Disclaimer: Brotherhoof12 does not own RWBY or Spider-Man.

(Chapter 23: Blame Game)

Weiss was the middle child of the Schnee Family. Her mother, a woman passing her life with drinks, her father the business man and nothing else, an older sister she idolizes as long as she can remember, and then there's her little brother.

"So, you're my big sister's partner." Whitley circled around Ruby who was at attention. "I thought you'd be… taller."

"Well, uh-um, sir." She stuttered a respectful tone. "I drink… milk."

"Hmm..." He put a fist under his chin as he continued to stare at Ruby who was about to break her bearing. "Well, I'm glad my sister has a partner who cares about taking care of one's intake on dairy."

Seeing that he approves of her answer, the short Huntress used that as a sign to relax and not act like there was a sharp blade under her-

"But." The youngest Schnee spoke abruptly. "Study finds high milk consumption is linked to higher mortality and hip fractures. So I'd be careful the next time you think of taking another drink before going to bed."

Ruby looked horrified at what she just learned. Whitely left her partner's shocked state and continued to look around the room.

'Well, that was half the expectation I thought would play out.' Weiss thought to herself as she continued to stare at her brother. 'Still, I thought he would already look at this place as uncouth or droll. But he looks like he's interested in what's in here. How?'

Far as she can remember, Weiss always remembered Whitley to be the usual annoying little brother back when they were kids. Always coming to her room and talking to her, not even knocking on her door when she was to be left alone after she had another argument with father.

'He grew up.' She saw her brother stop at her bed and saw that it was a bit ruffled when she was laying on it and decided to fix it, showing the slim muscles he was hiding under his usual clean clothes for anyone to see. 'He grew out. Was I really gone for that long? Did he really change so much that he looks like this?'

She always thought that she would see her older sister, Winter, be the one to see her in Beacon. See her young sister as a developing Huntress alongside her outstanding team as they become well known and well respected in Beacon.

"My, what..." The rich young boy stared at one of Yang's poster of the Achieve Men hanging on the wall. "Down to earth vibe this place gives out. Really love how each corner gives off different feeling but blends together quite nicely."

"Gee, thanks." Yang used her index finger to scratch the tip if her nose. "Surprised to see someone in Ice Queen's family who can appreciate a cool band like them."

"Believe me, I have my fair share of music." Moving to the next thing that caught his eye, the white-haired boy stepped in front of a bookshelf and randomly took one off the shelf. "I'm even well versed in lit-"

(SNAP)

Just as he opened the book titled 'Ninja of Love', Whitley soon closed the book loud enough for everyone in the room to be startled.

"Well," He placed the book back where he pulled it and made a cough to disrupt the awkward silence he created. "Almost, well versed on literature. I regret that I'm still too young to understand most artworks books give us."

"That is unfortunate." Blake said to the young Schnee, her bow slightly folded.

"Yes, well, I do try to be more open minded of things, so I'm happy to know that my sister has a wonderful team here in Beacon!" He then gave a smile to the three girls, a smile so genuine, that even Weiss became even more surprised that he said all of that without his usual sarcastic tone.

"Isn't that right, Mr. Stane?" Directing their attention away from him, all four girls looked at the only adult in the room who was staying in a corner with his back facing them.

"Yes, that's..." Stane was no longer paying attention to the young group and was talking to someone on his scroll. "And I want to make sure it's completely vacant, yes, that's right. I-"

Feeling like there was eyes on him, Stane turned his head to see that the only boy was now looking at him.

"Just make sure you get it ready soon!" He whispered back to whoever was on the other line and hung up. "Terribly sorry about that, children! Just needed to make some arrangements."

"You two have plans?" Blake spoke in her usual stoic tone, the same way she used to speak to her team when they all first met. The black-haired Faunus may have started to be friends with Weiss Schnee, but Blake soon regressed back to her old self when confronted with another, more younger part of the Schnee family.

'We all can't change that quickly, I guess.' For once, not really blaming Blake to be a bit apprehensive towards her little brother. 'Well, mentally, I suppose.'

"We don't plan on staying here for long." He told the girl wearing the black bow.

"You guys are leaving?" Weiss asked instantly, a second later she caught herself by asking a follow up question. "Is it regarding another Dust dealership with the school?"

'I hope no one noticed how I was eager to ask them when they're leaving.' Weiss thought to herself. 'Idiot! Can't believe I sounded relieved that there're leaving!'

Looking back at her little brother, she caught a glimpse of him staring at her in contempt, but soon changed his complexion by giving her his usual small smile.

'Did he also catch that?' Weiss had a pit growing in her stomach. 'Why do I feel so bad about it? Last time I saw him, he was the same annoying sneaky brother. I always felt like there was something he was hiding and would smile like he was the only one smart person in the room.'

Soon, images of her first time in Beacon and how she treated her friends came to remind her that she wasn't too different.

'Ok, maybe I'm getting too harsh on him, maybe he really did change. He at least changed physically, but I'll still keep an eye out for anything strange coming from him.'

"Not just us, Weiss." Stane put back his device on his suit pocket. "All of you girls are coming too!"

"We are!?" The team asked, each one asking a different question.

"What about staying low?"

"Where are we going?"

"Will people start throwing stuff at us?"

"Did Ozpin give us the green light to leave our room?" Weiss asked the most wanted question to her father's business partner. "He's the headmaster, and we can't leave this room and go out in broad daylight. Not unless we are supervised an-"

"About your supervision," Stane walked close to her brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, I talked to a group of people that has a far more reach than your headmaster, and I'm sure they're talking to him right now."

The girls looked at one another, confused at who their headmaster was talking to right now.

"Now, let's not worry about such minor detail." The older gentleman opened the door and motioned the girls to go first. "We have an important meeting soon, and I know you four wouldn't want to miss it."

Hesitant on leaving the premise without hearing the say so from their teachers, the first to leave the room was the Heiress when her brother decided for her.

"Come on, Weiss!" Whitley held her hand, she is once again, stunned at how he was his usual prim and proper act that was soon dropped with someone who's showing true emotions to her. "I want to hear what you've been up to these days!"

"F-fine," Weiss conceded to her little brother's plea. "If Mr. Stane said that he already talked to someone above Ozpin, then he's telling the truth, Mr. Stane wouldn't lie about this."

With one of them going out the door, her partner soon followed, making way for Ruby's sister to also walked out of the door.

Blake stayed behind for a moment, her thoughts still wondering just how many strings this Stane fellow pulled to let them go out.

"Blake, let's go!" Her partner said while halfway out the door.

'Meh, I guess this is fine.' Reluctantly setting her foot out, Blake trailed behind them as the girls followed Stane to the parking lot. 'Who knows? Maybe I might run into Jaune.'

"Hurry up and run, gentlemen!" The P.E Teacher screamed at the slowest students who were running on the school track field. "Your classmates are waiting for you!"

By waiting, he meant those who finished had to do jumping jacks and pushups until every student finished running 12 laps around the track.

To show that he was telling the truth, Jaune's classmates started to voice their thoughts on the weak links of the class.

"Hurry up, dude!"

"Come on, man! This is stupid!"

"Pick up the pace!"

"Are you even trying right now!?"

While some complained and shouted at them to run faster, the more athletic students began to hurl insults at how they're so slow.

"Come on, Jauney boy!" Flash Thompson raised his voice as he kept a steady pace on push up. "I know exercise is a foreign thing to you, but you should know that it's also important to be healthy rather than always sticking your head in books."

As soon as Flash set his sights on him, the rest of Flash's mob squad followed suit.

"This is so sad."

"How can someone that isn't fat be this bad at running?"

"I am so going to laugh when they start vomiting after they're done running."

Many sounds mixed together, all aiming at Jaune and his fellow 'weaklings' and their inability to keep up in P.E class. Those insults and encouraging words just landed on deaf ears, as Jaune continued the same pace, more preoccupied with personal matters than dealing with physical education.

If he was still his old self, then he would surely be exhausted by now. Don't get him wrong, he can run even before he was bitten, but if he tried as he is now, then people would start talking.

Students in his class will spread word that the wall flower that is Jaune Arc was so fast, then people will begin to look at him in a different light. He might be asked to be on track, could get a scholarship, or even scouted to be part of the Olympics if he decided to go for it.

"Come on, Jaune!" Harry used the last of his strength before he flopped back down to do another push up. "You can do it!"

'Thanks, Harry.' The blonde hero silently thanked his friend but kept the same pace. 'If you only knew what I'm doing, then I'm sure you'd make me do your homework until you forgive me.'

Jaune never really thought much on running fast, he usually performs acrobatic movements while webslinging. He doesn't really know how fast he can run, but he was positive that if he really wanted to, he can keep up with a sports car.

Maybe even faster, if he needed to.

'Last lap and I'm around second to last.' Jaune was behind another fellow lightweight trying his best to run faster and behind the blonde hero, was a student a few pounds heavier. 'Guess I should go a little bit faster. I may want to look like a wimp, but I have at least some pride!'

Pushing his legs just a little bit harder, the disguised spider themed hero outran the person in front of him and finished his last lap.

Finally finished, Jaune placed his hands on his knees and took in a couple of deep breaths to fill up his lungs. Lungs that are perfectly fine and can keep running, but to keep his 'loser' persona intact, Jaune continued to play the part of the unfit nerd.

Seconds later, the other two students that were with Jaune also finished, signaling the teacher to end the workout.

"Ok." The teacher blew his whistle to let rest of the male's students to stop exercising. "Now that the rest of the boys finished, all of you can hit the showers! Jaune, you stay back, I need to speak to you."

As the rest of his classmates walked back inside, Jaune was left alone with his teacher who gave him a neutral stare.

"Listen, son." He dropped his rough and spoke in a more normal tone. "I don't want you to feel bad about what Flash and his friends said to you, but I'm going to be real with you. If you want them to stop, then you need to try and stop giving them ammo for them to fire at you."

'If I was trying, then you'd probably ask me to join the football team.' Jaune thought to himself. "I understand, sir, I'll try and get better."

"You do that." The gym teacher gave a look of approval for Jaune agreeing with him. "It's a cruel world out there, so you have to toughen up your body that can match your smarts, too."

'If you're trying to give me a pep talk, then how come you didn't tell the two guys who were slower than me the same thing? Or did you already label them as a 'lost cause'...?'

Nodding his head, Jaune walked past the teacher go back inside the gym. When he entered, he can already see the girls of his class already finished with gym and was dressed up in their civilian clothes.

One of the girls saw Jaune staring at them, making them to start whisper amongst the rest of the girls. The group soon started to giggle at whatever they were whispering about, making the secret hero drop his head low at the possibility that they were talking about him.

"Well," He grumbled to himself as he walked into the boy's locker room. "I knew keeping up with appearances will get me this type of shame."

Heading to where his temporary locker is, Jaune placed his code in, opened the locker, and started to undress. Removing his sweating clothes to place his regular ones back on, Jaune grabbed his scroll out of his backpack to see what time until lunch started.

"Close to ten minutes before we hit for the cafeteria." Putting all his belonging in his bag, the blonde closed the locker and headed outside. "Maybe I can sit far enough so I don't have to hear people talk about how I embarrassed myself today."

With him being the last to get dressed, everyone else was already in their civilian clothes, sitting at the end of the rafters that was close to the exit. Jaune's friend was sitting a few feet away from everyone else, so spotting him was easy enough.

"Hey man." Jaune gave his friend an easy-going smile. "Having thoughts on what they're serving today?"

"Like I can ever remember what type of food they serve every day." Harry placed a hand under his chin to show his boredom. "Besides, you should know more about it, since you pack lunch and eat the cafeteria food."

"Eh." Jaune shrugged his shoulder. "I'm a healthy, growing boy."

'A growing boy who needs a steady intake on food to help his healing factor.'

"I feel like you shouldn't worry about eating and more on the something that's coming very soon."

"Really?" The blonde boy asked in interest.

"Yeah, it's super important if we want to get out of our loser status and try and be cooler." Opening his school bag, Harry gave Jaune a piece of paper. "There's going to be a dance soon and we need to get a date."

"You do know that the girls from our class are still laughing about me failing at running, right?"

"Well, those girls don't have to be the one! I mean, there's more fish in the sea, we just need to find a girl and lower our expectations." Harry reasoned with his friend.

"You make it sound like we're desperate to find a girl to dance with us."

Harry made a flat look to his friend. "Fair enough, I stand corrected."

"This shouldn't be hard for you, what about that Huntress that wanted to talk to you?"

"Did you not have the front row seat of the awkward chemistry Blake and I had? You even pointed at her and told me that she was boring."

"You know how it is, Jaune." He waved his hand at his past thoughts on meeting Blake. "She's perfect! Blake likes not talking, it gives her that badass vibe! I'm not saying that it's better for her to not talk while she's your date, but it can totally make you less like a loser and more like some cool dude that bagged a hottie like her!"

'I can't argue with that. Girls as hot as Ruby and her team shouldn't be Huntresses, they should be movie starts! Heck, it would blow my mind if they tell me they're average looking compared to other female students attending Beacon.'

"I don't think she would even humor me about being my date." Jaune said to Harry.

"Maybe," The rich teen was in deep thought. "Oh! I know a way for us to make us look better!"

"What? Try being less of our weird selves?"

"No!" Moving his thumb to his left, Jaune followed where it was pointing at Flash and his fellow football players. "We can try out for the football team!"

'He can't be serious.' The secret hero stared at his friend who showed no signs of lying. 'Son of a… he is!'

"Have you also forgotten that I barely made it through gym class today?"

"Well..." Jaune's friend started to look like he was guilty for something. "I was hoping you can help me look better when we try out for football."

"So, let me get this straight." He set his hand in front of him. "You want me, the guy who sucks at gym class, to join you to try out for the football team, by making you look better. Didn't you say not ten seconds ago that we need to have a better image in school to get girls?"

"And that's still the plan!" He sounded offended that Jaune would throw him under the bus like that. "I just worded everything all wrong. What I'm trying to say, is that we both will help each other through try outs. If one of us is bad at one thing, then we help the other excel at it."

"Giving us a better chance for them to pick both of us and not just one." The secret hero explained the rest of what Harry was saying.

'Still, if I do have a chance to join, I'll be noticed more and my rep for being just a simple bookworm will be over.'

Jaune's ear's twitched when he heard his name coming from one of the girls a few seats away from them.

Instinctively, Jaune looked to where he heard his name being called and saw that some of them were still giggling.

With some being brave enough to look at him for a second then back to whispering amongst themselves.

'Ok, maybe I'm overselling the whole 'weak bookworm' a little too much. I guess it's ok to change how people look at me in school. But, I won't go overboard, I'll use just enough to be able to look good, but not star quarter back good.'

"Ok." The blonde raised his hand to Harry. "I'm sold, let's try out for football."

"Nice!" Harry shook hid best friends hand with excitement. "I'm telling you, Jaune. We'll join the football team with no effort. I mean, who's 'gonna spot us?"

"What'd you say!?" Their small chance of joining for the football team was stopped, when a familer shout placed them back to reality.

'Why did you have to ask that, Harry?'

Already getting ready to get trashed talked by their senior bully, Jaune turned to face him but saw that Flash was still sitting with his fellow jocks.

"Dude, chill out." One of Flash's friends said. "I'm just saying the truth."

"What!?" Flash Thompson pointed at his friend who was holding a scroll with a picture as the screen. "You can't be serious!? How is Iron Man better then Spider-Man!?"

"Are you seriously asking me who's better?" The Iron Man fan was the one to start asking questions."

"How is Spider-Man, a guy who shoots webs, better than a man who can fly and shoot laser beams? It's like your comparing a chihuahua to a Great Dane."

"Spider-Man is not a chihuahua! He's super-fast, super strong, and he's just so cool! Plus, we can see him swinging from building to building like it's no problem to him. Iron Man on the other hand, is some pile of bolts that when caught in the rain he'll malfunction." Flash counter argued.

"I don't see Spider-Man saving villages and stopping falling planes."

"That's because he's too busy saving Vale from the White Fang, Roman, and other amazing feats you don't see from Iron Man. I mean, Iron Man just started getting noticed and people are already dropping Spider-Man like he's yesterday's news, talk about disloyalty."

"Hey, it's not like I don't like Spider-Man." The Iron man fan put both hands in front of him to show he means no disrespect to the web head. "It's just that, Iron Man just seems so cool compared to the guy. And, well, it just started to get pretty old cheering on some guy dressed as a bug."

"That's beside the point!" As Flash started another reason for why Iron Man isn't better then Spider-Man, Jaune turned to his friend who was also surprised to see Flash this passionate.

"For a moment, I thought he heard us talk about joining the team." Harry let out a sigh of relief.

"He's going to find out when he sees us anyway." Jaune reminded Harry that Flash is also part of the football team. "Other than that, did you hear what he said? About Iron man? Do you know about that?"

"Well, yeah. I heard about him, but not much is known about him. He usually stays in Atlas, but what happened in Mistral made himself more known to the other kingdoms. I think some videos were seen on the net, but Vale hasn't made any coverage on this 'Iron Man' yet."

Jaune was left silent when his friend said that this new hero was discovered in Atlas and was also recently seen in Mistral. He usually hears people talk about Spider-Man, so after knowing there was someone else in Remnant doing heroic acts made him feel a little bit ignorant.

'Can I really call myself ignorant? I mean, I don't watch news other than Vale, so I at least have an excuse about me not knowing that Iron Man exists.'

From the look Jaune was making, Harry nodded his head and spoke with understanding.

"To be fair, I didn't hear about him until my dad talked about it on the phone. One of his branches in Atlas called him about Dust being robbed and was then returned thanks to some guy in armor."

Hearing about Dust being robbed made Jaune's posture to straighten up. His mind going to the one person that could be responsible.

'Does Roman have enough reach to pull that off? No, there should be a group rather than just one person stealing so much dust. I should tell Harry about the weapons the White Fang had in possession.'

"Did your dad mention anything else when he was talking to whoever was on the phone?" Jaune asked his friend. "The news did say about Atlas weapons was found in a rally for Faunus trying to join the White Fang. Did your father talk about that?"

"No, he just talked about how the delay in the loss of Dust would make him lose percentage of trust in the people of Atlas. Saying about how they'll think the SDC will be more reliable and more secure, but that's about it." Harry answered.

'Guess I shouldn't be surprised. I'm sure Mr. Osborn will be more secretive if it involves something else besides dust. Other than that, maybe I should check the news later when I'm done with school.'

On reflex, Jaune's hand moved to the main zipper of his back pack, opened it, and reached inside to feel the contents within.

'Can't forget this thing either.' He peeked inside to see the reflective lenses of his Black Spider suit stare back at him. 'The new suit I have is great for scaring the average thug, but it feels unsuitable to swing in Vale during the day. I always feel like if I ever give a handshake someone might feel the sweat just leak out of my gloves!'

Soon after, the school bell rang to signal the students to proceed to their next class room. Both boys walked into the main hallway and started their walk to whoever class they had next.

"We'll talk about this later, Jaune." Harry walked ahead when the main hallway started to split off. "I need to grab something form my locker."

"Ok, see you later, Harry." Waving his hand, Jaune's friend went his separate way and leaving the teen hero by himself. Reaching his next class, Jaune's mind started back on track about the main problem regarding his suit.

'Lien. And that means I need a raise, which means I need to ask my bosses for a raise.'

"Like that'll be any easier." Leaning over the class table, Jaune eyed the open door with more students entering, with some wearing shirts with his signature symbol.

"Huh." A stray thought just came to Jaune's mind. "I wonder how people would feel if Iron Man shows up?"

"WOW~!" An exited Ruby exclaimed as Whitley showed her a video that was recorded in Mistral. "I can't believe I didn't see this yet! And you say people are calling him 'Iron Man'?"

"Yup." The male Schnee pulled back his scroll and started to search more information about Atlas's own superhero. "Vale and Vacuo will get this information about Iron Man when the news officially gets more concrete evidence, but since he was spotted in Mistral the people who recorded him started to blaze through the internet."

"So cooool~!" The young huntress pusher her face closer to Whitley's scroll that showed witness testimonies of people who saw him up close. "Some of these are people he recused are back in Atlas, right?"

"Indeed, some of the villages he rescued had all sorts of problems!" The young man counted them by using his fingers as tally marks. "Be it Grimm, bandits, weapon smugglers, even the White Fang!"

"So cool!" The young girl said once more as she scanned the internet with forums dedicated to the flying hero.

"Wow, sis," Ruby's older sister used her height to snatch the scroll over Ruby's head. "Thought you were a diehard Spider-Man fan. Decided to switch fandoms?"

"No way, Yang." Ruby shook her head to deny such claims. "Spider-Man will always be my favorite superhero, it's just that my inner weapons geek is totally freaking out over Iron Man's tech!"

"No fooling?" Curiosity took over as Yang read comments from people who were saved by him gave their tale of their hero. "He can fly and shoot lasers out of his hands!? No wonder he's from Atlas, only a kingdom as advanced as them get a cool hero like Iron Man."

"I'm sure you're putting way too much credit for the suit he's wearing, Ms. Xiao Long." The rich teen corrected the blonde Huntress. "True, many people are commenting about how he can do incredible feats with the suit, but you have to wonder about the man wearing it. I mean, he or she, I'm keeping my mind open to the possibility, has to be a genius to craft such amazing technology before anyone else can think of such an idea as this."

"Wow," She gave the scroll back to Whitley. "No wonder you and Ruby get along so well. You two are fans of superheroes! I wonder what Weiss would feel about that since she doesn't really like vigilantes."

"Technically, Iron Man's wearing a helmet then an actually mask." He corrected her. "I believe the ones who are actually wearing a literal mask are the White Fang. And speaking about White Fang, the group has been getting more and more active here in Vale, much more then in Atlas."

Hearing the Schnee speak about the White Fang's increase activity in Vale, finally made Blake speak to the young baron.

"You shouldn't try whispering about stuff like this," Blake warned him. "Vale has been having a tough time dealing with the White Fang, so talking about it in public is bad thing to do."

"Public?" The white-haired young boy looked around and gave her a questionable look. "I'm sorry, but…"

He raised his arms to signify that they are the only ones.

"What public?" He placed his arm on his lap. "This place may be a very popular café, but we're the only ones here, minus the staff of course. Speaking about the staff, I'm still on the fence on what to eat, did you guys already decide?"

A bit put off on how the young Schnee tends to change the topic, Blake simply went along with his rant and picked up her own menu.

"He's got you there, Blake." Yang gave a side glance to her partner. "We have the place to ourselves! No need to worry about people looking at us when we're talking or eating, so lighten up."

Skimming through the Café's menu, Yang caught site of a dish she liked and was about to call one of the waiters to their table.

"Actually, let's wait." He put his menu down and started to talk some more. "Mr. Stane is still talking with Weiss and I don't want to be rude and get food before they do, so how about we just keep ourselves occupied till they're all here."

Blake placed her menu on the table and looked over her shoulder to see the bald tycoon talking with Weiss a few tables away from them. 'I wonder what they're talking about?'

"Whooo! I can't wait to tell you about how our team is doing in Beacon." Ruby said to her partner's little brother. "Though, I'm sure she must have told you about all the crazy adventures we have, right?"

"…Of course," Just a split second, Blake could have sworn she saw a small frown on Whitley's face, but since it was within a small-time frame it just looked like his lips just twitched. "Weiss has always written letters about you guys, especially her partner."

"Really!?" The scythe user said in joy. "Did she say that we're best friend?!"

"No!" He gave her a sickly-sweet smile. Whitely soon saw his answer made Ruby's positive appearance dim down, causing the boy to swiftly fix his answer. "At first, she thought you were immature, but now she's really writing great things about you, all of you for being great teammates! I just wanted to see your reaction if I just gave you a simple answer."

"Oh good!" The leader of team RWBY relaxed. "We're also glad she's part of the team, too!"

"Heh, heh!" Yang snickered. "Got to say, I thought you'd be like Ice Queen, but you're less frosty then Weiss. It took me months to try and get a laugh out of her, now she's the one making small jokes now and then. Though, she still needs work on when to make one."

Rubbing the back of his head, Weiss's little brother lowered his head as an apology.

"Sorry." Again, she thought she caught a glimpse of him frowning, only to have him wear a small smile. "To be honest, I've been busy with some personal business of mine that I haven't caught up on reading the rest of them."

"It's ok," Blake decided to throw her own thoughts on the matter. "We've also been busy with personal matters, your sister included."

"Actually, Weiss never told us she had siblings." Ruby told Whitley. "She never really told us much about her family back at Atlas."

"Heh, yeah, that sounds just like Weiss alright." The young man lifted his head and gave the girls another smile. "Takes right after our older sister, or maybe it just runs in the family, maybe...?"

"She has an older sister?" Ruby was once again caught off guard by this sudden revelation.

"Yes, our older sister, Winter Schnee, is a specialist in Iron Wood's army!" The youngest of the Schnee family said with pride.

With the two youngest in at the table talking up a storm again, Blake was left alone with her thoughts and the information she received from Whitley. The most startling one, was how he sounded when Ruby told him that Weiss never talked about her family.

'For a moment,' The black-haired Huntress looked at Whitey's smiling face. 'That smile he's wearing doesn't match how he speaks. Not one bit…'

Moving her eyes to Yang, she was also not alone to see how Whitley was acting. Her partner may be the one who spouts hot air and terrible jokes, but she's a trained huntress, so spotting small things was no problem for her.

'Pretty sure having a younger sibling also helps, too.' Blake mused. 'Regardless, I really shouldn't push my nose in family matters. We all have skeletons in out closet, and I'm not winning any 'best daughter of the year' awards. I mean, I did run away from my parents and decided to join a radical Faunus group.'

"Since we're talking about siblings..." The buxom boxer put her hands under her chin and gave a cheshire smile. "Can we get some embarrassing stories about Weiss when she was younger?"

"I shouldn't talk about my dear sister behind her back, but..." Whitley mirrored Yang's expression. "There was this time when I caught her talking to her stuffed toys when we were little…"

Seeing Whitley interact with Ruby and Yang with ease, made the quiet girl wonder how their fourth member of the team is so strict and cold to them sometimes. This is their first time meeting the boy and already he's more inviting to talk to then Weiss ever was at the start of their year in Beacon.

'Weiss has this air around her that lets people know she's rich and snobby, ok maybe I'm being a little bit harsh on her.' Blake does see Weiss drop her guard whenever the teams school. 'Yet, hearing her brother talk to us, compared to the first time we met Weiss, makes me wonder how they act so differently.'

Blake always lumped people who are rich and have some political standing to be those who always look down upon others. With time and facing trouble, Weiss helped her see that it's not always so Black and White.

'Makes me more curious as to why,' She looked back at where Weiss was sitting. The elder Schnee conversing with the only adult as if she was back to her old self. 'Why did Weiss look at Whitley like he wasn't her brother?'

'Back straight, control your breathing, and always make eye contact to show you are paying attention to whoever is talking to you.'

Those tips kept echoing in her mind as she was 100% focused on the man talking to her. This man's posture, tone, and words oozed with authority, making anyone who listens to sit quietly and listen to him finish speaking.

He above all the people who work under her father deserves the most respect. After all, before my dad made a partnership, Mr. Stane had his own company that was the rival to the SDC. While her family was all about harvesting Dust, Mr. Stane had his fingers in every pie that he had his eyes on.

Science, Dust, and even weapons made him a very worthy rival to compete with the SDC. There were other famous tycoons, like Hammer industries who can take the spot light for second richest man in Remnant.

But, in Weiss' opinion, a man like Hammer who was born with a silver spoon can never really compete to Mr. Stane who made his business out of nothing.

'Maybe that's why father choose to make a partnership with Obadiah rather than try and buy out his company. No matter what people say about my father, he's still a genius when it comes to cutthroat business practices.'

Seeing his body move into a different position made the heiress snap back to attention. She was taught to always pay attention to someone posture and seeing Mr. Stane shifted his body to face her made the heiress see that he was about to talk ask her a question.

"So, Weiss." Her father's second in command smiled at her. "How is staying in Beacon? I hope it was everything you wanted."

"Beacon," She thought of a tactful way to vocalize her time at the academy without making the man have a panic attack. "Is a… fine establishment and I'm glad to be a student learning under great teachers who work there."

"That's very good to hear, my dear. Pardon me for a moment," The bald adult pulled out his scroll and then placed it on the table. "So sorry, I just needed to check on a message from someone and I would hate to miss it."

'The person he's waiting to get a message from, can it be my father?' Deciding to ask now rather than later, Weiss bit the inside of her cheek before she asked him the question that has been bugging her ever since they arrived.

"Mr. Stain, by chance, the one you're waiting to hear from, is it…."

"Stop right there, young lady." Mr. Stane raised his hand to stop Weiss from asking any further. "I know you're anxious to know, but let me reassure you that it's not your father."

"But, he tried to call me a few weeks ago and even before you knocked on my door, too." She told him why she was so paranoid as to why she thought Jacques was the reason Mr. Stane and Whitley were here on the first place.

Stane sat quietly when he heard his friend once again trying to contact his second child. It was no surprise to him really, the man has already voiced his distaste for another child of his to go against his wishes. It was no concern to him really, all parents have their own issues with their children, luckily Stane only deals with having two.

'At least Whitley is the most sensible child in the family. To at least put an effort to deal with their father's oppressive nature is a clear sign he's taking the SDC seriously.'

Looking at Weiss, the man saw that she was trying her best to hide her fidgeting from him.

'You were much more composed and in control when you were still in Atlas. Now, you're barely holding your posture. It's frightening to see how Beacon changed you so quickly, Weiss. Changed you for the better.'

"Listen to me, Weiss." No longer in a stuffy business board meeting at the office, Stane falls back into his father role whenever he speaks to his kids. "I understand how you want to go out and be your own person, just like Winter did when she joined the military."

She attempted to speak, but Stane raised his hand to stop her.

"However, your youth and your yearning to experience the real world has cost you. That accident with the Paladin may as well fell to deaf ears to your father, but when people started to describe how you were there started to cause waves back home."

"Of course, that's why he would call so soon again." She muttered.

"If you think the people in Vale are bad, then you should know that Atlas is much worse. One drop of blood, just one, and the media will go crazy over it. Especially, if it involves the young heiress who will oversee the richest companies who supply Remnant with its only source for living and defenses against the Grimm."

He wasn't lying, almost every news channel back in Atlas won't stop talking about how a Schnee would disregard authority and cause such damage to another kingdom. It didn't stop there, people love to talk, especially those who love to see the Schnee family name get dragged in the mud.

"It was already bad enough to have people talk behind our backs regarding your mother's bad habits." Weiss looked down when Stane brought that topic up. "Now, we have people whispering about how your absence at home is a sign that you're being influenced by your mother's lack of control."

Once again, Stane wasn't lying, but rather then Weiss' mother being the catalyst for the second eldest sibling's departure, it was Winter's fault. Joining the military was a way for her to not accept the responsibilities of the company, she even made it more personal when she decided to not use her families standing to go through the ranks quicker.

Winter alone went through it all and is now a specialist in Iron Wood's armed forces, and that alone is probably how Weiss got it in her head to try her luck also.

"Yet," Reeling in his parental scolding, Stane let out a tired sigh and spoke. "I will not tell you to come home."

"Really?" She asked. "But, what you said about what's happening at home-"

"Is something you didn't think about." He saw guilt behind her eyes. "Weiss, we all have a desire that wants to be fulfilled and we sometimes don't think about who'll get hurt along the way."

"It's not like that," She whispered. "I always hear people talk bad about our family whenever they're not being total robots working alongside father. That's why I want to be a Huntress, to protect people and make the family name one where people don't insult it."

"And how did that work out?"

That question made the girl stop speaking, causing the only adult in the café to continue talking.

"Good or bad, it always has a price. I'm not stopping you from being a Huntress, Weiss." He saw his device lit up with a message showing a text saying, 'I'm here' before the screen went black. "That is why I called for someone to help you make a better image as you attend Beacon."

"Help? What type of help?"

(Ding-a-ling)

"Ah, good." Stane adjusted his suit. "He's here on time. Weiss, I want you to meet the man who will help you in your pursuit to make the Schnee name even better."

"Ms. Schnee." J. Jonah Jameson placed a hand in front of her. "It's good to see you bouncing back from that terrible incident. It just proves that a woman so young can get right back up, truly inspiring!"

"T-thank you, Mr. Jameson." She politely grabbed his hand, shook it, and then placed her palms on her legs as the editor and chief of the Bugle sits himself between Stane and her.

"I had called earlier before arriving to Vale, so we can discuss how the Bugle can save your image after what happened with Roman piloting the stolen paladin." Stane nodded to J.J who did the same to the man who made this meeting possible. "You're right that you need to elevate the Schnee name, but not with just being a Huntress."

"He's right." J.J decided to talk about his plans for helping the heiress. "Not when everyone is more focused on that no-good villain, Spider-Man."

"Indeed, Spider-Man has spread so far to the other kingdoms, many people are now questioning about the Huntsmen's community and their ability to protect them from any threats." The bald adult said.

"And how does play into trying to make me and my team look less guilty?" She asked.

"Simple, Ms. Schnee." J.J smiled at the girl. "We tell them the truth!"

"The truth?" Weiss was more confused as to what the journalist was saying.

"That it was Spider-Man's fault, of course!"

"….. What!" Weiss clasped her mouth shut from her outburst. Looking over her shoulder, Weiss could see that her teammates looked over to her screaming. They all had a look of concern to them and just when Ruby was about to get out of her chair, Whitley placed a hand on her shoulder and talked them out of leaving their table.

"Please, Weiss, this may seem confusing."

"How can it be confusing, Mr. Stain?" Jonah reached in his pocket and placed his scroll on the table. "Spider-Man is a menace, while you and your team are the real heroes that saved the day! If it wasn't for you stopping the paladin, then Roman would have caused more danger before help arrived."

"But, the people who were at the highway." She gave out one flaw in J.J's summary.

"Was saved, by you!" Stain answered.

"How? I was part of the reason some were injured."

"Not intentionally," Stain spun the story around. "You were a Huntress who weighed the good from the bad on a deadline. You had no other option in your disposal, you saved the people from the highway thanks to the ice you made."

"Speaking about ice," Jonah pressed his scroll and he pressed a file on the main screen. "We saw no ice on the highway, making claims that you were the cause of the problem is invalid."

"Leading us to believe that the one who made the fog even worse was Spider-Man's doing."

"That's… not even true." She shook her head at how the two adults were already making plans for Spider-Man to be the true irresponsible one. "Me and Yang were the ones who made it first, people saw, they won't believe this."

"People always believe what they want to believe, Weiss. To them, they saw you girls as reckless individuals, while Spider-Man swoops in out of nowhere and they all see him as some symbol of true heroism."

"But us, the ones who really know the truth, see that Spider-Man is just some thug in a mask that used your effort in saving everyone as a way for him to look even better!" J.J scrunched up his face when he started to see photos of Spider-Man on his device. "That's why we'll make sure the real story is told and if this isn't enough, then we have another way to make people see you girls in a better light."

"I… I don't know how I should feel about this." She clenched her hands into fists.

"Just see it as a way for your goal to lift the Schnee name out of the mud go by a bit smoother." Stain used her reason for being in Beacon to make Weiss agree to his plan.

Before the heiress could throw another complaint, J.J's scroll started to vibrate showing a name on the screen of the person calling.

"Ah, that must be the boy we're waiting on, he must be nearby." Picking up the scroll, J.J cleared his throat before speaking to whoever's calling him. "Where are you? Your supposed to be here five minutes ago! I swear, if you're not here in one minute your fi-"

From the front door, another person practically pushed the entrance wide open that everyone looked at who caused such a loud entrance.

"I'm sorry," A familiar mop of blonde hair was that Weiss needed to know who this boy was. "I was caught up talking to….."

Frozen mid entering, Jaune looked at what was in front of him and saw that his boss was sitting next to a familiar heiress and some bald man.

"Jaune?" Looking to where he heard Ruby's voice, the hero in disguise saw the rest of team RWBY sitting in a separate table with someone who looks like Weiss if she was a boy then a girl.

"Hey Ruby," He waved awkwardly. "Good to see you guys again."

"Arc!" His boss screamed his last name, cutting off his conversation Jaune was trying to make with team RWBY. "I don't pay you to talk to people, I pay you to talk to important people, so get over here."

"But, you don't pay me to talk to-" Jaune stopped when he saw a vein bulging from J.J's forehead.

"Yes, Mr. Jameson!" Nodding his head as an apology for cutting it short, Jaune speed walked to the table where he boss was and pulled out a chair to sit down. "Again, I'm sorry for almost being late, I needed to talk to Mr. Macrren about a ra-"

"Don't worry about, you're here and that's all I need to know."

"Um," Finally having enough confusion on her plate, Weiss raised her hand to gain back the attention. "I'm sorry for interrupting and everything, but what exactly is going on here?"

Deciding to be the one to answer her question, Mr. Stain coughed in his hand and began to talk.

"If we want the people to see you and Huntsmen back in a good light, then we need more publicity. A way to show them that they should trust the new generation of aspiring Huntsmen." He then proceeded to lift a hand towards the new arrival.

"And who else better, then a civilian from the Bugle giving eye witness accounts at what it's like to be at Beacon!"

This time, it was Jaune who raised his hand to show he had a question.

"Yes, young man," Mr. Stain smiled at Weiss's personal reporter. "What is it you wish to ask?"

"Yes, hi, Mr. Stain," Jaune returned the man's smile with his own. "About the whole me going to Beacon bit."

Jaune looked at his boss right in the eye.

"Is it too late for me be fired?"

Ok, so I know most of you were not expecting this from me but let me explain. Pitch forks and torches down, people.

For Whitley, he is not some super soldier, symbiote carrying, other form of Marvel hero some of you guys think. In the eyes of team RWBY, (Specifically Weiss) he is just a young boy who has changed physically from the last time she saw her little brother.

I know some of you didn't expect to have his personality changed as well, but I feel like I can't fully grasp his personality due to RT not giving him much depth. They just labeled him as a 'mini Jacques' and left him there, no other background just like how they made other new characters in the show, they appear in one volume, but then the next volume they are no longer shown. I feel like if they do show up, it's either because fans demanded it or they plan to kill them off later.

Anyway, another thing you might have noticed is how Jaune acts while in school, especially when it comes to physical fitness. Let's face it, if he really decides to go all out, then he would be the most popular kid in school. Popularity will lead him to be scouted, while other people will ask questions on how he was once the slowest to the strongest. Those will lead to rumors and gossip and then said rumors might make people outside of school speculate he might be more than just a teenager.

See where I'm getting at? That's why he would still put on the façade, but he would at least put a small percentage just to make sure he wasn't that pathetic. In all honesty, if he was serious and went all out, then I would bet my money that he can handle almost about any character in the RWBY series.

Not to toot my horn here, but we all know that Spider-Man holds back a lot of power, Peter even admits that and he wonders how far he can go. Heck, Kaine is stronger than him, but I think the reason is that Kaine doesn't hold that strong morality Peter does and therefore doesn't' hold back at all.

For the football try outs, I figured that there was enough about Beacon and I should have Jaune experience normal high school. He's going to help Harry get into the football team but Jaune is still on the fence about committing to the idea.

Speaking about committing, the dance for Midtown High will be arriving and Jaune needs to find a girl willing to go with him. You all know what that means, so I think I won't explain what might happen.

Back to the story, the main topic now is back to Jaune's finances which means he needs to ask for a raise from his multiple jobs and the one job he hopes would pay him more is the Bugle. His boss on the other hand, helps Stane to try and clear Weiss and her team's bad name by making Jaune as their reporter like someone who will write down about what life is as a Huntress-in-training.

I know he is a photographer, and I also know he doesn't have fond memories of Beacon, but if his boss wants him to go through such lengths, then that would mean he could be paid more. Also, since he works for the Bugle, there would be times that the boss would always send out a worker for jobs they might not like, but it's still a paying job nonetheless.

I hope this can ease you all and help you understand why I have Jaune go to Beacon in a different way, but please share your thoughts in the comment section. Don't forget to like and follow to make sure your up to date on when the next chapter gets released.

Big shout out to my Beta for helping me make this chapter more readable and I hope you guys check him out too! Thank you!