In a twist that shocked absolutely no one, Booster Gold was not a patient man.

It wasn't that he was impatient exactly, just that sitting and watching something unfold sucked. Being unable to intervene, that wasn't something he was comfortable with, and yet there he was doing just that.

Booster Gold was the kind of man who looked at a problem and quickly came up with a solution. If that didn't work, he'd think of something else when the time came.

Some people called him dumb, but Booster preferred to see himself as uncomplicated.

So, what was the illustrious hero of the timestream Booster Gold doing at that very moment?

Why, he was looking into the windows of someone's apartment, eavesdropping on a conversation.

The apartment belonged to a young man being chewed out, Kouichi Haimawari. He was a vigilante going by the name of The Crawler, and the man chewing him out was a licensed hero from America, Christopher Skyline, known by many as Captain Celebrity.

"You're a liability!" the grown man screamed at the cowering boy. "I can't keep cleaning up after your messes! If I see you getting in my way again, I'm flying you straight to the police station myself, got it?!"

Before the flinching college student could even start to reply, Skyline walked away and slammed the door behind him as he left, Booster watching as the pretentious hero flew away in a bad mood.

Ready to intervene, Booster? came the robotic voice of Booster's best pal in the timeline, Skeets. Back when they'd first started working together, after Booster had stolen him from the museum he'd been working at (along with the rest of his hero gear), Skeets had been more of an annoyance than a help.

But time had forged a bond between them that Booster knew most people didn't get.

Taking a deep breath, Booster visibly put on his acting face. Inside, he was angry at how Kouichi had been treated, and wanted nothing more than to go inside and comfort the young man. But as simple as that would be, as much as Booster's heart called at him to do it, he knew it wasn't the right move.

Instead, he put on the usual mask, that of the smug, confident hero without a care in the world, walked over to the front door, and entered without knocking.

He called out to the room, "Knuckleduster you old sun of a gun, how are you?!" Then, going a bit over the top, Booster looked around the room in confusion before his eyes settled on Kouichi. "You're not Knuckleduster."

The vigilante he was looking at was not someone who could really be compared to his 'mentor'. Average height, build, and looks, Kouichi wasn't someone who stood out in a crowd at all. At best, his All-Might hoodie might be enough to catch someone's eye.

He was a boy who wanted nothing more than to be a hero, but was born with a difficult Quirk for that line of work, and who put that energy into whatever he could to feel helpful instead.

Booster's sudden appearance sent the kid from melancholy to confusion. "No, uh, no I'm not. Sorry, sir, but who are you?"

Flashing a grin that Booster had, in his younger years, actually tried to Trademark, he nudged Skeets to play the Video as Booster stood there, looking heroic.

Who is this magnificent hero, you ask? Why it's Booster Gold! A legendary football star from thousands of years in the future, he came back in time to fight crime, doing everything he can to save your present, and his past! The spiel carried a sardonic edge at the fringes nowadays, one that hadn't been there when Booster was first starting out.

Realizing he was looking at another pro hero, Kouichi was suddenly looking around his apartment, realizing how messy the place was. It felt good to see someone's eyes filled with adoration and excitement, rather than disdain and annoyance, but Booster did his best to push those feelings aside. There was something more important than his ego at stake.

"No, I'm sorry Mr. Gold, but the Master isn't here right now. Would you like me to leave him a message?"

Shaking his head in a way that made his golden locks bounce, Booster made sure he had a cocky grin on his face as he explained, "No, that won't be necessary. I'm a time-traveler, remember? I can just jump around a little until I find him." Then, he snapped his besuited fingers as if he'd just remembered something. "Wait a minute, aren't you Kouichi Haimawari? The Crawler? Or are you still going by Nice Guy these days?"

If the boy was nervous before, now he looked torn between happiness at the recognition and fear at what was going to happen next.

"Y-yeah, I'm the Crawler. Why do you ask?"

Doing his best to suddenly look embarrassed himself, Booster asked Skeets, "Pen and paper?" and held out his hand as an autograph book, already full of names of famous heroes from every era, and a Superman-themed pen appeared in his hand.

Holding them out to the young man, Booster feigned sheepishness as he asked, "Can you sign this? I don't have one from you yet, and I'd regret it if I didn't get one now!"

Kouichi looked at the writing implement and the paper, Kouichi saw the only free space on this particular page sandwiched between the autographs of Don Hall and Reed Richards. He flinched, as if they would bite him if he reached out his hands to take either object. "But, Mr. Gold, why would you want my autograph?"

Giving his best nonchalant smile, Booster told the kid, "Please, call me Michael, it's my actual name. Mr. Gold was my father." He let out a rumbling laugh at his own joke, which barely made Kouichi's lips twitch at the edges.

Letting out an overdramatic sigh, Booster told him, "Listen, you're still pretty young, right?" That got him a nod. "Well, I can't really tell you why you're famous in my time. It could mess up the timestream. Just...sign this for me, will you?"

Hesitantly, Kouichi took the offered items and signed his name, and the second he was done Booster snatched both from his hand and watched as Skeets teleported them somewhere safe. Stunt or not, that was Booster's autograph book, and he didn't want to lose all the ones he'd collected so far.

Reaching out with one hand, Booster offered a handshake, which Kouichi accepted. "It was great meeting you, kid." Then, just as Booster had turned and was leaving the meager apartment, he stopped and added, "You've got a bright future." His voice was light and happy, but Booster knew it was a deception, and inside he hated himself for needing to say it.

One trip to the Time Sphere and through the timestream later, Booster and Skeets were back at the Vanishing Point, the hidden refuge at the end of time and space where they worked with their partner in crime, making sure the timeline didn't rip to shreds.

"That was risky," were the first words out of Rip Hunter's mouth as they met up inside, the ever-critical time traveler looking at the hero with a guarded expression. "You implied to him that he was going to become a real hero one day."

Booster didn't deny the accusation.

Instead, he changed the topic a little. "It wasn't direct intervention this time. Whoever started this, they talked to Captain Celebrity, and whatever they needled him about got him to rage out on Kouichi. If I hadn't stepped in, he might have quit being a vigilante too early, before he'd filled his role in history. You and I both know that can't happen, so I did what I could to keep his head in the game."

It was a poor defense, to be sure, it did nothing to assuage Booster's conscience for the implied falsehood.

If Rip actually had a problem with the tactic, he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he walked back over to his chalkboard, once again full of scribblings that made no sense to Booster.

"Well, from what my measurements are showing, what you did worked. Rest a little, but we still need to find out who got the ball rolling last time. Maybe a little detective work wouldn't kill you, Booster."

Letting out annoyed huff, Booster left the room, leaving Rip to his precious duty to time.

He wasn't doing this because he shared Rip's crazed desire to keep the timeline consistent.

This was all just a prelude to his chance...his chance at saving his best friend.

Ted Kord would live again.