Second Chances: Green Lantern

Chapter 21

"So, the Guardians have confirmed that the Scarab is safe?" Winn asked as he examined the scarab on the lab table James had put it on after he returned and told them what the Guardians said.

"Yeah and they actually advised us to find someone for the Scarab to bond too, since it could be useful in the fight against Sinestro that's coming." James said.

"Have you heard anything from that guy who's supposedly chasing him?" Carter asked.

"Nothing yet, but then again, that doesn't mean much. Sinestro may be an evil bastard, but he was also one of the best members the Corp ever had before he went crazy, so he knows how we operate and how to avoid detection, but Hal trained under Sinestro, if anyone has a chance at finding him, it's him." James said.

"So, how do we find someone for the Scarab to bond to?" Winn asked as he continued to look at it.

"No clue. It's like a Green Lantern ring I guess, except I think it waits for a worthy individual to find it and since we can't really let it out of here, that will be hard." James said as Winn finally gave into his curiosity and picked the Scarab up and to everyone's surprise, the scarab suddenly sprang to life.

"What the hell?" Winn asked as Scarab began to crawl around him.

"I think it's choosing you." Ted said as the Scarab seemed to be scanning Winn before it fastened itself on the center of his chest and began to generate a deep blue suit around Winn that honestly kind of looked like an Iron Man suit forming on him, though his suit took on a more bug like appearance, including four large insect legs.

"Whoa, this is cool." Winn's voice said from inside the helmet.

"Damn, that's cool." Barbara said, looking at her boyfriend's new suit in admiration.

"Greetings, I am Khaji-Da and whom am I now bonded to?" an AI voice said in Winn's head.

"Uh, Winn Schott." Winn said, still adjusting to them.

"Greetings Winn Schott, would you like to run system diagnostics to ensure that all systems are operational?" Khaji-Da asked.

"Not yet. Really just because I don't think this is the right place to test that out, but we will later when we're outside." Winn said, glad he was smart enough to learn how to quickly adapt to this.

"This is incredible." Winn said and James smiled, since he had to admit, no one deserved this more than Winn.

"Testing complete, all of my systems have successfully bonded with your biological systems." Khaji-Da said.

"Wait, when you say bonded?" Winn asked.

"That scarab is like my ring. Once it bonds to you, you're stuck with it until you die." James said and Ted nodded.

"Got it. Well, at least this thing is awesome. And now I can finally get in the field." Winn said as he figured out how to retract his helmet.

"Yeah, but not until after you get some training in, since that Scarab is a weapon and you need to know how to use it safely." James said.

"Okay, but where am I going to do that, since this place wasn't exactly built for that." Winn said.

"I'll call Superman to see if we can use his Fortress to train." James said, since this was the best place for them to spar against each other.

"Sweet." Winn said, eager to finally get to see the Fortress of Solitude and also so he and James could finally spar on equal terms, something he'd been wanting to do ever since they'd both had crushes on Kara. Not that it mattered, since it seemed like no matter what, she didn't choose either of them. First she chose Mon-El, and now, according to Alex, who he kept in touch with, Lena Luthor and it sounded like that was even more serious than her relationship with Mon-El had ever been.

"I'd offer my old base from when I was the Blue Beetle, but it's not built to withstand the energy of both the Blue Beetle and a Green Lantern sparring." Ted said.

"I agree. The Fortress is probably the only place on the planet that can handle our training." James agreed as he pulled out his phone to call Superman.

I hope you guys like who I picked to be the new Blue Beetle. I considered Jaime, but honestly, this made more sense to me. I always felt like Winn never truly got a chance to shine as the hero he is and becoming Blue Beetle seemed perfect for him. Hope you liked that twist.