Wow it's just so hard to believe we're finally here! It's over, this fic. It honestly feels like I just started it, though I know you all have been incredibly patient with me when it comes to some sporadic updates and I can't thank you enough for it. This AU will be taking a short hiatus after this story and will start back up again with the fourth and final installment "Evil Time", so I hope this story satisfies all of you for now. It was a real privilege to get to know so many of you through this fic. I can't thank you all enough.

And special thanks to analiarvb, Enmuse, icefrozenover, Yin, cobaltqueen, secretlystephaniebrown, thatgothamguy, washingtonstub, amethyst-dark-moon, and TGnat for the feedback and support!

Double Time
Chapter Twenty-Four: Back to Abnormal

The mayor and deputy mayor waved to the crowd gathered outside the capital. Even with the election finally reaching its conclusion, the shared duty of leadership was growing to be the norm. And behind them, in full view of the public, was the team of four teenage heroes who had bravely put their lives on the line for the city.

Off to the side of the large stage and in the shadows from the crowds, Washington watched with a small smirk on his face. He leaned his shoulder against the capital building and looked on over the peace reigning over the community that had been sent into a panic not so long ago.

It was the nice part of town so it felt a little bizarre to be there, but it was worth it just to see the pride and acceptance on his students' faces.

When he felt a brush of air, he didn't have to look to see who was standing just by his shoulder, instead opting to keep his attention on the group of kids.

"It's hard to believe you're not up there. If anyone deserves accolades today, it's probably you," Carolina said. "Hard to believe you're the rookie who trained as Epsilon."

"Yeah, I try not to think of my time as a sidekick," Wash answered. "Though maybe I should give it a try more often. CT was always pretty strict about how our kind of skill sets worked best in the shadows. Considering how all this nonsense happened, I'm beginning to believe she had a point or two." He turned to look at his former team leader more directly. She didn't seem like a day older than the last time he had seen her. "You and Tex pretty much cracked this entire code before I had the faintest idea of what was going on. If I'd trusted my instincts sooner, if I'd reached out to other people sooner, then we might have had a whole lot less calamity the other day."

"It also would have been distressingly boring," Carolina snarked in return. "And warring in the shadows, not being the kind of hero people in the city can imagine being there to save them at a moment's notice, it has its advantages for sure. But so does what you did, Wash."

"Yeah?" Washington laughed. "What'd I do?"

She looked at him, a seriousness in her eyes. It almost surprised Wash with how nakedly the emotions were being laid bear for him to see. "You became a hero for other heroes, Wash. I don't think that's anything to think twice about. It's not something I managed even leading Freelancer. It's not something Tex did or ever had interest in doing. It's something CT did. And you managed it on a scale even larger than hers."

Wash kept quiet for a long moment then looked at Carolina. "You know, the more you're around, the more I seem to remember about you from Freelancer. And I have to say, being the best like you were, it was pretty inspiring."

Carolina actually rolled her eyes to that. "A comedian's comedian," she said dismissively. "I know what I am, Wash, even if there isn't a word for it yet, even if no one else can put their thumbs on it. It makes me happy to do what I do and to do it the way I do it now. It's about the only meaning I can find in why I'm still here when everything's so different from… from what I would have expected."

"I guess it's what you make of it at the end of the day," Washington decided. "That's just how life works… But… I suspect you know that at least a little bit. I mean, you managed the miracle of getting Tex and Church to work on the same project for a hot minute. Not even Tucker's managed that."

"It's not as difficult as you'd imagine," Carolina laughed. "You could say I have… some experience in the field."

"Really? You'll have to tell me about it sometime," Wash replied. "But I get the feeling that there's something else you wanted to tell me."

"Yes," Carolina said, crossing her arms. "You know, you really brought everyone together for that stunt we pulled. I can guarantee it wouldn't have happened without you or the weight your name carries with all those groups," she explained lowly.

"I didn't do that much," Wash tried to brush off.

"Oh, but you did," Carolina assured him. "And my concern… Well, my concern is that you will again in the near future whether any of us like it or not." Her eyes flickered toward him once more. "Do you think, should the time arise for it, you could manage it a second time?"

Wash looked over Carolina curiously. "Why? Would you think I'd have to?" he asked stiffly.

"I think we haven't seen the end of things yet, and I think our enemies learned something very valuable that day," Carolina continued. "And I think that if they act on it — on the importance of cooperation and larger numbers, varied skills — we may have come across an entirely new problem to tackle."

Wash lowered his head then glanced back at Carolina. "I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there," he decided, voice cool but attentive.

"Got other things to worry about right now?" she asked.

"No," Washington replied, glancing over to the side street where a screeching, exceedingly loud car was pulling around the corner to face them. "No not at all. I just have otherpriorities too."

With that, Washington walked toward the car, looking over his shoulder, Wash smiled a smile. "Want to come with?"

Carolina tapped her foot and looked toward the disgustingly beat up and old car that bounced with the bass. "It sounds increasingly annoying."

"Only because it is," he laughed to her.

They shared a long fit of laughter before Carolina rubbed her shoulder. "You know what? Why not. I'm stuck in h this decade anyway and my cell phone's crap without new satellites up."

Wash blinked. "Wait what."

"Like I said, I'll tell you about it sometime," she assured him before leading the walk to the car.

Having little other choice, Washington followed suit, though at the car itself, he took the lead since the passenger seat was open. He slid into the car and slid into his side.

The music was blasting Bohemian Rhapsody again, and Tucker was bopping his head in tandem along with the rest of their crewTucker smirked at him and leaned over the armrests to plant a kiss on Wash's cheek. "You brought another straggler?" he asked with a laugh.

"I brought another friend," Wash answeed before leaning in and giving Tucker a real kiss.

"Wow, guess that means you won't be jumping out of the moving car this time then, you've got a vested interest," Church announced from the back. He then stammered a bit when he saw it was Carolina. "Oh, it's you."

"It's me," she agreed, settling next to Caboose.

"If she's here to stay and Wash is here to stay, can we finally all be friends in the car?" Caboose asked out loud.

"Yeah, Caboose," Wash said, leaning back in his seat and allowing Tucker to concentrate on the road. "I think that's exactly what it means.

Because, at the end of the day, it was everything a hero could have wanted.

For now.