Ruby: Previously, on The Defenders of Remnant...
'Without you, I am nothing'. Those words have haunted my nightmares for sixteen years, and I fear they will until the day I die," Cinder shuddered.
"My dad couldn't keep up with most payments, mainly because he spent all the spare money on cable and alcohol. He'd throw shit at me when he was sober, and start swinging when drunk."
I think we both understand each other now."
Fisk snarled before gripping Taskmaster's body with both hands, then in an instant bringing his back smashing against his knee.
"I… I can't move…"
"And don't think you ever will again. Your days as an assassin are over. Give Miss Fall my regards."
"I have to get to Beacon with Emerald and Mercury before the next match begins. I trust you will still be watching?" Cinder questioned.
"About all I c-can do…" Anthony sighed, shutting his eyes momentarily.
Cinder walked over, her heels tapping against the floor as she did, and Anthony felt the brush of her lips against his forehead.
"You asked me if we would talk about that night we spent together after the train crash. Well, follow the plan long enough for Beacon to fall, and we will. See you soon."
You're… Logan, right?" Yang asked.
"Yeah. And you three must be team RWBY. Where's the heiress?" Logan questioned.
"She went to go talk to her sister," Ruby said before putting her hand out to the X-Man. "I'm Ruby!"
"Nice to meetcha kid," Logan replied, shaking her hand in his brawny own, a small smile coming to his face. "Murdock told me about all of ya. Seems you've helped Peter a lot."
"Not as much as he's helped us," Yang said.
"You have no idea, do ya kid?" Logan chuckled.
"Foreign contaminants are dissolving. Some of them at least," She said. Peter looked again to the blackened wound, and some of the blackness receded, the strangeness of it less severe.
"Not a cure, but we're moving in the right direction," Peter noted.
"How bad could this have been?" BT asked.
"Much worse, if I had to guess. If we can hold it off long enough, I can fix it. Just need more time…" Peter said
"You guys go on and take BT. That serum is starting to kick my butt a little"
"My name is… Black Tarantula," BT shivered repeating his old name.
"Wait, you're that knock-off spider man from the night at Junior's!' Jessica exclaimed.
"You killed the Prowler, Aaron Davis," Matt said.
"I didn't mean to! A-And once I did, I ran! I couldn't do it anymore!" BT cried.
"I'm not angry, girls. You saw a chance to redeem and protect a person, and you took it. That's what good people do. But that doesn't change the fact that there is blood on his hands. At the very least, we have to put him under arrest until we figure out how to deal with this," Matt said.
Weiss drew Myrtenaster and aimed its blade at Matt, who stopped short of its pointy end, "No."
"Then I guess we don't have a choice," He said.
The Defenders of Remnant
Chapter 40: Nothing
Cinder entered the hideout, returning from the tournaments during the day. Except when she entered, she was less than pleased by the sight. The entire place was torn apart, things thrown everywhere. She frowned and quickly made her way through the building, ending up in what was Anthony's room, the one he was regulated to after being crippled by Fisk, only to find the bed and covers coated in blood, and the Tinkerer crumpled up on the ground. Cinder's eyes flared with a flaming aura and she stomped towards the Tinkerer before hauling him up off the ground, picking him up by one hand off the ground. He let out pained groans as he was lifted up.
"What happened here?!" Cinder exclaimed.
"T-Taskmaster… i-installed the spinal implant…" Tinkerer coughed. "But it malfunctioned…"
"Malfunctioned how?" Cinder questioned impatiently.
"It-" Mason said before hacking up droplets of blood, "When implanted, its signal became cross wired with his nerves, and his mental implant. Those b-bloodthirsty tendencies of his tied with his barely restrained hatred of Parker rewired his head. I told him to wait for you, but he grew i-impatient. He left for Parker, and to find Black -Ack! B-Black Tarantula!"
Cinder growled and dropped Mason to the ground. "You were told not to perform the operation yet! Who gave you the orders to do so?"
"He did," Mason answered, "And so did Salem."
This gave Cinder pause. "What?"
"Once she caught word of Taskmaster's state, they wanted him fixed immediately," Mason said. "No waiting. He is an important part of the undertaking now, after all."
"But you are not," Cinder snarled through her teeth. "Give me one good reason to let you live, Mason! One!"
The Tinkerer chuckled confidently. "Because tied to my heartbeat is a digital dead man's switch hidden away somewhere in Vale. If my heartbeat reaches critically low levels, it'll send a recorded transmission right to Doctor Watts in Salem's palace containing every little bit of information about how oh-so close you and Taskmaster have become. It's unbecoming of both of you, really."
"You're bluffing," Cinder furrowed her brow.
"Am I? We both know Salem won't like you creating such a personal attachment to someone. You have to be her toy to mold, her little maiden in the making. If anything were to take away from your focus, I'm sure Salem would do anything to remove that obstacle if she found out. After all, without her, 'you are nothing', " Mason smirked and chuckled.
"You pretentious little man-!" Cinder growled, ready to kill him instantly.
"Kill me, and your little Bonnie and Clyde routine ends!" Mason exclaimed angrily. "Salem will kill Taskmaster, and you will go back to being the heartless little brat of a pawn Salem made you! So if I were you, I would watch your mouth, girl."
It took all of Cinder's restraint not to decapitate him right then and there. "Where is he now?" She asked through pressed teeth.
"I believe he's heading for Beacon," Mason said, brushing himself off. "You might want to catch up before he puts the whole plan at risk."
Cinder snarled and rushed back out the door, leaving Mason alone as a devious smile grew on his face.
Ruby dug Crescent Rose into the ground and began firing rapidly. Matt narrowly dodged each shot before leaping to the side out of her established aim range, which was locked in position with her scythe's blade. By the time Matt got close, though, Ruby lifted Crescent Rose and swiped its blade towards Matt. Matt slid under the attack and struck Ruby's left knee with one of his clubs, causing her to kneel down on it. In the same movement, Matt stopped his slide, spun back around and kicked high, dealing a blow to Ruby's head that put her down onto the ground.
He flipped himself back onto his feet before connecting his clubs back together into one, then shooting it out towards the young huntress, metal wire connecting the two as it wrapped around Ruby's torso tightly and restrained her.
"Stop now, Ruby," Matt said. "He has crimes to answer for, so stay out of the way."
"I can't do that," Ruby replied before her form became a swirling gust of rose petals that shot out of the wire and sped away before getting a far enough distance away from the blind vigilante, where Ruby returned to her normal form, shifting Crescent Rose into its sniper form and began to take quick shots at Matt, who now had to acrobatically dodge each individual one at such a long range. He cursed under his breath and moved to try and close the distance again.
Luke socked Yang on the left side of her face, causing her to stumble back. That one actually hurt, She thought to herself. "I'm almost insulted, Luke. You've been holding back till now."
"I'd break anybody else. But I know you can take a hit!" Luke replied before swinging a fist upwards. Yang brought her arms together in front of her, and her armored gauntlets took the brunt of it, but the punch sent her flying straight upwards, high above the street. Yang wasn't bothered at all though. In fact, she simply smirked and, at the peak of her ascent, reeled her first back as her golden locks slightly glowed brighter, then shot straight downwards and dug her fist into the ground while firing her gauntlets at the same time, blasting apart the ground and creating a shock wave that pushed the bulletproof man back.
Luke stayed on his feet, however, and quickly rushed the Huntress, ramming his hulking figure into her smaller one. His shoulder connected with her chest dead center. He charged with her still hanging there for a few moments before then grabbing her by her neck and slamming her into the ground, still charging. He used Yang's body to tear up the brick and ground below them. After a solid stretch of carving the earth, Luke hauled her up above his head, still gripping the blond huntress by her neck. Yang grunted and started firing dust rounds from her gauntlets into Luke's torso. He didn't even flinch, looking down as the rounds burned holes in his shirt, then looked back up at her.
"Kid, y'know you can't shoot me," Luke deadpanned.
"Maybe not," Yang grunted, then smirked. "But I can blind ya!" She then blasted a fire round into Luke's eyes, stunning him and forcing a yell of pain from his lungs. The bulletproof man let go of Yang and covered his eyes, which were wafting smoke. Yang dropped down onto the ground and wiped dirt off her jacket. Her hair then raised up and began to glow brightly. Her eyes changed from their usual lilac to a bright shade of red.
"I'd be more careful if I were you, Luke," Yang said before reeling her fist back and connecting a blow with the side of Luke's face. She fired her gauntlet as well as exerted all the energy stored with her semblance simultaneously with the punch, which blasted Luke much farther away and upwards. He flew up high into the air before cratering back down onto the path. The glow faded from Yang's hair and her eyes returned to normal. "'Cause I burn."
Then Blake was launched in front of her, her spine connecting with a lampost, bending it way out of shape. "Blake!" She exclaimed before rushing to her teammate's side. She quickly looked up to see Jessica cracking her knuckles as she approached.
"We gave you kids a chance. You didn't take it," Jessica said. "Black Tarantula is going to jail."
Yang frowned and stood up before slamming her fists together, creating sparks. "You'll just have to get your goth ass through me first," Yang growled, stomping forward to meet Jessica. The two quickly picked up speed and rushed at each other. The two leapt forward, reeling their fists back to deal the next blow.
Weiss fired round after round from Myrtenaster towards Danny, who charged his fists with chi to swat each one away effortlessly, shattering each round upon impact. Danny slowly started to close distance, none of Weiss's projectiles meeting their mark. Before Danny got too close though, Weiss created a series of glyphs that launched her at blinding speed between them. She stayed out of reach of Danny's own close range attacks. She had a plan, but she had to bait Danny first.
Danny tried to follow her movements, and lunged to attack, missing her each time. He sighed and closed his eyes, focusing on the environment rather than his body. He felt the disturbances in the air as Weiss kept zooming back and forth. In the midst of her speeding, she created a glyph that launched her directly at the immortal martial artist, pointing the tip of her blade toward him like she herself was the projectile. Danny swiftly sidestepped out of the way and threw his arm all the way out. Weiss's stomach met his forearm, winding the heiress, stealing all the air from her lungs.
Weiss grunted out in pain, then slid off his arm and fell to the ground. "Sorry, Weiss. But you know why we have to do this," Danny apologized deeply. He truly didn't want to hurt her. But Weiss didn't care. She wasn't going to let them take BT.
"Tell me Danny… are you doing the lawful thing, or the right thing?" Weiss asked.
"To be completely truthful, I don't know," Danny answered. "And we won't know until we get to the bottom of this."
"Well I know," Weiss said sternly before pointing the tip of her weapon towards Danny's feet. A black glyph appeared under him, and suddenly he was pulled to the ground, flattened out onto the grass. Weiss got back up to her feet and gripped her weapon tightly. "I know that sometimes life doesn't give us a choice, that sometimes we have to build strength until we can break free and stand on our own, make our own choices, lead our own lives. And what kind of heroes are we if we don't give him that chance?"
"The kind that follow the law," Danny groaned, trying to get up, but the glyph's strength was more than enough to keep him down.
"If this is law, I think I would rather consider myself a vigilante," Weiss replied. Ironically enough, she once criticized Peter for the same reason. But now it made more sense. If someone doesn't step outside the line to protect those less fortunate, who would? "I will not let you lay a hand on BT, no matter what!" Weiss kneeled down and drove Myrtenaster into the ground. A massive white glyph appeared below the black one. Weiss fired ice dust through her weapon, and suddenly a large formation of ice appeared, growing around Danny until he was frozen inside the ice, contained in one place. Weiss slowly rose to her feet and smirked.
"And that's why they call me the Ice Queen."
Yang panted heavily, sweat dripping from her brow. Fighting Luke and now Jessica back to back was starting to take its toll on her. She blocked each of Jessica's punches by bringing her arms to the front, fatigue starting to wear her energy down. Jessica kept forcing Yang backwards, putting her more and more on the defensive, then quickly kicked Yang in the ribs, putting her off balance long enough to follow with an uppercut that sent Yang backwards onto the ground.
"Well, my 'goth ass' just kicked your bimbo one, girly," Jessica remarked.
"Yeah…" Yang coughed. "But at least I'm not the stupid one."
"I'm sorry?"
"Really? I'm not," Yang smirked. Jessica then noticed Blake's ribbon wrapped around her left ankle.
"Oh, hell-" Jessica cursed before Blake yanked on the ribbon, pulling Jessica off her feet. Yang quickly shot forward and connected her fist with Jessica's jaw, blasting her backwards. Blake retrieved her ribbon before taking Yang's side, and began to tie it around Yang's arm.
"Bumblebee?" Yang asked.
"Bumblebee," Blake nodded before leaping far away, then leaping straight up to the best of her ability, holding onto the ribbon. Yang used what was left of her strength to pull Blake far above her head and bring her faunus friend down onto the Alias investigator. Blake's foot smashed down onto Jessica's head, rendering her unconscious. Blake leapt off of Jessica and retrieved her ribbon, wrapping it back around her own arm. Yang hobbled over to Blake's side and put her arm around Blake's shoulder.
"That… was awesome…" Yang panted.
"Tired?" Blake asked with a smile.
"Very," Yang nodded. Weiss soon came to their side as well.
"I can't believe it," Weiss said. "We just beat the Defenders…"
"Not all of them," Blake said, gesturing forward. The three of them looked ahead to see their leader still fighting the superhero leader. Matt and Ruby were still going head to head, neither gaining a clear advantage over the other.
Ruby rapidly swiped at Matt with Crescent Rose's blade. The Daredevil blocked each strike, kicking up sparks as their weapons met. This trade of metallic blows continued for a few moments, then when Ruby came down with a vertical slash, Matt stepped slightly back, pulled his billy club apart with the wire, and threw the wire around the scythe blade as it came down, then yanked hard. Ruby was pulled forwards with her weapon, then the sole of Matt's boot connected with her stomach, stunning her long enough to tear Ruby's weapon away from her.
Matt grabbed and quickly tossed away Crescent Rose. He shot his wire around Ruby's neck before she recovered, pulled her towards him, then twirled around to quickly kick her in the back of the skull with both feet, forcing her flat onto the ground and leaving a harsh ringing in her ears. She barely heard as Matt spoke next.
"I don't want to do this! You know I don't! But when that clone is a criminal, a known murderer, it is our job to bring him!" Matt exclaimed.
"It wasn't… his fault…" Ruby groaned as she started to push herself up. "We can't… turn him in…"
"That isn't our choice to make!" Matt replied. "Whether against our better judgment or not, he has to face due process. Belief in redemption is part of my religion, Ruby, so I truly do believe that anyone can change, that anyone can choose a different lot in life. But we also have to face the consequences of our actions, no one excluded. We work with the law, not above it. If you withhold him, you can be tried and processed the same as he will."
"Then that… is my choice to make," Ruby replied before becoming a gust of rose petals again and getting back to her weapon and rapidly fired off three shots, all of which Matt swiftly dodged. He threw his club at her, but Ruby swiped it away with Crescent Rose. The club found its way back into Matt's hand, and he just sighed.
Lord, forgive me for what I must do… He started to move forward until Luke's voice stopped him dead.
"Matt!" Luke called. He stopped, and both he and Ruby turned to face the bulletproof man. "We have a problem…"
"What kind of problem?" Matt asked. Luke motioned the both of them over, and hesitantly, both he and Ruby, and eventually the rest of Team RWBY came over to see Luke with a scroll in his hand, one that didn't belong to any of them.
"Wait… where's BT?" Blake asked.
"That's part of the problem," Luke said before pressing play on the scroll, only for Taskmaster's voice to play.
"No more games. No more plots. No more lies!" His voice sounded crazed, jittery, out of control. He wasn't quite himself. "I will have blood tonight. The red will run through the forgotten streets of Mountain Glenn. If you want this experiment so badly, I will give him up for Spider-Man. Either way, Parker's blood will stain my hands. And if he doesn't come alone, the clone will die. Your choice." The recording ended, and the air was left with nothing but infinitely heavy tension.
Peter sat there, listening to the message left behind by Taskmaster again. Matt and the Huntresses of RWBY were in his lab with him. Peter sighed and stopped the message. Instead of addressing the threat, though, his vision fell on Matt.
"Do you understand why I didn't tell you now?" Peter asked.
"You shouldn't have kept it from us," Matt said.
"I had every right to," Peter said. "Look what happened when you did find out, you started fighting over what to do with him!"
"We tried a peaceful resolution, they turned it into a fight!"
"Because we weren't just going to hand him over!" Weiss exclaimed.
"He is a criminal-!" Matt started, but Peter cut him off.
"So was Luke! But do you go to turn him in?"
"Luke still went to prison, and worked hard to fix his past. It has barely been weeks since Prowler was killed!" Matt replied.
"Just because he wasn't redeemed right in front of you doesn't mean it doesn't happen, Matt! You're not the wisest person on the planet that oversees everything!" Peter frowned.
"Peter-"
"No, stop! Just stop, Matt! Stop trying to tell me who I am, what to do! You're not my boss, and you're sure as hell no Uncle Ben!" Peter snapped.
The room fell quiet. No one said a word after that. You could almost hear all of their heightened heartbeats. Matt definitely could now, especially his own. Peter almost never brought up Ben, especially in such a way. The huntresses were just as stunned as Matt was. Peter soon realized what he said, but didn't apologize. He simply stepped away and went for his Advanced Suit on its mannequin.
"You… can't seriously be going…" Ruby said.
"BT's life hangs in the balance. I'm going, and I'm going alone, just like he wants," Peter answered, slipping on the main bodysuit.
"If you go alone, he'll kill you," Weiss said worryingly.
"He'll kill BT if I don't. There's no choice to make here."
"He beat you to hell last time. What makes you think you stand a chance this time?" Yang questioned.
"It doesn't matter," Peter said, finishing putting on the suit and grabbing the mask in his hand.
"It does matter!" Blake exclaimed. "We can't just let you go out there to die!"
"I won't die!" Peter replied. "Not when I have a reason to come back…" Peter's voice grew softer at that second part, and his gaze fell on all four huntresses. "I'll be back by the morning to catch your guys' match. I promise." Peter then pulled his mask over his head and leapt out the lab's window, swinging off into the night.
"We're not seriously letting him go, right?" Yang asked.
"No, we're not," Ruby said firmly. "Matt, let's take an airship out to Mount Glenn."
"What about us?" Weiss asked.
"You and Yang still have the match tomorrow, and you all need a chance to rest," Ruby answered. "Matt and I are in good enough shape to go help Peter save BT. Don't worry, we'll be back with them soon."
"But I think we're still gonna need a little help," Matt said.
"Both of our teams are in rough shape. Who else could we bring with us?"
BT's vision soon started to clear, and his senses returned to him. He was wrapped almost entirely in metal wiring and left hanging from an old light post, dangling just a few feet from the ground. He let out a few painful groans before looking up to see Taskmaster there, staring at him.
"What… is there something on my face…?" BT quipped in an exhausted fashion.
Taskmaster chuckled, a twinge in his tone. "You're becoming more like him. It'll make ending your life so much more satisfying."
"If you're gonna kill me, just do it already," BT replied.
"Oh no. I need an audience for this."
"An audience for what?" BT questioned.
"The Death of Spider-Man," Taskmaster answered. "It all ends tonight."
"What ends?"
"The threat. The heroics. The pain. The amount of trouble and insanity he's caused me! I will end it all! I will end him…." His voice was rabid, obsessive. He wasn't all there anymore, BT could tell. "He will attempt to save you and fail. He will die knowing he is no hero, but he is just a child in a mask!"
"So the mask is a problem?" Peter said, leaping down from one of his swings. Taskmaster snapped around to face Peter, dressed head to toe in his newest advanced Spider-suit. "Fine." Peter tore the mask off his face and tossed it aside. "No masks."
Taskmaster shuddered and then hoarsely cackled. His body began to twitch sporadically and suddenly, like a machine sparking out of program. Even Peter was left confused by his erratic behavior. Suddenly, though, he snarled and leapt right to Peter in a second, his hand gripping and tightening on his neck and slamming Peter flat onto the ground.
"You will not know the eyes of another human as you die," Taskmaster hissed. "The last thing you will see will be this mask… at last, it ends…" His hands tightened even more around Peter's throat. His suit's claws shot out right into Peter's neck, cutting into his skin and drawing blood. "What'll happen first? Will I strangle you, or cut your throat open wide?" Taskmaster then cackled harshly, as if his own throat was torn to shreds. "Maybe I'll keep you alive long enough after all. Then you can see as I walk up to that school, and kill all those friends of yours. The team led by that little fool Jaune Arc will be a nice starting point. Then I'll move on to those girls. I'll send the heiress back to her family in pieces, I'll scalp that blonde, and I'll keep the faunus's ears as trophies! And poor Little Red will watch it happen too, and when she's done screaming, I'll split her skull!"
Peter's body filled with rage and he gripped Taskmaster's forearms tightly, crushing the bones in his arms to dust and warping his armor there beyond repair. He tore Taskmaster's arms off his neck and started to push back.
"You won't lay a finger on them!" Peter growled back before pulling his legs in then kicked Taskmaster's torso with both legs, sending him flying back and denting his armor. Taskmaster landed on his feet, though, and cackled again.
"Good, good… I wouldn't want this to be too easy…" A symphony of cracking sounds rang from his arms as they slowly snapped back into place.
"How…?" Peter wondered.
"Whatever Mason did to me… it's doing wonders!"
"What the hell is happening to you…?"
"The next step, Parker. Spinal repair surgery was just to get me on my feet. But that black shit he injected in me, I feel stronger than ever! Strong enough to finally end this." Taskmaster then lunged for Peter again, continuing their battle.
BT, while Taskmaster was occupied, put all his strength into trying to break free of the metal wires that restrained. He still had Peter's super strength after all. But even with that, he couldn't break the cables. If anything, it felt like they tightened the more he struggled against them. Still, he struggled and squirmed, hoping to get out before Peter got badly hurt. Before he made any progress on his own, however, the wire hanging him from the lamppost was suddenly severed, and he dropped down onto the ground on his feet. He broke free from the wires and looked up. Crouched on top of the lamp post was Logan, metal claws sprouted from between his knuckles..
"You're welcome, bub," Logan said.
"Uh, thanks," BT said. He then looked at the battle ensuing between Peter and Taskmaster.
Peter was losing.
"Looks like we need to step in," Logan smirked before leaping off the light and lunging for Taskmaster. Taskmaster noticed the shorter mutant flying towards him and flipped away backwards from both heroes, nearly avoiding being cut open by Logan's adamantium claws.
"Logan?! What are you doing here?!" Peter exclaimed.
"We're here to make sure you don't get yourself killed, webhead," Logan answered.
"'We'?" BT asked.
Taskmaster returned to his feet only to get dust rounds fired into his back. He let out groans of pain and clicked his gauntlet to form his shield, spinning back around to block the gunshots. He saw Ruby further down the abandoned road with her weapon in its sniper configuration. He let out a low growl before starting for Ruby, using his shield to block any incoming shots. He got close and went to ram his shield into the young huntress, but in a burst of rose petals she was suddenly behind him. The curve of Crescent Rose's blade swiped in front Taskmaster's legs, and the barrel fired, boosting the blade back towards its wielder and sweeping Taskmaster's feet out from under him. He landed on his side, but quickly rolled back onto his feet.
He growled and threw his shield at Ruby. Ruby blocked it with Crescent Rose's hilt. As the shield was reflected back at him, he jumped, spun and kicked the shield back at her. It bounced off the handle again, pushing Ruby further back, then one swift movement, he grabbed his shield, landed, and with one powerful swing of the shield, swatted Ruby away. Taskmaster barely had a chance to breathe, though, as immediately after the attack, Matt's baton wire wrapped around his neck and tightened, starting to choke him. Matt stood farther behind him, pulling harder on his club to restrain him. Taskmaster started to pull back when two strands of webbing shot onto his feet. Peter yanked hard and left Taskmaster to fall flat onto the ground. He then leapt high above and webbed the ground on both sides of Taskmaster, then pulled himself down hard. Peter's feet smashed down onto Taskmaster's torso, completely shattering his armor and cratered the ground below them. Peter backflipped off of Taskmaster and wiped sweat from his brow.
"I told you, Taskmaster… it ends tonight," Peter panted heavily.
Cackling came from the crater and Taskmaster slowly rose up, his body cracking harshly as he did. His mask was damaged as well. "I couldn't agree more." He tore off his mask finally, and the sight was shocking.
Anthony's tanned skin had become somewhat paler, sickly, and every vein in his face was popping out, emanating a blood red glow. And while his right eye was untouched, his damaged left eye had turned black with a red iris.
"Oh my god…" BT muttered.
"What happened to you?" Ruby asked.
"Evolution. Another mutation," Anthony answered.
"We may both be mutants, Taskmaster," Logan said, "But you don't need to drag our name in the mud more than you already have."
Anthony cackled more. His mind was as warped as his body. He wasn't quite him anymore.
"I am beyond just being a mutant now."
Wolverine snarled and leapt for Anthony, claws ready to find a home in his torso. Anthony didn't move, and the adamantium claws stabbed into him, slicing through and poking out of his back. Blood splashed out onto the dusty stone at their feet. But it didn't matter. Anthony kept cackling and then smashed his skull into Logan's face, stunning him long enough to pull free of his claws and kick him away. He then sidestepped as Ruby's red scythe swiped down at him, then again, and again. Each attack missed, but Ruby kept speeding up. Anthony had to actually work to avoid being struck. The curved blade cut into his arm eventually though, surprising him enough to let her twirl around and cut another gash into his shin, bringing Anthony down onto one knee. She then quickly transformed her weapon into its firearm mode, took aim point blank, and fired. The round blasted against the left side of his face. He was still for a few moments before he growled and grabbed her weapon by the barrel. Ruby fired again, and the Dust round blew through his hand, but still he gripped the weapon firmly with that hand, then quickly used the other to uppercut Ruby in the jaw, sending her flying back and away from the fight, as well as severely draining her aura with a single strike.
Matt's club struck against the back of Anthony's neck. Anthony staggered but quickly turned back to engage in close combat with Matt.
Peter and BT saw the fight, and Peter was about to jump in to help when BT stopped him. "What are you doing?" Peter asked.
"Just hold on. Do you see what I'm seeing?' BT asked.
"See what?"
"Just.. look at him," BT said. Peter watched the fight closer, not understanding at first, but then it hit him. Just as Matt and Logan, who leapt back into the fight, were doing.
"He's not being evasive. He's just tanking it. He's not predicting them, he's just-"
"Insane," BT finished. "In his right mind, he was a cold-calculating monster that could snap you in two, stop your actions before you could even take them. But now, he's not a monster: he's just an animal."
"And animals are predictable," Peter said. He looked over to BT. "I have to ask again, are you serious about ending this?"
BT didn't answer immediately. He wasn't just scared, he was terrified. Even if Taskmaster wasn't what he once was, BT didn't think he would be able to beat him. But the thing was, he didn't have to do it alone. He gave Peter a firm nod. "We have a chance to stop him right here, right now. I'm going to take that chance."
"Good," Peter smiled before slipping off one of his web-shooters and holding it out to BT. "Take this."
"What?"
"Click once to fire, a second time to release. Got it?" Peter asked.
"Uh…" BT was hesitant, but he took a deep breath and took the shooter from Peter, sliding it onto his wrist. "Got it."
"Alright. I may have an idea."
Anthony kept even pace with both Daredevil and Logan, even though his body was taking a beating. But it didn't matter. He kept going, taking more damage until he overpowered both Logan and Matt. he gripped them both by the necks, hauled them up above the ground, then slammed them both back down, cracking the stone path at his feet. He then threw both across the street, through a worn down wall into a nearby building.
"When will you understand? I can't be stopped!' He exclaimed. Then webbing immediately covered his face.
"Then keep talking, tough guy. Don't let me cut you off!" Peter quipped. He growled and clawed the webbing off, only for Bt's fist to consume his vision as it connected with the bridge of his nose, sending him stumbling back. Peter leapt behind Anthony, crouched down and put his leg out, tripping Anthony as he was stumbling backwards, making him fall down onto the sidewalk. "Oh, how clumsy of you!" Anthony snarled and kicked both legs out, connecting with Peter's torso. He then flipped back onto his feet and tore off the webbing covering his face.
"Insect!" He spat. Then a harsh elbow met his back, BT delivering the blow.
"Y'know spiders are arachnids, not insects. Guess you only have street smarts," BT smirked before leaping away just before Anthony took a swing.
"Shut up!" He exclaimed, getting angrier and angrier. Then a Dust round connected with his shoulder while he was occupied, and he wheeled around to see Ruby scorched down, firing Crescent Rose at him. He tanked the next few and started for the huntress, only for webbing to yank his feet and cause him to land flat on the ground. He rolled back to see both Peter and BT each with a line of web shot from the machines on their wrists. They both then yanked him hard with their super strength, making him fly towards them. The two reeled back their free fists before letting loose in one combined double attack, connecting their fists with Anthony's jaw and sending him flying. He flew high, then crashed back down hard. He painfully groaned as he began to recover.
"Face it, Taskmaster: you lost. Whatever's been done to you, it's taken away your awareness, your power, and your sanity. It's made you predictable," Peter said.
"'Predictable'?" Anthony snarled, snapping up to his feet. "I'm not predictable!" He sped instantly to them and clotheslined both of them in a second. He stomped down on BT before grabbing Peter and hauling him up above his head. "I have analyzed you all these years, and still you think you're the shit! You are nothing! You are a kid trying to play a hero!"
"And you…" BT groaned. "Are a self-conscious little man with daddy issues."
"What?"
"You heard me," BT frowned. Anthony growled and tossed Peter to the side, then picked BT up instead.
"And you were Mason's little bastard who he dropped at the first opportunity, just like every shit father in the world. Like it or not, I'm the closest to a dad you have."
"Thanks, but I think I'd take Mason," BT remarked before quickly reaching down and hitting the activation on a Dust bomb on Anthony's belt, then kicked off of him, flipping away. The Dust bomb kept beeping and Taskmaster backed away to try and disable the bomb. Ruby saw his panic, and while deep down wanted it to blow up right on him, she quickly aimed her rifle for that part of his belt and fired, snapping the bomb free. It fell further away, but still blew up close enough to blast Anthony away. He dropped down from the blast and tumbled, smoke billowing off his body. But he groaned and moved, so he was alive. Ruby smirked and took Peter's side. He smiled back at her and firmly patted her shoulder.
"Good job," He said.
"Rrrrg…" Anthony groaned. He forced himself back up to his feet, panting heavily, and his armor was completely destroyed. His pants became a mix of such with the snarls of a wild animal. "You will fall! I will never quit! This world will burn! And you will all join Marc Spector in whatever hell I've sent him to! You will fear me!"
As if on cue, Grimm started to come out of every shadow in the abandoned buildings of Mount Glenn. Mainly Beowulves, but some Ursa came out in the packs too, all snarling and drooling, as if starved for a prey they were stalking. Anthony began to cackle. "See? They smell your fear."
"No, I don't think they do," Ruby said.
"What are you talking about?"
"They're not here for us," Peter said.
"What are you talking about? Of course you are!"
"We're not afraid of you. I'm not afraid of you. Not anymore," BT said sternly.
"What…?"
"I think they're here for you…"
Anthony's eyes widened and he looked around himself. The Grimm were all gazing at him, slowly forming a circle around him. He quickly drew his sword to defend himself, but in an instant, a Beowulf tackled him to the ground. It snapped its jaw at him, but he pushed back against it long enough to drive his blade through its skull. He pushed the creature off to get back to his feet, when more Grimm started to close in. He cut one down, decapitated the next, then struck the third with his bare fist hard enough to crack it's neck. Then they swarmed him, too many black-furred bodies for him to dispatch quick enough.
"No! Nooo!" Soon his body was lost in the heap of animalistic forms piling up to tear him apart. Ruby winced a bit at the sight, stepping somewhat closer to Peter. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. BT watched intently, though, never looking away as Anthony was lost to the Grimm. He felt freedom. Fulfillment. A change in the world.
Peter just felt… nothing. No regret, no sympathy, no remorse, no fear, no joy, just… Nothing. And realizing that, he thought something must have been wrong with him just as it was with Anthony.
Peter pulled his mask back over the mannequin along with his suit, looking blankly at it for a few moments. Weiss and Yang were helping patch up BT and Ruby, for the few injuries they had. Logan and Matt had gotten it worse, but Logan healed fast and Matt went off on his own, leaving Peter, BT and Ruby to come back to their friends. Peter let out a heavy sigh as he stared at his mask.
"So…" Blake said, taking his side and breaking him from his stupor, "He's really gone?"
"Yeah… he's gone," Peter answered.
"And… isn't that a good thing?" She asked.
"I… I don't know…" He sighed, his entire manner feeling drained of energy.
"What's wrong?"
"When… when he died, I… I didn't feel anything. After Fisk died, I felt remorse, regret that I couldn't save him. Even if people are evil, I've never let them die. I save every person I can. But with Taskmaster… I didn't feel anything. I wasn't happy it was over, I wasn't regretting not being able to save him. I didn't feel… anything. I know I should have. It… makes me think about what I'm turning into, and if it's for better or worse."
"You can't be blamed for not feeling like yourself," Blake said. "He was a monster who only cared about turning your life to hell."
"He wasn't a monster. As evil as he was, he was still just a man ruined by what life gave him. It makes me wonder how much more I can take before I snap with no way of coming back. I already crossed the line once… what keeps me from doing it again?"
"Us," Blake said. Peter looked at the full lab of his friends. He smiled a little bit, his mood rising just a bit. "No matter what, Pete, we won't let you become what you fight against."
"Thank you, Blake…" Peter gratefully sighed. "I mean it. I don't know how far I would've made it without you guys."
Blake smiles back and her fingers brushed against his hand, but she backed away a bit, not pushing further. "What will happen with Matt and the others? Will they still come for BT?"
"No. Matt and I talked things out on the way back. He really doesn't like it, but I think he understands we won't let anything happen either way," Peter answered.
"So, that's it then? Our biggest problems are over?" Weiss asked.
"No… almost all of the villains from our world are gone, but whoever the red woman is, she's still in charge, pulling strings. We have to keep our guards up. But I guess that's something to worry about later," Peter said before turning to BT. "You did good today. Even though you were scared of him, you stood up to him, fought him, and helped defeat Taskmaster. That makes you braver than you give yourself credit for, BT."
"I needed to face my past, and now I've made it through. With Taskmaster gone, it feels like a weight is off my shoulders," BT said.
"Well, I think it's time we take mare weight off your shoulders," Peter said before taking a seat across from him in one of the rolling chairs.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"I think it's time we give you a real name, BT. You've definitely earned it."
"What did you have in mind?" BT asked.
"Well, you need a name that fits you. A good name for a good man. And I can't think of one that fits the bill better than this."
"Well, lay it on us, Pete, don't keep us in suspense," Yang said.
Peter smiled a bit and looked BT over. "Ben. Ben Reilly."
The name of Peter's deceased uncle surprised the huntresses. None of them thought he would let that out so easily. And yet, he's willing to give BT the name. "You… you're serious?" BT asked. "I-I can't take his name… that's too much."
"If he were here, he'd be as proud of you as I am," Peter said. "You deserve the name."
"So, why Reilly?" Weiss asked.
"It was May's maiden name. I figured Parker would be a little on the nose. You're not quite me, and I'm not quite you. But you still deserve the name. That I can promise," Peter assured his clone.
"Well then… I'll do my best to keep earning it," The newly named Ben said.
"Welcome to the family, Ben," Peter smiled.
Cinder looked down at the floor, a screen of Salem looking down at her.
"So… Taskmaster is dead?" Salem asked.
CInder gritted her teeth, and had to force the answer out of her mouth. "Yes."
"No matter. He was never required for this plan, and as of late had actually been putting it at risk," Salme said evenly. "As for Tinkerer?"
Cinder growled and looked over to a corner of the room where a torn apart LMD of Mason sat half-melted. "A robotic duplicate. It's dawned on me that he may have never actually been on Remnant to begin with, and a decoy was brought to this world from the start."
"No loss of ours. Watts is more than enough of a technical genius on his own, though I'm curious as to how Mason got his hands on a vial of substance from the Grim pools to inject Taskmaster with." Salem said. "Nevertheless, with all these distractions out of the way, I expect you to continue the plan as initially intended."
"Yes, mistress…" Cinder said, still not meeting Salem eyes with her own.
"Cinder," Salem said with an icy tone, sending a chill down Cinder's spine.
"Yes, mistress?"
"Look up at me," Salem commanded. Cinder reluctantly did as asked and met her master's red eyes. "Do not let whatever attachment you had to Taskmaster cloud your mind. This mission and my will are what matters. Do you understand this?"
"Yes, Salem. I am a tool of your will and a bringer of your wrath. I will not fail you," CInder said.
"And?" Salem raised an eyebrow. Cinder shuddered, and let out a quick sigh before looking back downwards.
"Without you, I am nothing." At this, Salem smirked, and the transmission cut off.