The REDS of war

Volume Seven Chapter Seven

Penny Polendina sits alone on an examination table in Pietro Polendina's Atlas laboratory. A robotic arm reaches out and gently pats her head, before moving away. She sadly looks at her reflection in a nearby glass wall.

The giant screens in Mantle play a message from James Ironwood, while a woman in a red coat nervously carries her child across a street. "Citizens of Mantle - Following the most recent Grimm attack, a temporary prohibition of assembly is in place." The woman holds her child in a more protective manner and watches as three Mantas fly overhead.

Some buildings in the city have soldiers stationed atop their roofs.

"There are to be no public gatherings of any kind. Please conduct your business and return to your homes before curfew."

Two of the children Jaune Arc previously escorted to school are hiding behind a dumpster in an alleyway, while a soldier and a camera drone pass by.

"This is for your own safety."

Two soldiers walk out from behind a corner and see two civilians walking along a sidewalk.

"Hey, stop right there!" One of the soldiers shouts.

The Civilian gasps. "Run." The two civilians run away, and the soldiers pursue them.

"Stop running! Wait!"

Metal bars cover nearby TV screens, which are playing a news broadcast that shows Arthur Watts' edited footage of the attack at Robyn Hill's party. "Though military officials have gone on record to say the footage was doctored, many citizens are still insisting that the Protector of Mantle be deactivated."

An armored truck drives past the TV's and continues on its way down the road, while Robyn Hill, Joanna Greenleaf and Fiona Thyme follow it via the rooftops. The Atlesian Knight-200 drivers bring the truck to a screeching halt when they find May Marigold standing in its path.

"Civilian, you are obstructing an Atlas military operation. Please, step aside." The driver mech says.

Down the road to the left, a pair of soldiers come running from around a corner to check on the source of screeching tires. "Everything alright over here?" When the soldiers make it around the corner, they only see an empty intersection. "Uhhh, hello?"

May is using her Semblance to project a dome around the truck and the Happy Huntresses, which renders them invisible to all outside the dome. Fiona is sitting on the truck's hood, while Joanna pushes the damaged AK-200 robots out of it. Robyn stands nearby, overseeing them. Fiona places her hand on the truck, and a shockwave travels from the truck to her hand, which shimmers with Aura. The truck begins disintegrating from the back, forward. Fiona jumps down from the hood, and the powder flows into a black hole in her palm, which disappears as she makes a fist.

Sometime later, Ironwood is in his office, reviewing footage of the truck becoming invisible. "This is the worst case scenario." He angrily slams his fist on his desk. "More people are dead, Penny's been framed, and somehow, Jacques Schnee is sitting on the council."

Dusk Kai, Rei Ferrari, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Ruby Rose, Qrow Branwen, Winter Schnee and Clover Ebi are present in Ironwood's office.

"That's the second shipment for Amity that was hit today. It seems election night was the last push Robyn needed to go from hometown hero to full-on vigilante." Clover says.

"I'm afraid the problem is more complicated than that." Dusk says.

Ironwood sighs and begins pacing behind his desk. "It seems Robyn has emboldened our suppliers in Mantle. They're refusing to sell us provisions until the city is adequately repaired. With Robyn redistributing the goods her team has stolen, the Amity Project is completely stalled."