Captain Man x Reader | Henry Danger Reader Insert: SEASON 5

Episode 8: Part 3: A New Hero

Call this the worst night...day...whatever, things were too dark and chaotic to distinguish. Long story short, the Man Cave was in turmoil.

Upon realising that one of their own was missing, Ray, Charlotte, Jasper, Henry and Shwoz, (but mainly Ray) descended into a mad scramble to try and find (y/n) or a light switch because either was vital at this moment. Henry had never seen his boss cry, not properly anyway, but he was sure that if that asshole Twitler hadn't killed the internet then he'd be seeing fat, uncontrollable tears, pale skin and a harrowed expression because that man didn't do well without his sweet girl.

No one could think of where she had gotten to, but their working hypothesis had to be that in the chaos of the blackout, Rick Twitler had pulled some barbaric trick to kidnap her since he was so sick and twisted.

It was one thing to try and ruin the world, but no one and Ray meant no one, took Captain Man's future wife without receiving a damn hard beating because she came above everyone and he wasn't below doing whatever to get her back by his side. However, to do that, it would've been good if they could see because y'know, rescues don't exactly work well in the dark.

"Dude, stop! We'll find (y/n)!" Henry yelled to Ray as they felt around the Man Cave blindly. He could feel the couch and trip over it, he could feel Charlotte's head and then trip over her foot and he could feel the floor...and then trip over his own feet. The place was a mess and he realised that he was never grateful for the gift of seeing until he couldn't.

Lights were good. He loved lights. Just like Ray loved (y/n) and was walking around in circles to try and find her, even though she wasn't there. He just didn't know what else to do.

"It's not okay, kid! I can't find her!" The hero yelled back from somewhere across the room and his friends could hear him knocking random stuff over as he clumsy searched for soft hair, soft lips and a small figure that fitted perfectly with his.

"What is happening?" Jasper asked as he fell on his butt from his bicycle because of some moving lump that felt like Henry or possibly Schwoz. This had been one big blur for him; one minute he was yanking bee stingers from his tongue in peace and the next, the world had gone to pot and the prettiest superhero in Swellview was a missing person. Remind him never to leave the room again.

"(y/n), I love you! Where are you, sweet girl?"

"Schwoz, turn the lights on!" Charlotte yelled to the genius across the room, who in the darkness, had been piecing together a makeshift generator that would hopefully give them the ability to see again, and soon Charlotte hoped. Normally, she wasn't one for romantic sentimentality or Ray's icky, gooey antics but even she had to admit that his howls and pining calls to his lover were heartbreaking. If she was worried, she couldn't imagine how he was feeling, the guy who'd rather die than live a day without her.

"Start pedalling!" He called to Jasper, who diligently did as he was told since Schwoz was clever and he wasn't. Something sciencey, something that (y/n) would understand if she was here since it was about kinetic energy becoming electrical energy when he made the wheels spin and something he didn't ask questions about because when he started working, the lights flickered and burst to life thanks to his effort. Wow, science was helpful sometimes, especially when it revealed how Ray had clung to his friends for support in the absence of his sweet girl.

Without her to hold and love, he'd found a semi-decent placebo in Henry, whose head he clutched to his chest and stroked as if his life depended on it. Charlotte, though, got the short stick and in his panic, he'd sat down thinking that he'd found a suspiciously low, hard stool that seemed to be...alive?

"Get off me!"

"How'd you get down there?" He asked the girl in surprise when he looked down and saw her looking none too happy about having his butt smushed against her head. She understood his grief but come on, she didn't want to be anywhere near...that. Not at all. Where was (y/n)? Didn't she know that she was needed?

"Why are you petting my head?" Henry questioned him and when Ray awkwardly stopped what he was doing, he felt how messed up his hair was, which was distressing because that was one of his fifty best features. It was like he didn't even realise what he was doing, the look in the hero's eyes suggested that he too was confused as to why he was stroking his sidekick in a way that had never happened before. Maybe because for a split second, he felt like someone else?

"I thought you were Kaitlyn...or...y'know...(y/n)."

"Where is (y/n)?" Henry softened a bit at that and was decidedly less annoyed when he heard how empty his boss's voice sounded. He guessed, and he'd stake his job on it, that the Kaitlyn part was just a lie to stop himself from seeming so pathetic but then, in the end, he couldn't deny what his heart was yearning for.

In the breaking of the light, Ray had looked around the room for his darling girl, using his last sliver of hope for the idea that she'd not been listening when they called her name in the darkness and that he'd see her standing in the corner, looking as beautiful as always. But, to his heart's disappointment, she was nowhere to be seen and as such, he didn't care much for Schwoz's success anymore.

"I don't know, she's gone! Okay? She's gone!" The boy jolted at Ray's harsh shouting and also wished that he hadn't asked because it was genuinely upsetting to see him like that. Not throwing a tantrum because he was being a baby, but throwing a tantrum because he was missing his soulmate—practically poetry. But Charlotte wasn't one for poetry...or being sat on for that matter.

"Get off me!" She screeched even louder than he did and not needing to be told twice, Ray shot up off her head and let Henry go in the process, allowing the girl to resume her independent existence. He was already feeling tender, he didn't need her to get even angrier and bruise him any more.

"Hey, Henry! Look! I'm powering all of Swellview!" Jasper shouted to his best friend as he kept pedalling on the bike. It gave him an adrenaline rush to know that he was providing energy to millions of homes in everyone's hour of need, but that wasn't strictly true. Powering the whole city would be ridiculous for one boy to generate and whatever energy Jasper had, Schwoz needed it for a cause much closer to home.

"It's just the Man Cave."

"I'm powering all of the Man Cave!" Still, the small man's correction didn't dim his enthusiasm, rather, it seemed to make him pedal a little harder, even though just the hideout wasn't as grand. Even if no one but his friends were benefitting, it didn't mean that Jasper felt bad. No, he was helping out Captain Man when he desperately needed his friends to rally around him and the notion of helping his idol was the best feeling in the world.

"Just the lights and the computer."

"I'm powering some of the Man Cave!" Well, at least his spirit stayed intact. Despite Schwoz's constant tendency to shoot down his happy, humble brags, Jasper was still doing a vital job, even if he was causing his friends a bit of a headache. What little electricity he was generating was giving them a lifeline and they sorely needed one of those right now, but not as much as Ray needed (y/n). He needed her by his side, encouraging him, guiding him in the right direction, saving him from his stupidity and bad decisions, he needed her just to keep going. Where was she?

~The old internet factory~

In over her head was what (y/n) would say. Thoroughly and completely regretting her decision to hand herself over to the enemy and not because he made crappy jokes, tended to put his hand on her ass and slapped her fingers if she reached out to test a button. No, she could just about stomach being treated like a child, lord knows that she'd had to hold her tongue for years in the Man Cave to avoid looking like a complete idiot in front of her boss.

However, there was one thing that irritated her and it was what she'd been given to wear. Of course, wearing the Captain Man colours wasn't advisable for someone who'd switched sides and using her "stunning knack for logic", she figured that Twitler cursed the blue and red uniform of her old lover she wore around him until he couldn't take it anymore. A few hours after the blackout and she found herself being shoved into a closet with a goon outside to keep watch as she changed into something new and god, it was awful.

Too dark, too angsty and too much of a kick in the teeth for Captain Man to see. He'd have a heart attack when they inevitably came face-to-face and she dreaded that meeting because as she looked in the mirror, she hardly recognised herself. She didn't even have the same name anymore, he took that too.

Gone was the red and blue, now her colour scheme was based on Twitler's signature maroon and black suit.

Gone were Schwoz's weapons, they were replaced by frankly inferior tech designed by the Evil Science Corp and she didn't need a degree in mechanical engineering to tell her that one shot from her blaster and it would fall apart.

Gone was any indication of her loyalty to Captain Man and she knew that when Ray saw her, he'd never forgive such a betrayal, not when he gave her his heart of glass and she dropped it.

He'd be happy one day, she hoped, he'd move on from her, the traitor, and she'd be left to sit and gather dust because this was awful but the logical thing to do.

"What do you think?" She voiced to her new boss? Friend? Coworker? Companion? She wasn't exactly sure what Twitler was to her yet. He wasn't the kind of bloke to have friends, he was a bit too psychotic for that and he deemed everyone else a goldfish, far too beneath his level to ever be capable of sharing a common interest with him.

With confidence that was found deep within her gut, she made it categorically clear that Miss Dan—Miss Doom as she was now called because the Danger was an idea from Captain Man—didn't come to his lair because she wanted to be pushed around. He wasn't her boss, that was sure as for all of his psychopathic tendencies, he still retained flirtatious respect for her that didn't translate to him ordering her about.

There was one possibility that she'd entertained for a moment but quickly shot down; she supposed that Rick was interested in her in more ways than she was willing to offer and whenever his comments or actions slipped to a more suggestive tone, she was quick to wriggle out of it with a question or interest in his equipment. She'd help with his programming but she'd never love him. She'd never find that again with anyone else.

"I think...you've never looked more beautiful, (y/n). You don't look like you're wearing an outfit designed by a toddler anymore, you look powerful. Do you feel powerful, sweet girl?" Twitler crooned in (y/n)'s ear as he came to stand behind her when she looked at her reflection in a window pane.

She felt his cheek brush against hers as his arms wound their way around her waist in a hug that made her want to run and cry because his arms were too skinny, his facial hair was too scratchy and he didn't have the right to use that name. But when their eyes met in the reflection, she gave him her softest yet most devious smile and put one hand over the ones clasped in front of her navel.

"I've never felt like this before..." she replied, laughing along when he gave her a pleased chuckle and kissed her temple in a manner that was too rough and uncoordinated for her liking. Still, she was relieved that her barefaced lie was accepted so well and that Twitler seemed genuinely delighted with her answer.

It was strange to see such a cruel and calculating man be so...loving, tender, affectionate and she wondered that if she was lacking in all sympathy and morality whether she'd find herself falling. He was handsome and her inner mechanic marvelled at the complex servers he had running from garbage that had been left behind when the factory was abandoned, so he was clever too, possibly a perfect match in theory.

"Good. And when Captain Man inevitably comes looking for you, he'll see that his sweet girl is now mine. My perfect, little villainess, ready for my rule." And then, he ruined it. It was a good match, but emotions are more perfect than what's on paper. It was never them in it together, not that she wanted it to be but it was always about possession, dominance and power.

Nothing was shared even though he'd promised an equal share of whatever it was he hoped to achieve from conquering the world. It would be good but underneath his soft words and stolen nicknames, he wasn't the sort of man to devote himself to someone else and consider sharing with them.

"Oh, believe me. When he comes, I'll be waiting and he won't even know what's hit him." And she wouldn't know what to do with herself after.

~The Man Cave~

An hour or two later and things still weren't good for the five in the Man Cave. They were no closer to figuring out what to do or where (y/n) had disappeared to, although Charlotte was acting fast to try and track Rick Twitler down. It was common sense to assume that he was the cause of her disappearance and with Ray's fury looming over her, she was tapping away faster than ever since he was on the verge of a breakdown.

He hid it quite well because he was the invincible Captain Man, he didn't want to look like a snivelling crybaby who couldn't handle the pressure but when Ray thought no one was looking, they could see how he slouched and how his face crumpled from the worry.

It was obvious from the way his palm tiredly scrubbed his jaw to the way he stared at the photo of her that he kept as his phone's screensaver, Ray wasn't doing so good and the stress of assuming the worst was taking its toll. No contact, no signal for help, no signs at all and he looked ten years older, constantly looking towards the elevator as if she was about to walk back in. Things were pretty depressing, but at least Jasper was there to break the ice.

"Hey, what if I have to go to the bathroom, but I'm stuck on this thing?" He asked Schwoz as he walked past the bike. It was a random question but a good one because he'd been working hard for ages now but even a small break meant no power for them.

"I thought about that..." Schwoz replied and then...nothing. He left Jasper hanging and so, as he kept pedalling the boy looked at him expectantly, hoping for an answer that would help him out because his thighs were starting to burn and his bladder was starting to ache.

"And?"

"I'm still thinking," the small man told him nervously and the kid deflated in disappointment. Well, that wasn't helpful, but honestly, neither was their slight joking around. This was a serious situation and they were larking about and thinking about taking breaks when people were rioting and their boss was on the verge of a mental breakdown. They should've been a little more serious, perhaps just to save their skin.

"Schwoz, stop thinking of Jasper going pee-pee and start thinking of a way to destroy that computer virus! My wife is missing and you're over here thinking about toilet time!" Ray snapped at the genius, not realising his slip of the tongue but no one said anything, no one dared to.

If looks could kill, Schwoz would be six feet under for making light of the situation when all Ray could think about was his sweet girl being tortured or imprisoned like an animal and he wanted action, not layabouts. He was being an asshole but who could blame him? He was missing his better half.

"It's moving too fast! It has Henry's super-fast powers, so I can't destroy it unless I figure out a way a slow it—down..." Schwoz argued with a pouty face because he was just as worried about (y/n) as he was, so he didn't mean to cause any offence. Come on, he'd been waiting for their wedding for a decade, he was their number one shipper. But then, he reverted him to Schwoz type and a lightbulb lit up in his head—an idea. Looking at Henry, Schwoz was suddenly struck by inspiration because if the virus was too fast for an antidote, why not speed up the antidote too?

"What?" The boy asked when he realised that he was being stared at. What had he done that was so damn stimulating?

~

Oh, how Henry regretted ever asking. Perhaps running would've been better. Maybe offering himself as bait for kidnapping instead of (y/n) would've been a better outcome because he'd never been through something so humiliating.

For the last half an hour, Schwoz had practically tackled him to the ground with a mischievous chuckle and connected him to some machine that had Jasper working overtime to power. But it wasn't through a wire or a needle in his arm or movement, y'know something sensible, no, he had to wear a huge diaper.

For reasons, he didn't know. Schwoz told him to hold still as he made the fitting perfect and when he tried to wiggle and crawl away from the embarrassment, the evil little man had looked at their boss with begging eyes. Henry expected Ray to say no, well, he hoped he would, but to his horror, he ordered him to stand there and take it. Whatever Schwoz was doing had to be important to their mission and if it helped the mission, then it helped (y/n), and if it helped (y/n), then he'd have her back in his arms sooner. Ergo, Henry needed to do as he was told. No one kept the doofus away from his sweet girl for longer than necessary.

"Yeah, I hate your plan already," the teen grumbled as Schwoz fiddled with the fabric that looked like the typical polyester or cotton of a traditional diaper, but was a special, blended material that was crucial to the experiment. Or so he said. Fancy or not, there was no getting away from the fact that he, a nearly grown man, was wearing a diaper and he hated it. It clashed with his shirt.

"Why? What's your beefies?" Schwoz asked. Of course, he wouldn't find anything wrong with it, he was a little weirdo. He probably wore this kind of stuff all the time and probably for fun.

"I'm wearing a diaper, dude! That's my beefies!" Henry hissed and Ray looked over in their direction. He did look hilarious and if he wasn't feeling sick to his stomach, he probably would've laughed. (y/n) would tell him off for doing so, only to giggle along with him and hide her face in his chest before the kid could see. He missed that giggle, he missed kissing her to stop the laughing, he missed her so much. And he didn't even know where to start looking.

"It's not a diaper. It's a special device called a Dual Ion Atomic Particle Extraction Reader," Schwoz replied in his sassiest voice whilst Ray became all sneaky behind Henry. He didn't care much for the tech stuff, more like he found the kid in his latest fashion statement so funny that he had to save the memory for his sweet girl so that they could laugh at it later when they were snuggled in bed. That would happen. He was gonna make it happen because what was he supposed to do if he didn't have her there?

"D...I...A..P...dude, that just spells diaper!" Henry realised the unfortunate acronym as his boss took a few sneaky snaps, ensuring that he got a good angle as his sidekick pulled at the uncomfortable and humiliating garment.

"Hey, just leave it on."
"Why?"
"Because every time you use your superpowers, you create a special chemical that runs through your bloodstream. This diaper, it monitors that chemical. When your blood is full of the chemicals, that strip will turn blue." It was hard to argue with the man's science but Henry still found a way. Ray wasn't exactly subtle with his photo-taking, especially since he left the flash on and whilst the kid had his suspicions, he didn't say anything yet as Schwoz wasn't building the best case for his "not-diaper".

"Oh, like a diaper?"
"Yes!" He knew it. He just knew it. It was a diaper, just a fancy one with a load of wires and sensors built into it, one that collected his super juice and not pee, of which he didn't was worst. And then, as Schwoz waddled off to go and help Charlotte with the pinpointing of wherever Twitler and possibly (y/n) were, the kid properly noticed Ray's antics. He was pointing his phone straight at him, it was obvious.

"Hey, dude, don't take a picture of me in the diaper!"
"I'm not taking a picture! I'm just looking at pics of (y/n) and...checking my email," the man replied as he held his PearPhone close to his chest so the boy couldn't see that the camera app was open. It was true that he had been looking at photos of his fiancée, ranging from their last weekend away together to the other morning when she looked so adorable with bed hair. He loved them all, but his innocent face wasn't fooling Henry.

"Okay, the (y/n) thing's believable but there's no internet!" He exclaimed, putting two and two together. Ray looking at his girl when she wasn't around wasn't new, he often stared into space as he waited for her to return but he very rarely checked his texts or emails. That would be way too responsible. And even if he did, there was no WiFi available for him to connect to the server, so his lie was crap, all the more reason for them to find (y/n) so she could make up a half-decent lie for him.

"Yeah..." Ray brushed off his comment and smirked as he took another picture, only to look embarrassed when the flash went off in Henry's face. Great, now he was caught red-handed and no lie in the world could save him. Oh, his sweet girl would be laughing at him now and calling him her doofus. "...Oh, that was an email flash."

A likely story that Henry couldn't believe and he rolled his eyes when the hero sloped off to go and pester Charlotte to work faster. She was doing her best but with such low power, the computer was going slow and obviously, Twitler had covered his tracks so it was difficult to get a fix and his whining wasn't helping. Could they get him a teddy bear to hug in the meantime? Anyway, Henry soon had other things to worry about as Schwoz returned with a fucking hugger tennis ball launcher, the kind that athletes use to practice their returns. But this one seemed extreme and the look on Schwoz's face looked like he was gonna enjoy this more than the teen, who instantly got nervous and wide-eyed.

"This machine will fire sharp objects at you and when you dodge them, the super chemicals will flood your bloodstream. Then, I can harvest your blood and make an anti-virus that will kill Rick Twitler's virus so Ray can save (y/n) and stop being so annoying," Schwoz explained as he began loading up the modified machine with various weapons and items that he'd gathered from the weapon vault, kitchen and garage.

Henry was thrilled that they were on track to stop Twitler and resume normality (or whatever normality was) in the Man Cave, but the thought of having to dodge numerous, fast, flying objects made his tummy tingle. Shouldn't it be if he dodges the sharp objects? What if he hadn't regained full control of his powers? What then? Kebab Danger?

"Yep, great got it. I wear a diaper while you fire sharp objects at me and hardest my blood. Pretty normal after-school job," he smiled sarcastically at his friends, particularly Jasper and Charlotte since they were the ones who'd been with him and so very encouraging all those years ago when he found the job offer online for a "helper" in Junk-N-Stuff. That was so long ago and he'd done things he never thought he could, see things he should never have seen but it was too late to back out now and he didn't want to.

"Wanna have a turn on the bike?" Jasper offered exhaustedly as he kept pedalling like a champ. He'd sweated his body weight in water and he was fairly sure that his legs were just on autopilot now because he couldn't feel them. If Henry didn't like his job, he'd happily switch if it meant he got to have a break.

"Wanna wear a diaper?"
"Nope!" Never mind, he still had a good thirty or forty miles left in him yet. He'd never live it down if he put that thing on and besides, Henry was the hero, he signed up to do all of that shit. He couldn't pass it on when it got humiliating and weird, not even to his dying best friend. If Jasper could just keep his head down, he wouldn't pass out and he wouldn't be a let down to his hero and all of his friends, he could do this... But his eyelids felt so heavy and his limbs felt so floopy, surely a little nod wouldn't hurt, just some shuteye, so his head started to bow lower and lower and lower until a sharp shout from Charlotte made him bolt awake. What was happening now?

"What? What? What is it? Did you find Twitler and (y/n)? " Ray stammered as he refocused on the here and now after daydreaming about the happier times he'd have with his sweet girl and all of those yet to come once he found her. The girl sat at the computer was strangely chipper after slogging away at it for the last few hours, so he took the smile on her face as a good sign that she'd found something, anything to tell him where he needed to take his fists for a spot of sweet girl-rescuing.

"Yeah, I found the source of the video call! Look!" She replied happily, feeling relief flooding her body now that she had a place to point her boss towards and that meant she wasn't getting fired today. It had taken her ages but she'd done it, that bastard wasn't gonna be safe for long now that Ray knew where he'd kidnapped his fiancée too and she knew that the moment he stormed off, she was due a nap. Or maybe after the peril was sorted.

"The old internet factory? On top of Mount Swellview?" Ray frowned as she flicked the location across to the screen in the middle of the room. Huh, it kinda made sense but then again, it didn't why would the guy want his hideout in the place where his most hated thing used to be stored. His sweet girl would know, she was so smart, so pretty...Twitler had some balls taking her away from him.

"Yeah, the place with the big bowl thing."
"It's called a satellite dish," Charlotte corrected Henry, who had a big, dumb grin splashed across his face as he saw the dish from the aerial view. Oh, now she desperately wanted (y/n) back too because she remember what it was like to be the only smart one around. Schwoz was smart too but he still had that sense of idiot guy culture that made him one of the boys, so it was often left for (y/n) to join with Charlotte in a girl's group of rationality and responsibility. She needed her bestie back, she had no one else to be a bridesmaid for.

"Yeah, the big satellite dish bowl thing." God help her.

"Come on, Clancy, my fists are getting antsy to punch the guy who took my girl," Ray growled as he ripped the gumball tube from his pocket and flicked the lid open. Of course, he expected Henry to follow him to the factory, he was his sidekick and more importantly, one of (y/n)'s best friends. Surely, he was itching to go and rescue her from whatever evil trap Twitler had her in and surely he understood that he wasn't gonna take no for an answer.
They were going, whether he liked it or not before if he was too late and...the unthinkable happened, he'd never recover. He couldn't even picture a moment of his life that didn't include living happily ever after with his precious girl by his side, so he didn't even bother. It wasn't an option, but Henry didn't have much choice.

"No, Clancy can't go. I need him and his blood to make that anti-virus," Schwoz protested as the hero knocked back a piece of gum in preparation for transforming. If Henry didn't stay then they had no choice of beating Rick and despite Ray placing (y/n) as his priority, they still needed to save the world at the end of the day.

"But Twitler's got a meeting with a beating for kidnapping (y/n)! He's gonna have a tryst with my fist if he's dared to put one finger on her!" The hero growled as he chewed aggressively, feeling pumped up and he wasn't even close to fighting. It was all of the stress and pressure from the last few hours of panicking over his sweet girl's disappearance, blaming himself for not being more vigilant and worrying that he'd never get a chance to tell her how much he loved her again let alone see her walk down the aisle. If Twitler was the reason for her being gone then he'd regret it to no end and even if he wasn't, he seriously needed a punching bag to take out his anger.

"Dude, punching Rick Twitler won't help defeat the virus or save (y/n), it'll just make you feel better," Henry pointed out, knowing that for all they knew, Twitler might know a password or location to help get their friend back and they wouldn't be getting that if he was all bloodied and bruised in the same way that fists were gonna help them stop the virus from spreading. He was upset, distraught, and nervous about what came next, they all saw that, but jumping the gun wasn't gonna do them any favours.

"So, we agree. I'm going to get my wi—fiancée," however, Ray didn't want lectures on morality or a sensible battle strategy. He knew how he was feeling and what his instincts were telling him, even if he did override one that told him to forget about the document that made everything official and to just say what he felt anyway.

Henry didn't argue with that. It was plain to see that Ray was stuck in his bullheaded ways and no one was gonna talk him out of this, so the four left behind allowed him to step up to the tube pads where he transformed into his alter-ego.

"It's punching time," Ray stated confidently as he clenched his hands in his newly materialised gloves, "up the tube!" He yelled, expecting to fly off into the world so he could make the hike up Mount Swellview to go and confront Twitler. However, he'd forgotten how much power it took just to get one tube moving, so with Jasper's leisurely pace, the power being given to him was just enough to get him off the ground and keep him them. More like a gentle breeze than the powerful vacuum it usually was.

"Uh, little help, Jasper?" He asked as his feet dangled a metre off the ground and from inside the tube, he heard the boy give out a long groan at the thought of more work. The poor kid was on the last of his energy reserves and struggling to keep up his relaxed pace as it was. Still, the request was from Captain Man personally and so, wanting to please the man he'd looked up to for his entire life, Jasper renewed his efforts and doubled his speed to generate the power for Ray to get clear of the building.

He'd say a proper thank you later when no one was in trouble and he'd saved the most important person in his life. No doubt (y/n) would tell him that a humble, if a little awkward, apology was the right thing after he'd played such a vital part in keeping the Man Cave going, so he made a mental note for later. Right now, only one thing mattered and it was all Ray could think of. Where was she?

~The old internet factory~

Waiting. Anticipating. Dreading. That's what (y/n) was doing as she paced around the main room that Twitler had his setup in. He'd been swanning around for hours, checking and rechecking, calibrating and recalibrating everything in sight, making sure that all of his systems were perfect, so much so that it was almost impossible for her to get a look in at what he had on all of those computers because any time she went near them, he told her to stay away. Equals, her ass.

But, Miss Doom and her logic didn't go down without a fight, so as he was doing yet another sweep of the room and all of the flashing servers, she brushed her fingertips over his keyboard, acting all nonchalant in front of the lone goon he had for protection. Twitler claimed that he didn't need so many heavies now that he had his new associate by his side, (y/n) was protection enough and whilst it made her teeth grate to know that he expected her to be his human meat shield as he reaped the rewards of world domination, she obediently swore her devotion to him, that she'd protect him against anything and everything that came at them—him.

"I have to say, Twitler. Your setup is impressive," she called out as she carefully eyed his movements on the other side of the room. Now would be as good a time as any; the henchman was dumb, they always were, but even still, her plan carried a certain danger that would result in catastrophic consequences should the villain look up from the circuitry he was retuning. Her trailing fingers were innocent enough, for anyone not trained in mechatronics and robotics it just looked like she was scrolling through the database, analysing the endless ones and zeros as green code crossed the screen. She hoped the heavy hadn't been to college.

"Oh, it's just what you can buy when you're a billionaire, sweet girl. People don't ask questions when they get what they want," he replied, ignoring how she still called him Twitler despite his clear interest in her. Still, he loved the chase and impressing her was good enough. So good that he always failed to notice the shiver that ran through her body when he dared to use that name or how she closed her eyes to try and block it out because it reminded her of a life that she'd never be able to return to now. She gave that all up just for this moment, why did he have to remind her that in her victory she'd lose the greatest thing ever given to her.

"Very true. Integrity doesn't exist, it's not in a human's nature to truly care for another. I learned that the hard way," (y/n) murmured, silently pressing down a few keys on the keyboard and watching as one line of code changed. Not enough to notice, not amongst all of those numbers anyway, but enough to change the sequencing in a way that would assuredly help down the line. To say how close guarded he kept his computers, it was all too easy and no sooner had her secret mission succeeded, she turned the screen off and turned around with a bright smile, bright eyes and a spring in her step. Her fate was sealed but she'd given her family a fighting chance.

"But now there's a chance to teach them again, to change the world."

"Yes. And with you by my side, no one can stop me," Rick Twitler smirked as he moved over from whatever the hell he'd been looking and came over to curl an arm around her waist. Seeing his boss move, the goon followed the couple around the room as Twitler brought his new partner to the open pipeline where the exposed fibre optics were covered in the virus. It glowed in the dingy lighting and as she watched in silent horror, he smirked and gazed at his creation with the utmost pride. Millions were about to suffer and he was so happy with himself, plus expecting her to look satisfied too with how the virus zoomed along the copper.

"Soon, the virus will be ready to go global and then, I will rule, my lov—" her breathing sped up at the endearing term that just made her skin crawl and how he turned his head intending to place his lips somewhere. Where exactly, she didn't know but the idea of going against everything her heart had ever yearned for made her freeze and just as the bile rose in her throat, her fist tensed to slap him away and her world crashed down, her saviour came crashing in. Just like he always did.

"Entrance!" Ray bellowed as he kicked the door in and the heavy, who'd been too busy playing with his little yo-yo to anticipate the attack, did little to protect his boss as the hero came storming in. Twitler was faster to react and as the man's foot passed the threshold, he pushed Miss Doom away from his body and over to the side. He knew that Ray would be too busy to notice who he was with when she wasn't wearing his immature colours anymore and it would be all the more satisfying to see his face when she emerged.

"You're too late, Captain Man—"
"Man-punch!" Down went the goon with one hard swing of Ray's fist. Some good he was, he didn't even get to look at anyone before he was on the floor and unconscious, which left Twitler alone to face the hero and his immense power. Oh, wait, he didn't need to do that anymore, his plan accounted for everything.

"My virus is spreading..."

"Gross!" Ray didn't care for his plan, or his threats, or his stupid virus, he just needed to punch something and punch something now. He was desperate to find his sweet girl and he knew she was close, he could feel it, so after he went to town on this guy and rearranged his face, he'd make him cough up her location and make him pay for taking her away from him. He pulled his arm back and smirked when the fear flashed in Twitler's eyes, but he could never have imagined what happened next.

As he swung at the villain's stupidly perfect face, he seemed to look off to his right expectantly and just before his knuckles could graze his cheek, a soft yet surprising strong hand shot out to grab the hand and bend it upwards. Ray's punch missed miserably and he gasped in surprise when another fist with a hidden amount of strength shot out and gave him an unexpected uppercut to the jaw.

Rick Twitler felt like a god as he watched the famed hero stumble back and look up at his attacker with a furious glare, only for it to melt into shock, disbelief and heartbreak when he recognised the eyes behind the mask.

"(y/—M—Miss Dan—Danger?" Ray stammered as his fingers brushed his aching jaw until the pain dissipated and he looked at...well, he couldn't believe what he was looking at. He'd found his sweet girl, or maybe she found him, but not in a way he'd ever thought would happen.

She was looking at him like the mere sight of him disgusted her, her usual beautiful smile contorted into a sneer and her clothes, oh, god, her clothes. Gone was her uniform, the one she'd been so excited to show him, so eager to earn his praise for after she spent weeks designing and stitching it together with his colours and his logo and what she'd replaced it with baffled him.

It was dark and angsty, not at all her style because she was Miss Danger. She was loveable, cuddly, approachable, the kind of person who, despite all her shyness, wanted people to come up to her and ask for hugs and autographs because she was just that sweet. This made him want to crawl away and hide. After all, she looked so scary, like she wanted to bite his head off and shove him into the dirt, something he couldn't get his head around because she was his girl. What had happened?

"That's Miss Doom to you, Captain Man," (y/n) replied harshly, mustering her cruellest voice to try and seem intimidating, although she swore that her façade crumbled when her doofus' face crumpled in pain and anguish. Her poor love didn't understand and when he stood straight to try and reach out to cup her cheek, she very nearly let him. Very nearly.

Instead, she went against everything her mind screamed at her to do and she roughly grabbed his wrist and squeezed it harder than she ever would, not even in training. Ray flinched, not because of the pain from her hold, he could hardly feel that, but at how his brain was failing to register anything that was happening in front of him because his beloved, his darling, his precious, precious girl, the one he wanted to marry was glaring right at him and he didn't know why.

"What? Sweet girl, I don't understand, what are you—why are you—what's going on?" He whispered as if he was fearing her answer. The way she seemed to enjoy his pain, the way Twitler seemed to love every minute of her cruelty, the way her eyes bore into his as they'd never done before, it shook him to the core and he prayed that this wasn't what he thought it was.

She couldn't, wouldn't do that to him, she loved him, he knew she did and she knew he loved her, more than anything, so this had to be a big joke, right? A big, stupid, not very funny joke, one that would be over in the next five seconds before the last of his resolve collapsed and she'd fall into his arms to stop him from falling into oblivion.

"The future. One that doesn't include you, I'm afraid," Twitler smirked and took great delight and putting an arm around Miss Doom's shoulders as she roughly pushed the hero's arm back to his chest. The action looked like it had wounded him like she'd taken a dagger and stuck it in his chest to leave a wound that no indestructibility would ever heal. The inseparable couple had been separated and he relished in the final blow to the hero who'd always said he'd needed no one. Looks like he needed someone.

"N-no, get your hands off her, Twitler!" The large man growled at his enemy when he saw how he touched his fiancée with such familiarity like he had the right to put his filthy paws all over her in the same way he always had. He stepped forward to...kill him, to wring his neck for daring to lay a finger on her but to his shock, when he lunged forward, he was met with a solid kick to the gut from his sweet girl, who seemed more than at ease with the villain's affection. No...not his sweet girl.

"Back off, Ray...or you'll get hurt," (y/n) warned him and raised her fists to her face in a fighting stance that caught him off-guard. She'd only ever hit him when they were sparring in the Man Cave's gym and any time she did manage to lay a hand on him, it was always followed by her apologetic tittering and a whirlwind of kisses for hitting him so hard. There was never any malice, but that's all she was giving him now, and it tore him in two. Never had she called his name like it left a bitter taste on her tongue, it always came out so softly like a melody only for his ears.

"(y/n), what are you doing? Why are you with him? Why—why are you like...this?"

"Because I'm tired! I'm tired of being in your shadow, fixing the things you break, cleaning up your messes, apologising when you're a child! I'm tired of never getting so much as a thank you for all of the crap you put me through and I'm tired of giving you so many second chances. I wanted better and here, I have a chance of that, one you could never give me." It took every ounce of strength left in her body not to break down and cry or let her voice crack as the venom-laced words tumbled from her lips.

Lie after lie of how she'd found a better life in someone else's arms, even though she was one sob away from running back into his. Too late for that now, silly girl.

"Y—You want to be l-like this? With him?" Ray stuttered, feeling the tears spring in his eyes when she looked him up and down like she couldn't stand his presence.

"I've made my choice." Him, it will always be him.

"And you're happy?" No.

"Of course." Liar. Lie after lie and (y/n) felt small chips of her soul break away as she ruined what was perfect. It was devastating to see how her words affected such a strong man, his head bowing until his chin touched his chest.

Oh, how two small words brought him to his lowest point and held him there because how could he go on with knowledge like this? The one he'd given his all to, the one he was ready to spend the rest of his life with, he just couldn't stomach that she wanted this, wanted to leave the life they'd created with each other. Never in his wildest night terrors could he imagine that this was how their love story would end.

"Aw, I'm sorry, Captain, but she doesn't want you anymore," Twitler's words were like the devil crooning in his ear, twisting his fork in deeper and deeper until a tear rolled down his cheek and he looked up at his darling girl to try and beg one last time. Her heart stopped at his broken look and how his stare felt like it was piercing her soul, pleading with it to not let him go so easily.

"But I love her..." he whispered, knowing that she could betray him, hit him, call him every black word under the sun and he'd never be able to stop loving her.

He'd had no idea that she was so unhappy with him, had no clue that he'd been such a shitty lover that he'd driven her to someone as undeserving as Rick Twitler. He'd spend the rest of his life punishing himself for not seeing it sooner and for not fulfilling his promise to worship her like the goddess she was but underneath all of the ensuing self-hatred and guilt, there'd still be love. Always.

She was the one.

"It's too little, too late, my friend. Can't you see? She's mine now and I'll love nothing more than using her until she breaks—"

"NO!" Ray couldn't take it anymore. Blinded by the grief and heartbreak of losing the love of his life, plus the vicious taunting of the man who had stolen her just to make her another pawn in his sick and twisted game, the hero lashed out, punching Twitler in the face. It was driven by pure emotion and shook (y/n) to her core as a wave of broken anger consumed her doofus as she'd never seen before but she couldn't say that Twitler didn't deserve it, not when he finally admitted what she'd been thinking all along.

He'd used her, Twitler didn't care about anyone, no matter how much he tried to kid himself that he loved and wanted her love in return. The only love she'd ever wanted came from the raging hero in front of her and even though she didn't deserve it anymore, his move to protect her from that monster tugged on a sore heartstring as yet another disaster unfolded. Twitler, not expecting such a powerful blow, turned around and tumbled as he fell unconscious...right on top of the open pipeline.

Ray and (y/n) unknowingly huddled together as they watched in horror at the sight of the living computer consuming Twitler's body, making him yelp in pain as it took over his life form. Wires or bodies, it seemed to be hungry for anything and within no time, he was covered from head to toe in the green goo, making the heroes pause in fear and anticipation. It didn't sound very pleasant but was he all right? Maybe?

"Twitler? Hey, Twitler!" (y/n) called out, not giving a damn about the man's comfort but she certainly had a bad feeling about this. For once, the nerves in her belly couldn't be contained as Twitler's green body, fuzzy with the virus, slowly got up as if it was reeling from a new sensation and she longed to hold onto her lover—ex-lover's arm. Right, he couldn't, wouldn't soothe her fears anymore, she'd given that up.

"Hmmm, human...prepare for your destruction and then, of the whole world..." Twitler, rather, the virus stated in a distorted, calculating voice as he—they—it? looked at them with green, glowing eyes. Whatever the hell that was, it wasn't Twitler anymore and the couple got the awful feeling that perhaps a tactical retreat would be best because this was unexpected. The virus was living, sentient, and capable of manipulation in the human world and unlike Twitler, it wouldn't make mistakes, it couldn't be reasoned with and it didn't understand any human emotions. It would not stop until its mission was complete.

"Well, I do not like the sound of that..." Ray muttered and took a nervous step back whilst burying the instinct to tug his swee—to tug Miss Doom behind his back so she'd be safe. He couldn't call her his anymore, he'd lost her, she'd moved on, even if it was with a terrible, terrible man, who'd never treat her right even if he did match her intellect. She wasn't his to care for anymore but dear god, he wanted to. He wanted to do everything for her, no matter how much his never-ending love disgusted her.

"Uh, Rick? Hello? Still in there?" The heroine waved her hand past the thing's head, wondering if there was anything in there that might prompt a response. In the few hours she'd been his slave/human meat shield, she'd gotten to know something of Twitler's quirks and mannerisms, his voice and character, and this did not sound like him or feel like him. Something was darker and it frightened her, not that she could look to her doo—Captain Man for protection anymore. He didn't want her anymore.

"I am Virus. I took over Rick's body." The Virus replied, its voice like static or white noise. It made them feel cold and nervous, possibly because it was something that shouldn't have existed, essentially every sci-fi movie's worst nightmare come to life. Technology was planning to overthrow humans, starting with its creator.

"Well, are you gonna give it back so I can punch him for stealing the love of my life or...?" Ray asked, trailing off with a sad tone in his voice that made (y/n) want to grab and hug all the hurt away but she couldn't. She was the cause of his pain, she'd done that, what kind of person did that make her if she caused so much sadness to the one person she loved more than anything? Certainly not someone he'd want to hug again.

"All life must become Virus," it said, looking at the goon on the floor and then (y/n) since she was closer than Ray. She took a step back in alarm, not trusting the thing since "becoming Virus" did not sound like something she was up for.

The sight of his—Miss Doom—being intimidated made Ray grit his teeth and he decided that whether she loved him or not, no one was gonna hurt her on his watch. Even as time went on, he'd still be loyal to her, no matter who she sided with, he'd given her his heart and he'd never want it back because he couldn't bear the thought of letting go, so he'd keep fighting until his last breath. If something happened to his fiancée if he could even call her that now, then he'd go down with her.

"Okay, Miley Virus, here comes a wrecking ball!" The hero exclaimed in a rather clever quip peppered with pop culture and moved to give the Virus his strongest punch, hoping that if he hit it hard enough, it would go down. That was his main tactic, one hit and that was it so he could move on to the next enemy.

However, (y/n)'s and his surprise, The Virus was quick, so quick that Captain Man's honed swiftness and pinpoint accuracy when it came to using his fists was slow and poor in comparison. The two looked at it with surprised faces, wondering how it could've dodged so easily until (y/n) remembered one very important thing.

"It has Kid Danger's superpowers. You'll never be able to hit it," she told her lov—ex-lover quietly, having remembered how her new boss had laced the Virus with Henry's super-fast reflexes so it made sense that it would have lightning-fast reaction times when they tried to hit it. Henry never got hit, so neither would it, which was a problem for them since they needed to punch it to be able to win.

"Oh, well then, I guess I'll just have to mosy on back to the Man Cave and let them know that you're—uh—you're evil now and I got defeated by—SURPRISE PUNCH!" Ray tried his next tactic, hoping that The Virus wouldn't react in time if he pretended to not be interested.

It broke (y/n)'s heart to hear him say that so bitterly and it hurt more to think of how her family would take the news. Poor Henry, he'd never trust her again, Charlotte would hate her, Schwoz would be disappointed and Jasper would be so sad and confused. She'd never be able to face them again, that is if The Virus let them live. It dodged again, ducking out of the way and stepping behind Ray so it always had the tactical upper hand. Sneaky...

And then, to make matters worse, or better perhaps, (y/n)'s problems grew when Henry suddenly burst onto the scene. She'd wondered what the noise coming down the corridor was and she got her answer when the kid ran through the door and hit her doo—hit Ray's body at full speed. He stumbled into the room and looked at The Virus in bewilderment and then at her in pure confusion, much like Ray had when he first saw her. Why was Miss Danger standing between her adorable fiancé and a green blob, wearing some sort of depressed clown outfit?

"Captain Man..." por lo
"Kid..." they greeted each other and whilst the Virus was disturbing as it stared at them, Henry was more concerned about the couple in between.

His boss seemed so...hollow, quiet, lifeless behind his eyes and (y/n) was mousy, awkward, avoiding all eye contact with them as she stayed between the man and boy and The Virus as if she was torn between the two. He didn't understand; the blob could wait but why was she there? Why did the room have an atmosphere like a funeral? Why did his tummy feel like it was gonna eject its contents?

"What is this thing? And why does (y/n) look like that? And why's she there? Dude, what's going on?"

"Uh, funny story... So, (y/n) wasn't kidnapped, she's joined Rick Twitler, she's a bad guy—girl now, The Virus took over Rick's body and now it's all angry and wants to destroy humanity," Ray retold the basic story, skipping over the fact that his life was now in tatters, his heart was in pieces and he was undoubtedly gonna go home after this to sob into his pillow and possibly die in his bed, hugging the pillow that still smelled like her perfume.

"What, dude?! (y/n)?! That's not true, tell me, it's not true!" Henry's eyes practically fell out of his head when he heard the devastating news and his head whipped to the woman in front of him, who couldn't help but look genuinely remorseful for the first time since she was found. She thought she'd be strong enough to face them, lie to them, make them ate her, but she wasn't. Seeing them learn of her mutiny was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do.

"I'm sorry, kid. I had to..." she replied, not even bothering to sound mean because the damage was already done, she could see it in the boy's eyes.

He looked at her like she'd ripped him open and crushed his heart because, in a way, she had; she was the big sister he never had, the friend who made him cookies when he was sad and brought him soup when he was sick, she was the kindest, gentlest, purest soul he'd ever met. It just didn't make sense that she'd give up her friendships, her family and the love of her life for someone as low as Twitler. Ray was her greatest happiness, he didn't buy that she'd want to hurt him like this.

"I don't believe you, (y/n/n). I can't...you'd never side with him or that."

"That is going to get us all if we don't do something. I don't think it cares about sides anymore, it just wants to end humanity, and it's got your super-fast reflexes," the heroine said in a serious voice, trying to suppress her emotions because The Virus looked like it was analysing for a target. She didn't exactly want to find out who it was, just as much as she didn't want to look Ray in the eye since she feared seeing hate in them.

"Well, that is a sweet superpower," Henry grinned, trying to lighten the mood in the room.

"Well, it's not as good as being indestructibility but..." Ray replied, causing a minuscule smile to crack on (y/n)'s face. It had only been five or six hours since she'd left them, no time at all really, but dear god, she'd missed their banter and being able to laugh for real.

Rick Twitler was a boring bastard if she'd ever met one and all of his jokes were rubbish, far too snooty and not silly enough for her. She'd written off happiness as something she'd never truly feel again and seeing her light up again played one of Ray's heartstrings. He loved seeing her happy, even if it was just for a millisecond.

"I am Virus. I spread and destroy—" the thing stated in its monotone static and to the trio's disgust, it sneezed some kind of virus snot onto the sleeping goon. They watched with crinkled faces as the blob of the virus started to spread across the man's body, consuming him as it had done with Rick Twitler until he was a sentient computer too.

"The Virus just spread by sneezing all over that guy!" Henry grimaced, not knowing if he should feel sick or disturbed by what he'd just witnessed - perhaps the coolest yet grossest thing he'd ever seen. He didn't want to go like this, he wanted to carry on being virus-free so he could lock the two idiots next to him in a room until they became all lovey-dovey again and he promised, hand on heart, that he'd never pretend to vomit when they kissed again if they got back together. He just wanted things to go back to normal and he prayed that his gut was telling him the right thing.

"Well, that is how viruses usually spread," (y/n) retorted, looking at the gooified goon and how there were now two viruses, two Virus men, two things, whatever. It slowly stood from the floor and they swallowed their nausea in favour of huddling together for comfort, although the woman still kept a distance from them, aware that if she ventured too close, she'd end up holding her doofus's hand out of habit. Her heart still wanted him but her mind knew that she couldn't; it was back to longing for what could've been for her.

"I am Virus. I spread and destroy."

"Gah, can we just end this?" Ray groaned as the two Viruses stood side by side. The sooner they were victorious, the sooner he could go home to weep and shut out the world because the world was full of assholes and he just wanted his sweet girl. She stood right next to him but he'd never felt further away from her, so the idea of pinning her to the wall to make her cough up the truth seemed abhorrent. He couldn't do that, he couldn't bear to think about any more rejection.

"Yes, we can. All I gotta do is smash this stuff all over the original virus and it should reverse the entire—" Henry pulled out a purple, luminescent bottle of goop, similar to the Virus, only (y/n) guessed that it was some kind of anti-virus to counteract the one currently pulsing through the grid. A creation of Schwoz, no doubt, and she was glad to know that her friends were doing all right without her like she knew they would.

But, just as Henry tried to explain that administering the anti-virus was gonna be a lot trickier than first expected, the Viruses sneezed at them, aiming for the hero and boy since there were only two of them and "Miss Doom" had pledged her service to Twitler so foolishly. Perhaps she'd stick around for them until it was time to convert her too. The kid with his super-fast reflexes dodged the flying blob headed for him and it landed on the wall behind him with no issues; Ray, however, hadn't been so lucky. He couldn't move in time and so, the virus splattered across his face, coating his eyes in a thick ick that smelled strangely like chlorinated pool water and made his face tingle.

"No!" (y/n) gasped as he doofus gagged at the taste that was shot into his mouth, metal and bitter like copper coins but also meaty and smoky like a barbecue. It wasn't good and her heart lurched into her mouth at the thought of her sweetheart becoming like them, another copy and paste monster who just wanted destruction in the world. Had all of her efforts been for nothing? She'd done it to keep them all as safe as possible.

"Wit's win mwy mwouth! Wit's win mwy mwouth! Erghhhh!"

"It globbed you! You're about to turn into a living, angry computer virus," Henry told his boss with wide, worried eyes. He couldn't fight Captain Man and he couldn't fight without Captain Man, what was he gonna do? He'd seen what had happened with the henchman, was that what was gonna happen to his boss? His gaze met (y/n)'s and his suspicions were confirmed as he saw the slightest evidence of tears in her eyes and concern plastered across her face at the thought of him turning and he wondered how they were ever gonna make up if one was an angry virus man.

"Okay...confession time!" Ray swallowed, figuring that if he only had moments left in his mind, he was gonna set the record straight, "I never actually had a crush on your mom. I used to pretend to like her because I was lonely and then, (y/n) and I got together, and I love her so much that I'll never love anyone else. She's a very lovely lady but she means nothing to me, okay? Nothing!"

"You're not changing..." Henry muttered in between Ray's sniffles and rambling, having noticed that as he poured out the entirety of his heart in the space of five seconds, the virus that coated his face and uniform wasn't spreading. Rather, it looked like it couldn't penetrate his skin to control his brain, not that anyone but him noticed. Ray had too much to say and (y/n) was nearly in tears from what he said. Even after all of this, he wasn't mad... She didn't deserve his adorable sweetness or his loyalty.

"No way I'm changing. What I feel for her is real! She's my sweet girl and I—I wanted to marry her so bad...but now I can't, kid. I can't..." Ray whispered, his voice breaking at the end as his hand clutched at Henry's uniform as if he needed the contact to live. How could he change? He'd tried to let his sweet girl go the minute he realised that he loved her because she was perfect and it was not until that he eventually learned to accept that those feelings would never go away.

(y/n) looked on with heartache, feeling her chest constrict at how distraught he looked because she wanted to marry him too. So very much. But now, she'd screwed it up, she'd screwed everything up. Why would he want to marry her after everything she'd done?

"I'm not talking about (y/n)! You're not changing into a Virus," Henry snapped, wishing that his boss and friend were less emotionally constipated at times like this. They could be great at communication sometimes but occasionally, under exceptional circumstances, they both recoiled into old habits where they each assumed the worst and it was near impossible to sort things out. It was like Raymond said; she was a sweet girl, why would she want to screw everything up without a damn good reason?

"Oh, right! I'm indestructible! Oh, that's lucky..." Ray smiled and looked at his arms and down his body. No virus...because of his superpower, thank god for hidden blessings. Well, at least he could concentrate on fighting now, maybe, he still couldn't get over the loss of his sweet girl, but maybe the true enormity of that would come later once the numbness wore off and he was alone in their--his bed.

"We cannot infect the old one," one Virus warbled to the other, causing the hero in question to glare at them and grit his teeth.

"Hey, I am not old, I am thirty-six!"

"Thirty-seven..." (y/n) whispered under her breath, just for old time's sake since it made her heart feel a little less heavy. A watery smile wobbled across her face but she kept staring at the ground as Ray's gaze snapped to her. Oh, he heard. He definitely heard and felt the same spark in his chest - she always did love to wind him up about that.

"Infect the handsome one. Leave Miss Doom, she will help us."

"Hey, we're both equally handsome," Ray argued, trying not to seem bothered at all by the Virus's words about his precious fian--about the girl working on the wrong side. She wouldn't, would she? She wouldn't hurt the kid, hurt him, whatever, but not Henry. He still didn't know why she'd hate him enough to do this but maybe the agony would pass with time, his love, however, would not.

"Well..." Henry shrugged, again trying to lighten the mood between the feuding couple. He was desperately trying to ease the tension and spot any small signs that what had supposedly happened wasn't the truth. He just would not accept that one of his greatest friends had turned to the dark side and he was trying to get her to talk when she didn't want to but that was quite difficult when you had two Virus men things trying to kill you.

The mutants stepped forward and sneezed yet more germ-ridden cannon fire. Henry dodged with ease yet again, whilst Ray was much more comfortable with letting whatever goo came near him splatter across his chest since it couldn't affect him.

(y/n) wasn't sure what to do as the man and boy duo stepped forward and began throwing punches, leaving her to watch with wide eyes on the sidelines. Did she join the Viruses since one of them was technically her new boss? Did she join her beloved doofus and friend because said Viruses would goz on her in the end too?

However, it seemed that her boots were glued to the concrete as the boys fought, Ray's Virus dodging each attack as Henry ducked to avoid yet more flying slime. His fight was fairer since he had the speed to land hits on the thing but the danger came from making one wrong move and suffering the consequences. Captain Man couldn't take losing another sidekick or his wingman.

As the kid avoided one slimeball, the Virus spat another as he hid behind a ladder, causing him to panic when the goop passed through the rungs and landed on his hand. Thank god, he was wearing gloves.

"Aw, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he panicked at the sight of the goop and before it could crawl up his sleeves, he stripped himself of the soiled garments in a fit of panic. He was safe for now, but he couldn't take another blow like that, especially ones he wasn't prepared for.

A few metres away, (y/n) watched in horror as The Virus took Henry's panic as a distraction and released another rapid snot rocket. He looked up in time to see it flying towards him, but no super-fast reflexes in the world were gonna save him. Henry Hart, the kid she adored and revered becoming one of them? The product of a man she'd actively helped (sort of)? Not a chance.

Before Henry could blink or she could think about what she was doing, (y/n) launched herself at the boy, diving in between him and the flying blob so that she took the attack instead. Well, Twitler was right, she was a human meat shield in one way but she didn't feel any fear as she hit the floor, it was all selflessness and bravery. The same couldn't be said for Ray.

"Oh, god, it's in my mouth! Why did it have to be the face?!" She groaned as the snot spread across her cheeks and seeped into the corners of her mouth. To be honest, the sensation of having a living virus on her skin kinda tickled and even if it wasn't the best idea to take their eyes off of them, the superhero duo next to her were shocked by her sacrifice.

"(y/n/n), oh my god! Are you okay? Why would you--I don't--you could become a Virus!" Henry exclaimed in fear as the woman wiped her eyes free of green so she could look up at him with a sad smile. Could was the operative word; if indestructibility made Ray immune then there was a good chance that her body would fight to keep the Virus out, but the kid wouldn't be so lucky. She had to protect him, just like she had to gain Rick Twitler's trust to be let anywhere near his computer. It was about saving the world, but at what cost?

"I have super-regeneration, you don't! You have to get that anti-virus to the satellite dish on the roof, it's where The Virus will access the satellite and the worldwide internet. I--"

"You what?" the kid looked at her intensely as Ray carried out fighting, or rather, attempting to hit The Virus as he caught snippets of their conversation. She looked torn between explaining and hiding the truth because she realised that it was a terrible plan, one that would've been better shared since running off in the middle of the night was pretty stupid but time had been of the essence. Would they believe that?

"If The Virus gets online, we won't be able to stop it. The world's internet will crash and burn and I didn't--don't want to imagine what will happen, so I changed the code on Rick Twitler's computer," she explained quickly, pushing him back so the virus stalking towards them hit her shoulder instead of his torso. It was getting closer. They'd have to be quick.

"You changed the code? How? Not even Schwoz could get into Twitler's computer," Henry frowned.

"I couldn't either, not remotely anyway. So, I--I knew he wanted me to come here, so I did. I didn't want to leave and I know I was stupid but I had to make sure we had a backup plan."

"So what is the backup plan?" he asked, gazing at her intensely and how she seemed sad but serious all at once. He knew it, he just fucking knew it. Evil, his butt, (y/n) didn't have an evil bone in her body, and neither did she have it in her to leave Ray for someone like Twitler. And yeah, it was stupid but even smarties have their off days and it wasn't too late to straighten out what had been crumpled. Apart from that though, she'd done rather well.

"Before, the Virus would've been too quick once it reaches the dish but I added an extra command to slow it down. Now, if it hits the satellite, you'll have about a minute to try and stop it. I'm sorry, I know it's not a lot but I had Twitler and his goon breathing down my neck and this stupid outfit--"

"Hey, Miss Danger... you did good. Now, go help Captain Man, he looks like he needs help," the kid stopped her rambling by grabbing her waving hands and bringing them to a standstill, causing the woman to cease her floundering and look him in the eye. He wasn't mad, he wasn't betrayed, he looked...kind, understanding and gentle, a look he'd perfected from her because she'd done it for him, and now he was doing it for her. Calming down.

Slowly, she took in a deep breath and felt a wave of calm wash over her. No one hated her. No one wanted her gone. And what's more, she had a doofus on the other side of the room getting his ass handed to him by a walking booger, so she swallowed the frog in her throat and nodded to the ladder, telling him that that's where he needed to go to save the world.

With one last smile and a glance towards the man behind her, the kid began climbing, unaware that as he did, one Virus whacked the momentarily distracted superheroine, who had been more concerned about her doofus than herself, and hastily followed after him as she recovered from a blindingly fast and sharp smack to the jaw. Damn, those things hit hard.

"Need a hand, Miss Dan--uh--Miss D-Doom?" A soft, wavering and unsure voice sounded as she knelt on the floor and suddenly, a hand was offered in front of her face. (y/n) looked up to see her sweetheart gazing down at her with the softest, most lovestruck and yet sorrowful expression she'd ever seen and it made her want to cry. It was like she'd broken him in two and she hated herself for causing so much unnecessary damage, so she silently swore that she was gonna rebuild what had been destroyed if he let her.

"It's Miss Danger... It has and always will be Miss Danger," she whispered and carefully accepted the hand he'd given her like a true gentleman. Even after everything, he still treated her so kindly, like a lady, just as he'd always done.

The soft shock that spread on his face made her tummy tingle because she didn't know if it was good or bad and when she realised how over-indulgent she was being by holding onto his hand once she was steady on her feet again, she shyly let go. Rome wasn't built in a day, she couldn't go crying back to him and expect them to move on just like that.

"I don't understand, human. You swore allegiance to Rick Twitler." The Virus broke whatever trance they were caught up in as they swapped shy looks and they turned to see that it was observing them, perhaps analysing their interaction because it couldn't comprehend what they were doing. Increased heart rate, pupils dilating, flushed cheeks; why were the humans' biochemistry changing with endorphins and oxytocin? Why didn't they just communicate their deep attraction and admit that they functioned well together?

"Technically, I never swore anything. I just said I understood his point of view, never said I agreed with it and I certainly never had any loyalty to him. It was an act, I knew Twitler's game all along..." she shrugged, looking at the creature with boredom, although her tummy was alight with nerves from how she could feel the hero next to her staring and hanging off her every word. She'd always spoken carefully around Twitler and had ensured that she never made any promises. After all, she'd already made them to someone else.

"You said you were happy with Twitler."

"I said I have made my choice. And it's Captain Man, just as it should be," (y/n) replied firmly, this time glaring at The Virus for being so stupid to think that she'd ever truly turn against the love of her life. He was her happiness, the very essence of her duty and the thought of throwing all the magic and wonder her life in the Man Cave offered was madness. And he was everything.

"You are illogical, no matter what my creator believed. He brings you sadness when he flirts with others, he is childlike and you will never reach your potential while you are together. Why would you choose him?" God, to say it wanted to destroy everything, it didn't half like to rub it in.

"Because I love him. With everything I have. And yeah, I said that'll we'll never see the world in the same way. But I also said that no matter how many moms he has or will flirt with, there's nothing that anyone can do to stop me from feeling this way, not Twitler, not a freaky living virus, no one. He's my doofus, I choose him," (y/n) replied in a soft tone and her eyes fixed on Ray, who seemed awestruck by her words and angelic presence.

Like hers, his heart rate was through the roof and The Virus just couldn't understand; humans are so messy with their silly emotions. They allow them to ruin the most complex of all computers - the human brain. All of that power, locked inside one squishy noodle, and they dared to let it be ruled by something as foolish as love for another. That would not do; The Virus had the solution.

"Human formerly known as Miss Doom, prepare for your destruc--" the creature stated in its usual virtual crackle, only it never got to finish its threat. Ray, inspired with new energy, was infuriated by its daring attempt to threaten his sweet girl, the one who still held his heart just as he held hers, much to his relief, so he swung at it. For an agonising moment, he thought he'd lost her, but now, he knew he still had her love and he was gonna bask in it once he beat this booger into the ground.

He missed by a mile, too slow for it but it didn't matter, they just had to keep this one occupied whilst Henry completed his mission on the roof. Hopefully, he'd stay alive too...

~

On the roof, it was a battle for the history books. The kid had been caught off-guard by The Virus that had followed him up the ladder but he bravely fought on, dodging blows and returning some too, all helped by his superpower, which kept him safe from the rapid-fire snot shots. The thing was fast but he was too, getting in a few good hits by using the support beams of the satellite to swing his legs in its face after cartwheeling to avoid its attacks. He had to take it down somehow, otherwise, he'd never get a chance to use the anti-virus.

Suddenly, as he recovered on the floor from a particularly vicious kick to the floor and a last-minute deck-hit to not be gooified, The Virus sneezed at him, forcing Henry to jump on one of the beams. They were ladder-like, with a helix structure that allowed him to climb the tilted frame and get away from the monster, which was soon on his tail.

As he rose above the smooth concrete of the dish, the sidekick tried to keep The Virus at bay as best as he could by kicking it down whenever it reached for him. He was nearly at the top, so close to the powerlines that could carry the anti-virus, but as he fiddled to get the tube out from his pocket, The Virus saw its chance to attack its one weakness and lashed at the boy's hand. Henry's heart plummeted with the vial as it fell and hit the dish below, shattering into a million pieces and spilling its contents too. No, no, no, no...

And to make matters worse, as he watched the tragic accident with his very own eyes, a hard thump on his cheek from his enemy sent him tumbling too, and it was a long way down to the dish. Henry hit the surface with a loud thud and scrambled to his feet before recovering fully as The Virus relentlessly moved for yet another attack and he knew that he had to do something.

"Aw, cra--" he gulped as he saw the purple splatter on the smooth concrete and he felt a flicker of panic before a hard push from behind. That anti-virus was their only lifeline and he'd blown it but that was the least of his problems. The Virus sought to get rid of its own and so, pushed the boy over the edge of the satellite dish, turning around only when he was dangling on with a one-handed grip on the smooth, metal lip. It wasn't wasting any chances; with Kid Danger fighting for his life, it was going to fulfil its purpose.

"We will spread to satellites and then, the entire world..." It repeated over and over again as it looked at the dish and the technology that sent and received signals from space. He didn't know why, but the chanting of The Virus and the possible untold misery of millions sparked aggression in the boy to dig deep and find a strength that he didn't know he had. With every muscle in his body pulled tight, the sidekick began to pull himself up, determined to not lose this fight.

He couldn't, not with the entire world on his shoulders.

~

Meanwhile, Ray and (y/n) were fighting hard too, just not off the side of a satellite dish. With renewed energy stemming from the knowledge of their still burning bright love, they battled their Virus in sync, using their combined strength as an advantage in the place of the absence of equal speed.

They punched, they kicked, they slapped, they got punched, they got kicked, they got slapped. It was a never-ending cycle of switching out and allowing each other to recover from the malicious onslaught until The Virus caught onto their usual pattern and used its internal excellence for mathematics and processing to stroke Miss Danger precisely when Captain Man was coming up behind her.

The heroine's body was sent flying backwards and she collided with Ray, who gave her a soft landing when they stumbled and hit the floor together. They panted and blinked from being winded by the kick and as they lay there, stunned for a few seconds, The Virus synchronised with its counterpart.

It knew its task, it had access to the servers downstairs and with no superheroes to stop it, it freely walked toward them. Ripping a metal door off its hinges, The Virus exposed the main grid that supplied power to the dish and stuck its fingers into the outlets and plugins of the ethernet servers. Sparks flew as it spread, sending green bolts down the wires and up to the roof. All (y/n) and Ray could do was watch in horror, their fingers grasping at each other's uniforms.

~

Above them, the second Virus stood on the transmitter located in the centre of the satellite dish, the one that usually sent signals of information to the satellites orbiting the Earth. As Henry struggled to lift his leg back into the bowl, it raised its arms above its head and began to beam its power up into the sky. The greenness of The Virus swiftly found its target; it located its first satellite and refracted across the atmosphere, finding others across the globe until it had spread out to create an intricate, web-like constellation in the night sky, one that would spell the end for life as everyone knew it.

"This is not gooood..." the boy mumbled to himself as he saw the creature directing its power upwards and he instantly knew that he had to do something, anything. Clawing for the last scrap of energy that his body could muster, he clambered over the lip of the dish and rolled safely onto solid ground, but he couldn't breathe a sigh of relief yet.

Henry skidded to a halt at the feet of The Virus and gulped at the enormity of being so close to the spread of it. Also, it happened that he was directly next to the puddle of anti-virus, the one he'd made after dropping the vial. It wouldn't evaporate and there was still enough left to apply to the source if he could get it across, but that was perilous in itself.

"The anti-virus can cancel out your superpower forever, so don't get any of it on you. It's me, Schwoz...from work!" A small, Schwoz-like voice sounded in his head and the instructions it brought were as clear as an alarm bell clanging between his ears. If he touched that stuff, he'd lose his power again and he remembered what a nightmare it was only hours ago, only this time, there'd be no vector bee to bring them back again.

"We will spread to satellites and then, the entire world..." There had to be another way but The Virus was spreading and suddenly, another voice peeked into his mind, as if an angel and a devil were waging a war on his shoulders, each giving a different argument, but neither was without sacrifice.

"I added an extra command to slow it down. If it hits the satellite, you'll have about a minute try and stop it. You know, 'cause I'm smart like that," (y/n)'s words of wisdom were a comfort in such a pressure-filled moment and Henry realised that he had a choice to make; save the gift of a lifetime or save countless strangers that he'd never get to meet, some of whom didn't deserve saving. But others did; people like Charlotte, Jasper, Ray, Schwoz, his parents, his schoolmates...(y/n).

She'd put her happiness, her love, her entire life on the line to give him a minute to think and choose the right thing to do, and she knew he'd choose right, (y/n) truly was smart like that. However, his minute was nearly up, The Virus was bypassing whatever the girl had put in its path and with so much at stake, the sidekick knew what he had to do.

"Time to save the world," he breathed out as he looked from The Virus to the antidote and made a split-second decision, one that he would never be thanked for, but the world would be thankful for it.

Without a moment's hesitation and no regard for what he was sacrificing, Henry scooped up a generous amount of the anti-virus from the ground and felt it sear his skin with a burning sensation. Ignoring the sting, he let out a battle cry and charged forwards, pressing his hands firmly against the body of The Virus beaming its power into space.

The anti-virus worked quickly, aided by the super-fast reflexes Henry had given it and in no time, the green faded to purple, cancelling out the effects of the Virus and making it retreat from the satellites it had reached. The web detangled and collapsed in on itself and back to Earth, leading down to the server room, where Ray and (y/n) were able to tackle their Virus.

As it shook from the invading violet, the couple grasped its wrists and pulled it away from the power outlets it was attacking, ending the fight with a satisfying lunch from Captain Man's iron-like fist. The virtual disease ceased and slowly dissipated from the goon's body, revealing him in his normal self to the heroes' eyes as if he'd never been infected in the first place. They had no idea of what had happened upstairs, all they could assume was that Henry had administered the potion safely with no self-sacrifice needed.

Twitler was freed too and he fell to the ground, unconscious from acting as a host for The Virus which sapped his energy. Henry too was exhausted, from the fight, the climb and tragically, the sensation of his superpower being ripped from his body as The Virus retreated, leaving him feeling like an empty shell. Oh, what Ray and (y/n) didn't know.

"I did it..." Ray was the first to break the silence with his husky voice. He sounded so proud of himself, believing that it was his final punch that somehow chased The Virus away because he was just that manly. (y/n), however, begged to differ, but she let him have his moment, feeling reluctant to stamp on his happiness once again and unaware that Henry desperately needed their help on the roof.

"Yeah. Yeah, you were great, doo--Captain Man," she replied sweetly, although not sweetly enough as Ray frowned when he heard her catch herself and felt a tug on his heartstrings when her sweetness was tinged by the unneeded addition of restraint and politeness. There was no need to be so formal, it was just the two of them since the henchman was out for the count, but she felt it necessary. After all, he might still have some love for her, but what was she to him following what she'd so cruelly done?

"Sweet girl, you don't have to call me that. We're the only ones here..." he murmured, wishing he could step forward and drag her into his arms and smother her with kisses, which was what he needed after the emotional rollercoaster he'd been on that night. But, he restrained himself and kicked the urge down when he saw how nervous she seemed, how unsure of herself, scuffing the silvery boots given to her by Twitler since she didn't know where to look. Henry wasn't angry but she didn't want to risk being in any more trouble.

"Yeah but I--we--we're not--we shouldn't--you shouldn't--I mean--"

"(y/n). Breathe. Just tell me..." Ray soothed her stammering with the gentlest tone he could, the one he'd been practising since the day she officially came into his employment and was so nervous on her first day that even saying her name was difficult. She'd come so far since then, she was his brave, clever girl and she didn't have to be afraid of speaking to anyone, especially not her doofus, Ray Manchester, or silly, old Captain Man.

"...I--" (y/n) licked her lips and took a deep breath before continuing, trying to steady her rampant nerves as she stood in front of the man who meant everything to her, "I just feel that after everything I've done, g-going behind your back, being stupid and irresponsible, putting everyone in--in danger and lying to your face... you deserve b-better. Someone you can trust and I'm not...I don't expect that person to be me so you can have this back. You don't owe me anything anymore, Ray."

Her hand shook violently as she took his by the wrist and rotated it so his palm was facing upwards. With trembling fingers and a cracking heart, she dropped her engagement ring into his hand and felt the tears spring in her eyes. She missed the feeling of it against her skin already, having worn it underneath her gloves whilst she was with Twitler as it provided her with the comfort that she had his love once. It was only right to return it now, he couldn't marry a liar and she didn't expect him to, so no matter how painful it was to give up the future she wanted, she was offering it up and letting him go.

"...Right...uh...okay," Ray stuttered, not quite sure what to say because he certainly hadn't expected that. An apology maybe, an argument perhaps, a reparation definitely, but not the collapse of everything. But surprisingly, despite all of his fears coming to life at that moment, he didn't feel scared or angry or upset, not even a flutter. Because he just couldn't take her offer seriously. Someone he could trust, he had several but there would always be one above the others.

(y/n) however, was taking everything very seriously, including his reaction. What was confusion in him was taken as acceptance by her and all of a sudden, she had to bite her lip to the point where she was drawing blood to hold back a sob. This was it then, he wanted the ring back, he was calling everything off because sometimes, love isn't enough to carry a relationship, trust is the foundation and she'd practically taken a sledgehammer to it.

Who was she kidding? Marriage was out of the question now but that didn't mean she didn't have whiplash from a sudden realisation; all of her dreams of a honeymoon in Hawaii, Christmas lights left up until February, and Sunday breakfast with kids could still happen, they just wouldn't be with Ray Manchester.

And as her breathing started to become laboured and as the tears fought their way to her cheeks, Ray was gazing at her with wonder in his eyes. His precious girl, he ached to soothe her pain and ease her worries because he knew that pain and he'd had those worries from the moment she'd gone missing. He'd needed her then and he knew that she needed him now, his little worrier and luckily, he was around to make the hurt go away.

"Did you--did you mean all of those things you said earlier?" he suddenly asked and (y/n)'s head snapped up to look at him with bloodshot eyes and trembling bottom lip. It was a poor way to start but he'd never been good with words but actions didn't seem right, not yet anyway. When did he get to hug her?

"What things? When we were with Twitler or The Virus?" the girl asked, unsure because her stupid mouth had said a lot of things that night, some of them helpful, some of them not, some she meant, and some she lamented. Not that she saw the significance or cared about her past mistakes now that she'd fucked up the love she needed like air to breathe.

"Both."

"I meant everything when we were with The Virus. Anything I said with Twitler was a lie. I just wanted to make him think that I was choosing him, not you," (y/n) replied instantly, her eyes still concentrated on his shoes, her shows, his belt, her fingers, anything else was interesting because meeting his gaze was terrifying. She didn't want him to see her break, she wanted him to remember when they were happy.

"I see...when you saved Kid Danger, you said you'd given him time to use the anti-virus. What did you mean by that?" Ray pressed on, not caring if this was starting to sound like twenty questions or an interrogation because he had a rhythm and it was getting her to open up to him.

"I came here to get access to Twitler's computer. Nothing more, I promise, I only wanted to delay The Virus in case it got the satellites."

"Okay... And Twitler, he--he was cosy with you, touchy. Do you--still want to work for him? Is that why you're leaving me?" the hero asked, his voice not wavering even as he watched his sweet girl tremble. He already knew the answers, he just needed her to hear herself say it, that way she'd see that she'd done nothing wrong and this was just water under the bridge for them because she'd done what she thought best to save the day, she'd put Swellview before herself, how could he not trust her?

"What?--No! I hated leaving and I hated how he kept hugging me and I hated pretending to be bad! I hate his stupid face and his stupid beard and his stupid suit and this stupid, ugly costume he gave me! I look mean and I hate it! I hate everything about this..." (y/n) sniffled and pulled at the cheaply and shoddily-made skirt that floated around her knees before snatching her mask from her eyes.

Everything about the dark uniform was too big or too small, the fabric smelled and was itchy and it was too damn angsty. It didn't scream Miss Danger, it screamed "Miss Doom" and that wasn't who she was.

"I don't hate it...you look pretty...just like you always do," Ray replied softly, giving her a gentle smile as he looked at her, properly looked. Sure, seeing that red and black logo in place of his was infuriating and a misfit but when he ignored that and saw her without the mask, he was taken back by her beauty, just as he always was. The most gorgeous girl he'd ever laid eyes on and he'd seen the finest models and pageant queens the world had to offer. None of them came close.

"Ray...I look like shit." (y/n) whispered sadly, knowing that her skin was red and blotchy from all of her crying, meaning her mascara was running, her nose was running, not to mention that her hair was tousled and her costume was covered in leftover goo from the fight. She must've looked hideous and that made her feel even worse. She wanted him to remember her at her best, not her very lowest.

"Nah, you look beautiful," he replied and his words carried the same effect as they always had; her cheeks flushed pink in the cutest way and a breathy laugh escaped on the end of a small sob. What a doofus, he always said stupid stuff but he always made her laugh and he always made her feel like a lady, no matter how she felt or looked.

"You don't have to pretend anymore, doofus. Listen, you being with me, it was a mis--" the girl told him, adamant that she didn't need sympathy, or at least, she didn't want it. She'd done this, she had to face the consequences and that meant ending the obligation he had to make her feel good about herself, to make her feel loved. But Ray couldn't bear to let that happen.

"No, you listen to me, (y/n) (y/l/n). I want the truth because, after so much confusion, we both deserve clarity. Do you love me?" A pause ticked by between them as she stared at him, scared of her answer because she didn't know if this was some cruel game or a final blow. It felt like an eternity and she knew the answer, just not what he was spinning between them.

"...The truth is Ray Manchester... I love you, so much that it hurts." The world stopped and collided with another but (y/n) didn't feel it, she couldn't. She couldn't feel anything; she loved her doofus with everything she had to give, she wanted to give him her best but she showed him her worst and now she'd never get anything back--a pain that showed on her face the moment it passed her mind.

"Hey...don't look so sad, that's a good thing... because I love you too, my sweet girl," Ray whispered and finally stepped forward and carefully, so as not to spook her, wrapped her in his embrace. It was the warmest, safest hug she'd ever been given and secure in his arms, she allowed herself to cry, spilling the pain and allowing it to drain from her body with each choked breath until there was nothing left.

All Ray did was keep her tight against his chest, saying nothing, with just his cheek against her head until he felt her breathing even out and dare he say a happy, relieved, shaky breath of hot air against his pec as the hiccuping stopped too.

"This is nice..." (y/n) said, at last, her voice a little hoarse and squeaky but it carried the chirpiness it usually did and found himself copying her attempt at a smile when she pulled back just a little to look up at him. Her fingers still curled with the material of his uniform and they were still pressed together from chest to toe but she looked so cute, so innocent and hopeful, that even though his brain said it was too soon, his heart said it was about time.

"Yeah, this is good..." he mumbled into her hair and looked into her eyes, feeling himself gravitate towards her until their noses were bumping gently and her breath hitched. Did he--should she?--it felt indulgent but so damn right as he dipped his head even further so their lips touched and she all but gasped at the unexpected contact.

It was shy and tentative on her part as if she was afraid one wrong move would result in her losing the sweetest kiss of her life, so Ray took control, nudging closer to her with gentle passion until she was starstruck and breathless.

They were panting when they finally parted, their lips were slightly swollen but hearts full as she stared at him in disbelief because he still looked at her like he always did. Soft eyes, a goofy smile, hands gripping her hips and eager to drift elsewhere and Ray knew her brain was short-circuiting. Poor girl, he'd been there too.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked in a cutely dumb voice and the question surprised her so much that she giggled. A pure, adorable giggle fell from her lips because why would he ask that? Unless...he really meant it and he was just being the idiot that he was because he couldn't bear to see his sweet girl sad, not when he had it in his power to stop her fretting mind. He wanted her to be with him, just like he had for the last twelve years and if he didn't make her see that then there would a lot of unnecessary suffering.

"...Yeah. Yes, I'll be your girlfriend, Raymond," she grinned and buried her face into his chest again, giddy from the feeling of being something to him again and how he seemed so excited from her response, curling around her until the next question weighed on his mind.

Girlfriend was good but it could be better and he had no intention of merely being her boyfriend ever again. Their love was permanent, they might as well make their status like that too.

"Thank you, sweet girl. You're so good to me."

"You're better. I don't deserve a doofus like you," she replied, a sad tone still streaking through the newfound happiness. Oh, that would not do, he had to take that dirty little thought out of her head because she was more than he thought he'd ever be given in life and he wanted to give her all of him, more if he could. And she deserved all of it.

"My darling girl, you deserve the entire world. I don't remember a time when I didn't want you in my life because I love you so fucking much, with everything I've got, no matter what you do or what happens to us."

"I can't let you go because there's gonna be no one else for me, this is it. I don't want anyone else to be my wife. This--is yours, I don't want anyone else to have it. So please--" he gulped and reached into his pocket to find the ring, the one he'd shoved deep into the pocket of his utility trousers when he realised that he'd need to speak very carefully if he was gonna get the chance to give it back.

He'd bought it for one girl and one girl only, he'd never give it to someone else and even if they didn't, for whatever heartbreaking reason, didn't go down that road, he wanted her to keep it. Just so she knew that she was the one he chose.

"Give you the honour?" (y/n) offered, suddenly realising that she'd heard these words before, maybe they weren't said exactly like that but the emotion was still there as well as the memories of what had happened before. Nothing had changed, that old love was still there, along with something new; they were stronger, wiser and more in love than ever and she now knew what he was doing. He was giving them a fresh start.

"(y/n) (y/l/n), will you marry me?" Ray gave his sweet girl a soft smile as he sunk to one knee and held the ring between his forefinger and thumb so she could see it clearly, and know what he was asking of her.

The light caught the diamonds and her piece of treasure had never looked so beautiful, not since the last time it was given to her, the only difference being that both of them knew the answer and the shakiness in their fingers came from relief and excitement, not dread or nerves.

"Yes, a million times, doofus, yes!" (y/n) squealed gleefully and giggled with her doofus as he happily stripped her small hand of those stupid gloves and slid the ring down her finger. He'd never felt so relieved to sit it there, back where it belonged and he rose to drag her back into his embrace.

"I love you, sweet girl. Remember? Always have, always will." Ray mumbled against her forehead as he pecked at it several times, feeling her nose nuzzled under his jaw as she tried to reach his lips, loving the cool metal against her finger because she was too used to looking down and seeing it there. She wanted to marry him, so damn much and so did he. Things were back to normal.

"I remember, doofus. I love you too. Always." she replied, feeling secure in the knowledge that she hadn't screwed everything up and nothing was lost. She wanted to marry him, so damn much and so did he. Things were back to normal and they were going to be okay, probably more in love than ever now that they'd overcome this hurdle, a strength they'd need to overcome the next one waiting for them.

~On the roof~

Giggling and joking, the lovey-dovey couple climbed the ladder, hoping to catch Henry so they could bask in the glory of their latest victory and tell him all the grotty details of how they'd patched up their relationship until it was as good as new. He'd love to hear about it, after all, he was the instigator, their wingman, the kid who always nudged them back into line when they felt a bit wobbly. He'd be thrilled to know that his favourite couple were as in love as ever.

Still, it was easier said than done to make it up the ladder, what with Ray constantly dragging (y/n) back towards him whenever she made the first step because he wanted "one last kiss". He'd had several of those, some from pressing her against the wall due to a spur-of-the-moment rush of passion or a last-minute decision to taste her honeyed lips again when she climbed too high and he got a glimpse up her skirt. Twitler had generously bequeathed her leggings underneath but still, he felt a thrilling rush.

"Raymond, get your hand off my butt. If we fall, I swear to god..."

"Just helping you up, sweet girl...and you know I'd never let you fall," the hero smirked as he continued pushing her up until they were at the roof, marking about and laughing because he was so bold and her stern tone was anything but commanding. She never got angry, not properly and they were stumbling over each other's heels as they made it onto the dish, to what was a truly sorry scene.

"Kid, we did it! We punched The Virus right outta that guy and then, everything reversed itself. Oh, and good news! (y/n) and I are still in love and--"

"Henry...what's wrong?" (y/n) placed her hand on Ray's arm and silenced his rambling when she saw the kid sitting on the ground, knees pulled up to his chest and his fingers picking themselves apart. Twitler was laid out, unconscious a few metres away but Henry didn't pay him any mind and he didn't say anything either, not him or them.

He looked so glum, pale and gaunt with watery eyes. He looked at her with such sadness, that it broke her heart and chased her playful mood away, especially when he bowed his head to avoid their gazes. He seemed ashamed in some way like he was in mourning and they didn't know what to say as they, the heroes celebrated their victory with no great celebration or cheering, no applause or smiles.

What the hell had happened?

~The next day, in the Man Cave~

Everyone had gathered in the main room after a well-deserved rest, but it wasn't an easy sleep or a fun meeting. There was no smiling, no cheers, no standing ovation when they dropped in tubes for a job well done. The mission was complete but after hearing Henry's tragic tale, the couple didn't have it in them to party without him.

Ray had driven slowly as they made their way home, (y/n) sat in the back with the kid so he could lean against her shoulder and possibly shed a few tears. She said nothing on the way back, knowing that he was shamed by his tears as he briskly brushed them away and screwed his eyes shut. He didn't want her to see, not her, not Ray and certainly not his friends. If he didn't want to acknowledge them, then he didn't have to, she would pressure him, and neither would anyone back home.

There was a brief tittering for (y/n) as she reemerged into the oh-so-familiar room she called home and for a moment, there was a sliver of deep shock running through Schwoz, Jasper and Charlotte when they saw her get up but a brief explanation and some reassurance from brought them all up to speed. Of course, the woman was welcomed with relief and open arms before they refocused on comforting Henry, who couldn't wait to find out the truth.

(y/n) breathed a sigh of relief when she woke up in her and Ray's bedroom, naked but safe and warm wrapped in his arms as they dozed peacefully in the quiet of the morning. The feeling was something she'd never take for granted again and she was so damn glad to be out of Twitler's costume, never to wear it again. But, as always, after waking up in the best way possible, it was inevitable that they'd be summoned out of their room. So, they crawled out from their serenity and joined the others.

Once in the main room, Ray, looking particularly dashing in his brightly-patterned shirt, smiled and slung an arm around her shoulders as Schwoz began running tests, anything to find out if Henry's super-fast reflexes were kaput and gone forever.

Those superpowers were everything to that kid, so they feared his reaction if the worst had truly happened.

"How are your legs?" Henry asked Jasper as the boy lay on the couch with every muscle in his body aching. He'd done his job, he'd kept everything powered during the brief Dark Ages and now, he was suffering from the post-workout burn whilst his best friend got scanned by the resident genius.

"They hurt--a lot. How's your powers?" Jasper questioned, a bag of ice cubes spread out on his lap since (y/n) said it would help with the swelling. It was gross how Ray wouldn't stop kissing her, pressing their lips together at any given moment so they were never apart, which he understood but it also meant he was paying much attention. Dude, come on, she wasn't going to disappear again, not with his ring on her finger.

"Ask Schwoz."

"Uh, I'm still running the tests. Ray and (y/n)'s kissing is very distracting," the small man responded, his voice turning a bit sharper at the end since all he'd heard for the last ten minutes was their lips smacking together and his boss's hungry growls from the back of his throat. He too was glad that (y/n) had been found, safe, sound and not evil, but couldn't he put her down just while they did this?

"Well, I'm sorry, Schwoz. I'm sorry that I'm in love with her and I'm sorry that I'm making up for lost time after Twitler tried to take her away from me--us." Ray replied indignantly. (y/n)'s cheeks were turning red but she didn't get all shy, rather, she placed her head on his chest and smiled at all of her friends. She'd take their mocking for the rest of her life if it meant they could all stay like this; safe, together and okay. This was her home and secretly, everyone was glad that the couple were up to their old tricks.

"Speaking of Rick Twitler, what are we gonna do with him?" Charlotte asked, throwing her thumb over her shoulder to gesture to the ex-villain that the heroes had dragged back with them. They couldn't leave him at the internet factory, he'd seen too much, had caused too much chaos and needed to pay for his crimes. However, that would be quite difficult because the new Rick could hardly do anything at all.

"I don't know. The computer virus scrambled his brain," (y/n) told her, looking over at her old, fake boss and how he was sitting at the computer with a carefree, moronic smile spread on his face. He was loving all of the twinkly lights and funny noises and his sharp intellect had been replaced with the mind of an airheaded child, which was rather ironic after all of that shouting he'd done about having the superior mind. He couldn't cause any trouble anymore, which was a hidden blessing.

"So, he doesn't remember that you're Miss Danger, Ray's Captain Man and that Henry's Kid Danger?"

"He doesn't even know who he is. Here, watch this," Ray released his sweet girl and walked over to Twitler, who looked at the funny man with his funny face and funny shirt like he was just another friend to make. Enemies? What are those?

"Hey! Who are you?"

"Vert Tandy-Bunckleberf," Rick replied in a tone that sounded like he was sure of that and he even offered his hand out for Ray to shake. Yep, his brain was practically mush now.

"Sure you are..." the man whispered, relating his hand and returning to his sweet girl's side. It was funny because now, he had a greater mental capacity than him and he was the one who could offer her a better life, not that that was ever in dispute. He didn't know what he'd done to deserve it, but she chose him and he was gonna make her proud of that choice for the rest of his life.

"What about the guys that attacked Henry's house? Don't they know that he's Kid Danger?" Charlotte asked again, wanting to make sure that they were all safe and no one's secret identity was known. She'd had enough of this nightmare for one lifetime.

"Nah, they were just hired goons. They know less than he does," Ray told her, turning his head to press butterfly kisses to his sweet girl's cheek and temple. She was safe, his employees were safe, his family was fine for now and he had never been more relieved.

"So, everything's back to normal?" Jasper said tentatively, not wanting to jinx anything but the problem had been dealt with, right?

"Mostly, but not everything..." (y/n) answered, her eyes meeting her sweet doofus's gaze. He looked so handsome right now, so adorable with his floppy hair and tight shirt, and it felt good to be back with him, where she belonged. However, whilst they were okay and the foundation of their family was strong, a key pillar was cracking and they needed to give him support in this crucial moment.

"Yeah, Schwoz, what's going on, man? Can Henry get his superpowers back or not?" Ray walked over to his handyman, his finacée hot on his heels since they both needed answers. Was their trio okay or not? Was Henry still equipped as a sidekick?

"Uh...the tests are positive," Schwoz said slowly and understandably, the statement sounded like good news. So, when his friends started to cheer and shout at the sound of a positive test, a hint that they could do something to help the kid, he was confused. No, no, no, why would they think that? He hadn't finished his sentence and his solemn face should've given them a clue.

"No...I meant the tests are positive that he'll never get his powers back. They're positively gone," he corrected himself and all of the good feelings drained away as quickly as they came. The up and down mood soon switched to anger as they all felt that he'd mislead them and gotten Henry's hopes up, something that was undoubtedly cruel given how attached he was to his superpower.

"Why would you say it like that?!"

"Schwoz, for a guy so smart, you are so dumb!" Ray and (y/n) snapped, furious with him for not being gentler with the bad news but Henry didn't want shouting or fury or a fight. He'd had enough confrontation for one day. It was like losing an old friend, one that he'd never see again and as most people do when they're grieving, he just wanted to crawl into bed and block out the world.

"Oops, my bad... Schwoz's bad."

"Second opinion! Testing rock!" Ray couldn't accept the devastating news for his sidekick, he never could take bad news well, so he wanted to make sure that the reflexes were gone in a way that surely wasn't helpful right now. He seized Schwoz's rock and lifted it to throw it at Henry, his usual test to see if he could dodge it, which usually ended in him dodging in a blur or getting a bruise but (y/n) wouldn't let him. Not this time.

"Not right now, Raymond..." She told him softly and the look in her eye told him that Henry really didn't need to be attacked right now. He was vulnerable and a negative result would just depress him even more, so it was a good thing that she was there to hold his arm and push his hand back down before he could make things worse.

"Oh, right...later," Ray whispered to the rock, hoping he could have some fun later, although later would probably involve a different kind of fun. Hey, it had been a long day and he'd missed his sweet girl. Why would he give up time with her for a rock?

"No. Not later. I don't need any more tests to tell me that I've lost my superpower. It's gone...it's not coming back," Henry interjected strongly, harshly, like he couldn't control his voice, which was understandable.

"Oh, boo-hoo! I lost my superpowers! It's so not gooood!" Jasper, however, begged to differ as he mocked his best friend and his melancholy state, which was surprisingly unlike him. He was normally so kind and gentle, why was he poking fun?

"Curly, that's not very nice--"

"You're still a sidekick!" The boy spoke over (y/n)'s confused objection because he knew that his friend didn't need wrapping in cotton wool. He needed a wake-up call and a kick up the butt.

"Oh, and I just remembered, you saved the whole dang world yesterday. Quit sitting around, moping like a baby, your life is still amazing."

It was what Henry needed to hear but for the others, especially Ray, it seemed too harsh for a heartbroken kid. So, feeling extra protective of his youngest sidekick and irritated with his most annoying employee, the hero took matters into his own hands and silenced Jasper by throwing the rock at him. He knew it would come in useful for something.

"Ow!"
"Raymond!" (y/n) scolded him, slapping his arm for being so violent in a way that could've hurt the boy if his skull wasn't so dense. But Ray didn't care, he thought Jasper deserve it; come on, people said he was insensitive, but that took the biscuit.

"You were right, sweet girl. Glad I saved it," he grinned at her, not at all phased by her stern eyebrows because he knew that she wasn't properly mad and all of a sudden, there wasn't time to be either. Out of nowhere, the emergency alarm began to sound and the walls illuminated red from the beacon, telling them that someone, somewhere needed Captain Man, Miss Danger and...Kid Danger.

"Emergency!" Schwoz exclaimed and dashed over to the one monitor that was left working after Ray had shot all but one of them. He'd have to fix them whilst they were gone, but first, the heroes needed to know what they were dealing with.

"What's going on, Charlotte?" (y/n) asked as she and Ray walked over, Henry staying put as he watched with curious yet sad eyes.

"Doctor Minyak is robbing a bank with an army of radioactive peacocks," she replied. Oh yes, this was a very normal profession, but no one could say it was dull. That did sound like something for Captain Man and co, something so horrible that Rick Twitler gasped at the news. Well, he wasn't himself and the couple ignored him anyway, fishing for their gum tubes as they prepared to head out. But, they weren't a couple, not when they were working. Captain Man and Miss Danger always formed a trio and neither wanted to leave without being complete.

"So, what are you gonna do, kid?" Ray asked, causing Henry to look up at him and (y/n), switching between their serious faces. They couldn't wait forever and once again he was faced with a choice. Was he gonna stay and rethink his after-school job or was he gonna get over his loss and fight? He might have lost his superpower, but he still had his smarts, his skills, his weapons, his training, everything that he'd succeeded with before he'd gotten his super-fast reflexes. If he'd done it then, what was stopping him from kicking ass now?

"I'll tell you what I'm not gonna do," the boy stated, getting up from the couch and standing in front of them, letting them wait with bated breath, "...I'm not gonna sit around here and mope like a baby."

"Yes!—-Arghhhh, my legs!" Jasper was thrilled to hear the news, albeit a little premature when it came to using his exhausted muscles again. But, even as he sank to the floor in pain, he knew that they should never have doubted him. Henry wasn't weak or in need of a cuddle, he just needed a pep talk to spur him into action because as his best friend, he knew that he wasn't defined by his superpower alone.

"Let's chew it and do it! Pass me that gum tube, Schwoz." Henry told the bald man, who yanked his spare tube from his back pocket and tossed it to him as any normal person would. However, Henry was still getting used to how slow his hands were now and the fact that he couldn't wait until the last second to react. So, when the tube crossed his body, his attempt to catch it failed miserably and instead, it flew straight into Ray's crotch, causing him to wince and groan as the others cringed.

"Hey, I want children in the future. Mind your aim!" (y/n) nudged the kid, who looked at her sheepishly and at Ray apologetically. Indestructible or not, she wanted to be on the safe side so as she tittered over his steeled expression and giggled at how his hand stayed put to protect what was left, the man picked up the tube. He'd have to practice later.

"This is going to take some getting used to," he told his friends who shook their heads kindly, knowing that even though things had changed, everything was still the same in the Man Cave.

Things were still crazy, Ray and (y/n) were still madly in love and Henry, albeit without his superpower, was still as devoted to the people of Swellview as he had always been. The trio was complete and ready to face whatever came next and whatever they'd have to deal with because they knew they'd face it together.

That was the kind of family they had.