Remnants Mightiest Heroes!
Chapter 9: The Secret Warriors
[~][~]
New York
The peaceful silence of the night is interrupted by the sound of broken walls and movement.
"Grab what you can and wreck the place!" Dirk Garthwaite, AKA the Wrecker, shouted to his partners, The Wrecking Crew. He is dressed in his green suit and a purple ski mask. In his left hand, he held a four-foot-long cast iron crowbar.
They are in the process of robbing a bank. Eliot Franklin, AKA Thunderball, sat at the wheel of a cargo truck, ready to make the getaway as soon as the police arrive. Brian Calvshy and Henry Camp, AKA Piledriver and Bulldozer respectively, are loading bags of money into the truck.
"That's the last of em," Piledriver announced as he loaded the last bag. "Now let's mess the place."
"About time!" Bulldozer pounded his fists together. "We gotta leave our callin card somehow!"
"Took the words out of my mouth," The Wrecker nodded. "He turned to Thunderball. "Come on out!" It's wrecking time!"
"Three days out of the raft and what are you guys doing? Robbing a bank in the middle of the night! Are you kidding me?"
The Wrecking Crew looked up to see Ghost-Spider crouching on top of the building. Despite the mask, she showed a bored expression.
"I mean, can't you guys think of something more original for a change?" She asked. "Mr. Negative robbed this bank three days ago!"
"Ghost-Spider!" The Wrecker shouted. His crew gathered around him. Thunderball got out of the truck and pressed a button on his wrist, deploying a ball on-chain. "You plan on stopping us?"
"Didn't even take you a second," Ghost-Spider commented. "I was worried most of you are only meatheads."
"Hey!" Thunderball shouted in protest.
"Ignore her," The Wrecker ordered. He hefted his crowbar at her. "You think you can defeat us? Your webs and quips are like flies to the Wrecking Crew, bug. We've gone toe-to-toe with Thor! You're just dead meat waitin'—"
A strand of web suddenly attached itself to his crowbar. With her spider strength, Ghost-Spider yanked it out of his hands and hurled it into the air. As it flew, the Wrecker felt his strength leave him. He can also tell that his crew is feeling the same thing. The Crowbar is the source of their strength after all.
"As much as I'd love to hear an evil speech, let's just get this over with."
With that, Ghost-Spider shot a web tether to the Wrecker's chest. She leaped off and pulled herself to him. Utilizing gravity, she spun in mid-air and slammed her heel to the side of The Wrecker's head. The blow is enough to render him unconscious.
"Why you little—!" Piledriver tried to punch her, but she backflipped and stuck herself on his back.
"Stick a pin in it, Piledriver," Ghost-Spider quipped. Then her spider-sense tingled. She leaped off him just in time to avoid Bulldozer, who crashed into Piledriver.
"Thank you for watching your buddies back, Bulldozer," Ghost-Spider quipped again as she fired web net onto them for restraint. "I was worried that I would be stuck doing it."
Then she ducked to avoid Thunderball's ball and chain. She had to admit, he's surprisingly strong without Wrecker boosting his strength, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to lift that thing. Thunderball grunted as he pulled it back and swung it over his head. Then he threw his weapon at her, to which she dodged again and grabbed it by the chain. Thunderball's eyes widened as he was pulled off the ground and spun in the air like a tetherball. Then, she let go to let him fly into a group of trash cans where he collapsed into unconsciousness.
"Strike and you're out, Thunderball," Ghost-Spider said as she tilted her head to the side. The Wreckers Crowbar zipped past her head and smashed into the ground in front of her.
"10 seconds straight, a new record," Ghost-Spider said. She surveyed the area and frowned. "But still no sign of him…yet."
She said the last part with both distaste and disappointment. Then she heard her phone ring. Ghost-Spider pulled out her phone and blanched at the caller ID.
DAD
"Oh, webs!" Ghost-Spider yelped as she shot a web to a building and begun web-swinging. She could hear the sirens of the police. "I'm almost late for curfew!"
"You're going to be late! Hey, and don't think I didn't notice you breaking curfew last night, eh?"
"Wha-who-where-how?!" Kamala Khan's head shot up from the table, which had been laying on the table next to a finished bowl of cereal. She was dressed in a denim vest over a dark grey hoodie with a yellow shirt. A red shalwar is wrapped around her neck along with a necklace with a yellow lightning bolt. A yellow bracelet is wrapped around her left wrist.
"Ok, ok, I'm going, Ammi," Kamala said as Muneeba Khan pushed her books into her hands and began guiding her to the door. "Not so much pushing."
"Beti, you need to get more sleep," Yusef Khan said as he came down the stairs. "Your studies must come first! Don't make me ground you from the fanfictions, too."
"Okay," Kamala said as she closed the door. Then she reopened it to stick her head back in, her shoulder-length dark-brown hair hanging down. "Wait. Writing them or reading them?"
"Both!"
Kamala meekly waved goodbye and closed the door. "Yikes. That is serious."
She began walking down the street. Last night, she had been on patrol and took a quick sandwich break. It was then somebody had the gall to rob it. She stopped it, but then she lost her sandwich and missed curfew…again. She made a mental note to finish all her studies before heading back to Wilson's Auto.
"Kamala!"
Kamala behind her to see a brown-haired girl her age running towards her. She wore a denim vest over a pink shirt and green cargo pants. On her wrist is a watch with an acorn icon. Kamala recognized her.
"Doreen?" Kamala asked as her best friend stopped in front of her to catch her breath. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought you would like some company," She said excitedly as she fell into step with her. "Also, so I can tell you the news!"
Then, they heard tiny chittering. A bulge within Doreen's clothes moved as a squirrel exited the neck of her shirt. It sat upon her shoulder and chirped and squeaked at Kamala. Around its neck is a pink collar with a silver tag.
"Tippy-Toe T. T-Toes!" Doreen chastised her furry companion. "I said I would tell her. We talked about this."
Tippy-Toe chirped sadly.
"So…what's going on?" Kamala finally asked.
"Okay, you see…" Doreen leaned in and whispered into her friends' ear so that nobody else would listen in. When she finished, Kamala's eyes widened.
"Are you serious?"
"Yep," Doreen said with a small op and an excited smile. "We're getting eight new members. All trained by the top dogs themselves! Though I don't know if they're joining us but whatever."
"That's exciting," Kamala admitted as they approached their school. "When do we meet them?"
"Where are we going to meet them is the question. Their coming to our school!" Doreen said, taking Kamala by surprise.
"Really?"
"Really!" Doreen nodded. Then her face scrunched up as if she remembered something. She put a finger to her chin. "No, wait! Seven of them are attending our school. One of them is going somewhere else."
"Another school? Where?"
Ruby didn't know what is worse: being possessed by an alien symbiote or this.
She stood before a pristine white building with blue windows. People, students, and teachers she assumed, entered the building. This is Horizon High, her new high school from here on out.
Despite fighting Grimm and supervillains, her nervousness drowned out the noise of traffic.
"Why am I the only one going?" Ruby asked herself. She is dressed in a red hoodie, black pants with matching boots, and a red book bag over her shoulder. She couldn't wear her favorite cloak because it's part of her costume. Not to mention it's now a target for many escapees looking for her.
She stared at the high school for a moment before the glass doors opened. A red-haired and mustached man walked out. He is dressed in a blue shirt and brown pants. He walked over to a still nervous Ruby with a friendly smile behind his spectacles.
"Ruby Rose I presume?" He asked.
"Um…yeah…" Ruby said nervously.
"I was afraid we scared you off," He chuckled. "Stark mentioned in his endorsement letter, and I quote, 'if she's not in the building, then she might be outside staring at it."
"Yeah, he got that right…" Ruby grumbled. Stark had been the reason that she even got into Horizon High. He said that she can cultivate her 'potential' here. To her utter horror, her friends had agreed.
"Well, allow me to introduce myself," The man said. "My name is Max Modell. I'm going to be your principal during your time at Horizon High."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Modell," Ruby said.
"Please. Just call me Max," Max said as he gestured her to follow her. As they walked toward the doors, Ruby took in the statue standing at the entrance. It featured a crouching man wearing a suit with web motifs. The white eyes stared straight ahead as if in constant vigilance.
"Who's that?" Ruby asked. Max followed her gaze and back.
"You must be new to town if you don't recognize Spider-Man."
"Spider-Man?" The name ringed a bell. "Isn't he that guy that J. Jonah Jameson has been yelling about? How he is a menace and all that?"
"I see you've been listening," Max said with a frown. "I'm surprised that the city let him post an electronic bulletin where he can yell his head off every day. I recommend checking what you hear, you may be surprised that some of his talk about him being a menace is just…well, talk. He's been running a smear campaign against him ever since he showed. He'd even go so far as accusing him of collaborating with the criminals he's put away."
"But why?" Ruby asked. "Did Spider-Man do something to him?"
"Not that we have heard of. But Spider-Man has done the city better than Jameson refuses to admit. Some of it happens to involve this school."
"So, he's the mascot?" Ruby surmised to which Max nodded. They entered the doors of Horizon.
"Allow me to express that we are proud to have you here at Horizon," Max said as they walked through the lobby. "Let me say that entering our school is no easy feat. To do so, you have to have a certain kind of intellect. An intellect that can solve equations like the ones sent to you yesterday."
"My head still hurts from that," Ruby groaned. During Bootcamp, they did a math class and Stark easily singled her out. Thanks to that, she had to do some equations. She remembered one of them explaining how moisture interacts with vibration.
"My apologies, but that's our entrance requirement," Max said. "Stark sent some samples of your work. I'm impressed with your safe landing foam and sonic disruptors. Though I am more interested in your mech shifting devices. I suppose that's the reason that you wanted to explore the field of nanotech?"
"It has a lot of potentials," Ruby said. In truth, she wanted to study nanotech so that she can improve their weapons. But he didn't need to know that. Though she might expand her horizons…
She almost laughed at that mental pun.
"We also provide students with personal labs," Max continued. "Here at Horizon, we make sure to provide our students with the equipment they need."
"Really?" Ruby perked up. That got her interest.
"You still need to purchase some of your materials of course," Max said. Ruby knew right away she had to get a job. "I could tell you the cool stuff we're working on, but I'd rather show them to you. So, let's start your orientation."
They arrived at what she assumed to be Max's office. He walked over to his desk and picked up a planner a few materials.
"Your student planner," Max explained as he handed it to Ruby. "You'll also find the schedule of your classes and special events. Also, a sheet on our safety drills and evacuations procedures. Please read them carefully."
"Okay."
"I've also arranged for a student to help you with the rest of your orientation," Max said as the door to admit a person. His eyes widened in surprise. "Jane Doe? I was expecting Gwen Stacy."
"She called in sick," Jane Doe replied. "She asked me to fill in for her."
"Oh…I see," Max said slowly. "I was hoping she can show her around."
"I'll wait outside," Jane said to Ruby. "Also, welcome to Horizon."
As she walked out of the office, Ruby noticed a troubled look on the principal's face.
"Is something wrong?"
"It's nothing," He said, but she can tell otherwise. "I'd get started on your orientation. I hope you don't want to be late for your first day."
"Right!" Ruby yelped and bolted out the door, faster than he could blink. She stopped before the surprised Jane Doe.
"Can we please get started on orientation down? I don't want to be late!"
Max allowed himself a smile. Things are about to get interesting with Horizon's new student.
"We have a few transfer students today. Please welcome Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long."
The three members of RWBY stood before their new classmates. Weiss wore a blue bolero over a white shirt with jeans, Blake wore a black shirt with similar colored pants, and a black ribbon tying her hair in a ponytail. Yang is wearing an open yellow hoodie with an orange shirt and brown pants.
There are murmurs about them inside the classroom.
"Whoa. They are total knockouts."
"Weiss Schnee? Doesn't that sound German?"
"You see how long that hair is?"
"Don't," Blake whispered to an incensed Wiess. "That will only make us stand out more."
"But it's so rude…"
"Please to meet you all," Yang waved with a smile. Weiss and Blake groaned as some of the boys swooning over her.
"Now then…" Their teacher said. "I think you'll find seats next to…"
"Over here, Ms. Doe"
All eyes turned to a nervous brown-haired girl. She gestured to two empty seats next to her and one behind her.
"There are seats right next to me."
"Thank you, Miss Khan. Miss Schnee, Miss Belladonna, and Miss Xiao Long you can make those your permanent seats. Please sit down."
The three Remnatians nodded and walked to where their classmate stood and sat down. As the teacher began her lesson, the student leaned forward.
"Hi, my name is Kamala Khan," She whispered. "Pleased to meet you Weiss, Blake, and Yang."
"Same to you Kamala," Weiss whispered back. She returned her attention to the teacher. From the corner of her eye, she could see that Kamala worked to say more.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering if you three are…you know, available during lunch?"
"We might be," Blake said. "Why?"
"It's that there are things we would like to talk about," Kamala said. "Did anyone tell you that you're meeting…umm…anyone with a double life?"
"Double life? What are you talking…oh?"
It was then that Weiss realized what she was talking about. Earlier this morning, when Clint told them that they are going to be meeting with a team of superheroes their age, led by an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D named 'Daisy Johnson'. He told them that some of them will be attending the same schools they are.
Kamala seemed to realize that they understood, and she nodded.
"I know a place where we can talk about. Here isn't good. Ms. Doe is like a despot when it comes to no talking in class."
"Ms. Khan, if you are done talking, perhaps you can solve this problem."
Kamala jumped at that. With a groan, she stood up and began to answer the equation on the board.
"…and this is the think tank," Jane said as she led Ruby into a laboratory with a wide window. Ruby's eyes scanned the tables with lab equipment and unfinished inventions. Students crowded around them with tools. "This is where everyone shows off the work they've been doing."
"This is cool," Ruby said. She turned to see a bulky robot with the number seven on its right side. Immediately her thought drifted towards Penny, her gyroid friend back on Remnant. But she pushed that aside. "What's that?"
"That's a security robot that Miles Morales made," Jane answered. "He's one of our classmates. If he was here, I do not doubt that it would've mistaken you as an intruder when activated. That is if he hasn't updated it."
"Okay," Ruby said. Something had been nagging at her mind. "Say, Jane, can I ask a question?"
"Sure."
"Is everything alright here?" Ruby asked. When Jane became confused, she clarified. "I noticed that Max looked down when…Gwen Stacy was it?"
"Yep," Jane nodded. "The Queen of Preparation. She's one of our top students, though…"
Jane had a frown on her face.
"Did something happen?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know if I should talk about this," Jane said uncertainly.
"I could find out anyway," She said hopefully.
"Okay, fine," Jane said in resignation. "A few days ago, three students went missing. Peter Parker, Anya Corazon, and Miles Morales. Nobody has seen or heard from them ever since, not even their parents. Max reported it to the police, but they haven't found any leads. What's worse was that Gwen hasn't been acting like herself."
"How?"
"She'd come home tired and dressed haphazardly. Then it becomes her coming to school late. Sometimes she would flat out skip it. Now she's called in sick for the first time. Max hasn't lowered her grades or worse expelled her yet. But if this keeps up, I don't think he can help her anymore."
"That sounds troublesome," Ruby said. She could see why Max wouldn't want to trouble her with this. He thought that it would scare her. Instead, she began to wonder what became of the missing students.
"Anyway, we'd better get to class."
"Oh, right!"
"So, your characters are from another planet, accused of something that you didn't do, and our possible new players for our campaign?"
The thirds of team RWBY and JNPR sat in the open area for lunch. Like their friends, Team JNPR enjoyed their time at this school. Pyrrha liked the fact that this school has no combat class so that the whole 'invincible girl' reputation doesn't happen again. Doreen and Kamala formally introduced themselves to them. They talked in Dungeons and Dragons talk to avoid attracting attention. Doreen had made some cookies to share with everyone. If Jaune didn't know any better, it was like he was talking to another Nora.
"These are great Doreen," Yang smacked, crumbs dribbling down her lips.
"Honestly," Weiss cringed at her friend's behavior. She refocused her attention back to the two people in front of them. "Yeah, that's about it."
"Nice to meet you all!" Doreen said enthusiastically. Then they heard a chirp, drawing their attention to a squirrel making its way down a tree.
"Tippy Toe!" Doreen scolded as the squirrel climbed on Doreen's shoulder and waved at them. "I know you're excited, but I told you to wait after school!"
"She's yours?" Nora asked. She reached out a finger and Tippy Toe grasped it with her tiny paw. "She's so cute!"
"She's not cute. She's adorable," Weiss cooed as she reached out to pet her. Tippy Toe scampered up her arm and settled on top of her head.
"If Tippy Toe can leave," Doreen said pointedly. "We need to go before somebody notices."
"What she means is that lunch is nearly over," Kamala said, checking her watch. "We can continue this after school Does you guys know where 'Wilsons Auto' is?"
"Wilsons Auto?" Blake asked. "Is it some kind of auto shop?"
"Yeah, but it is something more."
"Finally," Ruby groaned as she exited the building. "I thought that it would never end."
For most of her day, it was pretty boring for her. Aside from the things she saw students made, she had to listen to more lectures that made her headache. She almost wishes the teachers are Professor Port. But at least she got to see her laboratory, she couldn't wait to start building new weapons.
But for now, she had things to do.
"Alright, where to now?" Ruby asked herself as she approached a crosswalk. "I haven't met any of the superheroes my age. Should I head home?"
At that moment a purple sports car pulled up in front of her. The driver is a woman wearing a dark purple jacket over a black undershirt. Around her wrists are silver bracelets. She looked at Ruby.
"Need a lift?"
"Um…" Ruby didn't know what to say. She knew the first rule about strangers.
"Clint Barton may have mentioned me," The woman clarified. "Maybe me as the team leader."
"Oh, you're Daisy Johnson?" Ruby asked. "Or is it Agent Johnson?"
"Either one is fine," Daisy answered. She gestured to the passenger seat beside her. Ruby quickly walked to the other side and entered. Daisy drove off.
"So how was your day at school?" Daisy asked, trying to break the ice.
"It was mostly boring, but not entirely," Ruby said. "They had some interesting tech. Some of them happen to involve weapons."
"Sound like your forte," Daisy said. "I read your file. Before you ask, being an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D has its perks."
"Not to mention it's a long list of human rights violations," Ruby said. Both of them chuckled at that. They stopped at a traffic light.
"So," Daisy said, getting down to business. "What did Barton mention about us? The group I mean."
"Well," Ruby racked her head. "He mentioned that you guys are some kind of covert ops team. That the team is people that are our age. Well, some of them I think."
"Exactly," Daisy nodded as the traffic light turned green and she made a left turn. "We were covert a while back. Fury put us together during the Skrull Invasion."
"We read about that back at Bootcamp," Ruby said with a shudder. The Skrulls we're a race of shapeshifting aliens similar to the Chitauri. Like them, they prefer to sow discord and distrust among the worlds that they planned to conquer. Their skills of deception make the Chitauri look like amateurs. They split the Avengers and turned the rest of the superhero committed against each other. When they initiated the invasion, they had these 'Super-Skrulls' that nearly leveled Manhattan. She was glad that her planet wasn't invaded by them.
"Fury felt that that the entire community and S.H.I.E.L.D organization is compromised by Skrull sleeper agents," Daisy continued. "So, he decided to cultivate a potential pool of talent from which to selected agents. He made a list of potential agents that nobody knew about, ones that haven't been exposed or exploited. He created the caterpillars."
"Caterpillars?" Ruby asked. "Why a caterpillar?"
"When does anybody suspect a caterpillar might be an agent?" Daisy asked. Ruby hated being answered with a question, but she could see her point.
"Are you sure you should be telling me this?" Ruby asked.
"It's fine, I'm not a strict as Deputy Director Hill. Anyway, Fury divided us into three teams, White, Grey, and Black. Each led by somebody he can trust. Let me tell you, you'd be surprised at how many secret teams he has. Team Grey is an attack and response. Team Black is Recon. My team, Team White, is Fury's hammer."
Ruby snickered at this.
"What's so funny?"
"I just realized that your teams follow the color rule back on Remnant," Ruby said. "But you said that your team is Fury's hammer? Does that mean you fight at his side?"
"Yep, and I was their leader. Fury found me after an earthquake occurred. I would've been in a cell if it wasn't for him."
"Wait, you caused the earthquake?" Ruby asked. Her question was met with a frown, and she realized that she's overstepping her bounds.
"So, who was your team?" Ruby asked, trying to steer the conversation away from that topic. Daisy's expression cleared and she began listing them off.
"Slingshot, Stonewall, Eden Fesi, The Druid, Phobos, Hellfire and Sparkplug," At that last name, her face became a frown. "However, on a mission involving HYDRA, Hellfire turned out to be a traitor working for HYDRA. Thanks to him, we lost Phobos and Sparkplug. He died saving the rest of us and the world from a monster. It was long after that my team disbanded."
Ruby realized that she had brought up unpleasant memories. "I'm sorry," She apologized. "I didn't realize—"
"It's okay," Daisy cut her off. "It happened a long time ago. It's no good to dwell on the past and have a pity party."
Ruby didn't say anything for a few moments. "So, what happened to the other teams?"
"Last I heard, Team Grey died on a mission in an assault on a HYDRA base. As far as I know about Team Black, they're still up and kicking."
"Have you ever tried getting your team back together."
"Not exactly," Daisy said. "I got another team. Though I'm not sure if the name fits us anymore. Most of our activities are in public."
Then she parked the car to the side.
"We're here."
Ruby looked at their destination. They arrived at what looked like an auto shop. The sign above the door said closed. On top of the building is a sign that said 'Wilsons Auto
"Wilsons Auto?" Ruby asked, "Why here?"
"You'll see," Daisy said as they got out of the car. "You got your pendant with you?"
"I do," Ruby said, her fingers curling over a red pendant with a silver rose emblem. Her pendant is her costume in concealment form. With a press on the rose emblem, she can deploy her costume and put it on.
"Good, you'll need it," Daisy said as she opened the door and walked inside. Ruby raised a quizzical eyebrow before following. They entered an empty garage. Like any auto shop, it had a workbench with tools and stacks of spare tires.
"This is where we're meeting up with everybody?" Ruby asked. "Where are they?"
"Over here," Daisy waved for Ruby to stand next to her. "Smile for the camera."
"The what?"
Daisy pointed upwards where a camera had been positioned on the scaffolding. IT turned towards them and emitted a red light that scanned the bracelets of Daisy and Ruby's pendant. A white light flashed beneath them, stylized into an 'S' before it faded. Then, they felt the floor beneath them descend as a circular platform.
"A secret elevator?" Ruby asked. "There's a secret base underneath?"
"You got that right," Daisy said. "The Avengers bought the shop just for this. Your pendant acts as the key to the entrance. It would be a bad idea if your scroll ends up being the key to two places. Welcome to the hangout for the Secret Warriors."
As they descended, they heard a commotion below.
"Come on Blake, be reasonable."
"I said no."
"He just wants to be friendly with you."
"That is my worst nightmare."
"Don't be so rude Blake. How can you be so mean?"
They finally got to the bottom. Ruby's eyes found a room that's a secret base. A few arcade games, a jukebox, a snack bar, and seats for lounging. But what caught her attention was a group of people around the biggest dog that Ruby had ever seen.
"Just keep him away from me!" Blake shouted. She was hanging from the ceiling by Gambol Shroud. The dog panted breath from below her.
"He just wants to get to know you," Weiss scolded as she petted the giant dog. "Don't let her upset you. She's always like this with dogs."
"What's going on?" Ruby asked. As soon as she spoke, the doge turned around. A closer look showed that it looked like a pit bull. It wore a red collar with the same 'S' symbol on the tag. What made him stand out more is the tuning fork on his head.
Said tuning fork glowed a blue light as it enveloped it and, in a flash, the dog is gone. No less than a second later it reappeared in front of Ruby. It jumped into her arms and gave her a giant lick to the face.
"Stop it, stop it," Ruby giggled while being strained by the weight of the dog. "Alright, you got me. Good boy."
"Okay Lockjaw, that's enough," Daisy ordered. At her request, Lockjaw stopped and backed away from Ruby. "Lockjaw tends to get excited when he meets new people."
"That he does," A male voice replied. A brown-skinned man wearing a blue jacket over a white shirt and a red cap walked over to her and offered a hand. "Ruby Rose, right? We were waiting for you."
"Yes," Ruby took his offer of a hand and pulled herself up. "…and you are?"
"Rayshaun Lucas," He introduced. "Since we're going to be working together, my field name is Patriot."
"Patriot? Are you some kind of Captain America sidekick?"
Everybody chuckled at that. Rayshaun looked baffled but he recomposed himself.
"I'm trained by Captain America," He said. "But I wouldn't say that I'm his sidekick. I'm more like his protégé."
"That's a sidekick," A light-brown skin girl chuckled as she stepped forward. Black hair flows past her shoulders. She wore a blue hoodie with a star emblazoned on her chest, with red and white stripes and red fingerless gloves.
"I'm America Chavez," She introduced herself and shook Ruby's hand. "Also known as Ms. America."
"As in a fashion model?" Ruby asked, much to Yang's laughter and her scowl.
"Watch it, kid. That joke wasn't funny the first time your sister said it."
"I'm sorry," Ruby bowed.
"Just as long as you understand," America said nodding. Then a girl that looked to be Ruby's age stepped forward. Her black hair is swept to the side, exposing brown skin and gold hoops hanging from her ears. Like the others, she wore civilian attire of gray jacket and pants. Her red shirt had a symbol that reminded Ruby of Tony's arc reactor.
"Riri Williams," She introduced as she shook her hand. "Ironheart. Is it true that you got into Horizon High?"
"Yeah."
"You are lucky," She said with a sad smile. "I'm already in college. Also, I heard you're into weapons?"
"Yep."
"Your sister said you're a prodigy at weapons. Want to exchange notes later? I'd love to see how you guys make your weapons."
"Sure. As long as I get to see yours!"
"Am I next?" A red-haired teen asked. He wore a black leather jacket over a redshirt. He wore gray pants with white splotches. "I'm Dante Pertuz. Also known as Inferno."
"Inferno huh? Nice to meet you!"
"I'm Doreen Green! Also known as Squirrel Girl," Doreen said as she walked over with a Tippy-Toe standing on her shoulder, wearing a yellow ribbon with an acorn. "This here is Tippy-Toe."
"Nice to meet you Doreen and Tippy-Toe," Ruby greeted. For Tippy-Toe, she extended a finger for the squirrel to shake.
"I'm Kamala Khan," Kamala said as she introduced herself. "Also known as Ms. Marvel. Please to meet you."
"Ms. Marvel…" Ruby's voice trailed off. "Don't tell me…are you a Captain Marvel fan?"
"You too?" Kamala asked with enthusiasm.
"Who wouldn't be?" Ruby said. Then she realized that everyone was giving them the look. She recomposed herself. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you all. So, you guys are the Secret Warriors?"
"Yes," Doreen said with passion. "Dashing teen heroes who have gathered together in a day unlike any other. On that day, they became the Secret Warriors! Together, they tackle problems, not even the Avengers couldn't handle!"
Everyone stared at her.
"Okay…" Ruby said. She looked up at Blake, who is still stuck on the ceiling. Her eyes are wide as dinner plates.
"Teleporting dog…"
"She's been like that ever since she met Lockjaw," Jaune explained. "She darted to the other side when he showed up. Then, she found out the hard way about his teleportation abilities. He tried to lick her the first time, but he licked a shadow clone. This led him to believe it is some kind of game, so he chased her all around the room. The only way she could get away was by sticking herself to the ceiling, the only place where Lockjaw couldn't teleport to."
The mental image of dogs chasing cats popped into her head, which made Yang snicker. "Come on down Blake, he's not going to hurt you."
"Easy for you to say," She retorted.
"So, let me get this straight," Rayshaun began slowly. "You have fought monsters on your planet, some of which look like dogs, and you have a problem with the actual ones? Don't you think that's a little hypocritical?"
Blake seemed to ponder his words. She looked down at Lockjaw, who looked up at her, whining. Slowly, she lowered herself by Gambol Shrouds ribbon. The moment her feet touched the ground, Lockjaw inched himself forward. Blake steeled herself as the big dog sniffed her. Blake allowed herself a smile before reaching out to scratch him by the ears. Lockjaw seemed to enjoy it. She continued for a few more seconds before pulling her hand away.
"See," Yang grinned. "Nothing to get freaked out about."
"Alright," Daisy interrupted. "Time, we get down to business."
Everyone nodded and focused on Daisy.
"As you probably know, we've had a breakout at the Raft three days ago," Daisy said. "Team RWBY and JNPR can attest to that."
"Is it true you took out the Abomination with one punch?" Dante asked Yang.
"Yep," Yang said with a grin, she held up her prosthetic hand and it shifted back into its combat configuration. "With this baby, if I may add."
"Is that nanotech?" Riri asked, examining the arm.
"It is," Ruby confirmed. "Our new weapons are made of nanotech that Stark designed."
"That's impressive. If you want, I can help you guys modify your weapons. I know a thing or two about nanotech."
"That sounds awesome," Nora said. "Do you think you can give mine a rocket launcher mode?"
"Getting back on topic," Daisy interrupted. "While most of the prisoners have been apprehended and sent to other prisons, there are still other escapees. Some of them happen to be level seven threats. The Avengers will be taking leave to assist S.H.I.E.L.D in tracking down some who may have left the state. However, they can't leave out the possibility of them coming back to New York."
"I take it that's where we come in?" Jaune asked. "To hold down the fort?"
"Correct," Daisy said. "For today, I'm thinking of doing some joint exercises with team RWBY and JNPR. Just to get familiar with each other in terms of combat."
"That sounds grand," Pyrrha said. "When do we start?"
"As soon as we show you around," Daisy turned to her teammates and they nodded.
"Alright, this way please," Doreen said. "You tour of the Secret Warriors base begins now!"
Doreen leads the Remnatians and her teammates to another door. Daisy remained behind as well as Rayshaun. Lockjaw laid on the ground and began resting. Rayshaun turned to Daisy as soon as the others were gone.
"You wanted to get their minds off Gwen?" He asked.
"Yes," Daisy nodded. Then she grew serious. "Still no sign of her?"
"She's been popping up all over the place," Rayshaun said. "Eyewitness accounts say that she's been taking down threats left and right. Most of them being low-level. She even took out the Wrecking Crew last night."
"I've also talked to her friends, "Daisy added. "They say she's been skipping school and becoming aggressive during band practice. They have no idea what is troubling her though as she refuses to talk about it."
"You think it might be Kevin again?"
Daisy thought about it. A while back, Gwen had been framed for the death of her best friend, Kevin. Ever since, she sought to ring her friend's killer to justice, which had negative impacts on her personal life. Something happened if she's acting alone again.
"I'm going to go find her," Rayshaun said, interrupting her thoughts. "IF something is troubling her, we need to know so we can help. She's a member of our team. You can help the other get acquainted with the newbies."
Are you sure you want to go alone?" Daisy asked with a smirk. "You remember what happened last time?"
Rayshaun groaned. "How was I supposed to know that she would bring her spider friends down on me?"
"And this is the training room!" Doreen said as they entered an arena for training. This is where we can duke it out as much as we want!"
"Nice," Yang whistled as they walked to the center of the arena. "This is where we will be exercising?"
"Yep," Kamala nodded. "It's also where we plan out coordinated attacks and battle formations for our powers."
"What are your powers?" Jaune asked. "I can guess that Doreen can communicate with squirrels.:
"You bet your sandy behind!" Doreen said with arms crossed and a proud look on her face. Tippy-Toe is on her shoulder mirroring her pose. "I can communicate with them ever since I was ten years old! Also, don't go thinking that it's a useless power. When the going gets tough, I can have Tippy-Toes call in the cavalry!"
Tippy-Toe squeaked and nodded in agreement.
"I pity the guys on the receiving end," Jaune said with a shudder at the thought.
"Then you better hope you're not a criminal. Aside from that, I'm strong enough to lift eight hundred pounds, can do tricks with my tail, and have an insanely strong jaw," Doreen said. She turned to Blake. "What about you? Can you communicate with cats?"
"Wouldn't that be something," Blake said. To be honest, she was happy to meet another person with animal features. Even if she isn't a Faunus. "But I do have the ability to make shadow clones, have a keen sense of hearing thanks to my cat ears, and night vision."
"That's amazing! I have night vision too!"
"Anyway," America interrupted. "I'm super strong, fast, invulnerable, and can fly. I can also open star-shaped portals to other dimensions."
"Other dimensions?" Nora asked.
"To make a long story short, I'm from another dimension," America said to their surprised looks. "But anyway, I can use them offensively…like…THIS!"
America walked over to a wall on the other end of the arena. She raised her leg and swung it against the wall. Briefly, they saw a blue star-shaped portal open up before vanishing again. Though it left a star-shaped crater in its place."
"Now that's what I call seeing stars," Yang quipped with a grin. For once, that was a good pun.
"I know right? I can also harness my internal energy to vastly augment my physical fighting ability."
"Kind of like my semblance," Yang said. "Though it only works if I take damage."
"Handy," America said with a challenging smile. Want to go a few rounds later?"
"You got it," Yang returned her challenge with a similar smile.
"I think it's my turn now," Kamala said, eager to join in. "My powers revolve around elongation. I can stretch, deform, expand, or compress my body or parts of my body. I can also embiggen myself."
"Embiggen?" Ruby asked.
With her face frowning in concentration, Kamala began to grow. Everyone backed away as her body reached the ceiling. Then she stopped and looked down at them.
"That is so cool!" Ruby exclaimed. "You're almost as big as Ant-Man when goes Giant-Man!"
"It's difficult for me to maintain it though," Kamala said as she shrank back down. "I can also heal, but I'd rather not use it as much."
"Why?"
"Because my cells will become less malleable. If I keep healing this way, then I wouldn't be able to elongate anymore."
"Well that's unfortunate," Jaune said. "If we could, we would've unlocked an aura for you so that you can heal without resorting to your morphing powers."
"That would be nice, being able to have a bio-energy field to protect you and heal at the same time. Too bad it's only limited to your race."
"We do have our limits," Pyrrha said, trying to be humble. "Once it breaks, we won't be able to use our semblances until it recharges."
"Still will be neat to have one though," Kamala said. Then everybody turned to Riri.
"I don't have any powers," Riri admitted. She reached for a bracer on her left. "But I do have this."
She tapped a button on the bracer, and it began to shift. Within seconds, it expanded along her body with the sound of shifting metal and servos. When it is finished, she is clad head to toe in an Ironman armor. Unlike Tony's, the arc reactor is over her left chest area in the shape of a misshapen heart. The suit is also less bulky compared to the Ironman suit that Ruby had seen.
"Oh my gosh!" Ruby zipped over and began zooming all over Riri, much to her surprise. "Is this why you're called Ironheart? I should've guessed it! Your armor is designed for aerodynamics for better speed and maneuverability! Do you have repulsor beams? Please tell me you have the unibeam! This is amazing!"
"Told you she's a weapon fangirl," Yang said, grinning at Riri's perplexed expression. Then she turned back to the still hyperactive Ruby.
"Thanks," Riri said to her. "I looked up to Iron Man ever since he first appeared. I've wanted to be like him ever since. I also have micro-impact precision missiles. M.I. P's for short."
"Really?!"
While Riri and Ruby continued, everybody turned to Dante. He flexed his arms.
"I think it's pretty obvious why they call me Inferno," Dante said as flames erupted from his hands. He threw the fireballs up in the air and let it crash into him. It burned away his clothes to expose a black and red suit underneath with a flame insignia on his chest.
"Still cool to watch though," Nora said. "Ren can mask negative emotions and I can absorb electricity. Pyrrha can control magnetism. Jaune hasn't discovered his yet, but I know it's going to be awesome!"
"Yeah," Dante agreed with her. "Did you also know I can make Volcanos? I'd do it here, but I don't want to get scolded by Quake."
"You got that right," Daisy said as she descended from the top floor on a floating platform. She stepped off and approached the group, dressed in her combat uniform and silver gauntlets. "Getting along well?"
"Where's Shaun?" Doreen asked, raising an eyebrow at their missing teammate.
"He went to go out on an errand," Daisy said. "Anyway, everybody ready to start training?"
"Hold it," Weiss said. "We haven't got to hear your powers yet."
"Shouldn't it be obvious from my codename?" Daisy asked with a raised eyebrow."
"Seeing is believing," Yang said. "Show us what you got, sister."
Daisy hummed. "Wanna be my Guinea pig?"
"Sure thing," Yang said. She got herself into a defensive stance as Daisy raised a hand. What blasted out from her hand can only be described as the sound of thunder. It slammed into Yang with the force of an earthquake, sending her flying into a wall. The other looked at her as she fell to the ground flat on her face.
"You alright?" Blake asked.
"Yeah," Yang said as she stood up.
"I held back because it was dangerous," Daisy said. "But if you want, I can have my vibrations bypass your aura and vibrate you apart."
"Why would I want that?" Yang asked with fear.
"Just asking," Daisy said. "As you all saw, I can control vibrations with my gauntlets. I can do a variety of effects like what I showed and mentioned. Like making the earth how I want it to. I even stopped an anti-matter bomb."
"An anti-matter bombs?" Ruby asked. "Is that a thing?"
"Yep," daisy nodded. "Now if we are done, we can get this started."
"Hold it!" Doreen suddenly exclaimed. Her eyes studied each of the Remnatians. "What are your superhero names?"
"Huh?"
"You know, what you call yourselves when you are not in civilian mode. Your superhero names. We gave you ours so we should hear yours!"
"Umm…" Jaune scratched his cheek. "We came up with some impromptu names but…we haven't thought about our official names."
Doreen gaped at him. Her head swiveled at all of them.
"Are you serious?" She shouted making them all jump. "This is a crisis! You don't have names? The number one rule that makes us a superhero! Well, this will not stand! Line up!"
The Remnatians quickly lined up. A month into the S.H.I.E.L.D Bootcamp engraved the drill sergeant tone. This caused them to fall in line whenever someone uses that tone. Doreen had gone drill sergeant mode as she walked to and through in front of them.
She stopped in front of Ruby. "Ruby Rose. What was your code name?"
"Umm…Red Riding Hood?"
"You certainly look the part," Doreen commented then returned to drill sergeant mode. "Do you like it?"
"No."
"Then pick a name or get stuck with it!"
"She's not the only one who isn't kidding," Daisy warned. "Fury said if you don't come up with names, he's taking your impromptu names as permanent."
"Oh, no!" Ruby exclaimed. She did not want to be called Red Riding Hood. She racked her brain for a name until she remembered one. Fry made a joke about It but…
"Thorn," She firmly stated. "Because I plan on becoming a thorn to the side of villainy!"
"Excellent!" She stepped forward to face Weiss. "What's your name soldier!"
"I refuse to take part in this foolishness," Weiss insisted.
"Pick a name Snow White! Or else…"
Weiss groaned. As ridiculous as Doreen sounded, she knew she had to pick a name. She's still spooked about the fact the Red Skull was once the secretary of defense. But to her frustration, the only names she could come up with are Snow Angel and Ice Queen.
Wait…there was that one name…but it was so embarrassing…but…
"Snowflake," Weiss said.
"Really?" Doreen asked with surprise. "No Snow Queen?"
"I'm not a queen," Weiss said. "Besides, it fits me. Considering the shape of my glyphs."
"Fair point," Doreen said before moving to Blake. "Name!"
Blake had been thinking about it. She may not have wanted the name 'Belle', but it also gave her away to find one. She read several tales and one caught her attention. It was a story about a man and his shadow. The shadow outwitted the man and stole his life. It was dark, but Blake admired the Shadow for its cunning.
"The Shadow," Blake said. "That will be my codename."
"Excellent," Doreen stepped forward. Before she could speak, Yang beat her to the punch.
"Ignite."
"Why?"
"Because when I use my semblance or get angry I…ignite," Yang said. "When I do, you don't want to mess with me."
"Okay," Doreen stepped forward.
"I've been thinking about it," Jaune said. "Back on Remnant, I had the look of a knight than a prince. There are also famous knights in history on both of our planets. If the White knight is already taken, then I'm going to go with Knighthood."
"It suits you," Pyrrha said. "As for me, I've decided to go with Invincible Girl."
"Why?" Jaune asked. Pyrrha herself told him that she hated the name and her reputation at their school dance.
"I once hated the name because of the reputation it brought," Pyrrha began. "But after my defeat from Kang and Magneto, I realize that I will have to become that to protect my friends. I don't intend on losing them again"
Everyone smiled and nodded at that.
"I'm going with Voltage!" Nora said. "That leaves you, Ren!"
"I guess, for me, Tranquil," Ren said. "Because everybody views me as such."
"Excellent!" Doreen clapped her hands. "That takes care of that crisis. All your Quake!"
"Alright," Daisy waved them at ease. "We might as well do it this way: RWBY and JNPR vs. us."
"Seven against eight?" Pyrrha asked. "Isn't that a little unfair?"
"We've handled worse," America said. "Unless of course, you're chicken?"
"Oh, you just sealed it," Yang said as they activated their weapons. The Secret Warriors gathered on one side, the Remnatians on the other. Daisy sounded the countdown.
"3…2…1…begin!"
Later that night...
"Hua!" Ghost-Spider shouted as she pummeled the last thug into submission. Around her are several would-be burglars attempting yet another bank robbery. They tried to enter it via the skylight, but Ghost-Spider happened to be swinging by.
"What is it with bank robberies," Ghost-Spider groaned. "I thought science is the new currency."
"Some of them like to make money the old fashioned and quicker way."
Ghost-Spider didn't need to turn around to know who is approaching her from behind on a hoverboard. Patriot jumped off it and onto the roof she stood on. His hoverboard flipped up and became a shield which he caught with his right arm. He is dressed in his red white and blue outfit with an eagle emblazoned on his chest. His head is covered in a cowl with a red visor.
"Eight at once," Patriot said, letting out a whistle. "That's got to be a new record. You also missed the new guys."
"I don't have time for this patriot," Ghost-Spider snapped as she walked toward the edge of the roof.
"Yes, you do," Patriot insisted as he followed her. "What is going on?"
"What do you think?" She asked, never breaking her stride. "I just took down a bunch of criminals who's got the brains of living toast. That's what happened."
"You know that's not what I meant," Patriot said. "Instead of showing up to meetings, you've been going out and slugging villains. Your friends and your dad have been worried about you. You've been doing this routine for weeks. Not to mention you're becoming less funny. Even now, you are exhausting yourself!"
"I'm fine Patriot. I just have—"
"No, you're not!" Patriot declared, his voice causing her to stop. "This is Kevin all over again, isn't it? You're not the only one who's lost something before Gwen. The new guys may have lost their normal lives because Kang attacked their planet."
"Wait…what?" Ghost-Spider was stunned. The new teammates are aliens? Add to that, what have they done to invoke the ire of time-traveling warlord?
"That's right," Patriot continued. "You aren't the only one suffering Gwen. Did you forget that you are part of a team? Our team. If you have a problem we can help. You are our teammate, and we will always be there."
Ghost-Spider paused at those words. Then she sighed as his words sunk in. The last time that she pursued her friend's killer, she needed their help to apprehend her. But now after he took her friends...
She turned around to look at him.
"I know," She said. "It's just…"
Then her eyes widened when her spider-sense tingled.
Danger.
"Get down!" She rushed forward and tackled Lucas as something crashed into the. It was a spherical device that released gas from the dispensers. One thing about her Spider-Sense is that it's sometimes unreliable, like right now. Gwen tried to run away from the blast area, but then she felt her strength left her. It was like the fatigue of days of fighting had finally caught up with her. She suddenly realized that she had been played.
"Dammit," She groaned as she felt her knees buckle. "He planned this the whole time…"
"Who…?" Patriot tried to ask but he couldn't as he suddenly lost the strength to stand. He too had been exposed to the gas. He felt his knees give out and fell to the ground. Ghost-Spider had also fallen on the floor and stopped moving.
As Patriot began to lose consciousness, he heard a hovercraft land on the roof. A man walked into his line of sight. He wore an orange vest with fur around the neck and yellow eyes of a lion at the front. He wore armored boots, pauldrons, and gauntlets. On his face are black hair and a beard. Patriot knew his face because he had seen it several times in the S.H.I.E.L.D files.
"Well this is a pleasure," Sergei Kravinoff, AKA Kravin the Hunter said as he bent down and picked up Gwen. He slung Gwen on his shoulder. "Another spider for my hunt!"
That was the last thing he saw before he blacked out.
[~][~]
Another chapter is over and done. Special thanks again to trestwho for helping me with this fic.
Teams RWBY and JNPR have finally met up with the Secret Warriors. Not only that, we learned that Kravin has taken our spider friends. What does he want with them? Find out in the next chapter!
Now on to Q&A:
Mad Titan9: He will, but I will not divulge into the plans I have for him.
Keno02013: They will, assuming nothing changes in the canon. I have a little surprise for everybody regarding that.
Justus80: Please don't bring that up. I'm already fed up with the 'who ripped off whom'. But yeah, he's going to be a major thorn in their side in some chapters.
Edinosaur25: Yes, and yes, they were planning to break him out, but Dr. Doom made it easier.
Mastergamer14: I hope this chapter answers your question. Let's be honest, the Young Avengers died out a long time ago.
Thank you all for reading this chapter and your support. See you all next time!