CHAPTER 6: WATCHER FROM ABOVE

Roman stood with a triumphant grin on his face. He held the Scroll up to his ear while dodging some thugs moving a large quantity of dust. After receiving the news from Flint Marko that he had killed Spider-Man and had successfully collected the dust without any further issue, Roman felt like he could finally breathe a bit more easily. He was free of that annoying hero pretender; that Spider-Man had always been a nuisance, and Roman could not stand him. But all that mattered now was that he and his boys could continue the plan without any self proclaimed hero impeding his progress and incapacitating his subordinates.

"So, you're certain that he was taken care of?" The female voice asked through Roman's Scroll.

"You bet. Flint took good care of the web-head." Roman then motioned his head to his posse moving a large quantity of dust. "He sent him to the afterlife; there's no way he could have survived a blow from the big guy."

"Well done, Roman." Roman heard faint whispering from the other side of the Scroll. "Now that the so-called 'Hero' is dead, we can go back to our original plan. There will be more help to get Dust than your average thug-for-hire. We'll be getting more help from the White Fang. Thanks to that insect delaying my plan it's time to accelerate our deadline."

"And may I ask something of you?" Roman asked while taking a hit from his cigar.

"Do go ahead." She replied.

"Why did you send these animals to help me when they can't even help themselves?" Roman questioned, turning his head at some of the White Fang moving more boxes filled with dust.

"The White Fang gave their support in hopes to get more recruitment. They've been losing some followers thanks to the Spider-Man and his good deeds," she replied as if that last part of her sentence caused her to vomit. "You need more assistance and they need followers for their movement. You're a smart man, I'm sure you can see the benefit for both our groups."

Roman's eyes grew large. It didn't take the master thief long before he realized what she was getting at. He placed both hands on his Scroll, as if trying to choke the person on the other end of the call for coming up with such an insane plan.

"You want me to recruit more followers for them?!" He asked hysterically.

"You're a very persuasive man. I'm sure you can make them join The White Fang easily."

"They'll tear me apart. After all, I'm the one who sent an assassin to kill the spider." Roman started to envision the outcome of what could happen if it goes wrong. "Pretty sure they don't want me to help since I killed one of their own."

"The White Fang want blind followers that wish to take their rage on humans. If you simply don't say you sent someone to kill Spider-Man, then I'm sure you can make them into faithful soldiers for the Faunus movement." Roman heard her chuckle at the thought of it happening.

"Now that Spider-Man's gone, things will start getting more and more chaotic for the kingdom of Vale with us controlling everything with no one to stop us."

"Even if I do get them to join, I'm going to need more than just extra bodies to move all this Dust." Roman jumped in alarm when he heard several objects breaking. He turned his head to see broken boxes and his men shouting at each other.

"I already have several large shipments coming your way, just show them to the Faunus and they'll soon join with no hesitation. Now, if we're done talking, I must meet someone very important for my next part of the plan. Be sure not to fail me Roman. Now that this Spider-Man is gone you have no excuse for making mistakes."

His Scroll showed him the caller hanged up leaving him to his thoughts on his situation.

One problem gone, Roman thought, and another shows up. Even if more animals join their cult club I still need to watch where I'm placed in her plan.

"Neo." Roman called for his assistant, the sound of glass breaking behind him revealing a smiling Huntress. "Get the boys ready. We'll be getting more animal helpers soon and we'll need them to be extra careful with the next few days."

Neo offered her boss a nod of acknowledgement before she disintegrated into fragments. Roman started towards his office, until a dinging sound from his scroll halted his tracks.

He retrieved his scroll to see a message.

A grin graced his lips.

Followed by a chuckle.

The elderly-woman of the house placed her cooked eggs on the table and put her kitchen mitts away. Walking to the bottom of the stairs Aunt May waited a couple more seconds, waiting to hear her young nephew's voice only to hear nothing from the second floor.

"Peter? Peter, are you awake?" Aunt May shouted as she climbed up the stairs. "You're going to be late for school!"

She waited for a good minute but her worry increased when no response came from her nephew.

"Peter, I'm coming upstairs." Aunt May ascended to the top of the stairs, and yet still no noise from his room, making Aunt May anxious.

He always answers when I call him, Aunt May thought, I hope he didn't stay up all night studying.

"Peter? I'm opening your door." She placed her hand on the door knob and turned it. "Please excuse the intrusion."

The door was already half way open when Peter's head popped out, causing the older woman to gasp and retreat several steps back in surprise. Aunt May instinctively placed her hand over her heart. Said heart was beating rapidly against her rib cage.

"Morning, Aunt May." Peter said nonchalantly. "I was just using the bathroom. Is breakfast ready?"

The startled woman was still trying to calm her heart before she gave him a disapproving stare for surprising her, but soon let out a sigh. "Breakfast is already done. Just get dressed and hurry downstairs."

"Thank you, Aunt May." Peter kissed her forehead and closed the door as she returned downstairs to get started on her day.

That boy, Aunt May thought, Always on his toes whenever I open his door. I hope whatever he's hiding doesn't give him too much trouble.

Mrs. Parker possessed a keen sense of perception. She consistently detects faint sounds during the nocturnal hours, particularly when they originate from Peter's quarters. This became even more evident as Peter, in addition to his academic responsibilities, embarked upon his first employment endeavor. Given the multitude of obligations he faced, it is reasonable to expect him to return home late in order to secure additional remuneration to assist Mrs. Parker with the financial obligations. However, last night, when she heard his arrival, it appeared as though he was experiencing distress. Consequently, Mrs. Parker's apprehension regarding Peter's late-night undertakings began to intensify.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she came face to face with the family portraits. The one picture that caught her attention was the one of her husband, Ben Parker. Taking the frame with both her hands she places it on her chest and prays that her husband's looking down on them, giving them his best wishes whenever they get in trouble. Opening her eyes, she placed it back on the shelf and looked at her husband's picture, as if he was right in front of her. She internally asked the picture the same question ever since his passing.

"Oh, Ben. What am I going to do?"

Peter emitted a quick sigh of relief as he closed the door and turned back to his dirty costume that was on his bed. Some particles of sand were still on some parts of his suit but he did his best to dust them off.

"Man, that was close. It's gonna take a while to fix this suit, but that's why I always have a spare I suppose." Said Peter.

Balling up the costume the teen stuffed it under his bed and fished out a long flat box with a small combination lock. Putting in the code, he unlocked the case to show his sewing kit and a freshly clean spare next to it. Thoughts began to appear as he pulled his spare out.

Ok, bad news: I'm dead and the people behind it will probably go full force into whatever they're planning. The good news: They think I'm dead, so all I need to do is catch them by surprise.

"Easier said than done." Muttered Peter under his breath.

That night was the first time he ever fought an actual prominent villain. He usually deals with regular muggings and robberies, but that was the first time he ever dealt with a villain that was stronger than him. But on the bright side he could no longer feel the pain from the villain's punch last night. In fact, he felt better than ever.

Every morning, Peter examines his reflection in the mirror to ascertain whether he has incurred any enduring harm from the altercation of the previous night, only to find no discernible scars. This outcome does not come as a surprise to him. Similar to all wrongdoers, they possess more than mere bats and pipes. Knives and firearms are objects with which he is all too acquainted. Prior to comprehending his spider sense, he had once been stabbed by a thief who caught him off guard, and subsequently, he was shot by a robber when he shielded a little girl from harm's way.

This particular obstacle prompted him to ponder whether he should cease his heroic endeavors while he was still ahead. However, whenever he wearily made his way to his bed, clutching his grievous wounds that would prove fatal to any ordinary man, he would drift into slumber and awaken the following morning, his physique restored to its original state. It is as if he had never sustained any injuries in the first place.

Peter chuckled with a smile. Last night he should've been in intensive care, or dead; but here he is, eating breakfast, getting ready for school, and his body felt like a million lien. Super healing comes in handy when he doesn't want to go to the hospital as Spider-Man, or deal with a huge medical bill. It just seems so unreal for him to see that he's able to heal from a wound like yesterday. With the teen now ready for the day he made it to the kitchen and ate his meal next to his Aunt, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

The young superhero started to pound his chest when his breakfast started blocking his windpipe. Aunt May stood up from her chair and looked at the choking boy in surprise.

"Peter! Are you ok?" She walked over to him and started to pat his chest.

"I'm fine, Aunt May." The glass of water helped flush the blockage down. "Just remembered that I need to hand in my pictures soon."

"Oh, you mean the Bugle?" Seeing that he was fine she returned back to her seat to finish her breakfast. "They must really need those photos of that Spider-Man. But, then again, I'm sure they're more concerned with what happened last night."

Aunt May reached for the remote at the edge of the table and turned the volume of the TV higher to listen to last night's theft. The screen showed the same woman with burned and ruined buildings behind her. The police were off to the side putting up yellow tape to secure the crime scene.

"What you see behind me is the latest, and might I add, disastrous act of crime led by the escaped crime boss, Roman Torchwick. Some people are asking, 'how much more violence will he commit just to steal dust from our community?'"

"It scares me to think how people will go to such lengths to do these things. I wonder how long it'll be before he's back behind bars." Aunt May commented, making Peter sink lower in his seat.

I could've stopped them, Peter thought, I had to stop them, but then that Sandman guy came out of nowhere and helped them escape.

"With so much damage caused by the escaped convict many concerned citizens wonder where was Spider-Man to stop him. With me now is Bugle's editor-in-chief..."

Oh no... anyone but him, Peter thought.

"Mr. Jameson." Shifting the camera, a middle age man appeared wearing a mean look, as if everything around him pissed him off. With who was involved in this crime it seemed to make him all the angrier on the TV. "Mr. Jameson. What are your thoughts on why Spider-Man couldn't stop Roman's latest crime?"

Raising his fist to his face. J. Jonah Jameson cleared his throat before speaking to the mic.

"The answer is really simple, miss."

Here it comes, Peter thought.

"IT'S BECAUSE SPIDER-MAN IS WORKING WITH ROMAN TORCHWICK!" Peter sank his head in his hands and shook it when his boss shouted his insane theories about him. "SPIDER-MAN IS NOTHING BUT A BAD EXAMPLE FOR THE YOUNG GENERATION, AND WITH WHAT HAPPENED HERE IT'S PLAIN AS DAY THAT SPIDER-MAN LET THIS HAPPEN 'CAUSE HE'S WORKING WITH MR. TORCHWICK!"

The woman cleared her throat.

"What about the several other crime related incidents that were stopped by him, as well as all the pictures of the web slinger performing heroic deeds on your news site?" The woman inquired.

"It was all just an act! He was trying to let everyone trust him! Then, as soon as he had the public's trust, he showed his true colors!" J.J proceeded his ranting while a thick vein started to show on his forehead. "Let the authorities handle the crime, and let the real heroes, the Huntsmen, put the bug in his place!" Seeing that he was going to keep spouting more nonsense, Peter took the remote and turned it off.

"Thanks for the breakfast, Aunt May. I'm gonna go wait for the bus now." Grumbling incoherent words about the news Peter placed his plate in the sink. He was ready to walk out the door when his Aunt stopped him.

"Have a good day at school, sweetie." Aunt May pecked Peter's cheek with a smile.

"I will. Bye Aunt May." Peter said, waving at her as he turned a corner, cutting off his view of her.

With the sight of her gone Peter dropped his arm to his side and looked down at his feet until he reached his bus stop. The school bus parked in front of him and opened its doors. He embarked and sat down in the middle section of the bus with most of the louder students behind him. Peter glanced at the window next to him, noticing the bus had started up and began moving forward. He distracted himself with thoughts of his childhood, where the streets of queens had been his true home.

Both of his parents were white; his mother and his father were scientists. He inherited his mother's skin, hair, and eyes. But he carried his father's heart. Physical science was in Peter's blood.

He didn't care about sports nor did he have any interest in it. He spent his time in the labs where his father resides, inventing and tinkering, learning to find the right way around a problem, to solve it, to fix it, or even to improve upon it. He remembered his father as being an intelligent man. His mother was kind and loving, yet passionate about helping people. Both Humans and Faunus.

She loved children, and would treat every child be it toddler or teen as if they were her own. Peter was lucky enough to have his father as a role model during his childhood. His constant encouragement of his intellectual curiosity, and love for the natural world motivated Peter.

Peter cast his gaze downwards, wearing a somber expression. Regrettably, both of his parents perished in a plane crash as a result of an engine malfunction during their journey. The sorrowful event remained vivid in his thoughts. Peter experienced a profound sadness when recalling the incident. From a tender age, he comprehended the inevitability of mortality. Nevertheless, Peter never allowed the memories of his parents to fade away. God no. He perpetually longed for their presence.

Peter blinked in alarm.

His spider-sense was tingling!

What, Peter thought, my spider-sense is tingling? But I don't see any danger. Where could danger possibly..?

Peter glanced up through the bus window. His eyes landed at the looming towers of Beacon Academy. But said towers was not what Peter paused. Rather it was a black blur that he set his sights on as it flew towards Beacon. Even from a hundred feet above Peter recognized the shape in an instant. Peter turned away and hung his head with a sigh.

"Welp, I guess I'm gonna be late for class." Said Peter under his breath.

Peter pulled the window aside and leapt out the bus. He paid no mind to the onlookers as they watched him run down the sidewalk with incredible speed. He rounded a corner into an alleyway, pulling his shirt over his head and threw it aside.

Revealing his black spider insignia.

Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, in a culmination of teammate frustration, fatigue from the forest, and all around impatience to get the mission over with decided (well Ruby decided and Weiss played along against her better judgment) to do something rather rash. Weiss still couldn't believe what they had gotten themselves into. They had hitched a ride on a monster raven, a Nevermore.

"Ruby!" The Heiress yelled over the whipping of wind in their ears. "I told you this was a terrible idea!"

Weiss clung to the feathers with such a death grip, her hands were even more pale than the rest of her. Ruby didn't even bother to look at her.

"We're fine!" Ruby yelled back. "Stop worrying!"

"I am SO FAR beyond worrying!"

"... in a good way?"

"In a BAD WAY! A VERY. BAD. WAY!"

"Well then why don't we just jump!"

"What are you insane?!" Ruby never graced her with an answer, when the Heiress found where her partner had sat upon to be empty. Her mind clicked. "Oh you INSUFFERABLE LITTLE RED-"

"Guys didn't you hear that?" Yang was waving at them. "What are we going to do?"

Blake and her brother Naik simply pointed up, gaining the blonde's attention.

"Heads uuuuup!" Screamed a free fall Ruby. Naik tensed up, ready to catch her when a blonde and brown blur intercepted her, which just happened to be a terrified, screaming Jaune Arc. The pair crashed into the trees across from the temple.

Dizziness spun in Ruby's head, her eyes were seeing stars. The fall and the impact did a number on her.

"Oh god..." she groaned. "What was that?"

"Ahem..."

She shook her head and looked up. She found Jaune hanging by his legs from a branch above her.

"Hey Ruby," he greeted her sheepishly.

"Did... your sister just fall out of the sky?" Asked Blake as she looked towards where they landed.

"I..." Yang started, just as confused as her friends, but was interrupted by a loud snarling and crashing trees.

"Yeeeeehaaaaaww!"

An Ursa came flailing out of the treeline, screaming bloody murder until it was silenced by a massive, pink electrical surge on its back. A young girl hopped off its back, orange hair with a black and white jacket and white tank top with a tiny heart cut above her collar bone to accent her cleavage. She wore a white detached sleeve on each arm and a short, pink skirt that reached her mid thigh. On her feet were pink and white boots, with pink laces. Strapped to her back was a pink and silver grenade launcher.

A boy stumbled out from behind her, dressed in a green eastern style jacket and white slacks. His black hair was tied into a long ponytail.

"Aw maaan, it's broken," the girl whined as she smacked the Ursa on the head.

"Nora..." spoke Lie Ren. "Please... don't ever do that again." He heard a woosh and looked up to find her gone.

Nora ran over to the temple, completely ignoring the trio that made it before them in her narrow span of attention. "Oooooh!" She cooed over the white rook piece. In a comical fashion, put the piece on top of her head which, against all laws of physics, stuck without any adhesive.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" She sang and danced.

"Nora!"

She giggled with embarrassment at her peers, whom she finally noticed.

"Coming Ren!" She called back and ran over to him.

"Did... she just rode in on an Ursa?" Asked a dumbstruck Naik.

"I-" Yang tried again, but more Grimm snarling interrupted the conversation.

Pyrrha ran into the clearing, the deathstalker still crashing in behind her, smashing down trees left and right as it snapped at her with its claws. She jumped at one moment and passed between a pair of pincers.

"Jaune!" She yelled as she got sight of him.

"Pyrrha!" He called back as he struggled to get free.

"Whoa," breathed Ruby as she once again left him to his own devices.

She jumped down into the clearing, joining her sister and friends at the temple.

"Ruby?" Yang said with surprise as her sister landed next to them.

"Yang!" She answered.

"Nora!" Screamed Nora as she popped up in between them.

"Did she just run all the way here with a deathstalker on her tail?" Asked Blake.

"I don't even know anything anymore," Naik answered as he shook his head. Ren stumbled over to join them.

Yang growled as red embers flared up around her. "I can't take it anymore! Will everyone just CHILL OUT for like two seconds before something ELSE CRAZY HAPPENS?!"

They waited exactly two seconds while her fire died down. Seeing that it was safe, Ruby ventured towards her again and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Uh, Yang?" She pointed up towards the Nevermore circling overhead. Clinging to one of its talons was Weiss.

"Why did you leave me?" She cried out terrified.

The Nevermore screeched while it soared above the individuals that watched from below.

"I told you to jump!" Ruby yelled back.

"She's gonna fall," said Blake.

"She'll be fine," answered Ruby.

"She's falling," confirmed Ren.

Naik took a deep breath. Aura focused, he shot forward and jumped, snatching the falling Weiss out of the sky. She landed in his arms with surprise as he held her bridal style, stepping from tree branch to tree branch on the way back down to earth. Weiss couldn't form any words, her arms reflexively clung around his neck as he touched down. He just saved her life. Pink dusted her cheeks in a very un-Weiss like fashion.

She continued to stare at him, not letting go even as he walked back to the group.

He saved me, Weiss thought.

Naik began to feel self-conscious when he realized Weiss was still staring at him.

"You uh... wanna stop looking at me like that ice Princess? We're kinda being watched," Naik muttered as he turned his head away, face glowing red, the entire group's gaze fixed on them. Even Jaune and Pyrrha were finally able to join them, the latter of which able to give the deathstalker the slip for a few moments.

Reality snapped back to Weiss as she realized what she was doing. She let go of his neck and quickly, but surprisingly gently pushed herself out of his arms, refusing to face him as her normally cold face heated up. The pair refused to look at each other as they rejoined the group. Both Yang and Ruby thought it was cute.

"I guess the gang's all here then?" Asked Naik as he broke the silence.

"Yeah, now we can die together!" Declared Yang.

As if on cue, the deathstalker came crashing out of the treeline again, screeching in rage as it lumbered towards them. Ruby smirked as she saw her chance.

"Not if I can help it," she boasted.

With a battle cry, she sped off against the deathstalker, firing rounds behind her with Crescent Rose to amplify her speed.

"Ruby wait!" Yang cried after her.

Ruby lifted her scythe at the ready. Closing the distance from her target, she cleaved downwards with all of her strength. This wasn't any young deathstalker though. The Grimm smacked her aside with its claws. She hit the ground with a grunt of pain and shakily got back on to her feet.

"D-don't worry! Totally fine!" Ruby called back to the group.

The deathstalker reared forward, its stinger twitching in anticipation. With fear in her eyes, Ruby swung her scythe around and emptied her clip into the Grimm's face. But the bullets bounced harmlessly off its armor.

"Oh crap," she groaned, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

"RUBY!" Yang yelled out as she took off in a sprint towards her sister.

Naik narrowed his eyes as the Nevermore floating above them reared back with a great flap of its wings.

"Yang, dodge!"

"Huh?" She looked up.

A thick volley of spear sized feathers with razor sharp points shot out from the Nevermore. They fell with whistling speed, nailing themselves into the ground and catching Ruby by her cloak. Yang slid to a stop, sliding across the ground as she barely avoided impalement.

"Ruby get out of there!" Yang cried out.

"I'm trying!" Her sister called back, struggling to get her cloak free.

It was too late, the deathstalker was upon her. It's mandibles clicked as it raised its tail for the killing blow. With no way out, Ruby squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the hit.

"RUBY!" Yang yelled as a red and blue blur sped past her.

The attack never came. Ruby felt a sudden burst of wind that threatened to push her back but faded as quickly as it had came. She slowly opened her eyes to find the tip of the stinger frozen in place inches away from her.

"Man, this is the second time I've saved your tookus."

Ruby's eyes slowly open whilst crawling up to the familiar red and blue feet, up to the big red spider insignia on his back, towards the head. Ruby's eyes blinked in surprise as her savior glanced over their shoulder down at Ruby. Their white large lenses gazed back at her. The deathstalker vigorously shook its head from side to side, in an attempt to liberate itself from the clutches of its assailant.

"Spider-Man..?" Breathed Ruby.

Spider-Man smiled at Ruby under his mask.

"The one and only." Spider-Man Returned.

Spider-Man yelped and threw deathstalker into the air. The web-head clamped his fist, preparing for a punch that contained the potency of a nuclear weapon. Anchoring it back, preparing for a devastating blow. Everyone's eyes widened as Spider-Man's fist briefly glowed brightly.

"And you are…"

He swung away with incredible speed.

"OUT OF HEREEEEE!"

With a power that can only be likened to that of a high auxiliary armor piercing bunker buster, Spider-Man delivers a forceful punch, propelling the deathstalker upwards. The sheer strength of the attack causes the scorpion Grimm to soar through the air. As the deathstalker is propelled further away from Beacon, it breaks the sound barrier, leaving behind nothing but a glimmer in the sky as it cuts through the clouds. The students, in awe of the spectacle they have just witnessed, find themselves struggling to piece together the sequence of events that has just transpired.

Unbeknownst to all of them, a man in a dark winged suit was watching them from above.

His HUD zoomed in on the girl with silver eyes and he hummed.

"There you are."

A/N: And that was chapter 6, young readers! Gotta admit, I enjoyed the last part of this chapter where Peter/Spider-Man displayed his hidden strength to the group in such a brute fashion; it's actually an inspiration to Young All Might when we first saw how absolutely strong he was back in the day, and since some different Spider-Man or Spider-Woman is different in so many alternate universes, I thought I make the Spider-Man in this universe Remnant's All Might. Now this doesn't necessarily mean he'll fight villains without struggling, oh no no. That's the formula I don't plan on removing.

Because without said formula, he wouldn't have the strength to get back up every time a Villain pushes him down. Now to answer some questions before this note ends. I'm not focused on there being other Spider-Men at the moment, for now the goal is developing the story. I have thought about having Peter/Spider-Man going to other kingdoms but again that'll be a long while so until then, Vale is his main spot on stopping criminals and crime. At this time, Peter/Spider-Man doesn't have enough money to buy the resources to making any gadgets similar to the ones in Spider-Man PS4.

I have thought about writing a fight between Peter/Spider-Man and both Huntress and Huntsman but I don't plan having him fight against team RWBY and JNPR, since some of them sees him as a hero. Not a day went by where Venom hasn't left my head but again, I'm not focusing on him right now. Once I'm done with Volume I'll figure out what plans I have next for volume 2. How I will handle Peter's secret is something I'll keep to myself.

With all of that said, I'll be taking my leave. See you in the next chapter!