Hey everyone! Here's the new chapter. I hope you all like it. Please take care to pay attention and keep track of the scenes that take place years before the main events. It's all part of the storytelling.

NOTE: Please check out Chapters 2 and 5. I made some minor additions to them. I mainly added some physical descriptors to the Bad Batch.

3 Years Before the Start of the Series:

"James!"

The door to General Ironwood's office swung open as an infuriated Dr. Haze stormed in with a sheet of paper in her hand. "What the hell is the meaning of this?!" She shoved the paper directly in the face of Ironwood who sat calmly at his desk.

James sighed, closing his eyes briefly as he chose his words carefully.

"Cassandra, please calm down."

She scoffed. "You want me to calm down? You really think that's possible after I read what you sent me?"

"I would have thought someone of your intellect would have jumped at such a challenge," he countered.

She glared dangerously at him. "Don't push it, James. This wouldn't be much of a challenge. I want to know just why in the hell you're asking for this?"

James sighed. "Why do you think I'm asking this of you?"

She said nothing for she knew exactly why. James spoke up in place of her silence.

"I'm pulling the plug on Project Guardian, Cassandra."

She glared dangerously at him.

"You goddamn coward."

The general raised an eyebrow at her.

"Do you want to take that back?" He asked.

"Absolutely not," she replied, "you asked for this and now you're giving up without any proper justification."

"The project is a failure, Cassandra. Billions of Lien and so many dead and all for what?"

"You haven't even seen their progression!" She shot back. "They've fully recuperated from the procedures and their training with their new equipment has progressed flawlessly."

"What good is that when only three survived?" He asked. "What are we supposed to do with only three Guardians?"

"Well," she said, "first we put them to use and then we learn from our mistakes and try again with a new class of candidates."

James sighed.

"Cassandra," he ran a hand through his slowly greying hair, "I know that I came to you for your help, and I greatly appreciate everything you've done. Clearly, you want to build upon what you've managed to create, but we need to face the facts. A ninety-seven percent washout rate is not conducive to our plans to stop Salem. On top of that, the years of training and indoctrination will only take up the precious time we have left."

She seemed to relax her body language a bit.

"I can see your point James, but that doesn't fully explain what you hope to accomplish by having me replicate Pietro's research on aura-transfer technology."

"I'm curious Cassandra," he said, "have you by any chance seen Pietro's project?"

"I have," she replied.

"What did you think of her?"

"Though she isn't quite finished, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed."

James smirked. "My thoughts exactly."

Dr. Haze rolled her eyes in slight annoyance. "Is this going somewhere, James?"

The general activated a hologram display that illustrated the specifications of what appeared to be an artificial skeleton.

"We need a new weapon if we're going to win this war, and I believe that Pietro's project can pave the way for a new program, one that will succeed where Project Guardian failed."

She rolled her eyes at him. "And what exactly would this project be called?"

"Project Sentinel," he replied.

James retrieved his scroll before he inputted a few commands. Cassandra's scroll beeped as it received the file the general sent. She began to read through the digital document. She found herself reading through it twice just to be sure she was reading it correctly.

Dr. Haze couldn't contain her laughter as she let the general hear it clearly, earning a raised eyebrow from him.

"Is something funny?" He asked.

It took her a moment to compose herself before she replied.

"Yes James," she said, "it's all hilarious."

"Care to explain?"

"Gladly," she replied, "you're banking on the hope that Pietro's little project will exceed, let alone match, my Guardians. You need that to happen in order for this little program, Project Sentinel, to takeoff."

She brushed a few stray strands of hair away from her face and back behind her ear before she continued speaking.

"You're proceeding forward on something that is nothing more than wishful thinking. You have failed to appreciate what is already before you and I think you are a fool for that James."

"Is it wishful thinking if it can guarantee us an army of synthetic humans with a one-hundred percent success rate Cassandra? The three percent success rate of Project Guardian isn't exactly reassuring."

She glared at him.

"Those three are more than enough; I can assure you. In fact, let's put them to the test. Let me show you their true capabilities. Let them be tested."

James looked at her for a moment before he let out a tired sigh.

"Very well then," he replied.

Present Day:

The sound of the dropship's engines was the only thing that could be heard. Penny stood in between Rahm and Jai while Terre stood a little off to the side. The three were wearing their Wraith suits once again. For the purposes of the training exercise, General Ironwood allowed them to use their suits. This exercise was to simulate actual combat and so it only made sense for them to be given their armor back. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't a little nervous about this test, considering it was primarily meant to test her capabilities in the field. Penny found herself accessing her memory banks and reviewing the mission specs Ironwood gave them two days ago.

Objective: Capture the Enemy Flag

Time Limit: 60 Minutes

Phase 1: Airborne Insertion Behind Enemy Lines

Phase 2: Engage the Enemy

Phase 3: Acquire Enemy Flag

Rules of engagement: Use of Live Ammunition Authorized.

For this exercise, the enemies would be Atlesian Knight-200s as well as Atlesian Paladin-290s. Both of those pieces of hardware were not expected to come online for another six or seven months. Ironwood stated that they would also be put to the test during this exercise. During their mission briefing, they were told they would encounter unmanned tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and bullheads that would provide air support against them. These unmanned vehicles were disposable ones that were meant to be used as target practice, all the while being able to fire live munitions.

While Penny was feeling nervous, her three teammates never felt more at home. This is what they were raised to do, what they were trained to do, what they were made to do, what they were born to do. Moreover, they felt complete again. For over two weeks they'd been barred from wearing their armor and now they would be able to wear it again for this mission.

Penny noticed the calmness about her teammates, despite their faces being hidden by their helmets. Penny reached and took hold of Rahm's hand. Rahm looked down at her in slight confusion as to what she was doing. Penny looked a little sheepish.

"Sorry. I am just a little nervous about this mission. Holding someone's hand makes me feel better."

Rahm knelt down so that he was at eye level with Penny. He squeezed her hand gently to signify that he wouldn't let go.

"You're more than ready for this Penny. Remember our drills and stay close to us. You're going to do great."

Penny smiled before she enveloped Rahm in a hug. Rahm didn't resist and simply hugged her back.

Terre and Jai observed this exchange with interest. Rahm stood out among their brothers and sisters during Project Guardian's early days. Rahm was known to be the most outgoing and caring of them all. That trait showed itself here once again. Rahm stood back up, still holding onto Penny's hand.

"ETA to drop zone, one minute!"

The four looked over to the dropship's pilot. Terre turned his attention to his team.

"Listen up Bad Batch," Terre said, "we've been over the mission specs so you all know what to expect. We're on a timetable here so we need to be quick and efficient in our movements."

Rahm and Jai nodded, their resolve firm. Penny, however, took a moment and looked up at Rahm. Rahm squeezed her hand, giving her a gentle nudge forward. Penny smiled before she too nodded.

"This is what you've been training for Penny. You're going to do fine."

"Thank you, Rahm!"

The rear door to the dropship opened. The roar of the wind drowned out the ambient noise inside the aircraft. A red light was illuminated, signaling that the time to jump had yet to arrive. The four members of the Bad Batch walked closer to the rear door and waited for the green light.

Penny glanced over the edge; they were so high up. Her internal computer's altimeter calculated they were at 35,000 feet. Luckily, she was an artificial human and didn't need to breathe.

A buzzer sounded and the light went from red to green. It was time.

Without a word they ran forward and jumped. Terre jumped first followed by Jai. Penny was still holding onto Rahm's hand and so the two jumped together. The four plummeted towards the earth as they continued to pick up speed. Penny was smiling throughout the fall. She had to admit this was pretty fun. An arrow flashed on their HUDs, signaling them to adjust course so that they'd land on target. They proceeded to do just that. They fell for a minute before they broke through a cloud coverage and could now see the snowcapped mountain range outside of Mantle. Speaking of Mantle, she could spot it from this height as well as the floating city of Atlas. Both of which were illuminated like beacons under the night sky. An updated altimeter reading flashed across their HUDs.

19,000 feet.

The altitude continued to decrease as the seconds continued to tick by. It wasn't long before Terre's voice echoed through their radios.

"Engage thrusters on my mark."

10,000 feet.

Penny let go of Rahm's hand, preparing herself for the upcoming fight they would soon be in. She had learned so much from her teammates over the last two weeks.

5,000 feet.

Using her advanced optics, Penny zoomed in and observed the horde of Atlesian Knight-200s that surrounded the base they were to assault. She had been assured by her teammates that they wouldn't be an issue for them.

1,000 feet.

"Get ready…"

The snow-covered ground was approaching fast, and the altimeter reading was now registering in the hundreds of feet.

"Now!"

The four activated their thrusters when they were merely 500 feet above the ground. Immediately, their velocity slowed to a crawl and they landed into the snow without incident. Penny had built-in thrusters into her boots. Unfortunately, they weren't able to be used for long. Her father was still working on how to make them last longer. The Wraith suits were equipped with external, disposable thrusters just for this mission. As with Penny, these thrusters lacked sufficient fuel and were merely intended to get a Guardian to the ground safely. Ironwood informed them that they were looking into making the thruster packs a permanent feature of the Wraith armor, but until they could get the thrusters to work more efficiently, they would continue to be used in a disposable manner.

They landed on a ridge that overlooked the base. Terre walked over to the edge of the ridge and took stock of the situation as he discarded the external thrusters from his armor. Jai and Rahm did the same as they walked over and flanked him on either side. Penny walked over too but she stood next to Rahm.

Terre's visor was currently in night vision mode. He squinted his eyes and his helmet's optics zoomed in on what he wanted to see. His comrades began doing the same. They observed the 200s and the 290s patrolling the base as well as the base itself. The tanks and the armored infantry vehicles were positioned strategically around the base while the bullheads flew in a steady formation about 1,500 feet above the facility. There was silence until Penny spoke up.

"Is it safe to assume that there is more to this than meets the eye?"

"Yes," her three teammates replied in unison.

"But," said Terre, "we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

Jai spoke up.

"Move in once I've engaged the enemy. My distraction should be able to clear the entrance of most of the pests. I'll link up with you inside the base."

Rahm retrieved a few explosive charges from one of his armor's various internal compartments before handing them to Jai.

"You're gonna need those," he said.

Jai nodded as he placed them inside one of his armor's storage compartments.

"Good luck Jai!"

"Thank you, Penny," replied Jai just as he vanished from sight.

Penny's eyes widened in surprise. She looked over to Rahm and Terre with a look of confusion.

"There's a reason it's called the Wraith Infiltrator armor," replied Rahm.

It didn't take more than a moment for Penny to put the pieces together. "Oh," she said, "I see. The armor is equipped with some sort of active camouflage?"

"Yes," replied Terre.

"How does it work?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

"I'm afraid those specifications are classified," replied Rahm.

She looked a bit disappointed upon hearing that.

"I understand," she said.

Terre, Rahm, and Penny kept track of Jai's position on their HUDs, being able to see exactly where he was on their motion trackers. Terre turned his attention to Rahm and Penny.

"Let's get in position."

The three proceeded to head off to the holding point.

Jai took caution to keep his movements slow and controlled. While the Wraith armor's photo reflective panels did an excellent job of making the wearer nigh invisible, it was not without its weaknesses. If the wearer moved too quickly, he would become easier to spot. If the wearer moved slowly then it was nearly impossible to pick up on his movements. Not only could the suits make the wearer invisible, but they also masked the thermal signature of the wearer, effectively making them undetectable by thermal imaging devices. Jai found himself at the base's perimeter wall. The wall looked to be about 20 feet high. With a bend of his knees, Jai jumped and easily cleared the wall. The best part about having an enhanced physiology was that Guardians could perform superhuman feats without using their aura. When they actively used their aura, they were beyond anything any human or faunus could ever hope to achieve. Without their auras, they were already faster and stronger than any human or faunus on the planet, barring those with speed and strength semblances. Jai's landing made little to no noise, which was surprising for how much he weighed. His armor alone weighed over 400 pounds. Combine it with the fact that he weighed nearly 300 pounds without it, he was currently weighing roughly 700 pounds. Guardian Zero-Six-Nine moved with quiet, graceful movements as he walked among the unknowing robot sentinels. Jai made his way towards a small group of tanks that were flanked by Paladin-290s. Jai retrieved an explosive charge from his grey armor and placed it underneath one of the tanks. The Paladins hadn't noticed him. Good. This meant his job would be that much easier. Jai moved to plant the other charges.

Terre, Rahm, and Penny were crouched behind large snow-covered rocks that rested about 500 meters away from the base perimeter. This was to be their starting position for when Jai initiated the distraction. Penny observed her two teammates as they waited. The two looked incredibly focused and she had to admit that they looked a bit intimidating in their armor. The artificial girl looked a bit uneasy with the lack of conversation. She decided to say something while they waited.

"Is this what actual missions are like?"

Terre and Rahm glanced at each other briefly before looking at her.

"What do you mean?" Asked Rahm.

"Is it always this quiet? Is there any conversation that occurs?"

Terre answered this time.

"Sometimes it's even quieter when the mission requires stealth exclusively. As far as conversation goes, the only conversation that occurs is usually when we need to speak to each other about something mission-related."

"Oh…I see. I am sorry, I am simply not used to speaking so little." A downcast expression etched its way onto her freckled face, with Rahm taking notice.

"Once we're done here, we can talk all you want Penny," said Rahm, "but for now let's just keep focused on the miss-"

BOOM!

The three shifted their attention back towards the base. A tower of billowing smoke as well as the sounds of automatic gunfire and explosive shells firing resonated through the air. Terre stood up from his crouched position.

"That's the signal. Let's move!"

Terre took off towards the base with Rahm and Penny following close behind.

Jai ducked behind the remains of a Paladin for cover. He had long since deactivated his active camouflage as he needed the 200s and 290s to focus on him. Seeing as he was running low on ammunition, Jai took this opportunity to swap out his weapon's magazine for a fresh one. He tossed a grenade over the flaming Paladin towards the approaching 200s before darting off from his cover. Jai fired his assault rifle with controlled burst shots that took out each Atlesian Knight he fired at. Jai ran towards a group of Paladins. Thanks to his enhanced physiology he was able to move far faster than the Paladins could physically follow. Jai flipped the switch on his assault rifle to transform it into its sword function. The super soldier hacked away at the joints of the Paladin he targeted while he carefully dodged incoming gunfire. Overhead, a bullhead approached, preparing to fire air to ground ordinance on Jai's position. As Jai continued to attack the mech's joints, the Paladin's knees began to give out as it struggled to remain standing. Jai sidestepped to avoid the downward swipe of the Paladin. Jai glanced up and spotted the incoming bullhead. With its arm lowered to the ground, Jai took the opportunity to run up the Paladin's arm and propel himself off the Paladin's head with both aura and biologically enhanced strength.

Jai soared high into the air towards the bullhead. Jai aimed and fired a grappling hook from his armor's gauntlet. The grappling hook caught hold of the bullhead, taking Jai along for the ride. Jai retrieved a detonator from an internal compartment of his armor and pressed the ignition button. Down below, the rest of the vehicles and targets Jai planted explosives on now lay in ruins. The AK-200s and the Paladin-290s were currently firing into the sky in hopes of hitting the fast-moving super soldier. Jai retracted the grappling hook, sending him up towards the bullhead. If he would have had his helmet off, Jai's hearing would have been overrun by the sound of high-velocity winds. Jai climbed up onto the bullhead's wing, his suit's magnetizing function was doing a great job of keeping him attached to the aircraft. Jai stood atop the wing briefly before he approached the main door. Jai delivered a single punch that tore through the aircraft's main door. With his fist implanted firmly into the door, the Guardian got a solid grip and tore the steel door off. Jai jumped inside the bullhead. Inside the aircraft, there was a single AK-200 that was piloting the aircraft.

Terre, Rahm, and Penny were currently bulldozing their way through a company of AK-200s. The sound of an approaching bullhead alerted them and caused them to scatter to avoid the incoming air-to-ground ordinance. Penny shielded her eyes from the explosion. Out of the chaos came Rahm's voice.

"Cover me!"

Terre put his staff away and retrieved his sidearm, firing off precise 7.62 x 25 mm rounds at the incoming 200s. Penny summoned her swords and sent them careening at all Atlesian Knights that were dumb enough to approach. Rahm, meanwhile, aimed his polearm and fired a stinger missile at the bullhead that had just assaulted their position. The missile shot through the air at supersonic speeds and locked onto the bullhead. Within seconds the missile hit its target, sending the bullhead crumbling to the ground in a flaming heap. Rahm loaded another stinger missile and aimed at the nearest bullhead but stopped upon closer inspection, thanks to his enhanced eyesight as well as his suit's advanced optics. Rahm spotted Jai on the wing of the bullhead, currently tearing the ship's door off. Rahm's HUD marked the bullhead as friendly, and Terre and Penny's HUDs received the notification as well. Rahm sighted a new target and fired a missile at another bullhead. The explosion caught Penny's attention. She looked up and smiled as the bullhead came crashing down. Rahm aimed at another bullhead and prepared to fire. He stopped short as the bullhead in his crosshairs was torn apart by the Gatling gun from Jai's bullhead. Jai proceeded to break off and engage the other bullheads. Terre also took notice of the situation unfolding. Seeing that Jai moved to establish air superiority, Terre spoke up.

"Jai's got the skies covered. Let's wrap up here and get the flag."

Rahm nodded before he switched his missile launcher back to its polearm function. Rahm turned his attention to Penny.

"Don't be afraid to let loose here Penny."

The words were simple and yet they resonated with her. Since the start of the mission, Penny had been feeling nervous. Said nervousness was holding her back. She needed to show her teammates and the general what she was made of. Metaphorically speaking of course. Penny's response came in the form of her swords spinning behind her as green energy began to glow brighter and brighter.

Rahm and Terre took note of the girl's imminent attack and scattered, seeking to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Penny thrust her arms forward as the green pool of energy condensed into a powerful, destructive laser beam that destroyed the Atlesian Knights and Paladins that stood in her way. Penny didn't let up there, however. She spun around in circles, ensuring that there wasn't an area the laser didn't hit. The laser disappeared as Penny abruptly stopped her spinning and put her swords away. The ginger-haired artificial girl smiled in delight at the smoldering remains of the Atlesian Knights and Paladins in the immediate vicinity. She looked over towards Rahm and Terre.

"Does this meet your expectations, Rahm?"

Rahm didn't say anything. He merely nodded. However, underneath his helmet, the faintest hint of a smirk etched its way onto his face.

An alert message flashed across their HUDs. The way looked up and spotted Jai's bullhead speeding overhead as it proceeded to drop more air to ground ordinance on the remaining ground forces.

"Let's move," said Terre.

Rahm and Penny followed their team leader to the main entrance of the facility. Upon reaching the door, they, unsurprisingly, found that the door was locked.

"Allow me," said Penny.

The artificial girl raised her index finger to the key slot. Penny's finger transformed to fit the door's electronic key outlet. After a second of waiting, the door opened up. Penny turned to face her teammates.

"Shall we proceed to acquire the flag?"

Jai threw the bullhead into an aileron roll to avoid being shot out of the sky by Gatling gunfire from one of the pursuing bullheads. Jai cut the power to the engine before pulling up on the control stick sharply, sending the bullhead into a temporary stall. The pursuing bullheads sped by, unable to slow down in time. Jai immediately threw the throttle lever to full power and initiated the pursuit of the enemy aircraft. The aircraft's targeting computer locked onto the three bullheads with a beeping noise. Jai fired one air-to-air missile, followed by a second, and then a third. The missiles sped away and shortly found their targets and exploded upon impact. Jai pulled up to avoid debris colliding with his aircraft. A message flashed across his HUD, signifying that he had just used his last air-to-air missile.

The super soldier sent the aircraft into a 7G turn and headed back towards the base. Jai activated the bullhead's Gatling gun and proceeded to initiate strafing runs on the ground targets. The Atlesian Knights, the Paladins, and the dummy tanks that were unfortunate to get caught in the strafing runs were torn apart by the Gatling gun's 30mm, armor-piercing rounds. Jai enabled the air-to-ground ordinance and proceeded to fire a barrage of air-to-ground missiles that blew apart the remaining ground forces.

The sound of an alert message from the aircraft garnered Jai's attention.

MUNITIONS DEPLETED!

Guardian Zero-Three-Seven acknowledged the message with a slightly annoyed grunt. Seeing that his ship's munitions were depleted, there was no further use for the bullhead. Jai spotted a straggler group of AK-200s. Jai enabled the ship's autopilot and set it to fly towards the coordinates he punched into the computer. Jai stood up from his seat and proceeded to walk towards the open hole he tore in the side of the aircraft before jumping out.

"According to the map I downloaded, this should be the most direct route to the command room. I calculate a high probability that the flag is located there." Penny was currently plugged into a computer terminal, downloading any useful information as well as clearing as many obstacles for them in the form of locked doors or security systems.

Rahm and Terre, meanwhile, were loosely listening to their new teammate as they were busy making short work of a group of Atlesian Knights. Terre pulled his staff free from the broken shell of the last AK-200 before collapsing the staff and heading towards the door Penny just opened with Rahm in tow. Penny had since unplugged herself from the terminal and followed after the two. They moved carefully, making sure to stay attentive to any potential ambushes. They walked to the end of the short hallway and arrived at a junction and turned left, following Penny. The whole way the walk was silent and ambush-free.

The sound of footsteps approaching from ahead could be heard.

Well…mostly ambush-free.

Rahm stepped in front of Penny and Terre as he readied his weapon.

"Penny, Terre, stand back," Rahm stated casually as he prepared to fire a stinger missile.

They did as Rahm said and stayed behind him as Rahm fired a missile into the heart of the approaching AK-200s. The resulting explosion engulfed the majority of the main hallway, sending shockwaves that echoed throughout the base.

With the threat neutralized, they continued forward. Penny once again led the way and Terre now walked alongside Rahm. Terre glanced over at Rahm in a quizzical way.

Rahm merely shrugged.

"These drones were starting to bore me," Rahm stated with casual indifference.

"I'll say," said a fourth voice.

Terre, Rahm, and Penny glanced behind them and saw Jai approaching from the way they had just come.

"What's the matter Jai? The army outside wasn't enough excitement for you?"

"Just like you said, Rahm. These drones are boring. They're predictable," replied Jai.

"Well, if these drones aren't enough excitement for you, then maybe the three hiding above us will be?" Terre spoke as he glanced up towards the ventilation ducts.

"Come out, we know you're there," said Rahm.

The sound of creaking could be heard before the ceiling collapsed as three figures jumped down to the floor. As the dust cleared, the three figures were revealed to be Specialists Vine Zeki, Elm Ederne, and Marrow Amin. The voice of Marrow spoke up.

"Okay. How long did you know we were there and how did you know?"

"Since we turned down this hallway. I'm afraid that knowing how we knew isn't relevant," replied Rahm.

Marrow groaned out of frustration.

"Really? Seriously, you guys are the worst when it comes to having a conversation."

"I would be delighted to converse with you!" Penny waved eagerly over at the faunus, who smiled and waved back at her. Rahm glanced over to her and shook his head, silently saying that now wasn't the time.

"As much as I enjoy a good conversation, I'm afraid that we'll have to put that on hold," Elm said as she retrieved her hammer and assumed a battle stance.

Penny looked at the three members of the Ace Ops with curiosity before she spoke.

"I am curious. Are you three part of this training exercise?"

Elm answered. "Fraid so, kid."

Penny frowned

"Our job is to ensure you don't reach the flag," said Vine.

Jai stepped forward; the three Ace Operatives became slightly apprehensive as they observed the grey-clad giant. Jai turned his attention to his teammates.

"Go on ahead. I'll take care of these three."

That comment earned raised eyebrows from the three Ace Operatives and even Penny.

"I do not understand Jai. You all taught me to never leave a comrade behind. I cannot leave you here alone."

"You aren't. I'll join you all momentarily. Now get going."

"Let's go, Penny," said Terre, "he can take care of himself."

Penny nodded reluctantly. She looked a bit sad to leave Jai.

"Oh no you don't," Marrow wasn't about to let them leave, "sta-"

Marrow found himself tumbling across the hallway, stopping only when he made contact with the wall. Even then, his body left a noticeable dent in it. The faunus' vision was a bit blurry. He shook the stars out of his eyes and focused his gaze on whatever just hit him. His eyes landed on Jai. The super soldier stood motionless as his teammates walked further into the base's interior.

Marrow was surprised. It felt as though he was hit by a train and yet his attacker looked to have used little effort. The other two members of the Ace Ops were caught off guard by Jai's attack. The super soldier moved too fast for them to track.

"Don't you think you're a bit in over your head to fight three of us at once?" Elm asked with a smirk.

"No," replied Jai.

Tune in next week to see the Bad Batch face off against the Ace Ops! Please leave a review, share with friends, and be sure to like and follow! Thank you!