This was not how Ted had expected his day to go. All he wanted to do was take a little break from work, maybe head down town to score a burger. Maybe make some laughs with Booster and then head back to running his company…that was kind of failing.

And now he gets to deal with this.

"How is he?" Ted asked the nurse. Ted Kord. The Ted Kord, Blue Beetle, member of the Justice League, president and CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world…was shaking. He never much cared for hospitals. The smell of sterilized steel, and spilled blood. Whenever he took too many blows to the head, he would be greeted by the smell of itchy linen and cold curtains. Hospital staples.

The nurse merely sighed and looked over her chart. "He's suffered head injury, but he'll live." She sucked her teeth and looked to the ceiling. Ted knew that look too well. She was pissed. "You need to be more careful. I mean look! This kid could have died." She pointed to beyond the glass door where their patient sat. A young man…no a teenager, with dark skin and hair that fell into his eyes. His head was wrapped in a cold cloth and his mind was far from where his body was.

He was asleep.

Ted didn't mean to get the kid hurt. One minute he was just driving to where he could get lunch, and the next he's slamming into some kid who came out of nowhere. He literally came out of nowhere. In a flash of gold light, there he was. Who was he? Where did he come from? How…

"What's his name?" The nurse asked as she flipped through her clipboard. "We couldn't find any ID on him."

Ted only shrugged his shoulders.

"Can't you do some kind of DNA testing on him?" Ted asked, "Maybe call his parents or-"

"Who do you think we are? The Justice League?" She sucked her teeth again.

"C-can I go see him?"

The nurse shrugged her shoulders, and nodded.

Ted slowly stepped through the door and looked over his new…friend. Ted certainly had done a number on him. His face was scratched; his head looked like it had been through the garbage disposal and his arm looked to be bent. Ted leaned in closer, the kid's hands were wet (was he near water before the accident?), he looked to be…Latino. Maybe Puerto Rican, or Mexican? Was he a runaway? A few days ago Ted had read an article in the paper about teenagers who left home. Most of them were never seen again. Could this kid be some runaway too? And if he was then he wouldn't be too keen on telling Ted (or anyone else for that matter) where his parents were.

Great. Just great.

"Uh…kid?" Ted whispered. Could he even hear a word Ted was saying? If Ted was hit with a car that hard…and speaking of which…how did this kid even survive that accident? Getting into an accident like that and only leaving with these superficial injuries was…nothing short of a miracle. And Ted would know, he had seen his share of miracles working with the JLI…so who was this kid?

"Hmm…" he began to stir, his head moved to the side, his bandages fell down against his pillow. Wake up. Wake up. "W-what?"

Ted leaned over. "Hey kid…are you okay? Do you know where you are?"

Slowly, the teenager propped himself onto his elbow, and Ted gently placed his hand against the kid's chest. "Whoa, whoa, whoa there kid. Not so fast." Ted felt guilty enough having run the poor guy over, he didn't him to move any more than what he need to. "Just slow down. You were in a car accident okay? You're in a hospital and you're safe."

Where were the doctors exactly? Shouldn't they be the ones explaining all of this?

"Alright?" Ted flashed his brightest Blue Beetle smile and…the kid smiled back. Not just an "I'm okay crazy-person-I-don't-know smile, but a smile. The way that kid's face lit up, it was as if it were Christmas, his birthday, and Halloween all bundled together. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Y-you're…" the kid began, "I-I know you…from somewhere…" he closed his eyes and leaned his head back, his smile never fading from his lips. "You're-"

"I'm Ted Kord," he said. "But, I'm more interested in you. Can you tell me your name?" Maybe now he could get some answers. Run a background check, get this kid back to his parents (who were probably worried sick) and just get on with his day. Simple. Easy. Nothing to worry about.

"I-I- can't…it's…" he closed his eyes, "I'm sorry, but I can't remember."

Perfect. That blow to his head must have caused more damaged than Ted first assumed. Ted shook his head. Alright…he was a smart guy, he could figure this out. The hospital would simply hold the kid here until they could figure out what to do with him. And naturally Ted would fit the bill for the whole thing, he had already decided that himself

"Mr. Kord?" A man in a white lab coat stood behind him.

"So what's the story Doc?" Ted asked.

"Well, I've looked him over and—while there are scrapes—he seems fine. It's strange, but he's been healing exponentially fast…I don't really know how to explain it."

That was interesting.

"We'll keep him over night to make sure, but I think he can be discharged."

"Hold on a sec doc," Ted said as he glanced back over to the young patient, the kid looked as confused and scared as a hurt cat, the same look Booster gave him whenever he got turned down by a girl. Ted hated that look. "Kid doesn't even remember his name, you can't just release him out into the world…it's not safe."

This was a hospital right? Their job was to help people?

The doctor only shrugged. "Well, I'm sorry Mr. Kord, but that's the way things are. We've had so many people in need of medical assistance that we just don't have enough beds. Compared to some of the cases we've had today this guy's scrapes are minor."

Just great. So…now what?

"Mr. Kord, how about you fill out some paperwork and we'll get talk more about this later," the doctor glanced to the young man in the bed, "Maybe give our friend some time to rest."

That doctor didn't like the puppy looks this kid was giving out either, that much Ted was sure of. The two left through the door.

"Doc, we can't just throw the kid out on the street. He can't even remember where he came from." Ted felt his pulse rising, he may not have known this kid, but sure as hell wasn't going to let him wonder the street in his condition. "Look, money is no option. I'll pay anything."

"Mr. Kord, it's not a matter of money. It's just supply not meeting demand. I'm so sorry."

Ted's lunch hour was already over, he had to get back to work, and after that he needed to jet off to Metropolis for JLI business. Ted sighed. "Just give me the paperwork."

He'd go to work, and afterwards he'd send a car to bring his new guest to where he lived. It wasn't exactly a mansion, but it was at least big enough to accommodate a teenager. Whoever this guy was, he liked Ted…that was a start. Maybe one of his parents worked for KORD Inc? It was worth looking into…wasn't it?

Ted finished his paperwork, and slipped into his car.

"I could really use a burger."