A Hero's Journey

Season 1 Episode 19: An Expanded Horizon

"You did enough during our fight with Jackson, and I never said you were a bad friend." Isaac said, his gaze intense and genuine.

James let out a faint laugh. "Then why don't you trust me enough to tell me how you really feel?" he asked. There was a brief pause in their conversation. He could tell Isaac was trying to process and come up with an answer for what he asked.

"I don't know," Isaac muttered. There was no snappy remark, no witty comment, no anger or resentment behind his eyes. That was it.

James let out a confused breath before asking, "What?" He observed as Isaac lowered his arms from the railing and pivoted, pressing his back against the metal half-walls.

"Maybe I'm just scared of you being too close to me," Isaac muttered. "Yeah, that sounds just like me."

"But is that really a bad thing?" James asked.

"I don't know," Isaac muttered. "I really don't."

Once again, a pause overtook the conversation. The only sound that could be heard was the occasional gust of wind and the frequent sound of tires on the pavement, punctuated by faint conversations from people on the sidewalk.

"How," James started, "How's your arm?" he questioned, trying to jumpstart the conversation.

"It's fine, I guess," Isaac said. "The bone itself is pretty much healed, it's just the muscles and what-not that are pretty stiff."

"And, what about the scarring?"

"It's still there," Isaac said. "My best guess is: when things are so severally damaged on the cellular level, our powers have a harder time repairing that. I don't know for certain, of course, but that's just my initial theory."

James's eyes narrowed and his forehead tensed. His mouth hung open ever so slightly. "But then," he began. "Wouldn't that mean...any fight against Flame would be suicide?" His entire body shivered at that one word: suicide. At the peak of Jackson's bullying, that word first entered James's vocabulary. 

Isaac couldn't help but notice the immense pain that the word caused. "Yeah, it's possible," he said. "But on a better note, I should be discharged tomorrow, which means: we'll be figuring out about this new place Chief Braun has been hyping up."

Because of Jackson's reveal, the Caddel family was forced into a special Police Protection service. This plan encompasses various measures, such as ensuring continuous financial support for both parents, relocating the family and acquaintances to a secure undisclosed residence under constant surveillance, and granting exclusive access to the second floor of the Police Headquarters.

James's face perked up as he let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. 

Isaac could feel his face lighten as he watched James's smile grow. There was something pure and innocent to it; he couldn't help but smile.  This was nice; it was peaceful. 

"I wish Daniel could see this," James said, his eyes turning back to the starry night sky. 

Isaac's eyes danced for a moment as if he was thinking of something to say. "Do you think," he muttered. "Daniel hates me? I mean, I wouldn't blame him after what I said."

James laughed, which caught Isaac off guard. "I mean, yeah, you said some pretty stupid stuff," James said. "But come on, this is Daniel we're talking about! He could never hate you."

Isaac wasn't sure how to take that. He should've been happy, relieved even, but he wasn't. A part of him had a hard time believing James's words.

"I'm telling you man, if you just go and apologize, and explain everything to him, I'm sure he'd understand." James explained.