The Badge and the Burden
Growing up on a farm, Jon was used to getting up at the crack of dawn so they could get to work as soon as possible. Him and his dad that is, his mother was not a morning person, given that she spent most night up late writing until her eyes were about ready to close on her without her permission. And Jon honestly didn't mind, so waking up first thing in the morning in his dorm room, he quietly sat up and stretched his arm up over his head and looked over to see Ren and Nora still asleep in their beds.
The orange haired girl snoring at a volume that was more calming then annoying, and her partner sleeping soundly and silently. Turning his head across the room to his partner's bed, he saw that she too was fast asleep in bed still. Slipping out of bed, Jon slipped his glasses on over his eyes before he grabbed the uniform that had been provided for him and slipped into the rest room to change for the day.
The male uniform for Beacon students consisted of a matching pair of black dress pants and coat with bronze stitching on the lapel and cuffs, a white dress shirt which came with a red tie, and a blue vest to wear over the shirt and beneath the coat. He had taken a look at the dress code for the school before arriving and he saw that the students were allowed to add additions to their uniforms for personalization but were asked that the dress shirt and pants remained.
Looking himself over in the mirror as he brushed his hair, Jon was reminded of when he had to be dressed up for an award his mother had gotten for her journalism. At least this is more comfortable. he thought as he adjusted his tie. Looking down at himself though, he decided to slip off the jacket and instead just wear the vest and dress shirt for comfort, walking out of the room, he heard his partner awake with a yawn. Looking over, he watched as the Minstrel champion slowly took in her surroundings. When she saw him, she was a little surprised, "I didn't wake you did I?" he asked politely.
Pyrrha smiled and shook her head, "No, thank you for being quiet though." she said gratefully as she slid out of bed and reached her arms up above her head to stretch. The spartan girl felt the remnants of her sleep fall off her as she stood up from her bed, walking over to her dresser, she pulled out her uniform and followed her partner's lead and got dressed inside the restroom while Jon pulled out his syllabus.
Ok let's see here. We have a class together at 8:00 a.m. so we have plenty of time for breakfast. Maybe we could all eat together? Get to know one another a little better? he thought hopefully as he looked over to his sleeping teammates. It was still so…surreal to be a leader, when he thought of what that title meant, obviously the first person to come to his mind was his father. Being Superman aside, he always seemed to know what to do, and even when he wasn't he wasn't afraid to say so, Well, we need to grab some food. But I don't want to wake them up after yesterday. I mean….I'm not a drill sergeant like in that one movie mom told me about. Or like grandpa on mom's side of the family. he thought as the door to the restroom opened and Pyrrha stepped out.
The girl's uniform for Beacon students shared some similarities, the blazer and dress shirt remained, however the vest was instead tan with the tie being replaced with a red ribbon tied around the collar. The most obvious difference was the red plaid skirt and stockings that Pyrrha had covering her legs, Pyrrha also wore her hair back in the same ponytail as yesterday with the headdress she wore with her huntress uniform. Jon felt his throat go dry as he looked at her, Oh….wow. he thought in a daze before shaking his head. "I…Um….I was wondering you would like to get breakfast?" he asked before suddenly realizing what he said, "W-with Ren and Nora too when they wake up." he added.
Pyrrha smiled at the offer, "Who said breakfast?" the voice made them both jump and turn to see Nora up and already alert. Pyrrha and Jon blinked in surprise at how fast she was up, Nora's teal eyes looked around but when she saw that her leader and her teammate were already dressed she gasped, "Oh no we're late! Ren! Get up!" she said, quickly grabbing her uniform and bolting to the restroom to change as Ren rose up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"We're actually not late." Jon said to the other boy, who blinked the sand out of his eyes before yawning and standing up.
"Nevertheless, I should get up. Before Nora gets me up." he said as he looked to the door, and as if on cue, Nora bursting out with her toothbrush in her mouth. "Nora. We're not late, just awake." he said, easing her worries. Nora visibly relaxed as she pulled the toothbrush out of her mouth.
"Oh….so….breakfast?" she asked, looking at Jon hopefully.
The half Kryptonian glanced at Pyrrha who was stuffing an amused laugh, "Yeah. Breakfast." he agreed.
Jon had gotten more or less the same food he had gotten as yesterday before the initiation, beside him at the long table Pyrrha had gotten a cantaloupe, orange juice, and some eggs to eat. Across from them, Ren had gotten a breakfast bowl of rice, eggs, and ketchup. And beside him Nora had pancakes…which she was dousing with a somewhat concerning amount of syrup. "Umm…..Nora….do you want anything else for your pancakes?" Jon asked politely as the orangette's chin rested on the table, watching as the maple goo washed over her food.
Pyrrha was staring as well with some concern but simply ate some of her fruit. Ren say their faces and gave them a placid expression, "She'll be fine. It's her favorite….and the answer is yes. Both the syrup and the pancakes." he added, looking at his partner with amusement in his pink eyes.
When she emptied half the bottle, Nora dug into her food along with the others. Jon looked around and saw that they still had time before their first class of the day, "So, um, if you guys don't mind me asking, where are you all from?" he asked, looking around at his team.
Nora swallowed a bite, "Oh me and Ren here are from Anima." she said, nudging ren casually, "How about you mister leader?" she asked teasingly, Jon shifting a little in his seat at his title.
"Oh! Well, I'm from Patch, this little farming community called Hamilton." he said with a welcoming smile before looking between both Ren and Nora, "That's gotta be though being so far from home though." he said sympathetically. Nora's smile faltered just a little and Ren swallowed a little louder then he intended as he ate some of his rice.
The two of them shared a sideways glance, "We….well it's a long story." Ren replied, Jon frowning at the fact he had brought up an apparently uncomfortable subject.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to….well…." he trailed off, looking down at his food. He didn't mean to make things uncomfortable for them, he just wanted to get to know them better.
Ren and Nora shared a look, the hammer wielder waved him off with a smile, "Oh it's not your fault! It's just a long, depressing story that we don't want to spoil breakfast with." she dismissed, Ren nodding in agreement. Jon visibly relaxed at their reassurance, "Me and Ren have been together for years now though, don't mind telling you that." she said happily. A second later her eyes widened, "Not together together! I mean we've been together-not like that…..hnnng." she said in frustration while Ren snorted beside her.
"We have been friends since we were children." Ren clarified.
Pyrrha smiled, "Well I'm happy you two turned out to be partners then." she commented, recognizing the two's obvious bond.
"Oh there was no doubt that wouldn't happen, I came up with a way to signal Ren when I got close!" Nora said proudly.
"I still don't think sloths make a lot of noise." Ren commented before taking a sip of the tea he had gotten with his food.
Pyrrha and Jon shared a confused look, "I'm pretty sure they do." he said, he had been to the zoo a couple of times but the sloths there never were noisy…at least as far as he could remember. "But that's actually really clever." he added, Nora beaming to ren as she gestured to him.
"See? He thinks so!" she reaffirmed.
"I never said it was, I just don't think they make a lot of noise." Ren replied with a small smirk.
Jon looked over to his partner as she watched the pair with amusement, "What about you Pyrrha? If your comfortable I sharing I mean." he added, not wanting to repeat the awkward beat they had with Ren and Nora.
The champion was a little surprised by his question, "Well, Jon already knows this but I'm a winner of the Minstrel Tournament for a number of years." she said in what sounded like an almost rehearsed manner. "I also went to Sanctum Academy." she added.
Nora's eyes widened along with her grin, "Oooh! Did you get a medal? Wait, did you do that thing were they bite it to see if it's real gold?" she asked more importantly. Everyone on her team gave her a look when she mentioned that, "What? It's so you can tell it's real! You don't bite down HARD, you just try and bend it like tin." she explained. to the others.
Jon however was more focused on Pyrrha, yes he knew that already but that just her accomplishments, he wanted to know more about her. Before he could speak his mind though, his scroll alarm went off that he set so they could have time to get to class. "Well we gotta get going quick, so everyone eat up." he said as he finished off his eggs. Nora began shoveling the flapjacks into her mouth while Ren casually ate. Pyrrha gulped down her orange juice and the team was soon on their way to their first class of the day.
"Demons! Monsters! Prowlers of the Night! Yes the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I simply refer to them as Prey. Haha!" Professor Port jovially told his class from the front of the classroom. Behind him was his half circled desk with a wall lined with illustrations of various types of Grimm, on the walls were stuffed approximations of the creatures as well, ranging from real sized Beowolf heads to miniaturized Nevermores. Jon didn't know what expect from this class, but this certainly wasn't it.
JNPR had arrived as Professor Port, a stout, older gentleman with a parted white hair and bushy mustache, had entered the classroom. As Jon and his team had just settled in, team RWBY nearly burst through the door as it begun to swing clothes, the four girls all out of breath from their mad dash to the classroom. Jon was suddenly thankful that he was more of a morning person.
As the professor's lecture continued, Jon made sure to take down bullet pointed notes when an important "But first, a story. A tale of a young, handsome man. Me! When I was a boy-" he continued, Jon trying his best to listen for anything…..well….educational from the story while his team tried not to fall asleep.
Ren, a dutiful student like Jon, also tried taking notes, but when Port's story showed it had nothing to do with the actual study of Grimm he slowly began to daydream. His partner was no better, as Nora's head was slowly lowering to the desk and finding a comfortable position to lay her head down. Pyrrha was also giving a solid attempt, trying to find the story interesting, and it might have been…..if she had asked….and they weren't in a class to learn…
I really hope he doesn't base his quizzes off these as well…. the champion thought dreadfully. She had graduated the top of her class at Sanctum, a feat that was due to her hard work and studying, that didn't mean that some of her professors….got to the point right away. The worst part was that she NEEDED to pay attention to the stories as the professor would have questions related to them on the tests throughout the year. Looking over at Jon, she was admittedly bewildered that his pencil was still moving and he was filling out notes.
Sparing them a glance, she was admittedly surprised how easily he was able to keep up, it was almost as though he was writing the words as Port was saying them.
"I do sir!" Weiss suddenly declared, making Pyrrha's attention snap to the front of the room at attention while Nora snorted awake.
"What happened? What's going on?" she asked, looking around, some drool present in the corner of her mouth as Weiss stood up from her seat and stormed down the stairs so he could enter the locker room to retrieve her Huntress gear.
"Professor Port wanted someone to help with a demonstration and Weiss volunteered." Jon whispered to her, Nora's eyes widening before she pouted about the fact that she missed the opportunity to get up and actually do something during this class. "Also he was telling a story about the characteristics a huntsmen should have but….it was mainly him talking about his first time out hunting?" he said in confusion. "I'll be honest I kind of lost track near the end." he admitted as Weiss returned to the class in her huntress attire while a cage was rolled into the class.
Ren blinked in surprise, "They…they're not going to fight in here are they? This is a classroom." he asked unsurely, the cage tilting on the platform it was being rolled in on as a snarl came out of it.
Jon swallowed, "He…..he must know what he's doing. I mean he's right there so Weiss probably won't get hurt." he said, sparing a glance at Pyrrha who seemed to be just as surprised as he was.
"Go Weiss!" Yang cheered from the row that the heiress' team sat at.
"Fight well!" Blake chimed in supportively.
"Yeah Weiss! Represent team RWBY!" Ruby added with encouragement as she threw her fists up in excitement.
The white haired girl snapped t her leader, "Ruby! I'm trying to concentrate!" she berated, making the leader sheepishly lower her arms and apologize.
Jon watched the exchange with a frown while Port raised his weapon, a blunderbuss battle-axe, over his head, "Alright then, let the match begin!" he declared as he struck his blade down onto the lock of the cage, the door flying open as a warthog looking Grimm charged out, it's ink black fur contrasted against the bone plates on his thigs, down it's back, and matching tusks that it charged at Weiss directly. The heiress rolled to the side as it passed, slashing her blade into it's side but not slashing deep enough into the skin. "Haha! Wasn't expect that were you?" Port asked jovially as he watched his student raise her sword at the ready.
The boarabusk Grimm charged again, this Time Weiss met it by lucnging forward, her sword poised to strike, Pyrrha frowned as she watched the distance close. While not a bad strategy in the slightest, Weiss was telegraphing her attack before even getting within striking distance, something the Grimm recognized as it's head reeled to the side and slammed it's tusk into the side of her sword, hitting her in the side with one tusk while her sword was lodged between them.
Pyrrha winced from the blow, she had made a similar mistake in the past and Weiss followed up with another that she made, she didn't release her weapon. "This isn't going too well." she heard her partner say with concern beside her.
"Come on Weiss! Show it whose boss!" Ruby encouraged with a competitive tone, Weiss shot daggers at her as the Grimm reeled it's head back and tossed her sword back behind it. The heiress now disarmed, stumbled back as the boar once again charged, she once again dove off to the side and rolled away, the Grimm charging into the wall on the far side and dazing itself as Weiss made a run for her rapier. "Weiss! Go for it's belly! There's no armor under-"
Weiss' head snapped to her again, "Stop telling me what to do!" she shouted, making Ruby visibly deflate. The Grimm studdenly took off in a roll towards the heiress, with a small gesture Weiss was able to conjure two glyphs, one in front of her and one up in the air behind her at an angle. The one in front acted as a shield and absorbed the hot from the Grimm, knocking it onto it's back which she took advantage of by shooting off the one behind her and spearing it through it's belly.
Nora whistled in appreciation, "Wow. That was a little violent." she commented as Port congratulated her.
"Yeah…" Jon agreed worriedly, he and Pyrrha had seen Wiess in the forest and this seemed like a completely different person. She was clearly mad at Ruby about something from the way she was snapping at her during the match, and it affected her in terms of combat. As class was dismissed, he saw Ruby immediately leave after Weiss.
"Well that was certainly….something." Ren said as he got up, Nora groaning as she did as well.
"If had known we were gonna fight stuff I would have stayed awake!" she complained as Jon and Pyrrha also rose from their seats.
The champion looked at her partner, "I'm surprised you were able to follow along so diligently." she said, looking down at her notebook with….fairly spars notes in it.
Jon shrugged, "That's what happens when your mom is a reporter." he said with amusement. His comment however made Pyrrha tilt her head, "What?" he asked.
"Oh! Nothing it's just, you mentioned you lived on a farm. I assumed your parents were well…..farmers?" she explained.
Jon nodded understandingly as they walked down the stairs to leave the room, "Oh! Yeah, well my dad and mom used to be reporters together but my dad went back to farming when we moved to patch. She still does it though." he explained more clearly as they left the classroom. Reaching for his scroll, he pulled it out and pulled up the photo of his schedule he took, "Ok so I have Aura Applications next, what about you guys?" he asked.
Nora reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the folded up schedule, "Hmm, I have Dust Study." she replied.
"Geography and Survival Basics." Ren replied, looking at his as well.
Pyrrha looked at her photocopy as well, "And I have Dust Basics." she answered, "I find it a little odd that not all of our classes are together considering we're a team." she said as she looked at the others.
As the four split up to get to their designated classes, Jon felt himself relax a little more. So far he hadn't done anything to upset anyone on his team, despite the little hiccup this morning. I mean at least we're all getting along. Can't say the same for everyone else. he thought to himself, remembering the discourse that Ruby and Weiss seemed to have. Shaking his head of those thoughts, he looked down at his scroll and saw that he had about an hour and a half before his next class, Well what do I do around here then? he asked himself.
Usually he could kill down time on the farm any number of ways but the most recent way was training his powers. Unfortunately being at Beacon meant he couldn't do it as freely, Wait a minute that's what I can do! Practice my superhearing, I mean the school isn't anywhere near as crowded as Vale so it'll be much more easier to take in all the noise! he realized as he turned down the hall. Ok I need somewhere to start where no one will bother me, so library. he reasoned as he continued down the hall before stopping. Um…..where IS the library? he wondered.
It took a little longer then he cared to admit, but he finally found the library and was blown away by how big it as, the one in Hamilton was part of the school so it was sizable of course but this was gigantic! It had two floors with bookshelves lining up all the way down the hall! How would anyone find anything here? he asked himself as he walked through the large room, on either side of him tall and lengthy bookshelves were lined up from one end of the room all the way down to the other.
Finding a empty seat, he brought up and opened the book for Professor Port's class and feigned reading it, Ok good place to start, a couple people here. Not too insane. So this should be manageable. he reasoned as he took a deep breath and took the focus away from his pocket watch and let it spread out around him. The sound of a chair pulling out was like nails on a chalkboard, the sound of shoes walking behind him as students passed was like thunder, and the turning of a page oddly enough resembled the sound of a wave crashing against a short.
Ok. Dad told me that it's like tuning a radio, so….he thought as he tried to refocus his hearing. Mentally picturing a radio tuner that he turned the dial on, suddenly there was music all around him, phone calls with voices muffled with static, Jon physically winced from the high pitched sound of a alarm going off. Ok! Ok that's more sensitive, let's try something less. he thought as he tried to broaden what he was listen for.
Gradually, the young Kryptonian's hearing became less acute and mre comfortable, "I was kind of expecting more combat, not…..uniforms." he heard one voice say.
"Hey did you see that hot blonde in Port's class? I think the teacher might have hit on her?"
"What? No he didn't."
"How do you not have history already done?"
"I don't know! Maybe if someone, and I'm not saying who, said that we should all take another class with Miss Goodwitch just so they could stare at her all day-"
"Woah there Bun-Bun, In my defense…..have you seen her?"
"Oh my gods Coco."
"Hey did you see that girl with the red hair?! That's Pyrrha Nikos!"
"Holy crap! What's she doing here? I mean I thought she would go to Haven with how she won all those tournaments out that way!"
That last comment gave Jon pause, Pyrrha didn't really mention much about herself this morning, she just echoed what Weiss had told him. Though that wasn't what he meant by sharing with Nora and Ren, Wait, should I press this? I mean I don't want to make her uncomfortable like I did Ren and Nora. he thought to himself. And it was admittedly odd that someone would choose Beacon when they live so close to Haven, but then again Weiss was from Atlas and she came here. In fact Nora and Ren being from Anima was strange too now that he thought about it, but he could understand wanting to start somewhere else, away from where something bad happened.
Am I just overthinking this? Maybe I should just ask her, it could be something that's not a big deal after all…..ugh. What do I do? he asked himself before his scroll buzzed in his pocket, pulling it out he was surpised to see a message from his dad.
'Hey Jon it's your dad, I'm working on something but I was wondering if you could look into something in Vale? If you're in class then forget this message, I don't want to bother you.' it read. Jon smiled at how considerate his dad was. But he had another hour before his class started, and so he typed in a simple response.
'Where do you need me?'
Normally the trip from Beacon to Vale by airship was about twenty five minutes give or take, by foot however it was a solid hour with a hike around the lake that divided Vale and the School. So obviously most people choose to take the airship, Jon Kent however was not most people.
Rushing back to his dorm room to grab his costume, Superboy made it from Beacon to Vale in the span of a few minutes, his dad had sent him another message that explained that he had picked up on another Dust Shop robbery being planned but there was also a village under attack by Grimm that he needed to save. So they split up the work, and so Jon was running after a speeding car going through Vale with one of the men leaning out the window and shooting back at him.
He had intercepted them during the robbery by rushing inside and getting the owner to safety a block away before returning. They had loaded up into the car and took off which now led Superboy to his current escapade. "Ok that's just not safe." Jon said as the bullets hit him, slowly beginning to close in on the car and it's occupants. "I don't want to wreck your car but if that's what it takes to stop you guys? Well I hope you have good insurance!" he said as he began to reach out for the rear bumper. The man from the window slid back inside before grabbing vial of the dust they had stolen, as they rounded a corner near a overpass, they threw the canister towards the metal support pillar!
Superboy's eyes widened before sneering, his hand slapped the rear side of the car above the tire, sideswiping the vehicle and making it hit the breaks and try and regain control while he darted towards the now destabilized overpass, the people walking on top of it screaming as it began to fall apart. Reaching the column, which now had a chuck taken out of it, Superboy braced it with his hands to delay the collapse, "Everyone please! Get out of here! I'll hold it for as long as I can but I don't know long it'll stay structurally sound!" he called out to the people above.
He could hear people stampeding away, the weight of the support wasn't unbearable but he needed to be careful nonetheless, if he pushed too much he'd just destabilize the overpass, same if he didn't do it enough. Looking up at the metallic underside, he could see the beams of support start to sink under the unbalanced weight, looking down the street where he sideswiped the robbers, he also saw that they were turning their car around back the way they were going before he spun them out.
I can't let them get away but no way am I risking anyone's safety to get them. Superboy thought decisively as he raised the support above his head a little higher. As the car drove off, he saw people filing out from the staircase that led up to the walkway above him. "Is everyone safe?" he called out as the last person came down from the stairs.
"Yeah! No one left up there!" one of them called ou.
"Your sure?" he asked, wanting to be absolutely sure.
"You're clear Superboy!" a young woman called out.
Jon let out a breath he was holding, "Alright, everyone please get to a safe distance before I drop this!" he called out, the horde of people dispersing away from the walkway until Jon thought it was safe to drop the support, the entire section of the walkway collapsing in of itself as Jon backpedaled away. Quickly looking around, he saw that no one was injured from the debris, he took off into the ir, leaping up onto the walkyay and then yp to the roof of a nearby building, looking down and searching the streets from above.
Damnit I lost them! Jon cursed to himself in frustration, Great job Kent! You let the bad guys get away, and you let down dad. he thought to himself condescendingly. Ok think, how would dad find them…..Super hearing and X-Ray vision probably….ok well….I was practicing earlier. he thought as he shut his eyes and let his Super hearing try an hone in on the surrounding area.
While the Library was like a busy street with how much noise there was, a city was like Vytal Stadium with every seat full, easily a hundred voices talked in his ear at once.
"Holy hell did you see that?! Superboy just saved those people!"
"Oh my god baby, you're safe, we're safe!"
Superboy winced from the thousands of other ambient noises, the buzzing of lights sounded like hornets in his ears, the noise was constant, overwhelming, enough to bring people to their knees and try and cover their ears. But Superboy, Son of Kal-El, was not most people.
Ok…just….need to….adjust….
'Hey did you hear that? I swore that sounded like-'
'Wonder when my check will come I need that new-'
'-thought it was next week but actually-'
Come on…I can do this!
He took a deep breath, and the noise began to filter, 'I can't believe it! We lost him! Superman's kid!' Jon's eyes snapped open and turned to the direction it was coming from. He launched from the rooftop, skipping across them towards the sound of laughter, 'Holy shit! Roman will never believe this!'
'Hey don't be cocky! His old might still-" the driver began as a red and blue blur dropped down onto the road in front of them! "Shit!" he exclaimed as he violently turned the wheel to the side, trying to make a sharp turn with the body heading straight for Superboy. The half Kryptonian braced himself and caught the side of the vehicle with one hand on the underside.
"I hope your all wearing your seat belts!" he said with a smirk before lifting the car up off the ground and slowly turning it up onto it's side, the men inside tumbling around inside. The driver door opened and a man in a black suit and red tie crawled out before falling down onto the road, Jon standing over him, his hands folded across his chest with a confident smirk. "This probably could have been avoided if you guys just pulled over."
Within minutes, the police arrived at the scene with Superboy having pulled the men and the dust they stole out of the car. Leaving the officers to their job, Jon ran away a few blocks and leapt up onto a water tower to sit down and message his dad the good news. "Hey dad, got that thing you wanted me to do taken care of." he read aloud as he typed out before hitting send.
At that point he saw he had another half hour before his class, Well, I need to practice my hearing. he thought with a smirk before closing his eyes and searching for the next thing to attend to. When he heard someone shout for help, Jon leapt off the water tower and onto the next person in need.
After spending his time in Vale doing what he could before being late to class, he returned to school just in time. From there on, the rest of they day was fairly normal, with he and other members of team JNPR meeting up in History class with Professor Oobleck for their last class before heading to dinner and then back to the dorms, "Ok so…..anyone else miss what he said for the last ten minutes of class?" Jon asked his team, even with his super speed he had a hard time catching up to the professor.
Nora skipped past him and Pyrrha while Ren lagged behind them, "I'm just going to read the first two chapter of the textbook, that's all I could gather from him before I lost track." he replied.
Reaching their dorm room, Nora held the door open for everyone, "Well now that the first day is over with, whose your guys' favorite teachers?" the girl asked excitedly, "I like Oobleck! He's energetic! Like me!" she said triumphantly. Ren smiled as he rolled his eyes, sitting down on his bed and taking off his jacket while Jon did the same with his shoes. "Ohh! I can't believe I didn't ask! What are your guys' semblances?" Nora asked, turning to Pyrrha and Jon.
The leader of the team paused, "…..did I seriously not ask that?!" he asked, turning to his partner who gave him a sheepish nod. Jon's head hung low, "Oh yeah. Fine leadership material. Right here." he said with sarcasm as Nora walked over and patted him on the head.
"Awww don't be too hard on yourself! So you didn't think to ask about what your teammate's semblances are despite being the leader of a team and it probably being something good to know." she said while Jon looked up at her with a raised brow. Nora raised her hands with a shrug of her shoulders, "But who hasn't?"
Jon sighed, "Ok….so, if you feel comfortable-" he began.
"Glad you asked! Observe!" Nora said as she pulled out a fork.
Pyrrha blinked at the other girl, "Wait, Nora where did you even-" she began to ask questionably as Nora walked over to the wall where a small outlet was down by the floor.
Ren recognized what was going to happen, and also knew that even if he tried to stop her? She'd find an excuse to do this again…..plus the look of shock on Pyrrha's aghast face and Jon's glasses nearly falling off was admittedly funny when she jabbed the fork into the outlet. However instead of a the girl being electrocuted, the electricity flowed from the fork into her, pink lighting sparking off her body and her eyes glowing pink, "Behold! I! Have! The-" she began before the lights in the room shut off. "Whoops….too much power."
Thankfully the outage lasted only a second before the lights flickered back on and the orangette grinned at her two relieved teammates. Jon, who was still reeling, stared at her, "That…..that's…..shocking, Nora." he said, the young woman giggling at the wordplay.
"Thanks! It also increases my strength by a lot." she informed, walking over to Ren's bed in stride, her partner giving her a look.
"Nora? What are-" he began before she reached down to the bed and lifted it up over her shoulders with ren still on it, looking over her shoulder at her friends with a large grin on her face. "Ah. I see." Ren realized before she set the bed down. "Her strength boost doesn't last very long relatively speaking, we think it's around an hour." he explained as Nora flexed her muscles proudly, despite being hidden beneath her jacket. "As for me, my semblance is…..more subtle." he said as he took a deep breath.
Pyrrha and Jon watched at their teammate became desaturated in color, opening his eyes he saw their confused expressions. "My semblance is called Tranquility, it allows me to hide my presence from Grimm. I can also do this with others within a short range of myself." he explained as he raised a hand to Nora whose colors also became less bright until she seemed to be black and white.
Jon watched as the color came back into them, "That's incredible, I mean you could save so many people with that sort of ability." he said with awe. Ren smiled bashfully at his leader's praise, "As for me…..well I'm mainly just more durable? Because of it I'm physically stronger, it's why I don't need to use a weapon to fight." he explained.
Nora eyes widened in interest, "Oooo! How strong are you? Can you lift a bed? A car? A Bus? A Plane?!" she asked in rapid succession.
"Oh….um…well…..I'm not sure? I mean I've picked up a tree before." he said, not entirely lying. He and his parents talked about it and decided that he should be vague with his strength, so that if there was ever a need when he needed to use it against something there was a reason as to why he could. He looked over at Pyrrha, "What about you Pyrrha?" he asked.
The redhead glanced around, seeing all the eyes on her now she smiled bashfully, "Well….my semblance is Polarity, I can control the polarity of metal objects. Like this." she said before raising her hand, a black light softly emanating from her hand as Jon's glasses were pulled off his face and into her hands. Jon blinked in surprise at her ability, "I try and be subtle with it when I can, during tournaments I would always watch for what other's semblance were and I'd try and plan how to get past them. I assumed they would do the same to me so I decided to be more…..subdued about it." she explained as she looked down at his glasses.
She looked up at Jon and suddenly realized she had taken his glasses off him without his permission! "Oh! I'm sorry, I should have asked!" she squealed apologetically as she rushed over and presented his glasses back to him. Pyrrha saw him smile dismissively and she suddenly was lost in his deep blue eyes, they were like nothing she had seen from other people. Oh…..oh my….she thought as Jon took his glasses and placed them back over his eyes, the almost otherworldly shade of blue dampening behind the lenses.
"Is that why you have metal covering your legs as well? So you can move better?" Jon asked curiously, snapping Pyrrha out of her stupor and making her cheeks warm up a little.
"I-er-yes, though I usually make just small adjustments with them, helps me adjust my footing, moves them out of the way while fighting, I try not to make it too noticeable." she explained.
Ren cupped his chin, "Interesting, I wonder what you could do if you freely use your semblance without worrying about concealing it." he pondered. Pyrrha smiled fondly, it was a thought she would also have at times as well. However how she used it now had been a key factor in most of her victories, if she was too open with it then her enemies might find a way to counter her semblance somehow.
Jon looked at her sympathetically, knowing first hand that having to keep part of yourself under wraps could be hard to do. Nora clasped her hands together, "Well now that's out of the way, ladies got dibs on showering first!" she declared as she took Pyrrha by the hand, the champion blinking in surprise as she was dragged towards the bathroom where the trio of showers were located.
"W-w-wait! But-" Pyrrha began, not wanting to steal the opportunity before the door closed behind her and Nora.
Jon and Ren blinked before looking to each other, Jon stood up from his bed, "Well while they do that, I'm going to the common room to watch some of the news." he said as he walked towards the door. Leaving the room, he walked down the hall towards the common area. As he continued down the hall, he nearly ran into Ruby as she was turning the corner, a number of books in her hands. "Oh! Sorry Ruby." he apologized,
The leader of the other team wore the same beacon uniform as the girls id, only her cape and hood were still attached to it, "Hey Jon, sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going, and I needed to think of what I need to study tonight." she said gesturing to all the books she was holding.
The young man nodded in understanding, "Right, still gotta do that." he said, knowing he needed to review the notes he took. Looking back to Ruby, he recalled her and Weiss' conflict earlier today, "Hey um…..are you doing ok? I saw how Weiss was acting earlier and…." he trailed off, Ruby's bright features faltering at he mention. Jon suddenly felt that he overstepped, "Sorry! I didn't mean to pry-" he began.
Ruby shook her head, "No, no, it's fine…..it's just…." she pursed her lips together, "Could we talk? I want to compare leader notes." she asked.
Jon nodded readily, "Please, yes." he said in relief, the thought of talking with Ruby about his role didn't really cross his mind. But if anyone knew what he was going though it most definitely would be the person whose in the same role as he was. The two leaders walked to the common area, taking a seat on the couch with Ruby setting her books down on the table in front of them. "So…..you first."
Ruby took a breath, "Ok…so after Weiss got upset at me I thought I should ask to see what's wrong, I mean we may not have gotten off to the best start but during the Emerald Forest we sorta reached a….understanding I guess?" she began. Jon nodded in understanding, remembering how they had shared a moment after Weiss had stopped the Deathstalker from hurting her. "But when I caught up with her, she was mad because….well she thinks I haven't earned the right to be leader."
Jon winced, he thought that maybe she was just annoyed at Ruby for something but that was actually worse. "Jeeze, I'm sorry Ruby."
"And….well she thinks she has more of a right to be leader then I do." Ruby added.
Jon coiled, Ok yeah my problems being a leader are nothing compared to this. he thought to himself. He didn't doubt that his teammates at the very least liked him, none of them brought up something of that magnitude. "And….your worried she might be right?" he guessed upon seeing the pensive expression Ruby had.
She nodded, "Professor Ozpin talked to me about it, he said that being a leader is…..it's like a badge you carry with you. And you need to always be leading by example. And looking back on it? I can see why Weiss was upset." she admitted.
The other leader looked at the books she had been carrying, "So you want to show her that your taking her words seriously?" he guessed. Ruby nodded affirmatively, "Well that sounds like a step in the right direction." he said positively, making Ruby smile.
"I thought so too! So I'm going to go over all my classes today and make sure I'm ready for them next time." she declared proudly. "So….what about you? How's your first day as leader going?" she asked curiously.
"Well, I kind of made things weird this morning when I was trying to get to know everyone a little more." he admitted. He didn't want to share exactly what happened with Ruby as he didn't want to put Ren and Nora on the spot, "And…..well, can I ask you something?" he asked.
"Well you just did but sure." Ruby cheekily replied.
Jon ignored her, "Do you think it's better to ask someone directly to tell you something, or to wait until they're comfortable doing it themselves?" he asked.
Ruby's silver eyes narrowed in thought at the question, "Well…..that's a thoughie." she admitted. "I was pretty direct with Weiss, and while she wasn't really nice about it, she did tell me what was up." she reasoned. Her head tilted to the side, "But then again, Yang would probably just tell me if something was wrong because she's my sister and obviously trusts me." she reasoned.
Jon's hands pulled down his face, "Right." he agreed, Pyrrha didn't seem like she would find it invasive if he asked more about her, but he also hadn't pushed any issues or anything. And he didn't want to case any strife between his partner like Ruby and Weiss had apparently.
"I think you just need to offer them the chance, if they don't? Then leave it be for now." she reasoned. Jon nodded at her advice in understanding, "Now then if you'll excuse me I have a lot of reading to do…unfortunately." she said, her head hanging low before grabbing her books while Jon stifled a laugh at her expense. As she left to her room, Jon reached for the remote on the table and turned on the projector TV and flipped to the news.
'-when after a lengthy chase through the kingdom, Superboy apprehended a group of armed robbers who had robbed adjust shop. Continuing a string of Dust Shop robberies that have been plaguing the Kingdom of Vale for weeks now. The prime suspect, Roman Torchwick, was not found at the scene-" the reporter said, making Jon frown. How someone like Roman could be able to hide from his dad was a mystery to him. His super hearing had picked up on his goons and he wasn't anywhere near as good as his dad was. Plus he had X-Ray vision, with that he could probably find anyone in the world he was looking for.
"Jon?" The leader turned his head back in his seat to see Pyrrha walk down the hall wearing a light brown shirt with her symbol on the front in red with some black sweatpants, her hair was loose and out of the usual ponytail, "Me and Nora are finished with the shower if you want to go in." she informed.
Jon lifted a hand and waved it dismissively, "It's fine, he can get in without me. I'm just gonna watch some tv." he said.
"Oh? May I join you?" she asked, Jon replied by moving over on the couch and patting the spot next to him. "Is there anything in particular on?" she asked as she sat down beside him, finally glancing at the TV to see the blur of Superboy rush past the camera from someone's scroll.
"I was just watching the news, but I'm fine with channel surfing." he said as he flicked through the channels available. "Speak up if you see something you want to watch." he offered. Pyrrha gave him a grateful smile as he flipped through channels, but as he flipped past a news network he stopped, "Wait a second-Mom?" he asked when he saw Lois Lane on the TV.
"This is Lois Lane reporting for the Vale News Network, over the past few weeks there have been a string of Dust Shop robberies, one of which was stopped by Superboy today, seemingly led by Roman Torchwick." Lois reported into the mic at the studio. "Today however, after weeks of gathering evidence and testimony, the Vale News Network aided in the apprehension of Hei 'Junior' Xiong, a local enforcer and provider of muscle for Roman Torchwick." she announced, a picture of the club owner appearing on screen.
Jon beamed proudly, "Way to go mom!" he said excitedly before realizing he wasn't alone and looked over at Pyrrha sheepishly, the redhead however smiled at his support. "Sorry."
"No! That's wonderful news, you should be proud." she said as she looked back to the TV. Upon mentioning she was his mother, Pyrrha could see the resemblance between them. "Your mother seems lovely." she complimented.
Jon smiled, "She is, thanks." he said gratefully, looking over at her, he took a short breath. "Um….Pyrrha, can I ask you something?" he asked. The champion gave him a curious look but nodded, "Well, and if you don't feel comfortable sharing I understand, earlier today you mentioned your accomplishments but you didn't…..really say much about yourself." he said, the young woman's face morphing to surprise at his observation. "I don't want to pry or anything, so if you don't want to share like Ren and Nora I understand, I just….well…." he trailed off.
The Sanctum champion gave him a soft smile, "You're fine Jon, to be honest I'm not….used to people asking personal questions. I just responded as I normally would." she explained. She received a confused look from Jon and went onto explain, "Well….when…." she paused as she tried to find the correct way to explain. "When you're blessed with talents and opportunities, you can find yourself placed on a pedestal. And after a while…." her emerald eyes looked down.
"That's all they see is…you up on a pedestal." Jon said, Pyrrha surprised by the understanding tone he had as she looked back up at him. He wore a placid look but the way his lips pursed together signaled to her that he had at least some notion, "That….sounds really lonely." he sympathized.
The redhead felt a breath of air leave her, "You have no idea." she breathed out with a grateful smile. Jon snorted at her reply and she tittered at it as well, a weight felt like it had been lifted off her shoulders for the first time and she sunk back into the couch to relax. Turning her head to Jon, she gave him a soft smile, "Thank you for….well, understanding."
Jon smiled back, "No problem, I mean I'm not a champion or anything." he said teasingly. Pyrrha groaned as her head fell back, "But I do understand having to live up to….expectations." he admitted, thinking of his dad bittersweetly. He without question loved his dad, but he was Superman, the greatest hero in the history of the planet, and being his son? That meant he had big shoes to fill.
"Well, if it's any consolation? I think your off to a good start as a leader." she praised.
Jon smiled from the support, "Thanks Pyrrha. That means a lot." he replied earnestly as he looked back to the TV and continued flipping through channels, Pyrrha watching him for a moment before turning back to the TV.
AN: First day of school down for Jon! I was at one point not sure if I even wanted the sequence with Jon going after the henchmen in Vale because of my original lead in to it, but after rewriting it and adding the library scene I think it flows much better.
Also I'm curious what you guys think of my writing of JNPR so far? I haven't written a lot of Pyrrha, Nora, or Ren before but I think I've made them pretty entertaining.
Now then, onto reviews!
Awesomerebel55: An interesting question! I think Jaune was the leader of the team in the cannon because he was cooperative, Pyrrha at first would be the obvious choice but she's also a champion and has been on her own for however many years now. Jon has that quality as well, but going forward we'll see some more qualities that make him a good leader.
Guest 1: I have a plan for Jaune, that I think will be pretty cool.
TheOkWriter: Not YET.
AtomicGod666: That is an enjoyable dynamic to be honest, and I'm going to have fun with that. But romantic wise? We'll see.
The Branded Slayer: While that is true, the RWBY dynamic is a key part of what makes the whole show enjoyable, this way I sort of get to shine a light on the supporting characters and I can do some more with that.
mataeae123: Thank you!
HalosZelotDemon: Oh I won't, I have something….different in mind for him.
Guest 2: Ok I'm not gonna lie, the comic lore? That shit is the HARDEST, you could make a college degree about comics and the history of both the big two. No joke I had to look up exactly what the hell Convergance was to begin with because that's where Jon is born. Then I had to look at the Lois and Clark comic book that explains that they arrived in the New 52 universe during the first story arc in Justice League and have been there for five years already.
The show is much more easier, I just rewatch the episodes. Like I wasn't even sure if JNPR was in Port's class because while we see them running to class together? We don't see JNPR in the wide shot showing the shadow people, RWBY, and that one rando who went "YYYYYUUUUP!" but then later on we see Jaune react to Weiss' outburst so he actually IS there.
As for roads of cities I mainly just make them up off the top of my head.
As for your crossover fanfic, I think MHA is more digestiable because the rules for powers aren't too complicated, Bleach I've never seen (But probably should at some point) but ultimiately it comes down to what you want to do. I just recommend planning out, that has come back to bite me in the butt before.
And look, your first fic? Scroll back through my fics and then take a look at the first ones I made, they're not good, they're flat out bad. But everyone starts somewhere, so don't let that dissuade you.
