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.
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Of course, he’s heard hundreds, if not thousands, of code names, and that’s before world hopping took him to the 31st century superhero museums in another universe. It’s a cromulent code name. Probably the X-Men, they wear gold. ]
Yeah, yeah. I didn’t pick it. I just stuck with it when some reporter wrote me up in the paper. It’s hard to come up with unique names. I know at least three people with Spider in their name. I think “Marvel” is up to five now? Six? Do secondary nicknames count?
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[He doesn't say that he's one of them.]
So at least they aren't getting it from some rando. It's more like "I, Sir Punchington the First, dub thee Squire Punchington the Second, next in line to someday been the next Sir Punchington."
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But yeah, I know how that goes, although I don’t think it’s always that official in my OG universe.
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[They don't.]
What, is it just like a free for all?
[It is.]
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They - hm. It’s not that everyone’s untrained. Most people train themselves or are trained with their team. I was. Some of them were actual military, like Captain America. And every so often, someone tries to put together a school or camp to train heroes, but uh - the last one I know about blew up in the nanoverse. Everyone made it out, though.
[ Robbie is not going to get into how often super training schools are attacked. It’s a disgrace. ]
So your world is all trained heritage heroes? Nobody just gets zapped by a science experiment and puts on a pair of tights and has to deal with the seasoned heroes thinking that you kids need to stay home and let them protect the world?
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Even if you bypass all the older adults and get on the Teen Titans they almost always had older heroes on it who were pretty experienced, and there was like a whole thing of like "this is where you can learn the ropes."
It's not just friends hanging out, they're actually good enough to train people and put some focus on it.
[A pause, because he's playing meta civilian until he's 100% sure this is not the Regime, because he doesn't want his identity paired with "Blue Beetle" when Blue Beetle might have to tangle with them specifically one day.]
I got offered to join recently. But...I don't know where that's gonna go now that two of them died. [Wonder Girl and Superboy were never found after the fight against the Red Lanterns, so it was assumed.] I guess it's just Starfire left now. She could probably teach me some stuff but I don't know how we could manage being a team of two.
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The eager light in his eyes dies in the next sentence though. He doesn’t know this Starfire person, and odds are he never will, but he hopes that she’s okay. That she doesn’t blame herself for her teammates’ death. She probably does.
Robbie’s staring off to the side when he does answer, selecting his words carefully. ]
I’ve been on a team of two that rebuilt from there. I wouldn’t call it easy, but I don’t think whatever you did to get the offer would’ve been easy. I like being on a team, and it’s not because of the training. It’s important to know what you’re doing, but having people to hang out with that know what it’s like? That’s just as important. It keeps you sane.
[ And it is so, so lonely, being the only one left. But he can’t go wheedling the guy to join a team because he empathizes with the story. ]
You’d have to work on the just Jaime thing first, though, before you make up your mind.
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[He needs to think it's a "when," not "if."]
It's just awkward because it happened right after they invited me so it's not like we were friends yet. And also...people just...
They die. Like a lot. There's basically only one superteam left now. Figuring out your place - if you even have a place - isn't easy when the ground is always shifting under you.
[The world changes too much, too fast.]
But Starfire might be my only choice of teammates anyway, though. I burned my bridge with Batman's team, so they're not really an option.
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But he doesn’t know what to say. Most of the people he knows - he could never talk them out of harm’s way. His friends are too good. ]
I think... if you pause when you think that people who do the superhero thing die, then you’re not ready to make the decision yet.
[ But Robbie is a firm believer that it’s about the net lives saved, even if it’s hot his, so for him the choice would be clear.
He’s been where this Starfire is, and he is so tempted to share more. To make Jaime understand why it’s worth it, but it’s not right to force his hand and create that saviour complex. ]
Because you’re right. People die, and sometimes... [ Deep breath. ] Sometimes you just aren’t enough to stop it. Not even if you’re Batman. Either of them.
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There's only one Batman.
[Neither Nightwing was ever Batman in his world and he didn't run into the murderous Batman on the mission he went on.]
[His eye narrow a little in suspicion at someone being from his world or a dimensional equivalent, if this is some random dimension thing. What are the chances of two random dimensional blips from versions of the same universe?]
[He's not going to assume the worst but wants to know what he's talking about.]
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Okay, so this is the third universe I’ve been in. Fifth if you count the nanoverse and pocket dimensions. My home universe doesn’t have a Batman that I know of. But I got pulled into another one by this dude called the Time Trapper who was assembling the heroes of the multiverse. So did two different Batmen. Maybe it’s a when question and you still only have one, or maybe they’re from different universes? Don’t think too hard about it. You’ll get a headache.
[ Jaime, you too can have insane exposition if you join a superhero squad. ]
Locked to Robbie
[He was only temporarily hiding his superherodom, trying to hedge around "I'm a meta but not a specific meta that you actually know" because he was worried this was all some weird head trip. Some kidnapping thing the Regime was doing.]
[But people sound like people from all kinds of places. The most obvious answer about what this place is is what Jorgmund said it is, and what it looks like. Occam's Razor.]
[He might wait a bit longer before being more open to everyone but this dude seems like a superhero from another place familiar with his world or one like it and he...]
[He sure could use other superheroes to talk to. He keeps losing the ones he's got.]
I didn't hesitate.
[His eyes get glassy and he doesn't really explain. Can't yet. Can't talk about them, either of them.]
And I was going to die. And someone else stopped it.
But I wasn't enough to stop it for them.
[So he is not new to this. He's in the thick of it already and lying about how deep.]
I didn't want anyone to put two and two together. "Random meta who sometimes deals with stuff" - something I can't hide here since I'll have to use some powers - is safer than having my superhero name. Seeing what I usually look like. I was putting that off until I could figure this place out a little.
I thought this might be the Regime playing some weird headgame so I just wanted to get the lay of the land first. If it's just really some weird collection of randos, hiding I'm already a superhero, or even what one, is not as important. The worst thing they could ever get is my full name. You know, 'cause google.
Re: Locked to Robbie
[ “I didn’t hesitate.”
Bad Robbie stomach doesn’t hesitate to sink. Something about the way Jaime says circles back to the idea of freezing trips a wire. ]
My old team. They died.
[ He doesn’t normally talk about it this way. The focus isn’t allowed to be on them, as opposed to the civilians that died, so Robbie can’t fall into his familiar, practiced lines about how Stamford Was A Tragedy.
Instead, he coughs up fragments and simple sentences to just give away the worst of himself to a kid he’s just met, because he thinks Jaime can use it. Robbie is used to serving as the cautionary tale.
But he’s a little shocked at how the resurrections haven’t dulled the hurt. ]
We didn’t know what we were up against. Nitro was boosting his powers. He blew up ten square city blocks. Just like that.
They were gone. I was gone too - I got thrown clear to the other side of New York. State. Nobody could’ve been enough. I know that. It was less than an instant. I ... guess you could say I blamed myself pretty hard.
[ He’s supposed to say that he doesn’t blame himself anymore. But saying that outloud to someone new, someone who doesn’t know him and can’t weigh the good that he’s done. It’s too hard to say and even thinking about it stirs up old shame. ]
You did good, Jaime. You didn’t hesitate, and they wanted you to still be here. And that’s okay.
[ It’s not poetic, but Robbie wished someone had explained that to him when he was 17. That his friends wouldn’t be mad that he was alive. That it was okay. That he was good. He wipes his eyes quickly and clears his throat. ]
Yeah. We’re mostly a pack of randos. I know Brainy and Hiccup from the Two Batmen world, and I know of Rogue and the other X-Men from my home world. They’re all right. I’ve never heard of the Regime, anyway, so I think you’re safe. We - you know. Safe for here. Ignoring the extradimensional kidnapping and enslavement.
Re: Locked to Robbie
I'm sorry. That must have been horrible.
I...I messed up once too. It wasn't that many people but I still did and Batman told me to stop using my powers. That I was a liability.
[He thinks about the "they wanted you to still be here." He thinks about Ted telling Booster to train him, that he was the kind of hero they always wanted to be. How much they wanted him to be out there doing good in the world because they believed so hard in him.]
And I keep losing people.
[He can't say their names, can't talk about who they were, not yet.]
But at the same time I can't stop. The things I've helped stop, so many people would've died if I hadn't tried. I just wish it didn't keep coming with some kind of huge cost and I'm always like low-key freaking out over the idea it might be someone else next.
Like my best friends or my family or something.
[Ted had been killed by Ra's but the reason Booster couldn't use time travel to save him was because fate decided Jaime and Booster being together was more important, since Jaime would someday need to fight Starro. And then Booster had sacrificed himself to save him.]
Each time, I guess it's not my fault but it's still always somehow because of me. I feel, like, cursed or something.
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[ If it’s not clear, Robbie is impressed. ]
I think it’s because the X-Men are badass and everyone else needs to quit cause we’re all doing this wrong.
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[Remy might be a cynic, too, but it's based in reality.]
Eit'er way, de Jean Grey school seems to get 'way wit' not much more dan gettin' picketed. Reckon we can handle a few picketers easy 'nough.
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[ There is so much more to worry about than anti mutant fanatics and mutant villains. ]
I’m going to tell Vance not to park Mount Wundagore there just in case.
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Mole Man ain't bothered us yet an' de Skrulls've had deir tails 'tween their legs since de last invasion was stopped. Though I'd 'preciate not havin' a mountain parked on de school. Pretty sure Kitty would, too.
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[ Robbie just did. He’s suddenly reminded of how crazy some people think their world is. ]
The mountain is phased and won’t crush anyone. We’ll still try to avoid it because it alarms people, and I would actually prefer not alarming children or X-Men. I am totally withholding the right to alarm the Avengers though.
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[If it isn't the Skrulls, it's something else. There's always something to tell time by.]
[There's a moment where Remy obviously considers this before nodding.]
Phasin' mountain ain't de weirdest dat we've seen, but you feel like alarmin' de Avengers? You go right 'head wit' dat.
[No, he's not bitter. At all. Does it sound like it?]