[h1][center][color=steelblue][b]THE BLUE BEETLE[/b][/color][/center][/h1]

Ted never used to dream. Even when he was younger his mind would drift into oblivion before being yanked back to the world of the waking, no fun astral escapades in-between. Nowadays though, Ted found himself drifting into the real of the unreal more and more, whether that was a result of his new sleep schedule, new stresses from prancing around in tights or maybe some otherworldly being finally blessed him with fantasies it didn't matter to Ted. All in all the dreams were just yet another new addition to his rapidly changing lifestyle. However the nightmares had peaked his attention. Reliving the night that the frantic man in gold broke into his home was hard on Ted's psyche and the feelings of inadequacy when he'd dream about fighting the likes of Doomsday alongside the team was just fertilizer to the doubt Ted had already sown regarding his superheroics.

Today though, Ted was taking the risk of nightmares a little sooner than usual as he was dead asleep. He'd managed to wrangle an old storage room kitted out with a futon at the tower and was sleeping like a baby thanks to the white noise of his portable CPAP machine attachment for his BB gun. Originally the design had been more for fun than anything but with how much energy super heroics took out of him, these naps were becoming more and more frequent, [i]necessitating[/i] the attachment be made. Blissfully unaware of the coming chaos, Ted's inky black subconscious gave way to wonderful dream.  

Looking around, Ted would notice he was back at Dan Garret's apartment, sitting down for a drink with his neighbor. Ted glanced down at his drink and notice it to be lemonade; a childhood favorite.

"...then Sphinx charges at me, deadman's switch in hand, ready to blow the whole subway system" Dan continued, entranced in his own story "but I [i]grab[/i] him by the hand, keep the button pressed, and knock his lights out through that stupid suit of his. I really thought I'd rattled him too hard but luckily he left there breathin'"

It was a story Ted had heard before, a story about a villain with a grudge against any and all subway systems and a moniker that didn't fit at all. It was a favorite of Ted to hear and Dan to tell, evidenced by Ted's relaxed posture in his chair and occasional nod to show his interest. Dreams were strange. You could be placed into any situation and have no reason to consider how long you had been there. There was just enough context to give the illusion of a passage of time but not enough-

Suddenly Ted's eyes darted to his drink. Something was wrong, the yellow reflection of the glass didn't quite fit and as he brought the drink up to his eyes, the voice of his friend became more and more distant. It took a good amount of inspection but eventually Ted made out a figure in the refection, other than his own quizzical one. The man in gold. Ted quickly spun around and-

Now he was awake, awoken by a voice of the intercom:

"[color=red]-operations has been struck by some type of airborne poison. However there is a small chance the instance of gaseous fumes is coincidental, so I do not feel confident declaring it for certain. Regardless, please attempt to find a safe place to avoid further contact with potential toxins. My calculations conclude that this is almost certainly the work of the Sphinx.[/color]"

[color=steelblue]The Spinx? Like [i]Dan's[/i] Sphinx? There's no wa-"[/color] yet another interruption as Ted's hand shot to cover his mouth. He was too distracted by the Sphinx comment to comprehend the poisonous gas that he now saw was slowly creeping under the crack of his door. Ted began to panic and in turn began to run out of air which made Ted realize he'd completely forgotten about his nose, launching his other hand to squeeze it shut, only to recoil in pain as he war reminded of his CPAP. Letting the cogs turn, Ted realized the only reason he likely wasn't poisoned was because of his CPAP machine. Still lacking in air, Ted frantically fiddled with his BB gun to increase the pressure and give him some more breathing room.

Keeping his mouth shut, Ted got to his feet and left the safety of his closest, meeting a wall of gas the now freely flowed into the room. The grandiose Blue Beetle turned up his air just a little more as his panic rose. Without much thought Ted headed for the monitor room where the only leaguer without a set of lungs was stationed. Waling through the halls of the tower was a foggy mess, sometimes he'd come across a someone, eyes-wide and on the ground, other times they were fighting off whatever invisible demons they were seeing. Even more rarely though, Ted would catch glimpses of the Sphinx, stupid costume and all, just how Dan described it and Ted imagined it. Without his BB gun, Ted knew he was in no shape to fight the villain and so he continued through the hazy labyrinth until he was greeted by a small plaque that read monitor room. How quickly had he gotten there? Had he sprinted (was that why he was still breathing so heavy)? Maybe he walked? Was Red Tornado still in there? Only one way to find out. He reached for the door nob but stopped. What if there were others in there? Red could probably fend off the poison decently but opening a door to the miasma infesting the tower would help. Compromising, Ted took a quick look to seek if the coast was clear before knocking on the door.

[color=steelblue]"Red!... Red!... You in there?... Can I come in?... Don't want to open the seal.... if you've got some others in there... but I don't want to... hold on..."[/color] Ted has been taking deep breathes in-between words but the amount of mental effort to keep from taking said breathes through his mouth was excruciating. 

[color=steelblue]"Can ya just open up?... I'm kinda defenseless out here... and I don't want to be banging on the door here... when the Sphinx shows up."[/color] Ted said, looking around as if speaking the villain's name would summon him.