Author's Note: Again, I want all recommendations sent to me via PM only. Please, I don't want the review section full of recommendations.
At a local liquor store, an elderly shopkeeper was watching Bixby on tv while his wife was counting money at the front counter.
"I'd buy that for a lien," Bixby said on the TV.
The store owner, a man in in his late 50s with a receding hairline, laughed hysterically at the show.
"Isn't that the same show Roman's goons were watching?" Jaune asked, pointing at the screen.
"It looks like it," Port said. "Apparently it's popular in this version of Vale."
"And there's the old man who owns that dust shop Roman tried to rob," Ruby pointed out, recognizing the man quickly.
A bearded man wearing a brown trench coat entered the store. He looked around as he grabbed a magazine as he approached the counter.
"I don't like the looks of that guy," Velvet said, munching on some carrot sticks.
"Yeah. That trench coat is a definite red flag," Coco agreed with her partner.
"Either he's hiding a gun under there or he's a flasher," Sun joked with a grin.
A few audience members chuckled from Sun's joke while others looked disgusted.
The storeowner's wife cautiously removed some lien from the counter as the man walked up and set the magazine down.
"Is there anything else, sir?" The wife asked.
"Yeah," The man replied. "Empty the register and put the money in the bag."
"Excuse me?"
The man reached under his coat and pulled out an SMG. The store owners looked terrified.
"I said, give me your money!" The robber shouted. "All of it! And don't fuck with me!"
"I knew it," Velvet said.
"Just glad he didn't expose himself," Neptune said thankfully.
"Now move!" The robber ordered, ushering the wife against the wall.
The robber moved to the storeowner.
"Open the safe pops!" The robber demanded. "Open the Oum-damn safe!"
"We don't have a safe," The storeowner replied.
The robber growled and knocked over a stack of Vale Lite beer cans. A safe was hidden underneath them.
"There's your Oum-Damn safe!" The robber shouted. "Now open the son of a bitch!"
"How did he know where the safe was?" Nora asked, eating a mini-pancake snack.
"Because nobody buys Vale Lite. It tastes like piss water," Qrow remarked, taking note of the passive insult to light beer.
"I wouldn't put it that way, but it does taste rather nasty," Ironwood reluctantly agreed with Qrow.
"Quit stalling!" The robber shouted. "You better open that son of a bitch!"
As the wife filled the bag with money from the register, she discreetly pressed the silent alarm button under the counter.
"Come on! Or I'm gonna blow her brains out!" The robber threatened as he trained his gun on the wife.
"Oh no," Ruby said, worried for the storeowners.
"Don't worry, sis. I know what's going to happen," Yang said, certain that Robocop would intervene.
The wife backed away in fear as the shop owner got to work on the safe.
"I'll open the safe."
"Good boy," The robber said. "You better open that on the count of three."
"One, two—"
Suddenly, the front doors swung open as Robocop entered the store.
The robber spun around, his eyes widening. "Fuck me…" he whispered in fear.
"Drop the gun. You are under arrest," Robocop ordered as he marched towards the robber.
"Perfect timing on his part," Ozpin commented with a sip of his coffee.
"Either that, or he must have detected the silent alarm," Penny said, having noticed the minor detail earlier.
"Now we get to see what he's made of," Pyrrha said, eager to see Robocop in action.
"Fuck me!" The panicked robber shouted repeatedly as he opened fire.
The bullets either shattered or ricocheted harmlessly off Robocops chest, striking liquor bottles and other merchandise in the store. The two storeowners ducked for cover. Robocop didn't even slow down from the barrage.
Robocop reached over and bent the robbers gun barrel like a paperclip. Terrified, the robber dropped his weapon and tried to run, but Robocop spun around and struck him, sending him flying into a glass fridge window with a crash.
"Way to go dad!" Ruby cheered.
"Well, Robocops first night out has a smashing start," Yang joked with a grin.
Everyone groaned at the blonde brawler's pun.
"I really wish you'd stop doing that," Weiss groaned.
"Never!" Yang declared, crossing her arms in defiance.
Robocop turned to the store owners.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Good night," He said simply as he turned to leave.
"That's it? He just knocks out the perp and leaves?" Winter questioned in a confused tone.
"I'm sure he'll call in backup to arrest the guy. Robocop just takes care of the heavy lifting," Oobleck assumed.
The storeowners watched in befuddlement as Robocop left the store.
"I'll buy that for a lien," Bixby said again on the television set.
Back in his car, Robocop cruised through Vale. On his POV, the following text appeared.
3rd Street/Nash Avenue
415 in progress
"What does 415 mean?" Ruby asked curiously.
"In Vale police code, it means a disturbance," Glynda answered.
"Oh, well that should be easy to handle for Robocop," Pyrrha assumed.
In a seedy part of downtown Vale, a screaming brown-haired rabbit faunus girl was being chased by a couple of drunken thugs. One had brown hair while the other had a green mohawk. They threw liquor bottles at her.
"Oh no, it's them again." Velvet groaned while pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Even in the multiverse, those creeps never change," Coco sneered at the Team CDNL members.
"Calling that a disturbance is an understatement," Blake said, scowling at the screen.
"Don't touch me!" Velvet screamed. "Get away!"
Velvet desperately tried to hand her purse to the thugs to satisfy them.
"We don't want your money!" Dove Bronzewing declined.
"We want you!" Russel shouted
Velvet screamed again and tried to run away, but Russel caught her and put her in an armlock.
Velvet gasped. "Oh no…they don't mean…?
"Those scumbags! How dare they!" Coco growled, slamming her fist on the armrest of her seat.
"How repugnant," Pyrrha sneered.
"Take it easy! We don't want to hurt you!" Dove lied through his teeth.
"That's too much hair!" Russel said.
"I know! We'll give her a haircut!" Dove said, taking out a knife.
"No!" Velvet begged as Dove cut off a stand of her hair.
Yang's eyes turned red as she caressed her blonde locks protectively, knowing she'd beat anyone to a pulp if they ever cut her hair that way.
Velvet and Coco both glared at the screen, the latter more intently than the former.
Both thugs cracked up while Velvet began to cry.
"There's more hair down there," Russel said, pointing downwards.
The thugs laughed again as Dove crouched down, lifted Velvets skirt, and pointed his knife towards her crotch.
"No don't! Please!" Velvet cried in terror, struggling in Russels clutches.
"Oh, Monty. He's not gonna do what I think he is," Velvet gasped, her eyes widening.
"If he does, I'm kicking both of their asses next time I see them!" Coco shouted, uncaring it wasn't her own universe.
"I'll help you. Those sick bastards!" Sun snarled, prompting nods of agreement from the audience.
"Help me!" Velvet screamed. "Help me!"
As if on cue, the screeching of tires could be heard. Next, a pair of car headlights illuminated the area. Dove stood from his crouch and turned around nervously. Robocops shadow appeared on the wall behind them as he stepped forward.
"Let the woman go. You are under arrest," Robocop ordered.
"Kick their asses, Robocop!" Coco shouted, pointing at the screen.
"Yeah! Teach those scumbags a lesson!" Velvet added.
"He's like a robotic knight in shining armor," Ruby said with a smile.
"Shit!" Russel said as he passed Velvet to Dove.
Robocop removed his gun from his thigh holster and pointed it at Dove.
"You better back up, pal!" Dove warned as he put the knife to Velvet's throat.
"Yeah! He's gonna kill her!" Russel added.
Robocop adjusted his targeting system until the crosshairs landed on the mid-section of Velvet's dress. The following text appeared on his POV.
Targeting
Directive 2: Protect the innocent
"What's he doing? He's not going to shoot through Velvet, is he?" Coco asked worriedly.
"He can't do that. His programming prohibits it," Penny reassured Coco, calming the CVFY leader.
"I think I know… and it's not gonna be pretty," Jaune said with a grimace, noticing the bullets trajectory.
"Help!" Velvet cried.
"He's gonna kill her, man!" Russel said again.
Robocop fired a single round that passed through Velvet's dress and into Dove's crotch.
"Oooooh!" Every male audience member winced, several of them covering their own crotches.
"Removed from the gene pool," Coco said with a grin.
"He probably didn't have much down there anyway," Yang quipped, prompting a few chuckles from the audience.
Dove crumbled to the ground shrieking in agony while clutching his now missing genitals. Russel looked on the verge of soiling himself as Robocop trained his gun on him.
"Your move, creep," Robocop warned.
"Okay! It's okay!" Russel said as he raised his hands and got to his knees.
Dumbstruck, Velvet looked down at the hole in her dress. Then ran to Robocop, gratefully hugging him.
"I was so scared! Thank you. Thank you," Velvet cried, now shedding tears of joy.
"Awww, you look so cute hugging him, bun-bun," Coco cooed as she pinched her partners cheek.
"Knock it off," Velvet brushed Coco's hand away with a blush.
"Madam, you have suffered an emotional shock," Robocop stated. "I will notify a rape crisis center."
Velvet stared at Robocop, taken aback by his calm professionalism.
"He's not wrong," Oobleck said, scratching his chin. "But I wouldn't have been so blunt."
"Well, he is a robot," Winter reminded. "He's probably programmed to act that way."
Penny gazed at Robocop onscreen, grateful her behavioral programming was different from his so she could make friends like Ruby.
Back in his patrol car, Robocop received a transmission from dispatch.
"All units, Sector 6. Please close intersections."
Outside Vale City Hall, police, emergency, and news vehicles quickly pulled up outside. Vale SWAT officers took up position. The SWAT commander was arguing with another officer over a walkie talkie.
"I don't care," Ironwood said. "Get those men by the stairs now! Hit it!"
"Look, there's me," Ironwood pointed out his first onscreen counterpart.
"It looks like your in charge of the Vale SWAT team," Winter said.
One of the reporters had pink hair with a black undercut. He gave a live report outside city hall.
"Terrorism has never been a factor in Vale politics before," Nadir Shiko said. "But that changed today when former city councilman Ron Miller entered city hall with a gun."
SWAT officers took up positions as a searchlight illuminated one of the second story windows. Robocop arrived in his car at city hall, driving through a strip of yellow crime scene tape.
"He's now on the second floor holding Mayor Peter Port and his staff hostage," continued with his report. "We do believe that Miller has killed one of the hostages."
"I'm the mayor of Vale?" Port said in surprise, then grinned with pride.
"Hopefully your speeches don't involve any bombastic stories," Oobleck joked, earning a glare from Port.
"Lieutenant, what's next?" Nadir asked Ironwood.
"Only a lieutenant?" Qrow said, then grinned at Ironwood.
"I wouldn't be so smug. In this universe, I still outrank you, sergeant," Ironwood reminded, grinning back.
Qrows grin turned to a scowl while Winter giggled at Ironwoods comment.
"We wait," Ironwood answered simply. "Terrorism is a very tricky business. Maximum and immediate retaliation is the best policy."
Suddenly, the reporters diverted away from Ironwood.
"Hey, where are you going?" Ironwood asked the crowd.
Robocop pulled up and stepped out of his police car as the reporters swarmed him, eager for a short interview.
"Statement, please?"
"Oh great. Nosy reporters," Sun said, eating a banana.
"No surprise there. A hostage situation would be a big opportunity for the news media," Glynda said, remembering many reporters rushing to cover similar stories, such as Grimm attacks.
"I just hope Cardin doesn't show up again," Pyrrha said hopefully, recalling his role in 'Die Hard'.
"Hey! Let's have some crowd control," Ironwood ordered his team. "Get these people back."
"Where the hell do you think you're going?"
"Keep him talking," Robocop instructed Winter.
As Robocop ascended the stairs of City Hall, the reporters continued throwing questions his way.
"Who made you?"
"Are you invincible?"
As Robocop entered city hall, Ironwood picked up a radio hooked to a loudspeaker.
"I see what he's doing," Jaune said with a nod. "He wants Ironwood to stall Miller long enough to save Port."
"Okay, Miller," Ironwood said, his voice amplified. "Don't hurt the mayor. We'll give you whatever you want."
Inside Mayor Port's office, a dead, bullet-riddled man lay sprawled on the floor. A trio of hostages, including Mayor Port, were lined up on their knees with their hands behind their heads. Miller, an unkempt, white-collared man in his early 40s paced around the room with an SMG in hand.
"First, don't fuck with me! I'm a desperate man," Miller shouted. "And second, I want some fresh coffee."
"Good call. Coffee always helps calm the nerves," Oobleck said, taking a sip from his mug.
"It'll take more than that to placate this guy," Qrow said, knowing Miller was having a nervous breakdown.
"And third, I want a recount!" Miller went on. "And no matter how it turns out, I want my old job back."
"Okay," Ironwood replied with a nod.
"And I want a bigger office," Miller added. "And I want a new car! And I want the city to pay for it all!"
Meanwhile, Robocop arrived on the second floor from the stairwell. His head pivoted towards Miller's voice.
"What kind of car, Miller?" Ironwood asked.
"Something with reclining leather seats," Miller said, picking up a bottle of scotch. "That goes really fast and gets really shitty gas mileage!"
Miller then took a swig.
"How about the 6000 VUX?" Ironwood suggested.
"Yeah! Okay! Sure!" Miller replied as he stepped up to the window and looked out.
"They're not really going to give him all that, are they?" Penny asked curiously.
"No, Penny. They're just saying that to calm him down to avoid further bloodshed," Winter explained.
"And stall for time so Robocop can intervene," Ironwood added.
"A shame. I heard the 6000 VUX is an awesome car," Yang recalled from a commercial she saw.
"What about cruise control Does it come with cruise control?" Miller inquired about the 6000 SUX.
"Hey, no problem, Miller," Ironwood replied. "Let the mayor go, we'll even throw in a surround sound."
Unfortunately, Miller took the last offer as patronization. He shook his head in frustration and threw his scotch bottle away.
"Lieutenant, don't jerk me off!" Miller shouted.
Ironwood looked worried while the crowd of reporters tried to push past the officers for a better view.
"That was a poor choice of words on his part," Ironwood referred to his counterpart.
"You're right, General. Hostage takers tend to be high strung and unpredictable. Anything can set them off," Winter agreed.
"When people jerk me off, I kill them!" Miller shouted. "You want to see?!"
In the adjacent hallway, Robocop slowly approached the mayor's office. His POV switched to thermograph, showing infrared images of Miller and the hostages through the wall.
"Nice touch," Neptune commented on Robocop's infrared vision.
"He's not going to shoot him through the wall, is he?" Nora asked.
"Too risky. He'll probably try something else," Ren said sipping some tea, knowing Robocop wouldn't risk hitting the hostages.
"Get up, your honor, get up!" Miller ordered Port. "Get up!"
Port was petrified and didn't budge. Miller grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to his feet.
"Your public wants to see you!" Miller snarled as he dragged Port to the window.
"Oh, come now," Port scoffed. "I'd never be taken hostage by some lowly scoundrel like him! In fact, I remember back when-"
"Not now, Peter!" Glynda cut off Port's story, much to the latter's annoyance.
"Just relax, Peter. It's not the real you," Oobleck soothed his friend.
Robocop inched closer until he was right behind Miller. The only thing separating them was the wall.
"Nobody ever takes me seriously!" Miller yelled as he put his gun to Ports head. "Well, get serious now! And kiss the mayor's ass goodbye!"
Robocop punched through the wall right behind Miller with both fists, seized him by the shoulders, and pulled him backwards through the hole. His gun went off wildly. Now in the hallway with Robocop, Miller was spun around, then sent flying through a window with a punch.
Miller screamed as he plummeted to the ground outside and the news crews outside, a newsman capturing his descent on camera.
Many audience members clapped or cheered Robocops performance.
"Way to go, dad!" Ruby and Yang cheered.
"Yeah! There's no stopping him!" Nora added, liking Robocop more all the time.
"Roman's going down!" Yang shouted, eager to see the crime boss get what was coming to him.
Next, a news report hosted by Arslan appeared.
"Robocop. Who is he? What is he? Where does he come from?" Arslan asked. "He's OCP's newest soldier in their revolutionary management program."
Footage showed Robocop at a school and being followed by curious students. The next shot showed the kids touching his chest plate curiously. Reporter Nadir Shiko was on the scene for an interview.
"OCP spokesmen claim that the fearless machine has crooks on the run in Old Vale," "Today, kids at Vale elementary school got to meet in person what their parents only read about in comic books."
"Excuse me, Robo?" Nadir beckoned, approaching Robocop. "Any special message for all the kids watching at home."
"Stay out of trouble," Robocop warned.
"Yes, dad," Ruby said absentmindedly.
"Damn. He doesn't mince words, even to little kids," Neptune commented.
"I'd never misbehave in school again if he was on duty," Yang said, having been a bit of a troublemaker when she was younger.
The news screen switched to Valean and Vacuan soldiers being deployed in the deserts of Vacuo.
"More fighting in the Vacuan crisis today when Valean troops participated in a joint raid with Vacuan nationals against rebel rocket positions near Coquina," Bolin finished.
"Now there's war breaking out in Vacuo?" Neptune said, surprised by the disorder in this version of Remnant.
"I'm glad things aren't that bad in our version of Vacuo," Sun said gratefully.
"And our top story," Arslan concluded. "Today, labor leaders agreed to sanction construction of OCP's New Vale, thereby creating an estimated one million much-needed new jobs, despite questions about worker safety in dangerous Old Vale. Albert Merlot, Vice President. Security concepts, OCP."
The news screen switched to Merlot at OCP headquarters giving an interview to a crowd of reporters.
"I'm afraid I can't comment on New Vale. That's not my division," Merlot explained. "But I will tell you this. At security concepts, we're projecting the end of crime in Old Vale within 40 days. There's a new guy in town. His name's Robocop."
Cut to OCP headquarters, 95th floor. Merlot swaggered down a hallway without a care in the world.
"Well, somebody's very pleased with himself," Ozpin said dully.
Another executive with Brown hair walked alongside Merlot.
"Hey, hey, Albert," Bill said, shaking his colleagues' hand. "Vice president. Congratulations."
"Handball on Tuesday night?" Bill offered.
"Bill, I'd love to, but I got a date," Merlot politely declined. "A couple of models coming to my place."
"Ugh. Dirty old creep," Coco gagged slightly.
"He must have paid a lot of money for that to happen," Qrow remarked, shaking his head.
"It's the only way someone like him can get with women," Port remarked, noting Merlots age.
"I'd buy that for a dollar," Bill jokingly referenced Bixby.
Merlot removed his ID card to access the executive washroom, but Bill opened it himself with his own card and clapped it against Merlot's.
"Welcome to the club, Albert," Bill said as he and Merlot entered the restroom.
The two executives headed for the urinals.
"You're making a real name for yourself in Security Concepts with Robocop," Bill said standing at the urinal next to Merlot as the two relieved themselves.
"That's nasty. Talking at a urinal?" Ruby said in disgust.
"Between friends and co-workers, it happens unfortunately," Weiss said, hearing stories of male SDC employees doing the same thing.
"We try," Merlot said simply.
"Let me in on the bottom line, pal," Bill pried. "I hear Watts was plenty pissed."
"He's got this killer rep, but it's a smokescreen," Merlot said dismissively. "He's lost his teeth. The guy's a pussy."
"I wouldn't be too cocky if I were him," Ironwood said, knowing Watts better than anyone in the theater.
"My father warned him earlier that Watts would be angry for upstaging him," Penny added.
"His success with Robocop makes him think he's untouchable," Ozpin said, being reminded of the real Merlot's pomposity.
"Are we talking about the same Arthur Watts?" Bill asked.
"He's all washed up. And that's life," Merlot said, prompting a chuckle from Bill.
Merlot looked to his right and saw the other OCP executives were scrambling out the door in fear. Both Merlot and Bill's grins vanished as they heard a toilet flush from the stall behind them. They turned their heads to see Arthur Watts step out.
"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear," Oobleck said ominously.
"He's in trouble now~," Nora said in a sing-song voice.
"I gotta go. I got a meeting," Bill babbled as he zipped up, a noticeable stain on his pants.
Several audience members snickered at the urine statin on Bill's pants.
"Hopefully he has time to change," Velvet giggled.
"If not, he'll be the laughing stock of his department for a while," Neptune said.
Bill quickly left the restroom, leaving Merlot and Watts alone. Merlot tried to ignore Watts as he walked to the sink to wash his hands. But Watts relentlessly followed and stood behind Merlot.
"Congratulations, Albert," Watts said insincerely.
"Thanks," Merlot replied curtly, looking at Watts through the restroom mirror.
"I remember when I was a young executive for this company," Watts reminisced. "I used to call Ozpin funny names, 'iron butt', 'boner'. Once I even called him 'asshole'.
Qrow snorted at 'iron butt'. Ironwood shot him a warning glare that screamed 'don't even go there'.
Weiss grinned subtly to herself, as she was reminded of many SDC employees badmouthing Jacques behind his back.
Merlot dried his hands as Watts moved to his right side. Merlot turned to face him.
"But there was always respect. I always knew where the line was drawn. And you just stepped over it, buddy boy," Watts snarled.
"You've insulted me, and you've insulted this company with your bastard creation!" Watts shouted while Merlot nervously avoided his gaze.
"I had a guaranteed military sale with ED-209," Watts continued his rant. "Renovation program. Spare parts for 25 years. Who cares if it worked or not?"
"I would," Ironwood said, knowing he'd never risk having ED-209s added to his ranks.
"Just like my father. He wants to milk every ounce of profit he can, even if the product is faulty," Weiss sneered as she was reminded of Jacques attitude.
"I can only imagine what would happen if he were in charge of the Atlesian Knight program," Winter added scornfully.
"Ozpin thought it was pretty important, Arthur," Merlot sneered.
Watts gave Merlot a wry grin as he circled behind him. Merlot turned to face him once more.
"You know, he's a sweet old man. And he means well," Watts said, then shook his head. "But he's not gonna live forever. And I'm number two around here."
"Pretty simple math, huh, Merlot?" Watts asked with a chilling smile.
Merlot scoffed and gave Watts a shit-eating grin, apparently unfazed by the threat.
"Watts wouldn't try to kill Merlot in the restroom, would he?" Nora asked, sipping a soda.
Weiss shook her head. "That's far too overt. He can't risk it."
"She's right. I hate to admit it, but Watts is no fool. He'll find another way to get rid of Merlot," Ironwood said.
Watts slowly reached behind Merlot's head and gripped him by the hair and got up into his face.
"You just fucked with the wrong guy!" Watts declared furiously.
Merlot shook off Watts's grip. "You're out of your fucking mind!"
For a few tense seconds, both men angrily stared into each other's eyes, as if ready to trade blows. Then Watts smiled again.
"You better pray that that unholy monster of yours doesn't screw up," Watts warned before finally turning to leave.
"Not likely. Robocop is on a roll," Neptune said smugly.
Back at the VPD precinct, Robocop sat deactivated in his mechanical chair while a polygraph monitored his brain activity. In the nearby control room, two technicians were eating some fast food and reading newspapers. In front of them was a set of CCTV monitors set on the inactive Robocop.
Ciel came in to jot down some notes.
"You hungry?" The technician offered Ciel some food.
"No, thanks," Ciel declined.
As Ciel left, Robocop's right hand began to twitch. The polygraph needles began to scribble readings on the scrolling paper. The technicians didn't notice, as they were too focused on their reading.
"What's happening to him? Is he malfunctioning?" Neptune wondered aloud.
"I hope not," Penny said fearfully. "The last thing Vale needs right now is Robocop going berserk like ED-209."
A few audience members looked concerned at the possibility of Robocop going ballistic on innocent civilians.
Robocop's twitches quickly became more intense as flashbacks of Taiyang's murder at the hands of Roman's gang were shown. The polygraph also scribbled the readings more vigorously.
"He's having flashbacks again," Sun pointed out, recognizing the scenes from the flashbacks.
Ruby gasped in realization. "Yes! Does that mean… he's starting to remember?"
"But how? Flynt said they wiped his memory?" Yang recalled, though she was secretly happy Robocop still had memories, knowing it proved part of Taiyang was alive after all.
"Oum-damn rebels blew up the airport in Coquina," the male technician informed his co-worker.
"Great. We were going there next week," she replied before hearing Robocop's movements. "Hey, what was that?"
Robocop swiftly rose from his seat. The now alerted technicians stood up from their seats as well.
"Hey, look. Bucket boy's online," the female technician said.
By this point, the polygraph sheet was full of readings. Then, with one final flashback of Roman finishing off Taiyang with a headshot, Robocop stopped spasming. The polygraph needles went still.
Robocop walked forward, opened the sliding gate to his cell, and shoved past the technicians.
"Looks like he's off to find Roman," Yang said, smiling in anticipation.
Robocop ignored the technicians as they followed and shouted after him.
"Hey! Hey, halt."
"Stop! Wait a minute!"
Hearing the commotion, Ciel rushed into the control room. "What the hell's going on?"
"I don't know. He just left," the male technician replied.
"Just left?"
Robocop turned a corner and strolled down the long concrete hallway leading to the precinct.
"You think Watts is somehow behind this?" Ironwood wondered aloud, sipping a glass of water.
"Possibly. Either that or the memory wipe didn't work," Penny theorized.
Flynt Coal was talking to an officer in a nearby hallway when Ciel called him from the control room.
"Coal! Coal, we got a problem!"
Flynt frantically followed Ciel to the control room.
"Out of the way," Ciel shouted as she shoved a technician aside.
"Take a look at this," Ciel said, handing Flynt a polygraph reading.
Flynt looked at the reading, then another before throwing them away.
"Shit! Call Albert Merlot," Flynt ordered.
Ciel picked up a nearby phone to contact Merlot.
"What are they so concerned about?" Velvet asked.
"If Robocops memories are returning, it would create difficulties for Merlot," Penny explained.
"You don't think they'll shut him down, do you?" Ruby said worriedly.
Through a sliding metal gate, Robocop entered the long concrete hallway leading to the cellblock. As he walked along, he passed by Glynda Goodwitch and her new partner with a perp in custody. Glynda gave Robocop a quizzical look as he walked past her.
"Jerry, book him," Glynda told her new partner. "I'll catch up with you later."
Glynda removed her helmet and jogged after Robocop. She caught up and walked alongside him.
"Uh…hello," Glynda said awkwardly. "I haven't really had a chance to introduce myself. I'm Glynda Goodwitch."
"It looks like she's trying to rekindle their partnership," Ozpin said, admiring Glynda's concern for Taiyang.
"It's the least I could do after getting him killed," Glynda said remorsefully, casting her gaze downward.
Ruby and Yang looked upset that Glynda blamed herself for Taiyangs death.
Robocop completely ignored Goodwitch and continued walking even as Goodwitch walked backwards in front of him.
"Do you have a name?" Glynda questioned.
That made Robocop stop in his tracks. He stared at Glynda as she observed him curiously.
"How can I help you, Officer Goodwitch?" Robocop asked.
Glynda shook her head. "That's not really what I meant. Don't you have a name?"
"He did… until my blunder got him killed," Glynda berated herself once more.
"Don't beat yourself like that, Glynda. It wasn't your fault," Ozpin comforted his friend and colleague.
"Ironwood was right. My counterpart should have waited for backup," Glynda retorted in a shaky voice, as if on the verge of tears again.
"Ms. Goodwitch, it's okay. We don't blame you." Ruby assured her teacher.
"Ruby is right. It was Roman and his thugs who killed him, not you," Yang added.
Glynda gave a half-smile and nodded, thankful that Taiyangs daughters didn't resent her counterpart.
Glynda shot a glance behind Robocop. Far behind him was a group of cops blocking off the OCP technicians.
"Xiao Long. It's you," Glynda said softly.
Robocop stumbled back a step, as if startled by the mention of his true name.
"It's all starting to come back to him," Coco realized.
"Maybe now he'll seek revenge on Roman and his gang," Nora guessed excitedly.
"I hope so," Yang said coldly.
"You really don't remember me, do you?" Glynda asked.
"Excuse me. I have to go. Somewhere there is a crime happening," Robocop said as he walked past Glynda.
"That just sounds like an excuse to avoid an uncomfortable subject," Jaune said, having witnessed the same thing plenty of times.
"Perhaps he doesn't want to drag Glynda into his battle against Roman," Ironwood assumed.
Flynt rushed down the hallway in pursuit of Robocop.
"Stop"! Flynt shouted as he stopped at Glynda. "What did you talk to him about? What did you say?"
"Nothing!" Glynda replied.
"Shit!" Flynt muttered as he continued.
In the parking garage, Robocop climbed into his police cruiser. Behind him, Flynt quickly descended the stairwell.
"Stop! Hey, you there! Stop!" Flynt shouted as he chased after Robocop.
It was too late. Robocop drove off and left the precinct. Flynt started back as Glynda stopped mid-way down the stairwell.
"You're in a lot of trouble, officer," Flynt threatened while pointing at Glynda.
"Come on!" Flynt urged Glynda as they ran back up the stairs.
Back in the hallway, Sergeant Qrow walked alongside an angry Albert Merlot, the former pulling open a metal gate.
"I was assured full cooperation by this precinct," Merlot chewed Qrow out. "If it gets screwed up by your grunts, I'll have your job."
Merlot turned a corner into another hallway where Ciel was waiting for him.
"What's the update?" Merlot asked as he took a polygraph chart from Ciel.
"It's hard to be 100%. This system wasn't designed for a somatic response," Ciel explained.
"We have a glitch or what?" Merlot asked, observing the chart.
"What's a somatic response?" Ruby asked curiously.
"It's basically the body's natural response to pain or stress. In Robocop's case, traumatic memories," Oobleck explained, having some basic medical knowledge.
"Definitely an overlook on OCP's part. They didn't expect the memory blank to be unsuccessful," Penny added.
At the end of the hallway, they ran into Flynt.
"He had a dream. A dream!" Flynt reported, leading the group into an adjoining room.
"This cop saw fit to question him," Flynt accused Glynda, who was waiting for the others.
"I didn't question him," Glynda said defensively, standing up. "I asked him his name. He didn't know."
Merlot rolled his eyes. "Oh, great. Let me make it real clear for you. He doesn't have a name. He's got a program. He's product."
Yang and Ruby were enraged by that dehumanizing statement.
"Product?! He's a human being, you asshole!" Yang shouted with clenched fists.
"Yeah! You slimy piece of... crap!" Ruby added angrily, hesitating for a second before saying 'crap'.
Glynda was about the reprimand the girls for their profanity, but changed her mind out of sympathy.
"Is that clear?" Merlot asked sternly.
"Sure," Glynda replied reluctantly.
"I say pull him in, run a systems check," Ciel recommended.
"Take a week off. Maybe-" Flynt began until Merlot loudly cut him off.
"You wanna take him off line because he had a dream? Are you kidding?!"
Ciel and Flynt shut up at that.
"Let's get out of here," Merlot ordered as he grabbed Flynt by the arm and pushed him out the door.
Merlot then rounded on Qrow, who avoided eye contact.
"Listen, Qrow. Try to keep one thing in mind." Merlot warned. "This project doesn't concern cops. It's classified. It's OCP."
Qrow narrowed his eyes at the screen, liking Merlot less and less all the time.
"Got it, mister?" Merlot asked threateningly, grabbing Qrow by the arm.
"Yeah, I got it," Qrow said bitterly.
"Good." With that Merlot released Qrow and his team finally left.
"Sorry, Sarge. I fucked up," Glynda apologized.
Qrow shook his head. "Forget it, kid. This guy's a serious asshole."
Glynda grinned and nodded in agreement.
"No argument here," Qrow agreed with his counterpart.
Author's Note: I got caught up with other matters and fell a little behind on this chapter. As a result, I didn't have enough time to write the news advertisement for the 'Nukem' board game. It'll be added later.