Spider-man Dimensional Lost:
Chapter 14: Saying Goodbyes
As a result of the battle, everyone's equipment was pretty much damaged, with missing pieces and minor slashed in some unprotected areas of the body. Ruby's skirt was torn, Jaune's chest armor was very much dented and would new some replacement, Pyrrha's corset was scratched everywhere and even Glynda's uniform seemed to have suffered several tears.
In the middle of it all the after-battle operations was Peter trying to be useful to everyone. Taking medicine from one place to another or piggybacking people to the nearest medical post. His suit was torn as well. If before he thought that he needed to washed and stich the suit, now he would new a brand new one. The lower half of his mask was missing, exposing his mouth and part of his nose. One of his eye lenses was cracked and there were several cuts all over his body. He had decided to quickly patch himself up with some medical supplies and some bandages that had been brought along so he wasn't feeling so bad.
Velvet and her teammates were less exhausted than the others so they were helping the arachnid too. Though Coco and Yatsuhashi were keeping an eye on the Black Cat. The mechanical solider from Atlas had apprehended them but there was no harm on having an extra pair of actual eyes on the job.
Glynda was helping arrange the whole area were the battle had taken place. Her semblance was quite versatile in rearranging disasters. Though if we are honest, most of the current aspect of the area was her fault, given how she use chucks from the earth to literally squash several Grimm. She, however, wasn't the type of person who wouldn't fix something she saw was broken, especially if she had a hand on it. After she had fixed everything she could and the terrain looked somewhat normal, without counting the tree line of course, she went back to check on her students. They were all inside a tent so they were easy to find. None of them had any major injuries but didn't escape safe and sound either. A few nights and some medical attention would suffice. Their aura would do the rest.
The Professor left the tent felt and was going to keep helping when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"You know you are allowed to rest right?" came Spider-man voice from behind her
"Look who is talking"
"Hey, at least I have spider powers. Seriously Glynda, you should rest."
Glynda looked at him for a moment. She knew he was right; her feet were starting to get sore and the rest of her body was supporting her line of thought. She let go a long sigh
"I guess you are right…. But you are coming too"
"Do I look really look that bad?"
"Honestly?"
"Shoot"
"You look like shit" Glynda quickly covered her mouth after saying that.
"Glynda Goodwitch! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Said Peter smirking behind the mask. Now with his lower half of his face was revealed, it actually fully showed.
There were a few second of silence that then were replaced by a burst of laughter from both parties.
Some of the students present noticed this act of friendship between the two and started to create their own ideas about the matter, some a bit more imaginative than others.
The rest of the operation went smoothly, with Atlas soldiers going to check on the zone of impact of their missing aircraft. By some miracle, the enormous ship didn't hit any structure on its way down but there was fire that needed to be extinguished. James decided to take charge of the operation and send everyone to their respective rooms.
On one hand, Ruby, Yang and Weiss would find Blake on their room once they arrived and they would fill her in on everything that had happen. The Black Cats had been taken back to custody and would be judge for their crimes in a later time. Yang would boost about the number of Grimm she killed and Weiss and Ruby would just talk about the battle in general.
Jaune and Pyrrha on the other hand would find Nora rushing at them as soon as their room door opened, followed by a bandaged Ren who was also happy to see the pair well and mostly unharmed. Team JNPR would spend the rest of the night hearing Nora complain about not being able to help them in their fight as well as officially announcing to their friend that she and Ren were finally getting together. Jaune knew that their relationship wouldn't really change much their team dynamic and he was happy with that. Pyrrha was also happy for Nora and Ren, maybe if they could be together, she still had a chance?
Back with the teacher and the arachnid, the pair was walking back to Glynda's room. The professor, whether it was due to her own tiredness or maybe the fact that she had grown used to been around the masked hero, dropped that strict facade that she would usually have.
"It is always like this?" Glynda asked out of the blue to Peter
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, ever since you came, all you do is put on that mask and start swinging around the city and get yourself into trouble. Don't you do anything else back home?"
"Oh yeah, I sure do" said Peter of his characteristic easygoing tone. "When I'm not going around the city beating thugs and bad guys with rhinoceros' suits, I'm usually running late on paying my rent, trying to have a semi-stable social life and trying to do science stuff."
Glynda found herself rather excited learning a bit more of the man behind the mask and she actually wanted to learn even more. Sadly her words betrayed what was to her most curious. "Wait, rhinoceros suit?"
"Yeah, you wouldn't believe how many animal themed enemies I have. There is the Vulture, Rhino, Doctor Octopus, Electro, The Green Goblin and many many others."
"Wait, did all of them were bitten by radioactive animal as well? I mean, being chewed by a rhinoceros has to leave a nasty scar"
Peter let out a laugh "Nah, most of them have special suit or serum that give them their powers. They are still a hell of a headache though."
"I can certainly image" Glynda said fixing a lock of her blonde hair. "I guess then you must be pretty popular there. Back in your dimension I mean. With all the saving you do".
"Yeah, I wish. The public tents to have a rather not-so-favorable opinion about me"
"Why?"
"Well a certain head of a newspaper doesn't like me much. Thinks I'm a menace since I began my superhero career and now that he is running for mayor's office, I can only imagine what he will do". There was a trace of annoyance, rather than any serious worry on the heroes' voice.
A frown formed on the professor's face. She was used to the destruction that having a bunch of teens on a campus, each of them with abilities and hormones mind you; which in her experience usually ended in the dining hall destroyed. Comparing all of that with what Peter had done since his arrival, the arachnid hero was an angel. So, trying not to let him dwell on that, she changed the subject. "You said you started when a few years back, right? How old were you?"
"15" Said Peter without looking at her.
"Wow… you pretty young. At least you got help right?"
"Yeah….. no, not really"
"Wait…. You did it all by yourself?!"
There was just silence coming out of Peter mouth.
Glynda was a bit shocked by this. Sure, the school trained their student to be hunter and defend the people of the world, but there was a system, there are people helping and guiding the new generation. A sad expression peaked its head on Glynda's face thinking on all the hardships he must had endured.
"….It wasn't easy, was it?"
"Nope. It was very tough. Still is but you know, sometimes it's hard to balance everything out. Especially if you want to have a mostly adequate relation with the people around you" said Peter in a rather chill tone as if he had said that a thousand time "But, I really think that I've been able help people. Though I little bit more of appreciation would really help me."
"You certainly have helped a lot here. You are not half bad at all the superhero thing"
"Awww you really like me, don't you?"
Glynda glared at him "You really had to ruin the moment, didn't you?"
"Believe me, I've done much worst" Said Peter after giving a small laugh. He looked around for a moment and then turned towards the professor "Uh, Glynda?"
"Yes?"
"Isn't that your room back there?" Peter asked pointing with his thump
Glynda turned around and in fact, it actually was. It seems that their conversation had distracted her even though her body needed some rest. It was strange, she wasn't feeling tired during that whole exchange.
"Oh uhm…. yes. That is indeed my room" Glynda tried to straighten her clothing a bit to dissimulate her own forgetfulness. "So…. thank for walking with me. It's good to have someone to talk to that's not another professor"
"At your service my lady" Said Peter taking a bow. With that he began walking back but before her could go, Glynda noticed that one of the bandages he was wearing, specifically the one on his left side was turning red.
"Peter, wait! You are bleeding" that made have come out with more intensity that Glynda would have wanted
"What? Where?"
"Right there" Glynda pointed out with her finger
Peter looked at the spot "Oh, yeah". The young man sighed. "I may have to ask little Jimmy for one of his field doctors. Don't really know if I rather do this myself" This last part was meant more to himself.
"Don't be silly, come in. I'll do it. I'm not just good with my levitation you know?" She said with a bit of trepidation. Her heart was beating a bit faster. Why was that?
Maybe this was one of those moments where Peter really should have given the idea a thought or two before deciding but as usual, he didn't. So he just accept it
As she the unofficial right-hand of the grand master of Beacon, Glynda had a couple of benefits that were immediately noticeable to Peter. First of all, she didn't have a room, it was more of a personal studio with windows to the back. And it was well furnished too. It even had a TV!. Peter wanted a TV too. The place had a little kitchen as well and Peter could just imagine what else the rest of the place would look like. The idea of getting that coffee machine from Ozpin was starting to sound less and less attractive by the second.
Guiding her guest to a brownish sofa she had in the living room, Glynda invited Peter to sit down. The arachnid did as he was indicated.
"Just wait for me a few minutes, I'm going to change. Ok?"
"Sure sure, take your time. I'm just gonna bleed her".
Glynda just noodled with an unamusing look and went straight to her bathroom. "Don't die out on the sofa! It was hard to get" She said before closing the door.
"I make no promises" Replied Peter.
The arachnid looked around the place for a moment. It was nice. It kind of reminded him of his friend Harry. He also had a nice to crash.
Feeling safe, Peter removed his mask and put it in his lap. The tear in the mouth area was pretty much irreparable. Hopefully Ozpin would let him have some equipment to make a new one. Suddenly he heard the sound a showering starting. He would have some time to himself. He turned around almost instinctively and his eyes landed on a picture. The frame looked new but the photo looked kind of old. On it he saw three figures standing next to each other. Two young men to the sides and a young woman in the middle. They were all wearing what seemed like an older version of the academy's uniform. It took the arachnid's brain seconds but he recognized the people on the picture. They were Ozpin, Glynda and general Iron wood, in what seemed to be their teen years. Ozpin looked a lot younger with his characteristic mug on one of his hands and a green scarf.
-So, his addiction runs from an early age huh?- Thought Peter
Little Jimmy had a straight posture and his hand were behind his back. A bit authoritarian if Peter was honest. It seems he didn't change much since then.
The Last on was Glynda. She looked the more enthusiastic of the tree. A combination of a sweet smile and her long blonde hair let loose behind her back really made her stand out from the three, though she was actually shorter than the other two.
"She just got cuter with age, didn't she?"Peter allowed himself to say given the sound of the shower.
A few moments later Glynda got out of the bathroom wearing a grey pajama set. It was a simple long sleeve shirt and sweat pants. Her hair was let loose just like in the photograph. Now that he thought about it, this was the first time that Peter saw Glynda outside her uniform. The little cape was fine and all, hell Peter had thought to have one at one point, but it was nice to see the professor in a much more relaxed state. She actually looked really nice just to be on her pajama. Suddenly Peter's heart started to beat a little faster. Her pajama was a bit tight for her size on her chest area, something that the male and sometimes stupid part of his brain couldn't help but get fixed it on. It also didn't help that she was holding her riding mask hero had always been pretty rational in his life, excepts for the time he wasn't which honestly were many, but in a little part of his mind an image of him and Glynda being all… cuddly started to pop into his head. He suddenly tensed at the thought. He was just a mask vigilante and she was going to just tent his wounds, right? Nothing weird with that
Glynda just stared at him "Why aren't you undress?" she said bluntly
"Ex-excuse me?" Said Peter taken a back. Ok, now the imaged started to pop up a bit more.
"Your shirt. I cannot look at your injury if you don't take it out"
"Oh-h Yeah. Sure" Peter removed his shirt along with the bandage.
Give how the suit functioned pretty much as a second skin to the hero, one would assume that the way Peter looked in the suit was pretty much how he would look outside of it but this didn't stop Glynda from having a furious blush when he saw him shirtless. He was muscular yet slender and he had a face that was both cute and punchable at the same time. Sure, Glynda was mature in nature and was usually the no-nonsense character in a group. But went it came to relationships it was completely the opposite. Even in her teenage years she didn't have much experience went it come a boyfriend. She focused most of her time after graduation on working hard to be able to teach in Beacon, especially if we take in count that she was a combat trainer. She knew how to hit and enemy and how not to get hit but now, she was walking in uncharted territory. She tried to remove those ideas from the time being and focus only in helping Peter. That's why she insisted he stayed right? It's not like she wanted to be alone with-
-Stop stop stop!- She shouted in her mind -Focus Glynda Focus! You are not a teenage girl with a crush- She put on her serious façade and sat to the left of Peter so she could have a good look at the wound.
"Does it hurt?" She asked
"Since you mentioned, just a bit" Peter was trying his best to think on complicated math equations and distract his mind from his most… impure thought. So, he tried not to look too much at her.
As Glynda examined the wound, it didn't look deep so a few stiches would do the job. She put her riding crop down and she reached the side of his body with her finger. He flinched filling her touch.
"Your hands are cold"
"I just got out of the shower dummie" said Glynda trying not to look at him in the eye
"Yeah, my bad. Math equations Peter, MATH EQUATIONS".
Glynda suddenly took her riding crop and aimed it at her bathroom and from it, as if it was hold by an invisible hand, a little first-aid kit came floating to her.
"The bad news is that I'm gonna have to stich you up a bit, so it may hurt"
"And the good news?"
"You didn't bleed on my couch so I'll go nice on you"
"So thoughtful of you" Peter said before feeling the needle pierce his skin. It really didn't hurt that much. Glynda was really going easy on him.
"You seem pretty good at this" he commented
Glynda took her eyes from the wound just for a moment to look at Peter. "Well, we are given a rigorous training here. All hunters from Beacon have enough knowledge to cure minor wounds and give first aids. You on the other hand are surprisingly calm"
"I get hurt pretty often so this isn't new."
Peter would filch slightly every so often but nothing that would interrupt her concentration. What was distracting her however was how close she was to him. She could practically count every muscle on his well-tone body. He wasn't buff like other men who spend thousands of hours on the gym and couldn't wide themselves clean after going to the bathroom. His physique was more athletic-like. It felt solid and created for a purpose. It was certainly impressive. Heat came again to her face. Peter didn't seem to have taken noticed of this as he was looking at the ceiling at the moment. She had to concentrate, just a bit more.
"And…..done. Hopefully you'll heal by tomorrow morning" the professor said while putting her tool to the side after cleaning the wound.
Peter looked over while still on the couch. He just smiled at her "Thank! You are very good Glynda. I usually make more of a mess went I do this myself" The young man laughed.
"I can stich you up whenever you want. Just don't hurt yourself too often, ok?"
"Deal" Peter smiled
There it was again. Glynda couldn't tell what it was but behind that smile that tried to mock his way around everything, she could feel a great sadness coming from Peter. The guy in front of her had done so much since his arrival and after risking his life so many times for people he didn't know, he still kept that good attitude. She wanted to know more. She wanted to know what afflicted his heart. She wanted to console him. The professor was going to speak again but Peter beat her to it.
"You know…. It's kind of funny how everything turned out… don't you think?" Said Peter looking up at the ceiling.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when we first met, we were in less than friendly terms"
"Yeah, you really dodged my rocks quite well, you know?" Said Glynda resting on the sofa as well.
"True, but you weren't putting it easy either"
"Yeah…. I guess. It may be a bit late for this but…. Sorry. Had I known-"
"Stop that. You just were doing what you thought what best. You had to protect your students. Besides, it's not the first time that a woman attacks me first and asks questions later".
Glynda threw him a curious look and decided to tease him this time around.
"So, I'm not your first time?"
This time, it was Peter's turn to have a blush.
Glynda finally did it! She has outsmarted the arachnid hero and he had no words. Glynda just burst into laughter and tears seeing the expressing in his guess' face.
Peter just glared at her but then smiled again.
"Good one Glynda. Not bad at all". It was kind of strange to be on the other side of the joke but, Peter didn't care.
Glynda just continue laughing. She was kind of amazed on how things had turned out since Peter's arrival. Somehow, she has changed since meeting her. And she liked it.
"It's been a long time since I laughed like that much" Said Glynda wiping a tear "I think ever since college ended.."
"You mean here?" Peter said grabbing the picture he saw before and handling it to Glynda
"Yeah" Said the professor holding the frame of the picture in her hands. The expression in the blonde's face was one of nostalgia. It seemed that looking at her old photo had unlocked pleasant memories for her. At least, that's what Peter saw.
"Those were good times. But now… Well, things have change"
Peter just looked at her a puzzling expression.
"Well, work, teaching, managing Ozpin's caffeine addiction. It is very stressful, you know?" said Glynda moving a bit closer
Peter laughed. "He does have a big problem, but, you still have to find some way to relax, right?"
"Not as much as you think…. This is first time in a long time that I have any kind of fun. I guess I've just become old and boring"
"Hey, you are not boring"
"Really?"
"Well, you haven't done anything particularly hilarious since I came but"
If looks could be weapons, Glynda would be shooting daggers out of her eyes right now
"But that doesn't mean you are boring"
Peter had been concentrated on her green eyes so much that he didn't noticed Glynda's riding crop. When he did notice, it was too late. He felt a splash of cold water in his shoulders and head.
"Was that hilarious enough, honey?" Grinned Glynda remembering Peter comment prior to the battle.
"Well done. Now you are gonna pay for that!"
On the hall outside, commotion and laughter couldn't find any ears to fall upon but were nevertheless present and lively. Furniture being turn upside down, maybe even some stuff breaking were among the many sound coming out of the room.
At the end Glynda was on top of Peter. They were both sweaty but neither of them wanted to give in. The whole room had turned upside down, which surprisingly, didn't seem to be bothering Glynda at the moment.
"Give up now or I'll start being mean to you" said the blonde with a challenging smile
"Never!"
Peter moved quickly and started tickling her near her abdomen. Glynda tried to counter attack with her weapon but she couldn't concentrate fast enough.
"Now I want to hear that laugh again!" Peter said.
The professor tried to resist it at first but then laughter and tears started to flow out. She was going to beg for mercy but the arachnid was having none of that. She tried to push herself out but his hands were strong.
Peter suddenly stopped as pain in his left side distracted him. He subconsciously turned his eyes to look at the area were the pain was coming from.
-I guess the stiches didn't hold out well-.
He looked back at Glynda. She was giggling a bit but this time her glasses were off. Probably his fault.
The laughter died within moments and then the pair just began staring at each other. Not thinking really, just admiring the other. Peter got hold of her, putting his hand around her waist. Her fingers felt hot to her cold skin. It felt relaxing and delicious for her. Glynda just put her hand on his chest, feeling his every muscle upside down. Her nails just brushed his muscle like a canvas, drawing circles everywhere. A sexy smiled was adorning her face. Peter leaned closer to the blonde, trying to have his upper body closer to hers. The hero didn´t noticed any sign of rejection so he just kept going.
Maybe both of their brains were trying to tell them something, but none of them were listening.
One of Peter hand went up Glynda´s abdomen under her shirt. She smiled, gladly accepting his advancement. Her hands went from his well-tuned abdomen to his neck, shortening the distance between them. He felt her breath and she felt his. He wanted more. She wanted more.
"Peter… what are we…" Glynda closed her eyes.
-KNOCK KNOCK-
"Glynda? Excuse me, are you ok?" Came the voice of General James IronWoods from the other side.
Then they suddenly stop. Their eyes opened wide as if they were realizing what they were doing. The next thing Peter knew was that he was being thrown up of her apartment through a window in the back along with his mask and the rest of his costume. The window had been opened, so there was no crashing sound. Before being catapulted out however, Peter saw Glynda, who had both a nervous yet apologetic expression saying a very low "SORRY!" while the hero was flew through the air.
Glynda, on the inside of her apartment, span her riding crop around to try and organize her place. Everything was an utter chaos! But she managed to put everything back to a decent state. She would have to fix after. Screw it, maybe tomorrow if she felt like it.
The professor tried to fix herself up to dissimulate and opened the door just enough to show her face.
"James? What happened? I was just going to sleep"
"Apologies. I just wanted to check on you"
"Well, I'm fine as you can see"
"I can, yes" James then noticed that Glynda was not in her normal attire. "Would it be too much if I-"
"Yeah. It would. Gotta go to sleep. Bye!"
And with that Glynda closed, if not barely smashed, the door on the general's face. Her place still needed some fixing but she didn't have the patient nor the energy to do that right now. She went straight to bed with her heart beating hard thinking hard about what had happened.
-Why did James had to come fucking in!? His hand was so close to my NO NO NO GLYNDA NO! What we were doing was wrong…. wasn't it?-
Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Her body however, would tell her otherwise during the whole night.
The rest of the week was surprisingly quiet. With the amount of Grimms reduced and no White Fangs to worry about, the academy didn't have anything too unusual going on for a couple of days. But surely Team RWBY and team JNPR would find a way to spice things up for everyone.
Peter tried to talk to Glynda about what had happened the other night but their meeting where strictly professional and every time he wanted to approach her, she would just back off.
But what was he supposed to say? I mean, they almost kissed and how knows what else if they hadn't been interrupted before. Peter wasn't dating anyone right now so, it shouldn't have been that big of a deal right? I mean, they were both adults. What's wrong with that? Yeah, no. Peter wasn't one that jumped from bed to bed just because he could. He would have to talk to her. At the very least to be on good terms with her. In the short amount of time they had spent together, Glynda had turned out to be very nice, hard-working, dedicated to her students and many other things that Peter really liked. At the very least, he would want a somewhat good relationship if everything went well. And well, a selfie with her wouldn't be that bad either.
Thank goodness, Peter had other things to put his mind on.
After every that had transpired, he was finally given access to the science labs on Beacon, supervised by a less-serious but still-very-watchful James Ironwoods and his troop. Peter was glad he was having so time for his suit and equipment, they really needed an upgrade. Pulling out some suggestions from his friends on the previous dimensions he made some more changes to his mask. The materials in the institution were plentiful so he didn't have problem repairing his suit. He also created more web fluid for himself. Plenty, plenty more. He could practically kiss his cartridges as they were being produced.
After that, he went for his suit. He added isolation to his entire costume; he didn't want to repeat that shocking experience with Yuri and her arrows again. It would need some testing just to balance everything out but he could do it in the following days. Peter even took some ideas from the weapon in this world. That folding technology was very impressive and he would surely adapt it in his costume and even some gadget he had come up in his head. He had to step up his game and he couldn't wait to try them out.
But not everything was working on his suit. He also had to work on closing the leaking energy of the portal. That also took time but with the help of the academy, it was more a question of when rather than how. Eventually they manage to stop the leaking energy from getting into this dimension. It would take some time for the portal to reopen, maybe 3 or 4 days, so Peter had some time to relax, which was actually strange to him.
He spent some time with team RWBY and team JNPR as they would find each other on the dining hall and the teens would tell him of everything that had been going on with the Grimms and Spider-man. He of course, had to play dumb. Nora would exaggerate the facts while Ren would clarify some dark spots. One would think that now that these two were together as boyfriend and girlfriend things would play out different but they really didn't. They just sat closer to each other and hold hands when going out. It was really adorable and reminded Peter of his college years. Peter even assisted to some more classes with them, trying to kept up the act. At one point however, he informed them that he was leaving Beacon to continue his investigation somewhere else. There were sad faces among the group but yet they were glad to have had the chance to meet each other. On one afternoon in particular, were it not for Yang teasing Peter for his travel with Velvet to Vale the other day the arachnid wouldn't have figured out Velvet had a crush on him.
Yeah, 250 IQ and he was still an idiot when it came to a teenager liking him.
At one point he received an invitation from Coco to spend some time with them too. He accepted it and went again for some shopping in Vale, maybe it would be a good way to talk to the bunny faunus about Peter's leave. However, it didn't turn out as productive as he had expected it. He ended up holding towers and towers of bags that belonged mostly to Coco. Yatsuhashi and Fox didn't it have it much different. They were used to be Coco's compulsive buyer addiction so they were happy to have someone else to share their destiny. Fox tried to be particularly helpful towards Velvet, mainly carrying her bags, but she was too distracted looking at Peter to take any noticed of her dark skin teammate.
The group also came across Doreen, the sub-manager at the Nuts clothing store. The moment she laid eyes upon Velvet she jumped straight to her hugging, near to the point of asphyxiation. She would check upside down and ask her to tell her everything that had happened. At one point she would start fuming at Peter for not keeping his promise of protecting Velvet,seeing as how he wasn't involved in the battle against the Grimm. At least according to her knowledge. This would later be subdued by Velvet's very red face. Doreen every so often would throw looks from Velvet to Peter, which made the hero wonder how he was going to tell the bunny girl about his inevitable departure. The image of Glynda popped into his head thinking about this making the young man sad, but he didn't drag anyone with his problems so, he just tried to cover it up.
Not everything was bag-holding though. Seeing Doreen again reminded Peter of the rewards that was been offered the other day in the news for photographs about Spider-man. 5000 liens would be very welcome for any last-minute expenses. By the next day, that transaction had gone smoothly and Peter was able to afford a huge luggage that folded itself into a backpack. It would certainly be useful for his travels and the extra clothing he got the other day would makes it easier for him blend in. Before leaving the shop, a certain object shined through a glass window. Peter saw it and it gave him an idea. Hopefully, certain someone would like it. So he grabbed his cellphone and dialed a number, just to check if his assumptions were correct.
It was early morning when the day had arrived. It was time for Peter to cross the portal in a few hours in another attempt to go to another universe, hopefully his own, but there was one more task that he had to do. The Black cats were officially being deported to Atlas, to be judge there by their illegal operation in Beacon ground and their contraband of weapons. Blake was there during the whole process, accompanied by the rest of her team, team JNPR, and Glynda. They all stared in silence as they were being escorted inside a bullhead by Atlas soldiers. General Ironwoods would escort them personally so he boarded the aircraft as well. Blake never took her eyes from the group the whole time. With all of friend around her she needed to be strong. For them and for her own sake. Peter was there as well, just looking for afar in his hero suit.
When the Bullhead departed, the hero swung his way back to that training building, the one where he saw Velvet fighting for the first time. The rift should open somewhere around the middle of the room so he decided just to wait there. He had his backpack with him, full with all his cloth and extra equipment but he put aside for a moment. He needed to think. He still got 3 hours by his calculations before the portal showed up, so he had to think fast. The arachnid figured that given how only Ozpin and Glynda knew about all of his dimensional hopping, team RWBY and team JNPR would be fine with Peter just leaving the academy. They group of teens were in good term with the young man so, no harm there. Besides, they seemed to have accepted it pretty well. He still had the problem of Velvet Though. He had to find a way to accept her feeling for him while also withdrawing respectfully and also clarifying that he was going to go home without ever coming back. Quite simple right? Maybe a direct approach was best? I mean, he could just go and be honest but then he didn't want to just be blunt and probably break her heart. She was still young after all.
The hero though and thought until he heard the doors behind him open wide and from them several figured entered the room. These were team RWBY, team JNPR, Velvet, Glynda and Ozpin. Most of them were looking rather confused of why they have gone to that building except of course, for the last two. Peter just lifted his hand as confused if not more than the students. Among the many eyes, Peter's landed in Glynda and then in Velvet. One was happier to see him than the other.
"Hi? Aren't you kids supposed to be taking a nap or something? Teens still do that, right?"
"I would rather be sleeping right now if I'm honest" Said Jaune with a tired expression. Apparently, his last sparing with Pyrrha left him out of energy.
"Now now" Came Ozpin's voice from behind the crowd of people "I know that coming here may have been strange for many of you youngsters but, I believe our friend here is departing soon. I also believe he was planning on leaving without saying goodbye"
"Oh come on! Were you really gonna leave us just like that?! You are so mean!" Said Nora as she ran towards the hero to give him a big hug.
"Nora, we talked about other's people personal space" said Ren approaching in his usual calm self.
"But I haven't swung around like he does all the time"
Ren turned to the masked hero with an apologetic look on it like saying -Would you mind?-
Peter just smiled behind his mask and gave the young man a thump up. He suddenly jumped into the air and started to show Nora how it was done.
Glynda, that was a bit behind the group of teens that were inside, felt a bit of trepidations upon seen Peter. They hadn't really talked at all since that night. They met at the lab sure when their schedule collided but she decided to keep her distance. What happened that night wasn't right. She was just tired and didn't listen to her better judgment. Still…. Every night after that, she could revive every feeling, every touch. This just made her heart beat all the faster but she had to keep her nerves in check. Peter would soon leave, and this whole deal would be forgotten. That was….. t-that was-
"Ahem"
Glynda turned to the source of the voice and found Ozpin staring at her.
"Everything ok professor Goodwitch?"
"Ye-Yes, just thinking about my next class"
"Well, I think you can have a break from your responsibilities for a while and enjoy this little meeting, don't you think?" Said Ozpin as he walked inside the room.
Glynda nodded without much energy and followed close behind.
Most of the teens were gathered around the masked hero as they were chitchatting among them. Some were up above trying to swing from webs that the hero had put up in the ceiling. Some were rather sad that the hero was going to leave, giving how they have fought side by side twice now and yet felt that they didn't knew him well enough. Others were more grateful for his help during those trialed times and wished him the best. Yang even proposed to Spider-man that if he ever returned, she would like to have a sparing with him and after seen everything she could do last week; Peter wasn't very eager to do that. He accepted nonetheless.
Two individuals were actually a bit distant from the entire meeting. On one hand we had Glynda who, wasn't staring too much at Peter for more than necessary. The moment their eyesight crossed each other, she would retract and look at another person.
Peter wanted to talk to her but didn't know how to approach it.
The other person was Velvet. Sure, she and the arachnid had fought to defend Beacon the previous week but, she had next to no relationship with him. She was still grateful for what he had done and she expressed it respectfully but if she was being honest, she would rather be with a certain young man that was acting a bit weird in their last visit to Vale. Maybe she would ask him later.
While everyone was distracted doing a couple of activities, Ozpin walked slowly to the masked hero's backpack and he slipped something on it. It looked like a metallic red cube with greyish lines along the sides.
A few minutes later, everyone was just sitting around and asking the hero a million questions at a time. Where did he come from, how was he going to get home. What was it like, and so much more.
"So, you don't come from a planet that was about to explode?" asked Nora a bit heart-broken
"No! That sounds kind of sad if I say so myself"
Nora just pouted a bit which made Ren put his arm around her.
"Don't worry Nora, next time we meet a superhero you'll get it right".
Yang just put a smirky smile "Get a room you too!"
Everyone started laughing except for Nora and Ren who were blushing mad.
"Do… do you know where you'll go next?" asked Velvet who was next to Ruby. She was a bit more motivated to learn more about the hero after hearing his answers.
"This maybe it, for all I know. Hopefully I can get home but…. I wish I could get more time with certain people".
"Why?" Asked Ruby who was next to Yang.
"Well…. I'm not good with words and… I've come to appreciate a lot of people here. You guys included don´t worry." his masked didn't revealed his eyesight but his eyes were looking directly at Glynda. The hero checked the time on his scroll and noticed that there were 10 minutes left. "It's just… I couldn't say goodbye to everyone I wanted to".
"Oh, come on! Spill it out! We want to know more!" Nora shouted
Peter sighed for a moment. He looked around and everyone around him was glaring at him. Glynda specially
"All right, all right. There is this girl. Let's call her Mary. She is super sweet and is always looking up for her friends. Her smile brings her friends warm and everyone around her. She might look fragile but that's because she doesn't want to hurt anybody. I know she is strong. She has a look of determination every time she is protecting someone she cares about and I admire that from her. She is not the violent type so I understand her position sometimes. I just wish she would stand up from herself a bit more. Well, the point is that I couldn't goodbye to her, and I think that's gonna break her heart"
The hero stood up from his seat in silence and went for his backpack. He put it on and started walking back to the center of the main hallway.
"There is this other person. She a is beautiful woman. Funny, hard-working, and sometimes too strict with herself. She really loves my jokes though she doesn't want to admit it. She loves her work and her students as well. I….. may have done something stupid. I don't really know how to apologize to her and… I would hate for us to end up in bad terms. Oh, that reminds me, professor Goodwitch. Catch!".
Peter took out his scroll. From his backpack and threw it at her.
Glynda used her telekinesis to pick it up.
Behind the hero a good 5 feet from him a blue, circular portal opened up shocking everybody that was seeing it for the first time.
"Well, that's my clue to go" He gave his back to everyone and was going to take a step forward. He suddenly stopped. He considered his options for a second and took a decision. He turned around and pressed the spider symbol in his chest with his hand.
The students watched as the suit that the hero was wearing, began to unfold itself until it turned into a metallic watch in his right hand.
Then and there, they all saw how the hero turn into a brunette known to them all. Peter Parker
The hero just smiled weakly.
"I'm really sorry. I couldn't just tell you. Ozpin, Glynda, please take care of these troublesome bunch"
"Will do Mr. Parker" said Ozpin with a smile on his face
The blonde just stared at Peter and he just stared back at her. That was it, he was leaving. No more thinking but that night. About those feelings. About how he made her feel so…..special. That was the right…. No, it was. She didn't want this!
"Peter! I…I" Glynda walked forward
Pere lifted a hand signaling her to stop. "Glynda…. I'm sorry. I…. I'm just a stupid arachnid. I'll miss you" He then turned to look at the others, but especially Velvet who probably the most shocked face of them all.
"Velvet….. I'm really sorry I can't stay. Please take care of your team". With a rather sad smile on his face, Peter turned back and walked into the portal. "I hope I can see you all again".
The next thing Peter knew, he was again in the familiar omnidirectional pathway to a new dimension. This time however, he arrived shortly after to his next destination. Some things came to his mind once he stepped out of the portal. Number one, he was in a dimly light hallway. It wasn't too narrow as to impede movement, maybe 3 or 4 people walking side by side tops, but it was too spacious. Two, there were some people with him in the hallway. One seemed to be on the floor a few feet in front of him next to some sort of contraption, the other was behind him, a couple more feet behind. The last thing he knew was that there was something coming his way. Some sort of balloon like object.
"Why is it coming my way?" Was really the first thing he thought.
-EPILOGUE-
It has been a couple of hours since Peter departure and, to say that everyone was baffled was an understatement. I took a lot for Ozpin and Glynda to explain everything and leave the student satisfied. Velvet was quiet, though attentive and curious as the others. She would later call Doreen to let lose her bottled feeling.
Glynda was another story. She had to play her usual stoic and strict self so that didn't leave even left room for talking on how she was feeling. Ozpin tried to approach her but again, she played it cool. She assured him she was fine and just needed to rest and so, she went straight to her room afterwards.
She kept telling herself to not think about it. To not think about that night nor about him. She would take a shower. Maybe eat something sweet and take a long nap. She didn't have any classes the other day so had the next day to do whatever she wanted. She was so distracted talking to herself that she didn't noticed how fast she got to her room's door. She was about to continue when she noticed something on the floor. It was a box, a rather big box. It was red, with a blue ribbon, a white card and a black spider symbol on it. It looked like a present. Glynda stood there for a minute observing the box as if deciding whether to pick it up or just leave it there. Her thoughts were shaken though, when her scroll ringed.
-It must be something important- She thought to herself. -I…I don't have time for this-
She went for the ringing scroll but went she took it out, it wasn't hers that was producing the sound.
It was Peter's.
The scroll rang again
Maybe the most reasonable thing was just to give this back to Ozpin and forget about the scroll and this present but something inside Glynda was urging her to take them both inside. And so, she did.
She put the present in a small coffee table she had and sat down on her sofa. She grabbed the scroll between her hands and unlocked it. Then a message popped up like a hologram.
Are you Glynda Goodwitch?
YES – NO
The professor looked at the screen a bit confused but pressed the yes button.
Then another question popped up
Have you seen the gift in front of your room?
YES – NO
Again, Glynda pressed yes
A final question popped up
Have you opened it?
YES – NO
This time she pressed no.
The present that was on the coffee table unfolded itself, showing in the inside a wand. It was completely black, with a golden line going around it. It also had the image of a horsecarved into the very base.
Glynda picked it up with her right hand. The wand felt durable yet lightweight.
A long side it, there was a note.
Hey Glynda. It me, your annoying neighbor. I saw this when I was coming back from Vale the other day and I immediately thought of you. It may help you out the nail the whole magician combo down. I….. I hope we can still be friend. I hope I can see you soon.
P.
Glynda looked at the note and couldn't keep herself from smiling. "You really are an idiot, aren't you"?
