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( closed ) go be a criminal somewhere else

WHO: Hal Jordan and Jaime Reyes
WHERE: Heropa residence #15
WHEN: at NIGHT
WHAT: Lanterns and the Reach don't mix
WARNINGS: n/a

[Hal had more or less settled in for his first night in Heropa blissfully unaware of who lived next door and what lay in store for him. Certain events had made him reluctant to take his ring off so it wasn't long before a certain piece connected with the Reach entered his range and made itself known to his ring and therefore Hal.

Couldn't he just get a normal warning that there's a bad guy out there? What was with the splitting headache as well? He's never had the ring react this strongly to something before and regardless of whether or not it's possible for him to be on-duty when in another universe he's still got to deal with this.

He's reluctant to go in guns blazing when there was a high possibility of civilian casualties if things escalated. So Hal trudges over next door in uniform, his mood soured by the constant nagging to completely blow up the house. The Guardians may have given him a license to kill, but he wasn't going to abuse that power no matter what the ring wanted him to do.

He bangs on the door.]

Hey! Are you aware that you're harbouring a dangerous fugitive!?

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[Once upon a time, Residence 15 had been a bustling place. Between Jaime, Akihiko, Shinji, Kaidan, Brenda and anyone else who was gliding in and out of the place at the time, this beautiful wake-up call would have been a disaster. These days, it's just him, Brenda and the enigma that is Delsin Rowe, a man that Jaime's not even sure is home half the time.

That doesn't mean that hearing someone thumping on their door as if trying to knock it down is a good thing. The thing is, the first thing Jaime thinks when someone starts yelling about dangerous fugitives isn't himself, it's that Delsin hasn't been telling them something, and some loony that really ought to be on his meds decided to come bursting in at god-knows-when.

He had taken a night off, too. How's that for timing? He races down the stairs and flings open the door with a short-tempered,] What.

[Congratulations, Hal. You've come face to face with a teenager who has clearly just rolled out of bed, his slightly too-long hair sticking up in every direction, clad only in loose sweats and an oversized t-shirt with a steadily growing hole in the shoulder that he hasn't gotten around to replacing.

To be fair, Jaime regrets his response the moment he sees green, green and nothing but green. Ah, he thinks to himself, a little dumbly. So that's why the Scarab's been screaming about potential threats on and off all day without anything at all in the news corroborating anything of the kind.

Why couldn't it have been Guy?]

Edited 2014-11-17 09:57 (UTC)

[No one wants Guy. Jaime's just confused because Guy has a very strong personality.

Seeing Jaime has vindicated his decision to not immediately go on the offensive. He could have hurt the kid! Hal rubs his temples because his ring is giving him the headache of a lifetime and how is he expected to channel willpower like this? It feels like it's suddenly gotten worse than before.

Still, he takes a moment to take a deep breath and speak slowly and calmly.]

Kid, I'm an officer of the Green Lantern Corps and there's a known intergalactic criminal inside your house. I'm going to ask you to step outside until I can take them into custody.

[As Hal continues to talk, Jaime's eyes nearly bug out of his face as he takes in exactly what's going on here, and remembers how well this went the last three times he came into close contact with a Green Lantern. There's absolutely no guarantee that any Green Lantern - even an Earth one, and Jaime has started to categorize them as black, ginger and now white - will feel honour-bound to keep his secret identity.

Oh, god. What does he do? What should he do here? He should probably do something other than stare, squint, and rub at his temples, but that's precisely what he does before he slams the door in Hal's face. The door's not soundproof, however, which is why Hal will be able to hear a despairing wail of,] Shut up, I know that's not going to work! I panicked, okay?!

[Jaime opens the door again and peers around it like a deer in headlights.] Sorry. Nobody's here. Please go away.

[Smooth.]

[There's a moment of disbelief as the door gets slammed in his face before he angrily constructs a giant fist to break down the door. Said fist is still held up when Jaime opens the door again and the fingers then wedge themselves to pry the door open.]

Am I going to have to arrest you for obstruction?

[Hal tried to keep it civil, it's not his fault if things escalate. He tried and that's what's important.]

[Don't make this harder on yourself, logic tells Jaime. It's not worth it to keep up this song and dance when he knows that they're going to run into each other more than once, when they're technically on the same side...

But he's tired of being treated like he's some kind of criminal when all he's ever wanted to do is help people. He's proven himself time and time again, but that hasn't stopped a single Green Lantern from accosting him on sight, which is why the first words out of his mouth are incredibly unwise ones.] Under what authority?

[Hey, it's better than the Scarab's suggestion.]

[Imagine a small animal fluffing itself up to seem bigger and more aggressive, now imagine a Green Lantern glowing brighter in response to a rebellious teenager.]

I'm covered by intergalactic law, if you want to argue semantics take it up with the Guardians.

[He squares his jaw, pulls open the door the rest of the way with his construct and moves to push past Jaime.]

[When it comes to the analogy of small animals, Jaime fits the bill far more than Hal does - for one, Hal's got a good few inches on him. Even in his pajamas, Jaime seems to be having a go of it, crossing his arms and hunching his shoulders, giving the Green Lantern trespassing on his personal property the stink-eye.

It's about as intimidating and impressive as a particularly pissy corgi.]

Ugh, don't come in, just -- here.

[Jaime steps outside and crosses his arms a little more tightly, but it's clear that it's not so much because he's angry as much as it is because it's cold standing outside on the porch without any socks on. In the back of his mind, the Scarab is yowling that the Green Lantern is no good, that it's a threat, that he's going to get killed, danger, danger, danger, kill, kill, kill. The Scarab's gotten so much better, but it still wigs out every time it's near a Green Lantern.

It's enough to give him a headache. The fact of the matter is, he doesn't want his cover to be blown, but there's no way that any Green Lantern isn't going to figure it out eventually. He might as well rip off the band-aid now.]

A: you're trespassing, and the Guardians don't even exist here, so tough luck getting that one to fly, and B: it's me, so could you please get out here and talk to me about it before waking the whole house up? Also, please don't shoot me, because -- [there is no 'because' needed in this statement] -- just don't.

[Freakin' Green Lanterns.]

[Hal falters and looks at Jaime uncertainly. This is convenient timing. He's been dragged here just after the Guardian's have authorised lethal force to be used against all their enemies and Laira had been found guilty of abusing that power. He'd wasn't exactly against the rule change, but it had made him uneasy and now Jaime was throwing this in his face like he might go mad with power (again).]

My ring is telling me public enemy number one is right here and you're claiming to be it. Darkseid doesn't get this level of response so while I'm not going to make the first move I am prepared to try and stop you if things escalate. I don't care if this is the wrong universe, this is still my job.

[The glowing gets dialled back except for where the ring lies on his hand. He's not in any fighting position, but will requires only a thought.]

[Hal's words make Jaime do a double-take, and he wrinkles his nose up at Hal, bewilderment written across his face.]

Darkseid doesn't? Seriously? [He looks down at his hand, flexing it experimentally as he meditates on what he's capable of, and what Darkseid's capable of. He's pretty sure he could take on Superman with his handy dandy kryptonite gun, but Darkseid?]

Geez. That doesn't seem right.

[He frowns at Hal, and though a distant part of him is considering the idea of another Green Lantern threatening force - potentially lethal force - against him and how scary that ought to be, most of him isn't all that scared. If he can take this Lantern at his word, nothing will happen. Jaime's not making the first move.]

Look, this has happened before, and I swear I can explain, but I really don't want to talk about it here while you're all glowy and stuff. Can we go somewhere else?

[He looks up the stairs where his nice, cozy bed is waiting for him a little longingly.]

And are you gonna freak if I go upstairs to grab some shoes and a sweater?

No, but on the off chance you try and give me the slip I'll have to insist on going with you.

[So don't try and go to the toilet until this has been sorted out.]

What am I gonna do, jump out the window?

[A beat passes before Jaime hurriedly adds on,] Joking. That was a joke. Not jumping out any windows. [He eyes Hal a little warily, as if expecting some form of retribution for that remark, before going up the stairs, steps light. Once they get into his room, it's clear that it looks about as innocuous as him; it's messy in a teenage boy sort of way, but aside from some overdue library books, the most notable thing there is a corkboard with pictures of his family and friends hung up on it, just beneath the omnipresent WWTKD.

(It's weird, keeping it up when Ted's around, but he doesn't have the heart to take it down.)

He tugs a sweater over his head and slips on some shoes in a minute flat, then shrugs in Hal's direction.]

You can choose where you wanna talk, so long as it's not here. Alleyway? Rooftop? Diner?

[Those are all popular superhero spots, right?]

[Jaime's little joke means that Hal watches how close he stands to a window as they make their way upstairs. He doesn't say anything, but the disapproval is clear.

But at his question he allows himself a small smirk.]

Up. I don't want to be overheard.

[All of Jaime's options are great if you're a street level hero, but Hal operated on a slightly bigger scale. He constructs a green platform for him to stand on.]

[Being across the street from a new Green Lantern is a horrible feeling. He's able to feel the dread and anger and terror from the Scarab all wrapped in one happy bundle of lethal killing intent. Being in the same room as one is worse.

Actually stepping on one of his constructs is almost unthinkable, and every fibre of his being that's connected to the Scarab is resisting, is telling him that he has to either shoot or flee, because there's no way of getting out of this alive. He looks away from Hal for a moment, rubbing at his temple and squinting against the angry feedback pouring from the Scarab, but he has no other choice here, not if he wants to keep the peace.

He could fly up there on his own, but suiting up is a great way to get this Green Lantern to attack, and nobody wants that, especially not in this densely populated little neighborhood.]

Nngh, fine, it's fine, [he says, and he's not quite talking to Hal, but it's an easy thing to mistake. The Scarab had just gotten used to Guy. Trying to force it to cooperate with someone who seems every inch a hostile GL isn't making it very happy, but it obeys Jaime in the end. It always does.

He steps onto the platform as if wading through molasses and crosses his arms tightly across his chest, as if that's enough to protect him before nodding tersely at Hal.]

Fine. Do your thing.

[And until they talk, Jaime's just going to stand here pretending the Scarab isn't practically writing love notes to the glories of plasma cannons in his head.]

[The sad thing is Hal would unclench his ass so much if he saw he was the Blue Beetle. Blue Beetle's been vouched for by Batman no less so he would of been way more willing to ignore any orders given by the Guardians. However all he's got right now is what looks like a teenager who claims to not really be all that bad.

(Only Sinestro gets that to claim that and have Hal constantly believe him)

As it is, Hal's not sure if that reluctance is because he really does have something to hide or if it's just your average teen petulance.

Once Jaime's situated he takes them up into the air. Since a glowing green light is rather noticeable he dims that down against his better judgement.]

So spill.

Fine.

[And the thing is, Jaime doesn't speak right away. He's not sure whether or not that makes him more suspicious, like he's trying real hard to think up a good lie, but he needs a little time to get his thoughts in order.

He sure would be a lot more comfortable thinking about it if the Scarab would shut up for thirty seconds. He squeezes the bridge of his nose, trying to think past it and says, a little petulantly,] For the record, Guy would vouch for me.

[He chooses all the wrong people to vouch for him.]

Okay, so. Your ring keeps on telling you I'm evil. That's because I've got Reach tech inside of me. [He holds his hands up in the air, just in case.] Which you'll notice I'm not actually using right now, okay? Anyway, your bosses and the guys who made my tech had it out a really long time ago, because the Reach are really, really bad news.

I helped take them down. As in, I went in there and tracked them down so you guys could swoop on in and take them to your version of intergalactic court. [Or whatever they had in space. Jaime doesn't know, and he doesn't care to find out firsthand.] We are literally on the same side, here.

Guy would vouch for anyone just to mess with me.

[Guy is the worst Lantern reference he could think of, but when it came down to it Hal did put his faith in Guy. They may not always see eye to eye, but he always knew Guy would come through for him.]

But okay, let me get this straight. You somehow managed to get your hands on some alien tech and you're using that to fight crime?

[This sounds like your standard superhero origin story.]

Not if I was worse than Darkseid, [Jaime points out.

At least he's pretty sure Guy wouldn't. He's definitely on the spirited side - which is a really nice way of saying that he's crazy - but he's got his limits. And he seems to like the Blue Beetles all right, which is, as far as Jaime's concerned, a point in his favour when it comes to good taste.]

But, uh... yeah, that's pretty much it.

[Superhero origin in a nutshell indeed.]

[The longer this conversation goes, the easier it becomes to ignore the ring's insistence that he destroy him. He's just so reasonable, his villains are never reasonable. Space appears to make people less subtle or maybe it's because of the kind of powers they sling around.]

Okay.

[...]

I guess you're free to go then. If I find out you're lying, I'll definitely shut you down, but you look like you at least deserve the chance.

Ring, mute notifications.

[And then blessed silence in his head.]

You can shut it off? [Jaime squawks in utter indignation, something like envy in his voice. The closest he can get to that is telling the Scarab to knock it off, and when he tries, it generally ignores him in lieu of insisting to him that whatever it is he's facing probably needs a plasma beam in the face, Jaime, as if he's the one at fault.]

Okay. Great. If I go full supervillain please, by all means, shut me down.

[He's clearly unhappy with Hal's tone; it sounds as if the guy's practically waiting for him to go rogue so he can get a giant green fist to his face, or whatever it is this particular Green Lantern uses.]

One last thing: don't tell anyone about me. I know you know what secret identities are all about.

[He's not really in the position to be making demands here, but he can darn well try.]

It's just a computer. [More advanced than anything on Earth, but it functioned more or less the same.]

I don't even know your other identity yet, but if I figure it out, I won't say anything.

[There's about a second's hesitation before the glow fades completely and Hal's standing there in his civies. From what he's heard, Jaime won't be able to bring this information back to their world so even if he decides to leak the information it won't affect his brother's famiily. There's really no reason for him to have done it, but he's extending a hand to him so he might as well go all the way.]

Now you know I'll keep my word.

[Jaime's mouth falls open in open shock, not because he knows who Hal Jordan is - he would be hard pressed to recognize even Bruce Wayne through sight alone - but because he knows how big of a gesture that is. Jaime may have spent the entirety of their meeting giving Hal the stinkeye and muttering grumpily underneath his breath, but this is enough to have any trace of hard feelings melt away almost entirely. He's still frustrated at being hauled out here like some criminal, and he's already halfway ready to text Booster just to complain about it, but it's hard to stay too mad when they're swapping secret IDs. His shoulders relax, and the look he sends in Hal's direction is a warm, considering one, far from the sullen animosity he had worn before.

It feels a lot more like himself.]

I appreciate it. [There's only a moment's hesitation before he extends his hand out for Hal to shake.] And it's Blue Beetle, when I'm in uniform. We'll probably see each other out there.

[Disasters are certainly frequent enough for that to be the case.]

[Hal gets as far as grasping the hand before Jaime's shock is mirrored by Hal.]

You're the new Beetle? Why didn't you say so? We could of skipped this altogether! Br-- Batman already gave you the okay. I was gonna congratulate you about Brother Eye... that's probably why you took off isn't it?

[Now he feels really bad about harassing a kid when they've already been vetted.]

I didn't know that saying anything would make a difference! Or that you were the Green Lantern that was on the team! I was a little, um...

[Scared shitless. He was suddenly surrounded by people who he had only seen on television, something was growing out of his spine and robots were trying to kill them and they were in space and he had just been sleeping and wanted to go back home -- ]

...distracted. My tech likes you guys about as much as your ring likes me. I didn't really run away; it just dimension shifted me.

[Hey, at least he didn't try to shoot him like it had wanted him to.]

[He's instantly on alert again. He doesn't switch back into uniform, but he silently braces himself.]

You don't have full control over it?

[He believes Jaime wouldn't try anything, but the same couldn't be said for the tech he's using.]

[Ugh. Jaime resists rolling his eyes, but just barely. He's used to people doubting the Scarab, but it's starting to get real old.]

I didn't back then. That was literally my first day on the job. I didn't even know what it was.

[He would be lying if he said he has total control over it now - the Scarab could stop his heart at any moment, and there's nothing he could do about it - but nobody needs to know that. Not even Brenda.]

You don't have to worry about it now.

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( closed ) go be a criminal somewhere else

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