Clark raced down to a hidden corner of Beacon's school grounds. Even though at his speed no one would notice his approach, they would still be startled if they saw him seemingly appear out of nowhere.

The school was in between semesters right now, so for at least a little while, Clark would be receiving one-on-one training sessions with Ms. Goodwitch. While he wasn't technically a Beacon student, Ozpin had given him an ID card which would allow him to enter Beacon and use its facilities.

Clark took the elevator and went to Ms. Goodwitch's office. Once he knocked on the wooden door, the woman's voice called out,

"You can come in."

Clark entered and smiled at his new teacher. "Good morning."

She didn't smile back, but she did give him an approving nod. "Good morning, Mr. Kent. Your session is scheduled for eight, but you're here at seven fifty-five. I appreciate the punctuality."

"I wouldn't want to give a bad impression on my first day."

They left her office and Ms. Goodwitch led him to an armory. There she asked him, "Do you use any weapons?"

Clark stared at the rows of swords, spears, guns, shields, and other assorted gear. "No."

"There are some huntsmen who don't," she said. "If you prefer fighting hand-to-hand, that's fine, but I'd suggest at least trying some of them out to see if any suit you."

Clark went over to the swords. Lots of famous heroes had been swordsmen, and if he used one he would be joining a long, proud line of people who'd defended the world against Grimm. He lifted one sword off the rack, swung it around a few times, then set it back down.

No, he didn't think a sword was for him. Clark continued passing by the weapons.

"I doubt a weapon will be as important for you as it is for most other huntsmen," Ms. Goodwitch commented. "For others, a good weapon can make the difference between life or death. For you, the main use of a weapon is to make you appear more like other huntsmen."

Clark agreed. Any weapon he could use to block or hit would be far weaker than his own body. He passed by the daggers and spears. Neither of them seemed right for him. There were more exotic weapons like staffs, nunchucks, and maces, but they didn't fit either. He stopped by the end of the room with hammers and axes.

"I like this one," Clark held up a hammer with a handle that was five feet long and a head as wide as his chest. You'd have to be pretty strong, even for a huntsman, to be able to wield it effectively, and he felt like larger, heavier weapons fit him best. It wasn't like it could actually slow him down either.

"A hammer is a powerful weapon, suited for large Grimm in a way most swords and guns aren't. A good choice for you. Would you like any morphing tech?"

"I'm not really sure. Would there be any benefit?"

"It's common for students to have their weapons be a powerful gun as well so they can use its recoil to maneuver in combat. Not necessary for you, given your flight, but it would be an easy way to camouflage that ability."

"Actually, I've been thinking that I might just carry around Dust and say that my Semblance lets me apply them in unique ways. My heat vision would be from Fire Dust, my freeze breath would be from Ice Dust, and my flight would be using Gravity Dust."

"That could work. Many Semblances get stronger after incorporating Dust in them."

Clark looked at the hammer at his side. "What about having it morph into an axe?"

"That would be a good choice as well. There are some Grimm which are better dealt with through cutting than blunt force. We'll have a custom weapon designed for you soon. For now, you can bring that as we begin your training."

They headed out into the Emerald Forest. Glynda first had him kill the Grimm that approached with his hammer as he thought a huntsman would.

First were a pair of Beowolves. Clark could have just stood there and swung his hammer, but instead he chose to meet them in combat. He could have flown, but instead he just leaped at them. The first leap was too strong and he actually went over their heads. When he landed, he stuck to just running and swung his hammer at the first Beowolf's head.

It splattered apart and the Grimm dropped to the ground, dissolving in moments. The next Beowolf lunged at him without a hint of fear, not like a normal animal would after seeing its fellow so easily killed. Clark swung the hammer around and the head burst through the monster's back.

"While there are some huntsmen who could have torn through Grimm flesh and bone, none of them would have done so as easily as you would have," Ms. Goodwitch said. "If you're going to fight that way, you need to at least appear to be making an effort. Also, why did you jump over them?"

"I didn't mean to. I'm still not very good at controlling my strength. I can avoid crushing someone's fingers in a handshake, but I can't easily tell the difference between jumping fifty feet versus a hundred feet in the air."

Under Ms. Goodwitch's guidance, Clark got better at fighting like a huntsman and controlling his abilities. It took a few days until his custom weapon was built, so until then he learned how to wield hammers and axes separately. He learned how to arrange his feet and space his arms in the way actual huntsmen did to exert as much force as possible. In his case though, more effective stances meant he had to reduce the strength of his blows so other people wouldn't notice how outside the norm his powers were.

Ozpin provided him with Dust, and he learned to mask his heat vision, freeze breath, and flight. It wasn't a perfect cover, since if someone noticed how little Dust he used up they'd realize his abilities worked differently, but most people wouldn't look too closely.

Clark didn't just work with Ms. Goodwitch. For months, he also flew to Atlas to train under Specialists and accompanied Qrow on missions in Vale and Mistral. They weren't normal huntsman missions, Qrow was trying to investigate the humans who worked for the person who had power over the Grimm, and Clark's senses were a great help. He spied on the Branwen tribe in Mistral and the White Fang.

It wasn't always easy just watching.

"Why can't I stop them?" Clark demanded. He could see Branwen bandits stealing from a convoy of trucks they'd stopped. They tended to avoid killing, since murder brought a much stronger response from law enforcement than stealing, but they were holding people at gunpoint and Clark didn't trust that they would put much effort in restraining themselves.

Qrow couldn't stop him, not physically at least. Clark could have raced over faster than he could blink. However, Clark was going to at least give him a chance to explain why he didn't want them to interfere.

"There's a lot more to this tribe than you realize," Qrow said. "If they find out how strong you are, then that could lead to our enemy finding out. You know, the one who can control the Grimm?"

"None of you have explained to me why it would be so bad for him to find out."

"Let me just give you an example. According to Ozpin, he or she might have plans in place to release Grimm in strategic locations all over the world at once. We have enough trouble dealing with Grimm that aren't following a plan. Can you imagine how many people would die to Grimm that are organized? We need to ruin those plans first before you're revealed."

Clark clenched his fist. "Fine, but how does me showing up to stop these people lead to this person learning about me? I promise I won't go all-out, I'll just do what a normal huntsman can."

"And then what? Are you going to just stick around and keep stopping them every time they rob people? They're a bandit tribe, that's what they do. Or are you going to take them down single-handed? That's a good deal more than what a normal huntsman could do, and there's a variable here which you're not aware of. Putting them in jail or killing them is a risk."

"If you're not going to tell me why I shouldn't stop them, why should I listen to you?" Clark asked.

"Clark, please," Qrow said. "Honestly, I get it. I'm not a fan of Ozpin's secrecy either. But please, just hold back this once. If Ozpin doesn't tell you what's really going on, then next time something like this happens, then I won't try to stop you."

Clark glared at him and sat back down, looking through the trees at the bandits in the distance. "Vernal just kicked one of the truck drivers."

That was one of the women who Qrow and Ozpin wanted him to pay close attention to. Of course they hadn't explained why.

Once they finished watching the Branwens, Clark returned to Beacon with Qrow and went to Ozpin to demand an explanation.

"I've done what you said," Clark told the headmaster. "I continued to keep my abilities secret, I went and trained under the people you assigned me to, and I agreed to spy on your enemies. If you want me to keep listening to you, then I want you to return the trust I've held in you. I want answers."

Ozpin sighed. "I've only ever revealed the details of our enemy to others after spending years building up trust with them. Qrow, how long did it take for me to even trust you with that knowledge?"

"About five years or so," Qrow replied. "But Ozpin, if you want Clark to be ready to help us soon, you gotta speed it up. It's been what? Four months? And he's already done a lot more for you than my entire team did in a year."

"I could do a lot more," Clark added. "Actually, unless you give me good reasons not to, I will do a lot more."

"Even if you doing more results in our enemy resorting to killing countless people?"

Clark frowned. "I'm not going to accept that every little thing I do will result in that. If I stop the White Fang, or prevent bandits in Mistral from hurting innocent people, why would this 'enemy' coordinate a big attack like that in response? I'm not even completely sure this 'enemy' exists. I took your word for it, and I don't think Ms. Goodwitch, Qrow, or General Ironwood would be easily fooled, but there's a limit to how long I can be kept in the dark."

Ozpin stared at him silently from across his desk. "Fine, I will tell you this. The name of our enemy is Salem, and she's very hard to kill. She's thousands of years old and aims to destroy humanity. My main concern is that once she learns just how powerful you are, she will send Grimm into the Kingdoms in a desperate attempt to acquire items that will help her achieve her goal. You're probably fast and strong enough to kill them all even if they attack around the world simultaneously, but I also fear that she will also go into hiding and wait until you die from old age."

At the speed of light, Clark could circle Remnant seven times in less than a second. Even a horde of millions of Grimm wouldn't last long against him, but they weren't the issue.

Ozpin continued, "If she commits to hiding, then even your senses wouldn't be unable to uncover her. You're the best hope of stopping her that I've seen in millennia, and I can't let this chance slip."

Clark paused, taking in what Ozpin had told him. "What are the items she's looking for?"

"That is very sensitive information. Not only do we have to worry about Salem taking them, we have to worry about humans learning about them and trying to use them against each other. These items aren't all meant to be weapons, but they can be used that way."

"Can I have an idea at least of when you're going to tell me what they are?"

"I hope for you to be their guardian soon, it will not take long. Perhaps a year or so."

Clark exchanged a look with Qrow. Some of this was hard to believe, but then again Clark was an alien and next to him was a man who could transform into a bird. If they could exist, why not an evil thousand-year-old woman who could control Grimm?

Still, just because a few weird things existed didn't mean everything else imaginable could exist. Clark was willing to accept Ozpin's claims of Salem for now, but at some point he was going to want more evidence.

Qrow seemed to understand his skepticism. "I know it's a hard story to swallow, but I've seen things over the years. Enough to trust what Ozpin's saying."

"See?" Ozpin said. "There hasn't been enough time for you to trust me either. Is it fair that you ask me to share these secrets with you?"

"It's different. I'm not telling you hold back from helping people and hiding the reasons why."

Ozpin chuckled. "You have a good point." He had a thoughtful look on his face. "The White Fang are one of the groups you're most insistent on eliminating, correct?"

"Yeah." Clark hadn't witnessed them committing any acts of terrorism himself. If he had he wouldn't have held back no matter what Ozpin or Qrow had said, but he paid attention to the news and had read about them. Twenty or so years ago they'd been a peaceful group that only fought in the sense of fighting for faunus rights. Now they were extremists who bombed and gunned down innocent people.

"If you'll accept my direction, I would be happy to accept your help in ridding Remnant of them. There have been indications that Salem's people have made contact with them. I'd considered waiting longer to gain more information, but with your senses, following up on the hints we have now won't be too difficult."

It was a concession, one that Clark was happy to accept. This would be the first time it would feel like he'd have a real effect. Sure, he'd killed large numbers of Grimm in remote areas while following Ozpin's condition that he not reveal his real power. And Ozpin claimed that the spying he did was a huge help, but none of that seemed to have made any serious changes. Ending the White Fang was something that people would know about and make them feel safer.

\\\\\

There were three main branches of the White Fang. One in Vale, another in Atlas, and the main branch in Menagerie. Clark knew the locations of their bases and camps, and Ozpin arranged for local huntsmen and other law enforcement to assist.

First was Vale, and there Clark began by breaking through a wall and taking one of their spare masks. He was going to take the base apart bare-handed and with his identity a secret. The most dangerous member of the White Fang in this branch was a faunus named Adam Taurus. He was so committed to the White Fang that he didn't even bother hiding his identity.

Clark jumped up through the ceiling. He used slightly too much strength and even after he burst through he slammed his head on the ceiling of the room he'd entered, cracking it. There were a few people in the room, bewildered and frozen as they stared at him.

Clark sped at them and crushed the guns at their hips between his fingers. They didn't even have their aura unlocked, so he was much gentler with them than he would be with huntsmen. "Stay down." He ordered and then slammed through the wall into the next room.

Adam was a few rooms over and was screaming into a scroll. "Guards! What's going on? Who's attacking us?"

"W-we don't know, sir!" Was the frantic response.

Adam didn't have the chance to demand more answers before Clark forced his way into the room through the wall. Bits of concrete flew through the room and smacked the remaining walls.

Adam reacted far more quickly than his underlings had. He immediately unsheathed his sword. "Who are you? A traitor?"

Clark didn't respond and rushed forward. Adam's sword came at him, and he caught it in his hand. With his other hand he knocked Adam aside. The terrorist was smacked into the wall, his aura flaring at the impact.

Clark threw Adam's sword away and headed straight for him. He had more than enough strength to drain his opponent's aura in a single hit, but that was far too dangerous. If he didn't want to kill his opponents, Ms. Goodwitch had suggested that he rein in his strength and try to reduce his enemies' aura in three or four hits.

Adam shot off to the side. He was trying to get his sword back, but Clark intercepted him to kick him into the wall again. Just one more good hit and he'd be done for.

"Sir, enemies from all directions! There are huntsmen and huntresses among them!" Adam's scroll blared.

"I'm willing to give you the chance to surrender peacefully," Clark said. He could hear the sounds of combat outside the building. Most of the White Fang were focused on defending this base against them, but he could hear one person approaching the room he and Adam were in.

Gunfire swept out at Clark and he stepped aside to avoid the bullets. The shooter jumped in, a woman with a White Fang mask and cat ears visible on top of her head. Her gun morphed into a sword as she held it up in front of her. She went to Adam's side.

"Be careful," Adam said to her. "He's tough. I've already been disarmed and I don't think I would have lasted much longer against him."

"Adam, the situation's bad out there," she said. "We're the strongest fighters here, and our ordinary members can't withstand this attack. I think we should surrender."

"No!" He snarled at her.

"They're dying out there!" She insisted.

"They should feel proud to die for the cause. Now enough talking, help me kill this traitor."

Clark could see through her mask, revealing a girl only about his age and hesitation on her face. After a tense moment, she turned to her partner. "No."

Clark nodded under his mask. So even White Fang members could have consciences, which made taking Adam down quickly even more important.

Clark rushed at him, using speed that was near the upper limit for huntsmen. Adam tried to dodge, and the line at the end of the girl's weapon wrapped around Adam's leg. With a final blow, Clark broke through the last of his aura.

The woman used her weapon to tie Adam up while he ranted and raved. "Blake! How could you do this? We were supposed to be fighting together! For all faunus!"

She ignored him and grabbed his scroll. "Commander Taurus has been captured. All forces surrender." Then she removed her mask, and met his eyes. "Are you actually one of us?"

"No, I just took a spare mask. I appreciate your help, and I can make sure you receive some leniency."

She responded with a sad smile. "I'm not sure I deserve it."

The majority of the White Fang had given up, and the few holdouts were being taken care of by Qrow and local huntsmen. The regular law enforcement were detaining the White Fang, and Clark carried Adam down to them with Blake behind him.

Once that was settled, Clark flew over to Atlas. He threw away his mask and changed clothes to fit in with the Atlesian forces. It was a mostly white uniform which he'd received during his training there.

This was the reason why Clark had worn a mask in Vale. People would notice if a teenager took down a White Fang base there and moments later did the same in Atlas. While there were a few Semblances with that level of rapid transportation ability, they were rare. It was better if Salem didn't learn that Clark could move that quickly.

The reason why he took off his mask in Atlas was because they were a lot more hostile to the White Fang and would probably insist on him removing his mask if he showed up with one. There weren't any particularly dangerous members in Atlas' branch like there were in Vale, so Clark would be fighting side by side with the Atlesians.

Clark dropped in Atlas by General Ironwood's side, since the man already knew about his speed.

The man gave a slight start, but composed himself when he recognized Clark. "Good, you're here. Follow me."

The general wasn't participating in this raid, and so he guided Clark to the one who would be leading it. He was named Clover Ebi, and was the leader of the elite Ace Operatives and one of Ironwood's immediate subordinates.

Clark had met him a few times before, but he was more familiar with Specialist Winter Schnee, since she'd trained him in Atlas. She was also taking part, along with a few other huntsmen and huntresses, and as they made their way to the drop location in a Bullhead there was some notice made of Clark.

"Why's a sixteen-year-old with us?" Harriet Bree, another member of the Ace Operatives, asked Clover. She wasn't making any effort to lower her voice, so even without his superhearing Clark would have heard her. "Shouldn't he still be in school?"

"Hey, I hear from the general that he's pretty talented," Clover said. "This'll also be good experience for him."

"I can personally attest to the general's evaluation of Mr. Kent," Ms. Schnee said. "He will be a valuable asset during this mission."

She'd actually experienced a hint of his speed and aura-draining hits herself. Her words seemed to assure most of them, although Harriet still looked at him with some skepticism.

They arrived at the White Fang base, which was hidden in a cave system in the mountains. The huntsmen and huntresses leaped out of the Bullhead. Clark was the first to land on the ground, speeding up his descent just a bit with his flight, his weapon in hand. He was soon followed by Ms. Schnee, Clover, Harriet, and Vine. The other soldiers would wait until the vehicle landed.

Clark rushed into the caves second, just after Harriet speeding in with her Semblance but before Ms. Schnee while she was using her glyphs to race in. He knocked aside White Fang with his weapon in hammer form, none of them even having any aura.

As they made their way deeper into the caves, the White Fang defended with powerful weaponry. While they didn't have skilled fighters like Adam Taurus, they were better equipped here in Atlas. Soon the huntsmen were facing rocket launchers and bombs in addition to the guns. There was even some heavier artillery here. That could be nasty even with aura.

Clark barreled in with no need to worry about conserving aura. He still made an effort to deflect bullets and dodge attacks, but he was making more progress than even Harriet in an approach which might have appeared even reckless to the others.

Fire flared around him. Clark was using hints of Fire Dust but mainly relying on his heat vision to detonate the missiles and grenades before they could harm his allies. He also blew away regular soldiers, and he had a canister of Wind Dust on his hip to explain how if anyone asked later.

"Okay kid, not bad!" Harriet said after seeing his performance. Then she zipped away again.

There were only a few buildings in the cave system, and soon Clark and the Atlesians had broken into the main one. Vine smashed through the front doors with the enormous glowing arms made by his Semblance. The White Fang here weren't as willing as their Valean counterparts to surrender, so they would have to clear them all out so that the soldiers could apprehend them safely.

There were actually a handful of people in the main building with their aura unlocked, but they were only on the level of huntsmen-in-training at best. They weren't a match for the Atlesian elites, much less Clark. He took care of two of them on his own, while his allies handled the other four.

After that, it was only cleaning up a few stragglers. Once that was done, Clark slipped away and flew to his last stop in dismantling the White Fang. Their headquarters in Menagerie.

Menagerie's government wasn't very well-armed, but they did agree to the operation suggested by Ozpin and Ironwood. Clark was going to wear a White Fang mask again, and he changed clothes once more to an outfit which was different from the one he'd worn in Vale and Atlas. This one was more suited to the tropical environment. A beige shirt and light green pants, similar to what many faunus on the island wore.

Clark was going to take on more of the work here than even in Vale. Menagerie's huntsmen were too few to be easily risked, and their government didn't trust foreign powers very easily, so they would stay back as he crushed the White Fang. Clark didn't really mind.

Once again, he flew straight into their base and stole a mask. This time he wasn't going to have his weapon with him, and he picked up a random sword to use instead of his bare hands. Just another detail to make him seem like a different person from the raids at Vale and Atlas.

There were some fighters here with their aura unlocked. Sienna Khan, the current leader of the White Fang, and a handful of individuals who hadn't been identified. Clark burst into her room first. She had guards with spears, and he only used the sword to disarm them, hitting them with the hilt or his fist to knock them aside.

Sienna had a whip with blades and Dust at the end of it. Clark avoided it, and then snatched it out of the air. He pulled hard, and she let go to prevent being pulled to him. Clark hit her with a blast of his powerful breath, which slammed her into the wall. He kicked her a few times to drain her aura, and then tied her up.

Clark tore his way through the regular White Fang. Using his speed and strength to tie them up or knock them out. There were slight delays each time he encountered someone with aura, each one of them taking a few hits to lose it all.

The forces of Menagerie which had been on standby soon came in to make their arrests. Clark left, although only going a few miles away and watching in case any White Fang attacked instead of actually surrendering. The local government handled it fine though, and he returned to Vale.