All credit to respective owners.
P.S. When Cole finds the two-person power transfer device in Infamous 2, he takes a blast core from it while we never see a blast-core anywhere in the cutscene where Kuo powers are forcibly ripped from her to create the Vermaak 88. I decided to use that concept in the story.
-Y.A.R.N.
Ozpin stared at the power-transfer machine.
The structure was finally complete.
The artificial blast core had been slotted into place and the machine hummed to life. Pietro read the data pad that he connected to the side with a focused frowned. Finally he nodded to himself and turned to Ozpin who stood to the side.
"So it's finally ready?" Ozpin mused softly.
"If my calculations and the blueprints you provided are to be trusted… the energy output seems to be within the operating levels of stability. Having a original blast core would have been preferable, but they frankly do not seem to exist anymore." Pietro murmured, flipping through some papers, "Even so, the pseudo-blast core you manufactured should keep the energy from overwhelming the recipient and damaging the mind as you suspected. All we really need now is a test and we can confirm the success."
"Do you believe that this could give conduit abilities to a normal person." Ozpin inquired, "If you were to strap in a normal person and a conduit, the person would be able to replicate the abilities perfectly of the original conduit without negative side-effects observed of the Vermaak 88?"
Pietro rubbed his chin in thought, "Well… reports of the creation of the Vermaak 88 back during the Bertrand and Beast incidents prove that it was possible for the power to be transferred at the very least. The records that your associate Ironwood managed to unearth regarding their creation showed that many of them were former militia members before they were altered by absorbing the latent powers of the deceased Lucy Kuo to create them. Their sanity was the only thing that began to decline in proportion to how much of their powers overwhelmed them, but this device had listed the Blast Core as necessary to strain the extraneous energy off the transfer from fully overwhelming the recipient, allowing for natural development and body adjustment rather than rapid mutation and growth. To a Conduit who already carried the gene, there was no danger aside from the forced mutation pain, but a normal person… well — without the blast core's presence — makes the process of infusing powers into them agonizing with an extreme case of mental degradation."
"It appears it was one of Bertrand's few attempts to be a superhuman rather than the monster he was in the end. In his failure to change his abilities or cure himself, he must have decided it was better to use it to turn public opinion against the conduits and kick-start his genocide." Ozpin murmured quietly, "When he had this single recipient machine built as a prototype, he then made the multi-person transfer device built and abducted Lucy Kuo. He never intended for this to be used after him, but leaving it around blew up in his face."
"We should still test it." Penny insisted.
"We will." Pietro promised, "We will make sure there are no negative side effects."
Ozpin hid his glee under a placid expression, this was exactly what he wanted to hear. He had all the pieces that were required for this to work except for one thing.
He just needed a conduit to begin the test and he might be able to gain the longevity of a conduit.
And the power that those beings had was something to admire.
Bertrand was a fool for giving up so easily when he had so much money and resources, but he was dead and his mistakes and failures would be the backbone for Ozpin's plans and his success.
Now all he needed to be was careful in who he chose right now.
His allies were immediately discarded as potential subjects, this would break their trust and he needed people to back him if the truth came out. Maybe after he had gathered power of his own so they couldn't be a threat to him but not yet. Too high-profile a target and there would be inquires that would have the potential to unravel his schemes. He needed a conduit that no one would miss or notice if taken but had some sort of power to make this test viable and allow him to experiment.
Now all Ozpin needed was someone who could be manipulated into being captured.
He turned on his heel with nod at Pietro and walked to his car.
Time to go over the files he had accumulated one more time.
Of all the people to come across in the underground, Whitley Schnee ranked pretty low on the list.
From what Jaune understood, he and his sister had been pretty loaded and while they came to the cafe every now and then, their manners pointed out a more… refined upbringing than most. Looking up the Schnee name in boredom had been a bit of a mild shock that the two children of the CEO of the whole damn corporation were relocated out of nowhere. He hadn't considered that either of them could be a Conduit but it suddenly made sense as to why they weren't in their gilded mansion. If they weren't of use as a resource, they were to be discarded and left somewhere out of sight.
And if their father was anything like Jonathan…
The implication left a bad taste in Jaune's mouth.
Normally he didn't have problems running into other Conduits, it was almost more of a secret society and Jaune was one of the few who tagged this underground atrium for use even though other chambers were easier to access; Jaune was someone who liked his privacy when he practiced with his powers.
With him having absorbed a few blast shards he had managed to unearth, Jaune had been testing the new limits to his power and learned that some of his most basic combat abilities didn't drain his reserves whereas before they did take a certain amount of energy out of him to conjure. Creating light based weapons for him to hold no longer drew from his light reserves nor did his basic light bolts, his thrusters were more powerful and could actually propel him up rather than keep him hovering, and he could create a small projected translucent shield — like New Marais' Patron Saint's frost shield or the electrical shield when he was still The Demon of Empire City — and it wasn't too shabby in how strong it was. Those little bits of ability weren't much to brag about in all honesty, but Jaune was happy with what little he could do even in an environment where normally he would be helpless.
He vowed to himself never wanted to be helpless ever again, if he had to claw and scrape his way out of the darkness, then he would do it.
He had only just finished and was drinking in the light of a fire he started to reenergize himself when Whitley walked in, his steps echoing in the silence of the atrium. Jaune decided not to overcomplicate anything by starting a conversation and shifted in his sitting position, preparing to get up.
"You?" Whitley yelped in surprise.
Jaune sighed as he got to his feet and shrugged, "Me."
Whitley seemed to collect himself after a stunned moment, "I… didn't expect to see you here."
Jaune rubbed the back of his head, "I like coming here to practice, you would know since there was no way to get here without powers and it's a bit more isolated."
Whitley conceded to that, "You are already strong, I didn't think you would need to practice at all."
"Then maybe I come here to blow off steam." Jaune replied, turning to the small fire and opening his water bottle to douse the flames, "Letting loose every now and then is cathartic if your stressed out."
Whitley sighed and nodded, "I can imagine… do you want me to leave?"
Jaune shook his head, "No, I just finished up. I'll be leaving if you want the space free."
Jaune began to walk away and just as he passed Whitley, the Schnee spoke," Can I ask you something?"
Jaune paused, "I don't see why not."
"Why?"
Jaune turned his head to give him a puzzled look, "Why what?"
"You have power and skill in spades. More than most conduits do judging by how well you fight in the videos. Yet you work in a cafe, serve people with no hint of bitterness in a menial job that — by rights — is beneath your potential to achieve. You hid away from what you could do until you no longer had the choice but to fight back. Why aren't you using your power to be more than that?" Whitley asked, a unreadable expression on his face, "I looked into you after your battle with the Conduit. You let yourself get pushed around by those who are clearly weaker and help people for no benefit to yourself. All my life I was taught that if you have power you use it to show your superiority and further your standing in society; accrue more power. Why do you not do the same? Why did you go through such lengths to hide so much power when it could have solved everything and given you more than you could've ever gained without them?"
Jaune was silent for a long moment.
'Why why why?' He mused in his head.
Why did he allow it?
It wasn't like he couldn't have knocked Cardin into next week back in the beginning of his contract to pressure Jaune into suicide. Jaune was more than capable of holding his own in a fight — powers or no — but his thoughts and beliefs were far more complicated in the beginning. He could have so easily crushed a few powerful people to show he wasn't someone you didn't want to confront. But it wasn't helping anyone — least of all himself — in any capacity, to inspire respect through fear was only inviting someone to attack when your guard was down. It was a surefire way to make people resent you for simply being unable to stop you when you do the wrong thing.
If he used powers — ones he hated at the time — to take his frustrations out on people, he'd be no different that the Conduits who came after the first ray sphere was activated. The gangs — like the reapers — that were formed, the people they tortured and oppressed for the simple reason that they could so why not?
He just prove his powers made him what that people all claimed Conduit truly were deep down.
A murderous freak.
He had been afraid that his powers would label him a monster.
But he knew better now thanks to the people he found here.
His powers didn't define him.
He defined his powers.
Maybe it was because Whitley was raised by a man who valued power and status over everything that seeing someone powerful not flaunt his power was so unbelievable.
In Jaune's humble opinion, showing off some sort of superiority was a stupid waste of time.
People who desire more never get enough in the end.
"You know what I find the biggest problem in people in general? Most of the people who want something never seem satisfied. Money? Power? Food? Love? Hate? They never say enough is enough. They keep craving more and more and more until they themselves are consumed by their greed. The life I had and the life I made without my powers? I know what I have is a privilege, it's not something any sane person would throw away for what you define as more or ruin by trying to grandstand as being better. I know what it's like to lose everything so I know what I have is far more precious than I can have the ability to describe. I am happy with what I have now. I don't crave more to be happy. In fact, most people don't. They are just too blind to see it."
"And you know better than to take what should be yours?" Whitley prodded, fascinated.
Jaune turned to him with a grimace, "Should be mine? I don't think I deserve anything right off the bat, I have to earn it. I knew a person who thought his powers or abilities gave him a pass and everyone resented him for it. He's different now and frankly I think everyone appreciates it now because they feel safe. You act like the world is owed to you? The world will knock you down for that assumption. Take it from someone who learned this the hard way, arrogance and desire are not a good mix for people. What you see as power isn't the end-all-be-all to life. Having and abusing any power you have isn't the same thing as being strong, it never will be."
"If so, then what makes you strong?" Whitley inquired, interest clear.
"Friends. Family. Self-control. My powers were never what made me strong, the people I cherish are what give me strength. They gave me the strength to overcome my fear and self-loathing and fight. They push me up and inspire me to be better and never stop improving myself, to see that I am not a monster so long as I choose not to be. They are worth my everything."
And with that Jaune left, leaving Whitley to stare at the space the light-wielding Conduit had occupied with a surprised but thoughtful stare.
Jaune reformed outside of the secluded entrance to the underground, mouth twisted in a frown over his recent conversation with Whitley.
Why would Whitley be taught to lord his power over people?
A utter failure on the part of his teachers.
Then again, Jaune probably had a very different upbringing when it came down to it. His mother and father were very well off and worked to gain more at all times, but money never seemed to be spent wastefully. His childhood home had been pretty large, but it was out of necessity as having 8 children and two adults living in the same house still needed space for everyone individually. Jaune's sisters had always been mature and well liked in their community for how wise and intelligent they were. They taught him to be careful with what he said and did; for all that he came from a very wealthy family, he shouldn't be arrogant of it or think he was owed anything.
He should only ever be proud of what he himself had accomplished.
Jaune wasn't too proud to admit that he was pretty sharp as a kid and trusted his sisters advice; he knew he had made the right choice when he saw the attitudes of the other kids who were rich. They had taken one look at his casual apparel and generally normal look before immediately labelling him as 'weird' or 'uneducated' and ignoring him.
He returned the gesture with them being 'arrogant' and 'taking their wealth for granted'.
Not that it really mattered, Jaune had friends once upon a time back in his hometown' they were normal kids, not the rich but the average.
When he was normal.
When he had a mom and dad.
But that was a past that no longer mattered.
Jaune sighed and began to trek back to his apartment, lost in his own thoughts.
The girl squirmed on the gurney she was strapped to, arms and legs twitching as she desperately tried to get her body to move and run. She was quietly wheeled in front of a woman with pitch-black hair and amber eyes. She was too weak from the drugs that had pumped into her by the dart that had hit her as she walked home. She had tried to fight it off and stay conscious, but whatever was in the dart had been too strong to fight even for her powers to combat. She didn't even have the time to shake her head before two more darts impacted her neck and injected more of the concoction into her veins. She tried to scream, but her tongue was too heavy in her mouth and all that came out was a garbled moan as she collapsed.
The disorientation had been too much and the darkness dragged her under.
She woke up to being dragged through a dark corridor with minimal lighting and she saw a man with silver hair pulling her. She tried to scream for help or for him to stop but she realized she had been gagged, unable to do more than let out a few muffled grunts. He stopped and turned to see she was awake before letting out a tired sigh and stopping for a moment.
"I had hoped the sedatives would've lasted a bit longer, but I suppose it can't be helped. I apologize in advance." He said to the terrified girl.
finally being put in a room with the woman standing there. She pleaded for help with her eyes and muffled cries but if anything that seemed to amuse the woman more than inspire any sort of sympathy.
The man with silver hair sighed as he shook his head before murmuring, "I am sorry. But this is a necessary sacrifice."
"What do you want with her?" Cinder inquired.
"Break her mind, I want her docile." Ozpin said.
The girl's eyes widened and she struggled harder, tears of terror streaming down her face.
Cinder sighed, "Just who is she?"
Ozpin looked down and she whimpered as she saw his small smile on his face, hidden from the amber-eyed woman's sight "A natural conduit."
Cinder's eyes widened and she laughed a cruel and excited laugh, "Oh, finally a challenge for me? You should've just said so!"
Cinder's hands glowed as she raised them to the girl's temples, "Oh, do try to fight. Who knows? You may actually be the first to stop me!"
The girl shook her head frantically but was helpless as Cinder's hand clamped down on her skull.
Screams echoed through the chamber.