Team THMZ

**Team THMZ** *(pronounced "Thames")* is a team from Haven Academy, and are planned to be the primary antagonists of *RWBY: Grimm Force*. The team is comprised of Albedo Tennyson , Hope Spellbinder, Michael Morningstar, and Khyber Zaroffian.

## Members

### Albedo Tennyson

Albedo Tennyson is the leader of Team THMZ. Albedo is Ben Tennyson's near identical twin brother, with the only differences being Albedo styling his hair opposite Ben's, and also being albino. Albedo finds himself envious of his brother, unsure as to why so much attention goes to Ben instead of himself, especially after the unlocking of their Semblances. This stems from Albedo having a higher maturity and intelligence than Ben, though that also leads to his abhorrent arrogance.

Albedo's Semblance is just as identical to Ben's as the two siblings are. Like Ben, Albedo was given a watch-like device to hone in on his Semblance courtesy of Azmuth, though Albedo refers to the device by it's full name, Omnimatrix, rather than the shorthand of Omnitrix. Albedo's Dust combinations match Ben's, though the outcomes are hue shifted from green to red, and are mirror images of the Ben versions.

### Hope Spellbinder

Hope Spellbinder is the niece of Hex Spellbinder, the very same one who gave Gwen Tennyson her Charms of Bezel. Hope isn't particularly fond of Hex's decision to help Gwen. Much like Albedo, she would prefer the attention on herself, as she had known her Semblance at a very young age, arguably being born with it unlocked. Hope's Semblance is **Mana**, a far more focused and powerful version of Gwen's Aura Constructs. Rather than multiple charms, Hope's weapon is known as the Alpha Rune, a necklace which amplifies her powers. In addition to that, rather than her weapon being given to her by Hex, it was given to her by Addwaitya, a Turtle Faunus whose own Semblance deals with manipulation of Aura.

### Michael Morningstar

Michael Morningstar comes from a wealthy family in Mistral. As the two attended Sanctum Academy together, Michael had intended to play matchmaker between himself and Gwen once the two enrolled to an Academy, but found out slightly too late that she had opted to join Beacon Academy in Vale with Ben rather than Mistral's Haven Academy. This, along with Gwen's team in Beacon presenting her with two new love interests in the form of Rook Blonko and Kevin Levin, caused anger and grief to stir in Michael that he may not get to court the "lovely Gwen."

Michael's Semblance is **Aura Abduction**. Michael can empower himself by absorbing the Auras from others around him. This incredibly powerful and dangerous Semblance has led him to opt out of using any weaponry.

### Khyber Zaroffian

Khyber Zaroffian grew up in Vacuo, learning to fend for himself and not become too reliant on others. While he doesn't share some Vacuan's thoughts regarding Dust, believing it to have its uses regardless of the animosity between Vacuo and Atlas, he opts out of using Dust-powered weaponry when possible, sticking to a simple blade instead. This hasn't done much to hinder his ability, as he has quite an impressive physicality. In addition to Dust, Khyber also doesn't share the Vacuan thought about respecting those who can survive, or at least, he doesn't apply this to Faunus, simply considering them a higher level prey due to their animal characteristics. This would lead him to scope out the village of Revonnah in Anima, the home of Rook, occupied entirely by feline Faunus. Khyber's decision to join the other three in attending Haven Academy was solely to enhance his hunting prowess to take down these "higher prey." His animosity towards the Faunus has caused some discourse between himself and Haven's Headmaster, Leonardo Lionheart, who bears the tail of a lion.

Khyber's Semblance is **Domestication**. Khyber can generate a high-pitched whistling noise that commands animals to fight for him, including Grimm. Faunus with ear-related traits can be impacted by this, but not fully controlled.

## Trivia

* "Thames" , in its original etymology, means dark. In addition to this, it is a nod to the River Thames running through London, England.
* Each member of this team is meant to counter a member of Team TRTL:
	+ Albedo is the counter to Ben, given his near-identical Semblance, and being his negative twin.
	+ Hope is the counter to Gwen, given their connections to Hex, and both having Aura construct Semblances.
	+ Michael is the counter to Kevin, given both of them have absorption Semblances, and feelings for Gwen in some fashion. Furthermore, neither of them use weapons.
	+ Khyber is the counter to Rook. Khyber's prowess makes him a counter to Rook's acrobatic skill. This is the only pairing between the teams to not be based on a counter from the *Ben 10* canon. Kundo is a more likely counter, but has already been put into the lore of the series, and wouldn't make sense to be part of a first-year Huntsmen Academy team.
	+ The entire team being a counter to Team TRTL is not a coincidence in-universe. If I get around to doing more episodes, hopefully it'll be revealed as to why and how.
* Michael and Khyber's Semblances were named by WTB.
* The team's name was almost "TMZS," pronounced "Atomize," but this didn't evoke a proper color, and isn't as clearly meant to be pronounced that way. Arguably, though, "THMZ" isn't clearly meant to be pronounced "Thames" either.