It's cold as balls here, -6 degrees outside my door. God help us all.
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Everything had planned out so perfectly, so meticulously, that there was no way anything could get in the way. No soldiers or androids could stop, no Ace-Ops could intervene, and none of the Outcasts would be able to pull off a last minute save. The fact that the plan didn't go according to plan was something that Watts still found annoying. True, it was something beyond his control, but that just seemed to make it worse for him. In an instant, he had his control ripped away from him.
Here was the original plan: Watts would hack the election servers. Tyrian would then hijack Robyn's election party and kill a bunch of people. The murders would be framed on Penny thanks to Watts editing the security footage. Chaos ensues.
All in all, a pretty solid plan to turn the city against Ironwood.
Then Vilgax crashed down.
So, no party murders. Tyrian's bloodlust needed to be sated. He was promised lives to take and he would take them. While the forces of Atlas were all busy, the serial killer scorpion took to the streets to engage in a killing spree. One poor Mantle citizen ran for his life down an alley. Any screams for help he uttered were drowned by the sound of sirens, gunfire, and explosions. No one would be able to help him, his fate was sealed. The mad Faunus quickly cornered the man and pounced, blades and tail at the ready.
A single minute later, Tyrian walked out of that alley with a fresh coat of blood on his weapons. In his fit of rage that spanned both the entire fight against Vilgax and some of the aftermath, he had killed as many as 30 people. All 30 of those deaths were attributed to the same person, but no one in the Atlesian or Mantle law enforcement could figure it out, even when the stars aligned and they tried working together.
As the days passed and no information came to light, the grief of the victims' families and the community itself turned to anger, with the citizens demanding answers from the military and the Atlas council. There were protests and demonstrations with the people of Mantle demanding justice for their loved ones and an end to the violence that had taken over their city. But the military response was harsh, with Ironwood enforcing a curfew and a ban on public gatherings, only adding to the sense of unease and despair that had settled over the city.
The city was a shadow of its former self, and it would take more than just words of reassurance to heal the wounds that had been inflicted.
Ironwood's voice boomed over the city, his projection casting an eerie glow on the deserted streets. "Citizens of Mantle - Following the most recent Grimm attack, a temporary prohibition of assembly is in place. There are to be no public gatherings of any kind. Please conduct your business and return to your homes before curfew."
The mood in Mantle was somber and tense. The recent events had left a deep scar on the city, and the citizens were living in constant fear of what might happen next. The once-vibrant streets were now quiet and empty, the shops and stalls shuttered up and abandoned. The few people who ventured out scurried along, their heads down and their faces etched with worry.
The presence of soldiers and Atlesian Knights did little to ease the tension. While they provided a sense of security, their presence also served as a constant reminder of the danger that lurked just beyond the city walls. The children, in particular, seemed to sense the gravity of the situation, staying close to their parents and looking up at them with wide, scared eyes.
All in all, the chaos of spontaneity resulted in consequences far worse than anything Salem's agents had planned.
...but there was thankfully a light.
Robyn and the other Happy Huntresses had seen enough. The people of Mantle were suffering, and they were not going to stand by and watch any longer. They had already lost friends and loved ones to the violence that had consumed the city, and they knew that something had to be done.
So, one day, they took matters into their own hands. They intercepted an Atlas military truck carrying much-needed supplies and began to forcefully take the materials off the vehicle. At first, the soldiers tried to stop them, but the Happy Huntresses were determined and resourceful and they managed to overpower the military personnel.
Once they had the supplies, they immediately began to distribute them to the people of Mantle, starting with the most vulnerable: the sick, the elderly, and the children. They set up makeshift distribution centers throughout the city, and soon, word began to spread of their actions.
But all actions have consequences, no matter how necessary they are.
"This is a worst case scenario." Ironwood growled, slamming his fist on his desk. Ben, Ruby, Ceres, Qrow, Clover and Winter stood in his office. "People are panicking. With Vilgax's attack and Tyrian's murders...and not to mention. Jacque is sitting on the council."
"And with that event, it was the last thing Miss Hill needed to go from a full hometown hero to vigilante." Clover said, pulling up footage of the Happy Huntresses stealing supplies from a truck.
"I'm afraid the problem is more complicated than that." Winter said, which only added to Ironwood's stress. Ben could swear he could see Ironwood's hair turning white in real time.
"It seems Robyn has emboldened our suppliers in Mantle," the eldest Schnee sibling reported, "They're refusing to sell us provisions until the city is adequately repaired. With Robyn redistributing the goods her team has stolen, the Amity Project is completely stalled."
Ruby frowned. "We're so close, though...there's gotta be another way to finish the tower, right?"
"...there is." Winter hesitated.
"So? Out with it." Ceres said.
"We declare martial law."
Ben, Ruby and Ceres' eyes widened, and they looked over at Ironwood. He was staring out the window.
"...you're not considering that, are you?" Ben asked.
"What's more important? A few city blocks being happy, or uniting the world?" Ironwood asked. His voice seemed more focused, serious. It was like something had come over him, possessed him even.
"Don't make it seem small when you know it isn't." Ceres stepped forward. "You keep saying how we just need a little more time, but you're not the one struggling. That city is struggling, while Atlas is acting as if nothing is going on."
"We all have made some sacrifices for the greater good." Ironwood said. "Mantle has had to bear a lot of the burden, but-"
"They're suffering the brunt of it! The longer this waiting game continues, the more difficult each day becomes for the folks down there and now you want to send in additional soldiers? You can't just make people do what you want them to do!" Ceres argued.
Ironwood took a step closer and looked at her, his eyes narrowing, while she looked back, out of breath from yelling. He stepped and then sunk into his chair, resting his face on his hands.
"General, please. Pressuring Mantle in this way... That type of conflict plays right into Salem's hands." Ruby urged. "You're trying to unite everyone, right? And that includes them."
"There's a lot of things we can't do right now, kid." Qrow frowned. "For example…a long-lost serial killer is loose in Mantle and the military has no idea where he is. We can't tell the public that, or that's gonna stir something up."
"...we told everyone about Salem, right?" Ben frowned. "Why not tell them the reason for Amity-"
Ironwood slammed his hand on his desk, leaving a dent. Ben flinched at that.
Ironwood composed himself. "If we talk about Amity now, we risk Salem's forces, who we know are here, working to sabotage it. Tell the public the truth, we risk falling to the Grimm before we can reunite Remnant. We have to finish the tower and to do that," the general explained, "I want Robyn Hill in custody."
Today was just one shock after another it seemed. Ruby and Ben shared a look between them while Ceres was ready to go into all the reasons that was a bad idea. Robyn was a hero to Mantle's people, doing what the ordinary citizen couldn't and Ironwood wanted to just throw her in handcuffs? That's like inviting the people to openly riot.
"We can offer her a deal if she gets Mantle to cooperate," Ironwood added, stopping Ceres before she could interject. Because that small addition would make the order far more agreeable.
"We'll see to it, sir," Clover answered without a moment's hesitation.
"And anyone not assisting with Robyn needs to focus on Tyrian. I want to know who he's working with, where he's hiding and what he's planning," the general continued and began moving towards the door to the office, "He might even take advantage of all the chaos in Mantle and strike sooner...I want him in a cell before he can even fire another shot. Am I clear?"
"R-right." Ben gave a nod. Ben felt a strange shudder go down his spine when Ironwood's gaze darted his way.
"...you're more worried about Vilgax, aren't you?" Ironwood inquired.
Ben grimaced. "Yeah...he's still out there. I don't get it- did he teleport away or something? Was he just a distraction? Why did he come back now?"
"I understand your concerns, and honestly I agree with them. But we can't search for two missing threats without a lead on either of them. Tyrian's already taken enough innocent lives, so we focus on him. The first step to achieving any sort of lasting peace is to have that maniac off the streets. Am I clear?" Ironwood said, poking his finger on the desk.
At least that made sense. Tyrian was the immediate threat right now. The idea of Vilgax coming back loomed over Ben like a shadow. After all, it took all of them to fight Vilgax, and even then only an airstrike was able to force him to retreat. They got lucky with that. What would happen if Vilgax had come back earlier? What if he'd landed in Vale? Or Haven? There wouldn't be an Atlesian airship to bombard him. Ben shook his head, ignoring that line of questions.
For now...they had a serial killer to find.
Ben and Ruby drove around in the convoy, keeping an eye out for Tyrian. The streets were empty, not even a homeless person in sight. Ben looked distracted and Ruby was more focused on the giant floating city in the sky.
Weird how they never really had problems like this. Ruby shook her head, she could criticize capitalism later. Tyrian was lurking around here somewhere...
And so could Vilgax.
Unfortunately, while Tyrian and Vilgax were the foes they should be dealing with, Clover had actually roped them into the plan to deal with Robyn. Of course, it wasn't just Ruby and Ben in the truck.
"Remind me," Yang chimed in from the back, "How long have you even had a license?"
"A-a few weeks now! Shush!" Ruby frowned, keeping her eyes on the road. "Not like I need a license...the bus is cheap..."
"And she does have super speed." Blake added.
"Yeah, that too!" Ruby agreed.
"Aaaand yet you were more focused on Atlas than the traffic lights," Yang smirked.
"...shush," Ruby huffed, not really having a comeback to that.
"Why did he come back?" Ben asked, breaking the silence. "Why now?"
"Still focused on the squid, huh?" Yang asked, looking back to Ben.
"Why wouldn't I be? Dealing with Salem is one thing, dealing with Zs'skayr is a whole OTHER situation- but thrown in Vilgax too?" Ben's face contorted in fear. "I...I just don't know if we can juggle three threats that big at once."
"A bit surprising none of us came out of that battle without heavy injuries..." Blake said. "Especially with that sword."
"He's gotten stronger. Sure, I unlocked new forms, but Vilgax...he trained YEARS for that battle. He was even harder than when I was a kid and I was at a disadvantage back then..." Ben looked down at the Omnitrix.
"Why not use an Omni Stellar form to send a message?" Yang asked.
"Nuh uh. No way. I'm not gonna harness the power of a God for that." Ben said. "That's a last resort."
"Speaking of last resorts," Blake began, "The general...all of this just screams desperation. Like everything's falling apart around him."
"In a way, it is," Ruby said, "Tyrian's killings, Vilgax's attack, Jacques' opposition...all of that's just making the stress worse."
"But this is Robyn. He has to know this will do more harm than good. The hero to the people being arrested and given an ultimatum. Yeah that can't possibly backfire," Yang said, the words dripping with sarcasm at the end.
Ben shook his head. "I dunno what he's thinking right now. Hell, this manhunt for Robyn is almost authoritarian. Nothing sends that message of 'unity' like controlling the city that needs the MOST help right now."
"Woah, that's a pretty harsh take." Yang noted. "...I like it."
"Sorry, I just...I dunno, I'm really stressed." Ben shook his head.
"Keeping something like Amity secret, the increased pressure on Mantle...how far is the general willing to go here?" Blake added.
"You mean 'will he go from good natured headmaster to military dictator?'" Yang corrected, "With the ways things are going?"
"He's making a bad call here, yeah, but he wouldn't make it on that level again, right? Benefit of hindsight?" Ruby chimed in, trying to be a bit optimistic, giving the general some credit.
"Turn here!" Yang quickly called out, making Ruby jump in her seat a bit.
"I had it!"
"Nooooo, you almost missed it."
Blake smirked a little at the exchange before she looked down at her Scroll, just to see where they were. There were three different blips on the street map of Mantle, each one a different convoy truck with an escort. Clover and Elm's truck was taking the western most route, while Marrow and Ceres' were going down the usual route. Clover's plan was simple, if any of the trucks were hit, the escort would pursue Robyn and the other Huntresses immediately. Once the word was sent, everyone else would converge on them, cut Robyn off and detain her.
"We should be working with Robyn. Not against her." Yang frowned. "Practically doing Salem's job for her, dividing the cities like this."
"I don't even believe Jacques won the election." Ben frowned. "We kinda tanked his campaign once or twice, right?"
"Believe me. You're not the only one. Weiss and her family are in conniptions right now." Blake said.
"I think you're right," Ruby began, "Remember how, after Beacon, Atlas got better security? Make sure that no one could hack in again?"
"Yeah, and we saw that fail during Rojo's crusade," Ben added.
"Ok. But given Atlas' track record...how much do you wanna bet that Mantle's still working with the outdated code?"
Blake frowned. "It's possible. I heard Mantle used to BE Atlas before they upgraded to the skies."
"Everything's just a hand me down. Maybe if they're lucky, they'll get the big floating city before the Atlesians go into space." Ben joked.
"Why does that sound like something Jacques would promise? Part of his own space program or something?" Yang rolled her eyes.
"I could see it," Ruby said, "'Introducing Atlas 2.0.' He'd probably call it Icarus and just completely ignore the irony."
"Of course he would." Blake frowned. "I don't see why we can't tell Robyn the truth again- worked out for Oscar and the others, right?"
"...who says we can't?" Yang asked.
"You mean..." Ruby started.
"Yeah. The paranoia's getting old. We know we can trust Robyn, no matter how much Ironwood thinks we can't just to be safe, and she has every right to know. So, if we find her, instead of arresting her, we just tell her."
"If she's even in the mood to talk. We are riding around in a military-grade armored truck here," Ben pointed out, knocking on the door just to emphasize the point.
"Then let's make it look inviting." Yang smirked, "Ruby, can you parallel park this baby?"
Ruby cringed at that thought.
"Yang, can you actually take the wheel for this one-" Ruby began.
Before they could try that, Ruby turned back to the road for a quick moment and saw Joana standing in the middle of it. She slammed on the breaks just in time, stopping a good distance away from the Huntress. That...did make Joana a bit suspicious. These convoys were usually a lot better at stopping for pedestrians. She signaled for the others and, from a nearby alley, two crossbow bolts flew out and struck the truck's tires, exploding in a shower of ice and freezing the wheels over.
Robyn and May walked out from the alley, past Fiona who was reloading her crossbow-staff hybrid weapon, and made right for the back of the truck. Robyn threw the doors open and her eyes went wide when she saw the passengers.
"Heya." Ben greeted, waving awkwardly. "Nice night, isn't it?"
"Shit!" Robyn yelled, as she jumped back, weapon drawn.
"Hey, hey!" Ruby said, popping out of the car, hands up. "Look, we just want to talk-"
"Scramble!" Robyn called out and made a break for it. Joana, May, and Fiona followed suit, all running in different directions. They knew the drill by now, scatter and regroup at their hideout.
"Oh god damn it," Yang sighed before leaping out of the truck and running after Robyn.
"Looks like we're after the other members..." Ben said, activating the Omnitrix. He scrolled to an old icon, one Ruby had never seen before. "Uh, hey. Cover your nose."
"What?" Ruby gave him a weird look.
"Trust me." Ben said, as the faceplate rolled back. "You're gonna wanna plug your nose." Ben slapped down the Omnitrix. A dark, musky green covered Ben's weakening arm, and the Omnitrix. The new hand had three fingers, and a black 'glove'. Ben felt two sets of eye stalks popped out of his head, as Ben's face was coated in black. Wings, multiple legs and a stinger all popped out of his body-
And by GOD did he smell.
"Good thing Yang's already gone, because what the frick." Ruby said, her voice muffled since her hand was covering her nose and mouth.
"Stinkfly. Not the best flier but given the circumstances, he'll have to do," Ben said, his voice now a bit more nasally and high-pitched.
"'Not the best.' That's one way to put it when the smell could cause a Beowolf to black out!"
"Just...stick to the skies. The high skies. God, you smell worse than Blitzwolfer in the rain!" Ruby gagged, as Ben took off. His wings weren't the stealthiest, but they sure were fast. Ruby compared the sound to the blades on a helicopter, or the flap of a dragonfly's wings.
Johanna and May looked behind their shoulders to see the world's UGLIEST bug flying above them.
"That is vile." May grimaced.
"Well, matches who's on the council now," Joana shrugged and took aim with her own crossbow-staff. She wasn't aiming to kill, just incapacitate. She loaded up a magazine of ice bolts and fired off a few rounds, aiming for the bug's wings. Stinkfly floated around the blasts with a bit of effort.
"I hope they can get the smell out of their clothes..." Ben muttered, before his eyes began to shoot out shots of gunk. They landed on the pavement with a splat, making the girls gag.
"Jesus Christ, he couldn't have chosen the moth guy!?" May yelled.
"...he actually lands a hit with this shit, I'm decking him on principle," Joana growled, taking a few more shots to try and ground the disgusting bug. There weren't too many places to hide either, especially from an aerial view. She had a plan starting to form, but she needed somewhere to cover them from the sky.
Robyn, meanwhile, ran across a busy road, just as the cars started to pass by again, turning down an alley. Blake was closed behind her, spotting a nearby balcony she could use to get over the oncoming traffic. With a quick throw of Gambol Shroud and a running jump boosted by one of her duplicates, she swung over the traffic and landed on her feet in the alley. Pulling her weapon back to her, she aimed to try and hook Robyn this time, but the leader of the Huntresses simply jumped over it, letting it catch air instead.
"She's faster than I anticipated..." Blake said.
"We're gonna have to keep up, then." Yang said, unraveling her thread. She grabbed Blake and quickly swung up on top of a building- soon, she and Blake were swinging through Mantle.
Robyn looked behind her to see the duo swinging after them. She narrowed her eyes at the two, figuring out where they would go next. She predicated it as best she could and fired off a quick bolt, loaded with Fire dust at one of the nearby balconies. Not enough to destabilize the entire thing and potentially get a bystander hurt, but just enough to loosen some of the stone so that a heavy load wouldn't be supported. A heavy load like, say, the weight of two people.
Yang quickly disengaged, as Blake took the lead- her Gambol Shroud did have a slightly longer range than Yang's own thread. Blake quickly pulled them atop another building, while Yang's thread was able to do whatever.
Yang shot her thread out and quickly wrapped it around Robyn's arm.
The wing-like blades that formed the prod of her own arm-mounted crossbow clamped together and Robyn tried to cut herself free of Yang's thread. Blake took the opening and leapt down towards Robyn, using the larger cleaver-like form of her weapon to block Robyn's attack.
"Look-!" Blake yelled, as she clashed with Robyn. "We know that you know about Amity! We just need to talk about something-!"
"And why should I?" Robyn frowned.
"Because you don't know the whole plan! You only know bits and pieces! We know you and Ironwood haven't exactly seen eye-to-eye on everything-" Yang began.
"Everything? Lemme guess, his words right?" Robyn rolled her eyes before pulling on Yang's thread instead of trying to cut it, pulling the brawler from the roof. Yang was able to catch herself, but in doing so, she had to release the thread on Robyn's arm. With that, the Happy Huntresses' leader struck out Blake, putting the Faunus on the defensive. Feather-like blades clashed against the cleaver blade that Gambol Shroud was sporting now, each hit pushing Blake a bit further back.
"And we may have some proof that the election was hacked!" Blake said, taking some more hits.
"No duh! That was OBVIOUSLY rigged by someone in Atlas-!"
"Or someone down here." Yang frowned.
Robyn scoffed at that, pushing Blake away with one last hit and jumped back, putting some distance between herself and the duo. Her wing-blades unfolded and formed the prod of her crossbow again, another bolt already loaded, this one humming with electricity. But she wasn't firing, just keeping the weapon trained on the two.
"You've got three minutes. Talk," Robyn said, her eyes shifting from Blake to Yang and back again. She was just waiting for an excuse to fire now.
"Everything in Mantle is a hand me down from Atlas, right?" Blake said, lowering her weapon, "That means the security from Atlas is now here. Say someone had insider knowledge of Atlas back in the day, and knows the security system down here is the same one from a few years back..."
"...then he could have hacked the ballots somehow." Robyn frowned.
"Exactly. Which means that someone else wanted Jacques to win the election," Yang added.
"Ok, say you're right, that's still just a theory. Until you get proof of that, can't do much. Now...what about Amity?"
"Amity Colosseum, all the supplies are going there, yes...but they're not just for rebuilding it. They're for..." Blake looked to Yang, just for a quick confirmation. The blonde brawler nodded without taking her eyes off of Robyn.
"He's refitting the colosseum into a new communications tower," the feline Faunus finished.
"...what?" Robyn asked, her gaze and aim shifting towards Blake.
"He can't really say it publicly. If word got out, Salem's forces might be able to strike it down before it even takes fly." Yang said. "But I have no idea why the bonehead never even brought it up with you."
Robyn thought it over and decided there was an easier way to figure this out. Risking it, she lowered her weapon and held out her other hand.
"Alright. Fisticuffs, gimme your hand," Robyn finally said.
Yang held out her hand- she heard about the semblance from Oscar. A passive semblance, one that wasn't involved in combat, one that rooted out the truth.
Yang was going to be one hundred percent honest here.
"Alright...let's try this again. What is Ironwood planning for Amity?" Robyn asked.
Yang took a breath before she said, "The general's refitting Amity into a new communication tower so that he can reestablish global communication with the Huntsmen communities."
When Yang started talking, lilac Aura had covered both her own and Robyn's hands and when the last word left her lips, the energy shifted from lilac to a bright shade of green.
"Why didn't he mention this?" Robyn frowned. "Why hide something so important, and neglect Mantle?"
"Good questions. While I can't answer why he chose to neglect Mantle, maybe he thought the tower was a higher priority, I can say why he never told you. If Salem's forces heard of it, they'd strike it down before the engines ever ignited," Yang frowned.
When Yang finished, the Aura's hue changed to green again.
Blake took out her Scroll, just to check something. It took only a second to confirm her concerns. When their truck stopped, the others had diverted and were heading there as they spoke.
"You have to get out of here and maybe lay low," Blake said, "Stopping the truck alerted the Ace-Ops and they're moving in."
"Huh...so he did send more than a couple of kids after me," Robyn scoffed a bit at that. One of them could turn into aliens, but that's besides the point.
Blake's Scroll then rang with a call from Clover, no doubt wanting to ask for a sit-rep.
"And like that, looks like time's up," Robyn said and turned to continue her escape.
Yang and Blake let her run off, as Blake huffed. "Okay, so we got the message to her. But...what now?"
"Easy." Yang said. "We look for some answers."
And then it hit Blake. "Wait...Ben and Ruby!"
"They don't kn-oh shit, one sec!" Yang quickly got her Scroll.
While the B and Y of team RWBY had found success in their confrontation with Robyn, Ben and Ruby were...having decidedly less luck. While chasing down Joana and May, Ben had...seemingly lost them. They passed under one of the many bridges that connected two of the sprawling buildings of Mantle and then, seemingly...vanished.
"...oh you can't be serious," Ben muttered to himself. He circled the area, looking for the two as Ruby caught up to where the chase had led. Since Ben was circling, the two had to be here, but where?
And then Ruby remembered. Didn't one of the Huntresses have an invisibility Semblance?
Ruby pulled out her scroll and dialed up Ben, who immediately picked up.
"Hello?" Ben asked.
"...hey, remember that dog alien you have?"
"Wildmutt? Yeah, why?" Ben asked.
"I need him to track something for me." Ruby might have said that a little too loud, because May and Joana overheard that. Suffice to say, they came to realize they were not in the best situation right now.
"...screw it." Johanna said, pulling out her crossbow. "Let's beat these kids up." She pulled out an arrow, loaded it into her weapon, and fired it at Ruby.
"Joana wai-and you already shot..." May sighed. Ruby heard the bolt flying at her and simply spun her scythe in front of her to deflect it. With a few more quick shots, Joana made just enough of an opening for herself to close the distance. The muscle of the Happy Huntresses rushed Ruby, fighting with the staff like it was more of a halberd, using large arcing swings. Ruby dodged or raced out the way, letting Joana simply strike at air or rose petals.
May sighed and dropped the invisibility field. She shifted her weapon into its magazine-fed crossbow form and took aim at Ruby. Before she could even start putting pressure on the trigger, something thudded to the ground behind her, followed by a low growling. She turned and saw a massive, orange-furred dog-like beast...with no eyes.
"...ok...from insect...to whatever the fuck kinda dog that is!" May called out and took a few shots with lightning-Dust loaded bolts.
Ben quickly dodged the attacks, and Wildmutt began his own attack falling stomp, sending a shockwave through the ground. May stumbled back, as Ben rushed in. Ben aimed to bite at May, but she blocked his attack with her staff.
"Back, Fido!" May said, kicking Ben in the throat.
Ben staggered back from that a bit, but quickly shook it off. He snarled a bit before rushing in, swiping at May with a flurry of wild slashes. She managed to block some, but when she tried to counter or exploit an opening, Ben was able to turn it around on her.
Joana, meanwhile, was having the same difficulty with Ruby that a lot of heavy hitters did: she kept missing. Not a single one of her swings managed to land.
"Why. Won't. YOU. STAY. STILL?!" Joana seethed between swings.
"Because! We need to talk! We think that someone from Mantle managed to hack the election!" Ruby yelled. "And...well, tiring you out seems like the only way you'll listen!"
"Why would someone from Mantle rig it?! Jacques didn't have many supporters down here to begin with!" Joana yelled.
"Not to...mention," May added, holding back Ben's claws with her staff, "He lost a lot of his own die-hards when Joey exposed the Revamp!"
"I'm not saying they had to BE from Mantle! They just had to hack Atlas from Mantle!" Ruby yelled. "Everything in Mantle is a hand me down, right? So the security code is as well!"
"So what? This some business partner of Jacques' who had too much riding on things?" Joana asked, still ready to fight.
"We don't know who yet. We're working that part out!"
Joana was about to say something, make a snide remark about how Ironwood really thought up a clever scapegoat, when her own Scroll buzzed. Without taking her eyes off of Ruby, she quickly brought it out and glanced down at the message she just got. It was from Robyn...and...it was to ignore the kids? They were letting them go?!
"...Dunno what your friends said...but I think Robyn's convinced..." Joana muttered.
Ben let go of May's staff, and reverted back to humans. He gagged a bit. "Jesus, that tasted AWFUL on my tongue."
"Maybe because you're NOT SUPPOSED TO BITE DOWN ON IT!" May yelled.
"Look...I don't fully buy this," Joana admitted, "I mean come on, you have to admit it's convenient and exactly the kinda shit some...Atlas one-percenter would pull. Shift the blame down here. But...Robyn's saying you're letting us go...so..."
"Hey, we're not even sure if the person is one hundred percent for Mantle or Atlas. Could just be some random, rogue agent of chaos. But what we do know is that Robyn was robbed of her victory." Ben frowned. "And you guys shouldn't be ruled over by Atlas like this."
"Well...nice to hear it from someone outside of Mantle for a change," May admitted, wiping the last bits of Wildmut saliva off her weapon.
Ruby felt her own Scroll buzz. Must've been Yang or Blake. She quickly grabbed it and read the message. Most of what Joana said, but with a very important detail.
"You guys need to go. Clover and the others'll be here soon," Ruby added.
"Clover? As in...Clover Ebi? The Ace-Op?" Joana asked, "...damn...when Ironwood wants something to stop, he pulls out the big guns first doesn't he..."
"Yeah...and I'm not sure I like how he's going about this." Ruby said. "Just get out of here- things are about to get a lot worse."
Johanna and May dashed off, as Ben looked back to Ruby. "So, what excuse are we gonna make for their escape?" Ben asked.
"I mean, May literally gave it to us."
"Invisibility?" Ben raised a brow, "Think Clover'll buy it?"
"Probably. Add more to it obviously, but he should be ok with it. Harriet might've put it under more scrutiny, buuuuut she and Vine are playing the role of Sherlock trying to figure out where Tyrian could be hiding."
"...must be murder for her."
"...Ben..." Ruby deadpanned.
"Wha-...wait, no, I didn't even mean that one!"
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Look. Right now, we have our war at home with Ironwood- we need to talk some sense into him, and quick. I'm not liking anything he's doing right now..."
"Let's just hope he's willing to listen. Looked like he was a word away from ordering Ceres thrown in a cell earlier..." Ben noted.
"...yeah, maybe let's call a meeting with the others to go about this." Ruby said.
"Agreed."