A Fate of Two Leaders

Sounds of small metallic clicking echoed inside a room with two people. It was a workshop where Pietro had been storing the device after it had been field tested and thus available for Hanns to use.

"Damn it, I can't quite get the back right."

He argues with himself, stressing over how much effort he had to do. It had been already an hour at this point.

"Why didn't I think Pietro would forget to add a single unified mechanism to control my skin opening up?" He wrestles with the feeling of his innards crunching together. "Bollocks! Hold on, I have to try again."

His body seemingly shifted plates back to a more exposed body, metallic sheen of pure silver shone while he concentrated again.

"I really hope I don't have to do this much effort over and over."

Blake behind him coughs. "Ehem, you've said that 39 times this hour. It's safe to say you're going to repeat trying. Don't worry we can always wait, we have time."

That was a lie, they were going to be late either way.

Hanns was preparing to try on his body and he practiced this entire time just trying to make his body not look like the human equivalent of a dog slinky.

"I'm sorry that I have a delay, Blake. It didn't seem important for the Doctor to add a mirror for me to check if I don't expose metal through the surface." He sarcastically comments.

Blake's ears flicked as she looks up from her scroll. "Hanns, it's alright. At least it would be better since I can look at you from an outside perspective."

"Hmm… I guess so. There's barely any way I can look at my back without stretching my neck out with Overclock... There!" Hanns thought he was done.

Satisfied by his success he looks toward Blake. "Well?"

"Your face has a split down at your nose." She points to his straight nose being pried open without him knowing so.

"Argh! That's the fourth time in the same spot." He was getting frustrated at the failure.

"Actually it's the sixth time."

Hanns once more had his body shift from the inside, he looked like an endoskeleton from the outside because of the segmenting body.

"Hanns, your eyes are changing again."

"Really?!" He groaned. "Pietro is a genius but when it comes to small things like these, he can get scatterbrained. Is it going random again? What color is it this time?"

"Greenish with maybe blue sprinkled in… oh, it changed to a deep red this time... it looks nice." She compliments.

Hanns evolved, instead of being in a game, he became the computer itself by literally having RGB eyes that sometimes show up for no reason. It came from a small error Pietro overlooked when making the eyes.

"Thanks but it doesn't matter if I can't even get my whole body right. To think I suffered so much with the legs before this. I swear I became a newborn baby with how much I fell over."

She chuckled before getting an idea. "How about this, instead of getting it fitted normally by just talking to you or using pictures - I can always try moving it for you."

"That shouldn't work, we tried that before, didn't we? Pietro explicitly said the things moving my innards are very tough since it's made up of Penny's materials."

"No, I don't mean moving it physically, I meant feeling where you are at the moment as opposed to seeing. You know… similar to how you get something stuck in between your teeth and try locating it with your tongue?"

"That's a very specific example but I get it. Here's the thing, unless it deforms me in some way, I can't feel anything like a normal person."

"You still feel heat right? How about this, try forming your surface properly. Your current form is too tall for me but if you start adjusting from piloted to robot form, I could reach where you are and touch you."

Hanns finally shrugged normally before he complied and started compressing his body.

His towering height of 8 feet was almost the level of his viewport from before without crumpling himself down.

In pilot form, he didn't look human at all, his body was more rigid and aggressively looking.

He had edges and a lot more machines in shape and full of plates that overlapped, all the while vague sections of human body parts were laid in sections all over the surface.

The one way to describe Hanns' piloted form was 'cursed'.

This was supposed to be a way for a person to fit inside all the while having enough power and gears to make sure the suit functioned and eventually could compact itself and transform into a human body.

It was bulky and more mech than human but the engineering shone through when no one was there at all.

A myriad of moving parts is present so that it could make itself more compact, specifically for Hanns to move. It didn't require Overclock because all the parts moved naturally, like how he can control his tracks but not rip them apart without his semblance.

Hanns slowly transitioned from his initial height to a slightly believable height of about 7 feet.

It was more height than expected because Pietro had to admit trying to create a body that could function as a suit and then turn into a realistic human body was hard to create and pack into such a small size.

"Okay…" Blake muttered as she reach over to Hanns' face on the tips of her toes since she was shorter than him. "Feel that? Move over this part here… you have an exposed neck too."

She starts helping out Hanns by physically letting Hanns get a better grasp on how his inner workings function. "We're done." Blake steps back to look at Hanns' new body.

'Wow, now that he doesn't have weirdly placed fingers, disjointed arms, or an exposed skull - Hanns looks…' She stopped as her voice held back from finding a word to describe him.

Aside from his height, he looked fairly normal - at least by what standards he placed. Pietro had done an amazing job making him as close as possible to the real thing.

His body went from an amalgamation of metal and vaguely flesh to an immaculate young adult man, maybe in his mid or early twenties, with a lean build and short blonde hair. Combined with a well-developed face and a sharp jawline.

It was the image of a well-kept person with an atmosphere of an approachable yet dangerous person, alluring yet fear-inducing if he wanted to, but respectable if you look deep enough.

Hanns was supposed to have light blue eyes but his error made him flicker eye colors ever so often and sometimes would go cycle through a color spectrum, like reds to oranges or blues to greens.

He was a generic good-looking person just as he requested but he severely underestimated how much Pietro had put work into making him the ultimate life form.

This was completely different from his scrawny look before he got violated by the Moderator when he got dragged into oblivion.

Hanns didn't actually care how he looked, he was a gamer before all of this after all, but the benefits of being an adonis were a good addition if he wanted to reveal himself to the world.

His ancestors would be proud if not for the fact in reality Hanns was a Warthunder addict, the worst kind of addict just after a heroin addict.

"That was much better than taking pictures, I could actually feel where the thing goes other than basing it off guesses. It felt like trying to charge your phone without looking and somehow missing the socket. Right, Blake?"

He looks towards Blake who had been unblinking for the past few seconds and the lack of response made Hanns curious.

"…"

"Blake?"

"Huh?" She blurts out. "Oh… yeah… sure." She pauses yet again. "Anyways! We should head to the others. I'll get the VAF-121 to carry you."

"Blake, I'm not a tank anymore. I can comfortably fit inside places without demolishing an entire building."

"…Sorry, I just got used to you usually being too big to fit in buildings. It's like a natural response at this point. Hold on, I think Ruby is messaging me."

She checks her scroll to see a notification sent by Ruby. "They went ahead of us 30 minutes ago. Why only tell us now that they already left?"

"That's just typical Ruby, we can catch up anyways. Let's move to the airfield so we can use a jet as long as you hold on inside."

"…No need, Hanns. I've already called that we're arriving in a VAF-121. Besides, someone is going to come over to pick us up, I don't want to cancel just as they are about to arrive."

"Oh, alright. Let's hope the headmaster doesn't mind our sudden visit. Unlike the old Atlas, I won't bring an entire army over. Not yet at least."

~

Meanwhile...

Yang was always a person that demanded attention, not just because of her looks but because she always considered herself an outgoing person.

Yang is a fairly tall girl with fair skin and long flowing golden hair that reached far to her back, and eyes that had an illustrious lilac tint. Her personality matched her appearance in more ways than one, so she was used to attention - either wanted or unwanted.

Even then... she still was surprised at the reception after they had landed with escorts.

This situation was not what she usually expected, it wasn't a welcoming party to be fair but it felt like one considering the school as well as Vale itself stood gawking at them as soon as they stepped out of their vehicles.

"Urgh... now I feel conscious of how I look."

"Keep quiet, Yang," Weiss uttered. "Keep your chin up and chest out, we have an image to uphold and I'm not letting you taint the look of the Volksreich's ministers."

"Chest out eh?" she smiled and stares at the board that was Weiss' unremarkable features. "Heh, all this talk on an image but yours doesn't look too much from me- ow!"

Weiss took the chance to elbow Yang's side as they walked flanked by soldiers. "Silence... besides I'm quite comfortable not lugging around heaps of fat."

"That's just an excuse and you know it." Yang winces as another camera flash made her shut her eyes. "Hey... is all this attention really needed? We're just going to school but everyone's talking about it."

"It's not a surprise, we supposedly are only students from Vale. I am the only native to Atlas yet everyone is working for the Volksreich. Imagine how the Vytal festival would work now that everyone saw the removal of an old country. Especially when we are the ones leading it."

"Not really, isn't Hanns the one who masterminded all of this?"

"Don't downplay your contributions, running it smoothly is a product of everyone's dedication to the cause of uniting the world against the Grimm. It's why we have the symbol of every kingdom on our flag."

"About that... who made this? I haven't seen that symbol before. Does it mean something?"

They stared at the flags swaying in the wind, they were in front so they had the closest look. Though, the colors were already eye-catching.

"Ask Hanns about the symbol but I think Torchwick had them made recently, he said it'll be put around the city in Atlas eventually."

The conversation finished as soon as they reached a bullhead heading for the academy. Ozpin emphasized not landing directly in the school so they agreed to stop along Vale before going to Beacon.

"Excuse me, Fuhrer."

She gets hailed as a voice behind her calls for her title. She turns just as they were about to ride on the bullhead. "Grylls, what is it?"

"Is it wise to not let someone pilot this? What if this is an opportunity to assassinate you?"

"Don't worry, I doubt anyone other than rebels would be so foolish to attack us. We're one bombing run away from flattening any city in Remnant. It'd be suicide to attack us. Isn't that right, pilot?"

The pilot in question shakes in place, it was the same person she used to throw money at when they were journeying to Mountain Glenn. He wasn't going to anger someone in such a position of power.

"Y-yes... Miss Weiss- Eek!"

The major pulls out his gun on the man and points it to his head as the bullhead closed its doors. "You dare address the Fuhrer in such a casual way?!"

"Grylls relax, he's as much a citizen as ours. It's only a small mistake, you can fix that mistake can't you, pilot?"

"Y-yes! F-Fuhrer!"

"See? They can get used to it eventually."

"Hmph. You better not think of anything to harm our leader."

The two finally sit, with the major and a few escorts further back on the bullhead while the girls sat in the front.

"Weiss, you can be really scary in front of strangers now. Are you sure you're not turning into someone else?" Yang asked.

"Not really, I'm still a good friend to you all. Unless it concerns matters of the state, I'll be more relaxed since you're all my friends."

"Aww... I believe you, Weiss. Even if you are lacking in some aspects."

"You! Argh, I give up with you all. Ruby, is there any reply from Blake if they are already on their way? You didn't forget to message them have you?"

The awkward stare from Ruby made Weiss assume the worse. "Ruby..."

"Okay, I might have forgotten to tell them we went ahead."

Weiss facepalms.

"Don't worry I'll message them right now."

Ruby got her scroll out and started messaging, the silence that ensued made Yang wonder about the situation before an absurd idea came to her head.

"I was wondering," Yang said. "Do you think Blake might be doing something naughty with Hanns?"

"Guawkerk- HUH?!" Weiss choked and spat out saliva as she processed the question. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Think about it, she told us Hanns might take a long trying to try out his body. It's been too long from when we tried to leave and I'm suspecting something ever since Torchwick brought it up during the meeting-"

"Indecent!" Ruby yelled and somehow brought out a jar from nowhere. There was already a few cards of lien inside it.

"Darn, I'm going to be poor at this rate, sis. Can't you let go that I talk about dirty stuff like-"

"Filthy! Tainted! Cough it up, Yang!"

"Ha... fine, I won't push it further." she got out her wallet as she placed it in the jar, and turned back to Weiss. "Here's everything I have."

"Yang, this is too much."

"Heh... I know."

Yang had a devious smirk crossing her face. "Anyways Weiss, do you think they are already screwing-"

"Gaaaaah!!!" Ruby shrills as she covers herself with her cape. "Don't muddle my mind, Yang! I'll tell dad about this! It's like Signal Academy all over again when all those innuendoes went over my head!"

"Aww... is my little sister finally realizing how growing up feels? Well, buckle up! Cause I had a lot of lien in that wallet to pay for what I am about to say!"

"Yang, please! I'm not hearing any of it! Keep your own dirty talk to yourselves!"

As chaos ensues, Weiss sat there with a smile on her face but was concerned too. "Hanns, how is it you deal with us on a daily basis? Maybe I should help him in killing Megoliaths instead of staying at base, I might lose my sanity."

~

Professor Port was one self-proclaimed genius in storytelling, enough to make even the most bored students actively listen.

So what had made such a man change?

Actually, nothing, since the whole class had already dropped to sleep except 4 or 5, have been listening. Even when they were nearing the Vytal festival, the Professor never changed his ways.

The bell rang as the class with a zombie-like shamble got out of the room to reach their next class.

Pyrrha was among these. She was along with her friends and the mood was its usual cheeriness coming from Nora or the awkwardness coming from Jaune.

"They're really coming back, aren't they? We haven't seen them in weeks but they suddenly wanted to come back."

"I was surprised too, the headmaster never announces something like this to everyone. They turned into a big deal so suddenly."

"Jaune, not only that - they aren't just our sister team anymore. We're meeting with the leaders of another nation, the only one with a military at that."

"Everyone just relax!" Nora gripped both of their shoulders as she wedged herself in between them. "They probably only have some catching up to do. We can always treat them like friends. Isn't that true, Renny?"

"I don't admit this often but Nora is right. How would you feel if your friends suddenly change their attitude toward you? We should wait until they participate in class to see if they prefer us regarding them as normal friends."

"Maybe... I heard they already arrived in Beacon this morning, so it's a matter of seeing what they do. We should ask them about what they are planning and all."

"Stooop!" Stepped to the front and grabbed her friends' attention.

"What is it Nora-"

"Stop!" She cuts Jaune off. "Over there suspicious individual, show yourself before I break your legs!" she turns and points at the end of a hall.

Someone stepped out from the end of the hall with their hands raised up. "...Uhh?"

"Wow! Look Jaune, we found someone taller and blonde like you! Thankfully he's not as skinny, slender, lanky, awkward, dopey, scraggly, or weak-looking!"

Jaune felt invisible punches to his mental stability with each word. "Ouch." Jaune winces at the emotional damage he sustained.

The figure approaches while scratching the back of his head. "Ok, I'm sorry for scaring you all but I have nightmares from walking around in a school and I got lost halfway through walking here."

"No worries," Pyrrha said. "This is a large institution after all. Where are you going? I can tell you where you want to go if that's okay with you."

"Thanks, I'm looking for the headmaster's office. I need him to talk about something."

"Well-"

"Hey! How do you get that tall? Why are your eyes mismatched right now? And why are you so suspicious? Lookie, we suddenly see our previous classmates coming back suddenly - and as soon as we heard they landed in the morning, someone like you is here looking for the headmaster when for the past year no one from the outside has been here. So unless you had been allowed to get here without going through checking ID, then you must be someone important! Maybe you're that leader Pyrrha keeps talking about!"

Everyone looked at the rapidly spewed-out questions by Nora before they stared back at the man shaking his head.

"Uhhhh....." He said out loud. 'Scary.'

"Just kidding!"

Ren took the chance to grab Nora by the ears and usher her away.

Pyrrha points to a location on her scroll after she opened it. "Sorry about my friend Nora, she always does this whenever she meets someone. Ignore what she said, it's nothing serious. The headmaster's office needs an elevator so you can find it here."

"Ah, so I went towards the other side. Thanks."

The man quickly waved goodbye before speed-walking away toward the directions Pyrrha gave.

"I feel like we've met before. That person." She mentions.

"Silly Pyrrha, maybe you're just used to seeing Jaune. Although, now that you say that, my Nora senses are tingling."

~

'Damn, team JNPR of all people? I wanted to ask a student getting out, I could always ask Blake but it'd be so embarrassing that I'd ask her to come all the way to me just because I couldn't use my map here.'

Hanns wasn't usually one to know how hard it would be to navigate Beacon based on the show but he now understood that Ruby hadn't been exaggerating when the Academy was a maze.

'This thing needs another update, I can't get maps of buildings since it'll only see a zoomed-out image. I'll have to ask the moderator for that change when he does another update.'

Hanns approached the door minutes later, the elevator dinged open as he got inside and selected the topmost floor.

As he waited inside, his scroll provided by Blake pinged. 'So they already got to the class and everyone is scared of them? Makes sense, even I wouldn't know how to act when your classmate becomes a dictator.'

'...'

'That sounds like a weird novel...'

*DING!*

The doors slowly shifted open as he stepped out to feel eyes bearing down on him.

"Glynda... and Ozpin."

"Well, you've certainly changed from before. Especially in the looks department, who knew you were that kind of person - changing yourself to benefit your goals."

"Oh please, Ozpin - you and I know how much you do to obtain your goals. My list of disingenuousness greatly lacks towards your own."

The way Ozpin stared was not telling anything to Hanns. Hanns had difficulty trying to tell what he was thinking about,

"Hmm... coffee?"

"I can't taste or eat anything."

"Pardon me, I should've known... how about something else?"

"Let's not waste time, Oz. We have much to talk about."

Ozpin stood up from his chair before gesturing towards his assistant. Glynda waves her riding crop as a glow encased a nearby chair and was placed in front.

"Sit."

"Gladly."