Dick frowns, thinking. "Alright, so again, you and your friend Tye were heading to the bus stop in El Paso so he could get a bus to Houston-"

"He wasn't actually going to do it," Jaime interrupts quickly. "He never does! He just talks about running away but he'd never actually do it, not without telling me, I swear!"

"I believe you," he reassures. "But, right now, I think we have bigger things to focus on. You said you were attacked from behind before you got there. Any distinguishing features?"

Jaime shakes his head, looking down at the torn piece of fabric with a dull yellow hexagon on it-a H.I.V.E badge. "Just this. They were wearing masks and….like hazmat suits?...I don't know. They hit Tye with some kind of injection, knocked him out. He hit the guy holding me before he went down. He...he saved me." Jaime sighs. "And all I could do is grab the stupid badge and run away."

Dick lays a hand on his shoulder. "You did the right thing. You went to get help. That's what you're supposed to do. Now, tell me again, how the armor came into play?"

"I don't even know," Jaime says, words stumbling out even faster. "I have no idea. One second, I'm running, trying to find help and then...this...this scarab thing hits me in the back so hard I thought they shot me. Then, the armor came up and...it flew me here." He looks down at his shoes. "That's all I know, I promise. I just...I really need your help. I have to find Tye before they do anything to him."

There's a flash of color and then another set of arms are slung around Jaime's shoulders, careful to avoid his back.

"Hey, don't worry about it, BB-Beetle?-you know what, I'm just going to stick with Blue," Bart says, grinning wide and lopsided. "We've got this! Everything's going to be totally crash, just trust me!"

Jaime blinks. "Wait, sorry, who are you?"

"Impulse! Oh, or Bart! Whichever, you want, I don't care. Just don't call me Bartholomew cause, ugh, talk about lame family names, am I right? Even Gramps hated it! Not something cool sounding like Jaime or Blue Beetle, I guess. Or BB or Blue...or, wait, we've covered this already, didn't we? I didn't just imagine that, right?"

"What's a Blue Beetle," Jaime asks, still staring at the sudden onslaught of words.

"Duh, it's you, Blue!" Bart grins. "Or will be? Sorry, spoilers!"

Dick gives Bart a questioning look before focusing back on Jaime. "I think what Bart means is that the armor you had on looks a lot like Ted Kord's old Blue Beetle suit."

"Ted Kord?"

"He died in the invasion," Dick answers shortly, pulling up two images on his wrist computer and showing them to Jaime.

Jaime looks down at the pictures, frowning at the second one.

"Dan Garrett," Dick says before he can asks, "the first Blue Beetle and Dr. Kord's old teacher. Kord based a lot of his suit's technology off the artifact Garrett used."

Jaime swallows. "So, this...this thing on my back's an old artifact? Or...is it some kind of technology?"

"We don't know. Maybe both." Dick looks over Jaime's shoulder. "Zee, how are the tests coming?"

Zatanna huffs, blowing a piece of hair out of her eyes. "Well, there's something magical about it. Or at least there was, judging by the residue. What it was originally? No idea! And the stupid thing keeps fighting me whenever I try to get it off his back!"

She mutters another spell under her breath and the scarab shaped device lights up a dull yellow before the spell abruptly fizzles out.

Jaime winces. "Yeah, it, uh, it really doesn't like that."

Both Zatanna and Dick stop. Still hanging off Jaime, Bart stills for half a second before backing up.

"You can communicate with it," Dick says, surprised.

"Um, I don't know if I'd say 'communicate' but I can hear it, ah, in my head," Jaime winces again. "Mainly it just argues with me like...like a Jiminy Cricket with a bad attitude."

Dick exchanges a look with Zatanna.

"Get Omen to see what she can find psychically," Dick says. "Tell her to go deep, I want to find out what this scarab is."

"Got it," Zatanna replies, already leaving the room.

Dick's communicator beeps.

"Nightwing," Donna reports, "we're at the bus stop. Story checks out. Chesh found gouges in the dirt from what looks like a fight plus Cyborg picked up partial tire tracks. Scanning them into the main computer now. We're seeing how far we can track them; but, they're fading already."

"Do what you can," Dick says, clicking off the comm. Jaime's shoulders are hunched. "You heard that?"

"The...the scarab did," Jaime confirms, "Man, how am I going to tell Tye's mom?"

"We'll handle that," Dick tells him. "Right now, we just need you to stay here at the Tower...at least until we find out more about the scarab. That alright?"

"Yeah," Jaime's shoulders slumping even further, "my parents already think I'm spending the weekend with Tye anyway. I just can't believe…"

He trails off while Dick watches, trying to think of something comforting to say. Someone else beats him to it.

"Hey, Blue...um, I mean Jaime," Bart says, zipping until he's leaning down in front of him, "I told you, don't worry. You're with the Titans now, they're heroes. We'll find your friend for sure, okay? All you gotta do is trust me. Everything's going to be okay. You trust me, right?"

Jaime lets out a slow breath, finally giving a small smile. "Yeah...okay. Thanks. You...you really think you can save him?"

Something flickers across Bart's face-far, far too quick for Dick to place it.

"Of course, saving people's what heroes do." Then, Bart smiles, just a hair too wide to be real.

Dick shifts on his feet, tensing slightly without knowing why.

Jaime doesn't notice, looking between Dick and Bart with an expression slowly getting lighter. "And, hey, I guess finding superpowered armor's pretty cool, right?"

"Crash," Bart agrees, smile held steady on his face.

The door to the medbay slides open.

"Someone call for a psychic check up on a sentient armor," Lilith asks, shaking her head ruefully. "I swear our lives will never stop being weird, will they?"

Dick grins. "Not in this lifetime."

She gestures to him and Bart. "Now, you two out. If you want me to go deep, I need room to focus without the extra mindscapes blocking the way. Don't worry, Supergirl and Tempest are manning the monitors."

He nods, slipping out of the medbay followed by Bart. He grabs Bart's arm before he can run off.

"Wait, I need to talk to you."

Bart frowns, but complies as Dick leads him down the hall into one of the more secure rooms.

"What did you want to talk about, oh so fearless leader," Bart asks, hopping up on the table and swinging his legs.

Dick narrows his eyes. "There's something wrong, isn't there?"

"Er, like specifically or in general? Because in general, I'm pretty sure there's always something wrong. Like earthquakes or tsunamis or house fires or like someone stealing the last piece of pizza. Which, by the way, Gar totally-"

"Bart," he interrupts, "I mean something's wrong here. You've been acting weird since Jaime got here. You know something, don't you? Is it the scarab? Something that happened in your universe?"

Bart cuts him off with a laugh.

"Oh! That. It's nothing. It's just…," he smiles sheepishly, "sorry, it's kind of embarrassing. It's just, well, Blue Beetle was this huge, huge, h-hero in my universe. Um, one from after the invasion. Like my favorite hero, actually." He runs a hand through his hair. "I guess I got a bit over excited at actually getting the chance to meet him."

Dick watches him closely, taking everything Bart's told him and, more importantly, all the things he hasn't and trying to find the picture between them.

Finally, he says carefully, "So there were new heroes after your invasion?"

Bart freezes then shrugs casually. "We won. Why wouldn't there be?"

"You tell me," Dick counters.

Bart stays silent.

"You know you can tell me anything you want, right?"

"I know," Bart says too quickly.

Dick sighs, deciding not to push...yet. "So, Blue Beetle-or I guess the third Blue Beetle-is one of your universe's next great heroes following the invasion?"

"My favorite," Bart agrees readily.

"Guess that makes sense," Dick muses, looking back down at his wrist computer as he tries to figure out what needs to be done next, "Jaime seems like a good guy, kind of a requirement for a hero."

There's a pause, long enough that Dick glances up again.

"Yeah," Bart says blankly. "Yeah, he does."

ooooooo

Sitting down in the cave before patrol, Dick looks down over the research.

A month since Jaime came to them with Tye's disappearances and still no definitive leads except the badge Jaime grabbed. Plus, a string of similar disappearances all with runaway teens that made it nearly impossible to tell which were abducted and which just didn't want to be found.

And the scarab that they still couldn't figure out how to remove from Jaime's spine or, really, find out anything about other than Lilith and Zatanna's hesitant assessment of "relatively safe".

All in all enough of a pain to give Dick a headache just thinking about it.

The phone buzzes, pulling his thoughts out of the files

His lips turn up in a goofy grin as he types out a quick response to Kory.

The moment after he hits send, a rubber practice batarang whacks him in the head.

"Ow!"

Jason rolls his eyes. "Oh, please, like that actually hurt."

Dick pouts, rubbing at his head for show. "It hurt my feelings. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever get over it."

"You'll live," Jason retorts dryly. "Besides, watching you moon over your phone hurts my will to live so I guess we're even."

Dick glares.

"How'd the date go," Tim asks, distracted, not even bothering to look away from the computer.

Dick perks up instantly. "Great! We went to an old drive in! Kory loved it, she's never seen one before."

"That's because they're ancient, you nerd," Jason accuses, crossing his arms and eyeing him skeptically. "So, did you two actually watch the movie?"

"Some of it." He winks.

"Ugh, barf!"

Dick gives Jason his most patronizing smile. "Aww, it's okay, Littlewing. Don't worry, you'll understand when you're older. Want me to ask Alfred to give you the talk again?"

"I hate you."

"You love me."

"I'd trade you for a half-eaten sandwich."

Tim lets out a cut off growl of frustration. The keys bang viciously under his hand as he types in another string of code, muttering under his breath. "Stupid, freaking, son of a mother freaking piece of useless…"

Dick and Jason exchange a look.

"See," Jason says, "I'd say that he was complaining about your dumb date; but, we all know Tim already found his true love years ago in a computer processor."

Dick bites down on a laugh, leaning down to Tim. "What is it, Timmy?"

Tim moans.

"Lassie fall down a well," Jason guesses.

Dick whacks Jason's shoulder without looking up from Tim. "Those the files from Ted Kord's old lab?"

"No." Tim glares at the screen. "It's this string of code we got in the last Light breakthrough and I. Can't. Freaking. Break. It."

Jason peers down over his shoulder. "Hey, Junior Detective, have you ever thought about, oh, I don't know, not obsessing? Change things up, for once."

Tim looks up mutinously. "When's the last time you or Dick took a break from a case?"

"Do as I say, not as we do, twerp." Jason flicks him in the head before turning to Dick with a shit eating grin. "See, look, I'm doing the responsible older brother thing. Be proud."

Dick rolls his eyes. "Jay's right. Give it a rest for a bit, Tim, we all hit snags in cases."

Tim huffs again, glancing back briefly at the code. "There's just something familiar about it…."

"Ask Babs to look at it," Dick suggests, looking around the cave. "Where is she? It's almost time for patrol."

Tim and Jay both tense and Dick immediately goes onto alert.

"Um, she didn't tell you," Tim asks sheepishly.

"Tell me what?"

"Babs asked if we could cover patrol just us tonight," Jason takes over. "Not like it matters, she's still got her comm and things have been pretty quiet since the last Penguin bust, right? No big deal."

"Well, yeah," Dick says slowly, feeling like he's gotten off balance without quite knowing how. "But, where is she?"

Tim looks to Jason before they both practically simultaneously turn to Dick.

"She's on a date," Jason says bluntly.

"Oh….Oh. With who?"

Jason worries at a hangnail, shrugging. "Just some guy from her programming class."

"Oh," Dick says again.

Tim finally pipes up. "You're….you're okay with that, right, Dick?"

Dick tilts his head, confused. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be? Be kind of hypocritical not to be after she covered patrols for me and Kory." He smiles, soft and sincere. "Besides if anyone deserves a night off, it's Babs!"

Tim and Jason are still watching him carefully and, if anything, they look almost disappointed. The off balance feeling continues.

Dick clears his throat.

"Anyway," he says pointedly, picking up the file next to his phone, "since Barbara's off for the night, either of you mind looking over the disappearances for a pattern? I want a second set of eyes on it."

"I got it," Jason says, grabbing the file and pointing sternly at Tim, who's already halfway out of his chair. "No, sit, don't even think about it."

"I didn't say anything," Tim grumbles, falling back in the chair.

"As if you weren't." Jason snorts. "And no, this one's mine. You already got the Kord stuff and your stupid code, now give me some freaky disappearances to look at before my brain melts out of my ears going through more of the Light's taxes." He leafs through the files, raising an eyebrow at Dick. "Still not going for the obvious, then?"

"I don't think it's H.I.V.E.," Dick says simply.

"Despite the fact that we've got guys in hazmat suits and a literal H.I.V.E. badge."

"Exactly," he says, "it's too easy, too perfect. H.I.V.E. goes from practically non-existent last year, stays almost completely off the radar, and then, what? Decides to abduct two teenagers, one of which just happens to only grab a H.I.V.E badge before coming straight to the Tower? That's not even bread crumbs, that's like a neon sign pointing to H.I.V.E."

Jason frowns. "If someone's using H.I.V.E. as their fall guy for the abductions, that's a lot of work-getting the intel, pulling off the kidnappings, making sure the real H.I.V.E's either on board or out of the way. Not a lot of organizations with that kind of pull...or motive. Except the Light."

Tim shakes his head. "But, it can't be the Light. We've been hitting them all year. They haven't even recouped from Prince Orm's arrest yet. They haven't had the time to work out a large scale abduction scheme, much less pin it on H.I.V.E."

"Never underestimate Lex Luthor," Dick counters dryly. "Not to mention, Vandal Savage."

"So, you think it could still be the Light?"

Dick shrugs.

"The Light," Jason says, looking through the file again, "...or we're dealing with someone new."

ooooooo

"Hey! Someone stole my Chicken Whizzies?!" Jaime narrows his eyes. "Bart!"

From across the Titan's kitchen counter, Bart grins back, unrepentant. "Hey, where I come from, it's not stealing, it's scavengers' rights-delicious fried chicken flavored rights. Besides, you're the one who got me hooked on them, so technically I say we split the blame."

Jaime rolls his eyes, pulling another bag from his backpack.

"Aww, dude!" Bart pouts. "That's not even fair! Why blame me if you had an extra?"

Jaime smirks holding them higher out of reach from Bart's grabby hands. "They're not extra, they were for a friend of mine. But since someone stole the last bag, I'm not feeling inclined to share."

Bart stills for half a second before his smile goes softer. "You brought me food?"

Jaime blushes bright red, arm dropping back down as he tosses the bag to Bart. "Yeah, no big deal, they're only like...like a dollar at the convenience store."

Bart's still smiling and Dick coughs into his hand to grab their attention.

Jaime jumps, almost falling out of his chair, while Bart just throws Dick a wink, already stuffing his mouth with Chicken Whizzies.

"Nightwing!" Jaime rubs the back of his neck. "Um, how long have you been there?"

Dick smiles. "Not too long."

"They're like ninjas," Bart accuses cheerfully between bites.

"The scarab didn't warn you," Dick asks.

"No." Jaime shrugs. "I think he's mad at me."

"Why?"

"He keeps nagging me to practice with the armor." Jaime goes quiet. "I probably should be practicing more, especially if I'm going to help find Tye. Anything new?"

"We're still trying to find a pattern for the disappearances," Dick says gently. "Don't worry, we're not giving up."

"I just wish I could do something." Jaime sighs. "Maybe if I worked more with Khaji Da, I could-"

"Hey!" Bart zips forward, an arm slung around Jaime. "What's a big old beetle going to do that the Titans can't? Who cares about training with the scarab? We've got this. Just trust me, okay?"

"I guess," Jaime says, still frowning.

There's a rush of displaced air and Kara slides into the kitchen, socked feet barely coming to a stop as she grabs the counter. "Hey, Vic's taking me and Gar bowling, who's in?"

Bart tilts his head. "Bowling?"

"Yeah, they don't have bowling in the future?"

"Um, I guess not." Bart puts on a wide smile. "Probably because it's all like old and we made something even cooler. Bowling's crash with me, though. I love retro!"

Kara rolls her eyes. "You don't even know how it's played yet."

"That's fine. Jaime can teach me. Right, hermano," Bart asks, butchering the final word while grinning up at the older boy.

"What?" Jaime shakes himself out of his thoughts, smiling back. "Oh. Yeah, bowling. Sure, I can show you."

Kara turns to Dick. "What about you, Di-Nightwing, you in?"

"Rain check," he offers. "Kind of already got plans."

"Have fun with Kory." Kara bumps his shoulder before grabbing Bart's and Jaime's arms and dragging them off down the hall. "She's in her room, by the way!"

"Thanks."

Dick watches them go, waiting until he's at least reasonably sure no one's watching him, before very furtively checking his hair one last time and slipping off his glasses. His heart still beats a little bit faster as he makes his way to the Tower's living quarters.

He knocks and barely a second later, the door slides open and arms wrap around his neck, pulling him in, while a warm mouth land on his.

"That was a really good hello" Dick says when Kory finally pulls back.

"Hello." Kory smiles, the afternoon light shining in her hair as she presses forward again just briefly.

"You ready?"

"Almost," she says, hand slipping around his wrist and pulling him inside. "I just need to finish watering."

Dick lets himself be pulled, blinking in the light as he takes in the slight disorientation that always comes from going to the hall to Kory's room.

Kory's room is...well, alive is really the only way to describe it. Lines of green vines run up against the trellises on the walls and long planting pots line the shelves. Bright bursts of flowers break through the green, lit by the open windows of the Tower- all in all, making the room look more like a garden than a bedroom.

Kory stands in the middle of it, glowing faintly as she holds up a watering can. "It will only take a moment."

"No rush." Dick grins , leaning against the wall. "I don't mind at all."

She smiles back, falling into a happy sort of silence as she focuses on the plants.

Dick gets lost, falling back on his thoughts as he watches her work.

After a few minutes, she glances up at him. "What are you thinking about?"

"Going on a date with the most beautiful girl in the world."

She laughs. "What are you thinking of besides that?"

"The usual." Dick shrugs. "Gotham stuff. Team stuff. Finding those kids. Getting whoever's behind it behind bars. Figuring out how to get the scarab off Jaime. Whatever's wrong with-" He stops.

Kory raises an eyebrow.

"I think there's something wrong with Bart," Dick admits. "Something's off."

She hums. "Well, he has always been a little...strange, has he not?"

"Yeah…," Dick chews on his lip, contemplating the words and which of his guesses are his to tell. Finally, he sighs. "I think it's something to do with Jaime...or maybe the scarab, I'm not sure."

"How so?" Kory finishes the watering, coming to lean beside him.

"It's how he acted when Jaime showed up. It was...I don't know, exaggerated? Like when Bart first showed up in the cave."

When he was lying, he thinks but doesn't say.

"Did you ask him?"

He nods. "Bart said he was just fanboying because apparently Blue Beetle's a big hero in his world. But, that...that just raises more questions, honestly."

Kory pauses before suddenly, she smiles, leaning in closer to thread her hand with his. "I think I may have an explanation."

"What is it?"

"I think…," her smile widens, "Bart has a crush."

"What?" He frowns, thinking back. "Well, I mean yeah, maybe but...you really think that explains everything?"

"I do not know about everything," Kory says, eyes bright, "but, being a bit… 'exaggerated'? Maybe."

"Maybe," Dick repeats, letting out a breath. "I don't know. Whenever Wally had a crush, exaggerated was an understatement. I think the whole Tower would know by now."

Kory brings their hands up, gently laying a kiss on his knuckles as she watches him carefully. "Bart is not Wally, Dick."

"...I know."

Red light. The heat of a ship core stinging across his tick of a countdown.

"I've got an idea, okay?"

Dick pushes the memory aside and smiles at Kory. "So...ready to get out of here?"

Kory smiles back. "Lead the way."

ooooooo

In the end, finding Tye isn't really the problem.

Stopping him turns out to be a bit harder.

"Supergirl, Rocket, Cheshire, clear the civilians," Dick orders into the comm as another piece of rubble breaks against Raquel's barrier. "Zatanna, Tempest, try to hold up as much of the structure as you can!"

In the middle of Central City, a giant yellow human shaped projection rips through the downtown.

Dick exchanges a look with Donna, on the ground, as she makes a rush for the creature's legs, trying to trip it with her lasso. He coordinates, jumping from the roof and firing off another line as he works to find an opening to land on the thing

The creature kicks out at Donna, forcing her to avoid, as a giant hand swipes at Dick like a fly. He flips out of the way, adjusting course to land on another roof.

Vic fires his lazer cannon to cover them, the projection absorbing it as if it's nothing.

In the chest of the projection, I much smaller yellow force is lit up too bright too make out.

"Bumblebee, status," Dick asks once he's on the roof.

"Almost close enough," Karen reports.

"Nightwing, my cannons aren't doing anything," Vic says. "I don't even think it feels them."

Kory comes in fast from above, hands lit up a bright, hot white, before she has to pull back to avoid the projection's arm. "Same for my starbolts!"

Dick swears. "Omen?"

"It's...not magic. Not quite, I don't think," Lilith hesitates. "I think it's human. There's...pain, confusion."

"Got it!" Karen shouts over the comms. "I'm in close enough. Definitely human! Sending pics now!"

Dick takes in Karen's video feed.

"That's Tye!" Jaime's frantic voice sounds over the comm from back in the Tower monitoring room. "That's Tye! In the middle of that-that thing!"

There's a muffled static sound as Tim takes over on the Tower comm. "Facial analysis confirms match for Tye Longshadow."

"I have to help him!" Jaime's voice says, further away from the mic. "I have to."

Another burst of static movement and then Bart's "No, Jaime! Wait! They've got it! Wait!"

"Um, I think you've got help incoming," Tim says over the comm. "Wait, Bart?!" A sigh. "Okay, make that two incoming."

Dick grimaces. "We'll handle it. How are the scans?"

The sound of typing.

"Based on the feed from your mask and Cyborg's gear, I don't think it's technology based...Hang on!" Tim pauses. "Nightwing, there's some kind of weird broadcast signal coming from it. I can't get a hold on it!"

A giant fist crashes down on the roof and Dick rolls, dodging quickly to another building before he becomes a Nightwing shaped pancake.

"Can you stop the broadcast," Dick yells over the comm.

"I can't even figure out what it's doing," Tim says, typing frantically. "Wait, I think...I think it's a monitor!"

Which means someone's watching, Dick thinks.

The projection kicks out, nearly taking out Lilith before Kory pulls her out of the way.

"Try to track the signal if you can," Dick says over the comm. "Titans, new plan, surround and contain! Something's gotta work on this thing!"

"TYE!"

A streak of dark blue flashes across the sky.

"TYE!" The Blue Beetle faceplate comes up, revealing Jaime's face as he hangs in front of the projection's center. "TYE! IT'S ME! IT'S JAIME! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

The creature's arms swoops down, nearly slamming Jaime into a wall.

Jaime's eyes widen. "TYE?"

The second arm comes up.

Dick slams into Jaime, the extra weight pulling the armor down just in time to avoid being hit by the next punch. Dick fires a line, pulling them to another building.

"It's not Tye!" Jaime's breathing heavily, looking up at Dick. "I mean-I mean it is him; but, it's not him doing this! Tye would never do this!"

There's a rush of wind and a pop in Dick's ears and then arms are helping Jaime off the ground.

Bart shoots Dick a sheepish smile. "Um, surprise!"

Dick rolls his eyes. "You two need to get out of here. It's not safe."

"I have to help!" Jaime protests. "He's my best friend! I'm not leaving him!"

Bart just crosses his arms, mouth setting. "And I'm not leaving Jaime."

Dick pinches the bridge of his nose. "We don't have time to argue-"

"NIGHTWING!" Donna shouts. "INCOMING!"

Dick turns, just in time to see giant yellow hands coming in fast from either side.

"Crap," he mutters, readying another line and reaching back to grab Jaime. "Bart, run!"

"BOOM!"

For a second, Dick's entire field of view is washed in white.

He blinks the spot out of his eyes, just in time to see the projection stagger back, yellow light blinking in and out.

Dick turns, looking back at Jaime. The younger teen's mouth is hanging open, blue armor pulled back on his arm to form something like a cannon.

Dick blinks. "What is that?"

Jaime shakes his head. "I don't know! It's the scarab!"

Dick watches as the yellow light reforms, the creature charging at the roof.

"Well, whatever you did, keep doing it!"

Jaime shoots him a panicked look, holding up his arm. "Come on….please work…"

The cannon blasts again, white light hitting against the projection and sending it careening back. A second later, Kory's starbolt strikes against it, the yellow light of the creature flickering in and out.

"It's weakening it." Dick grins. "Guys, hit it with everything we got! Aim for limbs, we get Tye out, I think we can stop it. Omen, can you reach him?"

The yellow of the creature stumbles back as it's hit repeatedly, yellow light getting dimmer and dimmer.

"No." Lilith's voice sounds strained. "There's something keeping me from getting to his mind. It's like...a fog. I don't think he's even aware what's happening."

Another flash of white light hits the creature and it moves back, trying to dodge at the last second as it hits heavily against a museum behind it.

A scream echoes faintly through the air.

"Nightwing!" Garth calls. "We've got civilians!"

Hunched between pillars of the museum a man tries to shield a small boy from the debris, the creature's foot coming down barely ten feet away.

"I got them!"

Kara angles down to intercept, only to get slammed hard into a building by the projection. She swears over the comms.

"It's blocking them," Donna realizes. "We need to knock it away!"

Barely a moment after, Jaime's blast hits into the creature's side, followed by an energy pulse from Vic and the creature slams its hands down into the street below, shaking the buildings with the force of an earthquake.

The child screams.

Five things happen, one right after another, in the span of a single breath.

One. Jaime's next blast hits at the same time as Garth's hydrokinesis.

Two. The creature stumbles back against the museum before its light finally blinks out.

Three. The museum pillars crumble and fall, family still trapped beneath them.

Four. Tye Longshadow drops from seventy feet in the air.

Five. A flash of light splits down the street.

CRACK!

A cloud of dust and debris fills the air, so thick Dick can barely see five feet in front of him.

"Zatanna," he coughs over the comm.

"RAELC EHT TSUD MORF EHT RIA!"

The dust clears with a faint purple sheen and Dick blinks, bowing his head faintly at the sight of the wreckage that used to be a museum.

Here's the worst part about being a hero, the sad truth that makes it hard to sleep...no matter how hard you try, you can't save everyone.

Dick swallows at what he pretends is dust. "Cyborg, check for signs of life."

"On it," Vic says, voice heavy. There's a pause and then Vic's voice again, something strange and almost...light in his tone. "...Nightwing, I don't think there's any need. Look."

Dick's on the ground before Vic's transmission even finishes.

Standing in the broken fragments of the street, an armored Jaime holds Tye Longshadow in his arms, skin ashy but amazingly still breathing.

There's a sob and, slowly, almost on instinct, Dick looks up. Passed Jaime and Tye, passed the broken street and rubble, to just in front of what used to be the Flash museum.

The father is bent down, son in one of his arms and the other arm wrapped tightly around a figure in bright red and white.

Bart stands stock still, looking more stunned than either of them.

"Dad," the little boy shouts, grabbing Bart's hand. "we were saved by the Flash! It's the Flash, Dad!"

Bart breaks out of it, just enough to give a small grin.

"Not the Flash. Just..just call me Impulse."

ooooooo

The heart monitor beeps steadily as Tye Longshadow lies unconscious in the Tower medbay.

Jaime sits next to the bed, arms wrapped tightly around his chest. "How can he just not wake up? There's nothing wrong with him."

"Lilith thinks it's something to do with his powers," Dick says. "Whatever the people who took him did to him, it activated and expanded his powers far beyond their normal ability. That kind of damage is going to take some recovery."

"He'll be okay though, right? He just needs some rest."

Dick hesitates, pulling up a seat next to Jaime. "We don't know. We've never seen this before. Who knows? He might wake up tomorrow and be fine or...well, we might have to find some different options."

Jaime looks down. "This isn't right."

Dick sighs. "A lot of things aren't. And not all of them can be fixed."

Jaime doesn't say anything immediately, letting a soft kind of quiet fall over the infirmary.

"I don't think...I don't think I can be a hero," Jaime admits quietly. "I mean heroes are….they're guys like you and Bart. And...and Kara and Gar and Troia...and freaking Superman! I'm not like that. I'm just me, you know? Just some guys who was at the wrong place at the wrong time and got superpowered armor that I'm not sure even likes me. I'm not like a genius or an alien or the the long lost descendant of a superhero….I just...I want to help." Jaime hold his arms a bit tighter. "I want to really help so there's not more guys like Tye laying around in hospital beds. And since...since it looks like this stupid scarab isn't coming off anytime soon do you think I could... I mean do you think maybe…."

Dick lays a hand on his shoulder. "You're always welcome with the Titans, Jaime."

Jaime doesn't look up. "I know I'm not exactly a hero."

"I don't know about that." Dick quirks up a lip. "Wanting to help people? Making the world a better place? Sounds kind of heroic to me." He pauses. "You know there's not exactly one right way to be a hero, right? There's not a mold you gotta fit or a list you gotta check off. You just kind of….keep going."

Jaime glances up, letting out a breath. "I guess I should practice with the armor more?"

Dick laughs. "Oh, trust me, that part right there that was the nice end of the speech. Ask Gar and Kara. You want to go out on the field again, you're going to get so much training you'll wish it was just practicing with the armor."

"I guess I should probably break it to Bart that I'm joining the Titans." Jaime shakes his head. "I swear sometimes I think he hates this armor more than I did."

Dick keeps his tone mild. "Why do you say that?"

"It's nothing. Just a joke." Jaime shrugs. "He probably just hates that when I'm practicing, it means I'm not bringing him more Chicken Wizzies." His smile goes a little bit softer. "Bart's just kind of different, you know? In a good way, I mean. Probably like the rest of the Flashes, right?"

Dick's expression doesn't shift from mild interest.

"Probably," he agrees.

ooooooo

"Hey." Dick lets himself fall, catching himself to sit on the ledge of one of Gotham's many ledges, high enough that the wind carries away the words almost as soon as they're spoken.

Behind her mask, Barbara smiles back. "Hey."

"How was your date?"

She shrugs. "Nothing to write home about."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay...It was a start." She squints, looking out at Gotham. "I needed a new start."

"Nah." Dick grins. "You deserve more than a start. You deserve someone amazing, Babs, just like you."

Barbara chokes on a laugh. "I love you, Dick Grayson."

"I love you, too, Babs." He knocks his shoulder against hers. "Best partner I could ever ask for. Don't tell Jason or Tim."

Babs moans into her hands, shaking her head. "You're such an idiot sometimes."

"What does that mean?"

"But, I guess I already knew that," she says fondly. "Okay, enough about my love life, why'd you track me down?"

"Believe it or not, I didn't actually need an ulterior motive to check in on you."

"Ulterior motive? Of course not," Babs pokes at the blue bird on his chest. "But what would vigilante life be without a little multitasking?"

Dick smiles a little bit helplessly. "Tim needs your help on a code."

"Hmm, he texted me already."

"I gave Jason some more files to look over."

"Which I'm sure he can handle."

"Blue Beetle's joining the Titans." He pauses. "Kory thinks Bart has a crush on him."

"Does he?"

"Maybe," Dick taps his fingers against the ledge. "Probably, actually, Kory's better at telling those things than me and apparently Blue's a big hero in Bart's future. But, there's something Jaime said...it's bugging me."

Barbara gestures for him to continue.

"If Bart wants Jaime to be a hero so much, why doesn't he want him to train?"

Babs tilts her head. "Good question."

"Yeah."

But, with Bart, there's always a lot of good questions. And very few good answers.

ooooooo

"This is Cat Grant and you're watching Hot Seat-hot topics, hot takes, live from Metropolis."

On the screen, Grant stares solemnly into the camera. "Today, we have a special guest following the announcement by Titan's leader Nightwing that the destruction of five blocks in Central City's downtown was caused by an un-named civilian teenager, kidnapped and experimented on by an unannounced organization. To make matters worse, The Titans have released a warning that other runaway teenagers may also have been targeted. Here to discuss, we have leader of the Justice Society of America, Jay Garrick."

"Thank you for having me." Jay sighs, shifting in the armchair. "I just wish, for once, I could come for better news."

"Before we get to the real issue, I have to ask. Mr. Garrick, despite your organization's relatively small size, you and the JSA have become all but legends for other grassroot organizations in regards to member devotion. How can you account for your success?"

Jay gives a weary smile. "Well, Ms. Grant, sadly it's not true success until our goal is accomplished. But, as for the dedication, all I can say is that when the JSA sees something wrong, we won't stop until we can fix it."

She hums. "And I'm sure having an opposition as influential as the Titans hasn't hurt your group's publicity?"

"Opposition?" Jay shakes his head. "That's a fair term, I suppose. I've never liked it, though. The Titans didn't start out as our opposition, they started and still are simply other victims we're trying to help. I guess that's how these things go."

He looks every inch a kind grandfather imparting hard truths. "Something I learned my own years in the tights, you never set out to make enemies. But, somehow, if you just keep fighting for what's right, enemies show up to try to stop you."

"You've certainly made no secret of your past superheroics, Mr. Garrick." Grant tilts her head. "Tell me what makes what the Titans are doing now so different than your actions back then?"

"Nothing," Jay answers calmly. "Nothing at all. They're doing exactly what I used to do. It's how I know it's wrong. It's always hard to assess your actions in the moment; but, when you're like me and are lucky enough to live past the excitement, you see them for the tragedies they really were. That's the reason I've never made a secret of my identity following the Invasion. I want people to know my past, I want people to know that I know exactly where the Titans are coming from, it's why I know we need to stop them."

He sighs. "The kind of system we have now, superheroes and sidekicks, it's broken. It's terribly broken and we don't see it because we look up to capes and bright colors as a salvation instead of a sacrifice that should never be made. I've lost friends to this. I've lost a man I thought of as a son and boy that was like a grandson. They didn't deserve it. No one deserves this." His jaw firms. "And now...now we have teenagers, ordinary civilian teenagers just trying to live normal lives, who are being abducted and experimented on by whatever sick organization is the flavor of the day."

He pauses. "But, if you want to know who's really to blame, ask yourself this? Would anyone think that teenagers, not even fully grown, are the ideal model for metahuman experimentation if we hadn't grown used to seeing teenagers fly away on screen? Teenagers, children, they're supposed to be one of the most protected groups in the world but instead the very idea of the Titans has warped the idea until we barely blink an eye to see a thirteen year old run into a burning building. And who knows? Maybe I'm at fault, too. Even now." He looks to the camera. "I've tried to be subtle, I've tried to protect the Titans from this kind of media attention just as I would every other child; but, there comes a point where blame has to be laid and the Titans need to face the consequences of their actions. The Titans are no longer just victims. The Titans continuing puts every child on the planet in danger."

ooooooo

Dick glances up from the desk at the sound of the door opening.

"You know what the most annoying thing about Jay Garrick is," he says conversationally. "The amount of public responses and press releases he causes me to write. It's practically psychological warfare at this point. Lex Luthor's caused me less headaches."

Donna sits on the desk, tapping her finger against the page now stained with crossed out lines and tiny notes added in the margins. "You're good at them though. You get people listen to you, make them like you."

"That your way of saying 'better you than me,'" he teases.

"Maybe just a bit," she admits. "You okay, Rob?"

"Yeah...not like we didn't know Jay was going to do something. Not with every news station from Central to Keystone speculating on the return of the Flash." Dick chews on the end of his pen. "What's Bart been doing?"

"Gar dragged him and Tim to the Kent farm, something about a new video game."

Dick lets himself smile. "Wally always cheated on video games."

"That your way of saying you lost?"

"That's my way of saying I cheated better," he corrects. "Superspeed doesn't matter if you hack the software."

Donna laughs. "What a little asshole."

"I prefer Dick," he agrees.

She rolls her eyes, looking back down on the page. "It looks good...which version is this?"

"The official statement, the one for the general public's over there," He gestures vaguely at a pile of notes. His head lands on the desk. "Don', do me a favor and tell me some really big monster is attacking right now."

"There is" Donna says cheerfully. "It's called the news media. And, don't worry, we'll definitely need your help!"

"Hardy har har."

"What was it you said? Better you than me."

"Terrible best friend."

"Best best friend."

Dick grins, halfway to a retort when both their comms buzz at once, the lights in the room blink bright red as the Tower siren sounds.

"POSSIBLE LEVEL SEVEN EMERGENCY!" Garth's voice sounds over the speaker. "ALL TITANS REPORT! REPEAT: POSSIBLE LEVEL SEVEN EMERGENCY!"

Donna and Dick are already sprinting to the monitor room.

Level Seven: Invasion.

ooooooo

"Garth, what's the situation?"

"Take a look," Garth pulls up the footage from the Watchtower, just outside the new zeta shield.

A giant green ship, round and almost like a massive bug, hangs suspended right in front of the cameras.

Behind Dick, the zeta beam glows bright yellow as the rest of the team crowds into the monitor room.

"Why are they just sitting there," Donna asks.

Garth shakes his head. "I don't know, one second they were hardly anything on a scanner and then boom, they're right in front of our cameras."

Dick sighs. "So advanced enough to have warp drive technology."

"Nightwing," Tim grabs Dick's arm, mask sitting slightly crooked on his face from the hurry. "There's nothing on the news yet, not even on the government satellites. I think this is only coming through on our feed. They're blocking the rest."

Dick frowns, gesturing to Tim and Vic. "Check it out. Find out everything you can about what they're using."

"Can they not get through the zeta-shield," Raquel asks.

"That's not how the zeta-shield works," Karen answers. "It doesn't have any physical structure. It should only stop transmissions."

"They're waiting."

Dick turns, eyes landing on Bart standing frozen at the back of the room.

"What do you mean they're waiting," Gar asks.

Bart doesn't answer.

Vic swears at the screen. "Incoming video transmission. Accept it?"

All eyes turn to Dick.

Dick presses his lips together before nodding. "Let's find out who we're dealing with."

Vic hits a string of keys and the screen goes to static before a video feed replaces it.

"Greetings," says a humanoid figure with pale green skin covered in blue markings. The figure smiles at them, holding up a white flag. "We come in peace. I am the Ambassador for the great Reach Empire, a peacekeeping organization dedicated to galactic cooperation."

Dick clears his throat. "What is your business with Earth?"

"Only an offer of friendship," the Ambassador answers calmly. "As a gesture of respect and a sign of non-aggression, we keep our ship outside of your borders and request merely a single meeting with the heroes of your world to prove our intentions."

"And if we deny the request?"

The Ambassador continues to smile. "Then that is your decision. However, we believe we may have something that interests you."

The Ambassador steps back from the video frame, only to be replaced by two new figures.

Two beings stand, individually encased in black and green armor.

Just like Blue Beetle.

ooooooo

Dick stands in the meeting room, Donna and Will manning either of his sides while Queen Mera, Garth, and Tula take his far right and Queen Hippolyta with two of her warriors take the left.

Humans. Atlanteans. Amazonians.

Sometimes, Dick's still not quite sure how he got here.

Looking far more out of place, Jaime stands to the side of the crowd, hand twitching ever so lightly to the scarab on his back.

Dick's comm buzzes in his ear.

"They're here," Jade's voice sounds.

The doors to the meeting room open, Kory and Kara leading in the small group of four. The Ambassador strides confidently in the front, both of the armored Beatles behind him and finally an alien with the same green skin and red markings.

The Ambassador smiles. "Ah, how lovely to see both a Kryptonian and a Tamaran refugee among your ranks. Honestly, it's that kind of spirit of cooperation that made us decide approaching Earth would be a wise venture."

Mera smiles with all the gentleness of a shark. "Oh? So, you've been monitoring us then?"

"Merely as a safety precaution before our official approach," the Ambassador reassures. "As I mentioned, we're merely a peace-keeping organization. We have to be careful about who we approach, not every world is as friendly as Earth."

"Friendly," Hippolyta repeats, sharp as a sword with dark eyes set firm. "An interesting choice given that you've cloaked your ship's presence from all but the Titan's networks. It's been my experience that those that have chosen to hide, generally have something to fear."

"An astute observation," the Ambassador agrees. "Of course, I would expect no less from the fabled warrior queen of the Amazonian's hidden island."

Hippolyta narrows her eyes and the temperature of the room all but physically drops. Behind Dick, he feels more than sees Donna tense.

"My Amazonians stay neutral not out of fear for themselves," she returns evenly, "but as an active decision for peace based on our love of the rest of the world. Great power inspires great enemies."

The Ambassador holds up his hands in surrender. "Pardon me, I believe I misspoke. My words were meant to be a compliment. Prioritizing the needs of the world at large above the needs of oneself is the Reach's truest ambition." He shakes his head sadly. "It is why we decided to approach the Titans specifically rather than the world at large, as is our normal approach. We know you have suffered greatly from another alien presence in the past and believed our ship would panic the general public." He pauses. "We understand the Earth may not be ready for an open alliance with an alien force so soon after your world's attempted invasion; however, we are hoping those gathered here may be more open minded."

Dick smiles, making it trusting and friendly as he slips into his own role to play off the Queens beside him just as he once did for Batman.

"Before there's any talk of an alliance, I think it's time for introductions," he says. "You seem to know us already; but, we're still a bit lost when it comes to you."

The Ambassador smiles back. "Our culture does not have names so much as we do roles. As mentioned, I am known as the Ambassador while my companions are known as the Scientist," he gestures to the alien with the red markings, "and, of course, the Black Beetle and the Green Beetle."

Jaime's head shoots up at the names. "They look like my armor?"

The Ambassador laughs. "Actually, I think you'll find your armor looks like theirs. A happy coincidence on our part."

The Scientist takes over, smooth almost sibilant voice filling the room. "It's standard in our initial observations of the planet to scan for any existing Reach technology. Imagine our surprise when we found that one of our scarabs had crash landed here millennia ago and was used by Earth's heroes. We thought it would make a wonderful peace offering to continue the legacy so we...I believe your word would be reactivated it….to find someone in great need and with a kind heart to serve."

The Ambassador's smile widens as he looks to Jaime. "And it appears it chose wisely, young man."

Jaime swallows. "It...it chose me?"

The Ambassador nods. "The scarab is a gift! From the Reach to the Earth, a symbol of cooperation between our heroes and yours. Have no fear, it is far from the first time someone outside the Reach empire has become one of our greatest scouts."

"I believe that is my cue," says a warm voice and the Green Beetle's face covering slides up, revealing a clearly Martian man. "I am B'arzz O'oomm, I will admit it is nice to be back in my home solar system."

"A Martian," Mera says, tilting her head ever so slightly in acknowledgement. "I must admit, I was sorry to see our planets' partnership come to an end following The Manhunter and Miss Martian's deaths. It is nice to see one of your people once again on Earth."

B'arzz bows his head. "I am honored. You know my fellow Martians are unfortunately not too keen on space travel...especially since our solar system's abandonment."

"Abandonment," Hippolyta questions.

The Ambassador lays a comforting hand on B'arzz's shoulder. "Yes, I will admit the Reach does have further goals than a simple alliance. We're trying to form a peace keeping organization to serve as an alternative to the Green Lanterns Corp."

"The Green Lanterns Corp has served has Earth's ally decades before we even heard the Reach's name," Mera counters. "What incentive could we possibly have for joining their alternative?"

The Ambassador's face crumples almost in confusion before it resolves. "Well, that certainly is...a truly remarkable amount of loyalty to the Corps given the situation." He shakes his head. "Regardless, the benefits are clear. An alliance with the Reach would be a full alliance where Earth would get a seat at the table just the same as the other members. The Green Lantern Corps only appears to be accepting of other species because of their barbaric recruitment methods; but, as I believe you all are well aware, the Corp's Guardians hold the power, not their lanterns. No true new voices are ever heard. Tell me, even when the Corps did protect you, how often were any but the Lanterns ever contacted by the Guardians?"

The members of Earth choose to remain silent and the Ambassador breathes out in a smile. "With the Reach, it's different. We're interested in a democracy, not an oligarchy. The defensive zeta shield you have set up is a great starting point; but, what about larger scale problems like the Invasion? The Earth needs larger allies and the Reach is able and willing to be that start. And, unlike the Corps, the Reach does not abandon their allies when faced with challenges."

"Abandon. Your group has used that word twice now," Hippolyta says, "tell me why are you so certain we can no longer depend on the Green Lantern Corps as allies?"

The Reach contingent all exchange glances.

"Your Majesty," B'arzz says slowly, "is Earth not aware of our solar system's situation?"

Dick leans forward. "If there's something you think we should know, you might want to speak up?"

The Ambassador sighs, face grim.

"The Guardians of the Green Lanterns Corps have declared this system a restricted zone. I'm sorry; but Earth is no longer under the Corps' protection. When it comes to galactic defenses….you're on your own."

ooooooo

A/N: Sorry for the wait, guys! I just got done moving across country! Next chapter should be the last part for Year 6. Thank you so much to everyone for your support! I appreciate every review, favorite, follow, and view!