So really, this chapter wrote itself in my mind just putting the words out has been difficult.
And by difficult, I mean next to impossible and not due to ideas but due to life quite literally preventing me from sitting down on my computer long enough to actually write the damn thing.
That's what happens when your job is a vindictive asshole, it fucks with your free time thoroughly and is unapologetic about it. The other name of this phenomena is called Life.
But aside from that, the deviation continues here.
Really not much else left to say. Big shout out to my main comrades as always, Thunderstruck, Bulletstorm and Jebest, you guys are always a huge help.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day
Avenging Remnant Chapter 23: Proving Grounds
Nora Valkyrie was happily bouncing upon her bed like a child would, making random poses after every jump.
Her lifelong friend, Lie Ren, sat upon his own bed with a book in hand. Even though Nora was incredibly hyper, the atmosphere within team JNPR's was relaxed.
"I wonder what Jaune and Pyrrha have been up to." Nora asked aloud. "They've been coming home late sometimes."
"They have been busy as of late." Ren idly noted. "Though I believe it is for a good cause."
"It is?" Nora inquired, still bouncing upon her bed.
"Jaune has been struggling behind in both combat and education here." Ren pointed out. "Naturally, Pyrrha being his partner and friend, stepped forward and offered to help him train."
Nora only gaped indignantly, pouting. "And they didn't invite us?! QUEEN OF THE CASTLE DEMANDS TO HOLD COURT NOW FOR THIS TREASON."
Ren only smiled in amusement at his lifelong returning to his book.
"…unless." Nora murmured in a conspiratorial manner. "It is not training at all. What if it is something much or mischievous and sneakier?"
Gasping, Nora snapped her fingers and pointed up to the ceiling in triumph. "They have at long last accepted one another's feelings towards one another and have been compensating for lost time with sex!"
Ren was in the process of drinking some tea when he inhaled the liquid sharply upon hearing Nora's bold assumption, hacking and coughing violently. Beating his chest in an attempt to soothe his wheezing lungs, Nora was now pacing back and forth with a strange hat on that she had placed upon herself.
Pipe in hand, the orange haired hammer swinger walked back and forth, blowing out bubbles from a pipe she held in her hands.
"Pyrrha Nikos is a celebrity in these halls, only being outclassed by the Avengers." Nora listed off rapidly. "Jaune Arc is our fearless leader with an easy to like personality. Of course! I should have seen the signs. It was only a matter of time until Pyrrha would be falling head over heels for her partner and he too would proclaim his love for her. Yes, it's all coming together. The princess of battle in a love affair with the common everyday blonde who wishes to be a hero. Classic tale. Some would say that it was too fast But I SAY THEE NAY. TRUE LOVE HOLDS NO BOUNDS."
"NORA!" Ren exclaimed, face beat red. She froze in mid rant turning her head to her partner who was calming himself down at the thought of his two new friends already doing… it.
"I think…" He exhaled. "I think we could just ask them what they're doing and they'll tell us. No need to jump to conclusions just yet."
Nora blinked several times before smiling cheerfully. "No problem Renny."
"Good to know." Ren nodded
Nora kept on smiling until whirling around with her arms crossed in a pout. "I liked my theory better. They would be perfect together."
Speaking of Jaune and Pyrrha, as Ren had guessed earlier the two were training together with Steve Rogers himself. It had been a slow process but progress was coming along bit by bit as Jaune had completely thrown himself into the training determined to catch up to everyone.
The training session for the night had been winding down now, with the young arc reaching his limit.
Jaune fell to his knees breathing heavily.
"Ease up there Jaune." Steve said, going over to the down student to help him up. "I promised to train you, not kill you."
"Right." Jaune rasped out, grabbing his mentors outstretched hand and got back to his feet.
"You're improving." Pyrrha said encouragingly, throwing Jaune a towel. "You lasted a lot longer tonight than last time."
"What, by five seconds?" Jaune wryly pointed out.
"Fifteen, if we're being accurate." Steve said with a joking smirk.
"Well that just easily boosted up my confidence." Jaune sarcastically remarked.
Steve only chuckled, patting his young student on the shoulder and glanced over to Pyrrha.
"Go on to bed you two, the weekends coming up so you both rest up."
"Thanks Professor Rogers." Pyrrha said happily. "Come one Jaune, let's head back."
"Alright." Jaune agreed tiredly.
Steve watched the two depart the training area, turning to start cleaning up after himself and the session. Collecting a few discarded empty water bottles, Roger heard a familiar joking tone from one of the other entrances.
"You know, it's kind of adorable seeing you basically train a miniature version of yourself. Hell, kid even looks like you with the blonde hair, blue eyes and everything."
"Can't help it." Steve said with a good natured shrug. "It's like looking into a mirror sometimes."
"What? Insecurities and a radical hormonal dictation of most of your actions?" Sam said, throwing Steve a beer.
"Something like that." Cap responded, as he twisted the bottle cap to get access towards the beverage. Sam held up his beer bottle and they clinked both their glasses together and drank.
The two Avengers sat together in relative silence, drinking their beer. Neither felt a need to say anything other than just enjoy the quiet moment.
"You know, we've been here for a good number of months now…" Sam said, trailing off a bit .
"You don't need to remind me." Steve sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "You're not the only one that keeps thinking on what's happening back home. Scott's practically the worst among us as he's still worrying for his daughter. And Clint is in the same boat with his family."
"Wanda's been keeping herself busy." Sam stated. "Aside from that old Aleksander guy, feels like she's the only one who's doing something about finding a way home."
"Let's leave the magic tricks to the professionals then. Thor isn't here sadly and Wanda and Amber are still learning."
Sam made a small 'hmph' of amusement, taking another swig of his beer.
"What if we don't get home Cap?"
Steve silently regarded his stalwart friend who eyed with him with a tired weariness that he was all too familiar with.
"Then… Then we'll need to slowly accept it. If at all really." Steve admitted with a sigh of resignation. "There's not much else we really can do…"
Falcon gave a brief nod as his gaze grew distant. It would seem that he tried to see the foreseeable future, but he was struggling to get the details.
"Life can't ever be simple with us, can't it?" Sam Rhetorically asked with a small grin.
"It never is." Steve said before growing solemn. "But… I think we'll find our way back."
"How can you be sure?"
"We got here somehow didn't we? And Clint once told me something he told Fury when messing with greater forces, especially involving doorways. They open on both sides."
"You think there might be a way back?"
Taking another swig of his beer, Steve breathed out a sigh. "We can only hope."
"That's your motivational Captain America line for the evening?" Sam joked. "Consider me unimpressed."
Steve merely rolled his eyes. "Please. I'm not going to be perfect on that all the time."
Sam could only chuckle as the pair drank more of their beer before calling it a night.
Next Day
Pietro had been having a few restless nights the past few weeks, getting agitated with the lack of missions that they had not been able to do.
Granted, he really didn't mind teaching kids how to be heroes. In fact, he downright loved it. Pietro never realized how much he enjoyed instilling knowledge onto younger folks and showing them the ropes like Cap and Clint did for him.
In all honesty, it felt as though he was repaying another debt he owed to the Avengers -and to Clint in particular- for giving him and his sister this chance to do some true good in the world. So to the surprise of the rest of the team, especially Wanda and Amber, the silver haired Maximoff had completely thrown himself into their lessons displaying a level of maturity that he usually kept on for more serious matters. And even then he did it with a laid back, sarcastic air to him.
Yet with the classes, Pietro didn't make as many remarks or quips as he would usually make. He had taken to really working to help understand how each student and team stood within their personal developments and worked to see how to improve each Huntsmen and Huntress in training.
Granted, Pietro sometimes overextended himself as to how he wanted to help but he always managed to keep himself focused on the task at hand of teaching and training the students.
He didn't know that Clint sometimes watched on in a manner of fatherly pride, wiping away faux tears at certain moments.
Right now, however, was another matter entirely.
Holding out two metal batons, Pietro threw each one up in the air several times to get a feel for them. These were Escrimas specifically and Clint was the one who had suggested them when Pietro made a complaint about not having any weapons on hand to fight the Grimm and other enemies when on a mission.
Naturally, Clint had first asked why he would need such a thing since his super speed provided more than enough power in a fight. But Pietro was resolute because he was honestly kinda getting bored of just running up to things and hitting them really hard.
That can get boring to a speedster like him.
So here he was now, handling something foreign to him. Glancing over, Pietro eyed a group of weapons he had stacked up earlier that he had tried out only to plainly suck at using them or not really "feeling" them when he picked them up.
"Sorry, Bruce Lee." Pietro murmured to himself, making a silent prayer to the Nunchaku that he had broken upon first practice.
Focusing up, Pietro loosened his stance and twirled both Escrimas in his hands while eyeing the metal humanoid training dummy.
"Alright." Pietro's body vibrated with his powers coursing through him. "You're not even gonna see this coming."
Pietro burst forward at high speeds when…
"There you are, Pietro."
He skid to an immediate stop, waving his arms around whilst balancing on one leg. Slamming his other foot down before skidding to a halt, Pietro turned to give who called out to him a grumpy expression.
"Amber." Pietro said. "I was in the middle of something."
"I can see that you're really destroying more school property again." Amber dryly stated, looking over to the discarded pile of weapons. Most of which were indeed, damaged or broken.
"They're meant to do that." Pietro argued. "They're not supposed to be used in long term anyway."
"Right… Any reason why you're going through them like hotcakes on an all you can eat buffet?"
"I need something new to fight with." Pietro explained plainly like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You need something new to fight with?" Amber repeated with obvious lack of knowledge as to why he wants this.
"...My hands and feet can get hurt, ya know."
"What?"
Pietro only groaned. "Look, for a while now you and Clint and Steve and Sam and basically every Avenger on the team has a kind of weapon or tool they use when we're out there kicking ass and taking names."
"Wanda doesn't have a weapon." Amber pointed out.
"Yet you do while she doesn't as both of you have similar powers." Pietro countered. "And I figured it was high time I got one for myself as well."
"What's really the point, Pietro?" Amber asked, genuinely curious. "I've seen you knock Ursa's down with your speed and power. So why get a weapon?"
"Honestly?"
"Yes, Honestly."
"Figured it would look cool." All he got in return was a bland look from the Fall Maiden.
"You're serious?" Amber asked for confirmation
"Well, yeah."
Cue face palm. "You're ridiculous."
"Thanks, I try." Pietro said cheekily.
"I've only known you for a few months and sometimes I forget how unbelievable you can be."
"That was a backhanded compliment if ever there was one."
"Uh huh…"
Pietro rolled his eyes, facing the training dummy once more. Getting into a stance that he recalled Black Widow once showed him when starting his time as an Avenger, he struck the dummy several times before jumping back. Grimacing, Pietro felt a bit out of place with the stance and tried another one.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to find the best way to hit it." Pietro replied as he slowly moved as he tried remembering the movement Natasha used.
Trying once more, Pietro found himself frowning again as he did not exactly like the way he was moving and using the Escrimas.
"Doesn't seem like you like it." Amber noted.
"It's not that I don't like it." Pietro said, positioning himself differently once more. "It's just that I'm trying to figure out how Nat used to do it before we all split off."
"Nat?" Amber tilted her head. "You mean Natasha Romanoff? The Black Widow?"
"Clint told you about her?"
"Yeah, is that who you're basing your fighting style on?"
"Yeup." He responded, still moving around reminiscing about the past. "She can kick my ass more times than I can count."
The Fall Maiden nodded before voicing her concern. "I can understand you wanting to base off a new way of fighting because of her, but I think you need to do something that's more natural for you."
"Hmmm? What do you mean?"
"Well…" Amber took a moment to form the proper words. "Clint told me that Natasha is very nimble and light on her feet. She uses precise strikes rather than brute force like what you have with your speed to take down her enemies. You can't fight like her cause you're not built like her."
For added emphasis, Amber pulled out her doubled sided jeweled staff and gave it a spin.
"Like me with my Bo staff, I learned how to use both this and my powers to compliment my fighting style."
"Mkay…"
"So I believe you should at least know the basics before incorporating them with your powers."
Pietro gave both Escrimas a long stare, analyzing them for several seconds until grinning up at Amber.
"You've been training with Clint, haven't you? He would say something like this."
Amber blushed a bit at having been caught, crossing her arms in a huff. "Aw come on, Pietro, I tried to make them my words. Cut me some slack."
"Keep trying. I know how that geezer talks and thinks after knowing him for so long."
Amber only smiled at Pietro's fond tone he had when speaking about the archer.
"You really look up to him, don't you?" Amber asked softly.
"Pretty much." Pietro admitted without hesitation.
"Any reason why?"
The silver haired speedster scratched his chin in thought, eyes remembering days that felt they had occurred another lifetime ago.
"He just… he gave me and Wanda our chance really. More than Steve, more than Nat or Sam or the others." Pietro replied. "He saw two kids who were lost and pointed in a direction to do right by each other's and other people. I owe it to him for that."
"Anything else?"
"What do you mean anything else?"
Amber held up her hands in response. "Sorry, I just expected more you know."
"You really gotta lay off those books you and Wanda read." Pietro dryly said.
"Right~ and lose one of my means of leisure? Fat chance."
"Whatever." Pietro rolled his eyes, amused by her childish behavior though he was one to talk really.
The air between the two was one of a comfortable silence when Pietro felt a bit awkward coughing into his hand and giving Amber the side-eye.
"Yes?"
"Say Amber…" Pietro said offhandedly. "It's still the weekend right now and we don't have anything to do right now for the rest of the day. Meaning we've got a lot of free time on our hands to ourselves"
"Uh-huh." Amber nodded, clearly confused as to what he was getting at.
"Wanna… do something later?"
"Like what?" Amber leaned in with interest.
"Oh uh…" The speedster scratched the back of his head. "Well, I dunno." Pietro said rocking back and forth a bit on his soles. "Like… like get a bite to eat, go for some coffee…."
Amber inclined her head to the side, making Pietro feel some pressure on him as he willed himself to follow through already.
"Like… on a… date."
Amber couldn't help but blush a brilliant shade of red with a face of stunned disbelief before her lips twitched upwards into a smile.
"If ya wanna call it that…" He then widened his eyes and waved his hands. "Which it's not!"
"Then it's a date!" Amber declared happily with a jump in her step. "I'll see you later tonight then Pietro."
As she left the training area, Pietro blinked several times before muttering to himself. "What did I just get myself into?"
He grabbed his head with slight dread which then changed into one of adulation, then fear, then joy, then regret, then anger at himself, then giddiness until resignation of his actions.
Shaking his head, he looked back at the weapons in his hands. 'Just the basics and my powers, huh?'
Pietro thought back to Natasha and how she fought, then to Steve, then Sam, the Scott and…
"CLINT!" Pietro snapped his fingers in epiphany. "He'll know what to do! He got married!"
Quicksilver zipped off at full speed all the while shouting for the archer… wherever he was.
Elsewhere
Clint Barton sat alone in the Avengers very own personalized, enlarged office, casually fiddling with his bow, arrows and quiver.
Beside him was a hot cup of coffee with a picture of his family leaning against it.
His ears perked up momentarily as heard an unusual sound in the distance. Figuring it was the wind -or at least Professor Oobleck- Clint returned to his work attaching a specialized explosive piece on an arrow. Moving on to another set of arrows, the whooshing sound was heard once more but Clint paid it no mind.
Screwing on several arrow multipliers to sets of three, Clint began placing away most of the arrows into his quiver. Once that small task was complete, he turned to his bow which was in several pieces.
"VWHOOSH"
Clint's head shot up to the door, his trained eyes picking up on a silvery-blue blur that rushed past the door window. A blur he was familiar with.
"Pietro?" Clint muttered to himself, getting up out of his seat to go see why Pietro was running about so much.
Walking over to the door, just as his hand reached out for the doorknob it was unceremoniously flung open at hyper speed with the force flinging him back onto the table.
"CLINT." Pietro shouted excitedly looking around the room and spotting the archer on the table groaning in slight pain.
"Clint?" Pietro said again. "You alright? What happened?"
"You did." Clint grunted in pain, getting his equipment out from underneath his back.
Cringing in realization at what he did, Pietro was by Barton's side helping him to sit up.
"Sorry about that." Pietro apologized sheepishly. "I kinda needed to find you for this."
"What is it? Must be important that you had to go and knock me on my ass." Clint asked, rubbing his face.
"Yes! Well… I think it is."
"Then what is it?"
"So I… Kinda… No wait I did, NO! I didn't. Well it seems like she thinks I did, but I didn't confirm it, she did. But honestly, I don't mind right about now. See the thing is I was in the gym and-"
Clint rose a brow at this. "You are not making any sense." He then shook his head. "Get to the point."
"Oh right, right, yeah yeah." Pietro nodded vigorously "I need advice."
"Advice for what?"
"Girls."
The SHIELD agent gave the speedster a blank stare before setting down his equipment. Once done, he looked right at the younger man. "Okay, Pietro. When a man and a woman like each other very much and have a burning desire-"
"GOD DAMMIT, CLINT! NOT THAT!" Pietro roared out with a reddened, embarrassed face. "I already know of the birds and the bees already!"
Clint only laughed. "Yeah, yeah I know, just messing with ya."
"But in all honesty, what is it about girls you're curious about?" Clint asked. "I thought you had a handle on that department."
"Girls yes." Pietro said with a now suave grin. "Women on the other hand… not so much."
"And you're not asking your sister because…?"
"You're married." Pietro said plainly.
"...And you're seeking relationship advice or…"
"Well… how did you and your wife get together… or whatever?"
"That was a long process, young Maximoff." Clint spoke in a now sage like manner. "One that involves the ancient ritualistic dance of courtmanship via expensive dinner dates, gifts, and knowing how to make your lady smile."
"OH, then the date bit, let's start with the date." Pietro said hurriedly, gesturing his finger rapidly for emphasis.
Clint silently regarded the young speedster momentarily. "Did you ask a girl out on a date tonight or something?"
"Aheh….yeah, somewhat." Pietro admitted, rubbing his head with an embarrassed grin.
"And may I ask just who this lady might be?" Clint said patiently.
Pietro stammered a bit. "It's uh… It's um… uh... Amber."
Hawkeye blinked, registering the answer given to him.
"Huh…" Clint frowned thoughtfully. "Alright, that gives me something to work with."
"It does?"
"Pietro, you came to me for this so let the master teach his student."
"Not to point this out or anything but uh… you're not as surprised as I thought you'd be."
"Pietro, I'm the father to three kids last time I checked. Sooner or later I need to at least be prepared to give this sort of discussion to them in a good number of years. Well if we can be able to get home, that is. Besides, it's good practice on a man childlike yourself."
Pietro nodded in a vigorous manner before narrowing his eyes. "Hey…"
"And I also recall a similar string of events that happened between my best friend and a raging green giant that my wife needed to point out for me last time." Clint added on. "So yeah, not missing out on something like that again."
"Then what do I need to do?" Pietro asked
"Alright, here's the first thing you gotta do-"
Scene cut
Amber placed a small kiss upon Pietro's lips, a red hue on her cheeks as she did so while the two stood before her door.
"I had a wonderful time tonight Pietro." Amber said with a slight shy undertone after doing such an action. "I don't know how you knew I wanted to do all that but this was a great night."
Pietro was in a bit of a daze but he managed a grin.
"Well, after getting to know you I figured you'd enjoy it." Pietro said
"You're really sweet Pietro." Amber said, giggling slightly at his lopsided smile. "I can't wait to do this again sometime."
Before Pietro could respond, Amber placed one last kiss upon him pulling away to leave him breathless. She couldn't help but laugh at his face.
Pietro blinked out of it, seeing her joyful teasing expression. Scrunching up his face in mock challenge, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in for a more searing kiss than the last two.
Amber let out a surprised 'Mph' before shutting her eyes and leaning into it, throwing her hands around his shoulders.
Off to the side, Clint couldn't help but chuckle as he had his scroll out, video recording the event before him. "And Cupid has done his magic once again."
"Done what again?"
Clint jerked a little before turning around and seeing Wanda standing there with a confused expression. He was going to talk to her before noticing her line of sight.
"Amber… and Pietro?" Wanda muttered out with her eyes slowly widening.
"Uh, Wanda?"
"Amber and Pietro?"
"Wanda, you're starting to worry me."
"AMBER AND PIET-HMMPH!?"
Clint clamped his hand over her mouth, quickly shoving her away from the line of site of the two that she was screaming about a second ago both of whom separated to see who was yelling.
"Jesus Phoebe, let the whole school know." Clint hissed for her to be quiet. "You're ruining your brother's moment with Amber."
"HMMM KSTHM MMMBR!...Mhpbe?" Wanda said, muffled through Clint's hand.
"...You should know your 90's American pop culture in order to get that."
Removing his hand from her mouth while giving her a stern gaze to remain quiet, Clint inclined his head back to see if they had noticed. Peeking out around the corner, the slightly darkened hallway kept him obscured from their line of sight.
"Who was that?" Pietro asked.
"That sounded like Wanda." Amber said, squinting her eyes a bit down the hallway.
Clint tilted his head back while instinctively pushing Wanda with him and covering her mouth again. Using his other hand to use the silent gesture of quiet, he nodded his head in the opposite direction to leave the two be.
"You'll sleep in my room tonight." Clint said.
Back with Amber and Pietro, the latter offered to go check out who was making the noise.
"You could do that…" Amber said before grabbing both sides of his face, giving him a slightly seductive smirk. "Or…"
She finished by picking up where the two left off for a good few minutes before they both separated once more, this time out of breath.
"Not what I expected on a first date." Pietro admitted with a slightly dazed laugh.
"Not what I expected on my first date either." Amber said with an airy grin.
Pietro kept his smile up until Ambers words got to him. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Amber only gave him a pat on the cheek followed by a quick peck to the other.
"Take me on another one for more." Amber said with a sensual smile. "Then we'll see what happens."
"Deal." Pietro declared.
Opening the door to her room, Amber gave Pietro one last smile. "Good night, Pietro."
Pietro could only nod, mumbling the same to her.
As soon as the door closed, Pietro stood stock still for a good few seconds when he began to vibrate fiercely. He held his hands up, grin threatening to split his face in half until he dashed off at full speed away from Amber's apartment.
Finding the tallest roof he could find at this moment in the night, Pietro ran up to the edge and jumped up on the ledge and threw his hands up into the air.
"WHOOOOOOOOO~~~" Pietro howled at the top of his lungs. "I LOVE YOU BEACON!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Yelled out a random student. "SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!"
"I DON'T CARE!" Pietro yelled back. "I LOVE THIS PLACE!"
"GOOD FOR YOU, NOW ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!" shouted another voice, this one Pietro recognized.
"HEY SAM!"
"PIETRO, SHUT UP!"
"MAKE ME!"
"I'LL GET YOUR SISTER TO MAKE YOU!"
"SHE'S NOT HERE RIGHT NOW!"
"ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU GO TO SLEEP. WE'VE GOT CLASS TOMORROW." Yelled out a stricter voice.
"SORRY CAP!" Sam and Pietro said in synch.
"ARE WE IN A SHOUTING MATCH!?"
"NO, MS. VALKYRIE! GO TO BED."
"AH~~"
Next Day, Forever Fall Forest
The Forever Fall… A forest of brilliantly bright red leaves and thick gray tree trunks that is not far from Beacon Academy. In fact it is an extension of the Emerald Forest which means it is positively teaming with Grimm in the deeper regions.
Which is also coincidentally the place where two lessons are currently being conducted under Professors Goodwitch, Rogers, Wilson and Lang.
"Remember students." Glynda said, glancing back to the students they were leading through the forest. "This place, while beautiful, is also dangerous as well. Your objective is to collect the tree sap for Professor Peach and Professor Lang."
"This is also a good place to test yourselves on your training so far." Wilson added, whirling about to walk backwards while addressing the students.
"So don't goof around, people." He said sternly. "Stick in groups and don't wander off needlessly."
"This place is inhabited by Grimm, but we don't know when they'll show up. So for your safety, everyone needs to partner up in case of anything." Glynda went on. "Grimm are quite attracted to the sap, so be careful if any were to show up."
"We're here to make sure none of you get hurt or die." Steve added. "Remain vigilant at all times. And we expect all of you to be back here by 4 o'clock."
With Team JNPR, Jaune was currently carrying a protective case for not only his team but also team RWBY's eventual sap jars.
"Hey guys." Jaune said with a strained voice "Why am I the one carrying everything?"
"You drew the short straw, Jaune." Yang joked, holding up her longer straw which clearly was not taped together
"Uh huh, but you were the one holding them." The young Arc pointed out. "You could've rigged them."
"I cannot deny or accept the fact."
"Here Jaune, I got you." Peter offered, taking a stack out of his hands.
"Whew, thanks Pete." Jaune said appreciatively. "Wonder what this sap is supposed to do?"
"It is supposedly rare." Ren said, gazing up at the tree leaves. "Only found in forests with these distinct Red Leaves."
"We won't find any here." Weiss said knowingly. "At least, not a substantial amount from these trees here."
"How do you know that?" Blake asked.
"My family home has a garden with a few of these trees planted there." Weiss said. "I recognize which ones are dead and which ones aren't."
"Huh, useful." Peter complimented.
The group of nine walked further into the forest, chatting casually before beginning to split off into pairs of two.
Each of them approached a tree with Peter tagging along with Pyrrha and Jaune and all began the process of extracting the red sap
"Can't wait to taste these on my pancakes." Nora spoke in a gleeful tone.
"I'll be sure to save some for you." Ren promised making his friend squeal happily taking the jar from his offered hand.
Ren went back to filling out another empty jar when he heard a slurping sound. Glancing back, he saw Nora licking the edges of a now empty jar with sap all over her face.
She smiled sheepishly with Ren only shaking his head, long accepting this kind of behavior.
Jaune in the meantime began sniffling, rubbing his leaky nose.
"You alright there, Jaune?" Peter asked.
"I think I'm allergic to this stuff." Jaune said with a stuffy nose.
"Ah Jaune, why didn't you tell us?" Pyrrha asked worriedly.
"I think he just found out about this now, Pyrrha." Peter said making Pyrrha laugh a bit.
"Why don't you take a break and gain some distance from this stuff Jaune?" Pyrrha offered while holding out a crate of already filled jars.
"Thanks Pyrrha." Jaune said nasally.
Taking the crate, Jaune walked over to a secluded tree that seemed to have no breaks in it for the sap inside to leak out and mess with his sinuses. Placing the crate down, Jaune leaned on the trunk and slid down to sit. Pulling out some napkins he blew his nose to clear it out.
All the while unaware of an old annoyance that was drilling holes in his head with his eyes.
Over a good distance away, Cardin Winchester was glaring at team JNPR. Well to be more specific, Jaune and Pyrrha.
'She thinks she's so smart and so skilled. And him getting special attention from the teachers.' Cardin thought furiously, fists clenched with rage at the sight of them.
For the past few days, Cardin and his team had been serving detention under the watchful eye of Professor Rogers who basically hovered over them like a hawk should they step a toe out of line.
Apparently Professor Goodwitch had gotten the message from Rogers, unbeknownst to team CRDL and kept her own eye on them as well.
They actually had to remain silent and watch themselves, not giving out any snide remarks or putting Faunas in their place. Cardin wanted to blame Professor Rogers oh-so much, but he recalled the little detail back in the cafeteria those weeks ago where the leader of the Avengers came to the cafeteria not to bust him and his team but to return that blonde pest's weapon.
Along with the other string of humiliating moments him and his team suffered in Professor Ooblecks class later that same day, Cardin had a convoluted thought process as to how this had all happened to him so quickly. The answer was easy really.
It was Jaune Arc's fault. And he was gonna make him pay.
Looking at the several jars that were going to be used for their assignment, the CRDL team leader got an idea to get back at the thorn at his side.
"Hey guys." Cardin whispered to his team. "I think it's high time we give what Jauney boy has been asking for, for a long time."
Back with the others, Ren was casually holding back Nora who was eagerly reaching for another full jar of Red Sap.
"Come on Renny." Nora asked childishly. "Please, please, pretty please? Just one more."
"Nora, I can't make your pancakes if you eat all the sap before we can even get home." Ren argued calmly.
"But it's so good!" Nora whined.
"You can have some once we complete our assignment." He pointed out. "If we don't present our jars to the professors, then we fail."
Peter, Pyrrha and team RWBY watched on in amusement.
"Makes ya wonder if it's any good?" Ruby asked aloud, gazing down at the jars they had.
"You can try it if you want." Yang suggested, already swiping some out of her jar with one finger.
"Could they taste better with cookies?"
Her blonde sister rolled her eyes. "You and your sugary vice."
"Just hope you don't end up like Jaune back there." Peter said, gesturing his thumb behind him.
The all-girl team gazed behind Peter with inquisitive looks.
"Where is Jaune?" Ruby asked aloud.
"What are you talking about he's right… there…" Peter turned to find both Jaune and the full crate of sap filled jars gone. "Eh… Where'd he go with our assignment?"
Jaune was slammed against a tree hard, with some sap covering his clothes and armor. Sporting a black eye with a disheveled appearance, he glared with a level of fear at the looming figure of Cardin Winchester towering over him. Behind him was his team of lackeys who held an equal level of spiteful glares directed right at him.
Jaune faced Cardin who also had some sap on his armor as the larger student reached down to grab him by the chest piece and pull him back up.
"I've been waiting a long time for this." Cardin snarled, punching Jaune in the gut.
"The hell's your problem, Cardin." Jaune groaned out.
"You already know the answer to that, loser." Cardin said, punching Jaune again making him cough this time. "Cause of you, we got detention for a damn near month. We actually had to behave in class because your teachers pet."
"That was your guys' fault, not mine." The young Arc tried standing back up, only to receive another blow to the gut in the process.
"Ah shut up." Russell snidely said, getting his own punch in.
"Yeah cause of you, we had to clean the dang gym locker room twice." Dove said in anger, kicking him down.
Jaune coughed, struggling onto all fours.
"Your actions were not really smart, Jauney boy." Cardin hoisted up said student by the scruff of his hoodie. "I'll be sure to send you back to your mommy in teeny tiny pieces. And after I'm done with you, I'll be sure to give your team and your friends a little visit as well."
That made Jaune actually widen his eyes, sending Cardin an intense glare of his own.
"I… I don't care what you do to me, Cardin. But leave… leave my friends alone." Jaune moved his head closer with a harsher glance. "You are not messing with them."
Cardin was momentarily thrown off at just how angrily Jaune defended himself but shook it off.
"What? You think you can talk all tough like that makes you a big, strong man now?"
Jaune merely smiled. "No, it just makes me a good friend and leader. Besides, I could do this all day."
This seemed to piss Cardin off more. Rearing his fist back, he shot it forward to deliver another harsh punch to the face.
Yet upon impact, the Winchester felt his wrist almost breaking as he saw a soft white glow coming off the face of his intended target.
Jaune fell to the ground, sitting up quickly. Touching a hand to his cheek, the bruise and scratches he had gotten earlier were now gone. Taking a moment to gaze at his hands, he noticed a white light over his arms subside a second later.
'My aura!' Jaune thought to himself when he was kicked back down from behind by Sky Lark.
Looking back up, Jaune saw Cardin stepping closer to him as he massaged his wrist. "Let's see how much of a man you are now-"
RRRHAAAAAAAARH
The five students slowly turned in slight fright at the arrival of a large Ursa Major. Though it was not alone. It was accompanied by two other Ursa's.
'Wonderful.' Jaune thought in dread. 'A pack of Grimm. Like my day couldn't get any worse.'
Suddenly, several Beowolves started crawling out of the woodwork.
'Thanks a lot, Oum.'
Glancing down at his clothes, he remembered Professor Goodwitch mentioning something about this sap attracting Grimm.
'...Crap.'
Sky Lark, Russel and Dove all make a run for it while leaving the two sap covered students to the Grimm that were closing in on the two.
'Is this what Peter meant when he talked about Parker luck?' Jaune thought anxiously, getting to his feet and pulling out his sword and shield ready to defend himself. 'If so, then I think it's not exclusively to him.'
The head Beowolf let out a howl, a signal to the others to go on the attack.
This howl did not go unheard by the rest of team JNPR, team RWBY and Peter Parker who just so happened to be nearby.
"Ok, that's not a good sign." Peter said.
"It came from over there." Blake pointed forward.
And sure enough, the group saw almost all of team CDRL coming their way.
"Run for your lives!"
"Big ass Ursa!"
"GRIMM GRIMM!"
Russell ran right into yang who was unphased, picking him up by the back of his shirt.
"Grimm? Where?" Yang asked Russell who pointed back in the direction he ran from frantically.
"Wait, where's Jaune?" Pyrrha asked in concern.
"Back there with Cardin." Russell answered
"Take us there, now!" Yang ordered.
"Wait!" Ruby called out. "We need to alert the professors!" She then looked at the others in the group. "Nora, Ren, Blake, Peter; go get them now."
Blake, Ren and Nora nodded as they turned around and ran.
"And what about you guys?" Peter asked
"We're gonna help out Jaune." Pyrrha said determinedly, pulling out her spear, Milo, and her shield from her back.
The slapped together team of Yang, Pyrrha, Weiss and ruby ran forward to the sounds of additional howling Grimm up ahead.
Jaune tackled Cardin down in time from being slashed down by the largest Ursa of the Grimm, jumping up in time to raise his shield and hold back another Ursa, this one a minor.
'Stronger than I thought.' Jaune struggled against the Grimm's weight, sliding back in the process.
His eyes darted around, counting the number of Grimm present in the area.
'Ten.' Jaune counted, trying to push back against the Minor. 'Ten Grimm against the two of us…'
Cardin in the meantime shivered behind Jaune, holding up his mace feebly.
"Cardin!" Jaune barked at him. "I need you to focus, we gotta do this together!"
With as much strength as he could muster, Jaune managed to shove the Grimm back and jumped to Cardin for some distance. The Grimm were now surrounding him and his bully.
Cardin was sweating bullets with Jaune in no better state but he tried his best to remain focus.
He saw one of the smaller Beowolves run at him.
"I block you hit." Jaune shouted out without even thinking, stepping forth to block the Beowolf.
He held it back with a grunt, remaining firm.
"CARDIN!" Jaune yelled out desperately to the mace wielder.
Shaking his head, Cardin ran forward and with all his power smashed his mace down upon the Grimms head, killing it.
Winchester let out a shaky laugh at the small victory but was cut off by a bear paw from the Ursa Minor Jaune had previously held off.
With a swipe of its claw, the Ursa Minor tried to take down the young Arc, yet said student was able to evade the blow. This happened a few more times before Jaune was smacked away, sending him tumbling across the ground. In this moment, the sword and shield wielder quickly moved and performed a recovery roll to miraculously get back onto his feet.
'That's rather lucky.' He thought before gazing down to his scroll attached to the back side of his shield. 'Crap. My aura's starting to hit the red.'
Hearing a howl, Jaune saw a few Beowolves rushing towards him. Gritting his teeth, he had to act.
Timing their run, Jaune tumbled out of the way in time a Wolves collided against one another. One however managed to avoid this and pounced after Jaune.
Acting on instinct, Jaune positioned himself in a familiar stance with his shield raised in a particular manner. When the Beowolf was within range, Jaune gave it a series of well-placed strikes to its neck and head. Stunned by the blows, Jaune finished it off with a powerful slice with his sword.
'Wow. Professor Roger's lessons are really paying off.' He thought with mild glee before shaking his head. 'Focus now. Praise later.'
He glanced over to locate Cardin and saw that he was surrounded by the three Ursa's all of which were looming over him.
"NO!" Jaune ran forward and without even aiming, shoved his sword into the back of the closest Ursa Minor.
It roared out in agony, collapsing forward and bashing into the other two Ursa's both of which fell down. Scrambling back to his feet, Jaune repeatedly hacked at the downed Ursa, killing it before rounding about to face the next Grimm.
The Ursas and the Beowolves were back on their feet, now snarling maliciously at Jaune who was panting heavily.
'I can't fight off all these guys.' Jaune internally admitted to himself. 'I got lucky with the first two. There's still seven left.'
Cardin in the meantime could only tremble, shakily clutching his mace as he faced the Grimm that were approaching. Jaune stood to his side, breathing with tiredness evident from him.
'Where were the professors?' Was the passing thought.
Jaune glanced over to Cardin momentarily and was honestly surprised as to how this day was turning out to be. One moment he was getting his face beaten in by Cardin, then that white light, then this…
Jaune's eyes widened, getting a crazy idea as the Ursa Major charged forward.
"Cardin." Jaune shouted, holding his shield to him. "Hit me now."
"Huh?" Cardin asked, looking like the Arc had gone mad.
"JUST DO IT NOW!" Jaune yelled at him, making the larger of the two flinch before obliging the blonde and striking his Shield.
Jaune tried his best to call forth whatever Aura he had left just as the mace came down on his shield. Shutting his eyes at the last second, the mace struck the shield and a blinding white light illuminated the area like it had just a few minutes ago.
The surrounding Grimm, including the running Ursa Major all halted and cried out as they covered their eyes. Cardin did the same, rubbing his eyes.
Jaune opened his eyes with a determined glint and ran forward, sword raised above his head. Spinning himself to add some momentum, Jaune decapitated the Ursa Major just as it regained its sight.
And just in time as he saw the more welcoming sight of his friends and partner rush in to help them out.
Weiss called forth a few enhancement glyphs which the other girls used as boosts as they rocketed towards the remaining Grimm.
Together, Pyrrha, Ruby and Yang cut down the Grimm leaving Jaune to exhale in relief.
"Whew. That was to close."
Cardin had recovered from his brief blindness to see that all of their enemies were gone with Jaune standing tall in front of him.
"Jaune?" Cardin spoke out in shock. "Holy crap-"
"Don't you ever mess with me, or my team, or my friends ever again." Jaune said in an even tone. Yet his eyes spoke otherwise as they were hardened. "Got it?"
The young Arc didn't wait to hear or get a response from Cardin as he turned around and walked away.
Seeing this happen, Yang was the one to speak up first. "Any idea what that was about?"
Ruby was a little bit lost with Weiss being no better. Only Pyrrha had an idea as to what was going on, making her form a small smile on her face.
Unbeknownst to the students, Steve Rogers and Clint Barton observed all this. Though they had their weapons with them, neither pulled them out as they had elected to stand by and watch.
"Who would've guessed he could be much like you, Steve." Clint quipped. "Hell, that little Ruby is in the same boat as you. It's like we found two mini-you's."
"It's a small world after all."
"...You need to come up with better quips, Cap." Clint said. "And it's multiverse."
Steve rolled his eyes at the details, remaining unperturbed by Clint's comments with a growing sense of pride at his students, not just Jaune exclusively.
Evening, Beacon Dorms
Standing on the rooftop, Jaune looked towards the distance with a far off look. Not much was on his mind except for what he did earlier today.
"I thought I'd find you here."
Looking back, Jaune saw his partner walking towards him.
"Hey, Pyrrha."
"Couldn't sleep again?"
"Not… entirely." Seeing the look on her face, he turned back to look at the broken moon in the heavens.
"What's the matter?"
"Just… Just didn't expect today to go the way that it happened earlier."
"What? With the whole Grimm attacking you?"
"More like getting kidnapped and beaten up by your bully." Jaune said a bit dejectedly. "Only to stand and protect him moments later. Strange really."
Pyrrha hummed in thought, her own memories of the day playing out through her head. "You're right, it is strange."
Jaune shot her a humorous look, making her giggle slightly swaying back and forth a bit.
"You should feel proud of yourself, Jaune." Pyrrha said with a beaming smile. "You really proved yourself today."
"Really? Because it felt like I mostly tripped and fumbled my way through it." Jaune said self-deprecating.
"Don't cut yourself short. Not every fight is perfect." Pyrrha said, hand on his shoulder now. "Besides, me and the girls saw that move you did when you cut down that Ursa Major. You did that yourself."
"By sheer dumb luck."
Pyrrha scowled slightly now, nudging him with some force making him stumble a bit.
"Come on Jaune, don't beat yourself up." Pyrrha said. "What you did today proves that you do belong here. I didn't even do much to get in."
"Why would you need to?" Jaune asked with obvious confusion. "Aren't you some kind of champion, last I checked?"
Pyrrha bit her lip, somewhat hesitant as to say as to why she exactly came here to beacon of all places.
"Do you wanna know why I'm attending here than over at Mistral?" She didn't wait for Jaune's response as she gave her own answer. "Because I wanted to get away from it all. Start fresh."
"Huh?" Jaune quirked a brow, facing her. "What do you mean?"
She gave him a strained smile.
"It's tiresome getting the constant praise where I come from. Everyone always expecting so much out of me, all because I won several tournaments and was labeled The Invincible Girl by everyone at home." Pyrrha let out a slight bitter laugh. "Didn't even help that many teachers would've tried to play special favors with me if I attended the main school there. But when I sought elsewhere, I found out that Beacon's faculty would not do so here. So that's when I knew I didn't just want to come here… I needed to. I needed that fresh start without everyone ogling me or just staring at me and everything I did. And I did."
Jaune felt a bit moved when hearing his partner saying all this. Though he did chuckle a little. "And I bet it didn't hurt with the Avenger's here, huh?"
"That too, but that's beside the point." Pyrrha said, smirking at Jaune's joke. "I got my new beginning here at Beacon. Sure I have a few people stare at me every now and then but here, I can just be me. I can just be Pyrrha Nikos with my friends and my team. No judgement but their own as they get to know me and I get to know them."
"You know, you sound a lot like my oldest sister."
This peaked her interest. "Hmm? How so?"
Jaune scratched the back of his head, thinking about his large family.
"Back home there were eight of us that Mom and Dad had to take care of." Jaune cringed jokingly, remembering some of the more sleepless nights. "And me being the only boy, I just had to get out of there."
"Yet to my surprise, Saphron, my oldest sister ended up beating me to it."
"Really?" Pyrrha said. "And where is she now?"
"Honeymoon." Jaune said with a shrug. "Last I heard, her and… Terra I think her name was were up and gone."
"Aw, what kind of brother are you?" Pyrrha jokingly chided. "Not knowing the name of your sisters… wife… Huh, I didn't knew she was…"
"Gay? Playing for the other team?"
"Yeah, that." Pyrrha admitted, honestly unfamiliar with these kinds of things… in fact most kinds of things regarding intimate relationships.
"I'm not judgmental and neither are my parents and other sisters. As long as Saphron is with someone she loves a lot then they wouldn't mind… as long as her significant other treats her right and vice versa."
"That's sweet, your parents sound wonderful."
Now it was Jaune's turn to let out a bitter laugh. "They are when they want to be."
Pyrrha was a bit thrown off by Jaune's change in demeanor.
"They weren't exactly… supportive on me leaving home and coming here, even with what I did in getting here; which by the way I still don't plan on telling them."
"Your secret's safe with me." Pyrrha promised with a mischievous wink.
Jaune laughed, throwing an arm around Pyrrha and pulling her into a side hug.
"Thanks for being here Pyrrha." Jaune said earnestly.
"Same goes for you to." The red head said, leaning into the hug.
It was after several seconds of staring into one another's eyes that both realized the close proximity that they had between each other.
Blushing, both separated quickly letting out nervous laughter.
"Sorry about that." Jaune apologized. "Didn't mean to make it awkward."
"It's ok." Pyrrha responded quickly, catching herself in her flustered state only to make herself blush more.
Jaune in turn only laughed at her state, making Pyrrha pout in protest which fell apart after a second. The two shared a laugh together, feeling a great deal of tension and stress alleviate from them.
"Thanks Pyrrha." Jaune said sincerely with a happy smile. "Thanks for being my Partner."
"Thanks for being my friend." Pyrrha said in turn. "Come on, let's get some sleep."
Nodding, both members of team JNPR walked alongside one another as they returned back to their dorm.
Both had on content expressions during their walk back home… but Pyrrha couldn't help but occasionally steal a glance at her partner who remained blissfully unaware of these glances.
Whether she had realized it or not, Pyrrha felt a shift in her perception towards her goofy team leader. Her heart rate had increased a few times, causing her to place her hand above her chest in an effort to calm it down.
She didn't understand as to why she was reacting like this, but after that little moment between them with her opening up a bit there was a sense of trying to rationalize as to why she did such a thing.
Shaking her head again, Pyrrha cleared her thoughts on the matter yet they returned just as soon as she had came back to her dorm and laid down to sleep.
And stayed they did this time, well into her falling into slumber.
Whenever you've got a comrade like Jebest to help you out, that's always the necessary kick in the ass one needs to get shit done.
He updated his story and now I can do the same with mine cause Jebest is an awesome and rad Comrade who always helps me out when I ask for it.
And before we close out the chapter.
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The Avengers facility, stationed in upstate New York has had for the longest time now a greater sense of emptiness than what it used to be.
Ever since the Sokovia Accords rocked the world and tore the Avengers in two, the base that they operated under has grown quite empty and quiet these past few months.
Sure Tony Stark had stopped by every now and then to check on things as well as bring two newcomers at one point but they didn't stay for long.
It had been lonely here though, and the sole Avenger at the base at the time being would not mind the company right about now.
Vision floated in one of the kitchens of the base, staring down in deep thought and slight remorse at the spot where one Scarlet Witch sent him plummeting down through the many floors of the base.
He's not know to do this but Vision couldn't help but brood once more over the matter with the Accords essentially destroying the Avengers team right down the middle and robbing Vision of the chance to make amends with Wanda.
If he honestly could at this point.
When Captain Rogers had gone and busted his team of Avengers out of the Raft, they quite literally blinked off the face of the Earth.
Neither he nor his creator Iron Man had a clue as to where they may be but Stark was busy himself at the moment.
Apparently his young ward, the one called Spider-man had also dropped off the radar leading to even less appearances by the playboy billionaire.
Rhodey was usually a welcomed site but even he couldn't fight the somberness of having so few to be around with.
They all wanted to the same thing. Safety and security in protecting the world.
But they wanted it through different means.
Sighing, Vision turned to the Kitchen area and walked over to the fridge when he heard something behind him.
Whirling around with the Mind Stone glowing and ready for action, it powered down a second later upon seeing just who it was standing before him.
"Clint mentioned getting a similar response from Wanda." A redheaded assassin said with a small smirk.
"Natasha?" Vision said with slight astonishment and befuddlement. "How did you get in here?"
Nat only gave the synthetic android an expectant look, quirking a brow that conveyed 'You really wanna ask that question?'.
Realizing just who it was he was speaking to, Vision stepped forth with narrowed eyes.
"Natasha, I hope you would remember that you are a fugitive on the run at this very moment and setting foot in Avengers Facility warrants your arrest." Vision said coldly.
"That would scare me if I had cred but that's not why I'm here right now." Nat said casually, walking past the android and to the fridge.
"And why is it you are here right now?" Vision questioned intently.
Opening the fridge and pulling out some food and booze, Nat place it down upon the counter and popped her beer open.
"Simple really." Natasha said casually. "You and I are gonna work together in finding just where Steve, Wanda and the others disappeared off to."
Vision opened his mouth to retort when he silenced himself a moment later at the thought of finding the rest of his lost allies as well as the prospect of seeing Wanda again.
The android honestly surprised himself at how little he fought against the idea and outright agreed in helping his old friend turned foe turned friend again in searching for and locating the lost Avengers.
Mr. Stark would most certainly be displeased at the lack of Avengers on the team now.
Thanks BulletStorm for this idea.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.