"No. Oh God, no." Michael's heart dropped into the deepest depth of the pit in his stomach, one that he would never be able to reach in and take back out. In a split second, he rushed over to the figure that had just crumpled on the ground, dropping to his knees and taking the weakened body into his arms and cradling them.

"Hey, stay awake." He softly cooed, giving a gentle shake out of fear of letting them slip into unconsciousness. He was terrified. It wore down on him as the same suffocating feeling of failure returned with a vengeance on him. Every shaky breath he took felt like a struggle, a fight to keep his composure.

Michael held them close, their breaths in shallow gasps and eyes fluttering closed, and that was when it all felt too familiar to him. His mind was flooded with memories of Ted, the previous Blue Beetle, the one he had failed to save. The weight of that failure pressed down on him, and it's happening yet again, threatening to overwhelm him once again.

But he couldn't let that happen. Not now. Not when someone else's life was in his hands. He can't let another Blue Beetle die, not when they unknowingly carry a piece of his heart. "Don't- Don't close your eyes. Stay with me, please? Stay with me. Keep your eyes open. No, no, keep 'em open. Please... please stay with me." His voice was desperate, each plea spilling out more strained than the last.

"You're not supposed to go yet." There was still so much he wanted to say. So much he needed to say. Regret already filling his mind as if the moment had already passed, like he's preparing for the worst. Tears pricked his eyes and quickly fell down his cheeks onto his lips, which curled into a weak smile. "Look at me, okay?"

He brought a hand up to the side of their face and gently stroke their cheek with his thumb, like trying to coax life out of a decaying flower. "Don't die on me yet, bug. I still haven't shown you just how much you mean to me."