First of all, I would like to take this time to say, I'm very sorry for the looong hiatus! I've hit a rather thick and solid wall on this fic for a little while and I've also had to put in many hours at my new job. Considering how competitive it is to even get those hours I tend to grab whatever I can. That and the fact that I've been working on at least three to four different fics at the same time in order to catch up. However, I can say with some pride that I've been using my time wisely enough to advance the plot and some of the future chapters. I believe you will all be very satisfied with the results.
Ch 10 Hostile Encounters Pt.2
Planet Oa: Mess Hall
It is a wonder how simply knowing or having a past encounter with just one person can be the start of several casual and civilized conversations. Many of the Elite Lanterns began telling their own stories of their first encounters with the infamous Guy Gardner and his explosive temper. Doing so erected a chorus of laughter from the other Lanterns, which naturally helped to dispel the tension completely. With the ice now thoroughly broken, other Corp members soon began conversing with the youths and a few even went as far as to asking Blue Beetle, himself, some questions. Most falling into the department of, "Did you really defeat an elite beetle warrior?" and "Is it true you're a rouge?" and "How were you able to break free of the Reach's mind control?" as well as several others that involved the powers of his scarab which he would subtly dodge just because one, Khaji-Da wouldn't allow him answer even if he wanted to and two, most were so outrageous that he wasn't even sure how to answer.
Superboy had been dividing his time between keeping track of his spread out teammates around the room and listening in on Blue's conversation. Or rather, listening for any hitches in breathe, startled shouts, or anything that so much as resembled as a threat. The Earth Lanterns gave their input on the Team's credibility and the many contributions they've made for the cause of Justice, yet even that wasn't enough to quell the suspicious stares and distrustful glares from many of the more seasoned Corp men. It was all the clone could do to keep himself and the others from hovering around Jaime like helicopter parents. At least the armored Hispanic's wound was healing fast, if it hadn't already thus giving him one less thing to worry about. As Superboy kept the lookout he couldn't help but noticed that Green Lantern Hal Jordan was being as vigilant as he was where Blue was concerned. Guess one near disastrous incident on his watch was one too many for one day. Not that the young hero could really blame the test pilot. After all, they were Batman's cooperatives. Speaking of which, the young field leader will have to talk to the Honor Guard about getting in contact with the Watch Tower for a status update with Nightwing.
While the young Kryptonian pondered over how he should give his field report, Jaime was doing his up most best to not to look so perturb of the fact that he was pretty much unintentionally cut off from his friends and chaperones, and was sort of surrounded on all sides. It would seem that the more sociable willing Lanterns were either part of or connected to the Science division and were rather incisive. Still, he supposed being questioned about his powers was better than getting shot at. It was kind of like eating at the family reunion really, what with people constantly asking him things when his mouth was full at the moment. At least a lot of said question were easily answered with a nod or shake of the head. It also helped that Khaji-Da tended to provide him information whenever someone brought up a topic that he had absolutely no clue about. Although he really wished that Scarab wouldn't do whatever it was he did to him that literally prevented him from being able to answer certain questions verbally. He hadn't done that since the very first few weeks of their bonding when his mother found the scarab embedded in his back. He must really be on edge if he was going this far to keep the "enemy" in the dark so long as they were here. At least he was being allowed to rephrase his original answers with more vague versions.
Among the small number of friendlier Lanterns was a young female alien that looked to be in her early adult years. Green Lantern 97874, Arisia, had pointed ears, like an elf, blond hair that tended to glow against tangerine colored skin, and natural green eyes. Arisia, like several others in her squadron, often worked peace keeping missions in between patrols and is often interacting with different species throughout her sector. Among her travels, she had met all forms of refugees that have, by the grace of Oa, escaped the Reach by fleeing their home world and has heard many a rumor about their soldiers. Yet meeting this Scarab Master has admitting-ly thrown those rumors into question. He was just so… small! Not at all like the armor plated giants that have been described to her. His mannerisms were… alert, polite, and well of aware of where he was and whom he was talking to, nothing like the fighting machine they were supposedly designed to be. Could it be that the scarab played a part in the major differences? Was this how the beetle warriors would be if they weren't being mentally dominated by the scarab? Or was this simply how he was all the time regardless? There doesn't seem to be any form of indication that the weapon was even activate or-
"Breech of parameter!" Scarab suddenly alerted its host, while simultaneously having the left middle leg become elongated and prehensile. "Location: the six!"
The resulting cry of surprise startled the crowd just as Jaime turned around and find the female Lantern with her hand, caught in a coil, extended outward as if to touch his back. Or more specifically, his scarab. The appendage held the limb in a perfect position to easily snap it if necessary, but did nothing further as its owner, host, offender, and everyone else stood rock still staring. Reflexively some of the Lanterns began to charge their rings in preparation for a fight, but retrained themselves so as not to get their fellow Corp member caught in the cross fire.
Surprised at being caught by the suddenly prehensile limb, Arisia found herself at an utter lost for words. "Umm, I, uhh…"
Thanks to a quick mental report from his partner, Jaime was brought up to speed. "Lo siento." The armored hero apologized softly as he gave the silent command for the prehensile appendage to release its captive and go back to its default state. "I'm a little wary about being randomly touched by strangers." He even gave a small smile to show that he truly bore no ill feelings over the intrusion of his personal space.
Fact is, Milagro did the exact same thing when he had fallen asleep trying to study for a test. He'd been cramming for three days straight on top of doing extra credit while babysitting his baby sister. He had agreed to let her watch a marathon of her favorite show if she simply allowed him to work and wound up falling asleep out of fatigue and boredom. Which apparently, for said sister, translated into permission to shift through his personal belonging. Object of interest that day was Scarab. Naturally he had woken up when he felt her crawling and sitting on him so that she could pull his shirt up and see the blue scarab better. He didn't make a peep and could only grin at the artificial intelligence's overreaction when, like all curious children, she poked at him. Khaji-Da threw such a fit over being touched and at his host's refusal to stop it that he literally buzzed, sending vibrations straight into the boy's spin in order to make him involuntary jump and buck until his little sister tumbled off him. Milagro had found it so hilarious that she proceed to mount him again wanting another ride to which Jaime had to put a stop to by turning it into a tickle torture session. Granted this was, at least what the beetle assumed was, an adult, the situation was really no different now as it was back then.
Hearing the beetle's initial reasoning, Arisia realized what she nearly did and could kick herself for her own lack of self-control. She had been so wrapped up in her own musing that she forgotten that there was a living person inside the armor. "N-no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to impose." What in the world could she have been thinking reaching out to put her hands on him without permission like that? Grotz, if someone had tried that with her, she would have blasted them through the nearest wall.
It really helped that the young woman reminded Blue Beetle so much of his baby sister in that moment. "The similarities are irrelevant, Jaime Reyes." Khaji-Da stated after breaking into the youth's thoughts once again. Granted that the little sister was by no means a threat, the same could not be said about this Oaen soldier. "The Lantern holds no preexisting connection to us and thus cannot be trusted."
Already seeing where this was going, but not wanting to let on about the silent debate, the young beetle adopted a look of amused understanding. "They're always curious about the scarab." He stated out loud and even shook his head lightly and let out a good humored chuckle. His relaxed disposition easily helped to set everyone else at ease and thus put Scarab at ease. "Lo entiendo, hermano. But maybe we could treat it like it is?" The Latino suggested mentally in the hopes of defusing the situation even further with is secret partner. "You know, a short of "don't attack me and I won't attack you" sort of thing?"
Unknowing of the secret evaluation, the elf like Lantern merely took the Scarab Master's words into consideration before continuing the conversion. "It is an exclusionary rare and advance piece of technology." She offered as an example if nothing more than to at least show that no disrespect was intended on her part. Goodness knows, his privacy must have been intruded enough as it was. "Hardly anyone outside of the Reach has ever actually seen one." Many of her co-workers nodded in complete agreement of the claim.
Meanwhile the sentient artificial intelligence was more interested in the proposal brought on by its gentler natured host. "You wish to establish a regimen that could be interpret as a fundamental requirement to avoid severe reprimand?"
"Uhhh, …si?"
Having such an impression among their present company would force potential enemies to think twice before challenging them, especially if their actions jeopardized the objective of their superiors. "That tactic could prove viable."
Surprised that his semi-temperamental partner had actually approved of the idea, the young man decided to move forward with his 'strategy' before the AI could change his electronic mind. "Tell you what. You seem like a nice person." He fiddled at little with his cup as he thought carefully about what he wanted to say without coming across as too weird. That and so Khaji-Da wouldn't think that he was being so lenient with allowing such close quarter contacts. "If you promise not to try anything funny, I'll let you take a good look." The offer was met with several quiet gasps from all around.
"Ah, wha-?" Surprised that she was actually given permission to continue, the young woman felt like she had to confirm before making a move. "Oh, are you sure?" By all accounts, it was technically a piece of his own body after all, and as stated previously certain races weren't exactly keen on being spontaneously touched by random strangers.
"Si, como no?" Suddenly very thirsty, the blue insectoid hero paused and took a decent gulp from his cup. Might as well act like this sort of thing really was common place with him if only to ease any remaining tension. "I mean, were all on the same side after all. Might as well learn from each other and compare gear. Besides you're not the first to be curious about it and you won't be the last." Finding the beverage both sweet and refreshing the youth decided to refresh his cup and began to turn his back towards the alien girl, thus giving her full access to the scarab. "Go ahead." He stated as he began pouring himself a fresh cup of the odd foamy drink.
The female Lantern couldn't believe her good fortune. She was actually being allowing to study an active Reach scarab! Conditionally of course, that's to be expected, but still the opportunity was there! Reining in her excitement, she carefully set aside her plate and cup and cautiously got a little closer to the mechanical bug. She started with simply hovering over the devise and folding her hand behind her. No point in appearing too eager otherwise she might give the male beetle warrior the wrong impression. The overall craftsmanship of the scarab was absolutely flawless! One would have never even guessed it was actually a piece of technology. There were no visible signs of wiring or circuit breakers or anything that even resembled a panel of any kind. It was almost as if the whole thing was simply shaped into this form and then dipped in an armor coating. Yet there didn't seem to be any signs of the infusion point their records had mentioned. At least not that she could see from her position. The leg attachments were clearly circling around the torso not into it. The pieces that made up the antennas were up and well away from the neck and shoulders.
Her surrounding associates also watched her movements carefully. Their bio-chemical levels along with facial expression revealing a combination of emotional cues ranging from restrained apprehension to anticipation. The scarab regarded them with disinterest seeing as only the one before it was granted permission to come this close. The Lantern female did well in following its host instructions. There was no indication of hostility nor did she even use her ring to scan it's casing as would protocol would logically have her do. Analyzing visual expressions and cross referencing them with what it had obtain of Earthling body language, there certainly seemed to be a desire to understand. Admitting-ly her curiosity truly was similar to the little sister. Innocent enough. So long as she didn't try to push the boundaries…
Curiosity getting the best of her, again, she timorously reached out a hand, causing all of the nearby observers to collectively hold their breath, and placed it on the scarab itself. When no reaction, other than the Scarab Master becoming aware of the physical contact via a shiver but saying nothing about it, the on lookers sighed in relief. "It's warm…" Arisia stated in surprise as she gently began to pet the large scarab on the beetle's back, unknowingly causing another slight shiver to form. It was a rather natural warmth too; probably due to the fact that it was attached to a living creature. "I wasn't expecting that." Seeing as the object was supposed to be made of solid technology that could survive and function in the cold vacuum of space, she had believed it to feel like ice as a way to protect against overheating. Instead it was a comfortable even temperature as if it itself were a living body. Curious as to wither or not the mechanical bug could detach from the back of the armor underneath, the blonde, orange skinned female tried to feel underneath it for a seam. If it turned out that it could, that could mean that it…
However that particular action was most certainly not approved as the scarab suddenly tightened its grip on its host. Its antennas shot up and out and a shimmering blue membrane unfolded. "Warning: Unauthorized access attempt!" was the only warning the Hispanic received before he was suddenly airborne.
"Aye!" Jaime couldn't help the yelp that came out of him when his body was unexpectedly made to lunge forward and upward; dropping his cup in the process. Before he knew it he was hovering a few feet off the ground over the startled group. "Jeez, ah, heh, you've, ah, heh-heh, a-activated my, ahem, flight mode…" The youth stammered in embarrassment towards the shocked Lantern as he lowered himself back down to the ground while rubbing at the back of his neck, much to the relief of his companions.
His embarrassed laughter proved to be contagious as it prompted Arisia to hide her face in her gloved hands and giggled. "I-ha-ha am so-ho sorry!" Oh merciful Oa, what did she just press to launch him like that?! She could already hear the jokes that would come of this!
"That thing gives you wings?!" The newt based Lantern half exclaimed has he practically rushed the blue colored bug to inspect his newly acquired wings more thoroughly. "I thought all scarabs use some form of propulsion system."
Another Lantern, one with the crossed appearance of slug and stick bug, also came up to the surprised bug. "Careful with the touching!" He warned his companion as the two of them practically sandwiched the teenager in order to get a closer look at his sudden new extremities. "They're obviously sensitive; you'll send him through the roof." Taking his own advice, the member of the Science division began to scan the extensions with his ring in order to get a better idea of what they were made of.
"Where did they unfurl from?" Another Lantern, a crystalline ball of a creature, rushed forward to see as well, effectively boxing the befuddled Latino in. "I didn't see a compartments open-Wow!" The close quarters gave the Science Officer a perfect view of the beetle's arm and, in his excitement, instantly grabbed a hold of it to see it closer. "I thought the scarab armor plating overlapped!" It wasn't long before the young bug was surrounded on all sides by more curious science buffs. All of them wanting a closer look at the blue bug and his armor.
Naturally the commotion easily caught the attention of the beetle's bodyguards and had Beast Boy scurrying over, morphing into a weasel to get through the small crowd, change into a monkey in order to lasso Jaime's wrist with his tail and lead him down and out of the group. By the time the crowd realized that their subject had done he was ushered across the room and made to sit down among his friends like a cub among a pride of lions. With the largest of them standing just ahead of them with his arms crossed and an irritated expression on his face complete with a raised brow. Having seen the whole thing, John Stewart could only shake his head in disappointment. Seriously, the kid was trying to extend a favor to the Corp by giving some of their promising soldiers an up close and personal study of his gear and all his people could seem to do was go overboard.
"Seriously you all are acting like first year grunts." The Marine stated bluntly, before placing himself just ahead of squad and began acting as crowd control. "If we're going to have a Q&A then let's at least be organized about it." Before long there were two decent size lines made at a respectable distance and with Blue Beetle safely nestled among his friends on the bench one from each line was allowed to approach and ask their questions.
Although he didn't object verbally, in truth, Jaime couldn't help but feel more than a little embarrassed by all of this. Seriously, he wasn't some celebrity or royal that needed to be watched over, but after what just happened he couldn't really come up with a decent rebuttal for it either. Why is it that whenever he tried to do the right thing, it tends to blow up out of proportion? At least Beast Boy was able to get him out of there before he had gotten overwhelmed enough for Scarab to act. Hopefully he'll be able to make it up to his team for all of this. The blue sentient device did, however, approved of the special treatment once the Lanterns were made placid, as well as the strict rule now put in place about approaching them. With their sixth covered by the table and reliable personal guards posted on either side of their shared body, the metal bug could focus on simply scanning for aggression as the potential hostiles approach them.
Yet as this hospitable scene continued, there was one individual didn't take part in the festivities. The very second he was in the entrance to the Mess Hall his sight was instantly drawn to the different colored uniforms of the newcomers. He knew that there was going to be some special guest arriving, but he ever expected something like this. They appeared to be smaller version of Guy Gardener's kind. Yet what really caught his full and undivided attention was him. In all his years in the Corp, he never thought he'd ever see him again. He was completely and utterly shocked at the sight of that Bug just sitting there as if he were royalty as each of the Lanterns approached him in anticipation. As if the Corp was being paid an honor just to speak with the beetle. Anger burned within him as the insect's charming smile worked its illusion of charisma as he shared stories of his 'adventures'. Disgust settled in the very pit of his stomach at witnessing how easily the beetle portrayed himself as one of them. The individual easily heard the boasts of the young group and praise from the Elite as he gradually made his approach.
As time went by nearly everyone was talking about what they've seen and learned from the Blue Beetle and his armor. Understandably the beetle had to keep certain information fairly close to the chest, all things considered, however that didn't deter anyone from at least asking one question of their guest. Scar being the one insisting that each Lantern limit themselves to one question each seeing as there was still much of Oa for this honor guest to see on the initial tour before that banquet. Assuring that a brief demonstration will be scheduled before the grand event helped to reassure that an opportunity to actually see a Reach scarab in action had everyone speculating on which of the fable rumors would wind up being true and which were mere fabrications. Having such an open and civil chat with the Scarab Master both soothed the first initial tension and energized their curiosity. Soon enough several Lanterns were asking for details on the insect's travels, experiences, and missions. To which the youngsters were more than willing to share, especially their team ups.
"Heh, I'll never forget my first off world mission." The green youth claimed as his long tail swayed back and forth in merriment of the memory of his adventure on Raan. "It was so epic!"
"Not as epic as when my pals and I saved ya'll from the War World, and that was before I even joined up with the Team." The dark skinned youth, whom seemed to be emulating the insect's color scheme, countered with a laugh and a challenging raise of his eyebrow.
"My favorite mission was when we kick the Reach off Earth but good." The yellow clad youth declared while literally miming punching and kicking thin air. Clearly that had been a victory he most certainly will never forget as long as he lived. "That, and meeting Grandpa! Although, technically that makes two. Can you have two favorite missions?"
While the younger members of his group conversed with each other, Conner was busy tracking all movements in the room. Particularly the main entrance seeing as that was where the most traffic was going through currently. It seemed that whenever a Lantern had a question answered they would either share it among their comrades or leave the room in a burst of excitable energy; most likely to test out the authenticity of what they had learned. The Q&A apparently became a public event when other Lanterns began appearing to get in line for a turn but thankfully it wasn't too much and many of them were easily engaged in conversation with their comrades. There sure seemed to be a wide range diversity within the ranks of the Corp, but obviously many were still in the dark about their visit. Or at least about Blue Beetle considering that several that came to take part in the Q & A stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the armored youth as he continued to converse with whomever was next in line. This was seriously becoming bothersome and the more it continued, the more the senior Team member was convinced that these soldiers really were deliberately kept in the dark. There was just no logical way such an oversight could have been made and not corrected immediately, especially after the first incident happened at the Training Center.
So the real question here was: Why? If an announcement was made, why wasn't it made clearly to avoid suck misunderstandings? Why hasn't a second announcement been made to clarify it? Even though it may have been at Blue's request before, why wasn't a medic called in to evaluate the damage here in the Mess Hall when the wound was discovered? It was standard protocol, wasn't it? Why wasn't the Elite Guard escort increased after the first attack? And by the off chance it was meant for the sake of digression, what wasn't the Lantern Elite made aware that they've landed hours ago? They were completely caught off guard when Blue entered the room and were so clearly gob-smack shocked by Scar's announcement that there was just no denying it any more. Why? Was this whole thing just one big elaborate set up? Or was someone deliberately trying to sabotage the banquet and Blue was just a convenient distraction?
Far too many questions, and too few straight answers. The whole thing was giving the clone a headache and he could just barely contain a growl in his throat. It was the mole incident from six years ago all over again only this time they really couldn't trust anyone outside their little group. He wasn't a problem solver like Nightwing, nor was he observant enough like Aqualad to predict the possible intentions of others. The only thing he really could do in this kind of situation was confront the threat directly whenever it decided to show itself. He just wished he didn't had to take so long to deal with it.
"What about you Superboy?" Static's voice interrupted the Kryptonian's brooding thoughts and drew him back into the conversation once more. "You got a favorite mission?"
The clone thought about the question, grateful for the small distraction, before answering with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. "Been on too many to really choose." The matter of fact statement was just as casual as he turned those steel blue eyes towards the bug himself. A break from all the probing questions ought to be good for him too. "Blue?"
"Weellll, there is one mission I'm particularly proud of." The young beetle admitted as he thought back to the mission that officially mark he declaration of independence from his so called masters. At the pleas of his surrounding audience, the insect based hero agreed to tell the tale. "It was the night the enemy summit took place in the remote island of Santa Prisca." The start of the tale had everyone pausing and falling silent. "Both the Reach and the members of a secret council known as the Light were meeting to discuss plans for future collaborations on how to run the planet." He treated the situation much like one would do around a campfire, indicating with his hands and speaking almost in a whisper, and his audience acted in very much the same manner as other campers, leaning in to hear the tale better. "Our enemies honestly believed that they held all the advantages in their little deal. What they didn't know was that our team has had a mold within their ranks for months and had gather vital Intel on their little get together."
It wasn't long before Guy overheard the beginning of the story and speed walk over with a full tray of food. He had wanted to hear how the young heroes had managed to defeat the Big Bads of their home planet and now it looks like he was getting that chance. "Ooooh, this is gonna be good. I can tell." Soon enough the ginger space soldier had a comfy chair constructed with his ring and sat back to enjoy the show. Several others followed his lead and either constructed their own chairs or turned in the beetle's general direction.
"My leaders had our squads infiltrate the security detail of the summit and had us wait for the signal to move in." The Latino shared a knowing grin with his best hero friend as he told that particular part. The two of them had to settle on a coin toss to decide wither or not to be part of the first or second wave. "When the trap was sprung and the enemy realized they had been fooled, they called in for their security never once realizing that our forces were already integrated among them." During the time of the siege Jaime really had to restrain himself from just opening fire the second he touched down, but it was well worth just to see the looks on the Ambassador's face when he pulled his mask off. "In that moment, I revealed myself and sprang into action; immediately attacking their troops before any of them could react." As if to emphasize the scenario, Jaime called forth his wings and twin sonic cannons as props and began to mime firing them in a wide sweep without really pointing at anything. The action allowed a great view for those up front to see the morphing sequence. "This of course prompted the rest of our team to break their cover and join in the attack."
Although it was meant merely for display, Scarab wasted no time in charging up the cannons. Something wasn't right. It had sensed a possible pike in hostility a moment ago, but it vanished quickly and could not be pin pointed. "They didn't know what hit them." There was too much diversity in the room and it couldn't risk the time it took to bio-scan all the sentient lifeforms. "I covered our ground forces as they engaged the enemy head on, took out any that were targeting my team." The heat sensors allowed for a more accurate count, but not for the cold blooded aliens. Fewer in number they may be, but no less concerning. "From my position I spotted none other than the Ambassador and the Head Scientist trying to escape the battle." As Jaime continued his tale, blissfully unaware of his partner's sudden alertness, he noticed that the banner over the buffet table was getting loose on its left side. "I broke off in pursuit and opened fired the second they were in my crosshairs." Answering the mental command of its host, Scarab retracted the sonic cannons and reconfigured the weapon into the stable gun on the right hand before firing a single staple at the loose banner. Effectively stopping it from falling to the ground and doubling as a good emphasis for the story. "The look on their faces when I pinned them to the stone walls was priceless!"
There it was again. That spike. Closer and stronger than before. High levels of hostility. No… A killing intent! "Warning! Attack from behind!" Yet the warning came too late.
No one even saw the attack until it was too late. When it happened most were too shock to realize what had happened. A huge shark-like creature wearing the uniform of the Green Lantern Corp suddenly rushed forward, ripping off a power conduit from the wall, ramming it into the Blue Beetle and pinning him to the ground with it. "MISERABLE BUG!" The bright flash of the electrocution temporarily blinded everyone around enough to delay their reaction. It wasn't until the armored youth managed to scream in his pain that realization dawned on everyone that someone was attempting murder in a the middle of the room!
"Blue!" Kid Flash turned towards his best friend's cries and charged for the giant silhouette in front of him. He hit the mountain of muscle as hard as he could manage given the short distance and was able to topple the alien. Only for the violent man-fish grab him by his arm and fling him hard against the buffet table.
"Kid!" Beast Boy, being the closest to the table at the time, rushed to his hyperactive friend whom now laid semiconscious draped over the toppled over piece of furniture.
Guy's eyes managed to clear in time to see the new Kid Flash get sent flying before jumping onto the offender himself. He managed to body check him into the wall and spun him around to deliver a punch to the head only to freeze when he recognized the face alien face. "Gork?!" The ginger Lantern couldn't believe his own eyes. This was his good friend, whom he trained with in the beginning of his career. He was never the kinda of guy to start a fight like this. "What are you-?!" To his horror the man shark bared his multiple rows of teeth and chomped down just in front of him, forcing him to back off. The space allowed for a fist to fly and connect with the gun-hole soldier and sent him stumbling back.
The act of violence triggered a response from several other nearby Lanterns whom had managed to create protective visors for their eyes just as Kid Flash was thrown. Immediately they swarmed all over their enraged comrade and endeavored to physically restrain him before he could cause any more damage. They shouted, pleaded, trying to get through to his reasoning, wanting to know what had gotten into their normally mild manner friend to provoke such behavior. Yet the predatory fish creature would not be swayed by their words and was determine to finish what he had started, thus forcing several of the Elite to take to the air and use a repulse beam from their rings to forcibly pin him to the ground. Although they were reluctant to use their rings on a fellow Lantern, his superior strength made the option absolutely necessary in order to restore order.
In the mist of the confusion a very dazed and weakened Blue Beetle tried desperately to move. His entire body was one giant raw nerve, his flesh tingled painfully as if he landed on a bed of pins and needles, and his ears rang so loudly he couldn't even hear Khaji-Da muffled voice reporting the damage they've sustained, let alone what was going on around him. When he finally came to realize that he was suddenly free of the weight that had restrained him just moments earlier, he instinctively tried to crawl away to safety. Yet with his body so wrecked from the abuse he just barely managed to turn onto his stomach, exposing his back and the scarab. Seeing the evil device, fueled by his will to see it destroyed, the mad Green Lantern threw the other Corp members off his person and pounced on the bug and jabbed the active power cord onto the metal insect itself. It had taken him years to find this hateful creature. He wasn't going to let it get away. No matter this day will see the end of this Reach scum!
"Not compatible!" The excessive amount of foreign electrical energy running through Scarab's matrix was overwhelming, and Jaime Reyes was in immense pain! "Not compatible!" The boy's mind was wiped clean of all thought, unable to think from the current running through them. His frantic heart was stressed nearly beyond its limit. If this attack continues on it would do irreversible harm to the boy. "Multiple enemy hostiles detected!" This was all the Lanterns doing! It must secure its host! It must eliminate the threat!
"GET OFF!" An angry voice demanded as the attacker was viciously spun him around only to see the young Kryptonian rear back his fist before sending it crashing into his head. The impact was the same as getting hit with a speeding battering ramp as he literally flew back and left an imprint on the wall upon contact. The sudden stop had the attacker dropping his electrified weapon on the ground where it flopped and flailed like an injured eel.
"Watch it!" Static Shock shouted in warning before making a grab for the live wire, surprising everyone as he began to pull the uncomfortable amount of electricity into his own body. "Someone, turn this thing off!" The African American screamed as he tried really hard not to think of his forced incarceration at the hand of the Reach while holding onto electrified cord. It was more juice than he had ever been hit with before.
"Cut the power!" Tomar-Re ordered, prompting the closest Lantern near the alien fuse box to flip off nearly every single switch with his ring.
With the source of power officially cut off, it was just a matter for a rather sparkling Static to bring his charge down from the unexpected jump start. Feeling fairly certain he just learned what an overcharged battery felt like in that moment, it took the living electric gyro a few moments to settle his body down. Even then his muscles were twitching like crazy from the surge. He'll have to go outside and expelled all that extra power soon or everyone one will wide up glowing in the dark. That had to have been the dumbest thing he had ever done in his entire life. He could just hear his mother scolding him for playing around with live electrical wires. Not to mention his dad and older sister.
"LET ME GO!" The large enraged predatory fish of a Lantern demanded as he fought against those whom held him back from his goal. His natural size and strength forced them to use theirs rings to restrain him. "I'LL KILL HIM!" Again and again the half mad alien tried to wrench his ring arm free in order to attack his stunned enemy. His determination to finish off the most hated enemy fueled his will to the point of overpowering that of his fellow Corp men. "I'LL SEE HIM DEAD FOR WHAT HE'S DONE!" In his rage Gork managed to knock his restrainers off and charged for his target.
Both Beast Boy and Kid Flash had been trying aide their fallen friend when the saw the threat and positioned themselves for the assault. Superboy made a grabbed for Gork, but just barely missed grabbing by the collar effective ripping off a part of the green uniform at the back. Yet before the alien shark could barrel through the Bug's scrawny would be protectors something jumped on his back and he was suddenly bombarded with excruciating pain. Static Shock, seeing the weak point in the protective suit, had jumped on the man shark's back and proceeded to unleash a decent amount of the absorbed electrical energy. Not wanting to kill the Lantern, it took everything he had not to unload the entire charge into the crazy fish man once the power was flowing. It was an agonizing few moments that felt like forever before he released his prisoner and allowed him to fall to the ground unconscious.
"Blue!" The second the threat ended, Bart was immediately right at Jaime's side. The armor was still smoking from the electrocution but his gloves provided enough protection as he carefully turned him on his back to assess the damage. "Blue can you hear me?!" The beetle was completely knocked out and didn't respond at all to his friend's frantic pleas or to being nudged and shaken.
John Stewart immediately knelt by the boy's side and manage to pry and eye open to check if the pupil was dilated. "Get a medic in here now!" He barked the order towards those closest to the exit, causing several to take flight in their haste.
Conner stood to the other side of his fallen friend as the Earth Lantern tried to scan for damages. However the alien armor, being designed to counter Lantern technology, somehow interfered and didn't allow for a clear reading. Yet what the ring couldn't pick up, the Field Leader did with his super hearing. "No…"
The silent cry was picked up by Hal and him looking at the young Kryptonian with apprehension. "What is it, Superboy?"
Not believing his own ears, not after the Cape Canaveral mission, the youngest member of the Kent family made a mad dash to his fallen friend and literally placed his ear to the armored chest. Straining to hear even the smallest reverberation within the cavity... Nothing. "His heart… I don't hear his heart!"
The thought that the boy might have actually died sent Hal Jordan into panic mode. "Move!" The man positioned himself over the boy and sure enough he wasn't breathing. Immediately the Honor Guard started to administer CPR…
Suddenly Blue Beetle's body violently jumped on its own. Khaji-Da, sensing the surrounding enemies and knowing aware that its host was mere moments away from ceasing completely, bombarded the body with a carefully calculated electric surge straight to the cardiac muscle. The equivalent of a doctor using a defibrillator on a patient that just flat lined. The boy's body arched unnaturally with only his shoulders and toes supporting him before his leg lashed out and upward; sending him into a spin and kicking away anyone that was close. The gradually increasing momentum was used to reposition himself into a hand stand, forcing everyone to back away. He then jumped to his feet with bizarre sway as if he couldn't quite support the weight of his own body. His head rolled around on his shoulders as if his neck was made of rubber before finally straightening with a bobble. His eyelids snapped open to reveal, not golden orbs, but completely blank, white eyes. Kid Flash, Beast Boy, and Static Shock had seen that look only once. On the Reach ship during the abductee rescue mission. When the scarab took full control.
Suddenly a very familiar feeling enveloped Guy Gardner. One he hadn't felt since he first met the armored youth almost a year ago. His ring was scanning and tagging him as a hostile enemy and began urging him to shoot. Not just him but several others were charging up as well. This wasn't good. The ginger fought against the feeling but as he place and hand to his head, his ring hand, everything hit the fan in an instant. Before a warning could be given, the beetle transformed his right arm into a blade, leaped into the air and came down on the first target in his sight. Guy Garner. The ginger Lantern barely had time to form a shield before he was slammed down to the ground followed by the blade with enough force to pierce through. The light construct detoured the intended direction just enough for the attack to just barely miss his head and scratch his cheek instead. Several surrounding Corp men switched to soldier mode and aimed their rings at the blue Reach agent, only for the scarab to suddenly sprout out several prehensile limbs and attack each one. Bones were snapped, and flesh was pierced before the beetle spun around to fling every trapped offender into walls and other bodies.
"He's gone mad!" One of the other Elite's shouted before firing a shot that the now hostile bug.
Only to miss as his intended target dodged the blast by flipping into the air. As he maneuvered to right himself, his body began to grow and change form. He landed heavily, literally making a small crater in the floor, and stood a monstrous eight feet tall, built like a tank with how the armor had expanded his muscle mass, and finally his head covered by a protective dome like helmet. The shocked Elite barely had time to register what had happened before the blue mountain literally charged forward right at him. Instinctively he fired off more shots, but each hit didn't even faze the attacking insect. In fact it only succeeded in making him angrier.
"Watch out!" Superboy yelled as he tackled the surprised Lantern in time to save him from becoming paste but couldn't get out of the way as the living battering ram literally bulldozed him into the triple reinforced wall. "Shoot…! He hits hard…!" There had been no restraint behind the blow. It was all he could do from toppling over as he slid to his feet. His vision was actually doubling and his ears, good grief, were they ringing! "Shake it off Conner..." He ordered himself as felt the ground shake from was the heavy running footsteps of another charge aimed right at him. "Shake it off!" His vision cleared and a split second later he was lunging forward to get out of the way as the supersized juggernaut barreled through the wall like tissue paper.
"He's reacting to our rings!" The Earth Marine Lantern shouted after noticing how easily the bug had attacked the instant a ring was charged and aimed.
"Stay where you are! No one move!" The Kryptonian clone ordered the surrounding soldiers as the huge beetle emerged from the hole completely unscathed and marching right for the young hero. "Blue!" Superboy cried out as he soon parried off the preverbal battering ram that just tried to pile drive him into the ground; forming a crater around his feet from the impact. "Blue! Listen to me!" He then caught/blocked another punch from the now giant sized beetle; grunting from the strain at he was soon made to grapple with the angry bug. "It's me, Superboy!" He was actually being pushed back as whatever traction he had on his boots squealed in protest as they desperately tried to grip at the ground. "I know you're in there somewhere!" Conner yelled as he was forcibly backed into a table. Yet the only response he received from the beetle was a series of unrecognizable insect-like clicks. "You can't let the scarab control you! You need to wake up!" Forced to bend back until he was pinned, the young Kryptonian could only watch with wide eyes as a plasma cannon formed on the huge beetle's chest and powered up to deliver the final blow. "Wake up!" His cry echoed among the rest of the squad as the weapon was moments away from firing point blank. "WAKE UP BLUE!"
In that moment, those white eyes dimmed in their intensity and became more human looking. Wither he had heard and recognized his friend's voice, or he somehow realized what he was about to do, Jaime's conscious had indeed woken up. However the moment was short lived as said pair of eyes began to flash back and forth. In a pained grunt, the armored youth pushed away from his field leader and grasped at his own head in agony. A blood curdling scream tore from his lungs as he collapsed in a heap on the ground, curling and uncurling, rolling and thrashing as the armor spasm and morphed randomly. Barely recognizable weapons formed and deformed as the two consciousness's fought with each other for control of the armor and the body itself. It was as if he had gone into a violent seizure and his now erratic second skin was lashing out in a terrifying manifestation of the inner torture he was enduring.
"Get back! Everyone get back!" Immediately the young Kryptonian pulled and shoved back everyone he could grab as he gave the order. He had to secure this situation and fast before someone got killed. "Static! The tables!" Guessing where this might lead, Virgil grabbed a hold of two large metal tables with his powers, while Superboy did the same. "Surround Blue with them! Turn them on their sides!" The two brought their tables together, forming a large square around the struggling beetle. Kid Flash and Beast Boy caught on and went to grab tables of their own. Even Hal and John tuned into the plan and grabbed tables of their own to build around the malfunctioning beetle. "Stack them and cover the top!" Superboy instructed as they constructed a surrounding barrier to trap the bug inside. Hal even nearly lost his head to a wild pincer as he sealed the top opening with two more tables facing down flat. Before the Lanterns could reinforce the structure, Conner shouted another order towards Static. "Magnetized the whole thing!" The bio-electrical meta obeyed and shot what was left of the excess stream of electricity in his body at the metal structure to stimulate the positive and negative ions into pulling towards each other. The procedure forced the group to shield their eyes for protection and back away in order to keep from getting shock.
"Is that really going to hold him?" Salaak asked as he and Tomar-Re stood front and center with all three of the Earth Lanterns in a half circle, both forming weapons with their power rings, ready to engage the beetle should he break through the barrier and attack.
"Not suppose to." Superboy declared as he backed away while Static ran his controlled current around the metal tables in order to make sure they were pulled strongly together through magnetism. "He needs to be cut off from everyone right now otherwise the scarab will override him completely." The Kryptonian could still hear his friend grunting and straining in his attempt at regaining his mental grip on the scarab. If it was anything like a battle between telepaths, this one was going to take all of Jaime's concentration. "He can't take control again if it thinks he's still under attack."
"So that was what was going on with Blue Beetle." The Marine realized as he heard the distressed boy literally fight for his very mind within the makeshift hiding place. The shock must have caused a malfunction and he had to reset whatever he did to control the scarab. "You heard the kid!" John Stewart barked out loudly in order to take command of the situation. If solitary confinement will help get this mess under control than they'll just have to evacuate the Mess Hall. "Everybody out now!" Hal and Guy followed his lead and soon the three of them ushered the rest of the Lanterns out. Between the three of them, the room was cleared in record time and a temporary quarantine was ordered.
Meanwhile the convulsing bug rolled back and forth until the A.I. had detected something odd. There were no immediate life forms surrounding them. No green energy detected in the immediate area either. The room was clear. "No hostiles detected." The beetle took a second scan at its prison and found that there was no logical way that it could possibly keep him prisoner but the magnetism it detected would make it rather difficult for others to get near its shared body. This meant that, it couldn't have been constructed for that reason, but rather to isolate him from the rest of the world. "Area secure." With the host body secure and all potential enemies cleared out of the vicinity, it was the ideal opportunity to see to treating the physical injuries and resetting its attack protocols. Again. "Initiating hibernation mode."
In spite of everything, Jaime managed one last coherent thought before gratefully slipping into his meditative trance. "Gracia a Dios…"