Hunters of Justice (RWBY/DC)
Chapter 41: First Impressions
December 8th, 9:15 AM (Eastern Standard Time)
Fawcett City, Pennsylvania, United States of America
RWBY and JNPR had spent a few hours training with Billy Batson and his family before they had to go home and eat dinner. Outside of Nora's little experiment, which raised more questions about the capabilities of her own Semblance rather than answer anything regarding Billy's powers, the tests were all mundane. Speed, agility, strength, anything and everything they could think of.
The results, while only surface level, were promising. It quickly became apparent that Billy was easily the strongest of the entire group. That was only to be expected, given how Billy was Shazam's chosen successor and thereby had complete access to all his abilities. As it turned out, each of those came from different champions, for lack of a better word, which made up the word 'Shazam.' The Wisdom of Solomon, the Strength of Hercules, the Stamina of Atlas, the Power of Zeus, the Courage of Achilles, and the Speed of Mercury. Although they couldn't accurately test the limits of his abilities with the makeshift "equipment" they had on hand. There was only so much they could do with abandoned vehicles, oil barrels, tires and concrete.
Most of their tests pertained to the relationship of the fledgling superhero family with these champions. Specifically, were they limited to simply one champion or was it more akin to specialties? After a few rounds of testing, it was found that the latter was accurate. Each member of the family did have access to the powers of all six champions, but only had the full strength of one. Except for Billy, although they did find that each of his family's specialties were greater than his own. When transformed, Pedro was stronger, Darla was faster, Freddy had better flight, and Eugene could create more powerful electrical currents. Overall, though, Billy was clearly the most powerful of the group.
After that, they worked on figuring out just what each champion's power fully meant. Some of them were easy and obvious, like the Power of Zeus fueling their electrokinesis and the Speed of Mercury providing flight and hyper-speed. Why Mercury was split between Freddy and Darla, with flight and hyper-speed respectively, Ruby didn't know, but they could figure that out later. The Strength of Hercules and the Stamina of Atlas were also quite easy to understand. Billy was able to lift a fully laden semi-truck over his head and was seemingly invulnerable but, outside of Pedro with the semi, the rest could only lift small cars. Luckily, their durability appeared to be roughly equal, but Ruby suspected Billy could take more of a hit.
The Wisdom of Solomon and the Courage of Achilles, however, were much harder to figure out. Both of those abilities were much more esoteric and mental than the others, and with their limited ability to accurately test those powers, it didn't leave them much to work with. Nora got inspired to try scaring everyone to see if that's what the Courage of Achilles meant, which didn't go far. As for the Wisdom of Solomon, that was admittedly much easier to test when compared to the Courage, especially once Weiss got the bright idea to start throwing complicated problems and mathematical formulas at everyone. They started off small, but eventually only Billy and Mary were able to provide answers, telling them that Mary's specialty was most likely the Wisdom of Solomon and that it enhanced mental faculties in some way. Although the fact that she was already the oldest and most educated of them by default muddled their hypothesis a bit.
Eventually, that round of testing devolved from actual problems to a game of Jeopardy where they were just throwing random trivia questions their way, which Billy and Mary were able to answer. Once it was over and the family had to leave, they determined that the wisdom of Solomon seemingly gave them access to vast quantities of knowledge. To what extent, they did not know, but regardless the opportunities it provided excited Billy tremendously. Until Mary forbid him from ever using his superpowered form to do his schoolwork, with the others pledging to hold him accountable to that once she left for college. His mood deflated after that, which Ruby found highly amusing, although she got the sense that, had the others also inherited Solomon's wisdom, that demand would have been outvoted instead.
Billy and his family had left after that, prompting RWBY and JNPR to do a preliminary patrol of the city. That mostly meant introducing themselves to the local police on behalf of the Justice League as well as searching for any evidence of Grimm activity. A few times they had to stop an actual crime, but for the most part Fawcett City was inactive. Especially when compared to the hotspots of Gotham and Metropolis. The two teams patrolled the city for a few hours, then retired to their hotel for the night.
Now they were waiting for Billy and his family to return so that they could get started for the day.
"What is taking them so long?" Weiss irritably asked, tapping her foot rapidly as she looked out the window. "They were supposed to be here by now."
"Give it time, Weiss," Yang countered, leaning against a concrete pillar as she shrugged and rolled her hand nonchalantly. "Remember, unlike us these guys are newbies. They've only been superheroes for, what, a week? Can't expect them to be on the clock all the time. We don't even do that."
Weiss shot Yang a look, then sighed and shook her head. She then admitted, "I know, but I suppose I expected them to come running to learn how to be superheroes with us, considering how enthusiastic they were yesterday."
"Aw, don't worry Weiss. I understand," Ruby said to her partner as she patted her back comfortingly. "I was looking forward to being the cool upperclassman now, too."
The Red Reaper then noticed Blake looking at her scroll, and she asked, "Whatcha looking at, Blake?"
"Emails from the office," Blake answered, thumbing through them while only giving Ruby a passing glance.
"Oh, what about?"
"Kahndaq, actually," Blake revealed. "When Billy told us that the last time the Seven Deadly Sins were released it led to the destruction of Kahndaq, I got curious about it and asked Lois about any information she had on it. Surprisingly, the Kingdom of Kahndaq is actually still around."
"Wait, really?" Jaune asked, giving Blake an inquisitive look. "Where is it?"
Blake nodded, then added, "It's a small country in the Middle East, bordering Egypt and Israel on the northern portion of the Sinai Peninsula. Obviously not the same kingdom from five-thousand years ago, that was burned to the ground. Although the official history is that it was due to a slave rebellion led by a man named Teth-Adam, a slave warrior himself, that got way out of hand. Like a more successful Spartacus, in a way. There's no mention of the Seven Deadly Sins at all. Right now, though, what I've read about modern Kahndaq doesn't paint a pretty picture either."
"How so?" Yang asked, giving Blake her full attention.
"They're a rogue nation," Blake declared, a frown on her face. "One that refuses to interact on the global stage outside of being a state sponsor of terrorism across the region. But they're too small and inconsequential for anyone to really care about dealing with them. Their history over the past century has been a revolving door of oppressive kings and brutal dictators, all of whom had no regard for their own people. It's sad, really."
"Oh, dang," Nora muttered, frowning deeply as she crossed her arms. "Anything going on over there now?"
"They're been in a civil war for the past few years," Blake answered, her frown deepening as she read the emails Lois sent. "At the moment, it's locked in a stalemate."
"How come the League hasn't intervened?" Jaune asked, his eyes wide in disbelief.
"They've tried to broker peace over the years, but it never got off the ground," Blake sadly relayed. "Usually because the government broke the ceasefire, prompting the rebels to retaliate. Other times, the ceasefire was broken by one of the more extremist cells, and the ensuing brutal crackdown by the government galvanized the rest of the rebels. By now, everyone's more concerned with making sure the fighting doesn't spread beyond Kahndaq's borders."
"Well, they better get their act together soon," Yang determined. "A civil war is a prime target for the Grimm, and they're not going to pick sides."
"That goes without saying," Weiss said, a sad frown on her face.
If the Grimm got involved, a lot of innocent people were going to die. Not just in Kahndaq, but the surrounding region as well. What made it worse was that there wasn't anything they could do about it. The Justice League was a global peacekeeping organization able to operate under the permission of the United Nations. If they were to take the logical next step and personally intervene in stopping the fighting, that would only make the other nations of the world look at them in suspicion and fear. They could only be activists and mediators, nothing more, and Weiss knew that got under the League's skin more than anything else. To know that they had the ability to do more but were blocked by pesky politics, she could only imagine the anguish they'd feel as they watched on.
Their thoughts were broken as they heard a loud thud come from a locked door behind them. RWBY and JNPR jumped around and unfurled their weapons, startled slightly given how the door in question led further inside the factory. Slowly the knob began to turn as wind flowed out from underneath the door. Then it was swung open, and to their surprise they saw Billy, currently transformed into his superhero form, standing in front of a stone hallway.
"Hey, guys! You have no idea how long it took to get this working," Billy revealed. A long, heavy pause followed as everyone stared at him, then he asked, "What?"
Once they got over their surprise, RWBY and JNPR followed Billy into the dark, rocky cavern that he came out of. By this point, both teams knew that trying to rationalize how said cavern showed up when they knew for a fact no such thing existed five minutes earlier was an exercise in futility. They chalked it up to, as Yang so succinctly put it, "magical bullshit" and left it at that. As such, they focused their attention instead on observing everything they could about this mystical place. It was far larger than it had any right to be, with multiple stone bridges crisscrossing over a bottomless chasm. Doors, too many to count, lined the walls, and there was this electrifying presence in the air that made their hair stand on end.
This place radiated power, and they all knew it.
"Guys, welcome to our lair," Billy introduced as they entered the main chamber.
The Remnantians found themselves in a large hallway, with the ground smooth and paved while the ceiling was craggy. Along the sides were several columns, with the left displaying seven demonic creatures. A quick glance along the bottom told them that these statues were the Seven Deadly Sins. Opposite them, atop a stone pedestal that went up to Ruby's waist, was a glowing purple orb. It was unsettling to look at, and as they drew near all of them thought they heard dark whispers coming from inside their heads. They did their best to ignore it, then shifted their attention to the far end of the hall.
There they saw the rest of Billy's family, all in their superhero forms, sitting on stone thrones arranged in a half-circle. The backs of the thrones reached high above their heads and sat in front of a large stone pillar, which had the same insignia that was on Billy's chest emblazoned on its face.
"What is this place?" Ruby asked, her awe and wonder easily coming through.
"This is the Rock of Eternity," Billy explained, throwing his arms to the side. "What you're looking at right here is the source of all magic on Earth, including our powers."
"Pretty sweet lair, right?" Freddy excitedly asked as he sat in his throne, his right leg resting over his left.
Yang looked around the room a bit, then whistled and admitted, "Yeah, this is a pretty sick looking lair."
She smiled and gave him a thumbs up, which Freddy couldn't help but give back while Weiss looked at Billy and asked, "How'd you find this place, anyway?"
Weiss half-expected a serious response, but wasn't surprised when Billy shrugged and nonchalantly answered, "Took the subway while running away from some bullies. It was supposed to take me to 30th, instead I got chosen by the Wizard who brought me here, said I was 'pure of heart,' and made me his successor. Now we use it as our lair."
"It helps that we're apparently supposed to protect it and it can teleport us anywhere we want to, so long as we know the location," Mary added, then gave Billy a sideways glance. "Even if it's not an appropriate place to be familiar with…"
Yang recognized the look of a disapproving older sister, as did Ruby and Weiss who instinctually flinched, and the Golden Dragon asked with a smile on her face, "Where'd you guys go?"
"Oh, it was a wonderful place!" Mary sarcastically answered.
"No, don't-!" Billy tried to protest, only for Mary to continue unabated.
"So apparently, when we're being chased by a supervillain and need Billy to think of a place to escape to, he thinks of the strip club."
"Pfft-hahaha!" Yang laughed hysterically, doubling over and clutching her sides as Weiss and Blake gave an embarrassed Billy disappointed looks, especially when they remembered how old Darla and Eugene really were.
"Really, the strip club?" Nora asked, tilting her head. "How would you even… Oh, I get it. What else did you get away with as an adult?"
Billy looked at both teams, feeling his family's stares (except for Freddy who was looking away as well lest everyone's attention shift to him), and he sighed, hung his head, and admitted, "I bought me and Freddy beer…"
"Really?" Weiss flatly stated, lowering her head slightly while narrowing her eyes at Billy.
"I still can't believe you did that," Mary chastised, and Billy turned around to face her.
"Well, you don't have to worry about me doing it again, because beer tastes like actual vomit," Billy declared, then shook his head and turned back towards RWBY and JNPR. "Anyway, can we focus, please?"
Yang let out a few more laughs, then shook her head while smiling and nodded towards him. Taking her cue, Ruby stepped forward and pulled out her scroll and enlarged it so that everyone could see. The rest of Billy's family got up from their seats as well, then walked forward to get a closer look.
"We patrolled for a few hours last night, and while most of the city was quiet, we did find some evidence of recent Grimm activity. Evidence that the police haven't released to the press yet under ongoing investigations, and we've encouraged them to continue this for now in order to prevent a wider panic," Ruby revealed, tapping a few areas to highlight them red. "Mostly property damage, but there have been almost a dozen disappearances and sightings over the past week. Those are just suspected, though. At the moment, the confirmed deaths to the Grimm number about ten, scattered in small, isolated groups or individuals over the course of days. Compared to what it could've been, though, the death toll has been miraculously low."
"Couldn't we just let the police handle it, then?" Mary asked, only for Ren to shake his head.
"Not without specialized gear, which the FPD doesn't have," he explained. "The longer it takes to eradicate the Grimm here, the stronger and smarter they'll become. We need to take care of them now, before they become an actual threat."
"Makes sense to me," Darla declared, giving a wide, toothy smile while flashing a thumbs up. Pyrrha nodded in agreement, then she looked towards Billy as he was the only one among them who had fought a Grimm before.
"Billy, can you describe your fight against the Grimm?" Pyrrha asked, and Billy nodded.
He began to explain, "I decided to get some training of my own in at the factory a couple days ago. On my way back, I heard something making a racket in the train yard. When I went to check it out, I saw some big, bony, wolf-looking things. Those were Beowolves, right?"
"Sounds accurate," Blake confirmed. "How'd they fight once they attacked you?"
"I'm no expert in fighting yet," Billy admitted as he shrugged slightly, "but even I could tell that they were just wildly swinging their arms around."
"As we thought, the Grimm here are young," Weiss stated, only to hum and rub her chin. "Which, now that I think about it, is rather odd."
"How? Isn't that a good thing?" Pedro asked as he rubbed his hand across the beard his superhero form had.
"Yes and no," Nora explained. "On the one hand, young Grimm don't really know what they're doing, which makes them easy to take down. On the other hand, because they're so young, they don't even know the meaning of the word 'restraint.' They'll just blindly rush towards any human nearby to kill them, no matter how strong they are."
"So, the fact that casualties are so low isn't normal," Blake added. "I would have expected at least a hundred deaths by now, probably more."
The fledgling superheroes' eyes widened as they realized what the Remnantians were getting at, and with a frown on his face, Freddy asked, "They're holding back? Why?"
"There must be an alpha in the area coordinating them," Jaune suggested. "Grimm follow the strongest among them, and if there's an alpha around, then it'll make them hold back until the opportune moment… Whenever that may be."
Eugene looked around and nervously smacked his lips, then admitted, "Well, that's comforting…"
"Don't worry," Nora said as she slapped Eugene's back, "that's why we're going to take them out first, together."
"Speaking of together," Ruby interjected, drawing everyone's attention back to her, "we thought it over last night, and we decided to take you guys under our wings for a bit. Since, you know, you're new to this."
"So are you," Darla childishly pointed out, pouting slightly, only for Ruby to wave her off.
"Only on Earth, and besides, it still counts," Ruby declared, then held up a finger. "Anyway, since there's eight of us and six of you, we're going to partner up and patrol the town to find and take out the Grimm. Does that sound alright to you?"
Billy and his family looked at each other for a moment, then Billy looked back at RWBY and JNPR before nodding in agreement. Smiling, Ruby clapped her hands together and declared, "Alright, let's get this show on the road!"
The fourteen superheroes let out a quick cheer, then began walking as a group towards one of the many side chambers inside the Rock of Eternity. As Ruby passed the glowing purple orb, however, the whispers from earlier intensified, drawing her attention as the others moved on, engrossed in their own conversations.
"You have great anger simmering inside your soul," the whispers told her as Ruby slowly drew closer. "Rage towards the one who took everything from you. You desire vengeance, and we can give you what you seek and more. Release us, and together you will wield power beyond anything you could ever imagine. Power to rival gods. Together we can destroy Brainiac and take back everything he took from you and yours, and he will never harm anyone ever again."
Ruby looked at the orb, which was now within arm's reach, as its ghostly light caressed her hooded face. It, and the dark spirits the orb contained, beckoned to her.
"Eh, no thanks creepy voices," Ruby rejected after barely a moment's thought, then rushed after her friends and left the orb behind without giving it a second glance. The whispers that were previously bombarding her had ebbed away, but just as she left the room, she heard a faint, dark chuckle that sent shivers down her spine.
During their initial patrol of Fawcett City, the night before, RWBY and JNPR had marked spots of what appeared to be Grimm activity. Property damage, missing people, and most importantly, sightings of black creatures were what clued them in. They had initially planned on heading over to them by foot, but after witnessing the Rock of Eternity's teleportation capabilities, they obviously decided to use that instead. Initially, both teams wanted to use the doors scattered throughout the vast, mystical cavern, but then Yang opened a door to a poker game being played by a bunch of crocodile men, who didn't appreciate their game being interrupted and promptly attacked.
At least they would have, had Yang not immediately slammed the door in their faces. She honestly thought that she could've taken them, but it wasn't the time nor place to do so. They had a job to do, and they couldn't afford any distractions.
Splitting up into teams, Billy and the rest of his family teleported them away from the Rock of Eternity and back into Fawcett City. It wasn't the first time any of RWBY and JNPR had teleported, but that didn't make the sensation any less weird. This time it was less like they were being pulled apart and put back together, as it felt whenever they used the Watchtower's teleportation grid, and more like being squeezed and pulled very rapidly from one place to another. Each group's arrival was marked by a lightning bolt striking down from a cloudless sky, and immediately they set out to get to work.
"Alright, Eugene," Weiss started as she, Blake, and Eugene Choi stood atop an apartment building next to the industrial sector of Fawcett City, "for your first actual patrol, I want you to hang back and watch me and Nightshade for a bit. See how we do things then try to copy it."
"Oh, like teachers working out a problem on the blackboard," Eugene pointed out, and Weiss nodded.
"Exactly," she confirmed, turning around to give the ten-year-old boy a smile. Eugene smiled back as he looked down at her and gave a thumbs up.
Now transformed into this twenty or thirty-something adult superhero form, complete with a lean, muscular physique and a form fitting costume that was identical to Billy's except for the grey color scheme, the air around Eugene seemed to almost crackle with energy. Given how his specialty was the power of Zeus, that only made sense.
"We'll stake out this area for a bit, then move on in a search pattern," Blake declared as she looked out over the roof's edge through her mask's built-in magnification. So far, she wasn't seeing anything, which was somewhat of a mixed bag. On the one hand, no Grimm meant no people in danger, but on the other hand, it also meant they had no idea where the Grimm were. They needed to rectify that as soon as possible, otherwise the Grimm infestation would be allowed to fester and grow uncontrolled.
"Ah, darn it!" Weiss groaned as she pulled out her scroll to check the sensors they had set up the night before. "I forgot to charge my scroll last night! Now it's almost dead."
"Here, let me," Eugene offered, poking his finger at the top of Weiss' scroll. The tip of the appendage glowed faintly blue, then Weiss saw her scroll's battery go from 10% to 100% almost instantaneously.
"Oh," Weiss said, staring at the scroll for a bit before turning to Eugene and saying, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Eugene replied, waving her off as Blake gave him a raised eyebrow.
"That was surprisingly easy for you," Blake pointed out. "When your brother tried doing that, he fried a poor guy's phone. How'd you know exactly how much to give it?"
"I don't know, I just…did. When I touched your phone, err, scroll, it just felt right," Eugene answered, looking confused now. "I guess it's part of my specialty."
"Hmm," Weiss hummed, pursing her lips then snapping her fingers. "We can look into that later. Right now, we should focus on finding the Grimm."
Weiss walked over to the other side of the building, where she crouched behind some pipes and began to scan the area. Eugene watched them both with rapt attention, and if he had something to write or type on, he'd be taking notes at that very moment. Unfortunately, his suit didn't have any pockets, and whatever supplies he had taken with him had gone to wherever his clothes went whenever he transformed. So, he'd have to rely on his memory for now.
"Um, quick question," Eugene quietly asked after a few minutes of silence. "What do you want me to do if we, you know, actually find a Grimm?"
"You're going to let Ivory Mage and I handle it," Blake immediately answered. "At most, you'll blast them with your magic lightning."
"Oh, okay," Eugene replied, slightly disappointed but at the same time knowing that the veteran superheroine's caution towards him was only born out of concern. Second only to Darla, he was the youngest of the group, so they wanted to make sure he was safe. Besides, outside of playing videogames, Eugene wasn't exactly comfortable with getting into a fight. He would if he had to, but otherwise he'd stay in the back as requested.
Thoughts about his younger foster sister sprang to mind, and he couldn't help but ask, "I wonder how Darla and Red Reaper are doing?"
"I'm certain they're fine," Blake said, assuming the question sprang from brotherly concern. Noticing this, Eugene shook his head and waved his arms back and forth in protest.
"No, no, not that. I mean, I wonder what they're talking about?" he clarified, only for Weiss to scoff.
"I don't know what, exactly, an eight-year-old girl would want to talk about, but I'm sure it's riveting and deeply engaging," Weiss proclaimed, and Blake couldn't help but smirk in amusement. Eugene, however, shook his head and sighed.
After having countless tea parties with Darla over the years, he knew the kinds of topics she'd inevitably drift towards, and he could only hope the Red Reaper would be able to handle them.
"When you transform into rose petals, is your mind spread across all of them equally, or is it in just one?" Darla Dudley asked as she held up a teacup close to her face.
Ruby took a sip out of hers, then scrunched up her face in thought. After a moment, she admitted, "That is a good question. I honestly don't know. Never really thought about it before. But, I will say that everything seems to stretch when I use my Semblance, so I…think it's the former."
"Fascinating," Darla replied, taking a sip of her warm drink. "How do you see where you're going when you don't have any eyes? Or a brain to think with?"
Ruby shrugged and took another sip, then thought of a question of her own.
"When you use your super speed," Ruby began, pointing with her free hand to Darla herself, "do you only move faster, or do you think faster, too?"
"Hmm," Darla hummed, rubbing her chin in thought. In her transformed state, she was taller than Ruby, and also no longer needed her glasses. Her Shazam suit, as Ruby dubbed the costumes Billy and his family obtained after summoning the Wizard's powers, was like the others, but purple in color and lacking any sleeves, showing off her bare arms to the world.
After a few moments, Darla adjusted her too-small plastic tiara and remarked, "I don't know if I actually think faster? Everything else looks like it's in slow motion, like in the movies, so I can run around without getting hit or running into anything. But it's hard for me to actually think about anything big in the moment. What's the word for when you can't plan, only react?"
"Reflex?" the Reaper supplied, and Darla nodded.
"That's it. I don't think super-fast, but my reflexes are super-fast."
"Oh, I see," Ruby replied. Learning to move at high speeds with Aura involved something similar, so she understood exactly what Darla was talking about.
At the moment, both girls were sitting atop an old water tower near the outskirts of town. Ruby felt it provided a high vantage point to observe the entire area, but it didn't take long before Darla got bored. Despite having the body of an adult, Darla was still an eight-year-old child at heart, so Ruby had to think of something to keep her from flash-stepping all over the place out of boredom. A few suggestions later, the idea of having a tea party came up, and Darla ran over to her house, grabbed her stuff, and came back in under a minute, complete with a festive hat and boa Ruby was currently wearing. Not red, unfortunately, but she was trying to be magnanimous about it.
Ruby took another sip, tasting something strange on her tongue, then asked, "Why does this tea taste like chocolate and…caramel?"
"Oh, I put candy bars in the pot," Darla revealed with a nonchalant shrug. "It adds flavor."
"…Wow, why didn't I think of that? That's genius," Ruby declared, finishing the rest of her cup. Darla smiled, then poured another cup of tea into Ruby's offered teacup.
"Thank you," Darla acknowledged somberly, only to spot something moving from the corner of her eye. "Hey, what's that?"
"Hmm?" Ruby hummed as she turned her head to where Darla was pointing. She recognized the black form of a Beowolf instantly as it prowled along the rail lines, its head swiveling back and forth as it sniffed the ground.
Without missing a beat, Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose, already configured into its sniper rifle form, and aimed it at the Grimm's head. She thought about firing a shot, and given how it wasn't the Alpha, she felt just one would be enough to take it down. But Ruby stopped herself and thought back to a lesson she learned back at Beacon Academy.
"Well, aren't we gonna get it?" Darla impatiently asked, only for Ruby to shake her head.
"Not yet," Ruby replied, still looking through her scope. "It's not doing anything right now, so we're gonna track it."
"Track it? Why? It's right there," Darla pointed out, only for Ruby to smile and shake her head.
"Yes, but there might be a pack nearby. Maybe even the Alpha. If we wait, it might just lead us back to the others, allowing us to take them all down at the same time."
"…Oh, now I get it," Darla admitted, and Ruby smiled and nodded before bringing her fingers to her ear.
"Guys, we found a Grimm," she revealed. "We're gonna follow and see if it can't lead us to its pack. You find anything yet?"
"Nothing on our end, Reaper," Weiss confirmed.
"Same here, but we did rescue an old lady's cat from a tree," Yang revealed. "Gave Billy and I a slice of pie, too, so we got that going for us."
"Ooh, lucky. All we got here at the dump was just junk," Nora complained. "The biggest action we got was when Pedro got attacked by a raccoon. It's fine by the way."
"That's good," Pyrrha replied. "Mary and I are finishing up here, and we'll be moving on soon. White Knight, what about you and Freddy?"
"Nothing on our end, but we'll keep you posted," Jaune replied.
"Right," Ruby said, then nodded as the Grimm began to leave the area. "Grimm's leaving, so gotta head out. We'll let you know if we find anything."
The others quickly replied in the affirmative, then signed off. Standing up and stretching out her limbs, Ruby held Crescent Rose to her chest and turned to Darla to ask her to put away the tea set, only to find that the speedy girl had already done so. She was now standing with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot impatiently while giving Ruby a soft smile. Ruby couldn't help but chuckle, then together the two of them sped off, Ruby as a flying cloud of petals and Darla a ground-bound gold and purple blur that still outpaced Ruby herself.
"No surrender, no retreat!" Nora shouted as she rushed towards the snarling Ursa, Magnhild raised high above her head.
Beside her was Pedro, running at full tilt with his fist reared back while Ren circled around the small pack of Grimm they had found in the park. Her hammer smashed into the head of one while Pedro punched another in the side of its jaw, dislocating it with a loud pop. He then grappled the dark creature and threw it to the ground, where he finished it off with a mighty stomp. Gunfire from Stormflower rang around them, cutting down the Creeps with ease. A few stragglers attempted to retreat, only for Nora to shift Magnhild back into its grenade launcher and blast them to pieces.
Only then, as the last of the Grimm turned into dust, did the group finally let out a breath and relax.
"I think we're good," Ren noted, his fingers off Stormflower's triggers yet he kept the machine pistols out regardless.
"That's a relief," Pedro replied as he inspected his arms once again, flexing and poking his muscles in incredulous awe.
"Like what you see?" Nora asked, a smile on her face as she leaned against Magnhild propped up on the ground.
"Yes. Don't get me wrong, your stuff is cool, but check out these guns," Pedro declared as he flexed his arms. "I never actually thought I'd get some like this."
Nora nodded in agreement. She was proud of the fact that she was the physically strongest member of her team, and she worked hard to get to that point. Sure, Pedro calling upon the power of Shazam to go from an overweight child to an adult bodybuilder in a green suit may have been cheating a little, but she'd let him have this. Especially if she could encourage him to put in the work to achieve it for real—
"If you want, once this is over, Pink Lightning and I can give you some tips to working out and eating healthy on your own," Ren offered just as she was thinking about it. "That way you don't have to rely on magic to get to where you want to be."
Nora couldn't help but grin appreciatively at her boyfriend. Great minds really did think alike.
"Oh, well, if you really think I can, thank you," Pedro murmured uncertainly while looking down at his belly. The pink and green couple simultaneously put a supportive hand on his shoulders and smiled encouragingly when the boy in a man's body shyly looked back up at them. The trio then began searching the area for any more Grimm that they might have missed.
They had been patrolling around Fawcett City for a few hours now, and at first everything had been quiet. A little too quiet, in Nora's mind, which was later proved to be accurate once they moved from the dump to the park. Almost as soon as they arrived they encountered evidence of Grimm heading towards the location, and unlike the dump, there were a lot of people who frequented the area. Ren had immediately notified the police, who helped to discretely evacuate the people in the park under the excuse of a gas leak, allowing the superheroes the chance to take care of the Grimm with little to no risk of bystanders getting caught in the crossfire.
"By the way, how come we're trying to make sure people don't know the Grimm are here?" Pedro asked, lifting up a fallen tree to check the ground for tracks. "I mean, I get not wanting to cause a panic, but wouldn't it be better for people to know Grimm might be around?"
"We would if there were more Grimm present and they were more active," Ren admitted, "but right now it's better for us to hunt the Grimm as quietly as possible."
"Yeah, but why?"
"Grimm are attracted to negative emotions. Fear, anger, and so on," Ren explained. "It's why, for the most part, Grimm have been attracted to conflict zones all around the world. The more unstable an area, the more likely Grimm will appear. Fawcett City is calm now, but after last week they're already beginning to grow nervous. I'm sure you've noticed that, right?"
Pedro frowned, then admitted, "Now that you mention it, the news has been talking a lot more about what we mean and represent, and not all of it was good. Some were saying our presence would only invite challengers, like what happened in Gotham and Metropolis after Batman and Superman showed up."
"Mmm-hmm," Ren hummed and nodded. "While the Grimm were attracted here because of the Seven Deadly Sins, Fawcett's newfound instability is enough to keep them around. If they were to learn the Grimm were here, and subsequently panic…"
"It would get even worse," Pedro finished for Ren, and the Verdant Lotus nodded. Frowning slightly, Pedro added, "I guess that makes sense. Still, keeping people in the dark like this…doesn't seem right to me."
"Couldn't agree more," Nora muttered under her breath. She wholeheartedly agreed with Pedro. People deserved to know what was prowling their streets, and ignorance could only be blissful for so long. If people didn't know danger was around, it made it all the more likely they'd stumble into it.
But, at the same time, she did understand the necessity of keeping the Grimm on the downlow for the moment. That and the others had outvoted her, so she'd keep her mouth shut for now. That didn't mean she had to like it, though. Looking at his girlfriend, Ren frowned slightly, then shook his head and began to walk towards a trampled bush.
"I think the Grimm came through this way," Ren noted, kneeling and holding out his arm to show the likely direction. Shifting their attention, Nora and Pedro looked out into the park forest, then nodded and began walking away.
"Got three, coming to your left," Freddy declared as he hovered above a long-abandoned construction site.
"I see them," Jaune replied, turning around just as the first Beowolf lunged at him.
The White Knight bashed the face of his shield against the side of the Grimm's face, knocking it to the ground and allowing him to stab it in the eye with Crocea Mors. As the second Beowolf attacked, Jaune ripped his blade away from the first Grimm's disintegrating corpse and, in one motion, cut off the incoming monster's neck. The last Grimm charged him at full tilt, but it didn't get far before Freddy flew down and slammed atop its back. A loud crack followed as the beast's spine was shattered, and it fell to the ground and turned into dust.
"You know, I got to say, at least these guys turn into dust after they're defeated," Freddy noted as he slapped his hands together back and forth. "That means you can actually hit them."
"Guess that's coming from your last big battle," Jaune surmised, giving the blue-clad superhero a nod as he collapsed his shield and sheathed his blade. Looking around a bit to ensure the coast was clear, Jaune turned back to Freddy and asked, "How are you holding up?"
"Oh, I'm having a blast," Freddy admitted with a wide smile. "I mean, how could I not? This is my first superhero team-up. It's…kind of a big deal for me."
Jaune nodded, then placed his hands on his hips and said, "I get that feeling. To be honest, I felt the same way during the first battles with my team."
That and self-doubt and loathing over the specifics of him getting into Beacon Academy in the first place, but Jaune figured now wasn't the time to get into that. Freddy didn't notice Jaune's internal strife, and his smile grew wider as he nodded.
Freddy then looked back at Jaune and quietly asked, "Hey, so uh…what are they like?"
"What are who like?" Jaune asked, figuring that he knew what Freddy was talking about but wanting to make sure before he said anything.
"You know, the Justice League and the Teen Titans," Freddy clarified. "What are they like?"
Jaune nodded, then thought over his answer for a bit. After a moment, he smiled and declared, "Superman's pretty much exactly as he appears. He's kind, thoughtful, and you can't help but just feel inspired around him. Though he's also more down to earth than you might expect. Wonder Woman's the same. Haven't had the chance to work with the Flash, Hawkgirl, or Green Lantern yet, but they're all really cool. I trained under Shining Knight for a little bit, and he's straight out of some of the old legends about heroic warriors I grew up on. As for the Titans, they're some of my best friends. I feel like I can trust them with anything, and if it weren't for what Brother Blood did we'd probably still be with them."
"Ooh," Freddy openly awed, then scrunched up his face in confusion after he noticed a particular omission. He then asked, "What about Batman? You didn't mention him."
Jaune's face fell, and he was thankful that his helmet stopped Freddy from seeing his expression. He then quietly said, "Oh, yeah. Batman."
"You guys did work with him in Gotham, right? I mean, that's what the forums thought."
"No, no, we did," Jaune admitted, waving his hand around slightly. "He taught us a lot, and we did good work with him. It's just…"
Jaune sighed and shook his head as Freddy started to get worried, then Jaune continued, "We, uh, didn't leave Gotham City under the best of circumstances. Don't wanna get into specifics, but it…caused us to reevaluate our relationship with Batman. I still respect the man, and I'm grateful for what he did for us, but I wouldn't say we're friends. Not anymore."
"Oh," Freddy muttered. The air around them grew tense and heavy, with neither boy really knowing how to continue. Freddy coughed, eager to change the subject, and asked, "So, about your powers. Any idea what yours is? Besides the whole soul shield and soul strength, I mean."
"My Semblance?" Jaune asked, wanting to change the subject as well. When Freddy nodded, Jaune hummed and rubbed his chin, then admitted, "I honestly don't know. According to my partner, who knows a lot about this stuff, Semblances are reflections of who we are as people. I haven't discovered mine yet, but I'm working on it."
"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be awesome," Freddy declared, giving Jaune a thumbs up. Jaune repeated the gesture, then motioned for them to move on in their patrol. Not willing to let silence prevail, Freddy then said, "Hey, you wanna know something interesting? The Romans used to brush their teeth with urine. It worked, apparently."
"…Really? Huh, I didn't know that. Gonna have to tell Pink Lightning. She'll get a kick out of it."
As Pyrrha and Mary watched over an intersection, they couldn't help but let out a yawn. During their entire patrol, they only found a single Creep mucking around near a storm drain. Otherwise, the entire situation was quiet and almost dull. Which Pyrrha didn't really mind. Dull meant people weren't in danger. Or rather, any more danger than they already were.
"I hope they're okay," Mary muttered, breaking Pyrrha from her thoughts.
"They'll be fine, don't worry," Pyrrha said as she placed her hand on Mary's shoulder comfortingly.
Unlike the rest of her family, Mary's costume wasn't a different color from Billy's. Hers was in the same red and gold color scheme, with the only difference being a skirt rather than pants. Her transformation was also less drastic than the others. They looked like entirely different people, whereas Mary looked very much like herself, just a few years older plus some minor differences. Slightly taller, a bit more muscular, and with her complexion spotless. Mary had reasoned that their transformations weren't turning them into different people but rather the pinnacle of themselves. That, as they grew older and developed, all of them could look exactly as their superhero forms did.
"Mary," Pyrrha began, drawing Mary's attention to her, "if you want, I have a spare mask I can give you."
Her current mentee raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean?"
Pyrrha sighed, then clarified, "Perhaps it's only because I've seen what both of your forms look like, but you don't look all that different when you transform. Your siblings have much more drastic changes, so they won't have to worry about being recognized anytime soon, but you'll likely be indistinguishable in a couple of years. So, if you want to keep doing this without going public with your identity, that might pose a problem."
"Oh, right," Mary replied, then looked down at the street and sighed. "I'm going to be honest; I don't even know if I want to keep doing this. My entire life, I've been working my ass off to get into Caltech and make something of myself. Then, when I finally get what I've worked so hard to accomplish, this happens."
She gestured to herself in emphasis, and she added, "The others are gung-ho about this, and I can't blame them. I mean, becoming a superhero is exciting. After my first time using these powers, I can't say becoming one isn't meaningful. But I'm not sure if I'm ready to make being a superhero my career. It's selfish, I know, but—"
"It's not selfish at all," Pyrrha interrupted. "Selfish would be using your powers for personal gain, but that's not what you're doing. My friends and I, we trained for our entire lives to be Huntsmen and Huntresses, so choosing to become superheroes on Earth wasn't that hard of a choice. But you only got these powers a week ago, so no one's asking you to drop whatever you've been working so hard to achieve just to do this instead. It's all entirely up to you, Mary. If you want to continue being a superhero, we'll be there to help you every step of the way. But, if you don't and you'd rather live a normal life, we'll support that wholeheartedly, too."
Mary looked at Pyrrha for a moment, then smiled and said, "Thanks, Guardian. I don't know what I'll do once I leave for college, but…at least for now I'll continue doing this."
"Think of it as a family bonding experience," Pyrrha suggested as she took out the spare mask she was given, for if she wasn't wearing her helmet, and made the necessary adjustments to it while Mary laughed and shook her head.
"Yeah, I suppose it is," she admitted, then took the proffered mask in both hands. She studied it for a quiet moment before placing the mask over her eyes. The color actually already matched her rather well. "To tell you the truth? I was feeling really worried and guilty about not being here to look after them, right as they're jumping into being a superhero team. But I feel a lot better now, knowing that your team and the rest of the Justice League will be there to help them."
"Not just them," the Crimson Guardian smiled comfortingly, and the two women went back to staking out their area in peaceful silence, with only the sound of passing cars in the air.
It was now in the early afternoon, the sun shining down from overhead. In the distance, dark clouds could be seen rolling in, telling Yang that it was likely going to storm that night. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too bad, but right now her focus was elsewhere.
Namely, pounding the Ursa Major she was currently facing into dust. Grabbing its head, she slammed it down into a raised knee, causing it to stumble back and giving Yang room to deliver a Superman punch that sent it flying back.
"Take this, Smokey!" Billy shouted as he squared off against a few Ursas of his own. Unlike Yang, who was fighting with the precision and skill born from years of training and experience, Billy's punches were chaotic and haphazard. He was throwing way too much of his weight around, and his footwork was just awful, but the fact that he was invulnerable and extremely strong made up for it somewhat.
"We're going to have to get you a trainer," Yang declared as she jumped to the side of the Ursa Major, grabbed its swinging arm, then broke it with her elbow.
"Hey, I'm doing just fine!" Billy insisted as he blasted one of the Ursa apart with his lightning, then threw another up into the air. The third, however, managed to take advantage of his distracted state and wrapped its thick arms around him, then threw Billy against a train car, denting it.
"Gagh!" Billy grunted as he pried himself away from the train car, pointedly ignoring the flat look Yang was giving him.
"Yeah, you're doing fine," she said, then turned to face the Ursa Major just as it rushed towards her. Crouching slightly, she met its charge head on, leveraging and twisting its body over her shoulder before wrestling it to the ground. Climbing on top, she delivered a few shotgun punches to its head, cracking the bone mask, then activated one of Ember Celica's punch daggers and stabbed it into the exposed flesh. The Ursa twitched and thrashed for a moment, then went still and dissipated into smoke.
At the same time, Billy slammed into his opponent with hyper-speed, flattening it against a concrete barrier and killing it instantly. The Grimm Billy had thrown away earlier finally came back down, slamming into the train tracks with enough force to break it. Despite the great height it fell from, the Grimm was able to pick itself up and it growled menacingly. Rather than rush towards them, however, it turned tail and limped off, trying to get into the nearby train tunnel. But Yang didn't let it get far, instead shooting its retreating form twice with her shotgun gauntlets while Billy blasted it with lightning. It collapsed in a heap, then turned into dust as it finally died.
"Whew, glad that's over with," Yang declared, wiping off a sheen of sweat from her brow.
"That was the Alpha, right?" Billy asked, and Yang nodded.
"Most likely," she replied, placing her hands on her hips. "That should calm things down tremendously around here."
"Well, that's good to hear," Billy said, letting out a sigh of relief. He then turned his head towards the dark subway train tunnel, one that led into Fawcett City's subway system, and he frowned. He then added, "I know you know more about this than I do but, given how that Grimm was trying to run away into the subway, that screams trouble to me."
"Good, that means you're learning," Yang cheekily declared with a wide smile, then pressed her fingers against her right ear to speak into their comm channel. "Guys, Billy and I found and killed the Alpha. It was an Ursa Major."
"That's awesome, Golden Dragon!" Ruby exclaimed.
"I know we are, but before we head back, we wanna check out this subway tunnel really quick," Yang declared. "One of the Grimm tried running into it, and the last thing we need is to find out we left a Grimm nest, or whatever they make, down there."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Jaune agreed. After a moment, he added, "I think Freddy and I are near you two, actually. Stay where you are, we'll meet up with you."
"Sounds good to me, White Knight. See you in a bit," Yang proclaimed, then switched off her comms and turned back to Billy. "Hang tight; we're gonna wait for White Knight and your brother."
"Ah, strength in numbers. I get'cha," Billy replied, giving Yang an approving nod.
Realizing they had time to kill, they climbed on top of a train car and hung their legs over its side, keeping their eyes open for their friends.
"Want me to go get us a drink? I'd be there and back in, like, a second," Billy offered, but Yang shook her head.
"Nah, I'm good. Thanks for the offer, though," she answered, and Billy nodded before turning back towards the city. An air of comfortable silence fell between them, and neither felt the need to break it.
But, at the same time, Yang couldn't help but spare a few glances at her temporary partner. The night before, once they got home from their early patrols, she took the time to look up Billy and his family in public records. It painted quite the picture, especially Billy's.
"Something on your mind?" Billy asked, causing Yang to jump up slightly. "There isn't something on my cape, is there? Oh God, it's Grimm gunk, isn't it?"
"Oh, no. Nothing, your costume is fine. I'm not sure it's even possible to stain," Yang dismissed, causing Billy to let out a deep breath.
"Okay, good. Was getting worried for a second," he admitted, and Yang nodded. At the same time, however, she couldn't help but frown. The ice was already broken, and they were in relative privacy, so she figured now was the best time to figure it out.
"Actually, there is something," Yang admitted, causing Billy to look at the Huntress inquisitively. "We looked you and your family up, Billy. You ran away from foster homes in six counties before settling in with the Vasquez family."
"Oh," Billy quietly said, and his face fell as he turned to face the subway.
"If you don't mind me asking, why?" Yang softly asked. Billy remained silent for a moment, and Yang got the feeling that she accidentally overstepped her bounds. Mentally kicking herself, she hastily began, "Sorry, I shouldn't have—"
"No, no, it's fine. Figured you were gonna ask about it eventually," he admitted. Billy let out another sigh, then said, "When I was a kid, my mom took me to the Chilladelphia Winter Carnival. We got separated and the police couldn't find her. Since she didn't have any family, I was put in foster care. I…didn't take it very well and kept running away to try and find her. Every time I'd be sent to a new home, I'd run away to find my mother. Everyone kept giving up on me, so I stopped trying to connect with anyone."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Yang softly replied, placing her hand on Billy's shoulder. "Believe me, I…know what that's like."
Billy nodded, then to her surprise his calm expression morphed into a slight frown. He then added, "But I found her. Or, rather, Eugene and the others did. They managed to find her address and gave it to me. So, I…went to talk to her."
"What happened?" Yang asked, getting the feeling that this didn't have a happy ending.
Billy darkly laughed and shook his head, then declared, "Well, it turns out I didn't lose my mother. She…heh, she abandoned me. Said that she thought I'd be better off without her, and that it wasn't a good time for her to have me back in her life. My mom wanted nothing to do with me…"
"Oh, Billy. I'm…I'm so sorry," Yang commiserated, giving the younger boy a hug. Billy didn't return it, but she could tell he appreciated the gesture regardless.
"It's fine. At least…" Billy sighed and shook his head, then continued. "At least now I know who my real family is, know what I mean?"
Yang looked at him for a bit, then nodded and said, "Yeah, I do."
The two fell back into silence, only this time it wasn't nearly as comfortable. An air of loss and melancholy fell over them, and Yang could only clench her fists in aggravation. Both at herself for bringing this subject up in the first place, but also at just how damn familiar it was.
After a moment, she quietly said, "My mother abandoned me, too."
Billy looked at Yang in surprise, clearly not expecting that admission, but remained quiet and let her continue. She added, "Back on Remnant, my parents went to Beacon Academy to become Huntsmen. Ended up getting on the same team with my uncle. Not long after they graduated, I was born. A few years later, my mom had Ruby, and we were a happy little family."
Yang's eyes turned blue, and she admitted, "Then my mom, she…went on a mission and never came back. After that, my dad fell apart and I learned that my mom wasn't actually my mother. My birth mother was the fourth member of their team, and she abandoned me and my dad almost as soon as she finished having me. I never knew why since my dad and uncle never talked about her. But I…I needed answers. I just needed to know why she left, and since my family wasn't giving them, I started searching for the answers myself. Heh, almost got my sister and I killed once while doing it."
"Ah, geez. Dragon, I'm so sorry to hear that," Billy replied. After a moment of quiet, he asked, "Did you…find out?"
Yang nodded, and she admitted, "Yeah, I did. After searching for years, grasping at every straw I could find, I finally got the answers I wanted when Brainiac invaded Remnant. At that point, my dad and uncle didn't really see the need to keep the secret anymore when everything was falling apart around us."
Her eyes then flashed red, and she continued, "You wanna know the most pathetic part? During all that time, I came up with a lot of theories as to why she left us. That she was a secret agent or something that didn't want us to get hurt, or that she was just on a long-term mission and couldn't come back. I wanted her to have some kind of justification, an excuse, so that even if it didn't make it right, it would at least have some kind of meaning behind it. But no, that's not why she left. My mother left us to go back to being a bandit. She'd rather rob and kill people than raise a family."
Billy looked at her in shock, his mouth agape. He then frowned and jumped to his feet while clenching his fist, then declared, "Well, screw her. You're better than her, anyway, and way cooler."
Yang looked at Billy, and her eyes returned to their lilac hue as she smiled and replied, "Yeah, and the same goes for you."
Billy nodded, then to Yang's surprise disappeared in a golden blur. She blinked a few times, only for Billy to return holding two soft drinks. He handed one to Yang, then held up his cup.
"To abandoned badasses, and the crappy mothers they don't need," he offered as a toast. Yang looked at Billy for a moment, then laughed and raised her cup as well.
"To abandoned badasses," she repeated the toast, then knocked their paper cups together before drinking her soda out of the straw. Once they were done, Billy incinerated the trash with his lightning, and together they sat back on the train car in comfortable silence once again.
A few minutes later, they saw Freddy, carrying Jaune, fly over and land in front of them. Jaune was a little wobbly and clutching his stomach as he hunched over but raised his hand before any of them could mention his airsickness.
"I'm fine, just…give me a moment," he requested, and Yang nodded.
"Okay, Vomit Boy," Yang automatically replied, only for Billy and Freddy to look at her in surprise while Jaune gave her a betrayed look.
"'Vomit Boy?'" Freddy repeated, and Yang glanced down at Jaune. Despite his face being covered by a helmet, Yang could easily read the silent plea he was giving her. Then she shrugged, figured that the cat was already out of the bag (and that she never did pay him back for that incident), and turned back to face Freddy and Billy.
"When the White Knight and I first met, he got airsick and threw up on my shoes," she admitted. At once both Freddy and Billy laughed hysterically, while Jaune could only stare at Yang as he stood back up.
"Really?" he asked, and Yang shrugged while nodding and offering a light smile. Jaune groaned, then darkly muttered in Vytalian, "Oh, I'm going to get you back for this, Yang."
Yang heard him clearly and only smiled while shaking her head. She then replied in Vytalian as well, "That's what you said last time, Jaune."
She switched back to English and called for everyone to follow her into the dark subway tunnel. Grumbling slightly, Jaune followed alongside Freddy, while Billy remained behind for just a few moments. His face was scrunched up slightly, wondering if he should say anything about how he understood exactly what they said, but then shrugged and figured it was best not to say anything at the moment. Besides, just knowing their first names didn't really tell him much.
Together, the team of four ventured into the tunnel, letting the darkness swallow them up.
Using a handful of lightning and some flashlights to guide their way, Billy led the group deeper into the subway tunnel. The further they got in, the more evidence of Grimm activity they found. At first, it was minor. Scratches along the walls, torn up tracks, busted lights. Occasionally one of the fluorescent lamps along the ceiling, dangling on cords and swinging back and forth, would flicker on and off, casting an eerie glow around them.
Then, as they rounded a corner, they saw a pool of dried, red blood staining the ground.
"Oh, God…" Freddy muttered, recoiling slightly and stepping back a pace. Jaune, Yang, and Billy were able to keep their composure, although Billy was noticeably more freaked out.
Walking over to the stain, they saw a trail leading further into the tunnel. They followed it, Jaune and Yang keeping their weapons out and at the ready. Neither of the blondes were as good as Ren in sensing for danger, but they stretched their senses out as far as they could regardless.
"Anyone else getting a haunted house kind of vibe?" Billy asked as they continued to follow the trail of blood.
"Oh, no. Just sunshine and rainbows down here," Freddy shot back, trying to lighten the otherwise oppressive mood.
"Great, I was worried I was the only one," Yang quipped, bringing brief smiles to everyone. Those smiles didn't last long, however, and they returned to a more serious demeanor as they continued moving through the dark tunnel.
Eventually, the trail of blood ceased, leading to a slumped over corpse of a homeless man laying against the wall. His skin was pale and body stiff with rigor mortis, telling them that he had been dead for several days now. On his side were two massive puncture wounds where all the blood poured out from. His eyes were blank and wide open, and his face was slack.
"Poor guy must've bled out," Yang deduced, and Jaune nodded.
"Guys, look," Freddy called out.
The others turned towards him, where they saw the blue-clad superhero pointing at a hole in the wall. Bits of rubble were strewn across the ground, with rebar exposed to the air and bent inward towards a carved out tunnel that was too long to see the other side. The tunnel itself was narrow and short, but it was just big enough that Jaune and Yang would be able to crawl themselves through along their bellies. Billy and Freddy, however, were too big.
"So, are we going through?" Jaune asked, and Yang nodded.
"You two hang back. We'll check it out," Yang told the other two superheroes, only for Billy and Freddy to shake their heads.
"No way. We're going in with you," Freddy declared, and Billy nodded in agreement.
Before Yang and Jaune could protest, both boys shouted, "Shazam!" Two bolts of lightning came down through the concrete ceiling, forcing Yang and Jaune to close their eyes and turn their heads away. When they opened them, both Billy and Freddy were normal fourteen-year-old children. Freddy was leaning on Billy for support.
"Well, we can fit now," Billy stated, and both Jaune and Yang shook their heads. At the same time, both of them let out a small smile before Yang nodded.
"Alright, but you're in between us. White Knight, you take the lead while I take the rear," Yang told the group.
Jaune nodded, then crouched in front of the tunnel so that he could begin crawling through, his shield strapped to his hip while he held a small knife and flashlight in his hands. Idly, Jaune figured it would be a good idea to attach a small flashlight to his helmet after they were done. He was followed by Billy then Freddy, with the former helping his foster brother move along as comfortably as possible. In the tight space, it was difficult for Freddy to maneuver, especially without his brace, but he was able to manage. Yang, with Ember Celica deployed, took up the rear, and together all four shimmied through the tunnel as carefully as possible. While it looked stable enough, the last thing they wanted was for it to suddenly cave in on them.
Finally, after several minutes, they emerged out of the tunnel onto a concrete platform with stairs leading up on both sides. To their surprise, it was lit by old incandescent lightbulbs mounted to smooth walls. In the middle were two tracks, each with a slightly rusted subway car parked at the end. There was another platform on the opposite end of where they were, one without any stairs leading up.
"This must be one of the old subway tunnels before they renovated the whole thing," Freddy noted as he looked around.
"Looks like they just blocked this one off and built around it," Jaune added, then turned to both boys. "You two might want to change really quick."
Freddy and Billy nodded at Jaune, then they both called out "Shazam!" and transformed once more.
"Aah, that is really loud. Thank the Gods we have ear protection," Yang said, blinking her eyes a few times.
"Sorry about that," Billy apologized, then refocused. "Come on, let's check this place out."
Nodding, the four teenagers spread out to explore the area, searching every nook and cranny for signs of the Grimm. Outside of the tunnel that they came in through, however, there wasn't much. The only other things in the old subway station were dust and cobwebs. Eventually, though, Yang saw a slightly ajar door, with a dull light shining from within. She snapped her fingers, drawing everyone's attention to her.
Making as little noise as possible, they joined up with Yang. After a moment, she carefully opened the door, allowing them to enter a long service hallway. From the end of the hall, behind a corner, they could see a yellow light pulsating, casting faint shadows on the wall. If there was anyone there, they couldn't see them.
Then, as they drew closer, they heard someone begin to speak.
"Hehhehheh. Poor, primitive, talking monkeys, all scared and lost in the dark," a voice called out. It was deep and low yet, at the same time, staticky. Almost as though as it was coming out of an old radio.
All four teenagers stopped, their bodies tensing as the voice started laughing. Getting irritated, Yang asked, "Who's there? Show yourself."
"I am a force beyond your comprehension," the voice claimed while the heroes began walking forward. "A conqueror of worlds, one who is far beyond you and the forces of this primitive world."
Jaune, Yang, Freddy and Billy rounded the corner where the voice was coming from, but to their surprise found nothing. They stood around for a moment, scratching their heads, only for the voice to laugh at them once again.
"Even now, your simple minds can't comprehend what you now face as you walk blindly to your doom," the voice declared, coming from beside them.
The teenagers looked around, trying to find the radio or wherever the sound was coming from, only to spot something looking at them from the rim of a grated air duct. To their surprise, it was a reared-up green caterpillar-like thing just a few inches in height. Yellow spots dotted its side, and there were two relatively large yellow compound eyes on its head, along with two mandibles and antennae poking out of it. On its stomach was a small metal device, looking almost like an amulet, that had a blinking red light on its front.
"What in God's name?" Billy asked as he and the others leaned closer to the worm.
"I name the gods, children, not the other way around," the worm boasted as the small device blinked, confirming to them where the voice was coming from. "You might as well surrender now, before you face the might of Mr. Mind!"
A heavy silence fell as everyone stared at the talking worm. No one spoke and no one blinked. Slowly, Yang and the others felt an incredulous laugh build up inside them, and they tried to hold it in. But they were unable to, and soon all four fell into a fit of guffaws.
"Hah-hah, what is this?! Is this a prank?" Billy asked as he smiled and leaned closer to Mr. Mind.
"I assure you, I am most certainly not," Mr. Mind irritably answered, and Billy leaned back and laughed again.
"Oh, this! This is great! You know, I was getting worried there for a second after my first supervillains were literal demons," Billy admitted as he smiled and gestured towards Mr. Mind. "Nice to see that the next one is an, mmph, inch worm!"
"Hahahah!" Freddy just kept giggling, clutching his stomach and laughing so hard tears were coming out of his eyes.
"Okay, Mr. Mind," Yang started, not even bothering to try to hide her amusement. "How about you come with us and… Okay, I can't even finish this! Hahaha!"
"You find amusement in this, don't you?" Mr. Mind asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice, and the young heroes nodded.
"Yeah, we do," Jaune admitted as he walked over, preparing to carefully pick Mr. Mind up without accidentally squishing him as he forced himself to calm down. "Alright, enough funny business. Let's—"
"Did you not hear what I said?" Mr. Mind asked, cutting into the mood. "If you monkeys think I will surrender to you, you must be even stupider than I thought."
"Excuse me?" Yang asked, now starting to get offended.
"Heh-heh-heh," Mr. Mind laughed in a way that somehow sent chills down their spines. "Why would I when I am on the cusp of accomplishing my goal? No, I will not be going with you. But, since you monkeys are too stupid to figure it out on your own, I will reveal to you that I am in control of these dark creatures you call Grimm."
"What?!" Jaune recoiled, and Mr. Mind laughed again.
"Their blank minds were quite easy to direct. Of course, 'control' isn't the best word to describe what I am doing with them. That, as I'm sure even you're aware, is quite impossible," Mr. Mind admitted. "No, I am simply directing them for my purposes, which you cannot stop no matter how hard you try. You can give up and grovel before me for mercy, but you will find none."
Now thoroughly annoyed, Billy frowned and stomped forward, extending his finger as he began to say, "Now listen here, you little—"
He never got to finish his sentence as a sudden, powerful force picked him up and hurled him against the concrete wall with enough strength to embed him. Surprised, the others scrambled to recover, only for Jaune and Freddy to be consumed by a quickly spun swaddle of webbing from head to toe. The two of them, tightly bound, jumped and tried to shout, but found themselves unable to do so.
"Holy shi-!" Yang shouted only for her to be telekinetically picked up and thrown back right into Billy just as he pried himself from the wall.
"Farewell, monkeys," Mr. Mind pronounced as he creeped his way closer to them, hopping off the grate and onto the wall. "It's been fun toying with you, but I must depart. Know that our next meeting will not be so merciful."
With that, Mr. Mind picked them up again and hurled them bouncing and skidding all the way down the hallway and out into the station. They landed in a heap on the tracks, but as Yang and Billy picked themselves up and began prying the silk off of their friends, the lights on one of the dormant subway cars came on. A loud ring sounded, and Yang and Billy barely had time to grab Jaune and Freddy then jump as the car rocketed forward and slammed into them.
"Aaagh!" they screamed as they crashed through the glass windshield and barreled through the dingy seats and metal poles. The car continued to accelerate with its unwilling passengers, and to their horror they saw that the end of the track was a closed off tunnel. Thinking quickly, Billy rushed to the front cabin and tried to pull the brakes, only for the handle to completely break off.
"Ah, crap," Billy muttered, looking at the handle before shifting his attention towards the dead end. Knowing that they didn't have time to bring the car to a stop, Billy rushed over to Yang, Freddy, and Jaune, wrapped his arms around them, and thought as hard as he could about the Rock of Eternity.
A moment later, the four turned into smoke, and the now empty car crashed into several feet of solid concrete. The metal buckled and collapsed in on itself, crushing everything that was inside. For the heroes, however, they found themselves perfectly safe inside the Rock of Eternity, but they were breathing heavily at the mortal peril they just faced. Billy and Yang looked at each other incredulously, neither of them fully believing what just happened or knowing what to do now.
"Mmmph!" Jaune and Freddy groaned through the silk covering their heads, breaking the other two out of their spell. Using her punch daggers, Yang carefully cut her friends free from the silk cocoons they were trapped in, although there was still a generous amount of silk strings attached to their bodies.
Both Jaune and Freddy were breathing heavily, the four of them looking at each other without saying a word. Finally, after nearly a minute of silence, Jaune asked, "Did…did we just get our asses kicked…by a caterpillar?"
The others looked at him, and after a moment Yang adopted the most serious expression they'd ever seen on her face, then declared, "No, we didn't get our asses kicked by a caterpillar. We got our asses kicked by a psychic, bulletproof, super strong caterpillar the size of a bus. Do you understand me?"
Jaune, Billy, and Freddy looked at Yang for a moment then each other. After a brief pause, they looked back at Yang and nodded fervently.
"Yes, and it had hundreds of rows of sharp teeth like a Blind Worm, too."
"And it shot lasers out of its eyes."
"And it breathed poison-, fire-, poisonous fire."
"Good, glad we're in agreement," Yang said as she crossed her arms and nodded. "Now, does this place have cell reception? I need to make a call."
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here's the latest chapter of Hunters of Justice! Special thanks to NaanContributor and Jesse K for their help in bringing this chapter to life.
Billy and his family have had their first superhero team-up to deal with the Grimm threatening their city. But now Mr. Mind has entered the picture with plans of his own. What does he desire? You guys will have to wait and see.
Now, unfortunately, I have an announcement to me. I will no longer be doing a Q&A to respond to your reviews after I post a chapter. It's getting to be too much for me and I want to be able to get the chapters out quicker without spending an hour responding to all the reviews I get. Keep them coming though. I love and enjoy seeing how everyone responds. If you guys do have a question that isn't spoilers, please feel free to send me a PM. I'm happy to answer those there.
I hope you guys enjoy and let us know what you think.