Disclaimer: Dude, if I owned young justice, you'd be seeing this on TV, not reading it here. =P
had this idea for a long time. Kinda future fic, but hey! who doesn't like to see time travel? =D
Double Take
Wally hit the floor hard, the word fail screaming from underneath him. Robin cackled grinning madly. He won that round.
"Dude! That was so not cool!"
"That's what you get for not paying attention!" Robin teased back, offering a hand to his best friend. "Wanna go again?"
The redhead scowled. "No thanks. Rather get my uncle here already to start our training like he promised."
Robin shrugged, looking over to Conner and Kaldur exchanging blows to the side. "Well you know how he is. Friendly as ever, always late. Sound familiar?"
Wally pouted childishly. "I'm not always late. And where's B-man anyway? Wasn't he supposed to give us a mission or something?"
The boy wonder shrugged, watching the two powerhouses of the team spar. "Dunno. Think something came up. A burglary would do it. Especially if it's Catwoman."
"Does he seriously have a thing for her?"
Robin nodded, sighing resigned. "He won't date her or go all out because she is a thief, but he's trying to reform her too. She's not a bad lady, way better than Talia and a few others, but still…"
Wally cracked a grin. The look on his friend's face looked more like he just didn't want another person in the middle of his relationship with his mentor. Daddy complex. He had to be the man's son. He clapped his friend's shoulder encouragingly, a friendly smile on his face. "Don't worry about it man. He's not gonna go gunho on a dame just because she's ho—"
Suddenly the wind blazed around them, all coming from one part of the cave. Everyone reflexively braced themselves, some closing their eyes to block the dust from entering their eyes. Robin looked at the source while Wally dug out his goggles to clear his vision and see what was going on himself.
"What the devil?" They heard Conner shout.
"Red Tornado! What is the meaning of this exercise?" Kaldur demanded.
"It's not Tornado!" Robin shouted over the howling winds, whipping his belt out. Wally finally had his goggles on and he looked towards the source. Their den mother wasn't even in the cave. "It's some kind of vortex!"
"What's going on!" M'gann and Artemis ran in from the common area just as the room started brightening from the wind's center. Both girls covered their eyes defensively, Artemis ready to fight in a instant. Agonizing seconds passed before the light was as large as their computer screens. Wally adjusted his goggles to adapt to the light, barely able to make out the figures coming out of it.
"We've got visitors!" The speedster shouted, bracing himself to run and fight the wind as needed. Something whipped past their ears to the Zeta-tubes behind them, turning them on. Before any of them could act, one figure ran past them straight into the tube's light and out of the cave. Four other forms tumbled out of the vortex, one of them cursing.
"Language!" One of the larger figures yelled just as the vortex started to close.
"Oh yeah," the other large figure started, turning on the first. "That's real handy now!"
"Thatwasfun!" One of the smaller ones leapt to its feet, instantly better. "Letsdoitagain!"
"Like we have a choice?" The last form muttered. The wind died down and the light faded away, giving everyone a good look at who and what stood before them. The last one pushed himself off the floor and went straight to one of the larger. "I'm pretty sure we're not in Kansas, and I don't see him."
"That sucks," his comrade started, as he stood up tall. The team stared at them, dumbfounded at the sight. Before them were two people they didn't know in the slightest then two they did. Flash and… Robin.
"What the…" Robin gaped at the group, caught between disbelief and fury. This wasn't him, that was clear. This Robin's uniform was clearly better armored and padded, his cape was longer and a different computer laid on his wrist. His hair was slightly gelled too, spiked in front. Clearly in his early teens, maybe fourteen max. And he wasn't as lean as their Robin. He looked just about normal height and build for a young teenager.
The dark haired young man he stood next to was clearly an acrobat. Tall, lean and very muscular without looking bulky. He wore a tight black uniform with a blue bird in flight across his chest and collarbone. Its wings continued past his shoulders and into a stripe down each arm reaching his fingertips, covering two of them. His gloves and boots clearly held compartments in their cuffs, plus a black utility belt blended into his waist. Two sticks rested on his back, easy to grab and use at a moments notice. Clearly this man was dangerous, but despite his almost bat-shaped mask on his face, he seemed to smile more than frown.
The other unknown looked a little younger than the other 'Robin'. Lots of brown hair tossed around as he looked around himself curiously. His mask was similar to KF's, but red with yellow goggles built into it. His full bodysuit was white with red going down his middle, almost like a lightning bolt striking his entire body. His shoes and gloves were red, and it was clear he had nothing to use to fight them. Didn't look like he cared to either, not with that curious innocent expression on his face.
Flash was the real mystery. Even if he was Flash, he seemed to be disoriented like the other three and whipped his head around confused. "What the hell?"
"Language," the blue man repeated. "Think of your cousin will ya?"
"Where are we?" 'Robin' asked quickly, also looking around. He spotted the others and his eyes widened behind his mask.
"Thisissocoo!" The brunette dashed around the room, not thinking for a moment what was going on. "What'sthisdo? Howaboutthis? What'sthis? Who'sthis? HeyisthissupposedtobeSuperboy? Helooksold! Cool! Greengirl! How'dthathappen? I'mhungry! Thatthekitchen? Iwanticecream!"
"Impulse! Getbackhere!" Flash ran after the zooming kid straight into the kitchen, frustration screaming across his face.
"I think we're in Happy Harbor…" the blue guy started, comprehension coming to his face. He stared forward to Robin and Wally, then to everyone else still caught in shock at seeing them suddenly. He slapped his forehead in frustration. "Crap."
"Happy Harbor?" 'Robin' asked, cocking his head as if he was trying to remember something.
"Down."
"What?"
"Now." The blue man grabbed 'Robin's' cape's collar and pulled the two of them to the ground just in time to dodge Superboy launching himself at them.
'Robin' jerked his head around just in time to see Superboy tumble on the opposite side of them. Confusion ruled his face. "What was that about?"
"I hate time travel," the man growled. He let go of his 'Robin' and rolled to his feet, raising his hands in his defense. "Look, there's a good explanation for this, so just calm down Superboy."
"That's really Superboy?" 'Robin' asked, not really believing it.
"Yeah," his friend answered.
"Who are you?" Conner raged, and was ignored by the two.
"He's really different."
"Tell me about it. It was weird not seeing him so grumpy back home." Everyone gaped at their casual conversation. They had some nerve just talking in front of them like this.
"When did that change?" 'Robin' started getting back off the floor, looking over to the boy of steel then to everyone else, donning comprehension on his face.
"I'll tell you sometime." The man slowly moved out of a fighting stance to a nearly surrendering posture. "But right now, we need to get them to trust us so we can go after Warp and go home."
"Who are you!" Superboy demanded again, ready to charge. Everyone had settled into a fighting stance, but didn't charge forward just yet. Artemis had her bow ready, aimed through the doorway at the two speedsters in the kitchen. The younger 'Impulse' was raiding the fridge while Flash was trying to stop him. Wasn't working so well when the kid kept putting something into the man's mouth. Wally debated darting into the kitchen to handle them, particularly when the kid started eating his ice cream. M'gann stood in a fighting stance, unsure of what was taking place. Kaldur had his weapons out, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Robin was already working on the cave's computer, glaring occasionally at the other 'Robin' in the room.
'Robin' was back on his feet, taking everything in, then his eyes settled on Robin. His eyes widened a fraction, then cracked a grin. He pointed to Robin and nudged the man next to him. "Hey! It's—"
"I know," the blue man started. "And soon he'll know. Flash! Imp! Get in here!"
"Trying!" Flash shouted back. "You try getting this brat in line! How does Max handle him?"
"Padlock on the fridge," 'Robin' muttered with a small smirk.
The man next to him scowled at him. "Are you spying on your friends?"
"Visited once." The boy's grin was growing as he looked at the other people in the room. He raised his hands too. "'Uncle' Max is pretty cool."
"Answer the question," Kaldur ordered.
'Robin' looked at the teen leader, cocking his head. "Who's he?"
"Don't ask." The man gave a long sigh before answering, looking straight to Superboy over Aqualad. "We're friends. Flash and I have been friends for years. I'm… Crap. Can't say it."
"Whynot?" Impulse darted in, a large chunk of cake in his hands. He looked up and down Superboy again, raising a critical eyebrow. "Wow. You've really changed. Does Peter Pan age backwards? Why don't you have a cape? Iwannaseeacape!"
"Shut up Bart!" Flash growled as he grabbed the kid's collar and pulled him away. He looked at Superboy, a somewhat sorry expression on his face. "Sorry. Just ignore him. Wow, you really are older. What's going on Nigh—"
Flash stopped as he looked at Wally. What color they could tell was on his face drained away for a moment. "Crap."
"Flash," Wally started more confused than anything, "what's going on?"
"LetgoWally!" Impulse shouted at the top of his lungs, struggling against Flash's grip.
Everyone but Impulse stopped still. Everyone stared at the foursome, some bits clicking into place. 'Robin' looked like he was going to laugh but held it in. The blue man dropped his hands, head tilted back in frustration. "Nice going kid."
Flash glared at the struggling teen. "You… you you you…" The scarlet speedster slapped his cowl in frustration, not letting the kid go for a second. "Should have known."
"Well we knew this day was going to happen sometime soon," the other man started. 'Robin' snorted, now covering his mouth. The man glanced over to him and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Not that funny."
"For you." The boy shook his head, regaining control of himself. He was rewarded with blue bird messing up his hair.
Flash turned on Impulse, glaring darkly and growling slightly. "Not another word. No more IDing people. You can't give out secret identities, got it?"
"Got it got it." Impulse was clearly not impressed. Instead he took another bite from that cake he liberated.
"I mean it kid," he growled. "One more word and when we get home, I'm not just going to tell Max. I'll tell your grandma."
At that the boy froze. He zipped his lips together then gave a sheepish grin. "Got it."
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Artemis demanded, ready too launch an arrow straight at Flash. Or Wally. Wally-Flash.
The speedsters looked at her, Flash's eyes growing wide while Impulse cocked his head in confusion. "Arrowette?"
"Artemis," Flash corrected, his voice low and slightly panicked. The blue man almost smiled knowingly while 'Robin' raised an eyebrow, still grinning.
"Time travel," the lean man started, stepping forward. Flash nodded, letting go of Impulse's collar but keeping a firm hand on him. The kid continued to eat cake. "We're from your future. In fact," he looked over to Robin and the boy wonder was already paling, having completed the computer scans on them, "I'm your Robin, all grown up. Give you my name but it was quite a bit of fun picking it. Just call me… Blue Bird. That'll work for now."
"Blue Bird," 'Robin' mused. "Right. So, masters of time travel, how do we get home?"
"Same way we got here." Blue Bird looked over to Impulse. "You remember where you put that thing you grabbed?"
Impulse nodded. "Kitchen. Fridge. Right next to the eggs. Expiration date's way past due."
"It's 2011 Bart," Wally-Flash growled.
The young speedster shrugged. Time travel apparently meant nothing to him. "So what? Still past due."
"You knew the date?" 'Robin' gaped at him, irked and shaking his head.
"Saw a calendar. What's with the puppies anyway? Someone like dogs that much here?"
"Just get the gizmo," Blue Bird ordered. Wally-Flash let go of the boy and he zoomed off and back within a second, bringing in a half sphere contraption for them to inspect. Blue Bird handed it over to 'Robin' and nodded. "You work on the algorithms. Figure out how it works. It's from the 30th century so have Impulse help you."
"10-4" 'Robin' started, immediately plugging his wrist computer into the device. "You and Flash going after Warp?"
Blue Bird nodded, a dark grin on his face. "Naturally. Fill them in on some details, but not everything. Since you don't know the team and our ops, there won't be much you can explain anyway."
"Don't mess up the time stream, got it." The kid was typing faster on his wrist computer than they ever saw their Robin type, and he seemed to be enjoying it. His multitasking abilities seemed sharper than the boy wonder's too. "What do we do if Batman pops up?"
"Say simulation nine and he'll clam up. Flash," Blue Bird turned to his friend, "we've got a thief to catch."
Wally-Flash looked at Impulse cautiously, not sure if he should leave the kid alone. He was already eating what remained of the cake he found earlier. He pointed firmly at the kid before following Blue Bird to the Zeta-tubes. "Best behavior. And don't talk too much. And don't tell him how you got here!"
"Here here? Or from my time here?" Impulse speculated.
"From your time, and don't explain it to anyone!"
"Flash!" Blue Bird ordered, the Zeta-tubes already online.
"Got it!" He ran straight into the light within seconds, followed quickly by the grown up Robin. The computer announced their departure.
Recognized – Robin B01, Recognized – Kid Flash B03
If any of them had doubts on who they were, they were gone now. Impulse turned his head everywhere before announcing he was bored and started running around exploring the place. 'Robin' was busy working on his computer, ignoring everyone in the room. That is, until Robin marched straight up to him, glaring furiously.
A/N: Okay, this is actually supposed to be a one shot but it got to 35 pages on my compy. Hate making one shots too long. So it's being split up into parts with a few epilogues. I'll update this twice a day until it's done, mostly because it's funny.
its' slightly a future fic because the epilogues also feature the future people handling what happened afterwards. Lots of comic book refences, but I've got two of the original Young Justice members here, and bringing up how different Superboy is. I actually have an idea for how to fix Conner to fit their generation later but I'm not gonna get into that right now. Quoting Nightwing "I'll tell you sometime."
Personally my love for young justice comes from Tim/Bart/Kon. I remember reading the first volume years ago and Bart was always a favorite of mine, especially as Impulse. In one issue though, Superboy calls himself peter pan, hence Bart's question. *sigh* I need to find those comics someday and read them all. They're so fun.