trans_9 | Lean Mean Blue Machine [open to anyone (but NOT a meeting post! Just for meeting Jaime)]

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Lean Mean Blue Machine [open to anyone (but NOT a meeting post! Just for meeting Jaime)]

There's a lot of people that mill around after the crew returns. Jaime Reyes, also known as the Blue Beetle, stays suited up for now, just in case, especially after getting fried with a Dracon beam twice.

He's trying to get through to the MedBay, where Paco is, because he doesn't want him to have to go through his de-Yeerking alone, whatever the Yeerk said or tried to do to him.

But the blue-suited, alien symbiote-powered teenager is willing to talk to or help any new person that needs it.

"Everybody okay? I know you new guys got all confused and shaken up by this, too."

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"Oh no, the meatship got you, too."

There is massive hugging. He powers down to do it even, so there's flesh and blood hugging the crap out of her instead of armor.

"On the upside, if we need any planets blown up, we're covered."

Hug hug hug. Paco tried to kill him. It's a baaad day.

She throws her arms around his shoulders and probably doesn't let go for the next five straight minutes. Brenda's never been so glad for a hug in her life.

"I'm wearing something that's alive and they told me Paco's infected with brain slugs and I want to go home and I'm SO glad you're not dead!"

She pulls away enough to look him in the eyes, but not enough to stop the hugging. "Did Paco really do that? The thing with the gun? The holographic lady showed us security camera captures or something back when we were all getting our stuff. Are you okay?"

That's probably a stupid question. She doesn't think ANYONE around here is okay at the moment, but she feels like she should ask.

"I'm fine. Really." He'll leave out the part where Paco nearly killed him and Robin technically did kill him. "Paco did do that, but it wasn't his fault and him fighting the parasite saved my life. He's going to be fine in three days or less--that's how long the parasites take to starve out. The suits suck, I've heard, but they seem harmless. I wouldn't know because Khaji's been making my clothes."

Yes, you're hugging waste-clothes. Sorry.

"Are you okay? This is a ten-point-oh on the Weird-o-meter, even for us. It's so weird for El Paso, it's not even in El Paso anymore."

Brenda feels her lip quiver. She doesn't want to cry because she knows he's gotta be lying at least a little bit when he says he's fine and her breaking down is the last thing he needs but... god dammit...

"I was covered in slime and I got dressed by tentacles Jaime! TENTACLES! I am so far from okay I think I'm in another dimension..." She rubs at one eye, trying to breathe deep and calm down.

Don't flip out, don't flip out, you can cry some other time. Possibly when Paco is no longer infected with alien slug things.

"I was worried there were going to be homocidal ewok things again like when that mother box thing happened by I'd kind of have preferred those little buggers to the werewolf."

Another hug.

"Hey. Upside? The three of us are here. Everyone that's messed up right now will be fine in three days. Robin's here, and so's Speedy, and Supergirl, and some green genius superhero guy from the future, and so's Superman. We'll figure it out. I mean, Superman is here. So's this like future guy that's the Batman of his time. All the other people are really good people too. We're getting out of here soon--there's no way we can't."

Of course, of the people from their world here, one was kinda um...not supposed to be around anymore. He wonders if she's noticed.

Brenda nods against his shoulder. The hug helps her get calm again. Really, yeah, she'd have already lost her mind if she hadn't been able to recognize SOME people here, and especially if she knew she would be stuck here without Jaime and Paco.

"I saw Superman yeah. And..." she drops her voice to a whisper. "I... did I see Superboy too or is that someone else? I thought he was dead."

He whispers back, because, y'know, possible super-hearing from three individuals they really didn't want to hear this.

"It's him. Time travel. He got pulled from right before. I have no idea what to do. I told Paco and Speedy not to say anything, the green guy is from so far in the future, he doesn't know what happened or he's just keeping it quiet, and the other guy doesn't seem to know either. I don't know how to handle it. What if telling him, messes it up? What if just him knowing messed up how it happened even if he still goes and tries? I can't tell him until I'm sure it won't doom, like, billions of people."

Her eyes pop wide, but she keeps her voice down.

"People get pulled from different TIMES here? When are you from? I mean, what was the last thing that happened before you got pulled?"

"I...I don't know if I should tell you that."

Something bad happened after all. Something he hasn't told Paco, when he realized when Paco was from, that it was before.

She thinks for a second. "Okay, no details. Has the school formal happened yet?"

"Yes." That expression on his face, despite the lack of details, betrays that something bad happens, but that's how he always is: a bad liar. It's always all over his face.

"It's two weeks away for me. I... just found a date like YESTERDAY."

A date now infested with brain slugs, but a date.

She really doesn't like that expression on Jaime's face just now. She knows something bad had to have happened.

"Something happened didn't it? Is your family okay? I mean... were they when you left?"

"Yes." He pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Something bad happened, though. To someone we know. I couldn't stop it. I couldn't talk about it with Paco--I've just been pretending it's fine."

But it's not.

"And I can't talk about it with you. I need to figure out how this whole time thing works first."

"How are you going to find out unless you just TELL someone something and see what happens?"

She hates seeing him like this. She's always hated it but especially now. She puts her hand on the back of his neck and squeezes gently like when he's keeled over on her couch with a post-exam headache.

"Something has to be keeping this balanced Jaime. You don't remember me not being there for the dance except that I apparently disappeared to wherever this place is two weeks before that ever happened and... god knows how long our bodies have actually been on this ship in those pod-whatevers."

"Unless we all get put back with our memories wipe or all put back and don't tell each other about this place until it happens for the people who got taken later--and they get put back..."

He shakes his head.

"I'm not taking chances, not when they don't need to be taken. I'm going to figure all this out. The how. The why. No rushing. It's like it always is--just like Ted Kord would do it--I'm playing the long game."

Brenda bites her lip, pulls him into another hug. She feels sick to her stomach now. Secrets never sit well with her but this is just stupendously worse than normal.

"How far behind us is Paco?"

"Little bit. Not much. Um, after Reach stuff, but before the dance. Maybe before you. After we realized it, we didn't get the chance to talk about it, because a ton of stuff happened."

He hugs her back. Again. It's a lot of hugs.

"Look, it'll be fine. I'll figure it all out."

He always does, doesn't he?

"You always do." She rubs his back a little. He really always does. He'll figure it out with enough time. She feels guilty all at once for putting pressure on him about it.

"It'll be okay. I'm glad you guys are here. I mean not glad but... I wouldn't want to be here without you."

Jaime smirks.

"That is pretty much me and Paco's identical sentiment. He'll be glad to see you--we should go back in there with him. Just remember, the Yeerk knows everything he does. It can use anything he knows. It might say some really horrible things, things we'll know Paco doesn't think himself, but that sound like they could be. It'll try to trick us into thinking that's what he really is, to hurt him. It'll be trying to get a reaction out of us to hurt him."

He raises his eyebrows. "So all we have to do to stick it to the Yeerk, and make it easier for him, is make it clear just how well we know our best friend."

Edited 2009-03-23 07:44 (UTC)

Brenda nods. "I'm getting pretty good at the telling aliens to go to hell thing now, don't worry."

She takes his hand firmly in hers and starts them down the hall toward Paco, then gives Jaime a frowny suspicious look. "Hey, what have you guys been telling people here about me anyway? When Danny was in Paco's body earlier I hit him and the first thing he said to me was 'Oh hey, you must be Brenda!'. Do I have some pre-established rep as the 'punchy friend'?"

"...Maybe a teeny tiny bit? And it was mostly Paco. I said nice things because I'm the nice one. Everybody knows I'm the nice one."

"That's right. Blame it on the dude who isn't here to defend himself. You know that's like a shallow step above blaming Milagro for eating the cookie batter that time, right?"

Sure, they were, like, ten when that happened but whatever.

"You're the nice one by comparison only. By comparison to Paco. And to ME. Nice by comparison to Anger Girl!"

"You make it so much easier for me. You really do."

"This is why I had to get kidnapped by alien spaceships, Jaime. Just to make you look good." She smirks. "And to make sure you and Paco eat your vegetables and don't die, obviously."

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Lean Mean Blue Machine [open to anyone (but NOT a meeting post! Just for meeting Jaime)]

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