Cinder: Previously, on The Defenders of Remnant…
"C'mon, Reed, you can't say this isn't like bashing our heads against a brick wall!"
"It is admittedly… frustrating. However, we can't let that consume our process," Reed said.
"I thought you've made universe-hopping machines before, how is this different?" Tony questioned.
"That transporter was made for travel within our own multiverse pocket. But the way Doctor Strange described our predicament, the Defenders and Peter were forced out of our pocket and into another pocket. It renders any previous knowledge I thought I had moot."
"So… how does the power choose?" Pyrrha asked.
"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules," Qrow answered.
"At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed on to young women," Goodwitch went on to answer. "But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more… intimate."
"'Intimate'?" Pyrrha repeated.
"As we understand, when a maiden dies, whoever is in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power," Matt clarified.
"If the powers go to whoever is in her last thoughts, it could be who attacked her."
"We can't transfer Amber's power to you, but we can give you what those powers are bound to."
"Her aura," Pyrrha deduced.
"Her life would become intertwined with yours. The question is-" Ozpin started.
"What will it do to you?" Matt finished.
"You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos," Ozpin said. "There's no guarantee this transfer will work, and there's no telling if you will be the same person if it does. I advise you to take time to think on this matter, but understand, before the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer."
"No…." She shuddered, "A-Adam…?"
"Hello, my darling," Adam replied.
"Why are you doing this?" Blake questioned.
"You and I were going to change the world, remember?" Adam responded. "We were destined to light the fires of revolution."
Suddenly the far off Mount Gleen on the horizon burst open, and launching into the sky was a large winged Grimm like a dragon. The Grimm slowly began to fly towards the kingdom, it's massive form recognizable from even far away.
"And that would be…?" Jessica asked.
"That…. Is a Wyvern."
"Hello, Peter," an older voice said. A chill went up his spine and he froze up.
"It's good to see you, son," The elderly man smiled. Before him, right now, was Uncle Ben Parker.
The Defenders of Remnant
Chapter 45: The Battle of Beacon Part II - End of the Beginning
Tony finished piecing the final two segments together, then slid down the curved side of the machine. "Reed, how are we looking?"
"Let's find out," Reed replied before slowly pushing a lever on a terminal. The silver circular portal frame they'd created began to whirr to life, blue light glowing along its interior circle rim. "All systems running at full capacity. Dark matter generators charging, residual energy containment online."
"Strange, anything from your perspective?" Tony asked the Sorcerer Supreme. There was no answer at first, so Tony actually looked at the doctor to see him criss-crossed, floating a few feet above the ground with his eyes closed. "Hey, Earth to Strange!"
Strange's eyes suddenly popped open and he seemed in a panic. "Strange, what's going on?"
"Things just got out of hand," Strange gasped. "They're already changing the timeline. We need to find them and get them back, now!"
"Observation systems coming online," Reed said. The portal frame then showed an image, of a city burning and black-furry monsters storming the streets.
"This… this is what's going on over there?" Tony asked.
"It should be, yes," Reed answered.
"Doesn't matter. Search for them. The longer we wait, the more damage will be done," Strange said sternly. Reed nodded and began to search as told. Tony just stared as the image changed each time, but it was all the same: innocent people running for their lives lest be slaughtered by creatures right out of a nightmare.
"This is awful…." Tony sighed.
"Gruesome or not, we cannot alter the flow of this universe's time, or we risk catastrophe on a scale hitherto undreamt of," Strange warned.
"Did you seriously just say 'hitherto undreamt of'?" Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Did you seriously just miss the point?" Strange countered.
"C'mon, Strange, I know this is eating you up inside. Those are hundreds of innocent people in that city being torn apart!"
Strange sighed, remembering the warnings made by the voice he had heard in his mind before. "No, I don't like it, Stark, but… In the grand calculus of the multiverse, their sacrifice means infinitely more than their lives. If they die, they die."
"And you can get down with that?" Tony questioned.
"I have to, Stark, regardless of how I feel about it.."
"So tell me, if you had your sister on the other side of that window, what would you do?" Tony questioned.
"Don't invoke her when you speak to me, Stark. I should've known. If you understood the consequences of your actions, you wouldn't have put on that suit."
"I put on the suit because I was dealing with the consequences of my actions, which was being ignorant to the death of other people, Strange. This is no different."
"It is different when you would save one city to doom a trillion worlds!" Strange exclaimed.
"What happened to that 'do no harm' thing you doctors seem to love so much? We ignore this, we're harming them."
"And we harm an infinite number of others if we don't ignore it. Does the scope of this danger escape your massive ego?" Strange questioned.
"Oh, I have an ego? Tell me, is my ego the reason you looked into the multiverse not once but twice and had to get your ass saved for it? As far as I can tell, Strange, me going over there and saving some lives? That makes us even stevens."
"This isn't about being even, this is about the stability of every multiverse!"
"Well, like I said… I deal with my consequences in the suit," Tony smirked. Strange started to move to stop him, but his muscles locked up on him. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Yeah, I hit you with a puff of remote-controlled paralysis agent on your way in, and I had FRIDAY hit your switch, just in case I had a change of heart. You put me on the wire, I'm just gonna cut it." Then Reed's fist found the back of Tony's head, sending him sprawling to the floor.
"I'm sorry, Tony," Reed apologized, "But I'm with Strange. If we do not recover our friends and leave immediately, it will mean blood I cannot have on my hands, and I can't let you put it on your hands either."
"Yeah, nice sentiment. Deploy!" Tony replied. Suddenly he sprinted up and away just as a metal suit flew in from the ceiling right for Tony. Reed threw his arms out, and they stretched far and thin like plastic. He grabbed the incoming suit, spun around, and sent it rocketing into a wall where it blasted apart. Tony flexed one of his muscles and shot his hand out. One of the gauntlets from the suit flew over on its own and formed over his hand. He then aims the repulsor in the palm at Reed.
"Is this what we're doing, Tony?" Reed questioned.
"Let's find out," Tony furrowed his brow.
Suddenly, a metal shield ricocheted between both of them, hitting Tony's gauntlet and Reed's torso before returning to the hands of Steve Rogers. "That's enough!"
"Captain, excellent timing," Reed said. "Would you please talk some sense into your teammate?"
"I've been listening," Steve said, "And I have my own decision to make, as leader of this team."
"That decision being?" Tony asked.
The advanced Paladin was full-on sprinting to the collected group of Huntsmen, its giant metal feet shaking the very ground beneath them. They all braced themselves for the coming battle, when the Paladin seemed to short out and collapse. Its bulky hull slid on the ground and came to a stop just short of the students.
"Hm. That went better than expected," Sun said.
"Weiss! Ruby!" The two named huntresses turned to see their teammate Yang sprinting towards them. "You guys are okay!" The golden-locked huntress scooped her little sister up in her arms and gave her a firm squeeze.
"You're killing me…" Ruby wheezed through Yang's iron grip. Yang finally let go of Ruby.
"Have you guys heard from Blake?" Yang asked.
"Last I saw her, she was going after an Alpha, and some members of the White Fang," Weiss answered.
"I think I saw the burly guy with the claws go that way too," Neptune added.
"I'll meet up with Logan and Blake then. You guys take a chance to rest while you can," Yang said. Ruby immediately wanted to volunteer to join her sister, but Ben's words about staying and leading the other Huntsmen rang in her head.
"Think you'll do okay on your own?" Ruby asked.
"I'll be fine, sis. Stay safe, alright?"
"You too," Ruby smiled. Yang then rushed in the direction Blake and Logan had gone.
The elevator door slid open, and the trio of Pyrrha, Ozpin and Jaune rushed at full speed down the hall leading to Amber's pod. Jaune was surprised at how fast the older professor was, but he guessed he had to be considering what was going on. Jaune then finally factored in his surroundings, curious as to where they were.
"What is this place?" He wondered aloud.
"It's… a type of vault," Pyrrha answered.
"You've been here before?" Jaune asked her. Pyrrha didn't answer, and instead glanced away from him as they ran. "What would this school need to… hide…?" They reached Amber's pod, and Jaune slowed while Ozpin and Pyrrha approached the machine. "What…? Who…?" Pyrrha stopped and turned to her leader.
"Jaune-" She started to say.
"Pyrrha! Get to the pods!" Ozpin cut in. Pyrrha gave one last nervous glance to Jaune before doing as she was told. "Mister Arc, if you would like to help, you can stand guard here." Jaune didn't understand, and he didn't know if he was supposed to understand, but he was given a duty, and he had to do it. He turned around to face back down the hall towards the exit, shield up and sword at the ready.
"What do we do now?" Pyrrha asked.
Ozpin sighed while working away at a terminal between Amber's pod and the empty one Pyrrha would step into. "We do nothing." Pyrrha gave him a confused look before her pod hissed and popped open. "You, Miss Nikos, have a choice to make." This was what Pyrrha was fearing. She'd come running down here with Ozpin almost without hesitation, but now with the direct choice in front of her, she was hesitating. The choice had been driving her insane, but now that she had to choose, and in a short time as well, that twist in her gut just worsened. She glanced at the open pod, then back behind her at Jaune, who still faced the entrance on guard, ready to do what was necessary to protect them. He really had grown. He was the best man she knew. Maybe that's why she felt…
She started to choke up and wiped a tear from her eye. Even if she did lose herself doing this, she would still go in feeling the way she did. And she hoped she would still feel so when she came out. She turned around and climbed into the pod. The door came down and slid shut as she laid down. And even though she had decided to go through with it, there was still a heavy amount of regret in her heart.
"This could have been our day, can't you see that?!" Adam exclaimed, still looking down at Blake flattened out on the ground.
"I never wanted this!" Blake replied, pushing herself back up. "I wanted equality! I wanted peace!" She transformed Gambol Shroud into its pistol form and fired, but Adam quickly and only partially unsheathed his blade to block the bullets. Both his sword and his blazing red hair began to glow.
"What you want is impossible!" He re-sheathed his sword and smacked her back down to the ground. "But I understand, because all I want is you, Blake." Blake attempted to aim with her weapon again, but Adam kicked it out of her hands and far from reach. Blake's expression turned to one of fear and she tried to back away from him. "And as I set out upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love."
"I don't think so, bub." Adam quickly spun around and slashed his sword out, kicking up sparks between his sword and Logan's claws. In the same movement, Adam spun and kicked Logan in the stomach, pushing him back.
"Foolish humans, rushing to die like cattle at the slaughterhouse," Adam sneered.
"Oh, I ain't human, kid. Hell, I'm probably more of an animal than you are. Rraagh!" Logan went to stab Adam, but he sidestepped out of the way and held his red blade in front of him, letting Logan's claws scrape the blade. Adam kicked Logan's foot out from under him during the charge then sliced his sword downward, cutting down onto Logan's arm. It didn't go all the way through, though; it stopped dead once it hit bone.
"What?!" Adam exclaimed in confusion. Logan smirked and moved to impale Adam with his other set of claws. Adam pulled his sword out and leapt out of reach, narrowly avoiding being stabbed. Logan swiped his claws again, but Adam blocked with his sword again before twirling around behind Logan and, with his back to him and holding his blade in a backhanded fashion, drove it through Logan's chest.
"Logan!" Blake cried. Adam smirked and pulled his blade out and spun back in front of Logan. He then began slashing black and forth, cutting into Logan's skin and splashing blood across the room. After the flurry of attacks, Adam winded up and hit one last attack and sent Logan flying across the room. The short hairy mutant slammed down onto the ground harshly and groaned. Blake covered her mouth in horror. Adam snickered and turned back to Blake.
"Don't you see, Blake? No matter who stands in my way, every human will either kneel or fall to the faunus. We will show them what it's like to be subjected and treated like animals! Remnant will become a world for the faunus!" Adam exclaimed.
"You think you're the only victims, kid?" Logan growled. Adam quickly snapped around to see Logan back on his feet and popping his joints as the supposedly-fatal wounds were healing at a rapid pace. In seconds, they had entirely sealed back up with almost no scarring at all.
"What…? How…?" Adam marveled.
"You think the world owes you for being treated as less, like you aren't a person. Well take it from someone who knows: it doesn't. The world doesn't care about your feelings, your struggles," Logan said. "And yet you just keep fighting, and look where it's gotten you."
"Like you would know what it's like," Adam sneered.
"I know more than you think," Logan said. "Tell me if this sounds familiar: You grow up under judgment and scrutinization, even though you've done nothing wrong. You always feel like even among a crowd, you stand out for the wrong reasons, and suddenly among the crowd you feel like a thousand eyes staring. Then when you're older, you realize why: in their eyes you're something else, a freak, a monster. Not because of who you are or what you've done, but because of what you are. It doesn't matter how many people are around you, because you feel alone. You try to fit in, feel whatever normal is, but can't. You end up feeling a hatred for everyone and everything, especially those looking down on you. Then your kind if not you yourself are treated like disposable animals, as if you aren't a walking, breathing, living being. It's the kind of hell no one else understands because they think it comes after death, not realizing hell on earth is a very real thing."
Blake stared at Logan, hearing and feeling the weight in his words. He truly did understand the struggle.
"Faunus. Mutants. It's the same story. Except here's the difference between my kind and yours: mine has actually earned equality, and feel normal despite our differences. You've led your people in a mission with no happy ending. I've seen your world, out there, outside city walls, outside Menagerie. And let me tell you something: when it comes to surviving in a world with nightmare monsters that kill everything, it doesn't matter who you are, human or faunus. You don't work together, you die. But what you White Fang are doing, it only makes things worse. The way you're doing it, there won't be a world to have, human or faunus. Even if you get what you want, you won't be equal, and you won't be greater. In the eyes of the world, you will be worse than you ever were. They saw you as animals before, then you made them see you as monsters. Soon enough, you'll be no different than Grimm."
"I don't care what the humans think," Adam spat. "They drove us out, spoke down to us. They made feel subjugated and afraid. That is exactly what I will make them feel."
"I gave you a chance, kid," Logan said before his claws shot back out of his hands. "I won't give you another."
Adam grimaced and slashed vertically down onto Logan's claws, then began to rapidly speed up his strikes, striking at near blinding speed, moving faster than Logan could counter. Each strike sent more blood from Logan's body. "No matter how long it takes, mutant, I will cut you apart!" After a ruthless onslaught, Adam kicked Logan back, then threw his sword towards him in a spinning arc. It spun like a top on its own and rapidly ate through Logan's flesh before it returned to Adam's hand. Adam then sheathed his blade, and suddenly it was like he was charging up energy. His hair and visor began to glow brightly, and a wide grin grew across his face. As soon as it was charged up, he dashed forward in the blink of an eye, too fast for Blake herself to track, but in the milliseconds that passed, Adam was on the other side of Logan, sword drawn with blood dripping from it.
Then Logan's chest burst open with gushes of blood, and after a roar of pain, he dropped forward flat on the ground. Adam chuckled and stood back tall before wiping his sword clean of blood on his sleeve.
"Aaaah!" He heard Blake cry behind him. He quickly spun around and drove his red blade through her stomach. This gave her pause, but then suddenly her form was ice, and his arm with the blade was stuck in the ice. A shadow clone infused with Dust. The real Blake slashed at him with Gambol Shroud from behind, but he caught both her arms with his single free hand, stopping the attack dead. He then lifted her off the ground with ease.
"Why must you hurt me, Blake?" He tore his arm free from the ice, shattering the clone, and brought his blade toward Blake-
Metal claws suddenly stopped his blade, and Adam's vision snapped to his right where Logan was baring his teeth and snarling. "Why aren't you dead?!" Adam exclaimed. Blake quickly brought her feet up and kicked Adam in the jaw, sending him back and making him let go of her. She took a second to catch her breath while Logan immediately rushed Adam. Adam attempted to strike Logan, but the mutant caught the blade with both sets of claws, Adam's red blade nestled in both sets firmly. "Just what the hell are you?!"
"I'm the Wolverine," Logan growled before with one last surge of strength in the attack sending his arms in different directions. The claws that had entrapped Adam's blade shattered it into several tiny pieces, obliterating it. Adam was left in shock, too stunned to stop Logan from bashing his skull into Adam's then throwing him across the room. Adam landed on his back but quickly rolled back onto his feet. He felt his nose, and drew his fingers back to see blood staining them. His blood. He growled and glared at Logan.
"You will pay for this!" He rushed for Logan and reeled his right fist back to throw a punch, and was about to throw it forward, when Gambol Shroud's blade came down from above and cleaved right through Adam's arm just short of the shoulder. He let out a cry of pain and stumbled towards Logan now. Logan kneed him in the stomach, pushing Adam back towards Blake, who spin-kicked high, connecting her heel with the bridge of his nose, sending him flying back and shattering his Grimm mask. Adam once again landed flat on his back, and Blake stood tall alongside Logan, both of them looking down on the defeated Adam.
Adam gritted his teeth firmly out of pure pain as he forced himself back onto his feet. He held his shoulder joint, where his right arm used to be. Blood poured through his fingers and dripped onto the floor. With his mask gone, Blake saw his face for the first time in a long time. His right eye was a vibrant baby blue, but his right was reddened and dark, bruised and useless. The reason why was painted clearly on the rest of the left side of his face. Stamped harshly, almost burned, into his skin was a logo and three letters: SDC. The Schnee Dust Company. The stamp meant he was once a slave of labor of Weiss's father's company, Blake knew. She was lucky enough to avoid such a place. Adam, however, was not.
Adam grunted in pain and glared in agonizing hate at the two of them, then at Blake in particular. "You know… people hurt me long before we met. All sorts of people in all sorts of ways. But no one hurt me quite like you, Blake. You didn't leave scars, you just left me alone."
"You were alone long before I left," Blake frowned. "What you were doing? I couldn't stand by you. And I stayed far longer than I should have."
"And still you hurt me…"
"And you can live with that pain," Blake replied. "I'm showing you what you show to no one: mercy. You have taken innocent lives and attempted to kill me, someone you claim to have cared for. Live with that, Adam." She transformed Gambol Shroud into its firearm form and aimed at Adam's head. "Now leave, and never return to Vale. This is your only chance. I won't give another."
Adam scowled. "We will see each other again, Blake. I promise you that. And unlike you, I keep my promises." Suddenly, the ceiling caved in between them. A large stack of debris and flame fell down, temporarily stunning them. When Logan and Blake looked back, Adam was gone, disappeared. Blake sighed out of relief as her hands and feet began to quiver and shake. She dropped down to her knees and Logan quickly crouched beside her.
"I gotcha, kid," He assured her.
"Blake!" Yang called out. Suddenly the blonde huntress leapt in and rushed to Blake's side as well. "Blake, are you alright?!"
"I-I'm okay," Blake shivered. "I just need a second."
"You did something brave, Blake. You stared down your past and gave it the finger. That takes guts. You should be proud of yourself," Logan said.
"I wish my muscles felt the same…" Blake said, holding her own arms firmly as if she was freezing.
"Let's get you back to the others and regroup," Yang said, helping her teammate back to her feet.
Ozpin kept working away at the pod terminal when suddenly the entire building began to shake. Ozpin frowned and felt his heart racing, beginning to panic. "Are you ready?' He asked Pyrrha, who lay waiting in her pod. She hesitated, but gave him a weak nod in response. He wanted to continue immediately. They were short on time, and needed to act quickly. But he couldn't go through with it, not until he knew she was sure. "I… I-I need to hear you say it," he insisted.
"Yes," Pyrrha answered, though even she wasn't totally convinced with her answer.
"Thank you, Miss Nikos," Ozpin gratefully replied, some weight being lifted off his conscience. He then quickly turned back to the terminal and keyed away. Momentarily, Amber's pod rose up just as Pyrrha's was. Soon, a bright goldenglow formed around Amber. The same glowing energy transferred through the tubes that connected her pod and Pyrrha's. Even Amber's eyes began to flutter open. Pyrrha's body formed its own glow as the energy was transferring over. At first, nothing else happened, but soon Pyrrha began to spasm and scream, as if she was in absolute torment, her pained cries making Ozpin flinch. He didn't enjoy this, but it had to be done.
At his teammate's screams, Jaune wheeled around concerningly. "Pyrrha!" He exclaimed. He rushed up to the pod and glanced around frantically.
Ozpin watched as the golden energy transferred through the tubing from Amber to Pyrrha, his chest tightening as it continued. "I'm… so sorry…" he muttered. Amber seemed to be awaking more and more, as if coming out of the daze.
Then an arrow pierced the glass of her pod and impaled her torso. With one final gasp and a pained croak, Amber died for good. Ozpin and Jaune wheeled around to see Cinder down the hall, a bow in hand with a now empty drawstring and a smirk on her face. While her pod kept beeping, all the lights in the vast hallway suddenly flickered out, leaving Cinder, Jaune and Ozpin in near energy that was slowly transferring to the suffering Pyrrha suddenly and instantly reverted to Amber's corpse, which then shot from her body, through the glass, and sped all the way to Cinder, entering her body and forming a similar golden, iridescent glow around her body. Her eyes then shared the same glow, as a golden flame formed at the edges of her eyes as well. They had failed. Cinder was now the Fall Maiden.
Cinder began to float up as orbs of energy began to form and rotate around her. Jaune charged at her, sword above his head. Pyrrha banged against the glass, but it didn't give. "Stay back!" Ozpin tried to warn, but too late, as Cinder released a pulse of energy that blasted Jaune back towards Ozpin, flattening him on the ground.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out, still banging violently on the glass. She put all her strength into one last push and sent the pod door flying towards Cinder. She simply waved it away and let it collide with the wall. Pyrrha leapt out and called her equipment to her with her semblance. Once her spear and shield were in hand, she began to run for Cinder when Ozpin put an arm out and stopped her.
"Take Jaune and get out of here! Find Glynda, Ironwood, Qrow, Matt! Bring them here right away! The tower cannot fall!" He ordered.
"But I can help!" Pyrrha protested.
"You'll only get in the way." Ozpin furrowed his brow, clearly serious and firm about his orders. Pyrrha glanced away, and reluctantly began to do as asked. She helped Jaune to his feet, and the two of them ran by Cinder quickly. She didn't care. They didn't matter anymore. She let them go. She lowered herself to the ground and faced Ozpin with a sly and confident smirk.
"This whole time. Right beneath our feet," She said. Ozpin frowned and flipped the stance of his cane, holding it bottom-out like a weapon. "She was right about you; Such arrogance."
Ozpin didn't say a word. None were needed. He locked eyes with Cinder, and she understood what would happen next. They both took up a stance, and after a few moments of silence, moved.
Peter couldn't believe what he was seeing. His long gone Uncle, Ben Parker, was standing right in front of him. His whole body was shaking. His voice quivered when he spoke.
"B-Ben…?"
"Hey, slugger," Uncle Ben smiled.
"Ben… i-it… it can't be you… I-Is this real?" Peter turned to ask the Blacksmith, but both her and the forge were gone. It was just Peter and his uncle, or whatever was in front of him.
Ben's hand landed on Peter's shoulder. "I think we both know the answer to that, son…" Whoever was in front of him, they were solid. He couldn't do it anymore. He broke down. He threw his arms around his Uncle and clung as tight as he could while tears ran from his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Ben! I'm so sorry! I should've listened to you, I should've stayed at home that night, I should've… I should've…"
"It's alright, Peter, it's alright," Ben said before gripping Peter by both shoulders and prying him off. He looked down at his nephew with a warm smile.
"It's not alright!" Peter cried. "It only happened because of me! I'm the reason you died!"
"Peter, I was fifty-five years old. I wasn't gonna be around much longer anyway. Besides, look at the man you've grown into!"
"What…? Ben, I'm a failure!" Peter exclaimed.
"You are not a failure."
"How?! How am I not a failure?! I led you out to get shot on that sidewalk! I lost May, Harry and MJ in a matter of days! I couldn't protect the people I loved! I'm not just a failure as a hero, I'm a failure as a person!"
"You think because you couldn't protect everyone that it makes you less of a person?" Ben questioned.
"Yes! Ben, I lost everyone! As Spider-Man, I'm supposed to save people! And for the past year and a half, I haven't saved anybody! Not May, not Harry, and not-"
"Me?" A female voice asked. He froze instantly. He didn't want to turn around. If he saw her, it would be too real. But he couldn't help himself. When he did turn, he saw her. Her red hair, green eyes. Mary Jane Watson.
"MJ…" He muttered.
"Heya, Pete…" MJ greeted. He looked down, not able to meet her eyes.
"Let me guess… you also think I didn't mess up?"
"Everyone makes mistakes, Pete," She said gently. She approached him and got close. Her presence alone both calmed and unnerved him. She gently placed a hand on his cheek. "Even you."
"I couldn't afford to make mistakes! I had people depending on me and I dropped the ball! I dropped it hard. And it cost me everything!" Peter exclaimed.
"You're only human, Peter. You can only do so much."
"And it wasn't enough," Peter said as more tears ran down his cheeks. "I wasn't enough. I should've stuck with it, I should've buried it, never touched the mask again…"
"And yet you didn't," Ben said. "Why?"
"I… I don't know…" That query had come up again and again over the past few months. The night of the collider explosion was the first time in a long time he had been Spider-Man. And yet, after so long, he didn't have an answer as to why he did it. He couldn't even begin to fathom what had driven him to do it.
"I do," Ben said. "The way trouble always seems to find you, that thing you decided to call 'Parker Luck'? You see it as the world pushing you and then kicking you while you're down. It's not that at all. Parker Luck isn't some omnipotent force of God messing with us in particular, it's a test, a chance to help us grow, to help us become stronger, become greater. It's the universe challenging us, telling us every day to stop, to sit down and give up, so we stand tall with our feet firmly planted and tell it, 'No'. You want to know what that day was, Peter? It was you getting up from sitting down for so long, and planting your feet. Now you just have to say it. Be greater."
"But… what if I'm not strong enough to do it? What if Peter Parker isn't enough? What if he is just a failure who lets everyone around him down…?"
"That isn't you," MJ said. "You're the best person I know. And it isn't because you're some perfect man who does good all the time. It's because you do good despite not being perfect. Despite that anger and loss you feel. It's easy to do good when you're perfect But you have that anger in you, that dark side… and you fight it. And you win. That suit… it was a drug that twisted that anger and fed off of it. But you're still you, Peter. That suit, those mistakes, they don't make you. You are still Peter Parker, the man Ben and May raised. And that man beats the darkness."
Peter looked at her in wonder, and held her hands firmly. "You always knew what to say…" He smiled.
"We're proud of you, son," Ben smiled. "We're proud of what you've managed to accomplish and the man you've become." Peter smiled wide and felt warmth spread through him. He was feeling like himself again.
Suddenly he was back in front of the Blacksmith, the fires of her forge illuminating the realm. She looked down on him with a curious smile. "So, have you decided?" She asked. "Will you move on and find a new purpose?"
This was it. The world was asking him to give in and give up. He smirked confidently and looked back at her. "No," He answered.
The blacksmith's smile widened and she clapped her hands together. "Then Peter Parker is enough." Peter looked down at his arm and saw that the blackened wound was gone entirely, as if it was never there to begin with. Then a rift much like the one he took to get here opened next to him and the blacksmith.
"Where does this lead?" Peter asked.
"Not where. When you're needed most," The blacksmith said.
"Thank you. For everything," Peter nodded gratefully.
"I have done nothing. I have simply guided you to what you knew all along. Now you must go."
Peter nodded and bravely stepped through the portal. As he went through, he heard MJ's voice one last time.
Go get 'em, Tiger, and show them who you really are.
When he came through the rift, he was falling, plummeting through the sky above Beacon. He saw the Wyvern and countless other flying Grimm circling the main tower. He frowned, then saw a massive amount of people gathering at the landing pads. He aimed himself for there, coming short by a few blocks of distance. When he came down low enough, he fired his webs and connected to one of the taller buildings, and swung off of it, releasing at its highest point. He flipped gracefully through the air and let out an exhilarated laugh. He was feeling like himself again. Not how he felt before going into the Blacksmith's realm, how he felt before he stopped being Spider-Man. How he felt over a year ago.
"Woo-hoo! I'm back! I'm back!" He skillfully and energetically web swung all the way to the edge of campus where airships were slowly evacuating students down to Vale. At the edge of the group, he saw all four members of Team RWBY sat together, resting after what he could only assume was a tenuous battle. He'd missed a lot while he was gone. He landed just short of the team, and made himself known to the team. "Hey, guys…" He nervously smiled. The girls looked and then rushed up to him.
"Peter!" They all cried. He smiled a bit wider at their initial welcome-
-And then Blake, Weiss and Yang collectively punched him in the arms. "Ow! What was that for?!"
"You dolt! Where have you been?!" Weiss exclaimed.
"We've been worried sick about you!" Yang added.
"Yeah, I figured. What's going on?" Peter asked.
"You were right. Mercury and Emerald were behind everything, with Cinder leading them. She was the red woman," Blake said. "She nearly got Penny killed and made the entire city afraid enough to attract an army of Grimm."
"Including the Wyvern," Ruby added.
"Is everybody alright?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, mostly," Blake shuddered.
Peter looked around the gathering. Most of the students were here, recuperating from their ordeals. "Where's Ben? And the Defenders?"
"They're down in Vale keeping the safe zone secure. That's where we're all evacuating to," Ruby answered.
"What about Jaune and Pyrrha?"
"We haven't heard from them since they left with Ozpin," Weiss said.
"Then we need to find them. No one left behind," Peter said.
"You can't be serious," Sun said as he approached. "That giant Grimm keeps circling the school. Even the White Fang are pulling out. We all have to go, now."
"We're not…. leaving… Rrrg!" Ren panted as he tried to force himself to his feet, but then dropped back down to one knee as he held his ribs in pain.
"No, we're not," Ruby said firmly. "I'll find them, and I'll bring them back."
"No," Peter said, gently gripping Ruby's shoulder, "We will find them. You, Weiss and I will go get them while the rest of you load up and head to Vale."
"Right," Weiss agreed.
Peter looked at Blake and Yang, who still looked weary. "You two stay safe, alright? We'll be back before you know it."
"You better be," Blake said, meeting Peter's eyes. He met hers as well, and gave her a smile. He nodded, and then the three of them started back for Beacon.
Jaune and Pyrrha exited the CCT tower and ran down its staircase, only stopping once they reached the bottom, surrounded by piles of debris and a lone open rocket locker propped up by ashy rocks.
"Okay, I think I have Glynda's number," Jaune panted before retrieving his scroll from his pocket and searching his contacts. "C'mon, where is it?" Pyrrha was only half paying attention, her mind still on Ozpin below ground. She had been forced to leave him behind with Cinder. Ozpin was powerful, but even Pyrrha doubted he was enough to stop a maiden's full power. "Pyrrha?" Jaune said, breaking her from her thoughts. She turned to face him. "What was all of that?"1
"I-" Pyrrha started, then a ground-shaking boom disturbed both of them. Whatever was shaking the ground, it was ascending, coming further up to the surface. And it couldn't have been Ozpin. That meant the battle was over. He'd lost.
"But… Ozpin…." Jaune said, the tone of his voice sounding dejected and defeated. The man who had brought them all together, who had formed their teams and helped guide them to becoming Huntsmen, was dead.
"There's no time…." Pyrrha shook her head. "Go! Get to Vale, and call for help!"
"Huh? What are you gonna do?" Jaune questioned. Pyrrha slowly turned her head back to the tower, and Jaune's eyes rounded. "No… No, Pyrrha, you can't! You saw how powerful she is!" Pyrrha closed her eyes and quietly sighed. She knew what she had to do, and tore her apart inside. "Pyrrha, I won't let you do-!"
Pyrrha quickly grabbed the sides of Jaune's face and pulled him close, pressing her lips against his. It caught him off guard, but sent a chill down his spine before warming his entire being. His arms slowly wrapped around her waist and he returned the kiss, holding her tenderly. After a few moments, her lips left his, and her expression was just one of sorrow. "I'm sorry…." She said, only managing a whimpering whisper.
"What…?" Jaune replied, still reeling from her act of affection. Then suddenly he was forced into the open rocket locker and the door slammed shut. "Wait, stop! Stop! Pyrrha, please don't do this!" Pyrrha approached the locker and set the coordinates for Vale. He would be safe there, and far enough away where he wouldn't be able to stop her. She couldn't muster any more words, and just looked into his eyes with the kind of sorrowful love that one only gave when they believed they'd never see that person again. She backed away from the locker just before it launched, shooting high up into the sky, and away from the CCT. She took a quivering breath, then steeled herself for what she needed to do next.
Peter, Blake and Ruby were still frantically searching for Jaune when suddenly Weiss's scroll chimed. She answered it almost as soon as it popped up. "It's Jaune! Where are you?!"
"Weiss! Please, you have to stop her!" Jaune cried.
"What?"
"Pyrrha! She's going after that woman at the top of the tower! She doesn't stand a chance!" Jaune replied. The three of them looked up to the CCT tower before them, and Peter's heart tightened. His vision came to mind, where both he and Pyrrha were swapping places at the business end of an arrow aimed by Cinder. This was it. This was the moment that decided everything.
"Jaune, what are you talking about? Where are you?" Weiss questioned.
"Don't worry about me!" Jaune snapped. "Please…. you have to save Pyrrha…."
"We will. Are you okay?" Weiss asked concerningly. The only reply received was a scream of anger from Jaune before the line cut off. "Jaune? Jaune! Peter, we have to-" The huntresses turned to see Peter launch himself forward towards the CCT at an insane speed. "Peter!" He didn't listen. He sprinted forward and covered the ground between them and the tower in seconds. Once close enough, he leapt high up and stuck to the side of the tower wall before sprinting straight up towards the top.
No more death. Not today.
"Peter!" Ruby called out. Then the ground shook below them. They looked up to see the Wyvern circle the tower before perching itself on the side of the tower opposite Peter, with swarms of Grimm approaching from the ground and air. The two of them readied their weapons. "I have a plan," Ruby said.
"You always do," Weiss replied.
Cinder looked out the wide viewing window of the CCT control room with a smirk when the massive face of the Wyvern came to her level, snarling fiercely. "Shhh… this is your home now," She said to it. It let out a gentle hiss, and she backed away from the window before glancing over her shoulder at the elevator doors. After a moment, they blew open and Pyrrha's spear Milo shot towards her. She simply leaned out of the way to dodge the weapon, then put her hands out in front of her, blocking Pyrrha's shield. Pyrrha's feet followed up, hitting the shield and pushing CInde back. Pyrrha launched herself off, flipped back onto her feet, and called her weapons back to her hands.
Cinder smirked, ready to enjoy the battle Pyrrha would put up, when glass shattered, and before Cinder could even turn, the soles of Peter's feet connected with the side of her face, sending her across the room. Pyrrha was surprised to see him here. "Peter?! What are you doing?!" She exclaimed.
"Saving your life," Peter answered before webbing her hands together, then web-pulled her to him.
"Peter, let go! I have to do this!" Pyrrha exclaimed.
"No, you don't!" Peter held her tightly with one arm and leapt out one of the windows, shattering the glass. They plummeted down for a few moments before shooting a web back onto the tower and began to swing back around. During the arch, they swung by the roof of another building, where Peter dropped her, hands still webbed together.
"Peter!" She cried out, struggling to try and tear free of the webs. Peter swung back up to the control room and landed crouched on one of the terminals. Cinder was standing there, waiting for him with a hand on her hip.
"So, we meet properly at last. No masks or lies," Cinder said.
"This has to end, Cinder," Peter said.
"Yes. Yes it does."
"There doesn't have to be any more death."
"Is that what you thought when you fed Anthony to the Grimm?" Cinder questioned, raising an eyebrow as her smile turned to a frown.
"I didn't want him to die," Peter said. "I never wanted anyone to die."
"It's too late to change that, isn't it?" Cinder hissed. He recognized her tone all too well.
"You cared about him," Peter said. "I'm so sorry, Cinder."
"Apologies won't bring him back!"
"Neither will destroying Vale!" Peter countered. "Whatever or whoever you're doing this for, it will not solve anything."
"This is the mission. But this…." She began to float up with a fiery glow forming around her body, "This is personal." She then blasted energy towards him. Peter leaped out of the way just in time, and while still in the air, fired both web shooters onto a terminal and ripped it free from its base to throw it directly at Cinder. Cinder used her power to melt it in seconds, but it kept her attention long enough for Peter to swing up towards her. Not fast enough, though, as with a swipe of her hand a pulse of power instantly flattened Peter out, cracking the ground below him. The pulse itself was very powerful. Even though Peter was the target, the pulse shattered every pane of glass around them. The cold air of the night wafted into the room with them "It doesn't matter how strong you think you are. I am more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
Peter scowled at her, then they both heard a screech. They looked out to see the Wyvern flying away from the tower, then it turned back around and started flying straight for it on a collision course. Thunder sounded from the sky, and Cinder smirked again. "Fitting weather for a fitting end to Vale. A storm to sound the end of an era."
The Wyvern roared as it began to approach, then a lightning strike came down from the heavens and struck one of its wings. It howled and began to plummet until it crashed into the ground. "What?!" Cinder exclaimed. Both she and Peter rushed to the open window frames to see the Wyvern on the ground. When more thunder sounded, they looked up to see no storm in the sky. Flying in the sky with lightning strikes flashing around him, was a single bulky man with long golden hair that Peter recognized instantly.
"Nay, foul creature! Down to the earth with you!" Thor, the God of Thunder, exclaimed. Peter smiled wide and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his Avengers ID card, and alongside the A on the card pulsing blue, it repeated one message: Assemble. Peter smirked and slid the card away before looking out into the city.
"Look out, Grimm!" Neptune called. All the Huntsmen quickly went for their weapons as a full swarm of Grimm began to come down on them. But most of them were worn out, tired. Even their muscles felt heavy. But still they all bravely stood up to defend the people as they tried to evacuate.
"This is it," Yang said. "Let's hold the line."
"Right," Blake nodded, aiming Gambol Shroud down the line. The Grimm began to come down when a flurry of rockets shot down from the sky and vaporized the frontline of Grimm. The students all looked up to see two figures fly in from above. The first was in bulky black and silver armor with a gatling gun on one shoulder and a missile launcher on the other. The other figure was a robotic man with green and red plating, a yellow cape and a yellow glass piece in the center of its forehead. The robotic man fired yellow beams of energy from the piece in his head, cleaving right through even more Grimm. The armored one dropped down to the ground with a harsh clang.
"This is War Machine. Vision and I have the landing pads covered," He said into his comms. He turned to Blake and Yang and the faceplate of his armor slid upwards, revealing a dark-skinned man underneath. "You guys alright?"
"Uh…." Yang marveled.
"We're fine, but we need to buy time for everyone to evacuate," Blake answered.
"You in shape to fight?" War Machine asked.
"You know it," Yang said.
"Then let's show these monsters who's boss," He smirked before his faceplate came back down.
"I take it you're friends of Peter's?" Blake asked.
"Something like that. We're the Avengers."
"He told us about you," Yang said.
"Seems like you guys are fighters. Maybe after this is over, we can swap stories."
"Sounds good to me," Yang smirked before loading up dust rounds in her gauntlets. "I'm Yang, that's Blake."
"Rhodey, that's Vision. Glad to meet you. Now let's lay waste to these guys!" Rhodey's gatling gun spun up before unleashing a storm of bullets into the Grimm swarm. Blake,Yang and the other Huntsmen followed suit.
"Guys, do you see this?" Danny asked. He held his Avengers card up to show its pulsing as well as the repeated message. The Defenders and Castle looked at it in curiosity, while Qrow, Glynda and Ironwood were confused.
"What is that?" Qrow questioned. "Why is it glowing?"
Matt paused and turned his head slightly. "It means we have backup." A Griffon came darting around a building and started to charge at them from above, then a laser bore through its torso. It dropped to the ground and dissolved quickly. With the roar of its flight, Tony flew down in one of his red-and-gold Iron Man suits.
"Hope we're not too late to the party," Tony said.
"Stark," Matt greeted.
"Murdock," Tony replied. "Rhodey and Vision are helping guard the evacuation from the building up the hill, everyone else is clearing these things out and saving survivors."
"I don't know who you are, but you seem to be here to help," Ironwood said. "This is our safe zone. Any survivors you find, lead them back here."
"You got it. FRIDAY, relay that," Tony said before shooting back up into the sky.
"As if this day wasn't weird enough…." Qrow said. "Friend of yours?" He asked Matt and the others.
"Let's just say we might be able to win this battle," Matt replied.
Ruby and Weiss cut apart a few more Grimm before a Beowulf Alpha towered over both of them. They were caught off guard and snapped around to defend themselves when a circular metal red, white and blue shield with a star in the center was lodged into its skull. The Alpha toppled over and dissolved. A man clad in a red, white and blue tactical armored outfit with a large silver A on the forehead of his mask leapt over the two huntresses and retrieved his shield. The two recognized him from when Peter showed them the roster of the Avengers.
"You're… you're Captain America!" Ruby exclaimed. "Peter told us about you!"
"I see Spider-Man is spreading the word. Are you two alright?" Cap asked.
"We're fine, but Peter is up there with the woman who did all this!" Weiss replied while pointing up to the top of the CCT tower. Cap looked up, then tapped the comlink in his ear.
"Janet, can you make it to my position?" He asked.
"Sorry, Cap, I'm busy with T'Challa down here in the city. Whatever these things are, they're relentless. You're on your own up there. Wasp out." Cap turned off his comlink and turned back to the Huntresses.
"Do either of you have a way to climb the spire?"
"I have an idea of how I can get up there and help Peter," Ruby replied.
"In that, case your friend and I will hold off these…"
"Grimm," Weiss told him.
"We'll hold off these Grimm while you help Peter."
"Yes sir!" Ruby nodded. "Weiss, set me up!"
Weiss nodded and aimed Myrtenaster at the tower. Straight up along the side of the tower spawned a straight line of glyphs. "You can do this," She said. Ruby nodded and sped away in a cloud of rose petals. She put it all into her speed semblance to jump up onto the wall, landing on one of Weiss's glyphs, and began to sprint right up the side of the tower, getting closer to the top at a steady pace.
Cinder was furious. Every part of the plan was coming apart bit by bit.
"I told you, Cinder, this ends. No more innocent people are going to die toni-Aagh!" Cinder blasted him with a solid pillar of energy, burning through holes in his jacket and shirt and stunning him.
"You are not innocent, and if I get one more thing tonight, it will be taking your life!" Cinder screamed before firing again. Peter took the bulk of the hit again, but was able to move quickly before getting tagged a third time. He webbed two terminals and hauled them at Cinder, but she melted through both with a single strike. Peter webbed the walls behind Cinder and launched himself forward at her. He angled himself shoulder-forward as his body collided with her torso, smashing her into a wall and bringing them both to the ground. Cinder held her stomach and coughed harshly. Petter webbed the ground next to her and yanked himself forward to put more force behind a punch that connected with the right side of her jaw.
He tried to follow up with a left hook, but Cinder caught his wrist and began to burn into his skin. He let out a pained yell, which was cut short when Cinder gripped his throat tightly with her other hand. She stood back up and held Peter up off the ground. "You have been a problem from the start. Ruining my plans, giving these people hope, and taking away the only person who understood! Well. No more! If I have to go back to her in failure, I will show her that at the very least, I put these powers to good use!"
Ruby kept climbing the spire until the final glyphs launched her up to the level of the control room. She shot up and leapt through one of the open window frames, landing and rolling onto the floor. She recovered and looked up to see Cinder holding Peter at her level now. Cinder let go of Peter's wrist and opened her palm. In her hand formed a single dark blade that, once formed, she drove through Peter's chest.
Peter let out a guttural groan, and looked into Cinder's eyes as she smirked coldly as she held both him and the weapon. But he knew what had to be done. He knew he wasn't going to come out of this. If those visions were to be believed, for Pyrrha to live, he had to take her place. He accepted it. He had saved a life, and that was what mattered.
Ruby's silver eyes rounded, and tears made waterfalls on her face in an instant. Her mouth gaped open as at the scene, and all of her emotions came bursting to and through the surface. What she was seeing couldn't be real. Peter couldn't die. She couldn't lose him. She wouldn't.
"Peter!" Her head threw back, and suddenly from her eyes a harsh white light took form and blasted outwards.
"What?!" Cinder exclaimed. Within moments, it consumed all, and the last thing Peter saw before darkness was the harsh white light.