Earlier, just a day ago, Clark had been wondering how he could sneak into the floating city of Atlas to talk to Ironwood. Now it was a simple matter of flying up a few kilometers above the city and then racing down in a handful of milliseconds. The only chance of him being spotted was if there was a high-speed, high-definition camera being pointed at the sky for some reason, and considering how much data and power those used it was unlikely that anyone would waste one like that.

So, early in the morning, Clark dropped down into an Atlesian military base before sunrise. Even at that time there were plenty of soldiers awake and on duty, including the general, so it wasn't possible for him to meet the man out in the open, at least not discreetly.

Instead, Clark scanned around and found an unused soldier's uniform in his size that didn't require him to break through a lock to get and disguised himself. He also put on a helmet which covered the upper part of his face.

Unfortunately, the building Ironwood was in checked for ID's, so Clark couldn't just walk in. He could sneak in at super-speed, but there were cameras watching the inside which would spot him if he stopped to talk.

Eventually, Ironwood left to check something on his airship, and he was escorted by only a pair of soldiers. As he walked out, Clark approached.

"Sir, I need to speak with you."

Ironwood stopped and frowned at him. "Excuse me, soldier?"

Clark flipped up his helmet's visor. "It's very important."

Ironwood's jaw dropped open, although to the man's credit it was only by a fraction of an inch. He controlled his expression and nodded. "Of course. I didn't recognize you. Come, follow me. You two stay behind." He directed that last sentence at his soldiers.

Clark lowered the visor again and followed the general. He led him to his office, which was opened with both a fingerprint scan and passcode. Interestingly, the general didn't even make an attempt to hide the code from him. Ironwood didn't have any lead on him, so if Clark had really wanted to he could have seen looked through the man anyway, but it seemed like a surprising lack of caution from him.

Ironwood's office was bare of everything but the essentials for his job. A desk, a computer, filing cabinets, and seats for guests. No decorations or accessories.

Ironwood sat down at his desk with a careful gaze. "I doubt there's anything I could do against you if you're actually the phantom, but can you prove that you're actually Clark Kent?"

"You have a window here. See what happens when I expose myself to sunlight." Clark walked over and let the sun shine on his face and hands. "If I were the phantom, my skin would change to gray. Actually, he did manage to unlock a Semblance to protect himself, but it seemed to work by redirecting sunlight away from his body. He would look faded, like some kind of photo-editing effect."

"So he is no longer weakened by sunlight?"

"I guess if he were to run out of aura, he wouldn't be able to keep his Semblance up, but other than that, yes. Though it won't be a problem anymore, I've got him locked up and secure."

"Where?"

"That's something I'd like to keep to myself." Since the general was still looking at him with suspicion, Clark took off the soldier uniform and pulled out the Kryptonian crystal. "If you still don't believe me, you should remember that I told you that the phantom wouldn't be able to touch this crystal."

The general looked at it. "You did, yes. Are you certain your phantom is contained?"

"Yes."

"Then I suppose I'll have to trust you. Can I ask what you're wearing?" Ironwood looked at his new suit curiously.

"Apparently, this little crystal can make clothing," Clark said.

"Hmm, there's something I'd like to discuss with you then, but right now there are more important matters. What happened at Haven?"

Clark summarized the events of the past week or so. The dead Branwen tribe used as bait for the Spring Maiden, who actually turned out to be Raven Branwen. The fight between Clark and the phantom, afterwards the phantom had agreed to hand over the Relic to Ozpin and the others, but Clark hadn't verified that yet. There had definitely seemed to be a falling-out between the phantom and Salem though.

As of now, Clark had no idea where Ozpin and the others were. He would try to look for them, of course, but he'd been kind of busy ever since escaping the phantom.

Once Clark finished his story, he said "There are a few other things I need your help with."

"Oh, what are they?"

"First, I need a replacement scroll to contact you with."

Ironwood nodded. "I'll have prepared right now. It should only take a few minutes." He spent a minute or so typing on the computer at his desk before turning back to Clark.

After he was finished, Clark made his second request. "You probably saw what I did yesterday, and I've decided there's no point in keeping myself a secret anymore. I'm going public, and I'll do whatever you say in order to reach the most people across Remnant."

"Good." Ironwood didn't smile, but he was pleased at the news. "I'll have it prepared by tomorrow morning. Since you've already attracted a lot of attention with your actions yesterday, it'll be best to capitalize on it as soon as possible. I'll confer with Glynda, you should go to Vale as well for your reveal. Your face isn't known, but your symbol certainly will be, and your clothing is colorful and draws the eye. It's a good choice for a benevolent image to the world."

"Yeah, lucky us. Thank you for the help."

"There's no need to thank me. It's for the good of Remnant, after all." A smile spread across Ironwood's face. Not a genuine one, but Clark appreciated the gesture, even if it was only for building up goodwill.

"And here's the last thing. I have a few of Cinder's former allies trapped in a cave in Mistral. I'm hoping you can find some cells for them, secure ones."

"Of course. Are you going to bring them over now?"

"Should I?"

Ironwood considered the question. "No. If you have them properly confined at the moment, it would be better to build up your reputation some more by bringing them in after your debut."

Clark agreed. Ironwood then led him out of his office to get him his new scroll, and Clark put on his disguise again in the blink of an eye. He locked the door with a different code from before, again in full view of Clark.

Ironwood went at a slow pace to get Clark's scroll. "If you don't mind my asking, how did you get that uniform?"

"A storage unit with a bunch of spares."

"And entering this base?"

"Flashed down in between a couple of buildings. No one was there to see me, although even if there had been, all they would have seen is me popping in right in front of them."

"And I suppose there will be no issue if you were to leave the same way?"

"You suppose correctly."

The two soldiers Ironwood had left behind now followed him as they exited the building. The general brought them to another one where a soldier inside gave him a scroll. He handed it to Clark and then they walked out.

"Goodbye, soldier. I hope to see you again soon," Ironwood said to Clark. Then he turned around to return to his duties.

Clark went to a secluded area, and in a split-second he returned the clothing and was miles outside the city. He flew back to the Fortress and set the scroll on a table that had grown up out of the ground.

Kryptonian instruments scanned the device, and next to it a spot on the table shifted and transformed. Part of the table transformed into a second scroll. It should have the same capabilities as any typical Remnant scroll, but it could hold a call anywhere on the planet. So far the only contacts on it were Ironwood's and the Fortress, but hopefully that would change soon.

The device folded up into a square that could fit in Clark's hand, and he put it in one of the empty containers on his belt.

Immediately, Kryptonian letters lit up in front of his face. It looked like Jor-El wasn't going to let up with his lessons.

\\

Grimm swooped through the air, Manticores and Sphinxes flapping their wings. Many soared down to tear and destroy the port city below, but a few attacked from a distance. Balls of fire leapt out from their open maws into the snow-covered streets of Argus.

At the coast, aquatic Grimm approached, but most were hardly noticeable compared to the Leviathan. The colossal creature stepped toward the city on its hind legs and towered out of the water. When it met the hard light shields surrounding the city, its huge arms battered against them. They held, but for how long, nobody was certain.

It had been a normal afternoon for the inhabitants of the city. Children were at school, adults at their jobs, even most of the soldiers at the city's military base had expected a typical uneventful day. Instead, this was looking to be the worst Grimm incursion in the city's history.

Schoolchildren huddled in fear, going into lockdown drills and a few brave or foolish youngsters stared out the windows at the monsters above them. Workers dropped their tasks and locked themselves in their buildings. Those in the streets rushed into the nearest safe havens, and more than a few were locked out.

Even if the soldiers acted immediately, even if they used their weapons and tactics with the highest possible efficiency, even if they all sacrificed themselves to defend the city, death would enter the city.

That had been the catastrophe befalling Argus, but then, in the sky, a strange object raced by at an incredible speed. The projectile ripped through the Grimm, each one barely even beginning to dissolve before the next was obliterated.

From below, the only ones who could see it were huntsmen. Those trained to dodge and deflect bullets, but even they could only see the object as a red blur high above the city. It shot through the Grimm, darting by at impossibly sharp angles and moving like no aircraft or missile any inhabitant of Argus had seen.

In a fraction of a second, all the Grimm above the city were exterminated. However, the object continued on its speedy path. It flew down, so close to the citizens of the city that even the sharp-eyed huntsman lost track of it. Its effect, however, was very visible. The Grimm that had landed in the city were blasted apart and dissolved into nothingness.

The speedy object continued on its path, now entering the water. The surface of the water was undisturbed as it traced its way through the Grimm swimming to the city. Then, it launched out of the water, back to the city.

Death, which had seemed so certain and inevitable that multiple people stuck outside had fallen to their knees in despair, had been averted.

In one street, a truck had been overturned and a store was on fire. In a flash, a man appeared, floating above the ground. He inhaled, and with a blast of his breath, the fire was extinguished. Then, he landed by the truck and pushed it back on its tires effortlessly.

"Help! Over here!" A blond woman cried out. Beside her was another tan woman, she held a wide-eyed infant and also waved over at the man who'd just come down.

He saw the problem immediately. He flew over to them and lifted the wooden column that had trapped an elderly man. "Are you alright, sir?" he asked.

"I-I'm fine," the old man said.

The man smiled and nodded. "That's good, but I'd recommend you still check with a doctor." Then his smile vanished and he looked to the ocean. "Stay safe." He said as a final message.

The man vanished. The next moment, a column of fire flared up in the sky.

It spouted out from the mouth of the Leviathan. It had meant to aim for the city, but something had forced its head up. As soon as the realization coursed through its mind, strangely advanced for a Grimm, its entire body was lifted out of the water. It swung its heavy limbs in confusion. In its long life, it had hardly ever stepped out of the water, and never had its feet left the ground or water. Now it was being flown upwards, and to certain keen-eyed inhabitants of Argus, the only thing that could be responsible was a red and blue figure almost comically tiny in comparison to the Grimm.

Miles away, far from any civilization, the Leviathan was hurled into the open water. Once it was submerged, a sharp pain on its snout smacked its head aside and cracked bone armor. It was slightly confused, but still moved towards the swirling source of fear at the coast.

The pain came again, knocking its head aside. This time, the Leviathan spotted what had caused it, but the behemoth could hardly accept the truth. One of the tiny crawling creatures that were its prey had caused it pain. Little more than an insect.

This time, the Leviathan opened its mouth and swam forward to crush the little bug in its jaws.

Pain came for the third time. Unbearable, searing heat.

The Leviathan roared, writhing from the pain. After it recovered, the Grimm turned aside and swam away. It understood. There would be no opportunity to crush its prey and shatter their nests and burrows. Long ago, it would have obeyed the instincts to destroy without hesitation, but now it knew that more pain, perhaps even death awaited if it continued.

The man watched it leave, and then flew out of the water. He turned his eyes to the city. There were still more Grimm, but they were far away and the number had greatly reduced. Argus' military would be able to handle them.

In the water, behind the shields, was an enormous robot. It matched the Leviathan in size, but it was slumped over. Some sort of malfunction had rendered it little more than a heap of metal.

Inside was a woman, its pilot, and the man flew to her. He ripped open the robot to reveal her.

"What?!" The woman stared up, furious. "Who are you?"

"Just someone who wants to help," the man said, offering an arm. "You seem to be an Argus soldier, I can bring you back to the military base."

"I am no mere soldier. I am Caroline Cordovin, commander of the Argus Military Base!" It was telling that she chose to focus on that in this bizarre situation.

"My apologies ma'am, but I do think it's more important to get you out of the water than discuss your military rank." A friendly grin, too light-hearted to take any insult seriously.

She frowned. "Take me out, but not to the base. There are a group of criminals nearby who attempted to steal an aircraft from us. It is my lawful duty to apprehend them." She reached up for his hand.

"Sure." He took her arm, and to her surprise, he flew them through the air without any sign of equipment and towards the cliff where the criminals waited.

\\

It was all a mess.

Okay, Ruby had to admit, it was a lot to hope that a plan to steal a Bullhead from an Atlesian military base would go smoothly, but even with that in mind they were in serious trouble. Oscar and Ms. Calavera had managed to take off with a Bullhead, but then it had crashed and neither of them were answering their call.

The short mean lady in charge of the base had come after them in a giant robot which Ruby would have spent more time admiring if it hadn't been on its way to attack them. Thankfully, Pyrrha had just taken care of it by messing with its internal wiring with her Semblance. Ruby stared at the limp inactive machine in the ocean for a few seconds, as if it might suddenly start up again and charge towards them, but it didn't. She stepped back from the snowy cliffside and turned back to the group.

The giant robot hadn't been their only trouble, staying in Argus for the past few days seemed to have attracted a lot of Grimm. Ruby had felt guilty about leaving the city to deal with that while they left, but she hoped that the military could handle it. After all, Pyrrha hadn't damaged their robot too badly.

Oh, and Weiss was shouting, "This was a stupid plan anyway! I want to get the Relic to safety as much as anyone, but even if Oscar shows up right this second with the Bullhead there's no escaping military. Maybe if we give ourselves up peacefully, they'll be somewhat lenient."

Uncle Qrow shook his head. "Not yet. We're the ones with the Relic and there's still time for us to get to the base and try to take a Bullhead on our own."

"What about Oscar and Ms. Calavera?" Ruby asked.

Her uncle shook his head. "We have to leave them. Keeping the Relic safe is too important."

Ruby looked down at the lamp hanging from his hip in its shrunken form. She wanted to argue otherwise, but what if he was right? Ozpin hadn't told them what Salem wanted with the Relic, but she had sent Cinder to attack Vale during the Vytal Festival to get one of them. And how many Grimm would come to it like moths to a flame?

Ren interrupted her thoughts with a surprised breath. "Everyone, look." He pointed at the ocean.

Ruby followed his finger and then gasped. Clark. He was flying towards them, wearing a strange blue skintight suit with a red cape fluttering behind him, but it was unmistakably him. He was also carrying Cordovin, the commander of the Argus base.

After a few seconds, he reached the cliffside and floated down. Even before he reached the ground, Cordovin started shouting at them.

"All of you are under arrest! By the power vested in me by the governments of Atlas and Mistral, I swear that none of you will ever see the outside of a cell again!"

Once they touched down, Qrow swung his blade and pointed it at them. Cordovin paled and backed away, but Clark was unbothered by the sword tip at his chest.

Ruby yelled, "Uncle Qrow, what are you-

He swept his hand back to silence her. "How do we know you're actually Clark and not the phantom?"

Clark pointed at the sun. "It's a pretty bright day."

"The phantom found a way to stay in sunlight."

"He did it by redirecting sunlight, if I were doing that I would look faded like that Branwen tribe member we found in Higanbana said. Plus, I have this, which the phantom wouldn't be able to touch unless I let him." Clark held up his blue crystal with the 'S' on it, the same one that was now on his chest. It sparkled in the sunlight with its familiar alien appearance.

Qrow relaxed and put his sword down. "It's good to see you again, Clark."

"Clark!" Ruby couldn't hold back any longer and rushed forward to hug him. Tears which had welled up at the sight of him finally released and trailed down her cheeks. Behind her she heard several of the others yell and join in on the hug.

His broad, solid body didn't budge under the force. Ruby was actually the one getting crushed by the hug, but she didn't mind. She laughed aloud, happy that he'd returned.

She heard rather than saw the smile in his voice. "It's good to be back, everyone. Really."

"E-enough! All of you are under arrest!" Of course it would have been too good to be true for their reunion to be uninterrupted. Cordovin seemed to have gotten ahold of herself and was pointing a gun at them. "That includes you, flying man, if you happen to be an accomplice to these criminals."

Ruby huffed in annoyance and stopped hugging Clark to deal with her. Yang untangled herself from the hug with team JNPR. Ruby hadn't been looking until now; Qrow, Weiss, and Blake were the only ones who hadn't been part of the group hug.

Clark stepped forward and spoke up. "Ma'am, please, I'm sure we can settle this peacefully. You can put away your weapon."

"You first, all of you."

It took a few moments, and some polite looks from Clark, but they all sheathed their weapons.

"Ma'am, if you don't mind my asking, what are you arresting us for? I only arrived a few minutes ago, but I admit that these people are my friends."

"Assaulting an Atlesian military base, commandeering an Atlesian military aircraft, resisting arrest, vandalization of the Colossus, a treasured Atlesian mechanical combat machine."

Clark turned back to them for an explanation.

Qrow offered one. "We needed a Bullhead to bring the lamp to Atlas fast. She wouldn't lend us one. The rest just . . . happened."

"What about Ironwood? Couldn't you have contacted him for help?"

"Excuse me? Are you referring to General Ironwood?" Cordovin asked.

Qrow ignored her. "I don't exactly have him on speed-dial. Lionheart had a way to contact him back at Haven, but we couldn't rely on that."

"Well lucky for you, I can call him." Clark pulled out a scroll from his red belt. "Ma'am, if it will help, the general will vouch for us."

A hologram of Ironwood's face appeared from his scroll. "Mr. Kent, how can I help you?"

"General Ironwood, I'm here with Qrow and Caroline Cordovin of the Argus Military Base. He and Ozpin got into some trouble getting an important object from Haven to Atlas. Can you smooth it over for us?"

"We're counting on you, Jimmy." Qrow gave the scroll a thumbs up.

The general glared at him and then smoothed his features when talking to Clark. "I'll try. Where is Commander Cordovin?"

"Here." She was still holding up her gun. "And while you do sound and look like the noble General of Atlas' military, that is insufficient evidence to convince me that you are truly him."

"The most recent code phrase is 'The gray wolf hunts the arctic hare at midnight'. In addition, when we last spoke several months ago, you started by mentioning your spotless record of repelling Grimm incursions from Argus and then focused on asking for budget increases to add more capabilities to the Colossus at your base. Now stand down, soldier."

"S-sir, of course!" Cordovin holstered her gun and saluted.

"Now, tell me in detail what the situation is with Qrow Branwen and the young hunters accompanying him."

Clark gave Cordovin his scroll so she could talk to the general and faced them again. "So, anyone want to fill me in on how you've been while I was away?"

Qrow gave a short explanation. "We got the lamp from the phantom, and then took a train here. Some things happened on the way that we'll tell you about later. There's more important things to worry about, like how did you escape the phantom? And where is he? He's not about to come flying in to fight you, is he?"

"No, you don't have to worry about that. I've got him locked up."

"What happened, Clark?" Ruby finally asked the question that had been eating away at her ever since he'd been taken. "We were so worried about you."

His face softened. "I'm sorry. The phantom, he kept me underground so I couldn't get any sunlight and used a hostage to try and make me use this crystal to bring him back to Earth. I was pretty weak for a while, but I got out and I'm okay now. Better than okay, actually. As you've seen, I've learned a new trick." He hovered above the ground for a second and settled back down.

"Excuse me, where is Ozpin?" Ironwood asked them. Cordovin had brought the scroll closer so he could speak to them.

"He and someone else we've been working with dropped down in a Bullhead over there." Qrow pointed at the forest where they'd last seen the Bullhead.

"I'd like to speak to him," Ironwood said.

"I'll bring him over," Clark said. He rose up into the air and over the trees. Soon, he returned with Oscar and a cackling Ms. Calavera.

"Now this is the way to travel!" she said once he let her down. She looked to Ruby. "You people just get more and more interesting."

"Ironwood, you wanted to speak to me?" Ozpin, definitely not Oscar, asked.

"That's General Ironwood to you, boy," Cordovin said.

"Now is not the time, Commander. Oz, I have a few questions."

"I'll try to answer them."

Ruby ignored the discussion between Ozpin and the general, turning back to Clark. Her giddy feelings chilled when she realized what she'd forgotten. "Clark! There are a bunch of Grimm attacking the city, you have to kill them!"

He smiled. "It's alright, Ruby. I already took care of them."

Ruby looked up in the sky, and the swarm of Manticores and Sphinxes that had been there a few minutes ago were gone.

"Whoa. It really is good to have you back, Clark," Yang said.

"Why? Are you planning on regularly attracting large groups of Grimm?" His smile dropped when he saw their faces. "Wait, really?"

"The lamp attracts Grimm," Qrow said. "We're not planning on holding onto it for long, but until we get it somewhere safe, we'll be relying on you."

"Okay then. By the way, how did you convince this woman to help you guys?" Clark faced Ms. Calavera.

The old woman answered. "I happened to be on the same train that was carrying these kids to Argus. It crashed along the way because of a Grimm attack, and then they safely brought me here. Turns out little Ruby here has the same silver eyes I used to and needs a teacher, and I'm stuck with the role since there doesn't seem to be anyone else. I stayed for the Argus base heist too, since it seemed fun, and it was!"

Clark blinked, taking in her words and personality. Ruby chuckled. The cheeky old lady's first impressions were always interesting.

"The train you were on crashed?" Clark asked.

"Just the cars with Uncle Qrow and our team," Yang said. "JNPR got off lucky and their section of the train went on just fine."

"Hey, it wasn't exactly fun for us worrying about how you guys were doing and whether the Relic was safe," Jaune said.

"What about Ruby's silver eyes?" Clark faced her. "How far have you come along with them?"

"I've gotten a bit more control, but I need to train with them a lot more. It's usually fifty-fifty whether they'll activate when I'm not in a serious situation."

"Ahem." Ozpin walked to them. Cordovin followed behind him with an uncertain expression, but she didn't seem hostile anymore. It looked like their call with Ironwood had finished. "I'm pleased to say that we've managed to come to an agreement. Commander Cordovin will provide an aircraft we can use to travel to Atlas. In exchange, Clark will do a final sweep of the area and clear it of Grimm and carry the Colossus and the Bullhead we . . . damaged back to the base."

"How large of an area?" Clark asked.

"Up to five miles offshore and three miles outside the city's walls," Cordovin said.

"There is also another matter," Ozpin said. He faced Cordovin. "As the general said, we are about to discuss a sensitive topic. We would appreciate some privacy."

She huffed and walked away. Once she was out of earshot, Ozpin spoke again. "Qrow, give the Relic to Clark. Clark, we need you to bring the Relic to Ironwood. He'll keep it safe for now, but I expect with your help that we will be able to place it even further out of reach."

Clark nodded and accepted the Relic. He waved and started flying up. "Bye guys, I'll see you again soon."

He vanished, speeding away to Atlas. Ruby's chest tightened at seeing him disappear, but she reminded herself that it would be fine. He was going to be back soon.

Soon, a few military vehicles drove up to them and they were escorted back to the military base. It took a few minutes for another aircraft to be prepared for them. This one was a Manta rather than a Bullhead, smaller but it had a more streamlined appearance.

When Ruby saw the Colossus flying in the air, she grinned. It landed inside the large hangar, which was the only place in the base that could store it. She saw Clark's figure then fly out into the distance and then return with the Bullhead that Oscar and Ms. Calavera had briefly flown out of the base.

When he finished, he arrived at the Manta's ramp just as they were about to board. "Room for one more?" he asked.

"Just get in here," Qrow said.

Clark entered the Manta with them, and Ruby brightened. Her friend was back.