How's it coming?"
"Almost done."
"Wish I could come with."
Bart Allen looked up at the man who had been his mentor for the past week or so, "Sorry, only seats one."
"Ah-hem?"
He gave an apologetic look to his sister, who obviously didn't like being left out.
"Well, two if you're really thin."
February 28, 2016. 10:07.
Mount Justice.
~~Emma~~
It had been over a week since my resolution, and I couldn't feel better. I did what Willow said, concentrating on other things. I spent more time training on my own and with the team, taught Tim a few new slick moves on Mario Kart, and showed Mara how to do a Chevron-pattern friendship bracelet. Life couldn't be better. Even though I'd been fired, I poured my energy into keeping Gotham safe for Bruce, and helping Rick with minuscule tasks for WayneTech. I didn't want to tell Bruce I'd completely given up in that area.
"Decryption completed." The computer said after a five-minute wait. That was officially the longest it ever took.
"Is that the Krolotean Intel?" Robin asked, approaching me and Nightwing at the computers with Finch, Rachel, and Gar.
"What Krolotean Intel?" The Beast Twins asked together. I love it when the two of them do the "twin thing".
"The data files M'gann and J'onn recovered from Malina island before it was destroyed," Nightwing explained. Mara got an excited look on her face as I turned a screen around so she could see too.
"Apparently, the Kroloteans were hoping to find something inside us," I continued.
"Like what?" Mara asked, fiddling with a few of the alien symbols onscreen.
Richard shook his head, "There's no exact human word for it. The closest translation is...'metagene'."
"'Metagene'?" Tim was still confused.
Gar elbowed him, "Never met-a-gene I didn't like!" He joked. Mara and Rachel both burst out laughing.
"Warning: Unknown energy impulse detected."
The computer screens automatically turned off, and the six of us all took defensive positions as a ball of crackling electricity and energy appeared in the center of the mission room. I kept the kids behind my wings as a large machine appeared inside the ball of energy and landed on the floor of the cave with a loud "THUNK!"
"Stand ready!" Nightwing commanded. Robin and I pulled out our bo staffs, Nightwing grabbed his eskirima sticks, Finch held a birdarang prepared to launch, and Beast Boy and Beast Girl tensed, muscles coiled, prepared for anything.
Well, almost anything.
The door of the machine opened, and two spandex-clad kids jumped out.
"Ta-daa!" They both exclaimed, striking identical poses. They looked identical too. Brownish hair, blue eyes tinted by the same kind of orangish goggles, red and white uniforms, they just had to be another set of twins.
"Intruder alert. Intruder alert."
"Computer, lock down cave!" Nightwing commanded, and we all relaxed just barely.
"Well, I think we've found our 'unknown energy impulse'..." Gar trailed off.
"Impulse? That's so crash!" The boy intruder exclaimed eagerly.
"Catchy, dramatic, one word," his girl companion seemed to agree. Suddenly, the two of them ran over to us at incredible speeds.
"Like Nightwing, and Robin" he said.
"And Nightingale, and Finch," the girl ran around me and Mara.
"And Beast Boy!" The boy stopped himself, "Except that's two words."
"Like Beast Girl!" The girl put her arm around Rachel, who just looked confused.
"These guys are just a blur...." I muttered under my breath.
"Blur! Ooh! I like it! Very crash!" The girl squealed, clapping her hands and jumping up and down. Her hair was about mid length, and tied into two tight ponytails that swung back and forth as she jumped.
"Hey! Blue Beetle's two words! And so's Brass Beetle!" The guy exclaimed. Before we could ask why they were looking for our teammate, the two sped for the exit, "Nevermind that, "Impulse" and "Blur" can find out for themselves!" He declared. Striking another couple of weird poses, the twin speedsters disappeared with the wind. It all happened so fast, I almost didn't know how to react.
"Take them down!" Nightwing commanded the younger team members. Capes flying behind them, Finch and Robin ran down the hall after the Beast Twins, who had both turned into green cheetahs, hot on the tail of "Impulse" and "Blur".
"We're crash? What does that mean?" I asked, remembering what they had both said, "And who is Brass Beetle? A friend of Blue's?"
"I dunno. Where do you think they got their speed?" Nightwing asked me.
I shrugged, and flinched, hearing the sounds of a scuffle from the other parts of the cave. I forced myself to relax. I had trained Robin, Finch, Beast Boy, and Beast Girl myself. They'd be totally fine.
I checked the sensors, and noticed that our two new speedsters were heading back our way.
"They're circling around," I told Nightwing, and in an second, with that instant telepathic communication all twins somehow share, we both knew what to do.
These kids were as fast as Wally, so we'd have to be even faster. Fortunately, Batman had prepared us for such an occasion.
I grabbed a handful of marbles from my pouch and rolled them down the hall, hoping to trip the twins. But they were so fast they both ran up the curved wall and ceiling, cleverly avoiding the marbles.
They grinned at me proudly, I just smirked and shook my head.
"Can't catch us that easi-" Before they could finish, I charged at the girl and Nightwing took the boy. We both hit them in the gut at the same time, knocking them to the ground. Once they were both handcuffed, Nightwing stood up.
"Now that was crash," He informed the twins.
"Well maybe for you," The girl snapped.
"As for us, we're totally feeling the mode," The boy lamented. I raised my eyebrows at his strange choice of words again.
Our four proteges came trudging back, a little worn out. Tim looked irritated, Gar and Rach were both sopping wet, and Mara had cat claw marks on her arm.
"They made me trip over Justice!" She accused. Tim saw to her wounds while I ran as fast as I could to check on my faithful ginger pussycat. He was alright, aside from a slightly mangled tail, but none of his kittens or Leafpaw were injured, thankfully. I walked back to the mission room with Justice nestled snug in my arms just in time to hear our visitors' backstory.
"My name is Bart Allen, and this is my sister, Bridget!" The one who called himself Impulse declared.
"Allen...Allen..." Mara muttered to herself, trying to figure out where she'd heard the name before.
"You know, grandkids of Barry Allen? The Flash!" Bridget, aka Blur supported. Wow. These two were more hyper than I was at their age.
"Noted," The Beast Twins told Bridget and her brother.
"Not believed, but noted."
"What's not to believe?" Bart asked Gar, "I've got Flash's speed, his amazing good looks-"
"Keep telling yourself that," Bridget rolled her eyes.
Bart glared at his sister before continuing, "Frankly I can't wait to meet him!" He exclaimed, rather fanboyishly.
"You know, back from when he was in his prime, and all," Bridget put in hastily, as if correcting her brother. I raised an eyebrow at the two of them suspiciously, stroking my cat as Nightwing walked in with a couple glasses of water. Though he and I both knew that wasn't the only thing he had put in there.
"Well, Bart, Bridget, the two of you must have worked up quite a thirst," He said, holding a glass out in front of each of them.
"Thank you," Bridget said politely.
Bart took a sip, before getting suspicious, "Ah-ha! You're trying to get a DNA sample! You need our spit!" He immediately spat into the cup, causing his sister to roll her eyes at him and Rachel to turn a little greener than usual.
"That is such a Dick Grayson thing to do!" Bart said as Bridget, though disgusted, also spat into her cup.
I stopped my cryptic stroking of my cat, "What did you say?" I asked the same time as Mara got up in Bridget's face.
"How do you know?" She demanded.
Bridget and Bart just grinned at each other, "See? We know things only future kids would know!"
"Like Emma Grayson," Bridget nodded at me.
"Tim Drake."
"Mara Drake."
"Garfield Logan."
"And Rachel Logan!"
"Your name is Tim?" Gar asked Robin.
"And you're Mara..." Rachel said to Finch.
Then they both turned to Nightwing, "And yours is...Dick?"
"Richard," I hissed to the two of them.
"Oops, spoilers," Bart half-apologized.
"The secret identity thing is so retro!" Bridget dismissed.
Finch and the Beast Twins began to grill Bart and Bridget with questions about the future and I sighed and turned to Nightwing, "Well now what do we do with them?"
"Could they really be telling the truth? Is it actually possible that they're from the future?" Robin asked, much more tolerant than he was a second ago.
"Recognize, Malcom Duncan, A10."
"And that would be a door opening somewhere," Bridget observed, nodding to her brother.
"Sounds like it's our cue to leave!" For a second, our future twins blurred, and then they were suddenly out of their handcuffs.
"They can vibrate!" I informed the others.
"Seeya!" Was all that they said for themselves, speeding for the exit.
"We'll get them!" Rachel promised me with a vicious gleam in her eye.
"There's nothing on Earth that can go faster than a peregrine falcon! They won't get away" Gar agreed as he and his sister turned into the respective animal. Without waiting for another word, they flew after our intruders.
"They don't stand a chance, do they?" Finch asked doubtfully as Nightwing handed her the glasses.
"Nope, they're too fast," I sighed, bringing up the computer.
"A tracker?" Robin asked, studying the GPS map I'd brought up, "Won't it fall off at their speed?"
Nightwing gave us a smarty-pants grin "It won't. They drank it."
"Okay, ew!" Finch declared, almost dropping the glasses
"Subcutaneous micro-tracker in the water," Robin breathed with reverence, "Nice!"
"Thanks," Nightwing said, checking the map again.
I had it covered, "They're headed for Central City."
Mal came in with his motorcycle helmet under his arm, "Anyone wanna tell me what's goin' on here?"
Nightwing shook his head and grinned at me, "Can you call Wally?"
I smirked, holding up my cell phone, "Done and done."
-------
Bridgit Allen ran as fast as she could, neck-and-neck with her older brother. He gave her a solemn nod, it appeared that their charade at the cave had worked. Now they just had to hope they were in time to help the Flash.
She couldn't wait to see cousin Wally again. Sure he wouldn't remember them, but it would be good to see her old mentor once more.
She thought of Jaime Reyes, and his friend, Sarah. What we're they like? You know, Before their scarabs took over and all. She knew the mission, befriend them, protect them, keep them from getting back on-mode.
All this cheesy, fangirl acting was getting to her. She felt sick inside for lying, and her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. She hadn't smiled like that in a long time. One look at her twin told her Bart was thinking the same thing.
"Don't worry, Nathaniel, we'll stop them. We'll stop the Reach, and we'll save the Flash and Dad, and Aunt Dawn, and all the other heroes too." She promised, sending her thoughts forty years into the future.
"Bri! On your right!" Bart shouted above the wind generated by their speed.
She looked where he had pointed, and saw the blinking lights of Central City, so tall and beautiful and majestic, looking just as she had pictured it looked before it was destroyed.
Time to meet her grandparents.