It was a Thursday afternoon. The sun shone bright in the sky, although the weather forecast indicated that it would rain later that night. A spring shower, which was welcome on this warm day in May. People could wear shorts and T-shirts comfortably, and it was still some time before the summer would bring in a wave of heat that would leave sweat stains on their clothes.

However, the crowd in front of city hall wore more formal clothing. Lapelled business jackets that wouldn't keep in too much heat, long-sleeveds casual pants, and a few of the women sported pencil skirts. Cameras were rolling, with newscasters already detailing the event. Most in the audience were ready to listen and take notes, holding styluses and scrolls. Although there were a few who still liked to rely on paper notepads and pens.

The low murmur of conversation in the crowd died down when Councilor Owen Asenich walked up to the podium. Rolls of fat shook with each step. He was a large man in his fifties, who acknowledged that he was overweight. Although if anyone asked, he'd only say that he wasn't too far in excess of a healthy weight, despite what his doctor said.

"Greetings." He spoke into the microphone. "My fellow Councilors and I are glad to see so many important news stations are in attendance. Now, as some of you may have heard, this press conference was held to address a rather controversial individual. The Dart."

Asenich savored the hush that fell over the press. They were practically bursting with questions, and they would have bombarded him with them if he let them. They'd have their chance after he finished speaking.

He continued. "For some time, the Dart has been considered a sort of hoax. An urban myth that no rational person would believe. However, thanks to his recent activity, we all realize that such an individual truly exists."

He allowed for another delicious pause.

"We have a reckless and dangerous vigilante in our city. One who's exhibited powerful abilities that he will use without any respect for authority. It wasn't long ago when he used to attack individuals to the point they lost consciousness, and leave them behind for the police. Now he causes public damage by using nearby city property to detain these individuals, and leaving a mark to show off his handiwork."

Careful, Asenich reminded himself. He couldn't allow himself to show any outrage from his personal experience with the bastard.

"We must consider, what if one day he attacks innocent people? What can we do to stop him from doing whatever he likes? Well, no one is above the law. That is why from this moment forward, in the eyes of the state, the Dart is to be considered a criminal. The police will be monitoring the streets to find him. Anywhere he's left his mark will be thoroughly investigated. And anyone who offers useful information on the Dart will be rewarded immensely. Now, Police Chief Graystone will give details on the procedures the Council has decided upon."

Asenich backed off from the podium, and returned to his seat by Councilor Floren. He hid his distaste. She'd delayed too long on offering her support for this decision. She had her excuses, claiming that she was only trying to tread carefully around an individual who could abduct them from their homes at any moment. But Asenich recognized it as cowardice. Nobody could pass through their security now.

The chief of police elaborated for some time about the new protocols that Vale's police force would follow regarding the Dart. Patrol schedules, cruisers supplied with specific cuffs for an individual with immense strength, which would also go around his legs to account for his speed, and requesting citizens to inform the police if they saw his symbol. Specifically, when they were burnt into surfaces, otherwise they'd be flooded with reports of graffiti.

As soon as Chief Graystone finished, the questioning period began.

The first came from a brunette with her hair in a neat bun. "Hello, Angela Barlay from the Morning Star, my question is for the Council members with us today. Do you consider this a wise decision? After all, ever since the Dart became active, crime's dropped to a phenomenal low. A resurgence seems likely in the case of his imprisonment."

It was an inane question that Asenich easily had the answer for. "Well, miss Barlay, it is the police's responsibility to deal with crime. Not a private individual dishing out street justice. The officers of Vale had no trouble handling things before he arrived, I'm certain they can continue in his absence."

"To add onto Councilor Asenich's statement." Floren said. "The Dart's effect on crime rates does not excuse his wanton behavior. He doesn't have the right to detain individuals he alone has judged as criminals."

After that, the other Councilors gave some meaningless statements of agreement. There were more than a few in the crowd who seemed upset by their stance on the Dart. \\

Idiots, blind to the danger he posed.

The next reporter asked his question. "Jeff Nimen of the Vale Watch. Where is the money to enact these procedures coming from? Can we expect tax raises as a result?"

"Not at all." Floren replied. After all, none of them were going to shoot themselves in the foot by raising taxes for this. "The Council merely decided that there we could better allocate our budget as a result of the Dart's actions. The boost to our economy from the upcoming Vytal Festival was also pivotal for putting these measures in place."

Asenich smiled and gave the appropriate answers to the next few questions. The admiration that some of these people had for the Dart was absurd. Their 'questions' were thinly veiled mentions of how arresting him would stop him from doing good. The bastard had even started bringing injured to hospitals and stopping fires recently. Obvious methods of boosting his own ego.

Although one question did come up that Asenich appreciated. A reporter with a surly expression, who looked to be in his mid-forties, stood and introduced himself as Michael Corth from the Trumpet.

His vehemence had been genuine. "With someone so dangerous in the streets, why is it only now that the city of Vale is taking these measures? And wouldn't it be more effective to have huntsmen catch him?"

Asenich held back his smile, but did glance over at Floren before he spoke. "Unfortunately, for too long we considered the Dart to only be a rumor. However, even when evidence started piling up, there were difficulties in coming to a consensus on how to address him. Concerning your second question, yes, huntsmen would be better equipped. But their duty is to protect us from Grimm, and chasing down such an elusive individual would be a waste of time for them."

The Dart had connections to Ozpin, and perhaps General Ironwood as well. Calling in huntsmen from Vacuo or Mistral would have been the only option, and huntsmen weren't detectives. If he wanted to pay for their services to find the Dart, he might as well burn the money instead. Although it might have been different if the Dart's identity were already obtained.

The press conference ended, and Asenich returned to his car. He had a meeting with an SDC representative in twenty minutes. Yet he couldn't keep his mind off of how satisfying it would be to see the Dart's face as Asenich ruined the lives of him and his loved ones.

\\\\\

So, getting a suit. Should have been simple enough.

Maybe I should go to a different tailor. Clark thought to himself as he looked in the mirror. Not that there was anything wrong with the store, or Mr. Colsen's skill. The outfit looked good on him. It subtly accentuated his muscles, rather than showing them off like Coco's outfits usually did. Black pants that hung only millimeters from his calves. A blue tie tucked neatly between his white dress shirt, and a black jacket which hugged his broad shoulders.

He liked it. The problem was that Mrs. Colsen liked it too. Quite a lot, judging by how her eyes roamed over him. She'd also been a bit . . . handsy during a few of the measurements.

"How does it feel?" Mr. Colsen asked. Giving Clark the chance to take his mind off the fact that the man's wife was staring at him.

"Great." Clark answered. Tight or itchy clothing weren't issues with his strength and durability, but he liked the feeling of the fabric on his skin. With his enhanced senses and a bit of focus, he could feel the individual threads and the light pressure of the clothing.

"I'll take it." Clark decided. "Eight hundred lien right?"

Mr. Colsen nodded. "Yes. Is it for a special occasion?"

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Yeah, there's a dance coming up in a few days."

"Well your date's a lucky girl." Mrs. Colsen mused aloud.

"I actually don't have a date, I'm going with friends."

"Oh, that's such a shame." She said in a sad tone.

"Yeah . . . anyway, I'll be changing out of this." Clark walked back to the changing rooms and pulled the curtain across.

"You've made the poor boy embarrassed Emma. Staring at him like that." Mr. Colsen said in a low voice back at the counter. He sounded more amused than upset.

Clark's good hearing wasn't always a blessing.

"Can you blame me dear? It's not often I get to see such a well-developed young man, and what's the harm in looking? You used to do plenty of that around the girls."

The temptation to change at super-speed and put an end to their conversation was strong.

"At least I used to be subtle about it."

"Sure you did." She said with some light sarcasm, Clark probably could have heard her eyes rolling if he wanted to. "And can you blame me? Those eyes. I've never seen a blue like that before."

"Yes, of course, his eyes were what had your attention."

Okay, that was enough. Clark walked out with the suit on a hanger, and paid for it as quickly as he could. Maybe one day, if he focused his hearing enough, he'd be able to make himself go deaf at will. That would be nice.

He went to the station so he could take a Bullhead back to Beacon, instead of running like he usually did. Fragile objects usually handled the acceleration he put them through pretty well. A lot better than they should, but he wasn't going to risk his new suit.

Beacon's halls were packed, since Clark had returned soon after classes had ended for the day. He weaved his way between the uniformed students and took the stairs up to his room. It was faster that way, even if he didn't go anywhere near his top speed.

He unlocked the door with a swipe of his scroll, and walked in. He placed the new suit in his closet when his scroll vibrated.

Clark held it up, he'd received a text from Coco.

Hey, can you come over to our room for a sec? I need to ask you something.

She did? Maybe it had something to do with Velvet. The faunus been acting somewhat strange around Clark recently for some reason. He often felt her eyes on him, and not in the way they usually were. The few times he'd caught her, she'd seemed almost concerned.

He sent a message saying that he'd be there soon.

About five or so minutes later, he knocked on team CFVY's door. Coco opened it and let him in.

"Hey Clark, glad you're here, this is really important." She began, then held up two squares of fabric. "Which shade of brown do you prefer?"

Clark blinked a couple times. "Um, the one on my right."

"Okay." The hand holding the other one dropped. "Why?"

"Because . . . I don't know, it seems warmer?"

"Hmmm." She hummed. "Alright, that's all, bye!"

"Wait, seriously that's it? That's what you wanted to ask me? Why not just ask me over your scroll?"

"Hey, you can't judge colors properly through a screen." Coco argued. "You have to see it in person. And yes, that is all I wanted to ask you."

Well, she had a point, Clark's vision allowed him to see how pixelated images didn't capture reality perfectly. But come on, even he had to put in some focus to actually tell the difference.

"Okay, if that's all . . ." He paused in case she actually had another reason for calling him over. "Bye then."

"Bye." She waved cheerfully.

He turned around, but before he took a single step, a piercing tone caught in his ears. He froze, and resisted the urge to immediately wrench his head around to the source of the sound. He did so slowly. By his standards, which meant in about a quarter of a second.

Clark was greeted by the sight of Coco with a whistle in her mouth, which she promptly lowered.

"What was that about?!" He asked, more surprised than irritated. Hold on a second, he was hearing someone else in this room. They'd winced at the sound, and Clark tuned into their heartbeat, where was it coming from?

The bathroom. Which meant no X-ray vision to check who it was.

"Sorry, just decided to check that it worked." Coco said, and she did sound apologetic.

"By trying to scare me with it?"

"Yeah, it was a dumb idea. Anyway, bye!" This was what, the third time she'd said bye to him? Now she was practically pushing him out of the room.

Clark paused for a moment outside. What had that been about? Maybe he could . . .

No. No eavesdropping. No looking through their door either. He stepped away from the room. He'd recently been trying to expand what he consciously focused on with his hearing, thanks to being followed several times. Now it was at the point that he could have heard what was on the other side easily.

But he wouldn't. Whatever had just happened, he'd just chalk it up to Coco being weird.

\\\\\

"Coast's clear, you can come out now." Coco announced soon after Clark left.

Velvet stepped out of the bathroom. "I was right." She said, without any satisfaction.

"Yep." Coco nodded. "He heard the whistle, and you said he saw perfectly fine in the dark. Clark's a faunus."

Saying it aloud really made the realization settled in for the both of them.

"Is that a bad thing?" Coco broke the silence. "You look upset."

"I do?" Velvet asked, but she knew the answer. She'd never been good at hiding her emotions. "I guess so. It's just . . . I'm surprised that Clark would hide it from us. We obviously wouldn't have thought any differently about him, but it's like he's ashamed. Maybe he's faced worse discrimination than I have."

"Really? He doesn't act like it, Clark's a pretty cheerful guy." Coco pointed out.

"I know." His smile had a such an innocent charm to it. It was hard to imagine that he'd gone through something like that, or that he could lie and hide it so easily. "You didn't see him the first time we met though, when he was defending me. He was angry, upset. Different from how he normally is. I didn't think about too much about it, but it makes so much more sense now that we know he's a faunus too."

"So he's brave enough to stand up for other faunus, but he's not willing to show that he's one as well? That doesn't really make a lot of sense." Coco pointed out.

"Well his animal trait isn't easily visible. He can hide it more easily, and it probably wouldn't come up in casual conversation. I thought we were closer than that though." Velvet added sadly.

"We are." Coco sighed, then grabbed her head with both hands. "Gah! I just want to go find him and tell him off for lying to us."

"You can't!" Velvet shut down the idea quickly. She understood Coco's frustration, but they didn't know Clark's situation. "I don't like it either, but he definitely has his reasons."

"Then what are we going to do, just pretend we don't know?"

"For a little while. I . . . I want him to open up to us on his own." Velvet hadn't even realized that was what she'd wanted it until she said it. "Show him that he can trust us."

"But time's ticking. He told you that he's not going to be staying for long." Coco said. "How long is he going to be around for?"

"A month or so, he wasn't sure." Velvet steeled herself. "But I still want to try, no matter how much time we have left."

Coco stared back, and apparently she found something she liked in Velvet's expression since she smirked. "Fine, we'll do it your way."

"Right. Okay, we need to come up with a plan. First, Yatsu and Fox can't know about Clark, it's his secret to tell." Velvet stated. Coco only knew because Velvet had needed her help to make sure Clark actually was a faunus.

"Alright, then what?"

Velvet bit her lip uncertainly, she had no idea.

\\\\\

"Hello headmaster." Clark greeted the man as he entered the office.

Ozpin nodded. "Greetings. May I ask how the search for your phantom is going?"

Clark winced as he sat down. "Yeah, that's not going very well. I'm still poring through my newsfeed trying to track it down."

"Ah, then will you be available to assist us with a certain matter beginning this Monday?"

"Sure." It was after the dance. Did the headmaster want him to go on another mission? They didn't trust him to kill Grimm, so what could it be?

"Good. I ask because on that day, students from Beacon will be going on missions." Ozpin explained. "One team in particular will be led by Qrow, and they'll head to a place called Mountain Glenn." The headmaster brought up an image of a ruined town with his computer. "It's a failed settlement which fell to Grimm rather recently, and we have reason to believe that the White Fang have a base there. Qrow and the students will be investigating the area, would you be willing to assist them?"

"Of course." Clark said immediately. The headmaster had let him stay at his school and even gave him pay. Clark wasn't a freeloader, but they apparently hadn't really needed him for anything besides killing Grimm. Which he . . . still wasn't comfortable with. But this job sounded easy enough.

"Thank you, I'm very glad to hear that." Ozpin replied. "We still have a few details to discuss. First, your desire for secrecy. At the very least, your speed will be required, which we can claim is part of your Semblance. But would you like to operate openly with the students, or covertly? With only Qrow aware of your presence?"

"I'd prefer to do it secretly, with only Qrow who knows that I'm there." Clark decided. "Besides, for my speed to be useful, wouldn't I have to go fast enough that it's kind of obvious that I'm the Dart?"

"Not necessarily, one of these students has a speed semblance of her own. Although not nearly as fast as you, the speeds you'd need for this mission wouldn't be unbelievable. As long as they don't measure it."

Clark considered it. The headmaster had a point, they probably wouldn't link him with the Dart based on his speed if one of them had also ran fast. He shouldn't need to go more than a few hundred miles per hour. He wasn't used to openly using his abilities, but he wasn't comfortable with the thought of skulking around secretly either.

But he'd have to. Questions would probably come up if they noticed his invulnerability without aura, if he was in a situation that required his strength, or an ability he hadn't even told Qrow about.

"I still think it'll be better if only Qrow knows I'm there." Clark repeated.

"I expected so. Very well, but to go along with them, you'll need to secretly board their Bullhead. Or follow it on foot I suppose."

"I'll follow. As long as it's not on an island or something." Clark added. Bart Allen had somehow run on water, but Clark wasn't sure whether he could duplicate the feat.

"It's not, but are you sure that you can keep pace? I haven't yet told you its distance from Vale."

"I have pretty high stamina, I could follow it even if it goes thousands of miles away." Clark answered.

Ozpin raised his eyebrows. "Well then, you'll have no trouble with this. The details of your mission will be sent to you by scroll, and it should only last a few days."

"Okay, that'll be fine." Clark was about to stand, but he stopped himself. He remembered something. "By the way, is there any progress with the investigation of that bank account? For the person who put a bounty on me?"

"I'm no expert in criminal investigations, but these take time. It could be a while before we track it down. Even the police are investigating the account, but they're rather busy with the other information they recovered from that basement you found."

"Alright." Clark tried to sound grateful, but he couldn't hide his disappointment. They weren't to blame. It would be hypocritical, since he wasn't really having luck with his own efforts for finding the phantom either. "Thanks for your help. Goodnight." Clark said as he left.

"Goodnight Mr. Kent."