Disclaimer: Brotherhoof12 does not own RWBY or the Spider-Man franchise.

Chapter 71: Skull Bunny part 3

When thinking about being kidnapped, Jaune was not expecting his first time being treated so... civilized?

"For your safety, keeping you in one place and not trying to interfere is better. You might be caught in the crossfire, and I don't want needless death to besmirch my work. Sorry if the ropes are tight, but you must understand that I can't have you try and break free."

"They're fine," Jaune said as he was sitting on the gym's rafters with no sign of breaking free. Of course, Jaune could easily break the ropes with his strength but just played along. "So you got a name, or do I need to keep referring to you as Skull Guy? Crossbones, maybe, seeing as you have a skull mask."

"Naw, that'll be the other guy, but that's beside the point. I go by Taskmaster; you might not know it because you're a civilian, but I'm a big name in the mercenary world."

"Don't you mean Hunstmen world?"

"Is there a difference?" Taskmaster chuckled when Jaune pulled a face. "Heh, I see I have an idealist as a captive. Take it from a guy hired to do work killing Grimm and high-valued targets. Huntsmen and Mercs may seem different, but when a lien is placed in our hands, we're all the same."

"It makes sense that someone hired you to take Harry. But do you actually believe he is Spider-Man?" Jaune asked to fish for more information to better grasp things. Because in Jaune's wildest scenarios of having his identity revealed, did it not involve Harry being the one to be outed as Spider-Man.

"You're bad with being Harry's friend if you can see the signs."

"Hurtful, but what signs were you seeing that make you think he is the vigilante?"

"Let's just say I got an eye for knowing who has it and who doesn't. It also helps that teens gossip too much. Connected the dots with Harry's school life of being a dork until it shifted into him now being able to become one of the most physically fit football players in school. Plus, the kid is one of the wealthiest playboys in Vale, so it makes the most sense for Harry to use his Dad's wealth to create some goodies for him to use when playing hero."

'An eye for seeing talent, teen gossip at school.' Jaune's eyes lit up with a realization.

"You were working in our school." The blonde's assumption hit its mark when Taskmaster was silent, giving Jaune more motivation to keep talking. "How the school needed new staff to work allowed you to get close to other students to know more about Harry."

'And the newest teachers that could get more info regarding Harry's sudden boost in physical feats is...'

" ? Is that you?"

"..." Taskmaster's shoulders started to shake, soon followed by him raising his head and laughing. "Hah! Ha! Damn, guess your brains match your brain, Jaune! You were able to figure that out so soon! Then again, I did shoot myself in the foot by dropping obvious hints."

Getting up from sitting on the rafter, Taskmaster took some steps forward and then turned to face Jaune.

"Yeah, I'm 'Mr. Pulp'. Just one of my many aliases when dealing with undercover missions. Don't think the face I showed you was my real one; you won't find it anywhere after today once Harry shows up."

"Well, that explains how you know so much about Harry to make up the theory of him being Spier-Man. But why go this far when you could have, I don't know, rob a bank or cause general mayhem?"

"You think I would tell you my reasons for doing this?" Gone was Taskmaster's friendliness, and he was now speaking in a neutral tone. He walked up to Jaune and, with quick reflexes, pulled out a knife he had behind his back and held the tip just a few centimeters from Jaune's throat. "I don't like that tone you're giving me either. Maybe you forgot who I am because I was acting a bit civilized, but I'm a mercenary, and I'm holding you, hostage. You should be asking me what would happen to you if your friend doesn't show up soon."

"..." Jaune stared at Taskmaster's face, not once breaking eye contact while a blade was trained to his throat that could quickly kill him if his captor so deemed it wise to end Jaune. The staring contest broke when Taskmaster sheathed his blade and stepped away from Jaune.

"Heh, I like you, Jaune." Taskmaster once again spoke to Jaune in a friendly tone, as if not one second ago, the man was threatening to take the teen's life. "You might not know your friend well, but you have loyalty in your veins. It would have been better if maybe you were Spider-Man. Then maybe it would have been easier to recruit you."

"Recruit? Then, all those tests and pushing all the students to not only know if one of us was Spider-Man but to also... make him your student?"

"I was hired to find out who Spider-Man was, yes, but I was given the chance to do things my way, and if by some chance I could convince him to drop the hero act. I can not only save him from being killed by me but also train him to be one of my students."

"Wait, wait, wait! Save! Students! As in plural!?" Jaune asked in both confusion and surprise. "How you were shooting and stabbing at Harry and me earlier was a funny way of saving him!"

"Sometimes, first-hand experience is the best way to judge a person." He shrugged. "Needless to say, Spider-Man can be swayed; it just takes a couple of zeros to see a different light. It's too bad that had to change when I figured out it was Harry boy being the vigilante. When I told my employer my findings, he was not happy and decided to throw me more lien to just kill him."

"But you didn't. Why?" The ropes that were holding Jaune were starting to strain. "Why keep the charade for so long?"

"There are a few; one of them is that I needed to stay long enough for Harry to finally show up and get out of his Company's well-secured building. Another was to lay low and integrate with the students and staff to ensure I got my facts straight, and then the third..." How Taskmaster trailed off made Jaune curious about why before the merc returned to normal. "Well, the other two are more important right now. But I wanted Harry to show up here because having him fight in the city or the sewers would put me at a disadvantage. Home turf does play a role in fighting, and this place gives me the advantage I need."

When Jaune was going to ask for more info, Taskmaster's pocket vibrated. Reaching into the pocket, Taskmaster pulled out a scroll and answered it.

"Hello? Yeah, everything is being handled as we speak. I know the diversion I made did cause a bit of a stir. Oh? So, the explosion is already being heard on the news?" Taskmaster stayed quiet as the other person on the line was talking. "It's alright, I have it under control. Osborn is on his way to confront me, and before you ask if he would get help, I have an incentive if he tries anything funny. One of his friends is tied up and being cooperative. His name?"

The merc glanced at Jaune, then back to talking to his scroll.

"Does it matter? He is just a civilian with no real weight behind his name. His only relevance is being friends with Harry Osborn. Once the deed is done when handling Osborn, I can knock the hostage out and dump him somewhere in the city where the police can easily find him. No point in shedding unneeded blood, and not to mention I'm confident I can clean my tracks way before they can find me in this city. Glad we can come to an understanding then. I'll call you when I finish the job. Out."

"I'm gonna go on a limb and say that was the person who hired you?" Taskmaster hung up his scroll and turned around to look at Jaune.

"Yup, and don't worry about me killing you after all this. I said it before, I like you and think ending talent like yourself would be a waste. So, if you find me by chance, feel free to ask if you want to be my student. The benefits of learning from me will be that you will earn more money than by getting a regular job."

"I'd rather you leave this place and not return at all."

"HA!" He barked out a laugh. "The balls you have! Well, I wanted to try either way. I had a feeling you won't be so easily caught in the moment when finances are involved."

Jaune stayed silent, which Taskmaster didn't mind as he needed to prep for what would happen soon. Little did the villain know that Jaune was using this opportunity to use the spiders in this school to help him scout around to see what Taskmaster was hiding. Each arachnid scoured around the area and discovered that some parts of the school were dangerous, with the gym being the most dangerous.

'He rigged parts of the school with some death traps.' The blonde grimaced. 'The guy must have had them ready in case Harry thought of bringing the police. Dammit, I never was paranoid when in school, and now it's biting my butt. Worst of all is this gym.'

Beneath the floorboards and within the walls of the room Jaune was in were filled with traps set for Harry. Flashbangs, spikes, and turrets were all hidden and ready to be set off against his friend.

"Tch!" Jaune further mentally kicked his head, not realizing this whole time the gym he had been using in class was practically a prepared warzone waiting to happen. 'This is no joke. Taskmaster wants Harry dead, and I'm stuck here playing hostage. I can break free and escape, but then Taskmaster would fight me, leading me to reveal I'm more than what I appear.'

Racking his mind with anything he could do, the blonde blinked when one of his spiders informed the young arachnid that someone had just entered the school.

"Oh? Seems that one of the cameras caught a guest heading over here." Taskmaster rolled his sleeve to show a watch, then pressed a finger on the screen. "Good thing I have obstacles ready in case I need to deal with outside help."

Whatever he pressed made Jaune focus on his connection with the spiders to get an update on what was happening inside the school. Some spiders found the mysterious assailant entering the cafeteria, where some of the traps that Taskmaster had set up were finally activated. Some pitfalls held spikes, and the walls opened to fire blow darts at the stranger. Only said stranger effortlessly leaped over such hurdles, dodged with little effort against the projectiles, and continued their momentum toward the gymnasium.

"Not bad. It seems they're more skilled to avoid such tricks." Making his way to the gym teacher's office. The hired hitman emerged, wielding a shield and a longsword that looked sharp enough to split a person down the middle with no effort. "Hope you are not squeamish, Jaune. Because if you aren't, then you will be after this."

Jaune and Taskmaster looked at the double doors opening to reveal the stranger entering the gym. Their appearance was a full-body brown suit with padding around the shoulders, elbows, and knees. A mask was over their face, making them a mystery of their gender, but the only thing that made them stand out was the long rabbit ears on top of their head.

"You're not who I was expecting," Taskmaster raised his shield to defend himself when the new guest lunged and went for his throat with a sword that suddenly formed out of their hand. "But I'll guess I'll play along until the real target arrives."

The fight between them was like not two different opponents but one identical person fighting their mirror image. Each sword strike, block, parry, and the counters were being used against each other in tandem with such perfect timing. They must have fought each other before if they could battle with such synchronicity to the point where none were progressing with hurting one another.

Taskmaster dodged a sword slash from the right and countered with his attack sword slash to the right. The intruder did the same and brought their sword to meet with Taskmaster's, colliding both blades in a deadlock.

"This is all fine, and it leaves a bit of warmth in my chest to do this with you and relive the past, but how many times did I tell you to cover your ears?"

"And I keep telling you I'm not hiding what I am." The mystery fighter finally spoke, and though their voice was hard to make out from their mask, Jaune swears the voice sounded young.

"It's not what you are that is concerning to me about hiding those ears," Jaune's eyes widened in surprise when, out of left field, Taskmaster decided to drop his grip from his sword, making the masked rabbit fall forward involuntarily. A window was opened for Taskmaster to abuse by grabbing the adversary's ears, pulling down, and, at the same time, bringing his knee and driving it into the rabbit Faunus's face. "It's way too easy for your enemies to use it against you!"

"Grah!" The blow was strong enough to make the Faunus stagger. Giving Taskmaster a chance for another attack, throwing a solid straight punch into the bunny fighter's face and sending them flying in the air and landing on their back. His punch had enough force to shatter the mask, hiding the identity of the Faunus and revealing a cascade of long brown hair and a familiar face that Jaune recognized.

'Velvet!' Jaune's eyes were not fooling him. He was, in fact, seeing Velvet fighting against Taskmaster, who was oddly staying static as the Huntress-in-training picked herself up and conjured another sword from thin air. 'Why is she here!?' And how come she sounds like she knows this jerk?!'

"Ptoo!" Velvet spat out some saliva with a small amount of blood mixed in. "I'm still not hiding my ears!"

"Be lucky I only grabbed them," Taskmaster said, picking up his sword from the floor and pointing the tip at Velvet. "Seeing no one hasn't cut them off or Grimm gnawing at them yet is a stroke of luck."

"Then my luck must have run out seeing you here, of all places!"

"Whoa! Hey, now that was uncalled for." The dramatic tension ended when Taskmaster lowered his sword and sounded hurt by Vevet's words. "I came all this way to Vale, and this is how you welcome me. No 'Welcome back!' or 'How've you been?' for me?"

"How about: Why are you back? After all these years, I thought you would take the hint that we don't want you or your stupid business?"

"Stupid? I didn't see it was stupid that it gave you food on the table, a nice warm bed, or a roof over your head. I have seen Faunus treated way worse in other places, so you should be more grateful you had a stable upbringing!"

"Oh! So, I should be grateful for you and your stupid merc work that kills other people!?"

"We live off the hard work of farmers and sweatshop workers who have shitty bosses that I get to kill! That means my job is rewarded not only by offing terrible people but also by saving others! So, if you look at it, I'm pretty cool!"

"Nothing about you is cool! You call yourself TASKMASTER! How can I take you seriously with a name like that!"

'They are REALLY familiar with each other, and that's kind of weird.' A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Jaune's head, unsure if it was the right move to interrupt their conversation or perhaps try to leave this weird and awkward situation. 'Seriously, what is their relationship between them?'

"Taskmaster is a well-respected name and well-circulated in my line of work. That's why I'm at this school! To kill Spider-Man!"

"AHA!" Velvet charged and swung at Taskmaster's neck, only for the man to parry and push her back by bringing up his shield. "So you do admit you were just here to kill Spider-Man!"

"That was just one of the main reasons," The man wearing the skull mask threw his shield at her, which Velvet deflected by angling her sword to have the disk bounce off and into the air. "You know I would never have the job be above you and her!"

Undeterred that he lost his form of defense, Taskmaster charged into Velvet's guard and primed his attack to have the pommel of his blade hit her beneath the chin. Again, Velvet showed skill and reflexes by conjuring up a shield similar to Pyrrha's and blocking the pommel strike in the nick of time.

"By the way, has she been talking about me?"

"She is happy talking with DAD rather than you!" Replied Velvet.

"Words hurt more than you know~!"

"You-"

"Velvet!" Screamed Jaune. "Above you!"

When Velvet was going for a retort, a sudden strike from above made her vision go blurry.

"But not as much as shield bash to the head." Capitalizing on Velvet's weakened state, the masked merc performed several slashes at Velvet, making her aura flicker. He ended his combo by kicking her in the chest, sending her off her feet, and skidding across the floor. "Still have a lot to learn. Thought I told you that this combat thing isn't something you should have followed, Baby girl."

'Baby, what?' Jaune swiveled his head back and forth between the two.

"AHH!" Velvet's face looked flustered from embarrassment. "You don't have the right to call me that... father!"

'Ah, Taskmaster is Velvet's father... WHAT!?'

"You two are related?!" Jaune screamed in horror, making both father and daughter look at him. "You said you had a father who was some normal person with a normal job! Not this guy!"

"Stepdad! That Scarlatina douche is not her father," Stabbing his sword into the ground, the man who was beating the tar out of his daughter not five seconds ago placed his hand over his head in a motion that looked like he was crying. "That man is riding off the hard work I put into raising my baby girl! He wasn't the one that took care of her when she was sick or wiped her butt after she took a potty or showed her out to properly hold a gun!"

"What was that last part?!" Shouted Jaune at the absurdity that was unfolding.

"Why are you telling Jaune all this?! He isn't involved with our crap!"

"Are you kidding me? He's your friend. And getting to know him a bit, I think he is one of the few people I approve of hanging out with you. He's dedicated, hard-working, knows the value of a job, and isn't a Huntsman. Far better than those brats you are teammates with."

"What's wrong with my team-" The rabbit faunus dropped her arms to her side and gave Taskmaster a deadpan look. "You stalked me around, haven't you?"

"Watching over you! Different than stalking, I had the intent to protect, not the intent to kill! How else would I ensure that tool of a douce spends his lien on the right things for you and your mother? By the way, I'm serious. Does your Mom talk about me? I tried to wiretap her place, but I blew most of what I got with all these traps and explosives."

"So not only are you a killer and a bad father but also bad with lien!?"

"You got to lose lien to make lien! I'm gonna get triple the amount once I kill Spider-Man, and then maybe your mother will see that I'm way more profitable than that clown, Scarlatina."

"Again, with you trying to impress Mom! She left you for a reason! So take the hint!"

"Well, maybe I can correct that after this one job!"

'Seriously, what the hell am I watching?' At this point, Jaune wasn't sure what to think right now. One moment, he was watching a fight that could lead to someone's death, only to see Taskmaster was doing futile work at defending himself. 'I'm sure they wouldn't notice I was gone if I walked out of here.'

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" In anger, Velvet changed her choice of weapon to a large Gatling gun and peppered the gym with bullets. "This is why we left you! You and your stupid job and stupid choices!"

Taskmaster dashed to grab his shield from the floor, raised his shield, and ran to the left, dodging and deflecting some of the bullets until he was out of sight when he entered the Boy's locker room. Velvet wasn't slowing down on the fire, and just when Jaune was about to tell her to stop, he felt a hand grab him from behind.

"Harry!?" The blonde said in shock, seeing his best friend untying him. "Why are you here? This is the last place you should be in."

"And let you stay here? Fat chance!" Harry continued to fiddle with the ropes but could not find a way to untie the ropes holding Jaune. "It is my fault you were in this mess, so now I'm going to get you out."

"Is that how Velvet found out where to be? You told her."

"Yeah," The young Osborn nodded. "Your scroll was still in the car, and your friend was calling."

'So that's how she knows to be here. Harry got her help and is now using this moment to free me.'

"Damn ropes!" Giving up on untying, Harry grabbed the part of the rope and, with a bit of force, snapped it in two. "Hurry! Let's leave while Velvet has Taskmaster pinned!"

Agreeing with Harry's orders, Jaune followed behind his friend and ran away from school with no merc chasing them. Their legs carried them all the way off the school grounds, and they stopped at a busy intersection surrounded by other bystanders.

"We made enough distance between us and the school," Harry said. "You alright, Jaune? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I'm fine. Taskmaster just talked to me a bunch."

"Taskmaster? He picked that name, really? I was not expecting that, but hey, he's after 'Spider-Man,' so who am I to judge people using weird names."

'Hurtful.'

"Regardless, now that we're safe, we must worry about Velvet. Our school is going to become a warzone if this continues! She's alone fighting her Dad!"

"That's her Dad!?" Responded Harry, having the same reaction Jaune did.

"Our school is getting wrecked, and the only thing you're focused on is that the Taskmaster is Velvet's Dad?!"

"A school can be replaced; I'll foot the bill! But listen, Jaune!" Jaune's best friend put his hands over his shoulders. "You need to go home and forget what happened! I'm serious! I don't want you to get involved in this."

'Too late! After this, I'm about to change over and head back to fight that SOB for hurting our friends!'

"Are other people going to Midtown? The police? Hunstemen?" Jaune asked Harry.

Harry shook his head.

"We didn't call them in fear they would jump the gun and would cause you to get injured in the crossfire." He explained. "But with you safe, I'm gonna get with one of my security teams to head to your house to protect you. Don't worry bout me; I'll have an armed escort with me, and with the noise coming from the school, the police and any Hunstmen nearby should be heading there to investigate."

"What about Gwen and Eddie?"

"They are safe, too, but you must stay put at home; now go!" Pushing Jaune back to signal for him to leave, Harry turned around and left Jaune.

"Sorry, Harry," Going the opposite way, Jaune turned to an empty alleyway, where he lifted his shirt to reveal his spider suit underneath. "But you're not the only one with a score to settle."

Back at the school, Velvet was still pouring gunfire at the Boy's locker room, pinning her biological father in one place and giving time for Jaune and Harry to leave while they still had the chance.

'I hope they are far enough that Dad can't find them.' Were her thoughts as she soon started to panic when her weapon was beginning to flicker. 'Dammit! The constant shifting between weapons is overheating. It needs to cool down!'

Deactivating her Anesidora, the rabbit Faunus spotted the sword her Dad left when running, sticking out of the gym floor. Taking the weapon for her own, Velvet raised the blade and prepared for whatever her deadbeat Dad had in store.

'I need to think about what my next plan is. Dad's been awfully quiet in there, so he must have something planned for me waiting in that locker room.'

Years of learning under him made Velvet know about how her Dad operates. For instance, Velvet knows that he plans to remain in one spot, hoping to lure her into pressing the attack, only to get ambushed by him setting up some trap if she walks in. So, instead, Velvet went to the doors leading to the track field as there was another way inside the Boy's locker room for her to use. As she entered, Velvet used the sword as a mirror to check what was in the room and saw no sign of her father, only steam coming from the showers.

'He must have turned them on while I still fired at him. Now I can't tell where he is.'

"Guess I have no other choice." Velvet kept her guard up as she walked deeper inside. The mist obscured her vision, and the sounds of the running water were throwing off her sensitive hearing.

'Should I go for the showers to turn them off? If I knew Dad, he rigged up something if I go near them.'

Her mind was going over what her next plan was, but something caught Velvet's attention, and without thinking, she raised her sword to deflect an arrow that was aimed to hit her in the shoulder. Before locating where that arrow was coming from, Velvet had to react when another arrow was shot at her from a different spot. Another projectile came from nowhere, followed by another until she had a dozen broken arrows spread around her.

'I can't stay in this spot. He is trying to keep me still to find an opening to attack me.'

"There already gone, Taskmaster!" She screamed. "Why just give up and just leave! This isn't the first time you returned from not finishing a job, so this shouldn't be new to you!"

"That's hurtful, baby girl." A disembodied voice replied. "All these mean things you're saying to your old man. Can't you at least be curious about what I've been doing? We haven't seen each other in years, and the first thing you do is attack me?"

"If you have everything you need to know about the target, then there is only one thing left to do: fight them. That's what you taught me when handling the enemy." Said Velvet as she tried her best to focus her hearing to locate where her biological father was. 'My Anesidora is almost done cooling down, too. After I know where he is, I'll activate it and end this fight.'

"Never thought you would still follow my lessons. You know, that was one of the reasons your mother left me. Then again, maybe she did have a point, and looking back at it now. I agree that teaching you was not my best idea."

'Keep talking.' Velvet's ears started to twitch in a direction. "Admitting you're wrong is a rare thing. Are you also going to admit to stalking me while I was with my family bad, too?"

"You know I was doing that to make sure that your step-douche of a father is treating you both right." He sighed, "I'm not ignorant about what happened to the Vytal festival, Vel. What happened here must have been bad, and I am glad you and your Mom are alive and well. Maybe... if we were still together, I would have been able to talk her out of living here and go somewhere more safe."

"And there goes my sympathy," Vel muttered. Her ears twitched even more at a specific location, making her slowly prowl to where her Dad was hiding. "We left you because your job is way more dangerous than Grimm! The constant moving, people showing up without reason, and let's not forget you are teaching me how to fight like a child soldier."

"I'm sorry. Are you complaining about me teaching you when you use those skills to be a Huntress? I know for a fact that if your Mom hated me for being a mercenary, then she must hate that you are following my footsteps."

"I'm not like you! I'm fighting to protect people from monsters!"

"Same as me! The only difference is that I'm honest with who I fight for. You say you are fighting monsters? I do that, too, only they are in human form. So you are protecting people? So am I. Only I know how much I'm risking my life for them. I'm not one of those suicidal idiots who is too high on their power or nepotism and think being a Hunstman is more of a status than a school for grooming soldiers. At least Atlas is honest with what they are teaching their students, unlike Beacon. You should have just chosen a normal job and forget this BS."

Taskmaster's rant was all Vel needed for her ears to zero in on where he was hiding behind the corner of a locker.

'Bingo.' She used her Huntress tool to equip herself with Yang's Ember Cilicas. When ready to deliver a quick and savage punch, she stopped when she saw Taskmaster was not there, only a radio projecting the man's voice.

"By your silence, I can already assume you found out that I'm not there," The radio was starting to get more complicated to pick up Taskmaster's voice. "I knew our little heart-to-heart would make you go down memory lane. Just long enough for me to set this up and sneak out of here. But if you wait a little longer-"

"Tch!" Smashing the decoy into species, Velvet tried to double back to catch up to her Dad, only to feel a punch connect to her chin and make her fall on the floor with a hard 'THUD.'

"You would know that I was lying." His daughter was getting back up, so he kicked her in the stomach and sent her sliding across the dirty tile floor and crashing into something. "I may have taught you how to fight, but that doesn't mean you can't trump years of battle experience, baby girl."

"D-don't call me that!" She said through gritted teeth. Those last two attacks took a decent chunk of her aura, and Velvet was already getting tired to the point where she couldn't get back on her feet.

"See," He sighed. "This is why I don't think being a Huntress is for you, Vel. Just walk away from this; better yet, stay down and let me walk and complete my job."

"I-I won't. I became a Huntress to go against everything you stand for! To protect Mom from you! I won't be like you!"

"Be like me? I think you got it all wrong." Taskmaster pulled out a detonator.

Velvet eyed the detonator, looked behind her, and discovered the kick had sent her to the Boy's locker room entrance, where it held small explosive charges with blinking red lights.

"I'm disappointed at you that you are still copying me."

A loud 'BANG' reached her ears, and the warmth of fire consumed her. One moment, she was in the locker room, and the next, she opened her eyes and could see she was now back at the gym with half of the roof gone, allowing her to see a smoke trail reaching the sky.

'My aura protected me from the explosion.' Raising a hand before her face, Velvet can see her aura sputtering alive. 'I don't have enough to even put up a fight.'

"Still awake? I've got to say, you're more durable than I expected you to be." Her vision of the sky was obscured when Taskmaster looked down at her. "Hope this little talk will make you see some sense in quitting being a huntress. Take up being a photographer like your friend, Jaune. I'm positive your Mom will approve of that more than copying me."

"I'm not copying you!" Despite feeling like her body was one floppy noodle, Velvet still looked defiant. "I'll never be like you."

"Oh, Vel," Shaking his head in pity, Taskmaster put the pistol barrel on her forehead. "You already are; you just don't know it yet."

She never looked away from her Dad as his finger was about to squeeze the trigger.

THWIP!

A web line attached to the gun was pulled from Taskasmter's hand and landed in Spider-Man's waiting grasp.

"So, I won't really delve too deep into what family drama you two have, but I think putting a gun to your daughter's head isn't going to help you win best Dad in the world." Ejecting the mag and pulling the slide back, Spider-Man crushed the pistol and tossed the bent remains over his shoulder. Jumping off the school roof into the large hole created by Taskmaster and Vel's fighting, Spider-Man landed on all fours and glared at the villain. "A nice cell is the best place to cool your head, along with a detailed restraining order."

"Harry! I see you are in your Sunday best, too." Not even mad he lost his firearm, the killer for hire patted his daughter's head. "Take a break, baby girl. You earned it."

"I hate you."

"That's my girl," The merc raised his arm to catch a web line aimed at his head. "You think this fight would be any different than the one we had earlier?"

"Dude, I don't know who you are or what you want, but I just met you about to put a bullet between her eyes," Spider-Man lied. "And if I'm being honest, I'm pretty sure I would remember you fighting me."

With a pull, Taskmaster was off his feet and reeled towards Spider-Man, getting ready to send a kick to his face. He brought both arms up, the kick connected, and it launched Velvet's Dad back in the air only to be pulled down by Spider-Man's web line still latched onto his arm. Spider-Man threw a punch, but it was blocked by Taskmaster catching the fist, attempting to perform an arm bar, and using his momentum to throw Spider-Man into the ground.

It was too bad the man was only hanging on to the vigilante's arm, not once able to bring Spider-Man down. Capitalizing on Taskmaster's error, Spider-Man grabbed the guy's costume and slammed him down on the hard gym floor, causing a significant impact of splintered wood and concrete. The power behind the force made Taskmaster let go of the arm and try to disengage himself from Spider-Man. Yet, the spider-themed hero didn't let go and repeated the same action, creating an even bigger crater.

'He may copy my moves,' Letting go of Taskmaster, Spider-Man took a step back when the man attempted to kick the arachnid teen. Having a faster reaction speed, Spider-Man gripped the extended leg, tightened his hold, and could hear Taskmaster stifle a scream of pain. 'But he lacks the powers that make my fighting style so dangerous.'

Shooting a line at Taskmaster's face, Spider-Man pulled and, while still holding the leg, tugged the man close enough for Spider-Man to deliver a straight kick right into his stomach.

"Gah!" All the air left Taskmaster's lungs from those savage string of blows his target gave. It was so strong that Taskmaster felt like his vision was about to go dark. It's too bad for him that he would not be given such an easy out after what he did to Velvet, as shown by Spider-Man grabbing his face mask and slamming him back into the floor head first.

'He can copy my fighting style, but he isn't superhuman!' Spider-Man lifted his leg and slammed it into the copymerc's stomach. 'So let's drop the style and resort to good old-fashioned fighting dirty!'

Spidey sense going off was the only warning the wall-crawler had for incoming danger. Without questioning the sense of danger, Spider-Man performed a back flip to dodge oncoming bullets from the turrets emerging from the gym's walls. Using a quick wrist motion, the vigilante activated his web shooters and fired a dozen web globs that clogged the barrels of the turrets. The adhesive compound within the turrets expanded until it exploded, destroying them and stopping the onslaught of lead.

'Can't slow down just yet!' When he landed on his feet, Spider-Man performed a perfect split to stop himself from falling as the floor beneath him opened up to reveal a pit that held iron spikes.

The tingling from the back of Spider-Man's head acted up again, urging him to move when the spike pit emitted a red glow. Jumping away from the spike trap just in time to avoid getting roasted, the teen Avenger was warned again of danger. Spider-Man raised his hand to catch an arrow right before it could pierce his eye. Snapping it in half, the young spider dodged to the left to avoid a downward knife slash from Tasksmeter. Still in the fight, the copying killer performed similar acrobatic moves just like Spider-Man, who was on the back foot, trying to avoid the knife's sharp edge as best as possible.

Taking a step to the left and then ducking to avoid a knife swing that could have left a nasty scar, the young hero looked up to see Taskmaster about to drive the knife into Spider-Man's skull. The blade was stopped as Spider-Man made a prayer gesture with the knife in between his palms. Thanks to his power to stick to any surface, the knife could not budge from Spider-Man's grip, no matter how much Taskmaster tried to pull the blade away. With a quick twist, the knife snapped off the handle, leaving Taskmaster with no weapon against Spider-Man as he used his index and thumb to throw the sharp ends of the broken blade over his shoulder.

"Dammit, webhead, you are hard to put down. Where was all this enthusiasm earlier, huh?" Asked the contract killer.

"Seriously, dude. If I did fight you before, it must have been a terrible fight that I can't remember."

"You think so, huh?" All the abuse and exhaustion Taskamster was showing disappeared, and he was now in a different fighting stance. "Then let me show you that it was a big mistake not to finish me off when you had the chance."

Body tense and ready to explode at a moment's notice, Spider-Man stayed still and was waiting for Taskmster to move. Only to have their duel be interrupted by a helicopter hovering over the gym with several heavily armed men descending via rope and surrounding both masked fighters with their rifles trained on them.

"Put your hands on your head and get on your knees!" Screamed one of the gunmen.

"Will you guys believe me if I told you he did all the damage to this place?" Spider-Man pointed his index finger at Taskmaster. The riflemen who made the order talked through the inbuilt communicator on his helmet, so Spider-Man looked up in hopes that maybe the person in the helicopter would be reasonable. 'When Harry said he would bring an armed escort, I did not expect them to roll in like this.'

"Well, looks like I got egg on my face." Dropping his hands to his sides, the hired killer can see his real target looking down on them in the passenger side of the copter. "My client isn't going to be happy about my blunder."

"You sound like we're letting you walk away from this."

"Of course, you guys won't just let me go scot-free." To show what he meant, Taskmaster brought his hands to his chest and ripped off some fabric to reveal he had some explosives attached to his person. "You guys need more persuasion."

"Grenades!" Screamed another gunner, and like a domino effect, everyone else backed away as a loud 'BANG' and light covered the whole gym. After everyone's ears were getting back to normal hearing, they noticed now that Taskmaster was gone and left without a trace.

'No wonder my spider sense was not going off. Taskmaster didn't intend to cause harm; just run away with his tail tucked between his legs.'

"So, um," With their enemy gone, the hired guards now aimed their guns at Spider-Man. "Are ya'll going to help that girl over there? Can I leave? Or do I need to fight you all and then take the girl to the hospital?"

"Your orders, Mr. Osborn?" The one that shouted a few seconds ago asked through the earpiece. Five seconds passed until Spider-Man got his answer. "You can go. We'll be sure to take care of Ms. Scarletina from here."

'Thank you, Harry.' Not wanting to push his luck any further, Spider-Man web swung away. 'Now that Taskmaster is gone. I'm starting to wonder who hired that psycho. Even more importantly, why go so far and kill Harry?'

"Grr! Damn, that's smarts." Said the copycat merc, holding an ice pack over his left side, already showing swelliness. "Videos of his past fights don't do the brat justice. He could've really killed me back there if he was so inclined."

Currently, Taskmaster was using one of the safe houses he planted across Vale to patch himself up and wait until the heat dies down. Using this time to mend his wounds, the man did a mental head count of the money he funneled into setting up and buying those traps, the explosives, bribing certain union workers, and also getting some actual medical help. Needless to say, the risk was far greater than he anticipated, and he was confident he'd need to do more jobs to financially recover from this operation.

'Speaking about jobs,' Grunting from the pain, Taskmaster opened his laptop and contacted his employer. 'Got to get this over with.'

The screen opened a window, and the end of the call was answered with a low but commanding tone.

"You failed." Came the employer. "Explain."

"Got the target wrong. Harry Osborn was not Spider-Man." Taskmaster answered truthfully. "Both showed up, so I made a tactical retreat."

"I see," There was silence on the line. "Did you at least minimize casualties?"

"Other than Harry's limo driver, I kept everything tame. Made sure the guy who is friends with that Osbron kid was safe and not harmed, too."

"Good. At least you have some finesse and work ethic. But seeing as you have failed to uphold our contract. I have a feeling that your usefulness is still needed. Therefore, if you are interested, I have a few small errands available."

"I have an open schedule." He put away the ice pack and then took some painkillers from a med kit. "When can I start?"

"Tomorrow, but it is just for surveillance on a rival that has been a thorn in my side. I need you to get me some info on what they are doing and report back to me."

"Sounds easy. Consider the first one free of charge." With how he botched the big one involving Harry and Spider-Man, Taskmaster needed to earn his benefactor's good graces again.

"Make no mistake, I only tolerate you because your past accomplishments outweigh your piss poor performance today. But know this-"

The screen of the merc's laptop blinked for a couple of seconds until it finally showed the face of the man who hired his services. At first, Velvet's biological father thought his screen was acting up because the person on the other call looked like he was in a negative filter. His train of thought came to a realization when the man he was looking at was actually, in fact, negative. Just the sight of this man made the copycat merc feel unsettled at this unnatural sight, and he was thankful that he was wearing a mask to hide his discomfort.

"I will not tolerate any more mistakes."

And that is the end of this little story arc involving Taskmaster. I'm sure most were not expecting Velvet's Dad being Taskmaster, but I did leave an easter egg during the 'Breach' arc, showing that he was the one who taught her how to fight. I know Velvet has a human Dad in the canon story, but I wanted to give more background.

Basically, TM is Vel's biological Dad, but due to a falling out, Vel's Mom left him and remarried with someone else.

Speaking about someone else, Mr. Negative finally reveals himself! Why does he want to kill Harry? You guys will have to wait because I do not want to do an info dump.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you guys have a Happy Valentine's Day!

[Omake: Valentine's Special]

"Should I have gelled my hair? Maybe I can go home and fix that." Jaune muttered, checking his hair with the reflection from the fountain's water in the park. "No, she should be here any minute now! If I left, she would be here and wait for me to show up!"

Ignoring his hair, Jaune checked what he was wearing was clean and not messy. A simple set of clothes for this casual date, and already Jaune was starting to think he was dressed.

"Jaune?" A sweet female voice made Jaune stand up straight. "Sorry if I took so long. I hope you didn't wait that long for me."

Turning around, the young vigilante sees Ruby wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a skirt, and leggings, and the most critical eye catch is that she isn't wearing the signature red hood. It made Jaune see how good she looked without it, making Ruby blush even redder from his staring.

"Did I underdress for this?" Ruby asked innocently, being the first time she had ever been asked out.

"No, no! You're tremendous, amazing, cute! I-" Jaune had to breathe, not wanting to overwhelm her with how much he liked what she was wearing. "You look good, Ruby. Here I thought I felt the one being underdressed."

"Oh! Well, you look great, too, Jaune!"

"Thank you, Ruby!" Jaune and Ruby fell silent, an air of awkwardness and silence filling between them. "Uh, anyway! Let's get this date started! I know you would be interested in seeing this place."

Throughout the date, Jaune and Ruby enjoyed exploring downtown Vale. From the lovely coastal view, quaint Mom and Pops shops, and unique discoveries when walking through the streets of the city made the two lose track of time. No need for any work, villains or other disasters needed their attention. It was just Jaune and Ruby acting like a regular teen couple enjoying the moment of normalcy that is far and few in between for them recently.

"That was an excellent sweets shop! I never knew chocolate-covered bacon existed! And the soda! Totally going to be a frequent buyer whenever I go out with Yang and my team." Said Ruby as she was walking alongside Jaune, holding his hand as they walked with a bag of assorted confections.

"Just thought it was a perfect day to have us... You know, do everyday things, typical boyfriends' and girlfriends' stuff." He squeezed her hand. "I hope today was to your liking."

"I did; I actually enjoyed doing stuff not related to being a huntress or looking for new parts to upgrade Creseant Rose, but don't tell her I said that! She's an envious thing!"

"Heh! Ha! Your secret is safe with me, Ruby."

"Good!" Ruby rubbed her shoulder against Jaune. Any signs of embarrassment at being so close were not shown. Rather, Ruby let go of Jaune's hand and wrapped her arm around Jaune's. "Sucks the sun is already setting. I was hoping today would last a little longer."

"Me too." Jaune poked Ruby's cheek with his free hand. "I got a place for us to eat at for dinner. Follow me."

Jaune led Ruby down the street and walked for another five minutes when he stopped in front of a restaurant. It was small, but it held a lot of character to it, and the long line of people waiting for a seat it gave the sign that this place was well-loved and popular. Before Ruby could ask if they would wait in line, Jaune separated himself from Ruby and talked to the lady operating the desk.

"Jaune?" Ruby called out his name, feeling weird just standing in one spot when Jaune returned with a waiter holding two menus.

"We are just in time. I got us a table for the two of us." The blonde motioned Ruby for her to follow as they entered the restaurant and sat in a booth with a window to give them a nice view of the city. Their waiter handed them their menus and left to get them a glass of water.

"Jaune, this place looks great on the inside," Ruby opened the menu and immediately closed it. "The price on the meals, on the other hand..."

"Got it covered with a discount. Believe it or not, the owner of this place was good friends with my old boss back when I was still working at the diner."

"So, you had this all planned from the start?"

"Yes, indeed," The waiter returned and handed them their drinks. He then jotted down their meals and left to get them ready. "Thought it was a nice change of pace to have us eat at a new place."

The sun was low enough to where the city started to turn on the lights, and Ruby and Jaune looked out the window to see the city's nightlife by the ocean.

"Wow," Ruby breathed out. "I always see how the city is from Beacon, but being this close doesn't do it justice. It's pretty."

"Yeah," Jaune moved his hands to touch Ruby's. "You are."

"Pff!" Ruby snorted. "That was so cheesy!"

"Come one, can you blame me?" Jaune grabbed his glass and raised it. "Happy Valentine's Day, Ruby."

The young Huntress raised her glass, and with a soft 'clink,' Ruby made her move by giving Jaune a quick peck on the lips, leaving the blonde spider stunned.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Jaune!"