Disclaimer: Hippity Hoppity, the rights to the Flash and RWBY are not my property.
Third-Person Pov:
The day of the dance has arrived, and Yang is standing at a podium welcoming guests as they enter the ballroom.
"Oh, you look beautiful," Yang says to Ruby as she enters the ballroom.
Ruby looks at her choice of footwear and groans. "Can we talk about how Weiss can fight in heels?" She asks as she stumbles her way toward Yang.
"My guess is that she's more used to high heels than other types of shoes," Y/n says as he walks in behind Ruby.
"You're probably not wrong. Outside of our uniforms, I don't think I've seen Weiss wear any other type of shoes," Ruby says to Y/n.
"Need a hand?" Y/n asks.
"Yes, please," Ruby meekly says.
"Grab on," Y/n says as he walks next to Ruby and holds out his arm. Yang returns to her duty as Y/n and Ruby walk to the punch bowl. "So, whose idea was it to have you attend the dance while wearing a pair of death traps?" Y/n asks Ruby once he's sure Yang can't hear him.
Ruby sighs, "It was Weiss and Yang's idea." She looks at Y/n. "They said I needed to learn how to wear them properly one day," Ruby says as she nearly stumbles again, but luckily Y/n manages to keep her on her feet.
"In our line of work?" Y/n asks with a raised eyebrow.
"That's what I said!" Ruby shouts as the two reach the punch bowl. She lets go of Y/n's arm, grabs a cup, and pours herself a drink. Y/n follows suit and pours himself a glass too.
The two watch Blake, Sun, and Neptune arrive. And how Yang and Blake begin to share a dance.
"So, she really did manage to get Blake to show up," a voice says. Y/n and Ruby turn to the speaker and see that it's Weiss.
"I guess she did," Y/n says as he takes a sip from his drink. "And what are you doing here with us right now? I thought you'd be dancing with Neptune," Y/n says as he remembers Weiss and Neptune's interactions.
"Things didn't work out," Weiss says as she looks away from Y/n and Ruby. "I asked him to the dance, and he obviously said no," she slowly explains.
"His loss," Y/n bluntly says. "You are an amazing young woman, and any man would be lucky to get your attention, let alone be asked by you to a dance." Weiss stares blankly at Y/n with her mouth in an 'O' shape.
"Y/n is right, Weiss. You're amazing. You helped organize and set up the dance after Team CFVY's mission lasted longer than anyone expected. Sure the rough plans were there, but you helped bring them to life," Ruby cheerfully says.
"I wish they were back already," Y/n says as he takes another sip from his drink.
"Why, were you dying to be here with a certain brunette?" A fourth voice asks.
Ruby, Weiss, and Y/n all turn to look at Yang, who has a smug grin on her face.
"I'm just worried about Team CFVY," Y/n says. "Their mission wasn't supposed to last this long. They should've been back by now and enjoying this," Y/n says as he looks around the ballroom that's been wonderfully decorated and chock-full of people enjoying themselves.
"I'm worried about them too, but you still haven't answered the question. Were you dying to ask Velvet to the dance?" Yang asks.
Y/n takes another sip. "I'm not answering that question," he says. "If I say yes, you'll tease me and sing that damn song about sitting in a tree. I say no, you won't believe me, and you'll sing that damn song. So I shall remain neutral and not give a definitive answer."
Weiss looks at Y/n. "Well, between your study sessions for Oobleck's class and your movie nights together, there's been... rumors flying around saying that you and Velvet are-"
"Dating?" Y/n asks with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm well aware of those rumors," Y/n says before he takes another sip of his punch. "But that's what they are. Rumors. Velvet and I are just friends. Nothing more, and nothing less," Y/n says as he shrugs his shoulders.
"But don't you don't want to be more than friends?" Yang asks.
Y/n's eye twitches. "I already have a best friend, thank you very much! And I will never betray my best bro like that!" Y/n says before he finishes his drink. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go enjoy myself. It is a party after all." With that, Y/n walks away.
"Soooo, what do we do now?" Ruby asks.
"Have fun," Yang says before she and Weiss walk away in opposite directions.
"Wait, does that mean I can take off these stupid shoes?" Ruby asks her sister as she walks back to the podium to greet guests. With no response, Ruby lets out a deep sigh.
"Not enjoying yourself?" The voice of Professor Ozpin asks.
Ruby looks at Ozpin in surprise. She shakes her head and laughs. "Oh, no, everything's fine. I'm just not a fancy pantsy... dancy girl," she says.
"Well, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield," the professor says. "But if you think about it, dancing and combat aren't polar opposites. Two partners interlocked, although one wrong move on the dance floor only ends with a swollen foot."
"Or a twisted ankle," Ruby comments.
"I suppose so. But it isn't every day that friends can come together like this and enjoy themselves," Ozpin says as he and Ruby see Y/n asking Weiss to dance. "After all, time has a way of testing our bonds, but nights like these can help keep them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget," Ozpin says in a rare display of his age before he leaves to continue his chaperoning duties. A few minutes later, Jaune walks over to the punch bowl.
"I see you're hiding at the punch bowl too," Jaune says as he pours himself a drink.
"Yep," Ruby says.
"To the socially awkward," Jaune says as he and Ruby clink their glasses together.
"I take it things didn't work out with Weiss," Ruby says.
Jaune looks at Y/n and Weiss, who are waltzing to the music. "Yeah. But I thought Weiss would be here with Neptune. Not dancing with Y/n."
"Things didn't work out with Neptune," Ruby says. "And Y/n, well, he doesn't like seeing his friends bummed out."
"Well, at least Weiss is happy," Jaune says as Y/n and Weiss finish their dance and go sit down.
Y/n Pov:
I look at Weiss. "So, are you enjoying yourself yet?" I ask.
"You know. I think I am," Weiss says. "But, I'm honestly surprised at how proficient you are at ballroom dancing, given your... extracurricular activities."
"And I'm surprised you agreed to dance with me," I say. "Given our... less than steller past." My scroll vibrates in the morse code pattern for SOS. "One second," I say before I take it out of my pocket and check what's going on. 'That's not good.' I get up and put my scroll back into my pocket. "I've got to go. If anyone asks, tell them I got a text from my grandpa saying that my grandma is in the hospital."
"What happened?" Weiss asks.
"Hopefully, nothing permanent," I say before I walk over to a dimly lit area and phase through a wall before running to the CCT tower.
When I get inside, the Atlesian soldiers on the first floor are all limp on the ground. I quickly check to see if they have a pulse. 'None of them are dead, and there aren't any broken bones. So aside from a bruised ego, they'll be fine. But right now, I need to take down whoever broke in.' I stretch and crack my neck. 'Breaking into a comms tower. Likely for data theft. Which means that the perp is going after a control terminal.' I look at the elevator doors, one of which has the numbers steadily rising until they stop. 'Well, time to introduce myself.' I run to the elevator doors and phase through them before running up the elevator shaft until I reach the floor the terminal is on. When I get past the doors, I see a woman in black walking to the center console.
I loudly clear my throat and start distorting my voice. "You do know that this place is closed, right? But you're welcome to come back tomorrow," I say to the person. The woman turns around to look at me, and she's wearing a mask. 'Not like it'll do you any good, Miss Fall. You did nothing to change your hair or hide your eyes.'
"Hello, Flash," Cinder says in a way that has the hair on the back of my neck stand up. 'Well, that's ominous.' She starts walking toward me. "I've heard a lot about you," she says.
'Well, time to use that Garrick charm grandpa and grandma say I have.' I stand still as Cinder closes the distance. I flash a small grin, the kind I use when dealing with annoying groupies. "All good things, I hope."
"The best," she says. "They say you have the power of a god, that you protect the people." She grabs my arm, and the heat from her hand feels intense, painful even, but I've had worse, so I don't physically react to it. She looks me in the eyes. "But they never say why."
"Do I need a reason to help people?" I ask with a confused look on my face.' I know that look in her eyes. They're the eyes of a madman, well, madwoman in this case.'
"No, I guess not," she says before letting go of my arm and taking a few steps back. "But why do you bother serving those weaker than you? After all, in spite of everything you've done for the people. Eventually, they will hate you ."
'Saying that helping people for the sake of helping is a waste of time.' I clench my teeth. 'That's complete and utter BULLSHIT! And who cares if people hate me for what I do? That's been happening since the day I decided to put on the suit.'
I take a deep breath and calm down. I look Cinder in the eye. "You make it sound like I help those who are weaker than me because I want their admiration and thanks. But you couldn't be more wrong about me. I believe that the strong should protect the weak. That if you have the power to do good things for people, then you have a moral obligation to do those things. That's why I do what I do. Simple as that," I say.
"Then you're a fool," Cinder says with what I'm guessing is a look of disgust on her face.
"And you are a heartless bitch that only craves power. Everyone and everything else be dammed. I've met people like you before. And I've taken them down. So your plans for global domination end here, Miss Fall," I say before instantly closing the distance between Cinder and I and sucker-punching her in the stomach.
Third-Person Pov:
"But even if I wasn't here to stop you," Y/n says as Cinder gasps for air. "Even if you did acquire the full power of the Fall Maiden and somehow managed to acquire the power of the other three. You'd meet your end eventually, because Humanity won't sit idly by as you take their freedom from them. But back to what is, instead of what could have been. I doubt you'll make it far enough to take all of that power for yourself. After all, you are working with the Reverse-Flash. Which means you're already doomed. Because once you no longer serve a purpose in his plans." Y/n vibrates his hand and harmlessly passes it through his chest before he removes it. "He'll kill you to tie up any loose ends," Y/n says before he shrugs his shoulders. "But it's already too late for you to stop working with him. If you back out, he'll kill you anyway or ruin your life and then kill you." The Flash walks over to Cinder, his eyes glowing an eerie electric blue and lightning arcing off his arms and legs. "That's why he 'asked' for your help. He needed a distraction. Someone to keep me away from what he was planning."
Cinder backs away from the Flash and grabs a dust bottle from her belt before opening it. The powder escapes its container in the form of a glowing cloud before condensing into several large shards of volcanic glass. Cinder sends the shards flying at the Flash, who dodges them faster than the eye can track. Y/n catches several of the shards and throws them back at Cinder, who narrowly manages to avoid them. Few manage to graze off her, and one keeps flying until it reaches the terminal and explodes, destroying the console.
"Oh no, I guess you can't keep going with your super secret evil plan to take over the world one kingdom at a time. Shame," Y/n sarcastically states before he charges at Cinder. Cinder summons a set of glass blades and takes a swing at the Flash, but Y/n vibrates fast enough to shatter the blades the moment they make contact. "Ooh, that looks like it would have hurt," Y/n says before he kicks Cinder's legs out from under her. "So did that," Y/n says. Cinder gets back on her feet and uses dust to create a bow and arrows before opening fire. As she does so, parts of her outfit glow orange. Y/n sidesteps most of the arrows. The rest he catches and throws back at Cinder with pinpoint accuracy. The arrows strike Cinder and explode with enough force to send her flying out a window. Y/n looks at the window and tilts his head.
"Been a while since I sent someone out a window," Y/n mutters to himself before he runs to the broken window. "Judging by her velocity, point of take off, and the angle she went out the window, she should land right about." The Flash speeds out of the CCT and creates a wind funnel that prevents Cinder from becoming very familiar with the pavement. "Here," Y/n says before he stops rotating his arm. With nothing to keep her from falling, Cinder faceplants and breaks her mask with a nearly silent crunch. "I hope that mask wasn't expensive," Y/n comments.
Cinder doesn't respond verbally. Instead, she gets back on her feet and creates another sword before taking a swing at the Flash. Y/n catches her wrist and forces the blade out of her grip. Then he kicks her legs out from under her with enough force to shatter her aura and break her right leg, causing Cinder to lose her balance and fall to the ground. With Cinder incapacitated, Y/n inspects the blade she attacked him with.
Y/n scratches his chin. "Hmm, you could likely make a fortune selling these. They'd make wonderful centerpieces if nothing else," he says. "Such a shame they break so easily," he says in a disappointed tone before he vibrates his hand and shatters the blade. The shards fall to the ground. Y/n walks over to Cinder, and the broken glass crunches beneath his heels. "I suggest you surrender," Y/n says. "You're in no condition to fight." Cinder doesn't move from her place on the ground. The Flash tilts his head. He goes to check for a pulse but Cinder springs to life and stabs him in the throat. Lightning stops arcing off Y/n, the glow from his eyes and suit slowly fades, he slumps forward, and blood slowly begins to leak from his throat.
"And to think you're the one who caused me so much trouble," Cinder says as she twists the knife. "But despite all your power, you're still just a man. You'll die like everyone else who got in my way!" Cinder flashes a sadistic grin. "That fool in yellow had no idea what he was talking about. You're a complete and utter moron! So why did he think you'd be able to stop what Salem has planned!? To stop me from claiming the power that is rightfully mine!?" Cinder shouts before removing the knife. Cinder stands up and heavily favors her left leg, and Y/n's body falls limp on the ground. "Pathetic," Cinder says before she starts limping away from the Flash's corpse.
But once the Flash is out of her sight, she hears a harsh distorted growl. Cinder looks back at the Flash and sees that his body is missing. All that remains is the surprisingly small puddle of blood. And then she hears an ear-shattering demonic howl coming from the shadows around her. Y/n suddenly appears in front of Cinder, with his eyes glowing and suit once more and lightning arcing off him with a vengeance. He grabs Cinder by the throat and looks her in the eyes.
"Thanks for the information," he says with amusement heavily present in his voice.
"How the hell are you still alive?" Cinder rasps out as she claws at the Flash's arm. Only to get nowhere as Y/n's aura and suit protect him.
"It's simple, you may have outsmarted me, but I outsmarted your outsmarting," Y/n says before pointing to his throat. "But go ahead, try again if you feel lucky." Cinder looks at the Flash angrily and draws her knife again, but the Flash lets go of her, and she falls to the ground. Y/n steps on the heels of her shoes and breaks them off. "There, no escaping now," Y/n says before he grabs a USB drive from his belt. "Remember this? You're probably wondering how I got it off you. But a magician never reveals his secrets," Y/n says before he passes his index finger and thumb across his lips like he's fastening a zipper. "But just to make sure you don't pull a stunt like this again." Y/n crushes the USB with his hand and vibrates its remains into dust. He then pulls an earpiece from his belt and drops it on the ground before crushing it under his heel. "And now you have no way to call for backup."
"I'm not afraid of you!?" Cinder shouts as she points her knife at Y/n.
Y/n looks at Cinder and smirks. "Your eyes say otherwise," he bluntly says to Cinder before he knocks her out with a kick to the head. "I need to report this to Ozpin. As well as make sure Sustrai can't put any backup plans into action." Y/n places a hand on his chin and looks towards the ballroom. "Come to think of it. She's likely at the dance to keep an eye on the professors, so I can't take her down without drawing suspicion." Y/n looks back to Cinder. "Where do I leave her?"
"Um, excuse me? Mister Flash, sir," a voice meekly says.
Y/n turns to look at the speaker and sees that it's Ruby, who has Cresent Rose out in its rifle mode. Y/n looks blankly at her for a few seconds. "Um, hello, Ma'am," Y/n awkwardly says.
Y/n Pov:
'Crap, what the hell do I do? This has never happened before.' I look around the place. 'Please let there be a professor near here. Someone should have heard me screaming like a zombie. I need an excuse to get out of here and have Cinder taken into custody. Wait, I've got it!'
"Didn't I save you from the Atlesian prototype," I say with a raised eyebrow. 'This should get Ruby to mention she's a Beacon student. Which should, in turn, allow me to ask her to contact Ozpin about the security Breach.'
Ruby looks away from me. "I wouldn't call it saving," she says. "You took care of the whole thing before my team and I even had a chance to see if we could take it down," she quietly says.
"My apologies," I say, which causes Ruby to look at me in shock. "But given how many cars that mech threw off the bridge, I couldn't take any risks." I look in the direction of the auditorium. "Say, isn't the academy having a dance right now? Why are you out here?"
"I'm not one for dances, besides I heard this really loud noise and thought I should investigate."
"Well, it's a good thing you did because now I can contact Headmaster Ozpin about this," I say as I point at Cinder. "Without raising questions on why I was here." I look back to Ruby, whose eyes have become even wider.
"Wait, I know her!" Ruby shouts. "Her name is Cinder. She's a Haven student. She and her team came here to compete in the Vytal Festival."
I look at Ruby and raise my eyebrow again. "What can you tell me about this team?"
"Well, Cinder is the leader of team Cement. Her teammates are Emerald, Mercury, and Noire," Ruby says as she shifts Cresent Rose into carry mode.
"Then it's likely this one here isn't working alone," I say as I grit my teeth. 'No, not by a long shot,' I look at the auditorium again. "Go get a professor, preferably Ozpin or Miss Goodwitch. I'll keep an eye on Cinder while you get them here," I say.
"Right," Ruby says after a moment of hesitation. Then, she takes off toward the ballroom while using her semblance.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and let out a deep sigh. 'Oh man, this is going to be a long night. I can feel the headache forming right now. This week is already off to a very crappy start. Not like last week was any better between dealing with Zoom and Deathstroke, discovering my semblance, almost burning Mercury to death, then fighting Thawne and making him extra-crispy. What's next? Do I have to fight Amazo or something? No, wait, no, don't jinx it!' I let out another sigh. 'Can I just have some peace and quiet for once? Is that too much to ask for? Apparently, yes, yes, it fucking is!' I take a few deep breaths. 'I should really take Jaune up on his offer to talk things out before I blow a gasket.' I look around the area again. 'This is going to be a boring couple of minutes.'
Third-Person Pov:
After a few minutes, Ruby returns with both Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch. The three catch a glimpse of Cinder bound with ropes and duct tape.
"She woke up and tried to escape," Y/n says without prompting. "Knocked her out again and ran to a hardware store to get the rope and duct tape, and here we are."
Ozpin blinks. "I see," he says. "And how did you acquire the materials?"
Y/n shrugs. "With perfectly legal tender that I acquired lawfully at my place of employment by performing my duties," he deadpans. "But now for the more pressing matter." Y/n points at Cinder. "I caught her trying to do something with a control terminal in the CCT. Either for data theft or to hack into the communications network and interfere with global communications somehow. I don't know, and I have other things to worry about right now. Like the man in black," Y/n bitterly says. "Besides. I doubt you'd like any attention to be drawn to this... incident," Y/n says as he gestures to Cinder. "I'll leave it to you to figure out how to proceed with this. But if you want me to explain what happened, I'll tell you tomorrow morning with General Ironwood. After all, the men in the building were under his command. But right now, I have other work to do," Y/n says before he vanishes in a blinding flash of light.
A/n: Here we go. Another chapter is done.