Hunters of Justice (RWBY/DC)

Chapter 57: Friends You Haven't Met Yet

[~]

January 22nd, Year 2

USS Samuel Lane, Arabian Sea

10:30 AM (Gulf Time)

Standing in the middle of the Samuel Lane's helicopter pad, Violet concentrated as hard as she could. A moment later, a red halo enveloped her, allowing the Afghan girl to levitate a few inches off the ground. At the same time, a few ARGUS technicians who were helping her took that as the signal to release a dozen balloons which began to float away from the back of the ship. Violet watched them for a few seconds, then thrust her arms forward and began to fire heat beams from the palms of her hands. The balloons closest to her popped as the beams struck dead-center, but the ones farther away took two or more attempts before she managed to hit the target. Unfortunately, the last balloon proved to be too far away, and despite trying five times she didn't even get close.

"…Darn it, I missed again," Violet groaned as she hung her head, her halo dissipating. As her feet touched down against the steel floor, she glared at the only surviving balloon as it drifted further and further away.

"Hey, don't feel too bad," one of the technicians remarked. "You did a lot better this time."

That did make Violet feel a little better, and she let out a small smile before bringing her red halo back up and saying, "Again."

Once more, a dozen balloons were released into the air to serve as targets. As Violet fell back into a familiar routine, popping any balloons she could and chastising herself whenever she missed, she thought back to her experiences so far on the Samuel Lane. Over the past several weeks, ARGUS had engaged in numerous clandestine missions against the League of Shadows while she remained on the ship practicing her powers. She wanted to do more to help, but thanks to her youth and inexperience, neither Lieutenant Fox nor Colonel Flagg felt comfortable letting her go into the field.

She understood their reasonings, but it still annoyed her that they were treating her like a defenseless child. Violet was more than capable of helping, but thus far they were much more concerned with developing her powers. On that front, she had made some progress. Her violet halo had proved very useful in healing the team from whatever injuries they may have suffered while in the field, from minor cuts and bruises to even bullet wounds. By practicing on fish they plucked from the Arabian Sea, she was learning how to speed up the process while having it take less and less out of her.

As for her red halo, she was focusing on improving her accuracy and the length of time she could levitate. She could hover over the ground for as long as she wanted, it taking no more out of her than the act of standing upright, but actually trying to fly proved more difficult. The first time she tried, she launched herself straight off the ship, much to her embarrassment. At least her heat beam training was proving more fruitful, with her accuracy improving tremendously, as well as the number of times she could fire them off before having to recharge. So far, her record was a hundred.

But despite that, Violet was growing frustrated at the lack of progress in any other areas. She knew, from the bottom of her heart, that there was more to her abilities than just the two halos she had already discovered. Try as she might, though, nothing was forthcoming. Yamashiro and Christopher had been trying to help her, with Yamashiro proving far more suited to the task. Violet liked the Peacemaker, he made her laugh and was generally a nice guy to be around, but she had to admit he was more than a little bumbling. She got the sense that the others didn't really like him that much, despite his best and continuous efforts to ingratiate himself into the team.

Either way, she felt as though she was entering a rut. Both in the development of her powers as well as figuring out more of her past. Any memories of who she was before being shot in the head were completely gone. That, more than anything, made her feel lost and aimless. Who was she? Violet wasn't even her real name, yet that was what she and everyone else was calling her. Was this all she was capable of?

As her frustration built, it reached a crescendo as, once again, she missed the last balloon target. Growling through gritted teeth, she kept trying to hit her target despite it drifting well out of range. The technicians tried to tell her to just let it go, but she couldn't. It was though that balloon meant more to her than just a target. Part of her viewed it as a symbol for everything that was just out of reach.

"AAAGH!" Violet screamed in rage as she fired one last beam towards the balloon. But, much to her shock, it wasn't red. Instead, her red halo was replaced by an indigo one, and a similarly colored beam shot towards the balloon. Before her very eyes, the balloon stopped in its tracks, then began to return against the wind towards the Samuel Lane.

"Ah-ha! Yes!" Violet cheered as she reeled the balloon further in. But, unfortunately, the halo dissipated around halfway though, causing the tractor beam to stop and allow the balloon to be picked up by a powerful gust of wind and carried away from the ship.

"Aww…," she groaned in slight disappointment, but the rest of her was simply happy that she had managed to find another power. With a smile on her face, she turned towards the technicians and requested, "Let's go again, please. Just one this time."

"You got it, Halo," the technician replied, using the codename the others had given her.

For the next half-hour, Violet focused entirely on her indigo halo, letting the balloon drift away before attempting to pull it back. That proved easier said than done, and more than a few balloons became lost to the wind. But Violet was okay with that. The fact that she was able to discover another power was more than enough validation for her. It meant her efforts weren't for nothing.

Eventually, the crew received word that the field team was returning. Violet had enough time for one more practice session, then she was ushered inside to make way for the helicopter. Lingering patiently yet excitedly just inside the ship, she waited for Luke and the others to return. After a while, she heard the reverberations of the helicopter blades, and the smile on her face grew larger.

Then, after the helicopter landed on the deck and began to power down, she heard a series of heavy footsteps, followed by the door automatically opening.

"Who-hoo! Yes, that's what I'm talking about!" Christopher Smith, the Peacemaker, cheered as he pumped his fist in the air. Upon seeing Violet, he gave her a smile and greeted, "Hey, Violet. How's it going?"

"It's going great!" Violet replied. "I found a new halo!"

"No kidding? What is it?" Christopher asked as the others followed him inside.

Nodding, Violet brought forward her indigo halo, then aimed her arm towards a small cup as she explained, "With this indigo halo, I can—"

She was interrupted when the cup flew far faster than she expected and slammed against her face, causing the water held inside to splash all over her. Violet stared blankly ahead of her in a mixture of anger and embarrassment, particularly as Christopher visibly tried to hold in his laughter but still released a snort. The others similarly smiled in amusement, which only deepened her embarrassment.

"…I can do that," Violet blankly finished as Tatsu Yamashiro, Katana, walked over and pulled out a small rag she used to help clean her up.

"That's amazing, Violet," Yamashiro earnestly said with a smile on her face. "After the meeting, how about you and I get some practice in?"

"…I'd like that. Thank you," Violet replied, taking the rag from the Japanese woman to finish cleaning herself off.

Luke, watching this, smiled for a moment before turning to Christopher and asking, "Do you have to celebrate every time we get back?"

"Well…yeah," he replied, scrunching up his face in confusion. "I mean, why wouldn't I? Every time we return to the ship, it means we won. Plus we killed a bunch of assholes today, so the world's a better place."

"Doesn't mean we have to turn it into a competition," Luke grunted, then moved past Peacemaker who merely scoffed.

"You're just upset that you lost," he pointed out, prompting Luke to roll his eyes.

"That's enough," Rick Flagg chastised, bringing everyone's attention to him. "We have more important things to discuss. Everyone, gather in the meeting room in one hour. That includes you, Violet."

Everyone nodded in agreement, then let the Colonel leave towards his office. He was most likely going over what they found first and making any necessary copies before getting everyone together to discuss it as a group. In the meantime, Violet patched up her friends from any injuries they may have suffered, which luckily were only minor. The rest of the time she listened as they described the details of the mission they had successfully undertaken.

It was fairly straightforward, all things considered. After taking out several League outposts in the region, they tracked down a major supply base in the Hajar Mountains. The team inserted into the fortress before dawn, where they ended up taking out dozens of assassins along with a few captured Grimm specimens. Thanks to their upgraded weapons, they were able to take them out without too much issue, with Christopher gleefully detailing one he killed by shoving a primed grenade up its butt. He took it as confirmation as to his earlier theory about it being a weakness for the Grimm.

Violet wanted to point out that she doubted anything could survive a grenade shoved up its butt, but also saw just how happy he was and didn't want to ruin that.

"In any case, me, Fox, and Tatsu had a little body count competition going on," Christopher declared with a smug smile on his face. He pressed his thumb against his chest and added, "Yours truly won with twenty-five KIA."

"Was it truly a competition if neither of us were participating?" Yamashiro asked.

"Doesn't matter; still won."

"It also means you lost. Nature of being the only participant," she pointed out, causing Christopher to sputter.

Violet chuckled, then she frowned and said, "I wished you didn't have to kill them. Couldn't you have just, I don't know…knocked them out? Shot them in the leg or something and taken them in? I read that the Justice League does that all the time."

"Sorry Violet, but shooting people in the leg is a lot harder than it sounds," Luke replied while shaking his head. "Especially in the heat of the moment. I'm a good shot, but not that good. By the time I'd hit my target, I'd be hit a dozen times over. It's not worth it."

"That and the Justice League are a bunch of cowardly jackasses who keep fighting the same people over and over again, throwing them in prison so they can break out and murder more people," Christopher dismissed. "Especially Batman. He's the worst of them."

"Need I remind you that I grew up in Gotham?" Luke pointed out with a hint of irritation in his voice. "Batman's done a lot for my home. If it weren't for him, the city would be a crater multiple times over."

"I'm not disputing that, and I do genuinely respect his desire for justice. I just think he's a hypocrite," Christopher clarified, then raised a finger. "Riddle me this: How many people do you think Batman, and the rest of the Justice League for that matter, have indirectly murdered by being candy-asses and not killing the supervillains they fight who clearly need to be smoked once and for all?"

"I'd rather the Justice League not go around and act like they're judge, jury, and executioner, thank you very much."

"Even if the person they kill was the Joker?" Christopher pointed out with a frown on his face. A heavy, tense silence fell between the two, and when Luke didn't answer, Christopher nodded and continued, "That's what I thought. Look, I get it. A lot of people think that superheroes should be all idealistic and refuse to kill people who break the law. I say bullshit to that."

Christopher folded his arms across his chest and remarked, "If you ask me, you get one chance. Two, maybe three if you're lucky. But some people can't be talked down nor be reformed. You think there was any chance that Hitler would go back to art school if he was simply arrested? No, probably not. If you have a chance to end a threat permanently, and you don't take it and that threat goes on to hurt someone else, that's on you. That's why, unlike most other superheroes, I don't have a coterie of supervillains. All of mine are six-feet-under."

Luke's frown had deepened significantly, and his fists were clenched tightly. Yet he wasn't actually trying to refute the Peacemaker. Whether that was because, deep down, he knew Christopher was right or he felt trying to continue the argument would be an exercise in futility was hard to say. For Violet, she had to admit that the idea of heroes killing people all the time didn't sit right with her. It felt wrong and painting with too wide of a brush. Yet, at the same time, she also understood that he did have a point. Not everyone could be redeemed.

"But how do you decide if a person can be redeemed or not?" Violet asked, drawing everyone's attention to her. "What if someone takes dozens of times for them to finally realize the error of their ways and make amends? Like, what's his name…Plastic Man? Yeah, him. I read an interview where he admitted he was a career criminal before getting his powers, but now he's a member of the Justice League. If you had simply written him off and killed him, the world wouldn't have one of its best heroes."

Christopher pursed his lips in thought, but other than humming to himself he didn't really respond. Before he could, the hour was up, and everyone made their way to the meeting room. Colonel Flagg was already waiting for them, seated at the head of the table. The others took their seats, and once the door closed and lights turned off, a projector built into the table lit up and displayed a text file on the wall.

"Before we begin, let me just say congratulations on another job well done," Flagg started. "The Hajar Outpost had been supplying Grimm to jihadists in the region. With it gone, that's one less avenue for the Grimm to continue their spread. Good work."

"Thank you, Colonel," Luke said, sitting up slightly straighter.

Flagg nodded, then pointed to the projected image and said, "More importantly, though, Yamashiro managed to locate and extract these documents from the compound. Documents that I can confirm were written by Talia al Ghul."

"Talia al Ghul was here and we missed her? Damn it!" Christopher shouted in frustration while slamming his fist on the table. He then immediately sat up straight and apologized, "Sorry, sir. That was out of line."

"It's alright, Smith. I'm in the same boat," Flagg replied while bringing up an image of the woman in question. "As a refresher, Talia al Ghul is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, his heir, and second-in-command of the entire League of Shadows. Aside from her father, she is the most important individual in the entire League and is a high priority target."

Flagg cleared his throat then continued, "In any case, the contents of the document were coded. Luckily, it used a known cipher that ARGUS already had on hand, so decoding it was fairly simple."

"Talia al Ghul used a known cipher?" Luke asked while raising an eyebrow. "That seems a bit convenient."

"Maybe, but beggars can't be choosers," Flagg pointed out. "In any case, it appears that, according to the documents, Talia was made overseer of the League's Grimm operations around the world by her father and has been moving from outpost to outpost to oversee production and distribution."

"Hmm," Yamashiro hummed as she read the decoded document. "If I didn't know any better, the language she's using…calling the Grimm 'monsters' and 'abominations'…I'd think she wasn't a fan of them."

"I got that sense, too, but even if she isn't, Talia is still under the thumb of her father," Flagg remarked. "She's still going along with it, so we'll treat her accordingly. More important than her feelings about the Grimm, the document also revealed that she had sold the Grimm that attacked Bagram Air Base to a high-ranking official in the US military, as well as transporting the fear gas."

"So there is a traitor," Luke growled, and Flagg nodded.

"Yes, but still no clue as to their identity," he answered. "In any case, Talia mentioned in the document that she was moving to another outpost in Pakistan. Our satellites are already combing the country to find it. Once they do, we'll be in the air."

"Wait, so not only did Talia use a known cipher to encrypt her top-secret documents, she also directly confirms that there is a traitor in the US military and tells us where she's going next?" Luke pointed out. "Forgive me, sir, but I find that well beyond coincidence."

"I agree completely," Flagg replied while linking his hands together on the table. "Talia al Ghul is a very intelligent and resourceful woman. By now she has to know we are hunting her down, and it's likely that the Pakistani outpost is a trap."

"One we're gonna spring. Hell yeah," Christopher said with a smile on his face, which Yamashiro echoed.

Violet, however, frowned then suggested, "What if…what if she's not laying a trap? It seems like she's against the use of Grimm, so maybe she's leaving these clues behind on purpose to help us?"

Luke gently shook his head then told Violet, "I'm sorry, but I seriously doubt that. Talia al Ghul is one of the most notorious eco-terrorists in the entire world. Second only to her father, who she follows without question. They have attempted to destroy Gotham City alone more times than I can count. I'd sooner believe that Green Arrow is a closet brony than Talia al Ghul is trying to help us from the shadows."

"While I do agree with you, Green Arrow is a brony," Christopher insisted while raising a finger. "He and Black Canary went to a brony convention in Chicago last year. He was the back half of Twilight Sparkle. Drilled a four-inch hole in its butt so he could breathe."

"Do you even hear yourself?" Luke asked in exasperation. "You have an insane story for every single superhero."

"No, no. I heard about that, too," Yamashiro interjected. "Everything else he's said is complete bullshit, but Green Arrow is actually a brony."

"What?" Luke asked while staring flatly at the Japanese woman, and his exasperation only increased when Flagg nodded affirmatively as well. As Christopher let out a smug smile, Luke threw up his hands and added, "Whatever, it doesn't matter. The point is, Talia isn't helping us. She's the enemy, so we need to treat her as one."

"Agreed," Flagg confirmed. "In any case, it'll be some time before we find their base. Until then, it's business as usual."

Part of Violet felt that was too dismissive, but at the same time these people clearly had more experience with Talia than she did. Deciding to defer to their judgement, she nodded in agreement, then leaned forward and listened to the rest of the debriefing.

[~]

January 23rd, Year 2

Metropolis, New York, United States of America

12:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time)

"So, tell me again what exactly I'm trying to do?" Qrow asked as he, using an Xbox controller Ruby and Yang had given him, moved his avatar across the blocky world of the game he was playing.

"You're mining blocks, then building stuff with them," Ruby cheerfully answered as she moved her avatar next to his, using a blocky pickaxe to mine stone from a nearby mountain. "That's why it's called 'Minecraft.'"

"Yeah, I figured that out," Qrow sarcastically remarked as he followed his niece's example. "I meant if there's anything else besides that."

"Technically there's the End and the Enderdragon, but they're optional, really," Yang answered as she chopped down a tree block by block. "The real draw is just making whatever you want."

Qrow thought it over for a moment, then shrugged in acceptance before going back to the game. It had been a few weeks since he, Willow, Whitley, and Penny had arrived on Earth, and he was fairly confident in saying that they were the strangest he had ever experienced. From having a few drinks with a sapient planet to traveling through time, it was hard to keep track of it all. Especially when he considered he didn't even know what year it was anymore, at least by Earth standards.

But thoughts like that made his head hurt, so instead he focused on a far more welcome and familiar experience: playing video games with his nieces. It felt like a lifetime ago since the last time he was able to do that. If he remembered correctly, it was some generic fighting game back in Beacon during the opening days of the Vytal Festival. That had been a welcome distraction at the time from what he thought was the biggest threat the world had ever seen since the Great War. How he wished that had really been the case now. Qrow still didn't know exactly what would've ensued had Cinder and her lackeys succeeded with their plans to take down Beacon, but he doubted it could've been worse than what actually happened.

Luckily, things had been relatively calm since he and team RWBY's foray to the Wild West. Ruby and her friends had gone on a few daily patrols as part of their superhero duties, with a few petty crimes stopped, but otherwise it was uneventful. Qrow was perfectly fine with that. Boring and uneventful meant nothing world-shattering was happening. It meant people weren't getting hurt.

Of course, the Grimm were continuing to spread across the world, despite the Justice League's best efforts alongside Earth's various governments. Luckily there hadn't been a major attack since the Middle East Horde, just scattered incidents here and there, but it was only a matter of time until it happened again. Qrow hadn't been sent out to fight any of them so far, instead serving a more advisory role in helping the Justice League develop strategies to track down and combat Grimm more effectively. Given how he was the most experienced Huntsman on the planet, literally, it was something he was able to readily agree to. To be sure, he would've preferred some proper and familiar fieldwork, but there was only so much one man could do.

So, until then, he was stuck in Metropolis, relaxing with his nieces and their friends. Currently they were playing a game of Minecraft using a server hosted by their friends, the Titans. Said superheroes were also playing with them over the internet, their faces taking up a corner of the monitor and their voices transmitted through speakers. He had come to understand that these game nights had become a semi-regular thing.

At the moment, it was just the three of them in the apartment alongside Penny and Blake. Team JNPR was up in the Watchtower for training and therapy with the Martian Manhunter, while Weiss and her family were stuck at WayneTech all day. Apparently, they were conducting a major test in the Dust Reclamation Project. Ruby and Yang wanted to be a part of it, but Lucius Fox insisted that they spend time with their uncle and that they had everything under control. Qrow had only met the CEO a few times, but already he had to admit that Lucius was probably his favorite rich person for the sheer fact that he didn't have his head stuck up his own ass. Penny was currently sitting on a chair watching the others play their game, a happy smile on her face but otherwise doing nothing. As for Blake, she was in her room, focusing on a paper for the Daily Planet.

"So, Qrow, I gotta ask," Garfield asked as he continued working on his personal project, which Qrow couldn't see at the moment. "What was it like being part of the Ozluminati?"

"'Ozlu-what?'" Qrow repeated with a slight smirk on his face.

"The Ozluminati. You know, like the Illuminati, but led by Professor Ozpin," Garfield explained, then scratched his head in slight embarrassment. "It sounded better in my head. Wait, you do know what the Illuminati is, right?"

"Not really, but I think I get the gist. Secret society, I'm assuming?" Qrow asked, and Garfield nodded.

"One that controls the world from the shadows," Garfield clarified, and Qrow nodded.

"The Illuminati doesn't actually exist, by the way," Dick interjected. "It's just a stupid conspiracy theory. There's nothing like that in the world. Trust me, Bruce and I looked."

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," Yang remarked, and Dick nodded.

"You have no idea," Dick admitted. "A couple years back, before I left, we were investigating rumors of some secret society that supposedly controlled Gotham called the Court of Owls. Bruce thought they might've had a hand in his parents' deaths. But we found no evidence they actually existed. I still can't tell if Bruce was relieved or disappointed by that."

"Ah, I see. Well, I can say that Ozpin didn't control the world. He held a lot of sway and influence, sure, but he wasn't some omnipresent shadow king," Qrow said as he joined Ruby and Yang's avatars on a minecart roller coaster the pair had constructed through their entire server, one that had stops on every major mine, quarry, and construction project they and their friends had made since it opened.

"He had a chance to do that, though," Raven pointed out through a flat tone.

"I guess you could say that, Raven," Qrow replied, then instinctively frowned at the familiar name, which caused yet another fit of frustration to bubble up from his gut.

"You're thinking of your sister again," Raven calmly pointed out, and Qrow released a sigh and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, but you two share the exact same name," Qrow confirmed. "Every time I say it, I can't help but think of her."

"She's your twin, that's to be expected," M'gann said, giving the veteran Huntsman a soft smile. "It's okay, we completely understand."

"At least our Raven is better than your Raven," Garfield joked, causing Yang to nod while grimacing.

"That's not a high bar, but yeah," Yang remarked as her mouth curled, which prompted Garfield to wince at bringing up the still clearly sore subject.

"Anyway, Raven," Qrow began, only to wince at the taste of that name on his tongue. Upon seeing Raven's flat face staring at him, he released a sigh and said, "Sorry, sorry. I can't help it. Old habits die hard. Up until a couple weeks ago, the name 'Raven' didn't have any positive associations to me. Not anymore."

"I can tell," Raven remarked, her voice almost completely devoid of emotion.

Qrow scrunched up his face, trying to find a way out of his personal hangup. Then he shrugged and declared, "Either way, even though I haven't known for you for very long, I can say that you're nothing like my sister, Rachel."

That caused everyone to pause and look at him, then Garfield asked in astonishment, "Did…did you just call Raven 'Rachel?'"

"Yep. Isn't 'Rachel Roth' her actual name?" Qrow asked, raising his eyebrow in confusion. "It's what was on her file. Or did I read that wrong? I'm still getting a handle on this 'English' language which, by the way, is confusing as hell."

"I mean, yes it is, on both things, but it's…weird," Garfield admitted while scratching his head.

"I thought your name was just 'Raven,'" Ruby quietly added to which Yang nodded in agreement.

"I prefer 'Raven,'" Rachel Roth admitted, then shrugged. "But Rachel is fine. Besides, I could feel Qrow's frustration. It was getting annoying."

Qrow didn't know whether Rachel could, as an empath, feel his emotions from across the country or if she was just making a joke. It was very hard to actually read her. But, seeing as how the half-demon was more than accepting of him using her actual name, he shrugged and moved on.

"Anyway, Rachel, yes. After the Great War, Ozpin's predecessor was in a position to take control of the world," he admitted. "But that's not what he wanted. As he put it, his desire was for humanity to come together on its own. To cherish their differences and help each other build from the ground up a peaceful, more prosperous future. If someone were to try and impose such a vision from the top down, it was doomed to fail in more ways than I can count."

"Sounds like Clark and Ozpin would get along pretty well," Dick suggested, and Qrow smiled fondly before nodding.

"Yeah…I think they would, too," Qrow said, then added, "I miss him. If it weren't for Ozpin, I'd just be a no good bandit. I'd be no better than Raven."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short," M'gann gently replied, but Qrow still wasn't quite sure.

"In my opinion," Penny spoke up, "the fact that you chose to turn away from that life at all says a lot more about you than about Professor Ozpin."

Qrow turned his head to look at the gynoid, then smiled softly at her. She returned the gesture and added a wave, which prompted Qrow to chuckle slightly before turning back to the game. The roller coaster was taking them to the centerpiece of the server, a one-to-one representation of Titans Tower. Why anyone would live in a giant "T" was beyond him, but Qrow had to admit it was certainly on brand. Surrounding it, tended to by Dick and Kori through their avatars, was a giant zoo filled with pairs of every single type of animal the Minecraft world had to offer. That and a lot of frogs for some reason. Garfield and M'gann were working on a massive obsidian tower which was meant for Rachel, but the half-demon was far more content staying in the ancient ruin found elsewhere. That didn't stop Garfield continuing to build it up in the hopes that his girlfriend would move in.

"By the way, Raven. I gotta say, I'm digging the new look," Yang spoke up, which caused Rachel to idly twirl the ends of her hair which now had dark-red highlights. "Also, your skin looks less grey now. That's good, right?"

"Yes, it is. Thank you," Rachel remarked. "Ever since I defeated my father, I've been exploring my emotions more. After a lifetime of suppressing them, it has been…enjoyable, and I've been experimenting."

"Well, I think it looks good on you," Ruby said, smiling at her dear friend which Rachel barely returned.

"Of course you do, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all," Qrow teased, causing his niece to look at him in confusion before lifting one of her own dark red locks in front of her eyes and snorting.

"Ooh, you should see the new costume she designed!" Koriand'r cheerfully added, but Rachel quickly shook her head.

"No, it's not done yet," she insisted, and her friends laughed at her indignant tone.

"Don't worry, Rae. We won't share your rebirth outfit until it's done," Garfield remarked, then looked through the screen at the Remnantians. "But trust me, guys. It looks badass."

"I'll take your word for it. Can't wait to see it," Yang declared, which was when their door opened to allow an exhausted Blake Belladonna to enter the room.

"Ugh, finally. I'm done," she groaned as she plopped down on the bed face-first. "I swear to the Gods, Lois Lane can't spell to save her life…."

"You do know she's dyslexic, right?" Dick pointed out.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean she can't use spell-check," Blake countered. "Apparently she 'doesn't trust it.' After having to go through dozens of pages of constant spelling errors, I wish she would. Don't even get me started with how many times she asks me or Clark how to spell something when we're in the office. I swear, half my job as an intern is correcting her spelling."

Blake released another heavy groan into the mattress, prompting Penny to lean over and gently rub the back of her head while saying, "There, there…."

"Don't patronize me," Blake weakly chastised, causing the others to chuckle.

"Anyway, now that you're done, mind giving us the inside scoop on Lois Lane's next front-page article?" Donna Troy asked with no small amount of anticipation in her voice.

Blake, still laying down on the bed, turned her head to look at the screen then answered, "It's about the ongoing Grimm Crisis. Everything we know about their spread, our efforts to stop them. Your interview is featuring heavily, actually, Qrow."

"…Oh," Qrow muttered. "Does that mean…?"

"Yes, she's talking about Salem," Blake revealed.

"…Right," Qrow murmured, thinking back to the interview in question.

He had done a few interviews in the past, but they were quick and brief. Usually he would just say a few words if he absolutely had to following a Grimm attack, then he would move on. But the same could not be said for Lois Lane. Her questions were smart, hard, and to the point. She saw through any bullshit sent her way, and her follow-up questions were often harder than the initial ones. The interview only took an hour, yet it felt like it lasted for days.

If she weren't already dating Clark Kent, Qrow would've asked her out.

In any case, the subject of Salem inevitably came up. As with the League, Qrow was truthful with her, telling her the same thing he told them. He got the sense she'd figure out he was lying fairly quickly. Part of him was still a little apprehensive at just revealing Salem's existence, but the rest figured that, with her being dead, there was no point in trying to keep the secret anymore. Besides, this wasn't Remnant. Earth played by a different set of rules, and unless it was absolutely necessary, the Justice League and their allies preferred to be as open and honest with the world as possible.

"Anyway, with the current batch done, I should be good for a few days. At least until Lois gives me the next edition. Then I'm back in Grammar Hell," Blake groaned. "This is not what I thought my career in journalism would look like…"

"What did you expect it to look like?" Donna asked with a smirk.

"Not correcting spelling errors all day," Blake immediately answered, causing the others to laugh at her expense.

"Well, when you're done, maybe they'll let you do an article yourself," Donna suggested. "Ooh, maybe I can do an interview. Share some real Themysciran knowledge about the Gods and the Amazons."

"Is this about that interview Lex gave where he derided every major pantheon and said not worshipping any gods was the moral choice?" M'gann asked, and an irritated Donna nodded.

"Yes. How dare that man regurgitate falsehoods about my culture and our patrons!" Donna complained. "I'll admit, the gods have not always been kind to humanity and are far from perfect. Especially Zeus. But what he was saying about Hera, how she's spiteful and petty to all of Zeus' illegitimate children…it's infuriating."

Qrow raised an eyebrow then admitted, "I read some of the Greek and Roman myths when I found out Earth's gods are real, and from what I saw…Hera got very spiteful."

"That was just propaganda written by ancient men who wanted to keep women under their thumb," Donna insisted. "Think about it. If Hera was truly as spiteful and petty as many of the Greek myths claim, why hasn't she 'retaliated' against Diana? They've interacted face-to-face numerous times and Hera's done nothing."

She then released another groan, and added, "At least Lex admitted Heracles was a monster for what he did to the Amazons. We can agree on that."

Qrow nodded in agreement. From what he had read, Heracles' betrayal of the Amazons was a vile crime, not a heroic act in the slightest as the myths claimed. Archaeologists were still trying to piece together when it exactly happened, but the best estimates put it around 1,250 BCE during the Greek Heroic Age. With the Amazons forced into exile, the Mediterranean world lost its greatest peacekeepers and fell into chaos. Combined with the subsequent Trojan War and the Sinking of Atlantis, it led to the Bronze Age Collapse within a century.

But, at the same time, he couldn't help but point out, "Just speaking from personal experience, but oftentimes myths do have some basis in reality. Hera's reputation had to come from somewhere besides just ancient misogyny."

"Maybe, I'll give you that," Donna admitted. "But I guarantee she's not nearly as bad as the myths like to say. Same with most of the Gods."

"Does that include Hades?" Yang asked, but Donna shrugged.

"Honestly, I can't tell you," Donna answered. "No one's talked to him in centuries. He and Persephone like to keep to themselves in the Underworld. All I can say is that Demeter still hasn't forgiven Zeus for that whole debacle."

"I get the sense that Zeus is actually an asshole," Qrow said, and Donna nodded.

"He is. The worst part is that he came back first after Ares killed the other gods when they were weakened by Emperor Constantine and Rome's conversion to Christianity, save for Hades and Persephone who stayed out of it entirely," Donna stated. "All because the Catholic Church adopted his image for their God. Turned out three centuries of that was enough for him."

"Is that when he and Queen Hippolyta shacked up?" Qrow crudely asked, taking some amusement at the flat stare the Amazon was giving him.

"…No. It took him two centuries of waiting for Hera and the others to return, only for them not to, for that to happen, which was around…800 CE, give or take. That was a remarkable level of restraint on his part, might I add," Donna clarified, then released a sigh. "To be honest, the only good thing I can say about Zeus' leadership is that he genuinely loves humanity and respects us enough to let us govern ourselves. It seems that his wandering the Earth for over a thousand years at a fraction of his power did some good."

"Right, right," Qrow muttered while Blake sat up.

"Thank you, Donna," Blake said. "But I don't know if Perry will go for it. At least not until the Grimm Crisis is over. That's all we're really focusing on right now."

"Fair enough. But, if you ever get the chance, just give me a call. You have my number," Donna replied, and Blake nodded.

"I must say, this conversation has been fascinating!" Penny admitted with a wide smile, then turned to Ruby. "By the way, Ruby, later would you like to partake in 'going to the mall' with me later? I have learned that is an activity friends on Earth do and I am most excited to try it."

"Oh, uh…sure," Ruby said after a little hesitation, mentally going over her schedule for the day to see if she was open. "I've love to."

"Sensational!" Penny exclaimed.

That was when Yang, as she moved her avatar off the minecart, pointed out, "You know, Penny, you don't have to only hang out with Ruby. She's great, don't get me wrong, but you can be friends with other people, too."

"…Hmm," Penny hummed under her breath.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted in slight anger, then turned to Penny and said, "Don't worry, Penny. It's fine. We can go to the mall after this. Besides, I need to pick up some stuff."

Penny was silent for a moment, then looked at Ruby, smiled, and replied, "Thank you, I'd like that."

[~]

Watchtower, Earth Geosynchronous Orbit

1:15 PM (Eastern Standard Time)

Jaune breathed in and out deeply as he stood in the center of the Watchtower's holographic training arena. Beside him was Black Canary, the veteran superhero giving Jaune a soft smile as she rested her hands on her hips.

"Ready whenever you are," she told him, and Jaune nodded before taking another breath.

He didn't quite know why he was so anxious. It was just a training session with Black Canary. This wasn't even the first time he had done so. Normally it was in hand-to-hand combat, which usually ended with her kicking his ass. He supposed it was due to the fact that, this time, they were training his Semblance. Specifically for whether it affected non-Remnantians in any way. It was a question everyone had been asking ever since he unlocked his Semblance during the fight against Black Adam, especially himself, and now he had an opportunity to figure that out.

The test itself was fairly straight-forward. Mr. Terrific, who would be overseeing everything, would generate some holographic targets which Black Canary would take out using a combination of her martial arts and Canary Cry to serve as a control. Then Jaune would use his Semblance on her and she'd repeat the tests to determine whether there was any statistically significant difference. Should it be proven that Jaune's Semblance had an effect on her, Mr. Terrific would then send in some of his T-Spheres to non-lethally attack Black Canary to create some minor injuries, that way they could test whether his Semblance could heal someone without Aura.

Jaune supposed it was that last part that actually made him nervous. He knew he was just being paranoid. There was no way Mr. Terrific would ever put his teammate in harm's way, and it was Black Canary herself who insisted on doing it. But the idea of getting someone he looked up to hurt for nothing made him feel heavy.

"Hey, Jaune. It's alright," Black Canary said, seemingly picking up on his distress.

Jaune released a sigh and replied, "I know, I know. Sorry."

"Don't be, I get it," Black Canary admitted, then stretched her arms across her chest. "But like I told you, you're worrying too much. I'm a big girl and I can handle myself. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jaune said, then straightened himself and declared, "I'm ready."

"Good. Terrific, start the first set," Black Canary ordered as she settled into a stance and Jaune took a step back. Forming a small ring around her, Jaune watched as several holographic, generic-looking goons appeared. None of them were moving, just standing straight up and with their arms lowered to their sides, but they were enough to suit their purposes.

Black Canary started by throwing a flurry of punches into the closest target's face. It blinked out of existence after a few blows, allowing her to move on to the next with a powerful kick to its chest. One by one, Black Canary dispatched the holograms, finishing off the last few with a loud Canary Cry that Jaune was only barely able to protect his ears from.

"Alright, that should be enough. Calculating energy of the impacts and decibel output now. Standby," Mr. Terrific announced, prompting Black Canary to nod towards the observation room.

The scientist's words did bring up a valid question in Jaune's mind, so he asked, "Hey, Dinah? Quick question. How do you not go deaf when you use your Canary Cry?"

"Whenever I use my powers, my eardrums seal themselves shut. It protects them but also means I can't hear a thing until I'm done," Black Canary answered. "It's a secondary power of mine. You'd be surprised how many superheroes with powers have them."

"Oh. Neat," Jaune replied, filing away the information for later.

"Black Canary, White Knight, I'm resetting the field now. Get ready," Mr. Terrific told them a moment later, and the two heroes nodded.

"Alright, show time. Let's see if this works," Black Canary declared as Jaune hovered his hands over her back.

Closing his eyes, Jaune took a deep breath then brought up his Aura. A white, wavy sheen covered his hands then, much to his amazement and relief, began to spread across Black Canary's back and body.

"Whoa, this feels tingly," Black Canary muttered as she looked at her now Aura-covered arms. She tapped her finger a few times, watching as it was deflected off, then she slammed the bottom of her fist against the top of her arm.

"Ow!" she gasped as her fist was deflected yet she still felt the pain. "Yep, that still hurts. Wow, this is what it's always like for you guys?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Jaune admitted as he slightly shrugged his shoulders. "It's pretty handy."

"I'll say," Black Canary replied, then looked back up at the observation room. "Okay, Terrific. Bring 'em up!"

Mr. Terrific didn't say anything, and a moment later another six targets appeared. As before, Black Canary threw a punch towards the first target, but much to her surprise it immediately broke apart after the first blow. The same went for all the others, going down after a single punch or kick, with Jaune awkwardly following behind to keep his hands over her. When she finished the set with another Canary Cry, Jaune had to grit his teeth from the pain as his ears rung, and he could've sworn that the observation room's glass window shook from the intense sound waves.

"WHOO! I don't think I've ever cried that loudly before!" Black Canary shouted in glee. "At least without tearing out my throat. Michael, how was that?"

"Standby," Mr. Terrific responded. After a few moments of silence, he answered, "Results are in, and I can confirm that there does appear to be an effect. We'll need to run a few more tests to make sure, but I'm reading at least double the force output from your punches and kicks. As for your Canary Cry, kinetic energy transfer from soundwaves increased exponentially."

"Whoa…what does that mean?" Jaune asked.

"At this point, it's hard to say," Mr. Terrific admitted. "If I had to guess, I believe Black Canary's body is using your Aura as an additional power source. Or maybe it's letting her exert herself at her maximum potential without risk of bodily harm. Could be both. We'll need to run more tests to make sure."

"Right, right. But, before we do, send out those T-Spheres, will 'ya?" Black Canary asked.

A moment later, a single T-Sphere emerged from a slot in the wall. As it approached the pair, Jaune deactivated his Semblance, leaving Black Canary exposed and allowing the T-Sphere to fire a single low-intensity laser onto the back of her hand. Black Canary gritted her teeth from the slight pain, but other than a small cut she was completely unharmed. The wound was so superficial, it wasn't even bleeding. Taking that as his cue, Jaune reactivated his Semblance, extending his Aura onto Black Canary, and both watched as the cut on her hand slowly but steadily healed before their very eyes.

"Well, that's one mystery solved," Black Canary remarked with a smile on her face, one that Jaune echoed.

A sense of relief coursed through Jaune's veins at the apparent success of the test. They would obviously have to do more to determine where their limitations lay, but this opened up a plethora of new opportunities. Both to help his friends fight Grimm and supervillains, and even heal those who needed it.

With a newfound vigor, Jaune looked up at the observation room and announced, "We're ready."

[~]

For the next hour, Jaune and Black Canary tested his Semblance with various holographic targets. It wasn't just against generic goons. They also tested it against projected walls, armor, Grimm, and anything else they might come across while on patrol. It was still far from conclusive, particularly since they would need to test it on more than just one superhero, or species for that matter, but a pattern was definitely forming. One that Jaune was excited to explore further. But, even with Aura reserves as large as his own, there was only so much he could do. Eventually, exhaustion began to overtake him.

Luckily, Mr. Terrific was keeping a close eye on his reserves thanks to the arena's installed Aura sensors. Once it got too low, and the rate of replenishment decreased past a certain point, he called off the entire test. Jaune personally felt he could've gone on a bit longer, but Mr. Terrific didn't want to risk anything. Plus he had to run some maintenance and repairs on the arena following the experiments, so it wasn't like they could've done much more anyway.

After bidding Black Canary farewell, Jaune grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Watchtower's food court then made his way to the waiting room. The rest of his team were still in a therapy session with Martian Manhunter and wouldn't be released for at least another ten minutes. Normally Jaune would've joined them, but they decided that testing his Semblance was more important. Besides, Black Canary was one of the Justice League's many licensed therapists, so as they were conducting the tests they are also doing an informal therapy session.

Taking a sip from a water bottle, Jaune entered the waiting room and moved to an empty chair. Sitting down, he pulled out his scroll and started scrolling through the Daily Planet app, trying to find an article that caught his attention. So far, all he was seeing were the usual sports updates, weather forecasts, fluff pieces and so on. There was also a continuously updating live feed on the current status of the ongoing Grimm Crisis, but Jaune was intimately aware of that so he didn't bother opening it.

As he tried finding something, Jaune suddenly realized that he wasn't alone. Looking up from his seat, he noticed that, seated at the opposite side of the room, was a girl staring uncertainly at him. She appeared to be around his age, if perhaps a few years older than him. Wearing a pair of blue jeans and a thick, dark green hoodie that covered her arms, only her head was exposed, revealing her light-brown skin and long, smooth brunette hair that had streaks of light-green dye applied to it.

"Oh, uh…hello," Jaune awkwardly said, and the girl was quiet for a moment.

"…Hello," the girl replied before falling silent.

Jaune didn't know what to do in this situation, and for a minute the waiting room was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Deciding that talking to her would, if nothing else, pass the time as well as simply be friendly, Jaune smiled, pressed his hand to his chest, and said, "The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jaune blanched and internally screamed, 'WHY?!'

But before he could take back his reflexive reuse of that disaster of an introduction, the girl suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled in amusement. Jaune looked at her in astonishment for a moment, then thought, 'Oh thank God, she thinks I'm being funny. Roll with it.'

"So, uh… I don't think we've met," Jaune pointed out while rubbing the back of his head. "What's your name?"

The girl finished quietly chuckling, then looked at Jaune and answered, "The name's Jessica Cruz. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Boys love it."

Jaune stared flatly at Jessica then replied, "Hah-hah."

"I'm sorry, but that was so bad!" Jessica lightly teased as she laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Jaune admitted while dejectedly hanging his head. "I figured that out the first time, I don't know why I…."

"No, no. It's fine," Jessica insisted as she forced herself to calm down, prompting Jaune to look up and smile at her.

Happy that at least the ice was broken, Jaune sat up straight and said, "Let's start over. I'm Jaune Arc."

Jessica nodded at Jaune then replied, "I'm Jessica Cruz. You're one of the Remnantians, right? The White Knight? I saw you and Black Canary training in the arena down there."

"Yeah, that's me," Jaune confirmed. "What about you? Are you one of the Watchtower's technicians, or a superhero like me and my friends?"

Jessica's smile briefly faltered, and Jaune was worried that he may have overstepped. But then Jessica raised her hand, revealing a green ring wrapped around her finger. A moment later, a neon-green light emitted from the ring's top, and a field began to spread across her body. As it spread, her casual clothes disappeared, leaving in its place a skintight suit that covered her entire body save for her head. Her upper legs and arms were pitch black while her feet were covered in white boots that went halfway up her shins. Covering her hands and most of her forearms were white gloves that had thick green rings separating them from the black body. Her shoulders and torso were dark green, with a black line trailing up her center that merged with the symbol of the Green Lantern Corp on her chest.

"Whoa… You're a Green Lantern!" Jaune realized, and Jessica Cruz nodded.

"Only for about a year," she clarified as though she was trying to downplay the position. "John Stewart's still teaching me the ropes."

"Right, right. Yeah, I think I remember hearing about a trainee he had," Jaune recalled while giving her a friendly smile. "Had no idea it was you. Wow, small world."

"Eh, not that small," Jessica replied, giving Jaune a smile of her own.

Jaune nodded at that, then he leaned forward and asked, "So, uh…what's it like?"

"What do you mean?" Jessica asked in slight confusion.

"I mean, what's it like being a Green Lantern? Making whatever you want?" Jaune clarified. "What do you make? I haven't interacted with the Green Lanterns that much, but from what I know the sky's the limit with you guys. If I had one of those things, I wouldn't even know where to start."

Jessica was silent for a moment, pondering his questions. Then she smirked, raised her fist, and conjured a green, translucent Keyblade that she gripped with the same hand.

"That answer your question?" she asked while continuing to smirk, and Jaune stared at her in amazement.

"…Have you flown in an X-Wing?" Jaune asked, and Jessica excitedly nodded.

"I have; it's amazing!" she confirmed with a wide smile on her face.

The pair settled into an excited conversation, oblivious to the world around them as they focused entirely on each other. Seeing as how Jessica was more than happy to demonstrate her powers, Jaune returned the favor by showing off Crocea Mors. Given that they were inside a waiting room, he wasn't stupid enough to swing it around or use its exotic functions, but his descriptions were more than enough. They also described the different missions and experiences they'd had, both on Earth and elsewhere.

"Wait, wait. You're telling me you wore a dress to Beacon's dance? As in an actual dress?" Jessica asked with barely disguised amusement in her voice, and Jaune nodded while smiling at the fond memory. The pair were now sitting on the same couch, Jaune showing the Green Lantern trainee pictures from his scroll.

"Yeah. What can I say? When an Arc makes a promise, we keep it," Jaune said.

"Well, I can imagine that made Pyrrha's day."

"You have no idea. It got even better when we used Ren's choreographed team dance number to steal the dance floor, and then I won Best Dress. Most of the other girls were so angry!"

"Hah-haha!" Jessica laughed, which Jaune echoed as memories from a better time flowed in.

After a moment, Jessica's smile faltered, then she said, "I'm sorry you lost your home, Jaune. I know what it's like to…lose people close to you."

That lowered Jaune's mood, but he waved her off and dismissed it, "You have nothing to be sorry about, Jessica. That was Brainiac, not you."

"Still, I'm a Green Lantern. It's our responsibility to protect the universe…and I can't protect anyone," Jessica pointed out while hugging her legs close to her chest, her earlier exuberance gone.

Jaune looked at her with a sad expression. He could tell that there was something deeper going on with Jessica. Something bad had happened to her, and whatever it was it still affected her deeply. His first instinct was to ask what was wrong, but they'd only just met, and he could tell it was a touchy subject. Prying right away would just be insensitive.

Shaking his head, Jaune gave Jessica a smile and said, "Don't worry. We'll find Brainiac again, and this time he'll go down for good. You'll see."

Jessica looked up at him and smiled at his optimism. But before she could say anything, Nora's voice suddenly asked, "Jaune, you coming?"

"What?" Jaune muttered as he shot his head towards the door where he saw the rest of his team looking at him and Jessica. "Oh, guys! When did you get here?"

"Just now," Ren answered as Jaune stood up and Jessica seemed to shrink in on herself in the presence of the new people. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Jessica Cruz," Jaune introduced his new friend. "She's a Green Lantern. Lives in Metropolis, actually. Jessica, these are my teammates Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie."

"…Hello," Jessica added, giving Jaune's friends a hesitant wave that Nora excitedly returned.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jessica," Pyrrha said with a soft smile. She then continued, "Well as much as I'd love to talk, we unfortunately need to get going. I hope we can run into each other again soon."

"Don't be a stranger, neighbor!" Nora told Jessica as Jaune moved to join his team.

"…Right, sure," Jessica replied. She and Jaune spared one last look, then the boy smiled and waved goodbye to her which she echoed. As they left, Jessica released a sigh, then turned her head as she heard J'onn J'onzz' telepathic voice call her in for her own therapy session. With that, Jessica stood up, dissipated the field emanating from her ring and returned to her normal attire before walking through the hall towards the office.

But as she approached, she heard Jaune exasperatingly ask, "Nora, do you seriously need my help spotting for you at the gym?"

"No, I said I was going to help you with your workout routine at the gym," she clarified. "You've got some meat on your bones, now we've just gotta get them moving faster with some more cardio!"

"And the fact that you're insisting on this at the same time I promised to help Ms. Schnee learn how to cook is complete coincidence?"

"Yep, absolutely."

"Nora, that was believable the first few times, but it's been weeks. Practically every single time Ms. Schnee and I are alone you do or say something to pull me away. What's going on? And don't lie to me, I'm asking as your leader."

Jessica peeked around the corner and saw the members of team JNPR standing around Nora. Jaune had his arms crossed over his chest while Pyrrha had her hands folded in front of her waist. Ren was standing straight, but it was clear that all three wanted an answer.

After a moment, Nora hung her head, released a sigh, then answered, "Okay, look. It's just…I'm trying to look out for the team."

"How is keeping Jaune from Ms. Schnee 'looking out for the team?'" Pyrrha asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Because while it's funny when it happens at his work, this is Weiss' mom we're talking about here!" Nora declared.

"…What does that have to do with anything?" Jaune asked, genuinely perplexed.

"Oh, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about!" Nora dismissed, but Jaune shook his head.

"But I don't. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, for the love of… I'm talking about the Moms of Metropolis, Jaune!"

"…what?" Jaune flatly asked as Pyrrha and Ren stared blankly at Nora who was frowning at her leader while crossing her arms.

"Weiss has just reunited with her mother and brother," Nora pointed out, oblivious to both the increasingly scandalized looks her teammates were giving her and the snickers Jessica was finding harder and harder to fight down. "The same girl, need I remind you, that you spent much of last year harboring a crush on and tried asking to the dance numerous times. The last thing any of us needs is for you to accidentally seduce her mother like you did with the moms where you work! It would turn into the worst kind of soap opera!"

"WHAT?!"

"Don't try and pretend like it wouldn't be bad, Jaune! We are talking about something that would threaten to split apart the entire team!" Nora earnestly insisted, then gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Pyrrha helped us all understand how your single mom magnetism works, and I know you can't just turn it off, so I'm doing this to protect us. To protect the team. Surely you can understand that."

Jaune was speechless after that solemn declaration, and aside from Jessica's desperately stifled squeaking and giggles, the room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Then Jaune, looking at Nora as though she had grown a second head, gently lifted Nora's hand from his shoulder, turned around, and fast-walked away as quickly as he could while ordering in a high-pitched voice, "Ren, talk to your girlfriend please."

"Got it," Ren said as he began to drag Nora away.

"What? What'd I say?" Nora asked, genuinely not seeing where she had gone wrong while Pyrrha followed after Jaune.

Only when the room was utterly devoid of anyone else did Jessica finally break and begin to laugh hysterically.

[~]

Gotham City, New York, United States of America

8:45 PM (Eastern Standard Time)

Weiss's face was as solid as steel as she read over the preliminary reports for the latest test. She and the rest of WayneTech's Dust Team had been working all day trying to get things to work, but so far it was to no avail. As it turned out, creating Dust from nothing was actually really hard. It wasn't as though there were centuries of similar attempts on Remnant telling them just that.

Sarcasm aside, while there had been some progress, there hadn't yet been a definitive success. The most they were able to do was gather ambient elemental energy from seawater, plants, fungi, and other similar aspects of nature corresponding to the various elemental parliaments. They knew they were because each test resulted in a noticeable decrease in their sample sizes. But the problem was actually gathering that potential energy and converting it into a crystalline mass. So far, each attempt to do so resulted in failure.

"Ugh, why isn't this working?" Weiss asked herself as she groaned, then perked her head up as she detected the smell of freshly brewed coffee heading her way.

"Here, Weiss," Willow said as she handed her daughter a steaming porcelain mug which Weiss eagerly took.

"Thanks, mom," Weiss said after taking a sip and releasing a content sigh.

"This isn't going to work," Whitley protested as he moved to the other side of his sister, leaning against the railing overseeing the entire lab.

"It has to," Weiss countered, narrowing her eyes in slight frustration before taking another sip.

"Does it? You and I both know that Remnant has been trying for decades to make artificial Dust," Whitley pointed out. "What makes you think WayneTech will be any different?"

"Because we actually know now where Dust's energy comes from," Weiss revealed, but Whitley shook his head and raised his finger.

"We think we know, dear sister. No offense, but until we get tangible results, your theory is just that. A theory, nothing more," Whitley dismissed. "I will admit, though, that your theory does sound reasonable if nothing else. Even if I still don't quite understand it."

"You and everyone else," Weiss replied, a hint of frustration in her voice.

As much as she wanted to rebuke Whitley, she knew he was right. There was no guarantee that this would work at all. Remnant had millennia of experience with Dust, not to mention actual samples, and they couldn't get it to work. WayneTech, and their partners in Palmer Technologies, Kord Industries, Queen Consolidated, and S.T.A.R. Labs were starting from scratch. The only advantage they had, in Weiss' eyes, was that Earth had a much greater understanding of esoteric forces and energies than Remnant did.

"You know, one of your grandfather's biggest personal projects when he led the SDC was trying to make artificial Dust," Willow revealed after taking a sip from her own coffee mug. "He sunk millions of lien into it over decades because he thought it would be safer for his employees than mining, and create a useful alternative just in case we ever exhausted our supply or were unable to mine more."

"Then let me guess: Jacques shut the project down when he took over the company," Weiss stated, and with a frown on her face Willow nodded.

"Within two years it was completely defunded and its assets and personnel reallocated elsewhere. He claimed he had no choice as it was a waste of company resources that hadn't produced any actual results," Willow confirmed, then hung her head and released a sigh. "Our scientists insisted they were on the verge of a breakthrough when it happened, but Jacques didn't believe them. He said they'd always be 'on the verge of a breakthrough' so long as they could keep getting funding. After so much time and money without anything tangible to show for it, his reasoning made sense at the time, but now…."

Whitley narrowed his eyes and his scowl deepened at the reminder of his father, then he shook his head before concluding, "So either our father was right and it was pointless, or he let his stinginess and cynicism stop us from making the biggest scientific breakthrough Remnant had ever seen. Heh, I don't know which is worse."

"Neither do I," Weiss admitted as she frowned as well.

The Schnee family fell into silence once more as they watched the technicians make the final preparations. Soon, however, they heard faint footsteps approaching from behind, and when Weiss turned around to look she smiled as she saw Lucius Fox approaching them.

"Weiss, Willow, Whitley," Lucius greeted as the other two Schnees turned to face him as well. "Ah, I see you found the coffee machine."

"Yes, and I had no problems using it either," Willow said, lying through her teeth and ignoring both of the side glances her children were giving her.

Lucius chuckled in amusement before replying, "I'm glad to hear that. I trust that your stay has been enjoyable thus far? Are you in need of anything?"

"No, no. Your engineers and scientists have been very accommodating. Thank you, Mr. Fox," Willow said, but Lucius waved her off.

"Please, call me Lucius. Mr. Fox makes me sound old," he insisted, then looked and smiled at Willow. "I've been ordered by my scientists to deliver a message of thanks, Willow. Your insight on Dust has been very helpful."

"Good, I'm just happy to help in any way I can," Willow said, and Lucius nodded.

"Once again, my offer stands. Should this experiment pan out, once we begin Dust manufacturing we could use your expertise," Lucius offered, but Willow shook her head.

"Thank you for the offer, Lucius, but I must decline. I'd rather focus on my children," Willow politely refused. "Besides, I think I've had enough of the corporate life."

Lucius nodded in understanding, then said, "Of course. If you ever change your mind, just give me a call."

Willow nodded, then Lucius turned his attention to Whitley and mentioned, "I hear you'll be enrolling in Gotham Academy soon. My daughter, Tamara, goes there as well. As does Damian."

"I'm aware," Whitley plainly replied, and Lucius chuckled in recognition.

"I see. Well, I can say from personal experience that although Damian does take some getting used to, he is a bright and respectable young man with a good head on his shoulders, much like his father."

Whitley raised an incredulous eyebrow at that and sarcastically asked, "Really?"

Lucius merely chuckled again while shaking his head and saying, "I did say he takes some getting used to. Give it time. I'm certain you two will become friends."

"I highly doubt it," Whitley dismissed, and Weiss couldn't help but smirk at the petty rivalry that had developed between her brother and Bruce's biological son. It was a rivalry she was reminded of every time Whitley was driven to join their practices, and it brought no end of amusement to the former heiress. Especially with how it seemed to be fueled by the two boys' similarities that they'd never admit to, as much as their differences.

"Lucius, we're about to start up the experiment again. Do you have time to watch?" the chief engineer called out, and Lucius checked his watch before nodding.

"I have a few minutes," he confirmed, then walked over to the railing to join the Schnees. Glancing around the lab, he released a content sigh before saying, "You know, I actually miss being down here. The things we've made… Sometimes I wish I could stop being CEO and just oversee the lab."

"I get the feeling," Weiss admitted, then settled back into watching the preparations.

"Still, I must admit it's particularly exciting to be working with magic. We don't get the chance to do that often here," Lucius admitted, prompting the Schnees to quickly look at each other.

None of them really wanted to agree with that assessment. After all, Dust had been an integral part of Remnant's society since its very inception. They knew Dust, studied its effects and limitations. It was as real to them as iron, copper, gravity, or any other force of nature. But after months of living on Earth, Weiss had slowly come to understand the local perspective that the effects of Dust were far and beyond the normal laws of physics. As much as they tried to say that Dust wasn't magic, everyone on Earth insisted otherwise. Not just the scientists working on trying to recreate it, but even the mages and magicians working for the League.

As much as she balked at how reductive it sounded when people used the term, she knew it fit the definition that everyone else used here. Dust was magic condensed into a solid, crystalline form. It didn't change anything, not really, but it still left a sour taste in her mouth any time she said it.

"Goggles on," the chief engineer called out, prompting everyone to stop what they were doing and pull the black-lensed goggles back over their eyes.

"That's my cue," Weiss stated, handing her brother her now empty mug and walking down the metal staircase towards the testing chamber. As she walked past the various stations, she heard the technicians announcing readouts and confirmations that they were ready to proceed, but she ignored them.

"Ready when you are, Ms. Schnee," one of the technicians said as Weiss approached the large lever that would start the experiment.

As Weiss took hold of the lever, she peered into the metallic, spherical chamber that had a circular glass window in the center. Inside she could see dozens of laser emitters pointing at a raised platform holding a dish with nothing on it. Seawater collected from the North Atlantic Current was housed in an isolated container underneath the platform, serving as the fuel from which the Dust would be made. They had tried pulling from Gotham Harbor, but that didn't work. Hopefully the much less contaminated water sample would be enough, combined with the change in output parameters.

Taking a deep breath, Weiss pulled the lever down with a sharp motion. At once, the lab was filled with blinding light as the chamber's interior lit up. Thanks to her goggles, Weiss was able to see everything with no issue. She watched, utterly transfixed, as the seawater disappeared into nothing with seemingly no reaction to the energy being emitted. There wasn't even so much as a wisp of vapor. One moment the water was all there, the next it was noticeably depleted.

After a few minutes, the seawater was completely gone. Only then did Weiss shut off the machine, causing the intense light to disappear. A technician then, without needing to be told, gently opened the machine and pulled out the dish that was small enough to fit in his hand. Taking off her goggles, Weiss stared deeply into it and released a sigh when she didn't see a thing.

She was about to declare the test another failure when someone next to her asked, "Hey, what's that?"

Perplexed, Weiss narrowed her eyes and looked deeper into the dish. At first she saw nothing, but then she spotted a glint of deep blue. Her eyes widened, and her breath hastened as she gingerly grabbed an offered pair of tweezers and reached towards the speck. Grabbing hold of it, she raised it into the air then brought it as close to her eyes as she possibly could to get a better look.

It was no bigger than a grain of sand, but there was no mistaking it. Pinched between the ends of the tweezers was a deep blue, vibrant Water Dust crystal.

"From Dust…came Man," Weiss muttered a familiar passage under her breath, ignoring the jubilant cheers going on around her.

[~]

January 30th, Year 2

Lex Island

Atlantic Ocean, 50 nautical miles off Eastern Seaboard

8:30 AM (Eastern Standard Time)

"While we are on the subject of gods and other divine beings," the recording of Lex Luthor said, his voice carried over the wall-mounted television's speakers, "let me be the first to admit that their existence is an irrefutable fact. One that was hammered in a decade ago when the New Gods of Apokolips invaded our world. The Olympians, the Aesir, the gods and goddesses of the Hindu, Egyptian, and every other faith are as real as you and I. And by every metric, the power and influence they wield over our world makes it so that the term 'god' is applicable."

Lex was standing up now, taking center stage as he continued his lecture to an enraptured audience, "But I disagree with the notion that proof of the divine means an obligation to worship them. In fact, I would say it means the opposite, for in our modern world what have the various gods and goddesses done for us? Are they responsible for building our grand cities? Developing new medicines, technologies, and forms of agriculture that make our lives easier and more fulfilling? No, that was us. It was mankind that made those things, mankind that discovered the secrets of the natural world and learned how to twist and manipulate them to benefit us."

Lex paused, then continued, "Mankind has fought for what we have over thousands of years of civilization. We weren't just given everything on a silver platter like the self-important Amazons, who remain isolated on their island even today, doomed to subservience while simultaneously believing they are better than us mere mortals. Is that our reward for worship? While the prospect of immortality and endless strength is appealing, I would never forsake my freedom for it. Instead I would do what man has always done: discover the secret and claim it for ourselves though sweat and blood, if need be.

"For that is, in my opinion, the true moral answer to the existence of gods. To look them in the face and say, 'we don't need you,'" Lex finished, prompting the audience to applaud.

"The man is certainly full of himself," Arthur Watts dismissed as he turned the television off.

"Indeed. Doesn't mean he isn't correct in this case," Salem pointed out, and Watts waved his hand dismissively.

"I hope he isn't referring to you…," Tyrian growled, but Salem shook her head.

"Even if he was, dear Tyrian, there's no need to lash out," Salem said. "Not when we still have use of him. Now, let us proceed. Arthur, Hazel, what have you found?"

With those authoritative words, Salem and her subordinates gathered around the circular table taking up the center of her room. She knew Lex was listening in on their every word through various hidden cameras that she already found. But removing them would be playing into Lex's hand, so she kept them up. Besides, it wasn't as though they were talking about anything he'd particularly care about.

"Hazel and I have been looking into Earth's geopolitics, and I must say that they make the relations between Remnant's kingdoms look like playground squabbles," Watts revealed. "Hundreds of countries, countless languages and cultures, all intermixed with thousands of years of mutual bloodshed and hatred on all sides. I guarantee that, with just the right pushes, we could make those tensions skyrocket should we desire."

"Sub-Saharan Africa is the most volatile," Hazel continued. "Followed by the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Legacies of colonialism by European powers and the Soviet Union. As Watts said, it would be easy to smuggle Grimm into conflict zones and let them run amok. Combine that with misinformation campaigns, careful assassinations, and electoral interference, and entire countries could collapse."

"Hmm," Salem hummed. "And what of the developed powers?"

"Those are tougher nuts to crack, but in recent years there has been an increase in hyperpolarization among political parties in Western countries," Watts answered. "Along with a drastic increase in wealth inequity due to neoliberal policies and capitalistic exploitation, among other things. There are also racial tensions, corruption, police brutality. These are all potent stress points we could exploit."

"But the Justice League and their allies are strongest in the developed countries," Hazel countered, "and thanks to their influence public morale is high and those issues are steadily being addressed. The same is also true for the less developed world, albeit at a slower pace. I think it is safe to say that the Justice League is Earth's equivalent of Ozpin and his contemporaries."

"Which makes them our biggest threat," Watts continued. "At the moment we are still formulating options, but it seems to me that the only way we can actually accomplish our goals is to eliminate the League. With them around, any action we take can and will be countered."

"Assuming we even need to go against the League at all," Hazel pointed out. "Remember, conquering Earth isn't our goal. Killing Brainiac and avenging Remnant is. If anything, I fear attempting to weaken Earth's countries and destroy the Justice League will prove to be counterproductive. It may even doom us."

"Maybe, but I still doubt that the Justice League would be willing to work with us," Watts dismissed.

"At this point, no," Salem concurred. "Particularly since we've given them no reason to. And they appear to be an…idealistic group of people, ones who wouldn't be particularly keen on working with someone such as myself, nor have the will to do what's necessary."

"So you agree, then, that we need to remove them from the playing field first?"

"I never said that, Arthur," Salem refuted as she tapped her fingers together. "The fact of the matter is, we are still at a tremendous disadvantage here. It would take years to build up enough influence on our own to become as big of a threat to Earth's current order as we were on Remnant. Years we might not have. So it remains in our best interest to stay the course and follow Lex's lead."

'So that he would become their patsy when they inevitably turned against him' went unsaid, but was no less understood by everyone else. Truth be told, their current situation frustrated Salem to no end. For thousands of years she was the one calling the shots, playing the game against Ozma. Remnant's people were merely pieces on a board for her to move and manipulate, a skill she had honed over countless lifetimes. But right now she was reduced to following someone else, lending resources that should rightfully be hers to them. It was humiliating.

But although Salem was a prideful woman, she wasn't stupid. Following Lex Luthor's lead was their best option for now, and they would continue to do so until such a time that it ceased to benefit her. The only problem was that they had to deal with several ticking time bombs. Two in particular vexed her. One was the Justice League. They were aimlessly searching in the dark, trying to find the source of the Grimm infesting their world. Eventually, they would find a lead and zero in on them. Salem had to be gone by then. The other, more pressing concern was Lex himself. It was obvious to both parties that their alliance was merely temporary. Once it ran its course and Lex had no further need of Salem and her subordinates, he'd attempt to dispose of them. Salem had to finalize her true course of action and execute it before then.

She was still weighing her options, but over the past few weeks an idea was beginning to take shape. It wasn't worth openly discussing yet, but it may just solve all of her problems. It helped that Salem had experience in dealing with men like Lex Luthor. He was smart, likely one of the smartest she had ever met, but he was still defined by his arrogance and greed. In that way, he was just another rich man like Jacques Schnee. She knew how to manipulate people like that, so she had confidence they had more than enough time.

Her thoughts were broken when she sensed footsteps approaching them. Turning towards the door, she watched as it opened to reveal the ever-composed Mercy Graves holding a tablet against her arm. Pressing a few keys on the screen, Mercy announced, "Mr. Luthor requires you in the lab downstairs. It's urgent. Please follow me."

Without waiting for them to respond, the Amazon turned around and began to walk off. Feeling curious as to why Lex suddenly needed them, Salem rose from her seat and followed her. Tyrian, Watts, and Hazel followed suit, the door automatically sealing shut behind them. As they walked through the spacious hallways, with armed guards watching their every move, Salem pointedly ignored them while Tyrian only smiled in an attempt to intimidate them. To the guards' credit, none of them so much as flinched. A testament to their training, she supposed.

When they got into the elevator, Mercy pressed a button to take them down to the basement laboratory. As the elevator descended, the car was quiet for only a moment, then Tyrian spoke up, "How nice to see you again, especially now that I've recovered my strength."

It was obvious who Tyrian was talking to, but Mercy refused to respond as she instead glanced nonchalantly at her tablet. With poorly concealed irritation from her lack of reaction, Tyrian sneered, "Ah, such rudeness. You wound me, truly. Perhaps a lesson in manners is in order after this."

"My time is too valuable to waste on humbling you again, Mr. Callows," Mercy calmly replied as she continued pressing keys on her tablet's screen, which only further irked the scorpion faunus. His tail twitched angrily, but with a single harsh glare from his liege Tyrian was cowed.

"Please forgive Tyrian," Salem said. "He has been rather…stifled for the last few months."

"So it seems. Perhaps we can arrange a field trip to get him some stimulation then," Mercy remarked dryly as the doors opened. "This way."

Without saying another word, Mercy walked out of the elevator and turned left. Salem and her subordinates followed, her eyes wandering back and forth. As was the case in the floor above, armed guards prowled every hallway and corridor they stepped into, along with security cameras following their every move. Salem made a mental map of the layout but otherwise remained composed.

When they passed by a hallway with one side made of glass instead of steel, Salem peered through to see what was happening on the other side. There she saw a large arena lined with white tiles on the walls, floor, and ceiling. In the center was a scientist administering a test through a holographic projection that a young man wearing a white and green jumpsuit, who appeared to be in his late teens, was manipulating.

"Hmm, orbital dynamics," Watts observed. "Very complicated. I'd need to get a closer look, but it appears that boy knows what he's doing. Who is he?"

"None of your concern. Please keep moving," Mercy ordered, beckoning them to rejoin her at the end of the hallway.

Watts shrugged before walking away with Tyrian. Hazel spared one final, almost concerned look at the boy, most likely focusing on his age, then rejoined his comrades. Salem was the last to leave, wanting to observe the boy for just a second longer. That was when he stopped what he was doing and looked straight up at her, allowing her to see the LexCorp logo emblazoned on his chest. His face was passive, but Salem could feel his eyes boring into her own. Salem met them, and the pair stared at each other for a long moment.

Then Salem smirked and chucked. She walked away, feeling the boy's eyes follow her. Although she didn't know who the boy was, he was clearly important to whatever Lex's plans were. Important enough to where he didn't want any contact between them. Salem would have to learn more, but with such an important piece, she would be remiss to ignore it.

Soon they entered the laboratory where they were stopped by a couple of technicians who gave them safety goggles and said to put them on. While slightly confused, all but Salem complied. The Grimm Queen didn't require them. Any injury she might receive would be immediately healed, so there was no point.

"Good, you're here. Took you long enough," Lex called out from the center of the lab as he worked on a strange machine Salem didn't recognize.

"What is that, a collider?" Watts asked as he approached the railing.

"This is an elemental energy accumulator. It gathers cosmic energy from the elemental forces of nature such as the Red and the Green and focuses it onto a single point," Lex answered while otherwise keeping his back turned.

Salem had read about the elemental forces of nature. They vaguely reminded her of the more naturalistic spiritual beliefs amongst Remnant's cultures. What was more surprising was that the proudly atheistic Lex Luthor was dabbling with it at all. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "And will you be telling us why you have it and why you're working with it?"

"I invented it years ago as part of a weapons program that didn't pan out the way I intended," Lex admitted as he loaded a container holding red-hot lava inside. "As for what I'm doing with it…I'm making Dust with lava harvested from Mount Kilauea. Believe me when I say that shipping the lava all the way from Hawaii without letting it cool was a tremendous but necessary expense."

Watts openly scoffed and said, "Making Dust? That's impossible. Countless alchemists and scientists have tried throughout the centuries and got nowhere."

Lex didn't respond. Instead, he merely walked over to a nearby terminal and pressed a button, causing the accumulator to light up. Salem had to squint her eyes as she felt her retinas burn, temporarily blinding her. But immediately afterwards her sight returned only to be blinded again. The cycle continued for a minute, with Salem standing there ignoring the pain until the light finally went away. Blinking her eyes a few times, Salem looked at the machine. Then her eyes widened as she saw Lex pull out a small orange crystal the size of a coin that he then tossed across the room towards her.

She deftly caught the gem and looked at it, and her eyes widened even more as Watts leaned in and said, "That's…impossible…."

"Not for me," Lex smugly countered as he took off his lab coat and safety goggles. "Nor for the scientists at WayneTech, Kord Industries, S.T.A.R. Labs, Palmer Technologies and Queen Consolidated. WayneTech produced the first Water Dust crystal a week ago, and the others have been confirming the results over the past few days with different materials. My only regret is that I didn't make it first, although I can take satisfaction in the fact that I realized the connection between Dust and the elemental forces in a matter of weeks, whereas it took them months. I also have a leg up on manufacturing, so I should be able to beat them to the market."

"How do you know this?" Hazel demanded as a technician carrying a case filled with other small Dust crystals of various colors came to grab the one that Lex had casually tossed over.

"I'm a scientist first and a businessman second," Lex stated. "As with all scientists, I have contacts all over the world, and when a discovery is made, everyone involved has to brag about it."

"…I see," Salem muttered, narrowing her eyes as she began to reevaluate things. "Is that why you brought us down here? To show us your accomplishment?"

"No," Lex refuted, then snapped his fingers. "Mercy, a copy of the Daily Planet, please."

"Right away, Mr. Luthor," Mercy replied as she grabbed a paper newspaper from a nearby table.

"Read the frontpage article," Lex ordered.

Perplexed, Salem unfolded the newspaper and started to read. Although she was still getting used to the English language and all its complexities, she was soon blazing through the words. But then she stopped and her eyes widened as she spotted a familiar name written in the ink.

"'We can now confirm that the Grimm were not leaderless. In fact, they never were,'" Salem read aloud. "'In truth, the Grimm had a queen, and her name was Salem.'"

"How the hell do they know your name?" Hazel asked, his voice raised in alarm while Salem's mind raced.

"That's what I want to know," Lex said as he folded his arms behind his back and walked over to them. At the same time, several monitors blazed to life, each one showing a different news station, all talking about the same story. About her.

"As you can see, Earth now knows of your existence," Lex revealed, stopping right before the Grimm queen. "The Justice League knows of your existence. This is a problem, as you can tell. The only question is how they learned about it."

Watts stared at the closest screen displaying a CNN panel, then he growled, "Pietro's puppet… That has to be it. We know the Green Lanterns rescued it from Brainiac's clutches, and it stands to reason that it would've told the League everything it knows."

"Did this gynoid know of Salem's existence?" Lex asked, and Watts' frown deepened.

"General Ironwood did, and Project P.E.N.N.Y. was under his direct supervision," Watts answered. "He always chafed under Ozpin's direction and gathered his own allies behind the scenes that answered only to him. I would not be surprised if he gave it information about Salem and her forces."

"Perhaps, but although I don't have any hard confirmations yet, my contacts lead me to believe that more had been rescued than just the gynoid," Lex revealed. "I've known for a while now that Weiss Schnee was heading WayneTech's Dust Reclamation Project, and it appears that relatives of hers may have been rescued as well. A younger brother and either older sister or mother. They weren't more specific than that."

"Hmm… The boy sounds like Whitley Schnee," Watts remarked as he paced back and forth and rubbed his now neatly groomed beard, deep in thought. "He wouldn't know anything, but the woman… That could either be Willow Schnee, their mother, or Winter Schnee, the eldest daughter. If it's Willow, it's the same as Whitley. But Winter was Ironwood's direct protégé. Anything he knows she most certainly would also know."

"Are we certain those three are the only ones who were rescued?" Hazel asked. "There could be more. Aren't you running surveillance on them?"

"I used to, but after they refused my offer and they moved to Metropolis there wasn't much of a point," Lex countered. "I could look out the window and see what they were doing. Spying on their home wouldn't accomplish much besides knowing what video games they were playing."

"Clearly that was a mistake."

"That it was," Lex admitted as he furrowed his brow. "Regardless of how the League knows, it is now our problem. The only upside is that it appears they believe you to be dead and gone with your planet, so we have that going for us. But there's no telling how long that is going to last. We are running out of time, so we need to figure out what to do next and quickly."

Salem pressed her lips together, her mind racing as she tried to determine their next course of action. After a moment, she began to strategize, "We need more intel. Lex, can you set up surveillance on their apartment?"

"Bruce Wayne owns that entire building," Lex rebuffed while shaking his head. "He is the most paranoid and prepared man on the planet. Trying to spy on that apartment from any direction, much less inside it, is next to impossible."

"So we need to monitor them from the field," Hazel remarked, and Tyrian cackled with glee.

"Send me, Goddess. I will find the one responsible and silence them at your word," Tyrian suggested as he rubbed his hands together and flicked his scorpion tail above his head in anticipation.

"Absolutely not," Lex refused while pointing his finger at the scorpion faunus. "I'd rather Reinhardt or Watts do so, not you. To be honest, I don't want them going out, either."

"And why not?" Tyrian asked, his voice rising with his frustration. "You already made me sit out the fun in Metropolis, but this is a direct threat to the Goddess' plans. I cannot let them live when I can do something about it."

"That's the problem," Lex revealed. "You would stand a good chance of killing them. I won't deny that. But Watts and Reinhardt can pass as native criminals. They look completely human. But you? Your tail sticks out like a sore thumb. Even if you can hide it, all it would take would be one picture or video taken, and they'll see who you are. That applies to you as well, Watts, given your history with the gynoid's creator and your supposed death. And if you somehow leave DNA evidence behind, from any of you, that would also be a dead giveaway."

Watt's eyes widened, then he released a growl and said, "Luthor's right. We may look like humans from Earth, but we're not. Our genomes are noticeably different. One drop of blood, or a hint of Tyrian's neurotoxin, and all they'd have to do is compare it to the DNA samples of Remnantians they already have. With some basic deduction, they'd realize we're here."

Salem could tell that it killed part of Watts' soul to admit that Lex Luthor was right, but she didn't care about that for now. Instead, all she cared about was figuring out what to do next. They needed to determine how the League discovered her existence, and there were potentially two or more leads they had to follow. They couldn't send any of her subordinates as that would be too risky. Staying hidden was of even greater importance now than not even an hour before.

After a moment, Salem's eyes drifted to the Mother Box that was still housed in its container, pulsating with limitless energy, and an idea began to take shape.

"I believe I may have a solution to our problem," Salem revealed.

"And that would be?" Lex asked as he narrowed his eyes at the Grimm Queen.

"I have another asset of mine. An…experiment, if you will, currently housed in Monstra," Salem answered.

"You mean a Grimm."

"Yes, but this is no mere Grimm," Salem said. "The Hound is far more than that. I can send it to spy on them, and they'll never know it's there."

"Hmm," Lex mumbled as he rubbed his chin. He paced back and forth, then looked at the Remnantians and asked, "You're certain this Hound will work as a more plausibly deniable spy than your servants?"

"It will not be seen unless I want it to be," Salem reiterated. "All I need is to bring it through with your Mother Box, with your permission of course."

Lex stared at Salem for another moment, undoubtedly trying to figure out if there was some other angle she was working on. After a moment, he nodded then ordered, "Prepare the Boom Tube chamber. Lock onto Monstra's position."

"Yes, Mr. Luthor," the head scientist replied as he and the other scientists and technicians began to work. One of them grabbed the Mother Box then began to carry it to an adjacent room. Salem and the others followed, with Salem herself stepping into the Boom Tube chamber while the others joined Lex in the observation room.

Within a few minutes, the Mother Box was hooked up to the projector. Once Lex gave the signal, electricity was shot into it, causing the alien supercomputer to vibrate and light up before projecting a Boom Tube into existence. Salem stood before it, reaching out towards the portal and beckoning through it. Although Monstra was currently hiding in Jupiter's shadow, the Boom Tube closed the distance to where it was only feet away.

A few moments later, she felt the Hound's presence as it approached the portal. While her subordinates were completely calm, as was Lex, the scientists nervously shook as the anticipation built. Soon a dark figure emerged from the portal, looking like a giant dog with large bone spikes poking out of its shoulders, the points of its spinal column exposed through the skin, and a large eyeless white mask that completely covered the top of its head. Two large, pointed ears twitched as it 'looked' around, taking in its surroundings before completely focusing its attention on Salem herself.

"Hello," Salem welcomed it almost fondly as she caressed the side of the Hound's head. "I have a mission for you. Someone has informed my enemies of who I am, and I need you to find out who it is without being seen. Can you do that?"

The Hound was silent for a moment, then all but Salem flinched as something from inside its body could be heard getting twisted, pulled, and broken. Then, much to everyone's surprise and horror, even Lex Luthor's, the Hound said, "Yes."

[~]

Metropolis, New York, United States of America

"Guys, hurry up! We're going to be late!" Ruby yelled across the apartment while she stood next to the front door.

"We're coming, Ruby. Hold your horses," Yang replied as she finished adjusting her sweater while coming down the staircase. Behind her was the rest of Team RWBY and Qrow, the latter of whom looked like he had just woken up. He was also holding a hand to his head, a tell-tale sign of yet another hangover, which made Ruby briefly frown before she returned to her normal exuberance.

"What's the rush, Rubes?" Qrow managed to get out as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Uncle Qrow, did you already forget?" Ruby teased while waving her finger back and forth. "We're heading back to the House of Mystery for anti-magic training and to work on my silver eyes again."

Qrow was silent for a moment, then he nodded and said, "Right, right. Interdimensional haunted house. You know, if I didn't time travel the first week I got here, I'd be more weirded out."

"Yeah, you get used to it," Yang agreed with her uncle, then grimaced. "So long as I don't change bodies again, I'll be fine."

"You and me both," Weiss added, only to glare at Qrow when he started to chuckle.

"To be honest, that sounds hilarious," he pointed out.

"Until it happens to you for a day," Weiss rebuked, then released a sigh while pinching the top of her nose. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Ruby's right, we need to get going."

"I hope you guys have fun," Nora called out as she and the rest of Team JNPR finished packing duffle bags with their gear. "Sorry we can't come with you this time, but duty calls."

"Nah, it's all good," Yang replied while waving them off.

Initially, the plan was that both teams, along with Qrow and Penny, would be going to the House of Mystery for some much needed practice. Although they hadn't faced many magical villains or creatures during their short careers as superheroes, with the notable exceptions of Mumbo Jumbo and Black Adam, there was no telling when that might change. Some of the most dangerous opponents they could face were magical in nature, including supervillains like the Enchantress, and their previous encounter with Black Adam reinforced the need to be prepared. Plus, neither Qrow nor Penny had any experience dealing with Earth's magic, not to mention the Justice League Dark could help Penny tremendously with her Maiden powers.

Unfortunately, a situation developed within the past few days that threatened those plans. Providence, Rhode Island had started to report several disappearances and sightings of strange creatures coming out of the bay at night. It was a mystery as to what they were and whether they were connected or not, but the League knew it had to be handled. Given the distinct possibility that Grimm were involved, the Remnantians were at the top of the list to investigate. Normally both teams would've been dispatched, but given how the number of disappearances was still fairly low, and the description of the creatures matched none of the Grimm thus far recorded, they were worried that sending all of them would be overdoing it.

That was when Jaune offered for JNPR to take the reins on responding to the reports while team RWBY proceeded to the House of Mystery as originally planned. As Jaune put it, team JNPR was more than capable of working on their own, and should the situation prove to be more difficult than anticipated, their friends and allies were one short phone-call away. It was a plan that, ultimately, the others agreed to.

"I hope your mission goes well, guys," Ruby said as JNPR continued packing their bags.

"And I hope your visit to the House of Mystery is…uneventful," Pyrrha replied, shuddering as she remembered how awkward things got between her and Jaune following their body-swapping mishap. It was a sentiment he agreed with, and which had partially driven his desire to not go back there to begin with.

"By the way, be on the lookout for Etrigan," Ren advised. "Based off what happened last time, I wouldn't be surprised if he tries pulling something again."

"Oh yeah, he attacked you guys to make Ruby blast him with her silver eyes," Qrow remarked, then smirked. "Don't worry, if he tries something I'll show him what it means to fight a fully-trained Huntsman."

Ren narrowed his eyes, then muttered under his breath, "That's what I'm worried about."

As he and his teammates went back to finishing their preparations, Ruby yelled back up the stairs, "Penny, you coming? Hurry up!"

"I'm coming!" Penny announced as she finally left her room. "Sorry, I had to feed my betta fish. On that note, Charlie is getting overweight, so I will be feeding her less for a while."

"Oh, that's good," Ruby said as Penny came down the stairs. With a smile on her face, Ruby continued, "Trust me, Penny. You are going to love the House of Mystery. We're going to learn so much there, it'll be so-!"

"Actually, Ruby," Penny interrupted with a forced smile as she folded her arms in front of her waist. "I will not be going to the House of Mystery with you."

"…Wha?" Ruby blankly muttered in disbelief, with the rest of her teammates raising their eyebrows in slight confusion.

"I have been giving Yang's words some thought, and I realized that she was correct," Penny explained. "As much as I love 'hanging out' with you, that is pretty much all I have been doing since I got to Earth. I have been limiting myself."

She then pointed to JNPR and continued, "Last night, Nora talked to me after she noticed my dilemma, and she invited me to join them in Rhode Island. As much as I would love to accompany you to the House of Mystery, I think it would be better for me to expand my horizons with them. Besides, I have already been practicing extensively with Dr. Fate, and after asking him about it he said that I could use a break."

There was also the fact that, should the situation prove to be more than just a simple missing persons case, her strength and Maiden magic would be very useful. But Penny felt no need to mention that out-loud, lest she accidentally jinx them. As for Team RWBY, Yang's eyes widened slightly, then she nodded in acceptance, happy that her advice was being heeded for once, even if this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. Weiss, Blake, and Qrow were also nodding, respectful of Penny's decision.

As for Ruby, her face fell and she mumbled, "…Oh, I see…."

"I haven't upset you, have I?" Penny asked, her voice temporarily becoming distraught, but Ruby quickly recovered and frantically waved her hands in front of her.

"No, no! It's totally fine!" Ruby insisted, then took a deep breath and said, "You're right. I have been hogging you lately. You should go with Team JNPR. Besides, solving a mystery could be fun."

"As much fun as solving a missing persons case can be," Ren pointed out, and Ruby blushed slightly at the poor choice of words.

Before she could say anything else, her scroll vibrated, and Weiss prompted, "That's our cue. We need to go."

"Right, right," Ruby replied as she turned around. Before entering the elevator, she gave one last look to Penny and Team JNPR then said, "Good luck, guys. See you when you get back."

"Don't you worry! We'll find those people before you can even say Mr. Mxyzptlk!" Nora announced, causing Ruby to laugh.

When the elevator doors closed, Ren looked at his girlfriend then remarked, "You do realize she still hasn't learned how to say his name yet, right?"

"Why do you think I chose it?" Nora cheekily answered, causing Ren to sigh and Penny to cover her mouth with her hand as she chuckled.

"Penny, you good to go?" Jaune asked as he hoisted his duffle bag over his shoulder.

"Yes, I should be good," Penny revealed. "And do not worry, I do not require any provisions of my own!"

"Oh, perfect. Glad to hear it," Pyrrha praised, then together the quintet walked outside to the patio.

As they stood next to the covered pool, they idly checked their scrolls and Jaune sent a message out to the Watchtower to say that they were ready. A moment later, the world around them shimmered as the Watchtower's teleporter picked them up and transported them to the orbital station. They were only there for a minute as they were immediately teleported again, this time arriving in Providence, Rhode Island. A light layer of ice and snow covered the ground, and the sky was overcast, which created a somewhat gloomy atmosphere, particularly as light rain fell down.

Despite this, Nora remained cheerful as she skipped out of the alleyway they arrived in. Facing the open water, Nora released a happy sigh and stretched her arms, then turned around to face her friends and declared, "Ah, today is beautiful! A perfect day to solve a mystery!"

Jaune couldn't help but smile at Nora's excitement as he agreed, "Sure is, Nora."

He then turned towards Penny and added, "Happy to have you with us, Penny. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a waste of time."

"Not at all, Jaune! I am just happy you all let me come!" Penny replied as they began walking down the sidewalk towards a nearby diner with several parked cars in front of it, including one light green and blue van that looked like it came straight out of the 1960s.

"Well, you made the right choice!" Nora announced while snapping her fingers in emphasis. "It's not just Team RWBY that gets all the cases! Team JNPR is just as capable!"

"We're not in a competition, Nora," Ren pointed out, but Nora shook her head.

"To you, maybe," Nora admitted, "but not to me. Right now, we're tied with Team RWBY in total cases solved. That drug bust I was going after was just marijuana and that's legal. I intend to rectify that. With Penny's help, we'll be right back in the lead!"

"Don't tell me you invited Penny just to get an edge in an imaginary competition," Pyrrha chastised, but an insulted Nora shot her a look and shook her head.

"No, of course not. What do you take me for?" Nora asked with mock outrage. "That's just a benefit."

Penny couldn't help but chuckle, then remarked, "It is fine, Pyrrha. Once again, I am just happy you all decided to include me."

"Well, we're happy to have you with us," Pyrrha said with a gentle smile that was echoed by Jaune and Ren, with Nora shifting back to her previous mood and smiling.

"Yep! Now come on, I'm starving! I didn't eat breakfast this morning, and whatever they're cooking smells amazing," Nora declared as she moved towards the front door. "Can't solve a mystery on an empty stomach."

Before Nora could reach the door, it was suddenly opened by, much to their surprise, a large Great Dane wearing a blue-green collar with a diamond-shaped gold and blue-green tag on the front, covered with brown fur and a few black spots. The dog was sniffing with his nose to the ground, and followed the scent straight to Penny whom he looked up at in surprise.

"Ooh, it's a dog! I love dogs!" Nora cheered as she reached down to pet the canine, only for him to raise his head and look around in bewilderment.

Then the dog asked, "Rawg? Where?"

"HE CAN TALK!" Nora squealed while the others' eyes widened. Upon seeing their reaction, the talking dog began to laugh as he sat down, letting Nora affectionately pet him. At the same time, Penny looked closer at the tag, where she saw the initials 'SD' proudly emblazoned on its face.

[~][~]

Hello, everyone! Here is the latest chapter of Hunters of Justice! Special thanks to Jesse K and NaanContributor for their help in bringing this chapter to life!

Lots of stuff happened here in this chapter. Halo discovering a new halo, Jaune and the rest of JNPR discovering more of the extent of his Semblance, Weiss confirming her theory, and so much more. Now Penny and the rest of Team JNPR are set for their own adventure with some...meddling kids.

And before you ask "why", do you realize how many times this has canonically happened? Myself doing it is nothing new.

Now then, to answer a few questions:

My review section is not a place to request new characters to get thrown in. I will not approve and will delete any anonymous reviews that attempt to do so. Any inclusion of characters and plot elements will be confirmed once they appear in the story itself. At this moment, the only character I will confirm that we have plans for that hasn't appeared yet is Supergirl/Kara Zor-El. There is a reason why she hasn't shown up yet.

Regarding Brother Blood and Trigon, that came directly from the comics. In the 2003 TV show, Brother Blood and Trigon were unrelated. I drew more from the comics here.

Once again, I must reiterate that you shouldn't expect any RWBY character to become a Lantern as that is a story in and of itself.

Regarding the Ever After, we do have plans for it, but it'll be a while before they come on screen.

You guys can expect more team-ups in the future. After all, this is RWBY going through the DC Universe. Teaming up with all sorts of heroes is half the fun.

Once again, I will say that there will be romantic subplots in the story, both within RWBY/DC canons and crossover ships. They're all part of the fun.

I probably won't do any sequels to previously written Elseworlds. They're supposed to be one-offs.

That's it for now! Let us know what you guys think. If any of you have a TV Tropes account, any assistance in updating the TV Tropes page would be greatly appreciated. We hope you enjoy!