At the front of Beacon, Clark waited patiently for the arrival of Coco and Velvet's team. There'd been a forecast of rain later in the evening. It was still sunny for now, but he could spot some clouds rolling in from the east.

The entrance to Beacon had a larger-than-life aesthetic to it. The statues and stone pillars especially contributed to that. There was still a sense of normality thanks to the students walking around, probably finished with their classes for the day.

"Well well, someone's nice and early." Coco smirked as she greeted Clark.

He answered with a small smile of his own, he'd been standing there for the past five minutes. "I guess so. This is your team?"

He glanced at each of the three other teens accompanying her, all in their own very unique outfits. Velvet was with there, and beside her were two guys. One of them looked Asian, or Remnant's equivalent, and he towered even over Clark at around seven feet. He wore a green robe over his shirt and pants, along various pieces of armor. Such as the green plates on his left shoulder, his brown leather belt, and guards on each arm that went from wrist to almost up to his elbows. The other guy had messy red hair and dark skin. He wasn't wearing armor, instead sporting an orange vest with black pants and gloves. Clark noted the scars on his arms, but didn't stare.

"Yep." Their team leader said. "He's Yatsuhashi." She introduced the tall one. "And that's Fox." Then the redhead. "Together, we're team C-F-V-Y, coffee."

"Hello." Yatsuhashi extended an arm and Clark shook his hand. Fox waved with a "hey".

Velvet, meanwhile, hid behind her towering friend and gave a quiet "Hi".

"Our team is very thankful for you standing up for Velvet." Yatsuhashi began. "She's fully capable of doing so on her own, but often refrains because it usually leads to further escalation or unwanted attention. From what I hear, you handled the situation rather admirably."

"Thanks, but I didn't really do that much." Clark tried to deflect the praise. "I'm pretty sure the store owner would have said something if I hadn't first."

"Hey, you still said something." Fox pointed out. "A lot of people would have just stood by. The fact that you didn't makes you cool in my book."

The statement about bystanders struck Clark as a bit unfair, but he couldn't argue against it.

"So," Coco began. "Everyone's been introduced to each other. Clark, how long are you going to be free?"

"I guess I can stick around for an hour or so." replied Clark. "Why?"

"We just want to properly show our gratitude," said Coco. "Wanna come hang out with us in Vale?"

"Sure."

\\

"I can't believe she's doing this." Velvet said. She wanted to go back into her room and scream into a pillow, or maybe crawl under the covers and never come out. This was a disaster.

"It'll be okay, you know how she can get." Yatsu placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "She just wants to help, and has a unique way of doing so."

The three team members of team CFVY watched their leader snap at Clark again.

"No no no." Coco shook her head at Clark. "It's not bad, but it doesn't look right. Here, try these on next." She handed him another jacket and pushed him back into the changing room.

They'd been at this clothing store for the past half hour. Coco, as usual, had been the one to suggest it. She'd made some excuse about wanting the team to expand their wardrobe, but Velvet knew Coco had laid this trap for Clark.

She'd first suggested that Clark come back with something that he liked, and he had. Bringing back a plaid shirt with red and black stripes.

Coco had been set loose. Immediately snatching it out of his hands, informing him that plaid was not fashionable, and ordering him to put it back where he found it. No matter how much he liked it.

A comment like that would have been normal between the four of them, but they barely knew Clark! Velvet had been mortified, expecting Clark to be angry or offended. Instead, he'd accepted her opinion without a fuss. Along with Coco's demand that she'd find something good for him instead. That was the way things would have gone anyway, but Clark's fashion sense had brought it on sooner.

Every once in a while, Coco would ask their team for their opinion on an outfit she'd chosen for Clark. As usual, her choices made him look amazing. His preferred colors had been red and blue, and the shirts and jackets Coco had found really went well with his deep, blue eyes.

Velvet's cheeks turned red as she recalled the times when Coco had asked for her opinion specifically on how Clark looked. Velvet had fumbled and stammered, managing to blurt out that he looked nice as she tried to avoid noticing at how well-defined his chest and abs were in a few of the tight-fitting shirts Coco had handed him. Thankfully, Clark hadn't noticed. Or maybe he pretended not to notice, she didn't know.

Velvet cursed silently, she was supposed to be used to seeing well-muscled guys. She went to a school for hunstmen and huntresses for God's sake!

"I still got it." Coco said proudly as Clark once again emerged from the changing rooms. Velvet wasn't able to see his outfit, since her leader was in the way. "The other ones were good, but the most important thing is that you like it. Think this is the one?"

"Yeah." Clark said. "I think it looks pretty good on me."

"Well then." Coco turned to her team. "Take a look and praise my handiwork." She said, stepping out of the way as she presented Clark.

"It really does suit you." Fox said.

Yatsu nodded. "I agree, the previous outfits didn't seem to match your personality as well."

Velvet had to agree. With the first ones Coco had brought, everyone thought they looked nice, but Clark had been uncomfortable. Claiming that they were too flashy for him, he'd tried to choose plainer clothes with duller colors. Unfortunately, Coco had put her foot down. Outright saying it was a shame for someone as good-looking as him to wear them. That had actually embarrassed Clark quite a bit, while Velvet could only gawk at how her teammate could be so blunt.

Now though, it seemed that both Coco and Clark were satisfied. He had a pair of dark blue pants on, almost black. His shirt was also blue, but a lighter color. The closest so far to the almost hypnotizing shade of his eyes. Which helped keep Velvet's eyes away from the outline of his toned chest and stomach.

Thankfully, the muscled arms she'd caught glimpses of earlier were underneath the sleeves of a red jacket. Lighter than the bright, eye-catching hues that Coco had first chosen, this red was rich and deep. It had a hood, which Clark kept down for the moment. All of his clothing looked to be durable, including the shoes he'd come in with. Coco had actually approved of. She'd still made a few suggestions, but he'd declined, saying that they were best because he did a lot of running.

As she took in his outfit, Velvet could only imagine how she looked, considering how warm her face felt. "It looks great." She managed to get the words out.

Her heart raced when Clark grinned. "Yeah, thanks. This isn't what I'd usually wear, but I can't argue with how nice it looks. Thanks Coco."

"You're welcome." Coco answered. "Hit me up if you ever want more fashion advice."

"Hm, maybe I will."

Coco chuckled. "Good, you really need it."

Clark rolled his eyes. "Hey now, I'm not that bad. Am I?"

The silence was telling. So was Coco's smug grin.

"W-well, I don't think plaid would have looked bad on you." Velvet said timidly.

"Thank you." Clark said, Velvet turned away from the direct eye contact.

"Hey, you'd have to try pretty hard to make anything look bad on him." Coco said. "My point is that if he put on plaid, he would have been squandering his potential. Maybe it would work if he was going for a farm boy look, but he's a huntsman."

"Only technically." Clark brought up.

Yeah, that had been a surprise. Clark was only a year older than them, but he already had a huntsman license. He seemed uncomfortable about it though. His circumstances were unique, and he'd been reluctant to say more.

"Anyway, I'll go change," said Clark. He walked back to the changing rooms.

"Alright, Yats, Fox. Velvet and I are going to find clothes for ourselves." Coco said. "Girl stuff. Make sure Clark doesn't come by until we're done."

She led Velvet along to the women's section of the store, giving Velvet the perfect chance to speak up against Coco.

"How could you do that?!" Velvet said in a low voice.

"Do what?"

"You know! Putting me on the spot like that when you and he both know how I feel. There's no way you'd do this just for someone who helped me out once. You're trying to set me up with him!"

"Yeah I am. Didn't you already know that? What's wrong? Did you think I was being too obvious with him?"

"Well . . . no," admitted Velvet. Coco made friends a lot more easily than she did. On the way here, her team leader's attempts to befriend Clark had seemed genuine.

Probably because they were genuine. Coco was the most extroverted person on their team, and the best to strike up conversation with him. She asked normal questions about him and his life, and gotten the rest of the team included in the conversation. She hadn't tried anything overt to make Clark and Velvet closer either. Even when presenting Clark's new outfits to the team, she hadn't asked for Velvet's opinion any more than she had Yatsu's or Fox's.

"So what are your complaints?"

"You're embarrassing me!"

"Ohhhh." Coco said it as if she was realizing it for the first time. Which was definitely not the case. "Yeah, I know, and it's adorable. Still, there's a reason I did that besides my enjoyment. You gotta admit, you're starting to get more relaxed around Clark, right?"

"I guess . . ."

Coco nodded. "That's going to help with the next part of the plan."

"Next part? Plan?" Velvet didn't like the sound of that.

"Getting you some new clothes to catch Clark's eye." Coco said. "You're already rocking it with your combat outfit, but it won't hurt to show off a little skin too."

Velvet's jaw dropped. She turned her head, thankfully, Clark and the others were at the register and hadn't heard that.

"Coco!" Velvet almost shouted, but held back because she didn't want to draw attention. "I couldn't! That's-that's-

"Calm down, bun bun. It's not like I'm saying you have to, just mentioning the option. Hell, some girls at Beacon show off plenty. Spring's just around the corner and it might be time to try on some short shorts or give a little peek of that midriff."

Velvet glared at her teammate while she covered herself with her arms. Her face burned at the thought of Clark seeing her in those kinds of outfits. Then, she started to wonder about what she was currently wearing. It wasn't skin-tight, but her leggings and jacket didn't hide her figure at all. No, no, she was being stupid. She wore it all the time, even when she'd first met Clark. But now . . .

"Wow, this might take longer than I thought." Coco interrupted her thoughts. "Good thing we can buy the clothes now and surprise Clark with them later. And they don't have to be revealing, just different. Although I won't say no if you change your mind~." Coco lowered her sunglasses and winked.

Velvet really hated her teammate sometimes.

\\

After visiting the clothes store, Clark and CFVY had agreed to Fox's suggestion to eat out at a sandwich shop. It was around six right now, but Clark had told them that he could stick around for longer.

It wasn't like he had anything pressing to deal with at the moment, and the truth was, he liked hanging out with them. Team CFVY had a strange, but lively rapport. Coco was confident and very upfront. Considering her comments about his appearance and taste in fashion. She knew her team well, saying exactly the right thing to embarrass Velvet. Which often prompted the calm Yatsuhashi to come to her defense. And while Fox was the more silent type, but he had a sharp sense of humor that he'd inject into the conversation at just the right times.

Clark should have felt out of place with such a tight-knit group. A fifth wheel. But he'd noticed the subtle ways they settled him in. Fox whispering explanations to him of certain inside jokes or Coco asking for Clark's opinion on certain topics.

"So, when did you start working at Beacon?" asked Coco as she took a sip of her drink.

"A bit before the beginning of the term," answered Clark.

"What exactly do you do? No way you're a teacher, and I doubt we need a huntsman to work at the library. Even though you seem to be there a lot."

"Yeah, I guess so." He idly wondered whether he should have stayed cooped up in his room to research, no matter how crazy it would have driven him. It would have avoided the need to watch his words carefully and lie. He didn't need to be that careful though. It wasn't as if anyone would guess what he was unless they saw him use his abilities.

"I'm not really a huntsman." He explained. "I have a license, but that's about it. I don't have the same level of education you guys do. I was just recruited by Headmaster Ozpin, and I don't really have specific duties. He just sends me on missions to fight Grimm every once in a while."

"The headmaster recruited you?" asked Yatsuhashi. "As a huntsman no less, rather than a student. That is remarkable."

"Whoa, you must be strong." Fox said.

Clark shrugged. "I'm not anyone special, but I guess the headmaster thinks I'm useful. Honestly, I probably belong in classes with you guys more than I do out in the field."

"Yeah, I don't buy it." Coco replied. "You must have some serious skill if the headmaster gave you that sort of treatment. You open to spar with us?"

Clark shook his head. "I'm more suited to dealing with Grimm than people. You all probably have better fighting techniques than I do." Not to mention that a spar with them would expose him immediately. He wouldn't be able to pretend he had aura the whole time for one. Clark had only agreed to spar with Penny because she'd been somewhat aware of his actual abilities.

Coco put her hands up. "Alright, if you say so. Too bad though, things can get really passionate during a fight. Velvet would have been a great opponent to show you that. Isn't that right?" She looked over to her teammate.

"U-um, I guess so." Velvet said, and Clark didn't miss the look she gave her leader before turning back to him. "I like to learn lots of different fighting styles. Since you fight hand-to-hand, I'm kind of curious to see it."

There isn't much to see. His "style" was to run up to the Grimm at super-speed and punch really hard. Anyone could have done it if they had his powers.

"Sorry." He gave an apologetic smile. "I don't really have anything to teach you. I don't have much experience fighting other people."

"We'd be happy to teach you." Coco said with a mischievous grin and pulled her teammate over. "Especially Velvet, you know, I'm sure she'd be happy to give you a hands on teaching experience."

Velvet's cheeks turned a familiar shade of pink. Poor girl. Her leader had largely refrained from teasing her about her crush on him until now. The least Clark could do was pretend not to notice it.

"If you say so." He replied.

After they finished their meal, they continued talking for a bit longer. Clark had to give them some of his fake background. Living in an isolated tribe in North Vale, but he was able to give them some idea of how his actual parents had raised him. Along with how he'd been approached when Ozpin had learned how he'd helped some loggers in a Grimm attack.

He'd had to add that he'd grown up in an isolated region without many Grimm. Which is how the conversation turned to his reluctance to kill, and how he could possibly reconcile that with the necessity to protect people. Maybe the students would have some perspectives he wouldn't have known.

"That's a very unique philosophy." Yatsuhashi said. "There are many which value the sanctity of life, but I've never heard of one that extended the tenet to the Grimm. Except, perhaps for some cults which worshipped them."

"It's what I've been taught. To never kill, even if they're monsters." Clark said. "But . . . I've seen things, and I'm not sure what alternative there is."

"Does there have to be an alternative?" Coco asked, her mirth had disappeared. "The Grimm are monsters, we have to kill them to stop people from dying." She paused as a realization seemed to dawn on her. "Hold on, then what have you done on your missions if you haven't killed them?"

"I've assisted other huntsmen by incapacitating the Grimm." Clark explained. "I would have preferred to relocate them, but they kill them before I can say anything."

Inwardly, Clark cringed at the looks they gave him. They didn't scoff at him like Nicholas Arc had, but the confusion and surprise were evident. This was probably the strangest thing he'd said so far. He would have liked to seem normal to them, but he wouldn't lie about his beliefs.

Fox was the one to break the silence. "Dude, you're not some kind of cultist like Yats said, right?"

"No, of course not."

"Don't insult him." Yatsuhashi said. "I, for one, find it quite admirable that Clark cares enough to struggle with such a dilemma. To us, killing Grimm is natural. But from what I've heard, Clark may not have encountered Grimm at all until rather recently. Am I right?"

Clark nodded. "I lived in a pretty remote area. There were geological barriers stopping the Grimm." He lied.

"Yats, you can't seriously be agreeing with him." Coco said.

"I'm not." The tall student said. "I consider killing Grimm a necessity, and I think I can understand why Clark doesn't. I was raised with similar principles."

"Really?" asked Clark.

Yatsuhashi nodded. "I was taught to respect the sanctity of life. The Grimm are said to not even be truly alive, as they have no aura and therefore no souls. They're called mindless, but they do have rudimentary instincts, and likely have minds little different from animals. With age, they can develop intelligence, and how can a creature not be considered alive if it can think, experience the world, and be aware of itself? But to protect ourselves and others, there's no other option but to kill them. Even if you have a Semblance which can somehow incapacitate them, displacing them is a temporary solution. That only gives them the option to return and again threaten the innocent."

Yatsuhashi sighed. "If you go on further missions, and a town you protected this way fell in the future, would you be able to accept that? Clark, there's no other way. I find that regrettable, and have come to terms with it."

"I see." Clark had expected an answer like that, but he appreciated Yatsuhashi for not acting like he was crazy to even consider another option besides killing the Grimm.

Maybe he was being obstinate. Maybe there was no other solution.

"Thanks for the advice, I should probably go." Clark said his goodbyes to the team. It had been a nice time, but he wasn't sure whether he should continue. He had a lot to think about.

\\

Team RWBY walked down the hall back to their dorms.

"We still have another week of detentions, right?" asked Yang.

"Yes." Weiss answered.

Yang groaned. "God, there's only so much guilt they can make me feel. What's next, are they going to make us get on our knees and apologize to everyone who got hurt by the Paladin?"

"Hey, these detentions might suck, but they're important." Ruby spoke up. "I mean, I hadn't even thought about the people who might get hurt from us chasing a giant robot. None of us did, and if it weren't for the Dart, they might have died."

"I know Ruby." Yang sighed. Her little sister had been mortified once she'd learned what had happened. They'd all felt the same. "I'm just letting off some steam. I know we messed up bad. Writing apology letters and seeing the damage isn't that bad of a punishment."

Blake's shoulders slumped, and Ruby patted her back. The faunus blamed herself for leading the Paladin to the highway, but it was a mistake any of them could have made. Everyone else had arrived without a second thought to the civilians' safety.

"Hello friend Ruby!" A voice called out from the front of their dorm room.

"Penny?" asked Ruby. Her robotic friend was waving excitedly, and she had another girl with her. She looked like Atlas military, and her teammates all shuffled around them to get inside. Leaving Ruby out with them. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that you had detention," said Penny. "I thought that it would be best to wait outside your room until you returned."

"And, uh, who's this with you?"

"She's Ciel, my supervisor." Penny said.

"Hello." The blue-haired girl said evenly before glancing back down at her watch.

"Cool, so how exactly did you find out where my room was?" asked Ruby. Not that she was upset her friend had showed up. No way! She was just busy with homework and stuff.

"I asked the headmaster."

"Oh." Ruby waited in silence, but Penny just looked at her with a wide smile. "So . . . do you want to come in?" asked Ruby tentatively. Maybe if she showed her around for a bit, they could call it a day.

Penny's eyes widened. "Yes! May I?"

"Sure." Ruby opened the door and proudly showed off her room. "This is my team. That's Yang, Weiss, and Blake." She pointed to each of them, and they all gave half-hearted hellos back. "These are our bunk beds, we made them ourselves."

Penny looked at the bed suspended by ropes, then the one supported by extra books. "They seem rather . . . precarious."

"I'm inclined to agree." Ciel added.

"Pfft, they're fine." Ruby waved their comments away. "We've been sleeping in them for months. Anyway, how long can you stay?"

"Fifteen minutes at most." Ciel said.

Ruby cheered in her head. That would mean she wouldn't have to stay up late doing homework, and she'd have plenty of time for-

"What is this?" Penny had walked over to a wall and was looking it over.

"Oh oh!" Ruby's eyes gleamed as she finally had a chance to show it off to someone besides her unappreciative team. With a flair, she presented. "This. Is my Dart wall."

"Your Dart wall?" Penny asked with a confused look.

"Yep!" Ruby pointed at the posters and maps she had of the Dart's knockouts. "This is a dartboard, cause, you know, he's called the Dart and all. And I've been marking all the spots he's caught criminals in. Trying to find a pattern to see where his hideout is."

Penny gave the wall a once over before asking. "I have a question, who is this Dart?"

Ruby's jaw dropped. "Who is the Dart? Penny, where have you been these past couple weeks? The Dart's a superhero! He comes in, finds criminals, and safely knocks them unconscious for the police to apprehend."

"I wonder how much brain damage he's caused." Blake said dryly.

"Hey! I checked, and all the people he's done it to wake up with just a headache." Ruby argued. "All the doctors say that they're fine."

"And again, we dive into my sister's new obsession." Yang shook her head. "Penny, some advice, don't encourage it."

"I told you, it's not an obsession!"

"Ruby, it is." Weiss interrupted. "How often do you check the news per day on this vigilante?"

"Weiss, he's a superhero, not a vigilante." Ruby corrected her. "And how often I check my scroll is none of your business."

"Excuse me, how exactly has this Dart apprehended so many criminals in such a short amount of time?" Penny asked while looking at the map.

"He darts by really fast, that's where his name comes from, and hits them on the head." Ruby said.

"Really?" Penny paused, deep in thought. Or maybe she'd frozen up. One or the other, oh god, would she have to be rebooted? After a few tense seconds, Penny turned around. "About this Dart . . .

"Yeah?" Ruby asked, why had Penny just trailed off?

"Ruby, what is the meaning of the motions your teammates are making?"

"What motions?" Ruby turned around immediately. To a scene of Weiss at her desk, Yang looking at her scroll, and Blake reading a book. Totally normal.

Too normal.

"Was it something like this?" Ruby asked as she crossed her arms into an X.

"Yes, they were repeating that action rather urgently."

Ruby grinned evilly, they were going to get an earful of Dart news for that. Right after she told Penny everything she knew.

\\

"This is what we were able to find on him ma'am," reported Emerald.

Cinder accepted the scroll handed to her with a picture of the young man they'd spotted accompanying Qrow Branwen several days ago. She noted that he wasn't a student at all, but had a position as a staff member at Beacon.

His name was Clark Kent.

"Is this all?" asked Cinder. There was hardly more than a single paragraph on him.

Emerald bowed her head. "Yes ma'am, I've asked around, but few people seem to know anything about him. I could have asked the teachers, but . . ."

But if he was of any importance, then inquiring about him would put them in Ozpin's notice. Both Emerald and Mercury knew better than that, and they would have been able to find any noteworthy information on him if it were available. Cinder would have to check thoroughly herself of course, she had her own methods that neither underling knew of.

"Very well. What else did you notice about him?" asked Cinder.

"I also saw him go into Vale with a second year team earlier today," said Emerald. "Team CFVY, led by Coco Adel."

Cinder nodded and found records of the four of them with her scroll. They were close to the top of their year, but otherwise seemed to be ordinary. They hadn't gotten into any serious trouble with the teachers, nor attracted any special treatment.

"Do you want us to befriend them like we did for RWBY?" Emerald asked.

"No." If Ozpin had plans for this team, then it would not do to draw suspicion by having newly arrived transfer students approach all the teams he had his eye on. "I will handle this matter. You two continue focusing on teams RWBY and JNPR. At most, you will monitor this Kent from a distance."

Emerald nodded. "Yes ma'am. I'll inform Mercury."

"Good." Cinder turned her attention to her scroll. This Clark Kent was young, about Mercury's age. Yet he had been hired by Ozpin rather than accepted into Beacon as a student. That implied a high degree of talent. If he were a student, Cinder would have probed him by having Mercury or Emerald spar with him in a class.

That wasn't an option in this case, but there were other ways to gauge his strength.