"What are you doing!?" Summer yelled as she whirled on the approaching policemen. She very nearly dropped Pearl Phoenix to the concrete below as she caught sight of Kali twitching on the ground as an officer began to put handcuffs around the faunus' wrists. Instead, Summer tightened her grip upon her weapon and began a steady advance on the two officers who had their pistols leveled at her, as her eyes blazed with an impassioned fury.

"Don't come any closer!" one of the officers, a uniformed woman slightly older and taller than Summer warned. She was clad in a deep green dress shirt and pants with a golden stripe down the leg, along with dark sunglasses. Nothing about her expression showed any sympathy or concern for the brutality going on behind her, and the sight caused Summer to hesitate in her advance.

"I'm Summer Rose! The one who called you in about this robbery!" Summer shouted with exasperation as she came to a halt. "And that's my friend you're arresting! She's a huntress, not a thief! She was trying to help!"

The two officers turned to look at each other for a moment before the woman lowered her pistol, while her counterpart, a light-haired man, kept his trained on Summer's chest as he spoke in a voice full of authority.

"Set your weapon down on the ground, and turn around. Make this easy by cooperating, and nobody else needs to get hurt."

Summer heaved a frustrated sigh as she knelt and placed her staff onto the ground, before kicking it over to the officers. She frowned deeply as she watched another officer plant their knee firmly into Kali's back while finishing the application of the handcuffs.

"…please stop hurting my friend," Summer said softly as she turned around. Within seconds, she felt steel rings clasp around her wrists, and she shot a glare over her shoulder. "Hey!"

"We're not taking any risks, here," the female officer warned as she began to pat Summer down. "Especially not with faunus."

"What's that supposed to m-" Summer gasped as she watched the officer atop Kali rise and wrench the faunus up to standing, while another shot some sort of device into the fallen criminal's chest. Just as with Kali, the redheaded girl began to convulse on the ground as her aura dissipated entirely. "Wait, you can't do that! You have no idea wh-"

"Face forward, and stop trying to interfere," the male officer warned. His partner passed him Summer's wallet, and he fished through it to find her student identification. "Beacon Academy. You should know better than to associate with faunus."

Summer ground her teeth furiously as she let out a small growl. "If you have my I.D., then you know I'm not lying. Let me go, and let me see Kali! You have no reason to arrest me, or to detain her!"

"Kali, is it?" the male officer repeated. "You'll need to come with us to the station so we can run a background check on her, along with the other cat."

"What? Why?" Summer questioned as the female officer began to work at removing her handcuffs. "I'm telling you that Kali's with me! Search her, too! She's a student at Beacon!"

"Doesn't mean she's not a criminal, ma'am," the female officer replied coolly as she slipped the metal rings from Summer's wrists. "Most faunus in Vale have at least one warrant on their heads. Keep away from both of them. You'll be riding in a separate car."

Summer whirled and shot the pair of authorities a harsh glare as she rubbed at her wrists to get rid of the sore sensation. She turned around just in time to watch Kali and the criminal being half-escorted, half-dragged out of the alley, with neither being fully capable of walking on their own.

"Do you not hear how insane you sound? Does none of this strike you as completely wrong?" Summer growled, only for the officers to turn away from her and begin to follow the procession. "Hey! Don't just walk away from me like this is routine! You can check her records over the radio, can't you!?"

"We could," the male officer agreed with a dismissive wave. "But taking you all to the station first will save us from making the trip later. There's damn near a hundred percent chance she's ending up in a jail cell anyway. Do you know how many calls we've gotten that involved faunus just in this past month? They're part animal for a reason."

Summer bent down to pick up Pearl Phoenix, and then followed along in silence as she balled her other fist in anger.


Willow was ready for the lunging strike from the crazed male faunus, and managed to deftly sidestep the full-body effort that her opponent made to run her through. She was decidedly less ready for him to quite literally bend over backward and throw one of his razor-sharp katars at her, and she barely managed to deflect the flying projectile with a last-second swirling glyph in the shape of a massive, rotating snowflake.

"Ooh, that looks costly, in terms of aura," the faunus cooed, still upside-down and backwards while wearing a manic grin. "I bet you could only do that a few more times before you're nice and squishy for me."

Suddenly, he whirled and twisted to right himself as he held up his remaining bladed gauntlet to catch and deflect Raven's overhead strike. He countered with a sideways swipe for the girl's neck, only for Raven to lean backward just out of his range and thrust the hilt of her katana into his stomach before sheathing the blade. The man doubled over and took several steps backward, chuckling darkly all the way while wagging a finger.

"No, no, no, I don't like you, not even a little bit," the faunus said, all former glee suddenly absent from his voice. "You seem like the type that doesn't know how to have any fun at all!"

"Willow. Run," Raven commanded with a growl as she drew her katana and leveled her sword at the man's face. A fresh blade from within the rotating sheath had attached to the handle, and the saffron steel crackled with arcing bolts of electricity. "And don't protest. This psycho's out for blood, and you don't have the training or killer instinct for a fight like this. You're only going to get in the way, and you know it. Go!"

Willow hesitated for all of a moment, before grimacing and turning to retreat for the front of the alley.

"I'm sorry, Raven!" the girl lamented as she began to sheathe her rapier. "I'll go and get the authorities!"

"Oh, don't apologize just yet," the man taunted as his hands began to glow faintly with a light purple sheen. "Save that for when your presence really makes a mess of things!"

As Raven darted forward to slash at the faunus, the ground beneath him seemed to melt away into a swirling, purple wormhole with a view of the concrete floor of the alleyway within the center. The man sank downward into the ground, just out of the way of Raven's arcing slash of lightning, before dropping out of another hole that manifested in the sky just above and in front of Willow.

"Surprise!" he lilted as he descended, his remaining katar aimed for the center of Willow's forehead. The heiress stopped just in time to throw her arms up and summon another glyph, which the man landed upon in an unbalanced, crouched state as his katar clinked dully against the surface of the sigil.

"Surprise," Willow mocked, before spinning her right hand and directing it toward the nearby wall. The glyph began to spin at high speed before tilting sideways, where several more glyphs appeared in midair, beside it. The faunus was sucked through the line of glyphs and flung into the wall with great force, only to disappear through another wormhole just before hitting the bricks.

"…nicely done," Raven commented as she put her back to Willow's and readied her sword, while the other girl drew Myrtenaster once again. "Your reflexes are impressive… but it looks like running away isn't an option, and an alleyway is the worst place to fight someone with a semblance like that. Keep close, and head for the street."

"I'll try," Willow offered as the pair began a slow, tense walk toward the mouth of the alley. Sudden movement along the ground caused Willow to jump in fright as the stone-handled katar on the ground fell through a wormhole, and disappeared from sight. "You honestly think he's trying to kill us? We're practically out in the open, in a capital city!"

"I know he's trying to kill us," Raven replied as she looked up toward the fire escape and rooftops. Both appeared to be devoid of targets, though something about the sight filled her with unease. "And I'll make sure that we take him out, first. I'm not letting him touch you."

"You're planning to kill him?" Willow asked as a chill ran through her chest. "Taking any life is wrong, let alone illegal…"

"A person like that has no value, or place in society. He's a delusional, bipolar thief, and he's better off dead," Raven spat. "And all of that's assuming he even comes b-"

Raven grit her teeth as she turned away another strike from the faunus as he leapt from a wormhole within the wall of the S.D.C. shop. He slammed his katars into the girl's blade several times while advancing, as Willow moved farther away from Raven and began to sprint for the opening of the alleyway. Sparks flew from Raven's electrified blade as she turned away each of the strikes, and the scorpion faunus continued his frantic assault.

"No value or place!?" the man questioned with a snarl as he spun into a low sweep with his tail. Raven deftly jumped over the attempted strike and went for another overhead slash, which the faunus caught by making an 'X' shape with his blades. He pressed his face in closer to the sparking, deadlocked weaponry, and sneered at Raven from between the grinding weapons. "How disappointingly racist and cliché! I like you even less, now!"

"The feeling's definitely mutual," Raven deadpanned as she threw out a knee for the man's crotch. The faunus had the foresight to raise one of his legs and push the blow away, before sliding forward and around Raven to chase after Willow.

"And you fight dirty! At least use your semblance, if you're going to try to cheat!"

Raven sneered in annoyance as she turned to give chase, only to pause momentarily as she watched massive shards of ice rain down into the alley. The faunus slipped through a fresh hole in the wall of the building opposite the S.D.C. shop as the glacial spears crashed down into the concrete, and Raven backed up several steps to avoid getting hit. Several lances of frozen water bigger than Raven herself collided with the ground, and the surface of the alleyway quickly became covered in patches of ice.

"Sorry!" Willow called from her position on the other side of the street, atop a parked van. "I thought I could c-"

"Behind you!" Raven yelled as she began to run, doing her best to avoid the frozen pools dotting the ground.

Another portal opened from behind Willow, and the faunus thief once again emerged with a flying strike aimed at the heiress. Willow whirled Myrtenaster and managed to push the crazed man away, only for him to windmill his arms as he nearly fell off the roof of the van. He barely managed to regain his balance as Willow backed up almost to the front of the vehicle, and raised her sword in a formal fencer's stance. The scorpion faunus smirked once again and dipped into a deep bow, curling his tail around his waist throughout the motion.

"How sophisticated… but manners won't save you, and your little protector won't get here fast enough. How much aura do you think you have left, sapling? A third? Less?" the man taunted as he rose back to his full height.

"A quarter," Willow informed as she blew a strand of hair out of her face. "And all I have to do is hold you off for a few more seconds, before this becomes a true two against one."

"Good luck," the man replied before he launched into another assault. The pair traded blows as they began a dance of blades atop the vehicle, with the man's katars just barely grazing Willow's right shoulder and causing her aura to flicker in protest. Several clashes and ripostes occurred, before Willow spun directly past the man's back and landed a raking downward slash from the back of his shoulder down to his belt. As the faunus was unbalanced, Willow scored a forceful thrust into the center of his back, which his aura absorbed. The force of the blow put him off balance, and the man stumbled forward and rolled head over heels down the front of the van, only to find Raven waiting for him. The girl grabbed around the faunus' shoulders and used his momentum to heave him up and over the van's bumper, before slamming him into the ground with great force. The man sputtered and wheezed from the sheer impact, only to let out a pained cry as Raven plunged her suddenly red-bladed katana deep into his shoulder.

"Raven!" Willow cried as she slowly climbed down from the top of the van and dropped to the sidewalk. "What are you doing!? The police will be here soon!"

"Exactly," Raven replied as she stomped down hard on the faunus' arm as he tried to grab for the blade of the katana. She twisted the steel within the man's shoulder and earned another cry of agony as his lilac aura flickered and then faded. As he squirmed upon the ground, the wound began to ooze a dark crimson liquid, and he clenched his teeth in fury. Raven quickly moved her other foot to stomp down on the man's tail and hold it to the sidewalk as she cracked her neck. "Now he can't just teleport out of handcuffs and make a break for it. I doubt we'll have that much luck once he's in a cell, though."

"Oh, you won't," the man sputtered as he gazed up at Willow while the heiress circled around him, keeping Myrtenaster pointed at his forehead. "You think this is the first time I've been in jail?"

"With a personality like yours? I very much doubt it," Willow commented with an unimpressed glare. She reached down into a pocket on the side of her dress as her scroll began to vibrate, and held up the device to look at the screen. "It's Summer. She's telling us to come to the police station as soon as we can. Apparently Kali's hurt, and she's being interrogated."

"She's what?" Raven grumbled as she watched two police cars begin to make their way up the street. "Why would they arrest Kali? Did they manage to get the actual thief?"

"I don't know. I'll ask," Willow replied as she began to swipe her thumb across the screen to compose a reply. "And you know why. I should be able to speed her release. Keep him pinned to the ground, and let me do the talking, please."

"I've got him under control," Raven affirmed as she drove her heel down into the man's wrist. He merely laughed as he watched the road, upside-down once again. The squad cars screeched to a halt as they turned slightly to form a barricade and block off the majority of the street. Two officers emerged from each of the vehicles, weapons drawn, only to lower them almost immediately as the bearded man wearing an octagonal hat walked to the front of the procession.

"Miss Schnee. Looks like you two girls did a fine job," the police captain mused as he approached Raven and holstered his pistol. The man removed his sunglasses and looked down to the writhing criminal, only to shake his head. "Tyrian. Figures."

"Hello, Officer," the faunus replied in a sickeningly sweet tone. "Did you miss me?"

"Not even slightly," the officer replied, before motioning to his assembled lackeys and turning back to Willow. "We can handle him from here. Our boys just picked up another two criminals not far from here, on a tip from another huntress. More are pursuing a getaway car with a third set of thieves."

"That other huntress was working with us, and she's a friend," Willow confirmed. "But one of the faunus 'criminals' that you picked up is also with us, officer. Kali Moonglove is a huntress, and deserves to be treated with the same respect you would give to me. I'm going to formally request that you cease all interrogation and mistreatment of her immediately, and bring Raven and I to the station so we can bring her home."

The police captain blinked in surprise, before bringing a hand up to rub at his bearded chin. "…a faunus huntress? You're sure about that?"

"I'm more than sure," Willow replied as she watched Raven help the remaining officers bag and cinch the end of Tyrian's tail, before pulling him up to a standing position. "She's a faunus friend of mine. Family, if you will, and I'd rather not get the rest of my family involved. So, please- do the right thing, for me… and your sake, as well."

Suddenly Tyrian began to thrash and attempt to wrest himself from the grip of his captors as one of them slipped a thin metal collar with some sort of monitor around his neck.

"What? What the hell is this, now!?" the faunus cried in indignation. He hissed in pain as the collar closed around his throat, and a painful jolt of electricity pulsed down through his body, causing him to tense up. He gasped for air, before snapping his head upward to glare at Willow. Suddenly, his eyes flickered with understanding, and he bared his teeth at the heiress. "Oh… Willow Schnee, is it? Now, it all makes sense. Off to the mines with me, then?"

"What?" Willow asked in horror as she eyed the collar. "No, I… I had nothing to do with…"

"Sure you didn't," Tyrian accused as the assembled officers forcefully wrenched him sideways and began to march him toward one of the squad cars. "I'll remember this."

Raven dusted off her hands as she eyed the collar suspiciously while Tyrian was lowered into the back of the car. "…you didn't, right?"

"No!" Willow protested. "I would never!"

The police captain slipped his sunglasses down into the pocket of his dress shirt, and waved the huntresses to follow. "Collar has nothing to do with Miss Schnee. It's new technology that'll help keep scum like him where they belong."

Willow and Raven finally sheathed their weapons as they began to follow the man back to his vehicle. A chill tingled through Willow's arms, and she rubbed at the exposed flesh as a sickening thought crossed her mind.

"…Officer? Your men didn't… put one of those on Kali, did you?"

The man didn't reply as he slipped into the driver's seat of his vehicle.


"I still think we should take you to the infirmary," Summer said softly.

Kali grumbled a litany of curses under her breath as she limped along, clinging desperately to Raven's shoulder. Her knees felt weak, her stomach was doing loops, and her head throbbed with what she knew to be a vicious migraine. The faunus girl was tempted to empty her stomach onto the pathway below, but held it in as best she could.

"And I think you should listen to me, when I tell you they won't be able to do shit. There's only one person who might have some idea what the hell those assholes did to me, and it ain't the school nurse. Just get me back to the dorm, or somewhere away from people," Kali insisted, her voice hoarse. "I need rest."

"We're working on it. No one will bother us in my living quarters," Willow said worriedly as she led the group, still barefoot. Her feet ached and were covered in bruises and small cuts, especially upon the soles. The harsh cobblestone did her no favors, but she held in her complaints for the sake of the group. Willow continued her hasty approach toward a large building at the edge of the Beacon campus, as the other three girls moved at a slower pace.

"What exactly is this place?" Summer questioned as she shifted around the shopping bags and small purses in her hands. Some of their purchases, along with Willow's shoes, had indeed disappeared from the street corner, though there was still enough left behind to be reasonably heavy.

"Faculty living space," Raven replied automatically as she shifted the remaining few bags in her free hand. "I'm guessing they gave you a place here, since you don't have a team?"

"Correct," Willow admitted as she made her way up to the door of the large building and swiped her I.D. through an electronic reader. "I was assigned a penthouse that is no longer in use."

"Figures," Kali spat as she shook her head. "Whatever. Just get me to your couch, and get Jay Winchester over here, before you bother calling STRQ and OKRA. We've got some shit to talk about that's more important than upsetting our teams."

"Jay Winchester?" Willow asked as she held the door open for her friends.

"Yeah," Kali replied with a light cough. "Whatever the hell they shot me with, and the collars they put around our necks both had 'W.M.T.' etched into 'em."


Jay Winchester sat on one of the white leather couches in Willow's penthouse, feeling incredibly uncomfortable as the group of girls sat upon a matching piece of furniture on the other side of a large mahogany coffee table. Willow's penthouse was at least twice the size of a typical team dorm, and lavishly decorated with furniture, ornaments, and accessories befitting both her and the school. While he couldn't help but wonder which things she had personally added and which had come with the room, he knew that that particular mystery would have to wait to be solved, when so many other questions lingered in the air.

"…Tyrian Callows," Jay repeated as he furrowed his bows. He kept his gauntleted fingers clasped together as he nervously rubbed his hands against each other between his legs. He swallowed hard, and shook his head. "No. Doesn't sound familiar at all."

"That much, at least, adds up," Willow offered from her position sitting cross-legged at one end of the couch. "He didn't seem to know who I was at first, either, so he's very likely just a local criminal who chose my family's company because it's readily available, and a large target. I don't think the attack was personal."

"Maybe this one wasn't, but when he gets out? I get the feeling any future ones will be," Raven lamented. She sat at the opposite end of the couch, her arms folded across her chest. "He knows you're vulnerable, now."

"I held my own well enough," Willow protested. "Though, I did try to do what you asked."

"You did, and I'm thankful that you didn't try to argue with me," Raven agreed. "But there are other, more important things we need to talk about, before we call our teams here."

"Like what happened to Kali," Summer agreed from her position sitting in front of the couch. She held the faunus' hand as Kali rested her head in Willow's lap, and her feet atop Raven's legs. Throughout Willow's entire explanation of the initial circumstances and their fight with Tyrian Callows, Kali's eyes never left Jay once.

"Details aren't that important," Kali cut in, "but Summer and I cornered one of the robbers in an alleyway. To make a long story short, the cops took me down, too, because apparently having an extra set of ears is a crime. When they showed up on the scene, they shot me with some kind of device that embedded itself in my back and sapped my aura within seconds. It's still not back, and it was stamped with your company's initials. Our collars had 'em, too. What the hell are you making up there in Atlas, and why do the police have it here?"

Jay shifted uncomfortably at the question, and cleared his throat. "I… didn't know that either of those things were being field tested."

"Field tested?" Summer seethed. "So they're not even guaranteed to be safe?"

"They're not," Jay agreed with a hard swallow. "They're both projects that came about from my father, and I helped design them. He's spoken of selling them to the military and law enforcement, but a small, relatively contained shipment of the devices was supposed to come to Vale in the new year. That's actually part of why Robin and I were sent to Beacon- to check in on the business deal and field any complaints and feedback."

"Well, it looks like they were shipped earlier than you thought," Raven deadpanned. "What kind of inhumane bullshit is this? Do you see Kali right now?"

"I do," Jay replied as he avoided the faunus' eyes. "I was told that the ASRs would be used in interrogation and wartime situations. Dad never said anything about them being used against the public."

"So your old man's lying to you, along with everyone else in Atlas, if rumors are to be believed," Kali spat. "Figures. What the hell are ASRs, Jay? I want details, and I want to know when I'll be functional again. I feel like shit."

"Aura Siphoning Rounds," Jay replied without any hint of pride in his voice. "They're… miniature machines, contained within a small spherical ball. They can be fired from a handgun attachment, compatible with most models. Upon contact with a target, what almost looks like a mechanical spider latches on and uses a specially-calibrated electromagnetic signal to shut down aura within a locally contained area. Think of it like an EMP… for people."

The room fell silent for several moments, before Summer spoke up in a small voice.

"…that technology shouldn't exist," she began with an unsure glance up at Jay. "I mean… I get it, for stopping criminals and stuff, but it's inevitably going to get into the wrong hands. What happens when criminals start using it on hunters? What happens when the people who should have it misuse it? Kali could've gotten seriously hurt."

"And my aura still isn't back," Kali added. "I don't exactly feel great right now."

"I know," Jay offered with a sigh. "It could be two to three days, before it rejuvenates."

"Two to three days?" Willow repeated as all color drained from her face. "What kind of nightmare technology is your family working on?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Jay shot back with an annoyed look as he folded his arms. "Look, I don't have any control over what my old man does, back home. I'm not happy about this either."

"You helped design it!" Raven accused, her anger showing through in her tone. "You're complicit in whatever happens as a result of it getting out!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Jay protested. "I'm good at what I do! My whole family's good at what we do, and that's why Winchester Military Technologies is what it is! That's why we're the ones supplying technology to the Atlesian military, and that's why we're the first choice for those looking to start research into new weaponry! I have no control over what happens to the tech we make, and I wasn't even entirely sure what I was helping to make at the time. My dad demanded that Robin and I help him in the lab, so we did. We couldn't just tell our old man to fuck off. It doesn't work like that!"

"So the Atlestian military probably has this, too," Kali replied in disbelief. "And I'm sure the S.D.C. won't be far behind with using this on their workers. Got anything to tell us about the collars they slapped on us? Another fun little toy to keep us under Atlesian heels?"

"Aura Suppression Collar," Jay said as he shook his head. "It works in much the same way, but it's meant to be semi-permanent, and functions off a small, rechargeable chip. ASRs are single-use. That thing stays on until the person with the electronic key comes by and feels like taking it off."

"Perfect for slavery," Kali said with a few sarcastic claps. "Well done."

"Or for keeping someone capable of teleportation in place," Willow replied with a hint of unease. "I know that this situation is terrible, but at least for Tyrian, the application makes sense. Without it, we would all be in danger, as soon as his aura regenerated."

"Yeah, not in the mood for you to try to justify this shit right now," Kali warned as she looked up at her friend. "I know it has some good applications, but after being treated the way I was treated today? I'm not exactly feeling open-minded."

"Rest," Raven commanded as she slipped out from beneath Kali's legs and stood up. "I'm… going to head outside and call the rest of our team, Barty, and Adam. They're going to want to see you, and I… I think I need some fresh air. Jay, I would suggest you leave, unless you're interested in getting assaulted by Adam. He's not going to take this well at all."

"Yeah. Yeah, I probably should," Jay agreed as he stood up from his couch. "For what little it's worth, Kali… I'm sorry. Think what you want about me and my family, but I wouldn't want something like this to happen to anyone, faunus or otherwise."

Kali simply remained silent, and kept her eyes on the ceiling as Raven slipped out of the penthouse.

"Jay… I think you should remain with us," Willow stated as she held up the small plastic bag that she had entrusted to Summer. "Facing Adam again is something that will have to happen eventually… and perhaps tonight can end on a positive note, after all."


Author's Note:

What's in the bag?

WHAT'S IN THE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG?

-RD