Summary: It was never easy being the new kid. No, his 'evil conscious' just had to make the situation worse by calling Wonder Woman's feisty protege 'weak'.
Main Characters: Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes, Wonder Girl/Cassie Sandsmark
Length: Around 2,600 Words
Rating: K+ for some Spanish cursing
*Note: Spanish Glossary included at the end of the story.
New Kid
(disclaimer: I do now own any of this. Young Justice belongs to DC)
Mount Justice
16 12 Hours
December 28, 2015
"Alpha team all set to go." Miss Martian said as she readied the bio-ship for flight. In it were Lagoon Boy and Beast Boy. Mal nodded and gave them the signal. Jaime watched as the ship floated in the air. Despite being with the Team for a week, these things still amaze him. Then the ship flew away, heading to Hawaii to investigate a recent explosion. Cassie was waving goodbye to them, wishing them good luck.
You should not waste time 'admiring' these primitive tools. Such a thing is not worthy for praise.
He sighed. If only the scarab could be as supportive as Wonder Girl. No, it just had to be an annoying pest stuck to his spine. His spine. Madre de Dios, even surgery would not be able remove the thing. What convinced Ted Kord to give such an attitude to the scarab, Jaime would never know.
"Beta team ready." Super Boy echoed as Sphere lifted off the ground. With him were Robin and Wolf. They were assigned to go to Arkham Asylum. From Jaime's knowledge, this villain named Clayface had just escaped. He and Wonder Girl were disappointed when Mal told them they couldn't go, mostly because these missions required only three members. But he knew that it was also because they were the 'new kids', the most inexperienced when it comes with teamwork. He wouldn't blame them, especially when-
Being labeled weak is unacceptable! Using a sonic cannon would get their attention. Show them what you are capable off!
Jaime's eyes quickly widened. Sonic cannon? Suddenly, he felt the scarab taking control of his body. He quickly turned around as the weapon formed on his arm. He tried to hide it under his sweater, hoping that neither Mal nor Cassie would notice. Thankfully Beta squad left before the scarab could unleash sonic rays. He felt the scarab letting go of his arm and sighed in relief.
"Jaime? What's wrong?" Wonder Girl looked at him. She was so near him, he couldn't help but blushing. He stood up straight. He had to play it cool. He should not make her think he was weird, which she must by now after his countless arguments with the scarab.
"Eh? What do you mean?" he asked all too quickly, making his tone even more awkward. Very smooth, he told himself.
She pouted, "Well, you were standing for a second there. Then suddenly you turned around and held your stomach. Do you have a stomachache or something?"
Well, he was going to say that he felt something twist near his rib, but a stomachache sounded much more believable, so he went with that. "Yeah. I ate something bad this morning. It's nothing to worry about though."
The tone of your voice gives away the fact you are lying. It was advisable to eliminate this threat.
Jaime groaned, "¡Cállate! Why must everything sound like a threat to you?"
He then noticed that there were still more people in the room with him. Great. He must be making such an awesome impression to his new teammates. He felt heat rushing to his cheeks and looked away. Mal rubbed the back of neck, "Right. I have to go study for finals. Meet you two later."
As soon as he left, Wonder Girl turned towards the Latino, "Sooo…I was just wondering…is there someone you're talking to?"
Great. He knew he was going to receive this question at one point or another. Of course, who wouldn't think of that question? He must be seen as a schizophrenic with his arguments against the scarab. Nothing can be worse than being thought of as a schizophrenic. Before he could even speak though, the blonde gasped, "Do you have an imaginary friend?
He stood corrected. That was worse than being schizophrenic. That made him seem like a little kid; an immature, insecure kid who has no life, which he wasn't. "N-no!"
"Oh, come on Jaime!" she started giggling. "It makes so much sense now!"
"Wonder Girl, I don't have a-"
"I told you to call me Cassie!" she reminded him with a teasing grin.
He sighed. "Cassie. I don't have an imaginary friend."
"But it's so obvious that you do! Why else would you talk to yourself?"
Okay. Time to come clean. Well, hopefully she'll believe him. He took in a deep breath and pointed to his back, "Well, the powers I have. They come from the scarab I have stuck here. It was Ted Kord's, the first Blue Beetle. You knew him right?"
Cassie, who was listening as if he was Santa Claus and she was a little kid, nodded her head, "Yeah, I remember him in the news two years ago, when he was initiated into the Justice League. Wonder Woman told me he died because of the Light."
Jaime nodded awkwardly. He never had this talk outside his family and Batman - there was no way he was going to lie in front of Batman. There was a gnawing feeling in his stomach. Was she actually going to believe him? He continued, "That's true. Anyway, Captain Atom told me this was his greatest invention, but he never used it. I found it when I walking home last month. I took it home, then it got stuck to my spine." He took in a deep breath. Now this part, he never told to anyone, "The scarab, well, it's alive."
"What?" Cassie looked at him in disbelief, "That's crazy."
Great. The last thing he wanted and he got it. "I know. I know." He quickly said, "It seems weird, but it's true."
"Wha? Oh no! I mean that's crazy-cool!" she grinned at him.
Jaime!
"¡Dios mío!" he nearly jumped. He forgot that the scarab was there, surprisingly. He looked at Cassie and gave her a glance telling that he was having his many disputes. She pretended to zip her fingers and gave him a thumbs-up. By the bright glint in her eyes, he could tell she was interested.
Are you foolish enough to trust to trust this weak human with our secret?
Jaime sighed and closed his eyes, "Come on, we're on the same team. If I can't trust Cassie, then who? Plus, it's not that big of a secret."
"What did he say?" Cassie started jumping like a little girl.
Don't you dare-
"He said that I should not trust you because you are a weak human-"
"WHAT!" she demanded. Oh man, he must have hit a nerve. Her voice boomed through the cave, causing Jaime's heart to plunge into a black hole. She picked him up and brought him into the air.
Threat detected. Enemy hostility increased by two hundred percent. The best thing to do is eliminate her before any damage is done.
"What enemy? What threat? I swear you're loco!" he screamed at himself. He then looked at the blonde with an apologetic look, "Please put me down. The scarab thinks that you are public enemy number one right now."
She glared at him, or the scarab. He hoped it was the scarab. He does not want Cassie as an enemy. She cautiously placed him down "FYI, mister scarab, I'm daughter of Zeus. Be careful with the way you talk, kay?" She paused and then had a devilish smirk on her face, "You wanna try me? Okay, let's arm wrestle then."
"Cassie," Jaime waved his arms in front of him, "No, bad idea. You're going to make it more-" Suddenly he felt the scarab covering his right arm. He hissed at the scarab, "You don't give me super strength, idiota!" The blonde smirked and sat near the table. He sighed and sat in front of her.
Put this human in her place.
"Just reminding you your host is a human too." he grunted. With both hands intertwined against each other, the match began. They were stuck at the same spot for a moment. Both had an equal amount of strength.
Then she began to yawn, "Okay, I expected more." She then slammed his fist against the table. He was glad for the suit, otherwise he figured he would have broken bones now.
Cassie jumped with elation, "Ha, whatya think of me now, mister scarab?"
You're weak, Jaime. You need to strengthen your body. This woman is assuming I actually helped you. Here is an idea-
Jaime slapped his forehead, "Great, now he wants a flying contest – mierda – give it up already!"
But she already started flying. Maybe Wonder Girl should not have been the first person he told about the scarab. He felt the scarab going all around him. He sighed sadly and flew up with her. They went outside of the Cave. She pointed to café on the opposite side of the harbor. "We meet there, okay?"
Do not let her win.
"Well someone is holding a grudge." He rolled his eyes.
Cassie glared at him/the scarab. Jaime did not like this attention. She looked straight at the café and said, "Alright, at the count of three. One. Two. Three. Go!"
And the race began. Jaime wasn't really trying at this point. Let Wonder Girl win. Teach the stupid scarab a lesson. When she suddenly went ahead of him, he felt his cannon forming in his arm, "What are you doing?" Then he looked at the blonde, "Cassie, look out!"
She turned around just enough to notice the weapon. She quickly gasped and flew to her left, just before the scarab released an attack. "Jaime, what's going on?"
"I'm being hijacked. Quick, move!" he warned again as he shot another energy blast. She gracefully flew upwards and sped towards land.
Stop warning her about the attack. The threat must be eliminated now!
"You know what?" he quickly dove down towards the ocean
Get out!
He would have screamed "No way!" but he knew he would just drown. Instead, he removed the armor and felt the cold sting his bones. He swam a little further and stayed for a while.
Heart rate: forty beats per minute. Body temperature: ninety degrees and decreasing. It is strongly advised for you to get out now!
But even the scarab's voice seemed muffled. Oh well, at least if he drowned, Wonder Girl would save him and he would most likely wake up with her nowhere near the clinic. His first attempt at trying to be part of the Team, and it ended in a catastrophe. It was nice having Cassie as a friend for five minutes. She must hate him. Who knows? Maybe she would let him drown. Yeah, he would drown himself if he were her.
Suddenly, he felt something tugging him by his hood. All of a sudden, he was lifted out of the ocean. He took in a gasp of air and gave a rusty cough. He looked up and saw Wonder Girl flying him towards shore. She landed carefully and took off his hoodie. She hugged him tightly, trying to warm his body. Despite the fact he was very, very close to having hypothermia, he swore he felt heat rush to his cheeks. He did not need this. He did not want to crush on Cassie, especially after he tried to kill her. After a while, her grip loosened a little.
"Are you crazy?" she demanded. This was her first time seeing her truly upset. Before, he had seen her angry like 'girl-angry'. It was typically funny. Now, she was just upset. It scared him a little.
"I-I-I-I'm so sorry. Th-th-the scarab j-j-just took control of me and attacked you. I-i-i-it tries to kill everyone. I did not m-m-me-ean it. I am r-r-really sorry." He did dare look at her. The guilt would just become heavier.
"Not that, dummy!" she let go of him, much to his disappointment, and continued, "I want to know why you tried to drown yourself. You're no meta-human and the sea is no place where a normal guy should be in, especially in December!"
He looked at her and tried to say between his chattered teeth, "S-sorry. I just d-d-didn't want to hurt you."
There was silence for a moment. Then her anger seemed to have melted away.
"Jaime." Her voice sounded tender, "I would have been okay." Then she attempted her perky smile, "I mean. I've been trained by the Wonder Woman. I fought with her for at least a year or two by now. You on the other hand….I'm sorry."
"Wh-what a-are you s-ss-sorry for?" a pang of guilt in his voice, "I sh-should be th-the sorry one here."
"I was the one who challenged you, or the scarab. I heard you said no, yet I pushed it. Sorry." She squeaked the last word. She looked very pretty this way here in the sun. The way it made her hair and skin glow made her an angel. Except for her sad eyes. They don't belong there.
Threat is speaking the truth. She had pushed it. She should have known she was no stronger than us. Still, she saved us. Enemy is no longer a threat. She could keep our secret.
Jaime smiled to himself. "T-too b-bad you didn't hear that."
"Hear what?"
"The scarab a-actually admits defeat." He could hear the scarab screaming at him, but he knew what the truth was.
Finally, the glow of her eyes returned. This made his heart jump. "Tell him he sure gave a heck of a fight, though it does remind me of someone." Then she paused. She closed her eyes for a while and then snapped her fingers, "You know what? The scarab reminds me of Jiminy Cricket."
"Jiminy Cricket?" he echoed indecorously. No way. That bug did not think of killing an old lady just because she offered him a 'mysterious liquid' which turned out to be orange juice. "Isn't he from Pinocchio? Anyways, how are they related?"
"Well, they are both bugs, and they both are only heard to the person they are talking to." Cassie nodded her head, satisfied with herself, "Yeah, I'm calling the scarab Jimmy now."
"Yeah, it would be Jiminy Cricket with the soul of el Diablo. I like the idea of that. Jimmy el Diablo, an evil bug living inside a teenage guy who can't beat a girl at arm wrestling." He grinned at her.
She giggled back, "Well to be fair, I am a demigod. You had no chance of defeating me. I think the only one who can actually beat me is Conner, as if that would actually happen."
"Yeah, that was encouraging." He said sarcastically as he stood up.
"Come on! Let's go back to the Cave. I forgot there was a wrestling match." Suddenly she clapped her hands, "Hey, I have an idea! How about I train you in some combat moves! You've only been in the hero business for a month, so you probably should."
Jaime summoned his armor and nodded, "That would be cool…just go easy on me…."
"Of course! You're my pal. I only go easy on my pals." She smiled at him before taking off.
He felt lighter at those words. For the first time after getting the stupid scarab, someone actually accepted him. He thought being in a team full of teenaged superheroes would make him feel worse since he was with a crowd of strong kids who knew what they were doing. But finally, he felt like he was not going insane, that he had someone who understood him. She knew who he was and didn't act strange whenever he had his arguments. In fact, she seemed to have embraced it. Who knows? Maybe eventually, the Team would be the same.
He smiled at the thought. That would be the day.
A/N: (Sorry for any 'out-of-characterness' between the two, my knowledge of them is limited between the show and DC Wikia)
Yes, I did put a 16 reference there, I had too. Anyways, I was inspired by this week's episode "Beneath". I loved Blue Beetle ever since the first episode (I also enjoy the Scarab's sadistic nature) and this episode made me a Cassie fan. I noticed how they are somewhat treated as the new kids and decided to write a story about them. Strangely, it was supposed to be about ice cream at first, but I like how it is now.
Also, Jaime may crush on Cassie, but that means nothing. I crush on three guys in my school, but I would never consider dating them. However, I do like the 'sort-of-serious-yet-sarcastic' guy with the over-enthusiastic girl and I found myself liking this pairing as I progressed with the story. I hope to see these two interact more as the series goes on.a
Thanks for reading. Review? Naw, its okay if you don't (though it would be greatly appreciated). Off topic: I'm so excited for Bloodlines :D
Spanish Glossary
+ Madre de Dios – Mother of God
+ Cállate – Be quiet
+ Dios mío – My God
+ Idiota – Idiot
+ Loco - Crazy
+ Mierda – Crap
+ El Diablo – The Devil