Chapter 3

Bart's earliest memory was of loss. He could recall being held tightly in someone's lap, other people in the small room talking quietly or sobbing. The toddler didn't know at the time that his cousin Wally had just been killed by the reach. Didn't know what death was at all, in fact.

But he learned.

One thing Bart couldn't remember was the sensation of not being hungry. Even after he scarfed down whatever meager rations came his way, he'd still feel a hollowness in his stomach, crying out for more.

It got worse when the inhibitor collar was removed, and his superspeed kicked in.

When it came to the Reach, you had to be subservient, quick to obey, never daring to look at Earth's rulers with defiance in your eyes. When it came to the resistance groups, you had to be tough enough to survive, strong enough not to let anyone push you around, and cold-hearted enough not to break under the deaths of those around you.

Those were all things that Bart learned to play at, but never really took to heart. He learned what it meant to be a hero from his family, as they stood up to the Reach and were slowly killed one by one. He learned how to make himself useful to others, so that even when he wasn't tough or strong enough, they'd give him a shoulder to lean on.

Red, as she called herself, had been the one to get him out of the labor camp where he was just another Reach slave. She'd gone in to determine if it was a good target for raiding, only to do a double take after spotting him. They spent that off-shift talking about his family and hers, how they'd been tied together through her Aunt Artemis and his cousin Wally. Escaping was probably the most exciting thing Bart had done in his ten years of life.

But that was before he got to run the first time.

One of the resistance members was an alien woman who'd crashed to Earth as a child, Kara Zor-El. Her powers made people think she was a Kryptonian, like Superman had been before he disappeared, and so folks called her Superwoman. She'd ripped off his inhibitor collar like it was paper, for which Bart swore to always be nice to the lady, but the cold, uncaring look in her eyes made it a tricky promise to keep.

There wasn't really such a thing as friendship among the Earth's rebel camps any more, but the longer he spent among them, becoming known as the last speedster, Bart attracted the attention of those who were left of the heroes. Men and women with abilities or training inherited from parents in the League came to talk to him, and that was even before the time traveling scheme was come up with.

"Why me?" Bart asked, not truly believing that they honestly thought he'd be best for the job.

Red and the Bat exchanged a glance, before the latter explained. "You're young enough to be right in the thick of things as they happen, and your speed increases the likelihood of your success over anyone else by a minimum of thirty percent."

"There's also the matter of your personality, kid." Bolt cut in. "You and I both know you're not like the rest of us - you remember love, and haven't grown cynical yet like so many others. If anyone here can put on an act to fool the old heroes, it's you."

"Oh."

And so his lessons began.

Evan Queen told him what he could remember of how speedsters were supposed to act (impulsive, skeptical of magic, too curious for their own good), up until the Reach attack that took the man's life. Anissa Pierce shared details of the Watchtower and the League, the burned flesh covering her face warping the woman's lips into a grimace even as she spoke of happy things. The tutor he grew closest too, oddly enough, was Milagro Reyes.

Granted, he didn't know she was Blue Beetle's little sister until well after that bond had formed, but even afterward Bart would still sit beside the battle-worn woman and listen to her stories of Jaime and the Team.

"He was a good kid, before the Reach got him." She'd often murmur sadly. "Best big brother a girl could have."

"What was it like to have a brother?" The words were out before Bart could stop them. Milagro chuckled, a dry, painful sound.

"Irritating, a fair amount of the time. Being together so much of the time, having our parents treat us differently without meaning to, those often set off arguments and ridiculous little hissy fits. But then there'd be the really good days, when we went to the park and he would push me on the swings, or the times he told me about the Team. Probably the best was when a group of middle schoolers were trying to tease and bully me, only for Jaime to show up and scare them. Having a brother wasn't so bad then."

That night, when Bart went to sleep on the bare dirt beneath a threadbare blanket Evan had given him, he dreamed of a boy who looked like him, with short blonde hair and an annoyed expression.

Bart! You said we both could go running with dad tonight!

Having only experienced nightmares before, the speedster wasn't sure what to make of the odd dream, only that it made for a nice change.

-3LBA-

"...need to move camp again. Their patrols are coming too close to our location." The Bat was saying to the rest of the command element as Bart entered their shelter, a bag of scavenged materials slung over his shoulder.

"Where are we going to go instead, Damian?" Red snapped, jabbing her finger at the map they had hung upon the wall. "No matter where we attempt to hide, the Reach has patrols everywhere!"

Seeing the darkening look on the Bat's face, Bart spoke up to try and diffuse the incoming argument. "I know a place the Reach doesn't go."

As one, every head in the room turned to stare at him.

"What are you talking about, kid?" Nathaniel asked, the first to find his voice again.

"There's a crater up the coast from here, about two hundred miles north, right next to a ruined town. I've gone there before to get supplies, and the Reach patrols never come within three miles of the place."

"The mountain," Anissa murmured. "Of course, he'd manage to find the mountain without knowing what it was."

"Mountain?" Suddenly, her words and the stories he'd been hearing for half a year clicked together. "Wait - you mean, that's what's left of Mount Justice?!"

"Told you the Reach had it blown up back in the day, kid." Red said with a hint of amusement in her voice. "It's actually where we were planning on deploying you and the time machine from, but I thought we'd have to slip in at the last minute because of the patrols."

"You're sure it isn't guarded?" The Bat said sternly.

"Totally sure." Bart waited anxiously as the commanders all looked to one another, silently debating their options. Finally, it looked like an answer was decided upon, and Milagro stepped forward.

"We'll start preparations for the move."

It took three days of work, but eventually they got the entire camp up to what remained of Happy Harbor. Red decided that for security's sake, the majority of the resistance members would hide out in the town, making some underground shelters beneath the ruined buildings, while the actual time machine would continue to be built in the mountain itself.

Bart's lessons on the past dwindled as he spent more and more time helping arrange the last of the device's key components for assembly - they wanted to make sure he had a basic idea of how to repair the thing in case the overshot and he had to try again by himself. Not the best case scenario, but it was a possibility.

Then, about a week before his scheduled departure, the worst possible thing did happen:

The Reach found them.

It was just before dawn when Bart was awoken by the familiar sounds of laser weaponry firing, and people screaming as they ran. He darted outside his small shelter, ready to charge into the fight as he usually did to buy others the time to escape, but was halted by a firm hand grasping his arm.

"Don't!" Milagro shouted to him over the din. "Red and the Bat will handle it!" She then dragged him off through a special escape route through the town's rubble. Bart could have easily overtaken the aged woman, or vibrated out of her grasp and doubled back, but something had him sticking close to Milagro's side.

Once they were well away from both the town and the mountain, she stopped and turned to look him in the eyes.

"The machine is safe?"

"Yeah, Nathaniel's been keeping the pieces in one of the lower caves, and sleeping there just in case."

"Good. By this point, he's the only one you need to help you finish it."

"But what about-"

"Bart." The firm use of his name had the teen reluctantly looking back into her steely gaze. "The camp is lost. With that many Reach soldiers, they must have known we were there, or else set up that area of no patrols knowing it would attract refugees. We are going to have to scatter, like they're expecting, but you need to finish the machine. Alright?"

"A-alright."

"Good boy." She pulled him in for a quick hug, before gently pushing the kid in the direction of the mountain. "Now go." Bart took a hesitant step away, still looking at her. Milagro's glare finally prompted him into speeding off as the buzz of an incoming Reach agent reached their ears.

The woman held her ground as Blue Beetle dropped to the ground directly in front of her.

"So, the meat's little sister lived after all," he growled with a feral smile. "Such a good agent Jaime Reyes has been for the Reach, perhaps one of his blood would make an equally good pawn."

Milagro responded by crossing her arms and glaring. "I doubt it. You never could control my brother's spirit, only his body - and I have stubbornness issues at least one order of magnitude greater than his."

"Hah! So the meat still has fight to it. I will let you in on a secret, human - Jaime still has fight to his mind as well." She stiffened at Beetle's words. "Do you want to know what he is screaming for you to do right now?"

"To kick you a good one in the groin?" Milagro snarled.

"To run." The monster responded, a moment before he lifted his blade and drove it through her midsection.

Hiding off in the rubble, Bart watched with horror as Milagro's blood covered the ground beneath her lifeless body. Then, before Blue Beetle could notice his presence, the teen speeded away.

-2LBA-

"It should have changed... It should have ALL changed..." Even as he spoke the words, though, Nathaniel clutched at his head, memories of his past twisting and changing. A few moments later, the man gasped as two clear sets of memories manifested, allowing him to see that everything did, indeed, change.

Hoping he wasn't the only one to know the differences, Nathaniel hurried away from the remnants of Mount Justice, hoping surging through his veins when he caught sight of an intact Happy Harbor a few miles down the coast. He ran through the woods in that direction, reveling in actual, live trees covering the landscape.

Then, he burst into a clearing, and halted in his tracks.

Thanks to the double memories, the man had a brief moment of panic upon seeing Blue Beetle. But that was before he really registered what was happening before him.

Despite clearly being a grown man, Jaime's form wasn't the distorted being that the Reach turned him into. And Milagro, though also grown, looked a great deal healthier than her other self - not to mention, was wearing the uniform of a Green Lantern. The pair of siblings were clinging to each other in a tight hug, Jaime weeping softly as his sister shushed and comforted him.

"...couldn't stop them... killed you... killed so many..." The choked words drifted over to Nathaniel, causing him to wince in sympathy for the other memories Blue must have in his head.

"That was when you were on mode, hermano," Milagro whispered back, gripping him even more tightly. "Not your fault. Not remotely your fault."

Growing more uncomfortable by the moment, Nathaniel let out a soft cough, causing both the siblings to whip around.

"Nate?" The woman gasped, gaining a dazzling smile. "Your scars..."

"Never had a chance to form, thanks to the kid." He returned with a grin.

"Do you think any of the others...?"

"Here's to hoping. Mind if we head to the tower to check?" To answer, Milagro expanded a bubble of green light around the three of them, flying off through the atmosphere towards the Watchtower.

When they arrived, it was clear that those who'd existed in the other timeline were celebrating, as those who hadn't looked on with confusion and amusement. Adults were acting like children, even the most serious of them, such as Damian and Lian (to their actual children's dismay). Teenagers were staring around at everything with awe, almost unable to believe that they were really in such a place of human-made grandness instead of the ruins they remembered scavenging through oh so recently.

And off to one side, watching it all with a contented smile, was Bart Allen.

His eyes lit up when Milagro approached, the teen running over to grab her in a hug. "I'm sorry, I couldn't save you the first time..."

"But you did in the end, kiddo." She pulled back enough to beam down at him. "You saved us all."

A/N: Thanks for reading, folks! I hope everyone enjoyed how it all turned out. Despite the darkness present through this story, I wanted a happy ending, and did my best to make it happen.