Seed 1.i

The door to her office closed, and Director Emily Piggot leaned back in her seat. Of all the cities she could have... complicated, Ruby Rose had to show up in Brockton Bay.

Not that that was entirely a bad thing. She had Challenger making a recruitment speech, after all. This city needed more capes, no matter what the other directors claimed. The relative peace of the last several months was just the calm before the storm, and another Protectorate member was always a great help - especially with Challenger's upcoming transfer, and especially when that new hero was as powerful as this one seemed to be. Fenja and Menja weren't pushovers, and not only had Rose held her own against the pair of them simultaneously for as long as twenty minutes, but she had even driven them into retreat. The timing of her appearance could not have been more perfect.

That being said, this was hardly a typical recruitment attempt. Even ignoring the girl's extradimensional origin, she carried a scythe that was bigger than she was, and if the Twins' injuries said anything, then it was exactly as deadly as it looked. That was not a view that the public would appreciate.

Her origin made the whole situation even more complicated.

She picked up the phone and dialed, double-checking the unfamiliar number before confirming the call. This wasn't someone that she dialed often.

"Hello? This is Piggot, I believe the chief director is expecting my call. M/S code: goliard, nine-five, multifid."

There was a click in response, then a voice. "What do you have for me?"

Straight to the point, as was usual. "If she's to be believed, I don't think we have anything to fear from a large-scale invasion, though we may see others coming through. Apparently, she was brought here by an opponent of hers, who used a portal-spawning power to send her here after beating her in a fight."

"Can you confirm that she's telling the truth?" ...Was that hesitation? It wasn't much, a pause just a fraction of a second longer than normal, but it said quite a bit coming from Costa-Brown.

"Armsmaster carries a lie detector as a standard part of his equipment, he would have alerted me if any part of her story set it off. He did leave the room during the conversation, but I'll have him go over my office recording to see if he can find anything. He's currently looking at her technology, confirming that it actually is extradimensional."

"Make sure that he does," the director responded. "I don't have to tell you how important this is."

"Yes, ma'am."

"One more thing. Alexandria will be paying Brockton Bay a visit the day after tomorrow. She has orders to speak with Miss Rose and obtain more information than she's been willing to give us previously."

That was not good news. Piggot wanted that information as well, but if one of the most powerful capes in the Protectorate wanted to talk to Rose, it would save time to simply use a video call. If she was coming here herself, then she had another motive in mind, one presumably involving Ruby. The best case scenario would be Rose being shipped off to some other city - and in the worst case, she'd be kept away from the public entirely, no help to anyone.

I might not be particularly fond of capes, but I'm not stupid enough to think that this country doesn't need all the heroes it can get.

Still, it wouldn't do to complain about that to her superior. She'd have to fight this more indirectly. "Understood ma'am. I take it that Rose shouldn't find out about this?"

"I believe Alexandria would prefer she didn't. Now, unless there's anything else?"

"I do have one more question." It wasn't likely this would change anything, but it was worth it to try. "Has there been any change with Challenger?"

"I'm afraid not. His transfer is still in-process. Brockton's been quiet for the past few months, Boston needs him more than you do."

"That won't be true for long. We caught Kaiser's bodyguards today, so the Empire's as weak as it's ever been. Someone is going to take advantage, and it's going to happen soon."

"Even if you knew that for certain - which you don't, considering what I know of Kaiser's diplomatic skill - it hasn't happened yet. Emily, Boston is in an uproar, and the way things are going now they're going to need a new face on the team permanently."

Piggot sighed inaudibly. "Understood. If you'll excuse me, I have preparations to make."

"Of course." The call clicked off, and she set it back on its base.

Piggot stayed where she was for a moment, thinking. Challenger was one of the more powerful capes on her roster, and she would prefer not to lose him. Normally, the way this situation had progressed, she'd be out of luck. Rose's appearance, however, had given her more options.

She reached for the intercom. "Tell Renick that I need him in my office, ASAP."

Deputy Director Bruce Renick entered a few minutes later. She'd originally chosen the man for personal reasons, to balance out what she saw as her own flaws, but over the years he had shown a great deal of talent when it came to the fine details of navigating the PRT's bureaucracy.

"Alexandria will be paying us a visit in two days, and I think it's likely that she intends to poach Rose from us," she told him, not wasting their limited time with pleasantries.

Renick responded immediately, "I take it you have a plan?"

"Yes. If we introduce and endear the girl to Brockton Bay's public before any transfer goes through, then Costa-Brown won't be able to move her without kicking up a fuss with the public. She doesn't want that kind of PR, so she should be forced to keep her here."

Renick winced. "It won't be easy on that timescale." That much was obvious. What the Triumvirate lacked in official authority, they more than made up for in influence. Theoretically, a PRT director outranked them, but few had the clout to tell the strongest heroes in the world no. "We don't even know that she plans to enlist yet."

"Then we need to hurry. Challenger should still have his earpiece in; I'm going to have him speed up the recruitment pitch and get her onboard. You get all relevant departments into gear - I want her inducted by the end of tomorrow and introduced to the media the following morning - before Alexandria arrives. Use your best judgment to decide who needs to know her origin, but keep it tight and have anyone that's not cleared for secret identities sign NDAs."

He nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

As he left the room, Piggot took a breath, then reached for the phone once again. Things were about to get busy around here.

"We're going to need a plan for her weapon," Armsmaster spoke.

It had been sixteen hours since Rose had first made her appearance, the girl herself asleep in her temporary quarters. Armsmaster and Shane Lynch were standing in Piggot's office, and the three were in the midst of an update on Ruby's induction. Armsmaster was in full costume, sans the helmet sitting on his chair, and Lynch was wearing the same suit he had been yesterday, likely not having had time to go home and change.

Lynch's brow furrowed. "That was another thing I wanted to discuss with you both. I just saw the recording a couple hours ago, and that scythe could cause some problems with the public if it's not done right."

Piggot spoke up, "Armsmaster, you analyzed it, what can you tell us?"

Armsmaster paused for a moment, then started speaking evenly; "Scatter made her first appearance carrying a very large scythe. It's taller and longer than she is, sharp enough to bite through titanium and contains what I suspect to be a small railgun built into the staff. It's also capable of collapsing down on itself into a more portable form not much bigger than a large briefcase. It's Tinkertech, and it's obviously deadly enough that I cannot recommend allowing her to carry it around on day-to-day patrols."

Shane glanced up toward the ceiling in thought. "Alright, we can work around that. We can keep her from carrying it on her patrols, but if what I've heard from security she might not be pleased."

"We'll need to make a choice between her preferences and the public's safety. It seems like the choice is clear."

Piggot chose that moment to interject. None of them had gotten sleep last night. "Lynch, you're right that she won't need it from day-to-day, but if losing it would cause friction then we can find a compromise. Armsmaster, could the blade be blunted without disturbing its other functions?"

His reply came a moment later. "...I believe so."

"That should do nicely then. Blunt the blade, make it clear that it has been blunted, and then confiscate the ammunition for use during S- and A-class emergencies. Does everyone find that acceptable?"

Lynch and Armsmaster shared a glance.

"...I don't see a problem with that."

Armsmaster merely nodded.

"What!? Why?"

Piggot supposed she should have expected that reaction. The girl had been loath to give up her weapon even temporarily, she couldn't possibly have been pleased to learn that it would be different when she got it back. She heard the clicking of Armsmaster shifting position behind her, in reaction to the outburst.

"The public wouldn't be pleased to see one of their heroes carrying obviously lethal weaponry outside of an active fight. You can still use it, it will just be easier to keep from killing anyone."

Was that offense on her face? "I've never killed anyone with Crescent Rose that didn-" She paused, just for a second, as she seemed to rethink her words. "That I didn't mean to." What had she been going to say? Didn't what? Ruby continued, "I've been using her since I was thirteen years old, I know what I'm doing!"

"That might be the case, but the public doesn't know that, and will have no reason to believe it. Your origin is classified, and no one's going to believe that you managed to learn to do that if they've never heard of you before. We're introducing you as someone who very recently received and started using her powers, so why and how would you have learned to use a weapon like that before gaining them?"

"But that's true! I didn't find my Semblance until almost a year after building Crescent Rose."

She built and used this weapon before gaining powers? At that age? "That might be true, but people won't believe that here. You aren't on your own world anymore, and from what you've told us so far, the rules on Remnant are different. No Earth twelve-year-old could ever possibly build or operate a weapon like that with no powers." She didn't truly believe that it was possible on Remnant either, but that was beside the point.

Scatter was about to object again, but Piggot didn't have time to bother with debating this. She continued, "You're missing context. Parahumans are still new to our world - people aren't used to them. As far as the public is concerned, heroes and villains are curiosities. Perhaps they can be frightening, but the average citizen doesn't consider the average cape to be a serious threat to their wellbeing - at least until that cape is standing in front of them." Scatter gave the most incredulous look there, and was about to say something before Piggot cut her off: "If the heroes start carrying around weapons like that," she gestured at the item in question, "on simple patrols, then people will begin to wonder what we are expecting to fight that makes a weapon like that necessary."

That gave the girl pause. She spoke, almost under her breath, "and we don't want to cause a panic." She gave Piggot a look, as if searching for something in her expression. After a moment, she clenched a fist and looked her in the eyes.

"Alright, I can use non-lethal ammo, but I'm not going to blunt Crescent Rose. There are people out there who I will need that edge to stand against, and not having it in the field could get me, or my teammates, killed."

That was an excellent attitude, and one that she would have been glad to have on the team if it weren't for the reason for this entire conversation. The problem wasn't solved entirely yet, but this was better than before.

"That only solves half the problem."

Scatter's eyes widened, and she grinned wide. "Actually, I think I have a better idea." She reached across the desk, sending large, colorful cartridges rolling across the bench. Grabbing a yellow one, she set to work extricating the bullet from its casing, then closed her fist around the inch-and-a-half long crystal. "I'll need some time to figure out how to manage it though, so can we wait until I have a chance to put it together? Oh, and I might need some of Armsmaster's help to do it."

"I suppose that's reasonable, if Armsmaster agrees?" She turned the sentence into a question, glancing over at the man across the workbench. He didn't look pleased, but he nodded his assent.

"I'll do what I'm able." He looked to Rose, "Keep in mind that I will only have so much time to dedicate to this."

Rose nodded, seemingly lost in thought as she stared at the crystal.

"Everyone, final reports?"

Piggot entered the conference room, where the heads of each department were seated around a table. Armsmaster, wearing his armor, stood with his back to the right wall.

Lynch spoke up first. "It's been a hectic couple of days, but we should be good to go. Her costume's been prepped, and it should fit well enough until we get the chance to make the final alterations."

So far, so good. "I assume we've picked a name?"

He nodded. "She chose 'Scatter.' It fits her powers, but not so much it gives anything away, and it's marketable."

"That will do. Is everything settled with the media?"

Pattie Moss, head of Public Relations, answered that one. "Yep! We'll be live at ten-fifteen tomorrow, interviews have been scheduled, speeches have been written, and my internet people have been told what questions they can and can't answer. Everything should be ready for the big day!"

"Excellent work, Pattie." The woman beamed as Piggot looked towards another head. "What about her induction?"

It was Renick who spoke up now from the other side of the table. "The paperwork is being filed, but we can't control how fast it moves once it leaves the building. I'm doing what I can, but I doubt she'll be a full, legal member by tomorrow."

That wasn't optimal, but it shouldn't cause major problems. This department had almost fully enlisted a new cape less than two days after her first appearance in the city - that was impressive enough to be worthy of praise, even if not every detail was finalized in that timeframe. "That shouldn't be too much of a problem. Right now, the important thing is that the public knows that she's here, and all going according to plan, they will know that tomorrow."

There were sounds of agreement around the table.

"Alright then. Renick, as soon as she's official, work with Armsmaster to slot her into patrol schedules. Everybody go home, get some rest. Good work."

"As you may recall from this past Sunday, Fenja and Menja of the Empire Eighty-Eight have been placed into custody."

Polite applause came from the audience.

The man at the podium in front of her continued, voice amplified to fill the room; "What you may not know is that there was a previously-unknown cape who was involved in the fight which led to these villains' capture."

Showmanship. Anybody who followed cape news was aware of that - some idiot civilian had decided to stay behind and record the fight, and his video had been making the rounds across internet boards, magazines, and tabloid news. Nonetheless, it was important. Her department had to build up the narrative, introduce new capes as if they were characters in a play.

"Today, we finally get the chance to introduce you to this new hero."

Try desperately to conceal the true extent of the threat that villains and even heroes posed.

"Brockton Bay: I'd like you to meet Scatter."

Piggot looked up, over the crowd. From her seat on the stage, she could see what the crowd couldn't as a silhouette disappeared from the top of the overhang. Everyone saw what came next though, as a wave of rose petals swept through the air above the crowd, crashing against the stage. A swirl of red, and there she stood, black and red costume topped by a smooth, ovoid mask.

Applause and cheers echoed through the room.

This was why her department had spent almost forty-eight straight hours working out how this reveal would happen. This city was going to need this morale boost in the very near future, and it was her job to ensure that it didn't lose faith.

She watched as Scatter gave the audience a demonstration of her powers, dashing from place to place around the podium and the stage. Classified material aside, she was practically perfect from a PR standpoint. A powerful, non-lethal ability that she used with a great deal of skill, combined with a relatable personality. With the possible exception of Challenger, no other member of the Protectorate had that combination naturally.

Her thoughts were interrupted by another round of applause as the demonstration finished and the girl stepped up to the microphone. A canned speech followed - one of a variety of 'fill-in-the-blank' style statements given to capes who weren't totally comfortable writing their own. They'd work her into the habit over time - relatable and confident weren't always synonymous.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the silenced buzzing of her phone in her pocket. Her people knew better than to message her during a media appearance unless it was an emergency. Surreptitiously checking it so the crowd couldn't see, she saw the reason for the urgency:

B. Renick

Alexandria is in your office.

That was unexpected. She wasn't meant to arrive for several more hours. Doubtless, she saw the news broadcasts and decided to advance the schedule. It didn't really matter. Triumvirate member or not, she didn't have the authority to order her out of this mid-event.

She'd still make the trip back to her office quickly though. Rank aside, one did not keep the strongest woman in the world waiting for any longer than necessary.

"Director Piggot."

"Alexandria."

This was the first time that the pair of them had met in-person. They had met occasionally in the past, but that hadn't quite prepared her for the impact the woman could have when she wanted to. It seemed that the ability to fly at Mach 10, crack a city with a single punch, and ignore the explosion of a small nuclear bomb did a lot for one's presence.

Piggot waited for the woman to speak. She had already angered the cape enough, and Alexandria held an unfortunate amount of pull in the organization.

"I'm going to be meeting with your newest recruit later today. What can you tell me about her?"

Straight to business. That would make this easier. "She's eager, cheerful, but often seems to forget that she's lacking a great deal of context. She was a member of what seems to be her world's equivalent of the Protectorate, but the differences between the two realities are extreme enough that I expect some psychological difficulties."

"How extreme?"

Now here came the interesting part. "We don't know much yet, but what we have learned is... worrying. They have had parahumans for significantly longer than we have, and the organization that controls them seems to be much more regimented and militant than the Protectorate, thanks to an unknown period of time of at least several centuries spent defending against an endless army of fairytale monsters. They're more advanced than we are technologically, and each parahuman has a secondary set of effective defensive abilities that she referred to as Aura. If their world as a whole discovers - or has discovered - our own, I cannot imagine that we don't make a tempting target."

"If you believe that she is such a threat, why did you recruit her?"

"I doubt she intends any harm personally. She seems to genuinely want to help; Armsmaster has a lie detector built into his helmet, and it didn't detect any attempts to mislead us or hide anything, excepting her exact method of arrival."

At Alexandria's raised eyebrow, she continued, "She refused to give details, and I elected to let it be for that moment. From what she did tell us, a power-boosting Trump fell into the hands of a portal-maker, who then gained the ability to make portals through dimensions. Rose was sent here while attempting to retrieve the Trump, though the specifics are, apparently, classified."

Alexandria nodded, apparently satisfied. She spoke again, "Inform Scatter that I would like a meeting as soon as possible."

"Done. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, actually. Regarding Challenger's impending transfer to Boston."

Piggot had been hoping that she hadn't found out about that. "I've discussed the compromise with Director Armstrong, and he's amenable."

"I'm aware. I'd like to hear your reasoning."

"Boston already has a forcefielder in Bastion, giving them Challenger would be redundant. They don't, however, have an effective Mover, and Brockton Bay has just recruited a second speedster."

The woman seemed to consider that for a moment. Piggot knew capes, and this woman was probably not willing to do her any favors. She could perhaps be inclined to sabotage this if she didn't accept the justification.

Finally, she spoke up. "Fine. I'll recommend that the Chief Director approve the transfer." That seemed entirely too easy. "Contact Scatter, tell her to meet me in conference room six as soon as she's able."

With that, Alexandria left the room. Piggot could honestly say she hadn't expected that, but then it likely wasn't the end of this. The woman would be getting something out of this scenario; even without Scatter, she was smart enough to find something that worked out in her favor, and odds were it would come back to bite Piggot herself.

More complications.

"I'm going to plan out my writing better this time now that I have some idea of what I'm doing, so you should see that chapter on October 12th."

So... yeah. That just didn't happen at all, did it? (He says, 197 days later.) Real life interrupted, and it seriously kicked me off the semi-flow I had going. Everything just kinda went to crap after that. To be quite honest, I'm not happy with this chapter (or this arc), but if I don't put it out now then I don't think I'm ever going to. I might come back and rewrite it in the future, but I need to get past it for the moment.

Luckily, I already have the next chapter finished and partially edited, and work on the one after that has been started, so you can expect more updates in the very near future. The next one is a surprise interlude, and the one after that will kick off the next arc.

Some canonicity stuff; Since the last chapter, Ward has become a thing, as has RWBY volume five. The former hasn't changed much in terms of the plotline (though the likely upcoming Boston Games arc will probably break some stuff I had planned), but the latter gave us some solid explanations on how Remnant works that break some of the assumptions I was working on for this fic. In general, assume that this is only totally canon-compliant for RWBY up through the end of V4. The events of volume five went... similarly, but with a few changes, most of which should be fairly apparent based on what's been brought up so far. Mechanics-wise, this story has more or less explained how Aura works for its purposes, and not much else has changed, so there shouldn't be major problems there.

I think that's all I wanted to say here, so have some serious thanks for sticking around, and I'll see y'all next time!

(Oh wait, one more thing: Literally everyone complained about the name Scatterer, so I went back and edited the last chapter to the much less terrible Scatter. Thank you all for the input!)