Chapter 23:
"……….."
"Zzzzzzzzzzz"
Blake had decided to speak to Peter after a while, nearing the last hour of the dance. And what she cam across was a sleeping Peter.
"Hey Blake, what you standing there for?" Yang asked, walking towards the feline.
"I was going to talk to Peter for the rest of the night, but….." Blake said, Yang joining her as they both stared at a sleeping Peter.
"Ok, I know he needed to rest, but you'd think he would at least be awake for a bit longer. Guess he really needed more sleep." Yang guessed.
"Well, he did eat most of our food when he first woke up earlier. He seems to have gotten extremely sleepy because of it." Blake guessed.
Yang agreed, deciding to just wait for Weiss and Ruby to come back so they could all go to their dorm room together.
While they wait, Blake then asked, "Yang, why did you put me on the spot earlier?"
"Huh?"
"Why did you try to get me and Peter to just spend time together talking, alone." Blake asked.
"Well, uh, I thought you both could talk a bit about how you felt. I mean, the both of you were stubborn when it came to hunting down your enemies. So I was hoping you both could vent to one another." Yang answered.
"….And?"
"Ok, maybe I was trying to get you both together." Yang responds, getting a glare from the feline, "But I did meant it that you both could vent to one another."
"Next time don't, we don't need you planning these things." Blake deadpanned.
"Fine, then can I ask why you decided to go out with Sun? I know he asked you out the other day but I feel like you wouldn't go with him either way." Yang asked.
"…….well you did put me on the spot, and his obliviousness didn't help either. But also, I didn't know what more we could talk about, I also needed some time to think about what he told me." Blake answered.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked, curious on what Blake meant.
"He…told me a lot when I went to check in on him. Confirming that what the alien showed us was true, why he choose to be Spider-Man, and how he felt being on Remnant." Blake sighs, "He told me that he is glad to have met us all, but he also still wishes he was back home and this was all a dream."
"Oh…..that….wow. That's, something. But I don't think I could blame him, if I was separated from my home I'd probably want to go back to." Yang sympathized with her fellow comedian.
"I agree, I understand that he misses his home. But it does hurt slightly that he still wants to be back in his world." Blake replied.
"Are you afraid that he would leave us to go back if to his home if he could?" Yang asked, getting a nod from Blake.
"I only went out with Sun as a distraction from what Peter told me. Just a bit to think about how I can help him see Beacon as his new home." Blake said to her Partner.
"Oh." Yang said, not sure what to say next. She didn't know how to feel about what Peter told her partner. But she also understood that Peter just missed his home, the place he grew up.
Nether could be mad at him, but they can't help but feel slightly hurt.
"Hey…" Yang said as she placed a hand on Blake's shoulder, "Maybe when you actually feel like spending time alone with him then you can try to get him to fully accept Beacon as his new home. I can help, maybe even the others can help. He just needs someone to vent to and time to fully adjust. He does have a lot of baggage, with enough love and care we can help him move on, just give it time."
"Your right, after all, I needed some time to open up more and accept Beacon as my home too. I can help him with that. But don't even think about trying to set us up together as a couple." Blake gave Yang a look.
"Fine, fine, I'll just let nature take it's course." Yang grinned, getting a deadpanned look from Blake.
Before continuing their conversation , they hear Weiss approach them from behind.
"What are you two doing just standing there?" Weiss asked. She then noticed Peter sleeping, his mouth open as drool was dripping from his mouth. "Honestly, I'm not surprised, just disappointed."
"Come on Weiss, give him a break, he did almost die yesterday." Yang reminded the heiress.
Weiss sighs, "I know, I know, I'm just trying to act like what happened yesterday didn't happen at all. Along with the fact that he didn't trust us at all to tell us the entire truth."
"He did say the reason he didn't tell us is because he thought we would think he was crazy. He was afraid of how we would take the truth. I know how that feels." Blake reminded Weiss.
"Honestly, I still believe this is far-fetched. But, he is our friend, so I'll believe him. But I am concerned about the you know what." Weiss replied. "He has to know how risky it is, to keep it around."
"Yeah, I think it's obvious that he knows. Besides, he's had it under control ever since he got here, the only he didn't was the other one. Plus, I'm the contingency plan, remember?" Yang points out.
"I suppose you're right, but I'm still going to be concerned." Weiss repeated her statement.
"We all are."
The three of them agree as they stand there, looking at Peter as they wait for Ruby before they left. So far, the dance had been a good way for everyone to relax. With everyone now having taken to rest, they will be ready to continue their search for Roman Torchwick tomorrow. It should be smooth sailing for here.
/
"So Pietro, what did you find out from the samples we've collected?" Ironwood asked, now having met up with Pietro after the intrusion earlier that night.
"Well James, the first sample I studied was a vial of the boy's blood." Pietro responds as he showed Ironwood results on a computer. "The results show signs of genetic engineering. While I'm not sure how his DNA has been tampered with, what I can confirm that the boy is a genetic anomaly."
"Pietro, maybe you should check if your equipment is working properly. Because from what it's showing me, the boy has extra DNA." Ironwood said, thinking an error has been made in the results.
"That's just it James, he does." Pietro confirmed, surprising the General, "The data shows that the boy has 100 percent human DNA, and 25 percent Spider DNA, with the Spider DNA having what appears to be the traits of other spiders. With him having extra DNA, his body should be collapsing on itself and his DNA should be deteriorating, but somehow it's stable. His blood also appears to contain small amounts of an odd type of energy."
"Energy? What type of energy? Surely it can't be aura." James asked.
"From what I can tell, this energy appears to be some form of radiation. Results shows that the radiation appears to be coming from his blood." Pietro explained.
"Should we be worried about the radiation he emits?" Ironwood asked, now wondering if the students that have interacted with Peter could be in danger.
"Fortunately, the amount is only in small doses, and it will only do harm if his blood were to end up inside one's own bodily fluids, and like I said, larger doses of this radiation would be needed to do serious harm. And from what I can understand, his body is able to contain the radiation within himself." Pietro answered.
"I see, what about the other samples?" Ironwood asked.
"The second sample was….. difficult to study. This black substance is an even bigger anomaly. The genetic code does contain a sample of Parker's DNA, but for the rest of the genetic code…. It's nothing like I have ever seen." Pietro explained.
"What do you mean?" Ironwood asked. "What did you find?"
"Nothing, the genetic code does exist, and yet it resembles nothing of any living creatures on the planet. Not only that, but the genetic code doesn't appear to be organic. I tried to compare it with all known elements, but from what I can tell, it doesn't resembles any form of matter know on this planet." Pietro replied, not sure how he could even begin to describe it.
"Odd, have you found out anything else?" Ironwood asked.
"I have tested the black substance with multiple stimuli. Vibrations and fire seem to damage it, along with small amounts of electricity. But besides those tests, the sample remains mostly inert." Pietro added, "But the third sample however."
Pietro, instead of showing the sample under a microscope connected to a computer for results, it only shows a recording. "I tried to test the third sample as much as I could, but it showed aggressive behaviors to any form of stimuli, it shows no change to vibrations, fire only does small amounts of damage, and electricity only temporarily stuns the small sample. With how aggressive it is, I tried to destroy the sample, but just as I reduce it t almost nothing, it regenerated." Pietro said with a concerned tone.
"You mean to tell me the third sample is just indestructible?" Ironwood asked, not pleased with the results, "Could you find out anything else about it or a another way to destroy it?"
"I could only find out that there is more organic DNA in it, which is Parker's DNA, and it has the viscosity and structure of blood, but that's all I could study without risk of a breach. Right now, the third sample is contained in a secure container designed to withstand it's aggressive behavior. As long as it doesn't receive any nutrients it should stay dormant until I can find a more permanent solution." Pietro responds.
"I see, keep the sample secured and continue to find a permanent way to destroy it along with the other sample permanently. Use as many experimental methods you have to do so." Ironwood ordered, "Now with that out of the way, have you made progress on the machines I requested?"
"Yes James, take a look." Pietro said as he gave Ironwood a scroll with blueprints of a machine.
The blueprints show the designs of a humanoid machine with multiple potential weapons available for it, a combination of gases and poisons. The blueprints also showed what technology that would be equipped, the design of the head of the machine looking similar to Spider-Man's mask, with instructions of eyes being equipped with the most advanced tools and equipment.
Just like Penny, but without a soul.
"I-I have blueprints ready to build the android with the most advanced technology I have at my disposal. Along with weapons designed to affect the spider side of his body, with scorpion venom in liquid and gas form available to it. With multiple weapons that can shoot multiple dust rounds in more seconds." Pietro explained, not entirely thrilled to make a killing machine this advanced.
"Fascinating, can you find a way to equip sonic based weapons along with fire based weaponry with no exposed gas tanks?" Ironwood asked, fully aware of the flaw the Knights had with flamethrowers.
"I can find a way to add them, it will just take some time." Pietro replied.
"Excellent, please keep me informed with your progress. As a field rest, try to make a few of these machines for testing. Please make sure this machines show no relation to Atlas as to not raise suspicion. Have a good evening Pietro." Ironwood said as he left.
"I wish you a good evening as well." Pietro replied as Ironwood finally left.
With Ironwood gone, Pietro sighs, he wasn't sure if creating these machines was the correct course of action. But he wasn't one to question the general, he knew the general was being careful with a potential threat. But, deep down, something told him that this wouldn't end well.
/
"They were here Ozpin, and that alien just revealed itself to them!" Ironwood shouts.
"We are very much aware of that, thank you James." Glynda told the general.
"Fantastic, you're aware, now are we going to do something about it or just stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?" Ironwood asks.
Suddenly they all hear the elevator ding, signaling the arrival of someone else.
"Come in."
"Sorry it took so long." Ruby apologized as she entered the room, "Someone accidentally hit all the buttons on elevator on the way up here, it wasn't me."
"Thank you for coming Ruby, how are you feeling?" Ozpin asked.
"Okay, I guess, I'd feel better if my bad guy catching record wasn't zero for three." Ruby jokes, get nothing but silence from the three adults, "Okay that's the tone we're going for, got it."
"Ruby, where is Peter, we have requested for him to come because of the interaction the alien and General had last night, which I'm sure you remember." Glynda asked the young Huntress.
"Oh, he'll be here, he's busy trying to calm the alien down. It made a mess of our room, a huge mess, it's angry." Ruby gulps, hoping it wouldn't break her stuff.
"My point, Ozpin." Ironwood said, glaring at the headmaster.
"We will discuss the interaction when Young Parker is here." Ozpin said.
Deciding that it was pointless to convince the old man, General Ironwood then turned towards Ruby, "Ruby, I feel it's appropriate to let you know that I think what you did last night is exactly what being a Huntress is all about. You recognized a threat, you took action, and you did the very best you could." Ironwood said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you sir." Ruby replied gratefully.
"Now, the general here has already informed us of the events that, transpired last night. But now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add." Ozpin requested, "We will ask the alien the same if Peter can get it here in a more calm manner."
"Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar to you at all?" Glynda asked.
"I, I don't know. She was wearing a mask, and she never said anything to me. But I know she fought with glass. I don't think that was her semblance though. Her clothing lit up whenever she attacked." Ruby explained.
"Safe for the glass, that sounds like the woman I fought the night we met Ruby and Peter, along with his alien ally." Glynda added.
"Embedding dust in clothes is an age-old technique. It could have been anyone." Ironwood dismissed.
"Wait, you think this girl's connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?" Ruby asked.
"It's possible…." Ozpin began to ponder, "But, we still lack the required evidence to link the two together." Ozpin lied, already knowing the Symbiote's warning was correct after all.
"Actually, I…I think I remember her saying something about a hideout or something in the South East. Just outside the kingdom." Ruby added.
"Interesting." Ozpin smiles.
"I thought you said the intruder never-"
"Thank you for your cooperation Ruby. Why don't you go spend some time with your team. You have a big day ahead of you." Ozpin thanked the young Huntress.
"Anytime." Ruby replied, on her way out before turning to ask a question, "Peter isn't going to be in trouble, right."
"No Ruby, we just need his help, communicating with alien without an argument that could go wrong." Ozpin answered before Ironwood could say anything. "And Ms. Rose, please try and be, discreet about this matter."
"Yes sir." Ruby agreed.
They watch as Ruby headed towards the elevator. As it opens, it revealed Peter with Venom out of his back, the Symbiote not looking pleased at the slightest.
"Hey Peter, see you in a bit?" Ruby asked.
"Yup, going to deal with this guy's consequences of his actions." Peter pointed towards the alien, getting a grunt from it.
Just as Ruby entered, the Symbiote quickly pressed all the buttons with it's face as Peter stepped out, dooming Ruby to a long elevator ride.
"You jerk! Why!" Ruby cried as the elevator closed.
"Really?"
"I find being a nuisance calms me down." Venom grunted.
"Ahem."
Peter and Venom faced towards the three adults, seeing stern expressions on their faces.
"Ok, just tell me what the sentient puddle of goo did last night." Peter asked.
"That creature you allow to exist had made a threat to destroy us all to me after the intruder escaped. I want to know why you allow the creature to get out your sight." Ironwood asked, glaring at the teen.
"Well, I needed a break from alien lifeforms after saving your life sir. From what I know now, I actually had my actual body split into literally pieces during my time being assimilated by Carnage. So forgive me if I wanted some time to rest sir." Peter responded.
"That is no excuse to just-"
"James, let the boy be." Glynda said sternly, glaring at the general. "But I will agree that the alien's behavior is unacceptable, so we would all like to know why you acted that way towards James last night when you and Ruby faced the intruder."
"You want to know? Fine, I'll answer. By asking you two…." Venom formed a tendril pointing towards Ironwood and Ozpin. "Why the women of fire hadn't been caught when I revealed her identity. Explain that."
"We weren't truly sure." Ozpin responds, "We lacked the evidence t-"
"No, the evidence I gave you was that I can SENSE LIFE AND RECOGNIZE EVERYONE'S POWER!" Venom shouts, "You old man, already know that!"
"And why should we believe a thing you say." Ironwood continued to glare at the creature.
"……Parker." Venom turned towards it's host. "I'm this close. I'm this close. There's no talking with this asshole."
"V, you did make threatening statements. So that's sort of on you. Violence isn't the answer." Peter deadpanned.
"But it's effective!"
"Ahem…." Ozpin got the alien duo's attention, "While you may have a point, it was risky to just go in and capture her. Things could have escalated if we aren't careful."
"….. I'll let you have that. But as for why I'm pissed at you General, is because when I followed that women through the vents. I caught her reading files on ME AND PARKER!" Venom shouts.
"What……."
"That's right Parker. That women now knows what I am and who you truly are. And there's no doubt she would have informed that terrorist group by now!" Venom elaborated, shocking everyone.
Glynda and Ozpin could see the horror in Peter's eyes, "No, no, no, no." Peter muttered as he began to pace back and forth, now imagining the worst.
The Symbiote then jumped off Peter, leaving him to panic by himself from the news he now knows.
"Oh God, my friends are in danger, they'll be targeted for even being next to me." Peter panicked.
"Oh yeah, now you see why I am angry!" The Symbiote said as it formed a torso and arms, now pointing at the two men. "While I could care less if people know about my existence, I won't say the same for the knowledge of what Peter is. A genetic anomaly with unique abilities. Even if his enemies don't reveal it to the public, they sure as hell will take any opportunity to take him out! I would know, I did once try to expose him back in our universe."
"I see, this makes things a lot more complicated." Ozpin sighs, "Unfortunately, the culprit has already fled, so we aren't able to apprehend her at this time."
"What about those two that were with her? She was assigned with two other students when she arrived in this school." Venom asked.
"We found no evidence of them being involved with her in any activities while involved with Roman Torchwick. As far as we know, they appear to be regular students." Ozpin answered.
"Fine, doesn't matter anyway they aren't that much of a threat. But just so you know, if you don't catch that women, I will do it for you." The Symbiote told the headmaster.
"I understand."
"Ozpin! Surely you aren't going to agree with the monster's terms!" Ironwood shouts.
"James, fighting amongst each other isn't going to solve anything. We may need their help after all." Glynda glared at the man.
"No! We need to talk about letting this thing roam freely around this academy! It is unacceptable!" Ironwood continued to argue.
"Would you just shut up you pathetic excuse of a-"
"Symbie….just don't……let's go. We can figure out what to do next ourselves." Peter said in an almost quiet voice.
"……..fine." The Symbiote said softly, now going back into puddle form, going back towards its host and going inside his body.
Everyone watched as Peter got up and walked away, heading towards the elevator. He entered it in silence not even looking in their direction, the elevator closing.
For a few moments, everyone stayed silent. Glynda then decided to leave, heading towards the elevator.
"Glynda?"
"I need some coffee, I believe I am done with this meeting of ours." Glynda said as she left as well.
"James, I will say this now to save time on future discussions. Like I said before, Peter and the Symbiote are under my supervision. While I understand you don't trust them, all they have ever done is protect our world as if it was their own. I would request you stop antagonizing either of them as it will only make things worse. Understood?" Ozpin asked.
"I believe you are making a grave mistake, you know what it's capable of. And from what I can tell, it might be evolving even further beyond our control." Ironwood glared.
"More of a reason to have it as our ally, especially now with this knowledge being out there. We shall continue discussing further action when we have all calmed down. Until then, we just observe and be careful as we plan further action." Ozpin replied.
"Fine, but if anything goes wrong, you're taking responsibility." Ironwood said as he left, leaving the headmaster to his thoughts.
/
"……"
"……"
"……"
"So, what now?"
"I don't know, my identity is at stake, the knowledge of what you are is known, I don't know what to do." Peter replied.
"Then we should discuss this with your friends. They should probably know what is at stake." Venom suggests.
"Yeah, no point in hiding that from them. Especially from Blake, she might want to know that the White Fang could be alerted to a human pretending to be a spider." Peter thought.
"Well, you do have the DNA, so you basically are one." Venom points out.
"True, but I doubt everyone else will believe that. Well, that's if they believe I'm human." Peter sighs. "Alright, here goes…." Peter said as he arrived at the door and opened it.
He then sees all four of the girls, they look towards him, and immediately zoomed right in front of him.
"Alright spill, what punishment did you receive?"
"Yeah what happened?"
"How much trouble are you in?"
"And is the alien in trouble for playing that mean trick on me?"
Peter sighs as he walked past them and sat on one the beds, heads now in his hands. "No, I'm not in trouble, although Ironwood didn't like that Ozpin let it slide."
"Then what happened?" Ruby asked, everyone just as curious and worried by how down he looked.
"My identity is out there."
"What?" Blake asked, extremely concerned on what that meant.
Deciding to talk for Peter as he was still processing the thoughts on what could be coming, the Symbiote formed off of Peter's back and said, "That women the little one fought had found files on me and Parker. The same one that fought both the day mini-parker got into this school. She now knows Parker is the Spider and that I exist."
"Uh oh, that's not good, is it?" Yang asked.
"Not good? Yang, this is a big problem! Let alone the info that Peter is Spider-Man is going to bring a lot of trouble here, but the knowledge of alien lifeforms would make things worse!" Weiss shouts.
"Yup, I'm probably going to be hunted down." Peter spoke, "Especially by the White Fang, they probably won't like the idea of a human pretending to be a spider and get even more extreme on trying to kill me."
"I want to say that's not true, but……it is." Blake sighs, sitting down next to Peter, ignoring the alien staring at her.
"Is there anything we can do? Surely there must be a way to stop the intruder from telling the White Fang any of that?" Ruby asked.
"I doubt it, unless we know who this person is, then there's nothing we can do to stop it." Yang told her sister.
"She was pretending to be a student here." Peter said, getting everyone's attention. "The Symbiote here can detect life and everyone's power. Symbie here is able to recognize everyone just by their power."
"And my sense alerted me to the culprit being that Cinder girl mini-parker was talking to a while back." Venom explained.
"Wait, you knew who she was the whole time? Why didn't you say anything? We could have taken them down before any of this would have happened." Blake asks, not exactly happy with this just like the others.
"The Symbiote told Ozpin later that night. What I expected was that Ozpin would have made a plan to catch her without causing a panic. But the following day I found out Carnage existed, and well, you know the rest." Peter answered.
"Still, you should have told us, we could have helped you dolt. And I bet you held him back." Weiss pointed at the Symbiote.
"……I am all about going straight to fighting Schnee. It was Parker's idea to play the safe route. If anything blame the old man for not taking action sooner, I warned him just like Parker said." Venom growled.
"Look, can you both not argue, I don't need to stop a fight or clean up a mess right now." Peter pleaded, getting the two to just stare at each other in distrust.
"Great, so there's nothing we can do to save your secret. Will we have to defend Beacon from White Fang attacks." Yang asked.
"Yang, I don't think they would pull such a move, they would more likely try to ambush Peter while he is in Vale in his regular identity." Blake points out, only imagining a certain someone coming up with a plan to take out Peter.
"Hmm, perhaps we don't need to do anything." Venom said, thinking about the individual they fought.
"What? You suggest that we just be ok with that knowledge being out there?" Ruby asked, confused by what the Symbiote was talking about.
"See it from my perspective, and when I mean by that, see it through a super-villains perspective. What many bad guys have in common is a huge ego. When me and Parker fought this individual for a second time, which was on his birthday. I was in suit form, because she had used poisonous gas on Parker to make it easier to take him out. And while I was in that form, me and Parker were sharing 50/50 control." Venom began to explain.
"Ignoring the fact Peter almost died on his birthday, do you mean you both were acting as one? What type of personality did you have while acting as one?" Yang asked.
"Eh…….. well I……let's just say my quips were less witty banter and more... straight up trash talking." Peter flinched.
"It was fun."
"Would you just get straight to your point alien." Weiss deadpanned.
"I'm getting there don't interrupt!" Venom growled. "While we were basically bullying the women, we got through her skin and her ego, which took a heavy hit as we basically beat her down easily. She kept on going about being superior and being strong and having all the power and what not." Venom said, saying the last few parts in Cinder's voice.
"Ok that's creepy, please don't mimic people's voices." Ruby pleaded.
"Yeah, please don't V, especially since it reminds me of when you mimicked my voice and pretended to be my thoughts." Peter agreed
"Fine, anyways, she eventually got away by blowing up the building using crates of that fire dust, essentially using it as a distraction for her to escape. But her ego had been destroyed and knowing how bad guys work as I myself was a supervillain, she might not tell anyone." Venom believed.
"What makes you think that? Surely she would be smart to reveal the information to everyone she is working with." Blake doubted. "I doubt hurting her ego would stop that."
"Wait, no Symbie has a point." Peter began to think.
"It does?" Everyone asked, just as confused.
"Yeah, since we basically humiliated her, she might keep that to herself so she can personally take me out. Heck it's what V did after we separated our first bond." Peter began, "Yoy kept that info to yourself so you could try to destroy me personally, both you and Eddie." Peter explained.
"I failed if it wasn't obvious or if you all forgot. But that is the point I was making. She will very likely keep that info to herself so she can enjoy destroying us both. At most she might tell that Torchwick guy and that bull Faunus that discovered my weakness a while back when me and Parker fought him. It was the same day you two found out Parker is the Spider." Venom said pointing towards Yang and Blake, noticing a slight look of fear in Blake's eyes.
"Okay, so maybe you could be lucky none of that gets out, right?" Yang hoped.
"Maybe, but until then I can only hope. But one thing is for sure, the Symbiote's weakness are definitely going out. The knowledge of my "semblance" having weakness could still be spread out in order to actually hurt me. So I still have to be careful." Peter concluded.
"That means I have to overcome my weakness and Parker needs a suit with a gas mask." Venom said to everyone.
"Ok, surely I'm not the only thinking the alien overcoming it's weakness is a good idea, right." Weiss objected.
"Weiss, this is a matter of making sure Peter doesn't die out there. We can worry about the alien later." Blake spoke out, "But yes, it overcoming it's weakness is concerning."
"I am right here, and I will do what I want. If it make you happy child, the only way I can overcome my weakness is…. Exposing myself to them." Venom grumbles.
"Doesn't that means you have to hurt yourself to do that?" Ruby asks.
"….Yes."
"Personally, I feel that's deserved." Weiss smirks, getting a stare from the Symbiote.
"Hey, what about the other two that came in with Cinder, are they something to worry about?" Yang asked.
"The old man said there was no evidence that they were involved. They could be regular students that were tricked, or maybe they are that good at pretending. So tip, be weary of them but act like you know nothing." Venom replied.
"Yeah, for now we just gotta be careful around those two for now." Peter agreed, "Anyways, that sums up the mess I'm in, I need a distraction to make myself feel better, anybody got anything good to talk about to take a break from this?" Peter requested.
"Well, me and Ruby got a package in the mail today." Yang said, deciding to follow Peter's request, "Our Dad sent it to us, and I don't know what it is." Yang said as she grabbed a cylinder container on the desk.
"Oh! Something from home!" Ruby squealed as she zoomed right onto Yang's back and tried to grab it from her.
"I detect a lifeform inside it." Venom said, tilting their head in curiosity of what could be inside.
"How can anything alive even be inside this tube?" Blake asked.
"Well, let's open it and see." Yang said as she opened the tube and shook it.
Suddenly a fury cylinder fell from inside the tube. The fury shape then took the form of a dog, the girls stand there looking down towards the dog, the small canine barking happily at them.
"Huh, how'd that dog for in there?" Peter asked.
The girls all cheered, all except for Blake who ends up jumping back and onto Peter's back, now joining the Symbiote.
"Occupied!/Oof!"
"Zwei!" Ruby cheered, happy to see the small corgi.
"He sent a dog?!" Blake shouts, jumping off of Peter's back.
"In the mail?" Weiss followed.
"Is no one going to question how a dog fit in there?" Peter asked.
"Oh he does stuff like this all the time." Yang brushed off, looking at Ruby who had Zwei in her arms, the dog happily liking Ruby's face.
"Defying the laws of physics?" Peter asked again, Yang just shrugging her shoulders in response.
"Are you telling me that this mangy... drooling…..mutt….is going to live with us foweva!" Weiss surprisingly showed love and affection towards the corgi. "Oh yes he is! Oh isn't he adorable!"
"Please keep it away from my belongings." Blake requested, now hiding on top Ruby's bunk.
"Is it because he's a dog?" Peter quipped, getting a look from Blake. "Ok, ok, I won't go there."
As Ruby and Weiss showered the dog with love, Zwei looked towards Peter, noticing how down he looked along with the alien coming from his back.
The dog jumped out of Ruby's arms and scurried right towards Peter, letting out a happy bark.
"Hey there buddy." Peter said as he placed a hand in front of the corgi for him to sniff.
"Rouf! Rouf!" Zwei barked, licking his hand in a playful manner, getting a chuckle out of the vigilante.
"What is this furry little creature?" Venom asked as it moved their head towards Zwei, curious on what it was.
"This, is my fellow alien, is man's best friend, a dog." Peter said as he pet Zwei.
The Symbiote tilts their head as it got closer, inspecting the small corgi. Everyone watched, the girls nervous on what the Symbiote would do to the small boi.
Zwei on the other hand, was not afraid, and tilted his own little head curiously at the Symbiote. A few seconds of looking and Zwei let out a playful bark as it licked Venom's face, bamboozling the alien.
"……."
"Rouf!"
"……I have only know this small creature for a few seconds but if anything happens to it I'm destroying this entire planet, including myself."
"Not what I expected." Peter said honestly.
"Hmm, okay, maybe this alien does have a soul…." Weiss said as she looked at the Symbiote. Maybe an alien that loves dogs isn't all THAT evil.
"I would like to disagree." Blake hissed as Zwei tried to jump up towards her.
"Aw! You do have a soft side!" Ruby cooed as she watched the Symbiote let out a tendril to pet the dog with Peter.
"………No comment." Venom immediately retracted.
"Ha! It's true! You can't deny it forever!" Peter laughed, getting slapped on the back of his head by a tendril. "That just proves my point!"
Before anyone could continue with talking about the best boi in the entire multiverse, they heard Glynda's voice over an intercom.
"Would all first year students please report to the amphitheater."
"Well, we can't leave him here while we're gone for a week." Weiss points out.
"Look, there's a letter." Yang said as she pulled something out of the cylinder tube. "Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang."
As soon as Yang finished reading the letter, she turned the tube upside down, dropping a bunch of canned dog food, which landed on top of Zwei. Of course, Zwei was fine as he just barked happily in his pile of canned food.
"How, how did all that food fit in there? Seriously, where is the law of physics at right now?" Peter asked, flabbergasted about how the corgi and all the food fit in there, the Symbiote getting off of him to take the tube and stick it's head inside.
"What is he supposed to do with that?" Weiss asked, skeptical with how Zwei would manage without a way to open the cans.
"Oh, look there's something in- WHOA!" And the Symbiote proceeded to fall inside the tube.
"Ok seriously, where's the laws of physics right now?!" Peter asked once more.
"Um, you ok?" Ruby asked as everyone surrounded the tube.
A few seconds later, the Symbiote pops it's head out, a can open in its mouth.
"I found this, and I think I meet my birthplace." Venom quipped, the others ignoring the joke, as it dropped the can opener on the floor for Zwei to pick it up and open a can with it, somehow.
"Funny joke." Peter chuckles.
"It wasn't, I think?" Venom replied as it crawled out the tube and went back into it's host.
"Okay, that solves that, let's go everyone, Zwei will be here when we get back." Yang proclaimed as she led the way.
"Oh I'll miss you so much! We're going to be best friends, I can't wait to see you again!" Weiss cooed as she said goodbye to Zwei, with Blake just jumping out of the room to avoid him.
This left Ruby, Peter and the Symbiote to look at the dog, who just smiled and barked at the three.
"You're planning to take Zwei with you, aren't you?" Peter grinned.
"Yup."
"Does that means we're going to break a rule?"
"Pretty much."
"YES, break the law! Bring the small furry creature!"
"Soft side~"
"……"
And the Symbiote proceeded to head-butt Peter in the face.
/
"Quiet, quiet please." Glynda instructed the gathering of students, "Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin."
Glynda then walked off the stage to give Ozpin the floor for him to speak, "Today we stand together, united, Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, Vale."
"Heh, if he could, he'd probably mention my home country." Peter whispered towards all of his friends.
"What's it called?" Weiss asked, genuinely curious about the name of Peter's home country.
"United Sates, or U.S for short, I can give you all a brief history lesson about it later." Peter offered.
Back with Ozpin, he continued with his speech saying, "The four Kingdoms of Remnant, on this day nearly 80 years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end."
"I did my own research on the war here, their numbers pale towards WWI and WWII in your world." Venom decided to point.
"Oh boy, didn't think about that. As long as they never figure out nuclear warfare then they won't lose mass cities. Let's not talk about that right now." Peter replied.
"It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell, or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression, as you are well aware that many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself, color." Ozpin explained.
"Ah, that explains the names."
"That's, an odd choice."
"You named yourself Venom."
"Shut up."
"It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity, through diversity. As I have said, together we stand together, united, but this bond cannot exist without effort." Ozpin began to change his tone ever so slightly, "Which is why today, while the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntress will work to uphold it." Ozpin then quickly glanced at Peter for a moment, a slight smile on his face.
"Along with heroes."
"As first year students, you'll be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsmen or Huntress on a mission." Ozpin said as screens activated on the walls of the amphitheater, "Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, and remember to do your very best." Ozpin finished his speech, the students clapping afterwards as he walked off stage.
"This is perfect! All we have to do is shadow a huntsmen working in the Southeast!" Ruby told her team.
"Yeah! We'll follow them around by day, and give them the slip at night, just like Pete here." Yang joked
"Yep, I'm a professional at being sneaky, just follow my lead and we can go undetected from anyone." Peter quipped.
"Are you really that sneaky?" Weiss deadpanned.
"Kept my secrets hidden from you all." Peter chuckles.
"Ha, ha." Weiss said with a blank expression. "Let's check search and destroy." Weiss suggested as they all walked towards the nearest screen.
"Here we go, Quadrant 5 needs Grimm cleared out." Ruby pointed towards the option.
"Finally! We can hunt!"
"Well, it's near the South East." Blake agreed.
"Yup, fair warning, a certain lifeform may steal your kills." Peter warned.
"I crave violence!"
"It craves violence."
"Of course it does." Weiss groaned.
Ruby then proceeded to type in her team's name, but as she submitted it, it was rejected.
"No! Why! I need to hunt!" Venom yelled out in anger.
"Well crap baskets, someone's not going to be happy." Peter said, not thrilled that the Symbiote will grow restless with no way to quell it's predatory nature.
"Any other ideas?" Blake asks.
"We mail ourselves there." Ruby suggested.
"Well that's one option." Ozpin said as everyone saw him walk from behind the screen. "Unfortunately, we determined the concentration of grimm was too extreme for first year students."
"No! If anything there's not enough to hunt!" Venom shouts.
"It seems that particular region is rather popular, in fact I have the sneaking suspicion that the five of you…" Ozpin said, saying the word five a bit differently to signal he really meant six. "…will make your way there no matter which job you choose."
Yang, Blake and Weiss then gave the red duo a unimpressed look, "Oh I'm hurt, why would you guys ever think I would do such a thing." Peter said in a mock hurt tone.
"Yeah, whatever makes you say that?" Ruby chuckles nervously.
"Do we really have to point it out?" Blake asked.
"Maybe." Peter joked, getting the look from Blake, "Kidding."
"They're not wrong." Venom chuckles.
"Oh zip it you."
"I still curious how you four found yourselves at the dock last semester. I'm interested to know how, you really learned about a hideout in the Southeast. And I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose pedals in a dance club some time ago." Ozpin said, pretending not to know.
"Um…well…."
"I doubt I'll ever find the exact answer I'm looking for. How about this, instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them." Ozpin said as types a command in his scroll, which put Team RWBY as registered for the mission in Quadrant 5.
"YES, YES, YES, HUNTING TIME!" Venom cheered, pleased by Ozpin's decisions for once.
"We won't let you down, thank you professor." Ruby thanked the headmaster.
"Do not thank me for this, teamwork and persistence have carried you far. Which I assume you have learned that quite well, haven't you?" Ozpin said as looked at Peter.
"Yep, it's not easy." Peter sighs, knowing that Ozpin was referring to him and the Symbiote's bond.
Ozpin nodded at Peter before looking back at the others, "But you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care. Stay close to your Huntsmen at all times, and do exactly as he says. And Peter, due to your unique circumstance, I have informed him on your condition unique abilities. Do not worry, he has kept his world that he won't tell a soul."
"Kind of wish you didn't say anything without my permission, but it would be hard to explain why I need to constantly carry a bag full of chocolate." Peter said as he referred to his backpack.
"You could just say you have low blood sugar." Yang suggested.
"……Why didn't I think of that." Peter groaned.
"As usual, you forget to think."
"Quiet you." Peter grumbles, getting a stare from everyone, "I was talking to you know who."
Ozpin nodded in understanding as he went back to his instructions, "The Huntsmen you will be shadowing will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon, if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory." Ozpin finished as he began to walked away, which got everyone except Peter to get nervous. "Good luck."
The teens, and Symbiote, had now exited the amphitheater, on there way to there assigned Huntsmen.
"That wasn't uplifting." Yang said her opinion.
"But it's the truth." Blake points out.
"It's going to be tough, but I know we can do it." Ruby proclaimed.
"That's the spirit Rubes, plus we all faced worse. So a bunch of grimm ain't nothing to us." Peter grinned as he made finger guns towards his friends.
"For the record, we barely survived, and we have permanent reminders because of it." Weiss deadpanned.
"Just look at the bright side, we all share the same experience of fighting a powerful lifeform. No one can say they have. Well except for Miss Goodwitch and General Ironwood." Peter winced, remembering that the general had lost limbs.
Before the conversation could go anywhere, a student yelled out, "Hey! Team CFVY is back!"
The five teens then look ahead of them to see the four members of team CFVY. However upon looking at them further, they saw that they seemed to be a bit on the downside.
Blake then ran ahead and called out to her fellow Faunus, "Velvet, are you ok?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me." Velvet responded.
"Hey Vel, you sure your ok? You all seem to be….a bit down in the dumps." Peter asked.
"Yeah, what happened? Your mission was supposed to end a week ago." Weiss asked.
Velvet hesitated to speak for a moment, the memory of what her team found out there scarring them in ways they never would have thought could happen.
"N-nothing happened, not to us." Velvet stuttered.
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
"There were so many bodies, a lot of villages destroyed with so many…. Mutilated, I'd rather not talk about it. We had to fight so many Grimm because of how of our emotions we have off from seeing those sights." Velvet stuttered.
This got the five to all share looks with one another, with Peter having the most frustrated look on his face.
"Carnage/Carnage."
"B-but don't worry, you first years are just shadowing Huntsmen, so you should be fine." Velvet tried to not make them feel nervous.
"Right….."
"I should go, be safe ok?" Velvet said as she bid them goodbye.
"Damnit." Peter growled, getting the others attention as they saw him grip his hands, hard enough to make them bleed again.
"Peter your hurting yourself!" Blake shouts, worrying about the self harm he was inflicting on himself.
She grabbed his hands to look at them, only to see the Symbiote had quickly healed them from the damage.
"It may be gone, but there's no bringing back the lives it took. I wish I could have beaten it sooner." Peter sighs.
"We did what we could, my offspring is dead now. At least no more will die." Venom said in a surprisingly comforting tone.
"I know, I know."
"Hey, it's ok, it's gone now, no more people will lose their lives from it no more. You made sure of that." Blake comforted the vigilante.
"Technically, the Atlesian Knig-"
"Not now Weiss." Yang elbows the heiress slightly.
"Hey, we won. So all we have left is to take down Torchwick. And we'll do it as a team. We can do this." Ruby began, "We never backed down before, and we're not going to stop now. We fought an alien and survived, Roman should be a piece of cake compared to one."
"Your right Ruby, heh, feels nice to have a team and not go in alone anymore." Peter chuckles.
"Wow, ok, forget about me why don't you. No, no, it's fine pretend I don't exist." Venom grumbles slightly.
"You know what I meant."
"….Yeah."
"Besides, it won't only be us out there. We'll be fighting alongside a genuine Huntsman!" Ruby cheered.
"Yeah!" Yang cheered as well.
Until they all eventually meet with the Huntsmen, who turned out to be…..
"Why hello girls! And Gentlemen!"
Professor Oobleck
"Who's ready to fight for their lives?"
"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss said in confusion, much like the others.
Except for…..
"Yes! Doctor Oobleck, sweet." Peter woo'd, getting multiple looks from the girls. "What? He's my favorite teacher."
"Yes, those bags won't be necessary girls. Seeing as you opted to shadow a Huntsmen on what is now essentially a Reconnaissance Mission, I can assure you we will not be establishing a single base of operations, rather we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. The only exception is Mister Parker as Professor Ozpin as I formed me of your unique symbiosis with a lifeform as you require a lot of Phenethylamine which is contained in both chocolate and brains, so he is allowed to bring his bag, and I have also packed extra chocolate in case your supply is ran out rather quickly." Oobleck said so quickly.
"Well, I'm glad it was you who Ozpin told. You will keep what I and a certain lifeform is a secret, right?" Peter asked, just to get confirmation
"Yes, I have vowed to not say a word about any of this. Of course, I would like to observe just how you and the lifeform battle as one unit, along with request knowledge on any history it may know as I was informed of it's age." Oobleck replied, he then continued with his guidelines, "As for the rest, I have packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, and ready the airship. And, it's Doctor Oobleck! I didn't earn the PHD for fun thank you very much." Oobleck corrected the heiress.
"Uh…."
"Come now children! According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind, schedule!" Oobleck said as he zoomed all the way to the airship way ahead.
"Alright, this is awesome!" Peter cheered.
"You are weird, you know that right?" Yang asked.
"Yang, I was and always will be, a nerd, so yes, I am weird." Peter quipped.
"Existence is pain."
"Well, I guess we're off to save the world with Dr. Oobleck…..ok yeah, I'm sorry Peter but I don't see it." Ruby groaned.
"Save the world!" Everyone hear the voice of Nora from behind them, which showed Team JNPR walking towards them, "you're going on world saving missions without us?! I'm hurt…sad! Maybe a little hungry, that last ones not your fault though. Ren….." Nora said, Ren turning his back towards her.
"I'm always hungry, chocolate and your diet don't give me enough nutrients for the record." Venom called out similar to Nora.
"Fine, I'll put more effort into my diet! And just try and ration the chocolate!" Peter yelled internally.
"Here's a fun fact, or not so fun fact for you, chocolate doesn't have as much Phenethylamine as brains, which is why I eat so much chocolate. The only reason why I am ok with chocolate is because it is delicious and yes I finally admit I'm addicted to sugar." Venom explained, which got a broken expression on Peter's face.
"Hey Pete, something wrong?" Jaune asked his bud.
"I just learned some cursed knowledge, the only reason we are all alive. Chocolate isn't an effective food source for V, and the only reason why they eat it is because they admit to being addicted to sugary chocolate." Peter replies, getting everyone to have the same expression as him.
"I probably shouldn't have said anything, that and maybe you shouldn't have said anything."
"I regret telling them that."
"Ignoring that terrifying fact, sounds like you guys are going on an exciting mission, where are you all headed?" Jaune asks.
"Oh, just outside the Kingdom." Ruby answered.
"Hey! So are we!" Nora said
"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village. Surprisingly, it is one of the few that haven't been ravage and destroyed the last few months like other village have." Pyrrha says, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Man, just how many people did that alien eat?" Yang asked, everyone wondering the same thing as they all know who the culprit was.
"Too many……"
Deciding to keep the conversation from getting dark, Ren then says, "We set out tomorrow s-"
Suddenly, out of no where, Sun and Neptune step in interrupting Ren, "Then you can party with us tonight!" fortunately none of them heard what they were all talking about, and everyone decided to stop talking about Peter's secrets for now, just to be safe.
"Tonight we're shadowing a crime specialist, all Inner city detective stuff, we get Junior badges." Neptune added.
"Whoa….." Jaune awed at what Neptune said.
"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk." Sun says, everyone now giving Peter and Ruby, except for Nora who had a smile on her face, unimpressed looks.
"What? Not my fault baddies think I'm explosive material. Besides you get used to it eventually." Peter quips,
"That's extremely concerning Peter." Ruby said nervously, wondering if getting blown up came with being a Superhero.
"Yeah, so we thought this might be a better way to check out the Kingdom when it's, you know, normal." Sun further added.
Before anything else could be said, everyone heard Oobleck shout from a distance, "Four minutes ladies and laddie!" before zooming back inside the airship.
Everyone just gave each other awkward looks, except for Peter wondering why they all stayed awkwardly silent.
"Well, off we go! Later peeps, Woo!" Peter cheered as he ran way up ahead extremely fast. "Come on gals!"
"Heh, wish us luck." Ruby nervously chuckles as they all bid each other farewell.
/
Everyone were now on the airship, flying out towards their destination.
"I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter." Yang said honestly.
"I admit, I fancy myself more of an, intellectual, but I can assure you as a Huntsmen, I've had my fair share of tussles." Oobleck replied.
"Like the mushroom?"
"Those are truffles."
"Like the Sprout?"
"Those are brussels."
Peter chuckles at Ruby's little antics, he then turned towards Oobleck and says, "Believe it or not, back were I'm from people thought the same thing about me." Which got the girls attention, "All everyone saw was a wimpy nerd with nothing but a brain. I originally wanted to be a biologists, but then came the spider bit, and everything changed."
"Fascinating, Ozpin told me that your abilities are the result of bioengineering, such a thing is still just a concept here on Remnant. The idea of what I will assume is the venom of an engineered spider changing the structure of your own DNA is fascinating." Oobleck said as he wondered about the concept.
"Yep, the very reason I wanted to become a biologist, which funny enough my parents were biologists themselves, guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Peter said, which got Yang's attention. "But I guess that's nothing but a dream now."
"It doesn't have to be Mister Parker, you can get yourself a PHD just like me as long as you keep working hard and study hard, I guarantee that will lead you to success." Oobleck told the fellow intellectual.
"Huh, I'll keep that under consideration, thanks Dr. Oobleck." Peter thanked.
"Just don't even think about experimenting on me." Venom growled.
"I'm not stupid enough to do that. Besides, I got all I need to know about you through our bond, and I'd rather not know anything else about you thank you very much." Peter replied.
"Back to my point, given my expertise in the field of history, as well as my dabbling's, in the archaeological surveys, our dear Headmaster saw it for to assign me to this particular, assignment." Oobleck said.
"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asked, not exactly seeing why history was important here.
"As much as I suck at History, it helps us from making the same mistakes as those that came before us Weiss. It's the foundation of all civilization across not just Remnant, but Earth and all the world's out there in the multiverse. Without it, we will be doomed to make the same mistakes that caused those before us to fall." Peter explained, surprising the girls while getting Oobleck to smile.
"I keep forgetting you're this intelligent." Weiss grumbles.
"Precisely Mister Parker, I am glad to see one of my pupils has been paying attention." Oobleck praised the vigilante, "When you have the time, I would like to hear about your world's history so I can compare it to our world's history."
"I think I still have my old history book in my backpack, it mostly covers the history of my home country on Earth." Peter said as he looked through his backpack, "Here it is." Peter handed the book to Oobleck.
"Wonderful, if you don't mind, I'll be borrowing this book for the next few days, I promise to return it in pristine condition." Oobleck said as he put the book away for safe keeping, excited to learn the history of another world.
"Now as Peter said, history helps us learn from the failure of those before us. In this case, the Southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forest, and deep caves. But, it is also the location of one of the Kingdom's greatest failures." Oobleck explained.
"Mountain Glenn." Ruby says.
"That's right, it was an expansion of Vale." Yang remembered, "But in the end it was overrun by grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city."
"Correct! And now it stands abandoned, as a dark reminder." Oobleck says.
"And a likely place for a hideout." Blake added.
"Precisely."
"Why is it always abandoned places, can't bad guys choose something original for once." Peter quips.
"You're the hero, shouldn't you have figured it out by now?" Weiss asks.
"Yeah, just getting tired of those types of places." Peter sighs.
/
The airship then hovered over the ground below, allowing everyone to jump off and land on their own unique poses, the airship leaving once everyone was off.
"Hey, nice superhero landings!" Peter complemented his friends as he stood up from his iconic crouch, the Symbiote now coming out from Peter's back as it was now that the pilot had left.
"You ruined, you made it awkward and ruined it." Weiss deadpanned.
"But you did one." Peter grinned.
"Yeah!" Ruby giggled alongside Blake and Yang, getting an eye roll from the heiress.
"Ahem…" Oobleck got everyone's attention, "Ladies, Lad, alien lifeform, you still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Huntresses and Huntsman has begun!"
"Not a student." Venom deadpanned, only to get shushed by Peter, which just made the Symbiote grumpy.
"From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?" Oobleck asked, Peter and the girls nodding, except for the Symbiote as it just kept its grumpy face. Oobleck then turned to Ruby, noticing her backpack behind her. "Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all your bags back at school."
"But, you haven't told us to listen to you yet, so I didn't." Ruby said, which got a laugh from the Symbiote.
"Ha!"
"She's not wrong." Oobleck admits, "Very well Ruby leave your bag here, we can pick it up upon our return." Oobleck instructed.
"But, I uh, wu…"
"Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag to that could be so important to bring it with yo-" Oobleck stopped mid sentence as Zwei poked his little head outside the bag.
The other three girls look towards Ruby as Peter did his best not to laugh, although the Symbiote didn't bother to restrain themselves from wheezing.
"Get back in the bag." Ruby whispered to Zwei, getting a Little bark from the canine.
"We're here, to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teaming with death and hostility, and you brought…. A dog?" Oobleck questions.
"I, uh….."
"Genius!" Oobleck shouts as he spun around them, snatching the small Corgi from Ruby's bag, causing her to fall as a result. "Canines are historically known for the perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound. Making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!"
"Rouf!"
"I'm a genius." Ruby grinned, the girls giving her a deadpanned look, until they then look towards Peter and The Venom Symbiote.
"Pfft, what?" Peter tried not to laugh.
"You were both involved with this, weren't you?" Weiss asks.
"Break all the rules!" Is all Venom said before wheezing and laughing, which got Peter to break and laugh as well.
"That thing spends way too much time inside your head." Blake deadpanned.
"True, want a turn?" Peter joked as he grabbed the Symbiote in his hands and faced it towards the girls.
"Nom Nom." Venom bit the air in an oddly playful manner.
"Nope! Nuh uh! Get away from us." Weiss said as all three stepped back.
Peter chuckles before the Symbiote jumped off Peter's hands onto his back.
Blake sighs, she then faced Oobleck and asks, "So, what are your orders doctor?"
"Ah yes! Straight to the chase, I like it!" Oobleck said as he dropped Zwei, Peter shooting out an arm tendril to catch him and pass the Corgi back to Ruby, "As you've been informed the Southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for grimm activity." Oobleck said, which got the Symbiote's attention. "Now there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being, grim."
"Uh, what?"
Peter's Spider-sense then kicked in, alerting him of Grimm right behind them.
"Um, guys, Spider-sense is telling me to look behind us." Peter warned.
Everyone then turned to see a Beowolf 100 yards away from them. Everyone got their weapons ready to fight until Oobleck stopped them.
"Stop, there are a number of reasons why grimm would congregate in this particular area. The most likely of which would be their attraction to negativity." Oobleck explained.
"So Parker's repressed pain, anger, and suffering?" Venom said, getting looks from everyone.
"Wow, you really going to do me like that?" Peter deadpanned.
"Well it's true. Now then, human male, here's the thing. I'm not going to stand here and just watch." Venom said.
Peter, knowing exactly what's about to happen says, "Don't you do it, we can use them to track the White Fang."
"I need to hunt."
"Don't."
"I'm going to do it!"
"No."
"I'm going to!"
"Venom no!"
"Venom yes!"
And without warning, the Symbiote formed around Peter into it's new suit form screeching at the Beowolf. "Prey!" Symbiote Spider-Man shouts, rushing towards the black wolf.
The girls watch nervously as the Symbiote rushed ahead, with Oobleck observing carefully to see how the alien lifeform hunts.
And before the Beowolf could react, The Symbiote slash the dark creature in half, killing it. This ended up getting a pack of other Beowolfs attention, all of them growling at the Symbiote duo.
"Bring it on!" Symbiote Spider-Man shouts as it lunged at the pack, proceeding to rip them apart piece.
"Well, it looks like tracking is out of the question." Ruby winced as everyone watched the Symbiote brutality rip the Grimm apart.
"An accurate assumption yes." Oobleck confirmed.
"What's the plan then?" Yang asked.
And then, a few Beowolfs separated from the pack, now charging towards the girls.
"Just like our alien friends, show me what your capable off." Oobleck said as he stared at the Beowolfs charging towards them.
"Cover your ears Zwei." Ruby warned the Zwei, the small canine covering his ears with his paws.
Yang rushed ahead, running towards a Beowolf, punching it along with shooting a dust rounds from her gauntlets, taking out the grimm. Another charged towards Blake, who waited for the right moment to make a clone and jumped as the large wolf struck the clone. Blake then swiftly cut the Beowolf in half, killing it. Another came towards her, but Blake quickly slashed it with blade and kicked it into the air, and dashed through it, cutting that one in half as well. Blake then used another clone to jump up and cut another by swinging her blade down as she fell back to the ground.
Weiss was running from a few other Beowolfs chasing her. As one caught up to her, she jumped around it, landing a few slashes on it, killing it. She then looked towards the other ones run towards hers. Weiss then readied her weapon, and dashed past all of them, killing all of them at once as each Beowolf fell to the ground.
Back with Ruby, she was shooting dust rounds at each Beowolf rushing towards her. With one last Beowolf remaining, she turned her scythe around, and shot it, sending her flying towards the wolf. And at just the right moment, Ruby swung Crescent Rose, cutting the Beowolf in half, finishing it off.
"Piece off cake." Ruby grinned.
Suddenly, everyone heard a loud screeching. The all turned around to See The Symbiote continuously ripping Beowolfs apart. But not by bit, many came and lunged at the alien, each one now dog piling them. But unfortunately for the dark wolfs, multiple tendrils shot out, piercing the some of the Beowolfs and tossing others to the side. The ones that haven't been killed then went off to run, but were stopped as more tendrils wrapped around them, preventing any from fleeing.
"Where are you going? There's no were to run pathetic knock-offs." The Symbiote said as the tendrils began to squeeze the Beowolfs to death.
As they were being squeezed, Oobleck noticed the Beowolfs….looked afraid.
"How curious……."Oobleck thought
With the last of the Beowolfs killed, the Symbiote retracted back in, leaving Peter standing there with a blank expression on his face.
"That was fun."
"…….We need to find another way to deal with your violent tendencies." Peter sighs.
"This is going to be a long day, isn't it?" Yang asked.
"Why of coarse, there are bound to be many more. Shall we continue?" Oobleck asked.
"Prey!" Venom shouts happily.
"Yes to the continuing, no to the suit form, your grounded." Peter told the alien Symbiote.
"Dang it!"
The team then spent the time fighting Grimm, with Peter only using tendrils and Symbiote arms to fight and destroy the Grimm. Oobleck would study the dead city around him as the bodies of dead Beowolfs fell next to him. Occasionally, Oobleck would observe the way Peter and Venom fought, taking notes as he does so, finding it fascinating how well both fought well as one.
Eventually the girls started to grow tired, with Peter barely showing sign of slowing down as he continued to destroy more Beowolfs.
"Excellent work girls, boy, and alien! Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh well, moving on!" Oobleck said as he began to lead the way, Ruby putting her weapon away and Peter landing behind them all
"Hey doc, you know I was actually looking forward to seeing a pro Huntsmen in action. Like, fighting, or at least helping us fight?" Yang said irritated at the doctor.
"Ah, but I am in action! Scouring the ruins of this once great city for any signs of irregularity." Oobleck retorts. "Not any mission is filled with daring and heroism students. Sometimes it's just a heightened form of extermination. Remember, this is just a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you all understand that, especially you Mister Parker."
"He's not entirely wrong, sometimes you can't save everyone." Peter sighs, agreeing with the doctor as he walked ahead of everyone, getting sad looks from the girls.
"Guess he still holds himself responsible those deaths by the red one." Yang said to her partner.
Blake sighs, nodding in response.
"There's still a long way to go before you truly forgive yourself Peter."
/
Oobleck had just finished talking to each of the girls, he had now went to speak with Peter, who currently was up high on the wall of a ruined building.
"Find anything interesting Mister Parker?" Oobleck shouts from below.
"Uh? Oh! No sir, nothing as far as I can see!" Peter shouts.
Peter then drops down, landing on his feet gracefully, "Is there something you need doctor?" Peter asked.
"I'm just curious about your reasons for deciding to be a superhero." Oobleck began, "From what I was told by Ozpin, you come from a world much more peaceful than ours, especially one with no grimm am I correct?"
"Kind of, just imagine a world where there's no monsters, auras, or semblances. That kind of sums up my home world." Peter explained.
"And yet, you being your world's first individual with powers, you go and decide to be a hero, why is that?" Oobleck asked, knowing that some individuals would use such powers for selfish needs.
Peter stayed silent for a moment, before finally saying, "Well, I once told Blake that if you have the power to help someone then it's your responsibility to do so. Because if you don't, bad things happen and it will be all your fault. With great power comes great responsibility, that's what my Uncle Ben told me, I just wish I understood sooner."
"I see, you try and honor your Uncle's words to this day no matter were you are." Oobleck said, getting a nod from the boy, "And what about the alien you harbor within your nervous system?"
The Symbiote then came from Peter's back, poking it's head out. "What about me?"
"From what Ozpin told me about you, which were words you said yourself, your species arrives on other civilizations only to consume them all. You're a brutally effective killing machine with billions of years of knowledge. And yet, you aren't doing the same right now, killing and causing countless destruction where ever you went before arriving on this world, before Mister Parker's. So I have to ask, why protect instead of destroy now, what caused you to have a change of heart, metaphorically." Oobleck asked.
The Symbiote stayed silent, even longer than Peter did, pondering the same question it's own offspring asked before.
"When and what changed me?"
"…..I don't know." And with that, Venom retracted back inside.
"Not what I expected." Oobleck said.
"Me neither, I think that's the first time V doesn't have an answer or a snarky comment." Peter said.
"Well, it's getting late, time to set up camp, come on lad." Oobleck instructed, Peter following him.
"Hey Venom."
"What?"
"Do you really not know why?"
"No, I really don't know why I changed."
"Well, maybe we can find out someday."
"Maybe."