Watchtower Observation Deck – Post-El Paso Incident
The curved glass windows of the Watchtower glittered with the light of Earth far below. Zatanna leaned against the railing, arms crossed, eyes narrowed in deep thought.
"He's not reckless," she said finally. "He's just... green. He doesn't have any proper training like the others do."
"Green can still be dangerous," Red Tornado replied, his voice neutral as always, though his stance betrayed a thread of tension. "He showed restraint—but inexperience nearly endangered civilians."
Zatanna nodded. "And yet he saved them. That's more than some can say on their first day out."
"We will continue observation," Red Tornado concluded. "But we will not interfere—for now."
She gave him a look. "Sounds good to me. You ready to debrief?"
Watchtower Conference Room – Justice League Debrief
The conference room was dim, lit mostly by holographic projectors floating above the table. Batman stood at the front, projecting security footage from El Paso. Static flickered as images of the gang skirmish played—masked men with high-tech weapons being overwhelmed by a sleek, black-and-blue armored figure.
"This new vigilante disrupted a weapons shipment," Batman said. "The tech used by the gang matches published Cadmus designs."
"You mean publicly released research," Martian Manhunter clarified. "Nothing illegal."
"Suspicious, though," said Wonder Woman, tilting her head. "How does street-level scum get access to experimental gear?"
"Cadmus has subsidiaries," Batman replied. "Some with less oversight. Still... nothing concrete."
There was a pause. Then Hal Jordan spoke, leaning back in his chair with a lopsided grin. "We're dancing around it. Is this Cadmus, or are we spooked by ghosts again?"
"Maybe both," Batman replied, voice clipped.
Zatanna chimed in, arms crossed. "And what about the new player? Blue armor, stealth fields, clearly alien tech. But the moves? That kid knew what he was doing."
Batman changed the image. A slow scan of a blurry silhouette—Blue Beetle cloaked in shadow.
"The armor is Scarab-based. Alien. Similar to a specimen I encountered three years ago. It attempted to bond. I... declined."
Hal blinked. "You 'declined' an alien parasite?"
"With preparation and electrical feedback," Batman said. "It's currently locked in a Faraday cage beneath the Batcave."
"Of course it is," Barry muttered.
"This 'Blue Beetle'—his Scarab is different," Batman continued. "Modified. No Reach signatures. Streamlined tech. Whoever altered it knew what they were doing."
"And the person wearing it?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Unknown. No facial recognition, no identity tag. The suit suppresses bio-signs. Whoever he is, he's good at staying hidden."
"That alone makes him interesting," said Manhunter.
Zatanna: "More than interesting. He's acting like a hero."
A beat.
"Then we monitor," said Wonder Woman. "Quietly. If he crosses the line—"
"We act," Hal finished. "Fine. But I want dibs on talking to him if he shows up."
Cadmus – Restricted Lab, Underground Facility
Lex Luthor sipped espresso as he stared at a looping video feed.
Blue Beetle moved like a ghost across the screen—phasing through gunfire, disarming enemies in a blur, walking away untouched.
A tech across the room cleared his throat. "We've confirmed it's Scarab-based technology. But modified. It's not ours."
"Obviously," Lex said, his voice like cut glass. "No Reach influence. Streamlined. Precision-built."
"Sir, it matches the theoretical designs we published to obfuscate our black-budget work—"
Lex waved a hand. "Spare me. Someone's building off our scraps. And doing a better job."
He turned slowly, face blank, dangerous.
"I want him. Alive. I want that Scarab stripped, scanned, and reverse-engineered. And I want the name of whoever thought they could outbuild Cadmus."
He paused.
"Bring me that damned blue bug."
The screen froze on a frame of Jaime mid-air, eyes glowing behind the armor.
Night, El Paso Rooftop
[INTRUSION DETECTED. SENSOR GRID COMPROMISED.]
Jaime narrowed his eyes behind the visor, crouched on the rooftop.
"Someone's finally looking, huh?"
[PROBABILITY OF TRACKING: LOW. SURVEILLANCE IS NON-DIRECT.]
He smirked under the helmet. "Good. Let's keep it that way."
He looked over the city, scanning for signals.
"Let's see who blinks first."