Ben 10 RWBY Volume 2: Ultimate Omniverse

by The Omni-Remnant

Having returned from a massive adventure in the world of Remnant, Ben, Team RWBY, and the rest of their friends find themselves faced with new challenges at every turn on Earth. Be it villains old and new… or even things that they never imagined to be real. It's going to be a challenge unlike any they've seen before, but they're up for it. It's Hero Time! (Cover Art credit inside)

100. Wake Up Burning

A/N: Hey there, guys! Sorry for making you wait an extra day for this, but this chapter ended up being WAY longer than even I anticipated. And you'll see why in a minute because a LOT of stuff is gonna be going down today. In fact, I'm gonna try and keep the Author's Notes this week as short as I can because I wanna let the chapter speak for itself. All I'll say is that… well, we're about to see the rise of a (sort of) new hero today, and it's gonna be a bit of a bumpy start for him. So without further ado, let's begin. This is…

Chapter 99: Wake Up Burning

…..

So far, everything had gone exactly as Salem was hoping. Of course, she had known that the heroes would be all too eager to investigate what Albedo was doing once he showed up. Whether his disguise fooled them or not was all up to chance, and while it ended up being the latter, he was still successful in luring them into Undertown, leaving Bellwood itself all but vulnerable for at least a little while. This would be their window of opportunity. 'I may not know you personally yet, Albedo, but I owe you thanks.' she thought as she peered into a Seer that was itself overwatching the town. Specifically, it was hovering directly over Max's Plumbing. 'Because now, I can follow up on a little hunch I've had…'

Standing right by her side, Viktor spoke up; "My lady, shall I gather the others and begin phase two?"

"Not quite yet, Viktor." the witch halted. "We've still yet to receive our final piece in this game."

The Transylian hummed and crossed his arms. "Indeed… I must say, though, you must be quite certain that the Relic is within Plumber Headquarters if you are being this careful about the operation."

"I am, dear Viktor." Salem affirmed, narrowing her eyes at the hardware store façade. "Because I cannot imagine them hiding it anywhere else. When Bashmouth described the base to me, I knew it had to be where they were keeping it. With how fortified its defenses are, nowhere else seemed feasible."

"And you're planning on using him and the mutants to break through their defenses." Viktor concluded with a grin. "Genius."

The witch gave her right hand a sinister smile. "Oh, it won't just be them, my dear. I want you to accompany them, along with our newest addition as well." She placed her hand upon his chest. "Lead them in my stead… because if I step foot anywhere on Earth, that blasted Thunder God is bound to notice."

"Hmph, yes, him." Viktor spat in annoyance before covering her hand. "Rest assured, my dear, I will see this through, even if it means losing my other—"

"DON'T." Salem said firmly, her eyes burning bloody red. "Do… NOT… risk more of your body parts." She reached over and caressed the metal arm he had made for himself. While it was certainly impressive to be sure, Salem was also incredibly sour on the fact that she'll never be able to experience his full touch ever again. "That damned maiden has taken too much from you already. Please, do not risk any more of yourself. Do I make myself clear?"

"…Yes, dear Salem." Viktor relented. "As you wish."

Calming down, Salem sighed and leaned her head against his chest. "Good… thank you." Just then, the sound of the door creaking open made her return to her seat, both her and Viktor diverting their attention across the table to Hazel and Red Son as they entered the room.

"Greetings, Lady Salem." Red Son bowed, followed by Hazel.

"We've retrieved the second candidate, as per your request." the larger man added.

Salem's wicked grin returned hearing the news. "Excellent. Has he donned the garb that I asked for as well?"

Raising his head, Red Son affirmed it to her. "Indeed, he has. He is covered from head to toe. No one will be able to even glean his identity, even if for some reason the armor fails him." He set his sights back toward the open door, beckoning the anonymous person into the meeting hall. "But I doubt that will happen. Come now, my friend! It's time for you to meet our fine leader… face to mask."

Strolling into the room from the pitch-black hallway was a man donned in a dark red body suit with black gloves and boots. He wore a balaclava over his head, hiding every single one of his features. Even his eyes were covered with black cloth stitched into the eyeholes, though it was thin enough to where he could still see. Salem stood from her chair and greeted the man. "Welcome, honored guest. After months of waiting, I am glad to finally meet you. I take it that you're ready to get started immediately?"

The man gave a single, wordless nod before reaching to his hip… where he pulled out a second Transteam Gun. And, in his other hand, was the Cobra Lostbottle that Red Son had prepared. He gave it a couple shakes, twisted the cap on top, and then inserted it into the weapon.

CHK-WHRR!

Cobra!

On cue, the guttural yet funky music began to play. And once again, without speaking anything, the masked man pulled the trigger, allowing the black mist to cover him entirely.

Mist-Match!

Cobra! C-C-CO-COBRA!

FIRE!

From the dark smoke, a dazzling display of fireworks ignited and shot off throughout the room, causing Salem to reel a bit as Viktor covered his eyes. Once the light show and the mist dissipated, though, they saw the man now donned in his own special suit, which matched the aesthetic of Night Rogue fairly well. Mainly, it was the dark grey chest piece that was covered in pipework across the torso and neck area, with fairly sharp shoulder pads that seemed to have small vents on them. In the center of this chest plate was a big, blue cobra symbol, which matched the visor on the helmet.

Said visor was quite clever in design, in that the cobra's hood served as the placement for the main visor while the snake's body went over the mouth area like a muffler. The cobra's tail then came up and stuck up the side like an antenna of sorts, right beside the chimney-like horn on the helmet's forehead. And again, the cobra was entirely blue, which helped it stand out against the dark red of the helmet.

The rest of the suit was also the same shade of red, with darker red boots and knee pads. His gauntlets were also heavily armored, with each having a stinger-like weapon mounted near his wrists. Reaching up to his collar, the man flexed his neck and cleared his throat, his voice audibly changing to a low pitch. "Hm—mph… why yes, Lady Salem. I simply can't WAIT to begin." He extended his hand toward her. "Of course, keeping in mind the terms that we agreed upon, I would hope that you'll lend your aid to my own goals as well."

"You needn't worry about that… Blood Stalk." Salem assured, though her eyes narrowed at the ambitious man. "Just remember one thing; while serving my, your ambitions are not to exceed my own. Otherwise…" She raised her hand, summoning a spiral of Grimm hands from the floor directly in front of Blood Stalk. "There will be consequences."

As he stared upon the disturbing display, Blood Stalk was given pause for only a moment before looking back to the witch. "…Duly noted." Salem waved her hand and made the Grimm arms disappear, leading the cobra-themed villain to ask; "So… where do we start?"

"You will start by aiding our team of mutant warriors in an assault upon the Plumber Headquarters in Bellwood." Salem pushed the Seer Grimm toward him, allowing Blood Stalk to see his target. "We have determined this building to be the entrance."

"Hm?" Blood Stalk tilted his head, slightly confused. "My apologies, but… what is this? Do you need your sink fixed or something?"

"…No." Salem pinched the bridge of her nose before glaring at Hazel and Red Son. "Did you two NOT tell him what the Plumbers really are?"

Both men glanced away guiltily, with Red Son tugging his collar. "Ah, hehe… n-no, I'm afraid. Though I suppose I should have." He received an irritated hum from Salem, which urged him to do so. "Y-You see, Blood Stalk, the Plumbers in Ben Tennyson's world are an organization that deals in the matters of alien crime, among other extraterrestrial matters. Their base is heavily fortified, so we believe that the Relic we seek is being held within."

Turning his head between the demon and the witch, Blood Stalk took this information in, giving an amused chuckle. "Hah, well, that's something you don't hear every day. But if you need this place stormed…" He pulled up his Transteam Gun and shot the Seer directly in the head, shattering and destroying it. "Then I can certainly help with that."

"Excellent." Salem said with a sneer. "But was that really necessary?"

"I suppose not, but… I have an itchy trigger finger."

Instead of frustrating Salem further, the answer made her grin ever so slightly. "Well good, because I have quite a few targets for you to take down…"

…..

Back in Undertown, a certain Great Sage was trying to rapidly come to terms with what he saw in front of him, while also trying to convince himself that this wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. He had killed the monkey standing before him with his OWN DAMN STAFF. 'It's impossible!' he screamed in his head, his jaw clenched and golden eyes glaring at his one-time brother and long-time adversary. 'There's no way he could be—'

"So… are ya just gonna stand there like an angry stump or are we gonna do this?" Macaque asked, mockingly tapping his wrist. "'Cause we've got places to be and—"

"SHUT UP!" Wu Kong roared, SLAMMING the Ruyi Jingu Bang into the ground so hard that it made the underground city tremble. A small fissure formed under his feet as a result, though he quickly plucked his staff out of the earth and thrust it toward Macaque. "An illusion! You've GOT to be an illusion!" He suddenly rushed into the fray, ready to strike down whatever trickery that the Ministry were pulling on them… only for Macaque to counter by bringing up his own cudgel and blocking the strike.

The black-furred monkey pursed his lips tauntingly. "Hmm, I dunno… this all feels pretty real to ME!" Swinging his bludgeon up, he SLAMMED one end directly into Wu Kong, sending him stumbling back.

All the while, everyone simply watched on in silent dread. The heroes were visibly terror-stricken while the villains were more in awe… though even they had to admit, the moment the two simians collided, the power that rippled from the impact made their stomachs sink a bit. "…H-Holy crap." Rojo muttered.

"Such… raw, untamed power." Gwen whispered, almost overwhelmed. "Is this what two celestial monkeys fighting feels like?"

Neptune, though, was just utterly confused as to what was happening. "I-I don't get it! Since when did Monkey King ever have an evil twin brother?!"

"WE'RE NOT TWINS!" Both monkeys belted out before resuming their scuffle, this time taking it to the air above.

Blake nodded, affirming their words. "Exactly. The closest those two are related to each other is through the fact that they're both celestial monkeys." Her gaze and many others went up, following the duo's skirmish. "As for who he is, he's the Six-Eared Macaque, one of Monkey King's former sworn brothers from his days rebelling against heaven." The cat girl grimaced as she watched their cudgels bash against one another, all while the monkeys themselves glowered at one another. "…Let's just say that Wu Kong's betrayal of their cause didn't exactly sit well with Macaque."

"Hah! To say the least!" Emerald balked in amusement… before pulling out a copy of "Journey to the West" from behind her back. "Dude impersonated the Monkey King and stole the Buddhist scriptures from the monk to try and take revenge!"

Her explanation brought an amused grin to Albedo's face. "Bahahaha! I knew I liked him the moment he set me free. But let's cut the pleasantries and get on with the chase!" Slapping the Ultimatrix on his chest, he quickly changed from one Ultimate form to another… and this one was quite the surprise. It was clearly Arctiquana, though rather than bright blue, his skin was smokey grey, and of course, his eyes were black. But then, the Polar Manzardill's body began to shift even further, with a pair of ice projectors on prehensile stalks emerging from each shoulder while the ridge on his back grew out, giving him a permanent hunch while his spines got even sharper. His features also became much more wrinkled and a pair of long, black whiskers grew down from his upper jaw, making it seem he had a long, wispy mustache. Also, the tips of the Polar Manzardill's toes and fingers became much harder and sharper, giving it dense claws. And of course, his body suit was mostly red and black with hints of white

The Omni-Hunters were immediately on their guard, though Yang couldn't help but bemoan the form change. "Oh, come ON! We JUST got back from X'Nelli and you transform into THAT?!"

"A mere coincidence… but a delightfully ironic one." Albedo declared, aiming his ice blasters at the heroes.

"MOVE!" Ben hollered, with almost the whole team following his directions… except for a certain pair of sisters, who began using their Semblances in tandem to counter the attack.

With a pair of glyphs, Weiss and Winter managed to not only absorb the icy blasts from Ultimate Negative Arciquana, but also redirect it back to sender. It was the Ministry's turn to move away and the Schnee siblings smiled to one another. "While it sucks that we had to come back early… it's good to be fighting with you again, sis."

"Indeed, I missed it as well." Winter affirmed, furrowing her brow toward the villains. "But let's not let our guard down for a second! They could still have more tricks up their sleeves!"

Getting back to his feet, Ben activated the Omnitrix, selecting one of his new aliens to get the job done. "Oh yeah? Well so do we! It's Hero Time!" Pressing down on the core, the hero began to transform, his skin hardening until it took the form of black, crystalline stone almost all over his body, which changed into a more quadrupedal lizard-like shape. His underbelly was the only exception, as it burned bright red with the intense heat being radiated from within. The dorsal fins on his back were craggy and misshapen, as was his massive tail. But even so, that only aided his overall tanky appearance. The Omnitrix symbol was placed in the center of his chest, and his eyes gleamed green as he uttered his name and heat billowed out his mouth; "SUBSIDIAN!"

Albedo's eyes widened… namely because Ben was now at least three times bigger than he was. Seeing this, Yang smirked and snickered; "Hehe, yeah, you're screwed, dude."

While the evolved Polar Manzardill was offput by the Submar Manzardill before him, he wasn't about to back down. "No matter! With my higher intelligence, this will not be a problem!" He fired two beams of ice at his larger opponent… only for them to melt into water before they could even make contact. The water then evaporated instantly. Albedo blinked in stunned silence before charging at Subsidian, striking at him with his claws. …Once again, no good. The claws didn't even break through the Submar Manzardill's rock-like hide.

Subsidian himself wasn't too amused. "…You were saying?"

"Perhaps I should change tactics now."

"Exactly." Taking a deep breath, Subsidian prepared himself before letting loose his attack; a massive wave of heat that not only pushed Albedo back, but also left visible burn marks everywhere on his body.

"GAAAH! You'll pay DEARLY!" Switching in the blink of an eye, Albedo took the form of Ultimate Negative Swampfire, which didn't look all that different from Ben's version. The only big difference was the color; with the wooden body being black instead of dull brown while the usual blue bubbles of napalm were orangey-red. "Let us see how you like, as you humans say; "a taste of your own medicine"!"

*KYA-CHOOOM* Unleashing a powerful blast upon his opponent, Albedo was finally afforded some leverage as Subsidian was pushed back this time. …However, the attack still wasn't enough to penetrate the Submar Manzardill's skin, merely knock him over. "GRAH!" The hero managed to tumble onto his four feet, though, which is when he noticed something. The Ministry and Omni-Hunters were all just… watching. Neither side was engaged in any sort of combat—aside from Cooper and Yuma, who were still going at it. "…Uh, guys? You wanna join in or what?"

Albedo finally noticed the lack of fighting as well, to which he growled to his supposed new teammates. "Indeed! If you are the ones who have been sent to assist me, then START assisting!"

Cinder's eyebrows jumped at the realization. "Hm? Oh, apologies. We were so invested in your battle that it slipped our minds."

"Yeah, for once, I kinda agree with her." Yang admitted with an apologetic gaze. "Sorry, Green Boy. Where should we start?"

"Hah… well, for starters, we outnumber them by a large margin now." Subsidian concluded. "So I think the best thing to do would be to try and overwhelm them."

"Oh, that'd be a pretty good plan… if it weren't JUST us here." Mercury smirked, with Neo silently nodding next to him.

Ruby and the others didn't like how he worded that. "W-What?! Are the Street Sharks here, too?!" she whipped her head back and forth, searching for the predatorial foursome.

Gwen furrowed her brow, remembering what had happened on Revonnah a while ago, too. "Or the Mutanimals? They doing more of your dirty work?"

"Wait, the Muta-what?" Blake uttered. But before anyone could answer her…

*CHA-KOOM*

A massive explosion was heard, though it was fairly muffled, coming from above ground. Nevertheless, it was still powerful enough to evoke a slight tremor, with debris falling from above. Build and Night Rogue's skirmish was brought to a halt, as was the one between Macaque and the Monkey King as their sights briefly shifted upward. "…Heh, how does "all of them all at once" sound?" Rojo piped up.

"WHAT?!" Subsidian roared, with heat billowing out his maw at the villains to drive them back. But from his blind spot, Albedo charged in and tackled Subsidian, grabbing him by the belly. The evolved Methanosian rooted himself into the ground for leverage and lifting him up over his head, tossing him away with great effort.

"GAH! Correct, Tennyson!" the once-Galvan lifeform exclaimed. "The Macaque explained to me that this would be how it would go! Tour little team would be lured down here by my exploits, leaving your hometown AND the Plumber Headquarters undermanned and ripe for the taking!" He began charging another blast in his hand. "Of course, I hadn't predicted that YOU would make such a hasty return and outnumber us."

Shaking his head, Subsidian growled and padded the ground, ready to charge. "What can I say? I'm unpredictable that way! RRAAAAH!"

Albedo smirked as the Submar Manzardill charged him down. "That you are… but I don't think even you could predict this!" Whipping his arm back, the evolved Methanosian aimed his shot, not at Subsidian… but at the rest of the Omni-Hunters. "Time to take a chunk out of your numbers!" *BOOM*

The hero's eyes widened as he saw the blast shoot straight at his team. Raven seemed ready to redirect the hit… but then, quicker than she could move, a certain staff appeared and grew to immense size, SMASHING into the ground and through the ceiling of Undertown, leaving a massive hole that let in some natural light. In the process, the blast struck the pillar instead, leaving the Omni-Hunters relieved. "Woah! Haha!" Sun laughed and pumped his fist. "Just in the nick of time! Thanks Monkey Ki—AH!"

*WHAM* The monkey Faunus' joy was short-lived, though, as Wu Kong was then SLAMMED into the ground by Macaque, who used his own bludgeoned cudgel to plant him there. "HAK! D-Don't thank me yet, kid!" coughed the Monkey King. "RUN!"

"Ah, yes, feel free to run, kid." Macaque grinned nefariously, his eyes meeting the horror-struck blonde boy. "We wouldn't wanna make a mess here, now, would we?"

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Wrapping his tail around Macaque's leg, Wu Kong flung him off, kicking back up to a standing position to grab his staff. Once it shrunk back down, Wu Kong pointed it at his dark reflection. "This is between you and me! I want answers, and I'm gonna get 'em! How are you even ALIVE?! Did you scribble your name outta the Ledger of the Dead while you were down there, or something?!"

The Macaque let out a whooping laugh, clearly amused. "OOH-hoo-hoo! Ah, now that'd be quite the comeback story… but no, not a chance. Yema wouldn't let me anywhere NEAR his desk for me to do that." His expression twisted into a grimace. "Said it was a "brand new mahogany desk" made from "fire-breathing trees" or something."

His response made Wu Kong roll his eyes. "Ugh, that guy has such a WEIRD obsession with his desks… er-wait! Don't change the subject!" His eyes narrowed even further. "Answer the damn question!"

"Mmmmm… nah." Macaque denied, shooting straight up into the air. "I think I'll keep that answer to myself for the time being. Anyway, this is a boring place to fight. Meet me up in the sky if you have the guts!" On that note, the six-eared simian transformed into a falcon and flew up toward the hole that Wu Kong made.

"Oh no, you don't!" Wu Kong pursued him rigorously, transforming into an eagle to do so. "Kids! Meet me up above! We gotta stop the Ministry before it's too late!"

Subsidian and Albedo were still quarreling with one another, though that didn't stop the hero from agreeing with the Monkey King. "He's right! Everyone, get moving!" Slapping the Omnitrix, Ben transformed into… "JETRAY!" and flew up as well, unleashing a barrage of energy beams upon the Ministry. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll stay DOWN here while we take care of business!"

Cinder's eyes lit up, her Maiden powers igniting. "Is that so?! Well, who's going to stop us—" *CHYOOM* "ARGH!" But she was then cut off as Raven and Team RWBY all gathered together, confronting Cinder's team.

"That would be us." The Spring Maiden assured, glancing up to Jetray briefly. "Ben, you take everyone else and we'll finish things down here!"

The Aerophibian couldn't help but be concerned. "Are you sure?"

"Ah, c'mon, Green Boy." Yang popped a few muscles in her neck and shoulders, slamming a fist into her hand. "Have a little faith. We've taken these jokers before. We'll do it again."

Rojo, Mercury, Neo and Emerald all lined up alongside their team leader, the latter raising Thief's Respite toward them. "If that's what you want, bimbo. But with what we've got in store… you might as well already be doomed."

"Pfft, yeah, we're gonna take ALL of your prissy little butts down." Mercury asserted as well, while Neo activated her umbrella's hidden blade.

With a stomp of her foot, Ruby snapped back; "If you think I'm just gonna stand around while you insult my team, you've got another thing coming! Girls!" But she didn't even need to say anything as Yang, Blake and Weiss already had their weapons drawn and at the ready, with Raven unsheathing Omen in the process. "Let's take 'em out!"

"Gladly!" Weiss announced before all five ladies charged forth with a battle cry, meeting the Ministry halfway as they rushed in as well.

…But as Jetray was watching the events unfold, he was abruptly spooked when Albedo swung into his field of vision, once again having changed form entirely again. He was specifically swinging from a length of thick webbing, having transformed into Ultimate Spidermonkey to collide with his foe in midair. "GRAAH! HAGH-HAGH-HAGH!" the evolved Arachnichimp roared as he SLAMMED Jetray into the cavern ceiling, biting into his shoulder.

"AAAAGGHH! Get OFF!" In response, the Aerophibian unleashed a pair of neuroshock blasts into Albedo's shoulder and abdomen, which managed to make him let go.

Even so, it wasn't enough to get him to go away completely. "Hah-hah! The Macaque is right! This IS a rather dull place for combat! How about we make this more interesting…" Splitting his mouth wide open, Albedo shot a length of web to the hole, yanking himself right to its edge. "Perhaps even endanger a few hundred people while we're at it? It'll be FUN!"

Jetray's eyes gleamed green as he sent blast after blast at the evolved Arachnichimp, though he still managed to slink away. "Get BACK here!" He whipped his head down and called out to his cousin; "GWEN! Get yourself and everyone else back to Plumber HQ ASAP! They need your help! I'll crack down on Albedo!"

"Got it!" Gwen hollered back. "Good luck, Ben!" Once she saw her cousin fly out with a small sonic boom, she turned back to Team JNPR, Team SN, Penny, Vados, Winter, Ilia and Kevin, giving them a very serious nod. "Okay everyone, gather up. We're about to confront a bunch of mutants who're no doubt hungry for revenge. I don't know what they've got planned, but we need to be on top of our game for this, otherwise…"

"The relic will be at extreme risk." Winter concluded. "Of course, Gwen, we understand."

Ilia was quick to indicate a certain other pair, though. "But wait… what about them?"

Following her pointed finger, Gwen saw that Cooper and Yuma were still continuing their own skirmish, the former still in NinninComic form as their blades collided with one another. "Gah! Do you NOT know how to give up?!" Night Rogue barked.

"Hah, not a chance!" Build countered as they shifted places, the bat-themed villain doing his best to push against the Rider. Seeing the Omni-Hunters stare at him, though, he could tell that they were waiting on him, which was something he needed to discourage them from doing. "Guys, just go! I'll catch up, don't worry!"

"Dude, are ya sure?!" Kevin questioned.

In response, Cooper suddenly rolled on his foot and caused Yuma to stumble forward, allowing him a clean slice against his back. While most of the armor took the hit, Night Rogue still felt a sharp pain, causing him to bend at the knee which let Build get in a good kick to the head. "Of course I am!" the Rider reached up, trailing his finger along his antenna before flicking it. "I'll come up with a winning formula and get this mess cleaned up. I'll see you outside!"

A smile worked Its way to Gwen's lips and she nodded back to him. "Right, okay. I'll take your word on that, Cooper." The redhead set her attention back onto the team as her eyes began to glow bright pink, readying a spell as a magic circle appeared under everyone's feet. "Alright, guys, hold on!" After reciting her spell, Gwen and everyone else were enveloped in a pillar of bright, pink light, on their way to Plumber HQ.

But, if anything, this only made Night Rogue unleash a maniacal laugh, which managed to leave Build very offput. "Uh… I don't know what's so funny, but—"

"AHAHAHA! Oh, you'll understand what's funny… when all of your friends are KILLED with several healthy doses of poison!" Yuma spat.

Under his mask, Cooper's eyes widened, realizing that there could only be one meaning behind that. "No… no, no… it can't be!"

"That's right, hero, it's—"

"Tyrian's AWAKE?!"

Night Rogue was given pause at Cooper's exclamation, doing a doubletake in the process. "W-W-What—NO! No, you fool, that's not it at all! From what I've heard, that crazed scorpion is still in a damn coma!"

"Oh…" Cooper tapped his sword against his shoulder, trying to think of who else would be capable of poisoning the team. "Then mind telling me who it ACTUALLY is?"

Yuma grumbled, bringing his hand to his forehead in disbelief. "For the love of, YOU'RE the genius here and you STILL haven't figured it out?" He raised a single finger to his adversary. "Here's a hint, smartass; the guy who's gonna kill ALL of your friends is a lot like us." Night Rogue pointed between himself and Build, the gears in the latter's head beginning to turn. "And let me tell you, this guy is quite the snake."

That final keyword was all it took for Cooper to connect the dots, eliciting a gasp of shock and horror from his throat. "NO! No, there's no way he could've—"

"Oh, he did!" Night Rogue insisted wiggling the Transteam Gun in his hand. "Red Son works VERY fast, so he was able to whip up another of these babies in no time."

Cooper's grip tightened on the Yonkoma Ninpoutou, knowing full well he should've expected something like that. "I see… well then, I guess if that's the case, then I should get going." He pulled the trigger on the sword two times while cranking the Build Driver with the other hand, preparing a big attack. "But first, I've gotta take care of you!"

All that did was get another laugh out of Night Rogue, who began turning the valve on his Steam Blade again. "Ha! Highly unlikely. You won't get rid of me THAT easily!" Pulling the trigger on his own blade, he unleashed his own attack;

Ice Steam!

Slamming the blade into the ground, Night Rogue sent a barrage of jagged icicle at Build, forming out of the ground like massive stalactites. But even so, Cooper remained unflinching. 'Just was I was hoping.'

Ready—GO!

Katon no Jutsu! Kaen Giri!

Just as the icicle spears were about to hit him, Cooper jumped up high into the air, kicked back off of one of them, whipped around in midair, and then began spinning at rapid speeds, all while the comic-panel sword ignited into flame. The result was a small, fiery tornado that cut through the ice like a hot knife through butter, making its way straight toward a taken aback Yuma. "W-What?! STOP!" Night Rogue raised the Steam Blade to counter, but it was too late.

Vortex Finish! YEAH!

The attack struck him straight on in the chest, sending him careening back into a nearby building. Once Cooper stopped spinning, he took a deep breath, gathering his bearings. "Hah… okay, so the Weekend Whip IS more effective if you do it correctly. Don't flip around, whip around. Okay, Coop, no time to waste." Reaching down to his hip, the Rider pulled off the Hawk and Gatling Fullbottles off his holster, replacing the two in the driver. "Time to save the gang from potential disaster."

Taka! Gatling! Best Match!

Are You Ready?!

"Build Up!" Within seconds, the purple and yellow form was replaced by Cooper's orange and grey one, the wings on his back spreading wide to prepare for flight.

Tenkuu no Abarenbou! HawkGatling!

YEAH!

Without another word, Cooper shot straight out of the hole, though he didn't stick around long enough to notice Night Rogue emerge from the building's wreckage. He was still keeping the transformation together, but only barely. "Gah… COME BACK HERE!" Spreading his own bat wings out, Yuma flew after his enemy, leaving Team RWBY, Raven and Cinder's team behind to duke it out.

"Hah, finally the riffraff are gone." Cinder rolled her eyes as a pair of obsidian blades appeared in her hands, ready to confront Raven. "Now, I believe it's time I finally took those Maiden Powers of yours…"

Raven pursed her lips and sheathed Omen for a moment, instead conjuring a long ice blade in her hands. "That will be the day, child." Needless to say, their clash wouldn't be the only one that'd shake the foundations of Bellwood that day.

…..

Back up on the surface, things at Plumber HQ weren't fairing much better as the entire facility was now in Code Red. Plumber Agents were going back and forth, trying to get to their stations as they braced themselves for the attack about to come. Meanwhile, the main defensive forces were on the move. That, of course, was the Alpha Squad, led by Brannigan as always. "Alright, people, listen up!" the green-skinned alien announced as they ran to the deployment zone. "From what Magister Patelliday has said, we're dealing with MULTIPLE targets… an entire army of Grimm is on the way."

"How's that even possible, though?" Molly Gunther questioned. "Ain't those things supposed to shrivel up an' die in sunlight?"

"That's the problem… it's overcast." Brannigan grumbled. "And we're dealing with heavy, cumulous clouds, too. Almost seems like it's gonna rain. Seems Salem knows how to wait for weather that benefits her."

Just then, right as they were passing an adjacent hallway, another voice piped up. "Yeah, that bitch knows how to play her cards right, I'll give her that." The entire Alpha Squad came to a halt, turning their heads to see a certain fashionista and her team strolling toward them. Coco herself was twirling a bullet in her hand, clearly itching for some action. "But don't worry, space cowboys, we've got your back."

With an amused smile, Brannigan chuckled and crossed his arms. "Haha, I guess it's a good thing Raven had you stick around. Is Agent Six coming, too?"

"He and Bobo said they'd meet us at the deployment zone." Fox answered, equipping Sharp Retribution before slamming his fists together. "So c'mon, what're we waitin' for?"

Yatsu glanced down to his teammate, answering; "You know exactly what—or rather who—we're waiting for, man."

Velvet wore a small grin as she and her team parted down the middle. "Because we DID bring someone who's eager to join in!"

Within seconds, Brannigan, Molly and the rest of Alpha Squad were left wide-eyed as General Ironwood himself walked toward the line, causing all of them to straighten up and salute. "GENERAL IRONWOOD, SIR!" Brannigan belted out. "It's an honor to—"

"At ease, people." The general ordered with a stern expression, to which the team did so. "Keep this in mind; I'm not your superior, so there's no need to salute." Reaching down to his hip, James pulled out his revolver, which was already locked and loaded. "Once we reach that battlefield, I am your equal. Lieutenant Brannigan, this is your show, so I trust your leadership. I've been told you're pretty good in the role, too, so show me what you've got."

"Y-Yes, of course!" Brannigan nodded, feeling pretty hyped up at the moment. "Thank you, sir!"

"We can't afford to waste time. Every second Salem's forces get closer to HQ, the more at risk we put the Relic of Knowledge." Ironwood furrowed his brow. "Our goal is clear; protect the base at all costs. So are you ready, people?!"

Brannigan responded by arming himself, which the rest of his squad did in tandem. "Of course we are! Alpha Squad, MOVE OUT!"

"SIR, YES SIR!" the squad barked out as they resumed their charge to the deployment area, with Ironwood and Team CFVY bringing up the rear.

"Heh, nice one, Commander Metal Head." Coco quipped. "Ya really know how to get the troops goin', don't ya?"

Wearing a satisfied smile, the general gave a short chuckle. "Hehe, comes with the territory, Miss Adel. Gotta make sure the troops are nice and motivated if you want to see results."

Velvet gave a thumbs up. "Well, I'd say it worked pretty well! So, any plan of attack?"

"Just do what you do best as a team." Ironwood advised. "What I saw back at the invasion of Vale? Do that."

Fox could get behind that. "No problem, G.I. Let's show those Ministry idiots what Team CFVY's all about!"

From there, the group reached the deployment area, where they were met with Six, Bobo and Tetrax. Behind them, though, was also Doctor Holiday and Ceasar and… surprisingly, Kenny. Once they were all gathered up, Six began speaking; "I don't think I have to tell you how imperative it is that this outpost remains protected, Alpha Squad." Six stated curtly. "But just to drive it into your heads, if ANY of Salem's forces gets past the line of defense… it's over. They'll destroy the base, free the prisoners, and even get to the Relic if they're that determined."

"No question about it." Tetrax affirmed, arming himself with a laser blaster and morphing his own hand into a crystal blade. "So, let's get out there and tear these Grimm to shreds."

Bobo reached to his back, pulling out his blasters. "I can get behind that. Wish the kid were here fer this, though. He'd LOVE to pick off these nasty bastards." The EVO chimp ultimately shrugged. "Ah well, guess I'll just have to kick TWICE as much ass to compensate for 'im."

Holiday couldn't help but smirk in amusement. "You do that, just so long as you remember the mission."

"Yeah, yeah, crystal clear." Bobo waved off before shouting to the team; "Now let's go kick some MONSTER TAIL!" The Alpha Squad let out a collective cheer, with Team CFVY echoing the sentiment as they went charging through the deploy bay and up to the surface. Six, Brannigan, Ironwood and Tetrax led the charge, emerging on the street directly in front of Max's Plumbing façade. What they were met with was both exactly what they imagined… and also not. Of course, on either end of the street, there were two massive hordes of Grimm, all chomping at the bit to gorge on the Plumbers.

But leading the Grimm packs were none other than the Street Sharks… and a group of mohawked, mutant animals that none of them had ever seen before. And that wasn't even the most shocking part of it. "What the—do those mutants have DUST ARMOR?!" Coco yelled.

Indeed, the tiger, polar bear, wasp and gorilla mutants were all decked out in natural Dust armor, and Coco's exclamation got the four of them to laugh out loud. "Hahaha! You know it, bro!" Tora Flame grinned with a slight snarl. "And guess what? We're gonna pound you all into the ground with our RAD powers!"

Six's eyes widened slightly behind his sunglasses. "That voice… Fistrick?"

"No freakin' way." Brannigan muttered. "Those idiots got mutant powers too?!"

At the other end of the street, Thrasher rolled her eyes. "Yeah, much as we wish they didn't, those wankers got some special treatment from the doc." She lifted her heavy rocket axe as Crunch, Stripes and Lunge all prepared their weapons as well. "But right now, we're more focused on one thing; revenge for lockin' us away!"

Polar Claw let out a roar, an icy breath blowing out of his lungs. "Yeah! And guess who's here to make sure of that?"

"GGRRRRAAAOOOOOOOHH!"

On cue, an ear-splitting howl echoed through the streets, shattering windows all around and forcing the Plumbers to cover their ears. From high atop a nearby building, Bashmouth came crashing down and SLAMMED his fist against the pavement, leaving a sizeable crater in front of him. Right behind him were both Exo-Skull and Thunderhog, the original gruesome twosome snorting and roaring along with him. "OOOH YEAH! Let me tell ya'll omething', you Plumbers are 'bout to get exactly what you deserve! I've been waitin' YEARS to get some payback fer ya'll stickin' me down in that hellhole fer over two decades, an' now, we're fixin' to do that and MORE! And THAT'S the bottom line, BECAUSE BASHMOUTH SAID SO!"

"Oh-ho-ho, you tell 'em, big dawg!" Hog laughed, his gauntlets crackling with electricity. "Time to bring the HURT!"

With a mighty stomp, Skull blew hot air through his nostrils, his laser horn powering up. "We'll bowl ALL of you nerds over! Flatten ya like pancakes! Huhuhuh!"

"…Well," Fox muttered after a short pause, "at least it could it get any worse—"

*CRACK-CHOW*

As if to answer his question, a bolt of purple lightning erupted from the dark clouds and made impact directly next to Bashmouth… where none other than Viktor appeared before them. The Transylian was now sporting a new, robotic arm, which was connected to the tesla coils on his back via a hose. The arm began shifting and transformed into a powerful cannon, which began glowing with violet energy. "PLUMBERS! If you wish to survive this ordeal, I suggest you give us your unconditional surrender! Under the wishes of Lady Salem, we will be TAKING this base!"

All eyes were zeroed in on Fox, none of the Plumbers nor his teammates all too happy with this turn of events. And while he was blind, he could feel their piercing gazes. "…Okay, I really need to keep my freakin' mouth shut."

"Alright, so what do you think our odds are here?" Velvet asked. "Surrounded on all sides by Grimm, Mutants and two tough aliens with intense grudges?"

"Honestly? Sixty-forty." Coco stated.

"In WHO'S favor?!" Yatsu cried out.

"I haven't GOTTEN to that part, okay?!"

Six, however, wasn't about to back down. "Stand your ground! The Grimm are easy pickings, all we need to do is—" *BAM-BAM-BAM* "Hm?" The sound of hard impacts suddenly brought everyone's attention toward the Mutanimals, the quartet of trouble makers spinning around to see their Grimm forces getting walloped from behind.

Silver Smack craned his neck up when he saw a Creep practically get launched into the air with a burst of pink energy, one that seemed very familiar. "Gah, don't tell me it's that redhead again!"

"Zzzt, I don't think so." Lightning Buzz took to the air, trying to see what was going on. "Lookzzz more like—" *FWOOSH* "GAH! BRO!" A stream of flame went flying by his head, forcing him to land while glaring at his leader. "What the hell, man?!"

"Bro, wasn't me!" Tora Flame insisted… only to get blindsided by the butt-end of a sword. "AUGH! BRO!"

Standing there was none other than Drew Saturday, flanked by Doc, Zak, Fiskerton and even Doyle. The latter was airborne himself thanks to his jetpack, and directly next to him, Charmcaster had flown in as well. And considering the path of black mist behind them, it was evident that they had just blazed through a good portion of Grimm. "You try to take ONE day to study ancient Sumerian tablets as a family and THIS is what it gets you!" the Saturday matriarch decried. "Seriously, EVERY time!"

"Believe me, I'm just as irritated." Hope concurred. "But believe me, what's in that base is FAR more important to protect right now."

Their arrival made those on the Plumbers' side smile, while the mutants were left astonished. "…And I think our odds just increased by ten percent." Coco concluded. "Glad you guys could make it to the party!"

Fiskerton ran into the center of the conflict, carrying Zak on his shoulder. "Yeah, sorry we were late." He apologized as Fisk set him down with the others, the Lemurian raising his fists for battle. "But we actually ran into a someone on the way here." Before anyone could as, Zak brought his fingers to his mouth and let loose a loud whistle, summoning his trusty Smoke Wolf to the battle. "Here, Smokey!"

"AWROOOOO!" Through the path that was cleared, Smokey came bounding into the fray… and on his back was someone that none of them were expecting.

"COME AND GET SOME!" With a Plumber rifle in hand and protective helmet on his head, Ken Tennyson rode in on the wolf's back, somehow managing to balance himself while shooting at several Grimm. No matter where the blasts landed, the result was the same; a green laser that cut through the Grimm and destroyed them in an instant. "You're ALL gonna get it now!"

At that point, absolutely no one knew what to make of this… but Bobo was incredibly amused. "BAHAHAHA! Now THAT'S the kinda language I like! C'mon people, let's stop standin' around an' SMOKE these a-holes!"

Watching the EVO chimp barrel into the battle, Team CFVY looked at one another and shared a shrug. "Eh, I'm game!" Coco unleashed Gianduja from its handbag prison, the minigun's barrel spinning with anticipation. "BRING IT, BITCHES!" And just like that, Team CFVY was let loose upon the horde as well, with Doc, Doyle, Zak and Fisk following suit.

"…Very well. We'll do this the hard way." Viktor concluded. "ATTACK!" At his command, the ten mutants, Bashmouth, and himself all rushed in as well. The Battle of Bellwood had officially begun.

Eventually, Alpha Squad and Tetrax went in as well, though Six and Ironwood hung back for a moment to take stock of the situation. "So… is this just a normal occurrence around here?" the general asked.

"Jim, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if something ELSE random happened right now." Six deadpanned… only for a Grimm to break off from the pack and lunge straight at him. The Providence agent was about to counter… when from out of nowhere, a potted plant fell on the Grimm's head, bringing it and Six's attention up just in time to see Qrow come diving down from the sky and slice the beast to ribbons in seconds.

Once the Grimm was disposed of, the recovering drunkard spun around and saluted the two. "You rang?"

Six didn't even flinch at the arrival. "You see? Things like this just happen all the time."

"Wow, what a warm welcome we've got." Qrow rolled his eyes. "Maybe a "thanks" or "wow, can't believe ya saved my life with a plant" would be nice to hear?"

Ironwood rolled his eyes and raised his gun to shoot at more incoming Grimm. "Qrow, I don't mean to be rude here, but we've got more important things to handle right now!"

Shifting Harbinger into its shotgun mode, Qrow joined Jim in the crowd control. "Yeah, yeah, I get ya… spoil sports." Wordlessly, Six brought out his swords and went darting across the battlefield, slicing his way through Grimm while kickflipping off their heads. "And then there HE goes I' shit done with as little effort as possible, as always."

The battle had gone on like that for a good ten or so minutes, the streets becoming entrenched in total chaos. Team CFVY and the Saturdays had taken it upon themselves to confront the mutant threat while Alpha Squad attempted to subdue Bashmouth and Frankenstrike with Six and Tetrax. …Needless to say, one group was having far more success than the other. "GAAAHH!" one member of Alpha Squad screamed as they were sent careening into a building, taking a direct hit from Victor's cannon.

"Such feeble-minded whelps." The Transylian professed, unaffected by the Plumbers' laserfire. "Can you not see that your struggle is in vain—GAH!" But he was quickly cut off when Tetrax came in and rammed his crystal blade through his abdomen, taking Viktor off guard and immobilizing him.

"I'll believe that when I see it." The Petrosapien raised his blaster directly at Viktor's head. "Now, eat thi—AGH!" But in turn, Bashmouth came in and sucker-punched Tetrax from his blind spot, the Metallikanine going so far as to beat him into the pavement.

"Tetrax!" Six brought his swords together, sending a magnetic wave toward Bashmouth to try and get him off.

…Unfortunately, it didn't have its desired effect. "Hehe…hehehe…HAHAHAA!" Bashmouth began… laughing. Not in a maniacal way either; it was a genuine laugh. "HAHAHA! Stop—STOP IT! Th-That tickles!" The dog-like alien forced a grimace to his face as he lunged at Six, the agent leaping away and stopping his magnetic attack. "Oh, that damn made me MAD, boy!"

"Good, that was the point…" Six gave a faint smile. "Now say goodbye."

Bashmouth was understandably perplexed… that is, until his ears perked up at the sound of whirring machine parks coming from behind. He spun around, and directly at the tip of his nose was a massive double-barreled cannon that emerged from under the pavement. "…Oh, sonovabi—" *BWAAAM* "AAAAUUUGGGHH!" And just like that, Bashmouth was launched halfway across town, and once he was out of sight, the cannon began shooting down airborne Grimm instead.

Tora Flame and the rest of the Mutanimals immediately took notice, too. "NO! Boss!" The tiger mutant growled and ignited his claws, ready to tear into the woman in front of him. "Oh, you and everyone else are in for it now, bro!"

Using her sword to block his strikes, Drew snapped back; "Stop saying "bro"! You sound like a macho try-hard!" Glancing over her shoulder, she could see her family holding their own, though it was obvious they were on the backfoot. Doc was grappling with Silver Smack, but even with the Power Glove boosting his strength, the gorilla mutant's Gravity Dust abilities were giving him an even greater edge. Doyle and Lightning Buzz were in the middle of a dog fight in the sky, though the latter had better maneuverability.

And thankfully, her son wasn't alone against Polar Claw. Zak was playing on the fact that he was smaller than the bear mutant, in fact, jumping around him and avoiding his ice breath with his quick reflexes. This allowed Fisk and Smokey to provide their own heavy damage while Kenny laid on supporting fire, proving to be a nuisance for the white-furred beast. "GRAH! Would you bros just HOLD STILL?!"

"Not a chance, snowball!" Zak denied, using the Claw to swing up behind his opponent and deliver a hard kick to the head. And as if on cue, Kenny shot Polar Claw right in the shoulder, causing him to stumble back. "Dude, nice shot! …Where'd you get that gun, anyway?"

"Borrowed it from my Uncle Carl." Kenny explained.

Zak's eyebrows rose slightly, now realizing that the rifle was very familiar. "Wait… is that the SAME one that he keeps over his fireplace?"

"Yep, and it's only used in emergencies." Kenny spun around and shot a stray Grimm that was coming toward them. "I'd say this qualifies…" He trailed off as he saw even more of the beasts barreling their way, knowing that no amount of blasts would be enough to take them down. "Uh… maybe we should find backup."

The younger boy winced at that. "I'd agree, but I think everyone fighting here is who we're stuck with until Ruby and the others get back."

Just as the Grimm were about to close in, a mana forcefield appeared between them and the boys, leading them to look up and see Hope floating before them. "Well then, it's a good thing we're not entirely outmatched! Spherus Eratico!" With her spell cast, Charmcaster reformed her mana shield into a large sphere, which scooped up a large number of Grimm in the process before shrinking down, crushing them all into black mist in an instant.

"Haha! Nice!" Zak gave her a thumbs up… only for the ground to erupt from under him, Kenny and Fiskerton. "WOAH! What the—ACK!"

"Don't celebrate just yet!" Lunge said as she, Stripes and Crunch caught the boys in their grasps. "We still haven't EATEN anything today!"

Crunch wore a gnarled grin, the goblin shark mutant literally chomping at the bit to take a bite. "Mmmhmhm… and you boys will make a tasty treat!"

"Grr… and YOU'RE gonna pay for what you did to my boyfriend!" Stripes snapped at Kenny.

The redhead blinked confusedly, only for his eyes to widen the next second. "W-Wait, you're DATING the polar bear?!"

"Yeah, got a problem with that?!"

Zak vehemently shook his head. "Y-You don't wanna eat us! I've got nothing on me! Skin and bones!" He pointed over to Fiskerton. "A-And I bet Fisk's tough to chew on! You have any idea what that much hair will do to a guy?"

"Raeh!" Fisk said indignantly.

"Dude, I'm trying to save our butts here!"

Neither of the Street Sharks seemed to care, though. "Too late! Down the hatch!" Lunge and Crunch opened their mouths… only for Tora Flame, Lightning Buzz and Silver Smack to get tossed into them, courtesy of the Saturday Family.

"Get your fins off of my sons!" Doc spat.

Doyle aimed his wrist-mounted blaster at the six mutants, peppering them with many energy bolts while descending to stand between them and Kenny. "Kid, you really shouldn't be in the thick of things." the repo man advised. "You should get back into the base until things are clear here, understand?"

Kenny, though, wasn't hearing any of it. "W-Wait, please, I… I can't explain it, but I've got a weird feeling that I—"

"Kid, if you're about to make this about yourself, don't waste your breath and just—"

*WHA-POOM*

All of a sudden, the conflict was paused as a sudden tremor erupted across the street, and it wasn't long until the source of it became VERY apparent. "LOOK!" Velvet pointed over across the buildings, where they could clearly see a massive pillar erupting from the middle of town. None of them could tell where exactly it was, but they did know that it was a VERY familiar pillar. "Is that… the Monkey King's staff?!" Velvet's question was answered immediately as the pillar disappeared just a moment later.

"HAHA! YES!" Fox thrust a finger toward Crunch, who he had been fighting. "In your ugly FACES! Our odds have increased AGAIN!"

"Ya think so?" Crunch smirked maliciously. "Well, you'll probably be singin' a different tune one the Monkey King actually GETS 'ere. Hehe…"

Coco, who was currently pushing against Exo-Skull with all her might, heard the shark mutant's declaration and became concerned. "Say WHAT now?!" She glowered at the rhino man. "What does she mean?! What's going on?!"

*CRA-CHOOM*

All at once, the sound barrier was broken and everyone was forced to cover their ears… and in the process, Skull knocked Coco down to the ground. "Haha… you'll find out soon enough." Their attention was brought skyward as the Monkey King seemed to be struggling… against his dark reflection. The Plumbers and their allies were stunned to see a second monkey, this one with black fur, keeping pace with Wu Kong in their air, their staffs cracking against one another with successive strikes.

"W-What the—AGH!" Yatsu was taken off guard as Thunderhog rammed into him, shocking him with his gauntlets.

With a squealing laugh, the boar mutant proclaimed their victory. "Ree-ree-ree! Yeah, ya see THAT? We've got our OWN Monkey Man now! And he's got SIX EARS! That makes him at least SIX times as cool!"

Hearing that, Hope gasped in astonishment. "Th-The Six-Eared Macaque?! How?! He's supposed to be dead!"

"We can worry about that later!" Six asserted. "Right now, we have to—"

"WAAAAAAAHHH!" *CRASH* All of a sudden, something fell smackdab in the middle of the battlefield, once again drawing everyone's attention. Once the dust settled, they were met with another baffling sight. Jetray fighting against Ultimate Spidermonkey. And the latter was on top. Though it didn't stay that way as the Aerophibian was enveloped in a flash of green light, transforming into… "ARMODRILLO!" With one swing of his arm, the Talpaedan knocked the evolved Arachnichimp back, allowing him to jump right to his feet. "Hey guys! Can't talk! Gotta go!" With that hurried explanation, Armodrillo tackled the six-armed gorilla into the pavement, digging underground in the process.

…And leaving everyone even MORE baffled. "Okay, would someone mind tellin' me WHAT'S GOIN' ON AROUND 'ERE?!" Bobo cried out.

"I honestly couldn't tell ya." Qrow admitted… right as the surface began to glow with ethereal pink energy. "And I think we're about to be in for even MORE surprises."

Sure enough, the energy erupted into a blinding flash of pink light, and once it died down, the Omni-Hunters were right there in the middle of everything. The Plumbers, Team CFVY, the Saturdays and the Ministry were all left gob smacked by their arrival, especially since there were members present that really shouldn't have been. "Hah… phew, getting better at that every day." Gwen stated proudly… only to then notice where they were. "…Oh. Guess we're a bit late to the party."

"GWEN?!" Charmcaster hollered.

"Chief!" Bobo waved Rex down. "Haha, what the hell're you doin' back 'ere?"

The young EVO gave a chuckle as he waved back. "Ah, hehe, yeah about that… see, Raven kinda called us in when the others caught Albedo trying to get away with some stuff."

Upon hearing that name, Tetrax's eyes widened. "Albedo? The Galvan whose taken Ben's appearance? Then that was HIM that we just saw get driven into the ground."

Kevin grinned as he reached down and absorbed the pavement. "Good, then that means Ben's back on top of things, just like we oughta be doin' right now!" Reaching into his pocket, the Osmosian took out a crystal of Gravity Dust, absorbing it into his arms as he focused directly on Viktor. "So c'mon! LET'S teach these guys a lesson!"

"I'm all for that!" Jaune concurred, unsheathing his sword as Pyrrha, Nora and Ren brought out their own weapons. "Team JNPR, let's give 'em a hand against these mutants!"

"Oh-ho, NOW we're talkin'!" Coco stood back up and swung Gianduja right into Exo-Skull's head while he wasn't looking. Before anyone knew it, Yatsu, Fox and Velvet had all done the same, getting their bearings as they grouped up with Team JNPR against Hog, Skull and the Street Sharks. "C'mon people, this is our second wind! LET'S TAKE 'EM DOWN!"

As those two teams grouped up, Sun, Neptune, Ilia, Penny and Vados rushed over to the Saturdays to lend their assistance as well, though the five of them were stunned to be met with the Mutanimals when they arrived. "Woah! So THESE dudes must've been who Gwen was talkin' about." Sun deduced.

"So these are the "Mutanimials", huh?" Ilia furrowed her brow, noting the colorful crystals that coated the mutants in various places on their body. "Are they… wearing Dust armor?"

"Huhuh, you're damn right, bro!" Tora Flame confirmed with a crack of the neck. "An' we're just gettin' started ourselves, so you'd better—"

But Neptune stopped him from speaking. "Woah, woah, hold up… "bro"? Fistrick, is that you?" He and the rest of the squad whipped their heads around to Polar Claw, Lightning Buzz and Silver Smack, clearly left dumbfounded. "For the love of—Animo hooked YOU idiots up with Gene Slammers, too?!"

"You betcha!" Lightning Buzz's antenna began crackling with energy. "So you'd better be ready, bro, or else you won't like what's comin' to ya!"

"I already don't like it." Penny shook her head, with Vados mimicking her movement in kind. Bringing out ten of her Floating Array, she shifted the weapons into gun mode and aimed them at the Mutanimals. "Please leave now, we never want to see you again!" And just like that, Penny unleashed a volley of laserfire onto the group, only for Silver Smack to absorb the brunt of the attack.

The gorilla mutant brought his hands above his head, his Gravity Dust gauntlets glowing with power. "Fat chance, girly! This time, we're—" *CLANG* Much to his astonishment, Vados actually caught his fists with minimal effort, the robot girl staring at him with intense, shining optics.

"I believe my sister said you were just leaving now." The energy core in Vados' chest began to glow brightly before a concentrated beam came out and blasted the mutant quartet halfway down the street, which left the entire group reeling.

"Woah… man, what did Cooper put into you?" Sun asked.

Vados cheerily smiled. "Several things! Would you like me to list them in numerical or alphabetical order?"

Resting a hand on her sister's shoulder, Penny brought that to a stop before it could even happen. "Maybe later, Vados. Right now, we have more important things to do." However, that's when the redhead noticed the absence of a few team members. "Wait… did anyone see where Winter and Gwen went?"

Doc cleared his throat, garnering their attention. "Ahem, uh… I think you'll find them over there." He pointed across the way and sure enough, there Gwen and Winter were… and they had found Kenny. And from the looks of things, they were NOT too happy with him. None of them could hear what was being said, but just from the visual of the two ladies lashing out, they could just tell it wasn't going well for the guy.

"Oof, tough break." Doyle muttered.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't expect anything less." Drew nodded. "He might've been a little help out here, but that young man is woefully unprepared for—"

"Mom! Watch your back!" Zak exclaimed, pushing his mother out of the way and raising his Claw up to counter another massive claw, one that belonged to a returning Metallikanine.

Bashmouth grimaced at the group with narrowed eyes. "Hahaha! Ya'll thought you could get rid o' me THAT easily?! Not a chance!" He pushed Zak away and let out another deafening roar, once again making them cover their ears. "Now, yer gonna pay fer takin' out my boys. They maybe idiots, but they're at least USEFUL idiots!"

Down the street, Tora Flame perked his head up with a wonky grin. "D'aw, boss! Ya do care!" Bashmouth responded by throwing a piece of street rubble at his head.

"Shut it, dumbass!" the Metallikanine slammed his fist into his open paw, approaching his opponents. "Now… who should I mangle first?" He pointed a claw at Vados. "Ooh, how 'bout you? I saw ya knockin' my boys fer a loop, but I'm damn sure ya won't be able to do the same to me!" He pounded his chest in challenge. "C'mon, hit me with yer best shot!"

Vados tilted her head, perplexed by his request. "That is… an unusual demand, but very well. Thankfully, Cooper provided me the means to deal with ruffians like yourself!" She reached behind her back, pulling out the Gorilla and Diamond Fullbottles. "I'd say this will suffice in defeating you." She tossed the bottles into the air and raised her elbows, opening the slots for them to drop in. "Gorilla! Diamond! Best Match!" Vados' green optics changed to a dark blue as her nanomachine body began reshaping itself. When the transformation was complete, everyone was left slack-jawed seeing a massive, navy blue, robot gorilla in her place, one that was… very angular, almost as if every edge had a perfect diamond cut to it. "The Shining Destroyer! Gorillamond!" Vados beat her chest and let out a roar before leaping right at Bashmouth, bringing both fists down onto him.

"Hey!" Silver Smack shook his fist. "That's MY thing!"

Bashmouth had to cross his arms over his head to block her attack, which was enough to send a ripple affect across the ground. "Hah… not bad, girlie! But I doubt yer as tough as ya look!" He opened his mouth and bit his metal teeth into her arm. And sure enough, they pierced into her. "Haha! Ya see? Not a—W-WHAT THE?!" But something unexpected happened. Rather than tearing the metal to shreds, it instead reformed the moment Bashmouth removed his jaws, leaving him stunned. "The hell is this?!"

The robot gorilla grinned knowingly. "Nanomachines, dog!" She tossed Bashmouth into the air and, as he came back down, pulled her arm back for a punch. "Do NOT cavort with THIS robot!" *BAM* With a single blow, Vados sent him through an entire building on the other side of the street, leaving the onlookers stunned.

"…Remind me to never pick a fight with her." Zak muttered, with Fiskerton agreeing in gibberish.

Even so, that wasn't enough to put Bashmouth down for long as he burst out from the nearest window just a few seconds later. "Hah… hah… alright, I'll admit, my bad fer underestimatin' ya. It won't happen again."

Narrowing her optics, Vados was prepared for anything. "Bring it on, then!"

…..

As that was happening, a certain redhead was trying to get himself out of trouble… and failing miserably. The moment his sister and his girlfriend showed up from out of nowhere, he had tried to make himself scarce, but of course, Winter had a keen eye and spotted him immediately. It didn't take long for her and Gwen to corner him, and now he had to explain himself while trying NOT to incur their wrath. "O-Okay, I know this looks bad…" Kenny started, only for Gwen to cut him off.

"Bad? BAD?! More like "incredibly irresponsible"!"

"…I must agree." Winter stated bluntly. "Kenneth Tennyson, I am surprised at you. What did I say to you before I left?"

Kenny brought his hands together, lowering his head and begging for forgiveness. "I-I know, Winter, and I truly AM sorry, but… I-I just had a feeling that something bad was going to happen and—"

"You went off a GUT FEELING?!" Gwen shouted, her hands flying up to her face. "Kenny, do you know how reckless that is?! You could've gotten yourself killed!" She thrust a finger to the gun that he was carrying. "And how in the world did you get that? There's no way Uncle Carl would just LET you borrow it." She saw her brother wince, and her brow furrowed even further. "…He doesn't know you have it, does he?"

"Well, not him. B-But Aunt Sandra does! I asked her if I could borrow it and she said yes!"

The two women deadpanned at that. "Kenny, was Aunt Sandra actually paying attention when you asked that?"

"I mean, I'm pretty sure she was. She was doing yoga in the living room when I asked." His expression hardened a bit as he added; "Plus, mom let me come here."

Hearing that only made Winter even more baffled. "What? Natalie let you come?" She received a single nod from her boyfriend. "Why would she—gah, that doesn't matter! What does matter is YOUR wellbeing!" She strode forward and prodded his chest hard to get her point across. "You aren't in any armor, you have no powers to speak of, and as good as you are at hand-to-hand combat, you know DAMN well that it won't work against these villains!"

Kenny recoiled at the force behind her voice, especially when he heard the rare swear from her. "W-Winter, I… I just…" His grip on the plasma rifle went slack and he dropped it at his side, lowering his head in dejection. "I just feel so USELESS! I see you do so many amazing things with everybody and… I want to be part of that! I want to help you guys!"

But Winter once again shook her head. "I understand what you want, Kenny, but it doesn't happen like that. You need more training if you want to be on the battlefield. It's a dangerous place to be for someone who doesn't have powers and—"

"Look out below!"

*CRASH*

Gwen, Winter and Kenny gasped as two bodies came smashing down from the sky, making impact only five feet away. And, upon the dust settling, they saw that it was none other than Build and Night Rogue, still in the midst of their own struggle. Though at the moment, the latter had the upper hand as he stood over Build with his foot planted firmly on his chest. "Hah… hah… no where to run now!" Yuma belted out as he split his Steam Blade in half and attached the pieces to the Transteam Gun. Rifle Mode! Holding the now larger weapon with two hands, he took aim at Cooper, ready to end things there and then. "THIS is what I was MADE for! Say fare well, Kamen Rider Bui—" *BAM* "AUGH!"

The ladies whipped around after seeing the bat villain get blasted off of Cooper, the source immediately becoming apparent. "KENNY!" they echoed.

Sure enough, Kenny had quickly picked the rifle back up, but quickly dropped it again when they glared at him. "Sorry, sorry!"

"Hah… no, don't apologize!" Cooper asserted, standing to his feet. "Thanks for the assist, Ken. And nice aim, too."

"Cooper, don't encourage him, he's in trouble!" Gwen chastised.

"Well, guess what? We're ALL in trouble if we don't do something to stop all this." Her friend's snappy counter took Gwen aback, especially when his tone took a grave turn. "Besides… if what Night Rogue said is true, then the Ministry still have a hand to play. One that I think requires…" Cooper reached his hand up, allowing the Cross-Z Dragon to come flying in and land so that he could take the Dragon Fullbottle out of its back slot. "…some drastic measures."

Kenny grew wide-eyed as Build took the Lock Fullbottle off of his hip, knowing instantly what he meant. "What?! Coop, don't do it! You KNOW what'll happen if you do! The Build Driver can't take the dragon bottle's power WITHOUT the Cross-Z Dragon!"

"Maybe not… but it's a risk I have to take."

All of a sudden, Night Rogue erupted into hysterical laughter, clearly eager to get things started. "AHAHAHA! Good, GOOD! This is exactly what I was hoping for! An all-out contest to see who's stronger! Come at me, NOW!"

As Yuma spread his wings and flew in, Cooper obliged to his wishes, removing the Hawk and Gatling bottles from the Driver. "I intend to."

Dragon! Lock!

Best Match!

Are you Ready?!

After furiously cranking the Driver, Cooper took a deep breath, bracing himself for what was about to happen. "…Build Up." Just like that, he allowed the two halves of his suit to collapse over him, and all at once, a powerful surge of energy began coursing through his body. The Lock half of the suit was the same as it ever was, arm-mounted key weapon and all. But now, it was paired with a navy-blue half that had some rather draconic details. The left side of the helmet had a glowing blue eye piece that was shaped like the side profile of a dragon's head, with its horns serving as the antenna. Meanwhile, the right forearm was covered in white spikes, with the shoulder pad having one as well. The left leg wasn't anything special, though it DID have a white ankle piece just above the boot, making it stand out even more. With this transformation, the Driver played a rather epic, fantasy-esque tune as it announced;

Fuuin no Fantasy Star!

KEYDRAGON!

Yeah!

"I probably only have a few minutes in this form." Cooper calculated mentally, raising his left arm and clenching his fist. "Better make it count! RRAH!" Going into a full sprint, he rushed to clash against Night Rogue, whose shots were deflected by the large key on his forearm. Pumping his arm forward, Build then sent the chains hanging off his shoulder out to wrap around Yuma's weapon, yanking it straight out of his hands.

"AGH! Why you—GRAH!" Swinging his fist, Night Rogue caught Build in the chest as the distance closed between them, their faces only five inches apart. "Hah… if you believe a KEY is going to be enough to beat me, you have another thing—" *WHAM* "…AH…A-Ahhh-ahh…" All at once, the wind was knocked out of Yuma with a single right hook to the stomach, Cooper's hand pulsating with dragon energy.

Build shoved Night Rogue back and started cranking the Driver again. "Time to wrap this up… for GOOD!" Once he was done, he thrust his left arm out again, with the chains launching off his shoulder to wrap Yuma up tight so he couldn't go anywhere. The fingers on his right hand formed into a claw, and with it, a burning blue flame appeared in his palm.

Ready—GO!

Vortex Finish! YEAH!

With an exerted yell, Build shot out a powerful stream of fire upon Night Rogue, resulting in a brilliant explosion that launched the bat villain back several feet. He collided with a stop sign, a crossing signal, and finally street lamp before finally falling to the pavement in a twitching heap. Needless to say, Winter, Gwen and Ken were both impressed and a bit intimidated. "Well… not what I was expecting, but at least that takes care of one of them." Winter concluded.

Cooper, meanwhile, was catching his breath while trying to warn the three. "Hah… hah… we… aren't finished yet." He stood up tall with a commanding stance. "We've still gotta find Blood—GYAAAAH!" All of a sudden, the Build Driver began to spark and overflow with energy, the Dragon Fullbottle glowing intensely. The surge began spreading all across his body, forcing him to bend at the knees.

"Oh crap, Cooper!" Kenny cried out. "I knew it! I knew this would happen!"

"Cooper, hold still!" Gwen's hands began glowing, reaching her mana out try and remove the Driver. "I'm going to get that belt off of you—AH!"

Just then, from out of nowhere, a long, whip-like tendril with a stinger at its tip shot out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the writhing Rider, trapping him as if it were a snare. "Oh no, please…" The three whipped their heads around and all audibly gasped as a certain red-suited villain entered the scene, the blue cobras on his costume distinctly popping out at them. "…Allow me." he insisted as he pulled Build closer to him with his wrist-mounted tendril.

On the ground, Cooper was utterly horrified. He didn't want to believe it, but there he was, right before his eyes. "…B-B…Blood Stalk."

"Ah, so you're the one known as "Build"." Blood Stalk chortled in amusement as he lifted Cooper off the ground with little effort. "I must say, I'm fairly new to this whole "supervillain" thing, but…" He summoned his own Steam Blade and turned the valve on it twice.

Elek Steam!

With a pull of a trigger and a single swing, Blood Stalk caused the Driver to overload and break the transformation, reverting Cooper back to normal. The Driver itself fell to the ground, along with the Dragon and Lock Fullbottles while Cooper was discarded completely. "Hehe… I think I'm going to enjoy it like this." Blood Stalk concluded before calling over to Yuma. "Hey, you! You're my partner, correct?"

The chains around Night Rogue had dissipated the moment Cooper's transformation broke, allowing him to shakily stand once more. "Ugh… I suppose." Strolling over, Yuma's eyes narrowed beneath his mask. "Though I won't pretend to like it, just so you know."

"Oh, you don't have to." Blood Stalk assured with a tiny, pitiful wave. "Just so long as we both get what we want, we should make it work.

"Fair enough. And besides…" Night Rogue knelt down and picked the Driver up, admiring it for a moment. "With this in our hands, we'll be upgraded to the max and become UNSTOPPABLE!" Spotting Cooper out the corner of his eye, he delivered a hard punch straight to his face, knocking the blonde out. "And you will be a thing of the past."

Blood Stalk pointed affirmably to him. "Now you're speaking my language! But of course, we can't forget about these little trinkets…" He went to grab the bottles as well… but they were quickly taken away by a mana tether. "Ah! What?!"

"You two aren't getting away with anything!" Gwen assured, bringing the Fullbottles to her hand. "Now hand over the Driver and we won't have to—erk!" Just then, a wave of immense power washed over the Anodite from out of nowhere, her hand practically pulsating as she was forced to drop the Fullbottles. She was reasonably shocked and confused… that is, until she spotted the Dragon bottle glowing. 'What? How is it… wait, don't tell me…'

Kenny knelt down and scooped the bottles up himself, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Gwen, are you okay? What happened?"

Having seen it herself, Winter was just as intrigued. "I think… that Dragon bottle reacted when Gwen touched it for some reason." She shook her head in confusion. "But that shouldn't be possible. Dust doesn't usually react that strongly upon physical contact unless someone uses their Semblance."

"I don't think it was necessarily the Dust, Winter." Gwen explained, regaining her wits about her. "Instead, I think it might've been what was mixed in with the Dust to make that certain bottle." Her sights went back to the Fullbottle in question. "Dragon energy is known for being raw and primordial in power. So for an energy being like myself… it can be overwhelming." She locked her eyes with her brother's. "Kenny, can I trust you to hold on to that for now? And get to a safe distance?"

"S-Sure… I can do that." Kenny nodded. "Good luck getting that Driver back. If they take that back to the Ministry, who knows WHAT they could do."

Bringing out her swords, Winter prepared herself for battle. "Don't worry, we will retrieve it. No go… and we'll talk about all of this later." The young man winced, knowing that he wasn't out of the woods yet, as he ran off to a safe distance.

"Hey, hey! You're not leaving yet, kid!" Yuma called out, aiming his Transteam Gun at the retreating redhead.

Steam Shot! BAT!

From the rifle, a powerful energy blast in the shape of a bat shot out and flew straight at Kenny, only to be intercepted by another of Gwen's mana shields. The young mage then reshaped the forcefield into a massive spike and drove it straight through the blast, dispersing the energy in one big burst. "You won't be getting to my brother." Gwen stood firm at Winter's side, the latter summoning her Beowolf Grimm in front of her. "Not before you get through us."

If anything, Blood Stalk was amused by the idea. "Ahahaha! So a challenge, is it? Very well, I like being challenged!" Taking up his Steam Blade in one hand and Transteam Gun in the other, the cobra villain made a "come at us" gesture with the former. "Let's do it, then!" On that note, both sides charged straight for one another, with Blood Stalk immediately getting tackled by the Beowolf while Night Rogue and Gwen engaged in ranged combat.

"Your insolence will cost you!" the bat villain vowed. "This is where the Omni-Hunters will finally fall, and you won't be able to—" *POW* "AUCH!"

"Will you SHUT UP already?" Gwen snapped after reflecting one of his shots back at him, hitting Yuma square in the chest.

Meanwhile, Blood Stalk was… laughing. Despite being pinned by Winter's summoned Beowolf, he was laughing up a storm. "AHAHAHA! Excellent! So THIS is the famous Schnee Family Semblance I've heard so much about!" At his sides, he launched out his whip-like stinger tendrils and wrapped them around the Beowolf, throwing it off of him before turning the valve on his Steam Blade.

Ice Steam!

Just as the Grimm pounced at him, Blood Stalk thrust the sword out and stabbed it in the chest, freezing the beast over in an instant. He then raised his Transteam Gun up to its head and pulled the trigger.

Steam Break! Cobra!

With one blast, he blew the Beowolf's head off, leaving the rest of its body to crumple to dust. But right as it did, Winter leapt through the icy mist, taking Blood Stalk by surprise. "Hehehe… amazing!" he praised as they began clashing blades. "Your power would be PERFECT for what we have in store!"

"Who's "we"?" Winter questioned. "You mean Salem?"

"Ah, oops!" Blood Stalk tapped a finger to where his mouth would be. "I almost tipped my hand too far there. You'll find out what I mean eventually, though. For now… I think I'll be taking my victory, please."

The military specialist was about to ask further… but then she heard Kenny scream. "WINTER! BEHIND YOU!" Winter went to crane her head around and—

*SCRCH*

"Ach…! Ah…a-ach…" One of Blood Stalk's tendrils had sneakily curled behind Winter, its stinger stabbing straight through her aura and into her arm. Blood Stalk pulled the tendril back, and through the hole in Winter's jacket, she could see her arm begin to turn a grizzly black color as venom began to spread through her veins. All at once, she began to feel weak, her mind clouded in a thick haze as her vision became distorted. "Y…Y-You—AH!" With a simple shove, Blood Stalk pushed her to the ground, placing his foot firmly against her shoulder as he gripped his Steam Blade tightly.

"WINTER!" Kenny leapt out of his hiding place, but took no further steps as Blood Stalk brought his blade dangerously close to her face.

The cobra villain wagged a finger at him. "Ah-ah, I wouldn't try playing the hero, boy. Now… give me those bottles, and you can have your beloved back. Simple trade!"

Kenny was completely horrorstruck, his mind racing trying to figure out what to do. He couldn't just hand the bottles over to Blood Stalk. He'd never forgive himself for that… but he also wouldn't forgive himself if Winter got hurt because of him. If he defied the cobra villain, then that's exactly what would happen… but if he gave up the bottles, there was a chance she'd be okay. 'Think, dammit, think, THINK! What would Ben do?!' His hand began trembling with fear, unaware that he was shaking the Dragon Fullbottle in the process. He couldn't see it… but there was a faint glow emanating from it as well.

"D-D…Don't…" Kenny's eyes darted down to Winter, struggling to speak as her features grew ever paler by the second. He could practically see the black venom spreading up her neck, overtaking her like a deadly grip. "Don't… let him… Run… Kenny—urk!"

But then, Blood Stalk moved his foot up even further on her chest, intent on suffocating her for speaking. "Ah-ah, don't try and talk him out of this. He'll be a good boy and TRADE those bottles for your life… won't you?"

…It was right there, in that moment… a switch was flipped in Kenny's brain. No longer was he completely scared stiff. Instead, that fear transformed into pure, fiery anger. His girlfriend was on the brink of death, the enemy had him in a corner, and Blood Stalk's condescending tone was just grating on his ears. Worst of all, there was nothing he could do about it. His grip on the bottles tightened and his hands shook even harder, causing the glow to become even more intense… and by that point, there were little sparks of energy flying off his hands. Though still, he didn't notice, even as the energy began to take shape around his arm. "You… you…" His eyes began to flash and then… something clicked.

"Well? Come on, I don't have all day—" *CRACK* "ACH! What the—"

"GRAAAHH-DA-DA-DANGYAAAAH!"

From out of nowhere, the Cross-Z Dragon came flying in and rammed itself hard into Blood Stalk's head, causing him to stumble back off of Winter. "Agh! Why you little pest!" He began swinging at the mechanical dragon, intent on smashing it to pieces. "Hold still! When I'm done with you, you'll be—"

"RRRAAAAUUUUGGHH!"

"H-Huh—AAAGGH!"

*KRA-CHAM*

Across the way, Gwen gasped and whipped around, sensing something… strange, yet familiar. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was incredibly powerful, so it caught her attention rather quickly. It didn't take her long to see what it was, either… and it left her completely slack-jawed. There, about twenty or so feet away, she witnessed her brother delivering an uppercut to Blood Stalk's jaw, sending him straight off the ground. But that wasn't the shocking part. The shocking part was that his entire arm was enveloped in surging blue energy… that took the shape of a draconic claw. His eyes were also glazed over in a florescent blue glow… much like how her eyes would do when she channeled her Anodite powers. "That's… mana." she whispered, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

"What the hell?!" Yuma exclaimed, redirecting his aim toward Kenny. "I don't know what's going on, but you're NOT supposed to—"

"GET AWAAAAAAYY!" Kenny roared, slashing the claw forward to let loose a wave of energy toward Night Rogue, which sent him barreling backward. "LEAVE WINTER ALONE!"

…..

At that point, the entire battlefield had finally taken notice of what was going on, especially as the wave of energy managed to take out the remaining Grimm stragglers after Rex had disposed of the majority. Jaune and Coco were particularly taken aback, and not just by what Kenny had just done. The former had caught sight of Winter lying flat on the ground, while the latter saw her boyfriend unconscious nearby. "AH! Tech Head!" Coco started a mad sprint toward the action and was nearly cut off when Thrasher made to get in her way… but thankfully, Nora and Ren put a stop to that.

"GO!" the Pink Dynamo hollered. "They need your help!"

"We can take care of the rest!" Ren assured, locking eyes with Jaune. "Just make sure they're okay!"

Jaune furrowed his brow, hearing Kadoya's advise in his head; 'Find what you are good at and then keep at it until you're a master at it.' Seeing Winter and Cooper on the ground in that moment, Jaune knew exactly what to do; '…I'm the White Mage. And nobody screws with the White Mage.' He gave a curt nod to Ren and dashed off after Coco, with Pyrrha picking up the rear to lay on covering fire and keep the Street Sharks at bay.

"Tech Head!" Sliding to a halt, Coco knelt down next to Cooper, gently picking his head up off the ground. "Cooper! Cooper, come on, can you hear me?! COOPER!"

"Hmph… mm… five more minutes…"

An exasperated sigh escaped Coco's throat in relief, taking his words as her cue to jostle him awake. "Hah, you big goof, get up! That asshole has your driver."

"H-Huh? WHA—UGH!" Cooper shot straight up, but immediately regretted it as the effects of using the Dragon FullBottle made themselves known. "Oh god, agh! W-What's going on?"

Coco let out a chuckle and pointed over to Kenny, who was currently being calmed down by Gwen. "Well… that."

Cooper blinked in astonishment, watching as Kenny slowly returned to his senses. The light in his eyes faded and the draconic energy claw dissipated… which was when he saw the Dragon Fullbottle in Kenny's hand. "…Heh, should've guessed." Cooper smirked.

"W-W…What happened?" Kenny uttered, clearly still in a daze. Gwen was about to reply, but he cut her off when he remembered; "AH! Oh god, Winter!"

Jaune and Pyrrha had already rushed right to Winter's side, with Kenny and Gwen joining them in an instant. The blonde knight wasted little time and started using his Semblance, pouring every ounce of Aura into Winter that he could. But while color returned to her face, there was still a problem. "Th-The poison isn't receding!" he exclaimed. "I-I don't understand how!"

"The venom must be targeting her aura directly." Pyrrha deduced. "We'd need to drain it manually, but—"

"Da-da-dangyaaah!" To everyone's surprise, the Cross-Z Dragon came flying back around and landed in front of the injection wound in Winter's arm, biting down on it with gentle force. Then, all at once, it actually sucked the venom out of Winter all at once, the black trails across her skin receding with it. Then, it spat the poison straight out on the sidewalk, much to the group's amazement.

"…Well, that's one way to solve that problem." Pyrrha concluded.

Everyone's attention returned to Winter as her face began to twitch, her eyelids opening weakly. She could only see blurry shapes… but she could still tell that one of them was her boyfriend. "K…K-Kenny?"

With a shaky breath, the redhead reached out, cupping her cheek softly. "Yes… Winter, I-I'm here… and I'm sorry…" He hung his head low in shame. "I am so sorry. If I hadn't come here, maybe I would've—"

"D-Don't… it's okay…" Winter muttered, a slight smile appearing on her lips. "I… I saw… what you did. It was amazing."

"I'll say it was." Pyrrha concurred, her curious gaze landing upon Kenny. "How in the world did you even DO all that?"

Looking down at his hands, Kenny wasn't too sure what to make of it either. "I… honestly have no idea. All I remember is feeling… angry. Angry at Blood Stalk, angry at myself… and then I felt something weird." He reached over his chest, pressing his fingertips against his sternum. "It was like it came from in here, almost. I-I have no way of describing it better… uh, Gwen?" He raised a brow to his sister, who was now smiling from ear to ear and giddily hopping on the balls of her feet. "…What's going on—"

"EEEEEEEEE!" Without any warning, Gwen pulled Ken into a surprise hug, taking him off guard. "OH MY GOD, Kenny! You've found it! You found your spark!"

The young man's features scrunched in confusion. "My what now?"

Pulling back, Gwen beamed up to her brother with pride and excitement. "Your spark! It's your Anodite powers made manifest!" She reached for his hand, opening it to reveal the Dragon Fullbottle. "The combination of your strong emotional state and the dragon energy in this bottle must've triggered it! Haha! This is amazing! Wait until Grandma Verdona hears about THIS!"

Her explanation left Kenny and the others completely stunned. The elder Tennyson's gaze shifted down to the bottle in his hand, giving it a shake. Sure enough, more energy began to generate, and he could feel it coursing into his hand. It was tingly yet energizing at the same time. "My spark… so you're not mad?"

"Oh, I'm still furious about the whole "taking Uncle Carl's laser gun and charging into battle" thing." The young mage said without batting an eye, making Kenny wince. "You can be damn sure that we're talking more about THAT when we get home. But now that you've discovered your powers… I'm a bit less mad."

"Hah… I guess that's as good as I'm gonna get right now." Kenny shrugged. "But hey, I don't blame you. After all the crap I pulled, I deserve it—"

*POW* The whole group instinctively ducked at the sound of a gunshot, their attention brought back to Night Rogue and Blood Stalk. "Uh, hello? Still here!" the bat villain barked as he held up the Driver. "AND still got this!"

"A very impressive display of power, I will say, though." Blood Stalk dusted off his shoulder. "Unfortunately, it won't be enough to save you…"

Kenny's brow furrowed at the two, eyeing the Build Driver in Night Rogue's hand as an idea formed in his head. He faced to the Cross-Z Dragon as it flew up next to him. "Think you can cover me?" The mechanical beast let out a rhythmic roar as it flew off straight for the masked duo. "Gwen, I know you're probably gonna hate me for this, but—"

"Come on." The Anodite pushed her brother's shoulder, bringing her hand up to create a mana projection. "I'll help cover you, too."

"…K-Kenny…" The young man whipped his head down to Winter as he reached out, taking a hold of his hand. "…I believe in you. Show these two… who they're messing with."

Taking a deep breath, Kenny stroked the back of her hands with his thumb comfortingly. "…I'll do my damnedest to try." On that note, the siblings both stood up, ready to take on the challenge before them. "I've made a lot of mistakes today…" Shaking the Dragon Fullbottle, Kenny concentrated on that anger from before, and while the claw was smaller this time, it still appeared over his hand. "…It's time I start making up for them."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Gwen concurred. "Let's do it." With that, Kenny charged directly at their opposition, with Gwen bringing up a forcefield to block their shots.

"Whatever you're planning, it won't work—GYAH!" Once again, the masked villains found themselves being divebombed by the Cross-Z Dragon, though this time, it's main focus was Night Rogue. This distraction, combined with Gwen's shield taking most of the shots, allowed Kenny to get in close and swipe at the duo with the mana claw, grabbing the Build Driver from Yuma in the process.

This time, though, the energy claw dispersed after only one strike, which Gwen noticed. 'His high emotional state must've been what was keeping it together before. But now…' She watched as her brother placed the Build Driver over his own waist. '…I think he'll be good to go.'

Coco, though, was a bit more concerned. "Hold on there, cowboy! Coop's got a DNA security system built into that thing! Only he can use it!"

"Heh… Coco, it's okay." Cooper grinned knowingly, watching as the Cross-Z Dragon flew back into Kenny's hand. "He's got the failsafe codes right there with him."

With his green eyes meeting the dragon's, Kenny asked of it; "Please, lend me your strength."

"GYAAAADA-DA-DA-GAN!" With an affirming roar, the dragon folded its tail and neck up into its body, which stiffened up to create a chamber adapter for the Build Driver. Kenny shook the Dragon Fullbottle and twisted the cap, inserting it into the slot and pressing a little red button on the dragon's side.

WAKE UP!

Then, he shoved it directly into the Driver's dual slots.

CROSS-Z DRAGON!

As Blood Stalk and Night Rogue gathered themselves, they were just in time to witness Kenny start rapidly cranking the driver, summoning the Snap Ride Builder at his feet as a techno beat began playing from the Cross-Z Dragon. The hard light pipes appeared out of the driver's front as usual, pumping blue liquid Dust through to each end to create TWO fairly identical Dragon Half-Bodies… along with an additional piece in the middle. They weren't sure what it was for, but it resembled a long-necked dragon with its wings spread out. "…You must be joking." Night Rogue muttered.

Are you Ready?!

Glaring at his adversaries, Kenny slammed his fist into his palm, taking a battle-ready stance before giving the word. "…HENSHIN!" He quickly took a straight stance and allowed the two halves to clasp over his body, before the dragon-looking part swung in and folded over his shoulders and helmet in a wave of blue and golden light.

WAKE UP BURNING!

GET CROSS-Z DRAGON!

YEAH!

*Insert: Kamen Rider CROSS-Z BGM by Kenji Kawai*

Compared to Cooper's Build suit, Kenny's was much more symmetrical in nature. It still had the diagonal strip construction, but the base suit was entirely black and navy, with the same white spikes on the arms and shoulders as the KeyDragon form. In addition, though, Kenny's helmet had some added details, namely a white mouth plate and the golden crest on the forehead which was shaped like a two-horned dragon head. Then there was the new piece that draped over Kenny's chest plate, adding an extra layer of protection. It was mainly gold with blue trim, as well as printed flame detail on the front. There were also two small white pieces near the collar that secured the armor in place, and jutting out from the shoulders were two more white spikes on each side. Along Kenny's spine were even more white spikes that jutted upward out of his back. Even so, there were still some asymmetrical aspects, namely with additional flame details on his left gauntlet and bicep as well as his right thigh.

And best of all; no one could believe what they were seeing. "…No. Freaking. Way." Ilia muttered.

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!" Neptune exclaimed, both extremely hyped and very jealous. "It chose HIM?!"

Sun, however, was quite jazzed at the sight. "Heck yeah, it did! Beat their asses, Kenny!"

Jaune was admittedly also a bit jealous, but still happy for the new Rider nonetheless. "What he said! Go for it!"

"This… This cannot stand!" Night Rogue belted out, separating his Steam Blade from the Transteam Gun before charging toward the new Rider, intent on skewering him. "I will NOT be shown up by such a low-class wretch of a human!"

Kenny, however, was completely unmoved by the threat, instead waiting until Yuma got close enough for him to counter. With a swipe of his arm, he used the spikes on his gauntlet to redirect the sword away and then delivered a left hook straight to Yuma's gut, sending him staggering as fiery energy rippled off the impact. Kenny then reached down and started cranking his driver, generating a great amount of energy. "HAAAAAAHHHH!" From out of the Driver, an energy construct in the shape of a huge, blue serpentine dragon appeared, flying behind Kenny as he widened his stance.

Ready—GO!

Leaping into the air, Kenny swiped his leg as the dragon construct expelled a powerful attack from its maw, encasing his leg in pure energy and blasting him straight toward Night Rogue at the same time.

DRAGONIC FINISH!

A powerful roar reverberated through the area as Kenny hit Night Rogue dead on in the chest, resulting in an incredible explosion that blew Yuma right out of the transformation. The bat Faunus slammed back-first into the nearest building, his aura broken and left with many injuries across his body. Everyone, Blood Stalk included, were completely aghast as Kenny stuck the landing. "…With one attack?" the cobra villain tilted his head. "Who are you?"

With his family, friends and loved ones watching on, Kenny stood up to his full height, peering at Blood Stalk over his shoulder as he proudly declared; "My name… is Kenneth James Tennyson." He thrust his hand out and the Build Driver responded, bringing out a new weapon into his grasp. It was a long, dual-edged sword with a silver blade, the base near the cross guard colored navy blue with a hole in the middle that was meant for a Fullbottle. Along the center of the blade was also what appeared to be a volume meter of some kind, though what its purpose served, no one yet knew.

BEAT CROSSER!

As the weapon professed its name, Kenny turned fully toward Blood Stalk, finishing his own proclamation. "I am… Kamen Rider Cross-Z!"

…..

A/N: And thus, the creation of a new hero, a new Kamen Rider, has come to pass. Ken Tennyson, the Draconic Blue Warrior, Kamen Rider Cross-Z… has arrived. And yes, for those not in the know, the Z in "Cross-Z" is silent if you say it in English. If you pronounce it in Japanese, though, it's more like "Ku-ro-zu", so it's more noticeable there.

But all semantics aside, it's easy to see that Kenny's rise to becoming a Rider was… not the smoothest for him, to say the least. He made some pretty significant mistakes, biggest of which being arming himself with his uncle's Plumber rifle and charging into battle with the other heroes when he didn't have ANYTHING to protect him. Gwen and Winter definitely weren't too happy, so he's gonna have to make up for that later.

With that said, though… with Winter's life in jeopardy, his emotions running high as a result, and, ya know, holding a bottle FULL of dragon energy in Dust form, Kenny also came to discover something he thought he'd never have; his Anodite spark. So yeah, dude's able to channel mana now, and in a pretty awesome way. He'll just need some more training to really get a handle on it.

And he's also got his new Rider abilities to discover along the way, so he's got a pretty full plate right now. First thing's first, though; time to dispatch the riffraff. And in that sense, you can probably see WHY this chapter ended up being so long; because nearly every character is in on this battle. The Omni-Hunters, Albedo, the Ministry, the Plumbers, the Mutants, the mentors, Team CFVY, Wukong, Macaque, Kamen Riders Build and now Cross-Z, EVERYONE IS HERE. And it's all gonna continue…

NEXT TIME! The Battle of Bellwood soldiers as we not only get a faceoff between Cross-Z and Blood Stalk, but Cooper rejoins the fray once Caesar brings the second Driver up to him, wherein he takes on Viktor himself. But of course, our focus will be divided between them and the other duels we've got going on; Wukong vs Macaque and Ben vs Albedo. Next time; Of Dragons and Duplicates. Which Ultimate can Ben pull out to best match Albedo? Find out next time! Thanks for reading, everyone, and of courses, as always; stay safe out there!