Disclaimer: Brotherhoof12 doesn't own Spider-Man or RWBY.
(Chapter 24: Too much on my plate)
"Is it too late for me to be fired?"
"..."
"..."
"…"
The table with three people sitting in the same table look on in shock at how serious the fourth person in the table is.
"What-"
"You know what?" Jaune cuts off his boss from speaking. "You're right. I shouldn't be asking."
Getting out of his chair, Jaune stood in full height and looked down at J.J like he does with all the other workers at the Bugle.
"I'm telling you, J.J, that I quit!"
Jaune then walked away with no regrets and passed by Ruby and the rest of their team as he walked to the exit.
"Wow..." Ruby said with stars in her eyes. "Jaune is so cool..."
"He really is." Blake agreed with a smile of satisfaction. "A girl would be lucky to have a guy like him."
"Now that is a man." Yang crossed her arms over her chest and gave a firm nod at Jaune display of standing up for himself.
"Indeed." The white-haired boy spoke up. "Even though I just saw him and never spoke to him, I can already tell that he's going to do great things!"
Pushing the door, Jaune take a few steps outside and took a deep breath before exhaling out all of his pent-up emotions as the weight of one less job was off his back.
'Somehow, the skies seem brighter today...'
Whistling a nameless tune, Jaune merrily walked down the sidewalk and waved to random people that gave him a look of confusion at how odd he seemed.
'Man, and all I had to do was say those words.' He thought to himself as he continued to walk back home.
'Say the words.'
'Say the words.'
'Say the words.'
But, since that was all in Jaune's head, what he really thought was this.
'SAY THE WORDS, YOU MASSIVE LOSER!'
Thinking about what he wanted to say about going to Beacon, Jaune still had his hand raised like an idiot with his mouth clamp shut.
'Just say that you politely decline the... that's it! Sure, you might not have the chance to ask for a raise since your going to say no to your boss, but this is a matter of not opening old wounds!'
Memories of being shunned away from the academy still clung in the back of his mind. He would sometimes remember at random times, having some regrets trying to make him remember why he was in Vale.
Now though, the quiet thoughts of 'what ifs' was coming back, giving Jaune ideas of finally being able to see what could have been.
'I need to think rationally here,' He thought to himself. 'They don't really mean about me going to Beacon, I just need to point out a few flaws in their idea and be done with it.'
"Well, Jaune." His boss was growing impatient. "You got your hand raised and everything, so spit it out already."
'Right, need to put my hand down now.' Jaune slowly receded his hand back to his lap. 'Ok, no more stalling. Just tell him your thought without sounding like an idiot.'
Taking a deep breath, Jaune looked calmly at J.J and opened his mouth to speak.
"I'M NOT A HUNTSMAN!" Instead Jaune screamed like an idiot anyway and then swiftly slapped his mouth shut.
'You had one job, brain!'
"What!?" Jonah looked at his photographer like he was deranged. "I know you're not a Huntsman, we just need you to write down Ms. Schnee and her team about the life of training to be a Huntsmen. Why the hell did you need to scream out the obvious?"
"What I mean is..." This time, Jaune had the bearings to control what he wanted to say and explained his own reasoning to not be able to do the job. "Is that it would be odd to go to Beacon since I'm not a Huntsman-in-training."
"You don't have to worry about that, my boy." Stane assured him. "Just like Weiss, there is another well-known individual attending Beacon, but the difference is that we want only the Bugle to help us show everyone that Weiss isn't some renegade."
"Then what about the whole me going to Beacon thing?" The 17 year old blonde boy so far was grasping at straws at this point. "I mean, I thought you actually wanted me to go to Beacon. If you want me to write an article about what they do during the day, then that would hinder my time at my school."
The two business men remained silent, making Jaune continue with his case.
"I don't want to question your intelligence, sir. But how is this going to work? Unless, you plan to make fake transcripts so I can enroll into Beacon, right?" Jaune laughed nervously while the people sitting around the table looked at him with surprise.
'That sounded way too descript for it to be funny, huh?'
"My point is..." Setting the awkward aside, Jaune went back to his reason on why he shouldn't/doesn't want to go. "It would cause major problems with my education since I'm still a teen enrolled in a normal highschool. You can't expect me to drop everything I do just so I can revolve most of my time writing down what they do, right?"
Stane looked at Jaune's boss and began to whisper at him about the matter. Weiss used this opportunity to voice her own claim.
"I agree with Mr. Arc," She spoke, making the two grown men stop and gave their attention to her. "I want to become a Huntress because I want to use my own way of trying to make people see my family as more than just some name."
"Yeah, listen to her she's totally telling the truth!" The secret hero nodded his head. "She doesn't need no help to get what she wants, she's her own person. Respect!"
"Why are you talking like that?" Her small speech about doing things her own was quickly set aside when Jaune started to open his mouth.
"Sorry, Weiss." Jaune's head drooped down in apology. "My mouth tends to have a mind of its own. Also, I sometimes talk too much when I'm in so much pressure."
As the two teens continued to talk to one another, one of the workers of the café walked up to their table with four glasses of water.
"Thank you." Stane said to the man before pulling out a view lien from his wallet and placed it in the workers shirt pocket. "How about we get something to eat, hmm? Don't worry about paying. It's on me."
Seeing no harm in food, especially free food, Jaune picked up the menu and asked for their best meal they had to offer. Weiss simply requested a salad while both Stane and J.J ordered sandwiches.
"I appreciate that you would be so kind, Mr. Obadiah," Jonah took a sip from his cup. "But let's get down to business. I prefer the direct approach than just trying to talk in circles about things like this."
"Yes, I suppose I shouldn't treat this as some board meeting about trying to reach status quos." Stane nodded his head.
"Thank you." Giving his own nod of appreciation to the rich man, Jonah then looked at his photographer and started to explain his reason for him to being here. "Ok, Arc. Don't give me all these things about school, we didn't mean you're literally attending Beacon, you said it yourself, you're not a Huntsman. The reason why I chose you is because out of everyone else at the Bugle, you're the only one still in highschool."
"Ok." Jaune nodded hiis head to show he's tracking on what his boss is saying.
"And you know how most of the people who read our Bugle has a low rate of younger readers then adults, right?"
"Yes." Jaune said truthfully, since he's guilty for not reading the papers unless it was about him.
"Then you must also know that civilian teens tend to only pay attention to things that are interesting," J.J shook his head at today's generation of irresponsible youths. "Seriously, it's all about celebrity break ups, scandals, and even when the next video game is released. But when news started to show some clown in a mask beating people up, the kids finally started paying attention!"
The image of Flash going on a rant about how great Spider-Man was made J.J's statement sound more true.
"Months it took Spider-Man to completely bring the whole kingdom to pay more attention to the news, but it also made people see something else."
"The highway." Jaune said, remembering the crowd of people throwing things at Ruby and her team and chanting his name.
"Not just that. Think a bit farther, Arc. It involves the White Fang and the high rate of Dust being stolen."
'Dust? White Fang? Oh, now I remember.'
"It was when Spider-Man saved the dust owner who was shot, right?" Remembering that moment also made him rub his hands together out of reflex. Not out of guilt or anxiety, but because when the injured man was sent to the hospital, Jaune had spent over half an hour scrubbing the blood off his gloves.
"That made people start thinking he's someone above the law. Heck, people are even starting to wear that guy's symbol like it has actual meaning!" J.J grabbed his cup and took several sips of water.
"With people seeing the good he's doing, it also makes people see the Huntsmen in a bad light."
Riding on what Jonah had said, Stane followed it with his own thoughts.
"Huntsmen are trained to combat the Grimm, humanity's natural enemy. Wielding weapons that seem impossible with abilities that should come out of fairy tales." Stane took a glance at Weiss who had her eye looking at the table. "Yet, they are still human who make mistakes. People forget that sometimes, thinking that they're some sort of invincible warriors. That's far from the truth, but they don't see that, all they see is Spider-Man doing menial tasks while Huntsmen risk their life out in the wilds to protect villages that can't afford to live in the kingdoms."
Hearing how that all his efforts in trying to make this city safer made the teen to ball his fists.
'What else am I supposed to do then?' He thought to himself. 'Just sit on my butt and hope that someone else can do it for me? No way, not again, not ever! I may not know what it's like to be a Huntsmen, but I do know what it feels like to be helpless, and I'm not letting the people of Vale feel that so long as I live.'
Still silent, J.J took back the conversation and talked to Jaune.
"People can be ungrateful at things, and they're taking Huntsmen for granted. Which is why we're here to fix that." Reaching into his pocket, J.J placed some card attached to a lanyard in front of Jaune. "That's why, you're no longer just my photographer, but my reporter for the Bugle."
This was a shock to Jaune, he was lucky enough to have J.J hire him as his photographer taking pictures of Spider-Man but getting a position so quickly made him go into shock.
"Mr. Jonah..." He picked up the lanyard with his face plastered on the I.D with a label 'Reporter' underneath his name. "I don't know what to say about this..."
"A 'thank you' would be in order." J.J told him. "I already have good reporters in the Bugle, but I need fresh eyes for this task. We need some young blood on this mission and since you're already closer to Ms. Schnee's age, it makes it easier for you to understand what it's like for them."
"Understand?" This made the newly appointed reporter to chuckle. "If you're saying I can understand what a 17-year-old teenage girl is thinking, then I think you need to put your faith in someone else."
The joke he made caused the rich tycoon to chuckle, making Jaune feel a little less nervous knowing that someone in this table has a humor.
"Forgive me." Stane held one arm in the air and the other on his stomach to control his laughter. "I haven't had a good laugh in quite some time."
Taking a few seconds to let it all out, Stane calmed himself down.
"What your boss is really saying..." He silently chuckled again. "Sorry, still funny. But like Mr. Jameson had said, you're qualified with your age and mindset. Weiss is 17, her team is 17,"
'Ruby's 15.' Jaune thought to himself.
"And if I'm correct, you're also 17, Mr. Arc. We can hire someone who is more qualified, but what we want is someone who can really understand the new generation of Huntsman, making you a prime candidate. You can see what it's like in their shoes, and then you can put it in words so people who aren't Huntsmen, young and old, to see them as people and not weapons."
'Sounds reasonable.' The hero thought. 'On theory, but in reality? I'd probably just sit in a corner and just stare at them while they do their normal business like some creepy statue or an even creepier stalker.'
Looking at the lanyard again, the thought of having this promotion and the benefits that come with it out weighed his personal issues with the academy.
'But I need the lien, god I really need it. This is more than just me, this is for Aunt May, too.'
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! No way! That's adorable!" Jaune's thinking was interrupted when he heard Ruby laughing a few tables away from him.
Looking over his shoulder, he could see the boy that has the same resemblance as Weiss talking to Ruby and the rest for their team. Whatever he said made both Ruby and Yang laugh at whatever he said, he could even see Blake starting to form a half smile now and then.
'Maybe I should go to Beacon,' He saw Ruby talking the most to whoever that mystery guy was, though what he can hear the most from their conversation was just about Spider-Man and Iron Man. 'If I think more on this, her team really needs a win on their side since they were treated very poorly.'
Staying silent, Stane reached inside the pocket of his suit and pulled out a check book.
"Also, even though your boss has graciously given you a new promotion, we... well, mostly me. Will also contribute to your help of fixing the labels that was placed on Weiss and her team." Reaching in his suit pocket again, Stane pulled out a fancy looking pen and started to scribble on the check book.
Just as Stane was writing, a new waiter arrived and served drinks to them.
"Thank you." Weiss drank her glass and moved her head a bit close to Jaune and whispered. "Look, I know we haven't really talked much, you and I."
'You barely talked to me at all. Well, you did, but it was mostly about Dust.'
"But you need to understand that this is a misunderstanding. We don't need people writing about us for the news."
'I'm one step ahead of you, Weiss. I never wanted to do it in the first place so you don't have to worry about that.'
The sound of paper being ripped off made the two teens to look back at the bald man.
"I'm sure this is a good bonus for helping us try and fix this little scandal." He pushed the check to Jaune.
Looking at the check, Jaune reached for his glass of water and drank it while he looked at what was offered to him.
He took a gulp… then another…
"Um, Mr. Stane..." With Jaune drinking his glass, Weiss used the time to speak her thoughts. "I'm still not sure if this is the right move. Having Jaune write what we do in Beacon doesn't sound like it will help us look better."
Jaune then took another gulp…
"Nonsense, Weiss. Vale only sees the bad parts of Huntsmen, we need to fix that by having someone see firsthand what you girls must deal with. Maybe then, people will start seeing the difficulty it is and stop comparing you all to Spider-Man."
And another…
"Still, I feel like maybe it's better if Jaune or anyone else could do it with Beacon as a whole, to see that all the students and staff are doing their best to defend Vale. Right, Jaune?"
Before he realized it, he drank his entire glass leaving only ice.
"In your own right, then maybe so, but in the end it's also his decision. Right, Mr. Arc?"
"Yes?" Putting down his empty cup, Jaune looked at Weiss and then at Stane. "So... about being a reporter..."
'Huh, so this is what it's like being a sell out.'
It was soon decided that Jaune would go to Beacon. Not as a Huntsmen like J.J said, Jaune had to remind his boss a second time, but as the newly appointed reporter for the Bulge covering the life and times of what a Huntsmen-in-training must go through.
The schedule worked for when the team is done with school work that Jaune would arrive and he would observe and ask how the team operates in the academy. After that, he would then go summarize what he learned in his own words and give it to J.J for approval.
After it's published, the people in Vale would read it and start seeing Huntsmen as tolerable rather than incompetent. Thanks to the recent rise in popularity of a certain arachnid themed hero, J.J was hoping that he could even the odds by trying to humanize the Huntsmen community.
A way so that people won't think too badly of the people protecting them from the Grimm and trying to decrease Spider-Man's fame.
"Ironic that he plans to ruin Spider-Man when he just hired him to cover the story on what a team of heavily armed girls can do in a school that trains said heavily armed teens."
Swinging from building to building, Jaune, now in his all black suit, made his usual night patrols while thinking about what might be in store for him if he decided to accept.
"It should be a no brainer to accept the offer, I mean, who in the right mind would turn down a promotion and a pay raise?"
Landing on a random rooftop, Spider-Man placed a foot on the ledge and looked down at the sleeping kingdom.
"Me." He sighed. "I would be an idiot to turn down such an opportunity. I mean, is it selfish of me to not go to a place that denied me a way to be a Huntsman?"
Hearing small patting sounds, Spider-Man looked to where he was hearing it and saw a cat strolling along with a dead bird in its mouth. As if sensing someone was watching it, the cat faced Spider-Man, and both stared at each other.
"Well," Seeing as he has someone to talk to, Spider-Man asked the feline. "Is it?"
The only reply the cat gave him was dropping its food and letting out a small "Meow."
"Yeah, you might be right." The hero placed a hand on his head. "I just… it brings back bad memories, you know? Besides me being rejected from Beacon and kind of being homeless in Vale. It also brings back memories of when I ran away from home."
By now, it seemed the cat knew that this stranger wouldn't stop talking, so it decided to lay on the floor and enjoy the bird as the stranger continued to talk.
"I have a family, a big one, having seven sisters and being the only boy in the family kind of makes you stand out the most. Well, most of my family are Huntsmen going back to the great war, so I felt that I should be one too. Half of my sisters were trained by our dad and they graduated and became Huntresses, so I thought I that I should also get trained by our dad too."
He chuckled at out stupid it all sounds now that he said it to a cat.
"Well, I wasn't much of a fighter as I thought I was and my dad started to see I wasn't progressing from all of the sparring we had. So, he told me that I wasn't cut out for being a Huntsmen, making me resort to even having my sisters try and train me, but it also had the same results."
Looking back at the streets below, Spider-Man watched as over a dozen citizens walk to whatever destination they wanted. Raising his head, Spider-Man looked at Beacon academy, it's large clock tower showing the time to be around midnight.
"I shouldn't be surprised really, I never really trained at a young age like my older sisters. I only started to see my interest when I finally reached my teens and by then it was too late for me to be properly trained. I didn't have the mind set or the early age training like my family did, so they wanted me to find a different way of living then being a Huntsman."
"It hurt to hear that I couldn't be a Huntsman, it was even worse when your family tells you. But," He clenched his fists tightly. "I just… wanted to try, even without their help. So, I thought it was a good idea to fake my transcripts by mixing some old paperwork mu sisters used to in enroll into a Huntsmen school, grabbed my family's heirloom, and left for Vale on my own. Once again, it sounds more idiotic when I say it out loud."
Now, sitting on the ledge, Spider-Man stared off into the distance.
"Well, I'm sure you already know the rest of the story. If I was in Beacon, then I wouldn't be here right now. Dressed up as some spider costume and living with a widow… a widow who lost her husband because of me."
Taking in a deep breath and then letting it all out, the hero continued to stare off in to the distance when he saw some bright lights a couple of street across from him.
"Looks like trouble," Crouching in position to jump, Spider-Man looked back at his feline audience who was finished with the dead bird. "Want to tag along?"
The cat's only reply was standing back on its paws and walked away.
"Thought so," He jumped off the roof and started to web swing. "Still, glad I could talk to someone about all this. Makes me feel a little better today. Maybe a good old fashioned brawl would make my mood even better."
Swinging past stores and apartments, Spider-Man saw that the bright lights were leading him to some tall building. It didn't look very appealing, looked duller then something worth stealing. However, if seeing a dozen or so men keeping guard made any sign for Spider-Man, that, whatever this building has must be worth something.
'Ok,' Sticking his body on the side of the tall structure, the arachnid themed hero played out his options in his head. 'Should I just drop in and do my usual banter? Let them think they have a clean getaway before swooping in and taking them down? Or-wait.'
Focusing his sights on what the robbers look like, instead of seeing Roman's thugs, the White Fang, or even some random gang of thieves, what Spider-Man saw seemed out of place.
"Ok, either I'm still day dreaming," He whispered as he saw the armed robbers completely decked out in what he bellies are bee keeper suits. "Or honey nut cheerios are actually some secret organization hell bent on spreading bees throughout all of remnant."
Taking his interest even further, while half of the bee thieves were on guard the other half seemed to be holding strange devices that was scanning the structures of the wall.
"Alright, this is the place." One bee keeper said to another fellow bee enthusiast. "Set it up."
Nodding at the order from what Spider-Man assumes is the queen bee of the group. Three of the robbers started to attach something to the wall while the others cobbled together some strange contraption.
"Alright, looks like it's decided to let them have a clean getaway." He said as he saw them finish building whatever that machine is. "Though, with whatever they have planned involving that heavy machine, then there's no way it's possible for them to steal whatever's inside without causing a loud noise."
As if to prove him wrong, the leader of the rouge honey hunters operated the machine and as soon as he started pressing button, the small objects that were attached to the wall started to light up.
Those lights began to shine brighter and brighter and before Spider-Man could shield his eyes the light died down and formed bright lines. Those line soon connected to each other and the space that was within the lines soon glowed a bright purple.
To add more to this science flick the hero was watching, the machine soon came to life and started to elongate a metal arm right into the portal they made.
With the man driving the contraption, it soon retracted back holding a large metal crate with some serious security on it.
"Ok, maybe I'm wrong and they're really are going to make an actual clean getaway." Looking away from the still translucent door they made, the hero was more set on why they put so much effort in stealing the heavy crate. "Let's see they crack this on, I want to at least know what's in that thing before stopping them."
Turning off the machine, the leader of the bee keepers walked to the stolen cargo, pulled out some fancy looking pistol, and aimed at the locks.
What came out of it soon made Spider-Man affirm himself that maybe he really could be on some science flick, cause instead of actual Dust being fired, it was a laser.
No Dust, or some parlor trick, an actual laser shot out of the gun and destroyed the locks.
"That's so cool." Spider-Man said in awe as the rest of the men lifted off the crate to reveal what's inside. "Ok, looks like they're finally checking to see what they have."
Taking out his camera, the wallcrawler webbed it on the side of the wall and then prepared himself for when he gets the drop on them.
"Alright, why bring all this good tech for a single box? Is it some new Dust? Lien? Or is it…" Crawling a little bit closer to see what they were pulling out, Spider-Man was able to see that what they stole was none of the above. "Masks and suits?"
Just as Spider-Man described them the heavily armed men pulled out pale white, faceless masks along with black suits that would usually be used for in high society parties.
"Either they want to dress up in a better outfit or there's more to it than just simple fashion sense."
Inspecting the masks and suits, the leader of the bunch then proceeded to toss out all the fabric until all of it was in a crumpled pile.
With all the suits out, the head bee guy rummaged through what was left in the box before pulling out a black suit case.
"This is it." The leader said. "Our informant was right, we got the case, now we need to contact HQ."
With the knowledge that what they're looking for was now in their possession, Spider-Man decided now would be a good time to strike.
Using the element of surprise, Spider-Man dropped his hold on the surface of the building, shot a webline at the leader holding the case, pulled, and then slammed his shoulder to the unsuspecting bee robber.
Not expecting the sudden attack, the man lost his grip on the case and was flung a few feet away from where he was originally standing.
"Yoink." Grabbing the black suit case in midair, the hero crouched down in his usual offensive posture and spoke in his usual trash talking banter. "So, not liking your original job at making honey, so you resorted to things like this? What has become of this generation?"
"It's Spider-Man!" One of the nameless foot soldiers shouted.
"Blast him!" Another screamed, making the rest of the group to aim their rifles and started to spray the hero with concentrated fire.
"Whoa!" Dodging each hit, the wallcrawler easily avoided them all while also making sure the case wasn't harmed from any bullets.
'Getting a closer look at those guns, they seem way too futuristic to be basic firearms. They must have really scary bees if they arm themselves with such heavy weapons.'
"Man, just one kick and I already disturbed the bee's nest!" He said while dodging each round with expertly executed gymnastic agility. "Or is it called bee hive? Nest? Hive? Hold on, I need confirmation on this."
Jumping in the air, the wallcrawler landed in front of the shooter who flinched as soon as his visors were seeing Spider-Man's wide lensed eyes.
"Hey buddy, got a quick question for you." The hero said while at the same time dodging each strike the bee suited man made. "Is it hive or nest? Oh my gosh, I just realized something. When this is over, do you guys have a secret lair that looks like an actual honeycomb? Cause that would be-"
Jumping due to his spider sense warning him of danger, Spider-Man dodged a sneak attack from one of the other armed men. Rather than hitting the webhead, the second man instead struck his fellow bee lover in the head, instantly knocking him out cold.
"Thanks for the help, but..." Shooting a webline to the man's face, Spider-Man pulled him in and delivered a straight punch right in the man's face. "Pretty sure the guy you hit will probably punch you when he wakes up, so let him know I did it for him."
Bantering among the criminals aside, Spider-Man continued his maneuver under heavy fire as he dealt with each bee member one at a time, all the while trying his best to ask questions about why they're in Vale just to get a simple brief case.
"Who are you guys?" He punched someone in the stomach then followed it by pinning him with a barrage of web globs.
"What's in this briefcase?" To show what he means, the hero decided to give the man a better look by slamming it squarely on his face.
"Is it money? Secret plans for world domination? Or-woah!" He quickly stopped his talking and dodged more laser fire from the rest of the armed bee thieves.
'Ok, that was way too close for comfort. A Dust round is dangerous enough, but what they have is far worse. Time to get a little bit more serious and ask a more direct question.'
"Why are you here?" Spider-Man then confronted another man who continued to fire with zero effect. Right when he was about to reload Spider-man closed the distance and punched the man in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.
'Man, by the time I'm done asking questions, all of them would be webbed up!' Already seeing their numbers are almost cut in half, one of the few remaining robbers decided to operate the machine they used to steal their loot. 'What's he planning to do with that? If he thinks he can grab me with something that isn't movable, then he has another thing coming.'
Typing a code in the system, the machine soon started to emit sounds of what could only be described as gears turning. The large claw machine soon started to unfold itself, revealing it to have two legs, another arm with a blowtorch, and the man who was operating it was now piloting a robot.
"That's cool." Spider-Man said without a trace of lying.
Charging straight for the hero, Spider-Man wasted no time in dodging the head on collision. Adjusting itself before it could crash into something, the pilot raised the arm that had the blow torch and raised the pressure of the heat, causing it to increase the size of the fire.
Using it as a sword, the robot charged again, flame sword swinging violently with the hero now on the defensive.
'I'm fighting a semi giant robot that has a flaming sword for a hand.' The webhead dodged an overhead strike and saw an opening to punch the joint of the arm. 'This would be so cool if it was happening to someone else.'
With enough strength to cave the joint inward, the robot now had a broken limb, it's blowtorch now sputtering out as it could no longer be powered.
Not planning to give up just yet, the pilot turned to his remaining comrades and signaled them for support.
Thinking fast, one of them reached for a metal ball strapped to his waist, pulled it, pressed a button, and tossed it to Spider-Man.
"Oh, please!" Spider-Man looked at the incoming explosive like it was a wiffle ball. "You think you're the first person to ever throw a grenade at me?"
Shooting a webline, he latched the adhesive string to the projectile and started to swing it around him.
After swinging it a third time, the masked hero used the momentum to fling it upward, so the explosion can be mitigated in the air.
"I even got a face full of explosion of fire and Dust, so I'm not too worried about a grena-"
(FWOOM!)
Exploding as he thought, Spider-Man expected to see a large smoke cloud appear in the air, only instead of an explosion it was a giant net falling straight at him.
"Oh..." Spider-Man just stared wide eyed under his mask as he stared at the ever-closer net. "I guess this is a first."
Now, with the net encasing Spider-Man, the hero lifted his arms to see what type of fiber the net was made of.
"Wow, this has some very flexible metal," He said as he felt the material. "But I broke things way tougher! So here I g-"
Without warning, the net started to produce volts of electricity, shocking the hero throughout his entire body.
'Got to try and get this thing off me!' Trying in vain to get out of the electrified net, Spider-Man's mind and body was more focused on trying to withstand the pain, making it difficult to find a way out. 'It's hard to get this thing off and when I try to break it the voltage gets higher and higher!'
Not wasting the chance, the man piloting the robot used his remaining arm to grab the net with the hero still convulsing from the pain.
"H-how come you're n-not getting shocked? I c-c-call sh-shenanigans!" Spider-Man said with gritted teeth. 'Is his arm able to resist the net's electricity? Man, these guys have some serious toys, who am I dealing with here?!'
"We got him." The armed bee keeper said to the rest of the crew. "But how the heck did he find us so soon? You think they double crossed us?"
"I doubt it." One of his friends replied. "He's Spider-Man, Vale's hero, or so I heard. We got this info from them not too long ago, they shouldn't be fast enough to relay it to this guy so soon. Not to mention, he probably spotted us when we were trying to steal from the maggia."
'Maggia? I never heard of them before. Just what the heck did I step into?'
"So, what do we do with Spider-Man?"
"We dispose of him." The pilot spoke like it was a simple task. "He already taken down most of us, saw too much, and by now the noise must have caused some people to call the cops or even a Huntsman."
"Don't I have a say in this?" Spider-Man asked before he was electrocuted. "Seriously, you guys can control the voltage of this net?! Who's the wise guy that did that? No seriously, who did that? I can't tell since you all dress the same. Is that like a reference since bees all look the same?"
"Man, this guy talks too much."
"Doesn't matter what he says," The man who was operating the robot said. "Just shoot him, get the case from his corpse, and help the rest get back on their feet, we're running on a tight schedule."
Following orders from the newly appointed team leader, the foot solider raised his laser rifle right at the hero's head and pressed the trigger finger.
(FWOOOBOOOM!)
Apparently, someone was faster at pulling the trigger, cause a beam of energy shot the man's right side, making him fly in the air and land roughly on the concrete floor.
THUNDER~!
Without rhyme or reason, music started to play from almost everywhere.
THUNDER~!
More blasts of energy started to rain down, hitting a few more bad guys, each one of them knocked down on the ground leaving just Spider-Man and the pilot.
"Damn it, he's here too!?" The last remaining bee robber said. "It's not possible for him to fly all the way from Atlas to Vale!"
"Um..." Spider-Man, now no longer in pain from electrocution, looked around in confusion. "Did I miss anything else, what's going on?"
I was caught~ In the middle of a railroad track~
"Did you tell him we were here?" He asked the caught hero.
"I just asked what's going on and you still think I know something? Dude, I think that helmet of yours isn't helping your hearing." Spider-Man said flatly.
As the two argued, the music became louder, as if it was a sign that something new was approaching.
I looked round~ And I knew there was no turning back~
By now, seeing as he has no one to help, the last standing robber pressed two fingers on the side of his ear and started to talk.
"I need reinforcements, he knows we're here!" Whoever he was talking about, Spider-Man could hear the fear coming from the man still holding him captive.
My mind raced~ And I thought what could I do~ And I knew~ There was no help, no help from you~
"Hello! Do you guys hear me?! He's he- YAH!" The only robber screamed when the small ear piece build into his helmet started to shout out the same song.
Sound of the drums~ Beating in my heart~ The thunder of guns~ Tore me apart!
Finally, as if the buildup was just right, the sound of rockets was soon heard, followed by metal crashing into metal.
"WAAAH!" The hero screamed when out of nowhere as he along with the robot were pushed forward, causing the net to loosen and Spider-man to tumble out to freedom. "OOF!"
'Oow~ that hu-'
"The case!" Looking at where the robot crash landed, he could see that the object was still intact.
The only problem was that the pilot crawled out of the control seat and tried to make a break for it with said briefcase.
Fingers curling around the handle, the last remaining yellow suited crook was about to make a mad dash but was stopped when a metal boot stepped on the important item.
You've Been~
"Woah..." Was all Spider-Man could say as he stared at the person who helped free him. The new arrivals appearance was all that he needed to know as to who just saved his sorry hide.
"This should be a clear sign to give up, buddy." Iron Man said as he raised one arm with an open palm showing a glowing circle in the center. "So start talking about where the rest of your friends are, because this just isn't your night."
THUNDERSTRUCK!
Ok, here is finally the chapter where Spider-Man and Iron Man meet for the first time. Many of you speculated who Iron Man might be, others might say otherwise, but I'll delve deeper in it on the next chapter.
So without any further delay, let me start explaining on who I just introduced and why. Now, for the enemies Spider-Man fought should be well known due to them literally wearing all yellow as well as Spider-Man referencing them to bee keepers.
That's right, it's none other than A.I.M stealing from the dangerous crime group: The Maggia. Now, another spoiler is that both groups are well known within Atlas, since A.I.M was using more advanced weapons Spider-Man never saw before.
If that doesn't seem to make sense, then here is another reason for both groups to be at the same kingdom. Both groups are used in Iron Man the animated show, so I'm sure you all know what that means and how it will tie in to when Iron Man gets back to Atlas.
Some of you might think that Spider-Man could have easily defeated them but understand that he was caught off guard by their appearance, weapons, and a better unit mindset then the usual thugs he fights with. His spider sense did save him, but he needs to also know what type of danger he's getting into, he thought it was a grenade, but it was a net all along.
Ok, let's go back to the beginning of the chapter. Now, I'm sure most of you know from the previous one that Jaune wanted to quit, but I decided to make it a dream sequence instead. I know most of you want him to stay away from Beacon, but at the same time, I know that most of you wanted him to go visit Beacon when my story was slowly getting popular.
I decided to make it a compromise with J.J getting Jaune to be a reporter to Weiss and her team, so it can generate a more positive image on young Huntsmen. As both J.J and Stane stated, they need new blood to understand youths attending Beacon and Jaune is the youngest in the Bugle.
Weiss also tries to state her thoughts, though I'm sure you all know how that played out. I'm not trying to make her look bad with how she talked with Jaune, but wouldn't any one else feel the same when someone else decided things for you?
I know most of you think it would be a bad idea for Jaune to be at Beacon, but he isn't attending, just visiting for a few hours. People also commented that he has two other jobs and also his own school life, making it hard for Jaune to balance that out including his other life as Spider-Man.
Even Jaune sees the difficulty it will bring him, only for him to be on the fence when J.J gives him a promotion to reporter if he takes the role. If that wasn't enough, Stane also plays his hand and shows him his payment if he helps Weiss and her team look better do people can see they aren't bad people.
After that, I had Spider-Man play the part of exposition with him contemplating about the choices he must make. He thinks so much of it, he even talks to a cat about his problems, even how he started before becoming Spider-Man. For me, I wanted to give you guys a little background of him before going to Vale and meeting Uncle Ben and Aunt May. To show a little bit more depth to Jaune, to remind people that Jaune isn't like Peter.
Besides that, I even watched episode 3 of volume 6 and I got to say…. That episode was just one big exposition episode. But it was still helpful nonetheless, due to the fact that it proves that Ozpin really doesn't know jack about mankind, Salem being a female version of Adam, and also that the light and dark gods are huge pricks!
Like seriously, I hate them! In my opinion, they all should kind of help Salem to retrieve the artifacts and maidens to fight the gods. You know like P5 style, to show that they're fine without them, since I feel like the light and dark gods are really the cause of this whole mess in the first place!
Anyway, besides my ranting I would like to thank my Beta reader for helping me make this chapter possible and if you guys like this story, go check his too!
Oh, before I forget, I might take a little bit slower on chapters for a while. Well, you guys already know this since it took a while to make this one, but my goal is to make at least two chapters per month, if permitting I'm not too busy. Also, why this one took so long is because I'm planning a trip to go to Tokyo and enjoy Tokyo Con! I couldn't go last year, and I also wasn't able to get tickets for the next one, so I hope the one in Tokyo will be a blast. Thank you, guys, for the support and I hope you guys like this omake!
(Omake: Excelsior)
Somehow, Jaune knew he was going to have a bad day, he just felt that way as soon as he woke up.
The first sign was that he woke up late and had to skip breakfast with Aunt May.
Making him decide to webswing to school while dressed as his hero alter ego. As he did, he spotted many minor crimes such a purse snatcher, an animal stuck in a tree, and a car accident.
He wasted no time handling each one, only for the results to be less then what he expected.
He stopped a purse snatcher from getting away by webbing him to a wall, only to realize that the guy was running to give the purse back to a lady who needed her inhaler. How he knew this was from the lady luckily close by to use her inhaler, screaming at him while also hitting him with her purse.
The second distress was helping a little boy trying to get a cat out of a very tall tree. It doesn't sound too hard for a guy with spider powers, but it wasn't how he rescued the cat, no, it was how the cat reacted.
Instead of helping the cat, the feline decided to scratch the man's face that was trying to help it, causing Spider-Man to flinch. It also didn't help that the cat kept flailing around, leading to the feline to escape Spider-Man's hold and plummet to the ground.
It didn't fall to its demise, unfortunately, it somehow landed on its feet and sprinted out of sight. Leaving Spider-Man rubbing the area where the cat scratched him all the while having the kid insult him for not helping at all.
Lastly, when he thought he can take a break and just simply help someone move a broken car off the road, instead of just getting a 'thank you' Spider-Man just received more heckling.
The man was alright and was being treated in the hospital leaving the towing company to get the car out of the streets. Apparently, they didn't like having some masked creep doing their job for them, saying that they won't get paid if Spider-Man keeps helping.
All three tasks he did and each one a blunder after another, it also didn't help that he was two hours late for school, causing him detention after school. At first, it didn't seem that bad, he just needs to stay behind and think about why he was late for school.
Unfortunately, it was a bad time to be in detention because he asked Mr. McCarran for a few extra hours to work after he was done with school today. Now, he's here and his boss is probably starting to think Jaune isn't reliable enough to help around the shop.
Jaune sighed. "Finally, it's over." He said as he left detention and started to head for his locker. "I hope Mr. McCarran isn't mad with me, I hope he can understand why I couldn't make it."
Grabbing his belongs from his locker, Jaune packed up all his things and started to walk out of the school.
"But that would lead me to lie and explain why I was late," Jaune stopped walking and looked down at his feet. "This is getting out of hand. If this keeps up, then it'll be hard for me to actually keep a job."
'I thought this would be easy, being a normal teen and a hero, but seeing first hand makes me think that I'm biting more than I can chew.'
Starting to walk again, Jaune continued to think about what to do with his life when he stopped when the hallway splits in to two paths.
"The one on my right should take me to the front exit, it'll also be faster that way since Mr. McCarran's shop is a few blocks away."
Taking a step to the right, Jaune made two steps when he heard someone talk behind him.
"I wouldn't go there if I were you, son."
Turning his head, the person he spoke was an old man with sunglasses pushing a janitor's cart filled with cleaning supplies.
"Why?" Jaune asked the man. 'I thought I didn't see anyone in the hallway, even my spider sense didn't react.'
"Oh, it's easy," Reaching beneath the cart, the old man placed a 'wet floor' sign in the hallway leading to the front exit. "I'm just about to mop is all."
"Oh, well, sorry for disturbing your work, sir."
"Don't worry about it, kid." He waved it off to show he didn't care. "Just telling you now, if you walk down there, you can't turn back cause the floor will be wet and I hate it when people step on still drying floors."
"You're not going to mop that side of the hallway?" Jaune pointed at the hallway leading to the back of the school. "No one seems to be going through there."
"Well, true," He nodded at the reasoning. "But people always stick to the same route and never really try a different way. That's why I always clean the hallway leading to the front, cause that's where the real mess is."
"So, you're saying the one behind you is the better one?"
"Well, yes and no. Really, both routes lead the same way, but how you go through them might be different. Like I said about the hallway you're walking now, everyone uses it every day, always using the same one since it's easy, but if you try the back one, who knows, you might actually get to have a new route to take and not the usual way out."
"Huh," The secret hero looked at both doors. "I guess that's one way to see things."
Just as the janitor was about to mop, he looked back at the blonde teen and decided to ask him what's wrong.
"You don't seem so happy to leave school, kid. Usually I see teens laughing and running to get out as soon as possible."
"Well," Jaune contemplated about talking about his day, but the man seemed trustworthy, like he somehow understands what Jaune's going through. "I just had a bad string of luck is all. This morning was a total bummer, I helped a few people out, but they just seemed to hate me, making me feel like it's not really worth trying to keep helping people."
"I see," The man started at the teen before speaking. "So is that why you're deciding to go down this hallway?"
"What're you talking about? It's just leading to the front exit."
"Yes, but everyone goes through there, why not just change it a bit and go through the one leading to the back of the school? They all lead to an exit, but everyone goes to the same one, not ever deciding to change how they want to leave."
"Yeah, but if everyone goes through the same door, doesn't that mean it's ok to go through it?"
Staying quiet, Jaune was about to go through with it and walk the same hallway when the old janitor finally spoke.
"You know, you remind me of someone I know." Jaune faced the old man and raised an eyebrow. "Great kid, bright and an imaginative mind. Always trying to make things that could inspire others, thinking it could help people in some way."
"Really?"
"Yes, he already had everything set and tried to pitch it to some people who could help him make his characters come to life on paper and in shows."
"So he's an artist?" The blonde asked.
"Yes, a good one too, helped choreograph some cool scenes in some internet show involving two groups, I think they were rival gangs, who had their own color or something."
"Sounds interesting."
"Yup, even had a bigger idea about making a show involving a cast of colorful characters, each one having their own wants and dreams, but had a common goal to save the world from evil."
"What happened next?" Somehow, the man's story interested Jaune, almost making him forget his bad line of luck. "Was he able to make it the show he wanted?"
"Yes," The man then friend. "And also no." He looked at Jaune who was confused. "He made those characters, he made them come to life, and he wanted them all to be part of the world he was creating, but the board that he was working under decided that one of the characters wasn't really up to their standards. Saying that the ratings won't be good and he should change it up like all the other shows they air."
"Which character was that?"
"Well, he never really gave a name yet, but it was a character like you and me. Just some normal guy trying to make more of himself. You see, every character had some cool or tragic background to them, but that one character lived a normal life compared to everyone else." He explained.
"So is that why they didn't want him in the show?" Jaune sounded sad, not knowing why. "Because he was too plain?"
"I think that's what they believed, but really, I think the reason my friend wanted a character like that in his show was because he seemed the most relatable."
"Relatable?"
"Yeah, a boy with nothing special about him, rising up and becoming a better person. Everyone loves an underdog after all. Though, I'm sure compared to all the other characters he made, the board decided he would just be out of place."
"That's really sad." After hearing that, a pit started to form in Jaune. "It sounded like a show I would really enjoy."
"Well, it's in production, but not with all the characters. However, that didn't stop him from asking outside help."
"What do you mean?"
"Like I said, he didn't like that he can't use all of his characters, so he asked someone who can use the underdog in a different story. My friend just didn't like seeing a character he made just be thrown out, so in hopes for a better start, he asked someone who's also an artist to make a story where he can thrive and still be what he wanted to be, an amazing hero."
"Wow." Jaune's face was now in a smile from hearing what happened.
"Yeah, my friend didn't like how he had to change his dreams like everyone else does to get more popular, so he thought of a different way, and it turned out even better than ever."
"So, that character, the underdog, he's in someone else story? Is it good, I might actually go find it at the library later!"
"Slow down there, true believer! You can find it some other time, but you should really get going, it's getting late."
Jaune looked at both paths, but after hearing what the janitor said somehow helped him realize what exit he should take.
"Thanks for the story, it helped me feel a little bit better about myself." Jaune said as he chose to walk the path leading to the back of the school. 'Though, I never thought I would be so happy to hear about some character getting a chance to be part of some story. Still, one thing is certain-'
Walking out of the back of the school, Jaune took in the sight of an empty school yard. Across from that, he could see the streets of Vale and her people walking to wherever they need to go.
All seemed normal, but one figure, a man in a dark hoodie that's covering his face was running, pushing anyone in front of him with a purse clutched to his chest.
"Help! Help!" A man with a wicked black eye, probably a result from the purse snatcher, screamed as he tried to chase the man. "That guy took my wife's purse!"
Suddenly, as if a huge weight was lifted off him, Jaune used the empty and quiet part of the school to quickly change into his hero costume.
Weblining the stop the thief, Jaune spoke with more confidence than ever before.
"I'm Spider-Man! And with great power comes great responsibility!"
"Now," Seeing the kid go out the back door, the janitor picked up his mop. "Back to work! These floors aren't going to clean themselves!"
Taking his time, the old man swabbed the floor in quiet peace when suddenly, his scroll started to ring.
Taking his device out of his pocket, the man read the caller I.D and smiled at who's calling him.
"Monty!" He said with joy. "How are you doing, friend?"
"Doing good, Mr. Lee," Monty Oum replied to his friend. "I'm doing quite fine for myself. How about you?"
"Oh, don't me so formal with me, Stan is just fine." Stan Lee then placed his mop back in his cart. "Just finishing up with the floors. I'll meet you soon, so hang tight!"
"Ok, oh before I forget, how is everything with starting that comic you wanted to make? I hope everything is in good order."
"Trust me, friend. I'm making great strides with him, you really made one heck of a character!"
"That's good, I'm glad he's in better hands."
"Yeah, the kid is really making an impact. Anyway, I just need to lock up and I'll meet you soon, my wife also wants to come chat, she wants to hear your next plan on making another volume."
"Of course! I'll see you soon, take care, Stan!"
"You too, Monty!" Stan pressed the 'end button'. "You too."
Putting the cleaning cart in the janitor's closet, Stan Lee looked at his work with a satisfied nod and headed to the exit.
Opening the exit door, one foot already out, Stan stopped and looked at where Jaune left to start his new life.
"Go get'em, Tiger!" Was his final words to the young hero before finally stepping out and closing the door to this world he helped make one last time.
I thought that this would pay my respects to the man who gave my childhood good memories. I hope you all will enjoy this Omake.
R.I.P, Stan Lee.
I hope you're still making comics in a better place.