Dragon Ball Blackthorned

Arc 3.5: Adventures Anew Saga

(A/N: A bit of a mini-arc starring some choice characters alongside Launch. What trouble has Launch got Ace into this time?)

Opening Theme: Devault - Closer

Chapter 59: The Red Queen Heist Part 1

(Current Date: June 11, Age 750)

Launch, the blonde one, was a skilled thief, but had a serve lapse in judgement this time. She thought robbing in one of the "Four Kingdoms" was a good idea. Despite the fact, the town is renowned for their deadly martial artists and weapons where every weapon is a combination with a gun. Add the special bullets they have there and the fact that regular bullets are considered a joke, Launch had no loot and an injury. She shot at the store owner, but he dodged her bullets. One of his had gazed her side and she was bleeding from that wound.

"Damn it. Maybe robbing a weapons store was not my smartest idea." Launch said to herself.

"Ya think?" Ace said making his presence known. "I swear, Launch. Did you have a brain fart? You came here with no armor, no proper weapon to handle any weapons here, and no idea of this place as a whole."

"I got cocky!" Launch reasoned. "I see that was a mistake."

"Whatever. I'll get us out of here." Ace said spawning a capsule out of his BlackTab.

The car produced was a basic black coupe, but Ace was in no position to customize it. He and Launch got in as Ace took off as police made themselves known.

"Well, just great. Warper immunity won't mean jack if I can't use it due to that bubble." Ace thought trying to evade the cops.

Ace weaved through traffic and Launch was about to shoot back. Of course, when her gun was shot out of her hands, she ducked her head back in. Not too far away, another pair of thieves were fleeing the cops. A pair who were renowned in Vale, Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan. However, they were having a problem. They were on foot and Ace had to stop the car to avoid running them over.

"Shit, if it isn't Roman and Neo." Ace remarked.

"Do we know you?" Roman asked dusting himself.

"No, but we have a common goal. Getting away from the cops and I got wheels to spare." Ace offered.

"You ain't one of Ozpin's brats?" Roman asked.

"No, I'm more of an independent fighter. I actually graduated from my old school, and no it's not one of the four kingdoms. Either way, I sense we'll have company. Get in." Ace said absolute.

Roman and Neo looked at each other before getting in the backseat. The dapper thief adjusted his hat and explained to Ace that was a safehouse at the east side of Vale. Ace nodded and hit the gas. Avoiding the cops were rather easy for Ace as he was able to turn their pit maneuvers against them. Ace was glad for the heavily tinted windshields that hide his face from the cops.

I was able to lose the cops, and I had to rig the car with explosives to make it look like we died when we ditched it. I was currently sitting in a warehouse with Roman, Neo, and Launch. I was healing Launch of her wound using a bit of my ki and warper energy over it.

"You know, kid? I didn't catch your name." Roman said.

I introduce myself as I finish healing Launch. Now I know Neo usually is a mute, but it seems in this verse he can speak through telepathy. That voice feels like an awkward mix of Tiffany and Audrey from Huniepop.

"Wait, aren't you the WMAT champion?" Neo asked.

"The very same." Launch said getting up.

"Well what's a champ like you doing a robbery in a town like this? I thought those paid well." Roman asked curiously.

I explained I was just saving my friend here who was dumb enough to blindly think she could rob anywhere in Vale.

"No matter, she was bleeding out. Her ki hasn't even been awakened or trained." Roman said smoking his corncob pipe. "Hell, you don't even have any armor on you."

"I don't need armor. I've robbed thousands of banks and trains!" Launch staunchly said.

"Any of those within the Four Kingdoms?" Roman smartly asked.

Launch shut up, and I sniggered at that. Either way, I bided goodbye to the gentleman and ice cream-colored thief. I had to get Launch out of Vale in hopes she does not get herself killed. As we left the warehouse, I turned to Launch.

"Please tell me, you did not do anything else stupid in Vale." I said to her.

Thankfully, she did not. However, she wanted to rob at least one place here successfully. She suggested we team up with Torchwick and Neo. Part of me wants to smack her upside her head for saying that, but she begs me. I remain staunch at first, but I sigh and relent.

"If I didn't like you, I'd leave your dumb ass get killed." Ace thought.

I wondered if the White Fang were a threat in this verse because I haven't seen any around.

For Blake, the White Fang was a painful reminder. Most other loops, the White Fang would either be the same or worse. It was truly a pain for Blake to deal with and, after the tenth loop, she'd snap Adam's neck and move on. However, there were exceptions, but those were rare. Those led Blake to not really enjoying them. This "loop" had a peaceful White Fang who were a humanitarian group, but Blake still quit the group. She was in no mood to see Adam or Iila, even if they were nice in this loop. The team of four were camping out in Mutaito's Training Grounds.

"So, the festival is 11 days. Are we going this time?" Ruby asked.

"No." Yang, Weiss, Blake said in unison.

If they were not required to, Ruby would mostly get outvoted on going on to the Festival. That was WBY's shared agreement on list of avoidances. Yang was still pissed at her mother, but the team could tell. Being loopers made him somewhat sore at that hands they were dealt. Yang's mother was the spring maiden and while they did reunite in the "original" timeline, it did not make up for all the hurt. Ruby was the only one who was fully able to truly shake off the horrors of the original timeline by looking forward to better ones.

"Besides, there's the WMAT. I'm more interested in fighting Ace and seeing what he'll bring to the table." Yang said excitedly. "He'll give me a good fight for sure."

"So, you'll go if he's entering the Festival's tournament?" Ruby asked.

"Hell yeah." Yang said excitedly.

"What about Cinder?" Blake asked. "We haven't even bothered to deal with her."

"Feh. She won't be an issue. Cinder's a mob boss in this loop. We can off her if you want." Weiss said haughtily.

"Nah, it'd be a waste. I just wanted to make sure she isn't trying to destroy the world with her brand of stupidity." Blake remarked.

So, I did some research. White Fang's not an issue, but Cinder's a mob boss operating in Vale. The Embers. Now, you're thinking that I should not anger her considering she still has her abilities. However, I decided to rob a casino in Vale owned by her anymore. Why? Well simply put, I wanted to piss on her operations. Roman and Neo thought I was nuts until I revealed my plan. Simply put, a diversion would storm into the main lobby to shoot up the place. Roman, Launch, and I would sneak to the area where the armored cars are being held. We'll load it up with money like it's routine, and we'll make our escape with the money. I explained all this to them as we sat in Roman's warehouse.

"Not going to lie, the plan sounds impressive. But we'll need time to preform it and research." Roman remarked.

"We'll need a keycard as well. If we can rob an employee, we can use theirs." Launch remarked.

"For this plan to work, we need a few days. Lucky for you, I got a bit of time. If we work fast, we should be ready to go in about five days." I said. "I'll need to do some research on the place. Thankfully, I have equipment. However, Roman. I have a task for you. Get Launch proper armor and weapons."

Roman looked like he was going to question, but, after I gave him a roll of zeni as spending money for her and him, he nodded and left. I had Launch stay behind in the worry that she would sneeze.

"And what about me?" Neo asked.

"Simple, you do illusions, right? I happen to have a skill that make those illusions seem all the more real." I said deviously.

"I'm listening." She said with a twisted smirk.

Elsewhere, Goku was hard at work training with a group of fighters at Menagerie. In this loop, the island nation was a bit more livable as two thirds of the island was livable. Thus, the space allowed for expansion and rise of the "fifth" academy, Tracer Academy. Goku had ended up on the island by chance after taking a ferry to move to next destination. He had met a pair of professors while he wandered through the plains who welcomed him to spar with his students. However, Goku had worn most of those students out after half hour.

"Professor Austin, Professor Blaise, he's too much." One student panted.

"In raw strength, he is. He's a bit of stagiest, but it's obvious he was educated the bare minimum. You could have capitalized on it." P. Austin remarked before turning to Goku, "So, you plan to enter the WMAT in the near future? Well, your fighting is great, but a stronger fighter does need a strong mind. How about spending some time at Tracer Academy?"

Goku thought about it for a moment, but he agreed to stay for a week or two.

"Excellent, my boy. You've got most of the making a good fighter down. Consider this another stepping stone." P. Blaise said ecstatically. "Plus, all the students you can fight!"

The students groaned knowing this was going to hurt a lot.

(A/N: Yes, I went there in referencing these two, the grandparents to the Drunken Marriage fanfiction trend. Ace is going to reenact a famous heist mission, and an explosive clash is soon to happen.)

Ending Theme: J Dilla – Life (Instrumental)