Wow, I actually didn't think it would go from oh Peter/Ruby vs Peter/Yang to now some saying just do both.
And just how would I be able to do that? I ain't no harem story writer. Then again… well shit, you know what I knew this wouldn't happen overnight so you all have time. So now I'm adding Peter/Ruby/Yang into the mix and give me your reasons as to why for each pairing now. One or two at most, I really want fan feedback on this one. You guys got an entire season or 2 to finally decide.
Anyway, yup, Vision and Nat are on their way to Remnant. And things are gonna get more hectic.
There are of course other characters from the MCU and they will appear in due time but within the context and narrative of the story.
Things are getting crazier for Beacon and Remnant.
But that's not all my friends. Because during my hiatus away from the story, SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED. Endgame, Far From Home and PHASE 4 ANNOUNCEMENT WITH CONFIRMATION OF THE FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC FOUR COMING TO THE MCU ON TOP OF ALL THE OTHER PHASE 4 FILMS ANNOUNCED. THOR LOVE AND THUNDER, BLADE, SHANG CHI AND THE SECRET OF THE TEN RINGS, BLACK WIDOW, THE ETERNALS, GOTG VOLUME 3, DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE MADNESS OF THE MULTIVERSE, LOKI, FALON AND WINTER SOLDIER, WANDA VISION AND SO MUCH MORE TO COME.
SAN-DIEGO COMIC CON WOOOOO.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Avenging Remnant Chapter 25: We all have our reasons
Ruby Rose was miserable.
She rested her arms upon the open windowsill, looking out onto the small forest in front of her dorm room with the city of Vale off in the distance.
For the past two days, for the entirety of the weekend, Ruby found herself spending more time gazing out into the city then doing anything else.
Who could blame her though.
Blake was missing.
Weiss basically shut everyone out
And Yang…
She tried her damndest in attempting to cheer her sister up and bring Weiss out of her own depression only for her to spiral down into misery as well.
A soft groan of discomfort came from her sisters bed, the young leader side eyeing the unmoving form of a blond with a clear hangover coming into effect.
Beside the bed on Yang's nightstand were two cups one being a hot coffee with cream and the other a hot cocoa with marshmallows.
Peter was here just a few moments ago to check up on the team and more specifically her older sister, having found Yang the night before in Vale stumbling out of a bar plastered beyond all recognition.
Thinking about Peter made her both smile briefly only to sadden in an instant.
Here she was, sitting at the windowsill, unable to figure out what to do while someone who wasn't even a part of the team had been secretly sneaking out of Beacon and going directly into the city in hopes of locating their lost comrade.
At first, she thought the Avengers would be the one to help bring Blake back home.
Yet that was not to be as apparently a situation had occurred the night before involving the transportation of two big time criminals convoys being targeted and overwhelmed forcing the Avengers to divert their attention in recapturing the escapee criminals.
Sadly, they had gotten away.
Apparently the criminals had been prepared for such an event that is they were to be captured, they had escape plan contingencies.
So that meant the Avengers were unavailable and she had to figure this out on her own.
Granted, Ruby knew in her heart that that was what she should do. After all this is her team, her friends and her comrades for the next four years of Beacon and perhaps even her entire life. Yang for sure at least.
But she was still doubtful of herself and how she should go about fixing what to her feels like a mountain of a task.
Sad frown prominent on her face once again, Ruby looked back into the nearly empty room not just of the team but of the once cheery air that they all displayed at being able to attend a school of such prestige.
Ruby acted subconsciously, standing up out from her chair and leaving her room. Going on autopilot, the scythe wielder allowed her feet to simply guide her to the only destination in mind.
Arriving at the front of a door, Ruby knocked several times and waited. It didn't take long for the door to swing open to reveal one Peter Parker.
It took a moment to see that it was his friend "Ru-"
Peter could barely get her name out when he got a good look at his clearly distraught friend.
Hair frazzled, clothes disheveled and a face that mimicked a sad, kicked puppy, Ruby's overall appearance was one that demanded sympathy.
And sympathy is what Peter gave, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her into his room.
She was slightly surprised to see her other friends Jaune and Pyrrha in the room as well, the former reading a comic book while the latter stared at the many gadgets and tools strewn about Peters work table and room.
The red head was the first to notice Ruby with Jaune a second after, both greeting her kindly until they two saw the state in which she was.
"Hey Ruby." Jaune lightly said, slightly cringing at his next question. "How're ya holding up?"
Ruby's lips only curved further downward, tears comically threatening to spill.
"We're here for you Ruby if you need us." Pyrrha said warmly.
"Thanks Pyrrha." Ruby said appreciatively.
"Sorry that I haven't had much luck in finding Blake, Rubes." Peter said apologetically.
"You've done more than I or my own team have." Ruby said, giving him a grateful smile.
"How's Yang?"
"Alive."
Peter snorted. "Good to know. Didn't know incoherency until I saw her like that last night."
"How bad was it?"
"Well…" Peter rubbed the back of her head, trying to find the right words. "She smelled like a bar and Brewery went on a date."
"That bad huh?"
"Yang referred to me as something involving another language." Peter said.
"What kind of language?" Pyrrha inquired.
"Duh~" Peter made a dumb sounding sound with his expression changing into one that could be described as brain dead.
That got a laugh out of all present, alleviating a bit of the rather somber tone Ruby had brought into the room.
"So what can we do for ya, Ruby?" Peter asked.
"I dunno really." Ruby admitted, gazing at the whiteboards in her friends' room. "I guess I just didn't want to be alone."
"Well we're her for ya." Jaune said with a lopsided smile.
"Thanks."
Ruby spent the next hour just talking with her friends, taking some time to work on some new ideas for her Scythe. The young leader felt a great deal of weight off her shoulders for the time being.
But, naturally, that had to come to an end.
Both her and Peter had sat together at Pete's work desk and were working on his lenses. Halfway through their work, Ruby had grown sullen over the she had spent with her friends, clenching her fists tightly until slamming her hands down on the table startling the others.
"I'm gonna go out and find Blake." Ruby declared confidently. "I've been sitting here in Beacon all day when I should be out there looking for her."
Peter, Jaune and Pyrrha all stared at her for several moments in surprised silence until…
"Alright then."
Ruby faltered momentarily, looking to Peter who was staring at her expectantly.
"Huh?"
"I said alright then, let's go." Peter said encouragingly.
"Wait, wait, wait." Ruby waved her hands. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Uh…" Jaune spoke up. "It means, ok, let's go find Blake."
"What? You thought we would just let you do this without us helping?" Peter said with a grin.
Ruby blinked several times before her face split into a beaming smile.
"Alright then." Ruby said cheerfully. "Hold on Blake, we're coming. But first…"
Scene cut
Weiss was back in her room, sitting opposite of the now barely conscious Yang who was trying her best not to move and cause more pain.
"Honestly Yang, drinking?" Weiss scolded. "You're lucky that Peter was out there patrolling for Blake otherwise who knows who would have found you."
Yang only barely raised a trembling finger to her lips. "Shhh, so loud Weiss-cream, oh so loud."
Weiss' brow twitched momentarily, wishing to further lecture her teammate though she refrained herself from doing so. It was clear that Yang's hangover was quite powerful.
"You're hopeless." Weiss got up and approached her friend who was currently struggling to reach for the still miraculously hot coffee that Peter had left for her earlier today.
"Ah, thanks aunty Weiss." Yang quietly teased. "You know how to make me feel better."
"Had it not been for your hangover, I'd be yelling at your stupidity." Weiss softly said, helping Yang drink down the coffee.
"Ah." Yang said with a raised voice now. "That hit the spot. Who left this here for me?"
"Peter." Weiss answered straight away. "He was the one who found you and brought you back after all."
"Oh~" Yang said in dazed serenity. "I guess I owe him a thank you kiss for such chivalry. Perhaps even something more for my knight in body tight spandex armor."
Yang's blatant referral to Peter's physique on top of her perverse words only served to make Weiss blush which in turn "forced" her to retaliate.
"Pervert." Weiss said aloud a few inches away from Yang's ear.
Wincing dramatically, the blonde bombshell managed to successfully set her coffee cup down before dramatically rolling back and forth upon her bed while crying crocodile tears with her ears clamped shut.
"Weiss~" Yang bawled. "Why~?"
"Cause you deserved it." Weiss deadpanned.
Yang only puffed her cheeks out, puckered her quivering lip and gaze Weiss the hardest pout of a plea for sympathy. The white haired girl only poked Yang's cheeks, deflating them dramatically.
"You are such a baby." Weiss remarked.
SLAM
"GAH!"
"Tally ho my faithful comrades, for we have an important quest to undertake." Ruby Rose said with great gusto upon entering her dorm room.
Yang was on the verge of momentarily passing out whilst Weiss only glared at her partner at the startling entrance.
"Ruby!" Weiss shrieked aloud, not considering Yang's moaning agony. "What on Remnant was that about?!"
"We're going into the city to find Blake." Ruby confidently declared. "No more sitting or moping around." Ruby then saw her prone sister who was clutching her ears with blood leaking from them, her eyes, nose and mouth. "Or having our insides liquefy."
Weiss couldn't help but flinch at the mention of going out to find their wayward teammate. Something that Ruby had picked up on right away, her chipper demeanor faltering momentarily.
"Weiss." Ruby said calmly, gaining her partners attention. "We need to find her. For her sake and for ours. She's still a part of this team. And if we're gonna be a team again, we need to confront this issue now."
Weiss only kept her head down for the moment until looking up at her leader with steely eyed determination.
"Let's go get her."
Ruby only smiled happily.
"Are we ready?"
Weiss then looked to the doorway and saw Peter standing there along with Jaune, both dressed in their combat gear.
"What are you guys doing here?" Weiss asked aloud.
"They're coming with us." Ruby happily declared. "After all, Peter's been ahead of us for several days now."
Weiss wanted to argue at first, wishing to state that this was a personal matter until she recounted what Ruby had just said.
Peter had been out there before any of them, as a matter of fact, the first one of the group of friends she's made in Beacon that has made an active role in trying to find their missing friend. So, she gives Peter a hard but appreciative stare and nods.
"Urgh…"
All heads turned to the unmoving Yang whose eyes had changed into literal swirls, drool dripping from the corner of her lip.
"I… uh, think we should wait a little bit so she could get back on her feet." Peter said, cringing at Yang's form. "And comes back from the dead."
"Why do I feel like I'm the mature one from the two of us, Yang?" Ruby said exasperatedly.
Scene Cut
Wanda Maximoff currently resided in the personal office of the Avengers team, seated at the large circular table in the room with a cup of coffee in her hands.
On the other side of the table was Amber and Pietro with the former tending to the latter's arm after sustaining an injury from their latest mission.
Beside them was Hawkeye who was fiddling with some of his arrows. He too had a bandage on his cheek though with his unlocked aura, his injury will fade within another day.
Apparently, even with their Aura's and Semblances being quite forcibly unlocked, Cap, Falcon and Clint's bodies were taking a long time in manifesting in full.
But that was a topic for another time, as Clint briefly glanced up to Wanda who was jittering and thrumming her fingers against her cup.
Quirking a brow, Clint set his arrows down and moved onto his bow.
"What's bugging you, Wanda?" Clint asked calmly, not looking up from his signature weapon.
"Hmmm?"
"Something's eating at you. Mind telling me what it is? Don't like seeing you hung up on something negative."
Wanda stared at her mentor/somewhat father figure in slight bewilderment. Not hearing any responses, Clint looked up from his work to see Wanda staring at him making him shrug.
"Don't need to be a mind reader to tell something is bothering you." Clint said plainly. "Being married, having two kids and being a trained SHIELD agent does the reading for me. So, come on, I know there's something on your mind keeping you from your book and guitar. And it ain't the escaped convicts from yesterday."
Wanda could only slump, giving the archer a slightly strained smile.
"So~" Clint said expectantly, returning to his work on his equipment. "What's bugging you, Wanda?"
Wanda silently regarded Clint momentarily, looking over to her brother who only shrugged and motioned for her to just talk. Amber shared a similar response.
Letting out a small sigh, Wanda's hand trailed around the rim of her cup.
"I guess… I've been thinking about what's happened with team RWBY." Wanda admitted honestly. "Blake Belladonna is still missing and we've done nothing about it."
Clint lip curved downward expectantly, nodding along with Wanda's explanation.
"Makes sense." Clint said, screwing on a bolt on the upper curve of his bow. "We are after all, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, well Remnant really. And it would make sense that we do something to help. But this isn't our job."
Wanda stared in minor disbelief. "Not our job? Clint, we're teacher here, temporary as it may be. And a student has gone missing. And now you're telling me we're gonna do nothing about it?"
"I'm fully aware of that Wanda, but you also need to remember the kind of school we're at right now, the circumstance and that we're dealing with teenagers here." Clint said, folding away his bow and now fully facing his fellow Avenger. "This isn't something that we can solve so easily. This is something that they have to do themselves."
"Why?" Wanda blurted out.
"Because I can't explain it in a proper way but the best way I could phrase it is…" Clint leaned back in his chair, arms crossed in thought. "If we were to go out and save Blake, we wouldn't be able to fully settle this matter with herself and her team. We'd just be an outside party interfering in a set of circumstances that would feel invasive and unhelpful. These kids, they need to do this by themselves for themselves. We can talk after or if things get drastic but right now, we need to allow them time to settle it between each other. We can't save everyone. Sometimes… they need to learn how to save themselves first."
Scarlet Witch could only frown deeply, grimacing at the truth of his words and leaned her arms against the table now.
"They'll be fine Wanda." Pietro assured confidently.
"How can you be sure?"
"They are some of the best students of their grade." Amber spoke up this time. "And in all honesty they sort of remind of you guys."
"You guys?"
"Yeah, the Avengers." Amber stated as if it were the most obvious thing. "Sure you're all different and come from individual backgrounds but you found a way to work together as a team, didn't you? That's the whole point of this place."
Clint grinned in Amber's direction, gesturing his hand to her.
"See that, Wanda." Clint said. "You've got nothing to worry about. There's no problem that they can't solve themselves."
Then the door to their office burst open with a frazzled looking Master of Mystic arts named Aleksander rushing in.
"We've got a problem." Aleksander said out of breath. "Or the start of one."
The four Avengers silently regarded the frazzled Magic user, with Clint tilting his head exasperatedly. "If it's not one thing, it's another."
The City Of Vale
Blake sat alone on a rooftop café with one Sun Wukong sitting adjacent to her, cup of tea in hand… or tail really.
Her mood and aura was one of slight depression and extreme focus as she gazed intensely at the golden haired Faunus who was nonplussed by her stare.
"So, are you just gonna look at me like that all day or…?"
"Sun." Blake said a bit annoyed.
"Ah, it speaks." Sun raised his cup in congrats. "So after two days of nothing but your name, I've only been getting these looks and glares. Yeah, like that one right there."
Blake only rolls her eyes at the teens laid back demeanor, taking a moment to gather her thoughts and gave him an expectant look. "Sun… Are you familiar with the White Fang?"
"Is that a trick question?" Sun said right away. "I'm pretty every Faunus on this planet has heard of those psychos. Stupid, holier-then-thou creeps that use force to get what they want. Nothing but a bunch of freaks if you ask me. Just like those Cleanser douchebags who call themselves "The Friends to Humanity". Can you believe that kind of garbage?"
Taking a sip of her tea, Blake let out her little secret. "I was once a part of said freaks."
Sun was in the middle of drinking his own tea when his eyes went cross-eyed, inhaling the liquid and coughing violently. Beating his chest to stem the coughing and increased heartbeat, monkey boy gave Blake a stunned gaze of disbelief.
"Wait, What?! You were a part of the White Fang."
"Not that long ago really." Blake wistfully stated, leaning back into her chair. "It was earlier this year, actually. I was a part of the White Fang since I was a child. One could even say I was born into it."
"Geez." Sun rubbed the back of his neck. "Didn't realize kids were a part of it."
"That was a different time." Blake calmly said, eyes up on the drifting clouds above. "A different fang. The White Fang was first formed to promote peace and further the cooperation between humans and Faunus. This came after the war, after all the fighting and bloodshed was done. The Faunus were promised equality and opportunity but we were only met with hatred and violence. Even after years of war, humanity still looked down upon us lesser beings. The White Fang was meant to be the voice of our people."
She paused, momentarily envisioning a younger more optimistic version of herself standing proudly with her brethren.
"I was there, at every rally, at every strike, at every boycott. I thought we were making a difference. But those were the thoughts of a child." A glint in Blake's eyes made Sun shiver at the coldness they portrayed. "That all changed five years ago. The old leader stepped down and the new leader, with a new way of thinking and leading stepped forward."
In the recesses of her mind, Blake recalled the clashing of metal, explosions and shouts of fear and triumph. "Our rallies and protests changed into organized attacks. Marches turned into riots. Asking to shop in the same store became looting and burning down the same establishments that refused to serve us. We hijacked cargo and supplies that utilized Faunus labor. And the worst part of it all… it was working. People treated us equally but not out of respect. Out of fear."
Setting her cup down, she closed her eyes not seeing the still shocked expression Sun had on his face.
"I then decided that enough was enough. I would no longer allow the White Fang or myself to use my skills for their needs. So I decided on dedicating myself in becoming a Huntress. Do some actual good in this world. And now, here I am; a criminal hiding in plain sight with the help of a black bow."
She wiggled her cat ears beneath the new bow she had tied on after discarding the last one at Beacon.
Sun sat there, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that the girl sitting before him was once a part of the terrorist group he so despises and gives Faunus a bad name.
"Wait…" Sun said slowly. "You said you got out. How though? From last I heard, disconnecting yourself from the White Fang is usually a death sentence."
Blake held a strained smile now. "Let's just say that I sent out an anonymous tip about an upcoming cargo heist that resulted in the Avengers coming to help me directly."
Sun's jaw dropped and his eyes nearly bulged out.
"WHOA, Really?!" Sun exclaimed in excitement. "You got to meet the Avengers?"
"More like saved by them." Blake admitted with a small grin. "It was… pretty crazy now that I think about it all."
"That's an understatement." Sun said excitedly. "You got saved by the Avengers Blake! That means you're not a big of a criminal as you thought."
Blake couldn't help but smile at Sun's words of encouragement, finding his more optimistic personality endearing. Kinda like Ruby.
Sun saw her now downcast expression. "You alright there?"
"Hmm? Oh… Yeah, yeah I-I'm…" Blake's formed sagged down, her eyes glazing over. "I'm just thinking about my friends and-"
"How did they take it?" Sun asked, giving her an understanding look.
Blake could only blink the tears away, releasing a shaky breath.
Scene Cut
"BLAAAAAKKEEE~" Ruby Rose shouted at the top of her lungs with her sister yang doing the same.
High above them, Peter was perched upon an edge of a building with his hands over his eyes as he tried his best to spot Blake from anywhere that he could see.
Grumbling over his inability in finding her, fell from the rooftop and landed in a crouch beside Ruby, Yang and Weiss.
"No luck?" Yang asked expectantly, grimacing over Peter's nod. "Where the heck can she be?"
"It's a big city." Weiss said quietly, not helping as much as the others.
Yang and Peter shared a look while Ruby walked beside the Schnee heiress.
"Weiss, you know you can talk to us right?" Ruby said. "We're not just your team, but we're your friends. Blake included."
"I don't know what to call Blake right now." Weiss bitterly stated. "All I know is the term friend is up in the air right now for me."
"You sure about that?" Yang said from behind the two. "That's not how I would put it when Blake ran off with you calling for her to stop and apologizing."
Weiss' face only turned red, looking forward to avoid the teasing grin Yang now held with Ruby patting her back.
"I'll make up my mind when we see her." Weiss declared.
"See who?"
"GAH!" Was the collective response of the four teens by the sudden arrival of Penny Polendina who stood in the middle of them all, happy smile plastered on her face.
"Penny~" Ruby whined, rubbing her chest to soothe her beating heart. "Don't do that."
"Apologies friend Ruby." Penny said chipperly. "I did not mean to elevate your heartrate. I was just so overjoyed to see you all."
"Elevate your Heartrate?" Peter murmured next to Yang.
"Sounds like a bad romance son." Yang whispered making him snort.
"What are you all up to?" Penny boisterously asked.
"We're looking for our friend, Blake." Ruby quickly explained. "Have you seen her?"
"The Faunus girl, right?" Penny innocently asked.
"Wait, what?" Weiss said in bewilderment. "How'd you know she was a Faunus?"
"The cat ears." Penny answered, pointing to head as though it were obvious.
The girls of team RWBY took a moment to process this information, finding it more and more embarrassing and ridiculous on how they didn't notice that or put two and two together. It literally took Blake revealing her Faunus features.
"She does like tuna a lot." Ruby whispered, wind blowing by with a tumbleweed rolling past them.
Peter couldn't help but tilt his head at the tumbleweed, taking a second to look around and see if they were near a desert or Western movie set. "The hell?"
"Guess common sense isn't as common as the name would suggest." Yang dryly said.
"Have you had any luck in finding her?" Penny inquired getting a shake of the head from Ruby.
"She's been gone since Friday and we haven't seen or heard from her since." Ruby dejectedly said. "Have you seen her by any chance?"
"Oh, I am terribly sorry Friend Ruby." Penny said dramatically, holding the scythe users hands. "But in penance for my failure, I shall endeavor to assist you in finding your teammate."
Ruby looked uncomfortable at the thought of that.
She quickly tried to politely decline her assistance. "O-Oh, there's no need for that, Penny. Besides, my teammates and Peter have this covered, right guys?"
Looking back to her friends, Ruby found only Peter standing alone with the outlines of Weiss and Yang blinking beside him. Peter then noticed both were gone, doing a double take as to how they managed to accomplish disappearing with none of them noticing.
"Did they seriously just ditch us?" Peter asked incredulously.
They fell into momentary silence, another tumbleweed passing by.
"It sure is windy today." Penny noted.
"Where do those keep coming from?"
Ruby could only pout at the fact that Yang and Weiss effectively abandoned her and Peter. "Grrr, Yang! I'll get you back for this."
"Wonder how Jaune and his team are doing." Peter idly remarked.
Scene Cut
"Blake? Are you under there?"
"Nora." Ren said patiently. "I'm pretty sure overturning every booth and store with even the remote scent or presence of fish will do nothing in helping us find Blake."
Nora turned back to her partner and best friend with her cheeks puffed as she set the booth down in front of its flabbergasted owner.
Behind Ren, she saw Jaune and Pyrrha asking a few passerby's for any information on Blake's whereabouts.
"But Ren~." Nora said childishly. "Blake likes fish. Therefore, she should be near a vicinity with fish. *GASP* TO THE DOCKS!"
"Wait, WAIT NORA!"
Scene Cut
Sun and Blake walked down an alleyway, the day slowly turning to night.
"Alright, so let me get this straight." Sun said, hands behind his head. "Due to your guilt, you now wanna figure out why the White Fang have been robbing Dust so frequently and find a way to put a stop to this. You do realize that last I heard it was that Roman Torchwick fella on the news that's been mostly responsible for the Dust robberies here in Vale, right?"
"The way these Dust robberies have been happening are too familiar for my tastes" Blake said determinedly. "So I'm willing to be that the White Fang are behind some of the robberies. But… why would they need Dust? Especially the amount that's been getting stolen. They never needed that much Dust before."
Sun's eyes narrowed in contemplation. "What if they did now? For something big? The only way to prove they're not behind these robberies is going towards an obvious target in mind outside the Dust shops."
"Where would that be then?" Blake asked. "I don't have any clues."
"Well I do." Sun said facing Blake now. "When I was on my little ship here, I overheard some chatter about a huge amount of Dust shipment that's supposed to come in tonight. And I'm talking big time, Schnee Company amounts."
Blake's eyes widened momentarily before steeling herself and looking in the direction of the docks.
"Then that's where we'll go."
Meanwhile, Yang and Weiss were having not much luck in finding their lost teammate after ditching Peter and Ruby to deal with Penny on their own.
Exiting a store, Yang waved goodbye and appreciation even though they found no leads on her.
"This is hopeless." Yang bemoaned. "How are we even supposed to find her?"
"Maybe it's because she doesn't want to be found." Weiss sharply pointed out. "Have you considered that."
"Do you even want to find her?" Yang asked accusingly.
"Of course I do, Yang." Weiss shot back. "I just… I just don't know what I'll do when we do find her."
Yang silently regarded the white-haired heiress, placing a friendly hand upon her shoulder.
"Weiss, I know I said this already but you need to hear it again." Yang said firmly this time with no traces of humor or teasing. "When Blake ran off, you, you were the one that called out to her first. For her to stop. You apologized right away because you yourself felt guilty at making Blake feel responsible for your kidnapping by the White Fang. What does that say about you as a person?"
Weiss looked down in deep thought, clenching her fists tightly while shrugging off Yang's shoulder. "I'll make up my mind when I see her again."
Yang only gave her a comforting smile, this time wrapping her arm around her shoulder.
"I have a feeling you'll say the right thing."
Back with Peter, Ruby and Penny, the trio had been walking down a random street while still searching for Blake.
"So, she's your friend?" Penny questioned.
Ruby sighed. "Yes Penny and we need to find her."
"And you're all mad at her?"
"Meh." Peter gave Penny the 'iffy' hand motion. "None of us are really mad at her, per say."
"We're just worried about her." Ruby stated, sad frown in place. "If anyone is mad at her, it's probably Weiss."
"Are they not friends?" Penny innocently asked.
"That's honestly up in the air right now." Ruby said, somewhat depressed.
"How so?"
"Blake wasn't who she said she was." Ruby said.
"Is she a Man?"
Peter, who was in process of drinking water he had brought from a convenient store a block back, sucked in the water before spitting out, violently coughing immediately after.
"NO!" Ruby yelled at Penny, bug-eyed at the thought of it. She rushed over to Peter, quickly slapping him on the back. He weakly gave her a thumbs up in thanks.
Letting out a breath, Ruby faced Penny to answer her properly. "I don't know what Blake is right now and she didn't exactly talk to us about it before running off."
"That's very sad to hear, Ruby." Penny earnestly stated. "I may not have many friends, but the one's that I do have, I would try to talk with them about these kinds of things."
Ruby opened her mouth but shut it a second later, slumping her shoulders sadly. "I wish they did. I would."
The trio fell into a moment of silence, when…
"PENNY!"
Penny whirled around and immediately beamed happily, practically exuding joy.
"NORA!"
Both orange haired girls where a blur that crashed into each other at such force, a shockwave was visible for all to see. In the center of it all were two young spunky girls hugging each other with so much love and affection, cracks were forming on the pavement, road and buildings around them.
Peter and Ruby stared at the scene in complete bewilderment, the former peaking around the two girls to see Ren leaning one arm against the building with the other on his knee panting heavily with exhaustion.
"N-Nora." Ren gasped out, his voice raspy. "D-Don't *PANT* Rush off like that."
Nora only continued to bear hug Penny who returned the favor. The two proceeded to jump in place, spinning around with utter glee.
Peter and Ruby approached the hammer wielders best friend with the former offering Ren a water bottle.
Taking it with an appreciative nod, he chugged down the entire bottle finishing with a refreshed 'Ah'. Without looking, he casually tossed the bottle away into a trash bin.
"Where's Jaune and Pyrrha?" Ruby asked.
"Not sure. Possibly downtown as of now." Ren replied. "We separated to cover more ground and agreed to meet at the docks. Nora saw Penny and well, here we are."
"Well, at least our numbers are back up." Peter said, rubbing the back of his head. "Yang and Weiss basically ditched us here with Penny."
"I see." Was all Ren could say.
"Come on." Ruby spoke up. "Let's keep going, it's already close to nighttime and I wanna get back to Beacon before the teachers know we've been gone all day."
The day goes by, with the assembled teens still on the search for their lost friend, not knowing her own set of goals for the night.
Blake now found herself laid flat against a rooftop overlooking a large shipment area with stacks of containers bearing the Schnee name.
Down below, it was surprisingly empty considering she had just sat through an entire process of this large shipment getting unloaded from its deliverer.
Her ear twitched suddenly. "Hey, did I miss anything?"
Blake glanced behind her to see Sun walking over to her side cradling a bunch of apples in his hands.
She shook her head. "Not really. They unloaded all the Dust and now it's just sitting there."
"Huh." Sun hummed, holding out an apple. "Hungry? Snatched a few of these apples."
"Do you always break the law without a second thought?" Blake dryly asked with an arched brow.
"For your info, I actually left a little something for these." Sun said in faux offense. "And weren't you a part of a cult?"
Blake only glared at the monkey boy.
"Right, right, too soon." Sun said apologetically.
Both were suddenly cut off by a powerful gust of wind from behind followed by the roar of engines.
Up above, a bullhead flew past the two of them and rotated around to descend in between the large stacks of crates. The ship landed with a ramping extending down. Out walked several people, each wearing matching robes, hoods, masks and a blood red canine-esque head with three slashes behind it.
Blake shut her eyes with her teeth grinding against each other.
"Is that them?" Sun asked in complete seriousness.
She nodded solemnly. "Yeah, that's them."
"You were really hoping it wasn't them this time, weren't you?" Sun asked sympathetically.
"I don't know really." Blake admitted. "Deep inside my heart, I already knew. I just wish I wasn't right."
"Hey! What's the hold up?" Shouted a new voice from the bullhead.
Blake and Sun focused in on the newcomer stepping out to reveal himself to be none other than Roman Torchwick, high end criminal of Vale's underworld.
"We're not exactly the most inconspicuous group of thieves here at the moment so~ would you all care in picking up the pace please?"
"What is he doing here?" Blake all but hissed.
"What? Who is that supposed to be?" Sun asked.
The Cat Faunus didn't get to answer as another man had stepped out beside Roman. This one held a distinct difference to Torchwick and all the other White Fang members.
His posture was focused and squared, standing tall and straight with his arms behind his back and movements precise. The uniform was of Atlas design with the clear white garments easy to see yet it was customized with metal shoulder pads and bits of armor strapped onto his right arm.
"Now, now." The man said with a calmness to his tone. "Let us not encourage the men with such crass vernacular, Roman. These men are here to do a job and shall get it done."
Roman only rolled his eyes, lighting a cigar.
"I still don't understand the point of you being here, Devvrat." Roman said irritably. "I could handle this on my own."
"On your own where the team known as the Avengers operate?" Devvrat shot back. "Let us not take it up to chance and reputation, Mr. Torchwick."
Sun could only look back and forth between to two humans with the White Fang and the slightly ashen white expression of Blake Belladonna.
"Blake, are you alright?" Sun asked in concern. "What's going on? Who the hell are those guys?"
"The-The one with the bowler hat, that's the criminal boss Roman Torchwick." Blake whispered out. "But that one right there. He's Devvrat. One of the four main lieutenants of the Cleansers."
Sun's eyes widened, head snapping back to the Cleanser who was now directing the White Fang on how to go about their mission.
"What? Are you serious?" Sun asked in stunned disbelief. "Why would the White Fang be working with a Cleanser? Even I know those two are basically at war with each other."
"I don't know." Blake schooled herself, visage becoming cold. "But I'm gonna find out."
"Huh? No, Blake, wait!"
Sun's plea was called out in vain as Blake jumped down from the rooftop, landing on the ground and dashing off to the large stack of crates.
Using their size to her advantage as a means of sneaking around, she spotted Roman chastising a White Fang member for his misuse of the tow cable.
Take her chance, Blake unsheathed her blade and zipped forward.
She caught Roman off guard, grabbing the man's arms with one hand while the other held up the sharp side of Gambol to the criminals neck.
"What the? Oh for fu-"
"Nobody move." Blake said aloud even though White Fang members all proceeded to point their weapons at her. Devvrat walked over slowly, eyeing analytically.
"Hey now, take it easy little lady." Roman said, nonplussed at the fact that he had a sword at his neck.
Seeing that she was surrounded, Blake moved to remove her bow to reveal herself to her fellow Faunus.
"Brothers of the White Fang." Blake called out to them. "Why would you aid this scum here? Especially that filthy Cleanser Lieutenant."
"Heh, what's the matter kid, didn't get the memo" Roman asked mockingly.
"What are you talking about?" Blake growled, pressed her weapon against him.
Roman only chuckled at her action. "The White Fang, The Cleansers and I are going on a bit of a joint venture together you see. Something to benefit us all."
"You better start talking then." Blake said aggressively. "Cause either way, your little operation ends here."
"Come now, Miss Belladonna."
Blake visibly recoiled at Devvrat using her name so freely like that.
"You do realize a coalition of this magnitude wouldn't be so small now, would it?" Devvrat stated, smile cold and calculating.
A powerful gust of wind blew across the area and from above came two more bullheads.
Taking his chance, Roman pressed down on a button in the curve of his cane. A small explosion went off, sending Blake flying back.
"Children." Roman said in parent like manner.
"Finish your objectives." Devvrat instructed the White Fang members who were still on the ground while new ones came down to reinforce the two leaders. "The rest of us shall deal with this opponent."
"Opponent?" Roman chortled. "You're taking this to seriously, Devvrat."
"That is where you fail to realize something, Mr. Torchwick." Devvrat replied respectfully. "Where there is one young student in Vale, expect to find more."
Roman's hat abruptly tilted down from a sudden object that obscured his view. Grunting in annoyance, Roman grabbed whatever it was that fell down upon him and saw that it was a banana peel.
Quirking a brow, Roman looked up and widened his eyes as Sun Wukong landed feet first onto his face. Jumping away with a graceful backflip, Sun landed next to Blake with his fists raised.
Roman only grumbled, using his cane to lift himself back up. He gave the two young Hunters a flat stare before glaring at Devvrat.
"Yeah, thanks for the help their Devvrat. You were worth every penny." Roman said bitingly.
Devvrat simply shrugged. "I was lacking humor in my life."
Roman deadpanned. "I, am going to fucking kill you, Devvrat."
"What should we do?" Sun whispered to Blake.
Blake glared at Devvrat and ran forward. "He's mine!"
Sun stared at her running of before rolling his eyes and pulled out a collapsible staff.
"Alright." Sun showboated a bit, twirling his staff all around him finishing off by pointing right at Roman. "Let's dance, eye liner."
"Yes." Roman said, unimpressed. "Let's"
Blake had ran at full speed towards Devvrat who had remained motionless yet there was a momentary glow in his eyes.
Slashing at him, Devvrat merely tilted his head back giving her a slightly disappointed look. Seeing that look made Blake gnash her teeth in contempt, picking up her speed and frequency of attacks.
Adding the use of her semblance, multiple Blakes appeared around Devvrat yet he only grinned in response. Unclasping one of his hands from behind his back, the palm of his hand glowed with aura.
Devvrat moved with practiced grace and ease, seemingly able to telegraph every move Blake used against him utilizing his glowing palm to only strike or block any of her limbs or sword that came close to hitting him.
All the while, Devvrat maintained eye contact with refined focus. Specifically, he seemed to cut through the many clones of the cat Faunus and was able to remained eye-locked with the genuine article.
Letting out a cry of anger, Blake moved to stab Devvrat in the shoulder yet he grabbed her wrist and jolted it upwards. Adjusting his grip quickly, Devvrat spun round and tossed her away.
She sailed past Sun and Roman who were in a heated exchange.
"Blake!" Sun called out to her.
"Focus on who's in front of you, monkey boy."
"That's not generic at all." Sun shot back, splitting his bo staff into two nun-chaku's.
Roman swung his can, getting deflected by a spinning nun-chuck when a trigger was pulled by Sun.
"Shotgun nun-chucks?" Roman remarked in slight praise. "You have my commendations for creativity."
Sun only grinned as he began spinning both Nun-chucks at a rapid speed using all four shotgun ends. Roman blocks each shot, retaliating with his own blasts from his cane with the two entering into a stalemate of dust fire.
Devvrat in the meantime was casually approaching Blake who gripped her sword while tying the cable of her weapon around her left wrist.
Sun, suddenly flipped over Devvrat and landed in front of Blake, wielding his bo staff.
"We gotta take them together." Sun said.
Blake opened her mouth to respond when they heard an explosion go off above them.
They both looked up in time to see a crate dangle from a crane before it fell towards them. They rolled out of the way, though Sun unfortunately was right in front of Devvrat and Roman with the latter pointing the barrel of his cane at the blonds face.
"Hey, watch where you point that thing!"
Suddenly, the cane was snatched out of the hands of Roman and sailed into the grasp of Peter Parker who was in his spider suit save for his mask.
The web-head made a dramatic landing, feeling a sense of Deja-vu.
"Hey everyone." He said casually.
"Peter!" Blake exclaimed in relief and surprise.
"I brought in the cavalry guys." Peter said.
From above came Nora, Ren, Ruby and Penny all of whom save for the last held their weapons in hand.
Roman felt his eye twitch irritably when he saw a familiar face to him.
"Hmmm? Oh, little red." Roman said cordially. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"
"This appears to be quite the predicament for us." Devvrat said smoothly. "Might I inquire where our soldiers are?"
Nora happily giggled, pointing over to a dozen or so White Fang members unconscious and wrapped together in webbing.
Roman clicked his tongue, shaking his head while muttering about the incompetence of henchmen these days.
Devvrat only sighed. "That is an unfortunate set of events."
"Just surrender quietly." Ruby stated with a strong level of authority. "We don't wanna drag this out and we've got more friends on our way to back us up."
"There's no need to fight any further." Ren said, holding his weapons up.
"On the contrary." Roman wagged his finger. "There's quite a need for it. Neo, if you be so kind."
Peter tilted his head when his eyes widened drastically with a strange blaring in the back of his head screaming at him to move.
Ducking his head down at the last second, an umbrella with a blade protruding out from the tip swung above where his neck was. In the middle of the swing, Roman's cane was swiped from Peter's grasp and tossed back into the hands of its owner.
"Many thanks, Neo." Roman said graciously, giving the tip of the hat to the individual behind Peter.
Rolling away towards the safety and backup of his friends, Peter stood up to see a young girl shorter than him leaning on an umbrella while giving him an interested gaze.
She had on a white tail jacket, a pink interior and one broad tail. With brown pants, black gloves and black and white boots, a brown corset and multiple pink, brown and white necklaces. Her hair was split down the middle, the right being pink with white highlights and her left being completely chocolate brown. Even her eyes reflected the color scheme, right eye being pink and left, brown.
"Who the heck are you supposed to be? The living incarnation of Neopolitan ice cream?" Peter asked aloud making Neo pause until she grinned a coy smile at the web-head.
"Smarter than he looks." Roman murmured. "So kids, as much as I would like to keep this dance going I have business to attend to."
"If you wouldn't mind Misters Marko and O'hirn." Devvrat said after.
The entire ground began to suddenly rumble when several crates behind the group of teens burst forward.
"C'MERE YOU LITTLE BUG!" Roared a familiar voice to one teen in particular.
"What!?" Peter exclaimed. "How'd you even get out so quickly?!"
"Friends in high places, bug boy." Said yet another voice, a slithering sound coming from all around them.
"SCATTER." Ruby cried out making all the teens jump in various directions as multiple sand plumes exploded out from the ground while a large, brutish form made a beeline for Peter Parker.
"Both of you?" Spidey whined. "Come on, we only fought once."
"Yeah, and you managed to piss both of us off." A voice growled behind Peter.
Peter barely had enough time to turn round and see the gigantic sand fist that crashed into him.
"PETER!" Ruby cried out in horror.
"Ah, ah, little Red." A snide voice said. "Your fight is with us."
Ruby looked up to see a ball of light sailing in her direction only for it to be swatted aside by Nora's hammer.
Ren stood next to his partner and close friend, wielding storm flower.
"Where do these kids keep coming from?" Roman "tsked".
"We are next to an academy after all, Mr. Torchwick." Devvrat said, standing with both hands at his side now. "Try not to act to surprised."
Roman scoffed, twirling his can around with Neo and Devvrat at his side. The trio stared down the pair of best friends with Ruby behind the two checking up on Blake and Sun.
Spider-man in the meantime was doing his damndest as to not get either pummeled, skewered, smash or a litany of other unfortunate life enders via the Sandman and Rhino.
"Geez you piss of a few thugs one time and they can't let go of a grudge." Peter quipped.
"SHADDAP AND HOLD STILL." Rhino was swiping viciously at Spidey who kept side-stepping every swing.
Then, from nowhere, a metal sword swung past Rhino's hand that tried to make a grab at Peter causing him to flinch.
"What the-?"
"Penny?"
"Peter." Penny said worriedly, running to him "I'm coming."
"Wait, no!" Peter said quickly. "It's too dangerous."
"Do not worry my friend." Penny said with steely eyed determination. "I am Combat ready."
From her back, two flaps opened with a dozen metallic swords popping out and forming a circle behind her.
Peter's jaw dropped for a second upon seeing Penny fling her swords at O'hirns body who wince upon all the tips scratching at his skin.
"The hell…?!" Rhino yelled out with Penny going on the assault against him.
"Alex!" Flint Marko rushed in to help his partner in crime.
Sandman unleashed a tidal wave of sand that formed into giant fists, hammers, maces and so on all being directed at Penny.
Penny's swords began spinning together rapidly with glints of light coming from in between them as she waved her arms in direction of any sand based weapon that came close to her. The force of her strikes dispelled every sand construct until she saw another wave of sand beginning to surround her.
Thinking fast, Penny fired off two swords behind her and she was pulled back by an unseen force.
Landing, the orange haired girl quickly called upon her blades that aligned themselves into a circle with the tips all being pointed at Rhino and Sandman. Rapidly speeding up their rotations, a type of green energy formed in the center creating a sphere.
"Uh-oh." Rhino murmured, wide-eyed with slight fright.
Sandman didn't hesitate in bringing a giant sand wall as Nora unleashed all the gathered energy.
A gigantic green laser beam fired off, obliterating the sand wall and sending rhino and Sandman flying.
"WHOA!" Peter exclaimed, starry eyed wonder present at seeing something so incredible like that. "That was amazing, Penny!"
Penny only gave a bashful look, never receiving such sensational praise before.
One who did not share Peter's sentiment however was Devvrat who had seen the display by Penny out of the corner of his eye.
Narrowing his eyes in wariness, Devvrat returned his attention to his opponent right now who was Nora.
Expertly pushing the Hammer up and out of his way by using its own momentum, Devvrat delivered a swift and strong palm strike to Nora in the stomach. The force of his attack coupled with an aura enhanced hit sent the hammer wielder back into Ren and Blake.
"Roman." Devvrat said sharply. "I believe it is long time we depart from this place."
"Couldn't agree more, my friend." Roman grunted, blocking several of Ruby's sniper bullets. "Neo."
Neo's eyes glowed dangerously, sending out a pinkish shockwave across the area.
All the criminals seemingly froze in the middle of taking an attack.
Upon weapons and limbs making contact with their frozen enemies, the young group of kids found themselves shattering…
"Glass?" Ruby said in confusion.
A glass dome of some kind then fell around them completely and they saw that they were still in docking area with all the large Dust crates yet there was no one else to be found.
"What the-?"
"So long kids." Yelled a voice from above.
Turning their heads up, the teens saw Roman standing within a Bullhead accompanied by Devvrat and Neo with Marko and O'hirn in another.
They all could only watch as the bullheads engines flared and flew off.
There was an air of slight…
"Well, this is awkward." Peter declared aloud.
Soon enough, police started showing up and taping around the area.
Ruby, Blake, Ren, Nora, Penny, Sun and Peter all sat around on a couple of wooden boxes with the latter and former of the Beacon students getting to know Sun.
"So these are Shotgun nun-chucks?" Peter asked in awe. "That is freakishly cool."
"Thanks." Sun grinned. "But the scythe rifle you got is pretty damn awesome."
"It is my baby." Ruby said, cherishing her weapon with a hug.
"Where do you think everyone else is?" Nora cut in, idly gazing up at the skies.
"They shouldn't be too far off." Ren answered. "We gave them a call a few minutes ag-"
"There you guys are."
Everyone turned to see Yang, Weiss, Jaune and Pyrrha all walking up to them.
"We've been looking all over for you guys." Yang said exasperatedly.
"We told you we were at the docks." Ruby pouted.
"You do know there's more than one dock in the city, right Rubes?" Jaune countered.
Blake warily stood up as Weiss locked eyes with her, making a beeline directly for her.
Ruby and Blake both opened their mouths to speak when…
*FLICK*
Blake yelped, rubbing her forehead that now had a red spot in the center, giving a glaring Weiss a 'what the hell was that for?' look.
"That was for running off." Weiss scolded.
*BONK*
She followed it up with a proper downward fist to the top of the kittens head.
"Ack." Blake jolted down, now massaging her head.
"That one, was for running off." Weiss sternly stated.
She finished it off with one final flick, this one being to her nose. By this point, it was becoming rather comical as over dramatic tears flowed down Blakes cheeks at the "abuse" she was receiving.
"And that…" Weiss poked Blake's chest several times. "Was for not coming back to us and not even having the decency to call. Do you have any idea how worried all of us were?! Peter spent hours looking for you on his own. Ruby didn't leave the window all weekend long. Team JNPR came in everyday to check up on us. Yang got drunk looking for you…."
"Did you have to bring that up?"
Blake only stared at Weiss in silence, watching the heiress have a few streaks of tears go down her face.
"Don't you ever make us worry like that again." Weiss said, her voice cracking up.
The Cat Faunus felt her lip tremble as she gave a small smile while wiping her eyes.
"I promise" She said softly.
"Good." Weiss hugged her tightly which Blake reciprocated before they were joined by the sisters of their team.
"Well…" Sun rubbed the back of his head. "I may be new here, but I think it's safe to say that all's well that ends well."
"Really? Cause the way I see it, this isn't over just yet."
All froze upon hearing the authoritative voice that came from behind.
The teens all turned to face Captain America and Falcon giving the assembled teens expectant looks with the leader of the Avengers crossing his arms.
"Now then. Care to explain to us what happened?"
Ruby could only laugh and cry at the same time.
What everyone failed to realize however is one of them slipped away to speak with another individual in regards to her actions this night.
She was sitting in a car with another individual who was giving her a slight lecture.
"Penny." The individual said patiently. "What have I told you about this? Running off and around a city you do not know is dangerous."
"Yes sir." Penny said sadly, looking down. "I know."
Giving a small sigh, he gave her a more encouraging look. "You're time will come, Penny. You just need to wait a bit longer."
Penny has her eyes down before a tiny smile makes its way onto her face, thinking about everything that had transpired today. She hopes to see her new friends again soon.
Scene cut.
Roman Torchwick walked through his personal hideout with Neo right on his tail and Devvrat beside him.
It was a dimly lit abandoned warehouse, the buzzing of the lights giving off some ambience in the area.
"This raid was a bust." Roman grumbled.
"I know Roman." Said a sultry, feminine voice. "And I am very disappointed in you."
Normally, Roman would show a reaction of fear or nervousness but he was very tired. It also help that Devvrat, someone who showed absolutely no fear in the presence of this lady, was near him so it boosted his confidence.
"Listen Cinder." Roman said irritably. "We just had to deal with a pack of hormonal youthful punks who actually managed to stop our little charade for the night. So excuse me if I'm not feeling up to anything right now."
"This was an unforeseen and unfortunate turn of events." Devvrat remarked. "We are lucky that none of the Avengers had appeared. That would indeed put a damper on whatever it is you are planning."
Cinder couldn't help but glare at the Lieutenants stoic visage that seemed completely unbothered by the fact that they failed on this night.
Then again, it was a rare thing to see him get extremely emotional over anything considering he stood face to face with her mistress and didn't even flinch.
Just like that Crossbones freak.
Before anyone else could say anything more, Devvrats scroll went off.
Reaching for it in his pocket, Devvrat turned it on to see a rather important message displayed.
"It appears I am needed elsewhere for the time being." Devvrat announced.
"What?" Roman and Cinder said at the same time.
"Where do you think you're going?" Cinder coldly demanded, crossing her arms.
Unamused and unimpressed by her attempts at intimidation, Devvrat simply gestured to his scroll before pocketing it.
"My leader has recalled the lieutenants and Doctor Merlot." Devvrat said. "That supersedes whatever it is you need of me, something your mistress is very much aware of."
Cinder bit her lip in anger at the casual dismissal of Devvrat, fists tightening.
"Do not worry, my dear Miss Fall." Devvrat said politely. "I am a man of principal and duty. When the time comes, I shall return to assist you in your endeavors but my duty comes first to my leader. So until then, goodbye."
Well fuck me silly that took a lot longer to write than usual.
I honestly don't know if it was writers block, life, other projects but something just kept me away from this story for too fucking long and I've been needing to return to it now more than ever.
My body is in SO MUCH PAIN, my god my job has been driving me into the ground.
So anyway, really don't wanna keep this longer than it already is, Volume 1 is done HOORAY and that means time to start picking up some steam.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.