Author's Note:

Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter for Earth's Mightiest Huntsmen! But first, let's answer some reviews!

metroplex07: To answer your questions, I do have plans for Avengers Academy. I'm definitely trying to think of a good way to bring in Blade as well. As for what's going on in Remnant right now, there is a story arc planned for that, but it won't be for a while.

triscythe59: Very true. But as you will see, Professor X will currently be unavailable.

SuperSaiyanFever: Yeah, these characters have been through a lot in just a few weeks. And yes, I do approve of your being able to work in the Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes theme there.

Blackmetalzane22: My personal favorite is Prime, though Beast Wars and Cybertron are also in my top three. The official birthday for this story is on the 15th, so it's coming up pretty quickly here.

Thank you all for your continued support. Now, let's get back to the action.

Avengers Mansion—November 2nd

Steve watched from the observation room as Tony stuck a helmet on Yang's head to scan her mind. The moment that he had learned that the last refugee from Remnant had not only arrived on Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy, but had lost her memory, he had brought all the Remnantians back to the mansion to give her a medical checkup. While most of them were waiting anxiously upstairs, Ruby was in the room, hovering behind Doctor Foster as she looked over her test results.

It was hard to believe that the girl had been able to find her way to Earth with the Guardians at the exact right moment that they had been needed. But Steve knew that these things tended to happen a lot. And if it meant that the Remnantian refugees were all finally together again, so much the better.

"Captain Rogers," F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced. "Peter Quill has arrived."

"Send him down," Steve told her.

"Very well."

A few seconds later, Star-Lord arrived. "Hey, Captain," he greeted.

Steve nodded. "Quill. How's your ship?"

"A little banged up. But nothing a few days of repair won't fix. Fury's letting us use the Helicarrier. While we're here, we're also helping to help clean up the city."

"Good to know." Steve paused. "We tried contacting you about the Remnantians over a month ago and never heard back. Why didn't you say anything when you let Yang join the team?"

"I looked into that," Star-Lord answered. "Turns out, a certain raccoon blocked any transmissions from Earth. We only knew about the Annihilation Wave attacking because the signals designed to warn us of any Negative Zone incursion run on a different frequency."

Steve rubbed his forehead. "Of course it was Rocket."

"For some reason, he really doesn't like Earth." Star-Lord turned back to the window. "How's she doing?"

"Physically, she's perfectly fine," Steve answered. "But mentally…well, we're still trying to figure out what exactly is blocking her memories. Did she…say anything at all?"

Star-Lord shook his head. "She never remembered anything about herself. All she knew was her name. She mentioned having visions of a girl with silver eyes…which I guess turned out to be—"

"Her sister," Steve finished, looking back down into the room. "Some things can't be erased fully."

"Do we know how it happened?"

Steve put a hand against the glass. "Not yet. Hopefully, Tony can come up with a theory of how it happened…and how we can get it back."

"Anything yet?"

"Not yet," Tony repeated himself. "Please, Ruby—be patient. These scans can only go so fast."

"How fast, exactly?" Yang asked. "I don't want to be stuck here all day."

"Do you want your memories back or not?"

Yang let out a slight huff, but relented, leaning back in the medical bed as the helmet on her head continued to scan her brain.

Ruby paced over to Dr. Foster. "Is she alright?"

"She's fine," Dr. Foster answered gently. "No spaceborne illnesses or severe injuries from her time with the Guardians. She's in perfect health."

"Except she doesn't remember anything about who she is or where she comes from." Ruby's hands trembled slightly. "How is that possible?"

"Calm down, Ruby," Tony told her. "Just give me a chance to finish my scans and then I'll have more information."

"Why don't you sit down?" Dr. Foster suggested, motioning to a nearby chair. "You're going to work yourself over half to death if you keep pacing like that."

Reluctantly, Ruby plopped down in the chair, though her mind was still racing fast. Yang was back. At long last, she was finally back with her. But with her lost memories, she felt farther away than ever before. Yang had looked her dead in the eyes and hadn't even known her name. Any of their names. To her, they were all strangers.

And that was the worst part of this. Personality wise, Yang was still herself. Still the same tough, playful, confident girl from Remnant. But without her memories—without any knowledge of the world she came from, her friends, or her family—she was an entirely different person.

"At least she's in one piece," Ruby told herself quietly. That was good, at least. She didn't know what she would've done if Yang had been killed while gallivanting around the galaxy fighting space pirates. At least there was still a chance that she could get her memory back some other way. At least, Ruby hoped there was still a chance.

"The scan has been completed," F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced.

"Display results on the monitor, F.R.I.D.A.Y.," Tony ordered.

"Yes, sir." A visual of Yang's brain scan appeared on the nearby screen. "I cannot find any signs of physical trauma to Miss Xiao Long's head that would cause total amnesia. Nor can I find any parasites or nanites embedded in her brain. At the moment, I am unsure of how this amnesia occurred."

"In other words, this was completely useless." Yang took the helmet off and tossed it aside.

"Not necessarily." Tony stroked his chin for a moment before turning to Ruby. "Walk me through that fight you and your friends had with Ultron. Every detail. Tell me exactly what happened to Yang."

Ruby took a deep breath, trying hard to the events of that fight. "We were…trying our hardest," she said slowly. "But our weapons didn't even scratch his armor. He…had me by the throat. He was going to shoot me with a laser from his head. But Yang…she knocked me aside. She took the blast meant for me."

"I did?" Yang asked, looking confused.

"But it was a laser from his head," Tony asked, "You're sure of it?"

Ruby nodded. "The beam knocked her out cold."

Tony snapped his fingers. "That's it. I think I know what happened. F.R.I.D.A.Y., bring up File 591968-E on the monitor."

"Yes, Sir." A moment later, an image appeared on the screen. It was Ultron—or rather, an inside look of his head and its inner workings. One part of it was flashing red as text scrolled across the screen.

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

"The Encephalo-beam," Tony explained. "One of Ultron's most diabolical weapons. Rather than attack the body, it attacks the mind. I think that's what caused her amnesia."

"How do we fix this?" Ruby asked. "Can we call Professor Xavier?"

"I wish we could," Tony admitted. "He'd be able to fix this in seconds. Unfortunately, he was on Muir Island when the Annihilation Wave hit. With S.H.I.E.L.D. keeping New York locked down until more repairs are made and they're sure there are no more of Annihilus' minions left alive, it'll be at least a week before he can get back here."

"Can you make something that can make her remember who she is?"

He rubbed his chin again. "It's possible. Give me a few days and let me see what I can come up with. Weapons that can affect the mind are tricky to make a fix for though. It might be better to just wait until Xavier can get back to undo the damage done."

"So…she's going to have to deal with this amnesia for a while longer?" Ruby asked quietly.

"It can't be helped," Tony admitted. "I'm sorry Ruby. But I'm sure she can handle it for a few more days."

"You know I'm still in the room, right?" Yang spoke up suddenly. "Still looking for a way to quickly get these memories back."

"Be thankful that losing your memories was the only thing that happened to you," Tony told her in response. "The Encephalo-beam can also put you in a coma, or it can let him take control of your mind."

Ruby flinched at the prospect of Yang being under Ultron's control. As someone who had been on the wrong end of mind control little more than a week ago, she knew exactly how brutal it could be.

"Although…" Tony thought about it for a moment. "Maybe Yang's memory can be jarred through enough mental stimulation."

Ruby tilted her head. "Huh?"

He sighed. "Tell her about herself. Her life, her past adventures with you and your team—everything you can. With enough stories…maybe her memory can come back on its own."

"Really?"

"It's possible. Not a guarantee…but it's possible."

"Then let's do it." Ruby grabbed Yang by the hand and began to drag her from the room.

"Easy there, Silver Eyes," Yang warned slightly.

"I'm not sure leaving—" Dr. Foster tried to say.

"Let them go, Jane," Tony told her. "She needs this. They both do. Besides, it's pretty clear that they're both completely fine physically."

Dr. Foster sighed. "Fine. Go."

Weiss and the others stood up as Ruby and Yang entered the lounge. "Well?" she asked. "What's wrong with her?"

"Tony thinks that Yang was affected by a special weapon from Ultron," Ruby announced. "An Encephalo-beam. It's responsible for her amnesia."

"Can we call that Professor X guy and have him help?" Nora asked.

"Apparently, that guy, whoever he is, is on some island and can't get here," Yang explained.

"Tony's going to try to come up with a tech solution," Ruby went on. "But he also said that we might be able to jog her memory by telling her about herself."

"I have to admit I'm pretty excited," Yang admitted. "I've been trying to remember who I am for weeks." She then frowned. "I'm not some kind of huge jerk, am I?"

"Are you kidding?" Nora laughed. "You're absolutely awesome!"

Yang grinned. "That's good to know."

"We should head back to Remnant HQ," Jaune suggested. "It's probably better to do this there."

"Phyllis is sending a Quinjet for us," Pyrrha added. "She can fly it back to the base for us."

"Or I could fly us back," Ruby piped in.

"I think we'd like to make it back home without the Quinjet bursting into flames," Weiss told her.

"Come on, I'm not that bad!" she protested.

Weiss rolled her eyes slightly. "Right. Sure you're not, Ruby."

"Well I hope you guys have some good food there," Yang said. "I'm starving."

"You and me both," Nora agreed. "We barely had any time for breakfast before we had to go battle interdimensional monsters!"

"Lead the way then."

As the group filed out, Weiss strayed to the back, walking side by side with Ruby. "You're certainly in a better mood than you have been ever since we left Remnant," she noted.

Ruby flashed a smile. "We're finally back together, Weiss. Team RWBY is back together again. Once we get Yang's memory back, we'll be ready to get back to Remnant as soon as the Avengers find a way to get us there."

Weiss frowned slightly. "Hey…can I ask you something?" she asked.

"What's wrong, Weiss?" Ruby asked, looking concerned.

"It's just…after seeing the destruction the Annihilation Wave caused to this city…" Weiss hesitated. "…how much do you think is going to be left when we get back there?"

Ruby looked down. It was a topic that she didn't really like to think about. "I don't know," she admitted. "But whatever's going on there, whatever's left—there's still going to be something worth saving. Something worth fighting for. Our friends, our families—whoever's still left. That's what we're fighting for even here, on Earth. We must fight for them, so that we can help save everyone when we finally find a way home."

Weiss stared at her for a moment. "You've been listening to way too many of Captain America's motivational speeches."

Ruby laughed awkwardly. "He's really good at making them."

Weiss rolled her eyes playfully. "Do you really think getting Yang's memory back will be as easier as just…talking to her?"

Ruby shrugged. "We have to try something. We're so close to having the team back together again. I'm not going to quit now."

"No one's talking about quitting," Weiss told her. "Just…don't get your hopes up for this to work, Ruby. If it doesn't, we can just wait for Professor Xavier to get back to take care of this."

"I know, Weiss," Ruby said back. "But we're going to try this. The sooner we can get Yang's memories back, the better."

Remnant HQ—November 2nd

Yang whistled slightly as she entered the building apparently called 'Remnant HQ.' "Nice place," she commented.

"Tony gave it to us for a place to stay and operate out of while we're on Earth," the silver-eyed girl, Ruby, explained.

"And Tony was…"

"The bearded man in the infirmary."

"Ah." Yang plopped down in the nearest chair. "So…who exactly am I?"

The other teens exchanged looks with one another. "Well…" Ruby began after a moment. "Your name is Yang Xiao Long. Your father—well, our father—is Taiyang Xiao Long. Your mother is Raven Branwen, though…she left a long time ago. We grew up on the island of Patch, off the coast of Vale."

"Vale?"

"One of the four nations of Remnant," the girl in white, Weiss, spoke up. "Vale, Atlas, Mistral, and Vacuo."

"You and I both trained to become huntresses," Ruby went on. "so we can help save people from the Grimm."

"The Grimm?" Yang repeated. "What's the Grimm?"

"Scary soulless monsters," the girl with the war hammer, Nora, explained. "We kicked their butts all the time back on Remnant."

Yang frowned. "Are they, like, wolves with red eyes?"

"They can be." Weiss paused. "Do you remember them?"

She shrugged. "I had a nightmare about a black wolf with red eyes a few weeks ago."

"That was probably your repressed memories trying to surface," Ren, the quiet boy with black hair, guessed.

Yang nodded. "What else? How did we all meet?"

"Beacon Academy," Ruby explained. "It's a school for huntsmen and huntresses in training. We're put into teams of four while we're there. You, me, Weiss, and Blake all formed Team RWBY."

"RWBY?" Yang repeated. "Isn't that your name?"

"Well…yeah, it is."

"The team names are made up of the first letters of our first names," Jaune, the golden-haired boy, told her. "Usually they invoke colors as well."

"Oh, so it wasn't just a self-serving name?" Yang asked.

Ruby laughed awkwardly.

"So, we all went to this academy, formed a team, and learned to fight monsters," Yang summarized. "What about these invisible shields around us?"

"You mean our Auras?" Weiss asked. "They're basically a…manifestation of our souls. We can control them to increase the force of our attacks, block attacks against us, and power our Semblances."

"Semblances?"

"They're like a superpower that we all have," Nora piped in. "For example, I can use electricity to make myself stronger, Ruby can go super-fast, and Pyrrha can control metal."

"Sweet," Yang commented, cracking a smile. "What's my Semblance?"

"You can absorb kinetic energy to get stronger," Blake, the girl with cat ears, told her.

"And then your hair catches on fire and everything explodes around you," Nora added. "It's awesome!"

"So that's why my hair was glowing like crazy when I fought Titus," Yang commented.

"Who's Titus?" Nora asked.

"An alien cat mercenary who tried to blow up a sun. I kicked his ass."

Nora let out a laugh. "Sounds like you had some crazy adventures up in space."

"Oh, you have no idea," Yang agreed. "There are some things out there that are completely terrifying. Which makes them even more fun to fight."

"Yep," Weiss said after a moment. "Same old Yang. Always ready for a fight."

Yang smirked. "So, we all trained at this Beacon Academy in Vale on Remnant. How did we all get to Earth?"

The smiles around the room faded. "We…were attacked," Ruby admitted quietly. "He called himself Ultron. He's an android from Earth. He got to Remnant somehow and started killing…well, everything."

"We fought him," Blake added. "Or at least we tried to. He took us all down in minutes. Not even Pyrrha's Semblance worked on him."

"You're saying that we all went down?" Yang asked.

"It wasn't even close," Jaune admitted. "None of our weapons could even scratch him. We would've died if it hadn't been for Ruby."

"Really?" Yang looked at Ruby. "What did you do, exactly?"

Ruby blushed. "I, uh…smashed some sort of gem that he had. After that, we all ended up in places around the galaxy. Nora, Ren, and I ended up on Earth, Jaune went to Asgard, Weiss went to Jotunheim, Blake and Pyrrha were on Sakaar, and you, apparently, wound up somewhere else in the galaxy."

Yang looked down, flexing her fingers slightly. "The first thing I remember was waking up on Knowhere. Everything else is a blank."

"I'm sorry, but you woke up nowhere?" Nora asked.

"No—Knowhere," Yang explained. "It's a planet with lots of criminals and thugs. I got a job as a bouncer for a bar run by a war hero from the Annihilation War."

"Sounds like something you would do," Weiss commented. "Hang out at a bar and beat up anyone that causes trouble."

"So…is any of this ringing a bell at all?" Nora asked Yang. "Remember anything?"

Yang closed her eyes, trying to think. Trying to remember something—anything—about her past with all this new information. But nothing came to mind. No memories, no flashes of the past events that her apparent friends had explained to her—nothing. "No," she admitted. "I'm sorry—but none of what you said sounds familiar."

She could tell by the way Ruby's face fell that she was crushed by this revelation. But there was nothing she could do about it. She had been trying and trying to remember her past for weeks, but nothing had helped. Her memories were still lost to her.

It frustrated her immensely, especially now that she had found the friends and family she didn't even know she had. They were trying to help her remember as best they could, but even their prompting wasn't helping.

"That's okay, Yang," Nora eventually spoke up. "We'll keep trying. And if all else fails, we know a psychic that can easily get your memories back."

"That Professor Xavier guy?"

"That's him. He was able to remove some mind control off a friend of ours on Earth. He can make your memories come back in a snap."

"Let's hope so," Yang agreed. "You have no idea how frustrating it is to not know who you are or where you come from."

She stood up. "Now, what does this planet have to offer in terms of food? Hopefully it's better than some of the food I've seen in the far reaches of space."

As night began to fall, Ruby sat on the roof, watching the sun slowly set on the horizon. The others were downstairs preparing dinner for everyone, which had allowed her to quietly sneak up to have a moment alone.

Yang was already settling in well with everyone, despite lacking her memories. It was like she was the same old person. But without any memory of who she was, who Ruby was…it still felt like a hollow victory.

She let out a sigh, tucking her knees against her chest. She had hoped that she would be reunited with Yang someday after the group's escape from Remnant. But this…this wasn't anything like she had expected. Yes, her sister seemed relatively unchanged from what she had been on Remnant, but without her memories, she felt like a stranger. Learning things that she should know all over again was difficult to watch, especially when they did nothing to jog her memory.

The next few days were going to be tough, Ruby knew. But she knew she had to stay strong. She didn't want to shut down again like she had been doing the past week. Not while Yang was here.

"Figured you were up here." Ruby jumped, whirling around to see Logan leaning against the elevator doors.

"Oh—Logan!" She quickly composed herself. "I didn't know you were back."

"Just got back." Logan walked forward, taking a seat on the roof next to Ruby. "Saw that your sister's back."

She nodded. "Almost. She doesn't remember anything."

"So I heard."

"I…don't know what to do, Logan," she admitted. "She acts the same, but she doesn't know any of us."

"Take it easy, kid," Logan told her. "If she don't get her memory back on her own, the Professor will help her get it back once he gets back from Muir Island."

"I know," Ruby told him. "I just…hate seeing her like this. I can't confide in her at all while she doesn't even know me."

"Well, I wouldn't say that's fully true."

Ruby looked at him. "What do you mean?"

Logan leaned forward, looking out at the sunset. "The way I hear it, she had hallucinations of you while up in space."

"So?"

He offered a small smile. "So Ultron couldn't erase everything in her head."

Ruby thought about that for a moment. "I…guess you're right."

Logan nodded slightly. "As someone who knows exactly what it's like to have someone try to wipe away your past…nothing's ever truly gone. She clung onto your face, your image. Out of everyone and everything Yang knew, she chose to cling onto you. Means that you mean a great deal to her."

Ruby smiled softly. "She's…always been there for me. She always was there to protect me. Especially after Mom died."

"Some bonds can never be broken, no matter how hard people try," Logan went on comfortingly. "Especially the bonds of family. Not just family by blood—but the family you make with others. Like you and your team."

She nodded slightly at his words. "Now that we're all back together again…do you think that we can find our way back to Remnant and stop Ultron?"

Logan shrugged. "Can't say for sure on that one, kid. But you've got some of the smartest minds on the planet working on a way to get you home. I wouldn't bet against them. And when they do find a way for you kids to get back home, they'll be right there with you to kill Ultron."

"Yeah, I know," Ruby said, looking down slightly. "Will it be enough?"

"Gotta have hope that it will be, kid. Ultron's one tough customer, but he aint invincible. The Avengers have managed to force him off Earth before. If they can beat him here, they can beat him on Remnant. Count on that."

Ruby took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "And while we're here on Earth…we'll be able to help out where we can."

Logan smiled slightly. "Earth aint perfect, but at least it's got good people protecting it. Even people from other worlds like you."

He held a hand out to her. "We're lucky to have people like you, Ruby Rose."

Ruby took his hand and shook it. "I'm just glad that we're being accepted by the heroes of this world," she said. "We may be mostly experienced with fighting the Grimm…but at least we can still make a difference here."

He nodded in agreement before standing up. "Come on, kid. I think dinner's just about ready."

Ruby stood up as well. "I'm right behind you."

Elsewhere

"Are you sure about this, Mack?"

Mack flashed the others an evil grin. "While the cops and heroes are busy focused on rebuilding the city, we can sneak around this part and loot all we want. Aint nobody going to stop us."

He pulled the van to a stop outside a jewelry store. "Greg, Crankford—let's go." He got out and approached the store, followed closely by his two buddies.

Crankford knelt down in front of the door and produced a lockpick. "Let's see now," he said, beginning to pick the lock.

"I don't like this," Greg said, nervously holding his crowbar. "I feel like we're being watched.

"You worry too much," Mack scolded him. "Aint nobody around here to stop us."

"Yeah," Crankford agreed. "This'll be easy pickings."

Greg suddenly turned towards a nearby alley. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Mack asked.

"I thought I heard something from that alley."

"Probably just a cat or something," Crankford commented. "Aint nobody left in this part of town."

"It sounded bigger than a cat."

"A raccoon then."

Crash! Something banged against the dumpster in the alley, startling all three of the looters.

"Okay, that I heard," Crankford said, dropping his lockpick and pulling out a flashlight. He clicked it on and shined it down the alley, illuminating everything in it. However, there wasn't any sign of anything living.

"Where'd it go?" Greg asked.

"Forget it," Mack ordered. "Get back to working on that lock."

"Uh, boss?" Crankford began to back away slowly, fear evident in his face.

"What?!" Mack turned back around to the alley and froze.

A creature was lumbering down it towards them. It looked like a wolf, but it was unlike any wolf he had ever seen. It walked on its hind legs, and it looked extremely muscular. Its face was covered in a bone white mask with red eyes, and its arms, back, and knees were covered in bone spikes.

"What the fuck," he breathed, drawing his pistol as the creature began to get closer. He began shooting, but the bullets didn't seem to do anything to it. As the shots hit, they seemed to only get the creature mad.

With a roar, it lunged forward, landing in front of Greg and slashing him across the chest. The man didn't even have time to scream before he was cut in half. Crankford, panicking, turned around and fled, only to run straight into another one of the creatures. He let out a cry of terror before this beast grabbed him by the throat in its maw and bit down hard.

Mack cursed repeatedly, firing the last of his bullets at the creatures. "No—stay away!" he yelled. "Stay away!"

The creature in front of him lunged at him, claws still tipped with blood. And that was the last thing that Mack saw before the beast sliced his face open.

Yep, you read that right. After over thirty chapters...the Grimm are back! And on Earth...somehow. How is that possible? Where did they come from? And how long before someone notices that they're there? All these answers will be answered within the next few chapters.

When I first started this story and came up with the idea of Yang's amnesia, I was trying to find a good way to explain it. I didn't really want to use a traumatic head injury. I wanted to do something different. And then I stumbled upon Ultron's Encephalo-beam, and knew instantly that I was going to use it. Sure, it was mostly used to control Ultron's enemies, but it's not too much of a stretch for it to have this effect too. As for how Yang will get her memory back, well, I can only delay it for so long, given the abundance of psychics on Earth. But trust me-I think y'all will like what I've come up with in the end.

I've also been considering doing a few one-shots for this story-small chapters/stories that don't really have any bearing on the main plot, but are still fun stories to tell. This would more than likely include "What If...?" style stories despite my dislike of multiverse stuff at the moment. I haven't really fully decided on if this is something I should do or not, so let me know in the poll that should be now live on my profile what you think. If there's enough reader interest, then I'll heavily consider doing it.

But anywho, that's all from me. Until next time, this is Guest 1138, signing off.