Previously, on The Defenders of Remnant...

"Too late for apologies, Parker. Damage is already done, but this'll sure make me feel better before I start fixing it," Venom replied.

"My point is that with great power, there must also come great responsibility. Even before Venom, you had the potential to rebuild yourself in a way where you could be respected, not feared. People would look up to you. But instead you've let your hate for me get the better of you."

You and Venom together have the potential to do so much, even fight the White Fang like you did. So don't throw it all away on someone like me,"

"You alright?" Peter asked him. Cardin, again, hesitated.

"Y-Yeah, I guess…" Cardin stumbled over his words. "You… you saved me. After all I did. Why?"

"Because that's what the good guys do. And like I said, it's not too late for you to be one too. Either of you," Peter answered.

Perched on a nearby rooftop was Taskmaster, hunched over the edge.

"Peter… Parker…"

My students idolize you, especially one young huntress in particular."

Peter looked back up at him. "Ruby…"

Ozpin smiled and nodded. "I'm sure you saw the stars in her eyes today. Ever since her encounter with you on that night, both of your fates changed. You became huntsmen in my academy, and she became so enthralled in your ventures as Spider-Man."

Weiss realized it was a necklace of some kind and let it hang from one of her fingers so the whole team could see it, and even she was surprised.

It was a beautiful diamond-encrusted mold of a snowflake, of her emblem. It shined brilliantly even under the one light in the dorm room. All four girls looked at it in awe. "I tried to give them a design that matched your glyphs. I'd only seen them a couple times, so it was more of a memory sketch." Yang and Ruby stepped closer to examine the jewelry. "I know you don't go for the expensive stuff since, y'know. But I figured something custom would mean more."

"Peter… It's beautiful…" Weiss marveled.

I don't think I'm the best one to handle communication skills. So I brought some help." Peter pulled out his scroll and pressed something once, and after a few moments. Pyrrha and Jaune stepped through the door back into the building, joining Peter and Cardin on the roof.

"Wait, you're having them help me?"

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus."

"'Misguided'? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake snapped violently, standing her ground.

"My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Hi, Penny. I'm Ruby," Their leader greeted.

"You doubt me?" Fisk questioned.

"To be bluntly honest with you, I've doubted you since you walked in my door.

"So please, lead this operation, and you will not only prove your honesty, but be one step closer to being the true Kingpin once again."

"You know he's gonna kill you, right?" Torchwick asked Cinder.

"I'm aware he wants to. But Fisk has more enemies around him than he realizes."

The Defenders of Remnant

Chapter 14: Out of the Bag

Danny finished knotting his tie as he looked himself in the mirror, before entering the living room where Luke waited in his outfit. Both were dressed for their shift at Junior's.

"I don't get it," Jessica said as she was laying on the couch, eating a slice of pizza., "You guys are superheroes, and Ozpin's paying for rent now. Why do you guys still work for that crook?"

"Information broker," Danny corrected.

"Never hurts to have extra money, and Junior's not that bad of a guy. Besides, we can keep him in line," Luke said.

"'Keep him in line?'" Jessica repeated in disbelief. "Luke, I love you, but dear god that's the stupidest thing you ever said."

"What's he gonna do, shoot me?" Luke questioned.

"Fair enough," Jessica shrugged before taking another bite of pizza. Luke then turned and exited the apartment through the front door. Danny started to follow.

"Don't burn the house down while we're away, now!" Danny joked as he left.

"Saying it every day doesn't make it funnier, Danny!" Jessica called after him.

Junior cleaned up the bar as a full wave of patrons left their seats, leaving every seat vacant as they went down to the dance floor. Before he even finished wiping the countertop down, he saw the white suit out of the corner of his eye, and let out a heavy sigh before meeting Mr. Knight's eyes. "Mr. Knight. What can I do for you this time?"

"Hopefully it will be the last time," Mr. Knight replied as he sat at the bar. "Raven Branwen. Know the name?"

"Yeah, it sounds familiar. It was a little before my time in the information business, but she was a big time huntress, right?"

"So I've heard," Marc said. "But seventeen years ago, she quit being a huntress and left Vale to rejoin her tribe."

"Yeah, nasty bunch, the Branwen tribe. Most brutal bandits from here to Mistral. What's your point?"

Marc leaned forward on the bar. "I want any info you have on where her tribe is."

"Wait, you're going looking for that crazy bitch?" Junior questioned.

"What of it?"

"You are asking for a death sentence, that's what. That tribe is vicious."

"The information, Junior," Marc said. "Now."

Junior furrowed his brow. "Look, man, it's up to you if you want to throw away your life chasing Raven Branwen, but I'm getting sick of this crap you think you can pull, where you think information is free. No more of it."

Marc stood up from his seat. "Y'know, you're sure mouthing off a lot for someone within arms reach." Marc then grabbed Junior by the collar of his shirt just to prove his point. "And Luke Cage ain't here to save you. So I would tread lightly."

"Or what? You'll kill your only source of information?" Junior said, meeting Marc's eyes.

"No, just make sure you won't be talking to give information anymore. I can always find someone else," Marc threatened as he pulled a Moon Blade from his suit's pocket. But before he could use it, it was knocked out of his hand as a card covered in purple aura cut it in half and stuck into the bartop.

"I wouldn't do dat if I were you, mon ami," Another voice said. A man dropped down front he rafters behind Marc. He wore a brown trench coat over a black bodysuit with a purple torso and armored boots and shin guards. He wore black fingerless gloves and a black cloth headpiece that went around his head and up to his hairline, with openings for his ears and face. He had a five o'clock shadow, brown hair, and black eyes with red pupils. In his right hand was a long metal staff. "Da big man don't like it when someone mishandles him."

Marc let go of Junior. "And who the hell are you?"

"My new head of security," Junior answered as he fixed his collar and tie. "Mr. Knight, meet Gambit. He came into town looking for work, and I knew Luke would have his 'hero work' to do, so I needed a full timer. Gambit fit the bill perfectly."

"So you have a French guy as your head of security, so what?" Marc mocked.

"Cajun, actually," Gambit corrected.

"Look, Knight, you can either pay up, or get out," Junior stated, crossing his arms. Marc narrowed his eyes, considering what to do. He figured he could take Gambit without any problems, the problem was that Luke could arrive any time. Then he remembered something Junior let slip.

"I may have gotten my information for free. You get out this time, Junior," Marc said.

"What?" Junior questioned, confused. Gambit raised an eyebrow.

"'Most brutal bandits from here to Mistral'. I guess I'm taking a cross-kingdom roadtrip."

"What, you plan to walk the entire road to Mistral? You really do wanna die, don't you?"

"And you're complaining?"

Junior scowled. "Fine. But even if you survive, don't ever come back here."

"Don't plan to. It's been a pleasure, Junior." Marc straightens his suit and heads for the exit.

"Can't say the same." After Marc left, Junior relaxed and sat down, letting out a sigh of relief, his heart pounding in his chest. "I need anxiety meds…"

"You feelin' alright, mon ami?"

"Yeah, I guess… thanks, Remy."

"'Course. It's the job, after all."

Ruby sat in Matt Murdock's classroom as he gave a lecture on laws formed after the Human-Faunus war, not particularly paying attention to the lesson as she looked to her left to witness the two empty seats next to her, Peter's and Blake's. She stared at it for a long moment before her sister shook her out of it. "Hey, you okay?"

Ruby sighed as a response. "Blake's been missing all weekend, and so has Peter."

"Peter said he'd let us know when he found her," Weiss said. "Besides, Blake's a big girl, she can handle herself."

"Weiss, come on, she's one of our teammates," Yang replied quietly, so as to not draw attention to them from Matt.

"Is she? We all heard what she said."

"Weiss!" Ruby scolded.

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't, but she's missing, and we need to find her. As soon as class is over, at least…" Yang groaned.

Ruby sighed again and looked down dejectedly. "I just hope she's okay…"

"Team RWBY," Matt called, turning attention to the trio.

"Uh oh…" Yang muttered.

"Professor Ozpin just dismissed the three of you to go help Mr. Parker with his 'assignment' in the city. The rest of today's classwork will be sent to your scrolls after hours."

"Oh! Uh… y-yes sir! Thank you!" Ruby stammered. "C'mon, guys," The three huntresses then quietly exited the classroom, allowing Matt to return to his class.

"So after the war, certain regulations had to be put into place to ensure social and legal stability…"

"Blake!" Ruby called out.

"Blake!" Yang did the same.

"Blake! Where are you!" Ruby yelled, before turning to her white-clad teammate, who was remaining silent. "Weiss, you're not helping!"

"Oh, you know who might be able to help? The police!" Weiss replied, which earned dirty looks from her two teammates.

"Weiss…" Ruby furrowed her brow and crossed her arms.

"It was just an idea!" Weiss defended.

"Yeah, a bad one."

"Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions," Yang said.

"I think when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right," Weiss replied.

"And I think Weiss's hair looks wonderful today!" Penny said as she approached the group from behind, startling the entire group.

"Agh, Penny! Where did you come from?" Ruby yelped.

"Hey guys!" Penny waved. "What are you up to?"

"Uhh…"

"We're looking for our friend, Blake," Yang answered for her little sister.

"Ooh! You mean the faunus girl!" Penny said. The trio stood silent for a moment.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Ruby asked.

"I was with you that night, remember?"

"I'll be honest, I blocked out the entire interaction," Weiss shuddered a bit.

"Also, the cat ears?" Penny said as she gestured to the top of her own head.

"What cat ears?" Yang questioned. "She wears a… bow…" She trailed off and everyone yet again fell silent. A tumbleweed rolled by, disappearing as suddenly as it had arrived.

"She does like tuna a lot…" Ruby muttered.

"So, where is she?" Penny asked.

"We don't know. She's been missing since Friday."

Penny gasped and approached Ruby, gripping her arms. "That's terrible!' Ruby had a nervous smile and immediately felt uncomfortable. "Well, don't you worry, Ruby my friend!" Penny then let go of the young huntress and put her hands at her waist. "I won't rest until we find your teammate!"

Ruby nervously laughed. "Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, uh, but we're okay, really. Right guys?" Ruby turned to face her team only to see Weiss and Yang gone without a trace. More silence passed, and a gust of wind brought the tumbleweed back as it rolled the other way past Ruby and Penny.

"It sure is windy today," Penny remarked.

Blake walked down the street alongside a familiar face: the stowaway faunus from the boat a few days ago: Sun Wukong. He had a relaxed body language, with his strides even, and his hands behind his head in an undisturbed way. "So, what's the plan now?" Sun asked.

Blake sighed. "I still don't believe the White Fang are behind these robberies. They've never needed this much Dust before."

Sun stopped in his tracks. "What if they did?" Sun stepped in front of Blake, bringing his arms down. "I mean, the only way to prove they didn't do it is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there. Right?"

"The only thing is, I have no idea where that would be," Blake replied.

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming from Atlas," Sun suggested.

"How huge?"

"Huge! Big Schnee Company freighter," Sun answered, putting his arms out to emphasize the size.

"You're sure?" Blake asked. Sun nods. Blake sighed again. "Then I guess it's worth a shot."

"So, Blake is your friend?" Penny asked.

Ruby groaned. "Yes, Penny."

"But you're mad at her?"

"Yes- well I'm not, Weiss is."

"Is she friends with Blake?" Penny asked.

"Well, that's kinda up in the air right now," Ruby shrugged.

"But why?" Penny questioned, clearly not understanding the underlines to what this all meant.

"Well you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was."

Penny gasped. "Is she a man?"

Ruby sighed and stopped walking before waving her hands in front of her. "No, no Penny. She's-" Ruby sighed again, feeling frustrated. "I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off."

Penny slightly looked down. "I don't have a lot of friends. But if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things."

Ruby also looked away. "Me too." The two then continued their search for Blake.

Blake laid out on top of a roof overlooking the Vale Docks, scanning the area with a pair of binoculars. Her sweep stopped when her eyes fell upon a shipment container labeled "Schnee Dust Co.". She set the binoculars aside before she heard Sun's voice.

"Did I miss anything?" She turned her head to see him kneel next to her with his arms full of green apples.

"Not really," She replied before returning her gaze to the shipment. "They've offloaded all the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there."

"Cool," Sun simply replied before holding one of the apples out to her. "I stole you some food."

Blake glared at him. "Do you always break the law without a second thought?"

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun defended, which received him an even angrier glare from his fellow faunus. "Okay, too soon." Then a sudden and harsh gust of air came down on them as two airships flew just overhead, and landed into a cleared-out area of the dock. Once they had landed and the engines began to shut down, the ramps of both ships lowered down, and members of the White Fang poured out of the ships.

"Oh no…" Blake muttered.

"Is that them?" Sun asked. Blake stared at the bright red canines on the back of every uniform she saw.

"Yes, it's them," Blake solemnly replied.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asked.

"No. I think deep down I knew, I just… didn't want to be right."

"Alright, pull out the tow cables and load up the small stuff!" Fisk ordered as he stepped out of one airship, with Prowler, Taskmaster and the Lizard emptying out of the other. "We are not exactly the most inconspicuous group of thieves."

"You heard him, let's get this done quickly!" Prowler added. "Lizard, if you can, start grabbing some heavy stuff and loading up. I gotta get the first shipload outta here in five minutes." The Lizard nodded and went away to do as ordered.

"This isn't right, The White Fang would never work with humans." While Blake didn't recognize Fisk or Prowler, she did recognize Taskmaster from when she first met Peter. "Especially not one like that." Blake then pulled her sword out of its sheath and stood up.

"Wait, what are you-" Sun started to say, but Blake dropped down to street level and hid among the shipping containers. "Doing…" Sun sighed and also leapt down.

Blake crept from container to container until she peeked around the corner of one to see Taskmaster speaking with one of the White Fang members. She scowled and gripped her blade tightly before quickly rushing up putting her blade to Taskmaster's throat. However, he didn't seem fazed at all. "Nobody move!" Blake exclaimed. All the White Fang members around them pulled their weapons on her, ready to bring her down at a moment's notice. Blake eyed them up, then forcefully removed her bow to reveal her cat ears. "Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?" The White Fang slightly lowered their weapons and traded glances in momentary confusion.

"Blake Belladonna. It's a pleasure to see you again," Taskmaster said.

"What are you doing with the White Fang?" Blake questioned, pressing her blade closer to the villain's throat.

"Well, I'm surprised old Spider-Man didn't tell you. Or, should I say… Peter Parker?" Taskmaster sneered under his mask, and Blake was momentarily shocked. Taskmaster took advantage of the moment by elbowing Blake in the stomach followed by a harsh headbutt that staggered her, then he roundhouse-kicked her and sent her flying back and hitting the ground hard, forcing all the air from her lungs. Two more airships came down from above and landed in the open space. "Prowler, finish loading up and take off! The operation might be compromised, but so long as we get your load out, we'll be set!" His fellow criminal nodded before sprinting to the pilot's seat of one of the empty bullheads. Taskmaster then took an explosive the side of his fist off of his belt and tossed it in Blake's direction. "Here's hoping these new Dust Bombs of Mason's work…" Blake started to recover as the bomb rolled next to her, ticking down. Her eyes widened and she quickly got to her feet and sprinted away just before the explosion went off.

Penny and Ruby turned around as they heard an explosion off in the distance, and saw a massive pillar of smoke growing from the direction of the docks. "Oh no…" Ruby muttered before sprinting off in that direction, with Penny hot on her tail.

"Just focus, Cardin," Pyrrha said.

"You'll see focused if you say that for the thousandth time this week," Cardin snapped.

"Cardin," Pyrrha replied in a stern tone.

Cardin sighed. "Fine."

"We've been trying to get you and Venom to connect all weekend. What does he think will work?' Jaune asked.

Part of the symbiote came out of Cardin's shoulder to form Venom's face. "I'm not exactly one to talk about feelings."

"Well, since we've exhausted just about everything else, we're going to have to get very personal. How did each of you come to be here? Why do you two think your, um… relationship works?" Pyrrha asked.

"That's more of a question for him. I still don't understand all this very well," Cardin said.

"I guess I can answer that," Venom said. "On my planet, I was a loser, an outcast, like you," He gestured to Cardin.

"W-What? I'm not a loser! I'm top of the crop!" Cardin defended.

"You were on top. But look where you are now: having to be helped by two of the people you hate the most."

"Well that's a little harsh," Jaune said.

"I'm only having to be helped because you're the problem! I never asked for this! I didn't ask to lose everything I had!" Cardin exclaimed.

"Cardin," Pyrrha said, "Why is being on the top so important to you? What drives that desire of yours so much?"

"Why does it matter to you, Ms Perfect? Gonna rub in my face you're the only one I couldn't top?"

"No," Pyrrha calmly replied. "If we understand the reason behind your desire, maybe it will help you and Venom understand each other better."

Cardin growled before sighing and relenting. "Fine. Growing up, I… I was always the loser. I was never the strongest, never the most capable, never even the most appreciated. Everyone else around me was always better. I could barely hope for the participation award. My dad said I wasn't cut out for anything like that. But one day I got tired of that. I decided I wanted to be a Huntsman. They're the best around, they always get the attention. I thought if I became a Huntsman, people would finally give me the attention I deserved. So I trained, and went to combat school. I rose to the top because I worked hard for it. And I got into the best school in the kingdom."

"An inspiring tale, Cardin," Pyrrha nodded. "Then what was your issue with Jaune?"

"Any time I looked at his scrawny hide, I saw exactly what I was. And that's something I want to forget I ever was. Worst of all, he didn't even work like I did to get here. He cheated." Jaune looked down, but Pyrrha rested her hand on his arm and gave him a warm smile, one which Jaune nervously returned. Pyrrha then lowered her hand and turned back to Cardin.

"A fair reason, Cardin, but just because Jaune took a shortcut doesn't mean he doesn't belong here. He did that so he could live up to his own legacy. But you, Cardin, built your legacy from nothing. It shows how much you've grown with that spirit of yours. Why forget where you came from when it's a testament to how far you have risen?"

Cardin thought about what Pyrrha was saying. While he thought, Venom continued. "I never got that chance. I was cast out from my people, left to wander the universe. I survived by going from host to host, none of them being viable for true symbiosis. I would lose them from anywhere between days to hours. You're the first host that I've been able to bond with properly. Which is why I know you are my ideal host. I suppose I want what you had: attention, strength. Perhaps even friends." Pyrrha slightly smiled at this.

"Cardin, maybe things won't be the same again, but both of you could regain your strength and position in a way that both of you can be better, and no one could doubt you again." Cardin met Pyrrha's eyes, and could tell every word was genuine. Despite what he had done, what he had tried to do before, Pyrrha was perfectly willing to help him back to his feet. That's just the kind of person she was, and perhaps the kind of person he could be. No, that they could be.

"Um, what's that?" Jaune said, breaking Pyrrha and Cardin's attention away. The four of them, including Venom, turned to see a massive pillar of smoke rising from the other side of the city.

"There must have been a fire, or an explosion," Pyrrha said.

"I hate fire," Venom said.

Cardin sighed. "I know, buddy. Let's go." Cardin stood up and stepped towards the edge of the dorm roof.

"Wait, where are you going?" Jaune asked.

Cardin looked back at the other two. "To be better." Pyrrha smiled at Cardin's response, and Cardin nodded, then looked forward, and the familiar black substance grew around him, giving Venom form, and then they leapt off the roof into the night.

Blake started to recover from the explosion, then moved just out of the way as Taskmaster started firing explosive arrows that blew up on contact. Blake narrowly avoided each and everyone, and she sprinted in and closed the gap between her and Taskmaster. Taskmaster quickly changed to his sword and blocked her attack in an instant. Blake growled and started a flurry of attacks. She seemed to catch him off guard at first, but as her attacks continued his guarding became smoother, more precise, and Blake quickly started to lose her advantage. Taskmaster then dodged an attack and thrust his blade right into Blake's stomach. His opponent then faded away, revealing that the real Blake rushed and hid behind a shipping container, breathing heavily. Taskmaster snickered. "C'mere, kitty kitty…" He was then blinded as a banana peel landed over his visor, Sun dropped down onto him from above, flattening Taskmaster onto the concrete, and then rolled off before quickly getting to his feet.

"Leave her alone," Sun said. Then a large group of White Fang dropped from even more airships above him, surrounding him.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" Taskmaster remarked.

"And I thought I was the one with the quips!" a voice yelled before two White Fang were webbed to the ground and another was webbed to a shipping container. Then Spider-Man landed on top of that very shipping container. "Alright, boys, let's quit monkeying around."

"I take offense to that," Sun said.

"Spider-Man. I was wondering what was taking you so long. Normally you and your faunus girlfriend are tied at the hip," Taskmaster remarked.

"It's over, Taskmaster. Where's ol' Willy?" Peter demanded. Then the shipping container he was on was lifted up as Kingpin held it over his head. "Oh, hey! Didn't see you there!" Kingpin scowled and threw the container across the docks. "Woah!" Peter quickly pulled the White Fang member he webbed off of the crate and leapt away just before the container smashed into a stack of others. Peter then knocked out the Faunus before dropping him to the ground.

"The Spider is mine," Fisk said to Taskmaster. "Deal with the other two." Taskmaster nodded before Fisk stomped off towards Spider-Man.

As the rest of the White Fang members closed in on Sun, he pulled out his weapon; a long staff with brown and golden highlights. He began sweeping through White Fang members one by one, unleashing a series of attacks on each and every one. When they started to close in on him, he struck the ground below him and pulled a trigger, which let out a blast that sent all of his adversaries to the ground. Blake watched from her cover as Sun disposed of them all. Then she saw Taskmaster patiently waiting at the side, unmoving as he stared at the entire confrontation, then it hit her. "Sun! Stop!" She ran out of her cover just as Sun leapt on top of and stomped another White Fang member into the pavement, then sent his unconscious body flying towards Taskmaster, who simply moved out of the way.

"Why? What's up?" Sun asked. Blake just glared at Taskmaster and put herself between him and Sun.

"It seems the little kitty has caught on. But not fast enough." Taskmaster snarled before curling up his fingers and metal claws came from the tips of his fingers.

"Hey, Willy. How's life treating you?" Peter said.

"I'll feel better when I end yours, Spider-Man," Fisk replied. Peter webbed one of Fisk's hands, but Fisk quickly yanked the web, pulling Peter towards him. Peter put his feet out and kicked Fisk's torso with both legs and backflipped off the force, but just as he landed, Fisk's hand found its home around Peter's throat and tightened before lifting him up off the ground. He then left his cane, and the pommel opened to reveal a taser, which he jammed into Peter's torso, sending electricity throughout his entire body. Peter yelled out in pain from the shocks, and Kingpin then threw him into another shipping container, almost bending the container in half due to the force. "Y'know, I almost don't get it."

"Ugh… get what?" Peter groaned as he pulled himself out from the damaged container.

"Why you decided to put the mask back on," Fisk answered.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Peter," Fisk snarled. Shock and surprise welled up in Peter's entire body. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared daggers at Fisk. "Yes, yes… Taskmaster told me who lies under that mask of yours. And I must say, I didn't consider that a high schooler would have been capable of not only bringing down my empire time and time again, but have the guts to kill Norman Osborne." Peter clenched his fists extremely tight and didn't blink, keeping every moment of his gaze at Wilson Fisk. "I followed that profusely, you know. He may have been a competitor, but Osborne was still a respectable businessman and ruthless criminal, something I could respect greatly."

"He was a filthy murderer, like you!" Peter exclaimed.

"Oh, Osborne was far worse, Parker. As I'm sure his son could attest." Fisk smirked just before Peter leapt at him, only to have his skull smashed through the pavement. "Or perhaps your dear old Aunt!" Fisk exclaimed as he smashed Peter down again and started smashing his fist down repeatedly. "Or maybe even your dead girlfriend! Mary Jane-!" Peter caught Kingpin's fist in both of his hands, then didn't even bother holding back as he kicked Fisk in the torso, creating a symphony of cracked ribs as he went flying into a crane, causing it to collapse on top of the crime lord. Peter crawled out of the crater Kingpin made by slamming him down, then got to his feet.

"You keep her name out of your filthy… fucking… mouth…"

Blake saw the crane on the other side of the dockyard collapse. "Peter!" Taskmaster's foot then connected with her head, sending her backwards onto the ground. Sun tried to attack him with his staff, but Taskmaster caught the weapon. Sun then broke it into two pieces, with both pieces breaking further into nunchucks that still had gun barrels on both ends. He swung and fired them to put Taskmaster off guard, but Taskmaster avoided the attacks and found his opening, grabbing Sun and throwing him over by Blake.

"Drop it!" Taskmaster exclaimed. Blake looked above them to see a container held by a crane. The Lizard was on the crane and tore the wire, causing the container to drop. Sun and Blake quickly dove out of the way. Sun stopped only to be met face to face with the barrel of a pistol in Taskmaster's hand. Sun froze up and looked at the criminal, and Taskmaster smirked under his mask.

"Hey!" a voice called from above. They all looked up to see Ruby atop a massive stack of containers, Crescent Rose in hand and Penny standing behind her.

"So you're Torchwick's 'little red', huh?" Taskmaster remarked.

"Ruby, are these people your friends?" Penny asked innocently.

"Penny, get back!" Ruby ordered her. Taskmaster holstered his pistol and quickly drew his bow, firing another explosive arrow that hit Ruby directly, sending her flying back. Penny watched as her friend flew, back then scowled at Taskmaster, stepping forward. "Penny, wait!"

"Don't worry, Ruby," Penny assured her. "I'm combat ready!" The pack on Penny's back then opened up, and ten blades came out of it before spreading out and floating in a semi circle behind her. Penny smirked confidently as she jumped off the stack of containers and landed before Taskmaster and another group of White Fang. As the Faunus rushed her, the blades spun and sent one faunus flying, then stabbed through another, then formed a circle in front of her as two more came for her from the front. As the two tried to attack her makeshift shield, the spinning of the blades sent their attacks back at them, sending them backwards. Penny backflipped, and her blades followed her movement to hit a third faunus as he came in close. She then formed a circle with the blades again, and sent it spiraling towards an oncoming group of White Fang, sweeping all of them off their feet and smacking into the concrete.

"Woah!" Sun exclaimed before he saw three more airships bearing down on them. He and Blake got clear just before the three ships let a storm of bullets come down. Penny's blades returned to her and spun in the same shield formation as before to block the gunfire. Two more swords came from her pack and shot into two sides of a closed garage doorway down the path. The strings attached to the blades pulled Penny all the way to that position, and all her other swords followed. They stayed in a circle formation, but their blades were pointed forwards instead of outwards, and started spinning faster than they had yet. A ball of green energy quickly began to form at the center, and grew to be just as big as Penny herself. Once all the energy was built up, Penny reeled her arms back, then quickly pushed forward. The ball of energy quickly became a massive blast that cut all three airships apart. Ruby watched from her position as all the singed pieces of metal dropped from the sky and fell into the water, creating a massive splash that spread across the edges of the docks.

Penny then sent her blades into the side of an airship that was trying to take off with a massive crate of Schnee Dust, and began walking backwards, pulling the airship back down. "Woah… how is she doing that?" Ruby watched in awe. Taskmaster growled, then saw light reflecting off of strings, the strings that were attached to every single blade Penny controlled. He drew his shield and threw it at a high-placed crate. The shield ricocheted off the crate and cut every single string. The blades all dropped from the ship and hit the ground, letting the airship escape. The shield ricocheted off of surfaces until it returned to Taskmaster's hand, then he returned it to his back and ran for his airship, which was still parked in the center of the docks.

"Pack it up! We're leaving!" He ordered the White Fang who were on standby. Penny chased after him, but by the time she reached the ship, it was already taking off. Penny stared as the airship flew away.

Peter spat up blood through the hole in his mask. It was torn up so much, Fisk could see his bloody mouth, the right half of the top of his face, and large locks of his brown hair. "Too much damage? Lose the mask. It's not like you need it anymore." Peter quickly got to his feet and punched Fisk right between his eyes, sending him staggering. Fisk felt every little bit of shattered bone in his nose as blood gushed down his face. Peter tore off his mask and panted heavily.

"Fine. Just you and me," He said before rushing Fisk and delivering blow after ruthless blow. Every hit broke something, and Fisk quickly lost his guard. And Peter started beating his face in instead. Peter's constant storm of attacks kept pushing Fisk towards the edge of the docks, with the water waiting below. Once they were close to the edge, Peter stopped to catch his breath, with his heart violently convulsing in his chest as blood rushed to every part of his body. Fisk was on his knees, his face bloody, broken and beaten.

"T-Taskmaster! I need a pickup!" Fisk exclaimed into his comm. "Taskmaster!" The two of them then saw the remaining airships fly away, escaping from a losing battle. Fisk stared in confusion.

"It looks like he left you for dead." Peter said. "Just like Vanessa." Fisk screamed and grabbed Peter by his skull.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Peter forcefully punched Kingpin's throat, forcing him to let go and drop back to his knees as he coughed heavily, hacking up blood and saliva.

"No, Wilson…" Peter snarled with fury and bloodlust in his eyes. "You won't be doing anything else, ever again…"

"Kill me, then. I'll be with-" He hacked violently before continuing. "I'll be with my Vanessa… and I'll be sure to tell Miss Watson hello as well…" Peter bared his teeth and reeled his fist back to deliver a finishing blow. Fisk closed his eyes, ready for the end. Peter started to bring his fist down, but a large hand grabbed his arm and kept his strike from connecting. He snapped his head around to meet Cardin's eyes as the symbiote revealed his face.

"What are you doing, Parker?" He questioned.

"Let go! Let me finish this!" Peter exclaimed.

"'With great power, there must also come great responsibility,'" Cardin said.

This gave Peter pause. "What…?"

"That's what you told me, when you were trying to convince me to do the right thing, even though I was trying to kill you. I didn't really get what you were trying to say in the moment, but I get it now. And if you use your power to kill him, you'll be responsible for the fallout, and that weight will be on your shoulders for the rest of your life," Cardin said, trying to get Peter to calm down. Peter looked away, his arm still in Venom's grasp. "I'm not asking you to forget, just to move on." Peter realized Cardin was telling Peter the same lesson he tried to teach Cardin merely days before. How hypocritical he must look now, having been ready to kill Wilson Fisk right here, right now.

"To be better…" Peter quoted himself. Cardin nodded. Peter took a deep breath, and all the anger started to leave his body. Cardin slowly let go of Peter, and the symbiote covered his face again. Peter then slowly turned to Fisk. "It's over, Willy. You've lost. You'll be arrested and held in jail until everyone else has been rounded up, and you'll have yourself a nice place in Ryker's back home." Fisk just looked down in defeat as blood still stained his face.

Then an unsteady red dot appeared on his face. Peter realized what was happening, just too late. "No-!" Then the gunshot echoed across the entirety of the docks, and a sniper round went right through Fisk's left eye. Fisk stumbled backwards before falling off the pier and into the rushing waters below. Peter watched as Fisk's body was lost to the waves. Peter then turned to see in the distance, a figure on a rooftop stand up and run away. "Castle…" Peter then started to collapse, all of his energy spent. Cardin quickly caught him and put his arm around his shoulders, letting the symbiote recede all the way inside him.

"I gotcha. C'mon, let's get to the others."

Blake, Sun, Ruby and Penny all grouped up at ground level among the destruction. "Is everyone alright?" Sun asked.

"I am feeling great, thank you!" Penny replied enthusiastically.

"I'm alright," Ruby replied.

"We're not done yet. The boss ran that way, fighting Spider-Man," Blake said. "We need to go help."

"We're fine," Cardin called as he and Peter turned the corner. All four of them stood there, with Blake surprised that Peter didn't have his mask, and the other three shocked to see Spider-Man without it. Cardin gently helped Peter sit down against an undamaged crate, then Blake quickly rushed to Peter's side.

"Peter! What happened?!" She asked nervously.

Peter chuckled a bit, then coughed painfully. "I-I'm okay, just… just banged up, is all…"

Blake looked down. "This… This is my fault, I shouldn't have-"

"Blake," Peter interrupted her, and she looked back up. "This isn't your fault, don't even think it, okay? Whether you would have left or not, I would have needed to stop this. This would've happened anyway. Okay?"

"I should've helped you-" Blake started to say.

"You can't be everywhere at once. You did what you thought was important, and you did good, okay?" Peter told her. Blake looked away and wiped her eyes.

"We need to get you cleaned up," She simply said. Peter smiled a bit, then saw Ruby approaching. He felt bad seeing her now, looking like this.

"Hey, Ruby…"

Ruby kneeled down next to him on the other side from Blake. "Are you… okay?" She asked.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm alright…" Peter answered. Ruby looked sadly at him. "Ruby… I'm alright…"

Ruby nodded. "S-So… you're Spider-Man…"

Peter slowly nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I am… I'm sure you were expecting someone better. I'm kind of a disappointment, huh?"

Ruby shook her head and smiled. "Not even a little." She then hugged Peter tightly

"Ow ow ow! Careful, you'll get blood on yourself!"

Before long, Cardin took Peter away so he could get medical attention. Afterwards, the police had finally showed up, and now Sun, Blake, Penny and Ruby sat on some boxes the police moved for them to use as chairs. They sat for a good while before Ruby looked up and saw her sister and Weiss approaching. Ruby got to her feet before starting to defend Blake. "Look, Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing, see, he doesn't actually wear a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kinda cute-" Ruby spoke quickly, but Weiss ignored her and went straight to Blake herself.

"Weiss, I want you to know I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with-" Blake started to say.

"Stop," Weiss interrupted. "Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you today alone?" Blake didn't say anything, and just waited for her to continue. "Twelve hours. That's twelve hours I've had to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided I don't care!"

"You… don't care?" Blake repeated.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"No, I haven't been since I was younger-"

"Ah bup bup!" Weiss cut her off again. "I don't want to hear it. All I want is that next time something this big comes up, you come to your teammates, and not some…" Weiss glared at Sun, before turning back to her teammate. "Someone else."

Blake looked at Sun, then Weiss, then the two sisters, who gave her wide smiles. Once her attention came back to Weiss, Blake wiped a tear from her eye. "O-Of course."

"Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" Ruby celebrated. Sun stood up and joined the team.

"I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you," Weiss said as she pointed at Sun. He nervously laughed as his response.

"Hey, wait a minute," Ruby said, looking around. "Where's Penny?"

Ozpin watched the whole interaction on his camera feed on his scroll. He then saw a message notification and opened it. It read: "From: Qrow. Team:_. Message: QUEEN HAS PAWNS." Ozpin raised an eyebrow at the message.

"Hm…"

Another day had passed. Peter figured he'd let everyone decompress before he spoke with them about the elephant in the room. But during that time, Blake and Ruby talked with Weiss and Yang about Peter being Spider-Man. So today, Peter invited the four of them and Cardin to explain everything. Him being Spider-Man, the crossing of the universes, their goal of stopping Taskmaster, all of it. And so he did. And now, the five of them sat before him in his lab, letting that information process.

"So, after this is all over…" Ruby said. "You have to leave… don't you?" She asked the question in a sad tone. Peter felt bad for her, for all of them. He didn't think about what him leaving would do to them when he'd grown so close to them.

"I don't know," Peter answered. "The others, the bad guys, they definitely gotta go. But… I might stay." Ruby's look changed from afraid to hopeful.

"But don't you have to go back to your world?" Weiss asked.

"I don't have much of anything left there. But here? I can have a fresh start. And I know if I do, you guys will have my back," Peter replied with a smile. Team RWBY all returned that smile.

"So what happens now?' Cardin asked.

"Now? Now we fight the good fight. We take down Taskmaster, and Torchwick, and whoever this 'red woman' is. All of us, together." They all seemed to agree with enthusiastic smiles and nods. "So, how are you and Venom?"

"We're figuring things out," Cardin answered. "And we have something to seem more superhero and less big monster."

"Alright, show us," Yang said. Cardin nodded, and the symbiote covered him and took over. Venom was mostly normal, except now across his chest was a white version of the bird that was designed on Cardin's armor.

"Nice touch. It's very… you," Peter remarked.

Venom returned into Cardin's body. "Well, we have to head out. Sky and the others wanted to get some lunch in town today."

"See ya," Ruby waved. Cardin waved back and left the lab.

"What about you?" Blake asked. "What will you do next?"

"Well, my costume got pretty much demolished in my fight with Fisk," Peter said as he stood up and activated the screen that was the countertop before him. It showed a design for the base of a Spider-Suit with dozens of components scattered to the sides. "So I figured as a team building exercise, you guys could help me make a new one."

"Really? Heck yeah!" Yang exclaimed.

"We get to make the Spider-Suit? Awesome!" Ruby said excitedly.

"I suppose it could be fun," Weiss said with a small smile. And so the team gathered around the table and began to design Peter's next costume. As the other three became more engrossed in the process, Peter glanced at Blake to his right. Blake noticed and glanced back. Peter gave her a nervous smile, one she returned.

"Glad to have you back," Peter said.

"Glad to be back," Blake replied.

Blake went back to the suit, and Peter looked at the other three girls with a smile, one that got even wider when he saw that Weiss was wearing the snowflake necklace that he had gifted her. Maybe, despite everything, he truly was a hero.

Cardin walked down the sidewalk on his way to meet his team. "Okay, so we need to get some things out of the way real quick if you're going to stay, buddy."

Go on, Venom said.

"You can't just go around eating anybody that you want."

I cannot?

No, you can not," Cardin said. "We need to reiterate this, there are good people, and then there are bad people. You can only touch, hurt, harm, or maybe, just maybe, even eat bad people. Capiche?"

Fine, Venom groaned.

"Alright, good. Glad we cleared that up," Cardin said. He walked in silence for a few moments before venom spoke up again.

Bad timing, but I'm hungry, The symbiote said. Cardin just sighed.

"Fine. I'll get some damn chocolate at the convenience store." Cardin entered a nearby store and walked down to the candy aisle, and started grabbing chocolate off the shelf.

"Put all the money in the bag!" A voice said. Cardin looked up to see a man pointing a gun at the woman at the counter. "I said put the fucking money in the bag!"

"Alright, Alright!" The girl screamed, slowly taking lien from the register and putting it in a bag.

Bad guy? Venom asked.

"Yep," Cardin replied.

"Hurry it up!" The man exclaimed, making the woman cower.

"Please! Please don't shoot me…" The girl cried. Then a long strand of black substance grabbed the man's arm and forced him to let go of the gun. The man and the girl looked up to see Venom approach the man.

"You come in here again, in fact if you go anywhere in this city preying on innocent people, then we will find you, and eat both of your arms, then both of your legs, then we'll eat your face right off your head. Do you understand?"

"P-Please…" The man begged while shaking his head.

"Yes, then. You will be this armless, legless, faceless thing, won't you? Rolling down the street. Like some trash in the wind."

"W-What the hell are you?!" The man stammered. The right half of Venom's face pulled away to reveal Cardin underneath.

"We… are Venom." The symbiote then pieced its face back together. "Now get lost." The man screamed and sprinted out of the door, tripping over his own feet along the way. Venom then receded into Cardin again. He turned to the girl behind the counter. "You alright?"

"Y-Yeah…" The girl stuttered. Cardin smirked and then set the chocolate from before on the counter. "I'll take these."

"So… he's dead then," Cinder said.

"The Punisher hit him with a sniper round to the face. His body is at the bottom of the sea," Taskmaster said.

"Well, congratulations then, Anthony. You came back with two airships of supplies and Wilson Fisk is dead. I would consider that a complete success," Cinder said.

"Where's Torchwick? Or Lizard" Taskmaster asked.

"Working on plans for our future operations. For now, though, I have something else to show you. Follow me," Cinder said. Taskmaster did as asked, and Cinder led him into an enclosed room with four screens held above, and two teeangers waiting. The first was a skinny young man slicked-back gray hair, fair skin and gray eyes. He wore a slate gray-and-black partial zip-up jacket, dark gray rebraces and vambraces on his arms, and black pants. The second was a girl with dark brown skin, dark red eyes, and mint-green hard styled into a straight fringe with bangs and to long locks on each side. She wore two bronze rings on her fingers and a pair of strappy high-heeled pumps. The rest of her attire were white cropped pants, a shallow-cut green crop top and an intricate white top. On the back of her waist were two hand guns affixed in an x-position.

"Meet Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai, my two faithful companions," Cinder said, gesturing to the boy as Mercury and the girl as Emerald.

"And why do I need to know that?" Taskmaster asked.

"Because you're going to become very familiar with us, dear Anthony. All of us." The four screens then turned on, revealing four more faces, but Taskmaster focused on the center one; that of a deathly white woman with blood red veins and white hair put up into a large bun, and haunting black eyes with red irises.

"Hello, Anthony Masters," the woman said. "My name is Salem. And I am so glad you could join us."

ACT I of III complete!

New Cast members!

Sun Wukong

Gambit

Salem

Mercury Black

Emerald Sustrai

Qrow finished sending his message to Ozpin, then set his scroll aside before slamming the glass of whiskey in front of him. After letting it finish going down his gullet, he turned to the bartender. "Hey, barkeep! Another, please." The man at the bar obliged, and filled it to the brim with more whiskey. "Thanks…" Qrow was a middle aged man with graying black and spiky hair, faded red eyes, and a five o'clock shadow. He wore a red tattered cloak, a gray dress shirt with long coattails, black dress pants and black dress shoes. Though the nice clothes were rugged, worn out, ruining any sense of formality the clothes might have brought years ago. On his back was a large angular sword with cogs in the cross guard.

He was disturbed from his silent drinking when a bunch of rowdy thugs entered the bar, making noise, causing a scene. He tried to ignore it at first, and kept drinking his whiskey, but then one of them got handsy with a waitress. She started yelling for them to get away.

"Hey! Back off! Keep your hands to yourself!" She cried. Qrow sighed and stepped away from the bar.

"Alright, guys, that's enough. The lady clearly wants to be left alone," he said. The gruff thugs turned to him, then ignored him. "Hey, I said-"

"We heard you. But we don't have to listen to you, Huntsman. You aren't the law out here," One of them said.

"Law or no law," Another man said, taking Qrow's side. It was the man who had been sitting next to him at the bar. He was a slightly shorter man, but stocky and built. He had a lot of hair on his arms, and had thick sideburns with slightly spiked hair, like a mutton chop/ducktail combination. He wore a leather jacket over a rugged gray t-shirt with dog tags, torn up jeans, and combat boots. "You heard the man. Now quit harassing that girl, or get lost, bub."

"And what are you gonna do about it, scrawny?" One of the men said. They slowly surrounded Qrow and the other man. Qrow gripped the hilt of the sword on his back, while the other man clenched his fists.

"Maybe we bit off a bit more than we could chew," Qrow said to the man.

"Nah, we got this. They're just punks."

"Eh, you're right. If we get out of this, I'll buy you a drink," Qrow offered.

"Sounds good to me, bub." The other man then clenched his fists tighter, and out of each fist came three metal blades.