First Night.
Based on YJ headcanon 338 (I think, I'm still not sure about those things.) conversation and stuff may be slightly adapted to fit the story. If Jaime seems stupid for not relising about the scarab, remember he's really freaked out.
Jaime Reyes was starting to freak out. He had just taken a shortcut on his skateboard to try and get home in time, when a massive building blew up and now there was a beetle stuck to his back.
Let's start from the beginning.
"…Yeah, I know it's almost curfew mom, but I'm practically home already. I'm taking a shortcut across the Kord parking lot now. Hasta pronto." 16-year-old Jaime Reyes ended the call to his mother.
Pushing off the ground again to speed his board up, he looked at the Kord Industries building. The building was relatively new, only being built about a year ago. Jaime could remember when Kord Industries first sprung up in El Paso, and although he never met the owner of the company, Ted Kord, lots of people told him how kind and generous that man was.
As his foot moved back onto the skateboard, he heard a low rumbling sound, and then all of a sudden the building exploded, bits of wall and rubble flying everywhere. He tried to duck but, as he was still on a moving board, found it difficult and was caught in the shockwave and thrown off his skateboard, hitting the ground painfully.
For a second or two, he blacked out, face down in the parking lot. As soon as he stood up, he knew something was wrong. He felt a vague warmth on his shoulder and for a moment thought it was blood, before it became unbearably hot and he realised he must have been struck by some rogue rubble and the shoulder of his jacket was on fire.
He quickly pulled off his jacket, and his t-shirt got caught up in it, leaving him bare-chested. He stared up at the smoking building in disbelief, watching plumes of acrid black smoke spiral out from the roof of Kord Industries. Suddenly, something on the floor caught his eye, a flash of blue amongst the brown and grey of the bashed up building. He picked it up.
It didn't look like anything to do with Kord Industries at all, just a blue scarab made of something that felt strong but light. Was it a wind-up toy? He looked all over it but didn't see a winder. Must just be a paperweight, he thought. Or he did, until it started moving.
The six legs of the beetle started twitching, the mandibles clacked and Jaime would have dropped it but for the fact that it started running up his arm. It stuck to his back, and for a moment Jaime wondered how it resisted gravity. Then, it dug its feet into the flesh of his back and spiked itself onto his spinal cord.
The pain was immense.
Two large sets of prongs laced around his shoulders, and Jaime panicked, yelling out. The mandibles grew into two spikes that towered about a foot or two above his head. Then he spotted black and blue racing down his arms that ended in metallic gloves. Temporarily, he thought this was amazing. Then, the blue/black armour started covering up the rest of his clothes, and he scratched at his face, trying to stop it. it was at his neck, and he could feel it covering his ears and cheeks.
Finally, it covered his eyes, but instead of being blinded, he found his vision sharper than normal. He saw the same view as normal now, but through a very slightly yellow tinge.
"Woah," he said, shocked, "What is this thing?" He was not expecting an answer.
A scarab, Jaime Reyes.
A voice almost computerized yet still slightly snake-like, spoke in his head. He looked around to find the source of the noise, but there was nobody there.
"What's happening?" he yelled, a bit scared. Have you ever got a massive blue/black suit of armour stuck to you? It's not nice. He felt his hand being lifted up. He stared at it – he wasn't moving his hand, but there was nobody else there so who was it?
I can take control of your whole body. The metallic voice sounded again. Jaime wished the armour would come off, it was bordering on uncomfortable and it was certainly a bit hot.
Adjusting temperature systems, the voice said again. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the armour seemed to be cooling down, and it stopped decreasing at a perfect temperature. Okay, that's kind of cool, he thought, but it's still gonna look weird if I go home like this.
The armour clacked again and started receding, and Jaime could see the tan skin of his arms again. He sighed in relief, before noticing that the scarab was still stuck to his back. Twisting his arms into a bizarre feat of contortion, he managed to get both of his hands onto the hard blue beetle stuck to his back. He scrabbled at the edges with his fingers, trying to pry the item off. The only result was excruciating pain, although he managed to push through.
From what he could see through a haze of pain and blurred vision, his arm was moving away from the scarab. That wasn't what he wanted! He wanted to move it towards the scarab to try and take it off, but as soon as he tried this, his arm twitched out of his control.
Do not try and remove me, Jaime Reyes. The scarab told him inside his head, I will use all force necessary to prevent it. he yelled again, trying to find the source of the noise and eventually believing nothing had been said.. Reaching for his hoodie, he picked it up and realised that the shoulder had burnt away after it had caught fire. Sighing, he pulled it over his head anyway to hide the blue scarab stuck to his back.
Picking up one half of his battered skateboard, he began to trudge back in the direction of home. It would take him at least 10 minutes longer without his board, and he was fairly sure there was only a minute to go before curfew, meaning he would probably be grounded for the next few days.
That method of punishment is ineffective, he heard, You will remain physically able to go out, will you not?
Of course I will, Jaime thought, Mamá would never actually hurt me. Then, he realised he'd heard the voice again and started panicking.
Stop stalling, Jaime Reyes, we have a much quicker way of transport. The armour started covering his body again and suddenly the beetle's mandibles extended again, this time creating giant wings.
"Woah," Jaime gasped – he had wings! It had always been a childhood dream of his, to fly, and he thought he'd grown out of it but the glee at the prospect of flight contradicted him. He imagined the translucent wings on the side of his armour rising, and to his amazement they did. "Gah! Get off me!" the wings refused.
How is this working?, he thought.
This scarab is liked to your spinal cord and, by association, your brain. It is the way I can take total control of your body but also the way you can utilise the scarab's functions.
"Who's there?! Show yourself" the sixteen-year-old was getting annoyed and freaked out by the voice.
He thought about the wings fluttering, but nothing happened.
That fantasy of yours is unrealistic. Flying works not because of the wings but due to the technology. The back of his armour started to grow into something else - a blue jetpack-like object, with triple thrusters on the back. This is how you fly. The scarab suddenly took control and flew Jaime into the sky. About 100 meters off the ground, Jaime was handed back control but struggled to stay aloft, causing the scarab to take back control.
Not being the one in control of your own body is very disorientating. He yelled as he tried to take back control, but found himself unable to even control his own blinking, and he was fairly sure the only thing he was in control of was his heart beating. He was freaking out big time now.
"What's happening? I can't move!" Yelling out also proved ineffective, as by this time, which was 10:34:32 precisely (he had no idea how he knew that), there were no people still out. He started to move, that is, be brought, in the direction of home.
He was nearly there and about to believe this whole ordeal had been some kind of food-induced dream/nightmare, when he plummeted and landed in a prickly bush, the armour receding again as he picked himself up and carefully maneuvered himself out of the plant. Looking round, he saw a signpost and realised he was only a couple of blocks away from his house.
Walking slowly and somewhat awkwardly towards his house, he still felt the cold scarab on his back and could actually feel a presence in his body. It felt weird, like a cold feeling slipping down his back. He silently thanked…whatever it was for not flying him straight home; he was fairly sure his mom would have freaked out if he came in all blue-armour-y and with wings.
He knocked on the door and his mom came to open it, pulling him into a hug.
Retaliate immediately, you fool, or you shall not escape this one's clutches, the voice sounded again.
"No, of course I won't!" Jaime hissed back.
"What was that?" his mother asked absentmindedly, ruffling his hair the way she always did when he got home late.
"Nothing, mom, just talking to myself."
"If you say so. I was so worried – you're never more than fifteen minutes late – anyway, I made you dinner…" She continued fussing over him until he carefully extracted himself from her iron grip and climbed the stairs.
"Can you tell me when it's ready? I've got some, er, homework to finish off in my room," he told her, and before waiting for an answer, hurried up the remaining stairs.
Flopping down onto his bed, which was covered in homework and bits of clothing, he removed his burnt hoodie and t-shirt, before going into the small bathroom opposite his bedroom. Twisting his back, he got a full view of the scarab which was stuck to his spine. It was blue, ancient-looking and had pincers and legs firmly stuck to his skin, and it was Jaime's belief that they were inside his spine as well, and as a result could control all his thoughts and movements via his brain.
"What have I got myself into?" he said quietly to himself.
That depends on your viewpoint and plans for the future, Jaime Reyes, he heard again.
"How do you even know who I am? How are you connected to me? And WHY is there a blue beetle stuck to my back?" he pounded his fist into his cupped hand in frustration, before heading back to his room and pulling on another hoodie. He heard footsteps on the stairs – wait, he never heard footsteps on the stairs – they were carpeted and his mom didn't make much noise, so why was he hearing them now?
Straining his ears slightly, he found he could hear the gurgling of water in the pipes and even the breathing of his mother as she walked up the stairs. This sudden sensory improvement alarmed him and he knew it had something to do with the scarab on his back. His mom knocked on the door of his room.
"C'mon in," He said, and she did, bearing a tray with a plate of food on it, and cutlery, as well as a glass of water.
"You've had a long day today, Jaime, so I thought you could have dinner in your room. Just this once, mind you – I'm your mother, not your maid." With that, she left the room, not before ruffling his hair once again.
He looked at the food, fascinated. It wasn't something he'd ever seen, let alone eaten, before. It looked like a lot of different beans in a red tomato sauce with croutons mixed in. He scooped up a forkful and raised it towards his mouth.
His hand twitched before slowly moving back down to the plate. Bemused, he tried again but to no avail – he could not get the forkful of food into his mouth before his body started disobeying him again.
"Will you just let me eat!" he said, exasperated. He raised the fork again, but this time his hand moved so erratically that food was thrown across the room and out the window. Again, he tried to eat but his hand kept moving back down to the plate.
Do not eat that, Jaime Reyes, for it will give you grave gastrointestinal difficulties.
Jaime face-palmed.
So, was it any good? I don't usually do one-shots. I thought the ending was a bit iffy, but still. There may be a sequel.