Chapter 2

Sunday

6/21

9:00

Verdan slowly became aware of the light shining directly in his face from the window. He sat up and stretched, looking around the room. It was one of the guest quarters in Beacon. Goodwitch had let him use it the previous night, after he and RWBY arrived at Beacon. It was nothing fancy, just a bed, a dresser, a desk, and three doors leading to a closet, a bathroom, and the hallway. Other than his rifle and goggles on the desk, he had nothing of his own in the room, as he had gone directly to his room the previous night, without bothering to check the mail office for his gear.

He got up and began making the bed. Just as he finished, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" he called, slinging his rifle across his back and putting his goggles around his neck. The door opened, admitting the rainbow of a team he had met last night. "Good morning Verdan!" Ruby said cheerily. "Morning," he responded, significantly more subdued than Ruby.

"We came to get you for breakfast," Yang said. "We figured you wouldn't know where the dining hall is."

"You are correct, I don't. Thank you for showing me," Verdan replied as they exited the room and began walking towards the dining hall.

"We can introduce you to our friends! They're team JNPR, they're really nice! They have cool weapons too! Nora is hyper and has a grenade launcher/hammer, Ren is pretty quiet and has a pair of machine pistols, Pyrrha is really polite and kind and has a javelin/sword/rifle and shield, and Jaune is a nice person and all he has is a sword and shield. . ." Ruby began excitedly before trailing off awkwardly at the end. "They're the only other first years that are really nice and friendly. Another team is just a bunch of bullies, and the other two teams are kinda cliquish." Ruby continued to spew sentences about the five first year teams until they reached the dining hall.

After going through the line and collecting a plate, they sat down at a table before being joined by another team. Verdan studied them, curious about this other team. He immediately recognized Pyrrha Nikos, famed champion of the Mistral Tournament. From there, it was easy to figure out who Nora was, she was the other girl, the one with turquoise eyes and orange hair. He could not figure out which boy was which, though. They both were rather quiet, focusing on their food.

"You must be Verdan Allen," Pyrrha said after they all sat down. "Ruby mentioned you last night. My name's Pyrrha, this is Jaune," here she indicated the young man sitting to her right, one wearing a hoodie and jeans with a few bits of plate armor. "This is Ren," she indicated the other young man, sitting on the far end of the group, wearing green with a pink streak of hair. "And this is Nora," she said, tilting her head to the other girl, sitting between herself and Ren. "It's nice to meet you!" she finished. "Nice to meet you as well," Verdan replied, inclining his head towards her briefly.

"Where are you from, Verdan?" Jaune asked between bites of his cereal. "I'm from Shade Academy, in Vacuo, and my hometown is a small village in the Great Vacuan Desert," Verdan replied. "I'm a temporary transfer student, officially."

"You say that as if you have another purpose here," Blake quietly input. "Would it have anything to do with the fact that you showed up at the docks last night?"

"Yes, it would. I was actually stowing away on one of the bullheads that showed up, it was coming from Vacuo to their main base before being diverted to the docks. I had to bail out when they started moving about in the cargo section." Verdan looked up for a moment, considering whether to tell them the real reason he had come. They seemed like trustworthy people, so he decided to confide in them. He nodded, before looking back at them with a more confident expression and continuing. "I'm here to find the main White Fang base. They are up to something in Vacuo, but they have no real base with any records, so I can't find out there. I decided to come to Vale in the hopes of getting to their records at their base."

"And the headmaster of Shade just let you transfer, just to play detective?" Weiss asked disbelievingly. "I hardly find that believable."

"She's my cousin, so she cuts me some slack," Verdan replied, with the air of one avoiding a complete answer.

"What are the White Fang doing?" Ruby asked in a hushed tone, caught up in the mystery and drama in Verdan's tale.

"Artifact robbery. They've been hitting all sorts of collections and storage facilities, taking many relics archeology teams have discovered. They haven't hit any dig sites though, or the National Museum of History, I'm assuming because they are too well-guarded. There hasn't been any rhyme or reason to their thefts, either. They've been taking many different types of artifacts from many different times. My father's an archeologist, so I have a bit of an interest in this sort of thing. That's why I want to find out why they are doing this," Verdan finished thoughtfully.

"You said your father was an archeologist?" Pyrrha asked. "What does he do?"

"In general, he searches for ruins and excavates them, recovering any relics he can get. Currently, he is excavating the ruins of a small village. He's been trying to find anything he can to help him understand a ruin he discovered several years ago. It is a platform with a set of six spires, leaning in towards the center. There are indications that it is the tip of an underground complex, but there are no hints of any entrance, even at the platform that looks like it should be an entrance. He calls it 'The Temple', but we really have no idea what it is."

After that, the conversation fell apart into several conversations, with Verdan participating in none. He quietly ate his french toast, thinking about his eight new acquaintances before switching gears and trying to think of the best way to find the White Fang's base.

*Insert Line Break Here*

Monday

6/22

10:34

The elevator doors in Ozpin's office opened, revealing Verdan Allen. He walked into the room, standing in front of Ozpin's desk. "You requested me, sir?" he asked.

"Yes, I did. Take a seat, Mr. Allen," Ozpin said, gesturing towards a chair. Verdan did so, and Ozpin continued. "I summoned you to discuss your team assignment."

"Team assignment, sir?"

"Yes. Transfers, even temporary ones like yourself, are attached to a team in order to keep the stability of their training. This is normally not necessary, as transfer students usually transfer as a team. However, in your case, you came alone, requiring your attachment to a team."

"Even though I already have a team, or at least part of a team?" Verdan asked, disliking the idea.

"Even though you already have a team. As you are well aware, the four Huntsmen academies place trainees into teams of four. It is in order to make sure they are used to working with others, while keeping the team size small enough that they remain able to fight alone. The rules require all trainees to be in a team. Broken teams like yours, you have my condolences by the way, are not required to be filled to the full complement, but individuals are required to be attached. So, now the question is where to attach you," Ozpin said, linking his hands and putting them below his chin.

"Are you sure I have to be attached to a team, sir?"

"I am positive. Now, as for the selection of a team. I have considered the options, have decided on a team. However, I will allow you to examine your options and convince me to place you with the team of your choice. Your options are teams RWBY, JNPR, and CRDL. Are you acquainted with these four teams, Mr. Allen?"

"Not all of them," Verdan replied, thinking back. "I don't know CRDL, but RWBY was the team I encountered Saturday evening, correct? And JNPR is the other team they are friends with?"

"You are correct. Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark are CRDL. RWBY consists of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao-Long. JNPR is made up of Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren," Ozpin answered, pulling four files out of a drawer, placing them on his desk and opening them. "Do you have a preference for your team?"

Verdan picked up one of the files, the one for team JNPR and began flipping through it, looking at the transcripts and student files of the four trainees. After a minute, he put it down and perused the file on CRDL before finishing with RWBY's file.

"I really don't care. I'm assuming you won't let me be with a team my own age and join a level 2 team?" Verdan asked sullenly.

"You are correct. The team I have selected will be good for you and help you in a way none of the 2nd year teams will. If you have no preference, then I will go with my original decision. You will be attached to team RWBY. They will be good for you, and they seem to find themselves in the situations you will be searching for." Ozpin looked to the side of his desk and pressed several buttons on his scroll. "I have linked your scroll to their team network, you will be able to find them using the homing app. Enjoy your time at Beacon, Mr. Allen."

Looking slightly sullen, and grumbling under his breath, Verdan stood up and went to the elevator, before pressing the button and getting in, pressing the button for the first floor. Once in the elevator, he pulled out his scroll and opened up the homing app. The elevator opened, releasing him into the main school building. He studied the map with the four dots on it marking his new team's position and figured out a path to take to get there quickly.

*Insert Line Break Here*

Team RWBY was currently in the combat auditorium, for class with Professor Goodwitch. The current match, Cardin Winchester versus another 1st year team member was not a terribly exciting match. Cardin was at a clear advantage, his giant mace could easily knock away the halberd the other was using, especially with the explosions triggered with each hit of the mace. The only advantage the other fighter had was the reach of his weapon, especially with the rifle built into the bottom of the halberd's shaft. Cardin was being forced to chase his foe around the ring, until the other stumbled, allowing Cardin to close the distance and strike with his mace, reducing the other combatant's aura below a safe level, ending the match.

"And with that, the match ends. Congratulations on your win, Mr. Winchester. Ms. Davis, please remember that a purely defensive strategy will often cost you a battle," Goodwitch advised as the two fighters exited the ring to the lockers. "Enough time remains for one final match. Do we have any–" the sound of a door opening cut her off as Verdan entered the room, descending the stairs as he tried to find a seat out of the way.

"Mr. Allen!" Goodwitch called, causing Verdan to stop and look up. "Ma'am?" he answered. "We have time for one more match, and I want to test your skills so that I may know who to place you against in order to best improve you. So, if you and Ms. Nikos would retrieve your weapons and enter the ring, we may begin." Pyrrha stood up and she and Verdan both entered the locker rooms before exiting on the arena floor. "You may begin at the sound of the chime," Goodwitch said as she retreated to her observation platform.

Pyrrha and Verdan took up positions on opposite sides of their ring, raising their weapons into the ready position – Pyrrha holding Akuo in front of her, with Milo in sword form off to the side; Verdan holding his rifle up to his shoulder, ready to fire. "Go Pyrrha!" Nora yelled out excitedly as Yang waved a flag reading "JNPR" and Ruby and Jaune clapped. There was a distinct lack of cheering for Verdan, as few knew him and, while RWBY and JNPR did know him, would obviously rather support Pyrrha.

"Hey Pyrrha! You wouldn't mind letting me hit you over and over again, would you? It's excellent anger management!" Verdan called out angrily. "I'm sorry, but no. What upset you?" Pyrrha asked, striking to the heart of the issue. "Nothing you nor I have any control over, so don't worry about it!" Verdan called out, ending the brief conversation.

A chime sounded out, and Verdan immediately fired several shots at Pyrrha in a horizontal spread, intending to at least knock her off balance. She jumped to the left, allowing the shots to pass to her right. As she jumped, Verdan saw a slight flare of yellow light appear on her right hand as she jumped. He wondered if it meant she was another magnet-user and fired several more shots at her, intending to test his theory. She took them on her shield before shifting Milo into a rifle and firing shots at Verdan. He hit a switch on the handle of his rifle as he dropped to the floor.

As he dropped, the stock of his rifle shifted. The supporting brace folded against the L-bar that would normally go against Verdan's shoulder. The L-bar then folded against the beam protruding from the back of the rifle, and with the click of a disengaging latch, the entire stock assembly extended slightly from the rifle.

He rolled to his left and stood up, slinging his rifle across his back. He then reached back and grabbed the stock, pulling it off, revealing it as a sword inside the rifle. He rushed at Pyrrha, forcing her to shift Milo into a sword for better offense at close range. He swung at her left and she raised her shield up to block before stabbing at Verdan's chest. Verdan stepped back and to the right, attempting to avoid her blade. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough and the tip of the sword impacted his chest. It wasn't enough to cause any harm, but it took a slight nick out of his aura. He grimaced in anger before kicking out at her legs.

Pyrrha jumped up, letting his kick pass harmless under her. She then pushed her shield forward into Verdan, forcing him back and knocking him off balance. She pulled back several steps before throwing her shield like a Frisbee at Verdan.

Verdan watched her, or more particularly her hand, carefully as she threw her shield. The same yellow light appeared around her hand and continued to glow as her shield flew across the arena towards him. Just one final test to confirm, he thought as he strafed to the side, her shield flying past him by inches. He glanced behind him and saw her shield slowing and tilting before returning in his direction like a boomerang. He tossed his sword from his right hand to his left before pivoting to allow the shield to pass to his right. As it passed, he hit down on it with his fist, causing it to drop to the floor. As he hit it, he temporarily stripped it of its magnetic field, preventing her from interacting with it if she was indeed a magnet-user. He turned to face Pyrrha, returning his sword to his right hand and saw the nimbus of yellow light dim and vanish as a shocked look briefly appeared on her face. His theory was confirmed – Pyrrha Nikos was indeed a magnet-user. In retrospect, he realized, that explains her reputation as "invincible".

Verdan dashed at Pyrrha, swinging his sword in an overhead strike as reached her. Pyrrha shifted Milo into a javelin and blocked his strike with the haft of her weapon. She pushed up with her javelin, throwing Verdan's sword back before stabbing at his torso with the haft of her pole arm. Verdan stumbled back, gasping for breath. Pyrrha ran around him to her shield, crouching down to grab it and reattaching it to her vambrace.

Verdan recovered and turned to face Pyrrha just in time to see her stab at him again with her javelin. He turned to the side, attempting to allow it to pass by him. However, he was too slow and it nicked him in the side. In the brief moment as Pyrrha's thrust reached its full extension and she began to pull back, Verdan swung with his sword at the haft of the javelin. He channeled his semblance through his sword, and as it struck Milo, he reversed the polarity of its magnetic field. With a metallic "crack!" the javelin burst out of Pyrrha's hand and flew towards the wall of the arena, embedding itself in the wall several inches.

As Verdan stumbled from the explosive result of his strike, Pyrrha seized the chance and started bashing him in the head with her shield. Each strike disoriented him for precious seconds, enough time for Pyrrha to recover and thrust her shield forward again, never letting up.

All eyes turned to the aura monitors on the wall, as they saw Verdan's aura drop with every hit. From being nearly full, his aura decreased exponentially, each hit taking more aura than the previous one. It went from green to yellow to red before finally dropping to just above the white line indicating the amount of aura to remove for a victory.

Pyrrha struck one more solid blow with her shield, this time in the chest, sending Verdan flying backward several feet, causing his rifle to clatter against the floor as he fell onto his back with a bloody nose and a dazed expression.

After several seconds, he stood up and shook his head. He walked to Pyrrha and offered his hand as the spectators began applauding. "Good match, Pyrrha," he complimented her as they shook hands. "And the same for you," Pyrrha returned. "What did you do to my weapons?"

"I'll explain later in private," Verdan murmured, assuming she desired to keep her semblance on the down-low. "Would you like some help pulling your weapon out of the wall?"

"I would appreciate that, yes," Pyrrha replied to accepted his offer. They walked towards the wall and each grasped the haft of her spear. "On the count of three," Pyrrha said. "One, two, three!" When Pyrrha said three, they both pulled backwards as hard as they could, Verdan bracing a leg against the wall. With an ear-piercing shriek, they finally succeeded in pulling the javelin out of the stone wall. Pyrrha stowed her weapons and went to Professor Goodwitch's platform in order to hear her assessment. Verdan retrieved his sword from the middle of the arena floor and stowed it back in his rifle before following suit.

"A decent battle. Ms. Nikos, you allowed him to strip you of a weapon twice. That is sloppy and inexcusable, work to ensure it does not happen again. Mr. Allen, you failed to employ a variety of attacks. You have a rifle, use it. You also allowed yourself to be disoriented by your own attack. Fix that issue." Raising her voice, she finished with "Class dismissed!"

Pyrrha and Verdan turned and exited the arena into the locker rooms, depositing their weapons before appearing in the hallway outside the room, where teams RWBY and JNPR were waiting. Yang gave Pyrrha a high-five and attempted to give Verdan a high-five too. However, Verdan ignored her and stalked past her, face stormy, to where Ruby and Jaune were talking about some comic.

"Ms. Rose," Verdan growled out through gritted teeth. Ruby slightly jumped as she turned to face Verdan. "I have been ordered to report to you as a temporary member of team RWBY. Until such time as I return to my own school, I am to be regarded as a full, standard member of team RWBY," he finished. He was not happy about this decision, not happy at all, and he made no effort to conceal this fact.

"Yay! New team member!" Ruby cried, her happiness unaffected by Verdan's attitude. "This is going to be so much fun!" She grabbed Verdan's arm and began pulling him towards their next class, babbling on and on about new team attack names for new team attacks involving Verdan.

12:30

With the last class of the morning over, the two teams met at the dining hall for lunch. After everyone had been eating for a moment, Pyrrha brought up the question that had been bothering her since her and Verdan's spar.

"Verdan," she began hesitantly. "About our fight this morning. . ." She trailed off, unsure of how exactly to bring it up again.

"You're wondering about your weapons, aren't you?" Verdan asked, remembering his promise to explain later. "To begin with, you're a magnet-user, aren't you?"

"A what?" Pyrrha asked.

"You're a magnet-user, one whose semblance is magnetism, the control of magnets!" Verdan explained excitedly. "That's how you are 'invincible', isn't it? You ensure that others' weapons can't even hit you!"

"I don't know what you're. . . yes, I'm a 'magnet-user' as you put it. I was always taught it was called 'polarity'." Pyrrha admitted.

"My semblance is very similar, my family calls it magnetization. I can imbue items with a magnetic field, strip a magnetic field from objects, or reverse the polarity of magnets. That's what I did to your shield, I stripped its magnetic field, leaving you unable to remotely manipulate it. Your spear, I reversed its magnetic field. I assumed you use a slight level of your semblance to keep hold of your weapons?" asked Verdan.

"Yes, I do," Pyrrha confirmed.

"That's what I thought. I decided to try reversing the polarity of the magnetic field of your weapon, thinking it would slip out of your hand more easily when I hit it. I didn't expect it to fly out with such force, though."

"How come you didn't use your rifle at all?" Ruby asked, swallowing a bite. "It's your primary weapon, why would you not use it?"

"Pyrrha's polarity made it useless. She repelled the bullets as she dodged. I couldn't strip their magnetic fields or my own weapon would be unable to fire, so I had to resort to my sword."

"What is your weapon? I can't feel any Dust in it, or at least no Dust that feels normal for a gun," Weiss inquired, glancing up from her meal at the gun across his back.

"It's a coil gun," Verdan began before being interrupted by Ruby. "Oh, a rail gun!" Verdan glared across the table at her before continuing his description. "No, it is not a rail gun. A rail gun works by feeding electricity across an item, accelerating it out the barrel. A coil gun uses magnetic fields to accelerate a projectile. Given I can give anything a magnetic field, it seemed the perfect choice. I call it Harenosum Acceletor."

"And the sword?" Jaune asked, glad to see someone else with a regular, non-transforming sword.

"I can't use Acceletor for melee fights, it would eventually knock pieces out of alignment, reducing its effectiveness and possibly causing it to backfire, blowing the lightning Dust crystal I use for power. So, I just stuck a sword down the top and adapted the hilt into a stock. I can actually shift the rifle into a handgun-like size when I use the sword, but that's about all the shifting I could make."

"Can I see your gun?" Yang asked after finishing her meal.

"Fine, but be very careful. It's heavy." Verdan unslung his rifle before handing it across the table to Yang.

"Oof!" Yang grunted as she took the rifle. "You weren't kidding about the weight!" She pulled the rifle closer to herself before turning it around, examining different parts of it. Turning to her sister, she asked "How were you able to sling this around on Saturday, Ruby?"

"It's not that much heavier than Crescent Rose. It's easy!" Ruby said, glancing at Verdan and holding her hand out to Yang for his gun. "Go ahead, Ruby," Verdan sighed, giving Ruby permission to examine his rifle again. These two teams were going to drive him crazy.

Monday

6/22

20:45

As the time for the students to retire to their dorm room approached, Verdan visited the Beacon mail office. He had been waiting since Saturday for his gear to arrive. He had shipped it from Shade, expecting it to arrive at least at the same time as him. However, that was not the case, causing him to only have the clothes on his back and his weapon for two days. However, his luck finally turned for the better and his gear arrived. He thanked the mail officer and exited the mail office before being run into by Ruby.

"There you are! We've been looking for you! C'mon!" Ruby grabbed his hand and began dragging Verdan behind her. Verdan tried several times to stop walking and use his body weight to prevent her from pulling him, but each time he nearly fell over until he kept walking. Man, she's strong for a fifteen-year-old! he complained mentally. After several minutes of effortless pulling on Ruby's end and much struggling and low cursing on Verdan's end, they finally arrived at RWBY's dorm. "Girls, I found him!" Ruby called out as she pulled him through the door, Verdan latching onto the door frame as a last resort. Yang pried his fingers off the frame and shut the door behind them. "Come on in! Welcome to your new dorm!" she said happily.

"No!" Verdan said snappily, sounding reminiscent of a little kid. "Look, I'm not happy with this situation. I can't even be assigned to a team my own age, I have to be stuck with a level 1 team! No offense, but I don't want to spend any more time with you girls than I absolutely have to. I'm certainly not going to sleep in here with you. Besides, it wouldn't be right, we're not even on the same team!" he said, sounding more mature now.

"I'm with him!" Weiss interjected from her desk. "There is no way I am sleeping in the same room as a boy, especially one I hardly know! I don't know if he is trustworthy!"

"See? Your teammate agrees with me. Now, if you need me, I'll be in my sleeping bag in the hallway." As Verdan picked up his bag and began opening toward the door, Yang reached out, put her arm around his neck, and dragged him backwards into the room, leaving Ruby to close the door as Blake and Weiss just sat by and watched.

"Sorry, but you're staying in here with us!" Yang said as Verdan choked and scrabbled at her arm, finally prying her arm off and ducking away gasping for breath. As he leaned over with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily, Yang offered, "You can share my bed!" In response, Verdan just looked up and glared at her.

Verdan stood up after a few seconds and calmly walked towards his stuff, as if to pretend he had acquiesced. As he did so, Ruby walked away from the door, believing she had earned a victory. Suddenly, Verdan dashed toward the door, clutching at the doorknob and opening the door before running out.

Yang looked at Blake. "A little help here?" Blake just sighed and shook her head before getting off her bed and running into the hallway. As she ran, she unsheathed Gambol Shroud and shifted it into throwing form. Once she was in the hallway, she saw Verdan just about to run around the corner. She threw Gambol Shroud at him to ensnare him.

Just as Verdan reached the corner, he grinned, believing that he had escaped the clutches of those crazy girls. No sooner than he finished the thought, he felt something wrap around his torso, stopping him short and forcing the air out of his lungs. Thrown off balance, he toppled backwards onto the floor. His sight was dazed from the bright light above him, the loss of breath, and the impact on the floor, but with dread he made out a three blurs above him and grabbing him: one red, one yellow, and one black. Worn out from being hit in the head many times that day and being choked twice, he conceded defeat and let Ruby, Yang and Blake drag him into their room. As he was being dragged, he saw the door to JNPR's dorm open and four pairs of eyes watching. A glare and a snarl was enough to cause the eyes to disappear and the door to close.

The three girls dragged Verdan back into their dorm, Ruby closing and locking the door behind them. Blake and Yang dropped Verdan on his back in the middle of the room before drawing back to allow Ruby to come forward. Ruby crouched by Verdan's head and looked down at him. "Now, Mr. Allen," she began in a manner reminiscent of action movie villains. "As you can clearly tell, escape is impossible. Just give in, and tell us what we want to know! There is no need to extend this any longer!"

"Fnn. . ." Verdan mumbled with his arm over his eyes. "What was that, Mr. Allen?" Ruby asked, staying in character. "Fine. I will acquiesce to your stupid demands and stay in here," Verdan grumbled. "Yay!" Ruby cheered, breaking character in the rush of her victory and beginning to dance around with Yang while Blake returned to quietly sitting on her bed.

"Verdan, I apologize for my teammates," Weiss spoke up from the desk. "Just know, I am not happy about this and will be keeping an eye on you."

"I'm not happy either, and you have no need to worry," Verdan said curtly as he pulled out his sleeping bag and set it out between the wall and Blake/Yang's bunks.

After everyone had prepared for bed, the lights were turned out, and everyone was in their bed (or sleeping bag), Ruby called out, "Good night, team RWBY-Five!"

"RWBY-Five?" Blake asked, sounding bemused.

"Well, if we add Verdan's initial to our team name we get R-W-B-Y-V. V for five! It's a reference to that one space movie, you know, that guy's flight call sign was Red Five? Ruby, red, see?"

"That's great Ruby, just go to sleep," Yang said, sounding as if she was already mostly asleep.

As the four girls fell asleep, Verdan remained awake, staring into the darkness. He did not want any teammates, he wanted to complete his mission alone. Attachment to a new team would not end well. He may be ordered to be on team RWBY, but he would not like it and would avoid interaction as much as humanly possible. This resolution made, he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of happier times.

AN: So here's the second chapter. I guess I'm reasonably committed by now. Let's see if I can keep this up, shall we? I don't have any regular schedule for this, it'll just be updated as I complete chapters.

As I introduce and mention new characters and weapons, I'm going to give an explanation in the AN for the names.

Verdan Allen: "Verdan" is derived from "verdant", meaning green and lush plant growth. "Allen" comes from van Allen, as in the van Allen belts, the strong magnetic belts around the earth.

Harenosum Acceletor: "Harenosum" is Latin for "sandy". This has two origins, one being the fact that he has lived nearly his entire life in a small town in the desert. The other is that some of the metal used in its internals comes from a meteor that had been comprised of sandstone. This may be mentioned and explained in the story, it would just be later on. "Acceletor" is a corruption of "accelerator", referencing the fact that it basically just accelerates bits of metal to high speeds.

A beta reader would be handy, by the way. Anyone available?

Thank you for reading, I hope you return, and God bless!