Skyblocked
"Come on, you haven't even heard our reasoning!" Yang complained as she and Peter held onto the gate, "Look, we know he's an asshat and all but we kinda need him. Also we need to get to Atlas, it's important!" The group was stuck at the front gates of the Atlas Military Base located on the small rock spire off the coast of Argus. Seagulls were flying and screeching and the group had to figure out, not only how to convince the military to take them to Atlas, but also to let Deadpool out of custody. They had tried using Qrow's influence as Ironwood's...'friend,' but the guards didn't seem to believe him.
"Our orders are clear!" the two guards shouted in unison, "The Mistral-Atlas border is closed!" the guard on the right continued.
"So please," the guard on the left started, moving his body up slightly to emphasize his words.
"Have a good day!" the right guard finished.
The teens looked utterly dumbfounded. Not just because the guards wouldn't listen to reasoning, but also because they were in so good of sync that you'd think they were robots. "But--" Yang began to protest, but immediately was cut off by the guards again.
"HAVE A GOOD DAY!" the two guards yelled out with a sense of finality.
Yang slumped her shoulder and banged her head against the gate. Peter groaned at the guards' stubbornness. He knew that getting to Atlas was going to be difficult, but he didn't think it'd be outright annoying. Why bother holding back so much? Ero asked, This could be solved easily. All you have to do is break the gate and get your friend. That isn't how we do things, Ero. Peter explained mentally, as he too was banging his head against the gate. I try to do things as legally as possible. If you were me like you say, you would know that. Of course I do. I'm just wondering why you never act on these impulses. I can see the thoughts pop into our mind constantly, yet you never act upon them...it is strange. That would go against my morality. Just because I want to do something doesn't mean it's right. Peter could hear Ero humming, almost as if she was tapping her head in thought. So, in your eyes, a good person shouldn't act on something for their own benefit? But only if it helps others. Yes. Would this not help others? Yes--NO! It's wrong. Hmmm...Humans are strange and complex creatures. Right and wrong. It's quite arbitrary. Wouldn't it make more sense to label things as 'Benificial' and 'Non-Benificial'? No. Right and Wrong...it's more complex than that. There's a gray area, I know that now but...It's Right and Wrong based on what I believe it to be. But what if you make the wrong decision? Peter groaned in frustration, Trust me...it wouldn't be the first. Point is, right now, I'm in hot water with the government here as is. Last thing I need is for them to be all over everyone else too.
Qrow rubbed his hand against his face in frustration before letting out a long groan, "Look if you don't want to believe I'm friends with Ironwood--"
"GENERAL Ironwood!" the two guards corrected.
"Oh gods..." Qrow groaned quietly as he rolled his eyes and pulled out his flask, "Right, right, GeNeRaL Iroonwood." he replied in a mocking tone as he took a swig from his drink. He let out as slight burp before putting away his flask, "Fine. Just look, we have THE Weiss Schnee with us and we're just trying to get her home safely." Weiss looked back at Qrow with a confused face as he gave the out of character formality, but she figured it was to try and seem more convincing.
The two guards looked at each other before turning around and getting into a two man huddle. While they were mumbling to each other, Peter saw that he had a straight shot to Deadpool's cell. He couldn't just rip the door off though, that'd make a racket, but if he was careful...he could probably shoot some webbing into the locking mechanism and have it expand open! It'd take some time, probably an hour or so, but Deadpool would be home free. Is this idea not what you perceive as wrong? I'm not breaking in to get him. He's breaking out. Nobody's getting hurt. Like I said, gray areas. Peter rolled up his sleeve slightly so his wrist was more exposed. He began pointing his hand forward but felt his Spider Sense blare. Peter stopped and looked up to see they were being recorded. Damn! They have our faces then too. Wrong decision? Ero teased. At least I caught myself.
The guards nodded to each other before turning around and facing the group again, "Approach." they ordered, almost menacingly. Weiss cocked an eyebrow in confusion and she looked back at Blake who just shrugged and lazily waved her hand forward, signaling for Weiss to move towards the gate. Weiss walked up to the gate and both her and Peter stepped away. The guards then approached the gate, then leaned forward so their faces were level with the ex-heiress. The guards stared at Weiss for an...uncomfortably long amount of time.
"ARE THEY GONNA LET ME OUT!?" Deadpool shouted.
"Silence prisoner!" the two guards shouted in unison. Finally, the two nodded. "Very well." they stood up again, "You may speak to our commanding officer." the left nodded.
"We will fetch her at once!" the right finished. Both turned on their heels and began high stepping to the door of the base, "Hup, hup, hup, hup, hup, Atlas, Atlas, Atlas!" they chanted as they went to the door.
The group just stood in bewilderment, each adorning a similar confused expression. Yang rubbed the back of her head, "Those guys were kinda--"
"Kinda creepy?" Peter asked as he folded his arms, "I mean, those dudes were WAY too in sync with each other. Almost like they were robots."
"Super weird." Ruby added with a shudder. Qrow just rolled his eyes and took another swig from his flask.
Maria blinked her fake eyes a few times before gripping her chin with her thumb and index finger. "What's wrong?" Oscar asked.
"Mmm...That commanding officer," she started, cringing slightly, "I...may know her." The group cocked an eyebrow in interest. Not because Maria said she may know the commanding officer, but because of the tone she had when she mentioned it.
"That's...That's good, isn't it?" Ruby asked with a nervous smile, rubbing her arm up and down. "If she's your friend, then maybe she'd be more willing to help us." Ruby raised her hands and shrugged, hoping the group could catch a break just once.
Maria clicked her tongue and chuckled, "I wouldn't exactly call us 'friends'." she stated.
"Aquaintances?" Weiss asked with a shrug.
"No, not quite." Maria replied quickly.
"Colleagues?" Blake suggested, a nervous frown beginning to form on her face.
"Eh, warmer. Still no." Maria laughed.
Yang and Peter looked at each other before letting out a long sigh, "Enemies?" they asked in unison.
"That's the one!" Maria smiled as she pointed at the couple. Peter smacked his hands to his face and slowly slid them down as he let out an extremely annoyed groan. Great, just great. Peter thought, Not a single day goes by where our luck isn't God awful. "I come through here about once every ten years to get my eyes checked up in Atlas." she emphasized her point by tapping her fake eyes as one of them began to bug out, "Been doing that for decades." she laughed, "But, you bring outside cashews on ONE flight, and suddenly you're placed on the additional screening list for life!"
"You've gotta be kidding me." Qrow said as he began to rub his temples, "Over something so petty? Really?"
"Hey, you guys are planning on getting me out right!?" Deadpool yelled from his cage, "It gets really cold at night! The snow isn't compact enough to make an igloo!"
"Not now, Wade!" Peter yelled back. "Great, just great. Deadpool's locked up, we don't have a way to Atlas, our only way there is likely going to decline because somehow we ended up with her longtime nemesis, over something so completely arbitrary, as our stowaway." he rubbed his temples in frustration, "No, yeah, sure. Let's just make this worse."
Maria waved her hand back forth and scoffed, "Now, now. Let's not give up hope yet...she could be dead!" she laughed. Strangely, Maria's excitement did not make Peter feel better about the situation.
Suddenly the gates burst open and the sound of thousands of mechanisms went off at once as different doors unlocked. Before the group even realized it the two gate guards were back and were standing triumphantly as some sort of emphatic entrance music played. Peter looked behind one of the guards and noticed he had a small portable speaker in his hand. Okay, the commanding officer is a little self centered, that's good to know. "Introducing," the left guard began.
"Special Operative," the right guard continued.
"Caroline Cordovan!" they finished in unison. The group stood slightly confused because they couldn't see anyone, however when they looked down they saw an older woman, about the same height as Maria, wearing officers clothing approaching them.
"Oh she's just short, I thought she was really far away." Peter quipped, immediately getting smacked by Blake and Weiss.
Maria looked at the group and sneered. She examined each of the students as well as Qrow and then her eyes landed on Maria. Squinting her eyes, Cordovan began marching towards the old woman, her boots clacking against the ground with every step she took. Finally, Cordovan stopped maybe a foot from Maria and the two stared at each other. Peter could feel the atmosphere getting tense around these two, as if a fight could break out. "Witch." Cordovan spat.
"She-devil." Maria retorted.
Cordovan looked over to the teens and frowned, especially to JNR who she knew were turned away not to long ago, "I see you've chosen large contraband to smuggle this time."
Maria chuckled and shook her head, "Oh Cordo, you know how they say time changes people? Well I see that despite that you've still got that stick shoved right up--" Maria began make a gesture, but was stopped and interrupted by Ruby who quickly grabbed her arm and covered her mouth.
"AGH--Um, I mean, h-hello Miss Cordovan." Ruby smiled nervously as she tried to keep Maria from antagonizing the aging Operative. Cordovan didn't seem to thrilled to have to deal with children in the middle of her...busy work schedule. Ruby coughed into her hand to clear her throat and continued, "My name is Ruby Rose, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to hear us out on--"
"I've already heard what your other little friends had to say, Miss Rose." Cordovan replied keeping a stoic nature about her as she stood as tall as she could. She then looked past Ruby and frowned as JNR tried to hide behind everyone else and not be noticed, "Just what the hell are you doing back here!?' Cordovan shouted, causing Peter to jump slightly. She stomped her foot on the ground in frustration, "I thought I told you to leave!"
Nora growled and it took both Ren and Jaune to hold her back, "And I told you we wouldn't rest until you let us through!" she yelled, "Now give us back our mercenary, you hag!"
"Nora..." Ren groaned, "Nice to see you again." he lazily waved and Cordovan's face began to turn red from her anger, especially from that 'hag' comment.
Cordovan took a deep breath, straightened herself up again and exhaled. "You...civilians, clearly don't understand the importance of our mission here in Argus." Importance? This city doesn't seem to have any strategical advantage. Ero mentioned. "So allow me to say this slowly, in smaller words." Cordovan continued with a condescending tone, "This base, that relay tower, the entire safety of Argus are all gifts from the GLORIOUS Kingdom of Atlas!" she declared, triumphantly, with her arms opened out. Oh God/Oh God. Peter and Ero thought in unison with a roll of their eyes. Jesus Christ. "And it is my duty to uphold them," she continued, an Atlesian flag being held up behind her by the guards as a prop, "As only I have the wit and tenacity for such a task." she smiled.
"Such wit!" the guard on the right declared.
"Such tenacity!" the left guard emphasized, both guards slowly waving the flag.
Peter went to open his mouth to say something, since he couldn't stand this arrogant woman for another minute, but Maria beat him to the punch. "Ooooor, maybe Atlas just wanted to get you as far away from the kingdom as possible." she said with a smug smile. Peter had to hold his hand to his face as he let out a loud snort.
Cordovan growled at the comment, "You're just like the rest of these Argus ingrates!" she yelled, pointing angrily at Maria, "This city wouldn't have even been here if it weren't for our Atlesian ancestors, and what do we get in return?" she asked, "The entire world is ready to put a knife to our throats!"
Peter growled in frustration, "The world wants to put a knife to your throat because you're pointing a gun at everyone's heads!" he yelled out, "In the entire time I've known Atlas they have made a warrant for my arrest in a city I'd never been to, brought their entire army to an allied kingdom for no reason, and had their robots try and kill me!" JNR quickly came up to Peter and covered his mouth before he said something that could get them all in trouble.
"Please, we know your kingdom had nothing to do with The Fall of Beacon," Ruby quickly said to try and save face, "We were there."
"No one's happy about about the Atlas borders or embargo," Weiss stated, hoping that as a representative of Atlas she'll be seen as more favorable, "But I know General Ironwood is just worried. That's why we need to--"
"The General is no coward!" Cordovan interrupted, "Atlas is strong! If all the kingdoms plan to make us their enemy, then so be it. Atlas will prevail!"
"ATLAS WILL PREVAIL!" The two guards cheered.
"Is that really necessary?" Yang asked with an annoyed look. She was holding herself back from saying things for Peter's sake, but after seeing even him lose his cool against this uncouth bitch she was about ready to let her own anger out.
Cordovan looked at Yang and glared before clearing her throat before forcing a smile, "If Miss Schnee has truly come to her senses and wishes to return to her family, the of course the Atlas military will escort her home." she frowned as she looked to Peter, Yang and Blake, "But the kingdom will not be responsible for her 'friends' of...questionable behavior." she said that last part looking directly at Blake causing the faunus to drop her ears. She knew what the old woman meant.
Peter and Yang both frowned, the former clenching his fist so tightly that his arm was practically shaking. Yang clenched her teeth and her eyes turned red. "What's THAT supposed to mean?" Weiss asked carrying an almost threatening tone.
Cordovan smiled, "It means we're done here." she snapped her fingers and she and the guards walked back to the base while it began to go back onto lockdown. The final words were the gate slamming in their faces.
Deadpool's eyes nearly popped out of his mask, "Wait, we can't be done here! I'm still stuck in here! Guys, get me the hell out! I mean, I don't mind be locked in a cage and prodded at--that's one of my fantasies--but she's not even hot!" he slammed his fists against the bars and began to cry, "She's not even hooooot!"
The group stood unsure of what to do. Weiss turned to her friends and frowned, "I don't..."
"Weiss," Ruby stopped her and pat her shoulder, "I told you we wouldn't leave your side for a second." she smiled and looked at the others, "We'll find a way to Atlas. Together." Weiss smiled in return and hugged her leader. Qrow could only scoff as he began walking back to downtown. "Sooo...where are we going now?"
"Yeah, what's the plan?" Nora asked as she scrunched her face in thought.
Peter nodded before walking in front of the group and turning heel to face them, "Easy, we just have to start looking for a way to Atlas. Whether it be by boat or by Bullhead or by...flying car, I guess? Point is, we can't give up here." Qrow let out a light chuckle, mocking Peter's wishful thinking. "Oh, and I bet you have a better plan, dunkie?"
"'Plan'?" Qrow asked with a scoff, "What 'plan' you don't have a plan. You have an idea, the first stages of a plan. Maybe 12% of a plan in total." Qrow made vivid hand movements as he reached for his flask, "This?" he said as he pointed to his flask, "This is more of a plan than what you have. Because I PLAN to go the the bar and get something to drink. I PLAN on getting drunk. Hell, I might even plan trying for a drunken one night stand. You know what the difference is between a plan and an idea?" he asked as he took a swig from his flask before shaking it a bit to show it was gone. "A plan is calculated. You understand the risks and know the benefits. THIS," he pointed to the military base, "was our plan! This was our ONLY plan! And it's moot now, no thanks to the likes of you and your mercenary friend. So excuse me, I'm gonna get a drink."
Peter cocked an eyebrow in astonishment, "MY FAULT?" he asked, "What did I do?" Qrow only grunted and waved in response, "Yeah well...at least 12% is better than 10%!" Peter shouted after him followed by a long sigh. Ruby walked up to Peter and pat him on the shoulder to try and comfort him, "God, I know he's your uncle but...he's such a prick!" Yang and Ruby both nodded in agreement. Peter let out a chuckle and turned to the rest of the group, "On second thought, why don't we head back to the house. It's been a LONG last couple days for a few of us; plus it's already getting late. How about we start up in the morning." the group seemed to like that idea.
"Fantastic, I'll let Saph know that we'll all be in early then." Jaune said as he grabbed his scroll and began to call his sister.
The rest of the group began to walk back to the Arc-Cotta residence, determined to get a good rest so they could start early tomorrow. "That's it!?" Deadpool shouted from his cage, "You guys are just gonna leave me here!? YOU MANIACS! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL TO HEEEEEEELL!" I can't believe they just ditched us. Five days in the ball shrivelling cold and for what? Them not to help us? God...this really is U.S. immigration customs. "They didn't even try to break us out!" Deadpool cried, "What are we? C-Tier to them? Who do they take us as, Donald Gill?" C-Tier, Blizzard? More like F-Tier amerite?
"It's so nice to have such a big family together again." Saphron said with a big grin as she and Terra had pulled out foldable tables so everyone could eat together. "Though I am a little disappointed your uncle couldn't join us, Ruby. But don't worry, just think of us as extended family!" she laughed as she placed a large bowl of salad on the table.
Everyone began reaching for the different foods. Nora was practically devouring a chicken herself. Jaune was eating what looked to be cuts from a roast. Ren stuck to just salad, as was Weiss. Ruby and Yang were stuffing their faces with ham and potatoes. Blake was eating some of the roast that Jaune was eating as well as a side of rice. Oscar was thankful to get some chicken looking at how Nora was devouring the cooked bird herself. Maria was eating little but just picked around the assortments of food. Terra was feeding Adrian his mushed baby food and Saphron was enjoying a salad herself.
Peter, unlike the others, wasn't eating much...or at all, really. He took a few bites of ham that he stole off Yang's plate before he nodded and stood up from the table. "Where are you going?" Yang asked, some food still in her mouth.
"Out." Peter replied with a nod, "Gonna try to get some work done."
"Work?" Saphron asked, "Do you really have to go out and..."
"Photography." Peter replied, "Freelance is a decent job. You'd be surprised what blog sites are willing to pay."
"Oh, maybe you'll catch Spider-Man." Terra replied in a sarcastic tone.
"Not funny." Saph replied with a frown as she nudged her wife on the shoulder.
"I'm serious!" Terra exclaimed, pulling the baby food away from Adrian's face causing him to frown. Terra handed Adrian off to Saphron and took a bite of her salad before she leaned across the table looking at Peter with a wide grin, "I heard a rumor that he was there, with you guys, you know...on the train." The teens froze, they completely forgot that people on the train could have looked out the window at any time and seen them fighting the grimm. "There's two stories going around from the people who got off the train," she laughed, "I heard this from a co-worker mind you, so I don't know how true it is. But apparently he was first seen back in action, since Beacon, at Haven. Rumor has it too that he was wearing a new suit, decked out in black." she grabbed a cup of tea and took a long sip, "So the two stories are, either he's the same guy and he's back for vengeance; or, and my favorite, it's his brother who took up the name and is avenging him by taking out the enemies that had it out for the vigilante."
Saphron sighed, "Terra likes revenge novels. She also has a weird affinity with the vigilante."
Terra shrugged her shoulders, "Look, I just think that some random guy who's just as strong as a huntsman is doing their work for no pay is admirable. I love hunters and huntresses, as said, without you guys the whole world would probably fall apart. But a guy who helps out everyone and who doesn't ask for repayment? That's gotta give him some points." Saphron rolled her eyes and Terra laughed, "As you can see we don't agree on everything, we're only human after all. But I'm telling you, watch out for webs that guy is out there, I know it!"
Peter nodded and walked out the front door. When the door closed he took a deep breath and looked around to make sure nobody was watching him, when the coast was clear he jumped up on top of the building and took off his clothes, revealing his costume, the metallic white spider glistening in the moonlight. "Oh, he's close alright, Terra. A little close than you may have thought." he said with a chuckle. Peter put on his mask and made a web bag of sorts to hold his clothing in. He slung the web bag around his shoulder and began swinging through the town.
"WOOOO HOOOO!" Peter shouted as he began free falling off the tallest building in Argus, in this case it was a clock tower. He brought his legs up so his knees touched his face, he then extended his legs completely so they went past his head and he began to flip as he fell. After about four rotations Peter finally let go of his legs and sprawled out in air before shooting a webline to a building and going into a swing just before he hit the pavement. Looking down Peter saw a long rail that separated the side walk and road, he noticed it was completely frozen over. Smiling, Peter let go of his webline early and he flew through the air and landed his two feet on the rail, startling some passersby. Because of his momentum and the rail being frozen over, Peter was able to grind the rail all the way down before he jumped off and grabbed ahold of a lamppost. Peter was able to use his momentum to spin on that lamppost before coming to a stop and sticking to the side so he could get an idea of where he was at.
People pointed at the figure and some took pictures. Okay...now if I wanted to get to Atlas without the 'help' of the military, what would I do? Peter looked to the base and groaned. They had a lot of those 'Bullheads', as you called them, on the base."I don't want to break in and steal stuff from the military if I can prevent it." Maybe you can bribe an officer? "No that won't..." Peter stopped and cupped his chin in thought, "Actually, put a pin in that, we'll come back to that idea later." he nodded and began swinging to the docks, "What I meant was, how would I get to Atlas that doesn't involve the military." Ah, you mean by boat then. "You know me so well. It's like you can read my mind." Peter joked.
After swinging a couple of blocks, Peter shot a line to a lamppost that overlooked the docks and zipped himself to the top. He crouched on top of the lamppost and surveyed the area; lots of boats in the water, some recreational some for business. Looking off in the distance he saw another boat not far from the bay, but it's life were off and it just seemed to be at the mercy of the water. That can't be safe. "Excuse me." Peter looked down to see an old man with a pipe in his mouth calling up to him, "You happen to be a rather strong fellow?" the man asked.
"Um...yeah?" Peter replied, cocking his lens in the process before hopping down and landing in front of the man, "You...know who I am?"
The man puffed his pipe before blowing a cloud of smoke into Peter's mask, "Boy, I wouldn't care if ye' were Sienna Khan. Can you help me out or what?" Peter's lenses widened slightly and he nodded. Getting a good look at the man, he could see he was a balding man with a gray chinstrap beard. He had small framed glasses and wore a blue overcoat as well as some black overalls and boots. Under his overalls was a brown turtleneck sweater. "See, me ex-crew got a little upset with me during our last voyage and uh..." he rubbed the back of his head, "Well, they sorta cut me anchor and sent me ship out to sea."
Peter looked out to the bay where he saw the ship, "I take it that's your ship, lazily floating out to sea?"
"Aye." the man nodded, "So will ye' help an old fisherman out or not?"
Peter cupped his chin in thought. Ah! An opportunity. Ero mentioned. Yeah, strike while the iron's hot and all that. "Okay," Peter nodded, "I'll help you out." Then we can ask him for help.
"Splendid! AISHA!" the man called out. Approaching the two was a girl rocking a tomboy style pixie haircut, black overalls like the old man, an eyebrow piercing and several ear piercings. She had a darker skin tone and seemed to be on the more muscular side. The woman walked up to Peter and looked him up and down.
"Cool suit. After we're done here do I pay before or after the fun?" she asked, licking her lips.
Peter recoiled slightly from the question, "I'm...I'm sorry?"
"You're a prostitute right? Isn't that why you wear the skin tight black clothes? It's a BDSM thing right?"
Peter's lensed widened, "I'm a vigilante!"
The tomboy let out a snort, "I know who you are, I was just screwing with ya' broski." she pointed over her shoulder to the docks, "We got the rope and hook for you to attach to the boat out there." She and the old man walked Peter to the dock and handed him the rope hook. Peter looked to the Aisha and shrugged his shoulders in confusion. "You're gonna swim out there, attach the rope hook to the bow and we'll pull it in."
Peter recoiled slightly from the plan, "What? No. It's cold." he scoffed, "I have a much better idea." he held up his hand and shot a webline out to the boat, thanks to his quick calculating he was able to get the perfect angle so he could attach his web to the bow. Then, thanks to his strength, he was able to effortlessly pull the boat back to the docks. "Imagine me actually swimming all the way out there." he chuckled, his arms flexing from pulling the weight of the boat back to the docks. Finally, after a few minutes of towing, the boat was finally back and tied to the docks properly.
"Not bad, Spider-Dude." Aisha complemented while patting Peter on the shoulder. "For a a wanted felon you're pretty useful."
"Thank ye' for your help, Spider." the old man held his hand and the two shook, "Saved me the trouble of getting in the water meself."
Peter nodded, "I don't usually ask for favors, but considering I saved your boat, I think you owe me one."
The man pulled out his pipe and squinted, "And what did ye' have in mind?"
"Passage to Atlas." Peter said bluntly, "On that." he pointed to the boat and nodded. "Sound fair."
"Atlas?" Aisha scoffed, "You have any idea how far that is by boat?"
"Aye, me daughter be right. If I were to take ye' to Atlas I'd be out a weeks worth of fishing and selling." the man took a long puff on his pipe before nodding, "Ah, but there may be a way to resolve that." Peter straightened up, he was up for anything to get him and his friends to their destination, "See, there's this whale I've been chasing. Been chasing it since I was a deckboy for me grandpappy. The Great...Belou." he said with a pause, thunder and lightning danced across the sky, despite no site of a rain cloud. "It be the largest whale to roam these waters. Some say it freeds off smaller Grimm. But to catch it, I'd need a full crew, at least six more pairs of hands."
"Done." Peter nodded, "I get you those deckhands, they catch your whale you passage them and I to Atlas. Deal?" the man laughed and the two shook hands.
"Well that ordeal was uncanny." Peter noted as he began swinging through the city again. "Now that we have a 'maybe' plan established, I should probably try to get a plan B." Bribe an Atlas soldier. Ero suggested. "I like your thinking, but where are we gonna find an Atlas soldier?" How about down there? Ero used Peter's aura to extend a hand and point down to a soldier that was leaving a bar. "Good spot." Peter shot a webline and landed on a lamppost across the street from the bar. He tracked the soldier until he looked back to the bar and saw Qrow slumped over the counter inside. "Oh geez." Peter looked to the soldier, then Qrow and sighed, "I better get him home. Don't want Ruby getting worried." Guess we'll check up on the soldier later.
Peter jumped on the roof of the bar and quickly changed back into his civilian clothes, zipping up his jacket and putting his mask in his pocket, Peter then slid down the banisters of a fire escape and landed in an alley. He walked back to the front entrance of the bar and just walked right in. Sign says I have to be twenty, but nobody is stopping me soooooo... Inside, he looked around and saw the many patrons. Most seemed to be just enjoying themselves, talking about local sports, drinking with co-workers, trying to score a one night stand. Then there was Qrow, slumped over on the bar, a glass gripped firmly in his hand.
Peter shook his head and walked up to the huntsman and shook his shoulder, "Hey, Qrow. Get up." he called out as he tried to wake the man up, "C'mon. Ruby is gonna be worried about you."
Qrow slapped his hand away, "Shove off. I'm drinking." Peter rolled his eyes and tapped the bar to ask the bartender for the check. Peter then forcibly grabbed Qrow's arm and lifted him to his feet. "Hey, what the hell? I said piss off!" Qrow put his hands on Peter and lazily shoved him. Qrow caught himself from stumbling by clutching the bar and he looked up at Peter and frown, "Look at you. Thinking you can boss me around. Who the hell do you think you are?" Qrow burped and finished his glass that was on the counter, "Y-You're a family...divider...or something." he slurred.
"What?" Peter could only look at Qrow with a confused expression.
"I see it in you." Qrow slurred again as he began to wobbly walk towards Peter, "You just keep wanting to drive nails between my family. First you take one niece, now you're filling the other with some sort of false hope. We lost! Don't you get that? And yet you're over here trying to feel up on my nieces just so they'll stay on your side." he grabbed another glass and began drinking from that, "You make them feel safe and loved when they are around you, just so you don't die alone on this asinine suicide mission!"
Peter had to take a few steps back. He legitimately couldn't believe what Qrow was talking about because it made ZERO comprehensional sense. "Qrow," Peter started as he rubbed his temples, "I assume it's the alcohol doing this to you, Qrow. But what you said was just so...baffling, even for a drunk lummox like yourself. So, in response: What you just told me...makes. Zero. Sense!" Peter laughed and threw his arms in the air, "I mean...I mean, think about it! I joined your previously established mission. I'm cool with it. This was all YOUR MISSION and now you're running away from your own responsibility. I'm not the one keeping everyone with me, are you kidding? I'm following Ruby, she's my leader and I trust her. Your head is just so far up your own ass with the idea that I would even THINK of hurting Yang, that you can't even acknowledge anything I do as a possitive. And yet, I sit here thinking, 'What the hell did I do?' Hmm?" Peter slammed the bar, "Answer me that, Qrow. What did I ever do? I've done nothing but try and help my friends, but you seem to think I'm hurting Yang. Why?"
"I don't have to answer to you." Qrow put the glass he had down, "Instead, I think I'm gonna do what I started at the farm." he began holding up his fists in a boxer's stance and Peter just slumped his shoulders in disbelief. "I'm going to kick your ass." Qrow sent his first jab and Peter dodged it by moving his head to the right, then Qrow tried sending a gut check with his other hand and Peter dodged that by simply taking a few steps back. That was weird. Peter thought. Spider Sense isn't activating against him. Perhaps his Semblance? Maybe. I don't know what that is though. Relax, remember your training. You are now more than an efficient fighter without your Spider Sense. Qrow then tapped his fist against his palm and sent a hook to which Peter avoided the attack by moving his head back slightly, then Peter pushed against Qrow's elbow sending him off balance and spin around. Peter followed up by shoving Qrow back down the bar.
"Can you calm down?" Peter asked with a frustrated tone, "What your doing is so petty." Qrow grimaced and grabbed a plate that was on the counter and tossed it at Peter which he caught and placed back on the bar on his side. "Throwing things? Seriously?" Qrow continued by throwing more plates and glasses, all of which Peter caught and set back down, but just the sheer number of the items being thrown seemed ridiculous. Peter slowly made his way forward and Qrow grabbed a large glass bottle and drank the rest of its contents. Qrow swung the bottle overhead, which Peter narrowly dodged. Qrow then swung the bottle in an upward arc and missed Peter by a few inches (likely due to him being intoxicated). The bottle shattered on the counter and Qrow tossed the neck and what remained of the shattered bottle in the air and caught it in a reverse grip with his left hand. Qrow then quickly tried to stab Peter three times in succession. On the third time, Peter grabbed Qrow's arm and twisted his wrist so he'd drop the bottle. Peter then picked Qrow up and slammed his body onto the bar before gripping his jacket and sliding him across the bar, not only running into all the plates and glasses Peter and set back down, but also flying off the bar and landing on a table that broke under his weight.
The bar goers started to leave so they didn't end up in the crossfire of the two. Qrow stood up and cracked his neck and spit on the ground. "Petty?" Qrow asked, "I'm not petty. I'm trying to protect those girls because they are my family. I'm not about to let some punk ass hurt them. Yang is already going to be hurt, but I'll make sure that you can't hurt her anymore than you will!" Qrow hooked a chair with his back foot and kicked it at Peter. Peter caught it, but it came at the cost of him getting tackled by Qrow. When Qrow landed on Peter, the chair shattered sending a jolt of pain to Peter's gut. Qrow then picked up two legs that broke off and began to pummel Peter with them.
"What--OW--are you--OW--talking about!?" Peter asked as he defended against the legs by holding his arms up. Qrow let out a battle cry and slammed the legs into Peter's forearms which shattered the wood, one of the halves hitting Peter in the eye. Peter growled and he put his right foot on the center of Qrow's chest before rolling back and kicking Qrow behind him, having him slam against the wall.
Both Qrow and Peter got up and rubbed where they were sore. Peter rubbed his eye and Qrow rubbed his back. "Really focuses on the back slam, huh?" Qrow mumbled. "Haven't you realized by now? Yang has abandonment issues, dumbass." Peter grimaced, "I've seen her since she was a kid, I've seen how she could be obsessive on trying to find her mom, putting herself and others in danger. After The Fall, I saw how she reacted to hearing your friend just left. Remember that month we were in Mistral City? How she had to get used to her again. Now imagine how she would feel if you, the person she's probably formed the deepest connection with, up and abandoned her."
Peter felt something snap and in a lapse of judgment he shot a webline out and zipped himself at Qrow performing a Web Strike. When his punch connected Qrow recoiled and slammed the back of his head against the wall. He and Qrow both moved their hands forward and interlocked each other, at this point it was a battle of raw strength, which Peter had the clear advantage. "What are you talking about? I'm not gonna abandon her!"
"Oh yeah? So what's your plan when you go back, huh?" Peter recoiled a bit, he hadn't really thought much about it. "See, you have no idea! So what? Are you planning on staying? Because there's no way in hell I'll let you take her with you!"
"I don't know!" Peter yelled, "I hadn't gotten that far...but...I won't abandon her, I'll figure it out."
"You don't know a thing!" Qrow cocked his head back and Peter did the same and both clashed their foreheads against each other.
"Ahem." The two turned their heads at the same time to see Yang standing with her arms crossed and her eyes growing red.
"Oh, hey Yang/Babe." Qrow and Peter replied respectively. Yang only nodded.
Without warning, Qrow and Peter were thrown out the door of the bar and landed on the sidewalk where the other teens were standing, "What the hell do you think you two are doing!?" Yang asked. She walked up to the two and lifted them to their feet, "You," she slapped Qrow with her left robot hand, "Quit trying to decide things for me! I'm not some little girl anymore, I'm an adult, I'm almost 19!" She then turned to Peter and slapped him with her left hand, "And you! Quit stressing out over everything. When you stress out I stress out."
"Can't you two like...resolve your differences?" Oscar asked, "I mean, from what memories I have, you two really aren't too different from each other."
Qrow rubbed his cheek and scoffed, "Whatever, I got what I needed. I'm heading back." Qrow turned on his heel and began to walk back to Saphron and Terra's home.
"Got what?" Peter asked.
"Enough to get you out of my hair." he replied cryptically.
After a couple of minutes of staying behind and Blake cleaning and dressing the wound on Peter's face, the group made it back to Saphron's home. When they opened the door they group saw Saphron and Terra standing in the middle of the room, Terra having an upset look on her face and Saphron looking more...disappointed. Qrow was there too but he quickly got up and walked out the front door, a smirk on his face as he past by Peter. "Peter." Saphron called out, she motioned him towards her before she reached behind her and presented him his mask. Peter, Yang, and the rest of the teens widened their eyes in surprise. "No need to try and lie about this one. So where's the rest of it?" Saphron's tone turned to almost aggressive. Peter looked down slightly and then to Terra who gave him a sympathetic expression. Peter looked back to Saphron and nodded before unzipping his jacket and spreading it and revealing his large white spider symbol. Saphron turned her head to the side, a saddened and disappointed expression on her face. "Get out." she said softly.
"What?" Jaune asked in disbelief, "Saph, you can't do this. He--"
"I said get out! I don't want him near my family. He's a danger to us, and, I don't know if you remember, HE'S WANTED!"
"That isn't fair, he's our friend!" Jaune argued.
"Jaune." Peter held up his hand. He then gently grabbed the mask from Saphron and nodded, "I'll go. But don't let what you think of me and my actions judge how you treat my friends." Peter began to leave and Yang tried to stop him, but just grabbed her hand and nodded. "And, Saphron? Despite what you think of me, and the things I do, just know I never meant any harm to you or your family. And that I'm sorry for troubling you." Peter walked out the door and the other teens stood with saddened faces.
Saphron rubbed her hands against her face, "Really, Jaune?" she asked sounding almost frustrated, "First that mercenary then him? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
"He's my friend Saph, he's the good guy!" Jaune argued, "Your being so hypocritical. I thought you of all people would understand not judging someone before you got to know them." he scoffed and shook his head, "Whatever, let's just drop it. What's done is done. I'm going to bed."
With Peter, he had just closed the door to the home and he let out breath he had been holding in. To his right he saw Qrow leaning against the building letting out an almost sinister chuckle. "Told you didn't I? I got what I needed. Now you're out of my hair for who knows how long. Not like we can get to Atlas anyways."
Peter shook his head and grimaced, "So you wanna be petty? Fine, I'll be petty too." he mumbled. Peter began to walk away before he turned back to the drunk, "Hey Qrow," Qrow looked up at him with an annoyed expression, "You may have pushed me away, but I still fucked your niece. Twice." Peter chuckled and he put on his mask and gloves, now showing off his costume but with his jacket on. He swung off into the night, looking to find a place where he could sleep.
To be continued...
A/N: Okay, this chapter came out a little longer than intended, mostly as an early apology because the next chapter may not be that long.
Now, I'm gonna do something I don't really do: I'm gonna kinda break down this chapter. So at first we are introduced to Cordovan and we see the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb of guards. I feel like RT wanted to portray Cordovan as being this super full of herself military type. We see that in her over praise of Atlas as well as her arrogant attitude over everyone else. I don't particularly mind Cordovan...but I think she was poorly executed, so I tried to ratify that by trying to make her come off as more of a Saturday morning cartoon type villain.
Next we have some of the original stuff. So we see the Fishing captain and his daughter. The captain himself is based off a mixture of Quint from Jaws, Jacque Cousteau, and Captain Ahab. His daughter is based purely off what I think would be hot, lmao. Dark skin muscle gal with short hair and piercings? Say less. Her name, as a bit of a spoiler for next chapter, is based off the other Moby Dick character people know, Ishmael. Her name, Aisha Melody, sometimes called "Mel," so Aisha Mel. These characters come back in the next chapter, so we'll see them then.
The bar fight, I kinda wanted this to be almost like a tipping point for Qrow. Like he's frustrated, especially with realizing they don't have a way to get to Atlas so he just vents on Peter. This leads us to seeing why he's really mad at Peter. He's not necessarily mad at him and thinks he's a bad guy, he just realizes that, eventually, Peter will have to leave and that will hurt Yang in the long run as someone who does have these abandonment issues. And, kinda like what he explains, Peter being together with Yang and sleeping with her forming a bond that likely is the deepest bond (no pun intended) Yang has ever had. Like, in canon she was upset at Blake being gone until the end of Volume 6 when she forgives her. That was when she still saw Blake as like another sister before they were officially together. With Peter, in this canon, they were a couple After the Dance. Then they had sex...twice. She definitely would not be okay with a sudden separation like that.
Finally, is the confrontation and THAT line. I have a very good reason for Peter dropping 'Fuck'. One, he's fed up with Qrow's pettiness. Two, he himself having gone through so much since the fall has become more aggressive, less tolerable at times even. We see that on his switch from the classic suit to a suit that resembles the Venom symbiote. It was like this in the comics too. Whenever Peter had a black suit that wasn't The Big Time suit, he was usually much more aggressive and sometimes more irritable. And that was the point of this final line. I wanted him to give that cheeky kind of delivery. Like, "Yeah, you can push me away now, but what's done is done so this just meaningless." That's what I was going for. Petty and cheeky.
Okay, so that's the chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed that. Let me know what you think of this breakdown and my thought process and if you want to see these at the end of chapters more often. So remember to Favorite, Follow, leave some Reviews and PM me for questions if you have any.