Work Text:
Here is the English translation of the fanfiction, ready for AO3:
The hum of the monitors was the only sound filling the emptiness of the Man Cave. Henry was shoving his last t-shirt into his canvas duffel bag, his movements stiff and mechanical. He just wanted to leave. The night he had spent with Ray, a week ago, was supposed to be a final goodbye, a moment of weakness born of alcohol and nostalgia, destined to be buried forever.
"Henry, wait."
Ray's voice trembled slightly, but there was a feverish edge to his tone. Henry stopped without turning around, his hands anchored to the edges of the bag.
"There's nothing to wait for, Ray," Henry replied, his voice flat, devoid of any emotion. "I have a flight to Dystopia in two hours. What happened was a colossal mistake. Forget it."
"I can't," Ray countered, taking a step forward. The older hero's breathing was erratic. "Henry... there's a problem. A huge problem."
Henry zipped the bag shut with a sharp yank and turned around, his eyes narrowed into two cold, piercing slits. Ray's expression was a perfectly orchestrated mask of panic. Wide eyes, defensive posture.
"What did you do this time?" Henry hissed, crossing his arms.
Ray swallowed hard. "I'm... I'm pregnant, Henry. I'm expecting a child. Ours."
The silence that followed was so heavy it felt solid. Henry stood frozen, his face like stone, processing those words. Then, he let out a bitter laugh, a hollow, humorless sound. "Are you insane? You're a man, Ray. And you're indestructible."
"Schwoz ran some tests," Ray rushed to say, raising his hands defensively. "He said it was an anomaly! An interference between my powers, my DNA mutation, and some old alien radiation left in the lab. When we... well, that night... it triggered a reaction. It was a damn, absurd accident!"
Ray looked at him with feigned desperation, silently pleading for understanding.
**No one would ever know the truth.** Ray would take that secret to his grave. There had been no anomaly, no random accident. He had forced Schwoz to temporarily alter his biology weeks ago, planning everything down to the smallest detail. He knew Henry would drop by for a final goodbye, he knew how to make him cave, and he knew that a child was the only chain strong enough to keep the great and noble Henry Hart in Swellview. But telling him would mean total destruction. He had to play the victim of the situation.
Henry, however, didn't soften. He stared at him with a look that oozed deep, visceral disgust. He didn't know about the genetic manipulation, but he knew Ray Manchester better than anyone else. He knew his desperate, pathetic dependency on him.
"An accident," Henry repeated, the syllables dripping with venom. "That's fascinating, Ray. Really. Every time I try to cut you out of my life, the universe—or your absurd existence—finds a way to vomit an 'accident' on me that forces me to stay."
"Do you think I wanted this?!" Ray lied, raising his voice in a fake burst of anger. "Do you think I want to find myself in this absurd situation? I'm terrified, Henry! I need you. It's the two of us, us against—"
"Shut up," Henry interrupted with a voice so icy it chilled the blood.
Ray froze, silenced.
Henry took a step forward, towering over him with his presence. There was no trace left of the kid who once hung on Captain Man's every word. "Spare me the desperate partner act. Whether it's a scientific miracle or Schwoz's usual negligence, the result is the same. But don't you dare turn this into some romantic or team-building moment."
Henry ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tight with tension. He knew he was trapped. His damn moral compass would never allow him to abandon his child, even if it was growing in the womb of the man he wanted to leave behind the most.
"I'll unpack," Henry finally spat, without looking him in the face. "I will take responsibility. I'll buy an apartment in the city and pay for everything this child needs."
Ray's heart leaped in triumph in his chest, but he kept his distressed expression. "Henry, the Man Cave has plenty of space, we could—"
"You don't understand," Henry silenced him, turning to him with an expression full of total, unappealable contempt. "I will be a father to this child. But you and I are nothing. I won't live here. I won't help you with your missions. And I will never touch you again, not even by mistake."
Henry grabbed his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and headed for the tubes.
"You managed to keep me in Swellview, Ray," Henry said, before grabbing a gumball from his pocket. "I hope that's enough. Because it's all you're ever going to get from me."
A flash of blue, and Henry disappeared, leaving Ray alone. He had won. He had gotten what he wanted. But the echo of Henry's contempt rang through the cave, reminding him that his victory tasted like a bitter sentence.