The Blue Beetle Corps
The Blue Beetle Corps 1: Sandra Bullock the Sensational Blue Beetle
'Sandra
Bullock. Calling Sandra Bullock.'
'Here,' said Sandra,
putting up her hand.
The page boy didn't seem to hear her,
and walked past her saying 'Sandra Bullock. Calling Sandra
Bullock.'
'I'm here, you schmuck,' said Sandra, to no
avail.
'Sandra!' said a voice. She turned. It
was Mr Big. Warner Studios Mr Big. 'The
role is magnificent,' he said.
'I've read the script,' she
replied.
'It's the role of a lifetime,' he said.
'The
main character gets killed in the end,' she said.
'It's a
classic in the making.'
'She's turned into a zombie and
blown away by Schwarzenegger, saying, Hasta La Vista, Baby.'
'It
will be an epic of our time,'s aid Mr Big.
'Maybe
the next one,' said Sandra. 'You know, not my thing.'
She
was driving home to her Beverly Hills address, when she was driving
past a vacant lot, which she knew was vacant, because tradition had
it haunted, and the owners couldn't sell. It was late, around 11, and
she noticed suddenly a bright blue light burning inside the
house.
'That's interesting,' she said, and decided to pull
over to investigate.
The light burned brightly as she looked
in through the window, but nobody seemed at home. She tried the door,
and it was unlocked, so, taking her torch and turning it on, she
ventured into the main living room.
The light was
like an energy, burning brightly in the centre of the
room. It was shimmering blue. Suddenly a figure hovered in from the
adjoining room. A dwarf - flying - all coloured blue.
'I
am a guardian,' said the dwarf.
'Good luck to you,' said
Sandra.
'We have chosen you. Whoever came in, it was agreed,
would do. So it is you.'
'Wonderful,' said Sandra. 'Chosen
for what, exactly?'
'The fourth Blue Beetle. Now steady
yourself.'
And she grinned at the sarcasm of the little blue
man, but watched intently as the blue energy suddenly burst
forwarded, hit her right in the chest, and entered in.
'Whoa!'
she said. 'Why did it do that.'
'Are you aware
of Kord Industries?' the Guardian asked her.
'Biggest
charity organisation worldwide,' she said. 'They do a lot
of good.'
'Seek them. Ted Kord is currently
reinvigorated, and will explain you the job.'
'He's the Blue
Beetle,' she said.
'The second,' said the Guardian. 'We are
forming the Blue Beetle Corps. There are 4 of you now. One day there
will be a fifth, sixth and seventh. And then the Blue Beetle Corps
will be complete.'
Sandra laughed. 'So I'm a superhero now,
am I?'
'You report to me,' said the Lantern. 'Focus your
thoughts, use your willpower, and the energy will link you
to Oa and me.'
'Oa?' she asked.
'Where
I live,' replied the Lantern. 'Oh, and good luck. I think
you will probably need it.'
'Thanks,' she replied, and
the Guardian hovered away. She returned to her car, and after
reaching home felt it must have been a hallucination or something.
But then she felt the blue energy rising up, and knew she had gotten
into something a heck of a lot bigger than the usual life of actress
Sandra Annette Bullock.
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 2: A Guardian's Thoughts
The Guardian
hovered in the back of the Church. Truth Temple. What human's thought
of the Truth, in Kannapolis in Northern Carolina. A woman
was singing. 'Don't let anyone tell you that you're not loved. You're
worth more than Gold.'
'A very positive message,' the
Guardian thought to himself. 'The heart of Oan wisdom. The
value of the person. An interesting congregation. I might
have to observe on occasion.'
The Guardian left then, and
returned to his ship, and started the voyage back to Oa.
The
Blue Lantern Corps. It had been agreed. The Scarab had been
studied, and they had obtained knowledge of its origin, and placed
operatives were they needed to be. Jamie Reyes had been contacted,
and had come to Oa, and Daniel Garrett had been resucitated like
Ted Kord, by the Guardian's own power, and the three of them had
been presented to the Council of the Guardian's on Oa.
The
Guardian recalled their initial presentation.
'We have
planned for seven of you. The Green Lantern Corps does our work well.
They follow in the footsteps of the Manhunters, but more is
required for an ever-growing universe. We are commisioning you
to watch over Sector 2814, because it has become apparent that sector
receives a fair share of trouble. Unendingly it seems. Hal Jordan and
John Stewart and Guy Gardner are always a concern, so we have chosen
you to be our third power in the Universe, and in Sector 2814 we have
crafted a commission of protection and rescue and safety for the Blue
Lantern Corps.'
'As long as the pay is good,' said
Ted Kord.
'The pay is adequate. You serve in charity,'
replied a Guardian.
'What's the canteen food like here?'
asked Jamie Reyes.
'We have food appropriate for humans,'
said a Guardian.
'Do we get our own pad?' asked Daniel
Garrett.
The Guardians looked at each with concern.
'Accommodation will be provided,' said the female Guardian.
'Then
it's up, up and away,' said Ted Kord.
'Yes,' replied a
guardian dryly. 'It's up, up and away,' which brought a stern
look from the other Guardian's.
The new choice. 'Sandra
Bullock. He had followed the woman from a distance, and found out her
name, and that she was actually of fame amongst mankind. No matter.
That could be both a help and a hindrance, but she seemed to have
accepted her calling. 7 members of the Blue Beetle Corps were planned
in total, but the fifth member not for a while yet. For now the blue
energy would dwell within Blue Beetle four, and they would work their
duty in protecting and guarding Sector 2814, a place
of neverending trouble it seemed. A female member as well,
he had considered, should bring a good balance to the team. They
would be a little more cautious, when in operation together, for
women usually brought caution and prudence. Not as bold and
foolhardy, as he had noted in behaviour's like Hal Jordan,
who flew off recklessly at times. But a Green Lantern needed to use
his or her instincts, so that was to be expected.
As he
approached Oa, he contemplated their duty. Guarding the
universe. Preserving law and order. It was their own duty,
and they would preserve culture and civilization. A dirty job, but
someone had to do it. And with endless trouble from the likes
of Sinestro and the troublesome Lobo, a new power at the
service of the Guardians seemed now required. And with the Blue
Beetle Corps formed, they could continue their duty of Guardianship,
and protect Sectors like 2814, and continue to enjoy
the Civilzation of Inter-Galactic cultures they worked so
hard to protect.
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 3: Hero Training
'Four
more,' said Ted Kord.
'I do not get paid enough for
this,' said the huffing Sandra Bullock, the sensational Blue
Beetle.
'What do you mean pay? We don't get paid at
all. Bwah ha ha har,' replied Ted.
'Oh,
there is a wage,' replied Sandra. 'It's miniscule. And a nice
apartment on Oa. Mine has a view of a river.'
'Mine
view's the recycling plant for the sector,' said Ted.
'Oh,'
replied Sandra. 'Well that's not too bad,' she said.
'Right
next door is the sewerage works,' said Ted.
'Tough break,'
said Sandra.
'There's a brothel for Kilowog's race,
right next door to that as well,' said Ted.
Sandra looked at
him squarely. 'Are you kidding me?'
'Just joking. I
have a luxury apartment suite. But you should see Dan Garret's place.
Ooh, its posh. We get ranked and rewarded for our
place in the Blue Beetle Corps hierarchy.'
'Fascinating. I'm
last,' she said.
'Right,' said Ted, looking at his
stopwatch. '5 more laps. And be quick about it.'
'I
thought it was four,' objected Sandra.
'No mutiny in the
ranks,' said Ted. 'Make it 6.'
'Yes sir,' saluted Sandra,
and got back to doing laps inside Ted's private gym.
Later,
an exhausted Sandra was sitting in the canteen of Kord Industries
main office building. Life had been hectic the last couple of weeks.
First, what she soon found out was a Guardian of Oa, who ran the
Green Lantern Corps, had appeared to her and told her she was now
part of the new Blue Beetle Corps. And then she'd had her first
adventure, noticing a mugging in a Hollywood alley, and the blue
energy inside her said 'Act'. So she had, and picked up the two
muggers with the blue energy which reached forward, and kept them
hanging while the female victim called the cops on her mobile. She
told them who she was. They believed her. She said she was also now a
Blue Beetle. They suggested a mental asylum. Them's the
breaks. And then she had visited Kord Industries, who had a
newly regenerated Ted Kordrunning them again, back from the
literal dead, who got her up and running on her training, and the
state of play in the Blue Beetle Corps and their commission -
protecting the rather calamity prone sector 2814.
She sat
there, thinking through the lessons Ted had been teaching her, when
her mobile rang. It was Ted.
'We have a situation,' he
said.
'What kind of situation?' asked Sandra.
'It's
an emergency. I need your expert help. Go across the road to 'Sandy's
Deli'. They will have a brown paper package. Get it, and bring it up
to me. This is priority one mission for the Blue Beetle Corps.
'Will
do boss,' she replied. She got up, went across the street and found
the Deli. 'I'm looking for a package for Mr Kord.'
The
deli assistant nodded, and handed her a suspicious looking brown
paper bag, filled with something. She returned to Kord Industries,
took the elevator to Ted's level, and found Ted in his
office.
'Excellent,' he said, as she passed him the bag.
'You did great.'
'What's in the bag?' she asked
curious.
'Pastrami and mustard. Sandy's does the best
in town,' he replied, as he hooked into his Pastrami roll.
Sandra
looked at him. 'Unbelievable,' she replied.
'Great work,'
said Ted, smiling.
Sandra silently hoped her next 'Vital
Mission' would be not such a disappointment. But knowing
Ted Kord.............................
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 4: The Sunstealers
'Yes
Guardian,' said Daniel Garrett. 'What is the mission?'
The
Blue Beetle Corps were gathered at HQ, in the sub-basement
of Kord Industries.
'Sol, the star or sun of your
solar system is at threat. The Sunstealers of Gartos IV
are at it again. Wishing to yet again acquire a new sun for the
brightening of their system. They have a rather poor star, and
need a new one to brighten their world. We have intercepted messages
from them, and they have chosen Sector 2814, and your system to steal
from. They have Gravity Tractor technology designed to steal your
star. Deal with it.'
'Yes,' replied Daniel. He turned to the
team. 'Well, here we go. First adventure.'
'Sounds great,'
said Ted. 'We'll take the Bug. It is well equipped for space travel
these days.'
'I'm driving,' said Jamie Reyes.
'The
last time you drove we nearly crashed into the sun,' said Ted.
'That
was an accident,' replied Jamie, defensively.
'The bug's but
was deep fried. It took ages giving it a new coat,' said Ted.
'How
do we defeat Sunstealers?' asked Sandra, the new recruit.
'With
Blue Beetle ingenuity,' replied Daniel Garrett.
Space. The
final frontier. 'Earth to Spock. Sunstealers sighted,'
said Ted.
'Good,' said Daniel. 'And don't call me Spock. I'm
captain Kirk. You're Spock.'
'While I have the IQ for Spock,
you have all his square ways,' replied Ted.
Sandra watched
the screen as the other three fell into a sledging match, and noticed
they had a tractor beam at work, which was starting to shift the
sun.
'Come on Jamie. I have this energy in me. The Scarab
works through you. Let these two argue it out.'
And so Jamie
Reyes and Sandra Bullock exited the Bug, and approached
the Sunstealers craft.
'What do we do?' asked
Jamie.
'You dismantle the tractor beam. I don't know. Wreck
it, I guess. I'll get in through their air lock and, I don't,
know..........' she left off.
'Serve them with a fine from
the Guardian's of Oa,' said Jamie. 'Remember. We have
notices of Intergalactic Lawbreaking.'
'Right,' she
said, and reached into her side pouch, and took out the Infractions
form pad. 'These should come in handy,' she said.
Just then
several laser beams started shooting at them. The blue energy seemed
to instinctively dodge and block the laser shots, and Sandra noticed
Jamie had gotten stuck into dismantling the beam, so approached the
ship. She found a lock, and willing the energy to keep an air bubble
around it, ordered it to undo the door, which it did. Closing it
behind her, she looked around. Strange designs. Very
alien.Suddenly a Gartosian was in front of her. He pointed
a gun at her.
'Leave our ship, or we will kill you,' said
the alien, as the energy in her translated the words in her
thoughts.
Sandra put her hand forward, and the blue energy
leaped forward, grabbed the gun, and she bent it up so that it would
no longer work. The alien lunged at her, but her training came
quickly, and she belted him in the head, which sent
him spiralling.
'I'm so sorry,' she said to the dazed
alien. She noticed the front cabin was up ahead, and going along the
corridor found the pilot of the ship, still shooting laser bolts at
Jamie, and spoke to him in a firm voice.
'Look, buster. Our
sun is not for sale.' She took out her pad, and looked at
him. 'Name?'
The alien gave her a quizzical
look.
'Name?' she asked him.
'Flazdak,' he
replied. 'Flazdak of Otromon.'
'Right,' Flazdak. 'I'm
issuing you a notice of infraction. You have 28 days to pay the fine
at Oa Registry of Intergalactic Criminal offenses.'
The
alien looked at her as she filled out the form, and handed it to him.
He looked it over. 'And if we don't pay?'
'We have very
effective debt collectors,' she replied. 'VERY effective.'
And
so, leaving the ship, exiting the air-lock, and gathering Jamie
Reyes, who had successfully 'Stuffed up' the tractor beam, they
returned to the Bug.
'Well, your Sister's cooking is about
as bad as it gets,' said Ted to Daniel. 'That beef stroganof was
fowl. I had digestion problems for weeks.'
'That cousin of
yours. Gosh, hasn't she heard of soap?' asked Daniel.
Sandra
and Jamie looked at the two of them as they continued arguing.
'Set
the bug for earth,' said Sandra.
'Sure thing, Spock,' said
Jamie, grinning.
'Brother,' replied Sandra.
And so,
the bug, on its way home, another day passed in the life of the Blue
Beetle Corps, and two Gartosian aliens, one with a pretty
bad headache, started the return trip to Gartos IV, with a
wrecked tractor beam, no new sun, and a bothered captain wondering
how they were ever going to afford the exorbitant fine.
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 5: Daniel Daly the Quintessential Blue Beetle
‘Daniel Daly,’ said Sandra Bullock, the Sensational Blue Beetle. ‘What kind of Blue Beetle are you?’
‘Your biggest fan,’ replied Daniel, dressed in a dark blue t-shirt with Ted Kord’s blue beetle design imprinted on it, with black jeans, a belt, with a BB buckle. He also had a grappling hook hanging from his belt.
‘What’s the grappling hook for?’ asked Sandra Bullock.
‘It’s how I get about and do my Kickass heroics,’ replied Daniel. ‘I survey Macarthur where I live in Canberra regularly. I walk down to the seat at the parkland, and sit there, and hold my grappling hook in my hand. And I sit there, looking at the stars, and look at that gum tree. And I sit there, analyzing the tree, and the hook that I have, and how much I would have to train to actually get the hook around a branch and climb the damn thing. Haven’t done it yet, though,’ said Daniel.
‘And why is that?’ asked Sandra, signing another autograph.
‘Too fat,’ replied Daniel. ‘I’m frikking 200 kilos, or thereabouts, you know. I’m hardly a fitness freak.’
‘You’d probably make a pretty pathetic Blue Beetle then,’ replied Sandra. ‘Yeh, you’re a pretty big guy.’
‘Huge,’ replied Daniel. ‘Got a fuckload of DC Comics though.’
‘Fascinating,’ replied Sandra.
‘I like Booster Gold as well. Fire and Ice are cool as well. I write fanfiction on you guys. DC won’t employ me. They never even respond to my emails. Bastards. I work hard on my stories, but they don’t give a shit.’
‘You must be an amateur,’ replied Sandra.
‘Yeh, probably,’ said Daniel. ‘But I am the quintessential Blue Beetle. Nobody loves the Beetles more than me.’
‘That’s good,’ said Sandra. ‘If you will excuse me.’
‘Sure,’ said Daniel. Daniel looked at the Blue Beetle Adventures comic Sandra had signed, and smiled. Another fine gem for the collection. He was hungry. He fucked off to the snack bar, bought a hot dog and a coke, and found a seat and looked around the convention. He still had a few hundred bucks to spend, so maybe some old dark horse or crossgen would be cool. He’d look into it.
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 6: Zarlecite
Ted Kord examined the meteorite. ‘It’s from Zarlec,’ said Ted. ‘Zarlec was part of the ‘Crystalline’ invasion a long time ago. Crystalline substances from an exploded supernova wove their way through space, and came into the atmosphere of many planets. They reacted with the planets, though, and seeped down into the core, causing planetary disturbances which ultimately destroyed many of them, leading them to explode. Our famous leader Kal El of Krypton had it happen to his own homeworld, but there were others. And from that portion of the universe there are powers in the remains which can affect inhabitants from their world. But not just their world. Kryptonians, as we have seen with Jon El, have DNA which is compatible with humans. And Kryptonite can actually affect humans also, just in a very minor way. It’s not known apart from Kal and myself who’ve discussed it at length at his fortress of solitude.’
‘What are you saying?’ asked Booster Gold, sipping on a Budweiser.
‘If this were implanted into the bloodstream of a human, in tiny little host nano-devices which were programmed to remain in the bloodstream, it could potentially have the impact of greatly increasing the powers of even a regular human. It’s radioactive, of course, and could cause great damage. But it could also have the opposite effect. Either way we’ll know when I run some tests on both of us.’
‘Why both of us?’ asked Booster.
‘We’ve already been in its presence a while. Slight changes in out biochemistry and DNA might have occurred.’
‘Thanks for telling me buddy,’ replied Booster.
A few hours later, Ted Kord, examining the results, nodded to himself.
‘Good news?’ asked Booster.
‘You need to cut down on the red meat. Your cholesterol count is huge,’ replied Ted.
‘20th century diets. In the 25th we’re well balanced. Takes a while to adjust. I mean Twinkies? Give me a break. Addictive as hell. But the rest? Does Zarlecite change things?’ said Booster.
‘It will probably have both negative and positive effects,’ replied Ted. ‘I’ve spent the last half an hour doing some genetic research.’
‘Watch out Harvard,’ interrupted Booster.
‘As I was saying, I’ve done some extensive genetic research, and it looks like we have a mineral which can artificially do similar things to the scarab. It can potentially turn me into a Blue Beetle with the same powers as Jamie.’
‘Next step?’ asked Booster.
‘Well, am I chicken?’ asked the scientist Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle, looking at his Justice League International team-mate. ‘Don’t answer that.’
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 7: Beetles in Training
Daniel Daly looked at his suit. Blue jeans, with a silver buckle belt which had BB on it. A blue skivvy which went up to his neck, and over that a black sweater of industrial strength hi-tech wool. With the grappling hook in his belt, he was ready. The quintessential Blue Beetle. He looked at his belly. 7 months of regular exercise and he was down to 140 kgs. A big boy, but he was currently pretty fit, and ready for a bit of action Blue Beetle style. He picked up the appointment slip on his bookcase. 'Batman requests your presence. Meet me at the Carlton. 2 PM. Don't be late.' Daniel took the card, put it in his wallet, and headed off. The trip downtown was quick enough, and he parked his car down the street somewhat, and came to the side of the Carlton hotel. He looked upwards. 12 floors. Batman was likely on the top, being cool and dramatic, as Batman does, waiting on him. He took out his grappling hook and threw it up against the stairwell. And, slowly, climbing on the rope, being cool, ignoring the stairs, he climbed up and came on to the roof. He looked around and looked at his watch. 2:05. Where was the Bat? Stuff it, he thought to himself, and headed to the stairs into the building, found the elevator on the top floor, and came down to the ground floor. He wandered into the restaurant, and ordered a taco with coke.
Sitting there, eating his taco, people looked at him strangely.
'You some kind of hero?' someone asked him.
'The quintessential,' replied Daniel.
Shortly Batman appeared, coming out of the foyer, and looked at him. 'I was on the roof. Where were you?'
'Hungry,' replied Daniel.
Batman looked at the quintessential Blue Beetle, snacking down on a taco, and drinking a coke. 'These things are normally done in private by superheroes, Daniel. The Quintessential Blue Beetle needs some refinements I think.'
Daniel nodded. 'Yeh, I guess,' he replied. But this was the initial training with the dark Knight as suggested.
* * *
Sandra Bullock was at Kord Industries, in the basement, in the droid combat room. Ted Kord and Jamie Reyes were observing her. The droids were coming thick and fast, and she was ducking and weaving, kicking at them with her feet. A droid suddenly shot a tazer at her, and she jumped, firing her Blue Beetle Air Gun at the droid, who went flying backwards.
'She's nimble,' said Jamie.
'Let's increase the pace a bit,' said Ted, and flicked some switches on the control panel.
The droids increased, and Sandra was soon building up a sweat, but ducking and weaving, and giving a good account of herself.
'That should be enough,' said Jamie after a few minutes. Ted turned a switch and the droids backed away, going back into their chambers in the wall.
Sandra was puffing, but grabbed a towel, wiping off her sweat, and climbed the stairs up to the control room.
'How did I do?' she asked.
'You're a natural,' replied Ted. 'But I only took you up to level 8 of 12. Out in the heat of things crooks don't follow rules. You've gotta be ready for what life throws at you, Sandy.'
'Don't worry. I will be,' replied Sandra.
'Batman has been giving Daniel Daly a few pointers,' said Jamie. 'Says he's now about ready to be a trainee Blue Beetle.'
Sandra looked at Ted. 'I guess we give him a go then.'
'He's a big fan,' said Ted. 'But he's taken it seriously, and has good sleuthing skills like the Bat. He'd make a good member. We'll give him a trial run.'
They chatted for a bit, before heading to the cafeteria, and discussing the next potential member of the Blue Beetle Corps.
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 8: The Role of a Defender
‘Things are informally organised. But as these years I’ve been on Earth have passed, I’ve noticed that while superhuman like heroes have emerged to combat evil, evil has emerged also, in growing attacks and waves, to foster their plans of world domination upon us all. Many nations have their heroes now. And a guardian of a city is almost something we feel obligated to do at the Justice League’ said Superman. ‘It’s nothing official. We have no great presidential decree, but the United States Government does pay our bills. There have been questions, many times. Gordon Godfrey spoke for a lot of the people. And if you’ve noticed in the Marvel Universe of comics, Civil War was an event which polarised the populace. Heroes aren’t always welcomed, because evil inevitably comes along. It’s like the old religions – Good versus Evil – God and the Devil. Whatever the Good Lord does to help us all, the Dark Lord responds in time. I can’t really say if they are the ultimate powers at work in this universe, but where the Jedi are, the Sith usually reply.’
‘Star Wars,’ said Daniel Garrett. ‘One of my faves.’
‘So what I am saying is that we feel obligated at the Justice League to ask the heroes as they emerge to choose a city, a village, a locality, and be its defender. For we are all that, defenders of Truth, Justice and the International Way. The Blue Beetle Corps must ultimately decide what it does in its work, for we’re not dictators. God knows we can never be that. But, if you will, we just ask you continue to station yourselves in El Paso, and defend that part of America and planet Earth, and for that we would be eternally grateful.’
Daniel Garrett the First Blue Beetle offered Superman his hand, and shook it. ‘We’d be glad to Kal El. It’s the least we could do.’
Superman nodded, looked around at the city from the top of the Carlton Hotel where they were standing, and smiled at Daniel, took the skies, and, most likely in Daniel’s consideration, back to Metropolis and the never-ending Battle against evil.
Daniel sat himself down, and took his wallet out of his costume interior. He opened it and looked at the newly designed shield of the Blue Beetle Corps. They had approval from the FBI, CIA and United States Federal Police, after 6 months of legal training, to operate as ‘Heroes’ in El Paso. The government had agreed to fund them somewhat, but Ted was one of the richest men in America and fitted a lot of the bills for the Corps. He looked at his shield, smiled to himself at how far he had come, and stood, put his wallet back in his costume, and strode off, back to the work of the Blue Beetle Corps.
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 9: Radio Waves?
''Blood takes less than half a minute to travel through the body,' said Ted Kord. These Blue Beetle boots have in their heels small devices which are essentially radios.'
'So you can rock and roll while fighting crime, right?' queried Jamie Reyes. 'Cool.'
'No,' replied Ted Kord. 'Unless its Sonny and Cher. Or Bob Seger. Stuff which gets right down to the soul's core.'
'You've lost me,' said Jamie.
'And you're the Generation Y kid,' sighed Ted.
'Hey, us Millennials deal with a lot of crap,' said Jamie. 'Have you seen the amount of homework they give us these days. I'm up till frikking 8 pm doing maths.'
'I studied till midnight every night of my school life to come first in school each year,' replied Ted.
'Well ain't we the superhero,' commented Jamie.
'As I was saying, these boots have miniature radios in them. The tunes are actually from Bon Jovi, if you must know. Their debut album. What the radio waves do is act as a host.'
'Yeh, the host. Cool book by the author of Twilight. Read it last year,' said Jamie.
'Are you going to continue interrupting me?' asked Ted.
'My lips are sealed,' replied Jamie.
'Right. Now the radio waves act as hosts, for which the Zarlecite pulse machine, also in the device in the heel, emits a pulse which carries the radiation of the Zarlecite shard within the machine. This is carried by the host radio waves, only a short distance, but it is enough to affect the blood of my feet.'
'And that takes less than half a minute to get through the bloodstream,' replied Jamie.
'Exactly,' said Ted.
'See, I have been paying attention.'
'Now, its a concentrated amount of radiation, but the Zarlecite shard is not alone. I've been doing some studies on alloys as the basic idea, and through my knowledge of chemistry, dim as it is, I've added a few other mineral shards to the Zarlecite which should modify its affect in the desired way. I experimented on mice. Forgive me. Traditional idea,' said Ted.
'How are the mice?' asked Jamie.
'One of them is now 8 foot high, and likes cheese. The mice are frikking fine, don't worry about it. But they possessed great powers for a while until normal biochemistry in the body expunged the effects of the Zarlecite radiation.'
'The boots? Ready to go?' asked Jamie.
'A few minor modifications, and we'll see,' said Ted.
'And the Blue Beetle Corps gets its second superpowered member,' said Jamie.
'I guess so,' replied Ted.
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 10: Cloudflame and Scorcher
Jane Cloud looked at the bell on her bicycle. She really should ring it. But the driver in the van probably wouldn't hear her anyway. Suddenly the van veered to the right, and crashed into a pole. She got off her bike and ran to the front. The driver was unconscious, but didn't seem hurt. She fished her mobile out of her purse, rang 911, and gave her address. Then she waited. She noticed the back door of the van had jolted open, and decided to do her second good deed of the day and close it. She came around and looked inside. A large object had fallen over and cracked, and green sludge was dripping out.
'Yo, Jane. Wassup,' said a voice behind her. She turned and looked.
'Oh, it's you Freddy.'
'What's in the van?' he asked.
'Green stuff,' she replied.
Freddy Flinders came and looked inside the van, and Jane looked again.
'What is that stuff?' asked Freddy and reached out and touched it. It zapped at his fingers, and he pulled them back. 'Man, that was a rush. Like a bolt of fire went through me or something.'
Jane wasn't chicken. She touched it also, and felt the same bolt of energy. Suddenly the sludge turned grey, and then collapsed to ashes.
'Crazy,' said Freddy. 'Come on. We'll be late for school.'
'The driver is unconscious. I've called 911,' said Jane.'
'See you at school then,' said Freddy, and wandered off. Jane looked at the ashes. She felt different. She felt – alive.
* * * * *
After school Jane and Freddy were walking home. It stared raining.
'Damn rain' said Jane. She was getting wet, but her bodied started to feel different. All of a sudden she was burning, flames all over her body, blue flame, and Freddy had started burning red. But they wern't being consumed. They looked at each other and Jane could feel her mind instinctively telling the flame to calm down. Shortly it stopped and Freddy did soon after.
'What the hell has happened to us?' asked a bewildered Fred Flinders.
'God only knows,' replied Jane Cloud.'
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 11: Ring of Fire
Firefist was risen from the dead. Not exactly, though. He'd gone down, into the earth, and emerged in a sewer. Then he had wandered, and gone home. The Blue Beetle had taught him a lesson, and he'd thought that over, and turned to a life of petty crime, rather than trying to take over the world, robbing stores from time to time all over the southern states, and read in a paper about the Blue Beetle Corps making its home in El Paso. He drifted south and rented a place in south El Paso. He'd amuse himself here for a while.
Jane Cloud and Freddy Flinders were in a deserted region south of the city of El Paso, hovering in the air, their bodies flaming fire.
'I can only go a few feet up,' yelled Freddy.
'Me too,' said Jane.
'Follow me,' yelled Freddy. He started hovering and moving forward and Janes mind worked over this thought and started following. But Freddy sped up a bit and so did she and soon they were bolts of flame roaming the wilderness. The earth was scorched beneath them a bit, but they avoided deep grass and the forests and stayed on the dirt most of the time. They came back to where they started and Freddy's flames diminished and he descended to the earth. Jane soon followed suit.
'We're Cloudflame and Scorcher,' said Freddy.
''Suits me,' replied Jane.
Firefist watched the kids for a while. He followed them from a distance as they walked back into the city, and found the girl's home and then the boys. Interesting, he thought to himself. Fire – flame – his passion. Perhaps these two could be useful. Perhaps he could bring them into a ring of fire, and have a bit of fun in downtown El Paso. Thoughts of fun entered his head, and maybe thoughts of a little bit of crime as well – heck, he had bills to pay – as he walked home through the streets of El Paso, new plots of crime already hatching in his head.
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 12: Takin' on the Flames
'You two handle the flame kids. I'll take care of Firefist,' said Ted, and ran off chasing his foe.
Sandra looked at Daniel. 'They're hot,' she said to Daniel.
'Thank you,' said Freddy, and pointed at Sandra, a bolt of red flame coming out at her which she quickly evaded.
'Hah, is that the best you have?' mocked Sandra.
In response Cloudflame shot forward and burned her flame at Sandra, who was quickly engulfed, but Jane pulled back quite quickly.
'Frik, that was hot,' said Sandra, and looked at her costume. It wasn't burnt.
'Its soft flame for me,' said Cloudflame. 'But believe me, I can heat it up when I need to Blue Beetle.'
'She's a saint,' said Freddy. 'Me, I like to live a little,' and he threw a bolt of flame at Daniel, who jumped to the side, but his grappling hook got torched a bit. 'She's Cloudflame, and I'm Scorcher,' said Freddy.
'We're bad guys,' said Cloudflame. 'Betcha can't catch us,' and they both wizzed up the street, turned, and looked at Daniel and Sandra standing there watching them.
'Should we go after them?' Sandra asked Daniel.
Daniel looked at Sandra and slowly walked towards the two flamebirds. Sandra followed behind him.
'Crime doesn't pay, you know,' said Daniel to Cloudflame. 'Maybe you wanna like think over returning that money.'
'Mmmm. Nup,' replied Cloudflame. She was in blue jeans and a blue sweater which faded to white at the top. She had sunglasses on, which were on cords strapped to her head to keep them snugly on.
'Is that a wig?' Daniel asked Cloudflame.
'Mind your own business,' replied Cloudflame.
'We're going to have to take you in,' said Sandra, showing her Blue Beetle Corps shield.
Scorcher had a red mask covering his face. Identifying either of them would need their duisguises removed.
'Let's have some fun,' said Scorcher. He and Cloudflame started circling the two Blue Beetles, who watched them both carefully, ready to jump out of danger. Daniel looked back at the van the money was in, and figured Ted had Firefist under control.
'Let's get the cash to the police,' he said to Sandra,
'What about these two clowns?' she asked.
'Let them be. I sense they don't really give a damn about the money. They're in it for kicks.'
Daniel and Sandra retreated down the street slowly, but the flamebirds rushed down and stood in front of the van. Daniel took out his air gun.
'We're authorised to use these things,' he said to the kids.
Scorcher shot another bolt of fire at Daniel, who ducked it again, and shot his gun at Scorcher, who whistled backwards, landing on his butt.
'Take the van,' Daniel said to Sandra. 'I'll sort these two out.'
'You're the boss,' replied Sandra, who jumped in the van and took off. The Flamebirds watched her go and looked at Daniel.
'Didn't need the money anyway,' said Cloudflame. 'Firefist's idea.'
'A criminal doesn't get far in life,' said Daniel
Cloudflame looked at him, thinking that over. 'Probably not,' she said after a while. 'Come on Scorcher. Who cares anyway.' Scorcher walked past Daniel, looking at him, and burned flame briefly, before they flamed up and shot down the street, around the corner and out of sight.
'Hopefully they've learned their lesson,' Daniel Daly thought to himself. 'Now where is Ted?' he pondered as he wandered off chasing up the Amazing Blue Beetle Ted Kord.
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 13: Reflection
'No, technically we are not required to arrest people for crimes or intervene. The mandate of the Blue Beetle Corps in El Paso is that we have legal authority to deal with extraordinary situations involving super villains and other high level occurrences of danger and threat to society, but it is not an imposition. Superheroes generally run with their own impetus in dealing with crime. It's not an obligation. We're not legally required to enforce the law,' said Daniel Garrett.
'That was my understanding,' said Daniel Daly. 'So I made a judgment call on the flame kids and decided to let it pass. Give them a chance to think over what they might be getting themselves into.'
'First offenders get a break,' said Sandra. 'We givem em a chance first, don't we?' she asked Daniel Garrett. 'In training that was pointed out, right?'
Dan Garrett nodded.
'Well so I said to the cops that there was these crooks who I didn't get a clear picture of who ran when they saw us. And I returned the money they had stolen,' finished Sandra.
'In Gotham the Batman stil deals with some of his adversaries that way. Makes his own judgment call. Villains some times get away. Some times heroes don't try that hard to stop em,' said Dan G.
'Besides, we'd be out of business pretty quick,' said Ted Kord. 'And its good for publicity. Bwah hah hah.'
'All jokes aside, you did good,' said Dan Garrett to Daniel and Sandra. 'But next time – if the two flame kids push on further with a life of crime – well next time we respond with a little more force.'
'Understood,' said Daniel.
'Gotcha loud and clear,' said Sandra.
The Blue Beetle Corps finished off their debriefing, and an incident report was made and filed in their private records. Cloudflame and Scorcher were known to them now. Time would tell if they got to know them any better and, a big if, if they had to deal with them with that much more persuasion.
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 14: Decisions
Firefist, Cloudflame and Scorcher were at their secret headquaters, discussing what had gone down.
'Pretty hopeless,' said Firefist. 'I leave you with the cash and you let them grab it. Hardly supervillain material.'
'Not sure we want to be,' replied Cloudflame, puffing on a ciggie. 'Troublemakers, yeh, why not. What's life if you can't live a little. But I'm Catholic and want to get to heaven in the end. Don't think I want a life of crime in the end. Just a hell of a good time.'
Scorcher sipped on his bottle of whisky. 'Cut the really bad stuff with us Firefist. We're in it for kicks. No more robbing stuff and shit. But we don't mind breakin' a few of the rules.'
'Hopeless,' said Firefist. 'You're hardly Blue Beetle Corps Rogues material.'
'Didn't sign up for that,' said Cloudflame. 'Maybe some rouguish behaviour. But don't wanna do no hard time.'
'Decisions,' said Scorcher. 'We made em the other day. Party up, but we ain't goin' down.'
'Fine,' said Firefist. He stroked his chin. 'Well, if you like a party, I have the perfect solution.'
Cloudflame looked at Scorcher and looked at Firefist. 'I'm all ears.'
'Whats the score?' asked Scorcher.
And Firefist shared his new plan of adventure, a plan were he would use the unwitting anti-heroes for his own diabolical purposes.
* * * * *
'So, life as a Blue Beetle,' said Sandra, sipping a beer.
'Pretty much,' replied Daniel Daly, who had a dry ginger ale in his glass.
'What you signed up for?' she asked.
'Did you ever sign up? They just sort of fitted me in because of a well made expression of interest.'
'Sort of me too,' said Sandra. 'But a little blue guy got involved. Wondering if he might drop by and visit you some time.'
'Who knows,' replied Daniel, sipping on his soft drink. 'But it could be interesting. And the stipend is enough to pay my rent. Gonna need a green card extension soon enough, though. Or its back down under and solo superheroing for me.'
'I'm sure you'll get approved,' said Sandra. 'Anyway, cheers,' she said, raising her glass.
'Cheers,' replied Daniel.
And the first real adventure of the Sensational and Quintessential BlueBeetles came to a conclusion, but the next chapter in their careers was just on the horizon.
The End
The Blue Beetle Corps 15: A Sense of Purpose
Ted Kord looked in the mirror at his unshaven face. His eyes were bleary. His girlfriend came into the bathroom.
'You look like hell,' she said.
'Booster is to blame,' replied Ted.
'Did he have you up all night again?' she asked him.
'Playing Booster's Billions'. It's the latest video Game Booster Gold International has come up with. He's back to his old style. Billions now. Not millions. It's gone to his head again.'
'Maybe you should do one,' said his girlfriend, as she picked up as she picked up her tootbrush and began brushing her teeth.
'Blue Beetle's Boozing Blues' replied the bleary eyed Beetle. 'I'm hungover.'
'You are too grog friendly,' she said.
'Only on the weekends. Sober all week, and I need to have a time to relax. My kidneys are fine, I'm sure of it.'
'You need some help, Ted. Even Iron Man has alcohol problems.'
'He's just a comic character,' said Ted. 'Marvel Comics? Seriously? What clown came up with Marvel Comics? Wolverine and the X-Men? Corny as hell. They should do a comic company about the real heroes.'
'It's called DC Comics,' she replied.
'News to me,' said Ted.
'You were dead a while. You must have forgotten.'
'So sue me,' he replied, and left the room.
Later on Ted was in the training room with Sandra Bullock.
'You're coming along,' he said, and took a sip of grog from his whiskey flask.
'Ted,' said Sandra.
'Yep,' replied Ted.
'Do you have a problem with alcohol.'
Ted looked at Sandra, and his flask, and sighed.
'Yeh. Yeh I do,' he finally said. He sat down on a seat, and looked at the ground. 'It's been building up for a while. I don't know what it is. Life dissatisfaction or something. I need a buzz to get off. The hero work helps, and so does Kord Industries. But something's missing.'
'Develop a spiritual life maybe,' said Sandra. 'Get a divine connection.'
'Doomsday is enough divine connections for me,' replied Ted. 'Meeting him ended a lot of things.'
'You need something Blue Beetle. Something which gives you meaning.'
Later that week Ted was in a bookstore and picked up a copy of 'A Sense of Purpose' by Brigadier John Bridges. He'd heard about the book, and flicked throgh it. It seemed to contain semi-moralistic life principles to apply for a purposeful life. It advocated a religion usually helped, and focusing on contribution to society. Ted decided to buy a basic text called 'Morality in the Heart' by a New Age teacher he had met once, and decided it could foster his spiritual development, and he would use 'A Sense of Purpose' to focus him. That weekend he read each book to completion.
Monday morning.
'Gosh, why you pushing me so hard, boss?' asked Sandra in training.
'I got some help. Found some new intent in life, and I think I have some answers which should work. You're dealing with a new Blue Beetle now Sandra. So mush.'
And Sandra sighed as a Reborn Ted Kord looked at his analyzer, and watched her progress the rest of the morning.
The End
