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Subject: 2525-Blake
Target: Remnant-8021 (Hero World)
Details: No Grimm detected. Rare examples of local populous display signs of enhanced natural abilities, some at extreme levels.
Mission: Locate and replace faulty model YD-882 sensor device.
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"Long ago, in a distant galaxy not yet discovered by man, a mighty civilization of power and magic existed. The people of this world were seen as gods by those of lesser worlds. Yet their power was too great for their planet to bear, and it eventually caused a massive explosion that wiped them out. The gods were suddenly extinct.
"All but one.
"Alone and injured, exhausted and desperate, this last remnant of a glorious race shot through the cosmos in a life-support pod. Past stars and black holes, past meteors and gas giants. Past-"
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"I hope there's a point to this…" Blake interrupted the girl's rambling. "My slushy is melting."
Her redheaded companion glared at her in irritation, "I'm getting to that, shush!"
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"As I was saying… This lone survivor soon landed on the world of man. The crash of her ship took all but a trace of her life away, leaving her on the edge of the abyss.
"Yet nearby, she sensed a kindred spirit. A kind soul. She called out to it with her mind, begging whomever it was to come to her aid.
"But alas, the kind stranger did not make it in time. The last of the old gods, the lone survivor, had perished.
"Yet… right before the eyes of the stranger, the remains of the alien woman became a mass of light and merged together with the human. All of her power, her magic, and her memories would live on in the body of the girl called…"
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"Ruby Rose, …right?" Blake interrupted again.
A silver-eyed glare was the response. "You take all the fun out of backstories, you know that?"
"You'd be surprised," the brunette answered as she slurped the rest of her drink.
Neither teen said any more as they walked down the sidewalk of the city. Blake continued staring at the skyscrapers (as she had learned they were called), still unable to wrap her mind around the notion that buildings could get so tall. And pretty. All that glass and steel must have taken a long time to get right.
It wasn't hard to imagine her own world looking like this if they could just get rid of the Grimm…
Blake's companion, familiar in many ways, noted the taller girl's fascination and mused, "You're a country girl, aren't ya? First time in the big city?"
The faunus bit back her annoyance at Ruby's tone and simply nodded. She hoped her ribbon wasn't moving around too much – as far as she could tell, everyone here was full human. Either that or they were faunus that were good at hiding themselves.
"Well you were lucky," Ruby continued, "If I hadn't been on my patrol up there, you likely would have had to be rescued by helicopter."
Blake almost asked what a 'helicopter' was, but stopped herself. The girl's tone told her that it was a natural subject in this world, and Blake didn't want to draw any undue attention to herself. Based on context, it was likely a type of aircraft.
There were many things about this world she hadn't figured out yet.
After the flying-Yang-who-called-herself-Ruby pulled Blake down from the top of that tower, they landed on a nearby roof (a flat one, thank you) and elected to take the elevator to ground level.
That was when the woman who looked just like Yang… changed.
…Into a much smaller teenage girl named Ruby.
And all she offered as an explanation was that weird-ass backstory about an alien.
"To be honest, I haven't had these powers all that long. I'm still figuring them out. All I've found out for sure is that I can only stay… like that… for two hours per day," Ruby said, unconcerned with whoever might be able to hear her. "It sucks, but at the same time it keeps me from going all day, you know?"
"Sure…" Blake replied absently.
"Still, flying is so totally cool! I'm all… nyoom! And… phwaw!"
"Uh-huh…"
"Oh, and I have super-strength, and super-speed, and I can shoot lasers out of my eyes, and…"
"Do you come with a 'mute' button?"
"Nope!" She popped the 'p' of course.
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Chapter 25:
She's A Superhero
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"You said you… got your 'powers' from an alien, right? That's, like, someone from …another world?"
"In simple terms, yeah."
"Well… in that case, I have a little secret… I'm one, too."
"You look totally normal to me."
"Did the alien?"
"Not really, no… her eyes glowed white. Also her hair was standing up… she looked a bit like a super saiyan…"
"A… what now?"
"Wow… even a country girl would know what that is. You must be an alien."
"No, just… you know what? Fine. Yes, I'm an alien."
"Can you prove it?"
"Not in public, but… I have cat ears under my ribbon. Here, feel it…"
"I don't think you-WHOA! Are those real?!"
"Ouch! Yes, and that hurts!"
"Sorry, sorry! Wow, real cat ears… I wanna see 'em!"
"Not out here. I'd rather just get done with my job and head home, if it's all the same to you."
"I can help! I can help!"
"Oh? How?"
"Uh, duh! Did you forget I can fly?!"
"What makes you think I need that? What if I'm already right where I need to be right now?"
"Because you were panicking on top of that building, so you obviously didn't mean to be there. And if you need to be high up, flying is the fastest way there."
"… … …You're smarter than you look."
"Thanks. I think…?"
"So how soon can we… you know… take off?"
"Gonna hafta be tomorrow, unfortunately."
"You have something better to do?"
"No… I, um… … … I can only transform once per day…"
"Are you serious?"
"Mm-hmm…"
"Wonderful."
"But-but-but… I can buy us some lunch! There's a Wendy's down the street!"
"Um… okay. Lead the way…"
"This is so cool! I'm giving a cat-alien a tour of the city!"
"Please just call me Blake."
"Okay, Blake it is! Do you have… like… a super-cool alien name? Like… Gar-Vana-Spool or something?"
"Just. Blake."
"Oh… Okay."
"Speaking of which… what about you? Do you have a …'superhero' name yet?"
"I… uh… … … no…?"
"We'll just have to work on that, won't we…?"
"Yes, sir! I mean, um, ma'am!"
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As it turned out, Ruby had access to a studio apartment in the downtown area ("But my Dad pays the rent for me… as long as I keep my grades up"). She was a student at a high school in the city ("Freshman, right here!") and even held a part time job at the movie theater ("Butter on that popcorn, sir?"). All in all, she was everything Blake expected in a Ruby Rose from another world.
It was now close to midnight, and Ruby was completely out cold on the bed. Blake sat on a nearby chair (rather than the couch) and thought back on the day so far. And Ruby herself.
She was starting to miss her own Ruby, the young leader of her team from back home.
And Rose. Always Rose.
She thought back to this Ruby's 'superhero' form from earlier, a costumed fighter who looked exactly like Yang. She called it a transformation, but now that Blake thought about it… she acted exactly the same as normal while in that form.
That was another thing they would have to work on.
Blake pulled out her scroll, briefly admiring the midnight-purple color of the casing, and began running through the information on it. She soon found the program that would lead her to the sensor she needed to replace – and it clearly said she was in the right general location, but it wasn't very… specific. A note in the corner mentioned that the accuracy of the scan was better the closer she got to the target.
There must be hundreds of buildings in this city. And they were going to search every one of them?! Yikes…
Her scroll also had 3 photos – all with Rose. The cat faunus gazed at them, her heart aching in her chest. She lightly brushed her fingers over Rose's face, wondering how the toned redhead handled her sudden departure. Probably cried for awhile. Blake sure wanted to…
The brunette quickly closed the pictures before she did start crying. She wiped away the lone tear that escaped, sniffing lightly.
"Kitty… … … ears… … … mm…" Ruby moaned in her sleep, then turned over.
Blake smiled, brushing a little of that dark red hair away from the girl's eyes. Hair the same color as what she had spent time pulling out of her bra not too long ago…
Ooh, dirty thoughts. Bad Blake, now was not the time.
Well, they had a lot to do tomorrow. And the next day. And potentially all week. Gods only knew how long this would actually take.
Blake adjusted her ribbon as she curled up on the well-worn couch, fluffing the pillow and tucking herself under the blanket. She didn't have any strong arms to snuggle into… again… but she made do.
She resisted the urge to …satisfy herself. Ruby told her ahead of time that she was a light sleeper, and that was one awkward encounter Blake did not want to deal with.
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And so, the next day came. Blake and the transformed Ruby made quick work of three large buildings. No luck in any of them. The faunus' search was leading her further south as they went. Two hours later, they had to stop.
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"You know, …this two-hour time limit of yours kinda sucks," Blake mused as they sat on a street-side bench. She was stretching her legs a bit, but mostly bored. She could have easily searched for longer.
"I knooooow…" Ruby groaned in response. "It's like having a curfew. I hate curfews."
Both girls sighed in unison.
Blake glanced over at Ruby and mentioned, "So… have you thought of a …'name' yet?"
"No…" the shorter girl confessed. "I'm no good with comic-book stuff like this. I could use basic names, but I'm sure no one would like 'em. The press would probably give me their own name that's super lame."
Blake had actually been thinking about this very topic, and after much self-debate she had a good option. "How about… Ember Celica?"
Ruby's silver eyes flashed with interest, which quickly faded to confusion. "What's a 'Celica?'"
"It means 'heavenly' or 'celestial' …I think it's Latin."
"Celica… I like it. Maybe not the 'ember' part, since I don't do much fire stuff." Ruby stared into the middle distance, her mind playing with the word like a new toy. "Celica…"
"In that case… Celica Rose. You are mostly red-themed in that form."
Now Ruby's eyes sparkled like gemstones. "Ooooh… I like that one."
"So… … … we good?"
"We are so good!"
The two girls bumped fists and giggled.
As they stood to their feet, Ruby noted another thing, "Oh yeah, since I'm on vacation from school for the week, I'm free to help you out all the way until this Sunday. Think we can wrap up by then?"
Blake nodded, "I certainly hope so…"
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Day two was a complete repeat of day one, save for scanning different buildings. They also had a slightly different conversation afterwards, but that was about it.
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Day three saw the newly-named Celica Rose finally figure out how to fly faster, which doubled the number of buildings Blake was able to scan. According to the readout on her scan, they were close – another couple of days and they would surely find that damn sensor so Blake could go home. They'd better, anyway.
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On the fourth day, they found it.
While Blake had appeared at the top of the tallest building in the city, the sensor she needed sat atop the second tallest building… on the other side of town. It was mounted within the metal spire that served to attract stray lightning bolts, according to Ruby.
As Blake stood on Celica Rose's shoulders to work, the flying girl also holding onto Blake's ankles to keep her from blowing away on the wind, the cat faunus could only wonder how the flaming crap Rain managed to get this stupid thing all the way up here. Could she fly, too? All things considered, it wouldn't surprise Blake to learn that there were quite a few more hidden abilities to the ancient Ruby Rose look-alike.
The pair managed to finish with enough time for Celica Rose to land them both on another roof before she changed back into Ruby. The flash of light signaling the change was not very bright, but it could be startling to someone who wasn't expecting it.
"How does that feel, exactly?" Blake inquired as they rode the elevator to ground level. "When you change, I mean?"
The shorter girl scratched her chin, "I guess… it feels like growing up? It doesn't hurt or anything, it just… feels weird. Like I'm inflating or something."
"If it did hurt, would you still do it?"
One dark red eyebrow lifted, along with one corner of Ruby's mouth, "If it means I can fly like that, then hell yes!"
Blake, who had experienced that flying sensation just a bit, also smiled and nodded in agreement. "I suppose that would make it worthwhile."
The metal box slowed to a stop as the bell dinged. The doors opened to allow the pair to leave, but…
"And just where have you been all week, Ruby Rose?"
Weiss Schnee stood before them, arms crossed and face set in her signature scowl. Blake was taken aback by how identical she was to the Weiss that first set foot on the campus of Beacon Academy all that time ago. She even had the same outfit on.
"I… uh…" the redhead in question stuttered, "J-j-just showing my new f-f-friend around t-t-town. B-B-Blake, this is…"
"Weiss Schnee?" The brunette finished for her.
Both Ruby and Weiss blinked at her in stunned silence. Weiss spoke first, a clear note of awe in her voice, "How do you… know my name?"
"She also knew my name right away…" Ruby said, her voice matching in tone. "Are you psychic, too?"
"Hardly."
"How could you know who we are?" Weiss demanded, "I know I've never even met you before now! Just who the blazes are you?"
Blake sighed deeply. It was clear that this was a situation the faunus was simply going to have to deal with. Likely on a regular basis.
Gods only knew how many times she would have to have this conversation before it was all over.
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With the broken sensor in hand, Blake quickly began to disconnect. She was physically present for various conversations after meeting Weiss, but she wasn't really… there.
It wasn't that she disliked this world, or even this version of Ruby – she simply didn't want to have to say goodbye forever to another close friend.
Once was enough.
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"I know you want to get back home as soon as possible, but… could you stay one more night? Please? Pretty please?" Ruby pleaded with Blake that evening. They were all three at Ruby's apartment, Weiss included, and the redhead seemed determined to have something resembling a party before Blake got away.
Weiss acted disinterested, but Blake could see the little hints that she, too, wanted Blake's company tonight. The girl was practically Weiss' clone, so she was quite easy to read.
"I suppose I can wait 'til tomorrow…" Blake sighed.
Ruby jumped for joy, nearly hitting the ceiling and giving a whoop of glee. Even Weiss couldn't hide her relieved smile. She tried, though.
Snacks were soon obtained, along with numerous varieties of baked goods. Blake enjoyed them, as she hadn't had much chance to indulge in junk food. She also remembered that once she transferred back, none of it would stick. Carmine called it a 'Persistent Status Phenomenon.' Blake called it cheating.
They ended up watching a movie that featured a group of grown men who had been playing the same game of tag for almost 30 years. Blake couldn't help but wonder how team RWBY would manage a game like that.
With Ruby's speed, she'd likely avoid being 'it' for all eternity. Heh.
Being tagged by Yang would likely involve bruises.
Blake herself could simply avoid any and all attempts at physical contact, so she would also never be 'it.'
That left Weiss – Snow – and who knew what that girl would do? Blake was still looking forward to hearing about her stay in that other world. She also wanted to see that so-called 'snow sapphire.'
By the time Blake pulled herself out of her thoughts, the movie was over and the two teens next to her were fast asleep. The couch they were using had been Blake's bed since she arrived, but moving them now would be more trouble than she wanted.
Ruby, who was sitting in the middle, shifted herself in her sleep and ended up laying her head on Blake's shoulder. The teen didn't stir again as she drifted away, breathing steadily.
Blake smiled as she realized that she had a literal superhero sleeping next to her. Her Ruby would absolutely turn green with envy.
Carefully adjusting her legs, Blake leaned back and let sleep take her again. It had been getting easier this past week, but she still had a hard time with it.
She missed Rose. She missed sleeping in Rose's well-toned arms.
Of course, she missed a few other things they did, but now was not the time to think about that. She would have woken the two girls up.
Tomorrow would be the day she left them. But they would be alright. She had to believe that.
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What About Roman and Neo…?
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Roman was quickly getting tired of appearing in totally random places. It had been fun at first, but the novelty had worn off.
"I don't get paid enough for this bullshit," he muttered.
Neo nodded in agreement.
The pair of criminals were currently perched in a precarious position – they were standing on a thin ledge just beside a window. On the fourth floor of a building. As best Roman could tell, they were at Beacon again. Most likely the dormitories, but he wasn't all that familiar with where the brats lived.
"You take me to the nicest places, don't you?" the ginger-haired man growled at his accomplice.
Neo shot him a dirty look.
All at once, they both felt the air around them… bend. Almost like space itself was trying to buckle. It nearly pushed them both off their ledge. They had no handholds to grip, so they simply waited for the drop.
As quickly as it began, it was over. Roman almost allowed himself a moment of relief.
But then it felt like he had a knife blade pressed against his throat.
This was killing intent like nothing he had ever felt before. Neo felt it too, grasping at her neck like she was protecting it from an unseen assassin's blade. It felt like it was coming from the room behind him, so Roman dared to lean over and take a peek.
That Damned Kid and her gang of brats were there, of course… but there was one more. She looked like That Damned Kid's older sister, or something close to it. Her outfit was more military, and her gardening tool was… different. Meaner. More ready to kill.
Roman gulped hard. If that person found them out here…
"Get us the fuck outta here!" he harshly whispered to the girl next to him. Neo nodded quickly and hit some buttons, and Roman grabbed her arm just in time. They vanished a moment later.
Had they remained another few seconds, they might have heard one of the girls in the room say, "…Mom?!"
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Author's Note: Next chapter we check in on the missing leader of team RWBY. That one will be… interesting. And probably the first of these chapters to go longer than one part. We'll have to see how things go.
Also…
My stepdaughter just asked me yesterday… if I was gay…
I don't know… how I should feel about that…
She's 17, by the way…
*sweats*
(Credits: Remnant's Reclaimer written by Hysterical Clerical Hijinks)
=o_o=