(THE BLUE BEETLE OF BROCKTON BAY) CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Gallant’s suggestion had barely left the air before Clockblocker looked over from the couch, apparently surprised that Jaime had actually agreed to it.

“You’re serious?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Jaime asked.

Clockblocker shrugged. “I figured you’d want to wait until you knew what you were getting into.”

“I already know what I’m getting into.”

Vista glanced up from her book. “You’ve been looking for a fight all week.”

Jaime opened his mouth, then stopped when he realized he could not really argue with that. Gallant was still watching him with the same patient expression, waiting to see whether he would try.

“I meant what I said,” Gallant told him. “A spar might actually help.”

“I’m aware.”

“And you could use the practice.”

Jaime raised an eyebrow. “Against you?”

Gallant shook his head. “I suggested the spar. I never said I’d be the one fighting you.”

“Then who?”

“Carlos.”

Jaime glanced toward the door, although he already knew Carlos was probably somewhere else in the building. Since joining the Wards, he had worked with Aegis several times, although most of their conversations had been limited to patrols, reports, and whatever problem happened to be in front of them.

“I’ll get him,” Gallant said, already turning toward the door.

He left Jaime to settle back into his chair while the others returned to their conversations, although the prospect of the fight made it considerably harder for him to sit still. The restless energy that had been bothering him all week suddenly had somewhere to go, and he could already feel Khaji-Da paying more attention to his rising heart rate.

“Your heart rate has increased.”

“Don’t start.”

“Combat preparation produces measurable excitement.”

“It’s a spar.”

“Your physiological response suggests otherwise.”

Jaime rolled his eyes. “You really need hobbies.”

“I possess several.”

“Name one.”

“Combat optimization.”

“That isn’t a hobby.”

“It occupies considerable processing time.”

“That’s somehow worse.”

Clockblocker glanced over from the couch. “You arguing with the bug again?”

“He’s being annoying.”

“I thought you liked him.”

“I do. That’s the problem.”

Kid Win finally looked up from one of his laptops. “If you’re going to argue with your alien armor out loud, you might want to stop doing it in front of everyone.”

Jaime stared at him for a moment before sighing. “You know what? That’s fair.”

A few minutes later, Gallant returned with Carlos.

Jaime had already seen Aegis in costume plenty of times, and Carlos had been leading the Wards on patrol since Jaime joined them, so his arrival drew little more than a glance from the others. Carlos looked between Gallant and Jaime before settling his attention on the latter.

“So I’m fighting the new guy?”

Jaime smiled. “Apparently.”

Carlos looked him over. “You sure you’re ready for that?”

“I killed Leviathan.”

The words were out before Jaime could stop them, and he immediately winced.

“Wow,” he muttered. “I really just did that.”

Carlos laughed. “Yeah, you did.”

“I’ve been telling everyone to stop bringing it up.”

“And now you’re doing it yourself.”

Jaime sighed. “I know.”

Carlos shook his head, still smiling, before looking toward Gallant. “So what’s the point?”

Gallant crossed his arms. “Control, mostly. Jaime’s been getting restless, and after what happened with the Merchants, I thought a controlled fight might help him figure out how much force he actually needs against someone his own size.”

Carlos considered that with a thoughtful frown before nodding. “That makes sense.”

Jaime glanced between them. “You guys have been planning this without me?”

“Planning is a strong word,” Gallant said. “I suggested it.”

“And Carlos agreed?”

Carlos shrugged. “I’m durable.”

Jaime smiled. “That’s what I heard.”

“You’ve probably heard more than that.”

“I have access to a sentient alien database.”

Carlos laughed again. “Right. Forgot about that.”

The conversation left Jaime more relaxed than he had expected, and talking to Carlos felt easier than it had during those first few days. They had spent enough time working together by now that Jaime no longer felt like he was speaking to someone he needed to impress or avoid offending, which made the prospect of fighting him considerably more comfortable.

Gallant checked the time. “Training room?”

Carlos nodded. “Sure.”

Jaime stood and followed them downstairs, with the others trailing behind. The training room was already being cleared by a pair of PRT technicians, who moved the remaining equipment toward the walls while the reinforced floor remained open in the center. The chamber had clearly been designed for situations like this, with padded sections along the walls, heavy blast doors, and enough room for parahumans to use their abilities without immediately demolishing the building.

Jaime stepped onto the floor and looked around.

“Okay, this should work.”

Carlos walked across from him and rolled his shoulders.

Gallant remained near the edge of the mat while the other Wards gathered behind the observation glass.

“Same rules as usual,” Gallant said. “This is a spar, so nobody is trying to put the other person through a wall. Jaime, you’re working on control. Carlos, you’re testing him, so don’t get carried away just because you can take a beating.”

Carlos nodded. “Got it.”

Jaime looked at him. “You’ve done this before?”

“A few times.”

“How many?”

“Enough.”

Jaime laughed and brought his hands up.

The armor responded immediately, plates shifting around his body as Khaji-Da adjusted its configuration for close combat. The scarab had been waiting for this since Gallant first suggested the spar, and Jaime could practically feel its systems coming alive around him.

“Combat exercise parameters established,” Khaji-Da announced. “Recommend increasing response speed by twenty-three percent.”

“No.”

“Ten percent.”

“No.”

“Five percent.”

“Khaji-Da.”

“Understood.”

Carlos raised an eyebrow. “Does it always do that?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Sounds useful.”

“It is.”

“Sounds annoying.”

“It is that too.”

Gallant lifted one hand, bringing the conversation to an end before it could wander any further.

“Ready?”

Jaime settled into his stance. “Ready.”

Carlos lowered his center of gravity. “Ready.”

Gallant dropped his hand, and Carlos moved first.

Jaime expected a straightforward charge, and Carlos gave him one, crossing the distance with surprising speed before throwing a punch directly toward his chest. Jaime caught the fist with one hand, although the impact drove him backward several feet before he managed to stop himself.

His eyes widened behind the helmet as Carlos twisted his wrist and stepped closer, using Jaime’s grip to pull himself forward while his other fist came toward Jaime’s head.

Jaime ducked beneath it, and when he tried to catch Carlos around the waist, Carlos dropped his weight and drove an elbow toward his side. The armor absorbed the blow, although Jaime released him and stepped away before Carlos could follow up.

Carlos came after him immediately, throwing one punch and then another before changing his approach. His body shifted as he moved, muscles adjusting in ways that made his movements harder to predict, and when Jaime reached for his wrist, Carlos slipped free and drove a shoulder into his chest.

The impact forced Jaime backward.

“Okay,” Jaime said, unable to keep the grin out of his voice. “That’s pretty cool.”

Carlos grinned. “Yeah.”

He charged again, and Jaime met him halfway. Their collision sent a dull boom through the training room as the armor absorbed the impact, and Carlos immediately followed with another punch, then another, forcing Jaime to give ground until he found enough space to turn the momentum against him.

Jaime reached for Carlos’s shoulder, but Carlos ducked and tried to slip past him. Jaime adjusted his grip and caught him anyway, getting Carlos off balance before he could complete the movement. He started to throw him, only for Carlos’s body to change in response, his muscles shifting to compensate for the altered position. Carlos twisted through the throw and landed awkwardly on one hand before pushing himself upright.

Jaime stared at him.

Carlos smiled. “Keep up.”

“Oh, I intend to.”

From behind the glass, Clockblocker shouted something that Jaime couldn’t make out, and Vista laughed, although Jaime barely had time to wonder what either of them had said before Carlos was moving again.

This time Jaime waited until the last possible moment before stepping aside. Carlos’s fist passed his shoulder, and Jaime caught his arm, turned with him, and sent him skidding across the padded floor. Carlos rolled twice before coming back up, breathing harder now, although the expression on his face suggested he was enjoying himself.

Jaime was breathing harder too, and he was beginning to understand why Aegis was such a difficult opponent. Every time Jaime found something that worked, Carlos adjusted, changing his footing or the way he moved before Jaime could use the same approach again, which meant Jaime had to keep changing his own tactics along with him.

Carlos came in low, and Jaime shifted his stance to meet him. Carlos changed direction halfway through the attack, catching Jaime just off guard enough that he barely managed to block the punch with his forearm before Carlos drove another into his ribs.

The armor absorbed the impact, and Jaime stepped backward.

Carlos followed.

Jaime caught him around the shoulders and tried to force him down, but Carlos intentionally buckled his legs and dropped his center of gravity beneath Jaime’s grip, pulling him forward in the process. Jaime recovered before Carlos could capitalize, planting one boot against the floor and using the armor’s strength to wrench himself free.

Carlos stumbled back.

Jaime stared at him. “You do that often?”

Carlos wiped sweat from his chin. “Only when it works.”

Jaime laughed. “I like you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It was.”

They moved again, and for several exchanges the fight became more about timing than strength. Carlos knew he could survive mistakes that would cripple an ordinary fighter, so he took risks that Jaime would never have considered against a normal opponent, while Jaime had to keep reminding himself that the point of the exercise was to control his strength rather than simply overwhelm Carlos.

The scarab offered solutions constantly.

A strike to the sternum would incapacitate.

A sweep would take Carlos off his feet.

A directed energy blast would end the engagement.

Jaime ignored all three.

He wanted to see what Carlos could do, and he wanted Carlos to get a proper sense of what he could do in return. More than anything, though, Jaime wanted to find out whether he could fight someone seriously without constantly worrying about what would happen if he stopped holding back.

Carlos caught him with a short punch against the ribs.

Jaime staggered half a step.

“Got you.”

Jaime looked down at the armor. “You did.”

Carlos smiled. “Your turn.”

Jaime raised his head, and the grin returned as he stepped forward.

Khaji-Da spoke inside his head.

“Host enthusiasm has increased significantly.”

“Yeah,” Jaime replied, raising his fists. “I noticed.”