#but also if you wouldn't call someone lazy for not being able to do calculus

[yourfaveisamuppet]

really hate that the whole ai discussion has brought "art isn't a talent, it's a skill and if you can't do it you're lazy" back into vogue

[blindingdutchy]

lamentation | TWO

{peter parker x fem!reader AU}

based on All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

SERIES MASTERLIST

word count: 3,495

warnings: depression, anxiety, mental illness! angst, fluff if you squint really hard

18+!!! minors stay away

Peter Parker was relentless, insufferable, and extremely annoying. It all started the morning after what you'd decided to call The Encounter, and it had been unending ever since. Nearly a week had passed since that fateful night, and you'd yet to see a day at school where Peter didn't try his hardest to get under your skin.

On Monday he sat next to you in Calculus, and no matter how blatantly you ignored him for the entire class, he continued to whisper facts about himself and stupid little jokes to you. You wished you could say you hadn't listened, but ever since that morning you'd been unable to forget that his favorite color was red, his Aunt packed him a lunch every day that he threw away because she couldn't cook, and his middle name was Benjamin. Why he thought you needed or even wanted to know such things you weren't sure, but even more befuddling was the fact that you couldn't un-learn them.

When Tuesday rolled around he stepped it up a notch, much to your dismay. He sat with you during Calculus and insisted on jogging with you during gym class, feigning that he was out of breath despite your slow pace and the fact that you were certain he could run for miles without getting winded. He told you more jokes then, too. One of which you begrudgingly found yourself exhaling a little harder over whenever it popped into your head; what did one stranger say to the other? Nothing. They didn't know each other.

Wednesday was the worst, because Peter made a scene. You came into calculus late and the teacher scolded you in front of the class, at which point you got flustered and tripped over your untied shoe laces. Your books spilled to the floor and you tumbled to your knees in front of everyone, and the whole class laughed. But Peter? Peter just had to be the hero, and your blood boiled at his actions.

He'd dramatically swept all his books off of his desk, feigning surprise at the loud clatter as if he hadn't done it intentionally. When the teacher scolded him, too, he just apologized and made a show of picking up each of his things one by one. "Why did you do that?" you'd hissed as you sat down, scowling at the brown-eyed boy who just blinked at you innocently.

"Do what?"

He'd ran with you in gym class again, and he'd even followed you to your locker afterwards. In all the years you'd known of Peter, you had never known him to be much of a talker. In fact, he seemed like a rather shy boy who didn't like to branch out much. With you, though, that was far from the case. Silence was a pipe dream with him around.

On Thursday he sat next to you in Calculus, ran with you in gym, walked you to your locker, and went so far as to sit with you at lunch. You'd put your earbuds in and blasted music as loud as you could without hurting yourself too much, but every time you looked up you could see he was still talking. Part of you wondered why he was being so relentless, but you didn't want to ask. If you asked he would think you cared, and you didn't. You didn't care at all, and the sooner he figured that out, the sooner he would leave you alone.

Or, at least you hoped so. As you walked into school on Friday morning, you groaned at the sight of Peter waiting patiently beside your locker. "What do you want, Parker?" you gritted out, glaring at him as you twisted the dial to enter your combination.

He grinned in spite of your glare, "I'm walking you to Calculus today, obviously. How was your night, (Y/N)? Do anything fun?"

"What part of I don't need friends did you not understand?" you demanded, giving him a stale look as you swung the metal door open with a clang. Peter blinked at you, clearly not used to you actually speaking back to him, and further uncomfortable with your hostility. What did he expect? Did he expect for you to suddenly be happy? To not be completely fucked up anymore just because he started talking to you?

He replaced his lazy smile and shrugged, retorting, "You know my secret and I know yours. That makes us friends."

You wanted to scream at him. You wanted to shout, yell, stomp your feet, and throw a tantrum fit for a child. Friends were not something you wanted or needed, and you certainly didn't want to be friends with Peter Parker. You didn't want to be friends with someone just because they were worried you'd spill their dirty little secret, or because they pitied the girl who wanted to die.

The black hole in your chest was worse than ever that day, and it sucked away all the fight you had in you. So, with a roll of your eyes, you stuffed your earbuds in your ears and tuned him out once more. Just like he had at lunch, Peter continued to ramble even though he knew you weren't listening, and you pretended you didn't see his lips moving at the speed of light.

For once, at the very least, he at least shut up in class. You were thankful for the break from his incessant chatter, the endless monologue you couldn't escape from when you were stuck in a desk while Mr. Tinley droned on and on. Calculus was far from interesting, but you found yourself beyond relieved to finally be able to pay any sort of attention to the lesson.

Friday was steadily continuing along the same path every other day had since The Encounter. Peter thankfully parted ways with you after Calculus, but quickly rejoined you two classes later in Gym. From Gym he was glued to your side through lunch until you escaped to your Spanish class, which you thankfully didn't share with him, but the solitude was short lived. Your last class of the day was one you also shared with Peter, and prior to that day he had remained seated with his friends.

That day, though, he plopped down in the seat beside you with a cheerful smile. "Ready for our new project?" he asked, skipping the greeting he knew you wouldn't return.

"Huh?" you asked, blinking at him in bewilderment. New project? Our? What was he talking about?

Peter beamed back at you, clearly pleased that you hadn't snapped at him for once. "Our new project! Didn't you see the list on the door? We're partners." he explained, and you stiffened.

It was too big of a coincidence to truly be happenstance. All week Peter had been pestering you, perpetually following you around and talking your ear off, and now he just happened to be assigned as your partner for the final Speech project? He did something. That was the only logical conclusion.

Your eyes narrowed as you stared at him with as much intensity as you could muster. "Peter, what did you do?" you growled.

Peter's eyes widened at your tone, and he shifted in his seat nervously with a sheepish smile. "What do you mean?" he questioned coyly, and you scowled at him fiercely. "I didn't do anything, (Y/N)."

"Bullshit." you snapped, "I find it hard to believe that we just happened to be assigned partners after how obsessively you've been harassing me all week."

He gaped at you, "Harassed? What?" he stammered, "(Y/N), let's calm down--I haven't... I haven't been harassing you. I just want you to know I really do want to be your friend."

You scoffed at his excuse, "Shut up, Peter. Just leave me alone! I don't want to be your friend, okay? My lips are sealed. I won't tell anyone your secret, just leave me alone!"

With one finally glare, you lurched out of your seat and stomped to one far away from the still aghast boy. As you settled into your new seat, ignoring the strange looks from your classmates who witnessed your outburst, you wrinkled your nose and picked at your nails angrily. As much as you were angry with Peter, you were also angry with yourself.

You were angry that he'd stopped you, and you'd let him. You were angry at the world for letting your sister die. You were angry at your sister for saving you when she should have saved herself. Most of all, though, you were angry with yourself for how you were acting. Even though she wasn't there, you could almost hear your sister scolding you for how you'd treated Peter.

She always was the levelheaded, rational sister. The good sister. The better sister. She would have been ashamed of how you'd been ignoring Peter, ranting to you, "He's just trying to be there for you, idiot. Stop being such a jerk and let him help you. You need to stop being so stubborn..."

You listened eagerly to Ms. Lovell's lesson and instruction for the new project. It wasn't because you were genuinely interested, because you weren't, but it was something to distract you. It was something to drown out the voice of your sister that was echoing through your skull, rattling you to your core as you tried to keep your emotions at bay.

This was the hardest part of losing your sister. She'd been so close to you, so important to you, it was impossible to not think of her in every moment of every day. It was impossible not to think of what she'd have done, instead of what you had done. It was impossible not to think of what she'd have thought of your actions, what she'd have said to you, of what she'd have wanted you to do.

She had been your voice of reason, your confidant, your role model. She'd always been so much better than you, someone you aspired to be like, and now that she was gone the comparisons were so much heavier on your head. Why couldn't it have been you instead of her? She would never have had such a hard time like you were.

For instance, she wouldn't have been so bitter. She wouldn't have been so filled with rage, hatred, or despair. She wouldn't have blamed anyone, not even herself, and she wouldn't have hated the people who had killed you. She always did love a good superhero, and even if you'd have died at the hands of the Avengers like she had, she would have found a reason to still have faith in them. She would have forgiven them.

This project was going to be a tough one, and not just because you were going to have to work with Peter Parker. "This is going to be a persuasive speech, guys, so you're able to pick your stance freely so long as it pertains to the Avengers. For example, you could persuade us that they're bad, if that's how you feel." Ms. Lovell explained, "Just be prepared to face debate from the class. Each group has to face five full minutes of argument from the class and be able to firmly debate their stance."

A project in which you'd have to argue your stance pertaining to the superheroes that had killed your sister, and you were working with Peter-Spiderman-Parker. Great, you thought to yourself, this was going to be a nightmare. There was no way the two of you would agree on what stance to persuade; you hated superheroes, and he was one, for God's sake.

You glanced over at Peter, only to catch him already staring at you. The pair of you quickly looked away from each other, but you noticed the way his cheeks flared red in embarrassment. How long had he been watching you? Was he dreading the project now as much as you were?

He probably didn't know how you felt about the Avengers. Not many people really cared enough to read about what had happened to your sister, and you weren't exactly in the right state of mind to be out protesting the many shortcomings of the superheroes. You wondered, though, how he would react when he found out.

Lying was an option, but there was no way you'd be able to debate in favor of the Avengers without breaking. Could you debate against them without losing it either, though? You weren't entirely sure. It was a sore subject and you were certainly not looking forward to having to dedicate your time to speaking about them.

Peter lingered by his seat after class was dismissed, staring at you awkwardly as he told his friends he would catch up with them later. You could see the strange, weary looks they shot you, but you chose to ignore them. Everyone looked at you a little funny ever since the incident, and you'd long ago grown accustomed to it. This time, though, you couldn't help but think they were looking at you strangely for a reason other than your sister.

You had two options. You could suck it up and talk to Peter right then, or you could continue to ignore him until you were forced to do the project. Catching his warm brown eyes as he timidly watched you, you sighed. It was now or never; maybe if you were nicer he'd back off a little with the obsessive tendencies.

"So," you drawled, approaching him shyly, "how are we gonna do this?"

This was what she would have wanted you to do; that's what you chanted in your head as you forced yourself to at least seem somewhat approachable. "Uh, we could--we could meet up tomorrow? You could come to my apartment." he stuttered, scratching his neck awkwardly and fiddling with his backpack.

He radiated nervous energy, and the black hole inside of you consumed it greedily. You twiddled your thumbs just as nervously as you replied, "Do you, um, do you mind coming to my house instead? My parents are--they're a little weird about me going out because of... yeah."

God, his stutter was rubbing off on you, and you cringed at the way you stumbled over your words like a fool. It had been such a long time since you'd invited anyone to your house, let alone talked to anyone besides your parents and your therapist, and it was stressing you out. The exhaustion of the day was wearing you down rapidly, and having to socialize was making it worse.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course!" he spluttered, "Uh, could I get your number? So I can, like, text you when I'm coming?"

You hoped he didn't notice how much your fingers were shaking as you took his phone, struggling to type in your number as you mistyped multiple times. Once you'd saved your contact into his phone, you sent yourself a text so that you'd have his number too. You didn't exactly answer unknown numbers anymore, though if you were honest, you often didn't answer people you knew either. That was what drove your friends away.

Peter shot you a shy smile as you handed his phone back, and he asked, "Do you want to get started tonight, maybe? I could call you."

Biting your cheek, you paled. Tonight? You were exhausted, and the thought of having to talk for any longer made you nauseous. "No offense, Peter, but I... I really just need a break. This week has been a lot." you mumbled, avoiding his eyes as you stared at your feet.

"Oh, yeah, totally." he acquiesced, "I'll, uh, I'll see you tomorrow."

You didn't reply, only giving him a tight lipped smile that probably looked more like a grimace as you quickly walked away. Once you were out of his sight, your entire body drooped and the numbness steadily washed over you. It had been the longest day, and you were once again grateful for the escape from the overwhelming emotions.

Ever since she died, it was as if all your emotions were on overdrive. There were the many constant ones, like the guilt, shame, and anguish over her death. Along with those were more fleeting ones, like anger, disgust, and fear. Peter, though, he brought about a whole slew of new and equally as intense feelings that drained you.

He made you feel things like anxiety, apprehension, and hope. There was anxiety both due to his wild behavior in regards to you, but also because you feared he might tell people what he'd seen. The apprehension was due to your suspicion he was only so interested because you knew his secret, and was just as fearful that you would tell. But the hope, the stupid anticipation, was the worst.

It was the worst because a stupid part of you hoped he was genuine. You wanted him to really want to be your friend with no ulterior motives because, no matter how much you denied it, you really did need a friend. You wanted a friend. You wanted to let someone in.

You weren't buying it, though, because you were certain you couldn't handle the heartbreak of being wrong about his intentions and discovering he really did only care about his secret. You weren't going to let him hurt you, and if you had to shut yourself off from the world and hurt yourself to prevent it, then so be it. It was easier that way.

Peter Parker: hey i know you said you didn't want to start tonight but that doesn't mean we can't get to know each other

Peter Parker: so if you want, lets play 20 questions! i'll start. what's your favorite movie?

The typing cursor blinked at you tauntingly as you laid on your bed, huddled under the blankets with your thumbs hovering over the keys. That stupid part of you that wanted to make your sister proud begged you to go along with it, to let him be a friend, but you were terrified. You were terrified of the way you actually opened the text and went to reply without hesitation, something you hadn't done since before the incident. You were terrified of the way you wanted to reply, but the only thing that gave you pause was the fact that you didn't have an answer.

Movies weren't something you'd given much thought to in awhile. You knew all of your sister's favorite movies by heart, but your favorite movie? It was as if your brain opened an empty drawer. You didn't know what your favorite movie was.

You: i don't know

Peter Parker: what do you mean you don't know

Peter Parker: do you not like movies?!

You: i just don't know okay

You: i can't remember the last time i watched a movie.

That was a lie. You very well could remember the last time you'd watched a movie, and that was because it was with her. The weekend before she'd died, your sister had dragged you to the theater to watch some cheesy romance film she'd been gushing about for weeks. It was awful, but it was so utterly her that you'd weirdly enjoyed it. You enjoyed it because it made her happy.

Peter Parker: that's crazy wow

Peter Parker: no offense sorry

Peter Parker: it's your turn to ask

You: what's your favorite movie

Peter Parker: star wars but you can't ask the same question!! try again

You: fine

You: what's your favorite food?

Was talking to boys always this hard? You couldn't remember the last time you'd had to get to know someone, but you didn't think it had ever been so nerve wracking. Was something wrong with you? Was everything destined to be this hard now that she was gone?

Peter Parker: anything from Delmar's

Peter Parker: best sandwiches in Queens

Peter Parker: since you got a double and you technically didn't answer my first question, i'm asking you the same but also what's your happiest memory

Everything was always going to be hard. Reading his response, your lungs deflated in your chest and the numbness gave way to the all too familiar sensation of despair. She'd always loved Delmar's, insisting on getting the same sandwich from there every single Friday after school, and it had been your thing.

Would there ever be anything that didn't remind you of her? Remind you of the hole punched in your life where she used to be? It was hard enough dealing with the empty space in your room where her bed used to be, the empty chair at the dinner table where she'd used to sit, all the empty spaces she'd used to fill up. But the little things--the little memories of things she'd used to love--those hurt so much more.

You: i have to go

You: i forgot i'm busy tomorrow so we can't start the project

You: i'm sorry

SERIES TAG-LIST {ask to be added}:

@msmimimerton

[henry-hart]

"The Spy and the Kid...Spy Kid?" - Chapter 1

God that title is so lame lsdksdklks. I suck at titles, so I apologize for that. I try to be witty, and this is what happens. Also, this fic is pretty serious, so maybe a silly title doesn't fit the mood...oh well.

Dedicated to: @sunbeameyes @ramune-ray @up-the-tube @youngbloodthekilljoy @writing-excuses @an-anxious-gay-mess @kiwikwami​​​​​​​ 

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.

Fandom: Henry Danger

A/N: Okay, I know introducing a distant relative for one specific plot and making them relevant by saying, "Hey, this is so-and-so. We used to be tight as kids!" is weak (I always hated when tv shows did that only to have the character appear for one episode), but here I am, doing it anyway. Guess I'm a hypocrite. Sue me. lolol I needed a new character that I could somehow relate to the characters we already know, so Jasper has a cousin from out of state. *shrugs* I hope you like this! The idea came to me in a dream (lol), and I thought it was interesting and decided to go with it. Also in my fic Henry can drive because he's like seventeen, so, you know. And I've headcanoned that Piper is secretly intelligent because I like the idea of her being in advanced classes and whatnot but being incredibly hush-hush about it (she did go to the gizmo show, after all). Enjoy! xoxoxo

————————

"Okay, that was the bell." Ms. Shapen snapped. "Get out of my face--all of you!"

Henry rolled his eyes; his teacher's sour attitude was nothing out of the ordinary. He collected his notebook and pens and everything else he had been using and put them in his book bag, sending a quick nod to Jasper as they both got out of their seats. They met Charlotte by the door, and the three of them left the classroom in the direction of their lockers.

"Man, Ms. Shapen really went heavy with the homework today." Jasper sighed, grabbing both his book bag straps as he walked. He was already thinking about how late he was going to be up finishing all that they had been given. Of course, he was already going to stay up late, but now it was going to be because of the inconvenience that is homework.

"Yeah," Henry grimaced. "I guess her date didn't go so well yesterday."

Charlotte stopped walking. "Or she's tired of having to deal with lazy students," she shot. She didn't think her teacher's love life or lack thereof was of any concern to them. The homework load they were assigned for tonight wasn't even that extensive; Henry and Jasper just liked doing the bare minimum.

Henry held his hands up in surrender and looked at Jasper with a "what's with her" look. Jasper shrugged and walked over to his locker. Henry and Charlotte walked to theirs as well.

Henry swung his backpack around and was pulling out notebooks he wouldn't need tonight when Jasper, who was done with his locker, leaned against the one next to Henry's. Henry noticed Jasper was trying for nonchalance, but subtlety had never been Jasper's strong-suit.

"What's going on?" Henry jested.

"You have a guest bedroom in your house, right?" Jasper wondered, but his tone told Henry that he wasn't really asking.

"I do." Henry clarified, his eyes narrowed apprehensively.

Jasper nodded. "I thought so." He played with one of the straps of his book bag. "Say, since that room is free and meant for guests, do you think my cousin could stay there over spring break?"

Henry stopped thumbing through his pre-calculus textbook and looked at Jasper, eyes wide at the onslaught of implications in that question. "What?"

"I need somewhere for my cousin to stay." Jasper explained, his eyes pleading. "My parents don't allow guests--not even family--and Charlotte won't let anyone even remotely related to me stay at her house after that incident."

Henry shuddered at the memory of Jasper's last girlfriend. He looked at Jasper's wide eyes and groaned. "I don't know, man. Last time I let someone's relative stay at my house, you, my little sister, and most of Swellview almost lost their teeth." He shuddered again, remembering that whole odd situation involving stealing teeth and the elderly. It wasn't something he enjoyed thinking about.

"Yeah but she's not like that." he pleaded. "Please, Henry. I haven't seen her since we were kids."

Henry paused. "Wait, you said she?"

Jasper nodded his head. "Her name's Elizabeth."

This changed things. "Is she cute?" Henry asked, a slight smirk on his face.

Jasper only shrugged; who was he to say whether his cousin was attractive or not? "I guess--if you're into that sort of thing."

Henry considered this for a moment, but he stopped himself. He wouldn't let that happen again--not after Noelle and the teeth and just, no. He would do this for Jasper to spend time with family. Nothing else.

"Alright, man. Sure, she can stay at my house." He shut his locker. "My mom loves having people over anyway." It was true; his mother loved being able to be, well, a mother to people.

Jasper jumped up and down and pulled Henry into a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Henry! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

Henry coughed, unable to breathe properly with Jasper squeezing him so tightly. "I have a pretty good idea." He groaned.

Jasper realized Henry couldn't breathe and let him go. "Do you mind picking her up from the airport too? I would, but I don't have a car."

Henry straightened his shirt out. "Sure. When does her flight arrive?"

"Today. Around seven."

"Wh--Today?" Henry sputtered. "It's Thursday. We have school tomorrow."

"I know," Jasper placated. "Her school gets out for spring break earlier than ours does." He finished with another pleading, wide-eyed look.

There wasn't much Henry could do now; he'd already agreed. "Yeah, fine. I'll just pick her up after work, I guess." Jasper jumped to give Henry another bone-crushing hug, but Henry held his hands up. "That's okay."

Jasper backed off, but he couldn't stop the wide smile on his face. Henry had made him so happy. He was going to see his cousin today.

Jasper remembered how much fun they had as kids; it was nice to know there was someone like him--someone else who was normal--in his family. Those weekends when Lizzie would visit Jasper were some of the best of his life. It had been years since he had seen her, and he could hardly contain himself from bursting with happiness now that it was only a matter of hours before he was going to be reunited with his favorite family member.

Charlotte walked up to the boys then. "Did he agree to do it?"

Jasper nodded vigorously. "He did."

Charlotte could see how happy Jasper was, and it made her smile. She looked at Henry apologetically. "Sorry about the ambush. I don't care how much Jasper says she's nice. I can't. Not after--" she trailed off, but they all knew.

There was a moment of silence as they all remembered her.

"Okay, let's get to work, shall we?" Henry announced, ready to be out of the school.

"Let's," Charlotte agreed. "Are you driving?"

Henry shook his head, avoiding his friend's eyes. "No, Piper has the car."

Jasper and Charlotte groaned in unison.

"Why would your parents let her drive the car when you have a legal license?" Jasper complained. He feared for his life every time he even got near Piper when she was behind the wheel of a car.

"You know how Piper is. No one lets her do anything. She just does it." Henry argued, throwing his hands up.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. She didn't like driver Piper either, but she knew there wasn't anything she could do about it. Like Henry said, Piper just does things. "Fine, but you're riding shotgun." She pointed a stern finger at Henry. 

Henry accepted the punishment as penance for being the older brother, and the gang walked out of the school to meet the girl who was currently laying on the horn.

__________

 "Do you see them?" Kid Danger asked Captain Man.

They were currently scouring Swellview Park for two criminals by the names of Donnie and Hyde, a couple who got their kicks by stealing money, jewelry, and even sometimes home entertainment centers. They were petty thieves as far as Henry and Ray--Captain Man and Kid Danger--were concerned. It never took more than an hour to track them down. Captain Man and Kid Danger had busted them a few times, but like all the other criminals in Swellview seem to be capable of doing, they had broken out of jail and were on a crime-spree.

But something about tonight seemed off to Kid Danger.

Maybe it was the fact that Donnie and Clyde hadn't even stolen anything.

Or, better yet, that they had called the Captain Man hotline. 

It was some taunting video message that had said there was something big about to go down. The thieves stressed that Captain Man and Kid Danger wouldn't want to miss it, and they should come to Swellview Park immediately. That was all the video said.

Everything about the situation was bizarre to Kid Danger, but he pushed past it. They were criminals who had broken out of jail; they needed to be caught.

"No, I don't." Captain Man responded with a frown. He too had noticed that this wasn't going down like their usual gig. He had the nagging suspicion in the back of his mind that he and Kid Danger were missing a bigger, important piece of the puzzle.

Kid Danger stopped searching to let his mind sift through all that wasn't making sense. He sat down hard on one of the park benches. "Okay, this is weird, right?"

Captain Man chewed on his bottom lip. "Yeah, it's definitely weird." He scratched the back of his neck. "Donnie and Clyde calling us? What was that about?"

"Right?" Kid Danger agreed. He gestured to the empty park. "I mean, why lead us to the park if no one is even here?"

Captain Man didn't sit down. He was too anxious to sit. He paced back and forth nervously, trying to shake the feeling that he and Kid Danger were being set up for something. "I don't know." He spoke finally. "And I don't like not knowing."

Kid Danger dragged a hand through his hair. "Do you think they've moved on from stealing? Why break out of jail now. Is there some big plan? Are they working for someone?" He had to stop himself. "God, one question just makes five more."

Captain Man held a hand out. "Why don't we just stay on alert. They wanted us here. Obviously something is supposed to happen, so just be prepared for anything."

Kid Danger nodded and stood up from the bench, thinking it best to be standing if something did happen. Suddenly he felt something prick his neck.

"Ah, what the--" he slapped a hand to his neck and pulled it away, expecting to see a squished mosquito, but there was nothing there.

Captain Man rushed over to Kid Danger. "What is it? Are you alright?" He demanded. The waiting made him a bit high strung.

Kid Danger waved him off. "Yeah, I think a bug bit me or something." He wasn't completely certain though. He wasn't certain of anything today.

Captain Man jumped slightly then, slapping a hand to his neck just as Kid Danger had. "I think the same bug just bit me too."

They looked at each other, both thinking the exact same thing; too many weird things were happening today for this to be purely coincidence.

As if they didn't have enough to worry about.

They didn't have time to ponder it long. Suddenly, a noise sounded from the other end of the park.

"What was that?" Kid Danger whispered, moving into a fighting stance.

Captain Man did the same. "Get ready, Kid."

Donnie and Clyde walked out from behind the park's information kiosk then, smirking at Captain Man and Kid Danger. They were wearing their usual uniform: all black leather.

"So, I see you two decided to join us after all," Donnie drawled, taking slow steps in the direction of the superheroes.

"What do you two want?" Captain Man snapped, not liking that they seemed to know something he didn't. He didn't like the disadvantage that put him at.

Donnie looked back to Clyde with his arms spread out innocently. "We just want to talk." They walked closer.

"To talk?" Kid Danger scoffed. "That's why you brought us all here? To talk."

Donnie put a finger on the tip of his nose, "And the Kid gets one hundred points!" He mocked, walking closer still.

Kid Danger rolled his eyes. He didn't feel like wasting any more time on these clowns. He looked at Captain Man, an understanding passing between them. "Then let's talk." He snarled, and he and Captain Man lunged for the two men.

The two superheroes were too focused on Donnie and Clyde to realize that four more men were creeping up behind them. Normally, this would've been something the two of them picked up on immediately--especially Kid Danger with his super fast reflexes--but the two had been on such high alert waiting for Donnie and Clyde that they didn't leave room to think about much else.

Two men grabbed Captain Man while a third stood close in case the two weren't enough. Only one of the large men was needed to hold Kid Danger.

Clyde spoke up then. "You two seem to forget the most important thing about being a criminal." He gestured to the four burly men, "Henchmen! You don't ever actually have to do anything. They do everything for you!"

Captain Man fought against the two men who were holding him back, but his super power was not super strength. He couldn't break free. Kid Danger also couldn't get away from the henchman.

"It's not like you two to let anyone else in on your little schemes." Captain Man grunted, hoping to distract Donnie and Clyde. He still fought the arms around him despite the obvious futility. "What's with the extra muscle?"

Donnie and Clyde smiled at each other.

"It's one of the many perks of joining a cause." Donnie cooed, staring lovingly at Clyde.

"What cause?" Kid Danger growled. He too was still trying to break free. He twisted to reach his laser, hoping to use it on the brute holding him back, but the henchman had Kid Danger's arms pinned behind him. Too much movement sent pain radiating up to his shoulders.

Donnie and Clyde were telling the truth when they said they wanted to talk. They had been sent to the park to do so. Confident that Captain Man and Kid Danger were thoroughly indisposed, they both sat down on a park bench.

Clyde took a deep breath like he was preparing to tell a bed time story. "You see, Cap and Kiddo, breaking out of jail is no easy feat--especially for two petty thieves such as ourselves."

Donnie shook his head. "That's right. It's rather difficult, but with the right help, it's a--" he motioned all around them. "Well, it's a regular walk in the park!" He and Clyde erupted into a fight of laughter.

Captain Man looked over to Kid Danger, and they shared mutual expressions of annoyance.

"Will you two just get to the point?" Captain Man snapped. He was tired of being in the dark, tired of having these big--and quite frankly smelly--men holding him back, and he was tired of being dragged around by these two thieves. "What help are you talking about?"

Clyde clucked disapprovingly at Captain Man. "He doesn't like our witty banter, my love." He whispered to Donnie, but it was one of those obnoxious whispers that is meant to be heard by everyone. "Straight to the point, I see. Well, if you must know, Donnie and I have recently come upon a very lucrative business offer."

Donnie nodded. "Very lucrative." He gestured to his outfit. "This is genuine leather, you know."

Henry rolled his eyes. His patience was wearing thin. "I'm very happy for you two. Really."

Clyde waved him off. "What do they know of fashion? I mean, seriously. Red and blue block colors? What is this--a pre-school color test?"

The couple went into another one of their laughter spells, but Donnie quickly regained his composure.

"We digress." He stated, shaking his body as if to refocus. "We have called you here, on this lovely afternoon, to inform you that big things are at play."

"Things we can't disclose just yet," Clyde added, holding a finger up to stop his partner from revealing too much. "But rest assured, you two will be center stage for it all."

If Captain Man and Kid Danger had been confused before, they were completely lost now. Donnie and Clyde had explained nothing. All they did was give the superheroes half of the information, and it was the half that made more questions instead of answering the ones they already had.

Devices on Donnie and Clyde's belts beeped then, and they both jumped up from their seat.

"Ah, that would be our boss." Donnie said. "Duty calls, I'm afraid." He sighed almost as if he were sad to go. "We had to make sure our players are all in play, though, didn't we?"

"We'll be seeing you." Clyde promised with a secretive wink. They started to walk away, but Clyde turned back to address Captain Man and Kid Danger. "How's the neck by the way?" His gave a chilling smile that further proved he knew much that they didn't. "Ta-ta for now." He waved, and the pair walked away.

It made Captain Man and Kid Danger seethe to see the two criminals strutting away without a care in the world. They struggled against the men holding them back, but it was still to no avail.

The men couldn't hold the two forever though; they did have orders.

The large man holding Kid Danger suddenly let him go. Once free, Kid Danger immediately turned around to attack the big man, but the henchman had been expecting that. He sent heavy fist flying at Kid Danger's face.

"Kid!" Captain Man yelled when his sidekick fell motionless to the ground.

His henchman let Captain Man go then, confident that he wouldn't try to attack all four at once when Kid Danger was lying hurt on the ground. They were right.

Captain Man sent threatening glares in their direction, but he let them walk away. He ran over to Kid Danger, crouching down to make sure the kid was alright.

Kid Danger began to stir.

"Kid," Captain Man breathed, relieved to see him moving so quickly. "Are you alright?"

Kid Danger sat up with a groan and dropped his head into his hand. "That guy could really pack a punch."

Captain Man gave a dry laugh. "I know."

He looked around the park for the henchmen. "Where'd they go? You didn't fight all of them, did you?"

Captain Man shook his head. "No, I didn't." He side-eyed Kid Danger. "Though the lack of confidence is bit insulting." He helped his sidekick to his feet. "I let them get away so I could check on you."

Kid Danger nodded. He didn't blame Captain Man. Everything that had happened since they received that video call had been so unsettling; the only sure thing they had was each other.

Kid Danger swayed a bit on his feet, still a little disoriented, and Captain Man kept a hand on his arm to steady him. "I have so many questions." The sidekick admitted shakily.

Captain Man sighed deeply. "All I have is questions." He gave Kid Danger a light push. "Let's head back to the Man Cave and try to see if we can figure things out there. I'm tired of being in this park."

Kid Danger agreed. He almost felt sick to his stomach thinking about all that had happened--though some of that might have to do with the blow he took to the face. What unsettled him the most, what made him feel like the ground had been ripped out from under his feet, was the promise that bigger things--things revolving around the two of them--were to come.

What could that mean?

__________

"Are you okay?" Charlotte asked as soon as Henry and Ray made it down the tubes and had changed back into their regular clothes. She rushed to Henry's side to make sure he wasn't severely injured from the punch. "We saw everything." She turned back to Schwoz who was nodding grimly.

"Define okay." Henry muttered. He gently pushed away Charlotte's helping hands, assuring her that he was fine. "You guys heard what they said then, yeah?"

Charlotte nodded. "What does it mean?"

Ray shook his head, his jaw clenched. "We don't know."

The four of them were silent for a moment.

"What did they mean about your necks?" Schwoz asked then, a terrible thought beginning to form in his head.

Henry felt his neck where it had stung like a bug bite. "Ray and I felt like a bug bite us or something, but it was all too weird, you know? All that happens, and then the same bug bites us both? It's hard to believe that was just coincidence."

Charlotte knitted her eyebrows together. "So, what? Something stung you that wasn't a bug?" She could admit that the events that unfolded all seemed to be happening according to some underlying plan, but what was Henry implying? The bugs were in on it too? That seemed a bit too far fetched for her, a girl of rational thought.

"I know it sounds crazy, but what about what Clyde said? He asked us how our necks were. How could he have known about that?" Henry turned to Ray for support. "They weren't even there when it happened."

Charlotte held her hands up to try and calm her quickly spiraling friend. "I'm not saying your wrong, okay? All I'm saying is that we don't have enough information to be making any kind of conclusions just yet."

Henry used her gentle tone to help calm himself. If he wasn't careful, he would spiral into a panic attack. He took a few deep breaths in and out, centering himself.

Ray walked over to the control panel to bring up the video feed from their suits. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, but he figured maybe there was something there that they had missed. Ray couldn't rely on what he and Henry remembered in the moment; they weren't firing on all pistons then. They had been pretty shaken up before Donnie and Clyde ever showed up. No, he needed to review the information with new eyes--repeatedly.

Schwoz, all the while, remained silent, his premonition quickly looking more and more like a reality. He kept this realization to himself; he was worried what the information would do to his friends who were already under incredible stress. He would figure this one out on his own, and he wouldn't go to Ray or Henry about it unless absolutely necessary. Schwoz feared that outcome though; if there wasn't anything he could do about what he knew, then there was no hope.

Henry and Charlotte joined Ray in front of the video screen.

Ray was playing the part of the recording where Donnie and Clyde warned of big things in the near future. Ray paused the video. He was silent before slamming his fist on the table, making Charlotte jump.

"Who could they be working for?" He demanded to no one in particular. He got up from his seat, fearing that if he didn't get up and move or do something, his anger would find some destructive way out. "Why not just get us there? Why all the chit-chat and the secrets and the mind games?" He looked at Donnie and Clyde's faces on the screen. "I hope they know we're coming for them."

Charlotte watched Ray. She was worried. The only other time she had seen Ray so worked up was when Drex came back. This could only mean bad things for the team, and that realization didn't sit well with Charlotte.

Henry's eyes were glued to the screen. He heard their voices bouncing around in his head on a constant loop. Over and over again he heard them joke about what the future had in store for Captain Man and Kid Danger. Over and over again they laughed and taunted him.

His phone buzzed in his back pocket, jolting him back to reality; Jasper was calling him.

"Yeah," he answered, not tearing his eyes away from the screen. 

"Henry, why are you still at Junk 'n Stuff?" Jasper demanded, his tone harsh.

Henry was so focused on what had happened that Junk 'n Stuff and Jasper and his normal life seemed to exist in another world entirely. It took him a few seconds to remember what Junk 'n Stuff even was.

"Because I work here," he responded absently.

"You seriously don't know what I'm talking about?"

Henry almost laughed aloud at the irony. He wanted to snap at Jasper for making him play along with whatever it was Jasper was on about because it seemed so miniscule to what he had just experienced, but that wouldn't be fair. Jasper didn't know that Henry was near to having a nervous break down.

"No, man, I don't." He sighed, finally looking away from the screen. Jasper's anger at Henry seemed to pull him away from his problem.

"Are you sure? Is there nothing--or no one--coming to mind?" Jasper's tone made it obvious he was more than angry at Henry.

"Okay," Henry stopped him, rubbing a hand over his tired eyes. "This could obviously go on for awhile, so will you just tell me whatever it is that has you freaking out?"

"Elizabeth, Henry. You were supposed to be picking my cousin up an hour ago." Jasper fumed.

Henry's jaw fell open. Crap. It had totally slipped his mind. He had forgotten all about picking her up from the airport--though with good reason. Up until just then, Henry had forgotten she existed. He felt ten times worse when he remembered it was now raining.

"Oh God, Jasper, I'm sorry. I completely forgot about Elizabeth." He drug a heavy hand down his face. He wasn't sure how much more he could take today. Charlotte looked up at him sympathetically.

"Don't apologize to me." Jasper snorted. "Elizabeth is the one who's been standing in the rain for an hour." Henry could tell he was going to have to spend awhile making this up to Jasper, but he couldn't worry about that now; his plate was already full.

He grabbed his jacket, put it on with one hand seeing how he was holding his phone with the other, and found his book bag where his car keys were. "Okay, I'm on my way now. Tell her I'll be there in fifteen minutes tops."

Henry couldn't see him, but Jasper was shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm sure she won't mind waiting fifteen minutes more. It's not like she's cold and wet or anything."

Henry closed his eyes. "Jasper, I said I was sorry. Ray and I were fighting some criminals, and I got sidetracked. What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing," Jasper sighed. "Just--Just go pick Liz up."

"I am." Henry reiterated.

"Yeah, now." Jasper muttered.

"Jasp--" Henry's phone beeped. "--per."

He slid his phone back into his back pocket. He didn't bother saying bye to anyone in the Man Cave; he knew it wouldn't have mattered. Ray was finding some way to vent his anger. Schwoz had disappeared to God knows where--he went to work on his theory in private--and Charlotte was watching the video feed again. None of them would've heard him anyway

He got in the elevator and pressed the button to go up.

Henry hoped that whoever Liz was, she was a lot more understanding than Jasper had been and that she wouldn't be too harsh on Henry for forgetting her.

He wasn't sure how much more emotional stress he could handle before he shut down completely.

__________

"Again, I am so sorry about--" Henry gestured to both his and Liz's soaked clothes and wet hair. "Well, everything."

Elizabeth chuckled. "Don't sweat it. I needed to wash my hair anyway."

Henry smiled, relieved to find that Elizabeth was the forgiving type. He had felt horrible when he pulled up to the airport and found her completely drenched and alone. She didn't even have an umbrella. Fortunately for Henry, she wasn't one for public ridicule or holding grudges; she had merely thanked Henry for picking her up and helping her with her bags.

She didn't know it, but Elizabeth had helped Henry cope with today's stress. She had been kind and forgiving and level-headed in the midst of chaos, and that was Henry's life line.

Henry opened his front door, letting Elizabeth walk in front of him while he grabbed her bags. She hadn't brought much--just one small suitcase and an even smaller carry-on.

"This is my house." Henry stated once he was inside and had shut the door. He put Elizabeth's bags at the foot of the stairs. "There's a guest bedroom upstairs."

She nodded. "Cool deal." She looked around the living room of the Hart house and whistled appreciatively. "Nice digs you got here."

"Thanks," Henry noticed she was rubbing her hands up and down her arms. "Hey, do you want a towel or a dry shirt or something?"

Elizabeth felt goosebumps break out over her exposed legs and arms. "Yes, please," she urged.

"Alright, I'll go get that." He looked into the kitchen where Piper was sitting at the table on her phone. He was wary of introducing Elizabeth to his little sister, but he also knew it would be rude not to. "That's my little sister Piper, if you want to go talk to her." He started to go up the stairs, but he turned back to his guest. "Be careful, though. Her bark is just as bad as her bite."

"Oh?" Elizabeth inquired, turning to look at the little girl too absorbed in her phone to notice that a stranger had even walked into her house. "I'm sure I'll be just fine."

Henry wasn't so sure, but he admired her confidence and left to change and get her a towel.

Elizabeth looked around the house again, admiring how homey it all felt. She was cold from being wet, but the Hart house seemed to have a warm glow to it that made that cold not so bad. She liked it.

She made her way into the kitchen, stopping near where Piper was sitting.

"Hey," she said.

Piper, hearing a voice she didn't recognize, jumped suddenly and turned to see who was currently in her house.

She sized the wet girl up. "Who are you?"

Elizabeth took Piper's tone into account with the warning Henry had given her. "I'm Elizabeth, Jasper's cousin." She held a hand out. "You can call me Liz, though."

Piper looked at her hand but didn't extend one in return. "I'm Piper, but you can call me Piper." She went back to her phone.

Liz smiled, liking this little girl's spunk.

She looked over the papers and books laid out in front of Piper. "What're you doing?"  

Piper didn't even look up from her phone. "Homework," she snapped.

Liz ignored Piper's attitude. She held back a retort about how it looked to her more like Piper was avoiding it rather than doing it. "What kind of homework?"

Piper gripped her phone a little tighter. She didn't like all these questions--especially by some girl she had just met. Piper didn't even know what this "Liz" was doing in her house, dripping water all over the floor.

She set her phone down, narrowing her eyes at the stranger. "What exactly are you doing in my house?"

Liz was once again unmoved by Piper's brashness (this infuriated Piper who was so used to being feared). "Henry and your parents are letting me stay here while I'm in town visiting Jasper and my Aunt and Uncle."

Piper was hacked off no one had asked her if she was okay with a house guest--especially one related to Jasper--but she let it slide. "Why don't you just stay at Jasper's then?"

Liz picked up one of Piper's papers and studied it. "My cousin's parents are...strange, for lack of a better word. They don't allow guests. Your brother's probably never even been to Jasper's house before." She grabbed a few more of Piper's homework papers. "Do you want help with this?"

Piper was fuming over the fact that she now had no way to easily get rid of this girl, but Liz's offer to help her with her homework derailed her.

"What?" She asked.

Liz held the papers out to Piper. "Do you want help with your physics homework?"

Piper raised an eyebrow. "How do you know physics? My brother isn't even taking physics."

Liz smirked. "I think the better question is how do you know physics?" She grabbed the textbook and looked to Piper with her eyebrows raised. "So, are we doing this or what?"

Piper narrowed her eyes at Liz but accepted her offer of help anyway. Maybe this "Liz" wasn't so bad.

They had finished over half of Piper's physics homework--which she had stopped doing because she didn't understand it and had no one to help her--when the watch on Liz's left wrist beeped.

Piper cocked her head to the side. "My brother has a watch that beeps just like that."

Liz looked down to her watch and quickly smacked a hand over it, hoping to block the noise. She smiled to cover the strange reaction. "I have to make a phone call. Is there anywhere I can go for privacy?"

Piper thought she was acting strange all of a sudden--and that it was weird that someone else had a watch like Henry's--but she pointed to the front door. "My brother makes all his phone calls on the front porch."

Liz nodded, easily composing herself. "Then I'll go on the back porch."

"But it's raining," Piper pointed out.

"Can't get any more wet than I already am." Liz shrugged and got up from her seat to walk out to the back porch.

Piper thought this girl was definitely strange, but she had helped her with her homework when no one else could, and for that she was grateful.

Liz walked away from the windows and checked to make sure no one was around to see or hear her before she pressed a button on the side of her watch.

A life-size hologram of a man dressed in a freshly pressed black suit projected out of her watch and onto the ground in front of her. Liz straightened her posture as she addressed the man.

"Sir," she greeted.

The man had no expression. "You're late." He stated.

Liz cringed ever so slightly. "I know, and I apologize. There were...complications upon my arrival."

The man quirked one eyebrow--the only movement on his face besides his mouth. "Complications? I hope nothing went wrong." When he said hoped, what he really meant was that there better not have been anything wrong.

"No, sir," Liz quickly assured. She wouldn't let her boss believe she was incompetent. "Everything is fine. I just arrived at my host family's house."

The man nodded, "And what of the two superheroes?"

"To be determined." She answered. She knew he was looking for more information, but she had none to give. Closer inspection would be needed. "I could only see so much of the video feed while waiting at the airport."

"Then I expect you'll continue with the task entrusted to you." He paused to let the warning in his voice take effect. "Big things are ahead. All players must be in place."

"Yes, sir. I understand." She held her hand up to salute him one more time. "Dunlop out."

With a nod, the hologram of the man in the suit folded up and disappeared back into Liz' watch.

Once her boss was gone, Liz visibly relaxed. She even let her shoulders sag. She was tired from her long flight from California, and meetings with the boss always sucked whatever energy she had right up.

She only just realized she was standing in the rain.

She straightened her soaked clothes up, plastered on a fake smile, and prepared to walk back into civilian life, all the while thinking of those two superheroes whose roles in the near future would be crucial.

__________

Henry expected to come downstairs and have to pull Piper off of Liz, but when he made it to the kitchen, he found Piper alone at the table.

"What did you do to her?" He asked immediately, expecting Piper to say she scared the girl all the way back to wherever she had come from.

Piper looked away from her phone and to her brother with a furrowed brow. "Who?"

"Elizabeth, Jasper's cousin." Henry groaned loudly. Piper had definitely chased her away. Now what would he tell Jasper? As if he needed another thing to worry about. He looked around the house and found that her bags were still there.

Oh God, did Piper kill her?

"It's Liz."

Henry snapped his attention back to Piper. "What?"

Piper sighed and set her phone down. "Her name is Elizabeth, but you can call her Liz." She held up her completed homework. "And she helped me with my homework."

Henry didn't know what to say. Did Piper actually like someone? Someone related to Jasper, of all people?

"So, you like her?" Henry hesitated, not believing it be true.

Piper shrugged. "I don't know about like. I've only known her for five minutes." She collected her homework and got up from the table. "She's not entirely horrible."

Henry smiled, and it felt like a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders. Finally, something had gone right today.

"You have no idea what that means to me." He breathed. Piper gave him a weird look, not understanding the emotional turmoil Henry had experienced. Henry, the smile still on his face, looked around the kitchen. "Where is Elizabeth--I mean Liz?"

Piper pointed to the back porch. "She had to make a phone call."

Henry looked out the window and saw it was still raining. "On the back porch? In the rain? Why?"

"I don't know, Henry. Why do you make your calls on the front porch?"

"Touche," Henry conceded, though Piper didn't know he went on the front porch for privacy to keep his secret identity just that. Why Liz went on the back porch was strange to him, but he also knew it wasn't his business.

Piper had all her stuff collected in her arms and was on her way upstairs when she stopped. "She has a funny watch like yours, though."

"What?"

"Her watch," Piper explained. "It beeps like yours." She turned and continued up the stairs.

Henry thought that was definitely strange, but he was not going to let himself look too far into it. He wasn't going to ruin the one thing that had gone right today. He wasn't going to go looking for problems where there wasn't one.

Liz walked into the house then, more wet than before, but with a wide smile on her face. "Sorry about ducking out for a minute there." She apologized. "I had to call my mom and let her know I made it in okay." She looked at her wet clothes. "Well, mostly okay."

Henry laughed, running a hand through his own wet hair. "Sorry again for that. You wouldn't believe the day I had at work." He sighed, glad that the Liz situation had worked out, in the very least.

"Tell me about it." Liz muttered. "Are those for me?" She pointed to towel and clothes in Henry's hand.

Henry looked down at the stuff in his hands. "Oh, yeah. I got you a towel and one of my old hoodies." She raised her eyebrows at the hoodie. Henry laughed uneasily. "No, I don't mean--I just figured you had your own clothes, but maybe you were cold. If you don't want it, I'll under--"

"It's great, really." Liz smiled, accepting the hoodie. "Thank you, not just for this--" She lifted the towel and hoodie. "Thank you for letting me stay at your house. It means a lot to me to be able to see Jasper."

Henry shook his head. "It's no big deal, honest. My mom loves having people to take care of." He thought of Jasper. "You should probably call Jasper though. He was pretty mad at me for leaving you in the rain."

Liz nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that--but dry clothes first."

Henry smiled. "The guest bedroom is up the stairs, first door on the right. The bathroom is right across the hall."

She smiled and left him to go up the stairs.  

Henry watched her go thinking that Jasper was right; she was pretty. Of course, that's as far as Henry let that thought go. Her arrival had been the most uncomplicated thing he had faced today; he was not going to muck that up by trying to start some pointless relationship that would only last the length of spring break. He could handle being her friend, nothing more.

And Henry had a feeling she was going to be a great friend to have.

Liz walked up the stairs thinking about how sweet Henry was. Cute too--not that she was interested. She wasn't one to go trying to date anyone she even remotely found attractive. She was content having attractive people as just friends. Nothing wrong with that--except she wasn't here to make friends. She was here to make sure everything went according to plan.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, thinking her boss could deal with her making some time for her favorite cousin.

__________

A/N Part 2: Phew, that was long, but I enjoyed writing it, you better believe. It's a complete 180 from my last fic (lolol). None of my children are having a good time this go round. Oops. I like this kind of stuff though. The suspense. The mystery. The bigger the stakes, the better. What did you guys think of Donnie and Clyde?(see what I did with that one? hd likes to play on popular things, so I joined in. Ert and Bernie anyone?). I loved creating their dialogue. It was so fun! What about their boss and this big plan for CM and KD??? What about Liz? Love her? Hate her? Don't know yet? Don't care? lol How do you think she fits into all of this? Let me know what you think!!! xoxoxo