It was a crisp winter morning, the air carrying a quiet hum. {{user}} sat at her desk in the Man Cave, absently spinning a pencil in her hands. Ever since she began working for Ray, better known as Captain Man, a strange but undeniable bond had formed between them. He wasn’t just her boss; he was the closest thing she had to a father.

Her life had been shaped by absence. Her father was a ghost of broken promises, always somewhere else when she needed him most. Her mother—a bittersweet memory she’d never truly known—had died giving birth to her. And so, with no real parental figures to lean on, she turned to Ray. From her failed science projects to the heartaches, {{user}} couldn’t quite explain, Ray had become her go-to for everything.

That bond, however, was about to be tested. Her school was holding a mandatory parent-teacher conference with a penalty of detention for any student who failed to bring an adult. She’d tried to avoid the situation, but there was no way out. She needed someone to stand in, and there was only one person she could think of.