Chapter 4
The rest of the day after that went by as usual, albeit a little quiet... likely because of what happened. After my last class, Yang and I made our way to Ozpin’s office while Weiss and Blake left for Weiss’ place. We sat outside his office until Uncle Qrow arrived, to which he and I went inside while Yang stayed outside. Inside, Ozpin and Goodwitch inform Qrow of what happened. At the end of the day though, Ozpin only gave me detention for a day when considering my track record and the fact that it was in self defense.
Glynda: “Well, it seems you're lucky that Ozpin is so understanding Ms. Rose. So I suppose I can still allow you to retake your test. Why don’t you see your uncle out while I prepare my class.” On our way out, Qrow, Yang and I head one way while Goodwitch went the other. Things were... awkward on our way out until we reach the door.
Qrow: “Yang, you wait outside. I need to talk with Ruby real quick.”
Yang: “I uh... think I’m gonna go ahead and head for Weiss’ place. We all agreed we’d meet there after school for uh... group study. Right, Ruby?”
Ruby: “Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Qrow: “Fine. Just don’t be out too late. I don’t need anymore problems.” Yang just leaves and heads for the train station. *sigh*”You know when I got that call from Oz because someone had caused trouble, I was obviously expecting it to be Yang since that’s who it’s always been since day one... so imagine my genuine surprise when I heard the exact opposite. You seriously almost gave me a heart attack, kid.”
Ruby: “But Uncle Qrow, it wasn’t my fault, it was-”
Qrow: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, the bully kid started it. But you sure as hell finished it. Look, I am proud that you were able to stand up for yourself for once, but you clearly didn’t seem to know your own strength since you also managed to knock him out. You're lucky the guy came to before school let out.” I’ve never seen Uncle Qrow go off like this... at me at least. *sigh*”Look kid, I get it. Like Yang, you’re growing up, so you’re probably going through a lot of changes. But here’s the thing about change: it’s actually the greatest power that we all have. But like with all things, with great power comes great responsibility. So long as you understand that, then you’ll have no trouble making something of yourself in the future.” Huh. I actually never even thought of that. Qrow always was surprisingly wise like that. “Now here’s how we’re gonna do this: you’re gonna serve your detention tomorrow and barring anymore trouble, we can still see that movie this weekend. Deal?” Heh. Of course Uncle Qrow would walk around trouble like this. He never really the disciplining type with me and Yang.
Ruby: “Deal.”
Qrow: “Good.” And we fist bump to seal the deal. “Now you better get going if you’re gonna make that test and to your little group study. I gotta get back to the station anyway. I can only be gone for so long before Captain Tomo gets on my ass for ditching my job.” Oh yeah, Vernal did get that promotion over the summer. I almost forgot about that. I’m so use to her being Qrow’s fellow detective, but I guess she always was more responsible than he is despite him honestly being the better detective. “Good luck, kiddo.” And now we finally part ways and I make it to Goodwitch’s classroom. Upon arrival, I take my seat and work through my test without any issues this time. Perhaps hearing what Qrow said just now helped clear my head a little. Afterwards, once I turn in the test, Goodwitch finally said something.
Glynda: “You know, Ruby, today’s events weren’t exactly what I expected of you when this new semester started, since you always were one of our best students. As it stands, I can easily let this go with it still being the second day. And to step out my teaching role a bit, it is a bit refreshing to finally see Cardin get what he deserves for tormenting you all these years. But you did still go overboard and knocked him out. It is clear to me that something has really changed about you, which I understand can be difficult to overcome, but I still advise you to be cautious as time passes. Not every challenge in life will be as straightforward as Cardin was.”
Ruby: “Don’t worry Professor. As long as I have friends like Weiss and Blake, and my sister around, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Glynda: “Very good, then. You’re dismissed.” Finally, I was able to leave the school and make my way to Weiss’ place. Meanwhile, over at the SDC, we see Cinder in her lab scrambling through her files and has clear signs of lack of sleep with her frazzled hair and the dark circles around her eyes.
Cinder: “Raaaagh! There’s nothing here that explains Summer’s reasoning! Gragh!” As she throws a bunch of papers off her desk all over the floor. “Dammit! I can’t believe a freaking child figured this out before me! ME! The head scientist of this whole building!” Deep breath, and... release. “Like mother, like daughter indeed. And on top of that, one of my spiders is missing. Schnee is definitely going to be up my ass for this one, if Glass decides to rat me out for it.” She sat down at her desk clearly really stressed out. “Still... the fact that Ruby is Summer’s spitting image somehow feels like Summer is mocking me from beyond the grave... Which I suppose would be karmic justice for me, after what I did...” She started having flashbacks of fires and explosions and quick visions of Summer’s face. “NO! No! No! No! Get out of my head, Summer!” Getting up from her chair and stepping back without looking, she accidently slips on her spread out papers, which sent her crashing into the containers of her super serum. The glass breaking left cuts on her arms and thus allowing the serum to slip into her blood stream and the crash itself left her unconscious. And after being out for about a minute, a strange voice could be heard in her head. One that sounded very much like her own but with a more... sinister tone.
???: “Perhaps it’s time we take matters into our own hands yet again. Heheheheh... Hahahahaha!” Cutting back to me as I get off the train and make it to Weiss’ building. And finally, I make it up to her penthouse.
Ruby: “Hey, guys. Sorry I took so long. The train system was kinda delayed.”
Weiss: “Don’t worry about it. It gave me time to do a complete system’s check to make sure everything we needed was in working order. Here. Change into this and we can get started.” She hands me one of her night shirts, likely to act as a makeshift hospital gown. Once I change into it and leave my clothes on the living room couch, we head into the lab. “The only real tests I believe would yield the best results is a blood analysis and a full bio scan.”
Ruby: “Probably the best idea without wasting too much time either.”
Weiss: “With that in mind, I want to go ahead and draw the blood sample to allow the computer to analyze it while we move on to the bio scan. So if you would please sit down?” Upon taking the offered seat, Weiss carefully uses her in hand needle to draw my blood, and quickly patches it once she draws enough for a whole sample. Then she removes the needle from the vial, closes up the vial and sticks it into a bio reader. “PENNY? Have this blood thoroughly analyzed, if you please?”
PENNY: “Certainly, Ma’am.” Ah, yes. Good old PENNY. Weiss’ personal, custom-made AI assistant who basically runs all of Weiss’ homemade tech.
Weiss: “While we wait for that, let’s move on to the bio scan. If you could please lie down on the operating table.” Upon doing as I was told, the bio scanner hangs over and commences the scan over my whole body. “Okay. PENNY? Make sure to analyze this scan data on top of the blood sample.”
PENNY: “Yes, Ma’am.”
Weiss: “The full analysis will take a few minutes with PENNY running it. You can go ahead and change back into your regular clothes. I let you know when the results are in.” I head back into the living room where Blake and Yang stayed in wait.
Yang: “That was fast.” As I grab my clothes from the couch.”
Blake: “Well, it was just a bio scan and some blood extraction. All that’s left is to analyze that data.” As I head into the bathroom and change. Afterwards, I sit beside Yang on the couch and wait a few more minutes until Weiss came in to tell us to follow her into the lab since the results have came in.
Weiss: “Even though it was just blood and a bio scan, the analysis picked up some good data. PENNY, if you please?”
PENNY: “Of course, Ma’am. My analysis detected Ms. Rose’s change in strength as well as a unique enhancement in her mind. More detailed analysis shows that this enhancement applied to her sense of awareness, essentially giving her a potential warning alarm, letting her sense incoming danger and people.”
Ruby: “So that was the cause of that strange feeling in my head.”
PENNY: “On top of that, I detected a change in the electromagnetism of her hands and feet. This change could potentially allow her to control her own static electricity in her hands and feet to allow her to stick to possibly any surface, so long as she’s able to control her bodies tension: tensing her limbs to stick to things and relaxing them to let go.”
Blake: “That and her new strength could explain what happened with the door knob.”
Ruby: “It stuck to me because I was tense from freaking out over it. My talk with Qrow afterwards must’ve been what helped me relax enough for it to unstick and hence how Qrow was able to take it from me with ease.”
PENNY: “Of course all of these changes had to come from somewhere and hence where the blood analysis comes into play. Many irregularities were found in her blood’s make up. These irregularities seemed to be chemically fabricated and so I compared it to databases of any and all chemical concoctions made through out history, including those made by the Schnee Dust Company and found the substance to be fairly similar to the experimental super soldier serum currently under development by Dr. Cinder Fall. This is backed up by the irregularities also containing substances akin to the venom held by certain spider breeds, such as the ones currently held by Dr. Fall in her lab.”
Ruby: “Wait... WHAT!?”
Yang: “But how!?”
Blake: “Wait a minute... didn’t Cardin point out that one of the spiders were missing yesterday?” Then I get realization!
Ruby: *gasp*”Oh no...” That spider bite from yesterday...
Weiss: “You think it actually escaped and eventually found it’s way to Ruby?”
Ruby: “I think it actually did...” They all look at me. “Before bed last night, a spider did bite my hand. But I was already pretty worn out at that time and bugs are always getting into these apartments anyway, so I didn’t even think much of it at the time and instinctively smacked it dead anyway.”
Blake: “That could’ve very well been Dr. Fall’s missing spider.”
Weiss: “PENNY, is there any way to actually confirm any of this with more than just this data?”
PENNY: “Dead or not, biological tissue of any sort of creature can be analyzed to determined certain facts, otherwise events like forensic investigations into the death’s of people wouldn't be able to identify their victims if they couldn’t do so by their face. If we can collect that spiders corpse and run tests on it’s tissues, we should have an answer.”
Weiss: “Then it’s obvious what we need to do. We’ll break for today, Ruby and Yang can search for the spider and bring here when we reconvene tomorrow.”
Yang: “Oh yeah, sure. Finding a tiny spider in a whole living room full of furniture and potential blind spots. Can't be too hard...”
Ruby: “There’s no need for sarcasm, Yang. I’m pretty sure I can find it if a search around where it bit me.”
Weiss: “Seems your definitely more confident than before, but I’m not complaining. So, with that in mind...” She grabs a small vial and some tweezers and hands them to me. Use these tweezers to grab and place it into this vial for safe transport. We can begin tests immediately once we reconvene here after school.”
Blake: “Barely even started the school year and yet it’s definitely the most interesting one.”
Yang: “Well, someone sure is excited about all of this...” Now with all of that said and done, Blake, Yang and I leave to go home and we split off Blake at the subway station. “Are you sure you’re okay, Ruby? This whole thing going on with you... I’m sure this is putting a lot on your mind, since this whole thing relates to that whole thing we talked about with Mom.” She’s not wrong but...
Ruby: “Of course it bothered me at first. If this really is coming from some super spider, then I’m basically becoming some kind of... mutant freak, or something. But as I continue to think about it, I just can’t help but feel that this is all happening to me for a reason. Like I’m actually meant to have these new abilities of mine.”
Yang: “You can’t be serious. None of this normal!”
Ruby: “Maybe not, but you have to remember, this is all brought about by a creation of science. And it’s with science that allows practically anything to be possible. If this really is from something that Mom made, then I need to find how deep this rabbit hole goes. I need to know just how much this will impact my future. Especially after hearing what Uncle Qrow said back at school, even if he was just being metaphorical with my changing as I grow rather than these powers.”
Yang: “And what’s that?”
Ruby: “That with great power comes great responsibility. But first I need you to trust me to be able to actually do this. Otherwise it just feels like that I’m facing this alone.”
Yang: “I...*sigh* Look, it’s not that I don’t trust you. I’m just worried because, unlike you, I have hard time understanding this stuff without you guys here to help, and so it makes me feel like I won’t actually be to do anything to help... We already lost both our parents... I just don’t wanna lose you too.”
Ruby: “Yang...” Incoming hug. “I get that you’re worried. But I promise you, I’m not going anywhere. But you also can’t protect me from everything. Even without these powers happening, I’m already heading into a dangerous field with wanting to become a scientist. But that’s the choice I made myself. I need to be one to face those dangers on my own. All I ask from you is to able to support my choices. No matter how dangerous they may be. Okay?” She stays silent for a quick minute before finally returning the hug and calming down.
Yang: “Okay. I’m still pretty hesitant, but regardless of that, I’ll always be there to support your decisions. No matter how reckless or dangerous.” Despite how different we may be, Yang is still my big sister. So I know I can always count on her in my toughest times. After another minute or so, we finally separate and make it home. Meanwhile, we see a SDC warehouse outside the city that suddenly exploded. The only other thing seen among the scene is a silhouette of… someone atop some kind of small aircraft flying away from the explosion, laughing all the way with a clearly feminine voice.
???: “Hahahahaha!” Whoever this mystery woman is, they are essentially what served as the start of my upcoming journey.