God, few more weeks left of chapters. Get ready for some crazy shit.
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Back in the Atlesian headquarters, the Ace Ops were standing around in the hallway outside of the science lab Watts had temporarily used. Weller had been called in to make absolutely sure that the microchip and Watts' program couldn't be recovered or somehow salvaged. Considering the fact that the scientist had left in a bit of a hurry and the only sounds coming out of that lab were the thudding echoes of synthetic fists punching metal walls, the answer was quite obvious.
"He's bluffing...right?" Nesmith asked.
"When did you become a bleeding heart?" Chiffon asked.
"Look, I get it. People call me a scumbag, say my ego's too big, and ok, maybe it is. But we're talking about nuking a city. My biggest crime was assault, maybe some reckless endangerment sprinkled in there."
"And attempted murder," the extreme patriot pointed a finger at his teammate, "Don't forget accessory to conspiracy-"
"Ok, ok, shut it. The point is, I never went so far as attempted genocide."
"For once, I agree with Nesmith. This isn't right and you know it. He's putting an entire city's population at stake!" Cammie chimed in.
"And yet it may finally force the kids to see reason," Vine added.
"Reason?!"
Winter was eerily quiet as the rest of the elites continued their argument, but her personal thoughts were quite clear on the matter.
"Oh who gives a shit?" Harriet scoffed.
Cammie was about to turn and sock the Ace Ops' speedster in the jaw before the door to the hallway hissed open. Ironwood walked out, adjusting and dusting off his suit, trying to regain as much of his composure as he could. The Specialists all stood at attention and saluted their general.
"Good, you're all here," Ironwood sighed, "I need a squad of drones in the hangar on standby until I give the order."
"The...order?" Winter repeated in shock.
"I believe I was quite clear in my broadcast, Specialist Schnee. Should they give me a reason, I remove Mantle from the equation. And considering I now have confirmation that Watts' hack has failed, it's our only recourse now."
The eldest Schnee sister just looked at the general shock. He'd truly gone off the deep end now, hadn't he?
"This is how we save Atlas," the general added, resolute in his course of action.
"...how?" Cammie asked. "How is killing a bunch of innocents, how is just eliminating a city any better than leaving it to fend for itself?! Does that not hang on your conscience?! How can you sleep at night, knowing you're content with throwing thousands of lives away!?"
"In the grand scheme of things, I've only lost a few pawns." Ironwood frowned. "The board is still rife with rooks and bishops, and the king is still secure. If I go down...so does this Kingdom and any hope of a bright future."
"Pawns? Rooks?! Is that all we are to you?!" Cammie finally broke, letting out all the anger and frustration that had built up over the past three days in one burning rant, "We're not just some robots you can program without any pushback! In case ya didn't notice, we're god damn flesh and blood people! Or at least, we should be! Because the more I look at the people in this hallway, the more I realize PENNY was more human than any of you could ever hope to be! She evolved beyond whatever fuckin' program you tried puttin' in her and now she's FREE! You tried stripping her of her free will, make another faceless drone, and it BLEW UP IN YOUR FACE!"
Ironwood said nothing, his eyes narrowing at Cammie as she continued her rant.
"I believed in you, I really did, for the longest time! But guess what! I was wrong! I was so,so fucking stupid to think you could actually lead to that 'brighter future' you talked about, because right now, future's lookin' pretty damn bleak if you usher it in with a war crime! You threw away some of our best allies at the start of this whole thing and you've been so fixated on regaining control of Penny that you ignored the actual threat until she was LITERALLY ON OUR FRONT LAWN!" the hacker shouted.
"HEY!" Harriet interrupted, pulling Cammie back by the shoulder, "Either you're gonna shut your mouth or I'm gonna shut it for you, MacCloud."
"Go ahead and try!"
"Cammie," Vine interjected, stopping a fight from breaking out then and there, "If this gets the Outcasts to cooperate, then it is worth it."
"Our top priority is retrieving the Winter Maiden," Chiffon said, "Everything else is secondary. This is honestly who you considered before me? Standards must've slipped hard..."
"OH MY FUCKING GOD!" Cammie shouted, "Do you hear yourselves?! Do you, honest to god, believe any of that bullshit?! You know, I used to look at this...this rank, this team with pride, but now I know what it really is. Just another leash you can tug on when your control slips. Well I'm done. Check the mail for my fucking resignation, Tin Man!"
With that, Cammie shoved past Harriet and Vine without another word and began to storm off. Her world seemed to suddenly freeze when she heard the hammer of a revolver click back. Her eyes widened in shock, she needed to move but her body was paralyzed in horror. He was actually about to-!
Cammie was suddenly knocked to the ground by a punch from Winter. Behind her, Ironwood had leveled his black revolver at the back of Cammie's head, aiming to finish her in one shot. The general gave off a small smile as he holstered his weapon and watched as his daughter forced this insubordinate loudmouth's arms behind her back.
"You want a leash? Fine," Winter grumbled, disabling Cammie's weapons and tying her hands up in a gravity bolas, "No need to worry, sir. I'll throw this traitor in the brig myself. It's where she belongs, just like Marrow."
Ironwood nodded and allowed Winter to take Cammie away, watching his daughter live up to expectations. He walked past the rest of the Ace-Ops, all of them stepping out of his way and standing at attention.
Winter threw Cammie into the elevator and once the doors shut behind them, the eldest Schnee sibling removed the bolas from the wrists of her prisoner. Cammie rubbed her unbound wrists tenderly as Winter crossed her arms grimly, letting out a sight of exhaustion.
"I'm, uh, getting mixed messages here. Am I being arrested?" the hacker asked.
"No." Winter answered quickly.
"Was the punch really necessary?"
"Would you have preferred to get shot?"
"...fair point," Cammie conceded.
As the awkwardly quiet elevator ride continued on, Winter pulled out her Scroll and scrolled through her contacts. The hacker couldn't help but look over Winter's shoulder and look down at the number she was about to dial.
"You're...calling her?" the now ex-Ace Op asked.
"I should've done this from the start...but I needed to come to terms with things, I suppose. My father...both of my fathers were different degrees of evil. Jacques was obviously evil, but Ironwood pretended to be a good man. Maybe he actually believed it. Maybe he still does. Regardless, we're going to need help here."
The elevator reached its destination and the doors slid open, only to see two guards being knocked out by Qrow and Robyn, the former choking a guard out while the latter just slammed the man's helmeted face into the wall. Once the unconscious bodies hit the floor, the two turned their attention to the elevator and quickly raised their weapons. Marrow, who was still a little rattled from the earlier explosion caused by Cinder, peeked out of the contraband room where his weapon was kept. When they realized who they were looking at, both parties had surprised expressions.
"Um, hey Winter." Marrow awkwardly greeted, "So we're…out of our cells and-"
"Good." Winter cut him off.
"Eh?"
"So I might've cursed out the general to his face," Cammie admitted.
"That's a bad thing?" Robyn quipped.
"It is when he almost pulls out a gun and blasts your brains out."
"Still think there's a better way? After hearing that?" Qrow seethed.
"Ok, ok, it's not helping his case, I get it," Robyn sighed.
"He's gonna blow up Mantle." Cammie explained. "And we got less than an hour to figure shit out. I'm assuming Winter has a plan but right now, kinda just looks like luck. I mean finding you guys right as I'm about to be thrown in jail too-"
"Wait, what?" Robyn stopped her, "Go back. He's gonna do what?"
"He has a bomb," Winter explained, "It was supposed to destroy the Grimm leviathan, but now he's using it to hold the city hostage unless Penny surrenders herself."
"...what the fuck," Marrow muttered.
"You know its fucked up when Nesmith, of all people, has issues with it. In total contrast, Hare's all 'Let's go commit war crimes!'" Cammie added.
"And then there were...his eyes." Winter frowned. "...I fear the general unlocked his Berserker while under all this stress. He's making even more rash decisions, worse than normal. Usually Mettle allows him to block certain things out to complete a goal...but it's like his Berserker blocks out logic."
"Where is he?" Qrow asked, "Give me a few minutes alone with James and I'll fix this." Ruby's uncle tightened his grip on his recovered weapon. He wasn't usually one to jump right to murder, especially when it came to someone who could be considered an old friend, but these past three days have made him reconsider his stance on the subject.
"That's not our plan," Winter said, finally pushing the call button on her Scroll and walking off.
"So then what is? And who the hell are you calling?"
"My sister," Winter answered.
"The kids-" Qrow realized. "Did you see them? How are they-?"
"We ran into both groups, one led by Ruby, another led by..." Cammie paused. "...WAS led by Yang."
"Why did you pause?" Qrow asked, voice quivering.
"I..." Cammie started, before she was interrupted by her commander.
"Weiss?" Winter asked as soon as her Scroll stopped ringing.
"Winter!" Weiss beamed, absolutely relieved. "It's good to hear your voice."
Winter sighed, somewhat relieved to see no lingering ill will in her younger sister, "As is yours. Who's with you right now?"
"...first, I need to ask a question. Does the general believe Yang and the others are dead?" Weiss asked.
Winter flinched as she heard Qrow's heart shatter for a second. "Yes. We...didn't see them leave Monstra-"
"Okay, good. That's a big part of our plan." Weiss said.
"What do you-" Winter started before she realized what exactly that meant. The elder Schnee sister looked to Qrow and mouthed two words to him.
She's alive.
Qrow nearly dropped to the ground in joy upon hearing that. Who knew someone could go through such an emotional rollercoaster in just a few seconds. Robyn and Marrow helped him regain some balance, though.
"A-as you were saying," Winter cleared her throat, trying to contain her own relief.
"We need you to come to Schnee Manor...and arrest us."
"What?!" Winter yelled, making Weiss flinch on the other end of the call, "After all this time, you're just-?!"
"Hey, lemme talk to her for a minute?" another voice said faintly, barely picked up by the Scroll.
"Sure. One moment!" Weiss said, handing the Scroll off.
"Winter," Elm greeted, "Nice to hear from you again."
"Likewise," Winter allowed herself a small smile, "I take it mother helped you recover?"
"Just needed some time to process, that's all. So now I'm...more functional, as Hare would probably say. But trust me, this plan HINGES on them getting arrested."
"Why, praytell?"
"Simple. This was your plan from the start. You hand-picked me for a special deep-cover operation to find the Outcasts' hiding place," Elm explained.
"...go on." Winter raised a brow, intrigued.
"And we're gonna need a few other things." Ben added. "How desperate is Nesmith to catch me?"
"He hasn't mentioned it lately...but probably as desperate as ever."
"Good."
"...what exactly are you planning?" Winter asked, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. That was a terrifying first.
"Anyone else think that's a little creepy or just me?" Cammie whispered.
"Mischievous Winter...first time for everything," Marrow said.
"The plan is for Atlas to spot me heading to the mansion." Ben explained. "Then, they'll swarm the place…and take 'me', 'Penny' and 'Ruby' with the others."
About half an hour later, Winter managed to gain control of one of the camera drones that were searching Mantle's streets and redirect it towards an Atlesian residential area. There was a bit of pushback from one of the operators, being under strict orders not to deviate from their assigned search routes, but all she needed to do was pull rank and the operator fell in line. As the drone left its usual sector, it quickly spotted a streak of flame cut through the sky.
"Was...was that-?" the drone operator asked.
"Follow it," Winter ordered, pulling out her Scroll and checking to see if the signal was coming in. She nodded when she saw a map of the city, along with a single flashing tracking blip.
"Add this frequency into the drone. I need to make sure of something," Winter handed over the signal frequency. The operator added in the tracking signal as the drone buzzed behind the living comet. After a few minutes, the drone spotted Heatblast touching down outside the Schnee manor. For a minute, the drone's screen was obscured by a flash of green and afterwards, the flaming alien was replaced by Ben's form. He went up and knocked on the door, only to be answered by both Weiss and Penny.
"Didn't attract any attention, did you?" Weiss asked, the drone barely able to pick-up the audio as it adjusted its lens.
"Ironwood's too busy recovering from the Grimm and prepping for his bombing run that not many people are looking for us anymore," Ben answered.
Winter quickly changed tabs on her Scroll and called up her father.
"General," Winter greeted.
"I hope you're not calling to try and talk me out of this," Ironwood coldly stated.
"No, sir. I don't think that's possible now. But I thought you should know, I found them."
"Where?"
"The one place we never thought to look. Home."
"Of course Weiss would hide there," Ironwood sighed, "That should've been the first place I checked..."
"With all due respect, you had more pressing matters, sir. And on the subject...I need to come clean. I may have planned something in secret," the eldest Schnee sibling confessed.
"Winter..." Ironwood said, his voice and low and ready to explode into a wrathful tone.
"In truth...I always knew where they were. I never brought it up because, at the time, Penny was the priority. If it turned out there was no other possibility-"
"What. Did you do?" Ironwood cut her off.
"Simple. I played on the Outcasts' compassion. They thought they saved a life...just as I hoped they would. It was a calculated risk, but I asked Specialist Ederne to put herself in harm's way to act as an insider. Not only do we have visual confirmation of Penny and Weiss meeting Ben at the manor, but I recently received a signal from Elm. Tracking the signal leads right back to the manor."
"...I never should have doubted you, Winter," Ironwood said, the relief and even joy in his voice clear as day, "Three Mantas, each with a full squad. They're yours. Take them and bring the Outcasts in, but Penny remains the priority."
"You know three squads won't be enough. They will fight back," Winter said as she turned and left drone operations, making her way to the hangar.
"Asking for backup? Winter, I have full confidence-"
"Not about my ability, sir. It's about loyalty. Or rather, a recent lack thereof. I've had an array of valuable assets at my disposal and I haven't been using them as I should. Harriet and Nesmith warned me about my reckless plan to use the fugitives as an auxiliary...and now I paid for it. It's time I start acting like the commander I'm supposed to be."
"I'm sure they'll be pleased to hear that," Ironwood nodded. With that, the call ended and the forces were quickly mobilized.
Three full squads, each one led by either Winter, Harriet, or Nesmith, loaded onto the three Mantas and made their way across the Atlesian skyline towards the Schnee manor.
"I know it's not 'protocol' to make small talk before a drop, so Harriet, don't bite my head off for this," Nesmith radioed over from his Manta, "But...it's nice to be proven wrong for once."
"And how's that, captain?" Winter asked.
"Well...here I was thinking you and your sister were just two rich girls playing military. I mean I know that's something coming from me but I knew I wasn't some military hard-ass. I'm a sponsored superhero. No fantasies of being something else. But you two? I thought you two actually believed all that 'power of friendship' b.s. I heard you spout."
"When did we say anything of the sort?"
"Meh, maybe not exactly that, but if you break it down, that's all it was. But...guess for one of you, it really was an act huh?" the sponsored hero scoffed.
"One of us needed to open their eyes and see how things really were. Now she has," Winter said.
"Good. Maybe she'll be a good soldier after she serves her long sentence." Nesmith frowned. "Bet she'll feel like a fool for playing into her little girlfriend's attachment to Elm."
Winter closed her eyes. "The heart is a fickle thing."
"Or maybe she's just done with playing hero now that Kylie's gone." Harriet theorized.
"Well, isn't that a backstory and a half. The hero loses the one they care for most and, after a long time out of the game, someone has to disrupt their exile and pull 'em right back in," Nesmith chuckled.
"Pilot," Winter said, muting the comm-line for a moment. She didn't even need to say what she wanted to hear, the pilot already knew.
"Twenty minutes out ma'am," the pilot answered, "Got that signal tuned in just like you asked."
"Good. Remember, our orders to capture. Penny Polendina is our primary target. If you can only capture her, then I'll take full responsibility for any other failed arrests. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am," the soldiers agreed in sync. The AK-200s stored in the back of the ship on charging racks began to hum to life, their visors lighting up a dark blue color.
Winter took a deep breath and looked out the window.
Weiss…I hope you and your friends know what you're doing. Winter thought to herself, This is a very risky plan. I'm well aware you're not helpless or simple minded or anything of the sort...but with Ironwood far past the edge, I don't know what he'll do if he finds out before we're ready.
After the short twenty minute flight, what felt like an eternity for Winter, the first of the Mantas landed out in the courtyard of the Schnee manor. The troop bay doors opened and Atlesian soldiers and androids poured out. The androids went first, acting as living shields in case Ruby decided to take any pot-shots at them, followed by the living soldiers and an Ace-Op taking up the rear. The first one on the ground, of course, was Winter herself.
"Should we worry about hostages?" Harriet asked over the comm.
"...Harriet. This is our home," Winter deadpanned.
"Just asking."
Winter couldn't believe that she had the gall to imply that. Weiss, using her own mother as a hostage. That insinuation alone deserved a good punch to the head, but she couldn't blow her cover now. Winter's squad of soldiers stacked up outside the double doors to the manor, with their mechanized unit standing ready to either protect them or open fire on the fugitives.
"Nesmith?" Winter asked, looking up at the windows as she pressed against the front wall of the manor.
"In position," the millionaire said, ready with his own squad out by what was once a generator shack, now ruined and blasted open. A small unidentified and makeshift grave caught the bootleg Iron Man's interest, but he just decided to spin that for his image when he captured Tennyson.
"Harriet?"
"Set up here," the speedster checked in, taking up a breaching position at one of the staff entrances.
"On my signal," Winter said, letting tense silence fill the air for a moment, "NOW!"
On cue, all three squads breached the manor simultaneously. One of Winter's men silently opened the front door and peeked in, checking for any hostiles on the upper floor balconies. Nesmith threw caution to the wind and, with a servo-boosted front kick, bashed the doors down and led his men inside. Harriet did a similar move, punching the staff entrance door right off its hinges. The soldiers poured into the manor and began searching every part of it for stragglers. While they found none, it was better to check and be sure than let someone slip out of their grasp. The three squads quickly converged on the main dining room, since that was where Elm's tracking beacon was coming from. On cue, Winter and Nesmith both opened the doors on opposite sides of the room. Elm was standing guard over the seemingly despondent remains of the Outcasts, holding Timber in its hammer configuration.
"...Elm?" Harriet asked in shock when she arrived after Nesmith.
"Pretty good actor, huh?" Elm smirked.
"So...all that stuff-"
"Nothing but an act. You really thought I'd get mad over that? Do I look like a teenager to you?"
"As I said," Winter held her hands behind her back, "All part of the plan."
"Let me in on it next time." Harriet huffed, as she walked over to the Outcasts. Ben and Penny were consoling Ruby, Weiss was looking out the window, and Blake was nowhere to be found.
Ben looked up. "...there's nothing really left to fight for." He admitted, tone defeated. "We're done here. We're...we're done trying to play hero." He held Ruby tight.
"Hang on," Nesmith said, doing a quick headcount, "Where's the cat?"
"Blake walked off." Penny said. "And she hasn't come back. I...I don't think she will."
"We'll track her down later," Winter frowned.
"Well well well, Tennyson. Isn't this funny? Try to play the hero, and it bites you in the ass." Nesmith smirked, and patted the boy on the back. "Some savior you are, right?"
"...yeah." Ben said, ignoring his words. "Some savior I am."
"So, Ruby," Harriet said, marching over to the one she, oddly enough, considered her "nemesis" in the group, "Any last words of defiance before we toss your ass in a cell?"
Ruby just sat there, not even registering the words.
"Really? Nothing?"
"Harriet," Penny countered, "could...you not?"
"Ruby has...been through a lot, recently," Ben pointed out, "It all started with Yang...with Yang not coming back. This happens in her family. When they're hit with this kind of, well, trauma's the only word to describe it, they just...shut down."
Harriet paused at that.
"The last thing she ever said to Yang was...nothing positive. They had a fight. She'd hoped they would resolve it, but..." Penny closed her eyes.
...going a bit too far on tugging the heartstrings there. Winter thought.
Harriet didn't say anything there and her expression...softened a bit. The speedster instinctively reached for the gravity bolas restraints, but quickly realized they wouldn't be necessary. She sighed and took Ruby's hand, gently helping the depressed reaper to her feet. She looked to Winter and nodded, assuring her commander that she could handle this. With that, Harriet silently led Ruby away, back to the Manta she'd flown in on.
"Penny," Winter began, "are...you ready?"
"More than I've ever been." Penny nodded.
"Where's Levin?" Nesmith asked Ben.
"Upstairs. He's...he's resting." Weiss answered for her friend. "...he didn't take the news great either."
"Last time I saw him, princess, the kid had taken god knows how many volts into his body. He's still conscious after that?" Nesmith asked in surprise.
"More resilient than you give him credit for," Elm spoke up, "But I would be careful with him. He's durable...but he's not unscathed."
"What room?"
"I'll handle it," Elm volunteered, "You three," she pointed out three soldiers from Winter's squad, "With me."
Elm escorted the soldiers upstairs, as Winter walked over to Weiss. She was still staring out the window. This is where the tricky part of the mansion arrest came into play: the coded messages.
"You did the right thing, Weiss." Winter said. Real meaning: "I'm glad you're okay."
"I had no choice." Weiss frowned. Real meaning: "I missed you. You should be in bed."
"Decisions like these do...often seem like non-choices." Real meaning: "I know. Blame the general."
"When we get there, will...will you let me speak to him? Father?" Weiss asked. Real meaning: "Everything's set up back at the base?"
"I thought you denounced him as your father," Winter recalled. Real meaning: "The others are just waiting for us to arrive."
"It was...a stressful situation. I said some things that I regret. At least I have the chance to fix it." Real meaning: "Good, then everything's going the way we want it to."
"...I can't fix everything I've done," Weiss added. Real meaning: "I'm scared this might not work."
"I know. But...it's never too late," her older sister reassured. Real meaning: "Have faith. I believe in you and your friends- this may be our only shot at saving everyone."
"...you're right," the young heiress sighed, "I...suppose I'll still need the restraints?"
"Do you intend to resist?" Winter asked, putting a hand on the hilt of her still sheathed saber.
"No."
"Then I see no need."
Weiss led Winter back to the ship, passing by Willow and Whitley as they marched out. Willow seemed to not be acting at this moment. It really did break her heart to see Winter arrest her own sister. Sure, it was a bit, but...
It was still commanded by him.
For Whitley, it was harder to pin what emotion was the most prevalent. After actually starting a somewhat positive relationship with his sister, he actually felt sorry for her and maybe the smallest bit of relief that he never had to live with Ironwood. Granted the only other father figure in his life was Jacques so...not really much better.
Weiss shot them a brief glance, before looking down at the ground. She had to play the role of someone utterly defeated. She could see them both later, if it all worked out.
Winter loaded Weiss onto her own gunship and looked back to the others.
With two soldiers seated beside her defeated sister, Winter called up the general to report their success.
"Sir...we have them," Winter reported.
"That was...faster than I thought," Ironwood admitted.
"I was wrong, sir. They didn't have any fight left in them. We're on our way to you now."
Ironwood took a deep breath. "...that's all I've wanted to hear. Bring them to base." And then he cut the call there.
Winter closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. So far, so good. They hadn't been found out yet. She watched Elm carry Kevin (pretending to be still knocked out) out of the mansion in her arms.
Phase 1's almost complete, Winter thought to herself.
Ironwood, Chiffon and Vine stood outside in the academy courtyard, eyes focused on the three ships moving in over the horizon.
"You still seem on edge," Vine pointed out.
"Of course I am. Something's just...not sitting right," Chiffon admitted, rolling his shoulder after adjusting his rig.
"The escapees?"
"We have patrols scouring the entire base and not a single sighting? That doesn't feel right..."
"They won't matter soon," Ironwood announced, "Not when we have her."
In minutes, the Mantas arrived and their passengers disembarked. The general's face softened when he saw Weiss and Penny, nodding for Winter to bring them to him. Nesmith shoved Ben out of the Manta with a satisfied smirk. Oh today was just the best day of his newly minted Ace Op career.
"No restraints?" Chiffon called out, "Awful risky..."
"I told the general, they have no fight left. Restraints seemed like overkill," Winter answered.
"They are. And-" Ironwood stopped when his Scroll got an alert. He pulled the device and examined it, letting an amused scoff past his lips.
"Sir?" Winter asked.
"It seems...our escapees are making one last attempt. They're in the academy hangar."
"Trying to stop the payload?" Harriet asked.
"Or just looking for a way out," the general mused.
"I've been waiting to make my shot at the lot of them. Sir?" Harriet looked to Nesmith for the command.
"Thank you, Harriet. Ace Ops, let's move. I trust that the general and Commander Schnee can handle a few depressed children," Nesmith said confidently, "That means you too, Ederne!"
"Right." Elm nodded, running off alongside her teammates. Harriet shot her one more look, but brushed it off. In the back of her mind, she was truly glad to have Elm back on the team.
"I expected at least some resistance from your friends," Ironwood admitted as he slowly approached Penny.
"I don't want anyone else to die." Penny spoke up, "There's...there's been enough bloodshed today."
Ironwood took a deep breath, moving forward and placing a hand on Penny's shoulder. "You've done the right thing, Penny."
"...I have."
"Feels weird," Penny said, but her voice changed. Ironwood's eyes widened as the illusion broke and "Penny" was revealed to be Emerald. The green haired rogue smirked and back-flipped away from the general, landing a solid kick to the man's jaw. She landed on her feet gracefully and quickly engulfed her hands in green orbs of mana. Two disembodied hands of energy appeared and quickly removed both pistols of Due Process from the general's holsters, exploiting the opening the kick had created. The tin-hearted dictator of Atlas turned to watch as both hands suddenly vanished from sight before he turned his furious gaze on Emerald.
"See ya," the mage-thief gave a two-fingered salute before she too faded from his view, hiding with her Semblance. But then Ironwood's fury turned to someone else. Ben and Ruby changed to reveal their true selves as well in a flurry of pink, glass particles. The duo was replaced by that of Albedo and Neo, while Oscar seemed to just appear from thin air next to them. Kevin awoke from his "coma" and hopped out of the Manta, rolling his shoulder and getting ready for the fight to come.
"How was my Ben?" Albedo asked, "As good as my Whitley?"
You nailed it, Neo signed happily, readying Hush.
"...you're kidding me." Ironwood frowned, his eyes glazing over again.
"Sorry, Jimmy." Kevin said, activating the AntiTrix. "Afraid we duped you. Don't worry- you're not the first person to fall victim to one of our scams."
Kevin flashed the AntiTrix. "You're just the biggest dope to ever fall for it." He slapped down the AntiTrix- his limbs elongated and his skin turned a vibrant shade of light green. Armor formed around his body, covering his forearms, torso, head, shoulders, tail, and even dorsal fins sprouted on his back. His limbs sprouted sharp spikes, and his helmet transformed into a conoid shape that exposed his menacing, red eyes. His mouth disappeared, and a separate line formed where it would have been. His hands transformed into sharp claws, and his elbows and legs became spiky.
"The future's been decided, Tin Man! Mantle's not gonna get bombed today!" Kevin announced.
"Nice," Oscar smirked.
Albedo quickly dialed up a form as well and slammed down on the Ultimatrix. In a flash of red, Albedo stood before Ironwood in the form of a Petrosapien, his red eyes peering out at the general amidst the collection of pale aquamarine crystals.
"We'll try to make this quick," Albedo said.
Painless though? Not on your life, asshat. Neo added.
"Somehow, I knew it'd come down to this. I knew you'd try some sort of last stand situation..." Ironwood took a deep breath and took on a fight stance. "So. Come on. I'm impatient right now."
Kevin raised an eyebrow. Is he serious? He's fighting us barehanded?
Alright, tinman...let's go! Neo smirked, rushing in first, followed by the others.