The Flight of the Blue Beetle 14
His mother returned once Jade and Roy were gone with a tray of cookies and hot chocolate. She didn't take no from any of them and served each one of them a cup.
"You boys look like you could do with some chocolate," she said with a motherly smile before leaving them to their own devices. They had agreed to find the Red Hood and his companions the next weekend. They needed some down time after what they had gone through.
"So…" Bart started, "how are going to do this? Do we build a space station next to theirs?"
"I would prefer something more down to Earth," Tim said drinking the hot chocolate. "Somewhere people can actually see us."
"Something like the Hall of Justice, but real," Superboy said looking skeptical.
"Wouldn't that turn us into targets? We don't want the bad guys knocking on our door, do we?" Blue asked.
"I don't see why not," Kid Flash said with a confident smile, "with what we can do, I am sure we can come up with something good."
"We don't want to hurt the curious," Superboy could imagine the number of reporters trying to get a glance of them.
"Then we make something in the sight but unreachable by the civilians," Robin said.
"That sound like a space station to me," Kid Flash said before leaving for the kitchen to get more cookies. His mother already knew how many Bart could eat, so she already had another batch for him to take back.
"I have an idea, but I have to check with someone," Robin said with a frown. They guessed it was a long shot but if someone could make it happen it was Tim.
"Where? Oh, are we talking about a flying fortress!" Kid Flash said before stuffing his mouth.
"We have funds, but not wealthy," Robin said though he didn't explain what their resources consisted of.
"About that," Blue said unable to look away from his cup, "do you guys know of Booster Gold?"
"Who hasn't? The man sells- definitely no, we are not taking part of any commercials for grills or BBQ sauce," Superboy said looking at Blue as if he had lost his mind.
"I don't mean that," he said putting his cup down, "he was a close friend of Ted Cord. He told me that if I needed someone just to give him a call."
"I don't think he meant money Blue. The guy lives a very extravagant life," Robin said though he felt doubtful about the image they had about Booster Gold. The League wasn't very kin on him, but then again he was they were probably now in the same category.
"But Ted trusted him, and he was said to be a good judge of character. I will try to get in contact with him," Blue said with resolution. It was his choice in the end.
"I don't see why not. We won't lose anything," Bart said with a shrug.
"I suppose," admitted Superboy.
"Let's continue tomorrow," Tim said rubbing the bridge of his nose. He removed his mask, "we are all exhausted. Let's get a good night sleep for now."
"I will take you back," Kid Flash said stretching before having deposited the tray of cookies and cup in the sink.
"The Zeta beams are off limit now?" Superboy asked looking defeated.
"Of course not, let's just let them think that for a while," Robin had said with a smirk before he left with Bart in a blur.
"Have you given it any thought at which college you want to attend?" Superboy asked him as they walked to the back of the house.
He had sent applications to every single major college in the country. In a few weeks, he would start getting replies. The thought scared and excited him more than most missions. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about, then again it had been some crazy days.
"I want a place with opportunity for an internship with Star Labs," he admitted. At one point in his life, he wanted to be a dentist, but after entering the world of heroes the idea seemed minuscule, especially after meeting someone like Victor Stone.
Superboy looked up at the stars. They had a pretty good sight.
"Are you going to do what the Beetle asked you?" he finally asked him.
"I will talk to the Lanterns tomorrow," he said before showing him the memory stick given to him by the Beetle. "In the summer I will have to go," he said looking up at the stars, "though I need to find a ship first."
"Just remember to take one step at the time," Superboy said before flying off.
888
He watched his parents' backs as they washed and dried the last dishes of the night. Not that long ago they had been visited by Jade and Roy, once known as Cheshire and Red Arrow. They had learned through them that he and his friends had quit the League and the Team after returning from Bart's time. It had been an arduous journey, but one he didn't regret making. Now he knew his sister was safe in that time, and that his self from that time was trying to make up for all the wrong done in his name.
"You are not upset?" he asked for the fiftieth time that night. They had to be. He had quit working alongside the greatest heroes of their world.
"Again, we are not," said his mother with a short laugh.
"But I am no longer with the League or the Team, and I am going to keep doing this," he said motioning to himself though he was no longer wearing his armor.
"We realize as much mijo," said his father.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my parents?" he asked biting into one of his mother's cookies.
"I put them on the cookies you are eating; now finish them and get some rest," said his mother untying her apron and removing her plastic gloves.
"You are such a monster my corazon," said his father giving her a quick peck on the lips.
"Not in front of me please," he said leaving the half-eaten cookie in the plate.
"Hey, I just thought of this. Once he is gone to college and if Milagro stays with her friends, we could…" his father left the rest unsaid as he and his mother laughed planning their conspiracy.
"I am done; I am going to bed," he said starting for his room.
"Mijo," his mother called as he almost reached his bedroom door.
"Yeah?" he turned and saw both his parents at the end of the hall holding hands.
"We will be proud of you no matter what you decide to do," his father said.
"Don't ever forget that," said his mother before they went to their own room.
Jaime could only stare at the place where they had been standing a moment ago.
"I always thought your sister would be the one in this path, not you," he turned and saw his grandmother at the door of the room she shared with Milagro. "You sort of remind me of your grandfather. Don't seem like much at first sight, but once someone gets to know you… well, you know."
"Thanks," he said embracing her. The old lady tensed for a moment. Jaime guessed it was probably because her magic and his alien scarab didn't get along.
"You better try get some sleep, your night isn't over," she told him after a quick kiss on the cheek.
She had closed her door before he got the chance to ask what she meant. He entered his room, threw his well-worn out clothes on the floor before collapsing exhausted on his bed in just his trunks. After a whole week in the post-apocalyptic future, he decided to never take his bed for granted again.
He reached for his cell phone and called some of his old friends.
"Couldn't this have waited until tomorrow?" Tye asked him though Jaime knew his friend hadn't actually been sleeping.
"I will be busy tomorrow," he said already planning to search for Booster Gold and at least one of the Lanterns he trusted.
"Figures with you quitting the Team," Tye said with a yawn.
"How did you know?" he sat up. Was there someone who didn't already know?
"Virgil called me wondering if I would join you. You can guess my answer," he could hear Tye's smile.
"Maybe?" he asked.
"In your dreams," Tye said with a smile, "I guess you guys will be in another city, I like it here."
"Is not like I am abandoning Houston," he said in his defense. He thought for a moment before saying, "and I am not even sure we are going to concentrate in just one city."
"Of course not, that would be too easy," Tye said with another yawn, "I am going to bed, talk to you later."
"Good night," he said before they hung up.
He then called Paco. He had recently left the hospital and was back to living with the Posee.
"Who's this?" he asked in a sleepy tone.
"Jaime, sorry if I woke you up," he said immediately.
"Its fine," Paco said and Jaime could hear him turning in bed, "how did it go?"
"Besides meeting a twisted version of me, not so bad," he said.
"Just be glad you are back," Paco said before Jaime could hear him snoring. He hung up and looked at the next number in his contacts.
Then his cell phone started ringing before he saw who was calling. A little shaky he answered.
"Would you go to sleep?" Brenda said, "I can sense your thoughts all the way here."
"Really?" he asked her.
"No," she laughed, "Tye just called me and I guessed you would call Paco before me. So, how did it go?"
"Fine I suppose… we quit the Team," he told her.
"The Team?" she asked.
"The young heroes Team," he explained, "to join the League if you are young you have to prove yourself to them through the Team. It's mostly undercover missions."
"And you and your friends quit?" she said sounding a little surprised.
"Yeah," he said running a hand through his hair. Though they were not together like some months ago, he still saw her as one of his best friends.
"Why?" she asked him what he had been asking his self the whole time.
"I don't know, because we wanted to do things our own way?" he said falling back on his pillow, "because we are tired of their rules?"
"I never took you for the rebellious kind," she said with a small laugh.
888
He dreamed of his last meeting with the Beetle of the future. He was to leave shortly with the KDRA's (Khaji Da Revolutionary Army) first expedition. Every time they met it was awkward. He now knew how he would look like in twenty years, while he reminded the Beetle of whom he could have become. They worked together when needed, but besides that they had little to talk about.
"This is all the information I gathered of the Reach. It could come in handy if they try to attack the Earth again," one of the Beetle's spy insects flew to his palm before it was absorbed. Khaji Da went over the information fast and relay him with the most significant bits. Something came up which made him ask Khaji Da to stop. He looked at his older self, "you included the location of all scarabs from the past sixty years."
"It might not be accurate thanks to the changes you and your friends made, but it might be of help when you are ready to search for them," the Beetle told him. He didn't have to explain what he meant by it. Jaime knew he would have done it even if he didn't ask. He would free the other scarabs, which hopefully would lead to the freedom of those conquered by the Reach.
"Is it fine if I share some of this information with the Lanterns?" he asked for he didn't believe he would be able to do this on his own. He didn't even have a ship.
"If you must though I would prefer you operate under their radar. The reach had spies among them but they always make sure to keep the names well hidden," the Beetle said before Jaime found the file on it. Indeed, there was no clue as to whom it might be.
When he woke up, he felt as if he had just fallen asleep. His body and mind were still exhausted but still he reached for his cellphone which was ringing and answered, "This better be good or I will blast a hole in your face."
"It is," Superboy said not the least bothered by his tone, "come to Metropolis as soon as you can."
After hanging up, he wrote a note and stuck it to his parent's door telling them where he was going.
"Jaime? Are you leaving again?" his little sister said returning from the kitchen with a glass of water.
"I will be back," he told her kneeling before her, "I promise."
"I know that you dummy," she said with a smile, "just make sure is not too late. Mom and Dad have a surprise for you."
"What is it?" he asked her.
"I am not telling," she said before sticking her tongue out and then running to her room.
He sighed as he scratched the back of his head. He had to make sure whatever it didn't take long, but with his luck it would probably do.
He flew as fast as the suit allowed him to for which he had to be wide awake. The wind currents could be cruel if not careful. Finally, Metropolis came into sight. He went directly to the roof of the building Conner had instructed him. He knew he lived with Superman, and wondered if he would get to see the Man of Steel. The idea made him a little sick since they had just quit the League a few hours ago. When he knocked, he didn't expect to find an alien parasite handed to him.
888
He opened his eyes when Bart shook him awake. It took him a moment to remember where he was. He had shown up at Conner's apartment where he was asked about a parasite in a glass jar. No long after they were in their way to Smallville with the rest of their team. He had been thankful when the Superbike appeared. He and Bart had taken advantage of the one our flight to sleep.
"Over there," Superboy who had been flying ahead of them said before they spotted below what seemed to be a tent. People of all ages from the town were entering the place until only a few remained outside.
"If that isn't the evil alien church, then I don't know what is," Bart said as they went to land the Superbike in the woods.
"Kid, go and inspect the area. We need the best escape routes for the civilians," Robin told him, "but don't go inside, we don't want them to see you."
"This is going to be so crash," Kid said before leaving and then returning a moment later, "done. The best escape routes are through here, here and here," he said drawing in the dirt.
"If the parasites link all the infected as you said," Robin told Blue, "then we must try to not hurt them as much as possible."
"Got it," he said drawing his sonic cannon. He decided to use a frequency that would just knock them out.
"How big is that thing anyway?" Bart asked.
"It can vary a lot; the largest ones are said to be the size of our moon," which wasn't the case at that time.
"Can you get a sense of it Superboy?" Robin asked him.
Superboy's eyes shone red for a moment, "I can't. When I try, I also detect the civilians. They are connected somehow."
Robin told them how to go about. It was very different from working with the Team where they were told from the beginning what to expect. It was always good to plan, but he thought he could get used to the rush.
"Over here! Look at me!" Bart said appearing before those guarding outside spotted him, "I am so young and full of life! Good thing there isn't a cult around here to take me to feed me to their alien overlord, right?"
Those guarding outside were after him at once while the rest aligned themselves with the escape routes.
"Okay, here we go," Blue told himself before flying inside the tent. For a moment, no one detected him, which was good. He was shocked at the sight of the creature like kraken sitting in the center of the tent; from its pale beaked mouth tendrils extended to every single person in the town. They were connected to their ears and mouths as their eyes rolled back and their skin became paler and paler. Then one of them did turn around and spotted him.
"Reach…" the person said before they all turned his way. Okay, maybe he should have guessed they knew of the Reach. They were both in the business of conquering worlds, after all.
"Sorry, in advance," he told them before using his sonic cannon on them. To see the working of the link was incredible. Even those which weren't close enough doubled in pain as they felt what the others did. Though the Union was strong when it came to numbers. Usually, the link caused more trouble than anything else.
"Supergirl?" he heard Superboy say before he saw the blonde tackle him to the outside of the tent.
"I just saw Supergirl and Superboy fighting outside," Kid Flash said appearing behind him, "it would be so crash if she weren't in the mode."
"Not now Kid," he said as he started moving around the tent knocking more people out. He spotted Robin in the rafters of the tent still undetected. He was looking for an opportunity to do his part. "We need to distract that thing."
"On it," Kid said.
"No, we need you to take out the civilians. We don't want them to get caught," he told his friend.
"But then who?" Bart had asked before his eyes widened in understanding, "that thing already doesn't like you. It's going to-"
"Just get them out," he told his friend as he kept firing his cannon but also flew as close as possible to the creature before turning his other hand into a blaster. He started shooting at it before it launched one of its larger tentacles at him, trying to knock him off the air.
"Make way!" they heard Superboy shout before he crashed through the same hole Supergirl had made when she tackled him.
Bart cleared the place immediately and was ready to help Superboy though he wouldn't have it. "Stand back," Conner stood and launched at Supergirl landing a punch on her face which made her crash and make another hole in the tent.
Blue Beetle saw Robin placing the incendiary bombs around the creature which kept trying to knock him off the air. Not that catching him would do any good.
"Everyone is out!" Kid Flash shouted before pulling Robin out of the way of one of the tentacles.
"What about Supergirl?" he asked as they flew out.
"Knocked out," Superboy said landing next to them, "but not for long. Let's get this over with." Then they watched as the tent collapsed on top of the creature thanks to Conner's powers and wrapped tightly around it.
Robin activated the control of the explosives and they watched as the creature caught on fire with the tent. Superboy created a barrier around it so the blaze wouldn't expand. He didn't need Khaji Da to translate what the creature was saying to know it was cursing them. It was a terrifying and yet very fulfilling sight. They wouldn't have to worry about that thing again and the people of the small town wouldn't either.
"How could we ever thank you," said a man standing up. He was dressed in the robes of a priest. He could tell there was something odd about him right away. His face was too pale and his smile too sharp. Khaji Da didn't waste a moment to tell him what he was actually seeing. He worried for a moment wondering if the creature could change humans into more parasites.
"Negative, they assimilate to the appearance to those native to the planet."
"Don't thank us yet," Blue said pointing his cannon at him without worry, "the Unity is over."
He fired his cannon and hit the creature in the chest. It stumbled at first towards them, and then started picking up pace.
"Reach trash," the priest growled before his eyes rolled back and his chest opened like a great mouth. Hundreds of tentacles launched at them, but they didn't get far. Superboy had created a barrier between them.
The rest was easy. This particular parasite was much small so it took them no time to finish it. Though they left the town confused with what had happened and also with a confused Supergirl, he thought it was a rather fulfilling night. He was exhausted, but they had done quite some good. When they were close enough, he left his friends go their way and he started his back home. The sun was barely beginning to rise when he made it through he back door and to his bed. This time he didn't even bother removing his clothes as he fell into a well-deserved sleep.
888
"Jaime, wake up," his sister shook him and he pulled his cell phone from under his pillow and glared at it. He had slept until midday. So much for getting things done that day, but he had to look at the bright side, his little sister wasn't jumping on his bed.
"Right, the surprise," he said sitting up.
"You made it," she said with a smile as he rubbed one of his eyes.
"I told you I would," he said ruffling her hair before he noticed she was holding something, "what is that?" He asked before she placed it on his bed and ran, "Milagro?"
"Happy Birthday!" she called from down he the half before he looked at his cell and again and noted the day. It was his birthday and he had completely forgotten.
He looked at the small present on his bed, evidently wrapped by the eight-year-old. He sat with a smile and carefully unwrapped it. Inside was a wooden box which for a moment he thought was a musical box. It would be just like her to get him something she wanted, but the thought was what counted. He opened it and found it was just a box holding a set of keys. He picked them up and frowned. They were clearly car keys, but he didn't get what it meant.
"Your brain has no lesions, why do you not understand Jaime Reyes?"
Because it would be too good to be true, the thought to himself and Khaji Da. He stood up and stumbled towards the living room. No one was there. He then turned back to the hall ready to get some more sleep before he spotted the back door open. He wondered if Milagro, as it was usual with her, forgot to close it before she stepped outside. He went out to find out what she was up to as she could hear her ringing laughter clearly. The sight before him made him dizzy. His family and friends were all there in what seemed a barbecue party.
"He is finally up!" someone shouted before they all turned to look at him. He was never one to like attention before he waved lightly and stepped down to join them.
"Happy birthday hermano," Kid Flash said giving him a quick hug. It wasn't long before he was surrounded by them and told again and again happy birthday.
"Jaime, go get more ice," his mother called out.
He had looked at the keys in his hand before he saw her give an exasperated sigh.
"Seriously mijo. You are making me wish I made you stay another year in High School," she said as she pulled him into the small alley on the side of the house which led to the front. He saw everyone was following closely. He turned to look at the front and saw before him a beautiful car. It was not of the year, but it was a nice car nonetheless. He remembered when he was a little boy helping his father in the garage saying that he loved that car.
"Well?" his father said placing a hand on his shoulder, "did I get the color right?"
It was blue, the same kind of blue as his armor with black stripes on the hood and the trunk.
"Is it really mine?" he asked.
"Of course," his father laughed, "I told you I would get it for you if you finished High School and went to college."
"But the semester isn't over," he said walking slowly towards it as if afraid it might disappear any moment.
"See it as an insurance on our end, if you don't we will take it back," his mother said with a smile, "Now, go get that ice."
"I call gunshot!" shouted Paco.
"Oh no, no amigo, that's my place," Bart said before Tye captured him on a headlock.
"According to who?" Tye had said before Bart disappeared from his hold.
"Me," said Kid Flash already sitting in the copilot seat, "let's go Jaime!"
He gave his parents quick hugs before rushing to get into his car, his car, his car? It was really his?
As he drove, he listened to his friends bicker and laugh. Bart couldn't keep the radio on one station. Tye kept complaining about Paco taking too much space and about throwing him out through the window. Tim stared out the window just enjoying the calm ride or at least quiet compared to most of their rides. Conner drove his motorcycle behind them. Paco just laughed as he kept asking Jaime about the model which he knew to perfection. It turned out to be the best trip to the store in the world.
"Happy eighteen anniversary of your birth Jaime Reyes."