Shades of Gray

Dan

Dan closed his eyes and felt the soft fingers brush the hair out of his eyes. 
"Henry?"
"Yes?"
"Do you promise you won't get too hurt?" Dan opened his eyes and stared into the masked face of his boyfriend. 
"I promise. I will catch her this time. I'm sure of it." Dan nodded and embraced Henry one last time. He kissed his cheek. It was rough with a weeks worth of stubble on it. Henry had one of those faces that facial hair doesn't grow on. Henry smiled and winked. "Besides, I'm a superhero. How could I get hurt?" He jogged backwards before launching into the air. Henry had   the powers of flight and super sight. He can notice the slightest thing, be it shifting eyes or a person walking their dog across town. He's known as Exodus. The villain, his archenemy, is Captain Night. She has the ability to warp space so it is always day or always night. She can also make the sun brighter or the moon fuller. No one knew her secret identity, yet. After today, everyone would. Dan hopped on his motorcycle and sped away down to where he knew the battle was going to take place. His hair whipped around his face and into his eyes as he sped along. I'm going to get a haircut after this, he thought to himself. The center of Koral City was coming up and he could see the giant clock tower looming over where both Exodus and Captain Night were. He pulled off to the side. He knew better than to get any closer. With both of their powers being so powerful, the battles always got messy. He watched as the two circled each other. He looked up at the clock tower and saw that the battle was being filmed by a camera crew who knows how close to the actual battle.
He could hear his boyfriend's voice booming, "Surrender now, Captain Night, and no one has to get hurt." He heard her chuckle. It was light and playful. 
"Since when does no one get hurt? Since the beginning you have always had more casualties than me. You get careless with your powers. For someone who sees so much you see so little. I know this will be my last battle, but my message will live on. There will always be a hero and a villain, it will only be someone new. Someone different. Someone who no one would ever expect. You and your supporters will keep labeling anyone with a different perspective as evil. Evil? Why, everyone's evil when you look at it right." Her monologue was different than it usually was. Dan could see Henry shifting his feet, clearly uncomfortable with how it was turning out. "I'm not going to wait for you to unmask me." She threw off the helmet she had on, one that resembled an astronauts's helmet, but it only covered the top half of her face. He could hear the collective gasp of everyone everywhere. "My name is Sabrina Nemono. I have been Captain night since the beginning. I wish my father was watching, however, he's probably to busy to see his daughter becoming infamous!" Her voice was becoming hysterical and he could see Henry about to take flight. Her eyes connected with the camera and Dan could see the broken girl there. She was the Governor's daughter. Everyone knew her mother was terrible and her father neglected her. She was who everyone and no one would have suspected. It was at that moment Henry decided to act. He flew up and at her. She saw him move and dodged, if only barely. She did not have a cape, so he had nothing to grab onto, unlike her. She grabbed onto his cape and flung him into a hole of her own creation. It held the void of space but she always played games. She closed the hole around his arms, leaving his top half on earth. Everyone could see the flares of panic on Henry's face. Sabrina was laughing maniacally. Her hair was a mess and her smile was deranged. Dan's heart started to race and his breaths came in short bursts. 
"This is the hero all of you have idolized." She cried, gesturing towards the cameras. "He cannot save you now!" The sky turned dark and the moon came into view. It was getting bigger and bigger. She was bringing it towards us! His thoughts screamed. He started to dread the entire day. "I will take everyone on this measly planet down with me!" She spun in a circle before placing a hand underneath Henry's chin. "Now to see who you are.." She said delicately. It was almost like she didn't want to reveal him. She sighed and tugged the mask down so it rested along his neck. She smiled. Henry's charming face was paler than Dan had ever seen it. "Well, well, well. Little Henry Boushierre. What is the esteemed captain of the soccer team doing fighting me? I know your daddy is going to be worried sick." Her taunting had turned personal. "And where's that little boyfriend of your's? Shall we bring him out here?" Dan felt his legs drop out beneath him. For a moment he was freezing and couldn't breathe then the next he was dropped down next to Henry. "The whole gang is here! Now tell me, what made you want to be a hero?" She asked in a mocking reporter voice. 
"To stop villains like you." He spat the words out like they were poison in his mouth. She clucked her tongue with a smirk on her face. 
"Anyone can be a villain, darling. Just not everyone a super one." She smirked and opened the portal wider. That was her final mistake. Henry flew up and struck Sabrina down. He had punched her right in the jaw and she flew to the side and fell unconscious. The crowds cheered and the moon stopped right where it was. You could now see the craters on the moon. It was huge and glorious. He watched as it slowly faded from sight as the sun came back out. He rushed to Henry's side and supported him as his legs buckled beneath him. 
"Are you alright? Your legs were in there for a really long time." Henry gave a weak smile. 
"Can we please just go home?" Dan nodded and he got out his phone. 
"Can you fly us up to my bike, or do I need to carry you?" He tried to sound teasing, but he knew he just sounded worried. 
"I can fly." He picked Dan up and flew them up to Dan's motorcycle. Dan placed Henry in front of himself and hopped on behind. Henry looked like he couldn't hold himself up for much longer. 
"We are removing that cape when we get home." Dan murmured under his breath. He felt the shaky laugh of Henry and smiled. Tomorrow would be a very strange day at school.

Thank you for reading the first chapter of Shades of Gray! I hope you enjoyed and will stay with me throughout the roller coaster that will be this book!