The Flight of the Blue Beetle 23
He had faced extraordinary circumstances but never, ever had something like this happen. At his door was a beautiful woman in a short red dress, black high-heeled boots, and a black leather jacket. Her hair was loose behind her in a long dark curtain, and her eyes would not look away from him. And he, oh God, and he had just finished showering and was wearing a bathrobe. One pull of the strap and he would be exposed, not that he already didn't feel like that.
"I… you…what are… would…" brain, calling brain, work!
Tracy Thirteen is triggering Bio-Chemical changes to your system. Eighty percent likelihood of a decision lacking of reason and increasing. Recommended action; do not interact with Tracy Thirteen.
But of course, you are.
"What he means to say is would you like to come in? And that he is a dork," Paco said picking from the couch.
"Shut up Paco," he said stepping aside to let her in, and then said to her with an awkward smile, "please come in, and I am a dork."
She laughed softly as she entered the apartment. At the same time, Paco was getting up and picking up his jacket.
"Well kiddos, I am going to not being a third wheel somewhere else. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he said with a bow, "Mi Casa es Su Casa and my roommate is your room-"
"Just shut up and leave," he said running a hand down his face.
"You are welcome," Paco said with a big smile before almost skipping out the door.
"I should have called, sorry," Tracy said between small laughs.
"No, it's fine. Just give me like two minutes," he said to her before inviting her to sit down. He rushed to his bedroom before he threw off the bathrobe and started hunting for clean underwear. He found his favorite shirt, the pair of jeans his mother had given him before he left, and a clean pair of socks and shoes. He was glad he had already brushed because he knew his time was running out. When ready more than he ever would be he stopped with his hand on the doorknob. What if she was only there to talk? He had even thrown on the cologne his dad gave him last Christmas and had never used. Maybe he could escape through the window and hope she would be gone in an hour or two.
Failure to process decision Jaime Reyes. Ninety-nine perfect likelihood of making a non-rational decision.
And that's all I need to hear. I need to live a little Khaji Da.
You are alive Jaime Reyes. Heart rate increase is evidence one. Brain activity though deficient do to chemical unbalance shows no deterioration.
I need to live the way normal humans do! Now stay quiet, please
"Do you know any good places to eat around here?" she called before he reached for his jacket.
"Only the fast food places," he and Paco had tried at least four of them. When he came out, he found Tracy watching the news Paco had left on.
"Incredible, isn't?" she asked looking at the replay of Solstice powering down in India. Tracy's expression was unreadable. "I wish I could see if it is magic, but pictures and TV make things so blurry."
"So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked her sitting on the other couch.
"Well, you said you wanted to go out sometime," she said as she kept looking at the news.
"Really? I mean yes I did, but I didn't expect it would be so soon. Not that it bothers me! I am just-" such a dork.
"Do you know how difficult it is to pull together a transportation spell?" he shook his head no. "Let's just say you better be glad I am here," she said getting up and stretching.
"Of course I am. I mean- a spell?" he asked. Right, she had stayed in El Paso.
"Costly transportation spell," Tracy said with a predatory smile.
"Oh, I see," he had never thought of magic as expensive.
"What can I say? You got me curious Jaime. Some friends of yours dropped by after you left," she said advancing on him.
"Tye and Asami," he would get them back for this, "what did they say?"
"A few things," she said as her smile because sharp.
"Half of what they said wasn't real, and the other half was not the whole story," he said in his defense. What the hell had those two told her?
"But that's the thing; it always felt like they were leaving a lot more out. Then when I asked your sister, she seemed ready to burst to tell someone, but wouldn't" she looked at him in the eye, daring him to say otherwise.
"Oh," okay, maybe not get them back for this, but get them some acting lessons.
"So, you are taking me somewhere where I will get to know a little more about you until I find what the big deal is," he hadn't realized he had been stepping back until his back met the wall.
"It isn't really a big deal," he told her offering a crooked smile.
"Is that right?" she said, her face only inches from his. He could feel her breath on his lips and begged Khaji Da to not say anything.
"Well…" he started before she took a step back. He was able to breathe again, but only for a short moment.
"Then it's on. I will find out what you are hiding, and you can try to hide it from for as long you want, but I will find out," she said walking towards the door.
"You will be the death of me," he said knowing he had a stupid smile on his face as he followed her.
"Nope, curses are also expensive," she said with a smirk before he locked the door behind them, "that's why you are buying me dinner."
"I really don't know any good place," he said as they started going down the stairs.
"I do, just follow me dark, tall and mysterious," she said throwing him a tempting smile.
Just as they were reaching the lobby, his other cell phone rang. He knew Tim was busy, but he really hoped he had fixed the issue of the League intervening on their signal. It had been frustrating that he couldn't get hold of him or Bart when H'El attacked. Luckily Khaji Da had been able to lock on Superboy's Kryptonian DNA.
"I need you to get Celine and Leonid," Tim said without pause.
"Is this related to what you guys are doing?" he asked giving Tracy an apologetic smile.
"Company?" Tim asked.
"Yes," he stressed the word.
"We can't leave them on their own at this time. They can still back off. We have to show them they can rely on us," Tim told him.
"What would you have me do?" was he supposed to lock them somewhere?
"They are worried because someone tried to capture them and Kiran just exposed herself. Take them with you to some place where they can get their minds off it," so just make sure they didn't bolt somewhere. He could do that, but then he couldn't dismiss Tracy.
"So, you just want me to show them around. I am also new around here, remember?" he knew it was selfish, but couldn't he ask Conner instead?
"I don't mind company, I might even get some juicy bits out of them about you," Tracy told him with a smile.
"I am bringing a friend with me," he said to Tim right away.
"The magic user who is teaching your sister?" Tim asked.
"I don't even want to know how you know that," he said looking at his phone with mistrust. Was it bugged?
"I am sending you the address where they are waiting for you, don't take long," a moment later the phone vibrated with the message, "good luck Blue."
"Yeah," he was really going to need it.
Just when it seemed life was going his way, it did a complete turn. He knew almost nothing about Celine for the exception of her powers activating when she slept and he had talked to Leonid back when they defeated La Dama, though that all seemed so far away now.
"So, are they friends?" Tracy asked from the copilot seat as he drove towards the park Tim had sent him to.
"One is a friend of a friend, and the other is an acquaintance. My friend was supposed to show them around tonight, but he got caught on something else," taking apart a company founded on crime and recruiting a powerhouse like Solstice was definitely being caught in something.
"So comes Jaime to the rescue," she said giving him a curious look.
"What are friends for?" he said with a shrug. He was literally one of the good guys.
"You are too much of a nice guy," she said, and the way she said it rubbed him the wrong way. She didn't know the whole truth, but that didn't mean she could call him a softy.
"I was going to hang up on him if you hadn't said you were okay with them coming along, you know?" he said keeping his eyes on the road.
"Like you said, half is not real and the rest is not the whole story," she said with a smirk while he could only give her a surprised look. "I don't mean it, is just fun to see you like this."
"You really will be the death of me," he said with a smile as he kept driving.
When they got to the park, it took them no time to find Celine and Leonid. Leonid was a blond and taller than anyone around. He wore a tight green shirt and black cargo pants along with black combat boots. He could intimidate anyone with one glare of his blue eyes. Celine was a black petite young woman with hair tightly braided backward where it was tied in a ponytail. Though she seemed unhappy with the current situation, her wardrobe said otherwise. She wore skinny jeans, a top that showed off her flat abdomen and a light jacket. They were whispering harshly at each other. Celine looked like she would bolt at any moment while Leonid crossed his arms and stood his ground. Neither one seemed happy.
Subject Red Star and Skitter don't present Non-Rational energy.
I bet you are happy about that.
Subject Skitter shows traces of energy of unknown source. Forty percent likelihood is of not Earth origin. Further investigation recommended.
I will tell Tim later, now shut up. I can't think.
"Jaime!" the moment Leonid spotted them he hurried to them, "sooch loong thime!" Leonid said before giving him a bone crushing hug.
"Hey," he said almost out of breath and always reminding Khaji Da that Leonid was a friend. "This is Leonid," he told Tracy when he was finally released.
"Naice to mith you Trracy, this is Celine," Leonid said pushing forwards a rather reluctant young black woman.
"It's very nice to meet you, Celine. Tim has told me a lot about you," he said giving her his best friendly smile.
"Likewise," she said shaking his hand, "sorry, not much of a hugger."
"Thank you, don't know if my back can stand it anymore. So, Tracy said she knows a great place to eat," he said leading them back to the car.
"Just follow me," Tracy said walking by his side.
They were almost all strangers so it wasn't odd when an awkward silence surrounded them as he drove. The only sound was Tracy giving him instructions on how to get to what she called the coolest restaurant around. He wished Paco was there to keep the silence away, but when he sent him a message he told him he was busy, which he couldn't understand how. They barely knew anyone there.
"So, how did you meet Jaime?" Tracy said breaking the silence as she looked at the back passengers.
"Back in Paso, he helped me vhen I had thrrouble," Leonid said calmly, now this guy knew how to act.
"What sort of trouble?" Tracy asked leaning forwards, her eyes never leaving his face.
"His car broke down," he said as he drove taking her attention away from the handsome blond in the back.
"Didn'th charrge a centh," Leonid said leaning back.
"It was loose hose leading to the radiator, it wasn't even cracked," not even his dad charged for something like that.
"And how long have you guys been together?" Tracy asked then looking between Leonid and Celine.
"I doon'th underrsthand questhion," Leonid said with a frown but wasn't so much because of the question, but they were being interrogated by Tracy, who was a stranger.
"We just met yesterday, our friend Tim was supposed to show us around but said something came up," Celine said meeting Tracy's eyes challengingly. She didn't like to be questioned, especially after both of them had been attacked by machines of unknown origin. Leonid seemed to be taking it better than her, but still she was in the right to feel bothered by Tracy's snooping.
Tracy Thirteen becoming a threat towards the objective of the Titans and your mental health.
I know what I am doing.
Nine percent failure calculated
You are just making those numbers up, aren't you?
Error. All was calculated using-
Don't want to hear it, just shut up a little longer.
"She is trying to figure my secret out, is nothing against you guys," he told when the tension became so thick it could have been cut with a knife.
"Way to ruin my fun. My dad is a detective, you know?" Tracy said turning away from the back seat and then crossing her arms.
"Your secret?" Celine asked. He guessed neither Tim nor Leonid had told her of his other identity.
"They don't know?" Tracy asked him.
"They don't. Like I told you before; I only met Leonid once before and this is my first time meeting Celine," he gave both of them apologetic looks through the rearview mirror.
"What sort of game are you two playing?" Celine asked with a smile, the first real one of the night.
"Nothing short of frustrating; he won't even give me a hint," she said giving him a small punch on the arm. "Turn left here."
"You already have a clue, any more and it wouldn't be as fun," he said with a lopsided smile.
"So, you are actually enjoying this?" Tracy turned on her seat and said with a surprised look. Having a girl chase after him, what was not to like?
"Sort of," he said with a shrug.
"This norrmal in yourr counthrry?" Leonid asked Celine in the back.
"Not really," Celine said unable to withhold her smile.
"And if there was no secret at the end?" Tracy asked him.
"Then you get to give me one order I can't refuse," he just had to dig the hole deeper, didn't he?
"Oh wow," Celine said as she held on to Leonid, "if we are not careful they will throw us off the car."
"Vhath?" Leonid asked looking at them as if they would really do that.
"Is that so?" Tracy asked him.
"You can't really lose," he didn't want to see her angry anyways so he wasn't also losing.
"Is all about when to rip the fruits of my investigation," she said rubbing her chin in a way that almost made him run a red light.
"Pretty much," he told her concentrating on the road again.
"Humm… stop there. That's the place," Tracy said pointing at a restaurant.
He had stopped in front of a Philippine restaurant of sorts before they followed Tracy in. The hostess seemed to be familiar with Tracy as she led them to a private booth. The central floor of the restaurant was covered by filled tables, on the sides there were booths. They were led to a far away one which fit them just right.
"Nice," Celine said settling right in. She liked the idea of no one being able to look at them more than anything.
After ordering, he was bombarded with more questions from Tracy like; what was he doing in San Francisco? What was he doing for a living? Did Paco know his secret? Who was Tim? Celine watched the whole exchange wide-eyed as she drank a shake she had ordered. He hoped she was taking note because at one point someone would also try to find about her.
"Be right back," Tracy said getting up and walking towards the bathroom.
"Arre you goin tho-" but he stopped Leonid from finishing his question by placing a finger to his mouth. From under the table, he pulled out a small bug. Khaji Da had sensed its activation the moment Tracy put it on the table. Khaji Da shot it down with a little spark.
"Who are you?" Celine asked him in a whisper.
"When the whole team meets," he promised her. "For now don't say anything about us. I don't think she means any harm, but-"
"Ith's foun vathch herr thrry" Leonid said with a spark in his eye.
"Guilty as charged," he said with a sigh. He hadn't really meant for things to turn out like this. He didn't ask Tye and Asami to open their mouths, or for Tracy to notice Khaji Da's existence due to his mistrust and dislike to magic.
"That's terrible," Celine said, but she was blushing loving the idea.
"I have my reasons to make her wait. It's actually complicated," he told them before Tracy returned. He handed her back her bug, to which she only smirked.
"Your order," the waitress said delivering the food. He definitely liked Philippine food. The spiciness was similar to the food from his home with the Chicken Dynamite Lumpia, plus the more Asiatic touch of Bihon, and then the fruit, sweetened beans, ice-cream and milk desert; Halo Halo. It was so different, yet so familiar.
After dinner, they went to watch a horror movie to which they yawned mostly through and at the end laughed at the corniest and unoriginality. As the night progressed, he noticed Celine and Leonid become more relaxed. He actually became glad Tim asked him to look after them. The night with them alone would have become too awkward.
"It's getting late," Celine said with a yawn in the back seat. They had just left a small concert in the park they had heard about while they had been waiting.
"Ready to wrap up the night?" he checked it was close to midnight. Where had time go?
"Uone cannoth bee morre rready," Leonid said with a yawn of his own.
As he drove them towards their building, he wondered if Tracy would stay at a hotel or decide to crash with him. The later made him nervous. He could always sleep on the couch and leave her on his bed, but the idea of having her on his bed (even if he wasn't there) made his mind go to some dark places.
"Okay, you don't see that every day," Celine said before he awoke from his day-dreaming realized what he was seeing. The car in front of his was being attacked by what he believed was a group of five little red winged demons with pitchforks and mean laughs.
"What the hell are those?" Tracy said leaning forwards on her seat and narrowing her unique eyes.
"Should we call someone?" Celine asked before one of the little demons took notice of them and flew to stand on the hood of his car.
"Ve cuuld prrobably thake them on ourr ovn, they don'th luuk sthrrong," Leonid said unbuckling.
They heard something break before they said the driver's window had been shattered and between two of the little demons they were trying to pull a woman out.
"Oh hell no!" Celine had shouted before she bolted out of the car. Leonid followed her close behind.
"Guys wait!" he called to them unbuckling and wondering how he would slip by. All the people from around were now surrounding the scene. He couldn't get them to blow their identities so soon. Tim was going to kill him.
"Ehm Jaime," Tracy said before pointing to the hood of his car where the little demon was drawing with his pitchfork on the hood of his car.
"You little bastard!" he shouted slamming his hand on the horn but all the little demon did was give him the finger. That was it. "Are they magical?"
"Yes, but not like any magic I have ever seen, though," Tracy said.
"Try to find a way to make them go away, I am going to help them," he said already half way of the car.
"Alright," Tracy also said leaving the car.
Can you form part of the armor under my clothes?
Affirmative Jaime Reyes, extreme precaution is advised against Non-rational energy
Got it.
He had felt his armor form under his clothes before he took hold of the little demon who had been laughing on the top of his car and then slammed it to the ground. The little creature sneered at him before biting his hand. Thankfully Khaji Da had formed the armor in time or he would have gotten a nasty bite.
A flash caught his eye and he realized people were recording the situation and not moving a finger to help. He was about to shout at them to do something when Khaji Da reminded him of keeping a low profile.
Incapacitating all surveillance equipment and erasing any recordings of the altercation.
"A little help!" Celine shouted as now the little beasts were pooling on her hair as she tried to protect the sobbing woman.
Celine was doing her best to keep them at bay as Leonid punched left and right. His fists looked red and ready to burst into flames which meant they had to get out of the public view.
"C'mon!" he pulled Celine and the woman away and started running. People parted ways as they moved, Leonid following close behind. He pulled into a restaurant which was soon in a panic as the little demons broke through the windows.
"I am calling help in, take her to the back room and try to keep her safe," he told them pointing to the back of the restaurant. He took a bag stand and started hitting left and right to keep the little demons from getting close to the kitchen. Once the civilians were gone, he asked Khaji Da to blow the fuses by sending a shock of energy through the place, a trick Static had taught him. He transformed in the darkness before activating infrared and started shooting them with his energy cannon. The moment he took one down, it only lasted that way for a minute before it was up and flying again. He took one of the long table clothes and in a swift movement captured the little demons in a makeshift sack before he flew out with them.
Countless people were outside in the darkness and screamed when they saw him come out. He threw the demons into the air and the clear sky before shifting his chest and arms into a larger version of his energy cannon. He couldn't have risked the building's structure by using it inside. He shot illuminating the street and sky and caught them dead on. A moment later they crashed to the ground in a great heap. He flew to see they were starting to reform. He was going to need help, hopefully, a magic user. However, as soon as he considered it the little demons exploded in small clouds of smoke.
Source of Non-Rational energy has been eliminated
Sorry to say this Khaji, I don't think it will be the last time we see them.
He landed on the spot where they had fallen. The people around created a perimeter around him as he took a sample of some time of residue left by the creatures.
"Here to take the credit?" he turned and saw Tracy walking towards him with an angry stride.
Changing voice intonation
Thank you!
"Do you know anything about this?" he asked, his voice sounded deeper.
"Maybe, but why should I tell you?" she said crossing her arms.
"Because people could get hurt next time; this is magic, isn't?" he asked her showing her the residue he found.
"Point for the alien," she said with a smirk before showing him a cut out picture of the woman the creatures had been attacking, "there was a small ritual set up a few buildings away from here. It seemed they knew the woman's route and prepared for her."
"A curse?" he asked her.
"Sort of," she said with a frown, "but it was too messy. It was done by someone with little knowledge of the real works of magic."
"I see," he said opening his wings and then taking off.
He heard her shout something about being rude or something along those lines. He gave a whole round to the street before returning to the back of the restaurant minus the armor. He found Leonid and Celine still protecting the woman unaware it was all over.
"They are gone," he told them almost scaring them out of their minds.
He took a flashlight he found in a drawer and led them outside where the authorities were arriving. People were giving their statements and he knew it was time for them to slip away.
"Guys!" Tracy ran to them, "we better go and she has to come with us."
"I can't leave my car," the woman said looking even more panicked than before.
"You won't," Tracy said offering her a kind smile. Where was that a few minutes ago? She led them the cars before placing her hand on one and after a few quick words the car was gone.
"No, no, no," he started to say before she did the same with his and then from the ground picked two miniature cars.
"Don't worry, it only last five minutes. We need to get moving before go back to normal in the wrong place," Tracy said before they slipped away into a parking lot from a building not too far. Somehow they had gone unnoticed and he wondered if their luck was more related to Tracy's spells. As she said, the cars returned to normal to their relief. "Over there," Tracy led them to a dark corner of the parking lot. "I traced the source of those things here and found this," she said showing them the cutout picture. "Is there anyone who would wish you harm?"
"I think I should go back to the cops," the woman said stepping back.
"They won't believe you. The moment you say magic they will turn their heads away. I can help," Tracy said taking hold of the woman's hands. They were shaking with fear.
"I…it was my ex," the woman admitted/ "That picture was one of us two together. I broke up with him a week ago and kicked him out of my apartment. He is a musician, but he always messes his own gigs. I just couldn't stand sustaining him anymore," her shaking told him of another fear. For her to kick the guy out, it must have taken a lot of valor. "He always talked about this stuff, but it was more for his groupies. I never thought he could actually do something like this."
"Please tell us all you know about where we could find him," Tracy said before the woman gave her the numbers of the places she knew her ex, better known as Owen. With Celine and Leonid accompanying the girl in her car and them on his, they soon found all the places either closed or claiming they hadn't seen Owen in a while.
"I don't think he will try anything for now," he told Tracy as they parked back to the place where they started. They didn't find any trace that Owen had returned.
"Probably, do you have a friend you can stay with?" she asked the young woman.
"Yeah," she said blushing slightly, he had to guess it was not a girl friend.
"Take this, it masks against location spells," Tracy handed her rock with runes on it. "If you can, stay away from places you know you usually visit and call this number if anything else happens," then she gave her, her phone number.
"Okay," then the young woman threw her arms around Tracy, "thank you so much."
"No prob, I will go with you to where you need to get and then head home," she said walking with the young woman towards her car.
"But that's all-" he remembered what she said about transportation spells.
"I will be here in a minute if you guys need me," she said with a smile.
"So, you knew she could use magic," Celine asked him after they were gone. He forgot to explain that, at least they hadn't panicked when his car got shrunk.
"That's how we met. My sister is a Homo Magi, a natural magical user. Tracy is teaching her how to use it," he said as they walked towards his car.
"Yuu arre noth magick?" Leonid asked him.
"Not one bit," he laughed a little as he started driving them towards their building, "the magic is only passed down to the women related by blood. It skipped my dad and me."
"Yuu kikked theirr buths," Leonid said.
"More like just stalling them until Tracy made them go away," he said with a sigh, "I am pretty much useless against magic. Zatanna had already warned me, but I didn't think it was that bad."
"Zatanna, as in the Zatanna from the League?" Celine asked him.
"She is an old friend, actually I owe her a lot. She is the one who found the spell to free me from the Reach's control," he said running a hand through his hair.
"The Reach?" Celine had asked before it dawned on her, "you are the Blue Beetle!"
"Say it louder, won't you?" he laughed. At that time of night, the streets were empty.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly not getting the joke "I guess it makes sense since you come from Texas, right?"
"Yeah, you think Tracy realized it?" he asked them.
"Don't think so," Celine said.
"Maybee," Leonid said before he got a worried look from Jaime, "shi luuked at yuu a lot."
"So much for the man of mystery," he said with a strained smile, "you guys want me to stick around?"
"He is staying at my place," Celine said, "on the couch to be clear. If anyone tries something, they will have to face the two of us."
"Tim sent you my number?" he asked them. He knew they were strong, but he didn't want to risk it.
Celine looked ready to complain, but the Leonid said with a calm voice, "ya." Then he said to Celine "Many hands make light work."
"Exactly," he said glad Leonid was already getting it, "I know you are doing this to learn how to control your abilities, but as long as you are with the Titans you will always have someone to help you."
"Then why not join the League?" she asked with a frown.
"That's a long story," he said before he yawned, "I will tell you when we meet, I promise."
"Alright," they said before a few minutes later they arrived at their building.
"Huh? actually I am only a few streets away from you guys. Feel free to drop by sometime," he doubted it was coincidence, but he didn't mind.
"No taike backs," Leonid said with a smile before getting out of the car.
After saying their good nights, he drove back home exhausted and ready to hit the bed. When he arrived, he found Paco sleeping on the couch instead of his bed. As he went to his room, he spotted a teenage girl sleeping on his friend's bed. He rushed back to Paco and shook him awake.
"Who is that?" he asked the moment his friend cracked one eye open.
"My step sister," Paco said rubbing his eyes. "She got into a fight with her dad, and she ran away from home. I already called him to let him know she was here, so there are no cops coming to knock on our door. Can I go back to sleep now?"
"Keep her out of my room and out of trouble," he said before his friend nodded, "good night."
"It was until you woke me up," Paco said before getting comfortable again.
He locked his bedroom behind him. No need for bad understandings and dropped still dressed on his bed. He would get like five hours of sleep before he had to go work on the foundation of their base with Superboy, and thankfully Thorax would also be there to speed things up. Even though there was some amateur magic user out there, and the girl of his dreams didn't seem to like the other side of him, things were getting together.