Bart groaned and slowly lifted his head. He had no idea where he was. He was tied to a chair. A soft snort escaped him, which resulted in a piercing pain to his right side. Clenching his teeth together and closing his eyes he breathed calmly forgetting about the pain and got his head together. Once he was focused he tried vibrating through the ties around him.

Nothing happened. Shocked he tried again. Again with the same results. Why is this happening?!" Bart immediately started to panic. He looked around at the room surrounding trying to see if anyone or anything could explain this to him. That is when he felt it, the metal scratch at his neck. No. A collar. His powers were gone! And worse he was alone in this small room. Closed in, nothing but a lone hanging light bulb above him. He tried to cry out but the inhale caused another shooting pain to his side.

Tears streamed down his face. What on earth could he do? He had no idea where he was or how he got there. And there was no one in this place but him. Or at least that is what he thought.

TTT

In the dark corner of the room behind the chair, Blue Beetle stood arms crossed watching the pathetic child squirm and cry as he sat tied to the chair. Honestly Blue could have, and in ways wished, he had just killed the speed demon hours earlier when he had been knocked out in the fight. But he didn't, because he wanted to make this more fun. Besides he did have an audience.

TTT

Jaime had watched so many things happen through this state. He was no longer in control. Not even one bit. He could not speak or move the way he wanted to. Instead he was forced to watch as the virus took over everything in his life. Making Blue a monster. At first he had tried to stop his body from doing the things that it did, and for a while it worked. But now there was no hope the virus was too strong and he was not even sure if the scarab had anything left to keep Jaime's friends safe like he had promised.

Jaime "sat" back and watched everything become a place that no one would be happy in. The heroes were falling because they were fighting him. Jaime didn't want them to be, but they were and there was nothing he could do. The only thing he could have done, was not have been so desperate when Green Beetle had offered to fix his scarab. What a foolish thing that was. Now look at him. He was the Big Bad Bart had told him about.

Bart. Jaime had watched so many things happen through this state. But what Blue had brought back and done this time was the worst.

TTT

Bart cried. He had done everything to save the future to make things right, but it wasn't enough. And now look at him, he was trapped and back in the same place he started all those months ago when he had thought of coming back to try and crash the mode. When he came back he knew what he had to do, he had to save the day and stop Blue… Jaime. But Jaime did not seem like the kid who would become the one to destroy everything that mattered to Bart. He was kind, caring and became the boy's dearest friend.

Why did it have to come back to this? Bart looked at the floor in front of him wondering if he fell if he could just keep falling and leave all this behind. It would just be so much easier, then he could forget about all this pain that he was going through, all the suffering he had been through. Twice!

Bart leaned forward slightly but he did not have enough body weight to really do much except pull the restraints tighter. Which caused more pain to his side. Grunting Bart leaned back in the chair and looked up to the light bulb above him. He wondered why he was in here. Maybe they were starving him. Well if they were going to do that they should take his metabolism blocker off the collar, he would be dead in minuets. Perhaps there was another reason…

"Enjoying yourself meat?" A raspy voice echoed from behind him.

Bart nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden sound from behind him. He tried his best to get a better view, but it didn't matter because within seconds the monster of Blue Beetle was standing in front of him.

Bart panicked. Now he knew why he was here. He wasn't here to die. He was here to get murdered and by the worse person of all to get killed by.

His best friend.

TTT

Blue glared at the small brunette in front of him. So small, so scared, like a baby deer. Impulse stared back into the orange eyes of the Beetle and started to form a word but nothing came out. Blue watched as the boy looked down to his feet and mumble something as a tear fell out of his eye.

The beetle laughed and grabbed the boys hair and looked him directly in the eye, "You say something hermano?" The tease in his voice as he imitated the Spanish tongue of Jaime.

Impulse's eyes watered as he strained to speak, "Nothing."

"That's what I thought meat!" Blue growled as he threw the boys head down, a small grunt escaped the speedsters mouth as he was forced to look down again. Blue watched smirking as the boy struggled to breathe, clearly a pain in his side.

"That's a fun injury isn't it?" Blue laughed as Bart looked up in utter disgust as the Beetle mocked him.

"I can't believe you," Bart hardly whispered as he struggled to breathe. Each breath becoming more painful and dots started to fade in and out of his vision.

Even though it was a whisper the scarab picked it up and Blue reached down and put a hand under the boys chin, "Believe it babe." Blue breathed right in front of Bart. Bart tensed at the touch and Blue could feel it through the sensors in the armor. He grinned and moved his face inches from Bart's before his mouth was nearly touching the young hero's.

Blue again felt the hero tense and try to move away, but the beetle kept a firm grip on the younger boys jaw and did not let him go anywhere. "You scared hermano?" Again he teased looking deep into the green eyes of the boy in front of him. Tears started to trickle down the boys face and Blue only grinned. With that he pressed his cold hard metal lips into Bart's smooth and pink lips. Blue listened to the small protests of the younger boy as he nipped at his mouth. But the more the boy struggled the more painful he made it. Nips turned to bites, and soon Bart's soft lips turned red and were slowly dripping blood.

Blue leaned back allowing the boy to breathe, and then he leaned forward again and licked away the small amounts of blood starting to pool on Bart's lips. When he was finished he leaned back and stated to the boy, "Because you really should be."

TTT

No! Jaime screamed inside the mind he was trapped in. He ran, he fought he pounded. He wanted out! He needed out. He had to save Bart. Jaime watched as Blue tortured the poor boy. It pained him to see Bart the way he was, and then to have to watch what "he" was doing to the boy was beyond murder.

While Blue dove in and kissed Bart, he watched as the boy's eyes grew wide and filled with pain and distress. He hated it. This was torture not only for Bart but for Jaime as well. But Jaime knew that, he knew that Blue was doing this to make his life more miserable. He would have to live the rest of his life stuck in here with these horrible images in his mind. He was going to live with the fact that "he" tortured his best friend this way and that "he" killed him.

That is what Blue was planning on doing, he couldn't deny it. This is what Blue wanted him to see, the torture, he wanted to carry out Bart's death instead of just killing him on the spot. That would have been too easy for Blue and wouldn't have been as much "fun". Besides Jaime knew how much Blue loved to torture him. He was there, he got to watch everything that the Beetle did and destroyed.

Every time it killed Jaime a little more inside. But he knew that of all the things that Blue had ever done that this was going to be the worst thing for him to go through. Why? Because Bart was his friend, and not only that, he was his best friend. And Bart had trusted him and then he turned into this. And now this is what was going to kill the boy he loved right before his very eyes. And nothing could save him. That is what killed Jaime; even he couldn't save the very person he lived for.

Seeing Bart alive through the eyes of Blue is what kept him watching and making sure things were okay. Because maybe if Bart was there and he made it through everything, maybe there would be a day when they could be back together and Jaime could talk to him and not Blue.

So Jaime had tried and tried to get out every time he watched Impulse fly by him. Every time the boy threw a punch at "him" Jaime tried to get out. He tried so hard and still he was trapped with no control and no way to save his friend. And now this is what he was forced to watch.

The kiss killed Jaime inside. The pain in Bart's eyes destroyed him. And the laugh from Blue only enraged him. Jaime watched as Blue ran a hand through the boys hair and laugh.

TTT

"Why?" Bart muttered out in a single breath.

"I had to get that out of the way, so I could move on to the real show," Blue teased.

Bart looked into the eyes of the Beetle confused and horrified.

TTT

Jaime screamed.

TTT

Blue chuckled, as he listened to the soft wail from inside. "Well hermano, I have a list to keep to and your one of the things I need to cross off," Blue teased and tilted the chair back and glared into Bart's green eyes.

With a quick flick of his hand Blue turned his hand to a blade and sliced through the ropes holding Bart to the chair. Then with a grin he tilted the chair roughly to the right and Bart was thrown to the ground.

TTT

Jaime watched as Bart rolled to his side and grabs his ribs and start to whimper quietly.

TTT

Blue laughed and dropped the chair.

"Really that is no way to thank me for untying you!" Blue pulled back a leg and kicked Bart in the side until he was facing Blue. "There that's better now we can see your pretty eyes."

TTT

Jaime pounded and screamed. He needed out he wanted out there was no other way to save Bart!

TTT

"Why…. Do…" Bart tried to whisper out but clearly the pain in his right rib cage was getting to him.

"What's that ese?" Blue teased and lifted the boy up by the top of his uniform.

Bart felt limp and allowed the beetle to lift him. He barley had any strength left and knew that he would not be much use in a fight against Blue.

TTT

Jaime screamed he did everything in his power to get out. To be free. To get to Bart. He had to free himself of the virus. He was Bart's only hope.

TTT

"It is such a shame this is what you were trying to prevent all along speedy, and yet it ended up happening anyway." Blue looked straight into the eyes of the boy as he held him just a few inches off the ground. "But all good things must come to an end I suppose."

TTT

BART! PLEASE LET ME OUT! BART! BART!

TTT

Again with a flick of his wrist Blue's hand was back in the form of the blade. Gently he ran the smooth side under Bart's now trembling chin. Blue could feel the fear in the boy and smiled.

"Its really too bad." With those final words, Blue pulled back the blade and with a swift motion cut straight through the younger boys abdomen.

The screams filled Blue's ears and Blue laughed as he pulled the blade out and let go of the boy and watched as he fell to the floor. Then just like that Blue's world went dark and he was gone.

TTT

Jaime watched the scene. He saw the blade go in. He watched as Bart screamed and started to bleed. Jaime screamed too. He screamed loud and with so much force he felt like everything inside him was starting to break. With every ounce of energy he ever felt that he had he tried to move. To be free. To get out.

Then he saw him, lying right in front of him curled up in a ball blood pooling around him tears pouring out of his eyes. Bart. Jaime tried to run to him. And for the first time in months he was able to go where he wanted. He would have frozen and stood there shocked if it were not for Bart lying there on the ground.

In an instant he was on the ground and scooping the smaller boy into his arms. He turned his arm into a smaller blade and cut the collar off, he knew the accelerated healing would not do much now, but at least it might do something.

Jaime armored down and looked at the small body in his arms. "I am so sorry ese!" Jaime cried pulling the boy close to his chest and crying on his head.

Bart coughed weakly and Jaime pulled him away to look at the boy. Bart stared at him and tears poured out faster now, "What…. Too.. kk.. you… so…. Looo..nng.. her… mannnnnnnnn." Bart tried to breathe out but Jaime stopped him by putting a finger to his lips and started to cry.

"Please don't go, I'm so sorry." Jaime cried.

"Whaaaa…tt… can…. You….dooo?" Bart tried to smile through the pain tears and blood. Slowly Bart lifted a hand to Jaime's face, Jaime helped it get there and held the small pale hand to his face. Bart gently used his thumb to wipe a tear off Jaime's cheek. "I…. I…. L….ooo.." Bart's voice started to fade and Jaime watched as his eyes slowly started to loose there shine.

Jaime pulled the boy close and quickly placed his lips to the younger boys. They both kissed for mere seconds before Jaime felt Bart stop kissing back. Jaime slowly pulled away and looked at the younger boy. His face expressionless and cold. His mouth slightly agape. And his last words still hanging in the air yet to be said.

Jaime sat there the boy in his lap not moving for what felt like ages, and just let his tears fall to the cheeks of the boy before him.

"I love you too hermano."