A Small Hostage Situation!//Connor Hawke

[Blue Beetle]

Players: Jaime Reyes & Connor Hawke
Location(s): At first, Texas in Jaime's home, but then will traverse to the mountains, mid US.
Plot Summary: Jaime Reyes comes home from a long day of schoolwork only to receive bad news in relation to his younger sister, Milagro. Jaime plans to do whatever it takes to save his sister, but then runs into some help.

It was nearing evening. The sun was setting overhead. A lovely hue of pinkish orange lined the dessert-like city. Jaime Reyes was coming home from a long day of school. Gathering supplies as well as simple studying. A good long rest was well needed. With a twist of the key and a turn of the handle, Jaime entered his home.

He let his nose sniff about. Usually by now, Mom or Dad had something cooking or they had ordered something, but no.. No. Something was off. There was no smell of well seasoned meat being cooked in the oven, or Mom's special spiced rice.
"Mom?" Dad was working that evening, so Jaime knew he wasn't going to be home till late. His mom had gotten home early and had picked up Milagro from school. What didn't help this growing situation was just how quiet it was in the house.

"Mom??" Jaime called out once more to the house. By now, she would have responded. She had the ears of a fox. "Milagro??" Jaime added only to gain no reply back. Worried, Jaime began to look around the house. "Scarab- try and track their signals." One would probably think, oh maybe they went out to get something. Another may think they're late. But no, this was different. And having received a text from his mom letting him know their plans for the evening, should wouldn't change them last second without letting him know. He finally turned the corner to the front room and he saw the back of his mother's head, it looked as if she was sitting on the sofa enjoying a good book.

"Mom?" Jaime asked in a less cautious tone, but his gaze held worry. He circled his mother only to see her hands and feet bound, her mouth covered by tape. "Mom!" The boy felt panic as did the scarab. The Scarab's readings were then put into place, the readings then sent to Jaime's mentality. There were two heat readings.

The adult reading in front of him and...

an adult reading from behind.

The Scarab was quick to react as Jaime turned to face the strange reading. Quickly, the armor grew from his back and enveloped his body to form that of the Blue Beetle. His left hand swiftly formed into that of a small sonic cannon and aimed it towards the intruder. "Who are you? Where is my sister!?" Jaime's tone was far from patient.

The figure was tall and sleek, but it was obvious this stranger had a devious motive for his arrival to the Reyes' home.

"I'm here to leave a message for the Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes." The dark figure announced and stepped forward. Jaime remained still and kept the cannon aimed. It wasn't lethal. He'd never allow that. He kept his teeth grit as he waited for the supposed message. The man continued to step forward. Jaime's eyes squinted less upon seeing the man's attire. He almost looked like a ninja. That, or Jaime's been playing one too many video games. "..?" His brow shifted, but he continued to hold his attention.

"We've taken your sister. Your mother has been spared, but if you do not comply to our demands, your sister will be dead by dawn." The man's tone rose serious, but there was a faint quiver, the sounds of a grin etched on the man's masked face. Jaime's own expression was that of shock. His yellowed eyes widened as his teeth gritted even harder. "W- What!?" Jaime was prepared to let his mouth spew some of the worse type of cursing, but he couldn't bring himself to do that with his mother near by. That and it would be unwise to react in such a way. Releasing a deep breath, Jaime breathed out his reply. "What demands?"

"My master demands you give up the scarab." It was quick and simple. But all the more painful for Jaime to hear. "Why?" He asked. "We have our reasons. Come to our head quarters. Your sister will be located there. And knowing your scarab, you wont be needing directions." Jaime felt his brow twitch. Oh how he wanted to punch this guy, But his people had Milagro. Any wrong move and he could have her blood on his hands.

Jaime turned towards his bound mother for a brief moment as he moved to explain time constraints, but as he turned back to the masked man, he was gone. Almost as if he vanished. Jaime checked with the Scarab and there were no signs of the man within the house. Quickly, he rushed over to his mother and removed her bindings, letting her take care of the tape.

"You've got to get her, Jaime!" She cried towards him as any worried mother would. "I will. Ill figure something out." Jaime held her into a comforting hug briefly. "You get some tea and relax. Me and Milagro will be back before it's too late." The serious tone was slightly eased when speaking to his shaken up mother. He silently asked the scarab to look over her checking for wounds. Thank God there were none or so help him, Jaime would have been madder than how he already is.

------

With several briefings and a lock on Milagro's location, Jaime flew off into the sky. &^#%%@$ "No. I'm not going to give you up." #*&#^? There was a small silence between Jaime and the Scarab. "I'll... I'll figure something out." The flight continued for a few hours. Two at the most. Still, it was hours that Jaime could have used to get Milagro safe.

Landing near by, he gave himself a little breather. A small flight later, he'd run into the headquarters. Hand gently placed to a large rock, the Blue Beetle peeked out from behind the stone cover and looked over the building. It was tall and practically built into the mountain side. They really fit the whole 'ninja' motif. Sighing a tad, Jaime hid behind the stones and began to flex a little, now debating on how to enter the building. It seemed well guarded and all that, so it'd have to lead up to sneakiness... When you're bright blue, it's kinda hard to be sneaky.

Looking towards his back, Jaime asked, "Well... what do you think?" There were several beeps and boops that followed after. Those beeps and boops translated into words that only Jaime seemed to be able to understand. And from the tone, those beeps were not of the positive type. "Okay. Just let me think of something." &#^@% *!&! "I know I'm low on time, I just need some time to think!" He called back towards the beeps.

It was reaching the lateness of night. Oh man, Mom was going to kill him if he didn't get done soon.

[Connor Hawke]

When you grappled with one terrorist organization you had grappled with them all. There were so many secret societies that were dedicated to cleansing the world of its impurities. Some were more secretive than others, some had lasted than others and they often differed in philosophies. Yet when it came down to it all of these organizations were flawed. They demanded perfection through cleansing and exclusivity. This was not how you accomplished peace. Hitler had made that painstakingly clear. After saving Sin from the League of Assassins Connor had resolved to keep his ear to the ground. He had stumbled across files LoA had of other terrorist grips similar to them. With the help of Eddie Fryers Connor had been able to compile all sorts of useful data on them. So when word reached Connor that a girl had been kidnapped in order to harness some sort of strange power he had immediately made it his responsibility to put a stop to it.

It had taken some research and investigation but Connor had discovered that an organization known as “Kobra Cult” had kidnapped a little girl in hopes of baiting a hero known as Blue Beetle into giving up his scarab. Connor had met Blue Beetle only a few times before but he knew that he was a good kid with great potential as a hero. They were teammates on The Titans and while Connor looked forward to running missions with him he hadn’t yet. Now seemed as good a time as any to help him. Blue Beetle didn’t know he was here and Connor had figured it should stay that way for now. He didn’t want to be unnecessarily cruel but he didn’t want Kobra to know that Jaime had help until the last possible moment. He had been able to track down their headquarters on his own and had spent his time patiently waiting for Jaime to show up. He knew that the Hispanic hero would be showing up to rescue his sister anytime now.

Connor’s theory was proven when he heard the faint sound of landing nearby. He glanced down from the narrow cave he had been hiding in from the past few hours. It was the perfect vantage point to overlook the valley that led to Kobra Cult’s headquarters. Connor had found a sniper there in charge of watching over the valley but he had dispatched him easily enough. He’d been reporting in for the man so there would be no suspicions about it either. He watched as the hero zig-zagged across the valley before hiding behind a boulder. For a few minutes he stood there until a bright light shone down on the rock, exposing Jaime. Almost immediately afterwards two trucks drove out of the building and headed straight towards his location. They stopped several yards away and several men piled out of the trucks. Connor stood to his feet and pulled out an arrow, it was time to play.

The men raised their weapons and as they did Connor took aim and fired at the man closest to the boulder. The arrow flew through the air and buried itself in the man’s kneecap. The man stumbled forward in pain as Connor jumped out of the cave and began to slide down the grassy slope that led to the cave. As he continued to slide he fired even more arrows. The lack of sunlight didn’t impede his vision but it prevented the men from seeing where he was. Connor soon landed feet first on the ground and began to sprint forward. That’s when the men’s training kicked in. One turned to aim his gun at him but Connor shot an arrow right down the barrel. The man pulled the trigger and the weapon exploded in his hands. Three men converged on Connor as the remaining men rushed at Jaime. Connor swung his bow at the first man; it cracked across his face and he stumbled back several steps. For the next few moments Connor quickly and easily dispatched the men around him. As he knocked the last man to the ground he called out to his teammate. “Are you alright?”

[Blue Beetle]

He had a small plan of attack. If he could get in there, snag Milagro and flee, he could get her to safety and deal with the cult when he didn't have to worry about her. However, his train of thought was cut off when a bright light shown over him, revealing his hiding spot. "Crap!" He hissed under his breath.

The Scarab felt his host's distress rise and quickly sent the order for a weapon towards Jaime's hands. A small blaster formed, again, nothing that could kill, just stun. He could hear the clanking of the vehicle doors closing. The men were hoisting out their weapons and were prepared to shoot if Beetle would not come quietly. He was nervous, but he had to do something. He wasn't going to stand here and be taken easily. He had to save Milagro.

Releasing a deep breath, Jaime rolled from his hiding place and prepared to aim. As he did, the first thing he saw was a few arrows meeting with the closest men. "Huh?" Jaime raised his brow and prepared to shoot for anyone else that was left, but quickly they were all being handled by several arrows. "Who's here? Scarab?" The Scarab was already working on it before Jaime even asked. *&@^&@ The Scarab called for his attention towards the cave near by. There was a man leaving the bearings of the cave. He held a bow and several arrows. It wasn't long before he came up and took down several more men.

One was missed however and Jaime took it upon himself to send his elbow into a running guard's face, knocking him out instantly. Looking upward, however, he noticed everyone else had been taken care of. Soon enough, the question was asked if he was alright. Nodding, Jaime answered. "Yeah. Yeah I'm okay. Thanks!" He thanked quickly and stepped closer. "Nice shooting there." He looked closer to the man and then he could recall some past meetings. "Connor, was it? I'm sorry, it's been a while. Thanks for the help.." Jaime was a tad awkward now. He didn't know there'd be someone to help. Was it known to many about the circumstances of the situation, or was it just Connor? Jaime didn't know. Though, he hoped the later answer was it.

Clearing his throat, he began to ask. "What are you doing here?" His head tilted a tad.

[Connor Hawke]

Connor Hawke inclined his head politely as Jaime acknowledged his first name. "Yeah, Connor Hawke." He repeated with a smile. He didn't know Jaime that well but he was looking forward to working with him. The latino teenager had proven himself to be a capable hero multiple times in the past. He had overcome obstacles and handled crises that Connor hadn't. Connor personally felt that everyone was an individual because of their experiences. The people who became friends were friends because they bonded over a similar experience. He was hoping to bond with Jaime over his kidnapped daughter. Obviously he would prefer not to but he knew how Jaime felt. First he had lost Lian and Sin's life was always hanging in the balance.

As a result he was going to do his best to help Jaime. He couldn't help but take the mission a little personally either. He knew that it wasn't his place to consider this an emotional mission on his end but he couldn't help it. "It's no problem." Connor walked to the nearest man and grasped the shaft of his arrow. He planted his foot against the man's chest and pulled the arrow out of his shoulder. He aimed for nonlethal parts of the body and since they weren't guaranteed to cause kills he often tainted them with serums that could render the targets unconscious. It was something he had learned from Cheshire. He didn't like to admit to that either and luckily no one had asked him about it.

"I was here to help." Connor said before he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Basically, you're dealing with a terrorist organization interested in amassing nuclear weapons on a global scale but it just so happens that your Scarab has more potential as a weapon than nuclear bombs..." Connor was simply repeating what Eddie had told him. He honestly didn't know much about weaponry, not as much as he could know. He was more of a medieval guy. "Anyway, I've dealt with Kobra before and if you need a back up I'm you're guy." He glanced at the massive structure in front of them before turning back to Beetle. In his mind Connor was hoping they could move past the introductions and get back to business yet he remained calm.

Milagro wasn't running out of time. They'd never kill her as long as Blue Beetle was on the premises. They were unscrupulous but not stupid. Yet there was a strong chance that Milagro was being whisked away to another location and if that was the case they needed to act fast.

[Blue Beetle]

What was Connor Hawke doing here? It seemed like he was looking to do some serious damage here. With the arrows being lodged into a bunch of the men who lay unconscious and in pain, Jaime knew it'd be best to stay on Connor's good side. Though, with not knowing him all too well, he wasn't sure just what could be said that would force an arrow into his chest.

Nodding, he gave another silent thank you. Though, he couldn't stop his expression from morphing into a look of pain when he watched Connor remove an arrow from a fallen man's shoulder."..Ouch.." He cringed and looked away from Connor to get a good look of the area. It was a decent size. At least with help of the Scarab, it shouldn't be too difficult when looking for his sister inside.

Looking back to Connor, he listened to what he began to say. "Help? You knew about this?" Jaime questioned, confused as to how someone he's barely known could get information that his sister was taken hostage. Or was there more to this? When the Scarab was stated at the Kobra's desire to use it as a weapon among it's vast arsenal, Jaime looked to his hand and felt a gulp roll down his throat.

"Well, looks like we should take this place down, then." Jaime was going to do it anyway, but this became more than just a family matter.

Looking towards the Kobra base, Jaime nodded and prepared to step forward. "Scarab, track down Milagro." Jaime asked, a twinge of worry collecting in his tone. Within moments, a bright light blue orb appeared before him, The confines within the building were practically blurs, but there was a small pale white dot that signified his sister's where abouts. Pointing to it, he stated quickly, "There she is!"

He'd have to be careful if he wanted to get Milagro out safely. But with being noticed recently by the outside security, they're bound to know about his arrival inside. They had to move quickly if they wanted to take them down as well as save Milagro. They couldn't kill her. They had no reason to. Not yet. Looking to Connor, his brow angled to form a serious glare. "Let's go!" He nodded and began running his way towards the front.