Chapter 15:
In the middle of the night, inside a bookstore, lay a dead body behind the counter. A faunus in green had just been feed upon. The crimson alien finished consuming it's prey, however this time it made sure to make less of a mess at it usually does.
Being back in Vale, they creature knew it had to be more stealthy. With a military in the area, it could be overwhelmed. The alien knew that if it wanted to consume everyone it had to get stronger, but how?
As it began to crawl out, it noticed a newspaper article, it showed pictures of a certain web-head fighting criminals and saving people.
The original.
Yes, if it wanted to get stronger it had to be whole again. It always knew it felt something missing, but never knew what that was. But now, it knew, it knew it was the missing pieces of the original.
The alien then left threw the back of the bookstore, sticking close to the shadows until it found a sewer drain. For now it was time to rest and conserve energy. And when the time comes, it will seek them out and be one once again.
/
Blake was looking at her notebook, looking at two separate drawings of two different people. One of them with spiky hair with a katana on his back, facing away. And the other her friend Peter, with half of him drawn as Spider-Man.
Blake continued to stare at both drawings, until she was interrupted by Yang asking, "Whatcha doing?"
"N-nothing!" Blake replied quickly as she closed her notebook. "Just going over notes from last semester."
Yang them catches a grape in her mouth, which was thrown by Nora from another table across from them.
"Lame." Yang says as she chews and swallows the fruit. She then gets close to Blake and whispers, "But care to explain the drawing of Peter in there?"
"Not now Yang!" Blake whispered back.
Yang just shrugs, as she catches another grape in her mouth.
Whenever Yang and Blake thought about Peter's secret, they were always filled with curiosity. It was still hard to believe that Peter was genetically enhanced, such science was still new and nowhere near that level. That fact that some dude somehow made a spider that bit people and gave them powers was hard to believe. But despite how crazy that sounded, Blake could tell Peter wasn't lying.
Another thing both girls eventually asked when it was just the three of them was if his biology was related to his semblance. While Blake didn't think that was the case, she was surprised when Peter said that it was in a way changed by it. While he say so with slight nervousness, he admitted he still was figuring that out.
The truth that neither of them knew, was that the symbiote was responsible for Peter's "semblance". The symbiote did explain to Peter that it integrated his DNA with it's own, which gave the symbiote the ability to copy Peter's powers, along with getting even more powerful. So in a way, Peter was telling the truth, just not the whole truth.
Snapping Blake out of her thoughts was Ruby, who slammed a binder titled "Best Day Ever Activities" in red. Clearing her throat, the leader then spoke, "Sisters, friends, Weiss."
"Hey!"
"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."
"This ought to be good."
"A dream that one day the four of us would come together as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had, ever!" Ruby finished.
"Did you steal my binder? Weiss asked.
"I am not a crook." Ruby simply replied.
"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.
"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" Ruby cheers.
"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang!" Yang says, making a pun of her name.
The others groan at Yang's attempt of humor, except for a certain male co-leader. "HA!" Peter laughed loud enough for the others to spot him carrying a large tray of food.
"Hey! Aren't you supposed to go on a diet?" Weiss called out.
"….. You'll never take me alive!" Peter shouts as he drops his food and leaps out the window, landing on his face.
It was closed.
"Ow."
"Idiot."
The others just stare at the now broken window in confusion, except for Weiss who was more frustrated at his antics.
"I swear, he is impossible sometimes. Besides, isn't he supposed to be on a diet too?" Weiss asked.
"He is, he did say he wouldn't make easy for us to manage him." Blake replied.
Trying not to laugh at the situation, Ruby then continues, "Anyways, it's been a good two weeks, and between more exchange students arriving in the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be the great. But classes start back up tomorrow, which is why I have taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today. And I made sure Peter won't miss out on many of these too, so that way all of us have fun!"
"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store." Weiss commented.
"Both." Peter said as he came back, with a smaller portion of food and sat back down on the table.
"I don't know, I think I'll sit this one out." Blake says as she takes away Peter's food and only gives him the healthier options back.
"Sit out or not, I think however we spend this last day we should do it as a team, you listening Peter?" Weiss says, making sure he was listening.
Peter raised a thumbs up, chewing on an apple while he does so.
"Good. I got it, I for one think that-" But Weiss didn't finish her sentence as a pie hits her straight in the face
Which came from Nora, who pointed at Ren, trying to pin the blame on him.
"Huh oh. I feel a food war incoming." Peter thought.
"A war where you fight with food? Oh well, war is war. This will be fun." Venom proclaimed.
"Of course you would find it fun."
Meanwhile, outside of the cafeteria, Sun was walking with a guy with blue hair, rambling on and on.
"Then Spider-Man came in and beat up everyone there. It was awesome!"
"Cool." The blue haired team replied.
"Yeah, me and Blake witnessed the whole thing. Oh, and the best part is she's a faunus. But that's a secret okay?" Sun continued.
"Got it."
"And I think she has a crush on this Peter guy. But don't tell her I said that she might get mad at me, so keep it a secret. And not a "I'm going to go tell Scarlett the second Sun turns his back secret" I'm talking secret secret." Sun rambled.
"Whoa chill out man, okay I got it. I got it." The teen replied.
"You better, I don't want to screw this up you know. The people here are the coolest, no offense to you guys." Sun explained.
"None taken."
"Okay they're just in here, I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool okay, you're going to be cool right?" Sun asks as they arrive at the door, getting a response in the form of a smile from his friend.
"Good point."
Both teens enter the cafeteria, and are meet with a chaotic scene with many students running past them, away from said chaos.
"Ah ha ha ha ha ha! I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" Nora cheers, standing on a pile of tables stack on top of each other. With the rest of her team standing by, in a guard like position.
"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be delicious!" Ruby declared, with her teammates cheering on behind her.
"That went from a zero to a hundred real quick." Peter comments.
"Shush Parker, we are at war! CHARGE!" Venom commands.
Peter sighs, he then decided to just listen and cheered with his team.
"Off with their heads!" Nora shouts, as team JNPR began launching watermelons at team RWBY.
"Yang turkey!" Ruby calls out to her sister.
Yang immediately listened as she quickly equipped two turkeys as boxing gloves. Yang then proceeded to punch the watermelons into pieces, dodging a few as she ran towards team JNPR.
However she missed some as they headed towards Ruby. Ruby was about to brace herself, but Peter quickly got in front of her, and formed a shield of ooze in front of them. This blocked the watermelons, preventing them from hitting Ruby.
"Thanks Pete." Ruby told the hidden vigilante, getting a two finger salute back from him.
Back with Yang, she continued to advance forward, with Blake joining her using baguettes as swords.
After destroying the remaining watermelons, Yang launches both turkeys forward. Pyrrha dodges the turkeys, which resulted in Jaune getting hit by them, knocking him down.
Blake then lunges at Pyrrha, attempting to hit her with her bread weapons. Pyrrha dodges the attack and uses her own baguette to engage in a bread battle with the cat faunus.
They stay with their weapons lock in place for a moment, until Blake jumps behind Pyrrha and attempts to swing at her with a spinning attack. Pyrrha flips to the side and tries to land a few hits of her own in response.
Blake then jumps up into the air and throws one of the baguettes towards the Spartan. But unfortunately for her, Pyrrha jumps back, and lunges forward, managing to land a hit on Blake, sending her flying back.
Pyrrha then throws her baguette at Yang, who kicks the bread in half, only to get hit by another baguette.
As Yang is sent flying back, Ruby rushes forward, riding on a metal tray and pushes Pyrrha back a bit.
As Pyrrha falls back, Nora and Ren run forward, ready to fight Ruby. Ruby is then joined by Weiss and Peter, with Weiss using a ketchup bottle to send a wave of ketchup forward, and Peter slamming the ground, sending a wave of tendrils forward.
Both Ren and Nora are hit by the attacks, with Ren sliding into a pile of tables, and Nora being sent flying back a few feet. Nora quickly recovers and slams a broom stick on a watermelon, using as a hammer.
She then rushed forward, preparing to hit Weiss, but is blocked by Peter forming a shield once again. The both of them then engage in a one on one battle, with Peter having the symbiote form around his arms, enlarging them.
Peter blocks a few attacks from Nora, he then attempts to slam the ground again to knock her down but she jumps up and swings her melon hammer on his head. Peter recovers quickly and grabs Nora and slams her on the ground, forming a slight crater.
Nora, filled with determination to win, gets back and lunges towards Peter. Nora then raised her weapon, making Peter think she would swing from above, but Nora instead spins around swinging the melon hammer. She manages to catch Peter off guard and hits him on the side, which sends him flying back in high speed. As he soared, he ended up colliding with Weiss, sending both of them back.
Both teens then slams into a column in the corner of the room, which breaks into pieces as they fall down.
Ruby quickly runs back, catching Weiss in her arms as Peter lands on his feet, a bit dazed from the blow.
"Weiss! Weiss! Don't leave me! No!" Ruby shouts.
"I think we are breaking the cafeteria!"
"Who cares! Let's keep this war going!" Venom cheered, it was enjoying a war where no bloodshed was involved.
Yang then runs towards Nora, with turkeys on her hands again. But she is confronted by Ren, who grabbed two leaks and used them to block a kick from Yang.
Yang then proceeded to won Ren, landing multiple punches to his chest. Ren tried to counter her, but is overwhelmed by Yang's expertise in one on one fights.
Yang then lands an uppercut, sending Ren up in the air. Ren the throws both leaks at Yang, but misses as she then jumps up and punches him, sending him towards the ground.
As Ren falls, Nora quickly came in, swing her watermelon hammer at Yang. Yang jumps back, but is quickly hit by Nora, sending her flying high into the air, breaking the ceiling.
Blake then rushes forward, using sausages as a chain weapon, hitting Nora back, sending her crashing into a vending machine.
Nora then throws the soda cans that fall out the broken machine at Blake, which barley misses as Blake flips backwards multiple times.
Nora then continued to throw more soda cans at Blake, but the cans are quickly grabbed by tendrils coming from Peter's back. The tendrils then throw the cans back, managing to hot Nora covering her in soda.
Pyrrha gets back up, and uses her semblance to send many cans of soda hurtling towards Blake. Peter quickly got in front of Blake, and formed a dome of tendrils around them, protecting them from the onslaught of soda cans.
"I'M INVINCIBLE!"
"Fire and sound."
"I AM 98% INVINCIBLE!"
"Sup." Peter says deciding to ignore the symbiote's cheers, not worried in the slightest as the symbiote dome easily blocks the soda.
Blake just chuckles slightly at Peter, "Your semblance really is something else isn't it."
"I am, these cans aren't enough to damage me! But I'm not a semblance." Venom grunts.
"For the hundredth time she doesn't know that." Peter retorts, the symbiote just huffs, at least it showed some of its capabilities. Peter then nods towards Blake, with the dome still protecting them.
Ruby, watching as the soda cans fail to penetrate the dome shield, builds up her speed, and runs extremely fast towards team JNPR. This resulted in a huge wave of wind, carrying a wave of soda, plates, and food hurtling behind her.
Ruby then uses her semblance to gain even more speed, which resulted in a bigger wave of wind, which hits team JNPR, sending them flying into the wall.
Ruby then jumps out of the way, as the wave hit team JNPR, covering them in a huge mess of food. Ruby then lands back on the ground, with Peter retracting the tendrils into his back and team JNPR falling to the ground.
"I love these guys." Sun comments, with the blue haired teen standing next to him, covered in grape soda.
Glynda then storms inside the cafeteria, not pleased with the events that had just occurred. She then uses her semblance to fix the damage caused by the food fight, returning everything back to how it was before.
"She's mad." Peter gulps.
"Come on, I was having fun!" Venom screamed.
"Children, please do not play with your food." Glynda says with a stern voice.
"Screw you I do what I want!"
"Calm down Symbie, we did wreck the place." Peter told the alien.
"…..fine, we won anyways at least." Venom grumbles.
The teens then sit back down on the table, everyone except Peter covered in food.
Suddenly, Yang comes crashing down, about to hit the floor, until the symbiote forms a tendril, catching her before she does. Seeing this made Glynda a bit unsettled, but she keeps calm as to not worry the teens.
"Thanks Pete." Yang thanked her friend as the symbiote carefully sets her on her feet.
"No problem." Peter said as the tendril retracts. "Heh, your showing your soft side."
"Shut up." Venom replied, although it did feel nice to some good. But it won't admit it, even though Peter already knew that by now.
The teens continued to chat and laugh at the fun time they had, complementing each other on their skills.
"Let it go." Ozpin says as he puts hand on Glynda's shoulder.
Glynda sighs, calming down a bit, "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."
"And they will be, but right now they're still children, so why not let them play the part. Besides, it seems like young Parker hasn't acted like a child in a long while." Ozpin says as both adults look at Peter, who was smiling as he was interacting with his friends. "A role they won't have forever, and he knows it." Ozpin finished as he walked away.
Glynda takes one last look at Peter, she often forgot what he told her and Ozpin. The boy from another world who defend his home from super powered individuals every day alone. As she finished looking, she noticed a tendril, hidden from the view of everyone else except her. While she grew uneasy again, she began to notice the tendril moving. She wasn't sure, but it looks as if it was agreeing with what Ozpin said.
"Did it here us?" She then sighs internally, "Maybe Ozpin was right, Peter really has influenced the alien for the better." Glynda thinks as she walks away.
/
In an undisclosed location, many White Fang goons were moving crates around, unloading them from bullheads stationed there. Two individuals enter, a girl with green hair accompanied by a boy with silver hair.
They walked towards Roman, who noticed them approaching, "Oh! Look she sent the kids again. This is turning out just like the divorce." Roman finished as he put his arm on their shoulders.
"Spare us the thought of procreating." The girl said as her and the boy shoved Roman off.
"That was a joke, and this just might tell me where you two have been all day." Roman says, showing a piece of paper he pickpocketed from the girl.
"Wha-"
"I'm a professional sweetheart pay attention maybe you'll learn something." Roman says as he reads the paper. "Why do you have this address?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." The girl snarled back.
"Yeah I would, now where have you been all day?" Roman asked.
"Cleaning up your problems." The silver haired boy answered. "Or one of them if we got there sooner."
"I had that under control, and what do you mean by that?" Roman asked.
"When me and Emerald went to go solve your problem for you, we found him dead already. And with the state the guy was left we doubt you did it, your not competent enough to do it yourself." The boy answered.
"Listen here you little punk, if it were up to me, I would take you and your little street friend and I would-"
"Do what?" a voice came from behind the three.
From up above, Cinder was looking down at the three. She then rode down an platform onto ground level to confront them.
"I'd uh…not kill them?" Roman answered nervously.
"Cinder!" Emerald said with a smile.
"I thought I made it clear that you were to eliminate the would be runaway." Cinder says as she approached the dapper criminal.
"I was going to.."
"He was going to escape to Vacuo, Mercury and I would have taken it in our own hands but some unknown guy got to the rat first." Emerald explained.
"From the remains of his corpse he could have been some kind of cat." Mercury added.
"What? Like a puma?"
"There you go."
"Quiet." Cinder commanded the two, "Did I noticed specifically instruct you two to keep your hands clean while in Vale?"
"Well we didn't kill him so our hands are clean." Mercury said only to get elbowed by Emerald.
"I just thought.."
"Don't think, obey. Be lucky neither of you were caught even close to his corpse, but watch out for the culprit, whether it was coincidence or not that he was killed by some unknown individual doesn't matter if you are caught." Cinder told the two.
"Yes ma'am."
"And you.." Cinder says as she looks at Roman, "why wasn't this job done sooner?" she asked.
"Eh, eh, eh! Sorry if I've been a little busy stealing every speck of dust in the kingdom! It wasn't easy when that insect has been a thorn in my side and catching many of those animals before we could steal more!" Roman shouts.
"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask." Mercury mocked.
"Look around kid I've got this town running scared. Police camping around in every corner, dust prices through the roof, the web-head frantically running around in a goose chase, and we're sitting in an old warehouse with more dust crystals, vials and rounds and we know what to do with!" Roman retorts, "Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother, especially if you have a solution to our bug problem."
"Oh Roman, have a little faith. You'll know what you need when you need to know." Cinder said in a soft tone, caressing Roman's cheek.
Walking away, Cinder continued, "Besides, we're done with dust. And for our bug problem, I have been informed of a weakness of sorts, so he won't be a problem soon enough."
"Okay then, what now?"
"Have the White Fang clear out this building, I'll send you details and coordinates tonight." Cinder instructed.
"Coordinates?"
"We're proceeding to phase two." Cinder simply says as she leaves, with Mercury and Emerald following her.
Roman just grumbles slightly as he pulls out a cigar and puts it in his mouth. He then reaches for his lighter only to find it missing. Looking forward, he sees Emerald looking back at him with his lighter active in her hands, sticking out her tongue at him before closing the lighter.
/
Ozpin and Glynda were looking out the window of Ozpin's office, staring at the airships outside of Beacon.
"Ironwood certainly loves bringing his work wherever he travels." Glynda says with crossed arms. Despite coming much sooner, she still didn't approve of the general's actions.
"Well, running an academy in a military makes him a busy man. Especially with what he discovered out there a while ago. But yes, those are a bit of an…eyesore." Ozpin says as he hears a beep from his desk. "Come in."
"Ozpin." Ironwood greeted.
"Hello again James." Ozpin greeted back.
"And yellow again to you too Glynda, sorry if I haven't greeted you properly recently, I have been quite busy." Ironwood said to her.
"I'll be outside." Glynda tells Ozpin, ignoring the general. She then left, leaving the two alone.
"Even after a few months she still hasn't changed a bit." Ironwood says to Ozpin.
"So, what would you like to discuss today?" Ozpin asks as he pours a cup of coffee and hands it to him.
"You should already know by now. It involves the creature from the forest, I believe it is hiding in Vale as we speak." Ironwood replied.
Ozpin stops for a moment, this was not good at all.
"Do you have any evidence?" Ozpin asks, hoping it wasn't true.
"I do, when I had some Knights patrol the wall around Vale, they discovered a hole broken into the side of it, thankfully we had the whole patched up quickly so nothing else could get in. I had looked to see for any footage in the cameras near the area for what made the hole and found this." Ironwood says as he pulls out a scroll.
The scroll then showed footage of the wall before it was broken into. For a few moments everything was calm, until red sharp tendrils came from the shadows of the forest and hit the wall, make the hole. After the tendrils retreated, a red blur moved extremely fast through the hole. While the footage couldn't get a clear view, the tendrils and the red blur were enough evidence to indicate the creature was inside.
"You see Ozpin? It's in Vale now, and recently a body was found matching similar descriptions from previous victims. From the looks of the body, it made it look like it was just a senseless murder as far as the public knows. It's getting smarter." Ironwood says in a stern voice.
"More of a reason to be careful in our next actions, if you do something rash it will only make things worse." Ozpin replied.
"Worse?! Ozpin, we have to take action now! It's pure luck it hasn't ravaged the entire city! If we don't do something soon then all will be lost!" Ironwood shouts.
"I understand, but if it's getting smarter, then it would know you are hunting it down. It may not show up with you're Knights constantly patrolling the city. For now, you should take advantage of this and get as much information you can get from it." Ozpin suggested.
"I have, as far as I know fire related weaponry seems to have an effect on it, so the moment the Knights find it it will be burnt to a crisp. The sooner it's found the sooner we can kill it." Ironwood replied. "Speaking of getting information, my Knights have recorded something interesting."
"What did they record?" Ozpin asked
"A battle between wanted White Fang criminal Adam Taurus and Vale's vigilante Spider-Man." Ironwood began, which got Ozpin's curiosity. "While there were many interesting things about the vigilante, what I found out was he identity."
Ironwood then showed him a freeze frame of Spider-Man with the left lens of his mask ripped off, showing his eye and beauty mark.
"If I'm not mistaken, he looks very similar to one of your students, Peter Parker. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, do you Ozpin?" Ironwood asked.
Ozpin sighs, it seems that there was no hiding the truth, hopefully just that truth. "I have, I found out about his activities the day I enlisted him into Beacon."
"Why? And why did you keep the truth from me?" Ironwood asked.
"I had enlisted him as a way to keep an eye out for him, I wasn't exactly sure of his intentions. But now I can confidently say he isn't a danger to anyone. He is merely a child who wants to protect those around him." Ozpin began, "As to why I kept to truth from you, it was to keep his trust, he was weary of you when you arrived here."
"I see, well then, keep him in check. While he may be one of your students, you can't allow him to continue these activities without supervision." Ironwood warned.
"I am aware, I have Glynda keep a strict curfew on the boy, although it has been difficult to get him to listen sometime. But remember, the boy is under my care, so I would ask that you refrain from doing anything rash with Mr. Parker." Ozpin replied. "If we are done discussing about the young man, I would like to talk about the fleet you brought. If what you can deal with the creature with the Knights then why bring an entire fleet here?" Ozpin asked.
"Oz, you and I both know why I brought those men." Ironwood answered.
"We are at a time of peace. Shows of power like this, is going to give off the wrong impression." Ozpin countered.
"But if what Qrow said is true, then.."
"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle that tactfully as well. It's the Vital Festival, a time to celebrate. Unity and peace, so I suggest you not scared people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent, they are already weary of the Knights patrolling the city." Ozpin told the general.
"I am just being cautious, with two separate threats, we need to handle them quickly." Ironwood explained.
"So am I, which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntress we can. It's the main reason why I enlisted young Parker. The boy has the potential to be something the world needs, to be frank, I believe he already has." Ozpin explained.
"Well I hope you know what you are doing with him, from the footage, I saw a display of what I can infer is a very unique semblance." Ironwood says, referring to the black suit retracting back in him from the footage he showed Ozpin.
As Ironwood began to leave, he then looks back to Ozpin and asks, "Bit ask yourself this, do you honestly believe him and the rest of your children can win a war?"
"I hope they never have to."
/
Back with the teens, they had all moved to the library, and we're all playing a board game.
Well the girls were, Peter decided to provide commentary to make things more interesting.
"Yang Xiao Long prepare your kingdom for a battle!" Ruby declared.
"Bring it on!" Yang replied.
"And so it begins, a battle between two sisters. Who will come out on top, will it be the quick red rose, or the yellow fiery dragon." Peter broadcasted by pretending to talk into a mike.
"Obviously me, I'm the strongest there is!" Yang smirked.
"Not so fast, I deploy the Atlesian Air fleet!" Ruby proclaimed, causing Yang to gasp in shock. "Looks like I get to fly right over your Ursai and attack your walls directly!" Ruby says as she made airplane noises.
"You fiend!" Yang said, pointing her finger at her sister.
"Looks like betrayal is in the air, bad blood between sisters is such a sad thing to see." Peter said, which reminded him of his feud with his former bro. He stays composed as to not let the others see.
However Blake was able to notice that he felt slightly saddened from saying that, which only got made her more curious.
"And since Atlas is part of Mantle, my repair time only lasts one turn." Ruby says with a slight smirk.
"I feel pride. Pride in someone else, mini Parker has made us proud." Venom comments, which got Peter to chuckle internally.
"What a genius play by Ruby Rose, how will Yang Xiao Long respond?" Peter continued.
Yang, then chuckles, which got Ruby to feel nervous. "Pretty sneaky sis, but you just activated my trap card!" Yang says as she reveals her card, getting a squeal from Ruby. "Giant Nevermore! If I roll a seven or higher fatal feathers will slice your fleet in two!"
"But, if you roll a six or lower, the Nevermore will turn on your own forces." Ruby pointed out.
"Such a bold move, will Miss Xiao Long continue this risky move or will she fold here and now!" Peter continues his commentary.
"I'm taking the risk! And I will win!" Yang proclaimed as she rolled her dice. And fortunately for her, she rolled a seven.
"Yes!"
"No! My fearless soldiers!" Ruby cried out. "Have you no heart!"
"And now she lost my pride in her. I bet your Parker Luck messed with her luck." Venom grumbles.
"Hey!"
"I bet it's your fault Pete! You say you have terrible luck and it must have rubbed off on me!" Ruby pouts in a joking manner.
"Hey!"
"HA!"
"Well Weiss, it's your turn." Yang turned to the Heiress.
"I have…. Absolutely no idea what's going on." Weiss admits.
"I hope she loses." Venom told it's host.
"Will you ever give Weiss a chance?" Peter asked rhetorically.
"Nope."
"Look, it's easy." Yang says as she slides next to Weiss, "You're playing as Vacuo."
"Uh Weiss."
"Which means all Vacuo based cards come with a bonus."
"Weiss."
"That sounds dumb." Weiss states her opinion.
"Weiss?"
"See you've got Sandstorm, Dessert scavenge…Oh! Oh! Resourceful Raider!" Yang listed.
"Ice queen….."
"See, you can take Ruby's discard Air fleet and put it on your hands!" Yang explained.
"Ok?"
"And since Vacuo Warriors have an endurance boost against Natural hazards, you could use Sandstorm to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom." Yang finished. "Just know, I will not forget this declaration of war."
"And that means…" Weiss replied.
"Your just three moves away from conquering Remnant!" Ruby cried.
"Snow princess.."
"Shush with the commentary Peter!" Weiss finally responded, she then began laughing maniacally, "Yes! Fear the almighty power of my forces! Cower as they pillage your homes and weep as they take your children from your very arms!"
"Trap card."
"Huh?"
Yang the rearrange the pieces after using her trap card, "Your armies have been destroyed."
"I hate this game of emotions we play!" Weiss cried.
"Stay strong Weiss we can make it through this together!" Ruby says as she jumped into Weiss's arms and hug her.
"Shut up don't touch me!" Weiss said, although she continued to hug Ruby back.
"I tried to warn you." Peter deadpanned.
"Ruby's right, it's your bad luck that made me lose!" Weiss cried out.
"Nah, your just dumb Schnee. I knew she would lose. So satisfying to watch." Venom laughed.
"I feel betrayed by Ruby and Weiss now." Peter sighs internally.
"All right Blake your up, or are you going to continue staring at Pete?" Yang teased.
"She is probably annoyed by my commentary like Weiss is." Peter guessed.
"Uh? Oh? Sorry, what I'm I doing?" Blake answered, ignoring Yang's teasing.
"You're playing as Vale, trying to conquer the kingdoms of Remnant." Yang explained.
"Right…"
Jaune then walks towards the group and says, "Hey! Can I play?"
"Sorry Jaune, we've already got four people. Peter's doing commentary like an announcer to make things more fun." Ruby answered.
"Besides, this game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt you possess." Weiss told the blonde boy.
"Come on, give my boy a shot. I bet he is smart enough to understand how this game works and play with you guys." Peter told Weiss.
"No, I don't think he is." Weiss countered.
"You attacked your own naval fleet two turns in a row./ You attacked your own armies twice."
"I blame Peter's bad luck!"
"Again, hey."
"Bring it on Ice queen! I'll have you know and that I've been told I'm a natural born leader." Jaune proclaimed.
"By who? You mother?" Weiss mocked.
"And Peter, and Pyrrha." Jaune said nervously, although he said Pyrrha's name with his cheeks being slightly red.
"Hello again!"
"Did, did Jaune blush?" Peter asked.
"Huh, I think you actually helped the boy. Congratulations, you prevented another you." Venom chuckles.
"One, why is everyone ganging up on me today? And two, I should ask Jaune if he figured out what I said to him back then." Peter replied.
"Come on! Let me play your hand for a turn!" Jaune pleaded.
"I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo." Weiss rejected.
"Why not? You've trusted me with way more important stuff before. I mean you told us all that Blake is secretly a fau-"
"A fun loving lady to be spend our time with." Peter says as he covered Jaune's mouth before Pyrrha could. "I am not trusting you with a secret for a while." Peter said out loud.
"Like the one where you told me you tried asking out a twenty year old?" Jaune blurts out.
Everyone then began to stare at Peter, who was now as red as a tomato.
"BAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA!"
"Wow, you hear that Blake, dear old Petey here is a cougar hunter." Yang teased, which only caused Blake to blush heavily.
"Peter Benjamin Parker.." Weiss says with slight disgust.
"Oh, my…" Pyrrha gasps in surprise.
"What?" Ruby says in confusion.
"….. YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" Peter shouts as he jumps out a window after saying that, again.
And again, the window was closed.
"I have a lot to apologize to him later." Jaune spoke. "Ladies, enjoy your battle." Jaune bowed.
"Sup losers!" Sun greeted casually.
"Hey Sun." Ruby greeted back.
"Ruby, Yang, Blake, Ice queen."
"Why does everyone keep calling me that?!" Weiss complained.
"You're personality is colder than the vacuum of space!" Everyone heard Peter shout from a distance.
"I never got a chance to formally introduce my old friend." Sun told everyone.
"Uh aren't libraries for reading?" The blue haired teen asked.
"Thank you!"
"Pancakes!"
"Shut up, don't be a nerd." Sun told his friend.
"The preferred term is intellectual!" Peter shouts from a distance again.
"That guy gets it." The teen smiles, "I'm Neptune."
"So Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asked.
"Haven." Neptune says as he walked towards Weiss, "And I don't believe I've caught your name Snow Angel."
"Um, I'm Weiss." Weiss replied, unsure on what to feel from what he said.
Jaune just sighs, he still had feelings for the Heiress, put at the same time thanks to Peter, he slowly started having feelings for his partner. Things were getting complicated for the boy.
"So, anyone care to explain why Peter is shouting outside a broken window?" Sun asked.
"I am not elaborating further! And I'm going to make Mac and cheese to forget today and nobody can stop me!" Peter shouts, finally leaving.
"Thanks to Jauney boy here, we now know Peter asked out a twenty year old. Who would have thought?" Yang explained.
"I should have stayed quiet." Jaune sulks, getting a reassuring smile from Pyrrha as she puts a hand on his shoulders.
"Ha! Cougar hunter!" Nora laughs, getting Ren to face palm.
"Pervert…" Weiss grumbles.
"Maybe there's a good explanation?" Ruby guessed.
"Heh, that's hilarious?" Sun chuckles, "Think he likes cats?" Sun whispered to Blake.
"And I'm out. I'll be in our dorm." Blake says as she leaves as well, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"I was kidding!" Sun shouts.
Sun just shrugs as everyone watches her leave.
"Women." Nora shrugs as well, getting everyone to look at her now.
/
"I can't believe he said that out loud." Peter sulks as he walked around the campus.
"I still can't believe you told him that. The looks you got from everyone was hilarious!" Venom laughed.
"Please stop….."
"Fine, but expect everyone to ask about it later." Venom replied.
"I'd rather not." Peter groaned.
Breaking out of his thoughts was the voice of Glynda, "Mr. Parker, Ozpin would like a word from you."
"Oh, hey Miss Goodwitch. Am I in trouble right now?" Peter asked.
"While you are responsible for participating in the mess you caused with your fellow peers, that is not what he wishes to speak with you right now." Glynda explained. "Now hurry along, he doesn't have all day."
"Right, I'll go now." Peter says as he makes his way to Ozpin's office, "By the way, I may or may not have broken a window in the library sorry!" Peter shouts as he leaves.
Glynda just stares ahead, her eyes slightly twitching, "That boy is a piece of work sometimes."
After a few minutes, Peter arrived in Ozpin's office, as he enters he is greeted by Ozpin, "Hello young Parker."
"Sup Oz, is there something you need to speak to me about?" Peter asked
"Yes, matter a fact, I need to speak with both you and your alien ally." Ozpin replied.
And just like that, the Symbiote formed it's head, coming out from Peter's back. "Ok, what do you want old man?"
"It involves General Ironwood." Ozpin says as he offered both Peter and the symbiote mugs of hot chocolate.
"God damnit, you betrayed us didn't you. And your using hot chocolate as a bribe!" Venom shouts.
"Symbie hold on, let him speak first, I'm sure he didn't say anything to the guy." Peter told the symbiote as they both accepted the mugs.
"Fine, speak." Venom says as he just ate the whole cup.
Ozpin just stares at the symbiote for a moment before continuing, "Peter is correct, I didn't tell him anything. Unfortunately he had found out about your secret identity from one of his Atlesian Knights recording a fight between you and the White Fang."
"Crapbaskets, was it the one where I had a whole in my mask revealing my eye?" Peter asked.
"That is correct, unfortunately I could not lie to him when he confronted me about it." Ozpin confirmed.
"And what about me? I was active in my suit form around Parker for a time in that fight. Does he know of my existence?" Venom grunts.
"Fortunately not, as far as he is aware, he believes it is a part of your "semblance". So that secret is still safe." Ozpin answered.
"Thank god, I do not need the military hunting me down for harboring an alien. But speaking of General Ironwood, he won't try to, you know, capture me?" Peter asked.
"I have informed him that you are under my care as my student here and to not do anything rash while you are out there doing your nightly activities." Ozpin explained.
"I doubt he will listen, militaries tend to do nothing but make rash decisions. So he better head your words." Venom warned.
"Dude, can you just calm down for a bit. I'm sure he will listen to Oz here. Besides, just to be safe I'll try and be even more stealthy out there." Peter told the alien.
"Fine, I'll be inside digesting the chocolate." Venom replied as it retracts back in.
"Symbie's behavior is still a work in progress, sorry about that." Peter apologized.
"It's alright, I have come to expect it's behavior by now. However I actually agree with it, while I did speak to General Ironwood to refrain from making a rash decisions, I do fear his paranoia may make him do something he would regret. So if you see the General try and be polite and orderly, hopefully he will see that you are just a child trying to do the right thing." Ozpin told the hidden vigilante.
"I don't feel like a child anymore." Peter sighs.
"You still act like one." Venom pops out to say before retracting back in.
"…..Come on."
"You are still young, you shouldn't be doing such dangerous things at this age. But I believe you will still do so no matter what I or anyone says otherwise, correct?" Ozpin asked.
"Correct, I won't look the other way." Peter answered as he finished his mug of hot chocolate and puts it on the desk. "If that's all you needed to tell me then thanks for the heads up. I believe you have a busy day ahead of you so I won't take too much of your time. And I'll pay for that mug that Symbie ate."
"No need, I have a spare. Just try and convince it to refrain from doing that again." Ozpin replied.
"I'll try, they aren't easy to work with." Peter joked.
"No I am not." Venom popped back out to say again before retracting once more.
Peter just sighs as he turns around to leave, but before he could, Ozpin then asks, "Have you thought about telling your team?"
"Huh?"
"Team RWBY, you are a part of their team for the next four years, so it is inevitable that they find out. So I ask, will you tell them yourself?"
"If your taking about Spider-Man, Blake and Yang found out the same night that I had fought the White Fang. Caught me crawling out of a garbage container after blacking out for a moment and falling in it." Peter began, "As for Ruby and Weiss, I'm trying to build up the courage to tell them soon. Just not ready yet."
"I see, and I assume you may keep quiet about your secret partner?" Ozpin asked.
"I think it might be best they don't find out about Symbie or that I'm not from here. It would most definitely not go well. There are just some things that can't be told. I hope you understand." Peter says as he left Ozpin's office.
"More than you know."
/
After the short meeting with Ozpin, Peter walked around aimlessly around, speaking with the symbiote.
"Crapbaskets the General knows about me being Spider-man. What should I do, any ideas?" Peter asked.
"Like you said before, stay stealthy. While that general knows who you are now, he can't do anything he can't see you. Besides, you are under the old man's jurisdiction so he can't do jack." Venom replied.
"True, but I get the feeling that the guy doesn't trust me. Do you think he believes you are my semblance?" Peter asked.
"Maybe, maybe not. There is a chance he may still be cautious because of my abilities. Last thing I need is to be experimented on." Venom replied.
"From the way you speak, it sounds like you have been experimented on before. Have you?" Peter points out.
"I have, a long time ago. It was during one of the Klyntar's invasion on a planet full of life. I was captured, caught off guard when one of the inhabitants of the planet stumbled upon my weakness on accident. I was experimented on for a few weeks until the Klyntar inevitable won and all life had been consumed. I got lucky that one, I survived the experiments, and two the Klyntar didn't execute me for my failure." Venom explained.
"Wow, I had no idea. Sorry that happened to you." Peter consoles.
"It's in the past now, what matters right now is being weary of that general. Best we spend more time out of being a hero and more as your civilian life for the moment." Venom instructed.
"Got it, but can I just walk around for a bit. Kind of not ready to face the girls after that secret got out." Peter pleads.
"Whatever, you do yo-" But the symbiote didn't finish as it sensed an all to familiar power. "Parker, she's here."
"Who? Who's here?" Peter asked.
"The women of fire."
This got Peter to freeze in place, by now it knew that the symbiote was never wrong when it sensed anybody nearby. And right now, that women was here.
"Where."
"Around the corner, be on guard but act like a regular student and that everything is fine." Venom directed.
Peter breathes in and out, he calms down and walks around the corner. When he does he sees Ruby talking to a girl with black hair followed by a girl in green hat and tan skin and a boy with silver air.
"Ooh, you're here for the festival. Oh, but exchange students have their own dormitory." Ruby told the three.
"I guess we just got turned around." Mercury says.
"Don't worry, happens all the time." Ruby said as Mercury and Emerald walk past her. "Your building is just east of here."
"Thanks." Cinder says as she walks past Ruby as well. "Maybe we'll see you around."
"Yeah maybe. Oh uh, and welcome to Beacon!" Ruby shouts as they left.
"That was definitely her, she sounds all to familiar." Peter thought.
"She is, the power is unmistakable. Seems like the enemy has infiltrated the school. I'll alert the old man tonight." Venom spoke.
"He probably won't believe you so hopefully he keeps an eye out on those guys. For now I'm going to see what Ruby knows about them." Peyer replied, getting a nod from the Symbiote. "Hey Rubes, who were those guys?"
"Oh! Peter! Where have you been?" Ruby asked innocently.
"Around, I was going to make Mac and cheese but I got lost." Peter lied.
"Yeah I get, lost too sometimes." Ruby chuckles. "Oh, and to answer your question those guys are here for the festival from Haven. They're names are Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald." Ruby answered.
"I am going to assume the girl looking like chocolate mint is Emerald and the girl with black hair is Cinder. Cause you know, color schemes." Peter joked.
"Oh Oum that's actually pretty funny!" Ruby laughed, "Please don't tell anyone I laughed at that." Ruby pleads, getting a nod from Peter. "Thanks. Oh, you should probably come back, some things happened while you were gone and we want your help."
"Okay, sure. Lead the way, fearless leader." Peter said as he took a bow, getting a chuckle from Ruby.
"You are co-leader you know." Ruby giggled.
"But Leader is above Co-leader so I am at your mercy." Peter joked as they walked to their dorm.
As they walked back, Ruby innocently asked, "Why did you ask out a twenty year old?"
"…..I am a dumb teenage boy." Peter answered.
"HA!" Venom laughed again.
"Kill me."
/
The next day, the team had just got back from Professor Port's class, and began changing into different outfits for the day.
"I thought that class would never end." Blake said as they finished changing.
"Tell me about it, that guy is boring!" Peter complained as he got out the bathroom from changing.
He had changed back into his classic outfit he had from before. His old blue T-shirt with the white sweater and brown pants and shoes. He had finally gotten around to repairing his old fit and since his team decided to try on different clothing he decided to go back to the classics.
"Show respect to your elders! Even if you might be right." Weiss slightly scolds.
"Back to your old outfit ay Pete?" Yang said to the boy.
"Yep, if we are going out in different outfits then I'm going back to my classic look. I finally got to sew it back together so don't worry about me having rags on the bathroom wardrobe Ice queen." Peter joked, getting a hmph from the Heiress.
"Nothing wrong with the classics." Ruby complemented. "All right guys, today is the day the investigation begins?" Ruby cheers as she jumped off her bed.
"I'm glad to see we're taking this so seriously." Weiss said sarcastically.
"I'm always serious." Peter quipped.
"I can't tell if that's the truth or a lie at this point." Venom deadpanned.
"That was sarcasm." Weiss said with slight annoyance.
"Hey! We got a plan, that's moderately serious." Yang tried to counter.
"Right, everyone remember their roles?" Ruby asked.
"You and I will head to the CCT to check the Schnee records for any other dust robberies or inconsistencies." Weiss answered. "Seeing as I'm in the family or shouldn't be a problem." Weiss said with a smug look.
"Must be good to be rich, huh Ice queen." Peter quipped.
"At least I have money." Weiss jabbed.
"Ha! Burn, or brain freeze is more like it." Yang snorts.
"Oh no she's learning." Peter gasps jokingly as Weiss keeps her smug look.
Ignoring Peter's antics, Blake says, "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."
"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard." Yang added.
"He wouldn't be that Jr. guy right?" Peter asked.
"Yup, same guy." Yang confirmed.
"Wait, I forgot to give Peter a roll!" Ruby sulks.
"It's fine Rubes, I can try and find Spider-Man and see if I can ask him if he knows anything that could help us. That or look in another shady part of Vale for info, I got this." Peter reassures his leader.
"Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found. Let's do this!"
"Yeah!" Everyone heard a voice from outside the window, which turned out to be Sun dangling from a tree.
"Hey! He's stealing my schtick!" Peter shouts.
"You can't claim the action of hanging upside Parker." Venom grunts. "You should be more concerned that monkey is casually spying on us, especially since these girls just changed."
"Sun! How did you get up there?!" Yang asked.
"That's easy, I do it all the time." Sun replied.
"You do what exactly, and I'd choose your next words carefully bro." Peter said with a threatening smile, raising his hand and forming it into a symbiote hand.
"Uh, I climb trees." Sun answered nervously.
"……. Your safe, for now." Peter said as his hand returned back to normal.
"Says the pervert." Weiss jabbed at Peter, still slightly disgusted that he asked out an older woman once.
"I am a dumb teenage boy!" Peter whined, which got a chuckle from everyone.
"So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?" Sun asked.
"We are going to investigate the situation. As a team." Blake said as she puts emphasis on the word team.
Sorry Sun we don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." Ruby told the monkey boy.
"Pfft, that's dumb! You should always get friends involved." Sun brushed off.
"No, you shouldn't." Peter said sternly.
"Come on, let me help. I also brought Neptune." Sun said as he pointed outside the window.
Everyone looks outside the window to see Neptune clinging to the wall. "Sup."
"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked.
"I have my ways." Neptune answers.
"Sun dragged you up here didn't he?" Peter said with a deadpanned expression.
"…. Yes, can I come in we're like seriously high up right now." Neptune said growing nervous.
Peter sighs as he lets a tendril come out his back and grab Neptune to place him inside.
"Whoa, creepy semblance." Neptune said to Peter. "No offense."
"None taken." Peter brushed off as the tendrils retracts.
"Offense totally taken here!"
"Shush."
"Don't shush me!"
"All right…" Ruby began, "I'll go with Weiss, Sun you can go with Blake. And Neptune you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner." Ruby says as she pushed Neptune away from Weiss. "Everyone good?"
Actually Ruby, why don't you go with Yang?" Weiss laughed nervously. "After all, she is your sister."
"But Weiss, who would go with you then?" Ruby asked with confusion.
"Well, I guess Neptune could come with me."
"Ha ha ha!" Ruby laughed, "Nah!"
"But, but!" Weiss says only to be dragged off by Ruby."
"Ha! Another memory to savor of the Schnee's defeat." Venom laughed.
"I am going to be honest, that was funny. Seems Weiss here has a crush. Want to make a bet?" Peter asked.
"Screw it yes. I bet she fails horribly." Venom replied.
"I think she could do it. For the record, if I win, you don't get to make any sarcastic remarks for a month." Peter told the alien.
"And if I win, you can't make any quips for a month, deal?" Venom asked.
"Deal." Peter replied, chuckling to himself.
"So I guess we should go now." Yang said breaking Peter out of his thoughts.
"Yes, let's not waste any time." Blake agreed as everyone left.
While walking towards the bullhead heading towards Vale, Blake slows down so she could talk to Peter privately.
"So, what are you actually going to do?" Blake asked.
"You already know, I'm going to go in, kick but and get answers. Shouldn't be that hard." Peter answered.
"I see them, just be careful. I don't want to find you hurt like Yang and I did last time." Blake says to him.
"Like I said, I was caught off guard. Rarely happens, I'll be fine. Pinky promise." Peter said as he lifted his pinkie.
"Really?" Blake said with a smirk, finding it funny Peter was making a promise like a child.
"Hey! Pinkie promises are unbreakable." Peter joked.
"Fine." Blake says as she grabs Peter's pinkie with hers. "You better keep it."
"I will, don't give me that look." Peter pleads, getting a giggle from the feline.
"Hey! If you two are done making out then hurry it up! We don't got all day!" Yang teased.
"Yang!" both teens shout in embarrassment.
"You two are very close at the moment." Venom joked.
"Don't you start, besides I am still not sure I'm ready for a relationship right now. Besides she deserves better than me." Peter replied as everyone enters the bullhead.
As they do, Peter is unaware of a certain general watching from a distance.
"Have the Knights monitor Spider-Man when he is detected in Vale, but make sure they keep their distance. I only want footage to study." Ironwood spoke into a device.
"Yes, sir."
"Let's see what you are capable of Mr. Parker."
/
"Wow! I forget how big the Transit Tower looks up close!" Ruby shouts in excitement.
"You should see the one in Atlas." Weiss told her partner.
"That was the first one right?" Ruby asked.
"Correct. Atlas developed the cross-continental transmit system to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War." Weiss explained.
"Ooh, look at me, my name is Weiss I know facts, I'm rich." Ruby snorts after making an impression of Weiss.
"Don't be a pest. Besides the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much. We could have just as easily made a call from the library." Weiss scolds.
"I know but it's so cool! Oh! I'm going to take a picture!" Ruby says as she pulls out her scroll, only to drop it instead.
As the scroll tumbles away, it lands at the feet of a familiar face.
"Oh, you dropped this." Penny says as she holds up the scroll.
"Penny?!" Ruby says, surprised to see her.
"Uh….."
"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since the night at the docks!" Ruby asked.
"Sorry, I think you're confused." Penny says as she tossed Ruby her scroll. "Uh, I've got to go!" Penny says as she runs off.
"What was that about?" Weiss asked, confused at what just happened.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Ruby replies as she began to follow Penny. "You go make your call, I'll meet up with you later!"
"Wait!" Weiss calls out, but sighs afterwards as Ruby left.
"Penny! Where have you been?" Ruby asked as she caught up with her. "It's been weeks!"
"There seems to be a misunderstanding." Penny bluntly replies.
"What? Penny, is everything okay?" Ruby asked, only to be ignored, "Penny please stop! Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me. Those guys back on the docks, we think they're up to something big, something bad! I need you to tell me what happened that night. Please." Ruby pleads.
"As a friend."
Penny sighs as she looks around, she then gets close to Ruby and whispers, "It isn't safe to talk here."
/
Back with Weiss, she enters an elevator, and she is greeted by a female voice, "Hello, welcome to the CCT. How many I help you?"
"I'd like to go to the communications room please." Weiss responds.
"Absolutely, could you please place your scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?" The women asked.
Weiss then pulled out her scroll to be scanned for said identity, successfully getting in.
"Perfect, thank you Miss Schnee."
Weiss smiles as she is given access, she then takes a moment to breathe before arriving at the desired floor. Once there, she enters the room and walks towards the counter and is greeted by a hologram of a women in a suit.
"Welcome to the Beacon Cross-Continental Transmit Center, how many I help you?"
"I need to make a call to Schnee company world headquarters in Atlas." Weiss answered.
"Absolutely, if you could head over to Terminal 3 I'll patch you through."
"Thank you." Weiss said politely as she made her way to the terminal.
Once their, she then makes the call, and is greeted by a woman with orange hair.
"Thank you for calling the Atlas- oh! Miss Schnee, good afternoon. Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister winter might be here as well." The women asked.
"No thank you. I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've complied a short list." Weiss says as she connected her scroll to the terminal.
"I see, if you don't mind, what may I ask is this for?"
"School project." Weiss lied.
"Um, there are some sensitive documents on this list ma'am." The women points out.
"Well then I'll be sure to treat them with care." Weiss told the women.
"Right, very well. The data is being transferred to your scroll now." The woman told the Heiress.
"Wonderful, that will be all then." Weiss says.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?" The women asked.
"Yes, I'm sure." Weiss answered, putting on a slightly nervous smile.
"Well then, have a nice day." The woman says as the terminal switched off.
Weiss then sighs as her smile drops, she was glad things went smoothly, the last thing she needed was to interact with her father.
/
"I wish I could help you Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men." Penny told her as the both of them walked together.
"Well, what happened to you that night?" Ruby asked. "We were all together, and then you just disappeared. Were you kidnapped?!"
"Oh, no! Nothing like that!" Penny replied.
"Then where did you go?"
"I've never been to another kingdom before, my father asked me not to venture out too far. But, you have to understand, my father loves me very much. He just worries a lot." Penny explained.
"Believe me, I know the feeling." Ruby reassures her friend. "But, why not let us know you were ok?"
"I….was asked not to talk to you, or Weiss, or Blake, or Yang, or anybody really. Especially Peter." Penny answered.
"Why not Peter?" Ruby asked with curiosity.
"I was told he isn't as he appears to be. He is hiding something from everyone so I was asked to keep a distance from him. I believe it has something to do with Spider-Man." Penny explained.
"Oh, I see." Ruby simply replied, "Why? Is it because Pete is the one that always gets pictures of Spider-Man?" Ruby thought.
Deciding to ask these questions for later, Ruby then asks, "Was your dad that upset?"
"No, it wasn't my father." Penny answered.
Just then, both girls here a voice coming from around the corner. When they look they see a hologram of Ironwood showcasing the newly improved Atlesian Knights.
"But, the Kingdom of Atlas, is a kingdom of innovation and fine, well that's just not good enough is it?" Ironwood says as capsules opened up to reveal more Knights.
"Presenting, the Atlesian Knight 300!"
The crowd clapped, amazed at the sight. What they didn't know was that originally it was the Atlesian Knight 200 that should have been introduced. But thanks to the unknown entity, the Knights had to be upgraded even more.
"Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, less intimidating. Each model will become active this year, but they won't be alone. Now, the Atlesian military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However there are still many situations that undoubtedly require a human touch, wouldn't you agree Spider-Man." Ironwood says as he pointed towards a building behind the crowd.
Everyone looked to see Spider-Man sitting on the edge of a building, in his classic suit eating a sandwich.
"Who me? I don't know why you dragged me into this I'm on lunch break. But if you ask me, a guy who wore a fish bowl on his head ruined robots for me." Spider-man quipped, getting the crowd to laugh.
"Very funny…" Ironwood says, keeping his cool, neither of them would say it but they didn't trust one another. "Moving on, our kingdoms greatest minds in cooperation with the Schnee dust company are proud to introduce….the Atlesian Paladin!"
The hologram of Ironwood was then replaced with a hologram of a large machine, armed with heavy weapons.
"Now we couldn't have them here for you today, but these mechanized battle ships will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year. Ready to face any threat that comes out way." Ironwood says, making sure the last part was heard by the web-head.
As the crowns cheered, Penny began to get more nervous, "Ruby, maybe we should go somewhere else."
Suddenly, both girls are spotted by two gaurds. Penny immediately runs off, as they began to make their way to them.
"Penny, wait, where are you going?" Ruby asks before following her.
Before the guards go any further, they feet are webbed to the floor stopping them in their tracks.
"Sorry! That was an accident, it just happens sometimes." Spider-man quipped before swinging away.
Not exactly pleased by this, Ironwood then commanded his men to have a few Knights follow him. He won't use them on the vigilante, but he will observe him, waiting to see if he should seem the boy a threat.
Back with Ruby, she continued to follow Penny as a few more guards follow the instead.
Ruby would use her Scythe to make as much of a mess to prevent said guards from catching up to her. Once Ruby catches up with Penny, she uses her semblance to get Penny further away. But soon Ruby crashes to the floor and rolls on the road. A truck the speeds towards her, but before it could hit her Penny pushes her out of the way and stops the truck with her bare hands.
"Penny…."
"Are you okay?" Penny asked the driver, getting a nod from the man, who was in shock at what just happened.
Penny the looks around, eyes on her from the action she just did. Hearing murmurs from the crowd asking many questions to what they just saw.
Penny then runs away again, with Ruby calling out to her before following her again.
"Penny! Please, what is going on! Why are you running? How did you do that?!" Ruby asked.
"I, I can't! Everything's fine, I don't want to talk about it!" Penny says as she began to hiccup.
"Penny, if you can tell me what's wrong, I can help you!" Ruby pleads.
"No, no you wouldn't understand." Penny turns away.
"Let me try, you can trust me!"
"You're my friend right? You promise your my friend?" Penny asked.
"I promise." Ruby answered.
"Ruby, I'm not a real girl." Penny says, showing her hands, revealing metal underneath her skin.
"Oh.." Ruby says, surprised at what she has been shown, "Penny, I don't understand."
"Most girls are born, but I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an aura. I'm not real." Penny explained, filled with sadness.
Ruby then holds Penny's hand, "Of course you are, you think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?"
"I don't, um…. Your taking this extraordinarily well." Penny points out.
"You're not like those things we saw back there, you've got a heart." Ruby says as she poked Penny's chest. "And a soul I can feel it."
"Oh! Oh Ruby, you're the best friend anyone could have!" Penny cheers as she hugged Ruby.
"I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower." Ruby says as she is being smothered by Penny.
"Oh! He's very sweet, my fathers the one that built me. I'm sure you would just love him!" Penny says as she released Ruby from her hug.
"Wow, he built you all by himself?"
"Well almost, he had some help from Mister Ironwood." Penny explained.
"The general? Wait, is that why those soldiers were after you?" Ruby asked, putting two and two together.
"They like to protect me too!"
"Pfft, they don't think you can protect yourself."
"They're not sure if I'm ready yet, one day it will be my job to save the world. But I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vital Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world and rest myself in the tournament." Penny explained.
"Penny what are you talking about? Save the world from what, we are in a time of peace." Ruby asked in confusion.
If only she knew of the two threats facing the planet.
"That's not what Mister Ironwood said."
Before their conversation could continue, they heard the soldiers in the distance, getting closer to them.
"You have to hide!" Penny says as she grabbed Ruby's shoulders.
Penny then picked up Ruby, much to the girls protests, and dumps her in a garbage container to hide her.
"What are you doing I can help you!"
"It's ok Ruby, they're not bad people, I just don't want you to get in trouble. Just promise me you won't tell anyone about my secret. Ok?" Penny asked.
"I promise." Ruby says as Penny closed the container.
Ruby then peeks out to see the soldiers confront Penny, asking her about Ruby.
"What happened to the other girl?"
"What girl? I've been by myself all day." Penny lied as she let out a hiccup.
"You shouldn't cause such a scene."
"Are you okay?"
"Just a scratch." Penny says as she showed her hands.
"Your father isn't going to be happy about this."
"Please, just come with us."
"Yes sir." Penny complied as she left with the two soldiers.
Ruby watches as they left, a smile on her face, only to be scared by a mouse that was in the container with her. Which resulted in her falling into the trash inside.
/
With Blake and Sun, they arrived at the warehouse where the White Fang were recruiting.
"This is it." Blake confirmed.
"You sure?" Sun asked, getting an annoyed look from Blake. "You know, I'm just going to take your word for it."
Blake and Sun then approached the entrance, as they do Sun then spoke, "I don't get it, if you believe what you're doing is right. Why hide who you are?" the faunus asked, holding a mask in his hands.
"The masks are a symbol humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to put on the faces of monsters." Blake explained.
"Grimm masks, that's kind of dark." Sun points out.
"So was the guy who started it." Blake replied as she walked ahead.
"Always sunshine and rainbows with you." Sun comments as both of them put on masks.
Sun and Blake join the crowd of faunus, waiting for the meeting to begin.
"Thank you all for coming." A White Fang goon greeted, "For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours. I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for, for so long." The goon says as Roman Torchwick revealed himself, causing a ruckus in the crowd.
"Thank you, thank you. Please hold your applause." Roman waved.
"What's a human doing here?!"
"I'm glad you asked deary." Roman responds to the faunus asking the question. "Now I'll be the first to admit, humans are the worst. Case in point. So I understand why you would love to see us all locked away, or better yet killed."
"Is he going somewhere with this or…" Sun asked on confusion.
"But, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I have a common enemy. Vale's oh so beloved vigilante, Spider-Man." Roman says, getting the crowd to murmur amongst themselves.
Blake slightly twitched at this, she did not like where this was going.
"That peaky big has been a thorn in our side for far too long. He goes around playing the hero, saving everyone and thinking he is doing good. But if he was, he would be here helping you guys face injustice by the higher ups. If anything, it's like he is helping the higher ups, a traitor to his people." Roman rants, getting the crowd to agree with him.
"Yeah! He's a traitor to the faunus!"
"He is hurting the White Fang!"
"He needs to be taught a lesson!"
"Yes, Spider-Man is to blame for holding you all back and ruining your lives, without him you would all be succeeding in getting the justice you deserve." Roman continues, "And he is a pest to be dealt with. Fortunately I'm the best exterminator around, no offense to any rodents in the room."
Roman then snapped his fingers, signaling a tarp behind him to fall. Once the tarp was down, it revealed one of the Atlesian Paladins behind him. The crowd cheered, amazed at what they are seeing.
"Oh, that's big robot.." Sun spoke, slightly nervous from seeing the thing.
"How did he get that?" Blake asks.
"Some of you have heard this right here, is Atlas's newest line of defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my employer, not only did we manage to snag a few before they hit the shelves, but they have also been slightly upgraded to take down the web-head. The weapons here have been upgraded to deal with his….unique abilities." Roman yells the crowd, getting them even more excited.
"That's not good." Sun gulps
Blake got even more concerned, not only did the White Fang manage to steal these machines, but they made to kill Peter. She froze for a moment, what if the White Fang succeeded and actually killed her friend. No, she couldn't, wouldn't let that happen. There has to be something she could do to stop this.
"Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the Southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?" Roman finished, the crowd only cheering in response.
"We should get out of here…. Maybe we can warn Pe- Spider-Man what the White Fang has in store for him." Blake whispered to Sun.
"Will all new recruits please come forward."
"Welp…"
/
Meanwhile, with Yang, she had already beat up Jr.'s men and had begun interrogating him for answers.
"I don't know."
"How can you not know!" Yang crossed her arms.
"I haven't talk to him." Jr. responds. "I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here. He paid up front, I'd lens him my men, and none of them ever came back."
"So where did they go?" Neptune asked as he approached.
"What kind of stupid question is that? They never came back, although some were found dead like many others the past few months." Jr responds.
"Wait, what do you mean found dead like others?" Yang asked. "Like the mysterious murders from a while back?"
"Don't you read the news? Yes, just like them. However the murders have recently returned, people found dead in the shadiest parts of Vale." Jr. explained. "Although the recent victims were more… maimed."
"That's, very disturbing. But right now I need to know everything you have on Roman!" Yang demanded
"I already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them. Which is something I can relate too!" Jr. yelled at his men.
"Come on Neptune." Yang began to leave, with Neptune following behind.
"We get everything we need?" Neptune asked.
"Well, we got everything we can, that and very disturbing news of Vale's mysterious kill back in town. Hopefully the rest of the team is having luck." Yang responds.
"Ok. Say, I don't want to alarm you, but didn't Peter says he would be looking for Spider-Man in the shadiest part of Vale. Same place that killer's activities take place." Neptune winced slightly.
"…… Oh crapbaskets!"
/
Back with the faunus duo, they were unsure how they would get out of their current predicament.
"What do we do?" Sun whispered.
"I'm thinking…" Blake replied, looking for a way out.
Just then, Sun looks to see Roman spotting the both of them in the crowd, a frown forming on his face.
"He sees us…"
"Crapbaskets.", Blake winced, "Ok now I'm saying it, how has Peter influenced us all to say that?" Blake asked internally.
Blake then spots a breaker and says, "He can't see us in the dark." As she shoots it, turning off all the lights.
"Don't let them get away!"
"Sun! The window!"
"Stop them!"
Blake and Sun then smash through the window, fleeing from the warehouse. The begin to run away, but are soon chased by Roman piloting the Paladin.
As the duo jump across the rooftops, Sun then asked, "So you wouldn't happen to have, oh I don't know, some sort of back up?!"
"On it!" Blake answered as she began to call the others. "Everyone! If you can hear me we ne-
"Help!" Sun yells. "They got a robot, and it's big, really big and it was specifically upgraded to kill Spider-Man!"
On the other end, Yang and Neptune listens in as Sun continued to explain the situation, "The Torchwick guy is in it! But not like it didn't eat him, he's like controlling it or something!"
"Where are you guys?" Yang asked, only to get her answer as she sees them from across the road.
"I think that was them." Neptune comments.
"Yeah I got it." Yang said as she drove her bike, following them. As she does she then spoke asks, "Hey, so any of you guys have a way to contact Peter? Because now that I think of it, he doesn't actually have a scroll, I think."
"Really?! Why doesn't that dolt have one!" Weiss shouts on her end.
"He isn't exactly made of money Weiss." Ruby joined in, "Hopefully he sees the mech and joins us soon?"
"No! He shouldn't get involved with this one?" Blake immediately spoke.
"Why not? He is needs to be here to help his team!" Weiss scolds.
"Blake is just scared her crush could get hurt." Yang teased, although she was secretly covering for Blake as to not seem suspicious.
"Yang! Now is not the time for your jokes!" Blake screamed.
Yang knew that, but what she and Blake also knew was that Peter was Spider-man, of the Paladin was upgraded to kill him, then him fighting the machine could actually hurt him pretty badly.
Of course that wouldn't stop him from helping them take the thing down. The only question Yang had was, "Where is he?"
/
Spider-Man was swinging around, he heard the screams of a man dying in the distance. The screams lead him to an abandoned construction site, as far as he could see, there wasn't anyone around at all.
He got closer to the screams, something didn't feel right. Both his and the symbiote's sense were on high alert.
They didn't detect anything.
As they got closer, they smelled blood, the blood of a now dead man.
They hesitated, something has clearly taken the life of an innocent, but they still couldn't sense who it was. The only conclusion the dis-functional duo could come up with was that it was the killer they had been searching for a long while.
Finally, Spider-Man turned the corner, and what he say terrified him and the symbiote down to their very souls.
"Crapbaskets/ No…"
"RAAAAAAAGH!"