[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 #3[/h2][/color][/right][hr][hr][b]Warpath, Texas[/b]

[color=7ea7d8][i]'Behind [b]you[/b]?'[/i][/color] Jaime was taken aback in that brief moment when an ordinary man in a cowboy chaps told Jaime to stand behind him. Jaime, the one wearing the alien power armor, needed to be protected by the guy with a pair of six shooters. The cowboy was brave, there was no denying that, but Reyes couldn't help but think he might have a screw or two loose underneath that ten gallon hat of his.

Reyes stepped forward to stand beside his defender as he went to confront the stranger. Everything about the giant of a man painted him as a metahuman- no one was naturally that large, and the black spandex wasn't exactly ordinary attire for the ordinary man. He had to have powers. But that begged the question, then: what was he doing here? Jaime's first assumption was that he was working for Dr. Caulder and he'd come to secure the Scarab, but that didn't make any sense. Caulder had [i]just[/i] disposed of him; why would he have a change of heart so quickly? Of course, there was a possibility that falling through that portal had taken much, much longer than Jaime had first assumed...

His assumptions were thrown out the window when the figure addressed the [i]'vigilante.'[/i] Of all the things Jaime could be called, that certainly wasn't one of them- which meant that 'Black Star' was here for the Texan.

[color=7ea7d8]"Wait- the [i]Silver[/i] Surfer-"[/color] A thousand questions raced through his mind as the Black Star spoke of the other alien, but Jaime wasn't able to get another word out before the metahuman disappeared from his vision in a blur of midnight fabric, only to reappear several meters away underneath the shade of a nearby porch. He tore one of the support beams from the wood with the same ease that a child might take apart a Lego set, sending the beam flying through the air like a spear aimed right for Reyes's heart. So dumbstruck by what was going on and unprepared for the sudden burst of speed, Reyes would've been impaled on it if not for the hands that threw him out of the way of the incoming projectile.

The roar of gunfire mingled with the sound of splintering wood as Jaime pushed himself up to his feet, every part of his body crying out in agony. He hadn't taken even a moment's rest since his last fight, and with the strength and speed this 'Black Star' seemed to possess, this was shaping up to be even more difficult than his duel with Otto and Caulder. The protesting, sharp pain in his muscles went ignored; he couldn't just sit back and let this 'Vigilante' be torn apart by a guy who was clearly out of his league. Maybe Black Star was out of Reyes's league too. He wouldn't doubt it. But Jaime wasn't about to turn tail and let a total stranger die alone.

He'd left too many bodies behind him already.

[color=7ea7d8]"Unless you've got a hand grenade in that belt, I think you might need my help!"[/color] Chunks of concrete and wood soared through the air, punching holes in the barn behind them like a pen pressed through a sheet of paper. The only thing keeping the two of them from being punctured through with equal force was the makeshift smokescreen Vigilante had managed to kick up with that whip of his,  but it wasn't going to last. [color=7ea7d8]"This guy's a bit above our weight class- we're gonna need a plan!"[/color]

[color=0072bc][b]'Not compatible. Eliminate with [i]extreme[/i] prejudice.'[/b][/color] The voice of the Scarab snarled once more, it's words echoing deep in Reyes's mind. He felt strongly compelled to follow the 'suggestion,' his right arm already morphing to form the deadly energy weapon he'd used to eliminate the German surgeon back in Caulder's prison camp. Reyes didn't particularly want to use that kind of force against anyone, but this guy...he was next level. There was no holding back if Jaime wanted to walk away from this without any casualties among the townsfolk that had- surprisingly- yet to rear their heads.

[color=7ea7d8]"Yeah, [i]not[/i] helping. You get any better ideas other than 'kill him'?"[/color] Reyes shot back. For a thousand year old parasite packing so many weapons and tools, it didn't seem all that forthcoming with ways to use them. Most of it's suggestions tended to be something along the lines of 'just kill them' or 'maim and cripple.'

[color=0072bc][b]'Not compatible. Target possesses enhanced strength and speed. Surrounded by unknown energy. Not compatible.'[/b][/color]

Reyes stood to his feet, lifting his cannon to fire off several blasts in the general direction of where he'd last seen Black Star. [color=7ea7d8]"I got it! Not compatible! [i]Dios mío[/i] you're useless. What does that even mean?!"[/color]

[color=0072bc][b]'Not compatible.'[/b][/color] It repeated in that same angry tone it had taken since the metahuman first appeared. Jaime was getting real tired of hearing it.

[color=7ea7d8]"Great. Just great. My psychotic Jiminy Cricket comes with an error message. Terrific."[/color] With the smoke beginning to clear and Jaime being able to make out that black costume of their adversary once again, he realized that they didn't have any time left. Black Star was going to break them apart the moment he spotted them among the cloud. Reyes might be able to take that kind of punishment, but Vigilante? Unless he had some kind of secret superpower he was hiding, he was just a normal man with some very abnormal enemies. Jaime needed to do something to keep Black Star from taking his life.

So, in all of his teenage brilliance, he decided there was only one thing he could do.

He rushed Black Star.

Both of the Scarab's talons drawn, he let the engines on his back flare to life as he leapt through the air to quickly cover the distance between himself and their black clad foe. He had little control over his flight, but he could stabilize enough to simply shoot in a straight line right for Black Star like a less-than-human ballistic missile. Both blades held out before him, he could only hope that the super villain wasn't as durable as he was strong.