Learn to Fly
El Paso
August 17, 23:07
"Why are we doing this again?" Jaime asked, eyeing the drop-off from the mesa top.
[Because, Jaime Reyes, if you intend to continue fighting these criminals, we must become more efficient in combat. Our probability of victory over the criminals classified as 'super villains' is currently too low. To raise these probabilities, you must learn to control the armor yourself to increase synchronization and combat effectiveness.]
"Okay, but then shouldn't we be working on my aim?" Jaime asked. There weren't any super villains in El Paso that Jaime knew of, but someone had blown up Kord Industries and Ted Kord. Probably to get the Scarab since it was so high-tech, and that was something a super villain would want, right? If so, they'd probably come to try and take it from him, so being prepared to fight back was a good idea.
[Negative. With your reluctance to use lethal force to quickly end battles, it is more effective to raise our maneuverability first to ensure our survival should a battle drag out. We will work on your aim once you have become competent in flying.]
"If you say so, ese." Jaime looked at the desert spread out before them under the moon. The Scarab had flown them out to a rather picturesque spot with no one around for miles, just empty desert. Though the hard-packed dirt and sand with boulders sticking out didn't look all that soft for crash landings, of which Jaime expected there would be many. "So how do we do this?"
[First, you must change the armor to a flight configuration. Recommended configuration: wings.]
"Right, start off slow and steady," Jaime nodded in agreement, trying to calm his nerves.
[Correct, Jaime Reyes. The probability of crash landing is considerably lower when using the wings configuration than when using the jetpack configuration with your current skill level.]
To his knowledge, the Scarab could fly them in those two ways: wings or jetpack. The wings were the one more commonly used, spreading up above his back in large, graceful arcs. Jaime actually had no idea how they worked since they didn't flap or anything like real insect wings, but he did know they got the job done in lifting him off the ground to sail through the air. The jetpack allowed them to go fast, blasting through the air, and was what the Scarab had used to bring them so far out so quickly.
Jaime sucked a breath in and focused on mentally commanding the armor to produce its wings. After a moment, he heard the tell-tale clacking of the armor shifting configurations. A glance over his shoulders showed the semi-translucent wings had been deployed.
"Okay, now what?"
[Initiate membrane vibrations for atmospheric lift and flight.]
"So that's how the wings work!" Jaime exclaimed. He still didn't get the physics behind it, but at least he had a rough idea of how they allowed him to fly now. "Wait, atmospheric flight? As in, they don't work in space?"
[That is correct, Jaime Reyes.] the Scarab replied and Jaime thought it sounded kind of pleased about him noticing that. [Space lacks the requisite amount of ambient molecules for vibration-based propulsion, or attacks.]
"Oookay," Jaime said. He still wasn't really comfortable with the Scarab's aggression that had it volunteering data about how best to attack others all the time. "Space capabilities aside, just turn the wings on to fly," Jaime said, trying to psyche himself up for flying under his own control.
[Incorr─]
The Scarab's warning came too late as Jaime's mental command for the wings to 'turn on' was accepted by the armor without the A.I.'s safety filters (or training wheels, as Jaime called them after getting the Scarab to explain how he could use the armor so well right off the bat) to interfere. They shot up into the air, Jaime shouting in panic at the sudden acceleration. It only got worse as he started to tilt and roll drastically within seconds. Then Jaime felt the somewhat familiar feel of his limbs locking up and moving without his command as his ascent slowed down and the spinning stopped until he was hovering high in the midnight sky.
Jaime took in deep breaths, trying to get his heart to slow down. "So… that could have gone better."
The Scarab said nothing.
"Um, so I shouldn't have used that much thrust?" Jaime tried, hoping that the A.I. wasn't somehow mad at him.
[Correct.] was the terse reply.
"And flailing about in a panic caused me to spin out of control," Jaime said more confidently, realizing that it was a good idea to go over the mistakes he made.
[Correct. That along with the panicked commands you gave the armor to try to stabilize your flight, often overcompensating or reacting too slowly. The wings' power must be modulated for proper control and an imbalance in power between them sharpens banking and rolling maneuvers, but is a poor tactic for stabilizing your flight pattern given your incompetency.]
"Break it to me gently, why don't you," Jaime jokingly grumbled.
[A useless tactic that only invites further mistakes of a similar type.]
Jaime huffed a laugh. He hadn't been that serious about it anyway, but it was kind of amusing that the Scarab had taken it seriously. "Alright, I screwed up," he conceded. "So are we going back down to try again, or are you going to have me practice flying around since we're already up here?"
[I will guide you through basic aerial maneuvers for five minutes and then you will try to land. We will go over further mistakes, then you will attempt lift off again and we will repeat the process for an hour before returning to your residence, Jaime Reyes. You still must rest for six to eight hours.]
"Yes sir!" Jaime joked and got to work. He would learn to fly.
Author's Note
So this is Jaime beginning to learn how to hero (pre-Team) with Scarab based off a theory of mine (which will appear more in future chapters) that Beetle armor is made more effective/powerful if the host is capable of operating it without the Scarab A.I. or at the very least, if they're more used to using the armor. Otherwise, Blue Beetle should have been more of a match for Black Beetle with or without Scarab taking full control of the combat systems since they've got the same weapons/powers.
The vibrating wings for flight is based off of Silver Crow from the series Accel World by Reki Kawahara as explained at the end of the Hermes Chord Race in volume 5 of the novel, page 229 of the English version (I'm not sure the manga has made it that far yet). It seemed like a reasonable way for seemingly still wings to create lift and flight since the Wiki offers no explanation on that front.