Remnant's Mightiest Heroes!
Chapter 17: Costume Quest
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October 31st, 1:45 PM
Horizon High, New York
"HA HA HA HA HA!"
It was midday, and madness and destruction reigned over the school of Horizon High. Smoke rose from the building from craters on its walls. The windows are either cracked or shattered. Alarms are blaring, signaling that Horizon is under attack.
Out of the building came three spider heroes. They landed in front of the entrance to the school and scanned the area. Underneath their arms are students they rescued from the building. They put them down and they ran for safety.
"Thank you for swinging with your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!" Spider-Man waved. "Make sure to stay away from exploding apples!"
"Okay…where is he?" Spider-Girl demanded. "I had a brilliant plan before he showed up!"
"Take it easy Spider-Girl," Ghost-Spider assured her, but her eyes are narrowed with irritation. "We can pretty much find him with his laughter."
"Not to mention it's very difficult to fly a glider in here," Spider-Man muttered. "Do you think he got his from Gobby? I don't want to think that he crawled up from the grave just to give away his tech."
"With your luck…most likely," Spider-Gwen replied with a dark chuckle. A breeze of rose petals flew by them as Thorn appeared in her superhero garb.
"Sorry I'm late," Thorn apologized. "I was helping a few students get out of the building. So, who is attacking the school this time? Where is he?"
"Question of the day my young hero," Spider-Man said. "All we have to do is look for a guy with a flaming pumpkin head and scythe."
"You mean that guy over there?" Thorn asked pointing.
"Yes, that guy over—eeh?!"
The Spider Heroes looked to where Thorn was pointing to a cackling figure in the sky flying on a glider. It is a man of average height wearing a dark grey bodysuit and a tattered red cloak. On his belt are round bombs in the shape of candied apples. His head is covered in a flaming pumpkin with a classic carved smile.
"Happy Halloween boys and girls!" The voice coming from the pumpkin sounded young.
"Okay…so, who's he?" Thorn asked Spider-Man. "Pumpkinhead?"
"Close. He's Jack O' Lantern," Spider-Man answered. He looked up at the villain as shouts, "Hey Jackie, while I'm glad that you finally decided to do this on October Thirty-First, I would like to point out that Halloween doesn't start until FOUR O'ClOCK!"
"Any time is Halloween time!" Jack O' Lantern cackled. "And what better way to start than a BOO-tiful bounty of treats?"
"For you or us?" Spider-Girl muttered.
"So, he's a Halloween fanatic?" Thorn asked.
"Oh, you have no idea," Spider-Man muttered. "You should've seen him during the Fourth of July! I have a theory that he was a victim of an April Fool's joke and still hasn't realized it."
Just then, the spiders, aside from Spider-Girl, felt their spider-sense tingle. Jack-O'-Lantern is holding a gun with a tubular barrel at them. Even with the helmet on, they could tell he was grinning wickedly.
"Trick or Treat?"
"Scatter!" Spider-Man cried out. The Spiders leaped out of the way as the pumpkin-headed villain fired the weapon. Thorn wasn't so lucky as she is being peppered by…candy corn?
"What the…?" Thorn muttered as Jack O' Lantern continued to fire sprays of candy corn at her. The pieces of candy did not damage her aura other than becoming a mild irritation. Slowly, she looked at the other heroes and asked, "Is he shooting candy corn at me?"
"Yep," Ghost-Spider said with a small pop.
"Actual candy corn?" Thorn repeated. "Candy that he's wasting, RIGHT NOW?"
"Did we mention that he's a Halloween fanatic?" Spider-Man asked. "Yes, I believe we did."
Ruby nodded, slowly digesting this. She turned to Jack O' Lantern, who seemed to have given up on his candy corn barrage. She whipped out Crescent Rose in rifle form and aimed it at the still cackling villain.
"You buster just committed the greatest crime on Halloween," Thorn hissed through her teeth as she loads a cartridge, marked with a bullet penetrating a wall, into her weapon.
With that declaration, she pulled the trigger. The bullet penetrated the glider's chassis and begun to spark. It swerved in the air, the rider swaying as he struggled to regain balance. Then, the glider crashed into the ground, sending Jack O' Lantern flying. He skidded on the ground headfirst before stopping.
Thorn made a show of twirling her rifle and transforming it into bo-staff form. Spider-Man was gawking at her.
"Wow," Spider-Man said. At his side, the female spiders were stunned as well. "Remind me never to get on her bad side on Halloween."
"Agreed," Spider-Girl said.
Thorn moved into attack. Jack O' Lantern picked himself up and took a small rod off his belt. With a press of a button, it expanded into a full-length staff. On one end, a scythe blade sprang out and became covered in flames. As he blocked Thorn's staff strike with it, her anger became replaced by her weapon fangirl glee at the sight.
"OH MY GOSH, YOU HAVE A FLAMING SCYTHE?!" Thorn shouted with starry eyes as she blocked and parried his strikes.
"How about we take him down and THEN admire his weapons?" Ghost-Spider asked as she fired a web-blast at Jack O' Lantern. The villain slashed the webbing in half with his scythe. He pushed Thorn back before holding up a finger at Ghost-Spider.
"Tsk. Tsk. You know the rules female spider," Jack O' Lantern said gleefully. He puts his scythe away and rubs his hands together. "Trick or Treat?"
"Are we really doing this?" Ghost-Spider asked.
"I already know what's going to happen next," Spider-Man sighed in resignation. "Might as well go with it."
"Trick or Treat?" Jack O' Lantern repeated.
"All right…treat?"
"You got it!" Jack O' Lantern turned around, concealing something in his cloak. When he turned back around, his arms are full of candied apple bombs. Laughing, he threw one at the heroes.
"Called it!" Spider-Man cried as they dodged the explosive. It blew up a section of the concrete area of the school. But the villain didn't stop there. He cackled as he threw more of his treats at them.
"Where was he keeping those things?" Thorn cried out as she dodged an explosive. The force made her aura dip only by a smidge on her HUD.
"It's one of his tricks," Spider-Man replied as he leaps off the wall of Horizon High. A candied apple bomb blew up where he once was. "I knew the caramel apples were bad for your health, but this definitely hurts! Between the itching powder and the bombs, I'd take the scythe."
"Who uses itching powder these days?" Thorn cried out.
"Why don't we talk less and take him down?" Spider-Girl cried out as she fires another web blast at him. Jack O' Lantern chucked another candied apple bomb at her. The webbing wrapped around the bomb as it exploded. After a minute of dancing around the bombs, Jack O' Lantern cackled.
"Catch me if you can!" Jack O' Lantern taunted. He was about to run away when his body began to spasm with red lighting. Jack O' Lantern fell to the ground completely incapacitated. Thorn looked confused.
"What just happened?"
"Venom blast, that's what happened."
Thorn jumped. She thought that she heard Miles's voice. She looked around for any sign of him. Then she heard him again.
"I'm over here," Thorn looked to where the voice was coming from. The air shimmered around a human figure. Then, the black and red clad form of Spy-D came into view. He looked down at the prone form of Jack O' Lantern.
"Trick or Treat," Spy-D waved. "You guys got the treats, this one got tricked."
"Since when can you turn invisible?" Thorn asked.
"It's actually optical camouflage. But I call it my Spider-Camouflage," Spy-D clarified, rubbing the back of his head. "I probably should've mentioned it when we were explaining our powers. Sorry."
"Not as sorry as Max is going to be," Spider-Man said. Everyone looked at the state of the school and knew what is going to happen. As much as they didn't like it.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to cancel the Halloween party," Max said as he and Peter walked down the halls to survey the damage. He spoke in a way that booked no argument. "As much as I hate it to do so, the damage is too severe. Several facilities need to be worked on immediately. We're lucky that he didn't attack the arc reactor."
"I understand," Peter said with a sigh. Jack O' Lantern was crazy enough as It is. "A lot of the students aren't going to be happy."
"Better to be unhappy than be dead," Miles said. "Just what made him decide to attack Horizon?"
"I and my friends think that he was after the stuff in the storage," Peter said with a frown. "There's plenty that can still cause a lot of damage if it fell into his hands."
"I better discuss improving the security in the next school board meeting," Max said. He placed a hand on Peters' shoulder. "Look, Peter. I know that you're disappointed that we have to cancel the party. I am too. But we won't be able to do this if we can't keep the students safe. Even with you around."
"Don't worry," Peter said. He smiled. "In fact, Jack O' Lantern actually did us a huge favor. We have enough time to plan a surprise for a special lady."
Max furrowed his brown in confusion before realization spread on his face. "Right. Today is also Ms. Rose's…"
"Hey, Max!"
Peter and Max looked to see Ruby run towards them. She was almost out of breath from running, which is unlike her.
"Oh, Ms. Rose," Max greeted. "Did you need something?"
"I just need another copy of the form for my project at the Stark Expo," Ruby said. "I lost mine during the confusion."
"I understand," Max nodded. "I'll tell you what. Why don't I email you a digital copy and you can print it at home? I probably should be doing that from now on."
"Thank you, Max," Ruby said with a smile before taking off.
"We're closing the school early, so make sure you don't leave anything in your lab," Max called after her. He looked at Peter. "I'm surprised that's all she can think about today."
"She seemed a little stressed out when she found out about the Stark Expo," Peter said with concern. "I'm hoping today will help her out."
"You mean she doesn't know what today is?" Max asked in confusion. "Aside from Halloween?"
"Apparently," Peter said with a shrug. "If you don't mind, I'm going to follow her."
"That's fine with me," Max said. "I have to go see what else is damaged and call Damage Control."
"I'll send you the address," Peter says as he walks in the direction Ruby went. He followed the path to where her lab is and knocked on the door.
"It's unlocked," Ruby called from within. The door slid open and he walked in.
"Woah!" Peter exclaimed at the state of her lab. Papers are strewn across the floor, some of the crumpled and overflowing from a nearby trashcan. On a workbench, several components such as springs, bolts, and wires are strewn. Ruby herself is sitting at a desk with her back to him. She turned her head to look at him, on the desk is a laptop with schematics.
"Oh, hey Peter," Ruby greeted. She became embarrassed at the mess. "Sorry about this…I'm not having a good day…"
"Still struggling about what to come up for the Stark Expo?" Peter asks to which she nods. He assures her, "Don't worry about it. I had inventors block during my first expo. I'm sure you can think of something."
"But the only thing that I can think of are weapons!" Ruby complained, banging her head on the table. "And I read enough comics to know that any weapon developed has a chance of being used for evil purposes!"
"Stark developed the Iron Man armor and he never once used it for evil," Peter points out. "Even the weapons he made back in the business ended up falling into the wrong hands. No thanks to Obadiah Stane. But that didn't stop him from developing a new clean alternate energy source."
"I know, and I admire that about him," Ruby said. She cradled her head with her arms. "But I'm not Tony Stark. I'm a girl from another world who makes weapons as a part of life. Not to mention our survival. Here, there are no Grimm to fight. I only started to tap into my teen genius."
"I wouldn't say that. Let's see what you're working on," Peter peered over to the laptop Ruby was working on. "Wait…isn't that Crescent Rose's scythe form? You're working on your weapon?"
"I'm not presenting my baby at the expo," Ruby said firmly. "I find that working on my weapon helps me relieve some stress. Then the latest supervillain attack made me think of a new addition to my baby."
"You mean Jack O' Lantern's scythe?" Peter asked. "You're going to add supervillain tech to your weapon?"
"Natasha said that we have to adapt," Ruby said without looking back. "Besides, I really haven't thought about it before. Some Huntsmen had dust blades, but never one that caught on fire. At least that's what I know. It would've been easy if there were some on earth. I'm looking into Horton Cells to see if it can act as a substitute."
"I see you've been looking into Phineas Horton's research," Peter said, looking at a window with various formulas. "But is it helping?"
"No…" Ruby admitted. "But at least it helps me take my mind off it for a moment. Did you know that our weapons transform based on our thoughts? Tony said that he reversed engineered some of Kang's tech that he salvaged during his first invasion to create the neurokinetic interface. The trick comes from this synthetic alloy from his time. It hasn't been discovered yet, but he was able to replicate it with nanomachines. As long as the machines have the blueprint, they're able to form our weapons."
"Neat," Peter said. Then something occurred to him. "Aren't you researching the field of nanotech? Maybe your project can be based on that."
"That's what I first thought," Ruby said with a moan. "But then I remember what would happen if it gets stolen and repurposed. Nanotechnology may do a lot more harm than good."
"Ruby, for the last time, everything has a chance of being abused," Peter reiterated. "It all depends on the person using it. Take the itching powder for example."
"You mean from Jack O' Lantern's bombs? What's going to happen to him anyway?"
"He's most likely being sent to Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane as we speak," Peter said. "While the Raft is still being reconstructed, that's just the place someone crazy as him would end up. I still remember the itches all over my body."
"How did that happen? Itching powder is effective when it makes contact with the skin, so for it to work you have to be…" Ruby stopped talking as she realized something. She blushed. "Wait…you fought him…completely in the buff?"
"It was one time," Peter said quickly. "And I wasn't completely in the buff! I was fighting villains for three days straight and my mind couldn't keep up. I didn't realize that I wasn't wearing my full uniform until Jack O' Lantern threw an itching powder bomb at me."
The two of them were silent for a moment before they burst out laughing.
"Yeah, my Parker luck struck big that time," Peter said. Then his face softens. "Hey…since it's Halloween, why don't you take some time off and celebrate?"
"Believe me I intend to," Ruby said eagerly. "We don't have a holiday where people hand out free candy back on Remnant! And I wanted to try out the vampire hunter costume I put together."
"You should visit Harlem," Peter said. "Miles knows a lot of places there that can give the best treats. I heard that he's offering to help you out."
"Really? Then maybe I should take him up on that offer," Ruby closed her laptop and got up from her seat. She pulled out a thumb drive from the docking port. "I better get going. Weiss made sure to help me pack my costume so I can get down to trick or treating. I'm surprised that she would help me, but…I feel like that she's trying to get me out of the mansion."
"I'm sure that she means well," Peter said a little too quickly. He looked at his phone. "Besides, you'd better hurry. The Subway leaves in about…ten minutes."
"TEN MINUTES!" Ruby yelped. She checked her scroll and got even more panicked. Scrambling, she begins shoving her laptop haphazardly into her stuffed bag.
"Gods I haven't cleaned up my lab!"
"How about I clean it up?" Peter offered. "I still have some stuff to do here anyway. Plus, I've had experience in cleaning up messes."
"Oh, thank you!" Ruby bowed before narrowing her eyes at him. "But you better not steal any of my ideas! I may have thrown them away, but that doesn't mean you get to use them!"
"What do you take me for? A thief?" Peter asked as Ruby ran out of the room. The spider sighed as he began to pick up the mess. In his pocket, he felt his phone ring. He took it out and saw the caller ID named Miles.
"Hey Miles, she's on her way."
"Copy that, Peter," Miles replied. "I'm waiting at Harlem to receive her. By the way…does she seriously not know?"
"Seems like it," Peter said as he picked up pieces of paper. "Weiss said that she tends to be a little…scatterbrained when it comes to days like this."
"Not for Halloween, apparently," Miles chuckled. "But what can we say? Everybody loves Halloween!"
"Don't remind me," Peter groaned, thinking back to their fight with Jack O' Lantern. By now, he traced most of the paper on the wall. He looked up and saw that some of the paper even got on the ceiling. He crouched and jumped into the air. His spider-powers allowed him to cling to the ceiling.
"How did she get these on the ceiling?" Peter asked indignantly as he began to pick them off. He stopped when he noticed something about the papers.
Most of them were drawings of black creatures with skeletal features. Some of them looked like werewolves, ravens, and even an elephant. Underneath each of them is the name of the creatures.
"Are these the Grimm from her homeworld?" Peter asked as he picked up another paper.
"What was that?" Miles was still on the line.
"Oh, I found stuff that Ruby drew. Most likely she's trying to surmise everything she learned from Kang…"
Instead of Grimm, this one had two tall humanoid figures, both looking naked. One looked to be colored light gold with a crown of antlers upon his head. The other is a deep purple with segmented horns that arc back over his head and curve upward. They are labeled as the God of Light and the God of Darkness.
"Those must be the guys who created Ruby's world…"
Next to them are small pictures of dragons. One looked to be an Eastern traditional dragon for the God of Light. For the God of Darkness, it was a traditional Western dragon with four legs. Peter assumed that the Gods could transform into these forms. He read off the notes that Ruby had written connecting them.
"Silver eyes…Light Force…created Grimm…Dark Force…hey, wasn't that written back on the page with the Grimm? Yep…must be thinking that the Grimm are Dark Force constructs…"
On a whim, he turned the page around. On the back is the figure of a woman in a dress that looked to be made of shadows. Her skin and hair looked to be ash white, giving a deathly appearance. The eyes are red with black sclerae, completing the inhuman appearance. The woman's name is below.
"Salem?" Peter read aloud before something clicked. "Oh yeah…she's the one who Kang said would destroy their world…and by extension the universe…"
He was about to put the paper away when he saw something on it. It wasn't a note and more like a question. It was written in big letters, making it stand out from the rest of her notes.
MY MOTHER'S KILLER?
"Hey, Miles…are you still there?" Peter asked quietly.
"I've been here ever since you started reading off of Ruby's notes. Why?"
"Can you make sure she's alright? I have a feeling that the Stark Expo isn't the only thing on her mind."
Avenger's Mansion
"She's on the move?" Weiss asked her scroll.
"Yep. I'm meeting her up as planned."
"Thank you, Miles," Weiss said with a victorious smile. "Now just keep her occupied and away from the Mansion until we are done. I'll signal you."
"Will do," Miles said before ending the call.
"Alright…everything is going perfectly," Weiss said with a scheming smile. She was standing in the foyer of the mansion. Her attire composed of a midnight blue tricorne hat, and a similar colored long coat over a white dress. The doors to the dining room opened and Shaun walked out.
"Never took you for the pirate type," Shaun commented.
"I believe the saying is 'live dangerously'," Weiss replied. She pointed to her right eye. "Besides, I have a scar that I will wear with pride!"
"That's cool," Shaun said. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "America is getting the tables set up. Doreen should be coming with Kamala any time now. So, if you guys want to go trick or treating, now's the time."
"Yep, thanks for reminding me," Weiss said. She looked up and cupped her hands together to yell, "Anyone who wants to celebrate Halloween, your window is closing! In other words…GET DOWN HERE NOW!"
"Okay! Okay! We're coming, mom!"
Yang descended the stairs with a scowl on her face. She is dressed in boot cut, blue denim jeans, a yellow-and-black plaid button-down shirt, a brown western-style hat, cowboy boots, a yellow bandanna, and a belt with a metal buckle. Her hair is styled into a braid, which Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"Since when do you let your hair become braided?"
"Hey, I tied my hair into a ponytail," Yang said. "I hate it when someone other than me messes with my hair. Even more when they cut it. Sides…I got to look the part, don't I?"
"I noticed," Weiss said flatly. "Where's Blake?"
"Here," came the cat Faunus' reply as she came down the steps. She is dressed in a black robe with a similar colored obi wrapped around her waist. Her arms and legs have blackguards. One of her arms and legs had a fishnet. As usual, she is wearing her holographic headband to disguise her cat ears with a black cloth covering her face.
"Why do I have to partake in this?" Blake asked dully.
"It's Halloween Blake!" Yang said cheerily. "What better way than to dress up and get free candy? Which reminds me…why are we going out so early?"
"Remember when Doreen told us why Kamala acts like the Grinch during Christmas?" Weiss asked with a slight narrowing of her eyes. Yang didn't understand for a moment until her eyes widened.
"Oh yeah…"
"That's right," Weiss said pointedly. "Lucky for us, Kamala's father allowed her to come not for Halloween. Though they will still want to meet Ruby. That gives us a window to go out, trick and treat, come back and dress back into our regular attire without creating a Halloween Grinch."
"And he's okay with Kamala coming all the way to New York?" Blake asked dubiously.
"Turns out…he's a little understanding when it comes to her special field trips."
"Okay," Yang sighed. "It must really stink for Kamala…"
"BWA-HA-HA-HA! I vant to suck your blood!"
Nora appeared behind Yang with her arms raised creepily. She is dressed in a black and red dress with a high collar. In her mouth are a pair of fake vampire fangs which he opened wide as if to take a bite.
Instinctively, Yang threw a punch without looking. Her fist landed in Nora's face, knocking her down the stairs. What she had done registered and she blanched with horror as Nora rubbed her face.
"Oh my god, Nora!" Yang kneeled. "I am so sorry! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Thanks to my aura and not you," Nora glared from between her fingers. "What was up with you?"
"I could ask the same of you," Yang frowned. "Don't do that! Especially dressed up as a vampire!"
"She's right Nora," Ren said as he jumped from the second floor and landed on the bottom step. He is dressed in a maroon eight breasted vest, a white long sleeve shirt, black pants, and a flowing black cloak.
"We learned that every vampire is going to be out for Ruby's head. Not a great idea to surprise people dressed up as a vampire."
"But they went vampire hunting without us!" Nora puffed up her cheeks. "It's not fair! I wanted to smash some vampires!"
"Well at least you and Ren went out on a date," Weiss said tersely. "Otherwise, you would've been another slave for the Shadow Colonel."
"Yeah…we did, didn't we?" Nora said dreamily. She didn't appear to register the rest of Weiss' words after the mention of the date. At that moment, the last two members of Team JNPR came down. Pyrrha's costume is composed of Greek-like armor, leather sandals, and gauntlets. Jaune is dressed up in a slim fit suit, a five-button vest, a black solid tie, a dress shirt, and black dress shoes. His usually messy blonde hair is slicked back with hair gel.
"Looking good Pyrrha," Yang whistled.
"You look as if you stepped out of Greek mythology," Blake praised.
"Thank you," Pyrrha said with a smile. "I couldn't think of anything else to dress up, so I asked Jaune for some tips."
"I and my sisters would dress up for costume parties back on Remnant," Jaune said. He spread his hands wide. "What do you think about me?"
He was met with silence by his friends. A look of confusion flashed over his face and he lowered his arms. He asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Who are you supposed to be?" Weiss asked flatly. "James Bond?"
"No Weiss, he's obviously the next Agent J from Men in Black," Yang said with a grin. "But where are your Ray-Ban sunglasses?"
"I don't have them because I'm not dressed up as Agent J," Jaune said sternly.
"Are you Sebastian Michaelis?" Blake asked. "Because you need to dye your hair black if you want to look convincing."
"No, I am not!"
"That's enough you guys," Shaun ordered. "You're making him flip out on purpose. It should be obvious that he's John…"
"Yes!"
"Johnny English, the bumbling super spy."
"NO!" Jaune yelled. At that moment, America came out of the dining room dusting her hands off.
"I heard shouting, what's going on?" She asked.
"Jaune's mad because nobody is getting his costume," Ren explained. America sized him up and down.
"Agent 47?"
"For the love of...I'm John Wick!" Jaune said in exasperation. "You know from that movie we watched a few days ago?"
"How're we suppose to guess?" America asked while chuckling. "You look like you're going to a funeral."
"Oh, come on!" Jaune slumped his shoulders. Pyrrha patted his back with sympathy.
"I did tell you that they wouldn't be able to get it," Pyrrha said. Then, the doors to the mansion opened and Gwen Stacy entered. She is dressed in a purple witch outfit complete with a conical hat. In her left hand, she held a spellbook with a dragon emblazoned on the cover.
"Oh, hey guys," Gwen waved. They returned the gesture as she entered the mansion. In her right hand, she held a bag with three boxes inside. "Got something on my way here."
"Thank you, Gwen," Weiss said. She pointed to the dining room and said, "You can put them right in there."
Gwen nodded and began to walk towards it when she stopped. She studied the costumes that the Remnantians are wearing. Her eyes stopped on Jaunes and smirked.
"John Wick?"
"Thank you!" Jaune breathed out. He turned to the others and gestured to her. "See! She gets it!"
"Yeah, she does, doesn't she?" Pyrrha muttered under her breath. But her words are unnoticed by either of them.
"I'll join you guys after setting this down," Gwen said, holding up her package. "It'd probably help if you had a stuffed beagle dog. You know, for Daisy? It's kind of what set him off on the path to bloody vengeance. Other than the silenced pistol. Which by the way, you shouldn't have fake or not?"
"Don't worry, I won't," Jaune assured her. He turned to the others. "So, are you guys going to make fun of me for the rest of the day or are we going to Trick or Treat?"
"Come on Vomit Boy, we were just having some fun," Yang said teasingly. As they made their way to the front door, she turned back to Weiss. "What are you going to do while we're out? This should be a team activity."
"It is," Weiss insisted. "I'm going to make sure everything is set up so when Ruby gets back, we will be ready. You guys are going to enjoy your first Halloween. I'm going to be giving candy to adorable kids at the front gate."
"What about you Shaun?" Jaune asked.
"Likewise," Shaun said. "You guys go out and have fun."
"Okay," Jaune said. "Good luck."
With those last words, he and the others exited the mansion. Weiss stared after them for a moment before walking over to pick up a big bowl of candy. She glanced at Shaun.
"Can you take over here?"
"Sure," Shaun nodded. "I'll make sure everything is running smooth."
"Thank you, Shaun," Weiss said as she approaches the door. "I just want to ensure that nothing and I mean NOTHING goes wrong today."
In an armored transport truck, Jack O' Lantern was being transported to his new prison. Except for his trademark helmet, which is no longer on fire, his gear had been confiscated. He is fitted with a white straitjacket that restricted his arms and movement. Despite his predicament, he was giggling.
"Hey mister," Jack O' Lantern asked the driver through the small window. "What are you going to dress up for Halloween?"
"Probably a handyman," The guard answered mockingly. "So, I can get that mask off you when we reached Ravencroft."
"Or how about a psychiatrist?" His buddy on the passenger side asked. "So, you can finally break it to him that every day isn't Halloween!"
"Yes, it is!" Jack O' Lantern protested. The guards ignored him to chuckle at his misfortune. He was sad that he had to be locked up on such an auspicious day. The guy just wanted to wish everyone a happy Halloween. Horizon High happened to have all sorts of treats that he could give them. It's a shame that the spiders and that new hero had to get in the way.
Then, he heard the sound of an object being dropped. Jack O' Lantern looked down to see a light purple crystal sitting on the floor of the truck. Inside, it had dark smoke swirling incoherently. He could hear whispers coming from it. It was tempting him.
"Ooh, shiny," Jack O' Lantern leaned down as much as his straitjacket would allow him. His masked head was only a few inches from it when it suddenly flew up and smacked into his forehead. It glowed brighter as it appeared to be fusing with his head. Jack O' Lantern screamed as power seem to be coursing through him.
"Hey! What's going in there?!" The guards demanded from the front. Then, the screams escalated and became something else. It didn't stop even for a moment after the back of the truck exploded in a ball of fire. It shook the men to their bones even after they lost consciousness from hitting the dashboard.
Hysterical and maniacal laughter.
Harlem, 6:00 PM
"Oh yeah! This is the best!"
Ruby and Miles are walking through the streets of Harlem. The sun had already set and everywhere they turn, the area is filled with lights and décor. Smiling pumpkins lined up in front of doorways to greet trick or treaters as the homeowners offer them candy. Someone even made a haunted house for people to explore, a few times she heard screams. Above all, they were having a good time.
Many of the kids are dressed up as a member of the Avengers. It seemed to be the more popular costume to wear at this time. Ruby spotted a few kids wearing Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America costumes. She once spotted someone wearing a Spider-Man mask. She felt that Peter will be happy to know that some people don't think that he's a menace despite what J. Jonah Jameson says.
Now, they are watching a parade pass by from an iron fence. Some were holding up skeletal props on sticks. Free candy was being passed around by parade-goers. Singing from a float are people dressed up as weird monsters singing This is Halloween.
"Life's no fun without a good scare!" Ruby sang. She is dressed in a red overcoat over a black suit, a belt with stakes (wooden ones just in case), and a wide-brimmed red hat. She turned to Mile's who was standing next to her. "Back on Remnant, we draw the Grimm in whenever the scare level is too high. To get scared like this once per night is a blessing!"
"That would explain why you guys don't have a holiday like Halloween," Miles said. He was the only one who didn't dress up for the occasion. "I'm glad that you're having a pleasant time. Especially after Jack O' Lantern."
Ruby's face fell at the mention of that fight. Thanks to Jack O' Lantern, the party at Horizon High had to be canceled. Sure, people didn't get hurt, but it was a blow to them.
"I'm sorry that the party had to get canceled," Ruby said apologetically. "You must have been looking forward to it."
"Don't worry about it. At least we get to see the Halloween Parade."
"Yeah," Ruby admitted, her eyes going back to the parade in progress. "Seeing everyone happy…it truly is good medicine isn't it?"
"I agree," Miles nodded. He stepped away from the fence separating them from the street. "Come on, I'll show you my place. You'll love my mom's homemade caramel corn."
"Okay," Ruby said as knelt to pick up her bag of candy, which is three-fourths full. She was already giddy of acquiring so much booty. Several of them happened to be strawberry flavored, her favorite. The silver-eyed girl couldn't wait to share it with her friends.
Yet despite the happiness, she couldn't drown out the feelings gnawing at her brain ever since yesterday. Most of it involved the vampires that are now after her because of her silver eyes. The rest drifted off back towards Remnant, her conquered home.
Ruby looked up at the moon. Unlike her planet, it's still whole and shines a brilliant glow for the night. The God of Darkness shattered theirs when he and his brother left the world after Salem turned the first generation of her kind against them. All because they punished her with immortality to learn the importance of life and death. And that was only because she wanted to bring her husband back to life.
The silver-eyed girl frowned. Apparently, those gods hadn't thought their decision through. If they were indeed omnipotent as they claimed, they would've seen that they would've created an unstoppable monster that would've destroyed her home. They would've known that this would cause Kang to invade and conquer Remnant. IF she hadn't been turned immortal…
…her mother would've still been with her. Her and the rest of their family. When she went on a mission and didn't come back, their family was broken.
"Hey, Ruby? Are you alright?"
Ruby blinked out of her thoughts. Miles was looking at her with concern. They had been walking for some time and he was speaking to her. When he noticed that she wasn't responding, he stopped.
"I'm alright…" Ruby waved her hands dismissively. "Did you need something?"
"We just arrived at my place," Miles said slowly. His look told her that he didn't believe her, but he didn't press her. Ruby was grateful for that. The last thing she wanted to do was to ruin today's festivities with her issues.
Together, they walked to an apartment building and entered. They walked up a flight of steps. Some had their doors open for trick or treaters. Eventually, they came to a door where Miles pressed the doorbell. After a few seconds, the door opened for a middle-aged woman who looked to be of Puerto Rican origin. She wore a yellow cardigan that opened to expose a white blouse. Brown hair is tied up to a neat bun on her right side. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Miles.
"¡Mi hijo!" She said as she reaches out and hugs him. "¡Bienvenido a casa!"
"Hola mama," Miles replied as he hugs her back. When they separated, Miles turned to Ruby and said, "Ruby, this is my mamá, Rio Morales. Mamá, this is my new classmate, Ruby Rose."
"Hello, Ms. Morales," Ruby waved.
"Hola, Ms. Rose," Rio greeted warmly. "Would you like to come inside? Ganke is helping me make another batch of Caramel Corn."
"Sure thing, Mamá. Wait…Ganke is here?" Miles asked as they entered. Ruby noted that the apartment looked to be well kept. The walls are decorated with paintings and masks. There was a Puerto Rican flag kept in a frame next to the door. To her right, she could see a dining table right in front of the kitchen. From it, she heard someone call out.
"Ms. Morales, I finished up the latest batch," A Korean American boy walked out of the kitchen. He wore a green hoodie, brown pants, black-framed glasses, and walked around with socks. His hair is slicked to his left in a mop. In his hands, he held a tray that had hot corn covered in caramel.
"Excellent. Let's wait until they've cooled down and put them in plastic bags," Rio said. Ganke nodded and puts the tray on the island. He turned to Miles as Rio went back to the counter.
"What's up, Miles? Happy Halloween!"
"Same to you, man," Miles's fist bumps him. "How's it hanging?"
"I've been holding the fort with your mom. We've already given out several bags of caramel goodness," Ganke said before noticing Ruby. "Who's she?"
"This is Ruby Rose, my new classmate at Horizon," Miles introduced. "Ruby, meet my friend, Ganke Lee. Dependable ray of sunshine and a code extraordinaire for Brooklyn Visions Academy."
"Hi, Ruby!" Ganke greeted, rubbing the back of his head from the embarrassment of Miles' compliments.
"Nice to meet you Ganke," Ruby shook hands with him. "So, you study coding? What do you work on?"
"It's nothing like what Miles gets up to at Horizon but it's cool," Ganke said. "I could say that my prized achievement is my mobile game Speed Nonagon. It's not finished, but it's been a hobby that I hope to finish."
"It sounds like a cool game."
"Eh, it's nothing…probably not as cool as living on a Monster Hunting planet."
Ruby was nodding happily before she stiffened at his words. Seeing the look on her face, Ganke waved his hands defensively and said, "It's okay, I can keep a secret! I respect the superhero code! You can ask Miles."
She turned to Miles and asked, "You told him?"
"We can trust him," Miles said in an assuring tone. "He and mamá know about my superhero life, and they haven't told anyone. I'm sorry that I did so without your consent."
"If you say so. Just ask me next time," Ruby said. "Wait…your mom knows?"
"Indeed," Rio said as she came back from the counter with plastic bags. She had already begun to stuff caramel corn into them. "Miles also told me about what happened to you and your friends. I am deeply sorry for what you had to go through."
"It's alright Ms. Morales," Ruby said.
"Alright if I ask about your homeworld?" Ganke said. "You and Miles took down Jack O' Lantern like a boss!"
"You know about that?"
"It was all over the net," Ganke took out his phone, swiped his finger on the screen a few times, and shows her an article. On it, somebody took a picture of Ruby in her superhero garb fighting alongside the Spiders against Jack O' Lantern. The news lead made her groan.
Red Riding Hood and Web Warriors ground Jack O' Lantern!
"At least they didn't use little," Ruby muttered. "And Web Warriors? What's that?"
"It's what the media calls us," Miles answered. "Honestly, it's way cooler than just calling us the Spiders or Spider-Men. Or Spider-Man's sidekicks."
"But they got my name wrong!" Ruby protested. "My name is Thorn! Not little Red Riding Hood! I drink milk!"
"That's why you hate it?" Ganke asked with a tilted brow. "Honestly, that name suits you better than Thorn. You can just leave out the little part if you hate it so much. I mean, you've already got the red cloak and hood part down."
"But I've already decided on that…" Ruby said.
"Hey, if it makes you feel better, they called me Spider-Man when I started," Miles said. "They probably still do, and I go by Spy-D to avoid confusion. Heck, there are a lot of heroes that changed their name."
"Miles. Ganke. Can you come over here?" Rio asked. "I need some help with the caramel corn."
"We're coming mom," Miles said as he and Ganke turned to help her. As they stuffed corn into candy corn shaped plastic bags, tying them when they're full, Ganke leaned in a whispered, "So, is are you like…"
"No!" Miles hissed, swatting his arm. "I brought her here so that we can prepare our surprise for her."
"Surprise? What surprise?" Ganke asked. Miles sighed and leans to whisper into his ear. Ganke's eyes widened from what he heard.
"Really? Is it alright if I come…I mean, I know that I'm not among the superhero community…?"
"It's alright man, we're inviting anyone," Miles said.
"Inviting anyone?" Rio asked as she loaded another tray of caramel corn into the stove. "Miles, what are you talking about?"
"Please keep your voice down, mama," Miles whispered. He whispered what he told Ganke to his mother. Her eyes widened.
"Oh, why didn't you tell me, Miles?" Rio asked. She looked at Ruby and back. "I would've made something!"
"I'm sorry, mamá. You can just bring some of these delicious caramel corns."
The conversation between Rio, Ganke, and Miles sounded muffled to Ruby's ears. She was scanning the living area that is next to the dining table. In front of the couch is a cabinet with a record player on top. She didn't know anyone that still kept one these days. Above it is even more paintings, making her feel like Rio is some kind of art collector or something.
Then she noticed the fireplace framed by a bookcase. Approaching it, she saw that above it is some kind of shrine. There was a folded flag next to a framed photo of a dark-skinned man in a police uniform. Candles are lit next to it, illuminating it with a soft glow.
"Would you like to try some?"
Ruby snapped out of her thoughts and found Rio standing next to her. In her hands is a bag of caramel corn. She was giving her a kind smile.
"Oh! Yes, please," Ruby took a piece and ate it. She hummed in content from the flavor. "It's really good! Thanks, Ms. Morales."
"I'm glad you like it, Ruby," Rio said warmly. She looked at the photo of the policeman. Her smile seemed to falter a bit.
"Is he…Miles father?" Ruby asked tenderly. When Rio nodded, she continued, "He's not around anymore…is he?"
"Not anymore," Rio confirmed sadly.
"If I may ask…what happened to him? I mean…if you don't want to…"
"It's alright. It's nothing to be ashamed about," Rio said. "Miles's father worked with the NYPD. Not to mention that he is one of the finest. No criminal was safe as long as he was on their tale. The most famous being Wilson Fisk."
"You mean the Kingpin?" Ruby asked in amazement. She is well aware of who Wilson Fisk is. A wealthy philanthropist who was actually the most powerful crime boss in New York. He had his fingers in so many lawyers and cops that made it nearly impossible to bring him down. The man would give Roman Torchwick a run for his money.
"Yeah. Jeff was one of the only good cops not on his payroll. He and the police worked with Spider-Man to bring him down. Eventually, they gathered enough evidence to bring him in. Though he didn't go down quietly."
"Spider-Man mentioned that," Ruby said, remembering a conversation she had with Peter. "He said that the battle tore Fisk Tower apart."
"It's exactly as he said. Due to his heroism, he was presented with a medal at City Hall. We were all there, when…" Rio's face became downtrodden. "The Inner Demons attacked. They had explosives and were planning on blowing up the crowd. The Deputy Mayor turned out to be one of them. He was right there on the podium. My husband tackled him and shielded the other officers on duty using his body…he sacrificed himself to protect the crowd."
Rio looked down while Ruby stared at her in shock. Miles didn't mention this to her during the times she and the rest of the Web-Warriors had gotten together in Horizon. It must've…not, it is painful to bring up memories of seeing your father die in front of you. She didn't know if it was mercy for her that she didn't.
"Did he…ever want revenge?" Ruby asked. "Miles, I mean."
"Thank goodness no," Rio shook her head. "I would never forgive myself if I let him become the demons that killed his father. Before I knew that he was one of the Spider-Men, he was taken underneath the wing of the first one. Not only did he train him to use his newfound powers, but he also nurtured the sense of justice that was passed down from his father."
"So, you're not worried that he'll get hurt?" Ruby asked, remembering in her comic books how mothers of superheroes get worried sick. "Or that he'll disappear? That he'll die?"
She expected her to declare that she'll never allow her son to be hurt. That she'll never be herself if he died. What she didn't expect was for her to smile proudly.
"Yes, I will be sad when he dies…but our family doesn't run from things Ruby," Rio said. "No matter who or what threatens us. Not even death can stop us. I'm proud of the man that Miles is becoming, what he is using his life for, and I will never stop being proud of him."
Ruby was just stunned by his answer. The girl from Remnant recalled her memories of her mom and dad, Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long. They taught her the importance of helping others whilst growing up, even leading by example. That escalated to the point where Summer, her mother, had gone on a mission and never came back. Rio Morales was just as brave as she was.
"Hey, mamá," Miles called from the hall. "Somebody is waiting for you and Ganke. It's about the other matter."
"Oh, thank you, Miles," Rio said. She walked to the counter and picked up something wrapped in tinfoil. To Ruby, she said, "I have something I need to attend to. Please enjoy Halloween, Ruby."
"I will. Oh…and I'll be sure not to touch anything and lock the door!" Ruby called after Rio as she walked to the front door. When she left the apartment, Miles closed the door. He turned and walks to Ruby.
"So, what did you think?" Miles asked.
"Your mother is very brave," Ruby said honestly. "It must really run in the family."
"Something I inherited from her. Along with my love for science," Miles said. "She even stood firm against her rivals in a city council election."
"Your mother is in the city council?" Ruby asked.
"Yep. She ran despite the influence they have, determined to make Harlem a better place. One of the family's greatest achievements."
"That's great! Back on Remnant, the Kingdoms have a council to control the day-to-day running and make policy decisions," Ruby said. "Is that why she left? Because I can't imagine why they would hold a meeting during Halloween…especially at this time of night."
"Um…well…" Miles struggled to come up with an excuse. Before he could say anything else, the lights went out.
"Power failure?" Ruby asked.
"That can't be right," Miles said slowly. "They just fixed it two days ago. It should be—"
Then, his head buzzed like crazy. Miles knew that was his spider-sense is acting up. And that is can only mean one thing. Before he could react, the wall behind Ruby exploded. Miles was knocked down on his back before flipping back up on his feet. He shielded his face from flying debris, some of them scratching him.
"Ruby! Are you alright?" Miles called.
"I'm fine," Ruby said calmly despite the explosion. She stood in front of the recently made hole, which is in flames at the edges. There wasn't even a scratch on her. "I had my aura to protect me. I've been hit by fire dust rounds before and this is nothing…or in Fury's words, this ain't my first rodeo."
"That's good to hear," Miles said. Over the sound of flames, he heard the sound of screaming. "Let's get our game faces on and meet on the roof! Something tells me that the festivities have ended early."
Ruby nodded in agreement. While Miles ran into his room to change, Ruby pressed the symbol on her pendant, allowing her costume to fly out. Without a moment's delay, she put it on and allowed it to compress around her form. Then, she pulled out Crescent Rose sphere form, transformed it into bo-staff form, and flew out the hole with her semblance. She reformed onto the roof just in time to meet Miles in his Spy-D garb. Together, they gazed out onto the scene.
"What the—"
Both of their eyes are wide with horror. Previously there were sounds of jubilation and faux screaming from Halloween gags. Now they are screams of panic. Several buildings, like the Morales apartment, were on fire, adding more to the chaos below. But that wasn't what got their attention.
"Trick or Treat!"
Flying high in the sky, and laughing crazily, is Jack O' Lantern. His costume had undergone a major change. It was torn, stitched together, and had numerous leather belts wrapped around his arms, legs, and waist. His glider is shaped like a fiery bat-skeleton, and in his hands is a flaming scythe with a stone at the top.
"Hey! I thought he was on his way to Ravencroft!" Ruby said to Miles.
"That's what I thought too," Miles said. He shouts at Jack O' Lantern, "Hey Jackie! Were you in need of handwritten directions, because Ravencroft is that way!"
"Nice to see you again Spider and Red Riding Hood," Jack O' Lantern chuckled darkly. Ruby yelled 'hey' at him. "But you know the rules…trick or treat?"
"We already tried treat!" Ruby shouted. "All you keep giving is tricks!"
"Trick? You got it!" Jack O' Lantern cackled. The stone on top of his scythe glowed and it fired a violet beam at the ground below. To their confusion, Jack O' Lantern didn't appear to be aiming for them. When the beam faded, nothing happened.
Then, a black bony hand grabbed onto the ledge of the building. A spindly body covered in autumn leaves pulled itself up. On top is a flaming pumpkin head just like Jack O' Lantern. Its flaming eyes glared down at the heroes and gave them a gaping grin.
Spy-D and Ruby looked up at it.
"On second thought, I think we'll take a treat!"
Avengers Mansion
Weiss closed the door behind her. She had just finished giving out the last of the candy they purchased. Now it's time to change out of her costume and check on the preparations. Then, when everything is ready, she will contact Miles to bring Ruby back here.
"Those costumes were so cute," Weiss gushed as she walked to the stairs. She had only taken a few steps up when she heard JARVIS speak on the intercom. As the AI butler spoke, darkness appeared behind her.
"Madame Schnee, Cloak, and Dagger have arrived and are right behind you."
Weiss turned around just in time to see Cloak and Dagger emerge from the darkness. Or better yet, Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen. They had gotten to know their real identities after they got back yesterday from the Baxter Building. It was only fair as they have seen them without their superhero attire, not to mention that they offered to help Ruby with her silver eyes as best they could.
"Isn't there a way you could do that without spooking anyone?" Weiss asked as they approached.
"I don't believe that's possible," Tyrone replied with amusement. "If it were, every villain will definitely know we are here."
"Fair enough," Weiss said. She focused on the two people standing behind them. These we're the new guests that Miles informed her beforehand. "Ms. Morales and Mr. Lee? Thank you for coming."
"It was our pleasure," Rio said, holding something in her hands. "Though I would prefer if we were informed of the event beforehand."
"I agree there," Ganke said, looking a little pale. "Don't get me wrong…I felt safe that Dagger kept us warm, but I don't think I can handle seeing darkness again."
"If it helps, I felt the same way when we started. You'll get used to it if we have to keep doing this," Tandy said. She turned to Weiss. "Is this the last of them?"
"Not quite," Weiss said with a shake of her head. "I should really thank you for doing this. Lockjaw has been teleporting us all week and he looked tired. It's nice to give him a break for all his hard work."
"You're welcome, Weiss," Tyrone said. "So, when does it begin?"
"We still have a few guests unaccounted for," Weiss said. She looked down at her Scroll with Miles Caller ID. "I have to say, Miles is doing better than I thought."
"Why do you say that?" Rio asked.
"Let's just say if I gave this to someone else, they would've screwed up," Weiss said, thinking about a certain Spider-Man's bad luck. "So far, Miles hasn't called to report anything wrong. Whatever he's doing, it's working splendidly."
Harlem
"Okay…this was NOT the plan!" Miles yelled as he dodged another missile. High above is a blue-and-silver futuristic-looking robot with missile pods in its chest. It has reverse-jet wings and a red dot for an eye that is locked on Miles. One of the missile pods was smoking.
"What plan?" Ruby called out as she parried a sword strike of a knight in shining armor. It bashed her with a kite shield, forcing her to fall back. She transformed Crescent Rose into scythe form and swung it at the knight, intent to slice the knight shield in half. To her disappointment, while the knight did raise his shield to block, it remained intact.
"Later! Right now, we need to take these guys down!"
"Just remember, don't hurt them! They may be under Jack O' Lanterns spell!" Ruby shouted back as she engages the knight.
Earlier, they had gotten over their shock and worked to take down the giant Jack O' Lantern. The giant proved to be strong enough to demolish the roof. To Miles's relief, the attack just missed his apartment. All the same, they had to take it down otherwise it will cause more destruction.
Together, they managed to bring down the giant. Fortunately, Miles had a trip mine gadget that he tossed to the side of a building. Ruby lured the giant towards it where it fired a web line towards one of its legs. Moments after it latched on, Ruby transformed Crescent Rose into scythe form and slashed the other leg. The giant Jack O' Lantern howled in pain and clutched it, allowing gravity to pull the giant down. Its pumpkin head smashed into the street, but didn't shatter, and became still.
They were about to finish it off when they saw Jack O' Lantern blast a couple of trick or treaters, who were huddling on a rooftop in fear, with his scythe. To their astonishment, they turned into real-life versions of their costumes. That meant the giant they just felled was actually a civilian wearing a pumpkin costume, under the spell of Jack O' Lantern. To prevent them from hurting anyone and themselves, Miles administered a venom blast to keep them stunned.
When they reached the rooftop, the spellbound costume wearers attacked them on sight. Just as Jack O' Lantern enhanced their appearance; they have received powers depending on their costume. The Knight's armor, sword, and shield have been enhanced. The Robot had an arsenal of weaponry that Ruby would've fangirl over if the situation weren't serious.
"For the record, your look would've looked better for a friend of mine," Ruby told the Knight as it slashed at her. "I'm really sorry I have to do this!"
Ruby switched her weapon into bo-staff form, the ends electrifying. She ducked low from another attempt to slash her and she struck him in the armored legging. The metal in his armor proved to be an excellent conductor. The Knight spasmed from the electricity being pumped into the attack. The red-cloaked hero withdrew her staff, leaving the knight to stand deafeningly silent. Then, he fell forward onto the ground, shield and sword falling out of his grasp.
"The Knight has fallen…" Ruby quipped.
Back with Miles and the mech, he used twin web-lines to launch himself onto a missile. Using them as a steer, he redirected the missile so that he was flying towards the mech. The mech began firing wrist-mounted guns at him. Miles's head buzzed as he swerved to avoid the projectiles to both avoid getting blown up and shot.
"Looks like this is my first rodeo," Mile said through gritted teeth. When he finally reached the mech, he jumped off the missile and fired an impact web. The missile exploded into a fireball.
With the fear of the missile hitting someone gone, he focused his attention on the mech. He shot a web line onto the leg of the mech and swung himself underneath and up. Twirling in the air, he latched onto the back and pumped bioelectricity into it. The mech became rigid as its circuitry is being overloaded. Then, its systems shut down becoming inactive. That also shut down the jetpack keeping them in the air, sending them into freefall. Acting quickly, Miles fired web shots that attached to nearby buildings. Gripping them in one hand, he grabbed onto the mech tightly as they reached the ground.
"Come on…!"
The web lines became taut. It strained against the weight, but it held. Miles could feel the mech become heavy from the sudden stop. Without his spider strength, he no doubts would've had his arms ripped off. When he lets go of the mech, the sudden loss of weight caused him to slingshot into the air. He landed on a rooftop right on his feet.
"So, quick question," Ruby asks as she materialized next to him from rose petals. "Do you think that in the medieval ages, knights doubled as lightning rods?"
"I think we found the answer for ourselves," Miles replied, looking at the unconscious knight. "But I don't think we should be pondering that about now!"
"Right!" Ruby nodded. "We got to stop Jack O' Lantern before he turns more people into…their costumes!"
"Easier said than done!" Miles said pointing. Throughout what they could see of Harlem, more costume-turned-monsters are running around. A space warrior was wielding a laser sword flying around on a jetpack. A wizard has begun casting spells upon fleeing civilians. And to Ruby's confusion, there is giant candy corn standing tall above the buildings.
"Who dresses up like a candy corn on Halloween?" Ruby asked herself. "We need to call for back up."
"Way ahead of you," Miles said as he pulled out his phone. Before he could dial a number, his spider-sense buzzed to life again. "Getaway!"
The two heroes leaped back as an egg smashed right where they are standing. It shattered, releasing yolk like an explosion. Some of the yolk got onto the heroes, and unfortunately, on Miles's phone.
"Oh, yuck!" Miles cried. He waved his phone in a futile attempt to get the yolk off. "I got dinosaur goo on my phone!"
"Where did that come from anyway?" Ruby asked, looking up. High above the sky, she can see a bird-like shape flying in the night sky. Her suit's lense zoomed in and identified it to be a pterodactyl. An actual pterodactyl. For some reason, it wore a pilot's cap, goggles, and carried a belt with more eggs in it.
"Great, someone decided to dress up as a dinosaur for Halloween," Ruby said sarcastically. "Why couldn't they have picked a T-Rex?"
"Well, we can't call for backup with my phone," Miles said irritably. "No thanks to that pterodactyl!"
"We can use my suit's interface," Ruby said. Her suit's HUD is already on the call app. "I'm going to try—"
"Oh, little red!" Ruby and Miles turned around to find Jack O' Lantern had flown towards them. "I found a spooky surprise for you! It's the big bad wolf!"
"What?" Ruby shouted, both irritated and confused. She got her answer when a wolfman wearing torn jeans and a red plaid shirt leaped at her from out of nowhere. His claws slashed across her chest.
"For the last time…I AM NOT LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD!" Ruby yelled as she jabbed her bo-staff into the wolfman. He cried out in pain from the electricity before collapsing. She glared at the villains still laughing from above. "Isn't this getting excessive?! All for Halloween?!"
"Nothing is too crazy for Halloween!" Jack O' Lantern cackled. He rubbed his hands together.
"For you maybe," Ruby retorted as she transformed Crescent Rose into rifle form. She aimed it at the glider again. Before she could fire, a candy apple bomb collided against her gun. Ruby's eyes shut to protect herself from the explosion. When she opened them, she saw to her horror that her gun had turned into some kind of crystal-candy.
"Uh, uh, uh!" Jack O' Lantern waved a finger at her. "I won't fall for the same trick this time! Catch me if you can!"
Laughing, Jack O' Lantern flew away. Ruby gritted her teeth in frustration but knew that she couldn't go after him like this. Her weapon had been rendered inoperable. Once again…her precious weapon is useless.
"Dammit!" Ruby cursed.
"Thorn!" Miles called out. Ruby turned to see him fighting a ninja. It swung its katana at a speed matching his. If it weren't for his spider-sense, he would no doubt be dead by now. He cried out, "A little help here?"
"Give me a second! Jack O' Lantern turned my weapon into candy!" Ruby yelled. She gripped her weapon by the barrel like a club. Before she could help Miles, movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned to see a well-dressed pale man leap towards her, fangs exposed…
"WRONG NIGHT TO MESS WITH ME BUDDY!" Ruby shouted angrily as she swatted him in the head with the stock of her rile. It seemed that despite its transformation, it was still served as a good melee weapon. The vampire's eyes became white as it crashed into a wall. It didn't get up, which was fine with her.
Boosting her speed with her semblance, she appeared behind the ninja and used her rifle to put him into a chokehold. The ninja struggled in her grasp, trying to shake her off, but she held on. Thanks to the anger at the state of her weapon and Jack O' Lantern, she was able to hold him until the ninja's movements became slack. A quick look at her HUD showed that his vitals are stable.
"Thanks," Miles said. He looked at her weapon and asked, "What happened to…, Crescent Rose?"
"Ask Jack O' Lantern," Ruby said angrily. "I don't know how, but he appears to have picked up a few more tricks…or should I say treats."
"First he can turn people into monsters and now he's got candy-themed gadgets?" Miles asked. "This is getting way out of hand!"
"I know. That's why we got to stop him!" Ruby said. "First we need to—"
Just then, something latched onto her leg. With a cry of surprise, she was yanked off her feet and dragged across the roof. She looked over her shoulder to see that her foot has been tethered by some kind of hot greasy webbing. Ruby followed it to see a spider pulling her in.
At least, what she thought was a spider. It looked like a carton of fries standing upside down. On the box is a face like a skull. Two arms made of fries are pulling her in towards it's gaping maw.
"Since when do fries count as a costume?!" Ruby yelped.
"Literally everything is a costume Thorn!" Miles shouted. He moved to help her when a stream of fire blasted in his way. He looked to see the Statue of Liberty holding a flaming torch. "Like that for example!"
"This isn't how I pictured how I want to go!" Ruby shouts as she is being dragged further towards the mouth. Just before the French Fries spider could eat her, something exploded in its eyes. It cried out in irritation and tried to get the webbing off its face.
"Okay, I know that French fries are bad for your health, but I didn't mean this much!"
That was Spider-Man. He tethered a web to the Statue of Liberty and used it to swing around, building up momentum. When he built up enough, he planted his feet into the forehead of the French Fries spider, knocking it down on its back. It was quite fortunate that there was only a clear field and not a building. There had been enough damage as it was.
Spider-Man landed next to Ruby and began helping her out. "Someone want to tell me what is going on? Because I got an exploding parchment from Thomas Jefferson and it is way past the fourth of July!"
"It's Jack O' Lantern," Ruby answered as she got free. "Somehow, he escaped and acquired some powers. You've already seen his tricks and treats firsthand."
"Eww!" Spider-Man glared at his fingers as they were covered with grease. "I'm so taking a shower. But Jack O' Lantern is doing this? How?"
"We can find out later!" Miles shouted as he evaded another flame blast from the Statue of Liberty. "Someone wants to give me a hand here. This thing as tough as the actual one!"
"Let's see what we can do," Spider-Man said, with Ruby nodding in agreement. Before he could do anything, his spider-sense went off. "Getaway!"
Ruby knew on instinct to listen to Spider-Man. Especially when she didn't have a spider-sense like him. She used her semblance to getaway while Spider-Man leaped away. Just in time to avoid three streams of red, yellow, and green. Unlike the previous costume attacks, this wasn't doing any damage to the building. The hero's eyes widened when they realized what they were.
"Are those condiments?" Ruby asked.
"Let's see…ketchup, mustard, and pickle relish," Spider-Man muttered. "Yep, those are condiments."
"You really enjoy your quips, don't you?"
"Hey, this is how I deal with stress alright? I didn't deal with Jack O' Lantern like this before!"
"How about we deal with the giant-three-headed hotdog first!?" Miles asked. Sure enough, a giant three-headed hot dog was growling at them. The three heads are actually three ends of the hot dog acting as literal heads.
"Okay, first French fries, and now Hot Dogs?" Ruby asked incredulously with a glare. "What's next? A black hole?"
"Please don't jinx us!" Spider-Man shouted. The Hot Dog reared its heads as it prepared to fire another blast of condiments. Behind them, the Statue of Liberty is readying another blast of flame with its torch. "I think we're in enough trouble as it is?"
"So, what do we do?"
Before they could say anything, the sky rumbled. Lightning descended from the heavens, striking the two monsters. Both of them cried out in pain as the electricity course through them. The heroes watched in shock as the lightning faded and the monsters collapsed. They were flinching but they didn't appear to be able to do much more than that.
"Thor!" Ruby cried out, pointing. Sure enough, flying in the sky is the prince of Asgard himself. His red cape fluttered in the wind as he descended towards them. He gripped Mjolnir which is sparking with electricity.
"Hail young warriors," Thor greeted. "When I heard the cries of terror from the citizens of Midgard, I knew trouble was brewing."
"Indeed, it is," Ruby said. She pointed at the monsters and said, "Those monsters are actually people. Jack O' Lantern is turning people into monsters based on their costume and it's causing panic!"
"What?!" Thor yelled as he looked back at the monsters, he struck down. Panic flashed in his eyes at the thought of killing the people he swore to protect.
"Don't worry, they're still alive," Ruby said. "Their vitals are still active.
Thor seems to relax after hearing this. His eyes harden and he demanded angrily, "What dark sorcery is this!"
"You're going to have to take that up with Jack O' Lantern," Miles said, pointing. "Look over there!"
The heroes followed his finger to where they could see the villain. He was blasting away at his scythe; more people being turned into monsters. Thor's eyes widened at the stone on top of Jack O' Lantern's scythe.
"By Odin's beard…that's a Dreamstone!"
"Uh, what now?" Spider-Man asked.
"A rare artifact created by the War Witches of the Dark Elves," Thor answered gravely. "Dreamstones manifest the desires of anyone in possession of them and can be used for anything they wish. But how did this Lantern of Jack get one?"
"And it happens to be in the possession of a Halloween fanatic, great," Spider-Man groaned. "So, what do we do? We can't ignore the people who have been turned into his flunkies. They could cause some major damage if we leave them alone."
"Thor," Ruby asked suddenly. "What happens if we destroy the Dreamstone? Will everything revert to normal?"
"It is the power of the stone and the will of the user that keeps them trapped in their forms," Thor answered. "Without it, everything will be undone."
"So, what happens if we focus on him? Make him believe that he's in danger?"
"Then he'll call the other costume clowns to help him out!" Spider-Man said, realizing where she is getting at. "Excellent idea Thorn!"
"There's also the matter of those new bomb gimmicks," Miles pointed out.
"You're going to have to risk it," Ruby said, walking to the edge of the roof. "Can you keep him occupied for a while?"
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to get a new weapon," Ruby said with a hint of anger. "I like to show Jack O' Lantern a trick of my own."
With that, Ruby jumped off the roof. The last they saw of her was rose petals floating in the wind. All eyes turned to Crescent Rose transformed into rock candy.
"I'm going to hang onto this," Spider-Man said as he picked it up. He webbed it onto his back. "The last thing I want is an angry Ruby on my tail."
"Aye. Young Rose's love for weapons knows no bounds," Thor said. "What do you say man of spiders? Shall we entertain the Lantern of Jack while she prepares for battle?"
"The word you're looking for is trick, Thor," Spider-Man said as he casts a web. "We're the trick, and she's the treat!"
With that said, they went after Jack O' Lantern. The villain is now throwing candy bombs everywhere he turned. Some of the buildings turned into puddles of a puddle of high-fructose goo. A bomb turned a screaming male into a ropey person with long arms and legs but no hands and feet. A group of people had suddenly developed severe hypoglycemia. A few cops firing on him found their muscles melting into soft gelatin.
"This is the best Halloween ever!" Jack O' Lantern laughed.
"Well, it's about to get worse!" Spider-Man yelled as he planted his feet into Jack O' Lanterns' back. To his disappointment, he didn't get knocked off. It would appear that the glider can keep its rider onboard.
"Itsy bitsy spider!" Jack O' Lantern laughed. "Care for a treat!?"
"All you keep giving is tricks!" Spider-Man yelled as he landed on a wall. "And it's time to stop you!"
Spider-Man shot a web towards the Halloween villain. Jack O' Lantern conjured a flaming scythe out of thin air and sliced it. It must have been enhanced by the Dreamstone because his webs suddenly caught fire.
"Yikes!" Spider-Man quickly released the webs and jumped away. By then, Jack O' Lantern was readying another candied bomb. Before he could throw it, a web attached itself to it and yanked it out of his hands.
"Don't you just love it when someone uses your toys against you?" Miles called out as he swung it towards Jack O' Lantern. Jack O' Lantern swerved to avoid it and it turned a building into a pile multi-colored pile of gumdrops. Miles chose that moment to try and get close to him. Seeing this, Jack O' Lantern aimed the head of his glider at him. A torrent of fire shot out from the mouth towards him.
"Yipe!" Miles shot another web tether to the ground and pulled himself out of the way of the raging fire. He landed on the ground and looked back up at the villain. "Okay, his glider can breathe fire! Great!"
"Would you care for some Jelly Babies?" Jack O' Lantern asked as he readied another bomb. Then, lightning flashed and struck the bomb in his hand. The Halloween themed villain couldn't whip his hand away in time. The bomb exploded and turned it into a jelly-like consistency.
"That's enough of your madness, mortal!" Thor yelled as he descends from the sky, hammer spinning by the straps. "Now lay down your arms and surrender!"
"Oh goody! More trick or treaters!" Jack O' Lantern gleefully clapped his hands. His gelatinous hand began to return to normal. But the heroes could tell that he was panicking. "But there aren't enough! I better call my new friends!"
At that moment, the Dreamstone in his scythe glowed brighter. Then, all around them, an army of costume monsters converged upon their position. There were a few that they recognized. The Pterodactyl, the French Fries spider, the three-headed hot dogs, the statue of liberty, the mech, the knight, the ninja, and more they didn't recognize.
"Looks like we got everybody's attention," Miles gulped. "And that's a whole lot of people!"
"Aye. But this will be a worthy battle," Thor declares. "We shall sing songs of this when we get back to the mansion!"
"Let's sing songs when we survive!" Spider-Man said. "Remember, they are still people underneath the costume!"
"At ease, man of spiders," Thor said as they prepared to fight for their lives. "I know how to hold back."
The Hot Dog Cerberus breathed its condiments upon them. The Spiders leaped away while Thor held his ground. He spun Mjolnir, protecting himself from the condiments while walking towards it with steady steps. He kept walking until he reached the beast where it stopped to growl at him.
"Forgive me," Thor whispered as he gripped Mjolnir and swung upwards. The hammer of the thunder god struck the middle head. The hot dog cried out in pain, but Thor didn't stop there. Dropping his hammer, he leaped at the dog and proceeded to give each of the heads a beatdown. When the dog went down, he heard the sounds of giant steps behind him. He turned around to see a yeti standing behind him. Thor gave a big grin towards the beast as his hammer flew into his waiting hand.
"That's more like it…"
Miles electrified the mech again with his venom blast. He backflipped to avoid a slash from the knight before shocking him as well. Just before he could catch his breath, he ducked backward to avoid the slash from the ninja. This time, Miles chose to go invisible. The Ninja became confused and looks around to see where he went. Then, he spasmed from the electricity administered to him.
"Guess your ninja costume didn't come with the full package," Miles quipped.
Spider-Man swung and dodged in midair to avoid egg bombs being thrown at him by the Pterodactyl. He ducked to avoid a full-body tackle from the flying dinosaur. Then he dodged again to avoid the greasy web fluid of the French Fries spider.
"Okay, it's official. I really hate my luck!" Spider-Man said as he pulled himself up to avoid the blast of flames by Lady Liberty. He spotted Jack O' Lantern with three more bombs. An idea formed in his head and he swung towards him. Seeing him, Jack O' Lantern moved to unleash another torrent of flame. But instead of attacking him, Spider-Man used his web-shooters to yank them out of his hands.
"My treats!" Jack O' Lantern cried.
Cradling the bombs in his hands carefully, he swung back to face the costume monsters again. For the pterodactyl, he threw the first one. It struck the dinosaur on the belly. Upon contact, the dinosaur became bright green and began to smell overpoweringly of mint. The pterodactyl's nostrils flared, and it cried out and it struggled to land. Spider-Man shot out several webs to cushion its landing. Satisfied that it is safe, he looked back at Jack O' Lantern.
"Nice to see you keep your dinosaurs in mint condition, Jackie!" Spider-Man quipped as she swung away. He grabbed another bomb and threw it at the French Fries spider. The bomb blew up and turned it brittle and stiff.
"That's a Jawbreaker for the French Fries Spider!"
He threw the last one at Lady Liberty. At first, nothing happened. Then, she bloated like a balloon and began to float upward. Spider-Man attached a web line to her and began pulling her down before she could float too high.
"Hope you enjoy your root beer bloat!" Spider-Man told her.
"Enough of this! You should never do this to your fellow trick or treaters!" Jack O' Lantern called out in anger. He threw several bombs at Spider-Man. With his spider-sense and reflexes, he evaded them with ease. He flipped backward to avoid Jack O' Lantern as he flew low to the ground and breathed fire from his glider. Spider-Man attached a web to it and held on. He could feel the glider pulling him, but he didn't let go. Nor did he move from the spot.
"Looks like the bottoms of my boots are all-gummed up," Spider-Man muttered, looking down. He could feel from the soles of his shoes that they are stuck to the ground. It wasn't his wall-crawling ability, that's for sure. Looks like the last bomb made the street super sticky. Then he realized what he just said.
"Ha Ha!" He laughed. "I am so full of these today!"
"Don't get too attached!" Jack O' Lantern roared as he conjured his scythe again. He swung down to slash at the webbing. The webbing was holding, but he knew it was a matter of time before he got loose.
"Ruby…if you're going to do something…better do it now…!"
"Here, let me help you!" Miles shouts as he fires a web line at the glider as well. Then, they heard the roar of rushing wind behind him. The wind flew against his face as he was suddenly lifted off his feet, hanging onto the web for dear life. He looked behind him and to his horror, it was a black hole behind him.
"Okay! Thorn totally jinxed us!" Miles shouted against the wind.
"Hang in their young spider!" Thor shouted. He wrapped an arm around the boy's waist and used Mjolnir as an anchor to the ground. They gritted their teeth as the black hole came closer, the pull becoming stronger as well. Jack O' Lantern raised his scythe over his head.
"You're going to be in a 'hole' lot of trouble now!" He cackled. "See you on the other side!"
At that moment, a shot rang out. A bullet shattered the Dreamstone, the fragments scattering onto the ground. The moment it was destroyed, Jack O' Lantern suddenly lost power. His glider became a plastic flying broomstick and his scythe vanished. Jack O' Lantern screamed in surprise as he fell to the ground.
He wasn't the only one that lost power. The black hole trying to suck in Thor and Miles turned into a kid wearing a solar system costume. One by one, the other costume monsters returned to normal, most of them were kids as well. They groaned as they stirred awake. The damage and transformations caused by his candy bombs are also reversed.
Jack O' Lantern, with his masks flames out again, crawled aimlessly. A pair of booted feet materialized in front of him. Looking up, he saw Ruby standing above him. She aimed a McMillan TAC-50 at him.
"Trick or Treat," Ruby said with steel. "Guess what…you got tricked."
Manhattan
"I'm so glad that my baby is back to normal!" Ruby cried rivers of tears as she and the other heroes walked. She held Crescent Rose, now restored to its proper form, in her arms.
"Okay, I get that you love your weapon, but shouldn't you put that away before somebody notices?" Peter asked.
"Let her cherish her weapon young Parker," Thor admonished. "According to her people's culture, having a weapon is like a close companion to your heart."
"Who told that? Ruby?" Miles asked.
The heroes stayed for a while to see Jack O' Lantern get loaded back onto a prison transport. Hearing the guards promising to keep a careful watch over him this time, they got to work helping anyone caught up in the fight. After picking up Ruby's candy from the Morales apartment, they made their way back to the mansion.
"Man…this Halloween was as wild as the food fight," Ruby said. She and Peter trailed behind Thor and Miles.
"You mean the food fight before the second semester?" Peter asked. "I don't see how any of the craziness that happened could be good. Not what I hear for your first Halloween experience."
"Don't get me wrong, Jack O' Lantern went psycho," Ruby said with a frown. "But it was still an exhilarating experience for me before he showed up. Everyone was smiling, having fun, and not once worried. It made me—"
"Take your mind off Salem killing your mom?" Peter asked bluntly. Ruby stopped walking. She turned to look at Peter dead in the eye.
"You looked at my papers," She accused.
"I did," Peter confessed. "But I can't unsee what I just saw. You told me about your silver-eyes before Jack O' Lantern attacked Horizon. Now I see that it's been plaguing your thoughts from your drawings. So, I'm asking you as a friend…Is something wrong?"
Peter returned Ruby's stare, not blinking for one second. Then, the silver-eyed girl looked down.
"You're right…I've been thinking about my silver eyes. If they have the power to obliterate Grimm, then it would stand in the way of Salem's plans. I mean, aside from magic, she can control the Grimm like a puppet master. To mitigate their weakness, she would've had to eliminate them, which would mean she…she…"
"She killed your mother," Peter finished. "Or at least sent someone to kill her."
Ruby nodded sadly, a tear nearly about to drop. "If that's true, then she's the reason that my mother is dead! Now that I'm thinking about it…what should I do?"
"I'm going to stop you right there," Peter held up a hand. "You're probably thinking about going to Remnant to confirm if she had a hand in your mothers' death. Then…you'll take some kind of revenge on her, even though she's immortal."
Ruby said nothing. Peter sighed and rubbed his head.
"Look I get it. It's natural for us to feel angry when somebody takes a loved one from us. And want revenge. But I don't think your mom would want you to live with revenge in your heart. Revenge is like poison. It can take you over, and before you know it, it can turn you into something ugly. That's what my Aunt May told me when I found out who killed my Uncle Ben."
"Your Uncle Ben?" Ruby asked, looking up.
"After I got my spider-powers, I decided to take up a career in wrestling to raise money to pay the bills. I figured that they would be a way to put them to use. My aunt and uncle were in debt and can barely afford my school bills. I was taken in by them when my parents died when I was young. I don't know what happened to them…but not the point. On my first day of wrestling, there was a thief that I let slip by like it's not my problem. That decision would come back to haunt me after a burglar shot and killed my uncle."
Peter stopped to take a deep breath. Ruby didn't interrupt and waited for him to continue.
"When I heard that the burglar was being pursued, I immediately set out. When I cornered him, I was so consumed by my rage that I beat him to a pulp. When I saw his face…I knew that it was the same guy that I didn't stop."
Ruby gasped in surprise at this revelation. Peter's shoulders sagged with regret.
"If I knew that he would've killed Uncle Ben, I would've stopped him. Instead, I let that wrestling career and money get into my head. In the end…I was the one who killed him."
"Peter, you couldn't have known," Ruby whispered.
"That didn't matter," Peter snapped. "There is never an excuse to turn a blind eye. But that's not what this is about. Right there, I had the guy cornered and helpless. I could've finished him there. For what he did to Uncle Ben. But I realized…it wouldn't have changed what happened. Worse…I would've become as bad as the creep who took him from us. He said that I can choose what kind of man I wanted to be…so I chose to walk away…to be better…to be Spider-Man."
He placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I don't know if Salem played a role in your mother's death, but that shouldn't decide who you want to become. It certainly isn't me, but I would recommend not going along the supervillain route. I already had enough on my plate, please."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Ruby chuckled. "But thanks, Peter. Your words have helped me a lot. I'm sorry about your uncle."
"Eh, don't worry about it. As I said, you can't change what happened," Peter said. "And before you say anything, I'm well aware of the irony of time travel thanks to Kang, so don't bother pointing that out."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Ruby chuckled. They turned around to walk only to find Miles and Thor waiting for them.
"Uh…How long we're you standing there?" Peter asked.
"Long enough to hear the whole thing," Miles answered.
"That was a worthy speech young Parker," Thor said solemnly. "I wish that others would heed the wisdom of your words."
"Thanks, you two. Now can we go back to the mansion? Everyone's waiting for us."
"Why yes!" Thor agreed with a flourish of his cape, they resumed walking. "We wouldn't want to be late for a day as auspicious as this!"
"More auspicious as Halloween?" Ruby asked.
"Umm, Thor?" Miles whispered to him. "On earth, the surprise is meant to be a secret. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a surprise."
"Oh…my apologies then."
"Surprise? What surprise?" Ruby asked. Nobody answered her, making her confused. They rounded the corner and walked to the gates to Avengers Mansion. Using his Avengers ID card, Thor opened the gates and they walked in. When they entered through the front door, it was dark.
"Hello?" Ruby called. "Is anybody home?"
"They might be in the dining room," Peter said. "It is late after all. Plus, they may have missed dinner."
"That would make sense," Ruby frowned. "But I'm pretty sure that Weiss would make sure that we eat. She would never miss a meal."
"Well, we don't know that for sure, do we?" Miles said nervously. Ruby turned to the two spiders with a suspicious look.
"Alright…what's going on? You two are acting suspiciously."
"Suspicious? What do you mean?" Peter asked lamely. Ruby didn't believe him for a second.
"Young Rose, they are acting like this because they have a surprise for you," Thor said. Peter and Miles shot him a look while Ruby gasped in astonishment.
"A surprise for me? Really?"
"Indeed," Thor nodded. "But a surprise isn't one we should tell. It is what you should see. It's right behind those doors. All you have to do is open them.
"Okay," Ruby turned to the spider heroes, who gave her a guilty smile. She walked to the door and opened them. "I wonder what it could—"
"SURPRISE!"
The lights in the dining room turned on so fast it might have blinded her. Ruby blinked to regain her vision before feeling her breath taken away. Standing together in a big crowd are her friends, the Avengers, the Secret Warriors, and other heroes. On the table is a massive strawberry cake with frosting. A banner hung above with red and black balloon arches saying, 'Happy Birthday Ruby'.
"Happy Birthday, sis!" Yang greeted with a grin.
"A birthday party…for me?" Ruby asked, finally finding her voice.
"Of course, it's your birthday you dolt!" Weiss scolds, but she was smiling all the same. "Of course, you would forget with all the shenanigans that we've been going through but still. How could you forget your birthday?"
"You should thank Weiss for organizing this Ruby," Steve said, holding a cup in his hand. "She wanted to take your mind off the vampires and everything that happened. Nor did we want you to forget your birthday."
"She even planned out the whole party decorations," Blake said. "She made sure that we were working, and everything was perfect."
"Really? Thank you, Weiss," Ruby burst into petals and hugged Weiss. Weiss seemed annoyed by this, but she didn't resist. Then she let her go. "But wait…you mean you guys deliberately led me away from the mansion just to keep me away from finding out."
Ruby got her answer from the guilty grins everyone was giving her. She whipped around to face Peter and Miles, who simply grinned.
"Guilty as charged," Miles said.
"While you're here, mind telling us why you look like you've been through a battle?" Tony asked. He was still wearing his armor with the helmet down. "I've been picking up radio chatter about some…giant monsters invading Harlem?"
"Oh yeah…it's a long story," Ruby chuckled nervously
Thor watched as she told them all about their Halloween battle. It was a joyous occasion to celebrate one's birthday. But back in Asgard, a fight would always complete the festivities. It was like what was happening now after Ruby finished and Weiss scolds Peter and Miles for dragging Ruby into danger and not telling anyone about it. Everyone is partying like they had won a true battle.
Then, his thought went back to the Lantern of Jack. He had a Dreamstone, a dangerous artifact in mortal hands. How did he get a hold of it? When interrogated the villain, he said that it just appeared out of nowhere. That was unlike the War Witches who enjoy making games of corrupting mortals with promises of power. Yet they never showed themselves. So, who could've…?
Thor's eyes widened in realization. It was like the answer was obvious. Then they narrowed as he said one word.
"Brother…"
Unknown
A dark-haired woman walked down gunmetal halls. She wore a gray and white suit with yellow accents. In her hand, she held a datapad that she scrolled through. On her shoulders is a yellow hexagon with AIM underneath. At her sides are guards wearing the keeper uniforms of AIM.
"Doctor Rapaccini," One of the guards spoke. "Are you sure you want to go alone?"
"If I knew that it would turn south, then I would've requested your presence earlier," Monica said crisply, silencing them. "Besides, if he tries anything, we can fill the room with SPIN before he could do anything to me."
They stopped before steel gray doors. Monica waved her guards off and they stood at attention in front of the door. Placing her hand on a scanner, it granted cleared her authorization, opening the door. She walked inside to see their guest sitting at the table.
"Good evening," Monica greeted. "I must say, I didn't think you would accept our invitation. You gave my men a heart attack when you were hostile earlier."
She chuckled as if she just made a joke. When her guest didn't answer, yet he didn't harm her. That was good. She got down to business.
"I understand that there is some bad blood between your kind and us," Monica spoke with a voice as smooth as silk. "I wouldn't blame you. But I believe we can help each other out. You see, we are working on a small project and we would like your help with it. You are looking for an army, but you are not having any luck. The way I see it, we can help each other. With your help, we can bring our project to fruition. With AIM's help, you will amass an army bigger and more powerful than you can imagine. What do you say?"
The guest leaned forward. He was a teenage boy dressed in black armor with blue accents on his torso. He wore a black helmet with two small horns above his forehead, and two large curved ones at his temples. His face is exposed through a cross visage, which narrowed with interest. Though there was a bit of hunger mixed in them.
"I'm listening."
[~][~]
With that, another chapter is done.
With this, the Halloween arc is officially concluded! Ruby was having an issue with Salem being her mother's killer, luckily Spider-Man and the others helped her out with it. Not to mention with a Birthday Party. I feel like there aren't many people who would remember that. Also, if there is a problem with this chapter FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, I will take this down without any hesitation. I want to be respectful as possible.
Now on to Q&A:
Guest (1): Yes, some of AIM's forces are going to be based on the game. I also like to play Marvel's Avengers as it inspires this fic.
Chaldea: You'll have to wait and see what I've got in mind for them.
MagicalCatgirl68: They will be meeting up with other cool villains. When I will not spoil.
James Plasma: Only time will tell.
Shadowwolf of Phantasms: They were recovering from being mind-controlled by the colonel. Not to mention that Ren and Nora were out on a date when the vampire war was happening.
Thank you for reading and see you all next time!