RWBY: SPIDER-MAN
"You never get a second chance to make a first impression."
002
"Are you sure you have to leave, Peter?" Asks an elderly gray-haired man with ovular glasses. Going by the name of Doctor Phineas Mason, the man, wearing a gray apron over a set of white shirt and pants, is currently fiddling around with parts from a worn-out analog clock in his tiny workplace. Tinkerer's Repair Workshop, the name of said workplace was a small-time tech repair shop where Peter had worked at for the past one and half years as a part-time assistant when he wasn't going around the city, beating up criminals as Spider-Man.
Ironically, in his younger days, Phineas Mason himself used to be a criminal, terrorizing Vale with his maniacal inventions as the Terrible Tinkerer. After enduring a couple of humiliating defeats at the hands of a group of Huntsmen and Huntresses, the former evil mastermind knew it was best to give up, opting to turn over a new leaf. Using the stolen Lien which the police never discovered, nor did he ever considered returning, the good Doctor set-up his own business, a tech repair workshop, at the edge of the city's commercial district, hoping to live out an honest life.
"Yes, Doctor Mason. The headmaster at Beacon personally invited me to the Academy. I'm not going to pass up on it a second time." Peter answers as he collects all the belongings that he had stored in the shop. Peter's brilliance in the field of physics and engineering made him a valuable asset to the workshop and allowed him to call in some favors, often in the form of spare parts and pieces, which he secretly used for his Spider-Man-related equipment. "But I'll make sure to pay a visit from time to time." He continues, stuffing the last of his belongings into his backpack.
"I will miss having a capable assistant, such as yourself, Peter." Phineas chuckled, taking out a stack of Lien from his drawer.
"Well, it was time for me to find move on to something new," Peter replies, doing a final check to see if he had left anything out.
"Here, take this, it's not much." The man says as walks over to the boy, intending on giving the sum of money to Peter as a gift for his much-needed help. Despite his rather young age, Peter was able to not only repair on any and every equipment but also improved upon it despite limited resources. The boy's ingenuity was impressive even by the standards of top-notch scientists at Atlas.
"Wow, this is great, but I can't take it, Doctor Mason." Peter politely refuses as he prepares to take his leave, slinging his backpack over his right shoulder.
"Nonsense, my boy. You'll never know when you might need this when you're at Beacon." The older man insisted, pushing the stack of Lien into Peter's hands.
"I...I, thank you so much, Doctor Mason." A grateful Peter reluctantly accepts, waving goodbye as he takes a step out of the shop.
"The boy's destined for greatness, this I know," Phineas says to himself, making his way back to the workstation.
"Take care of yourself!" Peter says, waving one final goodbye before making his way out of the shop. Hoping to be on time for the complimentary transport service to Beacon at the nearby skyport, Peter changes into his Spider-Man get-up at the corner of a deserted alleyway, knowing that he can cover more ground by web-swinging. Crawling up the wall of the building beside him, Peter makes his way to the rooftop and is about to web-swing away when a nearby community bank's security alarm suddenly goes off.
Sighing to himself, Peter makes a mad dash in the opposite direction of his intended destination to confront the source of the commotion. The heads-up display system in his lenses project the exact coordinates of the location, while a tracker on the corner right-hand corner of the display system monitors the location of the spider-tracer he placed on the getaway aircraft the day before.
In no time, Peter finds himself at the entrance of the community bank, using the ceiling to gain a vantage point of the situation. To his surprise, there were only two thugs inside the bank. They were unprofessional by the looks of it, as they had not bothered with grabbing a hostage, which was always a good thing for him. Peter shakes his head in amusement as he goes unnoticed by the two men underneath him who assumed they had gotten lucky with this robbery of theirs.
"Man, you guys never learn, don't you?" Peter quips as makes his presence known by landing in front of the two soon-to-be caught criminals.
"It's Spider-Man!" Yells one of the two criminals, who scrambles to retrieve his revolver, shakily pointing it in the wall-crawler's direction.
"What gave it away?" In the blink of an eye, Peter closes the distance between himself and the first thug. He delivers a powerful bicycle kick, which sends the now-unconscious criminal flying over the countertop. Bending his body forward far enough, Peter lands almost perfectly on his feet after performing a mid-air backflip when a stray bullet nearly makes contact with his torso.
Allowing his spider-sense to take over, the spider-powered teen swerves his way through a barrage of bullets, coming face to face with the second thug. Wasting no time, Peter effortlessly crushes the barrel of the revolver with his left hand.
"Dammit!" Curses the second thug, who abandons his weapon and breaks off into a sprint.
"Whoa, slow down there! I can't let you be the second guy in a row that manages to escape yours truly in under twenty-four hours." Almost immediately, Peter catches up to the escaping thug. Firing a jet of webbing from his right wrist, Peter manages to tag the thug on one leg, effectively trapping the criminal in place.
"Argh! I"ll get you, Spider-Man!" The frustrated thug takes a wild swing at the wall-crawler, who effortlessly evades the poorly-timed attack.
"Yeah right, even your grandma has better chances than you do, buddy!" Peter says as he retaliates with an attack of his own, knocking the living daylights out of the outmatched criminal. Peter then ties the two criminals up in a web cocoon leaving them hanging by a lamppost for the Vale Police Department to capture before leaping thirty feet up into the air. Peter flexes his right wrist, sending a thin strand of webbing out that attaches to the side of a nearby building. Angling his body towards a row of skyscrapers, Peter uses the added height of the surrounding buildings to speed his way through the bustling city, heading towards his intended destination, the skyport.
While web-slinging across Vale was always a thrilling experience as it often provided a good view of the city's skyline, Peter sure appreciated the change in perspective up on top the Airship, which gave him a stunning birds-eye-view of the city. 'Man, I sure hope Doctor Mason takes good care of himself.' Peter thinks to himself after spotting the faint outlines of the repair workshop among the midst of buildings in the city's commercial area.
Peter is reminiscing about his days at the workshop when his thoughts are interrupted by a loud, excited voice. "Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me, this is the best day ever!" Looking around, Peter sees an attractive blonde-haired, purple-eyed girl tightly hugging a shorter girl which Peter recognizes to be Ruby.
Dressed in a tan jacket with a yellow low-cut crop top and a pair of black mini-shorts, the blonde-haired girl has a pleated piece of fabric attached to the rear of her belt which accompanies the brown knee-high boots that she is wearing. The girl is also wearing orange knee-high socks, with the sock on her right pushed down to below the knee and has a gray bandana tied over the left knee. To top it off, she wears an orange infinity scarf and has black fingerless gloves alongside a pair of golden bracelets.
"Please stop." After what seemed like an eternity, a gasping Ruby pleads her sister, Yang, to release her from the body-crushing hug.
"But I'm so proud of you!" Says Yang excitedly after letting go of her little sister.
"Really; Sis, it was nothing," Ruby says, not wanting the extra attention she was getting from onlookers.
"What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees." Yang replies, attempting to reassure her sister.
"I don't want to be the bee's knees, okay? I don't want to be any kinds of knees!" Ruby stated, slightly raising her voice in the process. "I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees." She says with a crestfallen look on her face.
"What's with you? Aren't you excited?" A confused Yang asks her sister.
"Of course I'm excited. I just..." Ruby paused to let out a little sigh. "I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything." A troubled Ruby admits to her sister.
"But you are special." Says Yang, who goes over to Ruby and reassuringly puts her left arm around her little sister's shoulder.
Silently watching the two sisters, Peter nods his head in agreement, a smile appearing on his face after seeing the bond between the two of them.
The girls and Peter's attention turn to the site of the holographic projector as it begins playing the daily morning newscast. "That blasted wall-crawling menace was behind the robbery, I just know it!" The holographic screen displays the face of J. Jonah Jameson, an angry middle-aged man in his early fifties with graying hair and a Hitler-like mustache.
'You keep telling yourself that, Jameson.' Peter thinks to himself, shaking his head in amusement at the man's ignorance. While Jameson is the host of one of Vale News Network's most popular news segment, his segment on the Network has often been regarded to the public as news satire due to his constant ridiculous claims and rants against Spider-Man.
"He must have been in cahoots with those criminals! It was all an act! He let them escaped!" Yells Jameson, who is too engrossed in his passionate rant against the wall-crawler to notice his runtime is almost over. "What!?" Jameson yells over his comm-link to the news management team after receiving an alert.
"My runtime is up? Grrr... How am I going to expose that blasted menace!" The man hollered over his comm-link all while forgetting his news segment was still airing. "You'll boot me out?! Grrr... Fine, fine! I'll go! I'll get you next time, you Spider-freak!" Jameson begrudgingly says, seething with rage, as the screen switches over to display the second news segment.
"Thank you, Mister Jameson." The holographic screen now shows an image of a lavender-haired female news reporter, wearing a purple collar shirt and a black coat. The words Lisa Lavender, the name of the female news reporter, is featured on the bottom news ticker alongside a photo of Faunus demonstrators holding up signs saying "WE ARE NOT ANIMALS!" on the left-hand corner of the screen.
"In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony." The woman reports as the photo changes to show the logo of the White Fang, an intimidating wolf's head with three scratch marks across its face in red. "The once peaceful organization has now disrupted..."
The news feed is abruptly cut off, almost immediately, a full body hologram of a purple caped woman which Peter recognizes to be Glynda Goodwitch replaces it. "Hello, and welcome to Beacon!" The hologram says, mimicking Glynda's voice.
"Who's that?" Yang asks.
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch." The hologram continues.
"Oh." Mutters Yang to herself.
"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." The hologram says before vanishing out of sight.
Peter watches as Ruby, Yang, and several other students make their way towards the many semicircular windows of the airship.
"Oh, wow! Look, you can see Signal from up here!" Ruby says in amazement, as she leaned against a window with her two hands to admire the breathtaking view of the city. "I guess home isn't too far after all!"
"Beacon's our home, now," Yang comments, placing her left hand on Ruby's shoulder as the airship makes its way across a large body of turquoise blue sea water, slowly approaching Beacon.
Taking in the entirety of Beacon Academy for the first time, Peter finds himself marveling at the magnificent castle-liked architecture of the Academy, its many pillars, and towers created a sense of grandeur around the area. The teenager was about to make his way through the main entrance doorway, to the amphitheater, if not for the sudden slight tingle at the back of his head. 'Danger nearby, but where?'
"Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in?" Peter turns around to see a short but beautiful girl in white with icy blue eyes, yelling at a red-caped girl which he recognizes to be Ruby.
The girl in white has her long white hair pulled back into an off-center bun tail with a pin in the shape of icicle tiara. She wears a white and pale blue strapless dress that is stitched at the hem to resemble snowflakes. The girl wears a bolero jacket with the same color graduation as her dress, lined in red with the Schnee crest on the back of her Bolero, alongside a wallet and Myrtenaster, her multi-action dust rapier, that is attached to the back of her waist. To top it off, she wears a pair of elegantly designed wedge heel boots.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Questions Weiss, the girl in white, who is holding a bottle of dust in her hand as she leans forward accusingly towards Ruby. A cloud of red dust begins building in the air around Ruby as a result of the unsealed dust bottle. 'Oh no.' Peter thinks to himself as the tingling sensation at the back of his head returns.
KABOOM! Unable to hold her sneeze back any longer, Ruby finally sneezes, erupting a small-scale explosion of flame and electricity right onto Weiss.
"Unbelievable!" Shouts Weiss, who is now covered in soot, though it quickly clears up. "This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"
"I'm, really, sorry!" Says an apologetic and embarrassed Ruby who looks down at the ground in shame.
"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" Weiss questions.
"Well, I-I..."
"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know!" Weiss coolly says before crossing her arms in annoyance. "We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!" She says before turning her head away.
"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!" Ruby speaks up, raising her voice slightly in the process.
Peter was about to make his way to defend Ruby when a pretty-faced girl with amber eyes, long black hair and a black bow on the top of her head, steps in to break up the fight between Ruby and the girl in white. "It's heiress, actually," Says the girl with the black bow, while holding the red dust bottle that Weiss had dropped earlier in her hand. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."
Wearing a black buttoned vest with coattails and a single silver button on the front, the girl with the black bow has a white, sleeveless, high-necked, crop undershirt and white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg. She also wears black, low-heeled boots along with full black stockings that have a purple tinge to it. She has a pair of black ribbons wrapped around her forearms and a small loose scarf wrapped around her neck. A gray magnetic backpack is strapped to her back, hidden by her hair.
"Finally! Some recognition!" Weiss says, smiling smugly.
"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." Blake, the girl with the black bow adds, earning a small chuckle from Ruby.
"Wha- How dare you.. the nerve of- Ugh!" Weiss is left speechless. Snatching the bottle of dust away from Blake, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company storms away angrily as her helpers gather her luggage and follow.
"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby says to the storming Weiss, before sighing. "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day... So, what's..." Ruby turns around only to find Blake walking away. "Welcome to Beacon..." She says, slumping down to her knees before lying onto the ground on her back, closing her eyes in disappointment.
"Hey... I'm Peter. Peter Parker." He says, finally walking up to Ruby with an outstretched arm.
"Ruby." The younger girl politely replies. Taking his hand, she lets herself be pulled up by the older boy. "Wait... aren't you the guy that takes pictures of Spider-Man?" She asks after finding her bearings.
"All I'm saying is that was a long time ago. I don't do that anymore." Peter says to Ruby as the unlikely duo make their way across a winding road that is alongside a river and several trees.
"Well, I liked your pictures! Why'd you stop taking them?" Ruby innocently asks.
"I found myself a new gig at a tech repair shop. Besides, I'm pretty sure Spidey wouldn't have appreciated the way his biggest fan, jolly old Jameson, was using my photos to slander him." Peter replies somewhat truthfully, omitting the part that he was Spider-Man.
"I'm sure that mustache guy's just doing it for laughs. Everyone knows Spidey's a hero, right?"
"Yeah... I guess you're right." Peter replies, smiling in response to the girl's reply.
Ruby giggles before a short awkward silence fall. "So... I got this thing!" Hoping to break the tension, she pulls out Crescent Rose, unfolding it into its scythe form and striking it into the ground.
"Whoa! That's a one of a kind weapon you've got there, Ruby." Peter comments, taking a second, closer look at the girl's scythe.
"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!" She adds with a smile while reloading the gun section of the weapon to make a point. "So what've you got?"
Flicking both of his wrists, Ruby watches as the metal bracelets on Peter's wrist unfold mechanically to form a pair of fingerless armored gauntlets.
"Ooooohh!" She watches in amazement. "So, what do they do?"
Motioning for Ruby to watch, the gauntlets emit a faint blue glow of energy before firing off a powerful blast of repulsor energy that instantly shatters a nearby pile of empty wooden crate boxes. "They're a pair of repulsor gauntlets with long range and short range capabilities," Peter explains. 'They're capable of shifting into a pair of web-shooters at a touch of a button too.' Peter thinks, mindful to keep the last bit of info to himself.
"Wow... what type of dust did you use to do that?" The weapon loving girl dreamily asks.
"Well, it doesn't make use of dust," Peter reveals.
"What?" Ruby questions, more interested in Peter's weapon now more than ever.
"I call it the arc reactor technology. It's a new, prototype clean energy source I'm working on." Peter explains as he flicks his wrists a second time to revert the silver colored gauntlets into a pair of compact tech bracelets.
"Wow, I'm kinda a dork when it comes to weapons, I guess I wasn't the only one who went overboard with designing it." The girl shyly admits.
"I'm pretty sure your weapon has mine beat. I'm still working on stabilizing the energy source. There was that one time where it nearly exploded in my face." Peter laughs as he recounts his experience while walking side by side with the younger girl.
"So why'd you help me out back there? In the courtyard?" Ruby suddenly asks, eager to know why the older boy stepped up to help her.
"Let's just say I know what it's like feeling lost and not having anyone to count on," Peter vaguely says, not wanting to reveal too much about the other side of himself. "Besides, it was the right thing to do." He confidently says.
"Thanks, Peter. I appreciate you looking out for me." Ruby says, a slight blush appearing on the sides of her cheeks.
"Hmm." Peter pauses to look around his surroundings, oblivious to the blushing girl. "Hey, where are we going?"
"Oh, I don't know! I was following you." She says, snapping out of her momentary stupor.
"You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some kinda recognizable landmark?" Peter jokingly asks which causes Ruby to snicker. "Is, uh, is that a no?"
"That's a no." Ruby happily replied.
A quick A/N here, I know there's quite a ton of exposition in this chapter, but hopefully, it was enjoyable nonetheless! I thought it was a cool idea to make this world's version of Tinkerer an ally to Peter than oppose to being an enemy. On a side note, to the couple of reviewers who did not want Peter to join the school, I'll promise to shake things up to make this story different from the plot. Last but not least, I'd like to give a big thank you to all who have reviewed and supported the story, you guys are amazing!
(Below are my replies to some of the awesome peeps who reviewed the first chapter)
Six Foot Assassin: Yes, Peter does have a semblance, but he doesn't know what it is, yet. It wasn't my intention to portray Peter as being weak, my bad on that. I was referring specifically to Peter's hand-to-hand/combat skills. While Peter's powers and intellect alone are a force to be reckoned with, his lack of hand-to-hand and combat skills is a weakness that skilled fighters can use to their advantage.
treyalexander63917: Aesthetically, yes. I'm leaning more towards the single pairing idea. Rest assured, both Ruby and Yang will get their chance to know Peter.
Arrankor: I hope this chapter brought some insight as to how Peter got the resources for his Spider-Man tech. Yes, just like the rest of his physical attributes, Peter's aura is also enhanced to superhuman levels. I plan to introduce Peter's semblance somewhere down the road, but not anytime soon.
GuestWithIdeas: No need to apologize for rambling, while I appreciate the intriguing ideas you have provided, I think it's better if Peter becomes a student, that way he gets to spend more time with the team. But... I might consider making him a part-time teacher assistant down the line, maybe in the second semester.
Sonicdudes2000: Thank you. Wow, I love the idea of the symbiote being part Grimm. And yeah, some of the animal-themed Spider-Man villains in this world will get their abilities/characteristics from being a Faunus.
SparkyDapperDab19: Well, the Spectacular Spider-Man was always one of my favorite interpretations of Spider-Man. I'll do my best to add in some Ultimate Spider-Man comics-related elements. Thanks for the support!