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Chapter Text

It’s not like being disappointed by his parents was a new experience for Henry but today took the cake by far.
It sure wasn’t the first time his parents had hit him. Ist wasn’t even the first time his parents threatened to kick him out. But it sure as hell was the first time they really went through with it.

It all had started a few days prior with a call from miss Shapen who told his dad that Henry would have to repeat the year if his grades didn’t improve in the next 5 months.
The scolding and the following slap on his cheek weren’t something Henry would forget anytime soon.

The following days the mood at home had been more than tense.
Henry wasn’t surprised about that. It wasn’t the first time something like that happened after all.
Jake and Kris only had the most necessary conversations with their son but despite that they somehow managed to call Henry a disappointment and a shame multiple times a day. It hurt. Of course it did. But Henry had heard all of their accusations before. So he tried to tune his parents out as best as possible on the rare occasion he was home these days.

Charlotte and Jasper noticed that something was going on at home. Of course they did. They always did. But thanks to his years of practice and their years of knowing his parents Henry managed to appease them without much of an explanation.

Ray was a different story all together though.
Wanting to spend as much time away from home as possible Henry almost constantly hung around the man cave. Ray obviously noticed his subdued mood and reluctance to go home so he asked him what was going on one day during a routine patrol. Henry tried the same distractions that worked on Charlotte and Jasper but he realised rather quickly that Ray didn’t believe him. Henry felt that Ray wanted nothing more than to probe him on the matter but luckily for him that was the exact moment some robber decided to wreak havoc.

So at first Henry felt safe and off the hook. But not for long. Because when did Henry Hart ever have enough luck to catch a break?

The fight against the robber wasn’t spectacular in any way. Just a normal Tuesday for Captain Man and his sidekick Kid Danger. But one moment of carelessness left Henry with a nasty shoulder ache caused by being slammed into a brick wall.
He surely could have told Ray and Schwoz about his injury and maybe their technician would have had a new invention helping him with his pain.

But something in his mind deterred Henry from doing so.
He already disappointed his parents. Constantly. He wasn’t enough for them. Never had been. Ray was the first grown up to show him some appreciation. At least as kid danger.As kid he could be worth something. As kid he meant something to Ray, to Captain Man, something he was sure to never be able to achieve as Henry Hart. So kid danger wasn’t allowed to show weaknesses or to fail. Because if he failed as Captain Man’s sidekick he would be just Henry Hart. And nobody loved Henry Hart. Not even his own parents, even though they told him otherwise. They didn’t love Henry. They loved the perfect son they made him pretend to be.

After all Henry had experience with hiding pain, he had done so countless times after his parents decided that hitting their son was the only acceptable way to raise him, so that’s what he did.

Nobody noticed at first even though Ray kept sending him worried glances.
His parents sure as hell didn’t notice when he came home that night. Or if they did they didn’t care enough about him to ask.

Everything was going well until Henry went to bed about an hour later. The constant ache in his shoulder made it almost impossible to lay in bed comfortably much less sleep through the night. He kept tossing and turning, trying to find a position comfortable enough to at least get some sleep before school. It didn’t work nearly as good as Henry hoped which led him to only having around 4 hours of interrupted sleep before school for the rest of the week.

Luckily it was a slow week for Captain Man and Kid Danger so hiding his injury at work was significantly easier than Henry had feared. Ray still seemed to be suspicious of him and his assurances that everything was fine but he left it at that for the time being.

It all went sideways on Friday though. Henry had barely gotten any sleep for three nights straight at that point.
So it really was just a matter of time until he fell asleep in class again.
Which led to miss Shapen calling his dad a second time.

He should have seen it coming after that. He really should have. But some childish part of his brain still believed that his parents actually loved him for who he was not only for what image he was able to uphold. Well, that believe was thoroughly crushed now.

His parents had started screaming at him before he even managed to close the front door after coming home that night. They had belittled and insulted him pretty much everyday after the first call from miss Shapen on Tuesday so their screaming had little effect on Henry. It was what he had expected after all.

He had known the moment he woke up with his head on his desk that tonight would not be easy. He expected the screaming, the insults and some hits. So he thought he was prepared for what was about to come. But oh boy was he wrong.

His lack of an emotional response or tears managed to make his parents even angrier so they started hitting him. That also wasn’t new to Henry. Even though the intensity of the hits was rather rare even for Kris and Jake.

After the third slap to his face Henry had stopped counting. Normally his parents would stop at 5. 8 at most.

He knew what was expected from him in this situation so he apologised and promised to be better again and again. But contrary to what Henry expected his parents didn’t stop to hit him. They seemed to get even angrier with every apology Henry gave.

He could have started to defend himself. Of course he could have. He was Kid Danger after all. But he knew from experience that defying his parents when they got like this would only make the situation way worse for him in the long run. So he didn’t.

The next minutes were nothing but a blur to him. The only things that pierced through this blur wer the repeated phrases of „ we won’t waste anymore time on you useless idiot" from his dad and the „ we never want to see you again. Don’t even dare to think about coming back here" from his mum.

Wait what? That was new.
Sure they had threatened to kick him out once or twice already but never went through with it in the end.
Today sounded different than those times.

“ wait! You’re actually kicking me out?” His voice sounded weak even to Henry’s own ears.

His dad looked like he was about 2 seconds away from exploding at that.

“We sure are young man! You never showed us any respect or any thankfulness for what we did for you. We gave you a home and food and a chance to be somebody. And how did you thank us for it? You are a failure! An embarrassment. We don’t want anything to do with someone like you anymore. You are not our son. Now get out! And don’t even dare to think about coming back”

His dad whispered directly in his face. But from how his words hurt Henry he could have screamed them as well.

The only thing he was thankful for at that moment was that Piper was staying at Marla’s house so she didn’t have to see her parents like this. They already treated her bad enough. Even though it it was still way better than how they treated Henry.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on that thought for more than a few seconds.

He barely managed to grab his backpack from the floor before his mom dragged him through the front door and on the porch, took his keys and slammed the door shut without as much as a farewell.

So this was it. His parents really kicked him out. They really wanted him to never come back again.

Ouch!

Henry couldn’t say that it shocked him as much as it should have. Or that it hurt as much as he thought it would. But he still was surprised about the vehemence with which his parents told him that they never wanted to see him again.

It wasn’t until Henry tried to brush away the blood seeping down from his split lip that he noticed that he was crying. That was odd. He hadn’t cried because of his parents for years now. But on the other hand they never kicked him out before so there was that.

Deciding that he couldn’t keep standing on his parents porch Henry started walking down the street on autopilot. He didn’t really register anything at that moment. Everything around him was nothing but white noise.He couldn’t even tell if he was still crying or if it was cold out. He just felt empty.

That again was a feeling he knew from his past conflicts with his parents. But now there was also that underlying dread of not knowing what to do or where to go.

Henry was only 15. He was still in school. He didn’t have enough money to rent a flat. Not that any landlord in Swellview would rent an Appartement to a minor anyways.

He also couldn’t crash at Jaspers for the night. His parents weren’t the nicest people either even though they were decidedly better than Henry’s. But knocking at their door at, Henry glanced at his watch, 10 pm would only get Jasp in trouble and Henry refused to cause that.

Charlottes parents were way nicer but they didn’t have a guest room and Charlotte lived much farther away than Jasper did. So without taking a bus, wich he couldn’t at 10 pm there was no way he would make it to her door anytime soon.

Not knowing what to do Henry just kept walking.

It wasn’t until he stood in front of a well known storefront that he noticed where his feet were carrying him.

Junk’N’Stuff.

For a second Henry hesitated to go inside. Going to the man cave would mean he had to explain everything to Ray. But really deep inside his heart that was exactly what Henry wanted to do at the moment.

It felt strange. Contradictory in so many ways. But right now the only thing Henry wanted to do was to cry into Rays shoulder even though just three days prior he didn’t even tell him about his shoulder out of fear to disappoint him.
Even though he always protected his parents in front of Ray. Making up excuses for their behaviour. He had been so sure that his parents loved him that he just glossed over everything they did to him. That believe had been a mistake. Henry knew that now. So there was no use in keeping to cover for them.

Thinking about the options he had Henry finally decided to give in to his urge to be comforted by his boss and entered the store. The elevator ride down to the man cave felt oddly calming though it was just as chaotic as always. And once Henry arrived he felt like he could finally breathe again.

It’s been like that for days now. Since miss Shapens first phone call to be precise. Even before that Henry had loved the man cave. It was like a refuge from all the stress from the outside world. But since his family life had started deteriorating even more Captain man’s secret hideout had started to feel more like home to him than his parents house had felt in years.

It didn’t surprise the teen though. Ever since he started working for Ray his boss had felt more like a father to him than his actual dad did. Ray was present in his life. He was responsive and there when Henry needed him to. Even 2 years ago when Henry had to play a basketball match to secure his place in the team Ray was there to watch him while his parents didn’t even bother to ask him how it went. All despite the fact that Henry had only started working for Ray about 3 months before that.

Captain Man was also fiercely protective over Kid Danger. He had even called him „his kid" a few times during quarrels with various criminals. Something that never failed to spread an inexplicable warmth in Henry’s gut.

So objectively Henry knew that Ray cared about him deeply and would never send him away when he asked for help.
But still the prospect of showing weakness in front of his boss turned role model stirred a deep rooted fear inside him. He tried to never let on how much he suffered under his parents style of raising him.
And what if he completely misinterpreted their relationship and Ray really only cared about Kid Danger but not Henry Hart? No one cared about Henry Hart after all. Not even his own parents did apparently. So why should Ray Manchester be an exception to that role?

Chapter Text

Ray couldn’t really pinpoint what exactly it was that made him suspicious but something had been fishy about his kid the past few days.
Admittedly Henry could be a very convincing actor if he wanted to be. But something about the boys behaviour had been odd.

It had started the previous Thursday when Henry came to work later than usual. Ray could have sworn that Henry looked sad, hurt even. But when he asked his kid what was going on Henry played everything down and told him about some failed algebra test.
Ray immediately discerned Henry’s story for what it was, a coverup for something that was going on at home. It always was when his kid had that particular look in his eyes. But Ray rarely got the real explanation from the blonde boy.

He oftentimes suspected that it had something to do with the insanely high expectations Kris and Jake Hart set for their son (something Henry had told him about a year ago when he had a nasty concussion and was more or less out of it for a few hours). But Ray never completely managed to find out what it was Henry’s parents did or said to the boy to leave him with that look in his eyes.

Looking back at it Ray insisted that he should have noticed how terrible Henry’s parents treated him way earlier. But as things were Ray always had pushed the possibility of Henry being physically abused at home into the furthest corner of his mind. Henry was a wonderful kid. There was no way his own parents would hit someone as caring and ambitious as Henry, was there?

That Friday evening was a quiet one for Ray. Schwoz was visiting his sister for the weekend and the kids had gone home hours ago.
Well hours, plural, in Charlotte’s and Jaspers case, Henry had only been gone for about an hour and a half now.
Another thing that somehow had rubbed Ray the wrong way for the past week.

Sure he loved having Henry around. He had felt more like a father than a mentor or boss to Henry for the better part of two years now so you’d never hear him complain about Henry spending more time than strictly necessary in the man cave. But for the past days Henry’s long stays at work had felt more like " I don’t want to go home" than " I really want to stay here".

It wasn’t like Ray hadn’t tried to talk to the kid about it. But the way Henry insisted that everything was fine and Ray was just imagining things made two things pretty clear to his mentor.
First: everything definitely wasn’t fine and Ray absolutely wasn’t imagining things and second: No amount of prying or asking from Ray or any of his friends would make Henry open up about whatever it was that was haunting him.

Ray knew he wasn’t the only one worried about his kid but when he talked to Jasper and Charlotte and learned that Henry had told them the same story as him he didn’t know what else he could do for the kid.

He knew from experience that Henry never told anyone anything he didn’t want to say, no matter how much the other person begged or threatened him. While that’s a wonderful quality to have as a hero sidekick with a secret identity Ray sometimes hated Henry’s ability to keep a secret.

But just because Ray couldn’t find out what was going on it didn’t mean he couldn’t be there for his kid entirely so that’s what he did.
Ray tried to be a constant and safe presence for Henry as well as he could. He asked Henry about his day, made sure he ate and drank enough and helped him with his homework. All in all he was just there. Ray was simply doing the basic mundane things a father would do for his teenage son. It didn’t feel like nearly enough but Ray enjoyed it nonetheless.

And sometimes, when Ray made a bad joke or praised Henry for something he did the boy finally showed his bright smile again. That were the moments that calmed Rays racing thoughts at least a little bit.

Maybe he couldn’t make all of Henry’s problems disappear but at least he could be some sort of refuge to the boy. It wasn’t perfect but Henry was already 15 so it were only three more years until he could move out and find his own way in life and until then Ray planned to do everything in his power to at least make it easier for his kid.

Well turns out nothing ever goes as planned.

Ray was deep in thought when he heard the elevator descending at around quarter past ten. It surely could have been Schwoz or one of the kids that just had forgotten something. But being a superhero for as long as Ray had been honed one’s instincts and gut feelings and Ray just knew in that moment that something was very wrong. Like really wrong. And oh boy did Ray hope against his better knowledge that he was just imagining his bad feeling. He really hoped it would just be Schwoz coming home early or something of the likes.

But as soon as the elevators door opened Ray knew his bad feeling was more than well-founded.

The sliding door revealed his kid standing in front of him with nothing but the clothes he left in and his school backpack. That in itself wasn’t strange even given the late hour. But, Ray really couldn’t describe it any other way, Henry looked like shit. His hair was a complete mess and he didn’t stand with his normal straight posture but was rather slumped. Ray couldn’t really get a clear view of his kids face but he could have sworn he saw tear tracks on the boys cheeks as well as what looked like a split lip and some bruising.

Everything looked like Henry had had an unlucky run in with some petty criminal. But it was Rays gut feeling again that told him that wasn’t what happened.

As soon as Henry looked up and saw Ray already halfway up from the round couch the blonde dropped his backpack and almost ran over to his mentor. Ray only managed to fully get up from the sofa before he got both arms full of violently crying and sobbing teenager.

Ok so definitely no petty criminal then. Henry never would have cried because of something like that.
Ray couldn’t even remember having seen Henry cry at all before so he was kinda out of his depth at that point.

Since Henry clearly was in desperate need of a hug Ray firstly just close the boy into his arms. Henry almost slammed his face into Rays shoulder at that and his sobs intensified even more.
Trying to calm Henry down enough to talk to him Ray slowly moved one of his hands up to his kids hair and started combing through the stands. The hero had no idea if that would really help Henry calming down but he remembered how he himself had loved getting his hair played with when he was younger so he gave it a try.

After some moments of just holding his sidekick and petting his hair Ray started talking. Just some soft nonsense that came to mind to try and get Henry out of his own head and back to reality.

“ I’ve got you kid”,
“ You’re safe now”,
“ I’m right here”

Ray repeated his reassurances like a mantra. And after a few minutes it finally seemed to do the trick. Henry’s crying didn’t stop altogether but his sobs subsided and his whole frantic demeanour calmed down enough so that Ray could try to talk to him.

“ Kid? What happened to you? Are you hurt?”
Ray tried to make his voice sound as soft as he could muster.

It took Henry a second to respond and when he did his voice sounded all but broken.
“ I don’t think I’m hurt.” Sniff “ At least not badly. I’m bleeding somewhere in my … my face” sniff “ but that’s nothing really. It doesn’t even sting anymore”

Rays heart broke even more at that.
Someone has hurt his kid and said kid told him it was nothing.
He was bleeding for fucks sake. That sure as hell wasn’t nothing in Rays book. Whoever it was that had dared to touch his boy would absolutely get a not so nice visit from captain man later on.
But right now his anger wouldn’t help the crying teen still clutching his shirt like a lifeline so Ray swallowed whatever tirade he had on the tip of his tongue for the time being.
Right now he had to make sure Henry was alright and take a look at his injury.

Slowly letting his hand fall out of Henry’s hair he asked
“ Ok. I trust you when you say it’s nothing bad but would you let me take a look at it anyway? You know how I get when you’re hurt.”

It was the understatement of the century and Ray knew it as soon as the words left his mouth.
Whenever his kid got hurt Ray went crazy inside even if he tried not to show it. After all Henry’s safety was his responsibility and the boy trusted him to live up to that job. So every injury Henry had to suffer because of one of their jobs was entirely Rays fault. At least that’s how the man saw it.
Schwoz had tried to tell him otherwise multiple times but still Ray never could quite shake the feeling of guilt he got whenever Henry got hurt.

Taking a deep breath the boy nodded against Rays shoulder. He then slowly let go of his boss and took a step back.

It took Ray only a short moment to scan Henry’s face for injuries and what he saw made his guilt increase tenfold.

His suspicion about the teens split lip was confirmed. As was his fear to find Henry’s cheeks red and bruised. But it was the outlines of the bruises that made Rays blood run cold. His kid, his wonderful, empathic and ambitious kid had fucking handprints on both of his cheeks. Glowing in a slowly fading red.
Someone had slapped him in the face repeatedly with full force.

Oh whoever did this, and Ray slowly had a suspicion about that, would regret ever laying a hand on his boy. He would make sure of that personally.

Forcing himself to stay calm though, for Henry’s sake, Ray slowly brushed away some of the blood on Henry’s chin with his thumb while thinking about what to do next.
He still needed to know what exactly happened to his kid and he needed to clean the cut as well as making sure that the teen wasn’t hurt anywhere else. Henry seemed to have calmed down enough to not start sobbing again for the time being so Ray decided to first take care of his injuries.

Keeping the soft quality of his voice he said
” That really doesn’t look too bad. You have a split lip. That stuff bleeds like hell but luckily heals rather quickly. But I still need to clean that for you and put some disinfectant on it. You know Schwoz and Charlotte would have my head when I let you get an infection from a split lip”

Ray chuckled but his admittedly bad attempt at a joke fell flat when Henry just nodded and looked back down at the floor not giving any impression to move.

Feeling Henry’s helplessness Ray continued “ Why don’t you go sit down on the couch and I’ll get the wipes and disinfectant? I can also get you a hot chocolate if you want one”

Henry nodded again before mumbling
“ A hot chocolate would be nice. Thank you for taking care of me”

Why on earth would Henry feel the need to thank him for that?
Ray didn’t think his heart could break even more for the boy in front of him but it did.

Wanting to reassure him he quickly ruffled his hair and tried to sound as sincere as humanly possible when he said
“ Every time kid. That’s what I’m here for. And don’t you ever think you’d have to thank me for that.”

As soon as Henry started moving towards the couch Ray power walked up to his sprocket to get the supplies needed to clean the boys wounds. He also used the time to take a deep breath and get his thoughts in order. Whatever Henry was about to tell him about what happened that evening wouldn’t be easy for either of the two of that Ray was more than sure.

Chapter Text

Henry would never have thought that crying could feel so freeing. To be honest he hadn’t even planned to cry at all. But the numbness he had felt on his way to Junk’N’Stuff had left his body as soon as he heard the familiar ‘’ding’’ of the elevator arriving at the man cave.

It was like a curtain had lifted. Like the wall between his rational thoughts and his raw emotions had crumbled to nothing but dust.
For the first time since he left his home about a half hour ago Henry felt fully in control of his body again. The shock of what happened slowly subsided. Making space for the sinking realisation of what his parents had done just now.

But not only that.

Not only what Kris and Jake Hart had done today, but how they had been treating him for years now. Henry had always glossed over his parents behaviour towards him. He had always found excuses and lied to teachers, Ray, Schwoz, even Charlotte and Jasper. All because he had wholeheartedly trusted his parents to someday be better. To love him enough to somehow change. He had beared every hit, every insult, hoping and trusting that it hadn’t have something to do with himself as much as his parent inability to get their own lives together.

In a strange, messed up way tonight had been some sort of epiphany for Henry.
He was right that his parents' behaviour hadn’t anything to do with what he did, but with their own shortcomings.

It was the believe that they would be willing to change that Henry had gotten wrong all those years.
They would never change. Not for him, or for Piper and least of all for each other.

He and Piper had known that Kris had been cheating on her husband for years now and that Jake wasn’t going on nearly as many business trips as he liked to tell them. And in all honesty, Henry was done with that shit.
He was done with keeping up the façade of a happy family when his home life had been in shambles for years now.

It may have taken him years to realise but right now inside this crazy elevator bringing him down to a secret base owned by a superhero who to Henry felt so much more like a father than Jake ever had he finally could see how messed up his whole situation was.
How unfair the cards his life had dealt him really were. And how what happened to him wasn’t his fault.
It had never truly mattered what Henry did or didn’t do. His parents had always found a way to somehow be disappointed in him or make it seem like every bad thing in their life was his fault.

Feeling that realisation sink in hurt more than anything Henry had ever felt before. And when he saw the concerned look Ray send him through the room the teen simply couldn’t hold it in anymore.

He dumped his backpack on the ground and all but ran to his mentor. Sobbing and crying like he never did before.
Henry didn’t care about much in that moment. He was at his absolute breaking point.
Rock bottom.
The only thing he could do now was hold on to the hope that he hadn’t misinterpreted his relationship with Ray and the other mans efforts to step up to him as a father whenever his parents weren’t there.

When Henry noticed how Ray cradled him in his arms and carefully began playing with his hair there was no going back. Henry couldn’t have hold back the frantic sobs escaping him even if he tried. And even more importantly he noticed that he didn’t want to hold anything back anymore.
With their behaviour today Henrys parents had destroyed every last ounce of protectiveness and moral the teen had towards them.
So, Henry decided it was finally time to come clean to those people who had been there for him through it all.

But first Henry simply let go. He let all of the stress, the pain and the anger of the past months and years come free, trusting Ray to catch him when he fell.

And that’s exactly what the older man did.
He gave Henry the time he needed to calm down and come back to himself, reassuring and holding him through all of it and Henry knew in that moment that whatever it was that he had to face now he could manage as long as he had Ray standing at his side.
Even after the worst of Henry’s crying was over Ray was incredibly considerate with what he said or did. Always informing Henry of his next steps and constantly checking in with the teen as to not startle him even further.

It took him longer than he liked to admit to calm down fully. To gather his thoughts enough to form coherent sentences without actively concentrating on it. But Ray didn’t push or rush him. He gave Henry a few minutes to himself while searching for the stuff he needed to clean Henrys wound. Time Henry used to think about where he wanted to start. When Ray came back, stopping at the auto snacker to get him his hot chocolate the boy decided to simply start from the beginning.

Looking up to his mentor Henry noticed something though. The shoulder of the mans shirt was tear stained and bloody. Oops. So maybe he should start with apologising for that.

,,Ray’’ he called out over the back of the couch.

The man in question turned around and moved towards him, balancing two mugs, a pack of wet wipes and a bottle of disinfecting spray in his hands but didn’t answer aside from a grunt. To concentrated on not dropping the objects he was carrying.

,, I’m sorry about your shirt. I didn’t mean to bleed all over your shoulder when I came here. It’s just.’’ Henry paused. Swallowing the rapidly building lump in his throat. ,, There was some real bad stuff going on at home. I know you’ve noticed. And I know you’ve been worried for quite some time now. I couldn’t talk about it. I didn’t want to. I guess I just didn’t want to see how shitty everything really was. But tonight shit really hit the fan and’’ another pause. Longer this time. But Ray patiently waited for Henry to continue, meanwhile placing everything he was holding on the table. ,, I think I’m ready to tell you everything now. If you want to hear it at all that is. I know I’ve been mean to you by lying and telling you that you’re crazy. And I’m sorry for that too.’’

Henry had estimated many different outcomes to his monologue in the short time that Ray had been gone. But he didn’t consider Ray to just smile at him. A mix of pride and subdued sadness in his eyes. Then his mentor knelt down next to where Henry sat. Between the couch and the table.
His voice sounded as soft as his whole behaviour had been when he put a hand on Henrys knee and started talking ,, Don’t worry about it Hen. I mean it. I needed to toss that shirt in the wash anyways. And I understand why you didn’t tell me anything sooner. I saw how whatever it is your fighting with was hurting you. How it still hurts you. Admitting to something that big takes a lot of courage. I think I already have a vague idea what’s going on but I’d be glad to listen to you for as long as you need me to. To be honest I’m honoured that you trust me enough to open up like that. But maybe let me clean your lip first, ok?”

At Henrys nod Ray made quick work of wiping the blood on the kids chin away and carefully patting another wet wipe over the cut in his lower lip. He even went as far as to warn Henry about the sting of the disinfectant before he sprayed it on. Henry already knew the process of getting patched up by his boss. Something that just came with the job. But it still felt nice that Ray was being so considerate.

When his lip was tended to Ray got up and tossed away the used wipes. He then quickly excused himself again to change his shirt.

He came back not even two minutes later wearing a T-shirt instead of his Hawaiian button down Henry had thoroughly ruined earlier and dropped down next to the boy on the round couch.
Henry took a sip of his cocoa before he put the mug down again and started talking.
He thought it would be harder to find the right words but as soon as he leaned back, putting his head on Rays shoulder on instinct everything just started flowing out.

,, Ok so. I’m sure you already guessed that my parents marriage isn’t the happiest.’’

Ray gave a confirming hum

“ Well its actually been like that for years now. I guess it all started when I was around 8 or so. Piper had just started preschool around that time. Anyways. My dad had found out that my mom was cheating on him one day. They never explicitly told us but… lets say my mom wasn’t nearly as discreet as she hoped to be. Their marriage went down the drain but they didn’t break up because of Piper and me. At least that’s what they said. To be honest I think its more because they thought that a divorce would scratch their perfect image of a happy family or something.’’

Henry sat up to take another sip of his hot chocolate. When he leaned back again Ray had put his arm up on the back of the couch so Henry simply snuggled into his side without thinking about it. It felt nice. And actually the boy was sure would need every bit of support he could get to pull through the rest of his story so he decided to just enjoy the closeness a bit longer.

Closing his eyes for a short moment Henry resumed his story. ,, That time wasn’t easy for Piper and me. Our parents fought constantly. It didn’t stand out too much with Piper because she was still very young but my grades suffered. When I came home with my first F one evening’…’ Henry knew he could do this. He had never told anyone about this before but he really needed to get it of his chest now. ,,well…my parents hit me for the first time that day. Not excessively but they slapped me and send me to my room telling me that’s what I deserved for being a disappointment.’’
Needing a moment to breathe after that revelation Henry looked up to his mentor. Ray still had that proud look in his eyes, really making it clear how much he had meant it when he said Henrys trust was a privilege to him. But he also looked insanely sad.
Noticing Henrys staring Ray pulled him in a bit more hiding his face in his blond hair.
,, Oh kid. I’m so sorry that happened to you.’’ The mans voice sounded just as broken as Henry felt at that moment. ,, I should have known. I should have helped you.’’ At that Henry scoffed. ,, I didn’t want you to notice so quit beating yourself up about it. I know that I sound crazy when I say that but it somehow got better with time. I mean it never stopped hurting but I somehow got used to it. I met Charlotte and Jasper that year too so that also helped a lot. My parents also never got very creative with what they did. Some slaps here and there. But mostly they just called me a disappointment or blamed me whenever something went wrong. As soon as I started working here it got way more bearable anyway. I wasn’t home as much so I didn’t have to see them for a long time each day.’’
To Henry all of this had been normal. Unfair and depressing sure. But normal.
Seeing how Ray now silently held him. Hurt and angry on his behalf really put in perspective what degree of abuse it was that Henry had survived for years now.
“ I never wanted anyone to notice because I always hoped that one day they would realise what the were doing and change.’’ Henry added ,, But I guess today they finally showed me that they will never change. No matter for whom or why.’’

Ray pulled his face away from Henrys head to quickly wipe at his now damp eyes.
He sounded almost a bit scared of what he was about to hear next when he asked ,, What happened today kid? What have they done?’’

Henry knew that now the hardest part would begin. His own tears started welling up in his eyes when he cuddled closer into Rays side, pressing his forehead against the older man’s collarbone. Ray luckily understood Henrys need for comfort and started to play with his kids hair again slightly calming both of them down in the process.
Taking a deep breath Henry decided that just ripping the bandaid of would hurt the least so he just started describing the last few days as best as he could ,, Technically everything started do go downhill last Thursday. The algebra test I told you about wasn’t a lie. My parents went crazy when they found out because my teacher called and told them I had to repeat the year if I don’t improve my grades until summer break. They reacted like they always did. Screaming, insults, hits. But they were livid this time. That’s why I didn’t want to go home. Then on Tuesday that stupid robber slammed me into that wall and I hurt my shoulder.’’ Henry noticed that Ray wanted to reply to that statement but he didn’t let him. He knew he shouldn’t have kept his shoulder injury from his boss. But he just had to get the rest of his story of his chest before the lump in his throat forced him t cry again ,,I didn’t tell you because I felt like if I disappointed one more person I was gonna burst. So I decided to just rock it out. I couldn’t really sleep all that well though because of that. So I fell asleep in class today.’’ At that point Henry got faster and faster while talking. ,, My parents went nuts when they heard. They hit me. But really bad this time. Worse than they ever did before.And then they took my keys, said they never wanted to see me again and that I’m no longer their son and kicked me out with nothing but my backpack.’’
At the end of his statement Henry felt so much lighter than he had in years. For the first time in forever he hadn’t have to keep any secrets. Ray knew everything now. With him Henry didn’t have to lie about any aspect of his personality anymore. Not his parents or broken home life, not his secret identity not his school problems or his worries. And it felt incredible not having to constantly have your guard up. Not having to feel guilty for keeping secrets. As strange as it was given the circumstances of their talk Henry felt liberated.

Noticing that Henry was done talking Ray took a deep breath before he began. ,, I’m a bit speechless at the moment kid. And it isn’t your fault. It really isn’t. It’s just…’’ Ray sighed deeply ,, What happened to you is horrible. And I’m so thankful that you trust me enough to come here and talk to me.’’ His voice sounded like he had started crying but tried really hard to hide it. Henry didn’t dare to look up, to afraid to restart sobbing too when he saw his mentors wet eyes. ,, Kid you’re one of the bravest people I know. And I’m not talking about Kid Danger right now but Henry Hart. You’re incredibly kind and ambitious. I’m pretty sure Jasper and Charlotte would be telling you the same thing if they were here right now. You light up every room you step in by just being yourself.’’
Ok at that point Henrys plan to not tear up again went out of the window completely. Ray just held him a bit closer at that but didn’t stop. A sincere quality to his voice Henry only heard a few times before through the three years they have known each other now.
,,I now you don’t want to be pitied for what you went through. And I wont. But…’’ A short pause. ,, I’m so so sorry for what happened. For what mistakes I made in the past years. I should have never done anything to give you the impression that you getting hurt would disappoint me in any way shape or form. And most of all I should have noticed you getting hurt on Tuesday. I know you all try to tell me differently but the way I see it your safety out there I my responsibility. And I failed you.’’

Ray swallowed, hard.

Henry used that short break in the mans speech to butt in ,, It wasn’t your fault.’’ Ray made a disbelieving noise but let his kid continue. ,, I knew what I got into the day I took that oath. I knew that I could get hurt. And to be honest your doing a pretty good job of keeping me safe. I’ve never been injured badly. Just some cuts or bruises and some aching here and there. I’m fine with that. No matter what you say or think about it. And it also wasn’t anything you did or said that made me think I would disappoint you. I’ve just been feeling like shit lately and that leads to me getting insecure. I’m sure you already noticed that one earlier, didn’t you?’’ Ray nodded. Still not breaking his kids tirade. It felt good to finally get everything off his chest. To finally speak freely about anything and everything that had been haunting him for years. So Henry didn’t stop. ,, I know you care about me. Even a blind person could see that. But being told that whatever I did wasn’t worth anything. That I wasn’t worth anything. It really messes with my head sometimes. So for the longest time I believed that what my parents did was ok. And I couldn’t accept what you did for me. I couldn’t understand it. But I’m done with all that shit. I don’t want to be treated like that anymore. Least of all by people claiming that they love me.’’ Henry noticed how frantic he sounded again. But he also felt how Ray wasn’t judging him. If anything his boss was understanding and accepting Henrys emotional state and his mood swings as they came. And Henry couldn’t be more thankful for it.

Chapter Text

,, I know you care about me. Even a blind person could see that. But being told that whatever I did wasn’t worth anything. That I wasn’t worth anything. It really messes up my head sometimes. So for the longest time I believed that what my parents did was ok. And I couldn’t accept what you did for me. I couldn’t understand it. But I’m done with all that shit. I don’t want to be treated like that anymore. Least of all by people claiming that they love me. Honestly I never want to go back there. I’m through with this’’

Ray let Henry talk as much as he needed to to get everything off his chest. Of course he still felt guilty. But now wasn’t the time for that. Now was the time for Ray to be a grown up and act accordingly. Henrys parents kicked him out. Ray knew what that meant. At least legally. But from the looks of it Henry didn’t. So maybe he should start there.

,, I totally get that Kid’’ he began ,, And I promise you now that you don’t have to. I wont ever force you to go back there after what they put you through.When they want you back home we can call CPS and get everything on the way to get you out of there permanently. But depending on how they act over the weekend we might not even have to do that.’’

,,What do you mean?’’ Henry luckily had calmed down again. Now he just sounded confused and tired instead of utterly heartbroken. For Ray that was a small win.

Ruffling his kids hair he started explaining. ,, When your parents kicked you out they legally gave up custody over you. They can claim it back during the next 48 hours by filing an objection or reporting you missing. But if they don’t you are free to choose who your legal guardian should be. That person just has to sign some papers with the authorities then. Only requirement is that whoever you choose is over 21 and lives in Swellview.’’

Henry looked over the moon at that information. Before he suddenly got a bit shy. A look Ray didn’t know from his normally brave kid. ,, So I could make you my legal guardian if I wanted to?’’ Ray had to strain his ears to understand Henry’s silent question.

,, Of course you could.’’ He tried to not sound to ecstatic at the boys inquiry. But if Henrys blinding smile was anything to go be he utterly failed. Not that it mattered anyway. ,, If that’s what you want to do I’d be more than happy to take you in. Not that it would change all that much. I mean your already spending most of your time here anyway. And to be honest, to me you’ve been like my own child for years now. I’m sorry I never made that clear.’’

,, You didn’t have to.’’ His kid, now it seemed like Ray could call him that officially, claimed. ,, I know. Deep down I guess I’ve always known. I couldn’t always understand it because.. Well… all that stuff. But I always knew. And honestly I can’t thank you enough for any of that. You’ve been a better dad to me for the past two years than my dad has ever been.’’ The smile Henry send him could have lightened up all of Swellview, Ray was sure of that. But he guessed his own smile wasn’t far behind.

,, We’ll have to start with some planning then.’’ Ray reminded himself to keep a level head through the rush of relief he felt at knowing his kid would be safe for the future
,, I’d say you can take the guest room but since you’re staying permanently now we should redesign it bit don’t you think?’’
Henry made an affirming sound. The lack of sleep and the stress of the last days slowly taking its toll.

,, We can talk more about all that tomorrow if you want to. You look two seconds away from falling asleep kid‘’ Ray suggested, starting to stroke Henrys hair again on instinct which only prompted the kid to snuggle even closer.

,, I think that would be a good idea. I’m dead tired.’’ The teens statement was interrupted by a long yawn reinforcing his message. ,, But I’m sure I can’t sleep right away. Too much adrenaline. Can we watch the next episode of Dog Judge?’’

They both knew that problem. It came with being a superhero. It surely wasn’t the first time Henry had stayed over after a mission that took longer than planned. Both of them tired out of their minds but unable to quite shake the adrenaline rush just yet. Watching old Dog Judge episodes had kind of become their thing in those situations.

Depending on the circumstances they sometimes sat on the couch with Schwoz for hours on those nights. But more often than that Henry simply stayed over in Rays room watching episode after episode before both of them fell asleep eventually. If Henry hadn’t asked Ray would have offered to turn on the TV. If only to calm himself down too.

But, Ray suddenly remembered, before they went off to bed he had to take a look at Henrys shoulder. From how the boy moved it didn’t seem to hurt that much anymore but its better to be safe than sorry.
He knew Henry wouldn’t like him fretting so he decided to propose a deal.
,, Of course we can Hen. But only if you let me take a look at your shoulder first.’’
The kid rolled his eyes but straightened up enough for Ray to inspect his joint.
After a quick examination Ray told him he was good to go and was rewarded with a cheeky smile and a ,, I told you I was fine. It just hurts that all’’ from his favourite knucklehead.

Getting up from the couch Ray quickly retraced their evening before Henry went back to his parents house to determine when he had eaten the last time. Deciding their shared nacho tower 3 hours prior was as good as it gets he went over to one of their cabinets and pulled out a tube of pain killers. Tossing it over and keeping an eye on the dosage Henry took he asked.

,, Ok. Couch or my room?’’ Calmed by the familiarity of that question after all those nights spend keeping each other company after missions.
Henry answered his question while getting up and moving over to the sprocket.
,, Your room. I think sleeping while sitting up would make my shoulder hurt even worse. I just hope I still have some jammies lying around here somewhere.’’

With that the kid disappeared to the guest room he normally occupied while staying over.
Smiling to himself Ray got two bottles of water from the auto snacker before he went to his room to change and start the television.

He was just searching for their show when Henry entered the room and dropped on the bed. Turns out Henrys so called jammies consisted of Rays old sweatpants he had lent the boy months ago but never got back and one of Rays own sleepshirts the kid must have nicked without him noticing. Shaking his head Ray turned around to hide his laughter at his kids shit eating grin. Henrys teasing ,, What is it old man? We’re family now aren’t we? So I guessed stealing your clothes wont hurt.’’ Only served to make him cackle even more before he turned off the light and laid in bed next to his kid. But not without ruffling the teens hair in revenge.

It wasn’t different than all the other times they had done that before. Some teasing to loosen the tension of the day, some roughhousing and then the comfortable background noise of their show. Sometimes they talked through the first few episodes. Sometimes they were both too stuck in their heads for conversation. Whenever it was a particularly close call or just some really nasty stuff they were forced to deal with Henry would put his head on Rays shoulder and the older man would hug him until they both fell asleep.

As soon as Ray laid on his back that night he noticed it would be one of the cuddle type. And to be honest he was glad for it. Henrys revelations and the implications of of his own offer still hung heavily in Rays head. He didn’t have to think twice about becoming Henrys legal guardian. And that in itself wasn’t the problem. It was just that Ray would never have thought that having kids was in the cards for him. Not with his lifestyle and track records with relationships. He didn’t know if he really was ready for that kind of responsibility. But looking down at Henry in his arms, tiredly laughing at something that was happening on screen, Ray decided that it didn’t matter in the end. Henry had been his kid from the very moment he followed him into the toddlers lair to free him. So signing some paperwork to get custody over the boy would just be the formalities to something he already was doing anyway.

,, Hey … umm Ray,’’ The insecurity in his kids voice had the alarm bells in Rays head going off again.

Oh damn he really was in deep wasn’t he?

,,I’ll have to talk to Jasp and Char first thing tomorrow. Could you maybe call Schwoz in too? I know he’s visiting his sister but I really don’t want to tell all that more times than I have to.’’

Schwoz surely would cut his visit with his sister short no questions asked as soon as Ray told him there was something going on with Henry. The other man loved the kid just as much as Ray himself did so getting him here tomorrow morning wouldn’t be a problem.
,, I get that kid. Of course I’ll call him. But first you should get some sleep’’ He reassured the boy placing his hand back on his hair.
The only answer he got was a nod and a tired hum.

It didn’t take Henry long after that to fall asleep. Ray stayed silently stroking Henrys hair for a few more minutes to make sure he didn’t wake him up before he carefully got up.

Taking his phone with him Ray went back to the main Hub as quietly as possible.

The couch felt heavenly when he dropped onto it. Taking a deep breath the man tried to get his thoughts back in order.
He still was furious at Henrys so called parents. How on earth could they do this to his boy. How could they hit him with such force and such regularity that to Henry it became normality. How could they mess his self-image up so badly that he had problems to accept anyone caring about or loving him.

If Ray could have his way with them Kris and Jake Hart would end up in the deepest pits of Swellview prison. No matter how hot he thought Kris was. They were horrible people and even more horrible parents. But he knew that wouldn’t be what Henry would want. He was way too good-hearted for that. Another quality Ray appreciated about the boy.

Taking a deep breath and swallowing his anger Ray dialled Schwoz number. It barely took the other man two rings to answer even given the late hour.
,, Ray. What do you woont ?’’ Schwoz sounded sleepy.

Ray felt bad for waking his coworker. Even more so for interrupting his vacation. But this wasn’t about him. This was about Henry. And Ray knew Schwoz wouldn’t forgive him for leaving him out of the picture when it considered the teen.

Foregoing their usual back and forth Ray came straight to the point. His voice not leaving any doubt about how serious the situation was. ,, Schwoz. I’m sorry to crash your vacation but I need you to be back to the man cave by tomorrow morning when the kids get here.’’

On the other side Ray heard some rumbling and shuffling. Then the sound of Schwoz phone hitting the ground and some rather harsh sounding swear words in Schwoz native language before his friend replied. ,, Ok you sound seerios. What happened?’’

Ray sighed. ,, You know the bad feeling I had about Henry? About something going on with his parents?’’
Schwoz hummed in approval.
,, Well I was right. His parents kicked him out a few hours ago.’’

Schwoz voice sounded less shocked and more concerned when he asked ,, Is Henry ok? Can I talk to him?’’
It were questions Ray had expected from their technician. Another evidence to how important the kid was not only to Ray but also to Schwoz.

,, He’s okayish I’d say’’ Ray started to explain. ,, He has a split lip I took care of and he was hiding a bruised shoulder from us since Tuesday but other than that he doesn’t seem to be injured. He’s sleeping right now. He was out like a light as soon as I turned on the TV. But he asked about you coming home so he could tell you everything together with Jasper and Charlotte.’’

More commotion could be heard in the background. It sounded like Schwoz opened a door and then took some flights of stairs.
,, Ok. I’m basically on my way. I just have to tell my sister I have to leave.’’ Another door could be heard before Schwoz continued
,, It’s almost midnight now so I guess I’ll be at the mancave by six. Seven if I get into heavy traffic. Take care of Henry ok?’’

Reassuring Schwoz that ,, Of course I’ll take care of him. Try not to die while on the road’’ Ray ended the call and slumped back against the couch.

The next days wouldn’t get easy. Talking to their team would be the easiest part of what was about to come.
Ray hoped that Henrys parent wouldn’t file a complaint or a missing person report. Getting CPS involved would make everything even more complicated.

But even if Kris and Jake Hart didn’t reclaim custody over their kid. Ray would have to take Henry to the government office first thing Monday morning to get all the formalities out of the way. After that he would need to take Henry to school and talk to his teachers about Henrys situation. Hopefully getting them to be a bit more … lenient with their grading.

And lastly they would need to get Henrys stuff out of his parents house. Ray was sure that that part would be the hardest. At least for his kids mental health.

Looking at his watch Ray noticed that Schwoz had been right. It really was around midnight already. Jasper and Charlotte were to start their shift at 10 o’clock so Ray decided to go off to bed. Leaving all the decision making for tomorrow when he and Henry were a bit more receptive and they had their team to help them. Because after all Henry wasn’t alone in this. He had Ray of course. But he also had their whole wonderful team to support him through the next weeks and months.

Chapter Text

Henry may not have noticed Ray getting up, but he surely did notice when he came back. Mostly because Henry had managed to take up Rays entire bed while he was asleep. And try as he might his mentor simply wasn’t able to move Henry without waking him up in the process.

Grunting Henry slid over closer to the wall so Ray could lay down. Once the man was done pulling the covers up Henry simply decided to throw one leg over him and use his shoulder as a pillow.He didn’t notice Rays silent chuckle and the hand moving back into his hair anymore before he fell back asleep.

The next time Henry awoke was to the smell of coffee and a careful shaking on his shoulder. “Hey kid. Wake up. I brought you coffee.’’
Rays voice slowly filtered through the sleepy fog in Henrys brain.

To tired to really make sense out of what he heard Henry pulled his pillow over his head almost knocking the coffee mug out of Rays hand in the process.
“Just five more minutes.’’ Henrys voice was barely audible through the pillow.
Ray laughed at that and got up.

Henry, already enjoying his victory, pulled his head back out from under the pillow. But he underestimated how attuned Ray had gotten to Henrys quirks. So, the older man placed the mug down on the nightstand before he went to leave the room.

But not without a cheeky smile and telling Henry that “Well I guess I get to eat the pancakes Charlotte brought for you then.’’ Ray was so mean. Of course, the prospect of greasy breakfast food would get Henry out of bed in record time. He even went as far as to expertly dodge the pillow Henry was throwing after him for his provocation before he left the room.

Falling back on his back Henry sighed and looked at his watch. It was twenty past ten already. At least that explained why Charlotte was here. He guessed Jasper would be at work too.

Finally finding his motivation to get up Henry was faced with his next problem. He wanted to change but the last civvies he had stored in the guest room were torn up beyond recognition on their last undercover patrol.

Thinking about it for a moment Henry decided that the sweatpants he was currently wearing were as good as it gets. So, he simply nicked one of Rays T-shirts and, after short consideration a Hoodie. It wasn’t the first time he had borrowed (stolen) his boss's clothes so it would be fine.

Taking his mug with him Henry already heard Jasper’s voice when he crossed the corridor to the sprocket. He stopped before going out to the main hub though.

He knew there was no point in being nervous. He had known Charlotte and Jasper for years now. And Schwoz was one of the only adults aside from Ray that Henry trusted wholeheartedly.
So, it really was ridiculous to be scared to tell them what happened.

But still Henry was. He was fucking terrified if he was being honest to himself.

Henry didn’t notice the rapid beating of his heart or the shallow breaths he took until he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Hey Hen. Are you ok? You look like you're panicking.’’ Rays voice sounded concerned. Something Henry had somehow started connecting with warm hugs and safety in the past few hours.

“I... yeah. Just nervous I guess’’ He really hated how insecure he sounded right now.

But Ray just smiled at him reassuringly before ruffling his hair. “I get that kid.’’ Of course, Ray was understanding like that.

Henry really couldn’t quite grasp what it was that made him deserve this level of support “You want me to start the talking and fill in the gaps and background info?’’

That actually was a great idea Henry thought. It would breach the topic and open the conversation. And after that Henry could get all the other stuff off his chest.

Trying to sound a bit less terrified Henry answered “That would be great. Thanks dad’’

Oops.

Henry didn’t mean to say that.
Not that he didn’t mean it.
Hell of course he meant it.
Ray had been his dad for about two years now. At least in all the aspects that really mattered. And if everything went smoothly, he would also officially be Henrys legal guardian in about forty hours.
But Henry had never dared to call Ray his dad. To afraid the other man would find it weird or reject him.

But looking up, ready to apologise for his slip up Henry noticed that he never had to worry about that. Ray was positively beaming at him, trying and failing to hide the tears forming in his eyes.

Henry couldn’t stop himself from smiling right back at Ray, his dad. It was ok to call him that now. And oh boy was that a wonderful feeling.

Rapidly blinking the tears out of his eyes Ray cleared his throat.
Not that it changed anything about the raw quality of his voice. “Come on kid. Your friends are waiting for you’’

Henry nodded at that and followed Ray through the sprocket.

The chattering from around the table didn’t stop immediately when Henry and Ray entered the main hub.
Jasper stood with his back to them, telling some story about school.
Charlotte was preoccupied with correcting Jasper whenever he started to exaggerate and Schwoz was downing what seemed to be the last sip of his comedically large can of energy drink.

Henry sat down in the chair near the monitors, Ray taking the seat next to him.

Waiting until Henry gave him a sign to begin Ray cleared his throat.

It was Charlotte that noticed them first. “Oh hey. Morning guys.’’
She sounded as cheerful as always until her gaze dropped to Henrys clothes and her voice became suspicious “Hen, I didn’t know you were staying in the man cave. I thought you wanted to go home as soon as you and Ray finished the security screening. What happened?’’
Of course, Charlotte would notice something was out of order in under two seconds.

Just as he had promised Ray chimed in at that. His voice serious enough to make everyone sit down and listen as soon as he started talking.
“Well. We all know that Henry didn’t always have it easy at home.’’
Confirming mumbles filled the room. All of them coloured in consideration.
“Yesterday Henry did go home after we finished the checks. Charlotte, Jasper, you know Henry fell asleep in class yesterday, don’t you?’’
The teens nodded.
“Henrys parents didn’t react to nicely to that. They kicked him out. That’s why he came here late last night.’’

Ray was met with heavy silence after he finished his statement. It was Jaspers angry shout that broke the silence “They can’t just do that to you Hen. I mean I know ho expectant they are, but they can’t just kick you out.’’

While Jasper reacted with anger to the news Charlotte looked almost like she was in pain.
As clever as she was, she surely was able to connect the dots and therefore see the meaning behind Rays statement. Even more so after seeing Henrys split lip.

Henry decided this was his cue to start explains the background of the whole story.
He told his friends about miss Shapen’s calls and his parents’ reaction to that.
About Kris’ and Jake’s broken marriage and the abuse that resulted from that.
He also told them about the last night and how he had asked Ray to become his legal guardian.

At the end of his story Henry looked back up from the ground to his team.
Charlotte was silently crying.
Schwoz was nervously tapping his fingers on the table and Jasper looked about two seconds away from punching someone.

It was also him that broke the silence again. “I will kill them. No honestly. I will just go over there and murder them for what they did to you Hen’’
Jasper didn’t shout but given the violent edge colouring his voice he didn’t have to.

That reaction surprised Henry at least a little bit but it was Charlottes next sentences that truly shocked him. “Take me with you Jasper. I wanna help.’’ Charlotte, normally calm and collected Charlotte sounded positively murderous. Even trough the tears still streaming down her face.
Luckily Ray butted in before the teens could start planning their murder.
He too sounded like he tried really hard to suppress his anger. Albeit more successfully than the kids.
“As much as I want to encourage that idea. And trust me I can already think of at least fifty ways to commit homicide without getting caught. Maybe we should shift our focus on taking care of Henry now. And find solutions for the bigger questions.”

Jasper and Charlotte actually had the decency to look at least mildly ashamed at that.

Climbing over the back of the couch Charlotte was the first to go over to Henry and hug him.
It felt nice. Familiar as only his best friends could feel. Jasper followed shortly after.
Hugging Jasp was rare, but it made Henry calm down nonetheless.
In the arms of his friends he even forgot why he had been so nervous earlier.

Sure, he didn’t want his parents murdered even after everything they had done to him. But the protectiveness his two oldest friends showed made Henry feel warm inside.

As soon as Charlotte and Jasper let go of him he was once again pulled into a hug.
This time by Schwoz.
Even though this hug was decidedly shorter it still added to the warmth in Henrys gut.

This was his family. Maybe not by blood but by choice.
And he just knew in his heart that there would be no problem they couldn’t face together.

This realisation made Henry smile broader than he had in months now.
Even though objectively he had absolutely no reason to.
Seen from the outside Henry was supposed to be heartbroken. To be frantically trying to fix things with his parents and to despair.
But if he was completely honest with himself Henry was happy.
Standing here, surrounded by the people he loved most in the whole world Henry felt like he could be truly himself for the first time ever.
And, to him the future had never looked so bright before.
He didn’t know how to put all of those feelings into words, but he did know that his family would understand nonetheless.
So, Henry sat down between Charlotte and Jasper on the couch, loudly asking for the pancakes Ray had promised him earlier.

Talking about Ray, Henry noticed the proud look in his dad’s eyes was back.
The sadness wasn’t completely gone from them either. But the pride drastically outweighed it this time though.

While eating his own breakfast Ray pitched the idea of remodelling the guest bedroom and Schwoz went on a tangent about all the tech he wanted to install in Henrys new room.

And just like that everything was back to normal. Their normal was admittedly way more chaotic than most people would have liked but Henry wouldn’t have it any other way.

Schwoz was just explaining his vision of a fully automated walk-in closet when Henry remembered something
“Hey umm there still is one problem.’’ He butted in. But Schwoz didn’t seem to mad about the interruption, so Henry continued
“All my stuff is still at my parent’s house. And I don’t have a key anymore. D’you think there’s any chance I can get at least some of my things out there?’’

That thought didn’t seem to be news to Ray. Or Schwoz for that matter.
They exchanged a meaningful look before Ray answered.
“You will get your stuff out of your room kid. We’ll make sure of that. But I guess it would be clever to at least wait out the 48 hours to not give them any ideas to file a complaint out of spite or something like that.’’
That sounded plausible. But Henry still needed clothes.

It was Jasper that had the saving idea for that problem.
“Well as long as you’re here you can keep borrowing Rays clothes. You’re already doing that anyway.’’ At that Ray chuckled. “You still got some clothes mine. I can bring them here tomorrow when I get to work. So, you’ll have some of your clothes for school on Monday.’’
Henry had totally forgotten that he and Jasper had stored some clothes in each other’s rooms in case they decided to stay over spontaneously. But that seemed to be his saving grace in that situation.
He might still have to borrow a hoodie from Ray, but he could deal with that.
Jasper had said it himself. He was already constantly stealing Rays clothes anyway, even before his parents kicked him out.
So, him walking around school in a hoodie about at least two sizes too big wasn’t anything out of the ordinary really.

“Thanks Jasp. That’d be great.’’

Henry then turned around to ask the rest of their team ,, So what are we gonna do now? I mean what are the next steps. I’m pretty certain my parents won’t do anything to reclaim custody. But what then?’’

At that Ray chimed back into the conversation. But not before finally placing the pancakes he had promised earlier in front of the boy.
“Well. The 48 hours are through around ten pm on Sunday. So, Monday morning we should take you to the government office to get the paperwork out of the way. You still sure you want me to become your legal guardian? There’s no getting rid of me after that’’

As much as Ray tried to conceal it with his usual humour, Henry still heard the slightly unsure tone of his voice.
It made him smile.
Yeah. The future really looked bright for the first time.
He tried to make as much clear when he said “Absolutely. I think I’ve never been surer of anything before’’

Ray beamed at that.
Henry might have even heard a silent “Awww’’ from Schwoz.
Then Ray continued explaining their next course of action. “Ok so. I’ll sign the paper for you on Monday morning. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or two. Charlotte, Jasper. Can you find some excuse for Henry not being there until third period.’’
The teens nodded. Being friends with Kid Danger taught them to become creative with excuses for their buddy’s absences.
Henry felt a bit guilty for that. But as soon as Ray was his legal guardian the man could also sign letters of excuse for him. So hopefully the days of Charlotte and Jasper having to lie for him were counted.

As if reading Henrys mind Ray added. “I should talk to your teachers too. Maybe I can get them to … you know…rethink making you repeat the year.’’

It was a good idea really.
Henry had a suspicion that his grades would get better from now on out anyway. After all, not being hit repeatedly and not having to avoid his own home like the plague would surely give him more mental capacity to concentrate on school.
But it would also be a good thing for miss Shapen to get to know Ray so she wont call Kris and Jake anymore.
He really didn’t need that kind of chaos.

Making a shocked noise Rays eyes suddenly became huge.
He sounded positively terrified when stating. “Oh god. I’ll have to handle your parent teacher conferences from now on, don’t I?’’

The whole room erupted in laughter.
Yeah. Imagining Ray sitting through his parent teacher conferences was hilarious.
But little did the man know that no matter what he did it would be way better than what his so-called parent had done on those occasions.
They never even went. Forcing Henry to make up excuses of family emergencies or important meetings for years.
So, Ray actually planning on showing up to those appointments was more then Henry would have asked for.
But he also was certain that Ray would do a good job there. Even if he certainly would be hating every single second of it.
But the rant he surely would be going on after coming home were something to look forward to.
He just had to remember to take a video of it for Jasp and Char.

Chapter Text

“Thanks dad’’

Two words that shook Ray to the core.
More than he ever would have thought possible.
Henry, his wonderful kid, had called him dad.
To Ray that moment felt like his first skydive. Like the free fall before opening his parachute.
It was terrifying and new. But it also had ecstasy and excitement running freely through his veins.
It was the rawest version of feeling alive Ray had ever experienced.

And then again it was completely different than that. Ray was more than aware of the responsibility and trust Henry gave him with this simple statement. And it made him want to cry from joy that Henry deemed him worthy to hand over this privilege to him.

Ray had known for years now that he would die or kill for Henry without having to think about it should the need arise.
But this moment spent on his corridor, their corridor, made that feeling so much deeper somehow.
It also made it harder for Ray to stop Charlottes and Jaspers plans to kill Henrys parents.
Before their talk that morning Ray would always have thought that the teens would never truly be capable of brutality. But when he saw the murderous glint in Charlottes eyes and the furious anger in Jasper's demeanour, he reconsidered that evaluation.

When explaining their next steps to their team though, Ray couldn’t stop himself from asking Henry again if he really wanted to go through with the whole thing.
He wanted to be sure that Henry knew what he was getting himself into and what his decision meant for the two of them.

After all it may not change much about how they were treating each other. But legally it would change a lot.

Ray knew that Henry was well-versed enough with the Swellview law by now to understand exactly how extensive the consequences of his decision were. So, when Henry told him that he was absolutely sure, the whole thing was settled.

And it felt… Ray couldn’t fully describe how it felt. It was exciting and exhilarating, but also the most terrifying thing he ever had done.
But he knew, deep down in his heart, that it felt right. And that was what mattered the most.
They would figure out the rest together. They always did that.
And they also had their Team Danger as the teens liked to call it.
So, everything would turn out great in the end. Ray was certain of that.

They continued with their breakfast after that. Pushing the heavier subjects aside in favour of diving back into Jasper’s story about how some boy named Viktor Millers had catfished their teacher through an online dating platform.
It was incredibly mundane if you didn’t look around too much.
All their high-tech equipment would have surely destroyed the picture. But aside from that, it was a normal family breakfast.
A thought that made Rays heart swell even more in his chest.

When they were done with their pancakes, the teens decided to clear the table and take the trash to the dumpster down the street.
Ray was quickly put on shop duty until Jasper came back.

For him that was fine.
Not that he particularly loved having to look after their fake shop. Even more so when they actually got customers once every eternity.
But he thought that Henry may need some time alone with his friends, so he didn’t even whine all that much when Charlotte told him to go upstairs and open the store while they were away.

Before the three of them could leave though, Schwoz pulled Henry aside to quickly take care of his split lip.

Ray had done everything he could yesterday evening to prevent an infection.
But he couldn’t possibly hope to keep up with Schwoz’ medical equipment.

Turns out their technician even had a device that closed little cuts and wounds.
So, after not even five minutes of Schwoz fretting, Henry’s lip was good as new.

Throwing a quick but heartfelt thank you over his shoulder, the kid then followed Jasper and Charlotte up to Junk’N’Stuff and out the back door.

Schwoz excused himself to bed shortly after that.
Ray totally got that.
His friend had been driving for about six hours straight through the night, with little to no sleep beforehand.
All just because he had called him and asked him to come back as fast as possible.
So, letting the man sleep now for as long as he needed was the least Ray could do.

Not having any job that helped him procrastinate opening the shop any longer, Ray took his mug and got into the elevator.

He just hoped that Swellview’s criminals would cut him and Henry some slack.
Their week had been rather calm so far, so maybe they got lucky.

Of course they didn’t get lucky like that.

Why would they?

According to Henry it was Rays fault for thinking to much about how calm their week has been.
Apparently, thoughts like that jinxed whatever someone hoped to avoid to come true.

Well. Jinx or not, Henry hadn’t even been back for an hour before the alert started.
Charlotte and Jasper were still upstairs, tackling the gruesome task of somehow trying to organise Junk’N’Stuffs shelves.
So, it was Ray that took the phone call.

Turns out the police had gotten a hint about some known arsonist wanting to set fire to Swellview’s firework factory.
Ray never had gotten what it was about fire and fireworks that seemed to enrapture delinquents.
But understanding criminals wasn’t Captain Man’s job anyway. So, it didn’t matter much.

He and Henry were already halfway to their tubes when Ray remembered his kids bruised shoulder.
He stopped Henry by grabbing his other shoulder, not wanting to cause him pain.
“Kid. Are you sure you’re fit enough for a mission already?’’
Ray tried not to sound too concerned but knew that he failed as soon as he opened his mouth.

Henry didn’t seem to understand the question at first. But after a few seconds he glanced at Ray as if the man had grown a second head.
“You’re not seriously asking me to stay here just because I hurt my shoulder a little bit, do you?’’
Henry didn’t sound amused in the slightest at the prospect of being left in the man cave.

That wasn’t what Ray was trying to say either, so he quickly de-escalated the situation by stating
“I’m not telling you to stay here Henry. All I’m trying to do is be better than I have been in the past. I know I pushed you too hard multiple times. So, all I’m saying is that I don’t expect you to go out there with me and fight crime while you’re in pain, just so you don’t feel like you’re disappointing me, ok?’’

Henry looked remorseful as soon as Ray was done talking.
Looking down as in shame he answered.
“I’m fine. My shoulder still aches but it doesn’t hurt anymore. And I think that fighting some petty criminal might help to get my mind off the thing with my parents. So, I’m good to go.’’

He paused at that. But then continued while quickly hugging Ray
“Thank you for checking in though, dad.’’

Smiling Ray hugged his kid back before they went to their tube pads and then up the tubes.
Ray decided he could totally get used to hearing Henry call him dad. Out of uniform as well as while being Captain Man and Kid Danger.

As good as Rays mood was when they arrived at the fireworks factory, as much it rapidly dropped when he saw what was waiting for them.

The police’s lead hadn’t been false per say, but it wasn’t pretty accurate either.

Calling the Combusto brothers known arsonists was putting it lightly.
Their criminal record was longer than most peoples’ contact list.
And they were supposed to be in jail in Philadelphia, not running around Swellview.

Out of the corner of his eye Ray saw that Henry also recognised their opponents and sighed.

This wasn’t something they would be done with in a few minutes like they had hoped before.
Fighting the Combusto brothers always promised to be an utter shit show.
They weren’t necessarily skilled in fighting techniques, or especially tough or smart, but they somehow managed to be slippery though.
Maybe it was their tendency to just set things around them on fire while they fought. Or that they took a liking to throw Molotov cocktails at whoever tried to catch them.
But Ray had been more than happy when they had been incarcerated a few hundred miles away in Philly.

Indicating to Henry that they should split up and try to corner the brothers, Ray tried to think of a plan.

He himself wasn’t too worried about getting some burning junk chucked at his head, but he surely wouldn’t react nicely when the Combustos tried to set his kid on fire.

Luckily their opponents hadn’t noticed them yet, so Ray decided that sneaking up to them would be their best option to limit the others’ opportunities.
But as soon as Ray tried to cross from one cover to the next one of the brothers, Juan, turned around and saw him.

Shit!

Ray just hoped that Henry would be clever enough to not get caught too.

Juan cried out in shock when he noticed just who he was standing across from.
Frantically calling out for his brother Carlos.

Carlos Combusto had always been the more violent of the two.
While Juan was known to be the brains of their operations, Carlos was the muscle.

Standing up straight, Captain Man mentally prepared for a fight.

He couldn’t keep an eye on Henry anymore though. It would give away the teens position to his opponents.
So, while everything in Ray screamed to make sure that Henry wouldn’t be doing anything undoubtedly heroic, but just as uncaring for his own safety, he raised his view up to the Combusto brothers.

Donning his best smug smile Ray dropped his voice down into his typical Captain Man register.
“Well, well well. If it isn’t the Combusto brothers. Aren’t you two supposed to be in jail? I’m pretty sure I extinguished your flame the last time I saw you.’’
It wasn’t one of his best puns, but it would have to do for now.

Juan rolled his eyes and grunted while Carlos just snorted before shouting
“Oh, Captain Man. How unpleasant it is to see you. Don’t worry about how we got out. The only thing that should concern you is how fireproof our idea to destroy your beautiful town is.’’

Ughhh. It was always the same with the criminals these days.
Why did they all want to destroy Swellview?
Why was none of them creative with their goals anymore?

Ray took a step forward
“I fear I can’t let you do that.’’
It sounded like the clear warning Ray wanted it to be.

“And how do you intend to stop us?’’
This time it was Juan speaking.
“You don’t even have your useless little pet with you now, do you?’’

At that Ray saw Kid Danger appear behind Juan Combusto, a grim look on his face.
He tapped Juan on the shoulder. And as soon as the man turned around, knocked him out cold with a single punch.

“I’m not his freaking pet. The word you're searching for is sidekick. At least address me correctly when you want to insult me. Jerk!’’

It was the typical Kid Danger sass and Captain Man couldn’t help but chuckle at it.
God, he loved this kid.

But Henry was too focused on Juan to notice Carlos pulling a Molotov Cocktail out of his pocket and lighting it in record time.
Captain Man could only shout
“Kid. Watch out!’’ before Carlos hurled the flask in Henrys direction.
Ray started running towards the two while Henry barely managed to dodge the burning missile flying towards him.
This gave Carlos enough advantage to shove kid danger to the floor.

Ok, now Ray was starting to get angry.
Henry most likely would be ok. But he wouldn’t just stand there and watch while someone threw burning bottles at his boy.

Using Carlos being occupied with Kid Danger to his advantage, Ray attacked.
He got a few good hits in before Carlos turned around to defend himself.

It was that moment that Juan decided to wake up again.
That was just wonderful, wasn’t it.

Henry was getting off the ground too, dusting off his uniform.
That was good. So, he really was ok.
But Ray couldn’t concentrate too much on Henrys fight against Juan.
He was too busy with keeping Carlos in check and finding an opening to finally get him down.

It wasn’t until he finally got Carlos off of him for a few seconds that he could look how Kid Danger was doing.

Juan really was a devious bastard.
He tried to move towards a few boxes of fireworks stored around them. Undoubtably planning on using them as weapons.
But Henry seemed to have noticed Juan’s idea and always positioned himself so the other man couldn’t reach for any of the boxes.

It turned out to be a mistake though that Captain Man had shifted his focus from Carlos to Juan and Kid Danger.
His opponent used Rays carelessness to light another Molotov cocktail and throw it directly at the unsuspecting superhero.

The flask hit Captain Man square in the chest where it shattered, setting the burning liquid inside free to spread over his uniform.
The impact hurt.
Obviously!
So did the fire on his upper body.

But luckily Ray had listened to Schwoz a few months prior and let the man make their uniforms not only fireproof but also extinguishing.
Therefore, the direct hit with the bottle only managed to make Captain Man annoyed, but didn’t do any damage.

Carlos quickly noticed his mistake when he saw the dark look in Rays eyes and his raised eyebrow.
“You do know I’m indestructible right? So, throwing stuff at me won’t do you any good’’
Rays tone was almost mocking.

Taking another quick look at his kids fight to make sure the boy was doing fine, Captain Man ran towards his target again.
He really was done with these two. He hated arsonists all together, but those two were just the peak of annoyance.

Ray tried and succeeded in forcing Carlos to hand-to-hand combat.
Without his little dirty tricks, the other man didn’t stand a chance against Captain Man in the long run.
It took him a few more minutes to finally break through the man's defence though.
When he did, he made sure to hit his solar plexus hard enough to knock the air out of his opponent. Carlos wheezed, suddenly out of breath and Ray lastly managed to put the handcuffs on the man and zap him unconscious.

Turning around he looked for Henry once more.
Only to see the boy standing above a once more unconscious and also tied up Juan Combusto.
Ray couldn’t help the pride from swelling in his heart.
He knew how competent Henry was out in the field.
And he trusted the boy blindly to always have his back.
But still, seeing him like that. In full uniform, staring smugly at Ray, after successfully apprehending a known and feared criminal all alone, made Ray feel warm inside.

Henry had been doing this job for two years now and the development he had was insane.
Sure, Henry had known how to throw a punch right from the start.
And his right hook never had been anything to scoff at either.
But after two years of training and experience, Henry held himself with an air of smugness and confidence on the battlefield that made him less of a sidekick and more of an equal to many of their enemies.
Sometimes Kid Danger still got overconfident though, his big mouth and equally big ego in the face of criminals sometimes doing him more bad than good.
But Captain Man tended to be the same from time to time.
So, it takes one to know one really.

Smiling and shaking his head in amusement, Ray went over to his kid, dragging the unconscious form of Carlos Combusto with him.
“Well done, Kid. Let’s call the police and get out of here. I’m hungry.’’

Henry’s smug grin became even bigger at that.
“Well, old man. Since you and our friend here took so long, I already had enough time to call the police. They should be here any minute now.’’
At the end of his sassy comment Henry even went as far as to stick his tongue out to Ray.

It felt good to finally have this side of his sidekick back.
The past week Henry didn’t banter like usual.
He always seemed pensive and held his guard up.
It made sense to Ray now that he knew what was going on that Henry had been careful. But it also made it feel even better to tease right back.
So, Ray wasted no time to join in on Henry’s back and forth
“I’ll show you old man you little twerp.’’
He managed to ruffle his kid's hair, too quick for Henry to stop him.

“Heyyy!’’ The teen cried out while laughing
“Not the hair mister!’’
Another one of Captain Man’s quirks Kid Danger somehow has taken over.

As soon as the kid succeeded in swatting Rays hands away, he tried, and failed, to get his hairstyle back in order.

“Looks like I’m not so old and slow now, doesn’t it?’’ Ray teased.
Henry’s following death glare was simply hilarious. But any possible answer was interrupted by the howling of sirens, announcing the arrival of the police.

It was late afternoon when Henry and Ray finally came down their tubes to the man cave.
The tussle with the Combusto brothers had been all done about three hours ago but, the Chief on duty insisted on taking Captain Mans and Kid Dangers statement right after the criminals were put into the waiting police cars.
Typical rookie behaviour. Seeing their own cases as the most important ones and running around Swellview’s heroes like an eager puppy.
For Ray that was one of the few downsides of his job. But he willingly endured all the bureaucracy and time spend at the police station of Swellview to keep the citizens safe.

It was about an hour after Jaspers and Charlottes shift had ended when the two came home, so Ray didn’t expect to see them sitting on top a mountain of pillows and mattresses on the ground, sipping tea and wearing jammies.

“Hey kids. What is all that?’’ The scene in front of him made him suspicious. He was sure he didn’t forget one of their scheduled sleepovers. And tomorrow would be none of their birthdays.

Charlotte beamed at him
“Well. After everything that happened to Henry and that annoying mission today, we thought that maybe you guys would enjoy an impromptu movie night. We already told our parents we’re staying out tonight and Jasper got Henry’s clothes. We put them in his room.’’
Leave it to three teenagers to still be able to surprise Ray, even after all he had seen in his job.

Henry’s smile could light up all of Swellview at the news.
Ray really loved those kids and the bond they shared, even if they surely would be the sole reason for him to grow grey hairs one day.
“Schwoz is out getting Pizza. He should be back soon’’ Jasper chimed in.
“I hope you’re not mad at us for tracking you. But we didn’t want the food to go cold, and we imagined you would be hungry when you got back. You two skipped lunch after all.’’

They were right, Ray was hungry.
And Henry also had complained about his lack of food on the way back from the station.

The teen sent another blinding smile towards his friends, before he excused himself for a moment. “Guys I really love you. Just let me get in the shower first. No one would willingly sit next to me right now. I promise you that’’

Yes, a shower definitely was in order.
The fight wasn’t as hard as Ray had feared but the costume tended to get sweaty nonetheless.
So, he also quickly excused himself to the shower.

He really was glad that the kids decided to stay here tonight.
Not only because they would take Henrys mind of his situation and the uncertainty hanging over their heads until Sunday night.
He really had grown fond of the teens over their time working for him.
Charlotte was the brightest young woman Ray had ever seen. And he was more than certain that she would be able to achieve incredible things in the future.
Schwoz seemed to think the same thing and took the girl under his wing.
Seeing the two of them work together on inventions or solving their problems made Ray believe that whatever they would have to face in the future would be manageable.
Jasper was the newest addition to their team.
He had started working for their ‘Team Danger’ about three months ago. And as much as Ray hated it, he had to admit that he’d been wrong about Jasper.
He surely wasn’t as bright as Charlotte, or as brave as Henry.
But Jasper had a good heart and a knack for details.
He also could be insanely competent when it came to human interaction.

The way Jasper tended to their fake job made Ray think back about Gooch.
Ray missed his friend from time to time.
But Gooch had had a family emergency that forced him to move back home.
And Jasper was a worthy successor for the man’s job.

After he was done with his shower, Ray chose to put on some sweatpants and a comfy shirt.
They were most likely to all sleep in the main room together anyway, so he at least wanted to be comfortable.
It wasn’t their first time doing something like that and it had been a blast every time.

Ray’s grumbling stomach pulled him out of his thoughts. Hopefully Schwoz would be back with their pizzas by now.

Turns out Ray got lucky.

When he arrived at the main hub his teammates were already sitting around the table.
At least they had the decency to wait for him to eat. Charlotte and Jasper had kept their promise to bring some clothes over for Henry.
Though Ray was pretty sure that the pyjama pants Henry was wearing weren’t his but Jasper’s.

His arrival interrupted Henry’s retelling about their mission, but the boy didn’t seem to mind it all too much, too happy to finally stuff his face.
They ate in comfortable silence before cleaning up together and then spreading out on their makeshift floor couch.

It again felt incredibly mundane to just do stuff like that.
Ray didn’t even really notice the teens’ heated argument about which film they should watch, too caught up in the feelings welling up inside his heart.

About two years ago Ray would have never thought it possible to be this happy.
He’d never had a chance at normality. Or a family life for that matter.
His dad had pulled him out of school at only eight years old, disregarding his mothers wish to let him live a normal life for as long as possible.
He never got to have friends or sleepovers after that.
His dad was almost obsessed with training him to become a hero.
And some day, it became too much for his mother, and she left.

When he managed to leave his home, he ran from relationship to relationship, desperate to finally be loved enough to be himself.
But nothing ever lasted.
Hiding something as big as being Captain Man from his girlfriends was a sure-fire way to end things at one point or another.
So, Ray after some time decided that family just wasn’t for him.
That it would be better to keep his walls up and the people around at arm’s length.
A resolve only reinforced by the catastrophe that was Drex Stinklebaum.
And then Henry had barged into his life.
Somehow managing to set Ray straight without even noticing.

Now, two years later, here he was.
Not only having the best family he could ever have wished for.
But also having Henry, who trusted him enough to come crashing down on his couch in the middle of the night.
Who was brave enough to open up about all his demons and to accept help to deal with them.
Henry, who he had seen as the one person that would ever come as close as he could get to having children of his own. Who to Ray had been his own kid by anything but blood and law.
This, not so little anymore, boy sitting across from him and bickering with his friends like nothing happened.
Just after making Ray so proud again while fighting crime.
That boy that had called Ray his dad and asked him to legally take custody over him.

Good lord!

Ray would never have thought that he could ever even get close to how happy he felt at that.
Finally, he had found a reason to fight again.

Not that he had ever stopped fighting for what he believed to be the right thing.
But sometimes, after everything that had happened with Drex, Ray had found himself wondering.
Asking himself what his motivation for all he did was.
What it was that kept him going when just wanting to do the right thing simply wasn’t enough anymore.

He could finally answer that question now.

He kept going because of Henry’s wish to help as many people as possible.
Because of Charlotte’s bright future he wanted to keep safe.
Because of Jasper always seeing the good in people and always searching for explanations as to why someone did what they did.
And even because of Schwoz, who, no matter how Ray could get sometimes, always was there for all of them. Being the personification of ‘if crazy equals genius’.

Ray kept going because of his family.
That was the short version.

And as much as he wouldn’t have believed it a few years prior, letting down his walls, opening his heart to those people.
It didn’t make him weak.
It made him strong.
It gave him a purpose.
And most importantly, it gave him back his hope for his own future.
A future that for the first time in years looked bright again.

Chapter Text

Henry had always been sure that his friends were the best people in the world.
But today really made it clear again that there would never be a crisis big enough to break them apart.

When they were younger it sometimes felt like it was them against the rest of the world.
And looking back Henry saw how much truth lay in that thought.
They went through the divorce of Charlottes parents together, and through Jaspers parents being awkward more often than not.
They fought through exams and bullies and all-nighters.
They made Henrys favourite memories together.
And also, when any of them was at their lowest the other two were there.
Offering exactly what was needed in the situation.

Starting his job and becoming Kid Danger had been hard in that aspect.
He had to lie to Char and Jasp and hated every second of it.

So having both of them on their team now was the best that could ever have happened for Henry.
Since yesterday the two of them finally also knew the whole truth about his family.
And they did exactly what they always did when one of them was in a bad place.
They spend every free second together. Bickering and watching movies or playing video games until they fell asleep, way too late to be considered healthy.
It always managed to make them forget how bad their situation was, at least for a while.

Now their little group counted two more people.
Ray and Schwoz who, not only to Henry, had become parental figures.

Henry knew how Charlotte loved to work with Schwoz and finally being taught things far out of comprehension for most of the teens her age.
And Jasper was thriving under the responsibility Ray had given him.
Handling Junk’N’Stuff and dealing with customers finally gave Jasp the chance to grow and become more confident.

An impromptu movie night with their family was really all Henry needed today.
It calmed his nerves like nothing else ever could have and showed him how loved he truly was.

Falling asleep was insanely easy that night, with the TV still playing Deadpool and Wolverine in the background and Charlotte Jasper and Ray arguing about which Marvel film was the best.

Unsurprisingly, the next morning Henry woke up to Schwoz scolding Charlotte for brewing their coffee too strong. Another one of their mismatched family’s quirks.
Those two really were the only early birds in their team but never managed to have conversations with their inside voices for long.
So, they had the choice between being able to sleep through a literal earthquake (Ray and Jasper) or also get up early (Henry).

Carefully pushing Jaspers head off his shoulder, Henry got up and stretched.
A cup of Charlotte’s extremely strong coffee sounded heavenly right now.
He couldn’t yet pinpoint what exactly it was that Charlotte did to make her coffee able to wake the dead. But it brought Henry through the day and saved his life after fighting criminals for most of the night. So, you’d never catch him complaining.

The three of them were sitting around their table, drinking their coffees and silently talking about Schwoz and Charlottes newest invention, when Ray and Jasper woke up at around 10:30 AM.
Strictly speaking Jasp was 30 minutes late for his shift, but no one really cared about that stuff anymore anyways.
They all spend almost every free minute in the man cave since Jasper found out about Henry’s secret identity.
So ‘working’ really was nothing but keeping up appearances by now.
Something they just called what they did, so Ray could have a reasonable explanation to pay them every month.
If they kept track of the hours they were ‘working’, Henry was sure he could retire by now with all the overtime he had.
And he wont even start on employee rights or child labour laws.

But to them it didn’t matter.
Not being basically on standby 24/7 or working odd hours right before school.
Not even having no vacation days.

They all loved their jobs and each other too much to stay away for long anyways.
And being together, fighting crime, didn’t feel like work most of the time anyways.
For Henry it mostly was like being payed for hanging out with his fam and occasionally punching bad guys in the face for trying to start funny business around his town.

It in fact felt exactly like that right now.
Ray and Jasp had joined them on the table, bringing breakfast from the auto snacker.
Henry looked around him, thinking about how he loved to be with those people, when it hit him.
One person was missing. The only person outside this room that to Henry was so incredibly important, he didn’t know how to put in words.

With all the stress he had been under those past two days he hadn’t had a chance to think about what all of this meant to her.
He missed his sister.

As much as Piper and him were fighting and bickering on a daily basis, she still was his baby sister.
The girl he swore to protect the day his mom brought her home when Henry himself was only four years old.
Not telling her that he was Kid Danger wasn’t ideal but something Henry had learned to handle.
He didn’t love lying to her, obviously, but he understood the need to do so.
With her social media obsession Piper was a security risk.
Even more so now that she was the president of their fan club.

But now that he wasn’t home anymore…

He couldn’t protect her from their parents when he wasn’t even around her.
Admittedly they had never hit Piper.
They were way more lenient with her than they were with him.
Mainly because even though Piper didn’t study much, she mostly brought home straight A’s and B’s.

But with Piper they also were way more negligent.
There were days were they simply disappeared without as much as a note.
Leaving Henry not only to care for himself but also his eleven-year-old sister, only putting a few bucks on the counter for them to get groceries.
And Henry was sure that they wouldn’t stop just up and leaving now that he was gone.
Ray had known about that particular habit of his parents for a few months now.
He had found out when Henry couldn’t make it to work repeatedly because he had to look after Piper.
Henry had tried to play it off with just being on babysitting duty.
Even back then he knew Ray didn’t believe him, but he had blocked every attempt to talk about it.
He had talked to Piper though.
She hadn’t cried. She didn’t even get angry.
It was just the same acceptance Henry had grown to show whenever their parents were shitty again.
And it broke his heart.

After a lot of back-and-forth Piper had come home one day a few weeks back wanting to talk to him in private.
She had told him that she and Marla had had a talk with Marla’s mums.
Marla was to Piper what the man cave was to Henry.
A sanctuary outside their home.
So, it really didn’t surprise Henry all that much that Piper had spoken to Marla’s mums about her situation at home.
The Millers were alarmed at what they heard but promised Piper to not do anything without her permission.

So, their house became Piper's home when their parents were away.
So objectively Henry knew that Piper had options to get help, should the situation at home escalate even further.

But just not doing anything to at least give her a possibility to see him whenever she wanted to, made Henry feel like he abandoned her.
And that was something that made his blood run cold.
He abandoned his baby sister. Leaving her alone to face their parents.
Making her the only outlet for their parents’ anger now that he wasn’t there to get hit anymore.

He didn’t want that.
As happy as he was in the man cave, he couldn’t just let his sister feel like he left her just as their parents always did.
He couldn’t risk her getting hurt just so he could live a happy life.
It stole his breath and broke his heart to see what he had done to Piper by leaving.

It was Ray that noticed that something was wrong with him.
Somehow the man had gotten pretty attuned to Henrys subtle mood shifts in the past few days.

“Hey Kid. Are you ok? You look like you saw a ghost.’’
Rays voice was soft, almost careful.
And the hand on Henry’s shoulder grounded him even though right now the teen was sure to not deserve any of it.

Henrys head was pure chaos, managing to completely obliterate his filter making him just blurt out the first thing that came to mind.
“I don’t deserve any of this.’’
His voice sounded weak but somehow still frantic
“I’m just as bad as them’’

Henry felt like he couldn’t breathe properly.
Not that it mattered all that much.
He didn’t deserve to breathe freely after what he had done anyways.

He couldn’t hear what was going on around him anymore.
He knew there were voices around him.
But he couldn’t make out what they said.

Everything was foggy and unclear.
It almost felt like being underwater.
A thought that only worsened his breathlessness.
The Kid Danger Part of Henry, the little voice in the back of his head reminding him of everything Ray and Schwoz had taught him about trauma, noticed that he had started hyperventilating.
A typical trauma response, the voice whispered, you’re going into sudden shock.
The training ingrained into his brain screamed at him to slow down his breaths as to not trigger a panic attack.

But he simply didn’t care at the moment.

In the corner of his eyes, he noticed people leaving. A sob wrecked through him at that.
To Henry it was what he deserved for being such a bad brother.
But it still hurt.

Everything hurt.

So God damn much that, at the moment he just wanted to disappear.

He wanted it all to just stop.

He wanted his head to stop spinning.
He wanted to stop crying.

He had no right to cry.
Or to be loved.
Or to eat his stupid breakfast with his family like nothing happened.

He wasn’t even supposed to exist.

He was a mistake.
A failure.
A disappointment.
A…

Suddenly something pierced through the running thoughts in his head.
A cold sensation on his neck, clearing his perception at least a little bit.
Enough to make out a voice talking to him and a hand on his shoulder.

“… Kid. Just breathe. Concentrate on the ice pack and my voice. You’re doing great.’’
It was Ray.

Opening his eyes. (Henry couldn’t even remember that he had closed them) he saw his mentor kneeling in front of him.
Holding what seemed to be an ice pack to his neck. His other hand was on Henrys shoulder, his thumb softly stroking from side to side.

“Hey Hen. Are you back with me?’’
Ray still spoke softly.
Something Henry seldomly heard with his flamboyant boss.
To be honest, the first time Henry had seen him like this was Friday night when he had all but crashed into the man’s arms.

Henry only managed to nod at his boss’ question. His vocal cords still not completely complying with his orders.
But it seemed to be enough because Ray smiled at him.
“You had a panic attack. I’m sure you know what that means. But let me guide you through it anyways?’’

Henry nodded again. Deep down he knew the process by heart. Had learned it two years ago when getting his ‘How to deal with victims and bystanders after something terrible happened’ talk necessary for starting his job.
He knew the whole stupid five-point plan better than his own phone number by now.
1. Stop panic attack by strong sensations like smelling salts or ice packs
2. Check how responsive person is
3. Count person through breathing exercises until pulse and breathing is closer to normal
4. Check person’s perceptiveness by making them count or describe thing in detail
5. Hand over the card for the help hotline and the hospital and send person on their merry way

But knowing something and utilising it yourself were two different things altogether, as Henry noticed now.
So, even if he would have never admitted it, he was more than happy that Ray offered to guide him though it

Chapter Text

Having a sixth sense for stuff going on around you was basically a requirement for superheroes.
Ray wasn’t born with that sense, unlike some other known heroes like Thunderman or Electress.
Still, he had developed a pretty accurate gut feeling in his years as Captain Man, making up for that fact.

But this right now was different.
It felt less like a gut feeling and more like instinct.
It wasn’t just a suspicion that something was going on with Henry right now.
Ray somehow just knew it.
He wasn’t able to explain it.
And trust him he had tried to explain it to Schwoz Saturday morning.
But so far, he hadn’t gotten anything wrong yet.

So, asking Henry if everything was alright was more of a formality.
Ray knew something was haunting his kid as soon as he saw the boys thousand-yard stare.
What Ray hadn’t expected was for Henry to slip into what looked like a heavy panic attack.

Schwoz immediately reacted by getting Charlotte and Jasper out of the man cave.
As much as he admired their bond, the other teens were just that.
Teens.
And Ray and Schwoz had a duty of care towards them.
Not only as their employer or mentor but also as their friends.
Panic attacks weren’t easy to handle most of the time, so it was their job as adults to take care of it.
It wouldn’t help to scare Jasper and Charlotte too.
And also, having a bunch of people around him, even if it was his family, wouldn’t make it easier for Henry to clear his head.

Ray found himself kneeling on the ground in front of his hyperventilating kid just after hearing the elevator door close.
Pressing an ice pack onto Henry’s neck, he tried to give the teen some strong enough stimulus to come back to earth.

To be completely honest, Ray had expected something like this at one point or another.
It was only natural.
Henry had been living through a lot of trauma and now finally had the chance to truly relax for the first time in years.
But what shook him was the missing signs beforehand.
Henry had been laughing and joking just a few minutes earlier.
They really needed to find out his kids triggers later on to prevent another panic attack.

But right now, he had to get Henry out of his head and back to reality.
It really should be no problem. Routine even.
He had handled all sorts of shock countless times as Captain Man.
He had even taught all of the kids the basic five-point plan to handle panicked people.
(Something all of them had groaned about. But for Henry at least, it already had been helpful out in the field a couple times.)

But this was different.
Ray knew that it shouldn’t be. That him getting emotional wouldn’t help his kid right now.

That was just it, he guessed.
The problem that inexplicably made him freeze instead of falling into his routine.
This wasn’t just some civilian, but his son frantically crying and hyperventilating in front of him.
He couldn’t just switch into hero mode when it was Henry that needed to be grounded.
Hero mode requested him to think rationally. To not let emotions cloud his evaluations and decisions.
But seeing his kid, which he loved so dearly in distress. Scared enough to flee inside his own head.
It made Ray feel things he never did before.
He had always been protective when it came to people close to him.
But seeing Henry like this, without being able to punch whatever it was that caused his panic, made Ray feel helpless.
And the worst of it was that he couldn’t just turn out or ignore that feeling.
That had never happened before.

Maybe that was the point for him to switch into dad mode.
But he didn’t have that. At least he didn’t know if he did.
He didn’t know how to be a father.
He was still so new to all of this. Just going by feel.
Also, he didn’t have any role models to take inspiration from.
His own dad really wasn’t an example he wanted to follow.
He always had sworn to himself that one day, he would do better.
That he would love his own kids unconditionally and give them the world and more.
But he never had thought about how he wanted to do that.
It had been easier on Friday, when he hadn’t known what was going on yet.
He had been too surprised to think about what he was doing.
And it had worked out.
Maybe it was time to tune down his overthinking for now and listen to his heart.
So, he just pressed the ice pack to his kid's neck and decided to trust his instincts.

Talking to the teen had helped Friday night, so it was at least worth a shot now.
“I’m right here. Everything will be ok. You are safe now. I won't let anything hurt you Kid. Just breathe. Concentrate on the ice pack and my voice. You’re doing great.’’

Trusting his instincts proved to be a good guess.
Henry slowly seemed to become a bit more present and opened his eyes to confusedly look at Ray.
That was a start.
So, he kept talking.
“Hey Hen, Are you back with me?”
He kept his voice as soft as he could, not wanting to spook his kid right back into the panic.

It took the boy a moment, but then he nodded, and Ray had to physically hold himself back from sighing in relief.

The hardest part was done, now that his kid was present enough to understand what he said.
But they weren’t completely out of the woods yet.
Just because Henry was responsive right now, didn’t mean that he wouldn’t slip back under if they weren’t careful.

Ray therefore decided to at least loosely follow their protocol for injured civilians.
It had proofed to be efficient in the past.
But it also was insanely impersonal and not what Ray thought would help Henry in his emotional.
It didn’t matter if Ray felt like he had no dad mode to turn on.
It also didn’t matter that Henry basically knew what he had to do in situations like that. That he strictly speaking was a professional.
All that mattered was that his kid wasn’t feeling well and needed his dad to take care of him.
He couldn’t do that while acting like he wasn’t emotionally involved at all.
He was allowed to react to Henry’s attack with feelings
That’s basically what being a parent was about, wasn’t it?
Sharing your kid’s pain and joy.
Being present and emotionally available.

So, trying to appear as unthreateningly as possible, Ray smiled at Henry.
“You had a panic attack. I’m sure you know what that means. But let me guide you through it anyways?’’

He waited for Henry to nod again before proceeding.
“Thank you, Hen. Ok, so let’s start by some breathing. Can you do that for me?’’

Another nod.
So, Ray started their basic breathing exercise.

Counting to four while Henry breathed in.
Then counting to seven, making him hold his breath.
And lastly counting to eight while the kid breathed out again

It took Henry a bit to calm down.
Ray was there through all of it.
After some time, he stopped the repetitive counting and just made Henry follow his lead.

When his kid did calm down after a few minutes he already looked way better than he had done before.
His skin wasn’t as white as a sheet anymore and the look in his eyes finally didn’t seem to just go straight through Ray.
It settled his nerves at least a little bit.
At least now he didn’t have to fear that Henry would just pass out any second.

Testing if his kid was present enough for conversation yet, Ray started talking again.
“You’re really doing great Hen. How are you feeling?”
Of course, Henry wasn’t feeling well.
He most likely felt like being run over by a truck.
But Ray needed to find out how clear the teens thoughts already were, to estimate what he needed to do next.

The teens voice sounded extremely gravelly when answering. But at least he was able to talk now.
“I don’t really know. I feel better. Not like everything is foggy anymore. But its still… I don’t know…. It feels spacey. Like that one time I had a concussion.”
Now it was Rays turn to nod.
That actually was better than he had expected.
Henry was pretty retentive already, making it easier to completely anchor him to reality.
A few simple perception exercises should do the trick.
“Ok kid. That is totally normal after a panic attack. We should maybe ground you a bit more. I promise you will feel way better afterwards.”

Thinking about the grounding techniques he had learned Ray tried to decide which would be the best fit right now.
He didn’t have smelling salts on him in his civvies.
He could also let Henry count or describe things, but he knew how the kid hated to make civilians do that. So, maybe that wasn’t the best plan.

It was Henry himself that had the perfect idea.
“Please don’t make me count things dad.”
He sounded suffering at the thought.
Exactly what Ray had thought after all.
“Can’t you just hug me? I mean its pressure and sensation so that should work right? And it did work on Friday when I came here”

He was right. Of course he was.
And to be honest, Ray wanted nothing more than to hug his kid right now. To make him fee safe and loved.
Henry had said earlier, before his attack, that he didn’t deserve any of that.
Ray guessed that it was just Henrys brain messing him up again. Making him feel guilty for stuff his parents had done. Just like his kid has told him on Friday. But still the thought of Henry feeling like he didn’t deserve to be loved or safe and happy hurt. It was like a knife through the chest. And Ray wanted nothing more than to make those kinds of thoughts disappear out of Henrys head forever.
So, he quickly sat up on the couch and enveloped his kid in tight hug.
“You never have to ask for a hug kid. I will always be there you if you want me to.”
Rays voice was muffled by Henrys hair. But he knew the kid understood him nonetheless.
For a long while they let the silence wash over them, just enjoying the feeling of trust and understanding permeating the air around them.
Ray may not have a dad mode. But just like his missing hero sense he made up for it with his actions.
When Henry began talking after some time, he sounded way more stable than before. Like he was finally fully back again.

“I’m sorry for scaring you. And don’t deny it. I know you’ve been scared about me. You always are.”
He did have a point there
“It’s just… It’s about Piper. About how she now has to deal with our parents alone.”
It didn’t surprise Ray that Henry was worried about his little sister.
He knew how protective his kid was over her.
He also had witnessed how Kris and Jake had neglected their kids and how Piper now stayed at a friend’s house whenever their parents just left.
What was the girl's name?
Maria? Carla?
Doesn’t matter.
But Ray thought he now had a clue what was going on Henrys head.
Piper always had people that were supposed to take care of her leave her without so much as an explanation.
No wonder Henry was panicking about her. He had basically raised the girl for the past years.

It wasn’t like the subject of Piper hadn’t already come up anyways.
When Schwoz had come home Saturday morning they had sat down and talked. For a long time.
About all the eventualities headed their way now.
And Piper had also been a big part of that conversation.
Now that they knew the extent of Kris and Jake’s abuse, a lot of things started making sense.
At the end they both agreed to leave the choice up to Henry but at least give him the opportunity to reveal their secret to Piper.
Ray originally was against it, had been since Henry had asked him about a year ago.
But things were different now.
He didn’t have to think like a boss right now. Or like Captain Man.
He had to think like a dad.
And as his dad, Ray couldn’t stand to let Henry hurt and miss his little sister. Least of all if he had the chance to do something about it.

Right now, Ray regretted not telling Henry about his and Schwoz’ plan sooner.
Telling him that he was allowed to talk to Piper about everything would likely have prevented his panic attack.
So much for trusting his instincts.

It was too late now though to change that.
But he still could tell Henry about the option to keep Piper included in his life.
And hopefully it would calm his kid down.
Also, he still had some things to get off his chest referring to Henry’s earlier statement.

“Hen. I need to tell you some things now and I need you to listen very closely, ok? Ray’s voice was still soft. But he also tried to pour in every ounce of reassuring sincerity he had. He really needed to make a point here. He couldn’t just watch Henry self destruct because his trauma was playing tricks on him and messing with his head.
At Henrys affirmative hum he continued.
“First. And that is the most important thing, you do deserve all of our support and love. You deserve the world, kid. And so much more than that. I know you don’t believe me right now, and that it may take some time until you will, but you do. And I will tell you that for as long as I’m here.”
Henry was about to protest at that. But Ray didn’t let him. Letting him protest now would surely send him spiralling again and Ray wouldn’t stand for that.
“Secondly, I think I know how you feel about Piper. I know that you think you are responsible for her safety. And I understand why you would think that after all you two have been through. But shouldering that kind of responsibility at your age isn’t healthy. It would have been your parent's job to keep you safe. Both of you. You are just a kid yourself Hen. No fifteen-year-old should basically raise his sister. But I also understand that old habits die hard. And that you are insanely protective over people you love anyways. I won’t expect you to just forget all of that in an instant.”
Henry nodded again. His head still buried in Rays neck.
“But from now on you aren’t alone in all of that anymore Hen. And its time for you to finally feel safe yourself. And I will make sure you do. All responsibility you have now outside of being an incredible sidekick is being a teenager” At that Ray noticed how his neck slowly started going damp. Henry had started crying again. But it wasn’t the panicked sobbing from before. It felt more like relief.
“What brings me to my last point. I have talked to Schwoz yesterday morning, about everything we need to organise now. And we both agreed that we don’t have the heart to keep you and Piper apart like that. So, we decided to let you tell her about everything. She can come visit you as often as she wants. We can also remodel a room for her so she can stay over whenever.”

If Ray wasn’t indestructible the following bone crushing hug he got would have… well… crushed his bones.
Henry was sobbing now. But from the rest of his kid's demeanour Ray deducted it were tears of joy.
“You really mean that?” The teens voice sounded like he couldn’t quite believe his luck just yet.
So Ray tried his best to reassure him.
“I do kid. Why don’t you invite her over in about an hour. I’ll tell Schwoz, Charlotte and Jasper to get some butter chicken on the way. We can all sit down together and talk to her about everything.”

Henrys smile rivalled the sun at that moment.
It made Ray feel warm inside seeing him happy like that.
It was a nice change to all the negative emotions they both had felt in the past days.
And, even if Ray didn’t know much about Piper. He still was more than sure that she would fit right into their family of mismatched misfits.

Chapter Text

“… and then we noticed that he didn’t speak any English. Who doesn’t know English? And why would you want to go to school here, if you don’t even understand what the people around you are saying?”
Piper laughed at that. She had heard a lot of stories about the strange exchange student in Marla’s class, but this one took the cake.
Being at Marla’s was fantastic.
Her mums were the nicest people Piper knew, and they accepted her just as she was.
At first, she had been scared to visit Marla. Even more so when Marla had suggested a sleepover.
They had been friends for about a year by then.
Officially best friends for about eight months. Piper had feared that The Millers wouldn’t like her and made Marla cut her off.
Not even Pipers own parents liked her enough to stay around for more than a few weeks at a time.
But her fear had been completely unfounded.
After an especially rough patch with her parents about six months ago, Marla even convinced her to tell Julia and Lily Miller about her situation.
They were shocked at first.
Of course they were.
But after some talking to Henry and her, they agreed on a plan.
Getting CPS involved wouldn’t do any of them any good.
Lily Miller had been a foster child herself and therefore knew how family interventions and stays in children’s homes only managed to make the situation worse in the end.
But they also wanted to help Henry and Piper.
So, they gave Piper a key and cleared the guest room for her, so she could come over whenever she needed to.
Which to be honest was fairly often.
Her parent had only been home for about a week so far and her dad was already talking about leaving again.
Before their deal with the Millers Henry had taken care of Piper in those situations.
She loved her brother. As much as a little sister could love her big brother. (Honestly. Piper would kill a man for Henry, no questions asked. But whenever he borrowed her charger without asking it was a declaration of war.)
But she also saw how he suffered under their parents.
Marla’s parents obviously had also invited Henry to stay over whenever but he had refused.
At that moment Piper had been hurt by that.
Her willingness to explode in fits of rage almost breaking through.
Because why on earth would Henry not want to stay.
Why would he abandon her just like their parents did?
(She had known even in that moment that Henry was nothing like their parents. But she had been too hurt to listen to that feeling)
But a few weeks later she had understood.
It was one of those days where they got a quick snack together before Henry went off to work.
Henry was talking about his job that day. Something he rarely did. But that wasn’t what made Piper see it.
It was when Henry told her about Ray Manchester, his boss.
Piper saw Henry smile and laugh for the first time in forever that afternoon. And then it clicked.
Henry had his own support system. Just like she did.
Ray was to Henry what Julia and Lily were to her.
And Henry really needed that support system.
He didn’t abandon her, never would. But much rather gave her space to develop inside her safe space while he developed in his.
Something he never had been able to before because their parents had dropped all responsibilities on him.
How important that support system was for Henry only got clearer last week when Their parents had gone on a huge rant about how Henry wasn’t doing good in school.
He never had confirmed it, but Piper knew they hit him, had done so for months now.
So, when Jake had sent her up to her room to talk to her brother alone, she knew what was about to happen.
Those situations were horrible for both of them. Even if she knew that it was worse for Henry than for her.
So that evening they both decided to spend as much time away from home as possible until their parents calmed down.
She therefore had spent the weekend at Marla’s.
She just hoped that Henry had found some way to stay out or at work until the evenings.
She was just about to answer to Marla’s rant about Jacque the french guy from homeroom when her phone buzzed.
Indicating for Marla to wait a second she looked at her messages. It was Henry.
That in itself wasn’t odd, but the content of the text was.

Henry:
Hey Pipes. Can I call you for a second?

Piper (Me):
Yeah sure. Wait a sec.

What happened?

You never ask if you can call me.
You just call

Henry:
Well, its different this time.
I’ll explain I promise

Ok, something definitely was going on.
Quickly excusing herself she went to her room, well the guest room that had already more knickknacks lying around than her room at her parent’s house.
Dropping on her bed she called her brother. The bad feeling in her stomach only intensifying when Henry immediately answered.
“What is going on Henry? What happened?”
She didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but she was scared, ok?
Henrys voice was calm and collected. Creating a stark contrast to what it was he explained to Piper.
“Promise me you wont freak out, ok? I’m fine and everything will turn out ok. I promise.”
First: she couldn’t promise to not freak out. She already was freaked out.
And second: ‘Everything will turn out ok’ definitely meant something wasn’t ok right now. Given their baseline of dysfunctional family that really wasn’t good. Something being not ok had to be a big something for Henry to call her like that.
Forcing down her panic she tried to concentrate on what Henry said.
“You remember last week when our parents chewed me out for my grades?”
She hummed. It was hard to forget something like that. She wasn’t sure if she ever even could.
“Well. I kinda fell asleep in class again on Friday.”
Oh oh
“Long story short. Our parents kicked me out. And told me to never come back. And to be completely honest with you, I’m not planning to, anyways.”
Shit. Piper never had hated it to be right before. But now she did. That wasn’t big. This was huge.
Her voice clearly showed her emotions when she answered.
“Fuck. I… I really don’t know what to say. Where are you? Are you safe?”
She needed to know. She couldn’t stand the thought of her brother being homeless. He was still a minor. And his strange job didn’t pay enough for rent anyways.
It maybe should have shocked her, but she didn’t even flinch about her parents kicking Henry out.
She really wasn’t surprised.
She wasn’t expecting anything from her parents. At least nothing positive.
She had learned to take the situations as they came.
Piper was good at school. She always had good grades. So, she was the trophy child their parents wanted to show around.
Therefore, they mostly let her be. They didn’t care what she did or where she was as long as she showed face around them from time to time.
She basically was living at Marla’s house more than her own right now. And her parents didn’t even seem to notice.
In a strange way it was a good thing they had kicked Henry out. It saved him from their relentless assault. It was better for her brother. And also, it made Piper feel less guilty when she would only go ‘home’ once or twice a week now.
Henry himself also seemed to be rather calm about it all. At least he didn’t sound all that emotional.
“Yes. I’m safe. Much safer than I’ve been at home. That much is sure. I’m at Ray’s.”
She could have guessed that but hadn’t thought about it in her initial panic.
“Pie. I need to tell you something though. Can you come over to Junk’N’Stuff. I don’t want to do this over the phone. It’s nothing bad I promise. But it’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time now. And I’d rather do that in person.”
It wasn’t really the tone of Henry’s voice that made Piper halt in her tracks. Even though Henry sounded pretty serious.
It was the nickname Henry used. Her brother hadn’t called her Pie in years now.
Whatever he was about to tell her must be insanely personal. So, she followed his wish and agreed to talking in person before she hung up shortly after that.
Taking a deep breath Piper let herself fall onto her back. The time coming wouldn’t be easy. But somehow, she also was kinda relieved. She hated seeing Henry getting hurt over and over again by her parents' hand without an opportunity to change something about it. It obviously was the epitome of shitty behaviour to kick your fifteen-year-old son out on the street. But for Henry it really was a godsend.  A chance to finally get out
And when she went over to Junk’N’Stuff after talking to Marla and her mums she would make sure to give Ray some kind of shovel talk to better take care of Henry, or else…

Chapter Text

Ok, so, Piper had known that whatever Henry was about to tell her had to be huge. But this. THIS. It wasn’t only huge it was monumental.
Not only because, how the actual fuck had Henry been able to hide something like that for all of over two years?
But also, because she actually did have a not so small crush on Kid Danger. Kid Danger, who now turned out to be her brother. Piper wanted to barf at the thought.
Don’t get her wrong. She wasn’t mad about Henry being Kid Danger per say. At least not truly. She got why Henry hadn’t told her sooner. And she was now one of the few people that knew Captain man’s and Kid Danger’s secret identity, which was insanely cool. But it was just… a lot to take in. And also, she would never utter a word about Kid Danger being hot or cute, like ever again. Because… ewww!

She hadn’t had any idea what she had been expecting when she opened the door to Junk’N’Stuff. But it surely wasn’t that.
After greeting Henry, he had taken her to the backroom.
That part of the shop had been just as crammed and unorganised as the rest of it.
But then the chaos had begun.
He had led her into the elevator. Well ok. Nothing special there.
But as soon as he was done with pushing the button Piper had suddenly been in free fall.
That definitely wasn’t normal. And even more than that it was something she really didn’t want to do, like ever again.
But the real surprise came when the elevator doors opened.

Which led her to her current situation. Staying in the open elevator door, gaping at her brother.
They were in the man cave. How could they be in the man cave?
How did Henry even know where it was? And why was the man cave under this stupid junk shop?
And why did Henrys boss just stand around said man cave like he belonged there?

Wait…. No! This couldn’t be.

Shocked she took a step back. Stopped by the door behind her.
“Please don’t tell me that you and your boss are Captain Man and Kid Danger. Please. Don’t!”
She basically begged Henry. Something she never had done before.
But she was just too shocked to comprehend… all of that.
Looking up she saw her brother's smug smile.
“Well Pie, I don’t need to tell you. You just found it out yourself.”
Ok wow.
She didn’t know how she managed it but somehow, she got at least a few words out at that.
“I think I need to sit down.”
Henry was at her side in an instant. His smugness replaced by concern.
“Are you ok Pie?”
“Yeah… I’m fine… Just woozy.”
Her voice sounded slurred to her own ears. And had the man cave always been spinning like that? That was weird. But before she was able to wonder about it too much everything went black.

Piper had had the weirdest dream ever.
Her brother was Kid Danger.

Yeah sure. As if.

She should really have listened to Marla about not drinking too much Wahoo Punch before bed.
Opening her eyes felt like being smacked in the head wit a frying pan though.

She wasn’t at Marla’s. She also wasn’t at her parent’s.

Instead of a known environment of any capacity, she was greeted by a room she had never seen before. And her brother concernedly staring at her from her bedside. So, it hadn’t been a dream after all. Or she was still dreaming. Yeah, that must be it.
“Henry please, for the love of God, tell me that I’m still dreaming.”
From her brother's silent laugh, she took that she sadly wasn’t.

Ok, so. Her brother really was Kid Danger. That was… news. And she really had a bunch of questions. But before she could ask any of them, she heard a knock on the door. Just a few seconds later she wasn’t faced with only a concerned but slightly amused brother, but also with his cheerful boss.
Even better. Now she was able to drill both of them with questions.

She really had an eloquent and clever way of asking all of them prepared in her head. Trust her, she really did.
But somehow the only thing she got out was a breathless “How? And Why? And where the heck am I?” Good job Piper. So much for drilling them for specific and detailed information.
Ray only chuckled at that. “Well, first of all, welcome to the man cave. I’m Ray Manchester, better known as Captain Man. And right now, you’re at Henrys room.” Piper perplexedly shook the offered hand. Still too stunned to somehow react in a more composed manner. “I know this is a lot to take in” Ray continued. “If you want to, I can give you a quick rundown of everything that happened since Henry took the job at Junk’N’Stuff. But first you should maybe come with us to the main hub. Schwoz brought butter chicken.” Piper nodded on auto pilot.

When she was halfway up from the bed, she turned around to Henry though. Her brain still trying to catch up with all the new information. “Wait. What the hell is a Schwoz?”

Helping her up her brother explained. “Not what Pipes, Who. Schwoz is the genius that build our man cave. All the tech here is his. And also, he lives
here. He is our technician. But also, our only medical personnel. Really, he does everything that comes up.”
Ok great. Even more people. And ones with strange names at that. That was just great. But at least that ominous Schwoz guy had brought Piper’s favourite Indian food, so that earned him a few points in advance.

Entering the main hub revealed not only Schwoz, a small and crazy looking dude with a strange accent, but also Charlotte and Jasper. And to be honest Piper wasn’t even shocked at that anymore. She was sure that, after this afternoon there was little that would actually be able to shock her ever again.

Charlotte immediately went over to her. Hugging her. Charlotte had never hugged her before. She had always gotten along pretty well with her, but they never had been that close. “Hey Piper. How are you feeling? You gave us all quite the scare when Henry told us you just passed out like that.” Charlotte quickly let go of her again. Looking at her probingly.
Piper somehow mumbled something of being fine but confused to high heavens, which Charlotte only answered with a nod and a knowing hum.
And before Piper was able to completely grasp everything, she was already seated between Henry and Charlotte on a strange round couch, a takeout box of butter chicken and a coke in front of her.

Taking a long sip to gain back her composure, she expectantly looked around.
Ok, so, she should maybe start by sorting what she already knew, before Ray confused her even more with what she expected to be a ton of new information.

Turning around to the only person she hadn’t seen before today she began. “So, you are Schwoz?” The strange man nodded “And you live here?”
“Yes, my room is down the corridor.” Schwoz had a strange accent, but he seemed to be nice. Even though, at first glance he looked like someone kidnapping little children from playgrounds for fun.
But since Schwoz worked for Captain Man that was rather unlikely.

Turning again, this time to face Charlotte and Jasper, she asked
“Ok. And you two knew about all of this from the beginning?” She knew that Henry’s friends were extremely loyal to him and each other. But she never would have thought that they could keep a secret like that. Well, at least she never believed that Jasper would be capable of secrecy.
“Oh, no. I only know since about three months ago” Jasper’s voice was muffled by the piece of chicken in his mouth. “Charlotte knew pretty much since the start though.” At least she had been right with her assessment of Jasper.
Charlotte at least had the decency to sound a bit ashamed when she answered. “Henry didn’t tell me either. I figured it out myself and helped the two of them with catching the phone shark.”
At least that was sorted now. It explained why all three of them basically lived at that stupid junk shop. Henry, she had understood with everything going on at home. But the other two she never could make sense of when they spent hours upon hours at work.

Finally turning at Ray, she steeled herself for all the new information she was about to receive. “You promised me an explanation. So, explain.” He smiled at her before he began. He seemed to be nice enough. But Piper still was vary. Those were the people that would take care of her brother after all. So, she needed to be sure about Ray really being up for the job before she went home tonight.
“I put an add for a job online two years ago. I noticed that I couldn’t handle all of Swellview’s criminals alone, so I was looking for a sidekick. Henry came here because he needed a job and I liked him, so I hired him. That’s how he became Kid Danger.”

Piper couldn’t quite place it, but there was something in Ray’s way of speaking that calmed her. Something that radiated security. But still she had to intercept. “He was thirteen back then. He was young. Like really young for something like that.” Ray looked caught out at that “I know.”

Huh? That wasn’t what she had expected. She was sitting across from Captain Man in civvies, and he admitted to hiring her brother when he was still too young for a job like that. He almost looked guilty even. So, she just had to probe him on the matter. “You do realise that hiring him at his age was grossly negligent, don’t you?”

Ok so she hadn’t imagined that guilt in his eyes. He clearly didn’t feel comfortable right now.
“I know that. And I know that you have every right to be mad at me for that. You are extremely protective over Henry. And after everything I learned about your parents, I understand. I can’t promise you that I will always make good choices or that I will always be able to protect your brother out there. The only thing I can do is tell you that Henry is insanely capable and highly trained to take care of himself while in uniform. And I can promise you that I will always make sure to keep him as safe as I possibly can. I am aware of what I’m asking of you, but can you at least try to trust me?”

Momentarily Piper was taken aback by Rays honesty. She had expected him to find excuses or to try shaking his responsibility. But he didn’t. He was willing to face her inquisition and the mistrust clouding her questions. He took her serious in her concern but still stood his ground. Piper was quite honestly impressed at that. Maybe she could give trusting Ray Manchester a shot. Maybe he really was capable of keeping her brother safe. Not only from villains or criminals. But also, from their parents and Henrys tendency to self destruct from time to time.

Chapter Text

“He was thirteen back then. He was young. Like really young for something like that.”
Ray knew that. Of course, he fucking knew that. Henry is still a child right now. He was nothing but a boy when he started.
“I know.”
The truth was, Ray hadn’t cared when he had hired Henry. Too stuck in his conviction to not let his sidekick get close to him anyways. So, what did he care how old the guy was. It only took him about a week to notice how wrong he had been. How Henry had somehow made his defense waver and his walls crumble. And not even a few months later he had been sitting at the kid’s basketball match. Completely throwing his plan to not get attached out the window. It had been too late for that anyways.
“You do realise that hiring him at his age was grossly negligent, don’t you?” Piper looked at him probingly. He knew she didn’t completely trust him yet. Could basically smell it from how clear she made it. She didn’t hate him. He was sure that would feel different. But it felt like she was testing him. Like she tried to find out how serious Ray was about caring about her brother. It didn’t surprise Ray at all. Piper and Henry had grown up in a terribly unsafe and unstable environment. He knew how protective Henry was over his little sister. So, assuming that she was just the same wasn’t far-fetched at all. Ray was aware of the responsibility he was about to take on Monday morning. He wasn’t sure if Piper knew about Henry’s plan to make Ray his legal guardian. But at the very least he had to calm the girl’s concern. So, he sat up straight and looked Piper in the eyes before assuring.
“I know that. And I know that you have every right to be mad at me for that. You are extremely protective over Henry. And after everything I learned about your parents, I understand. I can’t promise you that I will always make good choices or that I will always be able to protect your brother out there. The only thing I can do is tell you that Henry is insanely capable and highly trained to take care of himself while in uniform. And I can promise you that I will always make sure to keep him as safe as I possibly can. I am aware of what I’m asking of you, but can you at least try to trust me?”
Piper looked at him intensely for a few more seconds. The others around them didn’t dare to say a word. It was a tense silence. One that felt like it stretched and stretched. But Ray didn’t back down. He knew he had to remain steadfast in his behaviour right now. Not only to prove to Piper that he would do everything to make sure Henry was fine and safe from now on. But also, to show Henry that he would be willing to deal with everything coming their way. That he would always stand behind him. And, as much as he hated to do so, admitting that he has made mistakes in the past and would make even more in the future while also assuring them that he would always do his best to do the right thing was part of that.
He knew Piper had understood his intent when she offered her hand for him to shake, a devious glint in her eyes. “I trust you. At least for now. But if you hurt my brother, I will make sure you’ll wish that you were never born.” It sounded like an empty threat coming from an eleven year old girl. Even more so taking into consideration that Ray was indestructible. But Ray knew better than to not take Piper Hart seriously when he shook her hand.
From that second on her whole demeanour changed. She slumped back into her seat and started eating her food. Smiling now she turned around to Henry who didn’t seem baffled at her mood change in the slightest. “So Hen, tell me. What did you do that they finally kicked you out?” She had a shit eating grin on her face now. One mirroring her brothers. They really couldn’t hide their genes in the slightest. “And please tell me that Ray will become your legal guardian on Monday. Otherwise, this whole shovel talk would have been completely useless.”
She really was clever. Ray had to give her that. And she was making Henry not only laugh but also practically vibrate with happiness the whole evening. He was sure that Piper would fit right into their little family of strays. A believe that was only intensified when he brought her up to Junk’N’Stuff at around six PM.
“Ray?” Piper stopped in front of him “Please take care of him, ok? He always took care of me, and I don’t want him to get hurt anymore. And least of all by people he loves.” She sounded close to tears. A side of Piper Ray hadn’t seen before. A side she didn’t want him to see before.
Sitting down at one of the tables he smiled at her. “I promise you that I will take care of him. And I also promise you that you can come visit as often as you like. You can stay here whenever, no questions asked, ok? And I have Henry send you my private phone number, so whenever you should need anything, you can just give me a ring.” Piper sniffled before bolting over and hugging Ray. Yeah, he and Henry really were alike. So much so that he really liked Piper already, even though he only really got to know her today. “Thank you, Ray.” Her voice sounded a bit wobbly, but she somehow managed not to cry. “I get why Henry likes you so much” He kept hugging her for a bit after that. Henry and Piper really were special siblings. Ray understood now why Henry had reacted with a panic attack to the thought of abandoning her. And he was so glad that Piper now knew about everything. It took a lot of Henrys plate and made him able to finally calm down fully. It wasn’t until Jasper and Charlotte joined them at the store that Piper let go of Ray. Quickly drying her cheeks Piper and the other teens said their goodbyes and were out the door.
Ray looked down at his watch. Only four more hours to go until Henry’s parents lost custody for good. It was the last real hurdle they had to face after telling their team and Piper. The next steps would be only organising in nature. Even though Ray didn’t really look forward to having to deal with Henry’s teacher. From what the kids had told him miss Shapen was strange and annoying on good days. But he was sure that he would somehow manage. It was just like he had told Piper earlier. He couldn’t promise to always do everything the right way. But he could promise to try his best every time.
When Ray left the elevator, he once again found himself in a hug. Really, Jake and Kris Hart had been terrible parents for never giving their kids any love, and it showed. But Ray would never complain about Henry hugging him. Or about Piper doing the same for that matter. He had promise Henry to always be there for him, so he just closed his arms around the boy and rested his chin on his kid’s head. He briefly wondered how much longer he would be able to do that. Henry had been growing like weed for the past year.  It took him longer than he liked to notice that the teen in his arms was crying again. Honestly, if he ever got the chance to do so he would kill Henry’s parents in a heartbeat for what they did to him.
Slowly starting to sway fro side to side, Ray softly asked. “Hey Kid, is everything ok?” It was different than that morning. Henry didn’t seem panicked, just exhausted and worn out. An impression that Henrys answer only confirmed. “Yeah. It’s just been a long day and I’m exhausted. I think I’ve never been this tired before. But I don’t want to until those stupid 48 hours are over. I feel like as soon as I fall asleep now, something terrible will happen. I know its stupid. It’s just…” Henry took a moment to stand up straight again. Looking at Ray. “You’ve been great with Piper earlier. I know she can get a little… prickly when she doesn’t know if she can trust someone. And what you said about keeping me safe and me being capable to handle myself… That was nice to hear I guess.” Oh yeah, there he was again. Emotionally constipated Henry Hart. Unable to take a compliment or accept anyone loving or caring for him. The list of things he wanted to do to Henry’s parents was growing by the second. But his kid wasn’t finished yet. “Everything is going great at the moment. And I can’t quite, you know, let that happen. Because nothing ever went smooth like that in my life before. And that scares me shitless.” That was something Ray could work with. If Henry wanted to stay up until ten PM, then that’s what they would do. And if he would have to reassure his kid that everything would be ok until then, so be it. Placing a reassuring hand on the teens shoulder Ray smiled. “Well Hen, there’s a first time for everything. And just as I told Piper earlier, I’m here to take care of you now. You don’t have to constantly be on your toes anymore. Not as long as I am around.” Henry nodded. His smile wobbly but honest. “If you want to stay up that’s what we will do. I could get Schwoz, and we can play some Mario Kart on the big screen if you want.” Henry nodded again at that before he looked back down at the floor. His voice was almost shy at hiss next question. “Can you put the police tracker on one of the small screens? So, if my parents do anything we see it.” Ray agreed. Of course he did. He understood Henrys uneasy feeling and his fear of everything being too good to be true. And he was determined to do everything possible to ease his kid’s worries.
Tossing Henry the remote for the screen on the way, Ray started their monitors and opened the police tracker. He then made sure to mark them as ‘off duty for anything under a level 7 emergency’. The closest they could ever get to making sure no one bothered them. He really didn’t want Henry to have to fight crime on a night as monumental as this. So, the police would have to do their dirty work themselves tonight. He was sure they would somehow manage.
Ray then went through his sprocket to fetch Schwoz and change into more comfortable clothes. Henry already was wearing another pair of Ray’s old sweatpants. Really, when had ‘stealing his boss’/dad’s clothes’ become a habit of that kid. But if he was being hones Ray wasn’t bothered by it. It just showed how comfortable Henry was around him. So, it really was a good thing. And maybe, just maybe, Ray himself was kinda enabling his kid by doing stuff like, bringing the teen one of his hoodies because the main hub tended to get a little chilly at nighttime. He totally wasn’t doing that right now. Definitely not. Thank you very much. Henry only thanked Ray with a shit eating knowing grin for tossing him the hoodie Ray definitely hadn’t chosen because he knew it to be Henry’s favourite. Really, the fact that Henry even had a favourite hoodie to steal said everything that needed to be known about the matter. But Ray blissfully ignored that fact.
Schwoz would take a few more minutes to finish whatever it was he had been doing when Ray had knocked on his door, so Ray busied himself with getting coffee and chips from the autosnacker. The dishwater the machine spit out was nothing like Charlottes heavenly ‘waker-upper’ as Jasper had named it. But it would get them through the next four hours well enough.
Henry was busy starting the game. Somehow taking up most of the couch while doing so.
Shaking his head in amusement Ray went over and placed their mugs on the table.
Henry was ignoring him in favour of getting their old Wii working, so he carefully pushed his kid’s legs out of the way and sat down. Huffing in annoyance said kid simply put his legs back up. Uncaring of the fact that they now lay over Ray’s lap.
Henry really was starting to calm down and settle in. That was good. Great even. He had been comfortable in the man cave and around Ray pretty much from the get-go. But now he looked like he felt truly at home. Something that made Ray happy beyond words. Henry also seemed way more relaxed than this morning. Something Ray was sure to be because of Piper now knowing about their secret identities.
Tomorrow would be the next important step to finally get Henrys life back in order. An order that would be more stable and happier than his kid’s home life had been up until now. Of that Ray would make sure.
His thoughts were interrupted by Schwoz’ arrival and Henry tossing them over their controllers with a cheeky “I hope you’re ready to go down”.
Everything would fall into place somehow in the next days and weeks. Until then he would just do his best to get Henry’s mind off of his past and onto his possibilities for the future.

Chapter Text

09:30 PM.
Only 30 more minutes.
So why did it feel like the time was basically standing still?

Up until about a half hour ago it hadn’t even been that bad.
He, Ray and Schwoz were playing Mario Kart and eating snacks.
It had kept him busy enough not to constantly be staring at the police tracker or his watch.
But since Schwoz had been off to bed his nerves came crushing back into him with full force.
Henry had tried to conceal his fidgeting and nervous glances to their monitors.

But Ray had noticed after just a few minutes. Of course he had.
If it didn’t concern himself Henry would have found it hilarious how easily Ray was able to read him.
The other man had always been way more perceptive than anyone would give him credit for at first glance.
But since Henry had stopped lying to him about the reason for his feelings and behaviour it sometimes seemed like Ray could read his mind.
It maybe should have been creepy. But for Henry it made everything way easier.

Charlotte had once called him emotionally constipated, and somehow, he guessed she was right.
He never had been allowed to show or talk about his feelings at home, so no one should be surprised by him not knowing how to do it.

Therefore, not having to explain everything in detail for Ray to just know what was wrong helped him immensely.
It gave him time to organise his thoughts without feeling alone in all his struggles.
Ray also didn’t make him talk about all of that stuff if he didn’t want to.
At least not more than necessary to help him.

Henry knew what huge amount of responsibility he had dropped on his boss by asking him to become his legal guardian.
He would have understood if Ray had said no or if he had asked for some time to think about it.

But he didn’t.
He had said yes in the blink of an eye and even looked positively thrilled.

It hadn’t even been one of Rays spur of the moment ideas either.
Henry knew those and they looked different than that.

Ray had just fallen into the role of his dad so perfectly and instantaneously that Henry didn’t have any opportunity to question if he was up to the job.

Seeing Piper grill him today though made it more than clear to him.
Ray knew what he was getting himself into and willingly took that task.

It was nice, seeing someone actually care enough about him to willingly burden himself with taking care of him.
Without being forced to do so.
It would have been his parents’ job to raise him but how that turned out was made clear by his current situation and spared any further comments.

So really, living with Ray would be an improvement no matter what the man did.
But Henry could already feel how keen Ray was on being a good parent.
What he had been doing even before knowing about his situation at home.
He had allowed himself to finally accept his efforts on Friday.
And the change had been huge.
Not that Ray was doing anything particularly different than before.

But now that Henry finally started to open up, he noticed how manageable his problems became in comparison.
He didn’t have to constantly be on the lookout for threats to his or Piper’s safety.
He didn’t have to constantly pretend anymore.
And it took an enormous weight off his shoulders.

It also was pretty nice to be called capable and empathetic instead of a mistake or failure.

There would still be a long road ahead of all of them.
Just because he finally had left his toxic household it didn’t mean that he didn’t still hear his parents’ voices in his head, telling him how everything he did would never mean anything.
Or that he could completely shake is tendency to be rather careless when it came to his safety from one moment to the next. Nor his low self esteem.

But Henry was sure that he would find a way to deal with the dark cloud hanging over his head from time to time.

And until then he would have his family showing him the sun behind the clouds.

Piper also would be safe with the combined efforts of Ray and the Millers.
A fact that gave him insane peace of mind.

Tomorrow morning would be nothing but bureaucratic and answering questions.
He did that constantly as Kid Danger, so he didn’t think too much of it.

The only thing actually making him uneasy was facing his parents again to get his stuff out of his room.
Piper had texted him earlier telling him that she had already started packing his stuff in boxes, so he could take it all out easier.
She really was clever.
And sneaky, since she did all that without being called out for it by their parents.
She also had promised to call him or Ray as soon as Kris and Jake left the house.

And since she hadn’t called yet, he objectively knew there was nothing to be scared of anymore.
After all it really wasn’t likely for Kris and Jake to wait to the absolute last minute to file a complaint.
But still, the bad feeling wouldn’t be leaving him completely until the 48 hours were finally over.

It was Ray wordlessly pulling him into another hug that stopped his running thoughts.
There was the mind reading again.
But Henry wouldn’t complain about it.
Not when it got him more understanding, love and hugs than he could remember to have ever gotten before.

He tried to form his jumble of thoughts into words.
He really did but still found himself unable to.

It all basically amounted to ‘I’m too scared that this is going to crash and burn because nothing good ever happens to me’.
But just calling it that didn’t feel like enough.
It didn’t express how hopeless Henrys future had looked before.
How he never even thought about just being accepted and loved as he was because he hadn’t imagined it possible.

But somehow Ray got him without having to explain any of it.
He expressed as much by whispering into Henry’s hair.
“I know you’re scared, Kid. But I’ll promise you, this time nothing bad is about to happen. They can’t hurt you here. Not as long as I’m around to keep you safe.”

Henry didn’t cry at Ray’s words.
He had probably cried enough for years to come in the last days.

But he mumbled a silent “Thank you. For everything” into his dad’s shoulder.
Because that’s what he was to Henry.

His own father really didn’t deserve the title. Never had.
The only thing he still shared with Kris and Jake Hart was his last name.

He hugged Ray a bit more before he sat up straight again and looked at his watch.

09:45 PM.
Crunch-time.

Swallowing down the fear still hunting him he nodded at the screen.
“We’ve got 15 minutes. You think that’s enough for you to lose again?”
Being a sassy fuck was how he overplayed being scared as Kid Danger.
And since he didn’t have to be afraid to truly be himself around Ray it also was how he could deal with being scared now.

It really felt good not having to constantly switch between Henry and Kid.
Because of his oath of secrecy, it sometimes had felt like living two lives simultaneously, but non of them completely.
But not anymore.
He could openly talk about his job and his private life with all of his family now.
He didn’t have to keep any more secrets.
And it was freeing beyond everything Henry would have believed possible.

When Ray’s alarm finally blared at 10 PM sharp Henry did in fact start crying again.
But this was different than before.
This were tears of relief.
Hugging Ray, nearly tipping the man off balance with his force, he sobbed.
“I don’t have to go back. It’s over. It’s finally over.”

Sure, deep down it still stung that his parents really didn’t want him back.
That they just kicked him out their lives without looking back.
Not that he wanted them to, mind you.
It was just complicated emotion wise.

Ray hugged him back after steadying them, his smile showing that he was just as relieved as Henry.
He also had tears in his eyes, making his voice sound gravelly.
“I told you, Hen. From now on it will get better, I promise you to make sure of that.”
Henry believed him wholeheartedly.

They stayed on the couch for a while longer after that.
But when Ray checked his watch and saw that it was already half past ten, he let go of Henry to send him to bed.

The prospect of being alone with his thoughts didn’t seem too appealing to Henry right now.
He never had had a problem with being alone when he was still at his parents’ house.
But they had always been the reason for his distress in the first place.
So maybe that was why.

Right now, Henry needed nothing more than the steady and safe presence Ray provided.
So instead of going to bed like he normally would (it honestly would be a good idea since it was already late, and he needed to get back up at 6 AM), he stalled.
Lying through his teeth about not being tired.
He didn’t really know why he had believed to be able to fool Ray for even one second.

“Kid, what have I told you about being a terrible liar?”
It did sound amused rather than accusatory.
But Henry still didn’t want to admit that he was kinda scared of sleeping alone in his room after all the stress.
He was 15 for crying out loud.
He spent his free time, and some of his school time, by being a superhero sidekick and punching bad guys that more often than not were twice his size and age.
So he really shouldn’t be scared by his own overthinking.

Still, here he was.

But that didn’t mean that he would admit that to Ray.
So lifting his chin he answered.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

That seemed to be the wrong answer. Because now Ray’s expression shifted from amused to his ‘worried-dad-mode’, how Henry had started to call this look of concern.

And to be honest, Henry didn’t have the best track record with not spilling his guts under those circumstances.
So, he just sighed and looked at the floor.
“It’s stupid, ok? You don’t need to worry about it.”
He tried to at least keep face a little bit.
Not that Ray was likely to just let it go at that.

And he had been right in this assumption.
Because it was Ray Henry was talking about. And Ray had done nothing but worry about Henry for quite some time now.
“It’s not stupid if it bothers you, Hen. And it looks like it’s really bothering you. You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. But if you do, I’m right here. And whatever it is, I would never judge you, ok?”

There was the soft voice again.
That raw and unconcealed concern that made Henry crack every single time.

Ray had given him an out.
An opportunity to just brush this whole thing aside.

But that would mean to go to his room and be alone with his thoughts.

So, picking the lesser of the to evils Henry gave up on his pride and started explaining.
“Like I said, it really is stupid. It’s just that my head is spinning again from everything right now. I’m stuck with overthinking. So, I don’t want to go to my room, because I’m scared that it will only get worse as soon as I’m alone. My head tends to do that. It helps to have you around because you remind me that the thoughts in my head aren’t real. I know how dumb that sounds. I’m fifteen. So, I should just stop being a whiny little kid and just go to bed.”

Ray looked at him for a long moment. His expression unreadable to Henry.
Ok, That was new.

When he talked again his voice still sounded soft but somehow rough around the edges.
Just like he had sounded when telling him that he shouldn’t have been responsible for Piper.
“Is that what your parents told you when you asked for emotional support? That you should just suck it up and deal with it?”

It was a simple question.
It should have been easy to answer for Henry.
So why was his throat feeling like it was filled with sand all of a sudden?

Of course that’s what his parents had said to him.
Even before they had started hitting him.
They had called Henry childish whenever he came to them after a nightmare, or whenever he cried after getting hurt.
So, he just had stopped to ask for them to be there for him.
Ray had been spot on. Again. And it made the lump in Henry’s throat even bigger.
Unable to form a sentence he just nodded.

When Ray started talking again, Henry finally could read the look in his eyes and the sound of his voice.
It was a mix of suppressed anger, pain and protectiveness.

“Kid, the more I hear about your parents the more I can’t guarantee to not just zap them on sight.”
It didn’t sound like Ray had intended to say that.
At least if the hushed tone was anything to go by.

Taking a deep breath he continued.
His voice now back on the softer, more reassuring side.
“It’s not childish or stupid to be scared. On the contrary. It’s insanely brave to ask for help and to accept your own struggles. And I swear to you, right here and now, that I would never judge or belittle you for telling me you’re scared of something. I will never, not in a million years, send you away or make fun of you for asking me for help. However that help may look like. You’re my kid. And therefore, it isn’t only my job bust also my very own wish to make sure you’re ok. And that includes keeping you safe from your own thoughts. In fact you never even have to ask to sleep at my room or hug me or whatever it is you need to banish those thoughts, ok?”

He didn’t know what he had expected when telling Ray about his fear.
But it surely hadn’t been that.

Not that he had thought Ray to react like his parents had.
But the insistence with which Ray promised to always be there for him was surprising.
Was that how parents were supposed to be? Was this how it felt to actually be loved and supported unconditionally?

That was just… wow.

Henry didn’t really know how to react to that.
It was overwhelming in the best way possible.

So, donning a wobbly smile he just nodded “We should go to bed then I guess. I mean we have to get up at 6 AM.”

Yeah, maybe Charlotte had really been on to something by calling him emotionally constipated.
But Henry was sure that with Ray around he would learn to deal with his feeling sooner or later

Chapter Text

Looking down at Henry soundly sleeping next to him Ray sighed.
The kid had been right, he really should be sleeping.
But his thoughts were running too much for that just yet.

At one hand he was incredibly relieved that those stupid 48 hours were finally over.
Tomorrow he would sign some papers and after that Kris and Jake Hart officially wouldn’t have any power over his kid anymore.
But that was just the problem.
They may not be able to cause any more damage.
But the damage they already cause was immense.

Seeing Henry to scared to ask for emotional support, downplaying his own emotions so drastically.
It had felt like a knife to his heart.
He wanted nothing more than to go over to the Hart’s house and make them pay for all they had done.
He never had felt so much hate for anyone before.
But he somehow managed to keep himself in check, for Henry’s sake.

It shouldn’t be his focus right now, what he wanted to to to the people that hurt his kid.
His focus should be on said kid himself.
Said kid who was using him as some sort of giant pillow right now.
Ray really couldn’t understand how someone could actually hurt Henry like this.
But he wouldn’t let something like that happen to the teen ever again.
He would make sure of that.
No matter the cost.

Looking at his alarm clock he was once again reminded of the late hour.
He really should try to sleep.
He would have to talk to Henry’s annoying teacher tomorrow after all.
And if the teens’ description of her was even close to accurate he would need all the mental capacity he could get for that conversation.

Turns out staying up until midnight hadn’t been a good idea at all.
Ray almost shot his alarm clock as it rang at 6 AM sharp on Monday morning.
It wasn’t even the lack of sleep that bothered him. After years of hero work and more late nights than he could count he was used to that.
But who in their right mind would willingly get out of bed at 6 o’clock.
Really, how did the teens manage to do this stuff on the daily?
Even more so after working until deep into the night or even until morning in Henry’s case.
No wonder the kid fell asleep in class from time to time.

Taking a mental note to keep Henry from doing more night shifts than strictly necessary in the future, Ray got up to get some coffee started.
Henry grumbled next to him, also not really happy to be awake right now.
He would let the kid doze off for a few minutes longer.
At least until he got them some coffee.
It would be a long day for both of them, that much was sure.

Getting Henry out of bed turned out to be less of a struggle than Ray had anticipated.
They even had time for a quick breakfast before they had to get going.

Borrowing Schwoz’ convertible they actually made it off their yard on time.
Henry was complaining most of the way about how they hadn’t taken the Man’s AMP.
Honestly Ray would have loved to do so.
Schwoz’ car really was an eyesore.
But the Man’s AMP would have been too conspicuous for getting Henry to school.

Maybe Ray should go on and get his own car.
Nothing spectacular.
Just a hatchback or some sort of minivan.
It would be practical for getting the teens to and from school.
Since he would be driving Henry on the regular now, he obviously would also pick up the other two.
Money wasn’t a problem with his salary as superhero and his basically nonexistent cost of living.
So maybe he really should invest in a private car.
Henry would also be 16 in about three months, and he surely wouldn’t be teaching him how to drive in the Man’s AMP.
Not that he didn’t trust his son enough to drive the car even though he loved it himself.
But the Man’s AMP had too much PS to safely teach a new driver the rules.

Thoughts like that made it clear again to Ray. He was about to take custody over Henry.
He wouldn’t only call him his kid anymore but basically be pretty close to actually legally be his father.

To be legally viewed as such completely he would have to adopt Henry.
But if he thought about it, that was something he totally could see himself doing in the future.

Henry deserved a real family after all.
But that wasn’t his choice to make.
After all the abuse he had had to go through Henry would be the only one deciding about the next steps.

It was Henry who had trusted him enough to ask him to become his legal guardian.
That way they would be covered legally.
It allowed Henry to live in the man cave permanently and Ray to be his legal representative until the teen turned 18.
Maybe it should surprise Ray how easily he was on board with all of that.
With legally becoming a dad basically over night.
And it surely would have with anyone else.
But this was Henry.
The boy who had basically been his kid for about two years now.
Who he already basically had been parenting for just as long.
So, somehow all of this and even the thought of an eventual adoption some time in the future didn’t feel strange.
It felt like the logical next step.

A step following the one they were just about to take, as soon as Ray could find a bloody parking spot.
Like honestly, it was quarter to eight.
The government office wouldn’t even open for another fifteen minutes.
So why the hell were there already so many people parking all over the neighbourhood?

In the end it was a good thing they had been early, since it took Ray another ten minutes to finally find a space to park his car.

After that it was a whole lot of waiting.
Over an hour of waiting to be exact.
It was boring.
Boring enough for Ray and Henry to start talking about miss Shapen and what Ray wanted to talk to her about.
Turns out the woman really was as gruesome as Ray had feared.
That was just great.
He wasn’t a fortune teller, but for some inexplicable reason he could already feel a headache in his near future.
One having to do with cats and Henry’s teacher talking about her strange body problems.

But for now, it finally was their turn to see the government official in charge of custody proceedings.

Swellview’s laws really were messed up sometimes, Ray noticed.
Even though in Henry’s case that was a godsend.

All they had to do was explain the situation and show their IDs for the employee to print out the documents that would finally get Henry out of his abusive home.
First Henry had to sign a paper stating that he willingly wanted to appoint a new legal guardian of his own choosing.
Then he had to sign another document assuring that his parents really had kicked him out.
Lastly Ray had to sign what loosely resembled a contract of sorts, stating all his rights and duties as Henry’s legal guardian.

And just like that Ray was not only Henry’s legal representative but also listed as his next of kin officially.

The whole procedure took about twenty minutes and at about half past nine they were on their way back to Ray’s (well Schwoz’) car.
It would have been ironic how uncomplicated the whole procedure had been if it hadn’t felt so monumental.

But when Ray looked at Henry, he was reminded again of why he was doing all that.
Not that he had forgotten it for just a single second.
But seeing Henry grin like a loon as soon as Ray was done signing his papers made his heart swell in his chest.
Henry didn’t stop smiling for their whole way back to the car.
He didn’t even seem to notice.

“You look happy, Kid. I like that.”
Ray simply couldn’t stop himself from pointing it out.
He himself was just too glad that finally Henry’s years of abuse were over.

“Well.”
Henry’s smile turned cheeky.
Still not betraying the feeling of utter relief seeping through.
“Maybe that has to do with the fact that I finally have a dad deserving of that title.” Henry took his seat on the passenger side.
“Or maybe it’s because from now on I finally am your problem. Like officially. With seal, stamp and all that stuff. You know there’s no way to return me now, right? You’re stuck with me.”
He turned to face Ray with that last statement. Sticking his tongue out.

Ray knew the teen was just pulling his leg.
Trying to tease him.
But still he needed to make a point here.
So, looking at Henry seriously, he tried to make clear just how aware he had been of all that before signing those papers.
“Trust me Henry, I know. And please, not only for one second, think that I would ever regret that decision or try to return you or any of that nonsense. I knew what I was getting myself into by becoming your legal guardian. And it was a decision I made willingly. Knowing just how much responsibility and trust you just gave to me. And to be honest with you I’m insanely honoured you chose me to be your dad.”

Henry just looked at him for a moment.
His smile unwavering but a complex look in his eyes, before slightly shaking his head as to clear his thoughts.
“Let’s get going then, dad. You wouldn’t want to miss your opportunity to talk to miss Shapen now, would you?”

It was Henry’s favourite distraction tactic.
Teasing him and bickering.
But Ray would let it slide for now.
“I’ll certainly wouldn’t miss it if I didn’t have to go.”
With that Ray started the motor, mentally preparing himself for that crazy cat lady.

Turns out crazy wasn’t big enough to describe Sharona Shapen.
At least not according to Ray.

Dropping Henry off at his classroom at the end of second period, he had a quick talk with Charlotte and Jasper.
They both congratulated him and Henry before Charlotte pushed a thermos of her seriously perfect coffee in their hands and excused all of them to recess.
He should really give this girl a raise for her ability to read situations and act accordingly.

Taking a sip of coffee Ray steeled himself before clearing his throat.
Miss Shapen turned around annoyedly.
But when her gaze stopped at him, she started smiling
“Oh, hello there.”
Ray could only guess that her tone was supposed to be flirty.
The kids really hadn’t been lying.
This was about to be as pleasant as being hit with a baseball bat,
Repeatedly.

Donning his best professional smile, Ray entered the room and leaned against the edge of one of the tables.
“Hello. My name is Ray Manchester. You are miss Shapen, Henry Hart’s teacher, right?” He stretched his hand out for her to shake but instantly regretted it.
Her hands weren’t only sweaty, they were wet.

“Yes. I’m Sharona Shapen. To what do I owe the pleasure mister Manchester?”
Ugh. Again, with the failed attempt at flirting.

Suppressing his urge to wipe his hand on his jeans Ray started explaining.
“I’m here because of Henry. Have you been aware of his home situation up until last Friday?”

Miss Shapen looked at him confusedly.
“His home situation? No. How am I supposed to know? His parents never showed up to any school function.”
At least she wasn’t attempting to flirt anymore.
Little mercies and all that.

Ray had expected her to not know about Henry’s abuse.
And he had promised the boy earlier not to make a huge deal of it.
Now that he was talking to Miss Shapen, he understood that wish.
So, he decided to keep it as vague as possible.

“His parents were grossly negligent and abusive. Which would also explain you never meeting them. After your last phone call on Friday they decided to kick him out. I’m sure you know how the law handles cases like that?”
Miss Shapen nodded.
“Henry started working for me about two years ago. He trusted me enough to tell me about his situation at home and asked me to become his legal guardian. I signed the papers with the government office this morning. So, I just wanted to quickly introduce myself.”

Miss Shapen actually looked flabbergasted at that.
“If I had known… I never would have called mister Hart on Friday. I’m so sorry.”
She stammered. So at least she was only annoying, but not cruel.
That was a start.

“Well, you couldn’t have known. That’s why I’ve here to clear everything up. But I promised Henry not to make a big deal about it at school since its such a personal matter.”

She nodded again.
“Of course. I won’t talk to him about it unless he wants me to.”

Ray smiled at that.
“That’s great. But also. I think we are in agreement that given the circumstances the subject of Henry repeating the year is off the table, right? I will of course monitor his schoolwork from now on. But with anything that just happened to him I don’t think he needs even more pressure right now.”

Miss Shapen nodded again, still looking shocked at the revelation of Henry’s toxic parents.
“No, Of course I will make sure he doesn’t have to repeat the year. It all makes so much sense now. I’m so sorry I didn’t see anything sooner.”

Who would have thought that the weird cat lady actually seemed to care about her students’ wellbeing.

Luckily for Ray the bell cut their talk short.
Quickly saying his goodbye, he left the classroom.
He had organised everything important anyways.
And honestly, he didn’t need miss Shapen trying to hit on him again.
Ewww.

Passing his favourite teens on the way out, Ray quickly informed them about his success.
Henry’s smile got even brighter at that before being ushered back to class by Charlotte.
Ray only managed to tell them that he would pick them up after school before the kids were already around the corner.

Going back to the car Ray sighed.
He really needed an ibuprofen right now.
And maybe a nap.

This afternoon they had to face Henry‘s parents to get his stuff.
That really was something Ray didn’t look forward to.
Not because he was scared or even mildly intimidated by Kris and Jake Hart.
But the impact the confrontation was likely to have on Henry had Ray worried.

He had looked so happy earlier and Ray really didn’t want to destroy that happiness right away.
The only saving grace was that whatever the Harts did they wouldn’t be able to keep Henry with them.
Not anymore.

With signing the documents this morning Ray had gotten custody over Henry.
But also the right to determine his place of residence.
So, they basically had nothing to worry about tonight.
But the thought of making Henry go back to his parents' house after everything that had happened, even if it was just this once, still made Ray uneasy

Chapter Text

For the first time in forever Henry could feel truly content with how his life was going at the moment.
It wasn’t just the fact that he finally had come clean about all of his secrets to the people who meant the whole world to him.
Even though that was a huge part, the feeling of relief Henry had ran deeper than that.
Everything in his life was starting to look up right now.
He managed to leave his abusive household, had Ray as his legal guardian, Piper was as safe as she could be given their home situation and Ray had somehow even managed to get miss Shapen to not make him repeat the year.

He should be over the moon.
Sitting in the man cave with his family. Enjoying his new home.

But he simply couldn’t shake The feeling of impending doom hunting him.
It honestly was a bit much to accept all at once.
Too much.

And as much as Ray tried to reassure him, Henry knew the flip side would come to bite him in the ass. At the very least temporarily .
And he already had a feeling about when it would happen too.

Going back to his parents’ house this afternoon to get his stuff promised to be a disaster. He just knew that.
Not that he realistically had a chance to avoid it.
He needed to get his clothes and bits and pieces out of his old room.
And even more importantly, he had to get all the evidences of Kid Danger out there as well.
Leaving them in there, for his parents to find eventually, just wasn’t an option.
So there sadly was no way around it.

But he really could do without the confrontation with his parents.

He also could go without dragging Ray into that mess.
But the older man was adamant to accompany Henry when he went.

Not only to drive him, as he said, but also to help him share the mental load and be there for him.
That was one of the reasons Henry was so thankful to have Ray.
He didn’t need to tell him that he felt uneasy with their plan for that afternoon for Ray to offer his help.
It was refreshing to not have to beg for the smallest amount of empathy.

Leaning back against the wall with a thunk Henry stretched his legs out over his bed.
He had about half an hour until they wanted to get going.
And, as much as he didn't want to admit it out loud, he was scared.
Which was also why he was hiding in his room like a skittish house cat.
Because if Ray saw him like that, he would be able to sense his nerves without so much as a second glance.

Ray already was way too worried about him.
Sure, the logical part of Henry’s brain told him that Ray was worried because he loved him and wanted to keep him safe.

But the dark little voice in the back of his head, the one that sounded suspiciously like his parents, made him wonder if maybe one day it would all become too much for the man he now could finally call his dad.

He almost was one hundred percent sure that Ray would never abandon him.
No, scratch that.
He normally was one hundred percent sure that Ray wouldn’t abandon him.
At least when he felt like himself and his brain wasn’t clouded with irrational doubts.

Right now he felt life being submerged in fog. Everything around him too vague to see or even think clear.
It was different than his panic attack though.
This right now felt kinda like looking at himself from the outside, but not truly.
Like he was still controlling his body, but didn’t really have a say in what he was, or more accurately, wasn’t doing.
It was weird to put it lightly.
But sadly enough it wasn’t the first time.

Henry had gotten pretty decent in pretending everything was normal when he got like that.
But no matter how good he was, he surely wouldn’t fool Ray.
He could tell Charlotte and Jasper that he was just tired and therefore basically didn’t talk at all.
They were suspicious. Especially Charlotte.
But in the end they would always let it go.
With his dad on the other hand, who could basically interpret his emotions before he even managed to do so himself, that excuse wouldn’t fly.

Ray’s words from the previous night came back to him.

‘I will never, not in a million years, send you away or make fun of you for asking me for help. However that help may look like. You’re my kid. And therefore, it isn’t only my job bust also my very own wish to make sure you’re ok.’

He knew that.
So why was he still so fucking adamant to rather suffer alone in his bedroom?

He didn’t have an explanation for that.
At least not a plausible one beyond
‘I can’t fight the feeling of not being deserving of love because I’m too heavily traumatised by my past abuse’.
And it somehow made him angry towards himself.
Yet another emotion added to the already inseparable mess.

It would have been so easy to just get up and talk about what was haunting him.
Ray would help him figure it out and work through it, no doubt.
But Henry simply… didn’t do it.
He somehow couldn’t.
Like the voices in his head were too loud to even hear his own thoughts over them.

It wasn’t that he didn't want help.
But he felt frozen solid by the voices in his hindbrain accusing him of seeking attention for it.
Of faking his distress to get love and affection he didn’t deserve.

It was like a constant fight between what he knew to be real and the words his parents had drilled into his brain for way too long.

It made him wonder if he was finally going insane.
But even if so. What would he be able to do about it anyways?

So he just sat on his bed, unseeingly staring at the wall and beating himself up for not finally growing a pair and asking for help.

He didn’t even notice how much time had passed before he heard a knock on his door.
His initial reaction was to panic.
The voices in the back of his head telling him to suck it up. To not make a scene.

But then it hit him.
This was basically perfect.
He couldn’t muster the strength to go to Ray and ask for help.
But now that Ray was coming to him, maybe he could force himself to get out enough words for his dad to understand.
To help him get out of this mess.
Because that was what he really wanted, deep down.
To silence the echos of his parents’ mistreat and finally enjoy the live now laying before him.

Another knock.

Right, he hadn’t allowed Ray in yet.

“Yeah sorry, come in.”
He sounded as scatterbrained as he felt.
But that served him just right at the moment.

“Oh yeah, look at you being pathetic.You’re such an attention seeker. No wonder we kicked you out. You are useless. You can’t even handle your own thoughts. Soon he will notice how useless you are. He doesn’t love you, he just pities you because you cry so much”

The voice in his head sounded like Kris right now.
While Jake had always been more physical in his abuse, Kris had tried her hardest to break him mentally.
He had always been worse for wear if it had been Kris leading his punishments, even though she rarely touched him.

Trying his hardest to fight down Kris’ voice beating him up he looked at Ray.
It must have been something about how he did it though that made Ray halt in his tracks.
The man swallowed heavily before he closed the door behind him and sat on the corner of Henry’s bed.
All without talking.
It gave Henry the chance to find his voice through the jumble in his head.

“Dad. It’s getting bad again.”
His voice didn’t sound as weak as he had anticipated. It sounded almost monotone. Dull even.

Ray just smiled at him warmly. Understandingly.
Lovingly.
Like a dad was supposed to look at his kid.
Not at all like his parents had looked at him all those years. Filled with disgust and disappointment.

It almost made him break, the stark contrast between the man’s actions and the made up truth his head wanted him to believe.
He felt so insanely torn between what he wanted and what he felt like he deserved.

Objectively he knew the healthiest way to cope with his emotions would be to try and explain his… whatever this is… to Ray.
But he didn’t know how.
How to explain that sensation of being there but not quite.
Or how to get his voice to cooperate for that matter.

“Hen. Listen to me for a second, ok? Can you do that?”
Ray was so calm.
How could he be so calm, while Henry felt like he was simultaneously floating and frozen solid to his spot on the bed?

He just managed to nod in response, still trying to figure out how words worked again.

Ray was still smiling so fondly it somehow settled something deep inside of Henry.
Like, it didn't quite make the sound of Kris still spewing venom in his veins disappear, far from it. But it made it quieter.

“Whatever it is your brain is telling you right now isn’t the truth, Kid. I know it is hard to believe that right now. Can you maybe tell me how you feel right now? Which memory you are reliving?”

Henry nodded again, finally getting at least some sort of control over his body back.
“It’s so loud right now. I can’t think.”
He wasn’t sure if Ray could even hear him.
“It’s like she’s here again. Like… I know she isn’t. But her voice is so clear right now.”

His voice broke.

“It’s ok Kid. I won’t let anybody hurt you, remember? I’ll keep you safe.”
Ray moved beside him.
Also leaning against the wall and stretching his legs.
Henry could feel his body heat next to him.
It grounded him enough to speak again.
“It’s … it’s my m… Kris. She always said the nastiest stuff. It was worse than being hit. Way worse. And sometimes when I’m really… stressed or vulnerable… well… It’s like I can hear her screaming at me. It’s not like I’m hallucinating. I’m not going crazy or anything. At least I guess. It’s just… I don't know.”
After he finished he placed his head on Ray’s shoulder.
By now he slowly believed it kind of belonged there with how often they did this.

Ray placed his head atop his. Slightly slumping down the wall in their backs.
“You’re not going crazy Hen. If that calms you down a bit. What you’ve been through, physically and emotionally, was horrible. I told you this before, but I’m astounded again and again by how brave you are. You are the strongest person I know, Kid. And I’m so proud to finally be able to officially call you my son.”

Henry didn’t cry, even though he felt like he wanted to.
Maybe all his tears had run dry during the last days. Or maybe it was just the residual fog clouding his head.
‘Proud? Of you? He must be lying. Look at you. You were the biggest mistake I ever made.’

Kris in his head hissed.

“Well that’s not what they said. My mom once told me, she wished that she had gotten an abortion because someone like me should never have been born”

He felt Ray swallow heavily at that.
When he answered his voice was hoarse, but determined.
“If that is what your mind has stuck on replay let me give you something else to remember, ok?”
Henry nodded, curious as to what Ray had planned.

The older man suddenly sat up at that. Making Henry turn to look him in the eyes.
They were still so unbelievably soft.

“Henry.”
Ok this was getting serious. Ray hadn’t used his real name in ages.
It was always ‘Kid’ or ‘Hen’.
Sometimes a teasing ‘kiddo’ or ‘buddy’. But ‘Henry’ was rare.

“I love you. No matter what you do or who you decide to be. I will always love you. Not because I have to or because you forced me to, but because I chose to. I never thought that I could have enough luck in life to have kids of my own. But then you came through the door. I wanted to keep you at arms length when you started. But I simply couldn’t. And when I was sitting at that basketball game of yours, I noticed how blind I have been. How you slowly but surely have become the closest thing I could ever have to my own kids. From that moment on I decided to just treat you exactly like It.You have no idea how happy you made me with asking me to be your legal guardian. I could have cried when signing the papers earlier. Because I can’t possibly believe how lucky I am, how proud you make me with everything you do. Henry, you are so wonderful. And I wont stop telling you this until one day you finally will believe me.”
Ok, yeah, serious indeed.
“I don’t know exactly what it is your parents told you. And I won’t force you to tell me either. But whatever it was. I assure you that it was utter bullshit. You were never a disappointment or a failure. And I sure as hell am more than thankful for you being born. You are the best thing that happened to me. And I mean that. And trust me when I tell you this, I won’t let those people hurt you in any way again. Not tonight. Not ever. I willingly took on the responsibility to keep you safe. And I’m more than determined to fulfil that responsibility.”

Henry in all honesty was too stunned to reply for a long moment.
He had known that Ray loved him and that he was serious about protecting him.
But the stern look in the man’s eyes combined with the weight of his words finally managed to drive that point home. Even trough the rapidly dissipating fog shrouding his mind.
For the first time in years he didn't hear his parents’ voices in his head.

He knew it wouldn’t last forever.
The scars on his soul were to fresh and deep for that.
But Ray had promised him to remind him of his words as much as needed.
So right now Henry decided to just enjoy the quiet.

“I love you too, dad. Just so you know.” He whispered, not sure if the other man could even hear him.
But the smile on Ray’s face was answer enough

Chapter Text

“You’re not going crazy by the way”
They had just left their parking lot when Ray started talking.
“You were dissociating earlier. It’s some kind of flashback mixing with your surroundings. Its a normal trauma response. So, nothing to worry about. I know it can get scary though. I just wanted you to know that you are not going bonkers.”

He felt like he needed to reassure his kid of that.
From what he had gathered earlier Henry had to suffer from dissociations quite regularly.
A thought that twisted the knife permanently lodged into his heart because of Henry’s abuse.

He couldn’t protect his kid from the mental health challenges accompanying his trauma. All he could do was sit next to him and try his best to fix the cracks in his son’s heart.
It was hurtful in so many ways, not being able to make all the pain and sorrow just go away.

But that didn't mean that Ray would stop picking up the pieces every time.
Because that’s what he signed up for when he took Henry in.
And luckily his words earlier seemed to have at least some success in silencing the voice of his mother tormenting Henry’s mind.
It would never feel like enough to Ray though.

Henry only nodded absentmindedly instead of a real response.
The nerves practically visible on him.
Ray understood that perfectly.

What they were about to do only could be extremely hard on Henry’s mind right now.
It hadn’t even been four days since his parents proved him that they didn't love him, probably never had done so.
It was cruel and heartless.
And sadly it fitted perfectly into their behaviour and questionable ways to raise their children.

Just thinking about making Henry face those people again made Ray sick.
But he swore not only to himself but also to his kid that he wouldn’t let them even get close. And he was determined to stay true to that statement.
He wouldn’t hesitate for only a second to stand up for Henry.
No mater who it was talking shit about his kid.

The drive to the Hart’s house only took about 7-8 minutes but to Ray it felt like an eternity.

Parking the car a few feet down the street from the house, he turned around to Henry.
“Hen?”
It took the boy a moment to raise his head, the look in his eyes only describable as one of horror.
It made Ray almost choke on his next words “Whatever happens in there, whatever they say or do. I am right by your side. I’ll protect you, no matter what. They wont be able to even get closer than five feet to you. And I wont let them talk badly to or about you. You don't even have to talk to them at all if you don't want to, ok?”

Henry nodded, fighting determinedly to gain back his mask of composure.
“Just… please stay close to me. And I want to be back out of there as quickly as possible. Piper already packed all my stuff so all we have to do is get the boxes and my gum tubes.”

It wasn’t 15 year old Henry Hart talking right now.
Ray knew the difference, the hiding behind facts and strategies.
This right now was Kid Danger, highly trained hero sidekick, putting on a brave face while being scared out of his mind.
Doing his best to push his own emotions away to uphold the picture of professionalism and heroism that was expected from him.

He hated it every single time when Henry did this.
Hated that he even was able to do this.
To cope with stress in this unhealthy way. But he also understood the necessity of it out in the field.
Did it himself by slipping into his Captain Man persona.
Because sometimes, drawing a clear line between the person he was in private and the symbol he was for Swellview was the only way to handle the expectations the world had for him either way.
With Henry it accentuated how fast he had to grow up.
How he had be carrying responsibilities way to big for any teenager for quite some time now.

Ray had blamed himself for this countless times.
For stealing his kid’s possibility to just be that, a kid.
But looking at him, putting on the strong facade to face his parents of all people, Ray realised that this wasn’t a skill Henry had gathered while working for him.
It wasn’t something the kid had learned in the field bleeding through into his private life.
It had been ingrained into his brain way earlier by his abuse.
So, slipping into this headspace, turning off all his emotions and just function in the field came naturally to him.

The moment Ray had realised that fact when Henry had gone to sleep on Friday he almost wished that it had been the other way around. Because blaming himself for making Henry grow up too fast was easier on his emotions than realising how hurt he really was.

Ray let it slide for now, knowing that for Henry it felt like some sort of armour to treat this like a mission.
He hated every second of it, but right now the easiest way to handle the situation was to try and think like Henry’s mentor, not his dad.

But it was also the moment he swore to himself that he would do everything he possibly could to make up for what the Harts had done to his kid.
It would probably take years to make Henry see that life was so much more than just barely getting by, than just fighting for love. But he wasn’t in a hurry.

“I wont leave your side for only a single second, Kid. I promise you that. We’ll be in and out in no time. I get the boxes, you search for your gum tubes and then were on our way again. Basic search and retrieval, like the simulation last month.”

He knew how discussing tactics helped Kid Danger to face his fears. How it calmed him down to have not only plan a but also plan b and c ready to go.
And as much as it broke Ray’s heart at the moment, treating this like a regular job was easier.
For both of them.
So, he slipped into his Captain Man mode.
At least slightly.
He still wanted Henry to know that he was worried about him.
Not that it would make anything decidedly different than on jobs.
As he said, Ray had never been able to see Henry exclusively as his sidekick.
Really, the sooner they got this over with the better.

Henry straightened up at that. Raising his chin and forcing away the worry in his eyes in favour of a determined glint.
Maybe it was the regularity Ray had with watching Henry turn into Kid, but right now he didn’t need the mask or the costume to see it.

Normally his kid standing proud and slightly cocksure in front of a threat was a sight that made Ray proud.
But right now he would have given everything for not having Henry go through this.

It was Jake that opened the door when they knocked a few moments later.
He didn’t even welcome them, not that Ray would have expected him to, before loudly calling out for his wife.
“Kris! The boy is here to get his shit.”

‘The boy’. Ray already wanted to punch Jake’s stupid face for that alone, but that would only escalate the situation and make it drag on longer than necessary.

Kris was at the door just a second later.
“Well, come in then. But make it quick. I don’t need you hanging around here longer than necessary. You already wasted enough of my time as it is.”
Her voice sounded cold and distant.

Really, it was getting harder and harder to control his anger.
But he managed, if only barely and by curtly nodding and quickly moving up to Henry’s room to get away from those horrible people.

Piper really had outdone herself though.
All of Henrys belongings were neatly stacked into three labeled boxes and two suitcases.
He needed to remember to slip her some money the next time he saw her, because this surely took a lot of time.

Getting all of Henry’s stuff into Schwoz convertible therefore took all of 20 minutes.
A fact Ray was more than thankful for.
Seeing Henry like this, silently working with unease practically radiating from him, got harder by the second.

They were basically on their way out already when Kris stopped Ray by his arm.
“Mister Manchester. A word of warning. You are an intelligent man, and a good looking one at that. Don’t waste your time on that hopeless kid. I know he manipulates you to feel pity for him. But every effort you put into that one is utterly wasted. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”

For a moment Ray was too stunned to speak. Not by the cruel things Kris said about her own son.
After everything Henry had told him that hardly was the worst of it.
But the way she didn't even try to be subtle about it…
He wasn’t even angry at her right now. He simply was disgusted.

Putting his arm on Henry’s shoulder, worriedly noticing the small shivers his kid tried very hard to suppress, he smiled at Kris.
He had promised Henry to protect him and clearly take a stand, so that’s what he would do, while making sure those people finally stayed out of Henry’s life for good.
“Well, miss Hart. First of all, you have no business what I do or why I do it. So, my motivations for taking care of Henry shouldn’t concern you. But if we’re already speaking about warnings here, I should advise you to be careful about what you say next. Just because you are miserable and cruel doesn’t meant that your children have to be the same. And honestly, if that really is what you think to be the right way to raise children, I’m not willing to discuss anything with you for even a minute longer. In my opinion, the two of you are way too incompetent to raise kids. You don’t even know how to manage your own feelings or your marriage by yourself without making it everybody else’s problem.”

Kris looked like she was ready to explode at that.
Must have hit a nerve with them.
But they didn’t seem to notice that they were talking to an adult and not a kid that had no other choice than to depend on them.
They tried the same scare tactics on him that they likely utilised to keep Henry in line.
Seeing the mercilessness in their eyes, Ray understood why Henry had covered for them for years.
This was psychological manipulation at its finest.

Jake even went as far as to start an angry approach towards the two of them.
But as soon as Ray let go of Henry and stood up straight he quickly reconsidered.
Yes Captain Man mode indeed.
Ray Manchester didn’t need to wear his uniform to look intimidating, if he really wanted to.
One of the perks of being over six feet tall and working out.

Turning around, leading Henry in front of him through the door, Ray looked back at the pitiful excuses for parents gaping at him one last time.
Henry was shivering even worse by now.
He really needed to get him out of here.
But before that he needed to make it unmistakable that their tactics of fear won’t work anymore on their kids.
Not as long as he was there to protect them.

“One last thing for the both of you. Don’t you even dare to try and contact Henry again. He already suffered enough from your incompetence and lack of humanity. Oh, and it also would be in your best interest to never even think about directing your aggressions and miserable life’s on Piper. Because if I should ever find as much as a scratch on her or hear about you trying to contact my son again, I will make sure you wish it were only hell that broke loose above you. Is that understood?”
He didn’t shout or even get aggressive.
That would only make him seem like them in Henrys eyes.
Ray was aiming for conversational.
But the weight of his words, the underlying warning, got through anyways.
It was clearly written on the Harts’ faces when they nodded before closing the door behind Henry and him.

It took about half of the way back to the car for Ray to drop the act and visibly get back to being Ray Manchester instead of Captain Man without uniform.
It always was a bit of a hassle to switch like this on a moments notice.
Wearing his suit made it easier.
Somehow the mask and spandex worked as a clear line of differentiation for his mind, making the transition between his two life’s easier.

The same could be said for Henry.
He could basically pass off as a completely different person when he put his mask on.
The change back to just Henry was huge n Ray’s eyes.
It was basically visible to everyone really knowing him, the way his shoulder slumped and his guard fell.

But to Ray there was more.
He also saw the hard look in Henry’s eyes disappear, how he lowered his chin slightly and the relaxing of his jaw.
He could basically watch Henry allowing his feelings back into his system and mind in real time.

The only warning he got of the impending crash down though was the slight shaking in Henry’s hands.
He had noticed that one a few months ago after a hostage situation that slightly went off the rails midway.
The stress induced tremor Henry didn't even seem to realise himself.
It meant that whatever he just had to do would leave him shaken for a long time to come.
It meant that Henry had put on a brave face as Kid, while everything inside him just wanted to cry and shake the responsibility.
It was a sure fire sign of a breakdown waiting to happen, of all the stress needing an instant relief as soon as the situation was contained and Henry got to terms with it.

The last time this happened, Ray had tried to talk to Henry about it, tried to get the boy to open up.
It had resulted in Henry screaming at him and not being able to look him in the eyes for days afterwards.
The guilt of shutting him out so rudely mixing in with his still only halfway processed emotions.

So now he tried a different approach. Opening the passenger door for his kid he placed a hand on his shoulder, ignoring the pang he felt in his chest when the boy flinched at the contact.
“You did great buddy. But it’s over now. And I’m right here when you need me.”

‘I will give you the time you need.’,
‘I’m proud of you.’,
‘You can let your mind shut down for now, I will handle it.’ ,
’ I can see you’re struggling and you are safe to feel those feelings with me.’
All things Ray wanted to say but didn’t, too afraid to overwhelm his kid even more with too much honesty.
But what he said seemed to be enough for now.
Henry didn’t respond, but Ray hadn’t expected him to.
He also didn’t scream or break down, so that was an improvement from the last time.

They drove back to the man cave in silence after that.
Henry visibly trying to calm his racing thoughts.

Chapter Text

Turns out that crashdowns after too much stress for too long seemed to consistently manifest as anger for Henry.

Only now the recipient of this anger wasn’t Ray.
It weren’t even Henry’s parents, as Ray would have expected.
It was more along the lines of Henry being angry at himself for being angry.
Ray had already expected an outburst at one point.
Henry had been keeping a lid on his emotions for way too long to just let them fade into nothing.
But this right now was a whole situation.
Ray had expected some screaming and shouting.
Maybe even so trashing and insults.
But Henry tearing himself down for feeling angry at his parents…
It was safe to say Ray hadn’t expected that.
His kid had been pacing the man cave for about ten minutes now.
Constantly muttering to himself about how he hated his parents for what they did.
That much Ray was completely on board with.
But Henry also blaming himself for letting them do it was unexpected.
Of course, knowing him, Ray had already had a feeling that Henry would partially blame himself.
It was something he always did, no matter how clear it was that it wasn’t is fault.

But what shocked him at least a bit was how the kid seemed to turn all of his aggressions towards himself without even thinking twice about it.

He had known that Henry had self esteem issues pretty much from the beginning.
With everything he knew now, he honestly was kinda surprised to never have found Henry self harming in any way.
Because what he heard about Kris in particular and the way his parent had acted today made his stomach churn.

His kid being able to discern his mothers abuse from his reality and being able to call it for what it was, a flashback… It had surprised him earlier.
It was a skill Henry had likely learned through his hero training and the huge amount of knowledge about trauma it gave him
.
But even then.
Even if he was able to realise Kris’ words were untrue, hearing them messed his self image up.
Ray knew that.
He also knew what it could lead to.
Even more so without a stable and safe environment.
He wasn’t proud to admit it, but he knew what it had done to himself after the divorce of his parents.
And that really was an experience he wanted to prevent for his own son.

For Henry to not turn to self destructing to cope with all that was an impressive display of resilience.
At least that was what he hoped to be the case.

There were a lot of ways to self harm that weren’t visible, at least not long term.

Henry wasn’t cutting, he would have seen that at one point or another with how much time they spent together.
But Ray himself had never been cutting either when fighting his depressions as a teen.
He never had been able to because of his densitised skin.
So he knew more than one way to internalise selfhatred without leaving a mark.

He would have to talk to Henry about this, and soon. Not only to calm his own nerves but also to be able to effectively help Henry should he really struggle with something like that.

It was a scary thought.

Not that it was the first time Ray had suspected Henry to have slightly self destructive tendencies.
He had been trying to drill a bit more self-protection into his kid, because as soon as there was someone needing help, Henry tended to miscalculate the risks from time to time.
He always had explained it away as lack of experience and Henrys deeply ingrained wish to safe everyone.
And while he still stood by that assumption…

After all he had learned about Henry’s upbringing and his self esteem issues Ray couldn’t help to fear there was also a different reason.
Wether it be lacking situational awareness because of dissociations or his kid’s bad way to see himself.

Whatever it was, they definitely needed to talk about it.
How it affected Henry in uniform and how he dealt with his feelings in private.

Ray was sure he would never manage to differentiate between job and private with Henry.
He never had been good at that.
Even before a certain knucklehead with a heart to big for this job had barged through the door and single-handedly crumbled all of Rays defences for his own heart to dust.
And now that he was legally responsible for his kid, he wouldn’t even try to anymore.
He never had been able to see Henry as just his sidekick anyways.

Kid Danger was Captain Man’s son just as much as Henry Hart was Ray Manchester’s son.
Even the criminals had started catching on to that.
It kinda was an open secret how close they were from the beginning.
And Captain Man threatening criminals with severe bodily harm if they ever touched his sidekick again, maybe or maybe not calling Kid Danger his kid in the progress, did the rest.

So if an intervention of any form was in order, it would always affect both parts of Henry’s life.

But all of this would have to wait until his kid had worked through the shutdown he was experiencing right now.

Ray saw the moment Henry’s stress came crashing down on him.
He could pinpoint the exact second Henry finally lost control over the anger he had carefully been keeping in check for so long.

And he was happy that he did.
Because like this he could catch Henry’s fist before it made contact with the wall.
The force behind the punch would surely have fractured at least one of his bones if he weren’t indestructible.
His kid really knew how to deal mean blows by now.
Not that Ray would concentrate on that in this situation.

He was too busy with pulling Henry into his chest and holding him still.
He understood his attempts to get away to smash something.
He also understood Henry hitting his chest repeatedly.
The hits did hurt. Of course they did.
But he was indestructible, so he would manage.
And Henry needed a chance to finally let out all the pent up anger.

And hitting his chest to do that was way better than hitting the wall.
Because as much as Henry may need the pain impulses right now, he won’t let his kid intentionally or accidentally injure himself in the process.

It didn’t take too long for Henry’s assault to loose most of his intensity and for his kid to slump against him.
He didn’t cry, at least not instantly.
He simply fell against him like a puppet with cut strings.
And Ray caught him.
He would always catch him.

When Henry started talking, his voice sounded incredibly confused, almost devastated even.
“Why? Why did you stand up for me to her? She always gets what she wants. And…”
He stopped, needing more time to gather his thoughts.
When he couldn’t he let out an angry shout and resumed hitting his chest.
He still was fighting with himself too much to really get out what he needed to say.

It gave Ray an idea.
Something he had done as a teen whenever he felt like his emotions were way too much to handle appropriately.
Something he later found out to be called a skill by psychiatrists.

It was similar to what he did when Henry was having his panic attack yesterday.
It would be a strong unexpected stimulus to halt the repetitive maladaptive patterns in his kid’s head.
And it surely would surprise him enough to interrupt whatever overthinking his son was doing right now.

Placing his chin on Henrys head while the hits stopped again, he aimed for a playful tone, for trying to egg him on.
“You trust me, Kid?”
Henry was taken aback by the question, but too caught up in his head to really think before nodding.
That was all Ray needed to set his plan in action.

Smirking, he made quick work of pulling Henry through the sprocket and into his kid’s adjacent bathroom, placing his dumbfounded son into the shower before the boy even had a chance to react.
Quickly making sure that Henry didn't have anything on him that shouldn’t get wet, he set the shower to the coldest setting and turned it on full force.

The effect was instant.
At first Henry looked utterly shocked and slightly betrayed, but it took only a few seconds for the anger to fade from his face. So it worked.

It was something Ray had done whenever he had been to overwhelmed by all his feelings to a point he wasn’t able to feel anything at all.
It had cleared his head enough to finally be able to grasp and name his emotions to be able to deal with them.
And apparently it had a similar effect on Henry.

To be honest he kinda looked like a wet dog right now.
Water streaming down his clothes and hair plastered to his face.
And the lack of understanding combined with the slightly amused glint in his eyes really made a funny display.

Luckily Ray didn't seem to be alone in his assessment of the situation.
Sharing a short look both of them started laughing almost simultaneously.

Ray remembered to turn the water off a few seconds later.
Now that Henry was laughing, he could stop to force shower him.

“You ok, Hen? Sorry for waterboarding you, but I had to get you out of your spiralling somehow and this has always been my go to method for that.”
Ray’s laughs slowly faded into concern again.
It was the only idea he had had in the situation, but he would totally understand if Henry would be royally pissed at him for it.

Turns out he didn’t have to worry about that.
Henry stopped to laugh and looked up to him with a devious smirk before he wrapped Ray in a wet and admittedly pretty cold hug.

In hindsight Ray scolded himself for not expecting that.
His kid has always been a little shit.
And it should have been crystal clear that he would jump at that possibility.
But Ray had promised Henry and himself that he would never turn his kid away should he need a hug.
So, he swallowed his complaint about his clothes or the temperature and hugged right back.
Placing his forehead against Ray’s shoulder Henry finally responded.
“Thank you. I think I really needed that. Not that I ever would have thought to need a fully clothed ice shower. But it helped.”
A small pause, followed by Henry hugging him even closer.
“I’m sorry for hitting you earlier. And please don’t downplay it. I shouldn’t let my aggressions out on you. Indestructible or not. I didn’t pull any punches at first. I know that hurt.”

There it was again, Henry Hart’s heart of gold.
Leave it to his kid to go through a situation like earlier and be concerned about Ray’s wellbeing instead of his own.

Putting his chin back atop Henry’s head he let out a loud sigh.
“Kid, first of all, you know I’m ok. I always am.”
He could practically feel his kid roll his eyes at his catchphrase and it made him smile.
“Secondly: I never expected you to pull any punches. That is why I tried very hard not to let you punch a wall. Because you really don’t need a broken hand right now, which you would have gotten if I hadn’t stopped you. And lastly and most importantly: This wasn’t you letting your aggressions out on me. Trust me I had people do that and it looks different. You were shutting down. And honestly, at one point or another all this anger and hatred had to come out.”

Henry tried to protest but was interrupted by a sneeze.
So Ray chimed back in
“Before we discuss this any further you should get changed. I don’t want you catching a cold. Meet you at my room in 10?

Chapter Text

When Henry dropped face first onto Ray’s bed a few minutes later he already felt way better.
In a strange way his tantrum earlier had been necessary.
It was the first time he actually allowed himself to feel his feelings and not just push them away until they inevitably boiled over.

He still felt guilty for hitting Ray though.
His dad was fine.
Of course he was.
Densitised body and all that.
But just because he couldn’t injure him, doesn’t mean that it was okay to hurt him.

Sure, his anger hadn’t been directed at the other man, but at Henry himself.
And Ray did in fact have a point when saying that he more likely than not would have ended up with a fractured hand at the very least if he had hit the wall.

But it surely wouldn’t have been the first time he had hurt himself unintentionally while feeling like everything was too much.
So it would have been fine.

Technically what he did could be categorised under self harming but… Not with him, right?
It wasn’t intentional if he got hurt.
Sure, he sometimes was a bit careless on missions or took a few hits more than necessary from criminals.
But that was different than cutting or stuff, wasn’t it?
It couldn’t technically be self harm if he didn’t do it himself. Right?
It wasn’t even that often.
Only when it really got way too much.
When the voices of his parents became so loud that he actually believed them.
That didn’t count.
That couldn’t possibly count.

Right?

Turns out Ray had a different opinion on that.

He came through the door just a few moments after Henry had dropped down on the bed, balancing two mugs of cocoa and a plate of sandwiches in his hands.
Right maybe Henry should eat something.
The last thing he has eaten had been breakfast and that was…
He looked at his watch
about 12 hours ago.
Oops.

Placing the plate and mugs down on the bedside table, Ray also dropped down on the bed.
“Do you want to talk right now or do you want to eat first? Not that it would get you out of talking. You know I hate forcing you to do that but it’s important that you tell me what’s going on in that head of yours, so I can help you.”

He ruffled Henry’s hair at that. Something the boy had been constantly making a fuss about a few months earlier.
But right now it didn't bother him.
He wasn’t used to any kind of affection from his parents.
Neither physically nor vocally.
So, Ray just casually hugging him or ruffling his hair, even the playful shoving or the occasional arm around his shoulder… It was beyond nice.

Henry had never really considered himself to be touch starved.
Not when being touched was more often than not associated with pain.
But in the few days he was living with Ray full time he noticed how wrong he had been.
How he had missed being hugged and protected and comforted.

Swallowing the lump in his throat he answered.
“Maybe I should eat first. I’m not too sure if I’m still hungry after.”

So that’s what they did.
Eating their sandwiches in companionable silence while trying to spread as little crumbs as possible on the bed.

By the time they were finished and had placed the plate back on the side table, sitting with their backs against the wall, Henry had lost even the rest of the tension in his body.
He knew what was about to come next.
How Ray must have a lot of questions about earlier and the last days.

But somehow it didn’t scare him as much as he thought it would.
Ray had become a safe space for Henry.
Other than his parents, he had never given him any reason to shy away from showing his emotions.
So, maybe it finally was time to tell him everything.
Even the parts that were less then pretty.

Leave it to Ray to still surprise Henry with how thoughtful he was.

“Hen, I know this won’t be easy for you. Opening up about trauma and coping mechanisms is hard. So, I was thinking about how I can make it easier for you.”

This man really should get a medal at some point.
Something along the lines of ‘best way to parent a kid that isn’t even biologically yours’ or ‘#1 at making up for trauma caused by others’

“I’m honestly not the best example for healthy coping.”
Ray continued while raising his left arm, offering Henry to cuddle close.
An invitation the boy took without a second of hesitation
“So, if you want to, I can tell you a bit about my childhood too, so you don’t feel like the only one admitting to some shitty stuff tonight.”

It probably would make it easier for Henry.
Would make him feel less lonely in his struggles.
So he nodded.

Ray took a deep breath and squeezed his kid’s shoulder before beginning
“Ok, so you know I’ve been densitised by accident when I was eight.”
Henry hummed in approval
“I also have told you that my dad took me out of school after that to train me to become a hero.”
Henry nodded again.
“Well, my mom didn't like that too much. She wanted me to have a normal live despite my super powers. They fought regularly. I sometimes snuck out of training and my mom covered for me. My dad got angry and they screamed at each other for hours on end. Both of them blamed me for their fights. My dad because I wasn’t taking the training seriously enough for him. My mom because I didn't stand up for myself against my dad. It was a mess. One that ended up in a divorce they claimed to be my fault. It fucked my head up pretty bad”

That part sounded familiar.
Only his parents didn’t have the balls to finally break up for good.

“I was 11 back then and didn’t know what to do with myself. It became too much for too long. The mental pain somehow taking over more and more. So I started with over exerting myself while training to feel something different. Physical pain to override the mental one.
At 14 that wasn’t enough anymore. The pain had stopped and left me with not really feeling anything anymore.”
Another deep breath.

Henry could feel how hard this was for Ray, to tell him about his childhood.
A subject he normally avoided like the plague. Now that he heard about it, he could understand why.

“I started self harming. I tried cutting but , surprise, it didn't work with being indestructible. So I stopped eating and drinking until I fainted. I also stayed up for days on end just to feel the exhaustion. I sometimes even made my dad angry just to get shouted at. I hated every second of it. But at some point I didn’t know how to stop anymore. It had been so normal by then.”

Another thing that sounded quite familiar.
At least the not sleeping and training until he physically wasn’t able to anymore part. Henry wasn’t forgetting to eat on purpose though.
It just happened.

“At 17 my dad found me drunk out of my mind stubbing out cigarettes on my forearm. He send me to the psych ward for that. And when I was released three months later I didn’t go back home. That might have been my saving grace, because after that I finally got better. In fact I also got that trick with the cold shower from a therapist in the ward. It’s intense but doesn’t injure someone.”

Henry hadn’t noticed how his grip on Ray’s shirt had tightened during the last sentences.
He only realised it when his hand started hurting.
Ray wasn’t finished with his speech.
But it looked like the worst part was over now.
His whole demeanour slowly softening again.

He looked down at his kid before he continued.
Again with this loving and caring look in his eyes.
“I’ve gone through some shit in the past. Some trauma”
It also was this tone again.
The one Henry had labeled as Ray’s concerned dad voice.
The one that emitted safety and love.
“So maybe I’m a bit too careful or on edge about this stuff. But I guess that’s what happens if you care about someone. I just want to make sure that you don’t have to go through the same stuff. At least not alone. Never had anyone helping me back then. So all I want to do is make sure that you do. Whatever it is you have to deal with, whatever you did to cope, We will figure it out.”

Henry swallowed.
No wonder Ray seemed to be able to read his mind whenever he was feeling down.
He had experienced those trauma responses himself.
He knew how it felt and tried his best to help Henry through it by doing what he had wished someone to do for him.
It really put into perspective again how much Ray loved him and what he was willing to do for him.
So the least Henry could offer in return was to be honest.

“I… Thank you for trusting me with that. I know you hate to talk about your parents. And to be honest, after all that, I get it.”
Henry began, feeling the need to make it clear how much it meant to him that Ray trusted him like that.
“Charlotte once called me ‘emotionally constipated’ and I guess she was right.”

Ray chuckled at that.
“No way she said that. How could she?”

Henry slapped his dad for the teasing.
Stuff like that made it ten times easier to trust him though.
Knowing that Ray wouldn’t judge him.
Wouldn’t cushion him from the world.
But only poke fun at him and find solutions, all while helping him through it.

So he continued through his nerves, finally telling the truth he hadn’t wanted to see for so long.
“I never thought it to be problematic, you know? I mean, sure I knew it wasn’t healthy how I dealt with my emotions. But…
Piper once told me she worried about me. About my self destructive tendencies. I didn't believe her by then. But I guess she might have been right.”

He felt Ray’s reaction before he heard it.
The sharp intake of air accompanied by his dad trying hard to keep his composure.
He knew Ray wasn’t judging but struggling with himself.
But still the voice of his parents came back to his mind full force.

‘Look at that. You disappointed yet another person foolish enough to love you. You always do that. Because being a failure is the only Thing you are good at after all’

But before he could start spiralling again, his
dad pulled him out of his thoughts.
“I’m so sorry, kid. I really am.”
Ray’s voice sounded watery.
“I’m not angry or disappointed, just in case you wondered about that. It’s just that I wish I could have protected you from that.”

That was unexpected.
Not that Ray hadn’t shown his dedication to keep Henry out of harm’s way enough by now.
But the kid himself was still trying to come to terms with someone caring about him so much that he actually felt hurt or angry on his behalf.

Deciding that he needed more emotional support for the next part, that maybe they both needed that, Henry climbed onto Ray’s lap and pressed his head into the man’s chest. True to his promise Ray just rolled with it.
He placed his chin on Henry’s head and started stroking his har before talking again.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don't want to. It’s enough that you told me what is going on in general. I’m insanely thankful that you trust me like that. And I promise you, we will figure this out together. I will always listen to whatever you have to say. But I won’t force you to share something you’re not comfortable with. At least not as long as it doesn’t endanger your safety.”

At that it all just broke out of Henry.
Like a dam breaking.
He told Ray about all the nasty stuff his mom has told him.
About how his dad blamed him for his mom’s cheating.
About how he objectively knew that it was bullshit but sometimes still believed it.
He also told him about the times he trained and trained until he finally wasn’t feeling like a failure anymore.
And lastly he also revealed that sometimes he felt like he deserved to be punished.
How in those rare situations he kinda got hurt on purpose and how guilty he felt afterwards when Ray blamed himself for not being more careful.

At first it felt like he couldn’t quite stop the words from just flowing out.
But the more he talked, the more he realised he didn’t want to stop.
Finally talking about all that was haunting him, finally being able to freely let out his feelings and fears without being judged, it was incredibly freeing.

It was incomprehensible how good it felt to Henry to just be allowed to be himself without needing to put on a strong face for anyone.
Not for his parents so they didn't hit or humiliate him even further.
Not for Piper to keep up the illusion of everything being not great but at least manageable.
Not even for himself to somehow keep his head above water while feeling like drowning.

He could simply let go, knowing that Ray was there.
A strong presence capable of handling him even if he lost control for some time.
It was the feeling of safety.
One that Henry never had the privilege of feeling before.
And it was wonderful.

He knew he still had a long way to go, but he was sure he wouldn’t have to go alone.
Ray simply held him through his tirade.
And through the tremors and sobs wrecking his body afterwards.
Henry also could have sworn that the top of his head got a little wet after some time.
But Ray never admitted to that.

When Henry had finally calmed down after some time he was exhausted but still felt so much lighter than he had in years.
Maybe Ray had been right after all.
He needed to get it out of his system at one point to start healing.

And that was his next big goal.
To heal enough to finally start enjoying this new life he now was able to have.

Chapter Text

Taking Henry in had taught Ray a thing or two about himself.
Most of it was stuff he had kind of expected from himself.
His protectiveness over the boy for example. He had never been anything but since Henry had started his job as Kid Danger.
So this aspect didn’t surprise him in the slightest.

Other things were a lot more unexpected than that.
The most prominent of it being his ability to communicate with his kid about feelings and coping mechanisms.
Ray had never thought to have a way with words.
He was more of a ‘punch first ask questions later’’ type of guy.
But with Henry it was different.
With Henry the words actually came easy to him.
And seeing how what he said helped the boy to deal with the shitty situation he was in was an incredible feeling.

Another thing that surprised him was how easily he fell into a rhythm with Henry.
He would have expected it to be more of a hassle to adapt his daily routine to another person, one that was at least slightly dependent on him no less.
But during their first week living together Ray noticed how little it all bothered him.

Even getting up at the asscrack of dawn somehow became manageable over time.
He surely would never love it when his alarm went off at 6 in the morning, but being able to have breakfast with his son before driving him to school was worth it in his opinion.

Ray Manchester had settled down. Something he would never have thought possible.
He had always been on the run from himself in a sense.
Keeping himself busy to not have to think about what he missed in live.
But now that he finally had a family, he noticed how empty his life had been up until now.

Maybe that also was the reason why he tended to spoil his son rotten the way he did.
Money wasn’t a problem at all, so why shouldn’t he?

And if on Friday evening he found himself in an IKEA the size of a small city to buy new furniture for said son, so what?
They have already been to the hardware store to buy paint and wallpaper.
And also some LED strips Charlotte and Jasper had convinced Henry to be necessary.
There was literally no way that they could still fit even one box into Schwoz’ convertible.

At least not with 2 adults in the front and 3 teenagers on the backseat.
So he, Jasper and Henry had decided to pick up the chosen furniture tomorrow morning in a rented van, while Charlotte and Schwoz would get started on installing all of the tech stuff.
Piper was supposed to come over at around noon to help them paint and repaper the walls.
Sunday the whole crew was supposed to come back and help to assemble the furniture, so Henry’s new room would be all done on Sunday evening for a sleepover with his friends and his sister.
Ray then wanted to drive all 4 of them to school on Monday, since Piper’s school was just down the street from Swellview High School.

At least that was the plan.
Not that plans of any capacity had a history of working out as intended with them.
And the way his favourite teens ran around the IKEA store like headless chicken didn’t make Ray have too much hope for the proceedings of their mission.
But instead of being annoyed by their shenanigans it made Ray feel warm inside. Seeing them joking and poking fun at Schwoz for not being tall enough to reach the top shelf felt homey.
And he loved every second of it.

They already had chosen a shelves and a desk (one adjustable in height, courtesy of Schwoz who also wanted to buy some furniture for Henry).

The only thing missing was a bed.
A decision that already took them longer than all the other stuff combined.
But they had time.

It wasn’t until Jasper suddenly pulled him over by his shirt sleeve that he noticed how zoned out he was.
“Ray come on. We found a super cool bed for Henry.It’s like huge and has those cool LED lights and build in speakers.”
Smiling at Jasper’s enthusiasm he quickly followed the boy over to this apparently super cool bed.

And to be honest, as much as Jasper liked to exaggerate from time to time, he had been correct.
It really was a super cool bed.
It was an American style box spring bed.
The bedding box and headboard were covered in black leather and a colour changing LED strip ran around the underside of the bed and over the top part of the headboard.
There also were two build in speakers just like Jasper had said and some USB ports.

So, Ray didn’t really get why exactly Henry was trying extremely hard to convince Charlotte and Schwoz to keep looking when he arrived.

“So, I got Ray. I’m sure he will tell you the same thing Hen.”
Jasper exclaimed when they joined their little group.
Henry made an exasperated noise before turning around to him.
“Ray please, could you tell them that , yes it’s a cool bed, but no we won’t buy it?”
Ok, so now Ray started wondering.
Henry liked the bed but didn’t want to buy it.
In his book that didn’t make sense.
But since Henry didn’t make any move to explain his reasons he had to ask.
“And why am I supposed to tell them this?”

It would surely fit into the room.
Even with the walk in closet Schwoz had been planning.
He would take away part of the wall to the small storage room next to Henry’s and build the closet in there.
So, that couldn’t be the problem.

But there still seemed to be one since Henry looked at him as if he had grown a second head.
“Have you looked at the price? That damn thing costs almost 2000 dollars!”
He sounded utterly disbelieving at Ray’s apparent ignorance.
“With that extremely posh desk and that chair as well as those shelves and all the knickknacks that’s like… Charlotte?”

Of course their little math genius would have calculated their costs while shopping.
Ray could only silently chuckle at that.

“ It’s 3059 dollars and 12 cents in total. But since Schwoz already said that he would pay for the desk and chair it’s only 2378 dollars and 63 cents. All of it already including tax.”
Charlotte looked at least mildly proud at her calculations.
So did Schwoz.

Granted, it wasn’t a small amount of money. Even more so for a bunch of 15 year olds.
Still Ray didn’t get the problem.
Obviously renovating Henry’s room would cost money.
So why did he bother so much?

It wasn’t like Ray really had to think about spending 3.000 dollars.
The last time he had checked the government had been paying Captain Man about 8000 dollars a month.
Money he barely touched anyways.

Kid Danger also got payed a good 5000 dollars monthly.
4000 of it going to a bank account Ray hadn’t told Henry about yet.
He would get the money after graduating to not have to worry about college and everything that came after.
Something he had quickly decided on after hiring Henry.
Because, even though he tended to be a bit careless sometimes, giving a 13 year old 5000 dollars a month to do with as he pleased didn’t feel right.
Even to him.

Charlotte’s, Jasper’s and Schwoz’ salaries were part of the company fixed costs and were therefor part of their government budged.
So, Ray himself really had almost no expenses.

He wouldn’t say that he was crazy rich, but over the years he had saved enough money to never have to worry again.
And even if he had to, buying furniture for his son’s room wouldn’t be the place for it.

But it seemed like Henry didn’t get that memo just yet when Ray just shrugged at Charlottes calculations like they were no big deal.
Because to him they weren’t.
But to his kid the whole situation was completely different.

Looking utterly flabbergasted Henry signed for Ray to follow him down the aisle to ave a quick talk in private.
They were just out of earshot when Henry began.
“I can’t let you spend that much money on me, dad. That’s ridiculous. I’m pretty sure all of the furniture of my old room combined wasn’t as expensive as this. That’s like three times my salary for all of this stuff. I really can’t accept this.”
He sounded positively irritated by Ray’s lack of shock at the numbers Charlotte had just talked about.
But his last sentence had Ray wondering if there also was another reason.

Trying to get to the bottom of it he asked “Why not. It’s not like I don’t get payed enough by the government. You know that.”
He didn’t know how much money Ray earned exactly, but he did know it was a lot.
So it really could only be a different reason that had him stressing.

Taking a deep breath Henry confirmed his suspicion.
“I know that you don’t really have to keep an eye on your expenses. But I don’t want to be the reason for those expenses, you know? It just that my parents never really spend money on me. When they had to buy me a new phone last year because mine broke on a mission they made me pay for it like a payment plan. I know you won’t do that but…”
He looked down at the floor, his voice going silent, almost incomprehensible.
“I don’t deserve all of that. I just moved in with you. That’s way more than I could have expected to begin with. I can’t just go around spending your money like that. That’s simply taking advantage of you wanting to help me.”

There it was.
The deeper lying problem.
And as always, it was Henry’s insane lack of self-esteem.
But Ray wouldn’t stand for that anymore.
He would teach his son to love himself, no matter how long it took him.

So choosing his soft voice he asked Henry to look at him again.
And he did, albeit after a short pause.
When he knew Henry was looking at him Ray started.
“Kid, I told you once and I’ll tell you again, as often as I have to. You deserve the world. The one thing you didn’t deserve was how horribly you have been treated. And I will do everything in my power to keep something like that from happening ever again. And honestly, have you expected anything different than me spoiling you rotten now that you are officially my son?”

Henry chuckled at that.
The nerves and tenseness slowly leaving his body.
Ray could see that he still wasn’t completely convinced but he wouldn’t try to keep him from buying the bed anymore.

“Well, no. You have also spoiled me before. 9 dollars an hour my ass. You always payed me 12.”

Technically he didn’t.
Technically Ray payed 10 dollars and 50 cents plus added nighttime and weekend bonus.
But Henry didn’t need to know that.
Much less since Ray did in fact plan to not only raise their friends salaries but also to pay piper 500 bucks monthly and give Henry an additional allowance just because he could.
But he would fight that battle as soon as it came.
For now he placed his arm on his kid’s shoulders and steered him back towards their friends to check out.

Turns out Charlotte really was a genius, since her calculations were accurate to the last cent.
And after their talk Henry also only looked mildly pained while Ray and Schwoz payed their receptive bills.
So, in the end their IKEA trip had been a win.

One ending in all of them being sat around their table at the man cave, eating a whole party pack of hot dogs while planning the next two days of renovation.

Charlotte and Jasper went home at around 7 with the promise to be back at half past eighth in the morning to start on Henry’s room.

Which left Henry, Ray and Schwoz with the task of taking the old furniture out of the guest room.
Henry hadn’t started to empty the boxes he had taken out of his old room so it really only was the old bed, the bedside table, the dresser and the old desk that needed to be taken out.

And with Henry and Schwoz disassembling the furniture and taking it into the elevator for Ray to pick up upstairs and put on the sidewalk, it was quick work.
So quick in fact that they decided to also rip off the old wallpaper in order to safe time the next morning.

When they were done at around 9 Henry had already started yawning.
It had been a long day for him and the other teens.
They had had an English quiz in the morning followed by PE lessons and history with their weird cat lady.

So Ray send his kid off to bed while helping Schwoz tidy up all the way and take some measurements needed for the walk in closet.
Having Henry going to sleep earlier than he did meant that Ray once again would have to fight to get any space in his own bed.
But in the end, and that was another thing he had learned about himself over the past week, he really didn’t mind all that much

Chapter Text

Everything went according to plan.
Which was more than a little unusual for them.
Henry actually expected at least one catastrophe to happen whenever they decided to do something.

That was, until it wasn’t.

Jasper and Charlotte arrived at the man cave at half past eight, just like they had promised.
They had a quick breakfast together and talked about their plans for the day.
After that he, Ray and Jasper sat into the rented van and picked up the insane amount of boxes containing his new furniture.

He still felt a little guilty whenever he thought about the price for all of it.
But Ray had made it pretty clear that he shouldn’t worry about that anymore.

It was around ten when they arrived back at the man cave.
Piper would be here in approximately 2 hours to help them with painting and repapering, so they actually were ahead of their schedule for once.

Henry should have known that it wouldn’t stay like that.

They were just placing the last box into the elevator when the alarm started blearing.
An emergency at the other side of town.
That was just wonderful.
But obviously crime didn’t stop for Captain Man’s and Kid Danger’s private plans.
Never had done so.

Therefore they were on their way up the tubes just a few minutes later.
After finding out how to squeeze into the elevator next to all the boxes.
Jasper and Charlotte promised to help Piper with everything, shouldn’t they be back by then, but Henry was pissed nonetheless.
He didn’t want to drop all responsibility on his friends and sister while he was out fighting crime.
It felt wrong to be the centre of attention like that.
Not that he could have changed anything about that fact right now.
Duty’s calling, so he and Ray had to follow.

And it was a good thing that they did. Because THIS was a whole situation.
Like honestly, how could something like that even happen?

Employees of the Swellview zoo were payed to make sure that the stupid cages were closed at all times.
So, why on earth had it been possible for 15 macaque and 3 bonobo monkeys to escape and run wild in Swellview park?
Like honestly?
And how on earth could they not have noticed 18 monkeys being missing for literal hours.
Sometimes Henry was sure that he was surrounded by idiots.
Today was one of those instances.

Tapping his comm he sighed.
“I’m pretty sure we wont be back before Piper comes over. I’m sorry guys.”

It was Schwoz answering.
But Henry was sure that Jasper and Charlotte had heard him too.
“Why? What happened?”

This time Ray took over
“Well, we have to chase 18 fucking monkeys through Swellview park because the zoo employees were to stupid to make sure they locked the cages correctly.”
He too sounded anything but happy.

-Meanwhile in the man cave-

“Schwoz I told you to lift your side higher. There is no way we get this thing anywhere like that.”
Charlottes voice sounded strained from all the carrying she had already done.

Not that she was mad at Henry and Ray for ditching them like that.
It was their job after all and the safety of civilians was a good enough reason to leave her and Schwoz to carry furniture around.
But she still didn’t get why she and Schwoz had to do the lifting, while Jasper was mixing the wallpaper adhesive and the paint.
Sure he had explained it with already having put all the boxes into the car and elevator.
But still…

They were interrupted by the ding of the elevator, making them almost drop the package they had been carrying.

“Hey guys, Jake and Kris left early so I guessed I could also come over and help a bit
more.”
Piper sounded positively ecstatic at the prospect of being able to renovate.
She had always had a love for DIY projects of any capacity, so maybe Charlotte shouldn’t be all that surprised after all.

“Oh shit, that looks heavy. Let me help you real quick.”
With that she was at Schwoz’ side helping them to manoeuvre the last box into the storage room next to Henry’s room.
It was the most practicable place to store all the new furniture.

Taking out part of the wall had been done in only a few minutes because of one of Schwoz’ inventions, so, they could easily take the boxes from one room to the next after repapering and painting the walls.

“Where are my brother and Ray anyways? Wouldn’t it have been easier to let them do the lifting?”
Piper sounded quizzical while moving over to Henry’s room through the now missing piece of wall, Charlotte and Schwoz following her.

“Oh hey Piper. There had been an emergency call. 18 monkeys running wild in Swellview park. They didn’t really sound all to happy when telling us about it”
Jasper explained before concentrating on mixing the paint correctly.

-At the other side of town, Swellview park-

“I’m really sorry sir, I didn’t mean to steal your toupee. All I tried to do was taking the monkey off your head.”
Ray excused again and again to the old man strangely being more angry at him than at the monkeys.
This really was a shit show.
He never had been a fan of having to catch escaped animals.
But a bunch of monkeys running wild in a huge park really was… something.
Not that it wasn’t funny to see them creating one mess and chaos after the other.
Ray would have loved to watch the whole scene as a civilian.
But as Captain Man the sentence ‘My circus, my monkeys’ got a whole different meaning in this situation.

Henry also didn’t seem to be having too much fun while trying to keep a bonobo male from jumping a terrified looking woman in her thirties.

The two bored looking man working for animal control also were less then helpful.
All they did was taking the monkeys of their hands once they caught them and put them into their transporter.
All while smoking back to back cigarettes and laughing their asses off.

So far he and Henry had managed to catch one bonobo and seven macaques, eight including the one currently trying to escape his grip.

Henry meanwhile was working really hard to catch another bonobo.
All while trying to keep it from sexually harassing that poor civilian.
The last of them was calmly sitting atop a tree, so that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Of the seven missing macaques three were trying to steal food from a hot dog stand, making the vendor basically scream bloody murder while trying to keep them away.
The other four were currently taking a bath in the lake in the middle of the park.
So, saving the hot dog vendor should be their next priority.
After he helped Henry to carry that huge bonobo over to those douchebags from animal control that is.

Looking down at his watch after dropping the macaque off at the transporter, Ray sighed. Noon already and still no end in sight.

-Inside the man cave, same time-

He could practically feel Piper staring daggers into his back.
But how on earth should he have known that there was an upper and a lower side of wallpaper, and even more that it mattered while putting it on the wall.
Really, Jasper was sure that he didn’t look like someone having even the slightest clue about repapering walls, so Piper shouldn’t have expected anything from him to begin with.

But to his surprise, instead of screaming at him, Piper took a deep breath to calm down before walking over to his side of the room.
Her being away from Kris and Jake and spending more time at her friend’s place really seemed to do wonders for her anger management.

“Ok, look.”
She still sounded like she tried really hard to suppress her anger.
But she succeeded in sounding calm enough while doing so and Jasper took all the little wins he could.

“Please put that down and let me explain how you have to do it before we have to buy new wallpaper because you cut everything the wrong way ,ok? With how much you already messed up I’m happy that this is the only wall we have to repaper.”

Jasper did as he was told.
He really appreciated Piper trying to explain this stuff to him.
She actually could be nice if she tried to be.

“This is patterned wallpaper. So, you have to account for the offset in the pattern so it looks even on the wall, see?”
She pointed at the little numbers and symbols on the wallpaper package.
Ok that actually explained why the second row of shapes looked off.

“Ok and then?”
Jasper asked
“Do I just cut that offset off? How do I make sure that it fits than?”

Piper just sighed before continuing her explanation.

-inside Schwoz’ car, same time-

Schwoz would never have thought to actually find another person as interested in inventing crazy stuff as him.
He was intelligent enough to know that he was… special in many ways.
So, being able to just be himself around the man cave was incredibly freeing.

But having Charlotte who was just as intelligent and invested as him was simply the cherry on top.
He loved working with her and implementing her ideas Into his projects.
So, of course he had taken her to pick up his not so little gift he had ordered for Henry’s room.

They were on their way to the electronics store owned by an old friend of his to pick up the new PC tower and accessories he had ordered for the boy.
After all that had been the whole reason he had been so adamant to be the one paying for and choosing Henry’s desk.
Ray knew about his plan.
But even his friend had no idea just how techy the kid’s new PC was.

The only person he had included in the process of planning his thing was the girl sitting next to him.
And she had been wonderful at keeping the secret.
For that he would even forgive her for always poking fun at him for his height, now that she had grown enough to be taller than him.

-Swellview Park, more accurately inside the lake, 3 PM-

“You look like a wet dog”
Henry laughed.
But to be fair he himself probably didn’t look any better.

They had been trying to catch those two stupid macaques for around an hour now.
Their two friends also taking a bath had been easy work.
But those two honestly were menaces to society.
And quick ones at that.
Who would have thought that monkeys could swim like that.
Certainly not him.

It had been one hell of a job until now too.
Especially stopping that bonobo male from sexually harassing that poor woman earlier.
Henry was sure he would forever be mentally scarred from that sight.

But saving that hot dog vendor hadn’t been much better, even though they were now promised a lifetime supply of free hot dogs for their help.
Not that Henry could be all too happy about it in their current situation.

But still, even though being dripping wet, freezing and exhausted he still was able to laugh.
And he was sure to also know the reason for that.
Because whatever shitty job they had to do, he simply loved working next to his dad.

The way they just clicked without having to verbally communicate much.
The way they both managed to make the best out of every situation and throw bad puns and jokes around.
It simply made Henry happy.

So, even though he was standing in cold water up to his chest, trying to catch some stupid escaped zoo animals instead of being home and assembling his furniture inside his dry and warm room, he still was ok with it.
Because it could be way worse.
Having to do all of it without his dad for example.

-Man cave, 3 PM-

Finally, they were done with the walls.
Piper would surely have exploded if she had to explain Jasper which side of the wallpaper needed to be up just one more time.
As much as the guy had grown on her in the last months, it still should be illegal to be this incompetent.

Luckily she could catch a quick break and scroll on social media while Schwoz and Charlotte put up their strange invention promising to completely dry the walls in under thirty minutes.
If it really worked that would be great.
Because like that they could already start to assemble the furniture way earlier than anticipated.

In that case she would have to talk to Charlotte and Jasper about rescheduling their room warming party to today to not have to worry about getting enough sleep before school.

And maybe, just maybe she could talk Charlotte into helping her with her math homework if they didn’t have to do anything else on Sunday.
Since she and Schwoz had finished up installing the tech into the walk in closet while Jasper had tried his hardest to kill her last nerve, Piper chances weren’t too bad for that now.

-Swellview zoo, 5:30 PM-

It may have cost him his last nerve, but they were finally done.
The monkeys were back inside their cages and all the chaos’s in Swellview park was cleared up as well as possible.

Ray was exhausted.
And dripping wet.
And he had to pee for about 2 hours now.
But none of that mattered because they finally were done.
They could finally go home after… He looked at his watch… Seven and a half hours of non stop running and swimming and fighting off monkeys.
He really couldn’t wait for a hot shower and something to eat.

Henry too seemed to be worn out.
At least that’s what Ray interpreted the boy slumping against him while talking to the zoo’s owner as.

Hopefully this time the employees would manage to actually lock the cages.
Because if there was another accident like this anytime soon, he had promised the owner to not help him again.

-man cave, 6:15 PM-

They were done.
They really were done.
Henry didn’t know how, but somehow his crazy family had managed to get his whole room ready while he and Ray had been out on their mission.
They even went as far as to reschedule their sleepover to today so they would have more time to spend together.

Henry could have cried when he saw them sitting on the floor in front of his new bed.
He really didn’t know what he had done to deserve this lot.
They were hands down the best family anyone could ever wish for.
Even more so because they didn’t even complain when he hugged them, still wearing his uniform soaked with sweat and muddy water.

- Man Cave main HUB, Sunday, noon -

The last evening had been a blast.
It had been the right decision to have their movie night on Saturday instead of Sunday.
Because even though all of them were exhausted as hell they still managed to binge watch all three Lord of The Rings films.
Charlotte, Jasper and Henry even managed to get halfway through the first The Hobbit movie before they fell asleep.

Sunday therefore had been a quiet affair so far. They slept until around eleven.
Even Charlotte and Schwoz, who normally were up around 8 at the latest.
But it seemed like even early birds needed some sleep after staying up until half past four at night.
Their breakfast turned into sort of a late brunch at that point but neither of them cared too much about it.

Ray even took the time to show Piper how to make pancakes from scratch.
Not that Henry had much hope for it to stick with her.
He loved his little sister.
But not enough to willingly touch her food.
She had always been hopeless in the kitchen.
No matter how often he had tried to explain simple dishes to her.
One time she had even managed to set a pot of spaghetti aflame.
While there was still water inside the pot.
How she managed that… Henry had no idea.
But he would maybe even have been impressed if he hadn’t been too preoccupied with extinguishing the fire and turning of the smoke detectors in the living room.

But seeing Piper slowly warm up to Ray made him happy.
Even if it would lead to more kitchen accidents in the future.

If Ray wanted to teach Piper how to cook he would also be the one having to deal with everything that came after.
Including but not limited to fires and way too spicy food.

Henry himself decided to help Charlotte carry over the plates and cutlery to their table.
Schwoz had gone down the street to buy croissants and Jasper had headed over to Walmart a few minutes away to get sausages and mushrooms so they could have some sort of hotel breakfast style brunch.

For once, live was good.
Great even.
And without any impending doom in form of having to see his parents again, it seemed like he finally was able to relax.
Even though right now this still felt kinda alien to him.

Chapter Text

The next week with his newly found obligations as dad of a teenage son went pretty similar to the last.
Even though with way more space to sleep, now that Henry had his own room ready.

Not that it had stopped them from having their daily bonding time, as Henry had started to call their hours spend playing various games.
Sometimes they were joined by other members of their fam.
But mostly it was just the two of them.

It was one of those times spend sitting on Henry’s bed playing another round of Mario Kart when Ray noticed something was up with his kid.

Mentally retracing the last days Ray tried to find out what it was that made Henry seem so pensive.

Everything had been fine on the weekend.
The room warming party had left Henry smiling brightly all Sunday.

Monday they had gotten back a history quiz.
Henry had proudly handed it over to him that afternoon to show him the B he had gotten after asking Ray to help him study beforehand.
It had been during that time before Henry had been kicked out.
When he had spend almost every free second in the man cave and Ray had tried his best to be there for him without knowing what was going on in the first place.
It felt like back then had been a whole different life.
Not barely two weeks ago.
Tuesday had been utterly uneventful apart from Piper coming over and staying for dinner.
So that also couldn’t be it.

Yesterday they had had a small job, but nothing to groundbreaking.
They had been called over to Swellview airport… again.
As if the Zombee fiasco three months ago hadn’t been bad enough.
The x-ray scanner had found something that resembled a C5-disruptor.
So they were called in to deal with it.
In the end it turned out to be a children’s toy from Japan and they were back home in under an hour.
That also couldn’t have shaken Henry enough to make him act like this.

While Ray was still wrecking his brain to find out what was going on Henry sighed, paused the game and dropped his controller onto the bed before turning to look at him.
“I can practically hear your brain working.”
He stated.
“So, I guess when I tell you that everything is fine, you won’t believe me, right?”

Damn right!
But still Ray couldn’t keep a small smile from forming.
They really were quite the team, weren’t they?

Simply nodding Ray leaned back against the headboard, waiting for Henry to continue.
Henry would start talking whenever he was ready.
He could wait until then.
They had time.

Rolling his eyes and dropping onto his back Henry began.
“Well, with all the stress those past weeks I have completely forgotten about it until today. Tomorrow is PTC at my school.”

That was all?
Ray had already expected this day to come soon.
It was only one more week until spring break.
Obviously there would be a parent teacher conference before that.

If he was being completely honest, he could think of at least 300 ways he’d rather spend his Friday evening.

But the option to simply… not go wasn’t an option for him.
Those evenings weren’t supposed to be fun but a way to monitor your kid’s academical development, to show interest in your kid’s life and partake in their success or struggles.

So he would survive.
If only because it simply was part of the whole being a parent deal.
He had survived worse in the past.
And he once again noticed how there would actually only be very little he wouldn’t willingly do for his son.

Looks like he should really take a closer look into adoptions procedures.
Because the thought of calling Henry anything else than his son simply felt wrong by now.

What did make him suspicious though was Henry’s insecure tone of voice when he continued
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. It’s dreadful from what I heard. My parents never went. Miss Shapen had never been happy about that, but I’m sure by now she got used to it. So no pressure.”

Ok, so… that one was on him for reacting like he did last week.
Of course his point still stood.
It very likely would be dreadful.
It would be like pulling teeth.
All of them.
One by one.
Without anaesthesia.

But that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t do it.
Unlike Kris and Jake apparently.
He had heard that much from miss Shapen already.
But he had promised himself to be different. And this was only one of the many steps he already had taken into that direction.

He sat back up straight again before telling Henry as much.
“Ok, so. First of all, I will go. I don’t care if it’s dreadful, I still will be there. For one because it is my job as a parent. But even more importantly, because I actually care about you. And how you are doing in school is part of that.”

Henry made a surprised noise, sounding like he wanted to contradict.
But Ray didn’t let him.
“I know I didn’t sound to ecstatic last Saturday. And trust me, I’m not. I could think of a lot of things I’d rather do. But that has nothing to do with me going there anyways. Because it’s the event I’m not looking forward to, not taking care of you. If you haven’t noticed by now, I actually enjoy that part, you know?”

At that his son chuckled.
His answer was slightly muffled by the arm laying over his face to shield his eyes from he headlight.
“What can I say, after years of not being given a shit about having a real dad takes getting used to. And to be honest, you’re not very beginner friendly. It’s like going from zero to 3000 in the span of not even two weeks.”

Thank god he teased again.
A teasing and bickering Henry was a happy Henry.
He had found that much out during their first weeks working together.

Ray actually had been a bit anxious that maybe his stupid joke had hurt his kid.
But right now, everything looked fine.
So, he was free to tease right back.
“You want me to be any other way? I mean, I can totally stop making you coffee every morning or stocking the auto stacker with your chilli cheese nuggets if you want”

Seeing his kid positively snorting with laughter while answering with a quick
“Dear god, please no! You wouldn’t dare!”filled Ray with more joy than he would have thought possible a few weeks back.

And just like that he found himself getting ready to go to Henry’s parent teacher conference at 5:20 PM the next day.
He had about 10 more minutes before he had to get going.

Again borrowing Schwoz’ car.
Really that needed to stop.
Ray swore he would look into buying a car first thing tomorrow morning.

He quickly knocked on Henry’s door to tell the teen that he was heading out.
But he didn’t even manage to start his sentence when he entered the boy’s room. Too stunned by the fact that Henry was gaping at him like he had grown a second head.
Therefore the only thing Ray managed to get out was a “What is wrong?” before Henry physically shook himself out of his stupor and answered.
Still sounding utterly shocked.
“You dressed up. Like… your wearing an actual dress shirt. I didn’t even know you even owned an actual dress shirt.”

Huh?
Of course he dressed up.
Well… maybe he even went as far as to google the appropriate dress code for ptcs,
Don’t judge him.
His dad had taken him out of school at eight years old.
How was he supposed to know that stuff?

“I thought that’s how you dress for stuff like that. Leaving a good impression and so on. I mean, most of your teachers see me for the first time today.”
Sure, seeing him like this was rare.
But he didn’t look like a slob on normal days either.
So, Henry really shouldn’t be shocked like this.

But somehow his answer made Henry look and sound even more flabbergasted then before.
“Yeah… I mean no… I mean… That is how you dress for stuff like that. It’s just… You know you won’t be having fun tonight. I’m still getting used to the fact that you actually care about me enough to go anyways. Even though I told you you don’t have to. But now… seeing you putting effort into making a good impressions… while my parents had made me lie for years… I can’t quite grasp that right now if I’m being honest.”

Oh his poor kid.
Ray had always thought of himself as calm and collected.
Sometimes a bit too much of ‘punch first ask questions later’, sure.
But he never had been someone who used violence to just get out his anger or hatred.

He never had really hated anybody anyways. Not even his parents.
Though his dad did come close.

But Kris and Jake Hart had managed to make him hate them.
From the depths of his heart and soul.
He would never do anything to harm them, if only because Henry wouldn’t want that.
But if they ever came close to his son again, or even dare to do as much as breathe in his general direction, he would make sure they would regret it for years to come.

Putting on his soft smile, trying really hard to hide his Inner turmoil he tried to reassure his son as best as possible.
“Kid, when I told you that I care I meant it. Of course I want to make a good impression on your teachers. I want to assure them that from now on you’re able to grow up in a safe and stable environment. And that I am invested and actively partaking in your life. So of course I also dress the part when I go there.”

He didn’t tell Henry that he had changed thrice before finally deciding on wearing his dark blue dress shirt with his grey jeans.
The black shirt looked to formal, the red one would only make miss Shapen try and flirt with him again and the white one was a hard no as soon as he tried it on and saw how tight it had gotten.
So blue it was.

Henry smiled, even though still looking like he couldn’t quite comprehend what he just heard.
“You know, I’m not even surprised anymore. I just am trying my hardest to convince myself that I really get to have all this. It feels like its to good to be true sometimes.”

Ray shook his head at that. They still had a long way to go.
But he had known that much before becoming Henry’s dad.
‘Legal guardian’ was a mouthful.
And dad felt way closer to the truth anyways.

He quickly ruffled his kids hair before saying his goodbyes and hurrying out the man cave. He was already running late.
___
“… And the change in his whole behaviour is so monumental. Really, mister Manchester, it’s beautiful to see how Henry is thriving since he moved in with you.”
Mister Smith, Henry’s math teacher repeated again.

Ray had been kinda nervous before this particular conversation, since math was one of the three classes Henry was supposed to get an F in.
The other two being history and English, both luckily taught by miss Shapen, who already promised to do her best to get the kid up to at least a D.

He had talked to her first thing when he arrived at school.
But she also told him that Henry had to get all D’s or better to pass.
So it all really depended on mister Smith now.

The other subjects luckily weren’t that much of a problem.
After talking to miss Shapen, Ray had gone over to mister Tyler’s room, Henry’s teacher for biology and music.
The man was almost too young to be a teacher.
Ray guessed him to be about his own age.
So, he couldn’t have been doing this job for more than 5-6 years at most.
But that made him easygoing and insanely understanding.
They actually had a nice chat about Henry’s development and interests.
Turns out, the kid had decent grades in both subjects, which really calmed Ray down a notch.

The meeting after that wasn’t quite as pleasant.
Miss Jones had been teaching teaching politics and art for over 35 years now and didn’t let a single minute go by without mentioning it.
His talk with her luckily was a short one.
Henry managed to get an A in politics, not that Ray was too surprised about that. Additionally to all the knowledge his job as sidekick brought with it, Henry also was extremely interested about what was going on around the world.

His art grade was a different story altogether. He stood between a C and a D, but could get up to a C by doing a voluntary project at home.
At that suggestion Ray immediately promised to talk to his kid about it.
Since he was allowed to do this thing at home, Henry could ask Piper to help him… or do it completely.
Ray wouldn’t judge him for that either. Because ‘designing a work of art that represents the circle of life’
… ehhhh
… yeah.
Miss Jones definitely fell into the category of special people Ray had had the obligation to talk to.

Miss Harper, teacher for biology and PE, on the other hand…
She was beautiful.
And someone Ray would immediately have started flirting with a few weeks ago.
But right now that had changed.
He obviously silently appreciated her look.
But that was it.
He didn’t even feel the urge to try and hit on her. The things becoming a parent did to him….

Luckily Henry didn’t have too many troubles in her classes either.
The A in PE was to be expected.
The B in biology surprised Ray.
But the warm feeling of pride spreading in his gut was one he already knew pretty well when it came to his son.

Mister Smith now was the last hurdle to get said kid through the year.
And from how the man was praising Henry’s development, it looked promising.

A feeling that was only confirmed when mister Smith winked at him and slid a sheet of paper over the table.
“I trust you that this little thing here stays between the two of us.”
He sounded conspiratorial.

When Ray looked down at the paper he understood why.
“That is the quiz I intend to write next Thursday. If Henry manages to get a C or higher I will be able to change his F into a D. And I’m pretty sure with this and the help of his good friend miss Paige he will manage, won’t he?”

Quickly agreeing Ray profusely thanked the man for this kindness.
Math was the subject Henry had the most problems with.
Every other class he could somehow compensate by having enough time to study now.
But math didn’t come easy to him at all.
But with knowing exactly which questions would be on the quiz, getting a C or better shouldn’t be much of a problem.

When Ray came back home that evening it was well past 9 PM already.
The PTC had taken longer than he had expected but that was fine.
Judging from the light shining through the open door of Henry’s room the kid was still up.
Dropping the bag of MC Donalds he had brought into the auto snacker and setting the machine to keep the food warm, he went through the sprocket.

Time to tell his kid the good news.

Chapter Text

Remember when Henry had said that having Ray attending his PTC would be funny?

He was wrong!

So monumentally wrong in fact, that for most of the evening Henry lay on his back on his still way too expensive bed and fought tooth and nail to not fall back into another panic attack.
The one he had had last week had been enough for the foreseeable future if you asked him.

He knew the drill already.
Objectively knowing and reminding himself of the fact that Ray was a complete 180 from how his parents have been didn’t help. Having Ray confronted to the real extend of his failures in school was triggering.
Not necessarily bad memories per say.
It was more like a gut feeling.
A headspace he felt thrown back into.
One of constantly having to have his guard up and waiting for the downfall.

It felt like his thoughts and his feelings were two completely separate mechanisms, working simultaneously but in opposite directions.
It was tiring and majorly messed with his perception of time and reality.

Dissociation Ray had called it a few days ago.
Maybe he should look into that at one point. Maybe there were ways around it.
Or at least things that might help him to handle himself when he got like this.

But for now it simply left him with the mother of headaches.
He couldn’t even ask Schwoz for one of his special painkillers because the man was finally spending the weekend at his sister’s, just like he had planned to do two weeks ago.

Sighing he resigned to his fate.
Maybe Ray would know where Schwoz hid his stash.
But then again, Henry was pretty sure that he would feel better the instant Ray came back home and unmistakably reassured him that there was nothing to worry about.

Until then he would simply fill the silence with YouHooTube videos of people playing Minecraft, hoping that the constant chattering in the background would help him clear his mind.
And it did.
In a sense.
He didn’t feel floaty anymore, somehow more grounded to earth and reality.

But the pounding behind his forehead still was there.
So was his uneasy feeling.

The sound of knocking on his door pulled him out of his thought.
Ok that really was creepy.
He normally was way more perceptive than that.
“Hey Kid, I’m home. And I brought Mc Donalds”
Ray sounded cheery.
So, the PTC went better than expected.
At least that was what Henry guessed.
It soothed his bad feeling at least a little bit.

He followed Ray to the main hub were they started to eat and chat.
Ray seemed not only neutral but happy.
The PTC seemed to not only have been better than horrible but actually decent.

So everything was going great.
Really.
Henry even managed to swallow his uneasy feeling enough to listen to his dad’s retelling of the evening.

That was until Henry started laughing at his dad’s try at impersonating his horrible art teacher.
Enough to accidentally push his glass off the table, sending it crashing on the floor with a loud clank.

Stuff like that had been a sure fire way to get himself hit and screamed at with his parents. So, on instinct Henry was about to jump up to quickly pick up the shards in an attempt to keep them from starting their tirade.

He didn’t even notice his surroundings at that moment.
That he was in the man cave with Ray, not at his parents’.
He was to stuck in his old habits to even start thinking before assuming instant punishment for something as simple as breaking a glass.

That was when it happened.
Trying to keep him from getting up as to not risk injuring himself, Ray stretched his hand out towards him.
It was just part of a second.
But Ray moved just a little to quickly and Henry was still to stuck in his head and the panic still ingrained in his bones to file the situation correctly.

He only saw the fast movement and before he could do anything about it… he flinched.
Not only a quick jerking away. He could have explained his way out of that. But full on scooting away, putting up his hands and closing his eyes.

Shit!

He didn’t mean to do that.
He knew Ray would never hit him.
Wouldn’t even scream or shout or insult him.
But he had acted before he had been able to think.

Risking a glance over to his dad he saw the utter shock in Ray’s eyes.

Fuck!

Not knowing what else to do Henry, jumped over the back of the couch and ran.
He needed to get out.
Out of this situation.
Out of his mind.
Out of… whatever really.
He needed to get out of everything right now.

In his hurry he didn’t notice Ray’s tries to get through to him.
Everything was too blurry around the edges to do so.

When he finally arrived at his room what felt like eternities later, he slammed his door shut.
Not even realising how he turned the lock on instinct.
It was as if all his strength left his body at that moment.
Surrounded by the silence of his room he sank to the floor, back against his door.

He fucked up.
Big time.
And he felt incredibly guilty for it.
But the damage was done already.
There was no way in heaven or hell he could talk his way out of that situation.

He had flinched away from Ray.
The only adult crazy enough to give a flying fuck about him in the first place.
And not only that.
Ray actually made more than one effort to make Henry feel as safe and protected as humanly possible.
So, flinching away from him basically felt like the biggest insult he could think about.

For the first time since moving in with him, Henry didn’t want to talk to Ray about it.
He didn’t want to see the disappointed look or the hurt in his dad’s eyes.
And no, he couldn’t be swayed into thinking that Ray wouldn’t be disappointed.
Even though the man had tried his hardest to make him believe that there was nothing he could do to disappoint him.
Leave it to Henry disappointment Hart to find a way.

Of course his mind chose that exact moment to start replaying the voices of his parents over and over.
Memories of his mother telling him again and again how he would never achieve anything in life.
How having him as her son was her personal hell.
How no one in their right mind would ever love him and how that was his fault and his fault alone.

For the first time in forever Henry didn’t have the strength to tune it out anymore.
It was a constant fight between the realistic part of his brain and his trauma.
And right now, for the first time ever, he felt like he was loosing.
That realisation made his stomach turn.

It really was a only due to his various experiences with concussions that Henry managed to get to his toilet before he started to puke.
Which led him to feeling even shittier than he had done before.
When he finally felt like he wouldn’t black out as soon as he moved, he went back over to slump down against his door.

It was as good a place as any to wallow in shame and self pitying.
And it was uncomfortable as hell, which served him just right at the moment.
Letting his head fall back against the wood with a thunk, he sighed.

He knew it would have been the best, most mature and productive to just grow a pair and talk to Ray.
But he simply couldn’t.
How could he even start to explain his behaviour?

Trauma this.
Bad childhood that.
In Henry’s opinion that tune became kinda old over time.

It has already been two weeks.
Shouldn’t he be getting better by now?
Sure, he knew it would take time to heal completely.
But this was worse than before.
And shouldn’t the basic tendency of healing be upwards instead of a straight downfall?
Not that it would matter much, now that Ray would surely hate him or at least look down on him for being ungrateful.

Thinking about Ray.
The knock on his door could only be him.
Everything in him wanted to just ignore it.
To just keep drowning in his spiralling.

But he couldn’t.
Not after everything that Ray had done to him.
And not while that stupid heart of his still hoped.

He should have known by now that hoping was the number one way of getting him hurt.
He had hoped for his parents to love him after all.
And everyone knew how that one turned out.
But as much as he tried to turn it out, his stupid heart was nothing if not persistent.

So, he tried to sound as neutral as possible when he answered, something he failed spectacularly in.
His simple ‘yes’ sounded as if he had been crying.
Which, as Henry realised to his own surprise, seemed to be true.

But what really got him was Ray’s voice from the other side of the door.
He sounded concerned, worried even.
Not angry or hurt or disappointed.
A fact his brain had trouble comprehending.
Even though it made the hope in his heart triple in size.

“Hen, I’m worried about you.”
No surprise there, Henry thought bitterly.
He had caused Ray nothing but worry since coming here two weeks ago.

“I won’t force you to come out or talk to me. I just want to make sure you’re ok. I heard you throwing up.”
What was he supposed to answer to that.
It’s not like Ray was wrong.
Additionally, his head started pounding again.

He really didn’t have enough strength for all of that anymore.
He needed someone to take over for him right now.
To take the reigns and steer him through all of this.
Help him figuring out what to do and feel.

Too bad the only person he trusted to do that was the one he actively tried to avoid right now.

Still feeling the need to answer, he more whispered than actually spoke.
“I don’t know really. I don’t know what to feel or how to feel right now.”

Ray hummed in understanding. Which was odd, since Henry didn’t even understand himself right now.
“You want me to help you through it or to be alone to sort it out yourself?”

That was a good question.
Henry tried to decide which urge inside of him was stronger.
The one to blame himself for all eternity or the one wanting him to hide inside his dad’s arms until the world became less cruel.

Ok, it really wasn’t much of a decision if he was being honest with himself.
Of course he wanted Ray to help him.
He always wanted that.
But convincing himself that he actually deserved that kind of love was a different story altogether.

In the end he forced himself to just ramble about all the stuff running wild in his mind right now.
“Of course I want your help. I always wanted that. I need a hug and to be told that you love me. And I need you to promise me to make this whole stupid shit just disappear. But I don’t deserve that. And much less after what I just did. And even if I did. The world doesn’t work like that. Crying doesn’t make stuff better. It just makes me a weak pathetic baby. But I guess that fits ”
His voice started getting a frantic edge. But now that he had started talking, it seemed like he wasn’t able to just stop.

“I know you should probably hate me. Just like I hate myself right now. But I can’t stop myself from hoping that you don’t. And I know its childish. But everything I need right now is just someone to hide behind from the big bad world. To feel safe. But I don’t even know how to do that because I never have been safe. I thought it would make me stronger. But obviously it didn’t”
By now his voice simply sounded broken.
Interrupted by sobs he continued.

“I thought it was going to get better. But I can’t even do that. I can’t even heal correctly. I’m doing everything wrong. And I don’t even know why. I want to get better. I really do. So why do I still feel like this? Why does today feel so much worse than the other days? Why can’t I just like not be so broken?”
Taking a deep breath Henry finished his monologue.

Normally he felt lighter after spewing all of his thoughts out.
But right now he just felt tired.

Ray’s voice broke through the fog rapidly forming in his head.
No longer sounding like Ray was also sitting by the door, but standing in front of it.
“Could you unlock the door please?”

Huh?

“Why?”
Henry hadn’t expected that question after everything he just said.

But Ray sounded like he was smiling when he answered.
Though there was no way to be sure with the door in his way.
“Well Kid, I can’t hug you from over here now, can I?”

Chapter Text

Internally scolding himself over and over again, Ray sat down next to his son’s closed door, his back leaned against the wall.
Technically he knew that he had done nothing wrong.
Shit like that happened to people with stories like theirs.

But that didn’t make him feel less guilty.
Even more now that Henry had basically fled and barricaded himself into his room.
And especially now that he could hear his son throwing up inside his adjacent bathroom.

What kind of father was he, that he let something like that happen?
Yes, he knew that he was being unfair to himself right now.
But the shock of seeing the pained and scared look - scratch that! It was utter panic - in Henry’s eyes still was too present in his mind.

He didn’t know what to say or do to make the situation any better.
And now he also heard Henry’s stifled sobs and sniffles through the door.

Enough was enough. Even if his kid wouldn’t want to talk to him.
He still needed to make sure he was ok.
He had always been a worrier, so there was no way in hell he would be able to stop now.

“Hen, I’m worried about you.”
Ok, so maybe that wasn’t the best way to start.
So, he quickly added. “I won’t force you to come out or talk to me. I just want to make sure you’re ok. I heard you throwing up.”

His statement was followed by a long pause. So long in fact that he even started to question if Henry had heard him at all.
Way to go Manchester.
No, really.
Pressuring your kid after it ran away from you in fear.
Best idea you ever had
But then Henry’s silent voice came from the other side of the door.
Barely audible but there nonetheless

“I don’t know really. I don’t know what to feel or how to feel right now.”
His kid sounded exhausted and weak.
But at least he answered.
That was a start.

Humming while thinking about how to phrase his next question Ray asked.
“You want me to help you through it or to be alone to sort it out yourself?”
He had learned to trust his gut feeling when it came to his son.
And something inside him told him to let said son choose what he needed right now.

Obviously everything inside Ray screamed to just kick down the door and promise his kid that everything would be ok.
That he was there to protect him.
But he was scared to spook Henry even further by doing that.
So, he waited.
Even if it felt like being burned alive.

The only warning he got before his son started rambling was a loud sniff.
“Of course I want your help. I always wanted that. I need a hug and to be told that you love me. And I need you to promise me to make this whole stupid shit just disappear. But I don’t deserve that. And much less after what I just did. And even if I did. The world doesn’t work like that. Crying doesn’t make stuff better. It just makes me a weak pathetic baby. But I guess that fits ”

Henry’s voice sounded pressed. Like whatever it was he was telling him right now wanted to get out a long time ago but his kid hadn’t let it.
“I know you should probably hate me. Just like I hate myself right now. But I can’t stop myself from hoping that you don’t. And I know its childish. But everything I need right now is just someone to hide behind from the big bad world. To feel safe. But I don’t even know how to do that because I never have been safe. I thought it would make me stronger. But obviously it didn’t”

By now his voice simply sounded broken. Interrupted by sobs he continued.
“I thought it was going to get better. But I can’t even do that. I can’t even heal correctly. I’m doing everything wrong. And I don’t even know why. I want to get better. I really do. So why do I still feel like this? Why does today feel so much worse than the other days? Why can’t I just like not be so broken?”

He hadn’t expected Henry to actually talk about any of it right now.
Not after running away like that.
Maybe it was the door between them giving him some feeling of privacy.
Or the fact that Ray couldn’t see him right now.
But it didn’t matter.
Not right now.

What Henry just told him felt like a shot straight through his heart.
His kid. His poor little boy wanted nothing more than to just be safe for the first time in his life.
And Ray just knew at that moment, like an instinct, that there was nothing that would ever keep him from protecting his kid.

Thinking about how Henry called himself broken made the hurt in his chest increase tenfold.
So much so that the urge to hold his little boy through all the pain became overwhelming. And hadn’t Henry just said that he needed a hug?

Standing up he tried to sound as comforting and unpressuring as possible.
“Could you unlock the door please?”
His kid’s confused ‘Huh?’ Made him smile. Even though it really was a testament for how bad Henry felt.

So, he quickly went to explain.
“Well Kid, I can’t hug you from over here now, can I?”

He heard rustling behind the door.
Followed by the clicking of the lock.
And then he was confronted with the sight of his son looking utterly heartbroken and scared.
It shattered his heart into a million pieces.

But as much as he wanted to just barge in and tell Henry how wrong his picture of himself was, he couldn’t.
He needed to tread carefully right now as not to spook the teen.
Making him flinch away again would be the worst scenario in their current situation.

So, Ray settled for simply opening his arms and smiling at his kid, inviting him to take that hug he asked for in his own speed.
Henry looked at him disbelievingly for a few seconds before his eyes got wet again and a loud sob wrecked his body.
When the boy then just crashed into his arms, holding onto him like a lifeline, sobbing and drenching his shirt in tears, Ray was vaguely reminded at the moment his kid came running to him out of the elevator after being kicked out.

Back then he had been hesitant about how to deal with the situation.
But now, two weeks later, he at least had a vague idea about what helped his son when he broke down.

Securely wrapping one arm around his kid’s waist Ray placed his other hand on the teens hair, starting a calming rhythm of combing through it.
Henry’s sobs intensified at that.
It was just like the first time.
As soon as his son felt secure enough to let his guard down, he crashed completely.

It filled Ray with pride to be the person the boy trusted enough to let go around.

But it also was a knife to his chest to see all the anguish his poor little boy had to deal with.
Because to Ray he was a little boy.
His little boy.

Yes, Henry was 15 years old, would be 16 in under three months.
And he was a very capable sidekick. Oftentimes he didn’t act or think like a teenager.
He didn’t have that delinquent tendencies many kids his age developed.
Neither did he act irrationally or rash most of the time.

Ray had met countless people in their early or mid twenties that weren’t as reliable as his kid.
He himself had been a hot mess until he somehow found his way in life at 26 and became Captain Man.

Henry really was the blueprint of a socially adapted and well behaved teenager looking to stay out of trouble.
But to him he was still a child.
His child.
Who he swore to protect and keep out of harms way.
At least from now on, where he had the chance to do so.
Therefore seeing him hurting and doubting himself pained him.

Maybe he should have been surprised as to how deeply he cared for a kid that wasn’t even biologically his.
How he actively chose to still declare him his own son and share all his burdens.
But it didn’t.
Simply for the fact that this was Henry he was talking about and calling him anything else but his kid felt not only wrong but made Ray’s stomach churn.

Doctor Minyak had started calling him Kid Danger’s dad about a year ago to irritate him. He always did that, saying stuff to be annoying and using Captain Man’s confusion for his benefit.
And Ray had been confused the first time. But not the way Minyak had intended.
He hadn’t been irritated or angry.
He had just been surprised how right it felt and how little he intended to correct the other man.

It had kinda become the Doctor’s thing after that.
And Ray had later found out that he wasn’t the only one silently grinning to himself whenever they were called father and son.
And if Ray had begun to let mentions of Kid Danger being his kid slip more often just to see Henry smile after finding it out, so what!
He at least wasn’t too mad about #KidDangerIsCaptainMansSon trending from time to time

But loosing himself in memories, no matter how nice they were, wouldn’t help his son right now.
Henry had said that he needed to be reassured of his worth as a person and reminded of how loved he was.
Not that Ray needed to be asked to do that.
It almost came on instinct by now.

So, placing his forehead atop Henry’s head, not halting his stroking, he began his speech.
“You’re doing so great kid.”
A disbelieving snort followed that statement
“I really mean it. You can just let go right now. I’m right here to protect you. To keep you safe. Nothing will ever hurt you as long as I’m here.”

At that even the smallest bit of tension left in Henry’s body disappeared
“You don’t have to worry about a thing right now. I promise. I’ll take care of you. Because you are my son. And I love you. And I will always love you. No matter what happens. Hen, you are the best thing that ever happened to me. You shine so bright. Just like the sun. You light up every room you’re in. And you make it seem so effortless. It really is incredible.”

He could feel Henry’s resistance to believe him.
But he wasn’t done yet.
“You aren’t weak. You are so strong. To be so kind and loving after everything you went through is incredible. You still chose to help people instead of becoming cruel and bitter. Even though you are hurting, you would never willingly hurt others. You have such a big heart.And I will try my best to make sure it doesn’t get hurt any further.”
He still wasn’t quite done but his kid shaking his head against his chest made him halt in his tracks.

“How can you say that?”
Henry sniffled.
“After everything you have done for me. After all your efforts I still…”
His voice broke.

But before Ray could dig deeper Henry picked his sentence back up.
Sobs subsiding, making space for a tone of voice Ray had never heard before of his kid.
One drenched with regret and guilt.
It momentarily took his breath away in the worst way.
“All you ever tried to do is make me feel safe. And still I went on and flinched. All I would have to say for myself after betraying you like that would just be excuses.”

Ray actually needed a moment to unpack what his kid had just told him.
He felt like he had betrayed him?
By flinching?
He expected some sort of rebuttal for it?

Oh dear lord!

Ray didn’t know how to channel his emotions at that moment.
He was overwhelmed with the depth of Henry’s statement.
It seemed like the boy had not only been abused by his parents, but also conditioned to never do anything they wouldn’t like.
The perfect little soldier intended to jump to his parent’s every whim.

That settled it for Ray.
Should Kris and Jake Hart ever be stupid enough to dare and try to contact Henry again he wouldn’t only punch them to pulp or put them in jail.
He would kill them without a second thought.

He had wholeheartedly believed that the physical abuse his son had been under had been the worst of it.
But this was so much worse.
It was a line even his own dad had never crossed.

But seeing how the Harts had systemically broken their son’s psyche made Ray want to do bad bad things to them.
Things unbecoming of a hero and punishable by a lifelong sentence.
He really regretted to have shot down Jasper’s murder plans like he had done.

But for now he needed to get Henry out of that mindset of his.
Taking a deep breath Ray weighed his options, in the end choosing the approach he already knew to work.
“Hey sunshine, I need you to listen to me very closely right now, ok?”
He didn’t really know where the nickname came from just now.
But it fitted his kid and since the boy wasn’t complaining it seemed to be fine by him too.

Henry still had his head pressed against Ray’s sternum but nodded nonetheless.
“I don’t expect anything from you. Not for taking you in. Not for taking care of you. And least of all for loving you.”

He tried to make his voice sound as unwavering as possible.
“Me loving you, you being my son, isn’t tied to any conditions. I chose to do that. And nothing you could ever do could change that. No matter what it is Henry. Because this is what family is supposed to be. I’m here for your worst and your best and everything in between. I know it is hard to see that right now. But you reacting the way you did was just that, a reaction. You didn’t betray me. You were scared. And I promise you that you are safe to actually live out your feelings here. You don’t have to push anything away. Not with me. I can handle whatever it is that you feel.”

Henry let go of him at that. Looking up at him with disbelief in his eyes.
He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again.
Shaking his head to clear his mind he then tried again, his voice just above a whisper.
“Could we maybe sit down? I’m feeling a bit woozy right now.”

They did sit down on Henry’s bed after that.
The last thing the boy needed right now was to faint and hit his head.
Well Henry had sat down.
Ray had taken a quick detour to the auto snacker to get a bottle of water for his son and change into more comfortable clothes before dropping down next to him.
Henry had curled up into a ball as much as possible sitting up.

Placing a hand on the kids back Ray handed over the bottle.
Henry took that as his cue to begin.
“Two for flinching.”

What?
Oh no.
Please, they couldn’t possibly have dared to actually do something like that, could they?
Ray already had a hunch about the direction this was about to go into.
And he didn’t like it one bit.

His kid took a sip of water before he continued.
“It was my dad’s favourite sentence while hitting me. Especially when I was younger. ‘Two for flinching. And three when you dare to cry’. It’s kinda burned into my brain by now. Sometimes he also made me count. Mostly when my mum was there too. “

Ok, Henry’s parents officially weren’t only cruel.
They were sick.
Behaviour like that wasn’t only sadist to the high heavens.
It’s also borderline psychotic in Ray’s opinion.

He noticed Henry starting to shiver next to him.
“There is a word for what they did, you know?”
Ray chimed in.
Hoping the short break would help his kid calm down a bit.
And if he was being honest, he needed to calm down too.
Otherwise he couldn’t guarantee to actually stick to the promise of not hurting the Harts

“What happened to you is psychological abuse. The counting. The pressure. The insults your mom threw at your head. Most people say its way worse than the visible, physical abuse.”
Because it obviously was.
Ray still couldn’t wrap his head around how fucked up those people were.

Henry snorted at that. “Well, most people do have a point then.”
His shivers still didn’t subside, so Ray had to ask.
Like he said, he was a worrier at heart.

“Are you sure you want to talk about that right now kid? You know I will always be there for you if you feel the need to share your experiences. I just don’t want you to feel pressured into talking about something you’re not yet ready for or you just want to forget. All of this healing we are doing right now is supposed to go according to your rules. I need you to know that.”
He needed to explicitly tell Henry that he had a choice.
Because he had never had one before.

He could basically feel his son swallow before responding, his voice shaky but still laced with sincerity and determination.
“I want to tell you. It won’t be easy for me to talk about it. But maybe it helps me to finally be done with all that shit.”

Sometimes he really was braver than anyone Ray had ever met.

Henry had started fidgeting.
Picking at his fingernails.
Also his shivers only seemed to intensify, seemingly unnoticed by the boy himself.
Ray had to make sure he was ok before continuing with their deep talk.
So, placing a hand over Henry’s to stop his fidgeting, he asked.
“Ok, you can tell me everything you want. But I can see you shiver and fidget. Is there anything you need before we start? Are you cold?”
He could at least make it as easy as possible for his kid.
Make the whole situation look a little less terrifying from the boys perspective.

His kid nodded.
At that Ray pulled off his hoodie and handed it over to his son, not even having to think about it for a second.
It technically wasn’t cold in Henry’s room. Therefore Ray guessed it to be the kid’s nerves making him feel cold rather than actually freezing.
But maybe the additional comfort of his hoodie would make it easier for his son.
Not that Ray had any illusions about what came next being even remotely easy at all.
No matter what he did.
But still he could try.

Chapter Text

Henry gladly took his dad’s hoodie.
Not because he expected it to actually block out the cold more feeling like it came from inside him then the room temperature.

It was more because of the known comfort he got from wearing his dad’s stuff.
It felt like an amour against the word from time to time.
It also was one of the few pullovers Ray owned that were oversized even on him.
So, Henry practically could use it as a full body blanket.

Putting it on he noticed how it calmed him down enough to at least stop shivering.
His dad leaned back against his headboard and smiled at him.
Reassuring him that they weren’t in a hurry and Henry could tackle the jumble in his head in his own timing.
In the end he decided to just let it all flow out in the nonexistent order it had in his head.
He could bother about sorting and arranging all of it later.

“Sometimes, when I wasn’t feeling too well to begin with, I hoped that it would be my father punishing me. My mother was way worse. They only married because she had gotten pregnant. And trust me, she never stopped reminding me of it. I stopped counting how often she told me that she had never wanted kids years ago. I actually got pretty decent of filtering most of her stuff out. But some of it still hurt. No matter how hard I tried not to let it get to me.”

Henry swallowed.
He could do this.
He knew from his experiences of the last two weeks that he would feel better after talking about what had happened to him.
Even though the actual talking part in itself didn’t feel too good.

As if reading his mind Ray offered him the hug he desperately needed right now.
It always made the talking bit easier for him.

“You remember when I got that concussion and stayed over? The one after that guy smashed my phone?”

Ray hummed in approval.

“Well, we kinda forgot to tell my parents I wasn’t coming home that night. So, when I came home the next day after school I expected them to be angry as hell. But my mom just sat me down and said she was sorry to have me back and that she had already hoped to be rid of me for good.”

Ray winced for a second, but other than that let Henry keep talking.

“Other times she told me that she wished she had gotten an abortion because I’m just a waste of time and space.”

Henry added a few other examples.
Talking about it brought the memories back.
But differently this time.
When the situations first occurred he had been heartbroken and devastated.
He had asked himself what he had done wrong over and over again.
Swearing to himself to never again do stuff to make his mom say things like those to him.
To try his hardest to do better so she would finally be able to live him.

Now it felt different.
All he felt for his mother now was hatred and disappointment.
Now he asked himself how fucked up her brain was to do something so cruel to her own son.

“Well I guess after all she said, the worst of it all was when she didn’t talk to me at all for a week straight. She ignored me completely. Even going so far as to not cook my food or lock the door before I was home. I got lucky I left my window open that day so I could climb in.”
With that his monologue ended.

He noticed how he had started to fidget, to knot and untie the cords of Rays hoodie.
He could feel Ray swallow before the man answered.
“Your mom by far is the worst person I have ever heard of. I hope you know that you deserved absolutely none of this”

He had absentmindedly started stroking his hair again.
It stopped the shivering motion of Henry’s hands and calmed his fidgeting.
After a deep breath Ray continued.
“Do you want to tell me what made you flinch earlier? Just so I can avoid doing it again.”

It really was hopeless.
Henry would never deserve the level of love and care he got from Ray.
No one would, to be fair.
Ray Manchester basically was the blueprint for a good dad.
And to Henry it still was incomprehensible that he really got lucky like that.

But maybe, just maybe, one day he would learn to accept in anyways.
On one hand it scared him shitless to have someone break down his walls like they were made of cardboard.
But on the other hand, being with Ray, being able to calm down, to not expect the next big catastrophe around every corner, just lurking to drag him down, it was insanely freeing.
A few months ago Henry hadn’t even dared to dream about being as happy as he was right now.

So, swallowing the lump in his throat he tried to explain what had happened earlier.
In his head and with his emotions.
“Well… When you bought the bed I told you about how my parents had made my pay for my phone, right?”

Ray hummed in approval, still preoccupied with combing through his hair.
“ That wasn’t the only thing they did when I accidentally broke something. Whenever I broke a plate or a glass or something like that they made me pick it up. I mean obviously picking stuff you broke up is normal. But they made me do so without a broom or anything. When I once tried to take a paper towel my dad shoved me back on the ground. I kinda landed on the shards back then. So after that I didn’t even try to do it differently anymore.”

Ray made an attempt at chiming in but Henry didn’t let him.
He needed to get the rest out too.
Beginning all over again would make it even worse.
“When I wasn’t fast enough they started to insult me. Sometimes they even dropped more stuff to the ground just so I had to clean up more. As soon as I got up to throw the shards away they started to hit me. And whenever I then dropped the shards I had to start over again-“

Ray’s muttered ‘I should have let them kill those assholes’ took Henry by surprise.
His dad had never been prone to unnecessary violence or even cruelty.
Other than his father and his mother.
(It’s a distinction Henry had just noticed. Kris and Jake were Kris and Jake. Sometimes his mother and his father. But Ray was his dad. It was different. He was different)

So hearing that statement slip out - because Ray would never had said that voluntarily- made him chuckle, despite his situation and his feelings.
By now Henry was sure that Ray had superpowers.
And he didn’t mean being indestructible.
Or the super strength he somewhat surmised his dad to have.

“By all means. I won’t stop you. But you adopting me just so I can visit you in jail would be kinda tragic, don’t you think?”
Another of those oops moments.
He kinda collected those like trading cards for the last two weeks.

Ray hadn’t adopted him.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever, to be realistic.
Maybe he wouldn’t even want to.

Henry wanted him to.
But he couldn’t make that decision.
He couldn’t ask his dad to adopt him after everything he was already doing for him. Even though the thought of actually being adopted, to ultimately sever ties with his parents and officially be Ray Manchesters son made Henry dizzy with glee.
Not that he would tell anyone abut that.

But luckily Ray didn’t seem to mind his little slip up.
He sounded utterly shocked though.
But because of what Henry had just told him most likely, not because his bad joke.

“First of all. What the actual fuck is wrong with those people?”
Good question really.
One Henry had never been able to answer. “And second of all. I have a guess as to why you ran away after flinching. Which in itself is absolutely understandable by the way. Even more so after that shitshow of… I don’t want to even call that parenting… you just told me about.”

Ray took a deep breath to calm himself down. Henry knew he was trying to not sound angry, to not startle him into running away again.
He therefore tried really hard to not let Henry notice the slight tremor in his hands.
Something he had found out about just recently.
When he had told Ray about his self destructive tendencies and their backstory to be exact.
Whenever Ray was angry, like really incredibly furious, he got that slight tremor.
It wasn’t visible.
But Henry could feel it in the way the hand in his hair trembled.
As it seemed, Ray hadn’t noticed that little detail himself yet.
But it made Henry feel better about his own stress induced tremors.

Choosing to save his dad from his misery that was searching for the right words, Henry took over.
“I guess you are correct with your guess. I’m honestly still waiting for the first time that you aren’t. But I ran because in that moment I wasn’t here. I was there.”
Wow Hart.
Great explanation.
Good job.

“ It wasn’t a dissociation. It was just… habit i guess. I didn’t really think at all to be honest. I just reacted. I wasn’t scared of you. If I’m being true to myself I think I couldn’t be scared of you if I tried. It’s just… I realised that I fucked up when I saw how shocked you looked. And everything became a little too much. I was angry at myself, not quite here mentally and didn’t want to talk to you. That’s the short version.”

He didn’t need to tell Ray that he had been scared to be kicked out yet again, did he?

“And the long version?”
Well, seems like he did have to tell him.

“The long version is…”
Now that Henry was clearer in the head, he noticed how stupid he had been earlier.
And it was kinda embarrassing now that he calmed down enough to actually think instead of just run.

But since lying to Ray wouldn’t work anyways he had to take that hit to his ego
“I was scared you would get angry or be disappointed. I’ve been stuck in my head pretty much since you left because I was nervous what my teachers would be telling you. And after I reacted like that I felt incredibly guilty. So I ran. It’s stupid.”

Ray sighed at that.
Not exasperated or suffering, but slightly disapproving of his last statement.
“All in all it’s what I guessed.”
No surprise there.

“I can promise you one thing though.”
He looked Henry in the eyes at that. His own shining with sincerity and love.

“You, Henry Prudence Hart are my son, and nothing in this world will ever be able to change that fact. No matter what you do, I will always love you. You will always have a home wherever I am. It isn’t important what you do, how you act or what happens with the world outside that door. I actively chose to become your dad and I mean it when I say I take that role very seriously. You really have nothing to worry about kid. Not anymore.”

Henry knew that. Even if his mind wouldn’t let him believe it at times.
But still it was nice to hear Ray say the actual words.
It settled something deep inside him. Something that had been unsettled so early in his life that he hadn’t even known it could be settled up until now.

And maybe that really was Ray’s true super power.
Not Captain Man, but Ray Manchester. Henry Hart’s dad.
And Henry couldn’t even begin to explain how thankful he was for having him.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows after that. Of course not.
But something inside of Henry felt different, calmer somehow, because of their conversation.
It had been the first real bump in their road together and Ray had taken it in stride.
Just like he had taken everything in stride so far.

They hadn’t talked about Henry’s little slip up about being adopted.
At least not yet.
To be honest, he wasn’t even all too sure if his dad had even registered his sentence over all the emotional turmoil.

Maybe for now it was better like that.
As much as it burned on his soul to get a final answer on his standing with the man.
Not that it would change anything between them.
But the thought of being Henry Manchester instead of Henry Hart wouldn’t quite leave his brain.
No matter how hard he tried not to think about it.

And then there also was the fact that being adopted would make him officially not be Pipers brother anymore.
There too, it wouldn’t change anything about their relationship per say.
But still, he didn’t want to give Piper even the slightest feeling of abandoning her.

It all was a topic for the future anyways.
He hadn’t even dared yet to actually call Ray ‘dad’ in front of his friends.
Not because he didn’t want to. it was just .. something inside him didn’t let him without even knowing himself what the problem was exactly.

The only one he had actually had a talk with about that particular topic unsurprisingly was his sister.
Right after Ray had tried, and spectacularly failed, to show her how to make pasta on Wednesday.
His dad and Schwoz had still been preoccupied with reinstating some sort of cleanliness in their kitchen, while Charlotte had been upstairs helping Jasper to close up Junk’N’Stuff.

Piper had followed him over to his room to borrow one of his shirts since hers was burnt beyond salvation at the sleeves.
Right then and there she had taken him aside, wrapping him into a hug and telling him how happy he was she was to see him comfortable like that.
It had almost made him tear up again, making him spill his guts about the PTC and the conversation that came after.
Also calling Ray his dad without thinking about it on more than one occasion.

His sister, as prickly as she could get and as untrusting of Ray she had been at the beginning, actually had grown rather fond of the man over the past two weeks.
Of course she had teased him about it nonetheless.
But all good-naturedly.
She was his little sister after all.
It basically was her job to poke fun at him from time to time.
Not that he himself had been any better when Piper had called Marla her sister instead of her best friend for the first time.
Also she had a few freebies since she would be going away over spring break with her musical group.

The vacation he had actually just dropped her off at the bus for.
It was Friday now and all of them had gotten out of school earlier because of Miss Shapen being home sick.
Even though he and Jasper were theorising that she had just wanted to start her vacation to the Bahamas early.

Jasper too had already left about an hour ago with his parents, to go visit his cousin who had just had a baby.
He would most likely be gone for pretty much the whole two week break.
Same as Piper who would only be back from Bordertown the night before school starts again.

So he and Charlotte therefore were the only ones spending their free time working.
Not that it bothered them in the slightest.
Charlotte and Schwoz had been working on an anti burglary system for Junk’N’Stuff for most of the last weekend anyways.
So, Henry guessed they would use the time to finalise their systems and maybe fix some of Schoz’ other stuff filling up their storage rooms.
Crime was laying low at the moment so Henry planned on just taking time to actually relax a bit.
Maybe spar and train with Ray.
But that really was all he had planned.

Little did he know that he wouldn’t get so lucky.

He had just gone over to his room, thinking about maybe starting a round of League of Legends after months of not playing when he heard the alarm going off in the main hub.
There went his nonexistent plans for the evening.
Not that he was mad about it at all if was being honest.
He had almost missed crime fighting with the little action he had gotten the past few weeks.
Charlotte had scolded him for being an adrenaline junkie more than once, but it really was had been calm.
Almost too calm.
So, Henry actually looked forward to help the police with tracking down an escaped convict.

If he had known by then what was coming, he surely wouldn’t have been so happy.
But the way he saw it at the moment, it would have been a quick search and retrieval mission.
He hadn’t anticipated it to go on for almost 4 hours, though.
Not that it did much to lower his mood.

It was 2 AM when they finally found Evan Miquel, sentenced to 3 years for repeatedly hitting his girlfriend.
He was sitting at Nacho ball as if nothing happened and unexpectedly let Captain Man put the handcuffs on him without much of a fuss.
It almost was a bit anticlimactic to just drag him back to jail.

But if Henry had known just what the next 36 hours had in store for him he wouldn’t have complained.

They didn’t even manage to make it back to the man cave before Schwoz called them over their comms.
It startled Henry into almost loosing his earpiece.
Schwoz was supposed to be in bed.
Why was he up?

“Guys. The alarm didn’t stop blearing. I just thought I should tell you.”
So back to back missions.
Ok, not too bad.
Henry was still riding his adrenaline high from finally working again.
So, one night of getting no sleep wasn’t too dramatic.
He could sleep in tomorrow after all.

Or so he thought.
The alarm Schwoz had told them about turned out to be bigger than they had anticipated.
Someone had planted a bunch of C5 disruptors inside the old and abandoned hospital at the outskirt of Swellview.
Confirming with the police that they had enough time for a quick detour back to the man cave before the timers were supposed to run out, he and Ray practically ran back to their hub, grabbed the defusers Schwoz had build them for that exact purpose and boarded the man copter.

As much as Henry loved flying, even more at night, he couldn’t quite enjoy it.
He was too tense about their upcoming mission to do so.
He wasn’t scared or anything.
That would have been utterly ridiculous.
He was a sidekick.
Sidekicks don’t get scared.
But nonetheless, explosives always made him a bit… nervous.

Still he went inside as soon as they landed to scout for the devices.
The maniac that had planted them there had told the police interrogating him about 6 C5 disruptors total.
But Henry had been doing this job long enough by now to not just blindly trust the words of a criminal.

According to the timer in the main area of the building they still had 42 minutes and 36 seconds to find the bombs.
Plenty of time one might think.
But the old hospital was massive and there were no blueprints or maps to help them navigate.
Additionally their past experiences had taught them to always, always, be done with defusing at least 90 seconds before the bomb was supposed to go off.
So their situation really was far from optimal.

In the end they decided to split up.
Ray was reluctant to say the least to let him wander off alone with active explosives inside the building.
But it was their only chance.
Stating that Henry felt ok with the prospect of going off to search for fucking bombs all by himself would have been a lie.
But the police didn’t have enough time to evacuate the area.
So, it was their job to make sure the fuses wouldn’t go off.

Ray had found and defused the first C5 disruptor after just a few minutes.
Which left them with officially 5 more to go.
Wonderful.
How they were supposed to do that, Henry had no idea.

Their saving grace came about an half hour later in form of a main explosive right at the heart of the hospital.
They had managed to disable a total of 4 fuses until then.
But with two more to go and not even 10 more minutes, Henry was getting kinda nervous.
As much as Ray tried to be discreet about it, he had forgotten to turn his comm off before calling the police officers standing outside.
So, Henry had overheard him asking them about emergency protocols and ways to get out the building in case the remaining bombs actually went off.
The two bombs that were still active likely wouldn’t have enough power to destroy much of the perimeter.
But that wouldn’t mean that they couldn’t destroy the hospital building.
Or at least part of it.
Not the best outlook, if you asked him.

He was just turning around the corner when he almost stumbled over a comedically large C5 disrupter, still preoccupied with wracking his brain to find a solution to their situation.
It looked different then normal, leading him to not only call out for Ray over his comm, but also to video call Schwoz to find out what he was dealing with.
The man quickly confirmed his suspicion of the thing in his hands being their opportunity to disable all of the other disruptors without having to look for them.
An alpha fuse or main fuse Schwoz had called it.
Not that it mattered to Henry what the name of the thing was.
At least not as long as it saved their asses.

Schwoz then guided them through the motions of defusing it.
And with only 40 seconds left on the timer they finally managed to avert the danger.
That was…
A bit to close for comfort, to be honest.

He could basically see Ray slump down the moment he hung up with Schwoz.
Knowing his dad and his tendency for worrying, Henry guessed him to be just as stressed as himself about this whole situation.
Even though up until just now he had done an astounding job at hiding his nerves.

After taking a deep breath Ray quickly went over to him, pulling him into a hug and burrowing his face into his kid’s hair.
Henry could barely understand what he was saying at first, but he caught the utter relief Ray was radiating nonetheless.
“Good job Kid. I’m so proud of you. You really saved our asses there. But mainly I’m just happy you are ok. You are ok, aren’t you?”

Henry was just about to answer when they were already rushed by the police and the press.
Their next two hours were spend giving interviews and talking to officers.
Typical stuff they had to do after bigger jobs, before finally being able to call it a day.

Not that they were able to go back to the man cave after finally finishing up at the police station.
It was just before 5 AM at that point and Ray looked like he needed a nap just as much as Henry himself did.
But they didn’t get lucky enough for that when they were stopped by one of the officers just before leaving the building.
“Captain Man, Kid Danger. I’m very sorry to keep you from going home. But there’s an increasing number of people reporting slashed tires just a few streets down. Would you be able to take a look at it?”

Everything in Henry wanted to say no.
And to additionally tell the police to do their freaking job.
But they were Swellview’s heroes after all.
They couldn’t just not go and take a look.

Which led them to spending another three hours patrolling up and down the streets of Swellview’s poorest blocks to catch the criminal slashing tires.
It wasn’t spectacular or even remotely interesting.
But Ray had bought him a coffee and a croissant before they headed over here.
So it was fine.
At least for now.
Even though Henry quickly reconsidered that thought when he got an alert from his wrist watch, congratulating him for reaching his steps goal for the day.
At quarter past eight.

With the adrenaline rush slowly leaving his body, he began feeling tired.
Sluggish even.
He and Ray had been up for over 24 hours now.
For him those consisted of school, dropping Piper off at the bus stop for her trip and a whole lot of running.
Like a whole lot.

The fact that the person slashing the tires turned out to be Bishelle Bilsky did nothing to lift his mood in the slightest.
He already didn’t have the best track record with the Bilsky’s.
Neither in uniform nor in private.

But luckily this time Bish didn’t put up to much of a fight.
Even though there was a knife in her hand.
Maybe it was because Ray very likely broke her arm while disarming her.
But if so, it only happened because she tried to attack Henry first.
And after all the shitty stuff the Bilskys got up to on a regular basis, he thought it was only fair.

The next time Henry actually got to take a look at his watch was at around noon, when he and Ray finally had gotten the chance to go back to the man cave and take a shower.
It had been around 30 hours now that he had slept for the last time.
And after the new adrenaline rush he had gotten from the fight with Bish he didn’t even feel too bad, all things considered.
Not that Ray would let that statement slide.

So at around 2 PM on Saturday, after eating something substantial for the first time in over twelve hours and briefing Charlotte and Schwoz about what was going on, he finally was able to go to sleep.

He didn’t know it yet.
But with what was waiting for him on Sunday he desperately needed the rest

Chapter Text

- Thursday afternoon, man cave -

Piper really could get intimidating if she wanted to.
Henry And Charlotte were out helping Jasper to shop for baby clothes for his cousins newborn son.
Piper had taken that opportunity to corner Ray in their main hub.

He hadn’t expected anything from it.
She actually was starting to get more comfortable around him.
Even more now that he had started to teach her how to cook.
Well, he tried to teach her.
It still was a long way.

But then she had taken him by surprise.
She had sat down opposite him, just like the first time she had talked to him, after Henry had been kicked out.
At that moment he knew that the following conversation would be a serious one.
He had always known that she was insanely perceptive.
He hadn’t expected her to be able to read minds though.

“So, when were you about to tell me that you want to adopt my brother?”
Her voice sounded stern.
Though she wasn’t angry or hurt.
She didn’t even seem to be against the idea of him adopting her brother.
Even though what really surprised him was that she knew he was thinking about that.
So far he hadn’t talked to anyone about it. Surely not Henry.
But not even Schwoz who normally was the first to hear about ideas like that.

“Well, I should maybe ask Henry if he even wants to be adopted first, shouldn’t I?”
Of course he would have told Piper if adopting Henry had actually been more than wishful thinking by now.
But his answer seemed to surprise the girl.
Enough to crack her facade of interrogating him entirely.

“What do you mean? Ask Henry if he wants to be adopted? Are you blind or anything?”
She sounded honestly shocked at his line of thinking.
Not that he got why.

“I’m not blind, Piper.”
He tried to explain
“It’s just - . He’s been through so much already. I don’t want to force anything on him. You know how he is. I don’t want him to just accept my offer to adopt him because he’s thankful I took him in or anything.”
But instead of understanding Piper’s face showed even more confusion.

“He’s calling you dad, Ray.”
Was all she said in place of a real answer.
“He does sometimes, yes. Though not in front of others. Which by the way supports by point”
Ray didn’t really get how that had anything to do with the whole thing.
Yes, his heart still did somersaults every time he heard Henry call him dad.
But that didn’t mean he would want to be adopted by him.
Just like he had promised the kid - he would never expect anything from him.
Least of all for loving him like he did.

Piper simply shook her head.
“Well, he called you his dad in front of me yesterday. And just so you know, I would love to see you adopt him. You said it yourself. He’s been through so much. I’ve never seen him as happy as those last few days with you.”

The answer he had on the tip of his tongue had to wait though, because at that moment the ding of the elevator announced the teens’ return.

Saturday, 02:30 PM, Ray’s bedroom -

Ray couldn’t sleep.
He was exhausted beyond any normal measures.
He had spend the last 30 hours up and running.
He had wanted nothing more than to sleep for the past at least ten of them.
But now that he was lying in the calm of his bedroom, he simply couldn’t get his mind to stop racing enough to finally fall asleep.

The talk with Piper on Thursday still lived rent free in the forefront of his brain.
As did the utter relief he had felt earlier, after Henry finally managed to defuse the bombs.
It had been a close call.
Too close for his liking.
Not because his own safety concerned him. He would be fine after having a building collapse on top of him.
But Henry wouldn’t.

One would think that his overthinking and overprotectiveness had something to do with the fact that the boy was now officially his responsibility.
But it most definitely didn’t.
Spiralling like this was normal after missions that got riskier than Ray would have liked.
It was only slightly worse now that he had taken Henry in.
Not that he had expected it to even be able to get worse.
The fact he could have a closer look at how his kid was feeling after missions like that only was a weak comfort i this aspect.

It took a while and a whole lot of tossing and turning.
But after about an hour Ray finally fell asleep.
Something he later would be more than thankful for.
But first he simply hoped that stupid crime wave to not get any worse.

A hope that was quickly crushed when he got woken up by the alarm not even 4hours later.
His sleepiness had gotten a bit better through resting.
But he still was exhausted.
Henry wasn’t faring much better from the looks of it.
But Swellview’s criminals didn’t care for stuff like that.

So, after quickly checking the alarm message and overhearing Charlotte telling Schwoz she would stay over to help him with navigating this mess, they were off again.

At least it weren’t explosives this time.
But pulling a group of elderlies out of the river didn’t sound like too much fun either.
Even less when they were told that whoever sabotaged their boat also stole their purses.
It luckily didn’t take the police long to find the man who did all of it.
But of course they wouldn’t go and catch him themselves.
Stuff like that apparently was work for Captain Man and Kid Danger.

So, he and Henry were send off to search and catch Viktor Roden.
A job that barely took brainpower but was annoying nonetheless.
Viktor wasn’t the most clever guy, so he chose to hide at his apartment.
The very apartment whose door was kicked in by Captain Man in under ten seconds.
After that Roden surrendered without much of a fuss.

They were just talking about going home when Schwoz called them, telling them about another call on their hotline.
And wasn’t that just great?
Of course they would go over to glass from the past and save them from burglars.
It was their job after all, wasn’t it?

After that Charlotte reported another burglary.
This time at the cinema.
Which was at the completely opposite side of the city.
Because of course it was.
Where else should it have been?

Oh, there was another call?
The Swellview bank was robbed?
Of course Captain Man and Kid Danger were heading over there in a second.
Because, apparently the criminals of Sweelview had just waited for Spring Break to final catch up on all the crimes they hadn’t committed during the least weeks.

At least after dropping off the robbers at the station Schwoz finally managed to redirect any non urgent calls back to the police.
It may have been because Ray had been quite irritated with the man for the past hour.
And really, he didn’t mean to be like that.
It was just that he could barely keep a straight line of thought anymore from all the jobs they had had the past hours and his concerning lack of sleep.

Taking a deep breath after asking Henry to finish up with the police he therefore tapped his comm again.
“Schwoz, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. You aren’t the one causing all of this. And we’re more than thankful for you and Charlotte navigating this shitshow. You really don’t deserve to be blamed for me being stressed. I just need sleep. It’s nothing personal. Still I shouldn’t have acted like this.”

Taking Henry in really did wonders for his development as a human being.
A few months back he wouldn’t have apologised.
Not because he wouldn’t have been sorry but because he knew that Schwoz understood the level of stress he was under at the moment.
Even more so with only 4 hours of rest beforehand.
Schwoz had known him for long enough to not be hurt by his moods while being pressured.
But that didn’t make It ok.
Becoming a dad strangely made him want to be better himself.
To set a good example.
So he actually took the 2 minutes it took to settle things with his oldest friend and coworker.
Schwoz thanked him for that, even though he sounded slightly amused.
As if he just knew what was going on in his head at the moment.
Charlotte also promised to filter the calls still coming through on the hotline even further.
Hopefully they would be able to take some load off their shoulders like that.

Not that it did anything to cut their night even remotely short.
Sadly.
Their next jobs all came from the police.
A sprayer at the Swellview sign.
An arsonist lighting up trash cans.
A few robbed handbags.
Nothing grand.
But still it was more than they normally would have been able to do at the moment.
The non stop running of the past hours taking their toll.

They were just finished with catching a group of teens destroying the playground in Swellview park when Evelyn Hall stopped them.

Yes, he knew that talking to the press was part of their job.
But that didn’t mean he had to like it.
Well, to be clear, he normally loved giving interviews.
But not right now.
Not with Henry barely being able to stand up straight and himself not faring that much better.

“Well, once again Swellview owes a big thank you to Captain Man and Kid Danger.”
Evelyn’s voice pulled him back to reality.
He really must have been tired if he zoned out like that.

Forcing something at least resembling a smile on his face he turned around to the reporter.
Using his left arm to somehow keep Henry upright next to him.
Well, to be fair, he might just as well been holding himself upright with his kid’s help.
He couldn’t quite distinguish that anymore.

“Captain Man and Kid Danger, how many criminals have you battled since this unexpected crime wave began here in Swellview?”
Evelyn asked nonetheless.
Ray actually didn’t have a clue.
Really that woman should go back to reporter school.
Because, when they taught about the right timing for interviews she obviously must have been skipping class.

Trying to at least give some answer he stammered
“ I uh, I- I dunno.”
Even his speech was slightly slurring.

Henry luckily saved him by answering
“A lot”
He too sounded suffering.
But with the teen the exhaustion didn’t interfere with his communication skills.

His own had been gone out the window for at least a few hours now.
Must have been around the time they had dropped of the sprayer.
It’s already been around 01:30 AM back then.
So Ray estimated it to be around 3:30, maybe even 04:00, by now.

He desperately needed sleep.
Not just a nap, but the full eight hours at least.

He and Henry had been going on for almost 48 hours, without even the bare minimum of rest.
He had worried about his Kid the whole time.
But seeing him like this right now made it even worse.

The brain fog in his head must also have weakened his filter since his “Oh god, we’re so tired” wasn’t supposed to slip out.
Not that it stopped Evelyn from asking any more questions.
Her next being
“And, do you think it’s getting worse, or do-“

She was interrupted by some sort of goon crashing the interview and stealing her microphone.
Well that basically answered her question, didn’t it.
Henry was faster than him though. So he watched him quickly wrestle the microphone back from the man and hand it back over to Evelyn.

What did surprise Ray was how unfazed she was by that situation.
Though that thought quickly left his head when he heard her next question.
“And how did you react when you heard Doctor Minyak regained his memory and escaped from Swellview prison?”

What?!

Oh, looks like he said that out loud.
His filter really was nonexistent at the moment.
A situation that wasn’t aided by the shock about what he just heard.

This was bad.

Like really, really bad.

Henry seemed to be just as done as he was, at least when his voice was anything to go by.

“Doctor Minyak escaped?”
He sounded as disbelieving as Ray himself felt.

Ray was pretty sure he couldn’t have stoped the
“Dang it!”
from escaping his lips even if he tried.
What he didn’t, for the record.

He didn’t even register what Henry said while ushering him away.
He was to preoccupied with cussing for that.

It took him a second to calm down again.
They really didn’t need his moody self right now.
But this was so phenomenally catastrophic that for a second, Ray didn’t know what else to do.

It was Schwoz.
Level headed, intelligent Schwoz.
That deescalated the situation over their comms.
His voice sounded worried, but still stern enough to not leave any space for discussions.
“Guys, I saw your interview. Whatever happened with Minyak, whatever crimes happen in the next hours. You are coming home. Right now. You two are in no condition to do anything besides sleeping.”

Henry tried to talk back.
Because, of course Henry would refuse to take the break he needed in favour of saving even more civilians.
But at that moment Ray’s dad instinct finally kicked back in.
Henry must be feeling just as shitty as he was.
If not worse.
He needed to keep an eye on that and to take care of Henry getting the sleep he needed right now.

So, he agreed with Schwoz, promising him to come straight back to the man cave.

As soon as they turned off their comms Henry turned around to him, sounding irritated.
“Ray!”
Ok, so they were back to Ray again when Henry was upset.
That was interesting.
“We have to search for Minyak! We can’t just let him wander around.”
As right as Henry was with that statement, they wouldn’t help anyone if they keeled over while working.

Trying to get rid of his brain fog for at least a moment, he looked at his kid
“Sunshine, you are just as tired as I am. I needed to keep you upright after you gave the microphone back to Evelyn. I also don’t want Minyak to roam free. But I need to make sure you’re not collapsing from all the work without sleep. And honestly, if you don’t collapse then I will, because I’m tired as fuck. I wouldn’t even trust myself to catch a fly right now. Schwoz said he had it handled with the police. We’re way more capable to search for Minyak after some shut eye anyways.”

That settled it.
Even though Henry still wasn’t too happy about the situation.
Realistically speaking this was their best plan of action.
Doctor Minyak would need more time than a day to plan the next big thing.
Especially after just busting out of jail.
So, the possibility of them waking up to a huge problem would be slim to none.
So, a little sleep likely wouldn’t hurt.
And didn’t that just sound like a heavenly prospect?

Chapter Text

While it might be true that sleep wouldn’t solve all of the world’s problems, it still solved a lot of Ray’s.

Saying that he had been tired when they finally came back to the man cave would have been an understatement.
Schwoz had been correct for forcing them to take a break.
Even though Henry still wasn’t too happy about letting Minyak run around unpunished.

Don’t get him wrong, he too wanted to catch Minyak as fast as possible.
But he also had collected enough experiences with collapsing from exhaustion to know it wasn’t something he wanted.
Neither for him nor for his son.
And if the fact that Henry had slept through pretty much the entire Sunday was worth anything, he had needed the rest just the same.

The teen pretty much woke up after the rest of the city already went home.
But it was fine by Ray.
He had taken the three hours he had been up earlier to help Schwoz trying to triangulate Minyak position.
It might have been to no avail, but at least it felt like he did something.

Whatever it was their technician had told the police, it also seemed to work.
They hadn’t gotten another mission since their interview.
It might just as well have been the polices pity for their condition.
Who knew?
And even if it was, Ray didn’t care.
Not if it meant they would finally get a moment to catch their breath.

What he did know though was that the possibility of Minyak becoming a problem got larger by the second.
Schwoz and Charlotte had started taking turns with sleeping, so they wouldn’t miss any suspicious readings while he and Henry were out like lights.
So he knew that nothing had happened so far.
But that didn’t mean that nothing would happen.

He had been so concentrated on the screen in front of him that Henry suddenly starting to talk actually startled him.
He also accounted that to being stressed.
He normally was way more perceptive than that.

But seeing his son chuckle was worth the mini heart attack he just had gotten.
The boy had been way too tense for his liking ever since their little C5 disruptor stunt on Friday.
Not that he had been any better.
The whole situation had been too close for that.
So, hearing Henry laugh now felt freeing enough to forget the reason for it in a heartbeat.

Regaining his bearings, he turned around. “What did you just ask? I was too preoccupied with restarting my poor heart to get it.”
His answer made Henry laugh even harder and also pulled Charlotte and Schwoz in with him.

It took a while for his son to calm down again enough to repeat his last sentence.
“I asked how long I’ve been out and if I missed anything.”
A pause and a shit eating grin followed.
“Other than you loosing your spidey senses, that is.”

Haha!
But fair, though.
Ray hadn’t been startled like this for years.
And Henry as well as the other teens and sometimes even Schwoz had tried their best on more than one occasion.
It really was time to drag Minyak’s ass back to jail and go back to normal.
This non stop back to back working wasn’t doing him any favours.
But right now, he was too glad to see Henry feeling better to actively worry about stuff like that..

“You slept through pretty much the whole day.”
Schwoz answered for him.
“It’s 18:25 now. So, you’ve been out for about 13 hours. Give or take.”

Henry looked shocked at that information.
To be fair he looked pretty similar to Ray himself after Schwoz had told him that he had been sleeping for over 10 hours.
But that was a fact that couldn’t be changed now.
And at least it meant they were clearer in the head now than they had been before.

Charlotte was just about to unmistakably tease her friend for his expression when the Junk’N’Stuff shop alert made them turn around to look back at the screens.

Oh hell no!

Hadn’t he just thought about he lucky he was for getting a small break?

When Ray had jokingly said he wanted to try working from home a few weeks back he hadn’t meant it like that.
Not that it changed anything about the three figures breaking into the store.

Charlotte and Schwoz on the other hand didn’t seem to share that sentiment.
They looked like little kids on Christmas morning.
That had to mean they finished their anti burglary system, hadn’t it?
If it did, then, yes, he understood why they looked so happy.

And he was too.
The last time he had lost a bet with Schwoz he had to promise the man to test their device as soon as it was completed.
He already hadn’t looked forward to that. Even more so when Charlotte had told him how they planned to build in little explosives and fire.
But now there were three volunteers weren’t there?

It was Henry that noticed what the real problem with the criminals was as soon as one of them looked up to their security camera.

“Hey”
He interrupted their techies chatter about which part of the system to test first.
“They’re not just burglars. Those are The Three Muchachos”

He was right.
They really were.
As a superhero, the name rang a bell.
Not a good one.
Obviously not.

The Three Muchachos, legal names Tabitha, Shawn and Owen Belanger, were what one could call celebrities in the criminal scene. Together they were suspects in at least 200 burglaries all over Canada.
Although that didn’t explain why they were in Swellview right now.

Maybe it was work experience. Maybe it only was a bad gut feeling.
But Ray didn’t like that fact one bit.
And not even because they were trying to rob his store.
Junk’N’Stuff was nothing but a cover up anyways.
He wasn’t that emotionally tied to the store.
It surely would upset Jasper though.

But as it seemed Schwoz and Charlotte had never heard of The Three Muchachos before.
“Como?”
Schwoz sounded confused, while Charlotte searchingly looked at Ray and Henry to get an answer.

His kid still seemed a bit sleepy.
Otherwise he probably wouldn’t have just repeated his last sentence in place of an explanation.

This lead Charlotte to now turn to Ray and ask
“Well, who are they?”
Now it also clicked for Henry.
He truly was adorable while half asleep.
Or maybe Ray was just biased because he was his son.
Who knew?

First he had to clear up the confusion about their intruders.
“They’re three of Canada’s worst criminals. Over two hundred suspected cases of burglary and robbery.”
At that Charlotte’s eyes began to first get huge and then sparkle with mischief.

“So, Schwoz. Muchacho Uno seems interested in our cash register. Why don’t we show Ray and Henry our new gadgets?”
Schwoz’ facial expression was a mirror match of Charlotte’s before he pressed one of the buttons on their console.

Well there were the explosives.
One of them going off right into Muchacho Uno’s face.
Ok, that really was hilarious.

Charlotte then excitedly pointed at the other male Muchacho, currently trying to get their dinosaur head off the wall.
“Can I press the button?”
She asked Schwoz, who obviously seemed to enjoy her excitement.
The man made space for his trainee at the console and together they watched fire coming out of the decoration.

They were geniuses.
Ray couldn’t call it anything else.
And ones with a great sense of humour too. This once again reminded him why he was happy that Schwoz was on their team.
It was a good thing they had met back when Schwoz had been at College.
His knowledge in the hands of a villain would have been disastrous.
But by now he wasn’t the only one who would make for a terrifying villain.
Charlotte too would be able to become an evil mastermind, with her intelligence and Schwoz training.
The two of them together were basically unstoppable by now.
All the more reason to be thankful for their moral compass and friendship putting them on their side.

Dropping a bunch of hoes on the Muchachos’ heads finally rendered their intruders unconscious.
So now Captain Man and Kid Danger were up.
Moving quickly as to not risk their now captives getting back up too early he and Henry geared up and dragged the burglars down to the man cave.
They just managed to bring them to their secure interrogation room before they slowly woke up again.

Turns out it honestly was a wonder that they managed to commit as many crimes as they had done.
Because one thing The Three Muchachos weren’t even remotely good at was holding up under pressure.
All Captain Man had to do was standing up straight, sounding angry and getting loud while barking out questions.

He hated to be like that in front of his son though.
Not that he would enjoy it without Henry in the room.
It just wasn’t like him to be feared.
But with Minyak on the loose and a crime wave in Swellview, crime tourists could only be bad news.
And they desperately needed to find out what kind of bad news they were exactly.
Maybe like that they would at least be able to prepare.

“We’re here for the meeting”
The only female Muchacho blurted out.
Now that he had cracked their resolve he only needed to ask the right questions.
“What meeting?”
He almost felt apologetic for making their three captives flinch at his tone.
He really wanted to get out of here.

He could see Henry’s hands starting to shiver behind him.
Likely because of his aggressive tone and demeanour.
He had gathered that much from their talk after the PTC last week.
Most of his kid’s triggers were subconscious ones.
Automated reactions to situations.
Stress whenever people he trusted got that threatening edge.
So right now he was one walking trigger for the boy.
A fact that made his stomach churn.
The image of Henry flinching away from him was still too fresh to just ignore his queasiness.

Giving the teen a quick once over to determine if he was dissociating, Ray decided to get this over with as quickly as possible.
He couldn’t truly check in with his son in front of their suspects after all.

Luckily Muchacho Uno spilled his guts pretty much instantly.
“The meeting of all the top criminals in Swellview.”
While it was good they heard about that, it didn’t explain The Three Muchachos coming all the way from Canada.

“And Canada”
Muchacho Dos chimed in, before Muchacho Uno went on with his explanation.
There was their explanation.
Finally.

“All top criminals meet up to make a plan on how to take down Captain Man and Kid Danger.”
Screw Minyak escaping from prison.
Or some criminals deciding to go tourist mode.
This was way worse.
Ray hated his bad feeling being correct sometimes.
This was a worst case scenario if he had ever heard one.

“When and where?”
Was all he barked out.
They flinched again.
Another reason Ray hated interrogations.
Because during them he always got to a point where he felt bad for their suspects.
He simply wanted to turn around and leave the room by now.
But they needed those informations before he could put those guys into their holding cells and think of a plan.

He was getting more and more uncomfortable in his role of interrogator by the second.
So was Henry.
He had started leaning against the wall.
It did nothing to make him look less threatening with his folded arms and stern look.
Another one of those looks that made Henry seem older than he really was.
But Ray knew what his kid was doing.
He was hiding the shaking of his hands and suppressing his fidgeting.
To be fair, he was doing so like a real pro.
But that didn’t mean Ray had to like it.
Or that this whole situation had to drag on longer than necessary.

“Tomorrow at noon. We’re all meeting in that underwater business center in lake Swellview.”
The female Muchacho finally gave him the last piece of information he needed.
Thank God!

Tapping his comm Ray called out for Bork, ordering him to bring their ‘guests’ to their cells.
He needed to get his kid out of here.
Right now.
Maybe it also was him that simply wanted to flee.
Not that it would change anything.

His instinct was to place a hand on Henry’s shoulder and lead him out of the room.
But he quickly reconsidered.
After ‘the flinching accident’, Ray had started getting a bit unsure in situations like that.
He had always been a ‘touchey-feeley’ kind of person.
And while he didn’t completely stop to be like that around his kid, he still was a bit more careful about unexpected or quick movements wherever he could.
Instead he held the door open for his son.

But before Henry could walk around the corner and up the stairs to their main hub, Ray stopped him.
Tapping his comm again he told Charlotte and Schwoz that they would be up in a few moments, before taking his earpiece out entirely.
Henry looked a little less stressed now that they were out of the interrogation room.
But he still wasn’t looking fine enough for Ray to just drop the matter altogether.

He steered them over to one of the empty storage rooms, to not accidentally bump into Bork or The Three Muchachos on their way to the cells, before Ray began.
He even went as far as to take off his mask.
The things being a father did to him.
But it just wouldn’t feel right any other way.

Sure he also was Henry’s boss.
But honestly, when had he ever cared about that title anyways.
The only thing he cared about right now was his son.
His son who he had made uncomfortable by doing what he had to do.

He couldn’t have acted differently and he knew that Henry was aware of it.
But that didn't mean that he didn’t had to take accountability for it and apologise.
Because the simple fact that they didn’t have any other options didn’t lessen Henry’s feelings about the matter.
And as a dad it was his job to take care of that mess.

“I’m sorry Kid.”
He tried to make it clear just how honest he was being right now.
Actively making an effort to keep the remainder of authority left over from their interrogation out of his voice.
“I know you hate when I get like that. And I think I get why.”

Henry just sighed at that.
The last remains of tenseness and his Kid Danger persona leaving him.
It never got less crazy to Ray just how clear the switch was up close.

Henry also took off his mask before answering.
His voice sounding resigned and a tad bit tired.
“No, don’t be. I’m fine. That was work. I get that. It’s not like you had a choice or anything. I just need a second to readjust, that’s all. You know how my stupid brain gets sometimes.”

Taking in Henry Hart came with the slow realisation that Ray would be grey and old by the time his kid would stop calling himself stupid.
But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try his hardest to still get to that point before retiring.

“Hen, what did I tell you? Like, always?”
He tried to not sound scolding.
Something he seemingly succeeded in.
At least enough to make Henry smile and roll his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not stupid. Yada yada.”
Ugh, old and grey indeed.

“Come here, Kid”
Henry still smilingly shook his head before trotting over to him.
One day Ray would get him to treat himself right.
Even if it would be the last thing he did.

Ruffling his kid’s hair was rewarded by a playful punch to his side and an exasperated “Dad!” followed by a laughing fit by his favourite knucklehead.
Henry’s laugh was contagious like nothing Ray had ever known.
There again, maybe he was biased.
Not that he cared about that, at all.

Chapter Text

“Oh no! No,no no! Forget it Ray! I’m not doing that!”
By now Charlotte was positively shrieking. Not even screaming, but a full girly shriek like Henry had never heard before from her.
He simply couldn’t not laugh at her for that.
A sentiment Schwoz seemed to share, since he wasn’t making any moves to help her get away from Ray , who was by now practically chasing her with that horrendous pink mask in hand.

“Come on Charlotte. There is nothing to worry about!”
Ray had changed his approach now.
He was raising his hands appeasingly.
“Henry and I will make sure you are safe at all times. We would never let anything happen to you.We need you Charlotte. If we go to this meeting without a female muchacho they will get suspicious.”

“It’s also been your plan to begin with.”
Schwoz helpfully added.

Charlotte still wasn’t completely on board with the idea.
But from the way she sighed Henry knew that she would help them in the end.
So, he tried his best to make it easier for her.
“Come on Char. I know you secretly liked to take over my job, back when I was stuck at my parent’s that one time. You don’t even have to say anything. We’re just going in there, listen to their plans and get back out. No biggie.”

He would even have offered to do Charlottes homework for a while in exchange for helping them out.
But to be fair, that would have been less helpful and more stressful for her.

Letting out a long suffering sigh Charlotte snatched the mask out of Ray’s hand.
“Fine! But Henry, I’m taking your room to change. And I’ll borrow one of your shirts to wear under this… thing.”
With that she was almost through the sprocket.
“Oh, and just for the record. I don’t like any of this. Not even one bit. I’m only doing this because I love you guys and I refuse to leave my family hanging. But don’t get used to it.”

He knew it.
Charlotte was nothing but loyal at heart.
And as much as she contradicted it, she too loved the action and adrenaline.
Maybe not the way he himself did.
With the fighting and field work.
But she too could do her best under pressure and the need to perform.

He would have to secretly take a picture though.
If only to tease her and and show the photo to Jasp and Piper when they got back.

His plan to take a picture was out of the window, as soon as he put his own costume on.
Those things were atrocious to put it simple. Spandex was one thing.
His own suit consisted of a fair amount of it. But… Henry didn’t even know where to start.
The colour?
The pattern?
The masks?
Who in their right mind would willingly wear that shit?
And additionally, why would one put the zipper to a costume on the back of said costume?
That was just outright stupid.

He and Ray were already all suited up, even wearing the absolutely fugly masks, when Charlotte came out of his room, looking about two seconds away from aborting their whole mission.
And he got it.
Her suit by far was the worst of them.
It had fucking wings.
Why?
Just why?
The look also wasn’t aided by it being about 2 sizes too big for Charlotte.
What saved the whole thing at least a little bit was the black Hawkins shirt she was wearing.
Visible only because she had knotted the sleeves over her hip instead of putting the thing on completely.
The very shirt she wanted to steal from Henry, but actually stole from Ray by accident.
Well, she still stole it out of his closet.
But Henry’s closet only partly consisted of his own clothes.
The other part was stuff he had stolen from Ray over time.

Schwoz quickly helped Charlotte to close her zipper.
It didn’t make the look any better.
But that didn’t matter in the end.
They didn’t plan on revealing their Identities anyways.

Ray barely was able to conceal his giggling when he saw Charlottes sour expression.
“You know Char, here I was, thinking that only Henry is stealing my stuff. But now you also steal the clothes Henry stole from me. I don’t know what to think of that.”
He tried to cover up his laughing with a bad joke.

Something that only made Charlotte go over to him and hit him up the head.
“Well, get a grip Manchester. If you want me to help you, you better shut up.”
Henry knew she wasn’t really angry.
He had seen Charlotte angry.
And this was far from it.
She was merely annoyed.
But still, seeing her scold Ray, a grown man, that also was her boss, was kinda funny.

They were once again interrupted by the shop alert.
So, out of routine and left over exhaustion, he and ray were inside the elevator in mere seconds.
Not even checking what was going on inside Junk’N’Stuff before heading up.
Or hearing Schwoz calling after them that they still were wearing their muchacho costumes.

When they arrived at the shop they were confronted with what Henry only could guess to be some sort of super hero from somewhere else.
And that honestly was so much better than crime tourists.
Because like that, he and Ray would be able to handle all the criminals at the meeting tomorrow way easier.

At least that was what he thought until the girl opposite him pulled out a big stick and took a fighting stance
“Hold it right there, Muchachos”
Oh hell no!
They still were wearing those spandex eyesores.
And the attempt to pull the mask from his face was quickly spoiled by the stupid zipper at the back of his head.

Trying to calm the hero girl down, Ray held up his arms and made a step towards her.
Trying to explain the situation.
But hero girl didn’t listen.

But she also didn’t attack Ray with the stick she was holding.
She simply stretched out her hand in front of her, making Ray fly through the air and smash into the wall.

Wow, what?

How did she…?

Henry’s train of thought was quickly interrupted by a toaster hitting him square in the head.
Ok, that was just rude.

Ray on the other hand already was up again.
That was good.
So, he could take a second to loose the stars swimming in his vision, right?

Wrong!

Because, as it seemed, hero girl couldn’t only hurl things through the air, but also freeze Ray before he could reach her.
Making Henry the only one able to clear up the whole situation.

Still trying to get this stupid mask off, Henry barely managed to get himself upright, before he heard the ice around Ray cracking and finally shattering.
Another point on his list of things that made him suspect his dad having super strength.
He wasn’t too surprised that Ray managed to break free.

But hero girl seemed to be.
She looked positively panicking right now.
Taking a step back she stammered.
“You can’t just break free. That- That’s impossible.”

Finally, Henry managed to get the mask off his head.
“Not for Captain Man!”
He exclaimed, a bit of pride colouring his voice without his permission.

Meanwhile Ray too finally got that stupid mask off and looked ad hero girl expectantly.
Her eyes went huge before she instantly dropped her stick and began apologising profusely.
“Oh my god. Kid Danger, Captain Man, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were… you. I mean- you looked like Muchachos and… I’m sooo sorry.”

Now that she was coming a step closer without attacking them Ray seemed to recognise her.
“Wait a second. Female. Teenager. Telekinetic Powers and freeze breath. And this costume. Are you Thunderman’s daughter?”

Ok, at that point Henry couldn’t quite follow anymore.
He didn’t know this Thunderman guy.
But from the sound of it, Ray did.
And when his dad recognised that costume that must mean that Thunderman also was a superhero, right?

He must have been on the right track because hero girl took a proud stance.
Hands on her hips and all that, before exclaiming.
“Phoebe Thunderman. Daughter of Thunderman and Electress.”
She must have practiced that introduction, with the flashy and clichéd way it looked.
But Henry still liked her somehow.
She seemed nice.
Even though he still wasn’t quite over the toaster to his head.

“I saw your interview in the news.”
She continued.
Now back to what Henry guessed to be her normal self not her hero persona.
“I kinda snooped into my dad’s hero binder and got your address. I came over to help.”

Ray wasn’t too happy about that as it seemed.
Not that Henry got why.
Phoebe was nice and here to help.
That was great, wasn’t it?

But instead of thanking her, his dad got suspicious.
“What do you mean, you snooped into your dad’s hero binder? Hank doesn’t know you’re here?”

Phoebe got a bit shy at that.
“Well, no. He and mom took my three younger siblings to Amazing Land. Me and my twin brother were supposed to stay in Hiddenville. But I’m almost done with my hero training I can’t just look away when there is a problem as big as yours.”
At that Ray sighed sufferingly.

So, from what Henry could gather by now, Ray knew Hank, who was Phoebe’s dad.
But not too well, because he did know Hank had a daughter with powers, but not her name.
Said daughter wasn’t done with her hero training, but almost.
And she came over to help them without telling her parent’s.
Those were away and told her and her mysterious twin brother to stay in Hiddenville, which was a 4 hour train ride away by the way.

Well, now Henry also saw the problem.

“Phoebe.” Ray asked. “How old are you?”

At that Phoebe got even shyer.
Oh, so she wasn’t 18 yet.
That meant she wasn’t that much older than him.
And, now that he looked at her again, she was cute.
Maybe he should try to ask her out after all of this was over.

“I’m seventeen, ok. Like I said, I’m not completely done with my hero training. My dad would never have let me go on a mission alone before turning eighteen.”

She only was two years older than him? Well, maybe he really should try to shoot his shot later on.
With Bianca and Chloe both on Kids in the Woods now, he was single again.
Not that he actually felt the need for a serious relationship ight now.
Not with all that was going on in his life at the moment.
But there was no harm in trying to ask Phoebe out anyways, was there?

They were interrupted by Charlotte’s voice filtering through their store speakers.
“Guys, why don’t you take Phoebe down to the man cave first? Schwoz already called someone to fix the windows. Also, I have an idea about our plan.”

Charlotte had changed out of the Muchacho costume when they got done to the man cave with Phoebe.
She still was wearing Ray’s shirt she had stolen from him.
But other than that she was back in her jeans instead of the horrific suit.

Phoebe unsurprisingly dropped her suitcase and looked absolutely stunned when she saw the man cave.
It reminded Henry at how Piper had reacted when she had come down the first time. Well, minus the fainting.

Ray still didn’t seem to be too happy about the whole thing.
He immediately wanted to call Hank and tell him what his daughter was up to.
But a quick talk with Schwoz and a look at security footage of fights Phoebe had already been in made him reconsider.
They needed her if they really wanted to have a chance.

If their informations were correct and every top criminal in Swellview would be at that meeting, they had a huge thing going tomorrow.
Even just scouting and listening in would be dangerous.
No matter what he and Ray had just promised Charlotte earlier.
There was no guarantee they would get out of there unharmed.

From the way The Three Muchachos acted it didn’t immediately scream ‘trap’.
But that didn’t mean that it was save.
Having Phoebe on their team would at least give them another person with combat experience in case shit hit the fan.
And even more so, she was adamant to help.

So, when Charlotte proposed to let her play the third Muchacho it was a quick decision.
One Henry could feel Ray not liking all that much.
But they had no other realistic option

Chapter Text

Saying that Henry wasn’t nervous because of their mission would have been a lie.
And a fat one at that.
Henry had a bad feeling about all of this.
Don’t ask him why.
Maybe it was this ‘work experience’ Ray was always talking about.

Phoebe on the other hand didn’t seem too stressed out.
At least not the same way he was.
She simply was happy to help and looked forward to make an impact.
It reminded Henry of a cute overeager puppy.
But in a good way.

Ray for his part slipped into what he, Charlotte and Jasper had started calling his Captain boss mode.
All stern and serious.
Something that even Henry only get to see once every blue moon.
Ray hated radiating that air of authority he had right now.
But in their situation it was the best he could do to give him and presumably also Phoebe some peace of mind.
Captain Man had the situation handled.
He would know what to do.

At least that’s the part he wanted to play.
Henry knew he probably was the only one noticing it because Ray expertly hid it.
But he could see the slight shaking of his dad’s hands hinting at his own nerves.
Though that didn’t make him feel less secure in the man’s presence.
Ray was incredible in high stress situations.
He always made the right call.
Not once had Henry doubted that.
He may not always have agreed with his dad’s choices.
But whatever Ray decided to do, it always got them home safely.
Not always unbruised or unhurt.
But always not dead.
A risk that Henry sometimes forgot in the heat of the moment, but that was there nonetheless.

When they entered the business centre at ten minutes to noon they were confronted with a bunch of familiar faces.
Not that Henry was happy to see any of them.
He had spent the past two years of his life putting most of those people in jail.
Some of them multiple times.

First he noticed Doctor Minyak and Nurse Cohort.
In their debrief they had discussed who most likely was the initiator behind the meeting.
And even though he just busted out of prison, Minyak still was their best call.
You need some sort of image or twisted renown to go through with a meeting this big and for lack of a better word evil.
So, most of the attendees were quickly ruled out as the one’s pulling the strings in the background.

Next to Minyak stood a man Henry knew only from photos.
Drillfinger.
The combination of a purple mask and that curly red hair could only be him.

There also were the Time Jerker and Van Dell.
Both figures Henry hadn’t expected to see since they were supposed to be in jail right now.
One of them even in a completely different state.
So, seeing them roam free made Henry feel uneasy.

Why hadn’t they heard of this by now?
Why did no one tell them that multiple top criminals escaped?
Did the police really think that a couple of slashed tires or stolen wallets were more important than that?
He and Ray had to have a very serious word with them after this mission.
That much was obvious.
Stuff like that was the number one reason for them not being prepared enough before going into missions.
They couldn’t let that communication deficit slide any longer, or it would one day get them in serious trouble.

Henry didn’t know just how right he was with that thought, when Phoebe ticked him on the shoulder after all the participants entered.
He turned around to hear her whispering.
“You showed me all of those guys. But who is that one over there? He looks like he got lost or something. And he winked at me. Which is pretty… gross. Not that I want to be mean or anything. But…”
He could see her grossed out face even through the Muchacho mask and her own blue one.

Turning around he understood her perfectly.
“That’s Jeff.” He whispered back. “We didn’t include him because we didn’t think he would be invited. He is the stupidest criminal in Swellview.”
Why anyone would willingly invite and want to team up with Jeff wasn’t quite clear to Henry.
But at least the dude wouldn’t be too much of a problem later on.
Phoebe nodded in understanding, trying to half hide behind Ray and him to escape from Jeff’s line of vision.
An effort Henry more than got.
If this was flirting Jeff was trying he surely wasn’t good at it.
Because winking at a girl you like probably shouldn’t look like a face cramp.

They were interrupted by smoke suddenly appearing near one of the entrances.
Clouding their vision and keeping them from seeing what exactly was going on.
Until a figure emerged.
A known figure.
A face Henry hadn’t seen for about two years now.
And even more hadn’t expected to see ever again.

“I guess you wonder who called this meeting. Well, wonder no more. It was me!”
The Toddler’s voice boomed through the room.
Leaving every last person around him completely speechless.

That couldn’t be!
He shouldn’t be here.
He shouldn’t even be able to be anywhere at all.
He should be trapped in his bottomless pit of balls.
How on earth could the Toddler have survived that?

“For those of you who thought I was dead. Boo!”
The little freak sure seemed to enjoy his show.
And the reactions of his guests.
At least their surprise fitted in with the rest of the group.
So, it didn’t make them stick out and blow their cover.

But Ray’s tenseness was only amplified.
A sentiment Henry shared.
The Toddler was bad news.
Ones they couldn’t have estimated beforehand.
They needed to talk as soon as possible to decide their next steps.

Turning around to face the entrance again the Toddler called out.
“Max! Bring me my booster seat, so we can begin.”

Max?
Who the hell was Max?

At the entrance a teenage boy about Phoebes age appeared, making her flinch and let out a whispered.
“Oh shit!”
Using the chaos caused by everyone taking their places she quickly pulled them to the side.
“Guys, we have a problem. That is my twin brother. Max.”

Oh shit indeed.
As if they really needed any more unknown figures against them.
That meant Max had the same powers as Phoebe, didn’t it?
That couldn’t be good.
They needed to adapt their plan now that the amount of villains was almost twice as high as anticipated.
Not that he could really count Jeff in.
But still.

They didn’t get the chance to discuss the issue any further when the Toddler decided to start their discussion.
He shortly made everyone introduce themselves.
A task the three of them handled better than Henry would have expected.
Then he asked them all to think about ways to get rid of Captain Man and Kid Danger while getting their food during a ten minute break.

It opened up the perfect opportunity for Henry to grab Ray and drag him away to talk.
Phoebe meanwhile wanted to talk some sense into her brother.
How successful that would be was still questionable.
But trying wouldn’t hurt, would it?

“This is bad, isn’t it?”
He opened their conversation.
Ray hummed.
He looked more than concentrated.
“Yeah. But they didn’t get suspicious yet. I think the best would be to keep our heads as low as possible and get out of here as soon as they are done talking. We can’t leave yet. That would make us look fishy. And if we stay to listen we at least know what they are planning.”

He was right.
Of course he was.
But Henry still couldn’t quite shake the bad gut feeling slowly growing bigger.

Their time to make a plan was over when they saw Nurse Cohort bring in a flip chart and markers.
So, time to keep a low profile and hope for the best.

Something that actually was going great.

At least until it wasn’t anymore.

It was about an half hour later and they all were still listening to the Time Jerker and Minyak shouting out one wild idea after the other, when suddenly Max interjected.
What was that guy doing?
He hadn’t had the chance to talk to Phoebe after her conversation with her brother.
But this couldn’t be what she had wanted to achieve, right?

“Oh. I’m sure I have an even better idea.”
Max smiled smugly.
His voice dripping with self satisfied arrogance.

To Henry that guy didn’t look like a villain. And that he was Phoebes brother had to mean that he also grew up in a hero family didn’t it?
So, for real, what was his goal?

A question that quickly was answered when Max continued by raising their masks with his powers.

Oh shit!

Fuck!

That was literally the worst case scenario!

Wasn’t Phoebe talking to him supposed to make their situation better, not worse?

“Why don’t you just catch them right now and put them into a cell? All the payment I want is your Heliometer.”

Henry didn’t even listen to the rest of Max’ sentence.
He was to busy with taking a fighting stance and wracking his brain for a way to deal with that many criminals at once.
This was near hopeless.
Realistically speaking, they had no chance.
They would be captured and brought to who knew where.

Not that this train of thought would be of any help.
But what else could he do?
There was no way they would be able to flee.
They also couldn’t win against all of those criminals.

They were trapped.

Even Charlotte and Schwoz inside the man cave couldn’t help them now.

All they could try to do was getting as many of their opponents to go down with them as possible.

Fuck!

Maybe Phoebes parents could later get them out?
They were superheroes too, weren’t they?

But they didn’t know she was here with them.
And Max surely wouldn’t tell them.
It was a far guess anyways.

Henry slowly felt how he began panicking.

Physically shaking himself he tried to focus.
He needed to get a grip.
This wasn’t the moment to crash.
No matter how Ray had taught him how to actually deal with his feelings and fears.
Now wasn’t the moment for that.
Now wasn’t the moment for a psychologically approved approach to his panic.

Now was a moment for doing what he had done to cope before.
Push it down as far as possible and get to acting.
And then hope for the best.
He was used to that.
Just because he had been shown how to not suppress his feelings and how good it felt to be able to fall because he could trust in being caught, it didn’t mean that he didn’t know how to deal with his moods in an unhealthy way anymore.
Because in the end no one would be able to congratulate him for being kind to himself if he was dead.

This right now wasn’t Henry Hart’s fight.
This was Kid Danger’s fight.
And Kid had training and two years of experience by now to rely on.

Not that it would have been enough.
He managed to deal a few hits here and there.
But as soon as the Toddler also called a handful of goons to the scene, he knew that this wouldn’t be their way to go.

They needed a plan.
And fast.
But for that there had to be some kind of opening or distraction.
Something that would take the criminals’ focus off of them for a moment.

Ray seemingly thought the exact same thing.
Because shortly after, he threw up a bowl of lentils.
Destroying the only light source in a loud crash.
It would buy them time.
Not much or even nearly enough, because the emergency lamp would soon go on.
But it was better than nothing.

While running into the hallway with Ray and Phoebe, Henry was wracking his brain for an escape strategy.
They couldn’t possibly win.
Even though Max wasn’t actively taking a side at the moment.
A fact Henry was more than glad for because, presuming he was just as strong as his sister, the guy would be a true problem.

Ray stopped them around the next corner.
He looked like he had an idea.
But something in his eyes told Henry that he wouldn’t like it.
At all.

A feeling that was confirmed as soon as Henry heard the absolute crazy shit Ray said.
“Two streets down there is a tube entrance. Kid take Phoebe and get her out of here. I’ll buy you time. Once you’re in the man cave you can help Schwoz track me down and come get me.”

He didn’t just say that, did he?

Leaving him?
With a bunch of criminals all wanting nothing more than his head on a silver plate? Sure thing.

But Ray didn’t look like he was joking.

“Like hell I’m leaving you here. You come with us or I’ll stay. End of discussion.”
Two years ago Henry wouldn’t have dared to call Ray out on his bullshit like that.

Well, it technically wasn’t bullshit.
They had no real chance to win this fight and they also couldn’t outrun the angry mob behind them.
But that didn’t mean he had to leave his dad behind, did it?

Well ok, yeah.
Ray had a point.
Maybe even a good one.
Probably the only one, given their limited time and resources.

But he still couldn’t do that.
What his dad just asked from him simply was too much.

There was no guarantee they would be fast enough with tracking him down.
And then there also would be no way of knowing what exactly the Toddler and his entourage would do to him once they caught him.
Minyak had managed to steal Captain Man’s powers before.
There was no way to say for sure he wouldn’t do that again.
As long as Ray was indestructible there wasn’t much they could do to actually harm him.
But if they found away around his power it would be game over.

Ray couldn’t possibly have thought about all those options before making that suggestion, could he?
This needed to be one of his spur of the moment things.

Looking up into his dad’s eyes, Henry wanted to vomit.
Ray clearly knew what he was getting himself into.
He was aware of every single risk and danger he would be walking into face first.
And he still wanted to do it.
He had thought every possibility through and only found this one.

Fuck!
The knot in Henry’s stomach got bigger and bigger at that thought.
Just when it had seemed as if everything was looking up in his life.
For once he had decided to not be scared of the future.
Of what bad things might happen once he let his guard down enough to be happy.
And now this was his prize to pay?

He couldn’t let that happen, could he?
He should try to change his dads mind.
Or just stay and fight next to him anyways.
Or just… anything.

But his dad would never forgive himself for that.
Sure, Ray being angry at him would be better than not being anymore at all.
But once he stayed, he would single-handedly sign their fate.
When he fled he could still do something about the whole situation.
They could gather their bearings and go back in.

He knew that objectively this was their most logical strategy.

So why was it still so hard?

Why couldn’t his brain make his heart understand that this was necessary.
That it wouldn’t be the end.
At least not if he managed to safe his dad.

The answer was simple.
Because he loved Ray dearly.
And because only the thought of actually loosing him was more than he could handle.
More than he would likely ever be able to handle if he was being completely honest.
And maybe also because for the first time in forever Henry actually felt loved in return.
Cared for and valued.
Protected.

The mask of Ray’s Captain man persona slipped when he called Henry over and hugged him tight.
“I’m sorry Sunshine. I know what I’m doing to you right now is cruel. But there is no other way.”
His voice sounded husky.
Almost like he was in pain.
And from the way it seemed he was.

Just as much as Henry was right now.
That really wasn’t how he had expected this mission to go.

Henry wanted to answer.
But his throat felt like it was filled with sand.
So, all he could do was to hug back extra tightly and do everything he could to convince himself that it wouldn’t be his last chance to do so.

“I love you”
The sentence was whispered into Henry’s hair before Ray placed a quick kiss at the same spot.

At the pain colouring his dads voice Henry barely managed to not start crying.
It sounded so genuine.
So sure.
Like it was a irrefutable fact that Ray loved him.
That they were family.
That Henry Hart was Ray Manchesters son.
No matter what stood on any stupid piece of paper.
No matter that they didn’t share a last name or their DNA.

They didn’t need matching genes or some document to tell them that they would always have each others backs.
That they could overcome anything and everything because of how important they were to each other.

Henry had always known that he was important to Ray.
He had known that Ray loved him and that he meant it from the moment he had taken him in.
But there had always been the slightest bit of doubt.
Because in his perception of things, Henry was hard to love.
And no one would ever choose to do so.

His parents, who were supposed to do it, didn’t.
And for Henry that was the number one evidence for him simply being…
maybe not completely unlovable.
But he was more than sure that he would always be loved less than other people.

But the way Ray was talking to him right now put everything into perspective in a single second.
He had been so insanely wrong in his assumption that Ray might very well love him but always see him as close to but not quite a son.

He wished he had realised that sooner.
But maybe he also had needed the adrenaline and fear to finally drive that point home.

It took every last ounce of willpower for him to let go of his dad after that.
But he needed to get going.
The sooner he was back at the man cave the sooner he could help Schwoz to find Ray’s tracker and make a plan.

But as he stood there, the voices of the criminals slowly drawing closer, he froze.
He simply couldn’t move.
Even though his brain was screaming at him to start running.

It once again was his dad that saved him. Back to full on Captain Man mode.
“Go! That’s an order, Kid!”

As embarrassing as it was, Phoebe more dragged him than anything else for the first few feet.
But then his brain kicked back into gear and he ran for his life.
Back to the man cave, where they had a bunch of work to do.
They had a new goal now.
And Henry wouldn’t rest until they got his dad back to safety

Chapter Text

It had all gone exactly like Ray had expected it to go after he finally got Henry and Phoebe to leave.
And not a second too soon

Because just as the two teens were rounding the corner, he could hear the criminals closing in.
He tried to take at least some of them down with him.
He even managed to get a really good and satisfying few hits in with Jeff.
But in the end he still unsurprisingly was captured and brought back to the conference room.

The criminals really had done their homework.
He had to give them that.
As soon as they captured him, their goons put him not only in handcuffs but in specially reinforced ones.
He had never tried it before, but the possibility was high that he would have been able to break free of normal ones.

But this seemingly wasn’t enough for the criminals.
After being brought back into the conference room, Ray was pushed onto an old looking metal chair that would surely have given him a bunch of diseases if he hadn’t been indestructible.
There they bound him with even more reinforced metal and chains until he wasn’t able to move even one singular limp. Great. So much for helping the kids with getting him out.

After the goons were done with him, Minyak, Van Del and the Toddler reentered the room.
followed by Max, who wasn’t looking so cocksure anymore.
That was interesting.
He had had a hunch already about Max not knowing what he got himself into.
A gut feeling telling him that the teen wasn’t as easily as he made The Toddler believe.
But he couldn’t verify that guess like this.
So, only time would tell, really.

In true Captain Man fashion Ray simply didn’t know when to better keep his mouth shut sometimes.
The Toddlers proud expression was simply to inviting to not poke fun at it.
And bound up like he was, there was little else he could do to pass time anyways.
“You know Toddler. After all that planning. That huge meeting. The grand entrance. I expected a bit more than that. What even is this? An old lawn chair and a bunch of chains? You want me to die of lockjaw?”

As always, he used the bad jokes and his big mouth to cover up his nerves.
He wasn’t quite nervous yet.
But he had also been in way more comfortable situations.
So he needed to let some steam off.
Something that normally worked way better than right now.

Instead of his normal overboard personally the Toddler simply smiled at him menacingly.
“Oh Captain Man. Don’t believe this is all. We are only getting started.”

Van Dell laughed darkly at that before Minyak added.
“We only wanted to see if the chains would be heavy enough. But its looking fine by me. So now we only have to wait for a bit longer.”

Heavy?
Why needed the chains to be heavy?
Strong, sure.
To keep him from breaking them.
But heavy?

He was about to ask his captors about it, but they all just up and left.
So, now he was alone.
In this underwater conference room lit up only by the emergency light.
Bound to some chair by chains that apparently were heavy enough for whatever his captors planned to do with him.
After they were done waiting for god knows what.

At least there were less of them now.
As it seemed most of the actual criminals had left.
Maybe to search for Henry and Phoebe. Hopefully they wouldn’t find them.
But as long as they managed to get to the tubes in time, they would be safe.
Nobody knew where the man cave was after all.

Whatever the others were doing it left him with only the Toddler, Minyak, Van Dell and about four or five of their goons.
That would be way better odds for Henry and Phoebe once they found out where they were about to bring him.
Leaving him here would be unlikely after their statement.
Ray just hoped that the tracker would have a signal where he was going.

Thinking more about it wouldn’t give him any answers.
But still Ray couldn’t completely stop his mind from running.
But not because of the situation he found himself in.
He couldn’t change anything about that anymore.

What gnawed even more at his heart was what he had just done to Henry.
Sending him away like this, knowing full well that his kid was aware of the risk he was taking was just cruel.

Sure, from a professional point of view it had been the most logical decision.
Ray was the hero.
Henry only was a sidekick.
Self sacrificing therefore was Captain Man’s job, not Kid Danger’s.
He had given the teen a clear order that he had to follow.
Simple, wasn’t it?

But Ray had always had a problem with being professional.
And Henry had been a special case from the beginning.
He had never been just a sidekick.
To Ray Henry had never been just anything.

It made his decision even easier though.
Screw being a hero.
At that moment, all Ray tried to do was keep his son safe.
All he thought about was how to protect his kid.

The decision in itself therefore wasn’t really a decision at all.
But actually sending Henry away was the hardest thing Ray had ever had to do.
He hadn’t even known that his heart could break like it had done the moment he saw the reluctant acceptance in Henrys eyes.
The unshed tears and the crumbling resolve to stay strong.

No kid should ever have to do something like this.
Henry shouldn’t even been able to handle a situation like this with the professionalism he had shown.
Ray saw how desperately Henry was trying to stay strong and do what he had to do.
But he also saw how it broke the boy.

He simply couldn’t not pull him into a hug for that.
It wasn’t likely, but this could have been the last time he would have had the chance to do so.
So, he needed to give Henry as much comfort as possible.
And maybe the more selfish part of Ray also wanted to feel the peace of mind and the lightness of his heart that hugging his kid brought with it for what could be the last time.

The ‘I love you’ he whispered into Henry’s hair was so much more.
It was an ‘I am proud of you’.
An ‘I would do anything and everything for you’.
An ‘No matter what happens, it’s ok’.
A ‘You are so strong and I am insanely proud of you’.
And more than anything else it was a ‘thank you’.
For being there.
For stumbling into his life and saving him from himself.
For showing Ray and the world that he still was able to love.
For giving him the family he never dared to dream about and for giving him back his reason to fight.

The way Henry had looked at him at that moment had shown Ray that he had managed to make him see all that with just one sentence.
That was good.
Not the perfect timing.
Not even close to decent.
But he knew.
And that was really all that mattered in the end.

In that moment, chained and shackled to that stupid chair, Ray promised himself one thing, should he come out at the other side of this.
No more cowardice.
No more dancing around commitment and responsibility.
No more hiding behind ‘what if’s’.
He would talk to Henry about the topic of adoption.
Because it was the only logical next step.
But even more because it was what they already were.
They were family. Henry was his son.
Not his protégée or the teen he took in because he liked him.
Henry Hart was his son, whom he would do everything for.
Just because they weren’t sharing any genes that didn’t mean they weren’t.
And it was time to finally make that official. No more wishful thinking about a future where they were a family.
Only finally taking action.

Strange how the human brain worked.
Now that they were in an ultimate high stress situation, everything suddenly seemed to be so easy.
Just yesterday Ray had wracked his brain about the pros and cons of actually adopting Henry.
Had thought about all the ways this could go wrong.
His brain had convinced him that it wouldn’t be what the teen wanted.
But the way they had just interacted, the way Ray didn’t even second guess staying behind to get his kid out of this hellhole…

They already were family.
No piece of paper could ever change that. And that fact made the whole adoption thing loose it’s fear inducing power.
It would only make everything easier government wise.
Really, Ray’s fate in that aspect had been sealed long before.
Maybe even as early as the day he had given that cocky blond child a job way to big for him.

As soon as he got out of here they needed to talk.
About what would be the next steps.
About how Henry wanted his future to look.

For now all he could do was wait.
And trust in his teammates to safe him.
They would manage.
He had never been surer of anything before.
He had employed only the best of the best.
So, there would never be an obstacle too big for them.

At least his so called spidey senses were back.
(He should never have shown Henry that movie back during their first ever movie night. The teens had all poked fun at him with that line ever since. Even Jasper who hadn’t even worked for him back then)
He noticed the boy band of evil approaching before they were even at the door.
Looks like whatever they had waited for finally happened.
Time to see what they had planned.
Like this he would at least finally find out why the chains needed to be heavy.

What he hadn’t expected though was to be fist crammed into the back of some sort of shady van and then driven around for close to…
He didn’t even know how long.
His perception of time had completely gone out of the window.
But it was a long ass time.
That much was for sure.

Trying to memorise the route the van took quickly turned out to be a lost cause.
From counting the amount of turns in the same direction they took, Ray quickly knew that they had been driving in circles at least thrice already.
So, the time he had spent in the pitch black inside the van also wasn’t a reliable indicator.

For all the planning the Toddler and his new friends had put into their plan they still had forgotten one thing though.
At no point Ray had seen any sort of jamming device to turn off his tracker.
Sure they had taken his earpiece and weapons.
But not the tracker.

Not that even loosing the thing would have been able to keep Schwoz from finding him.
His suit basically was covered in his tech.
Every single piece of it able to be found with a bit digging through their system.
To jam all of it was pretty unlikely.
Even less at the exact same time.

They would find him.
Schwoz was a genius.
And yes Ray knew he was repeating himself.

After what could likely have been about an hour of driving around, Ray and his chair were heliometered out of the van and brought over to a… train.

What?

Did they want to drive him even further away?
They knew about the man copter, didn’t they?
Just bringing him to a few cities over on a cargo train would do literally nothing.
But why were they putting him atop the train?
And why on earth were they still smiling like the lunatics they were?

What was all this?

The train slowly started moving just a few minutes later.
From the direction they were going, they were headed for Rivalton.
Whatever they wanted to do there still was a mystery to Ray.

One that was solved a few moments later by the villains inability to not blurt out their plan, once they were convinced they would win.
Really, it was so cliche.
The hero was captured with no rescue in sight.
The antagonist, too sure for his own good, therefore blabbed out his whole plan.
And in the end this fact makes the hero, suddenly and unexpectedly saved by his sidekick, destroy all the evil efforts and save the day.
Honestly, sometimes Ray’s life felt like a movie.
A bad one.

In his particular case, the revealing of the evil plan was a team effort between Minyak and the Toddler.
Underlined by Van Dells sinister laugh in the background.

“You know, Captain.” The Toddler began. “Sometimes the best plans really are simple. I’m pretty sure you already figured out we’re headed for Rivalton.”

So he had been correct.
Another point for his spidey senses.

“To do so we’ll cross the Yandy Bridge in about… Ehhh I’d say 20 minutes.”

Ok?
They were crossing the new Yandy Bridge.
And then?
The obsession the Toddler had with that particular bridge really was starting to get unhealthy.
Not that anything about a grown man wearing diapers was particularly healthy or normal to begin with.

Minyak finally gave him the last piece of their plan.
“We’ll push you off the bridge. That’s why the chains needed to be heavy enough. So you stay at the bottom of the Yandy river. You may be indestructible. But you still are human. No oxygen - No Captain Man.”

Fuck!

This was bad.

Chapter Text

His plan had failed.

Miserably.

Like literally.
This was the worst failure in his whole evil career.

He wanted to get Captain Man captured, sure.
In exchange for the heliometer.
But he hadn’t planned to get the man his sister looked up to killed.

He wasn’t a bad guy.
Well, yes he was.
But not like this.
Murder was where he drew the line.
Colossus had always taught him to get to his goals with his brain not violence.
And this was violence if he had ever seen it.
This was wrong.
But Kid Danger and Phoebe had already fled.
So there was nothing he could do.
Even less now that Captain Man was shackled up.

And even worse… he hadn’t even gotten the heliometer for his efforts.
So this thing had been a failure on all fronts.

The Captain obviously had put up a fight before being capture.
Everything else would have completely confused Max.
But once he was captured, he was perfectly calm and relaxed.
Dishing out snarky remarks and otherwise being rather laid back.
That made Max think they had a plan.
One including his sister and the Captain’s sidekick.
And once that plan went into action he would do the right thing and help them.

For now his goal was to sabotage The Toddler’s plan as best as possible.
They trusted him.
Even more now that he had blown the heroes’ disguises.
Maybe this could come in handy in the end.

The group had split up by now.
Sending out a delegation to search for the missing heroes.
Amateurs.

From what Max had gotten out of Phoebe, Captain Man’s secret lair was never found before.
So that was obviously where Phoebe and Kid Danger were headed.
Therefore, running after them was simply stupid.
But even better for his own change of plans.

Only The Toddler himself, Van Del and Minyak, the mastermind behind the heliometer, stayed behind with the Captain.
Assisted by 4 guys that may have muscles but no brains.
This would be manageable.
At least as soon as he or the others found out how to get that bloody chains off.
They likely were the main problem.
With Captain Man being chained up like this, their chances sank drastically.
Winning like this was not entirely impossible.
But unlikely.
Not that he could do much about that situation right now.

What he could do though was tinker a bit with the jamming device inside the truck.
The goons hadn’t been able to find the tracker Captain Man was likely wearing.
So, Minyak had decided to jam it instead.
It wasn’t the stupidest thing Max had heard today.
But that maybe was because Minyak was the only one of the group with at least a little amount of brains and common sense.

The jamming device itself was child’s play to hack into.
He had built stuff like that in elementary school.
So manipulating it took all of 5 minutes. Leaving him with plenty of times on his hands to also play around with the navigation system a bit.

The criminals were still so happy about finally managing to capture their arch nemesis that they probably wouldn’t even notice the about 20 detours Max had added to the route.
And it would buy Phoebe and Kid Danger time.

That really was all he could do for now from his position.
The only thing left was to wait for the heroes to make their move.
And until then try his best to keep up his facade of an eager helper.

- Meanwhile, Man Cave -

“ We heard everything. Your comms were still on. We’re already on it. Well Schwoz is. I’ll check you two over first.”
Charlottes voice welcomed them back to the man cave once they were down the tubes.
The efficiency this team had really was incredible.
Sometimes Phoebe wished her own family would work together like this too.
The only thing she had gotten was parents that didn’t completely believe in her yet and a twin brother that made messes like the one they were in right now.

She knew Max. Better than he did himself sometimes.
He would likely feel guilty and help them in the end.
But he also was the only reason they needed help in the first place.
So she still was fuming. Stepping down the platform she was quickly hugged by Charlotte.

“I’m glad you two are out of there at least. That was close. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Phoebe quickly shook her head and was sent to wait on the couch.
Schwoz would call her over should he need help was what Charlotte told her.
So she did.

It gave her a front row seat to the exchange that followed between the younger girl and Henry.

“Hen? Are you ok?”
Charlottes voice had gotten way softer.
When the two girls had chitchatted earlier she had told Phoebe that she knew Henry for pretty much half of her life by now.
So it was understandable.
Phoebe too had noticed how Henry’s facade of sidekick was slowly crumbling.
No wonder with what he had just been through.

She had already known he and Ray were close.
It was visible every time she saw any kind of video about them.
But something about the way Ray had hugged Henry earlier…
How they had spoken in hushed whispers before she and Henry finally fled.
There was more to them, wasn’t there?

She was pulled out of her thinking by Schwoz voice.
“Hey, Phoebe.”
The way the man pronounced her name would never get old to her.
It was adorable really.
And a little bit funny too.

“Can you help me real quick?”
He called her over to the console.

“Sure thing. What can I do?”
The readings on the display made exactly no sense to her.
But she simply couldn’t not try her best in a situation like this.

“Just keep an eye on that lamp right there.”
He pointed to a red light next to one of the monitors.
“Once it turns green or goes out entirely I need you to tell me.”

She could do that.
She didn’t need to understand the readings to look at a light.
And it would keep her from overanalysing their failed mission nonetheless.
So, it really was the perfect job.

They stayed like that for a while.
Charlotte meanwhile was finished with checking Henry over and had dragged him upstairs to help her close the shop for the day.
So it was the chance for her to ask Schwoz about her suspicions.

“Schwoz?”
The only answer she got was a short halt in the mans frantic typing and a hum.
“Can I ask you something? Or do you need to focus? I can always ask later.”
Because, as much as the questions about Henry’s relationship with Ray were begging to be asked, Phoebe wouldn’t risk finding the man for it.
Their mission still had priority.

Typing some more, Schwoz finally hit enter before plopping back onto his seat and turning to face her.
“Sure. I’ll have to wait for the next readings anyways.”
Wonderful.
All she had to figure out now was how to phrase her question.

So, she decided to start with what she already knew.
“You said our comms were on earlier.”
Schwoz nodded, meanwhile throwing another quick look over to his monitor.
“So, you heard what Ray said to Henry before sending him away? Because I didn’t.”

It was a simple enough question to start with, right?

But Schwoz got silent.
The look in his eyes morphing into something sad.
“Yes. Ray’s comm was on. He must have activated it by accident during the fight. But honestly, if the situation had been different, I would have turned it out remotely. That conversation wasn’t for our ears. Or yours. Too much they need to figure out themselves first. You know?”

No, honestly Phoebe didn’t know.
And maybe it wasn’t her place to ask.
But Schwoz continued anyways.
“How much did Henry tell you about the past month?”

The past month?
They hadn’t talked about that at all.
They had talked about little more than the mission really.
And their work.

“Nothing really. I don’t want to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong. I just always thought the two were pretty close for being just boss and sidekick. But all of you guys are, really. So, I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
Phoebe really needed to stop doing that.
Her curiosity would one day get her killed.
Or worse… hated.

But Schwoz just chuckled instead of scolding her.
“Yeah, they are. Don’t you worry. I can trust you to keep a secret, right?”

Still a bit confused by the man’s response Phoebe nodded.

“Great. So, this isn’t public knowledge. And we really don’t want it to be. Ray’s the one that was adamant about this the whole time. To protect his and Henry’s identity. But then again he is the one responsible for all those rumours in the first place. So, I guess its fine if I tell you.”

Phoebe couldn’t stop herself from interrupting Schwoz at that.
“Wait! You mean the rumour about Captain Man being Kid Danger’s dad are actually true? I always had a hunch about it. I knew I was right.”
She had suspected that particular rumour to be correct for quite some time now.
Even more so after seeing them interact from up close.
But Schwoz chuckling even harder at her enthusiasm made her back down a bit.

“Well, you’re close.”
He started explaining.
“They’re not related. But they’ve had this special bond pretty much from the start. I have been away from the man cave for a bit and only came back a few months after Henry started. And really, I have never seen Ray like this. I have never once seen him care so much. They pretty much saved each other from a dark place. I’ve known Ray for about 15 years now. The development he had because of Henry is truly mind blowing.”

Phoebe quickly looked away from Schwoz to glance at the lamp.
Still red.
So, she focused back on the conversation.
It was getting interesting.

“But one thing Ray never stopped was being a coward.”
That honestly surprised her.
Captain Man seemed to be anything but.
“He wanted to keep Henry at arms length. But failed miserably. You know how the rumours about them being related started, right?”

Schwoz too quickly looked back at his monitor to check for his readings before he turned back to hear Phoebes reply.

“Yeah. It was video footage of a fight with Doctor Minyak if I remember correctly. Captain Man called Kid Danger his kid. And the internet went haywire. I think it was posted by the president of the fan club. The new one. Not that Machiato girl.”

Schwoz smiled at her again.
He was toying with her.
And she knew it. B
ut she was too curious to spoil his fun.
“Henry’s little sister, yes.”

That info took Phoebe utterly by surprise.
Henry’s sister was the president of the fan club.
But how?
Did she not now about her brothers job?
Or did she and was just very supportive?
But then again, the first post she had made in her function as president were pretty simpy.
She wouldn’t have done that if she knew?

Then it clicked.
The way Piper posted had changed about a month ago.
Subtly enough to not be overly noticeable.
But she had stopped openly thirsting over Kid Danger completely.
Phoebe had always thought it was because she simply grew out of it.
Or found a boyfriend or something.
But …

Schwoz decided to safe her brain from going into overdrive and finally explain the whole story.
“She didn’t know her brother is Kid Danger until about a month ago.”
That calmed Phoebe own a notch.
At least she had been right with that assumption.

“Their parents are highly abusive. I’m not going into detail. But it’s bad. Enough so that Piper is living with a friend most of the time. Henry had been kicked out by them about a month ago. We didn’t know about the situation until then. Henry had kept it a secret. But he finally told Ray after coming here one night. He had nowhere else to go.”

Oh god.
That got really dark pretty quick.
And it hadn’t been at all what Phoebe had expected.

“Ray obviously took him in. Swellview’s law says that after 48 hours without the parents doing something to get their kid back after kicking him out, the teen can appoint a new legal guardian. Henry asked Ray and he finally grew a pair and accepted. Really they have been like father and son for years now. Ray and I also were visiting his basketball games every time when he was still playing.”

While Henry’s story really was heartbreaking, hearing how Ray looked after him was more than cute.
But it also left a bitter taste in her mouth because of their failed mission.

But Schwoz seemingly wasn't quite done yet.
“Ray has a problem with relationships. Don’t dare to tell him I said it. But the only thing that isn’t indestructible about him is his heart. When he loves someone he does so wholeheartedly. Which had gotten him hurt pretty badly in the past. So he started to try and protect himself. Even after becoming Henry’s legal guardian. Everyone with eyes can see how they love each other. But Ray still tries to keep the least bit of distance. At least in his head. Objectively there is no difference between them and any other family.”

So that was what he had meant earlier by saying they had stuff they needed to figure out.

But before Phoebe could answer, they were interrupted by Charlotte and Henry, now back in his civvies.
Shortly followed by a ringing sound telling Schwoz that the computer has finished calculating.

Their little chat was over.
They needed to get back to work.
Now that Phoebe knew about the relationship between Henry and Ray, she was even more motivated to help them find and rescue the man

Chapter Text

Henry was beyond stressed.
Talking to Charlotte had managed to get him down at least a little bit.
So had getting out of the man cave for a second.
But that positive effect had long since vanished.
Leaving him to his overthinking once again.

It was situations like that where he was extremely thankful for having friends that knew him like this.
Charlotte hadn’t tried to talk to him about the failed mission.
They had heard everything after all.
And she also knew that talking to him would only make his strong facade crumble even more.

So, she simply kept him busy.
Closing the store.
Buying coffee from the bakery down the street.
And now, helping her search for one of Schwoz old triangulating devices down in one of their storage rooms.
Schwoz didn’t need that thing.
They both knew tat.
But it kept him doing something other than thinking.

Turning around to his friend, Henry simply had to acknowledge her efforts.
“Thank you Char. Really.”
She sent back a knowing smile before hugging him tight for a moment.
“Of course Hen. I’m here for you. Always. And since I know how prone you are to tearing yourself up I thought I’d safe you from that. That’s what friends are for after all.”

Yeah, Henry had done one thing insanely right in his life.
Choosing his friends.
His family.
The only family that really mattered.
He wasn’t facing this situation alone.
He had his favourite people helping him. And together they would manage to get his dad back.

But knowing each other like that went both ways.
Charlotte had never once managed to hide her feelings before.
At least not for long.
So he simply had to poke.
“I know there’s something you want to talk about Char. I don’t really want to talk too much about the mission right now. But you know that. And that you’re still looking like its eating you up inside shows me that its not about the mission. So, shoot. I’m sure I can handle it.”

Charlotte looked caught out.
But she was clever enough to know that she also couldn’t weasel her way out of this conversation.
So, she sat down on the ground with a sigh.
“I wanted to wait until we got Ray back. But I guess we’re spending to much time together to hide anything anymore.”

Henry sat down next to her.
Dodging their pointless search for the device.

“As I said. The comms were still on. Or, at least Ray’s was. So it kinda is about the mission. It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me anything right now.”

Now it was Henry’s turn to sigh.
Maybe talking about this would help him sort his thoughts.
Maybe It wouldn’t.
But it was worth a shot.
And it would kill the time until Schwoz finally got a ping on Ray’s location.
There was little they could do to help him until then anyways.

Signing for Charlotte to go on, he leaned back against the shelf behind him.
“You’re allowed to have this, you know? Your parents were psychotic assholes. But this isn’t what you deserve. You deserve a home and family that loves you. And Ray does. I heard him say it, sure. But I didn’t need that to know he does. Stop being scared, Hen. Jasper, Piper, Schwoz and I, we’re your family. And Ray is your dad. The only one that really deserves that role. I know It’s hard. But what your parents told you isn’t the truth. So, please… finally allow yourself to be happy. I can’t stand seeing you like this any longer.”
She sounded serious.
In situations like this her maturity really shined through.
And she was right.
She always was.
But knowing that and accepting it were different things altogether.

“He is my dad. He will always be my dad. He had been even before I got kicked out.”
His voice sounded pensive.
At least it still was less broken than he felt at the moment.

And even if not.
This was Charlotte.
She was allowed to see him like this. Something he still needed to remind himself of more regularly as it seemed.

“I called him dad for the first time before telling you about my parents that Saturday. I was scared he’d chew me out for it. But he actually started crying. He didn’t hide it all that much too. Since then he’s always been ‘dad’ to me. I don’t even know why I still call him Ray when you’re around.”
It was good to finally get this off his chest.
To allow himself to be vulnerable.
It still was a conscious choice to do so.
But whenever he did he normally felt way better afterwards.

“Because you’re emotionally constipated.”
Charlotte chimed in.
“Don’t Look so offended. Already told you that. And you both are. You’re way to scared to get hurt to see mow much you really need each other. You are scared to really have Ray as your dad, because the only father you knew until now was burning garbage. And Ray is scared to actually have a son, because he is too scared to loose you. It’s pretty obvious from where I’m standing. But I actually get that you can’t see it because you’re inside the whole thing. But what I don’t get is that you don’t talk to each other. You have a closer and deeper father-son-bond than anyone I know, but you still don’t manage to get your heads out of your asses and admit that you’re scared shitless by that. Because you both were raised in families that really don’t deserve the name.”
She ended her tirade by breathing out heavily.

This seemed to have been a long time coming.
And she was so correct that it almost hurt too.
She had been spot on.
With everything.
So much so that Henry didn’t know how to respond other than mumbling “You’re right. Like always.”

But Charlotte only grinned at him for that. Cheekily.
Like she knew exactly what was going on in his brain at the moment.
And maybe she was.
It honestly wouldn’t even surprise him anymore.

“Don’t think too much about it now.”
She said while getting up.
“First we need to focus on getting your dad back. So, you can finally work your shit out.”
Taking her offered hand to get up he nodded.
He and Ray needed to talk.
But to do so they needed to rescue him first.

When he and Charlotte arrived back at the man cave about 20 minutes later, triangulating device in hand, they were welcomed by the ringing of the computer.
Charlotte instantly sprung into action, while Phoebe made space for her at the console.

“You finally got the readings, Schwoz?” Charlotte asked while already pressing buttons.
“Yeah.”
Was the short answer.
Followed by directions and a bunch of technical stuff Henry didn’t even understand half of.

He was just about to go over to the kitchen to get himself a coffee when Schwoz voice rang through the man cave.
“We got him. They’re bringing him to the old cargo train station.”

A train station?

What were they planning?

Not that it mattered.
Whatever their plan was, they would stop it.
But the adrenaline rushing through his veins at that information got him back into his Kid Danger mindset.
Which was good, given the situation.
So he was back at talking tactics in mere seconds.
“Thats at the very end of Swellview. Schwoz, can we fly there?”

The man nodded.
Already preparing their portable tracking device and feeding it all the information from their computer while Henry chewed his gum.
They needed to move fast now that they knew where Ray was.
Charlotte quickly volunteered to stay in the man cave to keep a look at the computer.
Because while the portable device was a god sent in situations like this, it couldn’t possibly contain all the infos their computer had.

Once everything was prepared, Schwoz rushed them to his car.
It normally was a 15 minute drive to where they kept the man copter.
But Schwoz managed to get them there in 7.
To Phoebe’s dismay.
At least that’s what Henry gathered from her almost puking into the car and not once letting go of the oh-shit-handle.

He and Schwoz also managed to get the helicopter going in record time.
Therefore they were up in the air only 20 minutes after they found Ray’s location.

The stress and adrenaline were high at that point.
But so was the motivation to finally get this over with.
Whatever they had to do to get Ray out,
They would do it.

Even though they moved fast, they still weren’t able to get to Ray before he was likely forced to board a train.
The speed the tracker needle was moving at could mean little else.
Not that this did anything to clear up their confusion about The Toddlers plan.

At least until Charlotte managed to find out which train exactly Ray was on.
“It’s the C 248 headed for Rivalton. A completely normal cargo train. Nothing extraordinary. No radioactive material or weapons. Just a bunch of canned food as it seems.”
She gave through over their comm.

That was beyond weird.

Why would they bring Ray over to Rivalton?
They knew about the man copter.
And Rivalton was hardly too far away to fly there with one load of gas. That simply couldn’t be the reason.

So what was?

Their questions only multiplied once they finally reached the train and could see what was going on.
Ray was shackled to a chair atop the trains roof.
Henry understood less and less by the second.

But once he described the scene to Charlotte she gasped.
“I just checked the exact route of the train.” She spoke quickly. Almost too quickly to understand.
“The train is crossing the new Yandy bridge. In about 12 minutes.”

Ok?

The obsession The Toddler had with that particular bridge was strange, sure. But how did that explain the chains?
Or that Ray was on top of the train instead of inside it?

It was Phoebe that connected the dots in the end.
“I think they’re planning to push him off. The chains would make sure he sinks. He’s indestructible. But he can still drown, right?”

Fuck!

This really wasn’t good.
And they only had 12 more minutes to find a way to prevent it from happening

Chapter Text

Schwoz managed to fly the helicopter over the train without being noticed by the criminals.
There only were Minyak, Van Del and The Toddler left of the group from earlier.
As well as 4 goons that looked like the only thing they were able to do was throw punches with brute force.

And Max whom Henry still couldn’t quite sort into categories.
He had blown their cover.
So he didn’t trust him.
But then again, he hadn’t actively fought them.
And Phoebe firmly believed he was in way over his head with the whole thing and would help them in the end.
So, all he could really do was hope for the best.

They didn’t have enough time to think about their approach too much anyways.
Time was ticking against them.
And the longer they waited the trickier the mission would get.

So they were forced to go in mostly blind.
No plan.
Just assumptions, empirical values and work experience.
All paired with a good portion of motivation and the will to succeed.

It was far from optimal.
A thought that Henry couldn’t quite shake while rappelling down from the man copter.
But the alternative would be to let those assholes hurt his dad.
And that simply wasn’t an option.

The criminals still didn’t notice them arriving on the roof.
But Max did.
A situation that would show on which side he ultimately stood.
And a decision that could make or break their mission completely.
In the hands of the very guy that had started theirs whole shit to begin with.
Wasn’t hat just great?

But luckily Phoebe seemed to be right.
Max didn’t rat them out.
He simply showed Phoebe a subtle thumbs up and a wink.
It apparently was all that she needed to know what he was planning.
Henry too was pretty close with his sister.
But the twin bond between Max and Phoebe was on a whole other level.

Pulling him closer as to not be heard Phoebe whispered.
“Max is on our side. We should get their attention so he can try to open the chains.”

It was as good a plan as any really.
Utilising what he had seen Ray do in situations like this, where the odds were clearly stacked against them, he decided to play the part of cocky, fearless sidekick.
It would at the very least buy them time to think.
And angry people were prone to making mistakes, which also was a plus.
“Hey!” He shouted over the headwind. “Where’s the rest of your Boyband?

The three criminals turned around to face him and Phoebe.
So did their goons.
It opened the opportunity for Max to run over to Ray and try to open the chains binding him to the chair.
Once he was free it would be game over for their opponents.
Henry’s and Phoebes task was to simply keep them occupied until then.

“D’they run away because they noticed you’re a freak that still wears diapers?”
He kept provoking.
Waiting for them to take action.
His insults were weak at best.
Lacking the normal finesse and funny edge.
He was just downright mean.
And he knew it.
Normally, he and Ray took great pride in spewing out puns and funny remarks during fights.
But in this situation Henry really didn’t feel like it at all.
It was way too serious for that.

“If that isn’t Kid dumpster.”
Minyak’s voice was filled with disdain, while Van Dell tried his best to calm down The Toddler enough to not do anything stupid.
“If you’re here to save your Daddy I’ll have to disappoint you. But I can offer you a first row seat to his demise. Or you can jump right in with him.”

That at least verified their guess as to what their plan was.
Not that it made anything even remotely better.
Max was still trying and failing to open the chains.
And Van Dell too seemed to fail at keeping The Toddler from throwing a fit.
His voice was clearly audible over the headwind with how loud he was shouting by now.
“- let go of me. I need to punch this stupid kid in his stupid face. No one insults my diapers like this. NO ONE!”

Well, maybe provoking them hadn’t been his best idea.
But he was pretty much caught between a rock and a hard place.
So, there wasn’t that much he could have done in the first place.

It all rapidly went downhill the second The Toddler finally managed to evade Van Dells grip and turned around to chew him out.
He turned in Max’ direction like that.
And blew up their whole plan.

Fuck!

Honestly, why couldn’t at least one thing today move in their favour?

It was mayhem after this.
The Toddler screamed and ordered his goons to attack while also joining in on the the fight himself.
Within seconds he Phoebe and Max each had at least two opponents to fight while Ray still struggled against his chains to no avail.

It was game over.
There would be no way to get out of this.
Phoebe and Max couldn’t use their ice breath because of the strong wind and they were critically outnumbered.
It all in all was little better than the situation Ray had helped them flee out of at the business centre.

He was in the middle of thinking of any sort of plan, when suddenly a loud explosion made all of them turn around.
Fight completely forgotten now that there was incoming.

It couldn’t possibly be part of The Toddlers plan.
Otherwise he wouldn’t look so shocked.

But what was it then?

A question Henry forgot the instant he the debris and smoke cleared enough to see his surroundings again.
The first thing he noticed was the lowered amount of enemies against them.
The shock wave must have gotten Van Dell and two of the goons flung off the train.

But he couldn’t be too happy about that turn of events when he suddenly saw who else was missing.
Ray’s chair wasn’t where it was supposed to be anymore.
There only was a big dent in the roof where he just sat mere seconds ago.

He was gone.

Just like that.

Henry’s brain needed a few moments to actually get that information through.
But once it did, he froze.
Sure, Ray was indestructible.
But even he couldn’t possibly have survived being blown up, could he?

But that would mean…

That would mean he was dead.

He couldn’t be dead.

That simply wasn’t possible.

Captain Man didn’t die.
And even less like this.

The Toddler’s “Ding Dong, The Captains dead. Swellview is ours!”
Didn’t even register.
He heard the words, sure.
But it could have been a shopping list or lotto numbers just as well.
There were words but no meaning to them.

Phoebe and Max too looked shocked.
His vision was starting to get fuzzy around the edges.
But he couldn’t black out here.
It would sign their fate even further.

And while Captain Man was gone, he was in command.
He hated every second of that pressure.
But it was his job.
And therefore it also was his job to get his teammates out of here.

He had no idea how to do that though.
Even Schwoz letting down a rope ladder couldn’t save them now.

There simply was no way out.
No matter how hard he tried to find one.

He could see it in their eyes.
Phoebe and Max also knew that this would be the end.

They failed.

Ultimately.

There would be no way for them to -

“You don’t really think that killed me, do you, kids?”
That was Ray’s voice wasn’t it?
But how could that be?
He was dead.
Or at the very least lying somewhere on the train tracks.
So this couldn’t possibly be him.
Even if Henry was wishing for nothing more than a miracle right now.

He and the other teens all turned around to the origin of the voice simultaneously.

There he stood.
Captain Man.
Unharmed.
And free from his chains.

At that moment Henry didn’t care about how it could be.
Or about the criminals staring at the man in shock.
Or his job as sidekick.
He didn’t even think about Phoebe and Max taking deep breaths of relief behind him.

He was at Ray’s side in under a second being pulled into a quick hug.
“You ok, Kid?”
Ray mumbled.
Always a worrier indeed.
Even now, after being blown up, he still was concerned about Henry instead of himself.

It made the teen smile.
For the first time since their mission began.
“I am now.”
And as soon as he said the words, he realised how true they were.
His dad was back.
He was fine now.
They all would be fine.

Henry only noticed how he had been swimming the past hours now that he finally felt grounded again.
Oh, they most definitely needed to talk later.
About all of this.

But for now their job was a different one.
Take on their opponents and finally get them down for good.
The Toddler seemed to also have shaken himself out of his stupor and signed for his goons to attack Phoebe and Max.

It was showtime.

He was certain that the two Thundermans could take on the two goons with out their help.
So, he and Ray focused on Minyak and The Toddler.
And now that he was fighting them, knowing his dad was there to have his back again, he finally enjoyed it again.

He had always loved his job.
From the very first day.
It was the perfect mix of helping others, physical exertion, adrenaline, and unpredictable circumstances.
It made him feel alive in a way he had never known before.
So, maybe Charlotte actually did have a point when calling him an adrenaline junkie.
But it was more than that too.
It also was the conviction that they were doing the right thing.
The thing that would make their city a safer placer.

And Minyak specifically was always a great opponent to fight against.
Henry still hadn’t forgiven them for trying to kill his dad.
And he likely never would.
But that didn’t change anything about him liking the way the doctor fought.
It kept them on their toes.

But with the exhaustion still lingering in their bones, neither he nor Ray had any intention of dragging the fight on for longer than truly necessary.
So, it took only a few coordinated attacks to first knock out The Toddler and then Minyak a few moments later.
Phoebe and Max too were just wrapping up with their opponents.
Or rather wrapping up their opponents hands in zip ties.
When he turned around to look how the were doing.

Once the ties and handcuffs were on, all the tension left Henry’s body.

They were done.

Finally.

And even though it hadn’t looked like it for a while, they still came out of the whole thing mostly unharmed.
At least bodily.
His psyche had taken a few rough hits in the past hours.
But he would think about that later.
For now it felt way to good to just be able to stumble into his dad’s side, knowing full well the man would catch him no questions asked.

Phoebe ran over to them in that moment and pulled them both in a over enthusiastic hug.
“Captain Man, I’m so happy that you are ok. And Kid Danger, the way you just knocked The Toddler out was sooo cool. I can’t believe we really managed to turn this whole thing around. It really didn’t look good there for a second.”

There was the overeager puppy again.
He still found it pretty cute when she got like this.
But right now his first thought wasn’t about asking her out anymore.
It was to thank her.
For her help in finding his dad.
But also for bodily pulling him out of the business centre earlier.
If she hadn’t done that, who knew where they would have ended up.

Max on the other hand stood a few paces away, rubbing his neck nervously.
The regret and bad conscious for earlier clearly visible on his face.
Henry still was mad at him.
But not quite angry anymore.
Sure, he had wanted nothing more than to punch his face the second he had blown their cover.
But now that he thought about it for a while longer...

Charlotte had told him a bit more about Phoebe’s family while getting coffee.
Known superheroes with a pretty good reputation as parents.
5 children, all born with superpowers.
And a twin sister that was insanely clever.

Max likely wasn’t a bad guy.
He simply searched for some sort of unique selling point to not always be compared to his family.
Not that what he had done was ok.
But somehow Henry still felt for the guy.
So, when Ray called him over, telling him that he wasn’t angry and thanked him for his help, Henry was more than ok with it.

Their little reunion party was interrupted by a rope ladder being dropped next to them.
It was time to go home.

Chapter Text

Squeezing three teenagers onto the backseat of the man copter was interesting to say the least.
But luckily they somehow managed to arrange their limps.
Ray still was kinda happy to ride shotgun next to Schwoz.
But after literally being blown up by him, that was the minimum of care he expected.

Being hit by a freaking grenade would never not feel like shit.
He still felt pain, even though only for a short moment.
But that too could drag on, given the right impact.
And Schwoz’ explosives surely were that right impact.
But Ray still would take being blown up over seeing his kid being hurt every day of the week.

Hearing him and Phoebe chew Max out on the backseat before telling him they weren’t that angry anymore was all he needed to calm down a notch.
Today had been hard on all of them.
Especially Henry.

So, a relaxed afternoon was in order.
And food.
Definitely food.
Ray hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
The others likely weren’t faring much better.
After that he absolutely needed a shower.
He still could sense the stench of rust and metal.
Now paired with a good portion of gunpowder and smoke.

It all in all was less than pleasant.
Even less so with the amount of sweat the suit had absorbed during their mission.
He maybe should think about changing the material of it one day.
But that had time.

Once they arrived back at the man cave about an half hour later, Ray was way too occupied for that thoughts anyways.
Charlotte basically leapt into hugging him as soon as he was down the tube.
All while spectacularly giving him a piece of her mind about his so called ‘suicide missions’.

She had a point.
Of course she did.
He did in fact tend to get rather reckless with his actions sometimes.
Something he needed to keep a closer eye on now.
Sure, he couldn’t get hurt.
But he now had a family to take care of.
And whose feelings he also had to take into account before blindly storming into danger.

Today hasn’t been like that though.
There actually had been no other choice than sacrificing himself to get his kid out of that business centre.
And, knowing Charlotte, he knew that she was aware of that fact.
But he could also see just how worried she had been about him.
So he just hugged her back and apologised for having to drag all of them through this whole debacle.

After she let go of him she made a beeline for Max who currently was being shown around by Henry and Phoebe.
Which gave Ray the opportunity to talk to Schwoz and thank him.

The man was just closing all of the triangulating programs and the bunch of open tabs on their computer when Ray clapped him on the back.
“Thank you. I really mean it.”
Schwoz turned around to look at him.
But Ray continued.
“Without you I don’t know how we would have gotten out of there. And even though being blown up is insanely low on my list of enjoyable things, I’m still thankful you did that.”

At that the other man smiled.
“Well, if it makes it any better, blowing you up too wasn’t fun. Do you think the art guy made it?”

Good question.
Van Del as well as two goons had been blown off of the train by the shockwave.
There was no way to say if they survived the crash undoubtedly following afterwards.
They had to wait on any news about them to be certain.
So Ray just shrugged.
“I don’t know. Maybe. There were bushes all around the track. So, there is a possibility he was able to pull through. I’ll look into that tomorrow.”

Schwoz nodded while typing away at his keyboard.
After a while he turned back around to way with a triumphant grin on his face.
“You don’t need to look into it. I threw together a quick program just now. As soon as there are any news on Van Del or your mission in general we get a notification.”
Genius indeed.
He just threw a program together in mere seconds.
Ray would never stop being surprised about his abilities.

Thanking him while also expressing how impressed he was, Ray was already a few steps away from the pc station when Schwoz called him back.
“Wait a second.”

Ray turned back around with a hum.
He was faced with the look of pure sincerity and pride in Schwoz eyes.
A look the he had only seen extremely rarely on his oldest friend.
“What you did today was insanely stupid. And you know that. But I get it. You really love him, don’t you?”

It made Ray smile and lean against the console.
Yes, what he had done had been more than stupid.
But he would do it all over again in a heartbeat if it meant to safe Henry.
So he nodded.
“I really do, yes. You remember that one time I told you being a dad just wasn’t for me with the life I live?”

Schwoz answered him by humming.

“Well, I guess I’ve been wrong. Henry is my son. He had been for way longer than the last few weeks. So, I would do everything to protect him. Even if it’s stupid.”

At that Schwoz silently chuckled to himself. “I knew that much for months now. And even if I didn’t. You crying your eyes out to me right after taking him in because you were scared you wouldn’t be enough was a dead giveaway.”

His friends chuckling was contagious.
Especially now that the stress was slowly melting away.
But then Schwoz got kinda serious again.
Putting a hand on Ray’s shoulder before smiling at him with that knowing look again.
“Being a dad suits you Raymond. It really does.”

Ray had to swallow after that.
The words having a huge weight to them. Making it all become real somehow.
Seeing himself as Henry’s dad and being called dad by him were already huge steps.
But being acknowledged as the kids fathers was… wow.

“You two need each other. And you’re the best thing that happened to Henry with the bad start he had so far. But he also is the best thing that happened to you. Stop being scared. Just allow yourself to be happy. If not for your own sake then at least do it for his.”
Schwoz was right.
As always.

This wasn’t only about adopting Henry.
This was bigger.
It was about the mental distance he still tried so hard too keep, even though his kid had already pulverised all his defences.

So what he did was trivial.
A scene he put on to keep his deniability.
To protect himself from getting hurt.
But today had already shown him how far he would be willing to go to save his son.
How the prospect of seeing him get hurt made him do stupid things.

So, there really wasn’t any emotional distance anymore anyways, was there?
And that was a good thing.
Henry didn’t need emotional distance.
He needed to be loved enough to heal all the wounds his past had left.
And maybe that was just what Ray needed too.

Nodding at Schwoz with a small smile on his lips, he finally excused himself to take a shower.
He met the teens on the way.
They wanted to order pizza which was more than fine by him and his pretty empty storage.
So, he told them what he wanted to eat and ruffled Henry’s hair before turning the corner to his room.

As soon as the door was closed he leaned against it with a long sigh.
Holy shit.
He had never once been that exhausted in his life.
If it wasn’t for the residual adrenaline still pepping him up, he likely would have fallen asleep standing up.
But the way he felt, it was more than likely that he wouldn’t even be able to sleep right now if he tried.
He and Henry both knew that feeling.
It had started their Dog Judge evenings what felt like a lifetime ago.
It wasn’t quite the same, but Ray still looked forward to their pizza evening with the Thundermans.
It hopefully would have the similar effect.

When Ray left the shower a while later, he felt like a completely new man.
A much cleaner and less smelly one.
And when Charlotte welcomed him back to the main hub by pushing a cup of her coffee into his hands, life was good again.

The pizza arrived soon after and their time eating was spent with bickering and trading stories of their past missions as well as their private life.
Max was a nice guy.
Just as Ray had expected him to be.
The pressure he felt from constantly being compared to his sister or parents must be pretty hard on him, which led him to be the way he was.
Ray really hoped that he would grow out of that habit before he could cause any real damage though.
Today had been bad enough already.
So, Max hopefully learnt his lesson from that.
The way it seemed it at least looked like it did.

Phoebe was compensating her nerves and adrenaline by excitedly sharing stories her brother commented.
Schwoz and Charlotte seemed to be pretty happy about the distraction it gave them from all the stress they had been under earlier.
Henry too was listening and participating with his own stories about their missions.

But something seemed off about his kid.
It wasn’t quite visible.
At least not directly.
But Henry didn’t feel too well.
Ray could simply sense it.
Like he had sensed Henry’s panic attack coming before telling Piper about their secret.
But he wouldn’t ask the teen about it in front of everyone.
He would keep an eye on him and broach the subject once they were alone.
Like that it would be more likely to get a real answer instead of him just brushing it away.
He wanted to talk to Henry anyways.
So, he could just combine all of it.

When they were finished eating their Pizza, Schwoz offered Phoebe and Max to fly them home so they were back when their parents returned tomorrow morning.
An offer the two teens gladly took.
Charlotte wanted to come with them, so Schwoz wouldn’t need to spend the flight home all alone.
Flying the man copter all the way to Hiddenville would take around an hour after all.

Their goodbyes were warm and full of promises to meet again.
Going through missions like the one today formed a strong bond between all of them.
And Phoebe promised them to be just a call away whenever they needed help.

As soon as the others had left Henry excused himself to a shower.
He hadn’t been able to do so earlier because he had been busy with showing Max around.
And he too had spent most of his day in his sweaty uniform.
So, their talk could wait until after Henry was clean again and hopefully feeling better.
Until then Ray planned on emptying the thermos filled worth coffee Charlotte had left them in the main hub.

Chapter Text

The wind blowing into Henrys face was cold when he stepped out onto their roof.
It would probably have been clever to put on a jacket.
Or at least dry his hair after showering before stepping out.
It was mid march by now and the weather already was surprisingly warm.
At least as long as the sun was out.
After dawn it quickly cooled down.

But right now, Henry didn’t care.
The cold actually helped him to clear his head a bit.
Something that was more than necessary after the day he just had.

The stress and tension had fallen away pretty much the second he had stepped back into the man cave.
His home.
Finally feeling like his home again now that his dad was back.

But with the adrenaline crashing also came his time to think.
To actually register all that had happened today.
All the feelings he had tried his hardest to push down.
It managed to make the man cave feel suffocating in a way it never had done before.

He had needed fresh air.
So, he had come up to the roof, a habit he had developed while he had still lived at his parents.
They never had bothered where he was anyways.
The roof of Junk’N’Stuff was nicer than his parents’ though.
And he didn’t need to climb a tree to get there, which also was a big plus.

Sitting down with his legs over the edge, Henry tried to get at least some semblance of order into his racing thoughts.
He had been operating on autopilot pretty much since being sent away by Ray.
His dad had noticed something was up with him.
And honestly, he wasn’t surprised by that.
It wasnt even hard to figure out he was stuck in his head again with the way he had been zoned out pretty much since coming home.
But if he hadn’t turned out his thinking and feeling the way he did, he wouldn’t have managed to do anything at all, of that he was sure.

Getting on top of the train and fighting had funnily been the easiest part of his day.
He knew how to do that.
It was kind of routine by now.
Well, the extent of the fight probably wasn’t.
Or the location.
But the motion of fighting itself was.
So that wasn’t causing the absolutely drained feeling he was fighting right now.

It was the fact that Ray had sent him away and he had gone.
The objective part of his brain knew that it had been necessary.
That this had been their only way to still come out ahead.
But the subjective part of his brain, the one that was nothing more than a little whiny kid that wanted to be loved, had died a bit at that moment.

He could have lost his dad today.
He could have lost him and there would have been nothing he could have done.
All the training, experience and their team wouldn’t have been able to help.

If they had been just a few minutes slower with finding him.

If Max hadn’t decided to drop the role of bad guy for a moment…

Even just thinking about what could have happened then made Henry want to vomit.

He had never had a problem with separation anxiety.
He knew he could always count on his friends.
They wouldn’t leave him like that.
With Piper it had always been the fear to not be able to protect her.
Loosing her hadn’t crossed his mind once.
Because he was there to prevent that.
When it came to his parents he had been more than happy to finally get them out of his life.
Schwoz as well as the others also never went out with them on jobs, so they never had been in any immediate danger.

Only Ray.
But he was indestructible.
So, loosing him or even seeing him get injured had never been something he had to think about.

Up until now.

And with how he was feeling now…

Maybe the only reason he had never had a problem with separation anxiety was that he never had thought of it before.
Now that he had come so close to actually loosing his dad he was nothing short of terrified out of his mind.
So much so that he guessed the shivering in his body not being from the cold.

It could as well be the side effects of the adrenaline crashing.
It wouldn’t have been the first time.

Or his sore muscles.

Or maybe even a mix of all those things.

Henry didn’t know.

The only thing he did know was that today had been one of the worst in his life.
And he would feel guilty until his dying breath.
And he didn’t even know what exactly he felt guilty for.
That probably was the second worst of all the things running around his head.

The absolute worst being all the what ifs swimming around in his brain.
The unwanted pictures of how the situation could gave gone wrong he couldn’t seem to shake no matter how hard he tried.

“Hey, Hen.”
His dad’s voice interrupted his spiralling.
“I’m not going to tell you to come back inside. But please put on a hoodie. I don’t want you to catch a cold.”
He too sounded exhausted.
No wonder after the day he just had.

The simple fact that he had come all the way up to the roof anyways, just to tell him to put on something warm, warmed his heart.
It was stuff like this that made Ray such a phenomenal dad.
The subtle ways he showed his love and care.
Paired with the stress and his fears it almost made Henry break.

Swallowing against the lump in his throat, Henry got up from the edge of the roof and turned around.
His dad was standing a few feet back, closer to the door holding out one of his own thick hoodies with a small smile.

That finally did it for him.

He simply couldn’t anymore.

He had been strong the whole day.
Had pushed it all down to keep going.
To keep functioning.

But now it all came crashing down.
Just because seeing his dad like that.
Taking care of him so naturally.
And then thinking that he could have lost this…
It simply was unimaginable.
Henry didn’t know how he could possibly live without this ever again.
How he could have lived without this prior to moving to the man cave.

But it didn’t matter.
At least that was what he was trying to tell himself.
And maybe it really didn’t.
Maybe he was just stressing over nothing again.
But it felt miles away from nothing right now.

He only managed to take the hoodie and put it on before the floodgates opened and he basically collapsed against Ray’s chest.
Just like always, the man knew exactly what to do in this situation.
Like he had anticipated this reaction.

He simply caught Henry and hugged him.
Holding him while the boy cried his eyes out.
It was exactly what Henry needed right now.
A safe place to just crash.
To let it all out.
Knowing that Ray could handle him like this.
That he could trust him to take care of him for a moment.

And taking care Ray did.
He pulled the hood over Henry’s wet hair to shield it from the cold wind.
Rubbed circles into his back and whispered reassurances all while just being there.
A safe and loving presence giving Henry the stability he so desperately needed right now.

“Let it out, Hen. It’s ok. I’m right here. You were so strong today. But you can let go now. I’ll make sure everything will be ok.”

It took Henry while of just staying like that and letting his dads calming voice and soothing motions wash over him to calm down.
But as always, Ray didn’t rush him.
He just kept talking until the teens sobs finally subsided.

Sniffing Henry pulled his face away from his dad’s chest and wiped at his eyes before mumbling out an apology.
Suddenly being ashamed for his breakdown.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what that just was. Probably just the adrenaline crashing or something.”

It was bullshit.
And Henry knew Ray discerned it as such the second the words left his mouth.
But he still didn’t have the words to describe what was really going on.
His brains was too much of a jumble for that.

Ray sighed.
Not exasperated.
It felt more like a preparation for what he was about to say.

“Henry.”
Here he was again with the full name. A dead giveaway that the next sentences would be important and that he wanted to really drive them home.
“I know I already apologised earlier. But I’ll do it over and over again. Because I really am sorry. I should never have put you in this situation. I dropped such a huge load of responsibility on you. That’s just wrong. The way you handled it makes me insanely proud. But I also feel guilty for that. Because you’re a kid. And you shouldn’t know how to do that. You shouldn’t have to know.”

Henry used the pause in the man’s speech to butt in.
Because he needed to set this right.
He needed Ray to see that this wasn’t the reason he just had cried like a baby.
At least not the main reason.

“That’s not…”
Ughhh why were words so hard sometimes?
“I didn’t break down like that just now because of the stress. At least I don’t think this was the reason. It’s more…”

Trying and failing to sort his thoughts, Henry simply got back to his known ways.
Spilling his guts and hoping that Ray understood the meaning behind it.

“Yes, It’s been a lot of pressure. But Schwoz handled most of it. He really was great. What broke me the most about everything was that I realised I could loose you. I never thought About that. Never had to with you being indestructible. But today…”

The tears threatened to come back now.
But Henry swallowed them as best as he could.
He had promised himself earlier to be brutally honest with his dad should they both come out of this.
So, he tried his best to do just that.

“It would have been my fault. No matter what you say. For me it would always have been my fault. But that’s not even the worst of it.”

His voice broke.
He wanted to say so much more.
But at the moment he simply couldn’t.
He hadn’t started crying again.
At least not yet.
Though he wasnt too sure how much longer he would be able to keep that up.

He also wasn’t floaty or numb or any of the other stress responses he already knew.
He just couldn’t talk. like his vocal cords simply stopped working.

Ray seemed to notice how he was feeling.
Of course he did.
He always did.
It really was inexplicable how attuned he was with Henry’s moods and subtle clues.

Ray’s voice was incredibly soft when he started talking again.
Even more so than normally.
“Let’s get you inside Hen. It’s cold out here and you really need to get your hair dry. I don’t want you to have to spend the rest of your break being sick in bed.”

Henry actually was more than thankful for that suggestion.
He hadn’t noticed at first but he actually had started freezing.
Even through Rays thick hoodie.
So he appreciated his dad stirring him down the stairs and into the elevator down to the man cave.
It didn’t feel stuffy anymore.
Maybe it instead felt even more homey than normal.

Henry didn’t really think about it when he turned to Ray’s door instead of his own.
Not that the man seemed surprised by it.

Taking him to his en-suite bathroom Ray pulled out a blow dryer out of one of his cabinets before turning back around to Henry.

“You want to blow dry your hair yourself? Or you’d rather have me do it?”
Still this soft voice.
Like he was actually giving him the option to choose freely.

Henry had never gotten his hair blow dried before.
His parents had never bothered to do it and as soon as he was old enough to do it himself he hadn’t let anybody touch his hair anyways.
Ray was the only exception to that rule really.
Had been the only exception from the very start.
Of course he had still acted offended every time the man ruffled his hair and destroyed his hairstyle.
But he had never hated it.
He had actually grown rather fond of it over time if he was being honest.
So now that the offer was on the table, he took it.

The warmth seemingly brought back his voice.
At least a little bit.
Even though it was sounding more than a little weak.
“Could you?…”

That was all the info Ray needed to bring Henry back over to his bedroom and sit him down on the bed before plugging in the blow dryer.
“Of course. That’s why I offered it. But you should maybe put on another hoodie first. Otherwise you’ll never get dry.”

That sounded plausible.
The one he was wearing right now would just get his hair wet again with how drenched the hood had gotten.

So, Henry quickly changed into another long sleeved shirt.
Of course again one of Ray’s.
Because for one he knew Ray had no problem with it at all.
And additionally his dad’s clothes always had that extra portion of comfort.
It might have simply been because of the size.

But today it also was because of the realisation Henry just had.
The way Ray treated him.
The way he was around him.
It wasn’t because some sense of obligation for taking him in.
It really was how his dad loved people.
How he treated his immediate family.
A place in the man’s life and heart that he had willingly given Henry.

Even though it already was the second time today that he realised this fact it still hit Henry like a brick to the head.
In a good way.
If there was something like a good brick to the head.

Silently smiling to himself he sat back down on Ray’s bed and let his dad blow dry his hair.
It was nice.
Beyond nice really.

Yes, about a month ago Henry would have never admitted it, but he was indeed severely touch starved.
He had never quite registered it until now. But the lack of warmth his parents had in raising him did in fact leave scars.
Maybe even bigger ones than all their abuse.
It had never stood out to him, because it was all he knew from his immediate care givers.
It had presented as extremely close relationships with his friends and later Ray and Schwoz.
Because in Henry’s head these people could be nice.
Something his parents couldn’t.

Seeing now how someone he saw as his dad and who also saw himself as such handled him with such care and love was a first.
But a more than welcome one for sure.

Sure, he was 15.
He didn't need anyone to blow dry his hair or tell him to put on a hoodie cause it was cold out.
Catching a cold wouldn’t be the end of the world.
But having someone care about him enough to know this and do it anyways was just great.

Really, how had he survived without this before.
Without a real parent worthy of that name.

Having Ray comb through his hair with one hand while drying it did wonders with helping him sort his thoughts.
It always did.
Henry had never believed in magic or sorcerers but maybe he should start doing just that.
Because there honestly was no other explanation for the calm he felt washing over him in situations like this.

While still living with his parents he also had never been able to sleep through the night.
It either were nightmares waking him up in the middle of the night or his own overthinking and worries that kept him from falling asleep in the first place.
The nights he had slept over in the man cave before probably should have been a dead giveaway.
He had always slept like a baby during those.
But since he moved in with Ray he actually got a decent amount of good sleep in every night.
It was great.
No more spiralling or nightmares.
He hadn’t even known how that felt anymore.
Until now.

All of that made it even more unimaginable to loose this again.

Which brought Henry back to the main problem of today.
He could have lost Ray today.
He could have lost his dad.
A thought that still weighed heavy on him when the man in question turned off the blow dryer and ruffled his hair, making it stick out in every direction.

“Here you go Kid. All done. I think this suits you even better than your normal hairstyle.”
Despite his dark thought Henry could do little more than smile at that.
It was just so Ray.
All goofiness paired with that incredible amount of love and care.

The smile slowly developed into a silent chuckle at first.
Then a sincere laugh.
And soon Ray joined in.
It felt wonderful to be able to laugh with his dad after their more than shitty day.
It may not have erased all the things Henry still desperately needed to talk about.
But it somehow made it easier to do so.

Chapter Text

While combing through his kids hair to dry it Ray felt like he could finally breathe again.
He had been under an insane amount of stress these past days.
But today had been even more intense.

He needed to remind himself again that Henry was safe.
So were Phoebe, Max, Schwoz and Charlotte.
Piper and Jasper didn’t even know what was going on, which was good.
He didn’t need to bother even more people with the crap load of shit they had to deal with today.

Henry was shaken to the core.
He noticed in pretty much everything the boy did.
So, holding him through a mental breakdown and crying fit hadn’t surprised Ray in the slightest.
And honestly, he was thankful that he could.

And maybe he needed the time they spent together right now just as much if not more as Henry.
He had known that he would kill or die for this kid for roundabout 2 years now.
A feeling that was only intensified the moment Henry had called him dad for the first time.
But being in the situation of actually almost doing so…

The danger he had been in wasn’t the main thing for Ray.
It was the decision to take that risk.
How little he had to think about it.
How naturally it had come to him.
It hadn’t really been a decision at all.
It had been clear to him the second their mission went sideways.

The look in Henry’s eyes would likely be something he never would be able to forget.
His kid had looked heartbroken.
And for the first time in years Ray could exactly see just how young this little boy really still was.
The uniform did nothing to change that.

Henry always had that air of maturity around him.
Ray had asked himself why for most of it. But now he knew it was because of his abuse.
Because since he had started to treat his kid the way he deserved he could always see the real Henry Hart shine through.
The 15 years old kid that was just that.

It was a whole different kind of wonderful feeling to be gifted this amount of trust.
Like right now.
And yes, maybe Ray enjoyed coddling and spoiling his son a bit too much.
But in his opinion this was just fair.
Henry had never been coddled or spoiled before in his life, so there was more than enough to make up for.
Hearing the boy laugh at his bad joke even intensified that assumption.

So, deciding to just give into his gut feeling once more, he dropped onto the bed next to his kid after quickly putting away the blow dryer.
Henry had used that time to get comfortable on his bed like it was his own.

He would sleep over tonight.
Not that Ray was bothered by that in the slightest.
In fact he was grateful for that.
Like he said, he had been just as shaken by the whole day as the teen.
So, having to not spend the night by staring at his ceiling and stressing about everything that could have gone wrong was just what he needed.

Plopping down next to Henry he started talking.
He knew his son still had some things that needed to be said.
So, they better used their left over adrenaline induced sleeplessness to deal with that.

Like that he could also broach the topics burning on his soul.
He had promised himself to stop being a coward after all.
“I know you’re spiralling again Sunshine. Wanna talk about it?”

As it was their routine by now, Ray lifted his arm for Henry to cuddle into his side while talking.
An invitation the kid took in under a second.

“I like that nickname.”
Not the reply he had expected.
But good to know anyways.
“Really?” He answered. “That’s great. That one wasn’t even intentional. But I think it fits.”

Henry chuckled at that before humming affirmatively.
“That’s not why though. It’s just nice for you to have one for me. I don’t know how to explain it. The only nicknames my parents had for me were failure, disappointment or waste of space.”

A fact that likely never would not make Ray fume with anger.
But he let his kid continue.
He knew how much effort it was for him to open up like this and interrupting him would only make it worse.

“I thought about how to say this for the whole way back.”
Henry continued.
“But I again noticed that I’m shitty at words so you’ll have to deal with my brain vomit.”

A deep breath.

“I hate my stupid head for needing to almost fucking loose you to realise it. I’ve been wrong. Like my whole life. I always thought that no one could ever truly love me. That there would never be a person that would tell me they loved me and actually mean it. Parents lie to their kids all the time, you know. Mine did, even more than normal. Don’t get me wrong. I trusted you. Always believed you when you said that to you I’m your son. I just thought that the fact you loved me like that just wasn’t an exception to that rule. I never believed that you actively lied to me. I would never think that. It’s just that I never thought myself worthy to actually have a family that loves me. I never thought I deserved that. That I was enough for that. Knowing that I almost lost you today showed me that with you I finally have that. A family. And I honestly don’t give a fuck if I deserve it anymore. You showed me today that you mean it. Unmistakably enough that even my stupid traumatised brain finally got the memo. And I honestly don’t know how I could ever live without this again. Now that I finally have a dad I simply can’t loose him again.”

Ray was speechless.
Too stunned to say anything for several seconds.

It was a lot.
In a lot of different directions.
And unsorted enough that he needed a moment to sort through it.

He had always known Henry had self worth issues.
But that they ran that deep was news.

At least today hadn’t only opened his eyes.
So, he could feel a little less stupid about the whole thing.

Hearing how the prospect of him not coming out of their mission today affected the teen on the other hand…

Ray hadn’t known that it was possible to feel even guiltier.
Until now.
Apologising again and again would change nothing about it.
So wouldn’t explaining it over again.
Henry understood the necessity of stuff like that in their line of work.
It simply was a situation they had to live with.
Not that it got any easier like this.

When he finally managed to say something, his voice sounded rough but he still managed to put every last ounce of sincerity he had into it.
“I…”
It was the first time Henry managed to make him search for words.
Until Ray decided to just do the exact same thing that had worked like a charm until now.
Follow his instincts.

“You don’t want to hear another apology, do you?”
He asked.
It was quickly followed by the shaking of Henry’s head.

“That’s what I thought. I honestly have no idea what to do right now.”
Ray decided to go with brutal honesty.
“I hate that I had to get you in this situation. And I wish that I could promise you to never do something like this again. But I can’t. And I simply refuse to lie to you. Because, like you said - parents lie to their kids all the time. But I won’t Sending you away in this situation wasn’t a choice for me really. And no, not because I had to. Or because I felt obligated. But because I wanted to. Because I’m indestructible I don’t have a lot I am scared of. But the thing I am scared of the most is that there will be a day where I can’t protect you. A situation where I can’t keep you safe. So, I didn't have to think about it for one second.”

He took a deep breath before continuing.
This had been the easy part.
Now came the part he subconsciously had shied away from since taking Henry in.
Because he had been scared.

He still was.
But he had promised himself to stop being a coward.
And to finally man up to the responsibility he was basically already taking on anyways.
“By the way son, your head isn’t stupid. You aren’t stupid.”

Henry unsurprisingly scoffed at that.
An action that rewarded him with even more hair ruffling.
“You said that you’re finally ready to accept what I’m telling you, right? That you needed today to really get it through.”

His kid nodded.
The mess of blonde on his head tickling Ray’s neck while doing so.
“That’s good. I’ll be completely honest with you sunshine. You weren’t the only one that got to thinking today. So, get comfortable because I’m pretty sure this will take a while longer.”

His sentence was rewarded by a chuckle from his favourite teen.
And by him cuddling even closer.
Relaxing against his side completely.

On instinct Ray started combing through Henry’s hair again.
Though this time for more selfish reasons.
It calmed him down.
Maybe just as much as it did for his kid.

Once Ray noticed the boy was done getting comfortable, he began.
“When I started searching for a sidekick I was at a rather rough point mentally. You know how much pressure there can be with our jobs. So, that basically was the main reason I wanted to hire someone. I’m pretty sure you noticed that I didn’t have a single clue on how to conduct a job interview.”

Another chuckle

“Being honest, I didn’t give a crap who I was hiring anyways. My people skills had taken a pretty serious hit before that so I didn’t trust myself with that anymore. I didn’t want to get too close with my sidekick. Bad experiences and all that. So, when you said you’d take the job that was fine by me. Well, it took me all of three days to reconsider drastically. Because you managed to worm your way into my heart without even having to try. The day Schwoz came back and we watched your game I finally threw that plan out the window for good. . The first time I called you my kid in front of Minyak truly was a slip up. But it didn’t feel wrong in the slightest. So it stuck. And it got me to thinking. Hiding that I’m Captain Man was a certain way to destroy every relationship I ever had. I always wanted to have kids though. But about five years back after my last girlfriend broke up with me I decided that I was done. I didn’t want to lie to any more girls. And I also buried the wish to ever be a father.Well… You happened. And I realised that maybe I didn’t need to actually be a father to care for you like one. To me you were my son pretty much since then. I cut down on some of it at first. Because…”

Here went nothing.
“I told myself it was because I didn't want to go overboard. We were close sure but I was scared to overwhelm you. Well, while that was part of it… I’ve mostly just been a coward. I was to scared to talk to you. Because that would make it real. I would have no deniability No way to not get hurt should life decide to screw me over once again. So, I simply acted. Stepping up wherever your parents weren’t there. Homework, lovesickness, all the times you stayed over after missions and I patched you up and so much more. I didn’t do all of this because it was my job. Or because I had nothing better to do. I did it because I really enjoy all of it. Even your PTC. I didn’t enjoy some of your teachers, sure. But going there, talking to them, hearing them tell me about you. I liked that. I like taking care of you. Taking you in after you got kicked out wasn’t even a question for me. When you asked me to become your legal guardian I actually cried my eyes out in front of Schwoz while you were sleeping. Because I was scared to not be good enough for that role. I mean, to me you were already my son. But this was different. And when you then called me your dad that morning I was literally gone for good. I know you noticed that I cried there too. Because I too didn’t believe that I actually got lucky enough to have a family. So, yes. I do mean it every time I call you my son or tell you that I love you.”

Ray needed a second after that.
A break Henry took to wipe away his own tears.

Now that he opened up and got it all of his chest Ray could finally get to the point that was breaking his brain for the past weeks.
“I wont make the same mistake again. So now I’ll talk to you about this stuff instead of just acting like it. I’ve been thinking about this pretty much since the moment your parents kicked you out. I’ve too already been chewed out by Piper because of this. And when I was stuck with those assholes earlier I promised myself to ask you. So, here we go. But please be completely honest with your answer. It changes literally nothing either way.”

He was babbling because he was scared.
Time to get to the point, Manchester.
“I’d love to adopt you. It would make the family were already having official. Like I said I already talked to Piper and she would be ok with it as well. You don’t have to answer now. You can -“

He was interrupted by a loud sob followed by a bone crushing hug.

That had been the wrong thing to say, hadn’t it?

Shit!

But before he could even start spiralling Henry’s voice broke through the sobs.
“You really would do that?”

So, maybe it wasn't the wrong thing to say after all.

Pulling away a bit to look his son in the eyes Ray answered.
“Of course Sunshine. Like I said. No matter how you answer, it literally changes nothing about the way we are with each other. Viewed from the legal side being your legal guardian practically already makes me your parent. I am noted as your next of kin, allowed to choose your place of residence and be your statutory agent. For that part, adoption is more about inheritance, insurances and the possibility to take my last name. It’s odds and ends all things considered. Nothing we can’t take care of in other ways. If you even want that. All of this is completely up to you. The main reason I started thinking about adopting you wasn’t that stuff anyways. It was more the sentimental meaning behind it, really. And that I could actually introduce you as my son instead of my protégée. I hate that word with a passion. You are my son and you will always be my son. I don’t give a crap about what that stupid piece of paper says or calls you.”

Henry was openly gaping at him by the end of his monologue.
Tears still seemingly unnoticed running down his cheeks.

When even after a few moments there still was no answer Ray started to get worried. “Hen? Are you ok?”

It seemed to get his kid back to reality.
He physically shook himself out of his stupor.
But his voice still sounded absolutely shellshocked.

“Sorry. Yeah, I’m fine. My brain is still stuck on figuring out why you would think that, though. That I don’t want you to adopt me that is. I literally was building up the courage to ask you if you would from the moment we left the government office. Because, for me its exactly the same. You are my dad and nothing could ever change that. But having it in writing, irrevocably, that feels just right. Like finally really coming home. I don’t know how to explain it any other way. So, yes. I’d love for you to adopt me. The sooner the better, really.”

Now it was Ray’s turn to pull his kid into a bone crushing hug.
Partly out of pure joy.
Partly to hide his tears.

A plan that failed miserably when his kid hugged back smilingly before taking the chance to poke fun at him.
Because he was a little shit
“I know you’re crying, you huge softie.”

What had he just gotten himself into?

Well… quite possibly the craziest and scariest decision in his life.
But also most definitely the best one.

Chapter Text

“Of course Sunshine. Like I said. No matter how you answer, it literally changes nothing about the way we are with each other. Viewed from the legal side being your legal guardian practically already makes me your parent. I am noted as your next of kin, allowed to choose your place of residence and be your statutory agent. For that part, adoption is more about inheritance, insurances and the possibility to take my last name. It’s odds and ends all things considered. Nothing we can’t take care of in other ways. If you even want that. All of this is completely up to you. The main reason I started thinking about adopting you wasn’t that stuff anyways. It was more the sentimental meaning behind it, really. And that I could actually introduce you as my son instead of my protégée. I hate that word with a passion. You are my son and you will always be my son. I don’t give a crap about what that stupid piece of paper says or calls you.”

It felt like Henry’s brain short circuited at that moment.
He really meant it, didn’t he?
Ray actually was meaning it.
He wanted to adopt him.

He always seemed to know what was going on in Henry’s brain.
But still, right now he was so god damn dense that it hurt.

How on earth could Ray think for even a single second that in his minds there were any doubts about wanting to be adopted?

How did he even come to that conclusion?

His shock seemed to be visible on his face.
“Hen? Are you ok?”

Oops.
Maybe he should close his mouth.

It took physically shaking his head for a moment to get fully back in control of his vocal cords again.
“Sorry. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Now the only thing left to do was making clear how utterly wrong Ray had been in his assumption.
Nothing easier than that, really.
“My brain is still stuck on figuring out why you would think that, though. That I don’t want you to adopt me that is. I literally was building up the courage to ask you if you would from the moment we left the government office. Because, for me its exactly the same. You are my dad and nothing could ever change that. But having it in writing, irrevocably, that feels just right. Like finally really coming home. I don’t know how to explain it any other way. So, yes. I’d love for you to adopt me. The sooner the better, really.”

Now that he finally got the words out, it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
He had wanted to broach the topic of adoption pretty much since getting Ray as his legal guardian was on the table.
And now he didn’t even have to ask because his dad took over that job.

It really felt like coming home.

Like finally belonging somewhere.

Like the roots he never really had.

It was a bit of peace for a part of his brain that never had had the chance to really calm down.

The hug Ray pulled him into only did little to hide his tears.
He really was a softie.
Something nobody would think when seeing Captain Man.

Not even Ray Manchester appeared to be especially soft hearted.
But that’s exactly what he is.
To everyone close to him.

This particular side though…
This was even more hidden.
The side not even Ray’s closest friends got to see.
At least not regularly.

But with Henry it came naturally.
And it still was mind blowing more often than not.

“I know you’re crying, you huge softie”
Henry was such an hypocrite.
Poking fun at his dad while crying his own eyes out and soaking the man’s shirt in tears.
But that was ok.
They were ok.
And in the end, that was all that really mattered.

It did take both of them a while to calm down again.
But they were in no rush.

It was Ray that rediscovered his voice first.
“I’ll have to call your sister tomorrow. Before we book an appointment with a notary. She’ll have my head otherwise.”

That got a full on laugh out of Henry.
Despite himself and the tears still slowly seeping into Ray’s shirt.

And now that he finally knew he got to have this.
Permanently.
He let himself be truly happy for the first time.

“What?”
Ray asked between his own chuckles.
“I told you before and I’ll tell you again. Your sister can be more than terrifying if she wants to, Kid. I’m not taking any chances.”

He was right.
Piper could be terrifying.
But with Ray, it was just protectiveness over Henry.
She liked him.
He knew his sister well enough to see that.
And Ray saying that she had already chewed him out because of that particular topic made it look like she would be fine with him being adopted.

He too needed to talk to her.
Obviously.
But now that the topic was openly on the table, it would be way easier to do so.
It was just like Charlotte had said earlier.
He needed to stop being scared to loose this to finally enjoy having it.

“Yeah, that’s true.”
He sighed while dropping away from his dad onto the bed.
“But I love her to death. Don’t dare to tell her I said that. But more often than not Pie was the only reason I kept going. She knew what was going on at home all the time. Even though I tried my hardest to hide it. I knew she did when she started smuggling food for me whenever my parents took away my eating privileges. She is insanely clever and I’m more than proud of her.”

Ray too plopped down onto his back next to him.
“You can be. She really is a bright girl. Give it a few years and she might even be competition to our smartie squad.”

He started smiling to himself before continuing.
“Though her intelligence leaves her completely once she enters the kitchen. I know you warned me. But her cooking really is… something else.”

This was nice.
Talking like this.
Knowing Ray liked his little sister just as much as she liked him.
Telling her about their jobs had honestly been the best decision of his life.
Well the second best after getting Ray as his legal guardian.

A text alert on Ray’s phone pulled them out of their bickering.
“Schwoz is back. He brought Charlotte home and headed straight for bed. He hadn’t slept all that much the past days.”
He explained after reading the message.

Oh yeah.

The last week had been insanely intense for all of them.
Something that would probably weigh on them for a while to come.
But they got each other for that.
And luckily a whole other week of Spring Break to relax after all that stress.

Henry only grunted in response before rolling over to cuddle back against his dad’s side.
As by routine by now, Ray’s hand landed back in his hair.
Pulling his head onto his chest.
It came with the added bonus of hearing the mans heartbeat drum against his ear.
It had always been calming.
But after today it finally managed to take away the panicked edge that had accompanied Henry for hours now.

Closing his eyes he focused on it for a second.
Trying to really get it through his head that everyone was ok, even though it hadn’t looked like it for a while.

“You tired Sunshine?”
Ray asked into his mop of hair still messed up from all the ruffling.

He wasn’t tired.
Exhausted, yes.
But not sleepy.
He likely couldn’t sleep if he tried with all the adrenaline that had been permanently coursing through his veins for days now.
All the ups and downs should probably have left him sleeping for days on end.
And that moment would come sooner or later.
But for now Henry felt like he was connected to a live wire while simultaneously feeling the soreness creeping into every single muscle he had.

So, he shook his head before answering.
“Not tired, no. I feel like I weigh at least a metric ton though, with how heavy my limbs feel. And don’t get me started on the three billion thoughts in my head. So sleep is out of question for at least a few more hours I fear.”

That would have been the point where Henry was supposed to offer leaving for his own room to let Ray sleep if he wanted to.
But first, he had just been told Ray would adopt him, so he was allowed to bother him a while longer.
And second, the man had almost died today, so he would likely cut him some slack for spending extra time around him, right?

Ray just smiled into his hair before ruffling it some more.
“That tracks. I’m pretty much the same really.”
He aimed for playful but Henry could hear the underlying exhaustion clear as day.
“That screams for another Dog Judge marathon, doesn’t it?”

It sure did.
Another thing that made Henry feel at home like he had never felt before.
They had rituals.
Habits.
Ones they had had even way before Henry moved in with Ray.

In retrospect it felt stupid to doubt what they had for just a single second.
But he didn’t want to think about this now.
Not with his dad turning on the TV and dimming the lights before coming back to bed.

It felt different somehow now.
The thing they had been doing for over two years now a perfect example for how they had changed over the years.
The first time Henry had actually stayed over in Ray’s bed instead of the guest room that by now was his room had been about 23 months back.
Just 5 weeks before his 14th birthday.

They had decided to watch TV in Ray’s room to let Schwoz tinker with their computer in peace that time.
The mission had been a tough one.
His first hostage situation.
In hindsight it had been a pretty easy fix.
But he had been only 13 and still pretty new to the job.
So, their Dog Judge ritual was in order.

That night had been the first one he had fallen asleep in the matter of minutes instead of hours.
Even given the shock that would normally have kept him awake for much longer.

Henry was sure it had been because of the insane feeling of being safe that had washed over him that night.
Something he still felt to this day.
Ray’s room was the safest place on earth.
As soon as the door shut nothing could ever hurt him.

The first time he had felt it that night two years back it had manifested in form of his body finally taking the rest it had desperately needed.
He had fallen asleep with his head on the mans shoulder.
And from what he heard he had been a pretty angry cuddler while asleep even back then.

From then on out he sometimes had been courageous a enough to actually cuddle with Ray on some of the nights he stayed over in his room.
But only when his brain had basically shut down already.
Cuddling close to the man only occurred after those missions that had managed to hit way to close to home emotionally.

Otherwise Henry had been too scared to do so.
Only being close to his dad had had that calming effect already.
So, it had been to get him to sleep eventually.

After moving in with him and reaching that new level of vulnerability a mental breakdown brought with it, cuddling had become the norm.
The man had agreed to take him in after all and had dried each and every tear he had cried.
So, cuddling should be ok, shouldn’t it?
And even more, it had been the only thing able to quieten his head down at least a little bit.
Especially during the first nights.

He had been out like a light pretty much every time he had gotten comfortable on Ray’s chest or shoulder.
Again that insane safety simply radiating from him.

Once he had gotten his own room though, sleeping at Ray’s had stopped completely for a whole week.
His own room had a similar effect though.
And he simply didn’t know how to ask if he was being honest.
A thing that finally changed after the PTC.

And now..
Henry finally realised that he had never had to ask in the first place.
And that was incredible.
Not only because the realisation in itself was amazing, but also because it finally registered with him.
Completely.

And as the first episode started he decided to speak his mind.
All of it.
Unfiltered.
Because that’s what he could do now.
What he finally allowed himself to do.

“Dad? Can I talk to you about our mission again?”
His dad put the TV on silent before focussing completely on him.
“Of course. Whatever you need to deal with the whole thing Hen.”

It was one of the things Henry loved most about his dad.
The real and honest interest and empathy he had.
Basically inviting him to just pour his heart and soul out.
What was exactly what he did now

Chapter Text

“I was sure I lost you when Schwoz blew you up. I mean, I know you are indestructible. But seeing you basically explode simply was too much. Schwoz did the right thing in the end. But I honestly wish I didn’t have to see that. It’s a picture I will likely never be able to forget. I don’t ever want you to get hurt again. Because when I thought you were dead for that moment…”

Henry got really silent for his next sentence.
Ray actually had to strain his ears to hear it.
It sounded almost like his son was ashamed for even saying it at all.
“I was ready to give up. I didn’t care what happened to me. On one hand it was shame and being disappointed in myself. But there also was the thought that I actually can’t live without you. Without this. Now that I have it. Never ever want to let it go again. I know it’s hard to give or get guarantees in our jobs. And I know I’m unfair for asking that from you. But please dad, promise me to never get hurt again.”

Ray had to swallow after that.
Henry sounded so broken.
So young.
Younger than Ray had ever seen him.
And it broke his heart.

Knowing that he had done that.
That he was the reason his son was suffering right now…

There had only been a bunch of shitty options back at that fucking business centre.
He was forced to send Henry away to safe him.
The situation made him do it.
And this whole situation was beyond unfair.
For both of them.

There was literally no other way to safe his kid.
And he would do everything to keep him safe.

For a second the responsibility and the pressure of the whole thing had been too much for Ray.

He had sent Henry away, knowing full well what it would do to his son’s mind.
He felt terrible for it.
Even though he could have done nothing differently.
The lump in his throat got bigger by the second.

But he just needed to take accountability for what he had done.
Something his own parent never had been capable of.
But his goal in life was to be better than them.
To do the right thing and let his own kid not once feel like he wasn’t loved.
So, he pushed through.

“Hen, I can’t promise you that.”
The sniff that followed made him pull his son closer.
He couldn’t promise him something like that.
Well, he could.
But should the need arise again Ray would choose the exact same way he had done today.
So, promising Henry he would never get hurt would be a lie.
And he refused to lie to his boy.

“I would do the whole thing again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping you safe. So, I can’t promise you that I wont get hurt. Because I promised to never lie to you. And I keep my promises.”

He felt Henry’s silent tears drenching his shirt.
And it hurt.
But he needed to keep going.
“Like I said, sending you away earlier was cruel. I was stuck between hurting you or risking you get captured. So, I chose the option that was manageable for me in that situation. Because seeing you get harmed would have been too much for me. Not being able to protect you is the one thing I’m actually terrified of. That doesn’t take away your pain though. And I know that. I’m taking full responsibility for that. I truly am sorry for making you go through this. I wish I didn’t have to. But I would do the exact same thing thing again in that situation. Because I’d honestly rather have you being angry at me or drying your tears than patching you up or worse.”

This was one of the not so nice parts of parenthood as it seemed.
The part where you did something to hurt your kid and couldn’t promise them to just make it go away.
And it was horrible.
For both of them really.
Ray too was crying by now.

Henry quickly rubbed the back of his hand over his own wet eyes before replying.
“I know. And I’m not angry at you. I’ve just been so scared earlier. I never really had that. Feeling like I could rely on anybody. And then you took me in. And now I feel like for the first time I actually didn’t have my guard up the whole time. So, today hit extra hard. Because for once I didn’t expect anything like this. But I get what you’re saying. I know you can’t promise me something like that. But please at least try to be as safe as possible, ok?”

This kid never ceased to surprise him with how mature he could be.
It did little to quell the guilt still eating Ray alive.
But they would likely never solve that particular discussion.

So, he placed his chin back on his kids hair before reconsidering.
He didn’t need to overthink his interactions with his son anymore, right?
No need to keep himself from doing what he really intended to do.
So, he pressed a kiss to his kid’s hair before promising.
“I will try to keep the both of us as safe as humanly possible out there. My main goal is get you and me home without a scratch every time. I can’t promise you that I will manage to achieve that goal every time. But I will promise you to try to do it anyways.”

Henry nodded against his shoulder.
“I think that would be fine.”
It probably was as good as it would get for the moment.
They could talk about this again later.
When they weren’t as high on adrenaline and the bad memories from today.

Henry seemed to think the same when he reached over him for the remote and turned the volume of the TV back on.
It didn’t take too long for his kid to fall asleep after that.
Something Ray had noticed a couple times now.
Not only after missions.
But whenever he was staying over.
His kid was pretty much conked out the moment he was done cuddling up against his side.
It made Ray feel more than proud, because it was a clear sign for just how safe he felt next to him.
And wasn’t that his job?
To make Henry feel safe, loved and protected.

He himself didn’t have the same luck with falling asleep though.
Try as he might, his eyes simply couldn’t stay shut for more than a few seconds at a time.

Ray had expected that to happen already.
It wasn’t the first time.
He had grown accustomed to not being able to sleep, even though his body was basically screaming at him to do just that.
Not that it made the whole ordeal any more bearable.

Normally he would get up and go bother Schwoz in situations like that.
But the man was luckier than Ray was at the moment.
Schwoz could sleep.
He was sure of that.
It was one of his friend’s many talents.

When they were younger there had been times when Ray had asked himself if Schwoz even slept at all, because he went to bed later than him and was already up when Ray came to the hub in the mornings.
As it turned out, Schwoz ran on about 4-6 hours of sleep by default.

Something Ray had always ascribed to his college days filled with tinkering, ordering radioactive stuff over the darknet and then wiping his tracks like the genius he was.
And substance abuse.
Some of them being stuff Ray didn’t even have any idea how to pronounce.
For which Schwoz didn’t wipe his tracks at all.
Like the complete moron he too could be at times.

But when Schwoz did sleep every now and then, he was out like a light in mere seconds.
And he snored terribly.
There was no way in hell Ray would wake him now just to have someone entertaining him.
Schwoz had done so much the past days.
He did a lot for them all the time and Ray constantly gave him too little credit for that.
But the past days all of them have gone above and beyond.
They needed all the rest they could get.

From experience and his gut feeling Ray was almost certain that crime would lay low for at least another week. But that didn’t mean their job was done.
They needed to talk to the police about the lack of communication on their end.
And they also needed to keep a close look on their known criminals.
Hopefully they wouldn’t organise like that again.
And it wasn’t likely they would.
But it wasn’t impossible either.

Henry mumbled something unintelligible into his chest before throwing his leg over his.
After that all that could be heard were the silent snores of his son.
In Ray’s opinion being this adorable should be illegal.
The contrast between the kid he got to see right now and the stern sidekick he had been earlier was startling every time.
It was like two different people at times.

Thinking about why Henry had been able to perfect that particular skill so much was one of the things Ray did decidedly too often.
But he still couldn’t quite wrap his head around just how cruel people, parents, could be.
It simply was unintelligible to him.
Schwoz had been right earlier.
He really loved this stubborn, strong willed blond menace currently using him as his personal pillow.
And of course, Henry could drive him up the wall if he wanted to.
But that didn’t make Ray love him any less.
That’s what family is supposed to be.
Being able to drive each other nuts, but simultaneously having each others backs.
Always.

This right now, laying here with his kid, knowing his other kids were well and safe, having Schwoz snoring just a few doors down with no immediate threat in sight…
It felt like home.

Not the man cave or his room.
Sure those were his home, technically speaking.
And he also had gotten pretty attached to all of it.
But to Ray it wasn’t about the surroundings.
It was about the people around him.

Just about 4 years back, right after the whole can of worms called Drex, Ray had promised himself to never get attached ever again.
It had been a different constellation back then, sure.

Drex had never been family.
Not like the one he had now.
And he didn’t even come close to how important Henry was to Ray right now.
But he had been a good friend and Ray had trusted him.

They were closer in age.
Drex had been 22 back then.
A college dropout without perspective but with a knack for fighting.
Ray had just turned 30 and the whole CaptainMan schtick had just started to really go off about 2 and a half years prior.
They had gotten along pretty much from the start.
Same interests and a similar sense of humour had made it an easy choice for Ray to ask Drex if he wanted to work with him.

He hadn’t liked the word sidekick.
He didn’t even like it all that much now.
It had been his way to keep his heart safe when hiring Henry.
A method he used to distance himself from his new employee to make sure he wont get hurt again.
A strict distinction between work and private life.

How that one turned out was clearly visible right now.
His so called sidekick curled up in his bed, sleeping with his head on Ray’s shoulder.
All after Ray told him that he would adopt him and almost died to safe him today.
Yeah, they really were the textbook example for professional distance.

It had never even come close to being like that with Drex.
Ray always had had the sneaking suspicion Drex might have had a crush on him.
It was just a gut feeling.
But one Schwoz shared.
So there needed to be at least a little bit of truth in that thought.
And while Ray technically wouldn’t have had any problem with a workplace romance, he simply didn’t feel that way for Drex.

Not because he was a man.
His younger years had been pretty wild.
The time after moving out at barely 18 was kinda patchy at times.
Drugs, alcohol and a whole bunch of bar hookups left him with more than one blackout.
It was back than that Ray had found out he most definitely wasn’t as straight as people thought him to be.
So, while he still preferred women and had never had had a relationship with a man, he technically was open to that.

But Drex had never been like that to him.
They had been friends and nothing more.
And the other man too didn’t seem to be crazy in love.
It looked more like some sort of puppy crush.
It had never been a huge topic between them anyways.

But as a friend Drex had been really important to him.
Which also made Ray do everything to get him back on the right track.

Their falling out had hit Ray more than he had admitted at the time.
He had grown cold and distant, which had also led to his fight with Schwoz just a year later.

He had been pretty much alone from that day on.
And he had always tried his hardest to make himself believe that it had been for the best.
Friendships simply were too much pain in the end.

But even back then he had known it was bullshit.

And now that he knew just what he had been missing back then.
How much love his life could be filled with.
He simply felt stupid for his past behaviour.

There was no point in dwelling on that for too long though.
He had grown as a person in those past years.
And in the end his experiences made him the person he was today.
But his sleepless night always tended to go into overthinking.

Henry shifted against his arm again.
It never ceased to bring a little smile to Ray’s face.
Yeah, this really was home.
And in all honesty, he wouldn’t have it any other way

Chapter Text

The days after their mission luckily were way calmer.
Charlotte had gotten the day right after the whole shit show off.
And she made good of it by visiting her nan with her mom and step dad.

Ray was currently helping Schwoz with his tinkering.
Or better, he was trying his best to help Schwoz.
It was better entertainment than any show on TV, really.
Don’t get him wrong, Ray did have more than a clue about tech stuff.
He was pretty clever.
But it was more street smarts than book smarts all things considered.
Stuff like hijacking cars or picking locks.
Which wasn’t surprising given the fact he had been forced to drop out of school at only eight years old to concentrate on what his dad called ‘hero-training’.

But Schwoz was a genius to put it simple.
And his brain worked in ways and with a speed none of them really could follow.
Only Charlotte had the slightest bit of a chance to keep track of Schwoz thoughts.
But she also was way past normally bright. Therefore that wasn’t really a fair comparison.

So, seeing Schwoz try and fail to explain Ray how he could help him really was comedy gold.
Henry had originally planned to be a bit more productive than simply hanging around on their couch and watch his dad and substitute uncle bicker with each other like an old married couple all day.
But as soon as Schwoz had started calling Ray some likely not nice names in his mother tongue Henry had known he was in for the most funny exchange of the century.
That fact alone was reason enough to spend some time chilling on their round couch with a bag of chips and his joggers.

He had originally intended to actually go jogging, but that could wait for another day.
He wasn’t too keen on running in the first place anyways.
But it was the easiest way too keep up his cardio training after quitting basketball last year.

Ray was currently trying to explain Schwoz why ‘give me that thingy there. Not that one. The one next to that other blinking thingy’ Wasn’t helping him find the right tool at all, when Henrys phone vibrated.
After taking a quick look at the caller ID he called over to Ray.

“Dad! It’s Piper. You wanna come over and I’ll put her on speaker?”
He had tried calling Piper earlier to tell her about Ray wanting to adopt him.
But she had been busy with musical practice at that time.
So, she had promised to call him back as soon as she had the time.

The prospect of talking to her about their decision and the mission gave him mixed feelings if he was being honest.
He couldn’t weasel his way out of talking about the mission.
She was the head of the man fans.
She likely already posted something about their mission or at least about the crime wave.
Deep inside, Henry still was pretty shaken about the whole thing.
Paired with the irrational fear of hurting Piper by letting Ray adopt him…
It all wasn’t really pleasant.
But he had promised his little sister no more secrets.
Ever.
So, he had to push through his discomfort.

Ray quickly came over to the couch, while Schwoz told them he would get some more stuff from their storage room in the basement.
It was Schwozspeak for ‘I’ll give you some privacy to figure your shit out’, but Henry was more than thankful for it.

As soon as Schwoz was down the tube and his dad sat next to him, Henry took the call and turned on the speaker.

“Hen, Ray. How are you guys?”
Piper sounded cheery.
The time away from their parents and around her friends seemingly did wonders for her mood.

But how did she know that Ray was there with him?

“Hey Pie. Since I’m pretty sure you know about the last days I’ll say I’m better than I expected to be. But how did you know you’re on speaker.”
Instead of an answer he heard an exasperated sigh.
Followed by the closing of a door and a thunk, likely meaning she sat down at her room.
Then a rather condescending

“Hen, please.” That would become a funny talk indeed.
“I’ve known you for all my life. I literally know there is something up with you from the way you text me. Sometimes even from the speed you text at. So, the fact that you called me earlier instead of simply texting me to check in means that you aren’t the only one that wants to talk to me.”

She had a point there.
She really was clever.
But seeing her read him so easily was also kinda creepy.
It got only worse when she nailed the reason for their call in mere seconds too.

“Thinking about how I kicked your dad (she added a heavy emphasis to that word) in the butt for being a moron last week I think you finally talked?”

That finally made Ray participate at the conversation.
“It’s nice to hear you too, Piper.”
He wasn’t angry.
More amused.
But the way he actually tried to teach her some manners was more than funny to watch.
And even funnier was that it worked.

No matter what she told everyone, Piper actually liked Ray.
And that was the best thing that could happen to Henry.

“Well yes, it is nice to talk to you. I’m happy you guys are ok. I was worried about you.”
The way she sounded reluctantly caring was such a Piper thing.
She had always been like that.
Even when putting his favourite food in front of his door when their parents had sent him to bed without.
It always had a little note attached.
Always with the same text.
‘I love you, but don’t get used to the delivery service. - P’
He had kept all of them.
Even through the move.
They were now securely stored in a shoebox inside his closet.
Seeing how her spelling had improved and how her writing had gotten more and more legible over time gave him a sense of pride.
He would never tell Piper that though. Sibling love and all that.

Hearing her worries now, Henrys big brother instinct clicked on.
“I’m sorry Pie. I should have called you earlier. But it’s been pretty late yesterday. And I didn’t want to wake you up. But we really are fine. I mean, it was a bit close at times, but dad made sure that everything went ok in the end.”

His statement was once again followed by a deep sigh.
“I guess I have to get used to that now, don’t I. That basically is the only thing I miss about not knowing about all of that. When I was just a fan of you guys I hadn’t been so worried about you all the time.”

He understood her.
It couldn’t be easy to watch him and Ray be in danger pretty much constantly.
Even less so for the people closest to them.

But before he could answer, his sister deemed their deep talk to be officially over.
Her voice became cheeky when she continued.
“You did it again, you know?”

Huh? What did she mean?
He didn’t have to wait for her reply for long.
“You called Ray dad. And he isn’t even objecting. So I really was right, wasn’t I? You guys finally talked?”

She honestly could one day become concurrence to Charlotte at that rate.
Or maybe Henry was biased.
But who cared.
He would always be Piper’s biggest cheerleader in everything she did.
He sure as hell would never tell her.
But he was certain that she still knew.

“Yes we talked. Yesterday after the mission. I had a little time to think while being held captive. The appointment with the notary is next week. Pretty much right before you guys go back to school.”
Pipers excited squeal didn’t stop Ray from continuing.
“You were right, Piper. I’ve been a coward. And maybe even a moron. But seemingly it takes almost dying for me to finally accept that adopting Henry changes basically nothing anymore. I’ve been telling him he’s my son since he moved in. He had already been far earlier. So, yeah. I think I’ll have to thank you for setting me straight.”

It warmed Henry’s heart.
For one, the way Ray talked about him and about adopting him.
It was clear as day that he really was happy how everything turned out.
He could hear it in his dad’ voice and see it in the way he silently smiled to himself.

Piper too seemed more than ecstatic about it all.
At least if the way she bombarded Ray with questions about their mission and about what would change was any indicator.

Ray’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts a few moments later.
“- I actually read into that yesterday. I couldn’t sleep after the mission. Adrenaline and all that. So I googled everything important up. You’ll stay listed as siblings. So absolutely no change there. Like at all. Emergency contacts, family status, officially being related, it all stays the same until one of you tells the government they want it changed.”

That took a huge load off of Henry’s shoulders.
Not being Piper’s brother anymore was the only thing drastically dimming his joy about being adopted.
But, as always, Ray had it handled.
It was an insane feeling to have an actual adult take care of things.
Henry had been taking care of himself for years now.
In the past about three of them he also had to care for Piper next to himself.
So, having someone actually handling stuff for him was wild.

Though Henry didn’t overhear Ray saying he hadn’t slept completely.
Taking care of each other went both ways after all. But before they could talk about the whole thing any more Piper cussed.
“Shit, it’s already noon. I’m sorry but I’ll have to cut this short. Otherwise I’ll miss lunch.”
Henry quickly assured her that this was fine. After that she profusely promised him to call back after dinner before hanging up.

Dropping the phone down next to him he turned over to his dad now sheepishly smiling at him.
So, he too had noticed his slip up.
Good!

Granted, Henry couldn’t chew him out for not sleeping.
He too had nights like that.
Though they had gotten pretty rare since moving into the man cave.
But still.
“Sooooo.” He began, aiming for something distantly resembling an authoritative tone. “After all those speeches about taking care of myself, you went and pulled an all nighter?”
He tried his best at giving a convincing Captain Dad impression.

An effort Ray honoured by smilingly shaking his head before answering.
“It’s not like it’s my fault. Someone hogged my bed and used me as a pillow.”

An accusing look in his direction followed.
Well, it maybe would have been accusing if Ray would have managed to stop smiling.
“And I’m not going to give you a name. But you know him. He’s about your height and age actually. Hired him to be my sidekick. And now look at me. I have a kid now. Me!”

At that Henry couldn’t keep his laughter from bubbling over anymore.
Pulling Ray right in with him.
They took a moment to calm back down again.
It really only was when Schwoz came back up the tube with a few knickknacks in hand that they managed to stop chuckling completely.

“I take your talk with Piper went great then?”
The way Schwoz basically butchered Piper’s name would never not be funny to Henry.
The girl herself had tried her hardest to get their technician to pronounce it correctly.
But the best she had managed to get out of him was ‘Peeper’.
So, after a whole lot of unsuccessful tries she had finally given up on the whole thing.

“Yeah, it did.” Ray called over while getting up to help Schwoz again.
But before they could start their work again Ray turned back again to Henry.

“Oh, I totally forgot. Kid, d’you think you would be okay to watch over the man cave for a few hours tomorrow?”
Henry flopped back into his chilling position, bag of chips already back in hand.
So, jogging would have to wait another day. What a shame.
He could basically taste the irony of that statement from simply thinking it.

“Sure thing. Why?”
Schwoz was already back in his ‘crazy-professor-headspace’, So Ray answered.
“I asked Schwoz to drive me over to Neighbourville tomorrow. After googling the whole adoption thing I actually finally bought a car. And you won’t be completely alone. I think Charlotte said she’d be back to work at around ten tomorrow.”

He did what now?
Well, he had been talking about how he hated to borrow Schwoz car all the time and how he planned on buying his own.
But he had always procrastinated actually looking for a car of his own.
Not that Henry wasn’t happy about his purchase.
Schwoz car was… unfortunate looking to say the least.
Well ok, it was fucking ugly.
And the Man’s AMP was a clear no for their private drives.
So, Ray finally having his own car would be great.
Maybe he could also persuade him to teach him to drive one day.
Not that he wanted to push his luck.
But maybe he could ask him sometime during summer break...
It couldn’t be more of an effort of will than talking about his adoption, right?

Chapter Text

“- And you kids are sure you can handle things alone for a few hours?”
Yes, Ray was fretting.
And he knew it.
He had left Henry alone in the man cave more than once.
He had also left Henry alone on missions before.
But after the past days and everything that happened in that business centre, he simply couldn’t stop himself from worrying.

This time it was Charlotte that answered him.
After Henry reassuring him that they would be ok for the third time didn’t help.
“Yes, Ray. We’ll be ok. And I promise you that I’ll call you as soon as we get an alarm. I wont let Henry run into it alone. And you too can be sure that we wont do anything else that could be dangerous. We’ll just study and play games.”
She sounded only mildly annoyed by his frequent questions.
At least until he took a breath to ask her again if he shouldn’t better stay.
She didn’t even let him start his sentence before rolling her eyes, pushing him the last two steps back into the elevator and pressing the button to close the door.

Ok, rude!

The only thing that was even more rude was Schwoz giggling.
“Well Ray, I do understand them. You’re being kind of a mother hen.”
A mother hen?
He simply was worried about his kids.
Who cared they were already 15 and had been alone plenty of times.
Those times he hadn’t been about an hour away.
And what if there was an emergency?
He couldn’t be there in the blink of an eye to help them.
Even if he was the one driving it would take around 30 minutes to get back from the car dealership.
And that only if he would blatantly disregard every speed limit and red light in existence.

But before he could talk himself into even more of a frenzy, Schwoz tossed over his car keys.
“You’re driving. Maybe that distracts you enough not to hyperventilate.”

He knew Schwoz.
And he also knew what he was doing right now.
It wasn’t that the other man wasn’t worried.
But he could handle it better.
Because he hadn’t been inside that stupid conference room or atop that stupid train.
But instead of having a point and useless discussion about it, he met Ray where he was standing right now.
He really didn’t appreciate this man enough.

Plopping down on the driver seat Ray sighed. “Fine.”
Even his voice sounded reluctant.
“I think they’ll be ok for a few hours. I do need a car after all. And I have to buy Henry a birthday present. It’s not that long anymore. So, I guess we have no other choice than to let them handle the man cave for today.”

Schwoz smiled triumphantly when Ray started the motor.
He didn’t have the best feeling with letting Henry and Charlotte alone.
But at least it was more of a ‘they’ll burn down my kitchen’ than a ‘there is another crime wave or big bad coming’ kind of feeling.
And he would have to learn to deal with that.

Schwoz still hadn’t wiped the smile from his face when they hit the I 46 to Neighbourville.
Though it had dimmed a bit by then.
Grown more thoughtful than teasing.
“You know, Ray. When you kicked me out a few years ago I never thought I would see you happy again.”

He did have a point there. The whole Drex debacle had hurt him. It had had a lasting effect on him for years.
But maybe it actually was time to let it go.
And to engage in some deep talk with his oldest friend.
They had about 30 minutes of highway in front of them.
So there was no harm in that, right?

“Trust me, I wouldn’t have believed you myself if you did. The whole thing with Drex changed me. I trusted him, you know?”

Schwoz hummed next to him.
“I do. It really was horrible seeing you fight like that. I never knew a person could change like that in the span of a few weeks. Just after you showed him around the man cave - boom! Completely different person.”

Ray’s fingers drummed on the steering wheel to the rhythm of ‘Back in Black’ playing on the radio while thinking about his answer.
“I honestly don’t think he changed.”

Schwoz looked surprised at that.
“How so?”

“Well”
Ray tried his best to explain.
“I don’t think he changed that much. He had always been like that. A least kinda. It might be hindsight bias. But I think I just overlooked his brutal and mean tendencies for too long because I was too happy to finally have a friend like him. It was all a little bit to perfect right from the start, don’t you think? And as soon as I dangled a bit of power in front of him, he snapped. It doesn’t make the whole thing any less hurtful to think about it this way. But it explains how rapidly he radicalised.”

Schwoz looked pensive for a moment before nodding.
“I think you have a point there. But those three weeks back then still were pretty intense. I’m just glad that you never took him out with you on a job. That would have ended terribly.”

He likely was right.
But at least now Drex was safely secured in the maximum security wing of Swellview.
He would never cause problems again.
No one ever managed to break out of there.
Minyak may have managed to bust out of prison.
But not the high security wing.
Getting out of there was pretty close to impossible.
So, Ray didn’t worry about that too much.

They spent the rest of the way in amicable silence.
The only thing filling the car was Ray’s mixtape playing over the car radio.
It was kinda old.
A mix of classical rock songs he more than enjoyed.
It sat in Schwoz car since he moved back in and Ray had started constantly borrowing his car.
He would need to make a copy or a new one for his own car.
Taking this one out of his friend’s would feel wrong somehow.
Especially since he knew for a fact that Schwoz too listened to it while driving.

The radio had just started playing ‘Summer of ‘69 ’ when Ray steered the car over to exit the I 46 and drive into the city centre of Neighbourville.

“You do know this isn’t the way to the car dealership, right?”
Schwoz had been dozing off on the passenger seat.
But somehow he still noticed his little detour.

Needing to focus on not driving past the right exit, Ray simply hummed in approval at first.
It took him a few moments to first get on the right lane and then manoeuvre the car into the city traffic.
“Yeah, I know.”
He finally answered.
“I need to make a quick pit stop at Walmart to get Henry’s birthday present.”

That seemed to erase Schwoz tiredness completely.
“Oh, What are you getting him?”
It was a good thing they talked about that now, since Ray needed Schwoz help anyways to pull at least part of his present of.

He had thought in circles about what to buy Henry for his birthday.
For one he was turning 16 which in itself already was kinda important for a teenager.
But then it also was his first birthday he officially celebrated as Ray’s son.
Part of the gift was decided on pretty quickly.
He knew Henry had wanted to save up to it for quite some time but still hadn’t bought it in the end.
But that alone simply felt too impersonal.

So, he quickly decided to get Henry a present for his birthday that held an immense amount of power.
There were no one on this earth he trusted more than his kid.
And only a handful of people he trusted in kind.
So, he guessed it was high time for that step.

“Well… For one I’ll buy him a Switch. He wanted to have that thing for months now but never bought it for himself.”
He got slightly nervous, making his voice go silent and sheepish for the next sentence.
“And I thought about getting him a dog tag.”

Sure, the necklace in itself was no big deal.
Henry wasn’t into jewellery like that.
But Schwoz knew exactly what that sentence meant.

“You want me to make him an override key?”

He and Schwoz both had one.
A highly technical micro chip put into a dog tag.
It was one of Schwoz most complicated inventions ever.
And it could control the whole man cave.
It was sort of the key to their main frame.
Putting the override key inside their console combined with a finger print sensor, DNA check and an iris scan gave full control about everything in their hub.
Including but not limited to comms all of their weapons and Junk’N’Stuffs complete security system.
The power that thing had was pretty much unlimited.

That’s why up until now he and Schwoz were the only ones having one.
Not even Gooch had had one after Schwoz left.
It simply was too dangerous to have too many of those keys, since they weren’t able to cancel each other out.

Ray parked the car at the Walmart parking lot before turning over to his friend.
“I trust him Schwoz. And I know you do too. He’s my sidekick. But most importantly, he’s my son. And he is old enough to know how much power this thing holds. I really think it would be a good idea for him to get one.”

Schwoz still looked pensive.
But there it was again.
That proud look in his eyes.
“I can only repeat myself. I never once thought I’d say it. But being a father suits you Raymond. Really. The way you love that kid is immense. It’s beautiful I get to be a part of that. So, of course I’ll make him an override key. Though I never thought you’d ever give one of those out. Do we still have his blood sample on file? And his finger prints?”

Ray couldn’t stop himself from smiling brightly at that.
Schwoz was right.
He really loved that kid.
His kid.
That thought still made him slightly dizzy at times.
Like right now.
But then again, that was a wonderful feeling.
He never had been that terrified and overjoyed at the same time before in his life.
But he wouldn’t change it for the world.

Their little Walmart trip was a quick one.
Schwoz too picked up his birthday present for Henry.
The new Pear Phone.
He wanted to tinker around with it to add some extra features though.
For his own personal touch to the gift.
Oh yeah, Schwoz too loved that kid.
And it really was great to watch.

Seeing Henry finally getting all the love he hadn’t been able to get before somehow also healed a part of Ray that he had always thought would never stop hurting.
Children really brought out the best in people.
He had always laughed at that statement.
But now he got it.

He quickly picked up the Switch after helping Schwoz choose a colour for Henrys new phone.
They decided on red in the end.
It funnily was the same shade of red Henry’s uniform had.
And they both found that comparison adorable enough to pick that phone.

Picking the dog tag took a while longer.
Like he said, his kid really wasn’t all that big on jewellery.
And the necklace also needed to be stable enough to withstand their job without breaking.
In the end they decided on a simple black one made of tungsten.
Ray’s own was pretty similar looking and from the same material.
So they at least already knew it would survive their missions.
The only difference really was the colour.
Ray’s was silver instead of black.
Schwoz had gone a bit more overboard with his.
It was gold and had some words in his mother tongue engraved.
But Henry likely would prefer something simple and timeless.

After gathering all they needed they checked out and got back to the car.
It only were another ten minutes to the car dealership from there.
He had already given the seller all important informations.
A nice man by the name of mister Wilson.
So, he only had to take another look to see if the car was in good condition and sign the contract.

The really funny part came when mister Wilson started talking about his options for payment plans.
Against his first tendency Ray had decided to buy a new car in the end.
The new dark blue Chrysler Pacifica he had chosen clocked in at 42,500 dollars.
So, obviously he told him about payment plans.
Ray didn’t look like someone simply buying a car in one payment.
Which made it even funnier to see the barely concealed shock in mister Wilsons face when he said he wouldn’t need a plan.
A look that only intensified during checkout when Ray’s card obviously didn’t decline.
Sometimes he did in fact enjoy teasing people.

He only barely managed to contain his laughter until they were back to the parking lot.
Ray now having his own car keys in hand.
Schwoz too broke out into a laughing fit as soon as they had turned the corner.

It was a great feeling.
Ray really was happy.
For the first time in years.
But then again, the happiness he felt right now was more than he had ever felt before.
It was more… real.
Not fleeting like the joy he had felt before.
This felt like it would stay.
Like the family he built right now would survive everything.
Together.

Ray had never before seen himself as a family man.
His own family had been way to broken for that.
Sure, he called his dad on birthdays and holidays.
He had called his mom a bit more often though not regularly.
But she had died 6 years ago.
And calling both of them had always felt more like fulfilling a duty than anything else.
Family had never meant comfort to him.
He had never been ale to really be himself at home.
Or better yet, at the place he had called home for way to long.

Thinking about how a small group of broken and screwed over misfits was more comfort to him now than his parents’ house had been during his entire childhood…
It was sad in a sense.
A fate he wouldn’t wish on anyone really.
But only the part about his childhood.
The part of having this great family he had now, he would wish that everyone would have that level of love and comfort.
The world would probably be better like that.
His life at least sure was.

Schwoz drove behind him for their way back.
And without anyone to talk to, Ray had to fill the silence with one of the radio stations.
At least he found one playing exclusively rock songs.
Most of the new pop songs simply weren’t his cup of tea.
But still he couldn’t bring himself to taking the mixtape out of Schwoz car.
And the radio stations he had picked wasn’t even half bad.
So little mercies or something like that.

They pulled up at their yard about four and a half hours after leaving.
And to Ray’s surprise their teens already were waiting for them.

“Schwoz called us to say you’re back.”
Henry welcomed them as soon as Ray opened his door.
That explained them already standing in their driveway.
And from the looks of it none of the two was injured or looked otherwise off.
So, may his worrying earlier had indeed been unfounded.
Not that it would stop him from reacting the exact same way the next time.
There were habits he simply couldn’t shake.

His kids didn’t even wait for him to say anything before they already inspected his car.
“Nice colour”
Charlotte shouted over from the backseat.
“And spacey. I like it”

It made Ray smile again.
Not that Charlottes opinion would have any impact on his purchase.
But he still liked the fact she was happy with his pick.

Henry too seemed to accept his choice.
“It’s not what I would have expected. I kinda thought you’d get something more… sporty.”
He did have a point there.
If he had decided to buy a car maybe one year earlier it would definitely have been more sporty.
But that simply wasn’t practical anymore.
Not with up to four kids he was now getting to and from school on a daily basis now.
Sometimes he had even picked Marla up with them.
Without telling her anything about their secret identities.
Obviously.
But when he was picking up Henry, Jasper and Charlotte, he could as well pick up Piper and her sister.
He needed to bring them both to Marla’s house anyways.
So, everything under 7 seats simply was a no.
And with all their backpacks he also needed a big trunk.

Henry’s smile turned cheeky before his next sentence.
He was planning something again.
And with the way he looked it would be fun on his expenses.
But Ray couldn’t be mad.
Not with the way the joy and relaxation was basically radiating from his kids since their adoption talk.

“It’s a typical dad car. Not cool but practical. And the colour reminds me of your suit actually. And since you basically are a dad now I guess I’ll look over the whole family carriage vibe.”
Oh yeah, there he was again.
The little shit he called his son.

But he could
give just as good as he got.
So, Ray went over to ruffle his kids hair.
“Well Sunshine. Let’s get one thing clear here.”
He teased right back.
“I’m not basically a dad. I am a dad. Yours. I’ll even be officially once the adoption is through with the government. And just to be clear, you wanted it like that. So, live with the consequences.”

Henry couldn’t stop laughing while trying to get away from Ray’s hair ruffling attack.
Charlottes and Schwoz ‘awww’ made him blush in the meantime.
But his kid did definitely deserve some good natured teasing.

Henry finally resigned while still smiling. His hair now a complete mess.
“Fine, fine. I never said anything. But really. I like the colour. And it looks pretty comfortable.”

As soon as Ray let go of him Henry turned around to hug him.
“And just for the record. Yes, I wanted it exactly like this. And I give a shit about official or not. You are my dad. I was just trying to be mean.”

Ray hugged him back.
Like he always did.
His son deserved all the hugs he wanted.

“I know, kid. I know.”

Chapter Text

“-Oh, and have I told you about Jaques? He doesn’t speak a single word of English. Miss Robinson was so annoyed that by the end of our first day that she put him on the tech staff. It doesn’t change the problem itself but its no longer hers. At least not personally.”
Piper excitedly blabbered about her trip.
She had done so for about 20 minutes now.

But Henry wasn’t bothered in the slightest.
He loved seeing her like that.
She had always been told to be too loud or too much in general by their parents.
And it had dimmed her mood for quite some time.
But luckily staying over at Marla’s at least 4 times each week seemed to help with that.

“At least you haven’t been peed on while trying to change a diaper. I mean, I love Tony. I really do. But that simply was too much.”
Jasper chimed in.
They had tried to one up each other with their stories for the entire time since Ray had picked both of them up.

Finally life was back to normal in the man cave.
Henry had deeply missed the ruckus that normally was a given at his home.
With just Charlotte there other than Schwoz and Ray it had been way too quiet.

And quiet gave him the chance to think. Something he didn’t want to do right now.
Otherwise he would need to smash his own head in with a frying pan.

He had been way too on edge since their notary appointment yesterday.
Everything was finalised now.
They had signed the adoption application and only needed to wait for the green light from the government.
Which they more than likely would get anyways.

So, there really was no reason to be nervous.
But still Henry was.
The wait nearly drove him insane.
Though Piper’s and Jasper’s stories were a good distraction.

Ray still seemed to notice his nerves.
By now Henry maybe should have gotten accustomed to his dad always knowing exactly what he needed.
But sometimes he still was baffled that the other man actually put in the effort to act on his hunches.

It was so simple sometimes.

Like right now.
Ray simply put his arm up on the backside of the couch and laid his hand on Henry’s shoulder while talking.
Nothing but a really simple touch.
But to Henry it meant way more.

‘I’m here.’

‘You don’t have to worry about anything right now.’

‘I know you do anyways, and that’s ok.’

Being seen like that still was so new.
And so wonderful.
It didn’t bring the thoughts running through his head to a screeching halt.
But it slowed them down.
Silenced them enough to not be so overwhelming anymore.
It made Henry able to participate in the communication again, instead of being caught up in his head.

It really must be a superpower.

Or magic.

But Henry wouldn’t think too hard about it as long as it stayed this way.

Maybe it simply was finally feeling like he belonged somewhere.

That was the explanation he liked the most. Because belonging here.
Belonging to Ray.
To the man cave.
To this family.
It was more than he could ever have wished for.
It was love so true that it sometimes was too much to really understand.

He threw over a quick smile to Ray.
The matching smile and little nod he got in return was proof enough that the man understood his silent thanks.

So, Henry redirected his focus back to his gyros and Jasper’s story about his visit to the zoo.
Apparently he and Ray weren’t the only ones that had a personal problem with monkeys.

“Oh, that’s nothing.”
Piper interrupted his friends story about how Tony, Jasper’s baby cousin, had started crying every time he saw anything even remotely resembling a monkey.
And honestly, same!
After chasing a bunch of those through Swellview Park, Henry too had wanted to cry.
More out of frustration and exhaustion.
But that was just details.

“At least you didn’t have to watch Jason Creswater basically drool every time Elijah Wood walked by. Like, Everybody knows he’s gotten like flaming hot over the last summer break. But this is going on since then. And it’s almost the next one already.”

Hearing his baby sister call guys ‘hot’ still was kinda weird.
But from what Henry had already heard, Jason was a really good friend to Piper and Marla.
And he and Elijah both were gay and pretty much pining for each other.
Piper and Marla had tried do get Jason to make a move for months now.
Without any success so far.
So, Henry could let that comment slide - for now.

But the day Piper brought home her first boyfriend would definitely be a… strange one.
Likely for all of them.

But he had a laser.
And a bunch of weapons of varying legality.
And a Superhero for a dad.
Paired with Schwoz, who would have no problem with getting them a dozen alibis.

So, whoever one day decided to date his sister better not hurt her.
For their own sake.

Henry let the rest of the conversation wash over him.
Simply enjoying having his whole family back together.
He could practically feel his tension slowly melting away.

They spent the rest of the evening like that. Squeezing all 6 of them onto the round couch, exchanging stories and sharing food.
It was just what Henry needed.
And Ray too seemed more relaxed than during all of the past two weeks.

Everything had somehow fallen into place over time.
Most importantly, they had found their place with each other.

The news of Ray adopting him had been shared pretty much instantly.
Ray had told Schwoz the morning after they had had their talk.
The two men had spoken for quite some time after that over in Schwoz room.
Time Henry had wanted to use to call Jasper.
But he had decided against it in the end.

He wanted to tell his sister about that development first.
Everything else would have felt wrong.
So, he tried her phone, but she hadn’t had time to talk at that moment.

After finally taking her call that noon, he had had a group zoom call with Charlotte and Jasper that evening.
Ray and Schwoz too had said hi but quickly left the three of them alone.

It had been an easy talk.
Much easier than Henry had anticipated.
Not because he had expected his friends to react negatively.
Not at all.
But because he was nervous to the high heavens.
Which made the cheers his friends had let out all the more comforting to him.

Seeing all of them having a great time together, knowing that he finally got to settle down unlocked feelings he hadn’t even thought possible.
Like, ever.

Piper excused herself pretty soon after finishing her food.
She wanted to head home to Marla’s real quick before going back to their parents.
A fact that still made Henry a bit queasy.
But luckily it was only for one night.
Their parents were both headed for god knows were for at least a month.
So, there was one less thing to worry about for at least those four weeks.
Sooner or later they needed to find a way to get Piper out of there too.
But they had decided to cross that bridge once they came to it.
For now the way Piper dealt with the whole situation, by staying at the Millers’ at least 3 times a week and every time their parents were away, was manageable.
Should there ever come a day were it wouldn’t be, Henry personally would make sure he got his baby sister out of there.
Being Kid Danger could only help in that situation.

For now he simply hugged Piper extra tight for a few seconds before she left.

Charlotte too headed home a while later.
It was their last Saturday before school and she too wanted to spend at least some time with her mom and step-dad.

Jasper for his part stayed over until close to midnight.
He had spent enough time with his mum to last him for quite some time.
So, they decided to play some video games. Jasp would likely have stayed over, but he had to promise his mum no sleepovers until the end of Spring Break.
So, Ray had to drive him home at around 23:45.

Having nothing better to doo, Henry decided to go bother Schwoz during that time.
Maybe he could learn a bit from their techy.

“Yo Schwoz! Watcha doing?”
He announced his arrival back at their main hub.
Schwoz was tinkering.
Like always.
But it looked more like programming this time than actually building something.

Not wanting to interrupt the man too much, Henry plopped down on the chair next to him.
He would answer as soon as he had the capacity for it.
He always did that.

Luckily he didn’t have to wait for a response for too long.
“I threw a quick program together to filter for news on Van Dell.”
Schwoz finally said without looking up from the monitor.
“I’m modulating it to also catch news on Minyak. The police managed to catch the diaper freak. otherwise I would have included him too.”

That actually was insanely clever.
They really would be doomed without this man.
Henry realised that time and time again.
He would never completely understand all the cool stuff Schwoz did on a daily basis.
But there was no harm in trying, was there?

“Can you teach me?”
That got Schwoz to actually look up confusedly.
So, Henry quickly added.
“Not that specialised stuff you’re doing right now. But could you teach me some basic coding some day? I mean, I love computer games. So, who knows, maybe I got a knack for it?”

Taking up a new hobby wouldn’t be too bad, would it?

And he knew he didn’t say it nearly often enough, but he loved spending time with Schwoz.
While Ray was his dad, Schwoz for sure was like an uncle to him.
A strange one, mind you.
But still he loved him.
Being strange in some aspects didn’t make him any less of a family member.
A worm eating one.
But that wasn’t Henry’s priority right now.
Not with Schwoz face lighting up with a huge smile because of his question.

“Of course I can. I’m basically just finishing up here. Give me 2 minutes and we can start right away if you want to.”
Schwoz loved teaching.
Henry had already noticed that much while watching him interact with Charlotte.
So, he simply nodded and got both of them a hot chocolate while his uncle finished up the new system.

Ray later found the two of them huddled together over their main computer where Schwoz tried to explain Henry the very basics of C++.

Chapter Text

“You literally have no idea how glad I am this is over.”
Jasper sighed while slumping back gains his chair.
“3 exams each week. For 4 weeks straight. Honestly, how can that be even remotely legal.”

Henry had to wholeheartedly agree.
The first two weeks after Spring Break had been filled with projects and presentations.
Followed by the absolute atrocious exam marathon they had just finished.
But this history exam today luckily had been the last of it.

They were free now.

Or at least closer to it.
They still had 5 weeks of school left.
But without a single assignment in sight.
Their teachers always did that.
Putting the whole years workload into 6 weeks after Spring Break.
So, they had 4 more to grade the tests and stuff and calculate their final grades.
The last 5 weeks of school therefore were basically useless.
But after the amount of work they just had gone through, Henry wasnt even bothered in the slightest about the following month being boring.
Most of their teachers only put on movies or made them join in on sport festivals or other useless crap.
But that was way better than actually having to pay attention and study.

Even Charlotte had been through hell and back those last weeks.
She might be the cleverest of them.
Of the whole class really.
Maybe even of the whole school.
But that still meant she had to study.
Maybe even harder than he and Jasper did to keep her grade level up.

But it wasn’t just that.
After their train stunt crime in Swellview had been eerily nonexistent.
Henry hadn’t had any capacities to actively worry about that fact.
But still he hadn’t been able to shake the bad gut feeling completely.
He had talked to Ray about it two weeks back.
And his dad to had been sure there was something going on.
But they all couldn’t quite figure out what exactly it was that made them uneasy.
In the end they had to settle on the fact that they simply didn’t know the reason at all.

They had upped the routine patrols to thrice a day.
Most of them being shouldered by Captain Man alone.
Henry had tried to protest at first.
But after a few days of trying to convince him, Ray had sat him down with a stern look.
“I get it you want to help Kid. And I’m not keeping you home to punish you or be mean. But I see the workload you’re already having. I’l gladly take you on evening or weekend patrols. But I surely wont pull you out of school during exam season. Not for a hunch or a bad feeling. It’s probably nothing anyways. And I don’t want you to overwork yourself again. I’m here to take care of you, remember?”

His dad had been right.
Of course he had.

But it still weighed heavily on Henry.
He loved his job.
He wanted to be out there and help people.
Not sit at his desk all day knowing he might be needed somewhere.

Ray at least had agreed to take him with him on their new afternoon patrols once the exams were over.
That was a compromise Henry could live with.
Even if he wasn’t thrilled.

The concern and love Ray showed him during his stressful study sessions managed to warmed his heart though.
The whole ‘meet-up of evil’ thing had only made them grow closer.
Like that was even possible to begin with.

Henry just now realised how the whole being adopted thing made a formerly unknown weight simply disappear off his shoulders.
He finally had somewhere he really belonged.
He had never really felt that way About his parents.
It had gone so far that for the past months of living with them, he had fantasised about leaving Swellview as soon as he turned 18.

A thought that now was unimaginable as ever.
Leaving Swellview would mean leaving his dad.
And he could never do that.

It really was a testament to how hurt he had been.
How helpless and devastated that he had even thought that way back then.

It wasn’t his oath binding him to this city.

For one it was the love he had for his dad.
How alive he felt when doing hero work with the man that had saved him.
He had never told his dad that, but he really was his hero.
It was cheesy beyond measures.
But he simply couldn’t think about it any other way.

He had always idolised Captain Man.
Had been a huge fan for years before starting as Kid Dager had even been in question.

But this now was different.

He saw Ray’s flaws.
He really did.
He was too cocky for his own good.
A bit childish sometimes.
And way to reckless.

But those flaws were what ,made a person in the end, weren’t they?

His dad had more than enough strengths to even out the score anyways.
He was compassionate and brave.
He did what was right.
Or at least what he believed to be right.

He may not have been the shining and perfect hero the press made him out to be.
But he was so much more.
So much better.

He was human in every sense of the word.
And Henry loved him.
The exact way he was.

Sure, he still called him out on his shit sometimes.
But that was what family meant.
To get each other back on track.

After all these years of being lonely.
Of feeling like he never could be loved.
Henry finally had built a home and a family for himself.
There was nothing in this world or any other that would willingly make him leave.
Like ever.
He was more than sure of that fact.

Charlotte slammed her elbow into his ribs.
His following ‘ouch’ was simply ignored when she started scolding him.
“Earth to Henry. School’s out. You literally missed the bell.”

Oops.
He hadn’t even realised how deep in thought he had been.
Quickly apologising and packing his stuff together he trailed behind his friends out of the building in mere minutes.

He couldn’t wait for his afternoon.
Finally back to patrolling.

Sure, he had taken the evening patrols and some of the weekend ones when his study schedule allowed it.
But this was different.

The evenings those past days had been insanely calm.
During the past weeks there had been only one stolen handbag and one runaway dog.
So, child’s play really.
But those two things had both happened on afternoon patrols.
So, there was a, admittedly slim but nonetheless there, chance that they would finally have a job again.

Henry jumped on the passenger seat of Ray’s car with a big smile.
His dad ruffled his hair instead of a greeting before turning around to say hello to Jasper and Charlotte boarding the backseat.
“Hey kids, how was school? Last exam today, right?”

Charlotte nodded.
“Yeah, finally. One more week like this and I would have slammed the fire alarm for a few hours of peace and quiet. This was cruel.”

Jasper joined in on her complains.
“I don’t even think that kind of workload is allowed to put on kids. Or anyone really. I barely got six hours of sleep every night with how much I had to study. It made a good excuse to not rub my mothers back with her pimple cream though.”

That definitely was too much information.
And Henry could see it in Ray’s face that he thought the exact same thing.
But they all had gotten accustomed to that by now.
So, Ray just shrugged before starting the car and reversing out of his parking lot with that mischievous glint in his eyes that made him look way younger than the 34 years he really was.

“So, since there obviously is something to celebrate, what do you guys think about McDonalds for lunch?”
They did that way to regularly to be healthy.
But then again, they were teenagers.
There were way worse things they could do than going to fast food places two times a week.

Thanks to the drive thru being blissfully empty at that time of day, they were headed back to the man cave, back home, in just under half an hour.
The middle seat between Charlotte and Jasper packed with food bags and drinks.

Schwoz already awaited them at the elevator door once they came down.
“Finally! I was starving. You got my BigMac wit extra pickles and onions?”

That order honestly was pretty tame for their technician.
The wildest combination Henry had ever seen from him was a McFlurry with barbecue sauce and smarties.
But from what Ray told him that was far from the true extent of weird Schwoz was capable of.
Not hat Henry or anyone else was surprised by that.
Schwoz ate worms like they were candy after all.

Eating in itself was just as chaotic as always.
But Henry couldn’t stop the smile basically plastered to his face.
This really was home.
It was family.
And truly all he could ever wish for.

The exam stress had pushed it to the back of his head, but his adoption papers should be coming every week now.
The government in Swellview was overwhelmed and understaffed.
Just as every other state organisation across America.
Otherwise they would likely already have the court decision on their case.
He hadn’t had time to worry about that fact up until now.
But now his nerves were starting back up again.

They were finished eating and Charlotte and Jasper were already on their way up.
Jasp to reopen Junk’N’Stuff and Char to throw away the trash.
Using the opportunity to have a quick talk with his dad in private Henry grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him into their hallway behind the sprocket.

Ray didn’t seem surprised at all by that.
He simply pulled Henry into a hug once they were out the hub.
Henry gladly hugged back just as tight.
That wordless understanding they had by now really was everything to him.
It was a feeling so deep, he didn’t even have a word to explain it.
At least not fully.

Ray had that ‘dad tone’ of his again when he spoke.
“I’m so proud of you Sunshine. I really am. You went through that school stuff like a champ. You all did. I’m sorry I cut you out of real street work like I did. I just wanted to give you the chance to concentrate on your studies. You’re on the right track, you know?”

Henry nodded against his dad’s chest.
He had never had that thought before, but he loved how Ray was just tall enough to place his chin on his head.
It wouldn’t stay like that for much longer. He was more than due for finally getting his growth spurt.
But up until then he could just enjoy the feeling of pressing his face into his dad’s chest for a while longer.

“Thanks Dad. But that’s not it. At least not really. I mean, I’m more than ready to get back into the suit full time over Summer Break. But I’m actually nervous because of the adoption papers. Have you heard anything from the court or government yet.”

Ray had meanwhile started playing with his hair again.
It was a subconscious notion by now. And Henry couldn’t even bring himself to act offended anymore.
He simply liked the calming movements too much for that.

“Sorry Hen. I wish I could tell you something. I heard as little as you did. Is that why you’ve been so nervous the past few days?”

His initial reaction was to say no.
But that would have been a lie.
He had felt more restless than usual with their exam marathon.
He had thought that to maybe come from the stress he had had beforehand.
And while that might also have been a part of that, it wasn’t all.

“Maybe”
He tried to form his jumble of thoughts into coherent sentences.
“I don’t know honestly. But I guess it might be. I’m just so scared they say no, you know. I know it’s more than unlikely they do. But you know how I get whenever something remotely good happens in my life. And this isn’t remotely good, this is… huge.”

He could feel Ray smile into his hair before he pressed a soft kiss to it.
A new habit of his.
One that left Henry slightly dizzy every time.
It was so loving.
So parental that it had completely floored him the first few times his dad had done it after the first time in that stupid business centre.

“You’re not the only one that’s nervous Hen.”
Ray’s voice was vulnerable.
Something he almost never heard the other man be outside their father-son-time.
“If you want me to I’ll call into the office tomorrow. See how far along they are. But I’m actually pretty sure were on the safe side with all of this. The notary told us we don’t even need a court hearing. Since I’m already your legal guardian and your parents sent you away willingly there objectively is no way for them to say no. But If I’m honest, I too am scared. its normal. It just shows how important this is for both of us. I -“

Ray’s speech was interrupted by their phone.
None of their mobiles.
But their hotline phone.

They were back in the hub in seconds.
They finally had a job again!
A real one this time.
No patrol stuff.
But something substantial.
At least it would keep them from spiralling any further.

Chapter Text

Ray had noticed Henry’s nerves being on edge for days now.
He had thought it to be because of school though.
Not because he was just as tense as he himself was about their adoption documents.
He got his sons worries.
They were way too close to his own to not get them.

Ray had been telling himself there objectively was nothing to worry about for the past weeks.
He was already Henry’s legal guardian.
The government had almost no criteria they had to meet for adoption out of the relationship they already had because of that.
No court hearing, no CPS involvement, no talks witch a psychiatrist, no hearing of Henry’s birth parents.
And that was amazing.
It made their whole case so much simpler.

But god damn it!

He was about to adopt his son.
Officially.
Everything he had ever wished for was in arms reach now.
And the stupid government had nothing better to do than take their sweet time.
He just wanted to finally have it on paper that they were family.
To finally be allowed to call Henry his son.
To officially be a father.

The suspense was slowly killing him.

He still stood to his word.
It didn’t change anything between the two of them.
At least not on the sentimental level of their relationship.

But this step still held so much meaning.
For both of them as he realised now.
It was official.
Irrevocable.
Safe.
No one would ever be able to take what they had away from them.
Not that there were many possibilities to do so now.
But…
It simply felt different.

He quickly pressed another kiss to Henry’s head before letting go of him and making his way back to the hub.
Another little habit he had somehow developed over the past weeks.
That gesture simply came naturally to him.
It felt right somehow.
Fitting.
And Henry hadn’t complained yet.
So there wasn’t any reason to stop doing it, was there?

Ray was more than happy for the job they likely would get out of that phone call.
It would keep both of their minds occupied.
And with tomorrow being a school excursion to the theatre, something Henry wasn’t looking forward to in the slightest, he also didn’t have to worry about excusing him from his classes for a day.
It would be the weekend after that anyways.
And it was more than unlikely for them to need more than 3 and a half days for whatever was waiting for them.

Henry picked up the phone with a big smile on his face.
“Captain Man Hotline. You’re talking to Kid Danger. How can we help you?”

He always was nice on the phone.
Public image and all that.
But right now he sounded positively cheery.
Wearing his hero name like a badge.
It was beyond adorable.
But then again, Ray found many things about his son adorable.

“Hello. This is Charles Maywater. I’m the director of Swellview Bank. Our bank has been robbed. But when we went to check the security tapes there was something… weird going on. Is there any chance you can take a look at that? I have no idea who else to call.”

That sounded like fun.
Robberies often were.
Especially the bank ones.

And, they already knew Maywater.
He was a nice dude.
A small doughy man in his mid fifties.
An absolute hardliner.
But that fact made him incredibly efficient and perfect for his position.

So, Henry quickly promised him that they already were on their way.

Finally they could work together again.
On something that actually sounded like a job inside their pay range instead of the next big catastrophe.

Ray understood Henry’s enthusiasm about that more than anything.
He too had missed his favourite knucklehead in the field.
Once he had gotten used to having him around on jobs, which to be honest was pretty much instantly, he couldn’t imagine having to work without him for more than a few days anymore.
They made for an amazing team.
Not only because of the fact that by now they understood each other wordlessly almost without fault.
They evened out each others flaws and always had each others backs.
Something that had had saved both of their asses more times than they were able to count.
And additionally jobs without his son simply had been boring those past weeks.

The Swellview Bank was close by.
But not close enough to walk there from one of their tube entrances.
So, they decided to take the Man’s AMP after chewing their gum and blowing bubbles.

When he sat down at the driver seat, a feeling of anticipation bubbled up inside Ray.
But not because of the job.
In only about two and a half weeks his kid would turn 16.
He could teach him to drive then.
And being able to toss over the keys and let Henry drive them to one of their jobs for the first time was an image that lived in his head rent free.
For much longer than he cared to admit really.

Seeing that little kid he had hired years ago grow up into what already was a more than capable teenager and would soon surely be one of the best of the best when he was an adult filled Ray with more joy than he could ever had fathomed.
Henry would one day have the makings of a hero so much more worthy of the name than Captain Man ever had been.
If that would be the path his kid wanted to choose.
And if he wouldn’t, then Ray would be right next to him and cheering him on just the same.

He would never force anything on him.
And least of all the hero life.
He had seen first hand how that turned out.
How that had destroyed him for years.
How he himself hadn’t been able to even touch his own suit for months after his first job that went to shit.
After the first civilian he hadn’t been able to safe.
Because he had been trained by his dad like being a hero was the only thing he was good at.
The only purpose he had in life. T
he only thing that made him worthy of any kind of life.

He quickly brushed those dark thoughts away though.
For now Ray had to concentrate on getting them to the bank as quickly as possible.
But through the small dark cloud that had almost dimmed his happiness about working with Henry again, the smile he had on his face still was more of a proud dad one than his usual Captain Man mask.
His son really managed to turn him into a better person without even noticing.

They managed to arrive at the Swellview Bank in just under ten minutes due to traffic.
He should one day talk to the police about getting the go to install a flashing blue light atop the Man’s AMP.
Yes, for the practical use.
Not the fun it would bring him.
Ok, maybe also the fun.
But did that really matter?
For all he had already done for this city he deserved some goodies, right?

They were already awaited by Charles Maywater when they pulled up in front of the bank.

“Captain Man, Kid Danger. Thank you for coming. Though we really should stop meeting like this.”
His following chuckle didn’t betray his nerves in the slightest.
Maywater was a tough guy.
He had been head of the Swellview Bank as long as Ray could remember and then some.
So, whatever had happened today wasn’t their usual break in.
Of that Ray was sure by now.

“Well, I fear its kinda part of the job Charles.”
He tried to chuckle back to ease the tension at least a little bit.
“Kid told me you said something about strange video footage? Can we see it?”

Charles nodded, leading them through the entry hall of the bank and into his own office.
“Of course. I already told Candice to draw up a list of all the stolen goods too. It’s not our first rodeo after all, is it?”

This was one of the reasons Ray loved working with Charles.
The routine of break ins had given him a clear sense of what was needed in those situations.
It was way better than having to take care of spooked civilians first.
It gave them the chance to start with their work right away.

As if on cue Candice walked in with the finished report about the stolen stuff and a stick with the video footage on it.
Yes, working with professionals really was a blessing.

Candice was Charles wife.
A nice woman in her 50s, just like her husband.
And she immensely reminded Ray of the late landlady from his first flat.
Though miss Hudson had been already in her late 60s back then.

He quickly thanked her and drew up the video footage on Charles computer while Henry pocketed the list.

Before hitting play he heard Henry calling out for Schwoz over their coms.
“Hey Schwoz, maybe you and Charlotte want to take a look at this too. More eyes to notice the weird stuff that’s going on, you know?”

This kid was beyond clever.
Why hadn’t Ray himself had that idea?

Quickly nodding over to his kid, Ray turned on his mask camera while Henry was busy with telling Schwoz what was going on. Then, Ray pressed play.

They could see the strong room.
Everything looked normal so far.
Until the door opened.

Nothing too strange there.
This wasn’t their first break in where the culprit came through the door with out breaking it.
But that was where it got strange.

There was no culprit.
The door opened and closed without anyone entering the room.

Ray would have bet money on the criminal just changing their mind about the whole thing and bailing.

But then he could clearly see bars of gold moving through thin air.
As if they were pulled through the room on strings.
Then out of nowhere there was a sack. Which over the next 15 minutes of tape was thoroughly filled with wads of money, bars of gold and silver and a few expensive looking pieces of jewellery.
When their , whatever that thing was really, seemed to be done with his or her or its job, the sack simply flew through the air to the door.
Said door opened the sack flew through it and closed again.

Then the tape stopped.

“You see what I mean now? I didn’t know who else to call. If Candice hadn’t seen the same thing as me I would have called my doctor to change my medication. I can’t go to the police with stuff like that.”
Charles normally stoic and ever calm voice had an edge to it that Ray could almost have called panicked.

And he got it.
He really did.
Not that he had the slightest clue about what to do with that tape.

They weren’t the freaking GhostBusters!

And here he was thinking they would for once get a normal job.
No, they had to hunt a literal phantom!

But he couldn’t let Charles sense his desperation.
So he pulled up his best reassuring smile and clapped the man on his shoulder.
“Don’t worry Charles. We’re looking into it. And we will solve that case for you. I mean, we always do, don’t we?”

Henry meanwhile busied himself with also shoving the stick into one of his many pockets, before adding.
“You have nothing to worry about. We got this.”
With his most reassuring look.

Charles seemed to be at least mildly calmed down by their combined efforts and brought them back to their car before bidding his goodbyes.

As soon as the doors closed and Charles was out of earshot Henry was already activating his earpiece again.
“Schwoz, Charlotte? Please tell me you saw something we didn’t. Fighting a ghost definitely wasn’t on my bingo card for this year.”

Chapter Text

Henry didn’t believe in ghosts.
He simply didn’t.
He was way to realistic to do so.
And they weren’t the freaking GhostBusters or ScoobyDoo-Squad.

Stuff like this didn’t happen in real life.

But he had just seen exactly that with his own eyes, hadn’t he?

He had been so happy to finally have a job again.
Something normal.
Some running around and punching bad guys, followed by a good old fashioned press interview and some autographs.
Business as usual.
Stuff he was good at.
No emotional turmoil but simply working next to his dad again.
Something physical to take the edge off his nerves.

And now they were thrown right into the next definitely not normal mission.
They had a streak going on by now.
And not a good one.

But luckily Charlotte on the other end of their comms seemed to be thinking pretty hard about something.
That normally meant she had an idea.
And Charlotte’s ideas almost always meant that whatever waited for them would be manageable.

“It’s just a working hypothesis right now. But I might know what’s going on. Come back to the hub and bring the stick. I need to take a closer look at something.”
She didn’t need to tell them twice.
The farther away they got from that possibly haunted building the better.

They were back to the man cave in record time.
And Henry could see that Ray too wasn’t feeling too comfortable with their whole gig just from the way he drove.
Hopefully Charlotte would be able to shed some light on their mystery culprit.

She took her sweet time though.
Watching and rewatching the video.
Zooming in and out.
Talking to Schwoz in hushed voices while he and Ray stood there like they were waiting for the bus.
Still in their suits but none the wiser as to what or who they actually were looking for.
Henry really hoped it to be a who rather than a what.

Jasper’s tap on his shoulder made him let out a silent startled ‘what?’.

Don’t let Ray fool you later on.
He definitely hadn’t screamed.
He was a 15 year old, almost 16 year old, superhero sidekick.
He didn’t scream.

He did try to kill his best friend with his stare alone though.
That much he could admit.
Not that it did anything to break Jasp’s enthusiasm over whatever it was he was holding in his hands right now.

“Hen, look what just came in the mail!”
He looked at him expectantly.
But Henry’s brain hadn’t rebooted from the whole ghost thing enough to actually register what the hell Jasper was so thrilled about.

And wait, that thing just came in the mail.
To Junk’N’Stuff?

“Jasp, buddy, Why on earth do you get your mail sent to work?”
That really was the only question his mind was able to form right now.
Jasper would tell him what he had ordered sooner or later anyways.

“Oh, that.”
Jasper was quick to explain.
“You know my mom doesn’t want me to have fun things.”

Yeah he did.
Jaspers mom really was… a special person.
And that was putting it lightly.
Ray had once called her a tin hatter with a tendency to hate everything that would give any sane person a little fun.
And honestly, that pretty much nailed it.

“Well that’s why I always ordered stuff to your address. And since you moved into the man cave I started ordering my stuff here. I mean, it’s the same, isn’t it?”
That simple statement probably wasn’t supposed to fill Henry’s gut with that warm feeling again.
But oh how it did nonetheless.

Yes, Jasper had always ordered school books and stuff to his home address.
One of the few things he actually hadn’t wasted a thought on after moving out.
Until now that was.
Him ordering his stuff here now, followed by the explanation he just had given.
It showed Henry again how he and Ray weren’t the only ones seeing the changes slowly happening around them.

He had finally settled in.
Completely.
The first time that feeling had bubbled up had been after his room had been finalised.
But hearing his friends referring to the man cave as his home address.
Hearing Charlotte and Piper calling Ray his dad for the past few days.
Actually having Ray sign his first formal document for school.
Or just seeing his signature under his graded tests.
It all were small pieces to the puzzle called home they were currently building together.

It made him search for words.
Forming a response to Jaspers sentence seemed impossible at the moment.

But luckily he didn’t even have to respond.
Jasper was already babbling about his purchase enough to gloss over Henry’s small emotional breakout.
“-And look at how tiny they are. I know you have your comms and stuff. But up at Junk’N’Stuff I don’t have access to those. And those fit into your belt pocket. So I want you to have the other one.”

Looks like he had turned Jaspers explanation out too much to grasp anything at all.
Visibly shaking himself out of his thoughts, he stared blankly at his best friend.

The expectant and happy look he saw on Jasp’s face promised exactly two things.
First, whatever it was he wanted him to have, he wouldn’t want it because it would be beyond silly.
But second, he wouldn’t take it anyways.
And in the end he would love it just as much as Jasper did.

So, he allowed the small smile tugging on his mouth onto his face before clapping Jasper on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry, but you lost me for the first half there. What do you want me to have?”

Jasper smilingly explained the miniature walkie-talkie before pushing it into his hands and running over to the elevator to test their new gadget out from upstairs.

The next 15 minutes of their time were spent trying to explain to his best friend why Henry didn’t want his call name, on which Jasper insisted, to be sweet pea or prancing pony.
Of course Jasper’s name wasn’t even close to how bad those two were.
White Shadow was at least slightly acceptable.
Ray meanwhile was almost rolling on the floor laughing due to their exchange.
A reaction that was only enforced by the stink eye Henry sent him.
Thanks a lot, dad!

Just a few weeks prior he had missed this exact level of shenanigans.
Now he played with the thought of getting his head checked for that wish.

But then Charlotte and Schwoz saved them from their misery and Henry could finally tell Jasper that he had to get back to work on their case.
He never would have thought that saying ‘over and out’ could actually make him feel joy.

“Ok, so we took a closer look at the tape.” Schwoz started while putting the video footage up on their screen.
“And I think we know who it is we are dealing with.”

He gave the remote over to Charlotte who looked only mildly proud at that gesture.
“I want to start this off by saying that I don’t believe I ghosts.”
She began.

That calmed Henry down a notch.
So there was a logical explanation.
At least that was something.

Ray too let out a small sigh at her statement.

“Ok, So, you see how the door opens and closes here right?”
Charlotte continued while playing the video.
“Now when whoever that is pulls out the bag, I noticed something.”

She paused the video at the exact moment their suspect pulled out the bag from god knows where.
Henry still was none the wiser now that they had a picture of a bag floating through thin air.
But then Charlotte zoomed in.

“You can see someone holding the bag. Someone invisible. And who do we know that is invisible?”

That evoked a quick
‘No! Absolutely not!’ From Ray.
And Henry too was sceptical.
It couldn’t be Brad.
It simply couldn’t.
Brad had died about 18 months ago.
There was no way in hell he was the one robbing the bank.

Though, thinking about it, it made sense.
It at least would explain why that stupid sack was floating mid air.
And Charlotte did have a point.
It really looked like someone was holding the bag rather than it just flying magically.

But still, that couldn’t be, could it?

Ray was still shaking his head next to him.
While Charlotte tried to explain why it really was the only logical solution to their mystery.

So, Henry turned to Schwoz for his next question.

“I mean, yes, I get why you think about him. But how can that be? He died. Ray was there.”

Schwoz hummed, seemingly trying to puzzle all the infos together in his head.
“That’s what I thought too at first. But he is the only registered invisible person in all of America. There really aren’t that many options apart from him.”

That seemingly got Ray’s attention.
“Schwoz, I was at his funeral. They put his coffin in the ground. He’s buried here in Swellview.”

Henry too had trouble believing this whole idea.
But then again, what would be the alternative?

Charlotte once again as the one having the saving idea.
“So, at his funeral, did you see him lying in that coffin?”

That was a… weird question.
Even for Charlotte.
But Ray didn’t seem too phased by that.

“It was an open casket funeral, so yeah.”

Wait. Now he knew where she was getting at.

“Ok.”
Charlotte now couldn’t hide her sly grin anymore.
Oh, she really was good.
“But did you SEE him?”

Now it seemingly also clicked for Ray.

Of course he hadn’t.
Because no one could see invisible Brad.

Oh that promised to be really funny, didn’t it?

Chapter Text

Their mystery criminal couldn’t be Brad.
Sure, Charlotte was right, he hadn’t SEEN Brad in the casket back at the funeral.

But did that really mean he was still alive?

Would that man honestly be cruel enough to play him like that?

Their relationship had always been a tad bit tense.
But they had gotten along well enough to be considered friends.
Well, to some extent.

At least up until his so called friend had started attacking his son.
Back then, he and Henry may not have been as close as they were now, but that still was crossing more than one line for Ray.
Hitting a child with a metal crowbar just to make him quit his job was crazy on literally every level.
Which had brought him to agree with Charlottes plan about tricking him.

But then Brad had died.
Or at least that was what Ray had believed for more than a year now.

If he still was alive that could only mean one of two things.
The first option was that Brad had just played a really mean prank on him.
That wasn’t completely out of the question.
His sense of humour had been special from the very moment Ray had met him years ago.

But it was rather unlikely.
Brad had a family.
They lived far away in Ireland but they still talked regularly and Brad even visited them once a year.
His mom and sister as well as a few close friends and other family members even had flown in from Europe for the mans funeral.
They had been heartbroken about his passing.
He wouldn’t have gone so far for only a prank, would he?

But the other option wasn’t any better, to be honest.
If Brad hadn’t just pranked him, that would mean he had known about their plan.
Or at least some of it and had decided to go underground and wait for a moment to plan his payback.
His MO wasn’t clear yet.
But still, this couldn’t be good.

They needed to find out if it really was him.
And if it was, they needed a plan.
ASAP.

“Ok, no I didn’t SEE him. How could I.”
He replied to Charlotte’s last statement.
“But if it really is him. I’m pretty sure he’s holding some sort of grudge against us. So, why would he rob a bank?”

Because that piece didn’t fit their puzzle they were building right now.
While it obviously was pretty clever to rob a bank when no one could see you, it didn’t fit with what they knew about Brad by now.

Schwoz too seemed to have had that thought.
“Probably he needs money. You stopped your payments to him after he ‘died’ and he can’t really take any normal job with his condition. Depending on what his main goal is he might need a whole lot of money. So, robbing a bank really is the quickest way to get there.”

Yeah, that was plausible.
Enough so to actually be Brad’s motivation behind the break in.
Brad had lost his job after becoming invisible.
So, Ray had payed him a good amount of money every month to make up for it.
He obviously had stopped those payments after the funeral.
Of course Brad’s savings wouldn’t last forever.

But something didn’t add up.
There was a bad feeling in Ray’s gut that told him that wasn’t all.
But he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was bugging him about the whole thing.
It almost looked like Brad wanted to be caught.
But that made no sense.

Ultimately, he couldn’t trust his gut feeling completely right now anyways.
He was way too tense for that.
He tended to get a bit pessimistic or even paranoid when under high stress for a long time.
Especially emotional stress.

So, his bad feeling right now could also just be his paranoia.
Though he also couldn’t dismiss it completely.
Something about this whole thing was smelling… fishy.
And they very likely would find out what pretty soon.
If they did or didn’t want to.

The best they could do for now was to verify if it really was Brad they were dealing with.
Though the only option he could think about to do so was far from what he had had in mind for his day.

“Fine!”
Ray finally sighed.
“At least tell me you have any idea on how to check out if Brad really died or not. Because the only idea I have is something I’d rather not do. Much less in broad daylight.”

In the worst case scenario they had to dig up Brad’s grave to check.
It would for sure be a first for him to reopen a damn coffin.
One he didn’t look forward to in the slightest.

Charlotte sent him an apologetic smile before stating.
“Well, we can check his official records if it makes you feel any better. But I honestly don’t think you can avoid to actually take a look. Though I do agree, you should probably wait until the suns down. I’m not throwing together another cover up story for the two of you running around doing crazy shit. I’m out of ideas for those by now.”

Now it was Henry’s turn to sigh.
“You want us to dig up Brad’s casket? I don’t think there is much to see there either way- Wait!”
Then it clicked.
The avoidance in Henry’s voice got pretty clear now.
“You can’t possibly expect us to feel inside a casket. What if he really is dead? I don’t want to have invisible dead person goo on my fingers. I did absolutely not sign up for stuff like that!”

Ray would have tried to deescalate the situation, but watching Charlotte handle that part was way too funny to do anything but watch.

“Oh, come on Hen! Don’t be a prissy!”
Ouch!
And a strong thing of her to say, since she was the one who had helped him with one mission and then decided to never want to do field work again.
“The chances are 90 to 10 that he’s alive. And trust me, if he really is buried there you wont need to do much more than open the casket. Because he might be invisible. But that doesn’t make him unsmellable.”

She did have a point there.
A disgusting one.
But a point nonetheless.
Something that Henry too seemed to realise.

He popped a gumball into his mouth before dropping down onto the couch.
“Ok, fine! We’ll go dig up invisible Brad’s casket. But you need to make coffee! The good one! Otherwise I’m striking.”

Ray then turned out the teens bickering in favour of helping Schwoz over at the consoles.
“And you really are sure he is the only registered invisible person?”
He asked around his mouth full of gum.
Just to make sure.

“Yes. I checked. Even the locked files.”
Ray didn’t really want to know how Schwoz managed to get hold of those.
The less he knew about stealing government secrets, the better.

“There could be unregistered invisible people. But that is unlikely. Like I said back then, the amount of radioactive Zenite you need to make someone invisible is almost impossible to acquire. Much less now that the government checks the black market extra hard.”
Again, Ray probably shouldn’t ask why Schwoz knew all of that.

“So, I really think it is him. But I did start a check through Brad’s personal data. Bank movements, official government status, job search engines, hotel bookings, car or apartment rentals and a few more. Though I don’t think that I’ll find anything other than him being declared dead and buried.”

The tests came back just as Schwoz had anticipated a few hours later.
Which lead to him and Henry driving over to Swellview cemetery at around 7 PM that evening.
Officially the cemetery had closed about an hour ago.
So, they should be in the clear.

Though what they were about to do still felt wrong.
He wouldn’t have believed himself a few hours ago, but right now he really hoped that Brad had just faked his dead.
Because digging up a real dead man wasn’t something he wanted laying on his conscience.

Hopefully this would be quick.
There actually were a lot of thing he’d rather do with his evening.
But the job came first.
It always did.

“That’s it.”
Henry exclaimed while pointing over to the headstone reading ‘Bradley Belcher’.

Here went nothing.
Ugh.

At least there were no decorations they had to take off first.
Brad’s grave almost looked sad with how little anyone had looked after it.
Even the headstone only read his name and death date.
In a twisted way it made actually digging the casket up a bit easier.
Knowing they didn’t disturb any grieving process of close relatives.

Breaking the ground was his ‘privilege’ (Thank you, Kid!) and it felt beyond strange.
But as soon as they managed to get the first grassy layer of ground off, it got a bit better.
Not good, mind you.
Ray still felt pretty much watched and judged by the headstones around him.
But he could actually bicker with his kid while working now.
So, it was bearable.

This kind of job was the last thing he had in mind this morning.
But still, working next to his son was something he had missed immensely over the past weeks.
He had gotten way to accustomed to have him running around on jobs.
So now, working alone felt… weird.
And it was beyond boring.
This was a lot better.

It took them about an hour to finally get deep enough to see the lid of Brad’s casket.
Both of them were drenched in sweat at that point.
The end of April may not have been warm per say.
But it was enough to turn digging for an hour straight into a high intensity workout.

Henry therefore was more than happy when Ray told him that he wouldn’t need his help to heave the casket out of the grave.
But thanks to the Anti-Gravi it wasn’t too much of a hassle anyways.

And then came the one thing none of the two looked forward to.
Henry thankfully volunteered to open the casket with their crowbar.
All while muttering something about evening out the score.
And honestly, Ray got it.
If he were in Henry’s position he also would see it as kind of satisfying to use the same tool as the one used to almost break his leg a while back.

And so, at around quarter past 8 PM, they found themselves in front of a now no longer nailed close casket, building up the courage to actually open it.
If Charlotte and Schwoz were correct, what they usually were, they would find exactly nothing inside.
That would for now be the best option.
Though that would mean a whole bunch of trouble from here on out.

Not that the other options would be any better.
If Brad really was dead, that would mean they had another unregistered invisible person running around Swellview.
And while Schwoz had deemed that to be more than unlikely, he too had to admit that it was impossible.

It was Ray that opened the lid in the end.
Too on edge to wait any longer.
They needed to do this to finally get on with their investigation.
And as always, Schwoz and Charlotte had been right.
The casket was empty.
Henry too let out a deep sigh once they both had felt inside to verify their suspicion.

Ray was just about to turn around to his son to plan how they wanted to put the casket back inside the grave and what that meant for their case when he suddenly heard a sinister chuckle behind them.

Fuck!

He had been right.
Something was off.
This whole thing had been a trap.
For them.

He should have known.

But then again, he had known something was fishy.
He just once again hadn’t listened to his gut feeling.

But before he could actually start getting angry at himself for that, his own shovel hit him in the head with a loud ‘pang’ and he could feel himself stumbling backwards.
Right into the casket.

Chapter Text

For the first time in his life, Henry Hart wished for nothing more than being unconscious.

It wouldn’t be the first time.
With a job like his, concussions and other injuries were a given.
It just was part of the job to get a bit rouged up occasionally.
And every injury he got because of a job simply showed him what not to do the next time around.
It really was no big deal.

Though his dad hated his view on getting hurt in the field.
Ray had always been kind of a mother hen in that aspect.
And he got it.
Thinking about his little sister getting hurt like he did on the regular made his stomach churn.

But Henry knew that there always was a risk to get hurt.
And it really didn’t bother him.
This was the life he had always wished for after all.
The one he had actively chosen two years ago when swearing his oath.

He had dreamed to become a police officer after school for most of his life.
Or a firefighter.
Anything with a good dash of adrenaline, risk and helping people.
And being Kid Danger basically was just that but way better.
It was the quintessence of doing the right thing.
And Henry loved every single second of it.

He finally had found his place.
Not just in private.
He had found the one thing he could really see himself doing for the rest of his life.
His true calling as a poet might say.
He was good at what he was doing.
And he liked it.
He loved it really.

So, being hit over the head with a shovel, while not pleasant, wasn’t new.
So was meeting the ground face first afterwards.
Only that it wasn't the ground this time.
It was that bloody casket they had just dug up.

And that’s exactly where the real problem began.
Every person had things they were scared of.
His own list had significantly changed over the past months.
But Henry had known he was somewhat claustrophobic for years now.

And yes, he should have told Ray that during the job interview.
He really should have.
But he hadn’t.
First the job interview in itself was a burning dumpster fire.
Ray had had not a singular clue of what it was he was doing.
Then he had kept quiet because he had been scared to be fired for it.
And now that the two of them were way too close to even consider loosing his job, he simply had forgotten.

It wasn't that bad after all. Claustrophobia maybe even was too big of a word for it, really.
He had no problem with the subway or elevators.
As long as he could move somewhat freely, everything was fine.
The fear only started creeping in once his ability to move was obstructed because of his surroundings.

Like, being handcuffed in itself was no problem, just unpleasant but still manageable.
An elevator in itself was no problem.
Did he feel a bit queasy while using one?
Sure.
But he could handle it without much trouble.
But being handcuffed inside an elevator would be game over.

It wasn’t typical claustrophobia.
So, he always thought it wouldn’t matter much.
And it had worked out well enough for years now.
So it would keep working out, right?

That thought had been a mistake as he found out now.

They were stuck inside that stupid casket which stupid Brad had just nailed close and dropped back into that stupid grave.
And now he was filling the grave back up with dirt.
Wasn’t that just great?

The irony tasted bitter in Henry’s mouth, even without saying anything.

Maybe it also was the panic slowly building up inside him.
This was basically the worst case scenario.

It was cramped inside this casket.
And that was putting it lightly.
And while he could move around a little bit, it wasn’t enough to not send his neurones into overdrive.
It would likely be way to tight to not start shaking even if Henry had been alone.
Now that they were trapped in here together, it would only be worse.

There was no way to stop the process now starting in his head.
He would start to panic.
This was a given.
Sooner or later the fight or flight would take over.

He could feel it creeping in already.
His heart rate was going up to unhealthy levels and his breaths shortened.

There was the trained part of his brain keeping track of his trigger responses again.
It almost would have been funny in a different situation.

But worse than all of his bodily symptoms was his brain.

‘You’re going to die here’ was the loudest of his thoughts.

And while he tried really hard to rationalise this fear, he didn’t manage to do so.
Not even slightly.