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Jaime should have known the Justice League would catch up with him eventually. What had happened with Victoria Kord and the OMACs wasn’t exactly subtle. Khaji Da didn’t appear to know the meaning of the word.
(Or, rather, the understanding of the word. It would argue that it did know the meaning, as it knew everything. But knowing was different than understanding, and the alien technology was lacking in the knowledge of human complexities.)
Anyway, Jaime had expected the Justice League eventually. He just hadn’t expected to be ambushed as a civilian on the way to work.
At least they had the sense to wait until he was off on one of the less traveled roads. He couldn’t imagine what the news would say if they saw Superman stopping to talk to some random guy in the middle of nowhere, Texas.
Jaime was pretty sure he was hyperventilating. Just a little.
[Your heart rate is elevating, Jaime Reyes. Slower breaths are recommended.]
Yeah, the little voice in his head was definitely not helping matters. Neither was the fact that Superman was definitely not alone. He couldn’t see whoever it was, but the scarab was prickling on his back in a way that definitely meant he was being watched.
And Superman was talking. Great.
“-and you can’t just do things with no consequences. There are systems, and channels we all have to go through. Got that?”
Jaime had no idea what he was talking about. He’d been checked out for the majority of Superman’s big speech. He blinked dumbly up at the man in blue.
[The Superman speaks lies, Jaime Reyes. We are more powerful than him. Recommended action: take down and leave.]
“I’m not going to fight Superman,” he hissed. Superman frowned.
Shit.
Jaime had forgotten he had super hearing. He was an idiot.
[For once, something we can agree on,] Khaji chimed in. Jaime wanted to slam his head into one of the nearby trees.
“Son,” Superman started. Jaime winced, holding up a hand. Khaji was tense at the edge of his consciousness, ready to jump in if the situation required.
“Look, ese-” Oh my god, he did not just “buddy” Superman- “I think we all need to take a moment and breathe, yeah? Also, I’m going to be late for work so I really need to get going-”
He took one step back towards the car, and the scarab flared in warning. Armor materialized over his arm, which he flung out, knocking something metal off its path. He stared down at the weapon. It was dark, and had a distinctive, bat-like shape.
“Mierda.”
Of course Batman was there too. Jaime’s heart pounded, and he held up his hands, quickly dismissing the armor despite Khaji Da’s complaints. “Sorry! Sorry, that was an accident.”
That didn’t seem to make Superman feel better. The man’s face was set in a serious, stern frown. It was so much like his mom’s disappointed look that Jaime momentarily cowed.
“Son,” Superman said, “I think you’d better come with us.”
Jaime tensed. His fingers thrummed with energy, and he attempted to shrug nonchalantly, a move that definitely didn’t work on Superman. “Like I said, I have work. That I really need to get to.”
He really didn’t want to fight the Justice League.
[Why not, Jaime Reyes? We are more powerful.]
“More powerful than Superman ?” he whispered, just a touch frantically. The Man of Steel’s frown grew.
Jaime really needed to stop speaking aloud to Khaji around him. He’d rather the man not think he was completely insane.
Superman’s cape whipped around him. “I’m afraid that wasn’t a suggestion.”
Jaime grimaced. “I’m sorry then.”
He poked at the scarab on the edge of his mind. It answered in kind.
And the armor encased him.
Blue Beetle stared at Superman, his yellow eyes narrowed, swords forming where his hands used to be. He fell into a perfect stance, Khaji smoothly guiding him along.
If he didn’t die in this fight, Jenny was so going to kill him later.
[You are being ridiculous Jaime Reyes. The Jennifer Kord will not kill you.]
He took the first move. Lunging at Superman with a wide sweep of his sword that bounced harmlessly off the man.
How had he forgotten that Superman is literally invincible? He was so screwed. So, so screwed.
Khaji was running diagnostics in the back of his head, trying to come up with a plan. Diagrams covered the screen of his vision. He wondered if Khaji was reconsidering its conviction that they weren’t going to die.
(The scarab was suspiciously silent.)
He dodged a punch, his other hand instinctively catching the thrown fist, blades melting away in an instant. Superman. He’d just caught Superman’s fist. He’d just exchanged blows with Superman.
[Your pointless thoughts are interrupting me. I am trying to discover a plan of attack.]
Jaime jumped back as Superman’s other fist came swinging. “Great, the alien super weapon doesn’t know what to do. That news is so reassuring!”
He didn’t want to look at Superman’s face. He couldn’t believe one of his childhood heroes was seeing him like this. If he wasn’t fighting for his life, Jaime would be freaking out.
[Do not flatter yourself, Jaime Reyes. You are already freaking out.]
Jaime and Superman continued to dance around each other. His various sonic cannons and sharp weapons did more damage to the surrounding trees than they did to Superman, but Superman couldn’t seem to hit him either. It was like neither of them were really focused on fighting.
Though, what could be distracting Superman?
There was a dull thud against the back of his helmet. Jaime started to turn around, but was stopped by Superman’s fist slamming into his face. Khaji, distracted by the first attack and countermeasure statistics, wasn’t able to stop it. He slammed down to the ground, stars filling his vision. A masked face appeared in his vision.
He’d forgotten about Batman.
He was so dumb.
(He didn’t get to hear Khaji’s “I told you so”, passing out even before they tried to knock him out again.)
Jaime woke up with his hands chained to a table. The first thing he noticed was that he was in an interrogation room. The second was that he wasn’t in his armor.
(At least he was clothed. It had taken a while to get Khaji to agree not to burn away his clothes whenever they suited up.)
He groaned, blinking away the fuzzy bits of black invading the corners of his vision. The bright white lights overhead weren’t helping his pounding head. He squinted, peering around the room. Not that there was much to see. The tiny space was completely empty other than his chair, the table, and another chair across from him. One of the walls was a mirror, but Jaime knew it was really a window. He stared at his reflection. His lip was ever so slightly starting to swell. He couldn’t see any shadows of movement behind the glass.
“Alright Khaji. What’s the plan?” He muttered. He gave the handcuffs a tug, but they held tight. They were probably specially made against superstrength. Maybe even intangibility too. This was the Justice League, after all.
Khaji was oddly silent. Jaime didn’t like that. Even when the systems had been down, it was still able to talk to him. This was different. It was like the two of them were completely disconnected, like someone had unplugged the cord between them in his mind. He could still feel the scarab against his back, so it wasn’t like they’d removed it. (Jaime’s heart thudded strangely at the thought.)
“Khaji?”
Jaime had forgotten what it was like to have his mind to himself.
(He didn’t like it anymore.)
The door opened. Jaime’s head shot towards the noise. Batman and Wonder Woman walked in, both with blank, serious faces.
Jaime bluescreened.
Batman stayed close to the door, even though it had clearly shut and locked behind them. Wonder Woman had no reservations. She walked right up to the table, her hand resting above the lasso on her hip, drawing attention to it. She looked at him.
“I hope we won’t have to use this,” she said, her tone pleasant, despite her still blank face. “But if you refuse to work with us again, I will have no choice.” She sat down in the chair opposite him.
He gulped. That, at least, cracked her blank facade, a small smile twitching its way onto her face. It made him feel the tiniest bit better. Just a tiny bit.
“Look,” he said, “I’m sorry for fighting Superman. I just didn’t really have time to talk- which, I guess I do now.”
Wonder Woman’s smile melted into a frown. “What did you have to hurry for?”
Jaime blinked. “Work? I do have a civilian identity.”
“According to your information, you have been unemployed since you returned from university, discounting a brief stint working as housekeeping under Victoria Kord.” Batman spoke up for the first time, making Jaime wince. It was technically true- but he had a job now! Which he was quick to correct the two superheroes about.
“I work at Kord Industries now. Jenny- uh, Jennifer Kord hired me.”
“After you killed her grandaunt?”
Jaime blinked. “What? No! I didn’t kill her!” He panicked.
Did the Justice League really think he killed someone? Was that why Superman and Batman had come after him? How were they right about everything except this!
“But you didn’t rescue Victoria Kord either,” Batman growled. “And you conveniently know Jennifer, who took over the company immediately. Did she hire you?”
He slammed his hands down on the table. Jaime flinched. Wonder Woman didn’t move, her brows furrowed slightly.
Jaime spluttered. “She tried to kill me!” He said incredulously. “I accidentally bonded with the scarab, and Victoria tried to kill me to get it back. That’s self defense! That is self defense, right?”
Khaji, of course, didn’t answer, still disconnected. Really, Jaime was the one who should know the answer to that. He was the one with a pre-law degree.
Wonder Woman leaned forward, clasping her hands on the table. “What is this ‘scarab’ you speak of?”
Had they not done any research before they came after him? They were the Justice League! Weren’t they supposed to know everything? If Jaime was a big shot superhero he’d make sure he had all the information before, so nothing like this ever happened.
Oh shit, Wonder Woman had asked about the scarab. Jaime forced himself out of his thoughts, blinking,
“It’s on my back,” he said. “I’d show you, but…” He shook his hands, rattling the chains.
Wonder Woman nodded. Batman opened his mouth again, and Jaime prepared himself for more questions.
Jaime never wanted to answer another question about himself again. Batman’s interrogation went on for three and a half hours. Three and a half hours. He wondered if his family had filed a missing person’s report yet.
At least everything had been cleared up. Wonder Woman had apologized for the assumptions (Batman just grunted) and let Jaime out of wait in another part of the Watchtower. He couldn’t believe the Justice League had a whole secret space station. It was so cool! He was waiting for Superman to return, so he could apologize.
There was so much glass. Did space stations usually have that much glass? It felt like every other wall was a window, leading out to the vast darkness of space. The Earth was huge underneath them. It took Jaime’s breath away.
He stepped away from the window, not knowing where to look. Everything was so fantastical, he almost felt like he was in a movie-
“Watch out!”
Something heavy slammed into Jaime’s chest. He stumbled back, arms waving in an attempt to keep him upright. He fell right on his ass.
(The only consolation was that whoever had run into him had also fallen over, with a much louder thump as well.)
Jaime rubbed his head. “Dude-”
A hand, covered in a red glove, was stuck into his face. “Sorry! The floors here are a little slicker than I expected.”
He trailed up the red glove, up a white sleeve, to some kind of suit with a red pattern that looked a little like a lightning bolt if Jaime squinted. The person had a mask on, goggles, but he could see their eyes shining playfully through the yellow glass lenses.
They also had the wildest red hair Jaime had ever seen.
He blushed, and grasped the offered hand. “No… no problem.”
The guy smiled. “You’re Jaime right? I’m Bart.”
Bart pulled him back to his feet, stronger than his thin frame suggested. Jaime blinked. Had Batman and Wonder Woman already mentioned he was here?
“Nope, not them.”
Had Jaime said that out loud? His face burned. That was so embarrassing, it was bad enough when he was talking to Khaji, now he was doing it without even realizing?
Bart hadn’t moved, smiling wryly as Jaime. Jaime hesitantly smiled back.
“I’m, uh, Blue Beetle,” he offered after a second. “I’m also not used to this superhero stuff, so sorry.”
“Impulse,” Bart said, his smile growing wider. “You’ve probably never heard of me. Time shenanigans, y’know.”
Jaime did not know.
“What brings you to the Watchtower?” he asked instead. He hadn’t realized there were many other superheroes his age, much less ones with connections to the Justice League. Bart seemed interesting. A little weird maybe, but interesting.
“Had to talk to the Flash about something,” he said easily, and Jaime, with a start, realized he was lying. He had no idea how he knew, but somehow, he just… knew. Bart was lying about why he was in the Watchtower.
Jaime wasn’t going to call him out. He’d known the guy for ten minutes, if Bart wanted to lie he could. Jaime wasn’t going to stop him.
“Do you want to get something to eat? I can show the kitchen, there’s some crash cookies in the fridge,” Bart said suddenly. He was staring at the ground, shuffling his feet. Jaime’s heart thumped.
“Sure!” he said, cringing a little immediately afterwards. He didn’t want to sound too excited. It was just the fact that he was possibly making his first superhero friend.
Bart grinned, and grabbed Jaime’s hand. “I have a feeling we’re going to be good friends in the future.”
Jaime had a feeling he was probably right.