What, did you really think Doctor Weller was the only Gen:Lock character we'd throw in here?
Yeah, after hearing about Gen:Lock season 2, I immediately thought "this girl needs to be in a better story", because if you know Gen:lock S2, you know how BAD it is. So, please enjoy.
Beep-Beep-Beep-
Her eyes slowly opened before clamping shut. Sleep was a luxury she cherished, and to have it stripped away from her was just the worst. Was it her fault for staying up late and looking at memes on her phone? Yes, absolutely. But the girl didn't want to place blame on herself. Blame the creator for having such an eye catching thumbnail or whatever.
She grumbled- until something poked her head.
"Nugget...come on...lemme sleep in for a few more minutes..." she mumbled, her Scottish accent slurring thanks to exhaustion. Her pet kept on poking her forehead, making her sigh in defeat.
"If you weren't so cute I wouldn't be listening to you," the girl grumbled, finally throwing her covers off. She picked up her pet- a palm-sized white mammalian robot with orange and black highlights. He had a pair of rabbit-like ears, a gray tail resembling a small pipe, and blue eyes with adjustable shutters that were capable of mimicking different expressions.
The girl pet him a bit before setting him down. She groggily made her way over to the bathroom and flicked on the lights. In the mirror, the girl stared back at her pale face. She messed with her long blonde hair and looked at the notable bags under her green eyes.
"Maccloud, you're a fuckin' mess today," she said to herself. She smirked. "Of course, I'm a mess every other day, so...business as usual."
For Cameron "Cammie" MacCloud, everyday was a bit of a slog. From waking up relatively early and having to work through most of the day on various projects that, quite frankly, were still the main reason she even got up in the morning, to eventually dealing with various tasks that would take her well into the night.
Life for Cammie was definitely a bit of a monotonous one, but that's how it was ever since she transferred over to the Kingdom of Atlas' research division. A genius in her field, Cammie often spent time trying to find the best minds to talk to about the things that interested her- mainly weapons and various kinds of new tech!
Cammie put her hair into a ponytail, completing her outfit. She sighed, slapping the sides of her face in an attempt to perk herself up. "Alright, just need to get through today. You get off at 5 PM, and then you can work on that project," Cammie said.
This project of hers was something that she had been spending most of her academic life actively preparing for. It wasn't really something that would be considered 'regulation' if found out, but she knew that she needed to finish it. Nugget was one thing, but this would be a whole different level of cool for her.
Cammie walked out the door, heading to the cafeteria. No one could work on an empty stomach, could they? Maybe she'd catch her two favorite people as well…
Living outside of the bubble was fun for Cammie- she was a simple hacker and tech support gal, so she never really paid much attention to the 'big' stuff. There was, of course, the threat of Salem. She was aware of it, but eavesdropping on others' conversations was always more interesting.
And her two favorite people to eavesdrop on? Some stocky brunet and his red-black-haired girlfriend. They had the most amazing back-and-forths.
"...so, that bug dude we fought when we were kids," the brunet started, cutting into his waffle. "Think we were right to attack the city?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, city officials tend to favor the elites more than the common folk, and that guy tried to fight city hall for a crumb of good fortune," his girlfriend pointed out. "Like, he had a good motive, and I would have agreed with him if he hadn't tried to kill the mayor. Especially with bugs, ew."
Cammie's eyebrows were, as always when she listened in on them, raised. Such conversations reminded her of how people used to be before technology made it possible to hear wild stories on a regular basis; it was like listening to snippets of some kind of drama or superhero show that she wasn't a part of. She'd admittedly listened in on a lot of talks between these two, as well as witnessing a number of other faces that would periodically come their way. The blondie who had recently moved from her typical expressive demeanor to a more serious one and back again, the slender one with the white hair, the faunus with the austere expression… It was fascinating to learn about their exploits.
She never really caught what they were, though. Were they like the Ace Ops or were they something different?
Maybe today she'd ask, but...eh. That'd ruin the mystery. It was more fun to imagine the lives these guys were living. For now, she had to wonder if that guy was being serious about aliens being real. Cammie did have 'hack into area 51' on her bucket list... Whatever. Maybe one day she'd have the courage to speak to them. With that settled she finished up her breakfast and walked to her workplace.
As she walked through the cafeteria, she soon noticed some of the other people that she often listened to, the Ace Ops. Their tales of heroism and bravery were practically a necessity if you wanted to get the know-how in Atlas. Cammie admittedly had always been a fan of Harriet Bree, their second in command.
In fact, it was Harriet that inspired Cammie's current project. Her weapons were foldable robotic exosuit arms, sleek and amazing. But, the name, Fast Knuckles...ugh. That almost ruined the weapon. Cammie personally would've named them "Fasticuffs" or "Sonic and Knuckles" or something, but that was just her personal opinion.
Cammie did notice that Harriet was quiet today, more than usual- she'd been that way since some big event a few days back. No idea what it was about, but Cammie didn't want to intrude on the personal life of some stranger she looked up to. Eavesdrop, yes, but never bother.
But for now, she needed to get to work. As Cammie made her way out, she decided that her first real stop would be to visit one of the tech labs. She also wanted to see if she could check on her order of parts that she had sent to a certain Polendina scientist down in Mantle. Maybe after she got to work, she could phone her supervisor and see if they had any kind of urgent assignment.
Cammie stepped into the lab and noticed the usual people at work. The familiar Faunus woman was perhaps the most eye-catching of all: bronze skin, short, messy black hair, dark blue lipstick, and wearing a labcoat that did little to hide her athletic frame. Her horns were ambiguous, which was why Cammie wasn't sure what kind of Faunus she was. Not that it was Cammie's place to ask, of course.
As she sat at her desk, spinning in the rather nice swivel chair she secretly liked, she finally flipped on her computer and started to scroll through her list of tasks for the day. She also took a moment to pet Nugget and set them down on the desk so they could have a moment to stretch their legs.
There were a few assignments for her, pretty basic ones she could knock out within a few hours. Cammie cracked her fingers and took a deep breath. "Alrighty, let's go."
Her typing was always pretty fast, allowing her to get work done within mere hours of starting. It didn't help that she always found herself getting work done much faster when she just zeroed in and focused on it. It also didn't help that her meal from earlier was going through her pretty damn quickly.
Cammie frowned. "Crap, am I seriously that hungry already?" And that's when she heard it.
Something exploded in the next lab over.
Cammie looked over her shoulder- everyone had already left, including that interesting girl from before. Her eyes darted from the door to her computer.
"...fuck it, I wanna know what exploded." Cammie picked up Nugget and put them on her shoulder.
Rushing toward the lab next door, Cammie took a moment to start squeezing through the groups of scientists and officials, cursing the fact that she was short. Eventually, she would look inside and find her eyes widening at the sight before her-
Inside of the lab, the red-black haired girl and the horned woman were standing in front of a partially destroyed wall. One of them was holding a badass looking gun.
"Good news: I hit the target," The red-black hair girl said with eerie calmness.
"Yes. You did, Ruby." The taller girl nodded, her hands in a prayer pose and close to her chin. Cammie raised an eyebrow- so her name was Ruby...
"Bad news: the wall now has a hole in it," Ruby said, pursing her lips together.
"Yes." The taller girl nodded again. Her fingers folded down so that her two pointer fingers were pressed against her lips. "Yes it does."
A few scientists groaned. "Oh, false alarm, it's just them again."
"Typical Wednesday." And with that, the crowd began to disperse. Cammie stood there in disbelief- had she been so engrossed in her work that she NEVER noticed the explosions!?
And another thing! Cammie was shocked by the fact that this smaller girl was brandishing a full-on bolt-action sniper-scythe combination weapon! Those kinds of weapons were regarded as unusual, made even more so by the fact that bolt-action weaponry had long been considered obsolete by the time Atlas tossed its hat into the ring.
She didn't even notice that she was still standing there, staring at the two girls, when they suddenly noticed her.
It was quiet for a few moments. "...can I see that weapon?" Cammie suddenly blurted out.
Ruby and Ceres shared a look. "Sure!" Ruby shrugged.
Ceres just looked mildly confused but watched as the blonde made her way over, eyes filled with wonder as she quickly took some mental notes of the schematics.
"Bolt action sniper-scythe, right? Are ya testing one of the new Dust ammo types or are ya testin' something different?" Cammie was surprised at herself for being so forward.
"Uh, just some more high caliber rounds-" Ruby explained, before her eyes drifted over to the robot on Cammie's shoulder. She gasped. "Oooooh my god! Did you make that?!"
"Huh? Oh! Y-Yeah I did!" Cammie smiled as she held out her arm so that Nugget could sloooowly make its way onto Ruby. Meanwhile the little scientist was busy tinkering away and seeing how she could help with the recoil and the explosions of the high caliber rounds.
"Ooooooooh~! He's so cute I wanna just build a bunch of them!" Ruby said, petting the little guy. "Ceres! Look at how cute this is!"
Ceres walked over and hummed. "Okay, I admit it: he is pretty cute." She turned back to Cammie. "I've seen you before...you're that girl who's always typing up a storm in the tech lab."
She blushed. "W-well, uh, yeah, just...really into my work!" She said, rubbing the back of her head. "Name's Cammie, and the robot is named Nugget."
"NUGGET!? Oh, that makes him ten times more adorable!" Ruby squealed.
"Cammie, huh?" Ceres hummed. "I'm Ceres, and this is Ruby."
Cammie made a noise to acknowledge the Faunus' name before looking back up from Crescent Rose. "So you should be able to fire without too much difficulty. Especially since the rounds were causing massive explosions and recoil. Not exactly the best for fighting in a tundra but what can ya do! Try it out!"
"Oh, no, we were aiming for more recoil," Ceres corrected her.
"...wha-?"
Ruby handed Nugget to Ceres. "So, I wanna try and conserve my powers. You know, fly up higher and strike from above, stuff like that. So, we thought the high caliber bullets would kinda… rocket me up faster?" she trailed off sheepishly.
Cammie stared. "Why?"
"...personal reasons," Ruby said, not sure how to explain the more recent threats she'd faced.
"OK, but...if you wanna conserve your powers and strike from above then why risk burning yourself on the end of a scythe like this?" Cammie asked. "Like, if it were me, I'd use some kinda leg-weapon to allow for easier movement, save yourself the trouble of flying."
"Well, let's just say Crescent Rose is...special," Ruby admitted. "I've updated it with some tech from the Plumbers, and modified it here and there-"
"You got tech from some people that clean toilets?" Cammie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh! She means something else," Ceres stated whilst giving Ruby a bit of side-eye.
"Dunno what that's all about, but if they can modify weapons like this, then sign me up!" Cammie joked. Her eyes quickly looked to the scythe itself once more before wondering just *what* upgrades were in it.
"Really?" Ruby said in disbelief. "Not to be rude, but you just met us."
Cammie grinned. "And I'm all for this kind of shit."
"I mean..." Ruby rubbed the back of her head. Sure, this girl was pretty adorable and her robot-making skills were intriguing, to say the least. But she couldn't just let her touch her baby like this!
"Hey, hey. I'll take care of your weapon. If it's fair...maybe you guys can help me with my own weapon," Cammie reassured them.
"Your weapon?" Ceres asked curiously.
Cammie nodded. "Yeah, it hasn't really been seen by anyone, besides the Doctor and such, but...I dunno. Still not 100% about it."
"You're making a weapon?" Ruby had to repeat that just to make sure.
"Yeah, I keep seeing all these amazing weapons all the time, busting bad guys and slaying Grimm. I couldn't help but get interested!"
Ceres couldn't help but smile, finding the blonde's excitement both adorable and familiar. "Alright. I guess it wouldn't hurt to help." She took Nugget into her own hands and petted them herself. "Besides, I'm curious as to what kind of weapon you had in mind."
"I have some blueprints back in the lab if you wanna come see?" Cammie asked with a smile as she held out her hand for Nugget to jump onto.
"Oh, sure!" Ruby grinned. Her mind was racing with possibilities. But given how her hair piece reminded her of a rabbit, she had an inkling as to what it was.
As the three of them made their way back into the lab, Cammie quickly spun on her chair before typing away with lightning speed. She grabbed the blueprints from her personal folder and showed them off.
"Ta-da! They're in the preliminary phase buuut I think they look pretty cool!"
Ruby and Ceres looked at the weapon- a pair of rabbit-like legs. Ruby ogled the design.
"I like the design. What inspired it?" Ceres asked.
"Oh, just exposure to weapons around Atlas. And, well, rabbits. Gotta love 'em." Cammie grinned. She admittedly neglected to mention a certain Ace-Op, but she thought it was better for her own design if she just said that it was based on the animal of choice.
"Do you have a concept build of it?" Ruby wondered. "I kinda wanna see it in action."
"I've got some of it put together right now...but, let's focus on your weapon." Cammie said, putting on some goggles.
Cammie decided to get to work, focusing on the recoil and then on the sound negation for certain rounds. If this was a sniper it was better for it to have minimal sound unless in full ballista mode or something similar. Ruby and Ceres, meanwhile, looked over the blueprints, adding in notes and revising some parts that Cammie hadn't double checked.
"So, you're in the field...what's it like?" Cammie asked some time later.
"I know they seem like fun, but trust me..." Ruby said, erasing something from the blueprints. "They require the utmost seriousness. Sure, from an outsider's perspective, we're just bashing monsters, but if you consider what's to lose on the mission..."
"I mean, yeah, you're protecting everybody right? But even then, that's probably why I find it so interesting in the first place. Putting yourself on the line everyday, with the risk of losing everything?" Cammie smiled as she adjusted her goggles. "That's crazy."
"What about you?" Ceres asked, briefly glancing over to the younger girl. "Ever had combat experience?"
"Ah, some experience in kickboxing here and there, and some self defense classes. I'm not the best, but I think I could do decently in combat." The blonde shrugged.
"Hmmm...If you think you got what it takes, then maybe we can see how this thing plays out?" Ruby asked.
"...I feel like you may have to handicap yourself," Cammie realized, looking at some blueprints for Crescent Rose. "How the hell do you lug this thing around?"
Ruby flexed her bicep. "I manage."
"I mean, if you're bumping elbows with the Ace-Ops, I can't exactly keep up can I?" Cammie half joked before looking over the blueprints again. Her eyes went wide as she saw the possible techniques she could pull off.
"Holy crap, this thing's an oversized swiss army knife!" Cammie exclaimed. "Turret mode, shotgun mode, grappling hook, scythe, energy scythe, and war scythe!? What kinda tech are these Plumber guys using? This is so cool!"
"Do you seriously not know about the Plumbers?" Ceres asked tentatively.
"Nope!" Cammie chirped. "First I've even heard of 'em."
"Seriously how have you not-?" Ruby then realized, oh yeah, a secret alien busting organization, probably meant to be kept a secret from most people.
"So, what are they? Like, a Black Ops wing or something?" Cammie asked guilelessly.
Ruby blushed. "It's...complicated..."
"Look, complicated or not, you've got me interested." Cammie sat up in her chair and looked up at Ruby, eyes sparkling.
"Well, I don't know where to begin," she began just as the door opened. Ruby and Ceres turned and thankfully, the PERFECT explanation walked into the room.
"Oh, there you are." Ben brightened upon seeing them. "I thought I'd look in the room with a hole in the wall before I went to the others."
"Oh! You're the tall, scraggly guy from earlier today!" Cammie exclaimed just as she realized what she had said. She smiled sheepishly. "I don't know what his name is."
"I'm not scraggly," Ben muttered, visibly deflating.
"Out of all the words used to describe Ben, I never thought 'tall' would be one of them," Ceres said, shaking her head. "He's like, the shortest guy on the team-"
"Not true! Kylie's shorter!" Ben snapped.
"Ben! Got it, OK! Can you tell me about this Plumber stuff?" Cammie asked as she wheeled over. She looked up at him, still as intrigued as before, not even noticing the Omnitrix yet.
"D-does she seriously not know?" Ben asked. "Wait, who is this-"
"Just do the trick!" Ruby cried out, mimicking slapping the watch.
"Uh, alright," Ben shrugged, still confused but activating the Omnitrix regardless. That got Cammie's attention.
"Ooooh! Hold on, that watch!" She started to wrack her brain.
"...yeah, what about it?" Ben asked. He turned to his friends. "Okay, seriously, who is this-"
"Shut up and show her the thing!" Ruby said. "I legit don't know how to explain it, and you're the best way to show it!"
"Wait a minute..." Cammie said, the realization slowly dawning on her. "This watch..."
"Yeah? What about the watch?" Ben raised an eyebrow as he visibly saw the blonde connect the dots.
"That symbol's been appearing on those monsters on the news..." Cammie's eyes widened. "...oh my god."
He smirked. "They're aliens, actually."
"Wait, they're not just monsters?" She looked at the watch and then to Ben. "Oh my god, that's...no way...!"
Ben nodded. "Yes way. Also, Ceres, question: should we really be telling random people I can turn into aliens?"
"No worries. Me, Rook, and Kylie are authorized to use the Men in Black mindwipes if something like that happens," Ceres casually said.
Cammie spun around to face her. "Wait, what?!"
Ceres shrugged."Nothing personal, but it's something that not everyone is accustomed to hearing."
"No, no! This is amazing!" she exclaimed, a wide grin on her face.
Ben continued warily. "Turning into aliens is probably a big deal for her, it's-"
"No, fuck the aliens! LOOK AT THIS TECH!" Cammie shrieked.
"The tech?" Ben parroted as she examined the Omnitrix, practically trying to tinker with it.
Cammie grinned. "Yeah, this tech is beyond ANYTHING I've ever seen before! I thought your girlfriend's scythe was incredible, but this is even better! Hell, I just thought this thing was a part of your terrible fashion sense!"
"I take some offense to that," Ben said flatly.
"Seriously, I need to meet the person who made this. Is this some kind of nanite type technology? Does it summon things? Could you consider it a weapon?" Cammie asked in rapid fire succession.
"I guess?" Ben shrugged. "And no, it's full scale DNA alteration. The nanite guy is Rex."
"Full scale DNA alteration?!" Cammie almost straight up passed out at those words. "Oh, now I REALLY need to see them."
Ben slowly turned to his friends."Ruby, Ceres, where the hell did you find this girl?"
"Hey, she came to us," Ceres defended. "Blame fate or something."
"Alright, alright. stand back," Ben said, with Cammie obliging him. "Gonna try for something simple…" He twisted the dial a few times before activating the button on the side. Cammie watched as Ben slapped down the dial and purple and pink crystals ran up his body, slenderizing it into Chromastone's usual frame.
"See? No dust, no tricks, nothing. I'm a full on alien," Ben declared.
Cammie's eyes narrowed as she examined Chromastone's form before tapping her hand on his side, then on one of the crystals that formed his back. "Amazing."
Ruby chuckled. "I've never seen anyone so engrossed in Ben's alien forms."
Ceres smiled. "Well, there was Weller that one time, but that was because the armor was on."
"ARMOR!?" Cammie gasped. "Ooooh, show me pleeeeaaaase!"
Chromastone groaned before giving a fond chuckle. "You know, she kinda reminds me of how you were, Ruby."
"I've calmed down, kinda! I only freak out at SOME of your aliens now!" Ruby pouted.
"Still counts," Chromastone laughed. He quickly tapped on the Omnitrix symbol as it began to spark and glow, the crystals on his body quickly changing as he got ready to bring forth the armor.
Ben's form became more reptilian, growing a tail and transforming into XLR8. Familiar armor enveloped him, the tail becoming coated in energy and the balls on his feet becoming saw-like blades.
"Check it out," Ben crowed once the transformation finished.
"Ooooooh my god!" Cammie beamed as she put her hands up against some of the armor, luckily not getting herself cut on it as she became more enamored with this boy's aliens...
"Seriously, where did you find her?" Ben asked his friends once more.
"And once again, she came to us. We attract everyone with a spark of chaos, dude," Ceres deadpanned.
Ben made a face. "Please don't tug the tail. That feels weird," he said, turning to Cammie.
"Oops! I'm sorry! I'm just...God, this is a little overwhelming? The fact that aliens exist and that you can morph into a whole slew of them?" she said wonderingly.
"Blame those two. Ceres could've just said she's an alien," Ben said pointedly.
"SHE'S WHAT?!"
"Aaaand you had to go and tell her." Ceres turned to Cammie. "I've known you for how long and you're still this dense?" she exclaimed as she put a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. "Yeah kid, I'm an alien."
"...I just assumed you were a Faunus," Cammie admitted. "I honestly thought those horns were like...some kind of animal!"
"Well, you don't really know Ceres is a dragon-alien-lady until the scales come in-" Ruby said.
"Dragon?!"
"We need to stop with the sudden revelations, she can only take so much," Ceres huffed.
"I...I just...God this is so cool and so, so weird!" Cammie proclaimed, excited and bewildered in equal measure.
"What's up with that cute fox robot thingy?" Ben tried to change the subject.
"Oh, this guy?" Cammie extended an arm only to see her pet swiftly leap up from it and over toward Ben's. "He's a little robot I whipped up."
"Seriously?" Ben said as he reverted back to human. "So, what, is it like a weapon? Is it also a gun?"
"No, Nugget's just my pet." Cammie pointed to the blueprints. "That's the weapons I really wanna use."
"Huh." Ben looked over the blueprints before wondering just what exactly these would do for her. "Aren't these just..."
"Yeah, I noticed. They're based around Harriet's weapons, but for her legs." Ruby hummed in thought. "I think we could go beyond that, right?"
"Whatcha mean?" Cammie asked.
"Well, as cool as Harriet's weapons are, she has one fatal flaw," Ruby explained. "They don't really protect her. Like, sure, if she gets hit in the arm or breaks it, she can carry on, but in a hypothetical situation- let's say some shrapnel digs its way into your leg. You'd need some extra defense to shield your legs."
"Huh, I never really considered that," Cammie commented as she scanned the materials before turning to face the group. "What are your thoughts? It's not like I can easily turn my weapon into a mech suit."
"You never know," Ceres said, eyes averted as she thought. "We could jury rig something up with a spare set of Proto Armor we have...we could use the armor from the legs and see what that gets us..."
Cammie wondered what she meant by that before thinking it over herself. Maybe the armor she'd seen occasionally would be what they're talking about?
"Think I could help? I got some aliens that are good with tech. Plus I've helped Ruby with her weapon before," Ben added.
Ruby grinned. "Those were fun dates~"
"Uh, sure! I mean, if you know what you're doing with all this weird alien tech-stuff, I'd be grateful!" Cammie exclaimed with a soft smile, still overwhelmed but appreciative of the offer.
"Let's get to work, then," Ceres declared, rolling up her sleeves. "If we're smart with this, we can have some sort of prototype done before dinner."
"Let's get started!" Cammie smirked as she cracked her fingers and went to work.
Cammie stared at the tiny gray frog-man walking along the table and lugging some wires behind him. Cammie watched him hop on the lower half of the suit and climb inside it.
"...so, you're telling me that frog is the smartest person in the room now?" Cammie said, turning to Ruby.
"Kinda." She shrugged. "I don't question it."
"This..." Cammie merely leaned down and stared at the small gray frog-man. "It just keeps getting weirder and weirder."
"You grow numb to it as time passes," Ruby stated.
Cammie looked at the armor again. "So, this Proto-Armor. How durable is it?"
"Pretty durable. Can withstand a lot of powerful blows and laser blasts," Ceres said. "You can ask Blonko more about it, he's worn it since day one."
"Noted." If he had been wearing such armor for a long time, she really would need to speak with him at some point.
"So, why'd you choose Harriet's weapon?" Ceres asked curiously. "Does the tech interest you or something?"
"I...I've always admired her. She's always been portrayed as some kind of heroic figure, and, admittedly, I have a thing for the bunny aesthetic." Cammie rubbed her neck, clearly flustered.
Ruby held her tongue. It'd been a few days since that incident with Harriet and Yang, and there was obviously some bad blood between them still. She'd best not ruin Cammie's image of her.
"Oh, yeah. It is a pretty cool weapon. Admittedly, I thought it was a jetpack when I first saw it," Ruby laughed.
"It does look like that!" Cammie exclaimed before averting her gaze a bit. "I'll be honest, I wondered if the weapon was used to help with some kind of spinal issue? But I think if I asked, she'd probably yell at me."
"Trust me, she'd yell at you for a few things," Ruby said, trying not to let her eyebrow twitch. "She's very serious about her job."
"I mean, she's carrying Atlas on her back. Why wouldn't she take her job seriously?" Cammie inquired, a significant question given that the Ace-Op seemed to go it alone more than anyone else.
"I suppose," Ceres said slowly. "I guess it's because we're younger and less experienced that she...hasn't gotten used to us yet. We're still technically rookies."
"But with that kind of power, you'd think she'd respect you guys a little more, especially after what's occurred," Cammie stated, smiling softly.
"It's...complicated," Ben weakly said, brushing his hands on his pants. "We're not exactly professionals."
"Is it bad that I figured that out already?" Cammie joked.
"Oh, no," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Not at all."
"We'd be offended if you realized it later," Ceres joked.
Ruby grinned as she finished up assembling one part of the weapon. "Alright, here we go. How does this look?" She held up a mechanical rabbit's foot.
"Oooooh! I love it! Is that meant to help with the balance or spring elevation?" Cammie asked as she quickly darted back and forth, observing the foot with immense interest.
"Both, actually!" Ruby grinned. "We may have to make some more adjustments, but it should be good for a test run."
"Alright! Let me get suited up!" Cammie beamed, taking the leg and looking to the rest of the suit to check if it was all calibrated right.
Ceres grinned. "Now, hopefully this one won't explode."
Everyone looked at her.
"What? It's a legit concern."
"Trust me, I know my weapon better than anyone. I drew the plans and you made it. It will not detonate," Cammie reassured them.
Ruby slowly nodded. "Okay, that's fair."
As the group started to set up, Cammie found herself getting nervous since she never tested out the weapon before. Knowing her Semblance, she was going to need to focus on using this suit to the best of its potential. Cammie made some quick finishing touches, then slipped on the weapon for the first time. It was a little weird to be taller than usual, but she could get used to this height. It would probably add some more maneuverability on the fields. After all, a rabbit's muscles were greater than that of a cheetah…
Slowly stepping out to the testing field, she could see Ruby and the others on the sidelines, already observing with great intrigue. "Computer, activate training regiment C4-MM-1E," Cammie announced, steadying her breath.
The trio watched with great interest- an obstacle course suddenly formed, with plenty of tall, obstructing hurdles in the way. The obstacles also had various metallic substances close by, almost as if preparing the course specifically for her needs.
Cammie got herself into a runners starting position.
"What's with the metal?" Ben asked, curious.
Ruby kept watching. "I think we're about to find out."
With a sudden lunge forward, Cammie took off in a surprisingly fast sprint as she quickly focused on some of the broken gaps in the course. She needed to form some ways to cross...
Thankfully she had her legs, and those could get her across any distance. The first gap came up, and Cammie leapt high, flipping through the air, over the space-
Cammie smirked as she quickly looked to some of the larger gaps further into the course, knowing that she'd be dealing with some more dangerous enemies later on. She'd need to use her Semblance sparingly.
"Alright, she crossed those gaps no problem," Ceres noted, watching her bounce off of some walls. "So far so good."
But Ben was more focused on the metallic substances. They were way too specific to ignore. As she passed through the course, hopping through hoops and ducking under bars, she suddenly came to a gap that was difficult to cross… and that's when her hands quickly glowed. Ben watched in amazement as the tiles from the other side of the gap suddenly extended, creating a platform she could safely land on. "What the-?!"
Cammie's Semblance was a unique one. Ruby could control her speed and move faster than the eye could track, Weiss had her summoning, and Cammie could use limited technomancy to extend metallic surfaces and items, altering them to a shape or item that she could use so long as her aura is active.
"Maybe we should add some metal surfacing to her weapon," Ceres thought out loud. "Think that'd be cool?"
"Absolutely!" Ruby gasped.
Cammie even showed off a little as she jumped off the metal, hologram Grimm appearing and ready to attack. The blonde immediately exploited the springiness of her legs to launch into a kicking frenzy, admittedly not as* coordinated as she should have been, but still fairly impressive.
"Combat needs some work- she's got a good foundation, but she needs more training," Ben stated.
"What makes you an expert on this?" Ruby teased.
He slowly turned to stare at her. "Ruby, I have to memorize, like, 70+ aliens and use them in combat. I feel like that should be more than an adequate explanation?"
Ruby blinked. "When you put it like that…yeah. Okay, yeah, you're qualified."
Cammie smiled as she jumped up, the two holographic beowolves trying to attack her from both sides getting skewered by two large columns of metal slamming into them.
"The metallic stuff adds to her combat capabilities, and makes up for what she herself can't do. That's a pretty good way to patch up a weakness," Ben mused. "Of course, that's not considering the extent of what her Semblance can and can't do."
They'd soon find out. From the way she was fighting, Cammie seemed to focus on one specific portion of the metal which allowed her to do more with it, rather than focusing on several parts. And from the look of things, using her Semblance too long strained her body as well.
"Looks like she can't do parallel processing," Ceres noted. "But maybe she can work up to it."
"I'm more impressed with her display than any of you, if I'm being honest."
Ceres whirled around to see General Ironwood standing behind them. "Gah!" Ben cried out, nearly jumping out of his seat. "Jesus, make yourself known next time!"
"My apologies." Ironwood looked towards Cammie showing off her suit. "Did you three help her finish that device?"
"Yeah, we made some quick modifications, added some armor…" Ceres trailed off.
"We used some spare Proto Armor as a base. Still incomplete, of course," Ruby finished.
"I see. And this suit in question can enhance her already existing Semblance and allow her to use it at a greater capacity," Ironwood observed, which alone caused a bit of confusion.
Noticing their questioning looks, the general elaborated. "Miss MacCloud's Semblance is very limited, but it allows her to manipulate small technological items. Nothing too large though."
"Technology? So, what, is that metallic stuff actually nanobots?" Ben asked.
"Oh no, those are just metal platings." Ironwood smiled as he kept observing.
"I'm sure she'll get even better as she builds on that weapon." Ben grinned. "And some more combat training, obviously."
"Of course. I imagine that the suit will be a great asset for Atlas," Ironwood explained, focusing less on Cammie and more on the potential such a Semblance enhancing suit could have...
"Wait, hold on. You're thinking of putting her on the field?" Ceres asked incredulously. "She's still got a way to go."
"Such an ability could be useful for the various people out on deployment. A suit like that could ensure that almost all damage to a machine is nullified within minutes," Ironwood explained.
"Be that as it may, it's still a prototype. There's still plenty of work to be done," Ceres said firmly. "But I will admit, it could be handy for repairing damage to the city."
"Exactly. Such abilities will help immensely. Send my regards to Miss MacCloud when you get the chance, tell her that I would like to see this suit in action more."
"Right," Ben said as the general walked away. As cool as it was that Cammie's abilities caught Ironwood's eye, Ben couldn't help but feel he was acting weird during that interaction.
Eventually Cammie rushed her way back over, panting even with the adrenaline pumping through her veins. "Woo! That was a rush!"
"That was great!" Ruby cheered. "And your semblance is so cool!"
"Yeah, helps me get my work done a bit faster. Handy, isn't it?" Cammie crowed. She pointed to the prototype. "Granted, it's pretty limited," she added before changing minor sections of her suit.
"So you can just change your weapon on the fly too, huh?" Ceres hummed. "Even more impressive." Her expression fell a bit. "By the way, the general happened to see your test run-"
"He did?!" Cammie was admittedly worried, considering this was different from her usual work.
"Yeah, he was really impressed by your performance! He wanted to talk with you after, I think," Ruby said.
"Oh! Great! I'll have to try to catch up to him then." Cammie then began to make her way past the three. "Thank you again for helping me in sorting out this ol' weapon of mine!"
"No prob!" Ruby grinned. "See you around!" she yelled as Cammie rushed through the halls.
"…she should've taken off the prototype," Ceres deadpanned.
"Hey, this is kind of a weird question, but that was a weird conversation with Ironwood, right?" Ben asked hesitantly.
"I mean, about as weird as he generally can be?" Ruby cracked a grin. "Why, what's wrong?"
"I dunno…it just…" Ben shook his head. "Ah, never mind. Probably just me. I know he's the leader of the biggest army from all the kingdoms, but I just kinda thought he was overextending himself. I dunno."
"Even if he was, I'm sure he's got people who can help him with his work or get him to slow down," Ceres pointed out.
"I guess…"
But the thought stayed in Ben's head longer than he would've liked.
Ben and Ruby's breakfast the next morning was joined by a very excited Cammie MacCloud. Of course, their topic of discussion was as engrossing as ever.
"I'm not sure, Rue," Ben commented as he swallowed a bite of apple. "I'm pretty sure Snoopy could defeat Garfield in a battle."
"Yes, but Garfield could absorb the punches and keep him at bay," Ruby objected. "Garfield is tactically fat."
"...we really need to stop having conversations like this."
"Good morning!" Camie said, putting her tray down.
"Morning!" Ruby grinned.
"Sorry, was I interrupting? It kinda seems like you two talk about these kinda pop-culture things all the time when at breakfast," Cammie admitted.
"We get that complaint a lot." Ben nodded. "So, what's up? How'd the meeting with Ironwood go yesterday?"
"Oh! It went surprisingly well! The general said he had some big plans for my prototype and asked if I could provide some more of that armor for him!" Cammie explained with a beaming smile. "He even said that he might test it out with the Ace-Ops!"
"Wait, seriously?!" Ruby gasped. "Cammie, that's incredible! Congrats!"
"Yeah! He's having a bunch of scientists work on getting that armor out as soon as possible!" Cammie exclaimed as she then started to look around. "Plus, Harriet herself even came up to me afterwards!"
"Oh?" Ben said, trying not to let his concern show.
"Yeah! She wants me to do some upgrades on her weapon too!" Cammie said. "And that's AWESOME! I never thought I'd even talk to her!"
"Oh." Ruby found herself realizing what that might mean for the most part. But she still kept her smile up.
"Probably gonna give her armor some more plating and stuff, kinda like mine. So, that's cool!" Cammie said. "But, yeah, thank you guys so much, this is like, the best thing that's happened to me since I got here!"
"Did Harriet actually mention why she wanted her weapon upgraded?" Ruby asked before taking a moment to put her food down.
"Ah, not really. Maybe she saw the similarities between our weapons and wanted the same." Cammie shrugged.
"Well, I might go and ask her about it," Ruby added as she started to get up. "Congrats again! Super proud of you!" she exclaimed, while heading out of the cafeteria. Ben quickly said his own congratulations and see-you-later's to Cammie before following his girlfriend.
"...we should probably warn Yang that Harriet's done with her sensitivity training," Ben said quietly.
"...yeah."
As Ruby and Ben headed off, Cammie was confused but decided to try and follow along in secret. She was concerned as to why they seemed to up and bolt at the mention of Harriet Bree.
"I don't wanna hurt her feelings, like she's really cool and bright and I can respect a woman who builds cool weapons..." Ruby murmured. "But, God, if she finds out how Harriet really is..."
"I know, I know. That's why we're keeping it on the down-low. Don't wanna crush her." Ben patted Ruby on the back.
"We just need to find out why she's getting that weapon done and whether or not it's because of...you know," Ruby added before making the motion of a fist hitting someone in the face.
"I hope it's not because she and Yang got into a fight. Maybe she's just stepping up her game." Ben shrugged. "We should still let Yang know."
"I can do that. You go and find out what Harriet is up to!" Ruby said as she started to make her way over toward the group's dorm room, hoping that Yang was around so that they could at least talk briefly-
"Rue, you know I can't do spy work! I can't just bring that up casually!" Ben protested.
"Then do it in your own weird 'Ben' way!" Ruby snapped.
Ben frowned. "Oh yeah, that helps!" he huffed. "I can't really approach Harriet because she's probably mad at me by proxy, and if I asked Marrow or Elm, it'd be weird. So..." Ben paused. "God, why is this so hard to brainstorm something-"
Silence.
"...oh yeah, Brainstorm."
Slapping down the dial, Ben took a moment to scuttle across the halls as the intelligent crustacean alien. He could only hope that Brainstorm had knowledge on how to approach a conversation about someone possibly trying to use an upgraded weapon to get payback.
Cammie peered around the corner to see the oversized seafood special. People just walked around it, while Ben was thinking his hardest. Cammie huffed- obviously, something was up with Harriet...and maybe she could get the answer herself.
Harriet, as it turned out, was training with her newly acquired improvements. Fast Knuckles was one thing, but this weapon was on another level entirely. It really got her enthusiastic for a change, and she unleashed a flurry of split-second blows on the reluctant test dummy.
Cammie approached the Ace Op slowly- okay, she was still a little starstruck, but she also wanted to approach this with the perspective of 'you're talking to a real person.'
"Uh, hey! How're the upgrades treating you?" Cammie asked nervously, once she was sure Harriet wasn't going to attack.
"Hm? Oh, it's you. The updates are operating properly, so I have to say, you did a fantastic job, kid." Harriet grinned as steam rushed out of the vents on her arms.
"Y-yeah, thanks." Cammie blushed. "So, uh...kinda curious. Why'd you ask for those intense upgrades? I mean, your weapons were great, why improve on that?"
"I wanted to make certain that I was quicker and stronger than I had previously been. Some amateurs think they can get the best of me if they have one poor day and get a decent hit in," Harriet explained without even glancing at Cammie.
"...I see." She didn't have the full context, but...yeah, it sounded like Harriet was reeling over something, probably whatever happened between her and Ruby's sister.
"Uh, yeah! Just wanted to make sure everything was working right!" Cammie said, hoping to end this conversation soon.
"Oh, they're more than sufficient. If used correctly, these things can knock out a Paladin in a matter of seconds. I feel fantastic!" Harriet exclaimed, more pumped up than before; however, using aura to augment her Semblance artificially had its own problems.
"...right! Ah, yeah. Just...you know where to find me if you need any weapon help!" Cammie said, awkwardly backing away. Harriet returned to her training, as if their conversation never happened.
Cammie took a deep breath and put her hands against her face, dragging them down. "...oh, boy."
Ben was still Brainstorm when Cammie knocked on his head. "Hey. Hey! Wake up!"
Ben's eyes shot open...as did his skull, revealing his pink, fleshy brain. Cammie nearly screamed as she fell to the floor.
"Holy shit!" Cammie said instead as Ben quickly reverted back to human.
"Ah, sorry!"
"L-Look! I'm aware that something's up, but I'm not sure if Harriet will be utilizing her upgrade for the standard situations that I planned it for," Cammie said uneasily.
"What? Crap, you heard us...look, I know it looks bad, but trust me, Harriet crossed a line with Yang! We didn't want to-" Ben said, before Cammie tugged on his sleeve and brought him close.
"Listen, I have no idea what happened, and to be honest, I don't want either of them to get hurt. So we need to figure out how to stop these two from fighting again. Is Ruby's sister typically violent?" Cammie asked before looking around.
"Not really, no. She only snapped because Harriet pushed her 'berserk' button," Ben said. "You can let go of my arm now, by the way."
"That doesn't make that any better. If her berserk button is easy to press then Harriet might be in trouble." Cammie was thinking of this entirely the wrong way, but she definitely had her heart in the right place.
"Yeah..." Ben drawled. "Let's go tell Yang what's up, and figure out if Harriet wants to even the score or something."
"Or tell Harriet if it's Yang wanting to even the score with her." Cammie smiled as she headed on over with Ben, hoping that the two sisters had already discussed this by the time they arrived.
"So, she wanted to upgrade her weapon?" Yang asked slowly, clarifying what her sister told her. "And you think it's because she wants to fight me again."
"Yeah! Look, she's the type of person to hang on to grudges. I don't think she and Elm have even spoken after the whole Techadon incident." Ruby shook her head. "So, I think you should watch out?"
"Look, if she wants to settle the score then that's on her." Yang shrugged as she sat on the chair closest to her. "I'm taking some time for myself and I know that she wouldn't go against orders from the General."
"Yeah, but she's done with her sensitivity training. And because she saw this kid's weapon and realized it was based off of hers-" Ruby made a few hand motions. "Look, I don't want you getting in trouble with her again! What if one of you gets discharged or something?"
"As if you'd care if she was dismissed," Yang scoffed. "Again, not to sour the mood, but Harriet can do whatever she wants. I'm tired of her antagonizing me, you, or any of us."
"But...what if she gets you like the last time?" Ruby said. "What if she mentions… you know…"
"She won't." Yang stood up and stared at her sister. "And I'm gonna stop you right there before you say anything else." Taking a few steps forward and glancing at the door, she continued. "I already know that if I need to talk about that sort of stuff, I have you guys. If she wants to try and use it as a crux to get me to hit her harder? Then as I said, that's on her. She knows who she's dealing with."
"Okay, I get that, but I've seen the new weapon-"
Yang and Ruby whirled around to see Ben and Cammie standing in the doorway. The blonde took a couple glances at the sisters.
"...wait, how are they-"
"Stepsisters," Ben interjected with well-practiced ease. "Just tell them what you told me."
"Right! The weapon itself enhances someone's aura output and their Semblance," Cammie explained before wondering what that would mean in a fight against Yang. "But listen, I know that she probably doesn't want to fight you. Besides, she's not the kind to just go out and beat people up because they crossed her...right?"
Silence filled the room. Yang turned her gaze to Ben, who subtly shook his head.
"...maybe," Yang conceded. "We just know she's determined and a bit of a hard ass. But even if she did try and fight me, or actively target me in some way, the general would take note right away. I'm not really worried."
"But what if he doesn't?" Cammie blurted out. "What if he doesn't stop her from fighting you?"
"I'm not following?" Ruby asked, utterly baffled. "I'm pretty sure Ironwood wouldn't encourage discord like that."
"But wouldn't he also want to see this weapon in action?" Cammie hypothesized. She knew the general would never allow it, but the idea of testing a new weapon with some of his best fighters...that would be tantalizing even for a general.
Yang's eyes grew wide. "Fuck."
"He was curious to see your weapon in action yesterday, and considering how fast you were able to make upgrades to Harriet's weapons..." Ruby grimaced. "God, he might actually do that."
"OK, look, I'm not saying he would let it happen. Besides, I'm more worried about Harriet right now considering how excited she seemed to try out the weapon," Cammie explained.
"Then I'll help her test it," Ben piped up. "I can take a few hits. Hell, I'm pretty sure she'd wanna beat me up. A lot of people do."
Yang smirked. "He's right."
"See?"
"Yeah, but do you think that she'd settle with someone who wasn't involved? Or would she want to get back at the person who directly crossed her?" Ruby asked from the side.
"I dunno! Look, I just want to make sure this doesn't blow up!" Ben exclaimed. "Like it is...right now..."
Yang just shook her head and started to walk out of the room. "If she wants a fight, then ya know what? I'm not gonna stop her."
"Yang!" Ruby cried out, running after her. "Come on, please!"
"Don't worry. I got this."
"Will you just listen to Ruby for once-!" Ben started before Yang turned around, giving her signature smile.
"Guys. Seriously, this isn't gonna end how ya think it is."
"I really have to admire her confidence," Cammie admitted.
As the four of them made their way to the main arena, it looked like Yang had called it. She was practically staring right into Harriet's eyes when she finally entered the arena.
"Why do I have the feeling this isn't meant to be an apology," Yang half-joked.
Harriet just glared and readied her weapons.
Yang whistled. "Cammie did a good job on those. Impressive, honestly."
Harriet slowly positioned herself as she felt her Semblance surge through her, amplified thanks to the upgrades.
"Not gonna say anything? No one liners? No insults to get me mad?" Yang smiled as she languidly flipped off her jacket and rolled her neck. "I'm surprised, usually it takes less to get your big mouth going."
Harriet was silent as she bolted towards Yang, her new weapon ready to punch her face in. Ruby covered her eyes, and Ben braced for the worst-
The strike landed, but instead of being sent sprawling, Yang stood there as her eyes glanced at Harriet. "Ya know, I would've been scared? But this isn't the strongest punch you've thrown before."
Harriet threw a few more punches, but Yang stood her ground, her aura shimmering and slowly breaking...
Cammie just watched as Harriet threw herself into each attack. She was clearly in the zone, each strike and glare growing more and more intense.
Yang kept taking the strikes. She wasn't even activating her Semblance; she was just letting Harriet get out her pent up aggression...and it seemed it was finally getting her to talk.
"Come on! Fight back!" Harriet screamed. "I hate the look in your eyes! You're always like this. You believe you're stronger than me! BETTER than me because I-!"
She roared as she threw another punch.
"Because I what?" Yang asked, her aura starting to dissipate in areas. Was she really not trying to fight back?
"BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT THE WORLD WILL JUST WORK THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO! YOU THINK YOU CAN SAVE EVERYONE!" Harriet yelled, rushing her attacks. "WELL, YOU CAN'T! I LEARNED IT WHEN I COULDN'T SAVE MARION!"
And then Yang finally caught a fist.
She quickly clenched down on Harriet's hand as her eyes turned red, her hair flickering and shifting before it erupted into a black ocean of raven-dark locks.
"You think I don't know that?" she said, her expression still considerate but now more cold.
Harriet tried to tug her hand back, but she couldn't- Yang's grip was like iron. Harriet instead tried to use her other fist to smash Yang's face in, but her opponent caught that too.
"You're not the only soldier in the world."
Harriet glared before attempting to headbutt Yang, but instead her opponent had already reared her own head back, delivering that same attack with just as much ferocity.
"I know we can't save everyone! But if you honestly think we aren't going to save as many people as we can?" Yang finally let go and pulled back a fist.
"Then you're dead wrong!"
And Yang punched Harriet HARD- the damage she'd absorbed was coming back at full force, maybe even beyond it. Yang's punches felt as deadly as cannonballs, each one taking a giant chunk out of Harriet's aura and leaving her disorientated.
Gasping for air, Harriet tried to push herself back towards her opponent, the two clashing fists once more as the ravenette glowered. "You talk about strength, yet all you've done is just put yourself in a tin-can!" she snarled into Harriet's face.
Yang dodged another fist. "And you're so obsessed with strength, you haven't even realized there's something beyond being physically strong! Real strength is fighting for others, not just for yourself!
"And the realest strength-"
Yang readied herself to unleash another powerful attack.
"Is the strength-"
Harriet closed her eyes and braced for impact.
"…to walk away."
Harriet's eyes snapped open to see Yang walking away from her, raven locks turning back to gleaming gold.
Harriet wanted to yell at her, scream at her to come back…and yet, she couldn't.
Cammie looked between both women, her mind reeling.
Yang breathed deeply as she left the arena, well aware that Harriet would demand another rematch. If she did, she'd be waiting.
"…you okay?" Ruby asked hesitantly.
"I'm fine," Yang said with a soft smile. "I've got some bruises, but they'll heal."
"Yang I...I didn't think you'd be able to do that with her but...wow," Cammie said as she made her way up to her fellow blonde.
Ben looked back at Harriet one more time. The Ace-Op had stood back up…and went back to what she was doing. Ben couldn't help but feel sorry for her. There was something about this battle that made Harriet stop and think- she mentioned Marion and yet…
Ben would need to ask someone later.
"So, you just wanted to let her vent?" Ben surmised.
"I'm lucky you guys were here to get me through that mess last week. And, I dunno. I just realized Harriet probably hasn't had that experience before. And she might be too stubborn to let it happen," Yang said, genuinely sincere.
"So you wanted her to...?" Ruby asked before seeing her sister nod.
"I wanted her to vent to me so she could get it out of her system," Yang added before smiling. "And I'll admit it- I wanted to see that suit up close."
"Well, what did you think?" Cammie asked, regaining some of her usual cheer. "Was it good?"
"I think it's got potential! But, uh, it's probably best to let you be the one using it for now, ya know?" Yang said sheepishly.
"Yeah, you have a point there." Cammie looked up at Yang, sparkles in her eyes. "By the way…"
"Yeah?"
"Can I see your arm?"
"Huh? Sure?" Yang held her arm out and let the excited technician examine it all over.
Ruby and Ben shared a fond look before the two of them turned back to the scene, their expressions becoming more serious.
They needed to know who 'Marion' was. If they did, maybe they could…befriend Harriet. Or at least help her get the help she needed.
Somehow.
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