El Paso (Jaime)

May 14, 21:22 MDT

Blue made his way into his bedroom and gathered his clothing to change for bed. There was a knock on his door.

"Come in," Blue called out.

Bianca opened the bedroom door and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "I thought I said no cutting this dinner short," she said with a stern tone of voice.

What is this woman's problem? The Ambassador groaned.

The Bianca Reyes is experiencing heightened levels of epinephrine, the Scarab explained. She appears to be in emotional distress.

It's called being mad hermano, Jaime complained. She's mad we didn't hang out with Bart after dinner.

"But I didn't cut dinner short mom," Blue complained. "It was Milagro's bedtime."

Like I'd care about going to bed at the same time as my sister, Jaime sassed. More time to play my video games without distractions.

"Since when does that matter?" Bianca kept her volume lower even though she was mad.

"Sorry mom," Blue sighed. "That battle with Red Volcano really wore me out, plus I think I hit my head during the fight. I have a massive headache." Blue brought his right hand up and rubbed his temple.

Bianca let out a sigh. "Fine," she groaned. "Take some Tylenol and get some sleep." She turned to leave the room but paused. "I just worry about you is all," she whispered over her shoulder. "I want to make sure you're not stressing yourself out."

All Jaime could do was watch as his mom left his room. He desperately wanted to hang out with Bart, or argue with his mom, even sleep on his own terms, but he was held captive in his own mind by the Reach.

I guess that shows you how gullible your kind is, the Ambassador gloated. Scarab, make sure to be nice and rested for tomorrow. I want Jaime Reyes ready to patrol for another publicity opportunity.

Of course, Ambassador, the Scarab replied. With that, Blue got ready for bed and laid down to sleep.

El Paso (Bart)

May 14, 21:22 MDT

It took a moment for Bart's eyes to adjust to the dim lighting in the back of the moving truck. Bria stood by the door and kept an eye out through a one-way window that was cleverly disguised as part of the logo on the outside of the truck. Tim sat near Gavin, who was finishing a circle on the floor of the truck, roughly a foot in diameter. The circle looked like a pentagram, but the star had seven points instead of five, is was made of a strange black sand and in its center was a picture of Jaime.

"Did you do all of this when you read our mind before?" Bart asked curiously.

"No," Gavin chuckled. "Since I was close enough to touch you guys, I merged our shadows. This sand comes from the Plane of Shadows, so it will act as Jaime's shadow for the spell."

"So how does this work?" Bart asked and sat down across from Gavin.

"Great…" Bria sighed. "Get him talking about magic again."

"It's a complicated spell," Gavin explained, ignoring Bria. "Our spirits will leave our bodies and travel to Jaime's body. Bria will keep our bodies safe while we merge with Jaime's body."

Bart had never been so thankful for a dimly lit room before, or in this case truck, as it hid the fact he was blushing from the thought of merging with Jaime.

"Once we enter Jaime's mind," Gavin continued explaining. "It is imperative that we don't let the Scarab, or the Reach know we are there. I don't know how integrated Jaime's mind is with all that alien tech, but I'd rather not let them know we are there."

"What happens if they find out?" Bart asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"I don't know what countermeasures they would have," Gavin answered. "I'm also not a natural telepath like Miss Martian, so I can't adapt as quickly as she could to a threat. We also need to be careful not to mess with anything in Jaime's mind, as any damage could hurt Jaime or ourselves. I will act as our guide, looking through his mind. Tim will keep an eye out for any clues of mind control."

"Not that I know what I'm looking for exactly," Tim relented. "But I'm always up for a challenge."

"Bart," Gavin said and looked over at Bart. "You'll let us know if what we're seeing is something that relates to Jaime. You know him the best, so you'll most likely know where we are at any given time. Sound good?"

"Sounds crash!" Bart shouted and then realized they were meant to be stealthy. "Sorry, sorry, forgot what mode we were in."

The boys all chuckled while Bria rolled her eyes.

"Ok," Gavin said and gestured to the circle. "Let's all sit around the circle." The three of them situated themselves to be equidistant from each other. "Bria," Gavin called over. "Mind making a circle around each of us with the sand?"

"Ilíthioi mágoi kai ilíthia ámmos," Bria grumbled to herself as she took the glass decanter from Gavin and poured a circle of black sand around each of them.

Gavin smirked and took the decanter back from her and connected each of their circles with the central circle.

"Animabus nostris et nobis liberate conjunguntur," Gavin's eyes disappeared in the dim lighting of the truck, enveloped in darkness. "Aperi mentibus nostris, quod liceat nobis transitum ostendere."

Bart felt a strange sensation wash over him when Gavin finished his spell. He felt like he was dunked into a tank of ice water, his breath caught in his throat, his limbs felt numb, and when he opened his eyes all he saw was darkness. For a split second he panicked, trying to look around in the darkness.

"Hello!" Bart called out; his words muffled as if speaking through a pillow. The shadows around him began shifting and everything became bathed in a red light. Red and grey pods lined the walls in the room that was created around him. The walls above those pods were red and had a chitinous appearance to them, like the exoskeleton of an insect. The floors were a sickly yellow color that stretched from the pods to the center of the room, where a yellow column stretched from floor to ceiling. The column was surrounded with control panels and computer screens. The room was empty, but Bart recognized it as one of the labs aboard the Reach ship.

"Everything good Bart?" Gavin asked, materializing next to Bart. Tim materialized on the other side of Gavin. They were all wearing their superhero gear.

"Yeah," Bart sighed, his heartrate returning to normal. "I wasn't expecting that sensation, had me feeling the mode there."

"I know what you mean," Tim agreed. "I didn't know mind melding felt like that."

"I don't think telepathy feels like that," Gavin pointed out. "Like I said, mine is a magic melding, meaning our souls are inside Jaime right now. Where are we?" Gavin looked around, not knowing where they were at.

"The Reach ship," Bart answered. The door made a buzzing sound and began to open, its plates retracting into one another from floor to ceiling.

"Lateo!" Gavin spat out, reaching a hand out to both Bart and Tim, grabbing onto their shoulders.

Bart looked down at his hands, but couldn't see them, he saw the floor instead. When he gazed at this body, it wasn't there. "This is awesome!" Bart exclaimed.

"Shh!" Gavin shushed Bart.

The doors finished opening and a group of Reach aliens stepped into the room. The Reach's head scientist led the group, her red uniform almost blending in perfectly with the walls of the room, if it wasn't for her white gloves and white collar, the bottom half of her face was behind an orange transparent face shield, allowing her green skin to be seen around her eyes. Following the Scientist was the Ambassador, whose lighter shade of green skin worked well into his segmented body armor, making it difficult to discern where his skin ended and the armor began, the armor was accented with blue-green sections around the wrists, neck, and face, and his black open-faced coat was worn over top it all with its white trim, buttons, and collar. Black Beetle walked behind both of them, his body armor nearly identical to Jaime's armor, except it is black and made for a larger frame. A standard soldier, in his red armor, pushed a containment pod behind Black Beetle. The person in the containment pod was Jaime, unconscious and shirtless as he was slumped against the back of the pod.

Bart gasped quietly, he remembered saving Jaime from this room in the past, but he didn't know how he was brought here. Bart felt a slight squeeze on his shoulder. He could tell Gavin was telling him to be quiet and wait.

The Reach Scientist spoke in her alien language, a strange assortment of chittering and clicking noises, and pointed to a spot on the wall that was missing a containment pod. The soldier pushed the containment pod to the open spot and placed it into the slot, making sure the red glass was facing the center console of the room. The Scientist moved to the center console and began uploading bio-readings of Jaime on the screen. Only an orange outline with the blue Scarab on the image was discernable, the script was entirely in the alien language. The Ambassador said something to the solider and they left the room, then the Ambassador, the Scientist, and Black Beetle had a discussion. The Scientist pointed to the monitor and said something else, ending the conversation, and all three of them left the room, the door closing behind them.

"Videtur," Gavin said and all three of them became visible. Gavin took a few gasping breaths and took his hands off their shoulders.

"You alright?" Tim asked and placed his hand on Gavin's shoulder. His face was scrunched up in concern.

"Just need a breather," Gavin gasped out. "Using a lot of magic…I'll be fine."

Bart walked over to the containment pod with Jaime inside. He peered into the red glass, slightly seeing his own reflection in its surface. Right now, it looked like Jaime was sleeping, but Bart knew what sort of tortures were just up ahead on the Reach ship.

"Why are we here?" Bart asked in a quiet tone.

"This was when Jaime first learned of the Reach's connection with his Scarab," Tim explained.

"Are there any clue's here that Tim?" Gavin asked and walked over to the computer console.

"If there are," Tim mused while walking next to Gavin and looking at the screen. "I can't read them, and since we are in a dream world, I can't record them either."

"Are we going to have to hide this entire time?" Tim asked.

"Yes and no," Gavin explained. "We can also blend into his dreams where we can, we can even alter the dream when needed, but we have to be careful not to draw too much attention. Most bodies don't like having multiple souls inside them and will fight back, plus we may have Reach tech to deal with."

Bart walked over to the door leading out of the lab. He placed a hand on the grey metal and a flash of light enveloped the room. The three of them now stood in a school hallway, lit by florescent lighting and windows, lockers lining the walls with doors to classrooms every twenty feet or so.

"Was that me?" Bart asked, a slight blush on his cheeks as he turned to face the other two. Bart saw a man dressed in a polo and khakis approaching them. The group of them now wore everyday clothing, their superhero attire gone.

"And what makes you think you three can skip class?" The man asked them in a harsh tone.

"Sorry," Gavin replied the quickest. "We were just heading back from the bathroom."

"Well," the man stared at them. "Get moving."

The three of them turned and opened a random classroom door. The scene that was before them was a typical high school classroom, an older female teacher stood in front of the class reading from a textbook.

"Please take a seat," she droned without even looking up from the pages of her book. The rest of the class glanced their way and then looked back towards the teacher. Jaime was sitting at the back of the class and gave them all a confused look as to why they were there. Luckily the back row was empty, so Bart quickly made his way to sit next to Jaime, then Tim, then Gavin.

"What are you doing here, ese?" Jaime leaned toward Bart and whispered. "And why are Gavin and Tim with you?"

"We've been looking for you," Bart whispered back, barely able to contain his excitement as he slightly bounced in his seat.

"What would superheroes need me for?" Jaime asked.

Tim glanced up at the chalk board, the date read May 14, 2015. "We're too early," he whispered to both Bart and Gavin. "Ted Kord doesn't die until July of this year, so this is before Jaime gets the Scarab."

"One second hair-man-oh," Bart said to Jaime and leaned toward Tim. "How does he know us if he doesn't have the Scarab yet?"

"Because dreams don't make sense," Gavin explained. "Dreams take memories, stress, problems, and hopes and mashes them all together. They are incredibly hard to navigate."

"How did you do it before?" Tim asked.

"Before it was just me entering their minds," Gavin explained. "Plus, their injured states had way less dreams and way more black outs, so there weren't too many obstacles to move through. I also didn't delve too deeply, just looking for the past week or so."

"Maybe one of you boys would like to answer my question," the teacher said with a stern voice at Gavin, Tim, and Bart.

"We're sorry," Tim replied, getting giggles from the class. "What was the question again?"

"I asked when Robert E. Lee surrendered?" The teacher asked again.

"April 9, 1865," Tim answered, earning a surprised look from both Bart and Gavin. "What?" He asked them with a shrug of his shoulders. "I like history."

"Please refrain from talking, but that is correct," the teacher replied and went back to teaching.

"Sonitu separa," Gavin whispered, and the classroom's noise disappeared, leaving only the back row's voices unaffected. He then gripped the bridge of his nose and groaned. "I'm going to get a migraine soon."

"Jaime, what's important here?" Tim asked.

"It's history class in school," Jaime rolled his eyes. "Right now, a good grade is what's important."

The room darkened and Jaime looked out the window. A large beetle-shaped spaceship hovered near the school, blocking out the sun.

"That's not good," Jaime said to himself.

The room flashed in a bright white light and they found themselves sitting in another classroom, this time Jaime was younger, probably 12 or 13 years old. The teacher was pointing up to the chalkboard at a math equation.

(35 x 10) + 59

"Ok class," the younger woman said. "We are going to learn about the order in which math equations are done. Does anyone know the answer to this problem and how they got there?"

Bart looked down at himself and saw that he was still himself, same as Gavin and Tim, they hadn't changed in age.

Younger Jaime raised his hand.

"Yes Jaime?" The teacher beamed.

"The answer is 409!" Jaime said excitedly. "You do the part in the parenthesis first then add the rest."

"Very good Jaime," the teacher praised him.

"Does 409 mean anything to you guys?" Gavin asked, looking over at Bart and Tim.

The teacher's head snapped to look at the intruders, her pleasant demeanor vanishing as she glared at them with malice.

"You guys shouldn't be talking during class," Jaime whispered to them.

The teacher opened her mouth again, but this time the alien language of the Reach came out of her mouth. She became covered in Blue Beetle's armor and her hands formed into the pincer-like swords. She lunged at the group of boys.

"Leave my friends alone!" The 12-year-old Jaime jumped up and stretched his arms out to protect the three of them. As the teacher connected with Jaime, another bright white flash of light filled the room.

New York City

May 14, 22:30 EDT

The Reach Scientist looked up at her computer screen and noticed an alert pop up. She opened the alert and gasp. She pushed another button on her console and a communication screen opened to the Ambassador.

"Apologies sir, but there is a problem," she addressed the Ambassador.

"What is it?" The Ambassador asked. "Can it not wait until morning?"

"It cannot," the Scientist pushed a few buttons on her console to share her view with the Ambassador. "Our sensors on Blue Beetle seemed to have picked up three other brainwaves within his own mind. I believe someone is attempting to read his thoughts."

"How would we solve this?" The Ambassador asked.

"I think it is wise to send Black Beetle to look around Blue Beetle's house," the Scientist explained. "Usually telepaths have a psychic range, so they would have to be nearby."

"Then I will dispatch Black Beetle at once," the Ambassador groaned. "See if you can do anything to slow them down from within and fill me in on any progress."

"Understood," the Scientist replied, and she turned off the communication device.

El Paso

May 14, 21:43 MDT

Bart, Gavin, and Tim found themselves in the Black Rock Hot Springs with Bria and Jaime. Thankfully the dream state Jaime was in switched them to swim trunks.

"Let me guess," Bria said, "your little blue bundle of joy wanted to eliminate us?"

"How did you…" Jaime started.

"I was here when that thing landed on Earth," Bria explained, "I was also the one that brought the scarab to be cleansed."

"I remember this conversation," Gavin muttered.

"Remember?" Bria turned to Gavin. "Unless you had some premonition and didn't share it with me, this is the first time we've had this conversation." Bria raised an eyebrow at Tim. "Who is that and when did they get here?"

The scene shifted slightly, rocking the boys like turbulence on a plane. They found themselves right next to the Hot Springs, at Bria's dinner table.

"This is so not crash!" Bart complained and gripped his stomach.

"Not felling well Bart?" Jaime asked and looked at him with concern.

Bart looked up and met Jaime's eyes. "I'm crash," he said after a second too long of starting, causing him to blush slightly.

"Something here has to be a clue," Tim said scanning the table. "There's a lot of food here."

"If you've got money," Bria smirked. "Might as well spend it. Hodgkins really did increase the vegetables since Gavin's entered the house."

The Hot Spring began to bubble over and steam like a pot on a stove. Blue colored leeches slithered out of the spring, each had a bright yellow eye on the top of their bodies, towards the end that moved to the dinning room set. Bria and Jaime seemed oblivious to the danger slithering towards them while the other three jumped up from their seats and ran in the opposite direction, towards the desert.

"They're gaining on us!" Tim yelled as the swarm of blue leeches closed the distance between themselves and the group.

A brown wooden door materialized about 100 feet in front of them.

"I guess we go through there!" Gavin shouted and they ran for the door.

Bart reached the door first and opened it, but since they were in the dream world, he didn't have his superspeed, so Gavin and Tim barreled into him and fell through the door. The door closed itself behind them, the blue leeches only inches behind them. Bart looked up to see where they landed. They were in the Reyes household, but it looked different. Once they managed to untangle themselves from one another, they all stood up. Blue streamers were hung from the ceiling and throughout the room. The sweet smell of homemade baked goods filled the air. Bart saw Bianca holding a toddler who was struggling to get out of her grasp. Bianca looked pretty much the same as before, if a little younger. The toddler was a little girl with her hair pulled up into pigtails.

"Mamá, ¿Puedes levantar a Jaime?" Bianca asked while fighting the toddler.

"Claro que querida," an elderly woman said as she walked by Bianca, patting her on the shoulder. "Milagro tiene espíritu," she said as she tickled the toddler under the chin, getting a laugh.

The elderly woman slowly made her way up the stairs, Bart moving quietly behind her.

"Bart wait," Gavin whispered but stopped himself from following when Milagro looked their way.

Bart saw the woman knock lightly on Jaime's bedroom door and then open it without waiting for a response.

" Estas son las mañanitas, " the woman sang softly as she entered Jaime's room. Bart looked into the room and saw Jaime, who had to be younger than ten years old, was sleeping in his bed, despite the fact it was close to noon according to the clock in his room. He was covered in red spots, which Bart remembered were called chickenpox. The elderly woman sand softly as she approached Jaime's bed, shaking him gently as he woke up. " Que cantaba el Rey David, hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti. Despierta, mi Jaime, despierta, mira que ya amaneció, ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió. "

Jaime stirred awake, smiling up at the elderly woman. She helped him sit up and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

" Que linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte, " she sang another verse. " Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte, ya viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio, levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció. "

"Abuela," Jaime said as he broke off the hug and rubbed his eyes. "¿No tienes miedo de enfermarte?"

"No Jaime," his Abuela answered. "No hay nada que puedas hacer que pueda lastimarme." She stood up and turned toward the door, causing Bart to dive out of view in the hall. "Tu madre nos espera abajo." She walked out of the room and back down the stairs.

Jaime followed behind her, after some stretching to wake up. He stepped out into the hallway and paused. He turned to face Bart. "Bart?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know ah-mi-go," Bart whispered. "Where am I?"

"Your Spanish is funny," Jaime chuckled, causing Bart to blush. "This is my 9th birthday, it's only my mom, little sister, and mi abuela. Dad is at a friend's house because he's never had the chickenpox. So, this birthday is just the four of us." Jaime looked a little sad, but then perked up when he looked up into Bart's eyes. "I'm glad you were able to make it though. My days are always better when you're around." Jaime walked down the stairs to join his family.

Bart was left standing there with a goofy grin on his face and blushing like a fiend. He didn't realize how much Jaime enjoyed having him around. He quickly regained his composure when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and Gavin and Tim approached him.

"In here," Bart whispered and pointed to Jaime's room.

The three of them slipped into Jaime's room and closed the door quietly.

"I think all the clues are pointing to the same thing," Tim addressed the other two.

"Glad you're picking up on the clues," Gavin admitted.

"All the clues are pointing to 4 and 9," Tim explained. "April 9th was the answer to the question in history class, the 4th month and 9th day, the math equation was 409, there were 4 people at the Hot Springs with 9 different food items on the table, and this is Jaime's 9th birthday and there are 4 people present."

"What do the numbers 4 and 9 mean?" Bart asked, bringing his hand to his chin to think.

"Maybe it's the actual date," Gavin suggested. "Did you guys do something on April 9th?"

"That was when Miss Martian read Green Beetle's mind to confirm he was an ally," Tim answered.

"Which means that is also when Green Beetle touched Jaime's Scarab and Jaime said he turned it off," Bart chimed in.

"So, we need to head to April 9th in Jaime's memories," Gavin concluded. "He's trying to lead us there but is unable to tell us directly."

Just then, the door to the hallway began to rattle.

"Does this feel very horror movie to anyone?" Tim asked Bart and Gavin.

The doorknob began to twist back and forth, as if someone was trying to come in. The door rattled more violently. Two loud bangs crashed into the door as the doorknob began twisting more sporadically.

Bart looked around the room and saw Jaime's closet door.

"Guess we head out a different way then," Bart shrugged and pointed to the closet door.

"That's a closet," Tim said dryly.

"This is a dream Tim," Bart replied sarcastically. "We haven't exactly followed any laws of physics so far."

The three of them stood up and moved to the closet door and the door to the hallway began to creak under the strain of being bashed into.

Bart opened the door and a flash of bright white light enveloped them once again.

El Paso (Bria)

May 14, 23:37 MDT

Bria didn't realize that watching people in a trance could be so boring. Back when she was soulless, she may have done her fair share of stalking, maybe a sketch or two of a sleeping victim to rattle them, or even hiding in a dark room and waiting for someone to come home, but this was not nearly as fun.

What caught her attention was a low thrumming sound from outside the truck. She peered outside and saw Black Beetle hovering about 20 feet above the road, his right hand turning into some sort of cylindrical device with a spinning piece on the end. He moved in a slow circle, so he must be scanning for something.

"Crap," Bria whispered to herself. "Now I've got to play keep away and hope they finished their spell soon."

Bria's body vaporized into mist and moved through the cracks of the truck to the street outside. She moved to the next house over before reforming her body.

"I believe the recycling center is a few streets over!" Bria shouted up to Black Beetle. "I think they're closed right now, but I'm pretty sure I can fit you through the mail slot."

Black Beetle growled at her and changed his arm to his pincer-like sword instead of his scanner, his jetpack thrummed as it charged up.

Greek Translations

Ilíthioi mágoi kai ilíthia ámmos- Stupid mages and stupid sand

Latin Translations

Animabus nostris et nobis liberate conjunguntur- Free our souls and let us combine

Aperi mentibus nostris, quod liceat nobis transitum ostendere- Open our minds and allow our passage

Sonitu separa- Separate noise

Spanish Translations

Mamá, ¿Puedes levantar a Jaime?- Mom, can you get Jaime up?

Claro que querida- Sure thing dear

Milagro tiene espíritu- Milagro's got spirit

Estas son las mañanitas Que cantaba el Rey David, hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti. Despierta, mi Jaime, despierta, mira que ya amaneció, ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió- This is the morning song that King David sang because today is your saint's day we're singing it for you. Wake up, my Jaime, wake up, look it is already dawn, the birds are already singing, and the moon has set.

Que linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte. Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte, ya viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio, levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció- How lovely is the morning in which I come to greet you, we all came here with joy and pleasure to congratulate you. The morning is coming now, the sun is giving us its light, get up in the morning, look it is already dawn.

Abuela ¿No tienes miedo de enfermarte?- Grandma, aren't you afraid of getting sick?

No hay nada que puedas hacer que pueda lastimarme- There is nothing you can do that can hurt me

Tu madre nos espera abajo- Your mother is waiting for us downstairs