Chapter 19: New Look
The morning is always consisted of a breakfast with the TV on to show current events for Vale. A common monotony for the two who are living under the same roof.
Aunt May was usually the first one to wake up to start off today with her usual meal of sunny side up eggs and bacon with a side of toast. The fading blonde-haired women placed both plates across from each other, arranged the utensils, and started to pour the contents to each plate.
It was a simple meal, a meal she shared with her dearly departed loved ones, leaving her alone with just one attendant paying most of the bills as a form of rent to stay in one of the rooms. The effort she's putting into making the meal for two may seem odd at first sight, but making breakfast for her family became a second habit for the widow that Jaune felt like he really was family.
From his blue eyes and blonde hair, the two of them really did seem like they were related by look alone. Just knowing that made her heart feel a little less heavy knowing that she has some form of family left. Call her sad, desperate, or even delusional at the thought of someone not related to her by blood to be family. Mrs. Parker, would just shrug it off and continue to provide for her family as best as she could, fake or not.
Speaking about family…
"Jaune!" Aunt May called out his name. "Breakfast is ready!"
"…"
"Jaune!" She made her voice a little bit louder. "Your food's going to get cold!"
'Oh, I hope he remembered to turn his alarm clock on. Maybe I should go check on him.'
Placing the rest of the food on a large plate, she placed it in the center of the table and walked up stairs to check if he was awake.
"Jaune?" She knocked on the door. "Are you awak-what in the world is that smell?"
'It smells like… liquor? But, he's underage he shouldn't be drinking.'
"Jaune?" This time, her knocking became more rapid. "Are you ok? I smell something coming from your room, did you leave the house last night to dr-"
"Aunt May!" Catching her off guard by opening the door, the young hero gave her a warm smile and pecked her on the cheek. "Good Morning! Do I smell breakfast? Man, I am hungry! I'm awake now, so you don't have to worry!"
Not prepared from the sudden greeting, the only adult in the house still had her suspensions about that strange odor in Jaune's room.
"Are you hiding something?" She tried to look behind him, only for the teen to block her field of vision. "I smell something funky in your room. Are you drinking in there?"
"What!?" Jaune shook his head in rapid succession. "That's insane, Aunt may. You know I'm underage and you know I would never drink."
Wanting to believe his story, Aunt May sniffed the air around Jaune and she didn't smell any odors that could be related to late night drinking. The only thing she smelled was an odd odor lingering in his room, but she can't really assume it's liquor since she doesn't know any form of alcohol to smell like food.
'Must be my imagination, then.'
"Well, now that you're up I made breakfast."
"Thanks", Aunt May, I'll be down real soon I just need to put my laundry away and I'll be down in a second."
"Ok, Jaune, but you also need to be wary of the time, don't want to be late for the bus again."
"I won't." Giving her a reassuring smile, the boy retracted his head back and closed the door. Holding the composure of being calm for a few more seconds, Jaune's façade broke leaving him to show his emotions to be in a small panic. "Too close, that was too close. Can't really say that I wasn't surprised she smelled alcohol on me."
Moving his eyes to the clothes pile he accumulated, the young man saw his spider costume in a crumpled ball on top of his civilian ones. Still leaning on the door, just a few whiffs from his nose and Jaune had to close his nostrils due to the stench still holding its potency.
"Man, that smell lingers something fierce. No wonder she could smell it from so far away, plus the fact that with the added scent of whatever Qrow ate for dinner and I'm pretty sure the dog from across the street could smell it from my room."
Grabbing the ruined costume out of the pile, Jaune laid the spider suit out on the floor to see the full extent of the mess it received last night.
"Large tears from the fall and the cement, lenses are cracked, and the smell from the booze, vomit, and trash isn't going away any time soon."
'Diagnose: Need new costume.'
"Oh, man..." He groaned. "I spent a lot of lien to upgrade this thing. Well, at least I have the spare to use."
Flinging the trashed suit from the opposite side of the room, Jaune pulled out his secret compartment to use his backup costume.
"It might not have the extra compartments I had for the upgraded one, but I'm sure it can still be…."
Staying silent after laying his eyes on the extra suit, Jaune reached in and pulled out his last costume to see in full detail of what he was seeing.
In front of him, was his extra costume, the costume he worn when fighting Sandman, the same costume that was thoroughly trashed after the fight and was immediately forgotten to be repaired.
"…Usable." Chewing the inside of his cheek, Jaune had to go back several days into his memories to find out why he never repaired this suit in case the other was unfit to be worn. Not even taking a minute to remember, only one word could give him a reason as to why he was in this predicament.
"Money. I used the money from the picture I got from beating Sandman, paid some of the bills for Aunt Man and used it to upgrade the second suit rather than use the extra lien to repair the one I worn when fighting Sandman."
Dropping the suit back in its compartment, Jaune ruffled his hair in frustration before stopping his assault on his blonde locks.
"It's ok." He said to himself. "It's my fault, I should've saved more money before splurging it on only just one suit."
Taking the moment to check the clock on his nightstand, Jaune saw that it was already past ten minutes from when Aunt May told him breakfast was ready, signaling the boy to put this situation on the backburner for now.
Unlocking the case, he shoved the ruined spare back in the it's compartment, pushed it under his bed, grabbed the vomit covered suit from the corner, opened the closet, and tossed the costume in the corner of his closet so it can't be seen. The same corner that that held his Family's heirloom weapon now being covered by Jaune's puke stained costume, with Jaune not even thinking twice about what he done as he shut his closet door shut.
Double checking that he didn't leave any evidence out in the open, Jaune proceeded to walk down stairs to start his morning with a good breakfast. Walking down stairs, the teen was about to enter the kitchen when he stopped walking to hear talking on the other side of the wall.
"I'm serious, I think Jaune is going out every night because he got himself another job."
'Job? Wait, did she just say that…?'
Mind now processing what he just heard, his body quickly hugged the wall and edged his head closer to hear better at what Aunt May was saying on the phone. He hated that he had to eavesdrop on what is probably a private call, but after hearing that she knew that he would sneak out at night, the secret hero had to find out if she knows anything else that could jeopardize his secret identity.
"It's obvious he always leaves at night to go somewhere. At first, I thought it was another job making him have four activities due to bills, but lately I'm starting to think he's doing something else."
His breath hitched, this was what he feared most, the one person he hoped didn't know his alter ego now fully aware she's housing someone labeled a criminal. Said caretaker is also saying this to one of her friends on the phone letting Jaune's second fear of his identity being spread all over Vale and letting all the criminals that the person who was giving them trouble an invitation to destroy his only home in Vale as well as the only important person within the kingdom: May Parker.
'Calm down, calm down, you need to calm down, Jaune. Just keep listening, who knows, maybe she might say something completely ludicrous that doesn't involve me being Spider-Man. Wishful thinking, but that's the only thing I can count one.'
Controlling his breath as to not signal Aunt May that he was eavesdropping on her phone call, the blonde spider continued to spy on what else she might know about his nightly activities.
"I've been watching the news lately and I always see that crime is still rampant, mostly involving dust shops, but it also says that thanks to Spider-Man the rate of crime is slowly lowering. I think Jaune leaving at night and Spider-Man stopping crime could be connected."
'Wishful thinking, you can take a hike. Harsh reality, I guess you're steering my life now.'
Seeing that there was no point to hear the conclusion, Jaune had to hurry and grab his things before Aunt May confronts him on the matter. He knew that when word gets out, the media will be desperate enough to have even a slight chance that he could be the masked vigilante and an even higher chance that the criminals of Vale will enact their revenge on him. Turning back upstairs, Aunt May's voice continued to echo loud enough for him to hear as he walked back to his…. Mrs. Parker's guest room.
"I think… I think Jaune has joined in some gang and is trying to steal lien."
'What?!' Walking in reverse, not tripping thanks to his spider sense and amazing balance, Jaune went back to his original spot and listened to what Aunt May had to say about him.
"I can only assume that's why he always leaves at night. The jobs he has are helping, but even then, we're always in the thin line of losing the house. Maybe, he thinks the jobs aren't giving enough to help, so he's using crime to get the required amount we need to keep the house."
'What..?' Face of worry and fear now replaced with a straight face of detachment, the young spider could only groan in his head at what Aunt May thinks of him as some no-good thug.
"I'm even more positive that he goes out at night to steal, because I always wake up hearing groaning noise coming from his room, like he was in pain from a fight. Making me believe that Jaune may have fought the police or worse fought Spider-Man."
It may have sounded weird, but Jaune felt happy that Aunt May would assume that he could take on his hero alter ego while experienced fighters like Roman and his little bodyguard could barely hit him.
"I know it sounds crazy, but still, I feel like he's doing something he shouldn't be doing at his age. How do I know this? Well, when I tried to wake him up I smelled a very heavy scent of what I think was booze and… goodness, I think Jaune drank so much he threw up on himself!"
'I blame you Qrow! I swear, If I see you again I'll make sure you pay for my dry cleaning.'
After a long period of silence from listening to what her friend has to say about May's story, the aging blonde let out a heavy sigh and spoke in a more relaxed tone.
"You might be right about the whole gang affiliated thing being blown out of proportion, but I know that he was drinking last night! Heck! He might actually be fighting, but he's in some kind of fight club! I know, we watched that movie a few weeks ago involving Fight club, but still it could be fight club! I know, I know he's not my nephew and that I should not stick my nose in other people's lives, but with Jaune's help with the house it really does feel like I still have a family."
Suddenly, a pit formed in his stomach, knowing full well that the reason he's feeling such guilt was that he had doubts of what Aunt May thought of him. Hearing that she thinks that he's family, made his ideas of her telling the cops about him to quickly die out and instead should focus on his original goal of repaying her for his mistakes.
'Sorry for ever doubting you, Aunt May.'
His secret identity no longer in jeopardy, Jaune walked in place with his footsteps being loud enough for Aunt May to know that he was on his way into the kitchen.
"Oh, I hear him coming down stairs, I'll talk to you later." Hanging up the phone, Mrs. Parker pulled out her seat just in time for Jaune to enter the kitchen. "Good morning, Jaune. Hope you like the breakfast, if it's a little cold I can warm it up for you if you like."
"Don't worry, Aunt May." Jaune picked up his utensils to enjoy his morning chow. "Your cooking's always great, regardless of it being hot or cold."
Enjoying the meal that was made for the fake family of two, Jaune grabbed his school bag, said his good bye to Aunt May, and walked to his bus stop. All the while remembering what happened yesterday when a certain Huntress deciding to visit him at school.
Whenever something interesting happens at school, students always asks each other who was in the center of the rumor. Either to know if it was a friend or someone they don't like, students want to know who was part of the rumor so they can go to the source and find out what truly happened.
Said source: Jaune, was currently in the middle of putting away his things in his locker while the students around him continue to steal glances at him and talk behind his back. This was not new to Jaune, with his senses heightened to a certain degree, he can hear many speculations about him and who he was talking to yesterday. Apparently, Blake left an impression on the student body, which was also not new to Jaune since she looked like she just walked out of a fashion magazine or just finished her shooting for some movie.
Huntsmen, at least regarding the ones that Jaune came across, had their own pull to them that seemed to let everyone know who they are at all time. Now, Jaune can assume that it was due to their aura being unlocked, but even then, aura was just a part of why some people always had their eyes on Huntsmen. From the weapons that no ordinary person can us or lift, what they wear that even some people would think is impractical to use when fighting Grimm, even their age can come in question when even the older Huntsmen can still look like there in their 20s when there much older.
'Oh, and how rocking their bodies are too.'
Yes, if it wasn't their aura, weapons, or clothes that got people's attention, then it was obviously for the looks all Huntsmen had. A good example was the four young all girls team Jaune had the honor of meeting thanks to the team leader being his friend.
If Blake's mysterious looks and her hourglass figure had the students talk about her the next days, then he was glad the rest of her team wasn't here or else they would be the talk of the school for weeks.
Weiss Schnee's snow white complexion, pristine hair, and frame almost made her look like a real-life doll that could make anyone be envious of her perfection. Heck, even with a scar on her face only makes her beauty even more eye catching in Jaune's opinion. Even then, he was sure that the only thing all the students in this school will mostly talk about is how her family is filthy rich rather then her looks, cause even if your the ugliest person alive if you had something everyone wanted then you'll know people will pay attention to you if they can have what they don't own.
Yang's devil may care attitude, vibrant blonde hair, and her confidence to show her body can make even the most veteran of guys in school feel like total newbs to the opposite sex. Not to mention, with the size of her confidence also matching with her cup size, Jaune was sure that most of the girls in Mid-town High would probably cry knowing the fact that they can't possibly match her in terms of physical appearance.
Now, Ruby on the other hand was the opposite of her older sister in terms of both personality and appearance. While Yang was outgoing and confident her baby sister was introverted and shy when meeting people and was only able to fully express herself when it involves weapons or heroes.
It might sound childish compared to the rest of the girls, but it just made Ruby seem more down to earth in comparison. Her dress with the colors of red and black somehow contrasted well with her innocent outlook in people making her seem more approachable. How she gets shy and easily flustered can make anyone her friend, that's how Jaune became her friend, at least, and even more so on how her dress fits tightly around her body giving her somewhat of a mature look even when she was the shortest, youngest, and cutest of the group.
'Add the fact that her corset hugs her so nicely I can see her curves can easily make up for her height and-'
Jaune slammed his locker loud enough for everyone who was walking nearby to stop midmotion and look at him in confusion and irritation.
"Sorry." He automatically said with his face showing no emotions of guilt at causing such a scene.
Placing the tumbler lock on his locker, Jaune walked to his class room where he saw his friend comb through whatever his scroll was showing him. Making his presence known, the young blonde moved his chair so he can sit down.
"Hi, Harry."
Looking up from his scroll, Harry placed his device on the table and greeted his friend.
"Morning, Jaune." He was about to say more when he stopped to see how Jaune was looking a bit off. "You ok, Jaune? You look more serious than usual, did Blake make an impression on you or something?"
"No, I just thought of something I really shouldn't have."
"Really? Does it involve Blake?"
'Not Blake, but someone involved with her...'
"Before we get into me talking with Blake. I want to talk to you about something else." Jaune glared at his friend. "Mainly, with how you ditched me and decided to buy food and leave me with the bill."
"To be fair." Harry lifted his index finger in the air. "I was hungry."
"…And?"
"And that's it." Harry shrugged his shoulders like it was that simple.
"Ok, have fun figuring out next week's pop quiz." Jaune was about to leave his chair to move to another vacant seat when Harry finally stopped joking around.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" The rich teen waved his hands to stop Jaune from leaving. "Alright, being serious now. Gwen and I got tired of watching you two not talk to each other like a jaded married couple."
"Kind of bit pushing it with me and Blake acting like a married couple."
"Blake and I," He corrected him.
"Whatever. Continue, please." Jaune rolled his eyes.
"So, we thought that if we get something from the diner and leave the bill to you and her to pay, then you guys have no choice but to cooperate with splitting the bill."
The plan did sound ok, a bit crude and unpolished, but hypothetically it should have worked. Unfortunately for Gwen and Harry, they didn't know Blake well enough to think that she would walk out and leave Jaune to pay for their meal.
"Your plan sucked." Jaune was not afraid to tell his friend what he thought. "And also, Gwen should have remembered that my boss doesn't believe in an employee discount."
"Really? Huh, just like my dad." The young Osborn was surprised that someone else had the same mentality as his father. "So, Blake just dine and dashed?"
"More liked dashed, because she didn't order any food, just you guys."
"Wow," Harry was left wide eyed at how Blake left his friend to pay the bill. "What a jerk."
"You're the one who ordered food in the first place!"
"Meh, semantics."
"I expect a favor from you and Gwen." The blonde spider narrowed his eyes and jabbed his finger to Harry's chest slightly to show he was serious. "I know you guys were trying to help me with some cute girl,"
"Cute? Dude! If she enrolled in our school during freshmen year, I have no doubt she would be prom queen for four years straight! That's longer then any politician can hope to have!"
'Well, I can't argue with that.'
"But I can get a girl just fine, thank you very much." He crossed his arms over his chest. "So, I would appreciate it if you guys try not to play match maker with my dating life."
"You're kidding, right?" Harry gave Jaune a flat look. "You're more socially inept then me! Gwen even thought that you two would be perfect for each other."
About to argue more on the topic of the quiet Huntress, the secret hero stopped when he saw the teacher walk in the class room making both boys to hold off on their conversation. Though the talk about yesterday's beautiful visitor was on hold between friends, it didn't stop the rest of the class to whisper amongst each other.
"So, did you see the pictures from yesterday?"
"She was so hot!"
"Man, she was fine! You think she might be coming to school often?"
"I would have gotten her number, easily!"
"Wasn't she talking to only one guy?"
"Yeah, I think he was blonde or something… wait! I think he's the one right their next to Osborn Jr."
"The rich kid? Of course, she must be only hanging arguing them due to Osborn money. Gold-digger confirmed."
The rumors about the beautiful model from yesterday not only caused Jaune to be more known, it also painted him as the type of guy to ride the coat tails of his friend due to wealth. This didn't go unnoticed to his friend either, since the wealthy teen's positive attitude from earlier became lower and lower the longer he heard his classmates continue to bash him about his upbringing.
"You know," Harry whispered next to Jaune. "Maybe you should ask if Blake could be a little bit more discrete next time she decides to visit. I kind of like to have are non-existent rep in school to continue to be non-existent."
"You and me both." Jaune shook his head in wishful thinking. "Still, I feel like in we're 'gonna be in the spotlight a lot more now thanks to her."
'Whether we like it or not.'
Class after class, rumor after baseless rumor, whenever something out of the ordinary disrupts the natural order of high school life it was always leads to people to have their mind's form speculation to fill the void of their mundane life.
It couldn't be helped really, when someone such as a Huntress, especially one around their age, made quite the gossip for those who never seen a Huntsmen before. Sure, some have relatives who are Huntsmen that tell stories about how they fight monsters and help people, but stories can get distorted and change to make it sound more extravagant. Words can change to make stories more than it is or can water it down, but when you see an actual Huntsmen, especially the young and cute ones, then it can hold more weight.
And since mostly everyone took picture of Blake talking to a wallflower like Jaune, then the only way to know more was through him.
Sure, some gave off handed jokes about how she mistaken him as someone else or complements of how lucky he was to know someone as hot as her. Interesting news like this should be a welcome distraction from being a hero, as a matter-of-fact it was a perfect distraction. A secret spy mission that can end in disaster, conspiracy that goes beyond Dust theft… oh, and meeting a very sketchy Huntsman that tried to act friendly to him then immediately vomits afterwards made Jaune have a few negatives thoughts of being a secret hero. Which is why with so many rumors involving him made Jaune feel like an actual high school student that has been here since freshmen year then some outsider that ran away from home.
The feeling of normalcy, however, still felt hollow for the young Arc unfortunately.
A normal, under average boy that blends in the background of everyone's life, a mysterious woman appearing at some normal school, and out of the sea of everyday faces that same beautiful girl picks him out of everyone else in the crowd.
That scenario was something that came straight out of some animation and the people in this school who never experienced something like that finally saw it yesterday. If Jaune was any other person, then he would also feel that his dull life could finally see something come straight out of TV, too bad it wasn't some other person.
He was Spider-Man, the Amazing Spider-Man some people have come to title in the forums Jaune has read for the past couple of hours between classes. The fans, the gossip revolving around him, and even the breakout of his normalcy was some of the things he hoped to have at Beacon.
In the small recesses of his mind, Jaune knew that he was selfish, that one of the reasons he went to Beacon was to make a name for himself, to get the recognition just like most of his family did. Jaune has that now, only for it to be under someone else's name.
'Too bad most of it is for Spider-Man.'
Yes, people may talk about him being close to Blake, but if people dug deeper into the scene that played out between them then they would know the truth.
The beautiful and mysterious girl only talked to the average boy to pass a message to someone more important than him. Jaune did see the irony in the situation he was caught in, yet it didn't stop the feeling of hurt that the only time he was needed the most is when he was someone else.
But the aspiring hero knew that this was just one of many burdens he needs to carry if he wants to continue this line of work. To separate his business from his pleasure, never mix both or else it could lead to self-destruction, so he decided that he shouldn't be bothered by students talking behind his back. That he shouldn't be envious of his hero persona and just focus on being a simple student who got his five minutes of fame that soon turned to white noise as he continued to from class to class.
Thanks to the rumors circulating through the school, it left Jaune no choice, but to put all his focus on school work, including his ideas on how to fix or even replacing his spider suit. The choice drown out the constant drabble of teen drama that involved him went on for the young hero for some time that before he knew it the final bell signaled everyone that it was time to go home.
'That was fast. Can't believe It's time to go home. I wasn't sure it was even possible to zone out for so long, hope I didn't miss anything important.'
"Man, Jaune." Gwen smacked his back, pulled back her hand, and gave it a few shakes to get rid of the pain. "Ow! Anyway, I can't believe you ignored Flash's questions on how you knew Blake! He looked so pissed, I was sure he would have shoved you in your locker! Heck, we were in the middle of class and he still would have done it!"
"Yeah man!" Harry gave his friend a worried look. "I would be carful for a few days. If I know Flash, he's probably already thinking different ways to humiliate you tomorrow."
"Or maybe today!" Gwen added her own thoughts about the more muscular and popular Blonde. "I mean, a guy like him wouldn't sit down after he was ignored by a loser like Jaune. No offense."
'Ok, maybe I did miss on some important things. Like making sure to have eyes in the back of my head in case Flash decides to pull something.'
Hoping to change the subject, Jaune decided to ask how Gwen's day was. Typically, she tends to complain about her main job as a camp counselor and how she tried to maintain her sanity from the constant stress of looking after so many kids, but since her second job, Gwen hasn't been as anxious which is new for him and Harry to see.
"Meh, I'm actually surprised I haven't been fired yet."
"You know, it kind of is weird." Harry said honestly. "I mean, how many jobs have you been through already?"
"Too many to count." Jaune made a joke then high fived his friend. "On a serious note, I'm pretty sure I'm right either way."
"Yeah." She sighed depressingly. "Being a camp counselor wasn't even my last option, but luckily enough, Doctor Connors has been a great boss and hasn't fired me!"
"That's great, guess that means your when you go to college your major will be in science, right?" Jaune asked.
"Yup! Screw liberal arts! Working with Doctor Connors is so great, that if I play my cards right then I can kiss my dead-end job goodbye!"
Laughing at how his friend was exited to leave her first job, Jaune's Spidey sense instantly killed the mood and switched his instinct to get ready for danger nearby.
'From behind me!? Here?! Now!? With my friends nearby?!'
Going against his instinct to evade the danger, Jaune's selfless attitude made him shield his friends without hesitation from what he assumed to be life threating danger. Just as he used his body to protect his friends, he saw a sports car heading ever so closer to them. Muscles tensing and ready to burst like a pistol, when Jaune saw the side window roll down he was about to push his friends out of the way only for him to stop when he saw a very familiar blonde football player stick his head out. Seeing that it was someone familiar, the spider hero was left confused to why he sensed danger.
"Wait, Fla-"
(SPLASH)
Only for his face to be drenched in water followed by several pelts of water balloons hitting his chest.
"Suck it, Jauney boy~~! Haah Ha!" Flash Thompson laughed, sticking his head out of his friend's car, holding a now empty bucket, his small posse of close friend also laughing at the now drenched nerd until they were no longer in sight.
'Guess he really was petty enough to get back at me so soon.'
"Dude," Harry started to sniff his friend to make sure what Flash thrown at him wasn't fermented liquid. "You ok, Jaune?"
Despite most of the students laughing at his dilemma, most also taking some pictures, the hero in secret just nodded his head to Harry as a sign that he wasn't affected by the public humiliation. Outside he seemed stoic and not fazed by Flash's action towards the fellow blonde, but on the contrary the act of being drowned from head to toe caused recent wounds to open, most notably a certain drunk from last night named: Qrow.
"It's fine." Jaune waved it off like it was no big deal.
"You sure?" The only female in the group asked in a concerned tone. "I doubt your clothes will instantly dry itself."
"Look," The only wealthy teen in the group of three pointed to his family driver waiting patiently at the end of the school's parking lot. "I'm sure you can hitch a ride with me, makes it less easy for classmates to laugh at you if they can't see you."
"Nah, thanks for the offer, but..." Jaune's sentence was cut off when a strong gust of wind pushed his hair back and his skin to shiver from the cold water that clung to his skin. Idea starting to take form in his head, the teen spider looked above to see the kingdom's tallest building as if they were the keys to solve his current predicament.
"I know a good place that can dry my clothes really quick."
"Hey, if you're giving out a free ride, then I'm game!" Gwen didn't give Harry time to answer as she grabbed his arm and dragged her to his limo. "See ya later, Jaune!"
"Bye!" Waving good bye, Jaune stayed in place for a little longer and watched his friends enter the expensive ride and drove away. Now alone, the hero let out a dejected sigh and looked at his dripping attire. "Man, glad I decided to shove my favorite hoodie in my backpack."
Checking his surroundings, the young student made his way to his usual path to home. Passing from street to street, he was half way to Aunt May's house when he stopped at some random alleyway.
Random to some people, but to Jaune this was the start of his growth of being who he was today. Walking deeper into the empty alleyway, Jaune looked at the same brick wall he crawled up on when he figured out what he became after the spider bite. Remembering the first time he ever climbed this wall, the young spider placed one hand on the wall, placed his other hand a little bit further, and started to climb.
Reaching to the top, the young hero placed his belongings on the ground, unzipped it, and pulled out his sleeveless hoodie.
'Glad the water didn't reach my hoodie, or else this next part would be really weird for me.'
Taking off the damp shirt, Jaune shivered as the wind touched his bare chest until he covered himself with his favorite hoodie.
"Much better!" He patted the logo of the pumpkin Pete's cereal mascot on the center of his hoodie. With the wet T-shirt still in hand, he twisted it like a towel and with the help of his super strength twisted it to let out all the water. "That should be enough, if I put too much power then the shirt will be ripped in half."
Unrolling the now semi-dry shirt to see that it was no longer dripping with water, Jaune folded the piece of clothing, placed it in his bag, and zipped it shut. Taking care of one less problem, the teen placed his pack securely on his back and looked ahead to see miles of tall building in front of him.
"Ok," He tightened his backpack to it won't shake widely from what he was about to do. "Time for me to dry myself now."
Muscles in his legs quickly tensed like a coil being pressed down and just like a coil when the pressure is released the spring jumps. Jaune's legs quickly propelled him in the air, his hair flapping in the wind, and as he landed to the next building he immediately started to run to start the process all over again.
Jaune didn't want to try his luck at web swinging, not when almost everyone in Vale expecting to see him as Spider-Man. To try to web swing while in his civilian attire will attract unneeded trouble for where he's about to go.
"Man, this feels so weird when I'm not wearing spandex." Jaune said as he jumped off the roof to a taller building in front of him. Using his power to cling to any surface, Jaune climbed to the top if the building and looked down to see how far the bottom was.
"I'm not too far now." Taking a few steps back, Jaune made a running start and when his feet touched the edge of the roof he put all his strength to jump to the building across from the street. The all glass windowed building was half the size of the one Jaune jumped off of, so when his feet touched the roof the young hero made sure to do a full body roll to break his fall.
Blood pumping to every part of his body, his adrenaline starting to kick in from the action of jumping from building to building. Jaune's body didn't showed any sign of getting tired as he continue to jump, climb and run from roof top to tall roof top when he finally slowed down as the location was in his sights.
"There it is, the good will store." He said while looking at the large all white building with the only noticeable trait it has was a signal sign saying, 'Good Will'. Patting himself down to make sure he didn't lose anything important. "And now that I'm dry, people won't stare at me and ask why my head was soaked."
"Now, then," Jaune checked his surroundings to look for a way down from the random roof he was standing on. "How am I supposed to get to street level without jumping off?"
Whenever someone who has amazing abilities that are out of this world, one of the many rules they must follow is to always make sure to hide who they are in case someone with ill intent decides to go after someone they know. Comics and movies have always shown that whenever the hero decides to reveal their secret identity it either falls to two categories.
One: The hero's secret identity is soon spread throughout the criminal underworld and must be ready whenever bad guys come after them. Not giving them a signal moment to relax before finally one villain was lucky enough to kill the hero who was too tired to put up a fight.
Two: Rather than attack to hero, since the villain has always been stopped by the hero, they rather go for the people who are close to them. Wife, husband, kids, parents, even close friends are all game for the bad guys to use to hurt the hero. Either kill them or use them as a bargaining chip to kill the hero, Villains will always use any tricks to make sure their archenemy hurts from knowing that it was their fault for revealing their identity.
No matter who was to blame for the events that unfolded in comics or in movies. It's common knowledge that the Hero will always have the guilt hang over their head knowing that if they ever let people know who they are behind the mask, people close to them will die.
"Ok," Entering the through the front door, the teen with the double life smelled the familiar scent of used clothing and other hand me downs invading his nostrils. "Let's see what my new suit will be."
That is why heroes wear costumes, to hide one's identity from normal people and from their enemies, but one thing that separated truth and fiction was that in the stories the hero's get suits that were flashy and made from some durable substances.
Jaune's spider suit however, was made from simple fabric he bought from the local good will. After all, Jaune wasn't made of money, so the only way for him to replace the one Qrow ruined was go to the place where he got his first costume made.
"Ok, what is good today!" He said like he was a little kid finding out what gift he got. "Something that I need for undercover work, maybe you?"
Picking up a long sleeved all black shirt from the bargain bin, Jaune double checked to see how much wear and tear it has.
"No, there's a too many holes for me to sew up and I'm not sure I have enough thread to fix this. That, also the fact that the only thread I do have are red and blue." Putting it back, Jaune dug deeper in the bin to try his luck again.
"How about you?" Grabbing another piece of clothing, in Jaune's hand was what appeared to be a green scuba suit with yellow vertical stripes going from head to toe. "To colorful, even for my taste!"
Going for broke on a third try, Jaune's hand showed that it was holding a jean vest with steel spikes on the shoulders and a giant rock and rolls hand sign on the back. "Too punk rock for me."
Shoving it back inside the random clothes bin, the spider hero continued to go through several articles of garments ranging from damaged, missing a part of it, and some provocative line of clothing that Jaune questioned if the staff even went through these in the first place.
Giving up on trying to find what he was looking for in this bin, he decided to comb through the rest of the store to see what he needs.
"If by chance I do find what I need and make a temporary suit, I'll also need dome film for my camera and not a lot of stores sells them and those that do are selling with a high price."
Passing by each aisle that showed a variety of used items, Jaune was about to think that he wasted his time being here when he saw something at the corner of his eye. Stopping mid-step, he turned his head to see a shelf that was selling some film for outdated cameras. Some of what they were selling was limited to a hand full of film, but with the price tag showing a low price that was within his spending budget he wasted to no time to walk to the shelf and reach for the film. Just when a single fingertip touched the camera film, a second hand appeared to his right that also tried to reach the same one causing both hands to accidentally touch.
"Ah!" The strangers hand reeled back first. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you were first, I'm sorry."
"It's ok!" Jaune looked at the person who was apologizing to him. She was around his age, with long brown hair, same colored eyes, and what she was wearing a dark-brown, long-sleeved jacket that comes down around her chest over a plain shirt, a simple pair of long brown shorts and long black form fitting leggings that come to just her hips. From her appearance alone, she seemed like your average teenage girl with average looks, but what really set her apart was the fact that she had a pair of rabbit ears on top of her head that were wilted to show she was nervous.
"I didn't notice anyone also reaching for this," Not wanting to feel bad for making this girl feel any worse, Jaune took the film they both tried to reach and handed it to her. "Here, it would be rude of me not to give this to you miss…?"
"Velvet, my name is Velvet Scarletina." The rabbit Faunus told Jaune her full name.
"Nice to meet you, Velvet! I'm Jaune Arc and it's nice to see someone who's also interested in photography."
Picking up at what the blonde boy said, Velvet's ears shot back up to its usual height and her usual shell of nervousness receded making her feel a little more relaxed.
"You also prefer to use actual cameras?"
"Oh yeah, I prefer to use the old-fashioned way of taking pictures then using my scroll." To show he was wasn't lying, Jaune pulled open the front pocket of his backpack to show the camera he uses to take photos of him as Spider-Man.
"Wow!" No longer feeling anxious, the female Faunus smiled in delight to know that someone else who shared her hobby. "That's a nice model you have, I have one with a built in flash that's a little more blinding, but yours seems so intact and well taken care of."
"Yeah, I always made sure to take care of this thing." He scratched the back of his head. "You don't see stuff like these being sold anywhere often and I never really like using a scroll to take photos."
"Right!" Her final wall being taken down, Velvet was more comfortable for Jaune to approach her. "Taking photos is kind of my hobby, but I love it when I use cameras to take pictures of what I like."
"Yeah, scrolls just can't seem to take pictures well like good old-fashioned cameras." The young blonde boy stated.
Now, that the awkward air was dispersed with the common ground that they both had something to share, the two began to make small talk about their photography and how well they take photos.
"You're a photographer for the Bugle!" Her eyes widened at how he was around her age and yet got a job of one of the most well-known newspaper company. "It must be so nice to work with Mr. Jameson, he's one of the most respected reporter in Vale!"
"Y-yeah sure, he's really great to work with." Jaune tried to put on a straight face. "Even my friends at work tell me how they always say nice things about him!"
'They say things about him alright, right behind his back when he's not looking.'
"Wow, it must be nice to work at a job you like!" Velvet looked down to her personal camera she had strapped around her neck. "Taking photos is my favorite hobby, but I always wondered what it would be like if I just went for a job like yours and not enroll into Beacon."
Beacon…
Just hearing that school again made his mind go back to why he was here in the first place. From a certain cat Faunus asking for his help and why he needed to get a temporary suit after the fact his original was currently just a sack of bile and garbage.
'Still, should have known she was part of Beacon, her looks might not compete with Ruby and her team, but she still looks like a super model. Again, this just proves my theory that almost everyone who enrolls into Beacon are practically super hot.'
"You go to Beacon?" Jaune hid his feeling about the school by concealing it with excitement. "You must love training to be a Huntress!"
Soon after he said that, her features reverted to being shy and nervous, making Jaune feel like he just said something that might have upset her. Seeing his reaction to her sudden change in mood, Velvet quickly changed back to her normal self and shook her head to the fellow photo enthusiast.
"D-don't worry, I was just thinking about my professor's homework I forgot to finish is all." She explained to Jaune. "You see, even if we're training to protect Vale and the other kingdoms, we're still teens and it is a school that teaches education that doesn't have to involve fighting Grimm."
"Yeah, I sometimes forget that." He scratched his reddening cheek, thoughts of Ruby as a regular student made him forget all about the fact that she was also a Huntress-in-training. "It must suck trying to juggle between basic math and studying how Grimm work in the wild."
"Try? Me and my team can barely have enough free time when our teachers keep assigning us homework and missions that it was a miracle to find time to be here."
"Missions?" That made Jaune stop his train of thought when he heard that students go out on missions. "Students can go do actual missions even though you guys aren't full-fledged Huntsmen?"
"Not exactly, we get one of the staff to take charge of us and they grade us on our performance. It's more like a glorified driving test, just take out the driving with Grimm and you'll kind of get the concept."
"I haven't taken my driver's test yet, but I doubt it'll be that stressful compared to what you have to go through." He was about to say more, when he realized that due to them getting lost in their personal conversation their bodies instinctively walked to the front where they were about to reach for the cashier. "Dang it, I forgot to grab film for my camera."
"But, your camera only takes this specific film and the ones left on the shelf aren't compatible."
"Then I guess I wasted my time here after all." Releasing a long sigh, Jaune decided to look back at where they originally met and started to walk. "I'm going to go check to make sure."
"Wait," Grabbing his shoulder, Velvet looked at the single roll of film in her hand before handing it to Jaune. "Taking pictures is my hobby, but you take pictures for a living and I would hate to make it harder for you to find more."
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"I'm positive!" She gave him a small smile to show she held no grudges towards him. "I'm sure I can find more somewhere else, maybe by chance I might see you here again too."
"Thanks, Velvet, I really appreciate it." Going back to the cashier, the blonde spider paid for the film and walked out with the brow haired girl.
"No thanks are needed." She said while stopping in front of the building. "I came with a friend and she's just down by a few stores over. So, I guess this is where we part ways."
"Thanks again, Velvet." Jane waved good bye and walked to his Aunt's house. "If we do see each other let's compare pictures, I would love to see what you've taken at Beacon!"
With a final wave both teens went their separate ways, the young blonde quickly turned to a nearby alley that leads to a dead end. Not sensing anyone that was observing him, Jaune wall crawled all the way up to the roof and proceeded to go back home.
The roof hopping didn't take long for the young hero to arrive back home, the only challenge was just to get back down without having to use webs to do so. Thankfully enough, the door that leads inside the tall structure was unlocked giving him easy access to use the stairs that lead him to the first floor and outside to finally walk on foot to his Aunt's house.
"Aunt May! I'm home!" Jaune shouted to signal his arrival. "Sorry I took so long, I had to get some more film for my camera."
"Jaune?" He heard her voice coming from the living room. "Perfect timing, dear! Can you please come over here? I need your assistance with something."
"Ok, Aunt May." Setting his bag to the corner of the front door, Jaune walked to the living room where he saw his aunt going through a large card board box that had written word labeled 'Halloween'. "Is it really this soon to put decorations for Halloween?"
"Well, we're just about near fall, so I thought checking to make sure we have these ready would be easier for when we decorate the house." Aunt May then pulled out a big plastic bowl that had an electronic hand that started to move when she flipped the switch located at the bottom of the bowl.
"So, you just need me to help you check if some of these works?"
"No, I already checked and there all in good condition." Closing the box back up, the faded blonde-haired woman struggled to lift the heavy box, but when Jaune saw how much strain it was putting her with he quickly took it from her. "Thank you, dear. The box was so heavy for me that I simply used the steps to the attic as a slide to push the box down here. If you can, please put this back to the attic, but make sure to leave it close to the stairs, so it would be easier to find later."
"Ok, Aunt May." Taking to box to the upstairs storage, Jaune stopped when Aunt May shouted for him to stop.
"I almost forgot to tell you, but when I was upstairs the light bulb for the attic died out and we don't have any more lightbulbs to replace it. When you're done, can you also run to the store to buy more, please?"
"I'll do that when I put these away Aunt May."
"Be careful not to trip, it's really dark up there." Aunt May said in concern.
"I'll be fine, Aunt May, trust me." He reassured her. 'Thanks to a little something called: Night vision'
Walking upstairs, the young spider walked to the end of the hall where he saw a single piece of rope dangling from the ceiling. Pulling it down, the attic stairs dropped down along with a few dust particles making the hero cover his mouth so some of it won't get in his lungs. After the dust settled, Jaune placed the box on his back and thanks to his body being able to attach himself to any surface the box full of decorations stayed securely on his back as he proceeded to enter the attic.
The upstairs storage was not as messy or as cluttered when he compared it to his own home back in Ansel, though when you compare a house that's owned by a couple to a family holding over eight children the difference between them was like night and day.
Boxes neatly stacked and labeled to each month of what they held, shelves full of dusty books, and some human shaped figures covered by what Jaune can only assume are thin sheets were all neatly organized and moved close to the walls for more rooms to walk around.
Putting the box near the entrance like Aunt May said, Jaune opened the box of Halloween trinkets and pulled out a toy jack-o-lantern out of curiosity. Though the light from below did help illuminate the dark room in a decent range his night vision helped him look over the small pumpkin to see if it had anything interesting about it.
"Wonder what you do?" Seeing a small switch at the bottom, he flipped to the 'on' side and was greeted by a creepy laugh emanating from the lantern. "WAAAH!"
Dropping it out of surprise, the laughing pumpkin toy bounced a few times and then rolled under one of the sheet covering something.
"Stupid thing!" He hissed, even though he stared at the end of countless guns and even bladed weapons, a small toy pumpkin was the one that made him clutch his chest to control his breathing.
Not wanting to be lazy and just leave it where it landed, Jaune walked to where he saw the toy roll under, crouched down, reached under the thin cloth, and was able to grab the laughing pumpkin.
"Can't believe you made me scared." He laughed to himself as he turned off the pumpkin. "Now, to put you back to where you came from."
Standing back up, when he walked back to the box of Halloween decorations, he didn't notice that the cloth covering the tall item was under his shoe. When he took a step, his foot dragged it causing the large cloth to pull whatever it was covering to fall.
Spider sense kicking in, Jaune pivoted around in time to lift his hands up to catch whatever was falling on him. He expected to see a clothes rack or a lamp, but when the thin sheet covering was finally off all he saw was a black human shaped figure with glowing eyes.
"AAAH!" Caught again by the sudden surprise, Jaune caught it in his hands, but due to how scared he was he lost his footing and his entire body slammed to the floor.
"JAUNE!" Shouted a scared Aunt May frantically walking up to the attic with her scroll's built in flashlight turned on. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah," He groaned as he pushed the mannequin away from himself. "Just surprised is all.
'My spider sense told me of danger about to befall me, but I guess it didn't register if what was falling on me was anything too dangerous.'
"Oh?" Stepping closer to what fell on Jaune, Aunt May pointed her flashlight to get a better look at what made Jaune scream. "Now, I haven't seen this in a long time."
After the initial scare was over, Jaune took a second glance at what made him scream like a little girl.
What fell on him was indeed a mannequin, but what it was wearing made Jaune tilt his head in confusion.
"What is that, Aunt May?" He asked her.
"This, Jaune," Aunt May peeled off the aviator goggles from the mannequin's head. "Is what Ben was wearing when he was part of the military."
"Uncle Ben?" Hearing about the man that helped back on his feet made Jaune instantly more interested to know more about Uncle Ben's life. "I didn't know he was part of the military."
"Oh yes, Ben joined the military as an aviator." Aunt May's voice was full of nostalgia as she recalled the stories she heard from her late husband. "The stories I heard him tell me as he flew in the open sky and beyond the walls of the kingdom."
"Wasn't he afraid that the Grimm might attack him?"
"He was very afraid," Her voice of nostalgia soon turned into fits of giggling. "I remember he told me one time that when he was flying he saw a giant nevermore fly right next to him. Luckily, he was able to escape from it, but when he returned back to base his CO had to make him clean his cockpit since he wet himself!"
Her giggling soon turned to full blown laughing making Jaune to also laugh alongside her.
"I can't believe I forgot he kept this here all this time," Rubbing the aviator goggles with her thumb, the widow placed them back on the mannequin and placed it back up. "Well, it was nice going back to memory lane, but what's more important was that nothing bad happened to you."
"Thanks, Aunt May," Looking back at the military garments, Jaune couldn't help but wonder why it was all black. "But, why is it all black?"
"Oh, that's just because he worked under stealth operated missions and if there was a chance that he crashed and survived it would be easier for him to blend into the darkness." She explained.
"How does it fair well if a Faunus spotted him?" He asked specifically.
"Well, I think it was able to-" She was unable to answer the question when the egg timer in the kitchen signaled her that her cooking was complete. "Oh! I almost forgot I left the brisket in the oven! Jaune, make sure you place the cover back on Ben's uniform and wash your hands, we're having brisket for dinner."
"What about buying new light bulbs?" Jaune asked.
"After, dinner. Now, wash up and I'll finish making dinner."
Leaving her tenant to finish the task, Jaune did as he was told and placed the white sheet over the black suit and walked back down to clean himself up to enjoy another dinner with his Aunt.
"New suit, new suit, what do I need with a new suit?" The hero muttered as he was scribbling new ideas on his notebook on top of his study desk.
It was in the middle of the night, a lone lamp illuminating Jaune's room as he struggled to design a new costume for him to use. So far, the concepts he was writing was ranging from colors of black, black, and blacker designs that aren't clicking well on paper.
Placing down his pencil, Jaune pushed his chair back to get away from his desk to get some time to think.
"Come on, this shouldn't be harder compared to my original spider suit." He groaned. "I mean, how hard is it for me to make a costume when it's all black?"
'I literally have just a two days before I have to meet Blake as Spider-Man and not just Spider-Man wearing my normal costume, but as one that's ready to sneak inside a heavily armed White Fang den.'
"A suit that's stealthy, already made, and doesn't require me to spend too much Lien for repairs." Jaune spoke out loud the three major parts that is required for his new suit design. The only thing I had to spend on my spider suit was the red jumpsuit and mask, the hoodie was just a spare I had that I can easily replace, but I don't have enough material to come up with a new one in such a short time."
Running his hands through his hair, Jaune leaned back in his chair and stared up at his ceiling as if it held the answer.
"The deadline is really killing my imagination right now, but If I try to clean my suit as best as I could that still wouldn't take for the account that some of the Faunus in the fang have keen noses."
'Yeah, like I'm able to clean it. The smell is too strong and the damage to it is so severe that I'm not sure if it's more financially suitable if I just take the important parts of my suit with the one I'm making now.'
Thinking that his creativity has hit a wall, Jaune just stared at the was while twiddling his pencil between his fingers.
"Suit, suit, suit, what will my next suit be?" He asked himself. "Tell me! Oh, magical pencil! What will you show me!"
At still point, due to the pressure of making a new suit, the Fang gather in less than a day, and the lack of sleep was making Jaune a little bit delirious. His delusions were short though and his mind went back on track to figuring out what his suit will be and how long it'll take before he meets Blake as Spider-Man.
Switching from flipping the pencil between his finger to tossing it into the air, Jaune put a little bit too much on throwing it that the tip of the pencil imbedded itself into his ceiling.
"Oh cr-woah!" Leaning too much on his chair, Jaune almost fell out of it but was able to catch himself due to one of his spider abilities of having perfect equilibrium. "Not Good!"
(TWIP)
Shooting a web line to the pencil, he yanked it out and what was noticeable after he pulled down the pencil was a small hole.
"Not too bad, but if I really tried to throw it I have no doubt that the pencil would have gone all the way to the attic-"
'Attic…? The attic!'
"Thank you, magical pencil!" Getting out of his chair, the young spider opened his door, silently walked to where the stairs leading to the attic was and pulled the rope down while also taking glances back to his Aunt's room in case she might wake up.
Seeing that she hasn't opened her door, he saw this as a sign to keep moving. Lifting one foot, Jaune placed it on the wooden step followed by his other foot landing on the step above the first one.
All the while, he made sure to turn his head for signs that Aunt May might wake up any second until he finally reached the attic. With the help of his night vision, Jaune was able to locate the same covered mannequin that fell on him this afternoon, pulled down the sheet, and saw the same bright goggles staring at him only this time he wasn't caught off guard.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Ben." He apologized as if the lifeless plastic statue was his Uncle Ben himself. "But, I'm gonna need your help again."
Removing the uniform, Jaune silently walked back down, gently pushed the attic door shut, and walked back in his room to start working on his new spider suit.
Checking over what he must make out of his new costume, Uncle Ben's uniform consisted of a pair of black trousers, blouse, and aviator goggles.
"Ok," Picking up the goggles, Jaune flipped them to where he was seeing through them. "Wait until they see this."
It was never easy for Blake to admit that she was wrong, especially when other people see her mistakes and keep reminding her about it. She was always head strong and never budges from her views and morality, things like the White Fang, Faunus, Human, and recent news revolving around Spider-Man are just a few things that define her as such things.
Blake admits that she can get out of hand when it involves something that's important to her. She can also admit that she needs to slow down to think straight, and even admits that she needs to consider other people's feeling when there concerned for her wellbeing. She admits to all her faults and she's sorry if she gets too forceful, angry, antisocial, and even rude due to her being unable to control her emotions, but with problems like her past coming back she doesn't have time to fix them right now.
Of course, her friends and teachers are noticing her decline in rest and activity in class, but it was because that her old group that was once a staple for Faunus rights now turned terrorist organization was part of the reason why she barely rest at all.
Sure, she was thankful for her friends for helping her fight Roman at the docks and getting past the fact that she was part of the White Fang. But, her cynical side knew that her team alone wasn't enough to stop a well-known crime lord and Adam.
Just by fighting Roman herself she was certain he was just toying with her and not just her, but Sun too who also tried his luck in fighting the crime boss and failing just like her. All their training, semblance, and weapons wasn't enough against his own skills and experience, making her feel completely useless.
Her belief that she needed to help the White Fang go back to who they once were, that she can talk them out of it, that she didn't need to drag her friends down with her burden, all these shattered in front of her eyes as her fears became true.
To have power yet feel completely powerless to do something, was one of the reasons she left home and joined the Fang in the first place. It was in her arrogance that she thought that if things needed to change then you needed to act to further increase said action that made her see that maybe it wasn't always the right way. How she didn't see the Fang, to see Adam change was because those changes were necessary for the Faunus to finally be heard and get the rights they deserve.
That's what she kept thinking to herself every time when the plans Adam makes became darker and darker as time progressed, making her now see the error in her ways. Maybe it is arrogant to think that she could have stopped Adam from changing if she spotted it earlier, but no matter what, she knew the truth and she just ignored all the problems just because she didn't want to admit she was wrong.
She's sorry to her parents, for her friends, and above all else she's sorry for all her promises she's made to everyone but are sadly broken. One recent promise she made was to always tell her friends when she's about to do something dangerous like this, but instead of telling them, she told someone else.
"So, this is where we're supposed to meet our other friend?" Sun asked in a curious tone. "In some creepy back street? Not really giving me a vote of confidence on your friend, Blake."
Blake cared for her team, after knowing them in Beacon she came to think of them as a second family and proof that it's possible to make peace with humans. After all, she can stay in the room with a Schnee for crying out loud, so it isn't too farfetched to not consider it a possibility that both races can live happily.
"Don't worry, he's going to be here." She reassures her temporary partner in crime. "Jaune made sure to give him this location."
"Jaune?" Sun was trying to remember if he knew anyone from that name. "Oh! You mean the guy that knew Spider-"
Before he could finish that sentence, Blake covered his mouth with her hand to stop him from talking.
"Shh! Your too loud!" Blake said. "Do you want everyone to know that important information? We don't want Jaune to have a target on his back due to you unable to keep your mouth quiet!"
"Sorry." Sun apologized.
"I-It's fine." She let out a sigh. "Just be careful, ok?"
"Yeah," Sun's mood went back to his usual cheery self after he was forgiven by Blake. "You know, you're a lot more forgiving, Blake. And your eyes don't have the usual bags under them, finally took your friends advice and took a rest?"
"I did take a rest," She remembered how even Jaune could see that her unrest was affecting her making the cat Faunus realize that sleep was the best option before going to the recruit drive tonight. "It just took me longer to realize that my friends were right about me needing sleep."
"Glad to finally see your taking your friend's advice rather then ignoring them." A third voice was added into their conversation, making the two trained Huntsmen to put their guard up.
Since both are Faunus they were able to see much clearly, I the dark making it harder for almost anyone to try and use the darkness to their advantage. Having their backs to each other they thought it was going to be easy to spot whoever spoke, but what they saw was just the same dark alley with no one visible in sight.
"What are you guys looking at?" The voice whispered in their ear making Sun and Blake to jump away from each other and turn to whoever was able to get past their small perimeter.
Blake thought that it was Spider-Man doing his usual antics, she read through many eye witness accounts that Spider-Man tends to crack jokes while fighting criminals and was doing the same thing with her.
What she didn't know, was what Spider-Man was wearing.
The young Huntress expected to see him in his usual red and blue costume that almost everyone knows him wearing, but what she was looking was completely different from the usual costume Spider-Man wears. Hanging upside down by a spider thread, Blake saw that his costume didn't have the usual red jumpsuit and ripped blue hoodie. Instead, what she saw Spider-Man wear was black durable trousers, combat boots, a long-sleeved sweater, leather button up vest, and most notably the only thing that can be seen was the large bright lenses staring right at her.
"Spider-Man?" She asked, quite intimidated by his appearance.
"One in the same." He let go of his web and landed on his feet, now in full height his appearance matching with how tall he was made it even more freighting. "Like Jaune told you before, I had to look through my closet and my attic to find this suit."
"Wow," Sun finally spoke "Nice suit, dude!"
Getting a better look at Spider-Man's suit, Sun took out his scroll and turned on his flashlight to see the full detail of Spider-Man stealth suit.
"Badass!" He said while circling the web head. "You even have the Spider logo on the back of your vest!"
"Yeah," The wall crawler's only sign of embarrassment was the tone of his voice when Sun pointed at the hero's signature logo. "It took a while to have that baby sewn on the vest, but it was worth it."
"Glad you could make it Spider-Man," Her cool, calm appearance she had on her face was betrayed by the relief in her voice that Spider-Man made it in time. "The entrance isn't too far, so if you just tail us from a distance you can sneak in when you see us enter the recruitment drive."
"I see you brought Sun than Ruby and the rest of your team." Spider-Man nodded his head to Sun. "I know I shouldn't talk about having friends help since I usually do stuff like this alone, so instead I'll just say this."
Walking past Blake, Spider-Man looked back at the two young teens and spoke in his rare moments of being serious.
"Be careful. We're here to find out what Roman has here and stopping them from taking more innocent lives into the life of crime. If they spot you, don't fight. Run, understood?"
"Y-yes." Blake agreed.
"Don't worry," Sun gave the hero a thumb's up. "We won't screw this up!"
"Good, now that we're all in agreement," Spider-Man lifted his arm ad shot a web line to a nearby rooftop, pulled it, and was soon airborne. "Let's go!"
WOOOOOO! Finally, this chapter is done and once again tit was a long one to finish. I didn't know if I had time to complete this, but I'm glad either way that all of you were patient with me again for the long wait. I'm sure all of you are asking questions on Jaune's new suit and Velvet now also appearing in the story, so I'm gonna try and answer as much as I can in this A/N to the best of my ability.
So, for Jaune's suit I already had it played out in my mind that he was going to need one to be stealthier when he's trying to sneak in to Roman's hide out. Using Qrow as a way for Spider-Man to leave his original suit was a way to do so, it was also for him to be added since I hinted he was following Spider-Man since Ozpin messaged him after the whole Docks chapter.
The suit was originated by Spider-Noir and if you guys don't know who he is you should totally read his comics their gritting, brutal, and is in the time during the great depression. I tried to know more about what Spider-Noir suit was, but all I usually get was the aviator goggles was when Ben was part of the military, so I added that part into the story to explain why it was in the attic.
Velvet was also in this chapter since I wanted to add more RWBY characters into the mix without the use of using big plot points such as the docks or the breach. Since we barely see team CVFY outside of Beacon I thought it would make them more character developed if Jaune saw them outside of their Huntsmen appearance and dressed up as normal civilians.
And speaking about character development, Blake was a mean girl during Vol.2 with the whole White Fang and was not very liked with viewers. That's why I thought I would try my hand into humanizing her or make people sympathize with her due to her upbringing and internal struggles with past. Yes, I know she asked Sun for help rather than her team, but at least she asked Sun then the blonde money Faunus stalking her till she finally agreed for him to help her. So, you know, progress.
We all know that the real characters in the show have their flaws, heck most of you might say you don't like how I portray Blake and other RWBY characters, but you guys can't argue that the canon version are any better! I'm just trying my best to describe how a young Huntress acts in a school that teaches them to fight monsters. Weiss is a rich snob and we all expect that from an heiress that was born with a silver spoon and Ruby is easy to portray since she's just like Jaune, so therefore she is considered as BEST GIRL no matter how many people tell me she isn't. The way I portray Blake and Yang is what I usual see in teen drama's and in anime, Blake being hard headed and sometimes doesn't register other peoples feelings until its too late and Yang for being brutally honest with everyone and also thinking about the well fair for her sister.
Characters can't always be nice and supporting, that would make the entire team one dimensional and have no personality, not to mention you can't expect real people to be nice too. Besides, it's their thoughts and opinions and it would not be them if they decided to give up who they are and change for the sake of other people wanting them to be something else.
The chapter took a while, but for reasons besides me wanting to try my hand into longer chapters, I also had to make plans to leave to a different place. I might not make another chapter due to how long I must travel, so I hope you guys can wait more patiently as I try to get ready moving into my new home and settling in a new environment.
Like always, I like to thank my Beta Reader for the help and you should all like, Fav, and follow his own stories. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I also hope you like this Omake.
Omake: The Pizza Part 2
"Ok, I repeat my question: WHO!?" Jaune Arc, normal nerd by day, hero by night, and currently a pizza delivery guy said to the crazy masked gunmen whose pistol was still aimed at the blonde's forehead.
Ignoring the blonde nerd's question, the gunman glared at his target while also explaining why he was hired.
"Let me refresh your memory." Using his free hand, the masked killer pulled out a small notebook labeled 'Diary/ kill list' and spoke what was written on the paper.
"Do you happen to know a Meghan Orflosky?" He asked.
"N-no!? Am I supposed too?" Jaune asked, even more confused as to why he asked.
"Orflosky? Orlovsky? Yeah? Good. Because she knows you. Jeremy,"
'Is he ignoring me on purpose?!'
"I belong to a group of guys who take a dime to beat a fella down." Putting the notebook back to wherever he pulled it out from, his hand held a gold card and tossed it to the target with said target catching it without breaking contact with the crazy killer. If he was surprised by how quick the pizza geeks' reflexes were, his mask was able to hide his facial features, and the killer continued to talk about why he was here for Jaune. "And little Meghan, she's not made of money, but lucky for her... I got a soft spot."
Moving his eyes away from the gun, jaune looked at the gold card with the name of the intended target and was going to testify that this wasn't him when the man holding the gun started to talk again.
"But, I'm a…"
"A stalker. Threats hurt, Jer. Though not nearly as badly as serrated steel. So, keep away from Meghan. Cool?"
"Wait, so you're just threatening me to stay away from her?" Jaune asked, now even more confused at all this information being thrown at him.
"Well, yes!" He put his gun in his holster. "We're done."
"We are?"
"Yeah. We're totally done." He started to laugh making the man who owns the house to laugh nervously. "You should've seen your face."
"I didn't know what to do." The older man was on the brink if crying while also trying to stop laughing. "I was so scared."
The laughing continued for a bit making the young teen a bit nervous about what might happen next.
Jaune didn't have to wait long however, when the hired hitman pulled out his katana and pointed it directly at Jaune's forehead.
"That was my first mission from Meghan," His tone became cold and deadly, no longer holding the same wacky voice from earlier. "Until she texted me the threat you were about to tell at school if she didn't go out with you."
"Uh?" Giving up on words, Jaune just slouched his shoulders and just grunted simply used noise to convey his question.
"A rumor you were about to spread would have ruined not just her high school reputation, but even into adulthood! Heck, it was so heinous that I'm positive her life will be nothing by agony and regret!"
"I'm sorry to interrupt….. But what was the rumor?"
"It was that she… c'mere."
Walking close to the hitman, he whispered the rumor close to his ear and soon as the masked man finished the older civilian looked at Jaune like he was the scum of Remnant.
"Dude! You're a #$%?%?& #$%?%?&!"
'Escuse me? I didn't even hear what insult you named me? All I heard was #$%?%?& #$%?%?&!... Hold up, I can't even say it in my own mind!?'
"But don't worry," taking the blade away from Jaune, the mad swordsman raised his sword high in the air and was going to end the teen's life in a single strike. "She's about to get over it."
'Danger! Got to move!'
Finally reacting to his spider sense, Jaune dodged the blade, tackled the owner of the house to the ground, and was about to tell the helpless citizen to call the police when his spider sense told him to move.
(CRASH)
With no warning what so ever, the front window suddenly shattered due to a fast object heading straight for Jaune.
(THUNK)
Dodging just in the nick of time, Jaune was able to dodge an arrow that was aimed for his head and imbedded itself on the floor. After the first arrow missed its mark, several more arrows were fired and was aimed at the crazy masked killer.
The first to reach the red masked swordsman impaled itself in his left arm.
"Ow."
Second arrow pierced his stomach.
"Ouch."
Third and fourth arrow hit both of his legs.
"Ow! My adventuring career is ruined!"
And the final arrow hit the crazy gunman's chest dead center.
"Ohh… Shot through the heart~! Blegh!" After singing a single verse the hitman laid on his back dead and leaving both Jaune and the only adult in the house to look in horror at what happened in front of his eyes.
'Wait, no, my spider sense is still tingling! Whoever fired those arrows is close to the house.'
(Ding Dong)
"Hello~ You still alive Deadpool?" A voice coming from the front door asked, the doorbell being continuously pressed by whoever was asking if the man he killed was alive.
Taking the silence as his answer, the new stranger kicked the door open to let himself in the house.
"Ding~ Dong!" The new guest said, his smile only getting wider when he saw his target dead on the floor. Walking as if he owned the place, the man dressed up in medial purple light armor kicked the lifeless body with no reaction. To add more insult to the dead man, the archer notched another arrow in his bow, took aim, and fired at the same spot at the chest.
"Heh, hah, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Finally losing his cool, the young hero couldn't help but laugh at the situation he was in. "Ha! Ha, Heh, Ha, Ha!"
"Oh?" The man where a purple mask with the only thing visible was his eyes and mouth turned his attention to the laughing teen. "Think this is funny, kid? Cause if so, then you got a good humor just like me!"
Laughing alongside the kid, both stared at each other for a moment, looked at the still bleeding body, and soon their laugh became louder. This went on for a several seconds before the man who killed the hitman stopped laughing and drew his bow at Jaune.
"Too bad you and the old guy have to die too."
"Ha, heh, ha, woo!" Getting back up from the floor, Jaune took deep breaths to stop himself from laughing to hard. "Ok, ok, I'm good, I stopped."
"Good, now di-"
"Before you do that, Sir." Jaune raised his hand to stop the archer from releasing the arrow. "I just have one question."
The archer thought for a moment about Jaune request, taking just moment of thinking the killer with the bow lowered his weapon and nodded his head.
"Sure, it's your last request, and who am I to stop a dead man from saying his last words."
"Thank you, kind sir." Giving him a nod of appreciation, Jaune smile face soon morphed into one of confusion, insanity, and desperation as he spoke his thoughts that was fighting to get out after he just saw the man dressed as an archer kill a man that was hired to kill some other man who was mistaken for Jaune.
"WHO THE #$%?%?& #$%?%?&! ARE YOU!"