Ray knew he shouldn't have bragged. He knew he shouldn't have. And now Henry's after him. Brainwashed.

He shouldn't have bragged.

Requested by: @fanfixfanatic

"Hey, Henry," Ray grinned as he saw Henry on the couch in the Man Cave. Henry sat there sullenly, ignoring him. "Come on, you're not still on about Drex, are you? I think that part is over now."

"Over? Over?" Henry snapped. "It's barely even started, Ray! Why didn't you tell me? Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, Henry," Ray replied. "I've got to trust you, you have my back most of the time when we fight."

"No, Ray, not that. I meant with words. With words, Ray," Henry said shortly. "Why didn't you tell me about Drex?"

"Because I knew this is how you would act!" Ray shouted. "He's an awesome guy! At least, before I found out he had a dark side. He's a really good fighter, Henry. But I wouldn't expect you to know what good fighting is like."

Henry looked at him, shocked. Why did he say that? What did he mean? Did he mean that Drex was better than him?

No. Drex was evil. Henry wasn't. Ray was just saying that stuff because he wanted him to be jealous. Yeah. That was it.

"What, so you're saying I'm a bad fighter now? Geez, Ray, thanks a lot," Henry said sarcastically.

"Well, maybe I am!" Ray yelled back, getting worked up. "Drex is obviously better at fighting, you should've guessed!"

Henry looked at him with a hurt expression. "Drex is better. Alright. I get it. I just thought that you'd be glad that I, at least, stayed on your side."

Ray glared at him. Henry walked out of the room, going up the elevator to Junk N' Stuff so he could begin walking home.

"I'm home," he called out tiredly, not bothering to check that his cuts and bruises were hidden like usual.

"Henry!" Mrs. Hart said in shock. She immediately ran over to hug him. "Are you okay? You look like you've been fighting with someone."

"I'm fine," Henry yawned. "'Spose I'm just tired. I'll go to bed."

"But - Henry - it's only half thr-" she began to shout, before realising that Henry's door was shut and he couldn't hear her anymore. "Is he okay?" she asked her husband quietly.

"I hope so," he whispered back. "Haven't you noticed? He's seemed more... tired than usual."

"MOM!" Piper yelled. "Mom! Dad!"

"What is it, sweetie?" Mrs. Hart asked.

"The WiFi is terrible in my room. And Henry's not answering me when I'm asking to borrow his charger," Piper replied, glaring at nothing in particular.

"Piper-" Mr. Hart began, before Piper interrupted.

"His chargers better than mine!"

"Piper, just let your brother sleep, okay?" Mrs. Hart continued where he left off. "He's tired, Piper."

"But Mom - Dad - he's not waking!" Piper insisted. "Look!"

Without another word she dragged them upstairs into Henry's room, where he had, indeed, collapsed onto his bed, fast asleep.

"Have you ever thought that he's just really tired?" Mr. Hart said.

"Nobodies that tired that as soon as they see their bed they fall asleep immediately!" Mrs. Hart protested.

All of a sudden, Henry's watch started beeping. Three times, then it stopped. Then three times again. Stop. Three times. Stop.

Henry groaned and woke up to the stares of his family. "Hey," he mumbled. "I'm jus' gonna go t' Junk N' Stuff now. Bye."

"No, Henry, you spend too much time at that work place of yours. You should really get some sleep," Mrs. Hart said worriedly.

"Don' worry," Henry slurred. "I'm gonna b' back by nigh'."

"Henry, you... sound tired," Piper spoke up reluctantly.

"Nah. 'M fine," he muttered. "Bye."

Without another word, he left the room, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He ran out of the house and shut the door, answering the call.

"Wha', Ray?" Henry asked.

"Woah, Hen, you look tired," Ray smiled like they hadn't had a fight half an hour ago.

"Maybe 'cause I am?" Henry said sarcastically. "Wha' d'you want?"

"Me and Schwoz found Drex!" Ray exclaimed.

Henry felt himself waking up more at that statement. This is my time to prove myself to Ray that I'm better than Drex.

"I'm coming."

He ended the call and - as quick as he could - ran to Junk N' Stuff, not noticing the worried looks of his family following him.

"Ray, I'm here!" Henry yelled as he stumbled out of the elevator.

"Hey Henry," Ray greeted.  "What's up?"

"Er... you said that you found out where Drex was."

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that!" Ray laughed sheepishly. "Schwoz and I found him, look over here."

Henry wandered over to the computers where Schwoz was sitting. "Oh, yeah, look," Schwoz said.

Henry looked at the screen and saw a map. "No offence, guys, but how is this supposed to help us find Drex?"

"Well, Henry, I put a tracker on him during our last fight. If all goes to plan - which it has, otherwise you wouldn't be here right now - then Drex should appear on the map," Ray explained.

"...Schwoz told you all that before I came down, so you wouldn't look stupid, didn't he?" Henry said suspiciously.

Ray didn't answer, clearly saying that yes, Henry's right, he just doesn't want to admit it.

"Okay, so... Drex is that white dot, isn't he?" he assumed.

"Actually, that's the pizza guy. I've been keeping tabs on him. Five times he's forgotten or brought my pizza late. Five times!" Ray exclaimed. "No, the black dot is Drex."

"Oh yeah, I should have assumed. I mean, white is for angels and black is for devils, right?" Henry laughed at his own (kinda lame) joke.

"Actually, I was just thinking of two random colours. If I thought of that, the pizza guy would be black," Ray said seriously.

Henry just stared at him. "Let's go get Drex, then," he said. Ray nodded and they blew their bubbles and went up the tubes.

It was rather easy to find him, in the end. Henry had supposed that since Ray hadn't found Drex for a long time, that he'd be quite hard to find. Maybe he's good at hiding, Henry thought. But no, Drex was walking into the pizza shop, as though he were a normal person and not a super villain.

"Hey! Drex!" Henry shouted, glaring at him. Drex turned, as though he were confused. "Yeah, I'm talking to you. Don't pretend you don't know." Just so Drex knew for sure, Henry pointed at him.

"Oh. Kid Spanker. How nice to see you again - not!" Drex growled.

"You embarrassed me first, I just thought I'd return the favour," Henry shot back.

They quickly started fighting after that.

It was surprisingly easy to take him down this time. Henry didn't even need to bring his speed in to take him down like he had last time. It felt too easy...

And, of course, it was. Nothing can ever work out well for Henry and Ray.

Henry quickly grabbed Drex's arms and put them behind his back. "Try to guess where you're going. You've got three tries."

"... to get my pizza? I'm starving!" Drex joked (it was strange to hear a villain joking around, especially one who had a deep and frightening voice, but you can't judge a book by its cover).

"Nope. One strike."

"Prison," Drex hung his head, hiding a smirk.

"Got it right!" Henry cheered.

"But you've got it wrong," he answered, confusing Henry just enough so that he loosened his a grip a little, making Drex slip out and put Henry's arms behind his back.

"Try to guess where you're going. You've got three tries," Drex mocked in a higher pitched voice than he usually did.

"That's not how I sound!" Henry protested.

"Answer the question!" Drex ordered.

"With Captain Man," Henry answered confidently, hinting to Ray that maybe he could help him.

"Wrong!" Drex grinned. "One strike! I don't think you're gonna get it, so how about I just tell you, hmm? You're coming with me."

Those were the last words Henry heard before he fell unconscious.

- - - -

Henry groaned as he woke. What's going on?

His eyes refused to open. He was tempted to fall back to sleep, but a voice interrupted him from doing so.

"Wakey wakey little boy," it whispered in his ear. "Time to get up."

Henry groaned again. He forced his eyes open and winced at the bright light coming in his direction. "Turn it off," he mumbled, squinting at it.

"And why should I do that? It's not hurting me, and I don't believe it would hurt you. And I need it on. To make sure you don't escape."

Sure enough, Henry's eyes grew used to the light and he was able to stop squinting. He looked around him curiously, wondering where he was.

Then he realised who was standing in front of him. "Drex," he growled.

The man laughed cruelly. "You won't be saying my name like that soon," he whispered.

"What do you mean?" Henry asked, curious despite his current situation.

"Oh, you'll soon find out. Just... stare at the screen. It's not like you can't, after all, you're stuck to the pole!" Drex laughed maniacally and left the room, turning the screen on. It showed swirls going in all different directions.

"This looks like... that time when... I was brai-... brainwa-... brainwashe-..." Henry stuttered as the swirls began taking over his mind, making him loyal to Drex and only Drex.

Then - the swirls started speaking? Was that right? Or.. perhaps a pre-recorded voice. Yeah, that made more sense than swirls talking.

"Captain Man hates you."

Henry struggled to believe that. If he hated him, why didn't he just say so?

"He wants you to be hurt."

Ray wouldn't hurt him. At least, not on purpose. The love muffin was an accident!

"He wants you to be hurt emotionally. He wants you to feel the pain in your heart, not on your body."

Well... that could be true. Henry felt himself conceding into the voice, just a little bit. After all, he and Ray had had a fight and made him feel bad earlier.

"He doesn't care about you."

Yeah.

"Drex will look after you."

Drex was nicer than Captain Man.

"Kid Danger will destroy Captain Man."

Yeah. He destroys people he hates. At first, he destroyed villains. Now, he will destroy Captain Man.

"Kid Danger will listen to this message and immediately go destroy Captain Man."

He will go and destroy Captain Man.

His work here was done.

- - - -

"Kid Danger?" Drex called before Henry could leave. "You don't think that I'm just going to let you leave without a little... gift, shall we say?"

"Thank you," Henry replied, almost in a monotone voice.

"And also, Kid Danger? Make sure not to reveal yourself immediately to Captain Man. Be sure to... mess with his feelings," Drex ordered. "Pretend to be yourself for a while. Your old self, I mean. Your new one is much better."

"Yes, Drex sir," Henry answered, making his voice more like his usual. "Whatever you say."

Several minutes later, Drex has finished working on Henry. "This will help you. You're much faster now, which will help you dodge Captain Man's attacks. You are also much, much stronger, which means you can punch Captain Man and leave a mark that won't disappear in a moment, but several - and it gives him a bit more pain to deal with. You're also more pain intolerant. You can also say that you're more used to pain than you were originally, so you can deal with it better, so if Captain Man gets a lucky hit in, then it won't be as bad. Now, that's all. Go destroy Captain Man." Drex explained, smirking throughout the whole speech.

"Yes, Drex. I will remember all of those things," Henry replied monotonously.

Pretty soon, Henry was on his way to Junk N' Stuff, in his civilian identity, of course. He nodded at Jasper and went to the elevator, screaming as he went down, like usual. To keep the act up.

"Henry!" Ray cheered as he saw him, his smile lighting up. "I - I didn't think I'd see you again. Drex can be pretty harsh. How'd you get out?"

Ray looked at him, concerned when he saw the fake blood going through the sleeve of his shirt that Drex has put there to fool him (the concern, the smile, it's lies, all of it).

"Huh?" Henry said, looking up at him. "O-oh. I - er - don't really wanna talk about it."

"Oh, alright. Maybe later," Ray nodded understandingly (lies). "Well, let me come with you to where Drex is. You remember, right?"

"Do I have to go back there?" Henry spoke, purposefully making his voice seem younger and tearful, his eyes darting away from Ray, as though they were looking for a place to hide.

Ray didn't know what to say. Something horrible had plainly happened to Henry, the only problem was; what?

"You can just show me, kid, and then I'll go on my own, okay?"

Henry nodded shakily. "Okay." He hid a smirk. This was all coming to plan.

"So, were you even trying to find me?" Henry asked. "Or did you just come to the man cave and relax?"

"Me and Schwoz stayed up all night to find you," Ray said seriously. "You've been gone for a night and half a day. I got Charlotte to tell your mom that you were at a sleepover over at hers but you'd fallen asleep because you were exhausted and couldn't speak. Thank Charlotte," Ray smiled.

"Sure," Henry said sarcastically. "Yeah, I believe that."

"What do you mean, Henry? It's true," Ray exclaimed.

"Yeah, sure," Henry replied in the same tone as before. "I don't believe you."

"What? Why? It's the truth, Henry!" Ray yelled.

Henry didn't answer. He pretended to look away, and as soon as Ray had his back turned, he ran and punched him right in the back of his head.

"What - Henry?" Ray rubbed his head. "I'm okay. But why did you do that?"

"Why? Because you don't care, Ray!" Henry exclaimed angrily. He ran and shoved him over, with force. "You don't care what happens to me, unless it's something critical and you might not have your fighting partner anymore. Well guess what? I quit! And you know why? Because Drex showed me what you're really like."

"Henry... that's all lies! I promise!" Ray exclaimed, still in his position on the floor. "I'd never forget you, and surely you know that I freak out over every injury you get - well, apart from that bee when we made the livestream about the sickness thingy - but other than that, never!"

"Exactly my point, Ray. The small things hurt too!" Henry growled. For a moment, he seemed to hesitate, but then Ray mentioned the bees.

"Maybe I just gotta... tell him about the good things...." Ray mumbled to himself. "Hey, Henry!" he called as he dodged another shove. "D'you remember when... er... you wanted to become indestructible? I only said no 'cause I was afraid you'd get hurt while doing it. I was looking out for you!"

"That's... kinda true," Henry murmured, attacking Ray again, but the punch was noticeably lighter.

"And when we watched Drake and Josh and iCarly for, like, a whole weekend! That was fun, right?" Ray added.

"Yeah..." he breathed quietly. He made a wobbly kick, just about kicking Ray - but super lightly.

"And when I decided to make you my sidekick. I only did it because you seemed worthy, because I knew I could trust you. Don't betray me, kid. Please," Ray said, looking downcast.

Henry collapsed onto the floor, clutching his head in obvious pain. "Henry!" Ray yelled anxiously, going on his knees and holding onto him. "Kid, are you alright?"

"R-Ray?" Henry stuttered, looking up at him. "What happened?"

"Oh, Henry, you're back!" Ray grinned. Henry smiled back and hugged him.

"I don't know what happened, but whatever did, it's sure made you sentimental," Henry joked.

"Shut up, kid. Anyway, I've got loads to tell you," Ray smiled. "But first, how about we race to the most likely place Drex will be?"

"You're on, old guy!" Henry laughed, after they both blew a bubble and went up the tubes.

And that's it! Hope you enjoyed :). Sorry it took so long for it to come up :(. I tried. I also haven't slept for a while, so that might have something to do with it. But, finally, the tweaks are done (namely the ending, I just can't quite manage them) and this is out! Sorry again!

- RomioneAndHinny