Crysania Fay: Alfred can be badass when he wants to be.

Spoilers for: Booster Gold 12

Note: Not sure if I'm going to keep this story up but I may write stand alones about Booster.

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Trying to reason with the butler is not any easier than reasoning with the dark knight himself. Waiting for Bruce to appear is not an option, there are too many problems with the timeline already to see what would happen if they meet before they were supposed to. Standing next to Michelle isn't an option either with a trigger happy english man. She's too new to this to be able to react fast enough and will only be in harms way. What can he do? Not a force field, it is too unpredictable to use in the confines of the cave. The bullets could bounce off to hit something vital and he REALLY doesn't want to have to come back--again--to make sure that Alfred doesn't get killed by his own shots. He could only imagine how that talk would go with Bruce.

"By the way sorry about sending your butler to the hospital even though he was the one shooting at us and might have killed my friend. No hard feelings, right?"

That was why Michael opted to take flight, to draw Alfreds' attention solely on to him. This maneuver was often used with both Ted and Skeets so he knew that his little buddy was preparing to help end this in a safe manner. The shot that narrowly misses his head for the T-Rex trophy says otherwise. It's not until the guy is reloading that Skeets gets his shot in.

"He'll wake up in a moment with no memory of this."

"Really? Cool."

Booster makes a mental note to get Rip to fill him in on all of his upgrade because that's a little something that would surely come in handy in the future.

The number of costumes designed for numerous locations makes the businessman in Booster think of all the action figures to be made. The teammate in him grins at the idea of Bats even bothering to make these with his icons. Didn't Batman snap at Max that their space suits didn't need to have neon JLI printed on every side because simple was the best way to go? What a liar. Bats sooo loved dressing up.

It's not until Michelle voices concern over Rip that Michael refocuses on the mission beyond the giddy joy at being Batman. (He already had the voice perfected after millions of sessions with Ted, complete with the scowl and cape sweeps.) Another little detail Rip failed to inform him on and Skeets knows about is where the time sphere went. Booster had assumed that it would go to a friend that could tend to injuries. But if Rip had anyone else he wouldn't have to depend on Booster Gold, would he?

Michael has to remind himself that Rip Hunter is a genius. Though going to a time where there is no life seems like a dumb move to Booster it has to be a good thing. Probably. The sooner they get this right the sooner they can get him the medical attention he needs.

Alfred is waking up sooner than he thought he would be. His sister is faster at reacting this time and tugs him hard enough to make the costume slip. As a former football player he is able to meet her pace without causing them both to fall off balance. The problem is that he can't hold onto the costume at the same time. But she's right, they need to do this without causing more glitches.

"You know how to drive this thing, Booster?"

"Hey, I'm a fan!"

It's easier to say that then get into a long tale about how Bruce would take him in the Batmobile during their pairing missions. In those days he would more often than not be under Batmans' guidance when they would refuse to put him with Ted. The only acceptation to the Blue and Gold separating rule was of course when Guy needed Batmans' personal touch. Booster had watched how the car had been controlled with great interest. Batman had never said anything about this so whether he noticed it or not was still a mystery, luckily for Michelle and him the old model had similar controls.

Once the league had been rounding up a terrorist group that had split to four different locations. Batman and Booster had followed one cell to Gotham. It had been his first time in the city since travelling to the past. He tried to ignore the sudden pang of homesickness he got when they drove down the streets. Nothing looked like it had--would--where he grew up. It felt the same somehow. Like it had when he walked up to his old apartment with Trixie. The city matched the ancient images that Booster had found in the museum when he dreamed of a better life. It brought a great sense of surrealism over him.

The capture of the bad guys had been pretty routine. Nothing that the two of them couldn't handle alone. They had returned to the Batmobile afterward with barely a word passing between them. No sooner had Booster door shut then Batman asked:

"What's wrong, Booster?"

It had been a little confusing to him that Batman would pick up on anything being amiss. He had thought that no one would have cause to complain if the class clowns had been a little more quiet on missions. More over Booster hadn't thought that Batman cared that much but then again maybe it was one of those things they had to do on teams.

Shrugging Booster glanced out the window at the buildings wistfully. "Just my first time being back in Gotham in this time period. I didn't think it would be like this."

He had been lost in his own musings for a couple of blocks when Batman decided to break the silence again. "You grew up in Gotham." It was a statement not a question. Having the dark knight know that didn't surprise Booster at all. The man of steel could have told him or he could have just figured it out on his own.

"Yeah." There was no point in denying it. "I knew what it would look like in the past even had Skeets show me a map when we were living in Metropolis. But visiting it is another thing. Kind of shows you how far you really are from home." They never spoke of it again and Booster came to believe that the conversation hadn't held any value to Bruce. Yet a few weeks later there had been another disaster in Gotham and the league had rushed to assist their sometime teammate. Far from pleased most of them had been given a lecture about not sending for their help thus they were not needed.

Booster hadn't been present for most of it as he had gone to the location of the latest crime spree himself. Between his powers and fury the criminals hadn't had a chance. He wondered if this part of town was forever destined to be plagued with crime and the suffering of the less fortunate. Skeets had shown him a map of present Gotham over the one he had grown up in. Which naturally would turn out to be a hot spot for trouble in Batmans' time. Silently observing from above was the man himself with his cape billowing ominously behind him. That was a neat trick that never failed to make Booster miss his own lost cape (stupid Superman.) He would never be sure how long he stood there waiting for a harsh reprimand that would never come. Only a hand full of times had he had found himself in the city under those watchful eyes yet he had never been kicked out. Didn't matter what guise the bat took--he didn't warn Booster Gold against visiting his town.

Having the steering wheel in his hands with the car zooming over hills much like his beloved Boostermobile had the blond man noted the difference. HE was the one in charge calling the shots and driving THE car. Besides him Michelle laughs at him loving an "antique." Blasphemy, the Batmoible was a classic. Those never goes out of style. A pity that his sister just didn't get these superhero things. Ted would have. With that sobering thought comes the next phase of their "make it up as we go along" plan. If he can't be Batman then they have to go another way--and they sure as hell aren't getting Skeets to play Robin.

The idea is to have this be an in and out operation. The Gordons are supposed to be out of their hair which will give Michelle a chance to dress up as Batgirl. She can at least see the appeal of that. Standing guard at the door while Michelle changes in the bathroom Booster tries not to think about the woman their technically stealing from. (Borrowing is more correct as they will return the uniform later.) Barbara is still walking now, a sight that he has never seen besides from imsges during her run as a costumed heroine. They never were close, she was the girl Ted liked but wouldn't fight Nightwing for. The longest conversation they had was when he pleaded for her to use her abilities to look for Ted.

Almost as if she was prompted Barbaras' voice carries down the hallway and Michael winces at the bad timing. A great Time Master he was turning out to be. Knocking her out isn't something Booster would relish, it might be the best option for their job. It's not something he can do after seeing her broken and bleeding on the carpet. When the redhead enters for a second he forgets all that and is reminded of the "goddess of a woman" that Ted spoke of. Booster has to admit that he does see the attraction. Always had a thing for redheads himself.

Ted also informed him of her temper which is why the first words out of his mouth are meant to be calming and reasonable. Except that Barbaras' eyes and tone are suspicious when she asks how he knows her name. Crap. Not knowing how else to explain it he tries a little truth about sharing a mutual friend. Only the past and present tenses mess it up. She's more curious than angry which is a good sign. Who knows, maybe he can pull this off without a hitch, though her mention to her fathers' gun is close to bursting that hope. Still Booster thinks he can handle her in a rational manner when his sister chooses that moment to taunt Batgirl. Michelle was never as eager to flaunt as her brother but she certainly shows it every now and then. Sadly for them that she decided to do so in Barbaras' home, dressed in her costume while mocking her closeness to her father (the last was a sore point with Shell.) One of the twins knew very well what was coming seconds before the real Batgirl kicked the fake in the face.

"You really need to listen to me!" Futile? More than likely.

"No. I really don't!" Barbara Gordon snaps back tossing a lamp at him. Given her aim and closeness it's a near thing that only due to his own experience that he's able to avoid being hit. Taking notes from Skeets Michelle sees her chance to spray Babs with the knockout thingy. Which would have been great save for dear old dad coming in. He has to wonder if Rips' "let me explain" method ever works because he's willing to bet his whole savings that it never flies in Gotham.

With any luck Barbara, the woman with the perfect memory, wouldn't remember this thanks to the spray. She must have forgotten Booster reasoned, otherwise she plays as many mind games as Bruce. Speaking of mind games his sister has a worse sense of humor than he remembers. They have to have him in disguise? Fine. Dressed up in a high collar gaudy king suit? Not so much. At least he has the glasses, if they work for Superman their work for him.

An escape from the police later their jumping into the fray to attack him--past him--and once more Booster Gold has to wonder how many times he going to end up literally beating himself up. Huh, maybe he does have more issues with himself than he thought, otherwise he wouldn't give himself so many bruises. Michelle is getting confused over the now, the then and time changes. Rip can explain it to her later, Booster just wants to get this whole mess over and done. Wiley Dalbert gets his loot to fund the children's hospital, they get to make an exciting film worthy exit and the whole thing is neatly warped up. What could possibly go wrong?