Disclaimer: Brotherhoof12 does not own RWBY or the Spider-Man franchise.
(Chapter 43: Train! Train! Train! Know your limits and surpass them!)
Early mornings were the time for small businesses to open up and get ready for whatever customer they may get. Sometimes it's slow, others times its busy, and you get your weirdos, normies, young, old, and even rare instances to see some interesting people.
"Don't move, don't try to call the police, and slowly put the money in the bag." Said a man, whose face was concealed by a ski mask, pointing a gun at the convenience store cashier clerk.
Complying with the gunman, the clerk slowly opened the cashier, counted the lien, and placed the money in the bag.
While the leader who was keeping an eye on the money, another mugger was keeping watch at the front door, and the last going through the back to check if there could be other workers. The leader was minding his own part in the heist when he noticed his third member was taking too long from checking the back of the store.
"Hey," The masked gunman talked to his look out, another thief who was wearing a monkey mask that had a comical cigar in its mouth. "Check what's taking so long with the guy."
"What if someone comes in?" The second masked thug asked.
"Just hurry and go." Not going to argue any further, the watcher left to check for their third member, leaving only the leader and the scared cashier clerk. "Don't have anyone here, yeah?"
"I-I," The clerk seemed to suddenly show some backbone and glared at the man pointing a gun to him. "Don't you know who really owns this place? This place is under the protection of Roman Torchwick!"
"Like I care." The ski mask man sneered. Lately, it seemed as through Roman's hold over the city of Vale was starting to lose its weight. After being thrown in prison for good, the small-time thugs started to grow a big head and tried their luck on taking some of Roman's territory. "He's in one of those Atlas gunships, so there's no way he's escaping. So, who the hell is going to stop any of us for taking Roman Torchwick's business?"
Just to put the fear back into the store worker again, the ski mask mugger was about to fire a round next to the man's head when a hand grabbed his wrist.
"Me." Said a new arrival, pulling the arm holding the gun away from the man and towards himself. "Put the gun down no-"
Two things happened at that moment. The first, was due to the new person surprising the gunman and moving the firearm, causing the masked thug to shoot the man in the head. A shot to the cranium should be enough to make the man fall on his back and bleed all over the floor, but that lead to the second thing that happened.
There was no blood after the thief blown the bodyguard's head off.
It was sand.
"Wha... wha-" The mugger was starting to shake in confusion and fear at the sight before him. It happened so fast when a round left the gun and was expecting to see a dead body, instead he was seeing the body growing a head!
Sand cumulated around the neck to form a small bulge that grow and grow to form a new head. That same head started to shift to form a face, a face that held a deep frown that a person would get from annoyance rather than rage after getting a bullet to the noggin.
Deciding to keep firing at the unkillable sand monster by shooting it at its main body with zero effect as the bullets harmlessly passed through.
"This suit," Flint Marco, also known as Sandman, looked down at his now hole riddled tailored green suit that has horizontal stripes on it. "Was worth more than the medical bills you're going to get when I'm done with you!"
No choice left , the mugger throw his gun at Flint's head, only for it to just pass right through the Sandman and land on the floor past him. When he was about to reach for the bag, Flint Marco's right arm shifted into a tendril of sand and latched it around the ski mask wearer's wrist.
"Augh! Aaah!" As he was screaming in terror that he was about to get beaten up, a surprising thing happened. His entire body started to shrivel up, what was left was a husk of said mugger who even couldn't stand up anymore, he dropped, or to put it more precisely, floated down to the ground like he was as light as a feather. "W-water! Thirsty!"
"Quit your whining." Sandman walked over the thin man and went up to the counter. "I didn't kill him; I just stole enough water from him to still be hanging on to life. Did the same to the other two stooges too."
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Marco!" Said the cashier. "I'm so grateful you were here before they arrived, otherwise I wasn't sure what would happen if you weren't around."
"Don't thank me just yet. You still have three shriveled up criminals trying to take from Roman's territory. Just call the usual cop to arrest them and I'll have the usual compensation."
Doing as instructed, the clerk pulled out some lien from the bag, handed it to Sandman, as well as going to the freezer and pulling out 1 gallon of Neapolitan, 1 gallon of cookies and cream, and 1 gallon of rocky road ice cream.
"Thank you again for your help, Mr. Marco." As the civilian was waving goodbye, Flint Marco walked out of the store and made his way down the sidewalk as if he wasn't still wanted by the police.
Walking past a building that had a reflective window, the reflection showed why Flint was able to walk down the street in public without alerting the police or huntsmen in the area.
Gone was the face of an adult and in his place was a face of a young man in his late teens.
Marco's usual appearance was his standard light brown khaki pants and green striped shirt. Now, he was in a tailored suit that matched his signature green stripe design , but made to fit that of a teenager. Needless to say, it would be hard pressed for the police or huntsmen to find him when he can now shapeshift his own form for any occasion.
Taking a turn to lead him to another street, Flint Marco made a few more twists and turns for good measure in case he was being followed and when he felt he wasn't being tailed he assumed his trek to one of Roman's hidden safehouses.
'Wonder how he's being treated up there.' He thought to himself as he looked at Vale's sky that was housing Atlas military gunships. 'Thank god I was smart enough to leave some of my sand away from the fight. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to escape with Neo and all three of us would be up there in General Ironwood's holding cells.'
Arriving at some brewery that housed the typical staff and working equipment it all looked like a typical work environment if one would ignore how security seemed to be carrying heavy stopping power. Flint didn't have to show them any identification when he stopped at the front, only showing them the bullet holes on his suit that had faint trails of sand coming off was his way of showing them he's above their pay grade.
Entering the facility, he walked past the workers who were making whatever alcohol they were paid to make, passed the group of armed guards that carried more firepower the more he went deeper into the building, and finally reached his stop at a large metal door.
"Wonder if she's still playing while I was gone collecting." He muttered to himself. Opening the doors, he was welcomed to the sight of Neo who was not lazing around like usual. Instead, Neo was fighting, but not the usual scrubs hired by Roman.
Who she was fighting wasn't Sandman, who she was fighting was Sandman's sand golems, a new ability that he learned not too long ago. These golems are mindless, and were being controlled with simple commands of attacking Neo who was using his power to her advantage for honing her fighting skills.
"….!" Neo flipped into the air to dodge an attack from behind by a sand monster whose arms were shaped to be two large swords. While airborne, the silent killer used the height to give her a bird's eye view of her enemies and plotted her next set of moves to dispatch them all quickly.
Landing on top of one of them, Neo raised her temporary weapon, a simple double edge dagger, and impaled it deep in its head, causing it to lose its form. When her feet touches the ground, a second golem was rushing at her, arms up in the air ready to smash her into the floor.
Evading the attack and countering with a kick to the leg to make it kneel, Neo impaled her weapon into its head where it too crumbled to sand. More and more golems were forming and Neo was in a constant movement as she not once slowed down in taking them all down.
"She hasn't stopped since I left." Walking past her and his creations, Flint went to a pile of sand, a shipment provided by a construction crew owned by Roman's many false names, and proceeded to walk into it like he was entering a dressing room closet. "Time to change my appearance. Wouldn't want to get this suit any more damaged now would I."
Walking deeper and deeper into the sand, Marko's entire being was then swallowed up into the massive pile leaving the only thing that wasn't taken in was his tailored suit.
Just as when he entered, he soon emerged from the sand, now in his true form.
Stepping away from the mound, Flint Marco used his control over sand to halt the sand golems assault and ordered them to return to the mound leaving an angry Neo to scowl at him for stopping her sparring.
Getting used to her silence as her bazaar way of communicating, Marco's response was raising a bag that had ice cream.
"Got you your favorite, so I thought you would like a break." He explained.
At first, Neo was like that of a house cat, people won't say that to her out loud in fear of them being killed by her, but she would usually do her own thing and would only really be interested in whatever Roman's schemes or ice cream.
"…" Waving her hand to the ice cream and then to a fridge that was plugged into to a wall, Neo gestured at Flint to start making more sand puppets for her to fight.
Now, after her defeat and the loss of Roman now in custody she seemed to have started to take a proactive stance. One of the things that changed was her abstinence to eat ice cream and use her time to focus on training.
Not going to argue with her, Flint put her share of ice cream in the fridge leaving only two gallons of ice cream in the grocery bag.
Sounds of a foot tapping was Flint Marco's signal to form more sand puppets for Neo's training and made sure to also have them a bit more difficult for her to beat.
As Neo went back to her sparring, the human turned sentient sand made his way to another separate room that housed another guest who was dropped on to their lap once the breach was over.
"Hey!" He knocked on the metal sliding door. "I got something for ya! Open up!"
He didn't have to wait long as the door was open from whoever was occupying the room. Entering the next room, Flint Marko was greeted by the sight of a large behemoth of a creature towering over him. Its large frame was covered in thick, grey skin, but what was the most eye catching was the large horn protruding from its forehead.
This was someone who was sent to them after the breach ended.
The one who made the tunnels under Vale for Grimm to have easier access to enter the city, including being the one responsible for clearing the debris at MT Glenn to have the train, a train that was stocked full with Dust to ride straight to Vale.
This was that man, and his name was the Rhino.
"What is it you wish to give me, human?" Rhino sneered at Flint who didn't flinch from the larger man's demeaner.
Flint Marco showed Rhino two gallons of ice cream. "Got them for you. Can't eat them since you know? I'm all sand."
Snorting at the human's casual attitude, Rhino grabbed the ice cream with his large hand and walked away from the human.
'You're welcome.' Flint thought to himself as he saw Rhino walk to one corner of the room that had a stack of king size mattresses, a large TV, and a water tank. Seeing the Rhino sit on his stack of mattresses and eating the ice cream was kind of funny since the gallon of ice cream looked like a pint of ice cream when in Rhino's massive hands. 'Best not say that to him. I would like to have this place standing and not have Atlas and Beacon finding us so soon.'
"I'll let you know if we get a call." Walking out of the room he stopped and turned around. "By the way, I plan on going out again in the afternoon, so if you want, just slide your list under the door and I'll get them."
A grunt was all Rhino gave Sandman as he was eating his ice cream by squeezing the sides with his thumb and pointer finger.
Taking that as a 'Yes', the human turned living sand closed the door and went to his side of the hide out which was his own personal room.
Inside his personal space was just like Rhino's room, spartan in that Flint Marco's only possessions were a reclining chair, a small table, 2 decent sized TVs, and in the corner of his room was yet another large pile of sand.
"I should start getting back to what I usually do now." Picking up the remote from the arm chair, the sand monster laid in his chair and turned on the TV to his left. Its screen flickered to live and showed him not a TV show, but a live feed of his daughter and his Ex-wife eating together at the kitchen. "Thank god they're safe."
Thanks to being part of Roman's group, the ex-convict was able to bribe some electrician to set some hidden cameras in the house in a form of 'fixing their internet connection'. Now, the man can always check up on his family and make sure they were at least safe and not involved in his ordeals.
'I'll be sure to also have her boss give my ex-wife the usually 'raise' to her check.' Another benefit to working for Roman was that he didn't have to rob banks all on his own and can instead be an enforcer to Roman's territory and collect fees. 'It was easier to make him cooperative too. After all, the man was in Roman's domain and would lose his property if he didn't cooperate.'
Turning on the second TV the screen showed a show that was a simple comedy series that involved two separate squads going against each other with hijinks ensuring.
Leaning closer to the second TV as it showed different people, Flint's face soon started to shift sand participles making his facial features change. Cheek bones raised, wrinkles removed, and hair extending, Flint Marco's face was now changed to someone else.
Flipping to another channel, his appearance changed once again to a different person and soon he started to flick channels much faster and changing his appearance at the same time.
With Neo training to push her body to the next level, Flint Marco's training was not of might, but of mind as he was already strong physically.
Luckily, if he needed something to make his imagination go wild then watching good ol'television was a good way for his mind to drift away as he looked at different channels.
Flipping one more channel to Vale's news cast, the criminal saw Lisa Lavender talking about how the city was slowly getting back together, the Vytal Festival still going as planned, and finally a mug shot of Roman sitting behind a secured door guarded by Atlas.
Flint Marco turned off both TVs, and on the reflections of the two screens, it showed that the one sitting on the couch was Roman Torchwick.
You ever wonder why in the comics the artist never shows the hero train or even make a small filler chapter for said hero to show his or her training?
It was early morning at the train yard, so early that the sunrise hasn't started yet, and the only thing that showed any activity was a single person alone wearing a pair of sweat pants and a hoodie.
"97…" A small grunt of discomfort left the young man's lips as he squatted down with the weight of 2 train carts over his shoulders.
A rational explanation is cause the reader doesn't want to read several pages of the main character do some training and would rather see them do their daily life progress. Or better yet, would rather read the hero's new enemy or regular nemesis antagonize said hero and then quickly be defeated.
"98…" Again, the hooded stranger squatted 82 tons and brought himself back up with sweat drenching his clothes. He didn't know when he started or when he'll ever stop for the only thing on his mind was finishing a couple more reps for the final set.
We can even go further and explain why comics don't show them training or have a training arc is cause they don't have enough pages to make it happen. Always using the extra 2 pages to make room for an ad or have the heroes sponsor something.
"99…Guh!" Body beginning to strain as he lifted himself from the squat, the strong man gritted his teeth and focused on the final rep. "One more, one more!"
Or maybe they don't write it often is due to the hero having plot armor protect them. Things like luck or even a secret weapon they didn't reveal before were used to get them out of a jam.
"100!" With the last rep finished he made sure to set them down as gently as possible, so that they won't create a loud noise to alert his presence.
"Phew!" Putting the hoodie down to have his blonde locks feel the cold morning air, Jaune Arc had a smile on his face as he accomplished his goal today. "5 sets of squats with each 100 reps. Feels like it was just yesterday that I thought I could only do half of that. Guess this shows I'm getting better at this."
Yes, this was real life and Jaune Arc, also known as Spider-Man, is not the main character of anything. Jaune is only human-no, a Faunus. Actually, not even that, he is in between such lines of biology and could be considered a sub variant of both.
Yet he can bleed and die like everybody else.
"Time to try my luck with the real test." Getting his blood pumping by make small hops with each step. Jaune reached for his final test of strength which was the heaviest locomotive that was in the train yard. "There you are! Think I'm ready to take you on now!"
Jaune was talking to was a locomotive that has been deemed 'dysfunctional' and was left fall apart. But it wasn't just a locomotive, it was used for long distance travel outside the guarded city and as such was bigger, more durable, and way heavier then what Jaune was used to.
The length and weight were around 400-600 tons! Far outclassing the simple trams used within the city.
And he was about to lift it.
Getting closer to the large locomotive, Jaune was beginning to doubt his resolve on even trying his luck with this massive beast of metal.
"Don't lose focus," Deep breaths went in and out as Jaune assumed his position. "Just lift it off the ground a couple of inches and put it down."
Yes, it is true that out of everyone within that building of Oscorp anyone could have been bitten and could be where Jaune was standing. In their perspective they could also think of themselves as the main character, what with the whole hero persona, odd super villains, and some villainous plot designed to destroy the city.
Short breaths and tense muscles made the blood flow to Jaune muscles as he commanded his body to lift the heavy object.
"Grrraaahh!" Just when he was starting to lift it, Jaune could already feel the girth this locomotive had. Centimeters turned to inches and Jaune could already hear the back of his head to stop and drop the heavy train or else he could rip more than a muscle. "Just a little more off the ground!"
Shamefully, Jaune had thoughts of such delusions as being a hero from the comics. How life seemed so bright to Jaune after his denial from Beacon. He also thought that he could finally make something of himself and not have to go back to see his family, to see their disappointed eyes as they berated him about how his fake transcripts.
"Almost!" Jaune could feel his teeth begin to hurt as he gnashed them together in frustration with how much strength he was putting out to lift the train higher. "Just … a little… more! Aaah!"
Jaune did what he accomplished and lifted the heavy locomotive and then proceeded to go beyond his expectations by lifting it above him. The weight, pressure, and frustration were now behind him and was now basking in pride, ecstasy and pressure. A whole lot of pressure.
"Oh God!" Setting the huge hunk of metal down as he was starting to lose the feeling in his arms and legs. Jaune moved his legs backwards and when he started to feel his legs shake under him, he accepted gravity as he sat on his butt to let his limbs finally rest. "Geez! If I held that position any longer, I could have sprained my back!"
His rant over, Jaune then laid his back on the ground and stared at the morning sky, already seeing the color of orange signaling the sun's arrival.
Maybe if he did go back, then someone else would be Spider-Man and not him. They would deal with the problem and Jaune would just have to face his family and get a normal job like they wanted him to have.
Yet, Jaune didn't, and as a result, he met someone who saved him.
"Mr. Parker." Jaune reached a hand out to the sky as the sun's rays started to pierce the clouds. "I hope you're watching us up there."
'I could keep going on and on about 'what if this' and 'what if that', the main point of it all is that I'm mortal and I can die. A person who could have been bitten would die too and that's why I'm here almost everyday training.'
"It looked so easy when my sisters and dad did their training, looking at them spar looked so cool, but now I'm starting to see why they say it's such a pain." Every morning of doing the same thing of lifting heavy weights, running with a tram tied to his back, and always increasing the load of how much he can lift made Jaune's appearance even more astounding then it already was thanks to his super metabolism.
Healing factor was used to patch up his body after his fights, but it was now used for rebuilding and repairing his bones and muscles to make them even more durable compared to a normal person.
'I remember in biology that people's bones break and reform to be stronger and the same can be said about muscles, too. Since my healing factor can fix me up from gunshots, stabs, and even explosives, training like this is a perfect way to make me even stronger.'
"It can get me so far, but that dang Aura they have just…" Jaune didn't like how he sounded so envious of huntsmen and their Aura and he had to reign in his pettiness so he won't lose sight of his goal. "Maybe I should get my aura unlocked. It would save me time and could even make it harder for people to hurt me."
"…" A second or two passed and Jaune shook his head to get the idea out of his mind. "No, that's a bad idea waiting to get worse over time. Having my Aura unlocked when I'm a civilian is illegal in all 4 kingdoms. You have to be registered and be under a huntsmen school to get your Aura unlocked or else it could cause a power struggle."
Plus, Jaune also made sure to learn a thing or two about Aura and what he read kind of makes it not worth it. Aura is hard to measure, as each person has a higher or lower amount of Aura with even some Semblance being well rounded or situational. It was understandable to have such an ability have some limitations, but comparing it to Jaune's unique biology and he can honestly say he would rather stick with a healing factor then an active shield that can break and make the user unable to fight.
'There is some documentation about people with enough Aura to heal, but that was far and few with not enough information.' Jaune wasn't scoffing when it comes to Huntsmen though as he was still almost killed by Adam and has started to make the young hero wonder about other adversaries that could be on par or stronger than him.
'That's why I'm doing this. Why I'm training and busting my butt training, learning more about Huntsmen and their history of when they were made. I need to get better than I was before. I need to be more than better. I have to be faster than them, stronger than them, and I have to be…'
Hand still reaching for the sky, Jaune clenched it his hands into a fist.
"I need to Be Greater." Feeling like he had enough time on the floor, he picked himself up, walked up to the heavy train, and placed his hand flat on the thick metal surface. "Rather than thinking about having the same abilities as Huntsmen. The power that I have is more than enough to even the score between me and their defense of Aura."
As his palm laid flat on the thick metal plating of the train, Jaune's hand started to emit smoke coming from his hands and soon the metal plating cover he was touching started to melt from his touch. His hand still on the melting metal, Jaune didn't remove his hand and instead grasped the metal surface like it was pudding and started to rip and tear like it was cardboard.
Reaching out with his other hand to the train, the same thing occurred as metal started to melt and bend to Jaune's superhuman strength until finally, he finished his work and stepped back from what he's made.
The thick plating that was welded on the train was now missing a few parts of itself and some were bent to form a shape that resembled Jaune's signature logo of a spider.
"I can run faster than I have to and strike harder than I need too, but this-" Jaune looked at his hands that held an eerie glow to them. "This would definitely even up the playing field."
How was the universe created?
It was a simple question that has many answers both from a religious or a scientific standpoint.
A religious answer was that the brothers of light and dark created humanity.
For the scientific point of view, it has to be involving the 4 elements.
Not the 4 elements of nature, the 4 types science is talking about is the 4 fundamental forces of nature.
Otherwise known for being responsible for shaping and operating the universe.
The 4 forces of nature are known as Strong force, Electromagnetism, Weak force, and Gravity.
All 4 are strong in their own rights, and if someone was able to harness one of the fundamental forces, then that person would be able to perform many amazing feats.
Jaune Arc is one such person, and the fundamental force he is harnessing will help him when dealing with Aura.
How strong is it you ask when Aura seems to be considered a natural barrier? Well, this certain force is one that's definitely strong enough to handle Aura.
It has too as this particular force is said to power the sun.
"Radioactive decay." Jaune flipped a page and continued to read the basic understanding of physics. "The weak force or weak nuclear force, is the mechanism of interaction between subatomic particles that is responsible for the radioactive decay of atoms."
'Well, the spider that bit me was made cause of Oscorp's use of radiation.' Reading more into the subject, the young hero's surroundings were not of the train yard, but the city's public library. 'Not only did I inherit the abilities of a spider, I also received the power of radioactive decay. That's why Adam's aura didn't help him when I placed my hand on his face. I didn't break his Aura; I was weakening it to the point Adam couldn't make any Aura.'
"I wonder why when I touched his face it burned him rather than turned him to dust." Getting his face away from the book and leaning back on his chair so far back that he was balancing on the two back legs.
Jaune thought about why such a thing occurred and then came to a conclusion. "The weak force, though strong-heh, ironic, is short ranged compared to gravity and electromagnetism. Maybe I needed to keep contact long enough to have Adam not just burn, but to also convert to decay. I've been practicing this new power to get a better hang of it, but with organic material though? I never really put much thought of it, but burning people is a good enough offensive and would make people with Aura think twice about getting close to me."
'Plus, I'm also in the dark about how my radioactive burns will affect them.' Aura was said to protect Huntsmen from extreme weather, yet Jaune might need to do some further research with Aura and its durability regarding radioactivity. 'Ugh. Let's change the matter and think of something else regarding this power. It needs a name for it.'
Moving forward to let the chair be put back on all four of its legs, Jaune closed the book he was reading, got out of the chair, and walked to the bookshelf he took it from.
'A name, a name, a name. What name should I give it? Overdrive? No, too simple. The power is related to the sun and the sun is considered yellow, so maybe... Sunlight Yellow Overdrive?'
"…What the heck am I even thinking?" An embarrassed look came over Jaune's face. "I keep saying that I'm no comic book superhero, and here I am thinking of a name for my attack. God, I need to grow up sometimes."
Stopping at a shelf labeled 'science section', Jaune shoved the book he was reading back in its place and was planning on leaving the library only to stop when he saw a familiar face.
'Why is she here?' Jaune said in surprise when the person he was seeing was Ruby Rose, first year Huntress at Beacon, sitting alone at a table reading a book. 'That book she's reading; I can't see far enough and the only thing I could see off the cover is 'Engineering'. Guess it makes sense she would want to learn more about that subject. I mean, she did tell me she made her weapon at her old school.'
"Should I go talk to her?" Jaune continued to look at Ruby who seemed to be absorbed in her little space to not notice anyone else around her making him feel a rise in anxiety. "I don't want to disturb her if I do go there, but on the other hand, I'm her friend, so maybe she would be happy to see someone she knows here."
He didn't have to debate about any longer since he was standing in place and looking at Ruby. The young Huntress finally noticed someone was watching her, looked away from her book her scanned the library, stopped and stared at a familiar set of sapphire blue eyes.
'Aaah! She noticed!' Jaune's body went rigid. 'I probably stared too long and she noticed! Aaah! Dang it! I can't back out now, otherwise if I just walk away it'll make me look like I was a creep and got caught.'
"Can't back out now." Putting up a smile to brush away his awkwardness, the young secret vigilante walked dup to Ruby. "Hi, Ruby! It's good to see you!"
"Jaune!" Ruby was either being friendly like usual or was not ignoring the fact she saw him standing in place looking at her. "It's good to see you too. I didn't know you come here."
"I wanted to check some book out rather than buy them." He explains. "I could say the same to you." Jaune pointed at her book that was indeed about engineering. "I kind of figured you for a gear head."
"Yeah, engineering is kind of a second calling to me." Ruby seemed to enjoy the compliment Jaune gave to her. "As much as I like being a huntress. I kind of enjoyed tinkering and seeing how things work. One time, my dad bought me a toy that transforms to a robot and into a car. I was curious on how it was able to do that, so I decided to disassemble it. My dad was mad and thought I broke it since I only had it for less than 2 days."
"Heh, heh, ha!" The blonde boy let out a laugh that also made Ruby laugh too. "Did you put it back together?"
"Yeah, I even did it in front of him too. Dad was so surprised that I was able to put the toy back together. The next time he bought me a simple model kit that was a model car, that was my most favorite thing I had when I was a kid. Ever since then, I started to get more and more interested in building stuff."
"Even at a young age you're amazing!" Jaune raised his hands just when Ruby was about to talk. "Forgot, you got normal knees! Actually, since you're here at the library, does that mean your team is here too?"
"Oh, my team? Weiss is at Beacon, Blake is also there too, and Yang is…." Ruby trailed off and her eyes looked past Jaune for some reason. Jaune was even more confused as Ruby started to make arm gestures like waving them up and down, then moving them to the right, and finally dropping them back down.
"She, uh… just left me."
"Oh, I guess that means you got here by bus or bullhead?" Jaune asked her.
"She was the one that gave me a ride on her bike." Ruby told him, her body starting to move as she grabbed the book she was reading from the table. "This is probably a good time for me to leave now and maybe go to the weapon shop you used to work at. Since if I was still with Yang, she would have wanted to go to the mall to shop for more clothes or something."
'This is a chance, don't waste it!' Jaune has been caught up being Spider-Man and training that he felt like he need some time with someone he knows other then Gwen and Eddie. "If you're…. going alone, can I tag along? My day is pretty clear, my school is taking some time to repair some damages."
'Can I tag along? Come on, Jaune! Why now am I sounding so weird? It was just a simple question and you made it so awkward now that Ruby will say no.'
"I'd like that!" She smiled. "Yang has started to really give me enough breathing room for me to learn more about this city. Though, she'll still expect me to call her and let her know where I am sometimes."
"Classic older sister mentality. Happens to anyone who has a big family, I should know since I got 7 sisters."
"Believe me, Jaune. I won't forget that little tid bit about you." For some reason, Ruby's smile was even bigger and showed more teeth. "A-anyway, we should get going! I'll check this book out and we'll go. Are you checking out that book, Jaune?"
"Oh?" Jaune forgot he still had the book he was reading earlier. "Yeah... Yeah, I am. It's just a science book. You could say I'm kind of starting to get interested in physics."
I decided that the next chapter will also be a fuller. I had more, saw that I had too much, and chose to cut it in half to save time and to give my Beta Reader a break from always sending him chapter that are over more than 10K words.
This chapter I wanted to show the side of Roman's team and how they are handling his arrest. Flint is making sure Roman's turf is not being taken by random street gangs, Neo has finished eating her humble pie and is training, and I also wanted tom show the new addition to Roman's crew. Rhino will make an official reveal later, since I mostly wanted to show Flint's growth of his character and his powers.
As for Jaune, most have already guessed that I took inspiration from Mr. Incredible from the Incredibles Movie where Bob trained using actual train cars. I may be using Peter from the comics for Jaune, but with Jaune who lives in a world where humanity has a low population rate thanks to monsters, as well as his harsh defeat with Adam, Jaune will be getting more into the idea of lifting heavy objects to see where he stands and also surpass his limits.
Not just physical training either, Jaune is also learning to use the weak force and also learning more about Huntsmen and aura use. Just like Jaune from the show, Spider-Man/Jaune is a novice when it comes to general knowledge of what a Huntsmen needs to actually be a 'Huntsmen'. Which is why he is at the library to learn the history and how aura works, including information about the weak force and how he can apply it in both a defensive and offensive weapon against aura.
I apologize for any readers who study physics too. I'm sure most will see that i do not fully understand Weak Force only the bits and pieces of it, so I apologize in advanced if I suck at adding it to this chapter.
Sure, some would think it should be considered classified about what aura is, but since most of everyone already understand the general concept of aura the publish library will house said information. While the more advanced books about the topic will be in the hands of Huntsmen school, but that is something really not needed at the time for Jaune.
The next chapter will be released next month and that will be the last filler chapter before I start the Vytal Arc where I will introduce all the heroes I have shown in this story. I like to thank my Beta for always helping me and you all should look at his storied after reading mine.
If you liked the story, Fav, Like, and leave a review or PM me for any questions or ideas you want to talk about. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
A/N: This is a bit late on the account that October is over, but I still wanted to write this Omake for some time. Hope you guys Enjoy!
[Omake: RWBY Zombie Universe!]
Vale... has fallen.
That day, known as The Breach, was remembered throughout the four-no, three kingdoms as a warning that Grimm is the last thing they have to worry about.
What they now have to worry about is their neighbors and each other.
It took a day for half the city of Vale to fall under this unknown infection that was spreading rapidly. Citizens were panicking in droves from this pandemic and Huntsmen that came on the scene to control the panic only made it worse.
For this pandemic was something straight from the movies.
Zombies. Undead. Terms that seem to be the case knowing that being bitten, scratched, and even having any infected fluids enter open wounds can cause anyone to turn into one of them seems to be the answer.
However, that wasn't the case for these zombies as they were indeed alive.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to have Aura.
Once a large portion of Huntsmen living in Beacon and Vale had succumbed to the infection the entire kingdom was no more and the people who were lucky enough to leave did not receive any aid from Atlas, Mistral, or from Vacuo.
For they were preparing for the outbreak leaving those who weren't behind their secure walls to fend for themselves.
The turned, whose single goal was to spread the infection had their sights set for the rest of Remnant, left Vale and began their march to spread the outbreak.
What was left of the massive city was a ghost town with only the sound of the wind and the crumbling of buildings as the only common noise in the dead city.
Dead, yet not forgotten.
(Twip—Twip)
Spider-Man arrived at the destination of Beacon Academy where he was informed that the best way to save humanity was deep within the school.
"Finally made it." He said jumping over the gate and landing softly on the other side. "I don't sense any vibrations near me and the spiders that around me aren't picking anything up either. Guess they all left when they picked this place clean."
Spider-Man, ditching his old costume for a more well protected suit made of the same material as Whitley's Iron Man suit, roamed the empty school to find the Headmaster's personal elevator that leads to his destination.
"Not a single soul in sight." Jaune said holding two fingers on the side of his head. "You seeing what I'm seeing, Whitley?"
Static came to his ear for a moment then was replaced with the sound of his friend, Whitley Schnee also known as Iron Man.
"Yeah, I don't like this. Even if our intel is right and what we're looking for is below the school, I have a bad feeling things are about to turn south."
Jaune was successful in locating the elevator and entered it before descending further down the school that housed its dark secret.
"I made it to the last level." The Iron clad spider said through the earpiece. The elevator door opening to have it's only passenger leave and be introduced to a dimly lit opened space. Sure, he can see in the dark, but it was how it was so silent with no sound echoing the halls but his own foot steps is what making him so anxious. "Ok, if this place doesn't scream 'scary' already, then I don't know what will."
"Just focus on securing the package, Jaune." The sounds of metal scraping together gave Jaune an indication of Whitley suiting up. "I'm on my way at the rendezvous point. Be sure to be there before I do."
"Great words of encouragement, Whitley." Picking up the pace, Jaune was now at the place he was looking for. "Found you, Amber."
What Jaune was looking at was a chamber designed by Ozpin and his secret team to keep Amber, a 'maiden' if what Jaune was told correctly, alive until they found a more suitable host.
"Whitley, I found her." Jaune saw there was a computer next to Amber's stasis pod. "I'm going through the mainframe to get her out, but Whitley, this thing was keeping her alive all this time down here. If I get her out of it, she might-"
"We'll make it." The Iron clad hero cut Jaune off. "Just be sure to be outside with her."
"Ok." Typing in the last sequence of codes on the computer, Jaune heard the sound of Amber's pod opening, giving Jaune the full view of a weakened and half-dead Amber. "Please hang on just a little longer."
Getting Amber out as gently as possible, Jaune started to wrap her securely in webbing and just as he attached her back to his, Jaune started to feel a sudden vibration coming from where the elevator was. "Of course things wouldn't get any easier. Time to book it!"
Running as fast, but not too fast that it would harm Amber, Jaune made it to the elevator just in time to see it rise back up. "Oh no you don't!"
Shooting a webline to the bottom of the elevator, the webhead pulled the webbing, catapulted himself to the rising elevator, and latched himself underneath it. Crawling higher, Jaune decided to punch his way into the elevator now that he had Amber and when he entered the elevator it stopped.
'Spider sense!' Feeling the familiar vibration coming from the back of his skull. 'Can't back out when this is the only way out. I have to fight!'
As the door opened wide enough, Jaune's vision was then assaulted by red rose petals followed by a sickly sweet voice.
"Jaune~!" Ruby looked ay Jaune with a happy/manic smile that matched her scarred and mangled visage. "I'M SO HAPPPY TO SEE YOU!"
"Jaune! Where are you!" Whitley landed on Beacon soil with no sign of either Jaune or Amber, causing the Schnee to be nervous.
"Damn it, Jaune!" The young heir instinctively grabbed his right arm. "Just because you have a healing factor that fight off the disease doesn't mean the rest of us can be so reckless."
[BAAAM]
Sounds of concrete breaking startled the young hero from his thoughts. He then finally heard from Jaune from his earpiece built into his suit who's voice screamed only one word.
"RUN!" Jaune screamed! Coming through the large hole the webhead created, Jaune, still carrying a barely alive Amber, saw his friend standing at the middle of the courtyard. "Hurry up and start flying, now!"
Not questioning his friend's panicked order, the young hero was only 10 feet off the ground when he soon felt extra weight being added on him.
"Go! Go! Go!" Jaune screamed next to Whitley's ear as his suit gained more speed as he flew. "Don't look back, Whitley!"
Getting faster and faster, Whitley soured through the sky leaving behind Beacon, Vale, and an infected Huntress who was once known as Ruby Rose, now just a raving, cannibalistic husk of her former self.
"JAUNE!" Ruby half screamed his name that soon turned into crying. "Come back~! Please~!"
The image of Jaune vanished into the clouds leaving Ruby to fall on her knees and cried out in pain.
"Come back~! Jaune~!" Tears mixed with red fell from her eyes before she let out on last scream aimed at the heavens. "I'M HUNGRY!"