The dance was still going on, op music played from the speakers, and there were still a few people showing off their moves on the dance floor. However, nearly everyone else was a bit nervous, they'd seen Ozpin, Ms. Goodwitch, and Ironwood leave in a rush. The soldiers had also put a damper on things when they'd come in and taken some first-year students aside for questioning.

Velvet's ears could pick up the whispers of other students wondering the same thing she was. What was going on?

"Yeesh, the life's been drained from this party." Coco said, looking on. "Not even sure if that guy in the dress can bring it back."

Velvet looked over at the blond student in a white dress. It had been funny when he'd first arrived in it, but it was hard to laugh when he had a concerned look on his face.

"Message the guys, have they found Clark yet?" asked Coco.

Velvet brought up her scroll, and sent texts to Fox and Yatsu. Yatsu messaged back that he'd checked the men's bathrooms on his side with no luck, and a second later, Fox responded saying that he hadn't found him either.

"Nothing." Velvet said, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. "Clark still hasn't answered either."

Coco didn't feel the need for the same restraint. "Oh, he's in for a world of hurt if he just ditched us."

"I'm sure he has a good reason."

"He better. You and I put effort into this night."

They had. Coco more than her, she was the one who'd taken the initiative with testing the whistle on Clark and finding out which shade of brown to pick out for Velvet's dress. Her leader had even sat her down and helped out with applying makeup, and choosing the right things to say to get Clark to confess that he was a faunus. Although it turned out that he wasn't.

Even Velvet would be peeved if Clark just left without a word. Back on the balcony, he'd said that he would be down soon, but that had been over half an hour ago. Velvet's confidence was running low.

A ping sounded from her scroll.

"It's from Clark!" She said, ears perked up, then she opened it. "He says that something came up, but he'll be back soon. He wants to talk to Fox for some reason though."

"Aww, does that make someone happy?" Coco said, hands clasped together under her chin.

"Yes, it does." Velvet replied.

Coco grinned. "I can't wait to tell Clark how cute you were waiting for him."

"Go right ahead."

"Oh?" Coco said with a hint of surprise, but her grin extended further.

Velvet's face paled, she might have pushed her luck there. Her leader was intrigued. That could only end badly.

"A-anyway, I'll go tell Fox and Yatsu that they can come back." Velvet turned away and faced her scroll so Coco wouldn't see her expression. She couldn't let Coco find out that Clark had confessed his feelings.

Thankfully, it looked like Coco accepted Velvet's pink cheeks as her normal behavior. Or chose not to mention it.

Fox was the first to come back, he'd already been on his way since he'd covered his part of the building.

"Sorry for having you do this." Velvet apologized. "I know you were looking forward to the dance."

"It's fine." He answered with a casual wave of his hand. "I couldn't find Cinder anyway, and her teammates wouldn't tell me when she'd get here. Anyway, you said Clark wanted to talk to me, know what it's about?"

Velvet shook her head.

"Huh, okay. Guess I'll wait around for him then."

Yatsu arrived next, and Velvet made sure to thank him for helping. He'd just answered with his usual kind smile and a nod.

"Here comes our mystery man." Coco announced.

Their heads turned, and Velvet noted Clark's mood. It was a far cry from his familiar upbeat self. The mouth that so easily curled up into a smile was a rigid, horizontal line. His normally comforting eyes were focused on them. Had something happened?

"Hey guys, sorry about leaving so suddenly." Clark said. "Something . . . came up."

"It's cool, as long as you make it up to Velvet later." Coco said, with a push on the faunus' back to make her step forward.

"I will." He promised, and his eyes met her own. He turned away. "But first I need to talk with Fox."

"Well I'm right here." Fox said. "Shoot."

"I think it would be better if we spoke alone."

"It's fine. If you can say it to me, you can say it to the team."

Clark eyes turned, looking at each of them. "Fine. First, I guess you've noticed the soldiers."

They nodded.

"They're here because I noticed something. Well, someone." He amended. "A woman tried to sneak into the CCT and attacked the guards, but she's in custody now. She's been identified as Cinder Fall."

"What?" Fox asked in disbelief.

The rest of the team was no less surprised. They'd all heard about their teammate's new crush.

"Cinder? She wouldn't do something like that." Fox said. "No way, it has to be a mistake."

"Yellow eyes, black hair?" Clark asked.

The orange-haired student nodded.

"And the headmaster identified her by her student ID, it's her."

"But-but . . ." Fox brought a hand to his forehead, eyes wide. Coco placed a hand on his shoulder, and he gave her an appreciative look. "She seemed so nice."

"I'm sorry, do you need a moment?" Clark asked, concerned.

Fox blinked a few times, taking it in, and shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine. We . . . we weren't really that close anyway, I was just into her."

"Even so, do you mind if I ask you a few questions about her?"

Fox nodded. "Go for it."

"Did you notice anything off about her?"

"No, nothing. She seemed perfectly normal."

Clark's eyes narrowed. "Nothing? You're sure?"

"Yeah. I mean, I only met her a couple weeks ago, when she asked me for some help with Oobleck's class. We just talked about normal stuff. Training, upcoming missions, the festival. Um . . ." Fox stared off into the distance, trying to think. "Oh yeah, she asked a bit about you too. Since her teammate was interested in you."

"Teammate? What's her name?"

"Emerald, uh, can't remember her last name."

Clark's eyes focused even harder on Fox at the name. "Emerald Sustrai? Green hair and dark skin?"

A spike of jealousy shot through Velvet. She quickly stamped it down. It was clear that Clark wasn't asking because he was interested in that girl like that.

"Yeah, you know her?" asked Fox.

"I had a little incident with her," replied Clark. "Cinder's teammates are going to need to be questioned, do you know where I can find them?"

"Nah, they just left all of a sudden. Right after you did. I . . . guess I know why now."

Clark sighed, and put a hand on Fox's shoulder. "Sorry about having to drop news like that." He pulled his hand back. "I have to go now, if you remember anything more, tell the headmaster. See you later guys." He said to everyone, and started to head off.

"Wait!" Coco said. Velvet looked at her in surprise, what was she doing?

Clark paused, and turned back. His eyebrows furrowed in a questioning expression.

"The dance still isn't over yet." Coco pointed out. "When do you think you can come back?"

"I . . . don't know. I'm going to help with the search."

"Do you really have to? The soldiers are already on it, what's the harm in having some more fun at the dance? I don't think searching for people is in your job description."

"Coco!" Velvet whispered harshly. "Let Clark do his job."

"It's okay Velvet, she does have a point. Technically, it's not my job." Clark gave her an amused smile.

Velvet looked away in embarrassment. Right, his hearing.

"I'm still involved, so I have to go. I'll be back in about twenty minutes, I promise." He said.

"Okay, good luck." Velvet wished him.

The rest of the team wished him well, and he went off.

\\

Clark couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. That girl, Emerald. He'd had a feeling that something weird had been going on, but he'd ignored it. She and her team were criminals, infiltrating the school for god knows what.

They'd also been investigating him. Clark recalled the images the green-haired girl had shown him, and now he didn't believe her excuse about stalking him for a second. Clark hadn't been paying attention before confronting her, so he didn't know how long they'd been watching him. What he did know was that they'd stopped after he'd confronted her.

The only thing that comforted Clark about that mess was that Cinder hadn't seemed to realize that he was the Dart.

He messaged Ozpin, asking for descriptions of Cinder's teammates, explaining that he could search for them at super-speed. He kept his X-ray vision unmentioned.

The headmaster replied quickly. Ironwood's soldiers had already checked their room and found signs of a quick departure. The soldiers were also asking Beacon's Bullhead pilots if they'd seen Emerald and Mercury. One had mentioned that they'd seen the pair take one into the city about thirty minutes ago.

So Clark zipped off to Vale. It took him seconds to arrive at the station where the Bullhead had dropped them off. He walked inside, and went up to an employee at a nearby desk. She gave him a practiced, but slightly strained, smile.

"Excuse me," Clark said, and held up his scroll to show the images of Emerald and Mercury. "I'm looking for these two people, they should have passed by here not long ago."

She pushed up her glasses and leaned forward for a closer look. "Oh, yes. They were just here. About twenty minutes ago, I think."

"Do you know where they went?"

She shook her head. "Sorry."

"Alright, thank you."

After Clark left, a message from Ozpin came in. General Ironwood had alerted Vale's police to be on the lookout for those two.

It was pretty late at night, and looking around, Clark realized that few people were in the area. He wouldn't be able to ask if anyone had seen where they went. The few cars in the area were taxis, and none of them had the passengers he was looking for.

If they were still in the city, and if he were willing to invade people's privacy, he could have looked inside buildings and cars with X-ray vision or at super-speed. Even if he did, they might even be on their way out of the city entirely. They could be on a highway out by now, and he couldn't check every car on the road.

He grit his teeth, and decided to leave the search to the police. An organized group would have more success than Clark's random search.

He returned to the dance. In fact, earlier than he'd promised. The upbeat mood looked like it had returned, more people were dancing, and most of the soldiers had left.

"Hey." He said, surprising Velvet from behind.

She turned around and beamed at him. "You're back."

"I am." He admitted. "Turns out Coco was right, I'm not really needed. By the way, where's the rest of the team?"

"Fox and Yatsu decided to call it a night. Fox is . . . pretty upset about what happened. I think he wants the two of them to talk alone for a bit."

"Ah, well, tell him I'm free to talk too if he wants." Clark looked aside. "I didn't realize he liked her that much, maybe I should have told him more gently."

"It's not your fault Clark. Besides, I think he'll be okay."

Clark heard familiar footsteps, which stopped just a few feet behind him.

"Yeah, Fox'll be fine." Coco said. "It's not like if Velvet found out you were a bank robber or something. Trust me, she'd be devastated."

"I'd be shocked." Velvet corrected, her cheeks pink. "All of us would be."

Clark smiled, easing into the comfortable chitchat with the two. "Yeah. Clark Kent, bank robber, doesn't have a good ring to it."

"I don't know, maybe he could make it work." Coco considered, too serious to be genuine. "Keep the suit and tie and maybe you could be the next Torchwick."

He snorted. "That's a bit too showy for me."

"Right, I forgot you liked boring clothes. Oh well, there goes that career opportunity."

"Hey, they're not boring," complained Clark half-heartedly.

Coco gave him a look of pity. "You actually believe that, don't you?"

"Please don't go on about clothes." Velvet begged her leader. "At least for the rest of the night."

"Fine fine, I won't. Let's talk about something more interesting instead." Coco lowered her shades to show the gleam in her eyes. "Clark, you're really not a faunus?"

"Yep, I just have good hearing and eyesight." That was the lie he'd stuck himself with, and now he could only hope and pray it worked.

"Yeah, that's what Velvet said, but I have a hard time believing that. But, she did mention something else, isn't that right?" Coco looked over at the confused faunus.

"Coco, I have no idea what you mean."

Her leader ignored her and faced Clark. "You gonna put your money where your mouth is big guy? I think we should do a little check to make sure you don't have any animal parts under there." She patted his chest.

"What kind of check?" He asked. Maybe there was a good chance she didn't mean what he thought she meant.

She grinned. "It was pretty bold of you to say you'd strip down to prove you're not a faunus."

Nope, it was exactly what he'd thought. Clark sighed, and looked to the Velvet. "You actually told her about that? I was joking."

"I-I know you were!" Velvet defended herself. "It . . . slipped out."

"Well, what do you say big guy? Wanna show us the goods?"

Clark chuckled. Coco wasn't serious, but it would be a good way to get rid of any doubts. "You know what? Maybe I will, although I hope you'll at least let me keep on a pair of shorts." Besides, it wasn't like he'd be naked, it would the same amount of skin that he'd show at a pool.

Coco's eyebrows shot up for a brief moment in surprise, but she recovered quickly. "I'll hold you to it then. Oh, and gotta make sure Velvet is there too." She pulled the startled faunus to her side.

"Umm . . . why's that?" asked Clark. For a moment, his eyes met Velvet's. Then he looked away in embarrassment. Coco saw that, not good.

"Who better to ask than a faunus if someone's hiding animal parts?" Coco reasoned.

Okay, that was just a flat-out lie. Anyone could recognize animal body parts.

"Why, is that a problem?" asked Coco curiously.

She'd caught his nervousness. His best bet was to play it off. "No, not at all."

"Good! Then Velvet and I'll make sure to check thoroughly, thanks for offering!"

"Y-you don't have to Clark." Velvet assured him, shooting a glare at her leader. "And I don't have to be there either if it bothers you."

Clark smiled gratefully back at her, she really was sweet.

"Huh? But Clark said it's not a problem if you check with me." Coco said. She was enjoying this way too much. "There's no reason why it would be, is there?"

Velvet was sweet, but she'd nearly just outed how he felt about her. Even though her leader seemed to have her own ideas about that already.

"No reason, no reason at all." He said, inwardly cringing at how awkward he sounded. He reached forward and grabbed Velvet's smooth hand. He'd hadn't really noticed how small it was in his own. "Anyway, it's a dance, so we should dance. Right?"

She smiled, and curled her fingers in his own. "Right."

Clark led her to the dance floor. Coco, meanwhile, was silent. That didn't comfort him the slightest.

\\

The dance was meant to be fun. It had been fun, until Ruby had followed Cinder to the CCT. The young girl had called her weapon in, thinking that she'd catch a bad guy, but had arrived to find someone else had already taken care of it.

That tall guy in the suit, she'd seen him around Beacon before once or twice. He worked for the school. Not a teacher, he looked too young for that and Ruby couldn't tell if he was skilled enough to be. She'd only caught the last part of his fight with Cinder.

Cinder. The nice, pretty transfer student from Haven, Ruby's friend, had tried to sneak into the CCT. Why? And how? How could she act so . . . so friendly when planning something like that? Emerald and Mercury too, the silver-haired guy had seemed pretty . . . overconfident. Which was the nice way to put it, but Emerald had been great!

Then, when their leader was caught, they'd run away. Last night had been crazy.

"Ruby . . . you alright?" asked Yang.

"Yeah . . ." She answered, setting her head down on the desk in their room.

"You've been distracted the whole day." Weiss said. "Obviously you're not alright."

"Should I be? I just found out that one of our friends just planned to . . . I don't know, bomb the CCT or something. And her two teammates ran away when she was caught."

"We're all surprised," Blake told her. "They didn't give any sign that they were at the school for any ulterior motive. I'm not comfortable with the fact that they got close to us so easily. None of us are."

"Yeah, we had classes with them. We ate lunch with them." Yang said. "Ugh, just makes me feel so stupid."

"Has your uncle told you anything?" asked Weiss.

"He texted us an hour ago." answered Ruby. "Cinder's still not awake, so they haven't questioned her yet. He also said that we shouldn't be surprised if our mission is canceled tomorrow."

Blake's head jerked up at that. "What? Why?"

"He didn't say."

"He doesn't have to. Ozpin and General Ironwood must suspect that Cinder has a connection to Roman and the White Fang." Weiss said. "She might tell them something that could indicate that it's too dangerous for us to go there."

"But we can't leave the White Fang alone, they have to be doing something at Mountain Glenn." Blake argued.

"I don't think we need to be involved," said Weiss. "We're students Blake, I'm sure they'll send in more qualified people."

"So Uncle Qrow's gonna go on a cool mission without us? That's not fair." Ruby pouted.

"I was thinking more along the lines of professionals. That man is . . . rather fond of his liquor."

"Hey!" Yang complained. "That - okay that's true - but he can be professional too."

"I'm sure he can." Weiss said in her I-totally-believe-you-but-not-really voice. Except she'd say it was just healthy skepticism. "I just think there are people better equipped to deal with a situation like that."

"And I'm sure that none of those people happen to be related to you," said Blake.

Ruby caught onto what she meant. "Uncle Qrow would be way better than Winter. He's older and has loads of experience."

"I never mentioned my sister, but she's a Specialist trained by the Atlas military. Your uncle isn't."

"Well I'm sure he could beat your sister in a fight, no matter how much Atlas training she has." Yang said.

"Combat skill wouldn't be the primary consideration for a mission into Mountain Glenn." Weiss argued. "Although I'm sure that Winter could defeat your uncle."

"Nuh-uh, Qrow's got an awesome weapon. Tell her about it Ruby."

"Yeah, he has a scythe-sword-machine gun combo." Ruby said. "Your sister has a sword and dagger. Uncle Qrow's reach is way longer and he can shoot at her."

"Have you forgotten about the Schnee semblance?" Weiss replied. "I have no idea what your uncle's is, but I doubt it's nearly as versatile."

"Pfft, he doesn't need a semblance to beat her."

"Oh, I highly doubt that . . ."

For the next half-hour, Ruby claimed her responsibility to defend her awesome uncle's fighting skills. Sure, Winter had the same fancy glyphs that Weiss did, but no way he'd lose to her. His weapon had more forms, and how old even was Winter? Qrow had to have at least ten years of huntsmanning on her.

It was only later on that Ruby realized that her teammates had started the debate on purpose. To take her mind off Cinder.

\\

In the late afternoon, the day after the dance, General Ironwood had finished the preparations that he and the others had decided on. Cinder Fall was placed in her own small ship, inside a specially modified, reinforced cell. Canisters of sleeping gas were on standby, ready to release the substance into the cell in case of any aggressive action. Aura cuffs had been placed on her wrists, along with a collar that went around her neck that provided the same function. There were also explosives placed in key points inside the ship. Outside, soldier drones patrolled.

Clark could see it all from his room in Beacon.

According to Ozpin, Cinder was dangerous enough that all of this was necessary to hold her. Although even now, she was still unconscious. They'd given her hadn't hit her that hard, normally she would have woken up hours ago.

Ozpin and Ironwood were on the general's flagship, waiting for her to wake up. It looked like they were planning to get a head start on questioning her.

He'd never realized how secretive they were. The fact that she could use magic was being kept among only the few of them, and they wouldn't tell him why. Asking Qrow or Ms. Goodwitch just got him answers like 'it's what we agreed was best for the world's safety'. He was new to this world, but magic didn't really seem that different from the force-fields and powers fueled by their souls. Or monsters whose bodies disappeared when they died.

Clark understood the irony of him being upset at their secrecy. Considering they helped him keep his own.

He was grateful for that, but Cinder might know a way for him to get back home. The general and headmaster were hiding things about her, so while he normally wouldn't eavesdrop, he had to.

Clark locked the door, turned off the lights to make it seem like he wasn't home, and set his scroll to silent. He'd need to focus his X-ray vision and super-hearing, he couldn't afford any distractions.

It took some time for Cinder to wake up. She leaned up groggily on the bed, and the cuffs and collar started beeping. There was a bit of a time lag with the sound. The ship had been placed in a secure spot in the Emerald Forest, but luckily not that far.

Clark had debated getting closer, but the lag wasn't too jarring. Besides, he might attract Grimm to the ship if he got too close.

"Aggh!" She writhed in pain as sharp pins tried to pierce her wrists and the back of her neck repeatedly. Clark saw the shimmer of aura concentrate on those points until it faded to nothing.

Why do that? Couldn't they have warned her first?

A screen had been placed in her room. It flickered on and both she and Clark could see General Ironwood and Ozpin.

"Miss Fall." Ozpin spoke. "Those cuffs are unfortunate, but considering we lack any other way to dispel aura, I'm sure you understand why they're necessary."

She didn't answer. Only breathing a bit heavily from the pain.

"Now, I will warn you what will happen if you try to escape." General Ironwood said. "You are being kept under constant watch. If you try to use your maiden powers to break free, the room will flood with gas and you will be rendered unconscious."

Maiden powers, was that the magic she used?

The general continued. "If you somehow manage to escape your cell, outside are Atlas robots armed with weaponry, lethal to those without aura. Those cuffs and collar will monitor your aura, if they detect even the smallest amount, they will break it. If you nonetheless attempt to hoard your aura and allow yourself to be injured, you will be rendered unconscious. Lastly, even if you escape your cell, you will not survive. Top of the line Atlesian weaponry is focused on your location, which I can activate at will. Do you understand what I've told you?"

"No, I don't understand." She said frantically. "What are you talking about? What are maiden powers, and why are you doing this instead of putting me in a normal jail?"

"You won't have any success feigning ignorance." Ozpin replied. "Now that I knew to look for it, I could detect the magic in you. As well as the fact that your name is a brazen declaration of what you've done."

"It will be easier for you if you tell us the truth." Ironwood said.

Her expression changed entirely. The seemingly innocent and confused woman transformed. Her lips curled into a self-assured smile, even in her current situation. "Very well, I am the fall maiden."

"What is your connection to Salem?" asked Ozpin.

"Who?"

"Did I not warn you against feigning ignorance? You were seen draining the fall maiden of her power, no one else would have been able to provide such a method."

Ironwood spoke next. "Fall, from here I can control the temperature of your room, what your meals will consist of, and whether you get running water. You will answer our questions."

Hold on a second, didn't she have rights? They couldn't just do that, could they? No way the laws in this world could be that different.

She didn't seem bothered. "You're welcome to do so. You can't force me to speak."

"Would you retain such confidence under duress?" Ironwood said.

"Torture? I doubt you're capable of such a thing. Even if you were, you would learn nothing."

Clark would put a stop to it if they tried. He didn't know what was going on with a fall maiden and someone named Salem, but he wouldn't stand by and watch someone be tortured. Even if it would result in revealing his super-hearing and X-ray vision.

They asked her a few more questions. Where her teammates were, why she infiltrated Beacon, what she was trying to do at the CCT. Along with some questions about the White Fang and Roman Torchwick. Mountain Glenn was mentioned as well. She didn't tell them anything. Not that she stayed silent, she apparently couldn't resist the urge to give back a few haughty answers, but no useful information.

Clark realized that he'd probably receive the same treatment.

Ironwood and Ozpin eventually gave up questioning her for the day. They turned the screen off, and Ozpin picked up his scroll.

Clark received the call, and was told that he'd be escorted to Ironwood's ship so that he could ask Cinder what he needed.

He walked down to the landing pads for the Bullheads, and about ten minutes later, one arrived. The door opened, and a white-haired woman in a military uniform walked out. Despite the strange hair, she wasn't old, she looked like she was in her mid-to-late twenties.

Her steps were measured. "Mr. Kent?" She asked when she saw him.

He nodded.

"You are expected on the general's ship. Upon arrival, I will guide you to his office." She said.

"Okay then." He walked up the ramp into the aircraft, and once he was seated, it hovered off the ground. Even then, he kept focused on his hearing to pick up Ozpin and Ironwood's words.

"Miss Fall, you are about to be questioned by a colleague of ours. He is aware of magic, but not the specifics of the maidens." Ozpin told Cinder. "You will not mention them to him, nor anything concerning Salem."

"Oh? If he doesn't know, then why risk letting one of your pawns speak with me? Or is he some government official that you couldn't turn away?"

"Silence." The general responded. "Remember Fall, I can make your confinement here very uncomfortable. If you don't want that, then you'll answer his questions. I don't care whether you tell the truth or not, but you will regret it if you inform him of the maidens."

Huh, and Clark had thought that the general would have wanted him to leave as soon as possible. Maybe they didn't expect her to know anything to help him get back home, they didknow more about her magic powers than they let on after all.

The Bullhead carrying Clark attached itself to the side of the enormous Atlesian ship. A side door slid open, and revealed the inside of the larger aircraft. The woman took the lead, and Clark followed her inside.

The hallways were white and gray, which was pretty clearly the color scheme that Atlas went for. Everything was incredibly clean, and there were some helmeted soldiers, both robotic and human walking around inside. A few even saluted the woman guiding him, which she responded to with small nods.

They eventually reached a door, and she rapped lightly on the metal.

A few seconds later, General Ironwood opened it.

"I've brought the individual you requested, sir," she announced.

"Thank you Specialist, that will be all for now." He replied.

"Understood." She walked off.

The general led him inside to a chair in front of his desk. A screen faced the seat and showed Cinder in her cell. Her arms were crossed, and she looked annoyed. Clark sat down, while the headmaster and the general stood on either side of him.

"Before we begin, Mr. Kent, can you inform us exactly what you intend to ask her?" Ozpin said.

"Just if she knows any way to use magic to get me back home, and . . . a few weeks ago a girl was following me." He added, slightly embarrassed by how naïve he'd been for leaving it alone. "It turns out that she's Cinder's teammate, one of the two that disappeared last night. I want to know why she was tailing me."

"I see." A glance passed between Ozpin and Ironwood. "That seems fair, although I will warn you that she's proved uncooperative."

"Yeah, she doesn't look happy with her situation." Clark noted. "She can't see me, can she?" He asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Not at the moment." The general told him. "We should begin. I'll say something first, you only need to hold this button to speak into the microphone." The general indicated the flexible, upright cord attached to his desk with some fuzz at the end of it.

Ironwood leaned forward, and pressed the button. "Cinder Fall, the interrogator we've mentioned as arrived. You will answer his questions as best as you are able."

That was clever wording. They didn't want her telling him about maidens or the Salem person.

Clark reached forward and pressed the button, a red light on the base of the microphone turned on. "You can use magic. Do you know any way to use it to travel to other worlds? Other realities?"

Her eyes narrowed, and it almost looked like she was looking straight at him. She must have been staring at the camera lens. "Other worlds? What sort of nonsense is that? Ask Ozpin, if magic can do that, he would know."

Clark sighed, there had gone that hope. He didn't think she was lying, her heartrate hadn't changed, and the usual signs of muscle twitches weren't there.

"Okay then. Next, did you order your teammate Emerald Sustrai to follow Clark Kent? Why?" He took his finger off the button.

"I was intrigued as to why he hired a young man at his academy and gave him a huntsman license. Ozpin has many secrets, and I thought he might be connected to one of them." She sneered. "Perhaps one inside Beacon itself, likely in its basem-

Ironwood wrenched the microphone aside. "Enough Fall! That's not relevant to the question."

Clark blinked a few times in surprise. He hadn't expected that kind of reaction.

He turned the screen off, and looked to Clark. His anger evident. "Did you have any more questions you wanted to ask?"

"No, I . . . think I'm good." The young man replied. "Thanks for letting me do this, even if it didn't turn out very well."

"There's no need to thank us." Ozpin said. "I apologize for Ironwood's sudden action. If you wait a moment, we can have someone guide you back to the ships so you may return to Beacon."

"Right." Clark agreed.

Soon, a soldier arrived to pick him up. Not the woman from before, someone with standard Atlas military gear. They walked to the Bullhead docking points.

Meanwhile, Clark continued listening to the conversation between Ironwood and Ozpin.

"That was too close Ozpin!" Ironwood raged. "Why did you agree to letting him ask her questions himself?"

"Denying him the opportunity would have raised suspicions."

"He suspects us now, regardless."

"True, and I'll attend to that, but we have gained important information." Ozpin answered. "In her attempt to manipulate Clark into doubting us, she revealed that she knew, or at least suspected, where we were keeping Amber. We need to move her, quickly."

Amber? Who was that, and what did she have to do with this?

"Fine, we'll have to quickly decide on a suitable location. Do you still plan on having a Beacon student receive the powers?"

"That may change. Three students were able to infiltrate Beacon, and I am no longer as confident in that course of action."

The two of them discussed where they should put Amber, and Clark stopped listening. Whoever she was, they were going to move her, and it didn't exactly sound like she would have a choice in what they decided to do with her. He needed to investigate, fast.

\\

The lights turned off.

Cinder had no idea what time it was, but she assumed it was night. She lay back in her hard, flat bed. She'd slept in worse.

What was irritating were the cuffs and the collar. With her maiden powers, she could have burned through them and perhaps even worked through the metal walls. Ironwood and Ozpin had realized that, which was why they'd prepared so many ways to neutralize her. She had no wish to test them.

Otherwise, no holds were barred. Those fools, they actually thought their feeble threats would have an effect. She'd suffered through far worse than unsavory food or mild temperature variations, and even if they resorted to torture, it would be useless. Salem, over the course of her long life, had gained far more expertise at administering pain than even Ozpin could hope to match. Cinder was not going to suffer at her mistress' hand for revealing her plans.

Although she'd been able to answer one question truthfully and without consequences. An utterly confusing one.

Other worlds? She briefly considered if it were some sort of joke, but whoever had asked it had moved onto his next question immediately. Why would Ozpin and Ironwood even allow such a question?

No matter, her thoughts turned to escaping her prison. It would be difficult, but not impossible. In a few days, she would have her opportunity.

\\

That night, Clark went out as the Dart. The police still patrolled the streets looking for him, and he led them to where they could do the most good. Slowing down to the point that they'd see a blur, and follow it.

Tomorrow was when he would follow Qrow to Mountain Glenn.

He could still easily run back to Vale if he wanted, but it would probably be better to stay there with Qrow for the duration of the mission. Scroll signals were spotty there apparently, and it would be distracting for Clark to keep an ear out in case his help was needed.

Besides, the city was doing fine on its own.

Clark sat at the rooftop of a high-rise building, his feet dangling over the edge. He needed to consider what he'd seen in Beacon's basement with X-ray vision. He'd prepared himself for the possibility that someone was locked up inside. What else was he supposed to think when Ozpin and Ironwood had said they were keeping someone named Amber in the school's basement?

He'd been ready to free her and accept the consequences. Even leaving the school and roughing it out on his own.

Instead, he'd seen an unconscious young woman. Critically injured and connected to a bunch of medical equipment. It was still suspicious that they were keeping her there instead of a hospital, but Clark wasn't sure what to do next. Confront them? Maybe they had good reasons for all of this.

Yet he couldn't take his mind off how ready they were to kill Cinder if she escaped. They'd planned it by themselves, without informing their government. Clark knew they had political influence, but no way they had the authority to do all this.

He'd have to ask. It would reveal his X-ray vision and super-hearing, but that wouldn't stop him. If they were doing something wrong, then keeping his other powers secret wasn't worth it.

They were depending on him to help Qrow tomorrow at Mountain Glenn. He'd do that, but when they came back, he was going to have answers.