"How's she doing?"

Roman bit back a growl, reeling in the urge to start a fight. He expected a decent amount of worry on their part, this was their leader after all, and Beacon was famous for how tight knit their teams were. However, seeing as this was the fifteenth time the blonde bimbo asked, Roman wasn't exactly feeling all that sympathetic. Still, there was no sense in starting a brawl over nothing, and so he spat out the usual answer as peacefully as he could.

"The same as she was when you asked me ten minutes ago, and the same as the ten before that, and the half hour before that, and-"

"Okay, I get it." She crossed her arms, puffing out a curt reply. "No need to be an ass about it."

"Maybe I wouldn't be feeling so jerkish if you weren't always up my ass over it."

Yang growled, like he expected her to, and as was the rest of his prediction she shut herself up - for how long though remained to be seen.

"Yang, we really should go." Little miss Schnee seemed to be the mediator this time, walking over and placing both hands on her impatient teammate's shoulders. The aforementioned denied the suggestion.

"I can't."

Seven seconds it was.

"You can."

"But what if she wakes up?" Her head whipped around. "And what if she sees we're not here?" Her teeth clenched harshly before spitting out the rest. "She'll think we ignored her; that we couldn't even be bothered to check if she's okay."

"Or-" But little miss icicle wasn't going down without a fight, and damn, this was the softest fight Roman had ever seen. The girl was practically babying her rash counterpart through this, and he wasn't quite sure if it was insulting or caring. "She'll think we already visited her, and needed to run out on a mission. Ruby's like that, remember; always assuming the best, even when those in question really don't deserve it."

Yang strained her expression a bit, shaking a little before ultimately letting her shoulders drop.

"I know that. It's just... I don't know." Her eyes found themselves focused back on the girl in the medical bed. "I'm tired of letting her down."

"We all are, but that doesn't mean we can ignore our other responsibilities. Ruby wouldn't want that, would she?"

"No..." Her face took on this sort of longing, and had Roman actually cared about the little munchkins on a more personal level, he might have actually felt a little bad. "She'd tell us to go on ahead, and how she'd catch up in a bit."

"Brothers' sake." Roman clipped a smirk over his lips. "You're all so melodramatic. Didn't you leave that angst behind back in your teenage days?"

"We're worried about our friend." Little snowflake had an edge to her; Roman stifled an amused chuckle, otherwise she might start laying on a bit of frostbite. "Not that you would know what that's like."

"Don't place bets without first checking the table." Roman did allow a small laugh this time, earning a more focused - yet curious - glare from the pair. "Just because I'm more involved in the free market, doesn't mean I haven't had my share of buddies and flames."

"Kind of hard to keep company when you're pointing guns at each other's backs, isn't it?"

Oh ho ho! We have a player! So the buxom blonde had smarts; this was certainly entertaining. Sure, they were probably trying to taunt him, but Roman was actually having a bit of fun with it. Yang especially seemed the most thoughtful, at least based on that little assumption. Yeah, they were woefully ignorant, but he had a feeling the little big sister was banking on that: using the perceived ignorance to bait out information from him.

"Yep." But he had no problem with allowing her to indulge in it, because really, the information she was pining for posed no danger to him; they were a team now, so what was the harm in spilling a bit of milk? Besides, she was learning, and Roman always did consider himself an excellent teacher - when it came to criminal learning anyway. "But that's what makes it exciting."

"Watching your back twenty-four seven is exciting to you?" And now the white one was questioning; finally, they were choosing to ask things as opposed to just yelling about the expected heroic schlock.

"Now who said anything about that?" He chuckled, twisting his grin awry. "We were all perfectly comfortable with each other; I'd dare say we were pals."

"So..." Yang crossed her arms again, leveling a flat look. "You're saying you weren't all trying to one-up each other?"

"Oh no, we were."

"Then how could you feel safe, let alone comfortable?"

"Because, my golden haired leech, taking down your partners and rivals involves a little more finesse in the criminal world. Despite the general consensus, we have our own types of laws."

"What?" Weiss appeared just a tad conflicted. "But if you're criminals, wouldn't you just ignore those too? You're already breaking the law, so what makes yours any different?"

"Simple: kingdom laws are bound by moral and political prowess, ours aren't. When it comes to making money, we're willing to bend and break more than our fair share of principles; for a price, of course." He leaned back against the wall, resting a bit as he toned down his smirk - they were listening, so there was no need to spoil their interest with a cocky attitude... at least not right now. "As for our own laws: sure, you can break 'em, but you'd be losing out on all sorts of resources by doing so."

"Resources huh." Yang almost lost her irritated voice, but it was still there in passing. "What kinds of resources?"

"The kind that can set you up with an easy job and a cozy income. Or, if you're the more adventurous type, the kind that gets you access to toys the kingdoms would really rather you didn't know about." Lifting up a hand, he began counting off just a few examples. "Military grade experimental weaponry; hitmen for all those assholes ruining your day; a safe place to crash when you've got heat on your back; heck, even exotic pets. If you want it, you can get a hold of it... if you follow the rules. The rules are a test of trust, and if you're willing to break that trust, then you can bet your backsides that more than a fair share of powerful faces will make sure you never do it again."

"Huh." Yang didn't really lose her tension, but the flat look morphed a little more towards intrigue. "So it goes deeper than Junior's info trading."

"You have no idea. You can consider Junior a saint when it comes to what he offers; at least on the moral end you kids always whine about."

"You talk about it like it's a bad thing." Weiss stepped into the conversation again, although this time she seemed to have caught onto something. "From how you put it though, it sounds like your whole world operates around morality, albeit heavily skewed."

"We operate on trust, princess... but you're not entirely wrong." Little munchkin was somewhat right in that regard; they did have their own sense of morals, but unlike the little wannabe heroes, he and the rest put profit before anything. The only exception to this were crimes against nature; you had to be a special breed of messed up to engage in those willingly, and most of the underworld didn't attune to that - it turned both little profit, and a boatload of trouble; it just wasn't worth the hassle.

"Hello!"

Thank Dust. Roman was sure he could have kept up their little spat for a good bit more, but being interrupted by Clover was usually a nice get out of trouble free card. Heck, even Saw perked up a little, actually raising his head from its hunched position to face the entrance of the lab.

"In here!" Roman replied, letting his - probably - escort know he was already out and about. If Clover came searching for him, then whatever it was that needed doing must have been big; abandoning a mission was not something the leader of Ironwood's precious kindergarten did on the regular, so when he did, it usually meant trouble.

Upon stepping in, Roman realized that his rival-partner might not have been there to collect him, courtesy of the girl in his arms.

"Penny?!" And just like that, the pair who'd been bugging him - via his own provocation - ran over in just a little less of a fit than he'd expected; it appeared there had been some maturing since the days of Beacon. The response came from Weiss, who was also the one to ask the obvious question. "What happened?"

"That's what we'd like to know, and why I'm here." Clover never minced words this time, driving home the fact this wasn't just another goofy situation on Penny's part. "Is Dr. Polendina in?"

"I'm always here." Called the man oh so requested. He carefully zipped over, scowling as he overlooked his daughter. "What happened?"

"We think she was hacked."

"Hacked?" The doctor was rightfully confused, as was Roman himself. Agent P was an autonomous creation, and while she could connect her mind to the local networks, she usually didn't unless absolutely necessary for a mission. Basically, hacking via connection should have been impossible, and Polendina knew this better than anyone.

"We don't know either." Clover made his way over to the usual bed, only to pause at the sight of Ruby. "Huh?"

"Bring her inside, please." Dr. Polendina waved the soldier over to the backroom door. "Miss Rose is currently recovering from a situation of her own."

"Right." Not a single question came from his mouth, but Roman knew the boy's mind was racing. Despite how much of a stiffy Ironwood could be, he at least knew how to discipline to his flock. There was a time for questions, and a time for silence; Clover had instantly recognised this instance called for the latter.

"Huh." Roman let out after the trio slipped past the doorway, turning to the pair who watched them go with worry. The girls faced him, and he opted to make the ultimately useless statement clear; he didn't need to say it, but somebody might as well have, and he decided he should be the one. "Looks like your leader isn't the only one in trouble today."

"We-" Yang was cut off by the ringing of her scroll, and shutting her trap, she pulled it out to look at who was calling. Lo and behold it was Ironwood himself. Without so much as another word she answered, and out came his stern voice, much more gruff than usual.

"Sorry to interrupt; I've received Dr. Polendina's report of your sister's condition, and I know you're all worried, but we have a situation unfolding that needs your immediate attention." Yang couldn't so much as spit before the man delivered the news. "You and the rest of your team need to get to the Schnee manor as quickly as possible. One of our assignments has gone up in chaos, and you need to be there to capture V."

"What!?" A natural response from both, but that didn't cut it for Weiss, who questioned wholeheartedly. "What happened to him!?"

"There's chaos on the estate, and we're assuming he's been caught inside. We can't have anyone suspecting his involvement with us, so we need to frame it as if he'd escaped. Capture him, and once we have him back in custody I'll have a statement and apology written."

"Why was he inside the manor!?"

"I'm sorry Miss Schnee, but we don't have time for a full explanation. I'll explain it all afterwards, but as for right now, you all need to put a stop to him. Get close and take him down. V already knows the drill for being caught so he'll let himself fall, but not easily; we need to make this real, and he knows it. I've already contacted JNPR as well, so keep an eye out for them; if they get in a brawl it'll most likely mean they've found him, and will contact you about his location. Aid your sister team in taking V down. Dismissed."

The call cut, and Roman watched with just a little bit of intrigue as the pair stood for a brief moment. Seeing as they were stunned, Roman clapped his hands, drawing in not only their attention but that of Blake's as well, who was situated over near Saw - guess Faunus stuck together in Atlas, even if they didn't talk much.

"Well, you heard him: get to it."

"But we can't just-"

"Little red will be fine, now go." Roman couldn't believe he was the one telling them that. "I'll ring you up myself if something goes down, okay? So go: Ironwood's touchy on a good day, and brothers forbid you ignore his orders."

It took a little, but the four were out the door soon enough, leaving Roman to just look over at their bedridden leader, more conflicted than anything.

You know what, little red? Sometimes I think trouble follows you around more than it does me.

.

.

I could hear them drawing closer with every passing second, and while they were no match for me, I'd be lying if I said bloodshed was the first thought on my mind. I had no issues with killing them, but I knew RWBY wouldn't exactly let that go. Yang, Weiss, and Blake didn't matter so much in my mind, even if they had back when I could fully feel. But, even in this dampened state, the thought of Ruby being upset irked me.

I'd rather not see her disappointment.

I could hear the bushes move, and could see a single pair of fingers push in right before my eyes. If there was a time to act, it was now. With no options, and not wanting to kill right yet, I put all the strength I could muster into my legs and leapt. Rocketing from the foliage wasn't exactly subtle, but with the speed alone I should have been a bit difficult to recognise.

After all, it was that woman from before everyone expected to see, so why would they expect to see an already imprisoned convict?

From up above I got another lay of the land, or more precisely, I got a better look at the path out. I'd land again soon, but from up in the air I could see what looked like an opening in the crowd. Many had wandered over to the bush I'd leapt from, and those who did now shuffled back on their rumps, having been knocked away and frightened by the sudden jump. Yet not everyone had decided to inspect, leaving a sort of living wall in my way.

A wall with an opening on the right.

Landing again in the bush, I shot myself towards that opening, zipping past the few looking with enough speed I'd been nothing but a blur. Before I could fully hit the ground from that dash, I kicked at the earth, launching myself up again while tearing up the dirt. The maneuver sent me upwards… although not quite over the wall. I crashed through the upper portion of it, scattering several chunks to both the streets and garden on both sides. It wasn't exactly a clean move, but it got me out of there.

All I could do was hope nobody saw me as anything more than a rogue Grimm. It was quite the tall order, but one I could live with if it panned out. Digging my claws into the first surface I came into contact with, I noted how brittle the window was as I crashed through it. Nobody was inside, but I'd certainly messed up somebody's bedroom.

Not sparing a second I took to the bed, ripping off a blanket and tossing it over my armored form. From here I opened the door ahead, coming into a hallway. I sped down it, and quickly came to a living room with what looked like a kitchen connected on the right. The left seemed to be the lounging area, and the aforementioned kitchen had no walls...

Which was how the woman who'd turned from one of the cupboards came to stare at me. Bearing a wide-eyed look, she screamed.

Nobody else was around thankfully, so I ignored her terror and made for the only door I could see, assuming it was the exit. Despite how easy it was to ignore the single civilian, the same could not be said for the several already present in the next hallway, with two of them even taking hold of their weapons. I hadn't accounted for hunters being present in the city, but it seemed even a place supposedly free of Grimm had its wanderers.

No questions were asked, with them instead dashing right towards me. I couldn't really fight back without forgoing my covering, and so I did the only sensible thing I could: I ran them down like a bolder. The few swings they did get on me before our collision merely clinked off my plating - although muffled by the blanket - and they were forced one after another into the neighboring walls as I elbowed them aside. At the end of the hall was another window, and while I wasn't intending to cause so much collateral damage, I didn't exactly feel like the streets below would be much of a better avenue for my escape.

Breaking two windows in one evening was a new record I'd never expected to set.

This time I came into contact with stone as opposed to glass, and I could already hear the shouts below of startled pedestrians. Looking around my eyes spied the nearest alleyway, towards my right, and I leapt for it. Digging my claws into the corner with my free hand, I peered inside, seeing a similar path of exterior metal walkways much like my initial trek to the manor. I repositioned my legs, setting the tips of my boots into whatever holds I could get them on before flinging myself across the gap.

It felt so much better to get a firm grip on the metal railing, and with my claws no longer being driven into stone, I pulled myself up. Said claws had always been durable, but it was always a little painful to dig them through things even with aura. Seeing as my armored form couldn't access aura, I'd expected them to snap, but it appeared they'd been enhanced much like my skin under the bone plating. It wasn't much of a benefit, but it meant I always had a weapon on me at all times.

I took to traversing along the path, leaping from one alleyway to the next in an attempt to get as far away from the manor as quickly as I could. If I could put enough distance between us, I'd be able to lose the attention of any onlookers who'd seen me during the main escape from both the manor and the bedroom, becoming nothing but an odd figure rushing around.

There had been one hic-up in that plan though, and it presented itself right as I took to greater heights. I was shooting for taller ground, under the belief that any followers might focus their search on my last seen elevation. The problem came when I'd crossed onto the rooftops. I'd assumed they'd be mostly empty, so when they weren't it caught me a little off guard. This normally wouldn't have mattered as I could easily have just jumped from roof to roof with how close the buildings in Atlas were.

The problem was not the civilians who were present in what looked to be a rooftop restaurant, but rather the teams of hunters instead. These weren't just any hunters I could brush off and flee from either, no: this was the entirety of team JNPR, Oscar, Maria, and even some of the students I'd seen back at the academy in passing.

And the way they drew their weapons towards my blanketed form told me they weren't exactly willing to just let me go. They wanted a fight, and if I had to guess, I'd say it was under the general's orders. That woman from before made quite the scene at the manor, and it appeared my assumption was correct: everyone thought I was outed.

This made things difficult; they were treating me as if I were discovered… but I wasn't, and I wanted to keep it that way, meaning I'd need to escape.

Seeing as I couldn't reveal myself to the few civilians present, I'd either need to either fight with one hand, or take the more sensible approach and find a way to break from everyone. Nora's dash didn't exactly give me time to really ponder much about either decision... but it did give me an opening for one of them.

"Nora wait-!" Pyrrha's cry went unheard as the hammer came my way, this was fine though: I didn't plan on dodging.

Her swing was strong, and not even the blanket helped ease the pressure of the sudden wack. She'd aimed for my side, probably in an attempt to cripple my arms. Nora most likely expected me to ground myself and block the attack, so to see me go flying with the blow probably came as a shock; perhaps just as much as my initial appearance seconds ago. Either way, I was tossed from the rooftop, falling towards the streets below where I landed with a crunch.

The fall hurt a good deal, but I was mostly unharmed; the same could not be said for the pavement however, which was broken up upon my landing. Surprisingly, the blanket survived the whole ordeal, which meant my identity was still obscured.

And then Nora and the rest of her team landed all around me: perfectly positioned to cut off all potential escape routes. Maria and Oscar - along with the other students - were probably still on the roof and dealing with the civilians, so I only had these four to contend with at the moment, which was the only benefit I could claim to own in this situation.

"So you thought you could get away from us, didn't you!?" She rested her hammer on her shoulder with a smirk. "Well sorry to burst your bubble, buster, but you aren't going anywhere~"

Ren pointed his guns towards me, and kept a steady face as he spoke.

"Surrender and we'll take you in peacefully."

I couldn't exactly do that, and while I fully planned on running again it was clear I'd need to deal with them. Had I a chance I would have apologized beforehand, but my identity was at stake, and so I opted for a taunt instead, using a deeper, more vicious tone and growl.

"Make me~"

Author's note

…

So… that escalated quickly.

Roman gets to shine a bit, and while Clover made his appearance again with Penny, nobody got to process it before Ironwood sent them on their way. V is making his getaway, but JNPR - expectedly, I'm sure - got to intercepting him; perhaps a bit unintentionally on their part. Now we're headed into a brawl, and both sides are ignorant of one another's plans.

Everyone thinks he's been outed, but he hasn't; this can only go well.

See you next time.