Chapter 21: Secret Squad Interviews
Atlas. Downtown District.
General Ciel Soleil confidently walked into the restaurant with a briefcase of manilla folders tucked under her arm. With the threat of the Cult of Grimm rising, she scheduled a meeting with Special Operative Cordovine and Councilwoman Camilla to discuss her plan to neutralize the problem. Followed by her chauffeur into the restaurant, she ordered a steak and sat down with her audience.
"Ladies, thank you for agreeing to meet with me."
"Well, considering you run a third of our kingdom's government, we didn't have much of a choice, general." Camilla remarked.
"So, what's this all about?" Cordovine asked.
"As you know, the newly rebuilt New Rushland was recently under siege by a rogue terrorist organization known as 'the Cult of Grimm.' Thanks to a contact of mine in the city, I was able to learn that this cult is led by a woman who claims to have been a secret ally of Salem."
"'Salem?'" Camilla scoffed. "That madwoman had no allies. Only slaves."
"Nevertheless, this is a threat we can't ignore, but we can't be too cautious about it either." Ciel explained, taking out a manilla folder full of criminal profiles. "I want to assemble a task force of the most dangerous people on Remnant to undergo life-threatening operations for the sake of world stability."
Cordovin arched an eyebrow as she flipped through the pages of the folder. "Begging your pardon, general, but… these candidates you're suggesting are criminals."
"Exactly." Ciel nodded. "If they get caught, we throw them under the bus. We have built-in deniability."
"This is madness." Camilla scoffed. "How can we trust criminals to act in Atlas' best interest?"
"During the Menagerie War, General Belladonna employed four criminals from his country to work for the Rebellion as Team SWCD." Ciel reasoned.
"This isn't the Menagerie War." Cordovine shot back.
"No, it's the Remnant War." Ciel countered. "Ladies, I've seen what this cult is capable of. They are vicious savages led by one of the most notorious zealots in history. These candidates may be criminals, but an unstable addition to the mixture may be just what we'll need to turn the tide in our favor."
"Even so, how are we supposed to keep them in line?" Cordovine asked. "How will we prevent them from simply taking advantage of their enlistment to escape?"
"By placing them under the command of Atlas' most dedicated agent." Ciel snapped her fingers and her escort stepped out of the shadows. "This is the man I want to lead the team. Ever since he was fifteen years old, he's served as a spymaster working directly under my predecessor. After the Menagerie War, however, he took a short sabbatical to mourn General Ironwood."
Once the agent took off his helmet to reveal his face, Cordovine and Camilla gasped in surprise at his familiar appearance. Ciel smirked. "Ladies, allow me to introduce Special Agent James Ironwood, Jr."
"By the gods…" Camilla gasped. "I never knew General Ironwood had a son."
"Good. That's how he liked it." Ceil remarked.
"Still we'll need to interview any criminals that you plan to include on the team: make sure that they'll be stable enough for this to work." Cordovine felt the need to add.
"Don't worry," Ciel said with a smirk. "I know the perfect person to interview the potential candidates…"
At that very moment, a one-eyed doctor of many fields happily sat with her shark Faunus boyfriend as he regaled the story of how they met to one of their coworkers.
"So I'm sitting in the prison's infirmary, waiting for the dermatologist to show up." Polu Shark explained. "I had a mole on my lip that looked a little weird."
"He's a total hypochondriac." Dr. Octavia Ember giggled.
"A melanoma is no joke." Polu responded, defensively, before clearing his throat. "Ahem, so anyway, I'm there. And then this woman walks in. And, immediately, I'm like 'whoooooa!'"
Octavia rolled her single eye. "I looked awful. I was covered in blood from an interrogation, and one of my informants had escaped. I was all sweaty and filthy from running to look for them."
"But to me… she looked beautiful."
Octavia blushed before continuing the story. "So, anyway, I say 'hey! Any lowlife scumbags come through here?'"
"And then I go, 'ah, you're probably looking for the court lawyer next door.' Which, uh, y'know; cheesy joke. Plus, it just came out as 'Polu Shark is a shark,' so-"
"It was cute!" Octavia insisted, taking his hand into her own.
Polu blushed and closed his fingers around her hand. "Sometimes I'm cute. Heh-heh."
The Atlas agent tiredly rubbed his forehead. "Well, that was a very lovely - very long - story, Dr. Octavia, but it doesn't really answer my question. Will you please interview the potential candidates for General Soleil's Secret Squad?"
"Oh, it would be my pleasure." The doctor nodded.
"And I'll be close by to support her," Polu remarked.
"No hesitation, nice," the agent said with a slight smile before losing it as a thought occurred to him. "Though admittedly I'm a bit surprised, what with how much hardship you described in that story of yours. I'd have thought you'd want to distance yourself from this sort of thing as a result."
Polu just shrugged. "Things were tough getting to this point, no doubt, but having gotten here…"
"...we wouldn't change a thing," Octavia finished for her boyfriend shortly before the two of them kissed, only to freeze up upon realizing what happened.
"Uh, sorry about that," Polu called out as he attempted to pull away. "I know that protocol dictates that…"
"To hell with protocol," Octavia interrupted with an almost hungry look in her eyes as she practically pounced on the shark faunus.
Polu's eyes briefly widened as Octavia's lips connected with his own before closing them as the two of them started to make out, their hands unconsciously reaching for their clothes as this happened.
Realizing that the two of them were off in their own little world now and not wanting to witness what would likely be happening next, the agent discreetly exited the room. After he closed the door, he turned around and shrieked in terror once he noticed his commanding officer standing behind him.
"Oh, general…" He sighed, trying to catch his breath. "You startled me."
"Did things go well with Polu and Octavia?" Ciel asked the agent.
"OH GODS YES! RIGHT THERE, POLU!" Octavia's voice suddenly sounded out through the walls.
"Never mind: I already know the answer," Ciel called out with a blush, already piecing together that the two of them were in the middle of an intimate moment in the here and now.
Interview 1: Esmerelda "Izzy" Cream. AKA, the Enchantress.
The next day, Octavia had gathered her notepads and pens and followed Ciel down the halls of Frigid Mountain Penitentiary, the former unconsciously having a bit of a skip in her step after what happened last night. The good doctor was eager to interview the potential candidates. Accompanied by Jim, Polu, Cordovine, and Camilla, the quintet strolled through the halls of the prison, ignoring the jeers and cat-calls of the seedy prisoners. Once they arrived at the maximum security portion of the prison, they were greeted by the warden; Jenna Fuschia.
"Hello, sir!" Fuschia saluted Agent Ironwood, eagerly. "Allow me to personally welcome you to our little slice of hell. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"Kiss her ass." Ironwood scoffed as he motioned to Ciel. "She's in charge."
Fuschia nodded and saluted the general. "Welcome, ma'am."
"So, general, who's the first candidate?" Octavia asked as they followed the warden.
"Esmerelda Cream." Ciel replied. "But lately, she's refusing to go by anything other than 'the Enchantress.' She was a former doctor at Ironwood Asylum until she was assigned to psycho-analyze Mercury Black. She thought she was curing him, but in reality, she was falling in love. Talk about a workplace romance gone wrong. Anyway, she killed two people for him and helped him escape. That's when we stepped in. We've given her the offer to join the team, but she insists that her 'boyfriend' will come to break her out any day now."
"Hm, classic case of Stockholm Syndrome coupled with abusive codependency." Octavia noted in her journal. "She'll be difficult to sway."
At last, they arrived at the cell where the prisoner in question was hanging upside-down from the ceiling. Fuschia used her nightstick to tap on the bars. "Hey, crazy! You got visitors!"
Esmerelda relaxed her grip on the bars of the ceiling window and backflipped onto the ground. "Hiiiiiiiii!" She waved, enthusiastically.
"Hello, Dr. Cream. I'm Dr. Ember." Octavia smiled as she took a seat in front of the cell. "You know, you remind me of a certain doctor who used her talents as a combat medic during the Menagerie War."
"Hmmm, clever." Esmerelda grinned as she sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her interviewer. "You're trying to get me to relate to you in hopes of making an emotional connection that will result in my being more susceptible to your questions."
Octavia chuckled in response. "You are a smart psychiatrist. Very well, shall we forgo the formalities and skip straight to business, doctor?"
Polu nudged Jim, beaming with pride. "She's so smart." He fawned. "I love her so much it's not even funny."
"Focus, Shark." Jim ordered. "You and Ember had your fun, now it's time to get to work."
In the meantime, Octavia continued her interview. "Well, Dr. Cream, I've looked over your file. I'm not easily impressed. But a psychiatrist who graduated at the top of her class at sixteen? A champion gymnast with four gold medals under her belt? You put wartime medical students like me to shame."
"Ah, stop it, Dr. Ember: you're making me blush," Izzy said with a smile and an easy going wave of her hand, with the two of them sharing a light chuckle soon afterwards with Izzy maintaining her grin when they finished. "In all seriousness, I feel like I know quite a bit about you as well. For instance, I can tell that you and that shark Faunus had a bit of fun last night~"
Octavia's eyes widened here. "How did you…?"
"Oh, don't be so modest: you were positively glowing when you came in, and with how close you and that big guy seemed to be, it wasn't hard to deduce why," Izzy said with a teasing grin before pointing to her neck. "Also, just a friendly tip: next time you want to hide any hickies that were left behind, try wearing a scarf."
Octavia's hand immediately reached for her neck here. Sure enough, there was a clear scar where Polu had bitten her in the throws of passion. "I…I didn't even…"
"Ooh, you hadn't noticed that: my bad," Izzy said with a sheepish chuckle. "In all fairness, though, you're lucky that a big guy like him didn't…"
"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there," Octavia called out with a deadpan glare. "I'm already well aware of the jokes about shark Faunus eating their potential mates and I'd rather not have to deal with them right now."
"Sensitive subject combined with wanting to keep things on track: got it," Izzy said with a nod.
Octavia cleared her throat once she sensed Ciel growing impatient. "Okay, let me gently shift the focus back to you. Let's talk about what Mercury Black's manipulations did to you-"
"They call him 'the Trickster!'" Izzy fawned. "They call him a monster! But my puddin' is no monster! He has a dream of a world where everyone is always laughing!"
"With all due respect, how exactly does, say, killing everyone in a bank and emptying out the safes before rigging them to explode when the cops show up to investigate meant to be funny?" Octavia couldn't help but ask with a raised eyebrow, recalling one of Trickster's latest schemes while asking that.
"Hey, comedy ain't cheap," Izzy said with a shrug. "And besides, I have it on good authority that the bank in question belonged to the mob and that the cops who showed up were being paid off by said mob, so it's not like anyone who died didn't deserve it."
"Perhaps, though I can't help but wonder if that was actually the case or if Trickster only told you this so that you wouldn't question what he was doing," Octavia pointed out. "There's always more than one side of the story, after all."
"Okay, fine: maybe I did get a good portion of my evidence from Mercury and his goons, but come on, he wouldn't lie to me," Izzy readily declared before blinking upon remembering something that one of Krasnaya's partners had said to her.
"Lady, he calls himself the Trickster," Magenta deadpanned. "Are you really that surprised that he'd lie to people on occasion?"
"...would he?" Izzy couldn't help but ask with a slight frown.
"That's what I'm hoping to help you figure out," Octavia said with a supportive grin. "Actually, if you don't mind my asking, why did you trust someone who calls himself 'the Trickster?'"
"He… he listened to me. No one had ever done that before. After Dr. Purple went off the deep end, I was expected to pick up her workload. I was so stressed, and no one even noticed. But my puddin was so attentive and kind... so maybe I am crazy…" She sighed, longingly. "But aren't we all a little crazy… in love?"
"And what would Ivy Greene, aka the Weed, say about this?"
Izzy blinked with a light blush on her face. "Hehe, you know about that, huh?"
"Yes we do, and from what I've heard, I don't think that she'd like hearing how Trickster has been treating you."
"Yeah," Izzy said with a loving look in her eye. "She was always so good to work with during our sessions. Heck, if Mercury hadn't shown up, I might have given a relationship with her a chance."
Meanwhile at Ironwood Asylum
Ivy suddenly froze, looking up from the flower that she had been watering within her cell and stared off in some unknown direction, feeling both flattered and angered for some unknown reason.
"...that was weird. I'll need to remember to talk to Brainiac about this," she ultimately decided before getting back to work, already looking forward to another visit from Boris, her brother in all but blood.
Back at Frigid Mountain Penitentiary
"While we're on the subject, what's your relationship with Emerald Sustrai, aka Night Terror?"
"She's actually not so bad, once you get to know her," Izzy said with a grin. "A bit troubled, no doubt, but still not bad. In fact, the two of us have something more akin to an aunt/niece relationship than a doctor/patient one, though I'm sure she'd deny it if asked."
Meanwhile at Ironwood Asylum
"You okay?" one of the new doctors at the facility asked as Emerald let out a sneeze.
"Yeah, I'm good: I just had the strangest feeling that someone was just talking about me."
Back at the interview
"Anyways, let's get back on track," Octavia remarked. "You'd have to work with other people on this mission, and be expected to behave."
Izzy clapped like a child. "YAY! New friends!"
Octavia scribbled out her final notes, then exited the cell. "She's good. Who's next?"
Interview 2: Onyx Bone. AKA, Bloodshed.
"Next on our list is the master assassin, Onyx Bone. Alias; Bloodshed." Ciel led the group towards the next cell. "A former soldier from the kingdom of Anima, Onyx Bone was raised by his father to be the ultimate killing machine. He's a master of every weapon known to man, and developed a suit of armor with several different weapons built into it. After he was discharged from the military, he used his skills as a gun for hire. Doesn't play well with others."
"Don't worry, general." Jim smirked. "My father taught me how to teach people to play nice."
"There is one other thing you should know: his bank records show a considerable amount of money being sent to one Tammy Bone," Ciel felt the need to point out. "Might be something we can use to ensure his cooperation."
"We'll keep that in mind." Octavia nodded before the group was stopped by another guard just a few steps away from the cell.
"Sorry, everyone, but this is standard protocol." The guard explained as he handed them each a plastic bin. "Even without firearms, Onyx Bone is lethal at ten feet. Before coming any closer, please leave behind all shoelaces, belts, hairpins, pens, pencils, handbags, ties, jewelry, and/or scrolls."
After complying with the request, Dr. Octavia stepped forward to see Onyx laying on his bed, reading The Art of War. "Have you tried reading anything by Hemmingway?" She smiled, trying to strike up a conversation. "It might improve your disposition."
Onyx sneered and looked up from his book. "There's nothing wrong with my disposition that my freedom wouldn't fix."
"Well, play your cards right, and I might be able to help you with that." The good doctor offered, cheerfully.
"Oh?"
"Indeed: I've been asked to interview you for the chance to join a little task force some friends of mine are putting together, and if you manage to do a good enough job with working with said task force, we should be able to shave quite a few years off of your sentence, as well as potentially throw in a few other benefits that you might enjoy."
Onyx blinked before looking at the doctor before him. "...what did you say your name was again?"
"Ah, how rude of me: my name is Doctor Octavia Ember."
"Well Doctor," Onyx said with a smirk as he set aside his book. "You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention."
"Then let's get this interview started, shall we?"
"We shall."
Unable to write anything down, Octavia activated a tape recorder to begin her interview. "Let's begin with your childhood-"
Onyx frowned. "Miserable. Next."
"Now, if you want me to help you, you'll need to cooperate, Mr. Bone." Octavia remarked. "The only thing I have on your file is that you were raised by a single father in Anima. He raised you to be a soldier. And that he had you join the kingdom's military at eighteen."
"Sixteen." Onyx corrected with a grumble. "He lied about my age. My father hated me. He just wanted an excuse to get me out of his life. He was probably hoping I'd get killed in action, but he must have trained me too well. I ended up earning dozens of medals during my service. And then they sent me back home to that bastard so he could do the job himself. But once again, he underestimated me."
"I see." Octavia nodded. "And what happened after that?"
"Well, since the Anima army had all but thrown me aside, I decided to use my skills as a mercenary." He explained. "Mostly taking down third-world leaders and would-be conquerors. If anything, Atlas should be thanking me."
"I'm sure it's not the targets that Atlas has a problem with so much as your methods," Octavia remarked. "After all, I've found several reports of how several innocent bystanders were put in jeopardy during some of your escapades, including a recent bounty you took regarding Krasnaya where you endangered the life of one Hope Vatika, who just so happens to be the niece of an Amethyst Vatika, another assassin who was after the bounty as well as one of your potential future squadmates."
Onyx had the decency to wince here upon hearing this. "Yeah admittedly that wasn't one of my proudest moments, but in my defense, it's not often that I come across a target that can match me in terms of skill, so I might have panicked and acted without thinking. Don't worry, though: I have no intention of repeating that mistake if it comes down to it."
"Let's hope for your sake that you're telling the truth," Octavia replied, "though for the record, you'll have to placate Amethyst on your own."
Onyx just sighed upon hearing this. "I figured you might say that. Let's just move on, shall we?"
"As you wish." Octavia leaned back in her chair to continue with the interview. "So, your suit of armor is quite an impressive feat of engineering."
"Thank you." Onyx smirked, proudly. "Took me quite a while to work out the kinks. But I managed to incorporate fifty-two weapons into it. It's some of my best work."
"And, if you don't mind my asking, what inspired you to create a suit with such a variety of weapons constantly at the ready?"
"You're kidding, right?" Onyx snorted. "The life of an assassin is fraught with dangers at every corner. The last thing you want to be in a firefight is unprepared."
"Fair enough." Octavia noted. "So about your daughter, Tammy…"
"What about her?"
"Well we found that you had been sending quite a lot of money her way. One might wonder why this was or if they should choose to…interfere with your interactions with her."
"If you touch a single hair on her head…" Onyx growled out.
"So you do fight for more than just your next paycheck," the interviewer teasingly remarked.
Onyx huffed, not appreciating being baited like that but nonetheless nodded in agreement as he took out a photo of his daughter and gazed upon it with a small grin. "When you don't have much to live for, you tend to treasure the few things you have left."
Octavia smiled as she thought of Polu and her parents. "Yeah, I know what you mean. You know, you'd make an excellent field leader for the team if Agent Ironwood is ever unavailable."
Onyx shook his head. "I'm not a people person. I'll fight for my freedom, but I'm not sticking my neck out for a bunch of other thugs."
"Hmm…" Octavia got up from her seat, and walked back towards the group. "I approve."
Interview 3: Cereza Caliente. AKA, La Infierno.
"And I take it you all know of the pyrokinetic gangster?" Ciel pulled up another mugshot of a female inmate with her head shaved and her face tattooed with a skeletal pattern. "Cereza Caliente. On the streets, they call her 'La Infierno.' A gangbanger from Anima who thought she was queen of the world… until she lost her king. Three years ago - at the height of her career - she got jumped in a prison riot. The security footage is remarkable."
While the general narrated, Jim pulled up said footage on his scroll. Just as described, the bald, tattooed woman casually strolled into the center of the prison yard with her aura glowing brightly. When twenty men rushed towards her from all sides, she unleashed her semblance upon them and released a ring of flames that incinerated all of them. After gleefully celebrating her victory, the gangster melted her way through a brick wall and escaped the prison.
"Four Maidens…" Camilla cursed under her breath, disturbed. "How the hell did you catch her?"
"We didn't." Ciel barely batted an eye as they drew nearer to the cell. "She surrendered."
The pyrokinetic in question was found held inside of a plexiglass cage with several air holes and an intricate fire-extinguishing system. She sat in the center of the cell, hugging her legs to her chest and sobbing into her knees, seemingly oblivious to those watching her.
Fuschia drew her nightstick and tapped the cage. "Yo, chica!" She whistled. "Wake up, amiga! You've got guests!"
Reluctantly, Cereza looked up, exposing her puffy red eyes that still wept tears of remorse. Ciel grabbed Jim's scroll and placed it against the glass. Cereza sadly watched as it showed her former self boasting into the camera as she stood atop a pile of ashes that were once her would-be attackers.
"Ha ha ha ha!" The woman in the video laughed. "What's up?! You want some of this?!"
"That ain't me." Cereza insisted in the present as she wiped her eyes..
Ciel was doubtful. "That wasn't you?"
"No, they say that's me, but it ain't me." Cereza sniffled. "That woman's gone. She's dead."
"And yet, here you are."
"Hey, hey. None of that." Octavia wagged her finger at Ciel before pulling up a chair to speak to the prisoner. "Hello, friend. My name is Dr. Ember. I'm here to offer you a chance at redemption."
Despite the doctor's hopes, Cereza just shook her head. "Look, girl, you ain't the first to ask, and you ain't gonna be the last."
"Ask what?"
"I'm a woman, okay? I ain't no weapon. I ain't no gangbanger, no more, either. I'm bein' punished for my sins. But at least I'll die in peace before I ever raise my fist in anger again… I've caused enough harm…" With that, Cereza waved both hands in front of the glass, using her flames to spell out "BYE" before returning to her sobbing.
Octavia and Polu felt their hearts sink at the sight of someone so despondent. "We'll try again later." Octavia suggested.
Ciel nodded and led them to the next cell.
Interview 4: Jasper Dusk. AKA, Captain Bola.
"Then there's the Vacuan." Ciel grunted in annoyance as they approached the next cell. "Jasper Dusk. Or, as the tabloids call her, 'Captain Bola.' An expert thief who uses dust-infused bola's to commit crimes. She robbed every bank in Vacuo at least once, then went to Vale for a fresh target set. She might seem stupid, but she tangled with a member of Team RWBY and lived to tell about it."
Once the guard opened the cell door, the prisoner jumped on his back and tried choking him out. Jim acted fast, grabbing one of her arms and pinning it behind her back, wrapping his other arm around her neck to pull her off of the guard, and pushing her face against the wall.
"Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy, mate!" Jasper spluttered. "I was just sittin' in me kitchen, playin' checkers with me nana, an' next thing I know, this pile of rose petals sweeps me away!"
"Shut up!" Jim snapped. "You were caught robbing a Dust exchange!"
Jasper gave a faux expression of offense. "I was not."
"Are you sure about that?" Octavia asked as she started to fiddle with her scroll.
"Absolutely, just like there's absolutely nothing you can do to prove that…" …and that was as far as Jasper got before gasping as Octavia brought up some security footage from the bank.
Sure enough, the video showed Jasper Dusk - alias; Captain Bola - stealing hundreds of vials of Dust from the bank before the Grimm Reaper showed up. After a brief altercation with the hooded huntress, Captain Bola had somehow knocked her enemy unconscious and tied her to a giant bola with the chords attached to a giant catapult. Despite being launched into the sky, the Grimm Reaper had somehow managed to use her semblance to reverse the trajectory of the giant bola, slip out of the ropes, destroy the giant bola before it could hurt anybody, and arrest the criminal.
"Care to try telling us the truth now?" Octavia couldn't help but ask with a blank expression.
Jasper merely scoffed, not yet ready to admit her guilt even with security footage available proving that she had, in fact, been lying. "And how do you know that that isn't a rogue Doppelganger posing as me?"
"Aside from how the Shadow Alliance would have let us know if Doppelgangers had anything to do with this, we found your blood at the site, and ran extensive DNA tests to prove that it was, in fact, yours."
"...you still can't prove anything."
Octavia couldn't help but scowl, unable to hide how annoyed she was with how much of a pathological liar this woman was…only to pause and smirk as she suddenly got an idea. "Yeah, you're right, there's no way a loser like you could have done this."
"...excuse me?"
"I mean, from your own testimony, the most exciting thing you do is play checkers with your mother, so there's no way that you could ever hope to rob a place with this sort of security or give the Grimm Reaper so much trouble."
"Hey, I'll have you know that that was some of my best work and that I nearly managed to kill that brat when she got in my way!" Jasper growled out…only to freeze as Octavia gave her a teasing grin. "...is what I would have said if that was actually me."
"Riiight," Octavia said while still maintaining the teasing grin to show that she didn't believe her. "Well, my friend, I'm afraid a few of my companions aren't quite inclined to believe you. So if you ever want to leave this cell, you're going to have to cooperate with me. Understand?"
"I'm… listening."
Interview 5: Reginald "Red" Ivory Lapis. AKA, Agent Atlas
"Next up, by popular demand, is Agent Red Ivory Lapis." Ciel introduced the saluting Atlesean agent. "Alias; Agent Atlas. At ease, agent."
"Thank you, ma'am." Lapis lowered his arm and sat down on his cell's bed. "I'm ready to serve my kingdom once again."
"Well, just answer a few questions and you'll get that chance."
Octavia entered the cell and sat down in front of Red. "So, let's get-"
"Name: Reginald Ivory Lapis. Rank: Captain. Serial number: 55-2176." Red proudly introduced himself only to blush in embarrassment. "Oh, uh, sorry. I've been imprisoned by enemies a few times. Reflexes, you know?"
"I understand." Octavia smiled in understanding. "Now, why do you want to join this squad?"
"To serve and protect Atlas, of course." Red nodded. "I served in the Great War, you know."
"Yes, I'm well aware of that." Octavia nodded. "I studied your file. The experiments that augmented your physical strength and aura also slowed your aging process. You've fought in many wars."
"So many that I've honestly lost count," Red said with pride.
"Perhaps, but we both know that doesn't make you invincible."
Here Red sighed as he thought back to the battle that led to him being frozen. "I'll admit that I actually regret that my old squad mate, Terry, ended up dying after our confrontation, as he was honestly the first person I've ever fought that pushed me to my very limits following those experiments. If you want, I can give you the coordinates to where we fought so you can find the makeshift grave I made for him after I got out of the ice."
"I think I speak for a lot of people when I say we'd more than appreciate that," Octavia said with a grin. "But let's hold off on that for now, as there are still a few things I'm hoping to go over with you."
"Fair enough," Red said with a nod. "So what else do you want to know?"
"Well, I would like to discern fact from fiction." Dr. Ember went on. "No offense, but some of the stories I've heard about you seem rather far fetched."
In response, Red tore one of the buttons from his prison uniform and placed it in between his finger and thumb. He flicked his thumb and sent it ricocheting around the room before catching it in his other hand.
"Huh, so you can accurately calculate the trajectory of any projectile." Octavia gaped in awe. "And here I thought that was just the director taking creative liberties."
"You've seen my movies, huh?" Red snorted.
"Just the first one." Dr. Ember nodded.
"Yeah, yeah… the young Mantle boy born into poverty, learns the value of hard work, and joins the Atlas military to serve peace… it's all bullshit, y'know?" Red sighed. "The truth is, my dad owned the biggest construction company in the kingdom. Hell, we had more money than Nicholas Schnee. After my mom died, I got sent to boarding school. Then got kicked out of boarding school. Because I was a depressed fuck-up. And boy, did my old man let me know that."
Dr. Ember frowned, slightly. "I take it the loss of your mother drove him to physical abuse?"
But Red smiled and shook his head, gently. "Never laid a hand on me. He just glared and said that I wasn't even worth that much of his attention. I guess you could say that was a wake up call for me. I knew there were men fighting for peace, and protecting others from the Grimm… so why should I do any less? So, I used my dad's connections to get an interview with General Ranger, and ended up becoming a Guardsman before guardsmen were even a thing. I was practically a gods-damned superhero."
Dr. Ember nodded and scribbled a few more notes before continuing. "And what did your father think of that?"
Red closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "... he said I took a shortcut… that a real man wouldn't have cheated."
"And yet you still used your skills and enhancements in the service of Atlas." Octavia noted.
"Well, someone had to keep those filthy faunus in their place-"
A few minutes later, Octavia strolled out of Lapis' cell with bruises on her knuckles. Lapis was left lying unconscious on the floor with a broken nose. "He'll do." She scoffed. "Next."
Interview 6: Amethyst Vatika.
"General, I must protest." Octavia spoke up. "I've read through Ms. Vatika's file and don't believe she's the, um… calibur of criminal we need for these missions."
"That's for me to decide, doctor. Your job is to interview the candidates and report back to me." Ciel clarified, sternly. "Are we clear?"
Octavia sighed. "Transparently. But I still must object to her induction into the program."
"Objection noted." Ciel muttered as the doctor entered the cell. "And ignored."
Regardless, wanting to stay on the general's good side, Octavia proceeded with the next interview. Amethyst was watering a small fern on the window sill when she heard the cell door open. She set down the watering can and sat down on the bed.
"Hello."
"Good evening." Octavia smiled. "I am Dr. Octavia Ember. And I'm here to ask you a few questions."
"Go ahead."
"Well first off, I could use some context as to why you got into mercenary life in the first place. I mean, no offense, but you don't don't really fit any of the stereotypes."
"Oh, believe me: I actually take that as a compliment," Amethyst said with a chuckle. "But to answer your question, I actually used to be a construction worker before I unlocked my semblance. I thought I'd earn more money as a huntress to help out my sister and pay for the metal plate I had to get installed in my head."
"So how did you end up with that metal plate in your head?"
"It's a long story," Amethyst said with a blush. "Let's just say that I got a bit unlucky with a job I took on prior to meeting Whitley Schnee that ended with me getting a little too up close and personal with some construction equipment and leave it at that for right now."
"Fair enough," Octavia remarked, understanding that her patient wasn't quite ready to talk about the incident. "Though hopefully it won't be an issue with any upcoming missions."
"Nah, the doctors I've talked to have all said I'll only need it for a couple more years and I've yet to find anyone other than Pyrrha Nikkos with a strong enough magnetic touch that was able to inconvenience me, not to mention that I'm on good terms with the girl in question, so I don't think I'll need to worry about her anytime soon. Besides, I can't deny that it doesn't make for a good improvised weapon in a pinch," Amethyst said with a smug grin, remembering all too fondly how she'd used said improvised weapon on her late former squad mate, Ecru Bronze, after they had come to blows following her turning on Whitely and company.
Octavia scribbled a few more notes. "So how did you come to meet the Cult of Grim?"
Amethyst sighed. "Apparently, they reached out to me because they wanted to study my semblance so they could replicate it. They wanted to 'cleanse the earth of the human race and use the bodies to fertilize the new flora.' After I heard that, I figured they were wacko, so I refused their offer. Multiple times in fact. They don't take 'no' for an answer. It was only after they managed to kidnap Hope that I finally relented to taking up their bounty. Heck, I'm actually grateful to Krasnaya for taking me down, as I don't even want to think about what they could have potentially done to her to try and keep me doing missions for them."
"You must care a great deal about your niece."
Amethyst just gives a melancholy grin here. "She's everything to me, and that's exactly why I'll forever be in debt to Jane Maroon and her family for taking her in. I would have never worked for Whitley Schnee if I'd known her parents had died."
"If you don't mind my asking, why did you work for Whitely Schnee back in the day?"
Amethyst just gave a somber sigh in remembrance of that part of her life. "That's not an easy question for me to answer, though if I were to summarize it to the best of my abilities, it's that like my late friend, Sapphire Violet, Whitely did a good job of convincing us that he and our fellow teammates were better individuals then they truly were, so much so that we didn't realize their true nature until it was nearly too late."
"Well if it makes you feel any better, you aren't the only candidate to make a bad call about their past employer," Octavia said with a comforting grin as she recalled her previous interview with Izzy. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened with Sapphire."
"Believe me, it means more than you could possibly know." Amethyst said with a melancholy grin.
Octavia scribbled a few more notes before asking her next question. "Tell me, do you believe in gods?"
Amethyst blinked in shock. "Whoa, where'd that come from?"
Octavia shrugged. "Well, you just strike me as someone who values life a bit more than the typical assassin. Most people with moral compasses base it on faith. So…?"
Amethyst chuckled and shook her head. "Nah. I'm not too big on the idea of some all-seeing, all-knowing beings looking down on us. I'm a firm believer in evolution and human progress."
"I see." Octavia nodded and scribbled a few more notes. "And what about the afterlife?"
"Nope." The plant-user shook her head again and crossed her arms. "I think when you're dead, you're dead. I know that sounds depressing, but I figure that's what makes life so precious, y'know? Everyone is worthy of life."
"And what about those you've killed for money?"
Amethyst shrugged. "Well, what can I say? Some people are worthier than others…or at the very least, I'd like to think that those that I've killed got what was coming to them. More accurately, I despise those who would gladly have others die in their place like so many of the targets I've been sent after have been prone to do, and I especially dislike it when they try to take hostages, children in particular, to try and preserve their own life."
"...I'm guessing that means that you'd have an issue if, say, Onyx Bone, aka Bloodshed, was selected to be one of your future teammates," Octavia remarked with a nervous expression.
Here Amethyst just sighed in response. "If that did happen, I'd be cool with it so long as I got an apology for what he nearly did to my niece…but I'm punching him in the jaw afterwards."
"That's fair," Octavia said with a shrug. "Though getting back on track, I'm guessing this means that you aren't a fan of the Cult of Grimm."
"The guys who held my niece hostage to force me to work with them? The guys who claim to speak for the so-called God of Darkness? The guys who use religious stigma to control their members and to justify massive amounts of suffering?" Amethyst called out with an unreadable expression on her face. "Oh no, I'd gladly meet the current leader of the group right now if I were able to…SO I COULD TEAR HER APART MOLECULE BY MOLECULE!"
Amethyst suddenly froze as she realized that she unconsciously brought out her vines while yelling, startling the doctor as a result. "I…I'm sorry. I've been holding in my anger longer than I thought."
"No harm done, I assure you," Octavia replied with what resembled an understanding smile. "I believe I have everything I need. Thank you."
With that, Octavia exited the cell and made her way back to the group.
"Well?" Ciel asked.
"No. She's too volatile at the moment. I don't believe she is combat ready. Also, could we maybe make a quick detour before we visit the next candidate?" Octavia suddenly asked.
James blinked in surprise upon hearing this. "I mean, I wouldn't be against that, but I'd want to know why."
Here Octavia simply gained a sheepish expression even as she found herself being unable to look the general in the eye. "...I'm going to need a change of underwear after Amethyst's outburst."
Interview 7: Buzz Golden. AKA, King Bee
One change of underwear later, Octavia found herself in front of the cell of the next candidate. Unfortunately for her, Buzz Golden proved to be the most obnoxious street thug she had ever known.
"Ugh, would I be betraying my profession if I said I was hoping for a series of distractions that would prevent me from psycho-analyzing Mr. Golden for… oh, I don't know, the next fifty years?"
"No. But you would be violating your contract." Agent Ironwood pointed out. "So, go on. Chop-chop."
Octavia groaned and entered the cell. "Good evening, Mr. Golden. How are-"
"Hold up!" Buzz shushed her before continuing his push-ups. "Let me just finish! Oh, yeah! Blastin' the pecks!"
Octavia rolled her eyes and waited for him to finish. At last, he stood up. "How are you today, Mr. Golden?"
"Oh, I'm feelin' strong!" Buzz smirked as he flexed. "Yeah, I gotta stay in shape after my fight with the Red Woman. I ended up bustin' my hand after doin' a triple roundhouse."
"Uh, a roundhouse is a kind of kick." Octavia corrected.
"Yeah, I knew that!" Buzz crossed his arms, haughtily. "Listen, I'm in, okay? I know what this is about! I do a job, and I go free, right?! Hell, yeah!"
"Uh, that's a bit of an oversimplification." Octavia pointed out. "First I need to ensure your mental health is suitable for military operations. For instance; did you build your weapons yourself, or did you purchase them from someone?"
"Hey, I'm one-hundred percent legit, babe!" Buzz bragged. "I built my weapons out of a hot rod I stole from some rich douche in Anima! Oh, yeah!"
Octavia rolled her eyes and made note that this patient was a compulsive liar. Even if she hadn't been briefed beforehand that Buzz had stolen the weapons he used for criminal activity, she knew that no custom automobile would have the parts needed to create such weapons.
"Alright, and are you sure you can work well with others?"
"Well, if they're half as hot as you, sweet cheeks-" Buzz was cut off once Polu leaned forward and showed off his razor-sharp teeth with a menacing growl.
Octavia chuckled and rubbed her boyfriend's chin. "Yes, perhaps refrain from flirting, Mr. Golden." She suggested, cheekily.
Buzz gulped and sat back down. "Uh, so, w-what else you'd like to know?"
"Well, how long have you been working as a hired gun?"
"Ever since I learned how to drive." Buzz bragged. "Everybody wants a taste of King Bee's killer honey!"
Octavia rolled her eyes and walked away from the cell. "He's cleared for combat. Take him to the others."
"Baby, free at last! Thank the gods, I'm free at last!" Buzz clapped and cheered for himself as he was led away by the guards. "Thank you! Gonna miss ya, Tim! Thank you for your hospitality, Brad! I know where you live, Enrique! Say hello to your wife for me."
"How many more interviews do we need to conduct, doctor?" Jim asked, impatiently. "I'm itching to get back in action."
"Well, then, you'll be happy to know there's only one interview left to conduct, Agent Ironwood." Octavia smiled and tapped her pen against his chest. "Yours."
"Wait, what?"
"You heard me."
Interview 8: Special Agent James "Jim" Ironwood, Jr.
Jim crossed his arms as he sat across from the good doctor. Octavia quietly read over his credentials and previous psychiatric reports. Growing impatient, Jim glanced up at Polu, who stood next to Octavia to make sure the agent didn't try to cut out of the interview.
"... can I use the bathroom-?"
"No." Polu replied, bluntly.
Jim huffed and looked back at Octavia, who flipped over another page on her clipboard. "With all due respect, doctor, I've been reviewed by dozens of psychiatrists. Each and every one of them asked me the same questions, and they all came to the same conclusion; 'James Ironwood, Jr. is in perfect physical and mental health and is highly qualified to undergo any and all operations.' What questions are you going to ask that I haven't heard before?"
"Actually, I just have one question…" Octavia set her clipboard aside and threaded her fingers together. "Why did you agree to lead the Secret Squad?"
Jim actually blinked in response to that question. "General Soleil said she needed me to lead, so I agreed."
"And that was enough for you?" Octavia pressed further. "You don't have any ulterior motives?"
"My father died trying to help take down Salem." He said, at last. "But before that, he let himself become a puppet for Jacques Schnee. And now, General Soleil wants to use these criminals as her puppets. So, if anyone is going to be the puppetmaster, it'd better be someone who actually wants to serve Remnant's best interests."
"Mmm-hmm." Octavia hummed as she scribbled down a few more notes. "And you believe you will not become another puppet?"
Jim sneered. "Don't patronize me, doctor. I've killed men who thought they could control me for their own purposes."
"Honestly, Agent Ironwood." Octavia waved a disappointing finger at Jim. "Must you be so violent?"
Jim felt slightly insulted. "Didn't you use to torture Salem's mercenaries during the Menagerie War, doctor?"
Octavia shrugged. "That's the thing about war, agent; people die."
"Oh." Jim scoffed. "So, you're gonna chalk it up to 'war is hell,' huh? Well, admittedly, that is a hard argument to argue with. But as memory serves, your side didn't see it that way, did they?"
"Watch your tone, boy scout." Polu hissed.
"Oh, this ought to interest you, Shark." Jim chortled. "While you and the other criminals in Team SWCD were raiding Salem's outposts in broad daylight, Generals Ghira and Kali Belladonna and Leo Lionhart found evidence that Dr. Octavia was using P.O.W.s as test subjects and stress relief for what they did to her parents. Sometimes, when she was given an enemy patient in critical condition, she'd let them slip away. Sometimes, if they were really clinging to life, she'd help them relax their grip. They put up with it until the war was over, but when the fighting stopped, they dishonorably discharged her and even threatened to take away her medical license as punishment. How many P.O.W.s died under your care, doctor? Wasn't the total death count somewhere around eighty-seven?"
Octavia merely frowned, but Polu was furious.
"BULLSHIT!" Polu angrily flipped the table over and snarled in Jim's face. "I know how the Belladonna's punish their men and women! If Octavia had done any of that, they would've just shot her!"
Jim was unfazed by the shark Faunus. "Well, I didn't say they could prove it. But they certainly did think it out loud, didn't they, doctor? But, Octavia's penchant for snuffing out her enemies was surpassed only by her skill at saving her comrades. And that's what saved her career, her reputation, and her life. You saved a couple hundred Faunus during the war, eh, doctor?"
Again, Octavia shrugged.
"Yeah. The White Fang tends to look kindly on that."
"I'll tell you what the White Fang didn't look kindly on!" Polu bared his teeth, angrily. "General James Ironwood, that's who! And let me tell you something, Junior; the idea that the crotch-spot of that elitist traitor has the nerve to criticize how anyone deals with their enemies - during war time no less - makes me wanna vomit!"
Jim got up from his seat and fearlessly pointed at the shark Faunus. "Don't you dare talk about my father, Shark." He growled. "What he fought for was international security. And against the archaic reign of the kingdoms!"
Polu just scoffed. "Yes, because making plans to literally flee with Atlas, therefore dooming them to starvation while leaving Mantle and the rest of Remnant to their fate if things started to look bad in regards to the war with Salem is the very height of valor."
Jim simply huffed at this. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You mean you don't know?" Polu asked with a raised eyebrow. "After Agents White and Grey rescued him, James handed them some information to help them take down the ones behind the war…but in doing so, he also indirectly ended up confessing to some of his own crimes that he had been planning to commit. Turns out that the General had already known about the Temple of the Purge and thus was going to use the Gravity Dust in Atlas to get as far away from Remnant as possible right around the time the war had started. The only reason he didn't was that Adam and Barmak managed to kidnap him before he could implement that plan of his. That was the kind of man your father was, JJ: an utter coward who was only interested in his own self preservation."
"Don't call me JJ," Jim growled out. "And for the record, I'm more than aware of how my father didn't always have the best long term planning skills, but he always was looking out for the people of Atlas and often hoped to give himself as much time as possible to come up with a plan to help those around him, or at least that's how I choose to remember him."
Polu sneered. "Pah… I guess not all hindsight is twenty-twenty." He muttered and backed away to his girlfriend's side.
Octavia simply nodded as she put her notes away. "I think we're ready. So what's the next step?"
"Well we saw if the candidates were psychologically ready: now we see if they're physically ready," Jim said with a grin.
Team Briefing
After the interviews were over, the seven prisoners were handcuffed, escorted out of their cells, and brought to the prison's yard. Enchantress was strapped to a wheelchair, ten snipers had Bloodshed in their sights, and La Infierno was being followed by several guards armed with fire extinguishers. But much to the criminals' confusion, they had been brought to a table which contained all of their costumes and several different weapons.
"Alright, everyone." Jim addressed the group. "Now that we've determined you're all mentally capable of carrying out this mission, we're gonna test your physical capabilities."
"Wait, these are my future teammates?" Red called out with an angry frown. "No disrespect, Agent Ironwood, but they're…"
"I know they aren't the sort of folks you're used to working with, and I'm equally aware that you have issues with working with Faunus, but I'd have thought that you of all people would know that in war you don't always have the luxury of picking and choosing who you fight with on either side of the battlefield," Jim readily replied. "Of course, if you'd rather we just leave you in your cell and find someone else to fill your spot…"
"Alright, alright, I'll at least stick around to see if you had a reason for choosing them," Red said with an angry sigh.
Ciel took out her own scroll and used it to activate a platoon of thirty Atlesean combat droids on the opposite side of the yard. Each combat droid accepted a weapon and took strategic positions spread throughout the yard.
"Alright, unlock 'em." Ironwood ordered the warden.
"What?!" Fuchsia spluttered.
"You heard me. Unlock the prisoners."
Fuchsia pointed at Bloodshed. "Do you have any idea what this man can do?"
"I'm here to find out." Ironwood rolled his eyes. "Lose the restraints."
Reluctantly, Fuchsia ordered her subordinates to unlock Bloodshed's restraints. Ironwood motioned towards the table of weapons and dust cartridges, prompting the assassin to step towards it. Bloodshed looked around the yard, noticing all the guards with their guns at the ready. He arched an eyebrow at the agent, wondering what the catch was.
"What's this? Cheerleading tryouts?"
"Let's go." Ironwood snapped his fingers and pointed back at the table. "They say you've never missed a shot. Prove it."
While the other guards unlocked the others, Bloodshed donned his suit of armor, then turned around with his hands in the air to prompt the guards not to shoot. In plain view, the mercenary reached for a device built into the shoulder of his armor and transformed it into a loaded pistol.
"Alright, you've got one in the chamber." Jim nodded. "What're you gonna do with it?"
Bloodshed immediately aimed his weapon directly at Fuschia, prompting the guards to take aim at him.
"Everybody, calm down!" Jim ordered. "Fuschia! Tell your men to stand down!"
Fuschia angrily complied. "Stand down, men! Agent Ironwood, for the record, this is exactly what I was concerned about!"
Bloodshed glanced at his weapon and smirked. "Ah, I see. This is an elaborate execution." The mercenary looked back at his fellow prisoners to explain his theory. "See, my suit's been in impound for nine months. For all I know, each weapon on it's been rigged to backfire."
Ciel stepped forward with a sly grin. "You're absolutely right. Why would we give a loaded weapon to an infamous hit-man? Go ahead, pull the trigger. Empty it."
Bloodshed arched an eyebrow at Ciel's taunt; if he was wrong, killing a warden could lengthen his sentence. To safely test his theory, he aimed the pistol towards the sky and pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed throughout the yard, making everyone else flinch. But Bloodshed was unharmed. The mercenary held a finger in front of the barrel, feeling the heat coming from where it was supposed to.
"Oh, ho ho ho ho ho ho… y'all jokers must be crazy!" He laughed as he marched towards the combat droids.
Enchantress giggled, madly, and rushed forward to grab her own equipment, followed by Agent Atlas, Captain Bola, and King Bee. Enchantress had just finished changing into her costume when she witnessed Bloodshed dispose of ten more robots.
"Dang, he sure do shoot real good!" She laughed, putting on a corny southern accent.
"Shame he had to waste that bullet before the exercise started though." Agent Atlas scoffed, loading his own weapons.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Bloodshed said with a teasing grin. "Anyone feel like having quail for dinner?"
"I mean, I wouldn't mind, but…" …and that was as far as that commentary went before a quail that had been flying overhead fell to the ground, apparently having been hit by the bullet that Bloodshed had fired earlier.
"First thing you ought to know about me: I rarely if ever miss a shot, nor do I like wasting ammunition," Bloodshed smugly declared.
Red chuckled as he realized he actually found someone that could potentially pose a challenge for his skills. "Well then, this might be interesting after all."
Ciel merely blinked as she took in the dead quail as well as Red's apparent enthusiasm before her before shrugging. "Meh, I'll deal with that later."
Meanwhile, Cereza merely grabbed her late husband's jacket from the table and made her way to a discrete corner of the yard to avoid the violence.
In stark contrast, Enchantress giddily wielded her sledgehammer and rushed forwards past Bloodshed and Agent Atlas. "Dibs!" She cheered before bashing one robot's head in.
Agent Atlas shook his head in annoyance at the unprofessional attitude of the lunatic before three bolas flew past his head. The Dust-infused balls exploded upon impact with the robots, prompting the group to look at the woman who threw them. Captain Bola was twirling another bola in one hand while eating a smoking dead bird in the other.
"That's disgusting." Agent Atlas gagged.
"What?" Jasper said with a glare even as she looked up from the quail that had been killed earlier, revealing that she was already eating it raw. "I'm hungry, and it's still better than the slop that this prison calls food."
"Also, from what I've heard, she's from Vacao, so…" Onyx called out with a shrug, with everyone else murmuring in agreement/understanding, what with how the folks that lived there tended to live different lives then most of the rest of Remnant.
In the meantime, King Bee hovered above the robots and cut them to pieces with his fiery and electric blades while Amethyst used her vines to hold them in place.
"Any particular reason why she's here?" Camila directed at Ciel as Amethyst used her vines to take out some drones. "Genuinely asking, as I wasn't aware that you intended to send her on the next mission."
"Technically speaking, I haven't decided yet, but even still, practice like this helps to make sure that her skills don't become stagnated once we do put her on later missions," Ciel said with a shrug. "Besides, I wanted to see for myself what impressed Whitely Schnee, aka the Serpent, and later the Cult of Grim enough to want her on their respective teams."
"Fair enough," Camila said with a shrug before pointing at La Infierno. "But what about her? Last I checked, she didn't even get an interview… and she's not exactly participating."
"Regardless, her talents would be most helpful in the upcoming mission." Ciel remarked.
Meanwhile, Amethyst used her semblance to instantly grow thousands of vines from the ground, which tangled around the robots and held them in place. She tried to crush them, but several shots beat her to it. She turned around to see Bloodshed standing behind her.
"Hey, nice job. We make a good team." Onyx declared with a cocky smirk, only for Amethyst to punch him in the face. Staggering backwards from the blow, he waved off the guards as they raised their guns in response to this. "No, no, it's fine: I probably deserved that."
"You deserved a lot worse after what you nearly did to my niece," Amethyst growled out before sighing. "But I suppose like myself you had your reasons for taking up that bounty, so I won't hold a grudge."
"Appreciated."
"With that being said, you try anything like that again, and I'll be castrating you with a paper clip," Amethyst said with a snarl.
Onyx instinctively covered the spot between his own legs with a slight whimper upon hearing this. "Noted."
Jasper merely chuckled upon witnessing this. "Blimey, I think I'm in love."
"That's nice and all, but frankly, you're not my type," Amethyst immediately declared in response.
"Anyways, if it's all the same to you, I'm going to go ahead and take out all of my next set of targets with just one bullet," Bloodshed boasted as a fresh set of targets was brought in.
"By all means," Ceil declared.
Bloodshed merely smirked as he took a gun and fired it, with the bullet embedding itself in a wall behind the targets.
"HA! You missed," Buzz called out.
"Did I?" Bloodshed taunted.
No sooner had he asked this, a crack started to form where the bullet had hit, with said crack resulting in a nearby switch starting to spark erratically. No sooner had this happened, an overhead fan started to rapidly spin before falling down, taking out the targets as a result.
Bloodshed just snorted at the look that Buzz was giving him, realizing that he couldn't believe that he managed to get an overhead fan to crush all of the targets at once. "Your turn, Drone," he called out as he patted him on the shoulder on the way back to where he had originally been standing.
Snapping out of his stupor, Buzz growled in response to Bloodshed's comment. "Excuse you? I am the King Bee!"
"Yeah, King Bee sucking at everything he does, am I right?" Enchantress called out with a mocking grin and raised her hand in the direction of Polu, who happened to be close by.
"Just for the record, I'm high-fiving you, but my heart isn't in it." Polu sighed as he high-fived the crazy woman.
Meanwhile, Bloodshed and Agent Atlas were still in the middle of their personal competition. Bloodshed had now removed multiple parts of his armor to form a rapid-fire rifle which he used to bore holes into the robots heads. Agent Atlas took a much more arbitrary route and fired a rocket from his shoulder pad at a watchtower, causing it to fall on top of five robots at once.
"I hope you realize that's coming out of your next paycheck." Camilla remarked.
"Worth it," Ciel remarked as she watched some workers cleaning up the mess that Agent Atlas had left behind.
"Only one bullet left in your gun." Bloodshed smirked. "And still ten robots to go."
In response, Agent Atlas quickly calculated a plan of attack and fired. The bullet ricocheted off of the robots' heads, taking them down one-by-one until none were left standing. Agent Atlas blew the smoke from his barrel, holstered the gun, and smirked at his rival.
"Nobody likes a show-off." Bloodshed sneered.
"Unless what you're showing off is dope as fuck." Agent Atlas grinned.
Bloodshed rolled his eyes and turned around to return to the general and agent. "Fuck… that's true." He admitted under his breath.
Captain Bola, meanwhile, was more annoyed with La Infierno's lack of cooperation. "Hey, you were some help, eh, princess?" She sneered.
"... I didn't ask for this, man." Cereza replied, evenly. "It's better if I'm not involved."
"Hey, if you like a guy, can you light his cigar with your thumb?" Enchantress teased. "'Cause that would be real classy."
"Hey, y'all might wanna leave home girl alone." Bloodshed remarked. "She could torch this whole place. Ain't that right, chica?"
Despite the condescending tone, Cereza maintained a neutral expression as she shook her head. "You got nothin' to worry about from me… we're cool, homie."
"Alright, everyone, congratulations. You have now been inducted into the Secret Squad." Ironwood announced, before looking at Amethyst with a slight frown. "Except for you, Miss Vatika. Nothing personal, but Dr. Ember wasn't convinced that you were psychologically sound enough to deal with the target of the upcoming mission. With that said, I promise that we'll try and arrange something in the near future and that we'll allow you to visit with your niece in the coming weeks just to show that there are no hard feelings."
"Understood," Amethyst said with a nod before turning towards Ceil as she was being led back to her cell. "Say hi to Teams RWBY and JNPR for me, will you?"
"Will do."
Jim simply cleared his throat after Amethyst had left even as he focused on everyone else in front of him. "Anyways, our first mission begins at 0100 hours when we fly into Anima. The target is Aswad Abyad, a financial backer to the Cult of Grimm. We are to neutralize him by any means necessary. Succeed, and we'll shave two years off of your sentences."
"Sweet. Just forty more suicide missions after this then, eh?" Bola snorted, sarcastically.
"Oh! And, uh, one more thing…" Ironwood spoke up to address the group. "I'm sure you all remember that little prick you all got in the back of your necks?"
"Yeah, what was that?" Bloodshed asked. "A tracker?"
"Yes. But, it also doubles as a nanite explosive. It's the same size as a rice grain, but it's as powerful as a hand grenade. I have one trigger for all of you, and so does General Soleil." The way Ironwood said that with almost no emotion unnerved the convicts. "So, just to recap, this is the deal; you're going somewhere very bad, to do something that may get you killed, in exchange for time shaved off your sentences. If you disobey me, you die. You try to escape, you die. You otherwise irritate or vex me, and guess what? You die."
Enchantress raised her hand. "I'm known to be quite vexing. I'm just forewarning you."
"I'm aware," Ironwood remarked. "Just like I'm aware that you likely won't care about having a bomb in your head…which makes me wonder how Emerald would deal with it."
Enchantress immediately rushed forward and grabbed Ironwood by the collar. "If you hurt even a single hair on her head…"
"Relax, we haven't done anything to her yet," Ironwood called out. "That was just meant to be a demonstration of how we have other ways of keeping you in line if you even think of disobeying us. With that being said, I'll kindly ask that you let go of my collar: I'd rather not have to test out that bomb on you."
"You're lying," Buzz confidently declared even as Enchantress let go of Ironwood's collar and went back to her seat. "You wouldn't go through all this trouble just to kill us off. In fact, I'm willing to bet that I could easily leave this room and find someone to remove this tracker from my head."
Jim merely smirked before pressing a button on his wrist gauntlet, opening the door to the room as a result. "Care to put your money where your mouth is?"
"With pleasure," Buzz smugly remarked.
The street thug made his way to the door, but with every step, his confidence dropped. Once he was at the doorway, he looked back at the other criminals; all watching him with anticipation. Steeling his nerves, he took one more step out the door. Jim shook his head in disappointment and pressed Buzz's icon on his scroll.
Buzz froze in terror as a distinct beeping noise emitted from the back of his neck. Suddenly, his neck began to rapidly heat up as the beeping grew faster. And before anyone could react, the stupid criminal's head exploded to pieces.
"By the Four Maidens!" Jasper cried out as Buzz's head exploded.
"Bleh!" Enchantress gagged in agreement.
"Anyone else care to try their luck?" Jim teasingly asked. He was met with silence. "That's what I thought. Get some rest. You'll need it for the mission."
"Hey, Ironwood." Bone called out, prompting Jim to halt. "I'm in this to see my daughter again. So I'll play ball for now. But if you try to con me, I'll kill you. Understand?"
Jim smirked. "You got it, Bone." With that, the Atlesian agent held up his scroll. "I'm clear. Gas 'em."
Suddenly, a stream of sleep-inducing gas flooded the room, causing the criminals to slip into unconsciousness. When they awoke, they all found themselves strapped to chairs on a plane. Destination: Anima.
To Be Continued