A/N: Morning everyone! Welcome back to the story, and I must say, I'm quite excited for this next little mini-arc. As you guys know, I usually have big plans for the month of October, but since we're still a few weeks away from the spooky season, I figured that we could do a small and fun storyline before we get there. With all that being said, I'll let the chapter itself do the talking. Oh, and on that note, welcome to the OFFICIAL 50th chapter! With that said, let's get started, shall we? This is…

Chapter 50: The First Labor Returns

…..

In the Land of Darkness, within the walls of Evernight Castle, Salem sat in her chair, taking the head of table as per usual. It had been… quite the day, needless to say. She had seen it all firsthand thanks to her special view via Eon's portals, and she didn't like what she saw at all. Once again, those blasted heroes had bested her disciples, though through no fault of their own, she will admit. Tennyson had pulled a fast one as it were and caught them completely off guard. Both with the unexpected tracking device AND the dragon transformation. 'Who would think to search INSIDE of someone's shoe for contraband? Honestly…' Salem silently fumed to herself. 'Tennyson, you are both cunning AND irksome. I swear, one day, you and your team WILL pay for everything you've done…'

Sitting to her right sat Doctor Watts, the man fiddling with his mustache as he waited patiently for things to get started. And, sitting directly opposite of him, was Eon, the time traveler with his arms crossed and legs folded. He didn't seem nearly as patient as Watts was being. Meanwhile, standing directly off to Salem's right, was Viktor, the Transylian looming over proceedings as he normally did.

Eon was tapping his arm, his patience waning all the more as the nearby clock ticked away. "Where in the world ARE they?" He grumbled. "I didn't bring them all the way back to Remnant just so they could HIDE from us."

"Hm, they certainly are taking their sweet time." Watts noted. "Do you think they skipped out thinking they'd get berated again?"

Viktor straightened up, ready to take action. "If so, I will retrieve them and—"

"No need, Viktor, dear." Salem dismissed with a wave of her hand. "They are coming, I know that for a fact. I can sense their approach even as we speak." She craned her head toward Eon, shooting him a questioning gaze. "After all, if they were too afraid to meet with me, they wouldn't have come through the portal in the first place, would they?"

Eon shrugged with a slight scoff. "Hmph, I suppose."

Salem craned her head back toward the door on the other side of the room, waiting for her followers to enter. "For someone who can travel through time, Eon, you certainly lack patience." Sure enough, just as she said that, the double doors opened and in came Rojo, Cinder and Khyber, followed closely by Mercury, Neo and Emerald as well. Hog, Skull, Animo and Subdora brought up the rear, with those four appearing to be the most nervous out of the group. "Ah, see? There they are."

"About time." Watts grumbled, shooting Cinder a rather smug look. "It would seem that we've witnessed quite the turn of events recently, wouldn't you say, Cinder?"

The Fall Maiden's eyes immediately started burning intensely, her scowl powerful enough to make most people drop dead in their tracks. "Not one. More. Word."

"And there it is." Watts rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Always so quick to hide behind those Maiden Powers when you never follow through with the threat. Hmph, quite the pitiful sight, if I must—ah!" Without warning, Watts was suddenly pulled down to the ground, his chair sent flying as several Grimm arms suddenly appeared out of a portal near his feet. He was wrapped up in them in the span of only a few seconds, his screams of terror echoing throughout the room as everyone stared with shocked expressions.

The only one who remained steadfast was Salem herself, mainly because she was the one manipulating the arms. She glared down at Watts disappointedly. "I believe I told you to not antagonize my Fall Maiden, doctor. You would do well to remember that she ranks higher than you." She lowered her head to him, his eyes shrunken in absolute terror. "…Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Y-YES! Yes, of course, Salem." Watts nodded vigorously, hoping to keep his life. "I-It won't happen again, I swear!" The witch narrowed her eyes at the doctor before snapping her fingers, causing the Grimm hands to let Watts go… in the most violent way possible. They rose up high and then flung him all the way to the opposite end of the room, where he spilled out near the double doors.

"You are dismissed." Salem said with a warning glare, causing Watts to scramble out of the room without argument.

As he left, Animo couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for his colleague. 'But, rules ARE rules, Arthur.' the scientist resigned. 'Do not mess with Salem or her Maiden.'

Salem cleared her throat, hoping to move away from the incident that had just occurred. "Ahem, in any case, I believe we have an important matter to discuss." She put on a serious face, locking eyes with Cinder. "Young Cinder, it would appear that you and your team have once again failed to apprehend Ben Tennyson and take the Omnitrix. Do I speak the truth?"

Cinder bit her lower lip, frustrated that was indeed the case. It irked her so that, after a good round of victories, the heroes had once again managed to pull the rug out from underneath them. It wasn't fair. It just plain wasn't fair that THEY had managed to trick them and overpower them, resulting not only in their defeat, but in Khyber's ship getting wrecked. However, she knew she had to be honest with Salem, lest she end up in the same position as Watts. "Yes, Salem, that is correct." She and the rest of her team bowed their heads. "And we are prepared for any punishment you see fit."

"Oh, there is no punishment."

"…Excuse me, but what?"

"I said there is no punishment." Salem reiterated with a shake of her head. "After all, why would I punish you for something that you could not have seen coming." She threw her hand up in frustration. "I mean… a DRAGON of all things! How in the world that child gets to have a dragon transformation is beyond me, and the fact that he simply unlocked it through sheer dumb luck is all the more infuriating."

"I KNOW, right?!" Exo-Skull suddenly exclaimed. "It freaking sucks—oof!"

Hog elbowed him in the side for speaking out of turn. "Dude, don't cut the boss off like that, we don't wanna—"

"My sentiments exactly, Farkas." Salem agreed, much to everyone's surprise. The witch stood up and began making her way around the table, walking toward the small squad of villains. "This is quite the unfavorable situation… especially in your case, Khyber." She stopped next to him, giving him a brief bow. "My condolences for the loss of your ship. I will see to it that we find new accommodations for you as soon as possible."

Khyber bowed back, thankful for her sympathy. "You have my eternal gratitude, Salem. I swear, I will NOT rest until Ben Tennyson has been gutted and his lifeless husk strung up by a hook before you."

"Gruesome, I anticipate seeing that." Salem briefly smirked before eyeing the others. "However, from what I've heard, not everything that happened in these past two days was for naught." She went directly over to her protégé, looking to her expectantly. "After all, I heard that you've acquired several new additions to our cause. In fact, I can sense them standing just outside that door."

Cinder's worry gave way to renewed hope. Salem wasn't mad. Her and her team would be spared her wrath thanks to these "several new additions". After thanking whichever deity chose to listen to her, Cinder nodded vigorously. "O-Oh, yes, of course Salem. Quite a few new members, indeed. Rojo?"

Without needing any further instruction, the bounty hunter gave a thumbs up. "Gotcha, Cindy. Hey, LADIES!" She turned to the still open door, ushering for those outside to come in. "Get in here, the Boss Lady wants to meet ya!"

Not a moment later, Dominique, Calisto, Jetta and Roxy all came in. The four biker girls were… actually somewhat apprehensive. Ever since they had come in, they were… put off by the rather gothic décor and creepy atmosphere of the place. One the one hand, it WAS pretty cool, but on the other, they couldn't help but feel uneasy going into the castle. And that uneasiness was only exemplified when they saw Salem herself. Most of the women were frozen in place at her visage, with only Dom steeling herself before the woman.

"Uh… h-hey there." Dom internally cursed herself for the casual greeting, hoping to make up for it with a sudden bow. "You must be Salem. Rojo's spoken real high of ya."

"…Has she now?" Salem sent a short smile over to Rojo, who felt a bit better about the situation herself. The witch went over and cupped the cheek of Dominique, raising her head up to lock eyes with her. "And what is your name, child?"

Despite herself, Dom couldn't help but blush a bit. Now that she was closer, there was no doubt about it, Salem was gorgeous. She was also crap-your-pants terrifying, yes, but to Dominique, there was something so… attractive about that sort of fear emanating from the witch. Something primal, something ancient… something that got her motor running as much as she knew it'd get her in trouble.

Swallowing her fear and nerves, Dominique stood up straight and answered; "D-Dominique. My name is Dominique, Lady Salem." She gestured over to her crew, who all seemed to relax when they noticed their leader was keeping her cool. "An' these are my mates, Calisto, Roxy an' Jetta."

"Ah, yes." Salem brought her hands together, scanning the three women. "Rojo has spoken quite well of you to me as well. And you all have quite the talent bestowed upon you by Doctor Animo, yes?"

Now that definitely threw them all for a loop. Rojo had put in a good word for them? They glanced over to their former leader, who only gave a thumbs up and a wink. The message was clear; roll with it. "Uh, y-yes, Lady Salem." Calisto affirmed. "We call ourselves the Street Sharks. We'd give you a demonstration, but Animo says we gotta wait a while until we can transform again."

"There is no need." Salem raised a hand. "I saw your transformations first-hand during the battle." She extended a hand over to Eon. "You can thank Eon for giving me a front row seat. I only wish I could have been of help, but my Grimm are unable to handle the sunlight of Earth…" Salem peered down to her own palm with a slight grimace. "And… I would rather night find out what might happen if I were to step into direct sunlight there as well."

"Ooh, yeah, you probably don't wanna chance melting or some—ah!" Jetta was cut off when Roxy chopped her on the back of the neck.

"Would you NOT get us on her bad side, Jetta?" Roxy whispered harshly. "She's still a powerful witch, so watch it!"

But, much to their shock, Salem had suddenly appeared between the two of them. "Oh, you needn't worry about that, my dear…" She sent a serious gaze toward the two of you. "After all, if you saw Doctor Watts run away, you know what will bring about my ire." Her lips curled into another small smile. "That said, you haven't disappointed me yet, which is good." Salem nodded to the group. "In fact, I actually am quite fond of the idea of a battalion of shark women who can execute high level heists. I will have plenty of uses for you in the future, so…" She turned around, but peered over her shoulder at the four. "Feel free to call me "Boss Lady" if you like."

The girls were stunned, to say the least, but Rojo was all smiles at the idea. "Hahaha! Alright, ladies!" She went over and put her arms around Jetta and Roxy, snapping them out of their shocked stupors. "Ya hear that? The Boss Lady accepts ya! I can tell you're gonna fit in great around here!"

"I'm… honestly still trying to process this." Calisto admitted, shaking her head in disbelief. "What do you think, Dom? …Dom?"

The moment their eyes found the gang leader, however, she had gotten to one knee, bowing before Salem once again. "If that's what you want, Boss Lady, then I'd be more than happy to call you that!"

The other women were taken aback by this at first. But then, they noticed Dominique's face. Almost beat red, like a tomato, and her smile was one of excitement. Plus, from what they could hear, it sounded like she was holding back… a squeal of delight? It took them only a few seconds to realize something that left all of them utterly floored. '…Oh my god, Dom is crushing on the Boss Lady.' Rojo thought to herself, her eyes slowly going over to Viktor in the corner. 'Poor girl doesn't realize she's got her black heart set on another.'

"Very good." Salem commended, waving her hand as a signal for Dom to stand. "Now rise, my dear. I sensed that there were more with you out there, correct?"

Emerald soured at the mention. "Oh, yeah… them." She craned her head back and called out the door; "Hey! I recommend you don't keep Lady Salem waiting!"

"Oh, c-c-calm down, would you? We're coming." Came a telepathic voice from outside the room. From the darkened hall came the sound of several legs scuttling along the floor, leading to the owner of the voice coming in. Salem immediately raised a brow at him. He was a small, purple crab-like creature with a large cranium, which made up most of his body. He had beady red eyes, a seemingly permanent evil smile and a blue handlebar mustache. One of his pincers was bigger than the other as well, with which he pointed at Emerald. "Haven't you heard of a drrramatic p-p-pause before, girl?" he questioned. "It serves to create a suspenseful effect!"

"That only works in movies, Crab Cakes." Mercury deadpanned, crossing his arms at the alien.

The alien raised a single eyeridge at him. "Oh, such an original insult." he shot back, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "P-P-Perhaps you will change your tune if I threaten to halt the production on your new legs, hehehe…"

This made the assassin do a double take. "W-Wait, new legs?"

"Ahem, indeed." Khyber cleared his throat, bringing Mercury's attention to him. "I noticed that your legs would often be broken in battle intentionally by the heroes on several occasions. So, once your training was complete, I was going to reward you with a new pair that were not so easily broken…" He glared down at the Cerebrocrustacean. "So much for keeping that a secret, though."

"Oh, he would have found out sooner or later." the alien waved off. "I'm sure you'll enjoy them nonetheless, dear boy. Solid infinitum, practically indestructible!"

Mercury blinked at the revelation. Khyber had the little runt of a doctor make him NEW legs that weren't prone to breakage? That… was probably the nicest thing that anyone had offered to do for him. Of course, he couldn't let this gratitude show too much on the exterior. He had to keep up appearances, after all. He coughed in his hand and folded his arms, nodding to the hunter. "Ahm, uh… thank you. I'll make sure they don't go to waste."

Khyber narrowed his eyes. "Don't get too ahead of yourself, boy. You still have much training left to do, remember." He saw Mercury nod again, not arguing whatsoever. That made Khyber smirk briefly before setting his focus back onto Salem. "In any case, Miss Salem, allow me to introduce to you—"

"Doctor Psychobos!" the doctor interrupted, extending his larger claw. "One of the smartest beings in the entire universe! It's a true p-p-pleasure to meet you, Miss Salem."

Salem was somewhat hesitant, but ultimately shook Psychobos' claw, all while Viktor came up and peered down to the smaller alien. "You… are a Cerebrocrustacean." he uttered with a skeptical look. "Don't tell me… you mean to tell me that it was you who created the Nemetrix?"

Psychobos chortled proudly to himself, tapping his chest with his claw. "Oh-hoho, ind-d-deed! And you are Doctor Viktor, are you not? Oh, I have read several of your studies on Corodium, and I must say, your research is q-q-quite exemplary!"

"Hmph, I appreciate the praise, but it is unneeded." Viktor waved off. "My research was all for the sake of my old master, nothing more." He glanced down to Salem. "Now, my allegiance has shifted, as you can see."

"So it has." Psychobos addressed Salem once more. "And I have heard quite a bit about your cause, Miss Salem. Quite the bold pursuit, and I'm quite sure that my assistance in this undert-t-taking would be a great asset to you."

Salem tilted her head, agreeing with him somewhat. "I will say that your Nemetrix has proven to be very useful in our time allied with Khyber. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves…" She narrowed her gaze at Psychobos. "After all, while I have witnessed the Street Sharks prove their worth, you are still quite new. Show me what you can offer aside from the Nemetrix, and then we'll discuss matters further."

Psychobos respectfully bowed to her, keeping a claw to his chest. "Oh, of c-c-course, Salem! I would be more than happy to show you some of my other ex-x-xperiments." He then brought his head back up, raising his claw. "Ah, but there IS one other who you must meet." The Cerebrocrustacean scuttled back toward the door, ushering for someone to come in

"What?" Salem uttered. She had only sensed five life signs from behind the door, where was the last… one. Her eyes widened as red lines suddenly lit up in the dark halls, with a single red circle eye staring right at her. Just beneath the eye, a glowing maw opened up and, on the creature's right arm, a powerful cannon barrel could be seen glowing as well. Whatever it was, it was alive… but it had no life energy to it. Almost as if it were… artificial.

The darkness seemed to move with it as it stepped into the room, and it was then that Salem realized that the entirety of its body was as pitch black as the darkness surrounding it. Viktor seemed stunned by the appearance of this… whatever it was, taking Salem by the shoulders as if to protect her. While she appreciated the gesture, it also concerned her. If Viktor was concerned about the presence of this thing, it must've been truly threatening. And it was confirmed even more for her as it spoke to her;

"Greetings." the lifeform greeted in his droning, almost monotone voice. "You must be Salem, I presume?"

Salem kept her chin up at the thing as she answered; "Yes, I am. And you are?"

The alien lowered his head to her in respect. "I am known by most as… Malware."

"So it IS you." Viktor said, still quite anxious. "But… you were—"

"Destroyed?" Malware chuckled sinisterly with a shake of his head. "Hmhmhm, no, I don't believe I was. Rather, you could say that my physical form was… dissipated. Destabilized by the Omnitrix overloading, but only temporarily." He gestured down to his body. "It took me a few years, but I was slowly able to reconstitute my physical form."

Salem was intrigued by the mention of the Omnitrix. "I see… so then you have a history with Ben Tennyson as well."

Malware's voice was taken over by bitterness in that moment. "You mean the young whelp who has gotten in my way since the very DAY of my creation?! …Yes, we have a rather storied history, indeed." He waved the topic off with his hand. "But that is a story for a different time. For now, Lady Salem, I wish to speak with you on the topic of said hero… and how we can be rid of him once and for all." He extended a hand to her. "That is, if you are willing to listen to my plan."

"…From your tone alone, I can tell that you have a very bitter hatred of Tennyson, Malware." Salem concluded, putting on a sinister smirk. "Your want of revenge is quite understandable. Let's here what you have to say, shall we?"

…..

Meanwhile, back on Earth, the sun had risen on a rather pleasant Friday morning. It wasn't too hot or humid, and there was a lovely breeze blowing through the town of Bellwood as well. It was almost as if the universe had blessed this day, at least, that's what Ben had chosen to believe. After almost a full week of putting up with crappy luck, maybe this was finally the day that things would be getting back on track.

Well, at least he had hoped. He wasn't about to jinx anything by saying any of this out loud should the universe somehow heard him. It liked to screw him over like that. Nonetheless, he and Team RWBY, with Zwei and Rema resting on their respective mamas' laps, were currently on the way to Gwen's house. And not JUST for a puppy playdate, but so that Kenny could show them his Build Driver, as he had promised them last night. And considering that the teens from Remnant had found their new NEW love of Kamen Rider through him, the young redhead felt all the more obligated to do so.

And Ben had to admit… he was honestly taken to Kamen Rider as well after watching the first twelve episodes. 'Kenny, Cooper, I don't know how you did it, but you got ALL of us hooked and I don't think any of us regret it.' Ben thought to himself, only for his eyes to trail up to his rearview. 'Just kinda wish mom and dad weren't tagging along…'

Indeed, behind Ben's car, Sandra and Carl were following in their minivan, which meant the hero had to be EXTRA careful about his driving today. One wrong move and he'd never hear the end of it. "Remind me again why your parents are following us?" Weiss questioned from the back, peering over her shoulder out the rear window. "I mean, I don't have a problem with it, I'm just curious."

"Oh, something about an "outing day" with Uncle Frank and Aunt Natalie." Ben shrugged. "They go on 'em all the time, it's just that today just happened to be one of those days."

"Weird code word for "double date", but I'll take it." Yang joked with a small giggle.

"They really don't like to call it that." The hero cringed. "Especially my dad and uncle. They see it as… awkward."

Ruby couldn't help but laugh a little, too, though she tried to hide it behind her head. "Heehee, well I can't blame them. They are brothers, so any kind of "date" involving BOTH of them must make things pretty uncomfortable."

Blake glanced over her shoulder. "Well, so long as they're no where near Kenny's noise makers, they'll probably be good, right?"

"Bingo." Ben saluted to her. "I already told 'em about it and they agreed they'd keep things OUTSIDE before they all head out to lunch." Up on his right, he could see Gwen's house approaching, with his uncle and aunt already outside on their front stoop. "Speaking of, here we are!" He slowed down and pulled into the driveway, with Sandra and Carl stopping just behind him. Ben got out first, waving to his family. "Hey Uncle Frank, Aunt Natalie!"

"Morning, Ben!" Frank waved back as the teens made their way up to them. "Good to see you all in such good spirits."

Yang smacked her hand into her fist. "Yeah, well that's what happened when you finish kicking bad guy butt."

Natalie hummed dryly, though kept her smile about her. "Hm, yes, Gwen, Jaune and the others told us all about it last night. I'm glad you kids were able to make it through all that…" Her features became a tad more concerned. "But could you do me a favor and try not to cut it too close next time? I mean… almost crashing into Tampa?"

Team RWBY all winced, their eyes shifting away from the woman as they shuffled their feet. "Uh… hehe, yeah, that wasn't in the plan." Ruby said nervously.

"Well, whatever the plan was, at least you all made it back alive." Frank concluded before seeing Sandra and Carl coming up, greeting his brother with a handshake. "Morning Carl, how goes it?"

"Ah, couldn't be better, bro." Carl replied, taking in a deep breath of air. "Fantastic day, good weather…"

Sandra wrapped her arm around her husband's. "Perfect for one of our little outings. So, you two have an places in mind for breakfast?"

"Well, I was thinking of that new little place on the corner of Rouleau Avenue." Natalie suggested. "My friend says they've got waffles to die for and…" However, the woman trailed off when she noticed the teens eyeing the front door… which she and Frank were still in front of. "Oh! Kids, I am so sorry!" She hastily opened the door, ushering them in with an apologetic smile. "Here, Kenny and the others are waiting for you in the kitchen."

Ben and the girls bowed their heads to her before heading inside. "Hehe, thanks Aunt Natalie. We'll see you later." Natalie waved them off before closing the door, leaving them to venture inside.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever been in Gwen's house before." Blake noted, inspecting the rather intricate décor in the living room. "It's very… fancy."

"Yeah, not like RICH fancy, but still pretty snazzy." Yang agreed, eyeing a large hutch with windowed cupboards that had fine China in them.

Just then, a certain voice piped up from the stairs near the corner of the living room. "Yeah, well, mom and dad's jobs pay fairly well." Coming down the stairs was none other than Gwen, who gave them a shrug. "I mean, not to brag or anything, really…"

Ben simply rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure Miss "Upper Middle Class"."

"Don't start, Tennyson." Gwen retaliated, flicking his forehead with a smirk.

Weiss suddenly slid up next to the two, holding her hands up with a serious gaze. "Okay, let's not start anything this early, shall we?" The former heiress wore a grin despite herself, knowing that the cousins were just teasing. "Bad enough we had to endure a fake argument, let's not get a real one started."

"Hm, fine." Gwen shooed the group toward the kitchen. "Everyone else is waiting over there and Kenny's got the toy out for you guys."

Ben grimaced at the use of that term. "Okay, could you PLEASE not call it a "toy", it kind of does a disservice to Kamen Rider Belts."

"…But that's what it is. A toy." Gwen emphasized. "It makes things move, it has lights and downs and it DOESN'T have limbs so it's not an action figure." She placed a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "It's a toy, Ben. Get used to it."

If anything, this only made Ben sour more, knowing he couldn't argue with that. So instead, he simply threw his hands up and walked to the kitchen. "Alright, fine…" Suddenly, though, he rounded about and pointed at her. "But the fact that YOU were engrossed in a Tokusatsu show last night STILL gives me the overall win! HAHA!"

Ben darted off before Gwen could retaliate, and if Team RWBY joining in and laughing all the way, she knew she couldn't deny that. Indeed, after all these years, she finally gave a Japanese Tokusatsu show a try… and she was engrossed by the story after the first three episodes. Didn't help that, two episodes in, there was already a tear-jerking moment. '…They were supposed to see the Sakura petals again…' Gwen bit her lip, refusing to let any tears loose. 'No, NO! Keep it together, Gwen, just take the L and move on.'

With that, she followed the group into the kitchen, where Kenny, Winter and Team JNPR were gathered around the table. Romulus was sitting on Pyrrha's lap, though that wasn't the case for long as he spotted his sister in Blake's arms. The little pup bounded off of the Invincible Girl's lap and over to Blake, rearing up on his hind legs and barking happily. "Well, would you look who's here? Haha!" Pyrrha greeted. "Hello, everyone."

"Hehe, hi!" Blake giggled as she crouched down, placing Rema on the floor. "Okay, Rommy, here she is!" And just like that, both pups were off like a shot, bolting through the halls of the home while barking at one another in excitement.

Ruby bent down as well, placing Zwei on the floor. "Alright Zwei, you know what to do! Make sure they don't get into trouble, okay?" Zwei barked affirmably and was off, following after the little wolves.

"So, you guys all packed and ready?" Jaune asked.

"Pretty much." Ben confirmed. "And man, do I have a LOT of things in mind for this weekend." The hero rubbed his hands together with a smirk. "Grandpa called and told me where we'll be headed, and lemme tell ya, it's one heck of a place."

Nora jittered in her seat excitedly. "OOOOH, I can't WAIT! This is gonna be a blast!"

"But where exactly are we going, then?" Ren inquired further.

Ben, however, wagged his finger, wearing a knowing grin. "Ah-ah, can't tell you that, Ren. It's a surprise."

Nora huffed, crossing her arms with a pout. "Aw! No fair!"

"Hey, take it up with grandpa. His choice, not mine."

"Ah, it's not a big deal, Nora!" Ruby assured. "I just can't wait to have fun roughing it out in the wilderness for a whole weekend! But before that…" Suddenly, Ruby zipped right over to Kenny, getting eye level with him as she put on an eager smile. "So, Kenny… you got the goods?"

The redhead let out a laugh at her question, one that was probably louder than it should've been. "HA! What do I look like, a Fullbottle dealer?" He shifted his eyes back and forth between everyone as his smirk increased. "But uh… if you DO want the real good stuff, I'd be happy to show you what I've got…" Without warning, he ducked underneath the table and, after a bit of clattering, he popped his head back up. "Oh, or should I wait for everyone else?"

Winter rolled her eyes as the teens let out a collective groan. "Kenny, you've already teased them, you might as well give them what they want."

"Besides, you're showing all of us the same thing anyways." Blake pointed out. "And Cooper's bringing his, too, so he'll get to show HIS off, too."

Nora zipped right up onto Kenny's other side, giving him a rather manic stare. "Yeah, what they said! Now let's see that Driver and do some Best Matches already!"

"Heh, well, if you insist. Of course, though, if you want Best Matches, you'll need…" From under the table, Kenny pulled his arms up and revealed what were in his hands. He was holding onto two identical dark green, plastic panels that had handles molded into them, with squared-off connectors on all sides. And stored on these panels were at least ten Fullbottles each, which the team recognized as the same ones that Kamen Rider Build used on the show. "…You'll need Pandora Panels to properly store them." Kenny finished.

"Woah! Neat!" Jaune said, seeing that the Fullbottles were stored via a sliding rail system along with some locking clips. "Pandora Panels… they wouldn't happen to be parts of the Pandora Box from the show, would they?"

Kenny pointed to the blond knight, affirming his answer. "Yep, get six of these and you can make a Pandora Box of your very own… which I don't really have since I only cared to get the ten main best matches." He raised a finger to add a point. "But… I talked to Cooper and he said that he actually DOES have a full Pandora Box, so expect to see more Best Matches coming from him. For now, though…" Kenny unlocked one of the Pandora Panels and pulled off the Rabbit and Tank Fullbottles. "It's time for the main event…"

Once again, the young man reached under the table and everyone's eyes lit up as he brought out the Build Driver itself. It was exactly like how it was on the show; a black piece with red and silver paint that was molded to resemble some sort of complex machine, complete with gears, pipes and even a crank on the side. The largest gear was chromed and inside of a clear plastic casing, which had an LED behind it, with a pair of slots to insert the Fullbottles into next to it.

"Hah, woah! It really IS just the Build Driver!" Yang exclaimed. "And here I thought it was gonna be really tiny for kiddies."

"Nope, this is pretty much to scale." Kenny assured. "Maybe a tad smaller than the one used on the show, but Bandai REALLY likes to have their gimmicks work the way they do ON the actual show, so Drivers and other Henshin devices ARE usually to scale." He glanced off to the side and mumbled; "Granted, they could include the option to have bigger BELTS in the DX sets, but hey, what can ya do?"

A bit of disappointment washed over Ruby's face. "Oh, so you can't actually wear this as a belt? It's just made for kids' waists?"

But Kenny was quick to correct himself. "Well, you CAN… but you have to buy separate belt extensions to do so. It's a bit of a pain in the neck."

Winter felt a smile tug on her lips, eyeing Kenny with amusement. "Really? …Do you happen to have any of these belt extensions, Kenny?"

"Psh, me? Nah, no way…" However, given his sudden nervousness, everyone was quick to give Kenny questioning looks when he said that. His cheeks became a bit red at this before he ultimately sighed and stood up. Kenny went straight for the stairs and then came back… with the Build Driver's belt, complete with extensions. "…Okay, yes."

"Thought so." Winter chuckled a little before getting up herself, taking the Build Driver and the two Fullbottles in her hand before passing them to Kenny. "Now, let's see these on you."

Kenny deadpanned to the woman he was infatuated with, feeling that she was getting a kick out of this. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"A little, but in a good way." Winter admitted. "It's quite wholesome seeing you speak so passionately about something like this, even if it IS technically made for children."

The redhead was somewhat reassured by that. He really should've known better. Winter wasn't doing this to make fun of him, but rather have fun WITH him. 'Man, didn't think Winter would be the kind of person who would go along with something like this…' The young man set his eyes down briefly, silently scolding himself. 'I really should know better than to judge her, though. That one's on me.' He put on a smile and clipped the Driver onto the belt, securing it to his waist. "Hm, let's get started."

"And on that note, I'm actually going to take the dogs outside." Gwen said as she opened the backdoor, letting Zwei lead the puppies into the backyard. "You guys have fun with your noisemakers."

"We will." Kenny waved to his sister as she left before switching the Driver on. The LED behind the big gear lit up and made a noise, and with that, Kenny held up the two Fullbottles. "So then… shall we begin the experiment?" He started shaking the red and blue bottles, which had plastic pieces inside rattling about to simulate "liquid" swishing around before inserting them into the slots;

*cha-chink!* RABBIT! *cha-chink* TANK!

BEST MATCH!

From there, standby music started to play from the Driver, which the others couldn't help but groove to a little. As the gear flashed between blue and red, Kenny grabbed into the crank and started turning it, making all of the gears spin and causing a rhythmic clanging sound to play. After it stopped, however, the Driver asked;

Are you READY?!

"Henshin!" Kenny declared, striking a pose as the Build Driver made another noise, followed by a guitar sting and the announcement of the form he had "transformed" into.

Hagane no Moonsault! RabbitTank!

YYYYEEAAH!

All at once, the teens erupted into cheers and laughter, completely amused by the little presentation Kenny had put on for them. The redhead realized then and there that he might've gotten a bit too into the act and began to shy away, but Winter was quick to grab his hand. "Ahaha! Kenny, please, you're fine. Your performance was quite entertaining, that's for sure."

"Hehe, yeah Kenny, not bad!" Ruby giggled a little as well.

Kenny's hand went to his neck once again, feeling bashful about the whole thing. "Ah, thanks ladies. At least you guys got some enjoyment out of it, so I guess I don't feel COMPLETELY like a fool now."

"Nor should you." Winter pressed, giving him a serious look. "Kenny, one of the reasons I like you is because you aren't afraid to be who you are, and that takes a lot of courage." Her smile returned and she leaned her head on his shoulder, putting her arm around him. "And in all honesty, I find that to be very admirable."

With his cheeks now as red as a tomato, Kenny chuckled as he tugged on his collar, suddenly feeling quite hot. "Heh, thanks, Winter. I… I-I really appreciate that."

But then, the young man quickly caught sight of Nora sliding into view, eyeing the Build Driver around his waist. "So, um… could the rest of us possibly get a turn, or…"

"Oh, ha! Right." Kenny detatched the Build Driver from his waist, passing it to the Pink Dynamo. "Help yourselves, guys! One Best Match per user, if you would." And so, that's what happened. The belt went clockwise around the table and, with each person who had it, they got in their own bottle combos, going through them one by one;

Kagayaki no Destroyer! GorillaMond!

Tenkuu no Abarenbou! HawkGatling!

Shinobi no Entertainer! NinninComic!

Buttobi Monotone! RocketPanda!

Rescue Kenzan! FireHedgehog!

Tategami Cyclone! LionCleaner!

Teikoku no Hangyakusha! KaizokuRessha!

Inazuma Technician! OctopusLight!

That last one made everyone burst out laughing… especially since it was Jaune who got that best match. The knight eyed the Build Driver incredulously. "…Octopus?"

"Haha, yeah, it's a weird one, but once you see the suit, you'll probably think it's cool." Kenny elaborated. Once Jaune had removed the belt and passed it to Ben, Kenny took out the last two Fullbottles; the ones representing the Lock and the Dragon. "Alright, Ben, saving my personal favorite for last here. Don't screw it up, 'kay?"

"Ooh, pressures on then!" Ben took the bottles with a determined grin. "Well then, let's do it!"

*cha-chink!* DRAGON! *cha-chink* LOCK!

BEST MATCH!

Are you ready?!

"Henshin!" the hero exclaimed before epic fantasy music played and the Driver announced;

Fuin no Fantasy Star! KeyDragon!

Yeah!

With that, Ben pulled out the two Fullbottles, giving Kenny a shrug. "Heh, no big deal, see?"

"Hm, you say that now…" Kenny plucked them out of his hand and set the Lock Fullbottle down. He then reached under the table one last time… and then pulled out something none of them had expected to see. It was an add-on for the Build Driver itself in the shape of a dragon, complete with metallic blue and gold paint and a red button on the front. The long head and neck of the dragon stuck out from either end, with a massive hole in its back appearing to be the perfect size for a Fullbottle. "Well then, let's up the ante, shall we?" Kenny shook the Dragon Fullbottle and inserted it into the dragon, before then pressing the button twice;

CROSS-Z FLAME! WAKE UP!

Kenny smiled in anticipation as Ben handed him his Build Driver, and from there, he flipped the dragon's neck and tail up, lined up the dual tracks of the dragon with the slots, and inserted it. CROSS-Z DRAGON! Some rather funky techno-styled music started playing from the Cross-Z Dragon as the gear lit up again, and after Kenny turned the crank, a new sound eventually played…

Are you ready?!

WAKE UP BURNING! GET CROSS-Z DRAGON!

Once again, the teens all cheered at once, having not expected that at all. "Woo! Alright, now THAT was super cool!" Yang exclaimed. "Seriously wasn't expecting ya to pull out the Cross-Z Dragon from outta nowhere like that!"

"Yeah, well, since we JUST got to his debut episode last night, I figured it'd be good to show off Cross-Z's henshin sequence, too." Kenny shrugged. "But for now, I believe that just about does it for where we currently are in the show." He gave the teens a wink. "But don't worry, there's still plenty of other stuff that you guys HAVEN'T seen yet, and between Cooper and me, I think we'll be able to cover it all."

"I sure hope so!" Ruby approved. "These toys are SUPER fun!"

As the chatter continued, however…

BOOOOOM!

Everyone gasped as the floor beneath them was suddenly rocked, the whole house practically shaking underneath their feet. Many of them had to hold the table just to stay standing while others just fell right back into their chairs, including Kenny. Once the shaking stopped, however, that wasn't the end of the noise. There was a very clear rumbling coming from just outside, which was so loud that they could swear it was coming from inside the house. "W-What was that?!" Blake shouted.

"And what in the world is that noise?" Weiss followed up, wincing as she held a hand over her ear.

"I-I don't know." Ben stammered. "I—"

"AAAAAAIIIIIIEEEEE!"

The team were caught off guard at the sounds of dual screams coming from right out front. But what sent a chill through Ben the most was that he knew who was screaming. His mother and his aunt. "Oh god. Guys, we gotta move, NOW!"

…..

As that was happening, not too far away from Bellwood, there was a lone man making his way across the countryside toward the town. However, he wasn't doing so by truck, car or even motorbike… but instead by foot. Now, normally, the sight of a man jogging on the side of the road would be nothing out of the ordinary… but this was no ordinary man. He had to be at least seven and a half feet tall and was in a mad sprint, his strides being the equivalent to that of TWO men combined. Any cars on the highway were easily blown past as the man kept his speed up, having sensed the danger in the nearby town.

And if he was right… it was something that he had battled before. 'I only hope I'm not too late…'

…..

By the time the team had gotten outside, they were met with a sight that left them completely baffled. Thankfully, Ben and Kenny saw that their parents were alive and well, if terrified and huddled up on the side of the house for their own safety. And quite frankly, they couldn't blame them… because there was a GIANT TANK rolling really fast down the road. Civilians screamed and ran for their lives as it seemed to barrel down on them—quite literally—as its barrel swung around and even blasted some rounds. These blasts sent asphalt flying, upturned countless amounts of earth, and left several holes in the surrounding houses, with some people even being flung into the air from the force of the blasts alone.

Team RWBY and Team JNPR's jaws were on the floor at the sight of this madness. "…Why the HELL does this always happen to US?!" Nora screamed over the bellow of the tank's engine.

"Search me!" Ben said before rushing over to his parents, aunt and uncle, doing his best to console them. "Mom, dad, I'm here! Don't worry, I—"

"Ben, it's AWFUL!" Sandra cried, hugging her son worriedly. "I-It just came in from out of nowhere!"

The hero took his mother by her shoulders, pulling her gently so he could look her in the eye. "Mom, please, we need to remain calm. What do you mean it "came out of nowhere"?"

Carl raised his hand and brought it down in an arc. "She means it literally came flying in from OVER the house before crashing into the street! And no, I don't mean like an airdrop, it literally seemed to JUMP over the houses."

"That… isn't normal." Ren noted.

"Nothing EVER is in this town, Ren." Weiss said as she took out Myrtenaster. "We might as well get used to it. Shall we?"

Ruby took out Crescent Rose, shifting it into sniper rifle mode. "Right! Team RWBY, arm yourselves!"

Jaune unclipped Crocea More from his hip, bringing it into its greatsword mode. "Team JNPR, let's do the same!" The blonde knight reached into his pocket while his team followed his lead, taking out three vials of Lightning Dust. He reached up, opened the compartment in his blade, and then closed it, pumping the handle near the handguard.

Triple Dust Loaded; ZANDAR THUNDER!

That sound made Ben and Team RWBY all perk their heads up. "Wait, what?"

"Oh yeah, you guys didn't see this yesterday." Jaune smirked, popping the muscles in his neck. "Watch this, you'll get a kick out of it. C'mon guys!" Pyrrha, Nora and Ren followed him to the street, getting right in the tank's way. The massive vehicle stopped in its tracks, aiming its barrel at the four while Jaune's sword continued to spark and surge. "Alright, whoever's in there, you've got ten seconds to get outta there and stop this rampage!"

As if to respond, the tanks started a slow crawl off to the side of Jaune, keeping its barrel trained on him as it went. The knight himself found this a bit strange. It was almost as if it was… stalking him? He shook his head and widened his stance, waving his sword up above his head before bringing it down over his shoulder. "Alright, you've been warned! LIGHTNING AFTERGLOW!"

Jaune swung Crocea Mors down and sent a wave of electrical energy out at the tank, followed by a powerful explosion that engulfed its entire front half. Team RWBY were left shocked and pleasantly surprised as smoke began to waft off of it, and from there, they broke into a cheer. "HAHAHA! That was AWESOME!" Yang exclaimed.

"Jaune, you seriously turned your sword into the Zandar Thunder from Kyoryuger." Blake stated, crossing her arms with a shake of her head. "I can't believe I just said that out loud."

"Believe it, Blake." Pyrrha said as she placed a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Nice work, Jaune, now we can… what?"

The cheers were silenced as the smoke cleared… revealing that the front of the tank was absolutely fine. The stunned expressions on everyone could not be overstated enough. "It… it isn't even dented!" Kenny shouted, keeping close to his mother and father.

"Oh no… come on, we have to get away from here!" Winter ushered Sandra, Natalie and the three men to follow her into the garage, where Carl and Frank opened the door so they could get in. Once they were safe, Winter took hold of Kenny's arm, giving him a serious look. "No matter what happens, stay with your family until we're done."

"But Winter—" Kenny was cut off when she gave him a peck on the cheek, only to promptly push him in with the other adults.

"That's an order!" Winter said as she slammed the garage door down. 'Forgive me, Kenny, but I'm not about to let you get hurt.' She spun back around on her heel toward the tank again… only to see that all hell had broken lose. Team RWBY and Team JNPR were now fully on the attack, with Ruby, Weiss and Ren staying on the more ranged side of things while Yang, Blake, Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora and Ben were getting up close and personal.

Ben himself had taken the form of Four Arms, leaping up to the very top of the tank to try and pry off the cockpit cover. But, much to his surprise, he wasn't getting a good grip on it, and he ended up slipping off every time he tried. "Gah! What the hell?!" The Tetramand growled. "Why the heck isn't this lid coming—" RATATATATAT! "AAAAAUGH!"

Four Arms wasn't prepared for a secondary gun turret on top of the tank to suddenly swivel around and shoot him right in the back. Much to his surprise, the bullets HURT, and they hurt BAD. He was forced off the top and tumbled to the pavement, clutching his back in pain. "Ben!" Yang screamed as she came flying in, striking the tank with several Fire Dust-fueled punches. "You! Did! NOT! Just! DO THAT!"

Unfortunately, once again, the tank was left without a scratch, and the turret had once again swiveled around so it was aimed at HER now. Yang gasped as it open-fired, only for Blake to suddenly swing in and scoop her up before she was hit. The duo landed and Blake reached her hand out to Yang's arm. "You okay?!"

"Hah, yeah, thanks partner." Yang smiled, only for her eyes to widen. "DUCK!" The Blonde Brawler pulled Blake down with her as the main barrel of the tank swung back around toward them, with Nora hanging onto it for dear life… while she cackled in excitement.

"AHAHAHA! I've got ya now, you tricky sonova—WOAH!" All of a sudden, the barrel snapped up and sent Nora flying into the air, but the redhead didn't see any issue with this. She smiled gleefully and shifted Magnhild into hammer mode. "Alright, YOU ASKED FOR IT! BANZAAAAIII!" The Pink Dynamo came spinning down and SMASHED her hammer straight into the tank's turret, which was followed by a massive explosion. Nora was sent away from the explosion as the tank suddenly buckled, seemingly having been stopped.

Ruby brightened up at the sight. "Haha! Nora, great job!"

"Gah… yeah, nice work, Nora." Four Arms congratulated, still feeling the sting in his back from the bullets. "Now, let's see if we can find out who's behind this…" The nine teens ventured toward the tank… only for it to suddenly lurch back up and let out a VERY loud roar from its engine, starting back up again. "WHAT?! You've gotta be kidding me!"

Winter rushed in, staring at the vehicle in disbelief. "How in the world did it recover itself? That's not possible!"

Four Arms scowled at the tank and then leapt in before it could do anything, much to everyone's dismay. "Ben, wait!" Yang urged. "Don't try anything stupid!"

"I just wanna test something!" Four Arms explained before ramming himself right into the tank. Evidently, the vehicle had not regained its bearings, because while its treads dug into the ground, that wasn't enough to stop Four Arms from lifting its front end off the pavement. With a mighty roar of exertion, the Tetramand pushed the tank up and over onto its back, a loud THOOM making the earth shake briefly. Four Arms breathed hard, keeping his eyes trained on the tank as he went in to deal more punishment on its underside.

…But then the thing he was fearing would happen DID happen. The tank, for no explainable reason, started craning itself upward of its own accord. The teens were flabbergasted as the tank slammed back down onto its treads, its main turret rounding about on them once again. "…Okay, that tears it! This is NOT a normal tank!"

"An impenetrable exterior is one thing, but being able to readjust AND recover itself?!" Ren shook his head in disbeleif. "Either we're dealing with advanced technology or—"

SLAM! The green ninja was cut off as the front door of the house opened, Gwen sprinting out hurriedly. "Okay, dogs are safe inside! Now what in the world is going—AAAAAAAHHHH!" The redhead stumbled and skid to a halt, almost falling on her own doorstep as terror filled her eyes. She was nearly paralyzed with fear at what she was seeing.

"Gwen, just in time!" Four Arms called out as the tank started slowly bearing down on him. "I need ya to cook up a spell to get this ta—"

"LION!" Gwen screamed, pointing desperately at the tank. "Where the HELL did that giant lion come from?!"

Everything suddenly went silent, even the tank, which stopped once again and moved its barrel toward Gwen. Everyone else's attention was on the Anodite as well, wondering if the shock of the whole thing was getting to her… or worse. "Gwen, sorry to ask, but… did you inhale something bad?" Weiss inquired. "Because we're facing down the barrel of a giant TANK here!"

"Yeah, I have no clue how you can get a lion out of a tank." Yang mused. "It's not even a Best Match on the Build Driver."

But Gwen was resolute in her opinion, pointing at the tank even as its main body started steadily turning toward her. "I'm telling you people, that thing is a goddamn giant LION!"

"I think your stress broke, Gwen." Nora advised.

"I'm not crazy, YOU'RE crazy! Especially you, Nora!"

Nora gave two thumbs up. "Eyy!"

…..

Gwen let out a groan as she faced down her certain doom. Why was no one believing that she was staring into the eyes of a blood-thirsty LION right at that moment?! The think was leaving tracks in her FRONT LAWN for crying out loud! However, as she continued to stare at it… she saw something else. The beast was covered from head to toe in a glowing yellow fog, which almost completely obscured its entire body. She then took note of how its fur seemed to be a rich, golden color… almost TOO golden. And it was then… that it finally hit her.

'Oh god… this is actually…' Gwen shook her head and started concentrating on her magical abilities, her eyes glowing a bright pink as she started rising up into the air.

"G-Gwen!" Ruby shouted. "What're you—"

"VISIO MANIFESTA!" A pink aura surrounded Gwen before BURSTING out in a massive wave around her entire house, making the eyes of her friends, and even her family inside the garage, glow the same pink briefly. The energy dissipated as soon as it appeared, leaving everyone with a mild blindness for but a few moments.

Four Arms rubbed all four of his eyes as his vision returned. "Augh, Gwen, you mind giving us a warning before… you… whaaaa…"

Once everyone else was able to see as well, they all let out an audible gasp at what they were seeing. The tank they had been fighting was gone. And in its place was… "AAAAAAHHH! GIANT LION!" Weiss screamed, with everyone else yelling in both fear and surprise.

Gwen smiled briefly in victory. 'Ah… vindication…' But her celebration was cut short as she felt a blast of hot, musky breath going down her back, making her eyes snap open. "Oh right, the lion. AAAH!" The Anodite ran and regrouped with her teammates as the massive lion took a swipe at her with its black claws, belting out a deafening roar that showed off its bright, pearly, and very SHARP teeth.

The Omni-Hunters crowded around one another, with Winter and Weiss standing at the ready with summoning glyphs. The lion had to be about as big as a dump truck, and probably had the disposition of one, too. And it was ugly as sin, so it wasn't much to look at either. "How in the world did that thing disguise itself as a TANK of all things?!" Winter demanded, finding the whole situation baffling.

"Hah… the Mist." Gwen answered.

"The what-now?" Jaune urged on. "Please explain before we're EATEN!"

"The Mist that hides mythical monsters from most mortal eyes." Gwen elaborated. "Read the Iliad, it's full of the stuff." She craned her head up to Four Arms, giving him a knowing nod. "Ben… I think you and I BOTH know what that thing is."

At first, the Tetramand was confused. "What? Gwen, I—" But then, the memory of what Gwen said slammed into him like a ton of bricks, and everything started clicking together. The Mist… his favorite book series… and the lion. Oh no. "Wait… oh gods, it can't be!"

"It is." Gwen confirmed, her gaze locking onto the beast as it roared once more. "The Nemean Lion."

"B-But what the hell is it doing HERE in Bellwood?!" Four Arms thrust his four hands around him. "In case you haven't noticed, this probably as FAR from Greece as you can get!" At that moment, though, the Nemean Lion chose to pounce at the group, causing them all to scatter.

"We can speculate later!" Blake advised. "Right now, we've gotta kill it!" She whipped her head toward Gwen, hoping for an answer. "If this thing is a mythical beast, then how was it killed in the actual myth it's from?"

Gwen sucked her lips in, knowing that killing it would be easier said than done. "Well… it was beaten and choked to death… by someone with absurd strength which I'm pretty sure not even WE can match."

"Hmph! Sounds barbaric." Weiss scoffed as she rejoined Winter. "Fortunately, we happen to have a better solution where NO one has to get their hands dirty!" The Schnee Sisters smirked at the Nemean Lion before waving their respective weapons, causing their Summoning Glyphs to glow and spin with more intensity. Then, from out of the glyphs, Winter's Manticore and Weiss' Sphynx leapt into the fray. The two Grimm roared as they took to the air immediately, rushing toward the Nemean Lion with jaws wide open.

The lion, however, saw this as a challenge. It didn't know where these two others came from, but no other giant cat was going to get a hold if ITS prey. The Nemean Lion barred its teeth and roared back in defiance, swiping at the Grimm as they flew by. It only managed to clip the Manticore, though, with both cats flying straight up before spinning around in midair to blast blue fireballs from their mouth at the aggressor.

Both balls of flame landed direct hits on the lion, eliciting another bellow from it… before it just walked out of the fire with nary a scratch. "…Um, this might be stating the obvious, but THE GRIMM AREN'T DOING ANYTHING!" Yang exclaimed. "That's usually a bad sign!"

"Relax, they're just getting started." Winter said before swiping her sword, ordering her Manticore to fly down. The beast obeyed and readied its teeth and claws, challenging the Nemean Lion directly. The challenge was met and both maned felines began tussling through the streets, biting and clawing at once another as they rolled around. However, on closer inspection… the Manticore wasn't fairing too well. Its claws were only making sparks as it slashed at the lion's hide, and its teeth actually cracked under the strain of biting at its neck.

Finally, the lion managed to find the Manticore's neck and bit in, letting lose with its own claws to its underbelly. Much to Winter's astonishment, within seconds, the Nemean Lion had gored the Grimm, making it dissipate into thin air. Nora leaned toward her and asked; "What was that you were saying about "just getting started"?"

"O-Okay, not the best start, but we're not out yet!" Weiss reiterated, swiping Myrtenaster up and creating another summoning glyph. "Maybe a bit more teamwork can get this done!" Within seconds, the Arma Gigas appeared, leaving the former heiress rather exhausted as she took a knee. "Hah… okay, now go!"

The living armor saluted to its master before summoning its sword into its hand, rushing toward the lion as the Sphynx did the same. The Nemean Lion craned its head between both the old and new opponents before leaping out of the way, causing both of them to nearly collide with one another. The Summons quickly recouped, however, and both charged toward the lion with intent to kill. The Arma Gigas raised its sword and brought it down on the Nemean Lion's head, the impact throwing it for a loop and allowing the Sphynx to bite at its back.

But all this did was get the lion even more angry. Its red eyes gleamed and it let out another deafening roar before it started thrashing around, the two big cats getting into a close quarters brawl. The lion and Sphynx were essentially in a ball as they rolled around the street, leaving the Arma Gigas observing and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. That finally came when the Nemean Lion managed to pin the Sphynx, which the armor responded by going in for a killing blow with its sword.

It brought the blade down to skewer the lion… only for it to break immediately over its back. The Nemean Lion didn't even flinch as it went for the Sphynx's throat, snapping its neck and making it disappear. Weiss could only stare in horror as the lion rounded about on the Arma Gigas as well, ripping and tearing into it as it too was soundly defeated. "…You're kidding."

"Alright, I'm calling it!" Four Arms slapped the Omnitrix and transformed into… "HUMUNGOUSAUR! GRAAAAUUUGGH!" The Vaxasaurian's roar got the lion's attention right away, the beast going into another combat stance as it faced off against its new enemy. "Listen here, bucko, I might not be an Ancient Greek Demigod hero, but I AM a Modern-Day hero, so I'm NOT gonna let you destroy my town!" He lunged forward and went right into a grappling match with the Nemean Lion, the monster's front paws being held up by Humungousaur so he could try to get a good shot at its neck. "GRAH! I'm gonna choke you out if it kills me!"

"Guys, we gotta help!" Gwen asserted, her hands lighting up with mana. "Look for any exposed soft spots on the lion you can see. The bottoms of its paws, its eyes, the inside of its mouth, we need to weaken it SOMEHOW!"

And so, that's what the Omni-Hunters started doing. Taking aim with their ranged weapons, they started aiming and shooting at the exposed orifices of the lion, all while it continued to grapple with Humungousaur. Needless to say, this made actually AIMING at the eyes or mouth rather difficult, since it wouldn't stay still. "Grr! Hold still you over grown furball!" Ruby grumbled, missing a shot yet again. "I can't get a good lock on!"

"Gah, it's impossible to with it moving like that!" Pyrrha added. "Ben, try to hold it more still!"

At the moment, however, much to his own surprise, Humungousaur actually felt himself starting to buckle under the lion's weight. "Grrr… I'll… t-try!" He started growing a bit, right up until he was head and shoulders above the Nemean Lion. Humungousaur got the leverage he needed over the lion and immediately went to the ground, bringing the feline with him in an attempt to put it in a choke hold. "Agh! Grah! Hold STILL you—OUCH!" However, the beast simply continued its thrashing, managing to slash its claws across Humungousaur's arm and actually draw blood from the Vaxasaurian.

To make matters worse, the lion actually bit down further into the wound, making Humungousaur holler in pain lose his grip. The beast rolled around, with all four paws on the alien's chest before it started clawing at his face. Despite the agony he was in, however, the Vaxasaurian managed to get a hand on the Nemean Lion and throw him off, giving him a moment to breath. "Hah… hah… what the hell IS this thing?!"

"Very tenacious and vicious." Pyrrha said, the team regrouping as she began thinking on what they could do next. "We need something bigger to keep that thing down. Ben, do you think Way Big could—" Thwoom! The Invincible Girl cut herself off as she heard something odd. Evidently everyone else did too as their heads craned upward. It sounded like a sonic boom of some sort, but—THWOOM! There it was again… but this time it was closer. "I'm not the only one hearing that, right?"

"No, we can all hear it." Ren assured. "The question is what IS it?"

Finally, Nora spotted something high up in the air… which was falling directly toward them at high speeds. "I think we're about to find out! GANGWAY!" The group dispersed once more and gave whatever it was space to land, which it did with a mighty KA-THOOM! Dust and debris went flying as the road caved in beneath whatever fell, with the lion even backing away in confusion.

Pyrrha coughed and hacked, wafting the dust away from her face. "Hak-hak! W-What was… huh?" The redhead trailed off as something… or rather someone rose out from the newly formed crater. From the build alone, she could tell it was a man, a very TALL one in fact. He had to be at least seven-foot-six, though whatever he was wearing over his head made him appear much bigger. And as he stepped out from the silt, they got a clearer view of him

He was quite ripped, that was for certain. Strong, toned muscles beneath bronze skin that had been kissed by the sun. He had a strong jawline that was covered by a burly brown beard, and his eyes gleamed bright blue underneath his hood. His arms were left mostly exposed with a pair of brown forearm guards being the only things covering them. His lower half was covered by a pair of tanned leather cowhide shorts, with a leather cloth covered in metal armored draping down over his groin. The man didn't have much in the way of protecting his feet, however, opting for a pair of sandals with straps that wrapped half-way up his shins.

This man was also decked out in weaponry, that was for certain. A knife was strapped to his thigh while his sword hung in its sheath at his waist, ready to be used at any moment. Strapped to his back, meanwhile, was a quiver holding several arrows, as well as his bow kept securely beneath it. Over the quiver was also a bronze shield, its reflective surface shining even under the cape that he wore.

Speaking of, what he wore over his torso was where things REALLY got interesting. He wore a tunic that was parted open to reveal some of his chest and abdomen, though this particular tunic… appeared to be made out of fur. It also had a pair of shoulder pads that were actually the paws of whatever the fur coat belonged to. Draped over his back was a cloak made out of the same fur, which the teens could tell just by another set of paws hanging around his neck to keep it tied there. Finally, his "hood" was in reality, the head of a lion, mane and all.

The teens from Remnant as well as Winter were gawking at the brickhouse of a man as he strode forward, stunned at his presence. They didn't think people like this could exist on Earth. Sure, it was normal on Remnant to see people like this, but so far, they hadn't seen someone like that in THIS world. Gwen and Humungousaur, however… were completely floored. Without even so much as hearing this man's name… they both knew who he was.

The bearded man smirked at the Nemean Lion as it growled lowly at him, the feline narrowing its gaze right back at him. "Hm, so I WAS right. You've finally returned from the pits of Tartarus to this world… my old sparring partner." He slammed his fist into his palm… the force of which actually created a gust of wind that blew everyone's hair back. "Care for a rematch?!"

The lion's eyes widened at it realized who this man was… and what he was wearing. The Nemean Lion focused on the lion head hood and saw itself immediately, almost as if it were staring into some sort of dead mirror. The beast snarled and roared in rage at the man before pouncing at him, this time seeking to end him for good this time. However, the muscular man simply reached his hands up and caught the Nemean Lion by the paws, standing his ground even as he was pushed back through the pavement. "HAHAHA! So you DO recognize me! And you see how I've made use of you since our last fight!"

Team RWBY, Team JNPR and Winter, though, were utterly baffled by what this guy was talking about. "…Anybody know the jacked dude who's brawling with the lion like its no big deal?" Yang asked, to which she got a resounding "Nope". She shifted her focus over to the Tennyson cousins, who were still staring at the man fighting lion in complete awe. The Blonde Brawler snapped her fingers in front of their eyes, breaking their trance. "Hey! I'm just as impressed as you guys, but we need to HELP him, ya know!?"

Humungosaur's eyes widened in realization, quickly standing up and balling his fists. "RIGHT! GRAAAAHH!" He charged in and swung his arm right into the lion's gut, sending it sprawling back and giving the man some space. But then… Humungousaur realized something. Knowing who this man actually was, he probably didn't want him to do that. The Vaxasaurian quickly became sheepish and tapped his fingers together. "U-Um, sorry, I… guess you didn't—"

"HAHA! Well met, young hero!" The man said with vigor and a raised fist. "You gave that cat a good slug in the gut! Heh… I can only guess that YOU are the one called Ben Tennyson, right?"

"Y-You… you know my…"

"Well of course, I do!" The man stroked his beard with a knowing grin. "After all, what sort of Patron of Heroes would I be if I had let the greatest hero in modern day go unnoticed?" Just then, the Nemean Lion roared again and shot onto all four paws, glowering at the duo once more. "Hah, but pleasantries can come later. Right now, what say we beat the living hell out of this poor excuse for a feline, eh?"

The Omnitrix bearer had to steel himself. After all, he wanted to impress this man more than anything in the world right now. "R-Right, of course! Let's kick its ass!" The duo roared back at the lion and charged into battle, double teaming it to get it back on the ground.

"Restrain its hind legs!" The strong man shouted as he went right for the head. "I'll strangle and submit it!" Humungousaur did as he asked, practically leaning onto the lion's back half as he used his massive hands to keep its legs from moving. The warrior, meanwhile, somehow managed to actually get his big, jacked arms around the lion's thick neck, locking his fingers in an S-grip and applying a bulldog choke. "HAHA! Just like the old days! Only this time, it's a lot easier!"

However, despite its back half being restrained, the Nemean Lion kept thrashing with its front legs, even going so far as trying to snap its jaws at the man. But, as it did this… Pyrrha took note of what was happening. The lion wasn't only trying to hurt the warrior, but it was also gasping for air. And the inside of its mouth was pink and fleshy, not coated in the invulnerable fur. Gwen's advice from earlier immediately came to her mind and her idea was resolved at that moment. 'Now's the perfect chance.'

With that thought, Pyrrha grabbed Milo and shifted it into javelin mode, making a mad dash for the battle. Jaune and the rest of his team were taken off guard, obviously. "P-Pyrrha, what're you—"

"AAAAAHH!" Belting out a mighty battle cry, Pyrrha tossed her shield at the lion's head, both throwing the beast for a loop while rebounding the shield back to her. Instead of catching it, though, Pyrrha jumped up and them leapt again off of her shield, using her Semblance to get some extra height. She drew her arm back and, as the warrior and Humungousaur watched, she thrust it forward and Milo let off a shot from its handle, sending itself forward in a burst of speed directly into the lion's mouth.

Any roar that was being let out of the time was cut off by a sudden pained wretch as the javelin pierced the back of the Nemean Lion's throat, its eyes bulging out of its head as it tried to struggle it out. But then, Pyrrha landed right on its face, grabbing her spear to shove it in even deeper. An agonized cry escaped the beasts' throat before Pyrrha pulled her weapon out and then shifted it into rifle mode, firing off a Lightning Dust round into the wound. The Nemean Lion started convulsing immediately as its brain was utterly fried, before ultimately falling dead beneath the Invincible Girl.

Both the man and Humungousaur were left surprised at how quick and efficient the kill was, all while smoke billowed out of the lion's maw. They let the beast fall to the pavement and Humungousaur was the first to congratulate his teammate. "Hah, Pyrrha, that was great!"

"Hmhm, well, I simply saw an opportunity and I took it." Pyrrha chuckled. "It wasn't anything… big?" But then, she found her voice was lost when the warrior rose to his full height before her, gazing down at her at his very imposing stature. "U-Um… hello?"

"…Girl. Do you realize what you've just done?" the man asked.

Pyrrha suddenly started to feel very regretful of her actions. "O-Oh my goodness, I'm so very sorry!" She bowed her head respectfully as she screwed her eyes shut. "I-If I had known you wanted to get the kill, I would have—"

"AHAHAHAHA!" The man's jovial laughter cut Pyrrha off, leaving her and everyone else stunned. He gently pat her on the back, giving her a reassuring smile. "What in the Underworld are you talking about, girl?! What you just did was incredibly inspiring!" He pointed to the lion. "Do you know how long it took me to fell that beast when we first met? A day and a half! And you managed to do it in less than a minute!" He placed his hands on Pyrrha's shoulders. "Tell me, what was your name again?"

The redhead was somewhat baffled, but also very grateful she wasn't being punished for something. So, she gave him his answer. "P-Pyrrha, sir. Pyrrha Nikos."

"Pyrrha Nikos…" The man's eyes brightened up as he spoke her name. "Haha! What a fine name for a young warrior! Powerful, strong, and very Greek! I love it!" He snapped his head around to Ben, who had just changed back to his human form. "Young Tennyson, I take it that she is one of your friends?"

"Y-Yes sir!" Ben stood at attention. "She's actually one of my teammates."

"Is that so? Well then, you certainly have an eye for talent." The warrior smirked and extended his hand to Pyrrha. "Well then, given that she was the one who got the killing blow…" His hand then moved over to the dead lion. "I'd say it's only fitting she get the spoils of war, don't you?"

Ben's eyebrows rose, confused for a moment before realizing what he meant. "Oh! Of course, sir. I think she'd really appreciate something like that."

The warrior nodded. "Indeed, she would." He gave Pyrrha's shoulder another pat, sending her a wink. "Wait right here for just a moment. I promise you this will be quite useful to you in the future." With that, the man strode over to the Nemean Lion as the rest of the Omni-Hunters grouped up, only to be met with the sight of him tearing out one of the lion's dark claws with little effort. Then, he began cutting into the beast… which oddly enough, didn't bleed. Instead, its body started to dissipate into golden dust which wafted up into the sky, all while he continued to slice the monster's pelt off of it.

By the time he was done, the warrior had produced another tunic that was similar, yet very different to his own. Of course, it was a bit smaller, but also had a closed chest, for obvious reasons. And instead of having one paw for each shoulder pad, he had made one shoulder pad both paws layered on top of one another. Meanwhile, the other one was just the lion's head, its lower jaw having been removed for the arm hole. The cloak was still the same, however, tied together at the neck area with the remaining paws.

He handed the armor piece to Pyrrha with complete satisfaction in his work. "Ah, there you go, fair Pyrrha! Your very own Nemean tunic. Impervious to any form of attack!"

"Are… are you serious?!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"VERY serious." The warrior nodded before hearing the garage door open. He craned his head toward the house and saw the parents and Kenny all rushing over, desperate to get to their loved ones. "Ah, and it seems they are alright as well! Truly, this is a victorious day!"

Kenny was the first to get there and immediately enveloped both his sister and Winter in a hug, taking them off guard. "Oh my god, Winter, Gwen, we saw EVERYTHING!" He let go of Gwen so that she could get smothered by her parents next, all while not letting go of Winter. "Do you have ANY idea how worried we were?! You guys were fighting with a GIANT—"

"Lion, yes, we know, Kenny." Winter assured, taking him by the shoulders. "But, as you can see, things are quite under control. Thanks to Ben, Pyrrha, and our new… very large friend."

At the mention of him, Carl, Sandra, Frank, Natalie and Kenny all craned their heads up to the man. It was evident that all of them were mystified by his presence alone. They all had an inkling as to who he was… but none of them were quite ready to believe it yet. "Yeah… about that…" Kenny murmured. "You know who this guy is, right?"

"Not really." Blake admitted.

"But he IS crazy strong!" Yang beamed. "And that's AWESOME!"

The Earthen natives all face faulted at the others' unawareness, all while the man himself let out another big belly laugh. "AHAHAHA! Oh, well, that's expected, honestly." He gave the eight Remnant teens a nod. "After all, I can sense that you are not from this world, so it's understandable." He placed an encouraging hand on Ben's shoulder. "Young Benjamin, why don't you let them in on the big secret?"

Ben gulped, starting to feel overwhelmed by the whole situation. "W-Well, sir… I kind of already have." He slowly set his sights on his friend and his girlfriend, hoping they'd remember once he told them. "Guys, don't you remember? I told you his story the night RIGHT before we left Remnant. When we found out that the gods WERE real in my world."

Slowly but surely, Team RWBY and Team JNPR recalled the tale that Ben had regaled to them the night before they left for Earth two week prior. Tales of a man born of both god and mortal, with strength that matched that of a hundred men put together. The man who took on twelve agonizing labors to atone for the crimes he had committed thanks to a bitter queen goddess driving him mad. And indeed, the man who slew the Nemean Lion and made its pelt into his armor in the first of his trials. "…No way." Pyrrha muttered.

"Yes way…" Ben confirmed, facing the legendary hero once again. "You're… y-you're…" With a bright smile, the man ushered Ben to finish his sentence. "H-H-Hercules!" Ben couldn't take it anymore. He fainted on the spot.

…..

A/N: Let's be honest, if you met a legendary hero, you'd probably faint too, don't lie. But indeed, HERCULES! We're back to myths and legends for this small arc and let me tell you, I've been keen on having good ol' Herc appear for quite some time now. I mean, why wouldn't I, right? The man's done and seen it all and is the Patron GOD of Heroes! Of course I'd want him to appear in this story at some point, and that point is right now. And it seems that Ben's got a case of the "starstruck" from his presence alone. THIS should be fun to see.

But with Hercules also comes an old foe of his… the Nemean Lion itself! Also, yes, the Mist IS actually a thing in Greek Myth, not just something made up for Rick Riordan's book series. So when it comes to the Nemean Lion, I'd think the closest approximation that the Mist would make it into WOULD probably be a rampaging tank. The lion itself seems to have the disposition of one already, so it fits. But that said, it was Pyrrha who got in the final blow… and got a SWEET reward from Hercules for her feat! She'll put THAT to good use, I'm sure.

But, other than that, we got to see some other things play out here as well. Kenny got to show off his Build Driver to the gang, so they had fun with that for a while, but more importantly… the first meeting between Salem and Malware has occurred. Will they get along swimmingly? Or will their ideals clash a bit? We'll just have to find out, won't we?

Speaking of which, NEXT TIME! After the meeting between Salem and the new arrivals concludes, Cinder's crew is sent back to Earth… where they see some suspicious activity near the docks. Meanwhile, as the rest of the team arrives, the heroes are practically reveling in the presence of Hercules, the hero going into detail of why he has returned to Earth. What will the hero have to say? Well tune in next time to find out! Thanks for reading everyone, and I'll see you all next time! Stay safe out there!