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Chapter Text

Jaime Reyes’ POV , September 7th 2022 , 6:25am 

It was a good job. A high paying job, too. 

That was what Alberto Reyes told his son Jaime each time the young teen asked why they had to move from El Paso, Texas to New York City. New York City of all places! Why couldn’t it have been some simple town in California? Or, Dios, even staying in the city of El Paso would have worked for Jaime. But no! The Reyes had to move all the way to New York, just as Jaime was starting his junior year in high school. 

It was difficult having to move. Jaime had to say goodbye to the friends and the city that he practically grew up in. Brenda and Paco were super disappointed to see him leaving. There had been this huge farewell party that totally did not end with the trio of friends crying. Note the sarcasm. 

“Jaime? Hijo, it’s time to get up. I don’t want you to be late.” Bianca Reyes called through the door, knocking gently. 

The teen groaned, reluctantly tossing the blankets off of his body. He sat up, blinking briefly. For a moment, he was confused. This wasn’t his room. And then he remembered it was, in fact, his room. At least, now it was. His room was an ugly grey color. There were cardboard boxes littered on the floor, all of which contained Jaime’s possessions. 

“I’m up, I’m up,” Jaime mumbled his response when his mother knocked again. He stood up, looking for the clothes he had set out the night before. He let out a quiet, triumphant “ah-ha” when he found his clothes. He had set out a simple t-shirt and light sweatshirt, as well as some jeans, his usual outfit. He hasn’t wanted to dress up in anything fancy and make a show that he was trying too hard to be liked. Instead, he just wanted to give off a casual vibe. 

Once dressed, Jaime made his way to the door of his bedroom. Before opening it, he paused. Breathing in and then out, Jaime told himself, “it’s just the first day of school. You’ve done this before. Except this time you’ll be in an entirely different school with no one that you know. Shouldn’t be too difficult, right?” Jaime sighed and opened the door, walking down the stairs to the rest of the Reyes’ new house. 

“Buenos días,” Alberto Reyes greeted over his coffee. “Your mother is about to leave for work. Are you alright walking to school or do you need me to drive you? It’ll be on my way to drop off Milagro at her new school, so it won’t be any problem.” 

Jaime shook his head. “Nono, it’s okay, Papi. I can walk. It still hasn’t gotten cold here yet, so I’ll survive.” 

“And you’re sure you know how to get there?” 

An exasperated sigh came from the teen. “Yes, I know how to get there. And if not, I have my phone so I can use Google Maps to find my way there. I’ll text either you or Miami when I get to school, and then again when I leave, along with any information on how long I’ll be and if I’m bringing a friend with me or going over to a friend’s house.” He had gone through all of this before, many times. 

Alberto nodded his head. “Good. Go say goodbye to your mother before she leaves. And don’t forget to leave. Milagro, vamos, you don’t want to be late.” 

Sure enough, Milagro came flying into the room. She had a flowy, light dress on and her dark hair tied up. If she wasn’t the annoying little sister she was, Jaime would’ve thought she looked adorable. There was a huge, excited grin on her face. She was excited, Jaime could tell. 

“Have fun!” Jaime called after his sister as she left with their father. He huffed a small laugh, before walking over to where his mother stood, watching them leave. “We’re all going to be just fine here, Mami,” he promised quietly. “You don’t got to worry.” 

Bianca smiled gently at her son. “I hope you’re right. This is a big job for your father. And this is a big change for us. But I’m sure we’ll get through it, together as a family.” 

They said their goodbyes and soon Jaime was the only left in the Reyes’ new home. The house was nice. It had two floors plus an attic, and three rooms so Jaime didn’t have to worry about his parents forcing him to room with his younger sister. Jaime pulled out his phone, looking over the messages he, Paco and Brenda had been sending each other. He doubted they were awake yet, with time zones and all, so he refrained from sending them a ‘I miss you both’ message. 

Packing his things and grabbing a few things to eat, Jaime made it out the door with about twenty minutes left to get to school before class began. From what Google Maps told him, it would only take about ten minutes to get to school. Which was good because Jaime hated to be late. 

Jaime had received his schedule for school about two weeks ago. A few were fast-paced year round classes, while others only lasted half of the year and were probably on the slower side. He had one study during his third block class, which he was sure would come in handy if his homework ever got to be too much for at home. 

The vice-principal who had given Jaime the schedule informed him that he would be in Mr. Queen’s class; Mr Queen was filling in for Mr Kord, who had been missing since late last year. 

Like Jaime had predicted, the weather was nice. It was a bit chillier than Texas would be around this time, but still nice. Jaime wasn’t really sure how he liked New York City so far. Sure, it was a moderately nice place. Jaime didn’t really have anything against the place. Except for the constant laws being broken around nearly every corner, but it could be worse. They could be in Gotham. There were also a lot of people around, which Jaime didn’t like all too much.  

After about ten minutes, Jaime arrived at the school. The school wasn’t the biggest in NYC, but there were a couple hundred kids that attended. Jaime had been there a few times before on tours to ensure that he knew where all his classes were and how to navigate the rather confusing hallways. 

Kids were already beginning to trail into the school, some pulling up in fancy cars with their friends who had seemingly carpooled with them, others walking like Jaime had. 

Jaime pulled out his phone, typing a quick ‘I arrived at school in time and without injury’ message to his parents and sending it, rolling his eyes a bit at their insistence on having him fill them in. They were protective of him. Jaime loved them, he really did. But sometimes it did get a little annoying. 

Pocketing his phone, Jaime took a moment to breathe. “I can do this,” he whispered to himself, grabbing the straps of his backpack and slowly making his way to the entrance of the school. 

Inside, students were greeting each other happily. Jaime felt a small sting at seeing that. Those types of reunions he could’ve had with Paco and Brenda, if he had still been in Texas. Seeing everyone rejoice at being back together, it made Jaime feel lonely. Jaime sighed, forcing his brain to remember that he was new here and would have to make new friends, so he couldn’t go around the place moping the whole time. 

Jaime walked through the hallways of the school, doing his best to recall from his memory where Mr Queen’s room was. It didn’t take him long to find it. Mr Queen’s room was at the end of one of the halls, off to the right near an exit. 

Mr Queen sat at his desk, casually talking with one of the students. He looked up when Jaime entered and gave the Hispanic teen a smile, to which Jaime returned awkwardly. 

Gripping his backpack straps tighter, Jaime looked around the room, examining it and processing what would be his homeroom for the entire school year. A few other students had already arrived. A group of five girls were chatting in the middle of the classroom, their backpacks already off and their phones waving around in their hands. On the outer edges of the classroom, there was a duo of boys exchanging what Jaime assumed was their school bought computers. Jaime didn’t really understand what the pair of boys were doing, so he moved on. His eyes landed on a wavy, blond haired boy standing awkwardly in the corner, his phone in hand even though he wasn’t looking at it. The blond kid spotted Jaime, and gave a smile. In return, Jaime smiled back, giving a small wave as well. 

Deciding this blond boy gave off the friendliest vibe, Jaime went over and introduced himself. “Hi,” he said, “I’m Jaime Reyes. I’m new here, so I don’t really know what I’m doing.” 

A wider smile grew on the blond boy’s face. “I’m Dylan Brock. Lucky, or maybe unlucky depending on how you look at it, for you I am new here too. It’s nice to meet you, Jaime.” The Dylan boy did seem friendly. 

“Well then, we can be new kids together. You’re a junior right? I think I remember the vice-principal mentioning something about this homeroom being a junior-only one. Though she said this homeroom was a special case, so I might as well ask.” Jaime talked on, removing his backpack and sitting down at a desk. 

Dylan did the same and sat down beside Jaime. “Yeah, I’m a junior. Though, I’m probably gonna guess that the vice-principal called this homeroom a special case for a different reason. I’d guess that it would be because the last teacher who used this classroom has gone missing, the one before that died in a car accident, and the one before that had to retire early because of a mysterious injury.” When Jaime gave the boy a questioning look, he continued, “my friend Normie, he’s a sophomore, has gone here since forever.  He’s pretty quiet so he just ends up hearing everything. He seemed pretty upset when last year’s teacher went missing. Said the teacher was one of the best.” Dylan shook his head. “Anyways, where are you from? You move here or always live in NYC?” 

“I moved here. About three weeks ago. Came from El Paso, Texas. My dad switched jobs,” Jaime answered. “How about you? Where were you before here?” 

“San Francisco.” Dylan looked like he was going to say something else but decided against it. Jaime wouldn’t question it. If the other boy wasn’t comfortable giving more of a reason, Jaime wasn’t going to push it. 

The bell rang, then, and Jaime grew quiet as Mr Queen stood up and began the fifteen minute period of homeroom. 

Chapter Text

Jaime Reyes’ POV , September 7th 2022 , 8:15am  

The first day of school was like every other. Crappy introductions and slow, awkward activities where the majority of students already knew everyone else. Well, besides for Jaime. He would’ve been grateful for the teachers trying to force everyone to “introduce” themselves, if every other student hadn’t acted bored out of their minds doing so. 

As it turned out, Jaime had first block class with Dylan. Which was good because no one else really seemed interested in Jaime’s presence. Well, that’s what he got from his second block class. Everyone just sort of… ignored him. Jaime didn’t mind all too much, but it did hurt to feel excluded from a simple thing like school. 

Not that high school was all that simple. There were cliques, stereotypes, unspoken rules about who you could and could not be friends with. And although no one talked directly to Jaime during the second block class, he could tell everyone was talking about him. He caught a few girls checking him out, possibly a couple guys too. To be honest, Jaime hadn’t been very interested in anyone since he and his girlfriend broke up about two months ago. He was still recovering from that, but was close to recovery. He was bisexual and proud. His parents were devout Christians so he had worried about coming out to them. They proved that he had nothing to worry about, since religion did not give an excuse for hatred and they loved Jaime no matter who he liked. 

Third block came along and there was a study.  Jaime and Dylan had compared schedules once Mr Queen finished with his announcements during homeroom. They shared about half of their classes, and third period study block was one of them. Dylan had gotten noticeably excited about that, with his hand tapping happily against the desk as a stim. 

When Jaime asked why Dylan was getting excited, the boy responded that Normie was in third block study and he could introduce Jaime to Dylan’s younger friend. Jaime agreed to meet this Normie, which made Dylan even more excited. 

Jaime arrived in the classroom where third block study was being held before Dylan, so he hesitated on where to go. He wasn’t sure if Normie had already arrived or not, and it would be super awkward if he sat down, Dylan arrived and Jaime had to get up to move seats to sit with Dylan and Normie. If they wanted him to sit with them, that was. Jaime didn’t want to intrude on anything. 

Luckily for him, Dylan arrived shortly after, a younger looking boy with red-brown hair following closely behind him. Dylan spotted Jaime and gave a grin. “Jaime, this is Normie Osborn. Normie, this is Jaime, he’s new here as well.” 

Normie offered a shy smile and shook Jaime’s hand when the older teen offered it out. Normie seemed quieter than Dylan, but Jaime could see the way his eyes sparkled in Dylan’s presence. 

Dylan Brock’s POV , September 7th 2022 , 10:37am

Dylan had been having mixed feelings about changing schools and moving in with the Osborns while his father Eddie was off doing… Eddie Brock things. On one hand, Dylan didn’t like moving schools and moving places. On the other hand, he’d be with Normie, and maybe Dylan wouldn’t be as bullied here as he was in his old school. 

At sixteen, Dylan had already been through a lot in his life. So had Normie, if he was being honest. Both he and Normie’s families weren’t exactly considered to be normal. Normie’s family, for example, had a history of being possessed by a “Goblin” and going on a killing rampage. The Goblin had been created by a Golin formula, an accident made in a lab at the company Normie’s grandfather had run. Now, Normie’s father was in charge of Oscorp. Normie’s father Harry had been a victim of the Goblin formula just like Norman. And it only took mere years before Normie had become one too. Dylan could still remember watching the news on television and seeing a mini demon-like creature running around. He had no idea then that that demon-like creature was holding captive a young boy that would go on to become Dylan’s best friend. 

Like the Osborns, the Brocks had their own baggage. Eddie, before Dylan’s birth, had bonded with an alien symbiote named Venom. The two were practically (and most of the time literally) inseparable. On one of the times when Eddie and Venom had gotten separated, Venom bonded with Eddie’s ex Anne. Anne ended up becoming pregnant with Dylan during that time.

Because of the symbiote present around Dylan, he ended up sort of becoming a hybrid. He had human DNA and structure, but symbiotic powers. And strong ones, too. Dylan had the ability to control symbiotes. Dylan kept his powers hidden, the only people who really knew were the Osborns and Eddie. 

Eddie… Eddie was a tough topic. He did his best to be a good father but didn’t always succeed. Or rather, rarely succeeded. Dylan and his father used to be close. Recently, they had been growing apart more than usual. Eddie seemed to have noticed this and therefore asked if Dylan could live with the Osborns until Eddie could get himself back together and he could be a good father who didn’t constantly put his son in danger. 

Dylan had a grin on his face as he sat down beside Normie and Jaime. Jaime seemed nice. A bit awkward and hesitant, but nice. Plus, Jaime passed Dylan’s silent vibe check, so Dylan approved of him and wouldn’t mind if Jaime stayed around. 

The teacher in charge of their study made a quick introduction, stating the rules of the study. The rules were all easy enough. They were allowed their phones and could talk to each other, but had to do so in a controlled way. If things got out of control, the teacher warned, the privileges of using phones and talking with friends would be taken away. The teacher seemed tired, like he really did not want to be there. He sat back down and allowed the students to talk with each other until the period ended. 

“Do you like it here?” Normie asked, aiming his question at Jaime. “New York, I mean.” 

Jaime nodded. “Sí. Yes. I do. Moderately. It’s a city. Lots of people. But I think living here shouldn’t be too difficult,” he replied. 

“We only get attacked every other month, after all,” Dylan added with a joke. He referenced the numerous superheroes and vigilantes who roamed the streets, trying to do good. “It’s more than San Fran, but could be worse.” 

“It could be Gotham.” Jaime jokingly nodded seriously. 

Dylan grinned. Gotham could always be a good subject of a joke. 

“Where’d you move to? What part?” 

Jaime responded with where his family had moved to. Both Dylan and Normie nodded. 

“Isn’t that on our way home?” Dylan asked, looking over at Normie questioningly. Normie knew the way home better than Dylan did. 

“I think it is.” 

Jaime gave them a confused look. To which Dylan supplied, “I’ve been living with Normie since I moved.”

An idea popped into Dylan’s head just then. “What if we all walk home together? Normie and I do it anyways, you can walk with us if you want. I think we pass the street you live on so we can split ways there.”

And so their plan was made. Jaime would walk home with them once school finished. They would even stop at a small convenience store for snacks before going home. 

The period was nearly about to end, when the trio of boys got interrupted from their conversation on “Game of Thrones”. A pair of juniors looked down at them, they were standing while Jaime, Dylan and Normie were sitting at desks. 

“I’d suggest you switch seats and move away from this freak before you’re spotted. If you’re assorted with him, you won’t have any chance at surviving the rest of school,” one of the juniors said to Jaime and Dylan, speaking about Normie like he wasn’t there. 

Dylan noticed the way Normie tensed. He had seen that type of tense before, experienced it even. Dylan’s eyes narrowed. His hand fisted and felt the familiar goo of a symbiote forming around it. Until a hand touched Dylan’s. Dylan glanced over at Normie, who was silently begging for him to not get into a physical fight, even if Dylan would win. Dylan took a breath, the symbiote disappearing from around his hand.  “And the other option? Hanging around with you and other unempathetic jerks who won’t be any more than gas station attendants when they either leave school or are kicked out?” 

The one who spoke glared down at Dylan, while the other looked at Jaime. “What about you, you wanna save your reputation before you destroy it?” 

“I think the only way I could destroy my reputation is by saying ‘yes’ to your offer, ese,” Jaime responded sharply. 

The pair of juniors grumbled. The first one muttering something about them regretting their decision before they both walked away. 

Dylan immediately turned to Normie. “You okay?” He asked gently. 

Normie’s shoulders were still tense, but he nodded, not meeting Dylan’s eyes. “I’m okay. Thanks, you guys.” 

The rest of the school day went by slowly. As it always did on the first day. Dylan suffered through the introductions in each class, most of them boring and plain. Lunch ended up being one of the better parts of the day. He, Normie and Jaime all shared the same lunch throughout most of their schedules, minus a few days where one of the three would have a separate lunch than the other two. 

When the bell signaling the end of the day finally rang, Dylan felt like he could finally breathe. He had done it. He had survived the first day of school, and if he could survive that, maybe he could survive the next two years. Having Normie- and now, possibly, Jaime- by his side, made things feel like they could go a whole lot easier for Dylan.  The trio of boys reunited at the right side of the school, waiting to walk as a group back to their homes. 

“That was certainly something,” Dylan said, tugging on his backpack straps and giving a small huff of a laugh. “First day of school is over. We only have the rest of the entire school year left to go. Shouldn’t be too difficult, right?” 

A scoff came from Normie. The young Osborn, Dylan noticed, was warming up to Jaime and slowly becoming a bit more talkative. “Oh yeah, it won’t be too difficult,” he replied sarcastically, shaking his head as he began walking. Normie turned to the other two boys. “Snacks?” He pointed at a convenience store across the street. Jaime and Dylan easily agreed. 

The trio entered the small shop. There were aisles of food and plenty to choose from. The two workers at the front were talking with each other. 

“I dunno, man. There’s been a lot of weird shit going around lately. I mean, Manuela has been acting completely different since she and her boyfriend allegedly went off together for a few days. Everything just seems off to me,” the first worker was saying, complaining to the other. 

The second co-worker nodded their head. “Yeah, I’ve noticed it too. I’m sure the Justice League or the Avengers or something will deal with it and everything will go back to how it usually is. That’s what always happens.”

The first looked hesitant. “I’m not sure..” the co-worker sighed and stood up from the stool they sat on, when the trio of kids walked up to them. “Is that all I can get you?” They asked, almost sounding bored. When the trio said no, they moved on. “That’ll be $15.24” 

Dylan, Jaime and Normie all split the money, paying their own amount before leaving the store with their newly bought goods. Dylan was the first to speak. “That was weird, what the two workers were talking about.”

The other two boys only shrugged. 

“Have you noticed anything different about anyone, Normie?” Dylan asked, wanting to stay on the topic. 

Normie shook his head. “No, not really. But I don’t really hang out with many people so I could’ve just not seen it.”

“True…” 

They walked in silence for a few more minutes, snacking on their food. Until Jaime spoke up. “This is where I depart from you two. My house is only a few blocks away, so I should be fine. Just passed Kord Industries, I think.” 

“Okay, then. Bye, Jaime. We’ll see you tomorrow!” Dylan waved. 

“Yeah, I’ll text you both with my ideas on how GoT should have ended,” Jaime promised, giving a grin. 

Normie said his goodbye, and Jaime split off from the group. 

Now it was only Normie and Dylan walking along. 

“Do you think you’ll tell him?” Normie asked randomly, breaking the comfortable silence of their walk. He was referring to Jaime and Dylan knew it. 

“I might. Eventually. Can’t exactly go ‘hi nice to meet you, I have the ability to control homicidal alien goo’.” Dylan sighed, looking over at his best friend. “How about you? Will you tell our new friend about your secret?” 

“Eventually.” 

The pair of boys were just about back to the Osborn household when there was a loud boom, sounding awfully similar to an explosion. The explosion sounded close, maybe a few streets over, but not dangerously close. Even still, Dylan and Normie glanced at each other before running the rest of the way back to the Osborn home. 

When they entered and arrived at the Osborn home, Harry and Liz Osborn looked terrified. Harry had his phone out and let out a huge relieved sigh when he saw his son. “I was just about to call you,” Harry said. “Are you two okay?” 

Both boys nodded. “What happened?” Dylan was the one to ask the question. 

“Kord Industries just exploded.” 

Chapter Text

Jaime Reyes’ POV , September 7th , 3:22pm  

“I’ll text you both with my ideas on how GoT should have ended!” Jaime called, already beginning to walk backwards away from his two new friends. 

Normie responded, light-heartedly insisting that Jamie Lannister was the best of the Lannisters. The three of them had been arguing over who was the best. They all, however, agreed that the best Lannister was not Joffrey. 

Jaime turned on his heel, a small smile plastered on his face. Maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to survive high school with Dylan and Normie by his side. He just had to hope that it wouldn’t be too awkward. Dylan and Normie seemed so comfortable around each other, they had known each other for years— nearly seven years according to Dylan. Jaime hoped he wouldn’t be left out or make things for Normie and Dylan awkward in case they were used to it being just the two of them. 

New York City was nice. It had a lot of downs, but it was still nice. The buildings were huge, taller than most of the ones in El Paso. 

Jaime fished into the pockets of his zip-up sweatshirt, pulling out his phone and opening up the text message app. He looked down at the screen, a small huff of a laugh leaving him when he saw a bunch of messages from Brenda and Paco. 

Brenda [3:12pm] : hey mi amigo

Brenda [3:12pm] : Paco and I missed you at school 

Brenda [3:13pm] : it isn’t the same without you 

Brenda [3:15pm] : we’ll survive tho so you don’t have to worry about us 

Brenda [3:16pm] : oh crap are you even out of school yet? 

Brenda [3:16pm] : I’ll stop spamming, sorry 

And— 

Paco [3:10pm] : hope life in NYC isn’t as exciting as it is here 

Paco [3:12pm] : text me when you’re out

Paco [3:12pm] : I wanna hear how bad school is without us by your side 

Jaime shook his head. There was a smile on his face as he typed out responses to both of his friends. 

To Brenda [3:23pm] : I got out at 3 sorry 

To Brenda [3:23pm] : had my phone on silent 

To Brenda [3:23pm] : and I miss you both too 

To Paco [3:24pm] : it isn’t nearly as exciting here 

To Paco [3:24pm] : It’ll be fine. Only got a few months until winter break 

To Paco [3:25pm] : hopefully we can meet up sometime then 

Jaime smiled, shutting off his phone and putting it back into his pocket. Dylan and Normie were nice, but they were never going to be a replacement for Paco and Brenda. He, Brenda and Paco were all really close. At least, they had been. Jaime hoped they would still stay moderately close even with the distance between them. 

He walked across the street, turning off from the sidewalk and entering a parking lot. A Kord Industries parking lot. 

Looking up at the tall building, Jaime let out a quiet laugh. There had been a Kord Industries building near his old home in El Paso. It sure wasn’t as big as the one in New York, and definitely hadn’t been visited by Ted Kord himself as many times. 

Jaime wasn’t super into science, but he knew enough to know that Ted Kord was a big deal. Kord Industries was one of the top leading science teams in the US. Jaime could remember how Paco used to always brag about the one time he allegedly met Ted Kord— both Jaime and Brenda agreed that it was a dream Paco was trying to pretend was real. 

Looking up at the tall building that was Kord Industries, Jaime let his mind wander. How cool would it be if Ted freaking Kord walked out of the building right that second and they got to meet? Then Jaime could be the one bragging that he met Ted Kord. Maybe he’d even be able to get a picture so, unlike Paco, he would have proof that the meeting had happened. 

Jaime imagined what it would be like working until Ted Kord; having such a great smart leader and being able to aid in the discoveries made. Maybe, a decade or so from now, Jaime would be able to work at Kord Industries. How cool would that be? 

The quiet vibration of Jaime’s phone text notifications going off distracted the teen from his fantasies and he went to pull out his phone again to see if it was Paco or Brenda or maybe Normie or Dylan who had texted him. Only, his hand didn’t even reach his sweatshirt pocket before there was a loud deafening boom from behind Jaime. Jaime turned just in time to see Kord Industries exploding. 

The force of the explosion pushed Jaime to the ground, and Jaime grunted quietly. “Mierda,” he muttered, standing back up. “Shit!” Jaime swore, this time in English when he noticed that the shoulder of his sweatshirt was on fire. Immediately, Jaime clawed on his sweatshirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it on the ground, moving to extinguish the fire. 

Jaime’s phone had fallen out of the sweatshirt pocket by now and was laying on the floor. After putting on the fire on his clothes, Jaime reached over to pick up his phone. Something caught his eye as he leaned down to pick up his phone. A small frown crossed Jaime’s face as he spotted a large tech-like… scarab? Beetle? Jaime wasn’t sure. A bit of smoke was rising up from it, so Jaime could only assume it had come from the explosion. 

Hesitantly, Jaime walked over to the object and picked it up, observing it and trying to figure out what it was. And then it moved. It moved! Like an actual bug, it’s little blue arms wiggling. Jaime, surprised, jumped, letting go of the bug-like piece. Except, whatever it was, it didn’t seem to want to let go of Jaime. The thing climbed up Jaime’s arm, while the Hispanic teen desperately tried to grab at it and throw it off of his body. 

The thing crawled over Jaime’s shoulder, moving onto his back and pausing in the dead middle of Jaime’s spine. 

And then, Jaime felt one of the worst pains he had ever felt. Like something was stabbing him in the back. Literally. And maybe, no actually probably, something was. Each of the thing’s tiny little legs clamped down into Jaime’s skin, it’s pincers doing the same thing. 

The next thing Jaime knew, there were rods of cold blue metal surrounding him, wrapping over his shoulders and sides like it was trying to keep Jaime trapped. Jaime watched, horrified and in pain as more blue metal spread over his skin. Within seconds, his entire body was covered. 

Jaime’s head and face were covered. For a moment, everything was dark. Jaime couldn’t see. Before a screen blinked to life, scribbles were flying up the screen in a very similar way to what information on hacker’s computer screens in movies looked like. Except, whatever was on Jaime’s screen was pure gibberish. 

Jaime got even more scared when a voice started speaking. 

[New host acquired. Accessing information… Please wait.]

“¿Que mierda?” 

[New host / Jaime Reyes. Information access complete.]

Jaime blinked. “Excuse me?” He had no idea what was happening. Whatever this… thing was, it didn’t seem like it wanted to kill Jaime. 

[Correct. I have no intentions to kill you, Jaime Reyes.] 

Did this thing just…? 

[I can hear your thoughts. And “this thing”, as you call me, is an AI. I am a scarab, as I have been called.   Your memories show you know of the Blue Beetle. I am the one who aids those who I have been bonded to to become the said Blue Beetle.] 

Jaime looked down at his armor-covered hand, examining the blue and black metal, twisting his wrist so he could see both sides of his hand. So this… this was the armor of the Blue Beetle. 

“Why me?” Jaime asked after a moment. “Don’t you have someone else you’re supposed to be ‘bonded to’ or whatever?” 

[You are the closest and most compatible being for me to bond to. The last person I was bonded to was killed in the explosion. Therefore, I needed to move on from Ted Kord and find someone who was compatible.] 

“Ted Kord? Ted Kord was the Blue Beetle?” Jaime paused, processing further what the scarab had said. “Ted Kord is dead? Mierda, I should call 9-1-1.” 

[That is not suggested. The fire department is already on their way and is currently four minutes and twenty-seven seconds away. Suggested tactic: run before someone sees you. The group who caused the explosion of this Kord Industries building have eyes everywhere. If someone sees you, you will be in danger before necessary.] 

“Before necessary?” Jaime repeated sharply. “Ese, what does that mean?” 

[It means danger follows the Blue Beetle. You have a good heart, Jaime Reyes. It is part of the reason why you have been deemed compatible with my system. I suggest you do not get yourself mixed in with things that are not yours to get mixed in with. The League will be handling Ted Kord’s death. It is best if you stay away from any superhero teams for now. And you are still inexperienced. It will take time for you to reach an acceptable level of skill.] 

Jaime frowned. “You are a rude little Scarab, huh?” He spotted his phone where he had forgotten it on the ground and picked it up. Just as he did, his phone rang with a call. 

[Danger! Danger! Suggested method: throw object onto the ground. It’s material is weak, it should break.] 

“I am not throwing my phone on the ground! And relax, it’s just a phone call.” 

[Apologies. Detected a wire loose. Currently working on fixing it.] 

Jaime didn’t respond to the Scarab as he answered his phone. “Dylan?” 

Dylan let out an audible sigh. He could hear him talking to someone, Normie maybe. “You’re okay! We heard the explosion, and knew you were walking by it. You aren’t hurt are you?” 

[Voice detection: Dylan Brock, age 16.] 

“Y-yeah, I’m okay. I’m not hurt. My sweatshirt caught on fire, I was that close. I’m injured though. Just gonna need a new sweatshirt. I’m walking home right now, my parents are probably worried sick.” Jaime shook his head, giving a small laugh. “You and Normie made it to your home alright?” 

“Yeah. We made it home.” 

“Good. Look, I’ll talk to you later, okay? See you at school tomorrow.” Jaime said a quick goodbye and hung up the phone. He sighed to himself, before speaking to the Scarab. “Is there any way I can get this armor off of me or am I stuck in this?” 

There wasn’t a response, but the armor shifted and moved back to the Scarab. 

“Great, thanks.” Jaime said quietly, looking around when he began to hear the faint sounds of fire truck sirens getting closer. Jaime grabbed his sweatshirt and took off, thinking to himself: this is going to need some getting used to.