by neoraichu
Chapter Thirteen: Makeovers and Maneuvers
Cinder considered Roman as he sat behind his desk. He seemed deeply engrossed in a book: Classic Villainy 101. She knew it was a book about how to write villains for comic downloads, and yet he seemed to be taking it as some kind of manual.
"You know that everyone who's followed those tactics have lost, right?" she asked to break the ice.
"Don't be silly," he retorted, "The only reason the goody-goodies win is because they have a writer on their side. I'm sure there's no writer for this Bat Faunus Man character."
She simply rolled her eyes.
"Hmmm... I need a really short and catchy name..." he mused as she turned to come face to face with a shorter woman.
She smiled softly as Cinder looked her over. Less than 5' tall, her height didn't exactly stand out. What did stand out was that she had bi-color hair and two totally different eye colors. In fact, the only thing about her that wasn't two-color was her shoes and her parasol.
"Oh pardon me," said Roman he said as he did not look up, "Since you're so... busy... I've acquired a new assistant."
"New... assistant?"
"Yes, her name is Neopolitan," he continued, "but I just call her Neo for short. As you might have noticed, she... doesn't say much."
"A refreshing break," she muttered as she wondered, 'Those colors... isn't that of a type of ice cream?! Seriously?!'
"What was that?" he asked as he looked over his book.
"I said, 'What's her take'?"
"She's a noob so she's getting two minion shares," he replied as he returned to reading.
"And... does she have a semblance?" asked Cinder as she placed a finger up by her right ear.
"Oh... something about solid illusions, I think," he muttered, "I'm... sure it will come in handy."
"You just wanted a woman who doesn't talk, do you?" she asked as she looked over her shoulder.
"It's a perk," he mused, "but not the real benefit."
"Which is?"
"Oh, she's well versed in combat," he smirked, "almost as good as me."
"Whopee," she muttered.
"What was that?"
"I said, 'I see'," she replied as she headed for the door, "I'm sure the two of you will get along just fine..."
"Tell me, Neo," he said as the door closed, "What do you think of a name like 'The Dashing Devil'?"
"What an egotistical self-absorbed creep he is," she mumbled as she kept walking.
...
"Okay," said Ruby as they paced their room, "Welcome to the first meeting of the SOS Brigade!"
"The what now?" asked Yang as she sat on her bed.
"We aren't even on a ship," added Weiss.
"Nono," said leader of RWBY, "SOS stands for 'Saving Ourselves from the Shadow of evil'."
"Wouldn't that be S-O-S-E or S-O-T-S-E?"
"Ruby, that doesn't even make any sense," mumbled Blake from her bunk.
"And aren't we already Team RWBY?" interjected Yang.
"Oh, that's for school things!" retorted Ruby, "This... is for when we operate in public!.. Like when we're going to hunt down those Dust robbers, find their secret lair, defeat the shadowy villain who's masterminding the whole thing, and get back as much of the stolen Dust as we can!"
"What makes you think it's a gang with a secret lair?"
"Because Roman Torchwick was seen at a number of robberies, several of which were successful before he showed up."
"Is this some excuse to go out and look for the Bat Faunus Man?" asked Blake.
"Nono!" she replied awkwardly as she raised her hands defensively, "As Huntresses, it's more than our duty to just keep society safe from monsters!"
"Really? Then why are your cheeks turning red, fearless leader?"
"NO, THEY AREN'T!"
"I think my little sister is becoming a fangirl!" gushed Yang.
"Still, she has a point about investigating the Dust robberies," inserted Weiss.
"Is that your opinion as a member of Team RWBY or as a representative of the Schnee Dust Company?" as the lady with the black bow on her head.
"Just because I'm am part of the Schnee family does not negate the threat these robberies represent," she sniffed.
"So we need to go into town and look for clues!" gushed Ruby.
"Yeah... I'll rent the groovy van and the talking Great Dane," muttered Blake.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," she sighed.
"I'd swear that someone on the team isn't taking this seriously," mumbled Weiss.
"I'm sure you have better things to do with your time..."
"I was talking about you, Blake," she sighed.
"Who? Moi? Not serious?"
Ruby giggled.
"Ruby," suggested Weiss, "There's a small Dust shipment coming in by ship this very morning. Perhaps we should go down to the docks and see if any criminals are monitoring it. That might explain how they know when shops are getting more stock and robbing them before they have a chance to sell it."
"That is an awesome idea, Weiss!" she gushed.
"I can't help it if I'm gifted."
"And modest," sighed Blake.
"But I am modest," she protested, "If I told you of all the things I've already accomplished like fencing mastery, magic powers and opera singing, it could take... hours to tell."
"Hours of my life I'd never get back," she muttered.
"What?"
"I said, 'Your biography must be in back'."
"I don't get it."
"Never mind, it's not important."
"So everyone get dressed for a trip to town!" gushed Ruby.
"But we're just going to wear the same clothes we wear at school."
"Don't be silly, Blake," giggled Yang, "We all have several sets of the same clothing... don't you?"
"I have twelve sets of this outfit," corrected Weiss, "and six sets of bed clothes... What? There's no way I'm sleeping in anything less!"
"Of course not," agreed Yang, "I think all of us have at least two sets of bed clothes as well."
'OH MY GOSH! I ONLY HAVE ONE SET OF CLOTHES FOR SCHOOL AND BED!' thought Blake as she balked.
"Are you alright, Blake?" asked Ruby.
"Yeah, let's get ready for a trip to town!" said Blake as she changed the subject.
"Enthusiasms! That's what I like to hear!"
...
Roman mused as he looked himself over in the full length mirror, "Neo dear? Pinstripes at this time of the year?"
His reflection was of a pasty albino man in a full pinstripe suit, dark grey with black vertical striping. Even the cane was black, though it was the same shape. His hair was white as was his toothbrush mustache.
"Well I guess no one would ever connect The Dashing Devil to Roman Torchwick, now would they?"
Neo smiled. She was dressed in a bi-color flapper's dress, except her whole outfit was based on black and white reflections on each side of each article of clothing. Her parasol also looked like a large rubber mallet as it rested over her shoulder.
"Now we need to make a test robbery, and it has to be something other than a Dust shop or warehouse..." he mused, "Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something." He turned to Neo and added, "Now I need a few more thugs for this job. I don't think the source is going to let me use much more of his men... after this job."