Chapter 10: Jason Chapter 3
Summary:
Jason moves in with Tai, Yang, and Ruby. He visits Ironwood and Jaune, takes up golf, and starts school.
Notes:
Disclaimer: Some things may be inappropriate or disturbing for some readers. Reader's discretion advised.
Name: Jason Todd
Physical age: 12
Mental age: 23
One year ago
Taiyang Xiao Long was home, grading papers, when he heard a knock on the door. He marked one last thing before he could forget and left to answer the door. Looking to the right and left before looking down he noticed a child about Yang's age. The child had raven and black hair that seemed to shine red when the light hit it just right. The child also had yellow cats' eyes that seemed to look into his very soul. "Hello." He spoke. "Are you lost?"
The child held out an envelope that Tai took. Opening it he saw papers. A Birth Certificate, Adoption Papers, Death Certificates for Willis and Shiela Todd Next of Kin, and Shot Records.
Birth Certificate
Name: Robin Branwen
Gender: Male
Father: Taiyang Xiaolong
Mother: Raven Branwen
Date of Birth: August 16th, 2004
Place of Birth: Anima
Signature of Registrar: Calvin Montgomery
Tai looked at Robin. He had a son. Raven had given birth to twins. Yang had a Twin brother... A twin brother born nearly three weeks after her. No wonder Raven threw Yang through a portal after a week. It was a horrible thing to do, but he could understand why. He looked at the Adoption paperwork.
Adoption Certificate Form
Name of the Person Adopted
First: Jason
Last: Todd
Name of the Person(s) Adopting
First: Willis
Last: Todd
First: Shiela
Last: Haywood
Date of Adoption
MM/DD/YYYY: 08/26/2004
Comments: Found on Todd Manor Doorstep.
Signature: Willis Todd, Shiela Haywood, Calvin Montgomery
Tai looked at the adoption paperwork. Why hadn't Raven sent Robin to him? He was kind of pissed if he was being honest. He wanted to find Raven and get some answers.
"Um..." Jason said. "May I come in? It's not cold or anything, but I did walk all the way here."
"Oh! Shit! Yeah. Come in. Girls! Come down and meet your brother!" Tai sat down at the kitchen table and read the Death Certificates.
Certificate of Death
CERTIFIED CERTIFICATE OF DEATH
for: Willis Todd
Kingdom Clerk of Kingdom of Vale, in document, record, seal, and DOB the State of hereby certify the death of Age Cause of Death Married Single Widowed Divorced
Date of Death: 08/06/2010
Date Recorded: 08/10/2010
Document # 55555555555
Book and Page: G 1600 P 433
Application: DOA-5555
This is to certify that this document is a true abstract of death recorded and filed with the Kingdom of Vale.
STATE
Signature Kingdom Clerk: Willow Charon
Signature Witness: Calvin Montgomery Date: 8/10/2010
Print Name: Willis Todd
"OH MY GOSH!" Ruby shouted before Glomping Jason.
Tai lifted his arms as Ruby Glomped Robin causing them to slide across the kitchen table before bringing his arms back down and looking at the next Death Certificate.
Certificate of Death
CERTIFIED CERTIFICATE OF DEATH
for: Sheila Haywood
Kingdom Clerk of Kingdom of Vale, in document, record, seal, and DOB the State of hereby certify the death of Age Cause of Death Married Single Widowed Divorced
Date of Death: 08/06/2010
Date Recorded: 08/10/2010
Document # 55555555555
Book and Page: G 1600 P 433
Application: DOA-5555
This is to certify that this document is a true abstract of death recorded and filed with the Kingdom of Vale.
STATE
Signature Kingdom Clerk: Willow Charon
Signature Witness: Calvin Montgomery Date: 8/10/2010
Print Name: Sheila Haywood
Tai felt bad for the kid. Raven straight up abandoned him and then his parents died. He looked at the next of kin paperwork.
Next of Kin:
Father: Tai Xiaolong
Mother: Raven Branwen
Sister: Yang Xiaolong
Uncle: Qrow Branwen
Aunt: Summer Rose
Cousin: Ruby Rose
Tai wiped his face. The Kingdom records were old and outdated. Summer was dead. He looked at the last thing in the packet and saw that Jason had been vaccinated against pretty much everything he could catch in any of the four kingdoms, so that was a load off his mind.
Minutes earlier
Ruby and Yang were in Yang's room, reading and doing homework, when they heard Tai yell up to them. "Girls! Come down and meet your brother!" They looked at each other before running downstairs to see Tai sitting at the table, reading paperwork, and a kid who looked around Ruby's age who stood up when he saw them.
"OH MY GOSH!" Ruby shouted before Glomping Jason, tackling him across the table and into the wall.
Yang shook her head and walked over to the wall and pulled the two to their feet. "So. You're our new brother?"
"I guess so." Jason said. "My name is Jason."
"I'm Yang." Yang said. "The Cookie Goblin hanging onto your arm is Ruby."
"YANNNNG!" Ruby shouted.
"So, you aren't a cookie goblin?"
"No!"
"Then you won't mind me hiding the cookie jar." Yang said before Ruby barreled into Yang, slamming her into the wall.
"Girls!" Tai snapped, picking both of them up each with one arm. "This is not a good first impression for your brother!"
"Sorry dad." Both Ruby and Yang said in unison.
"Now, go play outside while I show Robin around the house."
"I prefer Jason." Jason said.
"Jason, sorry. Go play outside while I show Jason around the house."
Ruby and Yang ran outside while Tai looked at Jason. "Look kid." Tai said. "I'm sorry about what Raven did to you. It wasn't cool what she did, and the next time I see her we will be talking about it. Truth is you should have been brought to live with us instead, but I'll try and make up for it. Your mother abandoned you and then you lost the people who chose you. I'm sorry."
"I have a therapist." Jason said. "I'm working through it."
Tai placed his hand on Jason's shoulder. "I'll show you to your room kid." He said as he took Jason on a tour of the house.
"...and finally, this is your room." Tai opened a door to show the guest bedroom. "We usually let Qrow have it when he's too drunk to make it home, but now I guess that he'll have to sleep on the couch or not drink as much."
"What if he still drinks but just heads home instead?" Jason asked.
"Qrow isn't that much of a Masochist." Tai chuckled. "He'll come back here and crash on the couch."
"Okay."
"I'll let you get settled." Tai said as he left Jason alone. He headed to his room and called Qrow. "Qrow." He said in a tone that brooked no room for argument. "I need to talk to Raven."
Meanwhile in Atlas
Jason walked out of his shadow and into the infirmary where Winter and Ironwood lay, unconscious. He moved over to Winter, placed her hand in a shadow and did the work he needed too so that the pain would hit her after he took her hand out of his shadow. Fusing metal to flesh was not a painless process. When he took her arm out of his shadow, he saw a brand-new prosthetic hand that could react to her Aura like her normal hand. It also had Dust Vials inside to either coat her hand in Earth Dust or turn her hand into a flamethrower.
He moved over to Ironwood and moved him into his Shadow Realm to work on his Prosthetics. It wouldn't take more than a few moments in the real world. He fused the connector to the stubs on his arm and leg. He took out the sleek arm and leg and attached them to the connectors before making sure everything was working. Once he was sure he maneuvered Ironwood out of his Shadow and placed him on his bed before disappearing into his shadow and reappearing in his room on Patch.
The on-duty nurse was urged to action when she heard General Ironwood and Winter Schnee screaming in pain from Post Op. Running in, she saw them with new Prosthesis on their lost limbs and ran back to call for a Healer.
August 16, 2014
"...Happy birthday to you!" The partygoers sang.
Jason had tried hiding from his birthday party only for Tai and Yang to tie and duct tape him to his chair when Ruby tricked him into the kitchen.
"Time to open your presents dude." Tai said moving the MASSIVE stack of presents in front of him.
"How do you expect me to open presents with my arms duct taped to the armrests?" Jason asked.
"You don't need your arms to open your presents." Ruby said.
"Traitor." Jason snipped, using his Semblance to open his presents.
He mostly received clothes, books, a new Scroll, some games, videos, shows, a big box of snacks from Ruby, and some ammo for his weapons.
"Ooh!" Ruby said. "How many did he get?"
"Thirty-six." Tai said.
"Thanks." Jason said. "Now, can someone untie me?"
"Not until we've had cake and ice cream!" Ruby cheered.
"I'd rather die." Jason deadpanned.
"JASON!" Tai, Ruby, and Yang shouted.
"Where's the Birthday boy!" A very drunk Qrow made his way into the house. "Whoa. He's a little tied up. I didn't think this was that type of party, otherwise I would've hired strippers!"
"QROW!" Tai shouted. "Okay girls. Untie your brother."
"What are ya in for kid?" Qrow asked.
"I didn't want to come to my birthday party."
"I didn't realize that you were that old."
"I'm not. I just feel that birthday parties are mostly useless."
"They are not!" Ruby shouted.
"I'm sure that you are just still in survivor mode." Tai said. "Once you calm down some, you'll probably want them more frequently."
"Happy Birthday kid." Qrow handed him a gift that looked like he'd rolled out the paper, dropped the gift in the center of the paper, pulled the paper up, tearing some of the paper, twisted it to keep it together, and called it a day.
Jason opened the gift to see a bottle of Vacuan Alcohol.
"Oh shit!" Qrow said, taking the alcohol and giving Jason some Dust Vials. "Sorry kid. Musta grabbed the wrong thing by mistake. I thought I grabbed a tube of Bringals."
"You were going to give Jason a tube of Bringals?" Yang asked.
"I guess." Qrow said. "Sorry I fucked up."
"QROW!" Tai shouted.
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry Tai."
"It's fine." Jason said. "I like snacks. I would have liked a tube of Bringals. Then if I got hungry, I would have had snacks to eat."
"Really?" Yang asked.
"I lived on the streets for three years." Jason deadpanned. "Where I didn't have a steady food source or shelter at any given time. So yes. Having food for a birthday present would be nice."
"Way to bring the mood down sis." Ruby said.
The others went about their days while Jason dropped everything in his shadow and went up to his room.
One Year Later.
Jason laughed to himself when he took a blonde wig out of his bag of purchases and turned his Scroll onto the "razor" prank app. He walked up behind Yang, laughing to himself and pressed the "razor" to Yang's head, pushing up before throwing the wig in front of Yang and bolted.
Tai was busy reading a book on Grimm theory when he saw Jason bolt outside only to be followed by the most intense pressure he'd ever felt. Looking up he saw Yang flying out of the house after her brother.
Running to the door he saw Jason disappearing into his shadow only for Yang to grab him and slam him into the ground, cratering the ground and stunning Jason, before straddling him and punching him with the strongest punches Tai had ever seen. They were on par with his one hit kill punches. "YANG!" He shouted, pulling Yang off Jason. "YANG STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL YOUR BROTHER!"
"COME ON JASON!" Ruby cheered from her bedroom window. "You can beat her! Don't give up now! You've got her on the ropes!"
"NOT HELPING RUBY!" Tai shouted.
"HE! CUT! MY! HAIR!" Yang shouted, punching Jason with each word.
"WHAT! NO HE DIDN'T!" Tai grabbed Yang's hair and forced it in front of her face. "SEE! HE DIDN'T CUT YOUR HAIR!"
Yang looked at her hair, stopped punching Jason and passed out.
"JASON!" An unfamiliar voice called out and Tai looked around to see a girl about Yang and Jason's age looking terrified as she looked at Jason.
"Who are you?" Tain asked.
"Jason can answer that." The girl said before disappearing into a shadow.
Tai carried Yang inside and laid her on her bed before heading out to get Jason only to see him staggering to his feet. "You okay?"
"Yeah." Jason stammered. He didn't realize that Yang could get THAT strong. She had the potential to kill him. 'Note to self. Don't piss Yang off.'
'Asshole.' Weiss sent across their bond.
Tai helped Jason inside and sat him on the couch, looking him over. "It doesn't look like nothing that your Aura can't fix." He spoke.
"Okay." Jason said.
"Hello all." Qrow said, coming in. "Whoa. Look at you slugger. What does the other guy look like?"
"It was Yang." Tai said. "Jason pulled a Prank on her by making her think he cut her hair."
"Ooh hoo hoo." Qrow said. "I gave Yang a trim and she kicked my ass. I can't believe you're still alive."
"Thank my Aura." Jason said.
"Jason." Tai said. "Don't do that again. What if I wasn't there to stop Yang?"
"I don't know."
"Exactly. Now, go get cleaned up. Lunch is in a few minutes."
"Okay." Jason said, heading up to his room.
Ruby was in Jason's room when he got there. "So. You faked losing to Yang, right? There's no way she could have actually beat you, right?"
"I wish that were the case." Jason said. "But no. Yang is one of the few people on Remnant that could actually kill me."
"WHAT!" Ruby shouted, pulling out her Scroll and texting Oscar and Weiss.
RR: Jason just said that Yang is one of the few people on Remnant that can kill him!"
OP: Wait. Seriously?
RR: YES!
WS: Maybe she kicked some sense into him.
JT: Nope. Still your loveable Dumbass.
WS: Shut up!
JT: Tell me how you really feel.
Weiss Schnee has left the Chat.
JT: Damn
OP: I think you're sleeping on the couch on your wedding night.
RR: Ooh!
There was a knock on his door, and Tai spoke through the door. "Hey Jason. You decent?"
"Not morally." Jason said. "But I'm wearing pants if that's what you mean."
Tai laughed and opened the door. "Hey. We need to talk."
"About what?"
"About what you did to Yang. She almost killed you. She might have if I hadn't stopped her."
"Yeah. That wasn't my finest moment."
"So, please be more careful with how you prank your sister's next time."
"Okay."
"Okay. Glad we got that over. Now. Who was the little white-haired girl?" Tai smirked.
"Oh. That's Weiss." Jason said, feeling warmth blossom in his chest. "I kind of have a crush on her."
"Oh really?" Tai smiled. "Like father like son I guess."
"I guess." Jason said. "I met her in a business meeting, and we kind of hit things off."
"So, you like-like her."
Jason sent feelings of love across his and Weiss's bond. There was no way that he could tell Tai that he loved her. He loved Weiss more than life itself. He would kill for her, die for her, or live for her. She was the most important person in his life, but again there was no way that he could tell Tai that. He couldn't tell Tai that he was from a future-past where he, Weiss, Ruby, Oscar, and Ozpin came back in time to stop Salem and how he'd lost the second most important person in his life to Salem. Tai would either think that he was making it up or confusing his reality with a dream. "I don't know. Maybe it's just a crush."
"Nah. You're my son. It's not just a crush."
"Thanks, I guess."
"You're welcome kiddo. Now. How about we make an apology dinner for Yang."
"Okay. Let's go."
Atlas Academy Present Day
James Ironwood dressed in front of his mirror, making sure that his uniform was perfect. He brushed away any lint and looked at his prosthetic hand. He grabbed his gloves and put them on. He turned to the door and walked, noticing how smooth the prosthetic was, not even needing to catch up to his other leg.
Walking out of his room he walked towards his office to start his workday.
Ten minutes after Ironwood left his room the shadows came alive and moved his furniture one inch to the left before quieting.
Jason appeared out of Jaune's shadow and looked around. "Hey Jaune." He said, startling the boy.
"Oh, you scared me." Jaune said, wiping his hands off.
"Ya ready for today's Training?" Jason asked.
"Yeah."
"Good." Jason said, handing Jaune a sword and shield.
Jaune put the shield on his arm and held up the sword.
Jason pulled 'Scarlet' out of his shadow and readied himself for a fight.
Jason and Jaune looked at each other before Jason swung 'Scarlet' at Jaune only for Jaune to block and lunge at Jason, stabbing at him.
Jason used his shadow to pull himself out of Jaune's range. He raised 'Scarlet' over his head and swung downwards causing Jaune to block it, but Jason cut through his shield only for Jaune to push against Jason, knocking him back, shield bashing Jason and swinging his shield at Jason, cutting Jason across his cheek.
Jason swung up only for Jaune to swing his shield down, catching 'Scarlet' in the shield before stabbing at Jason only for Jason to kick up, kicking Jaune in the leg causing him to fall to the ground.
"Jaune." Vita Arc called out. "You got mail."
Jaune dropped his sword and shield and headed for the house with a limp. When he arrived, his mom handed him a letter from Signal Academy on Patch in Vale. He tore the letter open and read the letter.
Dear Mr. Arc,
We at Signal Academy are proud to announce that you have been accepted to Signal Academy as part of a Scholarship from Todd Import/Export, Todd Enterprises, and Todd Tech. You are one of several children being given such a scholarship and so your Graduating Class is expected to be over one hundred so long as they meet the requirements. You will be required to choose one of the required languages that you will choose during your first week of the school year. You will need the items listed below as well as to be at Signal Academy on 09/01/2015. Should you not arrive on time your scholarship will be void. We hope to see you at Signal on the first of September of the year 2015. Please enjoy the rest of your holiday.
Sincerely,
Headmaster: Malcom Hargrove
Assistant Headmistress: Cindy Mackey
Grimm Studies Instructor: Thia Min
Weapons Mastery Instructor: Col S. Terol
Assistant Weapons Mastery Instructor: Qrow Branwen
Battle Instructor: Taiyang Xiaolong
Assistant Battle Instructor: Qrow Branwen
History of Remnant Instructor: Davis Damin
History of Vale Instructor: C. T. E.
Wilderness Survival Instructor: Mr. Key Garvey
Math Instructor: Lee Rarue
English Instructor: Tim Mothy Peele
Literature Instructor: Matt Hammon
Science Instructor: Pot A. Sium
Technology Instructor: Felicity Smoke
Communications Instructor: Crista Peps
Language Studies: Freeto Laye
Required School Materials
Weapon (Optional)
Battle Gear (Optional)
Workout clothes.
pens
notebooks
paper
Textbooks (you will pick up on your first week of school.)
(You will choose which language you want to learn on the first week of School.)
Scroll (Your Scroll must have tablet mode. If you do not have a Scroll with tablet mode, then you will be able to purchase one during the first week.)
Three water bottles that will be kept with you at ALL times.
A sturdy traveling backpack seeing as you will be going on field trips where you will be leaving the campus. (You will be given permission slips for your parents to sign the week before the field trips.)
Yourself and a willingness to learn.
Again, we hope to see you at the beginning of the term.
Sincerely,
Headmaster: Malcom Hargrove
Assistant Headmistress: Cindy Mackey
Grimm Studies Instructor: Thia Min
Weapons Mastery Instructor: Col S. Terol
Assistant Weapons Mastery Instructor: Qrow Branwen
Battle Instructor: Taiyang Xiaolong
Assistant Battle Instructor: Qrow Branwen
History of Remnant Instructor: Davis Damin
History of Vale Instructor: C. T. E.
Wilderness Survival Instructor: Mr. Key Garvey
Math Instructor: Lee Rarue
English Instructor: Tim Mothy Peele
Literature Instructor: Matt Hammon
Science Instructor: Pota S. Sium
Technology Instructor: Felicity Smoke
Communications Instructor: Crista Peps
Language Studies: Freeto Laye
Jaune looked at the letter and was overfilled with joy. He was going to be a Hunter.
"Jaune?" Vita asked. "Are you okay?"
Jaune held out the letter and his mom read it before looking at him. "You're on your way." She spoke.
Jaune just nodded his head.
"Is this what you really want?"
Again, Jaune nodded his head.
"Okay." Vita said, a sad smile on her face.
Jaune went to his room and saw a sleek wooden box on his bed before he could flop down onto it. A note was attached to it saying:
This was crafted specifically for you. ~ Jason
Opening the box, he saw a sleek sheath with a longsword hilt sticking out of it. He picked up the longsword and pulled it from the sheath only to be blinded by a flash of light and pass out from the onslaught of memories.
When Ironwood walked into his room that night he walked through his house and stubbed his prosthetic foot on the coffee table, denting the table leg with a hollow *PLING* and a screech of metal before the contents of the coffee table slid onto the floor.
Looking around he noticed that his room seemed... off somehow. He wasn't sure how or why, but walked into the kitchen to make some dinner where he kicked his kitchen table, breaking the leg, and knocking the table to the floor now that it was unbalanced.
"Fine." He spoke. "I'll just order takeout and talk to Healer Davis tomorrow. It's probably my leg acting up.
He took out his Scroll and walked into his bedroom to change only to kick the leg on his bed, breaking the leg and tilting the bed at an angle.
He rubbed his forehead and began breathing deeply in order to regain his calm.
Walking into the front room he kicked the couch, breaking the couch leg.
"Requisitions!" He snapped into his Scroll.
"General Ironwood?" The voice said on the other end.
"I need replacements for my coffee table, kitchen table, bed, and couch."
"What happened sir?"
"I think my leg is acting up. I'll go talk to Healer Davis tomorrow."
"Very well general. We just need you to fill out the paperwork, but we will get that sent up."
"Thank you." Ironwood said, hanging up and sitting on his couch to fill out the paperwork.
There was a *CRACK* the other leg on his couch broke and he fell over backwards onto the floor. "Fantastic." He sighed, too tired to deal with the bullshit anymore.
When Jaune woke up he looked around. "Where am I?" he asked in a squeaky voice that he recognized from before he'd hit puberty. The last thing he remembered was Geoff firing all guns at Salem before everything went white. Looking down at his hands he saw calloused hands. Where were his gloves? Why were his hands so small?
"Jaune?" A ghost called out to him. Was he hearing things? "Jaune? Are you okay? You've been quiet for a while now. Are you asleep?"
Jaune looked at the door and watched as his mother appeared in the doorway.
"What's that?" Vita asked when she saw the sword on the ground. "Did Jason give you that? Jaune? What's wrong?"
Jaune looked at his mother with grief-stricken horror filled eyes. Was this a Grimm? Was this a Blair trying to kill him?
"I'm calling the Healer." Vita said, pulling out her Scroll.
Jason appeared from Jaune's Shadow and looked at him. "What's wrong Jaune?" He asked.
"Jason?" Jaune asked. "No. You're not Jason. You're too young to be Jason."
Jason dropped Jaune into his shadow. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"Geoff firing everything we had at Salem." Jaune wheezed out.
"Okay. Jaune. I want you to listen to me. Weiss, Oscar, Ruby, and I were sent back in time by Oscar's Semblance. So far Coral has also received her memories too. Not sure why. What did you do before you got your memories back?"
"I pulled the 'Redeemers' Blade' from its sheath." Jaune explained. "Then I saw my mom who is dead, and you are young."
"Okay. You are not insane, but your memories about the future-past were unlocked. Okay."
"Okay. So, I'm in the past?"
"Yes. You are in the past. Welcome. we have a shit ton less trauma, and a chance to make things right."
"Okay."
"Good. Now, let's get you back to your family."
Jason and Jaune stepped out of his Shadow Realm and into Jaune's room.
"Jason." Jaune said, grabbing his arm. "What's going on here?"
"My best guess is that you got your memories back after unsheathing 'Redeemers' Blade'." Jason explained.
Vita Arc led a healer into Jaune's room, and the Healer looked at Jaune. "Take a nasty fall?" The Healer asked.
"I guess so." Jaune said.
The Healer looked into Jaune's eyes and saw they were erratic. The Healer checked Jaune's Pulse to find it racing. He was trembling and seemed to have difficulty catching his breath. They placed their hand on his forehead to check his temperature. "Can you stand?"
Jaune stood with Jason and the Healer's help only to feel dizzy and fall to his knees and begin to retch.
Vita ran to the bathroom and grabbed a throw-up bowl, placing it under Jaune's head before he threw-up.
"He's having a panic attack." The Healer said.
"That's one hell of a panic attack." Jason snarked.
"Jason," Vita said. "Please leave. Come back later."
"Okay." Jason said, leaving.
Jason walked out of his portal and into Mistral where he saw his target. "Hazel Rainart." He spoke into his voice modulator.
"Do I know you boy?" Hazel asked.
"No, but I know you." Jason said. "You want to kill a man for a choice your sister made. She chose and it got her killed... by Salem. If anyone is to blame, it's Salem."
"Leave my lady out of this!"
"Make me."
Hazel threw a punch at Jason only for Jason to dodge out of the way and taunt him. Hazel followed his punch up with a backhand that Jason easily dodged.
"I think I felt some wind with that one." Jason mocked.
"If I wanted to hurt you then I could." Hazel said.
"No, no you couldn't. I have you outclassed, even as a twelve-year-old."
The arrogance of youth." Hazel sighed.
"It's not arrogance if it's the truth."
Hazel shook his head and reached into his pocket, pulling out three Dust crystals, and stabbing them into his arms. "I am sorry boy. I will not kill you."
"THEN WHY DO YOU KILL AT SALEM'S BECK AND CALL!" Jason demanded, wrapping his wrist in Aura.
Hazel and Jason readied themselves for a fist fight. They ran at each other and threw a single punch at the other that connected at the fist. Jason put everything he had into the punch but was thrown back by Hazel's sheer bulk. Getting up he looked at Hazel before looking at his hands.
Hazel felt pain for the first time since his Semblance first activated. His body went into shock, and he fell to his knees.
Jason caught 'Scarlet' as it popped out of his shadow and walked up to Hazel. "You were tricked by Salem, so I will give you a quick, mostly painless death. Your sister is waiting for you... if you believe in that stuff."
"Thank you." Hazel wheezed in agony.
Jason pulled 'Scarlet' back and swung it through Hazel's neck, decapitating him. Flicking the blood from 'Scarlet' he dropped it into his shadow and began digging a grave. He could at least give the man a proper burial as a way to make Ozpin happy.
Jason walked through Vacuo. He was planning on how to make things better in Vacuo. He could buy the mine and upgrade it, put a water purification plant to give the people better water, and build a wall and gate around the kingdom to help against the Grimm. Vale had the cliffs, Atlas was fucking Atlas and protected Mantle as best as they could, Mistral... he'd have to double check on Mistral and the smaller kingdoms.
Writing notes into his Scroll, he sent the notes to his lawyers so they could start the paperwork.
He was walking when he bumped into someone, knocking them over. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry." He spoke. "Here. let me help you up. What's your name?"
"Sheldon." The turtle Faunus said. "My name is Sheldon."
"Sorry Sheldon. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
"It's fine."
Jason looked at Sheldon. He noticed things that made his hackles rise. "Are you okay? Are you being abused?"
"What?! No! Why would you say that?"
"Because. I was abused too. My sister and her girlfriend were as well. My friend is in a bad situation. I can help you, if you let me."
"Like you're helping your friend?"
"Believe me. If she would let me, I would make her problems just disappear, but she won't let me."
"Why?"
"Because she has this "master plan" to get even." Jason said, making finger quotes, and feeling Weiss's annoyance through their bond.
"Oh. Well. I guess you could say that I have a plan too."
"Okay." Jason raised his hands up. "If you're sure. Just, give me a call if you need me." He said, handing Sheldon a business card for Todd Import/Export, Todd Enterprises, and Todd Tech. "Call one of those numbers, and I'll get here as soon as I can."
"Thanks. I will."
"Cool." Jason said, disappearing into his shadow, leaving Sheldon in awe.
Sheldon headed back to their shack, thankful that Harry wasn't there. He would probably get drunk after his shift and leave Sheldon alone for the rest of the night. He made dinner, ate, and went to bed, making sure to leave plenty of leftovers for Harry.
Jaune woke up in a cold sweat. "MOM! DAD!" He shouted.
"Jaune!" Vita and Torc shouted, running up the stairs to Jaune's room. "Jaune!" They tore into his room to see their son sweating, shivering, and on the verge of tears.
"Jaune?" Vita asked. "Are you okay?"
"No." Jaune said. "No, I am not okay."
"What's wrong?" Torc asked.
Jaune jumped at his parents and hugged both of them. "I'm sorry!" He shouted. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He shouted.
"JAUNE!" His parents shouted. "What are you sorry for!"
"I've resented you both for so long! I thought you both were trying to keep me from being a Hunter!"
"Is this because of the letter?" Vita asked.
"YES!" Jaune sobbed.
Torc kicked the door closed and picked Jaune up before sitting on the bed. "Jaune. We were trying to keep you from being a Hunter. We couldn't afford it. Not until Jason gave you that Scholarship.
"Do you want some time?" Vita asked.
Jaune nodded and his parents left him to think about things.
Atlas Academy. General Ironwood's Quarters.
James Ironwood walked into his quarters and looked at his furniture. It looked wrong again, somehow. Walking into his living room he saw that his furniture had been moved. Someone had moved his furniture. He went to his room to check the security footage and saw the Shadows moving. "Todd." He spoke.
"You called?" Jason asked, appearing from his shadow.
"Jason. Why did you move my furniture... again?"
"Because you have zero chill." Jason explained. "I'm trying to help you find your Zen."
"By making me break my own furniture?"
"No, by teaching you to chill when you do break your own furniture."
"Jason. Why are you like this?"
"Weiss has been asking me that for a while now."
"Please leave."
"Okay. See you next week." Jason said, disappearing into his shadow.
"Jason, no."
Jason, YES!"
The Next week.
Ironwood walked into his kitchen the following week to find that everything had been moved again. He took out his Scroll and sent a text to Jason.
J.I.: Why did you move my furniture after I told you not to?
J.T.: I told you. You need to chill.
J.I.: This will only succeed in me losing my temper.
J.T.: Control it.
Jason Todd has left the chat.
Ironwood pinched the bridge of his nose. What was he going to do with Jason?
The following Week.
Ironwood walked into his apartment and set his stuff on the table only to jump back when a large puff ball appeared at his feet causing him to jump back and scream in an undignified manor. Looking at his feet he saw a large Maine Coon cat clean its paws with its tongue. "JASON!" He snapped.
"Ah, General Ironwood." Jason said, appearing out of the cats' shadow, picking up the cat in the process and petting it like he was a James Blond Villain. "What can I do for you?"
"Are you the one who put that cat in my apartment?"
"Yes, yes it was."
"Why?!"
"Because. You need someone to help keep your chill, and this little guy needed a home."
"That "cat" is not little."
"What? He's small compared to you!"
"How am I supposed to take care of it?"
"HEY! He has a name! His name is Fluffy!"
"Fluffy?" Ironwood asked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he's fluffy."
"I see that, but was that the best name?"
"I could have called him Panzer Katze."
"NO!" Ironwood shouted. "You are not giving me a cat that's name literally translates to Armored cat."
"Okay, good. So, I'll just leave Fluffy with you, and be on my way."
"Jason!" Ironwood shouted. "JASON!"
The week after that.
James Ironwood walked into his kitchen to grab some coffee and a bagel. He went to close his utensil drawer when something caught his eye. Opening the utensil drawer he sighed. "JASON!" He shouted causing Fluffy to run for cover.
"WHAT!?" Jason mumbled, appearing out of his shadow. "You're loud enough to wake the dead, and I should know. I was in a dead sleep when you called. I wish I were a Ferret Faunus instead so I could just sleep for fucking ever."
Ironwood pointed at his utensil drawer to show Rainbow Chrome utensils in the place of his standard chrome utensils. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Jason!" Ironwood snapped. "Why the hell did you replace my utensils with those non-regulation utensils?!"
"Because. You need more color in your life."
"JASON!"
"Not sorry." Jason said, dropping into his shadow. "Now let me go back to sleep."
"JASON!" Ironwood shouted.
The next week.
Ironwood was in a bad mood. He hadn't been able to find any silverware except for the rainbow chrome silverware, all. week. long, and because they were the only silverware available the price had skyrocketed. Did Jason have any concept of economics?
He walked into his house and saw that the cat food he'd bought for Fluffy had been replaced with a gourmet brand cat food. He looked in his cupboards only to find that all his food had been replaced with store brand food. Sighing a sigh that couldn't begin to express how little fucks he had to give, he opened a frozen meal of Schnitzel, and sat down to contemplate his life.
Afterwards he fed Fluffy and went to bed.
The following week.
Ironwood woke up, showered, and walked to his closet to get dressed... only for his Semblance to activate when he saw the one-hundred tropical shirts on the pole, and at least two-dozen cargo shorts on top, folded military style, with eight different colors of flip flops and eight different pairs of Kroks.
Checking to see if he had ANY uniforms left, and finding none, he went about the task of getting dressed. Dressing in a tropical shirt and cargo shorts. He tucked the shirt into the shorts and chose a cherry red pair of Kroks.
Leaving his apartment, he had to bear the indignity of walking around, looking like he was on vacation in Wahai'i.
"General." Winter said, deliberately not looking at his outfit.
"I had nothing else to wear." Ironwood said crisply. "I am going to requisition new uniforms today."
"But sir. That will take..."
"I know. I'll be in my office."
"Of course, sir."
Ironwood walked into his office and looked at his chair, turned to face Atlas. "Jason!" He hissed out.
His chair turned around to show Jason petting Fluffy like a Blonde villain again. "Ah General. I like your new look. Very bold. Very bold indeed, but who is going to accuse the General of Atlas of not taking his job seriously?"
"JASON! Where on the Brothers' Remnant are my uniforms?"
"Oh. I sent them to be cleaned, but unfortunately I added too much starch."
"How much is too much?" Ironwood asked.
"Umm... The whole box?" Jason shrugged. "I've never used starch, so I'm not sure how much to use."
"JASON! You don't even need to use that much! You need to use maybe a cup! MAYBE!"
"So, I used too much?"
"YES!"
"Ah. I see. So, how long before you can get new uniforms?"
"Six weeks to six months."
"Why don't you make it a rush order?"
"SIX WEEKS IS A RUSH ORDER!"
"Oh. I don't say this often, so I say this with the best of intentions... my bad."
"Please just leave." Ironwood sighed.
"Okay. See you Sunday."
"What's happening on Sunday?"
"Golf."
"Jason. I am the General of the Atlesian Military, the Headmaster of Atlas Academy. I can't just take Sundays off to play golf."
"You need to relax General. Golf is just the thing to relax."
"Have you played golf? It's boring as hell."
"I'll try and make it less boring then."
"How?"
"With my sparkling personality and the right kind of clubs. I'll also bring my dad along so he can make shitty golf jokes and puns."
"Please no." Ironwood sighed.
"Okay. I won't bring my dad. See you Sunday." he said, dropping into his shadow.
Ironwood ran his hand along his face and sighed a world-weary sigh, wondering what kind of torment Jason would bring next week.
Sunday
Ironwood woke to the smell of coffee, eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty!" Jason shouted from his kitchen. "I know that you are awake, I heard your body fall out of its last sleep cycle and know that you are waking up. Let's go. Them holes ain't going to fill themselves."
Ironwood cringed at Jason's inuendo and his improper use of grammar. "Jason. Why are you here?"
"I told you. Golf."
"You aren't going to leave me alone until we play golf, are you?"
"Nope."
"Fine." Ironwood sighed, getting out of bed, getting showered and dressed, and sitting at the table to breakfast. Before he could eat his Scroll chimed with a notification. Looking at it he looked up at Jason. "Mind explaining to me why you have bought seven companies in the kingdom of Atlas, three of those people are dead, one child is traumatized, and Weiss Schnee is the one factor that links them all together?"
"Really?" Jason asked, unconvincingly. "That is a strange coincidence."
"Cut the bullshit Todd!" Ironwood snapped. "We have footage of you dragging Harold Blackjaw through the streets of Atlas after attacking him and his son, then thirty minutes later he jumps to his death!"
"Okay. If you want the truth I will give you the truth."
"Please do."
"Jacques has been trying to marry off Weiss as a way to punish her for trying to save the SDC and Atlas. Projections show Atlas has, at best, seventy years before a total economic collapse, you're welcome by the way."
"For what?"
"For giving you that much time. Weiss and I have been sneaking into the Mines and unlocking the miners' Auras, so they are safe, and their Semblances have been an amazing help. It has tripled production of the Mines."
"Then, why is Dust still so expensive?"
"Who runs the SDC currently?"
"Jacques."
"Bingo. Now, because Weiss has been doing Jacques' job better than him, he wants to get rid of her, and punish her simultaneously."
"How?"
"Marry her off to a grade A bastard. He tried marrying her off to Arthur Marigold who has made it known in the past that he wanted to own Weiss like a fucking onahole, and I said fuck that."
"Onahole?" Ironwood asked.
"An artificial vagina that you use to get off on."
Ironwood rubbed his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. "So you killed him."
"Seeing as I was nowhere to be seen, caught on camera, and there is no evidence to support this I am going to plead the fifth."
"Brothers above Jason! You can't kill people because they are creepy, perverted pedophiles!"
"As I said. There is no proof, so I didn't do it."
"Damn it Jason!"
"Next was lady Olynder, and you know about her. She could have taken control of Atlas and made you her playthings. You're welcome."
"We have already discussed Lady Olynder." Ironwood sighed.
"Next was Edgar Markov. He is one person I am going to stay away from."
"Why?"
"While he's not a bad guy, he was able to catch me off guard and knew that I was following him without using a Semblance. Anyone who can do that is incredibly dangerous."
"I see." Ironwood said, making a mental note to talk to Edgar Markov.
"Next was Sal I. Vation. Sal is a good man, a very good man. He also terrifies me."
"Why?"
"I did some research into him after he initially scared me. His Semblance is called 'Nothing' it allows him to completely cut you off from the real world for a single, solitary second."
"Why is that so scary."
"Are you kidding me? Do you realize how long a second actually is?"
"I suppose not."
"When there is nothing going on, nothing happening, absolute and utter nothingness; a second is an eternity. Can you imagine not being able to do ANYTHING for an eternity only to find out that it was only a second? It's fucking terrifying!"
"Okay." Ironwood made another mental note.
"Next was Lord Kudo."
"Jacques asked Lord Kudo to marry Miss Schnee?"
"Yes. Fortunately, he's already married otherwise that would have gone poorly."
"How so?"
"Lord Kudo is also completely terrifying."
"How?"
"We met in the street and took each other's measure. Do you know how far he would go for his fiancée?"
"I'm assuming as far as you would go for Miss Schnee."
"Yes, and he wouldn't even need to use his Semblance."
"Neither would you."
"Yes, but I do because it adds to the terror factor if you get dragged into the shadows before I break you."
Ironwood pinched the bridge of his nose. "Continue." he said, adding another name to his list.
"Next was Harold Blackjaw. Jacques wanted to marry Weiss off to his Gigantopithecus of a son."
"His son is the size of a giant ape Grimm?"
"Have you seen his son?"
"Yes, in the footage, and he looks big."
"He's bigger than you think. Harold was going to let his son marry Weiss so he could gain control of the SDC, and Jacques was dancing around the room because Weiss said that Brock would kill her on their wedding night!"
"What?"
"Yes! Jacques was happy that Brock was going to kill Weiss."
"How? I need details so I can check missing persons reports and cold cases."
"Have you seen his son?! He was massive! Unless he has the tiniest dick in the thrice damned world, he was going to disembowel Weiss on their wedding night! Good thing I made him impotent."
"By punching him in the crotch and then "tripping" and kneeing him in the crotch."
"Got it in one."
Ironwood sent a message to the coroner, chief medical officer, archives, cold case department, and missing persons. He told them to look for anything that linked Brock Blackjaw to any crimes.
"Harold Blackjaw said: "Whether she survives or not is not my problem. If Brock can't control himself, he doesn't deserve nice things.". You can see why I attacked him after he said that."
"Was that before or after Brock cratered Atlas with your body?"
"Before. It was when I went slack and attacked him initially."
"When you broke your leg to get away?"
"I broke my leg to attack him."
"I see."
"Then I dragged the bastard through the streets, to his office, and forced him to sign his company over to me."
"How?"
"It was a hostile takeover. I forced him to."
Ironwood sighed. "Hostile takeovers aren't illegal, so I have nothing to hold you on, but why did he jump?"
"I forced him to sign his company over to me. I told him that so long as he stayed in Remnant, I would make sure that he lived in Squalor for the rest of his days."
"So you threatened him."
"More of a promise."
"You told him that he would be poor for the rest of his life so long as you both lived on Remnant."
"Potato Potahto." Jason said.
"JASON! Take this seriously!"
"Oh, I'm taking this very seriously. This man was a threat to my wife, and you think I'm not going to take this seriously? I took it very seriously! Why do you think I took his company away from him?"
Ironwood sighed. "Damn it Jason!"
"I'm not apologizing."
"A man is dead!"
"Correction. A piece of shit trash fire human being is dead. His piece of shit trash fire of a son is left impotent, and in a coma. I see this as a win-win."
"Of course you do."
"Next was Jasper Sewell. I made a deal, and he is still alive."
"What deal?"
"The deal where he stays the fuck away from Weiss and he keeps his company. Then he had to go and complicate things."
"How so?"
"He said that he had a counteroffer for me. He would marry Weiss, have their wedding night, divorce her, and I could have her. He only likes Virgins anyway."
Ironwood sent a message to look into Jasper Sewell. Liking virgins was one thing, but it could be more problematic than that, and he knew Jasper Sewell. He had a bad feeling about this.
"There are only two people left in Atlas who have the status Jacques wants." Jason said. "One Sir Richard Dickerson, and me."
"How are you going to deal with Sir D?" Ironwood asked.
"Excuse me, what?" Jason asked.
"I know Sir D. He doesn't like being called anything but Sir D or Big D."
Jason looked at Ironwood. "Please tell me you're joking."
"I am not."
"Welp, gotta stop Weiss from becoming Lady D or Lady Dickerson."
"What if she wants to be called that?" Ironwood asked half cheekily, half serious."
"Do you want me to put soap in your mouth?" Jason asked.
"Could I stop you if you wanted to?"
"No."
"There's your answer."
Jason looked at Ironwood. "Cheeky bastard. If you're done with your interrogation, let's go."
Ironwood closed his Scroll, washed his dishes, and the two headed off to play golf.
Ironwood looked around the desolate landscape. "We're playing golf here?" He asked.
"Yup." Jason said. "You're going to need a club." He said, tossing Ironwood a sledgehammer with a Dust Vial sticking out of the handle.
"What's this?" Ironwood asked.
"Your club. You take it and hit the Grimm; the Gravity Dust activates and sends them flying."
"This sounds more like Whack-a-Grimm than golf."
"The name was already taken." Jason said seriously. "Here they come."
"What?" Ironwood asked before he saw a horde of Grimm coming at them.
"Oh, by the way." Jason said. "We each have eighteen Gravity Dust crystals inside the hammers. Once you're out, let me know and I'll give you another one seeing as we don't have time to reload out here on the green or whatever the hell they call it on the golf course."
"I thought you played golf!" Ironwood shouted.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Jason said swinging his sledgehammer at a Sabyr, sending it flying.
Ironwood swung his sledgehammer at a Creeper, sending it flying, and smiled. He could get behind this.
Jason and Ironwood walked into Ironwood's apartment after slaying Grimm.
"I'll admit that that was fun." Ironwood said.
"And you still did your job." Jason said. "You protected Atlas from the Grimm."
"That's a bit of a stretch."
"Same time next week?"
"Yes."
"Great. See you next week." Jason said, disappearing into his shadow.
Ironwood smiled. He was looking forward to his Sundays now.
The next week
Jason appeared out of Ironwood's shadow with a blond-haired man. "Ironwood, this is my dad Tai, Tai, this is General James Ironwood."
"Should I be worried that you are hanging out with a strange adult?" Tai asked.
"No." Jason said. "Ironwood isn't a stranger. I have had dealings with him since I have work in Atlas on occasion."
"Okay." Tai said. "I'm trusting you to be honest with me Jason."
"I am." Jason lied.
"How was your meeting with Sir D?" Ironwood changed the topic with the tact of a Toro in a China shop.
"It was good. I own his company, but he and his family are on the board of directors." Jason explained, not telling him that Sir D also terrified him. Anyone who could catch him while he was stepping out of his shadow was worthy of his attention.
"I see."
"Yeah." Jason said. Not saying that he got drunk enough to black out. He hoped he hadn't done anything too messed up while under the influence. Sir D was a terrible Role Model.
"Wait, wait, wait." Tai said. "Sir D? Sir Big D? Sir Richard Dickerson? Sir Bigus Dickus?"
"Please tell me you're joking!" Jason shouted.
"That was a nickname he called himself." Tai said.
"How do you know him?"
"He was an instructor at Beacon."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. He retired after I graduated though."
"Why?"
"Why anyone leaves the life. He wanted to start a family, and with his prospects I'd say he has a large family."
"Why?"
"You know how Qrow teases me that I will sleep with anything that moves?"
"Yeah?"
"He actually would."
"No."
"Yeah."
"He would fuck anything that moves?"
"Language, and no, not that bad, but he would sleep with anything that moved. He'd have sex with anything with two legs though."
"Not Grimm though, right? Right?"
"I wouldn't put it past him."
"Who's up for golf?" Ironwood asked, changing the subject again before he was forced to endure anything else.
"Let's go." Jason said, dropping them into his shadow and into a wasteland.
"What are we doing out here?" Tai asked.
"Playing golf." Jason said tossing him and Ironwood a sledgehammer.
"What kind of golf needs a sledgehammer to play?"
"Only the best kind." Jason said, rolling his shoulders.
"Here they come." Ironwood said.
"Here what comes?" Tai asked.
"Them." Jason nodded at the approaching Grimm.
Ironwood stepped into his swing before swinging and sending a Sabyr flying.
"It's good!" Jason shouted before swinging sideways at Beowulf sending the Grimm into a tree that impaled it, killing it.
"Come on Jason. I know that you can do better than that." Ironwood taunted.
"Okay." Jason said, stepping into his swing, and swinging his Sledgehammer with as much strength as he could before swinging into a Centinel, sending it flying into the air, slamming into a Beringel, killing both.
Tai was shocked. "I don't want to be left out!" He shouted, jumping into the air and bringing his sledgehammer down on a Boarbatusk, killing it. "So, what's the point system?" He asked.
"Oh. You keep track of the number of Grimm you kill, take the Grimm you hit, multiply it by the different types of Grimm there are, and subtract it from the total number of Grimm. The person with the lowest Score wins."
"Okay, I see." Tai said, jumping into the air and bringing his Sledgehammer down on a Beringel, killing it.
Ironwood swung at a Creeper, sending it flying.
Jason swung into an Ursa, throwing it at Tai. "DAD! Catch!"
Tai looked at Jason, saw the Ursa coming, swung, and sent it flying.
"No teaming up." Ironwood said slamming the Ursa into the ground.
Tai looked at Jason and smiled. Jason had called him dad. It was so heartwarming. He felt pumped, and not because he was in a life-or-death situation. His son had just called him dad for the first time. Swinging again, he sent an Alpha Beowulf flying.
When they had finished, they had killed well over three hundred Grimm. Jason used his shadow clones to count the Grimm to find three hundred and sixty-nine Grimm in total with five different types of Grimm: Beowulfs, Sabyrs, Beringels, Creepers, and Centinels. "Okay. what's the scores?" Jason asked.
"I lost track after one hundred." Tai said. "I think it was around one hundred and twelve though."
"Okay. One hundred and twelve times five minus three hundred and sixty-nine is one hundred and ninety-one."
"I killed one hundred and sixty." Ironwood said. "My score is four hundred and thirty-one.
"I killed ninety-seven." Jason said. "My score is eighty-six. I win this game."
"The important thing is that we killed the Grimm." Ironwood said.
"That is very true. Let's go home."
Jason dropped Ironwood off at his apartment before he and Tai went home.
September 1st, 2015
Jason, Jaune, and Yang walked into the courtyard of Signal Academy. They looked around, Yang sniffed the air. "Do ya smell that, boys? That's the smell of opportunity and potential."
"Aren't those more or less the same thing?" Jaune asked.
Yang shrugged and ran away, looking for said opportunity and potential.
"So." Jason said. "What should we do first?"
"I don't know." Jaune said.
"Let's get registered I guess." Jason said.
"Sounds like a plan."
They walked through the school and found the office where they could register.
"Which language will you be learning?" A receptionist asked Jason.
"How many languages are there?" Jason asked.
"Well, we teach Atlesian, Mantlese Mistralian, Vaccuan, Argan, Sinsboran, Menageriese, Lochnessian, and Cashelian."
"I'll take them all." Jason said.
"Whoa. Okay." The receptionist said. "Let's not get carried away here. It's great that you want to learn, but taking nine languages on top of everything else? Don't you think that's a bit much?"
"I'm good at multitasking." Jason said as he tapped out the same message in morse code and signed it in Valean sign language.
"Oh, okay. Let me just talk to the headmaster and see what we can do."
"I would also like to take any classical literature classes offered." Jason called after the receptionist.
"Don't you think you're overdoing it a bit?" Jaune asked.
"No, why?"
"Classical literature on top of nine different languages?"
"I also want to take theatre, wrestling, cooking, home economics, and maybe a few more classes while I'm at it."
"A few more classes? A FEW more classes? Jason. That's not a FEW. That's more than we even did at Beacon."
"You're point?" Jason asked.
"Can you keep up with all that work?"
"You're asking the guy who can make an innumerable amount of shadow clones if he can keep up with all that work?" Jason asked skeptically.
"Fine. Forget I said anything."
"What are we forgetting?" Yang asked walking up.
"Jason here is trying to take fourteen extra classes." Jaune explained.
"At least fourteen." Jason corrected.
"Over achiever much?" Yang asked.
"I can handle the workload. Even if they deny it, I will still take the classes. Just from the shadows."
The receptionist and the headmaster came to the front of the office.
"I am told that you want to take on extra classes." Headmaster Hargrove said.
"That is correct." Jason explained.
"If you can pass an assessment test, we will allow you to make your own schedule, but no one has ever been able to pass the assessment test."
"What is the test?" Jason asked, liking the sound of a challenge.
"You will have to complete a memory board, recite a memorized poem, look at a table of items and remember how many items were on the table with an eighty percent or higher, recite a paragraph in at least two different languages, build and maintain a working prototype weapon, and take a math's, Literature, science, and history test."
"How long do I have to do all of this?"
"Eight hours."
"Guess I better get started." Jason said. "Please, lead the way."
Headmaster Hargrove looked at Jason's progress and was shocked. He had done it; he'd passed the assessment test with a perfect score. It shouldn't have been possible. He'd completed the memory board in record time, recited his choice of a memorized poem which was more impressive since he didn't know many adults who could recite Classical Literature let alone a child. He'd memorized the table with a perfect one hundred percent accuracy, and he'd recited two paragraphs in both Valean and Atlesian. He built a "prototype" that was better than many beginner's weapons, and aced the math's, literature, Science, and history test. In other words, Jason Todd didn't need to go to School. He could go to Beacon Academy if he were old enough. The boy was a prodigy.
"No." Jason said. "I want to stay in school. I would be bored outside of it. I need something new to keep me entertained. Though I will not attend every day, but a good majority of the time."
Headmaster Hargrove looked at Jason in shock. "What? You want to stay in school because you will be bored?"
"Yeah. I don't have much else to do, so I might as well go to school."
Headmaster Hargrove sighed. "Very well. You may make your own schedule and attend when you want, but please, try not to draw too much attention."
It was too much to hope for. It had been a week and Jason was already in Headmaster Hargrove's office again.
"Mr. Todd. I know that we have given you a certain level of freedom when it comes to you being at this school, and while you did not instigate the fight, you did finish it with the use of your Semblance, and that goes against the school rules. No use of Semblances on school property outside of the designated areas, no use of weapons on school property outside of the designated areas, and no fighting on school property outside the designated areas."
"So, I'm getting in trouble for defending myself?" Jason asked, repulsed. "Why the fuck am I being punished for defending myself?"
"Had they attacked you successfully they would have been expelled and had to retake the school year next year. That, or move to another kingdom."
Jason looked at the headmaster. It was a good system. "Why am I being suspended then?"
"We caught you on camera breaking school rules, and if not for those camera's you would have been expelled instead of being suspended."
"I see."
"Jason!" Tai shouted, running into the office. "What happened?"
"I got suspended for a week." Jason sighed.
"What! Why?"
"I dropped three bullies into my Semblance for a minute."
"Damn it Jason." Tai sighed. "Why?"
"I don't take threats lightly. I would have mortally injured them if I didn't have my Semblance because I wouldn't have held back. First you tell me that killing is bad, then you tell me that self-defense is bad, well, which is it?"
"Self-defense ISN'T a bad thing, but breaking school rules is." Tai looked at Headmaster Hargrove.
"Your father is correct." Headmaster Hargrove said. "Self-defense is not a bad thing, be sure to remember that, but following the rules at the school is important. You will be suspended until next Tuesday. Try to think about what you have done."
"Okay." Jason said. "I will make sure that when I come back, I will allow myself to be attacked so that the students who attack me will get expelled and have to pay for my hospital bills."
Tai facepalmed, and Headmaster Hargrove chuckled. "He's not wrong. He's not in the right, but he's not wrong either."