Chapter 8 Great Day
I'm so sorry that this chapter is released a bit late. My power was out for this entire weekend and I had to handle some personal business. Hopefully it won't happen again, but life always finds a way to make set backs. Thank you and enjoy this new chapter.
"Here you go, Mrs. Julian." Jaune handed a small bag of Dust to a cat Faunus. "Please come back next time." He said in his usual friendly manner.
"Thank you, Jaune I reall- Hey!" Mrs. Julian shouted at her eldest daughter holding a fragile jar of Dust. "Put that down and help me with your brother." Shifting her left arm to hand over her most recent baby to her eldest daughter. The Faunus mom was about to grab her things when the young blonde desk clerk grabbed it himself.
"I'll walk you to your car, if you're ok with that."
"My, my." Mrs. Julian hoisted her baby son higher in to her arms. "Always the perfect gentleman."
"My mom raised me right, ma'am. That and several of my sisters." Jaune smiled at her making the mother of two laugh.
They always think I'm joking when I say I have seven sisters, but I guess they would also think I'm joking if I straight up told them I'm Spider-Man.
Opening the front door for the mother, Jaune walked Mrs. Julian to her car parked close to the sidewalk just a few feet away from the store and placed the bags in the trunk while she placed her kids safely in the back of the car.
"Thank you so much, Jaune." The cat mom said to the young worker while fishing a few lien out of her purse to give to him.
Just as she finally grabbed the tip for Jaune the blonde hero put a hand over the lien and pushed it back to her.
"You don't have to do that, we don't accept tips." He said to her. "Besides, I wanted to help you because I wanted too, not for the extra cash."
"I know, I know, that's why I want to give this to you." The mother of two still insisted on giving the extra lien to Jaune. "You've been so good to not just me, but to every local here that I just wanted to give this to you as thanks."
Seeing that the mother was persistent on doing this good deed the secret hero accepted and gave her his thanks. Putting the tip he was given in the back of his back pocket; the young hero was about to ask how her day went when Mrs. Julian's Scroll rang from the inside of her purse.
"Excuse me." Taking the Scroll out she pressed the call button and talked to the other person on the other end.
"Hello? Oh hi dear! Yes, we just got the Dust and I'm about to leave to go back home to start dinner. You won't make it?" The face of the mother Faunus showed that she was disappointed at what she heard. For several seconds of silence the mother nodded her head as she listened to her husband then said a quick goodbye and hung up her Scroll. Putting back the scroll, Mrs. Julian looked back at the confused teen and explained to him about who she was talking to.
"Sorry, that was my husband." She told the young teen.
"Is he still at the station?"
"Yes, with all the Faunus who joined the White Fang turning themselves in he's been living at his desk rather than at home for some time now."
"Still?" Jaune asked in surprise.
The battle at the docks ended a few weeks ago with dozens of members either surrendering to the cops or being arrested, but many people still wonder when the next Dust shop will be attacked by the White Fang even with so many put in jail. Within those weeks not a single call was made about any robberies involving Dust or the White Fang with many people now assuming who was responsible.
Spider-Man.
It was now a common occurrence for many people who live in Vale to always assume that any crime that's taking place within the kingdom the web slinger will be there to catch them in the act. Because of this notion many Faunus who were able to escape from the docks decided to turn themselves in believing that one way or another they'll eventually be caught by Spider-Man.
Now that I think about it, even before I try to web them up I just have to show myself to them and the crooks immediately give up.
With so much happening with the docks, making the White Fang surrender, and stopping the crashing bullhead, the news became Spider-Man watch 24/7 with cameras trying to catch the young Spider in the act of his heroism. It became even worse when people who aren't even working for the news are trying to get recordings and photos of him web swinging, so they can sell it to anyone who wants them.
Thanks to my spider sense I know where they'll try and take a photo of me making it easier for me to take a different route whenever I do my patrol around the city. Can't have everyone take photos of me, otherwise I won't be able to sell it to the Bugle.
Within those weeks Jaune finally had enough to purchase another camera for him to start his main revenue of income. The camera was still able to put a large void in his spending lien, making him extra carful on what he needs in case of emergencies.
I need to start getting some good photos of me stopping something newsworthy. Simple robberies and stopping purse snatchers isn't giving me enough lien anymore. Wait, is she still talking?
"I really shouldn't complain." Mrs. Julian said making Jaune shake himself out of his thoughts. "I mean, Vale is starting to become safe now. So safe that I don't have to worry about my kids growing up in a crime filled kingdom."
Safe, protected, I wish Denny felt that way before he was pressured in to joining that dangerous group.
It was still fresh in Jaune's head whenever he was by himself. How Denny died on his watch, how crushed and hopeless at the funeral the Pesto's felt when they had to see their child be buried, but what really made it all the worst was what Denny's final words he said to him before he passed away.
Thank you. He said thank you to me. Me. The guy that barley talked to him at school, the guy he doesn't even know behind the mask. The only one who should be given thanks is the person who decided to pay for Denny's funeral.
The pesto's couldn't afford a funeral for their son due to so much crime affecting business making job openings sparse and few. They would've been in some serious debt if not for some generous person who wished to be unknown give them lien to cover their son's funeral and enough for them to pay off bills for the next year.
"I'm sure he must also feel that way to." The young spider said.
"Yup, especially with so many Faunus deciding not to join the White Fang. Now, humans and Faunus in Vale are starting to get along much better than most other kingdoms making Vale quite popular for more people to live in."
"Really? I'm not sure change can happen that quickly."
"You're right on how change can't be that fast, but it's starting to show more prominent, especially with the younger generation."
"Younger generation?" He said in confusion.
"You know, teens like you and in schools. They're becoming more and more tolerant and understanding with each other that I have no doubt that in a couple of years Vale will probably be the kingdom that could very well have true peace between our species." She explained.
"And it's all thanks to… to… drat! What was this person's name again?" She asked aloud. Jaune was going to say his alter ego's name when he heard a young voice speak up in the car.
"Spoder-Man!" The baby said while waving his stubby arms and laughing.
Eh. Close enough.
"That's right!" The mother said while showing kissy faces to her baby. "It's Spider-Man! You're so smart, my little baby boy!"
After making the boy laugh even more the cat mom looked back to see Jaune smiling at the display of parenting before speaking to her.
"Was that his first word?"
"Unfortunately. My husband and I were wondering if he would say 'mama' or 'papa', but when he saw the spider Faunus on TV he immediately started to wave his arms around and speak his name over and over again."
"What does your husband think about that?" Jaune asked automatically before yelling inside his head for asking such a stupid question.
Idiot! You know what the answer is. After all, the police are now more intense on trying to arrest me then congratulate me.
"My husband and most other cops think about how it's unfair that the council wants to send him in prison." Mrs. Julian told him while walking to the front of her car.
"So he also thinks that Spider-Man's doing well?" Jaune said with hope in his voice that the authorities will stop chasing him.
"Yes and no." She said making the hero even more confused. "Yes: that the council is making Spider-Man out to be a criminal. No: that Spider-Man shouldn't remain free."
Come on! You're sending me mixed messages here.
"I don't understand."
"Well, he's doing a great job and he's also making the kingdom of Vale a better place. But since we have police and Huntsmen doing those same things too can cause some problems."
"You mean, that thanks to Spider-Man many people are now relying on him to save the people whenever there in trouble and not them?" Jaune said the got a nod from Mrs. Julian for getting it right.
"He's just one man in a vast kingdom. Yet people paint him as some invulnerable hero that can do anything. My husband just thinks, as well as some of his friends in the force, that Spider-Man needs to slow down before he might get himself in to trouble where no one might not be able to help."
"I see." Jaune said while staying silent for the mother to start the engine of her car. "Thank you for telling me your thoughts about him."
"Any time, Jaune." Just as the young hero was about to go back to work he heard his name being called making him turn around to see Mrs. Julian stick her head out the window.
"I know that it might not have been the answer you've been hoping for. But you can't always listen to one person giving you answers. Spider-Man gave people something they never thought they could get anywhere in the four kingdoms. Hope. And for that, we'll always be thankful to him." With her final words spoken, the Faunus mother drove off leaving Jaune to his thoughts about what she said and how his work was affecting Vale.
Hope. It might not be what I was expecting, but I can live with that.
Lifting his head a little bit higher, Jaune went back to his regular day at working his shift at Mr. Macarren's Dust shop until around midafternoon leaving him the rest of the day to himself.
"See you around, Boss." Jaune said to his employer while waving good bye.
"Have a nice day, Jaune." Mr. Macarren said followed by several other co-workers stacking Dust on shelves.
"See ya'll next time." The blonde spider waved goodbye to everyone one else who was still working.
"Bye, Jaune." Amy, a freshman from Midtown High school said while restocking Dust.
"Take care, kid." Harvey, one of the regulars who come by often now working as cashier waved his hand then went back to counting today's lien.
"Be safe walking home, Mr. Arc." Said Joe, a dog Faunus working as Mr. Macarren's security guard whose attention was still reading todays newspaper about recent events involving crime and sightings of the friendly neighborhood hero.
With Mr. Macarren's business back up and running, he started to let more people work for him including some added security just in case another burglary might happen. Jaune knew that he would always stop whatever idiot who tries to steal from this place if the problem arises, but the added help could be more useful. Especially if he was caught up in a bigger mess that needed his full attention.
"Wait, Jaune, before you go what are your thoughts on what me and Amy did to the front window?" Jaune's boss asked making him stop and turn his head to see what they made.
In front of the window had a huge stack of dust with the colors of red, blue, and black stacked in a complex shape all too familiar to Jaune.
"Is that... did you guys make Spider-Man with the Dust?" Jaune asked them in astonishment at how detailed they put in the time to make it look just like his costume. "Why did you put this on the display window?"
"Well, with how popular he's becoming, not to mention how he helped save my life, I thought that making this will show how we appreciate him." Mr. Macarren said with some pride in his voice at how well his little project looks.
"Not to mention we have to make the shop stand out more!" Amy told them while typing something on her scroll. "Look at this!"
Showing the pictures on her scroll, Jaune and his boss saw several stores put different displays of the web slinger on posters, food, and toys with many people lining outside of said stores to get their hands on the merchandise.
Can I sue so I can get most of the profit? Then again that'd be embarrassing to be arrested that easily.
"Must be nice to sell all that stuff and not get sued without Spider-Man's consent." Jaune said reluctantly.
"Can't be helped. Spider-Man's become some sort of celebrity in Vale, even more popular than most celebrities and politicians." Mr. Macarren told his blonde employee.
"Yup! Ever since the Faunus turned away from the White Fang and saving dozens of people from a burning bullhead Spider-Man has become a part of pop culture!" To show what she meant, the pink haired freshmen showed a silver necklace with a small silver circle with Spider-Man's symbol.
How is it that when I'm just myself no one seems to notice me rather than when I'm Spider-Man most of the time? Hold on, I think I just answered my own question.
"Well, if I ever walk across a store selling some Spider-Man themed food I'll make sure to come back and show you guys. Take care, ya'll." Waving one more goodbye Jaune stepped out of the store and started to walk back home.
Not ten minutes later did he see stores showing tons of memorabilia of him being Spider-Man to the public with people buying anything that was spider related.
One of the stores Jaune passed was a bakery selling Spider-Man birthday cakes to a long line of parents trying to get one for their kids before they run out. Another was a toy store with an even bigger line with screaming children crying and begging their parents to buy their very own Spider-Man action figure.
Walking even further down the street Jaune came across a restaurant with live entertainment with the caterers giving even more Spider-Man themed food to the people while the performer was playing a violin and singing about the blonde hero's adventures as the web hero.
"Spider-Man~~ Spider-Man~~~ Does whatever a Spider can~~~~" She sang her tune with some of the patrons putting extra lien in the tip jar next to her.
Man, I became so popular they even made my very own hero theme song! It's so weird that they're praising me without even knowing I'm here. Then again, it'd be an inconvenience if people started to know my identity and follow me where ever I go.
He also knew that with so many people loving his hero alter ego, they're also people who want him dead. One of them being Roman who is currently in hiding. Just like with the White Fang and their members being caught, some of Roman's men were among them. Some decided to help the police bust Roman's secret hideouts if it meant less jail time.
With so many shops selling everything Spider-Man the blonde hero decided that he should try and buy some Spider-Man stuff, even if they're selling his superhero identity at a high price.
WHOOO! Maybe they decided to try an X-Ray and Vav/Spider-Man comic book series! I know there's a book store Aunt May always goes to whenever she wanted to buy another cook book. ah-ha!
"There you are!" Jaune said standing in front of a book store. "Tukson's book trade, what's this?"
Looking at the small sign on the display window Jaune read it out loud to make sure he was reading it correctly.
"Home to every book under the sun... Buy one get one free!" Jaune said with excitement.
I can get a comic book and a cook book for Aunt May to use! I just need to limit the amount of lien I can spend.
Looking back at the sign one more time, Jaune entered the establishment to see dozens of books lined on the shelves and tables, giving the impression that the sign didn't lie.
Walking closer to the front counter Jaune rung the reception bell to inform a customer has arrived. After he signaled his arrival a tall male with black hair wearing simple slacks and a sweater came out of the back of the store holding large boxes. Moving his head to see who was at the front desk the owner set aside the boxes and greeted Jaune with a friendly smile.
"Welcome to Tukson's book store! Home to every book under the sun!" He said while wiping away the dirt off his hand with his pants. "Anything here that's to your liking?"
Looking around the store to see what type of books were out for the public, Jaune looked back at the owner and asked him a question. "Yeah, um, I looked at your sign that says, 'buy one get one free'. Do you have some cook books you recommend? I'm trying to get one Aunt May doesn't have."
"Aunt May?" The book owner's eyes widen at who Jaune was talking about. "May Parker? You must be the young teen who's renting out one of her rooms. She told me so much about you!"
"Really? I didn't know that she would talk about me that much." Jaune rubbed the back of his head from embarrassment.
"Sure did! A nice woman, heart of gold she has. Mrs. Parker comes by and visits now and then talking about some young kid helping her around the house. She said she was real thankful for how helpful he is. Oh! The names Tukson by the way, if the big sign outside didn't tell you the obvious." Tukson said then extended his hand to the blonde teen.
"Jaune. Jaune Arc, nice to meet you." Taking the hand in front of him the hero shook it then pulled away. "So do you have anything that Aunt May had her eyes on a while back? I want to get it for her."
Placing his hand under his chin to think, Tukson snapped his fingers and pointed his thumb at the back of the shop.
"I got some in the back, just hold on for a moment." Leaving Jaune at the front, the book owner rummaged through the items he had in the back of his store and returned holding a plastic wrapped cook book. "Got these last week. It holds new recipes from Vacuo, including some Spider-Man themed ones too." He said then handed it to Jaune.
"Thanks. Can't believe how much Spider-Man stuff people are now selling. I remember he was just an afterthought people saw on video clips. Now though, people can't stop talking about him."
"Well, you can't blame them. Spider-Man's been doing one heck of a job cleaning up Vale." Tukson pulled out a newspaper from under his desk to show Jaune. "The news is now trying to get him to make a statement on why he's doing this. Fat chance they'll get him on the show, it's as if he knows when they'll try to get him on camera."
Thank you, spider sense!
"Well, he just wants to help people. Not all of the fame and glamor stuff." Jaune told the book store owner.
"Yeah, he just wants to help people." Tukson said with a thoughtful gaze. "I was one of the few people who saw him up close actually." He said made Jaune stare at him with alarm.
"Really? How did you meet him?" Jaune asked with a bit of skepticism.
"I was with a group of friends of mine that was about to fight some people we didn't see eye to eye with." The man then narrowed his eyes when he saw one article with pictures of the White Fang. "We were stupid and just wanted to vent out our frustrations. Me and my friends were about to do something really stupid until Spider-Man showed up."
"What'd he do?" Jaune asked Tukson what he did when he was Spider-Man.
"He didn't fight us or force us to give up. The guy just wanted us to stop and told us to take responsibility."
"Did you?" Jaune whispered.
"Yeah, some of us did while others didn't. Some of the people who did had families of their own and they didn't want their loved ones to worry. I was on the latter and when more people arrived I ran away." The book manager said in bitterness.
"I'm sure he would understand why you ran away. It was probably too much for most people." Jaune told the book manager. "I mean, at least the police and Huntsmen are also trying to help to-"
"HA!" Tukson laughed making Jaune jump in surprise. "Sorry, but they can't do Jack even before the web head showed up."
"What do you mean? Don't the police and Huntsmen keep the peace in Vale?"
"They try to bring the peace, but the people don't trust most of the police since some are corrupt. Not to mention that Huntsmen aren't really helpful besides causing even more trouble."
"I still don't understand, Tukson. Huntsmen help the people all the time."
That's why Ruby wanted to become a Huntress. To be a hero and help people in need.
"They stop the Grimm from over running the Kingdom. Besides the kingdom they also keep villages safe if they get paid. People may think Huntsmen are heroes, but it's just a job and nothing else." Jaune flinched at the bluntness of the book store owner.
Ouch. I never knew some people thought about Huntsmen like that.
Since he was born in a family with most being Huntsmen he always thought they were heroes who saved people from all sorts of danger, but hearing it now made him realize how naïve he was as a kid.
"But enough about that!" Tukson's voice went back to its friendly tone. "Is there any other book you had in mind? Remember, buy one get one free."
Seeing as Jaune wasn't going to change Tukson's view point on Huntsmen the blonde teen asked him if sells any X-ray and Vav.
"Sure, there at the font, but just wait right here." Going to the back of the store the owner came back with a fresh comic book that was also wrapped in plastic. "Fresh comic for you and since you get one for free the total will be around fifteen lien."
"Here you go." Handing him the amount purchased the dark-haired manager placed the books in a bag and handed it to his customer. "Thank you. Have a nice day."
"You too, Jaune. And tell your Aunt I said hi!"
"Will do!" Jaune said then left the store.
Can't believe Aunt May would talk so highly of me. Aunt May really is a kind woman to think of me that way. I really shoul-
"Whoops!" The blonde teen maneuvered out of the way just before he could collide with another teen with sea foam green hair walking alongside her friend. "Sorry about that, I almost bumped in to you."
Looking surprised at the blonde teen for apologizing, the girl with green hair shook her head and gave of her hand a wave to show that she doesn't care.
"It's ok. I'm just glad that one of us moved out of the way." She said in relief.
"Yeah, me too. Have a nice day." After the short talk, Jaune walked past the two and began his regular pace when he was stopped by the green haired girl's friend.
"Hey, do you know if anyone else is at that book store?" The guy with grey hair asked. "Me and my friend have some important places to go and we just don't want to deal with waiting in line."
"I was the only one. Mr. Tukson's having a sale of buy on get one free."
Both teens looked at each other for a second at what Jaune told them before they gave their thanks and walked inside the books store. The young spider was about to go do his usual business when the back of his skull started to tingle making Jaune go on high alert at what danger is nearby.
I'm guessing those two aren't the run-of-the-mill teenagers.
Turning his back at the book store he saw the two enter Tukson's establishment lock the front door so no one else could enter.
Aunt May will have to wait for her new recipes from Vacuo. I need to make sure those two don't make the perfect recipe for murder!
"YES!" Tukson shouted at the two trespassers as he jumped on top of his front counter with his claws extended and pounced at the green haired girl.
As soon has his claws could pierce her face she vanished making the Faunus looked surprised that his intended target was gone.
"Huh?" Was the only thing Tukson said before the grey-haired boy came in to view with a single boot in the air, and connected his black boot to the store owner's face followed by a flash of light.
TWIP!
And just in the nick of time a long thread attached itself to Tukson's back and pulled him out of harm's way as the grey-haired teen's boot ejected a single Dust round intended to kill the Faunus.
"Gotcha!" The web hero shouted as he caught the man in both of his hands. "You ok?"
"Spider-Man? Why are you here?" Tukson asked more in surprise that he would see the hero again so soon rather than thanking him for saving his life.
"I saw the sign at the window and I just had to buy one of my families best-selling book: Charlette's Web."
Seeing as the man was safe, Spider-Man looked at the two would-be killers, both acting nonchalantly at the fact that they almost killed a man making the him worry if they've done this before.
"Get out of here." Spider-Man told Tukson. "You need to get out of here and call for help. I'll try and hold them off. Don't worry, I'll make sure they don't wreck your store."
"Got it. But be careful with these brats." Tukson glared at the dark-skinned girl who was whispering something to her partner in crime. "Especially that chick, she has a Semblance that can trick your eyes."
"Thanks for the tip, now get going." The adult Faunus gave a nod to his rescuer and left the store from the back door leaving the hooded spider to fight off the two criminals.
"Ok you two, why'd you guys want to kill such a nice man? He has a 'buy one get one free' deal for Pete's sake! That should give him a good reason to live!" Spider-Man said with his usual upbeat tone.
"Man, it really is true." The girl with green hair pulled out two pistols. "You talk too much."
"Talking is one of my best qualities!" The wall crawler let out a loud gasp to show he was offended.
It also helps me hide how scared I am when I get into fights.
"That so," The suave male teen shoved both of his hands in his pockets and tapped the tip of his boot on the floor. "Then let's hope your other qualities can help you survive."
Get down!
In an instant, the web slinger crouched low when a black boot almost collided with his head then back flipped to dodge another kick.
Landing a safe distance the spider shot two web lines past the grey-haired boy that stuck themselves on the large desk, and with a powerful pull the desk went airborne directly at the attacker.
With the desk only a few inches away from the target the boy's shoes ignited a large flash making the grey-haired thug jump high enough to dodge the large desk. Shifting his body while in the air he kicked his leg making several Dust rounds eject from the sole of his shoes hitting the desk and splitting it in two.
Dodging pieces of the shattered desk, Spider-Man made a T shape with his hands to signal a time out.
"Woah, woah, woah! You have gun boots!? Forget about regular cops, I need to call for the fashion police!"
"There usually isn't this much talking." The teen said while hopping back and forth on his heels.
"Sorry, next time I'll be sur-" Spider-Man cut off his talking and shot a web string at the girl with green hair who was about to fire her gun at the distracted hero. "Can't let you do that, Greenie!"
Tugging his web back the girl's gun was ripped away from her hand and flung across the room. Spider-Man was about to get the other gun she was holding, but moved his head when a solid black boot passed just a few centimeters from his mask. When the boot passed him, Spider-Man grabbed it and used his clinging ability to hold on like a vice to put the criminal in a compromising position.
"I'd hate to be the guy sitting in front of you in a plane ride." Spider-Man dodged another kick aimed at his head. Just as the kick sailed past him the hero grabbed the other leg, used the momentum to spin around, and flung his opponent to hit the other intruder making them both fall to the ground.
"I think that this is the part where you both realize that you guys are in over your heads." Spider-Man said while wiping both his hands together.
Springing back on their feet the two teens whispered to each other before nodded at whatever plan they cobbled together. Taking off in different directions, Spider-Man thought that they would try and attack him on both sides. Instead, the green haired girl made a break for it and dashed to the front door while her partner-in-crime ran to the back door.
"Oh no you don't!" Extending his arms out to his sides the young spider shot web lines to stop the two from escaping with the boy being stopped while the other web string phasing right through the female killer.
An Illusion!
When Spider-Man realized that the girl used her Semblance the blonde spider took a side step to the right when a long-curved blade appeared out of thin air. With her surprise attack failed she decided to cut the string that was holding her friend and started to shoot at the hero, so her friend had enough time to escape.
Evading each shot with ease, Spider-Man advanced with each bullet dodged until he was able to reach out and grab the girl's wrists to stop her from shooting. When his fingertips soon touched skin the girl immediately vanished making the hero step back at how he was tricked again.
Of course! No wonder my spider sense didn't go off after I reached her. But where did she go?
Hearing the front door open the blonde spider turned his head to see the green haired girl leave through the front door, but not before she turned her head to stick her tongue out to show the hero.
"Hey! I already have my hands full with one illusionist! I don't need another to fight, thank you very much!" Using the back door so no civilian would spot him the spider hero web lined to the roof to get a birds eye view on where she was going.
"There she is!" Spider-Man spotted the girl taking a turn into an alleyway several yards away. "Bet her friend's there waiting for her too."
Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Spider-Man reached the location of the two culprits landed in a crouch and spotted his two runaways who were about to hide themselves within a busy side walk.
"You're not going anywhere!" He screamed before shooting web strings to ensnare them.
Spider-Man's webs were only half way there when a large wall of sand blocked the sticky strings making Spider-Man's eye widen behind his mask.
Sand!? Is this some sort Semblance the guy with the killer shoes has?
The wall of sand soon shifted to become a tall man wearing a long sleeved green stripped shirt and khaki pants. The idea of sand being a Semblance from the grey-haired teen was thrown out the window when Spider-Man saw it turn into a full grown man, making the wall crawler get ready for another opponent to fight.
"Excuse me, sir. Are you their guardian? If so, then I really need to tell you that they've been caught with the attempt of murder." He said to the silent man.
"Listen buddy, I'm not sure if you heard or seen what's going on around Vale," Spider-Man shot another pair of web strings to the alleyway walls and catapulted himself to fight the sand user. "But I'm the sheriff around these parts!"
Seeing that the hero was throwing himself the new thug tried to land a punch but missed giving Spider-Man an opening to attack his midsection. Cocking his fist back the hero punched the man's stomach only for it to go right through the man.
What!? Spider sense is going off like crazy! I need to get away from this guy!
"NNHHGG!" Spider-Man tried to pull his fist out of the tough sand but to no avail.
Now stuck the man's hand changed into a large hammer and struck Spider-Man so hard it launched him several feet away and hit a wall. As the hero was stunned from the fierce blow the thug wasted no time in closing the distance. Shifting into a wave of sand he encased the hero then morphed himself into a giant hand and threw him high in the air.
Now airborne, Spider-Man ejected a strand of webbing to a nearby rooftop and pulled himself away to safety.
"Ok, that was unexpected." He said while putting his hands on the back of his head for a short breather. "Well, I did need to get pictures of something new. Man, me and my big mouth."
Unhooking the camera from his waist he webbed the camera to a flag pole to capture him fighting the sand villain. Just as he set the camera up Spider-Man felt the back of his skull tingle. He took several back flips away when a large heap of sand crashed down on his original position.
The large load of sand turned back into human form with both of his arms morphed into hammers ready to smash the spider into a pancake. Moving his body instinctively, Spider-Man dodged each strike while at the same time trying to trap the enemy in webs. But just like his punch the web lines went right through the man making it even more difficult for the spider to trap him.
Great! How am I going to hit him when he can just change at will!?
"You had enough, Bug!?" The man spoke to the hero before his lower half turned into sand that propelled him forward.
"Oh now you start talking to me! And here I thought you had sand in your ears!" Spidey said while trying to evade tendrils of sand in every direction.
As Spider-Man evaded each strike the bad guy grew more frustrated making form together in a giant wave of sand and slammed the wall crawler like it was squashing an insect. With the hero now pinned the sand went back to its original form with the man's lower half still holding on to the hero in a tight grip.
"You don't remember me?" The stranger said while tightening his grip on the hero. "The man you sent to jail!? The man you humiliated?!"
"Sorry, but I kinda humiliate dozens of criminals, so you're gonna have to refresh my memory." Spider-Man said sarcastically while trying to find a way out of the sand trap.
"It's me! Flint Marko, I was part of Roman's gang! The gang you ruined by sending most of us to jail!" Marko screamed at the perplexed hero.
Stopping for a moment, the hero could only move his head to the side to show that he still doesn't remember him.
"Seriously!? How am I supposed to know? It doesn't help that you dressed the same as the rest of Roman's stooges!" Was the only thing Spider-Man said before his face was punched by a giant fist sending him straight off the roof and down to ground level.
"Please, take my wallet, just don't hurt me." An innocent bystander whimpered as he gave his wallet to his captor.
The gun wielding thug was about to grab his victim's wallet when something large crashed in a heap of trash making the wallet snatcher get distracted. Before he could register what fell the thief was soon encased in a large web net that attached him to the brick wall.
"Don't steal from people." Spider-Man groaned as he brushed off pieces of garbage from him. "You might want to run." He told the random man he saved from being mugged.
Nodding nervously the man got the message and ran from whatever Spider-Man was fighting. Getting back on his feet the web slinger shook off his fatigue and web lined his way back up to the roof to start fighting again only for him to see that the sand controller gone with no trace of him.
"Great now where did he go!?" Running to where he last saw those two teens the blonde spider looked down to see that they were also gone leaving him alone on the roof.
"Fantastic." He said then shot a web line to retrieve his camera. "Now I need to add three new problems on my list of ever growing bad guys."
Especially that sand guy. I've never seen someone that can turn themselves in to sand. My webs and fists passed right through him. How am I going to fight him when I can't even touch him? Uh-oh.
"THERE HE IS!" A female voice made the web head turn to see who spotted him. Looking up he saw a female reporter sticking her head out of a news chopper with a camera man recording his every movement.
"SPIDER-MAN! WE JUST WANT TO ASK YOU A FEW QUESTIONS REGARDING YOUR STAY IN VALE!" She said using a bullhorn to amplify her voice.
"Sorry!" Spider-Man apologized while web swinging away from the reporter. "But I don't do interviews!"
Just as soon as I lose the paparazzi!
"I never realized that fighting a living sand monster would be this messy." Jaune grumbled as he lifted his shirt to let sand particles fall to the cement ground.
After escaping the news chopper by hiding under a highway bridge the hero back tracked to change his costume to his civilian gear and quickly walked back home.
I smell horrible, have sand in places I need to clean, and I spent most of the day running away from the news! And I got the wrong comic book!
Sighing in frustration, Jaune could only look at Aunt May's house with tired eyes as he was just about a few feet away from the door.
At least there isn't any more surprises.
"I'm home~" Jaune said to signal his arrival. "Aunt May? You home?" He asked trying to find his landlady.
"In the kitchen, Jaune." She told him. "One of your friends are here to say hi." Aunt May sounded way to happy for some reason.
Weird. Harry should be home by now, other than him I don't have any other friends at school.
Walking to the kitchen to see what guest is visiting he could only stand frozen as a pair of yellow eyes stared right at him.
"Jaune." Mrs. Parker smiled when she saw her tenant enter the kitchen. "Ms. Belladonna came by to talk to you." She said in pleased tone.
"Uuhhh." Jaune said while pointing a shaking finger to the black-haired girl then to himself.
Rolling eyes her at how dumbstruck Jaune was the lady of the house gave Blake an apologetic stare for Jaune's behavior.
"Sorry, dear." She apologized to the bow wearing girl. "Jaune doesn't get much visitors, especially the female kind."
"Aunt May!" Jaune finally spoke while his face turned red. "Can we please talk in the living room. Just the two of us. Please."
"Of course, Jaune." The blonde-haired woman then places a hand on Blake shoulder. "Seems Jaune's a bit shy when pretty girls are here."
"Aunt May!" He shrieked from the living room.
"Coming, Jaune. We'll be right back, Ms. Belladonna." She said then walked to the living room to see Jaune nervously pace back and forth in the middle of the room.
"Jaune! Why didn't you tell me you knew a girl as cute as her!" She squealed not even caring if Blake could hear from the other room.
"Aunt May, that girl isn't from my school." Jaune whispered then used his hands to show Aunt May to lower her voice.
"She's not?" She asked.
"No, that girl, Blake, goes to Beacon Academy. She's a Huntress-in-training." Jaune told her making Aunt May gasp in surprise.
"Oh my!" She said. "Jaune... you are a very lucky boy!" She screamed in happiness.
WHAT!?
"What?!" Jaune asked slack jawed at what she's implying.
"A girl like her is a keeper, Jaune." Aunt May said seriously making Jaune wonder if talking to her will be just as useless as trying to tell her he's Spider-Man. "You better make sure to treat her right after you both graduate."
Is she now thinking about me and Blake going steady?!
"Aunt May, we just met months ago." He tried to reason with her.
"Then you better make sure to grab her attention before another man does." The mature blonde then placed a hand over her mouth. "Oh my! I should get you some cologne Ben used to wear whenever him and I go out!"
Oh please no!
Before she could leave to her room the younger blonde grabbed both her shoulders to stop her from embarrassing him anymore.
"Don't worry about the cologne." Jaune said. "I'll just talk to her and you just wait here, ok?"
"Are you sure, Jaune?" Aunt May sniffed the air around her then scrunched her face. "Because you smell like you just took a bath in garbage."
Don't remind me. Forget soap and water, I'll be rubbing my skin with bleach for a week to get this smell off me!
"Just wait here and I'll talk to her."
"Ok." She conceded.
"Thank you." Jaune said then gave Aunt May a peck on the cheek.
Leaving the living room to talk to his guest, Jaune saw Blake still in her chair waiting for him to enter while her cheeks showed how much she heard from the other room.
"She certainly speaks out her mind." Blake said coolly. "Reminds me of my partner, Yang."
"Yeah." The blonde boy rubbed the back of his head. "She gets that way sometimes."
"I see." The black-haired girl said before the kitchen descended into silence.
"Are you the only one here? Is the rest of your team coming over?" He asked.
"No, just me." She answered.
Guess she's back to being a loner.
"Does your team know where you are at least?"
"Yes, I told them where I am." Her lips curved upwards. "Ruby also wanted to join me, but she had to deal with some extra paperwork for class."
"Oh... ok."
"Yeah." Blake spoke before falling silent too.
For several seconds both teens didn't speak leaving the kitchen clock to fill in the absent noise. Collecting all his courage to speak again, Jaune decided to ask why she wanted to meet him at his house.
"So... what brings you here?" Jaune asked her while leaning on the kitchen wall.
Seeing as Jaune was cutting straight to the chase the Huntress reached in her pocket and placed a fat envelope on the kitchen table.
"I'm just here to give this to you." She told him.
With the small package on the table the blonde teen walked to the kitchen table, took the envelope, opened it, then immediately pushed it back to the long-haired girl.
"I can't accept this." He told her with no hint of backing down. "I don't know why you would even think I would accept this."
In the envelope was a large amount of Lien that could easily cover some of the bills Aunt May had trouble paying off. With paying for a replacement camera, more thread to fix his costumes, and taking care of last moths bills Jaune needed to go to the Bugle after school tomorrow in hopes that the pictures he taken today would help Aunt May keep the house.
I may be desperate, but not that desperate. I just need to ask Mr. Macarren for longer hours or ask J.J for a raise.
"I know that it seems out of the blue, but please understand that this is a thank you for you and your friend."
"My friend?" He asked her before his eyes widened at what she meant. "Oh. You mean my partner that helps me with my photos."
"Yes." Blake looked over her shoulder to make sure Aunt May wasn't listening. "Does your Aunt know about how you get your pictures?"
"No. And I'd like to keep that way." Jaune's face soon turned serious as thoughts of what might happen if Aunt May got caught in his problems. "I still can't accept this."
"Fine. Just give it to your friend, you said he also has some financial troubles too." Blake told him then pushed to envelope back to him.
Spider-Man would also say no! Wait, I'm Spider-Man and I still say no!
"He doesn't want money for helping people." Jaune pushed the letter away.
"This isn't about helping people, it's about helping you and him now take it!" She pushed it back.
"We don't need it!" He pushed.
"Who says you can decide what he thinks!" She pushed back.
"Why are you so determined to give this to us!"
"Because I want to apologize to you!" Blake shot out of her chair and screamed making her only audience stay silent.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, Blake sat back down and spoke in a gentler tone.
"I wanted to give this to you and your friend as a thank you for helping me and apologize for cleaning up my mess." Blake said while she turned her head away in shame. "I thought that I could do it by myself..."
Didn't you have Sun help you?
"I thought that someone from the White Fang can tell them to stop listening to a human, but I was arrogant to think that I would be able to stop them." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Jaune.
"Then Ruby had to step in and help me with my mess followed by Spider-Man. I thought with Spider-Man's help we would be able to stop them from helping Roman, but instead he did something I thought would never work."
Hey! I knew my plan would work!
"He talked to them. Not in the way I talked about the White Fang, but he talked about their individuality. Their family, their problems, he spoke about things that they alone understand and no one else. He did something I failed to understand." Looking more vulnerable then Jaune could ever imagine Blake moved her shaking hand on top of her head and removed her bow to show her true self.
"He showed us that if we really want to change the world we must first change ourselves for the better." Blake the cat Faunus said to the silent human.
Wow, I knew that she was a Faunus, but I never thought she looked that cu- Focus!
"Blake." Jaune whispered. "You didn't have to tell m-"
"I do." She hissed. "If I really want to change the White Fang for the better I need to set the example like Spider-Man showed everyone at the docks. He showed everyone that behind the mask is a person just like himself, that's how the White Fang lost its way. We were once peaceful protesters, but through the years we started to wear masks to scare Remnant. Now, we don't even know what are true face is any more."
Taking a moment to put the ribbon back on her cat ears, Blake pushed the ruffled envelope back to Jaune and squeezed his hands to grab the parchment.
"Take it. I can't express myself anyway other than this. Please." She pleaded making Jaune hate himself for making her sound this distressed.
"Ok. But I'm sure the other guy will hate that you did this." Jaune told the secret Faunus making her giggle.
"I'm sure he would accept regardless. Besides, most of it's for you for paying for my meal. Plus tip."
Son-of-a... she remembered.
"Thank you, Blake." Jaune got from his chair and extended his hand for her to shake.
"No, thank you and your friend." Blake took the blonde's hand and gave a firm shake. "I should probably go now; my team's still in trouble for what happened so we have a certain time to report back to the headmaster."
"I'll walk you to the door."
"Thank you, Jaune." She said following the young spider to the front exit.
"Have a nice day, Blake. Tell Ruby I said hello." Jaune opened the door for her to leave.
"Don't worry." Blake's lips turned into a smirk. "I'm sure she'll be happy to know you're thinking about her."
Hhmmm... I don't like that smirk on her face for some reason. Oh well.
The black-haired Huntress was already out the door when her hand shot out and stopped it from closing.
"I also need to tell you to pass a message to your friend." She said in a quiet tone. "Even if the people of Vale is starting to take a liking to Spider-Man he isn't making a good impression to the Huntsmen that are in Vale."
I heard Tukson tell me the same thing. Just what did I do to make them not like me?
"Why do the they not like Spider-Man? I thought they'd like him since he's helping." Jaune hoped to get a straight answer from the Huntress-in-training.
"I don't know much, but some of the pro Huntsmen are apparently losing income within the kingdom. People are now thinking that Spider-Man's doing a better job at protecting them, causing the Huntsmen to look bad." She shook her head at the immaturity.
"They don't like him because of that?" Jaune asked sounding underwhelmed.
"It's not just that. Since the incident with the docks people living in the kingdom seem more... peaceful." She struggled to explain herself.
"What?"
"I know it sounds strange, but with Spider-Man helping around the kingdom people are happier and more considerate to each other. There's less crime in Vale ever since Spider-Man hit the scene making people wonder if they need Huntsmen anymore."
"That's ridiculous! Spider-Man may stop crimes, but Huntsmen protect the people from Grimm! There's no way people would think that." Jaune told the cat Faunus at how silly the notion of Vale not needing Huntsmen was.
"People tend to forget when something new shows up in Vale." Blake shrugged her shoulders. "They're fickle, but it'll pass soon, and Spider-Man will be old news."
Images of Spider-Man clothes, food, and music flashed in Jaune's head making him doubt her claim.
"What about you?" Jaune asked her. "What do you think about Spider-Man?"
Blake stared at the blonde human for a moment then turned her body away from him. She took a few steps away from the door then spoke.
"He showed me that I need to take responsibility for what I did, or else it'll come back to haunt me. I never really listened to people since they were usually adults with authority, but with him it was like he understood what I was feeling. That if I don't own up to my problems someone I care for will be harmed."
Did I really make such a big effect on her? I guess I'm making a lot more changes then I imagined.
"I'm sure he'll be happy to know he was able to help, Blake."
"Thanks, Jaune. Take care." She waved good bye leaving Jaune alone at the front door.
"Maybe today wasn't such a waste after all." The blonde spider smiled, no longer thinking that today wasn't the worst he ever had. Closing the door, Jaune was about to head back to his room when he saw Aunt May standing in front of him.
"Now that she's gone you need to take a bath." Aunt May shoved a bar of soap and a bucket in to Jaune's hand then directed him to the back yard. "Badly."
With great power comes great responsibility. I have years of knowledge about the White Fang, it's high time I start using it to fix my mistakes.
After the incident at the docks, Blake's been trying to use old contacts to find out if the White Fang might try anything to gain back it's lost followers. Now that Spider-Man's become well known, the people of Vale have been more tolerant with one another. And with people, both Faunus and humans, getting along there's been a steady decrease of Faunus wanting to join the White Fang's radical movement.
The White Fang won't take this without retaliation. Adam won't take this insult standing. Spider-Man showed Faunus that living in peace with humans is possible, making him a target for the White Fang.
Pulling out her Scroll to text her friends that she was on her way back a familiar number popped up. She answered the call and placed it to her ear.
"Blake, are you there?" The person on the other end sounded anxious.
"Tukson?" Blake asked, wondering what made him sound so scared. "What's wrong?"
"Trouble. That's what's wrong. They sent some people to try and kill me, Blake. Just wanted to warn you."
"What?!" She shouted, now running to his shop to make sure he was safe. "I'm on my way!"
"Don't worry, I called the police. I was lucky that Spider-Man showed up to save me. I think they're trying to silence some deserters."
Spider-Man, thank you again for saving another friend of mine.
Slowing down her pace, the bow wearing Faunus talked back in her regular voice to discuss something to her old friend.
"Tukson, do you still have some connections to some of the White Fang members?"
"Yeah, I still do. Why?" Tukson asked not liking where this conversation is going.
"I need to know when the next White Fang rally is taking place. Or any past crimes relating to stealing Dust."
"What! Why would you need to know all that, Blake?" Tukson asked, now regretting that he even called her.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Removing the Scroll from her ear, the ex-White Fang member pressed the home button to show her lock screen of a spider symbol with her face reflecting it.
"Because, I have a responsibility to see this to the end. I need to stop the White Fang."
Well, there you have it ladies and gentlemen. Mercury and Emerald now appears followed by Jaune's first supper villain: The Sandman!
Jaune is also seeing how people are reacting to his rise in fame as well has the negative opinions Huntsman and Huntresses have of him. We also see how Blake is taking Spider-Man's advice a little bit to seriously making her now hell bent on trying to stop the White Fang.
Some of you might think that Huntsmen and Spider-Man is the same, but you also understand that being a Huntsmen has dangers that require medical care and those don't come cheap. Spider-Man fights crime with the same danger only he doesn't have health insurance like they do. They get paid doing their job, but when Spider-Man does the work for the people for free then the Huntsmen don't get the money they need. Just how some jobs are replacing old workers for better and newer employees.
The people of Vale are now hailing Spider-Man as more then just a hero, but a media icon making it to a degree for the news to try and get an interview with the web head. Jaune wanted to be a hero, but he never thought that it would get this far with so many people loving his hero alter ego. Hopefully the fame won't go straight to his head, but after the beating he received by Sandman his confidence went straight back to zero.
Next chapter we'll now see how his hero career is effecting his school and his main job being a photographer for the Daily Bugle. Hope you all have a nice day and leave a comment, fav, and follow this story if you love it.
Like always my Beta- Reader: Maestro of Madness helped me with fixing my mistakes and after you read this chapter go check out his stories.
I try to release a new chapter every Sunday or every other Sunday so you don't have to worry about waiting for a long time.