Chapter 8: Jason Chapter 2
Summary:
Jason finds someone in need of help. He confronts Ironwood. The Ace Ops find a truly terrible secret. Ironwood finds out the truth. Grimm attack Atlas and Mantle. Jason goes to therapy. Coral gives him an idea, an awful idea; Coral gives him a wonderful, awful idea.
Trigger Warning: Mentions of abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.
Chapter Text
AN: some disturbing content. Mentions of abuse, and sexual assault/abuse. Reader's discretion advised.
Name: Jason Todd
Physical age: 11
Mental Age: 22
As Jason was leaving Schnee Manor he caught a scent that made his hackles rise. Following his sense of smell, he found an alley where a reoccurring nightmare filled his vision.
Shira, lying on the ground, broken, bleeding, crying... only, it wasn't Shira. It was a little girl who couldn't be older than ten or younger than six. Her arm was broken and hanging at an odd angle, and she was covered in blood. Though that wasn't even the worst of her injuries. He could smell it, the smell of stolen virtue, stolen purity.
Clenching his hands into fists, he instantly regretted it when the girl whimpered and curled into a ball, crying and whispering so low that without his hearing he wouldn't be able to hear it.
"Please." She sobbed. "No more. It hurts. It hurts, please. No more."
Jason unclenched his fists and opened a portal, pulling Loki and Coral through it.
Loki and Coral were in Vale, heading for bed when they were both ripped through a portal and found themselves in Atlas.
The startled couple looked around and saw that they were in an alley in Atlas. They saw Jason looking sick.
"What's wrong Jay?" Loki asked.
"There's a girl in the alley. She's hurt."
Loki looked in the alley and nearly got sick. She was looking at a memory, a nightmare, a bad dream. It was Shira all over again.
Coral walked towards the girl slowly and knelt down, so she was closer to the girl's level. "It's okay now." She cooed. "No one is going to hurt you."
The girl whispered something that made the hairs on the back of Jason and Coral's necks stand on end.
"You're not going to put me in a cage in the ground?" The girl asked.
"No." Coral cooed. "Whoever told you that lied. "We don't do that. We're here to take you someplace safe."
"Safe?" The girl asked.
"Yes. Safe. Somewhere no one will ever hurt you again."
The girl looked up with hope in her eyes. Hope that broke Jason, Loki, and Coral.
"What's your name sweetie?" Coral cooed.
"I don't have one." The girl said. "They didn't give me one."
"They?" Jason asked.
"Not the time Jason." Coral said. "We need to get her somewhere safe."
Jason looked at Atlas Academy. It was the only place close enough without using his Semblance. He owed Ironwood a visit after all, to make sure he wasn't going dark side. "Let's get her to Atlas Academy." He spoke.
"May I pick you up?" Coral asked the girl.
"I hurt." The girl whimpered.
Coral wanted to cry but held back tears until the girl was safe. "May I put my hands on you?"
The girl whimpered and curled into a ball which caused her to cry out in pain.
Jason and Loki grit their teeth as fresh tears rolled down their faces. This hit too close to home.
"I'm not going to hurt you." Coral promised. "We just need to get you to a healer."
"The healer will put me in a cage underground." The girl sobbed.
A Wave of rage went through the trio.
Coral picked the girl up carefully, making sure not to hurt her any more than she already was, which was a futile effort since moving caused fresh tears to pour down the girl's face.
The group walked towards Atlas Academy, carrying the girl like you would an injured cat or an infant, she was so small.
General James Ironwood wasn't sure what he was expecting that night while doing paperwork, but it certainly wasn't his door being opened and an Atlesian soldier being thrown past the door while a trio holding a bundle walked in.
"We need access to your infirmary!" A boy no older than ten demanded while two women too young to be his mother's said, standing behind him.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ironwood asked, looking into his amber cats' eyes.
"This child has been brutalized." The woman with coral pink hair and coral blue eyes said. "We need your infirmary."
"Why did you come to Atlas Academy when there is a perfectly fine infirmary in Atlas.
"Two of us are Faunus." The Boy said. "They wouldn't help, more like try selling us into servitude to the Mines."
Ironwood knew the boy was right. "Why come here then? Aren't you afraid of the same thing?"
"No." The boy said. "No, I am not."
"Would you mind clarifying?"
"No, but could you take us to the infirmary now?"
Ironwood looked into the boys' eyes and felt his willingness to help the boy increase. "Yes." He said in a monotone. "Follow me."
Jason and Loki sat in the background while Coral sat with the girl as the healers looked her over.
"It's not good." The healer said. "Broken bones that never healed right, burns from cigarettes and cigars, cuts from blades and glass, and that's not including the Sexual Abuse or the mental pain."
"What should we do?" Loki asked.
"The kindest thing to do would be to let her self-terminate. No child should have to endure this pain and who knows if she will be able to make it to adulthood?"
"If that is her choice." Jason said solemnly. "We will honor it."
The healer nodded and went back to the others.
Jason took in a deep breath and caught the scents from the girl, she was a cat Faunus. He followed them only to arrive at a house where all the inhabitants were dead, their throats slit and claw marks across their bodies. Someone had ripped them to shreds. The girl had probably broken and done what she had to in order to escape. He could respect that. He threw enough Fire Dust into the house to cause it to burn extremely hot, turning the bodies to ash. He threw Gravity Dust onto the roof and activated it causing gravity to increase until the house collapsed and threw even more Fire Dust on top of the collapsed building, igniting it before he disappeared into his shadow and out of Loki's unaware that a girl with dirty white hair was watching him.
Ironwood watched as the boy appeared out of the girl, Loki's, shadow. "Excuse me." He spoke. "I have some questions for you."
"Ask away." Jason said.
"What's your name?"
"Jason Todd of Todd Import Export in Vale. I'm in Atlas on Business."
"I see." Ironwood said. "What prompted you to help this girl?"
"She was hurt, dying in an alley. I wasn't going to leave her like that."
Ironwood was impressed. "What are your thoughts on becoming a Hunter?"
"I already plan on going to Beacon when I'm old enough."
'Damn it Ozpin.' Ironwood thought.
Beacon Academy
Professor Ozpin sneezed. "Oh my." He said, getting up and heading to the market to buy medicine, chicken noodle soup, and lemon/honey tea. He couldn't get sick, not again, never again.
Atlas Academy infirmary.
Ironwood looked at Jason. "So, tell me, how did you get into my office, and I don't mean through the door."
"My Semblance allows me to drop stuff into my shadow and throw them. Getting past your guards was child's play."
"That is disconcerting." Ironwood pinched his chin in concentration.
"I wouldn't have done so if it wasn't important. A child's life was at stake, and I couldn't risk anyone getting in my way."
"Very well, would you mind keeping in contact with me in case I have more questions."
Jason handed Ironwood a Scroll. "Here is a Scroll to keep in contact with me. It is secure and only has a few numbers in its contact information."
Ironwood looked at the contacts in the scroll.
Jason Todd: (862)-676-6061
Ruby Rose: (44)-0203-0484377
Oscar Pine: (913)- 310-1107
Loki Saki:(44)-0304-0284377
Coral Maru: (44)-0403-0284377
?(Only Call if you can't get in touch with anyone else.): 08251 40 20 85.
Jaq: (44)-0402-0384377
Ironwood saw four Valean numbers, an Atlesian Number, and two private numbers. "Thank you." He spoke.
"You're welcome. I mean it about not calling the mystery number unless you can't get in touch with anyone else and need to get into contact with me. Their safety relies on secrecy."
Ironwood immediately vowed to never endanger whoever that number belonged to.
"You shouldn't have a problem contacting me, but the phone is a nice backup plan."
"I see. Thank you again."
"You're welcome. Is the girl okay?"
"Let's go see." Ironwood led Jason and Loki through the infirmary towards the Coral and the girl's bed. "Healer Opal, how is she?"
The aged woman turned to look at them. "She is traumatized. I'm devastated and disgusted by what was done to her. Whoever did this..." the woman took in a deep breath and blew it out. "General. Please, get the ones responsible for her pain."
"I will." Ironwood said.
'Too late.' Jason, Loki, and Coral thought. Coral and Loki knew that Jason had already taken care of them. Jason looked at the girl, sure that she had been the one to kill the monsters responsible for her pain.
"Can we activate her Aura?" Coral asked.
"I don't see that being a problem." The Healer said. "Would you like to handle that?"
"Yes." Coral said Rolling the sleeves of her coral green dress up and placing her hands at the girls' feet and head. "By my legs I carry you from danger. By my arms I fight for your freedom. By my eyes I will always watch your back. By my heart I will always love you. By my back I will always defend you. By my lips I will always praise your deeds, call out your mistakes, and speak my love for you."
There was a flash of light and Coral fainted while the girl glowed.
"CORAL!" Loki shouted, going for Coral.
Jason watched the girl and waited.
Coral's eyes flickered open. "Loki?" She asked. "Are you okay? Is the baby okay?"
Jason spun to look at Coral and dropped her into his shadow before following her. "What's the last thing you remember?!" He asked.
"Jason?" Coral asked. "No. You're not Jason."
"Actually, I am. I'm just younger. So are you."
Coral looked down at herself. "What the fuck am I wearing?" She asked when she saw the Coral green dress.
"Loki and I rescued you before Mahogany threw you down into the basement, but after your mom died."
Coral looked at her hands. "I killed her."
"No! You may have been the gun, but Mahogany was the finger that pulled the trigger."
Coral looked at Jason. "Why am I back here?"
"Not sure. My best guess is your soul bond with Loki. It woke you up and now you are stuck in the past as your younger self. What's the last thing you remember?"
"We just stopped the Ace Ops, then everything went white."
"Okay. Do you have the memories of what has taken place in the past so far?"
Coral thought and remembered. "Loki and I are running the orphanages in Vale. I no longer work for the government. Loki and I are a lot happier. We're helping a little girl who's been used and abused."
"Good, good. Remember that. I'll let you out of my shadow realm now."
Jason and Coral stepped out of his Shadow Realm and looked around the infirmary.
"What was that?" Loki asked.
"Jason just wanted to make sure that I was okay." Coral said hugging Loki.
Loki returned the hug.
The girl stirred and she looked around only to push herself off the bed and to the floor, but Jason caught her and helped her back to the bed.
"Don't worry sweetie." Coral said. "We won't hurt you. Do you have a name?"
The girl shook her head.
"I'm sorry. We will get you a name. You'll be coming to live with us. We run an orphanage. There are a lot of kids your age there. I'm sure that you'll make friends with some of them. We will try and find a good family for you, one that won't hurt you."
Ironwood wanted to object but couldn't. Atlas had hurt the girl, maybe a change of venue was what was best.
"May I pick you up?" Coral asked.
The girl was wary and got off the bed.
The group walked outside and through Jason's shadow portal and out of Jaq's shadow.
Jason looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was rising. It was dawn. He looked at the girl. She didn't have a name. "Her name is Dawn." He spoke. "You can put that on the paperwork."
Coral dropped down so she was on eye level with the girl. "Do you like the name Dawn?" She asked.
The girl shrugged without saying anything.
"Dawn. This is Vale, and I'd like you to be able to eventually call it home. We will take you to the orphanage. You can learn valuable skills and become a Hunter if that's what you want."
"I want to become someone who stops what was done to me." Dawn whispered.
"Me too, Dawn." Jason said. "Me too."
Arthur Watts awoke in darkness. He remembered pushing past a child before feeling weightless. Where was he?
"Ah. You're awake."
"These childish games aren't amusing. Show me your face or let me go."
A child, the child he'd pushed past, appeared in front of him. "Arthur Watts. You are here to pay for your crimes."
"You'll have to be a bit more specific than that. I have committed an abundance of crimes. Is it perhaps pushing past you? If so, I'm not very sorry at all. Children are meant to be seen, not heard, and I wouldn't mind if they weren't seen at all."
"You tortured my wife." The child said.
Watts was so caught off guard that the only thing he could do was laugh.
Jason watched as Watts laughed at his accusation, unaware that he was actually telling the truth.
"Oh, thank you for that." Watts said. "Now that this ridiculous joke is over, let me go."
Watts watched as the child's fist was wrapped in aura and the child struck him. The child actually struck him! But something felt off, very off. "What happened?" He asked.
"I stole your Semblance." The child said. "And now, I'm going to use your own Semblance to torture and kill you."
Watts could feel the truth in the child's statement. This child was serious and meant every word of it.
Jason touched the ball of Watt's foot sending pain through his body.
"You did this 361 times." Jason snarled. "You did this 361 times to my pregnant wife! How does it feel to have your own Semblance turned on you?"
Watts gasped. "I... I didn't... you're too young."
Jason punched him with his Semblance active.
Watts coughed up blood as his spleen ruptured before passing out.
Jason splashed Water into Watts face causing him to come back to reality. "How does it feel to be denied the break that your body needs to endure torture!?" Jason asked.
"Crazy." Watts gasped.
Jason punched Watts in the face. "Am I?" He asked. "Am I crazy?"
"Yes."
Jason punched Watts in the nose, warm blood gushing from his now broken nose.
"You are going to die here." Jason said as calmly as if talking about the weather. "It's only a matter of time before you break down the way she did. The way she broke until she used her Semblance to break free. The only difference is that your Semblance won't activate to free you.
Watts looked at the child and saw only the truth, meaning the child was either insane or telling the whole truth. He resigned himself to the child's insanity and resigned himself to his death, not knowing how painful his death would be. He just hoped that whoever Lady Salem replaced him with would avenge him... who was he kidding. He meant nothing to Lady Salem.
After hours of agony Jason stopped, looked at the beaten and bloodied Watts before speaking. "I have yet to hear you scream. I suppose I have no other choice than the final pressure point.
Watts eyes widened, as far as they could, in terror.
Jason punched Watts as hard as he could in the groin, ripping the most agonized wail from Watts throat before his heart gave out from the pain and he hung, limply in the air, dead. Blood dripping from the corners of his mouth.
Jason smacked his hands together to free them of any dust, and left the building, leaving Watts to decay until someone found his body.
As Jason was walking through the streets of Vale, he caught the scent of a familiar face. Looking over he saw Jaune Arc and his no longer dead family. Maybe he could get Jaune to Beacon and keep his family alive.
He walked over to the family, parents in Hunters attire, and children all around. "Wow!" He said in his most excited kid's voice. "You are Torc and Vita Arc! You two are amazing Hunter's! Are your kids going to be Hunters too?"
Vita smiled at him. "No. Only our son wants to be a Hunter like us, but we can't afford it."
"What it my company gave him a scholarship to become a Hunter?"
"What company?" Torc asked.
"Todd Import/Export. We need Hunters to keep us safe. The more Hunters we have, the better."
"You're a child!" Torc said hotly.
"That's going to Beacon and if your son wants to go then he should be allowed to go too."
"Would you mind if we talked about this?" Vita asked.
"Take this scroll." Jason said. "If I don't hear from you by the end of the week, I'll know your answer."
"Thank you." Vita said as they left Vale.
Jason followed them. He had work to do.
Adam Taurus knew that he was destined for more than hit and run tactics, stealing food from... humans. He hated them and their entire species. He wanted to kill them all, but Sienna only wanted them to do hit and run tactics. One day, he would kill her one day and she wouldn't be a problem, and he could run the White Fang the way that it should be run. He would...
"Sir!" A grunt shouted.
"What!" Adam snarled.
"We have incoming."
Adam looked up and noticed the wind was blowing, the shadows seemed to come alive, and lash out. In the distance a figure walked through a dense layer of fog and seemed to only grow larger the closer it got.
The shadows lashed out and grabbed two of the White Fang members and threw one of them into a tree, leaving them unconscious, and slamming the other into the ground.
Shadows reached for their weapons, pulling them from their hands.
Adam slashed across a shadow that caught him and pulled him towards the fog.
"RETREAT!" A White Fang member shouted, terror running down his leg.
Adam was pulled into the fog and saw a child, a fucking child.
"Hello Adam." The child said. "You are going to leave these people alone. Try making peace with the humans you hate so much rather than wanting to kill them."
"Who are you!" Adam bit out.
"I can either be an ally..." The child said. "...or your worst nightmare." The child's face turned into the stuff of nightmares, a maw of razor-sharp teeth opening up and chomping down on Adam, but not killing him, going through him and disappearing, leaving Adam in the forest with cold sweat sliding down his back.
Adam looked around and looked into the face of Ligar, a terrifying Grimm with tendrils coming out of its shoulders, and three rows of razor-sharp teeth. Ligar's would cause its target to hallucinate and strike from behind. He spun around, drawing Wilt, unsure if he would be able to fend off the Ligar before it could kill him.
Jason walked through Argus Forest, not sure if Adam would be able to survive, but if he did, he would think twice... should think twice before attacking humans again.
"Hello." a shaky voice asked. "Please. I can't find my family. Please, help me find my family."
"Of course." Jason said as he walked into the woods with the Blair.
There was terror filled cries throughout Argus and Argus Forest as a Blair died at the hands of something not quite natural.
Jaq was worried. Jason hadn't gotten back to Vale yet, and he said that he would only be gone for a few hours. He'd been gone the entire night. If anything happened to him it would be on her head and Loki and Coral would kill her, and she didn't even want to think about what Weiss would do to her. She was pacing when she heard quite footsteps and turned around to see glowing orange eyes. Yelping, she jumped back and fell to the floor only to see the eyes retreating.
Activating her Aura, she saw that it was one of the orphans, a new one she'd never seen before. "Oh, uh... hello. Who are you?"
The girl raced at Jaq and jumped, bringing claws down towards her to maim, seriously injure, or kill.
"Whoa." A familiar voice called out as Jason appeared from Jaq's shadow as the girl would have ripped her throat out with deadly claws. "Those are dangerous. Let's get you back to Loki and Coral." He picked the struggling girl up and carried her back to Loki and Coral who were the only ones able to calm her down.
Jaq took a breath and realized that she had seen her life flash before her eyes.
"You okay?" Jason asked.
"Oh yeah." Jaq scoffed. "I nearly get killed by traumatized children every day. It's perfectly fine."
"Sorry. Her Faunus trait belongs to that of the black-footed Vaccuan cat. She's a hunter, and her Semblance is called: Battle-Focus; It allows her to focus on a task and not give up until she is safe again."
"So she tried killing me!?"
"You were a threat." Jason shrugged. "Now, let's go Jaq, we've got a city to burn."
Jaq looked at Jason in horror. "Which city are we burning down!" She yelled.
Jason and Jaq stood outside Junior's bar. "Okay." Jason said. "We'll go in there, and you play bad cop while I play good cop."
"Okay." Jaq Said. "Do you know how to play good cop?"
"How hard could it be?"
"Okay." Jaq said as they walked in.
Junior saw children walk into his bar and was immediately annoyed. How had children gotten into his bar? "Hey!" He snapped. You aren't supposed to be in here! Who was on door duty!?"
"We need to ask you some questions, and we aren't leaving here without some answers!"
"Answer our questions!" Jason slammed his hand on the bar, cracking the wood.
"I thought you were going to play good cop!" Jaq snapped.
"I cracked the bar, not his head." Jason said.
Junior's eye twitched. "What are you two doing here?"
"We have some questions, and we aren't leaving until they're answered." Jaq said.
"What questions?" Junior asked harshly.
"I notice that you have weapons hidden in the walls." Jason said. "Dust in the basement. Do you only traffic in Weapons and Dust; or do you traffic in... other things?"
"If you're asking me if I traffic in humans or Faunus then I'm going to take exception to that."
"Meaning?"
"I don't traffic people! My wife and I are divorced because of it. She says that It's just business, I say they deserve basic rights too, and that means they aren't for sale!"
"Congratulations. You're hired."
"What?" Junior asked, confused.
"You're hired." Jason repeated. "I need people who are willing to make morally questionable decisions but have a good moral compass."
"What are you talking about."
Jason opened a shadow and pulled Roman and Neo through.
"What!" Roman asked. "What are we doing here boss?"
"Tell Junior about the benefits of working for me."
"Well, you will always be protected without having to pay protection money. If you need help, he will always be there. You get ninety-nine percent of the profits. He won't ask you to do anything you won't want to do, and the best part is the dental plan. Ninety Percent coverage on EVERYTHING."
"What is he willing to do?" Junior nodded towards Jason, though he would walk through hell with this man for a ninety percent dental coverage.
"If you ask me to rip someone's spleen out through their nose, I would do it, so long as they deserve it."
"Wait, really?" Roman asked.
Jason held up a spleen out of his shadow. "Congratulations Roman," Jason shook Roman's hand with the hand with the spleen. "You've been promoted."
"UGH!" Roman shouted as he dropped the spleen. "BOSS! Whose spleen is that?"
"Let's just say that the 'Spider's Web' is under new management."
"Wait." Junior said. "Maggie's dead?"
"If she's not, she wishes she were."
Junior went pale. He didn't know how he felt about that. They didn't agree on things, but did that mean he wanted her dead? He thought about that for a moment... yes. She was vile and got off on the pain of others.
"Also, she won't be extorting you anymore, your daughters are no longer in danger, and the assassin's she was sending after you are dead."
"Assassins?" Junior asked.
"Yes. She wanted your daughters to be her enforcers, and because you weren't budging, she was just going to kill you and take them back."
Junior's eyes flashed dangerously with murderous intent. "What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to be my eyes and ears in Vale. People talk when they're drunk. If you hear anything of interest, tell me."
"Fine, so long as Maggie is no longer a threat to my daughters."
"She isn't."
"Good."
"Good. Come on Roman." Jason said, leading Roman and Neo through a shadow to Mistral and the 'Spider's Web'.
Junior shuddered. That child was no child. He was dangerous.
"DAMN IT JASON!" The girl said. "What the hell am I supposed to do!?"
Jason, Roman, and Neo walked into the 'Spider's Web'. The fear was palpable.
"Roman." Jason said.
"Ah, yes. Friends, enemies, fellow criminals, rebels." Roman said with a flourish. "The 'Spider's Web' is under new management. My boss is now your boss. You have new rules. You may traffic in weapons and Dust. Humans and Faunus are off limits. If you see anyone being mugged, attacked, hurt, etc. you will defend them. You will defend the weak and innocent. If you can't do this, leave..."
A group of people headed for the door only for Jason to drop them into their shadows. "Anyone else?" He asked.
The room filled with the smell of emptied bladders and bowels.
"Now. Let's get to work." Roman said. "After you've cleaned yourselves up that is."
Jason appeared out of Jaq's shadow. "Let's go." he said, putting his hands into his pockets, stalking out of Junior's bar.
Jaq followed Jason, waving at Junior who was incredibly confused at the most terrifying child he'd ever seen.
"Where are we going next?" Jaq asked.
"We are going to visit Weiss." Jason said. "I have to do something I should have done last year. Dawn reminded me."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Contact General Ironwood. His number is already in your Scroll."
"What do I tell him?"
"Send him this." Jason handed Jaq a Scroll. "Don't look at it, just send it to him."
"Okay." Jaq said, taking the Scroll.
Jason jumped out of Weiss's Shadow and bolted.
"What's going on?" Weiss asked.
"Don't know." Jaq said. "Jason just gave me this Scroll and told me to get it to Ironwood. He saved a Faunus child, and it reminded him of something."
"Brother's above." Weiss gasped. "No!" She bolted after Jason.
"What's wrong!?" Jaq asked.
'JASON DON'T!' Weiss shouted across their bond.
"WHAT'S WRONG!" Jaq shouted. She looked at her Scroll and called General Ironwood.
General James Ironwood was working in his office when the Scroll Jason had given him rang with the Caller I.D. saying 'Jaq'. "General Ironwood." He said into his scroll.
"General!" A voice shouted into the scroll. "Jason is running and Weiss is chasing after him!"
"Who is this?" Ironwood asked.
"Jaq! I work for Jason! He's running with Weiss chasing after him!"
"Weiss? Weiss who?"
"Weiss Schnee!"
"Weiss Schnee? Why is Weiss Schnee chasing after Jason Todd?"
"I DON'T KNOW! He told me to send you this!"
Ironwood's Scroll vibrated, and he saw a folder file. Opening it he got sick, running to his bathroom he heaved the contents of his stomach into his toilet and rinsed his mouth out. He activated his Semblance and straightened. Walking to his desk, he called the Ace Ops. "Ace Operative Rave. Please gather the other Ace Ops and report to my office."
"Of course, General." Rave said.
Ironwood sat down and made a copy of the Scroll.
The five Ace Ops walked into Ironwoods office. "General." The five saluted.
Ironwood looked at them. He looked at the rookie. "Ace Operative Clover."
"Sir." Clover stood straighter, if possible.
"You are the youngest member of this group. You do not have to take part of this mission. It is not for the faint of heart."
"Sir! I would like to take part! I need the experience!"
Ironwood covered his face, the arrogance of youth. "Very well." He held the scroll out towards the Ace Ops. "View this, take the time to be sick, and make the necessary arrests."
Rave picked up the Scroll and immediately activated his Semblance: Anatomy, to allow him to not be sick. He put the scroll in a pouch on his belt and nodded. "General." He nodded, his caramel skin going pale.
Ironwood nodded and waved the Ace Ops off.
Rave and the others left Ironwood's office to do the job they wouldn't regret doing but would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Weiss grabbed Jason and spun him around. 'Jason!' Weiss asked across their bond. 'Jason, don't do this. It's not the same as last time... wait, what's wrong?' she asked when she saw the tears rolling down his cheeks.
'I'm sorry Weiss.' He sent. 'I'm sorry.'
'Why?'
'I saw Dawn, and she reminded me of Shira. She was hurt so bad, and it reminded me of Shira. I'm sorry.'
'Oh, Jason.' Weiss said. 'I'm sorry.'
'I need to talk to Doctor Thompkins. I... This shouldn't be affecting me this bad.'
'You are entitled to your emotions, but don't slaughter people because you're in pain. because hurt people, hurt people.'
'What do you want me to do?' he asked, pressing his forehead to hers. 'They are suffering.'
'I know, but will murdering the ones responsible undo what was done to them? It won't. Let them rot in jail. They will pay for their crimes in jail.' She ran her hands along his arms. 'Just let them rot in prison before someone gets lucky and kills you.'
Jason dropped to his knees. 'I'm tired Weiss. I'm so tired.'
'Have you been sleeping?'
'Only the bare minimum.'
'So only an hour a night?'
'Sometimes more, sometimes less.'
'Get some sleep. Eight hours. No less.'
'I don't know if I can.'
'You know why we can't.'
'I know.' Jason sent. 'I know.'
Rave led the Ace Ops to the coordinates listed on the Scroll. He found the entrance and looked at Clover; "Watch the door, capture anyone who tries escaping. Connect your Scroll to mine and we will record whatever we see that way we have proof."
"Sir!" Clover saluted, before taking out his scroll, and connecting it to Rave's Scroll.
Rave led the others into the underground building. "Aqua. What do you see?"
A blue haired woman knelt down and her eyes glowed blue, allowing her to see everything in the underground building. She lost the contents of her stomach.
"Aqua?" Rave asked. "What's wrong?"
"I'll go check it out," Chro said.
"Chro, don't!" Aqua shouted, expelling sickness.
Chro ran through the underground building until he found a laboratory filled with people wearing biohazard suits. One looked at him and pointed at him.
"What are you doing here?" A suited figure asked. "You shouldn't be here! You are infected! You cannot leave!"
Chro turned around and ran back towards the entrance.
The suited figure slammed their hand on a red button, causing red lights to flash, and alarms to blare.
Rave, Aqua, and Dio jumped when they heard the alarms and saw the red lights flash.
Chro ran around the corner. "RUN!" He shouted.
They turned to leave, but the doors slammed shut.
Biohazard suited being ran around the corner. "STOP!" A deep booming voice shouted. "You have been infected with the Vytalian moon virus! You need to be decontaminated and inoculated!"
Dio looked around. "Boss? I'm going to..."
"Don't!" Rave said.
"You need to come with us! We will decontaminate you and inoculate you against the virus!"
"Why did you make this Virus?" Rave asked.
"What if another Vytalian moon virus outbreak happened? What would we do? We needed the inoculation."
"Where did you find it?"
"We found mummified remains that had been killed with the virus and used it to recreate the virus."
"How did you make the Antibodies?"
"No one is going to miss a few hundred Faunus."
"You are under arrest!" Rave shouted. "Under orders of General James Ironwood!"
"On what charges!?"
"For breaking the treaty of Vytal!"
"Oh. Faunus lovers. Well, we can always use more test subjects I suppose. General Ironwood will only think that you ran away or died. No skin off our teeth."
"Boss?" Dio asked.
"Do it." Rave said.
Dio glowed white.
"What are you doing!?"
"It's Dio's Semblance." Rave explained. "He has the ability to destroy anything he can think of. The more specific he is, the more powerful his Semblance. He could literally destroy the world if he wanted to."
"What is he going to destroy then?"
"This building and everything in it. Clover! RUN!"
"YOU ARE WILLING TO DIE OVER SOME FAUNUS!"
"If it means protecting Mantle and Atlas, I would die a thousand times."
The building, the Ace Ops, the people in biohazard suits, the Faunus being tortured, and the Vytalian moon virus disappeared as if they had never existed, leaving only a crater the size of Mantle to remind people that they had existed.
Clover was outside the underground building, listening to everything that was happening with growing horror. The only thing that snapped him out of it was when Rave told him to run. He ran as fast as he could to get back to Atlas Academy.
The ground shook, sending Clover to his knees. turning around he saw a crater the size of Mantle carved into the ground as if it never existed. "Rave?" he asked, his voice becoming a wheeze. "Aqua?" His voice became shrill. "Chro!" He yelled. "DIO!" He shrieked loud enough for his voice to crack. "WHERE ARE YOU GUYS!"
General Ironwood was standing at his window, looking out, thinking about what Jaq had told him, and sent him when he saw a crater the size of Mantle appear in the wasteland that was Solitus. He slammed his fist on his desk hitting the alarm. "All Hunters and Hunters-in-Training! Report for duty! There is a potential Grimm Surge! I repeat! There is a potential Grimm Surge! Report for duty! Battle Stations!"
Atlas Academy became a jumble of activity as Soldiers and Hunters alike geared up and ran for the bullheads.
Ironwood grabbed his signature pistols and placed them in the holsters on his side and hip before walking out into the corridor to his command ship.
"General!" A familiar voice called for him.
"What is it Schnee?" he asked Winter as she ran up towards him.
"With all due respect sir, what is going on?"
"I don't know." Ironwood said. "I sent the Ace Ops out on a mission, and they haven't returned and now, Atlas is under attack." He looked at Winter. "Come with me Schnee! You will be my second in command until the crisis is over."
"Are you sure sir?"
"Ace Operative Rave is gone, you have above average grades in all your classes, you don't let your family's wealth drive you, I would say that you are the best choice as second than half the Hunters or Hunters-in-Training at Atlas Academy. Now, get on the command ship before I order you to."
"Yes sir!" Winter said, jumping into the command ship and following Ironwood to the bridge.
"Get us into their air!" Ironwood shouted.
"Sir, yes sir!" The pilots shouted, as the command ship climbed into the air.
Jason and Weiss heard the pop and looked up to see bullheads climbing into the air.
"Let's go." Jason said, grabbing Weiss before pulling Jaq out of his shadow, and heading in the direction the Bullheads and Ironwood's command ship were flying towards. Then they reached the edge of Atlas they looked down to see a crater the size of Mantle.
"Brother's above." Weiss gasped out.
"What happened?" Jaq asked.
"Ironwood found the underground Facility." Jason explained. "It looks like it blew up. Let's get down there." Jason focused on his Shadow and found connection to one down there. "Clover is down there." He said, pulling Weiss and Jaq into his shadow and out of an unconscious Clover's shadow.
"What can we do?" Jaq asked.
"Give him a bean." Jason said.
Jaq knelt down and gave Clover a bean that he swallowed. "Now what?"
"Now, we fight whatever Grimm show up." Jason said, drawing 'Scarlett' from his Shadow.
They didn't have to wait long, as a hoard of Grimm appeared on the Horizon.
The air stirred and Bullheads dropped to the ground around them, and Hunters and Hunters-in-Training appeared out of them, firing at the Grimm.
Jason dropped them into his shadow and appeared out of Ironwood's only for Weiss to drop back into Jason's shadow when she saw Winter. "General!" Jason said. "Clover needs medical attention!"
Ironwood jumped and looked over. "Todd! What are you doing here!?"
"Clover needs medical attention."
"Medic!" Ironwood snapped.
A team of medics with a stretcher ran onto the bridge and knelt down next to Clover, maneuvering him onto the stretcher before taking him to the infirmary.
"Now." Ironwood said. "What were you doing out there?"
"Jaq and I came to deliver that scroll to you."
"Why were you seen with..."
"I will tell you in private." Jason explained.
"Schnee, you have the Conn. I'll be in my office."
"Are you sure sir?"
"Is there some reason why I shouldn't be?"
"No sir."
"I'll be in my office."
"Yes sir."
Jason and Ironwood walked into his office leaving Winter and Jaq on the bridge.
When Ironwood shut the door Weiss appeared out of Jason's shadow. "General." She spoke.
"Miss Schnee. What are you doing with Mr. Todd?"
"This is a level ten confidential matter. Only the people in this room are allowed to know." Jason said.
Ironwood looked at Jason. He wasn't a child; he was a Hunter. "Very well." He agreed.
"What do you know about Semblances?" Weiss asked.
"They are the physical embodiment of the soul; Everyone can have one, it can help an individual, hinder an opponent, protect or harm, defend or offend, and I would assume that they get stronger with every generation seeing as you have the terrifying control over the shadows."
Jason and Weiss looked at each other. 'He's made this easier.' Weiss said.
'Hopefully.' Jason agreed before looking at Ironwood. "What would you do if I told you that Weiss and I are older that we look?"
"I would be hesitant to believe you..." Ironwood began, "but how else would you know what you do? How?"
"We are from almost nine years in the future." Weiss began. "We came from a future where Remnant was destroyed."
"Then how did you come back?" Ironwood asked, not buying it.
"A friend of ours has a Semblance that can go back up to five minutes in time. His Semblance became overcharged and sent us, him, and another friend back in time to when we would make the most difference." Jason explained.
"Most difference?" Ironwood asked.
"Yes." Weiss said. "To change the future, we came back from."
"You realize this sounds crazy, right?" Ironwood asked.
"Yes." Jason said. "But we have knowledge that we shouldn't. We are more mature than your average twelve-year-olds, and we have been cleaning up Remnant for the last two years."
"You what!" Ironwood demanded.
"I have been learning to take control of the Schnee Dust Company, to reclaim it from Jacques clutches. If nothing is done the Schnee Dust Company has maybe fifty years before it collapses, Jason and I have given it five, maybe ten years."
"I have been cleaning up the streets of Remnant. I have managed to make an orphanage system that works, in Vale, not the abomination that we had."
"When you say cleaning up..." Ironwood left the tension hanging.
"I have killed, not a little either, but not everyone who has crossed my path is dead. I have rehabilitated Roman Torchwick, Neopolitan, and Little John Jr. I have also left Adam Taurus to rethink his life, and as you can clearly see, Jacques Schnee is still alive."
"At my request." Weiss amended.
Ironwood looked at them and shook his head. They had accomplished so much in the last two years when he could barely get the council to accomplish anything since Jadice passed.
Ironwood was about to say something when the proximity alarms went off and the command ship began plummeting.
"We're going down!" Ironwood shouted.
Jason dropped Weiss into her shadow and ran for the bridge with Ironwood. As soon as they stepped outside, the command ship crashed, and they were thrown to opposite sides of the bridge. Jason dropped into a shadow as a part of the bridge crashed down on him, Ironwood wasn't as lucky. Jason appeared out of Ironwood's shadow and saw that his right arm and leg had been caught under debris, crushing the limbs. "General." Jason said. Your Femoral artery is severed, and you're losing a lot of blood. I need to amputate, or you'll die."
"Do it." Ironwood gasped, his skin going pale.
Jason took 'Agony' from his shadow, cutting off the Aura of everyone in the vicinity. Raising it over his head, he swung down, cutting through the General's arm and leg.
Ironwood roared out in agony, as the sword cut through and cauterized his arm and leg, before passing out.
"MEDIC!" Jason shouted.
A medic ran up and looked at the General. "What did you do?"
"I saved his life. Now, get to work, I'll work on his prosthetics later."
"You are not a healer or a medic!" The medic shouted at Jason.
"Which is why I said that I would work on his prosthetics!" Jason snapped. "Now, heal the General while I take care of the Grimm."
The medic watched as a child more intimidating than the Grimm left the command ship.
Jason walked outside and looked at the soldiers, Hunters, and Hunters-in-Training. They were fighting and dying for a kingdom who saw them as little more than tin soldiers, because Atlas was seen as a kingdom of technological prowess.
He dropped all of them into their shadows and pulled the Faunus from the mines into the fight. "Lyyme! Go to work. Shimm, check on the wounded. Karo, You and Geta are with me. Let's do this."
Lyyme used sand to rip and tear Grimm to pieces while Jason, Karo, and Geta slaughter Grimm with an ebb and flow that belied their stature and Semblances; Jason was using a pair of swords that seemed to disappear with each movement as if Jason was moving faster than physically possible... who was he kidding, Jason was the Alpha, he didn't know the meaning of the words physically possible.
Geta and Karo threw punches and kicks as they slaughtered Grimm left and right. The longer they fought, the stronger they grew.
Shimm checked in Jason's Shadow for the wounded and saw Weiss helping the soldiers, Hunters, and Hunters-in-Training. "Miss Schnee! What are you doing here?"
"Jason dropped me into my shadow." Weiss said, annoyed. "Then he dropped every soldier, Hunter, and Hunters-in-Training in here. They are in stasis here. One second out there is thirty minutes in here. It gives their Aura time to heal them."
"What. How?"
"When he was younger, his Semblance was out of control, eight hours in here was six months in there."
"What!?"
"Then he started the path to recovery, and his Semblance changed and solidified; became stronger. Now, his Semblance is strong enough that one second in the real world is thirty minutes in here. I wouldn't be surprised if later on it changes to become one second out there equals thirty seconds, making it less overpowered, but, maybe not. We'll see."
Shimm could only watch in horror. "Jason is that strong?"
"He is the Alpha." Weiss explained.
"Are you more than annoyed at him for just leaving you in his Shadow?"
"Yes and no. Not much I can do about it now. So, I'll wait and when the time is right, I'll deal with it."
Shimm felt dread well up inside him. He couldn't help but feel bad for Jason, whatever Weiss had planned.
Jason felt a shiver run up his spine, but spun around, cleaving a Sabyr in two. He looked around and watched as the Grimm hoard moved closer.
A second shiver ran up his spin as a wisp of cold brushed against his cheek. Taking a sniff, he didn't smell Weiss, but smelled Winter, who was wielding a sword in one hand, while waving the bloody stump on her left hand to try summoning her Summons. He reached into his Shadow and pulled Weiss and Whitley into the fight.
"Whitley!" He shouted. "Landing Strategy!"
Whitley ran at Jason who grabbed him and threw him towards the Grimm before punching a Creeper hard enough to send it flying into a pack of Sabyr's.
Weiss pulled out her Rapier and summed an army of summons to help fight against the hoard.
Jason pulled 'Agony' out of his shadow and ran at Winter, cutting through her arm above the wrist to cauterize the wound, causing her to cry out in pain, but grit her teeth and kept fighting.
A bird landed and Qrow joined the fight, swinging 'Harbinger' into a Centinel and bisecting it from the incision up.
The Grimm hoard grew even larger, and Jason wasn't sure they could survive without taking more drastic measures.
A figure made up of Rock and wood ran into the hoard and exploded before a burst of wind shot through the Grimm, shredding them.
The soldiers, Hunters, and Hunters-in-Training who were still in fighting condition crawled out of the shadows and began firing at the approaching Grimm.
A gaggle of yellow haired children ran into the hoard and began ripping the Grimm apart with their bare hands.
Another Ape Faunus swung a sword at a Grimm, bisecting its head.
Jason lost track of how many people were fighting against the Grimm hoard, they were giving their all while he held back. Letting out a war cry that shook the battlefield, the shadows came alive, grabbing the Grimm, holding them in place, allowing the others to more readily kill them.
The battle took two hours of constant fighting to clear the hoard of Grimm. Jason looked around and saw the Faunus from the mines looking exhausted, but happy and content. He swept them up in his Semblance and dropped them back in the mines. He maneuvered the Soldiers, Hunters, and Hunters-in-Training back to Atlas Academy for healing and rest. He dropped Whitley and Weiss into their Shadows, returning them home in their rooms to get cleaned up before Jacques caught them.
Looking around he found that only he and Winter remained in the thick choking, smoke filled air. He maneuvered her back to the Infirmary at Atlas Academy where they found Ironwood lying on a bed with his right arm and leg missing. A healer led Winter to a bed that she collapsed into, and Jason disappeared into his shadow to begin work on Ironwood's and Winter's Prosthetics.
He had just sat down to work when he heard Jacques shouting at Weiss. Losing what control he had, he jumped out of Weiss's shadow, reaching for Jacques so he could end his putrid existence, but stopped when Weiss gripped his hand and held him back. "Jason!" Weiss snapped.
Jason looked at Weiss with murder in his eyes. "Let me kill him! You just risked your life to save that bastards life!"
"I know." Weiss cupped Jason's face in her hand. "But Jacques just gave us a different path."
Jason looked at her, confused. The exhaustion catching up with him.
"Jason." Weiss explained. "We can plan our wedding now. We just need to convince Jacques that you are the type of husband he's looking for, for me."
"Oh. I get it. We convince him that I am the only one good enough for you... by taking out the competition if need be."
"Yes." She spoke. "Now, get out of my room so I can shower. I'm filthy after that fight.
Jason left Weiss's room through her shadow and went back to work. He wanted to work on the prosthetics, but couldn't focus, and fell into Morpheus embrace at his table.
When Jason woke up, he looked at his Scroll to see that he had slept for eight hours. Panicking, he jumped out of his shadow realm and out of Weiss's shadow only to see that Weiss was in a state of undress.
"Jason!" She snapped.
"Oh fuck!" Jason said, spinning around, turning beat red. "I'M SORRY!" He shouted in a sleepy slur.
"Jason?" Weiss asked, covering up in a pale silk robe. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"No. I passed out and woke up eight hours later but thought that I had been asleep for eight hours our time which meant I slept for four hundred and eighty hours in the shadow realm, and I panicked and jumped out. Sorry I startled you."
"It's fine. You just startled me is all. I'm glad that you got some sleep, but I think you need to respect your body's natural limitations, not the ones you impose on yourself."
"I don't have the luxury of obeying my body's natural limitations. I need to get Remnant under control and keep it under control, so the past doesn't come back to haunt us."
"So your plan to keep the future from happening is by becoming Ironwood!" Weiss snapped.
"No!"
"Then why are you starting to sound like him?"
"I'm going back to bed." Jason said darkly.
"Eat something first!" Weiss stamped her foot on the ground. "You're turning into a drama queen!"
Jason wanted to ignore Weiss out of sheer stubbornness but decided against it. He appeared out of Cliff's shadow and walked to the kitchen to begin cooking, but Cliff escorted him to the dining room and began cooking for him. "Master Jason. I am your Butler, I make your meals, do your laundry, clean the manor, manage the bills, do the taxes..."
"Is there a point to this?" Jason asked.
"You manage the Companies and saving the world while I manage everything else."
"Fine." Jason whined as he slouched in his chair.
"What would you like to eat, and no slouching."
"Something with all the nutrients that I need to function for as long as possible."
"Very well Master Jason. Don't forget that you have an appointment with Dr. Thompson in an hour."
"I forgot. Thanks for that."
"You're welcome, Master Jason."
Cliff made a meal of Penne Asiago, with Parmigiana-Reggiano breaded chicken, and garlic roasted broccoli. "Here you are, Master Jason." Cliff said as he placed the plate in front of him.
"Cliff, from now on, we either improve the menu at the orphanage, or I eat the same food as the Orphans."
"As you wish, Master Jason." Cliff said. "I will make the arrangements."
"Good." Jason said, tucking in.
Jason walked into Dr. Thompkins waiting room and waited for her to call him in. He had to shut off his hearing so he didn't hear what was going on in her office, the building, or around all of Vale. It made him uncomfortable since he couldn't hear what was going on in Vale, but he had to trust Jaq to handle things in his absence.
He jumped when he felt someone shaking him and would have lashed out if he hadn't smelled Dr. Thompkins coming. "I'm sorry for startling you Jason." Dr. Thompkins said. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I just haven't slept well."
"A nightmare?"
"A reminder." Jason said sadly.
"Why don't we discuss this in my office?"
Jason and Dr. Thompkins walked into her office. "Please, sit." Dr. Thompkins said. "Now, tell me what's troubling you."
"I found a girl, she was hurt in the same way Shira was hurt."
"Brother's above." Dr. Thompkins said.
"DID NOTHING!" Jason snapped. "WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS INVOKE THE DAMNED BROTHERS WHEN THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING!"
Dr. Thompkins looked at Jason, understanding the pain he was feeling. "Jason, I know this isn't easy to hear, but people invoke the brothers' name for the same reason you curse it. They believe."
"Why do people believe in fake gods?"
"Because they don't think they are fake gods. They think they are True Gods."
"People are stupid." Jason said.
"It can feel that way, but people have the right to believe the way they believe. Otherwise, it would be tyranny."
Jason flinched at that.
"What did you do about this girl?"
"I took her to the hospital, and she was healed, and Loki and Coral are caring for her at the orphanage."
"That must have triggered some unhappy memories."
"It did. I had to calm myself down before taking care of her."
"How did you calm yourself down before taking care of her?"
"I forced myself to calm down."
"Jason, have you heard of repression?"
"No. What is it?"
"Repression is when you repress harmful memories that are hurtful to remember so you don't have to remember them anymore." Dr. Thompkins explained. "We often repress trauma to keep ourselves safe. You are repressing Shira's death because it hurts to think about. You need to remember it, process it, and cope with it, only then can you get passed it."
"How?" Jason shuddered. "It hurts."
"I know it does but think of the trauma of Shira's death as an infection. We need to clean out the infection before you can truly begin to heal."
"How?"
"There are a few different ways we can do this. We can either use hypnosis to block out the memories of Shira, we can use meditation to set up barriers in your mind until you are ready and able to deal with Shira's death, or we can use emotional regulation where we regulate your emotions by regulating your body."
"I don't know how?"
"How do you handle your emotions?"
Jason thought about everyone he had ever attacked, killed, harassed, or made their lives miserable with his actions. "I play violent video games." He spoke.
"That's a good start." Dr. Thompkins said. "But I think there are better ways of handling your emotions."
"Probably."
"Have you thought about meditation to cleanse your body's natural aura? How about listening to music that either picks you up or calms you down? What about cooking or reading classical literature?"
"Cliff won't let me cook." Jason pouted.
"Then what about the other things?"
Jason thought about what she said. "I like reading." He spoke.
"May I recommend a book?"
"Please."
"Dignity and Detriment by Jade Austin. It's one of my favorites."
"I will look into it."
"Unfortunately, that is all the time we have. I wish we had longer, but I will see you next week."
"Thank you. See you next week." Jason said as he waved goodbye.
Dr. Thompkins watched Jason leave and frowned. He was in so much pain, and there was only so much she could do if he wasn't willing to open up to her or be truthful. She would have to earn his trust; somehow.
Jason walked through Vale towards the Orphanages and was stopped by Coral.
"Jason." Coral said. "I was going through the records and found this. It's a file on you. I remembered destroying it last time because I didn't want the government using it against you, but here you go. I can't think of any safer place than with you."
Jason took the folder and looked through it. It had a birth certificate and adoption papers. The Todds had adopted him. He needed to talk to his bio parents. He put the packet in his shadows and looked at Coral. "Thanks for the forgeries." He spoke. "I'm going to have some serious fun with these." He disappeared into his shadow.
"But... those weren't forgeries." Coral said.
Jason walked out of his shadow realm and into his forge. He had prosthetics to make.
.