▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐞 ━︎━︎ 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐭 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐍 the red and blue couch, her algebra homework placed in front of her. The problems weren't too difficult to understand, which meant she'd be able to breeze through it and spend time with her dad before some bad guy decided to make their appearance. Ray walked past his daughter, glancing over her shoulder. "Algebra, huh?"

Rosanna glanced up, nodding. "Yeah. Shouldn't take me too long. I was hoping once I got done that maybe we could watch a movie or something."

"Of course." He ruffled her hair before sitting beside her, letting his music blast through the place. Rosanna rolled her eyes but continued her homework. The couch was moving around, but not enough for her handwriting to be messy. Her dad had a headset on, scrolling on his phone. She paused when the elevator door dinged. She glanced up and froze when she saw a boy trying to pull himself together from the harsh elevator fall. His blonde hair was all over the place and he was stuffing his phone into his pocket.

Rosanna watched him, her eyes widening in realization when she realized who he was. Henry Hart stood there, watching as the couch turned so that Rosanna and Ray were facing him. She kicked her dad hard in the shin. "Ow! What was the for?" Ray muttered. She nodded her head towards Henry. Ray turned to look at the boy. "Hey, how are ya? Cool. Thanks." He tossed the headset, the music coming to a stop as he stood, approaching Henry. "Great to meet ya. I'm doin' good. What's your name?"

Henry stuttered. "Um. . . I'm Henry Hart. I'm here about the job?"

Ray asked, "Age?"

"13. I'll be 14. . . on my next birthday."

"Hey! Same age as my Rosie." Ray pointed to her. "Looks like you might be making a new friend." Rosanna's cheeks shined crimson as she quickly looked away. "So, you're aging sequentially. I like that."

Henry glanced around, confused. "Thanks."

He held out his hand. "My name's Ray."

Henry shook his hand. "Hi, Ray."

Ray frowned. "You ask a lot of questions."

"I don't think I've asked any questions."

Ray walked behind him, spinning to face Henry and snapping his fingers. "Chocolate or Vanilla?"

"Vanilla."

"Helicopters or kangaroos?" Rosanna furrowed her brows at the random question.

Henry answered hesitantly, "Helicopters?"

"Love it!" Ray walked around him again. "Scrambled eggs or dynamite?"

"Both?"

"Maybe." Ray paused before continuing. "Complete this sentence. I'm sorry, mother, I didn't mean for this elephant to blank."

"Uh, lick dad."

They both started laughing before Ray's smile fell. "Oh that's not funny."

Henry grew serious. "No." Ray walked away from him and over to the desk where he could see the security cameras, news, basically anything he wanted. Rosanna's eyes widened as she watched her dad pull out his special gum, popping one in his mouth. Henry walked towards him as Ray sat down in the chair. "Um, is this, uh, the job interview?"

"Do you want it to be a job interview?" Ray asked.

"Um, what is the job?" Henry asked, glancing at Rosanna before looking at Ray.

Ray stood, moving towards him with a smile. "What do you think the job is?"

Henry struggled for words. "Uh, well, the ad said 'part-time helper'. So, I'm thinking maybe you need someone to. . . help you, you know, part. . . time."

Ray stood there, examining him before pointing a finger at him. "Do you ever dream about sleeping?"

Henry frowned. "No."

"Good! If you did, you'd be dead." Ray walked away again.

Henry turned to look at him. "I am so confused."

"David?"

"Henry," Henry corrected.

"Can I trust you?" Ray asked.

Henry nodded. "Sure."

"Can you keep a secret?" Ray asked causing Rosanna to look up. For the moment, she placed her homework to the side, her eyes darting between Henry and her father.

"Totally," Henry smiled.

"So I can trust you to keep a secret?"

Henry firmly nodded. "Yes, sir."

Ray stepped back, pointing to the chewing gum in his mouth. "I'm gonna blow a bubble."

Henry cocked his head to the side. "You're gonna blow a bubble?"

Ray laughed. "I'm gonna blow your mind." He blew a bubble and when it popped, his body glowed and when the glow went away he was standing in his Captain Man uniform.

Henry's eyes widened as he placed his hands to his head. "You're. . . you're Captain Man!"

Ray smirked. "That's right, Henry." He glanced down to see his zipper wasn't fully zipped. "Oh, hold on a second." He pulled at the zipper. "Stupid zipper. It always gets stuck!" He fought the zipper. "Sweetheart, mind helping me out here!" He shouted. Rosanna rolled her eyes and stood, walking over to him and easily zipping it up. Ray stared at her. "How do you do that?"

"Well, you grab the zipper and you pull it up." Rosanna replied, turning away and going back to her spot on the couch. Ray narrowed his eyes at her.

"I. . . I can't believe I'm standing here talking to Captain Man!" Henry exclaimed.

Ray smiled. "Why? Are you a fan? Do you like me? Most people like me, but not everyone."

Henry scoffed. "Yeah, I'm a huge fan!" He began digging in his pocket for his phone. "Oh, man, I've gotta tell Jasper about this!" Rosanna's eyes widened. "He's gonna freak when I tell him I'm standing next to Captain―︎ah!" Ray quickly zapped the phone from his hand. Henry looked at him with his mouth wide open.

"Sorry, but you can't tell your friends about this."

"Okay, but. . ." he leaned down, picking up his destroyed phone, "did you have to melt my phone?"

"I'll get you a new one."

Henry smiled. "Really?"

Ray shook his head. "No." He walked to the couch, taking a seat beside Rosanna. "So, Henry, tell me why you want a job."

"Well, you know, to. . . to learn responsibility and challenge myself."

Ray translated. "So you want money."

Henry caved. "Lots of money."

The elevator dinged and the group of three turned their heads, watching as someone who was dressed like an old woman walked in. Rosanna scoffed at the horrible costume. The man-dressed-woman asked, "Oh, is this the ladies room?"

Ray fell for it. "No ma'am. You're not supposed to be down here."

The person looked around. "What an interesting place."

"Thank you, but I'm conducting a job interview, and you're very old, so could you please just get back into the elevator?"

"Oh, I'll just take me phone out of me purse and call me nephew."

"Great, and I'll just turn my back and look at something." Ray replied. Rosanna rolled her eyes.

Henry stared at the intruder, his eyes narrowing before he spotted the snake tattoo on the side of their neck. His eyes widened. "Captain Man!" Henry ran forwards, throwing himself at the man as he shot his blaster towards Ray. It him in the chest and Henry quickly began fighting the man. Rosanna quickly went over to her dad.

"Dad? Dad, are you okay?" Her eyes widened in panic as she turned to Henry, wincing as he got wacked with the purse and was shoved to the ground.

The man walked towards them, pointing the weapon at Ray. "Goodbye forever, Captain Man!"

Rosanna quickly jumped in front of her dad and just before the blast went off Henry jumped on his back, the blast barely missing as the weapon landed on the couch. Henry wrapped his arms around the man, pulling his wig down to cover his eyes. Henry jumped off the man's back, quickly opening the elevator door before shoving him inside and closing the door. Henry spun to face the two. "Captain Man!" Quickly he ran over and Rosanna moved out of the way. "Captain Man! Are you okay?"

Ray sat up. "Yep! Captain Man is always okay." He stood, placing an arm around the boy. The elevator door opened and the man walked out, taking the wig off his head. "Nice work, Boris."

Boris smiled, impressed. "The boy did good job."

Henry frowned, looking at Ray. "W-w-wait. You know him?"

"That's Boris. He works for me." Boris gave a two fingered salute.

"What?" Henry asked.

"How did you know he wasn't really an old lady?" Ray questioned.

"Uh, 'cause of the tattoo on his neck. I. . . I saw it on him up at the store. And his boobs are too wobbly."

Ray nodded. "True. Go get those under control." Boris saluted again before walking out. Ray lead Henry away from the couch. "Henry, you have a sharp eye. Good instincts. A nice shirt. And you're brave."

Henry smiled proudly. "Thanks."

"Do you know how to make sandwiches?"

"I do."

"Then you have all the qualities I'm looking for." Ray glanced at Roseanna who had a small frown on her face. He probably should've told her the plan. He'd let her yell at him about it later. He looked at Henry again. "You're the one, Henry."

Henry's brows raised. "The one to make you a sandwich?"

Ray laughed. "No. Well, yes. But, everybody gets old some day, even Captain Man. I can't do this forever."

Henry frowned. "Do what?"

"Protect our town, Swellview, from bad guys, bad things, bad smells."

"Bad smells?"

Ray snapped his head towards him. "You want to be horrified?"

Henry shook his head. "No."

"Watch this." He pulled out the remote, and on all six screens it showed the new bad guy, The Toddler. Rosanna knew what this was going to lead to. Her dad had been talking to her about it for months. He needed a new side kick. Rosanna had been a little offended that he hadn't asked her, but at the same time she understood. He couldn't protect Swellview and keep an eye on her at the same time. She grabbed her homework, standing up and walking out of the room.

She entered her room, the gray walls decorated with pictures of her and her dad. Moments that only she ever got to witness. Him being human and not a superhero. She walked over to her vanity, grabbing the photo that was gently wedged between the mirror and the wooden outline. She grabbed it, staring at it with a small smile. She was eight in this photo, chocolate covered her mouth and she was laughing at her dad who was making a funny face. It was a time where she could truly be a kid, a bad guy only popping up here or there. Now it seemed there was a new villain every day. It felt like she never saw her dad anymore.

Rosanna loved her dad more than anything. He meant the world to her and he was doing the best he could with what he was given. She knew that, of course she knew that, but she also knew that she had to grow up a little too fast. She quickly had to learn to take care of herself, to feed herself. She had to be an adult when she was only a kid. She'd fought for the responsibility, for the independence, because she knew her dad had more important things to focus on. But sometimes she wished she hadn't, sometimes she wished she could just be a kid.

She softly sighed, placing the photo back before sitting at her desk and finishing her homework. It didn't take long for her to finish her algebra and she decided to wait on English since it wasn't due until the end of the week. She walked out of her room, deciding to see how the sidekick thing was going, only when she walked out Henry was nowhere to be found.

"Did you scare him off?" Rosanna asked.

Ray turned to face her. "He's upstairs, getting rid of his friends." She hummed, taking a seat on the back of the couch. "So, how do you feel?"

Rosanna rose a brow. "About what?"

Ray scoffed. "About Henry being my sidekick, duh. What else?"

"Oh." Her face grew warm again, her heart pumping in her chest. "Uh, yeah, sure, whatever you think."

Ray narrowed his eyes. "Rosie, what's that look?"

Rosanna straightened. "What look?"

"That one. Why is your face turning red?"

The heat in her cheeks grew hotter. "Uh, I don't, I don't know what you're talking about. It's just hot."

"Oh. Good! For a second there I thought you had some crush on Henry or something."

Her eyes widened and she stuttered. "W-what? No! Of course not!"

"Well, that's great to hear. 'Cause you know the rules."

"Don't date the sidekick." They said it in unison and Rosanna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, dad, I know."

"You're too young to date. What am I even worried about?" Ray laughed.

Rosanna stared at him. "Dad, I'm 13, not two."

"So?"

"So. . . I'm a teenager, teenagers date, it's what they do."

Ray shook his head. "No. Not you. You're allowed to have a boyfriend when you're forty."

"Dad!"

"I'll probably be dead by then."

"Oh my God." Rosanna let out a groan. "You're insufferable sometimes, you know?"

Ray smiled. "I love you too, sweetheart."

Henry came back down and Ray instantly made him start trying on costumes. He sat on the couch and Rosanna sat beside him, except she sat on the back of it with her feet on the cushion. Both of them were eating a banana and Henry came out in the first costume. Rosanna scrunched up her nose. "That's hideous."

Ray scoffed. "You haven't liked a single outfit."

"Because they're all bad!" Rosanna exclaimed.

Ray rolled his eyes. "It is pretty bad. Alright, next!"

Henry went through three other costumes, one sparkled way too much, the next one was "too broadway" according to her dad, and the one after that was extremely tight. Rosanna swore she could see his bones. When he came out for a fifth time, the outfit looked almost exactly like Ray's, except the colors were swapped. Ray stood up. "Hey! I like it." He whirled to Rosanna. "Don't hate on this one." Rosanna held her hands up in surrender.

Henry nodded. "I like it, but it takes a lot of time to put on."

Ray pointed to him. "And that's why you'll need this special gum." He walked over to Henry, handing him a tube of glowing red and blue gum.

Henry held out his hands. "Special?"

"Read the instructions."

Henry turned the tube in his hands, finding the instructions. "Chew gum. Blow bubble. Fight crime."

"Now," He placed a device around Henry's wrist.

"What's this for?"

"It means we're engaged." Rosanna scoffed, but an amused smile pulled at her lips.

"What?"

"Nah, I'm just kidding." Ray stood up straight. "That's how I'll contact you."

"Well, why can't you just call me?"

Rosanna shrugged. "He has a point."

Ray said, "I melted your phone."

"Right!"

Ray explained the wrist band to Henry before making him raise his right hand and recite the mantra, the one that explained that he could never tell anyone he was Captain Man's secret sidekick. Henry repeated his words and Ray nodded. "It is done."

Henry smiled. "Feels good. I just have one question."

Ray sighed. "What?"

Suddenly, he pointed at Rosanna who instantly sat up straight. "Who's she?" Rosanna frowned. They'd went to school together for years and he didn't even know who she was.

"That is another thing." Ray said, walking towards his daughter. "You can never, ever, ever, tell anyone who I am because of her." Henry frowned. "Because if you do, not only will I be in danger, but she'll be in danger, and I can't have that. Henry, this is Rosanna, my daughter."

Henry's eyes widened. "Y-your daughter?! You have a daughter?! How did I not know you have a kid?!"

"No one knows." Ray sternly said, his voice deadly serious. "And I need it to stay that way."

Henry met her eyes and she managed a small smile. He firmly nodded, looking at Ray. "Understood."

Suddenly, the alarm began ringing and Ray instantly moved, clicking a button to talk to Gooch who sat at the front desk for Junk 'N Stuff. "What's up, Gooch?"

"Someone sabotaged the bridge of the Jandy River." Gooch informed.

Ray's eyes widened. "The bridge is down?"

Gooch nodded. "Affirmative."

Ray turned to Henry and whispered, "That means yes."

Henry whispered back, "Yeah, I got that."

Ray looked back at the screen. "Situation?"

"Cars in the water. Lives in danger."

"Understood." He clicked the button so that Gooch's face disappeared. "Phase two of The Toddler's plan. Let's ride."

"What? Ride where?" Henry asked.

Ray grabbed his things. "We've got people in the Jandy River that need saving. Come on!" He ran to the platform that the tubes came down on.

"You mean we're going there? Together? Like right now?"

"Yeah. Get under your tube." Henry did as he said. "Ready?"

"You boys have fun." Rosanna called. "Love you dad."

Ray smiled. "Love you too." He pressed the button on his belt, the tube surrounding him. "Up the tube!" He flew up the tube and Henry continued to stand there.

"W-what! I don't know how to. . ." He started jumping up like idiot and Rosanna chuckled in amusement.

"Hey, uh, kid danger." Rosanna called, smirking to herself at the made up name. Henry looked at her. "Press the button on your belt."

"Oh!" Henry did so and the tube came down. "Up the tube!" He went upwards leaving Rosanna in the room by herself. She pulled up the news, watching as her dad and Henry arrived on scene, quickly saving the peoples lives.

"And Ron, is it true that Captain Man wasn't working alone?" The news lady asked.

Ron nodded. "That's correct. It appears Captain Man has teamed up with a new sidekick who apparently goes by the name Kid Danger." Rosanna couldn't help it as she smiled to herself, turning off the news and pulling up her favorite show, The Office.

It wasn't long before Ray came back. "Hey, kiddo." He ruffled her hair as he walked by.

"How'd it go?" Rosanna called.

Ray smiled and looked at her. Rosanna looked over her shoulder at him. "I think this kid is gonna work out great."

"Good. He's a good kid."

"You know him?"

Rosanna shrugged. "Yes. Well, not really. We go to school together."

"Huh. Okay, well, I'm going to get changed and get this river water off of me, then I was thinking a movie?"

Rosanna beamed. "Sounds great." Ray smiled back before leaving the room.