Rookies

by Welshe

You have to start off somewhere

A/N: Takes place just a little bit after the events of Bloodlines, and some of my own interpretation of certain characters that haven't had their exact status confirmed on Earth-16. A bit of a mix between cartoon and comic continuity. Suddenly having a time traveling speedster can lead up to a lot of questions.

If anything Dick considered himself approachable. When he had been Robin, yes, he could be isolating and too focused on the mission, he still thought he'd a pretty decent job for a thirteen year old. Could've he done everything more smoothly? That was obviously certain; however he couldn't afford to ponder on the changes if his actions had been any different with the event of an invasion facing them eye to eye.

Especially when it suddenly involved time travelers. Perhaps that wasn't what Bart really was, and instead he was just a misguided teenager who had no honest idea of what being on a super team entailed. But he'd done it – just as Wally had successive defied the odds and became Kid Flash, Impulse had miraculously found his way into an entirely different time period.

But was he even from the same dimension? If he was here and not there, and if he still had any impacts to make in his future, what would that mean if they never occur? The rules of science could bend; he knew that much from experience, but this might as well be entirely out of his league. At least the rest of the team had been humble about their newest acquaintance; however it was painfully obvious they were still weren't quite sure what the make of the new speedster.

"Oh wow, "Bart said "you're green!"

"I'm pretty sure they'd have people that color in the future," Gar replied dryly. If anybody was going to discuss the future with him, he'd hoped it'd been anything other than that.

Bart had stretched his arms out behind him and held his thought. "Something along those lines."

It had gone like that for about a week, and frankly in Dick's opinion, much better than what the outcome could've been. Matters regarding the Invasion were still a priority, leaving gaps for the teams to get better acquainted with one another, closing up any distances that had been there initially. The teams certainly helped, that's for sure, and he'd been considering whether or not to try switching them around. They needed to be more precise, realize whatever it was they needed to accomplish, and act in the most efficient way possible. It was the same thought process Bruce had drilled on him, the very basis Young Justice was meant to operate on.

Bart almost defied that logic. Almost. With the League's biggest players out of the question, they had more reason to be cautious than they'd ever have. If someone was going to act impulsively on the field, disrupt the flow of the plan and patronize the outcome of the mission, then they were going to be handled as efficiently as possible. Dick tried to do the best with his approach, after deciding with Mal and M'gann to give the teen a room at headquarters, and figure out where to go from there.

Despite from what Dick had expected, Bart had barely given any input into personalizing his room, leaving three blanks walls and a generic poster of The Flash in mid-run. It wasn't especially tacky, although he'd done little to give his room any particular form of care. Bart sat at the edge of the bed, his hands pressed against the cushioning, swinging his legs. He wondered if the kid could possibility stand still for even just a minute.

"You doing okay, Bart?" Dick asked. The masks stayed on, even if they were already familiar with each other's identity. No one had any idea how much Impulse knew, or what else he could make out from the bits and pieces he was already aware of.

"I'm great. Really great." Bart replied with the grin.

Dick stood beside the open door, and said, "I know its small – but it's the best we can do."

Bart answered immediately, "No! I mean, it's fine, Dick. Better than that hunk of metal I came in on, anyways."

"The Garricks are still preparing for you, so just try to make yourself at home in the meantime," He replied, "Glad to see everything work out. I know everything's happening so quickly, and I just want to make sure you're adjusting. Until you manage to find a way back, just know the team's here if you happen to need anything."

"Just remember to knock first?" Bart said.

Dick smiled, "Not trespassing would be a good place to start."

The teen fumbled for a bit, shooting a glance down at his feet and hoping he'd remember whatever it was he was going to say. It wasn't a terribly awful side effect, but he did need to stop and just think - clear his head even if it took longer than the majority of other actions. It wasn't a bother trying to figure out how Wally and Barry handled it, however there were countless other things he'd rather spend his time mapping out.

"Say," Bart started, not exactly sure where this was going to end. "Does this mean Wally's back in the game. I mean, if he doesn't want to, I shouldn't really be trying to influence him or anyways."

Dick furrowed his brows and straightened himself. Compared to Bart, he practically towered over him, broader shoulders, less fleeting poise, and spoke as if he every intention of being as thorough as possible. Bart had admit, those were better qualities than he'd ever have. There was absolutely no reason why people wouldn't trust you if you were so confident in yourself.

"I don't know, Bart," Dick said. "Everyone on this team has their own reason for staying. If anyone, I think you'd know why he left in the first place."

Bart paused for a moment, "Well, it's different hearing it from you. Kind of hard not to ask those kind of things when I've already read up. I mean, you're here right now, in the present. You have no idea how different things are years from now. Sort of tempted to ask, that's all."

Dick folded his arms and replied, "About that Bart. You can't just go around asking that sort of stuff. You might feel familiar with that information, but you also have to consider everyone else we work with. No more of this spoiler business, okay?"

"Aye aye, captain."

A noise echoed from further down the hall, metallic and unavoidably loud. The two flinched, Bart being the first to pick himself back up, and jolted up on to his feet. Before Dick could catch a glimpse of the red and white blur, it had already reached the end of the hallway, quickly on its way towards the source of the sound.

There were some advantages working with superpowered teenagers, Dick decided. Sure, no one exactly had the strongest grip on their abilities, and even if they did, the higher ups were always the first option. Mount Justice was suitable enough to contain all mayhem that could possibly ensue, even if what could occur still remained at the back of everyone's list of concerns. They had an Invasion; Dick reminded himself, even with all the powers they had, the scope of the matter had surpassed the expectations of practically everyone involved.

The construction of what was essentially a time travel machine was by itself, impressive. Throw in Bart into the equation, and the majority would call it genius. There were still a variety of subjectivities to be added to the equation, but in all honesty, Jaime found the entire premise fascinating. It wouldn't be particularly odd to possibility prod around the inner workings of the machinery, and miraculously discover the pure science fiction that enabled time travel in the first place. What is some sort of time-space manipulation? Or did Impulse just happen to have a fluke this round, and any hopes of returning home might as well be gone?

The machine hadn't seemed all that futuristic. Perhaps if he managed to let Mal allow him to pry around, he'd at least have a chance of observing the core units.

"Blue Beetle!"

A blur had darted past him instantly turning around, and ready to come back to its target. Khaji-Da began to mutter a stream of sharp tongued suggestions, making every diligent effort to convince its host to take defensive action. Jaime refuted, lowering the canon emerging from his arm, configuring his scans to hopefully lock on the hyperactive speedster. He was certainly beyond the ranges Kid Flash had given him, although he wasn't ready to admit Impulse might out speed The Flash, either. Khaji-Da would have to check the numbers for him again, the same way it would end up making the last minute calculation critical to whatever mission they were put to.

This time he managed to catch on to the blur, managing to slow down the camera enough to form a break-down of frames. Bart skidded against the floor, twisting on his side as Jaime caught him, still vibrating from the momentum he had caught. Jaime waited, trying to make out the face behind the yellow goggles, and messy brown hair. There was something noticeably disjointed in his speed though, although with the best of his efforts Jaime couldn't even begin to logically theorize the reasons why.

"Hey," He replied. "You're the new kid, right?"

Bart said, "Precisely. Um – at least that's what I hope I am to you guys."

Dick approached from the opposite side of the room, finally caught up to wherever the other had dashed off to. He saw Impulse and Blue Beetle and hesitated, deciding whether or not he'd want to wait it out and see how things turned out, or intervene before something went hectic.

"I see you're getting to know the team already," Dick gazed around the still in-tact lobby and said, "And the headquarters from the looks of it."

"Nightwing!" Jaime stated. He glanced down at Bart, and quickly silenced Khaji-Da. It was already bothersome having it interfere when unneeded during mission, and definitely didn't have a place in casual conversations. Then again, anything involving a Bat was as far from casual as you'd normally get.

"Is something wrong?" Jaime asked.

Dick shook his head, "Nothing , actually. I was just checking up on Impulse. He's going to be staying with the Garricks in just a few days. Although I'm positive he'll be more than willing to be involved with Young Justice."

Jaime looked a Bart, processing his scanners over his just once more to be sure. If the remaining members of the League and Nightwing could confirm he was from the future, not doubt he'd definitely know a thing or two about their past. He didn't even want to start pondering what the speedster could have already discovered about him by then time he reached their time period.

"You are?" Jaime said.

Bart replied with rushed interest, "Well, I'm already here, and as far as I know there really isn't anywhere else a superpowered teenager can go to do some actual good."

"We still need to talk that out with The Flash," Dick sighed, "And possibly even Kid Flash after that little escapade in Central City. Although after what you did, I don't think The Flash is going to have any more objections."

It had reached all the major news networks in only a matter of minutes, reporting on any causalities and damages in the surrounding area. By the time Bart, Wally, Jay had gotten to the scene, it reached national levels of coverage. Even after the rabid blasts of energy, no one was absolutely certain if it was a Hero related incident or not. However those back at base had been thoroughly informed, and carefully told that this far beyond their scope of involvement. Everyone wanted to help - they had to help even with the damages the Flashes had managed to contain, waiting until conditions stabilize before any interference could be done.

"If you do end up a member of the team," Jaime started, "I think everyone will be glad to have a speedster back on the roster" He grinned, although personally he'd never quite got used to how it looked in his suit. The entire thing seemed like an exoskeleton rather than the sleek costumes and more common clothing he'd seen in the base.

Bart replied, "That'll be so crash,"

After the Garricks had finished their preparations, Bart's durations at Mount Justice steadily declined. A handful of days passed by without the overactive speedster droning about the base, and during the time of his visits, the majority of active members had been sent away on missions. Not that he didn't have his own objectives to carry out in the meantime – above anything else those remained his highest priority.

But he couldn't help himself. Future or not, he had a helpless curiosity combined with overcharged speed. Standing still didn't work, it never did, and everything in this period just seemed to be teeming with life. Nothing else remained still, constantly leaving Bart at the heels of his feet.

Practically every day involved some sort of alien related investigate, a meticulously planned out heist or operation that needed to as professionally done as possible. Of course he'd never gained the opportunity to be involved, and from what he already knew, he'd rather not. Time was a sensitive thing, and he was willing to believe that any unnecessary changes in the order of things were better left uncommitted.

Although those few and distance chances he did happen to come across Young Justice, not currently engaged in any sort of drill, training or briefing sessions, he do his best to catch up on the state of operations. Not that the networks didn't do enough of that themselves, but Bart didn't even know how much longer he'd stand to hear Godfrey's garbage. Sure it was great people were aware, but some of the reactions involving the Invasion had been downright embarrassing.

"And what about that?" Bart pointed over Mal's shoulder at the screen towering over him. Even when the rest of the team was off premise, Mal had always been a constant presence. And from what Bart had seen - did a pretty spectacular job at what he did. He leaned over his toes, in a vain effort to compensate for the considerable height difference. Most of the content on the monitor had been outdated years ago from Bart's time period, however this also had been his first time witnessing this level of technology up close.

Mal replied, "The rest of the team is here, Bart. Maybe you should try chatting with them instead this time."

Bart flattened his feet, walking around the set still trying to get a better look. "If you say so, Mal."

The speedster stayed for a moment, listening in on the tapping of the keyboard, and catching glimpses of the various maps and profiles that slid on to the holographic screen. For a few seconds, he tried to keep track of them all, but at the rate Mal was shuffling through the databases, he eventually gave up and darted off into the lobby.

Over the years, changes the general layout of the base had been minimal. However it wasn't to say that there hadn't been a handful of additional construction to facilities. Certainly more room had been added to expanding roster, along with modified training rooms to meet the needs of more specialized powers. From his own conducted research, Bart had found that the previous model of the room had to be completely rebuilt after a nasty awakening in Superboy's abilities. The new training room was split into various divisions, one being traditionally supplied with weights and conventional equipment; however others seemed to suit aerial needs, another with machinery beyond what even a trained athlete could lift.

In the aerial room, Bart watched from the clear walls separating it from the rest of the floor, straining his neck to witnesses the whirring of black and blue wings. Jaime jerked to the right as a disc shot out from a sort of device, adjusting the height at which the disc was launched with each turn. Then he spun as a second came from behind, his wings hastily vibrating against his shoulders as he maneuvered himself only feet away from the ceiling.

Bart cheered, deciding to make a show of the session. Over the hum of the machinery, and hiss of discs barely missing him, Jaime halted midair and turned towards the source of the call. Suddenly a disc scrapped against his shoulder, causing a reaction from him and reflecting the objective against the protected walls. It struck the structure with a muffled thud, tumbling towards the ground as if it might as well been made out plastic.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Jaime said from across the wall. Lowering his altitude, he made a few swift movements across an interface hovering over his wrist, deactivating the disc shooting machine. A few moments after touching ground, he unfastened the door leading into the room, standing alongside Bart wondering if he had heard him.

"Is that how you do it?" Bart asked. The goggles were pushed up this time, his eyes curiously wandering over the details of Jaime's suit. It was impressive work, although he hardly had the permission to give Jaime the credit for it.

Jaime answered, "You mean – train? There really aren't that many other places I can harness my abilities, otherwise. Miss Martian, Wondergirl, and Superboy use the same thing, although I'm pretty sure they're ten times better at the discs."

Bart replied, "From what I saw, you were doing pretty decent."

Jaime rolled his shoulders, "Thanks." The training facility seemed wider, admittedly quiet when no one was using it. "You aren't busy with the Garricks right now?"

"Nah," Bart waved his hand, "They're settled down already, so they don't get too involved any more. Plus I think they appreciate having time to themselves, especially with having me around all day. I've been getting around though – seeing the sights, not every day you get the travel into the past."

"No kidding," Jaime said. What else was he supposed to ask? He hadn't the slightest idea about time travel, even worse when he speaking to someone who had somehow wrangled that unsolvable problem. "Are they letting join the team?"

Bart hung on to the question, realizing that over the course of his stay, nor Barry or Jay had happened to say anything about Young Justice. He'd wanted to ask, but decided to wait on it until he made sure he wouldn't be completely interrupting the status quo.

"I'm not sure, really," Bart replied, "I mean, Nightwing seems okay with me and so does Mal since he practically sees me every other day. No idea how he feels about that, but I don't think I'm causing any complaints, yet."

"I don't think you need to be concerned with that. Most of us are okay with each other, and those who don't have their own reasons," Jaime said, "But I'm still trying to figure it all out for myself. Some of the people here have been working together since they were our age, and know exactly what they're doing."

"So," Bart said, "You're not a sidekick?"

Jaime checked over his systems, allowing them readjust since he had no immediate plans of using his armor anytime soon. "Were you partnered with anyone in the future, Bart?" He asked.

"I – well I don't think so. I had friends if that's what you're wondering about. But I'm pretty sure I'm not like Robin or Lagoon Boy, mentors weren't my thing."

"Weren't?"

"Are, I guess? The future isn't exactly in the past tense," Bart blinked, "So you work solo, then?"

Jaime replied, "It sort of just happened, putting it simply. No one's constantly looking over my shoulder while I'm out as Blue Beetle, unless you want to count the League. I didn't understand it at first, but Blue Beetle used to be a close friend of theirs."

Bart took a seat on one of the surrounding benches, dangling his feet on the side and said, "Did you figure that yourself?"

"It's sort of a long story," Jaime answered, "I had to figure a lot of stuff right on the go. With so much activity nowadays, the hero community catches on pretty quick. When the League figured out about me, they ended up recommending I work alongside Nightwing. Things were starting to change in the team by the time I joined, so my only theory is that they needed members that would more than likely stay."

"You guys are already starting to resemble the League in sheer numbers," Bart replied, "I didn't expect Young Justice to be this size by the time I got here, anyways."

Jaime took a seat beside the speedster, disengaging his armor, and grinning at the other's expression when it curled back to the spine under his clothing.

"It does that?" Bart's surprised seemed authentic, almost bringing himself to his feet to get a better look. Jaime withheld a laugh, but ended up with a massive grin, preparing for whatever commentary he'd make next.

"Yeah," Jaime hated to admit it, but seeing people's reaction for the first time still made his excited to have the Scarab lodged in his spine. Like anything else, it definitely had its cons, but some of the faces he got during missions were absolutely priceless. "It does that."

"Crash," Bart said, "so crash."

Jaime picked up his arm, rolling up the sleeve and turning it to view. Part of his armor still remained where he might need it, although whether or not he wanted to it behave like so was completely optional, but it proved convenient. The blue highlights glowed, dull enough so they didn't illuminate beneath clothing, however recognizable when exposed.

"I'm trying to figure out exactly how everything works. I mean, I still don't know what the capabilities are. For what I know, this thing can probably make a smoothie for me if I tried hard enough," Jaime laughed. Khaji-Da hissed in his ear, searching its database for an adequate phrase to deliver regarding the processing of fruity drinks.

"It must be some pretty complicated technology then," Bart said. As cautious as he wanted to be, he supposed asking wouldn't do any considerable amount of harm. Someone must've already known about Blue Beetle's origins if they allowed him to even join Young Justice. If he happened to walk into any unwelcomed territory, he'd just fall back to keep his distance and keep it at that.

"Some people think it hurts, but I really don't feel anything at all," Jaime pulled down his sleeve and leaned against the bench, "It felt weird the first couple of times, obviously, but now it doesn't bother me. I thought having super powers all the time would be neat and they still are, but now I'm starting to get what people like The Flash or Superman go through."

"I get where you're coming from. I mean, the speed has done a ton for me," Bart replied, "But the specifics can always end up being a real pain."

Jaime turned to face him, "Really? Aren't you able to do everything at super speed, not just running? I can already start thinking of a handful of places that'd be useful."

"The Flash just glamorizes it. Don't get me wrong," Bart said, "He's rad and all, but you've heard about Kid Flash, right? Crazy metabolism, whatever else it ends up doing to you – the little stuff."

"Are you sure about that?" Jaime asked, "Speedster process thoughts about ten times faster than non-metas from what I heard of."

Bart stopped, and stared down at his feet. "You have a point there, but when I get nervous I start vibrating, and end up vibrating my way through a chair or something. But I think I've done well enough with it so far. I don't think I've done anything particularly bad with my speed, anyways."

Jaime stood up, quickly adjusting the collar of his shirt and eyeing the flight training room in front of him. He wasn't exactly sure how many hours he'd already put in there, nor could he even start to speak for the others, he supposed it helped progress his skills. Flying was probably always going to feel unnatural, especially with having to stick to the ground by the end of the day, along with anything else the Scarab was capable of.

"Feeling up for lunch, Bart?" He asked.

Just as he finished speaking, the speedster was immediately on his feet, ready to go at any time.

"You have no idea," Bart grinned.

Food and Bart were at best inseparable, which was absolutely no surprise to Jaime. However he left Jaime in awe at the speed at which he ate, finishing off what most people would consider three meals in only a few passing minutes. Jaime had barely begun on his sandwich, almost done and suddenly conscious of how especially slow others might seem to be to Bart at the table. If he couldn't believe anything Dick had told him about Wally, this alone was enough proof to make him think otherwise.

"That's uh, a lot of food there, Bart." Jaime said.

"I know," he replied.

Jaime glanced down at his lunch and at the quickly vanishing stack of sandwiches in the center of the table. It had been prepared prior to serve the entire team, but Jaime supposed they might have already made arrangements for Bart's visits. He couldn't exactly blame them, after witnessing the devastation Bart had committed to their kitchen the first time around.

"Are you going to finish that one?" Bart pointed out.

By the time he had realized it, the only remaining substance on the plate were crumbs, and Bart staring curiously at him from across the table.

"Don't they ever get worried about you scarfing down so much back home?" Jaime asked, handing him his sandwich.

Bart shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno – I think they got used to it whenever Barry or Wally dropped by. Although super speed really doesn't work well in places like a house or something most of the time."

Khaji-Da ran the simulations for Jaime, calculating the highest speeds at which the suit would reach, and made briefly noted remarks about how they could be utilized. Jaime rolled his eyes at it, muttering for it to pull the screens down, and maybe not always try to have some sort of (even if good intended) input in his conversations.

Bart raised his brows at this, but said nothing else. Of course he knows, Jaime thought to himself, he probably knows the entire teams origins. And what about the League, what could he know about them? At least he didn't need to have the whole alien-scarab-thing-in-my-spine conversation with Bart, and get an excuse for talking to himself at multiple tones for once.

"Sorry about that," Jaime muttered.

"Do they let you go around the neighborhood with it on?" Bart suddenly asked, his head lying on his one of his arms.

"What do you mean?" Jaime replied searching around himself, "The suit?"

Bart nodded.

"I don't think my folks would actually appreciate that kind of attention," Jaime said, "Not that they don't know, I mean, guess I'm a little more open about it than some of our other members, but that's about it."

Bart sighed and prodded both his elbows on the table, "Impulse wasn't really that big of a hit in the future, either. I mean almost everyone nowadays has some of sort weird fan following. Did you see some of the reports after Barry and the rest of us were in Central City? It was like everybody was celebrating the fact that Jay had pulled himself out just for that one."

Leaning into his seat, Jaime pulled up the time on his interface and realized they've only been at lunch for about fifteen minutes. He'd didn't get much to eat, but even after training he didn't particularly have an appetite.

Jaime said, "I'm not sure if you're the one I should be admitting this to but," he paused and found himself grinning. Bart listened, making him wonder if the speedster was hoping for some sort of unexpected realization. "I've been following this team around before Wally even left. Maybe kind of, I don't know, sort of as a hobby, but I knew just about everyone big enough to call themselves a hero. Never got the chance to meet any of them personally until well – all this happened."

"Well, you are the Blue Beetle," Bart said, "Except technically you're the one from space."

"You know about Ted?" Jaime replied. He almost heisted asking; however it had been bothering him since Bart's arrival. If he already knew about the past, he wanted to know exactly how much of it he was completely familiar with, and possibly answer some of the questions he had for even longer.

"Yeah, Ted Kord." Bart shifted in his seat, suddenly with a need to move. "Real clever guy."

The table stayed silent, Jaime debating whether or not to press on, or leave the conversation already where it had gotten. Someone from higher up must've already spoken to Bart about this, convincing him to keep anything to himself that didn't have a place in this period. But it was just them now, and if it had already happened in their timeline, it wouldn't be anyone else's business if it ended up on the tapes.

"I'd figure you know about him now," Bart said, "I probably just know as much as you do. They must've let you in on the details if you've gotten this far, and even those I wouldn't have a clue about."

"And what about Michael?" Jaime pressed. "Is he still there in your future?"

"Now that's someone with a lot more time travel experience I'll ever have," Bart exclaimed. "But I'm not sure where Booster Gold would be around this time. I know they're searching for him, you know, to be inducted, but after…"

Jaime said, "I don't think they'll be inviting him to the League whenever he decides to return. Probably not even the last thing they'll do when he comes back. "He swallowed, and stared back at the empty plate in between him and Bart. Maybe he should go grab something else for them, or maybe Bart was buzzing because he needed to go burn off that endless source of energy he somehow contained.

"Sorry Jaime," Bart sighed, "That sort of stuff is confidential." He paraphrased the sentence with his fingers, "Batman Oath of Secrecy," and laughed.

"Funny that he got to you first," Jaime added.

Bart replied, "Well, I kind of spoiled Nightwing's and Robin's I. D's when I first dropped by. I mean – I wasn't going to do all the research trying to figure who already knew who, so I just came in on a first name basis. Although they set me pretty straight on that one fast."

They both ended up grinning, and Jaime had to admit, imagining Batman having to deal with Impulse's infamous attention span was entertaining. But he couldn't even try considering the methods he had conjured to make Bart stay in one place, even if the cowl and cape was already intimidating in the first place. The fact that he was sitting here, not surprising random members of the team, and staying in one place holding whatever conversation they were having was well – nice.

Tomorrow when he'll be needed with the rest of Young Justice, or back at El Paso, the two of them will have their own matters to attend to, and schemes to spoil. Bart couldn't be in one place for long, and he certainly wouldn't either.

"You're going to fit right in," Jaime said.

Bart smiled and replied, "Guess we're all going to be around to see how that turns out."