CHAPTER 4: THE MYSTERIOUS VILLAIN
Roman Torchwick always ensured that he had a contingency plan for any conceivable situation, in the event that his life was endangered. The list of strategies he employed, ranging from bribes to blackmail and extortion, seemed endless, covering every possible scenario. However, his carefully crafted plans were abruptly thwarted by an unforeseen individual, leaving him with no chance of escaping his current predicament.
"What?! What do you mean you don't have any more men to supply me with?" Roman shouted at the person on the other end of his call.
"Like I have already established to you Roman, I did have enough men to help you. That changed when some guy wearing tights showed up and webbed them up." The person talking to Roman reminded him. "You're going to have to accept the amount I'm giving you. Not many people are lining up to join you and your damn schemes anymore."
"What about your two bodyguards, Junior? I'm sure those two could waste that bug if you let me have them for just a few days." Roman bargained, taking a long drag from his cigar.
"No can do," The man called Junior replied without a second thought. "If the web head somehow found out I'm part of whatever you're doing, I, along with my boys will be behind bars and I can't have that."
"Ohhh, so now you're gonna lay out? You're planning to just wait it out until the storm passes, is that it?" Taking another long drag from his cigar Roman dropped it on the ground and squashed it under his shoe, leaving a small trail of cigars showing his nervousness.
"Sorry Roman," Junior said with no hint of caring. "But until I'm certain that the coast is clear you're on your own."
Roman's lips parted, as if to express a sentiment, but Junior abruptly terminated the call, leaving him to emit a cry of frustration. It was already distressing enough that he was compelled to engage in activities that yielded no personal benefit. Now, he found himself confronted with an individual garbed in an animal costume, impeding his progress and incapacitating his subordinates. Even some of the law enforcement officials under his employ were unable to secure their release, as a significant number of them had been incarcerated. Any attempt to liberate them expeditiously would arouse suspicion, thereby jeopardizing their covert operations and potentially exposing their affiliation.
"Well, I guess I need to make do with what I got." Roman looked over his shoulder at only a dozen or so henchmen moving what little of dust they could get. Had it not been for the so-called 'hero' his warehouse would have been full of dust. Now it was less than half of what he promised his benefactor would be.
Roman blinked. An idea immediately popped in his head.
Roman smirked and retrieved his scroll.
The remainder of the journey was not of considerable duration. The vessel approached the connecting bridge in a steady manner, and with a gentle hiss, the doors gracefully slid open. As previously mentioned by Ruby, the individual known as "Vomit Boy" was the first to disembark, hastily making his way towards the nearest receptacle for waste disposal. In unison, Ruby and Yang experienced a shudder as they listened to the unfortunate sounds emanating from him. To her credit, Yang managed to cleanse her footwear within the confines of the ship's lavatory, thereby ensuring that the repugnant odor of vomit would not accompany them throughout the entirety of the day. All unpleasantness was promptly forgotten as they emerged into the invigorating embrace of the fresh air.
"Whoooaaaa!" The two girls breathed as they drank in the sight of the Academy proper.
"The view from Vale has got nothing on this," Yang stated approvingly. It was then Ruby's turn to squeal.
"Ohmigosh sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff!" She clung to Yang's arm like an over-excited puppy. "OHHHH, and she's got a fire sword!"
Ruby was getting ahead of herself and was already on her way prancing. With a shake of her head, Yang yanked her back by her hood.
"Ow owww," she whined.
"Easy there little sis, they're just weapons."
"Just weapons? They're an extension of ourselves; a part of us! Oh they're so cool..."
"Why can't you just swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?" questioned Yang.
To make her point, Ruby extended her scythe from its portable form to its full size.
"Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose. I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people," she started deflating. "But better..."
"It shouldn't be that hard Ruby. While you're here you can try making some new friends of your own," Yang said, pulling Ruby's hood over her head.
Ruby pulls her hood back.
"But why would I need friends when I have you?"
"Welllll..." Yang started slowly as she was suddenly surrounded by people. "Actuallymyfriendsarehererightnow,gottagocatchup,seeyalaterbye!"
She sprinted past with her mob, leaving Ruby spinning in place like a clumsy top.
"Wait! Where are you going? Aren't we supposed to be going to our dorms? Where are the dorms? Do we even have dorms? I don't know what I'm doing..." she groaned, dizzy and stumbling.
She stepped backwards until she felt a hand gently placed her back, stopping her from falling. Ruby blinked. She looked up and met the eyes of a tall young man. He had a light olive complexion and his long spiky black hair was tied to a ponytail. His amber eyes were slightly tilted upwards at the ends, giving him a somewhat cat like appearance.
He donned a large jacket with a high collar. His belt, which also carries grenades, holds up his baggy pants with knee guards, below which he sports black, knee-high combat boots with silver soles and eyelets. His forearms bear silver armored gauntlets that protrude outwards and black fingerless gloves. His black fedora completed his appearance.
The young man smiled warmly at Ruby while closing his eyes and tilting his head for extra, dazzling effect.
"Well hello there," the young man greeted. Ruby retreated away whilst turning around to face him.
"Oh, um, sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you." Ruby gushed, glancing at the ground in embarrassment.
"Nah, it's alright. You don't need to apologize; accidents happen." The young man waved his hand dismissively.
"Thank goodness you stopped her fall, she almost landed on my luggage!"
The pair were confronted by what Ruby considered possibly the palest girl she'd ever seen, with icy blue eyes and a frigid aura to match. Dressed in white and light blue, with a touch of red. Her snow white hair hangs in a long, off-center ponytail, at the base of which sat a silver tiara. She wears a pale blue bolero jacket over a similarly colored thigh-length dress with a piece of black lace making up the neckline of the dress. The inside of the bolero is red and the sleeves turn blue as they get closer to her wrists.
"Do you have any idea what kind of damage you could have caused?" She directed all of her ire on Ruby now, turning away from the tall boy.
"Uhhh..." Ruby replied nervously.
"This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry." She pointed her finger at the stacked up cases.
"Ummm..." Ruby tried to get her bearings, but Snow Princess assumed it was just ignorance.
"What are you, brain dead? Dust? Fire? Water? Lightning? Energy?"
Snow Princess opened the case and removed a vial, a red one, shaking the container to punctuate each word. Unfortunately, she was doing all of this directly into Ruby's face, and with each shake came a fresh cloud of the volatile mixture.
The young man stared worriedly. "Um, you're kinda shaking it too much."
The Snow Princess ignored him.
"Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?!" She demanded, anger evident in her tone.
At this point the young man had to step in. "Hey you might want to put that away, she's about to-"
"ACHOO!"
That was all that was needed to set it off. A small, fiery explosion mixed with some sparks and snowflakes rang out across the courtyard, covering all three in a light layer of soot. The red vial had gotten blown out of the girl's hand and bounced away towards another student.
"Unbelievable! This is exactly what I was talking about!"
Ruby no longer could form words, shrinking in on herself as she poked her index fingers together.
"It's okay," the young man spoke up. "It was an honest mistake, she didn't mean to hurt anyone."
"No one asked you!" She rounded on him. "What are you two even doing here? She's clearly too young and you look like you got spit up by a group of fashion barbarians! The likes of either of you have no business at the most prestigious hunting academy in the world!"
Ruby noticed a vein pulsing in the young man's forehead. But despite his ire growing his smile never wavered. "Hey now, there's no need to be so rude, Ice Queen."
"It's heiress actually."
All three turned their attention to the new voice. There stood another girl. Her skin was just a bit darker than Ruby's. She had long, wavy black hair, and her eyes are amber, complemented by light-purple eye-shadow flaring backwards. Her eyes are slightly tilted upwards at the ends, giving her a somewhat catlike appearance.
Perched atop her head sat a midnight black bow. She wears black, low-heeled boots and stockings that start off black at her hips but slowly fade to purple as they reach her boots. Black ribbons hang from both arms, with a detached sleeve and a silver band on her left. She wears a black buttoned vest with coattails, and a white sleeveless undershirt that exposes part of her midriff with white shorts that may be connected to her shirt, although it is partly obscured by the vest. Both legs of her shorts have a zipper down the front, but whether they had practical use or were just a fashion aspect, Raine couldn't tell. To finish off the look, she wears a black, collar-like scarf around her neck. Barely glancing from the book she carried, she continued her explanation, a vile of red dust sitting in her other hand.
"Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."
Weiss perked up with a new level of haughtiness. "Finally, some recognition."
"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."
"What the- the nerve of-," Weiss sputtered over her words at the accusation. The young man emitted a hearty laugh while Ruby couldn't help herself and started giggling.
"Ugh!"
Snatching the vile of dust from the girl's hand, Weiss stomped off, thoroughly fed up with their company. At that point, two men in suits and dark sunglasses stepped forward to retrieve the scattered cases.
"You alright Mrs?" Asked the young man as he cleaned himself off. "You seem a little shaken up."
"Yeah, yeah I'll be fine..." She sighed. She turned to the girl in black. "Hey thanks for stepping in like-" but said girl was already walking away. "That..."
The young man chuckled and shook his head.
"Oh, my dear little sister." He chuckled. "Always leaving before they could say a word."
Ruby blinked in surprise. "That's your sister?"
"Yup. Welp." He tipped his fedora at Ruby whilst smiling. "See you around."
Ruby watched as the two siblings walked away. Leaving her alone at the center of beacon's school grounds. Ruby's shoulders slumped before letting out a disappointing sigh.
"Hey uh..." came another voice, this time a male's. "Is it alright if I tag along with you? I kinda don't know my way around either."
Ruby snickered.
"Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?" Asked Ruby with a giggle.
"What?" The blonde flinched.
"Sorry, but Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind," Ruby laughed nervously.
"Yeah? Well how would you like it if I called you Crater Face?"
"Hey, that was an accident!"
"And motion sickness is a bigger problem than most people let on."
The blonde puffed out his chest with pride.
"Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, and the ladies love it."
"Do they?" Ruby snickered.
"They will! Or at least, I hope they will... I mean who knows, maybe one day I'll be more heroic than Spider-Man."
Ruby turned her gaze to Jaune.
"You know Spider-Man?" Ruby asked, looking at Jaune curiously.
"Of course! He's all over the news," Jaune replied. "I know this is corny but I for one am a big fan of his, as well as twenty percent of the people in vale."
Ruby arched a brow at said percentage. "Why only twenty."
Jaune sighed and rubbed the back of his nape.
"Well, not everyone sees Spider-Man in a good light; you have some who think he's a menace to the whole kingdom, others believing strongly that he's not relieving the Faunus's suffering, and the worst of them all is people think he's taking some dust for himself and his terrorist group." Jaune explained, shaking his head disappointingly.
"But that's ridiculous!" Ruby was appalled by what she was hearing.
Jaune nodded in agreement. "That's what I said! But people have their opinions."
Silence descended upon the pair.
"So, I have this." Ruby as she extended Crescent Rose to full size.
"WHOA! Is... that a scythe?" Jaune jumped back in fear.
"It's also a fully customizable high impact sniper rifle."
"Wha...?"
"It's also a gun."
She smirked, cocking back the bolt for effect.
"Oh! That's cool!"
"So how bout you?"
"Oh, well I got this sword!" He said, pulling it free from its sheath. "And a shield too."
He jerked the sheathe and it extended into a full kite shield.
"Ooooo, so what do they do?" She pressed.
At that moment, Jaune's shield "jumped" with a click, sending it bouncing around as he desperately juggled to get it back in his grip. Ruby raised a brow.
"Well... it gets smaller! So if I get tired of carrying it I can just... put it away," he explained, steadily deflating in the face of more awesome weapons.
"But doesn't it still... weigh the same...?" Asked Ruby.
"... yeah."
Ruby laughed nervously as she caressed Crescent Rose. "Sorry, I'm a bit of a dork when it comes to weapons. I probably went a bit overboard when I designed her."
"Huhh?! You designed it?" Jaune asked with incredulity.
"Yeah, all students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?"
Jaune shook his head as he looked at his sword. "No, it's a hand-me-down. My great great grandfather used it to fight in the war."
"A family heirloom then," added Ruby. "Nothing wrong with that, we all started somewhere. Not many people appreciate the classics. I like it!"
"Yeah, you're right." Jaune had a small smile on his face as he sheathed the blade away.
"So, where are we going?" asked Ruby.
The pair paused.
"Honestly, I don't know, I was following you," answered Jaune.
Silence reigned in the atmosphere.
"Does this place have a food court?" Added Jaune.
Ruby sighed.
Spider-Man landed on the roof in time to see the thief dashing into an alleyway. The guy was fast. Not super-powers fast but definitely track-star fast. He caught his first glimpse of the thief. Probably not even twenty. He had short hair dyed the color of a tennis ball and big brown eyes and the barest hint of a mustache. His face was round and babyish, though.
Shooting his webs onto the side of a building, Spider-Man hurled himself forward, then again, and then again. It was as close as he could get to flying, and it never got old. He saw that the thief, who had a decent head start, was making his way toward the Vale Cruise Terminal. It seemed like a pretty stupid destination. He could hide out in any of the docked or decommissioned ships there, but there'd be no escape except the river.
Besides, Spider-Man's aerial view would make it almost impossible for the thief to elude him. He'd never been to the cruise terminal—or on a cruise ship, for that matter—so this would be a novelty. The thief chose one of the docks and hurried toward what looked like a decommissioned ship that was speckled with massive patches of rust and algae. There was no way onto the ship, however, so it looked like the end of the line. Swinging forward, Spider-Man let loose with a blast of webbing that wrapped around both the thief and one of the dock's concrete posts.
Mission accomplished.
"So, I've been dealing with guys dressed like you for a while now. I'm guessing you all have a boss, right?" Spider-Man asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Y-yeah." He replied nervously.
"Great! If you just tell me where his evil lair is, that would be great."
The thief hesitated. "B-But my boss will kill me!
"Not when I'm around he won't." Said Spider-Man.
Once again the thief hesitated. Spider-Man tapped his foot to the floor, waiting patiently for the thief to spill the beans. A defeated sigh escaped the thief's lips.
"The address to the next dust store they'll go to is in my pocket."
Spider-Man nodded, reaching into his pocket and producing a neatly folded piece of paper. He puts the paper in his pocket, then takes back the dust filled bag out his hand. Spider-Man retreated two steps backwards.
"Don't worry, buddy. I'll let the police know where you are."
The Web-Slinger turned and shot out a strand, pulling himself into the air. Swinging towards his next destination.
Shooting a web to the roof of a high five story apartment, Spider-Man launched himself high in the air and shot another web to nearby building, gaining momentum for the hero to start his web swinging.
Okay, dust thefts, White Fang, Peter thought, all of these things must be connected. This can't be a coincidence for there to be this many."
Web swinging higher in the air, Spider-Man shot a web line onto the side of a tall business building and pulled to take a sharp right turn. Letting go of both of his web lines, performed a backflip in the air, crossed his arms and shot two lines in front of him. Rearing his arms to his sides, Spider-Man rocketed into the air for a bird's eye view. From below several roads with cars stuck in traffic, police cars near a few accidents, and over hundreds of people walking home or exploring the night life.
Ok, time for a close up, Peter thought.
Descending rapidly from the sky, the web slinger found himself mere feet away from colliding with the pavement below. But with remarkable agility, he swiftly deployed a web line, altering his trajectory and veering to the right. Employing his web-swinging abilities, he gracefully maneuvered in close proximity to the bustling streets. Suddenly, an inexplicable sensation in the back of his cranium prompted him to alter his course. Trusting his instinct, he endeavored to draw nearer to the source of this peculiar spider sense. Eventually, he stumbled upon a tranquil street devoid of any human presence. Notably, a Dust shop situated across from the edifice upon which he had alighted exhibited signs of suspicious activity, leading him to surmise that it was the handiwork of Roman's associates, dutifully engaged in their customary routine.
Jumping off the roof, Spider-Man web lined to the Dust shop to land on its roof. Running to the back alley he jumped off and landed behind the store, surprising the crooks from his sudden entrance.
"Ok, fellas, you know the drill. Put away the Dust and I won't beat... you... much." Spider-Man trailed off, at a lost of what he was seeing.
Spider-Man blinked blankly at the sight before him. He was used to seeing the usual thugs with bowler hats, however with the help of his night vision he could see that these dark figures were donning black and white uniforms with masks hiding their faces. He honestly couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.
"Um, fellas. Halloween doesn't come around until October. But unless you guys have a certain dress code, then I won't judge."
The crooks started to get their bearings and soon began to circle around the hero. Their guns pointed directly at him.
"Don't move." The thief in front of Spider-Man said. "I don't want to hurt one of our own."
"One of your own? Buddy, I'm wearing tights plastered in red and blue. See?" Spider-Man grabbed a fist full of fabric from his costume. "Now I do have a spare in case this baby gets cut or destroyed but I rather not have that. So why don't you guys drop your weapons so we can settle this peacefully, eh?"
The group didn't seem to care of what he said as they drew closer with the barrel of their guns just a few feet away from the superhero's head. "We don't want to hurt you Spider-Man. The White Fang don't hurt their own. Just let us go and we won't cause any harm to the humans."
When the leader of the group told him there was a hostage, the hero narrowed his eyes at the White Fang.
"Why are guys doing this, exactly? Usually I stop guys in suits, but this is the first time I see you all doing this." Spider-Man asked, bawling his hands to fists.
"We're just getting what we deserve. You of all people should understand." The boss of the group said and raised both his arms to his side. "For so long the Faunus have been treated poorly. It's time to take what we deserve."
"Yeah, I can see the taking part." Spider-Man said, narrowing his lenses. Some of the group looked at each other wondering if this was the right idea. "Do you honestly believe that this is the right action? You're bringing people that have no business with any of this into your conflict."
"How can you say that?" The leader sounded genuinely surprised by the hero's statement. "You, who also wear a mask, doing whatever you like with no consequence, telling us that fighting for our equality are in the wrong."
What the man said caused Spider-man start to trembling. Peter knows more than the next person what the consequences are. He always remembers when he returns home, when he eats with Aunt May with an empty seat across from them, and most of all when he looks at his mask, showing him what made him into the hero he is now.
"Please, whatever you're doing, do-"
Spider-Man felt the back of his skull tingle. He immediately backflips away from the White Fang when a large heap of sand crashes down on his original position. He landed on the ground and glanced up in time to see a large wall of sand towering over him. Peter's eyes widen behind his mask. Thoughts began to appear.
Sand!? Is this some sort of Semblance? Asked Peter silently in his thoughts.
The wall of sand soon shifted to become a tall man wearing a long sleeved green striped shirt and khaki pants.
"Excuse me, sir. Are you their guardian? If so, then I really need to tell you that they've been caught trying to steal some dust." He said to the silent man. The man didn't grace him with a reply.
"Listen buddy, I'm not sure if you heard or seen what's going on around Vale," Spider-Man shot a pair of web strings to the alleyway walls and catapulted himself towards the sand user. "But I'm the sheriff around these parts!"
Seeing that the hero was throwing himself, the new thug reared his arm back and lashed out his fist. Spider-Man dodged the attack, finding an opening to attack his midsection. Cocking his fist back the hero punched the man's stomach only for it to go right through the man.
What!? Spider sense is going off like crazy! I need to get away from this guy!
Spider-Man tried to pull his fist out of the tough sand but to no avail. Now stuck, the man's hand changed into a large hammer and struck Spider-Man. Launching him several feet away and hitting a wall. Pain flooded his body. As the hero was stunned from the fierce blow the thug wasted no time in closing the distance.
Shifting into a wave of sand he encased the hero then morphed himself into a giant hand and threw him high in the air. Now airborne, Spider-Man ejected a strand of webbing to a nearby rooftop and pulled himself away to safety.
"Ok, that was unexpected." He said while putting his hands on the back of his head for a short breather. "Well, I did need to get pictures of something new. Guess today's my lucky day."
Unhooking the camera from his waist he webbed the camera to a flag pole to capture him fighting the sand villain. Just as he set the camera up Spider-Man felt the back of his skull tingle. He took several back flips away when a large heap of sand crashed down on his original position. The large load of sand turned back into human form with both of his arms morphed into hammers ready to smash the spider into a pancake. Moving his body instinctively, Spider-Man dodged each strike while at the same time trying to trap the enemy in webs.
But just like his punch the web lines went right through the man making it even more difficult for the spider to trap him.
Great! How am I going to hit him when he can just change at will!? Peter thought.
"You had enough, Bug!?" The man spoke to the hero before his lower half turned into sand that propelled him forward.
"Oh so now you're talking to me! And here I thought you had sand in your ears!" Spider-Man quipped while trying to evade tendrils of sand in every direction.
As Spider-Man evaded each strike the bad guy grew more frustrated making form together in a giant wave of sand and slammed the wall crawler like it was squashing an insect. With the hero now pinned the sand went back to its original form with the man's lower half still holding on to the hero in a tight grip.
"First and final warning." The man tightened his grip on the hero. "Stay out of our way."
Right hand formed a giant sand fist before striking Spider-Man and sent him flying towards a building.
The sound of glass breaking and debris crumbling was the last thing Spider-Man heard before his world turned dark.
A/N: Vale's first Villain, the Sandman, has entered the ring! And yes as you guys have read in the chapter, that was indeed Blake's brother; my OC character of course. Now I have thought about pairing Peter with one of the girls in Team RWBY but I want to pair him with Gwen first before she eventually and tragically dies in the near future. Who would I paired him with? I'm not sure yet, but right now I'm focusing on developing the story. With all of that said, I'll be taking my leave. See you young readers in the next chapter!