Chapter 2: Settling In

Blake Belladonna felt a shiver up her spine as she felt the cold autumn wind whistling through her hidden ears. She had been homeless for a while now, ever since she ran out of lien she was forced to live on the streets, at least until she was allowed to enter Beacon. As a faunas, she knew it would be close to impossible to find work, often finding herself seeking refuge in the back of Tukson's book shop.

Unfortunately, his shop was currently hosting a meeting with the White Fang, and Blake had a feeling they wouldn't be happy if a traitor decided to crash it. Therefore, she had no other choice than to sleep outside for the night. Luckily for her, she had picked a spot just in case she'd find herself in such a situation.

Blake felt her steps slow to a stop, righting herself as she turned into the

Abnormally dark alleyway. She raised a brow at the sight, as her enhanced vision could only take her so far. She shrugged, walking through the area and visibly straining her eyes as she attempted to scan the area to her best ability. If Blake hadn't been sleep-deprived and slightly malnourished, she would have noticed the group of men awaiting her in the dark.

CLICK!

Blake froze, her eyes narrowing as she felt a gun touching the back of her head.

The man in question wore a sinister grin, her eyes allowing her to vaguely see the faint outlines of his teeth. "So, what's a pretty little thing like you doing out here at this time of night?" He creepily giggled, the other three members of his group laughing with him.

Blake flinched at the smell of his breath, her would-be kidnapper had skipped out on the breath mints, it seemed. Nonetheless, her face morphed into a steely glare, she was wide awake now.

"Oh? What's the matter girl, you scared?" The man cracked another horrid smile, "you should be with what we plan to do with you."

That was all it took for Blake to slowly inch her hands towards her waist and towards Gambol Shroud.

It wasn't necessary.

CLACK!

The man pulled his hand back in surprise as some kind of throwing object hit the gun out of his hand. The man growled, "who did that!?" Blake blinked in surprise, aiming her gaze towards the mystery object, she felt her heart stop at the sight. Is that…? She joined the four men in examining the alley. Even the air itself seemed eerily still. Deep in the dark, where even faunus eyes had a hard time seeing, Blake swore she saw something move.

Suddenly, one of the attackers collapsed to the ground. His feet appeared to have been tied together by something. Something that wasted no time dragging the man into the shadows. Silence fell again as there wasn't even a cry for help. The three remaining men readied their weapons and began a slow approach to where their friend had disappeared.

As quickly as he had disappeared, the friend in question reappeared, limply falling from above. A line tied around his ankles stopped him just before hitting the ground. Startled, the three remaining muggers, as well as Blake, looked upward, following the line until they saw… something. A shadow against the night sky, perched on a bit of pipework suspended between the buildings. A shadow with pointed ears and glowing red eyes.

For once in her life, Blake was slack-jawed! She only heard of one person who looked like that. It was the man who inspired her to be a huntress, the man parents would use as a way to encourage their kids to be on their best behavior. Was she really looking at Batman? But that's impossible! Batman hasn't been sighted in over 20 years! Who else could it be though?

Blake was too awestruck to notice that the three remaining men had frozen in fear at the imposing shadow. Blake saw who she could only assume to Batman glared at the men, her body vanishing into a black streak, literal bats trailing behind her.

Before a blink of the eye, Batman was there, standing before her and the crooks who looked like they were ready to piss pants. It was still too dark for her to make out any definitive details, but she heard one of the men scream as they blindly rushed toward the physical manifestation of vengeance.

Batman easily caught the man's telegraphed punch, driving his fist right into the middle of the crook's arm.

CRACK!

Blake suppressed a wince as the man howled in pain, though it didn't last for long as Batman drove his armored elbow into his foe's head, knocking the man out cold. She wasn't done there, however, as she threw the now unconscious body right at thug number 3! The man let out a hard grunt she was knocked onto the ground, Batman finishing him off with a swift kick to the head. Finally, the fourth and final member turned around and ran, though he didn't get far as what had to be a Batarang flew from his hand. The Batarang didn't miss its mark, striking the man so hard that he collapsed on the spot.

Blake felt as if all the air was sucked out of her when Batman turned to look at her. Blake gulped as she felt his blood-red eyes were staring through her very soul. She vaguely felt her body beginning to shake as his eyes shifted to that of Gambol Shroud. Did he know? Did he come here to punish her as well? Her musings were cut short when he reinitiated eye contact.

"Go Home."

Blake almost lost her balance at the sound of her voice. This wasn't Batman. No, it was more of a Batwoman? Blake was about to ask the obvious when Batwoman pulled the same trick she did on the thugs, vanishing into a blur of bats flying high into the sky.

Blake had no clue how much time had passed before she finally snapped out of it. She was about to continue to walk, pausing at the sight of the Batarang that may have very well saved her life. She quickly looked around to make sure no one was looking, before carefully picking it up. Blake smiled, maybe there's hope after all.

Batwoman was stoic as ever as she flew in the Batmobile. Her Batmobile. It was almost surreal, she had been dreaming about this for years and now it was hers. She didn't care about the suit or the fancy gadgets, all she cared about was that her dad had trusted her with his legacy. She may have been stoic on the outside, but inwardly she felt almost nostalgic.

Ruby wasn't one to reminisce, though she decided to allow herself to just this once. Her time with Damien had been harsh, bone-breaking, but it was worth it. She was so busy looking back at the culmination of events that led to this point that she almost didn't notice the secret entrance to the cave opening up for her.

She mentally cursed at her ineptitude. This was why she cut herself off from such things. Ruby Rose may have been sentimental, but that girl was dead. She knew it, everyone in the family did. She couldn't allow herself to be swept up in these distractions while she's on the job, what would her father think? No, she wouldn't let them cloud her judgment.

She shook her head, that didn't matter at the moment. She was currently preoccupied at the thought of her semblance. She had unlocked it years ago, it was the first time she faced members of that offshoot who dared to call themselves the 'true' League of Assassins. When she did, she discovered she had the ability to move at super speeds, red rose petals trailing behind her. That didn't happen tonight though, instead, the swarm of rose petals was replaced by bats. She didn't know what to think, it'd be the first thing she'd ask Bruce once she landed.

With that in mind, Batwoman steadily landed the Batmobile, opening the cover with a sharp hiss. She jumped out of her vehicle, taking in a deep breath as she released her cowl, letting the last remaining fragment of Ruby Rose take over.

Bruce was on her as soon as he heard the telltale signs of the Batmobile's engine. That wasn't surprising, as she figured her dad would be interested in the exact details of her patrol, Batwoman barely spoke after all, to the point that she made Ruby Rose sound talkative in comparison. Though her father's swift response wasn't much of a surprise, the plate of what smelled like soup was.

Ruby looked towards her dad curiously, merely raising a brow in response.

"You should eat something; you burn a lot of calories after strenuous physical activity."

Ruby almost smirked at that; she would hardly call her first patrol 'strenuous'. But she knew the underlying concern in his tone, "thank you, dad." She said, carefully taking the soup from his hands and took a seat near the Batcomputer, her father joining her.

They ate in comfortable silence for a bit, people like them didn't always need to communicate with words. Though she enjoyed the silence, Ruby knew she had to be the one to break it. "Dad, can I ask you something?"

Bruce shifted his seat to look at her, "yes?" He said expectantly.

"Have you ever heard about semblances changing?"

Bruce hmm'd in contemplation before he nodded. "Did something happen during your patrol?"

Ruby gave him a nod of her own, "My semblance usually produces rose petals, but for some reason, it produced bats when I saved that girl…"

Bruce rubbed his chin, considering all the possibilities before he said, "use your semblance for a second.:

Ruby cocked her head, puzzled. "Why?"

"Just humor me."

Seeing no reason to refuse, she shrugged, getting into her usual running position. Without a second thought, she briefly called upon it, and to her bewilderment, she was greeted by red rose petals.

Bruce nodded as if he had just solved a puzzle, his mind still as sharp as ever. "It's as I thought, your semblance changed because you changed."

Ruby looked towards him questioningly, "What do you mean?"

"Semblances are derived from our souls. You produced red rose petals because they remind you of your mother's blood. Nevertheless, because you don't see yourself as Ruby Rose under the cowl, that mindset caused your semblance to 'split' in a way. When you're Ruby Rose you produce rose petals, but when you're Batwoman you produce bats."

Ruby was stunned, she had never considered the possibility that a mindset could split a semblance, though the more she thought about it the more it made sense. Although, one question still remained, "how did you figure it out that fast?" Ruby may have been Bruce's match intellectually, but this proved as a crushing reminder that she still had a long way to go in terms of being a detective.

Bruce's expression didn't change, as if he expected the question. "I was able to figure it out because I had a similar situation with my own semblance. When I went out in public, I played the role of a rich playboy. My semblance gave me the unique ability to have a limited amount of control over how people viewed me. It wasn't anything like mind control, it was just enough to stop people from connecting me to Batman, at least while I was Bruce Wayne.

"When I was out as Batman, my semblance aided me in striking fear into the heart of every criminal. Although like I mentioned before, it had limited use, and it didn't work on everyone. For example, it couldn't work on anyone I had a…. soft spot for. It also couldn't work on anyone who was overly psychotic." His mind flashed back to the one foe he couldn't scare, the evil clown prince of crime that had died years ago. He hoped his daughter wouldn't make the same mistakes he did.

Bruce looked towards the clock, noting that it was well past 5 AM. . "Go to bed Ruby. Even you need your rest."

Ruby could only nod in acceptance, as she wasn't expecting such a deep dive into her father's semblance. She knew her dad hadn't told her everything yet, but she didn't realize just how much of his past she didn't know about until now. With that, Ruby cleared her thoughts, making her way towards the room she hadn't slept in for over seven years.

Ruby barely had time to get used to her new schedule before she was already breaking it. Just a few days after her eventful arrival in Vale she was being required to wake up before noon. Bruce had even gone as far as cutting her patrol the night before a few hours short, though she couldn't fault his reasoning. Today would be important.

She had known for a few years now that inheriting Bruce's legacy included his family's company, and today she would be introduced to the Board of Directors as the heiress to Wayne Industries. Of course, this was supposed to wait for a few more weeks, but her surprise admission to Beacon required an accelerated timetable.

Ruby didn't yet own any modern Valen formal attire. Using the formal dress from the occasional social assignment with the League would give her a more worldly appearance anyway. She slipped a high-necked black and red-trimmed jacket over an above-knee-length dress. Her lower half was already adorned in black leggings and simple knee-high leather boots. She tied a simple red sash around her midsection to complete the look before finally leaving her room to meet her surrogate father in the Wayne limo.

It felt like no time later at all that Bruce was walking Ruby into a meeting room in the Wayne building's upper floors. Having arrived at Wayne Industries a few minutes ahead of schedule, they were the first to arrive. While being forced to wait, Ruby's attention was drawn to a manila folder that someone must have left behind after a previous meeting. "Project Mercury?"

Bruce frowned. It seemed someone was going to be in big trouble for leaving this out. Ruby kept one eye on the elder patriarch while she opened the folder. He made no move to stop her, so she carried on with her curious examination. Her education in the League was more than sword fighting and strategy, and she easily understood the technical language the file used to describe itself. Orbital Communications Relay Bouey?

"So… it's a man-made satellite?" Ruby aimed her question at Bruce. Bruce's response was to smile. "But Dust loses effectiveness at extreme altitudes."

"True," Bruce nodded. "However, as you're aware, Wayne Industries has made significant strides in the alternative, renewable fuel sources. It's hard to do the proper tests, especially while keeping everything a trade secret. But what tests we have managed to do are promising."

"If we can really propel a comms relay that high above the ground, it would solve the biggest issue with our current ground-based systems," Ruby expertly deduced.

A noise from outside the room caught Bruce's attention. "Ah, that'll be the board. I'll go butter them up for you."

Bruce left Ruby alone in the meeting room. Ruby's attention returned solely to the Project Mercury file. She found a blueprint of the 'satellite' which was very impressive. However, she couldn't help but feel some things were… off. Her mind entered full tinker mode, and she couldn't help but pick up a nearby pen and layering her own ideas over the image from the folder.

The opinion of the Board was mixed, to say the least. Bruce, despite his naturally cold demeanor, had gotten adept at acting warm and humorous, putting the board into a good mood before Ruby's official introduction. That mood did not persist after Ruby's introduction. While there were more than enough members already on board, those who didn't were very vocal about it.

"She's not even a 'Wayne'!"

"She's not even a 'somebody'! Who's ever heard her name before today?"

"She's not even a 'he'!"

That last one received a very bat-glare-esque stare from both Bruce and Ruby, which shut them up quickly.

Thankfully, while the detractors could only sling emotional responses and 'traditional values, her supporters in the room had more concrete arguments.

"An official heir, or heiress in this instance, would keep Powers Industries off our backs," one pointed out. "Derek's just been waiting for Mr. Wayne to keel over so he can buy a controlling interest. If that interest is already set to go to someone else…"

One of the older 'traditional' members still shook his head. "What can she even bring to the table?"

"With all due respect to Mr. Wayne, what exactly has he 'brought to the table'? I can tell you. A moral compass. If Mr. Wayne trusts Ms. Rose, then so do I."

No amount of reasonable argument would deter some of the older board members, and the conversation began to spin into circles. Ruby shot her surrogate father a sly look that said 'is it always like this?'

Bruce's frown spoke in return, 'unfortunately.'

"Did you do this?"

The strange detouring comment captured everyone's attention. One of the pro-Ruby members had looked into the Project Mercury file that had been left out and found Ruby's absent-minded alterations to the blueprint.

"Right," Ruby had forgotten about that already. "My apologies, I should have left it alone."

"Don't apologize!" the board member assured her. He showed the altered file to the man in his neighboring chair. "Do you see what I see?"

The second man looked over the file, and a smile grew over his face. "I never even thought… this is incredible!"

"Incredible…?" Ruby asked, slightly confused.

Bruce's amused smirk almost made it seem like he had seen this coming.

The man who had opened the file pushed it toward the man who had questioned Ruby's capabilities only moments ago. "These alterations can accelerate our timetable by weeks. Maybe even months!"

"Three months, if my math is correct," Ruby interrupted without thinking

"And it always is," Bruce added.

The pro-Ruby members collectively smirked at the remaining few anti-Ruby members. The one who was directly called out was the one to cough and admit, "it's not like we have much of a say anyways…"

"Then I believe that concludes this meeting," Bruce announced. "Fredricks, could you organize a press release?"

"Yes, sir," 'Fredricks' nodded.

With all said and done, Ruby and Bruce re-entered the elevator to leave the complex. While on the ride down, Ruby turned her eye toward her mentor and father figure. "So, who left out that folder anyway?"

"What makes you think I already know?" Bruce deflected.

Ruby crossed her arms. "A better question is, 'what makes me think it was you?'"

Bruce's only answer to that was a smug smile.