Author's Note:
Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter for Earth's Mightiest Huntsmen. Yes, I managed to get another chapter up this quickly. What can I say? When I'm highly motivated, I can get a lot of writing done. And trust me-this is a chapter I've been looking forward to writing. But before we get to that, let's answer some reviews!
SulliMike23: Ruby dealing with the trauma of what she has done will be a focus point for this next arc for sure.
triscythe59: I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of said wall crawling, web slinging hero in this arc.
SuperSaiyanFever: What Ruby really needs is not only her best friends around her, but also her sister. A shame that Yang is currently on the other side of the galaxy right now.
CRUDEN: Always gotta find the bright side in these dark situations. And things are only going to get darker the longer this story goes on.
Maou09: Jaune doesn't heal people. His Semblance gives him the ability to boost other people's Auras, and the Auras are what help the characters in RWBY heal faster.
Blackmetalzane22: Ruby's definitely going to have a talk with a certain character that's had to deal with a similar traumatizing experience as her. Not going to say who it is yet, though I think people will be excited to see this character, even though said character's role in this arc will not be as large as it will be in a later arc.
Guest: I currently have no plans for Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. If I do come up with plans though, they won't come into play until late into the story.
Cbrandes17: If Logan had been injured, it wouldn't have been as impactful, since he can just heal himself relatively quickly. I wanted to create a moment that pays homage to the similar moment in Vol 5 of RWBY...only in the most twisted way possible.
Thank you all for your continued support. Now, let's get back to the action.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier—November 1st
Director Nick Fury stood at the command platform of his helicarrier. With his one good eye, he monitored a series of screens that focused on several potential crises in action. None of them at the moment needed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s presence…for the moment.
But he always kept an eye out in case things changed. It was his job. He was the man that was supposed to know everything. He had plans within plans. When an enemy struck, he was going to be three moves ahead.
The biggest concern was, as always, Hydra. They were always out there, plotting. Scheming. As long as their High Council was still in play, Hydra would never be truly destroyed. But they were underground, always operating from behind the scenes and through low-ranking thugs such as Crossbones.
Fury's teeth tightened on the toothpick in his mouth. When Hydra crawled out of whatever rock they were hiding under, S.H.I.E.L.D. would be there to take them down. There was no doubt about that.
"Director, our deep space probes are detecting something," an officer reported.
"Explain," Fury ordered.
"A ship is entering the system."
"What kind of ship?"
"From the readings it's giving off…" The officer's eyes widened. "It's Kree."
Fury's eyes narrowed. "Confirm those readings."
The officer typed on his console. "Confirmed. We've got a Kree ship heading right for Earth."
"Just the one?" Maria Hill, Fury's second in command, asked.
"Could be a scout ship," Fury theorized. "If the Kree are planning another attack, they'll try to gauge our defenses first." He thought about it for a moment. "Try to hail them."
"Understood." The officer opened a channel. "Attention Kree vessel. You are entering restricted space. Leave now or you will be fired upon."
There was static on the comm line for a few seconds. Then a voice came through. "This is Chris Powell of Earth, requesting permission to land on Earth. We have escaped the world known as Sakaar and require assistance."
"Put me through," Fury ordered. Once the officer had patched him through, he said, "Darkhawk. Was wondering what happened to you."
"Nick Fury. Was hoping that you were still in charge down there," Chris responded.
"Can I ask how you managed to come into possession of a Kree ship?"
"Wasn't too much else available. We had to get off Sakaar quick before a certain deal made was going to be broken."
"We?"
"Yeah. I have two refugees from a world called Remnant with me. Ever hear of a place like that?"
Fury removed the toothpick from his mouth and flicked it aside. "Something like that. You're clear to come in. Just know that we'll have to enact standard decontamination procedures."
"Understood. We'll be there within the hour."
Fury turned to his men. "Prepare Galactic Decontamination Protocol 23-19. Make sure there's a place for this ship to land. And get me through to Tony Stark. I think we've found a few more of those kids he was looking for."
Kree Ship—En Route to Earth—November 1st
Blake awoke from her nightmare with a muffled cry. Panting in fear, she glanced around rapidly, finding that she was still on the same ship that she had been for the past several days. "It's okay," she told herself, calming herself down. "You're safe. You're not with the Badoon anymore."
Sleep hadn't been easy for her. Most of the time, she was plagued with nightmares about her experience with the Badoon. A time that she didn't think she would ever be able to share with anyone.
"More bad dreams?" Blake turned her head to see Pyrrha standing in the small doorway that led to the cockpit. She didn't answer her as she got to her feet.
"Chris says we're getting close to Earth," Pyrrha told her. "We'll be landing soon."
Blake nodded slowly. "That's good." Being stuck on the old ship had been annoying, and both her and Pyrrha were starting to get a little stir crazy. Some fresh air and solid ground would do them both some good after their experience on Sakaar.
"He said that we're going to have to go through some decontamination procedures to make sure we're not carrying any spaceborne pathogens or radiation," Pyrrha went on. "It should only take a few hours, but then we'll be able to go."
"And then we'll be able to find people to help us look for the others?" Blake asked.
"Let's hope so."
"Blake, Pyrrha," Chris called from the cockpit. "You're not going to want to miss this view."
The two girls entered the cockpit to see a blue-green planet slowly growing out the window. "Is that Earth?" Blake asked.
"Yep. That's Earth." Chris leaned back in his chair slightly. "Haven't seen it in a while. Still a beautiful sight to see."
A light on the control console began flashing. "We're getting coordinates to land," Chris said. "The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier."
"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Blake asked.
"Pretty much the non-superhero organization in charge of protecting the world," Chris explained. "They're an all-right sort. They'll be in charge of making sure we're not carrying anything that could, you know, blow up the planet."
"And then?" Pyrrha asked.
Chris shrugged. "Then we go from there."
Blake stared out at the slowly approaching planet, rubbing her arm slightly. She hoped that on this world, things would be better than on Sakaar or with the Badoon. And she hoped that they would be able to find a clue to where their friends were.
Remnant HQ—November 1st
Several explosions nearly blew Weiss off her feet as she slid behind cover with Jaune and Ren. "No good!" she reported. "She blew the bridge up!"
"Of course she did," Ren said.
Jaune winced as another blast sent waves of electricity shooting nearby. "Remind me again why we let Nora play the villain here?"
"Don't ask me," Weiss responded. "She's your teammate." She peeked out from behind the cover. Nearby, across a large moat, was a small castle. Nora stood at the top of it, aiming Magnhild down at them.
"Ahahahaha!" she cackled loudly. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"
"She's getting way too into this," Weiss commented.
"Still have to get into that castle," Ren reminded her. "If we can take the flag, we win."
"What's the plan then?" The two turned to look at Jaune.
"I'll draw her fire," Jaune decided. "Weiss, do you think you can get a summon going to attack?"
"I can try," Weiss answered.
"While we're keeping Nora occupied, Ren, you go for the flag," Jaune finished.
Ren nodded without another word.
"Okay. Three…two…one…go!" Jaune leaped over the cover, running off in one direction, while Weiss ran off the other way.
"Yes! Run, puny heroes!" Nora laughed, firing more shock grenades. "But you can't escape me!"
Jaune hopped over another pile of rocks and swung his sword down as another shock grenade came at him, cutting it half instantly. As he did, Weiss pointed Myrtenaster towards Nora and concentrated. Seconds later, a Glyph appeared in midair, and from that Glyph a small Nevermore appeared, flying straight at Nora. She ducked to avoid getting hit and fired several shots at it. The creation was hit and eventually dissolved.
Nora then turned her attention back to Weiss, firing multiple more shock grenades that exploded around her. One lucky shot hit her in the side, causing her body to spark with pain as she yelped, tripping and sliding to the ground.
Nora cackled again. "None can stand against the might of Shockhammer!"
That was when Ren, having snuck around the side, appeared behind her, carrying the flag. He whacked her in the back, knocking her clear off the small castle. She landed in a heap on the ground below.
"Simulation complete," Phyllis announced. Ren hopped over the castle wall, landing next to Nora as the simulated world faded away and helped her to her feet.
"Darn. I really thought I had you guys this time," Nora said.
"Perhaps next time you will be able to achieve victory," Ren responded.
"Come on, guys," Jaune said, starting for the exit lift that would take them back to the main room of Remnant HQ. "I'm starving."
After the intense battle that had nearly destroyed their brand-new home, Weiss and the others had rebuilt everything, with the help of Logan and, occasionally, others like Rogue and Steve. With all their combined help, it had only taken two days to repair all the damage done and replace the furniture.
Of course, the physical damage was only part of the problem. As the four of them exited the lift and entered the living room, Weiss turned her head to look down the hallway where their bedrooms were, knowing exactly who was still back there.
Ruby had been completely crushed by what she had done under Mesmero's control. So much so that she had barely left her room ever since. Despite Weiss (and everyone else, for that matter) attempting to convince her that it wasn't her fault, nothing seemed to really get through to her. It was as though she was a shell of her former self.
Weiss didn't blame Ruby for any of what happened. It wasn't her fault. She had even tried to convince her to look on the bright side of things, given that the incident, which had almost left Weiss dead, had allowed Jaune to discover his Semblance. But even just mentioning her near-death experience had only seemed to make things worse.
She hoped that one day, Ruby would be back to her old self. But after everything that had happened, both on Earth and Remnant, Weiss feared that her friend would never be the same.
Logan was sitting in a chair in the corner, an apple in one hand. Weiss barely paid him any mind as she and the others moved into the kitchenette to gather up some food for lunch. The mutant had been invaluable to their training in the past week, and while he still was mostly grumpy about having to "babysit" them, she could tell that he enjoyed their company…at least somewhat.
"We still have some pizza left," Jaune noted, rummaging around in the fridge.
"Great. Toss it in the microwave," Nora told him.
"Attention," Phyllis announced. "Incoming message from Tony Stark."
"Put it through on the main monitor, Phyllis," Jaune ordered as everyone gathered in the living room. Seconds later, Tony appeared.
"Hey, guys," he said. "I see you've fixed the house. The house you trashed right after I gave it to you."
"Ha, ha, Tony," Weiss responded dryly. "Send the bill to the Brotherhood in prison."
"Oh, lighten up a little, Weiss," Tony told her. "Just having a little fun."
"What is it, Tony?" Jaune asked. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no—it's actually some good news," he quickly said. "I just got word from S.H.I.E.L.D. They're taking in an old Kree ship. The pilot claims to have more refugees from Remnant."
Weiss froze. "Blake? And Pyrrha and Yang?"
"We don't know for sure who's there yet. Fury's putting them through decontamination protocols. All we know is that they're there."
Weiss' heart began to quicken. The rest of her missing friends could be here. On Earth. "Where are they?" she asked.
"On the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Don't worry, I've already gotten clearance to take you all there to pick them up."
"When do we leave?" Ren asked.
"Soon as you're ready. I'm up top with Steve and a Quinjet."
"Attention. Quinjet landing on landing pad," Phyllis reported.
"Thanks for the heads-up, Phyllis," Jaune commented. "Maybe bring that up sooner next time."
"Affirmative."
"What are we waiting for?" Nora asked. "Let's get over there!"
Weiss hesitated, looking back down the hallway. "You guys go," she said. "I'll be up in a second."
The other three exchanged looks, but headed for the elevator. Weiss, meanwhile, headed down the hallway before gently knocking on Ruby's door.
"Ruby?" she asked softly. No answer came from inside.
"Ruby, I…" She took a deep breath. "Tony called. We may have found Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha. He's going to take us to them." She paused. "Do you…want to come?"
Silence was all that greeted her. Weiss sighed. "Ruby…please. I think this will do you some good. Seeing your friends back, I mean."
But Ruby remained quiet. Weiss could almost picture her now: huddled under the covers of her bed, facing away from the door, fighting back tears of guilt and regret.
She bowed her head. "Okay, Ruby. You can…stay here. We'll be back later. There's pizza in the fridge when you want to eat." She sadly turned away and walked back down the hallway.
"Still not doing too well?" Weiss looked over to where Logan was sitting.
"I wish there was something more I could do for her," she told him. "But it's like nothing I'm saying is getting through."
"It aint easy living with something like what happened to her hanging over her head," he told her. "She still needs time to process all this."
"Will you—"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll keep an eye on her while you're gone."
Weiss smiled. "Thanks, Logan."
"No problem, kid."
Weiss turned around and headed up the elevator to the landing pad. When she boarded the Quinjet, she said, "Okay. Let's go see our friends."
S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier—November 1st
Pyrrha sat in the infirmary on what was apparently called the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Upon their arrival, agents had directed her, Blake, and Chris through multiple levels of decontamination that included radiation checks, physicals, and screenings to make sure that none of them were really shapeshifting aliens known as Skrulls. They had even confiscated her armor and the broken pieces of her weapon to make sure there weren't any harmful microbes attached to them.
"They certainly take their security seriously here," Pyrrha thought, tugging slightly on the simple t-shirt and blue jeans that they had given her following her decontamination shower. Blake had been given similar clothes, and was sitting on the medical bed next to hers. She couldn't blame them for taking precautions though; from the stories that Chris had told on the long ride to Earth, the galaxy was a wildly dangerous place.
The door opened and a green haired woman in sunglasses entered. "Miss Belladonna, Miss Nikos," she said, "I'm Special Agent Abigail Brand. I'm here to ask you a few questions."
"What kind of questions?" Pyrrha asked.
"The kind that pertain to worldwide security." Brand took out some sort of data pad. "You claim to have come from the world known as Remnant, correct?"
"That's right," Pyrrha confirmed.
"And after the attack from the villain known as Ultron, what happened?"
"We…ended up on a world called Sakaar," Pyrrha explained. "We were forced into gladiatorial battles to the death by the Grandmaster."
"So I've gathered." Brand turned the data pad around, showing the face of a huge, green skinned man with black hair. "Have you had any contact with this man?"
The two girls shook their hands. "Who is that?" Blake asked.
"That is the Hulk. He's a very dangerous man rumored to be still hiding on Earth," Brand explained. "Are you sure you haven't seen him?"
"I've heard the name," Pyrrha admitted. "But I've never seen him or spoken to him before."
"Very well." Brand turned the data pad aside again. "Miss Belladonna, I understand that you spent some time with the Brotherhood of the Badoon before being sold to the Grandmaster on Sakaar."
Blake paled slightly, her cat ears flattening. "I don't want to talk about it," she said quietly, pulling her knees up to her chest.
"Do you know if they injected you with any bio weapons that we may not have detected?"
Blake began to look nervous. "Please," she softly spoke. "I…can't talk about what happened." She unconsciously rubbed her arm again. Though much of the physical trauma from Blake's time as a captive of the Badoon, Pyrrha knew that the mental trauma still remained. Often on the ship, Pyrrha had seen her toss and turn in her sleep through obvious nightmares. It wasn't something that would easily be forgotten.
"Is this really necessary, Agent Brand?" Pyrrha asked.
The woman remained stone-faced. "Just doing my job. The last thing Earth needs is another galactic invasion."
"But what do the Badoon have to do with galactic invasion?" Pyrrha questioned.
"The Badoon are notorious for striking at moments of weakness. My job is to make sure that they or any other galactic threat don't get the chance to kidnap or kill anyone on Earth."
"No, I don't think they did anything like that," Blake told her. "They just…tortured me. Severely." She took a shuddering breath, her hands quivering.
"Fair enough."
The door to the infirmary opened and another man entered. This one seemed kinder, with brown hair and a small smile. "About finished, Agent Brand?" he asked.
Brand put her data pad aside. "If I have more questions, I'll be in contact." She walked out past the newcomer, who watched her go before going over to Pyrrha and Blake.
"Phil Coulson, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.," he introduced himself. "I'm here to escort you to the top deck."
"The top deck?" Pyrrha asked.
"That's right. Your friends should be touching down in a few minutes."
"Our friends?" Blake questioned, looking hopeful.
"Didn't they tell you?" Coulson smiled. "Some of your friends have been on Earth for the past month. We called them in."
"Jaune…" Pyrrha breathed. He had to be here.
"If you will follow me," Coulson gestured to the door. "I think it's high time you were reunited with them."
Jaune could hardly contain his excitement as the Quinjet touched down on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. There was a chance that Pyrrha had made her way to Earth, and possibly with Yang and Blake. "This could be it," he thought, squeezing his hands together tightly. "We could finally be reunited."
Of course, they would have a lot of explaining to do with Ruby not coming with them—especially if Yang was here as well. Jaune could only imagine her reaction when she found out how rough of a state her sister was in.
When the Quinjet boarding ramp landed, Jaune was the first one off. He quickly scanned the upper deck, looking for any familiar faces throughout a sea of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and workers. For a few minutes, he couldn't see anything.
Then, out from one of the hatches leading below deck came a familiar red-headed warrior. Jaune's breath caught in his throat upon seeing her. It was her. It was really her. "Pyrrha!"
Pyrrha's head whipped over in his direction. She gave out a relieved smile. "Jaune!" she called back.
He took off running, feeling Ren, Weiss, and Nora starting to run behind him. But he pulled ahead as Pyrrha also began running. The two met up in the center, with Jaune wrapping Pyrrha up in a hug.
"You're alive!" he cried. "You're here! You're okay!" He was fighting back tears, choking back sobs as he clutched her tightly.
He felt her arms close around him. "I'm okay, Jaune. I'm okay."
"Pyrrha!" Nora collided with the two of them, wrapping her own arms around them. Ren soon joined them, the four embracing in a tight group hug.
After a month of worry and fear, Team JNPR was finally back together.
"Blake!" Jaune pulled away slightly as Weiss moved past. He almost hadn't even noticed Blake, but she was there too, looking shy and standing off to the side. Weiss stopped in front of her and held her arms out. Blake hesitated, but slowly moved in, clutching Weiss tightly.
As Jaune watched them, he saw a haunted look in her eyes. She was on edge, nervous—maybe a little scared. Something had happened to her. Something bad.
"Ruby and Yang?" Pyrrha asked. "Are…they not here?"
Jaune took a deep breath. "Ruby's here. But she…well, she's not doing very well. Something happened last week. Something bad. It's a long story."
"What about Yang?"
"She's…not with you?"
Pyrrha shook her head. "And she's not here on Earth?"
Jaune sighed. "No. Which means she's still out there somewhere."
Pyrrha put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "If anyone could survive out there alone, it's Yang. In any case, it's good to see you again."
"Yeah!" Nora cheered. "Team JNPR is back together again!"
"We should get back to Remnant HQ," Ren suggested. "We will be able to properly catch up there."
"Remnant HQ?" Blake repeated.
"It's where we're staying while on Earth," Nora explained. "Sort of like our base of operations until we can find a way back to Remnant to kick Ultron's big metal butt."
"That sounds like a good idea," Pyrrha decided. "As soon as we get our gear back."
"What happened to your gear?" Jaune asked.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. took them to make sure they weren't contaminated."
"Pyrrha." A young man with a strange pendent moved through the agents, a box in his hands. "Fury told me to give these back to you and Blake."
Pyrrha smiled. "Thank you, Chris. These are my friends: Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Weiss."
Chris held a hand out. "Chris Powell. Or you can call me Darkhawk."
"How do you know Pyrrha?" Nora asked as he began shaking hands with them.
"We were trapped together on Sakaar," Pyrrha explained. "He's one of the reasons why Blake and I are still alive."
Chris handed her the box. "Everything checked out. Fury say's we're good to go."
"You're leaving?" Blake asked.
Chris nodded. "I've got some things to do, old friends to check up on." He took Pyrrha's hand and shook it. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Pyrrha. Whenever you're ready to take your world back from Ultron, give me a call and I'll come running."
"I appreciate that, Chris."
He gave her a smile. "See you around." Armor suddenly folded around him, transforming him into some sort of metal warrior with wings. He blasted off from the deck, leaving the others behind.
Everyone stared after him after he left. Then Nora commented, "You meet the craziest people when you're on your own."
Remnant HQ—November 1st
"So…these Avengers just…gave you this entire place?" Pyrrha asked as the six Remnantians exited the lift back into the living room of Remnant HQ.
"It was better than having a bunch of kids hanging around the home of the top superhero team in the world," Nora commented. "Besides, here we make our own rules—as long as Old Man Logan approves."
"Who is that?" Blake questioned.
"The guy that's keeping an eye on us," Jaune explained. "He's a mutant that—" He stopped. "Boy, there's a lot to catch you up on about how things work on Earth."
"Speaking of Logan," Ren spoke up. "Where is he?"
Weiss looked around and saw that Logan was indeed gone. "Phyllis, where's Logan?" she asked.
"I am sorry, but he is not on the base," Phyllis reported. "He and Miss Rose left some time ago."
"Who was that?" Blake asked.
"The base's AI," Jaune explained. "A computer program that designed to give us support and information. Who can also be a real pain sometimes."
"I wonder where Logan's taking Ruby," Nora said.
"What exactly happened to her?" Blake asked. "You said that she wasn't doing very well?"
"Yeah…" Jaune slowly sat down in one of the chairs. "A week ago, we encountered a villain named Mesmero. He had the ability to control people's minds. He…used this ability on Ruby."
Pyrrha's eyes widened in shock, while Blake's cat ears flattened in sadness and understanding. "What did…he make her do?" she asked softly.
"She stabbed me," Weiss admitted, instinctively moving a hand over the spot where she had been impaled. "I was trying to get Mesmero, and he made her do it. I would've died if it hadn't been for Jaune."
"Jaune?" Pyrrha turned to look at him.
He turned red. "Yeah, uh…I unlocked my Semblance."
"Really? That's great news, Jaune."
"Yeah…just in the nick of time too. I was able to amplify her Aura so she could heal herself."
"We're calling it Aura Amp," Nora quipped.
Jaune smiled nervously. "Lucky I have a lot of Aura to share. You told me that once. If I hadn't done it…well…"
"Thanks for that image, Vomit Boy," Weiss said with a small eye roll.
It was Jaune's turn to roll his eyes. "Oh, we're doing nickname throwbacks now?"
"I mean, the Ice Queen seems to like it," Nora said with a grin. Weiss shot her a dirty look in response.
"I thought we agreed that we weren't going to call me that again," she said.
"Come on, it's a cool name when you think about it," Nora insisted. "You could use that as your hero name!"
"Nora, please," Weiss told her. "I think we can come up with something better than 'Ice Queen.'"
"Hero name?" Blake repeated.
"While we are stuck on Earth, we have decided to assist the heroes in fighting their villains," Ren explained. "Most of these heroes have codenames they go by. Nora has been trying to…decide our names for us."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Blake looked around. "And you all agreed to this?"
"I mean, there's not really anything else we can do," Weiss admitted. "We don't have a way back to Remnant, and we don't have a way to stop Ultron. The only thing we can do is help the people of this world fight against the people that want to tear it apart. And if we have to buy into this "superhero" notion to do so, well…it's better than sitting around doing nothing. Especially with how powerful some of these villains are."
"Yeah, Ren and I got captured by this evil dictator from another country," Nora piped in. "It took all of the Avengers to get us out of there, and Doom wasn't even defeated in the end."
"What about you two?" Jaune asked. "Where did you end up?"
Pyrrha looked down. "The planet Sakaar," she answered. "We were forced to compete in gladiatorial matches to survive."
"Fighting others just so you could live?" Ren shook his head. "That is dark."
"At least you made it out in one piece," Weiss told her.
"Yes. But not without…sacrifices." Pyrrha reached into the box and pulled out the broken remains of Miló and the completely dented Akoúo̱.
"Ah, don't worry, Pyrrha," Nora told her. "We can get that fixed in no time! Same with your weapon, Blake."
Blake brushed her hair back. "I…don't have Gambol Shroud anymore. I lost it."
"You lost your weapon?" Weiss gasped.
Blake hung her head. "I…didn't start on Sakaar," she admitted. "I was…imprisoned. Enslaved. By unspeakable monsters." She reached into the box and pulled out two small sickles attached to chains. "These are all I have now."
"I'm so sorry, Blake." Weiss put a hand on her shoulder.
"At any rate, we will have to modify your weapon when we make repairs," Ren said to Pyrrha. "Dust does not function here. If you want to be able to use ranged attacks, we will need to make those modifications."
Pyrrha nodded. "Show me where to go."
"Uh, guys?" Juane was standing up, crossing the room to the window. Weiss followed his gaze and saw that the sky was darkening. Darkening far too quickly. As she joined him at the window, she saw lightning beginning to flash in the sky.
"What's going on?" Blake asked.
"That's not normal weather here," Jaune warned. "Something's wrong."
Suddenly, something opened within the sky. Something big that crackled with electricity. As Weiss watched, dozens if not hundreds of insectoid like creatures began descending from the sky.
"What are those?" Nora asked.
"Alert! Alert!" Phyllis announced as alarms within the building began to blare. "Negative Zone energy detected!"
"Negative Zone?" Blake asked. "What's that?"
"My guess? Trouble." Jaune started for the lift. "Come on, guys. Let's get out there and see what we can do to help."
As everyone started running for the lift, Weiss stopped briefly, looking back down the hallway. "Oh, Ruby," she thought. "Wherever you are…I hope you're safe."
Way back during the Doctor Doom arc, I alluded to some potential trouble going on involving the Negative Zone. Well...that trouble is finally spilling out into the world. That's right-it's time for an arc involving the Negative Zone and all the wonderful, murderous creatures that live within! Expect major carnage-or should I say clobberin-to follow.
But hey-Pyrrha and Blake are finally on Earth! Meaning Yang's the last one out there. But don't worry! She'll find her way to Earth...eventually.
Hoped you enjoyed the cameos from Agent Coulson and Abigail Brand. I certainly did.
So, where did Ruby go, you ask? You'll find out next chapter to see what she and Logan were up to while the others were off on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellcarrier.
We also get to start seeing some potential superhero name ideas for the RWBY characters. I'm definitely putting in a lot of time trying to come up with some good ones, and I hope I do a good job with them.
But anywho, that's all from me. Until next time, this is Guest 1138, signing off.