Hunters of Justice (RWBY/DC)
Chapter 42: Small Packages
December 8th, 6:05 PM (Eastern Standard Time)
Rock of Eternity, Fawcett City, Pennsylvania, United States of America
"You're saying the Grimm are being controlled?" Weiss asked as the group of young heroes stood before Jaune, Yang, Billy, and Freddy, all of whom looked worse for wear. Strings of silk clung to Jaune and Freddy, and while none of them sported any bruises, it was obvious from the dirt and sweat on their bodies that a fight had broken out. A fight that they had clearly lost.
"By a…caterpillar?" Blake incredulously added, only to receive vigorous nods.
"Yeah, a talking caterpillar, probably an alien. It was the size of a bus," Yang emphasized while spreading her hands from each other.
"And bulletproof," Jaune hastily added with a raised finger. "Golden Dragon shot it ten times, and it did nothing. When I tried to stab it, my sword just bounced off, too."
"I tried blasting it with lightning, but it just absorbed it," Billy revealed, a haunted look on his face. "That's when it breathed the poisonous fire at us, and we barely got out of there in time before it bound White Knight and Freddy in silk then psychically hurled all of us into an abandoned subway car. Before we could do anything, the car rocketed off towards a dead end."
"If Billy hadn't gotten us back to the Rock in time, we'd have been crushed," Freddy finished, then looked to his foster brother and said, "Thank you, by the way."
"Don't mention it," Billy replied, then the four took a gulp and nervously stared at the others.
A heavy moment of silence passed as the others tried to comprehend what they were told. No one spoke at first, then Ruby coughed and asked, "You guys got beat up by a bug?"
Yang groaned and shot a frown at her sister before replying, "A huge psychic one, remember?"
"No, no, I remember. It's just…" Ruby paused and scratched her head. "Kinda hard to imagine, honestly. Even with all the weird stuff we've seen on Earth."
"How'd a bug that size get down there, anyway?" Nora asked while tilting her head. "And what's poisonous fire?"
"Probably had the Grimm dig tunnels for it," Billy quickly answered. "As for poisonous fire, that's…"
"When the fire gives off toxic fumes," Freddy filled in. "Happens more often than you think. It's why you should never burn plastic, by the way. That stuff will mess you up."
"I'll keep that in mind," Ren calmly replied.
He then looked at the rest of his team, especially Pyrrha who was giving her partner a knowing look that Jaune was trying his best to look away from. Figuring that there was something Jaune and the others weren't telling them, Ren decided to drop the subject and move on.
"I think the more pressing issue is what to do next," he reminded everyone, cutting off any further round of questioning. As everyone turned to face him, Jaune and his group shot him quick, thankful looks, further convincing the Verdant Lotus that something was amiss.
"Yeah. That thing is controlling the Grimm," Mary softly replied, frowning while gently clasping her hands together.
"No, not controlling. More like directing them, it was very insistent on that. Said the Grimm didn't really have minds to control," Jaune clarified.
"It insisted? You mean it told you what it was doing?" Pedro asked as he scrunched up his face. "That seems…counterproductive."
"Like telling an officer how you robbed a bank," Darla added, and Yang nodded in agreement.
"It was extremely arrogant, so yes. Called us stupid monkeys, in fact," Yang answered while frowning and crossing her arms.
"Did it tell you exactly why it was directing the Grimm?" Ruby asked with a hopeful tone in her voice, but her sister shook her head. "Drat."
"We aren't that lucky, unfortunately," Billy admitted as he sighed and spread his arms out slightly. "All we know is that a huge alien that looks like a caterpillar is making the Grimm do something."
"Well, we need to find out what that something is as soon as possible," Weiss declared, a frown on her face. "Directing, controlling, it doesn't matter which one you try because it won't work. All that'll happen is death and destruction, so I don't understand what its endgame is. It's not like you can conquer anything with the Grimm."
"Unless it wants death and destruction," Blake pointed out. "I got the distinct feeling that this thing doesn't care about human lives all that much."
Everyone paused to absorb Blake's declaration. Ruby frowned and clenched her fist, asking herself what was with so many villains thinking they'd be the ones to get the Grimm to do what they want. Brother Blood, Luthor, the League of Shadows, and that was just on Earth. Remnant experienced the exact same thing, and even now it infuriated her.
"Shouldn't…" Mary began, then took a deep breath. "Shouldn't we call the Justice League and let them handle this? I mean, clearly this is bigger than what we expected."
"She does have a point," Weiss answered, crossing her arms. "Golden Dragon and Billy are our heaviest hitters, and none of your attacks left so much as a scratch. It's possible that we might not be able to conventionally defeat this thing without exploiting some esoteric weakness like Trigon, but we have no idea if that even exists. This may be above our level."
Ruby frowned and folded her arms, not liking the sound of that. At the same time, though, the logical part of her mind was telling her that calling for outside help was probably the safest option. Especially since nearly half their group were fresh and inexperienced.
She let out a sigh, then admitted, "Ivory Mage, I think you're right. I'll call up Superman, see if he can—"
"No, no, no! There's no need to do that!" Billy frantically interrupted, a panicked look on his face. "I'm sure we can handle this ourselves."
Now Ruby was confused, and she raised an eyebrow before asking, "But you…lost to it? Like, really badly."
"We lost round one," Yang pointed out while raising a finger, "and only because it caught us off guard. None of us were expecting that thing to be down there. Now that we know what to expect, though, we should have a much better chance of kicking its butt."
She pounded her fist into her open palm in emphasis, a confident grin spreading across her face. Ruby couldn't help but remain suspicious, though, especially at the hint of nervousness that she recognized in her sister. One that was much more pronounced in Jaune and Freddy.
"Besides, the League has enough on its plate as it is," Jaune hastily added. "There's been a bunch of Grimm activity lately, and I don't think it's worth it to bring them here when they're needed elsewhere."
Jaune did have a point, but she was suspicious of his motives. A quick glance around told Ruby that the others were likely of the same mind. Part of her was saying that her sister's team was lying about something, but she dismissed that. There's no way her older sister would lie about something this important.
"Reaper," Freddy gently said, bringing his hands together, "we got this. If we lose again, then yeah let's call the League. But not until we give it a second try. Come on, this is our second go around as superheroes. We can't just call it quits now after one loss."
Frowning slightly, Ruby looked at her pleading sister. After a few moments, she sighed and said, "Alright, fine. I suppose you're right. We'll give it another go."
"Thank you," Billy replied, giving Ruby a warm smile. "Don't worry, you won't regret this."
Ruby nodded, then looked around at the rest of the Remnantians. It was clear that they weren't completely on board, but at the same time were coming around to the idea. Nora especially, who was practically bouncing up and down in anticipation of the fight to come. Billy's family, however, looked more unsure, with the youngest of them nervously glancing at each other while Pedro awkwardly rubbed his arms up and down. Mary, meanwhile, softly narrowed her eyes at her younger siblings then crossed her arms.
"I'm not sure that's wise," she pointed out. "You said it yourself, this is only our second go around as superheroes. Shouldn't we ease up on the threats we take on?"
"We took on literal world-ending demons for our first outing," Billy reminded her. "Trust me, this isn't anything worse than that."
Mary looked as though she wanted to argue further, but bit her lip and stopped herself. After a moment, she reluctantly nodded. The other members of her family looked at each other then back at the Remnantians where they began to nod one by one. Once it was clear that everyone was on the same page, Ruby turned back to face Yang and the others.
"Alright," she began as she pulled out her scroll and turned on a holographic projection of Fawcett City, "we need to find this thing before it can do whatever it's planning. Any ideas on where to start?"
"We can take you guys to where we fought it," Jaune offered. "Might be some clues over there."
"Certainly can't hurt," Pyrrha admitted, then turned towards Ruby. "Do you want us to split up?"
"Let's see what we can find first," Ruby answered. "Given how strong it seems to be, might be best to stay as a group."
"Wouldn't splitting up allow us to find him easier?" Darla asked, and Ren nodded.
"Yes, but given how it beat up your older brothers and our friends, strength in numbers is probably the way to go," Ren explained.
"Oh, that makes sense," Darla replied with a quick nod, then tilted her head. "I think."
Eugene patted his younger sister's shoulder, then everyone looked back at Ruby. Nodding at them, she turned towards Billy and asked, "Can you take us all to where you saw it?"
"Yeah, give me a minute," Billy answered, then scrunched up his face as he began to concentrate.
The other heroes gathered around him, patiently waiting for Billy to finish. Nora began tapping her foot against the rocky ground, idly looking around the room. It wasn't long, however, before the heroes were shrouded by wisps of smoke, taking them away from the Rock of Eternity.
While Ruby had long since grown used to the weird sensations of teleportation, she had to admit that Billy's method was much smoother. For one, the contents of her stomach weren't doing flips, and she didn't have a slight headache like she normally did. It did take her a moment, though, to collect her bearings. Once she did, she noticed that they were inside a long, dark subway tunnel. The embedded lights in the walls and ceiling were cracked and dusty, leaving the heroes in pure darkness. It was only thanks to the night vision installed in her cowl that Ruby was even able to see. Off in the distance, she could hear faint drippings of water as it fell to the ground, but otherwise it was silent.
"Whew, would you look at that?" Nora whistled and called out, bringing Ruby's attention to her.
Turning around, Ruby winced as she saw the mangled state of a subway car. It had crashed against a solid concrete wall with enough force to flatten it like a soda can. All that remained was a heap of twisted and crushed metal, with shards of glass littered around the floor that crunched underneath her feet.
"Was this the car you guys were in?" Blake asked, and Yang nodded.
"Yeah, it was," she grimly admitted. What would've happened had they not gotten out in time went unsaid, but it was understood all the same.
Scowling, Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and configured it into its battle rifle mode, then said, "Let's go."
Her words left no room for arguing, and soon the entire group was off. Following the long-abandoned rail tracks, the teams slowly made their way forward, their eyes and ears peeled for anything amiss. Other than the sound of their footsteps and the ambiance, they heard nothing. Eventually, they saw flickering light coming from up ahead. As they drew closer, the Remnantians switched off their night vision while bringing their weapons to bear.
Pausing at the edge of the light, which illuminated the abandoned subway station where Jaune, Yang, Billy and Freddy fought the creature seemingly responsible for all of this, Ruby turned her head around to face the others. They quickly locked eyes with her, then nodded. Nodding back, Ruby refocused on the still alight room, then burst into the center in a cloud of rose petals. Following the signal, the others burst in as well, and soon the entire chamber was covered by attentive superheroes. Several tense, heavy moments passed as they scanned the area, Ruby's heart pounding in her chest.
"It's not here," Jaune finally declared, lowering Crocea Mors and letting out a sigh.
"There's no one here," Nora added as she rested Magnhild across her shoulders while lazily sweeping her gaze around the room. "Besides us, of course. Can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet."
"It's most certainly bad," Weiss answered with a huff. "If it isn't here, that means it's somewhere else causing havoc."
"Oh, right. Yeah that's bad." Nora pursed her lips as she rested the top of her hammer onto the ground, then nodded and pointed out, "Well, it couldn't have gotten too far. Let's see if we can't find a trail. I mean, a bug that big's gotta leave something behind."
Jaune and Yang awkwardly coughed, briefly bringing Ruby's attention to them. She dismissed it, however, and refocused on the task at hand. Spreading out, the teams began combing through every inch of the subway station. Ruby chose to search around the small tunnel that Jaune and the others crawled through to get here initially, while they chose to more thoroughly inspect the hallway where they fought the giant insect. Everyone else was more scattered.
From what Ruby could see, there were definitely signs of Grimm activity. The tunnel itself was dug out, leaving behind a fine layer of rubble on the ground. It looked almost as though the tunnel was chewed through the concrete and rebar. Just outside the tunnel's exit was a set of claw marks, telling Ruby that the Grimm had likely pulled itself free once it got far enough. Kneeling down, she ran her fingers across the scratches, trying her best to determine just what type of Grimm made it. After a few moments, she figured it was most likely a Creep. They always were infamous for their ability to dig right underneath all but the heaviest of fortifications. The only problem was that the tunnel was far too small for a bus-sized alien to go through. It left her scratching her head, then she shrugged and figured it might've come in via another entrance.
"Hey guys, I found something!" Freddy called out, waving at them from the opposite end of the station from where they entered. Rushing over, the teams saw a faint track of kicked up dust leading off into the distance. It was a small, thin line that trailed over and around the subway tracks, but there was something off about it.
"It went through here," Billy declared, a frown on his face. He then turned his head up and began to walk deeper into the darkness, calling out, "Well, you guys coming or not?"
"We are, but…it seems kinda small, though, don't you think?" Ruby pointed out while scratching her head.
"Yeah. Whatever made this was tiny," Nora added as she knelt next to the trail. "Nowhere near the size of a bus. Are you guys—"
"Trust us, Pink Lightning. It went this way," Jaune hastily interrupted, then continued on before anyone else could get a word in. Yang, Freddy, and Billy were right behind him, causing the others to look at them suspiciously.
"…They're hiding something," Mary whispered. "I don't know what, and I don't know why, but they're hiding something."
"You're only just now seeing that?" Pyrrha asked, only for Mary to shake her head.
"No, but this confirmed it."
"Whatever it is, we'll find out after we stop this thing," Blake reminded them as she pulled out Gambol Shroud once again.
"Yep," Ruby replied with a pop. "Come on, let's go."
Nodding at the Red Reaper, the other young heroes carefully followed, their weapons at the ready. As they left the subway station behind, the Remnantians turned their night vision back on, except for Blake who didn't really need it. Ruby idly wondered if Billy and his family were having any trouble seeing in the dark, but a quick glance told her they were seeing things perfectly. She guessed it must've been part of their powers, then shrugged and moved on.
"Hey, anyone else wondering why the super-smart caterpillar chose this spot to hide in?" Pedro suddenly called out, bringing everyone's attention to him. "There's dozens of these abandoned stations all across the city, but why here?"
"I don't know," Darla replied with a shrug. "Maybe it could only get into this one?"
"No, I don't think that's the answer," Mary countered, a slight frown on her face. "If it could get into this one easily enough, then it stands to reason that it could get into the others just as easily. There was a reason why it chose this particular spot, but for the life of me I just don't know why."
Ruby frowned and pursed her lips, realizing that Mary had a point. She then had an idea and pulled out her scroll, pulling up a map of Fawcett City.
"What'cha looking at?" Eugene asked, looking over Ruby's shoulder. His eyes then widened in realization, and he breathed out, "This is Fawcett City's utility grid. Power lines, gas, telecommunications…"
"Yeah," Ruby confirmed, "and from what I can see, this station is right underneath a major service tower. If someone wanted to cut off Fawcett City from the outside world, they'd do it here."
Everyone looked at her, then the rest of RWBY and JNPR promptly pulled out their scrolls. While their scrolls had a permanent satellite connection to the Justice League's systems on the Watchtower, they still relied upon civilian towers to boost their signals for a speedy connection. If push came to shove, they could always call for backup, but it would be slow at best if the entire city was cut off. To their relief, they saw that they still had service, although it was faint. Given how they were deep underground, though, that wasn't too much of a concern.
"Once we get topside, we'll notify the police," Yang declared. "Now come on, let's find and stop this thing before anyone else gets hurt."
With renewed vigor, the superheroes continued making their way through the abandoned subway tunnel. As they walked, they couldn't help but notice how there were entire sections of wall ripped down, exposing wires and pipes for everyone to see. It wasn't hard to realize what was likely going on: the alien had already begun its sabotage of the city's infrastructure. Luckily, it didn't seem as though it had gotten far, but they couldn't stop for long to verify. All they could do was do a spot check as well as connect their scrolls to the wires directly, allowing them to interface and perform a quick scan for irregularities. They found none, then continued on.
At the same time, though, Ruby couldn't help but feel something was amiss. Things were far too quiet. She liked to think that perhaps their work earlier in the day was responsible, but that was before she learned a supervillain was behind everything. In all of her experiences on Earth so far, supervillains getting involved only made a situation go from bad to worse. Especially if the villain had some kind of plan, which this alien clearly had. Why else would it brag to Yang and the others about what it was doing?
Her thoughts were interrupted as they heard a deep, muffled rumbling coming from deeper down the tunnel, followed by a large crash. The heroes paused as they looked towards the source of the disturbance, then sprinted as fast as they could. Whatever the alien was planning was kicking off now, and they had to intercept it as soon as possible.
Running at full tilt, the heroes soon found a massive hole on the far end of the sealed subway line. Unlike the first one, it was large enough for them to sprint through without any issues. Idly, Ruby noted that this hole was dug out with what looked like claws rather than teeth, but that was only a supplementary detail. More importantly, she could hear roars, screams and gunshots coming from up ahead, which only served to make her run faster.
"I can go ahead and see what's going on!" Darla offered, running just ahead of everyone to prove her point.
"Darla, no!" Mary immediately shot down. "We're staying together! That goes for you too, Billy!"
"Oh, come on!" Billy replied, forcing himself to slow down and rejoin the group.
"But-!" Darla began to protest, but Mary cut her off.
"No buts! I will not have you getting hurt!"
Darla frowned and looked as though she wanted to argue further, but she sighed and relented. Falling back, Darla took her position at the rear of the group, a sad frown on her face. For a brief moment, Ruby glanced back in her direction then at Mary. While she understood where Mary was coming from, Ruby personally felt that she was being a tad bit overprotective. That would have to be taken care of later on. Right now, though, she'd go along with it. This was one of their first missions, after all. Yang treated her the same way when Ruby went on her first supervised Grimm hunts in Signal. She could see a dash of nervousness on their faces, as well as a bit of regret on Mary's, but both were trying their best to keep it in. Knowing that she had to do something, Ruby came to a decision.
"Darla, whatever's going on up there, I want you to focus on getting people to safety," Ruby ordered. "Just grab them and run."
"Grab them and run, got it," Darla replied, giving the Red Reaper a determined nod. Mary quickly gave Ruby a thankful smile, which Ruby returned before turning her attention to Eugene.
"Eugene, you just stay back and blast Grimm with your lightning," Ruby added.
"Will do," Eugene said while flashing a thumbs up.
Nodding one last time, Ruby reconfigured Crescent Rose into its scythe form. The roars and screams were louder now, and a barrage of gunshots could be heard in an unceasing cacophony. Ahead of them, they saw flickering lights and sparks from broken LEDs from yet another hole in the concrete, this one smashed through rather than dug. Racing through the hole, the heroes found themselves at yet another subway station, only this one was very much still in use. The walls were painted in bright colors, with advertisements and posters hanging up for people to see. It was much cleaner, with evidence of recent foot traffic easily visible. More importantly, they saw terrified civilians being ushered away by uniformed police officers, who were firing their weapons into a large attacking Grimm to no effect. Already they could see at least a dozen bodies lying on the floor, which made the younger heroes wince and gag. Out of his entire family, only Billy was able to keep his composure, although he scowled deeply while clenching his fists.
Rather than being an Ursa or a Beowolf, like the ones that they had dealt with before, this one was shaped like a spider. Its legs were long and surprisingly thick, composed of many inky black segments with white bone tips. Armor plating ran up the legs and into the covered cephalothorax and abdomen, and everywhere that wasn't covered with bone plates bristled with spiny hairs. Red lines on the white bone made an image that looked like a skull on its fat abdomen. Eight red eyes stared hungrily out of its broad head as it advanced towards a police officer, its massive fangs clicking together.
Ruby recognized what it was immediately, and shouted, "Gargantula!"
Her shouting drew the attention of both the police officers and the Gargantula, which screeched angrily before kicking the officer away and into the wall. While the other policemen continued to fire on the Grimm, another went to help their comrade up to his feet. The Grimm, meanwhile, ignored all of them to focus on the superheroes, clearly recognizing them as the bigger threat.
"We need to flip it onto its back," Yang revealed as she chambered Ember Celica. "Its upper armor's too tough."
"Darla, Eugene, you two know what to do," Ruby added. The two youngest heroes gulped then nodded, and Ruby nodded back before aiming Crescent Rose and firing into the Gargantula's skull.
As she expected, the shot did nothing more than make it angrier. It let out a loud screech and rushed towards them, prompting the heroes to scatter except for Yang and Pedro, who stood their ground and held out their hands. The Grimm slammed into them, but the two heroes dug their feet into the ground while tightly grasping one of its mandibles each. It was able to push them back several feet, large troughs forming underneath them, but soon the two were able to apply enough pressure to stop it in its tracks.
Now able to obtain leverage, Yang and Pedro each reared one of their arms back and delivered a powerful synchronized punch into the Gargantula's face, sending it flying back. It slammed into the concrete platform with enough force to create a large crack that went all the way to the opposite wall. But the Gargantula was able to pick itself back up, and it screeched at them before firing a string of thick webbing out of its spinneret and into a cracked wall. The Gargantula then sharply turned its back, ripping a large chunk of concrete off and sending it flying towards Yang and Pedro.
While the experienced Huntress was able to jump away in time, Pedro reflexively flinched and allowed the large chunk of concrete to slam into him. He was hurled violently into the opposite end of the station, partially embedded into the wall.
"…Ow…" he groaned as he began pulling himself free.
"You okay, man?!" Freddy called out as he flew above the Gargantula, assisting Eugene in blasting it with lighting.
"Yeah, I'm…I'm good. Just…give me a moment," Pedro answered, falling to his knees and raising a finger.
Beside him, Darla was performing as instructed, grabbing terrified civilians and running them up the flights of stairs to safety. Part of her wanted to assist her brothers and sister, but the rest of her knew this was the best thing she could do right now. Getting people to safety was far more important than helping to kick bad guy butt. Once that was done, then she'd worry about joining the fray.
Meanwhile, the Huntsmen, Huntresses, and superheroes continued their fight against the Gargantula. While it wasn't able to effectively fight them due to the lack of space and from how everyone was attacking it from multiple angles, its nearly impenetrable armor more than made up for it. Billy was pounding away at its back, each punch delivering powerful shockwaves that sent dust falling all around them, yet the Grimm remained standing. After another punch sent the Gargantula briefly falling to its stomach, it got right back up and screeched loudly before slamming itself against a concrete pillar.
"Oof!" Billy grunted as he was forced off. He rolled against the ground, coming to a rest on his belly. Just as he began to push himself up, the Gargantula rushed him. Billy barely had enough time to grab the mandibles as it reached him, pinning him to the floor as it attempted to bite into him.
"Someone…get this thing…off me!" Billy yelled as he began pouring magical electricity into the Gargantula, which made it roar in pain yet otherwise did nothing.
A few shots from Crescent Rose promptly slammed into its head, popping one of its eyes which made it recoil and loosen its grip. Seizing the opportunity, Billy threw an electrified punch into its head, which was followed by Mary shoulder-checking the Grimm off of her brother. The Gargantula skipped across the ground, slamming to a stop against one of the stairways and briefly leaving its unprotected belly open. Ren and Blake immediately began firing their weapons, causing the Grimm to thrash in pain. They only let up as Jaune, Pyrrha, and Weiss dashed in, stabbing Crocea Mors, Miló, and Myrtenaster into the Grimm's flesh up to the hilts. While Weiss pulled her weapon out and stabbed again a few more times, Jaune and Pyrrha opted to drag theirs to the side, forming massive gashes which leaked out black ichor.
"Gagh!" the White Knight, Crimson Guardian, and Ivory Mage grunted as the Gargantula desperately thrashed its legs together, not managing to hit the assailants pressed up against its belly but rubbing off a flurry of its pointed hair spines in the process. The sword wielders hurriedly backed out of the forming cloud of supernaturally caustic hairs as it sparked against their Auras like floating needles, allowing the creature a chance to rise back up. It then encased the three in a glob of silk, trapping them in place.
"Aagh, it's in my hair!" Weiss complained.
"Not again!" Jaune added as he tried to angle Crocea Mors to cut himself free. Pyrrha was attempting to do the same thing, but to no success.
Nora, meanwhile, fired a trio of impact grenades onto the Gargantula, dissipating its protective cloud and briefly shrouding it in smoke that it quickly charged right through. Rather than dodge, Nora smirked and reconfigured Magnhild into her hammer before charging herself up with her suit's built-in batteries. Pink electricity sparked all around her body, and she planted herself against the ground and reared Magnhild back as far as she could. Once the Gargantula got into range, she swung Magnhild with bone-crushing force. Chunks of the Grimm's bony armor were shattered, exposing the black flesh underneath. Still, it was able to stay upright, and it screeched angrily at her. Nora roared right back, not backing down from the challenge.
"This is taking too long," Mary muttered as she helped pry the White Knight and Ivory Mage free. Trying to see what she could do, she felt an idea pop into her head as she saw Nightshade wrap Gambol Shroud's ribbon around a pair of its legs in an attempt to trip it up, alongside Verdant Lotus who attempted the same thing with the grappling hooks built into Stormflower. Both, however, were merely pulled off their feet, but before the Gargantula could take advantage of their states Billy, Yang, and Pedro slammed into the creature.
"I…I have an idea!" Mary declared.
"Well, I'm all ears," Weiss replied, chambering Myrtenaster for Freeze Gas while Jaune sheathed Crocea Mors into its shield, combining both into a two-handed claymore which began to superheat the edges.
Nodding at them, Mary turned towards Ren and Blake before shouting, "Nightshade, Lotus, if you can lever it up we can attack the belly together! Take it out in one go!"
"Alright!" the two Remnantians replied, dodging a silk-thrown chunk of concrete with rebar still poking out of it.
Mary then turned towards Jaune, Pyrrha, Yang, and Ruby before asking, "Think you four can cut off its legs?"
"Shouldn't be an issue," Jaune affirmed with a nod. Mary smiled, then turned back towards the fight.
"Go, now!" she yelled.
At once, Blake and Ren attached their lines to the Gargantula's head then planted themselves against the ground. Pulling as hard as they could, and quickly joined by Pedro, Nora, and Mary who grabbed the lines with them, the spider Grimm's upper body began lifting off the ground, its front legs thrashing about for anything to grab onto. Not willing to let that happen, Weiss launched a brace of ice spears into the holes in its gut as Jaune rushed forward, Crocea Mors raised overhead while Yang reached behind her waist and flipped out the now modified pump-action shotgun she had stored against her lower back, a weapon she had lovingly named Scoria Terrae. Extending it from its sawn-off holstered form into its full length, she reconfigured the weapon into a two-handed bearded axe, complete with her trademark yellow and black paintjob, then joined Jaune, Pyrrha, and her sister in charging at the Gargantula. Swinging their weapons as they passed, the blades cut right through the spider's joints, severing the limbs and causing it to helplessly collapse onto its back.
Seizing the chance, Billy, Eugene, and Freddy flew up above the Grimm. Charging up electricity, with Billy's and Eugene's noticeably more vibrant than Freddy's, they shot the energy straight into the unprotected flesh. It thrashed and screamed while trying to roll away, but was unable to do so. More power was sent into it, and before long the entire body began to steam and the ice spikes melted as it was cooked from the inside out. Encouraged by this sign, Billy poured even more energy into his attack, and the Gargantula let out one final screech before its belly exploded outward, coating everything in black ichor.
"Oh, god! Some got in my mouth! Bleh, bleh!" Billy gagged as he desperately tried wiping his face clean of the Grimm's insides, which luckily didn't last long as it and the body itself disintegrated into dust.
"Yeah, that's what you get!" Pedro cheered, pumping his fist alongside everyone else.
Ruby joined them in smiling, then refocused her attention on the hole in the wall. She then called out, "Let's not celebrate just yet."
The cheering subsided, and the other heroes turned towards the hole as their jubilant attitudes were replaced with grim seriousness. Taking charge, Ruby stepped towards the hole, Crescent Rose raised. After breaching the threshold, Ruby took a look around to try and see where, exactly, it ended. There were metal lockers all around her, some scattered across the floor while others were still standing upright. A dark blue paintjob could be seen on the walls with a thick, white dividing line along the middle. A few dark-blue uniforms were hanging in open lockers, which were labeled with the letters "FPD."
"Mary," Ruby gently asked, "which subway station is this?"
"…This station leads right to the Fawcett City Police Department," Mary revealed, her eyes widening.
"…Ah, crap," Billy groaned. They prepared to rush in, only to be interrupted by sinister laughter. Jaune, Yang, Billy, and Freddy's faces blanched, and everyone else turned towards the source as they saw a large, bulbous, inhuman shadow appear on the wall from further inside the station.
"Hehhehheh," the voice cackled. "So, you stupid monkeys have finally figured it out. It took you even longer than I anticipated. I suppose I put too much faith in your mental faculties. My apologies, it won't happen again."
"Okay, well that's rude," Nora replied, frowning and readying her hammer.
"Oh, but I am impressed. While mentally you are clearly lacking, your physical prowess is nothing short of spectacular. Living Marvels, all of you, especially Shazam's chosen champion," the voice added, only to cackle once more as the shadow grew in size, now joined by a humanoid male.
"Come out and face us, you coward!" Weiss yelled, gripping Myrtenaster tightly. "You may have beaten our friends before, but you won't this time."
"That's where you're mistaken, child," the voice countered, drawing closer. "You cannot hope to face me. By the time we are done, you will be begging for mercy, but I shall give none."
"We've heard this song and dance before," Pyrrha shot back, thrusting Miló in the voice's direction. "We won then, too."
"True, but you haven't faced me and my newfound ally," the voice declared. Stepping out from the shadows, Billy and his family gasped as they recognized the tall, bald man with a wicked scar running across his missing right eye, whom they all recognized immediately.
"Dr. Sivanna," Billy snarled, and the mad scientist merely smirked.
"Champion. I'm so happy to see you again so soon," he said, the venom in his voice readily apparent. "I can't wait to pay you back for all that you've done for me."
"Oh, I so love reunions, but I'm afraid we must cut this meeting short," the voice interjected before a fight could break out. "Your inevitable defeat is not meant to happen in this banal place. So, I will be generous and give you this one last reprieve so that you may retreat to your home and await our arrival. Otherwise, you will face my wrath."
The voice drew closer, causing everyone to tense as the shadow enlarged to its greatest extent. Then, to their surprise, it rapidly shrunk to the point where they could no longer see it.
"The wrath of Mr. Mind!" the voice declared. While Jaune, Yang, Freddy and Billy's faces paled, the others looked around, trying to see just where the voice came from.
"Uh, wha?" Ruby mumbled, scratching her head to try and find the source. It was then that she noticed something small climbing up Dr. Sivanna's shoulder, prompting her to zoom in with her mask optics to get a closer look. To her surprise, it was a small caterpillar with a device strapped to its body, and it was staring right at her with its compound eyes.
"Tremble before me!" Mr. Mind ordered.
Everyone stared at the alien bug. A long, heavy silence fell over the group, then slowly they began to turn their heads toward Jaune, Yang, Billy, and Freddy, all of whom looked absolutely mortified. They looked back at Mr. Mind, then gave their friends the most disappointed looks they could possibly give.
"Really, guys?" Ruby asked, idly gesturing towards the bug.
"Oh, so that's the bus-sized alien who wrecked you?" Blake sarcastically asked, pointing right at Mr. Mind. She then looked at the caterpillar and asked, "Tell me, Mr. Mind, do you happen to breath poisonous fire, too?"
"No, I do not," he admitted, his synthetic voice still managing to sound both bemused and aggravated.
"Fantastic!" Blake groaned and pinched the bridge of her brow.
"I can't believe this," Weiss chimed in, staring incredulously at her friends. "You lost to that, then you proceeded to lie about it?"
"Okay, yes, I know it looks bad-!" Yang tried to defend herself, only for Weiss to angrily interrupt.
"I almost called the League over this!" she shouted. "You made me think this was something on Trigon's level!"
"Oh, I assure you, I am far more dangerous than he."
"Shut up," Weiss shot back, keeping her attention on her teammate.
"I knew you were hiding something, but this…" Pyrrha started, then winced. "I'm sorry, but this is just…sad."
"Guardian…" Jaune whined, hanging his upper body forward.
"Okay, yes, we lied," Billy admitted, then pointed at Mr. Mind. "But trust me, this thing is still dangerous!"
"How can it be dangerous? It's an inchworm!" Eugene pointed out.
"I am a Venusian, child," Mr. Mind irritably corrected, but everyone else ignored him.
"A powerful psychic one! We didn't lie about that!" Freddy reaffirmed to them, but it was clear none of the others believed him.
"Okay, clearly you guys need a break," Pedro said as he walked up towards Dr. Sivanna and Mr. Mind. "I'll take care of the bug."
"No, you won't, for I've run out of patience!" Mr. Mind declared.
Suddenly, Pedro froze in his tracks, and found himself unable to move. A brief look of panic shot across his face before he was violently flung back right into Nora, who could barely let out a yelp before the two shot across the subway station and into the wall on the opposite side.
"Holy-!" Ruby shouted, turning towards the alien while trying to aim her weapon only for her to suffer the same fate along with the rest of her team.
The heroes let out a collective scream as they were flung against the walls, only to be sealed in place by quickly spun silk. As they tried to free themselves, Yang grunted, "Not so funny now, is it?!"
"Shut up and get this stuff off me!" Weiss retorted.
The heroes continued their struggle, only to pause as they heard a subway car approach before slowing down, stopping right in front of the two villains.
"Well, we must be off. We have to finish our preparations quickly to make our deadline," Dr. Sivanna began as he prepared to step onto the mostly empty subway car. Before he could do so, however, a large bolt of lightning came down and struck Billy, incinerating the silk covering him.
"You're not getting away this time!" Billy yelled, then shouted, "Shazam!"
Another bolt of lightning came down, turning him back into his superhero form. Just as he prepared to charge the two villains, however, scores of armed police officers rushed in, their weapons raised.
"Hah, you can't run away now!" Billy happy called out as his family used the opening he made to pull themselves and the others free, only to be surprised as Mr. Mind merely cackled.
"Oh, are you sure about that?" Mr. Mind asked. Then, to Billy's surprise, he saw all the police officers aim their weapons right at him with blank expressions, causing the young hero to step back and raise his arms.
"Whoa, whoa, guys! I'm the good guy, I'm on your side!" he reminded them, but Mr. Mind laughed yet again.
"They are nothing more than thralls under my control. You cannot reach them no matter how hard you try!" Mr. Mind revealed, causing Billy to frown.
Puffing out his chest, Billy shot back, "Well, you alien bastard, I got news for you. If you think you can just shoot me, I'm sorry to tell you it's not going to work. I'm bulletproof."
"I know you are," Mr. Mind replied, "but they're not."
Before Billy or the others could even ask what he meant by that, to their horror they watched as the officers shifted their weapons away from the heroes and pressed them against their own heads.
"No!" Ruby screamed while Pyrrha immediately lifted her arms up to use her Semblance on the officers' weapons, only for Dr. Sivanna to smile wickedly and Mr. Mind to cackle.
"Heroes and their obsession with protecting life. So noble, and so easy to exploit," he mocked. "I can't hurt you, your powers are too great, but these monkeys aren't so fortunate. So, unless you want to see them die because of you, you are going to drop your weapons, return to your normal states, then do nothing as we make our escape. If any of you attempt to use your powers to save them in any way, such as disarming them or preventing the guns from firing, I will simply use my powers directly to snap their necks. Am I clear?"
"You…bastard…" Yang growled. She took a half-step forward, only for the officers to, in unison, click off their safeties. Realizing that he wasn't bluffing, Yang growled again then reluctantly dropped Ember Celica and Scoria Terrae onto the ground in front of her. The others quickly did the same, with Pyrrha reluctantly lowering her arms and letting go of her Semblance, their hateful gazes never once leaving the villains.
"Kick them away," Dr. Sivanna added, "and don't forget to transform."
The heroes complied, although the Remnantians protectively placed themselves in front of the now defenseless civilians. Mr. Mind laughed once again, then he and Dr. Sivanna stepped onto the subway car.
"Don't bother trying to find us," Dr. Sivanna ordered. "We'll come straight to you."
With that, the subway train began to roll off, quickly picking up speed and disappearing into the darkness.
"Oh, and one last parting gift," Mr. Mind called out.
Ruby and the others struggled to determine what, exactly, he was referring to, then in horror they realized exactly what he meant. They turned towards the officers and shouted, "No!" as they rushed to stop them, Billy transforming back into his superhero form and Ruby exploding forward in a vortex of petals in an attempt to close in, but they knew they weren't going to be faster than a finger press.
Just as the police tried to pull the triggers, though, the weapons were covered by a black sheen of magnetic force which prevented the hammers from striking. Not a moment later, a purple and gold blur dashed around them just as the red floral wave charged through them, both forces ripping the weapons from their hands and hurling them against the wall with enough force to shatter them.
"Okay, just what did I miss?" Darla asked, looking at everyone with wide eyes as they all stared right at her, even as Ruby reformed behind the line of officers while breathing heavily and Pyrrha's shoulders sagged in relief. "I was gone for, like, five minutes and everyone was pointing guns at their heads!"
A few moments later, the police officers groaned and began rubbing their heads, some falling to their knees in disorientation. The heroes looked at each other, then stared down the subway tunnel.
Frowning deeply, Ruby then succinctly declared, "We have a problem."
"You guys got beaten up by an inchworm?" Darla asked as they got back to the Rock of Eternity. "Whose name was Mr. Mind?"
"Yes, apparently," Weiss dryly replied as he continued pulling strings of silk from her hair. "A worm who's perhaps the strongest psychic I've ever seen and threw us around like ragdolls and can mind-control an entire squadron of police officers at once."
"Sucks, doesn't it?" Yang asked. No one deigned to give her a response, but she knew everyone agreed with her.
"I take back what I said about it being sad. I'm sorry," Pyrrha added, speaking to her partner who was busy ripping silk from his suit.
"It's okay. I shouldn't have lied," Jaune admitted. "I was…embarrassed."
"Well, he kicked our butts too, so you're not alone for once," Nora declared, sheepishly smiling while rubbing the back of her head.
"Joy…" Jaune groaned and hung his head, and Pyrrha patted his back while shooting Nora a flat stare.
Pink Lightning, now even more chagrined, turned away while Ren looked over at Blake and Mary. Nightshade was looking into her scroll while Mary was speeding through a massive pile of books and ancient scrolls she and the rest of her family had collected from the Library of Eternity.
"Were you able to find anything on Mr. Mind?" Ren asked, but Blake shook her head.
"No, I didn't," Blake revealed, continuing to read through pages on her scroll. "I've been poring through everything I have from the League's databases and couldn't find a single reference to talking, psychic worms from Venus."
Ruby scowled and clenched her fist. If there was one lesson Earth's heroes had repeatedly drilled into their heads, it was the value of knowing your enemy. If you knew who and what they were, as well as what they could do, it was that much easier to vanquish them. From the looks of it, though, they were as much in the dark now as they were when they started. It was a disheartening feeling, one that made a pit in Ruby's stomach.
Frowning alongside her, Billy then asked, "You find anything, Mary?"
They weren't expecting much. If the Justice League, with all of its resources, didn't know what Mr. Mind was, then it was unlikely they'd find anything here as well. But, to their surprise, Mary looked up and tentatively nodded.
"I…think I have, actually," Mary revealed, drawing everyone's attention to her.
She turned the ancient scroll she was looking at towards the other heroes, who quickly formed around her to get a closer look.
"…I can't read any of that," Jaune admitted, with the rest of the Remnantians nodding in agreement.
"Same here," Darla added, with Pedro, Eugene, and Freddy nodding as well.
"Really? I can read it just fine," Billy revealed, scrunching up his face. Everyone turned towards Billy, their eyebrows raised. Seeing this, he added, "I mean, this is clearly a different language. It's not like I'm reading it as English or anything, but while looking at it I just…understand what it's saying." He then turned towards Golden Dragon and added, "When you two were talking in your language earlier, I also understood both of you."
"When we were…? Oh," Yang replied, her eyes widening. "So, you heard us…?"
"Call each other by name?" Billy finished for her, then he nodded. "Yeah. I wasn't going to say anything since it didn't seem all that important, but now…I think it's come up. If it makes you feel any better, I still have no idea who you guys actually are. First names aren't a lot to go off of."
"No, no, it's fine. Just…now I know I need to be more careful," Yang quickly stated, then Freddy gasped.
"Oh my God, you're omnilingual! That's one of your powers! You can understand any language!" Freddy excitedly declared, then pointed at Mary. "Since Mary can do it too, it must be related to the Wisdom of Solomon!"
Everyone looked at Freddy, then scrunched up their faces in thought. After a moment, Yang nodded and said, "Seems legit."
"Anyway, Mary? What else did you find?" Blake cut in, bringing the conversation back into focus. Mary nodded, then began running her finger along the text.
"According to this, Mr. Mind, real name Maxivermis Mind, is indeed an alien from Venus," Mary revealed. "Possibly the last of his kind, and currently in his species' larval stage. A little over five-thousand years ago, he broke into the Library of Eternity and learned everything he possibly could about magic. Using this power, he attempted to ascend into a form called a…hyperfly?"
"The hell's a hyperfly?" Yang asked, balking at the name.
"Apparently, it's a massive monster capable of eating entire universes," Mary clarified, her horrified face looking up at everyone.
"Wait…then how does everything still exist if there used to be an entire species of that?" Nora muttered.
"Mary, please continue," Ruby requested, and Mary proceeded to do so without even trying to touch Nora's existential question.
"When the Council of Eternity found out what he was doing, they went out to stop him," Mary summarized from the ancient script. "They managed to do so, albeit with the loss of much of their power, but they couldn't kill him. So they sealed him away here, at the Rock of Eternity. Specifically, that jar right there."
Mary pointed to a pedestal next to the Seven Deadly Sins' orb. True to her word, there was an ethereal, transparent, glass-like bottle, one that had a small but noticeable crack that expanded into a hole.
"Three guesses as to how he got out, and the first two don't count," Nora called out, and everyone nodded.
"When Dr. Sivanna released the Seven Deadly Sins, Mr. Mind must've escaped," Ren suggested anyway, his eyes widening. "He had to have been planning this as soon as he got out."
"That was, what, two, three weeks ago?" Ruby asked, and Billy nodded. "Oh, great."
"Anything else?" Blake asked, and Mary nodded again.
"Not much, but apparently Mr. Mind's powers were significantly reduced because of the fight, so I don't think there's any risk of him trying to turn into a living apocalypse at the moment. The Council of Eternity, though, were also weakened tremendously. It's actually why they chose a champion to represent them," Mary revealed.
She then added, "After a few years of searching, they chose a slave warrior from the Empire of Kahndaq named Teth-Adam. They thought that, since he was from the lowest rungs of society, he'd be the perfect guardian of the world. One who could connect with those who needed protection the most much more than anyone else. For a time, they were right, but they didn't see the darkness overtaking him until it was too late, when he released the Seven Deadly Sins upon the tyrannical rulers of Kahndaq."
Blake's eyes widened as she remembered the articles she had read about Kahndaq the day before. Articles that spoke of a legendary figure named Teth-Adam, who had become immortalized by countless freedom fighters since as the legendary Black Adam. She knew that ancient Kahndaq's destruction was blamed on Teth-Adam's rebellion when it was actually due to the Seven Deadly Sins, but she didn't think the two events were so directly correlated. She honestly thought that they just had the unfortunate coincidence of occurring at the same time.
Still, if it wasn't obvious before, it was in their faces now. Mr. Mind wasn't just a seemingly harmless villain who packed quite a punch, he was a potential world-ending threat if given enough time. A threat that led to the near destruction of some of the most powerful and experienced mages in Earth's history. Looking around, Ruby saw that while the members of RWBY and JNPR were remaining composed, Billy and his family were much more anxious. Outright frightened in the case of Eugene and Darla, and it wasn't hard to understand why.
Coming to a decision, Ruby turned to the others and declared, "Okay, this is officially a Justice League problem. We need backup, now."
"I already started trying to call them as soon as I learned about the hyperfly," Weiss revealed, then held up her scroll. "One problem with that, though. There's no signal."
"What? What do you mean there's no signal?" Nora asked, only for Weiss to bring the face of her scroll closer to that of Pink Lightning.
"I mean there's literally no signal. No internet, no phone, nothing. Which is worrying because it was working perfectly just before we got back to the Rock of Eternity," Weiss pointed out, her eyes widened underneath her mask. "Any satellite connection we have to the Watchtower is faint, at best."
"That's…not a coincidence," Billy replied, and Weiss shook her head.
"No, no it's not. We're completely cut off, and I think it's safe to say that the rest of Fawcett City is, too."
"Dammit!" Yang cursed, clenching her fist. "Trying to fix it would take too long. Alright, so we do what we were doing before. We find Mr. Mind and Dr. Sivanna then kick their asses. This time, we don't underestimate him and take him out immediately."
"That sounds like a great plan. Quick question, though: Do you have any idea where they went?" Freddy pointedly asked, only for Yang to shoot an irate look at him.
"No, but I'm sure as Hell gonna find out," she answered, only for Eugene to cough and raise his hand.
"I'm…not sure that's a good idea. Going out to find him, I mean," Eugene said, pulling everyone's attention to him. "You heard what they said. 'Don't bother trying to find us. We'll come straight to you.'"
"That's just basic supervillain talk, Eugene," Freddy countered while waving his hand. "Trust me, the mad scientist types do it all the time."
"But what if they're not lying? What if they're telling the truth?" Eugene asked. "Mr. Mind already told you guys that he's been directing the Grimm."
"That…is a good point," Darla replied, tapping her chin nervously. The others began to hum, and Billy started to look about his surroundings as he tried to come up with an idea.
When he settled on the Seven Deadly Sins, his gaze stopped wandering, and his eyes widened. Pointing at it, he softly declared, "Oh God, I know what they're doing."
Everyone turned to Billy, and seeing that he had the floor, he continued, "Mr. Mind was obviously trapped here and managed to get out, but I think it's safe to say he can't get back in as easily. Otherwise, he already would've. Dr. Sivanna, though, he managed to find a way in after he was kicked out. He's researched everything about the Rock of Eternity for decades. Probably knows more about this place than we do."
"Yes, but we closed the door he used to get in," Mary pointed out, but Billy shook his head.
"We did, but that's only one way. What if by combining what they know, Mr. Mind and Dr. Sivanna can come up with another way into the Rock of Eternity?" Billy pointedly asked, causing everyone's eyes to slowly widen.
"A way using the Grimm," Ruby muttered, then turned her head towards the pulsating orb.
"Unnatural creatures of pure destruction who are attracted to negative emotions, and right there's probably the biggest source of negative emotions on the entire planet," Billy finished, then stepped back and spread his arms wide. "Guys, Mr. Mind and Dr. Sivanna were telling the truth. They're coming back here, to the Rock of Eternity, in order to release the Seven Deadly Sins again. That has to be their plan."
A long, heavy silence fell over the group as they stared at each other. The members of Billy's family were looking outright scared and terrified now, except for Billy himself who merely looked determined and angry. The members of RWBY and JNPR were right alongside him, looking around at all the doors and chambers that fed into the Rock of Eternity.
Breathing in and out deeply, Ruby declared, "Okay. If it's a fight they want, it's a fight they're gonna get. We'll let them come, and when they arrive we'll be ready."
Ruby unfurled Crescent Rose and chambered a round, then added, "Let's set the table, shall we?"
In a secluded chamber hidden deep within Fawcett City's abandoned subway system, a lone flickering light shone out from the darkness. Sounds of chittering chitin, hissing growls, and the scraping of claws along dirt echoed across the concrete, and countless red eyes lazily stared out for absent prey.
"Is this how they act all the time?" Dr. Thaddeus Sivanna asked as he carefully finished placing the last few parts of their device onto a worktable.
"No, normally they are much more active, and bloodthirsty," Mr. Mind admitted, staring at his partner from atop a desk lamp. "It's taking all of my attention to ensure that they do not try to attack us. Believe me, they would if they could."
"I can't help but note the parallels," Dr. Sivanna drawled, taking up a screwdriver to attach another component.
"Indeed. They are much like the Seven Deadly Sins, in a way. Both are engines of pure malevolence and destruction, seeking to eradicate all of mankind, although the Sins are sapient whereas the Grimm are most assuredly not. They truly are mindless beasts."
"That they are," Sivanna admitted while remaining focused on his work. If their plan was to succeed, he couldn't afford to shift his attention elsewhere.
Still, he couldn't help but wonder just what, exactly, the Grimm were. They were clearly unnatural entities born from magic, yet how they operated wasn't magical at all. Rather, everything they did was, from what he could observe, physical in nature. That was probably why their attacks didn't faze Superman, as magic was noted to be one of his few weaknesses. Where did the Grimm come from? Why did they only try to destroy anything related to humanity and ignored everything else? As a scientist, it was utterly fascinating, but he figured he could answer those questions at a later time. Right now, he had more pressing concerns.
"You're certain that the Grimm will help us break in?" Sivanna asked, and Mr. Mind gave him a flat look that was easily recognizable despite the distinct lack of human characteristics.
"I am certain," Mr. Mind firmly answered. "Whatever magic composes the Grimm, if properly channeled, will break down the Rock of Eternity's barriers, granting us entry, and their attraction to the Sins will guide us through any uncharted space to our target. Once we get in, all we need to do is release the seal, and the imprisoned will happily eliminate the Wizard's champions for us."
"Assuming, of course, they don't come after us next," Sivanna muttered, which prompted Mr. Mind to laugh.
"Hehehe, no need to worry about that. I assure you, their attention will be focused elsewhere. We'll have plenty of time to simply sit back and watch as our enemies are slaughtered," Mr. Mind declared. "I know you have doubts towards our plan, Doctor, but rest assured I have taken everything into account. Leave the thinking and planning to me, and revenge shall be ours."
Sivanna frowned at the insult, something he had unfortunately long grown accustomed to. He had only known Mr. Mind for a week, almost as soon as he was thrown into jail, and he had already lost count of how many times the Venusian had insulted him. Insinuations about his intelligence was a frequent target, alongside being referred to as a monkey. Still, he had to admit Mr. Mind was extremely knowledgeable, and for all his misgivings the plan they had concocted from within the bounds of his cell was sound. The last of the dominoes were now being laid, and all that was left was simply to set it into motion.
"Are you finished assembling the device yet?" Mr. Mind impatiently asked as Sivanna put away the screwdriver, but he shook his head while grabbing a welder and protective goggles.
"No, not yet," Sivanna admitted. "It takes time to assemble anything. Right now, my guess is I'll be finished in an hour. Had you gotten me out earlier, I probably would be done by now."
"Doing that would've alerted Shazam's Champions and their newfound allies of our plans too early," Mr. Mind countered. "I had to wait until the opportune moment. Even then, they still nearly caught up to us, proving my caution was warranted."
"Well, if you want this to be finished faster, you could probably use your psychic abilities to help me."
"While my powers are great, they are not suited for fine applications. Besides, menial labor is beneath me,"Mr. Mind haughtily said. "The least you can do is make yourself useful and put those opposable thumbs of yours to work."
Sivanna couldn't help but let out a low growl, yet he continued regardless. Just a few more hours and he'd be able to put this annoying pest behind him and beneath his boot, but he'd bite his tongue until then.
"Besides the unexpected new arrivals, the very same who helped to bring down Brother Blood and Trigon might I add, there is another, more pressing concern of mine," Dr. Sivanna added as sparks began to fly off. "While we may have severed Fawcett City's connection to the outside world, it's only a matter of time until the Justice League and other authorities notice what's going on. If they were to send more reinforcements, I doubt our chances of success."
"That is, indeed, a concern," Mr. Mind admitted, then scoffed. "But I have it on good authority that the League will be preoccupied by the time we strike. Even if they knew what is happening or about to happen in Fawcett City, they'll be unable to spare any assistance."
"Oh? Have you reached out and allied with someone else?"
"Not at all. Other than you or the children, no one else on this wretched planet knows of my existence," Mr. Mind answered. "Rather, I have been keeping my proverbial ear to the ground and have learned of what is coming. Why do you think I chose to strike now?"
"Ah, I see," Sivanna replied, briefly looking up at Mr. Mind, then let out a wicked grin as the Venusian's laughter filled the dark room.
December 9th, 4:30 AM (Afghanistan Time)
Bagram Airfield, Parwan Province, Afghanistan
Lieutenant Luke Fox was already up and performing his early morning routine with the rest of his squad when the order came in. They had found the village Violet had come from and determined that it had been completely overrun by unknown insurgents. It didn't look as though any of the villagers who called it home were alive anymore, and Luke had a fair guess as to where they ended up. Aerial surveillance wasn't able to determine just who, exactly, the insurgents were, but they were well stocked and armed. The entire village had been fortified, turning it into a near fortress. Needless to say, a strike had been authorized, and Luke's squad was set to be among the first to go in and clear them out.
"Mag check," Luke called out as he continued loading 5.56 rounds into the magazine of his M4.
"Good," his squad immediately began barking out as they continued prepping their gear.
Breaking his attention for a moment, Luke looked up and glanced at his squad mates. Like him, they were completely focused on preparing for the battle ahead. Their gear was cleaned, weapons disassembled then reassembled to ensure proper maintenance, much like he had them do before any mission. Multiple magazines were loaded for each person, with more than enough to share should the need arise. Grenades were neatly placed into a nearby box, ready to be grabbed and clipped onto their persons at a moment's notice. They even had gas masks that Luke insisted they all carry around just in case, fresh filters inserted. By all accounts, they looked ready to go.
"Choppers heading out in half an hour," Luke reminded them all.
"Don't worry, Lieutenant. We'll be more than ready by then," Private Smith replied, an uncharacteristic frown on his face. "Trust me, I'm itching to get some payback for what those bastards did."
From the approving nods and stares from the rest of his squad, Luke could tell that they agreed with Smith's assessment. Truth be told, he was as well. Seeing that mass grave, with Violet's screaming form lurching out of it, made his blood boil even now. But he had to remain objective, and couldn't let his emotions get the best of him.
"I'd advise you to keep a level head, Private," Luke ordered. "I want to make sure these guys get what's coming to them, too, but all anger's going to do is cloud your judgement. That will put you and everyone else in danger. Okay?"
"I—" Smith began to protest, then sighed and nodded. "Yes, sir."
Luke nodded at his subordinate, then went back to triple checking his gear. They couldn't afford any mistakes, especially now when they were about to head right into a firefight. The plan, itself given by General Eiling late last night, was solid in his opinion. First, airstrikes from Predator drones and A-10 Thunderbolts, already launched and in the air, would soften up their defenses, allowing Black Hawks ferrying himself, his squad, and dozens of other soldiers to insert and cut them off. After that, things would undoubtedly grow more chaotic, as urban conflict always did. There was no guarantee of success, but at the very least he could stack the odds in their favor in any way that he could. It was as they said in Gotham: with enough preparation, you could accomplish almost anything.
Certainly worked for Batman, and it's worked out well for him so far, too.
"Where are you guys going?" he heard a soft voice ask, drawing Luke's attention. He turned to see Violet peeking into the tent, no longer wearing a medical gown but instead a dark grey sweater, blue jeans, and the donated hijab.
Smiling softly, Luke answered, "Well, we're about to bring some bad guys to justice, so long as everything goes to plan."
"What the lieutenant means to say is that we're about to kick some ass," Private Ramirez joked, flashing a smile.
Violet looked at them as she stepped into the tent, then asked, "You mean the…people who hurt me?"
"Yes, them," Luke replied, giving a soft nod. Violet stared back at him, then nodded.
"Good. I don't know who they are and why they did what they did, but they're bad people," Violet declared while clenching her fist. "Good people don't kill others."
Luke sighed and shook his head, before saying, "Unfortunately, Violet, as much as I'd like to agree with you, it's not that simple. You're right, people shouldn't kill people, but sometimes you have to in order to protect yourself and others."
"…Oh," Violet whispered as her eyes widened slightly. "So, you're going to…kill them?"
"Probably, yeah," Luke admitted with a soft nod. "I don't like doing it, and if I could get them to surrender without a fight I'd gladly take it."
"Speak for yourself," Jenkins muttered, only for Kim to elbow him in the side.
"But, unfortunately that isn't going to happen," Luke continued without pause. "The people who hurt you, though, they need to be stopped before they can hurt anyone else. If that means they need to die, especially so that myself, my squad, and even you can live, then that's what I'll do. Does that make any sense?"
Violet scrunched up her face, clearly deep in thought. After a few moments, she relaxed and said, "I…suppose so. Still doesn't seem right to me."
"Good, that's because it shouldn't," Luke replied. He was about to say something else when they heard a loud ringing of a bell throughout the airbase, telling him that it was time to go.
"Time to form up," Luke declared, catching his helmet that Matthews tossed him. Strapping it on his head, he turned back to Violet and said, "Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it. In the meantime, go wait back in the medical tent. A specialist should be here soon, and they'll be able to help figure out what's going on with you."
Violet nodded, then moved to leave their barracks. Just before she did, though, she turned around and flashed a quick salute towards Luke Fox, causing Luke and the others to chuckle and return it. She smiled brightly at them, then walked away.
"She's a good kid," Kim declared, and Luke nodded.
"Yeah," he softly said, then steeled his gaze. "Let's move."
Grabbing their gear, the soldiers headed out towards the gathered men and women who were waiting to board helicopters. All of them were prepped and ready, assembled into squads and standing straight. Around them, he could see fuel barrels neatly arranged around the camp, some of which were connected to helicopters via hoses.
As he drew closer to one, however, Luke stopped. An uneasy feeling began to form in his gut, putting him on edge. The others in his squad noticed as well, then began to look around.
"What is it?" Smith asked, his finger hovering over the trigger of his M4.
Luke didn't say anything at first, continuing to scan his surroundings. Then, he quietly asked, "Why are there so many fuel barrels out and not being used?"
Now that it was brought up, the others quickly looked around to see that he was right. The vast majority of barrels currently out were too scattered and obviously not lined up for the refueling going on, which was a far cry from standard procedure. Fuel was highly combustible and explosive in the right circumstances, making it a hazard to have so many out at once.
"Huh, that is—" Ramirez began, only for him to be interrupted as dull explosions went out across the entire airbase. A cloud of yellow haze consumed everything in sight, inexorably followed by terrified screaming in its wake.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here's the latest chapter of Hunters of Justice. Special thanks to NaanContributor and Jesse K for their help in bringing this to life.
Mr. Mind and Dr. Sivana's plans are now in motion, and our heroes Fawcett City are in for the fight of their lives. All the while Lieutenant Fox, his men, and Violet content with a cloud of terror consuming everything. As mentioned previously, this is Part 1 of the finale to this arc/interlude, so I will be working on Chapter 43 next. With any luck, and assuming Spacebattles doesn't die again in the meantime (hence the delay; I intended to have this out earlier, then Spacebattles caught on fire then drowned, literally), I'll have it up by next weekend.
Now, to modify my previous statement about not doing a Q&A session, while I'll still be doing that, I will answer broadly any recurring topics I see in the reviews. I still prefer you guys submit reviews to the stories themselves rather than just sending me PMs, so please default to the former. I am glad, though, that you all understood my reasoning behind dropping my traditional Q&A sessions. I liked doing them, too, but it was just getting too much. I'm also glad that you guys liked the interactions and characterization with the Shazam/Marvel Family. That was a really big point of the previous chapter. We wanted to build up that rapport before diving in to the main meat of the arc, which is what's going on right now. My personal favorite was Yang and Billy, since on an emotional level those two just get what the other went through like no one else. There was a reason why I had those two pair up and not, say, Billy and Ruby or Billy and Jaune. Those pairings would've been because they were the leaders of their teams, which is fairly surface level when compared to the connection he could have with Yang.
Let us know what you guys think and I hope you enjoy! Please feel free to update the TV Tropes page in any way you guys think fits.