Chapter XXXVII

Ruby waited by the bridge.

Things were only getting worse. She was waiting for Weiss to arrive with whatever it was their friend had given her. But the situation was starting to get more and more chaotic by the second. She'd seen cops attack anyone they found suspicious, and she'd even spotted a few inmates getting attacked by brutal cops.

She split up as many of the confrontations as she could, but sometimes it didn't work.

Blake walked up to Ruby.

"Ruby, we need to get out of here!" she said. "I heard the police are going to raise the bridges! We can't stay here!"

"We don't have a choice," Ruby argued. "We can't leave these people to die."

She turned back to look at the bridge, and she finally saw Weiss approach.

"Weiss!" she called, running up to her friend. "What did you want to give me?"

Weiss reached into her pocket, and handed her the syringes. "Take these. Give one to Yang, and one to Blake. We'll keep the third to create more on a large scale."

"What are they?" Ruby asked.

"The antidote to the poison. Our friend gave them to me."

Suddenly, they turned around to see the bridge start to raise, leaving them trapped in the Narrows.

Yang and Blake ran to the bridge, watching as it lifted. They weren't worried. They knew they could find a way over the river blocking off the Narrows from the rest of Vale. But they looked to Ruby.

"What do we do, sis?" Yang asked.

Ruby turned back to her, and walked back into the Narrows with no hesitation, well aware of the dangerous inmates running wild inside.

"We spread out!" she said, handing Yang and Blake one syringe each. "Take these."

"What are they?" Blake asked.

"There's a toxin in the water supply," Ruby said. "It could be dispersed tonight. If it does, inject yourselves with those. It's the antidote."

"So," Weiss said, crossing her arms, "are we going to keep the situation clear here?"

"Yes," Ruby nodded. "Make sure everyone here is safe. Take the inmates down, but don't hurt them too bad. If you see cops hurting anyone, inmate or not, stop them. We're going to save the Narrows to the best of our ability."

The girls nodded.

"Alright," Ruby said. "Let's go!"

Team RWBY split up to protect the Narrows.

Weiss ran as quickly as she could. She pulled out her scroll, and dialed Bruce's number, hoping to warn him before it was too late. But she was left on voicemail.

"Bruce!" she shouted into the scroll. "Something really bad is happening! Find shelter, and if anyone knocks, don't answer it! Call me back!"

She ended the voicemail, and continued running through the Narrows.

As she turned a corner, she saw a group of cops standing at the foot of the monorail, unloading a large, box-like machine from a police truck.

A young boy approached them, and tapped the arm of one of the cops.

"I can't find my mom," he said.

But the cop shoved him aside.

Weiss sighed, shaking her head as she witnessed the small sign of corruption.

"Hey!" she shouted, walking up to the boy, and taking his hand. "What are you doing?!"

The cop pointed away, silently telling her to leave.

"Gentlemen."

Weiss turned to see a woman step out of the truck. She had black hair, and and wore a red dress with a golden pattern on it. She clearly wasn't a cop.

She stepped up to the machine, glaring at Weiss.

The heiress reached for Myrtenaster, pulling it out, and pushing the child away from the cops.

Salem looked away from them, and reached down to the microwave emitter for the button.

"It's time to spread the word," she said. "And the word is . . . panic."

She pressed the button, and there was no delay in cause and effect. Vaporized water burst out from below, and the toxin spread throughout the Narrows.

Weiss immediately knew they had dispersed the toxin, and she looked down to protect the boy from the gas. But he had already breathed it in, and was coughing from the burning sensation in his lungs.

Ruby also knew the toxin had been dispersed, especially when she felt herself start to panic.

She reached for the syringe, and plunged the needle into her thigh, injecting the antidote into her body. The panic slowly began to fade, and her aura took away the burning sensation.

Professor Ozpin stood on Vale, staring out at the Narrows. He pulled out his scroll, calling anyone who was inside.

"This is Professor Ozpin!" he said. "If anyone can hear me, respond to this call! What's happening in there?!"

There was no response from the scroll. All he knew was that a gas had been dispersed, and the Narrows was almost hidden in a cloud of smoke.

In the Batcave, Bruce had finished suiting up, and he climbed into the Batmobile, and drove out to save his city. This was the man he had spent his whole life preparing to become.

It was time to end this . . .

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