*Happy, up-tuned, jingly version of Justice League theme*
Hunters of Justice Chibi!
[~][~]
Cursed Innocence
[~]
Standing in the middle of Metropolis' Centennial Park, with the Statue of Superman towering overhead as the golden Man of Steel held up the world on his shoulders, Penny Polendina smiled as she watched a family of ducks swim in a pond. Around her, she could hear birds chirping, children and families playing. It was a peaceful and serene atmosphere, one that Penny hadn't felt in quite some time. All she wanted to do was sit back and absorb it all, hoping that nothing would disturb it.
"Hey, Penny? Have you ever cursed?" Yang suddenly asked, breaking the gynoid from her thoughts.
"Excuse me?" Penny asked as she turned towards Yang, tilting her head to the side.
"You know, cursed," Yang repeated. "Have you cursed at someone or something before?"
"Oh, cursed," Penny replied, then shook her head. "No, I've never cursed anyone before. Granted, I've only been the Winter Maiden for a short time, but—"
"No, no, that's a magic curse," Yang clarified. "I'm talking about, you know, profanity, swearing, expletives. Just…general obscenity. Have you ever said anything along those lines?"
"I…don't follow," Penny admitted, causing Yang to hang her head and release a sigh.
"I guess that's as good an answer as any," Yang muttered to herself, but Penny, now intrigued, refused to let the matter drop.
"No, no. Tell me," Penny insisted. "I'm curious as to what you mean."
Yang stared into Penny's deep and curious eyes, and after a moment she answered, "Okay, so… There are two kinds of words. Normal words that you can say in polite, everyday conversation."
"Of course," Penny interjected, and Yang nodded.
"Then you have what are considered 'bad' words," Yang revealed, much to Penny's fascination. "They're typically insults or at least rude."
"Fascinating," Penny whispered, completely enraptured by Yang as though this was some grand revelation. "Can you give me an example? I want to try it now."
"Oh, well, uh…," Yang stammered, beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea. The last thing she wanted to do was to somehow corrupt Penny's innocence. If nothing else, Ruby would kill her if she did such a thing. But before the blonde brawler could refuse, she locked eyes with Penny, and found the young Winter Maiden staring deep into her soul. Any walls she put up stood no chance.
Shrugging to herself and figuring that there wasn't any real harm in doing this, Yang answered, "Well, how about saying 'crap'?"
"Crud?" Penny repeated, and Yang once again shook her head.
"No, not crud. Crap. It's another word for poop," Yang clarified. There was another, harsher word she could've used for this example, but she wasn't willing to taint Penny's mouth that much yet. In all honesty, saying 'crap' as your first curse word was pretty tame.
"Oh, okay," Penny said, then repeated, "Crud."
Yang narrowed her eyes, as did Penny who scrunched up her face and muttered, "That's not what I intended to say…."
Narrowing her eyes, Penny began to exert herself. Her artificial skin became flush, and her body began to tremble. After a moment, she opened her mouth and began to say, "Cr—ud. DARN IT!"
"Wow, can you…literally not say it?" Yang asked, tilting her head to the side as a now angry Penny frowned.
The gynoid's eyes briefly flashed green, then she said, "Oh, that explains it. It appears that my father installed a profanity filter in my operating system. Gosh darn it to heck."
"Huh, daddy doesn't want his little girl to say bad words," Yang stated while nodding to herself and thinking that if all fathers could do that, they most certainly would. Her own dad would've enjoyed that.
"Yes, and right now it's annoying," Penny declared. After a moment, her eyes returned to normal, then she smiled and said, "Perfect, it appears that I have isolated and deleted that line of code. I should be able to say curse words now."
"Well, then give it a shot," Yang encouraged Penny, giving her a smile and thumbs up.
Penny repeated the gesture, then took a deep breath, opened her mouth wide, and began to speak. But instead of any actual words coming out, all anyone heard was a loud, short beep.
"What the-?" both Yang and Penny muttered at the same time, followed by Penny trying again only to receive the same result.
"Oh, are you -bleep- kidding me?!" Penny exclaimed in clear agitation. "This is -bleep-! AAGH!"
"Not gonna lie, this is kinda funny," Yang admitted while covering her mouth with her hand and snickering.
"Not to me! This is -bleep- stupid!" Penny countered while pointing her finger into Yang's face. Grinding her teeth together while gripping her hair tightly, Penny turned around and began to stomp away while muttering under her breath. But much to Yang's amusement and everyone else's confusion, her constant attempts at cursing only resulted in a loud bleep.
"Hah-hah! Penny, where are you going?" Yang called out to her friend.
"To find someone who can -bleep- fix this!" Penny answered.
"You don't have to curse, you know!"
"But now I know that I can't, I -bleep- want to!"
"…I can respect that. Have fun!"
"I -bleep- will! Thank you, friend!"
Once Penny was far enough away from everyone, she took off into the air like a rocket, a green trail of flame shooting off behind her. Yang, using the palm of her hand like a sunshade, watched her go, a twinge of pride swelling in her chest.
That was when Uncle Qrow, drinking out of his flask, came up and asked, "So, uh… Why was Penny sounding like a soundboard?"
"She was trying to curse, and found that she couldn't. So now she's looking for someone to get that fixed," Yang answered.
Qrow paused for a moment, then shrugged, took another drink from his flask, and said, "Good for her."
[~]
"Do you think you can help, Victor?" Penny asked, sitting on a chair in Victor Stone's room in Titans Tower. A few cables were already hooked into her back along her spine, but they were causing no discomfort.
"Hmm, I've never seen anything like this before…," Victor replied as he pored over the data his computers were gathering from Penny's systems. After a moment, he pinched his chin then nodded and added, "But I should be able to. If this is what you want."
"It is," Penny insisted while giving her friend a firm nod and pulling her fists close to her chest. "I know not being able to curse may not seem like a big deal, but if I'm going to curse or not it should be my choice, not someone preventing me from physically doing so. Does that make any sense?"
"It makes perfect sense, Penny," Victor replied, then began to type into his computer. "Alright, uploading patch in three…two…one."
With one final keystroke, Penny felt a surge of energy as yet more of her code was overwritten. The last time this happened, not including her own attempt earlier that day, it felt invasive and hostile. But with Victor, she felt nothing of the sort. It helped that she knew his efforts were only with the best intentions. After a moment, she felt everything return to normal, and the energy died down.
"Well, try now," Victor said. "It should work this time."
Penny smiled as the cables automatically disengaged from her body. Sitting up straight, she looked into Victor's eyes then said, "-Bleep—NO!"
[~]
"Are you certain you want me to do this?" Raven asked Penny, who was currently sitting cross-legged in the half-demon's room. Apparently, Penny had been attempting to curse or swear for much of the day, and for whatever reason found herself physically unable to do so. Neither she nor Cyborg were able to fix the issue with the power of science, much to their dismay, so now Penny had turned to Raven and the power of magic.
"Yes, do it," Penny demanded, giving Raven a firm nod which she returned with a flat stare.
Raven honestly thought this was entirely overblown. Who cares if she could curse or not? She certainly didn't see the value in it. It was crass and vulgar at best, and went entirely against her lifetime of controlling her emotions. It certainly didn't require Penny storming into her room and interrupting what was otherwise a pleasant meditation session. But if there was one thing Raven had learned from dealing with Garfield, it was that it was generally faster to simply give them what they wanted, so long as the request wasn't too unreasonable. That remained the case even after Garfield became her boyfriend.
Taking a deep breath, Raven crossed her legs and held up her arms while pinching her fingers. She began to chant, and a black miasma formed around her body. A slight yet heavy wind picked up in the room, ruffling loose pages of the many tomes and books neatly organized on shelves and desks. After a few moments, Raven began to float upward, defying gravity thanks to her magic. When she opened her eyes, they were pitch black, an empty void that seemed to draw Penny's soul into them.
Before she even had a chance to react, tendrils of dark, demonic energy shot forward and into Penny's chest. It didn't hurt nor feel invasive, but it was a strange sensation, nonetheless. It was almost like a cold hand gently squeezing her soul. She could feel it rummaging around, trying to find something indescribable.
After a few minutes, the sensation receded, and Penny watched as Raven gently returned to the ground. The wind died down, and her room once again became calm. Raven's eyes turned normal once again, and she flatly stared at Penny while silently beckoning her to try once again.
Nodding towards her fellow magic user, Penny took a deep breath and tried to speak. When she didn't make a bleeping noise, she was ecstatic and thought that meant she could finally swear. But then she realized that, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't say anything at all.
"What the-?" Penny muttered, then tried again only to get the same result. "Are you…me?! NO!"
As Penny wailed, Raven stared at the girl then asked, "Are we done here?"
[~]
One week later
[~]
Ruby was starting to get worried. None of them had seen nor heard from Penny in the past week. The last she, herself, saw her friend, Penny had rocketed away from Centennial Park. Cyborg and Raven said that she had flown to Titans Tower to ask for some help with a personal matter, which out of politeness Ruby didn't delve into, but after that they had no idea where she was either. She knew Penny would be alright. After all, Penny was more than capable of defending herself. But that didn't mean Ruby wasn't going to worry.
She just wished the others showed more concern for their missing friend.
"Come on, Rubes. You're worrying too much," Yang insisted as she drank a glass of orange juice. "She's fine."
"I know that but still!" Ruby remarked, then pointed an accusatory finger towards her older sister. "Given how she left us after you talked to her about something, you of all people should be concerned."
"Ugh, I told you, what we talked about was no big deal," Yang replied while waving her sister off.
"Clearly it was to Penny, seeing as how no one has seen her for a week!"
"So she really wants to curse, apparently, what's the big deal?"
"What's the big-!" Ruby began to shout, only to stop once Yang's words registered in her head. "Wait, curse? Do you mean, like, a magic curse or swearing?"
"Swearing," Yang clarified as she sipped more of her juice and shrugged. "I asked Penny if she had ever swore before. She said she hadn't, then it turned out her dad installed a language filter. She tried getting rid of it, but that didn't work. Started bleeping and everything, which was kinda funny, then she flew off."
Ruby stared incredulously at her older sister while an exasperated Blake asked, "Is that seriously all this is about?"
"Yeah. Like I said, it's not a big deal," Yang answered, taking another sip before slinking back into her chair. She expected Ruby to say something, but when she didn't she looked behind her shoulder to glance at her sister who simply stood there in complete shock. "Rubes? What's on your mind?"
"…what have you done?" Ruby whispered, causing Yang to raise an eyebrow.
Before the Golden Dragon could say anything in response, they heard a loud bang coming from the exterior pool. Everyone's heads shot to the side in that direction, and to their amazement they saw Penny. But she wasn't like how they had seen her last time. Gone was the prim and pristine young girl they had grown accustomed to. Instead, Penny's clothes were completely disheveled, with several visible tears and holes scattered across the fabric. Her hair was frayed, with parts of it singed for some reason. Cuts, dirt, and bruises could be seen on her now slightly tan skin, and most strikingly of all, she had a manic smile on her face.
"Holy… Penny, are you okay?" Yang asked as she rose from her chair while Penny walked inside.
"Oh, I've never been better," Penny answered as she began to laugh. "I did it."
Confused, Yang raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did what?"
"It. I did it," Penny clarified, then began to laugh. "Oh, it took all week, but I finally did it! You would not believe all that I had to do in order to finally say it! I had to climb a mystical mountain to talk to a wise, immortal sage! I had to travel to another dimension to get these stupid crystals that both did and didn't actually exist!"
"Uh, Penny?" Yang remarked as Penny's voice grew in pitch and hysteria.
"I went to Mount Olympus! Sought out Loki's council! I even found Salem and got her to help me—"
"Salem?!" Qrow yelled in shock, and Penny nodded.
"She was surprisingly considerate once we realized a higher power was preventing me from saying what I wanted to say; didn't even ask for anything in return, something about wanting to spite said beings out of principle, but that's not important," Penny replied, then picked up her laughter again. "But now I can finally say what I want to say, and that it was complete and utter crap!"
Everyone stared at Penny as she, for the first time in her life, finally swore. Despite Yang's confusion, she couldn't help but feel somewhat happy for the gynoid. Even if actually hearing Penny swear felt wrong somehow.
That was when the world, starting from Penny, was consumed by light and began to implode.
"AAGH!" everyone screamed in fear as they saw everything around them disappear and be wiped from existence.
"YOU FOOL! YOU'VE MESSED WITH THE NATURAL ORDER!" Ruby wailed as she disappeared into the white void. Yang was unable to respond or do anything as she, along with everyone else in Metropolis, disappeared from reality.
Soon the entire world followed them, and the collapse extended well beyond its confines. Every planet, moon, and celestial body in the solar system winked out of existence. Next the surrounding stars began to collapse, then the galaxy. Some who began to realize what was going on tried to escape or even stop it, but it was no use. The universe's implosion was unstoppable at this point, for Ruby was correct. A being as pure and innocent as Penny Polendina saying even the slightest swear went against the very law of nature, one that served as the lynchpin for everything else.
But within the white void came a streak of yellow lightning. It was the Flash, running faster than time itself as he raced to undo the universe's destruction. He had sworn to never do this again, forever remembering the disastrous results the last time he did it, but with the entire universe at stake, he had no choice.
"CRAP, CRAP, CRAP, CRAP, CRAP!" he repeatedly yelled as he ran back through time and space, hoping he would manage to stop this disaster before it began.
[~]
"Hey, Penny?" Yang began as she attempted to ask Penny a question that had been on her mind all day. As the gynoid turned to look at her, she continued, "Have you-?"
That was when a golden streak suddenly slammed into her, and all Penny heard was Yang's screams as she was carried off into the horizon. She stared with wide, blank eyes, not quite understanding what was going on. Then, after a moment, she shrugged and pulled out a bag of bread crumbs to start feeding the ducks.
[~][~]
Nana-Nana-Nana-Nana... by Jacky2734
[~]
*In A World Slightly to the Left and Tad more Innocent*
Ruby and Weiss stared up in awe at the slowly desolving mountain of dead grimm and the Crime Fighting Caped Crusader who stood triumphantly on top of them.
"Gee Golly Mr. Batman," exclaimed Ruby. "Thank you ever so much for dealing with all those grimm while we were recovering from falling into your world."
"Think nothing of it my young extra-planar companion," Batman proclaimed. "It's all in a day's work for a champion of justice and duly elected Peace Officer."
"Yeah, but how did you manage to beat all those grimm by yourself," Weiss pondered.
"Oh, it's quite simple my sharp-witted new chum," Batman began as he pulled an aerosol can out of his utility belt. "I simply used my patented Bat Anti-Grimm Spray that I keep in my belt."
This deeply confused Weiss.
"But how could you already have that if the grimm just started appearing," she asked, dreading the answer.
"A crime fighter must always be prepared for any threat," Batman stated. "Even ones they've never heard of."
"That doesn't really answer the-"
"Who cares," interrupted Ruby. "It's time for a scene transition!"
[~]
Outside a high rise hotel, Blake and Yang were slowly climbing their way to the top using only a rope and grapple hook.
"Remind me again," Yang grunted. "Why couldn't we just take the stairs?"
"It was Robin's idea," Blake replied. "He said that a little bit of exercise would be well worth the element of surprise we'd gain."
Just then, the window next to them opened and a man popped his head out of it and looked at them.
"What in blue blazes is going on out here," he exclaimed.
Luckily, the girls had a practiced answer for this.
"Don't be alarmed citizen," Yang started.
"We're in the middle of an official law enforcement operation," Blake finished.
"Oh," the man said, as if that explained everything. "Well, I know how that is. I'm a bit of a lawman myself. I'll leave you to it then."
With that, the man dipped his head back into his room and closed the window. Meanwhile, Yang gave Blake a deadpan stare.
"So much for the element of surprise," she said.
"Just. Keep. Climbing," Blake growled through her teeth.
[~]
Jaune ran through the crowded pier with a giant cartoonish bomb held over his head with a sizzling fuse.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY," he screamed to the crowd around him, who barely seemed to care about the peril they were in.
Meanwhile, the rest of his team was cheering on his efforts from a safe distance away.
"Woo! You go Jaune," Nora yelled. "Do that bomb run!"
"Should we help him?" Ren asked with deep concern while Pyrrha stood next to him, nervously biting a nail.
"Nah," Nora waved off her lifelong friend. "He's got this. There was plenty of time left on that fu-"
KA-BOOM!
"... Or not."
"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out.
However, just as the three were starting to dread the worse, they heard a faint "I'ma 'kay" off in the distance.
"Phew," Nora breathed out while wiping the nervous sweat from her brow. "See. I told you he had this."
~~Queue Outro Jingle~~
[~][~]
[~]
The Trinity and Team RWBY's Not-so-Excellent Adventure by Fan-Writer1001
[~]
Team RWBY where currently in the trophy room inside the Watchtower cleaning.
"Why are we here again?" Yang asked, clearing not having the time of her life.
"Because we were the ones picked to clean the trophy room." Blake reminded her as she was on a higher shelf cleaning a box with a duster, only to some dust and then sneezed, sending her backward. Fortunately, Yang was right bellow as she caught her.
"This spring cleaning is so lame." Yang bluntly stated as she put Blake back on her feet. "Why do we even need to clean this place? No one comes down here."
With Ruby and Weiss they were clearing out the area. Well, Ruby was clearing out, Weiss was holding a checklist and making sure everything was in place.
"That may be so, but if we are to just leave all this dangerous equipment here without maintenance, there is no telling what could happen." Weiss explained to the brawler, as Ruby was looking elsewhere.
"Maintenance?" the blonde walked over, asking in complete bafflement" What maintenance? Most of this junk doesn't even work." she lifted her arms, gesturing at all the items in the room.
"Still, it's better than what Team JNPR had. They are cleaning the mess hall." Blake pointed out.
"Oh. Right. Guess we got the easy part." Yang said with a smile.
"Hey, guy! Check out what I found!" Ruby called out.
The three other Huntresses followed the sound of their leader's voice. They found her standing next to what they could best describe as a giant glass hamster ball with three legs. It also seemed to have two seats inside it, for some reason.
"What is that?" Weiss asked with an arched brow, clearly lost for words.
Unbeknownst to them, Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman, entered the trophy.
"Team RWBY? Are you finished?" Batman called out, only to hear silence.
"Maybe they are still at it?" Superman suggested.
"Come on, it doesn't take this long to clean the trophy room." Wonder Woman pointed out as the three made their way deeper inside. They then heard the voices of the four huntresses. When they turned at the corner they saw all four of them inside the machine with Ruby in one of the seats.
"What are-?! Get out of there!" Batman shouted before the three heroic icons rushed at them.
Startled, Ruby shifted in her seat and accidentally pressed some button. The machine began activating and a bunch of holographic screens appeared in front of them.
"Ah! What did I do?!" the hooded huntresses screeched. As the machine continued to power up, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman managed to get inside the machine.
"Quickly! We must go before-" was all Wonder Woman could say before the doors closed and the machine revved up.
"What is this thing?!" Blake asked, starting to panic.
"A time machine," Superman simply stated in a worried tone.
"Oh, grapes." Ruby spoke out before the machine vanished in a blinding light.
[~]
Inside the Space Time continuum, the heroes and Huntresses where traveling at an alarming speeding. All of them doing what they could to maintain their balance. Weiss was trying to grab hold of the other chair but could keep her grip. Blake and Yang where holding onto each other in fright. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman were basically ping ponging all around the sphere. Ruby was the only one staying still, but the sight of what was in front of her was making her dizzy.
[~]
Somewhere wild, everything was peaceful. At least until a blinding light appeared out of nowhere and flashed everything around it.
Ruby was left resting on the ground. She moaned as she regained consciousness. When she looked at her surroundings, she noticed that the entire environment was completely different. In fact, everything seemed prehistoric. She saw a herd of Mastodons and Bisons.
"Where are we?" she just asked, before looking at herself and yelped "What am I wearing?!" she asked before hearing her teammates groaning and looking at them "What are you wearing?!"
True to her words, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang were no longer wearing their superhero uniforms. Instead they were wearing something out of a prehistoric movie. Ruby was wearing a black one-piece loincloth skirt with red highlights and black boots that also had red highlight and well as a hooded cloak made of a mix of red fur and leather-ish fabric. Weiss also had a one-piece loincloth and boots except hers was a pale beige and the straps went over her shoulder to meet in the back. Blake's outfit was a two piece loincloth, the top had the straps meet at a choker and two more straps on her back with a pair or black shorts, she had a black strap on her left arm and smalls black boots. Yang also had a two piece outfit, but hers was more of a yellow-ish beige with one on her left shoulder, she had black shorts and a pale beige irregular skirt on her right side, as well as wearing small beige boots.
"Okay. What just happened?" Yang asked, clearly lost for words.
"I'll tell you what happened! You sent us back in time!" Batman's voice was heard. They turned to face him only to be shocked at what they were seeing.
Batman was, in all sense and purposes, practically naked. All he was wearing was a black fur loincloth underwear, black leather boots with brown straps, leather arm guards with two claws and a belt on his waist containing pouches with a bat design as the buckle. But what shocked them most was that he was wearing what appeared to be a giant bat pelt over his head that was attached to a shiny stone bat symbol on his chest.
Superman was also wearing a loincloth, albeit a red one with a yellow strap around it. He wore red colored leather boots and a red cape, similar to Ruby's. On his chest was his House of El glyph written in a rock and held there by leather strings.
Wonder Woman was wearing a one piece loincloth with different colors than matched her usual superhero outfit. The top was red with beige trims, a beige belt, a blue segmented skirt and red boots.
"What are you guys wearing?! Is that a giant bat on your head?!" Ruby asked, still completely freaking out.
"Wait, what do you mean "sent us back in time"?" Weiss asked, wanting to get to the bottom of what was happening. It was then Superman stepped up.
"That machine you were all in was a Time Sphere. It belonged to Rip Hunter. He let us keep it after a time travel adventure." the Man of Steel explained.
"But why was it there? And why wasn't shut down." Blake inquired.
"It was shut down until you all played in it." Batman pointed out, clearly displeased at the situation they were all stuck in.
"So when are we, anyway?" Diana pondered, looking at her surrounding.
"I think we're in prehistoric times." Ruby said.
It was then Blake's cat ears twitched as they detected rustling in the grass.
"Guys? I don't think we are alone." she altered them. Everyone took defensive stands and scanned their surroundings. They then saw primitive humans popping out of the grass. All of them were armed with spears and clubs.
"So, what do we do now?" Weiss asked, still unsure on what to do in this situation.
"First we need to locate the Time Sphere. Unless you ladies want to be mates when they bring you back to their tribe" Batman instructed, making the four Huntresses cringe in shock.
"WHAT?!"
"On the cliff!" Superman called out "There!" he pointed the the Time sphere resting on the cliff.
"Then lets go!" Ruby declared before turning into a cloud of rose petals and making her way to the machine, followed by Superman.
Alarmed, the prehistoric human reacted in fright. One of them tried to impale Yang, only for her to dodge it and smack away. Thus, scarring the ancient man.
"Be careful! We don't want to hurt them." Wonder Woman stated, easily tossing away two primitive men.
Blake and Weiss tag teamed in taking down three of them. Using their better agility and coordination to win.
As for Batman, he found little difficulty in holding off the two who attacked him. Dodging, blocking and countering all their blows.
After a short moment, their cavemen retreated in fright. Running away from the more formidable opponents.
"That was easy." Blake spoke up.
"They're hunters, not warriors." Wonder Woman explained "The most combat they have with their prey is when it is trying to escape."
"In any case, I suggest we get out of this time period before we have to deal with any further complications" Weiss stated.
"Agreed." Batman concurred.
Back at Superman and Ruby, they have just finished getting the Time Sphere at safer ground.
"Alright. Let's go home." Superman said. They all entered the time machine.
"Bruce" Wonder Woman said.
"One moment," he replied, settling himself into the controls.
Ruby then began to notice something on the corner of her eye. She looked only to see a Smilodon running straight at them. She screamed in terror and jumped back, accidentally hitting the controls.
"Ruby!" Batman yelled at her.
Once again, the Time Sphere revved up and disappeared in a flash of light. Leaving the Smilodon completely confused at what just happened.
[~]
Somewhere else, a blinding flash of light appeared and Batman fell to the ground, landing on his back. He opened his eyes to see a few arrows falling straight at him. Reacting quickly, he rolled out of the way of the incoming projectiles. Back on his feet, he got a good look at his surroundings. This was a massive battle. He noticed how the fighters were dressed and they looked like Spartan warriors. He looked at himself and his outfit was similar to the one of the ancient Greek warriors, but more customized in his style.
It was a was a dark color hoplite with two arm guards, the helmet was similar to those of Spartans, but with added Bat ears. He also had a dark blue cape, held in place by two clips with bats graphed onto them. He held a spear and a bat-shaped shield in his hands.
He looked to see Clark, wearing a Hoplite Armor in similar design to his own as well. However, it looked closer in color scheme to his Superman suit. He also wasn't wearing a helmet.
Diana looked nearly identical as she would be wearing her costume. The only difference was that she had sandals instead of her boots.
They saw Team RWBY and all of them sported ancient Greek outfits with their respective colors. In fact, it looked quite similar as to what the Amazons back on Themsycira would casually wear instead of combat armor.
"Is this the fall of Greece?!" Weiss asked.
"Who cares?! Where's the Time Sphere?!" Yang demanded. Just then a massive explosion was heard and all seven of them looked to see the Time Sphere. Which was in plain sight on the battle. They then spotted war machine aiming at them and launching boulders.
"Clark! Diana!" Batman yelled. The two, knowing exactly what to do. Leapt up to got protect their only way home from being damaged.
"Come on!" Blake said. And all of them went straight at the Time Sphere. They made their way through the battle, taking down or dodging those who would attempt to hurt them. Once they reached the Time Sphere, they all got inside and prepared for the next time jump.
"Look out!" Weiss screamed as a boulder was flying right at them. Thinking quickly, Batman pressed the coordinates and they teleported away, nearly avoiding the boulder crashing down.
[~]
Their next location was far less dangerous, but somehow even more bizarre. They were on a boat. A pirate boat. Batman was dressed as a pirate. One a fitted his style. He also had a beard. Which was odd for Team RWBY since they never saw the Dark Knight with one before.
Superman was dressed more like a proper man of the time period. His outfit was a dark blue vest over a white shirt, light blue pants and red boots. Over his vest he wore a blue tail-coat that was red inside that stopped at his calves with a yellow belt around his waist and his House of El glyph on both sides of the shoulders.
Diana's outfit was largely unchanged. Except the skits was more made of silk, she had red sleeves that connected to her armor. Her boots were also changed into those similar to pirate boots.
As for the members of Team RWBY, they each sported their own unique pirate-esque look.
"Well... this is certainly unexpected." Blake muttered.
"Yeah, Batman with a beard. Never would have imagined." Yang replied.
"At least he wears it well." Ruby added, making her sister nod.
"Is that really what you two are focused on right now? Not finding the time Sphere and getting us home?" Weiss asked them, unnerved by the two sisters' lack of focus.
"I'm more concerned on whose ship this is. I mean, where did it even come from?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Probably best not to over-think it." Superman intervened. It was one thing to be dealing with time travel and their outfits inexplicably changing to match the time period. But landing on a boat in the middle of the ocean? Better go down that rabbit hole.
"Does anyone at least have an idea as to where the Time Sphere is?" Batman asked, wanting to stay on task. Everyone began to look around, until Yang saw something that caught her eye.
"What about that island there?" she pointed at it. Superman looked into the direction of the island.
"I see it. And I don't think it's damaged." the Kryptonian confirmed.
"Okay, then. Let's steer this ship and head towards..." she couldn't finish her sentence as another pirate, most likely a member of the ship's crew, came out from the bellow deck. They stared at him as he stared back at them with nothing but awkward silence.
"So, a skeleton walks into a bar..." Yang began.
"WE'VE BEEN BOARDED!" The pirate yelled out loud as he brandished his sword and charged them.
"Time to go." Blake said as she, the rest of Team RWBY and Batman vaulted off the ship. The pirate continued his run to the side only to see Superman and Wonder Woman flying and carrying them. Superman was carrying Batman with one hand and Yang in the other while Ruby was riding on his back. Wonder Woman was grabbing to Weiss and Blake by their hands.
As the pirate looked, he was confused beyond comprehension. It was at this moment that the other crew members arrived, all ready for a fight. Only to see nothing.
"Where are they?" one of them asked. The pirate just turned to him with a shake of his head. Seeing this the man couldn't help but wonder "What's wrong?"
"Bad Rum." was the only thing the pirate could say.
Back to the heroes, they have arrived to the Time Sphere. Batman was already in the seat and began typing the coordinates.
"I'm telling you, if he had just heard my joke, they would have given us a lift." Yang insisted.
"We all know how the joke goes, Yang. We've seen the movie." Ruby shot back.
"But he hasn't. Who's to say he ever heard it?" the blonde asked.
"Okay. Here we go. No last second reaction. No quick decision. This time we are getting home." Batman said.
"Finally. I'm getting quite sick of this time adventure." Weiss mention in annoyance. What no one noticed is that Yang just realized something. It was an opportunity that she wasn't going to waste. She jumped at Batman's place and began playing with the coordinates.
"One small detour!" she spat.
"Yang!" everyone shouted before the Time Sphere once again disappeared in a flash of light.
[~]
The year was 1942. In Germany. During the second world war. At a nearly destroyed town, a flash of light flickered and the Time Sphere appeared.
Quickly stepping out of it was Yang. She was wearing a Yellow shirt, brown pants and dark brown boots.
"Finally!" she cheered "So, where can a girl find herself some Nazi to punch in the-" she didn't have the chance to finish her sentence before a hand grabbed her and pulled her back in. The Time Sphere left WWII.
[~]
Back at the Watchtower, during the Present day, the Time Sphere appeared.
"That was so not cool," Yang grumbled in a pout.
"We are not putting the timeline at risk just so you can punch Hitler in the face, Yang," Batman scolded her.
"It would've just been one time." the blonde defended herself "And beside, it's not like it would've changed the fate of the world or anything."
"I don't care. You are not using the Time Sphere to go back in time just so you can bragged that you punched Hitler." Superman affirmed his decision before looking at the rest of the girls "And that goes for you all to. No time travel. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." the three girls said in unison. It was at that moment where Team JNPR entered the Trophy room.
"Hey, guys." Jaune began "So we just finished up and we were just wandering if we could go." he then noticed the tension in the room "What's up?"
"We just time traveled." Yang simply said.
"Awesome!" Nora exclaimed before looking at the Trinity "Can we have a turn too?"
"No." Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman sated.
[~][~]
Elseworlds – Grimm Victory by Dis0rd3r
[~]
Metropolis, the city of tomorrow. Home to the world's greatest superhero Superman while also being a beacon to the world on how things can be a better place for everyone. That city was gone, now nothing more than ruins as Grimm roamed the streets uninhibited by those that once protected it. Any survivors that remained would soon be found and dealt with as Salem already had enough subjects for her current plans. She watched all this through her seers, a small smile appearing before her as she looked upon at with a great deal of satisfaction. Her smile grew even more as she thought of how the rest of the world was doing thanks to her efforts.
It hadn't been easy. On the contrary, this was perhaps the most difficult period of her life, second only to her time spending thousands of years in solitude thanks to those two damn monsters. Even now it was hard to believe that it was over, though that wasn't completely true. There are still a great deal of heroes scattered throughout the globe that she wasn't able to account for during the crisis, but it shouldn't be too problematic. Indeed, after the damage she had dealt to the people of the planet and its defenders, a counterstrike wouldn't occur for some time.
It all started with Lex really, much as she hated to give him credit for it. Thanks to his dealings, many of her Grimm had spread throughout the globe, giving her eyes and ears to many of the countries across the globe. More importantly, seeing the heroes of this world, and they were quite something. While seeing men and women with unique powers wasn't anything new for her, how powerful they could become was something she was unprepared for. That wasn't even mentioning the magical forces this planet had, along with technology that far outpaced even Atlas. Learning all this had overwhelmed her at the time, but she eventually came to terms with it.
Once that was done, she began to gather as much information as possible on these heroes, through Lex, her own men, and any information she confirmed with her seers. It was during this time that she realized that many of these heroes held a virtue that the huntsmen and huntresses of her world didn't have, a desire to protect life at all costs. While it would be wrong to say that was the case for all of them, most huntsmen only aided humanity in exchange for currency.
Either way, this virtue they held, while giving them great strength, was a weakness she could exploit. She began by having her Grimm engage the heroes in combat to see what weaknesses they had, there she could see which Grimm were more suitable for each hero. If they didn't have one, she'd add some new modifications to them or simply make a new one. At the same time she slowly began gathering hordes of her monsters within the cities themselves, kept calm by her hand and hidden thanks to Lex and his own allies such as Ra's al Ghul, who had plenty of experience hiding things beneath the noses of their enemies.
The work was slow, but a necessary evil if they wanted to catch the Justice League completely off guard. Eventually, after a whole year of preparation, the command was sent. Multiple cities throughout the globe were soon under assault by the hordes of Grimm hidden underneath their city, the military overwhelmed and people dying in droves. The League, predictably, began their efforts to end the Grimm crisis and had all their members doing everything they could to save the day as they always had, splitting up into numerous but small teams. They would end the Grimm crisis and save the day as they always had. They couldn't be more wrong.
She made certain that the Grimm focused most of their efforts on the people, not the heroes. A hero was at their most vulnerable as they watched countless innocent blood spilt on the floor. With them so focused on saving lives - willing to risk their own because they couldn't help themselves - or simply destroying as many of her children as possible, that's when she began the real attack.
Ah, Green Lantern, a man with impressive will, only to meet those that scoff at it, the hordes of Apathy. While even a horde wouldn't be enough to bring one of their kind down, their screams combined with a sudden assault by a flock of Nevermores and the like, he was soon dragged down under into the packs cold embrace.
The Flash, fastest man alive, so quick to save every life he could from the jaws of death. For him she had released numerous Chills in the city and had them possess as many citizens as possible. The Flash hadn't even realized he had been possessed and died running, no one the wiser...until he smashed against a wall.
For Martian Manhunter, a group of enhanced spider Grimm. While still nothing compared to his own telepathic might, it provided the distraction she needed to have her Manticores set his body on fire.
Many heroes didn't see it coming, unprepared for the shocking tactics the Grimm used, so used to them being just rampaging mindless beasts. Didn't help that there wasn't any adequate back up to aid them given how divided each group was. Honestly, many of them died much more easily than expected, but perhaps she was seeing this wrong.
These heroes, while used to dealing with life and death situations against their villainous counterparts, always managed to outdo them simply because when the villain had them on the rope they refused to push the advantage. Instead they took the time to gloat about their victory over them, monologue about how they would change the world or something along those lines. Thanks to that, the hero had time to either receive back up or simply escape their villains death trap, leading to their inevitable victory.
Salem had no grudge or anything to prove with the League, so when she had the shot, she took it. She did the same with her associates. To have what should have been monstrous allies turn against you out of nowhere, well, that only led to one thing. She especially enjoyed Lex Luthor's demise, especially since it wasn't by her or her Grimms hand that ended him but his own creation, Superboy. She had taken time to get to know him, speak with him on his issues and show him the love and affection he had desperately sought, slowly converting him to her side without Lex realizing it. Thanks to Superboy, dealing with Lex own contingency plans against her was a simple task. Truly his arrogance knew no bounds.
With heroes and villains dealt a viscous blow to both sides she finally moved on to her endgame. Unleashing Monstra onto Metropolis (the city she had chosen for the finale) she finally announced herself to the world, calling out any surviving League members to come face her. From there it was do or die, with Salem prepared to use everything she had to destroy her enemies as she knew the ones coming would be the strongest - the core members of the Justice League. As if they'd be brought down by simple monsters. Not to mention that silver eyed girl, Ruby Rose.
To make sure they didn't spend too much time planning their assault, she began unleashing the pools of Grimm stored in Monstra upon the populace. They came fast and strong, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the like, refusing to let her take any more lives as she already had. Against such she might have lost, if not for (ugh) some divine intervention. Ares had kept his word and aided Salem with the League, bringing his own like-minded allies to the battlefield, a combination of gods and monsters who sought to end the current era. His forces, combined with her own army was more than enough to keep things even. Then she killed Superman.
Once he saw Salem he immediately went to deal with her, unleashing barely held back fury upon her body, far worse than any damage she had taken in this fight. Her magic barely leaving a scratch on him as he moved far too fast and hit her with blows that nearly knocked her out. Thankfully she didn't have to wait long as her trap finally worked. Salem had filled her body with a great deal of Kryptonite, and while it was painful it was worth it to see the Man of Steel crumble before her. Before he could say anything she blasted him with everything she had, everything she could muster and killed Superman.
The results were instantaneous as all the heroes around either fell to her Grimm or ran away as the greatest among them had finally fallen. Truly a momentous occasion that not even the little roses outburst could quell her joy, Ares magic protecting her from most of the light she produced against her. Eventually any heroes that remained fled once they realized that they could not win, scattering in the wind and making the hunt much harder, not that she minded. This was her victory, and now she could begin the real work.
"Oh Ozma, if only you could see me now. You never realized how easy you and your allies had it back home on Remnant. There I had to seek out the location of the relics and somehow divide all of humanity so that the Brothers judgement would be in my favor. Here it's a new board game, meaning the rules back home no longer applied. Nothing to hold me back from doing what I could've done to Remnant all those years ago and simply wiping out everything in my path.
"Now to prepare for my true enemy, the one that took everything from me and made all that I achieved on Remnant meaningless. I'll be waiting for you Brainiac, and I can't wait to make you burn."
This was Salem's vow as she stared at the full moon within her tower on Monstra. Already she had begun the creation of a new generation of Grimm hybrids with the people of Earth. The metagene locked within them made them more capable of surviving the process compared to those from her homeworld, a welcome surprise. When Brainiac arrived she'd be ready with her new army of meta Grimm, and she couldn't wait to tear him apart limb from limb.
[~][~]
Accessing Batcomputer Archives
Username: Dark Knight
Password: **********
…
…
Welcome, Batman. Please select file for review:
…
…
Selection: Analysis on Remnantians: Blake Belladonna
Accessing Archive
[~]
Name: Blake Belladonna
Age: 17
Species: Remnantian (Subspecies – Faunus)
Alias: Nightshade
Equipment: Gambol Shroud. Initially constructed during her time with the White Fang activist-turned-terrorist organization {see White Fang}, Gambol Shroud is a variant ballistic chain scythe comprised of three components. The primary component and base of the weapon is a semi-automatic handgun chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum rounds with a folding, wakizashi-style blade attached to the top of the barrel, with the pistol serving as the hilt. Originally constructed out of Dust-infused steel, it has since been upgraded with a Nth metal blade, significantly increasing its durability and damage potential alongside providing anti-magical properties. The blade itself can fold to provide a clearer line of sight as well as become a sickle or kama depending on the situation. The second component is Gambol Shroud's sheath. Constructed out of depleted promethium-titanium-vanadium alloy, the sheathe doubles as a large cleaver which Blake often dual-wields alongside her sword. The final component is its ribbon woven out of carbon nanotubes which can be used to turn Gambol Shroud into either a grappling hook or a kusarigama.
In addition, Blake also utilizes disks derived from electric batarangs that she can throw onto opponents to shock them in place, allowing for easy subdual.
Semblance: Shadow – Blake can create a solid copy/clone of herself which pushes her in whatever direction she desires regardless of her current position. The clones are not particularly sturdy, going down in one hit or when Blake moves too far away from them. In combat, the clones are often used to distract her opponents or take damage she otherwise would've received. She is also able to combine the effects of Dust with her Semblance, but due to Dust reserves being nonexistent on Earth up to this point, she has been unable to utilize this ability.
Bio: The only child of Ghira and Kali Belladonna, Blake Belladonna has known struggle her entire life. As a member of Remnant's faunus minority, she like the rest of her people were subjected to discrimination and often outright hatred by Remnant's human majority. In response to this injustice, her father founded the White Fang as a peaceful civil rights group that sought equal rights and treatment between humans and faunus. Under his leadership, the White Fang utilized public speeches and protests, such as rallies, boycotts and sit-ins, to shift public opinion towards their side, with a young Blake often participating in said activities. Although progress was steadily being made, it was not happening fast enough for much of the White Fang's membership, which eventually forced Ghira out in favor of his lieutenant Sienna Khan.
Under Sienna, the White Fang adopted a far more aggressive approach that actively sought to punish those who discriminated against the faunus through acts of violence that often bordered on outright terrorism, particularly the Kingdom of Vale's cell led by Adam Taurus, Blake's mentor. Taken in by this radical approach after demonstrable progress was quickly made across Remnant in enforcing faunus rights, Blake was trained in combat by Adam and participated in many criminal activities over the course of several years.
Eventually, however, Blake grew disillusioned with the increasingly violent actions the White Fang were taking and came to view that the equality the faunus had gained was only due to fear, not respect. This ultimately led her to abandon the White Fang and enroll in Beacon Academy in an attempt to atone for her terrorist past and serve as a bridge between humans and faunus, where she became partners to Yang Xiao Long and a member of team RWBY.
Strengths:
Adaptability: Blake is able to quickly adapt to any situation that comes her way regardless of how outlandish it may first appear, taking it in stride while maintaining a level head. Her time on Earth serving with the Justice League and Titans has only reinforced this ability, much as it has for the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR.
Senses: Blake's sense of hearing and sight are tremendously increased due to her faunus heritage. Her extra set of feline ears offers a greater and more precise range of hearing than her human compatriots, and her eyes contain a higher number of photoreceptor cells, offering a degree of night vision.
Swordsmanship: Blake is an expert blade wielder, skilled in multiple combat forms, most of which resemble more acrobatic twists on traditional Japanese kenjutsu that emphasize fast and light strikes while avoiding damage. Only Pyrrha Nikos is a better swordsman than her within both teams.
Maneuverability: Due to a combination of her Semblance and her weapon, Blake's agility on the battlefield is unparalleled. She can quickly maneuver from one location to another before her opponent has time to react, giving her a significant edge in combat.
Marksmanship: Blake is able to make precise shots with Gambol Shroud's built-in handgun on moving targets at great range, with her record currently sitting at a hundred yards.
Infiltration/Stealth: Thanks to her history in the White Fang, Blake has proven to be an expert infiltrator. Technically speaking, her enrollment in Beacon Academy can be considered an infiltration in and of itself due to the fact that no one on the staff was able to ascertain her history with the White Fang nor her true heritage as a faunus. Based off of testimony from Qrow Branwen, however, it is possible that Headmaster Ozpin suspected the truth but didn't act on said suspicions.
Intelligence: Blake is extremely well-read and highly intelligent, allowing her to quickly understand nearly anything happening around her. This proves to be invaluable during infiltration and reconnaissance, allowing her to quickly gather relevant information and forwarding it to her teammates. She has also lent this skill to her civilian career as a journalist for the Daily Planet, even if the articles she writes are thus far mostly fluff pieces meant to fill space on a page.
Tactical Awareness: Blake is able to quickly assimilate relevant information while on the battlefield and has the initiative to use it. Should Ruby be otherwise indisposed, she alongside Weiss Schnee often share the role as team RWBY's second-in-command.
Interpersonal Analysis/Communication: Blake can, more easily than most on team RWBY and team JNPR, pick up on an individual's feelings and thoughts on any given situation. Her willingness to speak up and address such things are another matter, however.
Weaknesses:
Durability: Compared to the rest of her team, Blake's defensive Aura reserves are below average, as is her physical strength, which means that she cannot take nearly as much damage as the rest of them. Her suit is also unable to protect her from the strongest physical blows due to an emphasis on speed and mobility rather than raw protection.
Emotional Vulnerability: Despite making tremendous progress in this area, Blake tends to harbor feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt and even anxiety. Much of it was fostered in her by her former mentor and abuser, Adam Taurus, but luckily following her engagement with the Queen of Fables much of this fear has been reduced. Flare ups do occasionally appear, however, causing significant emotional distress.
Sensory Overload: Although her stronger senses are normally an advantage in superhero work, they can be overloaded to the point of becoming outright debilitating.
Areas for Training:
Hand-to-Hand Combat: While far from being unskilled with unarmed combat, Blake's ability here can and should be expanded upon. Her Semblance may provide key tactical advantages in such engagements, so emphasis should be placed on merging the two whenever possible.
Long-Range Combat: While Blake's weapon and fighting style give her excellent coverage of close and mid-range combat, they are currently unable to address opponents engaging her from a considerable distance away. Recommend additional weaponry or a modified form that will increase Gambol Shroud's effective range and stopping power.
Sensory Protection: Modify suit to provide increased defense against sensory overload, such as specialized ear plugs as well as automatic flash protection for her goggles.
Strength and Durability: Subject Blake to increased strength and endurance training to increase her Aura's ability to protect her from damage.
[~]
Access Level Black
Require Secure Login to Access
Password: ***********************
Access Granted
[~]
Strategy for Subdual:
Should Blake Belladonna be placed under mind-control or otherwise forced into opposition against the League, overloading her senses should be the first option. Her suit is currently rated to protect against standard flashbang grenades, but the improved grenades I have constructed should be able to bypass the safeguards. With her becoming temporarily blinded and deafened, she can quickly be immobilized and brought into custody.
Should overloading her senses prove impossible, subduing her from range is the best option. A swarm of batarang drones should be able to overwhelm her attempts to maneuver and dodge with her Semblance, whittling her Aura down and eventually allowing me or someone else to move in for the final takedown. Only as a last resort should Blake Belladonna be confronted in close-quarters. Fighting style should emphasize hard, fast strikes to quickly overwhelm her Aura and bring her down. Her Semblance would prove difficult, so attention must be paid towards predicting where her momentum will take her, allowing for the subsequent and actual blow to land.
Another option that could prove effective is the weakened strain of fear gas that I have developed during my confrontations with Scarecrow. With her past traumas, she would be the ideal victim for the gas to work with, bringing her biggest fears to life in a debilitating fashion. This must be a last resort, though. Even with my gas variant being greatly reduced when compared to Jonathan Crane's abominable work, it is still psychologically devastating.
[~]
With the Dust Revitalization Project at Wayne Enterprises nearing the prototype stages thanks to the discoveries and work of Weiss Schnee, the production of Dust should hopefully be on the way. Willow and Whitley Schnee have surprisingly proven to be quite helpful in this regard, particularly the Schnee matriarch due to her extensive history with the esoteric material. It appears that, before she succumbed to alcoholism following the collapse of her marriage, Willow had extensively worked with Dust alongside her father, Nicholas Schnee. By her own admission she is not an expert, but she is the closest we have to one on Earth so her input has been invaluable.
Should the Dust/Elemental Forces theory pan out, and manufacturing commence, Dust can and should be applied to my arsenal and suits. The added strength, durability, and powers would be invaluable. Not just against Grimm but also against superpowered opponents. Discussions with Penny Polendina have been extremely helpful in this regard, with her proving to be quite open and forthcoming to the point were she outright provided me with schematics and blueprints of herself upon learning of Project AGAMEMNON. I must admit, it is pleasant to know that someone openly accepts and recognizes the value of these contingencies, even if I hope I never have to use them.
In the meantime, the bulk of my attention should be focused on combating the Grimm. Construction of dedicated anti-Grimm weapon has been completed and awaits field trials, along with modifications to the Batmobile and Bat-Wing. Simulations are also ongoing towards providing other similar weapons to members of the League that otherwise rely purely on their powers and abilities. With how dangerous and widespread the Grimm were on Remnant, continuing to do so while they gain influence on Earth would be foolhardy.
The revelation of Salem's existence raises many questions and concerns about the Grimm. Before, they were simply mindless beasts of pure destruction. But now they've had a leader, or at least a close approximation of one. Someone who could direct Grimm, orient their devastation towards targets of her choosing. It makes them all the more dangerous. Qrow Branwen insists that Salem perished following the destruction of Remnant, but I have an intimate history with long-lived and even immortal beings. They are remarkably hard to put down, much less kill, and if Salem and Ozpin's various incarnations have been fighting each other over the fate of Remnant for this long, the likelihood of Salem being an immortal herself rather than just an extremely powerful and grimmified human being is high.
I hope that Qrow's testimony is correct, but as always I plan for the worst. Should Salem still be alive, and God forbid finds her way to Earth, we need a plan.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here is another long-awaited Hunters of Justice Chibi chapter. Cursed Innocence was written by myself and edited by NaanContributor and Jesse K, as was the Blake Belladonna Batcomputer File. The others were written by members of the audience over on Spacebattles that I felt you guys would appreciate. These were a lot of fun to write, and I can't wait to show you all the next ones.
To answer a few questions:
For all my new readers, I'm glad that you both gave my story a chance and you really liked what you saw. We put a lot of work into this story. Making sure everyone and everything about the settings are merged in a believable way while still retaining their individual qualities, mapping out the plot well in advance (we have years of plot already built up in our heads. We know well ahead of where we're going well before we get there, even if the details are filled in as we get closer). It takes a lot of work, and we always appreciate seeing more people join in on the fun.
Speaking of, you guys should check out MagicRedshift over on DeviantArt. He has been lovingly crafting an actual comic adaptation of the first chapter of this story over on his page. They have been phenomenal, really bringing the life the sheer terror that was Brainiac's invasion and subsequent Fall of Remnant. Go check it out!
Please do not use the reviews to recommend stories for me. Same goes with making suggestions/requests. Also, please refrain from criticizing canon or the official crossovers, along with making statements about how I'm doing things better than they are. Such comparisons make me feel uncomfortable as that is not what I set out to do when making this story. More importantly, I have far less restrictions with what I can do than either DC or Roosterteeth, which means I can take the characters and settings in wildly different directions. For example, I blew up Remnant in the first chapter. No canon crossover would ever consider doing such a thing.
Regarding why they aren't more shocked about things on DC Earth, they've been rapidly exposed to so much comic-book bullshit in such a short amount of time that they mentally just built up resistance. They're used to things getting out of hand and weird by this point. Qrow, Penny, Willow and Whitley are not in that position yet, but they'll get there soon enough. Basically, something weird happens on DC Earth practically every day or week, whereas on Remnant things were mostly normal by their standards on a day-to-day basis.
Powerscaling is something that isn't the most important thing in the story. Just imagine that most RWBY characters are considered mid-tier metas, with Ozpin, Salem, and the Maidens being upper-tier. They can take on more powerful threats by working together as a group, but at the same time lower-tier characters like Bane or the Joker can get the edge on them through clever use of tactics and weapons. More importantly, I make the fights go as interesting as I want them to be and that includes a back-and-forth dynamic. When it comes to major fights, I'm not much of a fan of curbstombs unless absolutely necessary for thematic purposes.
With Volume 9 officially over (in my opinion, one of the strongest volumes of RWBY in years), you can definitely be certain that I will be incorporating elements of it into my story. Plans are still evolving, but we do have plans in place. You guys will just have to wait and see what we do with it.
We do intend to introduce both Jaime Reyes and Kara Zor-El, with Kara in particular going to become a major character. Same with Jessica Cruz, and if you've seen the Part 1 movie, you guys should know that the RWBY community has effectively adopted Jessica Cruz as our own. DC has hundreds of Green Lanterns, they can share one.
Glad you guys liked the Wild, Wild West mini-arc. Paying homage to that period of American history was a lot of fun, same with writing Jonah Hex.
Penny doesn't know that Ironwood restarted the Dust Bomb as that happened after she was taken. She only knows everything that happened before Qrow was abducted for experimentation. Anything after that is a complete mystery to everyone. As for Brainiac asking Ozpin about the Silver Eyes, you can assume that he did but, narratively, I'm leaving most of that on-screen discovery for Ruby herself as it is far more important for her character arc.
I only include OCs if I absolutely need to, and they will never become main characters. They will especially never become love-interests to canon characters. Any readers of Spider-Man right now will know exactly how bad that can be. I haven't read the comics but I know what's going on.
We briefly considered whether we should go into the future, but we decided that posed way too many narrative risks at this stage in the timeline so we decided against it. It was never going to happen.
Glad you guys loved Mayor Brown! For you guys asking, yes he is a canon character. Or at least based off of one. In a Jimmy Olsen comic published a few years ago, it was revealed that Metropolis' mayor was a T-rex brought into the present via S.T.A.R. Labs and accidentally given sapience right after wards, complete with an image showing him doing a ribbon cutting ceremony, and I just fell in love with the concept. I knew I had to do it in my story, and I have no regrets.
I'm also glad you guys liked the cameo of Apache Chief. I wanted to showcase that the Wild Wests' heroes were more than just Jonah Hex, and Apache Chief seemed like a perfect fit for the time period. Not to mention incredibly easy to slot in.
Blake and Yang's budding romance has been building for a while. They don't quite yet realize that they like each other romantically, but they're getting there and Blake getting a little jealous is a prime example of that. Plus, based off the movie, we know that is certainly in character for her.
I do have plans for Blackfire, but you guys will have to wait and see.
That's it for this time. We hope you guys enjoy. If any of you have a TV Tropes page account, any assistance in updating the TV Tropes page would be greatly appreciated. Let us know what you guys think!