Auras and Alibis

Chapter 9

"Why am I doing this…?"

Cinder shook her head as she leaped from rooftop to rooftop. The alcohol had mostly left her system by now, leaving her free to reflect on the choice she'd made at the bar earlier.

Truthfully, she had a good idea of what was going on – she'd been itching to get back into the field as soon as she could. Grimm were good to practice against, but they didn't offer the same level of challenge or satisfaction as actual people did. Normally, there would have been a small part of her that felt bad for betraying Jaune's trust by still committing crimes, though she would have been quick to bury it, of course. But not tonight, though.

Tonight, she was playing the Hero for once. At least, that was the idea.

Cinder stopped at the pre-arranged meeting place, a three-story apartment building not far from the bar. The other four were already there, dressed in their costumes and carrying their weapons. As she stepped up, Ruby gave her a wide grin.

"You made it!" she said. "We were wondering when you were going to show up."

"Got delayed a bit," Cinder said. In truth, she wanted some time with Jaune; the four of them had agreed to meet back here in a half-hour, which was almost enough time for a quickie. But they didn't need to know that. Shaking those thoughts from her mind, she turned to Weiss. "What's the plan?"

"There's a drug den that's just been setup in one of the warehouses at the docks," Weiss informed her. "I figure it'll be a good way to stretch our legs to start. If we've still got time after clearing it out, then we can look for some other crimes to stop. Is that agreeable?"

"Works for me," Cinder grunted. "Shall we?"

The other four nodded, and they took off, charging across the rooftops of Vale.

The docks were some of Cinder's old stomping grounds. She knew them like the back of her hand – she'd done enough shady business here to know where everything was. The fact that a few drug mules had set up a den in one of the warehouses was a bit surprising to her, though it didn't take long for her to realize what had happened.

"Must by paying off the foreman," Cinder stated as the five of them stared down at the warehouse in question from atop a nearby building.

"Come again?" Yang questioned.

"I said, they're paying off the foreman. They wouldn't be able to operate out of here long-term otherwise."

"You know this place?" Blake asked.

Cinder nodded. "I've done some low-level crime-fighting here before. Nothing major, mostly just stopping muggers from robbing people and druggies from stealing copper out of the walls of the abandoned buildings. I haven't talked to the foreman personally, but I've seen enough of him around to know what he's like. He'd never allow something like this on his property unless someone was paying him to look the other way."

"Does that make things harder for us?" Ruby stated as she peered through the scope of her sniper rifle.

Cinder shook her head. "No, but it is something to be aware of. I would bet that once we deal with this one, another one will pop up shortly thereafter. Even if you were to implicate the foreman in this and get him arrested for it, he'd just be replaced by someone equally as dirty."

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience," Blake surmised.

Cinder shrugged. "I just know how these things work, is all. Crime is essentially never-ending. All we can do is work to stem the tide and keep it from taking over. Fact is, this drug den is going to get replaced not long after we knock it out of commission… but that's no reason not to put it down anyway."

"I'll drink to that," Yang said cheerfully. "So, how do we want to go in?"

"That's a good question," Ruby said without looking up from her scope. "We should probably expect this to be a hardened target, but not too hardened. I'd assume men with guns, of course, maybe a few Aura users as well, but nothing major. Looks like there's a front and a rear entrance, plus a skylight – I say we take a standard two-prong dynamic entry approach. Weiss and Blake can take the front, while you and Cinder can take the rear."

Yang flashed Cinder a grin. "I mean, we all know how much Cinder likes the rear, thanks to Nora."

Cinder glared at her, but Yang's grin just widened. Weiss and Blake rolled their eyes, while Ruby began to shake with barely-controlled laughter.

"T-that's… that's not funny, Yang…!"

"It's pretty funny," Yang countered.

Ruby took a few gasps of air to control herself, then brought her eye back to her scope. "Anyway, I'll be here, providing overwatch."

Cinder raised an eyebrow. "With a gun that big?"

"Don't worry, I've got it loaded with my specialty 'knockout' rounds – basically big rubber bullets," Ruby assured her. "I save my really spicy live ammo specifically for Grimm and Aura users. So trust me when I say nobody is going to die tonight, not on my watch."

Given the type of people they were going to be facing, that was almost a shame. Cinder had no love for drug runners or their customers; if anything, they made her job more difficult by snooping around her safe houses, trying to find a way to break in and rob her. The world wouldn't miss a few of them, but unfortunately, Ruby seemed to have other ideas.

"Very well," Cinder said. "Let's-"

The far-off sound of breaking glass suddenly caught their attention, followed shortly after by screams and gunshots. They all immediately stiffened, turning their attention towards the warehouses, which was being lit up by muzzle flashes in the night.

"Yang!" Ruby whined.

"What?!" Yang argued, sounding chastised. "I'm right here! How could it be me this time?!"

"Oh… sorry. Force of habit, I guess."

Cinder didn't wait for them to keep arguing, instead jumping off the roof before they could waste any more of her time. She hit the ground and rolled, her Aura cushioning the fall, then took off sprinting towards the warehouse. Gunshots were still erupting from within, which irritated her to no end – not because she didn't want the drug runners inside to be left alive, but instead because she so desperately wanted a piece of the action for herself.

Cinder burst through the warehouse doors and very nearly ran right into two men who had just about made it out from the other side. They stared at her for a moment, shocked and unsure of how to react to her sudden appearance.

Then she saw they were both holding pistols, and all bets were off.

Cinder lunged forwards, drawing her twin swords at the same time. She dropped down just as the first shots rang out, passing narrowly over the top of her head. Her sword hooked one man around his ankle and she pulled, sending him crashing to the ground, his gun slipping from his grasp as he landed back-first on the concrete below with a loud yell. The other man tried to angle his gun towards her to take some follow-up shots, but she suddenly sprang to her feet, lashing out with the sword in her off-hand and knocking the pistol away, sending it sliding across the floor.

With both men now disarmed, it was easy for her to smack them across the head with the flat of her blades, knocking them out with a single blow each. By the time they had both collapsed in an unconscious heap on the warehouse floor, Blake, Weiss, and Yang had run up next to her.

"Camouflage, you okay?" Weiss asked.

"Fine," Cinder reported. She motioned for the others to follow her. "Fall in. I'll take point."

"Yeah, not happening," Yang said as she pushed past her. "You're good, I'll give you that, but you're still a rookie. For safety's sake, let us take the lead this time. We'll let you serve as pointman in the future."

Cinder wanted to argue, but bit her tongue regardless. She was supposed to be discrete, which meant playing along with their idea of her as a rookie Hero. So as much as it pained her to have to act dumb and helpless, she had no choice but to go along with it.

Reluctantly, Cinder nodded. "...Very well. I will heed your warning."

Yang brought her hands up, her gauntlets readying themselves as she stepped forwards. Blake and Weiss followed after her, with Cinder trailing slightly behind them. From the rear, shots began to ring out; Cinder whipped around, only for Yang to stop her.

"That would be our overwatch," Yang said without looking back. She held up a hand, giving her sister a thumbs-up. "Relax, Scarlet's got it under control. Nobody is going to sneak up on us."

"Right…" Cinder muttered. "Let's keep moving. I don't think this place has a lot of rooms."

"Or a lot of bad guys, at least anymore," Blake surmised as they turned a corner and passed by several fallen men, all laid out across the ground with their guns scattered around them.

Weiss paused. "Are they-"

"They're alive, just unconscious," Cinder reported. "Whoever took them out was using rubber bullets, same as Scarlet."

Weiss breathed a soft sigh of relief. "Good… I was worried we were dealing with a vigilante Hero."

"Not likely," Blake told her. "The last one of those got taken out a few months back… well, allegedly."

"Focus," Yang requested. "I think we're coming to the last room."

Sure enough, there was a large office at the end of the hall. From inside, Cinder heard someone gasping and sputtering; without waiting for anything further, Yang rushed forwards and blew the door off its hinges, and they all flowed into the room, weapons at the ready. As the smoke cleared, it revealed a head of flowing red hair and golden armor reminiscent of ancient Mistralian warriors, along with an ornate-looking rifle leveled directly at Yang's head.

Yang blinked, then steadily relaxed. "Hey, I know you. You're the Red Huntress, aren't you?"

The young woman across from them tensed a bit. "It seems my reputation precedes me. I take it you four are local Heroes?"

"You'd be correct," Weiss offered. She took a step forward, then motioned for the others to lower their weapons. They all did so, though Cinder with a lot more reluctance than the others. "I think it's clear that we have no reason to fight. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Indeed." The Red Huntress collapsed her weapon; Cinder watched it shift into a sword, which the Hero then sheathed at her hip. Once that was done, she stepped aside, revealing what had happened – there was an older-looking man dressed in a nice suit leaned over the desk, coughing and gasping for breath as he rubbed at his throat, glaring daggers at the Red Huntress.

"Fucking bitch…" he muttered. "I thought you Heroes had lines you wouldn't cross…"

"We do. But some of us are more flexible than others." The Red Huntress stepped over to him and grabbed him by his shirt collar, then pulled him up enough to state at him eye-to-eye. "Talk, or I'll do worse than strangle you."

"Fine, fine! Fuck…" He shook his head. "You wanted to know my supplier? It's Torchwick."

"Who?"

"Roman Torchwick," Yang offered. "Local crime lord and overall scumbag. I'm not surprised he's involved with this one – he's got his hands in just about every criminal enterprise in the city in some way."

The Red Huntress scowled. "And nobody's thought to stop him?"

"That's the thing – he's got money and connections, and there's generally always six degrees of separation between him and whatever crime ring is being uncovered," Weiss explained. "We know he's involved, but legally speaking, there's never enough proof to get the charges to stick. And if there was, he's wealthy and connected enough that he wouldn't be in jail for very long."

"Figures, I suppose…" The Red Huntress let out a heavy sigh. "And to think I came here to try and escape the corruption… guess it's the same no matter where you go on Remnant."

Sirens outside suddenly caught their attention, Cinder very nearly took off running, before she caught herself – she was supposed to be playing the Hero now, which meant acting natural around the police.

"Well?" Weiss asked. "Let's go greet the cavalry, I suppose."

After a few minutes spent giving the cops a quick rundown of what had happened, the five of them marched off into the night. They were joined shortly thereafter by Ruby, who came sprinting alongside them.

"Hey, wait up!" Ruby called. She paused when she saw the Red Huntress walking with them, her eyes widening behind her mask. "Whoa…! I know you, you're the Red Huntress! I mean, obviously I already saw you in action back at the docks, but it was dark and it was hard to see and I couldn't believe it was actually you and-"

"Easy there, sis," Yang said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "The girl's new in town, she probably needs time to adjust."

The Red Huntress cracked a small smile, then shook her head. "I appreciate the warm welcome, actually. Makes for a nice change of pace from my native Mistral."

The six of them ducked into a nearby alley, then to Cinder's surprise, they all began to unmask. She watched in awe as they revealed their true identities to each other, unsure of what to do. Eventually, she realized that this had to be some kind of etiquette between Heroes – obviously, they would be working together, so it would pay to know each other's true identities.

Reluctantly, Cinder reached for her own mask and pulled it off. The Red Huntress stared at her for a moment, then offered her a hand.

"Pyrrha Nikos," she greeted.

"Cinder Fall," Cinder replied, accepting her handshake. She very nearly added 'Soon to be Cinder Arc' to her statement, but caught herself.

The last thing she wanted was Jaune being dragged into this life.

Pyrrha let her hand go, then turned and began to formally greet the others while Cinder watched. As she did that, Ruby sidled up alongside her, a big grin on her face.

"Sooo," Ruby began. "This wasn't your first time out, was it?"

"That easy to tell?" Cinder asked without looking at her.

"Your moves are far too advanced for a complete newcomer on the scene. Plus, I saw how you tried to take charge before Yang stepped up."

"Well, you're correct," Cinder conceded. "I've been doing some solo stuff for a bit to try and get my feet wet a bit. Nothing major, but it's been paying dividends so far."

Ruby nodded along as she spoke. "Yup, I knew it. Well, good for you. Still, I hope you'll be patrolling with us more. We certainly wouldn't be opposed to having you along."

Cinder hesitated before letting out a small sigh. "...I'll think about it. You must understand that I am very busy right now."

"Oh, right, the wedding," Ruby said. Her grin widened. "So, when do we get to meet him? He sounds like he'll be a great husband to you."

"You want to meet him?" Cinder asked, a slight tinge of venom leaking into her tone.

"Well, sure. I mean, what kind of friends would we be if we didn't get to meet our friend's husband?"

Cinder paused, surprised. "Friends…? You think we're-"

"Are we not?" Ruby asked, her grin fading slightly.

Cinder bit her lip, unsure of what to say. She knew what she wanted to say, but at the same time, she couldn't risk drawing suspicion to herself by suddenly alienating Ruby or her team. So instead, she nodded.

"...We'll have you all over at some point," she promised.

Ruby let out a small squeal of excitement. "Ooh, that'll be great! I wanna see how cute of a couple you two are. Is he dark and broody like you?"

"I'm not-"

"Ruby," Weiss called, interrupting her. "We've got to go."

"Coming!" Ruby shouted back. She turned back to Cinder with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, we've still got school to prepare for tomorrow. But we'll be seeing you around, Cinder."

Without another word, she took off running after her teammates. Cinder watched her go, then turned and began to walk back towards her apartment.

"Wait."

Only for Pyrrha to stop her. Cinder let out a huff of annoyance, and then rounded on her, crossing her arms.

"Yes?" she asked. "Was there something you wanted?"

Pyrrha stepped over to her, that same friendly grin on her face the entire time. "It's nothing major, of course. I was just… wondering if you'd mind meeting up with me again? I'm new to town, and I'd really like to have a core group of people I can rely on, both as friends and comrades. And you seem like a good person, so..."

Cinder chose not to comment. Instead, she committed a second faux pas that night.

She swapped scroll numbers with yet another person.

The sun had started to rise by the time Cinder made it home. She yawned widely as she stepped through the apartment door, blinking heavily as she did so. As the door closed behind her, she flicked on the lights, only to be stunned when she saw Jaune sitting there on the couch, waiting for her.

"Jaune," she said. "You didn't have to wait up for me. I told you where I was going."

"I know," he said, flashing her a smile. "But I wanted to make sure you made it home safe regardless."

He rose up from his seat and embraced her. Cinder stiffened, but like she always did, she melted under his touch after a moment, leaning into it. The two of them shared a quick kiss before pulling away.

"I didn't mean to make you worry," Cinder softly told him. "Sorry."

"I know," Jaune replied. He bit his lip. "Guess this is something I'll have to get used to, isn't it? I mean, since you're going to be a professional Hero and all…"

"Jaune-"

"Don't apologize for it," he said. "I understand it's what you want to do – that it's a calling for you. And I support that wholeheartedly, don't get me wrong. This is just a hangup I'm going to have to get over."

Cinder stepped forwards. "If… it makes you feel better, I'm not alone out there."

Jaune blinked, surprised. "...Really?"

Cinder winced. "Yes. There's… a group of Beacon students I was out with tonight. We're going to start patrolling together."

"...What, they're, like, friends of yours?"

"I suppose so."

Jaune froze for a moment, and Cinder was worried he would disapprove. Her fear faded when she saw a wide grin split his face.

"Oh, that's a relief, in more ways than one," he announced with a small laugh.

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"Well, it's good to know that you've people watching your back, sure… but it's also good to know you're making friends."

"I have friends!" Cinder protested.

"Name one."

"You."

"I'm about to be your husband, I don't count."

"Yes you do," she countered. "My understanding is that most people would be happy to marry their best friend, but not you, apparently."

Jaune let out another small laugh. "You've got me, I guess. But I have to ask… how many are there, and when do I get to meet them all?"

"There are five of them in total, I suppose."

"You suppose?"

"We… just met the newest one tonight, I believe."

"Anyone I would recognize?"

"Probably not," Cinder hurriedly added. "And, I must emphasize that when you do meet them, their identities must be kept a secret."

"I understand completely," Jaune said with a nod. "You know me – I'm not one to brag, anyway." He paused, then suddenly perked up. "Of course, this does raise a question…"

"Which is?"

"I know we wanted a small wedding, but… well… I've got seven sisters who all want to be a part of it, and now you've got six bridesmaids when we include Nora in it."

"That… is true," Cinder admitted.

"Do you think we can do it?"

"It would be more expensive, for sure, but I think we could manage. And besides, you're worth it."

"That's my line," Jaune protested, despite the big grin on his face. "Anyway, it's still a few months out, so there's still time to put everything together. We'll make it work."

"And we're not changing anything yet," Cinder emphasized. "You still need to approve of them first, anyway."

"Cinder, I'll approve of any friends of yours," Jaune promised. "If you know them, then they must be good people."

For the second time that night, Cinder chose not to comment.

"Anyway," Jaune continued. "It's about time for me to get to work."

"Please tell me you did not stay up all night…" Jaune merely gave her a sheepish grin in response, and she glared at him. "You are insufferable."

"You love me for it." Jaune stepped forward and gave her another kiss, then gently brushed past her and made for the door. "I'll be back later tonight. Do me a favor and get some rest, and once you're up, why don't you try to set something up for your friends this weekend? Nothing major, maybe just a little cookout here or something. That should be a good time." He paused, then turned around to face her once more. "I'm really glad you're making friends, Cinder. I can't be the only one in your life, after all."

With that, he shut the door behind him, leaving her alone. Only once he was gone did Cinder allow herself to deflate, a small sigh escaping her.

"You're the only one I want in my life, Jaune…"

Special thanks to Ickbard, as always, for the enormous amount of help he's provided not only with this story, but with basically everything I'm writing. And I do mean everything – you all should see the sick lineup of originals we've got waiting in the wings for the right time to start posting. But more on those in the future.

Anyway, here's the next chapter! I don't have too much to say about it, because I think it's pretty straightforward, all things considered. Mainly setting up for a meeting of the minds, so to speak. Cinder is now a part of the RWBY equivalent of the Superfriends, I suppose lol. Or maybe this is closer to the Teen Titans? I have no idea. My exposure to superheroes is basically a few movies and cartoons I used to watch when I was a kid. Between my co-writer and I, I would wager that I am far less experienced with superhero media between the two of us, so rest assured that if nothing else, he'll set things straight for me behind the scenes, lol.

But yeah, that's about what I've got for this one. Hope you all enjoyed, and stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Auras and Alibis. 'Till next time!

Enjoy my work and want to help me out a bit? You can support me, as well as read more of my writing, over on Amazon. My second original story is available for purchase now, you can find it by going on Amazon and searching for 'Dead World' by John Haruspex. The story is available now for three bucks in ebook format (or free with Kindle Unlimited) or twelve bucks in paperback format, if you prefer physical media. (Remove the spaces)

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