Author's note: I've skipped most of the fight, because we all know what happened.
Blake shot a Sabyr that jumped at Yang, killing it. She turned her weapon into its melee form and whirled around to impale another Grimm. Her sword dug itself into the Grimm's chest. Suddenly, a massive white bear came barreling out of the alleyway next to her, biting down on the Grimm and pulling her weapon from her hand. The blade snapped in two, and the weapon landed halfway across the street from Blake. Weiss used her glyphs to retrieve the weapon and her friends.
"What is that?!" Ruby asked, pointing at the bear as it rose to its hind legs, easily dwarfing the girls and showing what Salem based the Big Ursai off of.
"Fluffy!" Nora exclaimed, happily throwing her arms in the air.
"An Atlesian tundra bear," Weiss answered, "The most dangerous predator in the world."
"Fluffy…," Nora said sadly, letting her arms hang.
"Yes, they are fluffy," Weiss said. Another Sabyr jumped at the bear. The bear caught the Grimm on its right front paw, sinking his claws into it. The Grimm emitted light blue flames and began evaporating. The bear slammed it onto the nearby armored military vehicle, which crumbled like wet paper. A pack of Sabyr came onto the street and the bear roared at them. Blake covered her cat ears. The bear rose to his hind legs again and casually swatted the vehicle's engine block into the charging horde.
"Engines like that easily weigh a ton," Yang said in disbelief, "Aura or not, taking a hit like that will hurt." The engine killed several dozen Grimm before it stopped rolling and exploded, sending shrapnel into even more Grimm and killing them. The bear fell back onto all fours and trudged over to the Grimm.
"And that's why their fur is so expensive," Weiss said as the group watched the bear effortlessly slaughter dozens of Grimm. One of the Sabyr bit into the bear's right front leg. The monster's skull suddenly exploded, and Ruby's group stared in disbelief.
"Yeah, I can see why people wouldn't want to mess with them," Nora said.
"I- what? How?" Weiss asked, trying to figure out why Grimm suddenly explode.
"His semblance," Jaune answered, "I don't know exactly what it is, but he activated it just now, and when he crushed that truck." A larger pack of Sabyr came onto the street, completely covering the road and occupying all visible roads leading away from it. Ruby got her weapon ready, when one of the Sabyr got attacked by a rat. It dug its claws and teeth into the Grimm's fur, and light blue flames erupted from it where the rat made contact. The Sabyr tried to get the rat off of itself, but was tackled by some more rats and fell over. Within seconds, the entire Grimm horde was buried under a writhing mass of rabid rodents, whose razor-sharp teeth relentlessly ripped through their fur and bone plates.
"Those flames…," Ruby said as she noticed the familiar glow.
"Yeah, what's up with those?" Nora asked.
"Hatred," Qrow answered and said, "There is one person whose hatred for Grimm far exceeds anyone's feelings for anything. I've seen every Great War documentary there is, listened to quite a few death metal bands, even black metal, I've seen how Niob reacts to Ironwood's forces if left unchecked, and I've seen more than my fair share of people like Adam. Until I first saw her fight Grimm, I thought I knew what hatred looks like." The group went quiet for a bit, safe for the sound of Grimm dying to an endless bombardment of teeth and claws.
"It's her, right?" Ruby asked. The blanket of rats sunk to the ground as the Grimm below evaporated, and the sirens fell silent again.
"Yeah," Qrow answered, paused for a moment and said, "Sophie." The animals turned towards the group. Ruby slowly walked towards the bear, who trudged over to her as well. The rats ran at full speed, but were just as fast as the bear. Ruby and the bear stopped in front of one another, and the bear's nose was almost as big as Ruby's face. He lowered his head and exhaled through his nose, and the warm and moist air brushed through Ruby's hair.
"Sophie?" Ruby asked, not sure if she could talk to the swarm's leader directly. The bear nodded.
"Ruby, be careful," Yang said. Ruby looked back at her friends and saw how uncomfortable Weiss, Jaune and Oscar were with the rats practically, and sometimes literally, stepping on their feet. Ruby turned back to look at the bear.
"Could you give my friends some space?" Ruby asked, and the rats immediately jumped away from her friends.
"Thanks, Ruby," Oscar said, and Ruby looked at him.
"You're welcome," Ruby said, turned back to the bear and said, "And thanks for keeping Mantle safe." The bear hugged Ruby, much to her friends' shock.
"Ruby!" Weiss called out, knowing too well what these bears can do.
"I'm fine, Yang hugs stronger than that," Ruby said, "Smells better, too. Most of the time." The bear let go of her.
"That was one time," Yang said. In the distance, they heard another siren go off.
"Looks like you have a job to do," Ruby said, "And remember, Atlas is your friend. Don't hurt their soldiers." The rats disappeared into the sewers and the bear trudged off again.
"That was… unexpected," Jaune said.
"Never a dull moment," Ren added.
"But not exactly unwelcome," Qrow said, "I honestly expected things to go much rougher." Just as he said that, several bolases came flying out of nowhere and wrapped around Ruby and her friends. They all fell down, and the relic of knowledge came unhooked from Ruby's belt. Five uniform-clad people came out of hiding and walked over to Ruby and her friends.
"Good job, team," the group's leader said. Fast, rhythmic thumping shook the ground, and the tundra bear ran up to the newcomers.
"Stop!" Ruby called out, and the bear came to a halt, stopping right in front of the clearly terrified soldiers.
"Nice bear, good bear, friendly bear," the leader of the group said and took a step away from the animal. A pigeon landed in front of Ruby.
"Remember, Sophie," Ruby said, "They're Atlas military, so don't hurt them. Also, if we were in danger, Sirena would be here in an instant."
"Like we're not in trouble right now," Nora said.
"Don't worry," Ruby said, "I mean, they got backup all over the city, and more in Atlas, and still decided not to attack us directly. Sure, they got us, but in a fair fight, we'd win."
"Says who?" One of the two women on the team asked, huffing arrogantly.
"I do," Ruby answered and said, "Anyway, please be careful with our weapons." The bear nodded and growled in agreement, and the soldiers and Atlesian Knights made sure not to risk scratching the weapons. Pietro and Maria came walking over to them. Ruby nodded at the bear, and it trudged off again.
"What is the meaning of this?" Pietro asked, coughed and asked, "What are the Ace-Ops even doing down here in Mantle?"
"Ace-Ops?" Ruby asked.
"Hello doctor, good to see you," the Ace-Ops' leader said and answered, "We heard a report of an unauthorized airship making an unauthorized landing, and use of weapons by unlicensed huntsmen, so we came to investigate." Already fed up with all that bureaucracy nonsense, Ruby looked at the pigeon.
"Sophie, do your animals have a license to kill Grimm?" Ruby asked. Knowing what her sister was up to, Yang sent a message to Talia.
"Talia, come to Atlas, we're messing with Ironwood's glorified thugs," Yang wrote, sending the message through the network based on Raven's semblance, and Talia's aura popped up in her augmented vision a few seconds later. The Ace-Ops ignored the group, and the pigeon shook its head.
"Well, you heard the man," Ruby said, "No killing Grimm without authorization, those are the rules." The pigeon fluttered angrily.
"I kinda agree," Nora said, knowing what Ruby was doing, "Without Sophie, this city will be completely destroyed within a day."
"Nonsense," the arrogant woman said, "We can handle whatever the Grimm try."
"Alright then," Ruby said, turned to the pigeon and said, "Sophie, stop killing Grimm in the city of Mantle. That's an order." The pigeon seemed to wrestle with itself for a bit, but then relented. The Grimm warning sirens immediately went off all over the city, and the Ace-Ops' scrolls were flooded with reports of Grimm attacks and Atlesian Knights being destroyed, and surveillance footage of people getting mauled by Grimm.
"What have you done?!" The leader of the Ace-Ops asked, picking Ruby up by her cloak.
"Finally you notice me," Ruby said and answered, "And I was just making sure Sophie followed the rules. My friends and I got in trouble for doing your job without authorization, after all."
"We were just following orders," the Ace-Ops' leader said, "Now undo that mess and hope noone got seriously hurt."
"We'll work on asking nicely later," Ruby said, turned to the pigeon and said, "I changed my mind, keep killing Grimm. And don't worry about me, just keep this city safe and be nice to the military." The sirens fell silent immediately, and the Grimm reports stopped coming in.
~o~
Some time later, Ruby and her friends were sitting in a Manta. They had their wrists bound by bolases, and only Nora's attempts at chewing through the restrains could be heard. Yang nervously bounced her leg, and Blake put her hand on her friend's knee, giving her a reassuring smile.
"Where do you think they're taking us?" Ruby asked.
"I'm gonna go with jail," Qrow answered.
"I can't believe that fishing pole guy took us out like that," Jaune said.
"Welcome to Atlas," Weiss said, "Those were Ironwood's Ace Operatives." Upon hearing that, another man sitting with them perked up.
"You guys had a run-in with the Ace-Ops?" The man asked and said, "Wow, Ironwood must really have a bone to pick with you." Weiss rolled her eyes.
"They're not that big of a deal," Weiss said.
"Not that big of a deal?" The man asked and said, "The Ace-Ops are the elite-of-elite huntsmen, and Ironwood's personal attack dogs."
"So they got you too, huh?" Nora asked, and the man huffed.
"I wouldn't let myself get caught by them," the man said, "I'm here because I've been speaking out against Atlas' exploitation of Mantle, and Ironwood is trying to silence me." Hearing that, Ruby spaced out again and put a few things together, not paying attention to what was being said. She astral projected next to Weiss and used her mentor semblance to transmit an idea to her. Weiss was confused at first, but decided to go with it anyway. She summoned a tiny Life-Stealer, barely larger than a thumbnail, had it turn invisible and latch on to the man's clothes. She then summoned a Seer of similar size and hid it in one of her sleeves. Ruby then returned to her body and followed the rest of the conversation.
"'Our cause'?" Blake asked.
"Yes, the fight for better conditions in Mantle," the man began, "Led by the charismatic, talented, and lovely Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses." The main pilot pressed a button, but nothing happened, no matter how often or aggressively he pressed it.
"You know," Talia said, with her child-like voice coming from the speakers, "My daddy always says silencing the opposition doesn't solve anything. And I say he's right. Also, if you want to keep playing rough like that, I'll have you know that I already calculated a way to blow this thing up and only injure you pilot guys."
"Thanks, creepy ghost child," the man said, "The Happy Huntresses were all top Atlas Academy graduates who could've signed up for the military, but chose to stay in Mantle. Robyn is gunning for a seat on the council, and once she gets it, she will put an end to Ironwood's tyranny!"
"See?" Talia asked, "Doesn't it make you feel better to listen to people?"
"Not… really," one of the pilots answered.
"Come on, be honest here," Talia said, cheerful as ever, and the aircraft rocked a little bit.
"Fine, whatever," the copilot said, "Yes, it feels good to listen to people."
"I knew it," Talia said, "Daddy said knowing things is my specialty, you know. Anyway, I'm a bit busy right now, so I'll have to leave." Talia turned on the windshield wipers and sprinklers, blocked the controls for both and gave control of the rest of the Manta back to the pilots. The main pilot pressed a button to close the window to the back, and both pilots continued the trip slightly annoyed at Talia's little prank.
"Happy… Huntresses?" Oscar asked.
"Is that their real name?" Yang asked.
"Don't you think 'tyranny' is a little dramatic?" Weiss asked. The man turned around and froze when he saw who was talking.
"Wait, I thought you were killed by arsonists," the man said.
"What's next?" Weiss asked sarcastically, "Dragons, mermaids, or maybe a talking dog?" Ruby didn't hear the man's response, but instead just let her eyes wander a bit and looked outside.
"It's gorgeous up here," Ruby exclaimed, prompting Jaune and Nora to look outside as well.
"This isn't the jail," the man said.
"It's… Atlas Academy," Qrow said. The Manta landed on one of the landing pads in front of the towering academy, and two guards opened the rear door to let Ruby and her friends exit, while more guards lined up to form a path to the academy.
~o~
Shortly after leaving the airship, the group was standing in a rising elevator, their hands still bound, and two guards accompanied them.
"Well, I guess we will be seeing the General," Ruby said, "For better or worse."
"So, what do we do?" Ren asked.
"I don't know yet," Ruby answered, "But we should be careful with what we say." One of the guards looked over his shoulder and at the group. The seams on one of Ruby's pockets ripped and her wallet fell out, with her student ID falling out as it hit the floor. The guard picked it up and looked at it, before handing it and the wallet back to Ruby.
"Here you go, Miss," the soldier said, giving Ruby a small and polite nod.
"Thanks," Ruby said, put her ID back into her wallet and put her wallet away.
"You still keep your student ID?" Yang asked.
"It didn't feel right leaving that behind," Ruby answered, "You know, since I'm not a licensed huntress yet. Plus, it gives me a little discount on some things in bigger cities." The elevator arrived at its destination, the doors opened and the group was led through a long hallway. As they came to a cross-section, with one side leading to a door, they heard Ironwood's voice in the distance.
"I swear, if I have to sit through another council meeting like that…," the General said. He walked around a corner and turned to his office, and both Winter and Whitley were following him. Whitley wore white boots with aesthetic black leather straps on them, which had the family crest on the buckle, white pants, a white leather belt with golden rim that held a sword and a few pockets, a light blue dress shirt under a white jacket, and a golden lapel. His hair was the usual style, but he had a few scars that he tried to hide with makeup, with mixed results.
"Whitley?!" Weiss asked, shocked at her brother's combat-oriented attire, and the sword on his side. General Ironwood, Winter and Whitley all turned around, and Whitley froze in surprise.
"Weiss…," Whitley said, a single tear running down his cheek. He wanted to hug his sister, but restrained himself. Nora held up her hands.
"Mind giving us a hand with these?" Nora asked. Winter composed herself again and turned to the guards.
"You have ten seconds to take those off before I start hurting you," Winter said. A dark red portal opened in some distance, close to a corner, and Sirena came walking around it.
"Ten whole seconds? Are we feeling generous today?" Sirena asked with a surprisingly friendly undertone. The guards looked at each other, then went ahead and started taking off everyone's restrains. The restrains fell to the ground, glowed purple, retracted the ropes and made a beeping sound.
"Please, come in," General Ironwood said and gestured towards the door to his office. Sirena made the red portal disappear, and Ruby and her friends followed Ironwood, Winter and Whitley into the office.
~o~
The entire group, including Sirena, entered Ironwood's office. Weiss was still not used to her brother's new look, and Whitley was still a bit overwhelmed to see her alive. Sirena walked over to a wall and leaned against it.
"It is so good to see you all," General Ironwood said.
"Our reception didn't quite convey that," Yang said and massaged her left wrist.
"I sincerely regret how you were treated by my team," General Ironwood said and sat down behind his desk.
"Then why did you allow for such treatment?" Sirena asked.
"Because," General Ironwood answered, "When a rogue airship entered our airspace, it raised some… red flags. We assumed it was stolen."
"I mean, we tried asking nicely," Ruby said with an apologetic tone.
"However," Sirena said, "That entitled, delusional, cashew-hating raisin you dumped in Argus clearly has no idea how to do her job properly. Had I not interfered, Ruby would have died and Argus would have been destroyed by Grimm because of her."
"Is that true?" General Ironwood asked.
"Yes," Ruby answered, "She used that super cool mech to try and kill us when we stole the Manta, which we did only after Sirena ruined our chances at a diplomatic solution." Everyone was quiet for a moment, with General Ironwood expecting Sirena to lash out at Ruby for throwing her under the bus like that, but Sirena stayed completely calm. Ruby gave her an apologetic look, and Sirena turned to face General Ironwood.
"This probably doesn't mean much to you," Sirena said, "But I stayed in Argus until just recently to ensure the safety of the people there. There has not been a single casualty, thanks to the team's actions."
"That's great," General Ironwood said, "Of course this means a lot to me."
"Allow me to rephrase the statement, then," Sirena said, "People, as well as those individuals that don't tell you how amazing you are." With that, Winter couldn't contain her frustration any longer and stepped forward.
"You stole an Atlas aircraft?" Winter asked, "What were you thinking? You might have been shot down. How unbelievab-" Her little tirade was interrupted when Weiss hugged her, and Winter calmed down again.
"I'm sorry I worried you," Weiss said, "But we did what we had to do."
"I… I suppose I understand," Winter said, glared at Qrow and said, "But I cannot believe that you allowed this to happen, Qrow."
"You try and stop these kids once they set their mind on something," Qrow said, "By the way, I have some important information that's a bit more… confidential." He looked at Ironwood, and Winter returned to her spot next to Ironwood's desk.
"Is it about the relic?" Whitley asked.
"Or the winter maiden?" Winter asked.
"You told them?" Qrow asked in surprise.
"Of course," Ironwood answered and asked, "Or did you think you were the only one who began working on a new plan after Beacon?" He got up, took the relic of knowledge out of a drawer, let it grow to its full size and set it on the table.
"Which part of this plan includes actually fighting Salem?" Sirena asked.
"All of it," Ironwood answered, "With Ozpin gone, I needed my own team of people I could trust. So yes, I told them. The Ace-Ops, too. Which is why I'm so glad you are all here… with this. Until now, I believed it was impossible to truly turn the tide on Salem. Ozpin has pushed her back, kept victory just out of her claws, but she will return stronger and stronger. Unless we destroy her." Everyone was quiet for a moment, and while Ruby still tried to figure out what to say now and what to keep for later, Sirena spoke up.
"Then why have you not followed my instructions?" Sirena asked.
"Instructions?" Ruby asked, looking at her mentor.
"I prepared messages on my scroll," Sirena answered, "The night Beacon fell, it sent one to his scroll, providing very simple instructions on how to rid the world of Salem for good. I had hoped he would be able to follow these simple instructions, but I see now that even that was too much to ask, as he has done the exact opposite of what we needed to do to stop her!" She yelled that last part at Ironwood, and Weiss flinched a little, even with Sirena's silver eyes passively easing her fear.
"Your message just asked me what her biggest strength was," Ironwood said, starting to get a little agitated himself.
"Exactly!" Sirena shouted, calmed down a bit again and said, "She grows stronger by dividing us, pitting us against one another and making us destroy ourselves. You had one job, James. One. Job. Bring the world together. It was that simple."
"Sirena, calm down," Ruby said, stepping in front of Sirena and giving her a stern look. Winter tensed up a bit, expecting Sirena to lash out, but instead, Sirena sighed and calmed down again.
"Alright. It can't be changed now anyway," Sirena said and asked, "What is your plan, James?"
"Well, the staff of creation is safe inside the vault," Ironwood said, "And the winter maiden is in stable condition. Therefore, we will first focus on recovering Amity Colosseum. Unfortunately, due to an increase of aquatic Grimm activity over the past almost four years, none of my ships made it out of the kingdom, and with the Vale council banning air travel, we are left with very few options to achieve this goal." He gave Sirena a judging look, and everyone else looked at her, too.
"You said your men could handle it," Sirena said, "Don't be mad at me for trusting in your strength for once." Ironwood sighed and massaged his nose.
"Fine, you won," the General said, "I need your help." Sirena pulled out her scroll, flipped through several thousand files, made eye contact with Ironwood, started an audio file and maintained eye contact while it played.
"I don't care about your people!" Ironwood's voice came from the speakers, "I do not need your help, nor will that ever change! Just let me protect my kingdom from Grimm in peace, without your crazy delusions messing it all up!" The room was silent for a moment, and Sirena stood there with a completely blank expression, then put her scroll away without breaking eye contact.
"I can forgive a lot of things," Sirena said coldly, "I rarely do it, but I can. However, one thing I will never forgive is when someone insults my people. I told them what you said. What you did. They know." She suddenly let out an exhausted sigh and leaned against the wall next to her. For a few seconds, everyone's mind was a bit clouded, with the exception of Sirena's. A few seconds later, when everyone could think clearly again, Sirena pulled out her scroll and wrote a message to someone. The others gave her weird looks, she sent the message and looked at them all.
"What was that?" Jaune asked.
"Just a message, nothing too important," Sirena answered, "I'll get back to it later."
"No, I meant-" Jaune said, but was cut off by Sirena.
"Not. Important," Sirena said, "Now James, I believe you wanted to say something."
"Right," Ironwood said, "Now, I know how this all looks. Recalling my military? The embargo? I probably don't seem the most trustworthy right now."
"Then why continue it?" Blake asked.
"The people of Mantle are hurting," Nora said.
"I know," Ironwood said, "But I needed to ensure that Salem could not infiltrate the kingdom, and I needed my military here, protecting my people."
"But it's not protecting them," Yang said, "It's making everyone hate you."
"That is a price I am willing to pay," Ironwood said, and Sirena coughed as if to suppress a laugh, drawing everyone's attention to herself.
"What is so funny?" Winter asked.
"Your second father figure," Sirena answered, looked at Ironwood and asked, "Do you honestly expect us to believe that you are paying anything here? Sure, maybe you do, but do you really pay out of your own pocket, or do you let others pay you back?"
"Second father figure?" Winter asked.
"Yes," Sirena answered, "You were bored being told what to do by your biological father, so you dumped him and kept doing the same thing with the next best substitute."
"That is not true at all," Winter said, taking a step towards Sirena and reaching for her sword. Jaune sensed that Sirena was using another semblance.
"Winter, that's enough," Ironwood said sternly.
"Yes, Sir," Winter said, relaxed again and resumed a more composed pose, though she still glared at Sirena.
"Now, as I was saying," Sirena said, "You are not paying anything. The people are paying for your actions. Take those children for example." Her colors desaturated for a few seconds as she used Ren's semblance, extending it onto a few people whose fear she could sense. Shortly after that, Ironwood got a message on his desk computer. He opened it, read through it, and gasped a little.
"What is it?" Qrow asked.
"It's definitely strange," Ironwood answered, "But it seems that two soldiers and five little children were attacked by a pack of Sabyr. However, the Grimm mysteriously lost track of them, allowing the soldiers to take them out while the children ran away. There are no casualties, or even injuries. Normally this would've been a bloodbath."
"No need to thank me," Sirena said.
"Thank you?" Ironwood asked.
"You're welcome," Sirena answered. Ironwood let out a slightly annoyed sigh and pressed a button on his desk computer that resembled a table emitting light from its surface. Shutters came down and darkened the room, and the center of the room rose up, prompting Ruby and Oscar to step off of it. As Ironwood grabbed a remote and walked over to it, it slowly turned into a table.
"Alright, I have to ask this now before I explode," Weiss blurted out and asked, "No offense Whitley, but what are you doing here?"
"None taken," Whitley said and answered, "I'm keeping an eye on the General to make sure he doesn't manipulate the election in ways that might be… illegal. Of course, that means I have to play soldier a little to get close to him. At least, that's what I told father so he let me go."
"And why are you really here?" Weiss asked.
"Some dreams better not come true," Whitley answered coldly, and both he and Weiss knew what he was talking about.
"If this is sorted out now," Ironwood said, "I suppose I should explain a few things. Just as you all have been entrusted with the knowledge of Salem's existence, I need you all to trust me. I have a plan. Ozpin believed that the best was to fight Salem was to do so in secret. Whether that was the right choice or not is not for me to say. But we find ourselves in a position of needing, well, a new approach."
"So, what do you suggest?" Qrow asked. Ironwood pressed a button on his remote, and a hologram of Amity Colosseum appeared above the table.
"That's… Amity Colosseum," Jaune said.
"Where the Vytal Tournament is held?" Oscar asked.
"Indeed," Ironwood answered, "When Beacon fell and everyone on Remnant lost contact with one another, I realized our current system was outdated. Amity was built to bring the nations together, and it will serve that purpose once again." Ironwood pressed another button, and the hologram of Amity Colosseum gained an antenna on top.
"It's simple," Winter said, "With this, we will be able to not just replace Beacon Tower, but also maintain global communications, even if we lose another tower. Our scientists believe that if we can send it high enough into the atmosphere, we can create a sort of… satellite, unreachable for Salem or Grimm, maintaining permanent global communications." Ironwood, Winter and Qrow looked at Sirena, who was seemingly playing games on her scroll. When she noticed the looks, she looked up.
"What?" Sirena asked.
"Aren't you going to say how awful this plan is?" Qrow asked.
"No," Sirena answered, "Aside from the obvious flaws, there are none I can point out." She looked back at her scroll and returned to what she was doing before the others interrupted her.
Author's note: The bear's semblance lets him redirect kinetic energy. Basically, nothing has any resistance to being moved or broken by him. If you punch him, you'll break your own fingers before he even notices anything. If you kick him, you're limping. It's more or less based on the ability of Accelerator from A Certain Magical Index, but not nearly as broken. It's still powerful, but it doesn't make him invincible.
Originally, I had also planned for the Ace-Ops to try and fight the bear, with obvious results, and almost get killed before Ruby would step in and save them.
Also, don't worry, the footage the Ace-Ops saw was from their training videos to desensitize them to death and carnage so they don't have as strong a reaction to it, and are less likely to be targeted by the Grimm when they're in a crowd. You know, since it's always a good idea to have the best fighters draw the least attention from enemies, so that the ones who can't fight as well can get to safety.
Yes, they spent the rest of the trip with windshield wipers and sprinklers on, and they'll have to figure out a way to override Talia's programming to turn them off again.