[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 VI[/sub] [color=#4eacd5][sub][b]L O C A T I O N[/b][/sub][/color][hr][sub]Bayonne, New Jersey. 12:19 AM[/sub] [color=#4eacd5][sub][b]T A G S[/b][/sub][/color][hr][sub][@Hero][@DocTachyon][/sub][/cell][cell][indent] The awkward few seconds that ticked by in the interim were like torture. He couldn't exactly blame her for looking surprised—he had the same reaction when he managed to revert back from the hellish appearance the armor made him take on and saw his own face again. It only then occurred to him that her earlier hostility had probably been the result of that same appearance. Note for later: make the mask disappear before trying to conduct interplanetary diplomacy. Of course, he had more important matters to attend to at the moment than scolding himself for ill-considered first impressions; the fact this 'Tamaranean' was inspecting his face rather closely. Before he could try and articulate anything, she suddenly let out a kind of squeal, and the teen found himself yanked into the now grounded alien in short order. His yelp of surprise was quickly muffled by the alien's own mouth—she was kissing him! Caught like a deer in the headlights, Jaime could only remain frozen and wide-eyed as his new acquaintance seemed content to acquaint herself to his lips. Was he supposed to do something? Grab her in return? Was that impolite? The closest he had ever come to kissing a girl was giving his abuelita a smooch goodbye, and this was not the kind of kiss one gave their abuelita. He wasn't even sure how long the kiss lasted, though it seemed to linger for quite some time before the girl decoupled from him and released him back to his own devices, rosy cheeked and frazzled. Perhaps the only thing that could have baffled him more than their little embrace was what followed it—she was speaking [i]Spanish[/i]? Was that all he had to lead in with? She quickly dispelled that notion by following up in a mixture of English and Spanish, but that only served to dumbfound him more. [color=4eacd5]"[abbr=You're welcome?]¿De nada?[/abbr]"[/color] It was about all he could manage at that point. Had she somehow discerned his language through that kiss? All the stories about aliens probing people for information seemed a [i]lot[/i] more uncomfortable than what had just happened to him. [code]<>[/code] Never mind. It was uncomfortable. It was very uncomfortable. Focus on the situation at hand, and not the little blue pendejo. Luckily, it seemed the visitor from afar was more than ready to exercise their newfound ability to understand one another. Shaking off his stupor, Jaime listened intently as she explained her earlier actions. He supposed that made sense. Certainly more sense than just randomly pounding the side of a building after crash landing on a distant world. Of course, it occurred to him to inquire as to why she seemed to be shackled in the first place, but that could come later—he didn't want to waste what goodwill had been cultivated. [color=4eacd5]"Right, uh, don't worry about it too much. I'm sure whoever owns this building has insurance or something,"[/color] he said, peering past her shoulder towards the now dented wall. [color=4eacd5]"As for the cuffs, I think my suit can probably take care of those? I haven't really tried anything like that, but-"[/color] He hadn't even tried manifesting the armor when the pressure between his shoulder blades returned. The metal plating that he had so painstakingly withdrew moments before came crawling across his body, encasing him in black and blue once again. [color=4eacd5]"What the heck, man? When have you ever been this willing to help out?"[/color] Jaime asked, ever so slightly alarmed by the scarab's sudden reappearance. He didn't want it trying anything rash now that it was clear the redheaded girl proved to be friendly. [code]<>[/code] Before he knew what was going on, the suit's arm seemed to morph. Where there had been once black metallic chitin was some kind of gun barrel. No, that did it a disservice. It was some kind of friggin' [i]cannon[/i]. Complete with a snazzy blue glow at the tip that told him it was gonna be firing something more dangerous than a shell. [color=4eacd5]"What the heck are you—sorry about this—what the heck are you so worked up for?! What new threat?!"[/color] Jaime exclaimed, stopping himself mid-way to apologize to the Tamaranean girl before returning his ire towards the weapon jutting out of his arm. [code]<>[/code] [/indent][/cell][/row][/table]