I wish you all a very "fuck you Jello Apocalypse"
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
The sound of the hammer clicking echoed throughout the office. Not a word was uttered, but everyone knew what that simple sound really was, a declaration of war.
The second Ironwood showed he wasn't hesitating, Ben and the others dropped any pretenses of holding back as well. Blonko immediately fired a net round at Ironwood, pinning him against the wall of his office, letting the others get their first strikes off.
Rex formed his hands into the Bad Axes and immediately swung them at the most dangerous Ace Op at the moment, Vine. His range of mobility could be a serious problem if left ignored. The monk-like operative quickly jumped over the attack, as he grabbed Rex with his elongated Aura arms. With some of his momentum, Vine threw his assailant into one of the office windows, cracking it a bit.
Yang and Blake charged at Elm, who had already used her Semblance to root herself in place to keep herself stable against the oncoming assaults. The Outcasts' blonde brawler threw a flurry of punches at the Ace-Op but she either managed to either block or deflect them with Timber.
"So after everything, just like that, huh?!" Yang yelled, "Gonna turn and follow an order you know is wrong?!"
Elm didn't say anything but her face said it all. She hated this, but what could she do right now? Blake used Gambol Shroud to wrap around the hammer's hilt, yanking it back so that Yang could get some hits in. Elm tanked punch after punch, countering with a headbutt once an opening presented itself. The sudden hit knocked Yang back a bit and freed up the Ace-Op's focus, shifting her attention to the Faunus ninja of the duo. She then lifted Blake off the ground using her hammer, Gambol Shroud's ribbon still wrapped around the handle. She used Blake like a mace, slamming her into Yang and sending them both flying out of Ironwood's office and into the small rotunda that led there. She undid her roots and walked out after them. No matter how she rationalized it, no matter what excuse failed to convince her, Elm just couldn't put her usual spirit into this fight.
Ben slammed down the Omnitrix faceplate and in a flash of green, his form had been replaced with XLR8's. It was him and Ruby against Harriet, creating a battle of pure speed. Harriet made the first move, rearing back her fists and rushing in. Ben matched her speed and managed to throw her off a little, his blue blur clashing against Harriet's lightning infused yellow. Ruby got into the fight as well, adding her red petal storm into the mix, slamming into Harriet's chest with a double kick and knocking her back into another high-speed strike from Ben.
Harriet growled and leapt over Ben, kicking him into Ruby. Harriet was about to clobber the both of them when-
"STAY!"
Harriet's body froze up, as Ben and Ruby shot back up. Their eyes widened in shock upon seeing Harriet struggle against some invisible force. An invisible force that was all too familiar to the both of them.
"M-marrow?!" Ben yelled.
"What can I say? You raised some good points!" Marrow grinned nervously. "Maybe it's just cause I'm the newest on the team, but you're right. So, guess you can call me an Outcast too now."
The wolf Faunus huffed a bit as Harriet's energy flared up, her eyes darting over to who she considered to be her ex-teammate now.
"You-!" Harriet hissed, struggling against Marrow's Semblance.
"R-ruby! Call the people who don't know! Albedo, Neo, Qrow! Do it now! I can't hold her for long!"
"Marrow…thank you!" Ruby nodded, before she whipped out her scroll. She began to dial a group call with Qrow, Albedo and the others not in the know. Marrow strained as he tried to keep Harriet in place.
"Dude, you...you didn't need to do this!" Ben insisted.
"Of course I did!" Marrow yelled back, sweat dripping down his forehead. "You guys...made me feel like I was a part of a team! Like I was more than that funny rookie cliche! Hell, for a while, it looked like you were making headway with all of us! Hanging out with you guys and Elm, after you talked with her? Those were some of my best days since joining this stupid army!"
Harriet yelled as her Semblance went Berserk. The lightning of her usual speed covered her body and the power behind it broke Marrow's hold on her. The speedster Ace-Op raced forward, first grabbing Ben by the face, followed by Marrow before she slammed both of them into the nearest wall. She threw Ben aside and focused all of her attention on Marrow and just started punching.
"You betrayed this Kingdom," punch! "You betrayed your general!" punch! "You betrayed the Ace-Ops, all just so you could feel warm and FUCKING FUZZY?! AND YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S SUPPOSED TO REPLACE MARION?!" Harriet grit her teeth and slammed her head into Marrow's, just totally blinded by her rage.
Ben's eyes went dark, before he shifted into another alien. XLR8's speed was great, but shifting into Fasttrack at the last second was a better choice. The Citrakayah had the best of both worlds, able to keep up with his opponent and effectively counter and outright nullify her energy attacks.
Ben kicked Harriet off Marrow, sending her flying across the room. She landed on her feet and blitzed back towards her attacker. The Omnitrix-wielder built up some energy os how own and dashed at her. When they clashed, the two began to exchange rapid fisticuffs, the punches more akin to blurs of color and lightning.
"I KNOW HOW IMPORTANT YOUR JOB IS TO YOU! I KNOW WHO SHE IS, BUT I DON'T GET EVERYTHING ABOUT MARION YE-" Ben yelled.
"DON'T SAY HER NAME!" Harriet yelled, socking Ben in the face and shutting him up.
That one punch was enough for Harriet to just start laying into Ben. Rapid punch after punch landed, each one packing an extra shock to it thanks to the Berserker lightning surrounding her. She landed one last uppercut that sent Ben flying back, bouncing off one of the bookshelves that lined the office's walls and scattering the books all over the floor.
"I knew it...I fucking had you all pegged the moment you walked in!" Harriet sneered, bashing her fists together with a spark.
"And I wanted to look past that goddamn harsh exterior," Ben wiped some blood from his mouth, "We all did. But no matter what I say right now, it's just not gonna register, not a word of it."
Ben's eyes lit up, sparks of energy at the corners of his eyes.
"But that's fine."
TENFOLD! Ben's body became a blur as he suddenly clotheslined into Harriet's neck, knocking her down instantly.
Harriet's eyes widened as her Aura actually shimmered from the hit. What the hell was that move?!
Meanwhile, Blonko was hot on Vine's tracks as he harpooned himself around, trying to match up with Vine's own movements.
"Your agility is commendable." Blonko frowned, "But you are still making the wrong choice."
"I could say the same to you," Vine countered, still pulling himself around with his Aura arms. On one turn, he drew Thorn, the throwing star's blades extending outward, and sliced through the net holding the general. Ironwood threw the remaining pieces of the net aside and took aim, firing round after round at Rook as he marched towards his enemy, ignoring the other fights going on around him. The Revonnahgander quickly brought up the Proto-Tool in shield mode, blocking the shots from Due Process. Something was off about the shots though, they had more power behind them than they should. And then it occurred to Rook that he actually didn't know what kind of Dust Ironwood used as ammo.
Meanwhile, Kevin frowned and transformed into one of his heavy hitters. Six For Fighting picked up Ironwood's desk and threw it at the man. Ironwood narrowly dodged the thrown piece of furniture, quickly spinning around and firing at the mutant Tetramand. Min quickly brought up a barrier to protect her boyfriend, blocking the bullets.
"What, you gonna break out our 'counter strategies' because we're out maneuvering you now?" Min frowned. "We know everything."
"I didn't want to," Ironwood said, reloading Due Process with a fresh cylinder of ammo. He looked between the two he was fighting. Min would be problematic, normal weapons wouldn't affect her to the same degree as the others. He needed more occult measures for a more effective plan. Kevin was more manageable but he still needed to finish work on his ace. Fortunately, he'd seen Six For Fighting enough times in sparring matches to know how to handle him. But then a third figure stepped up to face the general. Her eyes still red from crying, Weiss leveled her rapier's blade towards the general, her guardian Knight already climbing out of the summoning Glyph that appeared behind her.
"Dad…" Weiss whispered, shaking her head as if to convince him to stop. One last desperate plea.
But that last attempt fell on deaf ears.
Ironwood quickly reached for a pouch on his belt and brought out the counter for Weiss. In an even more messed up detail, he always had it on his person, just in case. A Sonorosian sound grenade, known as a 'Prepared Piano' in some circles, that appeared like one of the many disc grenades that the Atlesian military used. He tossed the grenade out which quickly stuck to Weiss' armor. The distraught heiress didn't hear anything when the weapon activated, but her summoned knight suddenly started to shake. The heiress' eyes widened as her summon shattered like glass.
Weiss may not have known what the weapon was exactly, but it was easy enough for her to figure out what this was.
"...you carry them around?" the heiress asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Ironwood said nothing, his expression cold and unflinching.
"Oh you paranoid bastard!" Kevin hissed, as Doppler wrapped around his arm, forming into the sharp, purple crystals of Black Ice.
"Is there anyone you actually trusted?!" Kevin roared as he slammed his crystal-coated arm into the ground and caused an eruption of purple shards to shoot out of the ground, headed right towards Ironwood.
The general rolled out of the way and fired off more rounds at Kevin, aimed at his feet without answering the question. Kevin looked down to see the six glowing bullet impacts right at his feet and then looked back to Ironwood. The general simply popped the chamber out of Due Process, loaded in another cylinder and clicked the chamber back into place. At that last click, the bullets under Kevin glowed brighter. Min, noticing this, summoned a black orb and threw it at Kevin, knocking him out of the way just in time for the explosive rounds' detonations to miss him.
Min turned back to the general, and began firing basic bolts of magic at him, circular and blunt, that shattered upon impact. It wasn't fancy like any of her other attacks, but right now, showing off could get her killed. The problem with Min's counter was the amount of time it would take to set up, more suited to an ambush tactic than outright combat.
Min's fists were enhanced with black magic, sharpening themselves into claws so a more melee focused barrage. The chaos demon charged in and began swiping at the general, absolutely ready to shred the man the Outcasts once called friend. Ironwood dodged the strikes with ease, letting the shadowy claws just cut through the air. He knew not to underestimate Min, especially at close range. Best to play it safe for now.
"You had counters for everyone. EVERYONE! Even your stupid Ace Ops!" Min yelled. "Do you just wanna push everyone else away!?"
"Preparations are necessary." Ironwood coldly frowned.
"In what world!?" Min yelled. "In what world would Harriet Bree turn against you!?"
"We live in a world where aliens aren't a hypothetical, where magic is proven to exist, and where a millennia old witch wages a war against a man trapped in a cycle of reincarnation, all at the behest of twin gods," Ironwood said calmly, "Are you saying there isn't a piece of technology or a spell that could force her to betray me?"
Min had no answer. She instead opted to morph her claws into an energy blast that hit Ironwood dead in the chest. The general slid back, but quickly shifted to an offense stance. He fired off a few normal bullets that bounced off a shield made of the same magic as Min's rending claws. The shield changed into another claw before Min raced towards the general, unknowingly playing right into his trap.
"Your weakness," Ironwood muttered, as he loaded a bullet into the chamber, "was so surprisingly easy to get."
He aimed a little lower on her body, waiting until she was practically on top of him, before he pulled the trigger and let the bullet fly.
A bullet made of glass. A bullet made of glass…and filled with holy water.
Time seemed to slow down as the bullet was fired from Due Process and shattered against Min's stomach. The chaos demon's eyes went wide as smoke began to rise off her body and a burning pain shot through her entire body. Ironwood sidestepped and let his opponent fly past him and thud to the ground, shaking and wanting to scream but the sound caught in her throat. Ironwood spun his weapon in his hand and smashed it into the side of Min's head, knocking her to the floor. She was still conscious, but it was like she was just curling in on herself in sheer agony.
And that's when Kevin just saw red.
He just vaulted towards Ironwood and tackled him away from the downed Min. He was just charging with the general in his grip, aiming to slam him into a wall. Doppler was trying to warn Kevin about something, but he didn't care. But then, that warning came to pass. Doppler braced himself before Kevin and the general smashed through the window at the back of Ironwood's office, weakened as it was from Rex slamming into it earlier. Ironwood and Kevin were quickly falling from above, with the latter landing blow after blow upon the now tyrannical Atlesian leader. Ironwood tried blocking as much as he could, but there wasn't much he could do given the current situation.
"Does neutralize mean kill in your book?!" Kevin yelled. He knew a small dose of holy water couldn't do much damage to Min, but that didn't stop his rage.
Soon, the two slammed into the courtyard like a falling meteor, cratering the stone beneath them. Ironwood seemed unbothered, his Aura having absorbed most of the damage from the fall, even though Kevin pressed all of his weight against Ironwood to keep him from moving.
"...you shouldn't have done that, Levin," Ironwood warned.
"And why the fuck not?!" Kevin asked, readying to throw another punch.
"One word. Witnesses."
"Hey, isn't that one of the alien guys?" a soldier asked, having been drawn over by the sudden commotion. They, along with a partner, thought that a Grimm had landed or a ship had crashed down.
"Um, sir? Are you…ok?" the second soldier asked, their trigger finger starting to itch.
Kevin's blood froze. He looked over to see the two soldiers closes to him and many nearby students, all eyes fixed on them.
Shit.
"Levin's betrayed us the Kingdom!" Ironwood yelled. "Take him down! Lethal force authorized! Shoot him!"
Without a second's hesitation, the soldiers took aim and opened fire on Kevin, while the students readied their own respective weapons, everything from pistols and rifles to their own unique combination weapons. Kevin's eyes widened before he jumped away from Ironwood, coating the rest of his arms with Black Ice's crystals and letting the bullets bounce off his defenses. Ironwood grunted as he got back to his feet, dusting himself off.
"General, are you ok?" one of the students asked as they ran up to their headmaster.
"I'm fine," the general said, pulling out his Scroll which was still somehow undamaged. He sent a Kingdom-wide alert.
"As of this moment, all members of the Outcasts are to be rounded up and detained," Ironwood ordered, "The charge: high treason."
Kevin frowned. Damn it! I just screwed us over, didn't I?! He quickly morphed into Rush, and sped away, with Ironwood watching his opponent speed off. He had more pressing matters to attend to, though. The AntiTrix was one thing, but the bigger threat was its clear inspiration.
"And now I have to play my trump card." Ironwood sighed, "I'm only human..."
With that, some of the students and soldiers chased after Kevin. Unfortunately, they both had the same plan. If Ironwood really was going off the deep-end, then the Outcasts were gonna need a way out. Fortunately, there were still some Mantas that hadn't been used for the evacuation. He could hotwire a car when he was eleven, and now he had Bootleg. Stealing an airship should be a breeze.
As for Ironwood, he marched right back into Atlas Academy and took a detour to what was usually the Weapons Shop and Maintenance classroom. On any other day, this place would've been Ruby's dream come true, a technological blacksmith's paradise complete with all the hi-tech upgrades a gun nut like her could ask for. He went up to the weapon racks, usually meant for holding student projects and input his own personal authorization code. This let the rack retrieve his secret project from one of the more secretive labs down in the military base. As he waited, he sent a text to Winter, who was walking to another secret elevator that led to the Maiden's hospital floor with Penny.
Don't tell Penny. Focus on the Maiden, it read simply.
Outcasts? High treason? Weiss!? Winter's brows shot up as she read the alert, then the message from her commander.
"Is something wrong?" Penny asked, as Winter hid her Scroll.
"...no. Everything is fine." Winter lied, looking away. Penny clearly didn't get the alert. Ironwood probably didn't want to scare her.
Ironwood's second in command pressed a few hidden buttons on the wall and opened up the elevator, before stepping in. She did her best to keep herself composed, but her mind was a blur with questions. What did Weiss do? Surely this was a misunderstanding, it had to be. After she had claimed the Maiden's powers, she would march back up there and talk with her sister. Set things straight. Penny stepped into the elevator as well, a bit uneasy herself, before the door closed behind her.
Once it did though, someone emerged from behind a corner, glass blade in hand as she walked down the hall to where the elevator opened up.
"So this is where you've been hiding her," Cinder said, "Who knew that all it took to topple an empire was a little trinket?"
Cinder smirked before she got an alert on her Scroll. She looked down, and nearly laughed. The wanted pictures of these brats were so funny.
"Oh, Red...how did you ruin things THIS time?" the Fall Maiden wondered aloud.
Yang crossed her arms in front of her as Elm brought Timber down in an overhead swing. Yang's gauntlet and prosthetic arm buckled under the hit, but the defense stayed strong. Elm pushed down on the hammer head to try and break through, only for Blake to come in and blindside the heavy hitter of the Ace-Ops. She managed to get a good series of blade strikes in on Elm, her Aura tanking the hits. The distraction was enough for Yang to push back just enough to get an arm free and punch Elm in the gut. She stumbled back but then rooted herself to the floor of the rotunda, holding her hammer in one hand and throwing a mean right hook at the brawler. The surprise hit broke Yang's guard and, going back to two-handing Timber, Elm took a rocket-propelled swing that slammed into the blonde's side, launching her into and through one of the pillars at the far side of the rotunda.
With a deafening crash, Yang shattered through the towering pillar, her body hurtling towards the unforgiving ground below. As she made impact, a sharp wince of pain shot through her body. Thankfully, her Aura absorbed the brunt of the impact, shielding her from most of the harm. She still had plenty of Aura to spare, though.
Kylie transformed into a gaseous state and floated just above the ground. She swiftly ascended towards the sky and aimed her weapon at Elm, who was standing below her. From her elevated position, Kylie began firing at the muscle of the Ace-Ops with precision and accuracy. The giant Ace Op narrowly avoided the shots, as Ceres rushed at her. Strong, delayed uppercuts narrowly missed her body, as Kylie landed behind her.
"Why, Elm?!" Kylie asked, pointing her gun at her back.
Elm, once again, didn't answer. Instead, her grip tightened around Timber's shaft and she spun around to try and strike Kylie. The Omsosian was quick to turn to gas again, letting the hammer head just phase through her body. But now, Kylie could see Elm's face and the Ace-Op was doing her damnedest to hold back tears.
"What are you fighting for?" Kylie asked again, her voice softening. "Why do you continue to follow orders blindly?"
Elm took a deep breath, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. "I know Ironwood is wrong, but I can't just abandon my duty. I have to protect Atlas and Mantle…"
Ceres charged at Elm, her gauntlets sparking with energy. She aimed a swift punch at Elm's side, but the Ace-Op was quick to dodge, swinging Timber in a wide arc to create space between them. Yang rushed in from the other side, her fists charged with fiery aura. She landed a few good hits on Elm, but the Ace-Op managed to block most of them with her hammer. She planted her feet into the ground with her roots.
"But you're not protecting either of them!" Blake interjected, "You're weakening both cities by trying to take us down!"
"That's not what the general thinks," Elm said somberly.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked.
"Before we arrived...Ironwood sent us all a message," Elm began, knowing that the Outcasts deserved to be in the loop, "He's going to declare martial law once you're all in cells!"
Kylie's eyes widened with shock. "What? He can't just do that without due process!"
"He can and he will," Elm replied, her voice heavy with resignation. "Ironwood believes that drastic measures are necessary to ensure the safety of Atlas."
"But what about the people? What about their rights? What about Mantle?!" Ceres asked, frustration seeping into her voice.
"For his sake, they'll have to put them aside." Elm frowned. "This...is for the greater good."
"Like HELL it is!" Blake yelled.
"Sometimes...sometimes doing what's right means making the tough choices no one else is willing to make..."
"You don't believe that! I know you don't!" Kylie countered, "You're not just another drone in his army! You're Elm Ederne, a Huntress sworn to protect people!"
Elm fell silent, before going back on the attack. The roots around her feet vanished and she raced in at Blake, taking a swing at the feline Faunus. But she only shattered an icy duplicate, giving Yang an opening to rush in and land a few good hits on the muscle of the Ace-Ops before being knocked away with a quick strike from Timber's shaft. Ceres ran in to try and counter, her flames and gauntlets clashing with Elm's hammer in a flurry of strikes until Elm managed to land a powerful hit. Boosted by the rockets still loaded in the hammer, Elm bashed Ceres in the side and, in a spinning move, struck each of the remaining three Outcasts surrounding her.
"I have to believe it, Kylie..." Elm finally answered, "You can't focus on one battle to win a war."
"You talk about winning a war, but at what cost?" Kylie shouted as she transformed into a gaseous state once again and floated just above Elm's head. "What about the innocent people caught in the middle? What about the loss of trust and faith in our leaders? Is that what you call justice?"
Elm swung Timber again, trying to strike at Kylie, but the Omsosian was too quick and avoided the blow. "You're just a pawn in Ironwood's game, Elm. Can't you see that?"
Kylie landed behind Elm, and pulled out True Rebel. The violin's neck extended further, giving Kylie a massive battle axe.
"Stop fighting for the wrong side, Elm. We can stop Ironwood. We can stop Salem! We just need to stand together," Kylie said, her voice firm and determined, "That's why Salem always wants to divide us! She's scared of that unity! We may not have the resources and power of Atlas behind us-"
"SHUT UP!"
Kylie looked over, to see Ben and Harriet's brawl spilling out. Ruby was high tailing it behind them, struggling to keep up the pace. They might have just been a cartoonish dust cloud they were fighting so hard.
"That brat's trying to lower your guard!" Harriet yelled.
"Wha-?! Hare! We're trying to arrest them! Not kill them!" Elm said, getting some of her usual spirit back.
"I'm not gonna kill them, I'm just gonna fucking murder Marrow when this is OVER!" the speedster Ace-Op yelled, dodging another punch from Ben and parrying another scythe strike from Ruby.
Kylie felt a pang of frustration. Harriet's words only served to further convince her that they were on the right side of this fight.
"You see what I mean, Elm? This isn't justice; this isn't right! Just let me-"
Elm closed her eyes. "I'm sorry..."
"Yeah…so am I," Yang said, her hair glowing brightly as her eyes shifted to their furious crimson hue. She brought both of her hands up and slammed them into the ground. Elm turned her focus to the blonde brawler as she activated her Semblance, rooting herself in place to deal with the impact. Blake leapt over the towering woman and landed a few more shots to whittle away at the impressive shield of Aura. The feline Faunus landed gracefully next to her partner as Elm turned around and shifted Timber into its rocket-launcher mode. She hefted the weapon on her shoulder, taking aim at her fiery and shadowy opponents.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Yang warned, "Loophole in your Semblance and all."
"...what are you talking about? There's no loophole," Elm said.
"Wish we didn't have to do this," Blake apologized in advance.
"But you better make sure that shot knocks us out," Yang added threateningly.
"Yang, Blake, what are you-?!" Kylie said, before she took notice.
But Elm didn't. She fired off the twin rockets at the girls. The firepower would be enough to floor all four of the Outcasts surrounding, so really firing these off was a bit overkill.
But then the two did something Elm wasn't ready for. Blake actually wrapped Gambol Shroud's ribbon around one of the missiles, while the string around Yang's synthetic arm unraveled and did the same. Swing in opposite directions, the two actually THREW Elm's rockets right back at her.
Elm gasped as the rockets hit her, blasting her back into a wall, her roots rendered useless because of the now shattered floor, thanks to Yang's slam move from earlier. Without a solid surface to deal with the impact, there was nothing for her roots to really hold on to. Her Aura shattered as she was practically embedded in the rotunda wall, smoke rising off her body as she just hanged there, limp. The battle seemed to freeze when the impact of what just happened was actually processed by everyone. Even Harriet, in her Berserker fury, stopped and took stock of the situation.
Yang and Blake just beat one of the best Hunters in Atlas.
Kylie looked at the unconscious form of Elm, feeling a twinge of guilt for what they had done.
"...I'm sorry." Kylie muttered. "But I guess it had to be done. Right?"
Rex and Rook were fighting hard against Vine, who was a very tricky combatant. "You're telling me you can SIDE with that monster!?" Rex yelled.
"And you're telling me you'd allow your own personal feelings to doom countless lives?" Vine asked, unphased by his teammate's defeat, his Aura limbs holding two of the compressed debris spheres that Rex fired from his Slam Cannon.
"BULLSHIT! He literally tried to play GOD and you're saying I'm worse?!" Rex shouted.
"Maybe if you would give him a chance to explain, you would see that he's in the right," Vine countered before throwing the shots back at Rex. Rook jumped in the way, using the Proto-Tool to cut through one stone and Stonecutter to shatter the other.
"People have often described me as monk-like, Vine. But what the general has done is inhumane. Don't allow duty to blind your sense of morality," Rook said.
Vine actually blinked at that, unaware of how a simple contraction meant that Rook was royally pissed off.
"He LIED to me for years! Told me I had no records of me even existing! And here he was, sitting on top of them-!" Rex yelled.
"TO PROTECT YOU!" Vine countered. "You should be thankful!"
Rook lined up another shot with the Proto-Tool and opened fire, but Vine was easily able to dodge each blast that came his way.
"Thankful? And if you were in Rex's position, would you be thankful that everything you'd ever been told was a lie? That the questions that kept you awake at night had answers, but the one who knew flat-out refused to give them to you?!" Rook argued.
"I would, in fact!" Vine said, tossing his shuriken at the two, "Because it would mean I actually could sleep!" The gravity Dust inside activated and allowed the weapon a greater amount of air time and the chance to ricochet off the walls and pillars of the rotunda. Rook and Rex went back to back, forming up their respective shields and swatted the star away, but each time it just kept coming back. They ended up having to practically dance around the star as Vine's Aura limbs lashed out, trying to restrain them.
Rex and Rook worked together, using their shields to block the Aura limbs and the flying shuriken. Rex fired off a blast from his Slam Cannon, which Vine narrowly dodged, and Rook followed up with a swipe of Stonecutter, but Vine deflected it with one of his Aura limbs.
"Enough!" Vine shouted, as he unleashed a powerful shockwave that knocked Rex and Rook off their feet. "You're not listening to reason!"
"We don't need to listen to reason when it comes to a madman like him!" Rex growled as he stood back up, ready to continue the fight.
"Like me, Specialist Salazar?" a familiar, cold voice said before a gunshot rang out and struck Rex in the shoulder.
Rex stumbled back as he clutched his wounded shoulder, gritting his teeth in pain. Ironwood stood a few feet away, his gun still smoking from the shot he had just fired.
"Ironwood!" Rook exclaimed, drawing his attention away from Rex.
"General Ironwood," Vine corrected, stepping forward to stand beside the general.
"You're both traitors," Ironwood spat, his eyes cold and unfeeling. "You're endangering the lives of everyone in this city with your misguided loyalty to a criminal."
"What we did may have been underhanded, I admit," Rook argued. "but you have crossed a line. Several in fact!"
Ironwood shook his head. "You're all so naive. It's like you came from an old folk story, where morality's so simple. You think you're heroes, but you're just pawns in a game that's much bigger than you."
"Funny...we've used similar wording on your Ace Operatives," Rook said.
"To no effect," Vine pointed out.
"Using contractions is considered a type of curse among your people isn't it, Rook?" Ironwood asked.
"You cared to remember. How touching," Rook leered.
Ironwood's eyes narrowed at Rook's words. "I remember everything, Blonko. And I remember that you were once one of the best soldiers under my command. But now...now you're nothing but a disappointment."
"Those words mean nothing to me." Rook frowned.
"How unfortunate," Ironwood sighed before firing off a new barrage of shots at the duo. The shots bounced off of the Proto-Tool's shield mode but when Rex tried to bring back the Block Party, the build just wouldn't form. Whenever the circuits appeared, they were tainted by that sickly purple color.
"Out of everyone's, your powers were the easiest to counter," Ironwood said, "I've had it since day one."
"The hell?! You kept them?!" Rex yelled.
"For a long time, my efforts to recreate the neutralizers were met with failure," Ironwood explained, "Its thanks to you and your efforts at Arrowfell that I even have these. With working models, the technology could be easily reverse-engineered."
Whenever Rex tried to focus on a build, the circuits began to snake up his arms, accompanied by a high-pitched whirring, only for it to power down and fizzle out like a bad car engine. Vine took the chance and rushed in, Thorn in hand, and he began slashing at Rex. The first hit caught him when he was still off-guard from the neutralizer, slicing into the now former Ace-Op's shirt. The rest he managed to dodge, but the assault still put him on the backfoot.
As for Rook, he was about to get and help Rex, but something massive slammed into him. He was only barely able to bring up the Proto-Tool's shield to lessen the impact, but that still didn't do much. He bounced off one of the still standing pillars in the rotunda, leaving sizable cracks in the stone. Ironwood's black revolver was slotted into what could only be described as a giant cannon, silver in color save for one big blaring alarm sign.
A blue Plumber badge was situated on both sides of the weapon's middle.
"What on Earth is that?" Rook muttered, eyes wide in shock.
"A special project of mine. I bribed one of the Plumbers from the Atlas outpost. Although, that might not be the most accurate word for it. I doubt he even really comprehended everything I told him. The engineer in question was...simple, but he got the job done." Ironwood explained, narrowing his cold eyes at the Revonnahgander, "I suppose you'll do for a test drive."
"I refuse to believe you were able to-" Rook began, before Ironwood continued his assault. The general rushed in and, holding the weapon by the barrel, began to bash into the so-called "traitor" with a series of improvised bludgeoning strikes.
This weapon, the technology put into it could be from anything. Without knowing what he used to build it, I have no way to know what to watch for. More importantly, if I am the test, who is it directly made to counter? Is it so powerful as to kill with a single shot? Rook wondered.
For the most part, though, the general was using his firearms as improvised bludgeoning weapons or he was only firing off bullets with the normal revolver. It wasn't meant for Rook, clearly. So then who?
And then Ben, Ruby and Harriet's brawl circled back around to them. Ironwood's eyes quickly darted over to Ben.
"Gotcha." Ironwood muttered, pointing his cannon at Ben. Harriet managed to throw Ben off of her and into a wall, stunning him for a moment.
Rook tried to get in the way, pull the cannon so that it wasn't pointed at his squadmate, but a quick pistol whip to his temple stopped him. Ironwood kicked the Revonnahgander back before slotting the white gun of Due Process into the cannon's free slot. It charged up a green orb energy at the barrel, one that Harriet noticed and smirked. She raced away from the duo right as the now dictatorial general fired off his new super-weapon.
A green beam of energy slammed into Ben, causing him to scream out in pain. The Omni-Drive armor shattered from the impact of the blast, falling away in pieces like when one of Rex's builds is destroyed. Fasttrack writhed on the wall as green energy surrounded him. Ruby's went wide in shock and horror before she turned her gaze to the man who pulled the trigger. The red-hooded Huntress' silver eyes were filled with unbridled fury. She raced towards the general in a storm of rose petals, Crescent Rose reared back for a swing. Ironwood brought up the giant cannon to block the strike, but with the power behind Ruby's swing, the weapon was wrenched from Ironwood's grip. Scythe swings came down on the Outcasts' former ally, but he was able to dodge them all, before landing a sturdy kick to Ruby's gut. She was knocked back, but quickly got back to her feet, ready to try and take the general's head again.
"WHY!?" Ruby yelled, her anger reaching its peak, "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS!? ABUSE YOUR POWER, ABUSE THE TRUST OF YOUR SUBORDINATES?!"
Ironwood didn't answer, just stared her down. Harriet raced for the cannon and withdrew Ironwood's white revolver, quickly returning to her general's side and handing off the weapon. He didn't even look at her as he took the weapon from her hand. Seemed the Ace-Ops' speedster had also taken the liberty of reloading it for him, a full set of rounds was already in the chamber.
"It's not an abuse," Ironwood finally answered, "It's well within my authority. But I think you have something more important to deal with. Ben's looking a little pale there, don't you think?"
Ruby looked over her shoulder and froze. The other Outcasts froze when they all realized that Ben had stopped screaming. They all looked over and saw Fasttrack had turned ash gray, totally frozen. Marrow had gotten back up, his Aura shimmering, and even he and Vine were shocked at the result. The fight had come to a halt while Ruby raced over to check on Ben, fearing the worst had happened.
"Ben...BEN!" Ruby called out. Her worries only worsened when the speedster alien began to crumble away, turning to dust before her eyes. It felt like her heart was going to both stop and jump out of her chest at the same time. It was only when Ben fell from the wall into Ruby's arms that her heart calmed down.
"Oh...oh thank god," Ruby whispered as Ben started coughing.
"What...what did...what did you do?" Ben sputtered, his lungs feeling like they were full of ash.
"I disrupted the DNA," Ironwood answered coldly, "Modified the tech found in a standard issue Plumber DNA Scanner and I have a means to force you out of any of your transformations."
"So you...you just...?" Ben began.
"Destroyed Fasttrack? I don't believe I did. The transformations are more like shells for you, the cannon cracks them open. But on a proper alien," Ironwood's gaze shifted to Rook, then to Ceres, "I don't know what would happen."
"So you decided to play god in both respects. Spiritually and physically? Is nothing sacred to you?!" Ceres yelled.
"There is nothing I won't do to save my city," Ironwood said, "That includes...leaving another to die."
The words hung in the air. This wasn't just about martial law. The Outcasts quickly put two and two together with that, as if Ironwood's darkness could be get worse.
"...the Amity plan. You're not going to go through with it," Ben said.
"Somewhat. I'm taking the Amity plan and applying it to Atlas. With the staff in use, the lamp locked away, and Atlas out of her reach...what more can she do?" Ironwood rationalized.
"Did you forget who she's friends with?!" Yang yelled, "Breach? Zs'skayr?! They don't give a shit about how high up you are!"
"Breach's rifts can be tracked. We have the technology to isolate the energy traces and stop any attack before it actually happens. As for Zs'skayr, the Plumbers will be more than happy to share their files on his species once I add their resources, personnel and technology to Atlas'."
Ben got back to his feet and dusted off some of the remaining ash that was the Fasttrack form. As morbid as that was, he had a bigger concern. Ben was marching right up to Ironwood. Harriet and Vine were about to intercept him, but Ironwood, for some reason, ordered them to hold back. Vine's Aura Arms and Harriet's lightning-covered Fast Knuckles were still on standby, just in case though.
"Was I wrong about you, then?" Ironwood asked, "Are you willing to do what's necessary for the future of Atlas?"
"I'm willing," Ben started, getting the general to smile just a little, "to do whatever it takes to save everyone and stop you from becoming a dictator."
With that, Ben's hand raced to the Omnitrix, activating it and hovering over the dial. Ironwood responded in kind, taking aim and leveling the barrel of Due Process at Ben's head. The two stared each other down, Ben's determination-filled eyes contrasting with the emotionless voids that were Ironwood's eyes. The question was who'd act first.
Ben raised his arm to try and slam down the dial and activate it, but Ironwood was faster on the draw, so to speak. He spun Due Process to hold it by the barrel and just began to beat Ben senseless. One hit from Ironwood was more than enough to knock Ben to the floor, seemingly into unconsciousness even, but Ironwood just didn't stop. Ruby froze in gear as she watched the general slam the hilt of his revolver into Ben again and again. Fear and anger were rising inside her as she gripped her weapon tightly.
The now unforgivable general huffed, taking the smallest break from his assault, and walked over to the silver cannon he had dropped. He quickly slotted the alabaster gun into it and moved back to stand over Ben once again. He raised the cannon over his head, ready to slam it down on Ben's head. Ruby and the others raced to try and stop Ironwood, but then he, Harriet, and Vine froze as a single word echoed out in the rotunda.
"STAY!" Marrow yelled, having recovered from Harriet's beatdown. Ironwood's gaze shifted to the wolf Faunus, barely able to stand from his speedster teammate's rage, and there was this look of cold and seething hatred in his eyes. As if the general was wordlessly asking if Marrow really had the gall to do this. Marrow's Aura was strong enough for now, but the occasional flickering showed that his Semblance's effect wouldn't hold forever.
"Go," Marrow ordered, "Get out while you still can! All of you!"
"What about you?! For all we know, he's gonna execute you!" Ceres countered. While the conversation was happening, Ruby raced over to Ben and quickly picked him up in her arms. He was still breathing, but the hits from Ironwood were brutal, blood trickling down the Omnitrix-wielder's forehead. If Marrow hadn't called out for his Semblance, Ruby was ready to shoot the general then and there.
"He won't. He said it earlier. We're supposed to arrest the Outcasts. And like I said, you can call me one too."
Ben weakly lifted his head, so he could get a good look at Marrow. "You...you don't have to-"
"I HAVE TO!" Marrow yelled- the guy had a pair of lungs. "For so long, I've been trying to fit into ATLAS'S definition of soldier- I've looked over because I still have some heart left in me! You guys...you guys made me feel like it was GREAT to be me!"
"But-!' Kylie tried to counter.
"No! No talking me out of this! You don't have time!" Marrow interrupted and held up his Scroll, showing the Kingdom-wide "Wanted" alert, "They're probably scouring the academy for you, and considering someone took a dive out the office window-"
"They know where we are," Weiss finished.
"Exactly!" Marrow winced in pain as his light blue Aura flickered, "Not much...time left!"
"Marrow..." Ben said, flashing a weak smile. "You're a really, really reliable guy..."
Marrow chuckled, shedding a small tear. "Still gotta praise a guy when you're down...you're not too bad yourself!"
"We'll find a way to get you out. I promise," Blake nodded.
"Thanks. Some hope's gonna go long once they throw me in a cell," the Ace-Op chuckled a bit, but it was a cover. Some people in the group saw through it, but they couldn't talk him out of it. With Marrow in the office, keeping eye contact with his former comrades, the Outcasts quickly made their escape, heading for the nearest elevator. None of them were currently in use by some miracle, so Ceres quickly pressed the descent button on the panel and let one of the elevator's ding. The doors opened and everyone piled in, Kylie helping Min and Ruby carrying Ben, before the doors shut and the elevator made its trip down.
A good three minutes passed before Marrow's Aura shattered and he collapsed, still conscious. He could practically hear Harriet's rage as she stormed over to him, before picking him up by the collar. He didn't say anything, not that she'd even let him try to speak, before the speedster of the Ace-Ops reared her head back and slammed it into Marrow's, knocking him out cold.
"And what should we do with this traitor?" Harriet hissed.
"...he was right," Ironwood admitted, "Throw him in a cell."
The group made their way down to the hangar- most of the ride was spent trying to diagnose Ben, trying to figure out what Ironwood had done to him.
Ceres checked his eyes. "It looks like...a concussion. But I'm not 100% sure."
"When was the last time you spoke to Ari? Was she still at the clinic?" Ruby asked.
"I think so. We can get him down there and they can have a look."
"Do you know how to fly one of these things?" Yang asked as they all made their way through a row of undeployed dropships.
"With a little help, I think she can!" Doppler called out from one of them.
"Over here!" Kevin peeked his head out of the open doors in the middle of a manta, waving to his friends and showing them which ship was their ride out.
"You know how to hijack one of these?" Ceres asked.
"Not exactly, but I'm improvising." Kevin motioned to his hand- Doppler had it morphed into Bootleg. Looks like they pried a panel off and were trying something with the wiring.
"Systems are simple enough to get a handle of when you got Mechamorph powers on hand, lemme tell ya," Doppler boasted.
"How much longer?" Yang asked.
"Not too long, I-" Kevin glanced over, and saw Ben struggling to stay concious. His expression hardened.
"I'll work faster." Kevin said, a determined look on his face.
"What happened to-" Doppler began.
"The general," Weiss cut him off. Doppler didn't press the issue and got back to work. With Bootleg's powers interfacing with the Manta's systems, and Kevin's added determination, it wasn't long before the ship roared to life, thrusters at the ready.
"There we go!" Doppler yelled, as everyone loaded in.
"I'll pilot!" Rook said, not catching his contraction- he sounded VERY distressed.
"Be my guest!"
The doors to the dropship closed behind them once everyone piled in, Ceres taking the co-pilot's seat next to Rook.
"Everything looks good," Ceres muttered to herself, "Nothing like learning on the fly."
"Okay, good..." Ruby said, resting Ben on a nearby bench. "Let's get out of here and-"
"Wait." Weiss said, holding up her hand.
"What? What's up?" Blake asked.
"...Winter."
"Do you think-?" Yang began.
"We need to find her."