[center][color=#4eacd5][h1]The Blue Beetle[/h1][/color][/center] [table][row][/row][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/EsPqxfN.png[/img] [center][color=#2e2c2c]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[/color][/center] [color=#4eacd5][sub][b]I S S U E[/b][/sub][/color][hr][sub]#1: First Contact[/sub] [color=#4eacd5][sub][b]L O C A T I O N[/b][/sub][/color][hr][sub]Lower Manhattan, New York City. 12:14 AM[/sub] [color=#4eacd5][sub][b]T A G S[/b][/sub][/color][hr][sub][@Hero][/sub][/cell][cell][indent] Having some kind of murderous, robot bug fused with your body came with a lot of downsides. It was always scanning the people around you, always looking for a reason to bring out the big guns, always whispering in the back of your head about the many creative ways it could [i]neutralize[/i] potential threats—whether that was a shady looking guy on the curb or Mrs. Martínez' mean ass Rottweiler down the block. It was like having Jiminy Cricket welded to your spine, with none of the conscience and all of the bad attitude the world could muster. But, it also had its upsides. Like being able to fly you all the way downtown in the middle of the night, so you could settle in the skyline and watch New York bring in the New Year with a bang. It had taken a little finessing, a little white lie about heading to bed early to keep the folks from catching on, but it was worth it. Up here, there were no threats to neutralize and nothing to worry about. It was pretty relaxing, all things considered—a welcome change from the discomfort that usually accompanied being encased in... whatever it was that made up the armor. All Jaime Reyes had to do was kick back, watch the fire works, and try not to let any particularly daring gusts of wind knock him off his perch. [code]<>[/code] And ignore the buzzing in the back of his head. [code]<>[/code] It was probably just the fireworks setting off its sensors. [code]<>[/code] That sounded specific. That sounded worryingly specific. Deciding to humor the machine inhabiting his body, Jaime pivoted on the ledge of the building he had made his home for the night. Under ordinary circumstances, he doubted he'd be able to make out something that far away. But with the suit enhancing his vision, he could just barely see it—a tiny, blazing dot shooting across the sky. [color=4eacd5]"That... Okay, that's not good. You're sure it's not a meteor or something?"[/color] [code]<>[/code] [color=4eacd5]"So... Aliens. An alien is about to crash land on Earth. In [i]Newark[/i] of all places?"[/color] [code]<>[/code] If the ship hit hard enough to cause a splash, Jaime didn't see it through the urban sprawl of Manhattan. Maybe he wasn't supposed to see anything to begin with. A month ago, the idea of aliens arriving on Earth would have been something he relegated to passing fantasies and old, cheesy sci-fi flicks. But a month ago, he didn't have a suit of magical battle armor like the stuff out of old, cheesy sci-fi flicks either. It was hard to pass off the impossible when you [i]were[/i] the impossible. Plus, aliens were friggin' [i]cool[/i]! How could he pass up being the first to meet a Martian? He sure as heck wasn't going to let the poor bastards make first contact with New Jersey; they'd never want to come back if that's what they thought all of Earth was like. [color=4eacd5]"Can you get us to where it landed? I wanna, uh... Investigate the intruder. From afar."[/color] [code]<>[/code] Always with [i]the mission[/i]. As if Jaime had any idea what that meant. Heck, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what it meant, with how the little thing suggested overcoming potential obstacles. [color=4eacd5]"We'll never know its capabilities unless we go looking. C'mon, we're headed out."[/color] Getting the bug to do what he wanted when it disagreed with their course of action—which it did often—was usually like pulling teeth. Trying to practice flying around the neighborhood at night took more than a few failed nights to achieve before it acquiesced and did what he wanted. That struggle must have come in handy now, because all it took was a little bit of focus before the back portion of the carapace opened with a click, and four translucent wings manifested along thin, metallic ribs. A little hop later and Jaime was sailing through the skies above Manhattan, and across the bay towards Newark, the faintest trail of exhaust behind him as the scarab propelled him through the air. [hr] For all its backtalk, Jaime couldn't doubt his involuntary partner's competence. It had only taken a minute or two to jet his way across the city towards the landing site, weaving here and there to avoid the occasional overachieving bottle rocket as he crossed the more populated portions. He did not, however, get to see an alien spaceship for all his trouble; no sooner than he zoomed his way towards the shore facing the bay did the scarab suddenly buzz to life again. [code]<>[/code] It was hard not to notice them. Even from far above, the scarab had locked in on the lone soul as it made its way towards a nearby building and started... wailing on it?! [color=4eacd5]"Why in the world is it trying to box with a building? We need to get down there and stop it before it catches the wrong kind of attention."[/color] [code]<>[/code] [color=4eacd5]"We are not setting it on fire!"[/color] With some effort and just a mite bit of fledgling skill, Jaime circled his way back around and began to descend towards the ground below. He hadn't [i]quite[/i] mastered landings yet, and he certainly didn't know how to hover, but at least he had gotten down the 'don't puke in the bug suit' part. That would've made the upcoming introduction much more awkward than it already would be. A stumbled landing a little ways down the block later, and the youth was just a short jog away from the alien and its incessant thumping. Of course, a bird's eye thermal view and far too many hours watching William Shatner wail on men in rubber suits didn't quite prepare him for what he saw when he rounded the corner to confront this alien threat. [color=4eacd5]"Visitor to Earth, I request you... Cease... Your... Actions?,"[/color] he blinked, half in confusion and half to ensure the scarab wasn't playing some kind of trick on him. [color=4eacd5]"Is this the alien? Why is it a [i]girl[/i]?"[/color] [code]<>[/code] [color=4eacd5]"Yeah, I noticed!"[/color] Remembering he was, in fact, not alone with the scarab and therefore looked just a [i]tad[/i] crazy yelling into the blank void beside him, the armor-clad teen composed himself and focused on the task at hand; welcoming this being to Earth. Or, at least, getting her to stop assaulting the side of a warehouse. [color=4eacd5]"G-Greetings."[/color] Nailed it.[/indent][/cell][/row][/table]