FOLLOWING THE EVENTS OF 'A ROBIN, RED ROBIN 3.'
The Flight of the Blue Beetle 17
When he woke up, it was to the most horrific headache of his life. Not even a round against the Black Beetle hurt this much. The light was entering through a nearby window and burning irises through his closed eyes. He turned and hid his head under a pillow. He tried to go back to sleep but found it impossible. He was so thirsty. What did he do last night? Did they fight some crazy villain that specialized on scrambling their brains? He reached for his nightstand to get his phone, all the while keeping his head under the pillow. He didn't find it; he also didn't find his nightstand. Cringing he lifted his head and the first thing he saw was a very pink wallpaper. At first he thought he had fallen asleep on his little sister's room, and then remembered Milagro didn't like pink. Her room was now a very light tone of purple.
Begging for his head to stop spinning, he sat up and looked around. This place was definitely not his room, or his sister. He doubted he was in his house at all.
"Go back to sleep," he jumped off the bed when he turned and saw a woman he didn't know laying there, "classes don't start until ten." The woman said to the pillow. She too was trying to hide from the light.
"I… you…" he was at a loss for words. Did they? He looked at himself and saw he was naked, "Dios mio…" he covered himself up with a pillow.
"Yeah, you said that a lot last night," the woman laughed under her pillow before cringing, "Okay, stop making me laugh, and shut the curtains."
He closed them and searched the room for his clothes. His mother was going to kill him. She probably thought he was away on a mission, and here he was with a woman he couldn't even remember. Worst of all, he knew they did the deed, but couldn't remember a single thing about it. He glanced at her in the semi-darkness. From what he could see he probably enjoyed it a lot. Her body was probably as naked as his and the thin sheet at the top of it hid nothing of her gorgeousness. Her hair was as far as he could tell black like the wings of a raven, and from her voice he could only believe her face was just as captivating.
He snapped himself from his trance and continued to search for his clothes.
"What are you doing?" she asked with a whine, "you are making too much noise."
"I am looking for my clothes," he said hopeful she would help him and not make things even more awkward.
"Did you try the closet?" she asked sarcastically before saying something in a language he didn't recognize. He waited for Khaji-Da to translated, and waited, and waited.
Khaji-Da? He called and searched for the link they shared but found none. He was alone in his mind. Real panic struck then. He tried to form his armor, he didn't care that there was a civilian there. The armor didn't form. He kept trying to remember what happened his head would start hurting. He rushed to the closet and took clothes he hoped were his. He had to get out of first and get hold of his friends. After getting dressed, he hurried out of the room.
He hissed as more light entered through the living room window. He turned away and went into the kitchen. Was he drugged with something? He spotted a phone in the kitchen and checked for a dial tone. Okay, maybe he was getting a little too suspicious. The woman in the bedroom probably had no idea he was panicking. He took a deep breath.
"Get hold of yourself," he told himself before dialling his house. First, he had to let his family he was fine.
"Mijo, isn't it a little too early over there?" his mother answered without asking who it was.
He opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know what. His mother knew where he was. Had he actually told her what he was doing? His stomach turned just thinking of having that conversation with her. Where was dad when he needed him?
"Jaime? Or is it you Traci?" his mother asked a little worried.
"Traci?" he asked, who was that?
"Hilarious mijo, are you feeling okay? You sound a little strange," she said still sounding worried.
"I… I don't know where I am," he hoped she really did.
"The caller Id says it's your apartment," she told him
"My apartment?" he looked around the kitchen, and then picked at the living room. It was a pleasant place, but he would surely remember getting an apartment.
"Mijo, could you put Traci on the phone?" his mother sounded calm, but there was a little edge to her voice.
"Traci?" he asked again.
"The lovely girl with dark hair you probably woke up next to," she told him before he realized she sounded like she was about to cry, "Jaime, please hurry."
He bolted the door open, scaring the poor woman up and awake.
"What's your deal Jaime?" she asked sitting up and Jaime couldn't speak. Her eyes were like those of a Phoenix; dark with long lashes and captivating even when upset. She also had full inviting lips, a little upturned nose which was just begging to be kissed and light beige skin that looked warm to the touch. "Jaime?" she asked again before he felt his face start to heat. Her bosom was also exposed and as soon as he realized he was staring he turned around. He handed her the phone this way before walking out the room and sitting in the living room.
A few minutes afterward she came out fully dressed and looking at him with worry.
"Jaime, do you know who I am?" she asked kneeling before him.
He was about to say Traci, as that's what his mother had led him to believe, but decided to shake his head no. She immediately looked more worried. She placed her hands on his knees. A shock of electricity went through his body and he stared at her with confusion, but something else too. He knew that touch (did he?), but he couldn't recall.
"Look, we are going to go see Tim. He might have an idea of what's going on," she told him taking his hand and pulling him to stand.
"You know Tim?" he asked.
"And Bart and Conner and Tye and Paco; your friends are my friends Jaime, so don't worry. I will get you help."
"But what's happening, I still don't understand," he told her.
"You lost part of your memories," she told him, "what is the last thing you remember?"
"I am trying to remember, but when I do my head starts to hurt," and right now his head felt like it was going to explode.
"What is the last thing you remember that doesn't hurt?" she asked in a kind voice.
"My eighteen birthday; everything after that hurts," he looked at the beauty before him and then asked, "how old am I now?"
"Last night we went to celebrate your twenty-first birthday. I think that's part of the reason you got a headache," she told him sorrowfully. She looked like she just wanted to go back to bed and wish this was just a bad dream.
"Wait, you are saying I have a hangover?" he asked her incredulous. Well, if he was twenty-one and no living with his parents, it seemed fine. Still, it was hard to accept he was missing three years.
"Pretty much," she told him.
"I am never doing that again," he said to himself more than her. He actually thought he was drugged or even poisoned.
"Right," she said with a short laugh. He looked at her and felt his heart start to beat faster, "now, let's get something to eat and then head to Tim's. I already gave him the heads up."
He was in California, and as Traci drove his car he couldn't help noticing how different things were. He found he liked Los Angeles. She took him through a drive through and got them some fast food before driving towards the bay. They drove for a while as they ate. Jaime made sure there were no crumbs or trash left in the car, which got Traci laughing.
"Some things are always the same," she said giving him a playful smile.
He was about to ask what she meant when he spotted something odd in the sea.
"What is that?" he asked as they drove closer.
"That' Tim's place," she told him.
"It's a giant T," he told her, "on a small island."
The T's could make use of them if you want.
He cringed as a memory tried to resurface.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he looked at the giant T that was getting closer, "T doesn't stand for Tim, does it?"
"No," she said finding it funny, "but I will make sure to remind you in front of Tim you said that."
They parked near the beach. They walked down a pier until reaching the end. They stood there for a moment, and when he was about to ask her what they were waiting for, he felt his stomach do a flip.
"Blue, you okay?" someone asked taking hold of his arm. He nodded as he un-hunched and met eye to eye with Bart… who was taller than him?
"Bart?" he asked with a frown, "is that really you?"
His friend was no longer a skinny teen. He was taller than him, his chin and shoulders had broadened, and his voice had gone from that of a hyperactive child to a more modulated one.
"So is true," Bart said giving him a worried look, "we just saw each other yesterday."
"Bring him to the infirmary," Tim called through an intercom. Jaime got a better look now that his stomach had settled. It was a large oval room with small circles on the ground. He and Traci had appeared on one of the small circles each.
"This way hermano," Bart said before leading them through multiple halls. He had expected the same whiteness as the room to which they had arrived. Every hall was a different color with their purpose written in big white letters on them and with colored arrows pointing the way to other halls. He wondered just how big the place was. From what he had seen the signs, they even had dormitories. They reached a light blue room which was labeled Infirmary. They entered a vast infirmary that could fit at least thirty people, but at the time was empty for the exception of Superboy and Miss Martian. The two of them looked the same, which was sort of a relief.
He was led to sit on a bed before asked the same question Traci had asked him before. Conner and Bart were the ones that looked the most bothered about his last memories.
"Do you think is because we traveled in time?" Superboy asked Kid Flash.
"No," Kid Flash shook his head, "it doesn't work that way."
"I also can't hear Khaji-Da," he said before they looked at him with a mixture of feelings. "What is it?" he asked looking at Traci, who turned away from him. He looked at his friends then, he could always trust them to be honest with him.
"You don't have Khaji-Da anymore," Bart said, "it was severely damaged by the time you went to space to start the revolution against the Reach."
"You barely made it back to Earth before it fell apart," Conner told him.
"You were also very lucky to survive it," Traci said a little more angry than sad.
"Khaji-Da is gone?" that little nagging voice was gone? He suddenly felt very alone. For the past two years, that little escarabajo had complicated his life so much, but it had also been amazing. He never thought of giving it up or losing Khaji-Da without losing his own life. The room spun as it the idea finally settled in.
"Jaime?!" Miss Martian was fast to lie him down on the bed, "it's fine now. Khaji-Da knew its days were countered, so it did all within its power to get you back home. You told us Khaji-Da and you left in good terms."
"After it dragged him through space for a year," Traci said still not looking at him.
"What?" he asked.
"Not now Traci," Conner said before she turned to give him an apologetic look.
"Have you experienced any physical illness or pain?" Miss Martian asked as she pressed something on the wall.
"Just a little dizzy," he said as a swarm of small robots came out of a hole that opened in the wall. They reminded him of the little spy bots Khaji-Da could create. They landed on his body and he saw them scan his body before a hologram appeared giving information.
"Just a hangover," Traci said before they looked at her, "sorry."
"Just a hangover," he said giving her a smile. There was no way she would have known this was going to happen. Besides, it had been his birthday, "and a headache when I try to remember."
"I am going to check your memories," Miss Martian said before Superboy placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I will do it," he told her and without giving her a chance to protest, he put his hands on his temples. "Just relax."
He did his best to Relax and the next moment he was in his backyard with his family and friends. He was back on his eighteen birthday. He got the chance to see it all over again before they reach the end of the day. When he woke up the next morning and was getting for school everything stopped. It was like a screen that froze. You knew something was supposed to happen next, but wouldn't move.
Then, everything went blank. There was a whisper in his mind. It was familiar and comforting. It kept repeating the same thing again and again.
Listen to them Jaime Reyes.
The images started to run again. He was in the apartment he had woken up. His friends were there, and so were others he didn't recognize. They were celebrating his twenty-first birthday. Drinks were being passed around for those who were old enough to drink.
"Watch it hermano, or you are going to get a gordito," Bart said with a laugh.
"Said the guy who can't even get drunk or fat," Jaime said patting his friend on the back, "I will be fine; is not as I am driving."
"Is still not healthy," Superboy told him.
"Yeah, yeah," Jaime said putting the bottle down. He didn't have Khaji-Da to give him warnings anymore, but it was nice to hear it from his friends.
"Let him be guys," Traci said, "you don't turn twenty-one every day."
The rest became a drunken blur and then he was back in the infirmary.
"That's strange," Superboy said stepping back, "there is just a big gap where those memories used to be."
"That's not possible," Miss Martian said, "memories can't be erased. They can be hidden, but actual removal is impossible."
"Go right ahead?" Superboy said allowing her to step forwards.
"Now you trust me," she muttered before she did the same as Superboy, but this time he didn't see the memories. She stood back and stared at Jaime with worry "he is right, they are just gone. You really can't remember doing anything else last night?"
"I couldn't remember last night until now," he told her.
"After everyone had left, we went to our bedroom," she said and saw they were expecting to hear more. She opened her mouth and closed it. Her cheeks turned red.
"No need to say more," Miss Martian said stepping towards her, "May I? I promise I won't disclose anything personal."
Traci looked shaken, but then nodded. Miss Martian was done in a few moments.
"Well?" Bart asked.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," she told them, "would you mind if I bring this up to the League. This might be magic related."
"Anything that doesn't make sense usually does," Superboy said, "go right ahead."
Miss Martian turned to Jaime and gave him a reassuring smile, "we will find a way to get your memories back Blue, don't worry."
He had nodded before she faded away.
"Let's go talk to Tim and see if he has any ideas," Bart said giving Jaime a hand to help him sit up. He still felt very dizzy.
"I will wait at the transporters," Traci said,
"Suit yourself," Kid Flash said without a care.
Jaime gave her a questioning look, but she just took off down the hall.
"She and Tim don't quite see eye to eye," Superboy told him as they went in the opposite direction.
"More like they hate each other's guts," Bart said with a snicker before getting punched on the shoulder. He looked at Jaime, "what? You barely know her?"
"That's enough," Conner said with a sigh.
"Fine," Bart sighed.
"But why?" he understood Traci was significant in his life, but Tim was also a very dear friend.
"Those robots back there, you created them. You can't imagine the number of lives they have saved. That's just the beginning. You made use of the resources given to you by Kord Enterprises," Jaime's head pounded when he heard that. "…We never thought possible. You are still part of the team, but Traci believes you should stop since you no longer have Khaji-Da," Conner said, "and you can guess that didn't settle well with Tim."
"But I haven't agreed to anything, right?" he couldn't imagine his life without helping others.
"You might have," he heard as they entered a large living room. It had a panoramic view of the sea and the city. One of the sofas was back to them, and on it sat one young man with his feet propped on a small table, "you are marrying her, after all."
"Man, I wanted to be the one to tell him," Bart said crossing his arms in a huff.
"Take this seriously," Conner said holding the bridge of his nose.
"We will get his memories back anyways," Bart said confidently and though Jaime appreciated his positive attitude towards the issue it didn't change the fact of what he had just heard.
"I am getting married?!" he asked looked at the three of them.
"You proposed about a month ago," Tim said standing up and stretching, like Bart he had gotten taller. He was in civilian clothing and had a scruff "I can't imagine her saying no without making you promise to break ties with us."
"I wouldn't do that," he said.
"You love her," Tim said matter of fact, "really love her."
"Totally gone for her," Bart said with a smirk.
"If you decided that, we are not angry at you," Conner said before giving Tim and Bart a warning look. "You deserve to be happy after all you have done not just here on Earth, but also out there. There is almost no Reach to speak of left now. Countless worlds owe you their freedom."
"But-" he couldn't believe he would willingly leave them.
"Let's not worry about that for now," Tim said, "we might be facing another reason why this happened, and we can't let the League know."
"Don't worry; I hid the only thing that might have given Miss Martian a clue," Superboy said.
"What are you talking about?" Jaime asked them.
"What you heard in between your memories, I hid it from Miss Martian," Superboy reminded him.
"You heard it too?" he thought Miss Martian had heard it too, but the fact that she didn't comment on it dawned on him.
"What was it already?" Bart asked tapping his foot rapidly.
"It was Khaji-Da's voice. It said 'Listen to them Jaime Reyes.'" Jaime had told them before they all became quiet.
"But we checked that all of Khaji-Da was out of his system," Bart was the first one to speak.
"There is still a connection there," Superboy told him. "That wasn't a memory. My powers are different than Miss Martian. It relays on sensations, and that was something that was happening at that moment."
"But it has been off for so long," Tim said with a frown.
Underneath Jaime Reyes
"Khaji-Da?" he said stepping forwards to the center of the large lounge room. The others looked at him with surprise.
"Are you sure there are no other memories?" Bart asked.
"Very," Conner said.
"Well, let's get it over with then," Tim said before the living room went dark. Jaime heard all the doors that led there close before underneath his feet a large blue circle started to glow. The rest had joined him in the center before they were pulled down. He didn't know how deep they went, but guessed it was way below ground level. When it finally stopped, a single door opened before them which led to a chamber. He walked ahead of them knowing what was in there. On a pedestal surrounded by a glass case was Khaji-Da. It looked like it had seen better days.
"Look, its little legs finally grew back," Bart said putting his face against the glass.
"When you returned to Earth, Khaji-Da's core survived but no matter how much we tried, we couldn't find a way to restore it," Tim told him, "you let it go, but about a year ago you checked on it because you said you had a dream where Khaji-Da was calling you. We found half its shell had almost reformed completely."
Khaji-Da was almost done finish healing itself. He didn't need them to tell him because he could feel it. It was sending him snips of them flying through space, fighting alongside beings of other worlds, taking him to places that no other human would ever get to see. It was amazing. How could he ever want to remain on the ground after that?
"Jaime? Are you okay?" Bart asked worriedly.
He realized there were tears running down his face. It wasn't just because of what Khaji-Da was showing him, but he was happy that his friend was still alive. Other might see it just a machine, but he could sincerely sense its happiness at being near him.
"Yeah," he said whipping his tears.
"You want to be the Blue Beetle again, right?" Bart had asked before he was pulled by Superboy and thrown out of the room before the door closed.
"Jaime, you don't have to decide anything right now," Conner told him, "you don't have all your memories. Wait until that is over and then decide."
"It would be very selfish for him not to," Tim said before Conner gave him an intense glare.
"What would really be selfish is to deny him the chance to have a normal, fulfilling life with the woman he cares for," Conner said.
Jaime saw that this was not an argument they had for the first time. The banging on the door told him Bart wanted to join in too.
"It might be the only way for him to get his memories back," Tim said.
"You don't mean that Khaji-Da did it? Do you?" Conner said before the banging on the door stopped.
They all turned and stared at the small scarab wondering if it was true.
"It might want Jaime to reach for it and fuse to him again. What better way than to take something he wants," Tim said.
It made sense, Jaime thought, Khaji-Da was devious if left alone. They promptly left the chamber and returned to the world above.
"We will find a way for you to get your memories back without having to be forced to join with Khaji-Da again," Conner told him though it was clear Tim and Bart wished otherwise. "Go home and get to know Traci again. She is a remarkable woman."
Bart walked him back to the teleports without uttering a single word. Was he disappointed he hadn't jumped at the chance of being the Blue Beetle again? Traci was waiting for him with a worried expression.
"We will be checking on you Blue," Bart said before waving goodbye.
They had been back at the pier before he got the chance to say anything.
"What did Tim say?" she asked him.
"He… he wasn't sure," he said, "it might be related to my time with Khaji-Da, but it isn't for sure."
"Even now that thing brings you pain," she muttered as they walked back to his car, "but that wasn't all, was it? Did they try to make you join them again?"
"I actually quit then?" he couldn't help the pain hidden from his voice. He could believe he had abandoned his friends.
"Jaime, I am sorry, I didn't mean to- Is just that you and me-" she didn't the finish the sentence and just leaned on the driver's door, "God, what are we going to do?"
"Are we really going to get married?" he asked her before she looked at him in shock.
"They told you?" she asked, before saying through clenched teeth, "those bastards, they had no right."
"I am glad they did," he said offering her gentle smile, "they said I should get to know you."
"Oh," she said surprised.
"They aren't all that bad," he said to her, "though I still find it hard to believe I would stop helping them."
"Let's not talk about that for now," she said opening the door, "let's just go home, call the school and work in sick."
He didn't know what she had planned but as she drove them home he felt relaxed and safe around her. He also saw the engagement ring on her hand which brought so many questions to mind.