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queen-of-writing-bad-things · 2 months

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

Episode 32: Theranos Boot (SMUT)

Season 5 Masterlist

*I AM GOING FOR DOUBLE SMUT! This just came to me, so here it is for you all to enjoy. I have a lot of filth planned, so that's something for everyone to look forward to - as is clingy, needy, and utterly in love, Ray. As always, avoid it if you don't like it, I am aware that my ideas are farfetched and unrealistic, but this is my book, my rules. There's stuff here for everyone.

If Ray wants the booty (he does), then he can have it.

HERE WE GO!

"Look so pretty like this..." A voice came from behind (y/n) as she bent over, spread across the mattress with her ass fully on show and presented.

"So damn hot, sweet girl..."

She could sense her lover across the room, a sigh escaping her lips as she stretched further. There was a slight pain in her muscles as her hands trailed towards the headboard, fingers clenching soft cotton. Wriggling was useless, not when her knees were precariously spread, widening her thighs and leaving her vulnerable.

Vulnerable was one word, alluring another, and she whined when she heard movement near the door, cursing the wretched cloth tormenting her, stopping her from moving on.

Ray saw everything and watched with hungry eyes as she twisted on the bed, groaning and muttering under her breath when she tried to get free, resulting in her ungraciously humping the air.

Her hips were at the perfect height for him to grasp, and he could slot between her thighs with no problem since she was stuck with her back arched and skimpy, comfy-casual athletic leggings leaving none of her contours to the imagination. He could see every perfect bump, dip and crevice of her body in them and loved how they shaped her ass when they worked out together, and here she was, practically calling him to...touch the butt.

Waltzing closer to her side, he smirked when he saw her face smushed against the mattress, thinking she looked so cute and helpless--so adorable as she whined for mercy. This was torture, yet he refused to give her what she sorely needed, too distracted by the knowledge that his favourite place was on display to remove the offending cotton and provide any relief.

He could stick his face between her legs and die happy, peel those second-skin leggings over her flesh, and expose the slick, pulsating, white-hot core for him to devour. He could do that, but he loved to tease a little first.

(y/n) huffed at his presence, growing tired of the ruthless position she found herself in and how he stood there, doing and giving nothing. The sheets went on forever, and no matter how hard she grasped them, nothing quenched the burning frustration in her stomach.

And when Ray's large, warm hands grasped her waist, sliding down her back, underneath her sweater, and back up to the globes of her ass, kneading them unashamedly, she groaned and whined like a sullen child.

"Raymond. I'm trying to change the damn sheets. How can I look pretty like this?" She asked exasperatedly, glancing over her shoulder to see the Man Cave's resident orchestrator of chaos standing behind her with a smug grin.

In the history of people wanting to sleep in clean, fragrant-smelling beds, (y/n) assumed that no one ever looked sane, normal or proper when clambering over their mattresses, turning themselves one way and another to get everything in the correct order. Prettiness didn't befall those poor souls with their hair sticking up and bodies contorted like putty.

That's how she ended up like this; ass up, knees digging into the springs, arms stretched to both corners to the point where she thought they would fall off. She needed the fitted sheet over all four corners before fluffing the pillows, dressing the comforter and donning the scattered accessories.

But her doofus didn't seem to understand the mammoth task, the Mission-Impossible style gymnastic routine she had to go through to get it all together, or the pain of doing it solo.

He just wanted sex, so tell her something new.

"You just do..." he smiled, playing with her flesh like Play-Doh, squashing and squishing it as his thumbs dipped into the crevice between. His thumb tips brushed through her covered slit, a grunt leaving the back of his throat at the molten heat emitting from her dampening core.

"So pretty for me when you're like this..."

"You're not helping," (y/n) groaned, fighting to get the fitted sheet to comply and stay on the left corner whilst she pulled it to the right, only for it to pop off again when she couldn't reach it. No thanks to someone and his wandering hands...which, annoyingly, felt heavenly as his fingers traced the seam between her legs.

Ray smirked as a succession of breathless whines left her mouth, growing louder and more frequent when his touch partially left her ass to find her clit through the spandex, two fingers rolling against it as his thumb rested over her tight hole, begging to press through and sink into her heat.

"Doofus, I'm busy... Wasn't this morning enough?" She whimpered, biting her lip as her head rested against the crumpled linen, protesting but silently loving his teasing touches.

As usual with their daily ritual - and voracious libidos - he'd taken her hard and fast before breakfast, spread her legs, had his fill and filled her up in return. Not three hours ago, her legs were around his hips, his cock in her pussy, his mouth whispering filth and all the things he wanted to do in her ear.

With a deliciously satisfied ache quickly fading between her legs, she inhaled some cereal, pecked his cheek, and told him to entertain himself whilst she began the morning's chores. Dusting, tidying, emptying the trash cans, putting some bleach down the en-suite, stripping the bed, replacing the dirty sheets and taking them down to the laundry room.

It was supposed to be straightforward. A morning's worth of tedious but necessary tasks to keep things tidy, but Ray got bored after half an hour. Entertaining himself wasn't as fun as he first thought when his sweet girl left to do the boring, grown-up jobs.

After twiddling his thumbs for a while, his mind drifted back to when he had taken her earlier, his cock hardening in his jeans when he remembered her soft moans and how his cum dripped out of her. It convinced him to wander in search of her, and funnily enough, he found her at the crime scene, so to speak--ass up and in those damn leggings. The morning was good, but this would make it better.

"Want you again, darlin'. Seeing you like this... Do you know what you do to me?"

Her eyes squeezed shut in disappointment when his fingers left her clit, returning to hold her ass again, but he didn't leave her waiting. Nudging forward, he pressed his hips to hers, allowing her to feel the hardness bulging against his zipper. They groaned at the contact, chores long forgotten when she bucked into him, encouraging his temptation and her descent into divine hell.

His hands manipulated her cheeks again, pulling them apart so he could slot his clothed, leaking tip into the crevice. He ached to plunge into her, needed another release, even if it was beyond belief; she left him constantly yearning--craving her, and to his delight, she was just as needy.

"Fuck, Ray... I'm supposed to be tidying up," (y/n) protested, but it was halfhearted and pointless, given how she ground back into him, wanting her cunt stretched and claimed again.

"You don't sound so sure, sweet girl. Don't you want me to fu--shit, are you not wearing any panties?" The man asked tauntingly, but his words were trapped in his throat when he realised something.

When he'd been doing one of his favourite activities, jiggling her butt and marvelling at how cutely perfect it was, his palms loved her leggings' smooth, silky material. It stretched for miles without dips, bumps or pesky panty lines to ruin his experience.

No panty lines. In leggings like those, hugging her curves like a second skin, Ray should've been able to see the silhouettes of the innocent, white cotton underwear she wore through the elastic material. However, there was nothing, just inch after inch of immaculate flesh under his touch.

"I wanted to get on, and I needed old clothes! And I'm comfy like this, doofus!" She replied in a whiny voice, slick bleeding through the spandex when she heard the animalistic growl rip from his throat.

Ray thought momentarily before returning his hand and bringing it down on her cheek in a short, sharp spank. Her squeaky moan filled the room, and if it wasn't for her arching spine and subtly spreading thighs, he'd feel guilty. But his filthy girl loved it - her fists clutching the forgotten cotton told him so.

"Old clothes?" He asked, spanking her other cheek before massaging them for a second. She hummed a response, dozy from the lust in her veins, so she thought nothing of his words until his fingertips dug into her flesh - a little too hard for her lover's typical style.

"Doofus, what are--" The sound of fabric shredding cut her off, a sharp rip tearing through the air as Ray did the same to her athletic leggings.

He clutched the material from either side of her pussy before using a fraction of his strength to pull the seams apart, exposing her bare, glistening lips beneath. His guess was correct; she'd put them on without any panties, and the hole in the crotch now gave him perfect access to what he desired most.

He was so damn pleased with himself, grinning from ear to ear at seizing the moment and having her wet and eager for him to fuck her senseless, but (y/n) was wide-eyed and gobsmacked. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her skull when she felt the tremors from the leggings splitting, unable to believe he'd do that without warning and when she was trying to...oh, fuck it.

She wasn't cleaning; she was halfway to getting fucked, just like she wanted, but he didn't need to know that.

"Raymond! I can't believe you! I liked these leggings..." She scolded him but appeared unconvincing when she heard the whine of his zipper and the rustling of him pushing down his jeans. Her knees moved on the mattress, spreading her legs so he had better access, widening the tear she hated.

The leggings were ratty, well-worn and ugly, only appearing when she was working out, and that's where Ray had fallen in love. While busy with his dumbbells and bicep curls, he watched her from across the gym as she practised yoga. It wasn't the hardcore stuff, just a few stretches to warm her up and maintain her fitness, but he'd be a liar if he said he didn't leer when she was in the downward dog.

Did she walk around without underwear, then? It killed him to imagine that when she stretched and presented her ass in the air, he might've been a millimetre away from his beloved girl's pretty pussy.

"Mmmm...you seem so upset," the hero teased her in a throaty voice as he dug into his jeans and pulled himself free. He pushed his clothing down his thighs, giving more room for his rigid, leaking member and heavy balls, full and ready to pump her full.

"Go on then, sweet girl. If you don't want me to fuck you, just say. We can go back to making the bed, and I'll leave you like this--wet and needy and whiny."

"No..." (y/n) murmured pathetically, burying her face into the bed as her cheeks flared, burning hot with embarrassment at how much she wanted him. All that nonsense about this morning being enough--it never was. She wasn't fooling her doofus or herself, and Ray smirked when he watched her push back in his direction, longing for his touch.

"No, that's what I thought," Ray replied, loving the soft moan she gave when his hand smoothed over the curve of her ass, and that wasn't the only thing he had to make her sing.

"Should do it more often... Love the thought of having this perfect little pussy ready and available for me at all times," he growled, shifting closer again as he placed a knee on the bed to steady himself.

Holding her hips still, he ran the bulbous head of his cock through her soaked folds, throwing his head back and hissing at the delicious feeling of walking along the edge of true pleasure - deep inside her. He couldn't look away, entranced by the erotic sight of her collapsed on the bed with her ass in the air, tight leggings masking her curves, save for the torn crotch showing her precious cunt.

(y/n) wailed at the contact, jerking in his hold as he rubbed against her clit, sending shockwaves through her body, but it wasn't enough. She needed to feel his thickness stretching her--wanted him to mould her to his shape and ruin her for any other cock as he'd done so many times before.

"Want my cock, darlin'?"

"Yes! Fuck--please, yes, Ray. Want it so bad, please..."

"I know, little girl. You need a fat cock in your cunt to think straight, right? Just like I need to fuck you just to fucking live..." Ray grunted, gathering her wetness on his length and stroking himself to spread the lubrication. He was right; he'd go mad if he didn't get to have this, and life wouldn't be worth living without his pretty girl.

The self-pleasure was addictive, and if he were a weaker man, he'd cave into painting her exposed slit with his cum, but he resisted. No, the real prize came when his head returned to her wetness, rubbing through her folds one--two--three times before he pressed into her, breaching her tightness for the third time that day.

Twice that morning and now as he inched into her warm, tight pussy, groaning in unison as they connected in body and soul. She loved how he stretched her, and he loved how tight she always was, no matter how many times he fucked her. Part of him swore her slickness came from the cum he filled her with earlier, but he quickly succumbed to the pleasure and lost all intelligent thought.

"Fucking hell, you feel so perfect--squeezing me so tight, sweet girl..."

"Ray---feel so full. Will you fuck me now, Captain?" She innocently asked, staying still because he hadn't told her to move. Above all else, she was his good girl, so she waited for his next move and order, fluttering her walls around him as he beat back cumming early.

Ray Manchester wasn't some two-pump chump, although his precious girl and her perfection nearly turned him into one.

"Of course, darlin'. Since you asked so nicely..." he grinned, keeping his cool, despite his loins burning when he heard her whimpering beneath him and calling his name so prettily.

His wish was her command, so the second his pelvis met hers and stilled for a second, he pulled back, dragging a moan from her lips at the friction. (y/n) hated the emptiness he left, but when only his tip was left in her cunt, he pushed back in, fucking her slowly but deliciously as he tore up delight inside her.

"Oh, doofus...feels so good. Love you..." she murmured, rocking back into him as he began a well-learned rhythm, skin slapping against skin. Ray grasped her waist as he needed it to ground him, ploughing into her warm cunt like his instincts told him to.

He had to fuck her harder, give her everything she needed and fill her up, but behind the animal hardwiring, he felt the love between them.

"Love you too, pretty girl. My perfect little girl--love you so fucking much," he panted as he pounded into her, building to a blinding speed whilst his hands roamed her back.

Pushing her sweater up to her ribs, his gaze took in her bare skin, growling lowly went he saw no bra around her body. Dancing fingertips moved up her spine, the tickling sensation adding to her pleasure and making it all too apparent that her nipples were rubbing against her woollen sweater and the mattress.

The warmth it brought in the day had been traded for sweat clinging to her forehead and an unescapable, blistering, suffocating her as their bodies rubbed together like tinder sticks.

Ray grabbed her by the waist as if he read her mind and hauled her to his chest. The knee still braced on the bed kept them steady, and his strong arms stopped her from falling, meaning she was free to pull the offending article over her head and sling it to the floor.

"Good girl--show me those perfect tits," Ray grunted, grabbing one of her breasts and tweaking a nipple, fucking her faster when it hardened under the rough touch. Her head fell back against his shoulder, her body his to use, fuck and pleasure as he switched nipples whilst his other hand drifted down her stomach to her clit.

Drawing tight circles on the slick nub, he bathed in her bliss, hips pistoning into her as he bit into the side of her neck. The man pulled back, satisfied when he saw the teeth marks left behind, even though they were gone after he blinked. So, he buried his face into her neck, laving at the skin and doubled his efforts, seeking her release before his own.

"Like that, sweet girl? Like being fucked like this?"

"Yes! Love it, doofus---gonna make me cum," (y/n) whimpered, clutching the arm crossing her body since she needed something to hold as he throbbed against her walls, rubbing against them and hitting all the right spots.

She convulsed around him, squeezing his cock as she felt it coming, brought forth by the perfect man behind, and thanks to their lovemaking earlier, she knew this one would be big.

"Good. Need to feel you, my love. Cum on my cock, and I'll fill you up. You want that, don't you?" Ray asked into her ear in a gravelly voice, pulling her earlobe into his mouth as she keened and wriggled in his arms.

She almost hated the sensation creeping up her spine, thinking it to be too much for her to handle; two orgasms that morning had left her sensitive and reactive, but she couldn't bear the thought of him stopping. The urge came suddenly, capturing her and making her squeal as Ray's hand blurred on her clit in an endless cacophony of filthy, wet sounds.

"Yes--yes--shit--yes!" She cried, squeezing her eyes shut as the wave came over, drowning her in intense, world-shifting pleasure.

Her walls clamped around Ray, making him roar and push her to the bed. His large frame loomed over hers, smothering her shivering, nearly fully nude body with his clothed one--a difference that made her burn brighter. She gushed around him, slick dripping down her thighs, the front of his jeans and onto the ruined sheets beneath them as Ray spiralled with her.

"Oh, my sweet girl... So good to--to me. So--so--d-damn pretty...like this--fuckkkkkk..." he groaned as he spilt into her, screwing his eyes shut and pressing her into the mattress. Usually, he tried to keep his vast bulk off her smaller frame, but the feeling of her creaming his cock, soaking him thoroughly, was too much.

His core strength failed him, and he pinned her down, grunting and promising her that he'd never leave her, never leave this and everything they had together. He loved her, wanted to marry her, and couldn't think of anything better than spending the rest of his days buried in her cunt.

Post-orgasm, Ray was sentimental Ray. It always fucked with his head.

"Thank you, doofus," (y/n) said quietly as they panted, slumped on the bed with jelly-like bodies and racing hearts, but they were content in the golden haze. The hero snuggled into her body, leaning onto his side, so he didn't squish her, and it allowed him to sigh against her glowing skin happily.

"No, thank you, darlin'. You're so good to me," he replied tiredly, cupping her cheek and brushing the hair from her damp forehead. She hummed in response, too exhausted to argue after being wrung out and drained of every ounce of energy she had.

No, she was happy with lying there with her fiancé, smiling softly at how they ended up on the half-made bed, fucked-out and sweating after making love at ten in the morning. All that about her trying to be stern and confident was something she'd have to work on, but perhaps not.

She loved the outcome of her being stubborn, even if it meant she'd have to redress, throw her leggings in the trash and...wait a minute.

"Raymond..."

"Yeah, sweet girl?" He asked obliviously, too distracted with spooning his lover to keep her warm as they recovered to take notice as she did. Whilst (y/n) was fighting for clarity, he wanted to stay like that forever, connected to the girl of his dreams in the most intimate way, safe, warm, and alone with nothing to go wrong...

"I'm going to have to change the sheets again." At least she was still pretty. So very pretty, Ray thought. And all she did was make the bed.

*AND WE ARE SAFE. This idea was so funny to me just because I can totally see Ray pestering our sweet girl when she's busy cleaning because he finds domesticity HOT (and her). And don't worry; he helped her with the sheets in the end ;) ONWARDS!

"What is Ray doing now?" Schwoz asked as he followed (y/n) down the corridor, a spring in his step after finishing one of his final daily repairs.

Work was over, and now, it was time for Schwozie to play, but after finding something worth his endless inquisitiveness, he'd gone off and bumped into the busy woman. He found it a little strange, given how it was now half-past eleven, and she still wasn't done with her Saturday morning chores, something she usually completed before the hour struck.

(y/n) popped out of the laundry room looking slightly frazzled, a basket of freshly laundered sheets - bedding, if he wasn't mistaken - wedged under her arm as she closed the door behind her. She smiled when she saw the genius waddling the way she was going, asking if he was heading for the main room and if he wanted some company there.

Schwoz didn't mind, not for the girl he saw as pure sunshine, smiley and warming, as she asked what he'd been doing and if he'd had a good day so far. She was so much more pleasant than her lover, but that's when he paused.

Ray couldn't move without his sweet girl, meaning he was typically glued to her hip and walking around with his tongue on the ground. To see her on her own was a rarity.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Ray since breakfast... Strange.

"Oh, uh...he needed a shower, I think. Something about a...workout, he said," (y/n) stammered, struggling to think of an acceptable answer without saying too much. Technically, her doofus was in the shower, having ruined his first outfit somehow, but explaining that would reveal too much.

"Oh...I see," the small man replied, getting a funny feeling from how she stared at the floor as they neared the secret door. He didn't press it, having sensed many funny feelings in his time knowing the couple, and like always, he didn't want to know.

"Then, why have you changed clothes too?" But curiosity got the better of him. He was a scientist, after all; he lived to ask questions.

"Erm..." (y/n) bit her lip, a sign she was lying with her warm cheeks and lowered gaze. The change was noticeable; going from a comfy-casual sweater with leggings to blue jeans and one of Ray's favourite scoop-neck blouses wasn't wise for someone still doing her chores.

"Well..." she thought for a minute, only for a lightbulb to go off in her head, "I was cleaning the bathroom and, um...I spilt bleach on them...so, y'know, I had to change."

"Right..." Schwoz nodded, seemingly understanding what she was saying as she adjusted her grip on the basket to press the button. He studied the sheepish woman and the load in her basket--what he swore he'd seen in the washing machine earlier.

Ray taking showers, her changing so suddenly, and endless errands throughout the day; he smelt a rat.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that?"

"Shut up, Schwoz..." (y/n) choked at his bold words, her eyes widening at his smirk. The man chuckled as they opened the secret door, bantering and fooling around about what may or may not have occurred between her and Ray until they saw what was happening in the main room.

In front of the couch, Henry, Charlotte, Piper and Jasper huddled around a crate, clearly trying to get into it. Property of Ray Manchester was printed on the wooden box and stamped on every face to make it evident that Ray had ordered something, but the kids couldn't help themselves.

They had to know what was in the crate and had resorted to using a hammer, a crowbar and now a Jillhammer - a drill hammer "for her" - to bust it open. However, whatever they used to hold the shitty thing together was nearly indestructible, and nothing they tried worked. The suspense was killing them.

"What are you guys doing?" (y/n) asked as she entered, frowning at the teens and their antics until her eyes found the wooden box. Oh, she knew what that was--her doofus mentioned something about a delivery today. Something amazingly amazing, he said, but that was it. Ray didn't want to spoil the surprise.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"What are you doing?" They innocently replied, dropping the Jillhammer and pretending they weren't trying to pry into their boss's business. She didn't look made, but they thought for sure Mom was about to give them a telling-off for being naughty, but then, she laughed. Huh?

"You guys," she told them with a playful grin as she dumped the laundry basket on the table, finding it hilarious that her babies were so fascinated with her fiancé's delivery. If that was what it took to bring them all together, she might place unknown containers in the Man Cave more often. "You can't open Ray's crate with a Jillhammer."

"Sick turn comin'..."

"I know!" Charlotte smiled at Henry, both feeling something was about to happen, and it wasn't what the conversation's tone suggested.

"You have to use an ionising mega-magnet!" Schwoz declared, whipping a large, red, glowing magnet from his back pocket. They were such amateurs; after he'd stumbled on the crate, he'd gone to retrieve his mega-magnet, and that's when he met (y/n) halfway.

"This magnet is so powerful, it will suck the nails...right out of the crate!" He described before making a long slurping noise to emphasise the magnet's strength and how it made much more sense than a hammer or crowbar, much to Henry's delight.

"That way, we can see what's inside it; shut it again, and Ray will never know we opened it!"

"Love it!"

"Great plan!"

"Ray is so stupid..." The teens giggled, Piper snickering to the genius about how the man couldn't tell the difference since he didn't notice things like that.

In fact, she'd bet fifty bucks with anyone that he'd waltz in like he always did, take one look at (y/n), and everything else in the world would become obsolete. He'd kiss and cuddle her, nuzzle into her hair and see nothing out of the ordinary because he'd have her in his arms. It was cute, but, god, he was so whipped.

"Hey, he's not stupid! He's...cutely dumb. Adorable...like a doofus," (y/n) piped up, nudging the girl with her elbow after hearing the lighthearted jibe against her lover, but it proved Piper's point. The woman's ears burned when she laughed and pointed to her engagement ring, saying she couldn't comment.

"Says his fiancée!"

"Yeah! Fiancée! I should scold you all for trying to break into my future husband's private crate! Don't you think that magnet's a little OTT?" She shrugged, gesturing to the device in Schwoz's hand because they usually used it for immense, heavy-duty repairs.

"But you're not going to, (y/n/n). 'Cause you want to know what's in your doofus's crate just as much as we do!" Jasper teased, making the woman open her mouth to protest, even though that was precisely how she felt. Yes, she wanted to know what Ray had been buying, but she was responsible and polite--the leader in this situation.

"I don't know, you guys. I kinda agree with (y/n)..." Charlotte said, making her friend grin and look at the others smugly. They needed pure, simple, rational thought, and they were the ladies for the job, but no one else took it well.

"Ughhhhhh!" Henry, Jasper, Piper and Schwoz groaned, throwing their heads back and shouting at the sky because they were so dull with their responsibility and levelheadedness. Charlotte and (y/n) kept everyone safe, but that came at a cost - they could be such sticks in the mud sometimes.

"What about the plate in Jasper's head?" The girl questioned in her defence, earning funny looks, including from her sensible partner, because whaaaaaaat?

"I'm sorry, what?" Henry asked, looking at his friend as Jasper froze. Out of everyone, you'd expect him to elaborate immediately and say, yes, he did have a plate in his head for X, Y, and Z reasons, but he just stood there, as shocked as his family.

"Jasper has a metal plate in his head. Remember?" Charlotte told them, walking over to the boy and rapping her knuckles against his skull. To everyone's surprise, the plate dinged a shrill noise when tapped, but even so, no one recalled hearing about the medical mystery before.

"I do not remember that..." Everyone shrugged, Jasper included, much to Charlotte's exasperation.

"Jasper, you know this! You were trying to teach that donkey how to kick field goals--"

"I've taught a lot of animals to kick a lot of things," he interrupted her, although that sounded a lot like something the kid would do. No doubt, Jasper was a bit weird, and (y/n) could see an enraged donkey bucking at him and crushing his skull, but he didn't want to listen to a safety lecture.

"Let's open this crate!"

"Opening!" Schwoz grinned, skipping over to the crate as everyone else stepped back. (y/n) and Charlotte shared a tired eye roll, knowing they'd come crying to them when things went wrong, but they stood back and watched--just to satisfy their curiosity.

Schwoz ignited the magnet, beaming electromagnetic waves towards the crate, and the effect was instantaneous; the screws began to loosen, wiggling free of the cheap plywood to meet the magnet, but unfortunately, Jasper's head plate was also highly magnetic.

Always listen to (y/n) and Charlotte.

"Ah, my head plate!"

"I told you!" The girl sighed when her friend was pulled across the floor, his head attracted to the magnet, and it felt like his skull was about to burst open as he fought against the pull.

Henry grappled his chest, trying to pull his best friend out of the flying nails' path before he was impaled, and it took all of his sidekick strength to get him free. He pushed him toward the elevator as Schwoz retrieved the last nails with the girls observing, but then, the sprocket opened.

The boss was back from his shower...

"What are you guys doing?" Ray asked as he stepped through the sprocket, seeing his family - every single member - gathered around his crate. He'd been waiting for the delivery, bored out of his skull when he wandered off to find his sweet girl, and everything after that was strictly entre nous.

He goggled at them suspiciously, watching Schwoz swipe the nails from the magnet and throw it at Jasper's head so he wasn't caught with the evidence. The device hit the boy on the temple, knocking him out cold as everyone greeted the boss warmly--a little too warmly to be considered normal.

"Ray!"

"Hiiiiii!"

"Welcome to the Man Cave!"

"Hey, doofus..." (y/n) smiled at her lover, meeting him in the middle as he hiked over the couch to get to her. He stared at the group, looking from the girls to Schwoz to his nervous sidekick, who helped a thankfully alive Jasper to his feet while the woman jumped into his arms.

"Hey, sweet girl. Y'okay?" Ray's stern gaze broke momentarily as he took his beloved girl into his arms and kissed her, smiling gently at being with her again after forty minutes apart. Her arms snaked around his neck, leaning in for another kiss once she nodded and said she was all the better for seeing him, and he was more than happy to indulge, anything when she wore that pretty top and those ass-hugging jeans.

What did Piper say about him forgetting the world when she was in his embrace? Someone give her fifty bucks.

"What, uh...where'd did you come from?" Henry asked nervously, gulping as Ray eyed him from over (y/n)'s shoulder, clearly unimpressed that he interrupted their reunion. Still, he seemed satisfied when the woman sighed and snuggled into him, loving the scent of his freshly washed hair and clean skin. He didn't look bad, either--unbelievably handsome in his new jeans and t-shirt.

"I was looking for my sweet girl when--" Ray replied flatly, squeezing (y/n) in his arms, making her hum contently, but then, the crate's lack of nails became apparent.

Without the small metal bolts to hold it together, the wooden panels fell apart to reveal something...magical. Looking over her shoulder at the noise, (y/n) saw what Ray had ordered, and she couldn't believe her eyes, visiting his shirt in shock. In the middle of the broken box, a golden boot sat on a plinth, complete with mini, built-in spotlights that refracted light through the ornate detail on the shoe, including several colourful jewels glued to the toecap.

Everyone knew that boot. It was impossible not to know because the entire world had seen the movie it had starred in. Ray and (y/n) watched it at the cinema, and it was so good that they hadn't done...stuff. That's how legendary it was; it made the world's most handsy couple pack it in.

"Is that...a Theranos Boot?" Jasper gasped, staring at the golden shoe with wide eyes because it was so beautiful. The detail was phenomenal, so accurate and glowing before him, just like it had done in the film.

"Like the one Theranos wears in Eternity War?" Henry added, recalling how the big baddie wiped out half the universe with one stamp of his foot, defeating a group of weary heroes, even after they gave their all in battle.

"It's not like the Theranos Boot from Eternity War..." Ray started huskily, releasing his precious girl after pecking her cheek again. He walked towards his prize, secretly so proud that he'd been able to buy it, despite knowing (y/n) would have a heart attack if she found out how much he paid for it.

"Sick turn coming..."

"I can't even right now," Charlotte panted as Henry whispered some incoherent nonsense in her ear. She couldn't process anything, too distracted by the majesty in front of her, as Ray raised his purchase above his head.

"It is the Theranos Boot from Eternity War!" He declared dramatically, sending shockwaves through his family as they gasped and shouted in shock and delight. It didn't seem possible, but Ray was so smug; it had to be true. The boot looked too good to be some dodgy fake knock-off from some weirdo's shed.

"Doofus, how did you even get this?! This boot should be in the Museum of Awesome Things From Awesome Movies!" (y/n) gasped, holding his bicep as she returned to his side, stroking a finger down the soft, bronze leather to check she wasn't hallucinating.

She was the only one Ray would let touch it, knowing she was gentle and careful, whilst the others had dirty fingers, not to mention the fact that what was his was hers. He shared everything with her, and seeing her bright, beautiful eyes looking at him with so much wonder made it worth it.

"Oh, it was headed to MATFAM, darlin', so the whole world could enjoy it, but then, I bought it. So, now, only we can enjoy it," he smiled at her, their noses touching, but he still kept an eye on Henry, who was getting a little too close to his newly beloved Theranos Boot.

"Kind of a jerk move, but...I wanna put it on!" The kid exclaimed, reaching to take the boot so he could pretend to be an all-powerful alien intent on cosmic destruction, and his friends clamoured for the same thing, only for Ray to crush their hopes.

"Ah, ah, ah!" He snapped, hugging the iconic prop to his chest and moving away from his young sidekick to preserve the awesomeness. "Only four people can touch this boot. (y/n), of course..."

"Ugh, just because you're in love with her..." Schwoz grumbled, rolling his eyes as the man waved the shoe under his nose- so close yet so far.

"And me, myself and Aisha Thompson, who played Theranos in the movie," Ray finished, ignoring his handyman's snide comment because he was exactly right. (y/n) could touch his beloved boot because she was his beloved fiancée, and that just left him and the actress.

"That's not fair!"

"I am explosively mad!" The kids complained, glaring at the hero as he placed the boot on a trolley at the back of the room. It would be safe there, high up and visible, so no one would damage it. All he needed now was something to stop them from touching it.

"Sorry. This boot is too valuable. I know you all been messin' with my crate!" He snapped, looking at everyone bar his sweet girl because he didn't mind her doing anything if she ever did.

(y/n) wasn't one to snoop through his stuff, but judging by the guilty mutterings echoing around the room, his found family were.

"That right! Look at the ground and mutter! And just know that no one, apart from (y/n), is allowed to touch my Theranos Boot. Ever. Got it?" The hero told them firmly, flicking Jasper on his metal plate to ensure his warning got through the kid's dense head--even thicker than people first thought.

"Now, I've got to go pick up a nuclear-proof display case. I trust you all..." Ray smiled, beckoning his sweet girl over to his side because he couldn't leave the Cave without saying goodbye to her correctly. He'd ask her to come with him, but it wasn't an exciting drive, and he needed someone to guard his Theranos Boot. And he trusted her most of all.

"...To understand that..." He went on after they cooed at the heartfelt sentiment, thinking the guy was finally letting go of his trust issues when--

"If any of you so much as touch that boot, I will end you," Ray told them seriously, using his grown-up voice, usually reserved for the gravest of situations. He pressed the elevator button and waited for it to come down, taking (y/n) into his arms as it dinged.

"I'll see you later, sweetheart," he muttered, kissing her lips softly as she hugged him tightly, not wanting him to go since parting was such sweet sorrow.

"Drive safe, handsome. And hurry back," (y/n) smiled, knowing his absence would make her heart grow fonder as she brought him in for a longer kiss, sighing when he deepened it and growled in the back of his throat.

"I won't be long," he promised and pecked the tip of her nose. He hated pushing her away, but if he didn't let her go now, he'd never get going, so (y/n) stepped back and watched him enter the elevator, blowing a kiss for him to catch once he'd turned around.

"End you," Ray hissed at the others, no longer acting like a heartbroken soldier leaving his wife to go to war. He wasn't tender or loving for them, no matter how much he secretly adored the children and...Schwoz, so they nodded solemnly as he disappeared upstairs.

However, not even a minute after his departure, Henry turned to his family, who all had the same mischievous sparkle in their eyes as he ignored the boss's instructions.

"We're touching that boot, right?"

"I don't know, you guys," (y/n) said tentatively, stamping down her heartache at Ray's exit and focusing on the group's desire to touch the forbidden boot. She also wanted to play with it, but her doofus was firm with his instructions.

"Ray used the words "end you". He only does that when he's really serious about something, and I'm not supposed to let you--"

"Too late! I'm already touching it," Piper proclaimed in a brash voice, making everyone turn around to see her standing on the couch with her boot-wearing foot perched on the table. Her sneakiness was commendable, but (y/n) still whined at the girl, feeling a sinking feeling in her tummy when she thought about letting her doofus down.

"Well, I tried..." she sighed, earning a sympathetic pat on the back from Charlotte, who understood her pain. The intelligent thing would be to sweeten Ray up when he returned and persuade him to let them wear it. But, of course, no one ever listened to The Smarties, no matter how psychic (y/n)'s tummy was.

"I am Theranos! And this is how you change the world!" Piper exclaimed in a deep, foreboding voice as she reenacted the climax of Eternity War when the villain achieved his insane, cruel goal.

"Theranos! You mad woman!" Jasper clapped back in a throaty, panicking tone as he played one of the heroes.

"Prepare for your disruption!"

"No, Theranos. Don't disrupt us!" Henry begged his sister, having memorised the scene for just this opportunity. Ray shouldn't have left it behind if he didn't want them to do this because his sweet girl was enjoying herself as much as they were, despite her principles.

"It all changes...now!" She growled, lifting her leg and stomping the boot on the table. She didn't have the fancy special effects or editing, but they played along perfectly, acting like some powerful wave knocked them to the floor as they tried to run forward, dramatically groaning and grunting as if her magic sapped their energy.

"Henry...I don't feel so good," Jasper whimpered as he collapsed on his best friend. For some reason, he assumed he was playing the role of the lovable, innocent, fresh-faced nerd whose destiny was to be wiped out so his mentor could become all angsty and moody, but his gentle, needy tone made Henry's skin crawl, making him lean back.

"Okaaaaay," (y/n) laughed nervously, watching their interaction with raised eyebrows, but she said nothing. That was just Jasper being Jasper, and the scene was over now, so she hoped it was out of their systems. No more Theranos Boot games, right?

"You've had your fun, we've played with the boot, and we know it's awesome, so let's just put it back where we found it before Ray kills--"

"My turn!"

"No, me!"

"I was next!" A chorus of voices interrupted her, making her sigh and swear under her breath as a stampede rushed Piper, clawing for the boot. She should've known one taste wouldn't be enough, and now they were all fighting over it, far from satisfied with the fun they'd already had.

When Jasper hit play on the stereo, all hope of staying on Ray's good side went out of the window, and she prepared herself for premature grey hairs when Boot Scootin' Boogie began playing from the speakers.

Reenacting the movie was only the beginning, but enough to make her tummy turn.

She could go mad.

(y/n) spent the early afternoon in constant worry, feeling it gnaw away at her bones as she watched her family. They didn't pass the Theranos Boot around the group for everyone to cop a feel; they didn't just put it on and back where Ray left it, nor did they handle it gently.

No, she had to watch as they played games with the boot, starting with Jasper dancing to the stereo's music, playing the country tune to unleash his inner cowboy. Every prance and step made her wince, but the shoe was well-made and sturdy, holding together as he stepped to the banjo, pretending to tip his hat and lasso Henry to join him.

That didn't go down well with his best friend, but it didn't spoil the festivities.

Next, it was Henry's turn, who snapped up the iconic prop from his overly friendly chum and went to do some rigorous testing. (y/n) gulped as he entered a tube, going up simply to do one thing.

"Aw, my Theranos Boot!" He whined, remembering how that always happened when he was younger and inexperienced with high-suction technology. His friends appreciated the reference, but (y/n) was thankful that the boot was unharmed, not a scratch on the leather or a dink in one of the jewels.

After him, Charlotte threw her responsibility to the wind, promising (y/n) she'd be careful as she took off her sneaker and pulled the ornate shoe on instead.

Her trick would be hilarious, given they had an American football, Henry and Jasper acting as the goal, and Schwoz playing the referee. Piper held the ball still for her, and just as the dark-haired girl smiled reassuringly at her older friend, the genius blew his whistle, signalling she needed to kick it. Or so she thought.

"Wait!" Schwoz gasped, and everyone fell silent, dread filling their hearts when the silence gave way to the sound of the elevator hitting the ground floor. Hearing the familiar ding, they froze, except for Charlotte, who quickly shoved her Theranos Boot-wearing foot behind a cabinet when Ray--yes, Ray--marched out of the metal box.

"Doofus?" (y/n) frowned, wondering what he was doing back so soon when the shop he was getting his nuclear-proof case from was over an hour away - there and back. It wasn't like she wasn't happy to see him, but her tummy was alive with nerves, and he only had to look to see his beloved bootie had been moved.

"Forgot my wallet!" Ray, however, sighed, showing no indication or care that they were suspiciously still and quiet. Instead, he stomped to the cabinet next to Charlotte and (y/n), opening one of the drawers and rooting through it to retrieve the forgotten item.

He quickly found it, stuffed full of his credit cards and the dollar bills he'd need to pay for his purchase, and shoved it in his pocket. Turning to (y/n), he pulled her in for a quick kiss, unable to resist sharing another and caressing her cheek before leaving quickly.

Some might say that was the real reason he came back - to satisfy his addiction to honey - but that was just speculation from some very smug children.

"Got all the way there and had to turn right back around... Stupid!" The man scolded himself as he returned to the elevator, shaking his head at his forgetfulness. Still, he saw his sweet girl again and left with his head swimming and oblivious to the mutiny around him, thanks to the sweetness lingering on his lips.

With the cat away, the mice could resume play; the second the door closed, Schwoz blew his whistle. Lining up for attempt two, Charlotte aimed for the football but didn't kick it. Rather, she used the Theranos Boot as a projectile, flinging it off her foot so it hit Jasper in the face.

"It's good!" Schwoz announced, even though the boy was slightly dazed with a numb face. He'd be fine, recovering quickly as the others cheered, and even (y/n) was feeling better after her brief interaction with her lover.

The football kit was quickly packed away after that, and this was when things got serious. Before she could blink, (y/n) wa suddenly helping her friends build a mini stage because, apparently, they were having a fashion show. Of course, there was a new line, and Henry, Charlotte, Piper, Schwoz, and herself were eager to see what Eternity war had to offer.

They muttered to each other like professional fashionistas as Jasper walked down the runway, again wearing the Theranos Boot for the critics to judge.

"Theranos Boots are so hot right now," (y/n) joked, leaning down to whisper in Piper's ear as they admired the bronze, bejewelled shoe. The heroine supposed there was no harm in looking at it, thinking the boot was strong enough to survive a little catwalk.

"You are absolutely right, (y/n/n)," the girl nodded, appreciating the view in front of her as Jasper made a pouty duck face before turning on his heel to strut backstage. However, that's when things went wrong.

Just as he was about to disappear, the boy felt something smush against the bottom of the boot--something warm, wet and mushy, so he leaned against the set to look at the sole. There it was; a green, sticky blob stuck to the leather, and everyone's worse nightmare when it came to fancy footwear. Chewing gum.

"Aw, I stepped in some gum!"

"Who put gum on the runway?" Charlotte asked indignantly, but (y/n) didn't want to point fingers. That wouldn't solve anything, yet she was starting to picture Ray's angry face when she told him his Theranos Boot was all sticky and gross, how he'd never forgive her, how she'd have to move out, and how she'd never be able to love again, and how her life would be utterly worthless--

"Who cares?! It's on Ray's boot!" Henry exclaimed, thinking the same thing. More or less.

"Well, get it off before he comes back and hates me! We weren't supposed to touch it, guys!" The woman cried, terrified her doofus would resent her over this, although the teens highly doubted he had the capacity.

"How?!" Jasper asked, knowing the notoriety of chewing gum and its difficulty to remove. And, even with his lack of intelligence, he didn't think the peanut butter myth would work.

"Relax, I can use this freeze-ray to encase the gum in ultra-ice. Then, we hit it with a hammer, and the gum will shatter into a million pieces!" Schwoz told them simply, retrieving a large, blue blaster with a strange canister attached to the rear. It looked like overkill...because it was.

"Whoa... There's not an easier way to get gum off the bottom of a shoe?" Charlotte questioned, thinking his plan was obscured and likely to get wrong. They didn't want to damage the rest of the boot, just peel the gum off, so it was lucky that Henry was on-hand to be reasonable.

"Yeah, I'll just get a tissue," the blond boy said, grabbing a red tissue box from the back of the room. Unfortunately, though, it was empty, and because thinking again was so much effort, his usefulness lasted only a short time.

"Well, it's empty--let's freeze it!"

"Freezy-peasy!" Schwoz nodded, priming the freeze-ray, which seemed odd because you had to heat the freezing gas to use it. His inventions were so strange.

"Just make sure you only freeze the gum," (y/n) reminded him, breathing down the man's neck as he finished his preparations. He looked up at her and rolled his eyes, knowing she was only antsy because this involved her beloved doofus, despite him having everything under control.

"I know how to use a freeze-ray!" He told her sharply, drawing an irritated huff from the woman when he muttered a few curses in his native language under his breath.

Focusing on his task, Jasper presented his foot for Schwoz to blast, and the small man aimed. Squeezing the trigger, a beam of icy, swirling mist shot from the gun, hitting the gum like a target. However, the ensuing ice encapsulating it didn't stop with the green smush; it spread across the entire boot, turning it blue, crispy and frosty as the boy shrieked at the Baltic temperature.

"Oops."

"Schwoz! You--you--you moron!" (y/n) stammered before she clamped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from being sick. Oh god, her poor doofus' Theranos Boot...it was a bootsicle!"

"This boot is freezing!" Jasper hissed, feeling his blood, nerves, and flesh instantly grow numb at the ice cube encasing his foot. It would fall off if he didn't get it off quickly, but that wasn't the main concern for everyone else.

"Get the gum off, Schwoz!" Charlotte exclaimed, worried about her paycheck since Ray would freak out if he saw this. They'd deal with Jasper afterwards, but he couldn't wait long.

"Who cares about the gum? Get this freezing boot off my foot!" He snapped and immediately began flicking and kicking his leg out to try and get it off. It was so cold, it hurt, stinging his flesh as the frostnip set in, but jerking about like that was a bad idea.

"Jasper, no!" Henry cried, thinking the same thing as everyone else as his friend brought his foot down. It was frozen solid - likely to shatter like glass if it was smashed, but Jasper didn't know. The second his foot hit the tiles, the boot broke into a million little ice cubes, freeing him from the icy prison but leaving Ray's prize no more than a pile of cold rubble.

"Oh, shit... We're in trouble," (y/n) breathed out, which was the understatement of the century as everyone covered their mouths or put their hands on their hands. Ray loved his Theranos Boot half as much as he loved her, which was a lot, and they were the ones who broke it. They were all going to die...

"Hey, look!" But at least Jasper saw an upside, grinning as he spotted something amongst the cubed leather, "my gum's still in one piece!"

He smiled and threw the chilly blob into his mouth, much to everyone's disgust since it had been on the floor. He chewed it for a few seconds, expecting the sweet, artificial apple flavour to hit his tastebuds at any second, but when it stayed flavourless and mushy, he knew he'd made a terrible mistake.

"Nah, that's not my gum..." he muttered, grimacing at the ickiness of chewing someone else's saliva-filled goop, but the following screams weren't because of him.

The group knew they were screwed. Ray didn't notice many things, but he'd see this. How could he not? His boot, probably worth thousands, was in bits on the floor, and it was all their fault. Something told them that using (y/n) and her feminine qualities wouldn't work this time, given how teary she looked, which left them with a question.

What were they gonna do?

Henry fell to his knees as (y/n) bit back a sob, and the others gathered around. He made a sad sight, scrabbling in the icy shards to see if anything was salvageable, but even in his despair, he knew it was hopeless. Nothing could save the boot now, not (y/n) with her engineering brilliance or Schwoz's technological know-how.

"We can fix this, right? Somebody help me shape this back into a boot!" He cried, scooping up a few chunks to mould them together, but it was useless. They were frozen, pathetic chips; the leather wouldn't magically reform, nor would the crushed jewels regain shape.

"Show, you got a boot-shaping machine, right?! Come on! Science, science, science, something about appliance?!"

"I told you we should have never touched Ray's boot!" Piper spoke as her brother tearfully stood up, taking Schwoz's pitiful, sympathetic stare as a sign they couldn't fix the boot. Not like this, so Piper's words were nothing if inflammatory.

"You were the first one to put it on!" Jasper argued, remembering how eager the girl was to play with it. Now, however, she was ready to throw them to the wolves--also known as Ray.

"And I'm also the first one to leave. Peace, snitches!" Piper exclaimed before dashing for the tubes for a quick getaway. Hopefully, she could dodge Captain Man and his moodiness, but unfortunately, her friends caught her and dragged her back, thinking that if they went down, they would take her with them.

"No, Piper--no! No one is leaving until we fix this!" (y/n) said firmly, sounding angrier than usual as she dragged the child back into the room by her elbow. No one was jumping ship, not on her watch because she wasn't sure if she'd sleep tonight if she had to face her doofus alone and tell him the bad news.

"How are we gonna do that? Schwoz's freeze-ray turned Ray's boot into snowman poop!" Piper said, eyeing the ruined, unfixable Theranos Boot in a pile on the floor.

"Why don't we just get another one before Ray gets back?! They sell them everywhere," Jasper said, recalling how he'd seen hundreds, if not thousands, of Theranos Boots lining the shelves of every toy shop he'd been in--and he'd been in a lot. Sure, they looked a bit plasticky and shit, but it was still a boot, right?

"Those boots are just toys!"

"Ray had the actual Theranos Boot from the actual movie! There's only one in the world, and we ruined it!" Charlotte and Henry told him, wiping clammy hands down sticky faces as they sweated at the inevitability of Ray coming home, expecting to find his sweet, innocent future wife and his found family waiting for him, only to find out the truth. Not so innocent, after all.

"Yeah, dog, when Ray gets back, he's gonna end us."

"I don't wanna be ended!"

"Well, me neither!" The teens panicked, knowing Ray was serious when he said there'd be a strict punishment for touching his boot. However, if they thought they were scared, it was nothing compared to how (y/n) was worrying, knitting her shakey fingers together as her infamous nerves surged.

"It's all right for you lot! He's just gonna end you! He's gonna come back, take one look at that and hate me forever! And...and he's my doofus, and I don't want him to hate me...ever. What do I do if he doesn't want to marry me?" She panicked, hugging herself to stop her body from quivering as she delved deeper into her nightmares--until a warm hand squeezed her shoulder and brought her back.

"(y/n/n), you're like a million Theranos Boots to Ray. He'll never hate you 'cause he loves you--that guy would do anything to get you to marry him," Henry told her gently, smiling in the face of the heroine's queasy, drawn complexion and watery eyes.

He hated how sad she looked because of their mess, knowing she'd told them to stay away from the boot, but he wouldn't let anything happen to their relationship. He was the captain of that ship.

"And no one's going to end, okay? Because Schwoz is gonna think of something that fixes everything, right, Schwoz?" The boy said, glancing over his shoulder as he squeezed his friend in a side hug, prompting the other kids to rally around (y/n) and cheer her up.

"Okay, listen..." Schwoz started, which was what no one wanted to hear, "I think we all need to just tell Ray the truth, take responsibility, and accept the consequences of our actions. That's the only way to truly fix things."

"No, Schwoz!"

"That's a terrible joke!"

"Gross!"

"Oh, now you're responsible?! Now my dreams of marrying the love of my life are at stake?" They shouted angrily, pointing fingers and glaring at him because that sounded terrible. The time to be sensible and reasonable was gone, and now, they were committed to lying their way out of this mess, hoping Ray wouldn't notice.

"OKAY, EVERYBODY, STOP YOUR SAME-TIME TALKY-TALKY! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Schwoz screamed, silencing their furious protests as he began to think. As usual, saving the day was up to him, but it would be challenging this time.

"Okay, I might have one idea for a way that we can..."

"What? What's the idea?" Henry asked eagerly, leaning in closer as the small man descended into thought, running hair-brained and implausible possibilities through his mind.

"Well, you're all familiar with universal dimensional duplicity, right?" Schwoz asked. The concept seemed simple, but he was talking nonsense to the kids. Even though she knew many science things, (y/n) didn't fully understand the duplicity, only learning the basics after he'd explained it.

"Yes, very familiar!" The woman smiled and nodded, reacting with the enthusiastic curiosity Schwoz loved, despite astro and quantum physics not being her strong point.

"Just say yes. Things will be a lot easier if you just say yes..." She muttered to Henry, who looked lost but nodded anyway, with Charlotte, Piper and Jasper doing the same.

"Good, so you know that there is an infinite number of dimensions in the universe, some of which are very similar to our own..." He continued, straying into a complicated area no one understood or wanted to mess with. All this just to get Ray's boot back, but honestly, they'd do anything to stay out of trouble.

"So...we could use Bill Evil's inter-dimensional transporter..."

"...To go to another dimension almost the same as ours and get their Theranos Boot!" (y/n) gasped, suddenly seeing what he was driving at, and dear lord, it was clever. Very sneaky, fraught with danger, and nearly impossible, but so damn smart.

"Yes! A dimension like ours, but with a few small differences. Like, people actually listen to you and Charlotte and also act like cats," Schwoz suggested, making the girls cock their eyebrows at the sound of that. Not the cat thing; that sounded pretty weird, but a world where their advice was followed? It sounded like heaven.

"So, there's a dimension where you guys actually listen to me and (y/n)? 'Cause we would love to go to that--"

"Okay, so me and Jasper will go to the cat dimension!" Henry announced, proving Charlotte's point as she and (y/n) became obsolete. If the others had listened to them, they wouldn't be in this mess, a lesson that was never learned, unfortunately.

The boys were too excited to go to the alternate universe, eager to see what cat humans were like since Schwoz and (y/n) would stay in theirs as the scientists. That left them as chief explorers - how exciting.

"And take their Theranos Boot..."

"And we'll pop back here before Ray gets back!" Jasper concluded, making the plan sound so simple.

"Great idea, Schwoz. I knew you had it in you," (y/n) smiled, not exactly happy at being ignored all the time, but at least they had a solid plan. The genius became bashful from her compliments, his cheeks and ears pink as he squirmed and returned her sunshine smile.

"You really think so? I've been having such confidence issues lately. We could go back to the truth plan--" he said shyly, confiding in the woman since she was mostly likely to say yes, but when Henry overheard, any hopes Schwoz had of a simpler life went out of the window.

"Nope! Shut up! We're gonna do the dimension thing!" The boy shouted over the heroine's shoulder, silencing Schwoz instantly because this was a win-win situation. Ray got his boot, (y/n) saved her relationship, Schwoz got to mess with the laws of physics, and he and Jasper got to do some cool shit.

"Yo, yo, yo! What do we do if Ray comes back before we're back with the boot?" Jasper asked his best friend, imagining the horror of horrors if the man returned to a partial workforce and still no glorified prop.

"Uh... Piper, you go up to Junk-N-Stuff and stall Ray if he comes back before we're ready," Henry said to his younger sister, who was more than ready to help, but she had a few questions and errands first. Namely, she wasn't very popular with her not-boss, but she knew one girl who was.

"No offence, but why can't (y/n) do it? She's the one he's in love with..."

"Well, y'see, I would, but we have a tendency to get distracted, and then he'd just insist we come down here straight away for...things," she replied, feeling her ears warm up as they caught her drift. Piper couldn't meet her eye, although a smirk twitched on her lips at the thought of Captain Man losing his cool over a girl--his sweet girl.

"Okay, okay. You stay here and out of trouble, missy. But anyway, I can't do it. I have to go home. If I don't put dad down for his nap, then mom can't go out for ladies' night," Piper explained, looking away from an embarrassed (y/n) and at her brother, who knew precisely how strange their father was.

"Just do it over the phone!" The boy exclaimed, knowing his dad would nod off no matter how she sang to him.

"Fine."

"Schwoz, go get the inter-dimensional transporter thingie. (y/n/n), can you help him set it up?" Henry asked as Piper darted to the elevator, leaving the others to assume their positions.

"On it!"

"Of course!" The Smarties nodded, running to find the device per their roles in the well-oiled machine. So far, their plan was going well, and Henry was feeling the stress melt away...until he heard a metallic clang sound behind him, making him sigh.

"Charlotte, will you please get that mega-magnet off Jasper's head?" He asked his friend tiredly, not even having to look to know his friend's inquisitiveness had made him flick the device on again. Charlotte glanced in the kid's direction and saw his assumption was correct; the magnet was glued to Jasper's metal plate, and now that he thought about it, he remembered how he came by it.

"Y'know, I'm starting to believe that donkey did kick me in the head..." he remarked, earning some confused looks from his friends. Oh, Jasper, may he never change, but one thing was for sure.

His weirdness paled insignificance compared to what he and Henry were about to face.

~The Man Cave...cat-version~

Things weren't very different in the other dimension, just like Schwoz had described. Everything still looked the same, and it had the same people, computer, auto-snacker, sprocket, tubes--the lot.

On the surface, it seemed exact. No changes, save for the Theranos Boot still in existence, but when you looked closer, the differences were there.

For starters, the place smelt distinct. A sharp, almost sour, musky hint in the air, but that could be put down to the cat element. The cat litter smell permeated the Cave, not in an overpowering old lady's house type of way, but hanging in the air.

There were new decorations too. Several cat towers had been erected near the tubes with scratching posts and mounted feathered cat wands. They were perfect for any feline urges to strike, climb and hunt, especially with so many cat people living in one area.

Schwoz wasn't kidding on that front; they really were acting like they were part tabby. As Charlotte tapped on the supercomputer, Henry pawed at a bowl, nudging it until it fell off the table, scattering chips across the couch simply because he was curious.

Jasper was on his phone, but not in the traditional sense; he was entranced by a video, trying to whack the fish on the screen with no success.

Then, there were Ray and (y/n), who had been bothering Schwoz as he built their new tower kingdom. They mewled at how long he was taking as they sniffed the furniture, scenting it as their own. But they were more interested in each other, something that had stayed the same across dimensions.

Never straying far from the other, Cat Ray took his beloved mate into his arms, purring when she nuzzled his neck and purred in return. Cat (y/n)'s tongue darted to lick his neck, grooming him as a sign of her feline affection and part of her instinct to cover him in pheromones.

Okay, this dimension may be weird.

"Okay, it's all set up!" Schwoz announced to his fellow cat people, who'd been waiting all day to start scratching after their last set of posts became worn and tattered.

"Yes!"

"Sweet!"

"So, what do you think of our new scratching posts?" Schwoz asked as Ray and (y/n) immediately tested them, raking their nails down the rough surface to their immense satisfaction. They growled softly at the relief, snuggling into each other as they often did in sunspots and dark corners.

"Love them!"

"They're purrrrrrfect," Henry and Jasper grinned, rumbling in their throats as they approached, too, not at all phased by their boss' playful behaviour as he nipped (y/n)'s ear and smoothed her hair. That was normal for cat people, especially those who mated for life like those two.

"Wait!" Ray suddenly gasped, pulling his nose from (y/n)'s neck as an idea popped into his head.

"Whoa, what's up, big cat?" Henry asked, wondering what was so important it made the cat man ignore his pouting lover. She hissed a whine, pawing for more attention and the warmth he brought her.

"We should set these scratching posts on fire!" Ray suggested mischievously, and suddenly, (y/n) pulled away from him with a frown. Whilst Henry, Schwoz and Jasper loved his plan, she and Charlotte weren't too sure, making the man groan as her addictive scent left his vicinity.

"I love that idea and want to do it right now!"

"Eh, I don't know, you guys," Charlotte said hesitantly, standing up from the computer chair to walk over to them, where there was a significant difference in their reaction. Rather than groaning and abusing her, the boys stopped and instantly paid attention, clinging to her every word because Charlotte and (y/n) were intelligent. They knew best, and they should listen.

"Everybody, stop!"

"Shhhhh! Charlotte's talking!"

"I agree with Char. Lighting things on fire is a terrible idea," the cat woman said softly, imparting her wisdom for them, and they took it on board. Happily. Eagerly. Didn't think for a second. They just nodded and forgot about torching the cat posts as Ray took his sweet gurrrrrrl into his arms and kissed her, purring away.

"You're both so wise!"

"My clever, purrrrrrfect gurrrrl. I'll love you furever," he crooned into her ear as they assumed their respective positions around the scratching posts, some wanting to scratch whilst others wanted to play. Ray led her to a cosy spot on the carpeted base, and they curled up together on the floor, ignorant of Schwoz as he played with a ball on a string since they immediately began grooming each other.

They'd always been like that; only trusting the other to clean their skin helped form the bond that eventually grew into love. He focused on her back as she worked up his arm, purring loudly at their pure bliss, stretching out and mewing as he wrapped himself around her.

"Yo, this dimension is weird..." Jasper whispered to Henry as they crouched behind the couch, having arrived in the new world in a flash of light. The boys watched as their alternate selves played and lounged without a care, the catlike lovers being the strangest. Jasper shuddered as Ray and (y/n) rolled around the floor, rubbing heads and playfully swatting each other.

"Well, yeah, obviously, but right now, we gotta get that Theranos Boot and bring it back to our own dimension," Henry replied, eyeing Cat Ray's boot before shuffling to bravely go and swipe it.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" However, Jasper held him back, fearing the Cat weirdos would see his best friend and sink their claws into him. So, using his brain for once, he knew they had to be sneaky about this--do something (y/n), or Charlotte would do.

"What?"

"We need to distract them," the boy smirked, fishing a small, sleek pen from his pocket. Henry looked at him oddly but soon realised what he was doing when Jasper thumbed a button and beamed a laser across the room. It was simple but highly effective, something he'd picked up just before they'd left, and the effect was instantaneous. A laser pointer.

Upon seeing a tiny green dot wiggling on the wall next to the elevator, the group by the scratching posts immediately stopped what they were doing. They didn't know what or where it came from, but they wanted it. They needed it. More than they needed to scratch, poke, or snuggle up.

"You guys seein' this?" Cat Henry asked, staring at the green dot without looking away once as they all stalked towards it.

"Oh, I'm seein' in," Charlotte nodded, abandoning her scratching to crawl forward, wanting to grab the dot and see if she could eat it, shred it, or chase it.

"I'm so curious. It could kill me," Ray deadpanned, holding his sweet girl tightly as she wrinkled her nose. (y/n) arched her back against him, gladly covering herself in her mate's scent, but then, the dot moved.

Jasper dragged it to the floor in a flash, causing her, Schwoz and Ray to pounce on it. Everyone tried it, slapping their palms against the tiles to catch the laser, Cat Henry and Jasper grappling with each other like Ray and (y/n), who didn't mind ending up in a tangle, but they were quickly distracted as the boy kept teasing them.

As they scrambled to hunt their new prey, the elevator dinged, and Cat Piper stepped out, carrying a large bag of kibble for them all to snack on.

"Hey, I got lunch!" What are you all looking--oh my god, what is that moving dot?!" She gasped, smiling pleasantly before forgetting the food because she. Dot. Want. Now.

"I don't know, but I want to grab it!" (y/n) whispered, wiggling her hips as she prepared to pounce, only for the dot to return to the wall. She instantly got to her feet with the others, meowing when her floofus made his move and swiped at the stone, only to return empty-handed.

"All right. go, go, go, go, go, go!" Jasper hissed to Henry, who saw his chance and went for it. With the cat people occupied, he stole across the room, tiptoeing to the Theranos Boot to take it for himself.

What they wouldn't know wouldn't hurt them, and he doubted they'd come looking for it, anyway. Once they got home, their worries would be over, which was a good thing too. After all, their time was running out...

~The Man Cave...human version~

"Hurry up! I don't think Piper can hold off Ray much longer! He's having (y/n) withdrawal symptoms," Charlotte yelled at Schwoz as he searched the multiverse to bring Henry and Jasper back.

(y/n) was by his side and frowned at the girl's words, wondering what was wrong with her poor doofus as Piper kept him busy upstairs. Charlotte was monitoring her progress on the supercomputer, watching as the girl refused to let him walk through the door, pretending they kept bumping into each other every time.

He was growing tired of the whole charade, whining and shouting at the brat who stopped him from returning to his sweet girl's arms and lips. He snapped at her, drew a diagram to illustrate the art of walking through a door, and still, Piper kept him at bay, which was a testament to her resilience, not that it would work forever.

Nothing could separate Ray Manchester from his soulmate indefinitely, but luckily, The Smarties were just about finished with the mission.

"Stop yelling! We've got them!" Schwoz yelled over his shoulder as he carefully scanned for the boys' location. He was good, but complex science took time, and Charlotte didn't need to worry.

A flash of amber and violet light opened a portal in the middle of the room, returning Henry and Jasper to their proper world. A world where people don't lick each other. Henry held the alternative Theranos Boot in his hand, soft, beautiful and perfect, indistinguishable from the original, so Schwoz closed the rift before anyone sensed something was off. Mission complete.

"Did you get the boot?!" (y/n) asked hurriedly, throwing off her headset as she turned around, only to have her question answered at the glorious sight in the kid's grasp.

"I got it! And check this out. They were gonna light these giant scratching posts on fire," the blond boy told her, shuddering at the recollection of the feline woman openly purring, snuggling and rubbing against her lover--a fact he chose to withhold to save her blushes.

"Fire. Always funny," Schwoz giggled, earning a frown from (y/n), who didn't think it was a laughing matter. She had a lot of questions about those...giant scratching posts, but she could remember many times Schwoz had nearly torched them all.

"Oh, yeah? What about when you added sulphuric acid to potassium permanganate just for the giggles? It wasn't funny when the Swellview Fire Department gave you a written warning."

"In my defence--" Schwoz argued, believing that unfortunate incident to be a one-off, even if he didn't burn the drape and part of his favourite shirt. However, he never got to argue his thoughts on explosive chemical reactions as things heated upstairs. Namely, Ray had reached boiling point with the tiresome brat blocking his path.

"Uh, guys..." Charlotte gulped as she watched him storm past Piper, hauling a large, heavy-duty glass case through Junk-N-Stuff and into the back room. His large frame quickly overpowered the girl, leaving her helpless to stop him and them about to face the music.

"Ray finally got past Piper, and he's on his way down."

"Uh, uh, uh, uh..." The boy stammered, descending into panic as the elevator kicked to life. The ominous rumble made them fumble, tossing the Theranos Boot to each other, so they weren't caught holding it, unaware they were wasting precious seconds. Ray wouldn't notice a thing, but only if they stayed calm, which frustrated the girls.

"Okay, okay...uh...all right. Everybody, just act casual! Just act chill! Just act casual!" Henry instructed, blinking through his panic to create some sense of order.

As Charlotte returned the new boot to the spot Ray left his old one, the boys formed a line, awkwardly leaning on each other with their arms folded, like that was normal. Posing like morons wasn't their usual practice, but they didn't have time to slob on the couch or hang out at the supercomputer because the elevator rang, opening to reveal a moody hero and a tired girl.

Ray and Piper stepped out together, meeting in the middle and getting wedged in the doorway like the girl had done to him for the last hour. Neither was in the mood to play games anymore, grunting and complaining about how ridiculous the situation was, but Henry remained cool.

"--Which is why I think Ray would win in a fight against a volcano," he improvised, buttering the man up as he set the nuclear-proof display case down, and the group readily agreed as if they'd been having a long debate about the infinite strength of Captain Man.

"Doofus! Are you okay? Was the drive all right? How's the display case? Y'know, I missed you so much..." (y/n) babbled as she ignored her family and dashed over to Ray, whose grumpiness melted away when she saw her shining smile and open arms. He pulled her into a bear hug, wrapping himself around her to resume their usual positions, her buried in his chest with him sighing contently into her hair.

"Missed you too, sweet girl. What's got you so excited?" Ray chuckled, pecking her lips as they pulled back, still in the embrace, but he needed to look into her eyes. That brat had kept him from her, and he wanted to indulge, yet something about her jittery behaviour made his head tilt.

"Oh, nothing... Just happy to have my doofus back," the woman replied cutely, hoping he didn't see through her excitement, where her nerves were rioting. Couldn't a woman just welcome her lover home?

Ray's eyes twitched in confusion for a second, studying his darling girl for a moment as he sensed something was off. However, his doubts melted when she cupped his face and pulled him in for another, longer kiss.

"I'm happy to be back, darlin'. You have no idea how boring it was to sit in traffic without you there," he told her, a flirtatious edge to his voice as he lifted her hand and kissed her engagement ring, utterly enamoured by the adorable girl in his embrace. Amid their romantic reunion, Henry swapped glances with his friends, who egged him on to interrupt and greet the man, even if it was damn near suicidal to ruin their idyllic bliss.

"Uh...hey, Ray! What's going on, man? Didn't see you there, which is weird 'cause your muscles are huge," The boy cleared his throat and smiled at the man, acting casual as he approached with all the flattery he could muster. It was a little too friendly, and Ray didn't look too happy as he glanced away from his sweet girl and at his sidekick.

"I appreciate the compliment," Ray began, eyeing his fiancée as she squeezed his bicep, undoubtedly fangirling over the fact. It was a fact. The man spent too much time in the gym for it not to be, and she greatly appreciated it, practically salivating over the sight of him, fuelling the hero's ego.

"...But all I care about right now is my sweet girl and boot."

"Well, it's right where you left it. As you can see..." Charlotte told him, keeping her voice as level as possible. She gestured to the Theranos Boot sitting atop the cabinet, looking as shiny and perfect as earlier, but Ray cautiously approached.

Pecking (y/n)'s temple a final time, never looking away from his boot, he picked it up. It felt the same, soft and squishy yet firm, as he held it, glaring at his helpers before he shook it, sniffed it, and tossed it from hand to hand. He'd spot any discrepancy, but after a few seconds of studying the boot, he deduced nothing was different. Not even a scratch or greasy fingerprint on the hand-stitched leather. Curious.

"Okay..." he conceded, turning to return the boot to its spot as his family silently huddled together and celebrated their success. They hissed through their teeth and felt the relief flood their bodies, thinking they'd gotten away with it when something...unexpected happened.

In a familiar burst of orange and purple, a group appeared in the Man Cave, glancing around the room with wide eyes and determined expressions. They were familiar too, some small, some tall, some bald and some curly-haired, and when the regular residents saw them, it was like two worlds collided.

Henry felt like he was going to throw up, Charlotte and Piper nearly fainted, Jasper swore he had a heart attack, and (y/n) cowered behind her doofus as themselves from an alternate reality - the cat people - spawned in the room.

Ray watched in stunned silence as the group spread out. He analysed the situation with a stony face, but on the inside, he was panicking. Who were these imposters? Why did they look like his family? Did he need to protect his sweet girl?

"You get your paws off my boot right meow," Cat Ray growled, glaring at his counterpart, who still held the stolen shoe with a bewildered face. He stared at his family, who couldn't explain and only stared at the floor as the guilt gnawed at them. How were they supposed to clarify this?

(y/n) gulped when her lover turned to her, expecting an answer to his silent question as they faced off against the other group, but she could barely make her lips twitch. She stammered like a goldfish for a few seconds, wondering whether to tangle herself in the web of lies further or come clean. Anything to stop him from looking at her like she'd betrayed him.

"(y/n)?"

"Yes, doofus?"

"Yes, floofus?" She said, but to her shock, Cat (y/n) also spoke, creating a perfect harmony that shocked them and their lovers. Ray didn't know how to react, seeing his sweet girl not once but twice and while he loved seeing her, he knew he only had one fiancée.

Just like he knew only one of him, why was he watching another him wrap himself around her like he was looking in a mirror?

"Okay, can one of you tell me what in the Hell--ena Bonham Carter is going on here?" He asked, feeling utterly lost as his sweet girl looked at his sweet girl--or whoever she was. They glanced away from each other with shy blushes, squirming cutely in manners that endeared their doofuses, but Ray tried to remain stern.

"Um, well, doof, funny story..." she laughed nervously, latching onto his arm as she used her softest, cutest eyes - angel eyes - to try and soothe his anger, "they...we...accidentally destroyed your boot."

"What?!" The hero gasped, jerking to look at the boot, unable to believe that the one in his hand wasn't his boot. If it was destroyed, how could he be holding it?

"I know you told me to keep it safe, and I really tried, I promise!" (y/n) whimpered, trying to placate him as she watched his frown deepen. He would shout and tell her off - she just knew it. He'd yell and hate her, tell her she had one job, and she fucked it up, but just before her shakey knees could collapse, Jasper came to her rescue. Sort of.

"We had a really fun montage before you did, though."

"Do you boot, scoot and, or boogie?" Cat Jasper asked his clone, slicing through the tension with his usual weirdness, something that didn't chance across the multiverse, even in the face of Ray's fury.

"All three, cat me!"

"Nice..."

"Why didn't you and (y/n) stop them?" Cat Charlotte questioned her twin, who locked eyes with the woman and sighed. That was the million-dollar question, and it irritated the girls that everyone thought they hadn't tried to intervene.

"We tried! They didn't listen," she replied in frustration, wildly gesturing to her friends and their irritating habits. The news shocked the cat people, who spluttered and gasped at the revelation because it was crazy to think that they wouldn't listen to Charlotte and (y/n). Because they were Charlotte and (y/n) - the sensible ones.

"What?"

"That's crazy!"

"They're so wise!"

"Why wouldn't you listen to this precious girl? She's so clever..." Cat Ray purred, hunching over his feline lover and squeezing her in a hug. Their human counterparts unconsciously shuffled closer together, not knowing how to react when they heard the man purr for his mate; both were as open with their affection as they were in this dimension.

"Uh...they never do," (y/n) said awkwardly, wondering if she'd do that if she was part cat. It must've made things so complicated, announcing to the world that you were intimate with someone based on the rumbling in your throat, but they didn't seem to mind. Not even the teens or Cat Schwoz.

"Really? I'm surprised they haven't blown up the Man Cave by now," Cat (y/n) remarked, wrinkling her nose adorably as her mate kissed her cheeks, chuckling at the idea. He'd never do that, always following her gut feeling since it kept them safe. After all, curiosity killed the cat...

"They have..." Her double replied dryly, glaring at her doofus as she remembered the rigmarole of that unfortunate event. Even if they thoroughly christened the new Man Cave, the stress of rebuying everything and returning to normality still made her break out in a nervous sweat when she thought of it.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat..." Ray smirked, thinking himself so cool and rebellious since he could say none of that material shit bothered him. But one glare from his sweet girl and he swiftly buttoned his lip, whining and curling his arm around her shoulders to get back into good books.

"Hey, lover boy! When do I get my boot back?!" Cat Ray snapped, having had enough of the niceties. That asshole - the one hugging the mate who wasn't his mate - was still holding his Theranos Boot. He knew it was his, could smell the faint hint of his scent, but it wouldn't be released so quickly.

Ray didn't take too kindly to being called out like that, taking firm pride in knowing he was a lover boy, and he didn't care who knew. He didn't say anything when the other guy kissed and loved on the other (y/n), even if his heart didn't know how to feel about seeing his pretty girl like that.

It was her, but it wasn't her. And that was him, but it wasn't him. Was it possible to be jealous of yourself?

"Your boot? Excuse me, handsome, but this is my boot," the hero replied, meeting his feline twin in the middle of the floor with their respective girls tentatively following. Neither trusted the other and if that...man did anything to her floofus, she'd stick her claws in him - a sentiment (y/n) shared.

"Actually, I found a dimension that's just like ours, except people listen to Charlotte and (y/n) and act like cats," Schwoz corrected his boss, who blanched at the information and looked at the identical group in shock. Cat (y/n) hissed at him as a warning, telling him to watch it around her mate and precious little kittens or else.

"Yeah, he sent me and Jasper there to get their Theranos Boot and bring it back here," Henry added, and Ray gazed at the item in his hands. It looked and felt like his boot, but strangely, he got a vibe in the pit of his stomach that told him it didn't belong in his Man Cave. Maybe another, but not his.

"Good thinking!" Cat Schwoz complimented his other self, who blushed under the praise, glad someone appreciated his talent and skill for making the impossible possible.

"Thank you so much! I've had such a crisis of confidence lately--"

"Me too!" They revealed, putting aside their petty differences to bond and share a touching moment, but their bosses weren't in the mood.

"Shut up, Schwozes!" Both Rays snapped, and the geniuses retreated, knowing civility was useless with those two drama queens.

"So, you stole this boot from them?" Ray asked his precious girl, weighing the famous prop in his hands as he stared across the way. His counterpart clenched his fists and stiffened, withholding a hiss since he wanted to remain reasonable, but that was his goddamn boot.

"Uh, yeah. Henry and Jasper did," (y/n) replied, half-hiding behind her doofus because she didn't want any trouble, and, technically, they were thieves, but she stood fast and nodded.

"So...it's mine now."

"No!" Cat (y/n) disagreed, nearly as protective of the Theranos Boot as she was of her mate since he adored it (and her) so much, and he wasn't about to let someone take it, not even his equally attractive, equally awesome alternate self. Just because he'd lost his boot didn't mean they had to lose out too.

"Yes, it is, gorgeous!" The man replied haughtily, unable to resist flirting with her because that was his sweet girl. It looked like her, and she was gorgeous, making his tummy do somersaults when she struggled to stop a smile, even when her floofus growled.

"Yeah, well, you listen to me, you big floofus! You take those strong, masculine, yet surprisingly soft hands and give my furancé his boot back!" The feline woman ordered, sensing her mate affectionately nuzzle into her, proud to call her his tenacious protector. Even Human (y/n) couldn't argue. She knew her doofus used an exceptional moisturiser, and he knew how to use them. She could just imagine how he ran them over her body, powerful yet tender...no, focus.

"Come and get it... Hottie."

"Doofus, how am I supposed to be mad when you're flirting with me?!" (y/n) asked, whacking his arm since he was such an adorable moron. In fairness, she was drooling over Cat Ray because that was her fiancé right there.

"Well, darlin'--HENRY!" However, before she got an answer, Ray sprang into action, using a diversion tactic to lull their catlike enemies into a false sense of security before he tossed it to his sidekick. But Henry wasn't ready for the mood, too busy daydreaming to realise what was happening, and then, it was too late.

"Uh..."

The boot flew through the air and landed in Jasper's hands, which was better than returning to the wrong side, but this was Jasper. He wasn't known for being dexterous or wise.

"Got it!"

"Aw, man..." Ray sighed, knowing they'd practically lost since the weird kid was now holding his prized possession. This was different from how he wanted it to go.

"Jasper, throw it to me!" Piper called from across the room, raising her hands like she was getting ready to catch the boot, but things weren't what they seemed. Jasper, being Jasper, didn't think things through, meaning he didn't notice their Piper leaning on a cabinet tucked away in a corner. But Charlotte did.

"No, that's Cat Piper!" The girl advised him, hoping to stop him before he made a grave mistake, but it was too late. The deception was too good, and Jasper threw the boot like a football, sending it nicely through the air until she caught it. And that's when her sweet smile turned sour...

"Meow, meow, baby..." The sly girl smirked, shaking the boot next to her head as it guaranteed she'd be in her boss' good books. Jasper grunted and cursed himself for the mistake as the cat people celebrated and his found family groaned.

"Why didn't you listen to Charlotte?!" Henry asked him angrily, even though he could've been sharper too.

"Because we never do!" Jasper snapped as Charlotte ranted to (y/n) about their problems, but arguing wasn't helping. Their enemies regrouped, clutching the Theranos Boot, so it couldn't fall into the wrong hands again, and they swiftly made for their world again.

"Get us outta here, Schwoz!"

"Okay!" The catlike genius nodded, pulling a small device from his back pocket as their leader threaded his fingers through his pretty girl's. The mates shared a brief yet gentle victory kiss, (y/n) whispering something flirty and filthy in Ray's ear about when they got back home, but Ray couldn't let that happen. He wanted that boot.

"NO!" He yelled, charging toward Piper, but his slow, thumping figure was easy for the agile girl to dodge. She threw the Theranos Boot to her boos, who quickly broke apart from his girl and caught the boot, happy to have his two loves in his arms.

However, as he raised it above his head victoriously, Henry sought to redeem himself. He tackled the man, knocking the shoe to the floor, so it became a fair game - free for anyone to take. Both groups stared at the boot, alone in the middle of no man's land. The temptation was too much, so they pounced.

Like a pack of hungry wolves descending on a carcass, they scrambled to grab it, hands pushing away others to reach into the tangle. They kicked, punched and crawled, unable to see their goal, but it had to be under there somewhere, so everyone kept fighting until the battle became vicious.

It all came to when a rogue elbow jerked back and smashed (y/n) in the nose, causing her to groan, swear, and pull away to clutch the sore flesh. Shuffling away from the group, she held her nose, feeling a trickle of blood wet her upper lip, and if she were anyone else, she would've been concerned. But she was Miss Danger, and the pain faded as quickly as it appeared, drying up the blood and fixing any damage.

However, just because she was all right didn't mean Ray knew that.

"Time-out, time-out, time-out! (y/n)'s hurt!" He yelled above the fracas, calling for a break when he heard his darling girl's pained cry. He was by her side in a flash, cradling her face and telling her to look at him as he studied her injury. It was nearly fully healed, maybe just a tad swollen, but his commanding presence separated both groups.

Cat Ray checked his lover to ensure she was safe when he saw his twin fuss over the woman, his heart clenching at the sight of her watery eyes because he couldn't stand to see her cry, even if she wasn't his.

"You okay, sweet girl?"

"Yeah, doofus. It was just an accident," (y/n) soothed her lover, pushing away his hands with a giggle when he panicked. A knocked nose would hardly kill her, and to prove everything was okay, she kissed him softly, forgetting the pain when his hands gripped her hips. However, when Cat Ray picked up his boot, things went south.

Analysing the shoe, he immediately noticed something was wrong. Amongst the crush, a stone had fallen off the front, exposing the scuffed leather, glue and stitching, and everyone knew that damaged products were worth nothing.

"You broke my boot!" He spat, pointing to the damage with a heartbroken expression, causing the couple to break apart. Ray looked at the boot with hard eyes, gulping when he saw the loose stone gleaming on the tiles. The (y/n)s tried to provide some comfort, placing their hands on their doofuses' backs as they whined, but even their love wasn't enough to combat the disappointment.

"No, I didn't! You broke my boot!"

"Is it even broken?"

"Yeah, we could just glue this jewel back on--" They said softly, trying to comfort them with the suggestion. To the sweet girls' eyes, it was an easy repair; nothing a hot glue gun couldn't fix, and then, not even the world's best film critic would be able to see the damage. However, it wasn't good enough for the infantile men, who only saw the destruction of what they once held dear.

"I said, it's broken!" Cat Ray sobbed, throwing the slightly damaged boot to the floor like a child who'd ripped the leg off their favourite doll. The leather scratched at the rough impact, worsening the wear and tear.

"We could still fix it, doo--"

"It's worthless!" Human Ray screamed, stamping his foot on the floor, crushing more jewels and creasing the fabric. The others cringed at the display, staying silent as the men rampaged, knowing that if their sweet girls couldn't do anything, their words would mean nothing.

"Okay, now we can't..." (y/n) sighed, retreating as she raked a hand down her face. She could glue jewels and smooth leather but couldn't reform crushed minerals into perfect treasure again. She shared an understanding, tired look with her counterpart, knowing dealing with the hero's temper tantrums wasn't easy.

"It's stupid!"

"I hate this boot now!" The Rays whined, taking turns to stomp on the boot, ruining it even more as their emotions overcame them. Neither could bear to look at it once the perfection was gone, wishing they'd never bought it.

"I wish I'd never seen it!"

"I can't play with this!"

"I don't even want it anymore!"

"I hate you, boot! I hate you!"

"Thanks a lot, you guys!" They sobbed, crushing the Theranos Boot a few more times before they spun and buried themselves in their fiancées. The men held the women close, whimpering into their shoulders as they mourned the loss, and both (y/n)s had no choice but to coo and stroke their hair, promising it would be all right.

"You guys broke the only Theranos Boot left anywhere," Cat Ray cried, sniffing into his mate's neck to take comfort in her sweet scent. He thought all was lost, but his words got the Schwozes thinking about how this situation happened.

"Well..."

"According to the theory of universal dimensional duplicity..." Charlotte and her twin said for them, remembering the geniuses' lectures on astrophysics and retelling what they'd said.

"There should be an infinite number of universes..."

"Which means there should be an infinite number of Theranos Boots..." The Pipers and Jaspers went on, smiling at each other briefly at how weird it was to talk in perfect unison.

"So, you guys can just go to a different dimension and grab another one," The Henrys finished, looking pleased with themselves since they didn't typically understand all that science stuff. They were in awe of everything, thinking it was epic that there were different versions of everyone, even if the cat thing was a bit weird.

"We're talking in unison! This is so cool! Pineapple! Anderson Cooper! Whaaaaaat?" They giggled, saying the most random stuff, only for the other to know exactly what they were thinking. It was all going so well, but whilst they had fun, two very childish men were still without a boot to hold dear.

"Henry, this isn't helping! I want my Theranos Boot!" Both Rays snapped, drying their tears as they pulled away from their lovers. Whilst they smiled, they were heartbroken, desperately holding onto the girls, given how they soothed the pain simply by being so sweet, kind, and considerate.

However, (y/n) was also clever, and as they whined, the women pondered the duplicity theory.

"Don't worry, doofus. I think we have an idea..."

Inter-dimensional hopping wasn't something Ray had planned for that day. Yet here he was.

With two Theranos Boots destroyed, neither he nor his cat counterpart could hope to find another one in their realms, so they'd agreed to settle their fight for now and work together. A truce, as forged by their precious girls, who knew they had to work together to cheer up their lovers.

That led to another portal opening, and after kissing the girls goodbye, the heroes crawled through, not knowing what to expect except for craziness. This world seemed normal. One hop, skip and jump away from the cat one, and from what Human Ray could tell, nothing was different from the Man Cave he left behind.

Until he saw his supposed sidekick and helper sitting on giant, grey beanbags in the centre of the room.

"--Which, according to universal dimensional duplicity, means that somewhere in the universe, there is a dimension where not everyone has a moustache," Schwoz said to Henry as they relaxed for a minute, sipping hot tea as he melted into his beanbag. Ah, so that was this dimension's thing--moustaches.

True to the genius' word, the heroes peeked at the dup from their hiding place behind the couch, noticing that he and the kid had thick, hairy lip sweaters under their noses. When they said everyone, did they mean everyone? Was their sweet girl walking around with a moustache?

"Whaaaat?" Moustache Henry gasped, thinking it crazy that people existed out there without something to warm their upper lips. His was exceptionally well-groomed with a fair, golden shine, making the men shiver at the thought of kissing their fiancées and feeling the unnatural feature.

"I mean, what do they stroke when they're thinking?"

"Good question," They nattered on, unaware that a robbery was occurring behind them. Pushing all thoughts of weird moustaches aside, Cat Ray used his feline stealth to crawl out from behind the couch and nabbed their Theranos Boot, holding it tightly to his chest as he retreated again.

"Okay, I got the boot," he whispered to his twin, unable to stop the satisfied pur escaping his throat. He couldn't wait to get home and put it in pride of place, but there was still a problem.

"Great. Just hand it over, and I'll go back to my own dimension. (y/n) wants to watch When Barry met Susan tonight, and I don't want to miss it," Human Ray murmured, expecting to retrieve the shoe since he had a hot sofa date tonight, and romcoms always led to one thing. Wink-wonk.

"Huh? Oh, no, no, no. This boot is mine, and it's coming home with me for when I watch Barbara James' Baby with my (y/n)," Cat Ray hissed, his hair prickling at the man's request. He had a hot date too, and he wouldn't be late just because he hadn't been careful with his boot - that wasn't fair, and he didn't care if it made the non-feline grumpy.

"Well, where am I supposed to my boot?! Some dimension where everyone's Henry?" Ray snapped, not liking the thought of that.

How confusing would it be? Could the world handle that much boyish charm and teenage arrogance? Oh god, would his star-crossed soulmate destiny work in that world? He had so many questions, but thankfully, it was hypothetical. A dimension like that didn't exist, right?

Cat Ray didn't know, but neither did he care. He had his boot now, meaning he was free to return to the land of scratching posts and giant litter boxes, and he didn't have to worry about what his other versions were doing. Like always, his life reverted to leading his family and caring for his mate, which left Human Ray in a predicament.

Where next?

"Hey, listen to this." This had to be a joke. This couldn't be real. What he said earlier - he didn't mean it. It was just a theory, so was this Schwoz's idea of a laugh? Or was he going insane? Or had he been hit on the head?

"According to the theory of universal dimensional duplicity, there's a universe out there where some people are not Henry," Henry said, calmly sitting on the couch as he chatted with his family.

Across the table, there was Henry, horrified by the knowledge his fellow Henry had told him, and across the room, there were more Henrys who didn't seem phased by the clones. In every corner, his sidekick was somewhere, whether it be by the couch, the tubes, the supercomputer--everywhere. If he thought cat people or moustaches were weird, this took the biscuit, but shockingly, they had something he didn't.

Their Theranos Boot was still okay and achingly beautiful.

"Whhhhhaaaaat?"

"Well, thank Henry, I'm Henry, right here in the Henry dimension," Another blond boy said, smiling gently as he hung out with the Henrynos Boot - worn by Henrynos in Eternity War when half the universe's Henrys get wiped out.

"Well said, Henry."

"Thank you, Henry," another Henry spoke, creating a confusing conversation since they couldn't distinguish who they were talking to, but that was how things were. When Henrys had Henrys and named their Henrys Henry, and the nurse who delivered the Henrys was also called Henry, you were gonna have some confusion.

"Nope, I was actually talking to Henry."

"Happens a lot," they giggled and moved on. They were content to all be Henry, but something unexpected happened. Fed up with portal hopping, Ray was determined for this to be the last time, so when he materialised in the Henry Cave, the dozens of blue eyes staring at him didn't affect him as much as they usually would've done.

Sure, it was weird. But Ray had enough dealing with one pubescent boy, let alone an army, but to get what he wanted, he had to be firm.

"I'm taking this boot," he told them simply, reaching over to grab it, check it over and satisfy his question about whether it was suitable. He scoffed at their shocked faces, too exhausted to care now he had an undamaged, pristine boot to take him, so he left them to it.

Crouching behind the couch again, Schwoz recalled him to the Man Cave, and then, the hero was gone - vanishing in a blaze of light and leaving a string of confused Henrys behind him.

"What the Henry was that?!" One asked, his heart hammering at the sight of the strange creature whose hair was dark, not blond, whose body was thick and muscled, not skinny and toned, whose hair flopped about, whose shirt was too tight, whose eyes were the wrong shade. He'd never seen one of those before.

"That was not a Henry."

"And it just took my Henrynos Boot!" Another whined, but he was too disturbed to move. The Henrys looked at one another, wondering what to do, and if only they had a more intelligent, more resourceful Henry who knew what to do in crises like that.

"Hey, Henry, what do you think we should do?" The one sitting on the couch as his fellow Henry at the supercomputer, who'd barely paid attention to the Henry Cave's strange events since he was too focused on his beloved Henry. He looked up, surprised that he was being spoken to, and stopped petting Henry's head, making the boy grumble.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm too busy watching To All The Henrys I've loved Before with my sweet Henry."

"Ugh, fine. Henry, what do you think?" The boy rolled his eyes at their blatant PDA, wondering why the universe had to make those Henrys soulmates. He didn't understand it; sure, many Henrys liked Henrys, but those were special.

"I don't know, Henry. I'm too busy with my Henroofus," Henry sighed, rubbing his nose against his beloved Henry, who giggled and nuzzled into him with so much affection. The other Henrys shook their heads and teased them, fighting to keep their smiles at bay because it was nice to see them happy. Henry knows they waited long enough.

Some might say their bond was unbreakable - fated by destiny, and as much as it annoyed the other Henrys, they didn't have it in them to separate the in-love Henrys.

Some things were meant to be, unchanging across the multiverse. In every world, there was a doofus waiting for his sweet girl to make him complete, and destiny wouldn't rest until their hearts finally met.

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