Hunters of Justice

by trestwho

Remnant has fallen, its cities captured and its greatest defenders defeated at the hands of the alien conqueror, Brainiac. In the aftermath of his victory, the people of Remnant's last hope lies in the hands of two teams of students, whisked away to another world. A world where Gods walk among them.

68. Reunions and Revelations

Hunters of Justice (RWBY/DC)

Chapter 51: Reunions and Revelations

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August 24th, 5:30 PM (Atlas Standard Time)

Schnee Manor, Bottled City of Atlas

Two Weeks Post-Brainiac Invasion

All Willow Schnee could do was stare blankly out the window, a cup of whiskey in her hands. A half-empty bottle was next to her on an end table, easily within arm's reach for whenever she felt the need to pour herself another glass. Something that she knew would happen soon. She didn't know how many she had left, and she tried not to think about what she would do when they ran out. Idly, she noticed a flight of Atlesian Mantas pass by, but she didn't much care. Her thoughts were centered on other, far more important matters as she idly stared at the dome covering them.

It all happened so fast. One moment, she was watching the Vytal Tournament with her son, Whitley, and their loyal butler Klein Sieben. Something she normally wouldn't do nor care for, but her daughter had been participating this year and so she felt she had to at least watch. Whitley pretended not to care about the spectacle, acting as if he was the one teenage boy in the world who was above the allure of flashy action, but ultimately he stayed with her the entire time. Jacques, of course, didn't even bother to watch at all. He instead stayed in his office to work on company matters. But the next…he arrived, and everything went to Hell.

There was no other word to describe it. Hell. That was what the world became when Brainiac launched his invasion. Dozens of warships, thousands if not millions of drones, all attacking each and every kingdom at once. Atlas barely had time to mobilize its forces when the first of Brainiac's vessels arrived, and what followed was the most terrifying spectacle she had ever seen. She only watched the first few minutes of it, barely able to comprehend the sight of an endless swarm of metal descending upon the kingdom. The Atlesian military put up a valiant fight, filling the sky with lasers, bullets, and missiles, but it was no use.

When the first Atlesian cruiser was destroyed by a single blast from one of Brainiac's skull-shaped warships, that was when she fled. Willow had grabbed Whitley and sprinted towards the family's bunker, Klein leading the way. Their terrified servants were running for their lives, dropping whatever they were carrying as they made a mad dash for what little safety they had. A few tripped and fell, and in the sheer panic they were nearly ran over had others not managed to get them aid.

As they all fled towards the bunker, the air above them became filled with resounding, nearly deafening booms. Explosions from errant missiles and destroyed aircraft made the manor shudder. Windows cracked from the force, as did parts of the wall and ceiling. Bits of debris rained down on all of them, which only had the effect of increasing everyone's screams and making them run even faster. Eventually, the crowd of people managed to find their way into the basement, where they were trying to squeeze into the shelter. It wasn't meant to hold this many people, a fact that she heard her husband screaming about in the background. But no one cared, least of all her.

Only when they had managed to somehow fit everyone into the bunker did they close the doors. Not that it made them feel that much safer. For the next day they could hear and feel the battle rage above and around them, with each impact making everyone scream and whimper. The entire time, Willow was huddled with her son who desperately clung to her, Klein protectively standing in front of them both. Her husband had cowered underneath a table, holding his hands over his head and not even sparing his family a glance. A few of their servants had their scrolls out, desperately trying to contact their families or simply find out what was going on. But the entire CCT network was down, with them only receiving static screens for their trouble.

Finally, after the longest day in Willow's life, the fighting began to die down. It did so rather quickly, much to her surprise. Even then, no one moved. None were sure if it was actually safe. It wasn't until Klein bravely volunteered to venture out himself and check that anyone tried to do anything. A few attempted to convince him not to go, that it was too dangerous, but Klein knew it had to be done and said as such. As he left the bunker, Willow could see that the butler was terrified beyond all imagining, but when he noticed Willow and Whitley staring at him, he gave both Schnees a warm smile before venturing off.

When he returned ten minutes later, they all let out a collective sigh of relief. It didn't last long, though. Although the fighting had ceased, it was not because they had miraculously won. The exact opposite had occurred, just not in the way Willow expected. Atlas and Mantle were still standing, although with much of it in ruins and burning. Thick clouds of black smoke filled the air, with dull orange glows illuminating the bottom of the stacks. Nearly all of Atlas' entire military was destroyed, the remains strewn across both cities. What once were mighty and majestic Atlesian cruisers, symbols of Atlas' power and influence, were nothing more than shattered spires of metal that angrily cut into the landscape. The few that remained were severely damaged, barely limping as they tried to stay airborne. But that wasn't what shocked and horrified Willow the most. That honor belonged to the nature of Brainiac's victory, for the sky and horizon had been replaced by a translucent, glasslike dome that encased the entire Kingdom. No longer could she gaze out into the Solitas tundra, or into the night sky. It was all gone.

Willow had never felt as weak and helpless as she did after that. It was a feeling that, even two weeks later, she found herself unable to climb out of. While their manor was mostly untouched, only suffering minor damage, it did little to help. Most of the staff had left, going into the cities in a desperate attempt to find their loved ones. Only a few guards returned, and the picture they painted was bleak. So many people had died, both in Atlas and in Mantle. Their infrastructure was almost completely demolished, most of their leaders either dead or missing, and there might as well not even be a functioning government, let alone an economy. There was no way to communicate with the other kingdoms, leaving them completely isolated from the outside world. The Kingdom of Atlas, once the pinnacle of Remnant's civilization according to some, was in utter shambles.

But Willow didn't care about any of that. All she cared about was what happened to her daughters. Neither were in Atlas when Brainiac attacked. Both were in Vale, with Weiss participating in the Vytal Tournament and Winter a part of General Ironwood's peacekeeping forces. She had no idea what happened to them, whether they had survived or perished during Vale's invasion.

Then later, much to her surprise, and horror, she had actually seen Weiss looking at them all as a relative giant from inside Brainiac's ship. She was joined by the rest of her team, along with another group of students whom she didn't recognize but surmised were also from Beacon. How and why they got onto the mothership, Willow did not know. All she knew is that they apparently ran off to try and stop the alien warlord, a battle they clearly lost. There was no telling what happened to Weiss after that. Willow desperately prayed that she was safe, but that felt like nothing more than a pipedream.

Eventually, they all learned the truth from their conqueror himself. The way he said it made it seem like he was proud of himself, and that they all should be grateful for what he did to them. Brainiac hadn't just conquered Remnant. He had shrunk all of their major cities and population centers, the centerpieces of their entire civilization, then destroyed the planet itself. Their home, everything they had ever known, was gone in an instant. The worst part was that he called his invasion, and the slaughter of millions of innocent people, simply a 'preservation' like he was a conservationist trying to prevent a species from going extinct.

"Sandwich, my Lady?" Willow heard Klein gently ask, breaking her from her thoughts.

She shot her head over to look at him, and found Klein standing beside her. The short, heavyset man with balding brown hair, a thick, bushy mustache, and light-brown eyes was still wearing his butler uniform, albeit in a less-than-pristine state. Forgivable, due to present circumstances. A silver tray was in his hand, presenting a simple sandwich filled with sliced meat, lettuce, and cheese. Compared to what she ate normally, it was barely anything, but Willow graciously took it anyway. Now wasn't the time to be picky, particularly with how little they had left, and she smiled at Klein thankfully.

"Thank you, Klein," Willow said, taking a bite into the sandwich as Klein nodded.

"It's my pleasure," Klein replied, smiling at her as he put a silver dome over the tray. Rather than leave, he then asked her, "How are you feeling?"

Willow was silent at first, then sighed and answered, "I don't know."

Grabbing her cup, she moved to down the contents of her glass, only to find that it was empty. Annoyed, she poured herself another glass of whiskey and drank it. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Klein's face fall as she poured yet another glass, but he quickly shifted his attention once Willow turned to face him fully.

Still, he couldn't help but ask, "Must you be drinking whiskey, Lady Willow?"

"Why, because it's Jacques' good bottle?" Willow retorted, feeling a heavy buzz that she encouraged with another sip. Anything to dull the pain that she was feeling right now.

Klein sighed, then said, "That's not what I—never mind. Forget I said anything."

Willow looked at him for a moment. She knew Klein disapproved of her drinking. Part of her knew she shouldn't be doing it, but after over twenty years of a loveless marriage, the disintegration of her family, seeing her father's name dragged through the mud in the endless pursuit of power and profit, and now the loss of her entire home, she didn't have much motivation to stop anytime soon. At the same time, Klein knew trying to convince her to stop was an exercise in futility, so he reluctantly dropped the matter and straightened himself.

"Well," he said after a moment, "I must be off. Master Whitley is in his room and needs to eat as well. Would you…care to join me?"

There was a hopeful tone in his voice, but Willow shook her head. His face fell, and Willow replied, "No. I'm just…I'm just going to take a walk."

Before Klein even had a chance to react, Willow downed the rest of her glass and got up from her chair by the window. She took a few steps and paused, briefly giving Klein hope that Willow had changed her mind. But instead she merely turned around and grabbed the bottle of whiskey on the end table, carrying it with her as she walked out of the room and into the wide, empty halls of the Schnee Manor.

Even more than usual, her family home felt empty and lifeless. Other than her, not a soul could be seen. Willow was fine with that. She wanted to be alone right now. The only company she had were the grand statues of Grimm and people mounted onto the walls and pedestals, along with painted pictures of her family. Practically the entire history of the Schnee family was depicted in those works of art. Her father's humble beginnings as a miner, one who worked his way from the bottom of the ladder to becoming the founder of the Schnee Dust Company. Many of the statues of Grimm were depicting beasts that Nicholas Schnee himself had slain either to protect his workers, chart out potential mines himself, or simply grand hunts for sport, some of which Willow participated in. The paintings depicting that time were happy and full of life, representing a much better time.

But then Jacques appeared. At first, the paintings were just as happy as those that came before. He had appeared to be a different sort of man back then. Jacques Gelé was a handsome, well-spoken, charismatic man full of ambition. Both she and her father had been quite taken by him, and soon he had won her heart. They were married, with him taking her name as his own in order to, as he put it, respect their proud legacy. That should have been the first hint that Jacques was more than he seemed. But it wasn't until after her father passed away from old age and chronic illness that Jacques' true colors began to reveal themselves.

Both Willow and Nicholas had naïvely given Jacques control of the company. He was an astute businessman, who they both thought would be able to continue the company after Nicholas was gone. At first, that's exactly what he did. But whether that was simply paying lip service while Jacques laid the foundation for his actual business strategy, or whether he let his greed consume him, it didn't matter. Either way, within a year of Jacques becoming CEO he began radically shifting the SDC's culture. No longer was it concerned with providing the best quality Dust and services to the people. Instead, it became solely concerned with maximizing profit.

Standards were slashed, wages reduced to the legal minimum, investments in their communities practically eliminated. Exploitation went from an unfortunate byproduct that they tried to prevent to being actively encouraged. Competitors, both large and small, were ruthlessly crushed under the weight of the SDC's heavy boot. Within a few years of Jacques' takeover, the SDC had grown to tremendous new heights, going from merely being the world's largest Dust company to the world's only Dust company. The largest and wealthiest company in Remnant's entire history. All it look was the loss of the company's soul, and the utter degradation of the entire Schnee name.

As Willow looked up at the forlorn painting of her family, one depicting herself, her children, and Jacques all sitting together, she couldn't help but feel a sense of profound shame grip her heart. She should have recognized the truth sooner. If she had, perhaps all the pain and suffering could've been averted. The way each person looked in the painting told anyone how they felt about the situation. Only Jacques looked genuinely pleased and satisfied, proudly presenting the rest of the family in front himself as though they were nothing more than trophies. Whitley was attempting to emulate his father, but his smile was fake and plastered. Whereas she and her daughters looked empty and displeased, all three having realized years ago the truth of how broken their family was. It came as no surprise when Winter fled to join the military, practically latching onto General Ironwood as the father-figure she desperately craved. Weiss left a few years later to go to Beacon, leaving them all behind.

Releasing another sigh, Winter drank directly from the bottle of whiskey and continued walking down the hall. She stumbled a bit, supporting herself against the wall before pushing off. Her body swayed from side to side, heavily inebriated. But she didn't care, instead continuing to aimlessly wander the halls. Willow had no destination in mind, no reason to keep going. She was just going through the motions, doing anything to keep her mind off of things.

Yet, somehow she found herself wandering by her husband's office. Willow could hear her husband's muffled voice through the walls and door. He was talking to someone, and he sounded frustrated. Curiosity managed to eek its way to the front of her mind, and she scrunched up her face slightly before walking around a corner. Leaning up against a wall, she pulled out her scroll and connected it to the security cameras she'd placed around the entire house, behind her husband's back. She could see nearly a dozen guards standing watch near windows and doors, scattered around the entire manor to ensure there weren't any looters attempting to break in. From what she understood, the situation was far worse in Mantle than it was in Atlas, but even then a few had tested their luck in the past few weeks.

Rather than focusing on the guards, though, Willow instead found the camera she had placed in Jacques' office. He was speaking to someone through his desktop computer, one who Willow didn't recognize personally. She did notice the sleeveless Atlesian Specialist uniform the handsome, brown-haired man with teal-green eyes was wearing. Frowning slightly, Willow enlarged the image, then turned on the volume before lowering it so that only she could hear.

"Mr. Schnee, I understand your concerns," the Specialist diplomatically said, "but you have to understand. We need to use your company's resources to begin repairing the damage to Atlas."

"I do understand that," Jacques replied, a noticeable edge in his voice. "What I don't understand, Specialist Ebi, is why the Council feels the need to nationalize the SDC?"

"This is a time of unprecedented crisis, the likes of which Atlas has never seen," Ebi pointed out. "Resources are stretched thin, and the SDC has the largest reserves of Dust in the entire kingdom."

"Yes, Dust that my company extracted, processed, stored, and shipped to Atlas. It is my investment, and you do not have the right to just take it."

Specialist Ebi's face warped slightly as he picked up on Jacques' barely disguised greed, and he lowly asked, "Are you seriously demanding payment, at this time?"

Realizing his error, Jacques raised his hands placatingly and said, "No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm sorry, in this situation…things are unimaginably difficult."

Ebi's frown softened, and he nodded before saying, "Yes, it is. We've all been affected by this tragedy. We've all…lost someone."

Clover looked to the side, a mournful look on his face. Seizing his opportunity, Jacques said, "My condolences, Clover, for the loss of your teammate. I never had the pleasure of meeting Specialist Tortuga, but Atlas has lost one of its best."

Clover Ebi looked back at Jacques through the screen then nodded and replied, "Thank you. Tortuga's sacrifice will not be in vain."

"I'm sure it won't. Am I correct in assuming that the Ace-Ops are already finding a new member?"

"Yes. We're narrowing our candidates down now. But without General Ironwood, the final decision comes down to me."

"Is there anyone in particular you're looking at?"

Clover nodded, then answered, "Yes, actually. A freshly graduated Huntsman from Atlas Academy named Marrow Amin. He proved himself while fighting Brainiac's forces, and he could be a valuable asset to the team."

"Well, if he has your seal of approval, I look forward to seeing where he goes next," Jacques replied, a smile plastered over his face. Whether Clover bought into it or not was uncertain. Either way, it did what Jacques wanted, and the situation was defused.

Clasping his hands together, Jacques continued, "Let me rephrase. Yes, the SDC's Dust reserves should be enough to hopefully begin repairs. I had my analysts run inventory, and there's enough to last years if we ration accordingly. Once the mines in Mantle are brought back online, limited Dust production should be able to resume. But it's not going to be enough to repair the entire city. If we try doing that, we're going to run out entirely. When that happens…"

Jacques let his dire prediction trail off, but both Clover and Willow understood regardless. While Clover's face hardened, Willow's grip on her scroll tightened and began to shake. Jacques had a point, she knew. Dust had suddenly become a very limited resource, and if they tried to do everything they would run out, leaving them in an even worse position than the one they were already in. But that wasn't the real reason Jacques was pointing this out. Willow knew exactly why, she was just waiting for him to say it.

"…I see," Clover replied, rubbing his hand over his chin. "That is a cause for concern. What is it, then, that you suggest?"

"My people understand Dust more than anyone else in the entire kingdom. Rather than just seizing control of the SDC, let us work with the Council to prioritize resource allocation," Jacques offered. "That way what little resources we have can be used most efficiently, rather than just throwing everything away at once."

Clover hummed as he thought over the offer. He looked at Jacques suspiciously, wondering if there was some ulterior motive. But unlike Willow, Clover didn't know her husband very well, and soon nodded in agreement.

"I'll raise your proposal to the Council," Clover replied, and Jacques smiled and nodded.

"Thank you. I'll have my workers get ready to assist," Jacques declared. With that, the call was ended, and he slumped back into his chair. Jacques groaned as he stared up into the ceiling, then he muttered, "Damn it…"

As he reached over to pour himself a glass of whiskey, Willow had enough. She closed the feed, then walked away deeper into the manor away from his office. Anger and disgust filled her, as well as a renewed sense of helplessness. There wasn't anything she could do in this situation, as much as she wanted to. Taking another swig from her whiskey bottle, Willow aimlessly wandered the halls, not really knowing where her feet were taking her but following along regardless. Her vision was blurry and she swayed back and forth, but aside from pushing off the wall with her free hand she had no issues.

Eventually, however, she found herself in front of Whitley's room. The world seemed to stop as she stared at his door. She knew Whitley was in there, and judging by the muffled voices coming from the other side, so was Klein. Likely trying to comfort him in his time of need. Willow let her arm slacken, and she looked at the doorknob. Slowly and shakily, she began to reach out, her fingers brushing against the brass. The temptation to open the door and step inside, to comfort her son, grew larger and larger. But then she remembered the weight in her other hand, and saw the nearly empty bottle of whiskey she still held.

Shame filled her, and with a heavy heart she withdrew her arm. Without saying a word, Willow walked away from her son's door, holding herself close and barely fighting back tears. Whitley didn't deserve having his failure of a mother coming into his room, not in her current state. It was better for Klein to be there for him. At least he'd be cognizant enough to provide a semblance of comfort.

Walking to the back of the house, Willow exited through the glass doors which led to her garden. Once lush and colorful, it was now shriveled and dead, covered in a layer of ash. Willow felt it was appropriate. Now it matched how lifeless and dead the manor itself was. Sitting down on a bench covered with ash, which kicked up as she rested upon it, Willow took another swig of whiskey. But, when she pressed the glass against her lips and tilted the bottle upward, she found that the entire bottle was now empty. Anger flashed through her, and she threw the bottle away where it shattered against the ground. She glared at its remains, tightly gripping her dress as tears spilled out of her eyes.

She remained like this for several minutes. How long, exactly, she didn't know nor care to keep track of. At the same time, she could feel her Aura strain to keep her conscious through all the alcohol in her system. Something she was more than accustomed to by this point. Once again shame filled her heart, particularly as she glanced at the alcove of now-dead winter roses which framed a statue of her father in his regal plate armor, cape swirling behind him and his claymore in hand, the blade stabbed into the ground. He looked so powerful and noble, a far cry from the pathetic weakling and disappointment that was his only daughter. If Nicholas Schnee could see her now, Willow knew he would be so disappointed.

"Ah, I figured I'd find you here," she heard Klein announce as he entered the garden. Willow spared him a brief glance, then returned her attention to her father's statue. Klein said nothing as he walked over, then he sat beside her on the bench. He, too, stared up at the statue, and a faint sigh escaped his lips.

After a few moments, Willow quietly asked, "How is he?"

"Master Whitley is doing better," Klein answered, folding his hands on top of his lap. Willow nodded, then hung her head in shame.

"Thank you for speaking with him," Willow said, and felt Klein gently place his hand on her shoulder.

"It is no problem, Lady Willow. I am more than happy to lend anyone in this house an ear," Klein replied, then his eyes shifted color to red. His voice became gruffer and he remarked, "Except for that miserable sap you call a husband. He can piss right off, I'll tell you what."

Despite herself, Willow couldn't help but chuckle and say, "Thank you, and yes, he can."

Klein smiled at Willow, his eyes turning yellow as he joyfully proclaimed, "Oh, I so love it when you laugh. You should do it more often. It really brings out your eyes."

Willow laughed again then waved him off, "Stop it, please."

Continuing to smile at her, Klein's eyes returned to their light-brown color. He was silent for a moment, then he said, "You know, Whitley would've appreciated you coming in."

Willow looked at her butler, the temporary joy she felt disappearing. She then quietly asked, "You knew I was there?"

"We both did. You're not as subtle as you think you are," Klein pointed out, and Willow sighed and looked to the side.

"I would've done more harm than good had I gone in there," she declared, but Klein shook his head and once again placed his hand on her shoulder.

"That isn't true," Klein protested. "You're his mother, and he loves you. You're all he truly has left, and he needs you now more than ever."

Once again, Willow shook her head then replied, "No he doesn't. I'm a failure as a mother. A mother wouldn't let her family fall apart like I did."

"And let his father sink his teeth into him?" Klein pointed out, making Willow flinch. Seizing the opening, Klein continued, "We both know what Jacques is trying to do to your son. Willow, you're the only one that can prevent that from happening. Please, if only for his sake."

Slowly, Willow looked up at Klein. Tears were in her eyes, and her throat suddenly felt dry. She wanted to speak, but was unable to find the words. Nevertheless, Klein seemed to understand her perfectly, and he softly smiled as he patted her shoulder. He began to say something else to further comfort and encourage her, and all Willow could do was simply sit there silently.

He never got the chance, for six loud booms echoed across the manor as something crashed into the grounds. It sounded like it came from the front of the manor, and in alarm both Willow and Klein shot up to their feet. Neither knew what was going on, and they could hear the guards inside shout frantically as they moved to confront the disturbance.

Then a loud, emotionless voice calmly spoke out over the entire Schnee Manor, his voice amplified and easily recognizable. Willow's pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks, and her body began to shake.

"Willow and Whitley Schnee," the voice of Brainiac ordered, "exit the building immediately."

Looking at each other, Klein and Willow rushed back inside. Heading up the stairs, they found Jacques and his guards moving to the front of the building. All of them had their weapons in hand, aimed at the door and whatever was on the other side. Her heart thundered in her chest, and Willow noticed that Whitley was out as well. He was hiding behind a curtain, peeking through a window to see what was going on. Both Klein and Willow joined him, and together all three stared out into the front courtyard of the manor.

Willow gasped and held her hand up to cover her mouth at what she saw. Despite their worst fears, Brainiac himself was not there. Rather, there were six of his drones lined up side by side, their lifeless, glowing purple eyes peering into the manor. They could hear Jacques bark orders to his guards, then with an exerted grunt and straightening out of his suit, Jacques threw open the door and stomped outside. His guards fanned out, training their weapons onto the alien machines with Jacques marching right behind them. They stopped a few feet in front of the centermost drone, and Jacques Schnee tilted his head up to glare at them.

Gulping, Jacques angrily ordered, "You have five seconds to leave my home before my men gun you all down. The military is already on their way here as we speak."

The drone Jacques was speaking to tilted its head down, then Brainiac's voice came out of its speaker and replied, "I require samples of the Schnee bloodline for experimentation. Hand them over."

Realizing what Brainiac wanted, Willow, Whitley, and Klein's eyes widened as they glanced at each other, their faces wracked with horror. Jacques was horrified as well, then he growled and held up a finger to point at the drone. At the same time, the enraged guards flicked off their safeties, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"If you think I am going to let you take my wife and son-!" Jacques began to shout in protest, only for him to be interrupted by the drones simply raising their arms and charging their mounted blasters. Loud whines filled the air, and the defiant bravado that Jacques just displayed instantly evaporated. He fell back, as did all of his guards as they cowered before the alien soldiers, who merely stared them all down.

"This is not a negotiation," Brainiac declared, his emotionless voice piercing into their very souls. "You are to hand them over immediately, or suffer the consequences."

Jacques simply stared up at Brainiac's drone, his jaw moving up and down but unable to say anything. A few moments passed, and the whining from the drones' weapons increased in volume. Before they could fire, however, Jacques pitifully held up his hands in front of his face.

"Wait, wait!" he cried out, and the world seemed to pause for the occupants of the building. Jacques took a few deep breaths, then slowly looked at the guards surrounding him. They were just as terrified as he was. Then, slowly and deliberately, he nodded. Despite not saying anything, the message was received regardless.

"No…" Willow muttered as her eyes widened as far as they could. The guards didn't do anything at first, then one by one they reluctantly turned around and walked back into the manor. Willow, Whitley, and Klein stood back from the window, with Klein standing protectively in front of them as the guards noticed their presence and walked up the stairs towards them.

"What are you doing?" Klein angrily demanded. The first guard could only look at them sadly, and immediately Willow understood the decision had been made.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the guard said, looking ashamed of himself but still all-too-willing to go through with it.

Willow's breathing grew shallow, and Whitley whimpered as he stepped back behind his mother. Klein could only stare at the guards incredulously, then his eyes turned red. Before the guards could react, he punched one squarely in the face, knocking him back and shattering a bust. The butler moved to attack another, then a third before he was finally tackled to the ground by another guard. Whitley and Willow attempted to flee, but they too were grabbed by Jacques' guards.

"No, what are you doing?! Stop! Unhand us this instant!" Willow shrieked, pushing and pulling her body as she attempted to free herself from their grasp.

"Let me go!" Whitley ordered as well, futilely trying to kick his captors in their legs. But it was no use, and they were dragged down the stairs and out into the courtyard. An apologetic Jacques was waiting for them, holding his hands tightly together as he stood out to the side.

"I'm sorry," he said, the skin on his hands turned white as he pleaded with him. "I…We have no choice. If you don't go with them, he'll kill us all. You have to understand, I don't—"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Willow shouted at her husband, her eyes blazing in utter fury. She redoubled her efforts and her Aura surged for the first time in years, briefly breaking free of the guards' grips and rushing towards Jacques so that she could strangle him. He fearfully stumbled back, falling to the ground as his wife descended upon him. But she was immediately taken hold of again, then forcibly dragged closer and closer to Brainiac's drones.

She refused to cease her struggles, kicking and screaming at her captors while she hurled obscenities at them. At the same time, she felt a glyph subconsciously form in front of her, and a spectral Boarbatusk began to take shape, ready to strike down those who wished her and her son harm. But then the half-formed summon was dispersed by a hail of plasma bolts before Brainiac's drones shifted their aim towards herself and Whitley, and Willow immediately ceased her attempts to struggle. Her breathing was shallow and quick, and all she could do was stare at the blank faces of the drones.

"LET THEM GO!" she heard Klein shout as he rushed through the front door, barreling through anyone who got in his way. He was making a beeline towards the drones, moving with such ferocity that the guards could barely get out of the way fast enough. But the drones had no such fear or hesitation, with one immediately firing an electrified cable into Klein's chest. He screamed and writhed on the ground in utter agony, but even then he still kept trying to crawl towards them.

"KLEIN, NO!" Willow screamed, trying to run towards him but unable to break the guard's firm grip.

"STOP, YOU'RE HURTING HIM!" Whitley begged, tears running down his face.

Even Jacques and the other guards looked horrified at the casual display of violence being shown in front of them, but none did anything to intervene. After a few moments, the drone ceased its ruthless attack on the defenseless man, who was shaking from the agony he felt. He was barely able to tilt his head up, giving Willow and Whitley a pleading look that they could only briefly return. A moment later, the drones took hold of Willow and her son, and the world disappeared into an intense, bright flash.

When the light subsided, they no longer found themselves standing in front of the Schnee Manor. Instead, they were surrounded by metal, various pieces of machinery extending out from the walls that she could only begin to guess the purposes of. The world felt cold and numb to Willow, and she barely had time to comprehend what was going on before she and Whitley were forcibly pushed ahead. The drones took them to a pair of tables, strapping them down and not giving them any capability of resistance. Once she and her petrified son were secured, a wand-like device shaped like the top outer edge of a circle emerged from the ceiling. It emitted a pulsating orange light that seemed to pierce into her very soul, leaving an uncomfortable tingling sensation across her body. She could also feel tiny pricks along her arms and back as microneedles began taking blood and tissue samples, something she immediately knew was happening to Whitley as well.

That was when he entered the room, announced by thunderous footsteps that echoed across the metal. Brainiac barely even gave them a second's glance before moving over to a terminal embedded into the wall opposite them. As the device continued to scan her, she could see images of both herself and Whitley emerge on the terminal's screen. Data written in an alien language flashed across the monitor, too fast for Willow to make heads or tails of even if she could read it. Brainiac, however, had no issue.

"Subject R2003T-ATS105, designation 'Whitley Schnee,'" Brainiac read aloud to himself. "Aura status: inactive. No medical issues detected."

Brainiac briefly glanced at Whitley, who flinched before defiantly glaring at him. He then shifted his gaze towards Willow before going back to the terminal. He continued, "Subject R2003T-ATS106, designation 'Willow Schnee.' Aura status: active. Specimen is heavily intoxicated with blood alcohol content of 0.21. Signs of alcoholism and alcohol dependency noted. Administering sobriety solution now."

Before Willow had a chance to react, an arm emerged from the floor next to her head. It was holding a large syringe filled with a clear liquid, and it pierced into her neck. She yelped in pain and surprise, then felt a cool sensation flow down her body. To her surprise, the world suddenly became clearer and less heavy, although she desperately wished that wasn't the case as it further proved what was happening was all too real.

Brainiac once again turned to look at them, then silently ordered his drones to remove them from the tables. Escorting them down the hallway, Willow and Whitley were unable to resist even if they wanted to. They passed by numerous doors, the contents of the rooms behind them a mystery. Whitley desperately held onto his mother for safety and security, whimpering tearfully.

Holding her son close, a now all-too-sober Willow gently whispered, "It's okay, it's going to be okay."

"He gave us up. He just…gave us up," Whitley whimpered, and Willow's face fell. Anger and rage briefly passed through her, but she was unable to focus on it as she and her son were forcibly pushed ahead.

They finally arrived at a door that opened as they approached. Inside was a vast chamber whose ceiling reached high above them. It was utterly devoid of any features, simply a large square of dull-grey metal and purple lights. Brainiac and the drones forced both Schnees to enter the room, and the door sealed shut behind the parent and child before two square tiles suddenly illuminated.

"Step onto the platforms so that we may proceed with the tests," Brainiac ordered. One of the walls fell away, revealing it to be a window that let Brainiac watch whatever they were doing.

Willow and Whitley were prepared to protest and refuse, but one harsh glare sent their way convinced them to do what he said. As they stepped onto the platforms, small round compartments emerged upward from the tiles right next to them. Thick and firm, yet lightweight metal rods were offered to them, and both mother and son glanced at each other in confusion.

"Take them so that we may begin," Brainiac once again ordered. Nervously, Willow and Whitley looked at each other, with Willow silently encouraging her son to cooperate for now. Gulping, Whitley nodded then took the metal rod out from its compartment. Willow did the same, and both columns receded back into the floor.

But, to both of their surprise, a bright and translucent blue energy field suddenly emerged. It split the room in half, separating Willow and Whitley from each other.

"No! What are you doing?!" Willow shouted, stepping off of the platform and sprinting towards the field. She attempted to break through, but her body merely bounced off. Whitley was on the other side, pounding his fists into the force field in a desperate attempt to break it down, but nothing he did worked.

"Mom! Mom, help me!" Whitley cried out, terrified and confused.

"It's going to be okay, Whitley! It's going to be okay!" Willow attempted to comfort her son. But, almost as soon as the words left her mouth, she heard the sound of metal sliding against metal. Slowly, she turned her head to the center of her side of the room, and watched as a single drone emerged. One also appeared on Whitley's side of the room, and both glared at their victims through bright purple eyes.

"Aura activation and hereditary Semblance development testing has begun," Brainiac emotionlessly declared as Willow's drone aimed its blaster towards her while Whitley's stomped towards him. "Defend yourself."

Willow's eyes widened, and all she could do was scream as the drone stepped before Whitley, then punched him right in the gut.

---

December 24th, 9:04 AM (Central Standard Time)

Outer Sol System

Present Day

Willow stared out of the window next to her, peering into the vast void of space. It was filled with uncountable points of light, each one a star she didn't recognize. They weren't the stars that surrounded Remnant, that was all she knew. But that didn't fill her with dread. Rather, she couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder and awe, knowing that she was perhaps the only one from Remnant to ever see this.

Or rather, as she reminded herself, one of only a few.

It was still hard for her to believe that Weiss was alive, much less thriving on an alien world called Earth. An unimaginative name, if she said so herself, but she honestly didn't really care. She practically had been counting down the minutes until their reunion ever since she was given the news. Both Whitley and Qrow had been just as surprised, with the veteran Huntsman practically demanding that the Green Lanterns take them to his nieces and her daughter at that very moment. Whitley's reaction was much more subdued, but he too wanted to see his sister again.

Unfortunately, they were all weakened tremendously from their ordeal at Brainiac's hands, so the Lanterns didn't feel comfortable letting them go immediately. They had to spend a few days resting on Mogo, where they were allowed to recuperate. Willow had to admit, those first few days were hard, particularly when she tried to sleep. Every time she woke up, she was terrified that their rescue was simply a dream, that they were still trapped in Brainiac's vessel just waiting to be exploited again and again. To say nothing of the nightmares she had when she slept. But each time she woke up, she realized that it wasn't a dream, that their rescue was all too real, and that her daughters were alive and well.

Once she, her son, and Qrow were as recovered as they possibly could be, or rather for as long as the Lanterns could hold them because Willow was half certain that Qrow was about to stage a break out, were they allowed to depart from Mogo. Instead of being carried across the void of space by a Green Lantern themselves, they had instead opted to take a more traditional form of transportation. Specifically an aerospace transport the Lanterns called the Interceptor, a spacecraft so incredibly fast that it came equipped with an artificial intelligence named Aya meant to help navigate.

The white and green-accented spacecraft was apparently the personal property of Hal Jordan, who volunteered to fly them directly to his homeworld. He was joined by his fellow Lanterns from Earth, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner, alongside Kilowog. While Guy and Kyle attended to Willow, Whitley, and Qrow, answering any questions they had, Kilowog stood watch over Penny's body. The poor girl, a gynoid created by Atlas that had a soul of her own, was directly connected to the Interceptor's systems. Currently her severely damaged body was in a coma, and if she lost power for even a second, she would be truly lost. That was something none of them wanted, least of all Qrow who had formed a connection with her during their brief time together.

"We just entered the Oort Cloud," Hal Jordan announced over the Interceptor's intercom. "ETA to Earth should be about six hours."

"Can't we just warp straight to this…Earth?" Whitley asked, a touch of annoyance and impatience in his voice.

"Actually, due to the nature of warp physics, directly warping into a star system is incredibly dangerous," Aya cheerfully pointed out, forming a green holographic construct of herself right in front of Whitley. She smiled at Willow's son, then added, "Theoretically, we could warp directly to Earth, but the warp bubble and energy generated during transit could severely damage, or even outright destroy, the planet. As such, warp travel is limited to between star systems, not inside of them. Once we enter the recognized boundaries of a star system, the Interceptor and all other similar spacecraft are strictly limited to subluminal travel. Does that help?"

Whitley, Willow, and Qrow gazed at Aya, who had an ever present smile on her face as she looked at all three Remnantian passengers. A moment passed, then Qrow awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and said, "Yeah…we probably shouldn't do that."

"Indeed!" Aya excitedly proclaimed as she clapped her hands together, somehow making noise despite her feminine body being comprised entirely of light. "Please let me know if you have any further questions regarding space travel. I will be more than happy to assist in any way!"

With that, Aya disappeared. They knew she was still there, for her actual body was the ship itself and not whatever humanoid form she created to interact with them. It did nothing to prevent Aya's cheerful personality from coming through at every moment, and Willow couldn't help but be fascinated by her. Aya was a marvelous piece of technology, one so advanced that it was practically impossible to distinguish her from an actual human being. Part of Willow found it ironic that the literal machine currently carrying them was more human than the organic being that conquered and destroyed her home. Or perhaps that was appropriate? It was hard for her to say.

"How's Penny doing?" Qrow asked after a few moments, getting up from his chair to walk over to Kilowog's station.

"She's stable, don't worry," Kilowog replied, glancing over his shoulder at Qrow and offering a faint smirk. "Trust me, Penny's in good hands. She ain't going anywhere under my watch, and there's more than enough power on the Interceptor to keep her power cells running indefinitely. She's fine."

"Are you sure?" Qrow pointedly asked, then Guy patted Qrow on the shoulder to reassure him.

"Qrow, Kilowog's one of the smartest guys I know," Guy told the veteran Huntsman. "I guarantee that if literally anyone other than Brainiac had done this to Penny, he'd have her fixed up and good as new, probably even better, by now."

Kilowog nodded, then frowned and turned back to his station that showed Penny's vitals. The Bolovaxian then said, "Speaking of, I've managed to trim away some of the corrupted code Brainiac put in her, but the rest is too deeply tied into her core for me to do anything about it. If I try to pry deeper, I risk ripping out parts of Penny herself."

"And this…Cyborg you told us about? He'll be able to help her?" Qrow asked, frowning slightly.

"He will. That kid can work with computers better than perhaps even Brainiac himself," Kilowog declared. Recognizing the hidden meaning behind Qrow's frown, he then said, "And don't worry. Cyborg's nothing like Brainiac. He's a good kid, with a good heart and strong head on his shoulders."

Qrow looked at Kilowog for a moment, then huffed in acceptance. He wasn't quite sure about this Cyborg character. Call it selection bias, but all the other cyborgs he had met in his life tended to have issues keeping their hearts, to varying degrees of severity. At the same time, he knew thinking that way wasn't fair to this person he'd never met yet, and if Kilowog and the other Green Lanterns were vouching for him, Qrow supposed he could give him the benefit of the doubt. Satisfied for the moment, he went back to his chair and sat down, rotating it so that it faced the center of the ship.

"So, now that we're almost there," Qrow began, leaning forward and propping his arms up from his knees, clasping his hands together in front of his face, "I suppose now's the best time to ask. What's Earth like?"

"That's not a question I can really answer," Kilowog replied with a deep, hearty chuckle. "I'll let you three handle that."

"Sure thing. Aya, mind taking us the rest of the way in?" Hal asked.

"Of course, I'll be happy to," Aya cheerfully replied.

At the cockpit, Qrow could see Hal get up from his chair. As the Green Lantern walked towards him, Aya reformed her humanoid body in a seat next to Hal's. She noticed Qrow looking at her, and she smiled and waved at him before returning her attention to the front. Whether she actually had to do that in order to pilot the ship or was only doing it for Qrow's convenience he did not know, but at the same time didn't really care to find out.

"Alright then, let's talk about Earth," Hal began, forming a translucent, green globe from his ring and enlarging it. It took up most of the center platform, reaching from just above the floor to just below the ceiling. Qrow counted six large landmasses surrounded by water, with one fully intact moon orbiting around it.

"This is Earth?" Whitley asked as he got up and started walking around the globe, his knuckles pressed against his lips.

"That it is, kid," Guy confirmed. "Earth is the third planet in our solar system, right in the middle of Sol's habitable zone, and the only one currently capable of supporting life. Mars and Venus used to be able to, but after a runaway greenhouse effect choked the life out of Venus entirely, and Mars was invaded by the Imperium a few centuries ago, both are now just lifeless rocks."

Not knowing what either of those planets were, Qrow scrunched up his face in confusion as did Willow and Whitley. In response, Kyle and Guy formed two other planets, each helpfully labeled. Venus was completely encased in thick clouds, while Mars looked quite dry and arid. They certainly appeared to be dead worlds. Qrow nodded thankfully towards the two Green Lanterns, who nodded back before dissipating the constructs.

"Wait, Mars was invaded?" Willow asked, concern seeping into her voice.

"It was, but don't worry. We beat the guys who did it, so it's fine now," Kyle replied, trying to alleviate her concerns. He then added, "We'll go over the Imperium later. Let's focus on the basics for now."

Rubbing his hands together, Kyle walked around the globe while waving his ring around it. Like a paintbrush, different shades of green began to layer themselves onto the globe. It took a few moments for Qrow to realize what he was doing, but then he recognized the shades for what they were. They represented different climates on Earth, including frozen tundra, wet jungles, dry deserts, and everything in between. The very same climates Remnant had.

"As you can see, Remnant and Earth shared the same general climate," Kyle declared as he finished marking the different environments. "Around seventy-one percent of the planet's surface is covered in water, with roughly ninety-seven percent of that held in the saltwater ocean. The ocean itself is divided into five different regions, or oceans. They are, ranging from largest to smallest: the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian, the Southern, and the Arctic oceans."

Each segment of the ocean pulsated and had words written across them as Kyle named them off. Qrow focused all of his attention on the holographic globe, carving the information given to him into his memory. If this was to be his home for the foreseeable future, it only made sense to know as much about it as he possibly could.

"The rest of the planet," Kyle continued, "is Earth's landmass, divided into seven different continents. They are North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica."

As the continents were sequentially highlighted and named, Whitley squinted his eyes then pointed out, "Hold on, I only count four continents, not seven."

"That actually touches upon a very interesting and ongoing debate," Kyle said, turning his attention to the young boy. "I won't dive into the finer details here, but geologically speaking there are only four major landmasses. But, due to cultural and historical factors, the Americas are split between the North and South, with Africa-Eurasia split into Europe, Africa, and Asia."

"I can understand North and South America being considered separate, same with Africa," Qrow spoke up, then shook his head and added, "but Europe and Asia? From where I'm sitting, I can't see it."

"You and many other people," Kyle agreed, then held up his ring once again. "Moving on, the people of Earth, ironically just like Remnant, call ourselves humans. Alien refugees and immigrants do live on the planet and also call it home, but not very many. Last I checked, I believe the official number is less than a thousand. Total population is over eight billion who live in two-hundred-and-seven recognized countries and city states, all overseen by the United Nations. The most powerful nation in the world, and where we were born, is the United States of America which is also where teams RWBY and JNPR currently live. Other major world powers include the Kingdoms of Atlantis, the Russian Federation, and the People's Republic of China. The dominant political and economic ideology in the world at the moment is democracy and capitalism, respectively, but there are others including communism and socialism most predominantly."

Each nation was highlighted and named, but Qrow focused his attention on the United States. Given that was where his nieces were, it only made sense to focus on it. That being said, the fact that Atlantis' territory comprised most of the world's ocean was curious, but he figured he'd ask about that later.

Kyle then said, "There are dozens of recognized religions that people believe in. The three largest are Christianity at two-point-three billion practitioners, followed by Islam with one-point-eight billion, and Hinduism at one-point-one billion. Other notable religions include Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Shintoism, and recently a resurgence in Hellenism among other ancient religions that had previously gone out of favor. We'll go over their finer details later."

Qrow's eyes widened at that staggering number, as did Willow's and Whitley's. In all of Remnant's history, their population only peaked at roughly two-hundred-and-fifty million right before Brainiac invaded, and the number of independent kingdoms at any one time were never more than a few dozen before consolidating into the four he knew. Most of Remnant was no longer religious, and while each kingdom ran themselves in their own way, each had largely abandoned the old monarchial system in favor of democratic republics. He wondered how it was even possible for that many people, countries, ideologies, and religions to form, but then he mentally slapped himself.

The answer to that question was obvious. The only reason why Remnant was so limited and constrained was because of the Grimm, which constantly assaulted and culled their numbers. Remnant also had Oz pulling strings from behind the scenes over countless lifetimes, helping to bridge gaps between people and bring them closer together. Earth never had him nor the Grimm, at least until recently if the Lanterns were to be believed. Itself a very worrying scenario. Without the Grimm acting as a hostile outside force for thousands of years, it made perfect sense for people to expand that much.

But with expansion came division. With division inevitably came conflict, and with that many people and beliefs, there was bound to be a lot of it. Wars over religion, ideology, land and resources, or even simple grudges and pride. If Remnant's people fought among themselves even with the Grimm breathing down their necks at all times, there was no reason to expect Earth would be any different. Part of him sighed in mild disappointment, but the rest was simply resigned. At the very least, he'd be able to put his skills to use in some way.

As the thought came to mind, he remembered another piece of information that the Green Lanterns had told him on Mogo. Qrow then asked, "What about this 'Justice League' that took RWBY and JNPR in?"

"I was just about to get to them, actually," Kyle said, then turned to Hal Jordan. "Hal, if you please."

Clearing his throat, Hal said, "The Justice League is a UN-authorized peacekeeping and humanitarian organization that is led by and oversees the world's superheroes. It was officially founded five years ago following the Imperium's invasion of Earth, when the superheroes Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, and a fellow Green Lantern from Earth named John Stewart joined forces to fend them off. Rather than go their separate ways afterwards, the experience convinced them to combine their efforts. Over the years and following other conflicts, both based on Earth and from space, their numbers have only grown and expanded, with several hundred heroes and support staff from all over the world now filling its ranks. Many people, including supporters and detractors, believe that the Justice League is a superpower in and of itself, rivaling that of entire nations, if not the world."

As each superhero was named, the Green Lanterns formed holographic images depicting them. They immediately reminded Qrow of the colorful comic books that Ruby and Yang used to read. Part of him couldn't help but roll his eyes and scoff at the idea of someone dressing up in such silly outfits, calling themselves things like 'Superman' or 'Wonder Woman,' then going out to fight crime. But the other part had seen some huntsmen and huntresses who dressed pretty weirdly or got too into public personas, so he supposed that wasn't too outlandish. Looking to the side, he saw Willow studying the superheroes intensely, while Whitley scoffed and shook his head.

"What's the difference between a superhero and a vigilante?" Whitley asked in a dismissive tone, clearly not all that impressed with the concept. According to his mother, Whitley had a similar opinion towards huntsmen and huntresses, so Qrow supposed that wasn't too surprising. At the same time, he too was curious about the difference, and so he turned his attention towards Hal.

"At first, none," Hal admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "When the modern superhero movement first started around twenty years ago with the emergence of Batman and Superman, every superhero originally acted outside the confines of recognized law enforcement. Obviously, having such people go around, taking the law into their own hands, did not sit well with the authorities. During their first few years of operation, many police departments and government agencies even attempted to either curtail their activities or arrest them for, well, being vigilantes. While the concept of superheroes did exist in the United States and other countries around the world previously, they were always government sponsored and authorized. The predecessor to the Justice League, the Justice Society, was one such group who was founded by the US government in the early 1940s, then forced to disband when the government withdrew support in the late 1950s. These new superheroes were entirely independent, and were not afraid to take the authorities to task directly when they committed wrongdoing."

"Yet clearly they aren't trying to stop them anymore," Whitley pointed out, and Hal nodded. "Why? What changed?"

"The world did," Hal answered, then formed points of light in the holographic globe that represented cities in the United State. "Each city was different, their circumstances unique, but the overall story was the same. At first, the superheroes focused themselves on dealing with normal street crime. Gangs, drugs, violence, human trafficking, and so on. The situation in Gotham City, the home of Batman, was so bad and the police department so corrupt that the newly installed Commissioner Gordon, one of the only honest cops there at the time, even started willingly working with Batman nearly from the start. Then, after a few years, supervillains started showing up. People with either advanced technology, highly-developed skills, or even outright superpowers that regular law enforcement was simply unable to counteract. Superheroes could, and so a reluctant truce was formed where police departments would work with the superhero rather than against them."

Hal paused for a moment, then continued, "Overtime, the public grew to accept and even love the presence of superheroes. They were seen as selfless guardians putting themselves on the line to both protect people and make the world a better place. To many, they did it better than the actual authorities could. Superman in particular became an international icon, a symbol of truth, justice, and a brighter tomorrow," Hal revealed, a faint smile on his face.

Then his face fell and grew firm, then he said, "Then…Darkseid came."

"Darkseid?" Qrow asked, his eyes widening as he recognized the name. A moment later, Hal formed an image of the New God, and Qrow was taken aback as a tall, imposing, and intimidating figure whose skin looked more like rock than actual flesh stood before them. His thick, muscular arms were folded behind his back, and a dismissive, contemptuous face was looking over them all.

"Darkseid, the New God of Tyranny, and perhaps the greatest threat to the entire universe," Guy revealed, a deep scowl on his face as he looked up at the alien tyrant. "He invaded Earth ten years ago, seeking to conquer and enslave it while he searched for the Anti-Life Equation, intending to use it to bend the universe to his will. He nearly succeeded."

"You fought him off?" Qrow incredulously asked, remembering what Ozpin told them about Darkseid. They weren't able to get much, but all they really knew and cared about was that Brainiac was seemingly terrified of him. That alone said Darkseid was bad news, and to hear that Earth managed to fight him of all people off and remain standing was nothing to be dismissed.

"Yes, barely. Millions of people died, and entire countries fell into complete chaos," Guy said, scowling deeply as painful memories came to the forefront. "But, thanks to the efforts of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and countless other heroes, we persevered."

"The Darkseid War is what really changed things, and with how integral superheroes were in Earth's recovery, the desire to arrest any of them evaporated," Kyle declared. "As the years went by, more and more superheroes and supervillains emerged, and after the Justice League was founded the new status quo was written into law. Now all legally-recognized superheroes are a part of the Justice League. Those who operate outside of it are still considered to be vigilantes, but the Justice League tends to seek out people like that for recruitment."

"Kicking Darkseid's ass also got the universe's attention," Kilowog added as he briefly stopped working on Penny to look at the Remnantians, his face growing firm as he leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. "Brainiac's been beaten back a few times, including by us, but Darkseid? That's almost unheard of, especially by a planet the rest of the universe dismissed as a backwater."

Qrow's eyes widened even further, and he glanced over at Willow. She had the same expression on her face, then she turned towards Kilowog and asked, "Do…do you think Brainiac knows what Earth did?"

"If he didn't, I would be surprised. Any major spacefaring civilization worth their salt knows what Earth did," Kilowog answered, then smiled and huffed. "That little mudball's infamy only grew when they beat the Imperium, then fended off the Thanagarians a few years later when they attempted to annex them. Nowadays, most people in the cosmos stay clear of Earth unless they have no other choice, something to prove, or think that they'll be the ones to buck the trend."

"You know, I've heard rumors that the Guardians purposefully send cosmic threats towards Earth knowing that we'd take care of it," Guy said through narrowed, unamused eyes, and Kilowog laughed heartily.

"They'll deny that," Kilowog joked, and the four Green Lanterns chuckled. Qrow, Willow, and Whitley didn't find the humor in it as they simply stared at them with wide eyes and clenched jaws.

"…And you're taking us to this place?" Whitley whispered, and the Lanterns grew serious again as they nodded.

"Don't worry, unless you're trying to wreck the planet, Earth's pretty nice," Hal said with a faint smirk.

Qrow shook his head as he regained his composure, then began to think. After a few moments, he started to realize that perhaps this was perfect. By all accounts, Earth was more than capable of punching above its weight, so perhaps it could be a valuable ally in defeating Brainiac and rescuing the remains of Remnant. He thought back to his nieces and their friends, then looked up at the Green Lanterns.

Before he could say anything, Willow suddenly asked, "What about my daughter? How is she? What has she been doing here?"

"She and her friends were actually taken in by the Justice League as soon as they arrived," Kyle reported. "They've been working with them ever since as legally-recognized superheroes."

Qrow couldn't help but laugh, then proudly said, "Of course they did."

He shook his head, but his smile never once left. Knowing that despite suffering through perhaps the greatest hardship anyone could ever face they still kept their heads high and were fighting the good fight was a massive relief. At the same time, it fit his nieces so perfectly. Ruby and Yang were strong, tough girls, and they wouldn't let something like this break them. He was more than happy to know that he was right. Willow had a similar smile on her face, but Qrow couldn't place how Whitley felt.

"They'll be there to meet us when we get to Earth, right?" Willow asked, and Hal nodded.

"The Watchtower is already aware you're coming, and are making preparations as we speak," Hal answered as he smiled at all three Remnantians. "They'll be there waiting for you in the hangar bay when we arrive."

---

Watchtower

Geosynchronous Orbit, Earth

"WHERE ARE THEY?!"

"THEY'RE NOT ANSWERING THEIR COMMS!"

"SOMEONE GET EYES ON WEST TEXAS NOW!"

The Watchtower was awash with activity as the Justice League's support staff ran around like headless chickens, desperately trying to find their wayward heroes. Mr. Terrific was frantically typing into and scouring every single sensor array he could, with both Martian Manhunter and Batman working right beside him. Superman and Wonder Woman were prepping the hangar bay for the Interceptor's arrival, making sure that their guests would be immediately cared for. Hawkgirl and Green Lantern were currently coordinating with the Interceptor's approach, ensuring they would land safely. Everyone else was focused on the, frankly, far more important task of actually finding teams RWBY and JNPR. Something that they thought would've been easy, but had actually proven to be incredibly difficult for reasons they did not quite understand.

It all started when Hal first let them know a week prior that the Green Lanterns were about to engage Brainiac. The Justice League had immediately informed RWBY and JNPR of the development, who were understandably both ecstatic and nervous about the news. They almost even canceled their hunting trip with the Titans so that they could come up and wait at the Watchtower, but the Founders convinced them not to. At the time, there was no need to cancel their plans due to something completely out of their control.

A day later, when Hal informed the League of both the outcome of the battle against Brainiac, and more importantly who they recovered, that decision was proven to be unwise. The news that Ruby and Yang's uncle, Weiss' mother and brother, and their friend were all rescued from Brainiac's clutches was something none of them expected. It was far from unwelcome, and the Justice League had immediately began preparations for their arrival. At the same time, they began trying to contact RWBY and JNPR and let them know of the news. There was some debate of keeping it a happy surprise for their return, but Batman had almost immediately dissuaded them from doing that. As he put it, something as big as the rescue of their family was far too important to keep it a surprise.

Unfortunately, they almost immediately began running into problems trying to find RWBY and JNPR. Rather, they couldn't find them. Any attempts at communication went straight to voicemail, their scrolls completely unable to reach them. Same with the Titans. At first, it wasn't too big of a concern. They knew RWBY, JNPR, and Titans were perfectly safe, and they were hunting hogs in an area with poor cell reception. So it made sense they wouldn't just be able to call them. Superman had offered to fly out and find them himself to let them know the good news, but that was seen as excessive. That and he, and many of the other superheroes, still had responsibilities to their own territories and cities.

But that was nearly a week ago. Now the Interceptor was less than six hours away, and still there was no sign of RWBY and JNPR. Worries that simply weren't there before now sprung to the forefront, and it made Mr. Terrific sweat bullets. Even more so when Captain Atom was suddenly called away by the US government three days ago to deal with an incident at a nuclear waste site in West Texas. While Mr. Terrific doubted that the incident happening at the same time as their hog-hunting trip was anything more than a coincidence, he was still worried.

"Mr. Terrific, have you tried reaching them with the teleporter?" Martian Manhunter asked, and Mr. Terrific shook his head.

"They don't have their League ID cards on them," Mr. Terrific pointed out. "Those are still at their apartment in Metropolis. Without their cards, the teleporter can't lock onto them, and you don't want me to try and brute force it."

"This is exactly why you need to have your ID card on you at all times," Batman grumbled, continuing to type away at his station while working with Oracle to try and find them.

"I mean, it's not like any of us expected this," Mr. Terrific replied, briefly glancing at Batman. "Besides, RWBYJNPR were just going out to hunt hogs. Not exactly superhero—"

"Batman is not frustrated at RWBY and JNPR," Martian Manhunter interrupted, making Mr. Terrific pause. A moment later, he realized who Batman was actually frustrated with, and suddenly it all made sense.

"You're frustrated at Nightwing, aren't you?" Mr. Terrific asked, and Batman merely growled in response.

"He, of all people, should know better," Batman said, focusing his attention squarely on his monitor.

Mr. Terrific looked at the Caped Crusader for a moment, then he, too, went back to work. Now wasn't the time to focus on what should have been, although he was certain that Batman was going to give his adoptive son an earful when he got back. They had to get RWBY and JNPR to the Watchtower as soon as possible. After that, then they could worry about following proper protocol.

Then, much to Mr. Terrific's surprise, a direct communication came in. It was from Captain Atom, and once more his worries came to the forefront. Both Batman and Martian Manhunter were looking at him, and with a brief frown he answered the call.

"Captain Atom, report," Mr. Terrific said.

"Watchtower, I've made contact with teams RWBY, JNPR, and the Titans," Captain Atom revealed, and at once a collective sigh of relief echoed through the Watchtower. Mr. Terrific joined them, and he smiled as he began prepping the teleporter.

"That's excellent news. Where is your location?" Mr. Terrific asked, trying to track Captain Atom's ID card but finding difficulty. That wasn't too surprising, as the teleporter always had trouble latching onto the energy-based being. If it weren't for his dilustel skin, it would be impossible. But somehow the teleporter was having even more trouble. Nothing that Mr. Terrific couldn't work around, but still worrisome.

"We are currently in Andrews, Texas," Captain Atom revealed. Mr. Terrific was familiar with the area. While the city itself wasn't all too special, merely a small town with only fourteen thousand permanent residents calling it home, it was also close to a controversial nuclear-waste dump. The only one in the state. Obviously the incident Captain Atom had to respond to happened there, but why he ran into RWBY, JNPR, and the Titans at roughly the same time was still worrying.

"Alright, teleporter is primed," Mr. Terrific declared. "We are ready to—"

"Negative, we are not clear to teleport at this time," Captain Atom interrupted. "We are currently engaged. Once the target has been contained or eliminated, we'll be free to rejoin you at the Watchtower."

Mr. Terrific paused as his mind absorbed the information. He then quietly asked, "What are you trying to contain? Do you need assistance?"

"No, we should have it handled. As for what the target is…" Captain Atom paused, as though he was trying to give an answer that wouldn't be incriminating. After a moment, he released a breath then answered, "A wild animal fell into a nuclear waste dump site, became mutated, and has been on a rampage for the past three days."

"…It's a wild hog, isn't it?"

"The residents are calling it Hogzilla."

---

Andrews, Texas

Standing fifty-feet above the ground, a massive, bipedal, radioactive hog roared to the heavens. Its screech shattered windows, and sent terrified residents running for their lives as they covered their ears. Cars careened as they tried to get away, other parked vehicles were crushed underfoot as Hogzilla walked through town. Its red eyes burned with hatred as it ransacked the area, kicking away vehicles, smashing apart entire buildings with heavy swipes of its forelimbs, and digging into the earth with its massive tusks. Around it, Starfire, Miss Martian, and Captain Atom blasted the creature with energy beams, trying to keep it contained and away from the fleeing residents.

"THIS WAS NOT THE PLAN!" Starfire screamed as she ducked underneath Hogzilla's cloven hand, firing a rapid-fire stream of starbolts into its head.

"Focus, Starfire! We have to get these civilians to safety!" Captain Atom barked, swatting away Hogzilla's other hand before swooping in to deliver a powerful punch to its cheek. At the same time, Miss Martian fired her Martian Vision at the kaiju, burning the fur lining its chest. Hogzilla stumbled back, but was able to remain standing. The mutant pig leveled its gaze at all three heroes, its nostrils flaring as hot breath washed over them.

Then the superheroes' eyes widened as the fur spikes running along Hogzilla's spine began to pulse brightly. It opened its mouth, emitting the same ominous glow.

"MOVE!" Captain Atom ordered, pushing Starfire away while Miss Martian turned intangible and dived into the street just as a white-hot stream of blazing, irradiated breath slammed into Captain Atom. He was pushed back, slamming into the concrete and carving a deep trench in his wake. The atomic breath burned and melted the surrounding cars and buildings, but Captain Atom himself was completely unaffected. When the breath subsided, he remained unharmed, merely annoyed as he glared at Hogzilla. Starfire and Miss Martian took the opportunity to punch Hogzilla's head a few times just as Beast Boy ran behind it, turning into an ankylosaurus that made the mutated abomination trip over.

"BB, don't make it fall on the buildings! There could be people trapped in there!" Cyborg protested as he ran forward, firing his plasma-infused sonic cannon at Hogzilla.

"Raven already got them out, it's fine!" Beast Boy protested, turning into a Titanoboa to begin constricting the giant boar's chest, keeping it down.

True enough, Raven was finishing up with teleporting more and more of the residents out of the surrounding buildings, ushered along by Nightwing while Donna stood on top of a nearby rooftop, firing arrows from her bow towards its eyes. None of them, with the notable exception of Cyborg, were wearing their superhero costumes. They were still garbed in their hunting gear, and were armed as such, with only domino masks to hide their identities. None of them were expecting this to happen, and Nightwing especially was kicking himself for the lapse in judgement. He was not looking forward to the lecture his father was going to give him once this was over, especially since Captain Atom informed them that the Watchtower had been trying to reach them for nearly the past week.

But the Titans and Captain Atom weren't the only ones currently trying to put Hogzilla down. The entire police department of both the city and the county were taking part, firing their rifles and pistols into the creature's thick fur and hide. Overhead there were hog-hunting helicopters armed with machine guns circling around Hogzilla's body, raining fire. Any bullets that strayed too close to Beast Boy were absorbed by one of Raven's spells that encased him, acting like an energy shield and keeping her boyfriend safe. Team JNPR was taking part, with Jaune manning one of the helicopter's machine guns while Pyrrha and Nora helped to coordinate evacuations. Not only that, but so were all the hunters in the area, who jumped at the chance to grab their hunting rifles and try to lend a hand. Which is where Captain Atom saw Ruby, standing on top of a car with a red and black-painted bolt-action rifle held above her head, energetically addressing the crowd of armed civilians.

"Your whole life has been leading to this moment!" Ruby yelled as she walked back and forth. "Every hog, every deer, it's all led to this! We may not know how Hogzilla came to be—"

"Yes we do, it's our fault," Blake cut in from the side, an unamused, blank look on her face as she stared at her leader, but Ruby ignored her and kept going.

"—or why it ran into that pile of nuclear waste—"

"We were trying to kill it and it ran in there while fleeing for its life."

"—that probably shouldn't have been there in the first place—"

"It was a legal nuclear waste dump site."

"STOP INTERRUPTING MY SPEECH, NIGHTSHADE!" Ruby chastised, angrily shooting a glare at her teammate, who blankly met her gaze head on.

"Stop trying to shift blame for our mistakes," Blake countered. Ruby seethed and her nostrils flared, and she was about to protest further when one of the civilian hunters spoke up.

"Don't worry, ma'am. We understand," the young hunter said. "This kind of stuff just happens."

"…A feral hog running into a nuclear waste dump site and mutating into a giant monster, then proceeding to go on a rampage, just…happens?" Weiss incredulously asked, and the hunter merely shrugged.

"Eh, was bound to happen eventually," he pointed out. The Remnantians present could only look around in bafflement when all the other assembled civilians began nodding in agreement, their guilt overridden by confusion.

"How was something like this 'bound to happen?'" Weiss gesticulated wildly. "This isn't even how radioactive mutation is supposed to work! None of this nonsense with spontaneously growing mass from a normal animal into a giant monster with nuclear powers instead of immediately dying should be possible in the first place!"

"Hey, I'm no scientist, take it up with him," the man brushed off her tirade by hooking his thumb at the still rampaging crime-against-all-laws-of-biology-and-physics.

Ruby shook her head as she recollected herself, then began pacing back and forth as she shouted, "A day may come when the threats that assail us break our bodies and our spirits! A day where the walls that keep us safe come crashing down, letting the darkness through! But it is not this day! This day we fight! This day we defend our homes! Our families! Our friends and loved ones!"

The hunters began to roar and cheer as they let Ruby's speech lift up their spirits as she held her hunting rifle as high overhead as she could. Then, with a grimace on her face, she turned around and faced Hogzilla just as it ripped Beast Boy off of its body and began to stand up. She took aim and screamed, "ATTACK!"

The roar of the crowd became deafening as hundreds of guns were aimed towards the monster and fired. Hogzilla screeched and roared in pain, trying to shield itself with its arms. While the bullets themselves weren't hurting it too much on their own, the sheer volume of fire coming at all angles was still enough to disorient the creature. It wouldn't be enough to kill the monster, Ruby knew, but she already had a plan for that.

"Golden Dragon, are you ready?!" Ruby shouted towards a lone Jeep parked down the street, where she saw her sister and Ren loading various things into the vehicle.

"Almost!" Yang shouted back as she ripped the driver-side door off of its hinges, tossing it to the side and using the extra space to throw more items inside.

Ruby nodded, then petal-burst up to a nearby roof where she continued to fire her rifle. As she pulled the action back and loaded another round, she muttered, "Let's see you call my gun collection a waste now, Blake."

"I heard that!" Blake called out, firing her own semi-automatic AK-pattern rifle at Hogzilla.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO!" Ruby childishly replied, slapping in a new magazine while keeping up the fire.

"We're good!" she heard Yang call out, and Ruby smiled.

"Wonder Girl, Beast Boy, Raven, pin Hogzilla down!" Ruby ordered, then turned to her partner. "Ivory Mage, get the glyphs ready!"

"On it!" the superheroes cried out in unison.

Once again turning into a Titanoboa, Beast Boy wrapped his massive, serpentine body around Hogzilla's legs, drawing them closely together. Running around to the back, Wonder Girl fired an arrow with rope attached to it past Hogzilla's neck, which arced back around in a seemingly impossible trick shot to let her grab hold of it. She pulled as hard as she could, forcing Hogzilla's body to lean backwards. At the same time, Raven's eyes flashed black as she formed two massive portals on either side of the monster pig. Colossal chains sprung out from them, attaching to Hogzilla's wrists and pulling them aside. Hogzilla thrashed and screeched, trying to break free, but it was no use.

"Captain Atom, keep its mouth open!" Ruby ordered.

"Acknowledged!" Captain Atom said as he flew up, placing himself right in front of Hogzilla's muzzle.

Grunting in exertion, Captain Atom lifted up the top half of the beast's jaws while pushing down with his legs, forcing it to open as wide as it possibly could. Trying to shake him off, Hogzilla once again fired its atomic breath, but Captain Atom merely braced himself and tightened his grip on its tusks. The bright-blue fire washed over him, and when it dissipated he was completely unaffected and unmoved. Ruby saw Blake get into position on a building next to him, with Starfire picking her up and preparing to throw. Miss Martian, meanwhile, positioned herself right in the middle of Hogzilla's forehead, then her eyes flashed white as she telepathically began assaulting its mind.

Yang, meanwhile, sat in the driver's seat of their vehicle, the very one that they had brought with them on their hunting trip. It was packed to the brim, nearly overstuffed with propane tanks, gasoline canisters, and anything else they could find that would explode. Even with her Aura fully up, Yang couldn't help but feel nervous. Her eyes kept glancing at them as she revved the engine, her hands idly gliding against the top of the stick.

"Ride or die," she told herself to remain calm, using the phrase as a mantra of sorts. She watched as Ren and Pyrrha cleared a path for her in the middle of the crowd, with Weiss forming a series of acceleration glyphs along the route. Yang's breathing turned harsh as determination filled her, and she gripped the steering wheel as tightly as she could.

"Now!" Ruby shouted.

As soon as the words left her sister's lips, Yang shifted the car into drive and slammed her foot down on the petal. It took off, reaching sixty miles per hour in only a few seconds. When she hit the first acceleration glyph, the car went even faster. Its speed further increased with each glyph, and soon the entire road became a blur that Yang was only barely able to comprehend. When she reached the last gravity glyph, one that launched the car into the air straight towards Hogzilla's open mouth, Yang dove out the side. She rolled along the ground, coming to a stop at Cyborg's feet.

Quickly shooting up to her knees, Yang watched as the car soared through the air. As it did, Miss Martian turned intangible and flew away while Blake was thrown by Starfire towards Captain Atom, latching onto his side before pulling both of them away with one of her shadow clones. Not even a second later, the car embedded itself deeply into Hogzilla's throat, with only the back still visible. It violently shook its head from side to side in an attempt to dislodge the foreign object, but it was unable to.

Scrunching up her face, Ruby chambered a round then took aim at a propane tank sticking out the back of the Jeep. She took a deep breath, then began to fire. Unfortunately, with how much movement Hogzilla was making, the Red Reaper was finding it difficult to land her shot.

As she chambered the last round of her magazine, she muttered, "Smile, you son of a g—"

She fired the round, cutting herself off. A faint spark could be seen as the bullet made contact with the propane tank, and not even a second later it ignited the gas held within. The car-turned-improvised bomb exploded, taking Hogzilla's head with it.

"YEAH!" the crowd and superheroes cheered as Hogzilla's lifeless body fell to the ground. The cheers were short lived as they watched chunks of meat and gore rain down, followed by gallons of blood spewing out the hole where its head used to be.

"Oh, oh God…This is so much messier than when we do this to Grimm," Jaune muttered as he looked down at the mangled corpse of the creature, with Captain Atom frantically flying around it and the assembled people so that he could absorb the harmful radiation. The last thing anyone needed was for a rise in cancer and radiation poisoning from contaminated hog meat and blood.

The others merely stood there, a sense of relief filling them. When they had set out to go hog hunting, the last thing any of them expected was having to deal with a kaiju of their own accidental creation. At least the citizens were safe, with most jubilant over their success.

Then Ren spoiled the moment by pointing out, "Wasn't that Jeep a rental?"

Weiss was silent at first, then she hung her head, sighed, pulled out her scroll that was now usable since there wasn't a living pile of radiation walking around, and began to walk away. She hit a speed dial while muttering, "I need to make a claim."

"I don't think our superhero insurance policy covers our own actions."

"…I know," Weiss admitted, her voice filled with suffering.

As the rest of crowd began to die down, someone then asked, "Hey, do y'all think we can eat this? That's a lot of pork. Could turn this into a victory barbeque."

"What? No!" Wonder Girl responded. "That pork is contaminated with Hera-knows how much radiation. If you eat it, all you're going to do is give yourself cancer!"

"…I mean, can't that shiny guy just…get rid of the radiation?" another person asked.

Slowly, everyone turned to look at Captain Atom, who was still busy absorbing the harmful radiation from Hogzilla's corpse. When he noticed everyone was looking at him expectantly, it took him a moment to realize what they wanted. Once he did, he sighed and reluctantly nodded, then said, "Give me a few minutes, just…clear the area while I do it."

The entire town cheered, while all the superheroes could only groan.

---

Watchtower

Geosynchronous Orbit, Earth

12:30 PM (Central Standard Time)

Superman patiently waited in front of the teleporter pad. He and the rest of the Justice League had been in constant contact with Captain Atom, teams RWBY and JNPR, and the Titans as they finished the cleanup in Andrews. Both League support staff and the appropriate authorities were now lending their assistance, and by now practically every single news outlet in the country was covering the incident. Having a fifty-foot tall, irradiated feral hog attack a small town in Texas before being killed by superheroes and the townsfolk, only to then start butchering its corpse to have a massive barbeque, tended to catch people's attention. It had turned into a veritable media circus, but Superman had to admit it was somewhat entertaining to watch. Especially since casualties were so low. He particularly enjoyed the cell-phone video someone that taken of the fight itself that was then overlayed with the Godzilla theme. In just a few hours, it already had three-million views.

But Superman wasn't particularly focused on that. Instead, he was waiting for RWBY and JNPR to be beamed onto the space station. With everything that had gone down, Captain Atom simply didn't have time to pull the teenagers aside and give them the news. Cleaning up Hogzilla took immediate precedence, a decision that Superman and the rest of the Justice League agreed with. It was decided that Superman himself would let them know, and now that much of the work in Andrews was complete, it was time to bring them aboard.

"Teleporter online," Mr. Terrific spoke up, his voice echoing across the empty room.

Superman took in a deep breath and straightened himself, watching as the teleporter pads lit up. A faint whine filled the air, nearly imperceptible to a normal person. But to Superman, it was like the ringing of bells. He could see the molecules assemble before him, turning from a shapeless cloud of atoms into separate and defined individuals. Within a few moments, teams RWBY, JNPR, and the Titans were beamed onto the Watchtower. Each had blank, unamused and tired expressions on their faces, their bodies covered in dirt and grime, and a heavy stench coming off of them. They carrying coolers behind them, and a quick glance with his X-Ray Vision told Superman that the coolers were filled with raw pork, just waiting to be cooked.

"…RWBY, JNPR, Titans," Superman began.

"…Superman," Ruby flatly replied, and Superman could practically see the frustration coming off of her and everyone else even without the use of his enhanced forms of vision.

After a moment, Superman said, "You all had a productive week."

Ruby simply stared at Superman, then shifted her gaze towards the red and white cooler filled with hog meat she was rolling behind her. Her breathing turned harsh, and as she slowly turned her head back towards Superman, the Kryptonian wondered if he said something wrong.

"'Productive,'" Ruby repeated, then humorlessly laughed. "Yeah, that's one way of putting it. Productive…as productive as things could be, you know, when a nice, relaxing hunting trip with friends turns into a kaiju fight!"

Ruby suddenly shouted, making Superman wince. Ruby then pointed towards a tired Miss Martian and ranted, "We fought Hogzilla for three days straight, unable to stop it as it got bigger and bigger and bigger! With no sleep! If it weren't for Raven's spells, I would've collapsed by now! Do you know how many times M'gann had to turn into a giant to punch it in the face?! I LOST COUNT! And then all the bullets we fired at it that did absolutely nothing! We didn't have our gear on us, which made it even more difficult! Especially since we ran out of ammo in the first day, and it wasn't until the very end when we got any more because it finally attacked a city!"

Ruby began to laugh, and both Superman and the rest of the young superheroes were looking at her with worried expressions, some even taking a few steps back. Ruby then continued, "The best part, oho, the best part was that we made Hogzilla in the first place! We were hunting that hog, I was even the one who shot it. But did that kill it? Nah, instead it just wounded the animal, causing it to run off, dig underneath a fence, and fall into a nuclear waste dump! Where, instead of dying like it should have, it turned into a fifty-foot tall, fire breathing monster straight out of a Godzilla movie!"

"Okay, Ruby, settle down," Superman tried to placate the enraged girl, only for Ruby to round upon him and angrily point her finger into Superman's chest.

"Do not tell me to settle down!" Ruby protested. "I am an emotionally charged young girl and if I want to rant, then I will rant! There is not a thing you can tell me that will make me—"

"We got word back from the Green Lanterns about their battle against Brainiac," Superman interrupted. "It's why we were trying to contact you all week."

At once Ruby's mood turned a complete one-eighty, going from enraged to surprised, calm, and curious. The rest of RWBY and JNPR did as well, along with the Titans who had hopeful looks on their faces. M'gann couldn't help but peek into Superman's mind, then she gasped in surprise, her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hands. The rest of the Titans looked at her in surprise, not knowing what prompted that reaction, but were unable to ask.

"Oh, how did it go?" Ruby asked in a hopeful tone of voice. Superman took a deep breath, then warmly smiled at them.

"The Green Lanterns weren't able to apprehend Brainiac, but they did drive him back and inflicted a lot of damage," Superman revealed, and a collective sigh of relief went out from all of the Remnantians.

"Oh, thank goodness," Pyrrha said, holding her hand to her chest. But before she or any of them could ask anything else, however, Superman spoke up again.

"There's more," Superman revealed, then looked firmly at team RWBY. After a moment, he said, "Ruby, Weiss, Yang, you three might want to sit down."

All three girls merely looked at Superman, then Weiss raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why?"

Superman took another breath, then answered, "In the process of driving Brainiac off, Hal Jordan led a boarding party into Brainiac's mothership. They managed to break some people out that he was experimenting on. Among those people…were Qrow Branwen, Willow and Whitley Schnee, and Penny Polendina. They're on their way here right now, and should be at the Watchtower in about three hours."

If the teleporter bay could become any quieter, Superman doubted it was possible. Everyone stared incredulously at Superman, none more so then Ruby, Weiss, and Yang. Their eyes widened more than they ever had before, and their jaws hung loose. The rest of the Remnantians' eyes widened as well, and they slowly turned to look at the three girls. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang were staring at Superman, with their knees beginning to buckle and shake.

"…What?" Ruby whispered, and Superman merely nodded as he smiled at her.

It proved to be too much for the sixteen-year-old girl, who fell onto her butt while continuing to stare up at him, tears beginning to spill out of her eyes. Weiss slowly sat down on top of her cooler, covering her mouth with her hands as she tried not to sob. Only Yang was able to remain standing, but even as her jaw moved up and down, no words escaped from her lips.

---

6:15 PM (Central Standard Time)

Ruby nervously paced around the hangar bay, nibbling on her fingernails as she waited for the Interceptor to arrive. Her eyes were glued to the void of space, straining them so that she might catch a glimpse of the spacecraft. The rational part of her mind told her that was impossible, that space was far too big and a spacecraft far too small to be seen with the naked eye until it was right on top of them, but the rest didn't care. Beside her, Weiss and Yang were in similar states, equally nervous and excited over what was coming.

"How do I look? Do I look presentable?" Weiss hastily asked, turning towards Yang while puffing up her hair slightly. Yang quickly glanced over her then nodded.

"You look fine. Same as the last ten times you asked me," Yang replied, then turned to look out the hangar bay doors. "Where are they?"

"They should be here soon, don't worry," Superman said. "Just a few minutes out."

"Are they hurt? Healthy? Do they need anything?" Weiss immediately asked in a near panic, but Superman shook his head.

"They're fine, Weiss. A bit hungry and thirsty, but—"

"Guys, start cooking the pork!" Weiss immediately ordered, turning around to look at team JNPR and the Titans.

Nora flashed a salute, then ran off to do what was requested. Jaune, Ren, and Pyrrha awkwardly left after her, as did most of the Titans except for Cyborg. While they didn't know much about the exact condition their family and friends were in, they did know that Penny's current state required Cyborg's presence. A worrying sign, but one they could address when the Interceptor arrived.

Besides Cyborg, only Blake remained from their teams, but as she nervously looked around the hangar she got the feeling that perhaps she shouldn't be there. That this was a family affair, and that by staying she would be intruding on it. One pleading look from Yang, though, told her to stay. So she did, although she couldn't help but think about what horrors they had gone through. Being subjected to Brainiac's direct whims for so long, turned into human guinea pigs, Blake could hardly imagine a worse fate. Same with the cities themselves. What had happened inside them while they were gone? Had the remnants of society completely fallen apart, had they miraculously managed to remain somewhat functional? While she was certain Qrow, Willow, and Whitley would be able to provide some answers, as well as the sequence of events that led to their capture and rescue in the first place, the realistic part of her knew it wasn't anything good.

There was also a tiny bit of her that was jealous of her friends. Jealous that they managed to have family members rescued while the fates of her parents remained clouded. She knew Jaune and Pyrrha felt the same way, but just like them Blake pushed that thought out of her mind as much as she could. Now wasn't the time to focus on that. Besides, part of her was also relieved that her parents weren't rescued from Brainiac's clutches. Mostly because of what that implied. When Brainiac captured Ruby, setting into motion the chain of events that led them to Earth in the first place, he only did it because of Ruby's silver eyes. A 'genetic anomaly' as he called it. Undoubtedly he had captured the Schnees, Ruby and Yang's uncle, and Penny for similar reasons.

But Blake could understand Brainiac's interest in Willow, Whitley, and Penny. She had first-hand experience in seeing just how expansive and versatile the Schnee Family Semblance was, and Penny was a gynoid who had a soul. It was only natural for someone to be curious about them. But, from what Ruby and Yang told her about their uncle Qrow, he didn't have the same unique features. He was just a huntsman. A really good huntsman, one of the best in the world according to their own biased accounts, but not something that on its own demanded Brainiac's personal attention. If there was one thing she learned since the beginning of her time on Earth, it was that things were not always what they seemed. That a single thread out of place could often lead to something no one could've expected.

Right now, that thread was standing out completely in the open, and Blake fully intended to see where it went. She knew that the rest of her friends and the entire Justice League, especially Batman, had noticed the same thing. But that was for later. Right now, the most important thing was reuniting loved ones, something she was greatly looking forward to.

"Interceptor on approach. ETA, two minutes," Mr. Terrific announced over the Watchtower's intercom. As the words echoed across the hangar bay, lights flared and support staff moved into position.

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang felt their breaths hitch, and they quickly shot their attention towards the translucent energy barrier that kept the air inside the Watchtower from being sucked out into the void of space. At first, they saw nothing. But then they noticed one of the points of light they previously thought was a star was actually moving. Realizing that it was a spacecraft, the three girls' minds ground to a complete stop. Suddenly their reunion with their family members became all too real, and an irrational fear that it was fake or an illusion sprung to the forefront of their minds. They knew the Justice League wouldn't deceive them like that, not even Batman, but still the fear persisted.

Then the Interceptor fully came into view, allowing them to actually see what a Green Lantern starship looked like. Similar to the Javelin in overall profile, the Interceptor appeared to have two sections. The first was a pointed, triangular cockpit. The second was a round, circular aft area which housed the engines, a wing on either side, and most likely anything the crew would need for long voyages. The ship itself had a primarily white color scheme with neon-green strips and lines accentuating its features. It was a very visually appealing spacecraft, but the Remnantians were far more focused on who was inside.

The Interceptor then gently flew into the hangar, passing through the energy barrier and hovering to a stop over a marked landing pad. As it touched down, it kicked up air that brushed over the assembled superheroes and support staff, making team RWBY's hair ruffle. All of their attention was focused onto the spacecraft, homing in on an opening door. A set of stairs, made from neon-green hardlight, formed and led down to the metal floor. At first, no one appeared, and the world seemed to pause.

Then Ruby saw a figure step out of the spacecraft. It was a Green Lantern, Hal Jordan if they remembered correctly. He only just got onto the steps when someone else emerged who frantically brushed past him, and Ruby and Yang's eyes widened.

"Ruby, Yang!" Uncle Qrow yelled out, his eyes shooting around the room to try and find his nieces. It took him a few moments, but then he locked eyes with them. For both parties, the world ground to a halt, and it was as though no one else existed except for them. At first, none of them moved, just staring at each other as though it was hard to believe that they were real and actually there.

Then, as Qrow took a step to run over, he was suddenly tackled by a red cloud of rose petals. He fell back to the ground, and saw Ruby was tightly wrapped around his chest with both her arms and legs. She was sobbing, blubbering incoherently into his shirt, trying to say words but unable to form them. Qrow stared at his niece for a moment, and he tried to keep his composure. His attempt almost immediately failed, and he too fell into a nearly incomprehensible mess as he tightly hugged her as well, hot tears trailing down his face and falling onto her head. A moment later, he felt Yang join them in the mess, and all three simply sat there on the hangar bay floor, not caring if anyone was staring at them.

Weiss and Blake watched as Ruby and Yang reunited with their uncle, but Weiss' attention was then shifted back to the open door. Two other Green Lanterns emerged, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner from the looks of it. They were escorting two people behind them, and the appearance of Willow and Whitley made Weiss' breath hitch. Like Ruby and Yang before her, the world outside of her mother and younger brother seemed to evaporate, leaving only them behind. When Willow and Whitley made eye contact with Weiss, they stared at her as their bodies went still, as though they could hardly believe what they were seeing.

Then Weiss regained feeling in her legs, and she ran over towards them. Willow and Whitley did as well, leaving the Green Lanterns behind just as Kilowog exited the spacecraft, the flight of stairs turning into a ramp while he carried Penny's broken body out. Just before the Schnees could embrace, they came to a stop right in front of each other. Both parties were breathing heavily, looking at each other from head to toe.

"Mom, Whitley, you're…you're…" Weiss began, tears coming out of her eyes. She moved to hug them, but awkwardly stopped herself. While she was ecstatic to be in this situation at all, her family dynamic before Brainiac's invasion made her unsure of what to do. Especially when she remembered how, at first, she was only really worried about her older sister and had completely dismissed the other members of her family. A memory that filled with her with immeasurable guilt and shame. Emulating Ruby, Yang, and Qrow seemed appropriate, but she didn't know if that was natural for her and her family.

Then, much to her surprise, Weiss heard Willow's breath hitch, then found herself embraced by her. With wide eyes, Weiss could only look up at her mother who openly sobbed then said, "Weiss…I'm so…so happy you're okay…"

Weiss stared into her mother's eyes, then she too began to cry before returning the hug. Whitley awkwardly stood off to the side with a fragile look in his eyes, looking as though he wanted to join in but unsure if he should. Willow noticed this, then with a smile on her face she held out her arm and beckoned him to join her. It took him a moment to work up the nerve, but then Whitley too joined in the group hug.

Everyone in the Watchtower stood there and watched with smiles on their faces as the two families were reunited. No one moved for several minutes, with only the sounds of their cries and sobbing filling the air. Then Superman cleared his throat and began walking over to both parties. As he approached, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang finally managed to regain control of themselves. Wiping away the tears and snot, they broke away from Qrow, Willow, and Whitley and stepped before the Man of Steel.

"Everyone," Ruby said with a smile on her face, "this is Superman."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, all of you," Superman said in perfect Vytalian. Willow, Whitley, and Qrow simply stared at the Kryptonian, their eyes widening in recognition.

"…You can speak our language too?" Qrow asked, and Superman nodded.

"Yes. I learned how to speak and read it while we were developing a translation software for you," Superman answered, then pulled out three pairs of earbuds and handed them to the rescued Remnantians. Understanding what their purpose was, and urged on by Ruby and Yang, Qrow took a pair and put them into his ears. A moment later, Willow and Whitley did the same, though they were much slower to do so.

"Please, follow me," Superman gently requested once they all had the earpieces in place. "I'm certain we have a lot to talk about."

Qrow looked at Willow then back towards Yang and Ruby. He pursed his lips, then nodded and said, "Yes, we do."

He focused on Yang, and immediately knew the first thing he had to talk to them about. Without turning to Superman, he casually asked, "Quick question, is there a room in here you don't particularly care what happens in it?"

Superman was confused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, we have a holographic training room. Why?"

"Perfect," Qrow said before clearing his throat uncomfortably. He wasn't particularly looking forward to this discussion, especially when this should be a happy occasion, but he knew it was better to get it out of the way. Hopefully, their reaction wouldn't be too destructive.

---

"I'm going to kill him," Weiss all-too-calmly declared as she stomped back and forth in front of her mother and younger brother, who were seated on a cushioned chair inside a viewing area for the holographic training room. From the wall and floors, they could feel intense tremors coming through, but Weiss did not concern herself with their source.

"GOD DAMN IT!" Yang's muffled voice was heard as she destroyed something else in the arena. A perfectly understandable reaction, in Weiss' opinion. After hearing what her wretched excuse of a father did to her mother and brother, she was half a second away from going in there herself. She would have, had Yang not beaten her to the punch.

"I am going to kill him," Weiss repeated, grinding her teeth together while clenching her fists so tightly that her Aura around her hands was flickering. As she walked back and forth, she seethed and continued to rant, "I knew he was a horrible man, but this? I could've never conceived that he'd… Just when I thought he couldn't sink any lower-!"

"I know exactly how you feel, Weiss," Willow said, her voice low and filled with rage. Beside her, Whitley was just as angry, letting the charged emotions fill him. Willow then continued, "That man…he destroyed our family, twisted it into his own image, then betrayed his own wife and son to save himself."

Scowling, she looked up at her daughter and hatefully declared, "As soon as he surrendered us, Jacques Gelé rendered our marriage null. He is no longer my husband as far as I'm concerned."

"As far as I'm concerned, he's no longer my father, either," Weiss replied, breathing heavily as she barely managed to keep her emotions relatively in check.

Whitley looked up at her, then asked, "Do you actually mean to kill him?"

Weiss looked at him and prepared to answer affirmatively, then stopped herself. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Weiss closed her eyes then admitted, "As much as I would love to shove Myrtenaster down his throat…no. I don't think I could. Not really."

Whitley nodded in agreement. He, too, was of the same opinion towards the man he used to call his father. The man he spent his entire life trying to appease so that he would be spared the same expectations and mistreatment he watched his older sisters go through. While they had the luxury of fleeing to greener pastures, the military for Winter and another Kingdom for Weiss, he could not. Whitley Schnee did everything possible to emulate his father while masking his true opinions, but look where that got him. He got tossed away without even a second thought. Whitley already resented his father, but now he despised him. Yet, for as much as he hated him, and knew he deserved it, Whitley doubted he could actually go through with killing his father. Same for his mother, who had more reason than any of them to do so.

There was only one person Whitley knew who would actually go through with it, then he said, "Winter probably would."

"Oh, without question," Weiss immediately agreed, and Willow nodded.

"She always was the most direct out of all of us," Willow added. "Once she sets her mind on something, there is very little that can convince her otherwise."

Whitley nodded, then suggested, "Do you think she'd shoot him or stab him?"

Weiss was silent for a moment, then answered, "She doesn't normally use any guns, so she'd probably stab him. Or she might use her summons to do it instead?"

Both Whitley and Willow thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement as well. It was then that a nervous Ruby awkwardly chuckled and quietly spoke up, "Should, uh, I be worried about you…discussing a possible murder… and treating it like it's family bonding?"

Weiss waved her partner off, "Don't worry, Ruby, it's fine. We're just…venting."

She breathed harshly through her nose to calm herself down more, then felt another tremor. Looking at her partner, she then said, "Go help Yang. She needs it a lot more than I do."

Ruby looked at her partner for a moment, then reluctantly nodded and walked away. As she did, she grumbled, "First Yang tells me to help Weiss, then Weiss tells me to help Yang… I'm their leader, how am I supposed to help both if they tell me to help someone else?"

"Just keep doing what you're doing, Ruby," Wonder Woman told her as she passed the Red Reaper by, then continued going towards the Schnees. She was carrying cups of water that she handed to all three of them, who all graciously took the offering.

"Thank you, Princess Diana," Willow said, a genuine smile on her face as the Amazon sat down next to them. A nearly luminescent blush erupted across Whitley's face as he looked at her, then he quickly shot his attention elsewhere. Unfortunately, his gaze landed on Black Canary, and a similar reaction ensued to where he decided looking down at the floor was the safest spot. Diana merely chuckled at his reaction, having witnessed it countless times before, then hardened her face.

"Willow, Whitley, I just wanted to let you know that if you two need anything at all, please feel free to come to me. You need only but to ask," Wonder Woman offered. When Willow smiled and nodded appreciatively, Wonder Woman nodded back, then declared, "I also want you to know this: you are not victims, neither from Jacques or Brainiac. Both of you are far stronger than that. Far stronger than either of them could ever be. Don't give them any more power by thinking of yourselves as such."

Willow and Whitley looked up at Diana, their eyes widening. Willow then said, "Thank you. I… I'll keep that in mind."

Diana smiled again, and Ruby did as well from behind the corner. Happy that her partner and her family were being taken care of, she continued down to the entrance of the holographic training arena. There she saw Qrow, Blake, Hawkgirl and the Flash standing in front of the door, watching through a window as Yang continued to tear apart wave after wave of some of the most powerful and dangerous foes on Earth. Criminals, supervillains, Grimm, anything she could think of.

"She's taking it rather well," Qrow noted as Yang hurled a man wearing a balaclava over his head into the wall, who dissipated into static as soon as it made contact.

"You call this well?" Hawkgirl asked, watching and analyzing Yang who continued to fight and vent her frustrations. "Hmm, good form."

"Given that she just learned her mother sold everyone out and went to work for Brainiac, was the one who took me to him then tried to prevent me from escaping," Qrow pointed out, hummed for a moment in emphasis, then nodded and said, "yeah, this is about as well as I could've expected."

Hawkgirl glanced at Qrow, raised an eyebrow, then asked, "What was your worst case scenario?"

"A lot more property damage and broken bones."

"Ah," Hawkgirl replied, then nodded. "Yeah, seems about right."

The veteran huntsman nodded in agreement, and everyone simply stood there and watched for several more minutes. Being much closer to the action, Ruby could practically feel each and every punch Yang was throwing, some of which nearly made her shift her footing. She suddenly became a lot more nervous about trying to go in and comfort her in Yang's time of need, but still she pressed on.

"Shouldn't, uh, we go in there before she hurts herself?" Flash asked, wincing as Yang took a harsh blow from a holographic Ursa Major.

"Nah, she'll tire herself out eventually," Qrow replied, then glanced at Flash from the corner of his eye, smirked, and asked, "Why? You want to go in there and tell her to stop?"

Flash was silent at first as he looked at Qrow, then shifted his gaze towards Yang who had both recovered and was now in the process of violently ripping the Ursa's head off, spiked spine in tow. He blankly stared at her, then held up his hands and declared, "No thanks, I choose life."

Both Qrow and Hawkgirl laughed at the admission, and Blake had to cover her mouth quickly to stop herself from joining in. Ruby didn't bother, and Qrow quickly glanced over at her. A genuine smile graced his lips, and he reached out to bring his beloved niece closer to his side.

"Hey there, Rubes," Qrow said, ruffling Ruby's hair who smiled and let him do it. "How's Weiss doing?"

"Oh, she's doing…okay," Ruby said, then quietly admitted, "They…may be planning on murdering her father, though."

"Ah, right. After what he did, sounds appropriate," Hawkgirl replied with a curt nod, drawing everyone's attention.

"Shayera!" Flash protested, only for Hawkgirl to scoff.

"Oh come on. After hearing what he did, you've got to admit he deserves it," she pointed out. "That's the punishment he'd get for pulling that stunt on Thanagar."

"Yeah, but…" Flash responded, to which Hawkgirl merely raised her hand at him.

"Exactly," Hawkgirl said, turning her head to look back at Yang. Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to argue with her, Flash huffed then disappeared in a red blur. The air was kicked up as he left, but while Hawkgirl, Blake, and Ruby didn't even react, Qrow shot his head over to the stairs in surprise.

"…Wow, that guy is fast," Qrow admitted, and Ruby nodded.

"The Flash is called 'the Fastest Man Alive' for a reason," Ruby announced, and Qrow nodded before going back to look at Yang.

"Yeah, no kidding," he muttered, then turned to look at Hawkgirl. Noticing him looking at her, Hawkgirl turned her head to look back at the veteran huntsman then smirked while resting her hand on her hip.

"What, see something you like? Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm already taken," Hawkgirl announced, but Qrow quickly raised his hands and shook his head.

"No, not that," he protested, only for Hawkgirl to laugh and slap his shoulder.

"Relax, I'm just joking with you," she said, then pointed to her feathery wings and added, "I know what you were actually looking at. Most people do."

Qrow nodded in relief, then admitted, "Honestly, when the Lanterns told me Thanagarians were 'bird-people,' I was expecting a bit more than basically just a particular kind of faunus. But, given how many aliens I saw who looked like humans with different colored skins, I suppose I set myself up for failure there."

"Hey, I least I look more 'alien' than Superman," Hawkgirl added, and Qrow chuckled.

"Yeah, no kidding," he laughed and shook his head. Looking back through the window, he then remarked, "Still, hard to believe all of this. Just six months ago the most I had to deal with was Grimm trying to destroy civilization. Now my civilization has actually been destroyed by an alien cyborg, I'm in a space station orbiting another planet, and most of the aliens I've met are either completely out there or look just like me."

"Well, maybe not just like you. I doubt everyone can pull off the 'scruffy-rogue' look," Hawkgirl joked and smiled, prompting Qrow to let out a deep laugh.

Hawkgirl laughed as well, and Ruby smiled at her uncle making friends with some of the people she admired the most. Walking over to Blake, Ruby asked, "How are you doing?"

Blake nodded, then said, "Doing good."

Recognizing the emotions that Blake was trying to hide, Ruby whispered, "You're worried about your parents, aren't you?"

Blake hung her head and sighed, then admitted, "That obvious, huh?"

Ruby nodded sadly, then placed her hand on Blake's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine."

Blake smiled at her, and Ruby nodded back. Looking at the door, Ruby took in a deep breath, braced herself, then entered the training room. She had to duck underneath a thrown League of Shadows assassin, but kept going as she walked up to Yang.

"Yang," Ruby called out, but Yang dismissed her as she continued to punch anything in sight.

"Ruby, I already told you, I'm fine!" Yang insisted, her eyes burning red as she pounded a holographic robot into dust. "Go help Weiss, she needs it more than me!"

Watching as Yang continued to fight, Ruby was unconvinced. She briefly waited a little more, but as she saw Yang's Aura continue to dip, and sweat pour down her head, she knew this had to stop. Hardening her face, Ruby then spoke up and ordered, "J'onn, shut it down."

Without missing a beat, almost as though he was just waiting for Ruby to give the word, the holographic training arena powered down. All the buildings and streets surrounding them, along with every enemy Yang had been fighting, ceased to exist, leaving them in a round tube of light-grey metal.

Yang rounded on her sister, angrily asking, "Why'd you shut it off! I told you I was fine!"

"No, you weren't," Ruby countered. As Yang continued to seethe, Ruby calmly stepped forward and said, "Yang, I know you're upset. Believe me, I am too. I know how—"

"Don't! Do not tell me you know how I feel, because you can't!" Yang harshly interrupted which Ruby took in stride. Realizing what she just said, Yang's face fell and her eyes turned light blue. She then said, "Ruby, I'm—"

"It's okay," Ruby replied, giving her sister a warm smile as she gently hugged her. "You're upset, and you have every right to be. You're right, I don't know how you feel right now. I can't even begin to imagine it. But I know she's hurt you, more than anyone else, and I just want you to know that I'm here. I just don't want you to use her as an excuse to destroy yourself."

"She's right," Qrow spoke up, walking over to rejoin Yang in the center of the arena, a deep frown on his face. "Raven's nothing more than a short-sighted coward, Yang, and I saw just how low she's willing to go to keep herself alive. You're stronger than she ever was, both of you. Don't let her make you act like this. That gives her more credit than she deserves."

Yang looked at her sister and uncle, then felt hot tears pool around her eyes. She returned her sister's hug and buried her face into Ruby's shoulder, crying, "Dammit…dammit…"

Walking over, Qrow hugged Yang back and whispered, "It's going to be okay. We're going to get through this, together."

Ruby and Yang looked up at their uncle, both crying and smiling. Qrow sniffed a few times as he smiled back, and all three warmly wrapped themselves together in yet another hug. After a few moments, Qrow pulled away. He prepared to say something else, only for a new presence to make himself known.

"Qrow, Ruby, Yang," Batman suddenly spoke, startling Qrow and making him jump back.

"Gagh! Dammit, stop doing that!" Qrow demanded. Batman merely stared at the veteran huntsman without saying anything, noticing but not acknowledging the faint glares that Ruby and especially Yang were giving him. Qrow noticed those as well, which only increased his own.

"Once you are ready, we need to discuss everything that's happened since Remnant's destruction," Batman said. "Hawkgirl will lead you to the conference room."

"Oh, yeah… Right…" Ruby muttered, just now remembering that there were other important things they needed to talk about. Qrow stared at Batman for a moment, then down at his nieces who looked up at him.

He knew that this 'Batman' was absolutely right. There were a lot of things that needed to be discussed. Not just what happened since Remnant was bottled, but perhaps even before. But that was what had him worried the most. The knowledge he had gained since working with Ozpin was perhaps some of the most important he could give, and with the Grimm apparently a rising threat on Earth, it might be worth sharing. At the same time, he'd only just met the Justice League, and he wasn't certain they could be trusted. But, as he looked at Ruby and Yang, knowing that they had gone out of their way to help and support them over the past few months, he supposed he could give them a chance.

Besides, they'd already begun to connect the dots, with them outright noticing the magical signature radiating off of Penny's body. They probably noticed his own personal magic as well. Speaking of Penny, she was currently being worked on by Cyborg in one of the Watchtower's labs. He was joined by Mr. Terrific, and from the brief exchange they had, he immediately noticed that despite being the most roboticized being he had ever met besides perhaps Brainiac himself, Cyborg was the most emotional and outright human cyborg he had ever seen, expressing so much concern for a girl he hadn't even truly met. Qrow felt guilty for ever thinking that Cyborg was anything like Brainiac, and internally apologized for it.

Deciding that he could trust the Justice League with what he knew, he said, "Alright, I suppose now's as good of a time as any. Let's— Where'd he go?"

Qrow looked around, trying to spot Batman who was nowhere to be seen. Ruby and Yang, meanwhile, merely sighed in resigned acceptance, and Yang said, "Yeah, he does that a lot."

"…Someone needs to put a bell on that guy."

"That's what Jaune said. Speaking of, I wonder how he and the others are doing?"

---

"You guys get the sense that we have no reason to be here, and that it might be best to leave?" Jaune asked as he, the rest of the Titans, and his team all worked together to cook the remains of Hogzilla. "I mean, it feels kind of awkward since, you know, it's Weiss and her family, Ruby and Yang with their uncle. This is a family affair, you know, and it feels like we're butting in."

"Yeah, dude, I kind of felt that way, too," Garfield admitted as he pulled pork off the bone, turning into a bear so he could shred it with literal meat claws.

"Yet, if we just leave so that we don't intrude, we're not supporting our friends in their time of need," Jaune added. "Might even be worse to leave right now."

"Yep," Nora said with a pop of her lips. "Makes me glad we're just off in the background, cooking the pork."

"Speaking of," Pyrrha said as she looked at Garfield, "isn't helping us cook this…wrong for you? You know, since you're a vegan?"

Beast Boy turned his head to flatly stare at Pyrrha, then said, "I was also trying to kill this thing for three days. Three days without sleep, kept going only by Raven's magic–thanks for that, by the way, Rae."

"No problem," Raven remarked, sorting the cooked meat alongside M'gann and Dick.

Garfield nodded towards his girlfriend, then turned back towards Pyrrha and declared, "I may not be eating this, but I will take great satisfaction in watching you all eat it. Plus, it's giving me something to do while both being here and not awkwardly interrupting my friends' family reunions."

"…Fair enough," Ren remarked, working with Donna and Koriand'r as they roasted a thick chunk of meat with the Tamaranean's starbolts.

---

9:45 PM (Central Standard Time)

The Justice League's founders, teams RWBY and JNPR, along with Qrow, Willow, Whitley, the Titans, and the Green Lanterns were all gathered together in the Watchtower's conference room. They had been talking for hours, going over everything that had happened since Remnant's destruction. Both in the bottled cities themselves, and what RWBY and JNPR had gone through since their arrival on Earth.

"So, this Trigon…" Qrow said as he looked at Ruby, his eyes squinted, "he's a…demon, you called him?"

"Most powerful in existence, yes," Ruby clarified, and Qrow nonchalantly nodded.

Qrow then pointed towards Raven and said, "Trigon is…your dad."

"Correct, although not by choice," Raven remarked, and Willow reached over to pat her on the shoulder comfortingly. While she didn't openly react, Raven appreciated the gesture, nonetheless.

"Right, right. And I thought our family issues were bad," Qrow muttered, then shook his head and continued, "Trigon, using his followers in the Church of Blood, used the Grimm as a conduit for his demonic power to try and get Raven to break, letting him possess her and reenter our world. So you three," he pointed at Ruby, Garfield, and M'gann, "literally went into her mind to kick Trigon out, where you were nearly killed."

"Yes, and he also destroyed Crescent Rose," Ruby replied, then cheerfully added, "That was when I used my eye lasers for the first time, crippling him and letting Jaune, Weiss, Nightwing, Wonder Girl, and Raven kick Trigon's evil butt and imprison him inside Raven's head."

"…What is this planet?" Whitley remarked under his breath, staring with wide eyes at the table. Qrow, meanwhile, ignored the young boy and focused on the matter at hand. He pursed his lips as he looked at his niece, then nodded approvingly.

"That's my girl," he praised, and Ruby beamed.

"In any case, that was when we first learned that Grimm were still active on the planet, most likely due to illicit activities orchestrated by Lex Luthor," Weiss continued, leaning over the table as she looked at both her family and the veteran huntsman. "Which is frustrating because while we know he's responsible, we can't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Until we do, he's just going to keep getting away with it."

Willow scowled and clenched her fist, then remarked, "He reminds me of someone else I know."

"I know exactly who you mean," Weiss replied, then turned to her mother and declared, "But trust me when I say this, Mom. For as bad as Jacques is, Lex Luthor is far, far worse."

Somehow it was hard for Willow and Whitley to believe that, but they decided to take Weiss at her word and nodded.

"Speaking of Ruby's silver eye powers, are you certain you don't know anything else about them?" Superman asked, and Qrow reluctantly shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no," Qrow confirmed. "I already knew that Ruby had the potential for it. So did Tai and Ozpin. We knew it was the greatest weapon we had against the Grimm, and demons too, apparently. But that was just from legends and what Ozpin knew. As for how it actually works or where it came from, not even Ozpin was able to figure that out."

"Darn it," Ruby grumbled under her breath, lightly rapping her fist against the table. "When you started trying to tell us about it, I got my hopes up…"

"Hey, at least you're already on your way," Qrow said, pointing at Ruby, "and you figured out they exist in perhaps one of the most pivotal ways I can think of. I can't imagine Trigon was happy when that happened."

"He wasn't," Raven confirmed with a faint smile, and Qrow gestured towards her with his arm.

"See, what'd I tell you?" Qrow added, then leaned across the table. "Besides, you figuring out it's connected to this…Life Equation—"

"Again, what is this planet?" Whitley muttered, but Qrow ignored him and moved on.

"—is already more than we ever knew. Sure, I might not be able to coach you on how to use it directly, but even then you're still on your way. We'll get this figured out, and in no time at all you'll be turning Grimm to stone with a simple glance."

Ruby looked at her uncle and smiled, who proudly smiled right back.

"I'm just surprised that Professor Ozpin is immortal," Jaune admitted, then corrected, "Or his soul is immortal…I think. It's all confusing to me. If Ozpin dies, and is reborn into a 'like-minded soul,' does he stay as Ozpin or is he the new guy?"

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Nora asked, giving Qrow a hard stare as she leaned across the table.

"I was confused about that, too, at first," Qrow replied. "From what Ozpin told me when I asked that same question, it's more like a merger. When the old Oz dies, his soul just…floats around for a bit. How long it stays that way varies. Sometimes it takes a few weeks or months, other times its years. Once, he said, it took nearly a century for him to come back. No matter how long it takes, though, Oz inevitably finds himself in a new body. He doesn't override the soul that's already there. Instead, the new Oz stays who they are, just with the old Oz' presence and access to his memories, knowledge, and experience. They still remain who they are, they're just…more. Eventually, the old Oz fades away entirely, leaving the new one to continue the fight."

"Gods, I can't even imagine what that's like for either of them," Wonder Woman demurred, looking to the side as she pondered the implications of Ozpin's method of immortality. "Two people merging into one, each losing their sense of identity, of who they were before the merger ever happened…"

"Yeah. Ozpin never talked about it a whole lot, but when he did he made it clear that he wouldn't wish it on anyone," Qrow said, clasping his hands together on the table. "Viewed it as more of a curse than a blessing. Cursed to never rest and to keep fighting until the enemy was defeated."

"You mean Salem," Batman dryly noted, and Qrow nodded grimly.

"Correct," he said, and the conference room fell into silence.

The revelation that the Grimm had a Queen had confirmed many of the greatest fears the Justice League had towards the monsters. That they weren't just an aimless horde of death and destruction, but that an intelligence could be behind them. Could direct them. Something that Salem had apparently done for longer than recorded history. Qrow did not know how long Salem had been around, but it was likely that she was perhaps the oldest immortal being they had ever known, excluding Gods of course.

To Willow and Whitley, Salem's existence was horrifying, nearly on the level of Brainiac himself. Knowing that someone wanted them dead for no apparent reason, and spent thousands of years trying to wipe out humanity, only being kept back by the work of a single immortal man who stood against her, almost made all of their personal struggles seem pointless and inconsequential. That they were merely pieces on a chess board being played by gods. But to RWBY and JNPR, while they recognized the gravity of the situation, it was merely another addition to the pile of crazy things they had seen and experienced while on Earth.

Qrow almost felt a little let down by their reaction, but he didn't let that get to him.

"So, Salem and Ozpin," Superman said as he tried to summarize the information they had been given, "they're both immortal mages who have been fighting for thousands of years?"

"Not exactly," Qrow corrected. "Ozpin does have magic, but nowhere near as much as he used to. He gave most of it away, especially to the four Maidens. He gave me and Raven the ability to turn into birds, which Raven came to view as a curse."

"Wait, a curse?" Beast Boy asked in concern. "You can't control when you do it?"

"No," Qrow corrected. "I can turn into a crow whenever I want."

Beast Boy narrowed his eyes, then asked, "Do you at least lose your mental faculties when you transform?"

"Nope, fully cognizant."

"…Did she know what she was getting when she got the power in the first place?"

"Yep, Ozpin is very big on people making an informed choice. He told us everything we were going to get, all the advantages and disadvantages, then gave us a few days to think it over. We then both decided it was worth it, and accepted."

Beast Boy stared at Qrow for a few moments. At first, he was still, then his nostrils began to flare. Almost immediately, M'gann reached out to him and said, "Garfield, calm down."

"Calm down? I am calm," Beast Boy proclaimed, but no one believed that. "I mean, I'm perfectly calm. How could I not be, knowing that one of my best friend's mom, who both abandoned her and started working for one of the evilest aliens in the universe, views her ability to transform into an animal, AT WILL AND WITH NO REAL DRAWBACKS, as a curse! WHEN I NEARLY DIED TO GET MINE, AND LOST MY MOTHER IN THE PROCESS! I-!"

Ren put a hand on his shoulder, and Beast Boy was covered in a monotone aura. He suddenly grew calm, and when the aura dissipated, Beast Boy awkwardly looked at everyone then towards Ren. Taking in a deep breath, he said, "Sorry…"

"It's okay, Garfield. We understand," Yang comforted her friend. "We'll just add it to the pile of reasons why my mother sucks."

Beast Boy nodded, then Diana looked at the young superhero in concern and asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine," Beast Boy said, then waved his hand towards the rest of the assembled superheroes. "Please, continue."

The Justice League, the Remnantians, and the rest of the Titans looked at Beast Boy for a moment, then turned their attention back towards each other.

"On the subjects of Magic, Maidens, and Relics, Penny is currently the Winter Maiden, correct?" John Stewart asked, and Qrow nodded.

"On our way here, I ran a few scans," Kilowog noted. "The amount of raw magic in that girl is astonishing. If she can learn how to properly use it, she'll be a force of nature."

"I can confirm that," Hal added. "I fought Raven inside Brainiac's ship. Had her heart actually been in it…I don't know how it would've gone."

"To many people and cultures in Remnant's history, people thought that the Maidens were living goddesses," Qrow pointed out, furthering Kilowog and Hal's point.

"And each Maiden serves as the key to one of these Relics?" Martian Manhunter asked, and Qrow nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. There are four relics in existence, each one made by the Brothers of Light and Darkness, representing one of the four gifts they both bestowed upon humanity: Knowledge, Creation, Destruction, and Choice," Qrow explained. "Each one on their own is incredibly powerful, capable of feats beyond anything that Dust can do. Atlas, for instance, is held aloft not by Gravity Dust but by the Staff of Creation generating infinite amounts of energy. The Last King of Vale used just the Crown of Choice and the Sword of Destruction to lay waste to the combined armies of Mantle and Mistral, ending the Great War and terrifying everyone so much that even Vacuo, his ally, surrendered to him."

Pausing for a moment, Qrow continued, "It was said that if anyone were to hold all four relics at once, they would have the power to change the world. It's why Salem wanted them, and why Oz spent so long keeping them from her. Salem had been after the relics for millennia, aiming to use them to remake the world in her twisted image, then rule Remnant as its God-Empress. Obviously, that would mean the end of humanity as we knew it."

Qrow took a drink from his glass of water, then continued to explain, "Following the Great War and the establishment of the Huntsmen Academies, Ozpin's predecessor hid each of the relics underneath the academies, that way they could be protected from Salem and her forces. They were each in the heart of their respective kingdoms, surrounded by hundreds of huntsmen at all times, making it extremely difficult for Salem to make a move against them. And, since there was one in each kingdom, it helped to maintain peace by making sure no one kingdom had the edge over the other."

"A sound strategy," Batman admitted, then he narrowed his eyes and pointed out, "but not without its flaws. From where I'm standing, it's especially vulnerable to infiltration and subversion."

"Yes," Qrow replied with a heavy sigh. "We knew that Salem had been preparing something for quite some time. I even managed to stop an attempt on the Fall Maiden's life, for the most part, but until Brainiac caught us all off guard we had no idea she had her agents posing as students and that she had turned Headmaster Lionheart to her side. Had Brainiac not showed up, I don't even want to think about the damage Cinder and her lackies could've done."

"Indeed," Batman said, then leaned back into his chair. "These Relics…does Brainiac know about them?"

"Not when I was taken, and I don't believe he knew when he fought the Green Lanterns, either. Otherwise, that battle would've gone very differently."

"And if he does find out?"

"You can kiss any chance of defeating him goodbye," Qrow declared without an ounce of humor in his voice. The heavy situation weighed down on all of them tremendously.

"Well, that's ominous," Nora noted, breaking the silence.

"That's one way of putting it," Flash agreed, then shuddered. "I especially don't like the idea of someone as smart as Brainiac getting access to something that can make whatever the hell he wants with no limitations besides his own twisted imagination."

"If what you say about these Relics is true, Brainiac getting the Staff would probably be the worst," Kilowog said. "He's as much a scientist and inventor as he is a warlord, one who scoffs at the mere idea of stagnation. I guarantee he's going over everything that happened during our battle against him to make appropriate changes to his arsenal and doctrine."

"Has he done that before?" Ruby asked, and Kilowog nodded.

"The first time the Green Lantern Corp fought him, Brainiac just used plasma weapons and missiles," Kilowog explained. "The next was lasers, then finally yellow-tinted lasers once he figured out its effectiveness against our barriers. Repeat that for every other engagement he's ever been in, ad nauseum. Especially on the rare occasion where he loses. After the thrashing he just took, I can't even begin to imagine all the radical changes he's going to make. All I know is that if he ever comes to Earth, and you have to fight him again, it's not going to be the same as when either we fought him last week, or when you fought him on Remnant."

The room fell silent as they pondered Kilowog's warning. Ruby didn't like the sound of that, and her scowl deepened as she tightly clenched her fist. At the same time, though, it only further motivated her to keep improving on what she did. If Brainiac wasn't going to stay the same, then neither could she.

"Luckily, with Penny here and out of his hands, he can't touch the Staff of Creation at all. Meaning it, and Atlas, is safe," Qrow declared. "While getting his hands on any Relic is bad news, if we can keep even just one from him it gives us a fighting chance. Especially since he knows about the Maidens and they're all within arm's reach whenever he wants. Same with the Relics. If he even gets a hint that the Relics exist, it's game over. Luckily Ozpin knows this, and it's his top priority to make sure that Brainiac remains in the dark for as long as possible. Even Raven knows telling him is a bad idea."

"Well at least that's one good thing she's done in the past few months," Yang grumbled and held her arms close to her chest. She got a few sympathetic nods, but the others simply continued.

The League Founders looked at each other, then focused their attention on Qrow himself. Leaning forward across the table, Superman said, "We've been noticing that the Grimm have been adapting far faster than we would expect. Do you think Salem is behind it?"

"Probably, in some way at least," Qrow answered, then shook his head. "But it's most likely just one of her many, many, many backup plans going off automatically. Salem was as immune to the ravages of time as any Grimm, but she could still be hurt. We never got the chance to kill her ourselves since she was embedded deep within the heart of Grimm territory, and with her magic she was the most powerful being on the planet. Going after her was suicide, and good luck getting enough people to march into the Grimmlands just to kill one person. Oz tried once, and it didn't turn out well."

Qrow then shook his head, smirked slightly, and said, "Then Brainiac showed up, kicked her ass, and killed her himself. The only good thing that bastard did for us. But Salem was always a schemer, and she would've undoubtedly had plans in place ready to go off if she ever actually died. Plans meant to spitefully hurt humanity as much as possible, such as assassinating Professor Lionheart when Mistral needed him the most. He may have been a traitor, but he was probably the only person who could unify Mistral. Without his presence, Mistral's fallen apart into racial and criminal infighting."

Blake's face fell as she remembered one of the parties involved in Mistral's ongoing racial conflict. She didn't know what to think about Sienna's survival. On the one hand, she did oust her father and shifted the White Fang down the path of violence that eventually turned them into terrorists. An environment that gave Adam Taurus room to grow and prosper, turning him into the monster that currently plagued the bottled city of Vale. Or perhaps exposing Adam for the monster he always was. It was hard for Blake to tell sometimes. But, on the other hand, she knew that Sienna did, ultimately, desire equality or at least peace between humans and faunus. She didn't want to wipe out or enslave humanity like Adam did, and she'd be horrified at what he'd become. Might even try to put him down herself. But either way, she was feeding into the strife plaguing Mistral, intentionally or not, much like Jacques was doing the same for Atlas and Mantle.

She briefly turned her attention to Weiss, whom she knew was thinking along similar lines. At the same time, Blake noticed that Weiss was frequently glancing towards her mother and brother, feelings of guilt and rage filling her eyes. She knew why. From their quick conversations before the meeting began, Weiss had told the rest of her friends exactly what Brainiac had done to her family. It horrified and sickened all of them, especially everything that was done to Whitley. A boy with no combat experience, no Aura, nothing to defend himself with as he was subjected to ruthless beatings and experimentation. Blake honestly didn't think her opinion on Brainiac could sink any lower, but somehow he made it happen.

But more than that, Blake knew that Weiss was angry at herself for never once even considering the possibility that Brainiac would focus on any member of her family other than Winter. Weiss had told them as such. There were reasons why she thought this way, of course. Whitley had no experience with Aura or his family Semblance at all, and while Willow did they were rusted away through years of disuse and alcoholism. It had made more sense, in Weiss' opinion, to expect that he'd go after Winter who was both experienced in using her Semblance and didn't have any issues affecting her talents. But clearly Brainiac saw other avenues for research that she didn't, and she was kicking herself for her lack of consideration, the guilt eating away at her soul. Blake didn't know what was going to happen, but she did know that she was going to be with her dear friend, helping her through her time of need.

"So, do you think that what's going on with the Grimm on Earth is one of Salem's backup plans?" Batman asked, and Qrow nodded.

"I do. The Grimm are just operating on autopilot, doing whatever Salem last told them to do; settle in, expand, then destroy," Qrow declared, then sighed heavily. "Honestly, we're lucky Salem is dead. If she were somehow still alive, and for whatever reason managed to get to Earth…things would be worse than they already are. A lot worse."

The conference room fell into silence as they absorbed Qrow's information, the atmosphere growing heavy and still.

---

Lex Island

Atlantic Ocean, 50 nautical miles off Eastern Seaboard

"Is it ready?" Lex Luthor asked as he, Mercy Graves, Deathstroke, and an entire team of scientists stood before the machine holding the Mother Box. Behind him were dozens of LexCorp security officers, all armed with the latest in LexCorp weaponry and ready to fire as soon as need be. The air was tense, and Lex could see that most of the people in the room were nervous. But not him. He couldn't allow himself to grow nervous, especially not now.

"Yes, Mr. Luthor," the head scientist announced. "We are triangulating the source of the signal now, and we should be able to lock onto it in just a few moments."

"I want the drone sent in as soon as the connection is made," Lex ordered, adjusting the sleeves of his green suit, white undershirt, and purple tie.

Behind him, the various pieces of his Warsuit were being held, ready to be combined around his body as soon as he stepped onto the platform. It wasn't the full model, one built more for surviving the vacuum of space and getting him away from danger rather than actually fighting Superman like the completed model was. Besides, this one was small. If he actually tried getting onto the Lex-Wing spacecraft while wearing the full version, he wouldn't be able to fit. Much less everyone else.

"Check your gear," Deathstroke ordered to the assembled security officers, who did as instructed with practiced and professional ease.

The men and women gathered around Lex Luthor at this very moment held over a hundred years combined of combat experience. He had chosen the best of the best from LexSecurity for this mission. Former Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, British SAS, Russian Spetsnaz, Israeli Sayeret. Soldiers from all over the world, the best money could buy. Normally such a close, concentrated gathering of talent would be seen as excessive, or perhaps even a liability should something go wrong. That amount of quality manpower and experience could not be easily replaced, nor cheaply. But for a mission of this magnitude, and this dangerous, Lex could afford nothing less.

He was not arrogant enough to be blind towards this mission's dangers. He was interfacing with a Mother Box, one of the most powerful computers in existence, to reach through the fabric of space and time to determine the source of the interference in his Grimm supply. There was no telling what was on the other side, whether it was intelligent or not, or whether it could be reasoned with. That many unknowns made the mission risky, and it almost convinced him to abandon the entire thing. But he stayed firm, knowing that if he didn't find out what was interfering with his work, the problem would grow worse and worse until he had lost control. That could not happen, and so he found it was better to nip the problem in the bud now rather than later. Or, preferably, control it himself.

But that might not be a possibility, so while he planned for the best he also expected the worst. Hence why he was bringing a nuclear bomb with a one megaton yield, designed by himself. Should the source of the signal prove unable to be reasoned with or controlled, he and his men would plant the bomb and detonate it, destroying the source entirely. His Warsuit, and the exosuits of his men, Deathstroke, and Mercy, were also equipped with tethers linked to the Mother Box, ready to drag them back at a moment's notice. He had mitigated the risks as much as he could, but as they said: plans never survived first contact with the enemy. A concept he was painfully familiar with. But there was no use worrying about it now. Now was the time for action, not fear, especially when Grimm were involved.

"Link established!" the scientist announced, and Lex' face grew firm.

"Open the Boom Tube," Lex ordered.

As the words left his mouth, all of the room's automated turrets went online, aiming towards the Mother Box. The security officers did as well, a series of clicks coming out as they switched off their safeties. A technician nervously looked at Lex, sweat beading down his brow. Lex met his gaze head on, and the technician gulped before turning back to his station and pressing a button.

The mount holding the Mother Box pulsed with electricity, activating the alien supercomputer which began to pulsate and glow. The air grew heavy and filled with static, and a loud whine began to build as the Mother Box' pulses grew faster and faster, brighter and brighter. After a few moments, one final pulse was sent before a Boom Tube exploded into existence. A few technicians and researchers were sent falling back onto the floor, but Lex, Mercy, Deathstroke, and his security team remained standing. They waited a few moments for something, anything to come through the portal, but nothing did.

"Boom Tube is stable," a researcher announced, fixing the glasses on his brow. "Destination is…deep space."

Lex nodded, happy that the mission so far was going as planned. He then thrust out his arm and ordered, "Launch the reconnaissance drone. I want to see where we're going."

Another group of technicians began to follow Lex' commands, and a moment later a small aerospace drone was launched with a rocket engine through the Boom Tube. Lex' attention was immediately drawn to the monitor displaying what the drone's camera was seeing. As it was in the void of space, they couldn't use the visible light spectrum to see. There simply wasn't enough light available to see like that. Instead, the camera took video primarily in infrared, then used spectrometers and other equipment to apply a close approximation of color in real time.

It took a few moments for the feed coming through the Boom Tube to be anything more than useless static, but eventually a signal was received. The drone was flying through a thick dust cloud, filled with rocky debris and chunks of ice. Lex had absolutely no idea where in the galaxy this place was, but he wasn't focused on that. Instead, he was following the source of the signal that the drone was flying towards, and he narrowed his eyes while absentmindedly gripping the edge of the rail he was standing behind.

Then, as the drone flew around a particularly large chunk of debris that looked as though it used to be a continent, Lex saw it. The room became deathly silent, and even he felt his eyebrows raise. He had expected many different things at the source of the disturbance. A God, a machine. A large mass of Grimm tar was what he thought was the most likely outcome. But he did not expect this.

For what he and everyone else saw, swimming through the cloud of dust and with its path lit by the murky glow within its bulbous, eyeless head like the lure of an angler fish, was a giant, monstrous Grimm in the shape of a whale.

[~][~]

Everyone, here is the latest chapter of Hunters of Justice! Special thanks to NaanContributor and Jesse K for all their help in bringing this chapter to life.

A long-awaited reunion is now at hand and is a joyous occasion for all involved. But danger still lurks behind the corner, and an ancient foe is just about to return to the stage. We are entering the next phase of the Grimm Crisis, one that's going to push everyone to their limits.

I'm glad so many of you liked the "Green Light of Will" chapters. That was a three-part epic more than two years in the waiting. I'm glad the finished product was so enjoyable for all of you.

Regarding the statement about pairings, while I do understand that some of you are upset that I broke up Arkos, do understand that I am a fan of that ship as well. It just didn't work for the story I wanted to tell. At the same time, it is canon that Pyrrha had a crush on Jaune, so I felt I had to respectfully address it before moving on. Overall, I think it came out pretty well.

While we weren't able to dive into a lot of what we're doing with Willow, Whitley, Qrow and Penny during this chapter, rest assured that next chapter is going to dive more into that. We have plans for all four.

I must again reiterate that I do not do requests. That applies to stories, characters, crossovers, elements in my stories, and so on. Do not attempt to ask me to write something. Anything I do write is something that I come up with and develop on my own.

And yeah, Brainiac is going to start doing some...adjustments after the events of the battle. That is for certain. More on that later.

Hope and realism are really at the heart of this story. Realism in terms of "how would a world actually react and adjust to the existence of superheroes instead of being controlled by the status quo?" Hence why discussions on how superheroes came to be legalized happen. At the same time, this is a hopeful story about standing against adversity, together, to create a better tomorrow. That's why I think RWBY and superhero franchises like Marvel and DC mesh so well. Despite all the horrific things that happen in both franchises, it's still an inherently hopeful story.

That's it for this time. Please let us know what you all think. If any of you have a TV Tropes account, any assistance in updating the page would be greatly appreciated. I hope you all enjoy! See you next time!