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Henry was lying on his bed. The day before, as soon as he got home, he parked Ned's car, went upstairs, and crashed in his room.
The next morning, he got a message from Cecil. He called to say the GDA soldiers had dealt with Steven's goons and there was nothing to worry about.
Henry suddenly remembered he had school and called Cecil again to let him know that Rex was on standby and could talk if needed.
Cecil was thrilled to hear he had another super-soldier for his team and said he'd send someone to pick Rex up.
Henry got dressed and got ready for school. When he came downstairs, he saw his younger brother watching TV. His brother was always jealous of his powers—he wanted to be just like him. Unfortunately, he was just a regular human.
"Hey Henry," Wally greeted.
"Where's Mom?" Henry asked.
"She went out with Aunt Holly. Said she'd be back soon."
"What are you watching?" Henry asked, sitting next to him.
"Watching the heroes. One day, I wanna be like them," Wally said, pointing at the Guardians of the Globe.
Henry sat down beside him and replied, "I hope you never become one of them."
"Why not?" Wally asked.
"It's nothing."
The truth was, Henry didn't want his little brother to become a hero like him. Over the years, he'd seen too many bodies… and it never got easier.
"You're lucky to have powers. You could do anything you want," Wally said.
Henry looked at him and replied, "Just because I have powers doesn't mean I can do whatever I want. With great power comes great responsibility."
"What does that mean?"
"Maybe one day you'll understand," Henry said, ruffling his hair.
While talking to Wally, Henry got a notification on his phone—it was from Eve. She messaged to say her leg was almost healed and she could return to school. She still had a cast, but it didn't hurt anymore.
They exchanged a few messages, and Henry couldn't help but smile like an idiot. Wally noticed.
"Is that your girlfriend?" Wally teased.
Henry turned to him. "None of your business, Wally."
Wally kept poking fun, but Henry just sighed and kept texting.
"It might be hard for you to get around with your leg hurt. Want me to swing by and pick you up?" he asked Eve.
She was in her room getting ready when she read the message.
"Better not, Henry. I don't want to bother you. I'll just take the bus."
But Henry ignored that and replied, "Too late. I'll be there at 8."
"Wait, Henry!" she said, frustrated.
Eve mumbled to herself, "I didn't even agree to that…"
Her mom overheard and walked in. "Everything okay, Samantha?"
"Yeah, I just bumped my knee on the bed. It's nothing."
Her mom didn't seem convinced, but left and closed the door. Eve finished getting dressed.
After texting Eve, Henry messaged Ned to let him know he'd be using the car again.
"Hey, Ned. Gonna need the car again today. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. I trust you enough to lend it."
They ended up chatting about the company they had started—Valescorp Industries.
They'd invested all their money and built it from the ground up. Besides making games, they'd started buying up stocks that Henry believed would be profitable.
It wasn't an empire yet, but they had already made a name for themselves with a few hit game releases. Henry also began investing in future ventures.
Their stock kept rising, and they had started building a massive headquarters downtown.
Ned had hired a full administrative team—and plenty of security too.
After discussing some company management stuff with Ned, Henry ended the call.
He got ready, grabbed Ned's car keys, and headed out. As he opened the front door, his mom walked in.
"Hey, Mom," he greeted her quickly as he left. Eve was waiting.
"Bye, sweetie," she called after him.
The car was parked out front. He climbed in, turned the key, and the engine roared to life like a beast.
"This car's insane," Henry said, gripping the wheel. Technically, he was still underage and shouldn't be driving. But now things were different—he was rich and had direct contact with the leader of the most powerful organization on Earth. That meant the law barely applied to him anymore.
He could probably run someone over and the police wouldn't do a thing. Not that he ever would.
He hit the gas and took off.
His mom and brother stood by the door, watching. She placed her hand on her forehead and sighed.
"Let's go inside, Wally."
"I'm gonna have a car like that someday," Wally said.
"Maybe if you study hard. Now come in."
Henry drove the Lamborghini to Eve's house. It didn't take long.
Her house was modest—especially compared to the car he was driving.
He parked out front, stepped out, and walked up to her door.
Inside, Eve heard the knock. It was just her and her mom at home.
Using a crutch, she limped over to the door. Her mom was busy and didn't come.
She was wearing denim shorts, a yellow t-shirt, and a jacket over it. Her leg was still in a cast.
"Hey Henry," she greeted him, not noticing the car.
"Hey. How are you?" he asked.
They chatted a bit. Eve's mom appeared and was surprised to see Henry.
She was going to take her daughter to school but Eve explained she didn't need to anymore.
"It's good to see you, Henry. Take care of my daughter," her mom said.
"Of course," Henry replied.
"Mom, I'm not a little girl anymore," Eve rolled her eyes.
"Let's go, Henry," she said, stepping outside.
She hobbled forward and saw two cars: one was a beat-up compact, the other a Lamborghini easily worth over $300,000.
She walked up to the regular car and waited.
"Where are you going?" Henry asked.
"Waiting for you…" she said, confused.
Henry walked to the Lambo, pulled the keys from his pocket, and held them up.
Eve's jaw dropped. "Is that your car?"
He scratched his head. "It's a friend's… not mine."
"You didn't tell me you had rich friends."
Henry walked over and opened the passenger door for her.
"There's a lot I haven't told you," he said, helping her in.
After she got in, he closed her door and got into the driver's seat.
Eve was clearly amazed by the car.
They talked about all kinds of things on the ride.
"Mind if I turn up the music?" Eve asked.
"Go ahead."
Henry had both hands on the wheel and, with a bit of nervousness, asked,
"Once your leg heals… would you maybe want to…"
"Want to what?"
"Go out with me?" he asked, sweating.
Eve laughed and covered her mouth, trying not to giggle.
"It's not funny, Eve…"
"It kinda is," she said, still smiling.
They arrived at school—Reginald Vel Johnson High.
Henry parked and helped Eve out. As she stepped out, she turned to him with a playful smirk.
"I'll go out with you tonight if you want."
Eve's friends spotted her and rushed over.
She walked away from Henry with them, and as soon as they were a little distance away, they started giggling and gossiping.
Henry overheard everything they said about him—not that they said anything bad.
He stood by the car when another sports car pulled up—a black McLaren GT.
Ned stepped out and walked over.
Henry and the car had already drawn a lot of attention at school. Since they got rich, he and Ned had become pretty popular. Ned was no longer overlooked. Even if he was still overweight, he'd never have to work a regular job in his life.
"Hey Henry, how's it going?" Ned asked.
"Hey Ned, ready?"
"What'd you think of the car?" Ned grinned.
They walked toward class, chatting along the way.
"It's awesome. Oh—and guess what? I've got a date."
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