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PREVIOUSLY . Jaime Reyes received the mysterious scarab thought to belong to Dan Garrett by accident when it was scattered to the far corner of the world - El Paso Texas - in the wake of the wizard Shazam!'s death. Bonding to Jaime, he became instrumental in saving the world from Brother Eye. From these crises, Jaime scrambled to salvage his life, and survived to Graduation, where an alien game-hunter revealed his identity to the world. Now a Teen Titan and estranged from his family, Jaime struggles to discover who he is. All the while, he sees strange figures no one else can.

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Imagine waking up to find an ancient living artifact had grafted itself to you. Imagine that it granted you unbelievable and unexplained powers, making you fill shoes you never wanted. Imagine being a teenager who saved the world only to have to explain it to your parents. Imagine if your world was forever changed. Sound cool? He'll trade you.

 

DC Infinity Proudly Presents

vol. 1, issue 4: "Bugging Out"

Written by Bowie Sessions

 

"A belief in hell and the knowledge that every ambition is
doomed to frustration at the hands of a skeleton have never
prevented the majority of human beings from behaving as
though death were no more than an unfounded rumor."

- Aldous Huxley

 

The sign reads WELCOME TO EL PASO. Turning off I-10 in the vehicle we pooled to buy, a deep red 1984 Chevy Van we named ' Sherman ' in honor of the tank, I sit on the back couch, staring out the window. Paco turns around to look at me and smacks me on the leg. "Hey, man. We're almost home!"

I smile to him as I look away from the window finally. "I know. I just wish we weren't, y'know? With . all that . stuff, on graduation day, they - they're not feeling too peppy to me, I bet you."

"Especially since you totally ditched the next day with us, no explanation," Brenda offers with a pleasant smile into the rear view mirror.

Too bad she's driving, or she could really understand the glare I'm giving her right now. Instead, I'll just have to settle for stewing over that fact. My parents won't be psyched to see me, I think, but I guess I'm going to have to live with it.

I meet her eyes in the rear-view mirror and Brenda smiles a little sheepishly, looking away. Paco misses the expression completely. "Been like forever since we been here, man."

"Couldn't've left at a better time." I respond, thinking back to Graduation Day, and the fight with Xeno. I see familiar streets and familiar homes. That's my stop up ahead.

"Hope you survive," Brenda offers as the van pulls to a stop.

[Home of the Reyes Family, one month after Graduation]

It's Movie Night; they're in the living room. No way I can sneak in past them, so I don't even bother. I open the front door and just walk right in, duffle bag slung over my shoulder. "I'm home," I say in a voice filled with pre-emptive defeat. The footsteps rushing my way don't prove me wrong.

"What is going through your mind?!" my mother cries to me. Of the two, she's usually the less accusatory one. Tears streak hotly down her cheeks as she rushes at me, and slaps me fiercely across the face. I feel a surge of electricity on my back, a response from the Beetle, which I force back.

" Hold ON ! Listen! I can explain myself!" I try to protest, but that doesn't stop a thing. The rush of words in Spanish and in English bashing me so violently doesn't stop any time soon. My mother is incensed, and my father stands behind her with his arms crossed, as if he were her guard or something.

There's a small lull in her screams, I think it might be taking a breath, and I don't hesitate to take it. "I found this weird rock thing, okay? Looked like a bug. A SCARAB, actually. An Egyptian artifact or whatever. But it burrowed into my spine, and made me into this weird thing - weird thing with powers. Powers that people needed to SAVE the WORLD! Remember those weird blue robot things? I stopped them. Me . Little Jaime. I saved the WORLD. It's what I kept secret. What I didn't tell you. Why I was gone for a week! I was doing something important!"

This time, Milago, my little sister, surprises me. She cuts me to the quick. "And what about last month? Was that important, too?"

Somehow, that makes it burn. I can piss off my parents and feel justified, feel like I'm in the right, that's the whole Parent/Child situation. I'm born to disappoint them and they're made to yell at me. Milagro and me, we fight . but we don't really hurt each other. That hurt. "I . needed some space."

"And we needed you," my father tells me with his eyes sharply honed, his chin set hard. He isn't brooking argument.

My mother changes from accusation to desperation, as she pleads for me to give it away. They're not as shocked as they should be. but then, they did see me change. Guess it's no big surprise. "Give it back! The whole city is talking about you, about this Blue Beetle. Give it back! We just want our Jaime."

"I - I can't! I tried!"

"Try HARDER," my father insists, firmly.

"I saved the WORLD with this, Dad! Maybe I want it. Maybe I want to keep it. I thought you'd be proud of me. Proud of your son being a hero . Of being a-"

"All I ever wanted my son to be was a man. To live a good life, better'n'the one I worked so hard to give you. And this is it? You going to go get yourself killed ?" His voice is judgmental, and maybe I deserve it.

"I can protect myself, Dad! I have superpowers and-"

"So did the last Blue Beetle," he cuts in, sharply.

"No he didn't-" I begin to say, but stop myself. I am silent for many long moments. I convince myself I'm right. I convince myself they don't know what they're talking about, even though they do. "I'm not giving this up, Dad. I'm done being your son instead of my self ."

"If you walk out that door and leave us again , you aren't walking back in," my dad leaves the clichéd ultimatum for me.

I pull the door open and glare back at him angrily. "Go to hell," I growl and slam the door behind me.

The Scarab wraps itself around me and I take to the sky, duffle bag drug by my arm.

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[Rooftop in El Paso , Texas ]

I land on a roof, and focus on my pants underneath this blue armor somewhere. "Come on, I need my cellphone." I whisper. To my surprise, the outfit chitters its response to me and forms an opening to my upper leg.

I reach in and pull out my phone, where the partition seals again. I look down at my phone, press the numbers 35, and press Talk. It spells GL, which doesn't stand for Green Lantern, it stands for . "Come on, Gar, pick up," I whisper quietly as I wait for it to connect. Then I hear a familiar voice on the other end.

"Hey! Gar! It's Jaime - you know, Blue Beetle. You . said if I wanted, I'd be welcome. What? Now's not a . yeah, okay, no problem. Hey, this is . my number. Just . call when . yeah, whenever's good for you. I'm - okay, yeah, I'll just talk to you later! Seeya!" My voice is full of excitement and upbeat cheer, but I just want to leave. I so desperately want to get out of here.

Running my hand over my head, once more realizing my sudden lack of hair, I tap three more digits on my phone and hold it back to my . well, not really 'ear', but where my ear is under this armor.

"411. Uh. city is Metropolis, Kansas . I'm looking for a . uh . a company. Blue & Gold Incorporated. really? Okay, thanks."

I'm silent as it connects. It takes a few moments, and then I get an automated machine. I keep hitting 0 to get the operator who finally answers. "Hi, uh, I'm calling for Mike. Er, Booster Gold. Whatever. Yes, I know he's probably busy but - okay. Just . take a note for - thank you. Yes, tell him. Jaime Reyes called. I'm sure he has my number."

I hang up my cell and swear aloud. If he's really from the future, he should've known I wanted to talk to him. I think that's how it works.

I look over the cityscape and leap into the air once more, wings cutting the sky as I move.

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[Home of Brenda McCarter]

I make sure to change back before I approach. It's a rather disgusting transformation, and I'd rather not do it on her lawn. "Knock knock," I yell out as I do the exact same on her front door. I decided to come by her place instead of Paco's - but I have a good reason.

"Brenda!" I say with a smile, and she smiles back just so knowingly.

The explanation rolls out of my lips quickly, "I kinda had to leave the house, and I thought I'd-"

"You thought what?" she asks, sharply, much to my surprise. I don't know how I'm supposed to take that tone.

"I thought I'd . see a friend. Maybe we'd hang out, I don't know, I."

She looks around behind her, and then closes the door, pushing me back so we stand on her porch. She looks up a smidge to cover the two-inch difference and crosses her arms, her eyes settling sharper into my gaze. "Paco's not here so you don't have to use him as an excuse to hide it. Let's open the air some. Is that it? A friend?"

"Right now is really not a good time for this talk, Brenda, my dad's practically disowning me."

"It's never a good time. Was it . was it horrible ?" she asks, her voice choking. I wince sharply, and reach forward for her shoulder, kind of expecting her to crumble into my oh-so-He-Man embrace. She shrugs out of it, instead, and keeps her eyes venomous.

I sigh, putting my hands through my hair and closing my eyes while I quickly tell myself to focus. "It was great. Brenda, I came here and not to Paco's. You're my best friend, and you're . more, too, I think, and just . I really needed someone to talk to."

She's quiet for several seconds, and seems to be at least mildly placated enough to allow me to evade the topic. "What happened with your dad?" she asks, bringing it back to my topic. She paid attention, apparently.

"He told me if I don't give up my superpower-thing I'm not welcome in the House."
"What'd you tell him?"
"Go to Hell."

She just glowers at me in response to my answer. "Well, I can't give them back, it's fused to my spine !"

"Don't you want to? I mean, you got them cuz the last Blue Beetle died , right?"

I can't explain the intensity of the headache I have right now. "Why does EVERYONE keep bringing that up ?!"

"You should apologize. Talk it through. They're your parents, they love you, they'll understand-"

"I'm not apologizing! I'm the one who's RIGHT! " I protest, loudly, swearing and looking around as if the answer to my frustrations might appear in her floral print wallpaper, only to hear a noise from inside.

Her trailer-trash-bred Step-Dad's voice. "What's goin' on out there, Brenda?"

Brenda opens her lips to speak, and I know what she wants to say before she does. If we can talk about this later . "Sure. Whatever. Seeya."

The scarab covers me. I just have to leave. Do something. Find some bad people to beat up, maybe.

Meanwhile, far below, twelve beings clothed entirely in black stare sightlessly into the sky after a quickly disappearing figure.

"He knows of us. His being will be trouble," one whispers quietly.

To his left, a female speaks. "We must not be desperate. It will come in time."

"It is not ready! We must stop him before he finds our secret," another says to his right.

"We must not alert him that we have one ," the first once more speaks, his hand lowering to pick his sunglasses off his coat and raise them to cover his eyes.

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[somewhere over El Paso , Texas ]

I had to go clear my head. So I took flight, and scoured the city, patrolling for . you know . Evil! It's not working out too super.

There is nothing here. Nothing anywhere . El Paso is totally dead. Can't anyone break into a jewelry store or rob a bank or . show up in a giant metallic robot? It happens to everyone else. I feel a little . underwhelmed here. Does Superman ever have days like this? I'm trying to focus on the so-called unending threat of Darkness In The World, and I can't help but think that I probably have a lot of email to answer.

Suddenly, I feel my phone ring in my suit. Focusing that opening, I reach in to grasp my cellphone and answer it mid-flight. This seems a little awkward, but I go ahead and speak. "Uhm, this is . Jaime," I offer, lamely. I almost said Blue Beetle.

And I thought talking on a cellphone while driving was stupid. "Hey, Mike!" I greet, suddenly.

"No, I just wanted to see if you were. What? No, I uh - Yeah, I'm free. Yeah. Yeah, I'll . be there soon." I think.

I hang up the phone. Slide it into my pocket. It looks like I'm going to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Metropolis, Kansas ]

I've been flying around Metropolis for about ten minutes now looking for some kind of sign that says This way to Booster Gold , but I'm not seeing any of it - and then there he is, a gleaming beacon of merchandising.

I hover in the air, wings flapping, as he flies out to meet me. "Hey! I tried to call you back, but the number was Restricted," I try to explain but he dismisses it off.

"Hey, no time. So. what's up?"

I look down, and around, avoiding his gaze. Avoiding answering the question I don't want to answer. Inevitably, all things come to their end, however. "I kind of . need . somewhere to stay. And maybe some . lessons, you know?"

Booster can't help but smile. "No problem. Say. You want to go save the day?"

"Can we at least save Texas first?" I ask, in jest. But he doesn't seem to, as he looks over to Skeets, his flying Golden robot.

--In northeastern Texas , there will be a Tornado Strike. Minimal damages, however, there are.--

"Blab la bla. OK. It's a plan. Let's save Texas , and then the Day," Booster says with a smile. He's about to rush off when his eyes light up and he turns to look at me excitedly.
"You know what? Let's take the Bug."

--Oh yes,-- Skeets whispers bitterly. --Go save some poor cows.--

Booster's head snaps back to stare over at his orbiting companion. "What?"

--Nothing, sir.-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ONE YEAR LATER.

[ Dallas , Texas ]

"It's time we let you try the controls," Booster tells me as we walk into a massive hangar in the three-story building, which serves as the Dallas extension of Metropolis-native organization 'Blue & Gold Industries'. The upper roof is half-museum of truly awesome stuff and half-hangar. Following behind him, my eyes scan about the large gleaming hangar while I wear my Say Anything shirt from Hot Topic and a pair of ratty jeans, satchel slung over my shoulder as I keep pace, eyes wandering endlessly. No matter how many times he shows me these planes, ships, weapons and the technology that is in here . it doesn't get any less awesome.

"Do you mean.?" I begin to ask. He's shown me how to use a couple things. Even gave me the chance to handle the corporate helicopter. When Booster's footsteps keep going until he stops before the large blue Bug, Ted Kord's former pride and joy.

I feel awe; I've ridden in it a few times now, Booster doing his best to control the massive thing, while we soar around looking for wrongs to right. Whenever he'd leave to Metropolis, it was strictly off limits - which is fine by me. I'm able to fly all on my own. Yet here he was . giving me the keys to the Kingdom.

Strangely, I felt like I was sixteen again and dad tossed me the keys as we left the house, to my shock. I remember that day so clearly, and it pains me. Not wanting Booster to see my face tense up, I turn away for a moment, in thought. I wonder . I wonder how they're doing. Ever since the incident at school, we've exchanged formalities at most, a problem I hate. but, really, what can I do about it? Well, I know the answer to that, but it's easier said than done.

Putting a smile back on my face, I turn and nod to Booster. "I am so up for this," I tell him excitedly, and we rush into the cockpit. Strapping in to the seat, and gripping the controls in my hands, I feel powerful - I feel right . With the Beetle, I'm struggling to ask it what to do most of the time, though it's starting to work with me on what's coming. With this . with these controls . my fate is really in my hands. It feels good.

He'd been showing me how - pointing and quizzing me. So after gathering my breath, I manage to activate the base thrusters and run the throttle. The roof opens above us at Booster's command and we soar suddenly skyward. I kill thrust to the base jets and ignite the rear jets, running its throttle forward instead. We're whipped into our seats as we take off. I have only one thing to say.

"YEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!" I scream at the top of my lungs as we whip through the sky.

"Take it slow-" Booster begins to object, when I suddenly run full throttle to the left-most base thrusters, causing us to start spinning from the lack of bilateral jets. I do it on purpose, sending us flying forward and up in a sudden near-uncontrollable spin. From the thrill, I'm screaming my head off with the excitement - it doesn't get much better than this.

Near, I repeat. Near-uncontrollable. "WATCH THE ROAD!" he cried out, as we nearly clipped a skyscraper's antennae.

Killing the jets, I rush us straight towards the ground, blasting past businesses and poster-boards. Booster looks terrified. Stopping the rapid descent a few dozen stories above impact, and I raise the nose with aptly placed jets and send us flying skyward again. This thing is genius - its airfoils do very little work, but it has jets built into every angle of it, allowing sudden propulsion shifts at a moment's notice. Kord is a weird, brilliant guy - wish I met him. I feel like I knew him, when I hold this wheel, more ever than this Beetle.

What do you mean do you lke me less than this ship

Uh, no, Scarab thing. There's just a different connection. Don't be a jealous wife. Man, I wish I knew why I understood this weird thing. The ship - much easier to understand. I am about to put it through more of a test when I hear - my cell-phone ringing, playing Oh Marie by Louis Prima. Picking up the phone, I cradle it into my shoulder as I rocket along the sky.

{Hey, Jaime. This is Gar - you know - Changeling? Teen Titans guy?}
"Oh, hey Gar! What's up?"
{What're you doing, well, right now?}
"Just . y'know . out riding around." I answer him as I rush straight for a building.

In the background, Booster can easily be heard screaming "THE ROAD!" again and pointing at the building in front of us. I strike up the reverse thrusters just as we are about to hit, then drop out the back jets and amp the front nose jets before I ignite the rear thrusters again . and pump them full throttle. In the span of a second, we go from cruising straight for the skyscraper to running alongside it. I've always wanted to do that. I feel like Han Solo.

{I was wondering if you could make it to Los Angeles . There's this movie premiere, and the Titans got an RSVP. I figured, get some nice suits, and you and me - we paint the town red. As Gar and Jaime. Maybe pre-occupy ourselves with some Hollywood girls.}

I thought to myself about Brenda - and about Aquagirl - but the prospects did entice. "I'm there. When?"

{Tonight at nine. So, uh, seven hours. Red carpet. Mann's--} just as he's explaining the details, I hear my phone beeping at me.

"Hold on, I've got another call," I tell him, and lower the phone from me. Taking my eyes off the sky as we arc over the tower, and I gun it on instinct to rush us back down the other side of it. The screen reads Brenda .

Instead of answering it, I just raise the phone back to my head and let hers go to voicemail. "Nevermind, it was a wrong number. Yeah, I'm totally there."

Smiling, I hang up the phone and plateau out the bug. As we cruise, Booster's heart rate relaxing, my smile slowly fades . but I force it to remain there, for appearances. I can't let that bother me. They don't care about me. They've proven it. I shouldn't be the one feeling guilty to ignore their calls.

If it's really important, she'll leave a message.

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[ El Paso , Texas - Home of the Reyes Family]

"Is Jaime coming back?" Milagro asks, quietly. Their ritually mirth-filled dinner, born of laughter and funny stories about work, had faded into silence most nights lately. Every story on the news, every reminder of their absent son - that place at the table, which stares at them hauntingly - it left them feeling much less inclined to talk. Milago manages to admit this terror, once in awhile. Tonight was one.

"He made his choice," their Dad mutters quietly and returns to eating the ham.

Faces born without eyes stare from the street, their nostrils flared and hands spanning through the air. "This is it," their voices whisper to the others, one passing it on to the next. The nine of them wander forward, crossing through the street and passing over the lawn. A stray cat stopped to hiss loudly at them.

Yet they came towards the light of the dining room as if moths to a flame.

Mom opens her mouth to speak, and silences again, her face downcast and glancing away to gather her thoughts. She doesn't let sleeping dogs lie, however, and turns again to her husband, a frown painted over her face. "This is your fault," she tells him, pointedly, eyes sharp and cutting like knives. "You pushed him away."
Their voices raised and they began to shout at one another, unaware of what happens around them. A pale, eyeless thing slams its hand against the window and drags its palm down in a soft screech. Their argument pauses as a shiver runs down all their spines. They look around and Milagro stares out the window.

One of the Shadow Men almost seems to stare directly back, its head cocked sightlessly to meet Milagro's. After a moment, they sigh and return to their meals. The Shadow Men begin to open the windows, and slide their thin, emaciated bodies through the opening.

"He's a hero," Dad reiterates, fiercely. "It's all I hear at work, at the bar, around town - ain't you proud of your boy . Well, I am. I - yeah, we . we hurt him, and now he's hurting us, but dammit, he's being a man. More than you ever thought he would be."

"Now I'm the one who didn't support him? Now it's me who wasn't there? Do you even REMEMBER your son, or were you too busy at work to see him every day like me?" she bit back, her eyes like knives.

"That's not even close to fair! I put food on the plates-" but his voice is silenced by the sudden interruption of their fearful daughter, who shook every time they fought around her, as she so carefully contemplates her food most of the time.

"Could you close the window? It's kinda cold," Milagro whispers, barely able to be heard.

Dad looks puzzled, and stands up to look around. He eyes the window, with its curtains flapping . and turns back to the family. "Who left the window open?"

The Reyes family seems very unaware, of the dozen of these eyeless Shadow Men that gather around them. Behind each - Milagro, Mom and Dad, a Shadow Man stood, a knife extended from their hands.

And they smile just oh-so-softly.

[END]

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What's up with these Shadow People still? Dude, are the Reyes gonna be okay? Why is Jaime blowing off Brenda like that? Are we ever going to learn what's up with that Beetle? Jaime's a celebrity?

All this (maybe!) and more when we return in a month, when Jaime goes back home, goes on David Letterman. Meets that chick with the scarab from Green Lantern. and fights EL DIABLO! BE there!

See you next month, and remember, to those about to rock: We salute you.

- Bowie

Note from the Author: Wooo-ee boy. I lost a lot of this story, and had to re-write. Strangely, I think it's better for it, but I sure hate re-writing.

I can't wait to bring you the next few issues . appease those who hated those High School stories . and . can you keep a secret? The swarm is coming.