Metal Has No Heartbeat (A Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes [Young Justice] Fanfiction)

Twenty: Captain Atom

"So..." I trail off, rocking back and forth on my feet.

I'm dressed in my uniform, ready to take on the new challenge before me. I'm yet to be entirely made of platinum, because I thought I'd let him actually look at my face for our first meeting as, well, what we are now.

He doesn't; he's completely silver. I wonder if he can actually retract it? Or, is he always like this?

Man, tough life.

"Have you...ever had a sidekick before?" I ask, before wincing, because everyone on the team had drilled into me that we were not sidekicks.

"A few," Captain Atom says, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Me and you both man. "Not properly, just...uh, once or twice in a couple of situations?" Help me.

"Great," I say under my breath.

We're standing in the middle of Black Canary's office here in the mountain. She had summoned me here and Batman had also mentioned it earlier at training.

Now that I'm healed and now that I have definitely asserted myself as a powerhouse of sorts, it was time to put me under someone's wing, that wing belonging to Captain Atom. I'm only allowed to know his name, Nathaniel, and that he spends time in different cities but primarily Kansas.

"During your two months on the team I hear you have improved your powers to an impressive point," he says, and wow this atmosphere is worse than a YouTube cringe video.

"Well, I had the opportunity to use my powers," I say, and I see the look he gives me, "I know what I did was dangerous and a risk, but it was do or die."

He nods, "I suppose that's why I have been asked to mentor you. Perhaps, you need...uh...guidance, and-"

"I know," I pipe up, "You don't have to tiptoe around it. I'm inexperienced and that's why Batman thought this was best. I didn't think they put us together because we're both silver," I joke.

Relief washes through me when he laughs, easing the tension in the room a little.

"I think that we're going to get along just find, Mahiko," he says, and that raises just a little bit of confidence in me. I have only ever been mentored by Doctor Magnus as very briefly, the real robot Platinum.

"Well, are you ready?" I ask, gesturing to the door.

"Are you?" He responds, as both of us move to leave Black Canary's office, "After this, well, it's your debut as a hero. Platinum. The girl with metal skin and technopathy."

"Not to mention invulnerability, conductivity, flight and strength," I counter.

"True, true, but-"

"Don't let it go to my head?" I guess.

He nods, "Never let it get to your head. The moment you think you're better than your opponent, skill wise, is the moment you lose all of your advantages."

In other words, if you start being an obnoxious La'gann, your opponent will have the upper-hand because your ego and over-confidence will cloud your judgement, rendering it useless.

"It's weird. My dad used to say 'so long as you know you are greater than your enemy, they shall never prosper'. He said that self-confidence was the key to success," I say.

Captain Atom frowns at the ceiling of the hallway, and when we finally emerge into the mission room he says, "Self-confidence is the key. Over-confidence is the fall from grace."

Wow, philosophical. This is going to be wicked.

Honestly I thought I'd end up like Jaime; a rare member of this team whom does not have a League mentor. Now I have one, even though we don't know each other very well.