Eat lead, cowled copper. You'll never catch Ma Murder.
Mabel Mhurder, aka Ma Murder, surrender.
Even elderly criminals must eventually face justice.
Well, Batman, I've got a little something for you to face first.
Ambush. You poison-hearted pensioner.
Let's fit Batman with the cement galoshes, boys.
It's curtains for you, Batman.
Nothing's gonna save you now.
Mother of pearl!
The Haunted Tank driven by the ghost of J.E.B. Stuart.
Ma'am, this northern aggression has forced me to do you bodily harm.
- After her, general. - That's just what I aim to do, sir.
She may be long in the tooth, but that filly's a mighty fine driver.
For a Yankee.
- Think we'll make the jump, general? - There's only one way to find out, sir.
Yee-haw!
Well, Batman, it looks like this old gal isn't quite ready for the scrap yard yet.
But this one is. Thanks to the Haunted Tank.
With these funds, we'll tear down the charade of organized society...
...that cages our souls.
Aah!
You're gonna know a lot more about cages when I'm through with you.
It's Batman. Booster, over here.
Hey, give the man some room.
Booster Gold. The cameras should've been a dead giveaway.
Batman is an invaluable aide in my never-ending fight against crime.
So, please, let him do his job helping me arrest the, um...
The Madniks.
And this is personal. Unh!
I'm settling a score for an old friend.
I remember. These guys fought the original Blue Beetle before he died.
Wait. You knew Ted Kord?
He was a true friend.
And a real hero.
Something you wouldn't understand.
Now, let me finish this.
Hey, everything okay?
Please, a word, sir.
Wow, that's the closest I've seen Bats get to being emotional.
We all miss the great Ted Kord, sir.
No one more than me, Skeets.
Maybe it's time we paid him a visit.
And by visit, I assume you mean his memorial statue...
...in Hub City Central Park?
- Not quite. - I was afraid of that, sir.
The Boost-Meister. What's up, buddy?
Ted. Dude, it's great to see you.
I just saw you on Thursday.
Speaking of, you got that 20 I loaned you?
- Uh, left my wallet at home. - Dude, not cool.
Excuse me. I gotta take this.
Sir, I know what you're thinking...
...but we can't just travel back in time and save Ted Kord.
It's his fate to sacrifice himself on Science Island, and if you change history...
I know I can't change history without screwing up the time stream, hah.
How dumb do you think I am?
Anyway, all I wanna do is give my buddy a little closure.
Help him take care of some unfinished business before...
You know.
- Just like Batman's trying to do. - Speaking of.
I've unearthed some disquieting evidence about that robotics lab.
I thought I'd drop by to discuss it.
And I would love to do that, but now is not a good time.
Is someone there with you?
Uh, no one you know. Gotta run. I'll call you later.
So you're friends with Batman?
Uh, we work together, sometimes.
So, what's up, Boost?
I came to pick your brain about the Madniks.
Those maniacs.
Just once, I'd like to nail them to the wall...
...but they always seem to slip through my fingers.
Why do you...?
The Madniks? Well, that's a weird coincidence.
Yes. Yes, that's exactly what it is.
We gonna stand around yakking about it...
...or are we gonna go collar those clowns, once and for all?
Huh?
Ah, here it is. The Quark Pistol. The game-changer.
I'd like to see someone try and stop us now.
Then you're in luck.
Since that's exactly what I'm gonna do.
Heh, the Blue Beetle.
You've failed to stop us many times before...
...what makes you think now will be any different?
Because this time...
...he's got Booster Gold in his corner, pal.
I've got what we came here for.
Goodbye, champions of a corrupt society.
And I do mean goodbye.
- Pretty good shot, huh? - Maybe too good.
Drop it!
- Booster, what did you do? - Uh, closure, anyone?
I helped you bring down the one that got away.
Huh, I guess you did. Thanks, buddy.
No problemo, pal.
See? You got your positronics in a bunch over nothing.
A little trip to the past, I fulfilled a dream of my lost friend...
...and we haven't changed anything at all.
It appears you're right again, sir.
Oh, boy.
So we might have changed a couple things.
Booster.
- I had nothing to do with this. - Excuse me?
This apocalyptic wasteland, not my fault.
I was going to ask for help battling these energy monsters.
Wait, you've been meddling in the past, haven't you?
Little bit. Yeah.
Initiating time warp, sir.
Here we are, sir.
Hub City two years ago. Just after our last visit.
I don't get it. If we wanna fix the future...
...why didn't we travel to just before I showed up before...
...then tell me not to visit Ted?
That would just create another dangerous time paradox.
Or, better yet, go back to just before I left to come here to stop me then.
That's not how time travel works.
Wait a minute. What about visiting my mother before I was born and...?
Look, I'm not going to explain the intricacies of time travel...
...to man without a library card.
Booster? Hey, bro.
Bats. Booster. Together.
Wow, well, this is great. This is just awesome.
You never said you and Booster were friends.
Heh, it never came up.
A consummate professional like you, friends with a dilettante like Booster?
You're both my friends, okay.
You're more of a work friend, and Booster's more of a fun friend.
What's more fun than fighting crime?
- Ooh, he's got you there. - Beetle, the reason we're here...
...is because of something that happened on Booster's last visit.
Funny you should mention that. I've been analyzing the Quark Pistol he blew up.
Seems the Madniks...
...were exposed to the subatomic strings...
...that power this device.
Yes. Their DNA may have been affected.
I think we should pay a visit to the Madniks at Hub Island Penitentiary.
Road trip. I call shotgun.
I totally called shotgun.
You're lucky we're even letting you tag along.
Think you could lighten up for just one second, Mr. McGrumpy-Pants?
Do I have to remind you that you're the reason we're in this mess?
You know, this is why I never mentioned hanging out with you guys to each other.
I knew you wouldn't get along.
We're coming up on Hub Island Penitentiary.
I hope we're not too late.
Come on, we're almost past the fence. Then freedom.
Whoa!
Great scarab! Look!
- Losing power. - It's them.
The Madniks are draining the bug's battery somehow.
Brace for impact.
Incredible!
Exposure to the Quark Pistol has mutated them...
...into power-draining monsters.
Hey, maybe these guys actually turn into...
...those giant monsters you were fighting when I...
Batman's way ahead of you, sir.
Well, it's not like it was obvious.
Booster, no!
These creatures consume energy and turn it into mass.
Your blasts only strengthen them.
Beetle, Booster, are you okay?
It only hurts when I do anything at all.
Wedged tight.
And when the water hits those cables we'll be crispy crime fighters.
Ted, remember that deathtrap we escaped in Athens?
Maybe we should try the same tactic.
No. This is like the time Ted and I almost bought it in Blüdhaven.
The way we got out of that jam is the way out of this one.
Uh, I think that we should try a new escape.
Booster, from here, it looks like you're close enough...
...to reach Batman's utility belt.
Got it.
Open the left rear compartment and pull the tab.
Guys, look.
They're headed in a specific northwest direction.
- Are you two thinking what I'm thinking? - Yes.
But why don't you tell me just to make sure.
Their thirst for energy is instinctively leading them...
...to the largest power source available.
The Hub City Nuclear Reactor.
Yep, just what I was thinking.
They're siphoning off tremendous amounts of power, constantly growing.
- At this rate... - They'll be unstoppable.
Destroying city after city to feed their insatiable appetite.
If I can adjust the radiation signature of the BB gun's pile...
...it might reverse the mutation.
Just one problem.
The creatures will have to ingest the energy.
- Well, fellas, wish me luck. - No way, Booster.
- This is a job that has to be done right. - I can do this.
Look, I know I screwed up coming back here to see Ted...
...I just had a hard time letting go. He was my best friend.
He was my friend too.
- We should do this together. - That's the only way you can do it.
We'll need to broadcast that signal through Booster's force-field generator.
What about you? What'll you be doing?
Hey, energy hog!
Let's do this, Booster.
Congratulations, sir. You did it again.
Now, this is what I call a satisfying night's work.
Bringing down the Madniks once and for all?
Seeing my two best friends getting along.
Well, I guess this is goodbye.
Batman, that was a message from you.
You said my Uncle Jarvis is up to no good with that scarab I lent him.
- Why'd you leave a message? - Didn't want it to slip my mind.
Well then, I better get the spare bug up and running.
Goodbye, old friend.
It was an honor working with you, Ted. As always.
Um, right back at you, Bats.
Beetle.
Did you get my message?
The mission appears...
...to have been a success, sirs.
Bats, I'm sorry about...
...well, everything.
Actually, Booster, I'm grateful. It gave me the chance to say goodbye.
Well, back to work.
And just for the record, I'm totally okay with you being Ted's second-best friend.
Why don't you stick around? I could use your help taking care of these thugs.