"Where are you?"

Either James was stalling for time, or he'd somehow managed to outmaneuver the cameras. Last sighting was in the hall just beyond the study, but strangely, he immediately dipped out the window across from him. While it was a wise enough tactic to try and move around the outside of the building, that would still put him in line with the watch overlooking everything.

And therein lay the problem.

The security setup was genius, with all cameras inside covering every single window and entrance recorded in the very plans of the mansion. In order to get back into the manor, Ironwood would pop up somewhere, and with some tinkering beforehand to the camera feed, he'd set up a program to constantly scan for any humanoid shapes within their vision. If James even grazed the view of one of these lenses, Watts would know.

The tension continued to build at the back of his mind, leading Watts to question whether he'd missed a spot. No... no; that was preposterous. His planning was perfect, down to the utmost detail. Not a speck had been left unattended, and not a breeze passed through the garden bushes and trees uncategorized. He knew as such, because even now he was notified of how the temperature outside continued to drop.

However, such a change was the result of the only rogue value in this entire escapade.

V: the apple of Salem's eye, and the only individual of late to spark this sudden interest in momentum. The mistress had been content to permit Cinder her fun and games, so long as she obtained the maiden abilities and secured the relics. The late woman's failure, while not unexpected to him, had much less of an effect on the queen - if reports from Tyrian were to be trusted, which themselves were normally accurate... albeit vague and shrouded in metaphorical gibberish.

The boy's murder of Cinder was also a sight to behold, and one he'd watched from the academy's own surveillance systems. Having opted only to faintly pursue their overseeing eyes, to both save time and avoid earning any more potential suspicion. Watts got a back row seat as Salem's ancient champion not only murdered the two enhanced servants, but also eradicated the shield around the city, all in a single blow; a terrifying display indeed, although Watts felt more intrigued than frightened. The elements were ragged this time of the year, so the shields being removed allowed the harsher wind and snowfall inside, whereas before they were regulated and at points emulated by the boundary and surrounding machinery.

Hmm... Perhaps I should check in with Tyrian to see if he has any news on the-

.

.

"Not my desk?!"

James ignored the horrified cries coming from Jacques as he crashed down through the ceiling.

Just as he'd suspected, Jacques had a special escape tunnel installed on the off chance his life was put in immediate danger, and would you know it, that passageway had no plans or records tied to it. Leading around through the walls and the space between levels, it dipped out and underneath the garden, with the exit popping up within some shrubbery along the edge. While the entrance may have been in the open and the shrubs themselves would be visible to camera feed, the tunnel wound up passing alongside one of the air ducts poking through the outside wall, just under one of the windows across the hall he'd found himself in when leaving the study. That single vent sat just outside camera feed, and with how weak ventilation shafts usually were, James could see why monitoring them wouldn't be much of a priority. Prying off the vent cover was easy, and had allowed James to break through the ducts themselves and drop into the main hobble, where he made his way along.

Midway though, and when his position overtook the office as per Jacques word, James decided to smash through the ceiling above the main desk, knowing Watts wouldn't miss the chance to seat himself as the now de facto head of the manor; the official entrance to this tunnel started from the bookshelf beside the main door to the office, but that was situated too far away for James to quickly subdue his target.

"Now is not the time, father!" Winter came through after, turning her focus onto him. "Is he down?"

Bolts of electricity threw Ironwood from the pile of splintered wood and metal, and the crackling figure stood with a cough. Recovering just as fast, Ironwood found himself staring down the mad scientist, whose ruffled appearance surely irritated him on a personal level.

"Never mind."

Sighing, Watts brushed the bits and pieces from his suit before shaking his head.

"I figured you were up to something, although I can't say this entrance was all that impressive." A reserved glare built itself up, followed closely by a little sneer. "Still, I wasn't exactly expecting your opening assault to be so... rudimentary."

"Figured I would dumb it down for you." James sluggishly began to circle around to the front of the office. "Seeing as you're not quite on the same level as Pietro."

As expected, Watts appeared to lose some self control for a second; the man really couldn't handle being seen as anything less than the absolute best, so James subtly braced himself for whatever other traps Watts had in store. Although the fury was plain in his eyes, it quickly simmered down, and an eerie calm masked him, glossing his lips with an amused smile.

"You are correct: I'm nothing like Dr. Polendina." Watts leaned in, and once again James got tagged by the ripple of a hundred volts splintering across his spine. Falling to his knees, James attempted to move once the jolts stopped, only for it to start up anew the second he moved. Watts strolled over, getting a good look as James convulsed. His aura protected him from physical damage, of course, but the pain was still present.

Even so, the pain would have been fine as he had trained himself to endure tortures like this, but the electricity had his limbs paralyzed; they could repair and even prevent portions of the damage, but they could not stop the overwriting of his brain's command. And Watts, being the cheating bastard that he was, made damn sure the sparks being shot into his veins were only enough to paralyze and subdue; James may not have been able to get a direct read, but his aura still felt way above half.

The pain ceased, and he dropped once more. James landed on his stomach, with his one human arm crumpled under his chest.

"Does it hurt?" Watts kneeled down, smirking and cooing. "It surely must, what with so much of your body being mechanical. Tell me: are your prosthetics updated to the newest model?"

Holding one hand behind his back, Watts reached down with his other to poke at James's mostly exposed back and trailing the hand over to his inhuman arm; the explosives earlier in the breech having left his overcoat and portions of his suit in tatters. Watts's little prods caused most of the ruined fabric to finally crumple away into dust, as while aura protected Ironwood's body, it prioritized his natural body under the assumption the electricity was a constant immediate danger; leaving most of the once proud outfit to be subdued and burned away by the electricity. With Dust being woven specifically into the overcoat to enhance its defense, said Dust had become its undoing; most of it reacted to the electricity immediately, burning the intricate strands to nothing, leaving only the basis for a coat behind.

The true extent of his inhuman alteration now shown to the world.

"Oh, what am I saying?" Lightning began to strike again; Watts seemingly became bored of the silence. "Of course they are."

While the shocking might have stunted his body, Ironwood was not blind; Watts had the control for whatever device was electrocuting him in the hand tucked away. Getting that controller was out of the question however, as even if he could get a hold on it, all it would take was one press and he'd be back on the ground. Watts returned to the crumbled mess that once stood as Jacques' desk, stepping precariously over it as one would a puddle of mud, and took a seat on the chair shoved back against the wall. The madman always did prefer standing as he worked; always at the ready to rush to his creation if something seemed wrong.

"I'll admit, you almost had me." Breathing a relaxed sigh as he sat down, Watts crossed one leg over the other, taking on a contemplative look; the pain ended abruptly again. "But in the end, your lack of foresight had become your undoing."

"Even here..." James spat, crawling from the floor and onto his feet. "You still pull your cheap tricks."

The only way he could get a hold of the man would be to discover how he was being shocked. James regulated his breathing, and even considered risking a look around for the source himself, but decided against it. With Watts so focused on him, any outward actions would have his body being locked up again. He'd need to go about this smartly, and make use of his unique situation. Watts thought he knew everything, but he hadn't yet figured out that they weren't the only ones in on this little meeting.

"But I'll figure it out." He said, locking eyes with the madman. "It's only you, so it shouldn't be too hard."

"Bluffing again." One of his hands clenched into a full fist, and chains of lightning wrapped James up in a cocoon of temporary torment. Watts casually leaned back, letting the restraints drop, but this time Ironwood managed to stay on his feet, although his breathing was ragged. "But I suppose it isn't your fault. When cornered, animals will always get a bit rowdy. Although, in your case, you're merely biting at shadows and noise."

"Sir, there's something on your prosthetic wrist. It seems to be some sort of clamp, but it's small."

Small, as in, too small for him to tear off before Watts noticed. But just knowing where the irritating bug sat was more than enough for him; the living dead-man must have attached it while he was on the ground - or, perhaps, reattached it. Watts knew his prosthetics were new, meaning he must have also known they had an emergency detach feature as well. The concern now came down to a simple question: did he plan for that? James knew he would need to ask Winter, but it needed to do so discreetly.

"Is this all you got? James bellowed, throwing his fleshy arm to the wayside and twisting a little. He made quite the show of looking around the whole room, but not at all towards his mechanical arm. With his sight falling back on Watts, he inquired of their situation once more. "Just a single shock trick?"

"Who can say?" Watts chuckled, grinning. "But let's be honest here: it's more than enough for you."

So it's only one then. Another small fault in Watts' methods; he only ever executed a single set of backup procedures and plans, having assumed he'd already planned for everything the first time around. The scientist's arrogance would be his undoing. Once Winter got back to him, James would make sure this next move would be the final one.

"It's just the one." Winter confirmed. "I couldn't spot anything else out of place on you, and according to father the room seems to be clear. I'm assuming Watts planted it on you during your entrance, and once he fried your coat, moved in to reapply it while you were on the ground."

"You better be thankful, James!" Jacques interrupted, grumbling and complaining. "Because I expect to be fully compensated for the destruction you're enforcing upon my home!"

Ironwood ignored that last part; when they got out of this, he'd be sure to interrogate Jacques on several matters not only relating to their investigation, but also the man's business partners; Watts knew far too much about the manor for this to be his first time here, and there was still the matter of the abandoned section of the mine who's obelisk robbed V of his emotions.

But as of right now, it was about time he put an end to this.

"You know... I've been meaning to ask something of you, James." Standing, Watts approached him directly, further exemplifying the maniac's delusions of safety. "What was it exactly that stirred your attention onto the Penny Project, as opposed to my own works?"

Passing by, Watts circled around with a glint in his eye, looking almost lost in his memories, although James knew better; the man was ready for anything - just the slightest shuffle of danger and the electricity would be clawing through his skin. When Ironwood refused an answer, the mad doctor started to egg him on.

"I could have offered you an impenetrable mainframe, one which nobody - not even I - could ever hope to bypass. I could have shrouded Atlas in anonymity; we'd vanish from every corner of the global network, and be forever invisible to all but our own. You could have had the means to peek into every scroll and computer on the planet; having eyes inside every single slice of technology to ever be powered on."

In the midst of Arthur's rant, James very subtly moved his human hand over his right hip, pressing and holding onto an important panel for a very specific amount of time. A mild click in the back of his neck let him know when to release, and the robotic limb on that side shifted ever so slightly away from the body, awaiting confirmation.

"Or was there something less beneficial to be gained from Pietro's doll, something... personal?" Pressing right up into his face, Watts went off carelessly. "Could it be that, perhaps, the idea of a niece reminded you of your lost Humanity? A machine, capable of thinking like a living, breathing being. A puppet with a soul. Did it instill in you false hopes that maybe, someday, you might possibly be able to restore that long lost part of yourself? To return a true sense of touch, the feeling of skin, to the lifeless metal that paints half of your body."

Lightning quick like the electricity soon to spark, the fingers of that 'lifeless' limb Watts decided to tease wrapped itself around his throat, and as soon as it did, James clicked in on the panel on his hip once again, confirming the previous operation. Now autonomous - although that went unknown to Arthur - Ironwood heaved that side of him downwards, crushing the cretin into the floor and cracking the wood.

Watts got out a single cough, and that brief instance where his eyes closed shut and split his vision, James sent his free hand underneath the man. He pulled out the arm holding fast to the remote which taunted him, and ripped it free.

"Oh *cough* oh bravo." Despite being shoved into the floorboards, Watts still had a mouth on him. "You've seen through my little scheme. Now then, do you really believe that's all I have to- AUGHHLAUUGEAHHHH!"

The voltage so carefully controlled to ensure the suffering of the victim now danced across their manufacturer, and James merely watched as the man's body convulsed as he stood. Had Salem's goon been more focused on the arm holding him down, he would have noticed how it completely detached the second Ironwood took hold of the remote. Unfortunately, that was something the poor doctor hadn't predicted, and now, standing a short distance away, James allowed the pain to run its course.

Unlike himself, who'd been trained to deal with and fight through such suffering, Watts caved in after the first two minutes, passing out in a jittering heap, with his aura likely still above half. James sighed, crushing the remote, which via an emergency protocol - as every good scientist always employed should control be severed or lost - caused the device administering the torture to cease. Moving in close, James took to his knee, leaning down to pick up and reattach his arm, all the while offering some final words to the traitor.

"I chose Polendina because his work benefited everyone, as opposed to just us."

But Arthur Watts would never understand that, so it was probably best that he laid unconscious during the reveal. The Penny Project had been the final piece of the puzzle, and the one thing to add the necessary Human touch he'd been searching for when it came to his lifelong goal. Both the Knights and the Paladins were fine, but they were mechanical through and through; nothing more than golems without a heart or mind. This, however, made Penny all the more essential. Penny's ability to think: her mind, body, and soul were what held her up above all others.

One could not expect mercy, adaptation, or empathy from a sword, but they could from the one who wielded it.

This sentience allowed greater care to be administered to situations, far more than any of the other remote protectors he'd ever deployed. Penny may have been the first, but she didn't need to be the last. A world filled with machines like Penny herself; a new race who never needed to fear death or unnecessary pain. A world where everyone had true guardian spirits to defend and comfort them - although of man-made origin.

But in a world of such free thinking beings whose potential eclipsed many biological races, there were bound to be some who choose to despise their creators, and they may even harm them. Frightening for sure, but like the Humans and Faunus who lived and bickered in their current age, Ironwood believed that a portion of these living golems would choose love over hate. Equilibrium would reign supreme, even within the man-made race.

Such was the nature of free will.

Sending one final and pitiful look to Watts, James delivered a solid punch to his stomach, shattering the man's aura, but not waking him. Lifting and throwing the body over his shoulder, Ironwood turned and made for the door, about ready to leave.

"Hold on, sir." But Winter stopped him, and right after, a dark vortex appeared. "Come on though. Raven's been looking for a way to calm the people down, and now that Watts is taken care of, I believe it's best if you come back and handle that quickly. She can send you off to the academy afterwards."

"Sounds good." Raven never was all that good with talking down the average person, so calling for aid in that regard was a foregone conclusion - honestly though, it was probably Winter who called him, as Raven seemed far too proud to admit any faults. Seeing him in person, even if riled up, would hopefully bring peace to the peoples' minds. And right after, he'd be off to oversee the defense against Salem again.

With nothing more to gain from the manor, and with his prisoner in hand, Ironwood walked through the portal.

Author's note

…

Yeah, it's an Ironwood chapter, but at least his adventure with Watts is over. In the show they had a whole room altering battle, but I felt it might be better to make use of the scientist's supposed weasley cunning - we don't really get to see it much in the show, but I always figured he was the type to take the path of least resistance. Did Watts plan to get jumped at the start? No, but who wouldn't take advantage of an opportunity like that?

Especially when working alongside Tyrian

Anyway, next time we'll get that fabled meeting between Salem and V, as well as a few other things too.

Until next chapter.