*Ding*

The elevator doors opened, allowing Victor to step into the main communications room of the Cross Continental transmit center. Looking around, Victor saw a variety of screens set up for long-range talks with residents in other continents. Various strangers used said screens, making calls to family or for business. Victor strode in, approaching the front desk, where the hologram of a desk worker shimmered to life.

"Welcome to the Beacon cross-continental transmit center!" said the hologram, "How may I help you?"

Victor sighed, he wasn't particularly interested in speaking to the talking head in front of him, "Weiss Schnee entered the building at some point today, can you point me to her?"

"She's located at Terminal 3!" said the hologram.

"Thanks." said Victor, shuffling past the hologram.

"Grrr, stupid call center agent!"

Weiss's frustrated voice reached Victor before he even reached her.

This must not happen often.

He prepared his omni-tool as he reached her terminal.

"Hey Weiss." said Victor.

Weiss looked up from her chair, suddenly elated that Victor had arrived, "Ah, Victor, good! Can you get me some of the files on this list."

Pulling out her scroll, Weiss showed Victor a list of documents, "Why can't you get them in the first place? Aren't you the heir to the Schnee Dust Company?"

"Some of them are sensitive," said Weiss, "and it appears they don't trust me with them yet."

"Ah," said Victor, pulling out his omni-tool, "then it'll only be a moment."

Taking Weiss's scroll and plugging it into his omni-tool, Victor watched as the device plugged into the scroll port. After a few seconds, the omni-tool unplugged, ejecting the scroll right into Victor's hands.

"Done." said Victor.

Weiss looked at him in shock, "How did you do that?!"

"My dad is a high ranking scientist in Atlas." said Victor, "He has a master key for databases on the system. I made a copy of my own with some tweaks, so now I have my very own global ghost key that I can use to hack into any Atlas-based network."

"Heh, you're really useful to have around." said Weiss before she paused, "Wait, your dad? I've never heard you mention him."

Victor frowned, taking a seat, "Yeah, he does the same with me."

Weiss gave Victor an odd look, "What does that mean?"

"Unless it's his work, he doesn't want anything to do with it." said Victor, handing the scroll back to Weiss, "And that includes me."

Weiss took her scroll back, placing it in her pocket, "I-I'm sorry, did he do anything to you?"

"What, like hit me?" said Victor, "No, nothing like that, he just doesn't pay me any attention. He's not a bad person, just a bad dad."

Weiss sighed, "Better than my dad."

"What's that about your dad?" said Victor, his eyes widening, "Wait, did he give you that scar?"

Weiss touched the scar over her eye, "No, I got this fighting an Arma Gigas."

"Why were you fighting an Arma Gigas before coming here?" asked Victor.

"I was to put on a performance," said Weiss, "For my father's friends."

Victor narrowed his eyebrows, "Your dad sounds like a dick."

"He is." said Weiss, "But I wouldn't use such foul language."

"I would though." said Victor, who pulled out his scroll, typing away, "Hope the rest of the gang is doing as well as we are."


"Computer," whispered Bruce, "Analyze opponent."

Bruce stood in an office across from the most dangerous man alive, Deathstroke, the terminator. Oddly enough, they didn't break into fisticuffs immediately, instead choosing to circle each other, sizing each other up.

"You're shorter than they make you out to be." said Deathstroke, brandishing his sword, "Though your stance is good."

"I'm not here to mingle." said Bruce, subtly pulling a square-shaped device from his belt, "I'm here to find out what your employers are up to."

"Considering they're my employers, you can see how that's a problem for me." said Deathstroke, twirling his sword, "They gave me some footage of you though, your training must have been brutal to produce someone so efficient."

"I don't care about compliments," said Bruce, dropping the device on the ground, "I care about the people your employers could hurt."

"If you care so much, I'll give you a hint." said Deathstroke, "We know you go to Beacon and we have people watching you."

Bruce's eyes widened underneath his mask, "You've infiltrated the facility? Tell me their names!"

"Ah ah ah!" said Deathstroke, "If I tell you that it wouldn't be a hint."

Bruce narrowed his eyes, pulling out a pellet, "I'm done here."

"No you're not." said Deathstroke, "You won't live to see tommo-"

*BANG!*

The second before he steps on the square device Bruce dropped, Deathstroke turns and kicks it away, turning his face away from the explosion of light coming from the device. As Deathstroke was preoccupied with the trap Bruce had lain, Bruce flung the pellet onto the ground, instantly hiding himself in a cloud of smoke. Pulling out his grapple gun, Bruce aims for the vent.

"Leaving a trap?" said Deathstroke, turning towards Bruce, "Rookie move."

Upon seeing the smoke cloud, Deathstroke sighed before pulling out a staff, "Fine, have it your way."

Bruce fires the grapple, watching as it penetrates the upper ceiling of the vent. Just as the grapple begins to pull Bruce upward, a blast of yellow energy spears through the smoke, hitting Bruce and throwing him straight through the office wall.

Straight into the crowd.

Bruce tumbles as pieces of drywall follow his arrival, stumbling to his feet only to realize he's landed right in the middle of the White Fang Rally. The onlookers surrounded Bruce, confused about his presence.

"Who the hell is that?" asked one of them.

"He doesn't look like White Fang." said another.

Bruce looked up towards the office, spotting Deathstroke as he walked out of the breach he had made next to the windows. He brandished a staff with smoke coming out of one end.

"Aura at 70%" said Bruce's heads up display.

Bad time.

"Would you look at that!" said Torchwick, who stood on stage, "Our good friend has come back to take us on, alone I might add!"

Torchwick snapped his fingers, "Anarchy!"

Anarchy?

Bruce turned around, coming face to face with a man in a golden mask.

"Brothers and sisters!" shouted the man, "An interloper has made his presence known! Come, tear him limb from limb!"

The faces of the White Fang turned to expressions of anger as they began to mob Bruce, grabbing at his arms and legs. Bruce punches and kicked at the crowd, trying to get free, but the sheer number of people attacking him were too much.

I could use a tear gas pellet, but some of these people aren't fully integrated into the White Fang. They're innocent, I shouldn't hurt them too much.

Just as the mob began to envelop Bruce, something unexpected happens.

"BANG!"

The lights go out, shrouding the warehouse in darkness. The mob begins to panic, letting go of Bruce and stepping over each other after the sudden change in lighting. Bruce quickly got on his feet, knowing that the faunus's eyes would adjust quickly.

"Computer, activate night vision!" said Bruce.

Bruce's hud lit up with a green tint, giving him sight in the darkness. Glancing around, he noticed that the faunus were still disoriented. Suddenly, a hand grabs Bruce from behind. On instinct, Bruce whirls around, punching his assailant in the face.

"OW!" shouted the man, using a voice that Bruce recognized.

"Sun?!" said Bruce, "What are you doing?!"

"Getting you out of here!" said Sun.

Another hand grabbed Bruce's wrist, pulling him through the crowd as Sun followed. Bruce looked up from the hand, assuming that it belonged to Blake.

"You two could have gotten out quietly." said Bruce.

"And let you get mobbed?" said Blake, "That's not good teamwork."

The three bunched together before crashing through the warehouse window, making a dead sprint away from the building. The shattered moon illuminated the night sky, devoid of stars due to light pollution.

"Hey, escape successful, despite the friendly fire!" said Sun.

"It isn't over till it's over." said Bruce.

"What do you mean?" said Sun, "There's no way they can fi-"

*CRASH*

Bruce looks back at the building, finding that a massive mechanized mech had burst through the warehouse wall and was in pursuit. Deathstroke rode atop the mech, brandishing his staff.

"You were saying!" said Blake.

"Just shut up and run!" shouted Sun.


*Ding*

The elevator doors opened as Weiss and Victor walked out. Vic's scroll began to ring.

"Hello?" said Victor, answering.

"Mayday mayday!" said Bruce, "We've got some evidence, but there's a military-grade mech on our tail housing the world's most dangerous assassin, backup is required!"

Victor looked up from the scroll at Weiss, "That doesn't sound good."

"Let's get over there!" said Weiss.


"Big robot big robot big robot!"

Sun's shouting was audible both from the scroll and from his current location as Clark placed his scroll in his pocket.

"I got sidetracked, can't let that happen again." said Clark, leaping into the sky, "Time to get to work!"


"Most dangerous assassin!" said Bruce as Yang raced to her bike along with Neptune and Oliver.

"Where are you guys?" asked Yang as Neptune got on the back.

"HEEEEELLLPP!" screamed a voice from the street.

The trio watched as 3 figures raced down the street followed by a massive mech.

"Huh, that's convenient." said Oliver.

"Let's go then!" said Yang, revving up her bike.

"Woah woah woah!" said Oliver, "Hold your horses!"

"What?!" said Yang, "They're in trouble!"

Oliver gestured at their surroundings, which held nothing of note since they were in an empty valley.

"What are you trying to say?" asked Neptune.

Oliver gawked at them, "Hello?! How am I supposed to follow you guys? I don't have a bike."

"You can run." said Neptune, putting on his goggles, "I can shoot from the back."

Oliver looked Yang dead in the eyes, "Yang, who do you want on that bike, the guy you know will hit his shots 100% or the guy who played DJ instead of helping us fight the lizard."

Yang took one glance between them before shoving Neptune off her bike.

"Ow!" said Neptune.

"WOOHOO!" shouted Oliver, leaping on the back, "Onward, to victory!"

The duo drive off after the mech, leaving Neptune in the dust.

"*Sigh*, guess it's a jog then." said Neptune, getting off his butt and breaking into a run.


Bruce, Blake, and Sun continued to race up the street, crossing over a bridge overlooking a system of highways and overpasses.

"We have to shake him off!" said Bruce, "Jump!"

Bruce leaped over the side of the bridge, followed by Blake and Sun. Bruce's eyes gazed upon the highway, filled with headlights and flanked by walls made of pure energy. Spreading his arms, his wingsuit activated, allowing him to glide directly onto one of the speeding cars. The car honked, it's passenger clearly annoyed, but Bruce held on tight. Glancing upward, Bruce spotted Sun and Blake landing on similar cars.

"Is everyone alright?!" asked Bruce.

"I'm good." said Blake.

"Me too." said Sun.

*CRASH*

The trio looked behind them to find that the mech had followed them onto the highway, knocking cars off the road in the process. Deathstroke aimed his staff, charging the weapon.

"Move!" said Bruce, "Stay still and you're dead!"

The trio began to leap from car to car as Deathstroke began to track them with his staff. While the mech continued to barrel down on them, Deathstroke did not fire, instead choosing to wait for the perfect moment.

At that moment, Yang and Oliver began to drive up behind the mech.

"It's gaining on them!" said Yang.

"So let's slow em down," said Oliver, pulling out his bow, "starting with the guy hitching a ride!"

Taking aim, Oliver loosed an arrow at Deathstroke, watching as it sailed through the air. Moving fast, the arrow makes it within centimeters of Deathstroke's head before his hand struck like a snake, catching the arrow in midair without looking, his attention still on what was in front of them.

"Holy-" said Oliver, "Nobody's ever done that before."

"100% huh?!" said Yang, "C'mon try another one."

"You don't have to tell me!" said Oliver.

Deathstroke dropped the arrow, pressing his finger to his ear.

"Torchwick, we have someone on our tail." said Deathstroke, "I've got the monkey in my sights, keep the motorcycle occupied."

"Oh I've been looking forward to trying out some of these toys!" said Torchwick, who operated the mech from inside.

The torso of the mech rotated 180 degrees while the legs continued to move forward, racing through traffic. The mech body began to fire bolts of energy, blowing potholes in the road.

"Incoming!" said Oliver.

"Hang on!" said Yang.

Oliver held onto Yang as she piloted the motorcycle, weaving between mech blasts. Meanwhile, Deathstroke continued to track Sun. He waited until Sun began to leap to another car.

"Gotcha." said Deathstroke.

A blast of energy exploded out of the staff, catching Sun at the apex of his jump.

"AAGH!" screamed Sun, blasted off course and tumbling onto the street.

Bruce and Blake both turned around upon hearing the scream.

"SUN!" shouted Blake.

Bruce watched in horror as the mech stomped closer and closer to Sun as he tried to recover from the fall. Sun looked up just in time to see the mech foot bearing down on him.

"Uh oh!" said Sun, closing his eyes.

*WOOSH*

In an instant, a red and blue blur passes over Sun, grabbing him and taking him to the side of the highway. As Sun opened his eyes, he realized who had saved him.

"Oh man, I thought I was gonna die there!" said Sun, "Thanks Clark!"

"No problem!" said Clark, "Now I just have to stop that thing."

Clark leaped after the mech as Sun waved him goodbye.

"Wait a minute," said Sun, "why am I waving, shouldn't I be helping them?"

It was then that Sun heard heavy breathing coming up from behind him. Turning around, Sun laid his eyes on an exhausted Neptune, who stopped in front of Sun, hand on his knees.

"Did-*Pant*-Did they leave you behind too?!" said Neptune.

Sun looked back towards the battle, which had moved out of sight, "I guess so."

"Oh, cool." said Neptune, "Wanna get some ramen?"

Sun thought for a moment, "...Yeah."


Deathstroke looked back as a man dressed in red and blue saved the monkey faunus.

"Guy dressed like a damn superhero is here!" said Deathstroke, "That your bulletproof guy?"

"Yup!" said Torchwick, frustration in his voice, "That's him."

"You got the button on you?" asked Deathstroke.

Torchwick pulled out the button, looking at it for a moment before pressing it, "Let's hope it does something!"

Bruce and Blake continued to leap forward from car to car.

"Clark caught Sun," said Blake, "He should be here soon."

"Good, but it'll be better if he can fight the mech in a less crowded environment," said Bruce.

"On it!" said a voice in Bruce's helmet.

Victor and Weiss leaped down from an overpass onto the highway, each pulling out their respective weapons. Bruce and Blake leaped from their cars, landing next to the duo and pulling out their own weapons. Bruce brandished a bladed throwing weapon in his own fist.

"What's your plan?" asked Bruce.

Victor pressed a button on his omni-tool, "Right now, I'm broadcasting a disruptor signal to the mech, whoever's in it won't be in control for the next 30 seconds."

"Allowing me to take it off balance without too much effort!" said Weiss, thrusting her rapier into the road and coating it in ice.

The mech's automated movement could not be adjusted as it slipped on the ice, barreling through the energy wall and off the highway. Deathstroke braced as the mech landed on its feet, facing both a determined Ruby and a confident Clark who had arrived ahead of them.

"I totally beat you here." said Ruby.

"Now is not the time." said Clark, "Besides, I was saving Sun."

As the rest of the team leaped down, forming up on Clark and Ruby, the mech readied its weapons. Yang and Oliver also landed on the ground, racing over to the team to support them.

"This should be a piece of cake," said Oliver, "You've got this Clark."

"Clark?!" said Ruby, "But I wanted to fight the giant robot!"

"It isn't a robot," said Victor, "It's a paladin mech."

"Whatever it is." said Clark, "It shouldn't be a problem."

Cracking his knuckles, Clark began to march towards the mech. As he walked on, an odd whistling began to invade his ears.

What is that? It sounds like it's coming from...Above?!

Looking up, Clark sees a metal blur just as it collides with him.

"BOOM!"

The impact of the blur creates a massive shockwave, knocking everyone off their feet. A massive dust cloud forms as a massive crater forms, Clark in the middle.

Clark groaned, getting on his hands and knees as a figure forms in the cloud, "H-Hello?"

The figure raises its arm before backhanding Clark, sending him sailing into the air and away from both his team and the mech. As the dust cloud clears, the rest of the team get up, realizing that Clark, as well as the blur, were gone.

"What was that?!" said Yang, "It made a crater!"

Bruce looked across from the crater, noticing that both the mech and Deathstroke were heading toward them. Still brandishing his weapon, Bruce took a battle stance as Deathstroke leaped off the mech, separating himself from the metal behemoth.

"Alright, new plan." said Bruce, "Whatever attacked Clark, he'll have to handle himself. Ruby, Yang, Oliver, take on Deathstroke."

Oliver nodded, "He's ours."

"He won't know what hit him." said Ruby.

"You can say that again!" said Yang.

Bruce turned to the rest of the team, "Everyone else, we disable the mech."

"Sounds like a plan." said Victor.

"It won't last 5 minutes." said Weiss.

"Good, then let's get it done," said Bruce, "As a team."

The heroes took their stances, ready to fight as both Deathstroke and the mech approached.

"Looks like they cobbled together a plan." said Deathstroke.

"Then smash through it." said Torchwick.

Bruce readied his weapon, "Ready? GO!"


Clark opened his eyes, realizing that he had landed in an abandoned parking garage. Sitting up, he looked around, his surroundings empty. Suddenly Clark winced, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ow, what hit me?" wondered Clark, rubbing the back of his head until he felt something sticky. Taking a look at his hand, Clark's eyes widened when he saw that there was blood on his hand.

"That's new!" said Clark.

*CRASH!*

Something crashes through the roof of the parking garage, flinging debris everywhere. Clark stands his ground, watching as dust and bits of concrete flew by him. As the dust settles, Clark laid his eyes upon a sight he never expected to see.

It was a humanoid robot, with glowing green eyes and almost skeletal features, arms, legs, and skull-like head included. It moved toward Clark with inhuman movements, balling its hands up into fists.

"I don't know who you are." said Clark, "But I don't want to hurt you!"

The robot opened its mouth and out came a pained and distorted voice that Clark would never forget, especially considering the word it said.

"Help."


Hey guys! Glad to be back! I was originally going to make a single large chapter, but felt that it would be better to split this one up in two. The finale to the investigation arc will be next chapter!

Reviews:

Shadow Joestar: Thanks for the feedback as always! :)

DCDGojira: I like the scene! Also the Creeper is way crazier than Nora. I don't know if I will use your OC's, I had an idea to use one at some point, but realized that another DC character would fit better (Pls don't be mad). For volume 7 I will try to find a place for Black Lighting, though I have an idea for another character already. Volume 7 ending was pretty great! And Birds of Prey was really fun! Sam Raimi would be a dream pick, even if he isn't officially locked in yet. If he accepts, I hope they let him do his thing and not meddle very much!

Next Chapter: Clash!