Symbiote Knight
Chapter 12: Advice
Jaune had been thinking all day on what to ask, he had some help from Valor but both of them had the issue that neither really knew women all that well. Sure, Jaune grew up with a lot of sisters but that didn't really help since he got so many different opinions it was hard to keep it all straight. With Valor, it was because he didn't know the culture. Every culture was unique and different, sure there were similarities between species for the most part, but this was the first time to his knowledge any Klyntar had ever been here.
At least any Klyntar in his genetic line, there were uncountable symbiotes in the universe and with different 'factions' like the Corrupted or those that just were driven insane by unstable hosts, he had no connection to those symbiotes. If one of them had landed here, he wouldn't know about it, and that was something he hoped didn't happen. One of the Corrupted showing up he could deal with but one of the Insane? Or worse a mutated Insane? That would be troubling for his host as their bond was still new.
He didn't tell Jaune any off this as what were the odds? No need to worry him with unnecessary things that they couldn't prevent if they happened anyway.
It was the last class of the day and Jaune was doing his best to keep his mind on the work. While it was nice having Valor basically 'record' everything he saw and experienced, Jaune wanted to try and pay attention on his own. The last ten minutes just seemed to drag on until the bell finally sounded. Jaune sighed as while Pyrrha was next to him, Yang was sitting with her team in front.
"Hey Yang, Pyrrha can I talk to you two for a moment?" Jaune asked them before they could leave.
"Just us?" Pyrrha asked to confirm.
"If you two don't mind." Jaune said.
"Yeah sure," Yang looked to her team. "I'll catch up, see you guys in the room later."
"Okay then," Ruby nodded as the rest of Teams RWBY and JNPR left with the rest of the students and teacher.
When they were finally alone Jaune felt a bit nervous asking for advice but honestly, he wasn't sure what to do. He didn't have much experience in this, and he trusted their opinions. "So, this is kind of awkward, but I could use some advice."
"Of course, Jaune, I'm your partner so if you need help I'm there." Pyrrha gently told him with a warm smile.
"Yeah, what are friends for?" Yang nodded.
"Okay so, I was wondering if, well…"
~Spit it out~
'I'm getting to it!' He mentally said back. "I could use your advice on how I can get Weiss to notice me." He quickly said.
Pyrrha felt a stab in her chest but kept her smile on, the smile did leave her eyes though, but she was so practiced with putting on fake smiles for people it was second nature to her by this point. Even if she didn't feel like smiling, she had hoped that Jaune had gotten over Weiss since he hadn't tried another attempt to get her to go out with him. Although, now that she thought about it, they had been spending some time together, it was mostly for studying but she hadn't been as cold to him as before.
Worry gripped her heart but as much as it pained her, she knew you couldn't force someone to like you. It was funny, she could most likely get any man she wanted but the one man she actually did care for, only saw her as a friend.
Yang however rolled her eyes but then grinned. "I swear you are a glutton for punishment."
"I know," Jaune groaned. "I just can't help it."
"Okay you got to explain the attraction to me," Yang was curious as to why Jaune was all into Weiss. Pyrrha also was curious, so she was thankful Yang asked as she wasn't sure hot to bring up the subject. "Are you into domineering women? Do you prefer girls with slim figures or something?"
"It's, well it's complicated." Jaune blushed.
"Well, I got all afternoon, how about you P-Money?" Yang smirked at the red head.
"It might…help us to give you better advice," Pyrrha hated lying, it tasted so bad in her mouth saying it, but she really wanted to know the answer.
Jaune sighed thinking about when he first met her. "I guess, well first when I saw her, I was like, 'wow she's beautiful', the pale skin and snow-white hair and her ice blue eyes really got my attention."
"Huh, okay I can see that," Yang thought about it and Weiss was pretty she could admit that. "Although I'm still not sure if you're just into slim girls." Then she got a grin on her face as she just remembered something. "Oh, wait didn't you try to make a pass as Pyrrha in the locker rooms before initiation when you were talking with them?"
Jaune groaned facepalming. "My dad said to be confident." He looked at his partner. "I'm so sorry about that."
"No, don't worry about it," Pyrrha waved her arms in a forget about it gesture. "I was flattered."
"Wait really?" Jaune asked.
Well, she was flattered now, before she got to know him not so much. "I'm used to people coming up to me like that."
"Yeah, I guess you would be being a celebrity and all," Yang placed her arms behind her head but then her eyes snapped open as she dropped her arms and looked accusingly at Jaune. "Hey, wait. Why am I the only girl you never tried anything with?!"
Sure there was also Nora but everyone suspected there was something going on between her and Ren. Then there was Ruby who Jaune treated as just a friend and Blake, well Blake was kind of stand offish until she got to know a person.
"W-what?" Jaune took a step back.
"I put a lot of effort into looking as good as I am and the only reaction, all I got out of you was you throwing up on my boot." Yang did pride herself on her looks, especially her hair. She worked out all the time to keep her body in shape, used just the right products to keep her long hair full and bouncy. Some people just had no idea just how hard it was to keep so much hair without getting it damaged or split ends.
"That was air sickness!" Jaune defended himself.
"So, I'm unattractive?" Yang was starting to feel a little self-conscious if Jaune overlooked her for Pyrrha and Weiss, granted both girls weren't ugly in the slightest, but she liked to think she was on their level at least.
"No you're very attractive, you're just kind of…"
"Kind of what?" Yang asked in a slightly dangerous tone.
"Intimidating?" Jaune said softly.
Yang blinked, "Intimidating?"
"Yeah, I mean it's not easy for me to go up to pretty girls without fumbling my words or messing something up." Jaune scratched the back of his head. "And also, you were Ruby's big sister and I thought it might be wrong to try anything there, also like you said. Then I threw up on your shoe, I figured any chances I had were gone at that point."
"Huh…well okay then," Yang cooled off as she could see the logic there. "It's nice to know you think I'm attractive." She grinned at him making him uncomfortable and blushing.
Pyrrha coughed into her hand. "Maybe we should get back on track?"
"Oh right, so it's just looks with Weiss?" Yang asked him.
"It's more than that," Jaune told her. "Weiss has this…presence about her. She's always seemed so sure of what she wants and how to get it and doesn't let anything get in her way. I kind of admire that about her."
"That's one way of putting it," Yang muttered while Weiss had cooled down a little the ice queen was still hard to get to know at times. She put up so many walls around herself and seemed to have a short fuse at times when things didn't go her way. But she was committed to being a Huntress that's for sure, maybe a little too committed, the girl needed to slow down and enjoy life a little.
"Well, a girl should like you for yourself," Pyrrha stated. "You shouldn't have to change because of it."
"True but a little polishing wouldn't hurt," Yang eyed Jaune up and down. He was rough around the edges but once you smooth those over, he might polish up real nicely. "Okay first, we need to work on the outside and then the inside, which you kind of already started on."
"I…what?" Jaune asked confused.
"All the training both with Pyrrha and with myself is helping to shape your body better," Yang explained to him. "When you first got here you were all tall and skinny but now you got some build on you. I think you need to capitalize on it more."
"So, what then?" He asked not following her.
"Duh, you got to get some new threads," She then tilted her head and reached up to brush the hair out of his face. "I think a new haircut might work too. The look you got now, your hair hides part of your face and it's kind of messy. It says, 'I have no confidence in myself'. A girl like Weiss wants a man with some class I bet, so a cleaner hair cut that shows your face and some decent clothing should help with projecting some real actual confidence."
"Do you really think he needs to go that far?" Pyrrha was afraid of changing too much of what she knew about Jaune. She liked him as he was, okay the new physic was…tempting…but was so much a change necessary?
"Hey, you never know until you try it," Yang shrugged. "But trust me, a girl notices when a boy takes care of themselves, it shows they are confident and got their act together. Now who does that sound like?"
"Weiss," Jaune nodded his head getting where Yang was going with this.
"Think we should do something about his combat gear too?" Yang asked Pyrrha.
She paused as she thought about his cheap gear, he has said that he bought it used and it did show. The armor was all banged up and well used and it was luck that it fit him. It had too many gaps that could be exploited and hadn't been outfitted for him. Huntsmen and Huntresses wore garments and armor that they had fit to their bodies for each of movement after all.
"We could do some window shopping at least," She said eventually hoping that maybe they could find something that would be a better fit.
"I hear shopping trip," Yang grinned.
"So when should we go?" Jaune asked.
"No time like the present," Yang grabbed him by the hand and led him out of the class.
"Right now!?" Jaune asked with Pyrrha hot on their heels.
"Don't put off what you can do today," Yang told him. "Besides I need to get out of here and waiting for the weekend will be a pain."
-Vale-
Jaune was surprised to find himself back into the city again now that the three of them changed out of their school clothing into their regular clothing they had gotten the next flight over to the city. Pyrrha insisted that they at least get back in time to get any homework they needed to get done out of the way. Yang agreed as they would at least try to get as much done.
"Huh, I'm surprised you didn't throw up again," Yang said as they left the bullhead aircraft.
"Oh, uh, last time here I found some stuff to help with my air sickness." Jaune quickly covered for the fact his symbiote was helping him from getting sick in the air.
"And you didn't have it on hand the first day we met?" Yang asked.
"I never flown before then," Jaune admitted feeling a little lame about it. He would forever be embarrassed about throwing up on her shoe like that.
"Ah, that explains it," Yang nodded.
"So, what should we do first?" Pyrrha asked Yang given the woman seemed to have an idea. She was here just in case Yang went overboard.
"Either clothes or haircut, we can look around smith shops for new armor." Yang shrugged. "Besides if needs a custom set made it would take time anyway."
Pyrrha nodded, the armor she wore had been custom made for her and that had taken them a week to get it finished.
They wondered around just chatting as all three of them weren't from this city so exploring it was also something they did. Sometimes one or more of them would make mental notes on stores that interested them or certain businesses. That's when Yang found what looked like a place they could get Jaune's hair cut.
Walking in the place was your typical shop set up for cutting hair. The usual chairs facing the mirrors and all the tools laid out on the small table under the chairs. A few seats were already in use as an older woman with a grey streak in her hair looked at them.
"Welcome, we have only a couple of open chairs if you one of you wants to wait."
"Oh, we're just here to get our friend a new look, think you can do anything with him?" Yang pushed Jaune forward as the woman looked at the boy.
She tilted her head as she lightly gripped his chin and turned his head in a few directions as she hummed to herself. "I think I can manage; he's got good cheeks and structure. Do you have anything in mind?"
"Not really," Jaune shrugged.
The stylist looked at his two female friends who weren't sure either.
"Well take a seat and I'll get to work," she told him and Jaune sat down. He had no idea what he was in for, but he would trust the woman. It was only hair, right? It would grow back in time if it didn't like it.
Yang and Pyrrha sat down as Pyrrha found a magazine about tournament fighting. She hadn't checked in with the tournament scene since she effectively 'retired' and joined Beacon. There were a few old rivals of hers she wondered how they were doing since she was no longer around. Yang pulled out her scroll to look up any shops around for clothing.
After some time, she was finally finished. "There, now you might want to get some product to keep it that way, but I think this will work out well for you."
Jaune stared at himself in the mirror, he almost didn't recognize himself. His hair was cut short along the sides and back, but the top was styled and much cleaner look to it. The bangs were put into small spikes, and he twisted his head from side to side. He wasn't sure what a haircut could do but apparently it could do a lot. It really did show off his face more now that he looked at it.
He actually felt a bit more professional looking now with his hair styled.
"So, what do you girls think?" He stood up and faced them.
Pyrrha's eyes widened as she tried to say something but couldn't, he did look more handsome now. She could clearly see his face and the hair added a dashing quality to him that made her heartbeat just a little bit faster.
Yang had to do a double take from her scroll looking up at him. 'When the hell did Vomit Boy get so hot?!'
She tried to push those thoughts away but as she stood up to face him, she couldn't help but feel the physical attraction. At her height of 5'8", Jaune's height of 6'1" already made him taller than her but now with the new haircut his face seemed to take on a totally different look.
'I do like my men taller than me and he's more handsome now,' Yang thought but quickly tried to stuff those thoughts away. 'No, bad Yang. He's asking for help with Weiss…but if she won't go for it then maybe…'
Yang really didn't know what was going on with her, but she had to put a stop to this. Juane was her friend and not only that he was her little sister's best friend. She couldn't date her sister's friend, that would get weird right? At least that's how she justified it but damn this was starting to get to her. Maybe she really was just pent up? This weekend she was planning to go out clubbing and find a nice guy or something to flirt with and then maybe that will fix her up.
"Uh…girls?" Jaune asked when neither of them spoke.
That got their attention.
"Oh, you look great," Pyrrha quickly said feeling the blush on her face.
"Yeah totally, Weiss will love it," Yang said just as quickly trying to look at her scroll. "I think I found some nice clothing that might fit you well."
After paying Yang led the way so she didn't have to look back and have her traitorous mind working against her. So, what if Jaune cleaned up really nicely? She was going to be a good friend and help him out and then get her damn mind back under control.
Pyrrha couldn't have but casts glances at Jaune every now and then, she would have to admit it. Yang had been right. Part of her did hope that Weiss still rejected him but also another part knew that if she did it would only hurt him, and she didn't want him in pain. It was an ugly tug of war between her desires and wanting for Jaune to be happy.
Jaune was oblivious to all this as he kept running a hand over his hair, it felt odd to have it changed. However, someone wasn't oblivious as Valor was must more perceptive, granted he didn't know human female reactions perfectly well, but he was sure he was picking up the physical attraction between the two young females. It was curious, did all humans just seem to go through such complex rituals?
"You sure I need new clothing?" Jaune asked.
"It couldn't hurt, I mean those jeans have seen some use." Yang pointed to the worn-out spot on one of his knees. "You got to dress to impress after all. How you dress is like your hair, you wear shabby clothing it sends the message you don't take good care of yourself, and a woman wants a man she can be with, not have to take care of."
~I know of many species whose matting rituals revolve around looks. It was used to attract the attention of possible mates, this seems similar.~
Jaune could see the point as he then thought about what else she had said. He remembered one of his older sisters complaining that her boyfriend at the time (later she dumped him) couldn't make decisions on his own and she had to help him out with everything. He specifically recalled her saying that she was his girlfriend, not his mother.
~I feel there is a lesson in that~
'Yeah, no kidding,' he thought about it, and he really hadn't taken care of himself before now. He didn't work out like he had before, didn't pay as much attention to his studies either. So, his hair and clothing were kind of other symptoms of it.
He was thinking hard on why he allowed himself to be like that and he came to the conclusion he just had no real confidence in himself. He always second guessed himself growing up, always unsure of what action to take. All but becoming a Huntsman, that was the only thing he really focused on.
~The past doesn't have to define you. You've grown so much since those days.~
'Thanks to you.'
~I only helped. You were already doing it with Pyrrha. Also, you had to want to change, to get better for this to work. It's one of the reasons I choose to bond with you.~
'Thanks, that actually means a lot to me.' He smiled at the support his symbiote was giving him.
"Oh perfect," Yang smiled seeing the store they were in front of. It said Huntington on it, which was a store brand that both girls knew was known for selling clothing that Huntsmen liked to wear. Usually clothing that allowed for mobility but also durable. "This should have some good clothing."
"Indeed, I got my boots from this store brand back home," Pyrrha nodded.
"Hey same here," Yang showed off her boots. "Had these for nearly two years and still not worn out, and apparently they are vomit resistant."
Jaune groaned. "Are you ever going to let me live that down?"
"Nope," Yang smiled at him.
The three students went inside to see a lot of clothing in the store for both men and women. There was a rack filled with combat boots and shoes, leather vestments meant to help protect against wear and tear as well was claws, as the sign above them boasted.
Jaune wasn't sure where to start as Yang and Pyrrha went off to look for suitable options.
"Okay so I'm thinking we don't go crazy," Yang stated. "We start off simple with a pair of new pants and he needs them and maybe a new top to go with it."
"That…sounds reasonable," Pyrrha nodded as she looked around. She had to admit that he did at least need some new pants. Maybe next time some boots? Then the thought entered her mind that the just the two of them could come back later. She paused as her mind started to go into that scenario and she had to admit she liked it. They could come back here, get him some boots and then maybe spent dinner together before going back to Beacon?
'It almost sounds like a…date,' She thought as her face started to match her hair as she quickly made sure no one could see her blushing.
"Hey Jaune, what size are you?" Yang asked as she was looking over some pants.
"Think you found something?" the taller blonde asked as he walked up to her seeing her with two different sizes of the same brand. They were a darker blue than he wore but they were in much better shape. They looked pretty nice as he picked the pair that was more his size, given his tall frame Jaune had very long legs.
"I think I found a few nice shirts." Pyrrha came over with three choices.
"Cool, we can have him try them on," Yang grinned as she started to gently push Jaune to a dressing room. "You might have to take off the armor first."
"Oh right," Jaune started with the shoulder pauldrons and then the chest piece.
"The hell Jaune?" Yang laughed seeing what was under the chest piece for the first time. "Why do you have a bunny on your chest?"
"What?" He looked down. "It's always been there."
"It's always covered by the armor!" Yang laughed again and then looked to Pyrrha. "Did you know guys know about this?"
Pyrrha nodded. "We've seen Jaune take off his armor in the dorm room. Nora found it cute."
"Oh god that is adorkable." Yang felt her stomach starting to hurt. She took a few deep breaths. "Seriously where did you get that from?"
Jaune blushed feeling a little shy about it. "I sent away like fifty Pumpkin Pete cereal boxes in for the prize."
Yang covered her face, but she was jerking as she was trying not to laugh as Jaune's shoulders fell as he felt embarrassed now that he said it out loud.
"Yang please," Pyrrha admonished her.
"Right, right, sorry, it's just…wow." She had to wipe her eyes for a bit taking in a few breaths. "It's actually kind of impressive you got fifty of them sent in. I'm surprised they had it in your size." Mainly that there was an adult size one, she figured it would only be kids that sent in that stuff but maybe Pumpkin Pete has a much larger adult audience than she thought.
"Well, I like Pumpkin Pete, been eating it my whole life." Jaune scratched the back of his head.
~Oh, so that's why there's so much sugar damage to your system~
'Wait, I have what?' Jaune thought out a little scared.
~I fixed it but there your body was starting to get in danger of starting to have trouble with using the insulin in your body. Plus a few other health risks, if you kept eating so much of that it might have caused health problems in ten years.~
"Hey, you okay?" Yang asked concerned when Jaune got quiet, and he started to look a little worried. Pyrrha went up and touched his shoulder as she had noticed this as well.
Jaune shook his head. "Right sorry my mind went off someplace else." He then looked to Pyrrha as he remembered something she once said to him. "Didn't you say that cereal wasn't very healthy?"
"Yes, and honestly if you were eating fifty boxes, I hope you have stopped." Pyrrha had many sponsorships over the years and while the representatives of Pumpkin Peter's had been one of the friendlier ones, she didn't like how unhealthy their product was. It was why she only agreed for a three-month contract with them. Despite her old agent wanting for six, she wasn't comfortable with long term sponsorship with them.
"It was just for the hoodie," Jaune bashfully answered although he still did eat it afterwards just not so much.
"Well, I say it's time to see how you look," Yang pushed the clothing into his arms and then into the dressing room as they waited.
He came out in the new jeans but a red shirt that was buttoned up. Yang took a look at it and then at Pyrrha. "Trying to get him to dress in your colors?"
"N-no, I just thought it looked nice." She quickly defended herself although looking at him she wouldn't mind some red.
Yang tilted her head at the shirt, "I don't know, doesn't really fit with his aesthetic. Pants look great though."
Jaune moved around a little, "They do fit nicely."
"Okay next." Yang told him.
Next was a white shirt with a design pattern but the pattern looked at odds when they tried it in the armor. The angle of the lines on it were very distracting. They both felt that it didn't fit with the armor on so that was out. The last one was a black top with a collar on it. It was a short sleeve top but looking at it, it worked well with the dark blue pants.
"That actually looks quite nice," Pyrrha tilted her head.
Yang hummed and nodded her head. "Let's see how it is with the armor."
When Jaune was finished he actually cut a dashing figure with the black top that mirrored his hoodie but now with the proper shirt and hair and new pants. He looked like a totally different person, his physic sowed a little through it all and with the armor on as he looked at them. Well, Jaune Arc had gone from ugly duckling to a swan.
"Wow," Yang was surprised by the transformation. "And this is just a haircut and clothing, imagine what new armor would look like on him?"
The redhead just nodded as she couldn't take her eyes off her crush. Jaune looked very cleaned up and professional now. She felt her heart racing slightly at the sight of her partner. She knew that Jaune was a diamond in the rough, but she didn't think he would shine this brightly.
"Is, is this, okay?" Jaune asked unsure.
"Dude, go look into a mirror," Yang brought him over to a full length one as he looked at himself. "You are going to turn heads."
Jaune couldn't believe he was looking at himself, he looked like some confident and actually handsome young man. He always wanted to be one of the cool kids growing up, someone that people could look up to. In the mirror he didn't see his old self but the kind of person he had always wished he could become.
"Wow, I look…different." He blinked at the image.
"But in a good way," Yang almost ran her hand along his arm but stopped herself when she realized what she was about to do. She coughed into her hand as she looked away. "Well if the new you can't melt the Ice Queen's heart, you'll probably get some attention from other girls."
"Really?" Jaune had never been that kind of guy, would something as simple as this get him attention? Sure, he only had eyes for one girl, but it would just feel nice for once in his life to be the kind of guy that turned heads instead of feeling like the guy in the background who was never noticed.
Yang looked over her shoulder giving him a once over. "Trust me."
"Although I'm going to have to dig into my expenses for all this," Jaune sighed two trips to Vale and already his meager funds were starting to take a hit. He was thankful that Beacon supplied students with meals, books, materials, and lodging for being students there.
"I can help with that." Pyrrha stepped forward.
"I don't want to trouble you," he started to say.
She shook her head, "It's no trouble at all Jaune. I have plenty and if I can use it to help you then wouldn't a good partner want to help you out?"
While she had money, she wasn't exactly rich. Well not Weiss rich at least, over the years with all her championship winnings and all he sponsors deals she had gained a lot of money. Some she put into her Huntress weapons and armor, half she sent to her parents. Of course, she wanted to send more than half, but her parents weren't comfortable with what they did get and didn't want their daughter to send them more. So, she still had plenty of money left over and if she could use it to help Jaune or even the rest of her team out, she wouldn't blink an eye at it.
"Hey if she's willing to pay for it and it isn't a problem for her, I say take it." Yang shrugged, while she worked hard to pay off her motorcycle and for his maintenance while at Signal, she didn't have time for some kind of part time job after school at the moment.
"Well okay but I feel like I need to repay you in some way for all this," Jaune didn't like to feel like he was just using Pyrrha for her money. He valued her as both a partner and friendship, also if someone does something nice for you, he felt you should do something nice in return, it was how he was brought up.
"How about treating us to dinner?" Yang asked him. "I don't know about you two but I'm getting hungry."
"I could eat," Pyrrha nodded.
Jaune's stomach growled a bit as both girls looked at him, Yang in amusement and Pyrrha covering her mouth in a giggle. "I guess that makes three." Jaune sighed.
-Warehouse in Vale-
Roman sat in his favorite chair (which he stole of course) as he looked at a map of Vale. It had a bunch of red marks of dust stores he had hit but there was still much more to go. Lighting a cigar he scanned the map trying to think of where to hit next. Last night's bungled job had delayed his plans. First was that the cops were on higher alert now in that area, that wasn't much of a problem but there were at least two other stores he had planned to hit later.
The second and more important was manpower, with Junior's men caught the cops were keeping a closer eye on his place now. Of course, Junior claimed innocence of it all to the cops, he didn't control what his men did after hours after all. No one bought it but his people at least knew to keep their mouths shut so they couldn't just arrest him with no real proof. Not that his men were any real help but they at least could be used to haul the goods at least.
Now where was he going to find a gang that was competent enough to do a simple smash and grab and keep their mouths shut? This place wasn't easy to find and it's hard to keep a warehouse full of dust under the radar. He had to buy this place out with a fake company but if anyone looked too closely at it they would wonder why nothing moved out of it and that the company was only three months old and of what's this? The owner doesn't seem to exist more than six months ago, and his address belongs to a totally different company.
Roman leaned back and rubbed his face, he would have to put out feelers for whoever needed some dirty work. Maybe even using different gangs for different areas of the city, which was a super pain in the ass to manage rather than just one group.
"They never go into the problems with being a criminal in the movies," He sighed.
He felt a tap on his shoulder as he looked at Neo and she didn't have a pleased look on her face. She pointed behind him as he lazily turned his head.
'Oh, fuck me, this is all I need,' he mentally cursed as he saw Cinder walking towards them the sounds of her heels clicking on the ground with her two minions behind her.
He sighed and pushed himself up and put on his best business smile. "Cinder, what do I own the pleasure? We're not schedules to meet until a few months from now."
"Saw the news and I was making sure my business partner wasn't slipping up," She said in her dark and smoky voice that if anyone didn't know her, would have found very attractive.
Roman had to admit Cinder had the femme fatale look down and he might have been tempted. If he didn't know what kind of a psychopath, she was that would kill him the moment he got too far out of line. Their 'business partnership' was her having a leash around his neck that if he tried to break free from, she would put him down. The whole 'work for me or die' thing kind of went a long way to avoid any attractiveness the woman might hold.
Granted Neo was a little kill happy herself but at least with Neo he knew where he stood with her, and their bond was something that couldn't easily be broken. Cinder on the other hand, he was a tool to her and nothing more. He knew it, she knew it, everyone involved knew it. Just like the two other tools she had with her. Well Emerald was too blinded to see she was nothing more than a tool and Mercury? He knew it but didn't care, Roman might have actually had some kind of working relationship with the boy if he wasn't such a pain to be around.
"I had a set back but I'm working my way around it," Roman told her. "Besides I wasn't expecting to walk into some kind of possible Atlas experimental soldier or something."
Cinder tilted her head. "A what?"
Neo pulled out her scroll as she pulled up the video.
"You still have that video? No wait, of course you do." Roman sighed as his friend walked up and showed Cinder the video.
Cinder's eyes widened a bit at what she saw, she had seen a lot, especially working for Salem, but this was unlike anything she had seen. The suit almost seemed like it was a living thing to her eyes, the way parts of it formed new appendages reminded her of how some Grimm can do similar feats, the Nuckelavee's arms being a prime example. Had someone managed to successfully experiment with Grimm?
"What is that? Some kind of semblance?" Emerald asked trying to get a good look at the video on repeat playback.
"Kid," Roman sighed. "I've been around the block quite the bit, but even I have never seen a semblance that acts like that, have you?"
Emerald glared at him, but she couldn't refute his words and she hated that.
"Personally, I think it might be some kind of experimental Atlas tech, but I could be wrong." Roman took a puff of his cigar.
"Oh?" Cinder looked at him with a questioning expression.
"Well, it's only a guess, but it's all white which they so love to use." Roman pointed out. "Also, can you think of any other nation that has the resources or technology to make something even close to that?"
Cinder had to admit that he had a point, whatever this was, it was something they couldn't ignore. It was also here in Vale so close to their own operations. They had painstakingly planned out this whole operation to take down Beacon and now something very unknown had just gotten thrown into the mix. This would require investigation, especially if this suit was somehow Grimm related technology. Salem would want to know about this if it was.
"I'll take a copy and sent it on to an…associate of mine." As much as she couldn't stand Watts and he her, she would admit that his intelligence was second to none. If anyone could figure out what this was, he would have a shot at it. "Continue on as you have been but if you come across this individual again, either eliminated him or try to gain more information about him and that suit of his."
"Well one other thing, it reacted badly to being shot." Roman pulled up his cane. "I'm not sure if it was the explosion or the heat of the dust rounds but I think you can use that to your advantage if he becomes a big problem later on."
"Is that so?" Cinder grinned.
TBC…
Just so you know what Valor was talking about:
Regular Klyntar: Those that are sealing Knull and went out to help other species by finding those good people that could be heroes and champions: Valor
The Corrupted: Symbiotes that move from planet to planet enslaving the population as hosts to feed off them until nothing is left: as seen in the Planet of the Symbiotes storyline.
The Insane: Symbiotes driven to a degree of madness that are usually isolationist and prefer to be alone as no Klynar group wants to link with them to spread the madness. Think Venom symbiote.
Mutated Insane: These are like Carnage and Scream. Symbiotes that have mutated from the norm but with unstable hosts were driven insane.