A/N: Because I had to write about Booster Gold 1,000,000. Spoilers for that of course. Some of the lines are taken from it, BG #1 VOL2, CTIC, etc.

Wolvmbm: I adore the interactions between Batman and Booster, there has to be more in the comics. I really feel that it's the point that the writers are driving home with how Booster is being treated and viewed by others. They haven't learned from Teds' death it seems. I'm afraid I don't really feel I understand Wonder Womans' character enough to write from her POV. And I wanted to keep this just between Batman and Booster since it's about their relationship through the years. Thank you.

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He recalls the first time he saw them. It had been a long grueling night and there had been little left to do but try to piece it all together. For his own sanity if nothing else. Jim and Barbara would each have to heal in their own way, as would he. The mission was his focus, emotion could not interfere here lest he make a mistake. They couldn't afford any more.

Batmans' diligent work had gone according to the calculations he already begun to form in his head. Everything had gone by the numbers until he had reached the camera. The gold color had drawn his attention away from Barbara only for a second before what he saw registered. What was it they said about a picture telling a thousand words? All these did was bring more questions. The dark knight had expected to see the images of Barbaras' prone form he never suspected the other broken figure in the pictures.

"Booster?" But that's not right...is it?

He would recognize this man any where, from his many appearances on television, newspapers and recently within the leagues own ranks. Too many question spun around his head as he stared at the pictures. Why was Booster Gold there? Where was he now? Dead? injured? Then Batman noticed the costume, one that he has never seen before. There's no collar, the gloves and boots have changed color and shape as well. And even if it was hard to tell with the bruises forming Booster had lost some of that slight baby fat around his face. He was older.

The answer wasn't that hard to reach once Batman thought about it. Booster Gold has no record before his sudden appearance as a costumed hero. The young man doesn't seem to understand simple turn of phrases nor pop culture references their team mates say around them. Not that Booster kept it a secret that he was a time traveler but Batman had assumed that it had been a one way trip.

When they meet again Booster doesn't show any signs of suffering from the abuse of the Joker. He doesn't react to the mentions Batman subtly "slips" into conversations about that night. Two innocent sky blue eyes met his evenly when Booster asks if there's any action going on lately. He doesn't have a clue.

Throughout the years Bruce has been waiting to see that costume, a realization behind those eyes, anything really. Booster tried to go back to save Barbara from a life in that chair and that means something. Even if no one else knows about it. The potential had been there even before the photos were seen but seeing Booster Gold changed in person would finally put him at ease. He hates waiting but really what else can he do? Usually Batman would suspect fowl play in such situations. He believes that Boosters' reasons were (or will be) noble. There's no motive for anything unseemly in any case.

Bruce was beginning to wonder if he had be toyed with by some other power because Booster Gold had not stepped up. Oh the costume changed. At first he had thought that the shredded remains of the power suit would be reformed right after Supermans' "death" in honor of their fallen friend. Instead there had been one of many of Ted Kords' bulky armored suits. He had almost forgotten about the whole thing when Superman had later commented on helping Booster receive yet another new suit to match the sleekness of the first. Only when Clark mentioned the lack of collar did Batman decide it was worth checking out himself. It didn't match. There wasn't enough blue, the design was off center and Booster himself had not expressed any desire to mature past his old ways. Thus it was forgotten for a time.

"The World's getting...darker. Look at what's happening to us. Booster said he couldn't wear the costume anymore. Not after Sue."

Good, had been his first thought when Ted told him about Booster quitting. If they couldn't handle it then they shouldn't be out there. Batman hadn't really understood what Ted had meant by it getting darker until later on when even he couldn't deny it anymore. When the darkness had almost consumed him whole. He didn't even see it when he received Sashas' package with Teds' blood stained goggles. Not until he had a gun in his hand ready to pull the trigger on Alex Luthor wanting nothing more than to murder him in cold blood. Like Jason had asked him to do with the Joker.

It would not be until he was meditating in Nanda Parbat that he remembered the coldness in Boosters' eyes. The rage in his voice. Ted was right, there had been too much darkness. In their arrogance they had looked down on the good things, taking the old days for granted. Taking Blue and Gold for granted. They had been what J'onn had once called the very heart of that version of the league. The class clowns just wanting to have some fun. If he was honest Bruce would admit that though their antics had been frustrating they had been a bright point when so many things had gone wrong. Now they were all deprived of that light. They would never hear Teds' infamous laughter again. As for Booster...Bruce had no idea what he would do without his best friend.

"And if...if...it's a unanimous vote after that--we'll flip a coin."

Roy is stunned by his support of Booster and looks more than a little unsettled by the joke. Batman couldn't explain it but seeing the blond before them this optimistic again feels right. Perhaps all of them had benefited from the year apart. That was what he thought until it all comes undone with a few abrupt words and a hasty exist.

That's when the pictures come back. The costume is a perfect match.

Has it happened yet? Would Booster return to the present in a bloody mess needing medical attention?

It's an uncomfortable wait to be certain, never before has Bruce waited for anyone like this. He's not sure what he will say when they meet again but he knows that they have to have this talk. Unlike Brother Eye this isn't about his security, HIS piece of mind. It's about Michael. Ignoring when Ted needed him had been a grave error in his judgment. Bruce would not make the same mistake, even if Michael was not outright asking for his help.

It hadn't been difficult to find Booster once he had started listening for reports of the golden hero. Tapping into the Las Vegas cameras provided him with live feed of the heros' latest battle with the Royal Flush gang. Gone is the mask of carefully placed smugness, the frustration visible in every move he makes. Booster Gold seems to be coming undone at the seams, something only someone who really knows the man would notice. And Bruce has made it his business to notice such things. Zooming in he can just make out the outline of still healing bruises that Boosters' head piece hides. The left arm straining at the shoulder--where the pictures show he had been shot. By the time the security had reported Green Arrow and Green Lantern on the scene he's already contacting Booster via Skeets. It was finally time.

There was more than a chance that Booster wouldn't allow himself to be helped which would make this encounter difficult. Bruce is prepared for any occurrence, he has been praised for his foresight in such matters and he has had nothing but time to consider how to approach this talk. The reasonable matter is his first option. When his guest does arrive he brings a gloom with him that seems to shadow even the cave in it's clutches. The blond asks why he's there of course and Batman sidesteps the question for a moment. He had meant to use it as a prompt for their conversation, instead it starts the other man off on a negative rant about himself. Whatever has happened to the younger man has obviously been building up these harsh feelings to this point.

" 'I'd trade my best friend for a toothpaste commercial!' Isn't that what you said when I joined the league?"

No, it wasn't. At the beginning Bruce was his strongest supporter, did Booster really forget that? He can't say he blames him in light of the way most in their community have been saying such things to him for years. Batman included. Not to say that Batman hadn't said those words to Booster, it simply had not been at that time period. The Manhunters, Kooey Kooey Kooey, all the schemes had been a sore point back then.

Booster doesn't give Batman the chance to interrupt, still under the impression that he will be getting the same tired lecture. The blond goes on about how he should just go back and quit--that's when Bruce has finally had enough of this nonsense. Blue eyes blink behind the visor as he tosses the photos at him. After all this waiting he makes sure to take in every detail of Boosters' reaction. The confusion turned shock, the long sought recognition lighting his eyes and the guilt. The explanation goes on smoothly as he watches Booster stare at his own bloody image. Nothing else is forthcoming when he's finished and worry creeps in. Has this experience been too much for the golden hero to handle?

Booster has never looked so raw, all his revealing expressions laid bare before him. The anguish in his face compells Bruce to knee down in front of the other man, to meet him as an equal to ask--not demand an answer. Conflict wages before defeat sags his shoulder. Bruce knows the look from Booster having witnessed it not too long ago when he rejected the league offer. Unlike then there is no fake grin to cover up his pain with.

"I tried to save Barbara from gettin shot. I couldn't do that. I tried to save Ted too. But instead I tied a big knot in time. I couldn't save anyone I wanted to--because I am a joke."

It is surprising to hear such conviction mingled with despair from a man who no matter what kept on going with a quip. Things never were easy for Booster Gold, living in a different time, losing those who meant the most to him and never quite reaching his goals. He had no idea that it had affected Booster this much. He should have known better.

"You were literally tortured. You risked your life for a chance that she might walk again."

Because what he did had value, a value Batman would never forget. Desperation warred with need marring Boosters' face as he told about not being able to change things. Of not being about to tell anyone the truth. Bruce Wayne knew all about how tiring it could be to have to live down to everyone elses' perspective of you. More than that, he realized Michael had been right all along about owning up to your own faults.

"You proved me wrong. You proved yourself wrong."

While he could never hope to fill the void Teds' death put in Booster Golds' life he could learn from his mistakes. He could listen. Batman didn't need to know all the details, didn't need to obsess about what secrets were being hidden from him. Maybe Booster hadn't been the only one to grow.