Avengers: Age of Remnant

by free man writer

There's always a story to be told. A story of heroism overcoming the most daunting of odds and challenges. A tale we've seen before and one that needs to be told to its end. The beginning of a new tale. A new age. An Age where Remnants paved the way for heroes. Reboot of Avenging Remnant, co-written/created with Jebest4781 and BulletStormX.

20. We're Alike

Thank fuck that this was easier to write down.

That last chapter was a struggle and easily, not our best. I appreciate you guys being nice and all and the compliments but my partners and I know we didn't do our best.

With this one, we felt WAY more comfortable in writing this out, flowed more easily so here's to hoping we have a vastly marketable improvement compared to the last chapter. Plus… well, fuck it, if ya know, ya know. We want to get to some of the more important shit in this story so the easier the better.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Age of Remnant Chapter 20: We're alike.

Steve Rogers was a man of many talents and depths.

Before he became the big blue boy scout of his country during the Second World War, he was an aspiring, asthmatic artist with a penchant for getting beaten up because he was a scrawny kid from Brooklyn who refused to run away.

Then he turned into Captain America and became Earth's First Avenger, leading the allied powers against the Nazis, more specifically, HYDRA.

At the end of the war, be it by chance or fate, Captain America's fate took an unexpected and completely unforeseen outcome with him freezing in ice for over sixty years. He woke up in a new world with more enhanced individuals than ever before, leading to the formation of the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

And now…

Now he is a teacher.

A teacher of young teens with powers and abilities of their own, all who know look to him and the Avengers here on Remnant for guidance and education on how to be a hero.

He recalled doing some videos for schools across America and… that was an experience to be sure. A long, drawn-out one he really wished he denied.

But it served as a great lesson for him cuz now, he knew that a more hands-on approach is where he is better suited to be an instructor.

"Come on, Jaune!" A girl with orange hair and pink clothing cheered at the top of her lungs, breaking the super soldier out of his thoughts, making him return his attention to the match currently happening in the center of the amphitheater of Beacon.

Before him was a familiar sight, one he had seen around the start of the school year but there was a distinct change this time around.

There, Glynda Goodwitch stood off to the side, silently observing two teens in the middle of a match.

One was a tall, jock-like student with a large mace-type weapon and the other was a blond-haired, blue-eyed teen wielding a sword and shield, panting heavily. His opponent had his own sheen of sweat, sneering angrily at him.

Jaune Arc kept his stance up, taking in deep breaths whilst trying to remain focused. He was lasting a hell of a lot longer than he thought he would but he was still no less getting to the edge of his rope.

He was being watched by the rest of the class, feeling the eyes of his friends on him and he felt a pang of guilt and shame come over him.

They were all so talented, so extraordinary, and skilled, always showing why they earned the right to be here.

But him on the other hand…

The blond shook his head, getting into position, shield raised with his sword horizontally hovering over it.

His opponent, Cardin Winchester, seemed to be incensed by his defiant attitude. Grasping his mace tightly, the taller teen ran forward, letting out a small shout as he reared his weapon back.

Jaune braced himself, holding up his shield as the mace collided with it. The Arc's arms rattled, his aura flaring up around him yet he managed to stay standing. Gritting his teeth, Jaune tried shoving him back only to stumble forward as Cardin withdrew his weapon.

"Idiot." The taller teen mocked yet he appeared slightly winded from his last attack. "You should know when to give up."

"I can't." Jaune shot back.

"Yeah, Jaune!" Nora Valkyrie cheered.

"Make sure you stick his foot in his rear." Penny Polendina tacked on happily, her friends laughing next to her.

"It's kick his ass, Penny." Caitlyn corrected in amusement.

"Give the old One-two, Jaune." Vi called out to him.

"Students." Glynda sharply said, somewhat silencing them yet that last one was all Jaune needed to hear.

Cardin got in close again and this time, Jaune went on the offensive. Taking a step forward, he hastily ducked under a mace swing overhead and threw his sword arm forward, getting a solid slash on Cadrin's armor.

"What?!" Winchester snarled in surprise, alarm, and rage.

Jaune uttered a small cry, now throwing his shield arm forward, landing a devastating hit on Cardin's chest. His opponent exhaled sharply, stumbling back but stomped hard, standing firm.

"You're dead, Jauney boy." He growled murderously, holding his mace to such a degree, he was blistering his skin.

Just as he was about to go on the offensive again, Glynda clapped her hands and stepped forward.

Cardin's head snapped in her direction, expression incredulous.

"What?!" He snapped. "I had him, Teach."

"That you did." Glynda coolly said, directing a glare at him that immediately snapped him out of his raging state, a nervous shiver going down his spine.

Walking forward, two screens appeared, displaying the two combatants with bars beneath their images.

Jaune's bar was in the red whilst Cardin's was yellow yet it was bordering on the red as well.

Goodwitch made sure to really instill fear in the brown-haired student, her gaze cold and piercing. "But you were going, what was the wording again? Oh yes, 'Overkill.'. This is a sparring match, Mr. Winchester, not a death match. You would be wise to remember that."

The scolded teen looked away while Glynda directed her attention onto Jaune, the teen having collapsed on his backside. She gave a look of sympathy before schooling her features.

"As for you Jaune, while I am happy to say that you've improved, you still have ways to go. Remember, when facing an opponent who is stronger than you, a defensive and more intelligent strategy is in order. I've seen you use it but when you are pushed into a corner, you tend to become desperate and unbalanced."

Jaune was torn between being happy with hearing the praise yet at the same time, a sense of frustration came over him and he could only nod, somewhat despondently.

Glynda then addressed the rest of the students, squaring her shoulders with her hands behind her.

"Remember students, this semester isn't just about your lessons and training." She lectured. "This semester is all about preparing you for the next one, for when Beacon hosts the annual Vytal Festival this year, it is there that you will show not only Vale but the world of your progress and who the eventual protectors of Remnant will be. Do not disappoint us, your teammates and yourselves. Dismissed."

Cardin huffed, stomping off the stage whilst Jaune remained, head hanging low. Glynda glanced at him when she heard footsteps. She turned to see Steve walking up the steps and she arched a brow, walking over to him. Upon passing by him, she quietly spoke with him.

"Careful, Professor Rogers, your favoritism is showing." She chided, making the veteran snort.

"Maybe it is." He softly said in return, turning his gaze at her. "Or maybe I'm doing my due diligence as a teacher and assisting a student in need."

Glynda only gave him a pointed look and Rogers could only shrug in a silent wry apology, not feeling all that guilty. Shaking her head, she walked past him while he resumed his walk towards Jaune.

"You alright there?" He asked straight away, the younger blond scoffing and hanging his head.

"Fine." He grunted out. "Just… annoyed."

"And why is that?" Rogers patiently asked.

Jaune huffed, resting his head in his hand. "I just… I'm not… I don't feel like I'm actually making any proper progress."

Steve frowned, going down to one knee and placing a hand on the teen's shoulder.

"I say otherwise." Rogers retorted, pulling out his scroll and holding it out for Jaune to look at.

He glanced at the Avenger's scroll, seeing the screen of him and Cardin from before only this time the bar under his opponent was in the green, almost entirely full while he was in the red.

"That was you from the start of the semester." Steve pointed out, seeing a small look of surprise coming over Jaune and the Brooklyn native nudged the Arc's head up to see the display of him and Cardin from this match. "And that is where you currently stand. From where I stand, it looks to me like you're getting along well enough."

Jaune felt a swell of pride before it dissipated and he hung his head again.

"Yeah? But I'm still lagging behind everyone else." He quietly muttered despondently. "Everyone else is leaps and bounds ahead of me and I… I'm just holding my team back."

"Hey." Steve was soft yet firm. "None of that. If you think like that, that's letting down your team more. You've shown your improvement and you're gonna keep improving cuz you've shown me, your team, this school and more importantly yourself that you do belong here. So chin up."

Jaune tried to put up a brave face yet it was clear that he remained unconvinced.

"Do I though?" He quietly asked, more to himself than to Steve. "I… I lied to get in."

Steve frowned at his words, feeling a sense of brief Deja vu wash over him. He had that thought at one point back during the Second World War. Hell, it was a frequent thought at that, if he were being honest.

But it's one of the reasons that spurred him forward. Why he continues to fight.

To be worthy of the trust that so many people had placed in him.

With a sympathetic sigh, Steve clapped Jaune on the shoulder and helped him to his feet.

"Come on," He said, placing his hand on the teen's back and pushing him slightly to walk alongside him. "Let's go train."

Jaune absentmindedly nodded until the words registered with him, momentarily halting only for Rogers to continue to push him forward.

"Wait, what now?"

-Scene Cut-

It was lunchtime when Teams RWBY, JNPR and PPBK relatively sat together eating their food.

However, there was one slight exclusion.

"Wonder what's taking Vomit Boy so long." Yang muttered as she ate some mashed potatoes.

"Professor Rogers did seem pretty serious in talking to him." Says Ren, sipping his tea.

"Are you sure?" Pyrrha asked somewhat nervously. "You don't think he's in trouble."

"I don't think so." Peter assured the redhead. "It must be for something else."

"Who knows." Vi calmly said as she slurped down on an octopus dish whereas Blake ate some fish.

Nora nodded in agreement while munching down on a burger. Once swallowing, she gave her thoughts. "Gut tells me it's nothing we should really work about." Her stomach then started to rumble. "No, wait. It's telling me I need to go somewhere." The hammer-wielding huntress-in-training quickly stood up from her seat. "Back in a jiff." She suddenly sped off with a little dust cloud from her original position.

"In a jiff?" Asks Penny.

"It's not really a set period of time, in case you were wondering," Caitlyn told her teammate. "She'll just be back… relatively quickly."

As this was spoken, Yang looked to see if the coast was clear before reaching forward to snag one of Nora's burgers. Vi had the same idea and mirrored the blonde's action, given she was out of food and hungry for more.

The moment the two brawlers were about to grasp one, Nora suddenly reappeared to smack their hands away. "NO TOUCHY MY FOOD!"

And just like that, she ran off.

"...Was that a jiff?"

The sniper couldn't help but snort. "Not in the present circumstance."

Weiss pointed at the burgers and at their owner. "How did she-?"

"Nora always knows," Ren said plainly, taking a burger for himself. Yang and Vi looked around and saw Nora hadn't made her sudden return to prevent Ren from taking it. Feeling their gazes on him, he shrugged. "Best friend privileges."

Deadpanning at the composed student, Vi looked around for other food to steal. She did spot Penny hardly touching her food and went to grab some when she saw Jaune enter her field of vision.

And he looked thoroughly tired, his hair far messier than it already was and his clothing was creased and messed up all over.

"Jaune." Pyrrha worriedly said.

"Yeesh. You look worse for wear." The pink-haired boxer commented.

"Tell me about it." The blonde swordsman says exhaustedly, sitting beside his partner and all but dropping his head onto the table.

"The hell happened to you?" Vi asked, brow raised at her fellow team leader's current state.

The blond released a prolonged moan of exhaustion. "Professor Rogers…"

"What did he do? Make you run a marathon or what?" Yang inquired and he groaned in agony.

"Not… at first." Jaune muffled out. "Though it might as well be." Turning his head, his eyes spotted the large assortment of burgers. His arms were too tired to properly lift (practically noodles at this point) causing him to awkwardly move his head closer to the plate. "Must… eat… sustenance…"

"...I don't know if Nora's gonna whack ya if you tried to steal her food."

"I don't care." Came the groaned response as he inched closer to one of Nora's piled plates.

Just as his nose barely grazes the nearest burger, Nora makes her sudden appearance.

"WHO DARES TOUCH MY- Oh Jaune, you're back!"

The hammer-wielder's mood took a sudden 180 from annoyance to cheerful at a flip of a dime. Noticing his horrid exhaustion and clear desperation for food, she gives a smile. "Oh, sure! Help yourself." She says, gently shoving the burger into her team leader's mouth.

"Mfank vou." Came his muffled response as he awkwardly chewed the given meal.

It was super awkward, but Jaune didn't care.

The others seeing this gave their own respective responses.

Weiss rolled her eyes at Jaune's messy action with Yang chuckling slightly.

Pyrrha took a napkin and wiped his face clean, her partner shooting her an appreciative smile before he resumed munching on his burger and getting himself dirty again.

"You sure you're alright, Jaune?" Ruby inquired, sitting up slightly too glance down at him.

"You don't look like you'll make it to the next class." Peter pointed out.

"I am detecting points of soreness and stress from your muscles, Jaune." Penny spoke up, poking his shoulder which elicited a dramatical wail that was muffled by his burger.

"Jeez, it's worse than we thought." Vi said with a strained laugh.

"Okay, seriously, what happened?" Weiss asked now.

Jaune was trying to speak with a full mouth when Nikos gently chided him to finish eating.

With his mouth clear, the Arc boy finally answers. "Professor Rogers didn't like my performance today."

"What? That doesn't sound like him." Peter noted.

"How would you know?" Vi inquired.

"Er… call it intuition." Parker hastily said, turning back to Jaune. "But seriously though, that really doesn't sound like Cap, I mean, Professor Rogers."

"And it's not like you fought poorly." Pyrrha encouraged, giving him a warm smile. "You really put Cardin through the ringer."

"Yeah, that bonehead was bordering on red at the end of the fight. Sure, ya got there first but he sure had to work for it." Yang cheekily said.

Jaune gave an appreciative smile to all these comments and with a dramatic groan of pain, forced himself to sit up. If one were to listen closely, they could hear the creaking of his bones as he was unintentionally popping them to get back on straight.

"Ok," His head hung down, though not of his own volition. Pyrrha placed her hand under his chin to lift his head up, getting a quick nod of thanks. "So… I said a few things about myself that Professor Rogers didn't like and… he wanted to train those thoughts out of me."

"Some one-on-one training with Captain Rogers." Vi nodded in approval. "Hell, I wouldn't mind that. That guy is the best hand-to-hand fighter I've ever seen. Some of the stuff he's taught us is things I've never even considered when fighting."

Her partner Caitlin gave the Arc a scrutinizing gaze.

"What did you exactly tell him that made him want to "train those thoughts" out of you?"

"Was it something bad?" Ruby piped in.

"Or mean?" Penny tacked on.

"Both I guess." Jaune admitted, looking downtrodden slightly. "Look, I know you guys are curious and all but… can we just drop it for now? I just wanna rest up before the next class cause I can't feel my legs. Seriously."

"Are your nerves damaged?" Penny asked in complete seriousness.

"I think it's just an expression, Pen." Vi pointed out, amused by her teammates behavior.

"Oh no, paralysis is a serious condition, Jaune."

"Penny, he's joking. This isn't a Talladega Nights situation."

"A what?" Yang said in bemusement.

"Movie from… uh… movie from… my hometown."

"Your hometown makes its own movies?" Weiss said with a raised brow.

Peter was now defensive. "Yeah? What, is that a crime?"

The Schnee heiress gave him a bewildered look. "What?"

"You're weird." Blake stated.

The conversation soon veered into utter random nonsense, taking the attention away from Jaune, something he appreciated. But his partner kept her eyes on him, clearly worried about him, more on the mental side of things as opposed to the physical.

Though there was a moment when she wished to prod a bit further as to what was troubling him, something else caught her eye.

"Jaune, where's your sword and shield?"

"...Dang it. I left 'em behind in Professor Rogers' classroom." He bemoans.

"I could go and get them for you after lunch, Jaune." Pyrrha offers.

Her partner and team leader gazed at her with the utmost of gratitude. "If you would. And thanks."

She smiled and returned to her meal when she heard some commotion nearby. It wasn't noticeable at first, given the present area with the cafeteria filled with students. However, it was a particular factor that stood out to her.

"Will you quit it?"

Looking over, Pyrrha saw Team CRDL was messing around with a Faunus student with rabbit ears who was sitting alone at a table some distance away.

"Seriously, stop." She whines before- "Don't pull on those! It hurts!"

Cardin laughed as he kept tugging on her ears with his teammates joining in the laughter.

Some mutterings went on from nearby students. Others ignored what was happening and focused on their own thing.

"You gotta be kidding me." Vi murmured in disgust.

Seeing this happening, Peter and some of his fellow tablemates were ready to step in.

However, someone beat them to the punch.

"Cardin Winchester!" A familiar and authoritative voice boomed from the entrance of the cafeteria. All the students froze, all turning their heads in the direction of the double doors.

There stood Steve Rogers and the man did not look particularly pleased at what he had seen.

"Let go of her, now." His voice echoed all over the walls, Winchester's hand snapping to his side.

Team CRDL paled as he walked straight over to them and he gave them only one look before they scooted away from the Faunus.

"Stay right there." He sternly ordered, sending a collective shiver down the spine of the four boys.

The super soldier went down to one knee to be at eye level with the Faunus girl who had her head ducked low.

"Ms. Scarlatina, are you alright?" He asked, concern evident in his tone.

The Faunus paused momentarily before shaking her head 'no' as she was rubbing her ears.

"Go get yourself checked with the school nurse. I'll find your teammates and let them know what happened." He kindly says to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She nods, sniffling slightly while giving him a strained smile before scampering away. The Avenger then stood back up, his imposing figure sending a jolt of fear in the souls of Team CRDL.

"As for you four." Steve says sternly as he rounds back to them. "Care to explain yourself?"

He was met with silence and the Super Soldiers intense gaze started to make them tremble.

"I thought we were past this. I thought you learned your lesson the first time. I stopped your detentions because I believed you knew what you did was wrong. But it is clear as day that the lesson did not sink in." Those words made Cardin cower under the weight of Cap's gaze. "Not only were you harassing a student, but you were also doing so to someone I caught you doing it to before. And what did I tell you the last time?"

The boys all stammered and stumbled over their words but a single look shut them up immediately.

"You're suspended, all of you." He declared, many students were shocked at such a punishment. "And that's just the start. If you refuse to learn your lesson then I'll find a way to beat it into all four of you. One week suspension and when you return detention," Steve stepped forward with a blazing gaze. "Until the end of this semester."

"Wha-what?!" The team exclaimed in disbelief and horror.

"Yo-you can't just-"

"You want it to be two semesters?" Steve's threat shut them up immediately.

There was a tense moment of prolonged silence before the super soldier stepped back.

"Wait here." He ordered.

Turning, Steve walked over to the team where Team JNPR was located.

"Jaune?" The Avenger didn't even look down at the still exhausted teen. "Try not to forget these next time."

Unclasping from his belt was Crocea Mors as he handed it back to the Arc boy. The teen's arms were still wobbly so thankfully, his partner took it for him and clipped it on his belt.

"Uh… thanks, Professor." Jaune said, giving a quick look of thanks to Pyrrha as well.

Steve nods. "Now if you'll excuse me." He walks back to the busted bullies who were awaiting at their spot. "Follow me." Cap said coldly and like a group of kicked puppies, Team CRDL indeed followed.

"...Damn~ I'd pay good money to see what they'll be dealt with." Yang said with a feral grin.

"I hope he breaks their legs!" Says the energetic Nora, glaring heatedly at the back of Cardin and his cronies.

"I'm not so sure he's allowed such a thing, Nora." Ren said light heartedly.

"I wouldn't mind seeing that." Blake remarked casually, picking up her book to read.

"Same." Vi chides in.

"I'd rather not." Peter stated.

"Boo~"

"Guess we got our fill of excitement today, huh?" Caitlyn quipped.

"He's soooo coooool!" Ruby said with stars in her eyes.

"He really is." Jaune murmured.

As lunchtime was coming to an end, everyone was heading out to attend their next class. However, as they were getting up and leaving, they soon realized Jaune remained stationary at his seat.

"Uh, guys…" He called out to them weakly. "I really can't feel my legs right now… or anything else. Little help?"

Some of his fellow teammates and friends looked at each other as they wondered who would help carry him.

"And scoop!"

However, Penny beat them to the punch as she effortlessly pried him out of the seat and held him in her arms.

"...Do I weigh anything to you?"

"It's like holding a couple of books." Says the energetic android as she carries the Arc boy out of the cafeteria with the others following.

"...I feel rather insulted by this, but I don't really know why."

-Scene Cut-

The entire gang arrived in their next class in time to see the unmistakable blur of one Professor/Doctor Oobleck zipping about his white board and pinning up various papers and red string to display to his students.

He stopped momentarily in mid step to take a large swig of his coffee from his thermos, resuming a second later at an even faster rate. A few seconds later, Oobleck finished setting up his upcoming lecture.

'And here I thought Pietro was fast.' Peter thought with astonishment.

Sure it was an exaggeration but still. The man just couldn't stay in one spot. The entire class had their heads snapping from one part of the room to the other as Oobleck refused to stay in one spot for less than five seconds at a time. Either it being a factor of his semblance or something else entirely.

Oobleck's lesson took off like a rocket once class officially started. He rattled off dates and names pertaining to the Faunas war of the past and spoke "much slower" in comparison to how he started off the class.

Jaune, in the meantime, kept trying to stay awake in order to pay attention to the lecture. But he didn't know what was getting to him first: the boredom or his body's soreness.

After several seconds of contemplation, he deemed it to be the soreness as it was really starting to get to him.

The rest of his friends were listening to Oobleck's lecture with varying degrees of success.

Ruby, Yang, Nora and Vi had given up halfway whilst Peter, Caitlyn, Weiss Black, Ren and Pyrrha managed to listen attentively. As for Penny, it was really hard to tell as she sat there motionless in a very eerie manner.

'If she somehow is able to sleep with her eyes open, I wanna learn how she does it.' Were Jaune's thoughts as he rested his head on his desk.

"Mr. Arc!"

"Bwuh?" His head shot up at the sight of the Doctor/Professor appearing in front of him.

"I understand that Professor Rogers recently trained with you but do try to at least attempt to stay awake." Oobleck admonished, placing a cup of coffee in front of him. "Here, drink."

The blonde teen eyed the cup, glancing between it and the history professor with uncertainty. It's not that he didn't… no, no he didn't trust this mug of coffee. If it gave Oobleck such energy, what would it do to him?

"Now," Oobleck zipped away, sending papers flying around the exhausted Arc.

"AH! Papercuts!" He whined aloud.

If the coffee didn't wake him up, the papercuts surely would.

"Where was I? Ah yes, the Faunus war. Now, as I have already told you all, at that time in Remnant history, humanity was adamant about centralizing the Faunus population into a singular location, primarily Menagerie." He used a laser pointer to show the location of said island, missing the way Blake momentarily perked up at the sight of it, her ears beneath her bow twitching.

Turning off his laser pointer, the professor took a mighty swig of his coffee once more before seemingly reappearing right back in front of his desk. "NOW! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this very day! To a more uncomfortable topic, one that you need not participate in if you do not wish to. Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated against because of your Faunus heritage?"

Several students in the classroom held up their hands in response with Velvet being one of them. And secretly, Blake wanted to raise her hand as well but forced herself not to in order to keep up appearances.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful!" Oobleck shook his head in clear disappointment to their hands. "Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!"

From his seat, Peter eyed the professor as he rushed off to the side of the room and quickly poured himself another full mug of coffee.

'How is he handling all that caffeine?' Were his morbidly curious thoughts. 'He should be going into shock or something with so much running through him.'

"I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to the White Fang." Oobleck pointed out "Now, which one of you young scallions can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the war? Yes?"

Weiss held up her hand, causing the professor to call out to her. "The battle at Fort Castle!"

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

Jaune, who had been drifting off into sleep, felt a piece of an eraser strike his head. Rubbing the back of his head inadvertently caught Oobleck's eye.

"Ah~ Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class today!" Oobleck was in front of him once more. "Seems you are not as exhausted as you had thought, hmmm? This is excellent! EXCELLENT! Now tell me, what is the answer?"

Feeling himself in a tight spot, Jaune mustered all of the brain power he could muster at the present time. "Uhh… The answer… Advantage… of the Faunus." He could practically feel every bit of attention hitting him all at once.

He looked around desperately for any sort of help and thankfully, it came in the form of his partner who managed to catch his eye and mouthed him the answer.

Unclear of what she was saying, Jaune continued to stammer and delay the answer when Peter, seated behind Pyrrha, held up a piece of paper with what he needed to say.

"Night vision?" Jaune was clearly uncertain but Peter seemed to be so he trusted him.

"CORRECT!" Oobleck bellowed out, causing the young Arc to jump in his seat on the sudden outburst. "Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark." Taking yet another sip of his coffee, he spoke out a question. "Now who can tell me what also led to the downfall of our good General?"

"General Lagune heavily underestimated the enemies and was inexperienced in fighting the Faunas. He made the mistake of attacking them at night." Blake answered, drawing some attention towards her. "His massive army was outmatched and he was later captured."

"Well done, Ms. Belladonna."

After that was said, the bell rang a moment later, signaling the end of this class.

"Remember students, a three page essay of an event from the Faunus war," He quickly said over the sound of the students leaving.

"Mr. Arc. A moment of your time." Oobleck called out to Jaune, who was being helped out of the room by Nora this time.

The hammer wielder looked at her team leader, who motioned her to lower him back to the seat.

'What now?' Jaune groaned out as he mentally cried. 'I just wanna get back to my dorm and sleep!' Coming up to the bespectacled professor, he spoke up. "Can I help you, Professor?"

"It's Doctor, Mr. Arc." The caffeinated man corrected. "I know you've been struggling in my class since the first day of this school year." Oobleck addressed, causing Jaune to wince. "Now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest, stubborn nature or something else." He took another look at the young student and gave a brief nod. "Though exhaustion seems to be the case, especially today. But to the point, this behavior stops NOW!"

Jaune jumped a bit at the elevation in Oobleck's voice.

"I understand the difficulties in getting into this academy. You've worked hard to gain entrance into this school, even with Mr. Rogers' recommendation helping you get in, but it doesn't excuse you to not pick up the slack and lollygag through your entire admittance here. We only accept the best of the best, so I expect you to act like it."

"Yes Professor Oobleck," Jaune murmured.

"Doctor." Oobleck corrected instinctively "I am aware that your partners Ren and Pyrrha are both doing exceptionally well in this class. Ms. Valkyrie is… scraping by, more so than you. You are a team leader but that doesn't mean you go about this alone. Look to your friends to assist you."

"Right, Doctor."

"Now… History is important, hence why I teach it. I feel everyone needs to know and learn from it. And if you can't learn from it… you're destined to repeat and fail from the most tragic times." Oobleck then waved his hand in order to 'shoo' him away. "Now run along. You've got another class to get to."

'...Oh yeah, forgot.' Jaune mentally face-palmed. 'One more and then… sweet, sweet sleep.'

He dragged himself out of the classroom to the pleasant site of his teammates along with team PPBK actually waiting for him.

"Ah thanks for waiting for me guys." Jaune said appreciatively.

"You look like you're about to collapse dude." Peter quipped.

"I feel li-OOF!"

Jaune was suddenly shoved aside and to the ground by none other than a raging Cardin Winchester.

"Outta my way!" He snarled, rounding on the exhausted blond.

His actions were met with an immediate response from the team-leading brawler of PPBK.

"OI, what the hell is your problem?" Vi growled back, getting in the boy's face.

"My problem is goody-two shoe jackasses like yourselves not knowing the pecking order of this school." Winchester retorted aggressively.

"It's not our fault that you got yourself suspended, Winchester." Kiramman snidely said.

"What you do is extremely rude and demeaning." Penny declared, her usual chipper attitude absent.

"Oh yeah? And what are you guys gonna do about it?" He challenged.

Vi snorted, looking at him with nothing but mocking scorn. "What? And add more salt to the wound? You wanna get an ass-kicking with that suspension and semester long detention? Fine by me. Self-defense is in the rule book "tough guy". So what's it gonna be?"

The tall teen glared down at the pinkette with pure venom in his eyes, breathing, or rather seething with barely restrained rage.

After a prolonged standoff, the suspended student backed off, glowering at an unimpressed pinkette. He stomped away, leaving the two teams staring at his retreating form.

"I find displeasure and annoyance whenever I see or interact with him." Penny spoke up, getting a snort from her partner.

"That's one way of putting it." Peter shook his head at the teen. "Seriously. That guy needs to learn that life outside of school won't be as accommodating as it is here."

"Bullies like him seldom learn such a lesson." Caitlyn said.

"Are you alright Jaune?" Pyrrha worriedly asked, helping him back to his feet with Ren.

"As if I wasn't in enough pain already." Jaune bemoaned, hanging his head back in agony.

"What did Captain Rogers do to you?" Vi couldn't help but ask. "Was it really that bad?"

"He did have his aura depleted considerably after his fight with Cardin." Ren noted, keeping one of his team leaders arms over his shoulders. "Perhaps this is a form of Aura exhaustion."

"Must be one hell of a workout to elicit exhaustion to that degree." Kiramman remarked.

"Come on, we gotta drag him to our next class." Peter spoke up, earning a protesting moan from Jaune.

-Scene Cut-

After what felt like forever, school was finally over for the day.

It wasn't entirely great with Professor Port's class being uneventful and boring as usual with his ramblings about past exploits of himself and others when he was a young Huntsman. At least it gave Jaune some time to rest a tad more, but it was still agonizing in hopes of staying awake.

Eventually, he found himself back in his dorm with a long awaited reunion with his mattress. He all but flopped onto the bed, disregarding the fact that he was still in clothing and opted to shower tomorrow. It was the weekend, after all.

Yet, despite having the proper means of finally relaxing, he couldn't find it possible at this time. For in his mind, he was still wide awake and many of his thoughts and self-doubts he had earlier and they hit him like a tidal wave.

He tossed and turned in his bed, letting out exasperated grunts of annoyance until eventually, Jaune pried himself out of it. Everything around him was ignored as he left his dorm, unaware he gained the attention of his partner.

Confused by his sudden departure and clearly frustrated actions, Pyrrha went after him with a jog to her step.

She followed her team leader out to the rooftop of their dormitory, overlooking the glowing green orbs in the central tower of Beacon.

Soon she found Jaune sitting on the edge of the roof with his head hung low. She could hear him muttering to himself, though she couldn't make out as to what he was saying.

Worried, she called out to him. "Jaune?"

This made him cry out in shock and practically jump in his spot.

Widening her eyes in shock, Pyrrha rushed forward and grabbed Jaune by the back of his shirt before pulling him back to the roof.

"Ow." Jaune moaned, opening his eyes to see… "Pyrrha? What are you doing here?"

"Sorry about the scare, Jaune." Pyrrha sheepishly says. "And I feel like I should be asking you that question? You didn't exactly leave the room quietly, you know."

"Oh, did I wake you?" Jaune apologetically asked. "I didn't mean to."

"It's alright Jaune." She says understandingly, sitting down beside him. "You sounded like you had a lot on your mind."

He rubbed the back of his head. "More than you realize."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about what exactly?" Jaune felt a bit nervous in expressing his worries to his friend and partner. He didn't exactly feel like dumping his problems onto her.

"Well…" Pyrrha rubbed her arm. "I know you've been struggling in class, both with combat and our lessons."

His demeanor only dampened. "That obvious, huh?"

She winced at her words but scooted closer to him.

"Sorry. And I don't know what else is bothering you but since you're my partner, team leader and friend, I wanna help you." She says earnestly. "In any way that I can."

"Huh?" He responds with surprise by her forwardness in the offer.

"We can train up here if you want." She gestured to the rooftop. "Or reserve a training area-"

"I don't need help, Pyrrha." He harshly cuts her off, cringing at the way he did so as he saw Pyrrha flinch at his tone. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that."

"It's okay, Jaune." His partner said, though she was still a bit shaken from the way he interrupted her. "I know it can be hard being at this school. But think about it, you made it here! You actually proved that you are capable of being a Huntsman like the rest of us. You just need a little-"

"I didn't get in the way you think I did." He cut her off with a distant tone.

Pyrrha was thoroughly confused by the aloof response he gave. "What do you mean?"

Clenching his fists tightly, Jaune shook his head and closed his eyes in self-loathing.

"Not the positive way, if that's what you're thinking."

This served to only further throw off Pyrrha. She had never seen Jaune act like this at all. Normally he gave off a goofy and confident demeanor with some insecurities naturally but what was it that caused him to actually look like it pained to speak aloud as to what troubled him.

"The truth is, Pyrrha…" He looked directly in the eyes. "I lied to get in. I got my hands on some transcript and originally intended on faking my way into here."

Pyrrha could only stare in complete disbelief, trying to properly process what Jaune had just told her.

"Jaune… What?" She stammers, picking up on that last tidbit. "W-What do you mean by originally?"

He sighs, hating himself right now but forced himself to talk. She deserves the truth. After all, she was his partner.

"I was found out by Professor Rogers." He clarifies. "He came to me with my fake transcripts."

Pyrrha sat in silence as she listened to Jaune's short tale.

"He came to me and just asked me 'Why'... Why was I willing to lie to get into Beacon Academy?" Jaune recounts, remembering that day vividly. "He didn't even seem angry or upset. He just wanted to know why I sent a fake transcript to Beacon. Headmaster Ozpin apparently knew, but Rogers wanted to know himself."

"And?" Pyrrha leaned forward in anticipation. "What'd you tell him?"

Jaune opened his mouth to answer when…

"Ms. Nikos."

Both Jaune and Pyrrha jumped up in fright and turned to the entrance to see Steve standing there expectantly, looking over at the Mistral Champion.

Dread washes over the two students, something which Rogers picked up on and moved to calm them.

"It's alright, you two." Steve promises. "There's something really important I need to speak about with Jaune." He looks over to the Arc boy. "You're not in any trouble if that's what you're wondering."

"But… I…"

"Revealing something like what you just did doesn't warrant that type of trouble, if you're wondering." Rogers plainly stated.

The redhead student was feeling rather unsure at the current moment. With the little truth being revealed about her team leader to Captain America's sudden arrival seemed a little too coincidental.

"How did you know we were up here?" Pyrrha asked.

Steve held up a cup of coffee. "Just spending some time with Glynda before heading back to my own room. I saw the both of you wandering about after hours."

"So you followed us?" Pyrrha said, a bit affronted by this action.

"Pyrrha." Jaune anxiously said though stopped upon seeing Cap raise his free hand.

"No, it's fine. She has the right to question why I'm up here, Jaune." Steve stated. "It is after class after all."

"What do you want, professor?" Pyrrha asked, more politely this time.

He simply gestured his head in the direction of his fellow blond.

"I need to speak with Jaune on a very serious matter right now." Steve informed her. "He's not in any trouble, nor am I gonna suspend or expel him or anything like that. I just need to speak with him personally."

Pyrrha was really conflicted here as she looked between both Jaune and Steve before facing the ground to hide her expression. She couldn't explain why, but she was terrified right now as to what may happen to Jaune and if she were honest with herself she'd rather be right beside him then leaving him with Captain Rogers.

The redhead looked between the two, clearly unsure as to what to say or do but she felt Jaune place his hand on her arm, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Pyrrha," Jaune softly said. "It's gonna be ok. Professor Rogers just wants to talk, he said it himself. I'm not in trouble. Go on to bed Pyrrha, I don't want you staying up for my sake."

Very much against the idea, Pyrrha nonetheless left them be after giving Jaune a momentary pleading look.

She left the two, but decided against going back to her dorm. Instead, Pyrrha opted to hide around the corner within earshot.

Peeking out from her hiding spot, she watched as Jaune was helped up to his feet by Professor Rogers and he gestured to Jaune to stand beside him next to the edge.

"So…" Steve began. "You decided to tell her, huh?"

Jaune released a sigh, hanging his head with a dejected look. "She's my partner. She has a right to know."

"Good," Came Steve's approval, clapping the teens shoulder. "That's good."

"It is? How?"

Steve shrugged. "Trust is the foundation of teamwork and most relationships. You doing this shows that Pyrrha is someone you deem worthy of such a thing."

"But I didn't get the chance to tell her the full story, professor." Jaune admitted.

"Tell her after this." Roger said as though it were obvious. "She deserves it, doesn't she?"

Jaune stammered slightly. "Well, y-yeah, of course she does. If anyone deserves to know the truth, it's my partner and friend. She's stuck with me for the next four years…if I'm even gonna be here for that long after tonight."

"You're not going anywhere, Jaune." Steve promised, patting the boy's shoulder.

"How can you say that?" Jaune asked fearfully. "I mean… isn't it obvious? I don't belong here. Not with people like Pyrrha, Nora, Peter, Vi, Catilyn… Everyone but me got in cause they were special. I'm just… delusional."

Leaning on the railing on the edge of the roof, Jaune hung his head in shame and acceptance of his situation feeling his eyes tear up.

Steve silently regarded the young kid while in the background, sorrow crept up in Pyrrha's heart at the sight of Jaune like this.

"Can I tell you a story, Jaune?" Steve asks casually, looking out onto Beacon Academy.

"Huh?"

"A story," He repeated. "It's not one you would know about but I'm fairly certain you'll at least get something out of this. It's about a kid like you who wanted to become a "Hero" back home. You're a lot like him, actually."

Jaune blinked, now thoroughly curious about what he was talking about, leaning forward.

From her hidden position, Pyrrha shared in this sentiment, craning her ear forward to listen intently.

"See, a while back there were these two places that were in conflict with each other." Steve says with a vague undertone. "During this time period, many young men and women on both sides volunteered into service. One side had a ruthless and narrow minded ideology that threatened stability and peace. The other, while not the best, wished to uphold the virtues of freedom of expression and choice."

"This sounds a lot like the Great War." Jaune pointed out.

"It was similar to it, but also very different." Said Steve. "The side that fought against tyranny had an open recruitment drive for any and all able bodied men who can enter into their army's service and fight on the front lines. This is where that stupid and reckless kid comes in."

Jaune didn't see the reminiscent gaze on Steve's eyes. He was merely focused on the story in question.

"This guy used to get bullied every single day of his life." Steve remarked with a brief laugh. "Guess he was too stubborn and too stupid to run away from one. He remembered every ass kicking he ever got. From every alleyway to every parking lot. He just kept getting up only to get knocked down again. And the problem was from most people is that he never knew when to stand down to the bullies."

"Why?" Jaune abruptly asked, finding himself further drawn into the story.

"Cause he learned at a young age that when you allow the bullies to walk all over you, then they'll never stop picking on you." Steve said wistfully and Jaune saw a melancholic yet resolute gaze in the eye of the Avenger. "They'll keep coming back cause they know you're a guy who'll take the punches without ever swinging back." He then laughed boisterously. "It did help however that he had a much bigger friend in his corner. He was always there to lend a hand."

Jaune chuckled alongside him, though a spike of guilt did go through him, thinking back to Pyrrha.

Shaking his head, Jaune returned his attention to the story. "So why was he being bullied? What happened to him, even?"

"Right." Steve trailed his hand over his chin in thought. "For starters, he was a scrawny kid. Had way too many health problems to count. And with the bullies, they just felt a bit more powerful in having him under their boot. But that would just take too long, let me get back to the main story. After the conflict broke out, his best friend was soon enlisted and was gonna be shipped off. Not wanting to stay behind, he went and signed up with him. Sadly, his health issues made it hard for him to enlist. From his asthma alone, they couldn't allow him in."

"So what'd he do?"

Steve shot Jaune a knowing grin. "He forged a couple of transcripts and tried to fake his way in."

Jaune's mouth dropped in disbelief, now fully enraptured within the story.

"And then…?" He eagerly asked.

"They rejected him, of course." Steve plainly responded, making the Arc boy deflate dramatically. "But that didn't stop him from trying again."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But it wasn't easy." Steve said with a mirthful chuckle. "Every forged document he applied for got rejected and not just because it was forged. The instructors just took one look at him and said 'I'm doing you a favor' and sent him back home."

"There was nothing he could do?"

"He kept on trying though." Steve made a face, one eye closed and the other to the sky. "I think he tried no less than thirteen or fourteen times. Maybe he lost track. No matter how many places he kept traveling to in order to be enlisted. He never gave up. And the thing is, he could have easily gotten in trouble for forgery, but he didn't care. Cause in his mind, men were laying down their lives. He had no right to do any less than them. He just wanted to do his part in helping others like his best friend helped him throughout his life." Steve gave Jaune a knowing smirk. "Kinda like what you told me when you tried the same thing."

Jaune blushed at the praise and jab, giving him a goofy smile.

"And that's when someone, just like I did with you, noticed his efforts." Steve said softly. "He gave him a chance. Only one chance to try and prove himself that he can get the job done. Only problem was that he was a scrawny kid that weighed about less than a hundred pounds in comparison to the fit men who could do it properly."

"Wait, what? So what happened to him then?"

"See, he was handpicked by the head of this experimental project known as Rebirth. Basically, a super-soldier program enacted to counter the rising threat of the tyrannical enemy. So it ended up giving the kid some sway, even if the others in charge weren't all too happy about the decision. But what the project head needed to remind the recruit was not to be a great soldier. No. The reason why he was chosen was because he wanted to give him these capabilities and stay true to himself and his values. Be a good man. And that's essentially, an extremely abridged story of how I came to be the man I am today. And yeah, I glossed over… a lot of details, but I'll tell you about it at a later time."

"...Wow…" Jaune murmured, grinning widely at the tail end of Rogers' story.

He was silent for a few moments before something finally sunk in.

He began registering the details of the story the professor told him was in full. Slowly, the gears in his head clicked into place and he whirled around to face Rogers who was gazing down at him with an expectant look.

"Professor Rogers," Jaune shakily said. "Th-That story? It was about you?"

"It is." The Super Soldier then placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, locking eyes with him. "You remind me of myself, when I was a lot more stupid and reckless." He chuckled slightly. "Maybe not as much as I was but hey, you're still young. You've still got a lot of chances to do so."

The young blond would have laughed at that comment had he not been surprised by what Rogers had told him.

"Jaune," Steve spoke once more, slightly breaking the boy out of his daze. "I know what it's like to have that sense of overwhelming guilt, not living up to other people's expectations and failing more often than not. But the reason I got so far is not just belief in myself but the belief and faith I got from others. Doctor Erskine put his faith in me as do my teammates and I've tried my damnedest to live up to it. And that's what I see in you. Your potential to be greater than me. And I'm gonna help bring it out of you."

Sniffling, Jaune hung his head, allowing the tears to flow freely now. No one in his entire life had ever said anything like that to him. Not even Sapphron, who did her best to support him.

"You, your team, Team RWBY and PPBK." Steve listed off. "You all are the future of Remnant and it's our job to make sure that we play our part in making you prepared for it all. Though I gotta say, considering what we've already seen, it's looking to be a bright future. Just remember to always lean on each other for support when you need it. Don't make the mistakes that the teams I was in made in the past."

Jaune ducked his head down, feeling a great feeling of weight that he had on his soul be lifted after hearing all this. Without prompt, he gave Captain America a hug which he returned.

He patted the boy on the back of his head, smiling down at the hero-to-be, experiencing his own feeling of relief after sharing his story. It was something he never actually told anyone in detail. Just the abridged, public version that most people know by back home on Earth. But this was his version from how he saw it and what he placed upon himself every day.

Tilting his head slightly, he had a sense of them being watched and smirked slightly, already knowing who it was likely to be. Looking over at the rooftop entrance, Steve instantly saw Pyrrha having abandoned her attempts to hide and instead had tears of her own sliding down her cheeks.

She gave the Captain a smile and was about to leave when she saw him giving her a look, eyes gesturing down to her team leader.

Looking between the two blonds, Pyrrha hesitated momentarily before rushing back out onto the rooftop towards the pair.

"Jaune!" She called out to him, making him pull away from Steve.

"Pyrrha?" Was all he managed out before she swiftly tackled him to the ground with her own embrace.

"Pyrrha!" He exclaimed again, face heating up at the contact, feeling her cheek against his, which only made him burn even more at the proximity they now shared.

"I'll always have your back, Jaune." Pyrrha declared, ignoring his current state, not seeing his face having gone as bright red as her hair. "I don't care that you tried to forge your way in. If you wanna be a Huntsman, then I'll help and believe in you, just like Professor Rogers."

Jaune managed to recover slightly from his embarrassment, nervously looking at her.

"Did… Did you hear everything?"

She pulled away and gave him a kind and beautiful smile. "Yes, and it doesn't matter to me. Professor Rogers has faith in you and so do I, Ren and Nora. No matter what, I'll always be there and help you Jaune, just like you did for me."

He blinked at hearing that, giving her a confused look. "Like I did for you? What'd I do?"

Pyrrha just gave him a smile, a small tint of color in her own cheeks now. "Just keep being you, Jaune. That's all I can ask for."

"I thought you'd want a better partner." The Arc lamely said with his signature lazy smile.

"But I prefer a good friend." Pyrrha then hugs him again. "You being a competent fighter is really just a bonus."

Jaune felt his lip quiver, curving up into a smile as he now hugged her back.

"Thanks Pyrrha." Jaune said sincerely. He then glanced up to Steve who had a smirk on his face. "And thanks professor." He says softly. "For giving me a chance."

"Don't thank me just yet, Jaune." Steve said cheekily. "Now that you know, I'm gonna really begin to push you like I did today."

This caused Jaune to pale and quiver in Pyrrha's arms.

"Professor Rogers," Nikos said with a strained, pleading tone. "Did you really have to push Jaune that hard?"

"Didn't have to, but needed to in order to help make up for his lost time." Rogers unapologetically said. "Besides, that was just the warmup."

Jaune paled at that. "W-Warmup?"

Steve couldn't help but give a mischievous smile.

"What? You thought that was hard? Jaune, Jaune, Jaune," Rogers shook his head in faux-admonishment. "To turn you into the Hero you want to be and to pull out all your potential, I'm gonna have to break and reforge you every single day till you're able to kick an Ursa's head clean off."

The two teens stared at the super soldier for a prolonged moment of silence.

"Jaune."

"Yeah, Pyrrha?"

"I'm scared for you."

"Tell me about it."

-Scene Cut-

It had been a week since Captain America and Jaune Arc had their conversation on the rooftop. Since then, the pair had been training as often as they could, with the former constantly exhausting the latter yet Jaune took it in stride. Captain Rogers placed a lot of faith in him and he wouldn't let him down.

The week that had gone by was uneventful for the most part other than that quick trip to the Forever Fall on behalf of Professor Peach to collect a kind of tree sap from the forest. Other than that, business as usual.

Jaune stood in front of Captain Rogers, a slightly nervous expression laced with determination as he got into position.

Steve stood with his shield strapped to his left arm, though his clothing was a simple grey t-shirt with track pants and simple boots. He patiently waited for his student to make the first move, watching as he unsheathed his sword and with a pump of his arm, his shield came out.

Raising it slightly, Jaune kept his eyes on his mentor before activating something new on his shield.

A moment later, blue hard light appeared around his shield, giving him a circular shield instead of just his usual one.

Steve blinked upon seeing this until a wry, bashful and amused grin appeared.

"A bit too on the nose, huh Jaune?" He stated, snorting at the sheepish smile sent his way. "Where'd ya get such an upgrade?"

"Professor Newt," Jaune answered. "He told me about how he knew about Crocea Mors from his grandfather since he was friends with my ancestor so he believed it was time for an upgrade."

"Impressive," Steve praised before getting into a combative stance. "But let's just see if it will make a difference."

Jaune could only give a shaky grin of faux-confidence whilst sweating bullets. Regardless, he made the first move, going in shield first.

'Very good.' Steve mentally praised, angling his shield arm up. 'Now we're getting somewhere.'

The two collided, their shields letting out a rattling *clang* that reverberated around them that was quickly replaced by multiple other strikes, swings, hits and so on.

This little spar was observed by Sam Wilson, Clint Barton and Glynda Goodwitch, the latter of the trio looking exasperated by it all. The two Avengers, all the while, observed in rapt attention.

"Man, he really is like a mini-Steve, ain't he?" Sam commented, seeing how Jaune emulated a shield jab akin to how Rogers does it.

"Just a lot less coordinated." Barton snorted, seeing the poor teen stumble and face plant after a failed attempt of swinging his sword in a weird fashion he hadn't seen before.

Glynda only released a small sigh, shaking her head at the pair of shield bearers.

"What's wrong, Glyn?" Sam asked though he already knew what was on her mind. "You don't approve?"

"It's not that I don't approve, it's just that as teachers we must abide by a certain set of guidelines and principles as to not show favoritism towards our students." Glynda plainly stated, adjusting her glasses.

Beside her, Clint and Sam shared a look with the latter scrutinizing the blond woman for a good few moments before looking away.

They watched as the training session soon came to its end with the same way it usually wound up ending. Jaune, thoroughly exhausted and sprawled out on the floor with his arms and legs outstretched like a starfish.

"Well done, Jaune." Steve praised, helping up the dead weight that was his pupil. "That was a good ten minutes longer than last time."

The boy could only release a pained but earnest "yay" as he was propped at a nearby seat for him to rest whilst Pyrrha was called to pick him up as he was too weak to move.

Steve patted the boy on the chest, moving to speak with the other adults in the area with Sam addressing him first.

"Jesus, Steve, ya couldn't have held back a little?"

"I was holding back." Rogers replied with a sheepish shrug. "Kid just refused to stop."

"Like you, hmmm?"

Cap simply snorted in amusement, glancing over at Glynda, seeing a neutral expression but her eyes told a different story. Clint tapped Sam's arm with his elbow, making a small gesture of his head and the aviator quickly took the hint and the pair walked off.

Their friend and team leader looked at them quizzically at their retreating forms before hearing Goodwitch clear her throat. He turned back to her and his head slightly jerked back at the piercing gaze she was giving him.

"Training with Jaune Arc again." She stated, eyes drifting over to the exhausted form of the teen.

Steve let out a small huff, shooting her semi-apologetic smirk. "I know, I know, can't let favoritism show."

She arched an expectant brow. "Would it have stopped you?"

The man simply gave her a sorry smile that made her scoff yet she found herself chuckling all the same.

"Honestly, I just can't understand you sometimes."

Now it was Steve who chuckled. "You should know Glynda that I'm not an overly complicated man. I'm quite straightforward."

"Oh? And how is that the case?"

Rogers had a brief moment of reflection, thinking back on a conversation he shared with another Avenger and friend a year ago.

"Let's just say I'm the kind of guy who wants to know who he's fighting and be able to tell right from wrong." Cap looked at Jaune who now had a worried Pyrrha fretting over him after arriving to see him in such a state. "And helping kids like him is always the right thing to do."

Glynda gazed at him for a moment until she hung her head with a bemused sigh before she found herself smiling slightly.

"Come, watching you thrash the poor boy has made me realize I had missed my lunch entirely. You shall need to compensate for that."

Rather than fight such a statement, Steve simply took it in stride, taking one last glance at Jaune who was being helped up by Pyrrha before walking away with Goodwitch.

"Yes, ma'am."

AN

Alright, first chapter for Age of Remnant of 2025, let's hope we can update this one more frequently now that we've gotten a lot of the slog of sorts out of the way and we can get to some of the stuff we've been really wanting to do.

Truthfully, the three of us went at length discussing what we should do and whether we should change the Jaunedice chapter from the previous one but after much discussion and back and forth, we couldn't really think of anything new ironically and just reused it while adding details here and there with some expansion. It's also a time saving measure because had we gone down the other route involving way more scenes and character stuff, this chapter would have taken far longer to put out.

We literally looked at what we wanted to do, how much time it would likely take and saw a completely different Jaunedice chapter from what we had originally would have just delayed us the chance to work on this story and the next portion which is one we are really excited to do.

So yeah, that's the whole thing. Though, at the same time, we still do have a lot of the ideas that we had in the previous iteration of this story carried over into this one, just better developed and more expanded upon as compared to flying by the seat of our pants in the last one.

Anyway, enough rambling, we got our next chapter out of the way.

Happy New Years again everyone.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.