henry pinned. Henry uses all his powers trying to get free but can't quite escape Rajani's hold. His forcefield gives him momentary freedoms but he refuses to attempt maintaining it until he can get to Flunky and get them on the run again. He attempts using the magic in him to counter Rajani's attacks, much to the Seraph's annoyance. "You're not going to be able to overcome me. I'm a Seraph, you've barely got your powers and you don't know how to use them!"
Henry holds back using his energy blades until he's sure he's got a good shot. Against the Dark Angels, he may become desperate enough to dare with it, but that doesn't mean he likes it. Terrible memories flash across his mind each time he lets loose a blade. He knows he can't afford to miss. He saves that move until he's got Rajani right in front of him, the Seraph is on top and Henry only can move the one hand but it's enough. He raises it sharply and without hesitation.
The green energy slices out of his fingertips. Rajani realizes Henry's intent too soon. With the aide of his magic, he turns at inhuman speed and the blade shoots past him with less than an inch to spare. As is the nature of the energy, it continues to move until it makes contact with a solid object. Flunky's expression turns to sheer surprise, and it doesn't have a chance to change to pain or horror before he's crumpled to the ground.
The world shatters around Henry. "No," he chokes out in a whisper. His breath abandoning him as he stares at his unmoving friend.
Rajani and his Dark Angels all stop and stare as well. The Seraph looks between Henry and Flunky, a wicked grin creeping wide across his face. He laughs.
Fortunately, Henry can't hear it. His ears ring with bloated silence. He mouths Flunky's name unable to speak anymore. His fists clench in his horror and his forcefield expands explosively, throwing Rajani off of him. Though Rajani doesn't care at the moment, he sits back up and watches the events with glee.
Henry scrambles hand over foot to Flunky's side. "Flunky. Flunky." He begs near soundlessly and presses his hands over the inactively bleeding wound. "No." Flunky's face is frozen still in the expression of shock. His eyes wide and empty. Henry shakes, willing the wound to close and Flunky to breathe again. He focuses the magic like he did the last time and tries to heal him. He silently begs Flunky's ghost to appear. He could find a way to bring him back. He has to.
The magic responds, but the wound in Flunky's chest does not. "You can't raise the dead!" Rajani jeers at him, still rolling on the ground laughing. Henry can't register his voice, refuses to acknowledge his words.
It is the gentler words that come next that make it through his ears. "You can't heal it, Henry." Gemma steps out from the crowd, the only one who dares. The other dark angels hover around not knowing what to do, but Gemma is serious and giving him an almost sympathetic-type look. "The wounds made by those things you throw can't be healed by magic."
He stops his attempts. The idea sends shivers down his spine. It couldn't be true. Henry's power didn't prevent healing. Ray had healed, or had been healing when Henry saw him last. But the comment stops Rajani's laughter. He scowls at Gemma and something other than the normal childish evil glints quickly through his eyes. Henry knows what Rajani's silence means, but he doesn't want to accept it.
Rajani gets to his feet and grumbles out orders for the dark angels that it's time to go and to take Henry captive.
The fracturing of the world does not stop for Henry and he begins to become light headed after so long without any proper breaths. The world spins as he holds Flunky's body protectively in his arms. Wrenching pains rips at him from his chest, igniting every nerve in his body. The moment of his energy blade hitting Flunky in the chest cycles vividly through his mind, pulling on all the other recent memories of loss and almost deadly mistakes. His suffering boils and his guilt sharpens an hundred fold. He is in no shape to stop them from taking him.
Some dark angels move to fulfill their master's command. Gemma stays still, watching with a strange expression, not unlike the way she had at his old safehouse a few days ago, but with the determination she'd held as she dragged him and Flunky out of the Nephilim's lair.
The other angels are stopped in their tracks, a group of them scattering in surprise. Out of the jungle runs the unicorn that had taken Henry and Flunky from them last time; the same one that had hunted them for days. It stomps around, tearing down trees and what remains of the Railroaders camp. It pushes the dark angels back, away from Henry and Flunky, as if intending to protect them.
Rajani gets mad. "Treachery?!" He screams at his subordinates. "Who has summoned a unicorn to work against us?"
No one volunteers themselves, obviously. But Gemma slinks back into the ranks silently, her eyes never leaving Henry. Rajani screams at the magic horse, "You work for us! You will obey me!"
The unicorn lashes out against him, slashing its horn to force Rajani away. It instead obeys the unheard request of its true master. It turns about, spearing Flunky's body, which Henry clutches to, and throws them both onto its back again. It takes them through the jungle again, far and fast from the Dark Angels.
Henry is not very aware of any of this as it happens. Lost in his grief and guilt, with no one around to help, he ends up passing out on the unicorn's back from the effects of his episode.
He wakes some long time later and in some far-off place. The unicorn is gone again, and Henry is lying on the ground, still hugging Flunky's body as though his lookalike's life depends on it.
Coming to himself is heartbreaking. Leaving Flunky's body behind in a shallow grave he spends the next day digging, filling, and sobbing over is worse.
He stumbles off into the forest with no way of knowing where to go, only the pack Ryder had given him and a single gumball as help, dazed and filled with self-loathing, and feeling so incredibly, indescribably alone.
Next Episode: S2E10: Playtime