A/N: Morning, everyone! It's time once again for a new chapter, and while this one is continuing from the events from the last one, it's also a bit of a breather chapter before we get to the REAL action next week. Here, we'll be seeing more of the personalities behind the gang of thieves we were introduced to last chapter… along with the fact that things between them and Rojo are definitely a bit shaky. But in the end… you're all in for a big surprise, that's for sure. Let's begin, shall we? This is…

Chapter 43: Not So Pleasant Reunions

…..

Aboard Khyber's ship, not long after it had made its stop at the bank, a certain mohawked woman was beginning to stir. Dominque wasn't exactly sure what had happened, where she was or why she suddenly felt like a ton of hammers were banging on the inside of her head. But she DID know one thing; their bank heist had been a bust. She lifted herself up and took hold of her forehead, the pounding sensation not letting up for a second. "Ugh… god, what the hell happened?"

"That's what we'd like to know, too."

Dominique was taken by surprise and she opened her eyes, seeing Calisto, Jetta and Roxy all standing up. Though they definitely seemed worse for wear. Steadily, Dominique began to stand as well, though she was a lot wobblier on her right leg, and her right arm also felt a bit tingly. "Hah… glad t' see you gals're alright. Where the bloody hell are we?"

"Wish we know." Roxy shrugged.

Jetta scratched her head as she scanned around the dark room, their only light coming from the one in the center. "Yeah, we just woke up here. No clue how we got here or where here even is."

Calisto went over and helped stabilize Dominque, helping her lean against the wall until she could stand on her own. "We were hoping you'd be able to tell us what happened. All of us were knocked out before we could see anything."

The leader of the gang narrowed her eyes, recalling what had happened. "Ugh… we lost against those puny teenagers." Her friends all glowered at the same time. Evidently, that was something that they DID remember. "An' they were 'bout to bring us in… but then she showed up." Dominique clenched her hands in irritation, confusing the three others.

"What do you mean, Dom?" Calisto asked. "Who showed up?"

Suddenly, from out of the darkness, a door opened, letting in more light as a silhouetted figure entered. "She's referring to me, actually." Stepping into the center light, Rojo revealed herself, much to the shock of the other women. "Hiya, ladies. Been a hot minute, huh?" The very next instant, the faces of the four women all contorted in rage and they went for their weapons… only to find them not there. "Ah, yeah, had a feeling that would happen, so we confiscate your guns just to be safe."

"ROJO!" Dominique blasted forward and shoved Rojo directly into the wall, her gang surrounding the two to make sure the redhead didn't escape. "Where the HELL do you get off on this, eh?!"

"Woah, woah, Zuzu, let's not fly off the handle, huh?" Rojo encouraged, raising her hands defensively. "You look great, by the way. New workout routine?"

If anything, though, that just made Dominique angrier. "Don't try to sweet-talk your way outta this one, luv." She made sure to spit out that last word with as much venom as possible, and judging by Rojo's disheartened face, it worked. "We're on to ya an' your little games now. Each an' every time that lil' brat Tennyson came 'round to beat the crap outta us, you were always the first one t' try an' make a break for it."

"Hell, you're the one who STILL insists on bugging Tennyson, even though you KNOW you stand no chance against him." Roxy pointed out.

Jetta folded her arms, glaring at her former leader. "We could've made easy bank if your obsession with getting back at Tennyson didn't get in the way all the time."

"And to top it all off, the second you went solo, we were left to fend for ourselves." Callisto said with finality, putting her hands on her hips with a disapproving gaze. "Say what you want about our gang, but we're… we were friends once." She glanced over to Dominque, who was still glowering hard at Rojo. "…And a certain someone was MORE than just your friend once."

At that point, Rojo had lowered her head in shame, her eyes set straight to the floor. Dominique raised a brow, finding it very unlike Rojo to be this silent for so long. "Well? Anything to add, or are ya too full o' yourself to admit—"

"I was wrong." The four ladies were all taken aback by the blunt statement, with Rojo sighing as she rubbed her right arm awkwardly. "Listen… what I put you gals through, it was completely shitty, I'll say that right now. You're right, I DID leave you all in the dust on more than one occasion, and I don't expect to be forgiven for that. I've also given you… admittedly really crappy nicknames." She slapped her forehead at that in particular. "Seriously, I have NO idea what I was thinking with the color theming we had."

"Well, glad you saw sense in that, at least." Calisto mumbled

"And Zu—Dom." Rojo stopped herself before she fell into that old habit, locking eyes with the woman who she once shared a close bond with. "I'm… I'm so sorry that our break-up happened the way it did."

Dominique sneered at her ex, placing a hand on her hip. "Heh, yeah, so am I. Honestly I probably should've dumped you sooner."

Rojo winced at that. Those words hurt, but she had to take them. She was reminded of the blood-curdling screaming match that happened between the two of them during that whole ordeal, and honestly, she deserved the verbal slap. "…I don't blame you for that. You've probably moved on by now, because… I have, too. But still, I want to apologize."

"An' you expect me to accept?" Dominique shot back. "Just like that?"

"No, I don't." Rojo denied. "Like I said, I don't expect any of you to forgive me. I just… wanna get a lot of this stuff off my chest. I've been carrying all of this around for at least a year now, and… I don't want us to be biting each other's heads off, ya know?" She offered Dominique and the others an empathetic smile. "I know you guys probably hate my guts. Trust me, I would too. But I just wanted to let you know… how sorry I am that I screwed things up." Rojo gave Dominique one last nod. "And that goes for everything."

The four women stayed silent for a few moments, both because they were stunned and so they could think all of this over. Rojo… apologetic? Those were two thing that, as far as they knew, never went together. Roxy tilted her head. "Okay, who are you and what did you do with Rojo?"

"Yeah, I mean… you've never said sorry for anything before." Jetta pointed out. "Why start now with us?"

Rojo scratched the back of her head with an amused grin. "Heh, well… I've been working with some new people for a long time now. I'm in a group where I'm actually NOT fully in charge of things."

Calisto raised an intrigued brow. "You're working for someone?"

"Kinda." Rojo shrugged. "My boss is more of a "take over the world" kinda lady. And honestly, I like a lot of what she's laying down for me and my crew, so I've been learning to be more of a team player." Her eyes trailed downward in disgrace. "And honestly, it's been making me think back to how crappy my treatment of you gals was. So… yeah."

Once again, there was a short silence before Roxy put a hand on her hip. "Well, you DID bail us outta the bank before we could get arrested…" She eyed Dominique warily. "And from the sounds of it, that was a pretty genuine apology. Not sure if we accept it, but… maybe we could at least hear you out?"

"Yeah, I mean, you obviously want us for something other than an apology, right?" Calisto concurred. "Otherwise, why bother saving our asses to begin with?"

Rojo raised her hand. "Well, yes, but you guys CAN say no to it. I ain't about to force you ladies into something ya don't wanna do." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "I can just as easily tell the ship's captain to take you gals somewhere safe and drop you off if you want—"

"Oy!" Dominique interrupted, making the other girls flinch. She still wore an undaunting grimace as she locked eyes with Rojo, the redhead clearly worried about what she'd say. However, the mohawked woman sighed and shook her head. "…Ugh, I'm gonna regret this, but… alright, let's hear ya out, sheila."

"W-Wait, really?" Rojo blinked in disbelief.

"Now don't go thinkin' this means I forgive ya, 'cause I don't." Dominique emphasized with a swipe of her hand. "But… if your boss is wantin' to take down Tennyson an' his mates, then I'm game." Her scowl increased as she cracked her knuckles. "I'm mainly fixin' to get me hands on those lil' bitches that ruined our payday, so if your people can hook us up with the tools t' get that shit done, then I'm in."

"Yeah, me too." Roxy agreed. "Those betas have no reason to beat the hell outta us like that."

Jetta punched her hand angrily. "Anything we can use to beat those hussies into the ground, give it to us!"

"Hm, seems we're all in agreement." Calisto nodded, giving Rojo a smirk and a thumbs up. "You've piqued our interest, Rojo. Let's here what you and your new crew have to offer."

Rojo instantly brightened up and thrust a fist into the air victoriously. "Haha! Alright! That's awesome to hear, gals. I promise, from here on, no more disappointments." She pointed at her old gang with two fingers excitedly. "You guys are gonna get hooked up with some of the best weapons that Remnant engineering can make!"

"Sounds great… but uh, what's "Remnant"?" Calisto asked.

"Oh, it's the world where those little girls that Tennyson's hanging out with are from." Rojo explained. "It's also where my boss and most of my new crew is from, actually."

The four women were somewhat taken aback by that. "Wait… so those girlies were aliens?!" Dom exclaimed. "I mean, I can kinda see the one with the cat ears bein' an alien, but the other three looked pretty normal."

"Aside from the unusual amount of strength…" Roxy mumbled.

"Eh… well, they ARE humans." Rojo asserted. "But they're not JUST humans from another world, but from a different dimension all entirely." She saw the confused and rather stunned expressions of her old teammates and was a bit surprised by their reaction herself. "…Wow, you guys really DID just get outta prison, didn't ya? Sit down, lemme explain…"

And so, she did. For the following half hour, Rojo gave the gang a rundown of what Remnant was, how she and Ben had gotten there, and what had transpired over the course of the previous month or so. She had to condense a lot of details, but thankfully, her old teammates seemed to get the gist. "So basically, I'm working for a centuries-old witch named Salem, who wants to take over Remnant and make it a world of darkness."

"…Ya know, I can see why you didn't lead with all this." Jetta put a hand to her forehead, trying to comprehend all of this. "If ya did, we probably would've said you were crazy."

"Still debatin' on doin' just that, actually." Dominique said suspiciously. "How can we be sure that all this mumbo jumbo you're spoutin' is ACTUALLY the truth an' not just somethin' ya dreamt up?"

Rojo cracked a smile reached for her back pocket. "Oh, that's easy." She pulled out a communicator and spoke into it; "Cindy, I could use you down here. The ladies want proof that Remnant is real an' stuff."

"Cindy?" Roxy repeated. "Thought you said your boss was named "Salem"."

"Yeah, she is. But Cindy… er, well, you guys should just call her Cinder, actually. She's part of the new crew I was telling you about. Salem actually set me and her up as partners when I joined her cause." Rojo wore a proud face as she added; "Also, heh, not to brag, but I think I actually softened Cindy up a bit. If you'd met her BEFORE we partnered up, you'd be in for a bad time."

"I see…" Calisto noted, her curiosity only growing from Rojo's description. Though the blonde woman couldn't help but notice that Dom was also rather suspicious of Cinder, her leader having suddenly gone quiet. …Calisto was fairly sure she was also just a bit jealous, too. 'Oh boy, Rojo, I really hope you aren't dating this "Cinder" girl, because there's no telling how Dom will react.'

Right at that moment, however, the door to the room opened again, letting in some more light from the outside once more. In the doorway was a silhouetted figure of a young woman who was about Roxy's height, her hourglass body shape clear for all of them to see. "Alright, I'm here." she announced as she strolled in, only to pause at the first step. "Ugh, and can we get some actual LIGHTS in here?!"

"Oh, hah, sorry Cindy." Rojo laughed off before moving to the wall and flipping the industrial light switch. "Completely forgot to do that."

With Cinder fully revealed, the biker women had to admit… they were surprised. The young, raven-haired woman before them certainly seemed intimidating, even at her short stature. But she was also very gorgeous at the same time, in a wicked sort of way. Almost as if she were some sort of evil princess or something. "Hm, thank you." Cinder said as her amber eyes scanned across the new people before her. "So, this is your old gang, hm?"

"That's right." Rojo affirmed before making introductions. "Cindy, meet Dominique, Calisto, Roxy and Jetta. Ladies, this is Cindy!"

"You may call me Cinder." The Fall Maiden emphasized as she continued to scan over the four, judging them accordingly. She worked her way from Roxy, the shortest, to Dominique, the tallest, lingering on the mohawked woman for a short while. Before long, though, she had reached her conclusion; "Hmm… yes, just as I suspected."

Dominique scrunched her nose at the shorter girl. "You what now?"

"The four of you are exactly what I expected you'd be when Rojo said that she once had a gang." Cinder clarified as she moved away from them. "I've become quite familiar with Rojo's "punkish" aesthetic and it only makes sense that all of you exemplify that." She peered over her shoulder back to the others. "In short, I can see why she would hang out with you."

The ladies were somewhat stunned by how straight forward that answer was, but at the same time, the observation WAS fairly accurate. "Uh… thanks, I guess?" Roxy uttered. "Cool to meet you, too."

Cinder nodded back before continuing. "Hm, likewise. But before we get started, I feel that you should all know…" She put on a superior expression, craning her head up toward the women as she glanced down at them the best she could at her stature. "I am the leader of this sect of the Ministry of Darkness, along with Rojo. If you are to work with us, then you are to report to us. Is that clear?"

Rojo winced and facepalmed at Cinder's brazen statement. And, as she expected, Dom immediately took issue with that. "Now wait just a shrimp-flippin' minute, ya lil' tosser!" The leader of the gang stepped up and got right in Cinder's face, craning her head down to her level to do so. "I don't know who the hell died an' made YOU Queen, but lemme tell ya somethin'—"

"Ugh, I thought I was DONE hearing that phrase…" Cinder commented.

"I ain't NO ONE'S errand bitch!" Dom swiped her hand at Cinder to emphasize her point. "I'm me own boss when it comes down to it, ya hear?" She pointed directly at Cinder's nose, bringing the Maiden's eyes down to the finger. "Me an' my girls ain't 'bout to take orders from some lil' stuck-up princess, ya got that?"

At that point, Rojo could see Cinder's facial muscles start to twitch in annoyance, and soon enough, she was trying to put a stop to Dom's verbal slapping. "Woah, woah, Dom, let's not get ahead of ourselves here, huh? I can totally respect you and the gals wanting to do your own thing, but Cinder answers directly TO Salem herself." Rojo reached over and gently took Cinder by one of her shoulders, hoping it would calm her down. "You're essentially speakin' to the Number Two girl on Salem's list."

But Dominique just threw her head back and laughed, along with Roxy and Jetta. Calisto was the only one who didn't join in, having seen Cinder's subtle changes in attitude. But with the laughter, it didn't take long for Cinder to become truly upset… "Ahahaha! Oh, now THAT'S a good one." Dominique laughed. "If she really IS Salem's number two, then that witch lady's got some poor judge o' character! I mean, don't know if you've noticed…" She gestured to herself up and down her body. "But I'm WAY more fit to… to… oh lord."

"Ah crap." Rojo muttered, glancing down at the now fiery aura that was surrounding Cinder as her eyes glowed with flame. "Now you've done it."

Cinder took a couple stepped forward and immediately took hold of Dominique by her shirt. A gust of wind suddenly rushed around them and elevated both the Fall Maiden AND the target of her ire up into the air. Though Dom simply hung from Cinder's grasp as the latter floated a bit above her. One of Cinder's arms started crackling with electricity while the one that was holding Dom started to grow incredibly cold, even frosting over a bit. "My apologies, but I don't believe I heard you correctly." Cinder spat spitefully. "Who did you say would make a good second-in-command?"

"HA! Really? Ya think THIS is gonna scare—" FWOOOSH! Just then, a blazing wall of flame came bursting out of the floor around the duo, with some of it even singing Dom's mohawk. The woman went wide-eyed as Cinder began to glow against the flames, making her seem almost eerily ethereal. "O-Okay, okay, YOU ARE!" she conceded, much to her own frustration.

And in a split second, Cinder's sinister grin returned, finally dropping Dominique to the floor. "Hm, I had a feeling you would see it my way." The Fall Maiden floated to the ground gracefully as she turned to Calisto and the others. "Would anyone else like to try and uproot my authority?"

"N-No way, girl!" Roxy shook her head before pumping her fist. "Mad respect for the freaky powers!"

"Yeah, no questions here!" Jetta quickly agreed, hoping not to incur the young lady's wrath.

"Hm, that's what I was hoping you'd say." Cinder approved before eyeing Calisto again. "Now, just keep in mind that I am the senior authority around these parts, and we should be fine."

"Crystal Clear." The blonde affirmed. "Also, pretty sure you just convinced all of us about this Remnant place."

Cinder was somewhat taken aback by that statement. "Is that so? Why so soon?"

"Hey, name any other person in the world OTHER than Ben with freaky powers like that." Roxy piped up again. "Hell, not even any natural mutants I know can do something like that. Flying around through rose petals, making weird magic circles, shadow clones and increased strength is one thing, but just by being near you, I can tell that you're a LOT more powerful than you look."

"Hm, well, you shouldn't expect any less from the Fall Maiden." The young maiden flipped her hair, wearing a prideful smile once more.

Dominique, picking herself up from the fall while rubbing her throat, asked the first obvious question; "Gah… the hell's a Fall Maiden s'posed to even be, anyways?"

Deciding to give an example, Cinder clenched her fist and made it erupt into flame, leading the other women to marvel at what they were seeing. "Well, those other abilities that you mentioned are actually Team RWBY's Semblances, special powers that several of our planet's inhabitants have when they unlock their aura…" Cinder then began to make lightning dance across her fingertips, exhibiting her masterful control. "Whereas the Powers of the Four Maidens are MUCH more than that. They are far more ancient and have been passed down through the generations. They grant me the power to control several elements, in addition to my own Semblance."

"Huh, so you've essentially got even MORE powers." Jetta reiterated.

"In layman's terms, yes."

Roxy tapped a finger against her cheek. "And that means that you're… what, magic or something?"

Cinder grumbled and shook her head. "Much to my frustration, no. The Maiden powers were created FROM magical powers, but they don't grant me magical abilities."

"Ah, that sucks." Calisto smirked. "But hey, you got all that power in ya anyway, so I bet you use it a LOT, right?"

"I try." With a wave of her hand, Cinder moved on to a different subject. "But enough pleasantries, there's work to be done. Doctor Watts has just arrived and he and Doctor Animo are waiting on the upper level." She turned back toward the door before glancing over her shoulder to the four biker women. "You'd best be ready for what the doctors have to offer you. Remember, all of this is very technical and EXTREMELY expensive. If you break or ruin anything, it's coming out of your wallets."

The women were stunned by the news. "WHAT?! But we're flat broke!" Dominique belted out. "Why'd ya think we were tryin' to rob that bank in the first place?!"

Cinder simply craned her head up and away from them as she stepped out. "Not my problem, just be careful. Now come on." And with that, she walked out, leaving the gang of thieves either astonished… or fuming.

"…Rojo, I ain't gonna be responsible for whatever happens to her if she picks the wrong time to piss me off, ya hear?" Dom growled before all four women stalked after the young Maiden.

The redhead couldn't help but bite her lip nervously as she brought up the rear. 'Well, good luck with that, Dominique. Ugh, should've expected this'd happen. Why the hell did I think introducing my Ex to Cindy was a good idea?!' She covered her eyes as she felt a headache coming on. 'Why does MY love life have to be THIS complicated?!'

…..

"Woah, this ship is BANGIN', dude!" Roxy exclaimed as she walked through the hollowed halls of Khyber's ship, taking quick glimpses out the windows as they went along. "Haha! Man, I always wondered what'd be like to ride in one of these alien things. WAY cooler than just a dumb ol' plane."

The moment Jetta glanced out the window, though, she suddenly started to feel queasy and had to move away. "GAH! O-Oh god, no thank you. Urp! Ugh, I hate heights. I hate 'em so much."

"Don't worry, we'll be down in about an hour." Rojo assured. "We're on our way to a certain location, and YOU guys are gonna help us out with a little operation we've got going on."

Calisto and Dominique both eyed Rojo warily. "Uh, I don't remember agreeing to something like that."

But Rojo raised her hands reassuringly. "Hey, hey, let's not get hostile about it too quick, okay? Believe me, when you guys hear what we've got going on, I think you'll be pretty keen on the job." At that moment, the six women had made it to a large door at the very end of the hall, which opened up for them immediately. "Right now, though, feast your eyes on—"

"WOAH!" Roxy rushed in with her eyes lit up at the several alien hunting trophies on display in the room, practically running from spot to spot to simply stare at them in awe. "Hot damn, you gals seein' all this?! What even IS half this stuff?!"

Dominique came in as well and spotted the Appoplexian skeleton on display, cracking a grin at the bones. "Oh, hell yeah. Now THIS is more my speed." She glanced over to Rojo and nudged her head at the trophies. "These belong to your teacher, then, Rojo?"

"Heh, yep." Rojo raised her arms up, motioning to the entire room itself. "Every single trophy on display here are from some of Khyber's most prized hunts." She spotted Jetta out the corner of her eye going to touch the Pisccus Volan jaws on display and instantly smacked her hand away. "So no touchy! Trust me, he will end you."

"Can't say I blame him." Calisto agreed as she walked over the Vulpimancer-skin rug. "I mean, these things must've taken a lotta effort to hunt down…" She then noticed the lit fireplace on the other side of the room… along with a dog statue curled up next to it. "…Huh, you know, I'm all more makin' a place more homely, but all this seems a little much."

Rojo turned just in time to see Roxy approach the fireplace… and the alien dog. "AH! Rox, wait, don't—"

But it was too late. The dog's blood red eyes snapped open and it snapped up to its legs, growling at Roxy in seconds. "AAAH!" The young woman screamed and stumbled away, with Dom catching her before she could fall to the floor. "W-What the fuck?!"

"That's Khyber's hunting dog!" Cinder exclaimed, standing in front of the unfortunate women as a form of protection. "It's trained to kill anything it sees as a threat."

Rojo put on her best friendly grin, putting her hands up to make sure the dog knew they meant no harm. "Woah, woah, easy there boy, everything's okay. These ladies are friends of ours, okay? They're not gonna hurt ya."

"Well, "friends" in the loosest of terms." Dominique reminded.

"Can we not do this RIGHT now as we're about to get our jugulars bit out by an alien mutt?" Calisto suggested.

But before said mauling could even happen, the dog perked its ears up and stopped growling entirely, instead sitting down obediently without any provocation. The six women were taken aback by the sudden attitude change… until the doors on the other side of the room opened, revealing Khyber walking in. The tall alien huntsman strode over to his dog, placing his hand upon its head before his eyes settled on Rojo, Cinder and the bikers. "I see that this one has already met our guests…"

"Ah, heh… yeah teach." Rojo chortled nervously. Soon after, through the same door, she saw Mercury, Animo and Watts come strolling in as well, and she quickly took the opportunity to take a jab at the latter. "Oh, and hey! Would ya look what the dog dragged in! Watts, I'll be honest, never thought you'd show up on Earth."

Watts cleared his throat, bristling at Rojo's comment. "Ahem, well of course. When I heard that my services would be required, I jumped at the chance." He extended a hand over to Animo. "Besides, Aloysius personally asked me to come to help him put some finishing touches on his latest experiment, and I must say, I believe it's ready to be field tested."

"Arthur, my good man, you could not be any more correct!" Animo wringed his hands together in anticipation. "Oh, and I believe that our new recruits in particular will be THRILLED to use this new invention…" He started walking past all four women, nodding in approval. "Ah-haha! Yes, yes! Very fine physical specimens indeed! Surely, they will be able to use this invention to its maximum potent—URK!"

Before he could finish, Dominique grabbed Animo by his scrawny neck and picked him up with one hand. Her furious glare pierced through his very soul. "OY! What the fuckin' hell d'ya mean by "fine physical specimens"?! You eyeballin' me an' my girls, ya bloody wanka'?! Cause if ya are, I'll—"

"Woah, woah, let's calm down!" To Rojo and Cinder's surprise, Mercury was the one who came up and broke everything up, yanking Animo out of Dominique's grip. "I can tell ya right now that freaking Animo is the last person to ever be eying a woman like that. He's too in love with his science to think about women like that." He pointed across all four women. "Besides, I'm pretty sure he was just talking about how all of you are in awesome shape, so you should be able to handle what they've got for ya."

Dom, Calisto, Roxy and Jetta all paused for a moment, confused at the sudden arrival of this silver-haired guy. "…And you are?" Cali asked.

Mercury realized he'd completely forgotten to introduce himself and cleared his throat. "O-Oh, right. I'm Mercury. I'm part of Rojo and Cinder's team."

There was another pause before Roxy pointed at him. "Okay… and why do you sound like Tennyson?"

The change in Mercury's mood was almost as quick as a snap. His calm composure gave way to a slight twitch in his eye, all while making what could only be described as "irritated mumbles". This continued for about five seconds before he slapped himself and took a long, deep breath, taking everyone off guard. "Hah… find your center, Merc, find your center…"

"Hm, excellent." Khyber muttered in approval. "So he IS learning…"

Once he composed himself, Mercury answered Roxy's question. "I honestly have no clue. It's one of the weirdest coincidences ever and I'd rather not talk about it."

"Sore subject, eh? I can understand." Roxy agreed. "There's some that say I sound like other people, too."

"Ditto." Calisto piped up.

"Heh, I see…" Mercury nodded before shifting his focus over to Cinder and Rojo. "So where are the others? I thought this was gonna be a big meeting with all of us?"

But Rojo shook her head. "Ah, nah. We thought it'd be best if Em didn't come with us today. We gave her and Neo the day off." Her expression shifted to one of disappointment, with her and Cinder judging Mercury accordingly. "After all, after the little… mishap between you and hear the other day, I don't think now's a good time to bring the two of you together."

With a heavy sigh, Mercury's shoulders fell, his guilt resurging once again. "Yeah… you've got a point."

"But, it DOES seem that you've learned to keep your anger under control, at least somewhat." Cinder noted as she eyed Khyber. "Just what kind of training have you been putting him through?"

"Intense physical and mental exercises." Khyber explained. "These techniques range from helping center one's self and keep control of their rage in casual conversation… to using their rage in the heat of battle to benefit their combat skills." He pointed over to Rojo with a slight smirk. "I had to put that one through the same rigorous techniques MANY times before she finally settled down."

"HA! Yeah, sounds like Rojo." Dominique guffawed, much to the redhead's chagrin. The mohawked woman went over to Mercury and gave him a nudge with her elbow. "But eh, got some girl trouble there, do ya, mate? Well, trust me, I know ALL 'bout that."

Mercury was somewhat surprised by that, but was willing to hear the woman out. "You do?"

"Oh, for sure! Ya know how many times I've had to deal with Rojo's crap?"

"H-Hey!" Rojo blushed.

"But that's not t' say that I haven't had troubles with other sheilas either." Dom continued, resting one of her strong arms over Mercury's shoulder. "So, how long've ya known her?"

The question made Mercury do a double take. Was he seriously being given advice from a tough biker chick? 'This probably has to be the strangest thing that's ever happened to me.' Nevertheless, he reluctantly answered her question. "Uh, well… a little over a year now. We used to be great partners, but now… things between us have just gotten awkward." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I… got really angry after another loss and I lost my temper on her. I yelled and I said some things that I shouldn't have."

"How'd she take it?"

"She slapped me." He saw Dominique wince at that. "And she yelled back at me and we haven't talked since."

Dominque gave a whistle, impressed by reaction. "Hoo boy… yeah, ya screwed the pooch there, mate." Mercury lowered his head in shame. "But hey, from the sound of it, you an' your little lady friend must be pretty close, so I'm sure it'll work out… least I think that's how that works."

Mercury deadpanned up at her. "…You're not a relationship expert, are you?"

"Mate, my last serious relationship is ova' there." Dom pointed over to Rojo, who was still visibly upset. "An' we broke up almost a year ago. You tell me."

The assassin facepalmed and shook his head… before suddenly feeling another hand on his shoulders. "Hey, chin up there, kid." Roxy said with a hearty smack to his back, making him double forward. "Besides, if things between you and your lady don't work out, well…" She reached down and pulled his chin up so they were eye-to-eye, sending him a sultry gaze. "I'm pretty sure I can think of a few things we could do together, hehe…"

Once more, Mercury flushed red before Jetta came in and slid up next to him. "Ooh, now THERE'S an idea, Rox! He's got a cute face, a bod to die for, AND awesome hair…" She reached up and rushed a lock of his hair away from his eyes, taking him by surprise even more. "Oh yeah… I can think of some interesting ways to have fun with you."

"Hey, I'm game." Calisto said as she took came over, the taller woman standing behind Mercury as she draped her arms over his shoulders. "Haven't had THAT kinda fun in a long while…"

Mercury was frozen in fear at that point… though he couldn't lie, he was kind of aroused at the same time. His eyes went to Dominique, silently asking for help… only for her to give him a shrug. "What can I say, mate? We've been in prison for a year an' it's been a while since the ladies have had some fun with a bloke." She put her hands behind her head, giving him an amused smile. "Count yourself lucky… an' hope t' god they don't break ya."

Cinder saw Mercury mouth the words "Help Me" and took that as her cue to break things up. "Alright, alright, that's enough." The Fall Maiden took Mercury by the arm and pulled him away from the three women, much to his relief. "We have a job to do, remember, so let's save the "fun" for later." Calisto, Jetta and Roxy weren't exactly fans of that decision, but nodded nonetheless. "Good, now let's get down to business. Doctor Watts, I believe you've brought some weapons to show us?"

Watts cleared his throat again, trying to forget what he had just witnessed. "Ahem, of course. And I believe that our… new allies will be quite keen to get their hands on them. Gentlemen! Bring them in!"

At his word, the door opened again, revealing something that made the biker women all drop their jaws at the same time. Exo-Skull and Thunderhog came skulking into the room, both pushing large carts that had two big boxes on them each. The mutants came to a halt and Skull brushed off his hands. "Eh, there ya go, doc. Nice an' secure."

"Yep, made sure to be super gent—woah, mama!" Hog suddenly exclaimed, lifting up his visor as he finally spotted the four women. "Good god almighty, THEY'RE the new recruits?" He lowered his visor with a smirk lining his snout, straightening out his purple jacket before pointing finger guns at the group. "Hehe, well I certainly ain't complainin'. Hiya there, ladies. Gotta say, you all lookin' SUPER fine. Tell me… ever had a roll in the mud before? 'Cause this pig can make it worth your while, hehe…"

Literally a second later…

WHAP! CRACK! SMACK! POW! BAM!

"Creep!" "Idiot!" "Slob!" "Dirty SWINE!"

"AAAAUGGH! Sorry! I'm SORRY! I should've asked if you were into that first!" Hog apologized as the four women hurled insults and stomped on him.

Exo-Skull rushed in and immediately picked his friend up, hefting him over his shoulder. "Uh, I-I suddenly just remembered that Subdora asked us to help with her shopping so we gotta go, BYE!" And with that, the rhino mutant dashed out the door, carrying the crying Thunderhog with him as the women all called for the pig man's head.

"EUGH! I can't BELIEVE that just happened!" Roxy shuddered, sending a questioning glare over to Rojo. "Are you telling me that you actually WORK with those idiots?!"

Rojo pinched the bridge of her nose. "Unfortunately, yes." She shook her head and raised her hand up to the girls. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that Hog gets the message to NEVER do that again. …But on the bright side, look what they brought for you guys!" Rojo went over and lifted up the first box, eager to see what was inside. "Heh, if these are anything like MY weapon, they oughta be—AAH!"

"W-What?!" Dominique stepped up and moved Rojo to the side, peering into the box. "Lemme see what…oh. Ohhh-hoho!" A wicked grin plastered itself upon Dom's lips as she reached in and grabbed a hold of the massive handle of the weapon, hefting it up out of the box to reveal a MASSIVE axe. The edge of the blade was jagged and was glowing red, almost as if it was made out of a different material than the rest of the head itself. What's more, it also had a set of three rockets sticking out the back, which made Dominique all the more excited. "Oh my fuckin' GOD, this thing is Metal as SHIT!"

The eyes of her crew lit up as Watts stepped in. "Well, you could describe it that way, yes. This is your standard rocket-propelled axe, complete with Fire Dust blade for easy cleaving ability, as well as a charged ranged attack." He pointed to a part of the handle that was higher up and seemed segmented off from the rest of it. "Simply twist this part of the handle to activate it."

Dominique did so and the instant she twisted, the red blade began to heat and light up. She was quite delighted, needless to say. "OOH, hehehe! I like! I like A LOT!"

"Me next! Me next!" Jetta shouted excitedly, rushing up to a different box. She popped the top open and was greeted with a welcoming sight. "Ooh, hello there!" She reached in and pulled out a large spear that also had a more jagged blade, though this one was yellow compared to Dom's weapon. "Oh, now THIS I can… wait." She noticed that the handle had a second, smaller handle sticking out of it… and the longer handle itself seemed folded and compressed. "What kinda weird weapon IS this?"

Watts pointed up to the button on the smaller handle. "Press that and find out." Jetta did as instructed, and within seconds, the spear transformed into a high-impact sniper rifle, leaving her and her comrades stunned. "You'll find that many weapons from Remnant are capable of being two-in-one. If you see any melee weapon, chances are good that it has a ranged configuration."

"…So it's also a gun?!" Jetta smiled widely. "AWESOME!"

"Okay, I GOTTA see what I could get…" Calisto went over to a box and removed its lid… and was taken almost immediately by what she saw. There, sitting crisscrossed over one another, were a pair of big war hammers. They weren't as massive as Dom's axe, but they were still a fairly good size. And what's more, their handles appeared to be a pair of SHOT GUNS. "…Oh, come to mama, beautiful." Calisto wrapped her hands around the barrels and hefted the two hammers out, noticing that they too had rockets on the backs of their heads. "I think I'm gonna have a LOT of fun with these."

Roxy rubbed her hands eagerly as she went over to the final box. "Okay, last but NOT least… let's see what I'm getting." She approached the last box and practically flung the lid off to see what was inside. And what she saw was… perplexing. At the bottom of the box were a pair of gloves with metal knuckles that had holes in them, along with a few sets of holsters sitting next to them. She took the gloves up and noticed that, instead of fingers, there were weird straps on them that had strange anchors on top. Her eyes shifted to Watts, feeling a bit disappointed. "Uh… so what gives?"

The doctor reached in, pulling out the holsters. "Slip the gloves on and I'll show you." Roxy did so, making sure her fingers went through the straps. Watts then opened one of the holsters, revealing a set of white, claw-shaped blades inside. There were eight total, and he reached out to Roxy. "Hand, please." She leered at Watts a little, but went along, only to be pleasantly surprised when he started snapping the blades into the anchors on the finger straps.

"Woah… okay, now you've got my attention."

"I thought so." Watts nodded, running a finger across a claw. "As you can see, these are no ordinary gloves. These allow you to essentially have animal-like claws made of several different types of Dust." He closed the now empty holster, revealing a jagged white pattern on it. "As you can see, these are the Ice Dust claws. And furthermore, they actually help power the blasters in the knuckles. Simply aim forward and move your thumb inward to make a fist. And when you wish to fire, simply flex that respective finger."

Roxy was intrigued and followed through, aiming for a wall and making a fist. Suddenly, her hand felt a little colder and her knuckles started to light up. Finally, with a flex of her pointer finger, she fired off a blast on energy that exploded into jagged ice crystals the second it hit the wall. All at once, a big grin spread across her lips. "Oooh, that Ice Bitch is gonna get beat at her own game!"

Rojo placed her hands on her hips, impressed by what she was seeing. "Huh, Watts, I gotta admit, this is some pretty awesome work you put into these weapons."

"Hmph, of course. Did you expect anything less?" Watts replied pridefully, earning him an eyeroll from Rojo and Cinder. "Now hopefully these ladies will make better use out of these weapons than how Hog and Skull use theirs."

"Don't worry there, doc!" Dominique said as she gave him a hearty smack on the back, making him fall over. "We'll take good care o' these puppies! AND you can bet we'll put 'em to good use, too. Won't we, gals?!" An uproarious cheer came from the four women as they all lifted their weapons unanimously.

Cinder had to admit, she was amused and very eager to see just how these women would use their weapons. 'These ladies could be just the break we've been hoping for…' She then noticed that Animo had decidedly stayed off to the side, but that wouldn't be the case for long as the Maiden addressed him. "Ahem, now Doctor Animo, I believe that you also had something you wished to show us?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to Animo, the man flinching as the four biker women eyed him suspiciously, especially Dom. "Ehh, um… y-yes, of course." He leaned down to pick up a briefcase he had brought with him, before hesitantly walking up to the four women. "Firstly, my apologies for not explaining my context earlier. I simply thought that the four of you would be perfect candidates to test my latest creation, nothing more."

The gang glanced to one another warily, but from the tone in his voice, it seemed like the man was being sincere. "…Eh, we'll let it slide, doc." Calisto waved off. "Just be careful how ya say stuff like that, otherwise you'll get the same treatment as the pig. Now, what IS this invention you've got?"

"O-Oh, um, yes, the invention!" His mood now significantly uplifted, Animo wore a gnarled smile as he undid the locks on the briefcase and opened it up, revealing its contents. The four women were greeted with the sight of four dome-shaped devices, mostly grey with a clear circle around a center button, which was painted red. Animo took one out, revealing its underside to have several anchors. "Ladies, allow me to present to you… the Transmutational Gene Slammer!"

"Huh, cool name." Jetta commented.

"And it does… what, exactly?" Roxy added.

"Why what it says on the tin, of course!" Animo explained. "This device is attached to the very top of one's spinal column where the neck meets the back, and it holds a special mutagen that is pumped into the bloodstream when activated, allowing you to transform into powerful, mutant forms."

The ladies all became somewhat wary again at the sound of that. "Wait… you mean like the rhino and the pig from before?" Dom inquired with narrowed eyes.

"Indeed, but the process is only temporary, I assure you." Animo promised, pointing at the device. "These only carry enough mutagen to affect you for about an hour or so before it leaves your bloodstream entirely, and afterward, you transform back into your human forms."

Mercury nudged his head to the door where the other mutants had left. "Hog and Skull were actually mutated down to the cellular level, so theirs is permanent. From the sounds of things, you guys would be able still to be human AND become mutants whenever you want."

Animo raised a finger at that. "But only when the Gene Slammer has been refilled. Also, you must wait another hour AFTER transforming back to human form before you may mutate again."

The ladies took all this information in, pondering on the concept. "Hm… sounds interesting." Calisto admitted.

"And FUN!" Jetta smacked her hand into her palm eagerly. "I bet we'd be able to CRUSH those little betas if we had somethin' like this!"

"Do we get to choose what we turn into?" Roxy asked further.

"Of course!" Animo nodded, picking up another suitcase and opening it to reveal several mutagen bottles "I've taken the liberty of bringing some samples with me. Take a peek and see if any catch your attention."

Calisto raised a brow over to Dominique, giving her a shrug. "What do ya say, Dom? Sounds like it could be a rip-snortin' good time to me."

"Damn straight it does." Dom agreed, leaning down to take a gander at what their options were. "Now let's see, what could we become… elephant? Nah, might be a bit clumsy. Giraffe? Bah, same thing, too awkward. …Not doin' a kangaroo." But then, a certain set of mutagen bottles caught her eye. They were all lined along the bottom and had images of several similar-looking animals on them, but at the same time, they were all a bit different. Her eyes lit up at what she found. "Ooh, gals, you seein' what I'm seein'?"

The three other girls peeked over Dom's shoulders and found the vials in question, and all of them seemed quite excited as well. "Oh… yeah, those might be the ones." Calisto concurred.

"Hey, I'm game to try anything." Roxy gave a thumbs up.

"Me too. These are perfect." Jetta said as well.

Animo saw which vials they were raving about and was initially surprised at first… but he had to say, these ladies also made a stellar choice. "Well then… if you are all in agreement…" He received a slew of nods from the gals, leading him to taking out the vials. "Then so be it! Let us begin!" He inserted the vials into the bottoms of the Gene Slammers and they emptied into the devices, making the clear circles turn green. Then, one by one, he attached them to the back of each ladies' neck, the machines anchoring down to their spines securely. Once they were all ready to go, Animo gave the word. "Now ladies… you may proceed."

The gang all shared a fist bump, ready to go. "Let's do this." Dominique said with finality before all four of them pressed the buttons on their Gene Slammers. The mutagen did what it was supposed to, directly entering their blood streams. And then, a few seconds later… "Oh… o-oh god, what the…" A sudden queasy feeling over took the four women, leading them to fall to their hands and knees.

"I… I-I think I feel something happeni—ACK!" Dominique cut herself off as something did indeed start to occur. All at once, the four women's bodies started to grow and change, some even more than others. Calisto belted out a scream as her body grew much bulkier and her eyes started to bulge out on long stalks, her nose flattening out. Meanwhile, the other women's' own noses started to grow out as well, getting pointer at the same time. But none of them were as long as Jetta's, whose forehead and nose seemed to fuse at some point. Stripes began to appear all across Roxy's skin as all of their skin tones started to change color.

But all the same, three aspects of their mutation was consistent; one being huge, sharp teeth that their mouths had to get bigger to accommodate. Secondly, there were now six slits along their necks, which turned out to be gills. And finally, as their backs started to hunch forward, a long, curved protrusion could be seen jutting out, ripping through their clothes as it took shape. They had all grown fins.

Before long, their mutations were complete, and Rojo, Cinder, Mercury, Khyber, Watts and Animo couldn't help but stare in awe at the mutants whose shadows loomed over them. Cinder in particular wore a nefarious smirk as she rubbed her hands together. "Everyone, I think it's time for our operation to begin…"

…..

Meanwhile, at Plumber Headquarters inside the Hazard Chamber control center, Gwen Tennyson was starting to get very peeved. She was hoping that, after leaving her cousin's house last night, she wouldn't have to deal with any sort of Ranger Craze outside of the place. But no, her doofus cousin had actually succeeded in his mission; he led nearly the entirety of their team down the Power Ranger rabbit hole. All morning, it had been "Super Sentai" this, and "Kyoryu Change" that from Team JNPR, and when the rest of her team had gathered for training, it'd only gotten worse.

"Ugh, I've got a headache." Gwen rubbed her temples as the Omni-Hunters all spoke amongst themselves, the topic of course, still being Tokusatsu.

Kevin came over and sat next to her, pulling her into a small embrace. "Hey."

"Traitor." Gwen said as she pulled herself away.

"Woah, so hostile." Kevin remarked, setting his hands on his girlfriend's shoulders for a massage. "I don't think I've ever seen you dead set about hating something, Gwen."

The redhead sighed and shook her head. "Kevin, "hate" is a strong word. I dislike Power Rangers. It's fine for little kids and I don't mind it in that sense…" She then thrust her arms out to the team. "But it just baffles me how people who are nearly adults can find enjoyment out of something like Power Rangers."

The Osmosian chuckled knowingly at that. "Heh, well it's a good thing it's not Power Rangers, then. It's Super Sentai."

Gwen's expression soured almost instantly. "Power Rangers, Super Sentai, I don't care, it's all the same to me."

"It really isn't, though!" Rex piped up, having overheard the conversation. "Sentai's way less cheesy." Gwen deadpanned at him and raised a single, questioning brow. "…I mean, okay, yes, it IS cheesy, but it takes things a WHOLE lot more serious than Power Rangers. Super Sentai's not afraid to go to a more serious place if it wants to. Sometimes a Power Rangers series can do that, but for the most part, it caters to American kids by making things a LOT cheesier."

"Which might be why it'll be a while before we watch Power Rangers." Ilia said with a wince. "If some of the stuff that Rex told us about certain seasons is true… then it might be best to stick with Super Sentai."

Gwen let out a groan and threw her hands up, walking away from the table. "Alright, fine, if you guys want to rot out your brains by watching people in spandex fight rubber monsters, that's fine by me."

The team all stared at Gwen in concern, slightly put off by her rather dower demeanor. "…Gwen, I think you might be taking this show a bit too seriously." Sun advised. But then, right at that moment, the door to the control center opened and in walked Six, Holiday and Winter, followed by Ben and Team RWBY, much to everyone's surprise. "Oh hey! There you guys are!"

"We've been waiting for like, an hour." Neptune added.

However, Jaune was quick to notice that their friends didn't seem to be in the best of moods, leading him to stand up and walk over to them. "H-Hey, everything okay?" he asked as he approached Ruby, who seemed to be the most upset. "Ruby, did something happen? You guys look like you've had a rough morning."

Ruby reached back and pulled up her hood, wallowing in her disappointment. "…Jaune, that's a pretty big understatement." She peered up at her friend through her hair, not in the mood to face anyone directly. "This morning started out awesome… and then things just crashed and burned."

"Whatever do you mean, Ruby?" Penny came over and reached for her friend's hand, offering her support. "What happened?"

The Hooded Huntress stayed silent, which left Weiss to answer for her. "Well, for one thing, we ran into the Collective again."

All at once, the team's eyes widened, stunned at the news. "Wait, really?!" Nora shot up from her seat. "So they really ARE here in Bellwood?"

"Yep." Yang nodded, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. "That attack at the bank really was a warning. They're here and they've brought all of their loyal followers with them." The blonde craned her head down, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "The sad thing is… all of those cultists really ARE pretty loyal to their leaders. Lots of angry or disgruntled people who're tired of the way society treats them, and some who're tired of heroes all together and want to start defending themselves."

"They even said that those of us from Remnant should go back." Blake hugged her arms around herself, still trying to process all of that. "They called us aliens and said that we shouldn't be here."

Pyrrha's hand went to her mouth in shock. "They… they really said that?"

"Well, that's just unpleasant." Ren commented, but somehow, he had a feeling that there was more to their five friends' disappointment than just that. "What else happened, though? Because I doubt that's all that happened."

Once again, Team RWBY fell into silence, though they seemed to grow frustrated at Ren's question. This time, it was Ben who answered. "Well, Ren… the Collective got away." He balled his hand into a fist and glared at it. "They had a gang of violent robbers break into a bank, forcing us to choose what we had to do next. We could either pursue the Collective through their portals… or stop the robbery and any potential fatalities."

Six gave the young hero a nod in approval. "Ultimately, you went with the right decision, Ben."

"I know… I just can't stand what happened next." Ben continued, all while he and Team RWBY seemed to get more agitated as he explained to the others. "See, of all people, the ones that the Collective had break into the bank… was Rojo's old gang that they broke out of prison."

The rest of the Omni-Hunters were taken aback by the news, but Ruby picked it up from there. "And guess what? Yang, Weiss, Blake and I managed to BEAT them! Pretty easily, actually! We had them on the ropes and we could've cuffed them… but then guess who showed up?!"

"…Rojo?" Kevin guessed.

"YES, ROJO! AAAUGH!" Ruby clawed at her hair angrily. "She just swooped in and had that Khyber guy beam them up into his ship! And before we could follow, it cloaked itself and blasted off!"

"So, technically… we lost." Yang grumbled. "The Ministry of Darkness now has FOUR potential new recruits… if Rojo can get back on those girls' good side."

Blake frowned and crossed her arms. "Probably not gonna take much, either, seeing as how they're motivated by money. Salem can promise them anything, after all."

"Even though her promises aren't worth much." Weiss snapped.

There was another brief silence before Gwen came over, placing a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "You know… I was about to give you some grief for bringing these guys down the Ranger/Sentai rabbit hole… but honestly, you don't need that right now." Gwen pulled her cousin into a hug and ushered for the rest of Team RWBY to join in as well, which they did. "Don't worry, we'll get back at the Ministry. You can count on that."

"If anything, though, at least the bank and the civilians are safe." Holiday pointed out. "In the end, that's what really matters."

Winter was quick to approve. "Exactly. I'm sure the five of you have earned those people's gratitude today, for certain."

"Thanks, Winter." Weiss cracked a sad smile. "I just wish we could've done more."

"You'll get your chance." Six assured. "We'll have to come up with a plan for when the Ministry strike next, though." He set his sights on Ben and Team RWBY. "And after this morning, I think a training session would do you some good." The five teens were about to agree with the agent… until…

*RAAHHNK* *RAAHHNK* *RAAHHNK*

Everyone was on high alert in a flash, the team all rising to their feet as the loud alarm blasted throughout the Plumber base. Six furrowed his brow as the siren wailed and the lights blared bright red. "…Maybe we don't have as much time as we'd hoped." he resigned to himself. Suddenly, the center console came to life, projecting an image of a rather concerned Max Tennyson. "Max, what's going on?"

Ben came up to the console, pleading to his grandfather; "Please tell me it's not what I think it is, grandpa."

Max was apologetic as he broke the bad news to his grandson. "I'm afraid so, Ben. We've got a high priority emergency transmission incoming from Fort Knox. I'm patching it in now."

"Fort Knox?" Yang questioned. "What's that?"

"The stronghold that keeps the nation's gold supply safe, among other things." Gwen explained. "We've actually dealt with a break in there before years ago by the original Negative Ten, but… I don't think the fort has kept any more Plumber equipment there since that incident. Which can only mean…"

Kevin grimaced at the thought. "Someone's after the gold."

"And I think we all know the only people gutsy enough to pull a heist like that…" Rex furthered before the emergency transmission was patched in.

On the holoscreen appeared a mustachioed man who appeared to be in his mid to late-fifties, donned in a black security uniform with a gold badge and nametag pinned to his shirt. His hat also had a gold badge on it, and while he tried to keep a serious composure, it was clear that façade was beginning to crack. "Th-This is security chief Russel Fairway at the Fort Knox! Our entire security system was just taken off line by an electro magnetic pulse, a-and we're being attacked by… m-monster animals of some sort! They're—"

"SIR!" A second person screamed from off-screen. "They're breaking through the last barricade!"

"SHIT!" Chief Fairway cursed before giving a desperate plea to the camera; "We need help here ASAP! Send Ben 10! I repeat; SEND BEN 10—"

BOOM! "GRRRAAAAAUUUGH!" An explosion and a loud, bellowing roar could be heard on the other end of the line, and Fairway belted out a battle cry before unholstering his weapon and firing on whatever had entered the room. Before the team could see or hear anymore… the feed cut out, leaving nothing but static on the holoscreen. The Omni-Hunters were left speechless and chilled by what they had just seen.

"W-Was… was that Exo-Skull and Thunderhog?" Ruby started.

"I-I'm not sure." Jaune shook his head. "It sounded a LOT scarier than just those two."

Max appeared on the holoscreen again, now even more worried than he had been before. "Those men and women need help. It's clear that the Ministry are up to something, and they might even have some new toys that they're bringing out to play."

"Today's training session is cancelled." Six said abruptly, making sure that the teens' focus was on him. "All of you need to get out there and stop the Ministry. There's a lot of gold in Fort Knox that they can get their hands on, though what they want it for, I have no clue." He gave Ben a single nod. "But you know what you need to do, Ben."

"Good luck to all of you." Holiday supported as well.

Winter came over and bowed her head to Ben. "I'll accompany you on this mission. You may need some extra back-up."

"Thanks, Winter, that's appreciated." Ben smiled to her thankfully before shifting his attention back to his team. "Alright guys, we've been caught with our pants down on this one. We'll have to come up with a plan of attack on the way to Kentucky, so we've got roughly twenty minutes to do so."

"Twenty minutes?!" Ruby shouted. "Can the Rustbucket III even GO that fast?!"

Kevin gave her a thumbs up. "Sure can. Kentucky's fairly close, so we could make it in fifteen, actually. …But you're gonna wanna sit and stay buckled up for the flight."

"We'll probably be met with the Ministry right when we land, so don't let your guard down for a second." Ben advised, moving on with his speech. "And they'll probably even have Dominique and her gang with them, too, so it'll be doubly important that we take them down and bring those four in." He gave the team a confident grin. "Thankfully, we've got a clear number advantage this time around, so hopefully things will be more in our favor. But don't get cocky just because of that."

"Never, Green Boy." Yang waved off. "We'll get the job done this time, don't you worry."

"That's exactly the kind of attitude I want to hear, Goldie Locks." Ben took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever would be waiting for them when they'd get to Fort Knox. "Alright team, we've got some bad guys to stop. You know what that means, right?!"

All at once, the Omni-Hunters pumped their fists in the air and shouted; "IT'S HERO TIME!"

…..

There was a feeling of uneasiness as the Rustbucket III came in for a landing in front of Fort Knox. The past twenty or so minutes had been nothing but deliberation on what the team would do when they got there, and thankfully, in Ben's opinion, they had made a solid plan. But even then, as the Omni-Hunters stepped out of the jet, Ben couldn't help but feel anxious at just how quiet everything was. No alarms, no sounds of conflict, and no police… technically. There WERE police cars… but they had all been mangled up and there were no officers in sight. That was a MAJOR bad sign for the hero. "Crap… the police got here before we did."

"W-Where are they, then?" Ruby stammered, keeping Crescent Rose close at hand.

"I'll give you three guesses." Blake glared at the front entrance of Fort Knox, which was in just as bad shape, if not even worse than the police cruisers. "They must've gone in to try and help."

Weiss shook her head. "If military officials can't handle the Ministry, what makes them think they can?"

Gwen closed her eyes, searching the area for any signs of life in there area. "To serve and protect, Weiss, that's what they do…" After a few moments of searching, sigh of relief escaped her lips. "Hah, okay, good news, everyone in the fort has an active mana, so that means they're all alive. Some of them are injured, though, and they've been gathered all in one place. So that means they've either locked themselves in a secure room…"

"…Or they've been corralled in one and are being held prisoner." Kevin deduced. "Could be either one."

"And the Ministry?" Yang questioned. "Where are—" BANG! "WOAH!" The blonde jumped a couple feet back as a bullet narrowly hit her, the rest of the group flinching in surprise. "…Well, there's my answer."

"Got that right, blondie!" Everyone snapped their heads up to see none other than Mercury, Rojo and Cinder all standing atop the massive wall surrounding Fort Knox, all of them wearing condescending smirks as they looked down on them. "Man, you guys showed up REAL late to the party on this one!" Mercury taunted.

"Yeah, we've been here half an hour waiting on ya!" Rojo slung Bloodstrike over her shoulder, popping a few muscles in her neck. "Was hoping you'd be here sooner, but better late than never." Her smile increased in excitement. "Because now, ya get to see our latest recruits in action!"

The team all took out their weapons as Ben stepped forward. "I knew it. I KNEW you rescued your old pals for a reason!" He pointed up to her and the Ministry in ire. "You wanted help breaking into the fort, didn't you? What, do you wanna pull off the heist of the century or something?!"

"Eh, any of us could break in to Fort Knox, Tennyson." Rojo shrugged. "Did it before, would do it again. But honestly, the only reason we're here is because Khyber's benefactors need more funding if we're gonna pull off our big plan."

The team were somewhat surprised to hear that. "Benefactors?" Jaune scratched his head. "Who the heck would be benefactors to your teacher of all people?"

Rojo simply shook her head and held her hands up. "Heh, search me, boy, I wish I knew. Teach is keeping it a bit on the downlow, but I trust him enough to know that he comes up with some pretty solid plans." Her sights locked on to Ben again, wearing a knowing smile. "He's here, Tennyson, and he wants your pelt at the foot of his bed."

Everyone collectively cringed at the very thought, even Cinder and Mercury. "Uh… GROSS!" Ben exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm all for intimidation, Rojo, but that is taking it a bit too far." Cinder concurred before sneering down to the heroes. "Be that as it may, I think you'll find that WE will be the ones victorious on this day."

Winter pulled out her sword, pointing it right at the Fall Maiden. "Think again, Cinder. You won't be getting away with this."

"Oh, I beg to differ, Miss Priss." Rojo denied before taking out her phone and a pair of speakers, plugging the devices into one another. "Especially when you see what my old pals have got goin' on for them. LADIES! It's time…" She clicked a button on her phone, and rather intimidating music started to play from the speakers. "…TO EAT!"

*Insert "Jaws" theme here*

All of a sudden, a loud noise could be heard coming up from behind the heroes… and whatever it was, it was approaching fast. The Omni-Hunters spun around and, in the distance, they could see the pavement leading to the fort starting to crack and deform, all while the fractures came closer and closer to them. Ben felt a chill go up his spin as he saw something start poking up from the incoming fissure… and they looked suspiciously like four fins. "…Oh no."

"Oh no?!" Nora shrieked, holding Ren tightly. "What "oh no"?!"

"That's "oh no" as in; that's a 4/4 String Ostinato in D Minor!" Rex explained as panic started to set in for him, going so far as to shake Neptune by the shoulders. "Every sailor knows that means DEATH! We've gotta run!"

But before they could, the whole earth beneath them started to rumble and shake, signaling the arrival of their doom. "Too late! SCATTER!" Sun called out, taking Blake in his arms before diving off to the side. Several of the others did the same, even taking up their own respective others to ensure their safety as the ground erupted beneath their feat. Rubble was sent flying everywhere, with a particularly large piece even hitting the side of the Rustbucket III and leaving a small dent in it.

"AW MAN!" Kevin cried. "I just finished buffing that!"

Gwen swallowed fearfully as she saw several large silhouettes come rising from the dust, their massive forms coming toward them slowly yet ravenously. She heard sinister growls and snickers coming from these four, and it only made her shudder more. "Um, Kevin… w-we have a bigger problem."

The team were left astonished when they saw what finally emerged from the cloud of dust; four humanoid figures that were all much bigger than they were, the two tallest measuring seven feet at most while the two shortest had to be six-foot-five at the least. These people were all definitely female, even if the bigger ones were much buffer and somewhat more hunched than the shorter two. And finally, they all had human-like arms, legs, eyes and lips, which they licked hungrily.

…But other than that, the rest of these women were ALL shark.

Indeed, standing before them were rough and tough mutant shark girls, their muscles rippling under clammy, shark skin. Their fingers were lined with sharp claws and their backs were hunched so they could see forward, having lost their necks during their mutation. They all had gills and a single large fin on their backs, with more fins on their elbows.

The leader of the bunch was unmistakably a Great White shark, though oddly enough, her skin was actually more of a deep blue, with her underbelly being a pale blue. Next to her was a brown-skinned Hammerhead shark woman with a tan underbelly, her eyes being the only ones not at the front of her face, but rather on the sides of her… well, hammer head. They were the biggest ones in their group, and their weapons signified that greatly, being a massive axe and a pair of large hammers respectively.

The smaller ones, meanwhile, consisted of a Tiger Shark woman with grey skin and black stripes lining her head, back, arms and legs, with a white underbelly. She also had long, claw-like extensions on her gloves, which seemed to actually be made out of Dust. Next to her was undeniably the UGLIEST of the bunch; a Goblin Shark woman with sickly yellow skin and a pale underbelly, her long, flat nose reaching out at least two feet past her face. She held a spear in her hand, but the teens were honestly more scared of HER than it.

The four sharks all let out a massive laugh as they approached their prey, still licking their chops. "AHAHAHA! Well, well, well, look what we've got 'ere, ladies!" The Great White spoke… in an Australian accent. "Fresh chum ready t' be gobbled up!" She leaned forward just as she got close to the teens, wearing a wide, toothy grin. "Hello."

"D-D-D… Dominique?" Ruby squeaked out.

"That's right, Sheila!" the shark woman exclaimed, taking up her axe and raising it high above her head. "Take a ganda' at the new breed in the neighborhood! Call me THRASHER!"

"Most say we're just no good!" Calisto said, bringing up her hammers. "I'm LUNGE!"

"Half shark! Half woman!" Jetta leveled her spear at the teens. "The name's CRUNCH!"

"And bein' bad guys, that's the plan!" Roxy finished, sharpening her claws on one another. "Here's STRIPES!"

The four Shark Women bashed their fists together, shouting out to the sky; "We bite, we fight, we chew up heroes with all of our might!" They threw their hands up all at once and announced; "We're the STREET SHARKS! And we're JAW-SOME!"

As the four new mutants hooped and hollered at their rollcall, Ben could feel his gut sink, still in utter disbelief. "…We're gonna need a bigger boat."

…..

A/N: HAPPY SHARK WEEK! …Well, okay, Shark Week isn't until NEXT week, but still, I ended up planning this debut WAY better timed than I expected. Because indeed, we've got a new team of mutants on the block! Who, if you couldn't tell, are indeed based off of the 90's cartoon "Street Sharks"! …Well, mostly, anyway. I did change things with the line-up a LITTLE bit. Instead of a Whale Shark, Jetta's been mutated into a Goblin Shark, mainly because, in real life, Whale Sharks are not threatening in the least while Goblin Sharks are pretty much the nightmares of the abyss, so I thought it'd only be fitting if a team of VILLAINOUS Street Sharks have a more threatening member. And as you can see, they're able to "swim" beneath the streets just like the Street Sharks of old. Plus, they all get their own awesome two-in-one weapons from Remnant, which is cool. Will our heroes be able to handle this new mutated threat?

Well, only time will tell, but aside from all that, we got to see a lot of interaction between this new crew of baddies with our more established Ministry members. And it seems that Rojo's pretty apologetic for all the times she screwed them over in the past. While they're not necessarily quick to forgive and forget, they did at least hear her out, though. But man… LOTS of tension between Cinder and Dominique. Talk about not good for Rojo. The person you used to date not liking the person you WANT to date? That's a bad sign… But hey, at least the ladies like Mercury, though… even some more than others, hehe.

But yeah, with these new Gene Slammer inventions from Animo, seems like these ladies have got a big boost in power. Question is, though… will they be able to make use of that boost before their time limit runs out? Well, join us NEXT TIME as we find out! A battle quickly breaks out with the fate of a TON of gold at risk. Will the Omni-Hunters be able to pull out a victory… or will the interference of a certain hunting dog put a stop to that? Tune in next time to find out, but until then, thanks for reading everybody! And as always, stay safe out there!