#and so eerily focused on whether you intend to have children or not

[merakiui]

we know and love our breeding obsessed tweels .. but there’s an obvious candidate whom I haven’t seen given much attention.. and it’s our favourite apple <3

back in harveston, it’s been mentioned how there isn’t much youngins around .. apart from epel and his cousin .. but in terms of ppl his age??? 0 … so it’d be easy for his family to talk him into stuffing you full and getting you pregnant when you come visit one day… you don’t know that epel secretly introduced you to his family as his wife .. and that the analytical eyes they give you and your body was bcs they wanted to see just how many kids you could handle birthing naturally at a time… truly terrifying how they put this much thought into the time you need to rest before being full with his baby again .. bcs they don’t do hospitals but instead the women in the family use their knowledge (midwivery) to advise you </3

aa just the thought of epel and his family peer pressuring you into giving them kids and continuing the family line has you feeling all guilty </3 like it doesn’t matter what u want bcs you’d be doing it for the betterment of the village! how they convince u that eventually, when u become a mother, you’d find happiness that comes w it .. (silly reader … your choice and wants never even mattered in the first place! bcs if you showed resistance they’d just drug u and put u to sleep w epel’s unique magic and get u pregnant anyways </3)

truullyyy terrifying! beware of dear grandma’s sad puppy dog eyes knowing u refuse to give her great-grandkids! (lies … she knows what she’d doing </3)

also! can I be epel felmier anon? 🍎💜

OMG THE SOMNO POTENTIAL WITH EPEL'S UM........ how could I have missed it,,, it's literally called Sleep Kiss. T_T uuuwaaaa Epel wanting to practice his UM and you agree to let him practice it on you because surely it won't have any negative impacts, right? But he puts you to sleep and somno ensues...... or he puts you to sleep and the other first years are around as well. >_< you're like a practice pussy for them......

If anyone's going to gaslight and manipulate you into having children, it's all of Harveston. ;;;;; and most of them do it unintentionally. They just think it's so darling Epel has a best friend (read: wifey) like you who is the sweetest thing they've ever met. You and Epel make such a cute couple (of hopefully expecting parents). All of Harveston dotes on you, showering you with affection every time you visit. You're practically part of the village by now. Whenever you come to visit, whether for a holiday or a break, Marja always welcomes you with open arms, as does the rest of Epel's family. But it's Marja who is especially pleased to see you. She checks you over, asks if you've been eating well at NRC, asks if Epel's been looking out for and taking care of you, and so on.

I feel like the entire village would throw such a huge celebration when you finally become pregnant. They make such an event out of it; it startles you at first, but Epel explains this is just because there are so few children around and everyone, especially the elders, are so very excited to finally see the village grow and become more lively with young folks! You'll have everyone's full support before, during, and after your pregnancy! They are just so fond of you and are always encouraging you to eat lots (of foods that improve fertility, but you don't need to know that...).

[invertedgoogle]

Noragami Analysis: Ebisu and Iwami; Guideposts and Familial Relationships

This post is a continuation/elaboration of my last one on Ebisu’s theme of crying, but instead of focusing on a central motif, this one branches out into more related elements in the plot. Please bear with me if some things are repeated!

We know Ebisu’s (more widely believed) origin story of him being thrown away by his parents Izanagi and Izanami because he was born without bones/arms and legs. Yet, self-destructive tendencies aside, Ebisu is a comparatively well-adjusted god in Noragami. His maturity, ability to function well as a god and overall benevolence make him an ideal role model for Yato on his journey to become a god of fortune. @echodrops has an entire essay written on how Ebisu is such a good father figure to Yato- please go check it out (along with the other essays) it’s incredible and thoroughly researched.

So how does Ebisu, himself abandoned by his birth parents, manage to become who he is in the present day?

(More under cut)

We’ve been shown instances of gods taking fatherly/motherly roles towards their shinki (Yato, Bishamon, Arahabaki) and plenty of domestic spousal relationships between gods and shinki (Kazuma and Bishamon, Kofuku and Daikoku). But we don’t usually come across the parent-child dynamic between shinki and gods (note the order), which we’ve only seen with the gods who reincarnate and are raised by shinki: Takemikazuchi and Ebisu.

It’s shown that Ebisu values (or in the very least, shows understanding of) familial kinship.

Whether he’s saying this to Izanami as his supposed ‘biological’ mother or to the Olive Ken lady he looks up to as a mother (and who Izanami takes the form of to him), it’s clear that he does long for the mother he never had growing up.

And get this: besides fishing and commerce, Ebisu is also a patron deity of expectant mothers.

He gets prayers from people who want children (unlike his own mother), and sees how happy humans can be with families. He’d want to know how it might have been if his parents hadn’t thrown him away (still, I doubt that things would have been as rosy as he may imagine- just ask Kagutsuchi).

While the previous Ebisu’s mother figure had been a human woman (who will eventually age and die), he’s had a consistent father figure throughout his incarnations: Iwami.

As turbulent Ebisu’s existence is with his high reincarnation rate, Iwami is a dependable constant for Ebisu who will never change. And some part of this dependability is what Ebisu would want from a guardian: the kind his own parents had never shown him. While Izanagi and Izanami had abandoned him, Ebisu can trust Iwami to be there to guide his next incarnations even if he dies. (inserting a bit of headcanoning here, but adult Ebisu’s bluntness really looks like he takes after Iwami)

But before I go into anything specific about the Ebisu and Iwami dynamic, let’s run through the fundamentals of the Noragami world: what gods’ natures are and what shinki/guideposts are for.

In Noragami, gods are born from human wishes: no matter how big or small. The nature of those gods then depends on that wish, and it is sculpted specifically to enable them to fulfil the wish. However, gods have no innate concept of right and wrong and are therefore “justified” in doing anything their nature dictates them to do.

This would have been disastrous for the mortal world if it were not for shinki keeping the god they serve in check. Because shinki were once human, they can guide their gods to act in ways more acceptable to humans. We can call this the “nurture” to the god’s “nature”.

A guidepost is given an additional task besides their usual duties as shinki, and it’s Ebisu himself who introduces to us to guideposts.

A guidepost's responsibility is to show their gods the way and protect their name. Well, what exactly is the way? Isn’t it a bit vague? But that’s the whole point. There are infinite ways a god can be true to their nature. If we look at Yato for instance, his recurrent urge (and perhaps nature) to “cut things up” has manifested itself in killing people for centuries under Father’s instructions. 

It’s Yukine who points out that he can use this to “slice and rip chaos itself into shreds” after he consults him. He isn’t changing who Yato's nature to cut things: all he’s doing is interpreting it for him to better suit what he wants.

There are as many ways to be a guidepost as there are ways to be a god, because each guidepost interprets ‘protecting their god’s name’ differently. That’s how we go from Kazuma, who will do anything to protect Bishamon, to Kiun, who would kill Takemikazuchi to save his master’s good name. That’s why it’s important for a god to have a guidepost after their own heart: so they can be led the way they want to go (and also why having someone else choosing a god’s guidepost for them has such a serious impact).

When it comes to bringing up a god, Iwami’s certainly had much more expertise over the average guidepost/shinki. Be it trial and error over millennia or just old-age wisdom on Iwami’s part, Ebisu receives a pretty comprehensive education on being a god from Iwami.

Because we’ve seen Ebisu before and after reincarnation, we can compare the effects of his inborn “nature” and Iwami’s “nurture” on him. An example would be this (this is still a bit rickety logic-wise, but I thought it might be worth some discussion): one of adult Ebisu’s defining characteristics is his strong will that drives him to extreme lengths to make humans happy, even if it means sacrificing himself.

But from what we see from our newest Ebisu, patience... doesn’t look as “in his nature” as he says.

And if you squint, there's something interesting about Iwami’s lectures to restless, impatient teenagers:

Ebisu doesn’t seem to apply the virtue to himself (as an adult, he never does learn to tie his shoes or take care of himself, with Kunimi around) but we see this strong will reflected in his efforts to tame ayakashi. A lot of determination goes into putting himself through intense pain and eventual death just for a shot at reducing human suffering. Iwami teaches Ebisu to persevere so he won’t give up on what he wants to accomplish.

And think about a guidepost’s responsibility to nurture a god’s potential, teach them to know right and wrong, give them advice they need, especially the way it’s done for a god who is a child/young man for half the time... these duties are eerily similar to those of a parent's. 

Everything Iwami does is to supplement Ebisu’s nature: equipping him with all he needs to achieve his goals. However, for how instrumental he is to Ebisu’s upbringing, a crucial duty Iwami fails to do for Ebisu is being a proper guidepost: actually giving him his purpose as a god. 

Iwami’s line of thought as a guidepost is very passive: in fact, it’s so passive that the important instructions he gives to Ebisu are never from himself. 

These panels sum up Iwami’s philosophy. Seeing that Iwami had been a very old man for his time when he died, he’d want someone as young and (technically) full of life as Ebisu to live his life being free to do what he wants, without interference from someone who has already lived theirs. So fearing that his words might force Ebisu down a path he wouldn’t have taken otherwise, he passes down instructions to Ebisu only if they are “as per his previous incarnation’s wishes”, which in a way ‘preserves’ Ebisu’s wish across reincarnations. He thinks of influencing Ebisu’s decisions as a sin, and only dares to support him through complementary means: behaving more as his servant than an advisor.

Despite having to keep a healthy distance to avoid appropriating a god, a guidepost’s role is still, at its core, active. In Yato’s aforementioned dilemma, it’s Yukine who thinks up of a different path when Yato is at a loss and helps him figure it out together.

It’s easier to think of guideposts as actual tour guides. While a guide who drags you astray from your intended destination isn’t helpful, neither is a guide who assumes that you’re the one who knows better. Nobody needs a guide if they already know how to get where they want to go.

Iwami’s reservedness extends to the point where he doesn’t share about himself with Ebisu even when directly prompted to:

Ebisu wants to know about who he was, what he did, and how others saw him, but he doesn’t want the answers delivered through books and journals.

He wants to hear it from others so he, in turn, can get to know them better through conversation with them.

Ebisu just wants Iwami to talk to him.

For all of his devotion to his master, why does Iwami remove himself from Ebisu like this?

His explanation to Ebisu is that he doesn’t want to change his fate, but can we suspect more to that alibi? There’s a scene in the earlier chapters where High Sentinel Oushi guilt trips Ebisu’s shinki into betraying him:

The context here refers to the physical pain of Ebisu feels when his shinki are killed, but honestly, for the most time in Ebisu’s household, who's really the one going through “the pain of a child passing on before him”?

To Iwami, every Ebisu is the little boy he’s raised from childhood (how does that tiny Chibisu up there not remind you of “dad! dad! look!”). Iwami’s there to meet Ebisu when he’s newly reincarnated; he watches him grow, then watches him die. And once Ebisu reincarnates, he can’t even remember his name. 

It’s painful enough for a child to have a parent forget who they are or to have their parent pass away, but the exact opposite happens in Ebisu’s house. It’s Iwami who has his “child” forget him, who has his “child” die before he does.

And after Iwami outlives so many Ebisus, he has to raise him again and relive the nightmare. Ebisu has the ‘luxury’ (if you can call it that) of forgetting Iwami; Iwami doesn’t. The worst part is that Iwami exists to remember everything about the past Ebisu for the next one.

If Iwami keeps building close relationships with every Ebisu he serves, it’s only going to make his inevitable deaths and reincarnations more painful to bear. For the sake of carrying Ebisu’s wishes across incarnations, Iwami has to detach himself from his master so he won’t fall apart from the emotional toll that comes with it.

Iwami probably doesn’t even have the heart to directly tell Ebisu about his past incarnations and their wish to tame ayakashi. Instead, he’s always told Ebisu to read his predecessors’ journals, which inevitably include information on the subject. And precisely because Ebisu isn’t shown an alternative way to be the god Ebisu (and especially since his journals are all the pointers he has about who he supposedly was as an adult), he ends up thinking that taming ayakashi and carrying out his previous self’s wishes is the only way to be Ebisu. After that, Iwami can rationalise that it had been Ebisu himself who made the choice and that he is now obligated to help Ebisu to achieve it.

While Iwami has his own reasons for not sharing too much with Ebisu, Ebisu reads this silence as coldness towards him, that he’s not important enough to Iwami to be allowed to know him better. The flashback of Ebisu with the books shows Iwami facing Ebisu, but in Ebisu’s mind, it’s as good as though Iwami had turned away from him there and then: remaining both physically and emotionally removed. Iwami is abandoning Ebisu to himself.

No matter the incarnation, Ebisu still bonds much quicker with Iwami than other shinki, even Kunimi, his current guidepost. It’s clear who Ebisu’s favourite is.

Ebisu constantly looks to Iwami for guidance, but Iwami keeps silent, thinking it would be best if Ebisu lives his own life without input from him. The flaw in this approach is that its result hurts both Ebisu, who doesn’t want to die, and Iwami, who doesn’t want Ebisu to die either.

This vicious circle keeps them trapped in lives they are unhappy in. Unless Ebisu is shown a different path by Iwami, he can’t change from the one his predecessors took. And unless Ebisu changes what he wants to do, Iwami can’t show him anything else but what his predecessors have always done. 

The circle has long-term effects too: with each passing incarnation, Ebisu feels even more pressured to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps, and Iwami has to keep withdrawing himself from Ebisu, all while receiving the reinforced impression that Ebisu does wants to continue this self-destructive work.

By telling Ebisu to live and act on his own wish, Yato has already dealt a significant blow to the circle. But reforming only Ebisu’s mentality isn’t enough to permanently get rid of it; Iwami’s mindset must also change.

Up till now, Iwami’s been “protecting Ebisu’s name” by supporting whatever Ebisu decides to do, letting him finish what he had started in his previous lives. But after Kazuma’s confrontation, Iwami finally acts on a desire to protect the current Ebisu, not just Ebisu's “wishes” anymore. 

Father’s defeat is as important to Ebisu as it is to every other character.  Notice that when Kazuma tries to get Iwami to give him something helpful to stop Father, he tells Iwami “the root cause is clear", and that he could put an end to Ebisu’s fate of living short lives by helping destroy Father.

From the flashbacks, Ebisu has been tailing Father's work ever since he retrieved the first Koto no Ha (the flashback where baby Ebisu discovers a mask is from the Heian era, which approximately when Father starts using masks). Father has been using his masks to wreak havoc in the mortal world, but because Ebisu is right behind him learning how to tame them (even if it’s from scratch), Father has a form of check and balance, no matter how crude or underdeveloped it may be. Though Ebisu himself doesn’t yield much success in actually taming ayakashi, his accumulated knowledge about it alone can help other characters take Father down.

There are many reasons why Ebisu follows his predecessors’ wishes that stem from inertia, but Father has been the active reason why Ebisu cannot afford to stop taming ayakashi. 

What’s especially tragic about this set of panels is that Iwami’s wish for the young Ebisu had always been for him “to be whatever his heart desires”. Instead, in his efforts to preserve Ebisu’s ‘wish’ across incarnations, he’s ended up achieving the exact opposite.

And that’s why Iwami agrees to help Kazuma, even if it means breaking an old promise to Ebisu. Change starting to happen: from someone who had been afraid of deviating from the previous Ebisu’s wishes, Iwami now hopes to save the current Ebisu from having to die continuously by betraying his predecessor.

Once the sorcerer is stopped, Ebisu’s fate won’t be limited to taming ayakashi, and he'll be able to be a god of fortune without having to die for it. Iwami will finally be allowed to raise a single Ebisu, one who will no longer die young and forget him. And Ebisu could really use a father who can show that he cares for him.

(sorry this is so long I got pretty carried away with this lmao)

[henry-hart]

"The Spy and the Kid...Spy Kid?" - Chapter 2

Dedicated to: @sunbeameyes @youngbloodthekilljoy @ramune-ray @up-the-tube @kiwikwami @an-anxious-gay-mess @writing-excuses with the new addition of @chewbaccaagainstthoughts and @shonashee because you've been liking my other fics, and I want you to know that I see you and I appreciate you. *blows kisses to all of you*

Summary: Jasper's cousin, Elizabeth, is in town for spring break, but Henry suspects trouble when she arrives just as a new, unnamed villain begins terrorizing Swellview.

A/N: Okay, so in the last chapter I gave one of my villains a misnomer. Oops. It was supposed to be Donnie and Hyde not Donnie and Clyde. I apologize for that. It'll be correct from here on out maybe. I apparently can't proofread too well. I'm also having the hardest time pacing myself with this fic. Like, there's so much I have planned for this, and I just want to hit you guys with it all at one time. God, writing suspense is so hard when you already know what's going to happen. I don't think I have the patience for this. lol Also, this chapter is a lot more coherent than the last one; I knew where I wanted the story to go, but it wasn't until I started writing this chapter that things started to fall into place. Anyway, hope you enjoy this! Let me know what you think! xoxo (ps you aren't supposed to know everything about Liz "mission," so if you find yourself thinking "Wtf is she talking about? What's going on???"--that's intentional. You guys are supposed to be in the dark about it right now. It'll all make sense eventually. I promise.)

Here's ch. 1 in case you missed it!

----------

"We're home!" Jake Hart called out after he unlocked and opened the front door to his house.

Siren Hart shook their rain soaked umbrella out on the front porch and walked past her husband. "Kids?" She asked to the empty living room before her. She looked back to her husband, brows furrowed with worry at the absence of their children. The house was eerily silent.

Henry had texted his mother earlier in the day to ask if Jasper's cousin could stay at their house for spring break, and she had easily okayed it. She loved having guests over--especially ones Henry's age because he was more likely to spend time at the house that way. Henry had informed Mrs. Hart that he picked their guest up from the airport when he was done with work, so she had figured they'd all be waiting to greet her and her husband when they walked through the door. She was wrong.

The two of them had just gotten off of work themselves--they carpooled so that there was a car left at home for Henry to drive--and were shocked to find that their kids were nowhere to be seen. It's not like they were expecting to have a full dinner cooked and set out on the table, but a simple hello would be nice. 

"Henry! Piper!" Mrs. Hart tried once again, and this time Henry responded.

"Coming!" He called down from upstairs.

The Hart parents heard multiple sets of footsteps before they saw their son, their daughter, and a girl who looked to be Henry's age at the top of the stairs.

"Hey, mom," Henry greeted, making his way to her.

Siren smiled and lightly pinched Henry's cheek. "Hey sweetie," she looked up at the stranger following Piper down the stairs. She noticed that the girl's hair as well as Henry's was wet; she assumed they'd gotten stuck in the rain too.  "This must be Jasper's cousin."

Henry nodded and gestured in Liz' direction. "Mom, this is Elizabeth." He gestured from his mother and father's direction next, "Liz, this is my mom and dad."  

Liz extended a hand to Henry's parents. "It's nice to meet you both."

"Nice to meet you too, Elizabeth." Mr. Hart said.

"Call me Liz," she replied. "Elizabeth is for when I'm in trouble."

The Hart parents laughed. "Liz it is." Mrs. Hart concluded.

There was a beat of silence amongst the group. Mrs. Hart took note of Liz's dark brown hair and found it odd--in a funny sort of way--to see only one brunette in their family of blondes. She watched as the girl nervously tucked a loose brown lock behind her ear.

Liz rocked back on her heels, fidgeting with the ends of her hair. She didn't have much experience with parents. She wasn't sure what to say next, so she opted for something courteous to be safe. 

"Thank you for letting me stay here." She hesitated. "It means a lot to me to be able to see my cousin." She worried what the Harts thought of her intrusion into their house; a week was a long time--especially since they had only just met Liz. If she wasn't able to stay here, all her plans would be ruined, and she would fail her mission.

Siren made all of Liz's concerns disappear with the wave of a hand. "Of course it's okay. We're always happy to have Henry's friends over." She gestured to Liz. "Or the relatives of his friends."

Jake nodded from beside his wife. "The more the merrier." He jutted a chin in the direction of the stairs. "That's what a guest bedroom is for."

Liz smiled at the two adults, pleasantly surprised to meet such nice people. Henry and Piper had a good set up here. Great house. Great parents. Liz wasn't used to such a homey, welcoming environment. Though it was foreign to her, she liked it. She felt a small pang of guilt for lying to them.

"I'm sorry you caught us on a Thursday though, Elizabeth." Mrs. Hart apologized with a grimace. "It's our late day. Usually we're home about the same time the kids get off of school, and I have time to make a great dinner."

Liz shook her head. Now that she was confident that the Harts were hospitable, she could really work on making sure she appeared to be the perfect house guest. "There's no need to apologize. You've welcomed me into your home. I couldn't ask for anything else."

Mrs. Hart held a hand to her chest. She looked to Henry, her eyes gleaming. "We may have to keep her, Hen."

Henry smiled, but it didn't meet his eyes. Today had been incredibly taxing, and he was ready to just collapse into his bed, fall asleep, and kiss it all goodnight.

"Can we order pizza?" Piper asked then, already punching in the number for the closest pizza place.

"Sure, let me just get my phone." Her dad said, patting each of his pockets in search of his cell.

"Too late." Piper stated, her phone pressed to her ear. She held her hand out expectantly, "Credit card."

Her dad just looked at her. "I would feel better doing it myself."

"I don't care." She stuck her hand out further.

He reached into his back pocket for his wallet. "You could at least say please." He grumbled.

"Please." She said, her tone flat. Her dad gave her a quick glare and slapped his credit card into her hand.

While Piper ordered the pizza, Mr. and Mrs. Hart disappeared to their room to change into something dry and more comfortable, and Henry and Liz set the table. Liz had offered, thinking it would lend credibility to her cover if she made herself a help rather than a bother, and Henry had accepted, thinking she was just exhibiting proper manners.

"Did you talk to Jasper?" He asked, wanting to be a good host by starting some light conversation. He set a blue plate down in front of each chair at the table.

Liz nodded. "I did." She answered, following Henry by placing a cup next to each of the plates. "He tried to rush over here, but I told him that wasn't the best idea." Henry drew his brows together, so Liz elaborated. "I just figured your parents wouldn't want another guest over when they got home. I agreed to let him show me where you all work tomorrow instead."

She didn't tell Henry the full truth. Whether Henry's parents wanted another house guest or not wasn't the only thing that had prompted her to postpone seeing he cousin; her first concern was making sure she wouldn't have too many distractions. She was waiting on a call from her boss tonight for further instructions on her mission--one whose next step was intended to go down tonight--and it would be a lot harder to get that done if she had to worry about keeping Jasper at a distance. She already had her work cut out for her trying to think of a way to ditch the Harts. Jasper would just add on to that.

Liz took no pride in thinking of her cousin in such a way--or the Harts for that matter--but her job took precedence. She was given an important task, one that had to be fulfilled, and she couldn't let anyone--not even family--get in the way of that. She would make it up to Jasper later--she hoped.

"Cool," Henry responded. He thought it sweet of her to think of his parents over her own desire to see her cousin. She had made quite the sacrifice, and he appreciated it. "You'll get to meet Charlotte. She's awesome."

Liz nodded. "Jasper told me about her." She remembered the onslaught of messages her cousin sent when he found out she was coming into town. He had gone on and on about his two best friends, but Liz thought it was endearing (she was still a person with emotions, despite the strict demands of her job). She was also anxious to meet this Charlotte. Jasper said she was incredibly smart, and Liz always enjoyed meeting people of like mind--especially when they were also female. "He told me about both of you, actually." She set another cup down. "He thinks the world of you."

Henry smiled. "Yeah, Jasper's a good guy."

Liz didn't say anything back. Her guilt had accumulated with every mention of her cousin, and now she felt it weighing down on her conscious. She knew--as her boss had warned her--that this mission would be difficult. A lot was riding on her though; she couldn't let herself compromise all that she was sent here to do by worrying about family or friends, no matter how much it hurt. This was not a new realization; Liz knew what was at stake. She knew that she had to stay focused, but that did little to alleviate the heaviness growing in her heart.

Henry didn't notice that Liz had gone silent; he was too busy with his own internal conflict. Thinking of Jasper reminded him of their conversation on the phone earlier. He made a mental note to personally apologize to his friend. A lot had gone wrong for Henry today. He didn't want his friendship with one of his best friends to be among those things.

"Pizza's here!" Piper called out then from her seat by the bar.

"I got it." Henry said, snapping his attention back to present, and handed the last plate to Liz to put on the table. He grabbed a few ones out of his pocket and walked to the door where he met the delivery guy. He grabbed their pizza and thanked the man before handing him his tip. "Mom! Dad! Pizza's here!" Henry called as he made his way back to the kitchen.

His parents made their way down the stairs and joined Piper, Henry, and Liz at the table. Everyone grabbed a piece of pizza and found a chair. Liz sat next to Piper. Henry sat across from Liz, and his parents were each at an end of the table.

"So, Liz," Mrs. Hart started once everyone was situated and had begun to eat. Henry cast a pleading look her way--he knew this was the beginning of the attack of questions on Liz--but his mother didn't see it. "Where are you from?" She continued.

"Mom," Henry groaned. "Don't make her uncomfortable."

"I just asked where she's from." Mrs. Hart protested. "It's a harmless question. What, am I not supposed to get to know someone who's going to be spending a week at our house?"

Liz swallowed her bite of pizza and held a hand up to placate Henry. "It's okay, really. I don't mind answering questions." She gave him a reassuring nod and then turned to his mother. "I'm from California."

Piper perked up at this. She set her pizza down and twisted in Liz' direction. "California, you say?" Liz nodded. "Do you see a lot of famous people?" Piper's eyes were wide and bright with anticipation. Nothing exciting happened in Swellview. Now, California--that was a place where only exciting things happened.

Liz laughed at Piper's eagerness. "Not really. I'm not from the really cool places like LA or Malibu." She saw Piper's face fall a little, so she added. "I once saw Ryan Gosling at a Starbuck's though."

Piper gasped. Starbucks and Ryan Gosling? Piper was liking this girl more and more. Finally, Henry brought home someone she could get on board with.

"Do you visit Swellview often, you and your family?" Mr. Hart asked as he took a bite from his pepperoni pizza.

Liz froze for a beat at the mention of family, but she cleared her throat and put on a smile to cover for it. "I used to visit a lot when I was a kid, but I stopped coming after my parents died."

Cue the awkward silence, Henry thought.

The Harts stopped eating and looked around at each other, feeling uncomfortable and guilty for unknowingly bringing up such a sensitive topic. Henry gave his mom an accusatory look. He didn't know Liz' parents had died, but he did know something like this would inevitably happen.

Mr. Hart coughed once. "Liz, I didn't mean to--"

"No," she interrupted him gently. "It's fine. It happened a long time ago. I moved in with my other aunt and uncle, but they weren't the traveling type, so I stopped making trips to Swellview." Again, that wasn't the full truth; this was her cover story. Her parents did die, but the following events happened a little differently than she let on. "Now that I'm older, they're okay with me traveling alone, so I hopped a plane over here." She finished with a half smile.

In truth, she wasn't saddened at the mention of her parents. She was relatively young--four or five years old--when they died, so she spent more of her life without them rather than with them. Liz felt like she hardly knew her birth parents; she didn't have very many memories of them, and it's hard to miss people you don't know. Besides, her aunt and uncle--not Jasper's parents--took her in, raised her, and introduced her to the job she now had. It was an unconventional way to grow up, but at least she wasn't alone. She may not have had a family like the Harts with their warm house and dinners around the table, but she did have discipline and training and was given a sense of purpose.

Until she was exposed to Henry and the rest of the Harts, she really had no idea what she was missing. She knew only her job, and she was going to stick to what she knew best.

Henry looked at his parents. His dad was looking everywhere but at Liz, and his mom was looking only at Liz, her eyes wide and glossy with the start of tears. Piper was aimlessly playing with an olive that fell off of her pizza, trying not to look like she was avoiding the conversation. He knew he had to relieve the tension somehow.

"Yeah, and like an idiot, I left her in the rain." Henry said with a slight laugh. It worked; the attention of the room shifted to him.

"Henry, you didn't." His mom reproached, going along with Henry's obvious distraction.

Piper addressed her brother now as well, also happy for a change of subject. "Of course he did, mom. He's Henry."

Henry made like their teasing was bothering him, but it wasn't. He was happy to take their jesting if it meant that Liz wouldn't get anymore uncomfortable questions about her personal life. He knew she wasn't upset with any of them for bringing up a sensitive topic--they hadn't known any better after all--but that didn't mean he was going to throw her to the wolves. He did mean to give Jasper a piece of his mind for not mentioning the fact that Liz' parents had died.

"Don't tease him too harshly." His father interjected then, avoiding eye contact with their guest. He couldn't look at Liz; he felt too guilty for being the one to ask about her parents. "He's not the only forgetful one in the family."

Mrs. Hart narrowed her eyes at her husband from across the table. "That's right. He takes after you."

Piper, always willing to take the opportunity to ridicule a family member, leaned forward in her seat, readily engaging in the conversation. "Ooh, did Dad leave you in the rain like Henry left Liz?"

Henry dropped his chin into his hand and looked at Liz, his eyebrows raised. She shrugged, but Henry could tell by the slight tilt of her lips that she was amused rather than annoyed.

Liz found the whole interaction rather entertaining, really. She wasn't used to such behavior. She watched the Harts with all the interest of someone viewing a live performance.

"Yes, he left me in the rain." Mrs. Hart snapped. "When he did finally come pick me up, he drove through a huge puddle and splashed water all over me." She grabbed another piece of pizza, biting into the slice with a little more force than was necessary.

"I didn't do any of those things on purpose, and you know that." Mr. Hart defended, pointing his pizza at her.

Piper rolled her eyes. "You never do it on purpose, Dad. You're just the worst at remembering important things."

"Like your wife," Mrs. Hart retorted.

Mr. Hart sat up in his chair, and a lot of loud, goodhearted bickering started between the parents and their youngest child.

Henry again looked to Liz, gauging her reaction, and found her watching his family with wide, amazed eyes. Henry cocked his head to the side; he didn't see what was so fascinating about his family. This was a normal Thursday night at his house. In fact, Henry found it pretty boring.

He of course couldn't know that Liz, a girl with no real family of her own, had no concept of what normal families did on Thursday nights. This was alien to her. She allowed herself this moment, around the dinner table with the Hart family, to revel in what normalcy was like.

For a girl like Liz, normal was anything but boring.

----------

"Sorry about dinner," Henry apologized as he and Liz cleaned up the kitchen.

Liz didn't think it would look good on her part if she immediately disappeared after dinner, so she offered to help Henry with the dishes again. This way, she would be retiring to the guest bedroom at a later time thus making it believable that she was going to sleep. She wouldn't be, but she needed the family to believe that she was so she could trust they wouldn't come looking for her for any reason.

Henry wasn't one to refuse help, but he also thought it would serve as a chance to get to know the girl who would be staying at his house for the next week.

"Henry, really it's okay." Liz reiterated, grabbing a clean dish from him and drying it with a dish towel. "You don't know something until you ask."

Henry shrugged a shoulder as he washed another plate. "True." He gave a dry laugh. "Figures they'd make everyone uncomfortable two questions in."

Liz chuckled. "Yeah, your parents really struck out, didn't they?"

"They're surprisingly good at it, but I guess that's just how parents are." He shook his head and kept on washing.

Liz didn't point out that she really didn't know who parents were; she knew it wouldn't do any good. Henry was just speaking like any seventeen year old would, but Liz wasn't any seventeen year old. She knew he wouldn't understand someone like her.

"Is this how it goes down in your house every night?" She asked, stacking a clean, dry plate with the others. She could tell Henry was making small talk, but she wasn't against it. It made the time pass more enjoyably.

Henry laughed. "The arguing or the uncomfortable prying?"

Liz pursed her lips. "Both?"

Henry handed the last plate to her. He waited for her to dry it before reaching for her dish towel to dry his hands. "There's always arguing, but it's like that with any family. No one's ever trying to hurt anyone--except maybe Piper. She's pretty scary." He grabbed the stack of clean plates and put them away.

Liz watched him, her eyes thoughtful. "You know, you keep saying that, but she seems okay to me."

"Give her time." Henry scoffed. "A week is a lot of time for Piper to show her true colors."

Liz narrowed her eyes at him, trying to figure him out. She wasn't used to being around people her age, so it was going to take some time before she understood how normal teenagers worked. "So you don't like your sister, then?"

Henry jerked away from Liz suddenly. "What?"

"You keep warning me about her." Liz reasoned. She knew next to nothing about Henry, but this was twice in one day he had cautioned Liz about his little sister. It seemed only logical to assume he didn't like her.

"That's because I don't want you to get the wrong idea." Henry explained. He let out a shaky breath, dismayed that she had reached that conclusion. "I love my sister, but she's no ray of sunshine."

Liz thought about what she had seen of Piper so far, and she smiled. Piper reminded Liz of herself. "I like her. She's got spunk."

Henry raised his eyebrows, pleasantly surprised. "I don't think I've heard anyone say that before." His eyes searched Liz' face for any sign that she may be joking, but she seemed sincere.

She shrugged one shoulder. "Then maybe the problem isn't Piper. Maybe it's everyone else." Liz may have only known the little girl for not even a full day, but she knew what she saw in her. Piper was in a class all her own, but that wasn't a bad thing.

They finished in the kitchen and made their way upstairs together. Liz stopped when they reached the door to the guest bedroom. She chewed on her bottom lip, rocking on her heels. She wanted to be alone behind a closed door so she could make her call, but she didn't want to be rude to Henry. He seemed like a really sweet guy.

She decided her best bet would be to feign that she was going to sleep.

"I think I'm just gonna go lie down." She told Henry. "It's been a pretty eventful day."

"I hear that." Henry said with a heavy sigh. He looked up at Liz, a lazy smile forming on his lips. He noticed her hair was still a little wet from the rain. "Thanks for helping me clean up." He wanted to thank her for taking his mind off his stressful day at work, but he knew she wouldn't understand where his gratitude was coming from. There was no way a normal person like Liz could understand the struggles Henry faced with his "job."

She swatted a hand in the air between them. "Yeah, no problem. I just figured I should pull my own weight, you know. Help out."

"You do know that's not how being a guest works, right?" He teased. Really, he was thinking how lucky he'd gotten this time around with Liz; the last girl to stay at Henry's house had been a teeth-stealing criminal, but Liz was perfectly normal.

Liz tilted her head from side to side. "Maybe not but I don't care."

Henry's eyebrows pulled together, but the corners of his mouth quirked up in a smile, "Alright," he acknowledged with a slight chuckle. Liz reminded Henry of his little sister; they had the same toughness to them.

There was a moment of silence between them. Liz looked around the hall, nodding her head a little, not sure what to say. She pulled her lips into a tight line and looked back at Henry.

"So, goodnight, I guess." She said.

"Yeah, goodnight." Henry answered.

Again, there was an awkward silence. Liz pulled on the wet strands of her hair while Henry drummed his fingers against his leg. Neither was looking at the other.

Liz jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at the door. "I'm just gonna--"

"Okay, yeah, me too. I'll just--" Henry gestured towards his own door.

"Goodnight," Liz said again, her hand on the doorknob.

"Goodnight."

Liz nodded once and opened the bedroom door, disappearing into the room and closing the door behind her.

Henry figured he'd take a page out of her book, so he went into his room and flopped onto his bed, fully clothed, welcoming sleep with open arms.

However, on the other side of Henry's wall, Liz was not going to sleep.

After she shut the door, Liz immediately went to her suitcase, moving quickly so as not to waste anymore time. She wasn't running late, but she also couldn't afford any more distractions. She dumped her clothes on the bed and removed a false bottom from her suitcase revealing a hidden book bag. She pulled the small, black bag out, replaced the false bottom in the suitcase, and put her clothes back in. zipping the suitcase shut. She wasn't expecting anyone to come into the room, but she was never one to be sloppy; she always covered her tracks.

Now she had the bag she needed for work; her uniform and equipment were inside. She reached into the bag and took out a silver necklace with a circle pendant on it; if ever she were pressed for time and needed a quick change of clothes, she'd press the circle pendant which had the same holographic capabilities as her watch--or HCD as it was called (holographic computer device)--and a projection of clothes would cover whatever she was wearing. If she were in her civvies but needed to look like she was in uniform, one press and she had a holographic wardrobe change and vice versa. It obviously wouldn't work in every situation; if someone stood close enough they could tell she was covered in pixels and not actual clothing, but it had helped keep her cover numerous times. She almost always kept it on, but going through the airport security had been a hassle, and she had to take it off then.

Liz opened the black bag and pulled out the rest of its contents: her uniform complete with all her gear--black leather suit, shock absorbent combat boots that kept her footsteps incredibly quiet, and a utility belt complete with her other minor tech devices and virtually anything needed to escape a situation. Her HCD--along with the circle necklace--was also a part of her uniform, but she kept that on at all times. It was one of her most advanced pieces of technology--the other being her face mask, which she was already secretly wearing. 

Stored into a blue square the size of a tic-tac was her full mask. She had it fitted into a blue stud earring so she could always have it on her while also being inconspicuous--like her HCD turned watch and holographic projector turned necklace. A slight press of her index finger to the piece of jewelry released the mask, and it would spread across her face in a second, completely covering her features.

The technology behind it was much like a teleportation device. When the mask was on, she’d press the button, and the particles it was comprised of would rearrange themselves down into a form small enough to fit inside a square container the size of an earring jewel. When she pressed her finger to the sensor on the outside of the jewel once more, the particles again regained their original form--her face mask. Coding set into the device instructed the two altercations so that the particles did exactly as Liz needed them to and didn’t either take on a form of their own or completely dissipate. It was specially designed with her fingerprint embedded into that same internal coding, so it worked for her only. To anyone else, it was normal earring. It was also capable of slipping past airport security undetected, so she had had it on the entire time. The device was flawless, and Liz should know. 

She created it. 

She quickly changed out of Henry's hoodie and her own clothes and tennis shoes and slipped into the familiar black leather and black combat boots.

It was almost as if she had shed who she was right along with her civvies; once in uniform; Liz felt like a completely different person. It was this way every time she put the dark material on. She lived a different life at work. She was a different person. The moment she pressed her little blue earring and her face mask was on, she was no longer Liz. She became what her job needed her to be. She became Mysteria--the girl clothed in black (Mysteria was her work persona--what she went by. When in uniform, she was unrecognizable, a mystery, hence the name.)

But she kept her face mask off for now; she had to report to her boss, and she liked to have those meetings face to face. She twisted the earring to make sure it was secure in her ear and looked around the empty room. The walls seemed soundproof enough, but Liz wasn't satisfied. She would have to get out of the house to make her call. She didn't think anyone would be listening in, but she wasn't going to take that chance.

She looked back at the closed door but that wouldn't work; someone was sure to see her if she crept back down the stairs and out the front door. Her only other option was the window. She contemplated using the thin but incredibly strong line she had stored in her belt to scale the side of the house, but a quick look through the glass proved that wouldn't be necessary. A large tree grew alongside the house and conveniently so for Liz to use to sneak out.

She opened the window, carefully climbed through, and closed it behind her. Once the window was securely shut, Liz deftly climbed down the tall tree. It was no more than two minutes later that her black boots were touching the damp grass of the Hart's front yard. She didn't bother checking to see if anyone had noticed her; she hadn't made any sound at all.

She moved to stand behind the wide tree and out of sight of the windows; the blue light of the hologram projection from her HCD was sure to catch someone's attention in the dark night.

She held her left forearm out parallel to her chest. The clock read nine-thirty p.m.; she was on time. She pressed the top most button. Thirty seconds later, blue light shot out from her watch, thousands of small pixels joining together to create a life-size shape of her boss in his familiar black suit.

"Sir," She addressed him, her right hand held on her forehead in a salute.

Her boss nodded once. "Agent." This was how he addressed her when she was on the clock. "I presume you're alone?" He wanted to know if she'd successfully gotten away from the Harts.

"Yes, sir," She confirmed. "I am no longer in the presence of my host family."

Her boss made no expression which was his only expression besides anger. "Then you are ready for the next phase to begin."

Liz felt her stomach stir anxiously. This was an important mission, and being chosen to carry it out was an incredible honor to her. She was going to make sure everything went perfectly. She would earn the respect and esteem she deserved.

Liz took a deep, steadying breath. "I'm ready." She affirmed.

"Location is being sent to your HCD now." Her said, still wearing his blank expression.

She pressed another button on her HCD and a small, square map of Swellview appeared next to her boss' projection. A blue dot highlighted a building in town. Liz zoomed in on the map to see the name.

"Schneider's bakery," She read.

Her boss nodded. "There's a shipment coming in to that bakery that contains our mystery ingredient. You are to be there to oversee that the truck containing ingredient X delivers according to schedule and is taken to the designated rendezvous point in the hands of the correct players. If you locate the two superheroes, do not engage with them unless absolutely necessary." He gave her a stern look, reinforcing the importance of these instructions. "Their time will come, but for now you must keep them from derailing all that we have accomplished so far. Understand?"

Liz nodded firmly. "I understand." She moved her right hand up for another salute. "Mysteria, out."

Her boss' hologram folded up and disappeared back into her HCD. She kept the map projection, studying the location, committing it to memory. She heard a faint beeping and looked at her left wrist; a countdown clock appeared on the screen of her HCD ticking away to the time of the shipment's arrival. Liz had forty-five minutes to get into town, find the other players--as her boss had called them--and be there when the truck pulled up to the bakery. She closed the map.

"Looks like I'm running." She muttered knowing it was going to take her a good while to arrive at the bakery. She couldn't waste any time, but she had no other mode of transportation besides her own two feet (in California, she had any vehicle imaginable at her disposal, but here in Swellview she was out of luck). It wouldn't be so bad; Liz liked to keep in shape. With her grueling job, she had to.

She started into a fast, easy sprint, disappearing quickly and silently into the night. 

----------

Henry was on the verge of falling into unconsciousness when he heard someone knock on his door.

"Ugh," he groaned, angry that someone had kept him from falling asleep. "Who is it?" He didn't open his eyes, remaining optimistic that there was still a chance he could fall asleep.

"Henry, honey," his mom called through his closed door. "Will you take these extra blankets to Liz please?"

Sleep would have to wait after all.

Henry managed to pull himself out of bed, but it was no easy feat. His fatigue made him feel as though his body was made of lead. Even swinging a leg over the side of the bed so he could stand up took maximum effort. He missed the feeling of his pillow as soon as he was upright.

Henry walked to his door with heavy, reluctant footsteps. He didn't smile when he opened the door and found his mom really was there and he wasn't dreaming after all. He took the blankets from her with a frown. "It's like seventy-five degrees out, Mom. Why would she need extra blankets?" He complained.

His mom frowned too. "I'm trying to be a good hostess." She looked away from Henry. "And I don't want her to hate us."

Henry rolled his eyes. "She doesn't hate you." He pushed past her and into the hall. He stopped to look at her as something occurred to him. "Is that why you're sending me to do this?"

"You're her age. She's more likely to trust you." She reasoned with an apologetic smile.

Henry dropped his face into the blankets he was holding. "Mom," he whined through the fabric. "I could've been sleeping right now."

"You can go right to sleep as soon as you give her those extra blankets. I promise." Mrs. Hart assured him. She ushered him forward with her hands.

"I'm going. I'm going." He mumbled, still dragging his feet as he walked. He felt more exhausted than ever. He looked back at his mom one more time, but she had disappeared. Henry shook his head and reached a hand out to knock on the door. "Hey, Liz, my mom wanted me to give you these extra blankets." He spat the last two words out, focusing his annoyance at being forced out of bed at the two cloth items.

Henry didn't receive a response from the other side of the door. He knocked again.

"Liz?" He moved an ear closer to the door. "You awake?"

Still no response.

Maybe she was a heavy sleeper. Lucky. 

Henry bent down to put the blankets on the floor outside of the room, but he felt guilty. What if she really did need extra blankets? He knocked one more time, but this time, when he didn't get a response, he opened the door the slightest bit.

"Liz?" He called into the room, thinking that if she were asleep, his voice would wake her up. Again, there was nothing, so he proceeded into the room, this time a little worried.

The sun had set hours ago, so the room was too dark for Henry to see anything. He flicked the light switch on, averting his eyes when light flooded the room. He gave the room a quick once over, but there was no sign of Liz. There was no sign that Liz had even come into the room; her suitcase and duffel bag remained unopened on the made bed. Nothing was out of place. Nothing had even been moved.

Where was Liz?

Henry was really worried now. Where could she have gone? How did she leave? Someone would've seen her had she left out the front door. Henry looked to the window--more importantly, to the tree outside the window. Did she climb down the tree? Henry thought this was most likely considering he used the same tree to sneak out when Ray called him late at night. 

So Liz snuck out the window. Why? 

Henry was about to walk out of the room to tell his parents, but then his watch beeped, signaling Ray was calling him. He set the extra blankets on the bed next to the suitcase and shut the bedroom door. He flipped open his watch once he was sure no one would see or hear him. A three inch tall projection of Ray appeared.

"What's up, Ray?" Henry asked, expecting this to be a friendly call.

"Kid," Ray spoke in a grave voice. "I need you."

Henry's stomach dropped. "What's wrong?"

It was hard to tell Ray's expressions when he was a small hologram, but Henry could tell by Ray's tense body language that it was serious. "The Captain Man hotline got a hit on Donnie and Hyde."

Henry's eyes widened. "Again?" He couldn't believe it. When they said they'd see Captain Man and Kid Danger soon, Henry didn't think soon meant later that same day.

Ray nodded. "Yeah, but they aren't in the park this time." Ray's voice was tight. He was incredibly anxious; he'd been kicking himself all night for letting them get away, but now he had a chance to make it right. "Apparently they're trying to rob a bakery."

Maybe it was Henry's extreme exhaustion, but he could've sworn he just heard Ray say two thieves were going to rob a place known for having great pies and other pastries.

Henry closed his eyes and massaged one of his temples. "Did you just say a bakery?"

"Schneider's bakery, to be exact."

The name was familiar to Henry. He looked up at Ray hovering above his watch. "Schneider's bakery--why do I know that name?"

"Because that's where Drex trapped me and threw you into cake batter." Ray cringed at the memory.

"Ah, how could I forget." Henry sneered. He wasn't overly fond of that bakery; a video went viral of Drex humiliating Henry in the very establishment. "What do Donnie and Hyde need with pie?"

Ray shook his head. "I don't know, but they're not getting away this time. I'll be there to pick you up in ten minutes."

Henry looked away from the mini Ray and back to Liz's suitcase. He was still incredibly worried about her, but what was he supposed to do? He was needed as Kid Danger. How was he supposed to decide what should take precedence?

Henry wasn't prepared to deal with stress like this again. Not after earlier. He wasn't sure he could take it.

"How do we know they aren't just yanking us around again?" Henry questioned. His tone was sharp, but he refused to play into another one of Donnie and Hyde's games--not when Liz was missing and he was this tired. 

"The cops called this one in, kid, and we've got video surveillance of them breaking in to the bakery." Ray responded. "Just get down here. I'll fill you in as we go."

Henry felt his shoulders sag; the choice he was having to make seemed to physically weighing down on him. He didn't want Donnie and Hyde to get away again--he was still sore from the punch he took to the face--but he couldn't just ignore the fact that there was a whole person missing from his house. He pinched the bridge of his nose and kept his fingers there as he spoke to Ray.

"I can't." He huffed with a heavy sigh.

Ray's hologram stared silently at Henry for a second. "What?" He spoke finally.

"I can't go with you, Ray. We've got someone staying at our house, and she's missing. I don't know where she is, but I can't find her and help you at the same time." He took his fingers away from his nose and instead rubbed his tired eyes. "I'm sorry, man. I can't."

"I don't understand. Are you telling me you don't want to go stop criminals from committing crimes?" Ray hissed. "What did I hire you for?"

"Ray, come on, you know that's not--"

"No, really, why did I hire you if you were just gonna decide that some girl is more important than doing your job?" He bellowed. He couldn't believe what he was hearing; again his sidekick was willing to jeopardize a mission over a girl he had the hots for.

"We're talking about a bakery, man." Henry snapped, fed up with arguing and with criminals giving him problems and the whole day in general. He just wanted to sleep. "What're they gonna steal, Ray? Hmm? Cakes? Muffins? It's freaking nine-thirty at night. The store is closed. It's not like there's gonna be any hostages. I have school tomorrow, for crying out loud." He realized he was close to yelling, so he took a deep breath. A sardonic laugh escaped his lips at the idea of school; with everything else going on in his life right now, the fact that he had to go to school  tomorrow was the craziest.  "Look, I hate Donnie and Hyde just as much as you do." Ray scoffed, but Henry ignored it. "It's just--I'm dealing with a missing person here, and that's more important to me than a bakery getting robbed. I'm sorry." It wasn't fair that he was being made to split his ethics, but if a choice had to be made, he cared more about Liz' disappearance; she could be in trouble.

"Henry, I need you." Ray pleaded. He paused for a second. "I won't let those two get away a second time."

"I don't want them to get away either."

"Then help me!" Ray's voice was getting louder the more aggravated he became, and Henry was worried his family would hear. "This is bigger than us, kid. Something is happening, and I'm tired of being in the dark."

Henry looked at Ray's hologram for a moment, considering his words. Ray was right; this was important. Henry wasn't denying that. He was just weighing its importance against finding a runaway girl he was sort of responsible for.

"Can we look for Liz and stop Donnie and Hyde at the same time?" He asked.

Ray knitted his eyebrows together. "Who's Liz?"

"My missing house guest, Ray. Can we look for her too?" Henry stressed, not liking that more time was passing with her still gone.

Ray waved a hand. "Yeah, sure, whatever, just get--"

"Down here, I know." Henry grumbled. "I'll see you in five." He flipped his watch shut and closed his eyes tightly.

He didn't want to go to Schneider's Bakery. If he was being completely honest, he didn't even really want to go looking for Liz. All Henry wanted was to go to sleep. He just needed to close his eyes and sleep and never see this day ever again. He didn't think that was asking too much considering what he's been through in the last 24 hours.

But apparently it was because now he had two more things to do before he could see the dawn of a new day.

He opened his eyes back up. He hadn't changed out of his clothes from today, so he still had his emergency bubble gum in his pocket. He shook off as much of his drowsiness as he could manage, and snuck out of the guest bedroom window just as Liz had.

He dropped down from the tree and onto the grass, taking off jogging a few houses down where Ray usually picked him up on the nights he had to sneak away.

As he ran, his tired legs screaming for him to stop and take a long rest, one thought cycled through Henry's mind.

He was so dreading going to school tomorrow.

----------

A/N Part 2: Woah. This is so long, And I didn't even include everything I wanted to. Sheesh. At least we get a sort of cliffhanger? Maybe? It's crazy though because the first two chapters (and now the third considering how this one ended) all happen in the span of one day. Poor Henry. Boy just needs to SLEEP. Sorry if this chapter seemed boring. Not much happened action wise, but I needed a chapter to really delve into who Liz is--but no too much bc I'm keeping her surrounded in mystery and intrigue. So I guess it's more about what Liz' mindset is. I don't know. She's my character, so I gotta take the time to develop her. I just needed a little insight into how she thinks and where she comes from and to start building relationships. I promise, we will see Jasper and Charlotte next chapter. Liz still needs to reunite with her cousin and then meet her future bff. :)))) Any who, tell me what you thought! Who are CM and KD going to face? What do Donnie and Hyde have to do with it? What's this "big plan?" Who's their boss? How does Liz tie into this? Is she the good guy girl? Bad guy girl? What will happen when Liz and Henry Kid Danger arrive at the same place????? (this is me thinking I'm good at creating suspense but I'm probably not) Hope you enjoyed! Tune in to the next chapter! Things are gonna kick off from there--we're gonna get our first real taste of Henry's doubt towards Liz and her intentions. Yay for plot progression! xoxoxo