THE WATCHTOWER
JUNE 11TH, 2087
11:06 EST
I'd felt guilty. The feeling swarmed through my old veins, and for a second, I was convinced I was having a heart attack, until Khaji Da dismissed that, and said I was just feeling stressed from Bartholomew Allen's death.
Sometimes I wish I was having a heart attack that day. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to deal with this shit. I looked at him, or, well, at least his hologram, and didn't tear my eyes away. He looked so young and strong in that Flash costume, so brave and proud. I almost grinned a bit. Seventy-one years ago, Bart came into my life. He immediately befriended me, and I wondered why a tourist time traveler would be so interested in me versus anybody else in the team. Besides the whole Blue Beetle thing, I was just some teenager. There was Superboy, who was half-Kryptonian! Wonder Girl, who was the protege of the Amazon princess! And then there was me. A guy who had a robotic bug suit.
When he finally revealed to me that he traveled back in time, I understood. He told me one thing that'll stick to my memory forever.
"Nathaniel warned me to not become friends with you," he explained as he helped me towards the Bioship, and I was still weak from being tortured in the Reach's pod, "When I was with you, Robin, and Beast Boy in the mourning place in the cave, I had to get to know you more so I could save you from being moded. My job was to get information from you, find out what you were like- not to be your friend. But... I forgot about that rule. I actually care about you, Jaime. My job was to save the world from the Reach. But right now... I know this sounds selfish but... I don't care about the world. I just care about you."
Those words really touched me. They made me feel guilty. What had I done to Bart in the future? How could he come to care for me if I treated him like dirt?
After we defeated the Reach, it was my turn to comfort Bart. There was one reason behind it all. Wally West, the former Kid Flash.
THE WATCHTOWER
JUNE 21ST, 2016
15:17 EST
Aqualad asked me to check on him as he wasn't leaving his reserved room in the Watchtower. I knocked on the door but there was no answer. I told him that it was me, Blue. He seemed to make a noise out of his mouth but didn't open it. I rolled my eyes and used my scarab to open up the door.
He was sitting on his bed, only in his boxers, facing the wall. He was holding his costume; his Kid Flash costume, and looked hesitant.
"What's wrong, hermano?" I asked.
Bart looked at me with sad eyes. I winced. There was a large scar from his shoulder, down to his chest. There were several other nasty ones as well. I don't know why I was surprised, honestly. I probably gave him those scars. Another feeling of guilt swarmed over me.
"Wally." Bart confessed, sighed, and put down the costume, "I can't put this on. I'm not Kid Flash."
"Bart," I said softly, "Wally wanted you to become Kid Flash. Just two days ago, you told me about it. I know it's very soon after his death, and we're taking a little time off until the fourth of July. But, for now, I need you to accept that you are Kid Flash. And I'm so proud of you."
"Really?" Bart almost laughed, "I just can't feel proud of myself."
I put a hand on his shoulder, felt the top of his large scar, and let it rest there for a few moments before leaving.
It was a simple routine, really. When I felt guilty, Bart was there. When Bart felt guilty, I was there. Yeah, we both could get pretty angsty at times, but honestly, in this kind of life, you could only expect it.
CENTRAL CITY
DECEMBER 10TH, 2016
17:09 CT
We were in a more empty part of the city, but you could see bright lights in the distance, and a large, roughly hundred-foot tall decorated Christmas tree in the center plaza of the town. People would pass, chilled to the bone, often holding young children's hands so they couldn't scurry off into the street. Bart and I were in civvies, casually walking, hearing the cheery festive music as we passed the small shops, watching the sun that was almost set in the distance.
"Is this what they call Christmas?" Bart asked, looking around, and I could see his cold breath in the air as he spoke the words.
"Yeah." I replied, then explained quickly, "Well, not exactly. Christmas won't be for two more weeks. But people are just getting in the mood."
"I like it." Bart smiled.
"Most do." I smiled back, "It's really... just that time of the year where everybody's happy to have their family... or something like that."
Bart let out a chuckle of amuesment. The snow began to pick up and the wind began to howl louder.
"We should get going back." I muttered, "It's gonna get worse from here."
As if the weather responded to me, it began to get worse, until Bart and I were nearly blinded by it. I gasped in sudden shock as he grabbed my hand, and before I knew it, I was dragged inside a shop.
"Why couldn't we just have run-" I asked, but was interrupted by an elederly clerk, "Good thing you got in here while you did." he sighed, "This isn't uncommon in Illinois. Soft snow, and before you know it, it's a flippin' blizzard. It happens quickly, just like the Flash."
I almost smiled, and realized that Bart was still holding me. I quickly tore from his rip, slightly embarrased, but asked, "Can we wait it out for a bit here?"
"Sure. If you wanna look at anything during the meantime, feel free." the clerk smiled, and went to a computer, probably to do something for his business.
Bart and I shrugged and walked around, and Bart looked a little uneasy being able to hear the howling of the wind outside. I didn't know why it bothered him so much- I wondered what he must've been through to be so... afraid. And I wondered how much of it involved me.
I picked up a little Christmas tree box from a shelf, inspected it. Bart picked up his own, when suddenly the lights flickered and went out. Bart immediately panicked and held onto me.
"Hermano, why are you so afraid of the dark?" I asked as calmly as possible.
"My era." is all he responded. Yet again, something from his time caused him his fear.
"Sorry boys." the clerk apologized, "I don't have any backup generators. I just got a Christmas candle from my sister recently, though. Like that'll provide any light."
There was a few noises of rummaging through drawers heard, and then after a sharp click, a candle slightly illuminated the shop.
Bart still seemed uneasy though, so I lowered him to the ground, and sat down by the shelf, where he still clung onto me.
"Calm down." I tried to reassure him, "We'll be okay. We've been through worse before. Much, much worse."
"You don't understand, Jaime." he buried his head into my chest, and began to whisper, "We were out too late- my mom and me. It was the rules were to be back by ten o' clock in our dwellings. She was trying to get us home safe; I was little, like, three. Then... Black Beetle found us."
"Did he..." I began, but Bart finished,
"Yes. My mom managed to convince him to spare me."
"I'm... sorry." I sighed, closing him in with a hug. I felt lucky- I never went through what Bart went through. Even if I would have no control over my actions in the future... to just live as a civilian in a world like that... it was terrifying. We sat in silence for a few more minutes, and Bart seemed to calm down a bit, but was still at unease, as if he expected Black Beetle to appear from nowhere and take him next. But I was here now.
"You okay over there?" the clerk called from the distance.
"Yeah," I replied.
"Quick storm. I think it's letting up." the clerk's voice echoed off the walls.
After about thirty seconds, the lights flickered back on. Bart let go of me but still clutched to his tiny Christmas tree box.
"We should buy these." he insisted.
"You sure?" I asked. I didn't know why he would want to, they were just little boxes. But if he insisted upon it, I didn't see why not. We purchased them, each buying our own with our own money, and we walked out, immediately beginning to shiver again.
"So..." I started to say uncomfortably, "Do you... sleep with the lights on?"
"Yeah." Bart replied, obviously disappointed in himself, "I know, it's stupid."
"Let's sit." I said, gesturing to a bench. He looked confused at first but then shrugged, and we sat down on the icy bench.
"It's okay. Bart, I don't think you're... er... just some sort of thing that's afraid. You traveled back in time. The entire weight of the world was on your shoulders. To take on such a responsibility... that's pretty brave." I reassured him and smiled.
He coughed a bit, and just looked at his box, wrapping his gloved fingers over it.
"Why's it special to you, Bart?" I asked.
"It's the first Christmas thing I've er... ever... touched, I guess you could say. It's a whole new thing." Bart explained.
"What are you planning on putting in there? Coins?" I asked. The box was pretty small.
"Dunno." he shrugged casually, and opened the box. He looked uneasy. What was so weird about the box? I opened mine, and saw that there was print on the bottom. It read "YOU'RE MY GIFT". What was so bad about that?
"It's just a sentence, Bart." I shrugged it off, "Does it say anything that brings up... tramua?" Dios mio. I felt like Black Canary.
"Kiss me." Bart replied.
My eyes widened, and if my face wasn't already red from the cold, it was now. "Uh, what was that?"
"That's what it says. Kiss me." Bart seemed very embarrased.
Scans of the Kid Flash verify that he does in fact hold romantic feelings towards you. The printed words in the box have reminded him of such.
"Oh." I said, though I didn't know whether I was responding to Khaji or Bart.
But then I did. And I still don't know why I did, but I did. He seemed surprised at first, but not angry, and actually kissed back.
That was a great Christmas. But that was seventy-one years ago.
THE WATCHTOWER
JUNE 11TH, 2087
11:06 EST
Time would pass. Minutes, hours, days, months, years, whatever you preffered to hear, it passed. I could remember some moments vividly, others were just one large blur. Things would change, people would join and people would leave the Team.
People would live and people would die. Nightwing, who eventually became Batman, died in an explosive accident trying to save people from a nuclear disfunction at a factory. Wonder Girl (yet again, became Wonder Woman), left to become Queen of Amazon at about forty years old. I don't know if she's still alive. I left the Team at the age of twenty-one, when Bart turned eighteen, so we could join the League together. By the age of twenty-three, he was the Flash. Barry had retired and peacefully died twenty or so years ago. Of course, new heroes rose, and the older ones fell. I've been retired for a while, and I now live alone. That event, however, was recently.
After Bart and I retired in 2061, we decided to move to an old farm house near the country to spend out the rest of our days together. We didn't have farm animals, of course, but we had plenty of space for the both of us; for Bart to run around, and enough open sky for us to go flying if we wanted to. Bart usually ran to the nearest town to pick up our groceries and sometimes I'd come along with him, but most of the time, I'd lay back and relax on the nearly-flat roof of our small ranch house, looking at the clouds- looking for shapes. It was a childish thing, yes, and of course, Khaji would scold me for wasting my time. But I didn't care- after a life of fighting crime and nearing death countless numbers of times... it was just nice to do something simple. Besides, even though I was in shape, it was easy to figure it out- sixty-year-old Jaime isn't sixteen-year-old Jaime.
If the weather was right, Bart and I would go flying. Usually at night, so I could point out the constellations and show them to him- he'd never pay attention. I think he honestly just liked riding on my back. Which I couldn't really blame him for.
Flying was an activity we started doing together even before we started dating. Back in August of 2016, Aqualad requested that I fly Bart across the ocean to an island, as Black Manta posed a threat to Atlantis and warned that if they have any military or League ships set on the water a hundred miles from Atlantis and he knew of it, he'd blow Atlantis into bits. Aqualad couldn't risk such, so I had to carry Bart on my back far enough above the sea level to the point where nobody could spot us- and we flew at night as well.
ATLANTIC OCEAN
AUGUST 4TH, 2016
1:07 EST
"I don't like this." Bart admitted nervously, "Like...what if you drop me?"
"Bart," I grumbled in annoyance, "The scarab shifted my armor specifically to strap you securely to my back. You're not going anywhere. And of top of that, Khaji was nice enough to supply heat to you so you didn't freeze so high up in the air. Remember that one time I picked you up when we were going to the Kent farm?"
"Yeah?" Bart asked.
"I was more likely to drop you then. But did I?" I asked.
"...No." Bart sighed, "Alright, alright, fine. But you're flying so slow- give me something to look at besides the back of your head."
I rolled my eyes, and almost smirked a bit. I then moved my left arm and pointed towards the stars. "Constellations." I said simply, "Look at the constellations."
Bart was silent for a few moments- "It's overwhelming."
"Huh?" I asked, confused.
"In the Reach Era... the sky was always grey. We never saw stars. And now there's so many..." Bart trailed off, but then seemed to bring his voice back, "I don't know what constellations are."
"They're like... images. From stars." I tried to explain, "It's like... making shapes out of clouds, just night version."
Using knowledge from Khaji, I began to point out constellations to him.
"Oh." Bart said simply. He was quiet for a few minutes, then just sighed and rested his head on the back of my neck.
"Bored?" I asked.
"Yeah." Bart admitted.
I smirked, and Bart jolted upwards as I did when I bolted towards the sky.
"Jaime, what are you-" he demanded, but I stopped up-right, hovering far above the sea as if I were standing on air. Bart, who was now only hugging me from behind rather than laying on my back began to panic.
"Still bored?" I asked.
"Hermano, stop, this is not-" he screamed as I plumetted face first towards the ocean, but stopped midway.
"Okay, that was kind of fun, but I'm still-"
I shot up towards the sky again, this time in an obtuse direction, so we could gain some ground towards our destination. I turned upside down, and quickly flipped over again, and shot back towards the ocean, and stopped again, and went back to flying normally.
"Aw. Over already?" Bart asked in a half-teasing half-whining voice.
"And you hated it like, twenty seconds ago." I laughed.
Now, I could have been imagining it, but I'm sure I heard a chuckle from him, too.
KANSAS
SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2063
6:09 CT
I hovered above the ground for a few moments before landing. My armor let go of it's grasp on Bart and Bart landed on the ground swiftly.
"Early morning flights. Gotta love 'em." Bart yawned and then stretched, then asked, "Oh, we're by the lonely tree?"
The lonely tree was a distinct landmark in our area. Well, for Bart and I, at least. It was a large, random tree in the middle of a field. For some reason, there were no other surrounding trees. Just that one. I took a seat underneath the branches and Bart made his way onto my lap.
I was silent for a few minutes- I didn't look at Bart, but instead, the land beyond.
"Are you feeling nostalgia?" Bart asked, not bothering to make eye contact as well.
"...Yeah." I admitted, knowing well that I haven't un-armored myself yet, "I miss... those days. Back on the Team. The League. And... I almost feel bad."
"Why?" Bart asked, this time, making eye contact.
"If I never did the whole moded thing, and you never had to travel back in time for me, you'd be young. Strong. Probably an non-retired hero. Twenty-one, to be exact." I told him.
"Jaime." he chuckled, "We beat The Reach, like, I don't know, almost fifty years ago, and you're still beating yourself up?"
I was silent. He decided to speak again.
"I'd rather be old and with you rather than young. Just remember that, okay?"
KANSAS
APRIL 18TH, 2087
9:53 CT
"Weather's looking shitty." Bart mumbled as he grabbed some cereal and sat down at the table, looking out the window above the kitchen sink.
"You're acting if that's uncommon." I rolled my eyes as I sat across from him, setting down my own cereal bowl.
A noise was heard, and then Bart pulled out his hologram screen, and smiled. "Huh. Damian's second grandkid was born today."
"Oh?" I asked curiously, picking at my food. Bart and I had grandchildren- not genetically related grandkids, of course. We adopted a daughter a few years after we got married, and she ended up getting married to a nice young man that both I and Bart approved of. They have two kids, a fifteen-year-old son and a twenty-year-old daughter, by the names of Natalie and Alexander. Or just Nat and Alex, as we call them. It was sort of sad, really, they never got to visit often. Our daughter, Kaitlyn, works in the medical field and is always on call. It always warms my heart to hear her voice, though, to see how grown and mature she's become. She's in her fifties now, but as cheesy and cliche it sounded, she was still my little girl in my eyes. It was hard to think that Natalie was in college now, and a few years, and Alex would be done with high school.
"Jaime? Jaime, you there?" Bart asked, waving his hand in a quick speed to try and catch my attention.
"Oh. Uh, yeah. I was just thinking about Kate." I said quickly.
A loud beeping alarm was heard as I finished my sentence. From on top of the kitchen cabinet, our weather alert system could be seen flashing a light and then finally beginning to tell it's warning.
WARNING: HIGH WINDS THREATEN THE EAST SIDE OF THE STATE OF KANSAS. TORNADO WARNING ISSUED FROM TEN A.M. TO FIVE P.M. STAY INDOORS. PEOPLE AND ANIMALS OUTSIDE IN THIS WEATHER MAY RISK INJURY. EXPECT DAMAGE TO VEHICLES AND BUILDINGS.
There was some static and then a loud beeping noise before the radio shut itself off.
I can confirm that the weather is dangerous. You and Bartholomew Allen-Reyes will likely be able to survive any threats at this specific location. However, the people who live within a ten mile radius beyond you are at risk of death.
"Is it that bad?" I asked, concerned. Our closest 'neighbors' were roughly a mile and a half away, but Bart and I knew them well, and I didn't want anything to happen.
"Huh?" Bart asked.
I explained the warning from Khaji Da to him. Bart looked concerned as well, but then I saw it... in his eyes.
"No." I said before he could say anything, "You're not."
"I don't want to take that risk." Bart said sternly.
The first time I saw that look in his eyes was the day Wally died. We had just finished deactivating The Reach bombs that Black Beetle activated after I destroyed his scarab. There was the twenty-first bomb- Barry had told the League and the Team that he was on his way to deactivate the bomb. Bart had this weird look in his eyes; a mix of determination, anger, concern, and frustration. He took off.
And now he had the same look. I was about to open my mouth, to try to counter his idea, when he was already off.
"Bart!" I cried, instinctively, the scarab's armor covering my body. I ran out of the front door and my wings snapped open. I began to fly, looking for him. Dios mio, what was he thinking?! He was eighty-four!
I could see his streak of speed as he quickly knocked on the door of our neighbors' house. The two concerned elders opened the door, and I wondered if they'd notice me. How could Bart save them, anyways, without revealing his super speed? Would he really risk having to live our lives with the media surrounding us knowing that we were retired heroes?
But then as I saw the sky turn green and the funnel beginning to form, I knew it was worth the risk. I soared down, next to Bart. I wasn't surprised when the couple had a jaw-drop look on their face.
"Blue-Blue Beetle?" the man stammered, and I just turned to Bart.
"I'll carry him, you carry her. We'll both take them back to the house for safety."
"Right." Bart said, scooping up the elderly woman, "Don't mind me, ma'am." he was already off before she could react. I grabbed the man and activated my jet pack, tearing across the sky until I neared the house. I dropped him off, told him to go find his wife inside. I could see Bart in the distance already heading for the next house. I followed him. He picked somebody up, and after about thirty seconds of him leaving, I arrived. There was a grown man, probably in his mid-forties. He seemed to recognize me as well, immediately putting his trust in me. He nodded as I picked him up and flew back towards the house. When I got back, Bart was gone again. Where was he now? Rain was pouring down and it bounced violently off of my armor. I couldn't see.
This is only, what you humans would call "the tip of the iceberg", Jaime Reyes. If you go further out, the weather will just be more severe, and I cannot garuntee you will be able to navigate your way through.
"If I can survive a bomb, I can survive a storm!" I protested to Khaji against the howling winds.
True, but you do not understand. A Reach bomb is specifcally designed not to injure this armor. Although there is a high chance of survival attempting to find the Bartholomew Allen in the storm, like I stated previously, it will be difficult to navigate, and you may exhaust yourself for hours only to find him killed.
"No!" I protested, "I'm going to look for him, and you're going to help me find him!"
If you insist.
I began to fly through the air, Khaji scanning the ground below. The wind seemed to throw me off balance, and I could just make out a house in the distance, where a tornado neared.
I have located The Bartholomew Allen.
I dropped to the ground in hope to catch his attention. It worked. He raced up to me gasping for breath, two panicked teenagers slung over his shoulders, and handed them to me.
"Fly home with them! There's still people to save in that house!" he cried over the winds.
"Bart, please! It's already there!" I pleaded.
"I said go!" Bart replied.
I finally nodded, dropping off the teenagers at the house. I still had to rescue Bart. He was running from the tornado, a very large one at that, this time, two adults slung over each shoulder. I dropped to the ground again. The house in the distance was long gone. Bart handed them to me, then dropped to the ground in exhaustion, his now-gray locks falling over his head.
"Bart! Climb onto my back, miel, please! Flying, remember?!" I pleaded as Bart looked up at me.
"Jaime, I'll only be burned alive by your jet pack. Go!" he shouted as loud as he could as the tornado approached rapidly.
"Please, sir, hurry up!" a person begged. I knew it was now or never. I flew away as fast as I could, and made it home.
Bart didn't.
THE WATCHTOWER
JUNE 11TH, 2087
11:16 EST
"Blue Beetle?" a voice was heard from behind me.
Batman.
His name was Terry Mcginnis. Terry placed a hand on my shoulder, and took off his cowl, and tried to comfort me with a few words, but I wasn't tuning in. Terry was too young. He was a good man, no doubt, but too young to understand the past. The Reach. The day the scarab decided to attach to me seventy-two years ago.
"Terry," a voice was heard in the distance, and I smiled. Terry began to walk away.
Artemis.
She was one of the few still alive. Retired, of course, but alive. And that's what I needed in my life. Ninety-two years old, still as stubborn and tough as she was when she was young. She often hung around The Watchtower. It wasn't an uncommon thing for retired-widowed superheroes to be here. And I joined them a few months ago.
"I know exactly how you feel." she said. She was right. She understood.
I hugged her, she seemed a little surprised at first, but joined in the hug as well. I felt ridiculous as I began to cry. I finally managed to wipe my tears away, though I'm sure they were still bright red.
"If there's anything I can do to make you feel better... I'd be happy to help." Artemis said.
I smiled, looking back at Bart's hologram.
"Do you... want to go flying?"