I have no interest of doing a RWBY crossover with either the Spectre or Firestorm.
Without saying a word or giving the heroes a chance to explain themselves, the gates of the Atlesian Military base abruptly closed shut on the heroes' faces, much to their disbelief and surprise. Undeterred, Yang angrily placed her hands on the bars of the gate to speak to the guards. "Come on! You didn't even hear us out!" She exclaimed.
The two guards, which looked identical to each other and rather comical with their eyes covered by the visors of their caps, walked up towards her and spoke in loud tones.
"Our orders are clear: The Mistral-Atlas border is closed!"
"Please!"
"Have a good day!"
"But-"
"A good day!"
Qrow looked at the two guards in annoyance before speaking. "Hey, if you don't wanna believe that I'm friends with Ironwood-"
"General Ironwood!"
"Yeah, General Ironwood, then fine. But look, we have Weiss Schnee with us and we're trying to get her home safely." Weiss herself looked down at her feet uncomfortably when Qrow said that, which prompted J'onn to give her a sympathetic look. When he looked into Weiss' mind, he saw how harshly her manipulative father treated her and their family, not unlike how Ma'alefa'ak behaved towards him and his own family.
The two guards momentarily looked to one another before turning back to the group. "Approach!" They exclaimed in unison.
Weiss looked at Blake in confusion, to which her friend simply shrugged. The former heiress then walked up to the gate where the two guards stepped up and bent down to inspect her. After a moment or two, both guards comically stood straight back up. "Very well!" They yelled in unison.
"You may speak with our commanding officer!" The first guard said.
"We will fetch her at once!" The other finished. With that, the two guards turned around in sync and chanted 'Hup hup hup' and 'Atlas Atlas Atlas' as they ran to get their superior in the ever-comical way.
After the awkward conversation was over, the heroes stared on in silent confusion until Blake spoke. "They were... kind of-"
"Super weird? Uh, yeah." Ruby nodded.
"Hmm..." Maria hummed as she put her hand on her chin.
"What's wrong?" Oscar asked, noticing the change in her mood.
"Well, I... may know this commanding officer..." Maria admitted, but her tone contained a hint of anxiety and uneasiness.
"That's good, isn't it? If she's your friend, then maybe she'd be more willing to help us." Ruby said optimistically.
Maria, however, looked rather uneasy. "I wouldn't exactly call us... 'friends'." She said, with emphases on the last word.
J'onn sighed and decided to explain. "Her name is Caroline Cordovin, and she and Maria have a bit of... history. Specifically, Maria brought cashews on one of her flights to Atlas, and was placed on a screening list for life."
Everyone turned to the disguised Martian in silent surprise before looking back at Maria with dumbfounded looks on their faces. Maria, however, was starting to get more than a little annoyed with J'onn constantly looking into their minds ― and she was not alone on this one. "J'onn, no offense, but could you stop reading our minds without our consent?" Blake asked, looking at the Martian with an annoyed look on her face, along the others.
Seeing (and sensing) this, J'onn looked at them apologetically. "My apologies Blake Belladonna. We Martians used to communicate telepathically with each other, so it is rather difficult for me to not read your minds. But I will try."
"Used to..." Ruby repeated, rising an eyebrow of curiously on that specific part.
"Ruby, please... I would rather not speak about it." J'onn hastily said, shifting his eyes away. Seeing that this was a personal subject for the Martian, the others wisely decided not to speak about it right now. Shortly after, the gates finally opened, which was proceeded by the two guards returning.
"Introducing!"
"Special operative...!"
"Caroline Cordovin!" Footsteps can be heard approaching as an elderly woman of a rather short stature stepped forward. She appeared to be around Maria's age and was wearing the standard Atlesian officer uniform. Cordovin stepped forward, and the first thing she did was glare straight at Maria.
"Witch." Cordovin growled.
"She-devil." Maria replied in kind.
"Hm." Cordovin looked over to the others. "I've seen you've chosen larger contraband to smuggle this time."
Maria gave are a mocking smile. "Oh, Cordo. You know they say time changes people, but I see you've still got that stick right up your-"
Whatever remark Maria was about to say was stopped when Ruby quickly stepped in between the two, breaking up their feud. "H-hello! Miss, uh, Cordovin. My name is Ruby Rose, and I was wondering if you would hear us out about-"
"I've already heard what your other little friends had to say, Miss Rose." Cordovin interjected and looked behind Ruby, and noticed Jaune, Nora and Ren standing a little ways away behind the group. "What are you doing back here?! I thought I told you to leave!"
Nora - trying to charge forward, only to be held back by Ren and Jaune - shouted. "And I told you we wouldn't rest until you let us through!"
"Nice to see you again as well!" Ren smiled nervously and waved at the commanding officer.
Sighing angrily, Cordovin turned to the heroes. "You civilians are clearly incapable of comprehending the importance of our mission here in Argus. So allow me to say this slowly, with smaller words: This base. That relay tower. The very safety of Argus are all gifts from the glorious Kingdom of Atlas!" She loudly exclaimed, not bothering to hide her pride. "And it is my duty to uphold them, as only I have the wit and tenacity for such a task."
"Such wit!" The first guard exclaimed.
"Such tenacity!" The second guard exclaimed.
J'onn mentally scoffed; he has never liked nor respected those who love nothing more than to inflate their own egos. Pride and hubris were two things that were greatly disliked in Martian society.
Coincidentally, Maria seemed to have the same opinion. "Or maybe Atlas just wanted to get you as far from the kingdom as possible." She snickered.
Cordovin growled angrily. "You're just like the rest of these Argus ingrates! This city wouldn't even be here if it weren't for our Atlesian ancestors, and what do we get in return? The entire world is ready to put a knife to our throats!"
"Please, we know your kingdom had nothing to do with the Fall of Beacon. We were there." Ruby pleaded.
Weiss nodded. "No one's happy about the Atlas borders or embargo, but I know General Ironwood is just worried. It's why we need to talk to-"
"The General is no coward!" Cordovin immediately cried out. "Atlas is strong. If all the kingdoms plan to make us their enemy, then so be it! Atlas will prevail!"
"Atlas will prevail!" Her twin guards exclaimed in unison behind her.
"Do you guys seriously have to do that?" Yang asked, unimpressed.
Taking a deep breath, Cordovin sighed. "If Miss Schnee has truly come to her senses and wishes to return to her family, then, of course, the Atlas military will escort her home. But the kingdom will not be responsible for her 'friends' of... questionable character." She said, glancing at Blake specifically upon saying her last statement. Blake's cat ears flattened against her head, offended by the comment.
Weiss, in a hostile tone, glared at Cordovin and asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means we're done here." With those parting words, Cordovin and her guards left as the gates to the base closed, leaving the group outside once again.
"Oh yeah? Well, your base looks... like a big dumb boot!" Nora cried out.
"Way to show her, Nora..." Jaune said in a deadpan tone.
Ruby, Blake, and Yang turned to Weiss, who felt ashamed and upset at this conversation. " I don't..."
"Weiss." Ruby said softly. "I told you we wouldn't leave your side for a second. We'll find a way to Atlas. Together." With that, she placed a hand on Weiss' shoulder. Smiling, Weiss nodded back at her friend.
Without saying a word, Qrow abruptly turned and started walking away from the group.
"So... where are we going now?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, what's the plan?" Nora also asked.
"The plan?" Qrow asked with a bitter tone. "The plan just got shut on our face three times over. I'm going for a drink."
Not one to give up so quickly, Ruby ran over to her uncle. "Uncle Qrow, I really think we should try and come up with something..." Her uncle walked away before she could finish. "...together."
"What's his problem?" Jaune asked. "It's not your fault we can't go on."
"If he's gonna be a jerk then we'll just come up with something without him. I mean, we've got Ozpin with us! He usually knows what to do." Nora said, pointing at Oscar. Hearing this, the young boy looked down in shame, while Weiss, Blake, Yang and 'Mike' exchange troubled looks, something that did not go unnoticed by Ren.
"What is it?" He asked in a concerned tone.
Back at Saphron's home, Jaune punched the wall in a fit of rage, leaving a very large crack on it. 'Mike' was also present in the room with Team RWBY and Team JNR, quietly standing next to Oscar to protect him in case Jaune might attack the boy because of how (understandably) angry he was right now. J'onn didn't blame Jaune nor his team for their current mood; after everything Team RWBY told them regarding all the things that Ozpin had kept hidden from them, it wasn't hard to predict their reaction.
"Jaune!" Ruby cried out.
"Everything we did was for nothing!" Jaune yelled in anger.
"That's not true." Blake said in protest.
"Really? Cuz it sure does sound like it." Nora, who was sitting next to Blake on the sofa, angrily muttered.
"If Salem can't be killed, then how are we supposed to win this?" Ren asked, leaning against the wall with his arms folded.
Everyone remained silent as the atmosphere in the room grew uncomfortably quiet and thick. J'onn looked at the seven teenagers sympathetically; They were so young, have experience so much hardship, and now, they have learned that they've been placed in an unwinnable situation after discovering the dark truth. After another moment of uneasy silence, J'onn decided to step forward and speak. "I believe... I can defeat Salem." He said. At once, everyone turned to him in surprise.
"J'onn...?" Ruby softly asked.
" 'J'onn'?" Jaune repeated her words in confusion, which also made Ren and Nora confused.
Team RWBY stayed silent for a bit, before Yang decided to speak up. "Salem... isn't the only thing we learned about." She said cryptically, which made Team JNR slightly confused and even more eager to hear what else they discovered during the time they were separated.
'Mike' walked into the center of the room and momentarily looked at Ruby, who nodded at him to do it.
"Wait, I'm confused. What is he talking about?" Nora asked.
"Jaune, Ren, Nora, please promise not the tell anyone about what you're about to see right now." Ruby softly pleaded to her friends before turning back to 'Mike' and nodding at him again.
Nodding back, 'Mike' turned to Team JNR and allowed his body to revert to its natural form. His clothes and brown hair disappeared, his skin turned green, his blue eyes became red, his skull elongated as did his fingers, and his size increased to 8 feet. Understandably startled upon seeing the man that has been with them for almost two days suddenly transform into a green humanoid creature, Jaune, Ren, and Nora immediately jumped from their positions and reached for their weapons.
"Calm down!" Ruby quickly ran in and placed herself between the alien and her friends, her arms outstretched.
"What is that thing...?" Ren hesitantly asked, having used his Semblance to calm himself.
Weiss walked up to Ruby and pointed at the alien. "Everyone, meet J'onn J'onnz."
"He's an alien." Blake said, trying to make this sound as normal as possible. "His race are apparently called Martians."
Hearing this, Team JNR cautiously looked at the now-called 'Martian' with a mixture of curiosity, disbelief, and cautiousness, much like how Team RWBY reacted when they saw J'onn in his natural form for the first time. "I mean you no harm." J'onn said with a soft-spoken tone, which slightly startled them.
"Okay~...That's weird." Nora finally commented.
"You think?" Jaune sarcastically deadpanned, not letting his guard down. J'onn sensed that the boy's emotions were running wild in his head, not knowing how to properly process this, especially after he and his team learned about Ozpin's secret.
"I didn't come to your world by choice." J'onn clarified. "I was transported here against my will by... an enemy of mine." Like his friends, Ren sensed hidden rage and sorrow in the last part of the Martian's sentence, but decided to ask him another time. "And before you ask: No, I am not associated with Salem."
"How do we know we can trust you? We trusted Ozpin, and look where that got us!" Jaune said with a stern tone, which was rather uncharacteristic of him. But then again, after the Fall of Beacon and the loss of their friend, Pyrrha Nikos, his personality was bound to take a major turn.
"Because if he was working with Salem, we'd all be dead right now." Blake suddenly said, putting emphasis on the word 'dead'.
This made Team JNR feel more uneasy and vigilant ― but at the same time, it also made them curious as to what other abilities this alien possessed. Still, after the mental scars the Fall of Beacon left him with, Jaune wasn't willing to take any chances. How does he know if this alien isn't somehow controlling his friends' minds?
"I assure you Jaune Arc, I am not controlling Team RWBY." J'onn suddenly declared, startling Team JNR even more while Team RWBY couldn't help but snicker a little.
"Yeah, he can also read minds." Yang said with a smile, amused by the dumbfounded looks her friends were giving her.
"Jaune..." Ruby walked up to her friend and looked him straight in the eyes. "I know this is sudden for all us, but believe me when I say: I trust J'onn."
After another moment of silence and another glance at the alien, Jaune, Ren and Nora slowly allowed themselves to calm down and lower their weapons. Once everything was settled, Jaune looked at the Martian. "J'onn, do you really think you can beat Salem somehow?" He asked tentatively.
This question caused everyone to look back at the former Manhunter with a glimmer of hope in their eyes. "If I use my telepathy offensively on Salem, I should be able to put an end to her reign of terror on this world." J'onn said confidently.
"But how?" Nora asked. "She's immortal, remember?"
"Salem's immortality only applies to her physical body, her mind is susceptible to a mental attack." J'onn explained. "I can use my telepathy to put her in a catatonic state and incapacitate her. Then, I will throw her into the emptiness of space."
Another wave of silence filled the room, but this time it was different from the previous atmosphere. While it may not be destroying her permanently, hearing that J'onn can actually defeat Salem in such a way was enough to put a sense of hope in their hearts. It was like a miracle had come to answer their prayers in their most darkest hour. Then, something came to Ren's mind.
"How are you going to throw Salem into space?" He asked.
"Does this mean you can fly, too?!" Nora gasped in awe and excitement, stars filling her eyes.
"You said it, not us." Yang chuckled. "It's pretty much how we got here, actually."
Hearing this, Team JNR turned to look at J'onn in awe and amazement, a strong contrast to their earlier mistrust towards him. This, in turn, reminded Ruby of a promise J'onn made to them earlier, when he was giving them a ride to Argus. "Hey, J'onn. You made us a promise about how many powers you have, remember?" Ruby said, which served to make JNR and the rest even more excited.
"I suppose I do." J'onn chuckled as the young Huntsmen and Huntresses began listening very carefully. With that, the former Manhunter began explaining all of his Martian powers to Team RWBY and Team JNR in detail, including his telepathy, his ability to fly, to shape-shifting via controlling the molecular structure of his body's biopolymers and make it resemble anything he wants, be it clothing, weapons or even non-existent objects or creatures. J'onn also explained that he can lower the density of his body, to the point he can become intangible and phase through solid matter as if it isn't there. He can even render himself invisible via bending the light-waves around himself.
Team RWBY and Team JNR could only stare at J'onn J'onzz in silent awe and amazement as he explained this. Suffice to say, they were beyond impressed that J'onn's people were capable of such feats.
"That is co cool.." Yang muttered, feeling somewhat jealous.
Ruby and Nora could barely contain their excitement, it was like talking to a real life superhero straight out of those comic books Ruby likes to read. This excitement was quickly replaced by sheepishness and embarrassment when they noticed J'onn smiling at them, promoting them to realize that he read their minds. After explaining all of his abilities, J'onn turned to Ruby. "Ruby, I saw what you did back in the barn with your eyes ― how you repelled those Grimm using your silver eyes. I believe... I can help you learn how to use them properly."
Ruby, along with her friends, stared at J'onn in silence, hardly able to believe what he said. So far, all Ruby knew about her eyes was her father telling her that Silver-Eyed people were supposedly legendary warriors, and how she turned a giant Wyvern into stone and severally damaged Cinder's left arm.
"R-Really...?" Was all the young Huntress could ask, to which J'onn nodded. With this explanation in mind, everyone felt a lot happier and more relaxed despite their circumstances. After hearing and witnessing what their new Martian friend is capable of, team RWBY and team JNR couldn't help but smile, feeling a lot more confident in their upcoming battle against Salem. J'onn himself also smiled, being glad that he managed to put so much hope in these seven children.