Previously, on The Defenders of Remnant...

"Do you know who I am?" The man asked Ruby.

"You're Professor Ozpin, the headmaster at Beacon."

"You want to come to my school?"

Ozpin stood up and put his hand out to Peter, who took it and shook it. "Welcome to Remnant."

"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White fang disrupted the ceremony." They showed a symbol of a red painted canine animal baring its teeth against three scratches in the background.

"The White Fang started as a Faunus civil rights movement. Non-violent protests for equal rights between humans and Faunus in all kingdoms.

There started to be less protests and more attacks, more robberies, more uprisings." Ozpin sipped the contents of his mug. "More death."

"It's heiress, actually." A familiar voice said. Peter turned to see Blake approaching with the Dust vial in one hand and a book in the other. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the highest producers of energy propellant in the world."

"Name's Peter. Nice to meet you." Blake seemed to take a pause for a moment.

"Blake. Same to you." She then gave him a subtle look, which he couldn't decipher the meaning of immediately.

Ruby then looked down at the ground, and dropped to her knees before laying on the stone brick path, sighing glumly and closing her eyes.

"Welcome to Beacon…" Then a shadow stood over her, and she opened her eyes to see Vomit Boy putting his hand out to her.

"Hey… I'm Jaune."

Ruby's smile returned and she took his hand. "Ruby."

"So, I guess I finally got an answer to my question, Peter." Blake remarked.

"What question would that be?" Peter asked.

"About who was behind the mask." Blake replied.

"If I promise to keep your identity a secret from the rest of Beacon, you have to answer all my questions."

"Any luck on finding Luke, Danny and Jessica?" Matt asked.

"Heard someone broke into a clothes shop the night we got here. Beyond that? No." Marc answered.

"Well, we'll keep looking. Those three can handle themselves just fine." Matt said.

"You don't have money, and you don't have a place to stay. If you three would be willing to work security, I will pay you and I'll cover rent for a small flat my buddy has on Main Street. It's no mansion, but it'd sure be better than what you're doing now." Junior offered.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates today." Peter could hear an audible whine from Ruby.

"Professor Ozpin?"

"Hmmm…" Ozpin looked at his own tablet, watching the feed of Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee.

Peter then sprinted and jumped high again, catching Weiss and landing hard in the dirt. "Ow…"

"My hero…" Weiss sarcastically said as she got off of Peter.

"My back…" Peter groaned. "I should've let you drop…"

"And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as… Team RWBY. Led by… Ruby Rose." Weiss looked at the younger huntress in surprise, while Peter made sure to clap extra loud from his corner near the entrance.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang exclaimed as she ran over and hugged her sister.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an… interesting year." Ozpin concluded.

Torchwick sighed as he yet again looked at the map of Vale. He lit a cigar and started to smoke it when a man in a Grimm Mask and a white uniform with a black hood pushed a cart in behind him. Torchwick took some Lien out of his pocket and laid it out on the table for the man, then ordered him, "Open it." The man nodded, took the money, then used a crowbar to pry open the crate on the cart, revealing several types of Dust crystals carefully placed inside.

"So," Prowler said as he stood next to Torchwick. "What do you think?"

"I think we're gonna need more men…" Torchwick answered.

The Defenders of Remnant

Chapter 6: The Ice Thaws

Peter slowly woke up the next morning in his new dorm room. Ozpin escorted him to it personally to ensure he wouldn't lose his way. Which was either considerate or cautious, and Peter couldn't blame him for either. Once he was fully awake, he checked the time on the device Ozpin had also given him the previous night, a Scroll. It was like a phone, but it was collapsable and see-through.

8:32… Peter thought to himself. First class is at 9:00. Better start getting around. Peter got himself cleaned up and dressed in the Beacon uniform that had been waiting for him in this very room: a white button-up with a red tie under a black suit jacket with golden trim and matching dress pants.

Once he was fully prepared, he opened his door and saw a note taped there reading: Mr. Parker, I believe you were wanting a lab room of your own. Use the directions below this note to make your way there. I have made Professor Port aware you will be late to class, and no penalty will be given. It is lab AF-15. -Ozpin

Well I guess that's one way of telling me, Peter thought before taking the note off the door and following the mentioned directions further into the main campus and into a building off the main path.

Upon entering the building, he found the lab labeled AF-15, with another note on the door reading For Mr. Peter Parker -Ozpin.

Well, can't get much clearer than that, Peter thought before opening the door and gazing in awe at how advanced the lab seemed. It felt almost wrong to have it all for himself. He walked the room for himself, inspecting equipment closely and overall tooling with everything at his disposal. He was so caught up in his tooling that he didn't notice Ozpin enter the lab's doorway.

"I see you're acquainting yourself with the facilities," The headmaster said calmly. His voice made Peter jump.

"You gave me a start, Professor."

"My bad," Ozpin replied with a small smile. "Is it to your liking? This is one of, if not the most advanced student lab on campus."

"The tech will take some getting used to, it's no Stark Industries. But it'll work. Thank you again, Professor Ozpin."

"Well of course. You are a student here after all. And more importantly, these facilities will aid you in your search of this Kingpin Professor Murdock has told me so much about."

"Oh yeah, they started teaching. How's it going for them?" Peter asked.

"Mister Murdock is getting along just fine. As for Mister Spector, he refused a class of his own, so I appointed him as the TA for Professor Port, your first teacher for the day."

"Shoot, that's right. Grimm Studies has started already." Peter remembered.

"As I had written on the note, I made Professor Port aware you would be late. Before you go, there's something I want to ask of you." Ozpin said.

"Okay, shoot." Peter said as he grabbed his bag.

"You already seem particularly close with teams RWBY and JNPR. Am I wrong in assuming so?"

"They're good kids, even if it doesn't always come across with some." Peter replied.

"Well, if you really do feel so fondly of them, I ask that you look over these two teams during your time here. They show much promise, but everyone has their flaws. I ask that you guide them, help keep them on the right path." Ozpin requested. Peter looked up at him.

"That's quite an ask, Professor."

"I know. But they need someone to look up to, and I'll be the first to say that while us Huntsmen are skilled, we are not fit for such a role. Even better, you are their peer. The age difference between you and them is minimal, and yet you have more experience with both heroics and the harsh reality of life than some adults do in their entire lifetime." Ozpin said.

"Wait.. what do you mean?" Peter asked.

Ozpin slightly hesitated. "Mister Murdock shed light on the things that made the three of you who you are. While he spared the more intimate details, I have been made aware of the losses you have sustained, Peter." Peter's smile disappeared fully. "He started with your Uncle. I am sorry. He seemed like a good, wise man. Wiser than most I know."

"He was…" Peter said.

"From what I understand, he is your reason for putting on the mask?"

Peter nods. "He and my dad both believed that if you could do good things for other people, you had a moral obligation to do those things. They were good men, too good for the world they lived in."

"I wish Remnant had more men like that. Which is why I request this of you, Peter. You follow in the footsteps of your uncle and father, you make the safety and development of others your responsibility. I wish for my students to follow such an example. Because I believe people like you can mean the difference between the life and death of a world."

Peter slightly smiled, then looked down again. "You said Matt told you a lot of things. Did he tell you-"

"About the things that have happened to Peter Parker since Spider-Man started swinging through New York? About who else you lost? Again, he spared me the intimate details. But I don't need to be told when someone has had their will and soul broken again and again, Mister Parker, when I myself have lived it countless times." Ozpin assured him. Peter closed his eyes. "I will spare you from the many questions I may have, save one: From everyone you have lost, from your family to closest friends, tell me, was it for nothing? Or do you believe their sacrifice was made so that you, Peter Parker, Spider-Man, will be forged into the force that will keep not only the innocent from sharing such a similar fate, but to keep it from happening to yourself again?"

Peter's thoughts began to storm in his head, a messy mix of consideration and volatile emotion.

"Or perhaps I am just a senile old man looking for a new strange way to teach a student smarter than I. Either way, you may want to head to Grimm Studies now, or you may not make the class at all."

"Right," Peter said, his full focus coming back to him. He grabbed his bag and brushed past Ozpin, stopping his steps for a short moment and turning back to the headmaster. "I'll keep a close eye on them, Professor. They'll make good Huntsmen yet."

"I have complete faith in you, Mr. Parker. Now run along. I'm sure the aforementioned Huntsmen and Huntresses are missing their honorary fifth member." Ozpin said.

"Which team?" Peter asked on his way out.

"Yes." Ozpin answered with a smug smile. Peter also smiled, before turning away and making his way to class.

Peter reached Professor Port's classroom only for students to exit the room and brush past him. I missed the whole class… He facepalmed and rubbed his eyes. Then his Spider-Sense triggered and he moved just in time to catch a book that had been aimed for his head. He looked up to find Weiss had been his attacker, who of course had an angered and annoyed look on her face. She threw her fists in the air before simply pushing past him.

"Sheesh, what's her problem?" He heard Jaune say. Then the rest of RWBY approached him.

"What's going on with the Ice Queen?" Peter asked them.

"Weiss is… being Weiss." Yang answered. Ruby then started to chase after Weiss.

"I'll make sure this doesn't get out of hand." Peter told the other two before following Ruby. Peter and Ruby followed Weiss around the corner of the hall.

"Weiss!" Ruby called, making Weiss turn around to face both of them.

"What?" Weiss snapped at her.

"What's wrong with you?! Why are you being-" Ruby started, but Weiss cut her off.

"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with you? You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance."

"Hey, what did she do to tick you off so much?" Peter intervened.

"That's just it- she's done nothing to earn her position. Back in the forest, she acted like a child, which she's only continued to do. And you, Parker. You miss class on the first day, and you couldn't manage to partner with anyone. You don't even have a weapon, one of the most important parts of being a Huntsman. Are you sure you even belong here?" Weiss remarked.

"Weiss, where is this coming from?" Ruby asked dejectedly. "What happened to that talk about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team."

"Not a team led by you." Weiss retorted. "I've studied and trained. And quite frankly, I deserve better." Weiss turned her back on the two and began to walk away. "Ozpin made a mistake." Ruby looked down dejectedly, and Peter placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. Ruby looked back up at him.

"Is she right? Did Ozpin make a mistake?" She asked Peter.

"No, he didn't. He chose you to lead this team, which means he did so for a reason. Don't ever doubt that for even a moment, Ruby." Peter answered. Ruby smiled and quickly hugged him, catching him off guard.

"Thanks, Peter."

"Yeah, no problem. You get back to your sister and Blake. I'll have a talk with Weiss." Peter assured her. Ruby nodded and went to rejoin the rest of her team, while Peter went to find Weiss. Unknown to them, Ozpin and Port had watched the whole conversation. Port went to follow Peter to Weiss, but Ozpin stopped him and shook his head.

"Mr. Parker has a job to do. Let's see how well he does." Ozpin said.

Peter found Weiss on a large balcony that overlooked the grounds of the academy, and approached her. "Y'know, you didn't have to be so hard on her."

Weiss turned to look at him and sneered. "What do you want, Parker?"

"First of all it's Peter. And second, Ozpin didn't make a mistake. Only you did." Peter remarked.

"And what mistake was that?" Weiss asked.

"You can't ridicule a girl who's only been a leader for less than a single day."

"That girl is two years younger, and acts like a child!" Weiss exclaimed. "I should have been the leader of Team RWBY!" Peter laughed out loud at Weiss's suggestion. "What's so funny?"

"That is the dumbest thing I've heard in a while. Thanks for the laugh, I needed that." Peter chuckled.

"Excuse me?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Weiss, I don't expect you to understand this, but Ruby was the only choice to lead the team." Peter said. "Blake is skilled, sure, both alone and in a team. But she's so introverted she wouldn't have the voice or ability to lead multiple people. Yang is strong, but strength isn't the only thing that makes a leader. And you, Weiss, have a name and reputation, sure. And you're a good Huntress. But you think yourself above others, and don't care if putting others below you is what boosts your reputation."

"Hey! That's…" She trailed off, which made Peter smirk a little.

"You're an heiress rich girl. You've been given everything your whole life. You call Ruby childish, but when you are denied something for the first time in your life, you whine and storm off like a five-year-old." Weiss clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, but didn't say anything, because everything Peter said was true. "There's a difference between you and Ruby; while you are begging for them to change you to leader, Ruby didn't even ask for it all. But she didn't try to push it away. She wants to try and be the leader she's supposed to be. Want to know what that makes her?"

"What?" Weiss asked with furrowed brows.

"Responsible. She didn't whine when she was forced to take a position she didn't ask for, she accepted her responsibility. I'm not asking you to be happy about it, I'm not even asking you to respect it. I'm asking you to let her prove what she can do." Peter crossed his arms as he looked at Weiss. Weiss slightly looked away, but sighed in defeat. "Besides, you could prove to her how good you are even without the leader tag in there. Show her how a 'real huntress' does it. You could learn from one another. Because that's what a team does, it's no one or it's everyone."

Weiss slightly nodded. "I'll… talk to her."

Peter smiled. "Give it till tonight, let things cool off a little. Don't need Yang sending you over the edge of the dorm roof." Peter could have sworn he saw Weiss smile at his wisecrack, but she quickly hid it. "I'll leave you be now. Good luck." Peter then walked away, leaving Weiss alone on the balcony. Unknown to either of them, Ozpin watched this entire conversation, and walked away with a smile on his face.

Late that night, both Yang and Blake had fallen asleep tucked under their covers. Ruby, however, had fallen asleep with books and homework around her, as she had been studying. Weiss quietly entered the dorm room and softly closed the door behind her. When Weiss climbed up to Ruby's bunk, which was being held precariously by two parts of rope attached to the ceiling tied around both ends of the bed, she pulled the sheet off of Ruby, surprised to see all the paper around her. Weiss then shook her awake.

"Weiss!" Ruby said in a surprised tone as her eyelids flitted open. "I-I was studying, then I fell asleep, I'm sorry-" Weiss covered Ruby's mouth with her hand to get her to stop talking, gesturing for her to keep quiet so she didn't wake Blake and Yang, then glanced at an empty mug next to Ruby's pillow.

"How do you take your coffee?" She asked Ruby.

"Uh, I-I don't…"

"Answer the question!" Weiss whispered.

"Uh, cream and five sugars!" Ruby stammered.

Weiss sighed and slightly rolled her eyes. "Don't move." She then disappeared with the mug for a few moments, then returned with a warm cup of coffee, putting it out to Ruby. "Here."

Ruby took it with a smile. "Um… thanks, Weiss."

Weiss smiled in return before looking somewhat apologetic. "Ruby, I think you have what it takes to be a good leader. Just know that I'm going to be the best teammate you ever have." Ruby smiled wider, an expression Weiss also returned. "Good luck studying." She then climbed down, only to pop back up a moment later. "That's wrong, by the way." She pointed to a section of one of the papers before climbing back down to the floor and moving to leave the dorm. She stopped halfway through the doorway before turning back around. "Hey, Ruby?"

"Uh-huh?" Ruby asked.

"I always wanted bunk beds as a kid." Weiss said, then quietly shut the door behind her. Ruby smiled. The team head spent an hour rigging their dorm up to make bunk beds with four singles. While Ruby slept above Yang with hers suspended by the ropes, Weiss slept above Blake with her bunk supported only by stacks of books on each corner. Precarious, Weiss had called it. But Ruby was glad she was softening up. Maybe Peter was right. Maybe she was meant to be a leader after all.

Peter was tinkering in the lab he was given, figuring out each individual piece of equipment, when he heard a knock on the lab's door. "Come in!" He called. Weiss opened the door and stepped in.

"Hey. Sorry if I'm intruding," She said.

"Nah, you're good. Just getting acquainted with the place. That being said, how did you know I'd be here?" Peter asked.

"I went to Ozpin while he was still in his office for the night. He told me he let you have the lab for anything you'd need, and that you'd probably be here." Weiss answered.

"Well, he was spot on, as always. Trying to get used to Atlas tech. Never seen anything like it before." Peter then went back to tinkering. "So, how did things go with Ruby?"

"I'd say it went well." Weiss answered, then she looked to the side, hands behind her back. "You were right, y'know. About what you said before. I was selfish, rude, and arrogant. I wouldn't have deserved to be the leader of Team RWBY."

"It's not an argument about who deserves it more or not, Weiss. It was about who would be the better leader." Peter turned back around to her. "You're still a good person, Weiss, and a good huntress. Leader or not, that's not going to change." He smiled.

Weiss nervously smiled back. "I came to apologize to you as well. I was harsh on both you and Ruby from the moment we met.. So you deserve an apology as much as she does."

"It's alright, Weiss," Peter chuckled. "You fixed things with Ruby. That's more than enough for me."

"Are you sure? I don't want to seem-" Weiss started.

"Weiss. Really, it's fine." Peter insisted.

"Well, if you won't let me say it, then let me show it." Weiss said. "One night in Vale, paid for by yours truly. Whatever you want to do."

"Weiss Schnee, are you asking me out on a-"

"Don't even consider finishing that sentence," Weiss cut him off. "This is my apology for treating you so poorly. I'd recommend accepting before I change my mind."

Peter chuckled. "Just giving you a hard time. Sure. When would this be?"

"Right now." Weiss answered.

"Really? Now? It's already late, and we have classes tomorrow."

"Oh, don't be dramatic, it's only 8:30. So are you coming or not?" Weiss asked.

"Well, it doesn't sound like I have much of a choice, do I?" Peter resigned.

Weiss smirked. "No, you don't."

Danny took a sip of his drink then leaned his head back in the booth. "Oh god, real food feels good to have again."

"No kidding," Luke agreed. "I thought we were gonna keep scrounging till we got back home. But Junior really came through. Maybe he really isn't so bad after all."

"I'm surprised he offered to hire you guys." Jessica commented. "I'm pretty sure he only did it because he felt bad."

"Hey, we'll take what we can get. It gets us money, a place to live, and food like this." Luke takes a bite of his burger. "Mm! Hell of a burger too. I can get used to this."

"Yeah, well, don't. We have somewhere else to be. And as soon as we bring down Fisk, we'll find a way back." Jessica said as she ate one of her fries.

"Yeah, but we need to get there one step at a time. And our next step should be to find Matt, Spector or-" Danny started.

"Peter." Jessica finished, looking up and across the café.

"Yeah." Danny said.

"No," Jessica pointed across the café to the front entrance. "Peter." Danny and Luke looked where she was gesturing to see Peter walk in with a girl they didn't recognize. She was dressed in pure blue-white, with her stark white hair tied back in an off-center ponytail.

"Well, damn, that was easy." Luke remarked.

"Who's that he's with?" Danny asked.

"No clue. But at least we know he's alive." Luke said.

"So should we go show him that we are?" Jessica said, looking at the other two.

"Hey, he is literally fifty feet that way with company. I'd say we're good to finish dinner first, especially when we were living off scraps till yesterday." Luke answered.

Jessica rolled her eyes and picked up one of her fries. "Fine."

Peter thanked the waitress as she brought both he and Weiss cups of coffee, then added his cream to the drink. "To be honest, you being the rich heiress, I was expecting somewhere more expensive."

"Unlike my father, I enjoy some of the smaller things in life. Besides, expensive doesn't equal good." Weiss replied.

"Amen to that," Peter said as he sipped his coffee. "Cheap or not, this is good."

Weiss nodded as she sipped her own cup. "Maybe the team would like this place."

"Probably." Peter agreed.

"Hey, mind if I ask you something… strange?" Weiss asked.

"Strange how?" Peter replied.

"I just wanted to ask… why do you care so much about other people? You seem to involve yourself with everyone else's problems to try and help. You helped Jaune make it through the Emerald forest, you got hurt trying to keep a Deathstalker off us during initiation, and you involved yourself with our team to keep us from falling apart, encouraging me to speak with Ruby. But none of these were your problems. Why do you care?" Weiss was surprised to see the question caught Peter off guard. "Sorry, not a good question?"

"No, no. It's not that. Just not my first time talking about it today, actually."

"If it's personal, I don't mean to pry." Weiss said.

"No, it's alright." Peter assured her. "Um, I guess I do what I do for a couple reasons. But the biggest is my Uncle Ben."

"Your uncle?" Weiss asked.

Peter nods. "Yeah. Well, him and my dad. They both believed that if you have a chance to do something good for someone else, you have a moral obligation to do those things. It's not that I choose to get involved, it's more like a-"

"Responsibility." Weiss finished. "Like you were telling me before."

Peter nodded with a slight smile. "I've lived by that ever since Ben…" He started to trail off, and Weiss awkwardly looked away.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried." Weiss said apologetically.

"It's fine. I'm sad it happened, but I also use it as a reason to move on. No reason to stick to the past when he wanted me to look to the future." Peter's smile quickly returned and he sipped his coffee. "So, you don't want food too?"

"No. But I appreciate the concern." Weiss replied.

"What concern? You're paying." Peter replied with a smirk, one at which Weiss slightly scowled. "See? There's the Weiss I know. Knew you were getting too nice. This feels more… natural."

"If this wasn't already an apology outing, I would leave you with the bill." Weiss sighed.

"Sorry, just giving you a hard time." Peter chuckled. "This was nice of you to do. How could I say no?"

"Well, don't get used to it." Weiss remarked as she sipped her own drink.

"I won't, trust me." He then looked out the window onto the street, enjoying the atmosphere.

At least he was until he saw a group of armed men enter a Dust shop across the street. "But we may have to end early. A group of guys with guns just went into the Dust shop across the street."

"What?" Weiss questioned as she looked out the window.

"Well, want to go take some responsibility?" He asked as he looked at her. Weiss turned back to him with a small smile.

"Let's." Both she and Peter stood up and exited the café.

"Where are they going in such a rush?" Danny asked.

"Guess we're gonna find out." Jessica said as she stood up.

"Looks like dinner can wait." Luke commented as he set his burger down and also stood up.

One of the armed robbers put a gun to the cashier's head. "We're gonna make this nice and simple, human trash. You're going to keep quiet, we're going to take all your Dust, and if you behave, I'll consider not putting a hole in your skull. Understand?" The cashier vigorously nodded and backed away. "Good."

"Now now, is that any way to treat a hard working citizen?" Peter quipped as he and Weiss entered the shop. The man at the front turned to look at them, letting Peter and Wiess see them dressed up in white vests, black hoods and Grimm masks.

"You're with the White Fang," Weiss deduced.

"Nothing gets by you, heiress!" The lead man then turned his gun on them and opened fire. Peter and Weiss quickly dove out of the way, taking cover behind the shelves.

Okay, Peter thought, I can't use my web shooters or spider powers in front of Weiss, so it's time to get creative. He leapt back on his hands and kicked a shelf with both feet, sending it flying towards the lead White Fang member and smashing him between it and the counter. He then dove behind a different piece of cover to avoid the shots of the other three men.

Weiss created a white glyph below her, that sent her speeding at the White Fang members. She thrusted her weapon and fired dust from the revolver crossguard, and in a burst of flame, two of the terrorists were sent flying. As the final man turned his weapon to her, Weiss hit the weapon out of his hand with the tip of her rapier, followed by Peter jump-kicking him into the wall, knocking him out cold.

"Well," Weiss said, "That was easy."

"Yeah. Almost too easy." Peter replied, something feeling off.

"The White Fang are simple criminals, nothing special about them. Against a skilled huntsman and huntress, they stood no chance. They got what was coming to them." Weiss said with gusto.

"But look at what they were taking: Dust, not money. And they were looking to rob this place dry."

"With an organization as big as the White Fang's, they need as much ammo as possible. And Dust can be used for just that." Weiss replied.

"But the White Fang didn't rob the past few shops, that Torchwick guy did with hired men. I don't think this stuff was meant to go to the White Fang."

"So you think they were hired by Torchwick?" Weiss asked.

"Maybe. But we should get going." Peter said, then turned to the shopkeeper. "Call the cops, have them round these guys up. You alright?" The shopkeeper nodded and sighed out of relief. "Good. Have a good night, sir."

Peter and Weiss then exited the shop, back onto the street. "Well, that could have gone worse. Thanks, Weiss."

"It is a huntress's job to protect her kingdom." Weiss replied.

"And you did it well." Peter gave her a smile, one she returned.

"Damn right you did," a voice familiar to Peter said. He looked the other way to see Luke, Danny and Jessica approaching them. "We didn't even have time to join in," Luke said.

Peter's smile only grew. "Guys!" Peter approached and gave Luke a friendly embrace, and did the same for Danny and Jessica. "You're alright!"

"We've been getting by," Jessica remarked. "Been figuring things out."

Weiss, however, stood by in confusion as the reunion happened. Danny looked at her and walked over to her, putting his hand out to her. "Danny. We're friends of Peter's," He greeted.

"A… pleasure…" Weiss hesitated as she shook his hand.

Danny gestured to the others. "Those are Luke and Jessica."

"Hey." Luke greeted, then turned back to Peter. "Where are the others?"

"They're fine. Look, we'll talk shop later." Peter muttered to them. "For now, just play along." Peter then turned around to Weiss. "These guys are buddies of mine, they wanted to move to Vale from a long ways away. But they got here too late to do anything."

"I see… Well, I am Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. A pleasure." Luke shook her hand.

"Luke Cage. Schnee, huh? I heard about you, the rich girl."

"Of course you go to the money…" Weiss sighed. "Well, I'd say this has been an eventful evening, now I must get back to school and to bed. You too, Parker, we have class tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll catch up. But thanks, Weiss." Peter replied. Weiss gave a small scowl, but it quickly turned to a smile.

"Don't be late again." Weiss then walked her own way back to Beacon Academy.

"What was that about?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah, I really gotta fill you guys in." Peter said.

"Over dinner. We didn't get to finish eating." Luke insisted.

Peter then paused for a moment. "Oh that sly princess…"

"What?" Jessica questioned.

"She didn't pay our bill."

Unknown to them, Taskmaster had watched the whole encounter with the White Fang, and the interaction between the Defenders, Peter and Weiss. His heads up display in his mask replayed Weiss' technique in front of him. "Interesting… Interesting indeed, Ms. Schnee."