Original concept by Korra
Written by MechaG11

Part Two: Remnant Divided Arc
-Chapter 12: Change

Superman waits atop the roof of Beacon's Regime base. He hovers for hours in a meditative sitting-position and soaks in all of the sunlight that the day will gift him. It's been the first time for over a week that the sun was unimpeded by clouds, and he wasn't going to waste the opportunity to restore his strength. It was fortunate that Remnant had a yellow sun, for his Kryptonian cells were fast absorbing its warm radiation and rejuvenating his body. After weeks of waiting, he feels the last of his injuries from the Beacon Incident begin to fade away. He opens his eyes, feeling strong and new.

Now ready to continue his work, Superman descends from the rooftop. Regime soldiers and volunteers alike watch in awe as he slowly levitates downward and touches down foot-first. With his normal attire damaged by the previous battle at Beacon, he simply wore black pants and a white form-fitting long-sleeve shirt. It made him seem fairly normal, human-like, despite his other-worldly entrance. As much as he'd like to continue resting, he had a responsibility as one of the Regime's top assets. He decides to report to Ironwood about his condition, and heads inside the base.

Along the way, Superman enters another room. He comes across Yang as he steps in, who appeared to be lounging around at one of the tables while staring out a window. He stops and greets her with a short but affirming "Yang." to respectfully acknowledge her. The girl says nothing, almost failing to notice him. Superman decides to speak further, figuring that being friendly may rouse a reaction from her. "I didn't get to say this back at Haven, but you fought bravely back there." he compliments.

"Thanks." Yang says, almost dismissively. She didn't bother breaking her gaze to even look in his direction.

Superman is off-put by this, but decides to continue walking to his destination. He sometimes forgets some of their new members were teenagers, so he chalks her behavior up to something more typical. He catches one last glimpse of the girl through her reflection on the window, and decides to stop. He recognized that face, that expression. It was a face he knew too well. He feels compelled to face her, turning and approaching the girl. He kneels down to her level a bit. "You seem troubled." he states.

"You think?" Yang says, sounding a bit prickly.

"Now, now, no need for that." he says. "Yang, was it? You can tell me about what's bothering you. I'm here to help." he says, with a friendly tone. "I could keep a secret or two if you want, even from your sister." Superman didn't know Yang as well, but he was around Ruby long enough to know how energetic she can be. If Yang was her older sister, she must've had a lot of patience growing up as the older sister.

Yang shakes her head in response to his offer. "I just…" She sighs and holds her head with one hand. "It's no use…" she says, defeated.

"Try me." Superman replies. "Maybe I can help."

"Yeah?" Yang just looks at her prosthetic arm. "It must nice for you, being the strongest, fastest, person around. You fix everyone's problems. You probably don't even make mistakes..."

"If only that were true…" Superman replies. "So, you're worried about something you did?" he pries.

Yang turns away for a moment, before finally finding the words. She looks at him. "I…did something terrible, something I can never take back." Yang's eyes water a bit. "When Ironwood gave me this arm I thought it was my chance to take my own life back. I thought I could be me again, feel normal again…" Yang grits her teeth, grunting as she grips her cybernetic arm tightly. Her fingers clamp down, and she roughly detaches the prosthetic. "But all I've done is hurt someone I care about!" she exclaims while slamming the prosthetic into the table. Her eyes finally allow the tears she was holding back to flow. She glares at the golden arm resting on the table.

Superman is silent, and then nods solemnly. "I understand." He confessed, allowing his subdued vulnerability to briefly slip out for the first time in a while.

"W-what?" Yang says with an air of disbelief. Comments trying to console another are easy to ignore sometimes, but there was something about the way Superman said this. It was like she could hear his pain, even if was only a subtle detail.

"I'm saying I understand." Superman iterates. "Hurting someone you love and care about. Some time ago a madman…tricked me with an illusion. By the time I realized what happened, my wife and child were…" He pauses, troubled by the recollection of what happened. His hand curls into a tight fist and looks down solemnly.

Yang was struck by this. She understood being deceived, being put on the spot after swearing she perceived events differently, but the gravity of Superman's confession…it was a pain she couldn't fully fathom. She may have injured Blake, but she the very thought of killing her was inconceivable. She wouldn't know what to do with herself If she'd done so.

Superman looks up at her. "I hope you see it now. Despite all of my strength and abilities…"

"You couldn't save them." Yang answers.

"Hurting someone like we did…it makes you want to never use your strength again," Superman explains. "The truth of the matter is that our strength is the only thing that can stop more harm from happening again. So we use it. We use it better. We get stronger. We learn. It's…" Superman pauses once more, and then stands while looking resolved. "It's the only way we can continue to live with ourselves. It's on us to make things right, no matter how long or hard we have to work to achieve it."

Superman walks past Yang, briefly touching her shoulder with his hand supportively as he passes by. Yang sits for a moment, then turns around to face Superman. "My friend, she ran from the Regime. What…what should I do?" Yang asks.

Superman stops and turns to her slightly. "If she's really your friend, there's still hope that she'll make the right choice to come back. If not….what happens will depend on her." he says.

The latter answer wasn't the most reassuring thing to hear, but it was all the more reason to try the former. She wasn't sure Blake would trust her enough to come back, but she had to try. She couldn't bear Blake suffering more harm than she already has. Maybe Blake couldn't be healed, maybe Yang couldn't be forgiven, but saving her friend would mean everything. That much would be enough to ease her conscience somewhat.

Superman leaves the room, leaving Yang alone to herself just as she was before. She stares at her prosthetic arm. She starts to reach for it, but hesitates. She shakes her head. "Stupid." she thought to herself. There wasn't time for doubts. She can still act. There's still time to make things right, and she'll start by putting this arm back on.

Ruby sits in a room to herself, somewhere inside Beacon's Regime base. Parts of her weapon lay disassembled in a large box or two while she cleans and inspects some of the internals. She wasn't in the best mood, clearly trying not to think too hard about all that's happened. She hoped some good old maintenance work would distract her, but the method proves to only provide her with more time to ponder recent events. A door opens, and in steps Weiss. She takes a seat opposite to Ruby. "Trying to stay occupied I see." Weiss remarks.

"I mean, I'm the leader of Team RWBY, aren't I?" Ruby says. "I just thought…maybe it's my job to not look worried. Gotta stay strong, right? That's what Yang used to do for me when we were little." she explains.

"Well for one: We're not little." Weiss replies. "After everything that's happened…I think we have more than enough reason to feel worried, especially you and your sister." Weiss looks down. "I know you took a week off to mourn with your family, but…we both know that sometimes a week isn't always enough."

Ruby looks at her. "Weiss, I'm fine-"

"Are you?" Weiss asks. Her voice wasn't loud, in fact it was quite tempered, but that didn't stop the question from feeling a bit sharp and critical.

Ruby stops cleaning and solemnly tilts her head down a bit. "No…" she answers truthfully. "I just…can't be when Qrow's killer is still out there!"

"We'll catch him." Weiss answers with certainty. "The Regime hasn't lost yet." she claims.

"Then why does it feel like we did?" Ruby counters.

Weiss had no counterpoint, and how could she? Ruby's uncle was murdered, and a handful of their friends became fugitives on the run from the Regime. She was confident that the situation could be salvaged at the very least, but such confidence was not enough to soften the impact of recent events. "We'll find Nora and Ren. We just have to talk to them. Blake however…Blake is confused."

"I'm not so sure she is, Weiss." Ruby replied. "We both saw what happened at Haven." she mentions. They weren't there to witness the droves of White Fang who were carved through on Ironwood's orders just to get to Adam, but they vividly remember discovering the aftermath.

"Ruby, they forced our hand." Weiss counters, trying to sound practical. "They were protecting a crazed man trying to murder masses of innocent people."

"I know that." Ruby confirms. She wasn't naïve enough to ignore the wrongs that the White Fang willingly committed. "I'm just saying…how could Blake not be scared after seeing that? I know I was." Ruby averts her gaze slightly. "I've never seen so many dead people before…"

Weiss folds her arms insecurely. "It was…yeah." she sighs. There was no point in trying to justify it. What was done was done.

"Winter…" Ruby utters.

Weiss turns to Ruby and tilts her head slightly. "What?" she asks, a bit confused.

"It was Winter." Ruby clarified. "Soldiers from Ironwood's group were talking about it. The general gave the order, and Winter killed them."

Weiss wasn't surprised enough to muster gasp, but the reveal was still heavy enough to rattle her. It's not like she could deny the possibility either. Winter was definitely strong enough to do something like that if she really tried, but Weiss just didn't want to imagine her older sister committing such a tremendous act of violence. Winter was certainly steeled enough to handle such a thing, mentally and emotionally, much more so than Weiss could even muster. Weiss couldn't help but wonder if she was just naïve. Thinking they wouldn't have to kill people in this profession. Maybe it was just a hard truth that someone of Winter's caliber would have to shoulder the burden of taking more lives than the average Huntress. Was she destined to follow her sister's path as well? It was a question she had no clear answer for. "Is this what it means to be a Huntress? To kill when needed?" Weiss asks.

"We'll kill monsters." Ruby answers.

"And people like Cinder Fall?" Weiss asks.

Ruby looks down, silently contemplating Weiss' words. She wasn't sure how to answer that. She never had to kill an actual person before, but she was hard-pressed to say whether or not Cinder deserved it. Part of her honestly wants to say Cinder did, but she wasn't sure if she could ever play the executioner when it was time to exact justice. Was she simply too afraid, or did she just prefer other methods to stop truly evil people?

Weiss appears regretful now that Ruby was so quiet in the wake of her question. "I…I'm sorry. I shouldn't be asking things like that." she apologizes. "I just came here to-"

"You just wanted to help." Ruby interrupts, turning to look at Weiss and giving a half-smile.

Weiss manages a smile. "Something like that." she says. Weiss approaches Ruby and hugs her. Ruby fully smiles, and returns Weiss' embrace. "I'm here if you need me, okay?" Weiss assures Ruby.

"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby says affectionately. "I think I'll be fine on my own for while." she says, gesturing to her spread of mechanical parts.

Weiss nods and quietly leaves. She does so without even with a snide comment like "If you tell anyone I did this-" as most would expect her to. Maybe it just wasn't the time for that. Ruby needed to feel supported right now. At least that's what Weiss thought, and that's what she sought to do. So for today, the jokes can wait.

"What do you mean 'No Kill' rule?" Ilia protests, backed by a few others in the hideout.

"Exactly as it sounds." Batman asserts. "Superman's forces are merciless, cruel…we have to be better."

"Who died and made you leader?" one of the former White Fang members shouts from the back.

Ozpin, in control of Oscar's body, steps in. "We are fighting an other-worldly enemy we know little about. As the utmost authority on facing them, Batman is our best chance of surviving this threat." he explains. The others can't object to that reasoning, but Ozpin still turns to Batman. "Though I must confess I harbor more than a few questions about your choice of method."

Ilia steps forward. "There are situations where you're left with no choice but to kill."

"No, there's always a choice." Batman counters sternly, sounding concluded on this matter.

Ilia shakes her head in disbelief. "You're naïve! Maybe even crazy. How do you expect us to win by showing mercy to people like them?!" she asks, heated.

"If you believe in what you say, come at me with that same ferocity they would. I'll show you what mercy can do." Batman dares his opposition, widening his stance a bit.

Ilia exchanges glances with a few of the others. She steps forward alongside three others. Ozpin looks as if he's about to protest, but Batman motions for him to stop and step back. Ozpin is concerned, but chooses to observe without interruption. He turns and sees Blake watching the scene unfold from nearby, her eyes showing interest in the situation. Ilia draws her weapon, as do a few others, while Batman merely stands there waiting. All is silent for a moment. Then…it begins.

Ilia's whip-sword cracks in the air with an electric sizzle. Batman shifts to the side to evade it, before having to block an oncoming swing from one of the men. The Dark Knight ducks under another axe swing from a woman, and then proceeds to pull one of the other men into Ilia's next attack. The electric shock of her weapon knocks the poor man out. Ozpin can't help but admire the speed and precision of the Dark Knight. Every blow and deflection met its mark, always disarming or stunning the opponent. Batman's prowess actually kind of annoyed Ilia. He was successful against multiples as well, Ilia herself almost being on par with a professional Huntsman. A strong strike here, a decisive blow there, and suddenly Ilia's numbers were laid useless before her.

Batman stood ready, now facing her one-on-one. Ilia didn't let it shake her, despite how unexpected Batman's success was. Realizing her opponent was an expert hand-to-hand combatant, she decides to keep him at a distance. More sizzling cracks of her sword-whip give Batman some difficulty approaching, but he is patient. Suddenly, he draws a small Bat-shuriken and waits for his moment. Ilia decides to utilize longer reaching strikes, and the draws back to prepare her next swing. It was the perfect opening, and Ilia's critical mistake. Batman flings his shuriken towards Ilia. The projectile swishes past her face, enough for her to feel it cutting through the air next to her cheek. The shuriken hits its mark: The lightning dust compartment of her sword. The breach in the chamber causes the dust vial to explode and combust. The small shock wave causes the weapon to fly out of her hand, and Ilia herself to be sent the direction away from it. Batman zooms over to Ilia in a blur before she could land, catching her leg, tossing her to the ground, and delivering a swift elbow to her gut.

Ilia groaned and coughed on the ground. She rolls over, grasping her abdomen, struggling to recover and come to a stand. The others on the ground writhe and groan as well. None were fatally injured, but were definitely done fighting for today…maybe even the next day too. Batman doesn't gloat, nor rub it in their face. He simply stands there, adjusting his gloves and standing silently. Ilia almost hated that he didn't say anything. If he talked trash even a little she could at least feel justified in being angry at him and maybe retort back, but she couldn't even have that. Batman didn't need to say anything. That much she knew. The man made his point.

Ilia tries to come to a stand, met by Batman's helping hand reaching down to her. She looks at it, confused, but then scrunches her face slightly in disapproval before lightly batting his hand away. Batman takes no offense to it. It was hardly his first time sparring with emotional teens, so he'd at least expect that. Ilia stands up and leans against a nearby table, letting herself recover and take a breath.

"Expertly done if I do say so myself." Ozpin notes. He looks down at the defeated parties before them. "Do not fret. Your minor injuries will heal fast enough with your Aura. Although it won't heal any emotional damage you may have endured after a loss like that. I suggest you all take this man's lesson to heart." He remarks. They didn't need Ozpin to tell them. Every second of soreness they were going to feel will definitely live on in their memory from this point on.

Ilia notices Blake leap in from the sidelines, and watches her approach Batman. "Will you teach me?" Blake asks in earnest.

Batman looks at her and needs little time to consider her question. "I can." he says. He looks to the others. "Anyone who wants to learn will, but I can't promise it will be easy." he says.

Ilia looks down and sighs. "Like there was any doubt about that." she quips. She musters a full stand, and takes a few steps towards Batman. "I…I want to learn too." she says, swallowing her pride a bit. Batman may have been a human, but he knew what he was doing in a fight. Frankly, he's also one of their few life-lines for survival at the moment. It would be stupid not to rely on the only allies they could afford to have at this point. "Life already hasn't been easy for our kind. So what's a bit more hardship for us Faunus?" Ilia turns and looks back towards the others. They all exchange glances and mutter amongst themselves.

Eventually, one man steps forward with his White Fang mask in hand. He looks up at Batman, Ilia, and Blake. "I want to be better." he declares. He throws his mask to the ground, discarding it. The others witness this gesture, an example that plays out like a domino effect. Soon other masks begin to fall to the floor. Blake can't help but smile at the resolve of the others. People can change, despite their mistake-filled past. She couldn't help but wish that her father could see this happening right at this moment.

Ozpin smiles at the group as well, which didn't go unnoticed by Blake. While it may have been Oscar's face, she could tell this was one of Ozpin's usual expressions from back at the academy. It was specifically the one that says "well done" without needing a single word to be spoken.

Glynda arrives, and approaches Ozpin. "Looks to me like I missed out on something..." she says, noticing the aftermath of some form of commotion.

Ozpin smiles to himself. "Change." he says. "A change for the better." On the outside Batman may have been stern, dark, maybe not the most sociable person…but he did something that impressed Ozpin: He made people feel hope through example. Batman may have had impressive strength, skills, and fancy gadgets, but it was his commitment to using what he had for the better that really made him a hero in Ozpin's eyes. He cherishes the moment, knowing it was just the kind of change Remnant needed. He looks to Ilia and Blake. Perhaps these two would follow his example, growing into heroes in their own right. They were still a ways away from that, but he hopes to have the privilege of seeing them achieve greatness when the day comes.

Nora steps outside in the night, dressed in some scavenged clothing the group was able to find to help them look less recognizable when outside the hideout. She spots Ren, sitting alone on a roof while staring at the moon. Unsurprisingly, she joins him. Ren of course notices her, but continues what he is doing. "I know you probably want to be alone." Nora notes. "I figured we could be alone, together, you know?" she says. Ren turns to her slightly. He's silent for a moment, before nodding. It had been over a month since the events at Beacon, and living underground for all of that time took its toll. He and Nora were, not so luckily, used to this kind of living ever since their childhood. Living on whatever they could find, hiding from threats, housed in run-down or ruined buildings…it wasn't new to them. What did weigh heavy upon their minds was, well…what would come tomorrow.

The pair sat quietly, downtrodden knowing that tomorrow they'd be forced to miss Pyrrha's funeral. "It's not fair…" Nora utters. Jaune had told them that the arrangement for the service was to take place after their mission in Haven, but no one could have expected the team to be fractured like this.

"I know…" Ren quietly responds. The two had every right to be there. They knew Pyrrha for over a year in their time at Beacon. Her death came unfairly the way it did. She inspired many through her prodigal skills and example. Pyrrha had all of the qualities that a huntress could ever need, the makings of a hero. Yet it was her who would tragically fall in the end, as many heroes unfortunately do. It was her who embraced the burden of facing evil when it reared its ugly head. Most important of all was that Pyrrha was their friend. Nora and Ren needed to pay their respects, but also express their love and grief for Pyrrha. They needed to be there to show her friends and family they weren't alone in their sadness, to prove Pyrrha was loved. Yet, here they were made to remain.

It was then that Blake suddenly called the two inside for something urgent. Ren and Nora exchanged glances, forced to cut their moment of shared grief short. They head inside and follow Blake. It wasn't until they reached the room she was leading them to that they understood her intent. Waiting inside was Glynda and Oscar, the latter of whom was currently possessed by Professor Ozpin. A single candle was lit in the center of the room on the floor. "I…felt it was only appropriate." Ozpin says. He, Glynda, Blake, Nora, and Ren all sit on their knees around the candle. Glynda is the first to speak, delivering for Pyrrha what was more or less a private eulogy. This of course, was followed by individual words each of them wished to express.

On the next day, similar words are spoken at Pyrrha's funeral. Pyrrha being as revered as she was, there was no shortage of attendants who appeared to the public and personal services. Jaune, Ruby, Weiss, Yang, General Ironwood…even Superman himself was there. Jaune of course felt the hole inside. He, along with a few others, was burdened with knowing that Nora and Ren could not attend. A small part of him wished they would, that they would both appear to give their respects. Maybe the pair would go back on their previous choice to run away…but reality settled in as the hours passed. He dreaded the likely possibility that Pyrrha's mother would ask why the two didn't attend, why two of Pyrrha's very teammates and friends were not there to mourn their dear friend. Jaune contemplated lying, knowing that the truth would shock her. He wondered if keeping it a secret would even matter. Those on the Regime's wanted list were public knowledge anyways, so it would only be a matter of time before she found out the truth.

Pyrrha's mother approaches. Jaune sighs briefly. "Time to come clean I guess." he thought to himself, before he turns and faces her.

It's an early morning in the wilds of Mistral. It's foggy out, but peaceful as a place like this can be out in the forest. Vernal sits around, bored, keeping tabs on the happenings within the Branwen encampment. Some of the men were slacking off, but she was quick to get them back on task. One look and a tap was enough to get them going, especially when they realized who came around to bother them. The perimeter defenses especially had to keep on guard, given the limited visibility they had in this morning fog.

Vernal nears the center of camp, where she sees Raven finally emerging from her chief's tent. Vernal approaches her leader, and Raven adjusts a part of her hair before asking "Are the perimeter posts on task?"

"Don't worry," Vernal says. "It doesn't take much to get them up and alert."

"Good." Raven replies.

Vernal crosses her arms. "You've been oversleeping. You OK?" she asks. "The others might not notice now, but eventually…"

Raven eyes her. "My brother's…" she says before sighing. "I'm not losing sleep over it." she claims. Raven took on the visage of one who abandoned her family, but Qrow was still her brother. His loss pained her, even if she didn't want to admit so. Raven lowers her voice. "To be frank, I'm more worried about these 'heroes' we keep hearing about. If they're as powerful as everyone is saying they are, well, let's just say I'm not confident in our chances. I also can't afford fighting two fronts if Salem and the Regime come after us." she says.

Vernal thinks for a moment. "It might be time to pick a side then."

"Who do I fear more, huh?" Raven says, almost scoffing. "Let's just hope it won't come to that."

A distant rumble is heard, catching their attention. "I guess thunder was on the forecast today." Vernal quips. Her expression changes when the second rumble comes.

"Was that closer?" Raven asks. The two listen again. A third rumble echoes louder.

"Grimm?" Vernal asks, drawing her weapons out. The other tribe members are definitely noticing the noise by now.

Raven scans what she can see in the distance, her hand nearing her sword handle to draw. "Defenses, everyone!" she commands. The resting tribe members run out of their tents, some armed for any potential foes. Raven and Vernal gesture to steady their fighters, trying not to rouse any unnecessary emotional commotion that might draw in Grimm. Everyone waits for the next impact, and it arrives. The impacts become louder and more frequent. Then…silence. Raven and Vernal both scan their surroundings. The fog obscures the distant surroundings, but they're ready for what might come.

A blurry object impacts the center of camp from above like a cannon ball, blasting soil and dust in all directions. It was enough to shake the ground, and even create a shock wave strong enough to push back Raven and Vernal a bit. The two braced in time, only being forced back a few inches. The two ready their weapons, followed by the rest of the camp focusing their attention on the point of impact. Raven squints, and spots a humanoid figure in the dissipating dust. It was a woman, bearing a sword and shield in each arm. She raises her head, looking directly at Raven. "Raven Branwen…I am Diana of Themyscira. On behalf of the Regime, I offer you battle or diplomacy." She steps forward and points her sword at Raven. "What say you?"

End of Chapter 12