This was weird. Odd. Unsettling. Puzzling; perplexing, and enigmatic. He felt like he was working with variables, but he needed constants.

He wasn't Nightwing, but his time with the team hadn't been spent just knocking heads together. He needed to stop and think things through; maybe then everything would make some sort of sense.

Connor and Bart had visited him, and now Canary was here in El Paso too. There probably was a link between the two visits, but as of yet, he could only speculate; something was about to go down in El Paso. But when, where, and most importantly who and why, he was completely unsure of.

He stashed those questions away for later; finding constants helped, variables would only confuse him further. He knew he should keep in touch more regularly as well, but everyone's sudden presence in his life felt suspicious. He supposed he could believe they truly wanted to stay in touch. Still, talking in codes was a possibility...

However, looking at the facts he couldn't help but notice the correlation of the arrival of his new "counselor," Black Canary, happening at the same time he had learned two very interesting tidbits about his family. His step-father had stopped legitimately working and his mother knew and didn't object. As well as the news that his mother had gotten a raise – which could explain why José had stopped working.

He wasn't surprised that José would quit and put the burden of supporting the family completely upon Jamie's mother's shoulders, but Jaime wouldn't put it past José to earn more money illicitly; especially if it permitted him to work less. Besides, Jaime's mother and his - Jose, that is - accounts were linked; José could easily slip in more cash without arousing suspicion.

"That must be it," Jaime muttered to himself.

The sun, barely peeking over the horizon, cast a soft early-morning light over his room. Somehow, Jaime had felt it was the right time to decipher his endless questions. "José must be putting money in Mama's account..."

That didn't mean it was illegal by nature, but it coincided with the visits of his friends and Dinah's arrival, and if Jaime knew one thing, it was that coincidences didn't just happen. Not for people like them. So, something must have been going on.

But Jaime found it extremely difficult to imagine his lazy step-father doing anything that would warrant the team's attention. It was just too surreal for him to accept. Besides, aside from Ted Korr Industries, there wasn't anything of worth in this town. What was José supposed to do? Smuggle venom in from Columbia?

No, if the team was here it couldn't be related to anything to do with his family, aside from perhaps Dinah giving them a head's up if things went South. But one question still remained: what information could going undercover as a school counselor - at Jaime's school - provide Dinah or Black Canary? Good thing Jaime had an appointment with her later today, even if he had originally planned to blow her off. However, he reasoned she would simply meet him at his place if he didn't show; Dinah was persistent like that.

With a resigned sigh that he'd get his answers, Jaime snuggled into his bed, covering his eyes with a shirt and fell asleep once more; although this time his dreams were full of excitement.

"Nothing yet, we only 'met' the other day with his principal," Dinah said into the phone. "I'm supposed to meet him today, actually."

"Make sure he doesn't brush it off," said Nightwing

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"And tell him we miss him," Dick said.

After finishing the conversation and hanging up, Dinah set about making her office more comfortable - and making sure that there was space for a wheelchair. But maybe Jaime would want to go outside again? Oh well, she shrugged mentally, better safe than sorry.

"Where were you two?" Cassandra asked, floating in Connor and Bart's direction.

"I took your advice," Connor replied. "Jaime's doing well."

"He looks happy," Bart piped up.

"He looks bored," Connor corrected. "Biggest thing happening in his life is Milagro taking up martial arts." Connor meant no offence by that; but although it was Jaime's sister, it was less interesting than a boring afternoon doing monitor duty. He'd seen the look in his friend's eyes - regretting his decision, but resigned to it.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "He's just invested in his little sister's life, can you blame him?" Although it was sweet, she thought it was pretty ordinary of Jaime to talk about it like it was the biggest news of his life. "But, I mean, is that all? Like, there's nothing else happening where he lives?"

Connor and Bart shared a look.

"Well..." Bart started. "We found this guy knocked out in some alley on our way to meeting Jaime there was a pile of ash and a loaded gun with him."

"But Jaime didn't know anything," Connor finished.

"Really? Did he have anything to say?" Wondergirl asked.

"We didn't bring it up, but like I said: most interesting thing in his life is his sister picking up martial arts. Pretty sure he'd have told us if he knew anything-"

"Yeah, we talked a WHOLE BUNCH about superhero stuff, even new leaguers, and he never said anything about a new hero on his turf." Even if Jaime wasn't the Blue Beetle anymore, in Bart's mind - at the very least - El Paso would always be Jaime's turf. Even if he had shared the duty with other friends he had there.

She raised an eyebrow, knowing the scarab would have picked up news of anew caped crusader, sooner rather than later. So, either they really were new on the scene, they were impossibly good at staying under the radar - even better than Batman - or Jaime himself had something to do with all of this. She hoped for the latter if it meant he would return to the team.

"Hm, well, he never did keep up with the newest gossip," she told them. "Sometimes that boy could be clueless." She chuckled.

The conversation moved on from Jaime's personal life afterwards, going to things like schoolwork and recent missions or newly made training programs. They eventually parted ways, leaving Cassie wishing she had gone with them to see her old friend. She had no illusions, believing that she would be the last person Jamie would want to see, considering how he ended up where he was, but she still wanted to make one hundred percent sure he was okay.

"Impulse, meet me and Tigress at the Zeta Beams," Nightwing's voice said through the comms.

He and Tigress had decided to pay Lexcorps a little visit. Because STAR Labs was working closely with Queen and therefore was monitored closely by both Batman and Green Arrow, Lex's labs seemed the most likely place to look for any evidence of money-funneling – if there was any to be found.

Canary was keeping an eye on Jaime - not that Nightwing thought he needed to be watched – but she would be there to help him. (help Jamie do what?)

In a matter of milliseconds, Bart was in front of them already decked out in his uniform and awaiting orders. It would have been impressive if he didn't have super speed, really. As it was, Artemis was on the verge of tapping her foot impatiently.

"So what's the deal? Where're we goin'?" Impulse asked.

"Lexcorps," Nightwing replied. "This is a recon mission; we were never there."

"There's been word that Luthor is creating a supercomputer. We'll gauge just how 'super' it really is and if we need to prepare... countermeasures, in case it falls into worse hands," Tigress explained.

Nightwing and Tigress would concentrate on another mission though.

"You'll be patrolling and accessing the files with these," Nightwing showed him a pack of usb keys. "I encoded a decryption algorithm in all of them so all you have to do is plug them in and take them out once they've done their work. Got it?"

"Sir, yes sir!" Impulse replied, as he took the pack from Nightwing and hooked it onto his belt.

"Remember, we'll only have our comm units and you're the perimeter. Make sure we get a warning if anyone breaks it."

Impulse nodded. It wouldn't be as fun as a good all-out fight, but it sure beat doing nothing all day. "What'll you two be doing?"

"I'll be hacking into the mainframe and inspect as much as I can," Nightwing replied.

"And I'll be checking their files. It's getting to be the safest way to keep documents and ironically enough, to not leave a paper trail."

With the mission parameters set and their suits in stealth mode, the three walked through the Zeta Beams to their drop off point where Sphere was waiting; its cloaking device already activated.

"So, you showed up," Dinah teased as she held the door open for Jaime. "And here I though I'd have to come get you at home," she said the last part with mock-disappointment.

Jaime chuckled, imagining José's confusion, his mother's disappointment and Milagro's excitement at seeing his counselor at home. "I was afraid you'd do something like that, to be honest."

"I don't think you need me to tell you about how this works, so instead I'll just hand you the consent forms to sign," she said, handing him some paperwork and a black pen.

"Didn't feel like forging my signature?" he asked teasingly as he quickly signed on the dotted line. He handed it back to Dinah and the session began. He admittedly dreaded this part: the beginning was always the hardest, until they hit their stride. But much worse was having to talk with Dinah. Dinah who knew him, who had been on the field with his team, Dinah who actually knew what he was going through. Dinah who might find a way to go back to being Blue Beetle somehow. And the part that scared him? He didn't know if he wanted that or not.

"You've been doing better at school," she began. "Top of your class in at least three subjects; glad to see you're keeping your head above water."

"Yeah, uh, I'm doing fine I guess," he joked. "Scarab's been a big help for studying. But they won't look up answers during exams."

"Really?"

"It just plays Dennis Nedri's computer clip from Jurassic Park where he keeps saying 'Ah, ah, ah, you didn't say the magic word'."

Dinah laughed, mentally storing that information away along with other relevant tidbits. If neither Jaime nor the Scarab were willing to cheat, could they even think of stealing millions?

"I heard you guys were 'keeping your heads above water' too," he told her, making conversation. "Connor and Bart visited me yesterday."

She nodded. Nightwing and Tigress had already told her. All movements to and from Jaime's position were secretly monitored. Plus, the three had decided to keep daily reports, which they shared with one another. "And how'd it go?"

Shrugging, he avoided her eyes. "Nice, I guess. I mean, who wouldn't want to see their friends after all this time, but..." He paused, his hands leaving his chair's armrests, and wringing themselves together. "It reminded me of my... other life."

"And you didn't like that?" she asked, resting her arms on her knees. A small part of her wanted to know for selfish reasons, but she covered it up with her role as a counselor.

"I-I'm not sure..."

She gave him some time to think. Although Black Canary was on a mission to catch a dangerous criminal, Dinah Lance was trying to help a hurt and confused child. She knew which took priority. "Would you like to do this outside?" she offered.

It was bright, sunny and warm out; and for once the football and soccer fields were free so the two could talk peacefully.

"Sure," Jaime replied. In the previous months, he'd come to appreciate being near nature, more so than even before. The Scarab might have rubbed off on him in the same way he had on it.

It could have been worse, he reasoned. Having his mind meddled with to appreciate nature wasn't that bad.

Dinah pushed him out of her office and gently wheeled him towards their destination. They chatted along the way to the bleachers, talking amicably about this and that. He admitted to her that at first his English teacher unsettled him because he joked constantly and only let people call him "Mr. J" but the Scarab had found no cause for concern - even if it did offer to vaporize the man.

"You did a background check on your teacher?" she asked, the corners of her mouth quirking up.

He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"And?"

"And what? We didn't find anything weird... to be concerned about."

"And, how does that make you feel?" she asked, sitting down on the bleachers. He hadn't noticed they had already reached them.

Her question caught him off guard for a moment. Well, of course he was glad there was no danger to his classmates and teachers. But why he had done a check in the first place?

You don't check something unless you expect to see what you're looking for, the Scarab said.

Callato, you, he told it. But he knew the Scarab was right. He had been looking for something. Otherwise why not just tell the other teachers Mr. J made him uncomfortable? Was he expecting to find something, or had he been hoping to find something? "I guess... disappointed, but relieved," he finally told her hesitantly.

She nodded. "Adjusting to a 'normal' lifestyle is hard for most heroes; like soldiers who come home from a war, but it gets better."

"Does it..?" he paused, frowning in thought. Did he really want to ask that question? Dinah wouldn't pressure him if he backed out. And he wasn't sure of the implications of that question. In his mind, this felt like a line he could choose to cross or not; but whether he did or not it would be a one-way trip. His chin rested in his hands as he pondered these past months' events, even the past years'.

He'd been normal, he had never asked for all of this. But... he'd taken it all and more. The world had thrown him into poverty and he kept his head up. Life had given him a little sister to look after despite his own problems. Fate had forged his character out of the fire of hatred from bullies and racists. And destiny had given him the Blue Beetle armour; an armour that was supposed to be uncontrollable, that was supposed to take his mind over and herald the end of days for this planet's inhabitants. And Jaime had raised above all those obstacles; he had persevered. Jaime had spat in the face of adversity and hatred and moved on with compassion and determination. With a resigned sigh, he asked, "is it always so boring?"

She hummed, perplexed. What they - the collective group of heroes and other adrenaline junkies - called boring, regular people called normal. Sometimes even relaxing. But she knew she would go stir-crazy if she suddenly went from 100-to-zero in a matter of seconds. She would fight for every scrap of excitement; throw herself into each and every activity with gusto. Anything to take the dull edge of boredom off. Jaime, she knew, had never craved excitement. He had been given the Blue Beetle (or as he was fond of saying; life had forced it upon him) and had thusly fulfilled his obligations as someone with a higher power.

"Do you still go flying?" she asked, catching him off-guard.

"Do I what?"

"Go. flying. In the armour, I mean?"

"No," he told her, almost in a deadpan tone. "I never put it on," he added. Well, he never fully put it on.

"Why not?" she asked softly - but not the usual kind of soft where people thought they would break Jaime if they spoke too loud; but rather soft like his mother when she had taught him why he shouldn't pull on girls' ponytails as a kid. She didn't look chagrined like other people did either. Maybe she was just genuinely curious.

He waved his hands about incredulously. "I dunno, I just don't want to," he mumbled. What would he do with it anyway? It wasn't like he could walk up to a bank robber anymore. He never went far enough to even need to take the bus or a car so why fly? He would just have to carry his wheelchair - and what if he dropped it? those things weren't exactly cheap! "I guess I just don't see the point."

They flew over the city slowly - well, slowly for their mode of transportation - keeping their cloaking activated. The skies were empty, devoid of birds, clouds and even the odd flying metahuman. Perfect for a covert ops. Tigress was piloting and discussing adjustments with Impulse about the wheres and the whats of the building. He 'd already studied the blueprints, but there was only so much super speed could do before his attention span sputtered to a miserable stop. Luckily, Tigress' insight to the building and the rotations and even codes used by the security staff proved to effectively cover the parts Impulse had missed. Meanwhile, Nightwing was typing away on his holographic keyboard, loosening security, and putting in a back door for later uses and in case of emergency. In addition, it gave him even more insight into Luthor's company, finding tidbits of interesting information here and there.

"ETA two minutes," Tigress told the team. "Sphere will drop us off at the mark and then will retreat to a safe distance. Radio contact only," she reminded. "In case of emergency, Sphere can come within thirty seconds to a minute, otherwise meet up at Lou's Diner. You all know where it is right?"

"Corner of 53rd and Hamilton," Nightwing replied distractedly, but he was right. "They have amazing pie there."

"... Right," Tigress said, turning back to the console. "Anyway, what're your jobs?"

"I'm retrieving a keycard, keeping the outer perimeter and gathering intel with the usb keys Nightwing gave me," Impulse recited.

"I'm breaking into the supercomputer's mainframe to asses it and install potential countermeasures," Nightwing told her, shutting off his screen.

"And I'm the inner perimeter, gathering intel through their paper trail."

They started to near their destination, just as the ETA given by Tigress had predicted. The team fell into practiced silence, still used to having a telepathic connection but more than able to get the job done with only radio communication. Nightwing reminded Impulse to keep radio silence unless necessary - that meant no chatter - they weren't completely certain of Luthor's security system and they kept whatever they could to the minimum as to avoid needless attention. Sphere lowered to the top floor; Luthor's office. A strategic choice to make it seem like a burglary: the team hooked cables from the roof and cut the window expertly. This wasn't their first rodeo. They entered the office carefully and assessed it for immediate threats.

The security in Luthor's office was deceptively heavy. Nightwing knew from experience that the bald egomaniac didn't keep anything that wasn't acceptable for the company to have on his computer at his desk. But thieves would not know that. After quickly deactivated the security on the entire floor, they started moving. Nightwing set one of his own usb keys that had a timed algorithm that would hack into the computer. Impulse was already on his way to get a copy of a key card, and Tigress was shadowing Nightwing.

Ready, she signed.

Go, he motioned, following her stealthily. The unease of their minds fell onto the backburner as they settled into their instincts, moving between the cameras' blind spots with an expertise that belied their age. Their target? The deepest sub-basement. They made their way down a few flights of stairs, their feet making so little noise only metahumans would be able to detect them. They hadn't been able to recover a way to use the elevator to and from restricted areas of the building yet - and there was only so much tampering Nightwing was willing to do. Too much and Luthor would know their cover was just that and nothing else.

"Keycard retrieved," Impulse whispered.

"North staircase," Tigress replied.

"Roger."

And then Impulse was coming to meet them. It took a few seconds more than predicted as he had to dodge a guard or two along with some cameras. As he reached the two others, he handed them the card and told them of the security measures in place in the stairwell.

"Good job, now your phase two begins," Nightwing told him, opening the door as they all slipped out onto the bottom floor. Impulse dashed ahead, dutifully doing his part of the job. Meanwhile, Tigress and Nightwing headed to the elevator and made their way down.

This part of the job always entertained Nightwing in the strangest way. It always felt like something right out of one of those cheesy spy or heist movies; like Ocean's Eleven. Haven't watched that in a long time, he pondered as Tigress swiped the keycard and pressed the button leading to the basement. Maybe I can put on a movie night back at the base... He resisted the urge to tap his foot as they descended, the clichéd elevator music playing on a loop. Almost as an afterthought, he pulled up his holographic computer and set to disabling the cameras - playing a loop of the empty corridors and rooms - then turned to his partner.

"Cameras disabled," he told her, shutting his screen.

"Time window?"

He made a face. "Depending on the frequency of the patrols-" he checked his watch "-and considering the time, I'd say anywhere between fifteen to forty-five minutes; maybe more if they don't patrol the sub-basements." He didn't need to mention that other security measures would replace the guards the lower they went.