Chapter One

Dystopia was so much different from Swellview. While Swellview was suburban, sunny, and friendly, Dystopia was dark, urban, and gritty. The city was dark and thick with smog and the criminals were much more aggressive and deadlier than the ones back home. Even worse, the cops were crooked too, so it was up to the team of new superheroes to deal with all the crime. Henry Hart was happy that he had his friends with him this time, with Charlotte having her cyborg abilities and Jasper just being Jasper when he was awake, they were quintessential in keeping Henry sane while in the city.

He'd messed up already in the city, so much so that he even ran away back to Swellview to escape Blackout and impending death - which only ended well thanks to the Danger Force kids. Since his last disappearance, Charlotte refused to let him out of her sight for more than an hour, and in that hour, Jasper had to watch him. It was now time for Jasper to watch him and thankfully, because he was Jasper, Henry was easily able to escape his watch and head home for some much needed sleep. Their base was located in the heart of Dystopia and they had built a makeshift apartment building on top of it, essentially having them eat, sleep, and breathe crime fighting. And Henry absolutely hated it, he hated it so much that he secretly rented an apartment a block away just so he could have a space to himself where he wasn't a superhero. He was just...Henry Hart. He grinned to himself when he saw the old dingy door, going up to it and sticking the key in to unlock it. As he turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, his face fell and his heart sank to his stomach.

"Welcome home, Henry," Charlotte said with a pointed look, sitting right on his old couch as if she lived there herself. The tall blond sighed heavily and pushed the door closed behind him as he walked inside.

"What are you doing here? How did you even get in here?!"

"Oh, Henry, you know I have my ways," she teased, earning an eye roll from her friend, "But I should be asking questions. What the hell is this?!"

"I needed a break..." he mumbled as he walked past her to the small kitchenette.

"Was your escape to Swellview not enough of a break?!"

"Honestly? No," the blond retorted, genuinely catching the young woman off guard. She stood up and turned to look at him as he sighed and sat on the counter, "I...I'm tired, Char. This place is...heavy. Heavier than Swellview. Everyday, every minute you look at your arm and there's a new crime happening and we have to go fight it because the police do fuck all here! I just...I needed an escape."

Charlotte sighed heavily. She wanted to argue with him but she could see in his face how tired he was, and truthfully, she was tired too. She loved being a hero, she loved saving people and fighting off bad guys, but she also missed when she was a mostly normal teenager. She was a little bit more used to Dystopia than Henry and Jasper were, she knew what a gritty place it was, and she knew it would take a toll on them eventually. She walked over to her exhausted friend and leaned against the counter next to him, silent for a moment before she sighed and leaned her head back.

"This place is a mess," she said, causing Henry to let out a dry chuckle.

"I just use it to sleep and play video games," he admitted.

"Goodness, I can tell!" the shorter female exclaimed before turning to look up at her friend, "Listen, I get it. I do. I'm sorry I've been so hard on you, it's just that when you ran away to Swellview, I...I was scared."

The blond snorted and looked away from her, "I was more in danger here with Blackout looking to eat my soul."

"Yeah, but at least you would've been here with me," she spoke softly, causing Henry to look down at her. She was looking down now, her hair in colorful box braids that were tied up in a neat bun atop her head, "I was scared you weren't gonna come back and I was gonna lose my best friend. You wouldn't even talk to me while you were gone..." She took a step back as Henry jumped down from the counter, feeling him grab her arms and causing her to look up at him.

"Hey...I'm sorry. I fucked up, and I was scared, and honestly...I felt bad that I put you and Jasper in that situation. I shouldn't have ran, and I should've talked to you." Charlotte sighed, her eyes looking everywhere else for a moment before locking with his brown eyes. She gave him a half smile and smacked his chest.

"Yeah, you should've."

"Ow!" Henry cried out dramatically as he held his chest, "Don't hit me with the cyborg arm!"

"Shut up!" She laughed, the air light again and comfortable like it always was with Henry. She looked around the place once more before looking at the tall male again. He had grown up so much while they were friends, but he seemed to grow more while they were in Dystopia. He cut his hair, sporting a close buzz cut now that was really quite attractive on him. He didn't wear as much flannel as he used to, now rocking fitted tees and turtlenecks with either a leather jacket or jean jacket combo and fingerless gloves. He wasn't as big and muscled up like Ray was, but he was toned and had a great body thanks to all the fighting he had to do. He was still her best friend but...something was just different about him.

"Okay," Charlotte sighed as she started, "you can stay here. But you respond to my texts and answer my calls when you get them," she said with a stern look, earning a smile and nod from the blond.

"Deal."

"You got this apartment so you have to take care of it-"

"Dude, duh! I've already been taking care of it!" he scoffed.

"Wash dishes, clean the floors, dust for spiderwebs-"

"Already doing that!"

"Wash your damn laundry..." Charlotte said with a pointed tone, folding her arms across her chest and eyeing her best friend as his face fell.

"Okay, that's gonna be a problem. I hate doing laundry." The two of them shared a laugh before they were cut off by an alert coming from Charlotte's arm. She looked at it, her brown skin moving back and revealing a screen that displayed a location and description of an ongoing crime.

"Armed bank robbery..." she sighed and looked at Henry, seeing the apprehension on his face. He was so tired, they all were, but he was completely exhausted, "Listen, Jasp and I will handle this one just this once-"

"Oh, thank you!" he exclaimed, squeezing her with a big tight hug.

"Just this once, Henry!" she warned him with a strained voice as he hugged her, finally able to breathe once he let her go. She smoothed out her clothing and looked at him, "Get some rest, okay? Because this is the last time."

He nodded firmly and gave her a thumbs up as he walked her to the door. "Will do!"

"The last time, Henry!" she warned him with a stern look as he pushed her out of the doorway, "Last. Time!"

"Have fun!" He gave her a big smile before slowly closing the door in her face and pressing his ear against the cool wood. He could hear her frustrated breathing before she finally stormed away angrily, earning a soft chuckle from Henry. He was incredibly grateful for his friends, especially Charlotte Page.