Here we are at Chapter 3. Time to see how the two groups will handle working together. I do not own RWBY or Justice League. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 3. Enjoy.
Chapter 3: Who's in Charge
At Beacon, Ruby, Khazhak, and Clark's group are in one of the school locker rooms, preparing for their mission. While some are at the lockers, checking their gear, others are around a table which projects a map of Remnant.
"Where could Bruce be?" Diana starts the map up.
"I'm sorry, I'm still trying to accept the fact that you have a teammate who goes by 'Batman'," Jaune jokes.
"What do you think? Better or worse than 'Superman'?" Yang jokes with him.
"Right?" Barry says as he walks behind them.
"Focus, please," Diana says.
"This could prove difficult to find your friend. Remnant is large and has many territories. Ruby, Yang, Lloyd, Bahamut, and I found Clark in the forest near Beacon. Diana was found in Menagerie with Blake and Porphyrius. Everyone else..." Khazhak looks to Jaune.
"They were in the dorms right next to ours. Voshkie'ahk was in a separate room. We didn't notice until Jessica started crying," Jaune explains, only for a locker to slammed shut behind them.
They look back at Jessica, "I was NOT crying!" Jessica yells, getting a grumpy face.
"Hey, it's no big deal... You were a little off," Vixen tries to calm her down.
Jessica shrugs off Vixen's hand, "I was looking for my ring!"
"Yeah, and I have no idea where my necklace is either," Vixen adds.
"So, we were located near members of your teams," Diana says.
Porphyrius looks back at a SDC poster on the wall, "Hey, anyone heard from Weiss? Or Edom for that matter?"
"I tried to call Weiss, but I got nothing," Ruby says.
"It was the same for Edom," Lloyd adds.
"The CCT isn't working," Yang says.
"Maybe that's connected?" Diana asks.
"What powers your communications systems on Remnant?" Clark asks.
"Dust. It's our main energy source here on Remnant. For just about everything, really. In the forest with the grimm, we saw how they were... absorbing the Dust we threw at them. I wonder if that's connected," Khazhak explains, while Barry nearly stabs himself with his spear popping out.
"Bruce could figure it out," Clark notes.
"Okay, if she's not here, then where would Weiss be right now?" Diana asks.
"She'd most likely be in Atlas if the rest of us were found near our homes. If he's not here, then I'd bet Edom is there too. He's originally from Atlas, after all," Blake says.
"You'd probably be fine without me, right?" Jessica approaches the group.
"Jessica, what's wrong? Diana asks.
"I've been working on activating my... semblance for a while now, but nothing's working. I need my ring. It must be somewhere around here," Jessica says.
Diana sighs, "Jessica, we don't have time to-,"
"Ring?" Ruby interjects. "Green with a funny design. I've seen something like that in Ozpin's office,"
"Why don't we-," Jaune begins.
"Jaune... Jaune... Jaune-," the voice of Pyrrha Nikos echoes in his head as he sees images of her.
"-Jaune," Ren coaxes him back into reality.
"There's a lot of us in this group. Not all of us have to go looking for Bruce," Clark says.
"Fine, then while Jessica looks for her ring, we will find Batman," Diana seems a bit annoyed now.
"What?" Jessica appears hurt by that, which Porphyrius notices.
"Woah, woah, woah, pump the breaks," Khazhak stops them and walks right up to Clark's face. "Let's get one thing straight here, 'Superboy'. This isn't your world, it's ours. Or at least based on ours. Some of us have been fighting grimm here since before we even hit puberty. And you've been here for, what, five, ten minutes, and now all of a sudden you think you can call the shots. You may be the leader of your team, but you're not the leader of mine. Jaune leads Team JNR, Ruby leads Team RWBY, and I lead Team KEPL. More importantly, Ruby is the leader of our group here on Remnant. We follow her, and I take orders from no one but her," he glares between Diana and Clark.
Cyborg grunts, "And why her and not someone else?"
Khazhak glares at him now, "Because I believe in her. Because she's proven herself a capable leader time and time again. Most importantly, because I have sworn my life to her," he says without hesitation.
"Um, Khazhak, maybe not the right place or time right now for that last part," Ruby mutters with a slight blush.
"Brother's right. Sorry, 'Amazon Princess', but you don't tell us what to do," Lloyd says, earning a frown from her.
Vixen slides up next to Clark, "Sorry. They tend to think they should always lead sometimes. They have a point, you know. Their world, their rules. Even if that means having to figure out this semblance gimmick of theirs. We're not back home, so we shouldn't act all high and mighty here,"
"Hey, even some of us born on Remnant can have trouble when it comes to unlocking our semblances," Jaune says, which makes Jessica feel better.
"There's something else though... The grimm in the forest," Ruby says.
"Heh, we've dealt with plenty of monsters before," Cyborg acts cocky.
"I don't know what you've fought against on your world, but the grimm are different. They're monsters with no souls and exist for one reason and one reason only... to destroy humanity," Nora wipes that smile off his face with her words.
"It's like Nora said. There's a reason there are only FOUR kingdoms on Remnant. There are smaller cities and villages outside them, but some of those places fall as quickly as they rise. All because of the grimm. Humanity has been fighting them for centuries, and new species are discovered all the time. You say you've fought monsters, but have you fought armies of them on a regular basis?" Porphyrius asks.
"He's right. These aren't like the monsters back home. We have to find a way back home, now," Clark says.
"I think we should-," Ruby begins.
"We're not leaving without Bruce," Diana says.
"Hold on, please," Ruby tries again.
"You're not in charge here," Yang says.
"Um, oh, wait-," Ruby can't stop them.
"I need my ring!" Jessica says.
"Enough!" Khazhak slams his dragon fist into the map, shutting them all up. "Ruby has something to say. So shut up," he growls, takes a breath, and turns to Ruby. "Sorry about that, Ruby. Please, go on,"
Ruby sighs, "I was going to say that we should all split off into groups. While one group scouts for grimm in the forest, one will look for Bruce, Weiss, and Edom, and one will help Jessica find her ring. That way, we can get all of our objectives done together and hopefully find a way to fix our world and send you guys back to yours. I'll check out the forest," Ruby explains.
"Then I'm going with you, little rose," Khazhak says while Bahamut nods.
"I'll take Diana up to Atlas," Yang offers.
"I'll come with you," Porphyrius says.
"I'll go, too," Blake joins them.
"I'll head into the forest with Ruby and Khazhak," Clark says.
"Right behind you, blue boy," Barry runs up beside him.
"I'm going with you guys. If there's grimm out there, I want to smash them," Nora smirks.
"Where Brother goes, I go," Lloyd joins Khazhak's group.
"Cyborg, want to hack the computers while helping Jessica?" Clark suggests.
"Eh, I tried that before and got nothing. Just numbers repeating again and again... I'll go with Nora on the monster hunt in the forest!" Cyborg says, making her smile.
Ren sighs, "Me too,"
Jessica seems anxious, "I... I don't want to be alone right now,"
"...I'll stay with you," Jaune volunteers, making her smile.
"What about you, Vixen?" Clark looks at his Faunus friend.
Vixen twirls her sword around in her hand, "Hey, you know me, always loved following you into crazy and dangerous situations, Bruce,"
"Voshkie'ahk, what about you and Tiamat?" Khazhak turns to his sister.
Voshkie'ahk glances at Jaune and Jessica, "I'll help Jaune and Jessica find her ring," she says while Tiamat nods.
"Alright, then that's the plan. Good luck, everyone," Khazhak says, and they all head out on their respective missions.
…
Back in Atlas, Weiss, Edom, and Bruce who's back in his costume, walk through the halls of the Schnee manor on their way to the Dust lab. During the walk, Bruce recounts the two with his back story and his world.
"So, you come from a world called Earth, and live in a city called Gotham. There, you fight as a crime-fighting vigilante while also being incredibly filthy stinking rich like Weiss and you were... an adult?" Edom recounts.
"Hey, I'm not that bad, Edom!" Weiss pouts, making him chuckle.
"The evidence, combined from the flashes in my memories, suggests that I was an adult, but... I don't feel like one. I feel like I'm actually a teenager. It doesn't feel right though. I've never had the chance to really be a kid back home," Bruce says, shaking his head. "So, where's the Dust lab again?"
"It's right round this corner," Weiss says, but quickly stops them and hides behind the corner when they spot grimm in the hall ahead of them. "Grimm,"
"They... don't appear to be friendly," Bruce notes.
"That's putting it lightly," Edom adds.
"The lab. The door should be right there," Weiss looks at the spot, but finds no door there. She draws her rapier, Myrtenaster while Edom draws his twin-scythe. "Edom and I will distract them while you-,"
"Wait!" Bruce grabs her should to stop them.
Weiss scoffs, "Are you telling us you know how to fight grimm better than we do?"
Bruce walks around them, using his semblance to spot the door to the lab hidden next to the grimm.
"The grimm are illusions," Bruce mutters before turning to them.
"We're not on your world," Weiss argues.
"The lab is being hidden somehow, behind the grimm. I think someone is trying to keep us out of it," Bruce says.
Weiss smirks, "Well, we'll see about that," she readies her rapier.
Weiss and Edom step into the hallway, drawing the grimms' attention. Weiss twirls before stabbing her rapier into the floor, creating a glyph to summon her Armas Gigas, which surprises Bruce. Edom then conjures two skull phantoms with his semblance.
"We'll deal with the grimm. You find a way to open that door," Edom says as Weiss shoots towards the grimm on her glyphs with Edom and their summons behind her.
Bruce uses his semblance on them, seeing a red aura around the Ursa at the front. Edom swings his twin-scythe, cutting the heads off of two Beowolves. Weiss launches some fire Dust at the Ursa, but it suddenly absorbs the Dust into its mouth like a smoothie.
"Weiss, don't use Dust! They're absorbing it!" Bruce yells as Weiss lands on a glyph, about to stab her rapier into the Ursa'a head, which suddenly sucks in the Dust from her weapon.
Stunned, Weiss jumps back to nearly avoid a laser beam from the grimm, only or Edom's skull phantoms to grab its front legs in their mouths, ripping them off and then Edom slicing the grimm's head off. Edom retreats to Weiss, her aura flickering, while her summon swings its blade at more grimm.
"Weiss, are you alright?" Edom kneels next to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Weiss turns to Bruce. "You said they were just illusions!"
"They're good illusions," Bruce replies.
"Fine. They're dangerous illusions. Noted," Weiss says.
They return to the fight while Bruce reaches the door lock. He tries to use the key, but the lock shocks him and he collapses. He regains himself, using his semblance to see a small light, an opening in the door. He tries to shoulder tackle his way through, but no luck. A Beowolf jumps at him, but Weiss bounces off the wall and slices its head off. The body falls and dissipates, but a piece of it remains behind.
"Figured out the way in, yet?" Weiss asks, while Edom throws his twin-scythe, the weapon twirling in the air as it slices through a few grimm before returning to him.
"There's an electrical energy current keeping us out. I found a weak spot, but I need something that is small enough to cut through it," Bruce says.
Weiss takes a breath and creates several glyphs around the grimm, trapping them. Edom creates two more skull phantoms to work with Weiss' summon to hold them back.
"Now!" Weiss tosses Bruce her rapier.
Bruce catches it and flies towards the door, stabbing her rapier into the weak point. The illusion dissipates. Weiss pickes up the piece of grimm flesh left behind as her glyphs fade. The grimm swarm on her summon and Edom's phantoms, but the trio manage to escape into the room and shut the door just in time.
"That was cutting it close," Edom holsters his weapon and helps Weiss up.
Weiss turns to Bruce, "Ahem," she gestures to her weapon, which Bruce returns. "You know, it's weird how you're not from Remnant. You'd probably do well here,"
"I concur. Remnant is always in need of more heroes," Edom says was they walk into the lab, leaving Bruce to ponder on their words.
…
Back in Vale, Ruby and Khazhak's group patrol the forests outside Beacon. Towards the back of the group, Flash notices how Vixen keeps fidgeting.
"This is so annoying," Vixen complains.
"What, you hate being a teenager again?" Barry jokes.
"No, I just don't like the feeling of having a real tail," Vixen says, her tail swishing behind her.
"Oh come on, I think it looks good on you. Your power is using the strengths of wild animals after all," Clark teases her.
"Well, you're not the one who forgets about it until they sit on it," Vixen retorts.
"I'm guessing Faunus don't exist on your world," Khazhak says.
"No, though we do have races that aren't exactly human, but very close to it that do exist, to a limited degree though. The Atlanteans are one example, but that's a story for another time," Clark replies.
Cyborg walks up next to Nora, "Need help with something?" Nora asks.
"It's just, you sure know your way around weapons. Since there's not a lot of technology out here, I might not be able to help much. So I thought... maybe you could teach me a few pointers?" Cyborg flirts with her.
"We all need to stay focused right now," Ren pipes up.
"Ren, I am perfectly capable of answering for myself," Nora says, a little annoyed.
Ren raises his hands, "No, Nora, that's not what I meant. I just-,"
Barry chuckles from the back, "And I though this little outing would be boring," he whispers to Vixen, who then leans her leg out to make him trip and fall on his face.
Vixen smirks, "Oops, my bad,"
"Hey man, I was just-," Cyborg says.
"Just trying to what?" Ren interrupts him.
"Um, guys," Nora tries to stop them.
"You know, before now, you've barely spoken to me," Cyborg gets annoyed.
"I don't speak a lot to most people!" Ren retorts.
"Hey, I already have someone on my team who doesn't speak much and looks down on those around him, and believe me, you're nowhere near Batman's level," Cyborg argues.
"Okay, that's enough. Just calm down," Clark tries to cool things down.
Cyborg turns his irritation onto him, "And stop acting like you're my dad!"
"Well, maybe you should stop acting like a kid!" Ruby notes.
"No, I'm not. I'm trying to find a way to keep us all from dying. Kids don't do that," Cyborg retorts.
"Well, we do that here on Remnant. We all train at a young age to fight and protect everyone. And protect each other too," Ruby explains.
"And who are you supposed to be, pipsqueak?" Cyborg criticizes her, which seems to hurt her.
"Cyborg/Hey!" Nora and Vixen did not like that.
"I, uh, I mean I..." Ruby can't reply.
Khazhak comes in and pushes Cyborg back, all the way into a tree, "Back off! Ruby has faced many great challenges, and she never gives up. She protects those who can't protect themselves. To build a better world for everyone. She is a capable leader. It's one of the reasons why we all follow her, and why I care about her so much. You don't anything about her," he gets in Cyborg's face.
"Khazhak, wait, please!" Ruby puts a hand on his shoulder.
Khazhak calms down and lets Cyborg go, "Fine. I'm sorry, Ruby. I just need a minute," Khazhak walks back to the others.
"Cyborg..." Clark looks at his friend and then Ruby.
"Sorry about that. I just... I want to be useful to everyone. I'll go do some scouting to clear my mind," Cyborg walks ahead of them, with Lloyd staring at his back.
"That could've gone better," Bahamut notes.
Khazhak sighs, "Yeah. I just didn't like how he was talking to Ruby,"
"Hey, I feel you," they turn to Vixen. "Cyborg just has some issues, and all of this brought them back. And you were just protecting your girlfriend. Nothing wrong with that. I'm actually a little jealous of her now. In our line of work, it's hard to make time to just be normal people with normal relationships,"
Khazhak grunts, "It ain't that much different here either," he notes, which makes her smirk.
Clark walks up to Ruby, "You okay?"
"I've been a leader for some time now, and... Sometimes, it can be so..." Ruby trails off.
Clark looks back at the others, "I understand. Every situation you're in is an 'end of the world' scenario. And nothing can change that. That's the same on my world. Even when you're an adult," he winks and smiles at her.
Ruby laughs, "Hahaha, sorry, it's just... I can't really take you seriously when you're my sister's age,"
Clark smiles, "Yeah. So, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how long have you and Khazhak been together?"
Ruby looks back at Khazhak talking with the others, "Not too long. We were friends before that, and things just happened. He was different back then, but he's changed. In a good way. He's always been there for me," she says fondly.
"I'd say we'd have you to thank for that. It's nice... having someone like that," Clark notes.
"Do you have someone like that back home?" Ruby asks.
Clark rubs his head, "That's... complicated,"
"Isn't it always?" Ruby says, making them both laugh.
…
Up ahead, Cyborg scouts around, but sees no grimm so far.
"Feeling better now?" he looks back to see Lloyd approaching. "That could've gone better,"
"What? Come to yell at me too?" Cyborg grunts.
"No, I think Brother did enough of that. Just so you know, no one here is your enemy. From one cyborg to another," Lloyd says.
Cyborg sighs, "At least you look human. Kind of jealous actually. But me... I'll never be the same," he stares at his left hand.
"You remember your family and where you came from, right?" Lloyd asks.
"Yeah," Cyborg turns to him.
"Good. Because I don't," Lloyd admits, stunning Cyborg. "I was experimented on to be used as a weapon. The experiments... because of them, I have no memory of my past. Where I came from. If I have a family. I can't even remember my own name. Lloyd Jyousai is the name Brother gave to me on the night we met, after I finally broken free from that Hell. I may look human, but I'll never get those memories back. Your body may be a machine, but you still have your memories. You still have your human spirit. I can't get that back,"
Cyborg rubs his head, "Sorry, I didn't know,"
"It's cool. And don't worry about Brother, he just really cares about Ruby. A lot. She means everything to him, so he can be a bit overprotective of her at times," Lloyd says.
"Yeah, I guess you have a-," Cyborg stops when they see something moving in the distance. Something... large. "That's... really not good,"
…
Back at Beacon, Jaune, Jessica, and Voshkie'ahk check around Ozpin's office for Jessica's ring. While Jaune and Jessica check the desk, Voshkie'ahk and Tiamat check the rest of the room.
"Nothing over here. Any luck?" Voshkie'ahk asks.
Jessica groan, "Ruby said the ring was on the desk, but I've looked over the stupid thing... twice! If I actually had my ring, I could scan the stupid thing!"
"Man, this piece of jewelry is special to you huh?" Jaune notes.
"It's not just some piece of jewelry! Jessica slams her hands on the desk. "It's my source of strength. It's what keeps me from falling apart! And without it... without it, I-," she starts hyperventilating a bit.
"Hey, hey, easy, I'm sorry! I didn't understand," Jaune apologizes as he and Voshkie'ahk join them.
"Hmm, perhaps your feelings towards your ring are what is blocking you from accessing your semblance. Or at least, the ring is the key to activating it," Tiamat says.
Jessica holds her right arm out, trying to tap into it... but no such luck.
"I went through the same thing," Jaune notes.
"How'd you get past it?" Jessica asks.
"Well, I had a friend... who believed in me," Jaune replies.
"That's it?" Jessica doesn't get it.
"Well, why don't you try?" Voshkie'ahk suggests.
Jessica sighs, "Fine," she walks over and sits on the floor.
"I'll join you," Jaune sits in front of her while Voshkie'ahk stands beside them. "You know, it's okay... if you can't access it yet,"
"But, you said that you would believe in me!" Jessica gets annoyed.
"I do, Jessica. But, the thing is that all this pressure you're putting on yourself isn't helping. Even if you can't access it now, it doesn't make you any less of a person," Jaune says. Jessica takes a breath and closes her eyes. The noise around her gets muffled. "Jessica?... Jessica?" she opens her eyes, only to find herself in a white void, with nothing around her. "Did it work?" she hears Jaune's voice though.
Jessica looks down, finding her ring on her finger, "My ring? I can still hear you? Am I... still in the same room?"
"You're uh... still on the floor," Voshkie'ahk says as they see the green undertones in Jessica's hair glowing, her hair flowing up and her clothes fluttering like there's a breeze blowing by, and her eyes glowing green.
"I don't know what's going on. I'm in some kind of white void, but there's nothing around me. No way out. I don't like it. I don't like being trapped," Jessica starts to freak out. Jaune stares at his hand before laying it on Jessica's, activating his semblance. "Wait, what is that? I feel like... it feels different,"
"It's my semblance. I can use it to enhance yours, whatever that may be," Jaune says. "Go ahead and try it again."
Jessica tries again, but still nothing happens, "I can't! Even with the ring now, nothing's happening," she holds her face in her hands.
Voshkie'ahk sits behind Jessica, wrapping her arms around her in a hug, and placing one of Jessica's hands on her ring from her girlfriend, Yukari.
"Huh, what's this?" Jessica says.
"It's my ring. Now, mine really is just a piece of jewelry, but that doesn't take away how important it is to me. It was given to me by my girlfriend, Yukari Hakucho. Along with a promise that I'd return it to her myself. To come back to her one day. For a long time, I was lost. I had those that were helping me at the time, but I still felt alone at times. Then she bumped into my life. She helped me... so, so much. It was also the same for Tiamat. She became like a second mother to me, after my mother died years ago. They gave me the strength to move forward again, and thanks to that, I was reunited with my brother, Khazhak. Yukari can be a bit much at times, but I will always love her. This ring symbolizes our love for each other," Voshkie'ahk's words help calm Jessica down. "Now, how about you tell us about your ring?"
"Huh... Before, I felt like I didn't want it. That I wasn't worthy of it. Where I come from, it's a symbol of power. But, more than that, it's also a symbol of belonging. And that's what I wanted more than anything. To belong. To feel okay within myself. And yet, because of the ring, I'd always be different from my friends. The ring gave me experiences they will never have themselves. Trials they'll never have to go through. Trials that I... never want them to go through. But, with the ring, I had a sense of control. I could create whatever I desired. Whatever I could imagine. Even if everything else around me was going crazy. And somewhere, within all of that, everything became... quiet. I could center myself and feel... right," Jessica explains, closing her eyes.
"Woah, the room changed!" she opens her eyes to find Jaune, Voshkie'ahk, and Tiamat with her in the white void.
"Wait, how'd you get here?" Jessica asks.
Jaune and Voshkie'ahk stand up, "A moment ago, we were in Ozpin's office. But now, we're in this white void," Voshkie'ahk says.
Jessica looks, finding her ring gone, "Or, we weren't in Ozpin's office in the first place... or on Remnant at all,"
"Whatever this place is, this is where we've all been taken to this whole time. Your ring, it feels like it brings out the truth of this world, and even your truth. Maybe, that's what your semblance does, even if you don't have the ring," Jaune thinks.
"Semblance? This isn't your world, or my world! This is all just some crazy illusion!" Jessica looks around. "Argh, there's no door around here," Jessica says, but then Jaune looks back at hearing some noise and finds a Seer grimm behind them. "I can't get out!"
"Well, maybe that's just an illusion too. And if that's the case..." Jaune charges at the grimm.
"Jaune, wait!" Voshkie'ahk yells.
Jaune takes a swing, but the Seer knocks him off balance, making him fall and lose his sword and shield. It wraps one of its tentacles around his neck, pulling him in close to its head. Suddenly Jaune starts getting flashes of Pyrrha, including her death when Beacon fell.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune yells fearfully.
Voshkie'ahk sharpens her cards and throws three of them, cutting off the Seer's tentacles and freeing Jaune. She then throws three fire Dust cards, which explode when they hit it, causing the grimm to glitch and disappear.
"You okay?" Voshkie'ahk asks,
"Yeah, that just felt like... real pain," Jaune groan, retrieving his gear.
Voshkie'ahk looks, seeing one of her cards pinned into the side of the white void. Pulling it out, she sees a crack in the void. Making two card swords, she stabs the crack and pulls her arms outward hard, creating an opening in the void.
"This way! Now!" Voshkie'ahk says.
Jaune and Jessica join her, "We need to reach the others! If someone brought us here, then that means they can transfer our consciousness. And that same person who brought us here... can control this weird place," Jessica says as they move through the opening and Jaune closes it behind them.
And that's the chapter. The group begin their separate missions, but things are already getting crazy. Whatever this world they find themselves in is about, it's not friendly. Will they figure out the truth of this world while learning how to work together? Or will this strange world break them? Until then, please Read and Review.