Chapter 7: Hideout
"The past week the city of Vale has been the subject of robberies, assaults, thefts and other mischievous acts by the radical group of Faunus known as the White Fang. Though the actions of the police force have been many, they seem unable to stop the infamous group". A screen appeared showing several images. On one was a white flag with a growling beast`s head and 3 claw marks across it. Next to it were pictures depicting white-clothed faunus. All of them with mask covering their faces. Most of them had the same design two pair of eye slits and an angular shape until the nose.
"Even more so, a strange event has been happening the last two days. As the police went to a dust store, where a robbery was in progress, the officers found the criminals tied up to the ceiling and the walls of the stores with what authorities describe as a web-like substance. Said web was also found on the surveillance cameras making it impossible to see what happened. Surprisingly, several spots throughout the city had the same scene. Citizens also reported to see a strange figure moving at night. The descriptions go from the official to the far-fetch. The one factor the remains constant on the scene however, is a note normally attached to one of the criminals:
Courtesy of your friendly neighbor Spider-man.
Who is this so called Spider-man? And what are his intentions on our quiet city? Stay tune for more information".
As Glynda finished reading the front news in a local website, a silent feel upon the room. Peter, who was also with her, found himself in the same place he meet Ozpin. He was on a sofa just staring at the blonde.
"So anything to say at your defense?" the blonde asked.
"Yeah…." Peter tried to stretch his tied "My friends have been telling me about leaving more menacing messages on my notes but I don't know…. The broodinghero is so cliché nowadays. It`s just not me you know? Beside is a great way of self-promotion".
"CAN`T you take anything seriously?" Glynda yelled
"I believe the newspapers make it very clear. 4 robberies, 6 attempts of theft and two assaults on dust stores, that by the way I would like to talk about that with someone, I mean how do they work?. But that's beside the point. I would say I´m taking this very seriously, don't you think?" Peter responded.
"You can´t just go out there doing as you please. Our deal was for you to STAY here"
"Yeah….. but I never said anything about leaving. Besides, the people of Vale seemed to need the help. The police couldn't handle it; so I figured I could lend them a hand".
"Things aren't that simple around here Peter".
"Actually they are. When someone is in need, believe me professor, I´ll do my best to help them".
Glynda just sat down, resting her head on her hands. -Why is this happening to me?-. She took a deep breath and spoke again "Mr. Parker….. I´m not saying that you shouldn't have helped those people but…"·
"Ms. Goodwitch" Peter stood up "I´ve been doing this for a long time, I know what I´m facing".
Glynda just look at him, thinking. The scene of Peter defending Velvet came to her mind. -He certainly appears to know what he is doing, no casualties, and not much in property damage and he managed to stay uncover the whole time….maybe I just give him a chance-. The blonde then looked Peter straight in the eye. "Fine, but don't get caught".
"YES MA´AM!" Saluted Peter in a military pose.
"Good. Now let´s talk about the reason I called you here"
"Awwwww and here I thought you just wanted to see me again" the brunette faked a sad expression.
Glynda glared at him. Even though there had been only 3 days since the hero´s arrival, the blonde was already getting used to his presence, as irritating as it may be. So deciding to let that one slide, she decided to continue "As I was saying, our scientist found something on the combat arena you mentioned".
"Did they found anything related to radiations?" Peter asked
"Yes. They also found strange energy readings in the area. Nothing harmful though". The blonde responded.
"You know…. If I could just get a chance to go to your lab…."
"Denied"
"But"
"DENIED"
"Ok Ok. Look Last time, the portal opened when it reached its initial levels of radiations, and the energy you read must be fluxing energy between connected dimensions. So once the signals are strong enough, the portal will open again" Peter concluded.
"Interesting…. But the signals don't show any signs of increasing quickly. So you may be here for quite some time Peter".
"…. That's better than nothing I guess. Anything else you want to tell me?"
"Nothing else. Don´t you have a class to attend to?"
Peter checked his scroll. "Oh yeah, I better get going. See you around… Glynda". A wave and a friendly smile was all he gave her before leaving.
The professor on the other hand just started doing some work on the computer when a thought came to her mind. –Since when do we call each other by our first name?-
Peter walked calmly through the campus; he had plenty of time after all, so it was the perfect opportunity to check his progress so far.
–The night vision seems to be working properly but the change in the filter affects the lenses after it´s deactivated. Better run some mores tests. The zooming on the other hand works just fine, some tune ups and everything will be optimal. Regarding last night´s activities, the results are promising; still I need to know more about this radical faunus group. Next on the list is to make more web-fluid, I only have three cartages left. Also I need to sightsee more, I haven´t take enough photos of this place, though I don't think the other would believe me even with them-.
Peter´s class began and ended pretty quickly, as he didn't pay much attention to it. The only think that grabbed his attention was the mention of Aura and Semblance.
–Oh Yeah- Peter thought –According to my research Aura is a natural energy. Apparently it comes from the soul and works as some kind of shield… that's oddly specific. Semblance on the other hand, are special abilities unique to every individual. That actually may explain Velvet hologram-like weapons…..or someone likes the x-men too much -.
It was already noon when the bell signaled the students the star of their lunch break. For a change Peter decided to join the academy in the dining hall. He entered, picked up a plate and went directly to the self service area. To his surprise the menu was stunningly good. Rice, chicken, meat, vegetables, a great variety of fruits, fries, mashed potatoes, natural juices, he even saw turkey there. Having picked a bit of everything, he ended up with a fairly big plate, so he went for a seat. The massive amounts of students were just enjoying themselves, mostly chatting. It appeared that everyone had forgotten the whole incident with Cardin, so Peter went pretty much unnoticed.
–Remains me of high school-
Before he could go much further though, a pair of hands caught his attention.
"Peter! Over here!" he recognize the voice immediately, it was Ruby´s. He saw her coming his way, this time however not on her typical uniform. Her outfit was mainly black with a long blouse, stocking and boots. She also wore a red hoody and a little cape. Finally she had a stuffy skirt combing black in the exterior and red in the interior. Peter hadn't notice until now, but the little girl had silver eyes.
"Peter, so nice to see you! How are you!?"
"Oh, Hey Ruby, I´m very good and you?" the hero said with a big smile.
"Fine fine, do you have somewhere to sit?"
"Actually" Peter scratched his head "I´m looking for a place to"
"AWSOME….. I-I mean, why don't you come to my table? I´ll introduce you to my friends"
"Lead the way" Soon enough, they arrived at Ruby´s table.
"Guys!" the girl called her friends "Let me introduce you to my new friend Peter Parker. Peter my team".
"Hello everyone" waved Peter at them. As promised, Ruby walked along the table to introduce everyone there. "This is Weiss Schnee".
"Good afternoon" the girl greeted. She could be said, to have an opposite look to Ruby´s, as her outfit consisted mainly of a tight length, strapless dress and a sleeved bolero with a color gradation from white to pale blur. Along with her skirt, this only helped emphasize her long white hair and blue eyes.
"She is Blake Belladonna". The girl, who had amber eyes, just nodded. She had the most different outfit of the group. She wore and unzipped, black bottom vest, with a sleeveless white shirt. Her characteristic ribbon caught Peter´s attention.
"And this is my big sister Yang Xiao Long". The oldest of the sisters stood up and smiled.
"Saving the best for last, That's why I love you sis". The girl was wearing a tan jacket that finished above her stomach, puffy sleeves and a yellow top that exposed her chest. "So you are the guy my sister told me about. A pleasure, Yang" She extended her hand.
Peter looked at it and shook it. Immediately he felt the strength of the girl, she was certainly strong. Still, Peter was unaffected.
"Oh! You didn't even flinch! Good handshake Mr. Parker".
"Just Peter" the brunette responded.
"And you remember Jaune Right?" Ruby asked
"Sure, how are you man?" Peter turned to see Jaune and found that he had a different attire as well. He was wearing a chest plate above her lower abdomen, with white splauders and rerebraces. Underneath it all, he had what looked like a black hoodie. The boy was on the next table but strangely his whole upper body was resting on it. "Hy Petar…. I fel gad…"
"Ummm…. Is he ok?" Peter asked.
"Don't worry" Yang jumped up "He is just tired for the special trainingfrom last night, right Pyrrha?" The red-head who was in Joan´s table shoot daggers at the blonde. The girl was wearing a brown overbust corset with golden outline, grown gloves, and red ankle-length sash. She was also wearing boots slightly above her knees, a bracer on her left arm, hill and even a headpiece. All of it with the same brown and gold colors. Ignoring Yang, the red-head stood up from the table and saluted Peter.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Parker. I´m Pyrrha Nikos and please pay no mind to Yang. Jaune is just tires form our COMBAT practice. Please allow me to introduce you the rest of my team. This here is Nora Valkery" Pyrrha pointed.
Following the direction indicated, Peter saw a short orange-haired girl eating or more like devouring her food. She was wearing pink fingerless glove, a black vest with two layers of cloth, blue and red. Also beneath it she wore a white sleeveless top with a tiny hearth shape in her chest.
"And lastly but never least Lien Ren" The boy was next two Nora eating quietly and avoiding the occasional flying food from Nora´s plate. His hair was black and long, similar to Pyrrha´s. Moreover he had a magenta lock on the left side of his face. Finally he wore a long-sleeved, dark-green tailcoat. After everyone gave their respective salutations, Peter sat down between Ruby and Jaune, effectively being between the two teams. The group started chatting with Peter being mostly silent. He didn't want to interrupt them after all.
"So guys as I was saying" Nora started "I went with Ren to the cinema last night to see a horror movie! There, there was this enormous fish with big teeth shouting I WANT TO EAT NORAS TODAY!"
"It wasn't that big of a fish" Ren corrected in as he ate.
"And I was like: NOOOO I AM A NORA, it is gonna eat me! And the whole theater freaked out as well, throwing their pop corns and all."
"There weren't so much people screaming"
"Then I went to hug Ren because of course I was scare! So why not hug my besest friend in the whole world right?"
"That's….. actually true. Though you pretty much hugged the air out of me Nora" Ren smirked.
"I´m sorry! I said I was sorry, please forgive me! I know, I´ll go pick up your favorite pudding as a forgive-me gift!"
"Nora you don't need to-"
Before he could finish, the orange-haired girl flew to the dessert area. The rest of the group just chuckled at the scene.
"She is always like that?" Peter asked.
"Pretty much" Pyrrha responded while eating some bread "Mr. Parker, you sure you can eat all that? I mean, it looks like a lot. No offence.
"Non taken. I´ve always had a skinny figure. Beside you have to eat a lot to grow tall and healthy right?"
Ruby chuckled a bit.
"Lucky you Peter" said Yang on the other side of the table "You have no idea how difficult is to keep all this" The blonde said accentuating her prominent upper body.
"Yang, we have a guest on our table, can you behave?" Weiss spoke.
Yang just smiled and went to her and whispered. "Don't worry girl, they'll grow up too".
Though nobody knew why, the ice-queen´s face turned almost as red as Ruby´s hoodie. "Yo-You!" the girl sat down turning away from the blonde.
-What an odd group of friends haha- Thought Peter to himself. Everyone on the table seemed as lively as usual and certainly everyone was having a good time.
Blake thought was staring a little too much at Peter. She remembered clearly everything that happened with Cardin and she really wanted to ask him a couple of questions. Yet they didn't really know each other so she went for a different angle.
"So Peter…. Don't get me wrong but…. Aren't you a little old to be here?"
"I-I was wondering the same thing" spoke the ice-queen trying to forget what her partner said.
Peter smirked "I´m 27 Blake. I´m not that old"
"What I meant was, shouldn't you be a hunter by now?" Some eyes on the table rolled to him.
"Oh, well I didn't have the chance to mention it but I´m not here to become a hunter. I´m just doing some investigations, I´m something of a scientist myself"
Ren turned to him. "What´s your investigation about?"
"The Grimm"
"And how is it going?" Pyrrha asked
"Slow…. But it's progressing" Peter said biting down his fries.
"Then how long have you been here?" Jaune asked. Apparently he wasn't tired anymore. He had to eat after all.
"About 3 weeks now. I´m pretty new here". Now Peter had half his plate
"Really? Then would you like to come with us to the combat presentation today?" Ruby asked
"Combat presentation? That's why you are all dress like that?" the hero asked
"Yes. It is our combat gear" Ren said.
"Even those skirts?" Pointed Peter to Ruby and Weiss
"It´s a combat skirt!" both girls yelled in unison.
"Ha ha ok ok." Then Peter recognize the obvious –I´ve been using the same kind of clothing for 3 days. I should really consider asking Ozpin for more variety-
"Peter are you listening?" Jaune asked.
"Oh? Sorry Jaune I didn't"
"I was telling you that the presentation is a special event where one of the best combatant faces a whole team herself or himself. And that person just happens to be our own little Pyrrha here" Indicated Jaune pointing at her teammate with her hand.
"Jaune…. Stop it… you are embarrassing me" The aforementioned`s face adopted a color similar to her hair.
After some consideration the friendly neighbor came to a decision "Why not? I´ll go. Let's finish eating first".
Just the Nora came with a plate full of different puddings. "So… who wants one?"
The students were gathered in a similar place were Peter had seen Velvet fight the robots. The whole group sat down with Peter being next to team RWBY and team JNPR. As they waited, they were joined by Coco and Velvet in their combat attires as well. Having greeted everyone, they sat next to Peter.
"An now we call Pyrrha Nikos to the combat arena" The announcement came from the speakers "And also we call team CRDN to be her rival". Team CRDN was of course, Cardin´s team.
The combatants walked to the center of the room but only 3 members from Pyrrha´s opponents could be seen. No sight of Cardin Winchester. The trio went to a professor and soon the teacher came to the microphone "It's been informed that Mr. Winchester will be unavailable today for a medical problem. Still, worry not, the fight will be 3 vs 1.
"I was starting to wonder where he was, have you seen him Velvet?" Peter asked the bunny girl
The girl got a bit surprise for the sudden question "O-Oh… I don't know, I actually haven't seen him either."
Peter turned to RWBY and JNPR but he got the same answer. Then and idea formed in Peter´s head. He slowly turned to Coco who had a big grim across her face.
-2 NIGHTS AGO-
Team CRDN were all outside having dinner somewhere in Beacon. Well almost all of them. Cardin Winchester was on the team´s room taking care of his hands. The doctor had ordered him to rest and not use them as much as possible, which for the red-haired was very annoying.
"Dammit!" his left hand was killing him "Once I get the chance, I´m gonna knock the teeth out of that guy. And once I get my hand in that little faunus bit-".
As in clue, the entrance door flew across the room, missing his face by mere inches. At the entrance, a shadowy figure stood still. The light outside the hall shined brightly behind her. Only two features were distinctive, her female shape and the aviator glasses that adorned her face.
"I´m sorry" the girl spoke "I think I misheard you, what were you saying?" the girl just walked in slowly. Her pray began turning white as the distance between them shortened.
–This is gonna be fun-. She thought.
Coco noticed that Peter was looking at him.
"What?" she said.
Peter was about to open his mouth but decided to drop the subject. At last the fight started and to say that the performance of the 3 guys from team CRDN was less-than-stellar was pretty accurate. Pyrrha´s fighting style with her sword and shield was very impressive. She wasn't even breaking a sweat.
–No wonder she is one of the best fighters around here- thought the web-head.
With ovation of the public, Pyrrha came back to her friends. All the girls came to her to congratulate her.
"You rock girl!" "That was awesome Pyrrha!" "That was quiet impressive" were among the compliments that were given to her.
"So now, what do we do fearless leader?" asked Nora to Jaune.
"Well…. We have no more classes in the afternoon" The blonde answer "What about your team Ruby?"
"Nothing either Jaune, wanna head to Vale?"
"Sounds good to me. Hey Peter, Velvet and Coco, do you want to come with us?"
"It´s sound nice guys but I have to go back to my room. I need to read some books and do some more research" the arachnid said.
"Yeah, we have a combat practice, the whole team" said Coco
"Oh… ok, see you then". A little disappointed was felt in Jaune and Ruby's voices but accepted their decline nonetheless.
Waving each other, the groups went their separate ways.
The coastal city of Vale was something you needed to see with your own eyes. The port, which welcomes people from everyone around the world, was a distinctive feature of the city, offering many a tourist attraction and a great business opportunity. The market area was also rich and varied. The architecture had a mixture of elements, from metal to concrete and even holographic street lights. It was truly a sight to see.
It was already late in the city and some people were still walking with relative security. The warehouse area near the port however was empty.
"What can you see?" Jaune asked Ruby as she looked through the lens of her sniper rifle in a distant container. Her objective, a warehouse.
"It looks quiet Jaune, a couple of lights on, no movement at all" the little girl answered "Blake are you sure the White Fang will attack this place?"
"Completely, this place contains foods and other medical supplies that they need after two fail attempts of robberies on the past 2 days. I´m sure they´ll be here" responded Blake who was closer to the ware house, hiding.
After arriving at Vale, team RWBY and team JNPR had spent most of the time enjoying themselves. Going to the arcades, entering the many locals or just enjoying the sights of the city, it all was relaxing for them. As much fun as it was, Blake had been quiet for some time making the group worry. When they asked her about what was going on, she revealed her feelings about the White Fang, about how she wanted to do something with the attacks and her uneasy feeling that something was going to happen that day. She didn't ask and she didn't need to either, the group decided to support her and work with her to keep an eye out from any suspicious activity. Searching through the city, the group found clues to where the faunus faction would attack.
Finally Blake decided for a warehouse in the docks, low security and low surveillance, the perfect place for a strike. It was pretty late at night once they arrived there. Jaune planned the strategy, with Ruby and Pyrrha covering them from the distant with their long-range, Ruby´s sniper and Pyrrha´s rifle while Yang, Nora, Blake and Ren would go from a frontal assault when Jaune gave the signal. Time was of essence so the blonde order them to advance.
"Yang, Nora would you mind knocking the door?" asked Jaune
"With pleasure" Both said in unison. The golden-haired and the orange-haired were standing in front of two huge metal doors. Yang prepared her bracelets. From them, a pair of yellow gauntlets, that covered her forearms, appeared. They were mainly yellow with orange cartages been visible around it. Nora on the other hand readied her war hammer. It was mainly grey with pink ammunition inside. Both huntresses-in-training threw their attack at the same time, hitting the doors and launching them to the end of the house. According to the plan Nora and Yang would charge forward while Ren, Weiss and Blake would go for the upper levels for crowd control. Finally Pyrrha, Ruby and Jaune would join them for extra support. The plan seemed solid, except that when the group went inside there was a problem.
"Guys….. I believe you should come down and take a look at this" called Yang to the group above
"What´s the problem Yang?" Pyrrha asked.
"Just come and take a look"
"Ok we´ll go, but Ruby you stay here just in case" Jaune said
"You got it" the girl with the hood responded.
The blonde and the red-haired went down; they regroup with the others and saw a strange scene.
Inside the warehouse, tables were broken, guns were lying on the ground and many gun holes could be seen. What call everybody´s attention were the many White Fang members tied to the celling, some hanging from it and other sticking to the walls. They all had the same web-like substance attach to them.
"What the hell happen here?" Weiss asked almost to herself
"I don't know, but whatever it was…. It stopped their operation for sure" Ren said.
"Who did all this?" Jaune asked.
"You don't think… it was the guys from the news right?"
"What? The guy from the notes?" Weiss claimed "Don't be foolish Ren. I bet this so called Spider-Man is no more that propaganda created by the media"
"I don't know Weiss, 3 nights in a row seem pretty overboard for fake news" Pyrrha said. "Let´s try to find out what happened here.
Outside of their position, Ruby was laying on her stomach waiting for anything to happen. It was kind of lonely for her and Yang knew it.
"You ok sis?" the blonde asked through her communicator.
"I´m fine Yang, just bored to be here alone"
"Don´t worry sis, pretty soon will be back and we´ll eat some chocolate cookies, deal?"
"COOKIESSSSS". With this in mind, Ruby went for another look through the area. Seeing through the lens something caught her eyes. Four people going to the warehouse. "Guys watch out! Four figures moving to your position!"
"What Ruby? Where?" Jaune asked trying not to yell.
"They are going to the entrance. Hide!" the little girl responded
As ordered, the entire group hided inside the place, trying to conceal their presence at the wreck. Eventually, the four figures entered and as the light touch them, their grey masks were revealed, along with their black clothing. They looked like members of the White Fang, all of them female.
"Mr. Torchwick do you copy?" the leader of the group, a woman with long, straight, silver hair talked through her earpiece. After a moment, she talked again. "Yes Sr. We arrived at the place. The distress call was correct, he was here again….. No, no casualties on our side, they just look unconscious….. Some supplies are destroyed, probably for the fight….. Yes, Felicia out". The group was about to enter further but their leader stopped them.
"Wait" she raised her hand "There is no guaranty that he left. He may have somehow informed the police already. Let´s go back to the base. The other 3 women nodded and started to walk back
Behind the wreck, the young hunters were waiting.
"What do we do Jaune?" Ren asked the person next to him
"I don´t know" The blonde responded.
Behind some boxes on the upper levels, were Yang and Blake. The amber-eyed had been quiet, just staring at the group, thinking on what to do next. This may be her only chance. It was her moment to act. "Yang" Blake called her partner "Would you help me do something stupid?"
The brawler of the group jus smirked "Let´s go for it girl". Jumping out from their position, Yang shot a fireball from her gauntlet at the group, creating smoke as the fire hit the concrete in front of them. They stopped and Blake took the opportunity to go down and land next to them.
"Stop right there!" she yelled.
As the dust settle down, the four faunus stood there as if nothing had happened.
"Well well well" the voice of the leader could be heard throughout the building "And old friend has come to pay us a visit girls. Hello Blake".
The aforementioned just narrowed her eyes "Nice to see you again Felicia. Tell me, since when you work with scum like Roman Torchwick?" without her notice a bladed whip came rushing at her. The girl had mere seconds to move; still she was well aware of the group´s tactics, so she moved away as the weapon came to her. Yang advanced to the attack, but again the whip came to her for a horizontal strike. The blonde saw it at the last moment and jump out of its way.
"Girls at ease" Felicia ordered and the weapon came back. "You haven't changed one bit my girl. And I see you have made new friends". The silver-haired looked at Yang who had adopted a boxing stand. The other faunus had also withdrawn their weapons. One had a dagger on each hand; another one with short-blue hair had a bow and arrow. And the last one with the whip. "Do you really believe you and your little friend can stop us?"
"Don't forget to count us in sister".
Before anyone could move, a projectile came flying to the female group, exploding a few inches above them. As the explosion settled down two things were visible. One was Nora Valkyrie, who was surrounded by her friends, holding her recently-transformed hammer in grenade launcher mode; the other was a grayish dome around her target.
From inside the dome, Felicia spoke "I see you are quiet popular now Blake. Sadly, we´ll have to catch up layer, so long. Yuri would you mind?" As commanded one of the women next to her clashed both palms together and the dome expanded quickly sending air-blasts everywhere, breaking several windows.
Outside, Ruby had been watching most of the action, she wanted to enter and help but Jaune ordered her to stay there. As everything seemed to explode the girl went for her communicator.
"Yang, Jaune what happened?!"
"…"
"…."
"Guys answer me please!"
"…"
"…"
"Ruby… do you copy?" Pyrrha´s voice came through
"Pyrrha! What´s going on?"
"I´m not entirely sure, but we´re ok…. just stunted. Any sign of the enemy?"
"After the explosion, I saw one of them running east, I´ll go after her!" Without blinking Ruby jumped down from her position, letting herself be pulled by gravity. A couple of meters above ground she transformed into a cloud of rose pedals and began moving through the air.
"Ruby wait!" Yang tried to called but her communicator got damaged during the blast. She tried to stand up but her legs failed her "Dammit!".
Adrenaline and sweat was on Ruby´s body as the pursuing was progressing. Her target was agile, jumping everywhere in the docking area. Ruby was using the force of her sniper, Crescent Rose, to impulse herself over the container every so often and catch non-other that the leader of the group.
-She is insistent- though Felicia as she tried to run from Ruby –Ok enough playing around-. Going around the maze that was the loading area, the woman jumped up a pile of containers disappearing from Ruby´s gaze. The little girl turned into pedals once again to travel pass the containers. Once she went over it, she landed but found no one on the other side. She quickly turned Crescent Rose into its scythe form, just like her, her weapon was mainly red with mechanical components near the blade. She felt something coming on her left so she used the snath of her weapon to block whatever was coming. The attack was fast and strong, too strong for her. The momentum was impossible to stop so the little reaper was sent flying, colliding with a container nearby.
The attacker was Felicia.
"Consider yourself lucky little girl. Not many are able to prevent my attack and live to tell it". From her position she saw as Ruby dropped to the ground, air having escaped her lungs for the impact. "Please don't stand. I know the exit" said the silver-haired woman as she walked away. Suddenly 3 bullets came on her direction, all of them just passing next. Looking back, Felicia saw Ruby aiming her weapon at her.
"Persistent to the very end huh? Shame this´ll be the last time I see you" The faunus went to her communicator "Yuri would you mind?" Unbeknown to Ruby someone else had been following them. She readied her bow ad shot an arrow with a red tip to a container hanging above Ruby. The projectile flew to one of the supporters exploiting upon contact and letting the massive object go down. Felicia had long disappeared and Ruby was trying to stand up but her weapon couldn't help her. The container was coming ever closer and at the last moment something attached to Ruby´s back snatching her out of there. Felling the force pulled her, Ruby just hold tight to her precious Crescent Rose. Soon the sound of metal and ground clashing brought a smile into Felicia´s face as she was walking away from the site. The sound also alerted the hunters-in-training looking for Ruby.
The little red reaper on the other hand was caught by someone. The person was holding her close to the chest with one hand and the other was holding a web as they swang to a safer place, it was of course Spider-man. Landing on a platform the hero looked at Ruby.
"Hey are you ok?"
"…."
"Are you alright?" Anything hurt?" Ruby´s legs were kind of numb so she went down soon after. A moment or two, the girl could stand up now more recovered. Ruby looked up to see her savior. In front of her were the red and blue colors very characteristic of the hero, along with her white eyes and the spider on his chest. "Who….. Who are you?" she asked.
"Spider-man, your friendly neighbor" Peter said "Are you ok?"
"Y-Yes…. Thanks for saving me. Were you following me?"
"Just keeping an eye out to make sure that nothing bad happened. But now I have to go, see you later Little Red Riding Hood". As fast as he appeared, the masked vigilante attached a web to a nearby crane to swing away from Ruby.
"W-WAIT" yelled the girl to no effect. A few moments passed when her friends came, shouting her name.
After finding Ruby both teams of hunters returned to Beacon. Peter, on the other hand, stood in Vale patrolling some more. Though he could attach a spider-tracker to the woman that was fighting Ruby, rescuing her friend meant lossing track of his target. A decision the hero took without blinking. He would have to wait for the next time the tracker was near to sense it.
As for the next day, Peter didn't have classes. He thought about working in some more upgrades for his suit but opted for going out and getting some fresh air. After all, the mask didn't really allow him to feel much when he was out doing hero stuff. Following a good breakfast the hero decided to go sightseeing. Pictures of Beacon, a waterfall next to it and the different area around the campus where soon on his camera. Of course, selfies were also there. Some had Peter lay down next to the cliff that Beacon was next to. Others were more open, showing the long road between the academy and the airship dock.
After a lot of going around, it was a good moment to rest. The day was cloudy and just cool enough not to freeze you, so the hero decided to rest on to take a little nap. It was actually the same tree where he encountered Goodwitch. Having adopted a comfortable position Peter shut his eyes, if anything happened his spider-sense would wake him up.
After an hour or so of eye shut Peter suddenly woke up but didn't open his eyes. The reason? his spider-sense wasn't warning him of any danger, just the presence of someone near him. He didn't feel any hostile intention towards him so he decided to wait it out. As the presence came closer, Peter´s mind began to race on who would it be
–Maybe one of the girls from RWBY or maybe someone from JNPR-.
Then the figure just stopped next to him. Apparently he or she bent to get closer at Peter´s face. By this point Peter opened his eyes and found himself looking at a pair of brown eyes belonging to a certain bunny girl. They were of course Velvet´s. Their staring kept going for a couple of seconds before the faunus realized that she had been caught spying on Peter. Her checks turned red and quickly stumbled backwards, hitting the ground.
Seeing this, Peter stood up and offered a hand to her "Are you Ok?". The aforementioned looked up at the hand. She thought about taking it but quickly was up again.
"I-I´m sorry! I was just walking up a little and then I saw you there resting and I thought: hey I better check you see if he is ok". An-And then I-I".
Before she continue, Peter put a hand on her shoulder "Hey don't worry Velvet really, I don't mind" said Peter with a friendly smile.
The faunus didn't look up.
"Come on Velvet, lift your head"
"…"
"Velvet… please"
"….Ok"
After their rocky start, Peter invited Velvet to accompany him, so both sat down near the tree.
"So…. Where were you going to?" Peter asked as he put his hand behind his back.
"N-Nowhere really…. I was just wandering around honestly" the brown-eyed said as she took a lock from her hair and played with it.
"What no classes?"
"Yes, no classes for today"
"What about Coco and the rest of your team?"
"We all have the same schedule, so they wake up pretty late today" The girl said it with a giggle.
"I see…" responded Peter.
In that moment the girl noticed something. A camera, it was over a little pouch next to Peter. "Do you like photography Peter?".
The hero turned to see her "Yes, I do. How did you know?"
"The camera" Velvet pointed at it.
"Oh…. I must have forgotten that I put it there" Peter laughed "I used to be photographer before, so yeah, I like it. Now it´s more of hubby now a day".
"I see… I-I also like photography" Said Velvet with a little smile. "I have never seen a camera like that, it looks so small". Velvet claimed examining the object.
"Eh…. It was a gift from a friend so I didn´t asked". The brunette said handling her the device.
"Hum…. I see… Anyways, here is mine" Velvet then took her purse, which Peter hadn't notice she had with her, and gave Peter and old-looking camera. Similar to her combat attire, the camera was mainly brown with a light brown outline, what called Peter´s attention was a big light bolt on top of it. "It… looks unique" Peter said.
"I know it looks old…. But is kind of a family jewel. Say….. Peter can I see your pictures?"
"Go ahead" said the arachnid.
"Thank… Wow…. Peter this photos look amazing! Just the lighting alone is incredible!"
"Ha ha Thanks….. lucky me that all the photos just show with my fingerprints, thanks Cisco"
"Peter…. Do….. do you think you could give me some tips? I mean…. My photos are good and all but yours are in a whole different level. Maybe with could go to Vale and…. Walk around… you now….. you and me"
Peter was quite, considering the offering. –Should I go? Well Vale must be pretty at broad day light. Beside I need to buy some more clothing, I can´t just have the same uniform every day. But right now I have to deal with the White Fang, so I´ll leave it for tomorrow-.
"It´s a deal Velvet but let´s arrange everything tonight ok?" Peter asked "I have to buy some clothing as well, so maybe you can keep me company while we are at it".
"Sure! No problem. Would you mind giving me your scroll so we are in contact" The bunny girl said without noticing she was coming closer to the young man.
"Of course, here you go"
"Thanks…..and…. done, thanks". Velvet was about to say something when her scroll rang. "Hello?... hey Coco good morning…. Yes, I´m outside….. Nothing, I just felt like walking….. Sure, I´ll be on my way". She closed her scroll and turned to Peter. "Sorry Peter, my team just called me. I have to go, see you soon?"
"Yeah, see you soon"
With a smile in her face the faunus went on her way after waving good bye. She didn't notice until Coco pointed out later, but had a little blush on her.
Once she was gone, Peter shut her eyes one more time. With everything going, Peter didn't remember that tomorrow would be a special day for him. But before the realization came an all-too-familiar feeling came to him. He suddenly opened his eyes "The tracker….. is within reach".
Teams RWBY and JNPR were once again together, the reason why wasn´t as noble as before. This time they were on a mission. It was that moment in the month where the students would take different task assigned by the academy of course. Given a recent raise on the amount of Grimm on the Emerald Forrest, Ozpin assigned teams RWBY and JNPR this objective. Their mission was simple, to reduce the amount of enemies on the area. Of course, they wouldn't go alone, professor Glynda Goodwitch would go with them. Coming out of a bullhead, which was the aircraft most of Beacon used for transportation, the whole group was ready. As they walked through the forest the sound of the wind, crickets and branches from the enormous trees around them invaded their ears. Glynda was in front leading the group, and both teams were behind. The teen were mostly chatting while waiting to get to their location.
Nora was with Ren, telling him about her dream last night, Pyrrha and Jaune were discussing some details about their training which left the girls from RWBY walking side by side.
"Ready to kick some Grimm ass squad?" Yang said throwing her fist into the air. Her teammates just nodded. "What about you sis? I bet you are excited for getting some action. I`ll tell you what, the first Beowolf we see is yours" The blonde said elbowing the little reaper. Ruby on the other hand wasn't so excited.
"Yes Yang… that….. that sound fun"
"What`s wrong Ruby?" Weiss asked.
"Nothing Weis…. I`m just…."
"You are still thinking about last night right?" Blake joint the conversation
"Yes….. is just that….. IT WAS SOOOOO AWSOMEE! The blue and red suit, those big white eyes and the symbol on his chest! He looked just like the superheroes from my comic book….. yet…. You don't believe that Spider-man is real…"
Ruby…. Is not that we don't believe you…." Started Yang
"Yeah…. Is just that is kind of difficult to imagine" Blake continue
"Indeed Ruby. A spandex wearing hero in Vale is kind of far-fetch to me". Concluded Weiss.
"I don't care" The little girl crossed her arms. "I know what I saw and I know he is real"
Before long, they arrived into an empty area so Glynda called them all. "Ok teams listen up. Ahead of up, ahead of us is a zone infected with Grimm".
"I bet I can kill more that you" whispered Yang to Nora. The turquoise-eyed just smiled. Her grip tighten around her war hammer resting on her shoulder. "We`ll see". She said.
"Your mission is simple" continue Goodwitch "You`ll divide into groups of two and scan the area. After we are certain of their numbers we´ll prepare a strategy to take them out. It is imperative that your remain alert for any suspicious activity and avoid any dis"
Out of nowhere a powerful sound went through their ears, like trees hitting the ground. Immediately and Ursa Mayor, a creature of Grimm resembling a bear with black fur and thick, bone-like armor across its body, came flying, hitting one of the trees in front of the group, turning to ash. From the tress above them jumped a figure that landed close to them. The teens just stare at him, all of them having the same though
–Red and blue body suit-
-Big white ice-
-The symbol on his chest-
"Spider-man!"
Glynda could be said to be the most shocked –WHAT IS THAT IDIOT DOING HERE?!-
Peter turned once he heard his name "Oh, little red riding hood". Just then the hero did a long jump dodging a Beowolf, a werewolf like creature that tried to grab him. Being above of it, he attached a web to its back, pulled himself down and kicked the creature mid-air, sending the beast to the ground and killing it. "That was a close one… I don't recommend you to feed the animals around here. Apparently Winnie the Po is angry because someone stole his jar of honey".
The entire group of course didn't get the reference. Suddenly Spider-man`s eyes went wide and turned his back to the group "They`re coming. Big numbers. Goodwitch, can they defend themselves?"
There was no answer, just the sound of weapons being taken out and the entire group taking there combat formation. Even Glynda took her wand out, ready to battle. From the trees came many Ursa Majors and Beowolfs roaring. Peter moved first, jumping pass a Beowolf and attaching a web to it, the hero went for a horizontal strike, using the beowlof, making it collide with two Ursas that were getting too close to him.
"Team Formation: Power Pedal!" shouted Ruby to her team.
All of them nodded and divided into two teams. Yang charged forward with Blake. The blonde shot a fire ball, behind her to get speed with the explosion. Her objective was an Ursa in front of her, once close enough she went for a close succession of blows to the beast making it growl in pain until she finished with an upper cut ripping it`s head off. She then ducked down, avoiding the claws of a Beowolf behind her. Changing her gauntlets to short range, she quickly turned and hit the beats with her explosive round making it go flying. Blake came across two more Grimms. The bear and the wolf like creatures attacked her at the same time but their claws just went through her. It was a hoax. The amber-eyed came quickly from behind them burying her dark gray katana on the Ursa. The creature fell to the ground, with the weapon still attached to it. The Beowolf jumped at Blake to try to claw her. With her sheath, the girl blocked the attack and redirected it. This gave her enough time to go for her weapon and go for a vertical strike, cutting the beast in half. Now both girls were back to back, covering each other's blind spot. 6 Beowolfs charged at them but soon turned to ash as bullets flew through their heads courtesy of Ruby`s Crescent Rose.
The little reaper and the ice queen were going for crowd control, not letting any enemy get too close to anyone. Weiss was using her rapier to stand her ground. The weapon had a 6 revolver slot built on the hilt, all of them fill with different dust. The white-hairedsummoned a line of white glyphs-like circles, with intrinsic design inside of them. Running to them, the moment she stepped on one her speed drastically increased, which helped her stabbed the enemies coming her way. At one moment she stepped on another glyph and jump backwards, positioning herself behind 3 Ursas. The slot on her weapon rotated and she selected blue dust. Her rapier began turning blue and as Weiss swung her weapon, blue energy came from the blade, freezing the enemies` lower limbs. Ruby who was on top of a tree quickly turning them to ash soon after.
Team JNPR`s situation was similar to RWBY`s. They all had gone forward following Jaune. Ren was using rapid fire from his automatic handguns to keep most of the grim at bay. Jaune and Nora were back to back, battling a whole group of Ursas. With shield and sword on each hand the blonde was holding up. One of the creatures threw a claw him. He blocked it with the shield, making the beast be wide open, an opportunity Jaune to behead it. One more went for a slash to his back but the blonde caught it in time and rolled out of the way. The boy positioned himself behind the black bear and jumped with a diagonal strike. The attack was effective, the creature stumble down and became ash. Pyrrha`s training had certainly paid off.
The orange-haired didn't leave her cheerful smile a single moments. The Ursas could barely get close to Nora as the girl moved masterfully her hammer around. The blunt object seemed to dance as it moved on her hands, going around her shoulders and launching any enemy that dare to get close to its master. The girl's next step was transforming her weapon into its gun-form, a grenade launcher. This made quick work of a group of incoming group of Grimm that were unlucky enough to be Nora`s target.
"I have ten already!" She shouted to Yang
"Too bad girl, I have 15!" Yelled Yang
"No way!" Nora yelled. For only one second she got distracted, still this was enough for a Beowolf to try burry its fangs on her neck. That was until a golden spear burry instead on the beast`s chest, making it drop dead. The weapon lifted from the ground and went to its owner`s hand. Pyrrha Nikos. Her semblance, magnetism, was very versatile. Having recovered her weapon the red-haired threw her shield at an Ursa that was getting to close to Jaune. Speeding the object with her powers, the hit was effective, making the beast stumbled. Ren, who was next to Jaune, took the opportunity to concentrate a lot of aura on her fist and go for a palm strike, tearing the Grimm apart. Pyrrha tried to call her shield, but a Beowolf came directly at her, aiming its claws at her chest. This one, was two time bigger that the rest with a thicker armor and spike growing over its arms, it was the Alpha Beowolf. Pyrrha transformed her spear into a short sword and tried to block the attack but the wolf-like-creature ended up catching it on its mouth, sending the girl to the ground. Both opponents were wrestling, using every inch of strength to overpower the other. Pyrrha pushed the creature with her legs and freed herself, but now she was unarmed. The Alpha Beowolf buried its claws on the ground to stop the momentum and without missing a beat launched itself to the girl. The huntress-in-training was ready to move but before she could, Spider-man passed over her head. He had attached to web to two trees behind the monster to pull himself. Hitting the massive, black werewolf with his feet, both the Grimm and the hero when rapidly through the air colliding with a massive tree. The green giant felt to the ground and from the dust, Peter came out walking. "Well…. I think I may have gone a bit overboard with that one". Not far from his position he saw Pyrrha's sword. He shot a web and soon returned the object. "I believe this is yours Ms. Gladiator".
Pyrrha somehow found the remark funny. She called her shield back and took her sword. "Yes, it is Mr. Hero". With a smile in their faces, both fighters turned to see the battle unfolding. Most of the enemies were already defeated. Ren had just sliced the head of an Ursa that was too close to Nora thanks to the retractable blades below his gun`s barrel. Strangely though, Glynda appeared to not have moved since the battle started. Even more so, there wasn't a simple scratch on her. The whole gang reunited, some more tired than other but all of them doing the same thing: stare at the arachnid hero.
Ruby had a big smile on her face and an I-told-you-he-was-real phrase written all over her face.
"What did I tell you guys!? Doesn't he look awesome!?" Ruby shouted. Most of them where in silent, except for Pyrrha, she was giggling
"Yes….. Ruby it is" Weiss steep up. "Is just that" She crossed her arms….. "Are you really a superhero?".
"The one and only, friendliest neighbor, Spider-man, at your service" Peter answered.
The next one to approach the hero was the blonde brawler from RUBY. As she walked to him a thought was constant in her mind
–He did save my sister last night-. Once she was close enough she bowed in front of the hero "You saved my sister last night and protected when I couldn't. You have my most sincere thanks Spider-man".
This action surprised everyone, even Goodwitch herself.
"You`re welcome goldilocks" Peter extended her hand and Yang accepted it.
Just then came Nora with her eyes wide open and of course, Ren was close behind her "Ren look! He has the big eyes, the symbol, everything that Ruby said! He looks so awesome! I mean not as awesome as you wearing that but still! Tell me do you come from another planet? Why Spider-man and not Human Spider? Can you inject venom through your fangs? Why does the web come from your hands instead that from your bu"
"STUDENTS" Yelled Glynda at the group "We are still on enemy territory. More Grimm could jump out at any moment, so your interview must wait until we are done here. In the main time can you explain us what you are doing here?" Her unhappiness from seeing the hero was palpable.
"Love to see that you miss me too Glynda. And I´m alright by the way" Peter responded. The students couldn't helped but looked at each other.
–Did they know each other already?- was the general thought
"To make the story short, I place a tracker on a member of the White Fang last night. I felt the signal and followed until here."
"And how do you know they didn't spot the tracker and were leading you into a trap?"
"Could be but I had to take my chances. Next I ran into the creatures and the rest is history"
"Supposing what he said is correct, why would they come to a Grimm-infected area?" asked Ren
"Think about it. Is both the last place someone would look and with those creatures around and no one would come close. Well almost no one I guess" Responded Peter.
Glynda stood there for a moment, thinking. ".…. Ok Spider-man. What's your plan?"
"The signal I`m sensing points towards north-east from here. As you said, they may have found the tracker by now so is likely that they are waiting for me".
"I understand. I`ll notify professor Ozpin of our situation. Until we figure out where they are we MUST NOT engage them. Understood?" She turned to see the students. A second after that Peter`s spider-sense went off. 6 Beowolfs jumped out of the trees that Goodwitch was close to. The hero was about to move but his sense peddled, almost screamed him not to move. In front of him, Glynda quickly took her wand and moved her weapon making a diagonal line. Soon the Grimm landed surrounding her but one by one their heads started to fell, turning them to ash. For some reason, Peter felt the urge to rub her neck.
After some time, the group was now being guided by Goodwitch and Spider-man, after a proper introduction of course.
"You really think they can handle this?" Peter asked the blonde
"Believe it or not, these are some of the most versatile students we have at Beacon. They can take care of themselves"
"…. You better be right. These guys are not playing around Glynda". At the end they arrived into a mountain area, the beginning of a hill.
"So this is it? A rocky wall at the end of the road?" Weiss said
"No, that can`t be. This has to be the place!" Peter said.
Suddenly every sound around them stopped. The wind, the crickets, the leaves. Everything went dead. Rifles appeared from the branches and several members of the White Fang surrounded the group. Felicia slowly appeared, getting close to the group.
She stopped behind Spider-man and getting close to his ear she whispered "Indeed, this is the place".