Chapter 7

For the Record

Been about a week since my last entry, we're going to meet Torchwick tonight. Was told to 'expect anything', by Mercury.

I'm a little worried, yeah, but only insomuch that any sane man would be worried when they were intentionally going out to meet a much more enigmatic Al Capone.

Fortunately, I'm a lot less so now than I would have been had we gone to meet that guy the day we'd landed.

First of all, quickest things to get out of the way after we picked up my weapons, we got me some Remnant clothes. Just some standard stuff - pants, shirts, the works. It looks remarkably like my old wardrobe, but I understand why they wanted me to swap out, it's the subtle differences the keen-eyed would notice. The difference between Earth and Remnant denim, bands and pictures that have no frame of reference here, unrecognizable logos, the works.

Moving on to the good stuff: Weapons.

So, one thing Rooster Teeth either failed to mention or never got around to bringing up: Remnant has nanites. I wouldn't go so far as to say they're the Metal Gear Solid-esque deus ex machina kind, but they're pretty close. Mine self replicate, can form up to make simple objects, and can project hardlight. I call it the Power Glove. In addition to that, I picked up a pistol, though it doesn't fire hardlight - I figured some variation would do me good. It hits like a bitch, I'm pretty sure it would have give a Desert Eagle back home a run for its money. That it's got a knife attachment was just overkill.

But the pistol isn't nearly the most interesting part of my arsenal - it's what I added to shut everyone up. The cool stuff comes from the Power Glove. That thing can sync up with my brain, such that anything I visualize, it creates out of hardlight, Green Lantern style. I'm talking Captain America shields, Spartan Hoplons, Wolverine Claws, bullets, I even managed to get the thing to make arrows. It's basically the T-1000 of weapons, but deadlier, because harldlight isn't the only thing it can do.

They can self-replicate, so if I was feeling really vindictive (or perhaps crafty), I could drop small clusters everywhere and have them eat away at the ground, replicate, and then the entire battlefield is my Hardlight Hellhole. Or I could just make the command, smack a bitch with 'em, and watch as they get eaten alive.

And the Power Glove works wonders with me semblance. I can easily make arrows or bullets and blast people to death with 'em, or I can create the aforementioned Captain America shield, peg someone with it, and then watch it bounce like a pinball, before pulling it right back and beaning someone over the head with it.

And did I mention that Hardlight apparently absorbs... Functionally all physical force?

Seriously - Mercury never got to see me test it out at the firing range, so when we got back to the Aviator, we found a place to spar a bit more freely than in a pressurized cabin. He proceeded to use his legs to shoot me with compressed air which, in his words, 'hits like an hauler'. From his subsequent explanation. I assume it's comparably to getting smashed into by a dump truck. Point is, it's supposed to hurt like mad and hit like something you don't walk away from.

But when it hit my shield? I didn't feel a thing.

We proceeded to spend a few hours testing that. He kicked it, shot it with another compressed air bolt, Emerald came by and shot the hell out of it with her revolvers, Cinder even blasted it with a fireball, and I never moved a fucking INCH!

Call me Steve Rogers!

As an aside, it is occurring to me that I'm actively conspiring against these people, yet here I am also actively showing them everything I'm capable of. Yes, this is a bad idea, but I also think it's an unavoidable one. After all, I can't get stronger on my own - not in the time I need to, at least - so I need to train them, and I can't build up trust with them unless I make it seem like I trust them. So there have to be some gimmies, on this end - I have to keep demonstrating an Earth education, I have to keep training with them, I have to basically show them what I come up with.

But not everything I come up with. They still have no motherfucking clue about the potential scope of my semblance, the whole atomic manipulation thing, and all that. As well, I haven't told them a damn thing about the potential dangers of self-replicating nanites (Gray Goop, anyone?), and the hardlight implements I've used around them have mostly been restricted to Wolverine-style claws, my Captain America shield, and the hardlight bullets. I'd say for every three ideas I have, I let slip one.

For instance, I've demonstrated the ranged implements of the shield, but I haven't told them about my ideas to make a hardlight chainsaw. I'm a Doom fan. If I'm not getting a shotgun, I'm getting a chainsaw. Just make a circular hardlight disc with serrated edges, spin that sucker real fast, and boom. Gore showers. God help them if I can figure out how to make mono-atomic cutting edges. Nothing could stop me.

Anyways, going back, a lot of the doubt they initially showed in the Power Glove started to get wiped away after my little defensive demonstrations with the Cap Shield, but I still had to show it could be used for offense as well as defense. Mercury used this as an excuse to excise his wounded pride (apparently not many people can just walk away from those kicks), and proceeded to beat me black and blue. But, I gave just as good as I got! Landed more than a few good hits with the Cap Shield, hit him a couple times with Wolverine claws, and I even stumbled him with a TK bullet, or two.

I mean, he still beat me as easily as Bruce Lee would beat a three year old, but I digress. I got good hits in.

But this is where we started to notice something - when I would use my semblance to go on the offensive, my defenses would suffer because of it. Now, yes, that sounds like a no brainer - but I don't mean in a 'sacrifice your footing for a killing stroke' kind of a way, but more in a 'take a bullet to give two back' kind of way. When I would lob my shield at him or shoot him with Power Glove projectiles, I noticed that the retaliatory blows hurt more and hit harder. At one point, he even broke my shields - something that hasn't happened yet.

Testing, proved that this wasn't just me being tired from fighting, but rather a uniquity of my aura. In short, it's either overwhelming attack, or impenetrable defense. I was able to tank the strongest of their attacks and, according to the equipment they set up, I only lost half of my shields. But when I switched to the offensive and started tossing stuff around with my semblance, my shield strength plummeted, and were thus more easy to break - got a bullet in the back for that one. It's since healed, but it still smarts.

There is a middle ground I can work with, but it, as the name implies, is a middle ground. To put it to numbers, when I'm not attacking, everything goes to defense and it takes an inordinate amount of force to break my shields. When I put everything to my semblance and start attacking, my shield strength plummets and I can't take more than a few lethal hits before I fall - but I make up for it in being able to exceed Mercury blow for blow. Not in skill, but in power.

But, if I reach that happy medium, I can take hits, but can't hit as hard. To put it in other words, I can either be Goku with Batman durability, Krillin with Superman durability, or Naruto. Overwhelming force with no defense, impenetrable defense with a piss-poor offense, or a decent enough all-around who relies more on attrition. It's much more difficult for me to damage Mercury's shields in any meaningful way. But, considering Mercury's instructions were to train me as if he were trying to kill me, that isn't a damn good thing. He's taking this as some kind of sign that maybe my 'bonfire' of aura may be not all it's cracked up to be, but I beg to differ, and have spent the last few days in training putting a theory to test.

See, I theorized I might be able to make this weakness into a strength. Because, until my body gets acclimated to the massive amounts of aura it has - which I don't think it will before the Vytal Tournament - I have to overspecialize, or risk a generalized weakness. Yes, I could attempt to train as a jack of all trades and get stronger that way, but I don't have the time to be that patient, nor am I in a position to be so. I need to be able to fight on Cinder and Co.'s level, and imminently at that. Until the Fall Maiden I'll only be dealing with the Grimm, regular humans, and Mecrury's Spartan training, but once it's time to fight Her, things will escalate higher and higher until the freakin' Dragon wakes up and tries to kill everyone.

But I'm on a tangent.

To test this theory, yesterday I dropped pretty much all of my defenses for attack power. By my estimation, my aura could have taken maybe a hit or two before it broke - but that was where the Power Glove came in, the Cap Shield stepping in to bolster my defenses. I hold that in one hand, and use the other for a more varied arsenal; the rest? The rest went to over-fuel my semblance. My plan was, use my overwhelming power as both an offense and a defense.

Take Mercury's Dump Truck Kick (not letting that name die) for example. Under my strategy, instead of dodging it, tanking it, or using the Cap Shield, I'd use my semblance to catch it and either push it back or deflect it. Think of the end-result being the end of the Matrix - Neo was still as fleshy and immortal as ever, but he was able to block the bullets with his mind, using his offense as a defense.

The result was fucking beautiful: He fractured my arm, broke three ribs, and now I've got another gnarly scar on my back!
But I broke his shields! First time I've done that! Beat the holy tar our of them by using my semblance to pin him down and my Cap Shield to beat the hell out of him.

It wasn't an epic kung-fu fight, I'm not even close to that yet, I'm getting there, but regardless - I was able to prove my point well enough. I am either an unstoppable force, or an immovable object. As long as I get my reflexes up to par, I can use my semblance as an offense and a defense, and not have to worry about sacrificing power for survival.

Yes, that sounds absolutely moronic, but my argument would be if I turned into a Tank, that oh-so-precious sense of frailty and accompanying self preservation that I've survived on the last few weeks of my life, would wither away. I'd rather think and feel like anything could kill me, than get used to being able to walk into gunfire and thinking I'm a physical god. And the point is rendered somewhat moot by the Cap Shield - it's actually somewhat of an illustration of it, albeit in reverse. It's a damn good defensive tool, but can easily wallop Hitler if one wanted.

Anyways, if all goes well, I may be able to find a way to swap between the two - go from irresistible offense to absolute defense - but I get the strangest feeling that not only will things never be that easy, but that also would play hell with my aura.

But I digress - everyone's getting their stuff together, so we're probably going to be heading out here soon. The point is, I feel more confident in combat, even if I may have to model it after some unholy fusion of Captain America, Wolverine, Yondu, and Goku.

To wrap this little bit up, I do also have a theory as to why my aura and semblance act this way, but that will have to wait. Quickly now, while it has been slight, I have been noticing a gradual acclimation of my body to my aura. Beyond the regular physical exercise (read: Getting used to getting beaten half to death by Mercury and almost dying on a daily basis since the plane crash), I've noticed I'm becoming able to run faster for longer periods of time, jump higher without directly using my aura or my semblance, lift heavier things - the works.

It's a difference of a few minutes, feet, and dozen pounds respectively, but the difference is as noticeable as it is gradual. I'm starting to understand now why Huntsman and Huntresses are capable of doing such crazy stuff, even without using their semblances.

Maybe I really am becoming Captain America.

Finally, the Remnant English lessons are going good - I'm the equivalent to a first grader. Joy.
Haven't had much time to try and fiddle with Earth and Remnant tech, but I'm hoping I'll get that time after Torchwick.

'Till next time.

As Aldric slathered his hands in the Power Glove's gray goop and swung his coat over his shoulders, he suddenly realized he may end up killing people tonight. That thought gave him pause, but after a moment's thought, he pushed it away. He was actively working his way into a doomsday cult that would be allying itself with criminals and terrorists, and fully intended to capture and kill a goddess. He was going to kill at some point, it may not have been something he thought of much in the euphoria of getting superpowers, but it was also something he knew would be unavoidable. He had to make peace with it.

Besides... He thought, as he rubbed his hands together, the nanites covering them providing no loss of dexterity or feeling. Let's make a list of superheroes who haven't killed: Dead ones. He reached forward and shut the laptop he'd been hammering away at for the last hour. And a list of ones who have killed: Superman killed Doomsday, Captain America killed Nazis, Iron Man killed his fair share of people, Goku killed, Wonder woman has no code against killing, the Punisher is self explanatory... Yes there was the Batman argument, which he did consider as he ran his hand through his shaggy hair, but it was also a poor example; how many people had died because of Wayne's refusal to kill? Slippery slope fallacy be damned, a lot of problems in Batman's life would have ceased to be problems if he'd just offed an enemy or two.

Besides, Nathan Drake killed, too. Case closed. That didn't make it easier, but it gave him the prompt to push it from his mind. He was actively modelling his entire existence in Remnant after an anti-villain who staged an alien invasion and killed millions in doing so. He didn't get to take any moral high ground. As a final thought, he placed a small vial in one of his coat's pockets. It was his last resort - if somehow the Power Glove on both of his hands got destroyed, he had a small backup, he'd just have to buy it time to replicate.

Now as ready as he would ever be, Aldric stepped out of his room. Cinder was there, running a brush from her hair, which prompted the crash survivor to raise an eyebrow.

"While we are prepared to fight..." she said, "that does not mean we intend to." After another pass, the brush vanished in a shower of embers. "And it is usually better from a tactical perspective to make men assume your brains fill your bra as opposed to your head."

Aldric couldn't help but snort at that, "I'll give you that, Hot Stuff." He said, shaking his head and following her through the ship. "Where's the others?"

"Went ahead to scout the location." Cinder supplied, "you were taking a while, writing your journal."

He gave a shrug of apology, as they stepped out of the ship and descended the stairs to the dock. "Sorry. It was longer than usual, haven't written in it in a while."

"Considering what you have said to me about your electronics, I am surprised they still work." She commented, as she smoothed out a wrinkle in her red dress.

"Well, as long as they're not actively being used, they can last a while, but I am going to have to work something out soon." Worst case scenario, he could find a way to program a custom keyboard onto one of the scrolls they had given him, and continue writing from that. "You think things'll turn violent?" He asked, as they strolled away from the dock and began taking side streets, walking under the dark night sky and through the mostly empty city streets.

"Roman Torchwick is a proud man, but not a foolish one." Cinder explained, "such a combination could lead to either outcome. Regardless I do believe we will get what we seek. Exactly how shall be left up to fate to decide."

Aldric chuckled, "you believe in fate?"

"Of course." Cinder responded, her arms swinging with each step. "Do you not?"

"I believe in science. Not mutually exclusive, but..." He hummed, "say it like this: I believe there is a god, I believe he has a plan, but I don't believe he has every single step meticulously thought out. Just a general idea of what needs to happen, where, and when." He wondered if this universe he found himself in now, a world of actual gods and goddesses, had one of the biblical, theological variety.

Cinder gave a sidewards nod of the head, "that makes sense, I suppose." She conceded, "I saw your last battle with Mercury."

Aldric felt his chest throb with the memory. "My ribs only just finished knitting together, you know."

"I hope it is not sympathy you seek, Aldric. I was the one who told him to train you as if he intended to kill you."

Which was very easy - he didn't stop when Aldric's aura was depleted, he only stopped just short of actual killing blows. Pain is a good motivator, after all - and Aldric was in a lot of pain. "No sympathy, just acknowledgement." There was a reason the Spartan method worked, though.

The way Aldric understood it, Mercury was pretty near the top of the pecking order, as far as the show was concerned. Not at the top, but certainly a step or two below Cinder, who herself was, even before the Fall Maiden, probably a step or two below Salem. There were others that padded out the list, of course, but he was hanging out with the main antagonists of the show. That automatically put them near the top of the hierarchy, and by necessity they would only grow stronger as the main characters did, to continue to put up a legitimate threat and challenge. This meant that, once Aldric could hold his own against the assassin's son, he'd already be far ahead of most folks. He just had to make sure that time came sooner, rather than later - if they benched him for the Fall Maiden fight, his every plan to ape The Departed would be, for the most part, destroyed.

"Well, you are leagues better than you were when we found you." Cinder acknowledged.

He grinned, "aww, you're willing to lie to preserve my feelings? Girl, I knew you liked me."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "Perhaps you can explain that to me." She said, as they turned a corner, and a car drove past them.

"Oh?"

"What is it that drives you to act the way you do?" She asked. "I know Mercury did so to spite his father and continues to do so to spite Emerald, more than anyone else. I know Emerald does because of her past, but I fail to see any rhyme or reason to you beyond simple survival." She gave him an appraising look, one eyebrow arced over a deep red eye, as they continued strolling down the street. "When you simply could have had us awaken your aura and then left, not having joined our cause."

To this, Aldric shrugged. "If you're asking why I walk and talk the way I do... I was raised by a pair of snide sarcastic assholes, it's literally all I know." He explained, "I've learned to enjoy the little things, and laughing at stuff definitely counts. As to why I joined up with you... Well..." He hummed, "I never thought I'd be in the history books... Let alone knowing definitively I'd be on the right side." And he technically wasn't wrong, either - if Cinder's faction won, they'd remember him as their agent. If the Justice League's faction won, they'd remember him as their mole.

But he decided to lay it on thick, to throw her off. "And the company's good too. Mercury's got a great ass." Perhaps a little too thick.

But damn if it didn't get the response he'd hoped for, Cinder actually stopped walking for a few steps, before she blinked, frowned, and then shook her head. "No, actually. No." She caught up with him, "I've seen you stare at mine and Emerald's asses, but never Mercury's."

Aldric chuckled, "guilty, but I still got you." He was a teenager rapidly approaching eighteen, he made no excuses. "I think that's the first time I've heard you curse, before, Hot Stuff."

"Only more proof." She shook her head, though he did notice a slight upward curl to the corner of her lips. "Unlike you, I was not 'raised by sailors', as you say. It is a sign of a lack of intelligence."

Aldric turned to face her completely, walking backwards as he crossed his arms. "Oh really?" He taunted, "would you like to explain to me what a fucking tesseract is, then?" He said, with a wide smile on his face. "Or perhaps what a wormhole is? And why it and quantum mechanics is what I think the aura in this universe did to link up with mine and drag my airplane into your plane?!"

Cinder was actually smiling now, though it was closer to a sneer than a smile. "Aren't you seventeen, Nebo? How is it you know these things."

He knew what she was doing, using his first name, and much for the same reason she never responded to his nickname for her, he didn't rise to her challenge. He also thought it was awesome, how he was breaking her out of her shell like this. Seeing someone like Cinder Fall actually gain some humanity beyond power fantasies and evil for the evulz was certainly a unique experience. That it would make his Ozzymandias act harder was something he didn't heavily think about. Though, one thing did briefly cross his mind. He remembered one quote from her in particular, to be said in the future. He didn't remember perfectly the circumstances, but he knew that Emerald and Mercury had freelanced and done something on their own, which Cinder didn't like. They'd try to excuse it saying they didn't think it was a big deal, but then Cinder would tell them that they weren't there to think, but rather to obey.

That Cinder was a far cry from the one whose skin he was getting under now, and it prompted a question in him. Considering that she basically all but said she desperately wanted - needed, even - him on her side, and he'd shown hints of idealism, was it then impossible that this all was an act? The smiles, the counter-teasing, was it all there to lull him into a false sense of friendship and camaraderie? Was she playing him just as he was playing her? She wanted his loyalty, she wanted him to have a reason to stay with them, even should it conflict with his morals. If they weren't like family to him, then he, in this new world, would have nothing to lose and everything to gain should he decide they weren't the good he thought them to be; but if she befriended him, suddenly he would have a reason to stay, a reason to change his mind, to adapt to their way of thinking.

It was a sobering thought.

He shrugged, as they entered the warehouse district, the towering buildings fading away to large square storage buildings and massive, mostly automated, parking lots and staging areas, all brightly lit by white floodlights. "I had... Like... Ten." He nodded, "ten friends, back home. A tightly knit circle, no more than I needed. But we all also agreed we were all assholes, so we'd definitely hang out, just not all the time." He also didn't have a car, that definitely contributed. "So whenever I was home, I just read, or played video games. Whatever struck my fancy - physics was real fun, dear god, don't try to make me actually do the math. I can understand abstract concepts until the cows come home, but the moment the alphabet got added to my math homework my grades started to tank."

"And here you are, strong enough to potentially match fists with huntsman headmasters. Perhaps you missed your calling, in your home."

"Don't, my ego can only get so large." He said, as she led him down one path, a warehouse looming above them. "This the place?"

"Close to it." Cinder said, before leaping up to the warehouse's roof with little warning.

Aldric shrugged, before he crouched down. "Show off." He lunged upwards.

He almost didn't make it to the rooftop, catching the ledge with his midsection, but Emerald was there to haul him up the rest of the way. He thanked her, and joined up with her, Cinder, and Mercury, who was looking at a warehouse two buildings away through a pair of binoculars.

With a grunt, he leaned down. "What's the verdict?"

"Pretty much everything we thought." Mercury said, handing Aldric the binoculars. Aldric reached for them, but Cinder grabbed them before he could, leading him to give her an exaggerated frown, which she ignored. "Got a lot of his thugs patrolling the catwalks and keeping the grounds clear. I saw them knock out the security cameras before they went in, though." He briefly lowered his binoculars, "see that chimney? That's where the office is. Torchwick went in about an hour ago, he's in there." He looked up to Cinder, who was scanning the building's roof.

Aldric frowned, "an hour ago? I thought we were meeting now."

"We are, they weren't." Mercury responded, "first rule. Being cordial and on time is definitely a good show of respect, but being late is a display of force."

"And we want him to think we don't respect him?"

"The meeting time we set was two hours ago."

"Oh." So Torchwick was an hour late, and they were two. This was certainly no John Wick underworld, Aldric could say that much.

"Do any of his thugs have aura?"

Mercury nodded, "one. Father had her in his book, name of Neopolitan. Semblance seems to be shape shifting. You'll know her when you see her."

Of course his dad would have a book. Thought Aldric, with a sidewards nod of the head. "Didn't you say dear old dad was a drunk?"

"Didn't stop him from being damn good at his job." Mercury argued, tersely. "Some even argued it helped him." This prompted a grin, "though not enough, clearly."

Aldric wisely chose to stay silent.

Emerald, on the other hand, "there seems to be fifty men, inside, plus Torchwick and Neopolitan." She said, getting things back on track.

Cinder nodded, "that will be fine." She lowered the binoculars and gave them back to the assassin's son. "Let's go."

They leapt from the warehouse - Aldric landing with a grunt, and a flutter of his jacket, it almost appearing like a cape. Torchwick's guards quickly noticed them as they brazenly approached the front of the warehouse, though did little as they entered the darkened building. There were few active lighting fixtures hanging from the high ceilings, giving the atmosphere of a shadowed place. Aldric adopted a neutral frown as he followed Cinder and Co, his mind wandering as they found a stairwell and began to climb.

Cinder and Co... That's nice and all, but I can do better. He thought, as they reached the rafters above and began walking towards the warehouse's main office, suspended above the ground floor and held aloft by the rafters and support beams. How about the Legion of Doom? Aldric briefly made eye contact with one of Torchwick's thugs, the man held a shotgun almost as big as his head, but despite this he quickly averted his eyes when he looked into Aldric's gunmetal gray orbs. Yeah, same number of syllables... But I think it works. Got Ozpin's Justice League, Salem's Legion of Doom. The League and the Legion. He could just imagine the thought.

The Legion entered a warehouse. The Legion got lunch. The Legion stared at Aldric after a dumb damn joke. He had to exercise a tremendous amount of willpower not to chuckle. Yeah, that'll do. We're the Legion now, everybody. I guess that means if I get Qrow and Ozpin on my side, that makes us the Watchmen? Sure, I'll take that. They reached the office, and one of Torchwick's thugs let them in.

There he stood, before the window that overlooked the main floor, both hands resting on his cane. "You're late, you know."

Cinder did the talking, "and you weren't?" She asked.

Aldric gave the room a brief look, and found Neo sitting on top of a stack of crates in the far corner, her legs swinging freely and a thin smirk plastered across her pale face. Torchwick chuckled, and turned to face them with a flourish. "Only fashionably so, Miss Ma'am!" He said, his arms held out wide, before one crossed his stomach and he bowed deeply. "Roman Torchwick, at your service." He straightened up, and placed his hands back upon his cane with a light click.

Aldric leaned up against the door, stowing his hands in his jacket and watching Cinder and Torchwick speak.

"Ah, Miss Fall, quite a foreboding name, I must say." Torchwick gave her a polite, exaggerated nod. "As well, to be contacted by the son of Marcus Black? With a business proposal no less? You can color me intrigued." He said, in his airy voice and confident tone. "I would say step into my office, but it appears that is where we all are already... So perhaps you could tell me what it is you intend to gain from such a proposal."

"Power, a place in history, and fate, to be succinct." Cinder said, stepping around and falling into a chair in front of the desk in the center of the office. "I represent quite a powerful group..." She nodded to her companions, "far more numerous and some more powerful than those you see here. We seek a goal, a simple one - to overthrow a vast majority of the modern kingdoms and install a new system of leadership."

I wonder if she's being so brazen for his sake, or because she's expecting me to mention this later? Because while similar, this was also different from her recruitment pitch to him. I'll play along for now. We're dealing with the mafia, so she'd likely tailor her pitch accordingly.

Roman chuckled, "rather interesting..." He flamboyantly slid across the room, first to Emerald, leaning down to meet her mint eyes. "I know you say you've more than you four but I still do find myself wondering exactly how you intend to succeed in such a lofty goal when even a worldwide war couldn't even break one kingdom, much less them all." He tilted his head, Emerald simply glared back at him.

Cinder wasn't even looking at him, instead staring out of the window, into the dark warehouse. "As I've said, Mister Torchwick. We've more, and many more powerful." She reiterated. "We play the quality game, as opposed to the quantity game."

Roman chuckled, "I would buy that argument were it coming from twenty huntsman wanting to clear out an old stone city." He said, straightening up and marching over to Aldric, before getting down in his face. "But I doubt even all hunstman headmasters could complete your goal. Not with mere quality..." Aldric gave the boss an arced eyebrow, which caused Roman to reciprocate with a recoil of the head and a raised eyebrow of his own. "Hm..." He nodded, before he straightened up and began approaching Mercury. "So would I be correct in assuming my 'quality' is in the resources I command?" He inquired.

Cinder slowly closed her eyes, and nodded. "You would be close enough to say yes."

"Well you can go ahead and call me flattered." He extended his hand, which Mercury shook with a respectful nod. "Great fan of your father, by the way. Hired him many times. How is he?"

"Fried and extra crispy."

"Well good riddance to the bastard, I hated his guts!" Roman smiled widely, before turning on his heel. "You see Miss Fall, perhaps I would be inclined to believe you. After all, most of you certainly seem capable of doing what it is you tell me you seek to do, and as you may know, I'm a gambling man. I tend to bet on the surefire wins, and while I'm certainly no sensor, anyone who can curtail the son of Marcus Black clearly isn't to be trifled with." He lifted his cane, and then pointed it at Aldric. "But you see... I don't believe all of you are capable of such a thing. This man here hardly looks like he could pass a Signal exam, let alone take over the world."

Cinder arced an eyebrow, "oh?" She said, coolly.

Yeah... Just play it cool. Aldric just kept eye contact with the man, who smirked.

"Oh indeed!" He said, "however... For my many strengths, I'm afraid I must admit I'm a poor judge of character. For all I know..." He said, dramatically. "The lack of scars on this boy's face is merely an indicator of a vast and unmatched skill!" He indicated Aldric, "and his coat... It appears as if he thinks he's in Atlas! But his stance, his hair... I believe I even see a short stubble there. I swear it's almost as if he's never fought a day in his life!"

Cinder simply hummed, beckoning the man to continue.

"See, as I said, I'm a betting man, and everything tells me to make this bet... Except him." His voice dropped in tone, and he lowered the cane to the ground. "Tell me, sonny. You seem to be a follower type, is that true? Do you make your own choices? No, I feel as if you're a zealot, kind of a person. Are you, good sir?" He leaned forward, "would you go so far as to claim you are a religious man? Oh who do you believe in? The Deity Brothers? The One Above All?"

What the fuck is he smoking? Aldric remained silent.

"Yip yip goes the dog." Roman stood up straight, chuckling. "I, however, I am not a religious man. The things I've seen, the things I've done... Oh no, if there were a benevolent god I do believe I would have been smitten quite a while ago."

Cinder now turned her head, but she wasn't looking at Roman, but rather, Aldric. Aldric got the strangest feeling she was trying to tell him something. Problem was, he wouldn't even remotely claim to have spent enough time with her to be able to tell what she was thinking. She arced an eyebrow expectantly, he frowned, his features stilled. What was she trying to say? Was he doing something wrong? He hadn't done anything. After a moment, her eyes narrowed a fraction, and darted over to Torchwick, and Aldric wondered if she wasn't telling him to shut the man up, such that he would get to his point.

After a moment, she finally gave up the subtleties and raised a finger to her lips, before masking it by sliding her hand through her hair.

Okay... Yeah. She wants this guy to shut up. Well, Aldric would oblige.

"So you see Miss Fall..." Roman continued, unaware of Aldric slowly raising his hand, his thumb and forefinger pressing together, though Neo's eyes had zeroed in on him instantly. "I truly only believe in two things... That humans exist, and they want power... And I don't believe that this boy you've brought into my office is capable -" Roman was stopped dead when he felt something pressing at his throat, as if blocking his windpipe.

He blinked, his head recoiling as he tenderly felt at his throat, before his attention was then stolen by Aldric.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing." Aldric deadpanned, making a supreme effort not to break his neutral expression and grin.

In a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, Neo was on her feet and in front of Aldric, her umbrella pressed against his throat, where he could feel the cold sting of steel pressing just hard enough to be noticed and perhaps draw a bead of blood, but not enough to do lasting damage. Her grin, while still present, had lost its earlier amusement, and had turned fierce. It had gone from light and friendly to appearing as if she'd already planned his murder and funeral simply by looking at him. It was unnerving, but Aldric had long since become proficient in the art of the poker face, having to keep it up for the Legion like he did.

That being said, that practice certainly didn't make it easier for him. There was a goddamn knife pressed against his throat - and that fact alone managed to be more terrifying than when Cubone had had him crushed against the ground, tearing at his chest. With Aldric and Neo both staring eachother down, Roman, meanwhile, was doing a remarkable job of keeping his composure, despite his head slowly turning red. He leaned a hand on the desk next to him, and kept up eye contact with Aldric, whose gaze briefly flicked between him and his ward.

They kept this up for another several seconds, before Cinder finally nodded, and Aldric released his hold. He heard the air quickly get sucked into Roman's lung through his nose, and Roman nodded. "Well, perhaps I was wrong!" He said, "I mean, after all - I did say I was a poor judge of character... But Neopolitan here - she's much better than I." Neo's smile grew warm and playful, as the blade in her umbrella retracted, and she slid back to Roman's side.

"So, I'll tell you this, Miss Fall." Roman's head lolled over to her. "While I may believe you truly desire what it is you say... I still do not know whether or not I should bet on you... If you bet on him." He looked back to Aldric.

Oh I've got a bad feeling about this. Aldric felt his heart sink to his stomach.

"What would you request, then?" Cinder asked, coolly.

"Well as both he and you have clearly demonstrated, Miss Fall, you have guts... But all I've seen thus far is that the dog can bark. I say we let Neo here judge his character, and on her word I may choose to bet upon you."

Cinder smiled thinly, "while I am not disagreeing... I do hope you realize I will not tolerate such behavior when we make our deal. I require loyalty... And your little display here has only shown me that you think perhaps too much for your own good. Doubting my choice of companions... Perhaps you would then doubt an order I give, or a request I make." She swiveled around on her chair. "When he wins, I will need everything you have. Everything you can do. Without question."

Uh... Wins? Aldric spared Mercury a brief glance, but his expression hadn't changed.

Suddenly he felt as if perhaps this all had been staged.

Oh Jesus, we've been here a week. There is no goddamn way they just avoided eachother in that time. This entire thing was a setup from the word 'go'. They weren't here to get Torchwick, they were here to test Aldric. Of course, it was still more than possible that he was wrong, but this all felt too convenient. Torchwick was a guy who, as he said, bet on the winning team - he was allied with the Legion in canon RWBY, for chrissakes! Not only that but he had a criminal empire that was able to empty Vale of all of its dust, and get him out of jail on multiple accounts. There was no way he didn't already know about, if not Salem, then at least Cinder; if Marcus Black had a book with Neopolitan's name in it, then Roman Torchwick had to have a book with Cinder Fall's.

This entire thing had been staged, they were testing Aldric.

"Oh, but of course, ma'am. I've only the utmost for those with whom I work." Said Roman, with a bow of the head and a tip of his hat. "But I do hope you realize..." He hummed, "Neopolitan there... She doesn't really know how to spar. She can play with her food, most definitely, but the word 'non' is never attached to her 'lethal'."

They were testing him with his life.

"I would have hoped for nothing less, Mister Torchwick." Cinder slowly extended her hand.

Roman shook it.

Well... In the words of Nathan Drake... Aldric sighed. "Oh crap."

"I say - this office is rather cramped, and dusty too - whew!" Roman fanned his hand in an animated fashion. "What say you we give these two room to play? Down stairs would work."

Cinder nodded, "indeed." She held out her hand.

Roman grinned, "oh, well - allow me!" He took ahold of her hand and helped her to her feet.

Aldric followed the Legion out onto the catwalks. He watched with a slowly increasing sense of dread as Neo, with a wide, fiery smile, leaned onto the railings, sat upon them, and swung her legs around. With a glance at him cast over her shoulder, and her umbrella slung over the other, she gave him a thin grin and waved, before she slid off of the railing and user her umbrella to float down.

With a light sigh, Aldric slipped off his coat, and hung it off the railing. He cast Cinder and Roman a quick glance, before leaning close to Mercury. "Any advice?" He whispered.

Mercury said, "don't die."

Aldric rolled his eyes, "thanks, asshole." He ambled over the railing. Staring over the edge, though, a grin came to his face.

Yeah, if he was going to die here, he might as well.

He turned to Cinder, who caught the mischievous glint in his eyes. Her own widened a fraction of an inch, as if in warning, but that only made his grin grow wider.

"Hey." He nodded his head, "I'm gonna do the superhero landing." He said, before leaping off the catwalk.

He fell the fifteen feet and landed with a flourish, his left arm enveloped in his facsimile of Captain America's shield. It hit the ground first, absorbing much of the impact as he bent down one one knee. He looked up to Neo, as the shield disippated, the light flickering away like floating blue embers. He straightened up, and stretched his arms out.

"Whew..." He mumbled, before he flicked out his left arm, summoned up the shield again, and to his right, came flying his gun. "Superhero landing."

"Well what are you waiting for?" Roman called out, his voice echoing across the warehouse as his thugs began to line the catwalk like spectators. "Fight alr-"

Before he could finish, Aldric reared his hand and chucked his gun at Neo. Neo blinked, the sheer audacity of the act catching her off guard, nearly causing her to take the gun straight to her face. Fortunately she recovered, not fast enough to unleash her umbrella as a shield, but fast enough to bat the gun aside and send it sailing right back. Aldric's gunmetal gray eyes followed the gun, and he nodded, as he looked back to Neo, her smile going from that of a hunter, to that of a thoroughly amused owner playing with its toys.

"Maximum effort." He grunted, raising his shield, before he charged.