Winds Of Change

by firefox332

It's been a while since Impulse rescued Blue Beetle but Impulse is still acting like it happened yesterday. His change in attitude begins to worry the team and even the Justice League. He is closing up and chooses to contact home. He soon realizes that it was a big mistake. The only way to fix it is to get the team from the future to help, but it isn't as easy as it sounds.

6. Discovery

February 22, 2056
the Village
10:00 AM

Derek sat at the table in the dining room. The orphans had filed out of the house to play outside. Cissie and Greta offered to stay behind and keep Derek company but he said no. The girls went outside with the others. Derek tapped his fingers on the table, trying to figure out something to do. Madison, Jayson, William, Abigail and Damian walked into the dining room. The twins and Damian walked by Derek saying good bye. Jayson and Madison where left, but Madison shooed Jayson out, he hesitated but eventually left. "Derek," said Madison. Derek ignored her. She let out a sigh and then ran into the kitchen. Derek tried to look where she went but she came back too quickly.

She was carrying four books and dumped them on the table. Derek looked at them, "What are these for?" he asked trying to keep the fact that he was mad in his voice. Madison took the top book, "This is a Romany language book. It was Dad's first language. I thought you would like to learn some." Derek grabbed the worn yellow and black book and flipped through it, "But I already know some," he said. Madison nodded and corrected him, "But not a lot," she looked at the other books, "The last book is the most advanced one. Since we are Grayson's after all, I thought that you would like to learn. And speak this like it was your first. Then I can teach you some French."

Derek continued to look at the books. Madison sighed, "If you run out there are more in the basement." Derek didn't say anything. Madison walked over to him and gave him a hug and a kiss on the top of his head, "Te iubesc, frățioare. Pe curând." Madison walked out. Derek understood all of that. Mostly because it was the first thing that Derek learned while speaking Romany. CJ came into the room while the others left, "What did she say?" he asked. Derek looked up, "'I love you, little brother. Be back soon.'" CJ smiled, "I only wanted the ending to that." He then left and went into another room. Derek quickly opened the book and started to read.

February 27, 2056
the Village Gate
10:02 AM

Derek, Cissie, and Greta stood at the gate of the Village. Derek was still not allowed to cross it and the two girls stood on the other side of it. "Go ahead," said Derek, "Eu voi fi bine, promit." Cissie rolled her eyes, "There you go again with the Romany." Derek shrugged, "I would love to come with you, especially since I finished reading the translation books and I have nothing to do, but Maddi still says I can't." Cissie sighed, "Fine." There was silence, then Greta spoke, "Then we will stay here. Maddi had to give you something to do, just in case you read through the books." Derek thought for a moment and nodded, "Yeah. She said that I could get more books in the basement." Cissie and Greta looked at each other, "And when were you going to tell us that?" asked Cissie a little mad. Greta nodded, "None of the older ones will let us go down there. Let's go see what that's about." Cissie and Greta started toward the house. Derek didn't try to stop them.

When they entered the house they quickly went to the basement door and opened it. They ran down the stairs, but then slowed down when they couldn't see the stairs. Greta was the first one down the stairs, followed by Derek and then Cissie. They all started to look for a light switch, or even a flash light, eventually Derek was the one who found a head lamp. He flipped it on and flashed it in Cissie's face. "Derek," she said angrily, "Get that light out of my face." Derek laughed and swore he heard Greta let out a giggle.

Derek had used the headlight to find two flash lights, both barely worked but they gave off just the right amount of light that they could still see. They started to rummage through boxes, crates, and totes of random things. "Hey!," said Greta, "I found more books!" Derek and Cissie shine their lights over on Greta, who was floating by the ceiling looking in a box that was on top of a giant pile. "Um, Greta?" said Cissie, "We can't get up there." Derek shook his head, "You're not feeling the aster. Give me a boost up." Cissie got down on one knee; Derek stepped up on her knee and grabbed the box. As he got down, the box got caught on something and had a domino effect on half of the boxes down there.

Derek put the box down and looked at the fallen boxes. Cissie and Greta shifted through the box Derek got down. "Whoa! This is so crash!," said Cissie as she pulled out a book and looked in the cover to find the name of the book, "Harry Potter! One through Seven! There all here!" Derek saw something that caught the light of his head lamp. "Yeah," he mumbled, "That is so crash." Greta pulled out four more books and squealed, "The Twilight Series!" Cissie yanked the books away from her and flipped through the pages, "Seems boring," she said. Greta yanked them back, "They are not. I remember when they first came out. And I saw all of the movies. Ah, Jacob-"Cissie gave Greta a look. "Hey," said Greta, "I've been dead for more than forty years, remember?" gesturing to her half transparent form. Cissie nodded, "I keep on forgetting."

Greta continued to look in the box, while Cissie finally turned around and yelled at Derek, "Well? We found the books. What are you still looking for?" Greta pulled out three more books and squealed once more, "No way! Lord of the Flies?! To Kill a Mockingbird?! Derek! Your sister gets more awesome every day!" She let out another squeal, "Wicked!" Cissie got up and stood next to Derek who kept on shining in light on and off something that was shiny behind the fallen boxes. "Hey Greta," said Derek. She got up, from the growing pile of books by her side, and floated over to Derek, "I need you to go behind the boxes and see what is shining back there." Greta looked and shrugged and went back without asking. "You guys are never going to believe what is back here." Greta came floating back with a tote and dropped it one the ground.

"Hey!" yelled CJ from up the stairs, "What are you doing down there, Derek?" he asked not knowing that Cissie and Greta were there too. Derek put a finger to his lips to tell the two girls to be quiet, "Um, I am just looking for more books. Maddi said that I could come down here but she didn't say where the books where." There was a slight paused, then CJ said, "I believe the books are under the stairs," he paused for a second, "And there might be one or two boxes scattered around but most of them are under the stairs." Derek moved a couple of boxes to make it seem like he was moving to go check, "Thank you!" he yelled up. All three heard CJ move into a different room. "What do you think he does all day?" asked Cissie. Derek shrugged, not giving a real answer.

Derek and Cissie dug into the box that Greta had gotten out. Greta had disappeared to behind the stairs, every few seconds she would yell out the name of a book; which included classic old books to fairly new books that came out right before the apocalypse. With an occasional question about what Madison had done for a living. "Okay," said Greta loud enough so that Derek and Cissie could hear but soft enough that CJ couldn't hear up stairs, "Maddi was either a collector of priceless artifacts, or a world renowned, never caught thief slash con artist." Greta came out holding a picture frame. Derek shook his head, "What makes you think-" he turned his head and saw Greta holding the Mona Lisa. Derek didn't say anything and returned back to the tote. Greta had put the painting back and floated next to the two digging in the box. "I'm not going to ask," said Greta. "Good," said Derek, "'Cause I'm not going to tell."

Greta tried to look into the box but the young archer and the fourteen year old boy but they blocked the way. "Hey," she said, "What is it?" Derek had backed up and pulled out a black cape with yellow trim. Derek had reached down back into the tote and pulled out an all-black cape. Cissie pulled out a photo album. Greta looked into the tote, "Whose is that?" she asked. Derek looked at the capes, "They look familiar but-"

"I thought I trained you better, Derek," said Madison who stood on the stairs with her arms crossed. She held her hand out, Derek put the black cape with yellow in her hand, "This was once our fathers. Then it was mine, and once we find a way to take down Beetle it will be yours." Derek's face lit up and handed her the black one, "This one was Grandpa Bruce's. In a dark time, it was also fathers. But it is now Damian's." Cissie looked to the tote, "So everything in this tote once belonged to the bat clan?" asked Cissie. Madison laughed, "Yeah, everything in that tote belonged to the bat clan. But there are also more boxes."

"One from the archers, superhumans, speedsters, you name it they have a box down here. But," she looked around to the fallen boxes, "While you try to find those boxes, you can clean up the basement, as a punishment." The three groaned, "I will take the tote upstairs. You can look through it once you are done, and if you find the other boxes, put them next to the stairs." Cissie and Derek put the album and capes back into the tote. Derek picked it up and handed it to his sister. Madison grabbed it and took it up the stairs. The three started to pick up the boxes, the pile by the stairs started to grow all of the boxes either had books in it or items from previous heroes.

Madison slammed the tote on the table. CJ came into the room and looked at Madison, who looked like she was about to rip heads off. "Hey, what's up?" he asked. Madison pointed to the tote, "The kids found the things." CJ looked at bit confused and went over to the tote and easily put it on the ground. "I'm guessing the Batman and Robin uniforms isn't what's bothers you," he pulled out the photo album and opened it. He pulled two photos; one was clearly older than the other.

CJ flipped the older picture over and read the description on the back, "'Last day of summer. Whole team on beach. On far left, Artemis C., Wally W., M'gann M., Conner K., Raquel E., Zatanna Z., Kaldur, Robin. 08/07/2011'"CJ handed the photo to Madison who smiled when she saw the original team members. CJ looked down at the newer photo and smiled. He flipped it over and frowned, it didn't have any writing on it. Like it was programmed into him he asked, "Do you have a pen or something?"

Madison gave him a look, "What am I going to use a pen for? Sign an agreement with a person I hogtied for some food scraps he wasn't looking after?" CJ looked up, "That seems awfully specific and a simple 'no' could have been just fine." Madison rolled her eyes and handed the picture back to her longtime friend. CJ handed the newer picture to Madison, her eyes lit up. CJ smiled to himself as he watched Madison slide the picture into the little pouch on her belt.

There was a crash down in the basement, in seconds Madison was halfway down the stairs but she stopped and saw that some boxes had fell in front of the stairs. She heard the little scavengers start to talk. "Aw," said Derek, "You know if Bart was here it would be so much easier!" Madison heard him grunt as if something hit him. "What," said Cissie, "we girls don't have enough muscles to help the strong boys? You know. It's yours and Bart's fault for going after that time machine-" Derek and Greta shushed her. Madison was hopping she heard wrong but knew she didn't. The boxes moved, Derek, Greta, and Cissie saw Madison with her arms crossed. Madison turned and started up the stairs. "Wait! Maddi! Stai sora!" yelled Derek as he chased his sister up the stairs.

Greta and Cissie followed closely behind Derek. CJ was still sitting at the table flipping through the photo album. He basically ignored Madison and Derek as the fought. Cissie and Greta had run to CJ's side, to 'hide' from the fight that was going on. Madison spun around, "Știu că familia noastră a avut o istorie de secrete și eu nu sunt o să vorbească, but if you or Bart or even Beetle where to go into the past and try to change it, the worst might happen instead of what you intend on what happens." Derek didn't say anything as Madison stormed out of the building. Derek stood in the dining room not really knowing what to do. CJ looked over to the little Grayson, as Cissie and Greta, still stood behind the half Kryptonian, half human.

Madison hurried to Happy Harbor. There she found Bart and Neutron working on the machine. Neutron noticed her first and tapped Bart on the shoulder. Bart stood up and hung his head low. "Nathaniel," said Madison nodding toward him as a hello. Nathaniel nodded back to her. Bart had a confused look on his face, "You two… know each other?" asked Bart. Madison waved her hand, "Don't ask," Bart shrugged, "I forgot that Neutron was Nathaniel Tryon. I came to stop you two. But," she looked to the semi-fixed time machine, "I've had a lot of time to think about it. And,"

Madison looked to Bart and kneeled down to his eye level, "if you do go back remember…," she pulled out the picture that CJ and her found today and put it in Bart's hand, "little things can make a big difference." Bart looked down at the picture and his face lit up just like Madison's. She bent down and kissed the top of the little green eyed, speedster's head. "Be careful, be safe, and stay whelmed. Try your best," she pointed to the picture, "and don't forget where you come from, or your family." Madison stood up and turned and started to walk away, "Bye Nathaniel. And Bart-" Bart looked up, "Noroc, frățioare." Bart smiled. Nathaniel thought for a moment, "Did she just say 'good luck, little brother?'" he asked. Bart nodded and went over to the time machine and put the picture inside.

February 28, 2056
Happy Harbor
10:05 AM

Damian, Jayson, and Madison sat, hidden, in some rubble by Mount Justice. They could see Nathaniel and Bart but they couldn't see them. "Well?" asked Damian. "Well what?" asked Madison. "Do you think he will be able to do it?" Madison sighed, "No. But he needs to go back in time to put our plan into action-" Jayson interrupted her, "But do you think it will work?" Madison looked up to the dark grey clouds, they started to turn and blue lightning shot through the air. Madison looked to her two friends, "We will see, but in the meantime, we need to get ready for when the years mix. Say goodbye to 2056. We will all soon be in 2016."

A gust of wind shot through the air and continued like a sound wave across the earth. Nathaniel looked around and fell to his knees. Damian looked straight ahead; he had a couple new scars on his arms and face. Jayson had a dark tribal tattoo all the way up his arm. Madison had a couple new tattoos mixed with her other ones on her arms, making the 200 tattoo almost invisible to the naked eye. All three had evil smiles on their faces. "There are the winds that come right after the machine have disappeared, also known as the winds of change. That's our cue. We start the mission now. No turning back," said Madison.

---

Translations:
Te iubesc, frățioare. Pe curând: I love you, little brother. See you soon.
Eu voi fi bine, promit: I'll be fine, I promise
Stai sora: Wait sister
Știu că familia noastră a avut o istorie de secrete și eu nu sunt o să vorbească: I know that our family had a history of secrets and I'm not one to talk
Noroc, frățioare: Good luck, little brother