Look up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, it's me!

This was originally going to be a one-shot, but then I saw the word length, and I decided to break it down into three chapters. If you're reading this in public, read out loud. It'll be tons of fun.

Team RWBY and JNPR huddled around the TV screen in awe of the visual masterpiece that their eyes had witnessed. Friday night was film night, a ritual forced by Ruby and accepted by everyone. Every week, someone different got to choose what movie they would all watch. This week was Nora's turn, and she had picked a real humdinger of a flick - Axolotl-Man 2: Rise of Fish-Woman!

Superhero films were always accepted by the two teams. Even Weiss learned to lighten up and enjoy a good ol' fashioned, heart-stopping, badass action scene for what it was. There was something for everyone with these kinds of films; Jaune and Ren got to see some cool fight scenes, and the ladies got to see muscular men in skintight costumes. It was a win-win.

Jaune drank in the film like Axolotl-Man drank up water. Gods, why wasn't he that cool? He worked out, he fought crime, he even did a bit of swimming from time to time. He should be just as badass as that fictitious fishy freelance fighter. But, as always, fiction was always cooler than reality.

Oh well, at least he had popcorn. Jaune ate some popcorn.

Jaune suddenly remembered he hated popcorn.

Jaune gagged.

As the credits rolled, Ruby punched the air and cheered. "Woohoo, that was awesome! Did you see the way Axolotl-Man took down that guy by poking him with his spikey thingies? That was my favourite part."

"It was impressive," Weiss agreed. "The first one had a better plot though. Fish-Woman wasn't as strong a villain as what Doctor Eels was. But that final fight was well choreographed."

"Pfft, forget about the action, did you see the abs on that actor?" Yang purred. "Man, that guy can carry me in his arms any day. Sign me up to get rescued, Mama needs a hero."

"Yes, what a great film," Blake sneered, her voice laced with sarcasm. "My favourite part was when the director made the only faunus actor in the film the villain. How progressive and-"

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" Nora suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs. Everybody winced from how loud her voice was.

"Nora, what was that for?" Ren scolded.

"Oh, sorry," Nora said. "That's just my 'Blake sucks the fun out of everything' alarm going off. As you can see, it's working pretty well."

Blake looked offended, mouth hanging open. "Well, excuse me for seeing problematic issues when they arise in mainstream media-"

"BEEP! BEEP!" Yang began shouting. "Oh wow, you're right, Nora. This thing's great. I could get used to this."

"Told you," Nora winked.

"Don't you start too!" Blake snapped at Yang.

"BEEP!" Ruby shouted, then giggled. "Hey, this is pretty fun."

"Ruby, no!" Blake cried.

"BEEP!"

"Stop it!"

"BEEP!"

"Enough!"

"BEEP!"

"No more!"

Very soon, all three girls were crowded around Blake beeping their hearts away. Blake's hands struggled back and forth between covering her human ears and faunus ears at the same time. She slipped off the couch and ended up hunched on the floor, looking like she had indigestion. Her protests had been well and truly beeped out of her.

"I find superhero movies rather surreal to watch," Pyrrha said. "Stories of people with extraordinary abilities are fascinating to me, because… well, aren't we all superheroes in our own regard?"

"Awww, I think you're swell too, Pyrrha," Nora cooed, giving her an affectionate head pat.

"Very funny," Pyrrha chuckled, playfully removing her hand. "But think about it: we each have a semblance that is completely unique to us. We have the kind of power you'd only see in films such as this. In that sense, we are already living breathing superheroes. We are fiction come to life. It's an interesting thing to think about."

"Hey, you're right," Ruby agreed. "With my semblance, I'm just like that speed superhero, Mr Quick. How cool is that?"

"That is a good point," Weiss mused. "In any case, my power is far superior to Axolotl-Man's - I don't need to breathe underwater, I can just summon people to do it for me."

"I was excited when my semblance was revealed to be similar to Invisisnooze," Ren said. "He has the power to turn invisible, meaning he can nap in peace. An enviable lifestyle, to be sure."

As everyone started getting excited and talking about their semblances, Jaune shrunk into his seat, trying to stay out of the conversation as much as possible. Another reminder of why he was so painfully uncool: he still hadn't unlocked his semblance.

Everyone else had an awesome power they could call their own. Not him. He was the odd man out, the other, the runt of the litter. He was a powerless noodle surrounded by titans. The fact that he didn't have his own special ability pretty much solidified the fact that he wasn't special.

And you know what? That sucked. It wasn't fair. He wanted nice things too, you know!

"Yup, semblances sure are cool," Nora said. She turned to Jaune. "Hey, Jaune, what's your favourite thing about having a semblance?"

Jaune couldn't answer. He couldn't even meet her eyes.

"Ohhhhh, yeaaahhhh," Nora said, looking guilty. "You still don't have a semblance yet."

"I do have a semblance," he hotly corrected her. "I just haven't unlocked it yet."

"That's basically the same thing as not having one."

"No, it's not!"

"Well, you can't use it, can you?"

Jaune's lips pouted. "... no."

"There we are then. I'm right."

His loving partner rubbed his back. "Don't worry, Jaune. You'll discover it eventually," she promised. "And besides, I can name loads of superheroes who don't technically have superpowers. You have Punch-Man, Ser Kicks, Gun-Boy-"

"Jaune doesn't have a gun, either," Yang pointed out.

"Oh, yes…"

"Great, that's two things you guys have over me!" Jaune whined.

"Oh, enough," Weiss said. "Stop complaining. Having a semblance is not paramount to becoming a hunter. There are plenty of perfectly capable hunters out there who get by without semblances."

"Name five," Jaune said.

Weiss blinked. "... who, me?"

"Yes, you."

"Right now?"

"Yes, now."

"... well, I can't think of any off the top of my head, but I'm sure they exist. Probably."

"I knew someone in the White Fang who was a former huntsman, and he didn't have his semblance unlocked," Blake said.

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Yes, thanks, but I'd rather you didn't compare me to a terrorist, Blake."

"For your information, he was one of the deadliest warriors in our unit."

"Was?"

"Oh yeah, he died. Slipped on a banana peel. It was surprisingly gory."

"Not helping."

"Sounds like you're screwed, Jauney Boy," Yang joked. "Don't worry, at least you've got a bunch of sexy badasses to save you when things get hairy. Maybe you should dress up as a pretty princess for when you get into distress?"

"As kinky as that sounds, I don't wanna keep living like this," Jaune groaned. "It's embarrassing watching you guys go super fast, or turn into a walking nuke, when all I can do is block punches with my face. I wanna be like you guys. I want a power too."

"If it's that big a deal, why don't you just unlock your semblance already?" Ruby asked.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Oh, sure. I'll just unlock my semblance," he said, speaking as though he was talking to an idiot. "Because that's soooo easy; all you need to do is awaken the dormant power that lives in your soul. I don't suppose you have any soul keys I can use to unlock it?"

"She's just trying to help, Jaune," Pyrrha said.

"But that's just it, I don't want help! I want my special superpower!"

"Maybe your semblance is being a lil' bitch?" Yang snickered under her breath.

Jaune crossed his arms and huffed. He didn't expect them to understand. It must've been nice being born with amazing talents, and a stomach that didn't churn like a whirlpool when on a bullhead. He'd like to see them walk a mile in his shoes. They wouldn't last a day.

"Ruby does have a point, though," Ren said. "Unlocking your semblance will greatly benefit you. Not only will it give you a 'special superpower', but it will also help you understand yourself a little better. Your sense of purpose will be renewed, which will help you in your career as a huntsman."

"But that's the thing, I don't know how to unlock it," Jaune said. "I thought getting into enough fights would cause it to awaken by now, but apparently not."

Then again, he hadn't exactly won all of those fights. He could count on one hand how many fights he had won. And on one finger for that matter…

"Not all semblances are unlocked via combat," Blake said. "I know mine wasn't. Sometimes it depends on how you're feeling, or what you're thinking about. It varies from person to person, but each is a personal experience."

Jaune shrugged. "Like I said, I've tried everything. Nothing works."

A pregnant pause hung in the air as everyone put on their thinking faces. Jaune awkwardly twiddled his thumbs as he waited for someone to speak.

"Okay, fine," Weiss sighed.

Jaune frowned. "Fine, what?"

"I know what you're about to ask: 'can you guys help me unlock my semblance?' It's already on the tip of your tongue."

"I wasn't going to ask-"

"Maybe not right now, but you would have eventually, so we might as well get it out of the way now. Besides, it's about time you discovered it anyway, and I'm tired of listening to you moan. So, yes, we will help you."

Jaune was surprised. "But I thought I had to unlock it by myself?"

"Meh, not necessarily," Yang said. "It's not like we'd be unlocking it for you. We can just give you that extra push you need."

"You wanna help too?"

"Sure, what the hell? I'm curious to see what power you've got cooking up. What strength lurks in the souls of vomit boys?"

"Oooh, this is gonna be fun," Ruby squealed. "It's like we're watching the origin story of a superhero. Maybe you'll turn out like Axolotl-Man?"

"Oh, hell yeah! I wanna see my leader become a superhero!" Nora cheered.

"This may be interesting," Blake murmured. "Count me in too."

Jaune felt humbled. Very soon, everyone was agreeing to help him unlock his semblance. He hadn't felt this level of progress since his first sparring session with Pyrrha.

Naturally, he agreed to their offers to help him. This was amazing. Starting tomorrow, he'd be one step closer to achieving his destiny. He couldn't wait to find out what kind of power he possessed.

"Now then, don't expect it to be easy just because we're helping you," Ren warned. "Unlocking a semblance can sometimes be just as dangerous as fighting Grimm. Just as long as you're aware of that."

Jaune wasn't concerned. How could he be? He was working with his friends. What's the worst that could happen?

Be sure to pick up Issue 2 when it hits shelves.