I was thirteen when I took this job. Such a starry eyed kid with the only concern in the world being, what if I don't get a good mark on my Puerto Rican history test? I didn't think of the dangers I was putting myself in. I didn't think about how I could go on a mission and never come back alive. I didn't think about how this job would affect me. My name is Henry Hart, I had just taken the job as Kid Danger, I was thirteen.
I'm fourteen. I could have been killed by a cannonball if it wasn't for the fact that I had made myself indestructible. Sheer, dumb luck. I could have died right there and then if I hadn't been stupid yet smart enough to go through the densitizer. But I didn't think about how I could have died, I was fourteen. My name is Henry Hart, I had been Kid Danger for two years, I was fourteen.
I'm fifteen. I nearly get beaten to death by Rai after he ate a love muffin, I gain superpowers and suddenly nothing matters that much anymore because I'm basically invincible, I can move at the speed of sound, why should I care about such trivial things as life and death. My name is Henry Hart, I had been Kid Danger for three years, I was fifteen.
I'm sixteen, things are starting to get tougher, the villains are scarier, missions are harder, I thought I was going to be paralyzed because Schwoz didn't have the cure for flabber gas. But it's still my job, and I still love it. I'm a celebrity. I have fame and I'm well liked. And that's worth the risk, isn't it? My name is Henry Hart, I had been Kid Danger for four years, I'm sixteen.
I'm seventeen, my name is Henry Hart, and I'm scared. There are nights where I lay awake unsure if I should even continue my job. Where does Kid Danger begin and Henry Hart end. When did I stop being Henry Hart. I've been electrocuted, hurt, I've had my powers forcibly removed from my body, put back in, and then taken again because it was let the virus win or lose my powers, and my arm has been broken. My name is Henry Hart, I had been Kid Danger for five years.
Now I'm eighteen. I've been through so much. I've quit. Something I truly vowed to myself I'd never do. Sure, I 'quit' when I was fifteen, but I didn't really. I was just being and angst ridden teenager. I've been beaten up by cavemen, I've been through so much anxiety in the last twenty four hours. And I'm eighteen. My name is Henry Hart, and after five very long years fighting crime, risking my life and protecting Swellview's citizens, this is how it ends. I'm not making it out of this alive. My name is Henry Hart, I have been Kid Danger for nearly six years but I won't get to see the anniversary, I'm eighteen.
I stand on top of a blimp of all things, and I'm steering it into Mount Swellview. I know that there's no possible way that I make it out of this alive. I know there's nothing I can do but I wish there was.
I wasn't ready yet. There was still so much I had left to do.
I hadn't told Schwoz how incredible his inventions are in a long time. I never told him how much I believed he would be the one to find a cure to some of the most dangerous diseases. It's true. I believed that he would be big some day. I just wish I could tell him, tell him one last time.
I hadn't told my sister how much I loved her. How despite the fact that we fought and annoyed each other, she was the best sister I could have ever asked for. I could still see her freshly cut blond hair, something young her vowed to never do. Her sparkling, icy ocean blue eyes, shining with excitement about being on team superhero. Her sarcastic, Generation Z typical responses to everything, her blatant disregard for the rules and law. How I wish I could hug her one more time. I wish I could just have twenty minutes to have a mug of tea and a bowl of strawberries and cream, and just snuggle up on the couch like we do to cheer each other up. Just twenty minutes, is that too much to ask for?
I hadn't gone to Disneyland, California with Jasper like I promised to this summer. I smile to myself despite everything, picturing how he would religiously curl his naturally straight hair for roughly fourteen years. How after what felt like forever, her finally got over his obsession with buckets. What would I give to hear another rant about buckets right now. I wish I could just talk to him one last time, but he'd already evacuated Charlotte and himself from the Man Cave.
Charlotte. My best friend. Her beautiful dark chocolate brown curls resting like a crown on her head. Her hand resting on her hip when she's mad. Her sarcastic smile and eye roll. Her overly long lectures on how reckless I am on missions, that I can't be making impulsive decisions, that one of these days I'll get myself... I'll get myself killed. I guess she was right. God she'd hate and love that. Charlotte loves to be right, but knowing she was right would mean that I died. How I should have taken the parachute with Rai.
Rai. Even if I only lived for a few minutes longer, I knew I'd never forget the look of desperation on his face as I sent him away from me. He'd trained me all these years to become Captain Man when he was gone, but I didn't want that. I wanted to move on with my life, I just wish we hadn't spent the last twenty four hours of my life arguing with each other. He was my mentor, my best friend, the person who could make me laugh even when I'm sad. The person who would, even if he was destructible, take a bullet for me. I never wanted to let him down. He was like big brother to me, I loved him.
The mountain was getting closer and closer to me. With one pathetic motion, a wipe away the tears dripping from my eyes. I raise a shaky hand, activating my com.
"Rai?" Please.
"Kid!" Rai yells back, relief washing his voice. "Where are you? How did you get off the blimp!"
Oh. He doesn't know.
"Rai-" I murmur
"How did you survive the fall? Did you have a gadget that you never told me about? What about the baby hospital? I'm going to kill you for ejecting me. I was stuck in a tree."
"Rai-" I repeat, the longer he took the harder this would be to tell him.
"Where can I pick you up? Has the blimp crashed yet? I haven't been watching the news, you gave your friends and sister quite a scare."
"Rai-"
"Sorry, yes?"
I choke back a sob. "I never got off the blimp."
The line goes cold. "What?" Rai asks, emotion cracking his voice.
"I'm- I'm still on th-the blimp. I'm h-hea-headed for Mount Swellview."
"No- no, you have to get of. Henry you have to jump off!"
"I can't Rai, from this distance I'll die."
"And if you don't you die! This can't be happening, Henry you can find a way off! You have to, because you are going to make it out of this." Rai said, denial lacing through his voice.
Faintly, I hear Piper in the background ask something along the lines of 'what's happening?'
"Henry's still on the blimp!" Rai yelled back at her.
I hear a muffling as the com is taken from one ear to the next.
"Henry, Henry you get off that blimp right this instant!" Piper ordered, her voice wavering as she cried, anger pouring off of her.
I smile sadly. "I can't, you know I can't."
"Please, Henry, don't make me right." I hear Charlotte plead. "Just get of the blimp. Don't let yourself be killed. This was never supposed to happen. If you can just find a way to survive the fall, if you can just find a way off the blimp, you'll be fine." She was bargaining.
"I know." I whisper. "Can I say something to all of you?"
"No! Because if you do, you're admitting defeat, and that means that you want these to be your last words!" Jasper yelled at me, his voice slightly muffled. "Please don't do this, I can't live without my best friend." Jasper was crying, something I hardly ever saw Jasper do.
"Please." I beg, the mountain was getting closer and closer.
"No!" They yelled in chorus.
"Guys, let him." I hear Schwoz say in the background, his voice quiet and sad. He knew. He accepted it.
"He's not having any last words because he's going to be fine!" Rai yelled, still denying that I was going to die.
"Please." I whisper, desperation crawling into my voice as the mountain grew bigger.
"Henry Hart, do not say anything!" Piper ordered, angry at the thought that I would even consider attempting last words.
"If he just gets off the blimp, he'll be fine, he just needs to find away off in time, but he can't because he doesn't have a way off." I hear Charlotte repeat over and over, it was like my inevitable death was breaking her brain.
"Henry, please don't do this!" Jasper cried.
"You have to let him." Schwoz sighed. "If you don't you'll regret it."
"Is that a threat?" Piper yelled.
"No it's a promise."
The com goes silent. "Ok." I hear someone whisper defeatedly. Maybe it was Piper, maybe it was Charlotte, I'm not sure.
"Schwoz," my voice cracks with emotion, "please don't ever stop inventing, you are so intelligent, and I know someday you are going to take the medical world by storm."
"Thank you." Schwoz whispers sadly, not being able to enjoy the compliment.
"Jasper? I'm sorry if I ever made you feel less than. You are amazing and you are my oldest friend to date. I wish I had more time, I wish I could give you a hug, but just know how much I care about you. I wish we could have gone to Disney together, but I will cherish the memories we made together until..." I don't finish that sentence.
I hear a sniffle from Jasper but he doesn't make any other sound, most likely not trusting himself not to start crying again.
"Charlotte."
"H-Henry."
"You are so beautiful. You are so smart, and creative, and funny and I just wish I could be with you one more time, just so I could see one of my best friends in the world one more time." I whisper, tears running freely.
"I love you so much Henry, you're my best friend."
"I love you too, Char." I murmur.
I take a deep breath, this is harder than I thought, but I don't have time to dwell on it because I'm running out of time.
"Piper."
"Henry, please." She begs.
"Piper, I just want you to know how much I love you. You're the best sister I could have ever asked for. I don't care about our petty fights, I care about all those times we spent on the couch watching rom-coms, drinking tea and eating strawberries and cream."
"You always make the best str-strawberries and cream, you-you never have too much or too little whipped cream, I can ne-never get it right." She cries, laughing a little. "And when I'm sad-"
"I put a little on your nose." I finish, pain gripping my heart. "I love you so much Piper, never change."
"I won't." She cries.
I clear my throat, attempting to shoo away the emotion. "Rai?"
"I'm here, Kid."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I should be apologizing."
"I never should have even considered leaving." I whisper.
"No. Don't say that Henry. It's your life, who am I to control it. I'm just sorry I couldn't be a better mentor for you."
"You were the best mentor I could have ever asked for. You're so amazing Rai, I wish I could just-"
"I know."
No one speaks for a moment, the mountain was so close to me and the blimp wasn't slowing down.
"Rai?"
"Yeah, Kid?" Rai replies, sadness betraying his attempt to be strong.
"I'm scared."
"We'll stay with you until the very end." Piper promises, her voice unwavering.
"Do you think it's painful? Dying?"
"I hope not. Maybe it's as easy as falling asleep." Said Jasper quietly.
As the mountain grew closer, I knew I only had a matter of seconds.
"I love you all so much, and I'm so sorry."
"It's-"
I didn't get to hear the rest of the sentence as the blimp collided with the mountain side. Smoke filled my lungs as the blimps engine exploded. Pain errupted through my body, all I could hear was screaming. Maybe it was mine, or maybe it was my friends', I'm not sure, but after that, I smiled. All I saw was black.
My name was Henry Hart, I was Kid Danger for almost six years, I was eighteen when I died.
That was so sad and so hard to write! I'm so sorry for the lack of updates, school is stressful and I'm a tired, stressed, struggling student.
Did anyone notice that Schwoz, Piper, Rai, Charlotte, Jasper and Henry represented the 5 stages of grief? Need some breaking down?
Henry: The person who died/was going to die. (Pretty obvious)
Rai: The 1st stage of grief, Denial.
Piper: The 2nd stage of grief, Anger.
Charlotte: The 3rd stage of grief, Bargaining.
Jasper: The 4th stage of grief, Depression.
Schwoz: The 5th stage of grief, Acceptance.
Let me know if you caught that!
Anyways, love you all. If your still in school, keep up the hard work and study, but know that your health comes first.
Cheers!