Jaime Reyes | Blue Beetle (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
beetlebutt) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
piper902021-03-24 07:41 pm
beetlebutt) wrote in piper902021-03-24 07:41 pm
Entry tags:
big bad beetleborg [video] [locked]
[ooc: This is set just slightly before people return from the plot, so that people on the rig can see it before everyone returns and people in the plot can see it after they return.]
[Jaime is definitely thrown by finding himself here and he already earned himself a few shocks trying to fight his way out. Fortunately, they were only the short zappy kind, not Violations. Eventually he simmered down and thought about what Ted had taught him, about keeping his cool and playing the long game. But even now after getting the talk about where he is, he's feeling suspicious.]
[What if this is some weird game the Regime is playing? What if they're doing...something that they think will help coerce him to work with them long term? Ted had made it clear to him how manipulative and controlling they could. What if this is some kind of set up to try to convince him to join them?]
[That had always been Ted's fear. That Jaime would be strong-armed or manipulated into working for the bad guys - possibly even with threats to his family - or that Batman would recruit him because his people were dropping like flies. So he's feeling slightly suspicious when he gets on the comms, and his frown is pretty cranky.]
[He figured out that encryption pretty fast, enough with the Scarab poking around the comms. He's already told the Scarab to stay quiet and keep his head down.]
Okay, so apparently if you're kidnapped by people from another dimension, you get a free smartphone. Cool.
[It's not cool.]
[He drags a hand down his face.]
My name is Jaime. Just Jaime, that's all you get.
[He might have to use the suit, so he doesn't want his name associated with it. There are plenty of black-haired teenagers named Jaime out there.]
How many other people are in this place? And did anyone get powers or get changes in their powers?
[A squint.]
Also, that slideshow, does anyone know who made that? Because it was either parody meant to insult us or the person who made it was like super old. Like "uses internet explorer" old.
[Jaime is definitely thrown by finding himself here and he already earned himself a few shocks trying to fight his way out. Fortunately, they were only the short zappy kind, not Violations. Eventually he simmered down and thought about what Ted had taught him, about keeping his cool and playing the long game. But even now after getting the talk about where he is, he's feeling suspicious.]
[What if this is some weird game the Regime is playing? What if they're doing...something that they think will help coerce him to work with them long term? Ted had made it clear to him how manipulative and controlling they could. What if this is some kind of set up to try to convince him to join them?]
[That had always been Ted's fear. That Jaime would be strong-armed or manipulated into working for the bad guys - possibly even with threats to his family - or that Batman would recruit him because his people were dropping like flies. So he's feeling slightly suspicious when he gets on the comms, and his frown is pretty cranky.]
[He figured out that encryption pretty fast, enough with the Scarab poking around the comms. He's already told the Scarab to stay quiet and keep his head down.]
Okay, so apparently if you're kidnapped by people from another dimension, you get a free smartphone. Cool.
[It's not cool.]
[He drags a hand down his face.]
My name is Jaime. Just Jaime, that's all you get.
[He might have to use the suit, so he doesn't want his name associated with it. There are plenty of black-haired teenagers named Jaime out there.]
How many other people are in this place? And did anyone get powers or get changes in their powers?
[A squint.]
Also, that slideshow, does anyone know who made that? Because it was either parody meant to insult us or the person who made it was like super old. Like "uses internet explorer" old.
no subject
It split in two. The Regime, and Batman's rebels who fought against it. The "heroes" [quotey fingers] in the Regime still called themselves the Justice League, but after a while everyone else stopped.
[He breathes out and tries to unclench a little but it's hard to.]
I've never heard of a "Vigilante" so I guess that supports the alternate universe thing. If a version of you exists or existed in my universe at all, he probably either went into hiding or the Regime murdered him. Like all the others.
no subject
[It's what had gotten him imprisoned by the Thanagarians.]
Course, with all that alternate universe nonsense who the hell even knows.
How 'bout you? What's your part in all that?
no subject
[Sometimes he's a bad liar, when he's flustered, when it's something not actually important.]
[And when it's important, he lies well. He doesn't want anyone tying his superhero identity to his civilian ID if he can help it.]
[Vig can eventually think he's a meta, but if he can hide his exact superhero appearance until he can get out of here...]
no subject
Alright pardner, I won't prod.
I can't say our hosts'll feel the same way. Word of friendly warning? Even if you are a civilian, they ain't gonna let you stay one for long.
no subject
[A pause.]
[He goes with a half-truth.]
Being a meta back home wasn't safe. Someone that cared about me told me I needed to hide, because either the Regime would pressure me into putting on some jackboots and being a thug for them - possibly even by threatening my family, or the Resistance might guilt me into fighting for them and getting my ass killed.
[He neglects to mention that the person who cared was a superhero. That said superhero trained him. That Jaime had decided to step up and take on the mantle. That he'd already started being a superhero too.]
[He wants the detachment, for as long as he can have it - even if he blows it by having to use the suit on his first mission. Maybe he'll get lucky and they'll get free before then.]
But I always knew I probably wouldn't be able to hide forever. I guess it's kind of messed but I was already ready for this. Being pushed into someone else's fight against my will.
At least here nobody can get to my family. So if they want me to do something really terrible, I can still refuse and just get shocked to death.
[The ease to which he says those words make it clear the resignation about the situation he's found himself in has been in place for a while.]
no subject
[It's not a great attempt at reassurance, but it's the only kind Greg can give right now.]
Oh, before I forget? I ain't sure if he's even around in your topsy-turvy universe, but we got ourselves an honest-to-goodness Brainiac here. Says he's a descendant of the original and the white sheep of the family.
He's got a couple of guys who knew him from before all this vouchin' for him, so I'm inclined to believe him. Just figured you'd appreciate the heads up.
no subject
I don't know who that is.
[Things Jaime does not know: Brainiac is eventually coming to attack Earth. Right now. But hasn't gotten there yet.]
If it's a bad guy family we maybe don't have that bad guy or haven't been attacked yet.
I would put more money on "yet" than "never" because that's generally our world's luck.
no subject
Also, I get that it ain't exactly somethin' you can do anything about, but if'n you somehow you get the chance? Keep Lex Luthor away from him. Those two're bad enough apart, but they're even worse if they get the idea in their heads to team up.
no subject
Or...I mean I guess it's three of them, because there's also Black Adam...
Okay, just in general? We don't need more of that type of person.
[He squints.]
But Lex Luthor? He's dead in my universe but he died a hero. Even when he was working for the Regime, he turned on them and used it to help the rebellion.
Even though he and Superman used to do everything together, he turned against his own best friend for the sake of the world.
no subject
Ours is dead too. Probably. I'm about 50/50 on that considerin' how it happened. I try not to speak too ill of the dead, but considerin' he was partly responsible for the incident that caused him to sacrifice himself in the first place, led an entire secret society of supervillains, and nearly destroyed the world himself a year ago? He probably deserves it.
no subject
He was very like "I'll invent new sources of energy and provide them to the poor for free." And he sort of was known for figuring out tech stuff for Superman.
I'm also guessing if you were like "you must be from an evil timeline where everyone's evil" it means none of the good guys are yet back where you're from.
[A pause.]
I say "yet" out of a healthy dose of very well-earned cynicism. Everyone's got a potential breaking point. Everyone thought Superman was incorruptible and look where my world is now.
Even if everyone understood him killing Joker at first, he just...kept going. For our "safety."
no subject
I'm not sayin' it couldn't happen in my universe, it absolutely could. But actin' like it's inevitable ain't any better than ignorin' that it's possible.
no subject
It's just hard to see it not happening to at least somebody.
[A shrug.]
But maybe you'll get lucky and never have a thing happens that trips someone off like that.
[A pause.]
That said, when you go back, shove the Joker somewhere a lot more secure than Arkham. Annnd never let him out again. Just to be safe.