Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
A Day After the Secret Lab in Atlas Was Discovered
"You have been doing well. You've been improving a lot day by day." Ryu said.
"Indeed." Ironwood nodded. "...If it's the same with you, do you mind if I take some rest? I… need to do something regarding Mercury."
Ryu chuckled. "Of course. In fact, I was about to suggest you take it easy for a while before we resume training."
"Very well." Ironwood nodded as he walked out, and then Chun-Li and Guile walked in, both of them looking unnerved.
"Hmm? Something the matter?"
"We heard a rumor about a secret lab in the military base." Chun-Li said. "We requested that we took a look and… well…"
"It's true then? Faunus are secretly being genetically modified?" Ryu asked.
"Yes, and not only that, but Esdeath is… shall we say, very pissed off at the moment." Guile said. "Enough that there's actual frost in the base."
"Hmm… perhaps it would be best to stay out of Esdeath's way for a while." Ryu said, and then Sakura walked in.
"Mmmm, that was good! You have got to try the Atlesian burgers here… they're wonderful! …By the way, why does the Atlas Academy look like it's going under an ice age?"
Meanwhile…
"I don't care how LONG it takes us to find the one responsible for this mess! We'll string them up by the head if we have to!" Esdeath yelled, as the room around her was getting colder and ice was forming everywhere.
Winter looked absolutely unnerved. "General, let's just take it easy…" She said with some nervousness in her voice.
"Pardon me, madam…"
Winter blinked, turning her head to see Klein behind her. "Klein?!"
"When you had texted the family that Esdeath is on the warpath, I decided to take action and help you calm the ice queen."
"...You sure that's a good idea?"
Klein chuckled. "Indeed. If I'm able to calm my family down whenever they felt stressed, including Miss Willow, I'm sure I can handle Esdeath." He looked down. "Come along, Alfred. We've an ice queen to soothe."
"Mime mine~!" His Mime Jr. smiled as they walked toward the raging Esdeath.
"Excuse me, madame!"
Esdeath turned to Klein, her anger giving him a soul piercing glare… yet he was unmoved. "Would you like some herbal tea in these trying times?"
Back with Ironwood…
A Bullhead descended toward Mantle and landed. Ironwood hopped out as the Bullhead went back to Atlas as he pulled out his scroll.
"I'm gonna try to talk to Mercury. Think you could help me out?"
"Oho! I was wondering when you'd ask for my help~! Sure, I'll be right over. I'll bring Laura and Merlin along. It's Spring Break, after all!" - Nesta
"What about Cardin?"
"On a date with Chelsea."
"Fair enough. Meet me in Toad Town."
"Got it!"
"Hopefully he's cooled down by now…" Ironwood hoped.
Meanwhile, with the Thunder Legion…
"Soooo, when you say everything's been replaced…" Zapple grimaced.
"All of it. Well, technically, the only thing that's organic is my face. Everything else? Hard as iron."
"Even… the vital organs?"
"And bones."
Zapple still grimaced. "Damn… that's barbaric. Poor you."
"Eh, it's not all that bad. On the bright side, I don't have to worry about being hungry or using the bathroom anymore." Mercury chuckled. "That said, despite not having to worry about eating just to survive, I still like eating."
"How do you even digest?" Hazel wondered.
"Simple. The machinery in my cybernetic stomach melts it down into liquid, which it then absorbs it and, in turn, re-energizes me. At least, that's what the clown told me."
"Re-energizes you?" Zapple raised an eyebrow.
"Apparently, it makes the cybernetics "shiny" or whatever. Of course, you can't tell considering I had a fresh coat of paint on my body."
"You don't have to worry about anything, that's cool!" Zapple grinned.
"Eh… the only thing I have to worry about is fatigue. Still kicks my ass every time I feel tired… like come on, a robot feeling tired? That's just wrong!"
Laxus laughed. "Ah, I wouldn't sweat it. Happens to the best of us."
Mercury chuckled. "Plus, if you think about it, I technically have a stomach of steel." He said, hearing a snort from Hazel while Zapple started laughing.
"That's true!" She snickered while Laxus let out a chuckle.
Footsteps approached them as Laxus gave a side glance and turned to see Ironwood approaching. "Oh, hey."
"I see you guys are having fun."
"Hmm?" Mercury turned to the source before he scowled.
Laxus immediately noticed the scowl, and then turned to his teammates. "Hey, how about we give these two some privacy!" He said, standing up and walking off, pulling Zapple away.
"Whoa!" She yelped as Hazel stood up.
"Good luck…" Hazel said as he walked off.
"What do you want…" Mercury mumbled, and then noticed Nesta peeking out from behind along with Laura with Merlin perched on her shoulder. "...Is that a barn owl?"
"It is." Nesta nodded as she walked over to him gently. "Hey…"
"Who are you?"
"I'm Nesta Winchester, Cardin's mother. I'm also related to this doofus right here."
"Hey!" Ironwood mumbled, folding his arms as Nesta shot him a cheeky smile.
"...Wait, you mean to tell me that I'm related to Cardin? That doofus? The same guy who bullied Faunus?"
"You have to forgive him, his old man rubbed off on him… luckily, he was able to get out of that mindset." Nesta smiled.
"I see…" Mercury mumbled. "So… if big ol' ironbutt is the descendant of Gajeel… what would that make you?"
"Descendants of Levy. We got McGarden blood in us!" Nesta grinned as Laura walked over and sat down next to him on the bench.
"So I have another big bro… that's cool!" Laura smiled.
"Huh? Look kid, I'm not a big bro to anyo-" Laura hugged him while Merlin let out a small screech and hopped on Mercury's shoulder. "Oh… you're so cold."
"Yeah, I know. Cybernetic stuff."
"Cybernetics? Like that punk Marnie girl that I've met in space? Nice!"
"She had cybernetics? I thought her arm was just heavily tattooed." Mercury rubbed his cheek. "Hmm… wait a moment. So Cardin's old man planted that stuff in his head?"
"Yeah… his father had a… complicated relationship with Faunus that he unwittingly passed on to Cardin."
"Makes sense. Heard he had an attitude change over a near death experience over a… Magnamalo, I think."
Nesta smiled. "He came straight home and gave me a hug after Ozpin talked some sense into him. I think that was the first time he openly cried in my presence…"
Mercury chuckled. "He's a good man, that Cardin… heard he's in a band that's pretty good." He said.
"You don't seem that angry over us." Laura pointed out.
"Heh, I've got nothing against you two… hell, in a way, I don't have anything against Cardin either since he was willing to change." He said, and then glared at Ironwood. "Him, on the other hand…"
Nesta sighed. "He's told me that you took it… as well as I'd expected."
"Hmph, it honestly felt like it came out of nowhere."
"No build up? No easing into it? I can understand that… he's not known for subtlety." Nesta whispered.
"I heard that!" Ironwood said with a hint of annoyance.
Nesta chuckled, sitting down next to Mercury. "Tell me, are you as mad as you were before?"
"Not as I used to be, the initial anger is gone but… I'm still mad about it."
Nesta smiled. "That's fine. It's natural to be angry… or at least annoyed. After all, your father annoys me all the time."
"That's not true!"
Nesta chuckled. "If it helps, I fire it right back." She winked.
"I'm still having difficulty accepting the fact that he's my father… and then had my mother take care of me because he felt he wasn't ready to be a father, and I was stuck with… that guy."
"Honey, no one feels ready to be a parent. My husband and I? We were both excited… yet nervous on our firstborn. We worried we weren't ready… yet when Cardin was born, all that worry melted away. Sure, we had some hiccups-"
"Cardin was just a practice test dummy for yours truly~" Laura grinned, hearing some snickers from Mercury and Ironwood. "I'm perfect~!"
"That's a stretch." Nesta teased.
"Ack!" Laura yelped before pouting. "Mom…"
"It's true, no child is perfect." Mercury said. "No matter how much bias their mothers throw at them."
"He's not wrong. Sounds like you have a bias." Ironwood said.
Nesta frowned, giving an annoyed deadpanned expression. Like father, like son… I can just hear Gajeel approving. Levy, give him a smack for me. She then shook her head. "James, what am I going to do with you, you iron head…"
"So… what is it that you want?" Mercury asked, looking at Ironwood.
"I was… hoping we could like, start over?" He rubbed his head.
"Sure, let's find a ball and play catch. Definitely could use some father/son bonding time." He rolled his eyes.
"That's a negative then…"
"What I don't get is why you never bothered to show up. Never bothered to check in. My mother was a good woman and you threw that all away."
"Merc, some people just… handle parenthood differently." Nesta said. "Some people are ecstatic, some people are nervous… and there are some who don't know if they have what it takes to be a father, so they… decide to be an ironhead and leave it all to the mother."
"Nesta…"
"Of course, the same is true for the opposite gender. I've had a family friend give up immediately, hand them to the father and walked away. Think she's an actress now… but besides that, everyone handles parenthood in their own way. I'm sure James would have wanted things differently if he didn't chicken out."
"It's not like I didn't try, I did. Unfortunately, Marcus wanted nothing to do with me and threatened to have me shot. Now, I can easily knock down anyone who tries to start a fight with me, but I knew that's not what your mother would have wanted, so I leave without a scene."
"Tch… typical… well, now you have your shot. I killed that asshole who took away my aura and semblance. So if you want to start being a father, knock yourself out. Oh wait… you became one after you took Esdeath under your wing."
"Do you have anything against Esdeath?" Laura asked.
"No, otherwise I would be a frozen popsicle. But when I realized that I'm your illegitimate son… every time I look or think of Esdeath, I keep thinking that we could have had something had you not chickened out."
Ironwood closed his eyes. "I know… I will admit though, the thought of raising Esdeath terrified me since I didn't think I had it in me."
"And yet, you had it in you. You knew you had what it takes to raise a kid."
"Indeed…"
"Tch, congratulations…" Mercury looked the other way.
Nearby, the Thunder Legion was eavesdropping on the conversation. "How're they holding up?" Zapple asked.
"Eh, it's a trainwreck… definitely giving the general the cold shoulder." Laxus said. "He's pretty laid back with Laura and Nesta though…"
"I suspected this wouldn't be easy…" Hazel said.
"Slow and steady…" Zapple said. "...Right?"
"If you can call the locomotive toppled on its side and the railcars completely buckled as slow and steady, then… yes."
Zapple grimaced. "Ooooh…"
"Could be worse though. Previously the locomotive exploded."
"Progress! Maybe…"
Back with the family, Laura awkwardly rubbed her arm. "Eheheh…"
"While I don't think I have it in me to forgive you… I will admit, I'm not quite as angry to the point of punching you like last time."
"I didn't feel a thing…" Ironwood mumbled.
Mercury stood up. "Nice catching up with you, "dad"." He said with a hint of venom in his voice. "But I've got other places to be, you can piss off." He turned to the Winchesters. "Nesta. Laura. …Owl. Pleasure to meet you." He said, petting Merlin as he let out a soft "hoo" before hopping off and landing on Laura's shoulder.
Ironwood took a few steps forward, reaching out to Mercury as he turned around and shot him a glare. "Don't even think about it." He said and walked off.
He let out a sigh. "That could've gone better."
"Oh… I'm sure he'll come around." Nesta said. "...By the way, "you take anyone down"? I've seen you go easy on me when we had those wrestling matches, you big lug. Someone's soft~!"
"Alright, that's it." Ironwood picked up Nesta.
"Whoa! Hey! What are you doing?! Not in front of my daughter, you bolted idiot!"
"Let's go, Laura."
"Okay!" Laura giggled as they walked off.
"Let me go! I have two legs I can use! Are you even listening to me, you iron head?!"
"Oh, relax mom, that's just him showing affection!" Laura smiled.
"Mmmph…" Nesta folded her arms.
"I can tell we're making slow progress on him. I know he'll come around eventually."
"Just like you did when you admitted I can beat you in wrestling~?" Nesta teased, where he responded by tightening his grip. "Waaaaah! Not so tight, you bolt for brains!"
"Hoo hoo…"
"You're right. Mom's adorable when she's flustered." Laura giggled.
"Am not!" Nesta folded her arms in annoyance.
Mercury stopped to watch Ironwood haul away Nesta. "Heh…" He chuckled, closing his eyes.
"Merc! I can walk on my own!"
"Eh, you looked tired."
"Oh, so you think it's okay to carry me around like luggage?!"
"If that was the case, you'd be underneath my armpit. You're over my shoulder. So technically… you'd be a coat or a sweatshirt."
"Oh, so I'm clothing to you?! You're so infuriating!"
Mercury lightly smiled. "So that's where I get it from."
He then continued walking but then stopped within a few feet. "Alright, I know you guys are eavesdropping." He said as his fellow Thunder Legion emerged.
"It could've been worse." Hazel said.
"Yeah… yeah, it could've."
"What are you smiling about?" Zapple asked. "Do I detect a soft spot for your old man~?"
Mercury rolled his eyes. "Of course not. He just happens to be a hard headed idiot." He said and walked off.
Laxus chuckled. Definitely slowly warming up to him. He thought as they walked after him.
Meanwhile…
"In… out…" Klein instructed as he was in a deep breathing exercise with Esdeath. "Breathe in… breathe out."
"...Oh my goodness." Winter whispered.
"You do realize this is just delaying the inevitable of my wrath against whoever was responsible for this, correct?"
"Of course… but how do you feel, Ms. Ironwood?"
"Calm. Collected. Thinking about strangling the person responsible for this in a calm fury…"
Klein chuckled. "We can take all the time we need to calm yourself down. Now… breathe in, hold it in for ten seconds… and exhale through your mouth."
Esdeath inhaled deeply, held it for ten seconds… and exhaled through her mouth… while accidentally unleashing a cold mist in the air.
"Very good. N-N-N-Now… try it again, but this time-" Esdeath opened her eyes, seeing Klein's skin completely blue as icicles were hanging off of his elbows.
"Oh!"
"-Try not to turn me into a popsicle, Ms. Ironwood."
Ibuki: She'll get the space heater... hell, maybe a few. And maybe some loooong extension cords.
This one was suggested by DarkRebellion!
