I don't own this version of the story. That belongs to the creators of Young Justice
A young teenage boy, and a young teenage girl could be seen riding down the dark streets of El Paso, Texas on their skateboards, flashing in and out of the street lights, returning home after an hour in the skate park. That teenage girl is me and the teenage boy is my friend Jaime Reyes. Jaime had taught me about a year ago, and now I'm a pro. As we rode, he talked to his mother, explaining his late return home.
"Yeah, I know it's past curfew mom, but we're practically home. We're taking a shortcut across Kord parking lot now. Hasta Pronto" He hung up and put his phone in his pocket as we rode past the large . He sighed as I pulled up next to him.
"Jeez, she's protective." I said, elbowing him lightly. He rubbed the back of his neck, a small blush appearing on his face.
"Yeah she can be-" Suddenly, the top story of the Kord Industries building exploded, sending debris and fire everywhere. The force of it sent us flying off our boards and onto the ground. Thankfully, we were wearing helmets, so it didn't hurt as much as it would if we weren't, but I knew we'd still be pretty banged up. We got up quickly, staring at the smoking building. I looked at Jamie to ask a question, and ended up shrieking.
"Jaime! Your clothes are on fire!" I ripped at his clothing, pulling it off him. He shook himself free of it.
"Thanks. Ay, I really liked that shirt." I laughed.
"Don't worry, I'll get you exactly the same one for your birthday." Suddenly, in the corner of my eye, I saw a glint of deep blue. I turned to it and picked it up.
"Cool. Hey Jaime, check this out." He looked over and whistled.
"Awesome." It was a beetle, dark blue and metallic. The surface was shiny and hard, making it seem otherworldly and awesome. But inside, I could feel a slight heat, like it was alive and powerful. Before I could examine it anymore, the legs wriggled violently. Out of instinct, I dropped it, but it didn't fall to the ground. Instead, it crawled up my arm and down the back of my shirt, stopping right between my shoulder blades.
"AH! Get it off! Get it off!" I screamed. Jaime tried ripping off my shirt to get it, but then I felt a piercing pain in my back, going through my skin, going through my spine. Screaming louder than ever, I felt something long and metallic swing up from behind me, around my waist and across my collar bone, tearing through my shirt. Looking at what the thing was, I saw two long beetle arm things, exactly the same color and material as the beetle that was now on my back. Then, something hard started spreading across my body, like cold, flat stones rolling over my skin. I looked and saw something like the substance that made up the arms crawling across my body like a virus.
"Jaime!" I screamed as the stuff crawled up my neck and onto my face. But he just stood there, horrified as it wrapped around my head, and an orange substance covered my eyes. As soon as it all started, the pain and crawling sensation stopped, and I stood there, hunched over and panting.
"What. The. Heck. Happened?" My voice sounded different, slightly metallic and robotic, as if there was a voice modifier in front of my mouth. Jaime stood in front of me, his mouth open and his eyes wide.
"Abigail, you look cool!"
"Really? I got strange stuff all over my body, and all you can do is compliment my appearance?" I asked, angry at his nerve to do something like that. He shook his head.
"No! I agree, that was extremely terrifying, but the stuff is like blue and black armor. Makes you look like a superhero"
"Yeah, well I'm not a superhero, nor am I ever going to be one." I breathed deeply and stood up straight. The place where the beetle was stung like crazy, but I ignored it as I tried walking. The metallic stuff had wrapped down my legs and onto my feet, so I was basically wearing metallic shoes and jeans. Not the most comfy thing, but bearable. As I walked, Jamie came up next to me and wrapped an arm around me to support my weight.
"So what was that explosion?" He asked.
"An explosion of some sort. Bet the police will figure it out by next week." I could hear sirens getting closer and closer.
"Speaking of which, the police are coming and I'm in this armor thingy!" I looked down at the suit with hatred. Can you come off? Suddenly, with a loud clanking, the suit was drawn back to my back, bringing only a slight twinge of pain. The arms around my shoulders and waist retracted, and I found myself standing in my old clothes, which were surprisingly not ripped.
"Well then, we better get out of here before the police arrive. Let's talk about this later." He nodded, grabbed our boards, and we took a running start before taking a leap onto the boards. With the loud sirens and screeching cars behind us, I almost didn't feel something... stirring in the back of my mind. But I brushed it off, figuring it was just the adrenaline rush of the night wearing off. Boy was I wrong...