So... this is it. The final chapter.

I can't believe we actually made it here. This is the first time I've ever seen a story to the end and... I honestly don't know how I feel about it, more than thankful. Because, truly, I wouldn't have gotten here without you. So thank you for helping me see this through, all of you.

I hope you enjoy the chapter, and hopefully I'll see you in a future story sometime. :)

Epilogue: Home

Henry had never considered Swellview beautiful or particularly captivating in any way. It was a city like all other cities, filled with houses, shops and people - so many people. But as the car rolled through the sunlit streets, something stirred inside him. There was the preschool he and Jasper had gone to together, the clock tower where he and Ray had fought the Time Jerker, the office his dad had worked in… Fifteen years' worth of memories, all around him. And he'd never really noticed, because he had taken it all for granted. He'd thought he wouldn't leave Swellview until he graduated.

How wrong he had been.

"I can't believe it's been two years."

Henry glanced at Charlotte, who was sitting beside him, before looking back out the window. "Yeah…"

"You know, for a while there I thought we'd never come back here," Jasper said, looking at the two of them from where he was sitting on Charlotte's other side. "That we'd be in hiding forever."

"Maybe we should've," Charlotte said. "Stayed in hiding, I mean. Not all the members of M.I.S.T. have been caught - far from it. Even with the hearings over, we still don't know if it's safe for us here."

Memories flickered by in Henry's mind: two years of testifying, waiting and pretending. Two years of having to look over his shoulder. Two years of not knowing if they were safe or not. He bit his lip. "No. We don't."

"But we were released from witness protection," Jasper said, "We wouldn't have been if the US Marshals didn't think so."

"True." Charlotte sighed, leaning back against the headrest. "We'll just have to hope they're right."

:::

The hotel room was small, with just enough room for the two single beds and oblong nightstand in the far corner, an old TV balancing on top of it. It was strange, Henry thought, how the rooms always seemed to be designed to fit the essentials into the smallest space possible - that, along with everything from the walls to the bed sheets being white. Maybe there were certain rules every hotel was supposed to follow? At least that would explain why they all, no matter where you were, looked exactly the same.

Henry went to put his bag down on the left bed when Piper came barging in and flopped down on top of it.

"Hey! I wanted that one."

"You picked beds at the last hotel," Piper said, unfazed.

"And you chose at the - what, twenty? - ones before that."

"So?"

Henry simply rolled his eyes (dramatically enough that even Charlotte would be proud) and moved his bag onto the other bed. Mimicking his sister, he then lay down on top of the covers. The smell of cheap washing powder filled his nose as he stared up at the roof, lost in thought.

Finally, Piper broke the silence. "It's so strange being back."

Henry hummed in agreement, studying a crack in the roof. Someone had clearly to cover it up with paint but hadn't done a particularly good job.

"Especially staying at a hotel. It's like we're visitors."

That caught his attention. Piper didn't meet his gaze as he turned his head to look at her, but he could see emotions flickering across her face.

"Just think," she continued softly, "how it's gonna be to walk past our house now that it's… not ours."

"… Yeah." Henry wanted to say something to comfort her but couldn't think of anything that wouldn't sound completely lame. "I wonder who lives there now," he said instead. "Probably some weirdo. There's a lot of weirdos in Swellview."

Piper didn't even smile at his attempted joke. "Like, I understand why we had to sell - so people would believe we moved away for real - but to be honest, I never thought we were coming back."

"I know what you mean," Henry said. "For a while there, I didn't think we were either. I thought we'd be stuck doing witness statement after witness statement forever."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Piper said, groaning at the memory. "I don't wanna set foot in a courtroom ever again."

They shared a somewhat melancholy smile, and once again Henry was struck by how strange this was – he and his sister actually getting on. The two of them had never been close, even as kids, and they had always been bickering and arguing and getting on each other's nerves. That was still the case most of the time, but now, in the occasional moments of peace… they found that they could talk to each other. About pretty much anything.

Even after so many months, it was hard to wrap his head around this new part of their relationship. Piper was no doubt still the annoying little sister she'd always been, but somewhere in the middle of all this mess, something had changed between them. She'd changed (Henry definitely couldn't remember her being such a great listener before).

… Or, more likely, she'd always been this way, only he had failed to notice it.

Rolling over onto his stomach, Henry met Piper's gaze. "We'll be okay, you know," he said. "It'll be hard for a while, but… we'll get through it, alright? Just how we got through therapy together."

"Yeah, whatever," Piper said, pulling on a loose thread on her jumper.

Henry was about to say something else when there was a knock on the door and Charlotte poked her head in.

"Hey," she said, "Am I interrupting?"

The siblings shook their heads.

"Good. Henry, can I talk to you?"

Shooting Piper a look, Henry pulled himself out of bed and into the hall. It was, like the rooms, painted white, with identical wooden doors lining the walls. At one end, a cleaner was just pushing his cart into one of the rooms at the far end, but other than that, it was empty. Henry turned to Charlotte as she closed the door behind them. "So, what's up?"

"I know we just got here, but… I was wondering if you're up for a ride. Downtown."

Well, that was vague. Henry knew she was implying something specific but didn't quite understand what. Maybe he could make her give him some clues? "Um, sure. Any particular place in mind?"

Charlotte only gave him a pointed look. So much for clues, Henry thought with a sigh. But what place could she be thinking of? The only ones he could remember being downtown were Yotally Togurt, Sushi Dushi and…

Then it hit him. "Ohh. You mean-"

"Junk N Stuff, yes," she said with a smirk. "That took a while."

Henry paid no attention to her teasing remark though, as a sudden pang of emotion struck him. Junk N Stuff. Just the name was enough to bring forth a flood of memories - almost all of them centred around one person. Ray.

After two years with no contact, they were finally going to meet again.

The thought was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. He had followed Captain Man on the news, but that wasn't nearly the same thing. That didn't tell him anything about how Ray was doing. Would he still be the same person Henry had known? Would he still-

"Hello?" Charlotte voice filtered through his spiralling thoughts.

Henry blinked. "Sorry. Spaced out."

"I could tell," she said, though the sarcasm wasn't as strong as usual. "You know, if you don't feel up to it right now, we can always go late-"

"No!" The word came out harsher than he'd meant to. "I mean, no, we should go there. He doesn't even know we're back, right?"

Charlotte shook her head.

"Then we definitely should go. I'll see if mum or dad can drive us there."

"Sounds good. I'll get Jasper."

:::

Junk N Stuff was closed, but the spare key was easily found under the fruit boxes near the back door - same place where it always had been.

Henry stopped in front of the entrance, glancing at Charlotte and Jasper over his shoulder. "You ready?"

They both nodded and with a deep breath, he unlocked the door.

It felt like stepping into a time machine. The overstuffed shelves, the oblong counter and cash register on top of it, the oversized Venus flytrap in the corner…it was almost surreal how similar everything looked to the last time he was here. And yet, there were small differences everywhere. The glass of the front door had been replaced after M.I.S.T.'s people shattered it. The things on display were a mix of new and old. But most of all, everything felt… smaller. Had the passages between the shelves always been this narrow? Or was it he who had grown taller?

"Hello?" Jasper called out, snapping him from his thoughts. "Ray, are you here?"

"He's probably in the Man Cave," Charlotte said.

Together, they slowly made it to the back room. The elevator was already on their floor, the slide door hissing closed softly behind them as they went inside. A quick glance at his friends told Henry that they felt just as nervous as he did.

"Do you think the elevator's still broken?" Jasper asked.

Henry smirked. "Only one way to find out."

"Wait-" Charlotte cut off into a scream as Henry pressed the button and the elevator hurtled down. A terrifying - and very familiar - sense of weightlessness enveloped Henry and for a second, he swore his feet lifted off the floor.

Then he was sent sprawling as the elevator came to a jerking halt, Jasper and Charlotte crashing on top of him.

"Ow!"

"Charlotte, my ribs!"

"Sorry!"

They just managed to untangle themselves from each other when the door opened to the Man Cave. Henry walked in, the same feeling from upstairs washing over him again - everything the same and different all at once.

He stopped though as he caught sight of a man on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall near the Auto-Snacker. His back was turned from them - he hadn't yet noticed their presence, focused as he was reading the papers clutched in his hands. A thousand things flew through Henry's mind, a thousand things he wanted to say, but all he managed to get out was, "Ray."

Ray looked up, the annoyed look in his eyes quickly turning into one of shock. The papers slipped through his fingers and cascaded over the floor, but he didn't seem to notice. "Henry. Charlotte, Jasper… you're back."

For the first time, Henry got a good look at his face. He seemed… older. More tired. More drawn. Like it had been five instead of two years. But his gaze was still as steadfast and comforting as ever, and Henry felt previously unknown tension lifting from his shoulders. A small smile spread across his lips. "Miss us?"

There was a slight shake in Ray's voice as he laughed. "You have no idea."

Henry didn't which of them moved first, but suddenly Ray's arms were around him, squeezing him as if he never wanted to let him go again. Feeling taken aback by the pure emotion radiating from his friend, Henry simply stood there before returning the embrace, tentatively at first but then - when Ray made no sign of pulling away - just as tightly.

In the corner of his eye, he could just make out Charlotte and Jasper watching them with fond amusement. Ray had apparently noticed too, as he held out an arm.

"Get in here."

"Me too?" Jasper said in surprise.

Ray sighed, but with no sign of frustration. "Yeah, why not."

Grinning, Jasper, followed by Charlotte, joined the group hug. Henry moved one arm to wrap it around his friends, ignoring Charlotte's half-hearted "Henry, you're squashing me!" to bring them closer. A sense of peace washed over him as he relaxed in his friends' embrace. He was finally, truly home.

A while later - Seconds? Minutes? - they pulled away. Ray eyed each of them quietly, as if he still couldn't believe they were actually there.

"You're so much… taller," he eventually said.

It was true. Before, Henry'd had to look slightly up to have eye contact with Ray; now they were about the same height. The corner of his mouth quirked up. This was definitely something he could get used to.

"Except you, Charlotte," Ray continued with a grin. "You're even shorter than I remember."

She rolled her eyes. "And your hair is greyer than I remember."

"It's not grey, it's-" he began indignantly, but stopped when he saw her smiling. He shook his head, laughing a little. "Man, it's good to have you guys back."

:::

Ray was at the computer when Henry came back up through the tubes. It had been about twenty minutes since he, Charlotte and Jasper had decided to look around the Man Cave - they hadn't been there in some time, after all. There wasn't much to look at though, except for a few new inventions down in the storage rooms which they all thought were pretty cool, Charlotte especially.

She had been explaining the function of a strange-looking gun (Apparently it somehow used high speeds to move objects forward in time. Something to do with the theory of relativity; Henry hadn't quite understood what Charlotte meant.) when he'd decided to head upstairs to see what Ray was doing. Jasper had seemed interested enough - or at least pretended to be - that he didn't feel bad leaving him with Charlotte, who had been talking a million miles an hour in her excitement as he'd stepped into the tube.

Ray shot him a tired smile as he came over, studying the screens curiously. The first had two maps on it - one of Swellview, one of North America - speckled with red dots, while the other showed what looked like a police report. Henry turned to Ray. "What are you doing?"

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Just checking a few arrests made last week. Crime rate's really gone up in this past year, probably because of all M.I.S.T.'s people being put behind bars. There's a void in the criminal ranks and many are trying to fill it. I need to check everything's done right so these guys don't get back out on the streets."

"... Why? Shouldn't the cops be doing this?"

"They probably already are," Ray said, leaning back in the chair, "but after all the mess with Detective Cassara... I'm not gonna make the same mistake again by trusting them. Better to be on the safe side until all this is truly over."

Henry nodded, though he had stopped listening about halfway through. There was something else on his mind. "Cassara," he said quietly. "Did you get him?"

There was a brief moment of silence. Then Ray's shoulders sagged. "No. By the time people started looking, he was gone. No one's seen him since the night you left, Henry. We don't even know if he's still in the States."

A tight knot formed in Henry's stomach. He'd suspected as much - the news would surely have broadcast it everywhere if the former detective had been caught, or even sighted - but having it confirmed made it feel all the more real. Joseph Cassara was still out there. Despite everything he'd done, despite having murdered Lynne, he was still free. In hiding, but free. How was that fair? How was that-

"Hey." Ray placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, waiting patiently until he met his gaze. "M.I.S.T. is ruined. He is ruined. We saw to that. He has no power, nowhere to go and the whole world's looking for him. He will be found."

"And if he's not?"

"Then we move on. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but there's nothing else to do. Sometimes you can't win. Sometimes the bad guy gets away - and it sucks. Believe me, I know. There's been so many times when I've wanted to toss everything aside and keep looking until I've found the guy… but I didn't. I learnt that there were things that mattered more to me than justice." When Henry only looked more confused, he paused a moment to think. "Look. I had the chance to bring Cassara in. That day in the forest. But I didn't - I chose to get you out instead and I don't regret it at all. I'd rather have Cassara on the loose than you dead any day."

Sudden pressure building behind his eyes, Henry diverted his gaze to the side. He wanted to say something, tell Ray how much those words meant to him… but he couldn't think of how. Instead, he remained silent, blinking as he tried to reign in his emotions again.

Ray cleared his throat, turning pointedly to the monitors. "Anyway… we've had more luck tracking down M.I.S.T.'s other members. Brent Quays was found trying to cross the border to Mexico about eight months back - he's still on trial - and I helped the Swellview police catch Nurse Cohort just last week. She never left the city. And Gwen was arrested in Ohio. Remind me to tell you the full story sometime, it was actually kinda funny. All in all though, I think almost everyone who operated in Swellview have been caught. Probably why you guys could come back home."

There was a short pause.

"Speaking of bad guys," Ray said, "I guess there's something else we need to talk about."

Henry didn't need to ask to know what it was. "Kid Danger."

"Yeah."

Striding over to one of the mobile storage shelves placed randomly in the room, he opened a drawer and picked up a very familiar cylinder-shaped object. Henry's gumball tube. As Ray came back over, he extended one hand towards Henry, the gum casting blue and pink hues over his palm.

This was like the night at the Swellview sign all over again. Then he had been torn up by grief - grief that still lingered so many months later. But he was doing better. He'd never forget it - nor did he want to - but slowly, he was learning to accept what had happened. Lynne was gone. There was nothing he could do to change that.

He looked from Ray to the gumball tube and back again. Things had changed drastically since the last time he'd been faced with this choice… but just like then, something just didn't feel right.

"I don't know, Ray…" he said.

Ray took a deep breath. "Look, I don't really like the thought of putting you in danger again, but I can't do this job alone. I know it's selfish, but… I need you."

"What?" Henry looked at him as if he was out of his mind. "No, you don't. You're Captain Man. You've been fighting crime for like, forty years."

"Twenty-seven."

"Whatever. The point is, I've been your sidekick for what, not even three of them? You-"

"It's different now," Ray interrupted. There was a vulnerability in his eyes that Henry had never seen before. "You don't know what these past two years have been like. To only be able to rely on myself again, to constantly worry about whether you..." He sighed, pinching his nose in frustration. "What I'm trying to say is... I'm used to having you around now. And I don't want to not get used to it, you know?"

"... Me neither," Henry said quietly.

"Then what's stopping you?" When he didn't answer, Ray continued hesitantly, "Do you still feel like… you don't deserve to be Kid Danger?"

"You guys still don't get it, do you?"

Both Ray and Henry swivelled around to find Charlotte and Jasper walking towards them, the dark-haired girl looking slightly annoyed. How had they gotten upstairs? Henry couldn't remember hearing the tubes come up…

"We took the stairs," Charlotte said, reading the question off his face. "Jasper wanted to test the time travel gun and… long story short, the tubes are blocked."

"It's not my fault!" Jasper quickly added when Ray shot him a look. "How was I supposed to know it didn't work properly?"

"Anyway, it doesn't matter." Charlotte turned back towards Henry. "I heard what you said, about deserving to be Kid Danger… but the thing is, there's nothing to deserve. Kid Danger is an alter-ego, nothing more, and certainly not the hero."

"Charlotte-" Henry began but she cut him off.

"I'm not done. You are the real hero here, Henry - with or without the mask - and no one can take that away from you."

"She's right," Jasper said. "Without you, Kid Danger is nothing."

Henry looked around, meeting each of his friends' gazes. In their eyes, he could see nothing but faith. Faith in him. He knew they wouldn't force him into anything, but he could see clearly what they were expecting him to do.

He thought of Lynne. Of how she had stumbled into them that warm Spring afternoon two years ago. Of how that one encounter had so completely derailed his life. But maybe, in some twisted way, it had been for the better. He had been so sure of his role in the world, the part he was supposed to play. He was Kid Danger, the sidekick of the legendary Captain Man. And who could possibly want more than that?

But when Lynne came along, when he had no choice but to fight without the protection of Kid Danger… it was terrifying, sure, but somehow, he felt more alive than he had in a long time. Like maybe Kid Danger wasn't the only thing he was meant for.

In the corner of his eye, Henry saw Charlotte shift. The words she'd said only seconds ago rang in his ears and suddenly, he knew what he had to do.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and closed Ray's fingers around the gumball tube. "I'm sorry," he said.

Ray looked like he'd just been punched in the gut. "You mean you're not…?" The sentence died on his lips.

Henry shook his head. "No."

"Okay. I-I just thought… but it's fine." Ray's voice was hollow, but he forced himself to smile. "It's your decision. I get it."

"Well, I don't!" Jasper glanced between the two, his face a study of confusion. "Henry, why would you- you can't just quit. I mean, you… you love fighting crime! You love helping people!"

"I do," he admitted. "And I still want to. Just not as Kid Danger." He looked at Ray again. "Being your sidekick for these past years has meant the world to me. And don't get me wrong, I understand the point of the mask – protecting your identity and all that – but in the end, Kid Danger's… not me, you know? I love this job with all my heart, but… maybe it's time for me to do my own thing."

"What are you thinking?" Charlotte asked, speaking for the first time since he'd made his decision. There was a small smile playing across her lips. Henry couldn't help but return it – of course she already knew what he was implying.

Ray and Jasper on the other hand, still looked confused. It seemed like he needed to explain it more clearly.

"You told me before, Ray, that Swellview's crime rate is getting out of control."

"I did," the man said slowly.

"And that you can't handle it on your own."

"I didn't say that… but I guess it's true." Ray shot him a look. "How is this relevant?"

Henry swallowed, suddenly nervous. But he couldn't back down now. "Maybe," he began, "Swellview needs a new type of crime-fighting duo. Not a superhero and his sidekick, but…"

"Two superheroes," Ray filled in, suddenly understanding.

"Yeah. I know it sounds stupid-"

Ray cut him off, a smile spreading across his lips. "No. No, I think that could actually work."

"Really?" Henry hardly dared to believe it. He hadn't expected the man to take it so well.

"Yeah. You'll need to set everything up of course, but I'll help you get started. Just promise me," he gave him a serious look, "that you'll be careful."

"You know I can't," Henry said, "but I'll try."

Charlotte crossed her arms. "Don't worry, Ray. We'll make sure he stays out of too much trouble."

"Or, more likely," Jasper said, "follow him right into it."

Ray sighed, dragging a hand across his face. "That's reassuring."

Looking around at his friends, Henry felt a warm feeling spread through his chest. Had he asked himself two years back what he thought he'd be doing now, he wouldn't even have come close.

And to think, it had all started out with a flash drive.

There were certain things he wished he could go back and change. He wished he'd known something was up when Lynne first approached them that day on the street. Maybe then, she wouldn't have had to die.

But he couldn't change the past, no matter how much he wanted to. Even though he'd never forget what had happened, he had to move forward.

And now, he might finally be ready to.

"But guys, we've forgotten the most important question," Jasper said, cutting through his thoughts. "What's your superhero name gonna be?"

Henry grinned. "I might have a few ideas…"