He was going to do it.
The mission was simple; he'd seen people kill before (and even been nearly killed himself), so the concept wasn't as foreign to him as it was for heroes before his time. Without their laws and enforcers who cared about them enough to stop them from murdering, people went feral sometimes. They had to scavenge, and if two people wanted food or clothing enough, they'd do anything to have it.
And as much as Nathaniel had tried, Bart would occasionally sneak out to see if the Reach would kill someone acting insubordinate. Usually, Beetle would be sent, so it was both a teaching lesson and a reminder of his ultimate goal.
"Okay, so, now that I'm stuck in this lame past, how's about I meet the rest of your team?" he asked after the Neutron incident. "You know, Blue Beetle, Batgirl, Miss Martian, Blue Beetle, Guard-wait, he's right-uh, never mind-Bumblebee, Blue Beetle, Static, Blue Beetle-"
"I take it you wanna meet Blue." Robin said, arms folded. Laying it on a bit thick, in hindsight.
"Why's he so special? Everyone knows I'm going to lead the Team!" Beast Boy declared. "Right?"
"Totally, BB," Bart lied. The poor boy had no clue what would await him (Don't look at the body, oh god, they learned to exploit the Metagene so well they had to do that, who would tell Barbara).
"But you and Blue are total best buds in the future, and since I've already met you, I wanna meet him! See the dynamic duo, ya know? Well, the Future dynamic duo, I mean."
"He lives in El Paso," Robin answered. "1723 Cochise Avenue. We can authorize you for Zeta-"
A burst of wind nearly bowled the two boys over.
"Access."
He had it all played out in his head for months. It'd be quick and easy, more than what that thing deserved. Luckily, vibrating his molecules was something his dad had been more than willing to teach him just in case he got in a real jam.
Within twenty minutes, he arrived. He stopped by a gas station, grabbed a Twinkie (how those things survived the future, he would never know or complain about), and made a beeline for Beetle's living arrangements. It was a large house, way larger than a mass murderer deserved, but was probably filled with Reach tech they'd given him upon infiltrating Earth.
He knocked on the door rapidly. His heart pounded in his chest more than usual. Everything would soon hinge on the next 10 seconds.
The door opened, and he curled a fist back, vibrating and ready to strike. It was...a girl? About 7 or 8, wearing overalls and her dark hair braided. Her eyes studied him before shouting, "MOM, IT'S ONE OF JAIME'S SECRET CLUB FRIENDS!"
Soon after, an older looking woman came into view, wearing a dusty shirt and a smile.
"You're Impulse, si? Nightwing called and said we'd have a guest. Come in, come in!"
Upon entering, he discovered the walls were filled with pictures. Pictures of the girl and a taller boy, the woman with a man older than her smiling, of a light blue device with wheels and the man and boy standing next to it, eyes beaming with happiness.
The two females led him to their kitchen. The table was covered in power, food, and a radio off to the side. There was beeping coming from something, and smoke emanating from a grey pot held under a stove.
What the hell was going on? Where were the weapons, the Reach tech, the button that would reveal the monsters behind the curtain?
"Jaime! Come say hi to your friend!" the girl yelled.
"Hermana, what are you talking about? Is it Cassie again?"
Then he saw him. Dressed in a blue hoodie and jeans, hair disheveled and barefoot. This was Blue Beetle? The biggest, baddest, Big Bad in history? A kid no older than him?
"Hola," he waved. "Just got a text from Robin. It's, uh, Impulse, right? I'm Jaime. Blue Beetle? He said you wanted to see me?"
Oh, right. How was that supposed to go again? Hey, Blue Beetle, my name is Bart Allen. You killed my family and friends, prepare to die. Oh, but you're a lot skinnier and younger than I was led to believe so if you could get these people out and reveal your true form, that'd be great, thanks.
After a dinner that'd be been practically forced to stay for-okay, so those enchiladas were super crash and Milagro was adorable and the Reyes were kinder to him than anyone from his own time was, but still-he found himself hanging around Jaime more. Mostly, it was to find out how the Reach warrior was blending in, just waiting for the perfect moment to end him and run off. There was no way he could keep up the ruse for long. But then Aqualad destroyed the Cave, Blue was captured along with him and Gar, and he realized Jaime was innocent. The Reach were about to put him on mode, and he'd had it wrong for years. He thought once they escaped the Reach ship and met Green Beetle, it was all over. His job got a whole lot easier.
"Well, the gang's all here!"
Wrote this right as I woke up this morning. I've always had it in my head that Bart's mission was to stop Blue, but given his upbringing and the heroes that would potentially be alive or dead, he would just go straight for murder. He's a kid and lost friends and family to the Reach, so he would feel it justified. The heroes who worked with Blue wouldn't really specify at that time because the memory hurt too bad, and Bart would have to force it out of Barbara for Blue's name.
Reference made to Princess Bride just for fun. Next one coming soon.
