Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When he had first traveled to the past, Booster expected it to be more… exciting. Different, somehow. Superheroes and metahumans running everywhere, extinct animals roaming about, a limitless surplus of fossil fuels.

Instead, Booster found the twenty-first century to be relatively the same. Unnecessary conflict, regular alien invasions, everyone living in a constant state of stress and panic. Everything felt like the end of the world - which, by the way, is ridiculous, because Booster is from 400 years into the future, so he knew the world wasn’t ending anytime soon.

Despite all the aching similarities, there were still some wild differences that Booster would never grow used to, like the fact that a coffee doesn’t cost $60 or that volcanoes were considered threatening.

The biggest change wasn’t from the difference in time, though. It was how he was perceived. No longer did people turn their noses up at him on the street; so long were the days where his family would have to pay for his mistakes. Don’t have to worry about your sister when she won’t be born for four centuries, right?

Yet it was all so… boring. Mundane. Bleak . Booster repeated the same things every day. Wake up, get ready, go to the coffee shop down the street, fly over to the Embassy, fight off some international threat, escape within an inch of his life, and then fly back home and drift to sleep. He needed something to shake it up. Sure, there would be the occasional day where no extraterrestrials or higher magical beings were threatening existence. Then, he’d either sit around at the Embassy or solve a few petty crimes in major cities across the country.

Today was one of those days. Booster had somehow found himself on the scene of a robbery at the Metropolis Aerospace Museum. He used his JLI clearance to flash past the security and speak with a few high ups.

Booster Gold wasn’t the most widely known member of the Justice League, nor the most trusted, but that wasn’t for lack of cause. He had a questionable backstory - how many people actually believed he was from the future anyways? It was the truth, but it’s not like he could prove it - with an obnoxious name and costume to boot. Despite being a heavy hitter, people usually wrote him off. It was… annoying, to say the least.

Nevertheless, clearance was clearance, so he and Skeets were still able to slide beneath that yellow tape and into the Metropolis Aerospace Museum. There were a few officers nearby, as well as two detectives and a CSI.

Booster walked over, flashed a winning smile, and outstretched his hand in an attempt at polite greeting. “‘Morning, guys.”

No one really jumped to greet him, not like they would if it had been Superman to show up. Instead, they were stuck with Booster Gold, the low-grade shiny guy, and his pet robot. Whatever, as soon as he deduced that the stolen property wasn’t of interest to international security, he’d march on out of there.

One of the detectives finally took his hand in a firm handshake, glancing briefly to Skeets before landing back on Booster. He spoke with a hint of a southern accent. “Doesn’t look like anyone took anything. No signs of forced entry, not a hair outta place. We wouldn’t have even known there’d been a break in if the guard’s hadn’t’ve been knocked cold.” He spoke with false confidence, like he wasn’t sure this was information to be shared. “We’re just waiting for the lab techs and security to finish counting up all the exhibits.”

Before he’d come to the past, Booster had worked night shifts at a museum very similar to this one, but there were two major differences: one, it was centuries into the future, and two, it was in the center of Gotham and constantly hit by criminals and professional crime organizations alike. He was definitely not equipped for that, but there were drones and security robots - like Skeets - that were built for that sort of thing. At least, there will be.

But these guys? In the Metropolis Aerospace Museum? They never even dared fear someone would try to steal from them. Everyone in Metropolis was too positive, too hopeful. Under the watchful eye of Superman, everyone felt safe. It was grossly misleading.

Okay, yeah, sure, Superman’s fine. He has arrested big bads like Lex Luthor, his super hearing allows for him to hear when you call, no matter how far away. How great is that, really? He’s strong. He punches things. Who doesn’t nowadays? Everyone can fly, he isn’t special. Ever heard of an airplane, Supes?

“What about the camera footage? Was it doctored in any way?”

“We got a guy checking it out now,” the detective assured him. “Y’know, it’s a little weird. So many robberies like this lately. Someone shows up, only takes one thing, and leaves no signs or slip-ups to track them.”

“Wait, this is a trend? How long has this been going on?”

The guy shrugged, “A couple weeks, maybe?”

“A couple of- why didn’t you mention this earlier?” This could very well be a chain investigation, and it’s not like Booster is much of a detective. He prefers to work with his fists. Maybe he should call in Ralph.

“Sir, we just got word back on what’s been stolen,” One of the CSIs came scurrying up to them, holding a clipboard in one hand and coffee in the other. “A piece of armor from the Anti Monitor invasion a few years ago. It was on display in Exhibit E.”

Well, shit. “Do you think you can show us?”

The CSI jumped back when Booster spoke, as if he hadn’t even seen the shimmering golden superhero standing three feet away. “Uh, yeah-”

“Great! Let’s go, then.” At this point, he was pretty tired of being ignored by the authorities here. Sure, he’s shiny, but even the shiniest of the shiny have to be given credit. People don’t write off the Sun.

The CSI led them through a long, winding corridor to Exhibit E, the E being for extraterrestrial. Technically, the Anti Monitor isn’t an extraterrestrial, but he certainly wasn’t human, so Booster would let the misclassification slide.

“This where it was?” The detective asked, gesturing to a large, empty glass case.

The CSI nodded and referenced his clipboard. “It says that the piece was donated a few years back - after that thing with the red skies and aliens - and that there’s an unknown energy coming off of it. Scientists have the rest of the suit in a lab somewhere, testing and experimenting with it, but it has so far been deduced as harmless.”

Booster practically snorted. Those scientists didn’t know what they were dealing with. The Anti Monitors harnessed dangerous, dark and mysterious energies that even the Trinity hadn’t understood. Nevertheless, that was a worry for another day. Today, now, Booster was to worry about the stolen piece of Anti Monitor armor which also possessed the same dangerous, dark and mysterious energies that even the Trinity hadn’t understood.

Jesus, that was a mouthful.

“Well mark it down and report the thing as stolen,” the Detective stated, pulling his phone from his pocket to scroll through it. “Need a ride back to the station, Jimmy?”

The CSI - Jimmy, apparently - nodded and began packing up his notes. “Yes, thanks.”

“Wait- that’s it? Find what’s stolen, report it, and you’re done?” Booster was in disbelief. No wonder they’d replaced police and security with robots in his time! “Aren’t you supposed to track down the stolen artifact?”

The detective looked tired and bored. As he continued scrolling through his phone, his shoulders slumped with a sigh. “There’s nothin’ more we can do.”

“Ridiculous! You’re not even going to try? This stuff is dangerous! If it ends up in the wrong hands-“

“It’s already in the wrong hands, Buster,” Jimmy, the CSI, pointed out.

Booster clenched his teeth and hissed, “It’s Booster . Gold.”

“ If I may,” Skeets interrupted, shocking the other two men with his tinny, automated voice. “We should compile a list of all the previous robberies and look for trends. This may also allow us to predict where the thief will strike next.”

The detective briefly looked at Skeets, shocked that he had spoken, then returned to his phone screen, ignoring the golden robot. “Whatever,” He shrugged and waved them off. “It’s already in the wrong hands. I’m sure one of y’all hero types can fix the problem when it arises.”

Booster wanted to argue - sure, they always saved he day. However, if they found it now , it could save a whole lot of trouble and, y’know, property damage. Plus, there was always that small chance that they wouldn’t fix it when it next came up.

But he kept his mouth shut. This guy was stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to reason. Booster watched as the two men swiftly exited the exhibit before he continued looking around.

The guy was right, there was no wreckage. Whoever had done this really knew what they were doing. Even the glass case it had been taken from was perfectly intact.

“Skeets,” He spoke up, turning to face his companion, “Take some pics of the crime scene, alright? And, uh, that list of the targets was a good idea.”

“Right away, sir,” Skeets obliged, proceeding to fly around the room and snap pictures of everything from the dent in the wall to a candy wrapper that missed the trash.

A chain robbery, huh? Booster leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms while he watched Skeets. Hopefully it wasn’t too late for him to cut the guy off, put a halt to the inevitably devious and sinister plans that were already in motion.

———————-

“Booster, I believe that I have found the most probable location for our thief to strike next,” Skeets stated matter-of-factly, later that same evening.

He was hoving right at Booster’s shoulder. The TV was on, playing news coverage of the days events, but neither man nor robot found it in themselves to care. “What is it, Skeets?”

“I ran an algorithm based on the input from previous thefts and the probably of cities based on what they have struck so far, as well as comparing probability of artifacts with similar multitude and design as the one’s they’ve taken and-“

“Okay, okay, I get it!” Booster turned in his seat to face Skeets. “Where’re we heading?”

“The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C., sir.”

———————-

“Any clue on when they’re gonna get here?” Booster wondered, hovering a couple dozen feet above the museum and keep watch. He was bored, to say the least. Booster was flying on his back, head hanging backwards to keep eyes trained on the building while he fiddled absently with his hands. Whoever decided that stakeouts were a good idea needs to have just, like, not existed, thanks.

“My apologies, sir. My programs did not present such data,” Skeets said, apologizing out of obligation rather than an actual feeling of guilt.

“S’okay, Skeets.” Booster began humming a little tune, twirling around in the air absently. “Hey, did you little algorithm say what they might need all this stuff for?”

“The most probable connection was either for their personal collection or to create a time dilation device.”

Booster scrunched his nose. “You mean like a clock?”

“No, sir. Like a time machine.”

“Oh.” It was quiet from there out. Many villains, super or otherwise, have tried to replicate a time machine. Especially in the past couple years, since it’s apparently possible with heroes like Impulse and himself having traveled back.

Booster continued to twirl and hum around the air; tried not to think about how his travelling here could cause a tyrannic world domination.

There was the distinct lack of anything interesting going on. That is, until he saw a dark silhouette duck past one of the windows. “Yes, Skeets! Let’s go!”

Without much thought regarding property damage or the fact that this was a national landmark, Booster dove head-first through the window. Glass rained down around him, but Booster Gold was able to stand tall and proud as his shield protected him.

The silhouette, however, did not have as such, and proceeded to duck beside the wall with both hands above his head.

It was only after the glass ran out and the man stood that Booster got a good look at him. He was wearing compact black armor, but judging on the yellow goggles, was definitely not a security guard. Although the tousled brown hair and soft, freckled skin didn’t look like it would belong to a thief, either.

“Y-you’re, um-“ Booster stammered out, shoulders hunched as he rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re really cute. Wow.”

The stranger smirked, a mischievous glint in his eye as he innocently asked, “And why is Booster Gold at the museum so late? You planning on meeting someone? Midnight rendez-vous?”

Booster was elated . This cute potential-thief had not only gotten his name right, but was he flirting ?

“Depends, are you?” Okay, okay, not his best work, but he was a little preoccupied by the way the black armor hugged the man’s thighs and shaped broad shoulders.

The thief laughed, “I could be persuaded.” He flashed a devious smile, one that was a tad lopsided. Before Booster knew what was happening, he was on the floor and a smoke bomb had been thrown down.

Before the air had even cleared, the thief made off with one stolen artifact - a huge chunk of nth metal - and any semblance of right-minded thinking Booster had left.

“Well,” He begun, turning to address Skeets, “I think things just got a whole lot more interesting.”

Chapter Text

Booster woke up the next day to a huge cup of sadness and a bagel slabbed with misery.

Skeets looked disappointed, as disappointed as a robot unable to feel emotion could. His bright blue light was a little bit dimmer, shell a little less shiny.

Maybe Booster was just projecting.

He drank his sadness coffee and chewed on his misery bagel as the morning news droned on and on in front of him. They talked about how someone was able to rob the Smithsonian, and how no one could have seen it coming! Where was Superman, left to be blamed whenever he didn’t show up for every tiny issue?

At least they weren’t blaming Booster. After all, it was a little bit his fault... Maybe more than a little. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty. Whenever he thought of the night’s events, he just flashed the beautiful thief’s face within his mind, and then he started getting butterflies, and then he started thinking about how ridiculous that was, and then he looked at Skeets and tried just a little harder to at least appear guilty.

Skeets glared at him for a few seconds - as much as one can glare without eyes - until flying a little closer and finally speaking up, “Sir, I have inputted yesterday’s data into my algorithm. With the nth metal collected, it just cements my theory of a time dilation device furthermore.”

Booster groaned, “We’re both from the future, Skeets. You can say time machine.” He reached for the remote and shut off the TV before fully diverting all his attention to his robot companion. “So, where do’ya think they’ll hit next?”

“It appears that the most probable next target will be a quantum capacitor. The closest one is at a museum in New York City.”

“The closest? Are there any others we should worry about?”

“Unlikely, considering the other two are in London and Tokyo.”

Booster snorted. “Yeah, I don’t think that will change much.” Maybe tonight Booster will see the cute thief again, with his loose curls and dorky goggles. He tried to shake it off again. It was important to focus, “New York isn’t too far from here. We’ll fly there an hour before dark, ‘kay?”

“I do think it would be better to familiarize yourself with the area ahead of time, but of course we don’t have to, sir.”

“Great! Now fly over here and help me find something good on TV. We can come up with a plan or something, so it goes better than last night, or whatever.”

“That would help.”

-------------------------

“We should have arrived earlier, Booster,” Skeets lectured. They’d arrived shortly after nightfall, the wind chilled by dusk. Skeets was a robot, and didn’t feel things like cold. Booster’s suit protected him from the harsh temperatures, but the air still smacked his face and ruffled his hair around.

He tried to blow his hair up a few times, away from his face. It didn’t work, so Booster finally resigned himself to the obstructed vision. “I doubt they’re gonna strike before the place even closes, Skeets. We got here at just the right time.”

They make idle chit chat, mostly just floating above the building. Every twenty minutes or so, they’d fly to a different position. Partially for a better vantage point, partially out of boredom. It felt like the two of them were hovering for hours before something finally happened. Booster caught it at the beginning of the heist. This time, he saw the thief across the building, lowering down from some type of aircraft. “Skeets, alert local authorities. I’m gonna cut him off by the Qwany Capator.”

“Quantum Capacitor,” Skeets corrected automatically, hovering behind even as they dialed up the police.

He landed softly beside a door, careful not to damage anything this time. Booster had learned from last night’s mistakes. He was ready now, ready for the cute thief with his devious tactics.

“Didn’t think I’d be seeing you again,” Echoed a voice down the corridor.

Booster narrowed his eyes as he turned around. He hadn’t been expecting the guy to go through all those layers of security so quickly. “Call it fate.”

“Fate? Or a smart future robot with records of where I’d be?” Shit, okay, so cute thief was smart. That was pretty close to the truth.

Booster pushed the thought aside. He and Skeets would worry about it later. “So, what should I call you? I need a name for the reports.”

The thief continued taking slow, deliberate steps forward. He looked around the hall, took in the various artifacts and exhibits before answering, “I’d rather the press didn’t know my name.”

Booster swallowed. He probably shouldn’t, but when had that ever stopped him? He was but a man overloading with terrible ideas. “Then what do I call you in my dreams? ”

A raised eyebrow and surprised tilt of the lips. “I suppose you can call me,” He paused, shifted weight to one hip, and made a show of dramatically tapping his chin in thought before declaring, “The Black Beetle.”

“Okay, there is no way you came up with that on the spot,” Booster accused. The two of them continued to walk closer, until Booster was staring down just a few inches into the thief’s eyes, obstructed by those huge lenses. He had to admit, with the large yellow goggles, he did kind of remind Booster of a beetle.

A memory stirred at the back of his mind; something about a retired hero in Chicago, one with a similar name. He quickly dismissed it.

“So,” The Black Beetle cocked an eyebrow, “You wanna step aside? On a bit of a time crunch.”

Booster stared him down. Despite the fact that Booster knew how dangerous this man was, how successful he was in his various thievery, he looked… relatively harmless. This close, especially. His face was rounded with dozens of tiny little freckles, eyes were big and blue - although they were tinted just a bit yellow and green from the goggles.

“Make me.” Booster raised his chin, tried to look defiant and not at all like Beetle was causing him to crumble from the inside out. Feeling a little unsettled from the tension left by his words, he searched for something to say. The first thing that came to mind was “gorgeous,” but he was able to filter that in lew of the second option, “ Butthead .”

Okay, so maybe he shouldn’t have said anything.

Maybe if Booster kept him talking long enough he can avoid the fight altogether. Judging from how easily and quickly The Black Beetle had taken out those guards, Booster knew that he was positively outmatched.

New plan: continue to stall until the police arrived.

Their eyes remained locked for a few achingly long seconds, then Beetle bent over laughing. “This how you flirt with all your enemies? Or am I just special?”

Booster sputtered. He hadn’t been- okay, no, maybe he had been. He was standing stiff as a log, attempting to keep his dignity intact as he tried not to spit out something stupid like, “I only flirt with the cute ones.”

Well, there goes that plan , he thought belatedly, as the words flew from his mouth.

“Oh?” Beetle leaned in a little closer, “Is that so?” There was a twinkle in the man’s eyes; something maybe a little hopeful, maybe a little mischievous. It was hard to tell beneath those damn goggles .

“Well, what can I say?” Booster tried to casually lean back against the wall, arms folded. He had to act calm, act like his world wasn’t caving in on itself. “You’re a real catch.”

The man laughed again, and this time Booster tried to take note of how lively and full it was. It was a truly beautiful sound, like a symphony or birds singing.

Faintly, Booster heard a siren blaring in the distance. Beetle seemed to hear it to, for he stilled a bit and said, “Shame we had to be like this. Different time, different place, I feel like we could’ve been great friends.”

Booster wanted to say, “Seriously, dude? Isn’t that a bit melodramatic?” Except it came out more like, “ Enngghhh .” A smoke bomb dropped, though this time, Booster was ready. He grabbed Beetle’s arm and yanked at it, shooting a dull blaster at his chest. Black Beetle performed some complex acrobatic kick - one that was hard to admire due to the smoke - and socked Booster in the jaw.

Luckily, his force field took the blunt of the hit, but he still staggered back with an undignified, “Ow!”

Beetle bolted down the hall, toward the exhibit with the Quantum Capacitor. After a short recovery, Booster flew off behind him. Thankfully, flying was faster than running, and within seconds Beetle was being tackled to the ground.

He tried his best to pin the thief down, but Booster also doesn’t know anything about pinning or trapping or whatever, so he kind of just sat on the guy’s back and prayed.

“Why, Booster, I’m touched,” Beetle said, voice a little muffled since his face was squished against the museum carpet. “But don’t you think we should at least go on a date first?”

“Wha-” Taken aback by the momentary distraction, Booster loosened his grip. He swerved his eyes to the floor beside the man’s head, rather than stare him straight on.

Then, as if it were the easiest thing in the world, Beetle flipped from his grasp, landed a knee to Booster’s side, and then sent him flying against the wall.

He sat there like a lovestruck fool. In that moment, all he could think about was the fluid ease at which Black Beetle moved, like a dancer. Or an angel. Perhaps both. Booster thought it was very possible that such a beautiful person could be a dancing angel, sent to Earth for the sole purpose of admiration from mankind.

The police sirens continued to grow louder, red and blue lights now flashed along the brick wall outside the building. It was then that Booster realized how long he had sat there, dumbstruck, and promptly leapt to his feet to chase after the runaway thief.

The momentary, dazed lapse had ruined it; the Black Beetle was lost. If only he hadn’t been so distracted by the heavenly way his hands fumbled and worked, the way his leg was just a little off-balance as he ran-

“Damn it!” Booster cursed. He ducked his head, hid his face as police began filing in. He got away, and with the artifact, no less! This was just great, especially considering that it was the second day in a row that he had failed. He slumped over, shoulders drooping as he realized he’d have to explain this all to the authorities.

Skeets flew in from outside and hovered by his shoulder. “Booster? I believe that our suspect has escaped.”

Booster huffed. “Y’think?”

“Yes, but I have also safely reserved the Quantum Capacitor into our possession. It is hidden nearby.”

“Skeets!” Booster flew up, back straight and smile bright. He was still a bit disheartened about losing the target, but this was great news! “That’s wonderful! Show me.”

Skeets led Booster through the growing crowd of police and detectives - he’d have to talk to them soon - and stepped outside. They flew up a few floors. Sitting behind a potted plant of a nearby apartment building, there it was. The Quantum Capacitor. It was tube-shaped, maybe five or six inches, with a grey cap on each side. The inside was partially transparent - tinted blue - with multi colored wires running back and forth. There was a soft hum coming from it, almost like electricity.

It didn’t take a genius to tell that this thing was dangerous.

Maybe it wasn’t so important that he talk to the police. This was here, in plain sight, and the Black Beetle could return for it at any time. Preventing a villain from making a time machine was a bigger deal than being polite to a bunch of cops, right?

That’s what Booster convinced himself as he flew back to the apartment. There was always the chance that Beetle was just hiding somewhere, maybe a few blocks away, and the cops would get him, or maybe they’d block him off before he exits the building. Slim chance, but, well, it could happen.

Clutching the Quantum Capacitor close to his chest, Booster couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride on the flight back to Metropolis. Even though the thief had gotten away twice, and the AntiMonitor armor was still gone, he now held one piece of the puzzle. The world was a little safer.

Also, he’d get to see the cute thief again. That was definitely a plus.

Chapter Text

“Booster, get up,” Skeets demanded, hovering beside Booster’s night stand.

He groaned, pulling the sheets higher up above his head.

“Booster.”

He groaned louder.

That’s it, Skeet’s had had enough. He flew in as close as he could, cranked the volume up to the max, and yelled, “BOOSTER!”

Booster tumbled out of the bed. The sheets fell with him, tangling him further as he rolled onto the floor. “What the hell, Skeets?”

“It’s past noon, sir. I was growing quite annoyed with your inactiveness.”

“You’re a robot, you’re not supposed to get annoyed.” Booster rose to his feet and threw the blankets back onto the bed. He straightened out his t-shirt and ran fingers through his hair. “Are you happy? I’m up! What do you want?”

“I have located the probable next location for the thief.”

“Great! Want to go and see me lose him again?” Booster had left the scene feeling pretty happy last night. They’d gotten the Quantum Capacitor, secured the area, and although the Black Beetle escaped, he’d still counted it as a win. That was until he remembered that there were at least two other Quantum Capacitors, in London and Tokyo, and that they weren’t out of the clear just yet.

Booster had had to call the museums and explain that, no, they weren’t in any danger, but the world would be if they didn’t ship those artifacts somewhere else. He’s pretty sure no one would have listened to him if it weren’t for his Justice League clearance. No one ever took Booster Gold seriously. Nevertheless, the museum said that they’d move the items to another site.

“‘Kay,” Booster sighed, reaching up to the ceiling and stretching out his spine. His arms dropped to his sides, shoulders slumped, as he asked, “Where’re we going tonight?”

“Sir, I believe. the next stolen item will be from the University of Chicago.”

---------------

They’d arrived at around five that night. The good thing about patrolling a college campus was that he could blend right in. Loose hoodie, faded jeans. Even someone as fabulous as Booster had gone to college once upon a time (even if that “once upon a time” was 400 years from now).

Keep your head low, hood up. People would probably just assume he was a student out too late. Booster was even carrying an oversized coffee mug to sell it.

Alas, the entire night flew by without anything eventful happening. It was soon time for early morning classes, and as the bags hung heavily beneath his eyes, Booster found himself wanting to be anywhere but there. He didn’t want to even think about that damn history building anymore. Staring at the lifeless bricks had became far too mundane a past time.

He wandered back near the main street. “Skeets, what did you say they were after?” Booster asked.

The robot was flying a few feet behind, ducking beneath shadows and around trees. It didn’t really work - the shiny exterior was far too eye-catching - but they could dream. “There’s a set of artifacts labeled ‘Time Crystals’ for the mysterious quantum energy and crystalline structure they presented. These items were uncovered in an archeological dig by a Professor Daniel Garrett, who has a PhD in-”

“Yeah, yeah, great.” Booster waved the rest of the information away, opting to keep it simple and easy. Only hear what he needed to know, right? “Think maybe we should warn the guy that his life’s work is gonna be stolen?”

“Ye- ow! ” Booster had been so focused on his conversation with Skeets, he hadn’t even noticed there was someone right in front of him. The two men bumped into each other, a scattering of papers and files flying everywhere. “Sorry, sorry!” Booster bent down to help pick up the mess. “I didn’t see you! I swear, I just wasn’t watching where I was-”

They locked eyes, breath flying from Booster’s lungs. He’d been so distracted with cleaning up, he hadn’t noticed how wonderful this guy was. “Uh… Hi.”

“Hi,” The man said, speaking for the first time. It came out in a swift exhale, breathy and soft. “Thanks for helping me clean up.”

“It was, uh…” Booster swallowed. “It was my fault. I bumped into you.”

“Well, I think we can both be to blame.”

He couldn’t help it. Booster was just too distracted by the adorable little freckles dotting the man’s nose. The soft lilt of his smile. The dark eyelashes that cast shadows across his cheekbones from the early morning sun. Booster thought that this, right here, was the most wonderful thing he’d ever seen.

Okay, that’s it. He had to get to know this guy. “Are you, uh- you busy? Right now?” Booster stuttered. What was with him lately? He was normally so smooth, suave, but recently it’s just been a sputtering mess of half-words and fumbles.

The guy looked nervous. “I don’t know…”

“Come on! Let me make it up to you for spilling your stuff everywhere,” Booster insisted. He tried to flash one of those commercial, winning smiles, but it was edging on nervous. “You can at least tell me your name.”

“Ted,” He answered, then shrugged. “Sure, I’ll bite. what’s the worst that could happen?”

“Great! Any ideas on where to go?”

“Well, it’s,” Ted shook his sleeve up to look at a silver, old-fashioned watch, “Not even nine. You a student here?”

“Something… Like that.”

Ted smiled at him, and Booster felt his insides melt. “Hey, aren’t you-”

“Booster Gold, at your service,” He introduced, finally pulling down his hood and grinning dramatically. “You know, you look kind of familiar, too.”

“Just one of those faces,” Ted hastened to say. He chuckled, albeit a bit nervously, and started shuffling his files in a ploy to look anywhere but up.

Booster studied him for a minute. The soft curve of his jaw, the shocking blue eyes… Nope, this man was too beautiful to forget. “You’re probably right.”

Ted visibly relaxed, shoulders dropping as the creases between his eyebrows ceased. “Well, there’s a really great coffee house down the street? You seem in need of some caffeine.”

Booster looked down at his empty coffee mug, then back at Ted. He flashed an overly bright smile, “Understatement of the year.” This would be good. He could kill some time, get some coffee, and share great company to boot. The two of them began walking towards the coffee place. “Oh, I hope you don’t mind if Skeets comes along.”

Frowning, Ted asked, “Skeets?”

“Here, sir,” Skeets flew from behind a nearby tree. He’d been trying to stay hidden in the premise of the campus, but now that Booster’s hood was down and they were moving, it was probably fine.

Booster pointed at the robot, “Skeets.”

“Skeets! Cool,” Ted’s eyes lit up as he stood a little straighter to get a better look. “Is he from the future, too?”

“Ah, so you’re familiar with my backstory. You must be a fan.”

Ted laughed and nudged Booster’s shoulder. “Not a fan , I just watch the news every once in awhile.”

“You know, it’s kind of weird. That you aren’t freaking out while talking to me.”

“Do people normally freak out when talking to you?”

“Oh, all the time!”

“Really?”

“Um, yeah.”

Ted rolled his eyes. “If you insist. So, what’s Booster Gold doing around a college campus?”

They walked into the coffee shop and slid into a booth across from each other. “Super top secret hero stuff,” Booster answered, chin high. “What about you?”

“Oh, I was just,” Ted paused, frowned, and looked down at the table, “Visiting someone.”

Yikes. Booster barely even knew the guy; he hadn’t meant to upset him! Just idle conversation, that’s all he wanted - well, and to get to know Ted a little better. What should he do? Change the topic? Comfort him? How could he comfort him when he didn’t even know what he was upset about? Booster reached out, ready to place a feather-light touch on Ted’s arm when the waitress stopped at their table.

“Good morning,” She said. Booster quickly took his hand back, just in time for Ted to look back up at the waitress. She proceeded to tell them about the specials, all in a voice far too monotone, them took their drink orders and left.

Booster stared at Ted for a moment, admiring the sun’s rays as they came in through the blinds, casting uneven bars of light across the man’s pale skin.

“Tell me about the future.”

Booster blinked. “What?”

“The future. Are flying cars a thing? Does religion become obsolete? Do we ever reverse climate change?”

“You know I can’t tell you that, right?”

“Oh, come on! What’s the worst that could happen?”

“If I tell you something about the future, it could like, alter your decisions later on. Your future is my past, and you could do something that would make me cease to exist, or whatever, and that would open up a whole new can of worms that- what? Why are you smiling?”

“You’re just cute, that’s all.”

“I’m-“

“Your hair flops a little when you rant, and the tips of your ears turn pink.”

Booster instinctively clasped a hand over one ear. “Do not.”

“Do too.”

“Do not!”

Ted’s smile grew tenfold and he leaned forward in his seat, elbows propped up on the table. He spoke softly, like it was a little secret the two of them shared, “Do too.”

Booster felt like his heart was caught in his throat, making it hard to breathe. He choked out, “Do not.”

Ted smirked, but was interrupted by the waitress before he could repeat himself. “Um, sirs? Are you ready to order?”

They both placed their orders and handed their menus over. Ted teased him about the amount of coffee he had already drank, but Booster brushed it aside. He’d been up all night, watching over the University, and was going to be out the entire day. Booster still had to go alert the Professor that his office was under attack, still had to watch over the college during the night. Maybe he should alert Campus Security or their drones - wait, no, Universities don’t have drones yet.

Nevermind all that. He’d figure it out later. Right here, now? He was with Ted, joking about their eggs and drinking slightly-too-bitter coffee. The sun was up, the day was looking bright, and he just couldn’t bring himself to care about the Black Beetle and his villainous exploits.

Sure, he’d go later, and he’d fight, and hopefully he’d win, but that was later.

Skeets stayed low in the seat, hiding beneath the table, as the two men bantered back and forth. Ted scooped up the rest of his eggs, pushing them all with the edge of his fork. “So, what are you plans for the rest of the day?”

Booster smiled. He’d have to take care of the thief, the stolen objects, and contact Professor Garrett, but that could all wait. Now, he just wanted to sit and have breakfast with Ted.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Chapter Text

“Tell me, will I ever see you again?” Booster teased, leaning over the table with his head in his palm.

They’d spent four hours at the restaurant, chatting, joking, ordering coffee - oh, God, the amount of coffee they’d consumed must be horrendously high.

“I think that, if fate allows it, we will be running into each other quite soon,” Ted smirked.

Booster rolled his eyes. “Really, dude? Just give me your phone number or something.”

Ted laughed and wrote a number down on a napkin. “Here, you can call me later, if you want.”

Taking the napkin, Booster flashed an overly bright grin. “I’d love to.”

---------------

Booster had left the restaurant with a vague sense of nagging, like there was something there that he was missing. Nevertheless, he trudged onwards, back to the University. Skeets flew close behind.

They found a map on the edge of campus and quickly located the history building. From there, it was easy to find Professor Daniel Garrett’s office. The halls were strangely vacant as Booster walked along them, pausing at room 231 and knocking on the door.

A voice behind the wall told him to come in, so Booster slowly inched the door open. He stepped onto the worn carpet. The walls were a pale grey with history posters littered across them: Aristotle, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra. Every dead person Booster had ever heard of was there.

In the middle of the room was a cluttered desk with papers stacked a mile high. There was also an ancient laptop, three inches thick and an ugly off-black. A tall, brunet man with impeccable posture sat typing away. He didn’t greet Booster when he came in, just nodded towards the other chair opposite him and mumbled, “One second.”

Booster continued to glance around the room. The large bookshelves were very intimidating, and the potted plant in the corner needed watering. There were a couple picture frames hanging on the back wall and a few more on the desk, surrounded by tacky tourist knick knacks.

“Sorry about that,” Daniel Garrett hit the enter button and turned to Booster. “You know, my office hours don’t start until-” He froze. The smile fell to shock when he saw Skeets.

“Hi, I’m Booster Gold. Your life’s work is in danger.”

“Okay, what? And why do you have a drone?” Daniel leaned forward and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Actually, this is Skeets. He’s a security android.”

“Why do you need a security android? Don’t you have a forcefield?”

Booster beamed. “I do! Are you a fan?”

“No, I just watch the news every once in awhile.” Huh, that’s exactly what Ted had said earlier. Funny.

“ Anyways , I’ve been tracking this thief from the East coast, and I have reason to believe he will be striking here next.”

Daniel frowned. “What would he want from me?”

“Something called time crystals? You are Professor Daniel Garrett, right?”

“ Doctor Daniel Garrett. Please, call me Dan.” Dan slumped over his desk, brows furrowed. “But I don’t know anything about some time crystals.”

“Sure you do! Skeets says you discovered them, and Skeets knows everything.”

“That doesn’t mean I know what you’re talking about. Do you have a picture? Maybe I call it something else.”

Booster shrugged. Skeets projected a pale blue hologram of a small object with a crystalline structure and rugged edges. It emitted a soft glow around it that reflected off the nearby desk and Skeets’ otherwise golden shell.

“Oh, the extraterrestrial carbon quartz!” Dan exclaimed, hopping out of his desk excitedly.

Booster blinked. “Sure.”

“Yeah, I know where that is. Follow me,” Dan walked out from behind his desk, squeezed past Booster, and began walking down the hall. Booster followed as they went a few rooms down to a locked and bolted door. “This is where faculty keeps all the in-progress experiments and discoveries. You’re technically not allowed in here, but, since you’re… you , I’m going to let you have a peak.”

Booster felt unexpectedly excited. Something about entering otherwise restricted areas always made him feel all high and mighty. Dan unlocked the door and pried it open, stepping inside. Booster followed. There was a single string attached to a lightbulb in the middle of the room, so he walked over to pull on it, careful not to trip over anything. A dull yellow light illuminated off objects of various degrees. Some machines, some artifacts. There was even a painting in the far right corner.

Dan grabbed a crystal off one of the desks and asked, “Is this it?”

It did look exactly like the hologram Skeets projected. “I think so.”

“Come on, let’s go back to my office.” Dan held the door open for Booster, careful to lock it behind them before they made their way down the hallway and back to his room.

Dan plopped down in his office chair, rolling a little back. He put the crystal on the desk in front of him. “So, you think someone’s after this?”

“Yes, I do.” Booster walked around to the other side of the desk so that he could look at the artifact without a picture frame or stack of papers blocking it. “Skeets wrote an algorithm to identify the next probable location, and they haven’t been wrong so far, 25th century AI and all, so you should probably-”

He froze.

“Booster?”

Was that-

“Booster? Are you okay?”

Dan waved a hand in front of his face, and he jerked back. “Um, sorry. It’s just, who’s that?” He pointed to a small photo on the desk, the only one not in a frame. It couldn’t be more than two inches wide.

Dan grimaced. “A reminder. Can we go back to the crystal now?”

Booster ignored that. “Of?”

Seeing the stern look on Booster’s face, Dan realized that he wouldn’t get off that easily. “He was a student I had. Brilliant guy. Asked me for help with his uncle, but I was too swamped to do anything. The situation was way bigger than I thought; he ended up passing from the gravity of it. I can’t help but wonder, if I were there, would he have-”

“Nice story, now tell me the real one.”

Dan startled. “That is the real one. Now, I don’t care if you think you’re all high and he-who-knows-all because you’re in the Justice League , but-”

“No, Dan.” Booster reached across to pick up the picture. Same brown curls, unmistakable goofy grin. “I just had breakfast with Ted this morning.”

“I didn’t tell you his name-”

“Right.” Booster stared down at the picture. Next to his thumbs, Ted’s face was tiny, but not any less adorable. “I just met this guy this morning. On the campus.”

“No, you didn’t ,” Dan insisted, but his voice was uneven, shaky. “Ted Kord has been dead for five years.” He reached over and took the picture right from Booster’s grip. He said, rather resigned, “It’s probably just someone who looks like him. Ted’s a common enough name.”

Booster wasn’t buying it, but this was clearly paining Dan, so he didn’t push any further. He doesn’t doubt that Dan had a student named Ted that had passed, but everything else seemed a little… questionable. He’d have to look into it. Later. “ Anyways , this crystal is probably gonna be stolen, and used for some very not nice things. I recommend you take it home with you.”

“No way!” Dan immediately protested. “This thing is radiating all kinds of mysterious energies! I’m not bringing it anywhere near my wife and kids.”

“It’s not actually dangerous, it just-” Booster sighed, put his head in his hands, and tried again. “How about you let me take it, then?”

“Definitely not.” Dan stared at the crystal, as if it would scream a solution any minute now. “Hey, you do know Chicago has it’s own superhero right? The Blue Beetle?”

The wheels began turning in Booster’s mind. That’s where he’d recognized the Black Beetle’s name from before! The Blue Beetle was a low tier hero, one that pretty much only stayed local, so widespread players like Booster Gold often overlooked him. Not to mention how inactive he was nowadays. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if he had any relation to his thief. Could be a coincidence. Chicago is a large city, Beetles are like, the most common bug. It’s all very hypothetical and unlikely, but it could happen.

It was looking like Dan wasn’t going to hand the crystal over anytime soon, so Booster resigned to his fate as nightwatchman. That’d only be so many more hours without sleep, with no guarantee that Beetle would even be there. Though he supposed that’s just his life now. Tracking this thief, no results.

Maybe tonight would offer a nice surprise.

---------------

When Booster first went to the offices that evening, it was on a boatload of coffee and no sleep. He got access and approval from Dan to stay inside the building, so he pretty much paced only that one hallway, back and forth. Over and over. For what seemed like forever . Skeets followed, but he was quiet. He hovered above Booster’s shoulder and didn’t say anything. That was okay. Booster was too tired for socialization, anyways.

So can one really blame Booster when he went outside, if just for a moment, to get a breath of fresh air? The door was right down the hall. He just pushed it open, ducked his head out, and took a few deep breaths. That wasn’t the problem.

The problem was when he turned back around. It seemed like, in his single minute absence, a certain thief had snuck in. Booster flew up to him and crossed his arms disapprovingly across his chest.

The Black Beetle’s goggles were up, minimal light reflecting off the yellow surface, eyes narrowed as he picked the lock. The lack of light made it rather difficult to focus on the man’s face, but Booster tried anyways. Blue eyes were shining, focused intently on the action at hand. Now that they were unobstructed by the goggles, Booster thought they were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

The lock opened with an indistinct click, but before Beetle could get in the room, Booster flew up behind him. He cleared his throat.
“Y’know,” Beetle began, voice teasing, “Superman would have already taken me out by now.”

“I guess it’s pretty lucky for you that I’m not Superman.” He folded his arms across his chest and looked down his nose at the thief.

Beetle took a few steps forward into the room. Booster followed, hovering close behind. “You got lucky the first two times. Maybe you should put your hands where I can see them, before this gets serious.”

The Black Beetle ignored him, walking the room with an agonizingly slow pace while Booster crept forward. Booster knew Dan should’ve taken the crystal home, but no, he wanted to protect his children.

The thief continued into the room, silently, not responding to Booster’s idle threat at all. Come on, he can be scary, right? Beetle walked to the center, tugged on that long string, and the single light bulb lit up the room.

Booster stopped dead in his tracks.

With the goggles up on his forehead, he saw it now. He saw who the Black Beetle really was. Perhaps he would have noticed it anyways, given that he’d never met the man in their prior meetings.

There was no doubt about it. Even in the dim lighting, surrounded by musty artifacts, and the air clouded in dusk, Booster would never forget a face that beautiful. It was the same one he had spent hours admiring, hunched over the little table in that coffee shop, lopsided and goofy - adorable - grin. The ears that were slightly too big, but looked perfect nonetheless. Even the freckles, which couldn’t be made out in the low light. He couldn’t see them, but Booster knew they were there.

The same man who had been on Dan Garrett’s desk. The one who had supposedly passed five years prior.

Nope, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind. The Black Beetle was Ted Kord.

Chapter Text

Booster couldn’t move. It couldn’t be true. A coincidence perhaps, but… well actually, in hindsight, it all made so much sense .

Eventually, Ted noticed Booster staring. “See something you like?”

“You’re-”

“Handsome? Charming? Breathtaking? All of the above?”

Well, yeah, he was, but that wasn’t why Booster was staring! The thief he’d been chasing for the past few days was apparently the same man he’d met this morning and gone on a mini-date with, who was apparently also the same man that Dan Garrett claimed passed five years ago. Now, what was a guy to do with that information?

This was all too much. He could really use some backup. “Skeets, get Daniel Garrett on the phone!”

Ted’s face lit up in recognition, eyes wide and mouth parting a bit. He clearly hadn’t expected Booster to know Dan, or perhaps he hadn’t expected Booster to reach out to him. Either way, Ted only stood for a moment in stunned silence before abruptly grabbing the crystal and making a dash for it.

Unlucky for Booster, he was standing in front of the only exit, and received a knee to the stomach. He doubled over, only for a hit on his upper back to knock him down. Ted leaped over him and took off down the hall, pulling his goggles down in the process.

The phone finally picked up, amplified through Skeets’ speakers. Wind was rustling in the background. Dan shouted over it, “Hello?”

“Hey! This is Booster Gold. We met earlier,” He jumped to his feet and began the flight after Black Beetle. Ted had already made a bit of distance down the hall, but luckily flying was faster than running. Booster leaned into it a bit and gradually accelerated. He noticed Ted pull a gun out of a holster and ducked out of the way just in time. “You mentioned the Blue Beetle. Do you happen to have any way of reaching him?”

The other line was silent as Booster closed the distance between him and Ted. He swerved out of the way of another blast. What was being shot? No projectiles, no lazers, nothing but a quick whistle of air that narrowly flew past his ear.

“Dan?”

“What? No! I don’t know the Blue Beetle. Ha, great. Good guy, I’ve noticed, observing him from afar. Now, my wife needs me-” He hung up.

Booster didn’t bother to hide his groan. So Dan definitely had some relation to the Blue Beetle. He tried not to dwell on it, as he was now a mere couple feet behind Ted. Damn, this guy was fast. He gave one last push into his ring and sent them both tumbling into the far doors. The crystal fell from Beetle’s hands and rattled across the ground.

They both shot each other overly intense glares before darting after it, trying to shove one another out of the way, not unlike a pair of six year olds fighting over the last cookie in the jar. Beetle got to it first, holding it close to his chest for protection. He threw down a smoke bomb, but Booster - haven fallen for that twice already - immediately grabbed onto Ted’s arm.

Ted tried to shake it off, but Booster’s grip was too tight. He tried to throw a few kicks and even a knee; Booster held on tightly and avoided the blows as best he could. His goggles prevented the smoke from getting in his eyes, although he still couldn’t see too well. Fortunately, neither could Beetle. A kick did hit the side of his thigh, but that was it. Booster shot a blaster at Ted’s foot; the man stumbled forward, leg twisting inwards and falling into him.

Booster watched as Beetle fell and they went tumbling once again. Ted had a firm grip on the crystal, but Booster had one hand around it as well. They were both pulling at it, back and forth, desperate for the artifact.

“Give it up!” Booster shouted, trying his best to pry the man’s solid grip. “I know you’re trying to build a time machine!”

Ted groaned and pulled a little harder. Their foreheads were inches apart, staring each other down. “Guess you’re a lot smarter than you look, Buster.”

He grit his teeth and instinctively corrected, “Booster.” Nevermind that Skeets had actually been the one to tell him about the time machine, Booster still had dignity to maintain. He tugged a little harder on the crystal. “You’ll never get away with it.”

“Of course I will.” Beetle briefly looked away from the artifact - though he didn’t stop fighting for it - and up at Booster. He smirked, a small tilt of the lips that promised deviance and misdoings. “I’m a genius.”

Booster swallowed thickly. The seconds seemed to stretch as he got lost in the way Ted looked at him. He had a button nose, Booster couldn’t help noticing. Up close, the freckles were even more prominent, even more numerous. There were more of them across his nose, as if that were the center. His face was naturally tinted just a little pink, high up on his cheekbones. Eyes big and blue, although they looked almost green through the thick yellow goggles. Oh, how Booster adored those goggles. They really did remind him of a beetle. He thought it was all very fitting. Perhaps he should just get lost in Ted’s eyes forever.

A loud crash came from the closest window. Glass rained down on the two of them and a man came rolling through. He was wearing mostly blue chainmail with accents of red, and stood as soon as the glass settled. Booster thought the scene was rather cool and would have looked great in an action movie, but that was a thought for another time.

“Don’t worry,” The man said in an obviously altered voice. “The Blue Beetle is here to-” He stopped, mouth agape, as his eyes landed on Black Beetle. His voice was small when he spoke, as if he was afraid to say anything at all, in case it wasn’t true. In case the mysterious man before him wasn’t actually there. “Ted?”

Ted, on the other hand, couldn’t look more afraid. His entire body was tense, and Booster used that as the perfect opportunity to finally yank the crystal away. He jumped up and scurried back, but the rush was for nothing, because Ted didn’t move.

“Dan?”

The Blue Beetle went rigid. Now that it was pointed out to Booster, of course the Blue Beetle was Dan. He was the only one who really seemed to care about Chicago’s local superhero, and seemed far too touchy when Booster had called him a few moments ago. It made much more sense, now that he knew.

It seemed that Ted also knew, because the two were locked in an intense stare-down. Well, Ted was glaring, Dan was more just in shock. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, Ted stood and promptly jumped out the broken window. Booster was satisfied enough that he had triumphed with the crystal, he didn’t think to follow him.

Dan stared longingly at where Ted had just left. His hands were clenched in fists at his sides, but other than that, Booster couldn’t tell how he was feeling; his cowl covered almost his entire face. It left an uneasy feeling in the pit of Booster’s stomach.

All at once, the tension fell. Dan slumped over, reached up, and pulled off his cowl. The previously tidy and professional hair was a ruffled mess, and he radiated an air of defeat . He took a deep breath in, huffed it out. “I suppose I should be happy?”

Booster looked down at the crystal in his hand. “Are you not?”

“No,” Dan confessed, “I feel like I’ve failed all over again.”

This was all going by far too fast. Booster barely even knew this guy! Yet he still found himself extending a comforting hand and gently laying it on his shoulder. “I’ll stop him, don’t worry.”

Dan looked up at him, dead in the eye this time, and sternly decided, “No. I’m helping.”

That didn’t seem like too great an idea. The whole situation was perhaps a little personal for Dan. “I’m not sure-”

“I can keep the extraterrestrial carbon quartz safe.” He stated. Booster blinked. “Sorry, the time crystal,” Dan amended.

“Oh, uh,” It was a good idea. Right now, Booster just had the Quantum Capacitor sitting in a drawer in his apartment. It was… a bad situation, to say the least. He was hoping to store it somewhere in one of the JLI embassies, but hadn’t gotten a chance yet. “I was going to leave it with the League.”

“With all due respect, the Justice League is a great team, but you saw T- him , he’s a more than formidable opponent.” Dan was quick to catch himself, as if he couldn’t bear to even say Ted’s name. “We should store it somewhere unexpected yet still safely guarded.”

That was probably true. Booster racked his memory for a place that fit the description. “Any ideas?”

“I may have one or two.”

And that’s how they ended up in an ancient Egyptian tomb.

It had taken them a few hours to get there - well, more like fourteen since Dan had insisted on flying by plane instead of Booster just carrying him. Which was perfectly reasonable, actually. At least it was entertaining, traveling through the airport in full Booster Gold gear with Skeets at his shoulder. From there, Dan rented a car and they made their way out to the desert. Booster argued once again that they could be flying , but Dan shot him a dubious look and Booster promptly shut up until they reached the tomb.

It was kind of like a dark cave, jagged rocks pointing out every which way. There was a distinct hum of energy filling the air, which Booster thought was ridiculous, because he couldn’t see anything besides rocks and the occasional cracked pillar. As they made their way through the area, Skeets was spitting out occasional facts and information regarding the area and it’s history. It was the only noise in the tomb, other than a low hum of mysterious energy.

There came a barrier, one with said pillars on either side, threatening to crackle and cave in at any moment. He supposed that they most likely wouldn’t, considering that they’ve stood for thousands of years without significant fragmenting, but that didn’t stop him from worrying.

Right as Booster was about to step past the threshold, he hit a wall. A literal wall. No, there was nothing there; he didn’t walk face-first into solid stone. It was almost like an energy barrier, not unlike his own forcefield, that kept him out. Booster raised his fist and bounded on the barrier a few times. Nothing happened. He watched as Dan continued on before him and called, “It won’t let me pass!”

Dan just kept walking, not even sparing Booster or Skeets a second glance. There was a table before him, one made of gold and carved with stunningly detailed images and hieroglyphics. Dan kneeled before it. The time crystal, which he had been carrying, was placed on the table. Booster vaguely heard Dan whisper something, but whatever it may have been was short and quiet. Soon, the man snapped out of it, stood, and made way back to Booster.

“Um, what was that?” He asked, dumbfounded.

“We will be leaving the crystal here for safe-keeping,” Dan explained, walking past the threshold. Booster turned to follow, Skeets close behind. “As you have just witnessed, one who does not hold connections with the tomb cannot enter it.”

“And you do?” Booster asked. “Hold connections to the tomb, that is?”

“Yeah, the, uh,” Dan scratched the back of his neck. “The thing that gives me my powers - my armor - I first uncovered it in one of these tombs.”

Huh, that was pretty interesting actually. “So, it was buried with one of these dead kings or something?”

“They’re called Pharaohs, but I found it in a shrine.” Dan kicked a tiny rock as he walked past it. “Sort of.”

They reached the entrance of the cave and were greeted with harsh afternoon sun. Booster’s hand shot up to shield his vision, despite his visor. It burned his otherwise heavy eyes. He hadn’t slept much these past couple days. Booster had been able to get a few winks in on the plane, but that was it, and they certainly weren’t very restful.

“So,” He sighed, stepping into their rental car. “Where to, boss?”

Dan looked surprised at the words. “Boss? Aren’t you the one with the Justice League?”

“I mean, yeah, but you led us here,” He gestured to the vast desert around them. “And the tomb’s protection, which was actually a pretty brilliant idea.”

“Okay.” Dan eyed him warily as he started the car. “Why don’t we go crash at one of the embassies, then? Isn’t there one in every major country?”

Booster snorted. “Not really. There’s only six- seven? But none of them are even on this continent .”

“Well that’s rather poor planning.” Dan kept his eyes glued to the road, even though the road was more like an area were the dust was slightly carved into as opposed to the rest. There was one set of steady tire tracks from their trip there, and that was it. It was desolate. Empty. No life to be found.

Yet, despite it all, Booster couldn’t help but feel hopeful. The time crystals were safe, hidden in a place that not only would the Black Beetle never think to look, but was also literally inaccessible to him. There were still two Quantum Capacitors out there, not counting the one Booster had, so those were still up in the air, but Skeets said that large amounts of quantum energy were required, so, well, time crystals. Couldn’t make a time machine without them.

He leaned back in his seat and rested against the door. Dan was driving, focused intently on the not-road; Skeets was shut down in the backseat, presumably in power save due to their long hours; and Booster was exhausted. His eyes drooped closed, slowly, but he couldn’t find it within himself to care. The world was safe for the moment. He and Dan had it all under control.

Besides, everything would be okay. He had a partner now.

Chapter Text

Booster dreamt of his father.

He always stood near and kept a watchful gaze. He dreamt of the way his Father’s eyes glossed over at the diagnosis of his wife, of the violent onslaughts as her condition worsened.

The cold, wretched truth. The final moments before Booster’s life took a turn for the irredeemable, as his Father cornered him in the locker room before the game. The threats bounced off Booster’s skin, hardened - but not immune - from years of it.

Booster confessed to the gambling, the game throwing, but not before his Father spat at his feet and cursed at him for being pathetic, idiotic, nothing. And he was right. God, his Father was right. He’d never be anything.

He fell to his knees, guilt-ridden and apologetic. Was this his life? Was this the end? It sure felt like it.

Booster shuddered awake.

“ Flight attendants, please prepare for landing,” The steward said over the speakers. Still disoriented, Booster groggily rolled his head to the side as they read off a list of weather conditions, precautions, all that stuff. Whatever. He didn’t particularly care.  

His vision was still swimming from his abrupt awakening. The edges of his gaze were tinted white, and the bright light burned his eyes.

Perhaps the lack of sleep was finally catching up to him.

Booster reached down. Skeets was sitting beneath the seat in front of him, not unlike a carry-on bag. The flight attendants had insisted that they be shut off and “stored properly,” so Skeets had slipped into power save mode.

He turned the robot over in his hands. Skeets looked so empty and lifeless without the electric blue screen and familiar hum of energy.

“You know you’re my best friend, right?” Booster spoke to the golden shell. He half-expected Skeets to whiz to life and shoot back a witty remark with underlying aspects of admiration. None came.

Admittedly, it felt a little silly, talking to Skeets like this. He wondered if they could hear him. “I know you didn’t ask to be stolen from that museum, or actually, like, agree to it at all, but,” Booster turned the golden casing over in his hands once again. “I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know where I’d be without you.” Not for the first time, Booster was glad that they could never be completely separated. Skeets was designed with a tracker that connected to Booster's suit. Thank God for that; he didn't know what he'd do if he lost the little guy.

The plane soon began its descent back to the ground. The was the worst part; between the ear-popping and the harsh backlash, Booster would never understand why people liked riding these things. Planes weren’t commonly used in the future. There were cargo planes for carrying large quantities of supplies and merchandise, but even those traveled dozens of times faster. There were other methods of travel that most people used, ones that allowed you to zip from one side of the planet to the next in a matter of seconds. The past was frustrating in that way. Or present. Whatever. He was tired.

Booster dropped his head to the window. It thudded rapidly as the plane made a bumpy landing, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

He wondered what Ted was doing, right then. Was he planning his next move? Was he working on the construction of the time machine? Perhaps he had already gotten one of the other Quantum Capacitors. Dan and Booster may be too late.

The sun was rising outside, a beautiful horizon of oranges, purples, and reds. This, he’d never get tired of. It stayed consistent no matter what time period you were in, and it never ceased to take his breath away.

Booster spared a thought to wonder if Ted liked sunrises. Wait, no, that’s a ridiculous question. Of course he did. Who doesn’t like sunrises? Then Booster’s mind wandered further as he thought about Ted, and sunrises, and Ted with sunrises, and watching the sunrises with Ted…

The plane hit a particularly nasty bump, and Booster’s forehand banged against the window. He groaned, reaching up to rub the injured spot. It hadn’t hurt too bad, but this was good. The hit was a good thing. It snapped his mind away from Ted. Oh, how Booster could think about Ted for hours, with his curly hair, and those freckles. The way his body moved in a fight: gracefully, but not without power. He wondered what fighting style that was. Booster didn’t know too much about fighting styles, did Ted? Would Ted be willing to tell Booster about his fighting styles, perhaps over a cup of coffee, while watching the sunrise?

The plane hit the ground shortly after that. Skeets powered back on and hovered behind Booster as he walked down the walkway. The other passengers stared at him, but he didn’t mind.

They met Dan outside the plane. Booster didn’t bother to suppress a yawn as they made their way towards each other. He stretched his arms out wide and threw his head back, too. Being stuck on an airplane for so many hours really did tense his muscles. He much would have prefered to fly himself.

“Who’d’ve thought that a plane from Egypt to London would take so long?” Booster mused, continuing to stretch his arms as they stepped outside. “In the future, London was actually taken over shortly after the implementation of Brexit in- wait, spoilers. Oops.”

“You know,” Dan began, “You sure do know a lot about the past. I mean, you’re from, what, 300 years in the future?”

Booster scratched the back of his neck. “400, but yeah.”

“Then how do you know so much about now? I certainly don’t know such specific details about 400 years ago.”

“Well, I have Skeets-”

Booster gestured towards his robot companion, who was hovering right beside him. “He couldn’t do it without me,” Skeets interrupted, sounding almost smug.

“-for a lot of it. But also, 21st century was a huge turning point and whatnot. I was a history major in college, and we had to take a first year seminar on early events from this time. Er,” He looked down at his feet. “Before I got kicked out.”

Dan studied him for a moment, which left Booster incredibly unnerved. Then he spoke up, “You know I’m a history professor, right?”

Of course he knew. He had gone to see him at the university. “Um, yes. But the history you teach and the history I studied are really different.”

“Of course they are,” Dan chuckled. “So, how’d you get kicked out? Drinking? Cheating?”

Booster swallowed and remembered the dream he’d had on the plane, not 20 minutes ago. “Gambling.”

“Ouch.”

The air was tense after that, and Booster very pointedly didn’t look at Dan. He was just grateful that he hadn’t been asked to elaborate. It was one thing to admit he’d gambled, it was another to admit to the scale it had been, how out of hand it had gotten. He thought of his Father’s scowl and his sister’s disappointment.

“So, uh, to the embassy?” Booster asked hesitantly. They’d agreed to go to the Justice League’s London embassy and rest for a couple more hours, until nightfall. Get something to eat, sleep a little more, talk about what to do with Ted.

The problem hadn’t been brought up, not since Chicago. Booster wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand, Ted had broken into all the places, stolen priceless artifacts, and rendered dozens of guards unconscious. He hasn't caused any serious property damage or done anything more than a few bruises to the guards, but he’d still done it.

On the other hand, Booster really liked him.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Ted. Ted, Ted, Ted. Ted’s hair, Ted's skin, Ted’s muscles, the way Ted moved, that goofy grin…

Alright. Perhaps he was a tad biased. He and Dan needed to talk about it.

“To the embassy,” Dan agreed, dramatically sticking his arms straight up into the air.

Booster stifled a laugh. He looked ridiculous. “What are you doing?”

“You’re gonna carry me, right?” Dan asked, arms sagged just a little. “Isn’t this what people do when they’re carried?”

“You expect me to grab you like a cat? Under your armpits?”

Dan’s hands dropped back to his sides. “I don’t know! Excuse me if I’ve never had a superhero carry me before.”

Booster laughed, glad that the tension from a moment ago was gone. “Alright, alright, just,” He stepped forward. “Put your arms around my neck. It’ll be weird, but trust me. I’ll fly fast.”

Dan did as he was told, and Booster slung his arms beneath the man’s legs and below his back. He hovered slowly at first, in case Dan wanted to protest, but eventually went up close to full-speed.

Skeets stayed close behind, matching Booster’s speed exactly. Sometimes Booster wandered how fast Skeets could go, if so desired. Faster than him? Possibly. His voice came over the roaring wind, tin-y and robotic, as he asked, “Would you like me to alert the Embassy to your arrival, sir?”

“That’d be great!” Booster cheered, taking note of the familiar tower coming up. “How would I survive without you, Skeets?”

“I do not believe you would be able to.”

“Ha, ha, ha, very funny.” He flew up to the building and landed on the roof. There was a helicopter pad there, but after what had happened with the last helicopter, it was mostly just used for flight landings. Usually Guy and Scott, sometimes J’onn. Booster swore he saw the Batmobile (Bat-Plane? Bat-Helicopter?) parked there once.

Booster slowly put Dan down and, together, they descending the stairs down into the main building.

“Now, I know it can be a bit overwhelming,” He began, “Seeing so many big shots in one place at once, but trust me, we’re all just the same, and you have-”

“Hey, Dan.” J’onn greeted as he walked past. He sighed before nodding at Booster, as if he was an afterthought and not the guy’s teammate .

“Hey J’onn,” Dan chirped back, throwing in a little wave.

Booster gaped. “What the hell? How do you know J’onn?”

“Met him a few years back when he was visiting the city. Introduced myself. Great guy. We exchange Christmas cards every year.”

“Of course.” J’onn agreed, as if Booster’s mind wasn’t exploding. “How are the kids?”

“They’re doing great! Rachel just lost her first tooth.”

“That is excellent to hear.”

Booster grit his teeth. “ Guys. ”

“Oh, Dan! It’s so great to see you!” Tora called, running across the room. Her footsteps were loud in the long corridor, echoing even after she stopped to bring Dan into a huge hug. “It’s been too long!”

“Great!” Booster threw his hands up dramatically. “Everyone spend time with my guest but me.”

“You know, we actually extended an invitation for the Blue Beetle a few months back,” Tora said, ignoring Booster’s anguish.

“What?” Booster’s jaw dropped. “And he said no? ”

Dan shrugged. “Wanted to stay local. Wife and kids, you know the drill. Couldn’t risk parting for too long. This large…” He absently waved his hand at the general embassy, “... this, isn’t really for me.”

“Imagine that, sir. A life so different from your own,” Skeets quipped, almost mockingly, if not for the fact that they were a security android.

“Shut up,” Booster mumbled. He dragged his feet over to the communal kitchen and fished around in the fridge for something to eat. It had really been too long since he’d had a stable meal. He missed the warm embrace of perfectly done toast.

A little while longer - while Booster intently stared down the toaster as to make sure the bread didn’t burn - Dan finished up his small talk and wandered over to the kitchen. He didn’t say anything for a short while, just stood with an arm leaning on the counter as Booster buttered his toast.

“You know, we’re gonna have to talk about what to do,” Dan spoke up suddenly. “With… him. ”

Booster fought the urge to groan. Perhaps if he continued butterring his toast, pretended he didn’t hear, then the problem would just go away.

“Listen, Boost--is there something else I can call you?” Dan walked around the counter so that they were on the same side. “You know my identity. Or do people in the future actually name their children Booster Gold?”

Booster crossed his arms. “No point in having a secret identity if you’re not born yet.” That was partially true, but there was also the whole thing where his enemies could track down his ancestors and kill them, making it so he ceased to exist, but whatever. Booster deflated and picked up a piece of his toast. “But it’s Michael.”

“That’s a good name,” Dan mused. “Anyone ever call you Mike?”

“Sister used to call me Mikey.” He made a point to not look at Dan and not think about Michelle. It was no good. He missed her like hell, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty for leaving her.

Booster chewed a few more bites of his toast. Dan didn’t move. They didn’t talk or look at each other. Booster kept waiting for Dan to circle back around to Ted, ask about their plans, but it never came. Instead, Skeets hovered up a little higher and announced, “There’s a reported break-in at-”

“Seriously? Now?” Booster was exhausted. He’d normally jump at the fleeting moment of seeing Ted, but not right now, God dammit. Let Booster eat his toast in uninterrupted sadness.

Dan sighed. “Let’s go get this over with. Skeets, where is it?”

“As I was going to say, there’s a break-in at the University of London. This is where the Quantum Capacitor was, so I suggest you go.”

“Shit,” Booster cursed, dropping his toast. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Alright.” Wide eyed, Dan stepped back and screamed, “ Khaji da! ”

He  watched as the chainmail folded around him. It came from his back and crept up Dan’s arms. First, a layer of blue that shot up, and then the red gloves and boots appeared over the top.  The armor was rather cool. It had been dark when Booster had seen it before. It reminded him a bit of a medieval knight.

Dan grinned at him. “Let’s go catch a thief.”

Chapter Text

Booster stared down at the unlocked door, a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Well then,” Dan spoke from beside him, now encased in full armor. Even the minimal street lights created a bit of luster on the chainmail. Not that Booster was complaining; he’s shiny as is. Dan cleared his throat and gripped the door knob. “I suppose we go in.”

“I suppose we go in,” Booster repeated. He didn’t know why they were so nervous. Why now? Perhaps it was the fact that, if they were too late, the Black Beetle would only need one more object to complete his time machine.

But it could just be the prospect of seeing Ted again.

Dan opened the door and slid inside. Skeets flew behind them, his blue screen bright against the otherwise pitch black halls. Booster reached up to flip the night vision mode on his goggles. Everything immediately slipped into a green hue.

“Follow my lead,” Booster said, stepping in front of Dan. He almost tripped over the tile, but Dan didn’t say anything, so they continued.

They made it a few feet down the hall before encountering the first guard. He was unconscious, propped up gently against the wall with rather remarkable posture, considering he was unconscious. It was a little strange. People usually didn’t fall over in a perfect sitting position.

They stepped over the man and continued down the hall. Booster had never actually explored one of the Black Beetle’s crime scenes, not like this. He’d been at the first museum shortly after the theft occurred, when the Anti Monitor armor was stolen, but the police and yellow tape made it all seem a lot grander. In reality, all of the moves were subtle, deliberate. The locks were picked, not broken. The casing was pried, not shattered.

There was another unconscious guard, also set up gently. His head lolled a little to the side, but not much. If Booster didn’t know any better, he would have thought the man to be sleeping.

He knew the Black Beetle had never hurt guards, not permanently, but seeing was believing. Booster swallowed and went around the guard’s legs. “Watch your step.”

“Sir, don’t you think we should speed this along?” Skeets inquired, his robotic voice piercing through the dark, still hall.

Dan agreed, “Yeah, we should pick up the pace. Don’t want to miss him.”

Booster nodded. He had been spending too much time admiring the delicate care - which was a little strange, considering this was, well, a crime scene .

There were closed doors lining the hallway, presumably offices, although he didn’t care to read the labels. Some might have been classrooms, since this was a University.

A light a few feet ahead caught his attention. He ran towards it. The door was open a crack, but there were no windows. He stood with his hand on the knob, waited for Skeets and Dan to catch up, and threw it open.

Ted stood behind the desk, one hand on his hip, the other dramatically holding up what Booster presumed was the Quantum Capacitor. It looked a little different than the previous one. The wires were purple and black, and the whole thing was nearing closer to eight inches as opposed to the one Booster had at home.  

Booster had a moment to spare a glance for the rest of the office. There were no windows. In fact, the walls were completely bare. The drawers were thrown open, a few papers tossed around. Although, judging from the pile of folders and various candy wrappers on the desk, whoever this office belonged to was just perpetually messy.

“Looking for this?” Ted grinned, and Booster cursed himself for finding it attractive. He had dimples. Very light and shallow ones, but when he grinned like that, they were there. Ted waved at the two of them and greeted, “Hi Booster. Hi Dan. Nice of you to join me.”

Booster looked back to the capacitor. He wondered if any sudden movements or violence would cause irreparable damage. He knew from experience that quantum energy was not something to be messed with. “Hey Skeets, how much danger are we in if we fight with the capacitor here?”

“If you engage in physical combat, there is a 97.27% chance that the damage would be lethal.”

“ Damn,” Booster cursed, deflating. He could always take that 3%, but there was the University, the unconscious guards, and who knew who else was nearby? The police had been contacted been contacted by Skeets, they would be arriving any second. He wondered if he could stall.

Booster felt a hand on his shoulder. His posture sagged a bit. “Michael,” Dan warned. He cringed at the use of his real name, so Dan corrected, “ Booster, we can’t risk that kind of damage.”

“We can’t,” He agreed, “Which is why the Black Beetle is going to hand it over to us.”

Ted snorted. “Yeah, right.”

Dan tightened the grip on his shoulder. “Booster…”

“No,” Booster shrugged it off and took a step forward. He raised his chin and narrowed his gaze. “You were waiting for us here, weren’t you?”

Eyes wide, they seemed to shine as if there was something deeper and hidden beneath Ted’s words. He took a step forward and said, “Don’t be ridiculous, Buster.”

“ Booster .”

“Whatever you say, Buster .”

Dan sighed. He was mostly hidden behind Booster’s much taller frame, but still stood proudly, as if he had both nothing and everything to lose. Booster thought of his family, and suddenly felt really guilty for dragging him halfway across the world. His kids probably missed him.

Then Booster remembered the determination in his eyes with the broken glass and moonlight all around him. Had that really only been two days ago? Had it only been two days since they faced Ted in Chicago? Since Dan had joined his seemingly helpless mission?

Ted was smarter than both of them, that much was already clear. Booster had direct contact with the museum the Quantum Capacitor was originally stored in, yet he still didn’t know they had hidden it here. They hadn’t told anyone other than those involved in transit.

Booster was struck with the sudden knowledge that, if Ted was doing this alone - breaking into secure facilities across the globe and doing it practically undetected, with access to secret government information - he would be the smartest person Booster had ever met. An absolute genius. Which meant a lot, considering he spent a large portion of his time with the likes of Batman.

Although this situation here, this was weird. Ted had seemingly trapped himself. He had been waiting for them. The prospect of which both excited and terrified Booster.

Dan seemed to be thinking along the same lines, “Why aren’t you trying to run?”

“Why would I run?”

“Why wouldn’t you run?” Booster stood a little straighter, chin a little higher. “You were waiting.”

Ted walked around the desk and leaned against it. “If you say so, Buster.”

Alright, now he was just doing it to provoke Booster. He clenched his fists and walked forward. It wasn’t going to work. He didn’t stop until they were eye to eye, less than a foot away. “Tell us why you’re still here. You could have already been out of the building by now.”

Dan crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. “Come on, kid. We all know you’re better than this.”

Ted grit his teeth. “ Would you know that?”

Ouch. Those words just sounded harsh. The bitterness on Ted’s tongue as he said them, the way his eyes narrowed and his body went rigid. Dan was stiff, glued in place. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. Then, abruptly, Ted turned back and spoke to Booster, as if the jab hadn’t been said at all.

“I’ll give it to you if you tell me where the time crystal is.”

Booster looked between the two of them. Dan was still shocked into place, but Ted was looking at him, eyes wide and innocent. He knew it was a ploy. Ted was anything but innocent . His head was cocked to the side, eyebrows up slightly, as if in question. Wonder. Against his better instincts, Booster wanted to tell him everything. Where the crystal was, yes, but also every sudden and borderline inappropriate thought he’d had the past few days. About how Booster admired the fluidness in the way Ted fights, or how the dim light in this room created the perfect shadows, showing off the curve of his lips and the definition of his cheekbones. Booster would get lost there, just staring, if he could. He’d love to lean forward, lay his hand in the gentle curve of Ted’s neck and-

Dan cleared his throat behind Booster, regaining his composure. His voice was still a bit shaky, but mostly firm and certain when he said, “Don’t do it.”

Booster’s eyes trailed Ted’s lips again. “It’s not like he could even get to it.”

Ted raised an eyebrow as if to say, wanna bet?

He broke their eye contact, looked over to Dan. It was ridiculous, really, how Ted had this effect on him.

“So, are you gonna let me go?” Ted asked, tossing the Quantum Capacitor back and forth between his hands. The movement made Booster nervous, as if Ted was going to drop it and kill them all. He supposed that was the intended effect.

Dan dropped his arms to his sides. “Y’know, it’s not too late. You can still come back, turn yourself in, minimal punishment-”

Booster winched. No criminal wanted to hear that.

Ted seemed to have a similar thought. He scowled. “Excuse me for thinking I won’t get off easy after stealing government property. ”

“But you didn’t hurt anyone,” Booster pointed out, determined to see the positive side of things. He remembered their fight from a few nights ago when Ted had pointed a weapon at him. He looked down; the same one was still strapped in a holster on Ted’s hip. “Your gun isn’t even dangerous.”

“It’s dangerous enough,” He defended weakly, looking to the side.

It wasn’t, not really, but Booster didn’t want to fight and find out if he was wrong. The thing had shot out pressurized air, and while that didn’t hold a candle to a bullet, if aimed in the right place…

Seemingly deciding that he’d had enough, Ted eyed them all, even Skeets, and then pushed his way through the door. Dan let him go; there was no point trying to engage in combat, it was too dangerous. Booster didn’t bother to chase him either. Ted bolted down the hall, steps silent, and made way into the darkness.

Booster sighed wearily. “He seem a little off to you?” More closed off, resigned.

Dan fixed him with a tired glare. “Really? You’re asking me that?”

“Figured you’d know better,” Booster shrugged. “I’ve only had the few encounters with him.”

“Well, when I knew him, he certainly wasn’t a thief.” Dan started off in the direction Ted had disappeared to. Quietly, he spoke, “Model student, actually.”

Booster jogged a few steps to catch up with him. Skeets hovered close behind. Once out of the building, Booster had picked Dan back up and they’d flown to the embassy. He had a brief thought of following Ted, but realized he had no idea where the man had disappeared off to. He probably should have thought of that earlier.

Neither of them said a word on the way back. They dropped soundlessly onto the roof and made their way back down to the kitchen, resumed their earlier activities, almost as if they had never left.

Later that night, when Booster laid in his overly cushioned Embassy bed and stared up at the ceiling, he remembered the napkin. At the restaurant, Ted had given him a phone number. Said it was his at the time, and while he severely doubted it, it was still a number. It could be a lead.

Groggily, he climbed out of bed and made his way over to the discarded, shiny golden costume. Booster dug around in the few pockets until finally brandishing a napkin, wrinkled and beaten from neglect. He smoothed it out on his leg and read the numbers.

“Hey, Skeets?” He called, watching as the robot roused from power-save mode across the room. “Do you think you could call this?”

Skeets’ bright blue screen illuminated the area around them, flashing. They flew over and pointed towards the napkin, lighting up the sling of digits. “This is an invalid area code, sir.”

“What do you mean?” Booster smoothed it over his leg again and held it back up to Skeets. “You can’t call it?”

“It’s not a real number.”

He stared down at the flimsy napkin between his fingers. He thought aloud, “What else could it be?”

“I will search for any type of code,” Skeets reassured him. A string of numbers began flashing across their screen, dull blues and greens. They flew by quickly; Skeets had already begun solving the puzzle.

Booster smiled, soft and tired. He may be really awful at showing it, but he really was very grateful for Skeets. The little robot was always there for him, always helped him out. He didn’t know where he’d be without them.

He fell back on the bed and held the napkin high above his face. He laid there for awhile, wondering what it could possibly be. More likely than not, Ted just wrote down a fake number because Booster had asked for a way to contact him, and he obviously hadn’t been able to give it. Yet, he had this feeling, a hunch in the pit of his stomach, that that wasn’t quite it.

What else could it be, though? A set of ten digits. If it wasn’t a phone number, then what?

Booster fell asleep before he or Skeets were able to solve the mystery. With a resigned sigh, the napkin dropped on his face, and he was out like a light.

Chapter Text

Booster awoke with a start.

He sat up in his bed, gasping. His breathing was heavy and irregular, spine rimrod straight and at attention. The room had streams of light passing in through the drawn curtains, which only mildly helped to quell his panic.

Booster’s dreams had always been plagued by nightmares, but they seemed more frequent lately. Another night, another vivid display of crippling fear surrounding perpetual anxiety and abandonment. No biggie.

He groaned, deep and low in his throat, and swung his legs up and over the edge, stretching his arms high above his head. Booster always found it strange when he wasn’t in skintight, uncomfortable fabric. He lived in gold. The faded black and red pajama pants just didn’t work for him. Was this what people normally lived like? Did most live in a perpetual state of fear that their pants were going to fall down?

Steadily, he rose to his feet and walked over to the blinds. The sun was raised rather high, so it must have been at least 8 or 9. “Hey Skeets,” Booster called out, staring at the street below. It was a beautiful day. “What time is it?”

There was no answer. Booster frowned. “Skeets?” He tried again, turning around. Maybe the little guy was still just in power save mode. He walked over to the docking station, but it was empty.

Hands on his hips, Booster huffed out a breath. “Huh.” Normally Skeets always waited for him in the morning. Although, he didn’t know what time it was, so maybe he’d overslept? Perhaps Skeets had gone out to help someone else. It wouldn’t have been the first time they’d ditched him in the morning to go help J’onn.

Booster walked into the hallway, bare feet padding on the fancy floor. He always felt weird staying in the Embassy rooms; it was very fancy compared to his low rate Gotham apartment. However, last night had been exhausting, between all the traveling and the event at the University, they had both crashed here - Booster in his room, Dan in one of the guest spaces.

He noticed Scott and Barda lying out on a couch nearby and jogged over to them. “Hey, guys! Have either of you seen Skeets?”

Scott looked up from his book, gave him a once over, and asked, “What happened to your shirt?”

Booster looked down at himself. He never slept with a shirt. He hadn’t thought it was strange, but it wouldn’t be the first time Booster had presumed incorrectly about everyday customs that differed from his own time. “Is it not okay to sleep without a shirt in this time period?”

“Um, no, it’s fine,” Scott stared down at his book, not really reading it. “Just maybe put one on before coming out here next time. Never know when one of the UN reps will stop in.”

Barda nudged her husband. “Don’t mind him, he stayed up too late watching that American show - the one with the unrealistic spaceships and aliens? As if there’s actually a species with ears that pointy. Besides, we all know that the UN guys never come down here.”

Booster shuffled his feet. He hadn’t really intended to get into a conversation about TV shows or politics, both of which he knew nothing about. “So, uh, neither of you have seen Skeets?”

“Sorry, no.” Scott flipped a page and stretched his legs out.

Resigned, Booster made his way downstairs to the kitchen. Dan was sitting at the counter, drinking from a London brand mug and flipping through a newspaper.

“‘Morning,” Booster nodded.

“‘Morning.”

He was rather hungry, so Booster went to the cupboard and dug out cereal. He poured it in a bowl, followed by milk, and sat down at the table. “You seen Skeets today?”

“No. Isn’t he always with you?”

“Usually,” Taking a bite of Cheerios, Booster leaned both elbows onto the table. “It is a little weird, not seeing them, but I’m sure everything’s fine. Probably just wandered off to help J’onn with researching or whatever.”

Dan frowned. “J’onn isn’t here. I saw him briefly this morning, but he went off to Tokyo for… something.” He straightened his newspaper and looked back down at it, reading the technology section very casually, as if nothing else could possibly be wrong in the world, and he had all the time he wanted to read that article on the new iPhone.

“That’s… a little worrying, then.” Booster knit his eyebrows together. It was very unlike Skeets to disappear. “Have a tracker in my suit, though I’m sure they’re fine.”

He finished up his cereal, rinsed the bowl in the sink, and headed back upstairs. The room was now brightly lit, sun higher up in the sky, and it shined blindingly off his golden suit, discarded on a nearby lounge chair. Booster threw it on. He grabbed the napkin off the nightstand and tucked it into his pocket, then pulled up the tracker.

His blood ran cold.

Slipping on his flight ring, Booster dashed downstairs. “Dan! Dan, we have to go!”

Dan had hardly moved from his spot at the counter, but he stared up at Booster, eyes wide. “Did you find them?”

“Skeets is gone, they’re-” Booster went to his side and pulled up the tracker. A small, electric blue screen illuminated itself with a map of the world and a tiny, pulsating red dot smack dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

“Must be faulty,” Dan reasoned, taking another sip of his coffee. “Did you check upstairs?”

“This isn’t your 21st century subtle attempts at satellite technology. It doesn’t get faulty.”

Dan sighed and put his mug down. “Alright, but let me at least check by Max. Is he here? I haven’t met him yet.” He folded his newspaper up and slid it back on the table. “You find out exactly where Skeets is. I’ll go find your fearless leader. Do not leave until I get back.”

Booster swallowed. He zoomed in on the map, heart racing. He should already be gone, chasing after his companion, his friend. It might be good that Dan was making him pause, but it might also be wasting time. He was terrified.

He checked the dot again, but it hadn’t moved. How had Skeets even gotten over there? They couldn’t work the teleporters, and there sure wasn’t any reason for them to fly all the way into the ocean on their own.

Booster stopped, took a deep breath. Everything would be okay. It had to be. Skeets was his only remaining companion from the 25th century. His friend.

He made his way up the stairs, but stopped when he walked by the security room. Maybe he could just pop in, see when Skeets left…

Booster dashed into the room and immediately pulled up the cam footage. He saw Scott and Barda in the lounge area, laying across the couches. Max in his office, Dan making his way there. He kept searching, flipping through the various channels and screens. The kitchen, the hallways, the bedrooms. Nothing.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Booster decided to scroll back and look to when Skeets had disappeared. He went back several hours, the footage playing in reverse as it rewinded, until he saw… Well, he didn’t want to believe it.

The now-familiar brown tufts of hair, bright bug goggles strapped over it. That black armor, tough, but made for stealth. Each individual plate, dulled yet not lacking luster, moving across his body as he made his way around Booster’s bed and over to Skeets’ dimly lit docking station. He hit a button on his arm - presumably an EMP, since Skeets’ screen then went completely dark.

Booster wanted to scream. Black Beetle had literally broken into the UN sanctioned Justice League Embassy filled with superheroes , was in Booster’s room, not even five feet away from him , and escaped without a trace.

He fiddled with his hands as he watched the rest of the footage. Anger, frustration, worry. Ted carried Skeets carefully, as if made of glass, and Booster had to at least be grateful for that. If he was being that cautious, maybe Skeets wasn’t in as much immediate danger as he initially thought.

He shouldn’t count on it.

There was something else there, too. Ted looked almost remorseful, eyebrows furrowed and frown sagging as he stood beside the bed. Briefly, a hand came out, hovered over Booster’s sleeping form as if debating on waking him, but he quickly retracted it and retreated from the building.

Booster held his breath. Was this a trap? This seemed like a trap. If there’s one thing Booster knew to be 100% true about Ted, it was that he’s an excellent actor.

Why hadn’t he cut the footage? Why hadn’t the EMP shut it down? He hadn’t tripped any alarms, so it’s not like Ted didn’t know their security systems. He’d blacked out all the cameras at the museums, so why not now? If Booster didn’t know any better, he’d think Ted wanted to be caught.

“Hey, you in here- oh, dear,” Dan stood at the doorway, shoulders tense as he peered over at the screen.

“Yeah.”

“Is that-?”

“Yeah.”

“And Skeets…?”

Booster sighed. “Found out what happened to them, at least.”

Dan fidgeted in place, shifting from side to side, played with his hands. “We should go.”

“Well, yeah,” Booster rolled his chair over to another monitor. This one had a map of the world and all of the available transport locations. “If we take the tube, we could get there almost immediately. The island of Kooey Kooey Kooey is pretty close, and the natives let us place tubes there last year. We can teleport, then fly over.”

“You have a teleporter that can take you anywhere in the world, and you let me waste money on airplane tickets?” Dan didn’t seem upset, just confused.

“Well, no, it doesn’t go anywhere. The closest point to Chicago was the New York Embassy - we never had any reason to put one in Chicago - and the closest tube to Egypt is Paris. It was actually quicker to fly. I’m not as fast as an airplane. Plus, you didn’t seem to want me to carry you and- Why am I taking the time to explain this?” Booster shot out of his chair and flew down the hall. He yelled back over his shoulder, “We need to hurry!”

Dan was quick on his heels, following Booster’s track down to the tubes. He punched in the designation for Kooey Kooey Kooey and off they went.

———————-

It was raining near the island, although the country itself was perfectly dry. Neverending sunshine, it seemed. Guy once joked that the island controlled the weather; Booster thought that was ridiculous.

As soon as they came to, they immediately took off. It was clear that Dan wasn’t very comfortable with being carried. He was clinging to the minute wrinkles on the golden suit and grasping Booster’s shoulders very firmly. However, he made no verbal complaints, as there was no other option for getting there.

The island Skeets had been taken to was apparently called Pago Island. It had been a stopping point in the US’s island hopping during World War II, but was otherwise abandoned. Mostly made of rock, no more than a block wide. Looking at it from the bird’s eye view, Booster didn’t understand how someone could hide out here. The entire island was caved in, rock upon rock upon rock. What may have once been a cave now appeared as more of an uneven, rocky hill. There was no way anyone was on this island.

Except apparently there was. Skeets’ tracker placed them right here, directly below Booster’s feet. The rocks were jagged, some of them covered in moss, and Booster didn’t even want to think about what that might mean for his little robot buddy.

“Put me down over there,” Dan told him, nodding with his head towards a slightly flatter area. Booster obliged, gently setting him down at the highest point. Both their feet hit the ground with a soft thump, and Dan immediately brought his hand up to shield his eyes from the sun. He skimmed the horizon, while Booster rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, ocean wind sharp on his cheeks.

After a moment's pause, he grew impatient. They needed to find Skeets! Booster took a breath - he didn’t want to outwardly show how much he was panicking, although his fidgety movements may have already given that away - then asked, “What are you doing?”

Dan pressed his lips together. “Looking for a gap in the rocks.”

“Well, I think I would have noticed if there was a huge cave entrance waiting to be found.”

Dan’s eyebrows furrowed further together. He sighed and explained, “If there’s a cave, it’ll be covered by the rocks. Need to find the ones out of place. I’m checking for moss, since it wouldn’t have grown on the rocks that have been moved.”

Booster blinked. “Um, okay.” He spun in a circle, visor blocking out the harsh sun, and pointed to a far off boulder. It was bare and stuck up perfectly straight. He hadn’t noticed that it’d been out of place before. “You mean like that one?”

Dan squinted in the direction Booster was pointing, then threw his hands up and cheered. “Yes! Exactly like that one.”

Beaming, Booster hovered over to the spot the boulder was wedged into. He wrapped his arms around it. Even with the strength enhancements in his suit, he still struggled to lift it, and briefly wondered if it was even possible that this was the entrance. If he could barely lift it, then surely there was no way Ted could. Unless he had secret super strength, which was always a possibility in this field. Nevertheless, the boulder did eventually give way to an unexpected gap.

He rolled the boulder to the side, and Dan immediately dropped feet-first into the hole. There was the sound of crushing gravel, but nothing else, so Booster cautiously flew inside.

The cave was dark, which was to be expected, and appeared empty. Mostly. There was a lone desk scattered with electronic components and blueprints. It was up against the wall, almost completely hidden by shadows. Booster wondered how much of this room was hidden in shadows.

“Nice of you to join me,” A voice echoed around the cave, vast and expansionless. It wasn’t Ted’s, Booster dreaded to note.

He stiffened and felt Dan do the same beside him. His mouth was dry. He couldn’t find the words to speak. They’d obviously walked into a trap and would be lucky to make it out alive.

“Just give us Skeets and we’ll go,” Dan bargained, also noticing the trouble they were in. He put both hands in front of him, a plea for peace, however hopeless that seemed.

So he’d been wrong all this time. Ted wasn’t working alone. There was another man here, face shrouded in shadows, but silver hair still reflecting the minimal light released from the cave entrance. Booster thought he saw glasses, too, and the vague silhouette of long fabric at his back. A lab coat? He hoped it wasn’t a cape. He’d had enough of supervillains in capes.

And that was his last thought, really - supervillains and capes - before Booster was clocked upside the head and tumbled to the floor.

Chapter Text

Booster’s eyes took a minute to focus. He blinked once, twice, a dozen times, but all he could make out was the cold floor his back was on.

He groaned, tried to sit up, and hit his shoulder on something hard. Reaching cautiously with his opposite hand, Booster determined that it was the wall. Chilled, stone, and worst of all, dirty. Like, he could just feel the dirt collecting beneath his gloves. It was very unpleasant.

“Booster?” A cautious, hesitant voice called out to him. Dan, it seemed. “Is that you?”

He nodded, then remembered that it was pitch black. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“Oh, good. I was starting to fear we’d been separated.”

Not that either of them knew for sure that they hadn’t been separated. Dan’s voice sounded a million miles away, but also very loud. It echoed in the stone chasm, and it was therefore very hard to tell the distance between them.

Nevertheless, he agreed. “Yeah.”

Booster reached up to rub the back of his head. It hurt a little where he’d been hit, but it wasn’t too bad. He doubted there was any real damage. Other than his ego.

“Any ideas for how to get out of here?” Booster asked, hoping against hope that Dan already had a plan.

Dan hummed. “Not yet. Hard to come up with anything when I can’t even see where I am. What about you?”

“Just woke up. Besides, you’re the smart one.”

“What do you mean, I’m the smart one?”

Booster huffed. “I mean , you’re the one who figured where to hide the time crystals, and the thing with the moss on the rocks, and all that. Smart.”

“You’re plenty smart, Michael.”

“Booster,” He instinctively corrected, although he didn’t find himself annoyed at the use of his name. Not like he usually did.

“ Booster, ” Dan sighed and shifted, his chainmail scratching unpleasantly against the rigid surface. “You found Black Beetle like, four times before I got involved-”

“Skeets did that.”

“-You tracked Skeets to this island, and you made the connection between Ted and Black Beetle-”

“That was technology that I stole - may I remind you - and really? Anyone could have made that connection.”

Dan exhaled a breathless, exasperated, bitter little laugh. “You’re a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for, you know.”

Booster grimaced. “Then why don’t I believe you?”

If Dan was going to say anything, he didn't get the chance. A loud cling bounced off the walls, and then a stream of light made way into the room. An entrance was opening, off to the side, and Booster made to get up.

Something was stopping him. A sort of electric field surrounding all sides, like an invisible box. He felt the electricity humming off it, but didn’t dare test it’s limits in fear of getting shocked.

Dan, apparently, hadn’t had the same thought. Booster watched as he flung himself against the wall, only to recoil with a loud yelp and a hiss.
“Yeah, uh, you don’t wanna do that,” Ted spoke softly in the doorway, as if he wasn’t the man keeping them both hostage. “Almost two thousand volts of energy there. Hardly any wattage, no serious damage, but it’s still impossible to get out.” He frowned and added, “And it hurts. Not a lot. More like a dull tingling, but if you keep doing it, the effects will add up. So I suggest you don’t.”

He seemed awfully concerned with keeping them both uninjured. Booster grimaced. Even now, held captive, Ted seemed almost remorseful. He tried to tell himself that it was all in his head. He and Dan were being kept prisoner, there’s no way that Ted actually cared about them.

Then Dan threw himself against the barrier again, and Ted flinched forward. Not angry, more concerned, as if he wanted to keep Dan from hurting himself.

He quickly pushed those thoughts aside and grit his teeth, “Let us go.”

Eyebrows furrowed, Ted turned to him, and it was only then that his breath hitched. He actually did look guilty. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

Closing his eyes, Ted turned away. It’s almost as if a mask dropped over his face, transforming him from Ted Kord into Black Beetle. His face hardened, mouth a tight line, as he reached up to pull his goggles over his eyes. Yet, instead of speaking - explaining or beginning an evil monologue like most villains do - he just turned his back and said, “I just can’t.” It was so quiet that, even with the vast echoes and open space, Booster barely heard. As if Beetle was saying it more to himself than his two prisoners.

Dan continued to thrash against the electricity, but Booster didn’t dare move. Simply, he demanded, “At least tell me what you did with Skeets.” He didn’t dare draw another breath.

Beetle hunched his shoulders and fled from the room. He left the door open just the slightest crack, presumably so that the two of them could see, but said nothing.

Booster cautiously spared a look at Dan. He was still bumping his shoulders against the side, albeit weaker, and panting heavily. Face pale, hands trembling. He couldn’t look at it anymore, so Booster turned on his side and closed his eyes. He tried not to think about where they were, the trouble they were in. Instead, Booster occupied himself with thoughts of home. No, not the 25th century, where he had nothing left but a ruined career and father that won’t speak to him (although he did miss Michelle. He wished Michelle had come to this century with him). He dreamt of the team he’d grown to call family over the past couple months. Scott, J’onn, Max. Even Guy. Would they notice he was missing? Would they come looking for them?

Maybe so, but the chances of them being found were still small. They were on a remote - previously considered abandoned - island in the middle of the Pacific. Who was going to look for them here?

---------------

Sometime after that, Booster had fallen asleep.  He awoke drearily a few hours later.

Looking up and around, Booster now saw that there was a tiny window - more of a slit, really - high up the wall. It was barely big enough to fit one’s hand through, but the light still came in streams and highlighted all the dust particles floating around the room.

Booster remembered his blasters and cautiously shot it at the corner. Nothing happened. He tried a few more times, jerked his arm around, yet it remained still.

Retracting his arm, Booster had to squeeze his eyes shut. He was suddenly dizzy, although he couldn’t say why. Perhaps they had injected him with a tranq dart or something of the like. Which was ridiculous, because had already been unconscious. Yet his eyelids were droopy, and he found himself unable to fight it.

---------------

“So, the food they were gonna give you was gross. Like, mush, wouldn’t feed to people imprisoned for murder level gross.” Ted stood at the entrance, eyeing the tray. “But I can’t cook, really, so I hope you’re all good with Spongebob mac ‘n cheese.”

Booster was still groggy, but the promise of food made him feel a little better. He accepted the bowl with gnawing hunger, only mildly worried about what Ted possibly could have hidden in there, before shoveling it into his mouth. He couldn’t be bothered to worry, too hungry.

Across the room, Dan poked the food with his finger, confused. “Why do you care if our food is prison mush or not? Isn’t that what we are?”

“What?”

“Prisoners.”

“Because, uh. Um.” Ted shuffled his feet. “Because that food is gross? And I’d much rather have Spongebob mac ‘n cheese.” He didn’t sound convinced, more like he was trying to explain to himself rather than to Booster and Dan.

Dan grunted, but poked around at his bowl nonetheless.

Ted crouched down and leaned against the wall, head thrown back. Booster wondered why he wouldn’t just go, but he also wondered what was wrong with him to even admire the curve of Ted’s jawline for a second. This man was clearly evil , despite what Booster’s gut told him. So what, Booster had had one not-date with the guy, and now he was emotionally compromised? That’s sure what it felt like.

He stretched out his legs and continued eating. Although they were trapped in this electricity-box-thing, it was still had a fair amount of room. Booster scrapped the cheese from the side of the bowl - the metal’s scratches sounding loud in the empty corridors - and set it down beside him.

“Alright,” Ted let down the shields. “My uncle wants to monologue.”

Booster blinked. His uncle? “Excuse me?”

“You know, evil super villains like to monologue. Their plans, how they want to take over the world. Blah, blah, blah. But yeah, he wants to do it now. And don’t even try to run. All your weapons are disabled - as I’m sure you know - and we already know I can take you both in a fight.”

It was true. Their previous encounters showed just as much. Ted was acrobatic, versatile, and a lot stronger than he looked. Really. He had muscles, but they were all lean and defined, emphasised by the armor.

Booster realized that Beetle was still talking, and strained to listen. “-don’t know why he’s monologuing this early. Still have a little bit before completion. Need to contain the quantum energy-“

“Ha! You don't have any quantum energy,” Booster exclaimed, rather proud. “We hid the time crystals somewhere you will never find.”

Ted looked up at him, held strong eye contact, as a smug grin crept onto his lips. “Why do you think I needed Skeets?”

Booster gulped. What was he going to do to them? A surge of panic went through his veins. If Skeets wasn’t okay, he… he… didn’t know what he’d do. Booster tried to swallow it down.

He rose to his feet, watching Dan across the room do the same. Dan had never powered down his armor; the chainmail rings clinked against each other as he stretched his arms high into the sky.

Ted cleared his throat and gestured for them to follow him to the door. There, he strapped handcuffs on both of their wrists. There was just a tinge of softness behind it. Booster had had handcuffs on him before - how it pinched your skin, scratched against your wrist. But the way Ted did it was gentler, like he didn’t want to, but since he had to, he might as well make it as bearable as possible.

“So, we’re going to see your uncle? And he’s the…”

“Evil mastermind behind it all? Yeah. But we aren’t going to see him.” Ted waited as the two of them made way through the door. Booster did so willingly, but Dan seemed more hesitant. Not that he could be blamed; Booster just figured, they were already captive, there’s no immediate escape, what’s the point?

Ted closely guarded them, hand on the gun in his holster as he walked them through the brick walls. “You didn’t actually think that I was smart enough to come up with this all on my own, did you?”

Yes, he did. Ted had hacked into government security, broken into all the museums undetected, found the proper components to even build a time machine in the 21st century. He was a genius.

Still, Booster pointedly turned to look the other way when he said, “No, of course not.”

Their footsteps echoed around the chasm, dark and menacing. It felt like they were walking uphill, but Booster couldn’t be sure, for the slope was very shallow. He did know that there were more and more windows as they went on. Well, not windows as much as gaps in the stone that let in light.

They passed a few giant robots. Red and white things that had to be at least eight feet tall and, frankly, terrified Booster. They looked a little like the Rocket Reds, but bigger, denser, and definitely not human.

There was also a lot of tech equipment. Giant monitors, computers, dismantled gadgets. It cast a soft blue hue around the room, reflecting off the loose wires sticking out it all.

Ted scurried them through the room, down into a dark hallway. Like, medieval dungeon level dark. And it was significantly colder. Booster reached up to rub his arms only to remember the handcuffs.

They walked a little ways before Ted pushed them into an alcove. Booster couldn’t see anything, not without the night vision setting on his goggles, but the opening was very deep. They backed up several feet - ten, maybe fifteen - before Ted’s firm grip told them to stop.

“What are you doing?” Dan asked, voice hushed.

As the darkness crept around them, Ted knelt down and started unlocking their handcuffs, whispering something Booster never expected to hear.

“I’m gonna get you out of here.”

Chapter Text

Booster was frozen, but Dan somehow found it in himself to yelp. A startled, high noise that would have been funny in any other situation.

Ted shushed him quickly, one hand clasped over Dan’s mouth, but quickly let go at the sight of his wide and alarmed eyes. Ted winced and tucked his hands behind his back.

“One of these stones is actually loose,” He explained, “Barely large enough to fit one person through. I use it to sneak out sometimes. You two can escape from there.” He walked over and started shaking one of the stones out. It slid smoothly and without any further disruptance.

Booster’s mind was still reeling. “I thought we were going to see your uncle? Isn’t he like, the head of this, or-”

“No. I mean, he is, and he’s expecting us, but,” Ted slowly, quietly set the stone on the ground, panting a little from the weight of it. “Bringing you dinner bought us a little time buffer. I couldn’t tell you before because of the cameras everywhere - I know, I’m the one who placed them - but there aren’t any in this hallway,” Ted waved his hand, gesturing to the air around them, “Because it’s so dark.”

The newfound sunlight streamed in through the hole in the wall, catching the side of Ted’s face. It must have been around dawn. The light was tinted orange and red; now that it lit up the room, Booster could see how narrow the corridor was, how close the three of them were standing. Dan was only a few inches to Booster’s left, and Ted only a few inches in front. He shuffled his feet and tried to back up, only to hit a wall.

Ted jerked his head towards the open slot. “Go through the hole, one of you, and call for the Justice League.”

“How do we know this isn’t a trap?” Dan accused, narrowing his eyes. “You seem to be very tricky these days. I’m not sure I should go.”

“You’re not- ugh!” Ted’s head dropped into his hands. “I freed you! I snuck you out here! I’m defying direct orders! Look, it’s the exit. Right there!” He pointed dramatically to the large hole in the wall. “Can’t you see the sun? Freedom!”

Booster and Dan looked at each other and shrugged. Might as well, right? They were already trapped here, and if they look through the wall and see something awful, they can always crawl back through.

“You first,” Booster insisted.

True to word, the slot was just big enough for one. Dan squirmed through, but it was tight around the shoulders and took a few tries.  The metal of his suit screeched unpleasantly against the stone, yet Dan adamantly refused to power it down.

After a few moments, Dan tumbled through to the other side, narrowly missing the blaring alarms as they began to fill the corridors.

Ted gripped Booster’s arm. “We have to go.”

Still, Booster made way to the stone gap. It was about five inches thick, and if he moved fast enough, he could probably get through.

Ted shook his arm again. “There isn’t time. I know where to hide you, but just,” He let go of Booster’s arm. He looked resigned, down at the floor, and disappointedly said, “ We’ll have to hide.”

Suddenly, Booster understood everything. Ted didn’t want to be here; he didn’t want to steal Skeets or break into museums. Booster didn’t know what had happened, how he got here, but he knew that Ted was risking his own life to help them escape. Most of all, Booster saw the rejection and disappointment that flashed across his face when the alarms went off. The sight of his own failure.

Booster turned back to the hole. He slid his flight ring off his finger and stretched it out in his palm, an effort to give it to Dan on the other side.

Dan picked it up and played with it in his fingers. “What’s this?”

“Flight ring. Put it on and concentrate on where you would like to go.” Booster explained. “Go back home. Tell the League what’s going on, get them to come here. Quickly.”

Dan nodded and slid it onto his hand. Making a fist, he closed his eyes and began to hover a bit. Seeing this, he waved and took off. As soon as he was out of sight, Ted dragged Booster off down the corridor. They stumbled into a room at the end of the hall, Booster falling first and Ted hurriedly closing the door behind them.

It was a small closet full of bleach, mops, and other cleaning supplies. Booster had never really considered the possibility of broom closets within villain lairs, but he supposed that even dark caves on abandoned islands got dusty.

A single light bulb hung in the center of the room. He reached up to tug on the string. As soon as it lit, Ted tugged on the string again to shut it off. He pointed to the crack beneath the door and whispered, “They’d see the light and know we were here.”

“Oh,” Booster tried, but it came out as more of a squeak. Even in that half-second of light, he’d been able to observe his surroundings. Now, he knew exactly how small the space was. If he moved two inches either way, he’d run into something. To the left, the wall. To the right, the door. Two inches back, he’d knock off several shelves of buckets and cleaning fluids. And if he leaned forward, just the tiniest bit, he’d meet Ted.

Booster already felt the soft, panicked breaths on his collar. He hadn’t realized how short Ted was before - probably a good five or six inches less than Booster. His hair stuck out every which way and ticked Booster’s neck. He wanted to reach out, smooth it over with one hand and lift his chin with the other, but resisted.

Booster cleared his throat. “When do you think-”

“ Shhh, ” Ted put a finger to Booster’s lips and nodded towards the door. Footsteps stomped past, the sound of multiple people running. There were a few distant yells, as if someone was commanding and barking orders, but Booster couldn’t focus on that. He wanted to, but he couldn’t. Not when Ted’s hand was absently snaking around his neck and playing with the ends of his hair.

“Um,” Booster choked, but Ted seemed to pay it no mind. It was almost like playing with Booster’s hair was a nervous habit. Maybe he was just used to playing with his hands, and now that the opportunity was there, it was just happening?

Booster tried to convince himself of this, or perhaps of a million other scenarios. Yet it was only when Ted’s eyes finally snapped wide open and he nervously retracted his hand, stumbling apologies and excuses, that Booster realized he was disappointed. He grabbed the hand and brought it back up to his face, curved around his cheek as he leaned into the touch.

He knew he couldn’t do it. They couldn’t be together - they shouldn’t - so why get his hopes up? But in the gentle touch, the pads of Ted’s gloves skimming lightly across the sharp edge of his cheekbone, Booster found it within himself to hope - if only a little - for something more.

It seemed as if all air fled the room when Ted’s hand slid down, righted his chin, and Booster’s own hand wrapped around the nape of Ted’s neck. They grew closer, inch by agonizing inch. When only a hair’s width away - a single breath - Booster stopped. His shoulders tightened and he decided that he couldn’t continue without knowing exactly what it was he was getting into. Booster spoke, the words soft puffs upon Ted’s lips, and asked, “Can you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“Everything.”

His hand dropped, forehead fell to rest on Booster’s shoulder, and he let out a shaky little laugh. “You sure? It’ll probably take awhile.”

“I’m sure,” Booster reassured, tightening his grip and pulling Ted closer still.

“Okay.” Ted inhaled deeply, then let it all out. “Okay.

“I’d been working with my Uncle Jarvis for a couple years. He was an engineer, but more into design and planning, and since I have more of a knack for building, we made a great team. He had all these designs, but never told me exactly what it was we were creating. I just knew that it would change the world. I never got along well with my Dad, so I guess I was just happy to have a family connection.”

“Not fond of your Dad?” Booster repeated. “Me either.”

Ted looked up at him, eyes twinkling in their close proximity. “Yeah?”

Booster smiled and joked, “It’s basically a requirement that every superhero has issues with their family.”

Ted smiled and dropped his head back to Booster’s shoulder. “My Dad actually told me to stay away from my Uncle. They didn’t get along, though I could never figure out why. Jarvis seemed really cool. Though my fantasy didn’t last very long. He faked his own death, blew up the lab. I found a tape in the rubble and used it to figure out where he hiding. I figured Dan was probably the only person I could really trust - he was my history professor at the time - and asked him for help. Unfortunately, he said no, but I went anyways. When I got here, I discovered that my Uncle Jarvis was going to take over the world with a bunch of robots that I helped build.

“He gave me the whole ‘join me or die’ speech, and I agreed to help him, but only because the prospect of what he was doing terrified me. I figured, oh, maybe I’ll find a way to stall him, or maybe even stop him.” Ted buried his face a little deeper and sighed. “I should’ve known I couldn’t. I’m no hero.

“Then you came back from the future. Well, it wasn’t just you. There were tons of people suddenly appearing who claimed they were from the future, but it was mostly you, all over billboards and flashing your bright smile in the Justice League. My Uncle had the bright idea of designing a time machine so that he could travel back and do all that normal super villain stuff. Take over the world, kill Superman, you know? But I thought, what if this is it? What if I can make the time machine, use it before he does, and stop it all from happening?

“It doesn’t matter anyways. As soon as you two showed up, I knew it was over. He was going to kill you. I couldn’t let that happen.”

Booster swallowed heavily, wondering if he should even ask, but he knew he had to, “So, the time machine? Did you finish it?”

Ted nodded. “Yes.”

“Skeets?”

“They’re safe. I just needed the residual chronic energy.”

“And does your Uncle know it’s finished?”

“No. We could always find it, go back to a few days ago and stop you from coming-”

Booster shook his head. “You can’t do that. Messing with time is dangerous.”

At this, Ted pulled back. He looked up at Booster, close but not close enough, and asked, “Aren’t you messing with time just by being in this time period?”

“Apparently I was always supposed to end up here,” He answered, shrugging. “Like, in every possibly timeline, I ended up traveling to this century. Ended up being here. With you.”

Ted smiled. “That’s a little strange to think about.”

Booster laughed a bit, breathless and quiet in the space between them. “A little. Though I guess we’re kind of the same. I stole a time machine to get back here. Wanted to make a better name for myself.”

“Your name isn’t good enough in the future? Did enough toothpaste commercials then, so now you’ve come back for even more?” Ted teased.

Booster smiled, a little lopsided and halfhearted. “No one in my time really wanted anything to do with me. Got caught gambling, dropped out of school. Not a super exciting story.”

“Maybe not, but you wouldn’t be here without it. I’m pretty happy to have met you. That’s got to count for something, right? Even though this whole situation is,” He gestured vaguely with his free hand - the one that wasn’t wrapped around Booster’s neck - and finished, “Awful.”

“Yeah,” Booster actually giggled. It was happy and full of life, so unlike the dark cave they were trapped in, but when he looked down at Ted, barely visible in the darkness, Booster knew it was right. This was right. “It’s something.”

Ted looked up at him wistfully, mouth parted slightly and eyes full of wonder. They weren’t safe, far from it, but he felt safe here.

That is, until a knock pounded on the door, throwing it open. The two of them backed up, but it was no use. A dozen flashlights shined in their eyes, exposing the potential of what could have been as they quickly let go of each other. Not that it mattered. Not that any of it mattered. They had been found. There would be no hiding anymore.

Chapter Text

They were quickly overtaken by two large robots - the models that Booster had noticed earlier. Both of his wrists were gripped tightly behind his back. Painfully, he tried to wrench them free, but with little success.

Ted wasn’t much better. He looked tired, defeated, like there was no hope of getting out of this. Booster wanted to agree, but found it in himself to be positive, if not for himself then for Ted.

They were dragged along the dark corridor and into a large expanse. It was very different from the rest of the island. Other than the large flaming torches on the walls, giant killer robots, and madman standing menacingly in the center, it was rather homey. There was a carpet and a few potted plants scattered about. Everything was very deceiving.

The mystery man spoke, low and invasive in the way that it bounced around the walls and seemed to hit Booster on all sides. Except, he wasn’t actually talking to Booster. He looked directly at Ted when he said, “I’m disappointed in you.”

Ted stared up the villain. His shoulders were sagged, eyebrows droopy, lips drawn. He looked like a person that had given up, yet when he spoke it was still in defiance. “You did this to me, Uncle .” The word was bitter, spat out like it was painful to even think.

“Yes, I made you better.” The man said, then snarled, “At least, I thought I did.” He looked the other way and sighed overdramatically. “Too bad you won’t be there. We could have remade the world, made it better. All of it. Instead, you had to make friends with this…” He looked Booster up and down disapprovingly. His lip curled as he turned away, “ Scum .”

“Now wait just a minute!” Booster flailed, trying to fling himself every which way in an attempt to escape. He kicked the robots legs, but they were solid metal. All it did was hurt his own feet.

“Jarvis-” Ted was wiggling now too, trying hopelessly to wrench free from the robot’s solid grip. “He’s better than you’ll ever be, than you could ever imagine being!”

Booster felt a swell of something akin to happiness at that, but fought it down. This wasn’t an appropriate situation to get all mushy over. He tried his blasters again, but without success.

The man - Jarvis, as Ted called him - frowned and looked between the two of them. “I’d known about your little… thing, ” He said the word like it physically pained him, flinching back as his face wrinkled in disgust. “But I thought it was all a muse. A ploy to get you distracted. Although I now see that even that didn’t work.”

Jarvis sighed. “Though I suppose it doesn’t matter, since I still came out on top.” He pressed a button on his waistband and waved his hand at one of the stationary robots. “Get me the machine.”

The robot walked very stiffly, like a set of legos. Blocks, cranks, and bolts. There was a soft creaking in the robots joints, only overshadowed by the loud thump of their feet hitting the ground. They came back a moment later with a large machine. It looked absolutely nothing like the time sphere that Booster came back in, but he supposed that this was probably not designed to be sleek and futuristic. There were several large chunks of metal, wires sticking out every which way. A chair sat in the center of it all with a control panel and a couple of pedals. There were bars on either side, and in the back…

“Skeets!” Booster cried, a new wave of energy overcoming him as he continued to thrash against the hold on his wrists. He tried to keep in mind what Ted had said earlier.

Jarvis walked over to the machine, fingers running lightly along the smooth edges. “I’m really upset you took this away from me. Your betrayal, it kind of ruined the mood.” He sat down in the chair, lounging back in it. “This was supposed to be my day. Where all my hardwork would have payed off. I’d have gotten to give the big speech, kill the hero, and then both of us would have been able to travel back and remake the world to be mine .” He put a hand on one of the levers. “Although I guess you never cared about that, did you?”

Suddenly, Ted popped out of the robot’s grasp. He drew something from his belt and shot the captor with a bolt of electricity, rendering it useless. Jarvis was screaming at his metal servants to do something, but Ted paid them no mind. He ran over to Booster’s and did the same. Booster felt a soft tingle from the current, but was otherwise unharmed as he fell down to his knees.

“How’d you do that?” He asked, breathless.

“I built these things, remember?” Ted lunged at his uncle, only to be stopped by the robots, but he just turned the electricity to shock them. Booster watched, amazed, as he plowed his way effortlessly through the army of enemies.

Jarvis pressed a series of buttons on the control panel and the machine whirled to life, a glow slowly emanating from the chair outwards.

As soon as Booster knew what was going on, he made a lunge for the machine. Just as it reached its peak energy output, he grasped firmly onto the sidebars and yanked Jarvis out. The machine glowed, unwinding the throes of time, while the three of them fought beside it.

He was able to land a solid punch to Jarvis’ chest, sending the man reeling backwards. The robots were closing in on them, but Ted kept running and zapping, rendering them useless.

Booster landed a few more solid hits. He wasn’t used to fighting without blasters, his shield, or his flight ring, but he thought he was doing pretty okay, considering. He’d be doing a lot worse if he was fighting the machines as well.

The time machine began to fizzle. Smoke came from several different locations, curling into the air with an unpleasant, burnt scent. A blue hue flared to life, rising up and glowing golden once again.

“Skeets?” Booster gasped, happy to see his friend again. “How’d you get out?”

“I activated the override code that you provided to me earlier.”

“The override code? But I didn’t have any-” Before he could finish speaking, a heavy blow landed on the side of his jaw. It was forceful, stinging, and hurt like hell. He recoiled, stumbling back a few steps, and brought a hand up to his mouth. It came away bloody.

“Booster!” He heard Ted scream, then saw the man running up behind his uncle. Ted performed a complicated maneuver - one that involved a lot of swinging and kicks - before pinning Jarvis to the ground. Both hands tied behind his back, face squished against the floor.

Unfortunately, while Jarvis was down, that didn’t account for the neverending army of robots intent to kill. They didn’t move very quickly, but still inched forward.

“Give me the electrical shock thingy?” Booster asked, holding out his hand.

Ted grimaced. “Ran out of juice, but,” He removed it from the spot on his belt and dropped it into Booster’s hand. “Maybe you can reroute the power in your suit to give it a jump? Or Skeets could?”

Booster really didn’t know how to do that, she he turned to Skeets. “Uh, hey buddy, can you get this running again?”

“Negative,” Skeets hovered near Booster’s shoulder - where he belonged - but their blue light was dimmer and they weren’t moving as quickly. “All residual power went to the time machine.”

“Great.” Booster stared down at the device. Deciding that it was useless, he chucked it at the closest robot’s metal head. It did nothing.

“Well, not to sound overly dramatic, but this might be it, buddy,” Ted looked up at him, eyes glistening, almost green behind the yellow goggles. “You should run while you can.”

Several engines whirled to life, presumably the robot’s advanced weapons systems. “You do realize how ridiculous that is, right?” Still, Booster was nervous. It had gotten to the point where the enemies were so close, there was no space to escape through. Normally Booster would just fly over them, but he was still without his flight ring. He missed it more every second.

“Just go,” Ted pleaded, still firmly holding down Jarvis.

Many of the robot’s blaster-arms were taking aim, and without any viable way to fight or escape, Booster did the only thing he could. He kissed Ted.

It was hurried, sloppy, but oh-so-perfect. The best kiss he had ever had. Booster grabbed at the slick fabric of Ted’s suit with one hand, the other cradling the back of his neck.

Unfortunately, it was interrupted by a whirling blast overhead. Booster quickly pulled away to see where it had come from and spotted a neon green construct pulling several of the robots away.

Never had he been so happy to see Guy Gardner.

“Heard you needed a hand,” Guy smirked, blasting several of the enemies away with ease. Looking around, Booster also saw J’onn, Tora, Scott, Bea, and off in the distance, wobbling as he flew with Booster’s ring, was Dan.

Booster waved at him from afar, to which Dan smiled back at him, landing close by. He immediately stripped the ring from his finger and threw it at Booster. “Never doing that again. Can’t deal with the heights.”

Grinning, Booster stepped forward and hugged Dan. He was so grateful for all the help he’d received, and the fact that Dan had overcome his own fears to fly and alert the League? The man truly was a hero.

“Thank you,” Booster whispered, squeezing before letting go. Dan looked a little out of place among the Justice League and the deadly robots being torn apart, but that didn’t stop him from immediately turning around and ripping one of them to shreds.

Ted watched the two of them with longing and wonder, still unable to move from his position of pinning Jarvis down. Booster wanted to grab him, kiss him again, but he knew he couldn’t. Not with all the battle around him, with the uncertainty of their future. Ted may have a good heart, but that didn’t erase all he’d done.

Booster leaned down again, kissed Ted’s forehead, and spoke quietly in his ear, a single world, but a promise, “Soon.”

Ted swallowed and nodded. Jarvis continued to thrash around beneath him, but was held down with little to no effort. Still, Booster flagged down Guy and asked, “Think you can bind this guy down?”

Guy did so, but not without a snarky, “Can’t do anything without me,” to which Booster ignored in favor of helping Ted up. He would normally be annoyed by Guy’s comments, but couldn’t find it in himself to care. Not with this beautiful man in front of him, the various colors reflecting off his goggles, eyes glistening, a hopeful grin playing upon his lips.

Extending his hand, Booster said, “Let’s get out of here.”

He wrapped an arm around Ted - skin warm, even though his suit - and used his recently retrieved flight ring to shoot up, out of the cave, and into the sky.

Even from up above, they could see all the explosions and signs of battle on the island. Booster didn’t care. He barely even noticed. He was too busy admiring the soft curves of Ted’s face against the sunset, feeling the firm grip of his hand in his hair.

And when Ted leaned in, when their lips met, Booster couldn’t find it in him to think about anything else.

Chapter Text

After the initial chaos had settled down, everything had gone over quite well.

All Skeets had needed was a long recharge before they were back to their usual self. The stolen components had been recovered from the rubble and disaster on Pago Island, which Ted quickly reassured were up to par (and Batman triple-checked over).

They had extended a formal invitation to Dan in hopes that he would join the league, but he denied.

“Can’t leave the home post,” He explained, shrugging. “Been away from the city for too long already. I need to get back to my family.”

“Still, if you change your mind, or if you ever need anything,” J’onn said, “Please do not hesitate to ask.”

Initially, no one in the League really knew what to do with Ted. On one hand, he was a thief who’d seamlessly robbed a series of highly renowned museums and universities. On the other, it would’ve been impossible to take down Jarvis without him.

He was to be locked in the embassy at all times, under constant surveillance. A Leaguer had to be with him constantly. Neither Ted nor Booster were too upset about this.

Booster suggested they treat it like a pardon and hold Ted at the Embassy until anything was decided for certain. It may have also just been an excuse for some alone time.

“There’s one thing I don’t get,” Booster began, closing and locking the door to his bedroom. “Where did Skeets get the override code?”

“ That’s what you’re worried about?” Ted turned, and the sight of him standing in Booster’s room, such a simple and domestic act, was almost too much. “It was the number I gave you on the napkin.”

“The- really? ” Booster had completely forgotten about the napkin. He fished it from his pocket and stared at it.

“Well Skeets scanned it, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So it was in his programming, and he used it to shut down the machine.” Ted closed the gap between them and slung his arms around Booster’s shoulders. “Are you done now?”

He nodded, dropping the napkin and brushing their lips together gently. He hadn’t noticed it before, but their goggles clacked softly when they met. Booster reached up to take Ted’s goggles off.

“What are you doing?” Ted asked.

“Googles are in the way.”

“So? Take yours off.”

“I’ve seen you without them before, Ted!”

“Okay, then how about we both take them off.”

It seemed sound enough, so Booster hooked his thumbs around his cowl and pulled it down. Ted threw his goggles onto the dresser, then stepped back and openly admired Booster’s maskless face, “You’re good looking, too? That’s really just not fair.”

Booster laughed fully, threw his head back and leaned against the door. “You thought I wouldn’t be?”

“It’s not fair to us merely mediocre appearing fellas.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Booster took Ted’s face in his hands, soft yet defined, and stroked his cheek softly with his thumb. “Ted, you’re one of the most attractive people I’ve ever seen. Not just physically, but mentally. You’re so smart, you could do anything you wanted.”

“Not sure you should be telling that to a criminal,” He teased.

Booster rolled his eyes. “I’m serious.”

Ted deflated, looked down between them. “I don’t have anything. Can’t do anything. Everyone thinks I’m dead.”

“But you could do so much! You’re a genius Ted, you don’t even realize how fantastic you are.”

Ted didn’t speak, just studied Booster’s eyes for a moment - as if searching for any signs of lies or deception - then stood up and kissed him.

They had kissed a few times at this point, but none as intimate as this. It was soft, sweet, and sound. All around intoxicating. Ted’s hands tenderly framed Booster’s face, and he just melted . All loose limbs and fluttering hearts.

As he was pushed onto the bed, back hitting the mattress, Booster couldn’t think about anything else. Nothing but Ted’s lips, Ted’s touch, and Ted’s voice as he whispered sweet nothings between their sheets.

———————-

Later that night, as they laid beneath the thin white sheets, Booster rubbed soft circles into Ted’s back. They spoke about everything and nothing. What they could have for breakfast, their favorite places to visit, and Booster talked about his Mom, then Ted talked about his Dad.

“I’ve always dreamt of being a hero,” Ted whispered in a voice so soft, as if he was afraid of speaking. “Not like you guys, with your capes and masks. I’ve always wanted to create things, build things to help people.”

Booster’s fingers tracked paths around Ted’s skin, which was dotted with freckles. They were across his cheeks, yes, but they were also all of his arms and chest. Booster could spent hours getting lost in them, tracing patterns and constellations, second only in beauty to the night sky itself.

“You were a hero, though,” Booster finally said, voice still hushed in the darkness of his room. “Sticking up, defying Jarvis even after worrying for your own life. The faults you built into the robots, the override code you gave Skeets, breaking Dan and I out. Most people wouldn’t do that.”

“But I’m the reason you were there in the first place.” Ted sat up a little, leaned back against the pillows and ran a hand through his hair.

Booster leaned up to match, wrapped both arms around him and held Ted close. Soft breaths puffed against his chest, hands lightly swung around his back. “If I can be a hero, so can you.”

Ted laughed, bitter and sarcastic, and said, “That’s what you tell everyone.”

“No seriously.” Booster pulled away a bit, but only so that he could look down and make eye contact. “I came back here after destroying my entire life. My career was dead, I had been kicked out of school, I’d wasted away all my money on gambling. And then I stole government property. Which I used with the intention of coming back here and becoming famous. So trust me when I say, you can be a hero. ”

“I just don’t see how anyone could forgive me,” Ted looked down at his lap, pulled his arms back and fiddled with his fingers.

“Well, I do,” Booster said, resting his hands gently on top of Ted’s, as to stop him from fidgeting further. “I forgive you.”

Ted stopped, looked back up at Booster, studied his face for any signs of deception. “How?”

“You were put in a tough situation, and I think you did pretty well, considering.”

Ted grumbled something that sounded a bit like, “Agree to disagree,” and Booster was struck with and irreplaceable fondness, a brand of appreciation at all Ted was and all he could be. How fantastic, incredible a man Ted was.

Vaguely, he wondered what would have happened if Superman or some other local hero had shown up to that initial robbery at the Metropolis Aerospace Museum. Black Beetle probably would have been apprehended on the first night. How would that have changed things?

Well, they probably would’ve never met. Ted would most likely be in prison, Jarvis would still be working on his plan, and Booster would be… where? Living his boring, everyday life, he supposed.

What if Ted had never agreed to work with his uncle? Or what if Dan had gone with Ted when first asked?

It was hard to comprehend, just how lucky Booster was to know Ted - but Instead of trying to predict the other possibilities, he just held his partner tighter and whispered words of reassurance: “Don’t worry, we’ll find a place for you.”