[center][img]https://www.alltimelines.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/dc-blue-beetle-banner.jpg[/img][/center][right][color=7ea7d8][h2]Cowboys And Aliens: Issue #1[/h2][/color][/right][hr][hr][b]Warpath, Texas[/b]

Jaime Reyes woke with a start when he found himself thrust through a wound in reality and falling through the sky. [color=7ea7d8]"Ah, hell- not this again!"[/color] Visions of white, puffy clouds and a sea of blue sky rushed across his vision as he spun and tumbled through the air uncontrollably. Jaime flailed his arms and legs in a desperate bid to find some sort of object to grab hold to and anchor himself to; a useless gesture, given the fact that he was somewhere in the lower atmosphere.

He had no idea how he'd gotten here. Some...monster had appeared and thrown him into a portal to hell or something- where the air screamed and the sky bled, and nothing made even a shred of sense. Reyes wasn't given even a second to celebrate escaping it now that he was sent plunging toward the earth at record speeds for the second time that week.

[color=7ea7d8][i]'Dios mío, when does it end?'[/i][/color]

There wasn't time to lament the never ending chaos. He had to find a way to control his descent. Reyes stopped flailing, instead choosing to thrust all of his arms and legs out like he was about to make a snow angel. After a few moments of observation, he could tell that he was falling backward. [i][color=7ea7d8]'Gotta spin around.'[/color][/i] He realized. Awkwardly he plunged half of his body downward, letting the wind catch him and do the rest of the turn for him. Reyes felt slightly sick as he twisted through the air, contorting his body like he'd seen people do in sky diving videos.

Was now a bad time to admit he hated heights?

[color=7ea7d8]"KHAJI!"[/color] Jaime shouted over the sound of rushing air. [color=7ea7d8]"You wouldn't happen to remember how to fly now, would you?!"[/color]

[color=0072bc][b]'I do not.'[/b][/color]

[color=7ea7d8]"Helpful as always!"[/color] Reyes fired back. [color=7ea7d8][i]'Come on, Jaime. Think. You've got a whole alien arsenal to work with. Gotta be something you can do to keep from going splat.'[/i][/color]

[color=0072bc][b]'I do not understand your panic. We already survived a fall from a similar height; there is no need to worry.'[/b][/color] Khaji Da's voice was as dry and disinterested as ever, as if the idea of slamming into the earth at reentry speeds was going to be a pleasant experience to walk away from.

[color=7ea7d8]"Wait! Do we still have that engine you had me steal from that jet?!"[/color] Reyes's panic subsided slightly, a tingle of hope washing through the tips of his fingers.

[b][color=0072bc]'We do. I must remind you, however, that I am unable to assist you in piloting-'[/color][/b]

[color=7ea7d8]"Yeah, yeah-"[/color] Jaime waved it off. He didn't need this useless extraterrestrial's help anyway. [color=7ea7d8]"Just deploy 'em! I have an idea!"[/color] The Scarab, for it's credit, didn't hesitate, the plates of chitin on Reyes's back parting to allow the weaving tendrils of living metal to form an identical pair of jet engines. He could feel the power humming through them radiate down his spine; it was an odd sensation, but it gave him an equally odd sense of confidence as he continued to plummet toward the earth. There wasn't a whole lot of time for him to doubt himself in the moment.

Slowly he forced his arms down from his side, pushing against the immense pressure of the air blasting up against his spread limbs to point his hands downward. [color=7ea7d8]"Right. Here we go."[/color] He breathed. With a thought he transformed the material around his fists into a pair of plasma cannons. Each pulsated and twitched like living flesh, seeming to beat with the pace of Jaime's own elevated heart rate as he turned them toward the ground. He had broken through the clouds by now, and he hadn't made any significant progress toward slowing his descent.

[color=7ea7d8]"Alright. Alright. Okay."[/color] Jaime could see the sand and dirt below. There didn't look to be any bodies of water or trees to aim for- on the bright side, there looked like there was a settlement of some kind not far from his current trajectory.

[b][color=0072bc]'What is your plan, Jaime Reyes?'[/color][/b] The alien asked, it's curiosity piqued in the worst possible moment.

[color=7ea7d8]"Stick around and you'll find out!"[/color] The next step in his master plan involved swinging both of his legs down. It was easy enough to accomplish, though keeping his body pointed in a straight line was unsurprisingly difficult given the turbulent forces bashing at him from every angle. [color=7ea7d8]"Do I have control of the engines?!"[/color] He yelled to the voice inside of his head.

[color=0072bc][b]'You do. Simply think it and they will activate, as all our adaptations do.'[/b][/color]

Reaching inside of his own mind, Jaime felt for this control that Khaji Da spoke of. Sure enough, it was there; it was like searching for feeling in a hand he'd slept on all night. It was odd, the say to least, to discover what amounted to a fifth and sixth limb attached to his lower back. [color=7ea7d8]"I've got it."[/color] He confirmed with a slight nod. Now all that was left to do was to concentrate. To focus on his guns and the jets on his back.

He pulled the trigger on all four at the same time. A series of clicks sounded in his ear as each ignited in quick succession, the energy stored within flaring to life. There was enough, longer drone that came with them climbing up toward maximum power. He'd never fired them off with everything they had before- he figured it would be quite the show.

The duel beams of light exploded out from his hands in tandem with the first pulse of his back-mounted rockets, flashing across the sky with such brilliance that one might mistake it for the heavens opening up to reveal the pearly gates. It painted the air a deep, bright blue that bounced across the clouds like the flashes of lightning.

It certainly didn't [i]feel[/i] like heaven when all the force of his fall was abruptly thrown back against Jaime's extended hands. There was an immediate jolt backward, his momentum all but halted as the atmosphere collided with his upper body. He let out a harsh series of grunts and curses at the force exerted on his wrists in particular. [color=7ea7d8]"JESUS!"[/color] He howled.

Reyes nearly panicked again when he felt himself begin to [i]ascend[/i] back up into the sky. [color=7ea7d8]"Nononono- shit- fuck!"[/color] He cut the power output down to a quarter, but even then he could still feel himself starting to head up with increasing rapidity. Jaime repeatedly cut down on the power flowing to the quad-sources of thrust until he felt his momentum halt again. Eventually he was able to work himself into a hover.

He was hovering. In the air. Hundreds of feet above the ground.

Jaime was actually flying.

[color=7ea7d8]"YES! YES! Hahahaha- yeah!"[/color] He roared out a laugh in victory, all the tension in his body melting away to be replaced by sheer exuberance. Everything that had led up to this- the pain, the exhaustion, the rage and the grief- it was forgotten in that one, quiet moment as Reyes looked out onto the horizon. He could see for miles in every direction. Sure, there wasn't much to see out here- wherever out [u]here[/u] was- but it was still the best feeling he had experienced in...well. Maybe [i]ever[/i], the more he thought about it.

Each of his arms shook and trembled as Jaime fought to keep himself stable. Both of the cannons seemed intent on sending him flying off course the moment he dropped his guard, so he was forced to pay them both a good deal of mind even as he simply hovered there for a few, precious minutes.

[color=7ea7d8]"Right. Well. Time to land."[/color] As much as he would like to stay in the sky forever and forget the problems of the world below, Reyes had a great deal of things he needed to do. Like find out where he was, and what had happened to Brenda and Paco- if they were even in Caulder's dungeon at all, and not just mental projections meant to keep him off balance. Jaime only hoped they were back safe and sound in Washington, probably worried sick about him. [i][color=7ea7d8]'God, Brenda's gonna punch me in the mouth the next time she sees me.'[/color][/i] He thought with a smile. It was probably the first time he'd looked forward to being punched in the teeth.

[color=7ea7d8]"Um..."[/color] He glanced around, blinking. [color=7ea7d8]"How [i]am[/i] I going to get down?"[/color]