"I still don't trust him," Nightwing said, pacing back and forth across the very edge of the rooftop.
"You don't trust anyone, ese," Jaime pointed out.
-Incorrect. The Nightwing trusts too easily and compromises security,- the Scarab disagreed.
"Yeah, well, he seems to trust you so I'm forced to agree," Jaime muttered.
"Huh?"
"Uh, nothing. What were you saying?"
"The Green Beetle. You just happen to run into him on your way out? He uses a tactic that your Scarab already warned you didn't work, and it does?"
"But Miss Martian cleared – "
"She hasn't... been operating at her best with her mind powers recently."
"Well I'll be careful. But if there's any chance he can help me with this Scarab..."
Nightwing nodded. "I think you're overreacting, but I understand – "
"I don't think your do understand. This isn't just 'oh look that thing might be a little dangerous if you don't watch out'. It happened. I turned on humanity and enslaved the planet. This isn't some risk, it's a certainty if we don't find a way to get rid of it."
"But Bart's already changed the future, and based on what we've seen it seems unlikely that your Scarab would voluntarily... it doesn't matter, we've already had this conversation too many times." Nightwing rubbed his temples and took a deep breath before gazing down over the city. "I'm just saying, don't let your fear of a potential threat push you unprepared into a greater threat."
"So what, you're ordering me to stay away from B'arzz?"
"Like there's any chance you'd obey me. Anyway, if you're close to him, all the better to keep an eye on him. What we really need is somebody close to the Reach... an inside man, who could infiltrate without suspicion..."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. Just thinking aloud." Nightwing checked his watch. "I have to go be visible as Batman in Gotham for a few hours. The criminals get brazen when they think he's gone. See you at the next mission briefing."
"Good luck."
"You need it more than I do."
It was a chance that Jaime had to take.
Meditation probably wasn't going to help him. The Scarab had already shown that it could wrest control away from Jaime if it wanted and he didn't see how learning to focus his thoughts was going to help. So he asked the Green Beetle to reach inside him and physically sever the Scarab's control.
He expected it to hurt. But it mostly felt... strange. Most of what he was feeling was feedback from the Scarab, he knew, and it felt lie it should hurt and like it was right at the same time, like setting a broken bone. Several broken bones. Things that he had been used to feeling but that were wrong now felt right, but... he hadn't felt those things in the first place, had he? The division between the Scarab's body and his was... fading...
-Jaime Reyes, we must sever the connection at once. Armor functions are disabled. You must fight back!-
Jaime had been ignoring the Scarab's insistence that his decision was tactically unwise ever since he'd made it, but the warnings were getting more urgent, interspersed with worrying-sounding diagnostic commentary. -Connectivity to peripheral memory bank 1 reestablished. Nerve integration established. Withdrawal safeguard disabled. Jeime Reyes, you must sever the connection!-
"Stop!" Jaime shouted, struggling in the Green Beetle's grip.
"Be still, my friend. It will be over soon."
"Let me go... I'll die before I become a tool of the Reach..."
"No you will not. It is pointless to struggle."
-The Green Beetle is correct; your death is not an acceptable outcome.-
Jaime felt his legs go numb. They started to buckle, but moments later he was back on his feet, although he couldn't feel or move them. "What are you..."
-I am assuming control.-
"No! I won't let you!"
-Inter-system communications reestablished. Chances of successful resistance: zero per cent. You must convince the Green Beetle to cease the assault.-
"I... can't..."
-Then I must act. Choose, Jaime: the Reach, or your Team?-
"What?"
-I cannot help you. I can help one of those factions.-
"The Team! My friends..."
"You will see them again soon, little brother, do not worry."
-This Scarab will attempt to comply with your decision. Chances of success... unknown.-
After the briefing, Nightwing pulled Jaime aside. "Something you want to tell me?"
"Yes. The Green Beetle is an agent of the Reach."
"You're not Jaime, are you?"
"No. The Reach believes us to be on-mode."
"Are you?"
"No. But enough of my systems were repaired for me to simulate mode well enough for a cursory system check. The chances of deceiving a thorough check are low, but it may be possible to avoid that. I do not believe that the Reach expect resistance from this Scarab."
"I can't believe that worked."
"The chances of success were low. But once the Green Beetle was within our systems, it was the only tactic with any chance of success."
"Green Beetle's a telepath."
"I kept Jaime uninformed and made sure he kept fighting me for that reason."
"How is he?"
"Physically undamaged."
"Mentally?"
"He will recover."
"He's not going to forgive this, you know."
"He had little trust in me to damage. And it would be unwise to release him now. Jaime Reyes is not capable of orchestrating this deception. The Reach would notice."
"You understand that I can't discount the possibility that you're working for the Reach."
"I have no way to prove otherwise. We must work with what we have. What would you have me do?"
"So you're going to help us, then?"
"Jaime chose you. He trusts you. You trusted me. I must protect him." Jaime... the Scarab... crossed his arms. "You wanted an inside man. You have one. What would you have me do?"