S-S-S-SEPTEMBER CATCH-ALL

[khajidont]

WHO: JAIME REYES & FRIENDS (or not-so-friends)
WHERE: Everywhere!
WHEN: All month!
WHAT: Your friendly neighbourhood Fey is back with another catch-all!
WARNINGS: One bullet wound; nothing else anticipated. If you want me to make a starter or if you want to make one of your all, feel free to hmu on plurk @ WISDOMBITCH and I'd be delighted to set something up! (Or PM me! That works too.)

Comments

HEROPA 015

[khajidont]

[ Jaime may be a part of the Justice League now, and he may have people he can call on to ask them for help with a job or two, but he's still a solo hero at heart. He can't help it. There's always something to do, and he doesn't want to wait around to do it - and in this case, he's been tracking these guys down long before the Justice League of this world was anything more than a twinkle in Batman's eye. If they can twinkle; Jaime has, admittedly, never seen it.

While he may be dealing with some seriously bad people, Jaime doesn't think to call for back-up for this one, penultimate raid, nor does he consider it to be anything but a perfectly ordinary day on the job. The tension coiling in his gut had everything to do with knowing he can't screw this job up and risk all of the months he spent working and labouring towards this one, big pay-off, but nothing to do with physical danger. He's bulletproof.

There's a scuffle. There's a kerfuffle. And then he's up, up and away, with all of the information he needs on-hand, one arm held aloft to deflect the bullets sent his way. And then something suddenly snaps around his right arm, and it's like the whole world just goes dead; Khaji falls silent save for sputters of loud, deafening static, the world Jaime sees in electric shuts off, and his suit begins to rescind back into body in patches, fighting to maintain its hold. ]

Oh, crap.

[ Oh crap is right. It only takes one lucky shot for Jaime's shoulder to get hit, after which point he falls in an unglamorous heap on the ground, clutching the disc of information to his chest and, yes, clutching at his shoulder. Has he had worse? Yes. Does this still hurt, like, a lot? Also yes.

He winds up half-running, half-flying the whole way home, his suit lasting just long enough for him to make it most of the way there, wings dissipating and reforming as he flies what looks to be a sagging, drunken flight home, quietly muttering to himself, ] C'mon, Blue Beetle, you don't need powers for this.

[ By the time he's made it back home again, his suit's completely dissipated, and he abandons the door - he doesn't even have a key with him, for God's sake - in lieu of shoving open to kitchen window and half rolling, half falling through, landing on the counter, then in a heap on the ground with a loud thu-thump. ]

Shit, shit, shit...

[ He takes care of the disc first, stretching over to place it on the kitchen table before sagging back against the counter. Okay, so he's shot, and it hurts, but it's no big. He just needs to cut it off. He contemplates just bashing his arm against the ground for a moment before he has an epiphany and gropes blindly behind him with his left hand, toppling to butcher block over so he can grab the chef's knife without quite getting up.

And that sorry sight is what the first person who comes to investigate will see: Jaime in the darkness of their kitchen, clothing absolutely tattered (being in his suit tends to do that; at least he's not naked this time), a bullet wound in his shoulder, and a knife in his hand as he squints determinedly down at the power nullifier strapped to him, trying his best to forget: ] I'm not even left-handed...

[ Welp! Nothing for it! It's coming off one way or another, so if he has to mess around with a knife in his left-hand, then so be it! ]

[arsiento]

Hey--

[ It really is quite a sight to walk in on, even in the dark; Diablo's voice is still mostly calm as he looks down at Jaime bleeding on the kitchen floor and lifting a knife for God knows what reason, but those paying attention at home might notice there's an underlying tone of urgency and surprise in just that word. Subtle, but present.

He's only down here because he'd heard those thumps, and naturally assumed that maybe someone was in the house that shouldn't be. Half-right, clearly; Diablo turns on the light, moving toward Jaime and kneeling to grab him by the wrist before Jaime can do any damage with his clumsy knife-wielding. ]

〈 Give that to me-- 〉 [ Spoken in the same calm-but-stern tone, the urgency now only implied by the fact it's in Spanish. Diablo notices, switching back with: ] What the hell you even trying to do with it?

[ Get the bullet out, maybe...? Though then Diablo notices the nullifier on Jaime's arm. Jaime's still bleeding, but Diablo has no idea what else he's looking at. ]

Breathe a second first. [ He's still holding Jaime's knife hand by the wrist. ] Let me do it, all right?

[lempereur]

[ Yusuke is a light sleeper. That is, when he isn't up at all hours of the night anyway, working on his latest art project or battling whatever the angst of the week happens to be. So the thud gets his attention, and he sneaks downstairs in a pair of sweatpants, quietly, in case there's...something? With everything that he's gotten himself into, his mind tends to veer towards the worst case scenario, so he's a little ashamed of himself when he feels a slight relief that it's just Jaime.

Bloody and tattered, which is alarming, but he lives here, and he's conscious. It could be worse. ]

What's going on?

[ His hands trace against the wall as he glides into the kitchen, staying back far enough to give the two of them some space, but close enough for his eyes to go wide at the blood flowing from Jaime's shoulder, dripping down onto the linoleum. ]

[khajidont]

[ When Diablo approaches, Jaime tenses up (which hurts, for the record, but it's hard not to), looking for the world like a kid caught coming in after curfew, not someone who's currently bleeding out of a bullet wound. He's been caught, and he knows there's no explaining his way out of this one, but somehow, somehow Diablo remains as calm as he always is, and doesn't ask any questions, just takes the knife away.

This might still not end well, but at least he won't accidentally stab himself. Worst case scenario, Diablo will accidentally stab him, which is honestly a much more attractive prospect. ]

I - um - I --

[ He takes Diablo's advice and exhales, low, slow and shaky. It's okay. He's going to cut this off. It's going to be okay. ]

I'm - it's fine, it's just - this stupid thing, I need to get it off.

[ And, of course, that's when Yusuke walks in. ]

Oh, shit. It's - it's okay, it's nothing!

[ It's very obviously not nothing, but it's the best he could come up with in the moment. He's always been bad at this. ]

enters 15 minutes late with starbucks

[taraincognita]

[ there seems to be a lot going on downstairs. tara ignores it, at first; after all, she's supposed to be sleeping and/or doing her homework and/or whatever it is that normal kids do on school nights. but, eventually, she can't ignore her own curiosity any longer--and she creeps slowly down the stairs, towards the kitchen.

she's small and relatively quiet, and it doesn't take long for her to sneak up behind yusuke.

of course, she ruins all of her chances for stealth upon catching sight of jaime's bleeding wound.]

Holy shit, Jaime.

[ the gang's all here! ]

ssssorry for the delay jfc

[arsiento]

[ Diablo looks from Jaime to Yusuke to Terra without a trace of self-consciousness over being caught there with knife in hand beside a bleeding Jaime-- he's too focused, perhaps, on the fact that something's obviously wrong to worry about looking conspicuous.

Looking back at Jaime, Diablo taps the nullifier. ]

This needs to come off. [ He says, maybe to get the other two a bit more up-to-speed, or just to confirm. ] What is it?

[ It seems easy enough to remove to Diablo, at least at a cursory glance; he doesn't know if it's attached to Jaime more deeply, if it's just going around his arm or if it's also actually broken skin. He touches his finger to the nullifier again, carefully applying heat to see if how it distributes will tell him anything.

Over his shoulder to the other two, he says: ]

Somebody get some bandages and some alcohol for his shoulder. Can you do that?

[lempereur]

[ Yusuke dashes upstairs with a speed that could only be Porter enhanced, and returns just as quickly, only sparing a brief moment to debate whether to bring a skill card. Makoto's healing abilities would probably be useful...

He decides against it. Jaime is conscious, and Diablo seems to know what he's doing.

When he returns, he crouches next to the other men on the floor, handing off the alcohol and what meager first aid supplies he had on hand, and a pile of clean, but paint-stained rags. ]

Can it be taken apart, instead of sliced off?

KANEKI

[khajidont]

[ Jaime's schedule is all messed up. He said he could do it, but he's a part of the Justice League now, he has his own independent pursuits to make as the Blue Beetle, he has work, but now he has school, and he's got homework, and he's still meeting with all of Tara's teachers and keeping an eye on her, and --

Gosh. Maybe he can't do this. Except he's already financially committed himself to school, and he can't quit any of the other crap, so he'll just try to keep on keeping on even if he needs, like, five cups of coffee. Or six. Six sounds like a good, sane number. Jaime hides a yawn behind the back of his hand (which isn't a good look, considering he's all suited up, and superheroes aren't supposed to be the yawning sort) as he deals with a couple of muggers, simply squashing their guns in the palms of his hands before sighing and chastising them, ] Hey, you should - [ Oh no, he's yawning again. ] Don't do crimes.

[ Good enough. He watches as they scarper into the dead of the night, then, seeing that the alley's empty, decides that he's done for the night. He powers down, complaining out loud to Khaji, ] You always offer to help me sleep; can't you, like, synthesize caffeine or something for me? Hey, don't sass me, don't do crimes was fine. Yes it is! It's straight the point. Look, they never listen to me when I give them an actual speech anyway...

[ghoulking]

[ Kaneki doesn't have a sleep schedule to mess up since he barely sleeps - that means he is usually just... walking around, minding his business, scaring thugs that try anything. Or see thugs passing by him.

Did something happen?

Kaneki pauses, looking over his shoulder as the criminals scatter, and then looks back at the area where they come from. Since he is curious, Kaneki approaches to see what happened, listening to... Someone in blue? Who seems to be talking to another person who isn't there. ]

... And hopefully they won't see you talk to yourself. They'd probably think you are a bit crazy. [ sup jaime. There is a very confused ghoul looking back at you- ]

[khajidont]

[ Jaime stiffens. Kaneki... didn't see him in his suit, right? He just heard him talking to himself? He's got to believe that's the case, otherwise he'll completely bust his cover for no good reason other than the fact that he's made a stupid assumption. If Kaneki did see, then he'll have completely busted his cover for the stupid, stupid reason of being too tired to pay attention and actually look around before powering down.

Ugh. Rookie mistake. Stupid Jaime. He does not, in fact, turn around. ]

Ummm - uhhh. That's - that's okay! Thinking out loud is helpful and, um, all that jazz!

[ Maybe he should just run. Maybe Ken doesn't even recognize him! ]

[ghoulking]

[ he sure did. And sure heard him too. And Kaneki sure recognizes him. ]

... what are you doing? [ this is a very fair question ] Are you playing hero, Jaime? [ does he need to lecture him about how dangerous it is to go after criminals on your own?

But then again, Kaneki never heard about Jaime's powers. He could be extremely powerful. ]

YUICHIRO

[khajidont]

[ Back when Ken had been around, Jaime had navigated the schoolgrounds with Minato at his side, making sure that everything was in order for Ken to have as good a school year as possible. The idea of taking on the same role as his parents when it came to meeting all the teachers had been an intensely intimidating one at the time, but this time, wandering the schoolgrounds on his own, it comes as second nature to him. He's got a list of concerns, a list of questions and, darn it, a list of demands, because he's going to make sure that he gives Tara as good a chance at success as possible. She's a much harder case than Ken, after all.

At the moment, he's taking a short-cut through the school's soccer field, class schedule held up to his face as he figures out which teacher he needs to go pay a visit to when he bowls right into someone. ]

Oh - sorry! I should've been watching where I was going!

[dejerate]

[Yuichiro's been busy. Mostly in just generally trying to distract himself since August didn't exactly have the best of memories back home for him. The year before he turned eight in particular. But he's here to hopefully figure more research of sorts on what he might need to do in helping the kids here. If he could. Somehow.

He is just distracted in wondering where to start, the administrator's office, probably? When he bumps into someone. But thankfully, it isn't enough that he actually falls over or anything.]

I-it's okay. I should have too. You okay? Ah, Jaime, right?

[khajidont]

Yeah, I'm fine, [ Jaime says, leaning down to pick up a couple errant pieces of errant paper that floated to the ground, getting himself all recalibrated. While he's relieved he didn't run into one of the parents - he needs to co-exist with them for the next school year - he has to admit that the last thing he was expecting was an imPort who's definitely too old to be attending this place. ]

And yeah, you got my name right. Yuichiro, right? So, uh, what are you doing here?

[dejerate]

Ah, I dunno. I mean, I figured schools would be a decent place to start with getting to know the kids that are in the system? Talk to the...the counselor or whatever. Career people or something.

[He figures it might be a starting point at least. Sort of. That it couldn't hurt to try ask around and possibly use this to get to know some of the kids and what they need, how he could potentially help them. Even if he might still be one himself at this point, just. For a few more weeks anyway.]

[khajidont]

Huh. I mean, that's one way of doing it, for sure.

[ As long as he's not, y'know, talking to the actual kids. Loitering around a school talking to kids as an adult is a good way of making sure you'll never, ever work with them in a professional capacity. But Jaime thinks about the interactions he's had so far, and can't help but laugh, just a little bit. ]

How's that been working for you? 'Cause I gotta say, as a legal guardian or whatever, they're not even interested in giving me much to work with.

[dejerate]

Seriously? Ah, I'm still figuring it. I'll probably have to study up a bit more or whatever. To be 'qualified' to look after kids. Like I was 'qualified' and that helped when I was eight and helping look out for some of the younger kids.....but whatever. Not like I can argue that and prove it, change the rules here, so.

[This is....well. A start? Sort of. He's not really sure but he is trying to look into his options and all from here on. What he has to do in looking to get his orphanage idea going. Or at least what he has to do to get involved in social work in helping the kids that need it.]

[khajidont]

I mean, you gotta give them a little bit of credit. If they let just anyone take guardianship of these kids, things wouldn't end up so great. It's nice to think everyone just has their best interests at heart, but...

[ Jaime grimaces. He thinks of Hisoka, and Crane, and Callaghan, and what feels like a hundred other imPorts that would just abuse that privilege. ]

I mean, even among imPorts, that hasn't worked out so great. You wouldn't want any of your relatives going to some stranger, right? Gotta prove yourself first!

SARISSA

[khajidont]

[ Jaime believes in what the Justice League is doing, full-stop. Batman may not be the easiest person to know, but he has his heart firmly in the right place, and more than that, he's hugely capable of just getting stuff done. They have a great team here - he's pretty sure; he doesn't know all of them that well - and between Bats and Ted, leadership is in good hands. There's no reason to be having misgivings about this now.

And he doesn't. Not really, anyway! It's just that this is the first time he's setting a foot into the training room, and he's suddenly struck with a feeling of deja vu so strong it stops him in his tracks. It's familiar above all else, as though Tim's about to walk right in and issue a commands in between aggravated sighs and grinding his teeth, only a whole lot has changed since then.

Man, is he really going to do this again? ]

[magnitudes]

( Sarissa's head is too crowded. Part of her feels like she shouldn't be here - Sarah's ported out, and though she knows there's nothing she can do about it, her skin feels too small for her body, and her chest feels like boiling hot water's been poured in it. How can she be here, training, when there's a chance Saroula'll turn up?

What a fuckhead, but, thinking of blowing off training. The world doesn't only exist of the people she cares about. Conveniently, though, another one of them is here, and Sarissa rolls her shoulders as she tries to adjust her gait from stressed wild cat to calmly pleased labrador. )

Hey, hey. You okay, mate?

( He seems distracted.

Shockingly she relates. )

[khajidont]

What? Oh, yeah, totally. Super cool.

[ Ugh. He's just going to have to get over it. It's been months he can't, like, keep on freaking out over it. That's unhealthy, and more than that, it's definitely not conducive to being a good hero, and if you're distracted on the job... well, that's exactly what he's been trying to avoid. He takes a couple steps into the training room and turns to face Sarissa, forcing a grin. It's not entirely unconvincing, but it's certainly not genuine either. ]

Just, uh, thinking. You were thinking about getting some training in?

[magnitudes]

Uh ( wait for it ) huh.

( She is #convinced.

Sarissa watches him for a few seconds, and it's one of those terrible moments where she seems far more observant than she might normally allow herself to reveal. The set of her mouth twinges very slightly at the corner, a slow downward tilt, a visual mark of doubt without needing to say much of anything. )

I was. You up for it? ( A little slower than usual, a little less sparklers and confetti. )

[khajidont]

[ Jaime could notice that Sarissa's feeling a little quieter than usual, or notice that she's onto the fact that he's not really feeling this... or he could repress things and pretend everything is hunky dory, because him feeling slightly worried about Sarissa is definitely outweighed by his own discomfort right now.

Option two! This absolutely, 100% will not bite him in the ass! It's fine. He's being a big baby about this, he needs to get over it, and this is exactly how he's going to get over it, plain and simple.

And heck, it's better to get over it with Sarissa than Batman, because if he wigs out, he can at least make an excuse and leave without getting a lecture on how he needs to take this seriously and taking a break makes him a crappy hero, or something. Batman's never been all that harsh on him in that way, but he's heard stories. Boy, has he ever heard stories. ]

Yeah! Yeah, of course. Let's, uh, let's do this thing!

[magnitudes]

Alright!

( Sarissa hops back a few steps, rolling her shoulders and leaning back so her spine audibly crackles, letting lightning spark at her fingertips with the motion. It's a sort of practiced recklessness, controlled bonelessness. It's the same sort of weird dance that Sarissa always moves with, even if the steps have been easing from erratic to steady more and more over the past year and some that they've known each other.

They're neither of them at the top of their game, she suspects, but she's not sure what'll help, just yet. Does Jaime need to talk? Will training help? Who knows. Her only certainty is that video games and maybe a hotdog eating contest are a solid back up plan, even if she's not feeling in the mood for an eating competition, which is weird in and of itself. )

Powers versus powers? I'm still tryin' to get this storm bullcrap down. I miss fireworks, I gotta tell you. You know last night I made myself a sandwich, and then I couldn't eat it because I got all cloudy? It sucked.

[khajidont]

I mean, I'm not gonna use my lasers and stuff, but I'm not powering down, if that's what you mean. Go full hog on me, though. This thing can take a beating, [ Jaime says, rapping his knuckles against his chest carapace, those he obviously means the whole beetle ordeal. Stormy weather isn't fun to deal with, but if he can take a nuke to the face, he can take anything!

It makes him a very, very good punching bag. ]

Give me your best shot.