"Alright, maybe there's a way we can get around this." Booster propped his feet onto the coffee table. He and Ted had put Jaime to sleep, and hunkered down in the living room, away from the rest of the team.

"I mean, we just have to wait it out," Ted leaned against his armchair and rolled his eyes. "What I don't get it how this happened. And why only Jaime? Why not you?"

"Woah, hold on there. If I had been turned into a toddler then we'd all be in trouble. We could barely handle Jaime together, there's no way you'd handle both of us together."

"True, but that still doesn't explain-"

Booster swiped his hand against his neck, and shook his head. He had heard something, and the last thing they needed was to explain what was going on.

Fire and Ice, in all of their glory, strutted up to the duo like supermodels. It was no wonder Booster was always hitting on them (often times, right in front of the other).

"Hell boys," Fire said with a smile. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and took a seat next to Booster. Ice sat down next to Beetle.

"Uh…hey there ladies." Ted felt his face grow hot. He was never good when it came to girls. No matter how much he worked out, or how many times he saved the universe, whenever he was around a beautiful woman he went right back to being that awkward overweight kid.

"Hey, have you two seen Jaime anywhere?" Ice asked, "Manhunter has been looking everywhere for him all day."

Booster shook his head.

Ted cleared his throat and spoke. "W-why is it that people keep asking us? I-I mean you could ask Guy, or Bats…"

"Uh…" Fire rolled her eyes, "Come on, everyone knows you two are practically his uncles. He follows Booster around like a puppy, and he idolizes Ted. So…where is he?"

Booster looked to Ted, "Ted sent him out on a super-secret Blue Beetle tradition mission…thing."

Ted nodded his head. "Yeah. Big Blue Beetle tradition. Real hush hush. Don't worry, he's fine though."

Fire raised her eyebrow, something about this was wrong. "'Big Beetle Tradition'? And just what is this tradition?"

Ted cleared his throat again, "Uh…it's a secret. Only Blue Beetles are allowed to know. It's big though."

"And how long has this tradition been going on?" she asked.

"It's a rite of passage," Booster chimed in, trying to keep the lie going, "I-I've even read about it…you know, in the future and stuff. It's really important to the Beetle legacy."

"Then why haven't any of us heard about it?" Ice asked, her curiosity peeking.

"Because it's a secret." Booster and Beetle said at once.

Fire and Ice looked to each other, and then back to Booster and Beetle. Something told Ted they weren't buying it.

"What do you need Jaime for anyway?" Booster asked, "The kid's still wet behind the ears. If you need a Beetle, then Ted's your man."

"Right," Ted agreed. He loved Jaime more than anyone, but just because the kid had a bug on his back didn't automatically make him the go-to guy. He still had a lot to learn. Specifically when it came to math…but Ted was helping him with that.

"John just wants to go over some specs about The Reach's technology…and seeing how it's kind of fused to Jaime's back, having him there is a pre-requisite."

That was a good point…but Jaime really wasn't in a position to help anyone right now. Kid wasn't even old enough to be up this late.

"Well, I do have some experience with the scarab," Ted said as he stretched his arms out, trying to make himself look as nonchalant as possible, "Maybe, if John asks real nice, I'll help him out."

Ice giggled, and Fire scowled. "We'll let him know."

And with that, they left.

"Smooth," Booster said.

"Yeah, I know." Ted stared at his watch "You think we should go check on the kid?"

Booster rolled his eyes, "Why do you have to baby him so much? The kid took on The Reach! I'm sure he can handle napping in a bed."

"Booster, this could be traumatic for him. He's never been here (to his knowledge) and we're the only thing familiar to him. I just want to make sure he's sleeping soundly. Is that so bad?"

"Fine," Booster stood from his chair, "But after this, we're not gonna go near him until morning. Got it?"

Ted nodded and stood. They made their way to their room, looked down the halls to make sure no one was coming, and slowly entered as to not wake their sleeping protégé.

Except…all that was there was the plastic Superman doll.

"Oh no."