Reviews:

Kamiro G.S: Thank you for the suggestions! I will genuinely consider them. That being said, if I were to include Booker I'd have to include Elizabeth and I've already essentially made Eleanor an Elizabeth-lite with her portal powers. The semblance should fit her personality, hm? Instead of technopathy maybe something like Empathy? Feeling the emotions of those around her, allowing her to better determine what to say to influence them or something? Fits the whole Utopian aesthetic, I think. I will try to do something with Ruby's love of weapons. And I'll probably have Eleanor be on the look out for mistreatment of Faunus so I'll at least try to include more than a single instance of discrimination.

SilentGentlemen: Keep in mind, they would be robots like the robotic little sister easter egg thing in the DLC of Bioshock 2 or the Iron Patriots of Bioshock Infinite not actual Big Daddies and Big Sisters. But yes. They would absolutely work together. Each have their strengths and weaknesses so deploying them together would allow them to cover eachother's strengths and weaknesses making them all around more effective. Especially once Eleanor finally cracks the creation of actual A.I.

merendinoemiliano: They didn't think about sending Salem through the portal because I didn't think of it. That being said, it's entirely possible that if her entire body was destroyed and couldn't reform where it was it would reform in a Grimm Pool or something in their world so that could be a reason. Also, I think that thing about Grimm is semi-canon considering what happened to Salem when she threw herself into a Grimm Pool. And sorry about that, I'll try to work on capitalizing Dust.


Shortly after receiving the new clothes Ozpin and Glynda had ordered for her and her sister Eleanor had been inducted as an official member of Ozpin's little secret organization and was thus introduced to the other members over a video call. Several of them made it very clear to her that they didn't trust her in the least. Leonardo Lionheart, the headmaster of Haven Academy, was by far the most vocal of those against her.

Not long after that, Eleanor finally received a reply from Atlas in regards to her papers that Ozpin showed them.

"You want me to come to Atlas Academy?" Eleanor asked General Ironwood who was currently sitting across from her. They were currently in Beacon Academy's library, and there were at least a dozen armed guards from Atlas currently scattered around the school. Professor Port was currently regaling Eleanor's little sisters with stories of his past in his classroom since Eleanor would be busy talking to the General for a while.

"Yes. I do." Ironwood stated.

"Why? I thought you were one of the members who trusted me the least." Eleanor inquired curiously.

"You're right. I don't trust you. That is no secret. Similarly it should be obvious that if I don't trust someone I would want to keep as close of an eye on them as possible. You attending Atlas Academy would make keeping an eye on you far easier." Ironwood stated.

Eleanor nodded. "Well, I suppose that's true. I appreciate your honesty in that regard. Am I to assume that's your only reason?"

General Ironwood placed a folder down on the table in front of him and opened it up. "No. That's just my own personal reasoning. More officially, my scientists tell me these papers are actually extremely impressive. So impressive, in fact, that the schematics you included rivals some of our most advanced experimental technology. Apparently the design is a bit inefficient and uses some strangely low tech components, but is theoretically viable as cutting edge military hardware. So, putting my distrust aside, I do think that you could potentially be a valuable military asset as a scientist and engineer as much as a huntress. Atlas Academy has the best science and engineering classes of any huntsman academy in the world. Assuming you truly are on our side, your talents in those fields would be wasted here in Beacon."

Eleanor smiled a bit. "I see. And what do I get out of this other than a slightly higher quality education in those particular fields? Look at it from my perspective, General. You want me to go to Atlas, where all Huntsmen and Huntresses are required by law to join the Atlesian Military. Plus I would be under constant surveillance by someone who actively distrusts me. My every move would be under constant scrutiny and for all I know you would be trying to find the slightest reason to call me a traitor and lock me up or try to kill me. Lionheart made it very clear he was likely one of the individuals advocating for my execution and for all I know you might have been another who wanted me dead instead of wanting to risk working with me. Knowing for a fact that some of this group's members genuinely wanted me dead and had to be convinced by Ozpin to not try killing me is… less than encouraging, for lack of a better term."

Ironwood sighed and crossed his fingers in front of his face. "I know you might not be willing to take my word for it, but I promise you I wasn't one of the members who wanted to execute you. I wanted you to be given a proper interrogation and to be kept in a secure location where you and your sisters could be monitored until we could determine if what you've told us is actually true, but I never once advocated for outright execution. You have to understand my caution, especially since you now know what we're up against. That being said, I can understand why knowing some of us wanted to kill you does not encourage trust in us."

Continuing he said, "As for what you would receive, we would be willing to provide twice as much in our initial investment into your company as we would if you went to any other Academy though we may be willing to negotiate up to three times as much, and would be willing to provide a steady stream of funding for your research and development. We would also be willing to give you a large mansion in the city that could fit your entire family, but that part is par for the course since you would need such a home anyway."

Eleanor hesitated. "That's… actually somewhat tempting…" The extra money from the larger investment would help a lot in getting her company off the ground, and the continuous funding could let her do a lot. And, hypothetically speaking, she could use her service in the Atlesian Military as a means to advance to a high position of power in Atlas. However there was a very serious problem. She wouldn't be able to use that particular position of power to incite social revolution as she would want to due to the fact she would be in the military and attempting to do so could be seen as an abuse of power or worse.

She then shook her head. "However, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline. If I want to try to fix the divide between Humans and Faunus and unite the world, being bound to Atlas would make that more difficult. I can do more good on my own far easier, I think. If I'm being entirely honest, I'm perfectly fine with all of it. Being monitored, any oversight in regards to my company or creations, having to join the military, having to follow orders, etcetera. It would all only be natural considering the fact I'm a relative unknown and the nature of Atlas as a country. Unfortunately the politics of it would inevitably make my societal goals more difficult to achieve. This is specifically because of the fact it is a military and any position of power I could earn would make me a military figure who could be seen as abusing her power to try to force legal or cultural change instead of a mere philanthropist with humanity's best interests at heart."

Ironwood frowned. "Hm… A shame. I think you could do a lot even in the Atlesian military. However, if that's your decision, so be it."

Eleanor nodded. "Thank you for understanding and not trying to press the issue. While I might be unwilling to attend your academy I am willing to reach a compromise of sorts."

Ironwood raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Indeed. I know you likely still want to keep a close eye on me. And I am aware of the four person teams Huntsmen typically have. So I propose you send agents to Beacon to monitor me and report back to you. In fact, my entire team could be made up of Atlesian agents, I don't mind. I'm also willing to have Atlesian agents in my company to report my corporate activities, as long as they don't interfere with the functioning of my business or mistreat any faunus workers I may hire. I'm fully willing to collaborate with Atlas and your scientists on various projects, and will allow Atlas to own about half of the designs created while I collaborate with your scientists. Meaning I would fully own some of the designs and Atlas would fully own the rest of the designs. Or we could share ownership of the designs, I don't mind that either."

She paused for a moment before hesitantly adding, "Finally, I'm willing to let several of my little sisters go to school in Atlas, should they agree to it. Specifically several of those who wish to be huntresses. They have similar powers as myself. Granted they aren't quite as powerful and have fewer abilities due to less extensive exposure to ADAM and not undergoing the same modification as myself. However there are more of them and they will only grow stronger as they grow older so they should make for excellent huntresses and I suppose excellent soldiers. Though keep in mind, this is only if they agree to it. Some probably will, but if they don't I won't try to force them into anything they don't want to do."

It was General Ironwood's turn to pause. Raising a hand to his chin he thought to himself for a few moments. "The main problem I see is the fact you would be aware that we would be sending people to watch you. Knowing this you might attempt to deceive them somehow."

"You can have them monitor me in any way you wish. I don't know all of the technology you have. As you said, some of the components in my schematics were outdated, and I barely understand how to use my Scroll or this strange 'internet' thing. Technology on Earth isn't as advanced as it is here in Remnant. So I have no idea what to be on the lookout for, nor do I truly care. After all, I have nothing to hide." Eleanor stated.

Ironwood was silent for another moment before looking at her. "And what is it you want to gain from this?"

"A larger initial investment would be nice. It doesn't have to be double as was your offer if I were to go to Atlas Academy myself. Just larger. One point five times would be acceptable. And admittedly, I am looking forward to collaborating with Atlesian scientists. I hope to learn as much as I can from them." Eleanor told him.

"Hm… I suppose this might be acceptable…" He muttered. Thinking to himself in silence for about five minutes he finally said, "You're putting a lot of trust in us. So let me be clear. I still don't trust you, and I probably won't trust you for quite awhile. You're going to have to earn my trust. That being said, I have an idea. I really don't want to do this considering it's still highly experimental and how much money I personally invested into it. So you can consider this an attempt to put some trust in you, as well as an experiment in its own right."

"And what is this experiment?" Eleanor inquired.

"Ozpin has informed me you have an interest in artificial intelligence, especially artificial intelligence with a soul and thus an aura. Is that correct?" Ironwood asked.

Eleanor's eyes widened. "You… You've already made one?"

"Yes. The technology exists. However, there is only one such artificial intelligence in existence and it is still highly experimental. I'm considering having it be a part of your team. Though it would also come with several organic agents to keep an eye on both of you. The reason I call this an attempt at trust is because I am personally invested in seeing this robot succeed. So if you break it, all of that investment is lost and we lose a tool that could be used to save the world. And it would be an experiment because it would have to try to blend in with the students at Beacon, something we have no data on currently. I would much prefer to conduct this experiment in Atlas Academy but since we'll have agents here in Vale anyway, they can keep an eye on it too." Ironwood stated.

There was another reason, Eleanor was sure. Ironwood most likely wanted to keep this A.I. near her as a weapon to take her down in case she proved to be a traitor. Fortunately Eleanor had no intention of ever siding with Salem so there should be no danger of them coming to blows unless Ironwood himself was a traitor, which Eleanor doubted. She doubted Ozpin would trust anyone in his group if he thought there was any chance they would side with Salem, the only exception being Eleanor herself and that was only due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding her.

Eleanor smiled at him. "I look forward to meeting this individual. What is his or her name, if I may ask?"

"It doesn't have one yet, as far as I'm aware. You'll find out sometime near the beginning of the year when you meet your team." Ironwood said, standing up out of his chair. "Well, I'll have to talk to Ozpin about rigging the test at the beginning of the year so you and the agents I send end up in the same team. He's not going to be happy about it, I'm sure."

Eleanor stood up as well. "Before you do that. Shall we go see which of my sisters would be willing to go to school in Atlas? I'll let you present your case for why they should without any interference then we'll see which of them accept. Though I would request you to be perfectly honest about everything, including the military service. Don't sugar coat it but don't undersell it either. Just tell them the truth about what to expect."

Ironwood nodded. "Alright. I can do that."

"Good. Then follow me. They're currently in Professor Port's classroom listening to some of his stories." Eleanor stated, leading Ironwood out of the library.

Ironwood winced. "Poor girls… I've only talked to the man a couple times but he really likes the sound of his own voice."

Eleanor chuckled. "He's not that bad. My sisters like him, and they all love listening to his stories. I'm pretty sure he's their favorite staff member here in Beacon."

It didn't take them long to reach the classroom.

"— and that is how I killed an Alpha Megoliath in Stolitas! Ah, it seems your sister is back and she brought an important guest! Good day, General. How are things in Atlas?" Professor Port asked as Eleanor and General Ironwood walked inside.

"Hello professor. They're going about as well as can be expected, I suppose. Eleanor, would you care to introduce me?" Ironwood requested.

"Of course, General. Little ones, this is General Ironwood of Atlas. He has an offer for all of you. None of you have to accept but please at least hear him out." Eleanor told them.

Ironwood took a step closer to them. "Thank you. I'll get straight to the point. I would like to offer each of you a chance to come to school in Atlas. Currently you are all too young to go to Atlas Academy, but there are several preparatory schools in Atlas where you could all start learning some basic skills that would benefit you greatly should you want to become huntresses. That being said, all huntsmen and huntresses in Atlas are required by law to join the military so such schools would be more strict and regimented than schools in other countries…" He then proceeded to explain the pros and cons of going to school to learn to be huntresses in Atlas while trying his best to be unbiased.

Eleanor did notice a few minor embellishments and the fact he tended to talk about it in a more positive light. However she would give him credit for at least trying to be unbiased as he never went too far for her liking.

In the end nine of her twenty one sisters agreed to go to Atlas. More than Eleanor had expected. All the rest wanted to go to school in Vale since that's where Eleanor would be going to school.

Later, as Ironwood predicted, Professor Ozpin was not at all happy with the idea of rigging the initiation so Eleanor would be paired with students working for the Atlesian military. However, after some convincing on the part of both General Ironwood and Eleanor he eventually broke down and agreed, albeit reluctantly.

The rest of the summer passed relatively uneventfully. Eleanor's company was established, she started selling research cameras and several robots based on Big Daddy variants and Big Sisters, as well as Ion Laser weapons. Her fame began to grow rapidly due to her technology and the fact the public thought she "invented" them all at such a young age.

Later in the summer she managed to create a working prototype for gauntlets that would allow the wearer to use Dust in a vaguely similar manner to plasmids. Which would serve as a convenient excuse to explain away her plasmids in the coming years.

She also built an Ion Laser for herself to replace her father's old Rivet Gun, not because she didn't like the Rivet Gun but because her father insisted that she make a proper weapon instead. Though she did mount the Rivet Gun above her bed in the mansion she was given for her and her sisters to live in outside of school. She also upgraded his drill to use Dust for fuel instead of gasoline, extending how long it could be used before running out of fuel while simultaneously increasing its torque and RPM. She also redesigned it a bit to be able to use Dust for extra effects. Finally she combined the Launcher and Spear Gun, and designed an attachment on the bottom of her Ion Laser so her arm needle could be used as a bayonet of sorts, just so she would have fewer things to carry around in separate pieces.

Eventually there were only two days left before initiation and Eleanor was called to meet with the people Atlas was sending to be a part of her team.

Exiting the Bullhead, Eleanor found a group of people waiting for her. General Ironwood, several Atlesian soldiers, an old man in a robotic chair, and three other people who looked closer to her age who she assumed would be the future members of her team. Professor Ozpin was also standing off to the side.

"Good morning General Ironwood, Professor Ozpin. Am I to assume these three are to be my teammates?" Eleanor inquired.

"Hello, Eleanor. Yes. These three are to be your teammates this year. I'll let them introduce themselves." General Ironwood stated.

The orange haired girl stepped forwards first. "Salutations! I am Penny Polendina! It is a pleasure to meet you, Eleanor Lamb!"

Eleanor chuckled and held out a hand to Penny who examined it for a moment.

"It's a handshake, Darling. You grasp her hand and gently shake up and down." The old man stated.

"Oh." Penny said before grasping Eleanor's hand and shaking it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Penny. Just so you know, you don't have to say my full name. Simply calling me Eleanor is fine. Anyway, I look forward to working with you and sincerely hope we can be friends." Eleanor said with a friendly smile before releasing the handshake.

Penny's eyes widened a bit. "Friends? Do you mean it? You want to be my friend?" She asked, leaning into Eleanor's personal space a bit.

Assuming this had to be the artificial intelligence, Eleanor didn't fault her for the small social blunder and instead nodded. "Of course. I would love to be your friend, if you are willing."

"Haha! Sensational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" Penny cheered happily.

"I look forward to it." Eleanor said earnestly. She had never had actual friends before so she genuinely was looking forward to it.

Penny was absolutely beaming.

"Alright, Darling, I think that's enough. Let the others introduce themselves too." The old man told Penny.

"Yes, father." Penny said before stepping away from Eleanor.

The boy in white clothes approached next. "Ivori."

"Hello, Ivori. I look forward to working with you. I hope we can be friends." Eleanor responded

Without another word Ivori stepped back and allowed the next person to approach.

"I'm Ciel Soleil. Nice to meet you, Eleanor." Ciel greeted Eleanor, shaking her hand.

"Hello, Ciel. It's nice to meet you too. I hope we can be friends." Eleanor greeted.

Ciel stepped away.

"I suppose I should introduce myself too, even though I'm not gonna be part of your team. I'm Pietro Polendina, Penny's creator. I just wanted to meet the team my daughter was going to be a part of for the next four years." The old man in the robotic chair introduced himself.

"Hello, sir. I have to say, I've wanted to meet you ever since the General informed me Atlas had a true artificial intelligence. I was originally planning on trying to create artificial intelligence myself, but it seems you beat me to it." Eleanor said with a smile.

"Were you now? Well, don't you give up just because I did it first, girl. I'm sure a bright young thing like you can figure it out. I just have one little tip for you. When you do figure it out, because I have no doubt you will if you really put your mind to it based on what I've heard about you on the news, don't treat your creation like an object. Any true A.I. is as much a person as you or me. So treat it like a son or daughter, because that's what it would be." Pietro told her.

Eleanor nodded. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Thank you."

"Right, well, now that the introductions are out of the way I suppose I should tell you all how this is going to work." Ozpin said, stepping forwards. "When the four of you are launched into the forest the launchpads you will be standing on will be calibrated to send you away from the other students while leaving you four closer together. So you will be guaranteed to run into each other before any other students. I'm still leaving in somewhat of a random element so whoever you see first will be your partner for the next four years. You will then be required to head to the ruins and you will have to choose the same artifact as each other. As a precaution, we will be hiding extra artifacts in a hollow log near the ruins in case the other students arrive first and choose all of the other paired artifacts before you can get to them, which should be highly unlikely. Any questions?"

None of them spoke up.

"Very well. Follow me and I will lead you all to the dorm you four will be staying in. When the other first years arrive tomorrow, you will be required to stay in the auditorium with them for the first night before the initiation the next day just to maintain appearances. After that, you will be able to resume staying in your dorm." Ozpin said as he turned and started leading Eleanor and the others to their dorm.

It just so happened that the dorm Ozpin chose was the same dorm Eleanor had stayed in over the summer until she and her sisters moved into her mansion. She was almost certain Ozpin chose it intentionally.

Setting her duffle bag full of her clothes down on her bed, Eleanor looked at the others who also set their luggage down. None of them were planning to unpack that night. Instead they planned to walk around the school a bit with their luggage for a little bit after the other students arrived the next day just so they could be seen as having arrived with everyone else.

"So… It seems we have the day free to get to know each other. So, what's it like in Atlas? I've only ever lived here in Vale, personally." Eleanor asked.

"Cold, mainly." Ivori stated.

"There's more to it than that, but yeah. It's absolutely freezing up there. Especially in Mantle and the villages. Atlas City's a bit warmer because the Hard Light barrier keeps some of the heat in, but it can get cold there too in the winter. Other than that, I'd say it's pretty nice. The military keeps the Grimm in check pretty well, so it's one of the safest kingdoms in the world." Ciel told her.

"Hm… So why did you want to become a Huntsman and Huntresses?" Eleanor asked.

"Both of my parents are in the military." Ivori shrugged, sitting down on his bed.

"Same." Ceil agreed, laying down on her own bed and relaxing.

"It's what I was designed to do! I am combat ready! Oh, but what about you? Why did you want to be a huntress?" Penny asked, continuing to stand.

"Me? Two reasons, mainly. First, I want to protect others from the Grimm. I have some abilities that are highly suited for combat and it would be a shame to let them go to waste when I could use them in the defense of others against the soulless monstrosities who seek our destruction. Second, I want to try to influence society for the better. Mending the divide between Humans and Faunus, and uniting the world as much as it can be united. Being a Huntress provides a certain social status and could potentially lead to political influence which would allow me to better do so. Granted, using my company to build anti-Grimm robots and donating those robots at only a cost to my own profits to protect the cities and villages from the Grimm will also provide me some social status and good will. However, the more social influence I can get the more hearts and minds I can change for the better. I suppose you could consider me somewhat of an idealist."

"Huh. So do you support the White Fang then?" Ciel inquired.

Eleanor glanced at her with a questioning look. "No. What part of what I said indicated that I supported a group of terrorists? I do support equal rights and treatment for Faunus. However, I do not condone violence, murder, and acts of terrorism in pursuit of this goal. I believe they started out well intentioned but eventually grew radicalized to the point that, quite frankly, I believe they should be summarily executed for their crimes. My father taught me something before he died. Justice is a contract and once broken it can never be mended. The only recourse for their murders and terrorism is death. Truly a shame really, because if they had stuck with their original peaceful methods I would have supported them wholeheartedly."

The room descended into an awkward silence that made it clear to Eleanor that her teammates had no real interest in actually interacting with her. That was… disappointing. She had genuinely wanted to be friends with them. Though she supposed she understood, considering they were there to monitor her, not to be her friends.

"Eleanor, are there any cute boys you like?" Penny asked suddenly after the silence dragged on for a while.

Eleanor smiled at that. Maybe she would have at least one friend in her team. "Unfortunately not. I was homeschooled until now, so I do not actually know anyone my age. Though I'm hoping I might meet one during my stay here in Beacon. I do hope to have children one day, assuming I'm capable of natural reproduction. Which I very well may not be. I imagine you are in a fairly similar situation as myself, Penny. At least in terms of not knowing other people our age. So what of you? Do you hope to find a boyfriend here in Beacon or are you not designed for romance?"

Penny was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Based on the data I have, romantic relationships are typically considered positive. However, I am an artificial intelligence and I'm not allowed to tell anyone who isn't already aware of this fact. This would mean such a relationship would be founded on a lie, which my data suggests is negative. So I am uncertain."

"Understandable. I imagine they would learn the truth eventually and I can definitely see issues arising from such a thing in some circumstances. That being said, if whomever you were dating truly cared for you they wouldn't mind learning you are a robot later in your relationship. After all, you have aura which is undeniable proof you have a soul meaning you are a living person. Furthermore, considering you are under orders not to reveal that fact to those without clearance to know, it would not be your choice to lie to them, you would just be following orders. So I would say it is worth at least trying if you are truly interested in such things. Just be prepared for heartbreak in the event things do not turn out well." Eleanor told her.

"I see. Thank you for the advice, my friend!" Penny said, smiling at Eleanor.

Eleanor continued talking with Penny for the rest of the day until night eventually came. Her other two teammates didn't join in on the conversation at all unless they were directly prompted to do so. Even during lunch and dinner they didn't speak to her unless spoken to, much to Eleanor's continued disappointment.

Eventually night came and they all went to bed. Tomorrow was a big day. Eleanor was seriously hoping she would be able to make friends with people outside her team considering Penny seemed to be the only member of her team who liked her.


Note: I was thinking of not giving Eleanor a team at all but then I had this idea. I thought it would be unique enough to be interesting and I tried to make it make as much sense as possible. What do you all think? I'm willing to go back and rewrite this chapter if it isn't a good idea or doesn't make sense.