Beacon: Unleashed

"That challenge was just outright impossible.", Lilac replied, "We're not all masters of stealth here."

"You needed to be like a computer expert to even get into the vault!" Dahlia pointed out.

Lupa nodded at everyone's complaints. "There is stealth, and then there is having every stealth ability under the son as the king or queen of thieves."

Archie glanced over at those who'd succeeded...and failed at the final challenge, taking another swig from his canteen, giving a silent sigh.

"...It doesn't matter that much. Either you have the skills necessary for the task, or just leave it to a team-mate. That's all that needs to be said."

Leonado chuckled mirthlessly. "I'd say some of us who actually succeeded might have only done so because luck was in our favor."

As he spoke, his expression soured. He knew, personally, why he was able to succeed. And it irritated him. His expression turned into a scowl as he looked into an apparently more interesting corner of the testing room.

As he walked over to join the others, Mike slipped Mason's mask off (sending his most demented personality back into his subconcious in the process) and found himself a relatively comfortable place to sit down before looking up at those around him and flashing a big toothy grin

"That stealth test was a doozy, wasn't it? Kinda surprised I managed to get through it myself if I'm gonna be honest"

"I hear you... and I hear excuses." Richter shot back, leaning over her keyboard. "I'm going to be honest with you, at this rate we're going to need to do something spectacular to win over the boys keeping the lights on." She turned to one of the other terminals in the room and hammered the bejeezus out of it. It whirred and clicked for a few moments in a pregnant, tense silence.

"There. There's a bank robbery the next town over. How about you guys make a damn fine entrance, kick some ass, and look good doing it, so that we keep our money and we can get you lot started on some real investigations. If you lack a ride, bumming one off someone else is going to be a vital skill."

"I got a ride." Dahlia said. "It can seat three other people comfortably if you guys need it."

Grabbing Cactus, Mike began to unwrap a length of the barbed wire encasing the bat before breaking it off once he had a good three feet of wire at his disposal.

Looking around, Mike raised a hand and said "I left the van back at home, so a ride would be great if someone can give me a lift"

With that out of the way, Mike began wrapping his right arm in barbed wire, effectively forming a crude and brutal cestus that would no doubt come into use within the foreseeable future.

"Foiling a bank robbery? Sounds easy enough for a group of Hunters like ourselves.", Lilac said, "I could use a ride though. My husband has the car at home."

Archie opened his eyes and stopped leaning against the wall. A crack of his neck and shrug of his shoulders, the hooded figure glanced over at everyone else.

"...When you say 'Next Town Over', how far are we talking?"

Prospa flipped off Richter before stalking out of the room, quickly finding a guard and shaking him down for directions before heading to the weapons room. She quickly gathered a dust rifle and a mask before heading down to the motorpool, pickpocketing the keys to one of the jeeps from and unsuspecting guard.

The witch opened the car door and sat down in the driver's seat. "Too easy, honestly and she has the sheer nerve to complain about my competence."

Back in the meeting room

Francesca gave her infant a quick kiss on the forehead and a smile before handing it off to one of the aides on the base, making them promise to take good care of her while she was gone. Once that was done, she grabbed her true employer and headed to the garage, figuring out just who to mooch off for transportation.

Present, in Prospa's Stolen Car

"Or they let you take them." The White Dragon Faunus chimed in from behind Prospa as she sat in the back seat with the incognito Queen. "Nice pick regardless, now shall we get going?" She asked, reclining slightly in her chair.

Car

Prospa turned and gave a glare that could have been weaponized to Fran. "This is one time. I am not your dust-damn driver, any attempt to make me the permanent driver and not a force on the planet will save you." Her glare shifted to the masked woman.

"Either of you, do not toy with the peeved witch, understand?"

"OK. So we've got Mike tagging along." Dahlia said. "Anyone else?

"I can drive" Kasumi spoke up, "There is one problem though, and that is that my car only has room for one more"

"Good to know!" Dahlia said. "I like to help people out!"

Vale's Thriple Threat

"Alisa" snorted, making herself comfortable in the back seat. "It's not like I need a driver. It's just convenient. Besides, I can pay you if you really want compensation."

The masked woman sighed. "I'm taking off the mask."

Without further ado, she did just that. Lucretia wiped her face with a towel. The mask was hot, and frankly it was uncomfortable.

"I wouldn't mind Richter, that's just the way she is. She does her job well, despite being a gigantic..."

She didn't finish that sentence. "Besides, it's the team I'm worried about."

"I have a van, but I live in there. I'd rather just go it alone." Alex strode out of the room, back to the garage. "Some horrors are best left unknown."

Except now Alex had a team to care about. To care about, as in it was implied by the job. If he was going to get paid, he'd have to work with these people. Married women, crazies (wait, same thing! Haw!), and suspected government agents. It'd take some work.

Back in the building

"Well, I've got my own transportation, so I'm set." Leonado said curtly, putting his pistol back where it belonged.

Of course, that was referring to Babieca, the bike he had ridden in on. It was his preferred method of transportation after all. He had heard of some places developing hover bikes or what not, but he liked being on the ground more so than hovering slightly off it.

"Mind if I hitch a ride with you?", Lilac asked Dahlia.

"No problem!" Dahlia said. "If I'm counting right that means there's room for one more!"

"Thanks. I'm Lilac, by the way.", she replied while extending her hand out for a handshake.

"Dahlia!" the sheep Faunus said. "Dahlia Birch."

"Nice to meet you, Dahlia.", the human woman replied.

Already Lilac seemed to be getting along with the sheep Faunus. It wasn't surprising, considering how Lilac had been working in human-Faunus relations for over a year now. She was hoping that the other Faunus members of the force would be just as willing to work with her as she was with them.