MoM IC Contact

[khajidont]

Jaime's cell phone is more or less plugged riiiight into his brain, so he tends to pick up like 99% of the time! If not, however...

"Hey, Jaime here! Leave a message, and I'll get back to you ASAP."

Comments

[khajidont]

Hey. [Jaime jabs a finger at Bart.] Don't talk trash you can't back up.

[Bart is going to win, and Jaime knows it, but it's no fun unless he plays along. He tells Bart their exact coordinates, which is, predictably, El Paso.

Jaime's been avoiding the place up until now. He doesn't want to see it look so different, doesn't want to go to where his home and family should be and see nothing but strangers.

They're not taking a trip to his home, or even near it, but he figures he can deal with ducking into town long enough to grab some provisions before they head to a different kind of destination.]

[moded]

[Some day, Bart'll find someone here who can move as fast as he can. And he'll be the happiest kid ever. But until then, he's more than content to take up these challenges, to run even though he knows he can move faster because, well, maybe he really is learning something. Maybe forcing himself to limit his speed and find other things to occupy himself is a test in and of itself.

Either way, all Bart really needs to hear is El Paso and he's grinning and starting off, moving at what is, to him, a jog, as he waits for Jaime to hit his stride. After that? He's punching it.

The first few states are a little wobbly, his path zig zagging as he gets distracted and has to find and follow a freeway in order to get back on track, because while he's been to visit Jaime in his world time and time again, he either Zeta's part of the way there, or he's starting out from Missouri. But once he catches sight of familiar landmarks, once his feet are hitting down on familiar terrain, he's back in business. He's able to cut across the landscape at whatever speed he likes, able to cut through the sound barrier with a crack and laugh in a way that makes his heart pound because his speed just sucks away the sound before it can even leave his mouth.

He doubles back once, after catching sight of a familiar plateau, a familiar landscape that he knows his universe' Blue tends to fly over - whether because he likes the route or because its just part of the straight line from point A to B - and waits for that speck of Blue on the horizon. It doesn't take much of a run up to get the momentum he needs, for him to push off the ground and match the speed Jaime's flying at, for him to tap against his friend's ankle and laugh as he stumbles a bit when he meets the ground before tearing off towards their destination again.

He does stop just outside of El Paso though, at a large expanse of nothing and sits on the crest of a small hill, looking out at the flat landscape in front of him. Whether he's waiting for Jaime to catch up or waiting for him to join him is- well, even Bart's not really sure. All he knows is he's frowning and thinking and still, and its weird, but he can't help it.]

[khajidont]

[If Jaime wasn't so busy just trying to keep pace, he would have stopped just to watch Bart and marvel. It's one thing to see Bart zipping around the house, but it's something else to see him actually get to let loose. Many people would describe him as having superpowers, but in his heart of hearts, he knows that's not true; his powers are inside him, but they're technology, simple as that. When he goes as quickly as he does, he knows that it's powered by machinery and jets, no different from a plane or a rocket ship.

He's more than okay with that, but what it means is that anytime he sees someone with real superpowers let loose... it's an awe-inspiring sight. It's amazing to think that some people just move that fast, that some people can just fly, easy as that. He's got no idea what that must feel like, the shock of cold wind on your face instead of being beaten against lenses and layers of armour.

Bart sure looks like he enjoys it.

And, to be fair, Jaime enjoys it too; he's always said that flying is the best part of the suit, and he stands by it. He loves getting to go as fast as he can, soaring above all the houses and trees and cars, and with Bart, there's no worries about leaving anyone behind.

He stops once Bart does, but he doesn't return to the ground immediately. Instead, he hovers, staring at the big, familiar Welcome to El Paso! sign. Back home, they've amended it to say Home of the Blue Beetle!, and while it's not a surprise to see that absent here, it makes him feel a little wistful. He's no great fan of fame, but he always kind of liked that sign. It had been a point of pride for him, he's beginning to realize, that his home thought he was exceptional enough to brag about him, and to use him as both a boast and a warning; they may be proud of him, but it also lets the visitors know that no matter what, they've got a superhero looking after them. There's something special about that.

He does land next to Bart eventually, though, and takes a closer look at the thoughtful expression on his face.] Something on your mind?

[moded]

[Bart stays put for a moment, thinking back on the first time he dragged his world's version of Jaime out. When he took them to a spot that looked almost identical to this and tried to show him how much better creation was than destruction. He thinks, and stays uncharacteristically still and silent for a handful of seconds after Jaime lands, before rolling up to his feet, stretching his arms above his head and bouncing from leg to leg to warm himself back up.]

Kinda. [He stops, sweeps his arm to the side to gesture at the flat landscape in front of him.] This is where I used to hang out with my universe's Blue. Back home. And it's- I think its the same. [He can't help the grin tugging at his lips] Less broken boulders, though.

But I was just thinking. Not counting the two months my Blue was on mode back home, I've almost known both of you the same amount of time. [He crosses his arms, frowns at the land in front of him, fingers drumming against his bicep] What happens when I've known you longer than my best friend?

[khajidont]

[Jaime spares a moment to wonder why there would be a bunch of broken boulders way out here - not that it seems important enough to vocalize - mostly because it's never occurred to him to go out and bust up a bunch of rocks. Bart does pose an important question, and it's one that Jaime doesn't know the answer to, even if the truth of the matter has been hanging over their heads.]

Dunno. Maybe all that happens is you've got one best friend, and another good one. I know I'm not his replacement or whatever.

[If Jaime had to guess, he'd say that he and this other version of himself must be pretty different. He has no real desire to replace this guy he doesn't even know, this guy who has somehow become a monumentally important part of Bart's life.]

What d'you figure?

[It's an honest question. Jaime doesn't know what's going on in that head of his.]

[moded]

Yeah. [Bart spends another 7.8 seconds lost in thought before he's suddenly moving, just shifting into that no doubt annoyingly familiar red and cream visual smear as he runs to Jaime's other side if just for an excuse to move and throws his arm around his shoulders.

He still doesn't get the concept of personal space.]

Don't know don't care dude I get to know Blue Beetle twice over so crash! Anyway come on you have the creepy bug map where are we going oh wait if you put markers on that holo-map you had earlier are they scarabs cause Robin hacks with pictures of his face sometimes and I'm pretty sure he stole that from Nightwing like BB stole souvenirs from KF so its totally crash if you do use bug markers.

[The answer to Jaime's question is obvious, even if Bart's not giving it. At least, not really.

He doesn't know. And while it bothers him, he very obviously doesn't want to spend too much time picking it apart.]

[khajidont]

[Jaime blinks at Bart as he registers the real point behind Bart's words, and while he thinks that Bart should probably pick apart how he feels, he's not so sure how anyone should feel about it. It's just a sucky business all round. If they can figure out how to remember what happens in Heropa once they get to go back home, Jaime thinks it'll be weird to meet a Wally that's ten years his senior, to meet Bart as a complete stranger --

-- but then, where he's from, Bart is dead. They all have things that they'd rather ignore while they're here, so instead he says, like the boring soul he is,] Sorry man, I only use circles.

[This trip is to get Bart away from all that stuff, after all.] C'mon, let's grab a few bags of burgers and chicken-whatevers to fulfill your need for those chicken wheezers - [that's what he said, right?] - and we'll head back out to the desert.

[moded]

You're missing out on a whole market of Beetle stickers, hermano. [Repression and ignorance, the two staples of a DC teenager's life. The most necessary skills on maintaining even a shred of sanity in their line of work, in how their lives are getting twisted more and more with each passing day.

At leas Bart has the benefit of this stressful superhero life being way better than the world he grew up in.]

No no, no. Dude, Chicken Whizees. I don't care if you don't have them in this world if taste buds are the same across universes and I mean why wouldn't they be its a stupid thing to change you'll be mad at yourself for getting it wrong even once.

Uh- assuming we can find something close, here. [Still, he's grinning, already excited at the prospect of another bit of a run, especially one that's going to end in food.] Lead the way, Blue. Your alternate-state, you pick the burger joint.

hope you don't mind myskipping ahead a bit!

[khajidont]

Pfft, forget stickers, back home I got my own minigolf course. You, my friend, are thinking too small.

[It's the goofiest looking thing in the world. The cardboard cutout's eyes are looking in opposite directions, people have to hit the ball through his midsection, and they got half of his markings all wrong - and Jaime loves it to death. It's the most hilarious thing he's ever seen in the world, and that's counting the fact that they've got Blue Beetle nights at a local pub with his likeness etched on the glasses when he's not even legal yet.

One day, he's going to find the most inaccurate, most insulting piece of merchandise with him on it, and he's going to buy ten of them.

If Bart was expecting another run as fast as the first one, he'll be disappointed. Jaime keeps on getting distracted by how similar some things look, and how different others look, and while he doesn't say anything, it makes him slow down, staring pensively at the rows of unfamiliar places filled with unfamiliar people before heading on out again. He's gotten used to the feeling of homesickness by now, but it still makes something in his throat tighten, something in his stomach hurt. It's hard to tell any of that on Jaime on a good day, let alone with his mask on, but seeing El Paso like this brings it all up to the surface again.

Being here makes him feel like it would be just a short trip back home, and he'd be able to walk inside and see his family again. He'd give anything to be with them again, some days, to eat his father's familiar cooking and to tell his mother about his day, to cart Milagro around on his back before dumping her unceremoniously on the couch again. They're such small, insignificant things, but he knows that they're things that his family lived without for a year. They were strong, and he can be too.

Despite Jaime's notable lack of speed, they manage to hit up four or five promising - and inexpensive - burger and chicken joints, and soon they're full up on more food than Jaime can possibly stomach, but that's what Bart's for.] Okay, [he says, as they walk out of the last place,] I think that'll about do it. There's just one more place I wanna check out.