Phoenix Rising (Henry Danger)

Chapter Four

Rated M!

Word Count: 1272

Trigger warnings are always applied!

Henry sighed, "I guess I couldn't put it off forever." Veronica shook her head,

"you don't have to go back. You don't even have to answer the SOS, send one of the Underground's vigilantes." The blonde shook his head,

"it's been a year already. I've dyed my hair black to avoid being recognized by citizens." Henry stood then walked over towards the warehouse's door. Just as he was about to leave Veronica stopped him,

"at least take someone from the Underground with you. You shouldn't have to be doing this in the first place, besides I'm sure Captain Man would appreciate the extra help." Henry nodded then turned to their training mats and shouted,

"Adam, you're coming with me!" The assassin-turned vigilante stopped training and walked to Henry's side. Adam asked,

"where are we going?" Henry held open the door for his friend then answered,

"the Man Cave, Captian Man needs our help." Adam frowned a little bit, all members of the Underground knew of Henry's hatred towards the superhero.

"After you," the teen said, Henry nodded and led the way to the place he spent most of his childhood.

As they continued throughout the city the two vigilantes used the cover of the night to jump from rooftop to rooftop undetected. "Are you sure about this Henry?" Adam asked when they stopped on the roof across the street from Junk 'N Stuff. Luckily when Captain Man sent his SOS it was well past midnight so the nightlife in the city was at a slow point. Henry turned to him and nodded,

"yes I am. Like I told V, I should've visited him sooner." The duo donned their masks then jumped down from the roof and made their way into the fake store. Henry couldn't help but feel nostalgic when he walked through the doorway into the shop...

Thirteen-year-old Henry Hart walked into the unsuspecting junk store for the first time. The man at the desk directed him to the back of the store so he took the hyper-elevator down to the basement. Henry remembered being so mesmerized by the Man Cave at first. The walls lined with computers, inventions, and weapons...

Henry blinked, bringing himself back to the present. He looked at the desk then said, "guess everyone's already in the Man Cave." The sound of footsteps entered the room and Henry turned around only to find himself staring at his replacement.

"Who are you?" The guy asked Henry smirked as he was unimpressed by the sidekick's display. Adam however, used his superpowers to summon icicles and aimed them at Kid Danger.

"I'm Ice age and that's Phoenix," the teen said introducing them. Henry saw a flash of recognition in Kid Danger's eyes. The superhero dropped his stance,

"The vigilantes, right?" Henry nodded, allowing himself to relax a bit. "We sent out the SOS to superheroes only." Henry couldn't help but laugh,

"How do you think we get out information? We hacked the Hero and Villain League databases months ago." Kid Danger didn't even try to hide his surprise, once he composed himself he showed them how to get to the Man Cave. As painful as it was, Henry could already tell this new kid Danger was better than he was in every way.

The elevator landed and the trio stepped out, Henry helped Adam up since the poor guy wasn't used to the super elevator quite yet. "Who are you?" Captain Man asked the superhero seemed a bit different compared to when the ex-sidekick last saw him a year ago. Henry hesitantly stepped forward with his hand outstretched, both Max and Adam seemed to be ready to defend him if Captain Man started a fight.

"I'm Phoenix, and he's Ice Age. We're two of the vigilantes protecting Swellview," Henry said shaking his hand as if it was for the first time. Captain Man nodded then released his grip saying,

"though I don't agree with your methods we need all the help we can get." Henry nodded in Max's direction then turned back to Captain Man. Henry then asked,

"What's infecting our city?" Captain Man turned to face the computers as he handed out files to all of the heroes and vigilantes in the room.

"The Maniacs..." Henry read aloud, both Max and Adam looked at him in response he shook his head warning them not to blow his cover. "They're Dr. Minyaks gang, right? Recruiting as many random citizens they want." Captain Man nodded then continued to lecture the rest of the group about how the Maniacs operate, Henry then blocked him out as the vigilante kept reading through the files.

"... and so when Dr. Minyak, the man who set fire to an innocent family's house one year ago, began to start causing trouble in the Underground I knew - " Adam interrupted him,

"hold up you're saying Dr. Minyak's been causing trouble in our Underground. Explain how that's even possible. Phoenix keeps the Underground in check, nothing gets past him." Henry closed the file shut and turned his attention to the group's conversations.

"Ad - Ice Age," Henry said correcting himself before he could give away his friend's civilian identity. The ex - sidekick continued, "no one can control the villains who are members of the villain league in Swellview." Henry saw Adam roll his eyes through his mask. Phoebe spoke up,

"Don't all supervillains follow the same rules?" Max chuckled then answered his twin,

"Pheebs, the villain league is different than the hero league. There are tiers, subsections, a whole mess of rules and laws. The most recent batch of villains that's been making their name and they don't follow any set of rules." A girl came in and Henry froze up, Charlotte Barton walked into the room of superheroes holding case files and coffee. He watched her eyes filter through the room, picking out the most obvious threat. She landed on him and Henry quickly busied himself with the case file he'd already memorized. Kid Danger broke the silence and everything resumed,

"Charlotte, meet Phoenix and Ice Age, both here to help us deal with the Maniacs." Henry nodded quickly, unlike his counterpart who shook her hand.

"J, what's his problem?" She asked looking at Henry. Henry frowned, he knew something about the new Kid Danger felt familiar but he wouldn't be able to tell what.

"J?" Henry asked Kid Danger turned to him,

"it's the first letter of my first name." Adam glanced at Henry, obviously worried about what was going on in Phoenix's head. Henry shot his friend a look that said don't worry about it. Then the sidekick took off his mask to reveal his secret identity. "I'm Jasper Dunlop, nice to meet you." Henry physically stumbled backward, Adam helped center him, Max took a step forward to help but Henry turned away too quickly for anyone else to react.

"I have to - " he managed to get out, " - go, I have to go." Captian Man looked concerned,

"Are you okay?" Henry turned around to answer,

"I'm fine Ray," he sneered, "leave me alone." Phoenix escaped the Man Cave through the tubes, Captain Man still had Henry's voice logged into the Man Cave's computer system. Once he hit the surface Henry switched to his Phoenix persona, fueled by anger and resentment Henry challenged any villain he came across, no matter who it was.

Notes:

Should I cross-post this on my Fanfiction.net or Ao3? Let me know if you guys would prefer to read this on one of those sites instead or on all three.

~RandomNerd3