Previously, on The Defenders of Remnant...

"Excellent. I entrust the operation to you then," Cinder replied.

"Then if you will excuse me, Ms. Fall," Kingpin said before walking away from her and to Taskmaster and Prowler.

"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."

"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.

"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."

"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.

"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."

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.

"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 to have the guts to kill Norman Osborne."

"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

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, Peter?" He questioned.

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

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

"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.

"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

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."

"So, after this is all over…" Ruby said. "You have to leave… don't you?" She asked the question in a sad tone.

"The others, the bad guys, they definitely gotta go. But… I might stay."

"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."

"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.

"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."

The Defenders of Remnant

Chapter 15: The Story Continues

Mercury leaned himself against the brick wall of a street corner, arms crossed, as he waited for Emerald, who was asking for directions to their target, a faunus named Tuksen. He heard Emerald's steps come around to him, and he smirked as she returned to him. "I knew you were lost."

Emerald scowled at him, something she tended to do often. "Mercury, I will seriously pay you to shut up." She held out a wallet filled with lien out to him.

"That's not your money," Mercury replied, knowing she pocketed it off the old shopkeep she asked for directions.

"But it can be yours for five minutes of silence," Emerald said.

"Hmmm…" Mercury then shook his head. "No deal." Emerald got an annoyed look and took the lien out of the wallet and pocketed it before tossing the wallet aside.

"Fine." Emerald then walked off, which Mercury assumed was the direction of Tuksen's. He smirked wider and started to follow.

"Whatever, you want me," He chuckled. The two walked together down the bustling streets of Vale, watching their surroundings as they did. "So how much farther?"

"A few blocks," Emerald assured him.

Mercury still just groaned. "This place is so dull."

"Meh. I kinda like it. Tall buildings, diverse culture-"

"And nice dopey people who are easy to pickpocket," Mercury added.

"That's every city."

"Oh, Emerald! Master thief! Please don't take my money! I barely have enough to get by…" Mercury mocked dramatically, much to Emerald's chagrin. She growled in annoyance and kept walking.

Mercury sighed. "You're no fun today."

The two finished their walk when they stopped inside a bookshop, the place their target was supposed to be. When they entered, a bell rang for the door. Mercury stopped at one of the shelves near the front, while Emerald went straight to the counter where another bell was sat. Emerald rang it for service, and a gruff voice came from the back room, behind two windowed doors. "Be right there!" Emerald and Mercury traded glances as the owner took his time getting to the main shop. After a few more moments, a tall, stocky man entered through the doors backwards, carrying two massive stacks of books, one in each arm. "Welcome to Tuksen's book trade, home to every book under the sun!" The man said before taking the stacks to the side and setting them down before coming to Emerald at the counter. "How may, uh…" Tuksen paused as he got a good look at Emerald, as if he recognized her. He quickly recovered, though, and regained his composure. "How may I help you?"

"Just browsin'," Mercury answered before slamming a book closed and setting it back on the shelf to look for another.

"Actually, I was wondering," Emerald said as she leaned against the countertop, "Do you have any copies of The Thief and the Butcher?"

Tuksen clicked his tongue before answering, "Yes, we do."

"That's great," Emerald simply replied, not elaborating further.

"Would you… like a copy?" Tuksen asked.

"No, just wondering." Mercury then slammed another book closed, slightly startling Tuksen. "Oh! Oh! What about Violet's Garden? In paperback?"

"He's got it," Mercury said. "Hardback too." He held up a hardback copy of the book Emerald mentioned.

"Ooo, options are nice…" Emerald said, feigning interest.

"Eh, no pictures," Mercury said before slamming it shut and tossing it aside. "Hey, you got any comics?"

"Near the front," Tuksen answered, starting to feel exasperated with these two. But he just had to bide time.

"Oh! I know!" Emerald exclaimed, calling his attention back to the young girl. "What about Third Crusade?"

"Um…" Tuksen started to feel nervousness building up in his gut. He noticed even Mercury was staring at him. "I… don't believe we carry that one." Mercury slammed another book closed, making Tuksen visibly jump.

"Oh," Mercury simply said.

"What was this place called again?" Emerald asked.

"Tuksen's Book Trade," Tuksen answered.

"And you're Tuksen?"

"That's right," he nodded.

"So I take it you're the one who came up with the catchphrase."

"Yes."

"And what was it again?" Mercury asked.

Tuksen sighed. "Tuksen's Book Trade: home to every book under the sun."

"Except the Third Crusade," Mercury pointed out.

"It's just a catchphrase…" Tuksen muttered.

"It's false advertising!"

"You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep, Tuksen," Emerald said threateningly, her cheery facade coming off and her red eyes narrowing. Mercury set the book he was holding down and started using three switches near the front to darken the windows and dim the lights inside. "I hear you're planning on leaving; moving all the way to Vacuo. Your brothers in the White Fang wouldn't be happy to hear that." Mercury formed a devilish smirk on his face as he darkened the last window. "And neither are we. You know who we are, don't you?"

"Yes," Tuksen grimmly replied.

"And you know why we're here?"

"Yes."

"So, are you going to fight back?" By this point, Mercury was making his way slowly to the front, but also keeping some distance between himself and Emerald.

Tuksen's brow furrowed and he bared large canines in his mouth. "Yes!" Sharp claws sprouted from his fingertips and he leapt up onto the counter, before leaping forward and taking a swipe at Emerald, who ducked out of the way, only to look forward and see Mercury raise his foot and fire a dust round from his boot. The round hit and Tuksen was completely consumed by electricity, dropping to the ground and spasming as the currents sprinted through his body. Mercury then kicked Tuksen in the head, knocking him out cold before the shocks subsided.

"Tuksen detained," Emerald said.

"Eh. Still wish we could kill him," Mercury said.

"Cinder and Taskmaster's orders."

"We don't take orders from skull-face."

"But we do from Cinder," Emerald reminded him. "Now help me carry him."

Peter sat on the edge of a building, looking down on the streets as he ate a churro, waiting to spot a crime. He then saw his scroll go off, with Blake calling. He smiled and answered, putting the call on speaker and setting it aside. "You've reached the life model decoy of Peter Parker, speaking," he joked.

"Hey," Blake chuckled a bit. "How's crime fighting going?"

"Slow. I think even the street crooks are starting to think twice with us around," Peter answered.

"Well, that's what happens when you fight White Fang and those street crooks for three months."

"It's really been three months since I showed up here, huh?" Peter said, slightly pausing.

"Yeah. Sure doesn't feel like it, huh?" Blake said.

"It really doesn't. I didn't realize I'd been gone that long."

"Do you miss New York?" Blake asked.

"A little. It's home after all. But like I said before, I don't really have anyone left to stay there for. And any amount of heroes can handle what's left of my rogue's gallery there. I might go back to say my goodbye's at the graves of my friends and family, but even when this is all over, I'm staying with you guys. I need to put the past behind me, and no better way to do that than move to another universe," Peter said.

"I just want to make sure you're making the right choice, and not just staying for our sake," Blake replied. Peter smiled a bit before biting his churro. "You have that smug smile on your face, don't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Peter said with a mouthful of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Blake sighed.

Peter swallowed his food and chuckled. "Sorry."

"So, how's the suit?" Blake asked.

Peter looked down at himself. He wore the new Spider-Suit that team RWBY helped him create, as well as some help from JNPR, who had all been filled on everything, including Peter being Spider-Man. The new suit kept the same red and blue colors under the black web pattern, but new additions had been made. Instead of the small black spider centered on his torso, a large armored white one spread across and down his torso, with the same material on the back of his hands and on all but the last set of his knuckles. The materials were also slightly changed, so that the suit as a whole was more flexible, the blue parts especially so, while the red parts were made stronger as well, with the white being the strongest. "It's comfy. Haven't seen a whole lot of action yet, though, but maybe today we'll see how advanced the Advanced Suit actually is."

"You never know with Atlas technology," Weiss's voice came from the other side of the call. "It could work to perfection or not at all."

"Oh, hey Ice Queen! How're you doing?" Peter remarked.

"Not in the mood, Peter," Weiss groaned.

"What happened?" Peter asked.

"We got into a kick-ass food fight," Yang said. "Pretty much wrecked the cafeteria."

"I'm glad I went out for breakfast today then," Peter chuckled. "Is Ruby there too? Let her say hi."

"Ruby volunteered to take our uniforms to wash them before school starts up again tomorrow," Weiss said. "They were kind of covered in food."

"You guys are gonna ruin lunch for me later."

"At least you'll be having lunch," Yang remarked.

"Tell you guys what, dinner at the diner tonight, my treat. You guys seem like you could use a break," Peter offered.

"We'll take you up on that offer," Weiss said. "How about seven?"

"Sounds good to me. Spread the word, and say hi to Ruby for me," Peter said with a smile.

"We will," Blake assured him.

"See ya Pete!" Yang called.

"See you soon, Peter," Weiss added.

"See you at dinner. Be safe, alright?" Blake said.

"No promises," Peter smirked. "See you in a bit!" Peter then hung up and put his scroll in his pocket, ate the last bite of his churro, then pulled his mask over his face, lighting up an advanced heads-up display that showed him the time, temperature, the amount in his web shooters, and three different police radio frequencies. "So this is what Tony feels like. Simplify HUD." The display then simplified to the web shooter cartridges and a single police frequency. "That's more like it. Now let's get to it." Peter then jumps off the roof, backflipping midair and firing a string of web just before hitting the ground, and swings in a large arc upwards, letting go and backflipping again at the peak of the swing. "Good morning, Kingdom of Vale! Wooohooo!" Peter continued to web swing through the streets of Vale, catching the eye of just about every bystander on the streets.

For an hour, he swung with no sign of disturbance, even stopping at points to mingle with fans and take pictures. However, the quiet streak was broken when he heard screeching, and looked down the road to see a speeding car bolting down the road, driving away from a police car. "About time!" Peter swung down that street, then let go of his webs, falling down towards the car and landing on the hood. "Hi, I'm officer Spidey, and I'll be giving you your speeding ticket today!" One of the men in the cab fired a gun through the windshield, but Peter leapt on top of the cab out of the way. "Don't you know to go twenty-five in a residential area?" He then shot webs into the two front wheels and leapt off the car just before it was upended and the back wheels sent the front of the car upwards. He then webbed the car and yanked backwards to keep it from skidding further, which fully flipped over the car upside down, and the vehicle came to a stop in the middle of the road. The two crooks crawled out of the car, weapons in hand. "Yoink!" Peter webbed the weapons free of the criminals' hands and webbed them to a wall. At the same time, the police car that was chasing them came to a stop and three officers came out of the car with their guns pointed at the two criminals.

"Put your hands up!" One of the officers commanded them.

"I'd listen to them, boys!" Peter said. The two realized they'd been made, and slowly put their hands up. While two of the officers arrested them, the third approached Peter.

"Thanks for the help, Spider-Man," he said.

"No problem, officer. Now I'll leave the rest to you," Peter quickly saluted before swinging away from the scene.

As Emerald and Mercury returned to the hideout, they handed Tuksen off to Lizard to bring away to the Tinkerer, then the two entered the main area, where many members of the White Fang bustled around, moving supplies and equipment, while Torchwick stood before his map of Vale. As they approached the crime boss, he turned around with an exhausted smile. "Oh, look, she sent the kids again," he said in mock excitement. He walked around behind them and put his arms around them. "This is turning out just like the divorce."

"Ugh, spare us the thought of you procreating," Emerald said in a disgusted tone.

"That was a joke," Torchwick deadpanned. "And this just might tell me where you two have been all day." He held a small piece of paper in hand, and written on it was Tuksen's address. Emerald quickly checked her pockets and realized Torchwick swiped it off of her. "I'm a professional, sweetheart. Pay attention, you might learn something." He then read the address on the sheet of paper. "Why do you have this address?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Emerald replied.

"Yeah, I would," Torchwick said. "Now, where have you been all day?"

"Cleaning up your problems," Mercury defended. "One of them at least."

"I had that under control."

"Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale said otherwise," Mercury cracked.

"Listen here, if it were up to me, I would take you and your little street rat friend here, and I would-" Torchwick reeled back his cane before Cinder's voice interrupted him.

"Do what, Roman?" The trio looked up to the second floor catwalk above them to see Cinder staring down at them. She then stepped onto a platform that lowered her to their level, and she began to approach them.

Torchwick nervously laughed and brought his cane back down. "I would, uh, not kill them?"

"Cinder!" Emerald exclaimed in excitement with an almost warm smile.

"I thought I made it clear you were to eliminate the would-be runaway," Cinder said in a stern tone.

"I was going to," Torchwick said through bared teeth.

"He was going to escape to Vacuo. If it hadn't been for Cinder's orders, we wouldn't have caught the rat in time," Emerald cut in.

"Actually, I think he was some kind of cat," Mercury said.

"What, like a puma?" Emerald chuckled.

"Yeah, that's it."

"What orders?" Cinder questioned Emerald.

"To capture Tuksen alive? Then bring him in so Tinkerer could run the transformation drugs on him?" Emerald replied, feeling something wasn't right.

"And where did you hear that I gave such an order?"

"Skull-face," Mercury answered. Cinder furrowed her brow, and Emerald and Mercury took an instinctual step back out of fear, but then a smirk came to Cinder's lips.

"It may have been an out-of-line step, and a blatant manipulation of my two most trusted underlings, but it seems even dear Taskmaster is on top of things more than you, Roman," Cinder said, turning her attention back to Torchwick. "Which begs the question, why wasn't this done sooner?"

"Uhh.. eh?" Torchwick gestured to crates of dust and supplies to his right. "Eh?" He then gestured to a similar sight to his left. "Eh?!" He threw both of his arms out to address the massive piles of shipping containers packed to the brim behind him. "Sorry if I've been busy getting every speck of Dust from the kingdom that I can! All things considered…"

"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask," Mercury remarked.

"Look around, kid. Even with their masked men running around, the people in this city fear me. There are police camping around every corner, Dust prices have gone through the roof, and despite how many times that webhead and his super friends intervened, we're still sitting pretty in an old warehouse with more dust crystals, vials and rounds than we know what to do with! Speaking of which," Torchwick leaned on his cane as he faced Cinder. "If you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother!"

"Oh, Roman, have a little faith," Cinder said as she approached close to him and gently placed her right hand on his left cheek, slightly stroking it. "You'll know what you need when you need to know." She gave him a smirk as she let her fingers run down to his chin.

"Hmph," Torchwick simply replied, averting her gaze.

Cinder kept smirking and let her hand fall away. "Besides, we're done with Dust."

"Okay," Torchwick replied, "then what now?"

"We're moving. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight." Cinder started to make her way to the door.

"Coordinates?" Torchwick asked.

"We're proceeding to phase two," Cinder answered before walking away. Mercury and Emerald began to follow, and Torchwick let out a sigh as he put a cigar in his mouth and reached for his lighter, only for it to not be in his pocket. He quickly looked around before looking ahead and he saw Emerald holding his lit lighter in her hand. She stuck out her tongue before closing the lighter and leaving with it.

"... so then we were surrounded by boarbatusks!" Nora exclaimed.

"They were Ursa," Ren corrected.

"A hundred of them!"

"Four, one of which was half-dead anyway," Ren corrected.

"Then I killed them all!" Nora exclaimed, causing Pyrrha to push her back down in her seat to silence her.

"She chased them into the Emerald Forest and only caught up to the half dead one."

"So, is this another weird dream scenario that Nora just spits out?" Yang asked.

"No, it's real, unfortunately. It was embarrassing for us to watch," Cardin said.

"Man, I almost feel bad for you, Ren. Nora sounds exhausting," Peter said.

"I am!" Nora agreed energetically.

"Seven. Long. Years." Ren's tone was that of patience but exhaustion. All of the students were split between two adjacent five-person tables. At one table were Peter, Blake, Pyrrha, Jaune and Ruby, and at the other were Ren, Cardin, Nora, Yang and Weiss.

The group laughed at Ren's expense, then Peter sat up. "Hey, I'm gonna go get a refill. Be right back." Peter stepped around the table and to the desk at the front. "Hey, a refill of tea, please," He asked the older man behind the counter. The man took the glass, and Peter turned to see a TV in the corner playing a news report of the car chase he had stopped earlier that day, with the headline Spider-Man Swings To Action Again.

"The two men in question had assaulted an off duty police officer, threatening him at gunpoint. When they realized their target, they quickly made for their vehicle and the officer called it in." The reporter covering the story was Lisa Lavender, the same reporter that had covered Torchwick's robbery the night Peter and the others arrived on Remnant, as well as many escapades of his since then. "The chase went on for thirty city blocks before Vale's friendly neighborhood hero intervened, stopping the criminals with no casualties or damage to public property. So we, the people of Vale, give our thanks to our Spectacular Spider-Man, in more ways than one. It has been just over three months since he appeared in our kingdom, followed by his compatriots Luke Cage and Iron Fist. And in that time, the crime rate in Vale has dropped immensely, amounting to only a few one-off street crimes as well as the endeavors of infamous crime boss Roman Torchwick. And so some of the people of Vale have elected to celebrate our local heroes during the upcoming festivities of the Vytal Festival." The TV then cut to b-roll of people creating decorations of the three heroes, but especially Spider-Man. Several clips and pictures showed similar scenes, one of which was a young man with a guitar playing a quick song for the camera:

"Living on the edge, fighting crime, spinning webs, swinging from the highest ledge, he can leap above our heads! Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah! Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah… Villains on the rise, and the city's victimized! Looking up with no surprise, arriving in the speed of time!" Peter started to feel flattered. The musician wasn't half bad, and the love he seemed to be receiving from the people surprised him.

Then Lisa Lavender came back onto the screen. "If you are watching this, Spider-Man, consider this a show of appreciation from the people of Vale not only to you, but to all who help defend this kingdom. This is Lisa Lavender, signing off." Peter had a wide grin on his face, then turned around, taking his drink from the older man behind the counter.

"Y'know," The man said with a smile. Peter looked up to him as he said it. "I guess one person can make a difference." Peter couldn't help but smile wider at the man's statement. The man then shrugged. "'Nuff said." Peter nodded then returned to his table with his friends. As he sat down with that wide grin on his face, Blake nudged him.

"What's with that big grin?" She asked.

"Oh, y'know, basking in the glory of being Vale's greatest superhero," Peter joked. Blake smirked and playfully jabbed him in the ribs, making him spill some of his tea.

Peter chuckled. "Hey, I just refilled this!" From there, Peter just enjoyed his night, feeling like he could've been on top of the world.

Excerpt

"Quill!" A voice came over the ship's comm system into the cabin of one Peter Quill, who was sprawled out on his bed, still deeply asleep and not bothered by the calling of his name. After a few moments of nothing, the intercom peaks with a high pitched whine followed by: "QUILL!" Quill jolted awake and breathed in sharply as he woke up. Groggily, he hit a button on the wall next to his bed.

"Alright, Rocket, I'm up! What is it?"

"Get your ass up here, we're at the source of the distress signal. Nova's already waiting outside!" Rocket replied, then the intercom cut out. Quill groaned before pulling himself out of bed and dressing himself in a red collared leather jacket, dark jeans, black fingerless gloves and black and red combat boots with jet boosters attached to the outside sides. He also holstered two pistols at his sides and pocketed a music player and earbuds before climbing a ladder up to the main cabin, where the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy were in their seats, strapped in. Outside the main viewport in the void of space was a teenager in a black and gold uniform with three connected golden circles on his torso, wearing a sleek black helmet with a thin red cross along the helmet, like a star. Surrounding his body was a light blue aura, like a constant field of energy.

"Hey, Nova, good to see ya. So what do we got?" Quill asked.

"That's just it," Nova replied, "There's nothing out here. The distress signal is going off like crazy right here, but there's nothing here making it."

"Not even any celestial bodies," Gamora added. "No planets or moons, not even any asteroids. Just dead space." Gamora was a woman with green skin, black eye makeup and shoulder length hair that starts from black to a rose red by the end of the tips. She wore a red leather jacket unzipped over a black vest and white long-sleeved undershirt.

"Maybe they died," Rocket, the anthropomorphic talking Raccoon of the group, said casually. "No loss of ours, 'cept maybe credits."

"I am Groot?" Groot, a walking being made entirely of wood, asked.

"No, that's not all I was thinking about," Rocket replied.

"So where could the signal be coming from?" Drax questioned. Drax was a muscular bald man with green skin and red tattoos designed into the entire top half of his body. He wore no shirt, and wore black pants and black combat boots with two knives sheathed, one at each side.

"Beats me," Nova replied. "I've searched the entire sector up and down, and nothing. But I'm still picking up the signal, it just won't pinpoint."

"Well, whatever's going on, there's nothing we can do about it if we can't find the source of the signal. It's a dud call," Quill said.

"We can't be sure of that," Gamora said, slightly sitting up in her seat.

"Gamora, if there is literally nothing in this sector, there is literally nothing we can do." Gamora gave Quill a stern scowl, one that he had grown to fear in the two years since the Guardians had been formed. Quill then sighed and turned back to Nova. "Sam, can you please hit the system once again while we ping our own radar? Not for their safety, but for mine."

Nova chuckled a bit. "You got it, Star-Lord." Nova then flew off into the stars and away from the Milano.

"You're impossible, you know that?" Gamora remarked.

"Look, I just don't want us wasting our time. If we can't find the source of a signal in empty space, then the signal leads to nothing."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Quill's right," Rocket agreed. "Looks like we're chasing ghosts out here." Gamora sighed and looked down. Quill and Drax traded glances before Quill approached Gamora.

"Look, it's not that I don't want to help people. You know that. But if there's nothing we can do, we have to accept that."

"Uh, guys? Something's happening!" Nova exclaimed into their comms. Gamora raised an eyebrow, causing Quill to shrug before rushing to the viewport. What he wasn't expecting to see was a massive purple rift start to form in the blackness of space.

"What the hell is that?!" Drax asked.

"Don't know, its energy readings are off the charts!" Rocket replied.

"Sam, get back here now!" Gamora ordered. Nova started to fly away, only for him to feel resistance. He tried to push harder, then realized he was still being pulled in.

"I-I can't get out! It's creating a gravity well! I'm being pulled in!" Nova exclaimed. Quill quickly rushed to the pilot's seat and fired up the engines.

"Rocket, I need my copilot!" Quill yelled. Rocket rushed to his seat just as Quill began flying towards the rift.

"Are you crazy?!" Rocket cried. "If we try to save him, we'll be caught in the gravity well too!"

"Well, I'm not gonna leave him out there!" Quill replied as the Milano boosted closer to the mysterious tear in reality. "Alright, Nova, we're gonna make a swing of it. Get as far as you can and we'll arc around as close as we can, then you'll grab the ship so the force will yank you out!"

"How do we know that'll work?!" Nova asked.

"It's the only chance we have, so just trust me!" Quill answered.

"Alright, just hurry up! Don't know how much longer I can hold out!" Quill brought the Milano to its highest possible speed, gripping the controls so tight it hurt his hands.

"Quill, we're getting awfully close!" Rocket cried. Quill ignored them and kept flying straight. "Quill?!"

"I am Groot?!" Groot cried.

"Peter, any time now!" Gamora exclaimed.

"Rocket, now!" Quill exclaimed before yanking the control yoke to the right, and Rocket tried to quickly mimic the action. The Milano quickly banked right in a sharp curve as it came dangerously close to the rift, and Nova gripped the wing as it did; then the ship stopped dead, yanking all the passengers in the process.

"Quill? I think you just got us stuck in the gravity well with Nova," Drax said.

"I can see that!" Quill exclaimed, putting all of the ship's power into the thrusters. As Nova clung to the wing of the Milano, he saw parts of the ship tear off and be taken into the rift.

"Hey, uh, Star-Lord?! If you keep trying to fly out of the well, your ship's gonna get torn apart!" He said.

"Well, what else am I gonna do?! Let it take us?!" Quill replied.

"Exactly!" Nova yelled.

"Kid, all that flying around in space has made you crazy!" Rocket remarked.

"Think about it! This isn't a blackhole, it's a tear in space! A rift!" Nova yelled as he struggled to hold onto the Milano's wing.

"Which means it should lead somewhere without totally tearing us apart," Gamora said.

"And is that really a risk we should take?" Drax questioned.

"I am Groot!"

"What did he say?!" Quill exclaimed.

"He said it's better than being torn in half by its gravity well!" Rocket answered. "And I'm inclined to agree!"

"Argh! Fine!" Quill relented. "Sam, you better be right about this!"

"It's our only chance!" Nova said as he gripped as hard as he could onto the wing.

Quill took a deep breath, then eased up the thrusters, letting his ship and crew be taken through the rift.

Guardians: Lost Stars

Now being published