Ace Operatives.
After getting some much needed rest, the teams were preparing themselves for their first real mission. But a lot of stuff happened during that time. Team RWBY, JNPR and GHLF, minus Genji, handed their weapons over to Pietro so he could upgrade them. Genji didn't as he liked his Dragon Blade the way it was. That said, he did need to fix up his body, so he spent a lot of time with people who specilized in cybernetics and his metal parts went through a full make over. Hana also spent some time on an operating table... for a more personal reason.
"All right, gather 'round. Our mission today is to secure the launch site for the Amity Communications Tower" Clover began once everyone were in Ironwood's office "he designated area is an abandoned Dust mine. Since its closure, the Grimm have moved in. The good news is all that untouched Dust is still down there, too. Science team says they'll need it for the first phase of their launch. Atlas military Huntsmen are already hard at work clearing out the surrounding tundra. But recon has identified a powerful Geist that's managed to evade destruction and take several lives. After we increased our numbers, the Geist was smart enough to retreat into the mine itself, meaning it's old and extremely dangerous" Clover withdraws a compact Scroll and presses a button, causing the photograph of Huntsmen battling the Petra Gigas to take up the entirety of each screen "This is our target".
"Those things are a real pain in the ass" Lena commented, not noticing at Ruby couldn't help but glance at her butt when she said that.
"Indeed. The mine was a labyrinth back in the day. There's all sorts of tunnels and chambers the Geist can move between, so if we're gonna kill this thing, we'll have to split up and corner it" Clover continued "General Ironwood says you've seen your fair share of combat. I trust that man with my life, so tomorrow, I'll be trusting you all, too. Let's make it happen, people".
Once Team RWBY had got their new gear, they waited for the others. All of them had new looks.
Genji, Lena and Fareeha walked in. Genji's new look was similar but also different to how he used to look. He was wearing more clothes over his body now, mainly because of the much colder climate. Lena's new look was a lot like how she used to look back in their Beacon days, only her only the colors were darker and her jacket was thicker, and her chronal accelerator looked more advanced. Fareeha had a new armor again, it looked a lot like her original armor, only lighter color and it looked like ice was sticking out of it.
"Wow, loving the new looks guys" Yang said before smiling at Fareeha "And you look like a tasty ice cream now".
Fareeha blushed "Oh shut up. They called it the Frostbite armor. It was made withstand the most intense cold of Atlas. Seemed like the obvious choice".
"Oh wow, Lena I love your new look! Reminds me of how you looked before, only cooler!" Ruby said with stars in her eyes.
Lena giggled "Why thank you. Love the new hair, Ruby".
Blake walked up to Genji "Seems like they fixed you right up".
Genji looked at his new metal arm "Yeah. My new metal parts are made by the latest tech and the strongest metal they had. No one will be damaging me this time... And I see you cut your hair".
Blake blushed "Do you like it?".
Genji strokes her hair with a smile "Yeah... makes it easier to rub my fingers through it without you hissing at me if I accidentally tug it".
Blake blushed but shook her head "By the way, were is Hana?".
"Did someone say my name?" Everyone looked and saw Hana who was wearing Some Carbon Fiber looking suit and still covering her eyes, but she had an excited smile "I got a surprise for you all".
Hana removed her blindfold, her eyes closed... then she opened them, and to everyone's amazement, she had color in her eyes again, meaning that...
"I can see again!" Hana said happily.
Blake smiled widely as she ran up and gave Hana a big hug "That's wonderful Hana! You must be so happy!".
Hana giggled "I am. I can finally see you all again... wow. You all look different form what I remember".
"Couldn't you see by using your semblance?" Ruby asked, though she was also happy that Hana got her sight back.
"I could. But not on the same level as my real eyes. How do I explain it? Think of seeing everything like a moving painting. You get a small clue what everything looks like, but not fully" Hana explained.
"Well, it's nice to see you can... well see again" Yang said "But how did you get your sight back?".
Hana motioned to her eyes, and when everyone looked closer, they could see some blue lines across her eye ball "Some new tech they've been working on, using some research that Angela provided them. With careful surgery, they were able to restore my sight to the same level it was before. If not better".
Genji smiled "Glad you got something back after everything you had to endure. You deserved it".
Hana smiled "Thank you brother. Now, shall we meet up with the others and head out on our mission?".
Everyone nods and leave.
Team RWBY's Manta soars through a cloud and opens its side door, with Team RWBY standing in the doorway.
Team RWBY look at each other, smiling. Yang chuckles, and Ruby nods. The four leap from the Manta, with Ruby immediately using her Semblance, laughing as she falls. She draws Crescent Rose, changes it to scythe form, stands on it and begins firing it, using the recoil to slow her fall. Weiss Schnee makes her way downward while leaping back and forth between glyphs, before launching herself toward the mine and summoning her Arma Gigas' arm and sword. She then uses a glyph to send herself onto the sword and slides down the blade.
Blake draws her newly-repaired katana, shifts it into sickle form and throws it, hooking it onto one of the metal structures outside the mine entrance. She then uses it to swing from building to building. Yang freefalls, laughing as she does so, before firing at the ground and flipping to land on her feet. She slides across the snow between two minecart tracks and is joined by Ruby, Weiss and Blake when she comes to a stop. Harriet Bree lands nearby with a slight bounce, tucking and rolling. Marrow Amin lands on his boomerang, rides it across the snow and leaps off of it, causing it to fly through the air and then return to him. The boomerang shifts into rifle mode when he catches it.
Team JNR's Manta soars overhead toward the mountain. Inside the ship, Elm and Vine look at JNR and prepare to jump.
"This is my favorite part!" Elm said in excitment.
Vine steps out of the ship, while Elm leaps backwards. Ren hops out, followed by a laughing Nora. Jaune takes a deep breath, gets a small running start and leaps out. He dives for a moment, then deploys his shield while activating its new Hard-Light Dust upgrade. The shield begins acting as a hang glider, with the sudden slow in momentum causing Jaune to yelp. He then drifts over to the cliff, before turning his shield downward and using another Dust upgrade to create an outward burst that cushions his landing. Standing alongside Nora and Ren, Jaune draws his sword.
"Ha ha! Perhaps you kids won't get yourselves killed after all!" Elm enters a tunnel, while Jaune looks disappointed and Nora pouts.
"She meant that as a compliment" Vine said.
Team GHLF's Manta flies around the back. Genji was looking at a picture of his son before the ship arrived at their location, making him put it away. He shared a look with his team and with a nod from them they all jump out. Genji dives head first towards he made several hand signs, covering himself in green aura, allowing him to land without any damage. Lena was free falling until she used her blink ability to land on the ground. Hana used her new Mech-Pack to gently hover down to the ground, while Fareeha dashed down quickly and did a superhero landing.
Once everyone was done, Clover contacted them "This is Alpha squad. LZ's clear. Proceeding on foot. You've all got fancy new Scrolls, so don't forget to use 'em. Keep your eyes and ears open. I want an update if you encounter the target. Alpha out".
"Copy that, moving in now" Genji said before ending the communication "Alright team, time to head in".
"It's cold out here" Lena said while rubbing her legs together.
"Solitas is one of the deadliest parts in Atlas. Without proper heating or an protective aura, we would all freeze to death in a matter of hours" Fareeha explained "Good thing my armor has built in heaters".
"Yeah, good for you" Hana said a little annoyed before looking at Genji "Hey, Genji? Is there a reason as to why we didn't just tell Ironwood the truth?".
Genji sighed "It was not a decision I could make on my own. I already spoke to Ruby about it. Ironwood don't seem like a bad man. But I don't know if we can fully trust him yet. He is a man of agendas, and agendas can change people".
"Trust? He's been more trusting of us than we've been to him" Fareeha pointed out.
"He told us his plans and even allowed us to fight with him when he could've thrown us in to prison for all the laws we broke" Lena said.
"I know... but like I said it's not my decision to make alone. I need to take it up with Ruby and Jaune. I am not the only leader around here" Genji reminded.
"Alright fine. Let's get this over with" Fareeha said.
Everyone nods and head inside.
The tunnels were dark, and a good place for grimm to hide. Everyone kept their guard up, ready to pull their weapons at a moment's notice if needed. They stopped when Harriet contacted everyone.
"Bravo checking in. Hit a bit of a snag" She said.
"Is there any trouble?" Genji asked.
"Nothing dangerous, But there's been a cave-in in the main entrance. Not sure if it's recent or was caused by the original accident. Either way, we'll have to do a little problem solving" Harriet said.
"Understood. Let us know if you need anything" Clover said.
"Me and my team are not far from you. We can offer help if you need it" Genji offered.
"That's real sweet of you, ninja boy. But we got this covered, not that I would mind seeing those ninja but cheeks of yours" Harriet said. Genji could feel her smirking... and Blake was more than likely glaring at her.
"I will pretend I didn't hear that last part. Over and out" Genji said before ending the call "Alright team, time to get moving".
But then they stopped as Genji could sense grimm were near by. Suddenly he jumped back as a centipede looking grimm burst out of the ground.
"Centinels!" He called out as more grimm came out.
The grimm launched at him, and he jumped up before landing on it's head, pinning it down with his foot, before rasing his metal arm and made some short blades come out of his knuckles before punching clean through the Centinel's body. Hana made large metal arms come out of her new Mech-Pack which she used to grab a Centinel and held it in place before taking out her short sword and sliced it in half. One Centinel tried to launch at Lena but she blinked out of the way and easily shot it down. Fareeha finished of the rest of them by firing a missile which split in to several smaller ones and blew apart all the remaining grimm.
"Everyone alright?" Genji asked, earning nods from his team "Alright. Let's find that ghast".
Not long after he said that, Clover contacted them again "This is Alpha! We've engaged the target! All squads head toward our position!".
"On our way! Let's move!" Genji ordered as he and his team rushed down the hall, Genji could sen more grimm closing in "Get ready! More Centinels are closing in! Below and from the sides!".
Everyone got ready and sure enough, the grimm showed up. Genji pulled his dragon balde and sliced through three of them. Lena blinked between several others and gunned them down. Hana activated her Mecha-Pack's boosters as she charged clean through several Centinels with the help of the mech's arms. Fareeha used her semblance to smash several Centinels together before charging up her armored fist and smashed them.
As the team continued on, Clover contacted them again "Target escaped, last seen headed east".
"You heard the man, let's hurry" Genji ordered.
"Thought you didn't like soldiers" Hana reminded.
"I don't. But disobeying orders would cause more trouble than we need right now" Genji said as they continued to head east.
They exit their tunnel onto a raised walkway in a giant mine chamber filled with Dust veins and huge Dust crystals. Raised minecart rails, walkways and stone arches span across and around the edges of the chamber.
"Wow..." Lena said.
Vine spoke over communicator as the other teams arrived "Everyone use caution. This room is highly active with Dust energy. Triggering it could ruin the launch site".
"And vaporize us. How is that always second with you?" Marrow said, clearly annoyed.
Nora looked around "I thought the target was supposed to be in here".
A low rumbling noise from above causes everyone to look up. The Petra Gigas Geist is clinging to a chunk of ice on the ceiling. It turns to look down at everyone, showing purple Dust crystals embedded in its body. It jumps down from the ceiling, crashing through a stone arch on its way to the ground in front of Team RWBY.
"It added Dust to its body? How are we supposed to-" Ruby was cut of when Harriet speeds past her, and Marrow follows suit. Elm jumps down from the cliff and runs toward the Petra Gigas, as well.
"Elm!" Vine reaches out with his Semblance, wrapping an Aura arm around one of the Petra Gigas' legs. With his other Aura arm, he reaches behind him, grabs onto a support beam and pulls. Elm runs over to the leg, stomps to root herself in place with her Semblance and grabs onto the leg.
"Vine!" Elm calls out as Vine lets go, leaps off the cliff and uses his Semblance to swing onto a minecart bridge. He then uses his Semblance to grab onto one of the Petra Gigas' arms and pull.
"Marrow!" Vine called out and Marrow throws his boomerang at the exposed Geist arm between pieces of ice and rubble, severing it. A Dust crystal flies out from the released rubble, and Marrow's eyes widen.
The crystal falls toward the ground, and Marrow catches his boomerang "Harriet!".
Harriet charges her Semblance and then speeds after the crystal, maneuvering around falling rocks. She runs up a rock, jumps off the side of a raised walkway and catches the crystal in mid-air, landing on another walkway. Teams JNR and RWBY watch the Ace-Ops in amazement as they continue fighting. Marrow cuts off the Geist's other arm, sending another Dust crystal flying through the air.
The crystal is caught by Clover, who just arrived with Qrow he chuckles as he speaks "What would you guys do without me?".
He tosses the crystal to Qrow, who looks at him with an eyebrow raised. Clover salutes to Qrow and jumps backward off the cliff. Harriet speeds around the Petra Gigas' feet, while Vine swings himself around and punches the Petra Gigas in the chest. Harriet speeds to the middle of the room, whistles and waves at the Petra Gigas, then speeds away when it tries to hit her. Elm takes this opportunity to slam her hammer onto the rock composing part of the Petra Gigas' arm. The rock becomes stuck, and as the Petra Gigas struggles to pull it up, Marrow severs its arm once again.
Clover lands on the ground, deploys his fishing rod, and runs over to the Petra Gigas. He jumps off its leg, launching himself into the air. He bumps his clover pin with his thumb, swings his pole and pulls on the fishing line, directing it to wrap around the Geist's mask and hook onto it. Team RWBY's eyes widen in amazement, and Clover pulls, forcing the Geist out of the ice block. Harriet runs into position and uses her Semblance to launch straight up into the air, punching the Geist with her weapon, killing it. As purple Dust crystals begin raining down, the Ace-Ops catch them. One crystal is sent flying through the air on the other side of the chamber.
"Harriet!" Clover shouts
Harriet uses her Semblance to speed across the room, but she has to maneuver around the falling ice and rocks. The crystal comes close to hitting the ground, and with Harriet mere feet away. Suddenly, a red blur flies past, taking the crystal with it. Surprised, Harriet tumbles and stops. Ruby deactivates her Semblance and falls to the ground in a sitting position, hugging the large crystal tight. She opens her eyes and laughs. Harriet walks over and pulls her to her feet.
"Thought you said your Semblance was like mine" Harriet said.
Ruby looked confused "It… is?".
"I've seen other speed Semblances before, but that was different. I think there's more going on than you think" Harriet said.
"Wait until she sees what she can do with her eyes" Yang whispered and Blake laughs.
Lena gives Ruby a kiss on the cheek as a reward for saving them all Elm lifted Ruby on to her shoulder as they all began celebrating a little.
Genji could not help but to smile "So this is what Atlas' best can do. You are an impressive team, there is no denying that".
"Why thank you ninja boy. You sure know how to flatter someone" Harriet said with a wink.
"Sorry, I am engaged" Genji said, last thing he needed was any drama from a potentially jealous Blake.
"Oh. Bummer" Harriet said, earning a small laugh from her team.
Blake smiled, happy Genji cleared the air quickly before any cliche love drama could happen. All in all, the mission was an success.
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Tell me what you think.
