Peacemaker and Blue Beetle discuss the origins of the scarab with the Reach aliens who claim that they come in peace and that the scarab, and the database that Peacemaker has in his head, are both broken. Aboard their ship, however, the Reach reveal that they are interested in the Earth solely for monetary gains and, in order to test the Beetle and Peacemaker, the Reach infect dozens of people with scarabs. When the heroes arrive to fight them, only they can see the armour the scarabs manifest. Beetle uses his scarab to contact the others and overides their basic programming, offering them free will. When the Reach see this, they recall all the scarabs, returning the people to their normal state.The Reach contact Beetle and admit that they are planning to take the world; by the time he can tell anyone, they have been accepted by the US as friends.The issue ends with the reveal that Peacemaker, probably without knowing it, has a scarab of his own.