Hey guys, here I am again with a new chapter! I'm so excited for this one and the ones following it, I managed to write it in less than a month. I have a really busy schedule, but I think I'll get the next chapter out by mid-May, maybe earlier if I'm lucky. (I don't think I will be lucky, though - so much deadlines...) Anyway, here's the next chapter but, before we go there, here's my replies to the reviews of last chapter:

Anomaly90: Thanks for reviewing! Yes, it was. Though I wouldn't have put it in there if I didn't find it meaningful for the scene.

CaptainMansBabyGirl: No, thank you. I'm a bit too busy studying and generally trying to keep up with my courses to roleplay.

JAG777: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like it! We're almost at the climax, and I hope you'll like this chapter, too.

Flublob: Really? Well, I'm very glad you like it. I'm sure you'll like the end arc as well. Thanks for reviewing!

Enjoy!

-Writer207


At long last, it was Friday. The last day of school before the weekend started, the last day of work before taking a small break. Yet, for some, there simply was no room for breaks. This was a known truth among firefighters, policemen and women, just like superheroes. For James there was no time to stop, too. He's been here for a couple days now, but nothing had happened. Okay, Henry and Ray fought, which could be the prelude to Captain Man quitting, but that was about it.

He sat on the couch, rubbed his knee. It started aching a little. It was no big deal – it wasn't too much pain and he could still walk around without trouble if he wanted to. He rubbed it where the scar was located. He did not like to think back to those days, but it did remind him that he and his friends weren't invincible. They lost sometimes, they could get hurt.

The elevator doors slid open and James was brought back to the real world by hearing its sound. Henry and Charlotte walked out of it.

"Hey guys!" James greeted them. While he was taking a trip down memory lane, why not also cherish how innocent they were, why not remember how they used to smile, how they denied their love for another while it was still blossoming.

"Hey James," Charlotte greeted him back.

"No Jasper?" he then asked the two, clearly noticing his absence. Of all people, Jasper wouldn't say no to going to the Man Cave.

"He's to Miami with his parents," Henry told him, "His parents wanted to leave today, so he's not here today."

"Oh," James said. A trip to Miami. Something else I don't remember. Oh well… "Ray will be here any minute. He's taking a shower now," he added. Henry's facial expression shifted, going from semi-happy to serious in a matter of seconds.

"Okay," was all Henry said in response, and then was all there was to say.

Before anyone could say anything, Ray entered the room, neatly dressed, phone in his hands and a basket with his laundry in the other. He went to put it in his room before quickly returning to the main room. James turned his head, interested, worried about what could ensue next. He briefly glanced at Charlotte and noticed that she, too, was worried, although he had the feeling she was calmer than the time traveler.

At first, Henry and Ray (as well as James and Charlotte) remained quiet, didn't really talk to one another. Though eventually, Henry walked up to Ray. James' heart started beating faster and his hands grew sweaty. He readied himself for what might ensue.

"Ray…" Henry did not get any further than that, because Ray already interrupted him.

"No, Henry," the hero said, "Don't start that again."

This prompted Henry to stare at Ray in a confused way, suggesting it wasn't what Henry expected (neither did James). Though, he quickly explained himself.

"I wasn't going to," Henry said.

Now, it was Ray's turn to be confused. "Really?"

James repeated what Captain Man had said. He didn't worry about them anymore, but now he found himself being concerned about his memories. According to those, Captain Man left one day and died, possibly after a fight. Jasper wasn't there - he and his family visited a big city for the weekend - but Henry had told him what happened when he returned. Yet he had always assumed the fight they had had was the last straw. He was open for suggestions, anyway, though he'd always believed that fight always played a big part.

Henry nodded in response. "Yeah," he said, looking more at Captain Man and ignoring James for the time being. "Look, yesterday, I shouldn't have…"

"It's okay, kid," Ray said, placing his hand on Henry's shoulder. "What they're doing to you at school, is awful. If it happened to me, I'd be pissed, too."

James watched them, happy they made up, and yet still a bit confused.

"So no more fighting each other?" The time traveler asked them and the two men nodded in response.

"Is it that surprising?" Charlotte asked him. He thought about it for a moment and almost immediately he came to the conclusion that, no, it wasn't. Henry was having some very bad days and Ray some very good ones. An irritated Henry just lashed out because of what happened, but James should have never assumed Henry would hold a grudge.

And that was all the confirmation he needed that the fight was not the cause of Captain Man's ultimate demise. He had jumped to conclusion too quickly and now, he had to start all over again, to find another plausible explanation for Ray walking to his death...

Ray focused his attention to the phone in his hand again. He heard a 'bazinga', the signal that he had received a text. It was rather loud, so everyone else in the room heard it, too, and only James raised an eyebrow hearing that word, though he soon resumed thinking about all possibilities regarding Captain Man's demise.

"So," Henry then asked Ray, "Who's texting you?"

"It's June," Ray responded, a smile appearing on his face.

"What's she saying?" Henry asked, mostly out of curiosity. Though he wouldn't mind if Ray didn't want him to know what she was telling him, he'd still want to know what she'd said.

"She's asking me when I'll be arriving at her place," the hero responded, quickly typing in a response and sending it to her. Once he looked up from the device, he noticed Henry was looking at him with a confused look in his eyes. It was then that he realized that he hadn't told Henry yet what he and June had discussed last night. He also remembered he 'forgot to mention it' because of all the fuss.

"I may have said 'yes' when she asked me yesterday whether I'd be staying with her for the weekend," Ray explained, partially expecting Henry to criticize him again, though that expectation was debunked as soon as he saw Henry nodding and seemingly agreeing with his decision. Good. It'd be terrible to be working with someone who didn't like it when the other had fun with a girl.

"You can handle working alone for a couple of days, right?" he asked his sidekick, who nodded.

"Yeah, I'll manage," Henry said.

"Great! I'll get my stuff now," Ray said and he was already walking towards the stairs.

"What, you're leaving already?" Charlotte then asked him. Ray stopped in the middle of the stairs, turning his head to them.

"Yes. Going over to her place after one date? That's a chance I'm not missing out on." And with that statement, he ran up the remaining stairs to go get his stuff. He came back rather quickly, a bag tossed over his shoulder.

"Wow," Henry said, after seeing its size. "That's… not as much as I thought you'd take with you."

Ray shrugged in response. "Well, I'll only need one set of fresh clothing. She lives on the edge of Swellview so if I need anything, I can quickly go and get something. Either way, June and I will have the weekend to ourselves." Ray sighed, still that smile plastered on his face, ready for a fun weekend without responsibilities.

Henry raised his eyebrows. "Really?" He asked the hero, wondering what could be expected with 'not to themselves' and who else could be living with June.

"Yes," Ray said in response, "Her brother's visiting their parents, so we'll have the place to ourselves."

James lifted his head, regaining interest in the conversation playing out next to him, just because of the content Ray's latest sentence.

"Wait, hold on," James then said, further interrupting the conversation – he needed to know if he really heard it or if he had just misunderstood something Ray said (it wouldn't be the first time). "June has a brother?"

"Yeah, and a very shy one, too," Ray replied, sort of waving it away as if he didn't want to mention the brother in the first place. He sighed, remembering what June had said about his social skills and fear of traffic. "Poor guy."

James slouched back into the couch, now having something new to think about, another detail to fit into the big puzzle he was trying to solve, not knowing whether he actually was a piece of said puzzle. Yet, each minor detail could turn out to be of great importance.

"Well then," Ray then said, "I'm going. Have fun, and be careful!" he quickly added, looking at Henry.

"Always," Henry replied, nodding in response. After saying those words, Ray stepped into the elevator, ready to go June, ready to have a fun weekend.

Henry turned his head to James, wondering why he'd asked about June's brother. Despite the fact that not much time has passed (practically just half a minute), the time traveler was already deep in thought.

"James?" Henry asked him, "What's bothering you?" It was the brother, yes, but what about him made this petty detail so important?

"June has a brother…" James responded, since he did not really hear Henry's question. He was still trying to fit June's brother in some sort of conspiracy. As far as he was concerned, the brother was guilty until proven innocent.

Unless, of course, he was already innocent until something happened to him, something life-changing.

And then it became clear. This one drop created tidal waves, as James came to the realization he had been wrong all along and why he had be wrong, which could partially be blamed on his faulty memory.

Then, James jumped up from the couch.

"Stupid me!" He shouted, "I have made a big mistake!" This drew the attention of both Charlotte and Henry, who had stayed behind in the Man Cave. Especially Charlotte was worried, since she knew about Captain Man's true fate.

"What is it?" Charlotte asked him.

James turned his head to the two teenagers, cursing his damned memory. "Well, it's not really a mistake, but memory trouble," he explained to them. "It's failed me again! Ray doesn't die after quitting, but after leaving you -" he pointed at Henry, "- in charge for a couple of days. I should've realized Ray doesn't quit. I'm such an idiot!" He added, before going straight for the main computer. The time traveler was so preoccupied with what he was getting at, he barely noticed what he said.

"Ray's gonna die!?" Henry exclaimed. James nodded. It'd be stupid to deny it. Besides, he couldn't care less about keeping that to himself, now - as long as he didn't give away his true identity, he'd be fine.

"If we don't do anything, he will," responded James. He sat down on the chair and tried to figure out how that computer worked. He really needed to see whether this June or her brother would show up in police and criminal database. He had yet to remember June's brother's name, though. That was kind of an issue.

In the meantime, Henry thought the lack of response from Charlotte quite suspicious. With that kind of revelation/reveal, he imagined she'd be more surprised and would want to know more about it.

Henry turned his head go Charlotte. "Say, why aren't you..." He trailed off and never finished his sentence. As he looked at his friend, he could see in her eyes that she already knew. How, he had no idea, but there was no doubt Charlotte knew.

"You knew?" He asked her.

Charlotte nodded her head. "Yes," she said, "James accidentally told me."

Henry's eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Charlotte opened her mouth to answer, to say James didn't want him or Ray to worry about it, but James was faster.

"Faulty memory," he responded, not knowing that question was meant for Charlotte. He didn't really hear anything before that, as he was too focused on getting the computer to work. Finally, he managed to get it to work.

"You may have noticed," he continued, "that I don't remember some things. Well, what I do remember is not always one hundred percent correct." He sighed, then took a deep breath before going back to looking for June in the database.

"He's not gonna die," James said, "not on my watch." It didn't help that her name was also the name of a month, so whenever a criminal did something in June, it would also be between the search results. He had not yet figured out how to set the search engine to 'people only'.

Henry and Charlotte stood behind him now, watching over his shoulder as he struggled with the computer.

"And you really believe June has anything to do with it?" Charlotte asked, also speaking on Henry's behalf. They had watched some footage from Junk 'N' Stuff. From what they gathered, June was a nice woman who genuinely seemed to like Ray. If she had been lying, she would be a great actress.

"Yes," James answered, now basically hitting every key on the keyboard, trying to get the computer to change those settings. At that point, Charlotte couldn't look at it anymore. After a quick interference, the settings of the database's search engine were as James wanted it.

"Thanks," he told her, receiving a "you're welcome" in return. He quickly typed June's name in the search engine and then hit the 'enter' button. The engine sent them directly to the profile of a criminal with June, with the picture confirming it was the June James had been looking for.

The time traveler cried out and jumped up, out of the chair.

"Aha!" James said, "I knew it! Dang it, I should've realized this a lot sooner!" As he turned his head away from the screen to silently scold himself once more for not coming to this realization before today, Charlotte and Henry took a closer look at June's criminal profile.

Everything was surprising to read, though none of the details stood out more than her full name: June Malinda Belcher