—Remy
The next few weeks are intense. Khori Ja takes me to a concealed place, right by the river hidden under some buildings. This was Sara's hideout. Filled with computers, a training area and a small bed with a mini fridge, it was the perfect hero hideaway.
Khori Ja trained me. She told me about the suit, its past. The Reach. She instructed me in all of its mechanics, and three weeks in, I've perfected the suit.
I go out on a test run, quickly taking down a robber that stole a women's purse with my stable gun.
Upon handing the women back her purse, she looks at me.
"Where did you go Red Beetle? A lot of people thought you got killed by some villain."
I resist the urge to say that she did.
"I had to stop some bad guys from way out of town. Don't worry though, I'm here to stay." I tell her before flying away.
As I make my way home, my mind stumbles over Sara Butters. I can't ever repay her enough for saving me life, but I'm doing what I can.
It's odd, how the Scarab reacts to Sara Butters. My first impression was that the Scarab was simple a machine, but whenever the topic of Sara Butters came up, I felt a certain sorrow within me. It wasn't mine, I could identify mine easily. I've started to suspect that maybe Khori Ja is more than just an artificial intelligence. Whenever I ask if she had feelings, she quickly replies that she is a machine. Emotions are for the organisms.
I think she's lying though. She misses Sara.
Taking the armor off a couple of blocks away, I jog to my apartment and get inside.
"Mom, I'm home." I yell.
No respond. I check the clock. 9:03. She should have been home hours ago.
"Mom?" I yell again, as I begin walking to her bedroom.
Personage detected ten feet away.
I stop dead and look down the hallway. Mom's door is shut.
"It's just Mom." I say.
No, Remy Emerson, this personage does not match your mother's bio signature.
My mind starts racing. If there's a person behind Mom's door and it's not Mom...
Oh no.
The armor slips over my skin. I step carefully, closing the distance between me and the door. Once there, I activate my scythe and kick over the door.
Through a small window, moonlight seeps through. Broken glass lies under the window. There's a figure lying on the bed. I hardly get a glimpse of it before a sword is hurled at me. I dodge the attack but am tackled. I use the momentum to throw the person off of me with my feet. I hear the figure crashing through the wall as I get up. Turning around, I ready my scythe. In the kitchen light, Deathstroke picks himself off the ground, retrieving his sword.
"Remy Emerson. Nothing but a fourteen year old girl with no Daddy." He says. I hold my stance, keeping my scythe pointed at his chest.
"How did you find me?" I demand.
"A beautiful picture of you and your mother." He says, pulling out the picture that used to reside in my backpack and throwing it to the ground.
I look at it for a moment before looking back up.
"I'm going to kill."
He laughs, "Not a chance. I'm much too skilled for you, even with that armor." He smirks. He leans against the counter, acting casual.
"I was looking for you for a long time. Ever since the original Red Beetle died. It took a long time but eventually I found my way here. A broken home with a father that decide to leave one night while his wife and baby daughter slept away. Tragic, but not as tragic as your mother."
My face is contoured in rage. I can barely contain myself.
Control yourself, Remy Emerson. The Deathstroke is trying to get you emotional.
Ignoring the Scarab, I growl "If you touch my mother I swear—"
"She really pretty, isn't she? Strong too, once I found out your home, I found your mother. She wouldn't tell where you were, no matter how many times I... tried to persuade her." He grins.
My heartbeat is pounding in my ears. My breath caught in my chest. My body freezes up inside.
Remy Emerson, you mustn't—
I turn and turn for Mom's room. I burst in and flip on the light switch. Mom lies on the bed, covered in a pool of blood.
I hear a faint laugh disappear into the night. Rushing, I get to Mom and behold her. Her chest is torn up on blood, with a single wound right over her heart with the largest pool of red. She stares up at the ceiling, her eyes wide open.
"Check her vital signs." I demand immediately.
There are no vital signs.
"Check again." I say.
Remy Emerson—
"CHECK AGAIN!" I scream before falling to my knees. I clutch my mother's hand and kneel at her bedside. Her hand is still warm. I begin breaking apart, slowly, piece by piece. Everything connected with my mother flashing through my mind. The ride on Brooklyn Bridge. My ninth birthday with candles on top of a chocolate cake. Her teaching me to ride a bike.
The future gone, like the smoke dispersing after a match was blown out. Gone.
Deathstroke is no longer within the area.
"SHUT UP!" I scream. I don't care. He should come back and finish me off, just like Mom.
For a long time, I cry. Then even longer after that, I stay still. Unmoving as I still grasp my mother's hand. Then, Khori Ja declares she's going to sedate me for I need rest. I yell as the sedatives trickling into my system, and I fall on the floor.
The last thing I see are beams of moonlight refracting off of bits of broken glass that belonged to the window. Broken moonlight. Broken, just like me.
* * *
I'm evil, aren't I? You can all start breathing now, because the memories are over. Comment and vote!
Keep Rocking On!
—RoseandPaper
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Young Justice: Red Beetle
Fanfiction(Red Beetle: Book 1) When Remy Emerson wakes up with a villain after her and a red Scarab attached to her spine, she know she's in trouble. Not only is the Reach coming after her, she has to work with her new superhero team mates, try to regain her...
