Remnants Mightiest Heroes!

Chapter 10: Hunters and Hunted Part 1

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Unknown

"Ugh."

That was the only thing she could say as Gwen Stacy stirred into consciousness. Her head and muscles felt sluggish from the effects of the tranquilizer gas that Kraven used to incapacitate her. They still haven't worn completely off yet. With all the strength she could muster, she pushed herself off the ground. Sitting cross-legged she took a bearing of her surroundings.

"This must be the place," She said as she studied the trees and grass. Gwen assumes that she must be in a forest somewhere. Strings of daylight peeked out from the foliage above. Kraven decided to go for the old setting for a classic hunting ground.

"What would complete the scenario is rabbit season," Gwen said, chuckling at the image of Kraven looking like Elmer Fudd. "Also, a rascally rabbit and a duck."

Her thoughts pushed it back to Rayshaun. Craven had tranquilized him both. she hoped that he was OK because this was the reason why she wanted to do this alone. But knowing Kraven and his modus operandi, the hunter most likely left him alone. Unless he renamed himself 'The Bald Eagle'.

"Right," Gwen said, snapping out of her thoughts and becoming determined. "Time to initiate Phase 2: find them. But while we're at it…"

Gwen held up her left wrist. Round it is a silver bracelet with a techno design. Blue lights blinked at her.

"Just to make sure this is working right," She muttered as she reached for the dial…

…Only to stop when her spider senses are tingling.

"Great," Gwen groaned. "Now I have to deal with this."

She threw her hands up and shot two streams of webbing that attached themselves to tree branches. She pulled herself off the ground just in time to avoid a dark shape that crashed into the spot where she used to be. she did a backflip and landed on a separate tree branch. Gwen crouched as to glare at her would-be-assailant.

"Sorry, but I'm sort of busy," She called out. "Could we reschedule your 'try to kill me' appointment? Like how about never?"

The figure looked up and streaked up the tree she was standing on. Upon closer look, Gwen's eyes widened as she recognized the man.

"Oh, webs!" She cried as a barbed tail came streaking toward her face.

Avengers Mansion, Afternoon

Crack!

"1-2. Mr. Barton wins again."

Blake and Clint stood facing each other in a Japanese style Dojo. Both of them are dressed in training clothes with protective armor and held a wooden practice sword. On their head are a stylized helmet with a metal grille, a series of hard leather and fabric flaps, and padded fabric flaps. Around the forearms, wrists, and hands are long, thickly padded fabric gloves. JARVIS spectated their matches.

"You okay?" Clint asked as he took off his helmet. "I didn't hit you too hard, did I?"

"I'll be fine," Blake said as she took off her helmet. Her ears are dripping with sweat. "How do they get used to this?"

"It's called discipline," Clint, their den mother for the week, said. "Anyway, are you sure that you don't want to use your weapon instead? I heard rumors about its new weapon form."

"I need to hone my skills first," Blake said. "Then I can get to work on wielding the real thing."

"Fair enough," Clint nodded. "Want to go again?"

"No offense, but I think three matches is enough for me," Blake said as she walked to the changing room. "I have some homework to do."

"OK. Also, can you send Jaune in? It's his turn."

"Sure," Blake said as she disappeared in the changing room. One minute later, she walked out dressed in her regular attire. Her weapon had returned to ribbon form and is tied in her hair. The faunus stepped out of the door to the training room to see Jaune leaning against the wall with Crocea Mors deployed.

"Is it my turn?" Jaune asked.

"Funny you should ask," Blake said with a smirk. "He just told me to let you know."

Jaune gulped. "I'll head right inside."

Blake smirked as Jaune hurried inside. During Bootcamp, Jaune's training focused on Capoeira and using his shield in an almost similar style to Captain America. Ever since he asked for lessons on swordsmanship from Clint, he's been getting his butt handed to him. Blake heard of his skill and saw it once.

The cat faunus walked out from the underground and back into the manor. Despite the Avengers giving them the place, it was still hard to believe it. They were given dorm rooms back at Beacon Academy, but nothing this big. Each of them got their room and they get to customize it as they see fit. She already filled hers with as many books as Stark's allowance can afford.

Blake made her way to the lounge where everybody was at. Furniture had been rearranged to make room for several tables. Her friends are sitting down working on their homework. Most of the space was taken up by Ruby, who is sleeping with schematics in front of her. Weiss is diligently writing down an essay for a history paper. Ren is tutoring Nora on some of her math problems, though he started to wonder if it was a good idea to use pancakes to explain fractions. Pyrrha is reading a book titled The Odyssey. Yang is lazily reclining on her chair when she spotted Blake.

"Hey Blake," Yang waved. "How was your training session?"

"Clint says that I've been making steady progress," Blake said as she took her seat. "What happened to Ruby?"

"Thanks to Kamala, Doreen, and Riri she stayed up all night playing video games," Weiss said with a disapproving frown. "Right after they finished modifying our suits, no less."

After their joint team exercise last night, Riri offered to help them modify their suits according to their taste. It took no more than a second for Weiss to accept the offer when she heard it. She loved the costume colors, but she needed something to hide her hair as its color is rare and will easy for somebody to narrow it down to her. The others agreed as well, and they got to work.

"Anyway. After they introduced her to some games, she fell in love with them," Weiss said. "Eventually, this gave her the idea to recreate some of the techs in the games for a school project. She kept me up all night with the noise coming from her room."

"Well that's good," Yang said. "From what I heard about Ruby's school she's going to have to put her brain into overdrive. Science is what makes the grade."

"She's not going to make the grade if she is sleeping," Weiss groaned before leaning forward to her partner. "RUBY!"

"Huh? What?" Ruby suddenly bolted upright at the mention of her name. Her eyes are wide open. She looked at everyone at the table. "Did something happen?"

"I figured it would save us the trouble of getting an alarm clock," Weiss snapped. "Even though it's your fault that you were up all night, you are my partner. You need to manage your time better if you don't want to fail in your first term."

"That's right!" Ruby exclaimed as she grabbed her pencil. "I have to get this done!"

Yang chuckled as her sister began sketching on the papers. "Hey what are you working on anyway?" Yang asked curiously, leaning to get a look at what she is drawing. "A new weapon?"

"Yep…well, kinda? I'm working on a deployable turret," Ruby answered as she sketched out the angles of the tripod. "I got the idea from The Division 2. The tactical advantages are that it's easy to carry and quick to deploy. It'll provide us cover and a distraction."

"That sounds useful," Pyrrha said. "What made you think to create it?"

"I realized that we can't fight like we used to," Ruby said. When she saw their confused looks, she elaborated. "Think about it. We're going to be fighting people, not Grimm, right? Like Fury said back at Bootcamp, we have to be prepared for any situation. To do that, we need to adapt and overcome. Which is why I'm making gadgets in addition to trick bullets to help us out. Give us an edge, you know?"

"Do you think you can make a grenade launcher turret?" Nora asked excitedly.

"Nora," Ren sighed. "Humans on Earth don't have an aura. I think the last thing we need is to blow them up."

"Sorry Nora," Ruby apologized. "I do have something to make up for it. I got the idea for a new type of grenade for Magnhild when I played Rainbow Six Siege. After I finished this, I'll get to work on it. The works of Tom Clancy are genius!"

"You realize that you are confusing the brand with the author, right?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow. "Wouldn't you get sued for this?"

"Max showed me a holographic projector," Ruby retorted. "It was shown in various movies and franchises. I don't see anyone suing Horizon for THAT. Besides, the turret I'm making is going to be in MY specifications. That way, they can't sue me."

"Are you planning on showing it to your teachers?" Pyrrha asked dubiously.

"Nope," Ruby said with a small pop. "I've been working on something with nanotechnology. Hopefully, nobody steals it for misuse."

"What is it?" Yang asked.

"I would be spoiling the surprise," Ruby said, returning to her work. "Anyway, I got to get this done."

"Hey, I just realized something!" Nora said suddenly. "We haven't thought of a name for our team!"

"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha asked. "We're team JNPR, remember?"

"Not that," Nora waved dismissively. "Team RWBY and JNPR are merged, correct? That mean's we've got to think of a team name! Unless we want to be called RWBYJNPR, which by the way leaves a bad taste."

"Oh, I see what you mean," Ruby said, once again looking away from her work. "Now that teams RWBY and JNPR are merging, we need something to call our group. We need to avoid using the Avengers and Secret Warriors."

"Shouldn't we wait for Jaune?" Pyrrha asked. "He too enjoys the comic books."

"We can list down some names before we decide on one," Ruby said, standing up. "We will have to avoid the color rule because of the multitude of colors we wear. Wait…how about Team Rainbow?"

"I'm pretty sure you got that from one of the games you were playing," Weiss said. "Not to mention that it has a lot to do with the color rule. That you said we should exclude if I might add."

"Not to mention it's copyrighted," Blake pointed out. "The last thing we need is lawyers swooping down on us."

Ruby sat back down and began to pout. Yang patted her back in sympathy.

"Why not stick to Huntsman?" Pyrrha asked. "It's gender-neutral and that's what we are called back on Remnant. Even if we didn't officially become ones ourselves."

"I heard from Thor that's already taken," Nora said. "We need to think of something original. I think we should go for WMD. Warriors of Mass Destruction!"

"I believe the name has to give hope not terror," Ren said, palming his forehead. "That's too close to Weapons of Mass Destruction."

"How about the Hunters," Yang asked. "Shortened from Huntsman and easy to remember. It's got to be available."

"Let's not," Blake said in a stern tone they never heard from her. Everyone turned to see her eyes harden. "Let's try to avoid using names with 'Hunt' in them."

"Blake…?"

"How about the Fables?" Blake suggested. "It's friendly and not going to cause a panic attack on all sides."

"I'm not going back to Red Riding Hood," Ruby protested. "Roman Torchwick called me that. Tony kept calling me that. I'm not going to be called that!"

And so, the argument for their joint team name had begun. One by one, the remnatians would suggest a name for their joint team. Then somebody will shoot it down and explain why. Weiss is the only one not to suggest a name because she finds it stupid to argue over a name. Before the lively discussion was about to turn into something else, the doors to the lounge opened to admit Jaune and Clint.

"Jaune," Weiss said. "Finally, you're here. Perhaps you can help us with something we've been discussing. It's about—"

She stopped talking when she saw the looks on their faces. Jaune held his scroll and it showed an image of 'Daisy Johnson'. Clint had his arms crossed.

"Get to Wilsons auto," Hawkeye said. "Something came up."

Wilson's Auto, underground

"I'll ask you again. Are you going to be alright?" Daisy asked. She and the rest of the secret Warriors have gathered in the lounge area. Rayshaun sat in a chair, still wearing his uniform with the cowl pulled back to reveal his face.

"It's only tranquilizing gas Daisy," Rayshaun groaned. "The effects are almost gone."

"Even so you still need some rest," Doreen insisted.

"She's right Rayshaun," Riri said. "That was enough tranquilizer to knock out a horse. I don't need to tell you what would happen if…"

"I know what you mean," Rayshaun said. "But until we get Gwen back, we can worry about that later."

"Same here," America said, pounding her fists. "Wait till I get my hands on the creep."

It was at that moment that teams RWBY and JNPR came down on the elevator. On their faces are looks of worry as they approached their friends.

"We got your message," Jaune said. "What's going on?"

"What's going on is that Patriot here decided to go on a solo mission without us!" Doreen said. "If things weren't bad enough Gwen got kidnapped!"

"Gwen?" Weiss asked. She and the rest of her friends became confused at the name. "Who's Gwen?"

Doreen's face turned from anger to realization. "Oh yeah, you guys didn't meet her. To let her introduce herself when she gets back to us. Lately, she's been going out on her own that's why you haven't seen her."

"Now that the cat's out of the bag," Daisy said. She realized what she just said and turned to Blake. "No offense?"

"None took."

"I'll informally introduce her," She turned to Ruby. "You know your classmate, Gwen Stacy?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "she's one of my classmates back at horizon high. but from what I heard something's been bugging her lately."

"She's also one of the lead singers for the Mary Janes," Jaune said. Everybody turned to him. "What? I love good music. Especially Born Ready."

"You sure love female pop singers do you vomit boy," Yang said, giving a glance toward Pyrrha who looked away. "You're going to make someone jealous."

"Huh?" Jaune became confused.

"Getting back to the subject," Weiss said. "I take it she's a member of your team?"

"Yep," Daisy confirmed. "You probably know her as Ghost Spider."

Jaune and Ruby's jaws fell so low that it could hit the ground.

"Ghost Spider is a member of the Secret Warriors?" Ruby asked with excitement. "I'm classmates with a superhero?"

"And she's a singer?" Jaune asked.

"And she got kidnapped last night," Rayshaun said, struggling to stand up. He flexed his muscles and grunted in satisfaction as they are back to peak efficiency. He turned to Daisy. "Want to show them?"

"Sure," Daisy beckoned with her head. "If you will all follow me."

She took the lead and they all followed. She took them down a hall and till they come to around which they know as the computer room. Daisy stepped to the monitor and brought the screen to life. As she spoke, she typed commands on the keyboard.

"After our combat exercise, I went to Gwen's house to look for clues on her erratic behavior. Fortunately for me, her dad wasn't home."

"Why?" Weiss asked. "Does he not know that his daughter is a superhero?"

That got her a look from the Agent of SHIELD. "Weiss let's just say that her father has issues with her. To be more specific, it involves her alter ego."

"Besides," Kamala added. "If my parents knew what I was doing in my free time, they would ground me until my funeral. This reminds me, thank you for sharing your notes, Weiss."

"You're welcome Kamala," Weiss said. She was thinking about what happened between Gwen and her father. By the tone, it couldn't be good. But she decided to stow that thought for later as Daisy went back to the computer.

"From what I gathered from her room; she had been conducting a personal investigation."

Daisy brought onto the screen several photos of a bedroom. It looked like a mess as clothes are streaming out of the dresser and the bed is unkept. Aside from the bed, there was a board pinned on the wall with pins and the red thread connecting articles and pictures. When Daisy enlarged them, the common factor they have is that it's a supervillain committing a crime.

"Looks like we got a big conspiracy board," Yang whistled. "What does that leave us?"

"The photos are dated back a few months ago," Daisy said as she brought them into focus. "The same can be said for the news articles that she gathered. The timetable takes place before the raft breakout and after Attuma decided to flood New York again. The people in the photos are your usual criminals: thieves, low lives, and guns for hire. One by one they suddenly vanished. One second they are committing a crime the next they drop off the grid. OF course, it's not only criminals that are missing."

Daisy dismissed the photos and articles and brought free pictures to focus on. one showed a ponytailed brunette in a black suit with a white spider symbol emblazoned on her body and a black mask with white Sheen covering the eyes. another picture showed a male and similar suit except it is outlined red and has a spider logo that looked spray painted. The 3rd one was a face that some new namely a certain red hooded girl.

"Spider-Man?" Ruby exclaimed as she saw the red and blue-clad hero swinging in the frame. Oblivious to her, Kamala and Doreen had said that as well, synching with Ruby. "He got kidnapped as well?"

"Yep," Rayshaun nodded and points to the other two as he said their names. "Along with Spider-Girl and Spy-D. He used to go by Kid Arachnid before he changed it. Besides us, they are close friends with Gwen. Jameson's been having a laugh about it on his podcast. Says that with Spider-Man gone, crime will go away. Too bad that the Raft breakout proved him wrong."

"I'll say," Weiss said. She had listened to the news editors podcast. After learning that he has been rambling about the same thing for nearly a couple of years, she opted to stop listening to it. "Any idea who is behind this."

"We do," Daisy said. "Gathering the data from Gwen's investigation and Patriots testimony from last night we can safely assume the culprit is this man."

Daisy pulled up a profile and several photos of the culprit. Behind them, Blake suddenly got an angry frown on her face as she saw who the suspect is.

"Sergei Kravinoff, also known as Kraven the Hunter."

"I've heard of him," Blake spoke, her voice with an edge. "Isn't he that big game hunter?"

"Yes," Daisy said as she began reading out his profile. "Born and raised in Volgograd, Russia and into an aristocracy. After the Russian Revolution, He found employment as a Hunter in Kenya, Africa. He began his career using typical tools of a hunter, but over time he began a preference of taking large animals down with his bare hands. Thanks to our herbal potion from a dirty witch doctor named Calypso he got enhanced physical powers that give him the strength, speed, and senses to match a jungle cat."

"Is that why he's wearing a lion themed costume?" Yang asked. "Well, that's just purr-fect. Huh, guys?"

Yang was met by the usual groans of her friends. She turned to her partner and flinched from the look that Blake gave her. It was steely and ice cold.

"It also enhanced his vitality," Daisy continued. "So, you can say that he's been on around for a long time. Anyway, he got bored with hunting animals and decided to change targets, Like Spider-Man for example. Now it seems that he has resorted to kidnapping and is planning something for them."

"Let me guess," Blake hissed, causing everyone to turn to her in concern. "He kidnapped them all because they dress up like an animal."

Everyone from Remnant knew right away what's getting her riled up. They had taken the same classes with the professor— no, DOCTOR Oobleck. He insisted that he be called that because he had a Ph.D. Before they could say anything, Doreen suddenly drew their attention.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Doreen shouted. "If he's kidnapping animal-themed supers, then why am I not kidnapped?"

Everyone stared blankly at her, forgetting for the moment how incredulous it sounded. "Huh?"

"Why haven't I been kidnapped?" Doreen repeated, crossing her arms. Tippy-Toe mimicked her actions on her shoulder. "Kraven's after people with an animal like abilities or motifs, right? So why hasn't he gone after me? I'm Squirrel Girl!"

She gestured to her bushy tail for emphasis.

"Um…maybe it's because he's a long-time enemy of Spider-Man?" Kamala suggested.

"I know that," Doreen rebuffed. "I know his obsession with our friendly neighborhood web crawler! He went after three other spiders including Gwen. But not me!"

"Maybe…" Dante thought for a moment. "He prefers big game?"

"What do you mean he prefers big game?" Doreen asked in a hard tone. Dante gulped as he picked the wrong thing to say.

The Secret Warriors looked at each other in silent conversation. They wondered which one of them will be the one to break it to her. Not even Blake, who had been angry a moment ago, didn't seem to have an answer. All eyes turned to Rayshaun, who sighed in resignation.

"Doreen…" He said slowly. "I think…no, we think it's because he doesn't…maybe he doesn't view you to be in his…hunting criteria."

"Doreen's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Think about it. Squirrels are— no offense Tippy-Toe, but they're not exactly much of a sport. Sure, they may scurry from us except for Doreen, but nobody has taken an interest in hunting squirrels. To Kraven…you're not that much of a challenge for him. I'm sorry Doreen."

Doreen and Tippy-Toe felt their jaws completely hit the floor as they digested what he said. For a long excruciating time, she didn't say anything. They were about to ask if she was alright before she snapped.

"WHAT?!" Doreen's face turned from shock to rage, Tippy-Toe with her. Fire is in their eyes. "So, he thinks I'm a pushover just because I'm a squirrel? Does he even realize the kind of stuff I've been through? I took on an interdimensional Alien, Baron Mordo, Fing Fang Foom, Korvac, Doctor Doom, MODOK, Deadpool and heck even Thanos! I even beat four heroes, three of which are Avengers!"

Teams RWBY and JNPR looked surprised at the sheer ferocity that Doreen has expressed in her rant. The rest of the Secret Warriors, aside from Kamala, shared their surprise at the last name she mentioned. From what the Avengers told them, Thanos had been the greatest enemy that they had faced. Not just Earth, but the entire universe would've fallen if they hadn't taken him down. He was called the 'Mad Titan', and for good reason, as he sought to bring balance to the universe by genocide. Eventually, he found his way to Earth where its mightiest heroes gathered together and fought against him. They didn't get into much detail, but Thanos had been destroyed during the battle.

To hear that Squirrel Girl, of all people, defeated him was unbelievable.

"She's not wrong," Kamala said to them.

(I, Uatu the Watcher, stand witness to this event.)

"Exactly," Doreen said as she turned to Daisy. "So, when do we go after this guy? I want to teach him a lesson in the power of squirrels!"

Tippy—Toe squeaked in anger as well.

"Easy there Doreen," Daisy raised her hand. "Let's think before we act first."

"So, what's our plan?" Jaune asked. Daisy turned once more to the console and manipulated it. The profile and pictures are replaced by a map. Red dots appeared on it.

"According to Gwen's intel, Kraven had planned his moves carefully. He kidnapped his targets in isolated locations. Some of them are at sea, out of state and within the state. He's prevented us from triangulating his position. Gwen figured the same and that lead to one thing."

"What?"

"Gwen used herself as bait," Rayshaun said. "When her friends got captured, she began a massive crime-busting spree to get his attention. Thanks to the spider on her back, she knew that Kraven couldn't resist. But all of that non-stop fighting made her exhausted, which left her vulnerable to Kraven when he caught her."

"In that case, why didn't she contact us?" America asked. "We could've ganged up on this guy and no problem! Then we can find out what he did with the other kidnaped people."

"Maybe it's the other way around," Jaune suddenly said.

"What?"

"Think about it. Daisy, considering that she's friends with Spider-Man, I take it that she's fought Kraven before?"

"Yes."

"So, it's safe to assume that she has experience fighting him. She would know how he operates and how to counter him. Also, is it true that she goes to your school Ruby?"

"Yeah, Ruby said. "She's one of the top students from what I've hard."

"Is it possible that she built…I don't know…a teleportation device?"

Everyone realized where he was going with this.

"Are you saying she wanted to get herself caught?" Dante asked.

"Now that you mentioned it…" Kamala said in deep thought. "My memory's a little blurry…but I recall that she had a portal device on her wrist."

"Gwen made a portal device?" Ruby asked. "Cool! How does it work?"

"I don't know," Kamala admitted. "You'll have to ask her. Anyway, if Jaune is correct, she may have let herself get caught on purpose. That way, Kraven can save her the trouble of tracking down the people he caught."

"In the case of modifying her portal device," Daisy continued. "She could get them all out. Leaving Kraven without any hostages."

"There's just one problem." Riri pointed out. "Aside from the fact that some of the people he kidnapped are criminals. If she's got this portal device, wouldn't she be back by now?"

That brought their thoughts to a screeching halt as Riri had a point there. If that were the case, they would've heard from Gwen right about now. Which meant that something has gone wrong.

"Then we should help her," Ruby declared firmly. "If she's in trouble then she needs help."

"Sounds to me that we're Gwen's plan B," America said. "As in backup."

"Tracking down Kraven will be our first objective then," Daisy said. "This will be difficult considering that he's hidden well."

"I may have an idea about that," Jaune said. "If anyone's interested."

"We're all interested vomit boy," Yang said. "Whatever plan you got has got to be good. So, spit it out already."

"Problem is that you are not going to like it."

A few hours later, Evening

"478! Tacking fire!" A police officer shouted into his radio as he took cover from the blaster fire. For the first time in a week, this wasn't a bank robbery. This time, two men in classic balaclava are stealing weapons from a laboratory. Science is back to be the main currency.

"Where is our back up?!" His partner shouted over the blaster fire.

"Should be here any second now!"

Then, something was thrown towards one of the robbers. The first looked surprised as a black ribbon wrapped around him and constricted. The robber cried out as he was suddenly yanked forward. His face met the heel of a white-booted foot.

Blake stood in her Shadow costume, which had changed thanks to the efforts of Riri and Ruby. Instead of a domino mask, her mask covers her head, with two protrusions to showcase her eats. Her entire suit is dominantly white except for her emblem, which is black.

"Is that our backup?" The cop asked.

"No…?"

Without sparing the knocked-out robber a glance, she turned to the partner, who snapped out of his shock. He aimed his blaster and fired upon the interloper. Not wanting to waste her semblance, she dodges and rolled to get some distance to reduce his accuracy. Eventually, she unwrapped the ribbon restricting the first robber. As she brought it around, the end transformed into the scythe head of her Gambol Shroud. As she swung her weapon towards him, the length of the ribbon extended to provide more reach. Gambol Shroud struck him in the head, incapacitating him.

Seeing that the battle is over, she glanced at the watching officers. They were staring at her dumbstruck. Who could blame them? Considering that they weren't supervillains or wannabees, she had taken them down in less than a minute.

"All yours," Blake said as she swung Gambol Shroud in Kurasagima form. When it grappled on a nearby rooftop, several stories high, she pressed on the ribbon and it pulled her up. The wind rushed against her as she neared the edge. She grasped it and pulled herself up. With a flick, Gambol Shroud converted back into ribbon form which she wrapped around her arm.

"Hey Bl—I mean, Shadow," Doreen shouted as she landed on the roof rushed over to her. She is clad in her brown and grey costume, her three-foot bushy tail exposed for the world to see. On her head is a headband with squirrel ears. Blake knew that she was just living up to her motif.

"Sorry about that," Doreen apologized. "Still need to get used to using your superhero name."

"It's alright Squirrel Girl," Blake assured her. "So how were things on your end?"

"Turns out the two that you fought had a third buddy. Tippy-Toe got to him before he could fire at you. Be sure to thank her."

The squirrel in question clambered up Blakes leg, across her back and on her shoulder. Tippy—Toe puffed out her chest and squeaked with pride.

"Yes. Thank you, Tippy-Toe," Blake said as she stroked her head. Tippy-Toe purred then scampered back to Doreen.

After Jaune explained his 'plan', Teams RWBY and JNPR began the hunt for Kraven with the Secret Warriors. Each of them is divided into pairs, with Lockjaw on standby at a moment's call. Daisy thought it'd be better if the remnatians are partnered up with one of them for 'an exercise'. Blake ended up partnered with Doreen.

One cool thing about Squirrel Girls' ability to communicate with squirrels is the squirrels themselves. Doreen and Tippy-Toe have connections with many of the squirrel population, which provide them with an information network. Any sign of Kraven and Doreen will be the first to know and report to Agent Johnson.

All as planned.

"It's nearly six," Doreen said as they rushed across rooftops. "Want to take a break?"

"Sure," Blake said. They stopped and took a seat. Doreen picked up a box with a purple ribbon next to her. Blake had a feeling that she put that there beforehand. Opening the box, she was six intricately made cupcakes. Some of them have strawberry on top of the frosting, the other half is shaped like fish.

"I couldn't get an actual fish cupcake," Doreen said as she passed one to Blake. She and Tippy-Toe each took one of the strawberries. "I hope you'll settle for this."

"I can eat anything else besides fish," Blake said as she took a bite. "These are good."

"I know the right place," Doreen said as she scarfed hers down. "Each of us gets two each. Right, Tippy-Toe?"

Tippy-Toe chittered as she nodded sadly. Blake assumed that the squirrel wanted more than two cupcakes. It was silent for a moment, aside from the sound of their jaws moving. Whenever frosting got on their lips, they would lick it off.

"Say," Doreen said suddenly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure?"

"Back at base, you were pretty angry about the whole Kraven thing," Doreen said. "I mean, you haven't met the guy and you got mad throughout Quakes briefing. Why?"

It took a few seconds for Blake to remember. Then she sighed. Doreen didn't live on Remnant, so she wouldn't know. She also knew that she had to talk about it at some point.

"It's because of something on my home planet," She began. "When we were talking about our home planet, you remember how I said there are two races besides the Grimm? Humans and Faunus?"

"Those with animal features, right?" Doreen said. "You also mentioned that you are a faunus and I'm not."

"I'm sure that you would qualify as a faunus regardless," Blake said with a small smile that faded. "But you know the mutants and human relations today?"

"Yes, it's basically—" Doreen's eyes widened as she realized what Blake is getting at. "Oh…so it's like that?"

"Yeah," Blake nodded. "Nobody knows our origin, but I assume Kang does. They appeared right after the Brother Gods left Remnant. It was there that discrimination against us began, and it was all because we have features that terrify them. Thanks to bad rumors and stories, it grew. It wasn't uncommon for humans to chase us out of villages or worse… hunt us down and kill us."

Her voice had become so low that she stopped. Doreen gazed at her with a mixture of shock and sympathy. Tippy-Toes tail drooped.

"Wow…" Doreen breathed. "Earth has a history of lynching but…I don't know what to say. So, did it continue?"

"For a while. At some point in history, a village called Saunus got attacked by Grimm. The humans and faunus worked together and successfully repelled them. It was there that humanity realized that there isn't any difference between them, aside from their features."

"But let me guess," Doreen said with a frown. "They still got treated like pieces of garbage."

"That's a mild way of putting it," Blake said. "It wasn't until after our planet's great war that we were given equal rights and the continent of Menagerie as compensation. Some saw it as fair and just, others saw it as a slap in the face."

"Sounds like segregation," Doreen said grimly. "Our planets got a nasty history of that. The difference is that involves the color of our skin before superhumans. Did men began wearing white hoods and burn crosses?"

"We've got people who hold human supremacy to high regard," Blake said. For a moment, she mentally thought of a certain CEO in a white hood and robe. But then she figured that the Nazi uniform and funny mustache best suited him and his personality. "They began countermanding the equal rights we won an attempted to confine us in Menagerie. The faunus revolted and began the faunus rights revolution. While we were successful in reclaiming our rights, we remain victims of discrimination."

"They still kept it up?" Doreen asked incredulously. "Did these guys learn nothing at all? So, what did you do?"

"Sometime later, the White Fang was created," Blake continued.

"Which you were a part of?" Doreen asked, having been briefed about her backstory. As much as Blake was willing to share.

"It was intended to serve as a 'symbol of peace and unity between humans and the faunus."

"Ah! That sounds like a Remnant version of the X-Men!" Doreen said with a grin.

"You can say that," Blake said with a. smile. She didn't admit this to anyone, especially Ruby, but the X-Men are her favorite heroes. According to Pietro and Wanda, they are a private security force composed of mutants who protect a world that hates and fears them. The group's founder, Professor Charles Xavier, reminded her of her father with his ideals of unity and peace between humans and mutants. It saddens her to hear that Xavier died and the X-Men vanished.

"So, what did they do next? Kick some bad guys butt? Save the world from a horrible future of faunus hating robots?"

"Nothing like that, sadly," Blake said. "Sorry Squirrel Girl, but we did protests and rallies. The intent was to be a peaceful organization."

Then her face darkened.

"When it proved ineffective, the new leader turned the organization to violence. They did things like disrupting peace protests, firebomb stores that refuse to serve faunus, and theft or sabotage organizations that used faunus labor. One example would be the Schnee Dust Company."

"The one where Weiss is the heiress to?" Doreen asked. "The one run by her jerk of a father. The one who looks like Hitler with a bad makeover?"

"Yep," Blake chuckled at the accurate description of Weiss' father. "Because of their controversial labor forces and questionable business partners, the White Fang have been locked into conflict with them for years. This includes theft, disappearances, and murders of executives and sabotage."

"From X-Men to Brotherhood of Mutants, huh," Doreen correctly surmised. "Though I think it'd be more appropriate to call them the Brotherhood of Faunus in this case. Do they have their version of Magneto?"

"I'd say that would go to Sienna Khan, but it goes to someone that I once looked up to. Like Magneto, he hates humans to the point where he 'accidentally' kills them. Ever since I've arrived here, I decided that they're like the Nazis. It was there that I decided to desert the organization."

Blake paused for breath. She took the last cupcake and consumed it. Tippy-Toe climbed on her knee and provided comfort.

"That's why I was mad at Kraven. He views people like us as animals to be hunted. He sees us as nothing more than that. Which is what causes the hatred for humans on my planet. As long as there are people like that, there can never be peace between the two races."

Blake ended it with silence. She had said it. The full history of faunus being hated by humans and how it never seemed to end.

"Seems like there's one thing left to do then," Doreen said, breaking the silence. Blake looked up at her in confusion.

"What?"

"We go over there and kick their buts!"

Blake's expression became blank. "Huh?"

"We're going to your planet as soon as it's found, right? Once we take it back from Kang, we'll go over to the White Fang and set them straight. If they don't, we can kick their butts!"

"Do you realize what you're saying?" Blake said, jumping up. She knew that if her friend ever met him, then she would end up worse than Yang in Kang's timeline. She only got off with a sliced arm, she can't imagine how Doreen will turn out.

"Yes, because I'm a superhero," Doreen said firmly. "It's our job to fight the bad guys. So, who's the Magneto wannabe? What are his powers and weapons?"

"You can't!" Blake protested. "I know what he's like. He's—"

Blake stopped as Doreen gave her a glare that would've put Glynda Goodwitch to shame.

"Why? I can't beat him is that what you're saying?"

"No, I—"

"Alright then, don't tell me!" Doreen huffed and sat back down. She began to dig into her pockets. "I'll just consult the cards for help. I recently got a new pack. The White Fang term you used helped me remember a new card."

Cards? Blake thought with an arched eyebrow. "How are cards going to help you?

Doreen shuffled through a deck of cards before stopping at one. "Adam Taurus, right?"

Blake jumped at that name. That was the name of her former mentor back in the White Fang.

"I-I never told you that," Blake stammered. "How did you know?"

"Easy," Doreen showed her the card that she held. On it is Adam rushing down a hall, drawing his sword. A sinister smile is on his face, his white mask covering his upper face, his two horns exposed among his red hair. His name is emblazoned underneath. "This told me."

"That's not what I meant!" Blake nearly shouted. "I only told SHIELD what he looked like. That drawing is too accurate. That card shouldn't even exist!"

"It is when you own Deadpool's Guide to Super Villains Cards!"

"What?"

"Deadpool's Guide to Super Villains Cards!" Doreen repeated, showing her the deck. "A series of 4522 educational trading cards about the exact amount of known supervillains. I use them whenever I face a villain that I don't know about. I found this after I got a new pack on sale. All written by Deadpool!"

"Deadpool?" Blake asked, taking some of the cards and looking through them. One card is stark what and said 100% better than the Avengers Datacrux. Below it is a tiny guy in a red and black suit with eye lenses giving a thumbs up. "Isn't that one of the guys you beat? How does he know all this?"

"Beats me," Doreen shrugged. "You should see his guide to Super Villain Super Accessories."

She held up Adam Taurus' card and began reading it. "Let's see, Adam Taurus. Currently affiliated with the White Fang. Race, Faunus. Height 6'4" (1.93 meters). Aura Color, red. The weapon is a katana Wilt and Blush, a red sword and a rifle scabbard. Semblance Moonslice (See details below). Little is known of Adam's early history, although at some point in his life, Adam was part of the Faunus Labor Force that served the Schnee Dust Company. At some point during his service, he was branded with the SDC logo on his face, scarring him and seemingly blinding his left eye. Fueled by this inhumane treatment, and his growing personal vendetta, Adam joined the White Fang. Eventually, Adam became a mentor and—"

Doreen stopped as she realized what the rest of the text was. Slowly, she looked up to see Blake staring at the ground, her hair shrouding over her eyes.

"A crazy abusive ex-boyfriend," Doreen muttered. That wasn't on the card, but she was able to summarize what she read next. Looking back and forth at the card, she felt terrible. No not terrible…awful. "Blake…I'm sorry I—"

"Sorry?" Blake whispered slowly. She stood up. "Of course, you're sorry! You didn't see the one you once saw as a mentor turns into a monster! You didn't run away from him when you realize that! You didn't see how it come to bite you in the ass in the future when he promises to make your life a miserable hell! Starting with your friends!"

Blake let her pain and anguish out to Doreen, who looked ashamed as she took it all in. Seconds later, she realized what she had done and the unfairness of the situation. Taking her anger out on somebody was not cool.

"D—Squirrel Girl," Blake stammered. She nearly spat out her secret identity. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap."

"It's alright," Doreen said with a sigh. "I spoke out of turn. I would be mad too if somebody brought up painful memories from my past."

"Still, it was wrong of me to yell at you."

Nobody speaks for several seconds.

"Blake?" Doreen said quietly. "I promise…we are going to get this guy."

"How?" Blake asked. "I'm sure you've read his card already. He's too much to handle."

"You forget something, Shadow," Doreen said, emphasizing her code name. She stood up and pressed her left fist to her hip and punched the air with her free arm. Tippy-Toe scampered off of Blake and climbed up to her master's shoulder to mimic her pose.

"I'm the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl!" She declared to the world. "I faced the worst that my planet had to throw at me and triumphed! No matter where I go, I will not back down!"

Tippy-Toe chirped angrily.

"Oh yeah…WE faced the worst that the planet threw at us! We will not back down! All better now Tippy-Toe?"

Tippy-Toe nodded as Blake tried to think of an argument to dissuade Doreen from pursuing that person. It died in her throat when she realized what it is that made Doreen herself. She is almost just like Ruby, with her optimistic attitude that seemed to not fade despite adversity. It was that same attitude that got them past the fight against the White Fang and Kang. She had no doubt it would continue without Kang's interference. She remembered the people that Doreen mentioned in her rant about Kraven, the ones that are the top dogs. It was there she saw what made her unbeatable.

Because of her seemly 'mediocre' powers and abilities, it was her knack for being underestimated. One minute the villains think she's easy to beat, the next they are on the ground begging to be arrested. The very thought of it made her laugh, along with the thought of Adam Taurus losing to her.

"What's so funny?" Doreen asked, disappointed that her inspiring pose and speech didn't get the reaction that she was hoping to get out of her.

"Just a thought, nothing offensive," Blake said, stifling her chuckles. "Before I go into detail, can you tell me when and how you defeated Thanos? From what I heard he was killed in a previous conflict with the Avengers."

"Oh, yeah!" Doreen perked up at that. "I'm so glad you asked. I have his card if you want to see—"

She was interrupted by squirrel chatter. A glance towards Tippy-Toe showed that it wasn't her. Tippy-Toe pointed a tiny paw towards another squirrel coming their way. Doreen knelt and began speaking to it, lowering her voice as to not hurt the squirrels' hearing. Despite her faunus hearing, Blake can't understand what the squirrel is saying but Doreen. When it was finished, Doreen's expression brightened.

"What did she say?" Blake asked.

"She's a he," Doreen corrected. "And he said that some of my furry friends have spotted Kraven. Anything else?"

It took them fifteen minutes for them to reach the area described to them from the squirrel. Blake by parkour and swinging on Gambol Shroud, and Doreen by superhuman leaping. By the time they arrived, night had fallen. According to the info they received, Kraven was spotted entering an abandoned shopping mall scheduled for demolition. By the looks of the wrecking ball still, there, it's halfway done. Barricades have been set up to prevent entry, but there is nobody there to ensure that remains the case.

"This is the place," Doreen stated. Thanks to their night vision, they can see as clear as day. "Can't imagine why."

"Probably looking for more prey to hunt," Blake said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was already turning this place into a hunting ground.

"Right there," Doreen shuddered. Despite her aggression with Kraven, she seemed freaked out by the abandoned mall. It looked like one of those haunted houses on Halloween. "So, what's our next move? Scope out the place or call in back up?"

"Better safe than sorry," Blake said. "One on one isn't going to work on him. That's his advantage. If we take him on with the rest of our teammates…"

"We can give him ten times the beating he deserves!" Doreen pounded her fists together.

"Exactly," Blake accessed her masks HUD and selected Daisy's caller ID. A few seconds later, it connected.

"Shadow?"

"Quake. We've found an area that Squirrel Girl believes is where Kraven is at. Sending it to you now."

"Affirmative. Standby until we get there."

"Wilco, Quake," Blake said. She chuckled at the fact that she's using military jargon. Guess that came from SHIELD Bootcamp. "All right Squirrel Girl, let's wait for her until…"

Her voice trailed off as she saw a red dot on Doreen's forehead.

"GET DOWN!"

Blake lunged forward and pushed her behind an abandoned car. But this action also puts her in the path of the energy bolt that came flying with the speed of a bullet. The bolt impacted against her and she faded into non-existence.

"Shadow!" Doreen cried out. She stood at the spot where her friend took a bolt meant for her until she felt a tap on her shoulder. The Squirrel Girl turned her head to see Blake sitting next to her.

"You forget my semblance," Blake pointed out.

"Oh," Doreen said before she hugged her. "Still! I'm glad you are alright!"

"Shadow! Squirrel Girl!" Daisy called out on the comms as Kraven fired on the car they are taking cover. "What's going on!"

"We're taking fire!" Blake shouted over the energy bolts. "It appears Kraven has his hands on some kind of weapon that can fire energy bolts!"

"Energy Bolts?" Ruby asked excitedly. Her caller ID is right next to Daisy's. "Is he using an energy caster? One for long-range use? Can you show me?"

"Later Thorn," Daisy said. "Hold off until we arrive. Make sure you guys are still alive. As Fury said, this ain't my first rodeo."

"Wilco," Blake said, signing off.

"Why does he keep shooting the car?" Doreen asked. They checked where Kraven is firing. The bolts kept hitting the same spot near the hood…

Realization donned on them and broke cover. As the bolt hit the hood again, the car exploded. They felt the force of the explosion from behind, but it wasn't enough to knock them down. Blake, however, ducked to avoid another shot.

"Clever bastard," Blake rasped as she and Doreen picked themselves up and ran straight to the mall. From where Kraven is firing, his position appears to be on the roof. This means he will be blind when they approach him from the mall, his blind spot. At least that's what she hoped as soon as she entered, the shutters slid down from above and cut them off from the exit.

"You took the words out of my mouth," Doreen said. "But without the cussing. It looks like he wanted us to go inside."

"But why?" Blake asked as she took a step back. The second she did, a panel sunk into the floor with a click. A whirr of mechanisms filled their ears. Out of the floor popped up a series of turrets, their barrels aimed at them. They didn't need to yell out 'duck' to get out of the way of turret fire. Each of them took cover behind a concrete pillar.

"When did he set this up?!" Blake shouted.

"Likely before we found him," Doreen shouted back as she looked over her 'Kraven the Hunter' card. "I shouldn't be surprised at this, considering that he calls himself the hunter, but it turns out he's good at making booby traps. The name may be funny, but it's deadly serious!"

"I'm familiar with the term," Blake said. She tried to get a call to the rest of her friends, but her HUD can't make a connection. "I can't contact others! Kraven must be jamming us! We're on our own!"

"So much for back up," Doreen groaned. "We've got to take it out!"

"How?"

"Kraven has to have it nearby," Doreen explained. "But first we need to deal with the traps! By the looks of the traps, they're modern and not like the bear traps I'm familiar with. Considering that they are integrated throughout the mall, and this is just a guess, they have to have a power source!"

"Couldn't they all have their separate batteries?" Blake asked, to which she shook her head.

"Kraven will have to be dumb if he didn't have something like a network switch," Doreen said. "Before you ask, it's networking hardware that connects devices on a computer network. The long explanation for later. Anyway, if we can find their source of power, we can shut down every trap in the building. The question is where?"

Blake wondered that as well. Her lenses zoomed in on the lights. She noticed that while they are in fine condition, they aren't lit.

"He must be using the electrical room," Blake deduced. "When he was rigging this place, he must have got the electrical system working. Then he rewired his traps and redirected the electricity to power them. That's why the lights aren't on."

"I'm not even going to ask how that makes sense," Doreen said, briefly pulling back to avoid a barrage. "Still that would make sense! The electricity in this place is enough to power a multitude of traps!"

"Think you can find a map of this place?" Blake asked. "I don't think these pillars are going to protect us forever!"

"Let me check!" Doreen said taking a step back. Fortunately for her, the pillar she was using for cover had a map on it. "Let's see…aha! The good news is that the entrance is just up ahead! The bad news is that we have to go through a lot of traps!"

"Swell," Blake cursed. She briefly glanced at their pillars. It's slowly being chipped away. "We're going to have to risk it! Think you can do it?"

"Sounds better than destroying every trap in this place," Doreen said. "And it's much better than being plasma targets."

Blake had Gambol Shroud transform into weapon mode. "On three?"

"Why bother waiting?"

Together, they bolted from their cover and ran ahead. Blake let a shadow take an energy bolt before transforming Gambol Shroud into kurasagima form. She threw the scythe end up to the roof and had her weapon pull her up. Doreen ducked and dodged energy blasts until she got to a wall. She jumped several feet up and stuck herself to the ceiling and began to climb. The turrets design only allowed them to fire and track their targets on the ground level, not in the air.

Of course, that didn't mean they are out of harm's way.

"He planted mines on the ceiling!" Doreen shouted. On the ceiling are small circular objects, each of them five feet away from each other, that looked dangerous. As soon as she placed a hand forward, the mine blinked red and blew up after a few seconds. Fortunately, she backed away just in time. "They're vibration sensing!"

"Give me a second! Just stay back," Blake shouted as she landed. As if fate wanted to screw with her life, she activated another trap. From above, an apparatus fired an orange energy ball that expanded into an energy net. Blake could only stare in horror as it landed on her…

…and she vanished.

"I'm starting to like my semblance," Blake said behind a pillar. During Bootcamp, she read on how one's power tends to be based on an aspect of their character. Thor told her that her semblance must be based on how she ran from her problems than face them. Despite that, she's happy with her semblance due to its uses.

Blake shifted Gambol Shroud into pistol form and aimed at the mines. She fired several bullets at them. Thanks to Hawkeye's training, her bullets hit the mines dead on. Each of them exploded from the impact. When the smoke settled, there are several small craters.

"Thanks, Shadow!" Squirrel girl said as she proceeded ahead.

"Quake ordered us to stay alive," Blake replied as she continued her run. They ran into several more traps. Energy stakes, flamethrowers, electrical pylons, and many others. Blake wondered how many traps the hunter had rigged. By the time they arrived at the electrical room, they were nearly out of breath.

"C-can't stop now," Blake gasped out. Her HUD showed that her aura is at forty-five percent. She reached for the door before stopping to realize that Kraven must have booby-trapped the door. Grunting, she transformed Gambol Shroud into ribbon form and wrapped it around the handle.

"Get back," Blake said. She and Doreen took several steps back and she pulled on the ribbon. The door opening is followed by a click before it exploded.

"He knew that we were going to shut it down," Blake said. "It's the one thing that one would go for to shut down the traps."

"With that out of the way, let's shut this down!" Doreen said as she went into the room. Blake descended into the darkroom with her friend, eager to disable the traps and defeat Kraven and rescue the people he captured.

He watched the two women as they disable the electrical grid. On a separate computer screen, the displayed traps began showing error messages. He had been watching them as they made it through the gauntlet. From what he heard over the police radios, the one with cat protrusions is called the Shadow. She was the reason that they set this up, Squirrel Girl was just an unexpected factor. After they cut the power to the rest of the mall, he reached for a red button.

They might be worthy of the hunt. Just one more test.

He pressed the button.

"That's the end of that," Doreen said as they walked out. They encountered yet another electrical trap down in the electrical room. If that wasn't bad enough, it appeared that he upgraded the security of the switchboard. Thankfully, Doreen happened to be into computer science.

"I didn't know you were a computer geek," Blake said as they walked down the hall. The disabled traps gave them a sense of security for now.

"I don't look like it?" Doreen said. "I'm just full of surprises. With the traps disabled, I guess Kraven is out of tricks."

BOOM.

They briefly stumbled as the building shook. Eyes wide, they looked around for the source. Meanwhile, it happened again, this time more intense than the previous one. At the other end, the shutters rumbled.

"Maybe I spoke too soon?"

Her question was answered when the shutter doors came flying and landed in front of them. It had a half-sphere dent the size of the wrecking ball outside. They looked at it for a moment before jerking their head up to the silhouette stepping inside with heavy footsteps.

It was nearly ten meters high with a bulky frame. On its right hand is a chain connected to a huge metal ball. Its red eyes glared menacingly at them. Despite the darkness, they can pick out the dirt-caked yellow paint.

"Is that the wrecking ball?" Doreen asked.

"Yeah," Blake nodded. "And did it just transform into a robot that is about to kill us?"

As if to answer her, it reared back its right arm and threw a straight punch. The ball on chain launched directly at them. Blake was able to avoid it thanks to her semblance while Doreen barely had time to avoid it, the ball grazed her arm. The ball smashed into the door of the electric room, caving it in.

"Doreen!" Blake called out in concern as her friend didn't have an aura. "Are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me," Doreen shouted as she held up her arm. Slowly, the bruise on her arm faded. "I may not have an aura, but I do have something better. Healing Factor!"

She jumped to the side to avoid another attack by the robot. She rolled and crouched on all fours, glaring at it.

"Alright!" The Squirrel Girl declared." Let's end this Transformers rip off!"

Doreen climbed onto the wall as the robot reared back its fist and threw another punch. The ball smashed into the ground where she once was. Taking advantage of the delay time, the Squirrel Girl jumped onto the ball as it retreated to the robot. The robot glanced at her and began to try and shake her off. Doreen gripped on for dear life, refusing to let go. Seeing how it wasn't working, it tried to smash her against the ground, but it made a mistake at doing it at a long distance. Slowly, Doreen crawled up the chain that connected the ball to the machine and turned around. Then Doreen grabbed the chain firmly, opened her mouth and clamped it on the chain. As her jaw tightened, the sound of bending metal can be heard. Then…

Snap!

Right where Doreen was biting, the chain snapped, sending the ball freefalling. Doreen pushed off the ball, did a somersault and landed on her feet. The ball crashed behind her, the remnants of the chain clanging off it. The robot seemed to be baffled by that. Doreen looked at it and smiled smugly before spitting.

"I never liked the taste of iron!"

The robot reared back its remaining hand and tried to punch her. Doreen managed to scamper up its arm to avoid it. She climbed around it's back and found what she assumed to be a receiver antenna. She grabbed it by the base and pulled. With a crack, it snapped off, and the robot stopped moving. It looks like it's manually controlled, meaning without the antenna, it can't do anything else.

"That's a wrap," She said as she jumped down. Doreen looked towards a baffled Blake.

"Did you just bite a chain and break it?" Blake asked.

"Did I forget to mention that I have a strong jaw?" Doreen asked bashfully. "My strength also extends to my jaw. However, that doesn't mean I can eat any form of matter. Which is why I prefer to fight with my fists and friends."

"Noted," Blake winced as she remembered the arm-wrestling match she and Yang got into. It turned out that the Squirrel Girl is quite stronger than she looked and the only reason it ended in a draw was that Yang was using her prosthetic arm. The blonde brawler vowed to get her back one day.

She snapped out of her thoughts when a wall busted open, sending rubble flying everywhere. From the hole, another robot emerged. The model is the same as the one they had defeated.

"Another one!" Doreen shouted. "Where did that come from?!"

"We'll ask Kraven when we see him!" Blake said. Doreen barely made it out of that fight with the first robot. Plus, Kraven could be using this to exhaust them further, and she is low on the aura. So, she is going to have to finish this quick.

Maybe it's time to use that.

Blake held her katana in front of her as she sheathed it. A few seconds later, Gambol Shroud shifted. The hilt grew longer and thicker as the blade and sheathe fused to form a long-curved blade, with one side having a blunt edge. She could feel it vibrating as she held it, blue sparks flying briefly, but her grip remained strong. Blake gripped it with both hands and moved her arms till she held the blade over her head in the stance that Clint showed her, the ko gasumi, closing her eyes in concentration.

The robot stopped in front of her and threw a left-arm punch, sending the ball flying. It was there that her eyes opened with a fierce gaze. Instead of standing there, she jumped up and landed on the ball. Using it as a springboard, she jumped to meet the robot, swinging Gambol Shroud several times. The air is filled with the sound of metal slicing metal. Blake landed on the ground behind it and prepared to sheath her sword before remembering that the sheathe is fused with her sword.

"Oh, that's right," Blake said. She transformed her blade back into a ribbon and wrapped it around her arm. When she held a short end, she tugged it across, tightening the ribbon around her arm. At that moment, orange lines appeared all over the wrecking ball robot. Then, it fell apart at the cuts, slice clean like a knife through warm butter. Doreen watched with her mouth agape as the pieces fell apart.

"That…was…AWESOME!" Doreen exclaimed as she rushed over to Blake. "What is that?"

"High-Frequency blade," Blake answered, remembering what Stark told her about her weapon's new transformation. "It's a sword reinforced by a powerful alternating current and resonates at an extremely high vibration frequency. This oscillation weakened the molecular bonds of anything it cuts, thereby increasing its cutting ability. I'm planning on using this only in case of emergencies. I'm still trying to get used to it, which is why I'm having Hawkeye teach me swordplay."

"That is so cool!" Doreen said. "Are you planning on learning ninjutsu next?"

Blake rolled her eyes at that as she transformed Gambol Shroud back into its previous configuration. "We'll talk about it later. Anyway, I believe we have a hunter to catch?"

"Right," Doreen nodded. "Let's find Kraven and kick his butt!"

"That won't be necessary," a voice said with a Russian accent.

All eyes turned and widened when they see Kraven the Hunter standing on top of the robot that Doreen had disabled. Over his eyes, he wore green night-vision goggles. He must have gotten there while they were occupied with the other robot. He surveyed them with a calculating gaze.

"You must be the Shadow and Squirrel Girl," Kraven continued as he jumped down and landed on his feet. His eyes were on Blake, which made her uncomfortable, but she didn't show it. "I've fought these would be enough to soften you up. But it would appear that I've mistaken a black-footed cat for a domestic one."

"Kraven the Hunter," Blake said in a low voice as she held her weapons in a dual-wielding stance. "We're here to bring you in."

"Where's Ghost-Spider?" Doreen demanded. "We know you kidnapped our friend along with several others!"

"The same place where her kind is at," He answered cryptically. "Which is also where you are going."

"Not if we take you down first!" Blake shouted as she and Doreen charged at him. Kraven pulled out a spear and hit a switch, turning the tip orange. Blake brought her blades upon him and he brought his spear up to block the blows. Her blades have nicked the metal shaft of the spear to which he noticed. So, he pivoted on his foot and jabbed the spear at her. The second the tip touched her, she vanished and appeared behind him, swinging the katana by the blunt edge. Kraven seemed to have anticipated this as he lowered his body and threw her over his shoulder. Blake barely had time to recover when his Spear impaled her weapon by the ribbon.

"You have a strange ability," Kraven said as he walked towards her. "I watched you use it. Difficult, but predictable once you see the predator's pattern. Like a spider that makes its web."

"How about a rodent?!" Doreen shouted as she jumped up and covered Kraven's eyes with her tail. Blinding him, she proceeded to grab him and throw him to a pillar. She made another jump at him, but he recovered fast. He kicked her in the face and then hammer fisted her to the side. Before he could finish her, his right arm is wrapped in a black ribbon. He turned his head to see Blake as she yanked the ribbon back, putting him off balance. Acting fast, she wrapped him up in the ribbon and constricted it. Kraven gritted his teeth from the pressure as Blake put her katana against his throat.

"Your fangs are strong," Kraven commented despite the blade pressed against his throat. "Yet you are holding back. Why?"

"I'm here to send you to prison, not kill you," Blake said, to which Kraven frowned.

"You are just like the others," He said. "You bear the face of the beast and you disrespect it."

"What does that mean?!" Blake demanded. This provided him with the opportunity to head but her and sweep her feet. Blake pushed up with her hands and black flipped away as Kraven unwrapped the ribbon from himself. Kicking Gambol Shroud away, he pulled out two energy knives. Blake cursed as she knew that his physical strength and stamina outstrips hers. Not to mention that he's more experienced in close combat than her.

"You provided me with a challenge unlike the spiders," Kraven said as he approached her. "It will be a great pleasure hunting you."

"Sorry, but this hunt ends now," Blake said, surprising him. "Hey Squirrel Girl, are you ready?"

"The cavalry has arrived, Shadow!" Doreen shouted. Kraven looked confused. Then, his ears picked up the sound of chittering. Frowning, his nose begins to sniff. Among his other senses, this one is the strongest and most trained. That's what made hunting his prey easy. The sound and the smell are the same as…

"Squirrels?" He asked as two swarms of squirrel entered through the holes towards him.

"That's right! Squirrels!" Doreen shouted as the converged on Kraven. "They got a bone to pick with you! They even brought their complaints!"

The squirrels climbed up Kraven's body and scratched and bit him. The hunter tried to shake them off, but each one he threw two more took its place. The squirrel's dog piled on him, making him infuriated and desperate. It was there that Blake threw Gambol Shroud in kurasagima form. The weapon looped around two pillars so that Kraven tripped on the ribbon. As he fell to the ground, the squirrels came off him. Blake unfurled Gambol Shroud, transforming it into ribbon form, and had it bind him again. This time, she made sure that the ribbon restricted his hands and feet.

Blake and Doreen stood over him in triumph as he struggled against his bonds. The squirrels surrounded him like a vigilant guard ready to deliver the pain should he escape. Tippy Toe emerged from the crowd and climbed onto Doreen's shoulder.

"A while back, I had Tippy-Toe gather up her friends," She explained. "Just in case you had a jammer installed and we needed backup. We just needed to by some time for them to get here. Just goes to show that even squirrels can be deadly as long as they are together."

Tippy Toe squeaked in a boastful manner.

"And if you are as smart as Tippy Toe," Doreen added.

"Indeed," Kraven admitted. "It would appear that I have underestimated the squirrel. Just like that time, I thought hunting a spider is easy."

"Now that you mention it," Doreen narrowed her eyes. "We can go ahead and ask questions while we wait for backup. Where's Ghost-Spider?"

"Right where I left her," Kraven said. "When I got word that there was another animal totem here in New York, I left the place to see if she can provide me a challenge. As of this fight, I am eager to have her in the hunt."

"What hunt?" Blake asked sharply. "You keep going on about that. What is this hunt?"

"You'll see soon enough."

"What do you mean?" Doreen asked. "We've got you here tied up. It's not like you're going anywhere anytime soon."

Blake nodded. Her ears twitched as she heard something hit the ground. She turned to see a cylindrical object land on the ground. Her eyes widened as she recognized it as a flashbang.

"Squirrel Girl cover your eyes!" Blake shouted. Doreen looked at her in surprise but complied. The flashbang went off, and a bright light filled the room. Thankfully, Blake's suit comes with lenses that protect her eyes from bright flashes. She had a few sessions with Bucky to request that upgrade. Her eyes turned to a figure that landed on the floor and rolled towards her. Before she could act, the figure punched her in the throat, quicker than Kraven and grabbed her there. She felt herself gasp for breath as she began to lose consciousness. The faunus tried to punch him, but the figure held her arm's length.

"Shadow!" Doreen called out as Blake lost consciousness. Her face contorted into anger and she turned to face the aggressor. What she saw made her eyes widen.

"Wait! If you're…" She turned to face Kraven and back at the other. "Who are you?!"

Her surprise is her undoing. The figures' arms whipped out, quick as snakes, and grabbed her head to ram it into their knee. Doreen fell to the ground unconscious as well. Seeing the two teenager's unconscious, the figure walked forward to Kraven and unbound him.

"You did well," Kraven said as the clouds moved away to let the moon shined through the skylight. "Of course, that is to be expected because of your blood. Thanks to you, we've secured two more for the hunt."

The figure before him looks exactly just like Kraven.

To Be Continued…

Another chapter is done. Thanks to trestwho for helping me make this chapter.

I'm sorry for not updating sooner. This was meant to be posted last month, but I had some personal stuff to deal with. Now with the coronavirus running around, things are going to be difficult. I hope that it goes away and the people infected stay alive until there's a vaccine. Also, if anyone makes a joke about being not infected, please remember what happened to Justine Sacco and Deadpool.

Speaking of Deadpool, I've got to talk with that guy. Thanks to him, he introduced some spoilers to the plot! I'm starting to think this is payback for either not posting this sooner or because I wouldn't add him yet. I'll talk to him about it.

Anyway, on to Q&A:

The mysterious Mr.E: Blake can be classified as a Totem type hero. Of course, he's going to hunt her.

1968: You're welcome.

Edinosaur25: That remains to be seen along with certain other things.

Chaldea: I will soon, for now, we're focusing on our heroes.

Thank you all for reading and I hope I live to write again.