A/N: To those of you who have liked or reviewed my stuff THANK YOU! And if you have requested I make some of my one shots longer I AM working on it, but this was already in the works so I finished it first. Thanks!

"If I Never Knew You."

Bart was fast, even with the inhibitor collar clamped around his neck.

He slipped into the Reach's docked space ship with ease. He'd always been small and flitted through the hallways soft and quick as a whisper. He ducked out of sight when armed guards passed, and padded on light feet toward the engine room.

He needed one last piece. One last completer and his time machine would finally be ready. The very thought made Bart's heart race. He was so achingly close... But the final key to entering the past was a very sophisticated piece of technology. The kind humans didn't have access to.

But the Reach did. Bart knew they did.

"I saw that!" Nathaniel had cried, as he looked over the blueprints to Bart's time machine. "That circular device. They had one! They had one on Blue Beetle's ship!"

The memory made Bart feel sick. He hadn't told Nathaniel he was going after it. He wouldn't have let him go.

Bart had planned it all out. He'd stolen copies of the interior of the ship, spent weeks observing when shifts changed for guard duty and maintenance, calculated exactly how long it would take for him to dash inside, grab the piece and dash out, all in preparation for this moment.

Bart reached the engine room door, checked over both shoulders to ensure he wasn't followed and then ducked inside.

Abandoned. Just as planned. His knees almost quivered with relief. He pulled over a stool from a workbench and barred the door shut. He had to act fast. The collar seemed tighter on his neck than ever and he rubbed it as he scanned room fervently. The room was a perfect circle filled with metallic buttons and gears and regulators with labels in Reach language that Bart didn't understand. There were large glass tubes of glowing blue liquid on each side of the room, a special substance from the Reach's home world that kept the engines from overheating even at lightspeed. Bart felt himself tense, that stuff could eat through almost anything if let loose.

Bart didn't have to look long before he spotted it. It rested in the very center of the chamber with all the neatly arranged tubes, wires and circuitry stemming from it. It was a diamond-shaped computer chip of sorts that pulsed out bursts of electricity through the wires like a heartbeat. Bart didn't waste any time.

His fingertips were just about to brush it when a blue blade swiped his hand away. Bart yelped and stumbled backward, clutching his cut hand.

Blue Beetle loomed from the shadows. "Don't move, meat."

Bart's heart clamored up to his throat and sweat broke out all over his body. Not him.

Blue Beetle glowered down at Bart. "What business does a speedster have aboard my ship?"

He could barely breathe. He should've told Nathaniel, he should've waited longer, should've been faster, should've-

"Speak!" Blue Beetle barked.

"I-Nothing, I didn't-" Bart stammered. "It was a mistake I-"

"Deceit," he hissed. "Tell me the truth."

Bart forced himself not to look at the glowing computer chip. There was no way Blue Beetle could find out about the time machine. Nathaniel would have to figure something else out, get a different completer, or find another way to finish it. It wouldn't be easy, but it would be impossible if the Reach found out.

Bart gulped. "I won't."

Blue Beetle gave the boy a twisted grin. "Have it your way then."

He surged forward, blades first. Bart only barely dodged and broke out into an sprint, cursing his inhibitor collar. He ran along the edges of the engine room, hands fumbling for something, anything to ward off his attacker. He cranked random levers, and pushed random buttons all along the walls, making gaskets hiss, releasing smoke and steam into the air. Bart's lungs burned, but he kept pressing on.

Blue Beetle gave deep, rattled coughs. "Nice try meat, but you'll have to do better if you want to escape me."

Bart's hands had reached some sort of tool box, he hurled it over his shoulder and hit Blue squarely in the chest. Blue Beetle stumbled backward, hand reaching out to steady himself only to grab onto a glass tube of neon blue liquid that broke under his grasp. It fizzed as it contacted with the engine room walls, eating away at the metal rapidly and releasing even more smoke. Sparks began to leap out as wires were burned away and the loose electricity shot up through Blue Beetle, puncturing through his armor. He roared in pain. The bolts ran along his body, escaped from cracks in his armor, and into the scarab latched onto his back.

Bart took advantage of the distraction. He swiped the computer chip as he made a beeline for the exit. He'd just shoved the stool blocking the door aside when a giant hand clamped on his shoulder.

Blue Beetle flipped Bart around, pressing him against the door with a blade at his throat. Bart gasped for air as Blue Beetle's hard yellow eyes pierced into his. His suit was partially eaten through on one side by the liquid, and the blade at Bart's neck was trembling with... Pain? No. Blue Beetle's face was contorted with frustration. He kept Bart pinned there, the blade quivering toward him.

"No... Won't... Let you..." His voice was forced, painful sounding. Bart could feel his breath on his face. "Can't... NO!"

There was a release. The blade jutted toward him. Bart closed his eyes, crying out.

The inhibitor collar slipped from Bart's neck and clattered to the floor.

Bart looked down, hands reaching up to his now-bare, but unhurt throat. He hadn't- But-

Blue Beetle fell to his knees. His armor smoking and peeling away, the scarab retracted into itself revealing a man sobbing into his hands. There were streaks of gray in his dark hair, his skin was aged and pale from lack of sunlight, and he was rambling in rapid Spanish, his voice hoarse and cracking with sobs. Bart stared in shock.

"I'm so sorry, nino," the man whispered. "I am so sorry."

Bart was afraid to move, afraid that it would trigger the man weeping at his feet back into the monster set on destroying him. He looked up at Bart, his tanned face wrinkled with scowl lines, lips chapped, his brown eyes bloodshot and rimmed red.

Bart would never forget that look. Desperation, hopelessness, and gut-wrenching agony as the man begged for forgiveness.

"I never meant to..." the man gasped. "Never meant to-Any of it- I was a prisoner- a prisoner for so long..."

"A prisoner?" Bart repeated. He knew prisoner.

The man nodded. "I am so, so sorry..."

Bart couldn't believe it. A low, dark feeling of hatred pooled at the pit of his stomach. How could any form of life be so cruel? To rob a world of life, to rob a soul of it's body, and for him to have to watch the devastation- Bart couldn't imagine the kind of darkness needed for that kind of evil.

Suddenly the man cried out in pain, Bart looked down and saw the cooling agent had spread from his armor to his skin and was now consuming him. His flesh curling back and eating away through his muscle down to his bone. Bart looked away from the sight.

"Stay calm, I'll get help," Bart promised, fiddling with the door handle. "I have my powers back I'll-"
"No, don't," he rasped. "Run. Just go. You can't help me. No one can help me."

Bart felt a jab of pity as he looked back down to the dying man. It wasn't fair. There had to be some way-

Out of the corner of his eye, the computer chip glowed softly in his hand, awaiting.

"You're wrong," Bart said, clasping the completer in his fist. "I can help you."

The man looked up at Bart with watery, pain-filled eyes. "But-"

"I'm going to save you," Bart said. "I promise."

Bart vibrated through the door and sped out.

Those same eyes that had pierced Bart with grief were smiling at him now. They were framed by Jaime's young, unscarred face, with skin still soft with youth, and free from lines of grief and pain. Jaime was laughing, frosting smeared on one cheek, and his 'kiss the cook' apron dusted with flour.

"Carino, you have cake on your face," Jaime laughed, pulling Bart close and sucking off the cake batter with kisses.

Bart smiled. "Okay, so speed stirring wasn't the greatest idea-"

"This is why we have a blender," Jaime teased against Bart's skin.

"Who needs blenders when you have me?" Bart asked, arms twisting around his boyfriend.

"Mmm..." Jaime agreed. "What would I do with out you?"

The image of Jaime, old, broken and dying flashed in Bart's mind for the briefest of moments. He shook his head, pulling Jaime over to meet his lips.

"You'll never have to find out."