This was another Cunning Challenge. The prompt was "How Watts fell from grace." from AStereotypicalGamer. This got really heavy, and I was kind of hesitant to even post it.

CW: Discussion of racist violence and police brutality.

Arthur Watts opened the door of his small flat in Atlas and immediately made for a large, comfortable chair. He groaned as he collapsed into it.

A moment later a weight settled into his lap. Arthur opened his eyes just as Eliza was leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. She pulled away after a moment, and seeing her smile banished all of his irritation and weariness.

"Tough day at work?" Eliza asked.

"Dealing with those idiots is always tough," Arthur grumbled in reply.

Eliza sighed. "I should have known you would say something like that."

"I know, how do you put up with me?" Arthur asked with a chuckle. But then his face fell. He was aware of the fact that he could be… abrasive, to say the least. That fact rarely bothered him. But when he was with Eliza, he had to wonder…

"Really though, why do you even want to be around someone like me?"

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Hm, what could a woman possibly find attractive about the smartest man in Atlas?"

Arthur smiled. "You always know just what to say to me." He ran a hand through the soft white fur of Eliza's tail as he pulled her into a kiss that lasted several seconds.

A beeping noise from the kitchen finally forced Eliza to pull away from Arthur. He rose to follow her as she removed a casserole from the oven.

"Speaking of my incredible intellect," he began, earning a roll of Eliza's eyes. "It's official now. Starting Monday I'm a going to be a team manager."

"Oh," replied Eliza, smiling somewhat halfheartedly. "That's great."

Arthur moved closer to her. "I know you're skeptical of the Atlesian Knights, and you have good reason to be. But I'm telling you, this will be good for the Faunus."

"More policing has rarely been good for the Faunus here," Eliza replied softly.

"The Atlesian Knights are different," Arthur insisted. "Or at least they will be with me running the project. I'm in charge of threat recognition; I can make sure they don't even acknowledge if a suspect is human or Faunus."

"Do you really think that's all it takes?" asked Eliza, beginning to cut the casserole.

"No, I can do better than that," replied Arthur, sitting down at the kitchen table. "The other programmers will assume that criminal record should factor into threat level, but there isn't actually a good reason for that. Same thing with suspected gang affiliation." Especially when the Atlas police equated the White Fang to a street gang instead of a civil rights organization. Arthur didn't even need to say that part.

Eliza paused in serving dinner. "Do you really think this is going to make the police better?"

"I don't know," replied Arthur. "It won't fix everything wrong with this kingdom, but it can't hurt to have some officers on the streets who I know for a fact are judging people for the right reasons."

Eliza nodded slowly.

"And I have one other idea I'm sure will help," Arthur added, waiting until Eliza met his eyes before continuing. "Aura sensors on every unit. No more officers claiming they thought the Faunus preteen could survive a bullet to the head."

Eliza smiled sadly, her eyes sparkling with tears. She reached across the table to hold Arthur's hand for a moment.

As the couple finally began eating, Arthur thought back to when they had first met. Eliza had been considering leaving for Menagerie, and Arthur had barely managed to convince her to stay. He hadn't even considered the Faunus back then. Obviously, the way they were treated was unfair, but what did it matter to him? If they wanted fair treatment they could go and get it themselves and not bother him with their problems. That attitude only changed when he met Eliza.

I'm going to do everything I can to make Atlas a place that's worthy of having you. That's my promise to you.

Arthur groaned as he received an email from his boss, Colonel Darhk, saying that he wanted to speak with him. He was probably going to be yelled at again.

Why make me a manager if they were going to question every decision I make?

Arthur rose from his desk and walked through the rows of empty computers. He had been working well into the evening, and the office was virtually deserted. That Darhk was even here this late was an oddity.

Colonel David Darhk was the officer in charge of the Atlesian Knight project. As a military man with a background in law enforcement, he was interested in all possible applications of the Knights, but he did little to hide his disdain for the technicians who were charged making them a reality. He found Arthur's ideas for the robots absurd even before he heard what they were. Most of the other managers had learned to just do whatever the officer said.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Arthur asked as he entered the colonel's office.

"Doctor Watts, yes," replied Darhk in a bored tone. "Close the door behind you."

Arthur did so and came to stand in front of the colonel's desk.

"Is this about the Aura sensors?"

"Actually, the funding for them came through earlier today," replied Darhk with a frown.

Arthur blinked in surprise. "That's excellent news."

"Yes, well…" began Darhk, fixing the doctor with a cold stare. "For the past few weeks, since you received your promotion, we've been reviewing your security clearance."

Arthur tensed. He was pretty sure that wasn't standard procedure.

"You didn't tell us you had a new cohabitant," said Darhk accusingly.

Arthur took a shaky breath before replying. "I wasn't aware I was supposed to."

"You weren't required to," admitted Darhk. "But Elizabeth Boreas… some concerns have been raised."

"What sort of concerns?" Arthur asked shifting nervously.

"She was an outspoken critic of the Atlas Police Department after the death of her brother."

You mean the murder of her brother, Arthur wanted to say.

"That isn't illegal," he said.

"Then there's her father's involvement in the White Fang," continued Darhk. "Which I'm sure you knew about, as her…" He eyed Arthur coldly. "Cohabitant."

"I did," confirmed Arthur. "But I hardly see what her father's involvement in a civil rights group has to do with my security clearance."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't," murmured Darhk. He raised his voice before continuing. "Your involvement with the Atlesian Knights is suspended pending further review of your security clearance."

"That's ridiculous!" shouted Arthur. "Because of Eliza? She isn't a criminal or a foreign agent, she-"

"She was a security risk, and you let her into your home!" interrupted Darhk. He muttered something else after that, but Arthur only caught one word.

Bestiality.

Arthur's hands clenched into fists. He was about to demand that the colonel repeat what he'd said when he realized something else in Darhk's words.

"Did you say… was?"

A smirk slowly spread across Darhk's face. He lifted an arm and lazily glanced at his watch.

"Hm, maybe still is."

For a moment, Arthur just stood there, processing the colonel's words. Then he spun around and threw the door open, sprinting towards the exit. He was out of the building in under a minute, but he didn't slow down as continued down the street.

For once in his life, Arthur's mind was completely quiet. There was no time for thinking, only running. He had to get home, he had to find Eliza. That was all he knew, and so he kept running as fast as he could.

He didn't slow until his breath was ragged and his legs screamed with exhaustion. But slowing down gave him a chance to think, and thinking brought back the image of the colonel's smirk.

Something snapped inside of Arthur Watts, and he suddenly didn't feel tired anymore. He felt new strength filling his body, and so he continued on even faster than before.

He was outpacing some of the cars on the road when he finally turned onto his street and saw the ruins of his house. It looked like it had burned to the ground, leaving nothing but a few blackened supports. The embers of Arthur's entire life were still giving off smoke.

The doctor stumbled dizzily towards the place where his house had been, feeling like he was in a dream. Then someone placed a hand on his chest, and he finally noticed the five men standing between him and the ruins. Two of them, including the one holding Arthur back, wore police uniforms.

"Doctor Watts," greeted the policeman with a sickening smile. Arthur had no idea how the man knew his name. "I'm real sorry about your house. We think it was a freak electrical thing. No one was hurt, but… I don't think your pet made it out."

Arthur stared at the officer. He took a shaky breath, and then another. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to wake up from this nightmare, but the scene before him was still there when he opened them again. So was the anger building inside of him.

Eliza…

It's all my fault…

Something crackled in his hands.

You should have gone to Menagerie. You should have never met me…

He smelled ozone.

Eliza…

ELIZA!

Arthur let out a wordless scream as he lunged for the officer in front of him. He raised his hands to strangle the man, but instead blue-white lightning leapt from them to strike his target in the chest. Electricity surged through his body, causing him to shake and spasm all over. The lightning stopped a moment later, leaving the officer's smoking corpse to fall to the ground.

"What the hell!" cried one of the other men.

"He has a Semblance?" screamed another.

Arthur didn't process the words, didn't process the fact that his Aura had unlocked. He just screamed again as he thrust his hands towards another man, lightning arcing across the gap between them.

Arthur saw the other policeman reaching for a gun and gestured sharply towards him. The lightning became like chains and pulled its victim off his feet, hurling him into the officer.

Another man ran towards Arthur, but was stopped in his tracks by another bolt of electricity. The doctor raised his hands, and the man was lifted thirty feet into the air. A sharp gesture downwards smeared him onto the pavement.

The final arsonist turned and ran, but he was dragged back clawing and screaming by crackling blue-white chains. Arthur clenched his fist and ended the man's misery with a thunderclap.

Arthur strode forward in a daze. He looked around the ruins of his home, searching for some sign of her.

"Don't bother, bastard," spat the policeman, still struggling to get out from under his comrade's body. His head was bleeding where it had struck the pavement. "Your Faunus whore is dead. We made sure of it."

Arthur slowly knelt beside the officer. He raised a fist without saying a word. He could have used the lightning again, but he wanted to feel this.

His face was completely passive as he beat the man to death.

Sitting in the ashes of his home, hands covered in blood, surrounded by the corpses of the men he'd killed, Arthur thought of the Atlesian Knights he had been working on. He'd imagined using them to help people and make Atlas a better place. It seemed like such a joke now. Better that the Knights march through the streets shooting everyone they came across.

"I want it to burn," he whispered. "I want it all to burn."

Author's Note: I'm actually not entirely happy with this one. I wanted to do something different from the "scientist who went to far" trope which would be obvious for Watts... and then I just fridged his girlfriend instead. So much for doing something different, this is practically stepping on Hazel's toes!

That said, I thought I executed the idea pretty well. I hope you guys thought so too. Thanks for reading!