Jaune groaned as he tried not to hurl out his lunch, little Ruby giving him awkward pats from the side before turning her attention on his ears again, petting them gently, now having gotten much better at watching her strength against the sensitive Faunus protrusions.
"It's fine, you're holding up well!" Juniper encouraged, and from his tone Jaune got the feeling that he really truly was doing much better than how he felt.
Jaune still just felt sick.
Within a week of gathering samples from Summer, getting some measurements recorded via video, and sending it all in an express parcel to Atlas from Ozpin's insistence, Jaune was invited for an all expenses paid trip to Atlas's premier research institutions with no stay-limit alongside Summer who was invited to join him as a living example of Nikke technology.
Naturally, Raven (when she came to visit on Saturday, still trying to figure out how to get rid of her bandits in a way that didn't end in wholesale slaughter), Taiyang, and Qrow all got a bit defensive over their leader, but Summer took it in stride and punched Raven through a wall to prove that she wasn't fragile or needed others to defend her.
Raven seemed to be into that though, judging from how Juniper made him leave the room again.
But putting shenanigans that were growing to be strangely common in that household aside, when they did not respond immediately, or perhaps he had already been in transit, they were soon visited by an Atlasean scientist.
A Dr. Polendina, head of their Robotics Departmental Sciences Division, also known as Mechanicus, was at their door. A kindly man with dark skin and a gentle smile, accompanied by the most minimal guardsman presence he could manage, came to Patch just to see him, seeming to not care at all about his Faunus heritage despite the stereotypes of how Atlaseans treated Faunus.
Jaune once again felt incredible trepidation, feeling once more like a fraud. It was all something that had been given to him by the Gacha. He still hadn't felt that he had earned anything, so the good Doctor's praise was slightly frustrating to him, even though he had did his best to answer the man's many questions anyways.
Although a part of his cooperation was the result of the fact that he felt pity that the man was physically disabled, having to wheel about in an automated hi-tech wheelchair.
"Do you… want me to design you new legs?" Jaune had asked, already mentally drawing up some pre-existing Nikke prosthetic diagrams using some Gen 7 Nikke parts as reference as they were more generalized.
But the man had actually turned him down.
He had been sure that must have been the reason he had come but…
The Doctor actually turned Jaune down, much to his surprise.
"No, I'm quite alright with my current lot in life." The man laughed, "Rather, I find that thanks to my limitations, I find myself making considerations and looking things in other points of view that I may not have otherwise! While I would love to experience the joys of your technology, I've come for a different purpose."
Jaune remembered looking confused, trying to figure out why else he would be there.
But the man had bowed as much as he could from his chair.
"Please, teach this old man."
Jaune had been incredibly flustered, once again feeling a fraud. Luckily, his Big Brother Juniper was there to give him a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Do it." He advised, "The Doc's a good man. Plus you said that you wanted to do good with this knowledge right? Knowing when others can use what you have to help more people than you can reach with your own two hands is also a hero's duty."
Jaune swallowed hard. Could he still be a hero if he was a fake? A fraud?
But Juniper was always right.
"Ok. I… I don't know how well I can explain it all though."
They ended up spending the next two days getting to know each other and talking about technology.
Jaune liked Dr. Polendina. He was really a good man like Juniper said. How was his brother so cool and always right?
And even though Jaune answered every question the man in his late 60s had and introduced to the older scientist a slew of concepts and theories advanced enough that they sometimes seemed nonsense even to himself, the doctor had simply jotted everything down without question and asked Jaune to clarify anything he didn't fully follow.
But there was only so much that could be explained without designing and building when it came to engineering of this level, so tentatively, Jaune eventually agreed to accompany the man to Atlas.
The good doctor had been ecstatic, calling back to his Kingdom for a slew of arrangements to be made and asking his voluntary paid vacation to be cut short so that he could focus on research.
When he told Summer that he wanted to go to Atlas for a while to teach Dr. Polendina more about Nikke technology, the woman that had more or less pseudo-adopted him at this point simply began packing bags to come along.
Luckily it was still summer break, so even though Taiyang still had some work that he had to bring with him, the whole family would be free to come with, Qrow included. Raven too insinuated that she'd stop in here and there, as he was her brat and that Atlas wasn't allowed to poke their noses where they weren't welcome.
Then corrected herself to declare him 'our brat', getting a giggle from Jaune and exasperation from the other adults.
Naturally Dr. Polendina additionally informed his homeland that Jaune would be coming with company and joyfully extended an official invitation to the rest of Team STRQ, though he didn't seem to realize who Raven was and was, wrongly, informed that she would not be accompanying them.
But Jaune knew that the selfish woman would absolutely show up whenever she felt like it like some sort of stray cat.
So that was why Jaune was currently swaying like a punch drunk sailor in his seat. Thankfully his ears and tail adding to his sense of balance was keeping him from violently hurling all over the floor of the 1st Class cabin of the expensive Pioneer-Class high-speed Atlesian transport cruiser. A little nausea medication helped as well.
At least now he knew that flying vehicles weren't for him. Ground and even water (there was a lake nearby Domremy) was fine though.
And despite the fact that since his last significant pull through the Shadow Exchange Minion ability two weeks had now passed without even a single Rare, he had pulled some effective antihistamines that were certainly helping him now.
Atlas shone in the distance in the light of the rising sun like a floating castle in the sky, a large landmass with its own farmland to help sustain it despite the fact that it also housed the most technologically advanced city in all of Remnant. Like the crowning jewel of the floating island, the peaks of Atlas Academy could be seen gleaming on top of its highest point.
Below the city of Mantle could be seen, a more familiar sight, appearing a lot more akin to the architecture of Vale, though a bit more of crawling urban jungle. There was also a large crater the size of the floating island above that appeared to have a city of its own within, but significantly more run down and slap-dashed together.
"Ladies and Gentlemen." The soothing sound of a woman's voice came to life on the ship's speaker system. "Due to some turbulent winds, we will first be landing on the airstrips of Mantle Inter-Kingdom Skyport. Please feel free to leave your luggage on board the SS. Tsubasa as we refuel and wait out the spot of bad weather while you relax and enjoy the Skyport's amenities. For the passengers in 1st Class Cabin Number 8, additional transportation is being arranged for your arrival at the Skyport. Thank you all for your understanding, and please, remember to fly with us again on the SS. Tsubasa in the future."
"Guess that means us." Qrow yawned, reaching for the last artisanal pale ale in the drink bar that had been refilled twice free of charge over the four hour flight as he had been the only one that hadn't slept. "Probably Ironwood laying the red carpet extra thick. I don't see any turbulence out there."
Jaune blinked queasily. He had gotten some sleep, but it wasn't nearly as restful as he wanted, but his body seemed to function decently enough even with less sleep ever since he drank that tonic from Ninkai.
"Would the General of the military and Headmaster of Atlas Academy really ground a luxury civilian ship just to do that?"
Qrow snorted.
"Yeah. It's a presentation. Dumb political stuff, don't stress it, kiddo."
Yang had been awake for the last half hour, learning how to punch and shadowbox from her dad, tuned into the conversation as her little fists smacked into her father's palms.
"Is he like Head Master Osh-Pin?"
"It's Ozpin, sweetheart." Her father laughed, as Yang pumped surprisingly decent punches into his palms, having gotten a little stronger at her own mention of Ozpin.
"How did Ozpin master head?"
Qrow almost swallowed his bottle as Taiyang paled. Summer watched on with a half-horrified, half humorous look, wondering how her husband would handle this misunderstanding.
"I-it's headmaster, sweetie. One word. Not a, uh, master of… head. That's… that's not a thing, little dragon."
Jaune could feel that lie with every atom of his being, but focused on not throwing up over calling Taiyang out.
"Oh, ok. I'm still gonna punch him."
Qrow wiped tears from his eyes as he tossed his bottle into a very full recycling bin.
"Why's that, dear niece?" He choked out laughter, wiping the spit from the corner of his lips.
Yang gave him a deadpan glare like it was super obvious and he was an idiot for not understanding.
"Cuz he told daddy mommy died and lied. He's a bad man."
Qrow shook his head.
"This one's Ozzy's problem. I ain't covering him on this one." Qrow leaned back, "Between him and my niece, I choose my niece."
Taiyang rolled his eyes.
"You can't punch Ozpin, sweetie. At least, not until you learn how to really throw a punch." He said, deflecting her attention to a more productive purpose, figuring she'd forget about it as she grew up. "Look, it's more like this. This."
The SS. Tsubasa landed with little issue and all the 1st Class passengers were allowed to disembark first.
Only getting some stink-eye from one family out of all the passengers that also came out of one of the other 1st Class cabins, Jaune and the Rose-Branwen-XiaoLongs all stepped out into the brisk air of Mantle.
While the rest of the 1st Class passengers were guided into the warmth of the Skyport's VIP section, they were guided to a luxurious looking limousine guarded by a pair of Atlesean Specialists in uniform.
They introduced themselves as Pepper, a tanned blonde woman with a generous chest and casual smile who was equipped with bladed heels with a revolver Dust cartridge mechanism, and Noire, a leaner athletic woman with a slightly stern face and a pair of red wire-rimmed glasses complementing her short curly black hair. The latter had a pair of gun-tonfa attached to some thigh-harnesses that pulled up near her groin, accenting her thigh gap.
Noire was a Faunus, as well, with a long and sleek muscular black reptilian tail that coiled around her waist for warmth.
They were as accommodating as can be, both going out of their way to shake Jaune's hand, who just felt a bit nervous meeting two new adults, though having a new Faunus to meet was kind of novel.
Naturally, Noire was a bit surprised to see that he had two animal features of different animals, compared to the norm of a single animal trait.
Though she clearly didn't wish to make him uncomfortable and overstep her bounds, Jaune, reading her confusion and curiosity, offered first to let the woman check his ears and tail. Heck, he was curious about other Faunus as well and he had always been taught to lead by example by da-
He shook the thoughts from his mind as Noire gently observed his traits, being very gentle as she did so, sending a slight shiver up his spine.
"Remarkable. And from two separate species." Noire muttered, her voice a firm alto and smelling of coffee. "I had thought it was all but confirmed that a singular trait was the limit."
Jaune tried to take that in a positive light, rather than that he was a freak.
"On the way up to Atlas, c-could we stop in Mantle to look around a little?" He requested, half genuine curiosity, the other to attempt to turn some mice into a Shadow out of sight.
He still hadn't found a good time to try to test that out, and might as well place some way of visiting in the future down and out of sight.
Luckily the Inventory, while unwilling to store individual mice, was more than alright with storing the sling-cage full of them that Taiyang had gotten for him from Signal. Weirdly picky, that thing.
Couldn't put Dust in it at all without it autoconverting it all into some inane, confusing currency to redeem for pulls. Whoever thought 160 was a good number to equate to 1 pull was, as Raven liked to put it, 'a punk-ass bitch'.
Noire nodded as Pepper smiled.
"Of course!" The blonde woman grinned, "Shame we're on the clock, or I'd take you shopping! You'd look cute all dressed up."
Jaune fidgeted as she giggled.
He knew what it was like dressing up on the whim of his sisters and wasn't too keen on the experience.
And he could rock a skirt even if da-
"Just a tour, if that's ok." He pulled himself away from thoughts of his family.
Noire gave him a reassuring smile.
"Not a problem, Little Professor. Actually we were given a little itinerary just in case you wanted to explore the city. I'll just send a message ahead for now stating that we will be following it."
"Little Professor?" Jaune asked.
"Just the code name we were given to help maintain your privacy." Pepper gave a reassuring smile, her eyes drooping slightly in a pretty way. "We're here to make everything as comfortable as possible."
"Atlas is pulling out all the stops, eh?" Taiyang joked as he was assisted by Pepper in putting all their luggage in the limo.
"It hasn't been widespread, but all of the head researchers of Mechanicus and some of General Ironwood's best Specialists have seen the video files of Huntress Summer's new capabilities." Noire answered, her muscular reptilian tail curling powerfully as it repositioned itself slightly upon her slim waist, "Actually, I myself would love a spar at some point, if that's alright."
Summer grinned, lifting the reinforced metal case simply labeled HUNTSMAN WEAPON containing S'more (it had a combination lock, but it was more for show to make civilians feel comfortable) and placing it in the trunk of the limo with a heavy thump.
The suspension groaned in protest.
"I'm game. Have to make sure the strength control exercises are working properly in a combat setting anyways."
Pepper gave a nervous laugh.
"The General is willing to provide training rounds. I've seen you work that monster at double effective range."
"Double? The footage we sent was just S'more's normal effective range." Summer's green eyes flashed genuine confusion.
"...Sweetheart? How far were the targets you shot at in the video footage we sent?"
"Three kilometers, love. Why?"
"...What do you know about heavy machine guns?"
"Before my new baby? Uh, nothing but that they're usually used for Vale's automated turret system. I was always more of a hand cannon kind of gal and HMGs were too heavy to use effectively for my size and build even with Aura before the operation." Summer helped load another bag with zero effort, not noticing the other adults had stopped in their tracks. "Why?"
"Well, usually they're decently inaccurate at best in the hands of people, especially without anchoring, and are meant for large targets, and their effective range is supposed to be at least half of what you dealt with in your provided footage. And while 800 to 1400 meters is their technical effective range, it takes either the highest quality cameras and AI or a very experienced and specialized marksman to make that work." Noire's eyes held a kind of excited fire to them. "You were shooting at targets meant for Aura enhanced snipers."
Summer winced as Qrow and Taiyang groaned in unison.
"Wait, is that bad?"
"No, just that the Little Professor's expertise also seems to extend to firearms. Even considering the fact that you were effectively using two heavy guns strapped together, it was also firing at a faster fire rate than expected for rounds of that caliber."
"Firepower is Justice." Jaune wasn't sure why those words left his lips. Something from the Nikke knowledge just sort of overflowed for a split second, ammunition schematics for shotguns suddenly coming to mind.
Noire's polite and official smiles evolved into a deep, slightly fanatical, smirk.
"Oh I think he's going to fit right in." Her excited breath left a wispy trail in the cold Mantle air.
"Noire, nooooo." Pepper groaned as she got behind her fellow Specialist and began pushing her into the limo. "We're not going into the Old Guard speech right now, I'll report you to the General, I swear."
"I just think the Little Professor is an exemplar of-"
"No! We're supposed to welcome them! Not scare them off! You've got your orders, Sergeant! Actually, let's be safe, you drive."
"For all their aplomb about being more professional over at Atlas," Qrow snickered, "This is just like being back at Beacon."
"Ok." Juniper winced as he watched Jaune clean off his fingers with an antibacterial wipe from his inventory. "The order is focus Aura on the ability, then kill, which raises a Shadow… I should make a couple more just to be safe."
There was no blood, but four mice corpses in an alleyway was still four mice corpses in an alleyway.
Jaune kicked them unceremoniously under a dumpster.
Oh that ninja tonic made his little brother into a sociopath. Psychopath? The terminology seemed so less important right now compared to the sight of Jaune strangling another mouse in his hand, the poor creature scratching futility against his Aura, as he tried to create another Shadow, his first success after three failed attempts saluting from the top of the dumpster hiding its original body like one of Ironwood's loyal soldiers.
At least the boy wasn't relishing in it, just purely neutral about the rodent undergoing its death throes in his grasp.
"Jaune?" Juniper smiled a bit uncomfortably as his young protégé turned to him. "It's faster and kinder to just break its neck."
He REALLY hoped this wasn't him encouraging any bad behavior
"O-oh!" Jaune blushed, looking sheepish.
His hand squeezed to a quick snap, the eyes of the mouse bulging slightly out of their sockets.
Another flicker of black smoke began to leave the orifices of the rodent's face as it condensed into another Shadow next the the first one, this one also rearing on its hindquarters to perform an awkward salute.
"And maybe we should leave it for now and rejoin the others? They're only going to be distracted by dressing up Ruby and Yang for so long."
After being taken to some scenic spots in Mantle, conveniently avoiding the crater slums, and getting some food at a decently upscale restaurant, they had stopped by a mall, being treated to some new wardrobe pieces on Atlas's dime.
Jaune had been the first to be used as a dress up doll, even jokingly having been put into some skirts and dresses with no fight from the boy, having been through such situations before and feeling no shame from the act of cross-dressing at this point in his life. They had been purchased too, more for Summer's amusement than nothing else.
Juniper supposed they could make for a desperate attempt at a disguise if things went somehow absolutely FUBAR.
It was probably his incredible willingness to put up with all the teasing and mothering that they had let him wander a bit on his own. Or, technically, he was allowed to separate from them and go use the restroom 'alone', even if he was quickly followed by one of the Atlasean Specialists.
Unlike the Specialists whose jobs it were to keep him safe, the rest of the adults… trusted Jaune. Or at least, unlike the girls he could actually fight and defend himself if need be. He was diminutive and weak compared to most, but Jaune had become unusually proficient with a spear thanks to implanted memories of a man named Hector, who Jaune claimed was Durandina's original wielder. And it was also kind of magic. From another world to boot.
It didn't stop Noire from following Jaune to the entrance of the restroom, requiring the boy to sneak out the window meant for ventilation so that he could-
Juniper wanted to sigh.
-murder mice in an alleyway… And thanks to his magic shackles he could simply walk up the wall and back inside and nobody would have to be the wiser.
Plus he had his Scroll, which Juniper and Jaune confirmed had a tracking app installed on it. It wasn't disabled, yet, but that was also an option that was always on the table if drastic measures ever had to be made in the future. Nothing was set in stone, after all.
Which he was currently using to text some girl named Trivia as the blip of a new message came in.
Apparently while he was listening in on Ozpin last they were in Vale, Jaune had made a new friend. A female friend, close to double his age. Twelve or thirteen, according to Jaune.
There was a joke to be made there, but Juniper figured Jaune got enough teasing from the other adult influences in his new life.
It was hard to see himself as an adult sometimes. It still felt like yesteryear when he had lied his way into Beacon. But it didn't take much to look and feel like an adult to a six/seven year old.
Either way, as it seemed her parents were a bit strict, she was more of an on again off again kind of conversationalist partner and Juniper was glad Jaune had another friendly presence in his life that was… close to his age. At least at this point twelve to fourteen was the closest approximation of the forced maturity Jaune had likely been forced up to.
He had been forced to mature a frightening amount in the span of mere days, and he was still only six going on seven. And frankly, most of it was Raven Branwen's fault. Who threatened to kill a six year old child multiple times as that child tried to save her wife?
Then again, maybe Jaune might have been equally unhinged for not being bothered about the death threats at all.
Damned ninja tonics.
"Hmm?"
Jaune was looking up from his Scroll, peering out the side of the alleyway as a group of Faunus protesters began to gather in front of the entrance to the mall. His tail slowly flicked from side to side out of curiosity, his new pants from the Mall of Mantle (a stupid name that would be changed in the future to The Great Mall of Mantle by some BIGGER idiot) allowing his tail proper mobility.
Juniper had a different reaction.
The White Fang. Not the militant, terroristic fanatics he'd meet in the future, but their predecessor organization of the same name but slightly different iconography, judging from the calmer blue mark of the organization, missing the aggressive scarring over the eye of the wolf.
He didn't think it was possible for him to do anything about it. He lacked the sort of knowledge that Blake would have had about their early days.
When did they go bad? His luck had been good, or bad, enough to have coincided with Summer's capture turned assassination by a jealous Tyrian, but Juniper knew a thing or two of luck.
That it always ran out.
He remembered in his younger years his parents had always had bad things to say about Faunus, never explaining why, which was enough for the willful children of the Arc household to keep from buying into it. Especially when they're parents were still willing to be plenty professional with them when it came to their jobs as both Huntsmen and business owners, despite what they said behind closed doors.
After all they were simply good people still grieving for the loss of their parents, not inherently hateful people. Eventually they mellowed out, letting go of their pain and hatred not long before he snuck off to Beacon.
But for Jaune that hatred wasn't his past, but still a painful part of his current reality. He may have grown up human, but he was, perhaps, now more 'Faunus' than any actual Faunus on the whole of Remnant. Even when presented with the option to go back and that his parents were sorry, he was still too scared and chose to stay with Summer and her family.
He had run away from home over it and might have died, or worse, been captured by Tyrian and become a pawn of Salem, as a result of it.
And Tyrian might have been the absolute worst that Faunus-kind had to offer, but Jaune was naturally still burning with curiosity towards his new heritage.
"Jaune." The wagging stopped quickly as the boy turned to his alternate future self, hanging off his every word. It was a level of control over the boy that Juniper worried over sometimes. He didn't mean to have it, or to take advantage of it, but he still had it anyway. "Know that… no organization is a monolith. Which is to say that the goals of any group can change over time. Right now, the White Fang, the group of peaceful protesters, Faunus and, huh, humans alike over there are all good people trying to fight for equality the right way."
It was strange for him to see humans alongside the White Fang. But it must have been like that before they became… racist.
"They're protesting the right way?"
"Currently, yes."
"What's the wrong way then?"
"Terrorism." Juniper was blunt, "We're Huntsman, err… well you want to be a Huntsman, right? That means sometimes violence is, unfortunately, the answer. But we fight criminals, evildoers, and the Grimm."
And those who fight with them.
"What we must never do is condone any of that violence to anyone else. Especially not to civilians. Even if they are mean, cruel, or are violent themselves. Well. Unless they have a weapon and the intent to use it. That's kind of the one exception. We, you, have to be a symbol. A light in the darkness. Lead by example, you get what I mean?"
Usually being armed and using said weapon made them criminal anyways.
"Oh. Ok. So… if I remember that, I can go talk to them?"
Juniper smiled, nodding with a complex feeling in his gut as Jaune's tail began to slowly wag.
He pat Jaune on the head with his one arm, seeing Jaune's eye unintentionally flickering to his missing one.
"Mmm. Ok. I'll remember. I'll never forget."
Juniper smiled.
"That's my little brother."
Jaune smiled like the sun.
At first she thought he was one of those humans. The ones with so much time and money on their hands that they got it in their heads that they identified as an animal. The weird ones that her parents usually kept her an arms length away from.
It wasn't the first time such humans joined the Fang, even if most Faunus found themselves offended, only putting up with them for the sake of the cause as well as their cash donations.
But he tugged a little on his tail and ears to show they were real. Let the other Faunus check the base of them too, could move them without some creepy robotics. She got a good look too and they were actually real. Crazy, but real.
There were wild stories about Faunus with multiple traits before, but Jaune (no last name) was the first she'd ever seen. Some of the others were friendly with him, joking that he might even be more of a Faunus for it.
He was nervous, asked too many questions, just sort of weird in general. She didn't think Jaune was the sort of person that the movement needed. He was soft and you needed a spine to protest 'against the man' as it were.
"Get out of here, you vermin!"
It was why she was surprised when he leapt into the air, kicking away a rock thrown in their direction like a released coiled spring.
He was Huntsman trained. That was crazy. They were both seven. Combat schools didn't even start until ten! He was just a weird, nervous boy with whatever cooties boys had!
"Don't do that again!" Jaune yelled, clearly angry, balling his fists, the hair on his ears and tail rising on end as he stepped forward keeping the rest of their peaceful protest group behind him, tail stiff and tense.
"Or what?" Their aggressor was a man in his twenties, bald and dressed like what daddy called 'a punk'. "You gonna do something, you animal?"
His buddies chuckled with him, but Jaune must have glared something fierce because baldy stepped back a moment. For a moment she actually believed he was going to leave. She should have known better.
Some humans were just real meanies.
He swung wildly, a few of the Fang screamed, but he missed.
Or, more accurately, Jaune leaned slightly to the side to avoid it.
"You monster! He's a child!" One of the adults in the Fang called out, but they didn't step forward. They were too scared, she was scared too. It wasn't fair. Baldy had friends with him and if an adult stepped up, so would they. You needed a spine to be in the White Fang, because sometimes that meant taking a beating and not fighting back.
She'd taken a scraping before, bruised her shoulder for a few days, it had hurt.
It was an occupational hazard. She read the dictionary, she knew what it meant.
"You're all animals! Shut up!"
"And you don't even know how to throw a punch." Jaune fired back, a hush falling down as everyone knew what would follow.
"Fucking rat!"
He struck Jaune across the face, Aura flashing. Jaune didn't dodge this time, his head turning, but feet standing firm.
"That was awful. If you tuck your thumb in like that you'll break it if you swing at anyone but a child." Jaune laughed, as if it was all the dumbest thing that had happened to him, "Who even punches like that?"
He struck Jaune again, the other hand swinging as it struck his other cheek.
What was he doing?! He was just making it worse for himself! He had Aura, but he was a kid! Just like her!
"That was better. Do it again. Square your shoulders. Use your hips, not your back. And bend your knees, if you keep them perfectly straight like that, one day someone will break it."
Why was he helping them?
"I'll kill you, you fucking-"
His next swing was interrupted as an Atlas Specialist leapt into view, grabbing his wrist and quickly twisting it behind his back. It was a blonde human woman that looked like she belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine, rather than a military uniform with her perfect perm and gorgeous tanned skin.
"Little Professor! Are you-" She froze as she looked at Jaune's face, "-you're bruised! Awww nooooo the General's going to kill me!"
She twisted the arm of the mean baldie harder as she groaned, the mean baldie struggling in her grip, getting a yelp of pain that was more like a dumb puppy dog.
"Hey you can't-" One of the mean baldie heads friends came up to try to help him, but the Specialist leveled a look at them that made them all freeze in their boots. It was cool. She wished she could glare like that and make the mean people stop in their tracks.
"I can either arrest this man for assaulting General Ironwood's personal guest who was getting a tour of Mantle and Atlas, or I can arrest you all. Take your pick right now. I'm already in hot water now, I think I can handle a little more."
As the pretty Specialist forced the mean people to stand down, Jaune flinched at the insinuation that she'd be in trouble because of him.
What made him so special? Little Professor? What made him so important? Atlas never gave the White Fang or her parents that kind of importance or respect, even though they'd come over all the way from Menagerie to broker trade deals and foster talks of peace!
But what if Jaune joined the White Fang? They'd have to listen to them then, right?
Blake Belladonna stepped forward to talk to Jaune again, pamphlet in hand, amber eyes alight with purpose. She didn't know about what her parents were up to on their business trip to Mantle (They didn't tell her anything important! Why?! She was a big girl! She participated in rallies and ate tuna!) but she had a name to introduce to them. And a plan.
Ok, the beginnings of a plan.
She was working on it!