The forest on the road to Vale City looked its best in late afternoon. The sun shone as brightly as midday, yet its hue had changed ever so slightly to reflect that it was now setting. The sun shone on the green leaves and accentuated their color to the point that the whole area seemed to take on a greenish hue.
It was through this forest one late afternoon that two travelers walked the road. One was a tall, red-haired man dressed in a long-sleeved black suit jacket with slit sleeves, black pants, black shoes with red soles, and black gloves with red emblems on the back. Underneath the suit jacket was a red shirt. His left eye was covered with a bandage that encompassed his head and a pair of horns protruded from his hair. In his left hand he held his sword, Wilt, sheathed in its gun-scabbard, Blush.
The second traveler was a young woman no older than eighteen. Her eyes were amber, her hair long and black. She wore a black buttoned vest with coattails and a single silver button on the front. This was worn over a white, sleeveless, high-necked, crop undershirt and white shorts. Her foot and leg wear consisted of black, low-heeled boots and full, black stockings that gradually turned to purple at the ankles. Her weapon, Gambol Shroud, was attached to her small, metal backpack. Her most distinguishing feature was the black bow that rested atop her head.
As the two walked through the forest, the man suddenly stopped and held up a fist, signaling his companion to halt. "Company," he said.
"I know," she replied. "I heard them."
A small group of people stepped out into the road from among the trees, each one brandishing a weapon, and surrounded the travelers.
"Hello, stranger," one said cockily. "Heading for the city?"
"Maybe," said the redhead.
"Well, I'm afraid you're on a toll road at the moment. All you gotta do is pay the toll, then you can be on your way. We're official collectors, you see."
"If you're official, where are your uniforms? I'll bet you don't even have badges."
The highwayman raised a finger to his chin in mock thought. "Well, if you refuse to pay, we're authorized to use force, right boys?" There were numerous nods and expressions of assent from the group. "So, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."
The young woman looked to her partner. "Adam..." she said.
To the thugs surrounding the two, the girl was probably telling her friend to avoid trouble and simply pay the "toll". To the red-haired man, Adam, she was actually saying "Please don't kill anyone."
"What's it gonna be?" The lead thug asked as he moved closer to Adam.
Adam smirked. "Easy."
Wilt shot out from Blush like a bullet, its hilt striking the bandit leader in the face. Adam was there in an instant, grabbing his sword in midair and kicking his opponent in the chest. The thieves that carried guns opened fire on Adam, who effortlessly weaved his way through the storm of bullets and struck down each assailant with his weapons and limbs. The remaining thugs turned and ran. Adam did not sheathe Wilt until his would-be assailants were either unconscious or out of sight.
The young man spat on the ground. "Humans. Always trying to make themselves look strong by attacking whoever they think is weak."
"Not just humans," said his partner. She pointed to a man with a small tail.
Adam turned away and narrowed his blue eye. One of the few instances he had seen of humans and Faunus working together, and it was to commit crime.
"Adam?"
"Come on, Blake."
The two continued on their way to Vale City, home of Beacon Academy.
Thus the first member is revealed. Let's face it, Adam was a wasted character in the show. It's up to us fanfic writers to give him the fleshing out he deserved. For a vastly superior story featuring Adam, check out "Red Sun Over Beacon."