"And when the pirates fired their weapon? What happened then?" Brainy continues relentlessly. "Your scarab is easily more powerful than I am; even at half strength you could have helped me deflect the blast! Then the crew would be safe and no one would have had to die!"

There's a flicker in the exposed circuitry, a crackle of connections burning out and, despite the glass between them, Jaime can smell the acrid reek of smoke and hear Brainy's hiss of pain perfectly.