CHAPTER TWO: THE VOICES

Greg woke up to the sound of bickering.

"Honestly, Ruby, could you not swing Crescent Rose around in someone else's mental space?"

"It's not like I meant to hit anything, Weiss! Besides, the brain's pretty empty. Lots of room!"

Greg groaned, squinting against the morning light streaming through his window. His head pounded, but the voices were still there, loud and clear as if the speakers were standing right next to him.

"Shut up," he mumbled, rolling onto his side.

The voices stopped.

"Wait," Ruby whispered. "Did he just tell us to shut up?"

"He's awake," the calm one said, tone laced with amusement.

Greg shot up in bed, his eyes wide. "You're real?"

"That depends," the brash one said brightly. "Define 'real.' We're in your head, so technically—"

"This can't be happening," Greg muttered, clutching his temples. "It's a dream. It's gotta be a dream."

"If it's a dream, it's a pretty weird one," Ruby piped up, her voice chipper. "Why would you dream about four girls you've never met?"

"I don't know!" Greg snapped, his voice cracking under the strain. "Why are you here? What even are you?"

The four of them started talking all at once.

"We're huntresses—"

"We're from Remnant—"

"It's a long story—"

"Can we talk one at a time?!"

"Stop!" Greg's shout cut through the chatter. He waved his hands like he could physically swat the voices away. "One at a time!"

Silence.

"Well?" he said after a beat, glaring at the empty room. "One of you explain!"

"Fine," one spoke, her tone icy and composed. "I'm Weiss Schnee. These are my teammates: Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long." Each girl piped up when their name was called. "We're huntresses—warriors, if you will—from a world called Remnant. As for why we're in your head, we're still figuring that out."

"That's the short version," Ruby said cheerfully.

Greg blinked. "You're… stuck in my head?"

"Yup!" Yang said with a grin in her voice. "Lucky you, huh?"

Greg groaned, collapsing back onto his pillow. "This isn't real. I Triggered yesterday. This is just my power messing with me. Hallucinations or something."

"We're not hallucinations," Weiss snapped.

"Yeah!" Ruby chimed in. "If we were hallucinations, could we do this?"

Greg felt a strange surge of energy in his chest. A small, silvery glyph materialized in the air beside him, glowing faintly before fizzling out.

"What the—?" Greg bolted upright again, his heart racing. "What was that?"

"Weiss's glyphs," Blake said calmly. "Our abilities are manifesting through you. You really think hallucinations can do that?"

Greg stared at the now-empty air where the glyph had been. "So I'm not crazy?"

"Debatable," Weiss muttered.

"Hey!" Greg protested, but the sound of his mom's voice from the hallway cut him off.

"Greg, you're going to be late for school!"

Greg froze. "Oh no. No, no, no. School. I can't deal with this and school!"

"Relax," Yang said, her tone casual. "We've got your back."

"Yeah, like I'm gonna tell everyone, 'Hey, I've got four girls in my head and superpowers now!' That's totally normal."

"You could try," Ruby suggested, giggling. "I'd love to see the look on their faces."

"Not funny!" Greg hissed, scrambling to get dressed.

. . . . .

By the time Greg made it to school, the voices had quieted down, though not entirely. He kept his head down as he walked through the halls, trying to ignore their commentary.

"Is this a high school?" Ruby asked. "It looks so… depressing."

"Look at those lockers," Weiss said, disdain thick in her voice. "They're filthy. Is this what passes for education here?"

"At least the people seem nice," Blake observed.

Yang snorted. "You call him nice?"

Heading straight for him was none other than Ethan, Brockton Bay's answer to every high school jerk stereotype, and a.k.a. the bane of Greg's existence.

"Hey, Veder!" Ethan called out, smirking. "What's up? Still planning your superhero debut?"

Greg stiffened. "Not now, Ethan."

"Aw, what's wrong? You finally realize how lame you are?"

"Ooh, I don't like him," Ruby said.

"Let me at him," Yang growled. "I'll knock that smug grin right off his face."

"Can't," Blake said dryly. "We don't have bodies, remember?"

Greg gritted his teeth. "Just leave me alone, Ethan."

Ethan laughed, shoving past Greg to join his friends. Greg sighed, slumping into his seat in homeroom.