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queen-of-writing-bad-things · 3 months

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Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 1

Episode 2: The Danger Begins Pt.2

~The following day, Henry's house~

"Okay, George has six times as many dimes as quarters in his piggy bank." Charlotte started to read out the math question to Henry. However, she was quickly interrupted by an exuberant Jasper bursting through the door.

"Oh yeah, oh yeah! I got two responses!" He yelled at them in excitement.

"To what?" Henry asked him.

"My birthday party invitation." He explained. "Two guys said they might come." He was ecstatic that at least two other than Henry and Charlotte could attend his party.

"Who?"

"Sidney Burnbaum and Oliver Pook." Jasper read from his PearPad, but on hearing who had RSVP'd, Charlotte and Henry pulled a face of disgust.

"Ugh."

"Those guys eat bugs."

"So? They're people." Jasper started indignantly, but he soon caught his eye on the latest PearPhone on the table.

"When'd you get a new phone?" He asked Henry, picking the device up and looking over all its incredible features.

"Oh, uh, mine broke, so-- what are you doing?" Henry didn't want Jasper to realise that (y/n) had bought him a new phone with all of the Man Cave's contacts saved in it.

"You've got to get this new app," Jasper explained, typing away on the App Store.

"Wait, what app?" Henry tried to ask.

"Hey, you never told us what you do at your new job." Charlotte piped up, filled with curiosity from Henry's lack of telling them about Junk-N-Stuff.

"Oh, right, right." Henry trailed off as he didn't know how to explain his actions without breaking the oath.

"What do you do?" Charlotte enunciated each word after not being satisfied with Henry's silence.

"I--" Henry started making an excuse, but luckily, Jasper had already installed the app, giving him something else to direct the conversation to.

"Oh great, the app. Tell me about the app." He rambled at Jasper, wanting him to distract Charlotte from her questioning.

"It plays a billion sound effects, like a school bell, a cat choking on a hairball, ice cream truck.." Jasper listed and played all the weird sound effects, confusing and entertaining Charlotte and Henry.

"You have the brain of a hamster." Charlotte sassed at him, not impressed by the weird app.

"I wish," Jasper revealed.

"Gimme my phone," Henry said, not wanting to hear more cats choking on hairballs.

"Hey, did you guys hear what Captain Man did yesterday?" Jasper excitedly asked the other two teens.

"Oh yeah, the Jandy Bridge." Charlotte nodded with him. The turn in the conversation freaked Henry out because he couldn't risk revealing that he was Kid Danger.

"And so if you divide 9x by the square root--" He tried to focus on the homework, but Captain Man was too cool not to talk about for his friends.

"They say he pulled seven people out of the river and saved their lives," Jasper told them.

"Yeah, and he has a new sidekick. There's a story about it on my news feed." Charlotte looked at her phone with Jasper, meaning she didn't see how flustered Henry was.

"Hey, let's talk about your birthday party." Henry diverted, but it didn't work.

"Shhhh!!"

"Here. "For the first time ever, Captain Man was not working alone." Charlotte read out from the news story. In desperation, Henry picked up the vase from the coffee table and threw it at the wall, hoping it would stop her from reading.

"Woahhh, how'd that break?" He said in a fake shocked voice, causing Charlotte to look at him weirdly, but she continued.

"According to witnesses on the scene, Captain Man was heard calling his new sidekick 'Kid Danger'." At mentioning his heroic name, Henry grabbed the phone from Charlotte's hands and launched it across the room, causing it to break something.

"You just slapped my phone right outta my hand." Charlotte and Jasper looked at him in disbelief.

"Yeah, sorry. Sorry, I'm just -- I'm worried. You and I gotta study, and I'm worried about Jasper's party, and there's-- I don't know, there's just--" Before Henry could rent any further, the wristband on his arm started beeping three times.

'A triple flashing light means emergency like major sitch going down, so get here fast.' He remembered (y/n) telling him in the Man Cave, and he knew something big was happening.

"Uh, why don't you guys go to the zoo?" Henry tried to distract his friends so he could get to Junk-N-Stuff as soon as possible.

"Why?" The dark-haired girl looked at him strangely.

"You know I got banned from the zoo," Jasper recalled while the beeping wouldn't stop.

"What is that?" Charlotte asked him.

"What, my thumb?" Henry attempted.

"The bracelet that's beeping and flashing on your wrist." She said.

"Uh... it's, uh, a timer," Henry said off the top of his head.

"What are you timing?" Charlotte pressed.

"Muffins." He replied.

"You're making muffins?" Charlotte was not buying what he was saying.

"Birthday muffins." He pointed at Jasper with a smile, trying to convince them.

"Yes!" At least Jasper was happy.

"Dang. There goes the surprise. I'll just turn this off. Push the button." Henry struggled with the bracelet, not knowing how to stop it from making noise. Ultimately, he shoved his hand down his pants, which wasn't very effective.

"It's still on," Jasper noted.

"No, it's not."

"We can see it flashing through your pants." Charlotte wasn't impressed.

"And we can still hear it beeping," Jasper added at the end of her point.

"I know..." Henry grabbed a cushion to cover up the flashing.

"I-- uh... I need a pickle." He abruptly ran to the porch after throwing the cushion down.

"Wait! I thought we were going to study!" Charlotte called after him, but he was already gone.

"Bring me back a pickle!" Jasper shouted too.

~The Man Cave~

(y/n) watched on as Ray and a Hawaiian girl named Leilani sang Polynesian songs on the couch. Seeing them cuddled together on the couch made the green beast of jealousy rise within her, but she knew she could never say anything. All she could do was wait for Henry, as Ray had triple-beeped him.

The two continued strumming on the ukuleles as the (y/c/h) girl sat at the supercomputer in annoyance and boredom. However, the elevator dinged, and a frantic-looking Henry stepped out.

"Ray! Ray, what's wrong?" He said, instantly looking confused at how relaxed Ray was in the emergency situation.

"So fun for everyone to sing E Hoomau Maua Kealoha." The two sang in Hawaiian together, making Henry look to (y/n) for answers, but she only shrugged and looked away.

"Uh, Ray?" Henry pressed, but Ray only pointed his finger at the boy to acknowledge him.

"Hawaii make you say, hele mei hooiwahiwa." They finished singing, smiling at each other, causing an acrid taste to settle on (y/n)'s tongue.

"Dude!" Henry was getting upset, but Ray still grinned.

"Henry, what goes on?" He asked flippantly.

"You triple-beeped me, (y/n) said that means there's an emergency."

"Oh right, sorry. I was just getting a ukulele lesson from Leilani." He kept smiling, using his remote to raise the Hawaiian background behind the couch.

"Take a break." They giggled again, with Leilani tickling his nose and standing up. (y/n) fake giggled with them, but no one heard, as the singer took her ukulele to the back of the Man Cave.

"Mmm, yeah." (y/n) felt her heart sink as his eyes followed her up the steps, but once again, they were friends, nothing more.

"So, what's up?" Henry asked, grinning Ray's attention again.

"We have a situation. And by we, I mean our city, all of Swellview." Ray switched to being severe, putting down his instrument, removing the flowers from around his neck, and putting them on Henry.

"Check this out." His remote put up a hologram in the air, showing a video of The Toddler.

"The Toddler?" Henry gasped.

"He's the one who destroyed the Jandy bridge yesterday." (y/n) explained across the room.

"Why?" Henry inquired.

"To set up phase three of his plan." Ray looked at him.

"What's phase three?"

"It's the phase that comes right after phase two, but before phase four, if there is a phase four. But if there's no phase four, then phase three will be the final phase." Ray ranted, confusing his sidekick.

"So what happens in phase three?" Henry said, puzzled, as the two walked to where (y/n) was at the computer.

"While you and I were pulling people out of the river, the Toddler's men stole five thousand packages of diapers," Ray explained to him.

"Can you guess why?" He quizzed the teen.

"Uh--"

"To bombard the diapers with radioactive Zenite particles," Ray stated like it was apparent.

"I would not have guessed that." Henry looked a bit dizzy.

"You wanna see what happens when a baby pees into a diaper that's been bombarded with radioactive Zenite particles?" Ray asked, squatting down to the floor as he spoke the question.

"No."

"Watch this." He pointed at (y/n), who was already pulling up the video.

"Why does he ask me?" He asked the young woman.

"He does it a lot." She shook her head.

"What's taking so long?" The Toddler asked as the video started to play.

"Well, he hasn't peed yet." The henchman and the evil criminal stared at the baby.

"Well, give him some more apple juice." The Toddler growled and walked off.

"Wait, wait, I think he's peeing." The man quickly brought back The Toddler.

The three watched as the baby began to cry, and The Toddler excitedly anticipated the transformation. The baby's skin turned green, and when it opened its eye, they were glowing a demonic red. It roared, making the insane man-child laugh in success.

"Oh my gosh." Henry looked disturbed.

"Kill you, kill everyone." The baby was now speaking in a deep voice, making Henry step back in horror.

"Monster babies?" He spluttered incredulously. (y/n) paused the video before they could be creeped out anymore.

"That's right, Henry...unless we stop The Toddler." Ray looked down at the boy.

"Are you with me?"

"Well, yeah," Henry affirmed.

"Good, you'll need to meet Ray here at 7:00 sharp." (y/n) looked around Ray's prominent figure at Henry.

"Wait, wait, wait. Tonight? No, I--I can't do tonight." He said, looking between the two.

"What? What do you mean?" Ray couldn't believe what he just said.

"My-- My best friend Jasper, he's having his birthday party tonight, and--" Henry explained, but his excuse made Ray laugh.

"Party? Henry, there's a freakish man-toddler out there about to turn all the babies in Swellview into that." He said, turning Henry around to see the green monster baby.

"And you're worried about a party?" Ray asked him, not happy.

"But-- But, Jasper's been my best friend since we were five." Henry pleaded, but it didn't make Ray realise this was important to him.

"Okay. Okay. It's cool. Uh, you go to Jasper's party. I'll handle The Toddler by myself. Don't worry about it." (y/n) frowned because he was ignorant of Henry's feelings.

"Are you sure?" Henry asked tentatively.

"Yeah, I've battled The Toddler alone before. Almost killed me, but whatever." Ray walked up the steps to the sprocket in a tantrum.

"Now I feel all bad," Henry said dejectedly.

"Raymond, please stop guilt-tripping the poor kid." (y/n) stood up and called up at her friend in a stern voice.

"Don't feel bad. I'll save the world. You go have a fun time at Jasper's birthday party." Ray continued to go up the steps, talking to Henry in a passive-aggressive voice.

"Dance. Drink some fruity punch." Henry and (y/n) looked at him with frowns.

"Leilani! Turn on the hot tub!" Ray yelled to the girl in the other room, walking away. (y/n) sighed in annoyance as she heard Leilani cheer but took a deep breath and looked at Henry.

"Don't feel bad. He's just a child." She smiled at him, but he didn't look entirely convinced.

"Go to your party and have fun. Ray doesn't understand the meaning of 'social life." Her comment made Henry chuckle, and he looked up at her confusedly.

"Why does he go in hot tubs with Hawaiian girls if he's with you?" Henry questioned her. The comment made the young woman freeze but she kept her composure and feigned ignorance.

"Uh-- what do you mean?" Henry looked at her funnily but carried on.

"Aren't you dating?" (y/n) laughed sadly but didn't let Henry see how much Ray's actions and flirting hurt her.

"Ray? No, no, no. No. I could never. We're just friends." The words tumbled out of her mouth automatically; many people had asked her the question over the seven years of her employment.

"Right, sure," Henry said sceptically. (y/n) shook her head and him and waved him off.

"Just go to your party. I'll deal with Ray." Henry smiled at her and ran off to the elevator, leaving the Man Cave.

"You got water all over the floor, and I'll be the one who has to clean it up." (y/n) grumbled at Ray, who was busy suiting up for his fight with The Toddler.

"Yeah, yeah." He ignored her, focusing on choosing the appropriate weapon.

"I can't believe Henry chose a party over me." He mumbled, picking up a laser blaster and fixing it to his utility belt. (y/n) sighed and faced him.

"He's at the age where his friends are the most important thing to him. And he can't ditch his best friend's birthday party." She explained, knowing that Ray missed out on many of these things due to his early superhero training.

"Yeah, but I'm Captain Man." Ray lifted his arms as the woman adjusted his belt and ensured everything was secure.

"Which means you are more than capable of taking care of The Toddler." (y/n) smiled up at him, patting both hands on his chest.

"True, I am awesome. And unbelievably handsome." He bragged, grinning back at her as he opened the door to the Man Van.

"Just go, Captain Ego." She laughed, silently agreeing that he was too handsome for his own good.

"Be safe." She waved at him through the window, hoping he'd return in one piece. Ray waved back, and in a few seconds, she stared at the back of the van as it drove away.

~Henry's house~

Henry walked down the stairs, all dressed up for his party. He could hear Jasper whining in his ear about how late he was.

"Jasper, Jasper, I'm on my way." He tried to tell his friend but was too busy talking about muffins.

"No, I'm not bringing the muffins." He grabbed his jacket, but a frown grew when Jasper spoke again.

"Did you hear what happened to Captain Man?" Henry's stomach dropped at the mention of his new boss, but he tried to play it cool as if it was merely a passing question.

"What about Captain Man?" He interrogated in a panicked voice.

"He got captured," Jasper said over the phone, making Henry's worst fear a reality.

Henry ran over to the TV, switching on the news and ignoring Jasper's jabbering on the phone. The report came on, showing that Jasper's gossip was true.

"While reports are unclear, we do have confirmation that Captain Man has been captured and is being held at a secret location." The report said on the screen.

"Captured? Dang it, Ray!" Henry said in an annoyed tone. He switched off the TV once the report ended, and the next bizarre story appeared. Jasper was calling his name on the line, but Henry was too worried about his boss to care.

"Uh, I can't talk. I'm naked." He gave a quick excuse before slamming the end call button and running out the door.

Henry was halfway to Junk-N-Stuff when a call came through on his phone. Thinking it was Jasper again, his thumb hovered over the decline button, but to his surprise, the caller I.D. read '(y/n)'.

"(y/n)? How'd you get my number?" He greeted her in a confused voice.

"I gave you this phone, duhhh." She said in an 'it's so obvious' tone, but Henry ignored it, the need to find Captain Man still making his heart race.

"(y/n)! I saw on the news about Ray! What do we do-- tell me, what do I do?" He ranted at her in alarm.

"Okay, firstly, calm down. Secondly, I've managed to get a fix on The Toddler's location, but you'll need to get in there unseen to help Captain Man." She relayed the instructions over the phone, her demeanour having a calming effect on him.

"Okay, got it. Just send me the location." He replied.

"Already sent it. Remember, no one can see you as Henry. Do you still have your gum tube?" She needed to mentor him a little, as Ray hadn't given him any training yet.

"Yeah, of course. It's right here in my pocket."

"Then you're all set. I'm a phone call away if you need backup. Good luck." She said curtly, praying that the kid and Ray would be alright.

"Thanks, I'll bring him home."

~The Toddler's Hideout.~

Henry peered through the bars and baby bottles in a room that looked like a creepy nursery. He looked on in horror as he saw Captain Man suspended from the ceiling, trapped in a giant baby bouncer. He groaned and grunted in a futile attempt to escape, but all he could do was bounce up and down.

"Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah." The Toddler taunted him in a baby voice, shaking a rattle.

"Come on, Toddler, let me out of this thing before I puke." The superhero pleaded, but it infuriated the criminal.

"NO! This is my playroom, my toys, my rules!" He growled back at him. Henry crept around amongst several large stuffed animals and gritted his teeth at the sight of The Toddler.

"You sick, underdeveloped maniac." Ray snarled back, despising how cruel Toddler was. His answer made The Toddler throw the rattle in his hand, hitting Captain Man on the head.

"Ow! Geez, man!" He yelped out.

"Oh, I thought the famous Captain Man couldn't be injured." The Toddler whined at him, and Henry decided it was time to pop a gumball.

"He can't, but he does feel pain." A giant, bald henchman with a beard and animal onesie pointed out, and his interruption caused the man-child to throw a tantrum.

"You're not allowed to talk unless you raise your hand and I call on you!!" Toddler screamed back with a stamp of his foot.

"You stupid head!" He shouted into the man's ear. Blowing the gum into a bubble, Henry transformed into his costume, ready to take on The Toddler and his henchmen as Kid Danger.

The Toddler was busy using his new spit machine on the henchman, so Henry used it to sneak around the corner, waiting for the opportune moment.

"Come on, Toddler. Your insane plan won't work," Ray spoke up. Before he could make his move, the phone in his pocket rang, making Henry's anxiety spike up.

"What?" He whispered.

"You're late." Of course, it was Jasper.

"Well, sorry, but I'm kind of in the middle of something." He replied in a hushed tone, hearing Ray groaning from the bouncer.

"Something more important than my birthday party?" Jasper really picked his moments.

"Uh--" Henry looked across the room and saw The Toddler describing how soon all the babies in Swellview would be monsters.

"Yeah, this is pretty important." He confirmed to the boy on the other side.

"But you promised me that-- Henry, will you get your butt to this party?" Jasper was interrupted by Charlotte, who sounded pretty miffed.

"'Cause so far, it's just me, Jasper, and two dorks who keep slapping each other's boinks!" She said, which Henry didn't really understand, but then again, he didn't really care.

"I gotta go!" He said quickly, hanging up and formulating a plan in his head.

"Come on, Toddler, let me down from this thing. It's squeezing me in bad ways," Ray pleaded and groaned.

"NO! And now, Captain Man, I have thousands of babies to monsterise and to make sure that you don't try to stop me, I will now destroy you!" The Toddler gloated at him.

"You idiot. I can't be destroyed!" The bouncing hero growled back, not understanding what the criminal had planned.

"I KNOW THAT! But you can be dropped!" The Toddler stamped his foot and pressed his remote control. The bouncer started to move Ray over the ball pit, making his stomach feel even more queasy.

"...into my bottomless ball pit." The prospect of being dropped made Ray nervous.

"Tod-- Tod--Todd--"

"Toddler!?" The man-baby screamed. Knowing that The Toddler's limited patience was near the end of its rope, Henry took out his phone and opened the app Jasper had downloaded this morning. Finally, he could thank Jasper for something. Scrolling down the page a little, he found the ice cream van sound effect and pressed it. The Toddler and all his men looked up gleefully at the thought of getting ice cream.

"Wait! Listen!" The Toddler gasped.

"It's the ice cream man! Yay! Whoo-hoo! I'll destroy you in a minute." The insane criminal's voice switched from a high to a low pitch.

"Come on, fellas, ice cream man! I hope they have mint chocolate chip!" All the villains in the room ran out of the building, allowing Henry to reveal himself to his boss and devise a way to save him. He ran into the room and over to Ray.

"Captain Man!" He greeted him.

"Henry!" Ray couldn't help but say,

"It's Kid Danger," Henry corrected him with a smile, which Ray copied.

"How'd you find me?" The superhero said, still bouncing.

"(y/n), of course. She gave me your location." The sidekick explained.

"Clever girl," Ray mumbled to himself.

"Now, quick! How do I get you down from there?" Henry asked, looking up and down at the baby bouncer contraption.

"I don't know. This is the first time I've been trapped in a baby bouncer over a bottomless ball pit." Ray said, glancing around the room.

"Try that lever!"

"Right." Henry ran across the room and was a second away from releasing Captain Man when The Toddler and all his goons came stomping back into the room, grumpy from the lack of ice cream.

"Who tricked me?! And who's that boy near my lever?" Toddler frowned when he noticed Henry.

"That's my sidekick, Kid Danger." Captain Man announced, making Henry puff out his chest in pride.

"I didn't know you had a sidekick. Why don't I have a sidekick? I want a sidekick!!" Another tantrum. His loyal henchman said something, but The Toddler didn't care and just slapped him in the gut.

"Uh, Kid Danger," Ray said over the bad guys.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you pull that lever?" Ray said desperately.

"Oh, right!" Henry went to pull it, but The Toddler had other ideas.

"No! Squish the boy!" He shouted as Ray was dragged away from the ball pit. The henchmen ran towards Henry, who now had to think quickly on his feet to avoid severe injury or capture.

"Kid Danger, look out!" Captain Man called out to him. Henry ran around the criminals, climbing up the boxes of diapers. He jumped over a man reaching out for him, causing the guy to tumble over the boxes. Running over to where Toddler had left his spit squirter, he used it to defend himself against the largest goon.

Ray swung out at another henchman in a red onesie, using momentum to kick him in the face. Henry continued to utilise the weapon in his hand, attacking numerous villains running his way. He climbed up the diaper tower again and started throwing the various toys on the wall at the men.

"Use the truck!" Encouraged Ray, Henry did as he said, taking down a guy with a large yellow truck toy. Ray was still busy jumping on the henchmen as The Toddler angrily shouted in the background.

"Captain Man cut the bands!" Henry shouted at the older man, not wanting to fight alone. Dodging another attack, Henry came face to face with The Toddler.

"Look at you." He taunted, and they began to wrestle over the spit machine.

"Get him, kid!" Ray shouted as the pair began to fight across the room. The Toddler tried to pull it away from his hands, but Henry got it free and pointed it at The Toddler. Pulling the trigger, the spit disoriented the villain, making him stumble backwards. Another henchman tried to grab him, so Kid Danger caught a letter 'D' off of the nursery walls and whacked him across the face with it. The superhero team were making light work of defeating the bad guys as they carried on beating them up.

"You guys are seriously the worst henchmen ever." The Toddler complained in anger. Managing to get all the men on the ground, Ray bounced in front of Henry, who was glad to have him back at his side.

"You boys think you're so spiffy." The Toddler whined at them and kicked some diaper boxes.

"Well, have a look at my bang bottle." The Toddler exclaimed, showing them a glowing, green baby bottle.

"Bang bottle?" Captain Man and Kid Danger looked at each other with doubt.

"That's right, and it's filled with explodey juice." He said with a sinister smirk. He twisted the lid, changing the bottle from green to red, meaning it was primed and ready to explode.

"Kid Danger, get outta here!" Ray couldn't bear the thought of his sidekick getting hurt or, worse, killed.

"I'm not leaving without you. I promised (y/n) I'd save you!" Henry protested.

"But that nipple is flashing!" Captain Man said in a panic.

"No one leaves." The Toddler said, as all the baby gate doors locked shut.

"Now, we're all gonna go boom together."

"What do we do?" Henry looked to Ray for their next move. Ray took a moment to think, an idea springing in his mind.

"Push me that way!" Ray exclaimed, prompting Henry to shove him towards The Toddler with all his strength. The Toddler screamed out in fear as Captain Man collided with him, sending him flying backwards, straight into the bottomless ball pit. Ray swung back to Henry, and they watched as the criminal slowly sank into the balls.

"Uh! Help me! Get me out! These balls smell like feet and pee!" The Toddler wailed, but it was no use. The hero and sidekick duo just watched him sink with smiles on their faces.

"Oh, this is it for me! I've been hoisted by my own petard." Were the final words of The Toddler. The two jokingly waved at him, happy the fight was over, but they soon remembered that the 'bang bottle' was set to explode.

"The bang bottle!" Ray pointed out.

"Oh, man!" Henry jumped down from the stack of diaper boxes and picked it up.

"What do we do with this?" Henry looked at Ray in desperation. Ray saw the ball pit, and a bright idea pinged in his brain.

"We give the baby his bottle." He said huskily in his best hero voice.

"Good call." Kid Danger complimented, liking the idea.

"Hey." Ray paused to say hello to the kid who just rescued him properly.

"What's up?" The boy said, forgetting about what was in his hand.

"Hurry."

"Oh, right!" Henry aimed the bottle behind his head and threw it towards the ball pit, praying it would land in the right spot. Thankfully, his aim was perfect, and the bottle landed, sinking for a few seconds as the beeping increased.

"Kid Danger!" Ray beckoned for Henry to run over to him. Climbing up the boxes, Henry had seconds to spare as Ray shielded him with his indestructible body as the bottle exploded. Above the noise, the faint scream of The Toddler echoed in the room.

They unwrapped themselves from each other once the balls stopped falling from the air, and Henry chucked Toddler's hat over his shoulder, which had landed on Ray.

"Nice work, Kid Danger. You got skills." Ray congratulated him, proud that Henry came through for him.

"Thanks, Captain Man." Henry looked up at his boss with pride. Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket, and he saw that he had a text from Jasper.

"Jasper!"

"Oh yeah, you better get to that birthday party," Ray told him.

"Right." Henry paused momentarily before returning to Ray, who was trying to get the bouncer off.

"Uh, Ray, will you do me a huge favour?" He asked in a hopeful voice.

~Jasper's Basement Party~

The party couldn't be more tragic. Jasper and Charlotte had been bored, and Sidney and Oliver were now trying to talk down cups and strings to each other. Henry looks at them in confusion.

"They've been doing that for two hours." Charlotte sighed tiredly.

"My party's a flop. I'm just going to go upstairs and sit in my closet with my cat." Jasper stood up in defeat.

"Pardon me..." A manly voice shouted from up the stairs. Ray swiftly walked down them, surprising the birthday boy and his friends. Henry looked at him in thanks for saving the party.

"My Man Van broke down out there in the street, so I walked into the house and came down to this basement," Ray explained his exact actions to the amazed children.

"Holy chunks! You're--you're Captain Man!" Jasper squealed, not believing the famous hero was in his house at his party.

"Thank you." Ray looked across the room and walked towards Henry and Charlotte.

"You're my hero," Jasper told him.

"Of course." Ray's ego jumped out.

"Mine too. Um, I'm Charlotte. Hi, Mr Cap--Mapton Can." The poor girl was so excited she couldn't get her words out. She quickly stumbled out a rushed apology.

"And, um, I'm Henry." The other boy pretended to introduce himself.

"Nice to meet you, Henry." Captain Man said calmly, shaking the boy's hand. Jasper excitedly tapped his hands on the hero's shoulders, trying to get him to turn around.

"Hey, Captain Man?" Jasper said.

"Yes, a question." Ray was used to excitable fans shouting all kinds of things at him.

"Can I hit you in the head with a baseball bat?" Jasper asked. 'Oh boy, (y/n) will love hearing about this kid later.' Ray thought to himself.

"Jasper!"

"Dude." Henry and Charlotte scolded the curly-haired boy.

"No, no, it's okay. But remember, kids, never do this to anyone but Captain Man," Ray started as Jasper grabbed a baseball bat.

"Because regular people could be badly injured--ah!" Ray's warning was interrupted by Jasper hitting him with the bat, the sharp pain lasting for a few seconds. The kids were amused by how incredible his superpower was and how he was still standing, despite the blow.

"Wow!" Jasper squealed.

"I wasn't done talking," Ray said in a slightly high-pitched tone.

"Did that hurt?" Charlotte inquired.

"Yeah, but I"m okay!" He replied, regaining his composure. He smiled at the kids to show that Captain Man was indestructible and cool, making them all clap.

"Well, I should call my helper to come and pick up my Man Van." Ray had made his appearance; now, he wanted to leave.

"Or, it's my best friend Jasper's birthday party," Henry told him.

"Oh, oh yeah, yeah, it is." Jasper hugged Ray's arm at the mention of his birthday, making Ray tense up a bit.

"You can stay and party with us if you wanna." The dark-haired girl offered.

"Will there be soup?" Ray turned to the boy next to him.

"I'll open up a can!" Jasper said in excitement.

"Then, I'd love to stay and party with you guys." Ray smiled at all of them, causing the two weird boys with the cup and string to scream at each other.

"Uh, Captain Man..." Henry started.

"Yes, boy?"

"Would it be cool if Jasper texted a few friends from school and told them you're here at his party?" Henry asked, not wanting the party to be so dead.

"Yeah, can I?" Jasper pleaded too.

"Sure, I love being used," Ray said in a fake happy voice, starting to wish he was back at the Man Cave with (y/n).

"Yay!"

"Wow, thanks! This is the coolest thing that ever happened to me!" Jasper shook Captain Man's hand excitedly with sweaty palms.

"Are your hands always this sweaty?" Ray asked with a strained smile.

"Yes, sir!" Jasper answered truthfully.

"He takes medicine for it," Henry added, smirking at Ray.

"Well, it's not working!" The superhero chuckled at the boy and wiped his hand down his shirt.

After making a few phone calls, Jasper had plenty of kids at his party who all came to the party with Captain Man. The music played; everyone was dancing, eating and having a good time. Ray kept signing every notebook that was pushed into his face.

Jasper was preoccupied with two kids, who were still in awe that the dorky boy had managed to get Captain Man to his party.

"Hey, we're buds, right, Captain Man?" He shouted across the room so he could impress the other kids.

"We sure are, Billy." He said with a thumbs up, even though he got his name wrong.

"Uh, that's just how we kid around. We call each other Billy. Back at ya, Billy!" Jasper played off, which confused the superhero, who had no idea what he was talking about.

Henry came down the stairs with a tray of birthday muffins.

"Okay, okay, kill the lights." With the room dimmed, everyone began singing Happy Birthday to Jasper as Henry slowly walked towards them with the lit muffins. Everyone was clapping and wishing Jasper a happy birthday when Ray pulled out his laser remote and saw it flashing the emergency light. Taking the opportunity to leave while the kids were distracted, Ray sneaked up the stairs and out of the house.

"Hey, where'd Captain Man go?" Jasper was the first to notice his absence.

"He's gone," Charlotte added too.

"Aw, why'd he leave?" Jasper whined, sad that his idol was gone already.

"He probably had to go do superhero stuff." Charlotte rationalised, knowing Captain Man was always busy helping people across Swellview.

"And you did break a bat over his head." Henry bantered with his best friend.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, me and Charlotte got you something," Henry revealed, excited for his friend's reaction to his gift.

"What?" The birthday boy asked.

"Look," Charlotte said, pulling the barrel/bucket from Junk-N-Stuff. Henry smiled, remembering how (y/n) let him have it for free, knowing Jasper loved it so much.

"You got me the bucket?" Jasper gasped in glee, hugging it to his chest.

"It's a barrel!" Charlotte insisted as she yelled for someone to get the party going again.

"So you happy with your party?" Henry spoke to Jasper as the party kicked off again.

"Heck yeah. But for a while there, I thought you weren't gonna come." Jasper revealed his true feelings.

"Come on, man. I'm always gonna be here for you." The blond boy reassured him, and the friends hugged each other. The sweet moment was soon over when Henry's wristband started to flash and beep. Ceasing the hug, he let go of Jasper.

"I gotta go." He said quickly, running up the stairs. He smiled as the party continued without him, glad Jasper wouldn't notice him gone. He popped a gumball and transformed into Kid Danger.

He ran into the street, seeing Captain Man parked in the Man Van.

"What's going on?" He asked as he clambered into the passenger seat and plugged in his seatbelt.

"Robbery at Swellview Bank." (y/n) said over the radio. Ray quickly put his foot to the floor, and the vehicle sped off.

"Three dudes... They don't look very experienced, but the cops still want your help." She continued telling them about what they were about to face.

"Ugh, they always want our help." Ray groaned, making his best friend laugh. Henry noticed the chemistry between them again.

"You're the city's resident superhero. Deal with it." Her voice crackled over the radio, but they could still hear her sarcasm.

"Yeah, yeah, tell the police we're on our way," Ray replied.

"Okay, ETA is 10 minutes." She confirmed, and the radio went silent. Henry didn't know if he should ask, but he couldn't help himself, so he looked at his boss and spoke up.

"What's with you and (y/n)?" He said to break the silence and satisfy his curiosity about what Ray's answer would be. He wondered if it would be different to (y/n)'s.

"What? There's nothing up with us." Ray glanced at him, trying to keep his focus on the road.

"Don't you like her?" He pressed him, watching a blush tinge the man's ears.

"No! Come on, man! She's my friend, and she works for me!" Ray's heart rate picked up.

"Yeah, but you like her." The teen reiterated in a sing-song voice.

"Stop!" Captain Man wasn't used to being teased, especially about his pretty helper.

"Don't worry, man! I won't tell her!" Henry patted his bicep as they pulled up to the bank.

"Good!" Ray unbuckled his seat belt and grabbed his laser gun, preparing to stand off with the criminals in the bank.

"AHA! So you do like her!" Henry smiled at his eureka moment, happy that Ray had tripped over his words.

"Henry!"

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