I have been so goddamn busy recently but i'm still here!
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
"Given the recent infiltration, we need them found, now. However, the Ace-Ops are needed here, in case our current standoff with the Grimm turns into open conflict. That's why I'm putting you four on the job. Arrest the fugitives and bring them back to Atlas. If you see Polendina…do not engage her. Atlas has never faced a darker time in its entire history. I know you're one of the more…oddball teams in this academy, but you're Atlesian, the best of the best. Prove me right."
Ironwood's speech was stern, each word carrying a weight that got across the grave situation the kingdom now faced, and also very effective in getting team FNKI to take this mission seriously. Ironwood had never been so focused before and whatever those Outcast kids did displeased him greatly.
And yet, it also interested them. The four of them couldn't really believe that the friends that helped them set up a music festival were now some of the most wanted people in the entire Kingdom.
"I'm just saying. Before we slap cuffs on them, we can ask some questions," Neon suggested, twirling her glow sticks around.
"Once we find them, of course. And if they're in the mood to talk," Ivory added. He closed the satchel on his belt that held all of his ice Dust and grabbed his weapon. Kobalt cracked his knuckles and exhaled, knowing that Mantle might not be the friendliest place right now.
The quartet were dropped off in the now empty Enhet Plaza. Where once people gathered to talk with friends and let children play, there was now no one. The only sound in the area was the roar of the Manta's engines as it hovered close to the ground, dropping off Team FKI before taking off again. Neon had been here a few times herself and to see it so empty, to hear it be so quiet, was just unnatural.
From there, the quartet walked out into Mantle proper, a veritable ghost town. Ironwood had apparently forgotten to mention that in his briefing. Not exactly many people around to ask for leads.
Flynt peered into a window of an abandoned home, seeing no one inside.
"Ominous…" the lead of the musical team muttered.
"They're probably just hiding," Ivory rationalized. "I've heard there are still Grimm stragglers from the night before."
"What about those, um, what were they called again? Oh! The Happy Huntresses!" Neon snapped, "Maybe they got everyone to a safe place!"
"It's possible. But frankly I'm just not sure where," Kobalt admitted, looking around.
"I'm sure they found somethin'," Flynt said, eyeing all of the abandoned houses, "They're resourceful enough."
Neon actually stopped for a minute and turned to look up at the Grimm storm, just beyond the city. The purple clouds and occasional lightning strikes, with all those monsters flying around inside it, just made her uneasy. She wasn't unique in that regard, true, but she'd never really been anxious about the Grimm before; she'd killed plenty.
But the whale in the middle of it all…how could anyone kill that? She'd heard stories about massive Grimm like that before, the Wyvern that attacked Beacon or reports of Leviathans out in the deep oceans. To actually see one, to hear a haunting whalesong that heralded who knows many deaths, was haunting.
"Something wrong?" Flynt asked, noting Neon falling behind.
"H-huh? Yeah. Everything's fine..." Neon spared one last look at Monstra before she began to skate away. Flynt followed her gaze and saw the storm and the whale.
"You don't need to lie about that, ya know."
"It just…" Neon began, "I dunno how to describe it."
"I get it. You're scared of that thing. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, too. It's even creepier that they're all just…waiting there. If there are stragglers down here, that'll be easy to handle. We can hit those," Flynt tried to reassure.
"But we can't hit that. We can't even shoot it down with the fleet. The airships can't get a lock thanks to the storm and the Mantas can't get close enough for a bombing run; they just get knocked out of the sky. The Tempests, the Nevermores, the Manticores…I've never seen them protect another Grimm before."
"I'm…sure it's just the same way they protect an alpha."
"Flynt. I know what it means. It's her. Salem's up there…and I don't know what that means for us," Neon sighed.
"Just means we gotta be ready for a fight," Kobalt chimed in, "You're acting like you'll be fighting all that on your own."
"Fair," Neon allowed herself a small smile, even if the worry didn't fully disappear.
After that, Team FNKI spent hours searching the city block by block, looking for any sign of the Outcasts or any civilians that needed help. None of the latter had been discovered yet, making the place akin to a ghost town, but it was far from quiet. The rumors Ivory heard were right, unfortunately. Grimm stragglers from the now halted-evacuation still roamed the streets in packs. Sabyrs would lie in wait around corners and rush them when the chance presented itself, but the quartet were able to handle the beasts easily enough. Neon used her glow sticks to burn some, Ivory broke the necks or froze the bodies of others, Flynt used his trumpet to literally blow the Grimm into walls, crushing them with sonic force and Kobalt? Kobalt was Team FNKI's own brawler, using his bare hands to take the Grimm down, fists sometimes augmented by Dust crystal to give them a bit of extra impact.
"No one," Kobalt groaned, "Not a single person around."
"Not in the warehouses, not in subways…" Flynt hummed, trying to think.
"Not like they could just vanish into thin air," Neon said.
"There's one possibility we haven't considered. What about the Crater?" Ivory asked.
"Maybe the civilians, yeah. But I doubt Ben and the others would put 'em in Ironwood's crosshairs like that," Flynt answered
"Alright, then think. What's the most obvious place they'd go with Penny? Ben was wounded, they can't move him far."
A lightbulb went off in Neon's head, "...an Urgent Care."
"Ok, narrows it down. How many urgent care facilities are in Mantle again?" Kobalt asked.
"Only one that'd feel safe enough to take 'im," Flynt realized, "Doctor Polendina's place..."
"Have you two heard anything from the others?" Ben asked as he slipped on his jacket.
"Nope." Ari frowned, typing away at a computer. "And we're not having luck cracking through Ironwood's security, either."
"He's really throwing out EVERY firewall imaginable. We can't even connect to call the Plumbers for help without it being intercepted." Lev frowned.
"Figures. If anyone found out about what he's doing, he'd lose all outside support. You said everyone split up right?" Ben asked as he picked up one of the strange Dust grenades that the Happy Huntresses had given to Ari and Lev, just in case they needed them. They looked like World War I style hand grenades, only the payload had been replaced with Wind Dust.
"Yeah. Got a text a few minutes ago explaining everything. Ruby arrived at the Schnee Manor a while back," Ari confirmed.
"Weiss' home? Why'd they go there?"
Ari and Lev stopped typing after they heard the question. They both shared an uneasy look, before looking back at Ben.
"There was...an incident." Lev sheepishly began, taking a deep breath. "And...Kevin sustained some nasty damage."
"What? How bad?" Ben asked, starting to get concerned.
"We don't know, just that he's unconscious. We're hoping to regroup with the others when they get back, but, no telling when that is."
"Now despite my own reservations as a medical professional, you're needed up there. So you'd better get going," Ari instructed. "Ruby's probably worried sick about you."
"Probably can't just fly back up to Atlas," Ben hummed, "How'd they do it?"
"Something something...tubes." Ari shrugged. "I dunno."
"Well, don't wanna disobey the doctor's orders. Good luck, you two. See you when this is all over."
"Same to you," Lev said before turning back to his work.
With that, and armed with just a little bit more firepower thanks to the Dust Grenade, Ben headed out back into Mantle.
Ben ran out the door, ready to reunite with his friends, only to be met by Team FNKI waiting right outside in the street. He screeched to a halt and immediately held his hands up.
"Well. Look who's up and running." Cobalt smirked.
"Oh thank god," Neon sighed, "We didn't know how bad you were hurt and I was trying not to assume the worst."
"Thanks..." Ben said as he slowly reached for the Omnitrix, "Lemme guess. Ironwood's orders?"
"He said we gotta bring you and your friends in." Flynt confirmed.
"Didn't give you any other explanation? Yeah, that fits with his 'new' mindset," Ben slapped down the Omnitrix, transforming into Brainstorm, "And sadly, I lack the time for a prolonged confrontation. I'm expected elsewhere."
"Wait, we're not actually doing this right?" Neon asked.
"May not have a choice," Ivory pointed out, getting out his whip and slotting a fresh Dust crystal into the head of the weapon.
Ben, instead of opening up with a salvo, quickly scrambled away. For a seafood platter, Brainstorm was surprisingly a lot more agile than one would think. Neon chased after him, closing in quickly with her skates.
Neon Katt. Airheaded personality, quick thinking skills. She'll act first. Brainstorm thought. Ruin road to hurt her mobility.
Ben stopped as his cranium popped open, revealing his pulsing brain. A shock of electricity struck the ground, tearing up the pavement and ruining the brightly colored member of the Atlesian team.
Neon gasped when the ground cracked from the sheer force of the lightning. Her rhythm was instantly thrown off and she tried to keep her balance as best she could, making her movements a little awkward. Ivory rushed in next, getting to a good spot and striking out towards Ben, the ice Dust in his whip glowing brightly.
Seeing the whip's glow, Brainstorm quickly brought up a dome of pure electric energy to protect himself.
"Well, that's new," Ivory muttered as he saw his whip bounce off the protective dome. For the most part, he had fought other members of the Outcasts, but he'd never actually sparred against Ben.
"Nothing can penetrate this shield, so long as I put all my attention into it. Try as you might, but you will find that my shell is a bit harder to crack," Ben chuckled.
"Fine by me. Not the first time I've had to break a shield!" Cobalt yelled as he struck the dome a few times.
Ben smirked as he saw that Kobalt's fists weren't making any progress in cracking the dome. But even as FNKI's brawler kept hitting it, Ben couldn't help but notice that the resounding impacts against the shield were getting louder.
Cobalt, a headstrong and stubborn fighter. His strange fighting style is reminiscent of one Yang Xiao Long, Brainstorm thought as he watched Kobalt's movements carefully.
"You might be hard to crack," Kobalt said, "but how sensitive are your ears?" He raised both fists and slammed them down on the barrier. The resulting sound was like having a church tower bell start ringing right next to Ben's ear.
Brainstorm grunted, unable to focus in this new improvised sound chamber. Right when he woke, he was given massive migraines. Just his luck. The shield was going to break sooner than later so, making a gutsy move, he slapped down the Omnitrix and transformed from Brainstorm into Goop.
Ben darted off, his gravity projector picking him off the ground, as he swerved down the street and through a few alleyways. Leading the group to the Schnee Manor was the last thing he wanted, so he needed to lose them.
"Did he...just turn into slime?" Kobalt asked, confused at the new alien that was racing away from them.
"Yeah, some of his aliens are weird," Flynt admitted.
"Less talking, more chasing!" Neon shouted as she started after Ben. Since the roads wouldn't be ruined everywhere, Neon could truly shine, racing off to catch up to their target.
Ben began zipping through the air, producing some slime bombs from his body. They struck the ground, melting the pavement and making potholes. It was a blind, imprecise tactic, but it could really throw them off.
He was most worried about Cobalt's semblance. The ability to get stronger and louder sounded pretty dangerous...and like an ability one of his aliens would have, honestly.
"Ben, if you stop, you can explain your side of things!" Neon shouted out.
"Uh-huh, sure! And that's when you'll throw the cuffs on me! Gonna need to try something better than that!" Ben frowned, as he looped back around and splattered all over the groud. He immediately popped back up and started rushing Neon with a flurry of goopy attacks.
"Ben, liste-oh shit!" Neon dodged out of the way of several of the attacks until one eventually caught her, sending her staggering.
"Eeeeeeew, what the hell IS this?!"
"It's goop! And I'm Goop!" Ben grinned.
"That's just gross, man." Flynt gagged before he took a deep breath and blew into his trumpet. A large sound wave blasted Ben back, but he quickly recovered, reforming into his humanoid shape.
Ivory slashed at Ben with his whip, freezing part of his slime body. Neon shook off the slime that was still on her and gagged.
"Really hope that washes out easily," Neon muttered as she cracked her glowsticks, activating the Dust inside them.
Ben began to slowly melt the ice, and frowned. "Alright then. Give it all ya got!" Ben invited, ready to take them on.
Flynt turned to take a look at Neon, "Combo move time?"
"Combo move time!" Neon grinned, with the other two joining her. Kobalt reached into his pocket, pulled out a fire Dust crystal and threw it at Ben. Ivori whipped it, as the others covered their ears. Ben raised a brow in confusion before-
BOOM. All he could hear was white noise.
Ben shook his head, trying to regain his senses after the make-shift flashbang. Suddenly, before he could react, he found himself getting hit from all sides by Neon. The cat Faunus had been given a speed boost by one of Flynt's soundwaves, just like one of the moves they pulled back in the Vytal Festival.
Ben growled, as he leapt up, his legs spun around his body, stretching to knock Neon off course. He then threw a slime ball at Flynt's trumpet, clogging it up with slime.
"Really, man? Not cool," Flynt deadpanned.
"Sorry but kinda not," Ben shrugged. He ducked under another one of Ivory's whip strikes, tossing a glob of slime at him. He dodged out of the way, but the glob instead hit Kobalt, knocking him back and binding him to a nearby wall.
"SHIT!" Kobalt cursed as he struggled to break free.
Ben smirked, as it was just him and Ivory now. Ben slapped down the Omnitrix, taking on another form, that of Heatblast.
"Just making sure that ice doesn't give me too much trouble." the flaming alien grinned.
"Great," Ivory rolled his eyes and cracked his whip, "Normal slugfest it is then."
"Yeah. Wouldn't have it any other way." Ben jumped forward, taking a powerful swing at Ivory.
He dodged to the left, pulling his whip and, with a flick of his wrist, had it wrap around Ben's ankle. He pulled on it to knock Ben over, giving him the opportunity to try and slam him into a wall.
"I'm starting to regret changing forms," Ben groaned before he placed his hands on the ground, shooting flames into the pavement.
The roads cracked as fire began rising up from between them. Ivory tried to keep his balance, giving Ben the opening he needed.
Ben was about to deliver the finishing blow-
When suddenly, everyone's Scrolls started to beep. Ben paused his attack and looked around at everyone.
"Huh?" Neon pulled out her Scroll. At first, the screen displayed a typical broadcast color pattern with the words "Atlas Emergency Broadcast System'' along the top. But it wasn't just Scrolls, it was on practically every screen in the Kingdom, even those up in the Atlas military headquarters. The color pattern then swapped to show the face of Ruby, adjusting a camera.
"Is it rolling?" the crimson hooded Huntress asked in a hushed tone.
"Yep, it's rolling," Blake answered, just as quiet as Ruby. "Go for it."
Ruby took a deep breath. Her eyes looked into the camera for a few seconds, as she finally opened with a casual "hi." Ben chuckled a bit. Ruby sucked at public speaking.
"Uh, my name is Ruby Rose and I'm a Huntress. If we've done everything right, I should be speaking to every Hunter community and every Plumber base in the world right now. Dr. Polendina can explain more later, but right now you all need to know that the Kingdom of Atlas is under attack…"
The broadcast could be seen from around the world, beamed to every Scroll there was. Jaune, who had been looking at some dumb cat video, was caught off guard when Ruby's face popped up.
"Hey, isn't that your cousin's goth girlfriend?" Nora asked, as Gwen stared at the screen, shocked.
"Ruby?" Gwen asked, confused.
"Things are dire, and we need help," Ruby continued, "But please, try not to panic. This isn't some new enemy or invading Kingdom. This is a force we've faced before for centuries. One that Ironwood told the world about after Beacon's fall: Salem."
Verdona and a lot of the Plumbers at the base watched the footage. Verdona cracked a small smile, seeing Ruby on screen.
"Keep fighting the good fight, kiddo." She mused.
"Grimm, the Atlesian robots that attacked Beacon, even evil aliens and psychopaths, they all serve her. Everything she's done is so she can get the Relics beneath the Huntsman Academies. Salem's one thing to believe, I know. Hearing about ancient artifacts beneath the academies sounds even crazier, but I promise Professor Goodwitch of Beacon and Headmaster Theodore of Shade can verify all of this."
Glynda, who had taken a break from reorganizing Beacon, stared at her Scroll in shock.
"She's telling…everyone about them?" the now-acting head of all of Vale's Hunters asked herself.
"They might even be able to help organize a way to fight back," Ruby smiled, but that smile quickly faded and she sighed. "But sadly, General Ironwood can no longer be trusted. He plans to abandon Mantle, abandon the defenseless people we're supposed to protect! We didn't have time to prepare for Salem. But now you do!"
Aboard the Grimm Whale, Salem watched the speech on Tyrian's Scroll as the scorpion Faunus sat beside the throne like a loyal pet. Zs'skayr floated behind the Grimm Queen and narrowed his eye at Ruby.
"For as much as I wish to rip her apart, I will grant her this, she's resourceful," the Ectonurite hissed.
"Indeed she is," Salem said, putting a hand atop Tyrian's head, "Indeed she is."
"Just because she can't be destroyed, doesn't mean she can't be beaten. If she really was unstoppable, she wouldn't have acted with such caution until now."
Cardin and the other students of Haven watched the video carefully. "Did the general really abandon Mantle!?" one asked.
"He must've really gone off the deep end this time..." another said.
"That…bastard," Cardin muttered to himself. The reason so many of his friends and classmates at Beacon had been brutalized by that Knight was to save his life. And this is what he decides to do with that second chance?
"She knows we're a threat. So even if we- even if Atlas falls, you can't give up," Ruby said to all those watching.
Kai chuckled a bit, as she watched from her phone. "Hey, Grandpa. How far of a fly is Atlas from here?"
"I believe…everyone can do their part for this."
"...why do I feel some weird obligation to help?" Animo mused, watching from his jail cell.
Ironwood had been watching the broadcast himself and found it particularly distasteful, for obvious reasons. While some of his people, mainly Dr. Weller and Cammie, were secretly moved by Ruby's words, the general still had plenty of loyalists he could rely upon. And a secret weapon. After he turned off the screen, much to Cammie and Weller's dismay, he marched over to Watts' desk. By now, the doctor had cracked open Penny's sword to expose the circuitry within.
"It seems Dr. Polendina's proxy trick worked," the general said.
"Indeed. And that's actually good for us," Watts smirked. He picked up a pair of tweezers and ever so gently used them to remove a small microchip from the stolen weapon.
"You see, Penny's weapons operate on the same principle as Amity and the launch terminals. In order for her to control them all, the blades have to communicate with one another. So if we add a new command," Watts explained, putting down the green microchip and picking up a second chip with a red cursive W emblazoned on it. He showed it to the general and Ironwood just silently nodded. The disgraced doctor smirked and put his microchip into the blade of Floating Array and, almost immediately, the lighting changed from green to red.
Back up at Amity, as Penny was supporting the massive tower, disaster struck. She let out a gasp as her eyes began flickering between her usual green and an unsettling crimson. A jolt of pain shot into her system and, for a few disastrous seconds, the Protector of Mantle let go of Amity, her jets cut out, and she began falling.
Of course, her fall wasn't unnoticed. As soon as she began dropping, everyone aboard the converted tower had their concern skyrocket. Holiday gasped, Ciel put both of her hands over her mouth. The only one who seemed to keep an outwardly strong composure was Six, but even he was slightly panicked. The worst reaction was Pietro's, though. He immediately activated the comm unit on his chair and called his daughter.
"Girls! What's going on out there?!" the good doctor asked in a panic.
"I…I do not know! E-eunice!" Penny yelled.
I'm not sure! Our systems are responding to a c-command that I d-do not recognize! Eunice answered, her voice glitching out on some of her words.
"I think it's time you were quiet now," a new voice said, making both Penny and Eunice look around in shock.
"W-who-?" Penny asked.
The red-hooded huntress smiled hopefully. "I hope that this message will help bring us all together. Because in the end, that's how we'll win-" the broadcast suddenly cut off everywhere.
Tiayang's face dropped. "N-no! Don't go!"
Taiyang sat in his house, surrounded by the shocked faces of the raccoons, and the sad whimpers of Zwei.
He was alone right now, and he really shouldn't be.
P-penny! The tower! Eunice reminded her sister. The new Winter Maiden reignited her thrusters and raced back to her old position. Before she could reach it though, another jolt of pain struck, as if she was being physically attacked.
"The tower's done its part. And now, you will do yours," the new voice ominously spoke again.
I-i don't…I don't u-understand. T-this voice…
For a moment, on the outside, time for Eunice slowed to a crawl. From her perspective, a fraction of a second was stretched to the amount. On the inside, in a digital mindscape with a sea-green coloration with flickering wisps of energy darting above and pixelated waves lapping below, Eunice was frantically sorting and searching through numerous systems, each represented as a unique screen with its own readout, as all manner of warnings and alarms blared.
Her digital avatar didn't have much definition to it, a green colored, ever shifting nebula of pixels with the trademark Omnitrix hourglass in the middle, serving as a kind of core. Several digital bubbles floated over into view so she could try and figure out what was going on. The readouts covered everything from primary power systems to thruster control and even the more redundant secondary systems. As she examined and scanned for any sort of breach, the bubble itself glitched out and only a large cursive W covered the entire readout for the power systems. Then the bubble for the thrusters and then each and every redundant subsystem, all covered up by that damned letter.
Several of the digital wisps froze and glitched, shifting into a harsher crimson hue, before coalescing and combining into a crimson colored, digital octahedron. In the middle of all the reflective facts, showing blueprints for Atlesian Paladins, Knights, and airships, was a giant, cursive, bronze W.
"$User: "Proxy" / autorun: "
"Watts!?" Eunice asked in shock.
The program didn't respond immediately, checking its internal directory.
If encounter $User: "Eunice" = true
run Watts_Taunt.
"$User: 'Proxy' / run: Watts_Taunt," the avatar began, before its mechanical countenance changed to the much more familiar smugness of the disgraced doctor.
"Even if it's not a proper introduction, this is the first time you and I have met, isn't it? A shame this might be the last. I would've loved the chance to study proper alien software," Watts' avatar began, "For such a 'marvel of technology,' that buffoon never even considered what could be done with even the smallest, most inconsequential part of you. "
"How…how are you doing this? Our cybersecurity's-!"
"Quite strong, I agree. Even before you're…awakening, I believe that would be the best term for it, Penny's security would translate a normal virus into symptoms of human illness. Heachaches, sneezes, and such. But who said I attacked your security? What's the old saying? A Hunter's weapons are an extension of the soul?" the digital Watts would've smirked if it could and just ignored Eunice.
Tendrils of woven wires shot out from the octahedron and it began capturing wisps and other floating bubbles. Like some kind of cancer, the virus avatar pulled the wisps and bubbles into itself and began growing as the capture components were melded into its body, the bubbles popping and transforming into screens. The facets showing blueprints began changing, showing memories that the two sisters had shared, everything from the first hint of Eunice's existence to their fight against Khyber. Even the most recent memories of the fight against Vilgax and Cinder flashed across the octahedron's surface.
Eunice tried to stop him, summoning a massive digital tsunami and tried to drown this invasive program, but a powerful shock lashed out and destroyed the wave. The pixelated water collapsed before it was absorbed into the octahedron, only serving to make it larger. Another shock lashed out and, despite her formlessness, managed to strike Eunice. Where the shock had landed, the pixelated nebula had turned red, a scar that began to slowly creep around her avatar.
"What…what did you do?!" Eunice yelled, her form glitching out for a second.
The digital copy of Salem's scientist just got back to work. More and more of the screens and wisps in this cyberscape were grabbed and hastily welded into the octahedron, the cursive W flashing across all the new additions. The chime of the real Watts' rings rang out and across all the new screens, replacing the memories and blueprints, was a single command, the exact same dreadful words.
I will open the vault and then self-terminate.
"You…you wouldn't…" Eunice gasped.
"I. Just. Did," the avatar of Watts' virus corrected, smugly.
Time resumed its normal speed and Penny held her head in agony as the command began taking effect. Her pained shouts were audible over the comms and Pietro was nearly ready to run out there himself if he could.
"Penny, Eunice, y-you've done enough sweethearts. Please, j-just get back inside! I can fix this, I promise I can!" Pietro pleaded.
"N-no. I-I have to go!" Penny struggled to say, "I-i must…I must…o-open the vault!"
"The Vault? W-why?!"
"I-! I-!" Penny couldn't answer. The corruption was taking hold. In the mindscape, the "scar" that Watts had given Eunice had completely engulfed half of her avatar, forcing her to her metaphorical knees. In this digital sea, that scar was like a whale bleeding out from a lucky harpoon jab. Several systems began to fritz out and, as Penny looked up to the tower, her eyes suddenly turned dull and lifeless. Her thrusters cut out, her body went limp, and she began to fall.
Penny and Eunice couldn't hear the panicked words of their father, begging, pleading them to respond, to fly back into Amity. He could fix this, he just needed to see them.
"Please! Either of you! Just say something!" Pietro begged, his voice breaking. Both of the sisters could practically imagine the tears streaming down his cheeks. In the few seconds between the start of Penny's fall, the corruption had completely covered Eunice, save for her face. The virus appeared as red veins on her cheeks. Left unchecked, the virus would take complete control.
But there was a way for Eunice to buy her sister some time.
With what brief lucidity the two sisters could muster, life returned to Penny's eyes and the two said three last words to their father before the line was filled with nothing but static.
"We love you," the two sisters said weakly, both their voices going through the comm.
At the very moment of static taking over, Eunice's avatar shattered like glass, releasing a surge of energy through the systems and disrupting the virus' hold. The virus wasn't removed, but at least it should be dormant for someone to find and help Penny.
And with that sacrifice, Penny fell, her body re-entering the atmosphere as a cone of fire engulfed her body.
Ben blinked, a bit lost. Why did the message get cut off?
"What happened to the signal?!" Flynt yelled.
"Is that why he wants you arrested?" Neon asked, eyes wide in shock as she turned to look at Ben.
"You mean did we not agree with him leaving an entire city to be torn apart by monsters?" Ben shot back.
"Y-yeah. Yeah, I guess…I guess so."
"Yeah. That's the cold truth of it. He wants to focus on the lives under enough protection...and not the ones who need it most." Ben frowned. "Mantle is fucked."
"That's...no. That's not like him." Neon frowned.
"Or is it?" Flynt pondered.
"Huh?"
"Listen, when you're someone like me, you know what injustice feels like. My family's one of Atlas' few wealthy non-white people around. Those people bunch together. He's the 'apex' around here. The alpha. We're Atlesians. His people. Therefore, alphas. And Mantle…well, isn't."
"That's…that's so simple though. Narrow-minded even. No one should be able to just…assign more value to some peoples' lives," Ivory sighed with a disapproving shake of his head.
"Why do you think he's spun this whole fugitive narrative about us? A lot of people up there are too blind to see what he's becoming or they're too scared to disobey him" Ben explained.
"So then, what do we do?" Neon asked, clipping her glow sticks to her belt, "We can't just leave. He'd know we deserted."
"Can't just stand by and let him do this either. He'd have to shoot me dead before I follow another order of his," Flyn added.
"Please don't joke about that."
"Go back, keep your heads down, and just keep an ear out." Ben said, sternly, "Ironwood's got plenty of skeletons in the closet. Now that he thinks he's the be-all end-all authority of the Kingdom, he doesn't have any reason to keep that stuff hidden."
"Like what?" Kobalt frowned.
"How about building a device that siphons Aura out of someone's body and then moves it over to someone else's?" Ben frowned.
"What?" Ivory asked in disbelief.
"It's a rabbit hole and I can't exactly tell you the full story right now. I need to get back to Ruby." Ben dialed up the Omnitrix again.
"We'll…we'll help out down here if we can, find the Happy Huntresses if we can. Keep up appearances," Ivory suggested, "Let him think he still has us in his corner. And if the general calls up for a report, we'll just say we haven't found any of you yet," Flynt said.
"I should hope so." Ben said, as he slapped down the Omnitrix. Astrodactyl's jet pack opened up, as he took to the skies.
"First chance we get, we're gonna meet up with them right?" Neon asked.
"Obviously. Just need to wait for the right time," Flynt said.
"Before we start planning a secret get-away, can someone cut me DOWN now?" Kobalt asked, seemingly having made no progress in freeing himself.
Ben soared above the Atlesian cityscape, making sure to keep just low enough that no sensors or passing Manta patrols would detect him on radar. The Pturbosaurian form dove and came to a screeching halt on the fancy, semi-circular driveway of the Schnee Manor. It felt weird, seeing Weiss' house for the first time in the middle of what felt like the end of the world. In better times, he would've loved a tour of the place.
His wings folded into his back as he walked up to the door and knocked on it.
Even from out here, he could hear the signature sounds of a rapier being drawn, a katana leaving its sheathe, a hidden blade emerging from an umbrella, and that unmistakable chorus of moving parts as a certain scythe unfolded.
Ben facepalmed a bit, perfectly timed with him reverting back to human so it looked like he somehow smacked himself out of his alien form. Of course they'd react this way, he forgot to send word ahead that he was awake. He quickly pulled out his phone and texted Ruby.
Hey. Outside. Don't panic.
A few seconds passed as he heard weapons being put away and the doors unlocking. The mansion doors were flung open and the first person out was Ruby, the red-hooded Huntress immediately pulling Ben into a hug.
"You've been busy," Ben smiled, leaning into the hug.
"You saw?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah. It was a good speech, too. So good that it just got us friends on the inside," Ben smirked.
"Figured it'd strike a chord with someone," Ruby said, but her happy expression quickly fell and she looked away. Despite the girls being happy to see Ben, there was something off about the vibe.
"This is about the 'incident,' isn't it?" the Omnitrix-wielder correctly guessed.
"He got injured pretty bad. The scars aren't pretty. He's got Lichtenberg lines all over the body. And...we kinda picked someone up along the way."
"Who?"
"Elm went berserk, and then got abandoned by her team. So, we...took her in." Weiss said. "It's what Kylie would have done."
"They just...left her? Clover'd never do-" Ben started.
"Clover wasn't there, Ben," Blake interjected, "The Ace-Ops have some new members. Cammie, Chiffon...and Nesmith."
"Wait...what? The crazy bomber guy who tried killing Marrow and fucking Nesmith of all people?"
"Ironwood must've cut a deal with him, gave him some new armor and a new position. Seems like he's Harriet's new boss," Weiss explained.
"...well, he's not lasting long," Ben sighed. Knowing Harriet, that mustache-twirling Iron Man bootleg broke a strict military regulation every second he took a breath.
"Back to Kevin, though, Willow and Dr. Holiday examined him before the latter left to pick up Pietro. He's been asleep ever since he tried that," Ruby explained, leading Ben up to the room where they put Kevin.
When they arrived, Ruby opened the door to let Ben peer into the room. He saw Kevin laid out on the bed, completely knocked out. His soft breathing, at least, gave Ben a sense of relief.
"Anna's gonna flip when she sees him." Ben murmured.
"She's probably freaking out right now after the message went out," Ruby added
"Right now, we're just waiting for the others to come back. We would go back down, fight off the stragglers, but that'd just put us at more risk of getting arrested. Plus, even if we did, we'd only add...what, six people?" Weiss said. "Unless we were overpowered or not wanted for 'treason', we can't really do much."
"I mean, I'm kinda overpowered," Ben shrugged. "I can definitely handle some Grimm packs...but Ironwood would probably hit me with that stupid cannon again when my back's turned. "
"Speaking of that, don't know if Lev told you this, but we figured out how it works," Blake said.
"You did?" Ben asked, "Great! So, what'd he do? Siphon power away from the Omnitrix?"
"Kind of. Remember how your 'contingency plan' file was just a DNA scanner schematic?"
"Yeah. Seemed harmless enough."
"On it's own? Yes. But he modified it. Instead of scanning DNA, it'd disrupt it. Once he figured that out, he managed to weaponize it," Blake explained, "He admitted to having a Plumber build the weapon itself, but I doubt they knew what he was planning to do with it."
"Disrupt...DNA?" Ben repeated. "What effects would it have on a normal alien, like Ceres or Rook?"
"To quote Lev, 'it wouldn't be pretty. Even worse if Kevin got hit.'"
"Yeesh," Ben shivered at the nightmarish thought.
"But, yeah. Sneaking into a military base, fighting the Ace-Ops, saving Elm. That's...been our lives for the past day or so," Ruby said.
"God, it feels like it's been way longer, doesn't it?" Ben muttered.
"Can you guys...leave us alone for a few minutes?" Ruby turned to her teammates.
"Alright," Weiss sighed with a shake of her head, "5 minutes."
"It's not that long for them. What's been a day for us has probably been a year for them. They deserve some time to suck face," Blake chuckled.
"Wha-?! Blake, really?!" Ruby huffed.
"You're not denying it though," Blake smirked, "Come on, let's give 'em their privacy." Weiss conceded the point and took her leave with Blake. Maybe they could figure out their next move in the meantime.
Neo rolled her eyes and walked out after the monochrome duo, closing the door with her umbrella handle.
Don't go too crazy, lovebirds! Neo signed before she left.
Ben shook his head a little at the teasing, having honestly missed it, as Ruby flopped on the bed. She seemed more tired than ever before.
"I really, really did think your speech was great." Ben praised, "I'm...lucky to date the gal who could deliver such a passionate message."
"Weiss helped, let me practice by just saying it to her over and over till I got it right. It actually kinda helped with the whole sucking at public speaking thing. Even if the opening was me just saying 'hi'." Ruby replied with a small chuckle.
Ben smiled, flopping down next to her. "How many takes did you need to get it right?"
"Just the one, after all the prep-time. Shame it didn't all go through..."
"You think Ironwood cut it?" Ben asked.
"Doubt it, but even if it was…I'm worried about Penny."
"When did she split from the group?"
Ruby paused, taking a deep breath before answering, "After we had the battle with the Ace Ops. Not fun. They were a lot more intense now...like, something vanished. They're playing for keeps now, you know?"
"Yeah. Ironwood's not just sitting idly either. Before they heard you, Flynt and his team were actually ordered to hunt us down."
"Feels like the whole city turned against us." Ruby groaned. "I'm just...stressed about all this. I don't have all the answers. I can't fix everyone's issues with one quick swing of my scythe. Even with my gift, no matter how many Grimm I cut down or turn to stone, they come back like weeds. Before you ask, this isn't me being a downer. This is just...the truth. I'm a Huntress. Not a savior."
"Aren't those the same?" Ben asked, "Huntsmen and Huntresses are supposed to save people. The Grimm keep coming, yeah but the point's to protect people. Save as many lives as you can, right?"
"I can't save every life. And Atlas is rubbing that in my face with the exclusion of Mantle. Plus the...mini argument with Yang. Yeah, we made up, but I wish we didn't fight like that."
"Mini argument?" Ben repeated, "Do...you wanna talk about it?"
"It was about what we wanted to do. Yang wanted to help Mantle, but I thought we needed to warn the world about what Atlas was doing. We were both right, but..." Ruby explained.
"Things still got heated. It's…hard. Deciding something like that. I don't think you'd find anyone who can make a decision like that easily."
Before Ruby could answer, there was a loud crash from outside that caused the whole manor to shake, the chandeliers clanking violently from the impact. Blake, Weiss and Neo shared a troubled look before racing out to try and see what had happened.
Kevin's eyes slowly but surely fluttered open, stirred from his sleep by the sudden crash. He was as awake as he needed to be to just check on what the hell was going on. He slowly sauntered over to the door and opened it just as Ben and Ruby were leaving the room across the hall to check it out.
"Kevin! You should be resting!" Ruby scolded him.
"I'm fine." the Antitrix user scowled.
"From what I heard, I don't think anyone's gonna be 'fine' after that!" Ben added in.
"I said I'm fine," Kevin countered, wincing just a bit in pain. In truth, he could still feel the voltage from that stunt coursing throughout his body, like small little "snaps" of electricity.
"Just let the boy walk, damn it," Doppler said, "We have some bigger issues to worry about right now, I think. Like if Ironwood's decided to bomb his own wife's house!"
The trio ran to the manor's foyer, where the front doors were already open. Weiss, Blake, and Neo had already opened the front double doors and gone outside to investigate. They were all stunned, frozen in place by sheer shock. Ben, Ruby, and Kevin made their way past the stunend trio and that's when they saw...her.
It was Penny, laying in the middle of a deep impact crater. Parts of her outfit were singed and smoke rose off of her body steadily. Electricity sparked out of her wounds, accompanied by a strange neon green liquid, likely her synthetic blood. She looked up at everyone from the crater, weakly trying to raise herself up from the crater, only to start shaking.
"I'm...I'm...sorry," Penny whimpered, before her arms gave out under her and she fell back to the crater's floor, unconsciousness claiming her.