Neil Werth and Garrett Orrin. Those were the two names Junior had given Clark. They were members of gangs. Different ones, but they'd both been paid to inform other criminals in Vale about the reward for the Dart.

Clark had called each of them, and when they'd picked up their scrolls, he'd used his hearing to track the sound of their voices in the city. After finding them and showing proof that the hidden figure they saw was the Dart, they'd both confessed to anything they knew. Clark had watched carefully to make sure they were telling the truth.

Unfortunately, neither of them had known anything useful. Both had been contacted the same way, by messages on their scrolls. A different number for each person, and Clark had them show him their scrolls so he could remember them. He had a feeling they wouldn't be useful though, they were only several digits long, and were probably from single-use devices.

The messages themselves had been short and to the point. Directing both gang members to lockers at a train station and telling them the combination. Inside had been envelopes with cash, along with typed notes promising them more money if they told other criminals about a reward for capturing or killing the Dart. A couple days later, Werth and Orrin had returned to the train station to different lockers and received their payment.

Which showed that someone really wanted Clark gone. The reward money had made that clear already, but the effort they'd gone to in order to spread the word and keep themselves secret was even more telling. There had probably been plenty more people who'd been contacted in the same way.

Now that it was nighttime, Clark sat perched on top of a skyscraper in central Vale as he usually did. This time, Clark had decided to wear the red and blue of his day to day life. There wasn't really much point to camouflage if he was going to be more visible as the Dart. Plus, he was doing more crimefighting during the day too.

For now, it was quiet. Well, quiet in the sense that he didn't hear any violent crimes in progress. It was never actually quiet for him.

Clark's thoughts turned back to the covert methods used to contact Werth and Orrin. Before today, Clark had considered a few ideas for the number Junior had given him for claiming the reward. Like calling and trying to find the voice of whoever answered with super-hearing, or even pretending to claim the reward and staying inactive as the Dart for a few days. Then confronting them when he arrived to "claim" his reward.

Now though, Clark knew there was no way those plans would work. Whoever was offering the money had been careful. Too careful to hand out the money in person, and whoever answered the scroll call would probably use a voice scrambler, or it might even be a recorded message. Clark wasn't comfortable with keeping the Dart inactive for that long either. Crimes would still take place, and criminals might get confident if they thought he disappeared.

He'd spoken with Headmaster Ozpin about it, and he and General Ironwood had offered to track down the number for the reward. The problem was that they wouldn't be able to do much unless they actually called it, and there probably wouldn't be a second chance. Whoever it belonged to would definitely have precautions against finding them. The headmaster and the general were going to need to organize their resources and Atlesian tech to make sure they did it right the first time.

It would take a couple days. Clark wasn't happy about that, but it wasn't too bad. No one seemed to be trying to claim the reward, which meant no one was getting hurt because of him.

\\\\\

"Oh my God! I can't believe it, it's one of the S's!" Ruby squealed with excitement in the alley. Gazing at the pentagonal shield on the wall with a capital S inside it. Ruby took out her scroll and began taking pictures.

Yang chuckled at her little sister's behavior. Really, she could get excited over the weirdest things. Weapons, comic books, and now this new . . . superhero.

Yang still wasn't sure what to think about that. The guy was definitely real, but why not just join the police or be a huntsman? Team RWBY had ended up in a few run-ins with terrorists and Torchwick, but the Grimm were a more serious problem.

"It's just a big letter," said Blake in an annoyed tone. "I don't understand why we came out to the middle of Vale to see it."

Yang's eyes flashed dangerously, she really wasn't in the mood for her partner's attitude. "Because we're team bonding, and this is what our leader decided."

"Yep!" Ruby said.

Meanwhile, Blake shifted nervously at Yang's expression. "Weiss didn't have to come." She mumbled.

"Weiss has a good reason for not coming." Yang replied. Referring to the girl's training with her sister. Ever since Winter Schnee had arrived, she and Weiss had spent a lot of time working on their family Semblance together.

"So do I."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Yang dared her partner to answer.

Blake glared back. Yang knew she was just grumpy because coming along with Ruby was taking time away from her obsession with the White Fang. Which, by the way, was ruining her health and grades. At least some time in Vale would get her away from the library and make her actually spend time with the team.

"Yeah, I thought so." Yang replied with a wink and turned to her sister. "Seriously though Ruby, are we just gonna look at S's all night? Seems kinda boring."

Ruby gasped at her as if she'd called a scythe an impractical weapon. "Boring? You guys don't understand. These aren't just S's, they're the Dart's symbol! We have to figure out what they mean, what they stand for!"

"Riiiight." Yang said. Maybe she could have chosen something better than Ruby's obsession to deal with Blake's own. "Maybe it's a shield? It does kinda look like it."

Ruby shook her head. "No, we have to keep thinking, it might be something else. After all, that's one of the first things Jaune and I thought of when we first saw this."

Yang sighed, of course they had. Jaune and Ruby were Dart fans, probably because they read way too many comic books. How many meanings for the S had they come up with?

"You know, I'm kinda surprised that he's not here with us. I thought he'd be freaking out over this S with you." Yang said.

"He wanted to, but he had to train with Pyrrha." Ruby explained. "I promised him that I'd give him all my pics later."

Yeah, their obsession was strong, but that didn't mean it had to consume them. Unlike a certain someone else. Yang nudged Blake. "So, what do you think the S could mean?" she asked.

Her raven-haired partner shrugged. "I don't know, it looks diamond shaped. Maybe an S for sapphire?"

"Nah, that doesn't make any sense." Ruby waved a hand dismissively.

Blake's eye twitched at that. "Well how could we know whether we guess right or not? We don't have anything to go on."

"You're right. That's why we're going to look for clues!" Ruby announced.

"Clues?" asked Yang.

"Clues." Ruby repeated. "Footprints, more markings, possible secret messages hidden only for the most hard-core fans." She emphasized the last part. "You know, that sort of thing."

"Why don't we start with the S then?" Yang walked up to the wall and brought a hand up to touch it. "Huh, looks like it's burned in. How does he do that?"

"Nobody knows," Ruby informed her. "There are lots that are different sizes ever since he started making them last week. A lot of people think he carries around a welding torch or something and writes it really fast."

"Hey, what happened to this fence?" Blake called out as she'd wandered a bit deeper into the alley. The remains of the fence were a mangled metal mess.

Ruby gasped and rushed over gleefully with her Semblance. "It's the fence he used to tie up a mugger!" She snapped pictures on her scroll.

"Ruby, it's a fence." Blake pointed out when her leader kept clicking away. "I think that's more than enough pictures."

"More angles means more clues." Their team leader replied.

"Hold on, he ripped a fence up? I thought his Semblance was speed."

"Come on Yang, I told you this before, everyone knows it has to be more than just speed." Ruby scolded her. "He was the one who saved those cars when Roman piloted the Paladin. And he's done lots of other stuff like rip signs out of the ground to wrap bad guys in."

Had Ruby told her that before? Maybe. Recently, Yang tended to space out when Ruby, or god forbid, Ruby and Jaune together nerded out over the Dart. She'd forgotten that the Dart had been there that night with the Paladin.

She really owed the guy for that. No way she wanted people's lives on her conscience. She was sort of responsible for Torchwick taking the Paladin to the streets, and Yang knew Blake felt that even more strongly.

They visited a few more places. Each time Ruby would jump up and down excitedly at finding an S or something the Dart had used to hold crooks. Another alley, a storefront, they even made it to the big one with the warehouse which that gang had used to try and lure out the Dart.

"This is the first time the Dart actually talked to anyone." Ruby said with bright eyes, which soon turned into a pout. "Can't believe that bad guysgot to do it first."

The last two spots had been boring, but Yang actually looked impressed at the enormous S on the ground. "This looks a bit too big to be from a torch." She said, walking across it. It had to be like fifteen feet wide.

"Not just that, look at the lights." Blake pointed out to the shattered streetlights.

Yang really did envy her partner's night vision. It would be pretty useful right now, the area around here was pretty dim.

"Oh yeah, the Dart did that to hide his face, he probably threw pieces of gravel at them." Ruby told them.

"No, I don't think so, there are scorch marks on them."

"There are?!" Ruby shouted, and her scroll's flashlight turned on and off as she aimed upwards and took pictures. "Blake, you're the bestest teammate ever! This changes so much! Maybe he uses fire Dust, or it was the laser gun he used on the Paladin! Maybe it's what he actually uses to make his S!"

Yang just watched with a blank expression. It had been cute the first couple times when Ruby had geeked out, but now it was getting old.

Thankfully, that had been the last one. They'd returned to Beacon soon after with Ruby's eyes glued to the pictures on her scroll. That night, Blake went to bed at a reasonable time for once.

But Ruby had fought Yang tooth and nail to stay up late to keep posting online about new Dart theories.

\\\\\

Titan Bookstore was a nice place. Neat, clean shelves with books of lots of varieties. With plenty of windows to let sunlight in. Clark had visited this store a couple times before to get books to learn more about this world. Beacon's library was extensive, but he preferred having a few of his own.

Right now, Clark was in the philosophy section. He was looking for a couple books that Yatsuhashi had recommended him on morality. Specifically, the moral obligation to kill the Grimm. Clark found the titles, and brought them up to the cashier. After he paid with his scroll, he left with the paper bag decorated with the store's logo.

He decided to walk to Beacon, Vale was a beautiful city, and he didn't want to flash by at superspeed all the time. Clark still hadn't shaken off the tourist from him even after his weeks here. He wasn't alone in that, there were plenty of students arriving early for the Vytal festival.

But there was another reason he couldn't just run off at superspeed, he was being watched.

Actually, "couldn't" was a strong way to put it. If he wanted to, he could just walk in an alley out of their sight for a moment and dash away. Although he still needed to figure out who was following him and why.

Clark smiled at a street performer juggling bowling pins. He joined the crowd to watch, and his stalker paused as well.

At first, Clark had thought it might have been that girl he'd confronted days ago. Emerald. Ever since he'd caught her following him, he'd started keeping a closer eye, and ear, out for her or anyone else that trailed him. Which was how he'd caught the person doing so now.

X-ray vision had confirmed that it wasn't Emerald. This stalker was a woman, but she had blond hair. Clark didn't recognize her, and had first wondered if she was another Atlas spy that Ironwood had sent. She wasn't wearing a uniform, but then again, neither had the ones from before. Clark hadn't seen any colleagues with this woman though, and the general already knew it was pointless to try to have people watch him.

Which brought up another worrying possibility.

His stalker knew, or at least suspected, that he was the Dart. She wasn't a civilian, she was hopping from building to building and avoided being seen.

Clark clapped when the juggler finished his act, and handed over a few bills. Then, he quickly scanned the area with X-ray vision. There was a place close by without any people. Where he could confront this woman without raising attention. A run-down old factory with lots of empty space.

As Clark walked there, he kept his attention on his stalker. She had a calm, steady pulse and from her footprints it sounded like she wore heels. She didn't seem to weigh that much, and she wasn't even winded after hopping from building to building.

Hopefully, she'd stay to follow him for a little while longer. Clark was fast enough to catch up to her if he needed to, but he might end up revealing himself as the Dart if he did.

She kept following him, although there was a bit of a pause. Likely because she was confused by his destination.

Clark reached the factory, and jumped over the fence blocking entry. He'd seen huntsman do similar feats with ease, so it shouldn't be a problem if anyone saw him do so. That would change if he needed to use his other abilities, so he walked in between two crumbling buildings, blocking him from outside view. There probably wouldn't be any cameras, but Clark checked the nearby buildings just in case.

Satisfied, Clark set his books down and turned his eyes to the hidden stalker. "I know you're there." He called out, ready to act if she tried to run.

To his surprise, she instead leapt down and landed in front of him. A little girl? No, she had a developed body, she was just short. Her blond hair was in a long ponytail, and her confident green eyes were accompanied by a mocking smirk. In her hand was an umbrella, and Clark scanned it with X-ray vision. He had to make sure, since the weapons here were pretty intricate, but it seemed that it only had a hidden blade connected to the handle.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Why are you following me?"

Instead of answering, she dashed at him head-on.

\\\\\

Neo rushed at him and placed a few test kicks on the guy's abdomen, then hit him in the face with her weapon.

Or tried to at least. This Clark Kent had decent reactions, he caught the umbrella before it made contact. She pulled it free and assessed the situation.

He could take a few hits. A big, tough guy with decent aura reserves. Neo could handle those in her sleep.

He gave her a confused frown. "Answer me. Why are you attacking me?"

He didn't look the least bit worried. Neo smirked, she'd show him just how wrong he was. True, Cinder just wanted her to test this guy and learn about his abilities, but that didn't mean Neo couldn't have her fun.

With an eager grin, Neo flipped over to him and jumped, twirling her foot to kick him in the face.

Instead of blocking it or trying to dodge like she'd expected, he just stood there and let it hit him without flinching.

That raised an eyebrow from Neo, and she continued to launch a flurry of jabs and kicks. Even when she hit his neck or face, he just stood there like a statue. When she aimed for his crotch, he grabbed her foot and held it there.

"Really? Below the belt?" The guy looked offended. "Not that it would have hurt, but that's pretty cruel. Now, I don't want to ask again, who are you and why are you doing this?"

Neo tried to twist her leg free, but he had an iron grip on her. With a flick of her arm, she brought around her umbrella and brought out the blade to slash at his head.

He caught it between his fingers without even blinking.

Crap. Crap. Crap. This was bad, she couldn't pull her leg or sword free. Who the hell was this guy? This was more than aura, he hadn't even budged from her attacks. Some kind of Semblance to absorb hits? She didn't know, but she had to escape. Cinder had told her to if Clark turned out to be too strong for her, there wouldn't be an issue even if she hadn't really learned anything.

She tried bringing her other foot up to kick him, but he blocked it with his forearm while still gripping onto her weapon.

Neo cursed silently as she fumbled to land on her free foot. She was awkwardly held up by her leg and the umbrella's blade which she still held in her hand. This six-foot tall asshole had her trapped, and he wasn't even fighting back.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

An idea popped into her head, and she let out a fake pained gasp and reached out for the hand holding her shin in a tight grip.

He let go immediately, just like any other dumb good guy. "Sorry! I didn't mean to hurt-

Neo didn't stick around to hear the rest, immediately activating her Semblance and casting an illusion.

\\\\\

Clark had been sure that he'd been careful with his strength, but he let go of the woman's leg immediately.

That was when the confusion settled in. Instead of running away, his assailant just stood there. Yet his hearing indicated that someone was running away. Footsteps retreating in the distance, fabric brushing skin, hurried breathing, a panicked heartbeat.

He tried to grab the arm of the woman in front of him. The moment he did, she shattered into pieces of glass. Or what looked like it, since the shards disappeared immediately.

That was when he turned his head to the source of the quickly retreating steps. In visible light, there was nothing there, but in infrared, she was clearly visible. A Semblance, it had to be.

Clark chased after her, but only at a pace not that much higher than hers. She hadn't seemed to know he was the Dart, he'd reveal himself if he used it now.

Before he caught up with her, she turned around and dispelled whatever her Semblance was, likely because it was useless on him. She raised her umbrella.

\\\\\

What the fuck?! Neo snarled at the bastard while holding up her weapon. How had he seen her? She should have been able to escape easily. What was his Semblance supposed to be?

"I don't want to fight." He raised his palms to try and calm her down. "I just want an explanation for why you're doing this."

He didn't want to fight? After all this, she didn't either! But she was not going to jail, she probably could have gotten out from most Vale prisons, but she had aura and the Atlas ships were here. She couldn't break out of those. No way Cinder would care enough to try, not unless it helped her in some way.

With a frustrated scowl, Neo tried one more time to use her illusions. Leaving a clone while she tried to leave.

The bastard's eyes still followed her, and she got rid of the illusion. There was no point in using it if it was going to drain her aura. She'd need as much as she could use against him. She had to be fast and careful, chip his aura away and he wouldn't be able to use his Semblance anymore. No playing around.

Neo jumped forward, but kept her distance and thrust her blade at him. No way was she going to get close enough to let him grab her again.

The blade bounced off his aura. "Alright, that's enough." He said, and when she tried to stab him again, he held her blade in his bare hand and wrenched it from her grasp. Tossing it away.

Sweat rolled down Neo's neck. She was screwed, she didn't carry a gun, and he'd easily blocked her kicks earlier.

He tried to grab her, and the first couple times, Neo was quick and agile enough to dodge his reach. The third time, his arm came too quickly and grabbed her by the neck. He carried her and pinned her up against the wall.

\\\\\

"Answer me." Clark said as he held her up, his left hand held her wrist and he moved his remaining hand from her neck to her other arm so she could talk.

She continued to kick at him, using her heels to try and do as much damage as she could.

"Enough." He smashed her into the wall, harder than he would have dared for a normal person. By focusing, he could see the shimmer of her aura. He'd lowered it by quite a bit. "Tell me why you attacked me."

The woman hissed and glared at him. A sharp contrast from the confident, playful attitude she'd shown at first.

"If you don't talk, I'm going to search you." He said, giving her a chance. She continued to stew in silent rage.

Putting aside his qualms, Clark checked her with X-ray vision. She didn't carry a wallet or any ID, and no hidden weapons either. But she had a scroll in her pocket.

Although, there was something . . . wrong with her hair and eyes. They didn't look right, in a way Clark couldn't exactly describe.

"One last chance." He warned her. "If you don't answer me, you can either deactivate your aura, or I'll break through it on my own." He squeezed her wrists a bit harder. He didn't want to crack bones, but he wouldn't let go and fall for her trick again.

The woman paled, and lowered her head in surrender. The shimmering aura around her disappeared, as did her blond hair and bright green eyes. Mismatched pink and brown eyes appeared to replace them, as did hair of the same colors, which was still pulled back in a ponytail.

Clark's eyes widened in shock before he reacted, letting go of one arm and pulling her off the wall. With his free hand, he hit her on the back of the head to knock her out. Then, he carefully laid her limp body on the ground.

He recognized her. This was the woman who'd been with that thief, Torchwick, weeks ago with that Paladin. Clark had kept a watch out for him since then, but hadn't seen a hint of the man. Why had his accomplice attacked him? She hadn't seemed to know he was the Dart. If she had, she should have known she couldn't beat him like this. But why else would she follow him and then attack when confronted?

Clark sighed, and called Headmaster Ozpin. He didn't want to call the police yet, this would draw too much attention.

The headmaster answered rather quickly. "Yes Mr. Kent?"

"Hi headmaster. Sorry to bother you, but I have a problem." Clark went on to describe how he'd been followed and forced to defend himself from the woman he'd seen with Torchwick all those weeks ago. He described her abilities and disguise, her current state, and why he couldn't just hand her over to the police.

"Yes, I see the issue." Ozpin responded. "Where are you currently?"

Clark answered with the address of the factory.

"Very well, I believe I may have a solution. Please wait while I contact General Ironwood."

"Sure." Clark said, and the call ended. While he waited, he kept a watch on the unconscious woman beside him. First, he took out her scroll to see if it had any ID, but it was password protected. He put that back in her pocket.

Her aura wasn't surrounding her body, but it was working to fix her head injury. Hopefully, she wouldn't wake up soon. It could be dangerous if he had to knock her out again.

Sometime later, the headmaster called back. "Mr. Kent, General Ironwood will arrive at your location soon. He will take custody of Torchwick's accomplice and inform Vale authorities of her capture. As she has aura and a Semblance, they will almost certainly accept his offer to imprison her on his ship rather than in the city. If she is aware of your identity as the Dart, she won't be able to tell others, and your involvement in her capture will not be mentioned. Is that satisfactory?"

"Yeah, that's great actually. Thank you." Clark replied.

"It is we who should be grateful. Roman Torchwick has been an elusive and troublesome individual. Considering this woman's skills, her capture should aid immensely with apprehending him."

"I guess so." Clark glanced again at the woman. "Should I stick around until the general gets here?"

"Actually, he will be arriving with some of his soldiers. He can order them to keep silent if they see you, but if you truly wish to keep your involvement a secret, then . . ."

Then Clark should leave before the general arrived. "Okay, thank you again for your help."

"You're welcome ."

Clark ended the call, carried the unconscious woman, and propped her up against a wall. He didn't detect anybody nearby, so he went up to the front gate and wrenched off some of the black metal. He then walked back and wrapped it tightly around her arms with makeshift handcuffs on her wrists behind her back. As a precaution, he smoothed out any imprints he left in the metal. Otherwise, they'd notice that it had been warped by bare hands, and he also got rid of any signs of fingerprints.

As one of the Atlesian ships approached, he hid behind a wall and sped off with his books.

\\\\\

The squad of eight men, accompanied by Winter Schnee and General Ironwood, filed into his personal ship. It seemed they were all that was necessary. Winter had heard that they were to escort a new prisoner onto the main flagship, an ally of that thief, Torchwick.

Winter frowned as she wiped sweat from her brow. She'd been training, as she often had since the general's request that she focus on time dilation. Small, fast objects were still difficult to pinpoint, but she was having more success with halting larger objects such as droids or small vehicles.

If it were a normal prisoner, she wouldn't have been called in. She was needed because the Paladins were herresponsibility. It was shameful that lowbrow criminals such as the White Fang had acquired experimental Atlas technology, and their plans for the weaponry were still unknown.

Winter looked to General Ironwood. He stood with a complicated expression. His brow furrowed, eyes narrowed, and his jaw set. Not in anger, but she detected his suspicion easily, although to most men he likely seemed little different from his usual self.

"Sir?" Winter asked.

The general turned to her, and his expression relaxed by a margin. "Hm? Yes, what is it Specialist?"

He called her by her rank rather than her name, as he usually did when on duty. "Nothing sir, you just seemed . . . concerned. Is there an issue?"

"No, did I make it seem so?" His lips curled to a small, comforting smile. "It's fine, come with me."

He led her away from the other soldiers, and into a rather narrow hallway. This vehicle didn't have much room, and Winter noted that this was one of the few places in it where they could speak alone.

The general's smile vanished. "I don't wish to alarm you, but there may be a chance that this is a trap."

"A trap? Are you certain sir?"

He shook his head. "No, not at all. I've considered it, and this would be an unnecessarily convoluted way to do it, but there is still a certain risk. It may just be paranoia speaking, but when we arrive at our destination, remain vigilant."

Winter nodded. "Yes sir." The answer didn't satisfy her. There was more to this mission than met the eye. She wasn't bothered by that, it was the general's right to decide how to disclose information. Yet she'd never seen him so tense before.

Why? They could easily handle terrorists and thieves.

They arrived at an abandoned factory in Vale, and fortunately, there was plenty of open space for them to land.

Once they did, Ironwood debriefed everyone on their objective. A light-skinned woman, described as less than five feet tall, with pink and brown hair. Unconscious and possibly disguised.

Once the door opened, Winter kept a tight hold on her saber. She also noted that the general's hand reached for his own weapon.

His eyes scanned the area as if he were . . . waiting for something.

"Fan out." Ironwood ordered. "Specialist Schnee is with me. Everyone else move in teams of four."

Teams of four? What is the general expecting? Winter wondered, but withheld her questions as she walked by the general's side.

It was a quiet affair, and minutes later, they discovered the unconscious woman inside one of the dilapidated buildings. A small woman, child-like at first glance, and she had mismatched pink and brown hair. Winter raised an eyebrow at the restraints placed on her. They looked to be made of wrought-iron, the same as the gate surrounding the factory.

General Ironwood hardly seemed surprised and faced one of his nearby men. "Private Conroy, carry the prisoner back to the ship. We're done here." He repeated that in his earpiece, which transmitted to the other soldiers still searching the area.

When they returned to the ship, the general retrieved a pair of handcuffs and placed them on the prisoner. They were large and cumbersome, necessarily so. They were aura cuffs. If the wearer tried to activate their aura, sharp pins shot into their wrists and reduced it back down to zero. The few Winter had seen it used on had activated them once, and only once. The pain was an incredibly effective deterrence for any unruly behavior. A cruel device, but rogues with aura and Semblances necessitated them.

"Specialist Schnee." The general turned to her after properly placing the cuffs on their captive. "Upon arriving at the flagship, you will be responsible for guarding the prisoner. Remove the extraneous restraints on her and place her in cell A-3. When she awakens, you will explain the function of these cuffs to her and begin interrogation."

Winter nodded, and when the ship docked, she and the squad of eight men headed to the ship's engineers so they could use their tools to discard the crude, twisted metal on the prisoner. The general needed to inform the Vale's Council of their prisoner, as she seemed to be a Vale citizen.

The prisoner was laid down in her cell. One of many in a row of small, gray metallic enclosures. Winter waited patiently for her to awaken.

It was two hours and seventeen minutes later when the prisoner awoke.

First, she opened her eyes and quickly raised herself up. She winced silently, raising her hand to her head, before looking down in confusion at the restraints binding her wrists. Then, she looked up, and swiveled her head around in understanding of her situation.

"Greetings criminal." Winter said. "I am Specialist Winter Schnee, and you are currently being held in an Atlas ship. Do not activate your aura. If you do, those restraints will reduce it and possibly harm you in the process, as well as rendering you defenseless. Do you understand?"

The prisoner looked down at her cuffs. When she turned her eyes back up to the Specialist, her eyes shone with frustration, but she nodded.

"Good." Winter said. "Men, open her cell and escort the prisoner, we are going to start interrogation."

The men input the code, and the cell door opened. The prisoner stepped out, and her eyes wandered over the ship and the soldiers, finally settling on their guns.

Winter placed a hand on her saber as warning. She wouldn't use it of course, there were safer, non-lethal methods to neutralize the prisoner if she became violent. The gesture was only to put any thoughts of resistance to rest.

They walked through the halls and entered a room with a table, a few chairs, and a camera in the upper corner. Winter sat down, and indicated that the prisoner sit across from her. The soldiers remained on standby outside.

"What is your name?" asked Winter. They hadn't found any form of identification on her, except a protected scroll which technicians were still working on breaking into.

The prisoner just stared back with a disinterested expression.

"Very well. What is your relationship with Torchwick?"

Her lips widened into a smug grin, and her shoulders rose in an exaggerated shrug.

"Where are the Paladins? What are your plans for them?" Winter waited a few moments for any sort of verbal response. She didn't receive any. "You do have the right to remain silent, but things will be much easier for you if you answer. Give us your name at least, we will still find it by other means if you do not cooperate."

The woman sighed, or rather, she made the motions but didn't make a sound. She pointed at her neck, and shook her head.

"You won't talk?"

She shook her head again. She repeated the motion of pointing at her neck, and mouthed "no".

"You can't?" Winter guessed.

The prisoner smiled and nodded.

Winter walked to the door and opened it slightly. "Get me a pen and some paper." She ordered one of the soldiers. He promptly made his way to a nearby office and returned in a few minutes with several sheets and a black ballpoint pen.

"Here you go ma'am." He handed them to her.

"Thank you." Winter returned to the room and laid the materials in front of the prisoner. "Now, your name."

The woman took a sheet and wrote a short sentence, handing it back to the Specialist.

I'm Neopolitan. Neo for short and I'm not telling you shit.

Winter put it back down, and was greeted by the sight of a wide, toothy grin from her captive. The Specialist sighed, she had the feeling that this would be a taxing interrogation, and not for the prisoner.

\\\\\

When Cinder hadn't received the expected message from Roman's little helper, she'd already suspected what the news later confirmed.

Clark Kent had managed to defeat Neo. Neither she nor Roman were fools, they knew when to retreat when facing a stronger foe. Neo even more so, since her Semblance was well-suited to infiltration and escape.

"Have either of you two discovered any information describing the circumstances of Neo's arrest?" Cinder asked her two underlings.

"No ma'am."

"Nope."

Emerald and Mercury were both on their scrolls. With Neo unable to inform her, Cinder needed as many clues as she could get about Clark Kent's abilities from any possible source. Signs of his and Neo's combat, possible witnesses, perhaps even statements from the young man himself.

Instead, even with Cinder searching, they found nothing. No mention was even made of his involvement in Neo's arrest. Most sources assumed Atlas had discovered and detained her. Cinder had found mention of an "anonymous huntsman" involved. Who had most definitely Kent, but no additional information was available.

That was puzzling, which was what Clark Kent seemed to embody. He had no records further back than about two months ago, but that was easily explained as coming from a region outside the Kingdoms with paltry record-keeping. Yet his role at Beacon was vague as well. He wasn't a student, despite his age and the meager education he likely possessed. Why employ him? Ozpin wouldn't do so for talent alone.

What was even more troubling was how he'd noticed Emerald following him. Cinder had questioned the girl, but her underling had made no mistake when trailing the young man. Emerald was too loyal to lie and try to hide her error, and Cinder had trained the girl herself. Yet that night, Kent had somehow noticed when he hadn't before. With the method unknown, further caution had become a necessity, and she'd ordered Mercury and Emerald refrain from continuing surveillance on him. Neo had been required to assume her Mint disguise to enter Beacon and follow Kent into the city. Had he noticed even then?

Cinder lacked answers, and in her experience, that was a fatal position. She might have considered having one of her group befriend the young man, but she doubted he would accept when he realized Emerald was on their team. It had been fortunate that her excuse had been accepted, but it was too dangerous to risk suspicion.

However, it seemed that Kent had some sort of relationship with team CFVY, perhaps Cinder could get answers there.

\\\\\

Ironwood let out a breath when he ended the call to Vale's Council. Politicians. He hated them. They knew that it would be safer for them and their city if an aura user were held on his ship, but they had to ramble on and discuss the decision as if it weren't already made. It was an enormous waste of time.

Although Ironwood had to admit that there was an issue. Vale didn't have any records of Neopolitan, the prisoner aboard his ship. Kent claimed that he'd seen her with Torchwick, but as he chose to keep his involvement hidden, he couldn't offer his testimony of that or her attacking him. The only others who could corroborate the claim that she was Torchwick's ally were Beacon students, the team with Winter's sister and Qrow's nieces. The ones who'd gotten involved with the White Fang and the Paladin over a month ago.

That would be dealt with later. As of now, Ironwood needed to question the prisoner. Winter was well-suited for interrogation, but the general needed answers that the Specialist wouldn't know to look for.

Ironwood left his office, and made his way to the interrogation room. The guards outside saluted him, and he walked inside.

Winter stood up from her chair upon seeing him. "Sir."

"Specialist." Ironwood replied, and he glanced at the papers strewn across the table, along with the prisoner who was still restrained. "Come outside for a moment, I need to speak with you. "

They left the prisoner inside, and closed the door so she wouldn't hear.

"Have you made progress?" he asked. He'd received the prisoner's name, but not much else.

"Unfortunately sir, I haven't. She's proving rather uncooperative." Winter reported.

"How so?"

"Firstly, she appears to be unable to speak, which is why it's necessary for her to write her answers to me. All she's revealed is her name, which she prefers to be shortened to Neo. I've asked about Torchwick, the White Fang, and the Paladins along with certain offers for leniency, but she seems indifferent." Winter looked aside. "Her responses are . . . crass, and she's drawn images of the same nature. Nothing of value."

Despite the situation, Ironwood felt a faint spark of amusement at Winter's embarrassment and frustration.

He nodded. "Very well. I'll be interrogating her now. Alone. And I want all recording devices turned off."

Her brows were drawn together in confusion, but she asked nothing of it. "Yes sir." She answered.

Ironwood entered the interrogation room again, and sat down in front of the prisoner.

She yawned, as if bored by the whole affair.

"I am General Ironwood of Atlas." He began once the red recording light on the camera turned off. "For the moment, I am handling your questioning. Are you affiliated with Torchwick or the White Fang?"

The prisoner shrugged.

Well, Winter had already informed him of Neo's uncooperative nature. However, he needed to make some headway before he delved further.

"Your name is Neopolitan, correct?"

She nodded.

"How old are you?"

She picked up the black pen on the table. It was an awkward affair for her to write with the specialized restraints, yet she must have managed for the past few hours with Specialist Schnee. Ironwood took the papers that were already filled out and looked through them. As Winter had described, they were full of profanity and mocking jokes. He supposed it wouldn't be surprising from a criminal. He placed them aside.

The prisoner held up the paper she'd just written on. Her age was 23.

That was around the age of a young professional huntress. "Do you realize the significance of your crimes? You and Roman have caused no end of embarrassment to Atlas by stealing our Paladins and rampaging through the streets." Ironwood was careful to allow only a small bit of genuine frustration through. "Answer me, what have you done with them?"

She responded with only self-satisfied smile.

This was a simple pride-and-ego interrogation method. This prisoner was confident and unconcerned, he doubted intimidation would have gotten anywhere. Instead, he was using flattery, acting angry at how well they'd stolen the Atlesian weaponry. It would have been far too obvious if he complimented her outright, but his genuine irritation allowed him to do so indirectly. Neo seemed like an individual who would be pleased by the trouble she caused others, and by the looks of it, Ironwood had assessed her correctly.

"Economies have also suffered by the Dust you and Roman have stolen." Ironwood didn't know how deeply she had been involved, but gave her credit anyway. "You two are a step above common criminals, as you have aura, but that alone isn't enough to escape the authorities. You're smart, too smart to risk yourselves in such ways. Why do this?"

Neo's pleased smile had gotten wider and wider until Ironwood had mentioned the risk involved. Now her face showed a deep scowl.

So she hadn't wished to take those risks. She'd done so on orders, but on Roman's, or someone higher up? Ironwood kept the question in mind, and decided on another tactic. "You should realize that at the very least, we have proof that you assaulted a huntsman and were an accessory to Roman's crimes that night with the Paladin in the streets. Specialist Schnee likely mentioned this already, but you could negotiate some leniency in return for information. Isn't that a better alternative than years in prison?"

Neo took a piece of paper and the black pen on the table.

Blah blah blah. Question me all you want, I'm not gonna talk.

He raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected this degree of loyalty. Or perhaps it was fear instead.

"Fine then, I'll forget the Paladins, the White Fang, and Torchwick for now. I'm going to ask you something else." Ironwood leaned forward. "Why did you follow and assault a huntsman?"

She gave him a look of feigned shock, her mouth wide open. She pointed at herself, and mouthed "me"?

"I have no time for games." Ironwood growled. Provoking that alien was fatal. Kent currently put on an act of good intentions with his ridiculous Dart persona, but if that changed, it would be disastrous. As far as the general could tell, Kent was invulnerable, and his strength and speed were almost impossible to counter. "Tell me why you attacked him."

The prisoner's smug expression was his answer.

"Do you have any idea who you attacked?"

She shrugged.

Ironwood narrowed his eyes. No, there was no chance she'd chosen the alien to attack on a whim. Yet she hadn't known about his abilities. "Well you chose poorly, Alexander Gratos' family will not be pleased to learn their prized heir was attacked."

A lie, yet one she'd reacted to with confusion rather than apprehension the moment the general had spoken the name. Unless that secretive alien had shouted his name aloud in the middle of being attacked, Neo had known his name beforehand.

Ironwood laid his hands flat on the table and stood up. "You chose to attack Clark Kent specifically. Why? You clearly stood no chance against him." He waited a few moments to read her expression. "But you didn't know that, did you?"

The prisoner had frowned at the mention of her defeat. What had gone through her mind to attack that alien when she didn't even know who or what he was?

Ironwood needed to find out.