Return to Camelot
"Wow, this is amazing."
Nate looked up to see Ray gazing at the tall shelves filled with books. He smiled. "Thanks!" He grabbed a few more of his precious volumes. "Gotta say, I'm surprised. Thought you'd be more of a digital resources kinda guy."
"Oh, don't get me wrong," Ray said. "I love my Palmer Cloud Services. But still." He reached for one of the books, but withdrew his hand before touching anything. "There's nothing like the smell of old books. Or even new books."
Nate smiled at him. "I know the feeling." He tucked a few more books into his box. "Just a few more things and we can go."
"Take your time," Ray said. "I know how it feels to pack up and try to squeeze your most prized possessions into a dorm room."
"Ha, no kidding." Nate gathered more books, along with notes from his doctorate and certain journals he'd written, trying to drive a balance between things he might bring just for sentimentality, and things that might be useful for a time traveler.
Finally, he went to his Special Shelf and found the wrapped, bound manuscript that had started him on this wild journey. "Hey, so... how safe is the time ship?"
"Safe? Um... we ended up scattered through time while the ship wound up at the bottom of the ocean, so..."
"Good point," Nate said. "But she didn't have any flooding or anything."
Ray shook his head. "All my belongings were safe," he answered. "But... if you're worried about some of your antique books, I can show you how to set humidity levels in your room. Or, I can make you a special container with UV protection and the right temperature and humidity settlings to protect whatever it is you're concerned about."
"Hey, that would be awesome! Could you really do that for me?"
Ray grinned. "Absolutely. You just give me the specs and I'll work on it as soon as we get back to the ship."
"Sweet, thanks, man!" He wrapped his precious book of letters in even more clean cloth and packed it up. He considered showing it to Ray, but thought better of it. A Camelot buff would probably scoff at something like that - an unknown knight claiming to be High King of Britain in modern English. Even though he didn't think Ray was the type to make fun, Nate felt too sentimental about the book, and too protective of The Writer to risk showing his letters to someone and getting even the slightest hint of criticism in response.
Ray helped Nate pack up everything he thought he could want nearby on a journey of unknown length. They hefted four good-sized boxes to the mini-time ship they called the "Jump Ship", and Nate locked up the apartment, wondering if he would ever see it again.
The next several months were a whirlwind for Nate. In a very short period, he met the Einsteins, met the JSA, including his own grandfather, and got actual superpowers! He and Ray were already getting along well, but when Nate realized what Ray had sacrificed for him, he could hardly believe it.
He knew Ray had saved his life with a serum, and he'd found out from Dr. Stein that Ray had been by his side every time anyone else had come to check on him. But it wasn't until later that he realized what kind of sacrifice Ray really made.
Nate found out shortly after Sara tasked Ray with teaching Nate how to control his powers. Nate chattered to Ray about how excited he was to have powers, and how awesome it was that he could share part of his superhero name with his grandfather, while they walked to Ray's room. He got quiet when Ray pulled what looked like a toy armored suitcase out of his nightstand.
Ray's shoulders slumped the tiniest bit when he looked at it, and Nate stopped talking. It was a strange reaction for a scientist to have when looking at his own invention. "Is... everything okay?"
Ray smiled at him immediately. "Of course. Why do you ask?"
"I just... you didn't seem too happy about your suit just now."
Ray lowered his eyes and shrugged. "Why shouldn't I be? It's what's makes me a useful part of the team." He shrugged again, and said in a slightly darker tone of voice, "Who cares if Amaya's right and without it, I'm just..."
Nate frowned. "Without it, you're just what?"
Ray's mouth twitched in a rueful smile. "Without it, I'm... nothing."
His jaw dropped. "Amaya said that to you?"
"Pretty much. She said my power was wearing the suit. She also said that with or without it, I'm not a superhero."
"Damn, that's..." Nate was speechless for a moment. "She had no right to say that to you."
Ray shrugged. "To be fair, she did acknowledge that giving you the serum was heroic. Even though she said I still wasn't a hero."
Nate whistled. "I guess they missed all the lessons on tact in the sacred JSA rule book." Ray laughed and Nate was glad he could bring a genuine smile to his friend's face. "Seriously, though, Ray. I wouldn't take what that woman said to heart." Ray looked surprised. "No, really. That was a mean thing to say, for one thing. Maybe it's the time - her generation. I mean, it took me nearly dying for my grandfather to say two words to me, so who knows? But either way, they acted like following rules and being coordinated is what makes a good team, and special powers, or magical totems are what make someone a hero, and that's just not true."
"You have to admit, though," Ray said with a smile. "Coordination does help them look pretty on top of things."
Nate shrugged. "I guess. But assuming the oldest white guy on the team must be the leader kind of takes away from that, you know?"
Ray nodded. "Yeah, it really does."
"And Rex was ready to let you and Amaya die down there, just because saving you wasn't part of the mission. He said that any member of the JSA would gladly die for the mission. Sara was the one who insisted on taking the time to rescue to you. Now, risking your life for a cause is admirable and all, but how great a team can you really be if you're not even willing to bend even one inch to save your team's life if it's outside the mission? Seems more like a bunch of dogmatic bullshit than good teamwork to me."
Ray looked thoughtful. "You make a really good point, Nate."
Nate nodded. "And now, Miss rule-follower is in our brig because she came in here Terminator style, trying to kill Mick for something he didn't do, based on some assumption she made about his character, when she hadn't bothered to say a single word to him. So I don't think you need to take her word for it on what makes a 'real' hero."
Ray smiled. "That's... another really good point."
Nate smiled back, put his hand on Ray's shoulder and gave him a little squeeze. "Ray, you gave up the chance to turn yourself into a super-human to save my life. That means you're still dependent on your suit to fight the big bads, but... you've also given me the chance to fight with you, instead of staying safe and useless on the ship. You can't imagine what that means for me, after spending thirty years of my life in fear of getting a paper cut. So, I don't give a damn what anyone says. You're my hero, Ray. Thank you."
Ray let out a shy laugh, cheeks flushed and eyes shining. "You're welcome, Nate. I'm... thanks for saying that. It means a lot to me. If I had to lose out on superpowers, I couldn't have lost them to a better man."
"Awww!" Nate beamed. "Can I... can I hug you? Do we-"
"We sure do. Or... I do, anyway." Ray opened his arms and Nate gave him a big hug.
"Aw, you have the best hug, bro."
Ray laughed and said, "So do you." They separated and Ray held up his mini suitcase. "Now let's see if we can get Corporal Steel to come out and play."