Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Clara always remembered some students clearly. Not for their grades or their talents, but for small, specific things that made them stand out in her memories.

And Henry Hart was one of those students.

When she first met him in second grade, Henry was a kind, smiling boy with a vast imagination that often bordered on the comical and absurd, but made it very entertaining to watch him draw in class.

His works were simple, but always full of color, movement, and little stories hidden in the details. Sometimes he drew himself with his best friends or with his younger sister, whom he often portrayed as a little devil; other times, he portrayed monsters, heroes, creatures. He had imagination… and something more. Something very vivid that screamed how great he could become in the future.

But in third grade, everything changed.

He stopped handing in his assignments on time. When he did, they were dark, hastily drawn pencil sketches, with broken lines, unfinished. Sometimes smudged, wrinkled, as if he'd dug them out of the bottom of an abandoned backpack.

He didn't talk much anymore. He sat at the back. He fell asleep in class. And when she woke him up, he responded with a polite smile, as if nothing had happened.

Clara wasn't the only one who noticed. But she was one of the few who was genuinely concerned. She even considered talking to the school counselor, but there was never any clear evidence, not even a direct confession. Only one boy was starting to fade away.

And then, the year before last, he simply disappeared.

"They told me he went to work," replied a student she knew used to be one of his classmates.

"He was always lazy, and like his parents, God save him from the Hart curse," murmured two teachers, incarnations of snakes, in the staff room.

Clara didn't believe any of it. Her instinct, honed by more than 25 years in the profession, told her there was much more to that story.

Years passed. Henry Hart became a distant memory. But Clara still thought about him from time to time, especially when she corrected drawings by new students with wild imaginations or rebellious students who, with a little understanding, ended up telling stories that shut up the jokes and rumors of others.

And then, six years later, a year after her well-deserved retirement, on a walk in the park with a friend—Gloria, who worked at the municipal library—Clara heard something that left her speechless:

“Did you hear the Harts' eldest son came back to town?” Gloria said casually, while throwing bread to the ducks.

“Umm?” Clara had been distracted watching the ducks eat.

“Henry Hart, you had him in your class a few years ago, if I remember correctly. I saw him recently with a little girl. She seems to be his daughter.”

A daughter.

Clara paled, staring at the water. Her mind whirled with memories: she remembered the eldest Hart son, but that had been six or seven years ago? The longest that boy could have been, 24 years old. young.

Among the memories, the young man's worrying attitude and his imminent disappearance also returned.

Also the poisonous rumors, which didn't surprise her, were that almost half of them were coming from adults rather than students.

She felt a pang of guilt. And another one of relief. Because if Henry was back, and if he had a family, then it meant the boy had moved on.

She might never know the full truth, but she reflected quietly, "I hope he's okay now."

Her friend just nodded, disconnected from Clara's thoughts. Shortly after, the weather changed, and they each decided to return home because it was too cold to stay outside.

-------------

Mario didn't consider himself an emotional man. He had always been practical, direct. Teaching sports was simple: work, discipline, respect. No digging into teenage dramas... or so he thought.

Until Henry Hart.

Henry was fast, agile, a good player. Not the best on the team, but one who stood out for his commitment. Until one day he stopped doing it.

He arrived late, breathing heavily. Sometimes he just lay on the bench with no energy to warm up.

He once came in with a scratch on his eyebrow. Another time, with his arm half bandaged.

But it was one day, when he arrived with three large bruises on his neck and side, that Mario confronted him.

"What happened to you, Hart?"

"Nothing, Coach, I just fell helping move some things at the store where I work," he said with a forced smile.

Lie. It was obvious.

Mario was about to call the principal, or even social services. But before he could do anything, Henry approached him,with his eyes red.

“Please don't say anything. I'm asking you. I... just need a little more time. Don't take me off the team, please.”

But he didn't need to. Henry quit that same day. And the next day, he stopped attending practice. Then, a few years later, he heard that he had quit school.

Mario felt like he had failed. Not just as a teacher, but as an adult. He had missed a clear signal. He didn't get involved. Out of fear, out of respect, out of... cowardice.

The years passed, and although he didn't say it out loud, every time a student quit the team or showed alarming signs, he thought of Henry Hart.

Until one random afternoon, he came home from work early and sat down to watch television with his wife. Although they were both doing something else, she was looking at her cell phone, and he took the opportunity to pet their dog, who was sitting nearby.

Until his wife seemed to notice his presence and, without taking her eyes off her phone, started a conversation.

“The boys are going to meet up with their friends tomorrow, I’m going to pick them up that night, could you take care of the food tomorrow, love?”

"Okay, what do you want?"

"Something the kids don't like, they'll eat with their friends."

"Sushi then?"

"You know me well."

They rested for a while in comfortable silence until his wife spoke again to give him some shocking news.

"Did you hear Henry Hart is back in town? He's with a little girl."

"A little girl?"

"Yes! Shapen told me this morning. He said that's probably why he disappeared from town. He had a daughter and went to take care of her, poor boy."

Mario wasn't so sure. Yes, maybe teenage fatherhood made some sense as an explanation, but he knew there was something else, something he hadn't even wanted to see.

The conversation ended there, but the thought lingered until the next day.

When he went to buy some sauces and the rice his wife loved so much to make some delicious homemade sushi at a store downtown. And there, among the shelves of stationery and art supplies, was Henry Hart.

Taller, more robust, with shorter hair and a much darker shade than the blond he remembered him with, but unmistakable.

He didn't think twice before approaching to say hello.

"Henry!"

The young man turned around and his face showed recognition.

"Coach Mario!" Henry said, surprised but genuinely happy.

They greeted each other by shaking hands and Mario noticed in the arms of the ex-student a basket with many drawing materials, he asked him if he was drawing something, and Henry answered naturally:

“No, they're for Missy. She has a project due for her art class tomorrow, and she had no better idea than to wait until the last hour of the day to start doing it, obviously without any materials on hand,” he finished the explanation with a smile on his face, showing that he wasn't angry at all.

Missy.

The name lingered in his head. Then it was true. The boy had a daughter.

Mario stared at him for a second. And suddenly, with more emotion than he thought he had, he placed a hand on his shoulder.

He tried to make his voice calmer but serious before speaking.

“I always knew you were strong, Hart. Maybe I didn't fully understand what you were going through, but… I regret not having done more for you at that moment.”

The young blond man looked at him in confusion. “It's okay … really.”

“If you ever need anything… anything, find me. I have contacts. Even for a job if necessary,” he said jokingly.

Henry laughed, somewhat confused, not fully understanding the background.

“Thanks, but I'm working at a coffee shop in Newtown.”

They talked a little longer before saying goodbye, each of them moving on with their lives.

Mario walked away, thinking about the past. But one thing reassured him now: Henry Hart was still standing. And he seemed happy.

“And he's still in shape,” he thought with a smile. “He never left the sport, that man…”

—-----------------

Oliver was never one of the popular ones. He didn't even try to be.

For as long as he could remember, he'd always been interested in "weird" things: insects, old video games, fantasy books, colorful clothes, extremely tight jeans, and technology. That, combined with his overweight and his personality, made him an easy target from the first day of high school.

But then there was Sidney.

Sidney was the other weirdo. Just as strange, but louder. He talked with his hands, laughed like the world couldn't shut him up, and they followed each other around in whatever crazy thing happened during the week.

They were both called "the gays in the back" even before they knew they were.

and… ok

...maybe the thing about them eating bugs was just a rumor, but they decided not to deny it, and in fact, sometimes even confirm it. It was more fun that way.

And then there were them: Henry, Jasper, and Charlotte.

Jasper was pure chaos, one of the few who actually got along with everyone. Charlotte was more reserved but always greeted them with respect. And Henry… Henry was that boy who seemed to have it all, but didn't act like he knew it. He was kind. Weird in his own way. He played basketball, had girlfriends, but he also sat with them in the library, helped them with their homework, and even once stood up for Sidney when a jerk from the senior year tried to push him in the hallway.

To Oliver, those three were like distant but warm figures. They were never really part of the same group, but they were certainly on the same planet.

The first few years were good. Especially when Jasper started spending more time with them and Henry still smiled without looking tired. They even had inside jokes. There was a time when Sidney swore Charlotte and Jasper were secretly aliens sent by an international agency of "cool people," and Henry played along because he was a mini-CIA spy.

But everything started to go wrong over the years.

First, Henry started disappearing. He skipped classes. He had dark circles under his eyes. He was always late. He looked exhausted, as if he were fighting an invisible war that only he knew about.

Oliver and Sidney, although they weren't his closest friends, noticed it. They asked Jasper several times what was wrong with Henry.

And Jasper, normally so talkative, didn't say much:

He never gave them a straight answer, just things like, "He's working hard,"  "He has other things on his mind," "He's focused on other things."

"He's being an idiot."

But then

when Henry left school completely

and they went to ask him, Jasper seemed thoughtful, and his answers were even more strange and worrying.

"He...is having a hard time," "He has a lot of responsibilities."

Until finally, he told them frankly, "I don't know. I'd rather you didn't ask me anymore, guys. I'm sorry," and his voice was already more than a little worrying.

That made them uneasy.

Oliver wanted to ask Charlotte, especially when he became closer to her during senior year. But he wasn't as good a friend as he was with Jasper, and if Jasper, who was always so helpful and understanding when talking, had that answer, he didn't want to know what Charlotte would say.

So, what was the point of continuing to push?

Then they finished high school.

And worry turned to mourning when, almost at the same time, the death of the young superhero Kid Danger was announced.

Sidney cried. So did Oliver, though he didn't admit it out loud. They were both part of the local fan club. For them, it was like losing a symbol, a beacon.

And in the midst of that pain, Charlotte told them at prom that she was going to Dystopia for a charity project, and then Jasper said he was also leaving for a job. It was then that Oliver asked about Henry, for the last time.

And this time, they both smiled.

"Henry's coming with us too," Charlotte said.

"We got a great job there," Jasper added.

It was the first time in a long time that Oliver saw hope in both of their eyes. And that image was enough to let go of his worry.

Maybe Henry was okay, after all.

…

Years passed.

Oliver graduated and entered the world of programming, meanwhile Sidney became a graphic designer.

They shared an apartment, pets, and a simple life. And recently, they also shared a beautiful ring

Oliver kept in touch with Jasper and Charlotte over the years, less and less, but they always greeted each other on birthdays,

and when they heard the news, they congratulated them.

Life went on.

And Henry… he just wasn't showing up anywhere.

he heard almost nothing from Hart during all this time; the guy didn't seem to have any social media, and the last thing she remembers seeing him was in a Piper’s post from a time she visited him,like, a few months ago or in an Instagram story from Jasper years ago.

Until that day.

Oliver went to the Swellview technology store with a clear purpose: to buy Sidney a new laptop he needed for work, as an anniversary gift.

he'd already chosen it and was waiting to pay for it when he saw him.

Henry Hart.

Standing in front of a cell phone display case, arguing in a low voice with a pre-teen girl of about twelve or thirteen years old, maybe.

Oliver looked at him, surprised.

 Henry didn't seem to recognize him as he focused on the display, which made sense, because the last thing he'd seen of Oliver was the chubby, strange kid he'd been in middle school.

Oliver watched him for a while.

 Henry looked taller, more grown-up, definitely bigger, even intimidating, one might say.

But the strangest thing wasn't just her presence...

It was the girl.

She spoke quickly, gesticulating, pointing at the devices as if she were a tour guide

And Henry was just trying to make sure she didn't touch anything that might explode.

He felt he had to say hello, and the clerk hadn't called him yet to pay for the laptop,

so he took it as a sign to approach.

"Henry?"

Henry looked up, frowned curiously.

"Uh... yeah?"

"It's me. Oliver Pook... from school?"

For a second, Henry's face was a blue Windows screen. But suddenly, a spark ignited in his eyes.

"Oliver?! Wow! But... you look completely different!"

Oliver laughed.

"Yeah, well... I kicked some bad habits and started lifting weights. It works."

"It shows!" Henry replied, still surprised. "Good to see you, man."

The girl approached, interrupting with her energy.

"Who's he?"

"A friend from high school," Henry explained, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "This is Oliver."

"Hi Oliver, I'm Missy," she said with a huge smile, before turning on her heel and continuing to browse as if no one else existed in the store.

Questions began to pop into his head, but he didn't say anything yet.

"What are you buying?" Henry asked, snapping him out of his daze.

"A new laptop for Sidney, for our anniversary," Oliver replied with an automatic smile.

Henry nodded sincerely.

"Jasper and Charlotte told me you were engaged. Congratulations, really."

"Thank you..." he replied, half-mechanically. And then, unable to contain himself, "And you?"

Henry gestured with resignation toward the phones.

"A cell phone. My old phone is already a museum piece, according to Missy. She's forcing me to upgrade... She says I'm too young and need to 'return to the outside world as a social person in the wonderful virtual world.' Her exact words," he joked.

Oliver chuckled, even though he was in shock inside.

Forcing...? What the...? Since when does Henry Hart sound like a resigned father? Why did he talk like a 40-year-old when you're only 23? Before Oliver could ask who the hell Missy really was, the salesperson called him over to pay. And at the same time, the girl yelled from across the store:

"Henry! You have to see this, COME ON!"

Henry gestured to Oliver.

"See you around, yeah? Say hi to Sidney for me" Henry said, smiling, before walking away.

Oliver nodded, completely stunned, flipping the laptop on autopilot, his mind blank but full of questions, though it was to be expected coming from Henry Hart's life.

----------------------------------

Marsha always knew Charlotte was different.

She was so intelligent, sometimes frightening, so determined she could move mountains. But above all, Charlotte had something that can't be taught: a firm, unwavering kindness.

Raising her alone wasn't easy, although she always had the help of her brother, Charlotte's uncle.

From the beginning, she promised herself that her daughter would know the truth about the world: that she would have to work twice as hard to be recognized half as much, that she would have to be strong even when the rest could afford to be fragile. But she also promised her love, protection, a mother who, even if she couldn't be there sometimes, would always be there.

And so she raised Charlotte, with equal parts demand and tenderness. Even though sometimes she cried in secret when she missed a performance or a birthday. But Charlotte, the little genius, always understood her. In her own way.

Between double shifts at the hospital and the daily sacrifices, she sometimes felt like a half-mother. But he never allowed himself to fail her.

Although the truth is, there was someone—two, actually—who helped her more than they knew.

Jasper Dunlop and Henry Hart.

Madeline will never forget that day in the park. Charlotte, barely four years old, walked up to the two children playing alone, apart from the rest. She didn't even hesitate. She sat next to them as if she'd known them all her life.

From that moment on, Marsha felt that something divine—or fate—was gifting her daughter with something priceless: true friendships.

And my goodness… how grateful she was for that, and she said it even though she was almost completely atheist.

With each passing year, the three became more inseparable. They played, studied, and looked after each other. Jasper was tender and clumsy, Henry was absent-minded but loyal, and Charlotte united them with her quiet strength.

She loved those children. Not as mere friends of her daughter's, but as if they were also part of the family.

But the years came with their own rifts.

Something changed.

Not in their friendship. No. In fact, they seemed to grow closer than ever.

But something began to change.

Madeline didn't notice at first. At 13, Charlotte told her that Henry had gotten a small job so he could buy video games and those things kids want but parents don't want to buy them.

(Specifically, if we're talking about Henry's parents, Marsha definitely had different concepts of parenting and, if she were honest, she'd even call them neglectful in many ways. Sometimes she felt the reason the kids always used the Harts' house as their main hangout was because otherwise the house could be deserted for days, with only the two children in the family present.)

"Can I work with him?" Charlotte asked.

"As long as you tell me where and when, it's fine," she replied. Madeline didn't see much of a problem with it; her daughter is organized, and she knew it wouldn't affect her grades, and that maybe it would be good for her to have her own savings.

But over the years, the story changed.

Charlotte spoke of work as if it were a mission. She mentioned her boss with a mixture of mockery and resignation. And she spoke of Henry with a concern that Marsha noticed, but didn't want to invade.

Marsha would have called her exaggerated.

Until months later, when she saw Hart's eldest son in person.

He was no longer the luminous child she remembered.

He was… faded.

And the worst part was that she didn't know what to do with it.

But what she could never, ever get out of her head was that night.

The night Charlotte texted her:

"Can you come pick us up? Henry and Jasper got lost after a party."

It was late, Sunday. Everything in the text smacked of a white lie, but she didn't ask.

She went. Because when your daughter needs you, you just go.

When she saw them get into the car, something in her chest tightened.

Charlotte thanked her and asked if Jasper and Henry could sleep over that day.

Any other day, Marsha would have said no, because it was Sunday and because some time ago she'd made an unwritten rule about no boys at sleepovers, even if it was Jasper and Henry.

But Charlotte looked worried, Jasper tired.

But Henry...he looked bad.

That night he accepted and was internally grateful for having done so.

When they got home, her daughter came out and helped Henry out of the car. It was there that Marsha noticed Henry struggling to stand.

It was also when she saw him in the eyes for the first time in what she thought was years.

The boy had the darkest circles under his eyes that she'd ever seen on a 16-year-old, and his gaze... She recognized it. God, how she recognized it.

she had seen that empty, burned look in the eyes of fellow doctors after hellish days.

She'd seen it on victims and doctors alike who spent nights in emergency rooms after a supervillain attack.

That wasn't the look on a 16-year-old boy's face.

That's not the look on a teenager who's stressed about school grades. That's not the look on a teenager who's pulled an all-nighter playing video games or studying for a test or going out to a party.

No, that's the look on someone who's at their limit, someone utterly exhausted in every way possible.

She let them in without a word.

Jasper and Charlotte led Henry into the bedroom. Charlotte went to the bathroom and came back with the first aid kit. Marsha said nothing.

When Jasper quietly asked if he could grab something to eat because "they hadn't eaten all day," she nodded silently.

Everything was so mechanical, as if it were normal.

She didn't understand what she was seeing. She only knew she couldn't ignore it.

She remained silent when, at breakfast the next morning, she noticed bruises on Henry's knuckles.

She knew something was terribly wrong. And she did nothing.

Nothing.

She, a trained nurse. A woman who knew how to detect signs of violence and possible trauma.

She remained motionless.

She waited until the next day for her daughter to tell her what had happened that night,

but when she didn't, she waited the next day, and the next, and the next...

And when she realized her daughter wasn't going to say anything on her own, she was about to demand answers. But that same afternoon, her daughter came home, dropped her backpack, walked over to her, and hugged her tightly.

"Henry didn't come to school today," she said, her voice cracking.

"Is he okay?" Madeline asked, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt like an idiot. She should have asked him where that boy was or demanded an explanation of everything that happened that night, but that was the only question her mind could formulate at the time. Honestly, was that all she could say?

Charlotte didn't answer right away.

"I don't know... I don't think he'll ever go again."

And then she turned away. She grabbed her things and left. She said she'd go to work to check on Henry.

Marsha just stared at her, stunned, not knowing what to say.

She should have said or done something else: called Henry's parents, asked the school, shit, even called Jasper's insufferable mother to ask if she knew anything, although talking to that woman was another hell.

But she said nothing, did nothing.

She didn't really know how to handle that guilt.

So she let it pile up.

And then, he disappeared.

Henry stopped going to classes. No one knew anything else.

The end of the last school year began to approach, and life went on, as if nothing had happened.

As if Henry Hart had never existed.

Marsha kept seeing him in photos Charlotte showed her on her phone, always from a distance. Always smiling, but… as if he was constantly slipping away between the margins.

Nor was she surprised that, while she was helping prepare for the prom, Henry Hart's name wasn't on the list next to her daughter's or Jasper's.

Although, she was surprised to see Piper Hart's name on it. Was Piper graduating before her older brother?

Nothing made sense.

And then… Kid Danger died.

Madeline was in the children's hospital that was about to be attacked that day.

The young superhero saved dozens of lives. He sacrificed himself.

And the people wept.

The whole city stopped for him.

Marsha, amidst applause and tributes, truly wept.

She didn't know why; she wasn't even a fan of heroes or anything like that; in fact, sometimes she was against their ways.

She only knew that the world had lost someone young, brave, and exhausted.

And even though she never saw him without a mask, something in her heart squeezed too tightly.

And then, as if everything had come to close that chapter of chaos, Charlotte announced that she would be leaving for a year to a distant city on the other side of the world to work on a charity project before entering Harvard.

She said it calmly, as if it were nothing.

Marsha was obviously scared.

But when her daughter told her she wouldn't be alone, she calmed down.

And when she said Jasper and Henry were going with her, Marsha felt her breath catch in her throat.

Not just from shock, or pride,

but also because this was possibly the first thing she'd heard about Henry Hart's future in years.

And so, her daughter and her friends left.

And she was left with many questions.

…

The years passed. Charlotte flourished. Harvard, internships, research. Every time Marsha looked at her, she felt a pride that filled her soul.

She came to visit her at least once a year.

That first year, Marsha asked about the boys, and she told her they were fine and could take care of themselves.

Over the next few years, she learned less and less about the lives of Jasper Dunlop and Henry Hart.

It wasn't that her daughter had fought or distanced herself from them and didn't want to talk about them; in fact, she told her she talked to them every day.

It was that, amid all the things her daughter told her about her college life and her daily antics, the stories of Henry and Jasper faded away, like old photos stored in a box.

Until today, at the hospital, during a break, one of the new nurses commented:

"Hey, do any of you know the Harts?"

That caught Marsha's attention, because yes, she did, and because she probably hadn't heard that last name in months.

A young intern commented, "Yeah", before her, the nurse continued talking.

"Well, apparently Henry's back in town."

"Hey, Henry Hart? Wow, I haven't heard that name in years. He was my classmate."

"Oh yeah? He was my little sister's classmate, too." The intern approached to talk to the nurse, and suddenly Marsha was very interested in their conversation.

"Didn't he disappear or something? I remember he dropped out of school and the teachers said he was mixed up in weird stuff, and that's why he left."

"Yes, I heard it at the time too. I never believed it. He always seemed too soft-spoken for that. Although I think my gossipy sister just found the real reason. She just told me he reappeared with a daughter and that she looks old enough for him to have had her young."

The nurse showed what she assumed was the text message to the intern on her cell phone.

The coffee fell from her hands.

A daughter?

The color drained from her face so quickly that she was sure they both realized she was listening, that and the coffee.

How could Charlotte have failed to tell her that tiny bit of big news about Henry? Did she forget?

Also,

Her internal logic told her that maybe it was just gossip created by bored young people with nothing better to do.

But it still echoed in her because she knew so little about that child's life. Now, an adult, she corrected herself internally, and she had come to consider him part of her family.

That, THAT could be true, and she'd never realized it. Not just that rumor, but the others that came out at that time. She wasn't deaf; she heard them all.

She made a huge mental note that she would call her daughter that night to ask for updates, and if it was true that Henry Hart had returned to Swellview, she would have no problem inviting him over for a meal and who knows, maybe talk about all the things they hadn't been able to talk about in all those years….

Chapter Text

Henry knew that coming back to Swellview wasn't going to be easy.

If you had asked him a year ago if he would return to that town, he probably would have laughed sarcastically and responded with a big "no."

But ... in the last year, everything had changed quite a bit.

Now he lived in Newtown, building a new image as a local superhero from scratch. He had a coffee shop that served as a cover for his secret lair, and, as usual, he wasn't alone: he had a new partner. Missy Martin. His sidekick. She followed him everywhere like a lost duckling.

It's no exaggeration to say that the whole situation filled him with nostalgia.

He couldn't stop it. Every time they finished a mission together and he saw them on the news or on social media, his mind kept comparing their photos and videos with those first images taken of him and Ray, back when they were just starting out as Kid Danger and Captain Man.

Also, Newtown was only 45 minutes away from Swellview. All it took was a motorcycle ride of less than an hour to reach his old house or any corner of his childhood, nothing comparable to the 21-hour flight from Dystopia.

That was hard to process. Swellview, for a long time, had been buried in his memories… along with his identity as Kid Danger and that young Henry Hart who split himself in two to maintain a double life.

And in a way, he blamed Missy for bringing all that back, though not in a bad way, it was just a fact.

He went back to having a secret identity, not to protect himself, but to protect her.

And, to top it all off, he could "smell" Swellview from a distance, as close as he was.

For the first few months, he absolutely refused to think about it. He focused on building his cave (because yes, he could call it that, just like the Man's Cave), training Missy, creating his alter ego, and taking down some of the criminal networks operating in town.

And getting used to occasionally being simply Henry Hart: the new guy in town, owner of a coffee shop with the worst opening and closing hours you'll ever meet.

Everything changed when, somehow (he suspected Piper had something to do with it), her parents discovered he lived nearby. And they invited him to visit.

Henry wasn't a bad son. He didn't consider himself that way. But the thought of seeing his parents again after years… was too much. They'd kept in touch through calls and texts, yes, but seeing them face to face was a different story. It's not that he held any hard feelings, nor did he consider them bad parents. It was just… complicated.

Still, one random Friday, he swallowed his pride and asked Missy to take care of "the coffee shop" for the weekend (with the strict instructions to call him in case of any emergency). Without much explanation, he went to spend a couple of days with his family.

It was strange, yes. But not terrible. In fact, it helped him overcome that inner fear he had of returning to his hometown.

After that, he started going more often. And, as expected, he didn't go alone.

Missy practically begged him to take her. First, because Swellview was known as the famous "village of heroes," and second, because—according to her—its shops were a thousand times more fun than those in Newtown. Henry couldn't argue: she was right on both counts.

He used these visits to reconnect with Danger Force.

With whom he had initially been very close: calls from Dystopia, occasional visits... but over the years, that bond cooled.

He was so disconnected that he didn't even find out about Captain Man's retirement until his third visit.

Because, come on, Ray? Retired? That was crazy, not only because he never imagined the day Ray would give up being Captain Man, but because retirement meant seeing him accept his age.

and that was unimaginable.

Even so, Danger Force welcomed them with open arms. They told him crazy stories from their daily lives and old missions.

 Henry felt good... like he was at home.

And so, almost without realizing it, Henry Hart walked the streets of Swellview again more often than he had in the last six years.

And of course, that meant reconnecting with people from his past. Because let's not forget: Swellview was a town. And in towns, everyone knows everyone.

What he didn't expect was how strange the people were.

Swellview was never known for having normal inhabitants; there probably isn't a single normal person living in that town, he knew that. But even so... everything felt too strange.

It wasn't just one or two. It was everyone. And Henry couldn't understand why.

For example: one day, he was walking through the neighborhood and a neighbor—a close friend of his mother's—recognized him and started talking to him. Everything was normal, until she suddenly confessed that she wasn't a person to judge anyone because she had a wild youth and a very young daughter.

Where had all that come from? Henry had no idea. But, thanks to his experience in Dystopia, where he learned to maintain his composure, he nodded, smiled, and followed the conversation as if he understood... until Miss Rubén said goodbye and left as if nothing had happened, leaving him with a look of "what the hell was that?"

And she wasn't the only one.

his old coach told him how brave he was and offered him help finding a job.

A former high school classmate (whom he ran into at a party) who couldn't stop talking about how much the town had changed and apologized for not defending him from the rumors.

An old colleague of his father's who started talking to him about how he could never get any information out of his old man all the times he asked about him.

Another neighbor—who was quite nosy in her day (and he remembered that once, he shot her with a laser because she wouldn't stop talking and he was in a hurry)—now talked to him about the good progress of the public education system in town as if he were considering having children.

Damn! He'd even run into Bianca at an art exhibit, and although their brief conversation was nice, she kept looking at him with a strange look and an almost pitying tone (???).

Even Missy noticed (yes, she was there, she was the one who dragged to that exhibition)

It was all very confusing.

Had he gradually gotten unused to Swellview's natural weirdness? Or was something really wrong?

One afternoon in the Man's Nest, he asked Mika if she'd noticed anything strange in town lately. She said no.

But Missy, in a low voice, confessed that she'd seen Miles and Chapa cover Bose's mouth mid-conversation.

So no, returning to Swellview wasn't the nightmare Henry thought it would be.

But it was definitely… weird, and fun.

—-------------------------------------

It was a quiet morning.

Henry's parents had invited him over for lunch again.

Why?

because Piper had finished some of her final exams and would be in Swellview for a week. The last time Henry had seen her was at Dystopia; since then, they'd only spoken a couple of times on the phone, so of course, he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to see his little sister.

Besides, her parents hadn't just invited him, but they extended the invitation to Missy. They'd seen her a couple of times on previous visits and liked her. However, she was still in class. She'd told him she'd take the bus after school.

Henry didn't know exactly how Piper would react to meeting Missy in person. He'd talked about her a lot since moving to Newtown, even telling her how, technically, they already knew each other through the Kid Danger fan club. But Piper apparently didn't remember... or pretended not to.

Anyway, now Henry found himself lying on the old couch,

as he had for most of his teenage years,

he'd forgotten how comfortable it was. It made sense that he and Jasper would spend hours lying there doing nothing or looking at their phones.

Speaking of cell phones, he realized he'd been using it more regularly lately. In Dystopia, amid so many responsibilities, he barely had time to pay attention to it, and he simply got out of the habit.(Although he admits that during his...not alarming obsession with his image he did use it to see what the press and the city thought of him.)

He also blamed it as one of the main reasons for his loss of connection with his loved ones outside of Dystopia.

Also—although it may sound paranoid—for years he used an old, disposable phone, for fear of being tracked or spied on by one of the criminal gangs he used to deal with. It was Missy who practically forced him to buy a newer phone.

He spent what he thought were thirty minutes answering backlogs of messages, watching TokTik videos in which Missy or Jasper tagged him, or checking for any new crime news in Newtown. Lately, things had been so quiet. Nothing like the first few months.

His parents had warned him that Piper was on her way. They went out to buy dessert and asked him to keep an eye out for it.

But apparently, he was too relaxed. Because even his superhero reflexes didn't prepare him for what was coming.

"NOTICE: THE HOTTEST AUNT IN SWELLVIEW IS HERE! WHERE'S MY NIECE?"

The shock made Henry let out an unmanly squeal and fall off the couch.

He immediately shot up at the speed of light at Piper's words.

"mmMM?!" He stared at her, wide-eyed, not understanding which niece she was talking about.

Piper watched him silently for a second before bursting into laughter.

"Oh my God, your face! HAHAHA!" His sister dropped the overly large bags for a week-long vacation on the floor and doubled over, pointing at him.

Henry stood there, completely lost.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

That only made Piper laugh harder.

"Oh? No, no, don't tell me you don't know..."

"Know what?"

Piper took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She closed the door, picked up her bags, and threw them onto the couch.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Piper, I swear to God I have no idea what you're talking about. What niece?"

"Oh... so you're not kidding," Piper shook her head, amused.

Henry was starting to lose patience.

"Piper. Talk. Now."

"Why don't you help me get these things upstairs first, and then I'll explain?"

"Piper..."

"Bags first."

Henry sighed in defeat. He knew the only way to get his sister to talk was if he did what she wanted.

"Uh Aaagh-huh, fine..."

Piper smiled triumphantly and tossed both bags to him. Henry caught them without a problem, thanks to his training, and together they walked up the stairs to their old rooms.

He left the bags in front of Piper's bedroom door and turned to her with the intention of asking again.

But just at that moment, his cell phone started ringing.

He sighed and took it out of his pocket, surprised to see that the number calling was Charlotte's.

"What's Charls doing calling you at ten in the morning?" Piper asked, peeking at the phone.

"I have no idea, it's not her style," Henry replied. He felt a slight chill. They talked every day, just like with Jasper, but they rarely called each other without warning. Unless it was an emergency.

He accepted the call and brought the cell phone to his ear.

"Charlotte, what's hap-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence.

"Henry Hart, I need you to explain to me RIGHT NOW why my mom called me last night asking about you and your daughter!"

..sorry?-.wh-WH-WHA

"What... WHAT?!"

A stifled giggle sounded from beside him.

He turned slowly to Piper, who was covering her mouth with her hand.

"WHAT. IS. HAPPENING?"

She shook her head and laughed again.

"Okay, okay, I'll explain. But give me a minute to enjoy this chaos, it's hilarious."

Obviously, Henry and Charlotte weren't sharing the fun.

"Yeah, no," Charlotte said over the call "I'm sorry, but my mom was freaking out, asking me why I didn't tell her Henry came back to Swellview... and about him being a father. Any idea about that, Henry?"

Henry felt like the floor had fallen out from under him.

1. father??? No thanks, he'd decided years ago that fatherhood wasn't for him.

"No! I have no idea!" But SOMEONE just walked in screaming about being THE HOTTEST AUNT IN SWELLVIEW and can't stop laughing."

he glared at Piper.

"Okay, fine," she finally said. "I know why your mom thinks that. But in my defense, I thought Henry already knew. Even Jasper knows. We talked yesterday and..."

"Know what?"

"That... almost the whole town thinks you were a teen dad and that Missy is your daughter."

Henry looked at her blankly.

Charlotte burst into laughter over the loudspeaker.

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"But why would they think that?"

“BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING LOGICAL!”

“WHAT'S LOGICAL ABOUT THAT!?”

“GUYS!” Charlotte chided, scolding them. "Stop yelling."

They calmed down a bit.

"What I mean," Piper continued, "is like, you know, when people create such weird and creative rumors that you just have to laugh and nod your head."

"No," Henry said.

“Well, this is one of those. They started jumping to conclusions when you came back to town with your little sidekick. They saw the way you treat Missy, how you act togethe…and they all came to the conclusion that she’s a mini version of you. You know what I mean?”

“…it still doesn’t make sense, I mean, oh come on! we don’t even look alike,” Henry said, indignant.

“Physically, no. But in attitude… Well, you know, erm, according to what you told me, I can understand the collective thinking.”

Henry frowned.

“On top of that, they say it explains why you seemed to carry the world on your shoulders when you were a teenager, why you dropped out of high school and disappeared without explanation. The rumor fit like a glove, and the whole town took it as fact rather than theory.”

“But Missy is twelve, almost thirteen! The age doesn't add up!”

"I don't know, man. Swellview isn't exactly known for being the smartest town in America."

Henry had to admit his sister was right there.

"Are you telling me no one doubted for a second that Henry was a teen dad?"

Charlotte took advantage of the brothers' brief moment of silence to re-enter the conversation.

"I guess some did," Piper said, "but still, most people probably didn't even know Henry well back then other than through gossip, but it made sense to them, like I said."

Henry sighed for the third time in the conversation.

"How the hell do you know all this? You just got here!"

"I have my contacts. I never stop catching up on the juiciest gossip from my hometown. I was very surprised to find out my brother had become one of the main ones."

Charlotte sighed at the same time as Henry.

"Well, at least it makes sense. I'm going to call my mom to calm her down and explain the situation. Oh, and Henry: she wants to invite you over for tea sometime. I'll give you her number. Bye."

And she hung up.

Henry was silent until he remembered:

"Wait... and how does Jasper know—"

"I'm starving, I'm going downstairs to get something to eat," Piper said, completely ignoring him and walking down the stairs as if nothing had happened.

—-----------------

—----------------

Later that day, Missy arrived at the Harts' house just in time for dessert.

At some point, the older Harts retired for a nap, leaving the younger ones on the couch, still eating ice cream and watching TV.

From the kitchen, Piper returned with a fresh batch.

"You know what I found out?" —she said loudly, while carrying three plates overflowing with ice cream.

"Mmm?"

"Mmm?"

Henry and Missy asked simultaneously, comfortably seated on the couches.

"Not you, Henry. I was asking Missy," Piper clarified with a smile as she handed out the plates.

"What?" the teenager asked, intrigued. Henry, on the other hand, already knew where the conversation was going.

"I heard that most of the town thinks Henry is your dad."

Missy choked on a spoonful of ice cream.

“Whaaaatt!? “ she looked at her with wide eyes.

"That was my exact reaction," Henry added, raising an eyebrow.

"But we don't even look alike!" Missy said, still processing.

"I said exactly that," Henry agreed.

"And Henry's very young," she added, still confused.

"I said that too," he repeated with resignation.

Piper shrugged casually.

"Well, that would explain why everyone's been so weird lately," Henry deduced, already finishing his second bowl of ice cream with admirable speed.

"That's what it was?" Missy asked.

"I guess," Piper replied.

The conversation ended, and the three of them sat in silence for a moment, enjoying their ice cream while the evening news played on television.

"It doesn't bother me anyway," Missy said suddenly, breaking the silence. "It's great that people think you're my dad. You'd be the typical cool dad: leather jacket, cool motorcycle, who shuts up the teachers at parent-teacher conferences."

Henry laughed.

"Wasn't that exactly what I did when you had to miss a test for a rescue mission?"

"Yeah, but there you were pretending to be my godfather, not my dad."

"Uh, minor detail."

The three of them laughed together.

Going back to Swellview wasn't turning out the way Henry had imagined... but like he'd said before: it was definitely fun.