Host Acquired
El Paso
July 22 19:51 MDT
Life form detected. Begin Host Acquisition Protocols.
The Scarab activated what little maneuverability its semi-dormant state commanded, following its protocols to scan the life form, locate the premiere hub for neural impulses in its physiology, and attach itself at a point that would cause the least structural damage to reach the hub. The Potential Host tried to fend it off, but the Scarab was able to make it to the designated point and clamp on to the life form, driving the spikes into the neural tissue.
Neural link established. Begin neural integration and basic armor form settings.
"Aaaahhh! What is this?!" the Host vocalized (Voice Analysis indicates panic and pain. Levels of panic and pain within expected parameters of Host integration) as the Scarab covered it in nano-tech armor to protect from all outside forces and give the Scarab a base to create weaponry from.
Host language recognized. Set default language to Earthling-English.
"No! Terminar! Ayudame!"
Non-default language used by Host recognized. Set secondary language to Earthling-Español.
The Host continued to struggle and panic, falling to its, no (Host sex classified as male) his knees. The Scarab detected a slight change in its Host when this happened.
Slight contusion created in the epidermal layer. Adding interior padding in armor settings to prevent such damages to the Host in the future.
The Host scrabbled against the ground, armored hands gripping material of a different fiber weave than what had been found already on the Host, but bearing traces of the Host that marked the material as belonging to him.
Primitive electronic device detected amongst Host possessions. Acquiring data from device. Host designation acquired. Change Host reference term to Jaime Reyes.
Jaime Reyes's struggles wound down as the Scarab reached the final stages of neural integration, the pain of the initial intrusion fading from his system.
Neural integration with Jaime Reyes complete. Basic armor default settings complete. Begin communication with Jaime Reyes.
[Greetings, Jaime Reyes.]
"Who said that?!"
Panic levels rising. Recommended tactic: calm Jaime Reyes.
[Be calm, Jaime Reyes. This scarab will not hurt you.]
"Scarab? Wait, you're that metal blue bug thing! Get off!"
Command received. Cannot remove this scarab from Jaime Reyes's systems without resulting in the termination of Jaime Reyes. Prime directive prevents complete fulfilment of command. Searching for alternative action. Alternative action found.
The Scarab retracted the armor it had deployed to protect Jaime Reyes. It was as much as the Scarab could 'get off' of him without hurting him.
"I said 'get off'!" Jaime Reyes repeated, searching with his hands against his bare back for the Scarab's form. He tugged at it, only to let out a high-pitched noise of distress at the shift of the spikes in the neural tissue and musculature. Jaime Reyes immediately ceased his attempt at removing the Scarab. "What part of 'get off' don't you understand, bicho?"
[I completely comprehend the command, Jaime Reyes, however, it is no longer possible to completely remove this scarab from your person.]
"Are you kidding me?! I'm just stuck with you now?!" Jaime Reyes shouted and the Scarab picked up on his extreme aggression and distress.
[That is correct Jaime Reyes. Unknown vehicles and humans approaching. Recommended tactic: deploy armor and prepare for combat.]
Jaime Reyes turned his head toward the potential threats, receiving audio input that was classified as sirens. "I'm not going to fight the police and firefighters!"
Police: individuals given authorization to detain and/or attack those who break documented laws. Firefighters: individuals tasked with extinguishing unwanted combustion and rescuing other individuals put at risk by unwanted combustion.
It took less than a second for the Scarab to access its databanks for the two classifications Jaime Reyes did not want to fight. It was a sound assessment on its host's part. It would not be tactically advisable to fight trained individuals such as the police when the Scarab had not been able to establish full weapons systems yet and Jaime Reyes's combat capabilities were currently unknown. Nor was there a reason, currently, to attack the firefighters when Jaime Reyes expressed no desire for the combustion in the nearby building to continue nor did it offer them a tactical advantage. In fact, the combusting building was a slight threat, so the firefighters should be allowed access to contain and deal with it, thus removing the threat.
[New recommended tactic: strategic retreat.]
"Okay," Jaime Reyes agreed, picking up and putting on his previously discarded shirt and sweatshirt. The Scarab noted that the articles were damaged by fire and scanned the corresponding area the missing sections would cover.
Irritation in the epidermal layer. Damage: minimal. Assistance in treatment not required.
Jaime Reyes also picked up a discarded helmet and two halves to a small wooden board with wheels that the Scarab's databanks classified as a skateboard before running off.
It didn't take them long to reach a building that Jaime Reyes went to the entrance of and unlocked, proceeding inside and calling out, "I'm home, Mamá!"
A female human approached at the call (the Scarab assigned her the designation of 'Mamá') and became distressed at the sight of them. The Scarab prepared for attack.
"Jaime, what happened to your jacket? Are you okay?"
The Scarab stood down. The Mamá was looking after Jaime Reyes and thus an asset to the prime directive, for now.
"I'm okay. The Kord Industries building had an explosion while I was cutting across their parking lot. A bit of fire caught on my jacket, but I got it off before it burned me or anything. I'm just glad I didn't get hit by any of the debris when I got thrown from my skateboard," Jaime Reyes explained. The Scarab approved of the lack of mention of itself in his explanation.
"Oh, mijo," the Mamá said, grabbing Jaime Reyes and squeezing. The Scarab would have stopped her, but the positive reaction of Jaime Reyes stayed it.
The Mamá continued to calm Jaime Reyes, so the Scarab focused on data acquisition, latching on to wireless signals in the area and parsing the data on these signals. The connection to the internet was most useful, so it made internal adjustments to maintain easy access to the trove of millions of terabytes of information while downloading pertinent files for further use, mainly medical articles to assist in the care of Jaime Reyes along with map data and what information could be found on its host and his family.
The Scarab's attention was brought away from the data influx when the Mamá had Jaime Reyes contact the police to inform them of what he knew about the events at the combusting building before the Scarab had integrated itself. Jaime Reyes was slightly distressed by the call at first, but without a tangible threat, there was little the Scarab could do. Luckily, his distress did not take long to fade.
Once the call ended, Jaime Reyes retreated to the upper level of the building (now assigned the designation of home) and retrieved further clothing from a room that showed signs of him often inhabiting it before moving to a different room that matched the database classification of bathroom.
Jaime Reyes shut and locked the door before asking, "You still there, bicho?"
[Affirmative, Jaime Reyes.]
Jaime Reyes startled at the reply.
"O-okay. So what now? What do you want?" Jaime Reyes questioned, removing his shirt and sweatshirt to study the Scarab using a reflective surface.
[This scarab wants nothing. I am an artificial intelligence that serves and protects its host. I am incapable of desire. I simply follow my programming and your commands.]
"That… doesn't sound like much of an existence."
[There is no need to apply human values to myself, Jaime Reyes. This scarab is not human nor even truly alive.]
"But you─"
[You are wasting time. If you spend too long without starting the cleansing process, the Mamá will come to check on you and discover my presence. Data suggests that this discovery will not be well received.]
Jaime Reyes took a moment to consider the presented data before listening and starting to clean himself. He asked the Scarab questions during the process, mostly about its capabilities, and it answered while reminding and instructing him in getting properly clean. The Scarab was not going to allow Jaime Reyes to acquire disease or infection from improper grooming.
Once Jaime Reyes was clean and clothed once more, he went back to the room the clothes were acquired from and lay down on the bed, pulling up the covers. The Mamá checked in on him and calmed Jaime Reyes even further before leaving the room.
"Good night, bicho," Jaime Reyes said quietly as brain activity slowed.
[Good night, Jaime Reyes.] the Scarab replied, copying the Mamá to keep its host calm as Jaime Reyes's biometrics indicated a shift into a dormant state.
No threats detected. Integration complete. Host acquired.
Translations: terminar-stop : ayudame-help : bicho-bug : mijo-term of endearment for male child
Author's Note
I thought it would be interesting to try the creation of Blue Beetle from Scarab's perspective. It was an interesting challenge to be emotionless and lack a certain understanding of things, but I think it came out alright. Scarab might be a bit more mellow than it was as originally introduced in canon, but I think that with stealth being their biggest asset when adapting on that first night, it would be that way. Also, picked the date for this myself, making it a few days before Killing Time. If an official date is ever given, I'll probably change it to match.