"Hrngh?"

Floyd Lawton groaned as his vision slowly returned to him. He felt his hands bound behind him as he sat in a wooden chair. Lawton shuddered as he realized how cold it was.

"Brr." He grunted.

Lawton scanned himself, realizing that he had been stripped of his weapons, "Great, just great."

Lawton looked around, identifying the room he was in as a freezer. Frozen meats were hung on hooks, and a massive freezer door sealed him in.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a blond woman in a teacher uniform.

"Mr. Lawton." said the woman, "I'm here to inform you that you're being taken into custody tomorrow."

Lawton remained quiet, refusing to acknowledge the woman's existence.

The woman sighed before pulling out a scroll, "You also have a call, your only call. I'm not allowed to supervise you while you're talking, but if I hear anything suspicious behind the door, I will make you regret it."

Placing the scroll on his shoulder, the woman left the room and sealed the door.

"Hello?" said Lawton.

"Deadshot I presume?" said the voice at the other end.

"This isn't Sionis." Said Lawton, "This is his ginger pet, Torchwick right?"

"Pet is a bit derogatory." Said Torchwick, "I prefer partner."

"I'm insulting you, not criticizing you." Said Lawton, "At least get the grammar right."

Torchwick sighed, "Well, word on the street is you failed the hit."

"I'm a guy who shoots people," said Lawton, "How do you expect me to kill a bulletproof guy?"

"Didn't Zarov give you something for that one?" asked Torchwick.

"He did, and even though it shred an Ursa like paper, it did nothing but annoy the bastard." Said Lawton, "I'm locked in a freezer right now, but once I get out I'll get the bastards somehow."

"Good, glad you're still willing to play the game." Said Torchwick, lighting a cigar on the other end of the call, "And just so you know, Sionis has secured an insurance policy if you turn on us."

Lawton's eyes widened, "But I haven't made any moves against him! This is bullshit!"

"Language Mr. Lawton, Language." Said Torchwick, "You wouldn't want your daughter to hear you speaking such words."

"Where. Is. She?" demanded Lawton.

"She's sa-" Torchwick is interrupted by a loud crash in the background, "STUPID WHITE FANG, WE ENLIST YOU MUTTS TO HELP WITH SHIPPING, NOT DAMAGE THE CARGO!"

Torchwick audibly sighed, "Sorry about that, where were we? Ah, right, your daughter. She's safe, but we'll only let her go when you off your marks."

Lawton trembled in anger, ready to crush the scroll in his hands if he could, but he knew the wrong word would get his daughter killed, "I'll do it, sir."

"Thank you, good man," said Torchwick, "Bring us proof of their deaths, and we'll wire you your money and release your daughter."

"Thank you, sir." Said Lawton as Torchwick hung up the phone.

The door cracked open as the woman walked back in, taking the scroll back, "I'm sure that conversation was interesting."

Lawton spit on the ground, "Screw. You."

"Hey Clark?" asked Ruby.

"Yeah?" asked Clark.

"Can you heat up my popcorn?" asked Ruby.

Clark gave Ruby an odd look, "Oliver told you about this didn't he?"

"Yep!" said Ruby, "I hear you're good at heating up popcorn!"

Clark sighed, "Bring out the bag."

It was breakfast in Beacon, and the teams were preparing to visit the city of Vale while it was preparing for the Vytal festival, a festival commemorating the uniting of the four kingdoms via cultural exchange and tournaments.

*Pop* *Pop* *Pop*

"Yay!" said Ruby, popping a piece of popcorn in her mouth, "Thanks, Clark!"

"Yeah, your welcome." Said Clark, a little dejected, "I'm not a microwave."

"No, you're a microwave plus an indestructible farm boy!" said Oliver, chowing down on his eggs.

"I only cooked your popcorn because you're my friend!" said Clark.

"Ruby's your friend too, isn't she?" said Oliver.

"Yes, she is." Said Clark, "But I don't want to be the guy who just heats up everyone's food."

"Hey Clark, can you heat up my pancakes, they got a little cold." Said Nora.

Clark glared at Oliver, "You told Nora too?!"

"Yeah, sorry." Said Oliver, "Word spreads fast."

Clark sighed, using his heat vision to reheat Nora's pancakes.

"Thanks, farm boy!" said Nora, chowing down.

"I'm not a microwave." pouted Clark.

"Anyway, what are your plans in Vale?" asked Yang.

"We were planning on checking out this club," said Jaune, "it's called Juniors."

"Skip it." Said Bruce, "Their service is awful."

"Huh," said Yang, "Do you go clubbing Bruce?"

"Occasionally." Said Bruce, "If I have to go for a meeting because some people want to meet in places where no one can hear you over the music."

"I have to agree with Bruce on this one too," said Yang, "I've been there, and I can tell you that the drinks are awful too."

"Victor and I are heading over to the Queen Industries building to check out an early build of the next generation of scrolls!" said Oliver, "Right Victor."

"I can't wait to check out the new gear!" said Victor, "Dream come true!"

"Hey guys!" said Weiss, pulling out her scroll, "Look at this! The White Fang have robbed another train."

"Damn," said Victor, "those guys are getting bolder."

"I know, the audacity of it all!" said Weiss, "Those degenerates should give it up!"

"They aren't degenerates!" said Blake, annoyed, "They're misguided."

"Misguided, that's an understatement." Said Weiss.

"I'm serious!" said Blake, "The White Fang is full of faunus who've been abused by humans, they want justice!"

"Justice can be acquired through legal channels." said Bruce, "It isn't justice if they're Judge, Jury, and Executioner."

"I agree," said Blake, "But they're not doing it because they're sick or twisted. They're doing it because they've been kicked while lying down, beaten into a corner."

"I understand a cry for justice more than anyone." said Bruce, "But when you choose to take that path, it's you that needs to be brought to justice now."

"Agreed Bruce," said Weiss, "Though I can't see anyone doing the things the White Fang does without being sick and twisted."

The bench screeches as Blake abruptly gets up, walking away from the table.

"Man," said Clark, "that was a heavy topic. Who likes apple pie?"

"Bruce, I don't know if this is a good idea."

"Keep your voice down Clark. We're almost there."

Bruce and Clark stopped outside the kitchen, Bruce taking a look around.

"Seriously," said Clark, "Lawton is a dangerous guy, won't you need help?"

"That's where you come in," said Bruce, spotting a ladder, "You're gonna sit tight on the roof while I take the maintenance shaft straight to the freezer."

"I...Fine." said Clark, "Just make sure you don't die before I get to you, ok."

Bruce climbed the ladder, spotting a hatch. Just as he reached the hatch, Clark leaps onto the roof.

"Bruce?" said Clark.

Bruce sighed, "I'll be fine Clark.", before slipping through the hatch and into maintenance.

The maintenance shaft was cold, freezing cold, but Bruce didn't complain. He'd subjected himself to far worse environments.

Almost there.

Bruce finally made it to his objective, a hatch located over the freezer. Working the screws around the hatch, Bruce opened it and slowly slipped into the freezer, silently landing on the ground. There he laid eyes upon an unconscious Deadshot, tied to a chair.

"Alright Lawton," said Bruce, pulling out a syringe, "time to talk."

A kick in the shins provides Floyd Lawton with a rude awakening.

"What the fu-, Oh it's you." Said Lawton, blinking his eye and adjusting his vision.

Bruce, helmet and gear on, cracks his knuckles.

"Where is Black mask's base of operations." Demanded Bruce.

"Straight into business then?" said Lawton, "Man, you need to loosen up. You got any cookies? Any refreshments? I'm a little parched."

"Don't bother with the stalling," said Bruce, "I know you've been to Black Mask's headquarters before, you need to tell me where it is."

"He changes it every other month." Said Lawton, "I haven't been to one of his safehouses in at least a year."

Lawton's eyes widened as the words spilled out, "The hell?!"

"I gave you a chemical cocktail in the form of a syringe," said Bruce, "Its job, to loosen your lips."

"Aww," said Lawton, "So the teenage millionaire's got truth serum, isn't he such a dangerous little bo-"

Bruce struck Lawton across the cheek with his fist, shutting him up.

"Just answer my questions." Said Bruce.

"Heh," said Lawton, "not having the best day, are we?"

"I doubt you are either." Said Bruce, "Now tell me, what's Black Mask planning?"

Clark sat on the roof of the kitchen, watching Bruce through the concrete.

I hope he knows what he's doing.

"Staying silent isn't going to help you Lawton." Said Bruce.

"I'm telling you, I don't know what the hell he's planning." Said Lawton, "Only that it involves Torchwick and the White Fang."

"White Fang?!" said Bruce.

The White Fang is involved. While I didn't need Blake's help before, I may need it now.

"I've got another secret worth spilling!" said Lawton, "*Whisper* *Whisper*"

"What?" said Bruce.

Lawton whispered again, just out of earshot. Bruce leaned closer.

"Wha-" said Bruce before Deadshot clamped his mouth down on his neck.

"AAGH!" cried Bruce in pain as he stumbled backward, pulling Lawton onto his feet, albeit still tied to the chair.

"HAH!" said Lawton, grabbing a nearby meat hook and quickly using it to cut his ropes, "You fell for the oldest trick in the book!"

Bruce, still clutching his neck, grabbed a small canister from his belt, pulling the pin and tossing it to the ground. The cannister hisses before releasing a large amount of gas.

"Gas?! *Cough* *Cough*," said Lawton, "Won't you be down too?"

"Not when my mask filters the fumes." Said Bruce.

Lawton leaps through the gas, tackling Bruce to the ground and using his forearm to choke him out.

"Sorry kid, Family is Family." Said Lawton, "I gotta try!"

Bruce struggled against the much larger man, "F-Family?"

A large crash can be heard as a figure smashes through the ceiling. Lawton turns around to find a hand grab him from the back of his shirt and fling him into the wall, dazing him. Bruce looked up to find Clark standing above him, unaffected by the gas.

"You've gotta be more careful next time." Said Clark, "I told you this would happen."

Bruce took a deep breath, "I almost had it."

Clark sighed, "Sure you did."

Lawton groaned, stumbling as he leaned himself against the wall and faced Bruce and Clark.

"I…. I can't win this, not against the bulletproof man." Said Lawton, "So can I ask a favor instead?"

"We don't take favors from criminals." Said Bruce.

"Please, it's my daughter." Said Lawton.

The duo looked at each other in surprise before turning back to Lawton.

"What's this about your daughter?" asked Clark.

"Black Mask's got her." Said Lawton, "If I don't off you guys, she's gonna pay the price."

"We can trust him, right?" asked Clark.

"He's telling the truth." Said Bruce, "He has truth serum in him."

"Ok," said Clark, "Do you have any idea where?"

"I wouldn't know." Said Lawton, "He doesn't say where he keeps his hostages, but if he's working with the White Fang, it's probably at one of their places."

"White Fang?" said Clark, "Blake could help!"

"Assuming we can trust her." Said Bruce.

"Bruce," said Clark, "It's the best chance we have."

"…..I'm sorry." Said Lawton under his breath.

"What?" said Bruce.

"I said I'm sorry." Said Lawton, "I made an oath never to kill children or unarmed women, and I tried to break that oath."

"Then why did you take the job in the first place?" asked Clark.

"When Sionis offers you a job, he'll make you do it." Said Lawton, "Refuse, and he'll kidnap someone you love. Fail, and he'll kidnap someone you love. When he asked for me, I knew that if I refused, he would take her."

"Is this something Black Mask does often?" asked Clark.

"Yes, too often." Said Bruce.

"Please, find her." Said Lawton, "I can be a prideful son of a bitch, but my daughter's life is on the line. Please save her."

"We will," said Bruce, "but you have to remain here, serve your sentence."

Lawton looked down, his pride wounded, "Fine." He muttered.

"Clark," said Bruce, "get us out of here. We need to talk to Blake!"

Clark nodded, grabbing Bruce and jumping out of the hole in the ceiling. A few seconds later, Glynda burst into the freezer.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF-"

Glynda looked at the completely free Lawton, then the open ceiling, then back at Lawton.

"I can assure you I won't make this easy." Said Glynda, pulling out her wand, "Fight as hard as you wish, you're still going to jail."

"Don't bother," said Lawton, walking up to Glynda with his wrists together, "I'm ready to go."

The night sky blanketed Beacon in darkness, its only light being the lampposts illuminating the walkways. Bruce and Clark landed in front of the dorms, with Bruce taking his helmet off.

"You can turn in for the night." Said Bruce, "I'll speak to Blake."

"You sure?" asked Clark, "I can back you up."

"No, I need to do this alone." said Bruce, "Besides, I think we can trust her."

Clark looked surprised, "Really?!"

"Yes," said Bruce, "After a lengthy research process, I think I've figured her out."

"You sound like you psychoanalyzed her," said Clark.

"To be fair, I did," said Bruce.

Clark cocked an eyebrow, "So, what kind of person is she?"

Bruce grimaced, "From what I can tell, she was a member of the White Fang from childhood due to her father's status as a leader in the organization. This is before they became a violent group mind you. When the group did turn violent, her father quit due to diverging visions for where the movement was going, but she stuck around."

"Why?" asked Clark, "She doesn't seem all that bad."

"It's likely due to the nature of the movement, she was too invested in the goal." said Bruce, "It hit her too late that the organization was going about achieving their goal the wrong way. As far as I can tell, she left a year ago."

"That's great!" said Clark, "We can trust her!"

"Yes, but only for a while." said Bruce, "Then we're going to turn her in."

Clark's eyes widened, "What?!"

"I have footage of her committing criminal acts in the White Fang's name." said Bruce, "She's done bad things, she needs to pay for them."

"You think she'll help us if we tell her she's going to jail afterward?" said Clark, "Maybe we should talk to her about this later?"

"Maybe," said Bruce, "But for now, we need to know if the White Fang has strongholds in Vale. I'll see her now."

Clark nods, "Good luck then."

Bruce nodded, taking a deep breath before walking down the hall to team RWBY's room. Just as Bruce is about to knock on team RWBY's door, Yang swings it open.

"Oh, Damn it!" said Yang, "Sorry Bruce, I thought Blake came back."

Bruce's eye's widened, "What do you mean Blake came back?"

"Well, it's personal stuff." Said Yang, "Team stuff."

"Sorry," said Bruce, "But this is important, I need to know where Blake is now."

"We don't know where she is." Said Weiss, far into the room, "But why bother, for all we know she was always a terrorist!"

"WEISS!" shouted Ruby, "Be quiet!"

The word terrorist clicked in Bruce's head, and he realized what was going on immediately.

Shit!

Bruce ran down the hallway, ignoring Yang's shouts for him to come back as he leaped through the window and landed outside.

"System!" said Bruce, placing the helmet on his head again, "Access camera feed and give me the last known location of Blake Belladonna!"

The system whirred to life inside his helmet before displaying the fountain near the entrance.

I need to find her before she disappears.

Bruce sprinted, running to the point where it hurt to breath until he reached the fountain. Bruce's eyes darted around in panic, trying to find Blake.

"System, which direction did Belladonna go?!" asked Bruce.

"Direction uncertain." Replied the system.

Bruce panted, the sprint exhausting him as he got down onto his knees.

I lost her, our only lead.

"Damn." Said Bruce before angrily striking the ground, "DAMN!"

"Bruce?"

Bruce looked up behind him, seeing Clark.

"I heard shouting, is everything alright?" asked Clark, "Where's Blake?"

"Blake's team discovered her status as a faunus." Said Bruce, "She's flown the coop."

"What?!" said Clark, "Do you think she's ok?"

"I don't know." said Bruce, "But this throws a spanner in the works, we need to find her."

"How?" said Clark.

"I'll have to hack city surveillance," said Bruce, "Goddamn it!"

Hey! I got a chapter out faster this time! Nice! In other news, I'll be going on a trip from the 19th to the 28th, and I may not be able to bring a laptop for writing. I should be able to get another chapter out before then after working on my Christmas special for my other fic though. Hopefully, I can make it happen!

Edit: Made an edit to the ending of this chapter, Bruce isn't jumping to conclusions anymore.

Reviews:

DCDGojira: No plans for the skull, at least not yet. Penguin would be voiced by Nolan North. I like the hot sauce scene and the Weiss v Oliver scene.

Thanks for the feedback!

Red: I don't typically listen to OP's (I'm currently addicted to Gorillaz) but I like the ones you send!

Thanks for the feedback!

Rokketo Man: I chose to drop Ruby x Clark mostly out of fear that the story would lose focus. So yeah, probably. I'd also like to thank you for the compliments! It's always great to hear that someone enjoys the stuff I write!

Thanks for the feedback!

Vault Hunter: I wish I came up with Bat Vanish, that would have been cool!

Thanks for the feedback!

Shiharoku221: I left how Roman Sionis got the kryptonite vague, but there will be an explanation. I also admit that Blake's reaction was weak, I'll probably rewrite it at some point.

Thanks for the feedback!

Rewrite: Bruce's angriest moment has been completely rewritten, as was his revelation. Next chapter will probably have a more substantial rewrite.

Next Chapter: The Search Begins