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Welcome to the start of a new journey that's familiar.

And like before, AU in effect.  A LOT  of AU.

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Avengers Age Of Remnant Chapter 1: Assembled Disassembly

Earth.

Remnant.

Two planets either separated by space or universes.

Two planets that have their share of dangers, threats and villains.

Yet two planets that have their martyrs, warriors and above all else, heroes.

Heroes who stand strong and unwavering in the face of overwhelming odds and adversity.

Heroes such as Captain America, the First Avenger.

Tony Stark, the Invincible Iron Man.

The Incredible Hulk.

Thor, Mighty God of Thunder

Hawkeye, Earth's Greatest Marksman

And Natasha Romanoff AKA the deadly Black Widow.

Earth's Mightiest Heroes who came together to form the superhero team called the Avengers.

Together and apart, they saved the world from certain annihilation and domination on numerous occasions.

And far off on the other side of the cosmos was the planet of Remnant with its own set of heroes.

Ruby Rose,

Weiss Schnee

Blake Belladonna

Yang Xiao-Long

Jaune Arc

Nora Valkyrie

Pyrrha Nikos

Lie Ren

Eight young students that represented the best of their generation that would be their homeworlds future protectors.

Separately, these groups of heroes went about their own journeys and paths that cemented their legends in heroism, never to cross paths with one another.

Until they did…

In a time where the Avengers experienced their breaking point in their own Civil War, those that resisted the Sokovia Accords wound up on Remnant, forever linking both worlds to one another.

The ramifications of this crossover of two worlds so different yet so similar changed the face of the universe that they came from.

Heroes rising farther than ever before whilst others fell before their time.

Two worlds of heroes uniting together to defend the universe from stopping the elimination of half of all life in the universe.

Did they succeed?

Did they fail?

I cannot say for sure. The story of that universe darkened before the conclusion could be met.

But from what I did see before I turned my gaze away…

Love, loss, destruction, rebirth and a hope for a better tomorrow.

Yet the ever looming threat of defeat hung over that reality as it does for all of them.

But that story book has been closed.

However, as all things are in an endless Multiverse, one book closes…

And another opens to take its place.

We pick up in a time of victory and reformation.

The Avengers have achieved victory over the genocidal AI known as Ultron.

While two of the original six have gone their separate ways from the team, four remain on to guide the new members as the next set of Avengers who would safeguard the world.

-Scene Cut-

The Avengers.

Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Since the year 2008, they have been busy to say the least.

It all started with Tony Stark coming out to the world by outing himself as Iron Man.

Since then, it has been a snowball effect into an avalanche of one crazy event after another.

Hulk's battle in Harlem.

Captain America being revealed to have been trapped in ice for over 60 years.

Thor being an actual real God meaning the Norse Pantheon was not myth.

And that was just the start of it before Black Widow and Hawkeye joined in the fray.

Then came 2012 and in that year, there came a day unlike any other.

Where the might of one hero wouldn't be enough to stop the tide of evil that was to descend upon Earth.

On that day, the Avengers were born, coming together to defeat the God of Mischief and Thor's adopted brother Loki.

Since that time, these heroes had been busy taking on other threats whilst the Earth continued to be filled with more heroes to combat these new dangers.

Their presence had invited challenge and conflict.

In response to this all, Tony Stark, in an act of desperation and fear created something… horrible.

Ultron.

With his creation came the near catastrophic end of the Earth had it not been for the Avengers coming together once more to stop him.

Now a new day has come.

Whilst Thor departed back to Asgard and Hulk disappeared into parts unknown, the responsibility of the Avengers fell onto new heroes.

Sam Wilson who joined up with Captain Rogers to take down HYDRA as the Falcon.

Tony's best friend Colonel James Rhodes or as he likes to call himself, War Machine. With an X, all caps.

The Maximoff twins of Pietro and Wanda, the speedy brawn and the literal telekinetic brain.

And of course, the synthetic being known simply as Vision.

The Avengers stood strong with this roster of new and old and were ready to stand as the protectors of Earth.

But…

One can never have enough protection when safeguarding the planet.

-New Avengers HQ-

Captain Steve Rogers, veteran of World War II and often regarded as the world's first superhero, walked alone through one of the hallways of the new headquarters of the Avengers stationed in upstate New York.

It had been about a month since Sokovia and the team was still in a bit of a transitional phase.

Thor had long since departed to investigate these "Infinity Stones" and figure out where, how and why they had apparently been cropping up across the cosmos from what he told them.

Hulk was still MIA with Natasha trying what she could in locating their wayward teammate.

Everyone else was adjusting to the new norm. New lives in a new environment for some. New experiences being anticipated for others.

One such example was Vision, due to him having a literal new lease on life. Him now being a month old and slowly learning more of the world through a new point of view instead of his former digitized life.

He had to learn firsthand on how to interact with humans that didn't involve computing or algorithms. Though he used them on occasion.

Another came from the Maximoff twins.

This was something of a shock to their world in more ways than one since gaining their powers.

Pietro spent a number of days recovering from his near death injuries at the hands of Ultron back on Sokovia before he was able to move around properly again.

Despite the two saving the world with the Avengers, they did have other consequences that needed to be dealt with.

With them having joined Hydra and later Ultron, they needed to work and earn their exonerations for their crimes. This meant having to be present with other Avengers when going out of the compound. Them having to attend usual parole meetings.

But thanks to Nick Fury, he managed to put in some input for Clint to be their overall chaperone.

He figured he was the best choice for the twins to get themselves adjusted to their new lifestyle and such.

Sam and Rhodey had little trouble in getting into their new roles as members of the Avengers so at least that was an avoided headache.

Tony surprisingly opted to stay on for a bit longer though for Steve it was easy to see why.

He didn't realize it but every now and then, the Super Soldier caught the genius billionaire having a gaunt and haunted look.

Something which began from the Chitauri invasion of New York and has since escalated after Ultron.

Cap hoped he'd catch his friend in a better mood as he walked into the laboratory of their HQ and of course saw Tony in the middle of the room tinkering with his armors as he always did.

"I take it Pepper failed in convincing you to take a break." Steve said aloud though Tony didn't look up from his work.

"Oh she convinced me alright." Stark remarked with a slight smirk. "She convinced me all night long. And day… and… you know what, I don't wanna get into detail. I know how conservative you elderly folks tend to be."

"Do you ever act your age?"

"Do you?" Tony shot back.

"I'm a hundred years old and am confused about everything in the modern era while being critical of a few things." Rogers said, leaning up against one of the pillars in the room. "So yes, I'm quite confident that I am."

Stark rolled his eyes good naturedly as he held out his hand and a piece of armor shot at him and formed his armor around his forearm.

"Speed on that needs a bit more work." Tony murmured. "Friday-"

"Already marked it boss." Spoke the billionaires newest AI assistant.

Steve shook his head. "Looks like Pepper didn't do enough to get you to wear you out."

His friend paused in his work and turned to the veteran to give him an incredulous look.

"Was that a- well, looks like there's hope for you yet, soldier."

Rogers only 'hmphed' in amusement before approaching Tony's work area.

"So what's this about, Tony?" He asked with his arms crossed. "From how you phrased it, sounded pretty important."

"Quite." Tony stated, looking over suit diagnostics. "Just waiting for Nat to join us. Was gonna invite Clint, Thor and Hulk but apparently cupid is busy with our new adoptees and the other two aren't responding to my calls."

Just as he finished saying that did another set of doors on the other side of the room opened to reveal Black Widow.

"Okay, I'm here." She said, appearing to have just come from a workout judging by the canteen in her hand. "What is it you wanted to talk about, Tony?"

"Something that's an OG Avengers discussion."

"OG?" Nat looked around in confusion. "You do know we're three people short, right?"

Tony waved that question off. "Clint's babysitting the wonder twins and the other two keep sending me to voicemail. Have to make do with what we got."

Nat and Steve shared a look with each other, the former silently asking the latter what Stark was talking about with a shrug being her answer.

"Alright Tony, what's this about?" Steve asked again.

Tony picked up his holographic phone and flicked it lightly in the air.

"This." He declared with a number of screens appearing.

On it, they saw multiple streets that were from New York as Steve recognized one of the street names whilst there was the name of the area in the corner hand of all the screens.

In these displays, there was something that appeared in a red and blue blur only to disappear a moment later.

Nat lightly shook her head. "What the hell was that?"

Steve narrowed his eyes as the screens replayed several times over, slower and slower until all the frames froze and cleared up the blur.

It was a human. That was certain. But he was swinging and hanging on… something… was that rope of some kind?

"What am I looking at here?" He asked, looking at the clearly impressed inventor who had a wide smirk on display.

"Someone promising."

It didn't take long for Natasha to realize where Tony was going.

"Recruiting more already?" She asked with a curious look.

"Just a soft one, mind you." Stark quickly said. "I already was making a list of potential candidates for the past several days now, but I wanted to get your guy's opinion on this one first."

"And why are you doing this?" Steve asked.

Tony shrugged.

"Ideas for reserves, in case any of us are indisposed, preoccupied… or worse. Emergencies for another if a threat is too big to handle by the basic team."

Both of his friends and comrades were silent for a moment which prompted him to move on.

He sighed haggardly as he placed both hands on the table in front of him and leaned down with his head hung low.

"Look, I won't lie to you guys when I say that Ultron was my fault." Stark said with a tired voice. "You were right Steve when I should have talked to you guys about that which is why I'm doing it now."

Steve stared at his friend and once more saw that look in his eyes.

That look of exhaustion and terror that he had seen a number of times now.

"At least you're honest about it. And admitting your issue." Steve said lightly. "So this plan of yours…"

"What are you, my grandfather?" Tony jokingly asked.

"At the rate you're acting, I might as well have to be."

The Iron Avenger snorted before he showed a picture of what appeared to be a high school boy.

"I'm sorry, what?" Natasha said aloud in bewilderment.

"This is him."

"Him, who?"

"The spider...ling? Crime fighting spider? I don't know honestly. One of the images I got had a spider symbol on his chest and that stuff he's using to swing around on and do those fancy tricks is a webbing of some kind. The tensile strength is off the charts."

"You want to recruit a kid?" Steve asked, somewhat incredulous at this notion. "He doesn't even look like he's no older than 14."

"15 actually." Tony corrected absentmindedly.

"The point," Steve stressed out, "is that you plan on bringing in a heavily inexperienced kid into this line of life."

"Do you not see him stopping that bus with his bare hands?" the Billionaire rhetorically asked, pointing to the screen showing this boy do just that in an instant.

"Tony." Widow said with a withering sigh.

"If you think I made him do this-"

"Say if he does accept joining," Romanoff interrupted with a skewed look. "How is it you'll get away with having him onboard. He isn't even an adult."

Iron Man bobbed his head from side to side for a few moments. "Paid internship program."

The red head raised an unimpressed brow. "Really? Is that the best you can come up with?"

"As opposed to my other ideas?"

"He's still a kid." Cap said airily.

"Did that stop you from wanting to enlist?"

"Tony, that's not fair and you know it." Rogers shot back. "And in case you forgot, I was 24 when I joined, nine years older than him."

"You were still a babyface, Cap." Tony said with a shrug. "And pretty sure you didn't have what this kid does right now when you were fifteen."

It appeared that their friend was dead set on this since he was ready to counter just about everything they had to throw at him.

And not in the typical deflective way he had done in the past.

No, this time, he appeared determined to have them bring this kid on board.

Natasha sighed aloud and hung her head down for a second before looking back up at the armored superhero.

"Tony, are you sure-"

"No, no I'm not." Stark said. "It's why I'm telling you both."

He held his hand out to the display of this new enhanced that was now out there.

"This kid has been doing this for a few months now." He said emphatically. "I don't know what makes him do it but he's out there helping people on the daily compared to us who only come out for our Super Bowl. Maybe we can show him the ropes, train him up a bit. Make sure that guys like him who are the future heroes of this Earth don't fall into the same mistakes we have done."

Steve and Nat stared at the billionaire hero before looking back up at the looped set of videos of this teenaged, enhanced actions.

The part with him stopping the bus in an instant without damaging the car was impressive to say the least.

Rogers exhaled and shook his head. "Alright. We'll follow your lead."

Tony blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

Nat smirked at him. "Your project."

"My project?" Tony squawked. "I'm sorry, do I look like I'm good with kids?"

"What about that one you helped out with the whole AIM thing?" Steve asked.

Stark groaned aloud. "Don't get me started on that again."

The former SHIELD agent and WWII veteran laughed at their friend's reaction.

"Alright, we'll go with you." Steve stated.

They saw Tony perk up. "There, now was that so hard?"

"You two handle it." Nat remarked, turning to walk out of the room. "I'm good with 12 and under."

"You only say that cause of Clint." Tony called back out at her. "Doesn't that make you the most experienced?"

"It does." She retorted. "Which makes it funnier for me to see you two struggle."

With that, the duo saw Romanoff walk out the door and left the two of them alone.

"She can be really mean." Stark bluntly stated.

Steve only hummed in response, stepping over to the holo-screen displaying the identity of this masked vigilante and potential new recruit.

He looked over the name, murmuring it to himself.

His eyes then caught sight of where this teen was from.

"Queens, huh?" Rogers couldn't help but say with a small smirk forming.

All the while…

"It was nice to have you both over."

"No, no, thank you so much for having us. And I'm sorry if Pietro ate too much."

"I didn't eat that much Wanda, Jesus."

"We made sure to save you some."

"Thank you Lauren." Pietro said happily.

"Alright, come on you two, let's head back."

"Are you sure you can't stay for a bit longer?" Asked a young, female voice.

Wanda Maximoff looked down to see Clint's youngest daughter looking up at her with a sad frown.

The Sokovian and newest Avenger along with her brother and the synthetic being known as Vision crouched down to be at eye level and smiled at her.

"If you'll have us again, Lila, we'll come back."

"You better." The young girl said in a huff, crossing her arms with her cheeks puffing out.

Wanda gave the girl a wide smile and opened out her arms with the young girl running right into them.

"I promise." She whispered into her ear, feeling the child squeeze her tightly for a moment before letting go.

"Alright, come on you two." Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye and one of the founding members of the Avengers said to the Maximoff twins standing in his home's living room. "Got some training to do and Tony mentioned something about a team meeting of some kind."

Clint's wife, Laura Barton, went up to her husband to give him a loving kiss goodbye.

She ignored the "yuck" sounds her children made but found herself laughing slightly when she heard Pietro Maximoff join in.

Breaking away, Laura smiled at their guests.

"Do come again."

"Hopefully not too soon." Her husband deadpanned. "The pantry suffered enough as is."

This earned an elbow hit to the ribs, courtesy of Clint's wife.

Hawkeye's eldest son came up to them, holding the newborn Nathaniel Pietro Barton in hand with Lila by his side and bade them goodbye.

Once outside of the Barton residence, the Maximoff twins were giving their thanks once more.

"Thank you for this, Clint." Wanda said sincerely, smiling at their senior Avenger who held a pleasant expression.

"You guys needed a moment to relax." Clint said offhandedly with a shrug. "Lauren offered so…"

"That pasta was amazing." Pietro said with a groan of happiness, leaning back slightly to rub his full stomach. "I didn't think it would be able to sit in here after getting these powers."

"We all have our skills, that's hers."

"You're lucky to have her." Wanda said in a kind manner.

"I very much am every day." Said Clint. "She and the kids are what keeps me going."

"Think we can come back here again soon?" Pietro asked in a low voice, momentarily looking back at Barton's home.

"Don't annoy me so much and you just might get an invite." Clint remarked, clapping the speedster on his back. "Wanda's is always open."

The twin that was twelve seconds older gaped in disbelief.

"Wha-what?" Pietro said aloud. "Now that's not fair."

"Sounds fair to me." Wanda said cheekily.

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is. I'm wonderful, wherein you-"

"Ok "Wonderful" Wanda, how about you wash the dishes next time and-"

"You did that because you ate everything."

"Oh and you-"

Clint only chuckled to himself, walking into the quinjet he had borrowed to take the two to his home. It was nice to hear two who had come from such a war torn country like Sokovia be able to argue like his kids had before.

He figured they needed something like this since coming to America and joining the Avengers. Looks like his assumption paid off.

-Scene Cut-

Above the streets of Queens, New York was a figure jumping and swinging between the buildings of the borough.

He appeared skinny due to wearing baggy red and blue clothing but was agile, flexible and dexterous.

Swinging past one of the taller buildings, the figure threw his hand and from his wrist shot out a white line of some kind that latched onto a backpack that was there.

With a pull, the backpack flew up and into the hands of the colorful individual before he swung down into an alleyway.

Moments later, from said alleyway walked a boy in his midteens with a slightly frazzled up hair that he was trying to straighten out.

This young man was one Peter Parker, otherwise known to the public as… well… an assortment of names. A badly dressed hero, an unusual acrobat, a wall crawler, webslinger and by one reporter a costumed menace to name a few.

This was merely due to Peter not coming up with a hero name just yet. Not to mention the media not coming up with one suitable as all the same.

One did stick out among the rest, in which Peter found appropriate.

But right now, he was a tired high school student after a long day of school and patrolling so right now, he just wanted to get home and relax.

Walking into his building, he made his way up to his floor and soon arrived at his home.

'Home sweet home.' He thought to himself as he unlocked the door and entered into his apartment.

First thing he heard was some chatter, in which the teenager assumed his Aunt May was present and entertaining someone.

"Hey Aunt May." He greeted.

"Hey." He heard her respond. "How was school today?"

"Meh, it was alright." Parker said with a shrug. "By the way, did you this crazy car parked out-"

Turning the corner into the kitchen, Peter halted in his tracks when he spotted something at the corner of his eye.

It wasn't just his Aunt May present in the living room, but a pair of men. Very recognizable men who were known the world over.

Two who the young Parker boy knew very well through the media and history books.

The teen's eyes widened to the size of saucers with his jaw dropping slightly.

Tony Stark AKA Iron Man and Captain Steve "America" Rogers were seated in his living room right next to his Aunt.

May was looking at him with excitement and a proud smile.

Steve Rogers was clearly amused and from his expression, Tony appeared to share this sentiment.

"Oh Mr. Parker." Iron Man spoke up first in a casual manner.

"Wha-what?" Parker stammered in disbelief, looking back and forth between the two superheroes who were essentially his idols and role models. "What are you- what is- um, I-H-hi, hi, I-I'm Peter, I'm Peter."

"Tony." Stark said, nudging his head slightly at the super soldier. "Pretty sure a New York native knows Capsicle here."

"Mr. Parker." Steve greeted, standing up from his seat and offered the young boy his hand.

Dazed in astonishment, Peter quickly shook his hand, noting the man's eyebrows lightly go up.

"Nice grip you got there." Rogers noted.

"Th-Thanks." He stammered, still trying to process all this. "M-my Uncle always told me to have a good handshake."

Steve nodded approvingly. "Good man."

Peter could only laugh in disbelief when he realized something.

"I don't mean to pry, but why are you two here?"

"It's about time we met." Tony spoke up. "The emails, remember?"

The billionaire did an awful job at winking that thankfully went unnoticed by Aunt May.

"Mr. Stark here has told me you have just gotten into the internship program." Steve said, rolling his eyes slightly at Starks' attempt at being subtle.

"...Internship program?"

"The one you applied for." Tony gave him a look that screamed "play along with us" before taking a sip of his drink. "The September foundation."

"Right… the internship program." Peter said in an unsure tone. "I just kinda forgot about it."

"Forgot about it?" Parroted May. "How could you forget about that?"

Peter's mind raced for a thousand miles, trying to come up with a proper response. "...S-school has been very distracting lately. And I figure, um, you know… I know how much you like surprises and all."

"Well consider me surprised." May said with a bemused but excited tone.

He let out a weak laugh, looking up at the clearly amused super soldier right next to him.

"And Mr. Rogers?" Peter asked, gesturing slightly at him.

"Tagged along for the ride. That and he wanted to talk to you, sport."

"More like me being used as a bargaining chip." Steve remarked, shooting a sly look at Tony who held up his hand.

"Guilty as charged." Tony relented. "Speaking of guilty, this walnut date loaf might become a guilty pleasure of mine because it is exceptional."

"Thank you." May said, a pleased smile on her face. "It's my own recipe."

Peter cleared his throat. "So um, what did I apply for again?"

"That's what we're here for." Stark quickly said. "To hash it out with you, make sure everything is in order and all."

"O-ok, ok, hash out, right, I get that."

Tony chuckled slightly. "Let me tell ya Mr. Parker, it's so hard to believe that this lovely lady is your Aunt. I thought we were speaking to your older sister."

"Well, we aunts come in all shapes and sizes." May said, chuckling slightly

Seeing this and knowing Tony's reputation, Steve decided to end this before things got any more awkward.

"Tony." He said with a knowing look.

Rolling his eyes slightly, the billionaire nodded at his friend before looking back at May.

"Can we speak to him privately for a few minutes?" He politely asked.

"Yes, yes of course." May encouraged.

Peter led the two world renown superheroes into his room.

Upon entering the small room, Tony closed the door before going over to a nearby garbage pail and spitting out the rest of the loaf he had been eating.

"As far as walnut loafs go, that wasn't that bad." Tony quipped, taking a moment to look around the small, enclosed space.

"I thought it was good." Argued Steve.

"Of course you would, you're too polite like that." Stark said, patting his friend on the shoulder.

The genius inventor then noticed the teens desk. "Oh~ look, what do we have here? Retro tech. Thrift store? Salvation army?"

"Uh, the uh garbage actually." Peter admitted, cringing slightly at Mr. Rogers actually snorting at this.

"So you're a dumpster diver." Tony plainly said.

"Yeah."

"You get your tetanus shots? You know they can be lethal, right?"

"Sure, Um… ok look, I definitely didn't apply for whatever internship-"

"Up, up." Tony cut him off. "Us first."

Peter simply nodded, quickly glancing at a now more serious Captain who had crossed his arms and had his head down as Tony pulled out his own phone.

"Quick question of the rhetorical variety," Stark said, lightly flicking his phone for a holo-screen -which popped up- showed a rather familiar sight for the teen. "That's you, yes?"

The Queen native paled slightly upon seeing the videos of a figure in red and blue swinging past a car robber who was stuck to the ground.

"Um… N-no,"

"Mmm~ Yeah." Tony cut him off, the video changing now to reveal the figure stopping a car from crashing into a bus.

"Look at you go." Stark commented. "Wow, nice catch. 3000 pounds, 40 miles an hour. It's not easy."

The video ended and Tony put his phone away. "You've got mad skillz, as the kids say."

"...And people say that I'm old." Steve remarked.

"And yet, you barely look a day over two hundred. Huh? Isn't that strange?"

Peter stammered out a response. "That's all fake you know? YouTube and all that-"

"Mr. Parker." The boy froze up upon hearing the veteran and world's first Avenger speak up with a very serious but understanding tone. "It's alright. We know and we won't tell anyone."

The young teen stared at the Avenger and shut his mouth before letting out a tired sigh.

"And what have we here?" Tony spoke up, using a long ruler to open up the vent above and out came Peter's homemade costume being held together by some rope and dangling in front of them.

Parker could only groan in defeat as the billionaire gave him a more hardened look.

"So you're the spider… ling? Crime fighting Spider? Spider-Boy?"

The teen cleared his throat, trying to save some amount of his shame at being so easily caught. "Spider-man."

Steve hummed aloud. "Not bad."

"That's the best you came up with?"

"It wasn't really my idea." Peter admitted. "Got it from a wrestling announcer and the name stuck."

"That explains why it's a onesie."

Peter huffed slightly. "It's not a onesie."

He quickly deposited the garments into a nearby laundry bin before going over to his desk.

"You know, I was actually having a really good day today. Didn't miss my train, this perfectly good DVD player was just sitting there. And had an Algebra test today. Nailed it."

"Does anyone else know?" Steve asked.

Knowing what was being implied, the young Parker boy gave the simple answer.

"Nobody."

"Not even your… unusually attractive-"

"Tony."

"You know she is." Stark said almost childishly.

"Should I tell Pepper about this?"

"She's used to it."

"And now that you two-"

"My aunt doesn't know." Peter said, trying to get back on track. "And if she does know, she would freak out. And when she freaks out, I freak out and… yeah."

"Better to rip off the band aid at some point." Stark said.

"Easier said than done." Peter stated, leaning on his desk now with his head hung low.

Tony hummed slightly, looking up at Steve briefly then at a vial in his hand.

"You know what I think is cool?" Tony held up the item in his hand. "This webbing."

He threw it at the young teen and without even looking, Peter caught it in his hand.

Steve blinked slightly and found himself impressed slightly at the reflexes on hand.

"The tensile strength is off the charts. Explains how it can hold so much weight." Tony praised. "Who manufactured this?"

"I did."

"And climbing walls? Adhesive gloves?"

"All natural. Came with the heightened senses."

"Really now." Steve said with a curious gaze. "How'd you even get these abilities?"

"That's a bit… complicated." Peter admitted. "And lame when I think about how you two got what you have now."

"Lordy." Tony said aloud, holding up goggles from his suit and putting them up to his eyes making sounds. "Can you even see in these things?"

"Yes I can." Peter said, snatching them out of Tony's' hands and tossing them back into the laundry bin. "It's just that whatever happened, happened made everything dial up to eleven. There's way too much input. Overloads my senses. That's why they help tune everything out, helps me focus."

"Smart." Steve complimented and Parker couldn't help but rub the back of his neck bashfully at receiving such praise.

Tony eyed Peter's outfit now that it was fully out in the open. "You, my good sir, are in dire need of an upgrade. Systemic, top to bottom, hundred-point restoration" Putting all jokes aside, the billionaire became serious. "Why are you doing this?"

"Excuse me?"

"This, what we just showed you." Tony elaborated. "Gotta know your MO. What makes you get out of that twin bed and do what you do?"

Peter sat down on his bed, looking between Rogers and Stark, tapping his hands together nervously.

"Because I've been me my whole life." He explained. "I've had these powers for six months."

Both Avengers hummed in their own fashion. It was Steve who ushered the Parker boy to continue.

"I read books. I build computers. I had thought of playing football once, but I couldn't then so I shouldn't now."

"Sure, because you're different."

"Exactly." Parker said. "But I can't tell anybody that, so I'm not."

A stray thought then occurred in Steve's mind as he recalled his brief introduction with the young teen in front of him.

"And your uncle?"

It wasn't hard to see Peter freeze up now.

"What about him? Does he know? Have a say in this?"

Parker's head ducked down and his fists clenched tightly now.

It didn't take much guess work for the two Avengers to realize the implication.

"He uh… he's…. Yeah." Was all Peter managed out.

"I'm sorry." Rogers said sincerely, placing an understanding hand on the boy's shoulder. "Take it from both of us. We know how that feels."

Tony looked away for a moment whilst Peter nodded silently.

The teenager stuttered slightly, trying to find his thoughts and voice as he thought back to his deceased uncle.

"I'm also doing this for him." Peter said in a quiet voice. "The last time we spoke… we had a fight but… he told me something that I now understand what it means."

He looked up at them both with a now unflinching expression.

"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility." Peter stated in complete seriousness.

Hearing this made Steve reel back slightly at such a saying. He never would have thought to have heard something like that from someone as young as Parker.

"Wise words." He praised.

"Yeah well… you have to." Peter said, seemingly more to himself then to the two Avengers. "When you have the ability to help people and don't… all those bad things that happen in front of you are your own fault."

"A wise man once told me power makes a good man great while a bad man worse." Steve spoke up. "I can see that in you, Peter. A good kid who can be greater. One who has the potential to know your limits and respects your powers."

The young teen couldn't help but sit up straighter now upon hearing such a comment directed at him.

"So, all about helping the little guy then?" Tony stated more than he asked.

Parker nodded. "Yeah, just helping out the little guy get by."

"I have a question for you, Parker. Have you ever been out of Queens?"

"Uh…"

"What Tony is meaning to talk about is this "internship" program of his." Steve translated.

"Yeah, I was still wondering about that. What is it exactly?"

"Joining the Avengers." Stark answered.

The reaction of the young hero before them said it all. His wide eyed disbelief at the mere thought of being offered such an opportunity was something he clearly never even considered.

Before Peter could mutter a single thing from his mouth-

*BANG*

"JOINING THE WHAT?!" Screeched a very familiar voice to the Queen's resident whose face became ghostly pale. "WHAT THE FU-"

The door flew open to reveal a surprised looking aunt, who was clearly eavesdropping.

"Hang on Aunt May, just let me explain." Peter desperately said, jumping towards her with a terrified look.

"Oh~~" Tony lightly bopped the side of his head. "Should have locked the door."

"And soundproofed it." Steve added with an embarrassed look as he watched the nephew try to calm his now hysterical aunt down. "Wait, he doesn't have the money to afford it."

"I do."

"Yeah… you do." He sighed, looking back at the loud duo with Peter somehow managing to calm his aunt down just a tiny bit.

"You better young man." She then directed her attention towards the two Avengers with a hot glare which could perhaps kill gods. "And you two as well."

Steve awkwardly cleared his throat. "Tony."

The billionaire gaped in shock.

"Why do I have to disarm the situation?"

"This was your idea, remember?"

"And you went along with it too." Tony shot back. "Accomplice."

"I'm waiting." May cut them both off, arms on her hips with a murderous gaze.

"...You see, Mrs. Parker…"

From outside the Parker residence, for perhaps several blocks, a massive screech could be heard.

-Scene Cut-

Several weeks have passed -nearly a month- since the recent recruitment of Peter Parker.

After a long, long conversation with his aunt in getting her to calm down and accept the proposal, mostly being done by Steve, she acquiesced and now he was officially an Avenger.

…In training.

And part time.

Most would complain or feel slighted but Peter was honestly in awe and astonishment half the time in just being in the presence of the Avengers.

They had a meeting where Tony and Steve introduced him to the team and Clint made the comment towards the Maximoff's that they weren't the youngest members anymore.

Sam and Rhodey were a bit hesitant but trusted their friends' judgement and Vision appeared intrigued by the prospect overall.

Throughout this period of time, Peter had been thoroughly tested when he was available through his newly made schedule. Going through various parts of New York and sometimes outside its borders under supervision to see how he performed.

Suffice to say, the Avengers were impressed with the young man's performance though they did remark on his chattiness.

Then again, Pietro, Sam and Clint seem to enjoy the teens quippy nature with Tony encouraging it much to the dismay of the others.

Though since Spiderman had joined them, they had noticed a number of aspects pop up that they hadn't ever truly thought about.

Crime rates had gone down in New York as of late. And through some data crunching and predictions, Friday and Vision theorized it may go down further given how much Peter was essentially taking down crime.

It also helped given the minor- meant a huge upgrade to his "super-suit".

Whenever he wasn't with them in training or in high school or at the Avengers HQ, Parker was out there on the streets almost every single day. It didn't matter what was happening, whether it was quiet or busy, Spiderman was out on the streets helping everyday people whilst fighting crime.

Somewhat made the others wonder if they should actually step in and participate in order to live up to their moniker of being called heroes..

They were, after all, not trying to save the world from large threats. All the other members have been doing was live out their lives and essentially -in Pietro's words- waiting on their asses for some action.

Peter was actively using his powers on the daily to help out the little guy, as he said to Tony and Steve.

Though for the time being, they would have to address this topic at a later date.

Currently, it was mission time.

Tony's satellites had picked up on some strange readings going on in Europe and with some help from Maria Hill, the Avengers deduced that this area was a HYDRA base.

So it was all hands on deck.

The Avengers came together late last year in 2014 and for months on end were routing out multiple HYDRA bases across the world.

After the dissolution of SHIELD, Earth's Mightiest Heroes stepped up to be the world's vanguards and they knew that if HYDRA was running around, they would not stop in enacting their plans.

For a while, they had been relatively silent since their leader Von Strucker was apprehended by the Avengers and then killed by Ultron.

But they knew it would only be a matter of time until they reared their ugly heads again.

As the saying goes, cut off one head, two shall take its place.

So here they were with the Avengers inside a quinjet on their way to Europe.

They were all preparing themselves for what would undoubtedly be a hectic fight.

All but one…

"The Quinjet." Said a 15 year old teen in his best impression of a grizzled voice. "The transport of the Avengers. On their way to fight the greatest evil made by mankind."

"Uh Peter?"

The teen lowered his phone to see Clint Barton giving him a strange look.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Nobody." Peter said quickly, as if he was caught having his hand in the cookie jar. "Just making a little video for the trip."

"...Why?"

"Just thought-"

"You know you can't show anyone it, right?"

"Not even my aunt?"

"...maybe withhold that until you're older." Clint suggested. "I think showing your aunt what we do will just give her a heart attack."

Peter tilted his head and it was clear to him that he sort of forgot about how his aunt freaked out when she found out about him being Spiderman. God knows what level she would attain if she were to see what he does as a hero.

"Or get it past our approval." Said Natasha. "Edited of course."

"Can I show us kicking ass?"

The Avengers were silent for a moment.

"Yes." Pietro declared with a cocky grin. "Please, make sure you get our good sides."

Some rolled their eyes, some chuckled but they were amused by the teens' actions.

"Why are you narrating in that voice?" Spoke out Wanda.

"...Cause it's fun."

Pietro chuckled upon hearing that.

Peter resumed his small video, now on the ceiling of the quinjet.

"Is that comfortable for you to do?" Vision questioned, curious at seeing such a display.

"Yeah, totally." Peter said chipperly.

"You know you can sit anywhere else in here, right?" Clint said, gesturing to the rather spacious interior. "There's plenty of space."

"I know, I know but-"

"First time on a private plane?"

"First time on a plane." Peter clarified.

"Boy this is gonna be a long flight."

"Awesome." Peter said, now going up to the cockpit and looking out the window.

"He seems… excited."

"Incorrigible is more like it." Nat said.

"He's ready for this." Steve stated.

"You sound confident." Romanoff pointed out.

"He's a good kid." Rogers said, watching with a small laugh as Peter was speaking animatedly with Tony who was piloting the quinjet.

"He won't be a kid forever."

"I know." Steve said with a sigh. He momentarily looked over at Pietro and Wanda who were silently conversing with Clint and Vision.

All the while, Peter was looking at the controls of the quinjet, observing every detail and how Tony was flying the ship.

"You do know a majority of this is Friday, right?"

"It is?"

"That's right boss." Tony's AI piped up. "Though he can do it himself. He just tends to be lazy."

Tony stared flatly at a glowing screen that had circular, hexagonal shape that was a representation of his suits AI.

"I could just have Saturday take your place." Stark bluntly said.

"That acronym doesn't work." The AI wryly rebuked.

"I'll make it work." Was all Tony said with a rather petulant manner.

"Tony."

The billionaire glanced back to see Steve and Nat now standing behind him and Peter.

"What'd you find out about this HYDRA base?" Cap asked, crossing his arms in thought while Nat leaned against the wall near the pilot's seat.

"Well~~" Tony looked forward again. "Friday, if you would."

"Got it Boss."

On the window screen in front of them appeared a set of screens being images and small clips.

"After Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff ousted HYDRA from SHIELD with Mr. Wilson, a great amount of their information that was logged into SHIELDs systems were released into the world. Since then, the Avengers had taken down a number of their bases, greatly weakening their foothold on their influence over the world."

"But we still missed a few." Steve pointed out.

"Off the books." Nat commented. "You know, old fashioned and the like."

Cap let out a 'hmph' of amusement before Peter spoke next.

"So what's this HYDRA base like then?" he asked, now clinging to the ceiling above. "Is it like the ones the Avengers faced before?"

"Not necessarily." Friday responded. "A majority of the bases that the team had taken down were weapons manufactures and facilities that facilitated the creation and experimentation on alien tech as well as making individuals such as the twins."

There was a brief moment of silence as the group felt a sense of an uncomfortable aura emanating from the Maximoffs.

The awkward atmosphere was cut off by Clint Barton coughing into his hand.

"So what's this place's MO?"

"For the most part, this place seems like a storage and salvage base."

Several of the Avengers didn't bother hiding a sense of disappointment.

"Wait, that's it?" Rhodey spoke up. "Just an evil warehouse?"

"Aw man, I was hoping for something cooler than…" Peter paused in his thoughts and hummed to himself. "Wait, this is HYDRA we're talking about, right? Wouldn't this place have like some crazy sort of tech and stuff they've been hoarding for the past few decades?"

The Avengers took a moment to think over what their youngest teammate had asked.

"Friday?"

A moment later, the team was greeted with the presentation of a number of items, weapons, technology and other unidentifiable objects that were currently being stored at this HYDRA facility.

However, there were several items that caught their immediate attention that garnered a number of negative reactions.

Tony's face became more gaunt whilst Steve, Nat and Rhodey tensed up.

Sam and Vision frowned with the twins glaring heatedly at what they were seeing.

They felt the familiar hands of Clint on their shoulders who squeezed them in a sign of comfort.

Peter squirmed slightly at what they were all looking at.

"Ultron." Tony said darkly.

"His leftovers from the looks of it." Sam stated.

"So we're facing his scrap pile." Rhodey said with a grimace.

"Even in death, his shadow perseveres." Vision murmured with a troubled look on his face.

"Lovely."

"It's not him. It's just scrap metal. Leftovers like you guys said." Wilson said in an assuring manner.

"Nothing you guys haven't handled before, right?" Asked Peter.

Just as that had been said, the quinjet darkened rather considerably for a moment and all eyes turned to the front cockpit/

Whatever boost in confidence they had changed in an instant when the teams' eyes widened in shock, jaws dropping.

Outside of the Quinjet's windows were a pair of fairly large bluish synthetic eyes looking directly at them.

Reflexes kicked and the ship's pilot pulled their transport into a sharp angle, avoiding crashing into the gigantic robot.

"What the hell was that?!" Pietro exclaimed in shock.

"Flyers, get out there now!"

The respective faceplates belonging to War Machine and Iron Man slid on before they flew out of the Quinjet. Vision phased through the bottom of the transport. Wanda engulfed herself and floated out with Pietro, who was in a scarlet energy sphere. Following behind them was Falcon just as Steve took control of the ship and banked a hard left on the controls, narrowly avoiding a gigantic metal hand.

"That's a lot of scraps!" War Machine said, instantly having his shoulder mounted minigun begin firing upon the gigantic robot that they had all nearly crashed into.

"Looks like a supersized Ultron drone." Sam said, narrowly avoiding a large left hand that tried swatting him out of the air.

"HYDRA must have created this machine with a combination of the remains." Surmised Vision, hovering in place as the giant Ultron's other hand tried to swipe at him yet the synthetic Avenger became intangible and it went right through him.

The rest of the Avengers that were still on the Quinjet got out of the giant's range as it was assaulted on all sides by the airborne heroes.

"Whoa, my Aunt is never gonna believe this." Peter said, the lenses of his mask widening to convey his astonishment.

"Gawk at it later kid, we got work to do." Clint stated. "Best get yourself out there."

"Huh? Oh, oh! Right, hang on."

Spider-man did a quick rundown of the functions of his suit and once he saw everything was nominal and good to go, he ran out the back ramp and jumped out.

He instantly fired a webline, snagging the bottom part of the ship and swung towards the oversized Ultron who nearly caught Wanda in its fist.

Down below on the ground was Pietro who was clearing a village that the gigantic robot was trampling through.

Spider-man quickly joined in and the duo worked in getting the civilians to safety whilst the Avengers in the air combated the large Ultron bot.

From the Quinjet, Hawkeye had to fire off a number of trick arrows from the lowered ramp.

The arrows were explosive that caused the giant Ultron's head to jolt to the side. It then "glared" straight at the jet and its eyes glowed.

"Crap." Clint muttered, quickly retreating into the ship's interior. "Cap!"

"I know." Steve said, immediately moving the ship to avoid the oncoming beams that were shot out from the eyes of the giant mech.

Though he flew the jet out of the path of the eyes, the beams that were shot out were considerably larger than ones typically seen by the Avengers. It was almost two large pillars of energy shot right at the quinjet.

The right wing was obliterated and the ship was sent falling down into the ground.

However, before it crashed down, the ship was surrounded by a translucent red energy that caught the quinjet in midair.

Hovering near it was none other than Wanda who had both her hands out, her scarlet energy surrounding her arms. She had a slightly strained look on her face but she managed to set the jet down gently upon the ground and out came Steve, Clint and Nat.

Giving a nod of thanks to the airborne Sokovian, Steve gave out an order over the channel.

"Plan's simple, folks. This thing may be large and made out of Ultron, but that's just it; it's scrap metal. We gotta lure this thing away from the village and tear it apart."

The task was easier said than done.

Yet still, the Avengers did just that.

The flying Avengers kept harassing the giant Ultron to make it tromp on after them whilst the ground Avengers supported them from below and helped direct civilians to safety.

War Machine and Iron Man were working in tandem with one another as they flew circles around the Ultron-mech who was trying to smack them down.

Flying by and firing off more missiles, the airborne colonel was swiftly snagged by the giant amalgamated robot. He tried freeing himself by overexerting his thrusters, but the grip around him wasn't budging at all.

Witnessing this, Iron Man flew in and began blasting against the offending limb.

"Give me back my Rhodey."

Apparently conceding, the giant robot threw War Machine away, who essentially flailed in the air. It was done so quickly, Tony wasn't able to go after him and save his longtime friend who was about to harshly crash some distance away.

"I got him!"

Leaping into the air, Spiderman fired a webline and had it latch onto War Machine. Once secure, Peter landed onto a stable wall and tugged with all his might to halt the impeded crash.

Rhodey recovered, giving a quick two finger salute and fired his thrusters up again and flew back towards the battle.

Once the giant Ultron was cleared of the village…

"Village is clear, Cap." Pietro said in the comms.

Steve nodded approvingly. "Good job people."

"So how are we supposed to take out the oversized Gundam?" Peter asked, snagging a web on one of the giant elbows.

"Gundam?" Pietro repeated. "That thing is more like one of those robots from Pacific Rim."

"Ok, peanut anime gallery aside, anyone got any bright ideas in taking this thing down, I'm all ears." Said Tony.

"This thing is called Ultimo-3."

"How the heck do you know that Sam?" Asked Rhodey.

"It's on the back of his head." Pointed out the Falcon, who was dropping some bombs which exploded some moments later.

"I did not notice that." Vision said in moderate surprise. "Is this a human thing? To brand creation?"

"Quite often, in fact." Tony remarked, tapping his right shoulder plater that said MK XLVI.

"There's gotta be a way to take this big bastard down." Pietro said, running around the now labeled Ultimo at its feet.

Spider-man, who had been running away from one of Ultimo's giant hands, suddenly had an idea pop into his head.

"Hey guys, have you ever seen that really old movie?" He called out, jumping and backflipping around the hand. "Empire Strikes Back?"

"Seriously, Tony, having him on the team is making us feel much older than needed." Rhodey verbally complained.

"How do you think I feel?" Steve muttered, though he had a small smirk in place.

"Perhaps he wanted the kid to help balance out Steve." Quipped Barton.

"You hit the nail right on the head, Barton." Iron Man said, firing at one of the eyes, managing to disable it. "Or target, if that works better for you."

"Guys, seriously." Peter said, now jumping forward to begin webbing up the legs of Ultimo and swinging around it. "You know that part where they're on the snow planet with the walking thingies?"

"Maybe the kid's onto something." Tony said aloud, realizing what Peter was suggesting now.

Vision was quick to fly by and through to disable one of the knees of Ultimo while Steve and Clint took out the other.

Continually swinging around the legs, Peter was firing off more webs to help strengthen his end of the plan. For assistance, Wanda rushed in and focused much of her power, letting the metallic legs glow scarlet and keeping them bound as much as possible.

Pietro rushed in and landed repeated punches and kicks to the calves and Widow used Redwing to launch a series of blue disks at its hands and single operating eye to disable any weapon systems it may still have.

Once it appeared to not be able to move any more-

"High now, Tony. Go high."

"Hope this works."

Iron Man and War Machine flew up together at the same time and pulled off a dual uppercut that damaged and dented the jaw of Ultimo.

For added measure, Vision unleashed a powerful beam from the Mind Stone which started to burn through the metal.

While this happened, Wanda canceled her concentration on the legs and focused on finding Ultimo's power core. The scarlet energy creeped around the surface and sunk below the chest. Once finding what she was looking for, Wanda used her powers to disconnect the power source from the rest of the body.

It seemingly froze there with its head angled upwards until at last, it slowly keeled over and began to fall to the ground.

"Yes!" Spidey laughed out loud. "That was awesome!"

Just as this was said, Peter was smacked away mid-air by the giant metal hand of Ultimo-3 fell.

"Oh shit!" Sam yelled out, slightly cringing at what they all saw and watched as Peter sailed through the air when Vision managed to swoop in and catch the young hero.

The synthetic android descended to the ground and placed the young, very much disoriented hero down who wobbled slightly in place.

Iron Man was immediately there as was Captain America with the former reaching out to place a hand upon the teen.

"Kid, you alright?" He asked in clear concern.

Upon feeling the contact, Peter flinched for a few moments before calming down.

"Hey, it's me." Tony said, helmet retracted back.

Peter exhaled a sigh. "Hey, man. Yeah. Wow, that was scary."

"Yeah it was. So for now just lay down and take a breather. You earned it."

Spider-man blinked in confusion. "What? What are you talking about? What about-?"

*CRACK*

*BOOM*

The four Avengers snapped their heads around to see Ultimo get completely obliterated, courtesy of a combined effort of the other Avengers who had surrounded the downed scrap pile.

"Alright. Guard dog is down. Time to take care of its owners." Hawkeye called out to the others.

…

"Ok, yeah, let's go."

Upon getting close to the HYDRA base, agents ran out with Ultron drone type armor and Chitauri based weaponry.

The remaining Avengers charged in their respective ways.

Throwing his shield, Steve's vibranium disk bounced between the oncoming soldiers before returning to his hand.

Nat got in close and used her electrified batons to take out a number of combatants. And ones which got on her blind side were taken care of, courtesy of Clint's trick arrows.

Falcon unleashed a rain of bullets alongside War Machine with his arsenal.

Tony fired off a number of repulsor blasts as he got in close. This worked alongside Wanda's energy blasts.

Pietro was zooming through and knocking out HYDRA agents left and right in a number of ways.

"Well now… that was surprisingly easy." Pietro said in a cocky manner, tossing a Chitauri gun up and down in his hand.

"We did just take out a giant robot." Peter reminded him, perched atop the wall above the entrance to the HYDRA base.

"Don't get cocky, people." Steve said, eyeing the now open doorway into the structure. "We can't let our guard down."

"Steve's right." Tony added. "Who knows what hallucinogenic nightmares are down there."

Wanda cringed slightly, looking away whilst her brother deadpanned at the billionaire.

"Never gonna let that go, are ya?"

"Nope." Stark freely admitted and walked into the base first. "Come on, let's see what evil, world ending threat is gonna be inside this one."

"Is it always like this?" Peter asked, Sam walking by to pat the teen on the shoulder.

The aviator sighed, hanging his head and looked up at the kid. "Yup."

"You could have just said yes."

"And not be dramatic like you?"

"I'm quippy." Peter retorted. "Not dramatic."

The Avengers walked deeper into the HYDRA base, running into minimal resistance at best.

They were brushed aside and quickly bound and moved to an area where they would be held until directed to proper holding prisons and cells.

A number of old and familiar tech was found in containers and rooms that were either taking them apart or testing their capabilities.

It was indeed more of a storage/salvage facility from all the equipment and technology they found from past events ranging from the old HYDRA of WWII to just a few months ago with Ultron.

There were some other HYDRA agents here and there but nothing that was overly concerning.

"Is there anything else special about this place, Friday?" Sam asked aloud, looking through a box that held old WWII Hydra cannons.

"I'm detecting a room with unidentifiable energy coming in from a room that seems to be the furthest back in this facility." Was the AI's response.

"Always in the back." Wilson muttered. "Whelp, least we got something now."

"Stay sharp." Clint advised as the Avengers made their way towards their new, marked destination. "Who knows what we'll find in there."

They went deeper into the underground mountain base before coming upon a rather large set of metal doors.

"Ok… this seems rather excessive." Rhodey commented.

"How so?" Vision inquired.

"Why have these big ass doors here?"

"Must be something important then." Nat stated. "Unless they're trying to compensate for something."

Cap looked over to the holder of the Mind Stone. "Vision."

Focusing on the Infinity Stone, the synthetic Avenger gave out a report. "I do not detect anyone on the other side."

A moment later, Vision walked forward and phased through the doors to be sure and came back out a second later. "It seems all clear."

There was a sudden grunt of some kind and everyone turned to Spiderman who was rubbing the side of his head.

"You alright, Web-head?" Sam asked.

"Y-yeah." Peter answered with a grimace. "I… I think… I don't know actually."

"What's wrong?" Wanda inquired with a frown, sensing something was off with the teen.

"I'm not sure…" Peter removed his mask to rub his eyes and stared ahead at the metal door. "There's like this… stinging and weird ringing suddenly coming from out of nowhere. Like in the back of my head."

The Sokovian doubted it was Peter finally feeling the effects from the battle earlier. This was rather unusual when thinking about it.

"Be ready for anything." Steve said, now removing his shield that was on his back and grasped it tightly. "Friday."

"Done Captain."

There was a momentary groan before the large metal doors pried themselves apart and began to open to reveal what appeared to be a laboratory that was the last room in the base.

"Ok." Tony remarked. "Evil genius super lab. Check."

The group went in and spread out to explore the space in pairs of two.

While there were a number of consoles hanging near the walls, a large amount of the space lay vacant. Some screens and computer terminals were positioned along the walls but not much else filled the room.

But the reason for this seemingly bland and empty room was because of a massive pool of some kind with a dark substance in the center, having multiple tubes going in and out of it.

"The hell is that stuff?" Rhodey asked, going up to the dark pool.

"Doesn't look like oil, despite appearance wise." Clint commented, kneeling down to it with his eyes narrowed as he analyzed the substance.

"Tar?" Nat suggested with Steve and Peter taking a whiff.

They both shook their heads. "Nope, no smell."

Widow found herself chuckling slightly. "New Yorkers."

"Friday. Can you get anything?" Asked the Iron Avenger.

"From what I'm getting, this is an unknown substance that cannot be identified on the periodic table or any other known alien substances. The HYDRA scientists can't make heads or tails on what it's really made of."

"I'm sensing a "but" coming along." Stark said expectantly.

"But there's something else you should know."

"We're all ears."

"There are some unusual energy readings coming from and around the pool."

Taking a closer look at the pool's edge, some of the Avengers saw what appeared to be runes carved into the stone. And from them was this faint eldritch red glow.

"I doubt these were placed here for cosmetic sake." Sam stated.

"This is where the energy is coming from?" Peter asked, getting tentatively close to the glowing red, veiny like carvings.

The feeling at the back of his head was growing stronger and it practically screamed at him to get away from the substance.

"That and the black, tar-like pool itself."

"Friday, bring up audio and video logs, all of it." Tony instructed. "Wanna see what we're dealing with here."

"On it Boss."

As the AI got to work, Steve and Nat stood by Pietro, Wanda and Clint with the five of them keeping a wary eye on the strange viscous liquid.

"Getting anything from it, Wanda?" Clint asked, feeling uncomfortable from looking at this strange substance.

The twelve second younger twin furrowed her brows in concentration. "I… I actually do feel something emanating from it."

"You do?" Nat said in slight surprise.

"Actually," Pietro spoke up. "Being so close to it… I do too."

"As do I." Said the sage-like voice of Vision who came up to them.

"So with you three and Peter… that's four who are getting a strange feeling of some kind from whatever this is supposed to be." Romanoff remarked with her face becoming far more serious now.

"What are you feeling?" Rogers asked.

The beneficiary trio of the Mind Stone were silent for a moment until Pietro spoke up first.

"It's like… like a negativity, you know?" the Speedster said with a clearly unsure look to him. "Like it's a bad feeling. The kind you get when you're scared, upset, or angry."

"Alright, rather unsettling with this happening." Barton stated. "Tony, Friday get anything yet?"

"Nothing of value." Tony said, standing in front of a computer that was set up near the pool.

He was looking through multiple video files and some audio recordings though they constantly spoke of there being no reaction to whatever this pool was supposed to be.

Until…

"Wait," Stark sharply said. "We got something."

He tapped on a few keys on the computer and held his hand out to project a large screen for them all to see.

It displayed a video log made by HYDRA scientists that appeared to be conducting tests on this strange pool and most were fast forwarded a number of times as nothing had happened.

That was until they heard screaming from the video with a scientist backing away in terror when the computer got knocked over and there was the sound of unidentified roars followed by flesh being ripped apart.

What followed was then a frazzled and haggard looking scientist setting up a new camera with some blood leaking down the side of his head.

"The pool has been contained." The Hydra scientist spoke with an eastern European accent. "It has taken us some time to figure out a proper means of counteracting the substance within and we had to use-"

Peter momentarily looked away from the videos to glance at the pool and-

"AH!"

Everyone snapped around to the teen and saw him looking wide eyed at the substance. They instantly looked back at what made him cry out so suddenly and saw nothing.

"Uh Peter?" Wilson said cautiously. "Everything ok?"

"I saw something moving in there!" Peter exclaimed, pointing at the substance. "Just now! Like a white, bony looking plate popping out!"

"Are you kidding? I can't see a damn thing with how dark it-"

"Guys." Wanda appeared deeply troubled now. "I can feel something. Something coming from it."

Immediately, all the Avengers now tensed up and upon doing so, instantly saw motion coming out of the black substance.

Then, multiple misshapen forms began rising out from the pool with white plates coming out from within and taking shape around the black globs.

After a few seconds, the blobs took shape and they appeared to be strange creatures of some kind with familiar, animalistic features to them. There were several variations between them.

Wolf-like heads and claws, a clear boar variant and one that was basically an oversized bear.

"Oh." Was all Tony said, just as the animalistic beasts let out roars that were clearly that of those who wish to inflict bodily harm upon the Avengers.

As these literal black and white monsters charged, Earth's mightiest heroes reacted in kind by defending themselves.

Pietro zipped by the closest one to him and a moment later, it was riddled with hyper fast punches and kicks that caused it to explode and disintegrate into black wisps.

"Huh." Was his response before zipping off to avoid getting gored by the boar looking thing.

It was a moment of pandemonium as the Avengers fought off this vicious new threat that seemed intent on killing them.

They kept going for their heads and chests in clear attempts of either skewering or shredding them apart.

"What the hell are these things?" Sam asked from on high, reigning down small missiles upon these strange beasts.

"Has to be some sort of HYDRA experiment or something." Rhodey said, blasting away one of the wolf-like ones.

"I don't think HYDRA would make something like this." Steve said, standing firm against a charging boar that collided against his shield, its tusks shattering.

"You got any better ideas?" Clint asked, rolling out of the way of a wolf one, pulling out an acid arrow that he twirled and jammed into the eye of the Lycan-like creature. It let out a howl of agony as it melted from the inside out.

"I'm the HYDRA expert, aren't I?" Rogers jokingly asked, bashing his shield into the head of his opponent, appearing to kill it as it dropped down and didn't move.

Even though they were slightly caught off guard, the Avengers were slowly managing to repel their new adversaries…

… That was until the substance reacted and out came even more of the same creatures and this time, there were some that looked like oversized gorillas and from the pool itself were tendrils.

"Oh c'mon!"

"We need to bail, now!"

"Don't have to tell me twi-"

There was a bit of a distraction which occurred, causing the one Avengers to get snagged.

"Dammit." Barton grunted out, trying to pull his arm back as one of the tendrils was pulling at him.

"CLINT!" Nat, Pietro and Wanda all yelled at the same time.

Romanoff ran towards her best friend, firing her pistols at the tendril that jerked about violently from the shots but didn't retract itself.

Pietro zipped by at full speed, slicing through the tentacle with the portion still wrapped around Clint's arm falling apart.

This small victory was short lived as upon the severing of this tendril, it appeared to grow back to its original size instantly and this time caught Pietro who had momentarily skidded to a halt.

It grabbed him by the waste and tugged on him fast enough to get him off his feet and into the air.

"Oh shit!" Maximoff yelled out.

"Pietro!" Wanda cried out only for her to get snagged around by the neck.

"HEY!" Clint yelled out, face contorted in fury as he lunged forward to save Wanda while shooting an arrow towards the tentacle that held Pietro.

Firing some web lines, Peter snagged the Maximoff twins and pulled with all his might. Yet he was slowly being dragged towards the pool's edge.

"What is this stuff?!" The young teen yelled out.

The other Avengers were fighting off the other creatures that still remained and this served as more distractions as now Falcon was caught by one of these tendrils, as was Rhodey.

"What the hell is it doing?!" War Machine grunted, managing to free himself from the tentacles only for more to take its place. "God Dammit."

"This better not be something from Japan." Natasha said, managing to successfully evade the tendrils until one grabbed her leg. "Please, not from Japan!"

"How can you even think of something like that at a time like this?!" Parker shouted, trying to get the black tentacles off of him.

"How do you know what she's talking about?" Pietro asked, still trying to free himself.

"How can I not?! I'm a young teenager and anime is really, really popular right now in case you haven't-"

"Are we really doing this right now?!" Sam all but shouted in aggravation.

Steve corkscrewed through the air, spinning his shield around him as he landed to eliminate the wolf-like creatures close to him.

He reared his hand back, ready to throw his trademark weapon when a large tendril shot out from the center of the pool and ensnared his entire chest.

Without warning, the super soldier was pulled straight into the pool itself, disappearing into it.

"STEVE/CAP!"

The sudden loss of the Avengers losing their leader was enough of a distraction for those caught by these tendrils to begin to get pulled into the pool.

One by one, others who have been ensnared have finally been brought under the pool's surface. Clint was the first with the twins soon following. Peter was finally brought in once knocked over and dragged down hard.

Rhodey was being pulled in but Iron Man blasted the tentacles and other creatures away with all the arsenal in his suit when he too was caught by five large tendrils that grabbed him by the head and four limbs.

"TONY!"

It was the only thing the colonel managed to shout out as he watched his best friend get pulled right into the pool, despite him still struggling.

A similar situation occurred when Sam sliced through the bounds that held Natasha only for him to suffer the same fate as Tony and he too was dragged in.

Rhodey and Natasha didn't have time to escape as the tendrils were upon them once more.

Vision was blasting away the offending threats with his Mind Stone. He cleaved through the entrapments trying to harm Romanoff and Rhodey.

"We have to leave." He said straight away.

War Machine clearly didn't like the idea. "But the others-"

"We can't save them if the rest of us are dragged down with them." The owner of an Infinity Stone rebuked.

With great reluctance, the trio had to leave the lab as the dark creatures tried to go after them. Vision held them off as the two non-enhanced members ran past the doors. With them in the clear, the synthetic Avenger flew out and quickly shut the door alongside War Machine. The colonel held them in place as Vision used the Mind Stone to seal up the crack and lock the door. Pounding and roars were soon felt and heard as the trio tried to figure out their next move.

All the while…

It was pitch black all around her yet somewhat visible and she was able to sense the presence of the others around her.

From within the pool, Wanda struggled to not die as she and the others were drowning. The need to save them all became prominent as her eyes began to glow.

The scarlet energies with her started to flare and react accordingly as they started to seep out of her body. They surrounded both her and her companions before forming some sort of safety bubble. But it didn't seem enough.

"Everyone!" She cried out, her voice somehow managing to reach out to her struggling comrades. "Brace yourselves!"

Focusing more on her power, she sought the means of getting them out of this dark pool and bringing them to safety.

What she and the others wouldn't know would be how things would clearly go pear-shaped with this action.

As this occurred, the runes around the pool started to glow exponentially and brighten up the lab.

The dark creatures took notice of this and before they were able to react accordingly-

*TWOOOMBRRMMM*

Following this explosion, the three Avengers were quickly confused with what occurred. In mere moments they harshly made their way through the sealed door to see what happened.

Reentering the lab, the three Avengers saw the state it was in.

The damaged equipment, the ruined walls and floor.

But what stood out the most was the black pool-

"Where did it go?" Vision asked in astonishment.

-or lack thereof.

"Where did it go?" Parroted Rhodey. "Where did it and the others go?!"

Within the empty pool there were more runes now revealed. But the lights coming from them all died out.

It wasn't just that, but there was nothing else in the space at all.

"Clint." Nat spoke up in a shaken voice, hand on her comm piece in her ear. "Clint, do you copy? Steve?... Sam… Wanda, Pietro? Tony? Kid… Peter?"

Nothing.

No response.

No response other than the static that either their friends and comrades weren't receiving them or…

This was not good. Not good at all.

-Scene Cut-

…

…

…

…

…

"-nda?"

"Mrph"

"Wa-"

"Wanda?"

The young woman groaned aloud, hand reaching for her hea-

"WANDA!"

The younger Maximoff twin jolted up in an instant. "WHAT?!"

She was greeted with the immediate sight of a relieved brother who let out a breath.

"Sheesh, sis. Try biting my head off next time." He couldn't help but say with a cheeky grin.

The female twin groaned as she massaged her head. "Sorry. Just…"

"It's ok, I know." Her brother said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Take it easy for a moment. We all must have been through the ringer to get… wherever we are now."

"Huh?"

It was at this time that Wanda now took a moment to look around to see just where it was she and her twin brother wound up at.

They appeared to be in some sort of forest within a clearing.

"Come on." Pietro held his hand out for her to take. "We gotta see if there's anything around us that can tell us what forest we landed in."

Nodding, she grasped her brothers' hand and was hoisted up though she needed a moment of help from Pietro so she wouldn't fall over from the sudden vertigo.

Eventually walking out, they saw a dirt road nearby with no signs or anything of note anywhere.

Quickly getting on the Avenger comms, Pietro tried contacting the others-

"Guys? Hello? Anyone there?"

-only to find static.

Wanda frowned and a moment later, tried her own only to receive the same result as her brother did.

"What the hell?" Pietro murmured. "Stark said our comms should work the world over."

"Maybe we're in a place without a satellite in range." Wanda suggested. She pulled out her earpiece and saw it was in working order, which ruled out damaged equipment.

Pietro scoffed. "If I can get Wi-Fi anywhere, I don't think it is a missing satellite."

"Can you get Wi-Fi" His sister asked.

Rather than verbally responding, Pietro pulled out his phone and saw…

"Nada." He said, lips curling downwards. "No bars, no service, nothing."

The twins now shifted about uncomfortably.

"What do we do now?" The older twin asked, clearly uncertain as for the course of their action.

"Walk to the nearest form of civilization."

"I could run, you know." Pietro suggested.

"No, no." Wanda instantly denied. "Not after last time."

"That was just a joke." Her older brother said with a laugh now. "I carried you a bunch of times, remember?"

She gave him a deadpan look. "You lost a lot of trust after that stu-"

*RUMBLE-KABOOM*

The twins paused in their bickering upon hearing the sound of thunder echoing around them.

Pietro looked up to see relatively clear skies directly above them. "Is a storm coming?"

"I don't-"

*KRASH-KABOOM*

This next bit of thunder sounded far stronger than the last. And it appeared again and again with the flashes appearing in the sky.

"What was that?" Wanda asked aloud in clear alarm and an alert demeanor now.

The consistency of the lightning was irregular, not that lightning usually had a pattern much to begin with.

It's just the means in which it was being heard felt and sounded different from typical thunder and the lightning appeared rather unnatural.

A thought soon popped up in Pietro's head upon seeing the erratic amount of thunder and lightning far off in the distance.

It wasn't just in the sky but coming down in a specific location.

It was being controlled.

And the only being that the speedster was aware of to possess such abilities was-

"Do you think it's Thor?"

Wanda's head snapped towards him. "What?"

He pointed ahead. "Look, over the treeline."

She followed his direction and saw lightning coming down from on high repeatedly.

Her eyes widened and she turned to her brother who instantly knew what she was thinking and quickly scooped her up in his arms before dashing off towards the direction of the thunderstorm.

And hopefully towards a familiar face and Avenger.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Age of Remnant Chapter 3: Scattered

Tony Stark.

He has gone by many names and epitaphs in his lifetime.

Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, philanthropist, just to name a few self-chosen titles.

Then of course there were others that were given to him by those he knew and didn't know (media).

The Da Vinci of the modern era, the merchant of death, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America.

That was all before Afghanistan.

In his time there, a man whom he would regard as the one who saved his soul pointed out who he truly was.

A man who has everything and nothing.

Since that time, Stark had worked tirelessly, almost obsessively to change the trajectory of his life.

In doing so, he had created a new persona for himself, one that will define him for the rest of his life.

The Invincible Iron Man.

After that, more nicknames and titles began piling on that were somewhat funny as they were apt.

The Armored Avenger.

Futurist.

Shawarma enthusiast.

Man in a Can.

The Mechanic.

And yet all those titles meant very little to the man as the two defining titles, or really emotions that would best describe Tony's current predicament can be boiled down to two words.

Lost and Confused.

Thankfully, he wasn't alone in this regard.

"Birdman, what's your status, over?"

"About to guano all over your ass right now." Came the response from above.

Tony turned his head slightly to see Sam Wilson, otherwise known as the Falcon land beside him.

The bird-themed Avenger let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Nothing." Was all he said.

Stark grimaced upon hearing that, looking back out at the landscape before them.

It was a wintry tundra for the most part making Tony somewhat annoyed.

He's had enough run-ins with these sorts of environments, almost as much as deserts. He went missing in them a number of times, mostly because of life threatening events though he has a habit of rushing headlong into them.

The billionaire always jokingly reassures himself that he isn't Steve and the whole waking up in another timeline is his gimmick.

"So now what?" Sam asked, crossing his arms. "We fly around again trying to find our friends or what? I'm not getting anything on our comms. Just static."

Tony only silently shrugged.

"Really doubt the weather is causing our comms to reach the others. My satellite system would've piggybacked on other ones in orbit." Stark mused. "Friday?"

"Working on establishing some kind of signal but I'm getting nothing."

"Getting nothing." Sam repeated, frowning at that. "Not to call you out on your tech, Tony but-"

"Yeah, doesn't exactly give me the warm feelings I would prefer right about now."

"So again, what do we do now?"

Tony was silent in this regard as he racked his brain for ideas.

Friday not getting any satellite signals wasn't the scariest thing to hear. Being with Sam, a fellow Avenger, alleviated some concerns the genius had when he had awoken in this tundra.

If he had woken up right next to him after going through that black goo, the other Avengers who were pulled in with them were undoubtedly here.

Likely here…

He wasn't sure but he knew they were alive and well at the very least.

They just needed to find them.

"Did your drone manage to find anything?"

Sam scoffed. "Ok, first of all, his name is Redwing. Show some respect."

Tony rolled his eyes good-naturedly at the man's rebuke. He couldn't really fault Wilson as he shared the sentiment of naming robotic, inanimate objects with affectionate or funny names.

Made them have more value.

"Alright birdperson." Tony said. "Did Redwing find anything?"

Wilson held up his arm and had the display appear from his tacpad on his wrist.

"Look familiar?" He asked, holding his wrist up for Tony to see what Redwing had brought back.

"Oh…" Tony deadpanned, seeing the black creatures that had attacked them in the HYDRA base roaming the snowy fields. "So these guys are here too."

"Maybe we wound up near their home." Sam suggested, now being slightly on guard.

"Maybe…" Tony murmured, looking around the area.

The two remained silent for a brief instance until Friday spoke up.

"Boss."

"Yes?"

"I'm getting something."

The two Avengers shared a look. "Something's better than nothing. Whatcha got."

"A strange signal. Coming from something akin to a satellite tower."

"A satellite tower?" Sam repeated in confusion. "Like, it's groundside?"

"Correct."

"And why, pray tell, would that be strange?" Tony inquired, arching a brow at the bird-theme hero.

Satellite towers aren't all that unusual.

"Call it a gut feeling." Sam stated. "I got a weird feelin' about all this."

The man then sighed, shaking his head. "Well regardless, we have signs of civilization."

Stark nodded in agreement, his helmet snapping shut around his head as he flew up into the sky. "Off we go, my feathered friend."

Sam rolled his eyes before he took off after Tony.

Along their flight, they occasionally saw the oily black creatures roaming about.

Wolves, Sabretooth tigers and Bears were the most common. There were even some wooly mammoths of all things. Though they were aptly appropriate in the given environment.

"Whoa, so we landed in a literal prehistoric Ice Age." Sam commented at the sight of the boney white plated, black tar mammoths roaming the grounds below. "You sure this ain't there home?"

Tony looked down at the black creatures that had attacked him and the team.

"I don't know now…" He admitted. "Maybe this is their home but not at the same time. They don't exactly fit in in a natural sort of way."

"What even are they?" Wilson asked, a question he shared with Tony. "They look like animals we know and seen but…"

"Their aesthetics don't exactly make them all that friendly."

"That's a given." Sam remarked. "Still doesn't explain what they are or why they attacked."

"Wish I knew, Wilson. Wish I knew." Tony said, eyes on the ground at the sight of more of those strange creatures.

They kept flying through the air and overlooking the environment. Nothing but the tundra terrain as far as the eye could see.

It was only once passing a certain mountain range did they reach a stronger source of the signal.

Only then did the two Avengers come across something… spectacular…

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Sam blandly asked, removing his goggles to make sure this wasn't the work of faulty technology.

"A floating island in the sky, hovering above a city below." Tony blankly said, not believing what he was looking at himself for a moment.

"Oh good, I'm not the only one being delusional from this snipping cold." Sam said with a shiver before a rather simple thought drifted through his head. "Reminds you of Sokovia, right?"

"Please, please don't." Stark quickly rebutted. "The last thing I wanna see is another extinction attempt on the world in front of me."

"Well, doesn't look like that's the case this time." Wilson remarked with a chortle at Tony's response. "Any ideas how this is possible?"

Before their conversation could progress further, Friday chimed in.

"Boss, as much as I would want you both to theorize further, I need to inform you you're being hailed."

"Hailed?"

"Someone is trying to contact you and it's not one of the Avengers."

"Are they friendly?" Sam asked.

"Unknown, Mr. Wilson."

"Then put them on." Tony said.

The pair of flying Avengers soon heard a strict, authoritative voice coming through their comms.

"You are entering restricted airspace. What is your clearance code? Refusal to comply will result in-"

"Huh, this seems awfully familiar." Was Tony's response, cutting them off a moment later.

"Hey." Sam spoke up. "I was listening to them."

"Were you?" Stark said with a bemused grin underneath his helmet. "Why? Aren't you already familiar with the whole restricted airspace stuff and the whole hoo ha of turning yourself in and all?"

"Yeah but maybe they had something that could tell us where we are."

"They're calling themselves the Atlas Air Force." Friday chimed in.

"See?" Tony said rhetorically. "It's why she's around."

As the two continued to converse, a pair of vehicles flew in their direction, coming up right behind them moments later.

"Huh…" Tony murmured, glancing back at them. "That's not a model I've ever seen before."

"Me neither." Wilson added on, squinting back at the vehicles flying after them. "They don't look happy to see us."

"Could be because you hung up on them."

"Excuse you?" Sam said with a raised brow. "Hey Friday?"

"Yes Mr. Wilson?"

"They still trying to talk to us?"

Before the AI was able to respond to the Avenger, warnings blared in their suit systems that caused the two to split up as bullets flew by between them both.

"So they were upset with me hanging up on them." Stark remarked, easily avoiding the bullets being shot at him.

"They clearly took an exception to that." Falcon wryly said, flying upwards with one of the strange jets pursuing after him.

"Exception to a hang up? What are they, a bitter ex?" Toy looked back behind them. "Hey, are you military contractors Stark Industries doesn't work with anymore? You do know that we stopped working together a few years ago, right?"

The only response he got was more gunfire sent in his direction.

The duo began their flight of avoiding these airships they had yet to identify.

It appeared that they were able to keep up with the two of them though they lacked the maneuverability both men possessed.

"So what's the game plan here, Stark?" Sam asked, wings going back into his pack momentarily, the man free falling as the ship chasing him soared overhead. His wings unfurled themselves and he flew towards the rich billionaire who was easily staying well ahead of the ship going after him.

"Well, I'm severely tempted to try for a repeat of my debut appearance."

"I can't crash through a jet unscathed, thank you." Sam dryly stated, flying alongside the pilot of the jet that was chasing Tony.

The man inside the ship looked over at the Avenger with wide eyes while Falcon accelerated to catch up with Tony.

"They haven't shot at us yet." Sam glanced back. "For now… again."

"Uh-huh."

"Are we just gonna keep-WHOA!" Falcon exclaimed, narrowly angling himself in time to dodge two sets of missiles sent towards him. "Alright, that was just rude. Is there a better way to resolve this issue?"

"Well can they see our point of view in us being tourists?"

Sam hummed in response. "Let's see. We're in foreign territory with us unintentionally "invading" it, prompting their military to react in kind."

"I wouldn't say invading. We were merely spotted in their airspace."

"Tony."

"What?" Iron Man shot back, ducking underneath another missile sent their way that he blasted away. "It's not like we're here to attack them."

"They don't know that."

"But we do."

"That doesn't count."

"It should count for something."

"Tony."

Hearing the whirring sound of a minigun, the two had to separate as the ships proceeded to fire at them again.

"Why are they even shooting at us? We're not even trying to attack them?" Tony complained.

"We haven't responded to their hails boss?"

"And that's their response?" Stark scoffed. "Childish really."

"Doubt we crossed the point of no return, as long as we don't retaliate." Wilson commented, arching upwards with one of their pursuers angling up to keep up with him. "Let's see if we can talk it out."

"Rather hard with them firing at us."

"Then turn on the comms."

"I could… but sometimes the best approach is a direct one."

"I don't want to shoot down innocent pilots for just doing their job." Falcon said in a sharp voice.

"We're not gonna kill them, birdbrain." Tony said, rolling his eyes under his helmet. "They want us gone. So let's give them what they want. Friday. Make us disappear."

"On it."

"Sam, be ready for my mark. We need to lose them first."

"Say the word."

All the while, as the two Avengers continued their avoidance in being captured…

From the floating city of Atlas, a man of military discipline and stature entered the control center. He had been notified moments ago of unauthorized bogies entering their territory. With this, he immediately came here to oversee the situation personally.

In mere moments, he was saluted by one of his officers.

"At ease." He said. "What's the situation?"

"General Ironwood, we ran an ID check and cross referenced with all known databases. Nothing we've ever seen before." Reported the officer, the two walking over to a terminal that had captured footage of the two bogies in Atlas airspace.

Ironwood looked down at the direct feeds, squinting his eyes as he saw two blurs flying about, avoiding the bullheads. "What can you tell me about their craft?"

"None sir."

He looked at the officer with a raised brow. "None?"

"On your way over here, one of our pilots was able to get a rough description of them. They're just two people in airborne suits." Another officer spoke up.

"What?" The General of Atlas's military said in bewilderment.

Rather than verbally answering, the man seated at the computer zoomed in on the two images that the security cams managed to capture.

One was of an individual in a full body armor of red and gold whilst the other was a man in a wingsuit.

Upon seeing the live feed, James Ironwood hummed in intrigue and surprise.

When he woke up today for the standard military routines, regimes and meetings, he had certainly not expected this.

'Could it be some huntsman or business manufacturer trying out new gear or equipment?' He pondered to himself. 'Perhaps, given the testing is unsanctioned in some sense. But why in the general area?'

These questions and more filled the general's mind. Yet they can all be answered at a later time. For now one was a bit more prominent.

"How is it these two showed up on our radar without us even detecting them?" He questioned. "Are they using stealth tech of some kind?"

The technology for such a thing is theoretical at best. As far as the Atlesian general knew, no one has successfully made it.

"No clue, sir." The Officer who was standing beside him answered. "We detected them coming into Atlas Airspace on a direct course. We plotted their possible routes but nothing within the vicinity suggests they came from a base or known structure, be it inhabited or abandoned."

"So you're telling me that they just showed up out of nowhere." Ironwood stated more than asked.

The Atlesian officer cringed before nodding his head. "Yes General, that seems to be the case."

"Have they proven to be hostile?"

"They aren't responding to our hails sir."

James stared at the man seated in the computer. "And your first response to them ignoring you was to shoot at them?"

"They dropped our hail, sir."

"But did they shoot at our pilots or make any hostile moves?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... um."

Ironwood sighed aloud, running a hand down his face.

"They haven't shot back at our forces and yet you're still trying to shoot them down?"

The officers around him began to realize that they may have made some rather rash decisions right about now.

Looks like Ironwood needed to enact some serious discipline after all this.

"WHOA! They just dropped off the radar!"

Ironwood blinked, seeing that the live feed no longer had them on screen. "Excuse me?"

"I said-"

"I know what you said." He cut him off. "Where did they go?"

"Unknown sir."

The General frowned, arms now crossed in thought.

Whoever these two were, they were clearly not Grimm. Their maneuvering and lack of fighting back against their pursuers at least made them possibly approachable.

Possibly being the key word.

Perhaps they were friendlies who were simply lost. Perhaps this is a facade of some kind and they are working for Salem. Who's to say.

For now, he needed to find these two and question them.

"All units be advised…"

-Scene Cut-

Steve Rogers was a man out of time.

A man who comes from an era of strife, conflict and war.

When he went under the ice to save the world, he woke up to one he hardly recognized.

It was difficult to adjust to say the least, try as he might and as much as put up the illusion of it.

But… At the end of the day, Steve just couldn't let go of the past.

Couldn't let go of what he had lost, the life he had known and in his disappearance, he realized just how much he had failed to do.

He did his best to make up for it. Living in the present and working one day at a time.

Yet there were moments where he was left out of place, given he didn't adjust through the times like how normally one should.

It was a difficult issue, but one he could manage. He was able to work around it by doing a litany of missions for SHIELD and as an Avenger. And when on his off time, he would go through his list and experience a litany of things people have suggested to him.

Everything was all well and good… until recently.

As of now, he was in unfamiliar territory, more so than when he woke up from his seventy yearlong nap.

Vale, this city was called.

A place he had never heard of before.

He had wound up here after that strange black viscous pulled him and several other of the Avengers in and he had awoken in this city with their newest recruit.

The two had been scouring the city since they woke up, trying to figure out just where they are, where the others are and what they should do next.

Currently, he was on his own after splitting from Peter to do his own research of their present whereabouts.

He had gone through a number of streets, shops and alleyways with none the wiser as to where he really was.

Other than the city name, the super soldier hadn't gotten much else in terms of information that would be useful.

In the stores he had been through, he did notice that there was some sort of substance that was always on display.

Dust, he thinks it was called.

Whatever that was, he didn't really know about it so for now, didn't help him.

The Brooklyn native kept walking down the street, eyes drifting about left and right when they caught sight of something that just might be useful in the situation Cap had found himself in.

Tukson's Book Trade.

Looking at the listed hours, and comparing it at a nearby clock monitor, Steve saw there was about an hour left before this shop closed up for the night. May not give him enough time for a good look around. Thus would make him return in the morning or seek out a library.

Entering the shop, Steve's ears picked up on the man behind the counter speaking out to him.

"Hello. Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade. Home to every book under the sun."

Quite the sales pitch, but some people would really nitpick if a requested book isn't in stock.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I'm good. Just looking around." Said the Avenger.

"Anything in particular I can help you with?"

Steve hummed in thought. "I'll let you know if something comes to mind."

The man behind the counter simply nodded and went back to whatever it was he was doing prior to Steve's entry.

The Brooklyn native didn't know what money he had on hand would work here. Even with the credit and debit card Tony proclaimed would work anywhere on Earth.

Yet this wasn't Earth.

Thus he wouldn't be able to purchase a thing at all, unlike perhaps checking out a book from a library.

He looked around at the shelves loaded with books with multiple covers and labels with authors he didn't recognize.

Sure there were lots of authors that one would find in a library or bookstore but where he comes from, there were a number of names one would always see in these sorts of places.

Shakespeare namely being a universal one that practically anyone would recognize.

Strange not to see his name not listed on any of these books.

Frankly… a number of these book titles made little sense to him.

Aura and Semblance: Knowing your inner power.

Grimm: Dark tales for the night.

A Collection of Remnants Fairy Tales

Madweiry.

The Girl in the Lonely Tower.

A Man with Two Souls.

His hands idly grazed over these books and titles though none managed to have him take one out from the shelves.

Cap sighed and rested his hand atop a book whilst he hung his head for a moment.

He really didn't know what to do here at this time. Normally, he was the star spangled man with a plan for a reason but a genuine sense of confusion was making it hard to think.

None of the Avengers had responded to his hails over the comms and the technology that he had seen, while familiar to a degree felt also alien.

Something about this whole place felt off and he didn't understand what it was.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to realize someone had approached him from behind.

"Excuse me sir."

Steve tilted his head before turning around to see a woman close to his age. She had a bright head of blond hair, pale-white skin and sharp green eyes that matched her overall disposition of one who appears to possess a great degree of authority.

"You appear to be lost." She spoke in a cordial manner. "Are you in need of assistance?"

'Well now,' Rogers internally mused. 'Talk about convenience.'

"It would be greatly appreciated ma'am." He said sincerely. "I'm rather new to the area."

The woman nodded. "I can probably tell. Where from?"

"Brooklyn."

She tilted her head at the name of his home with a look of thought on her face before she shook her head.

"Forgive me, but I'm unfamiliar with such a place."

Steve appeared to have expected her response, chuckling to himself. "And I wouldn't blame you."

"Apologies."

"No need ma'am." Steve said politely. "You're not at fault for any of my own troubles."

The woman took a moment to inspect him and detected a sense of him having a military background. His posture, his demeanor, the way he spoke in a respectful manner.

It all reminded her of a certain General who carried himself in the same manner. Only with less of a stiff personality.

And there was something else about him that was rather endearing that she saw in his eyes.

They were earnest and were like an open book to read.

"Apologies." She spoke up. "I had forgotten to introduce myself. I am Glynda Goodwitch."

"Steve Rogers." the man automatically in response, offering a hand for her to shake which she did.

Hearing her name made him think of Wizard of Oz, given it would've derived from the Good Witch of the North.

"Are you just passing through for your next assignment?" Asked the spectacled blonde.

With how huntsmen were, they traveled all over the place for work. Quite the common norm for generations.

"That… remains to be seen." Steve said, pausing for a moment. "Pardon? Assignment?"

Glynda stared at him momentarily. "Are you not a huntsman?"

He blinked. "Uh, no."

"Then what are you?"

"Captain Steve Rogers. I'm an Avenger."

"From Atlas?"

"Atlas?"

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to assume-"

"It's alright." Steve held up a placating hand. "There's a lot I wanna ask myself. When you asked if I was lost, it's in more ways than one."

"I can tell." Goodwitch said, gazing intently at the man. "So, if you're not from Atlas, then where is this Brooklyn you spoke of? Haven? Vacuo? A settlement on the frontier."

"Um… Maybe we should set aside where I come from for now." Steve said, not recognizing any of those places Glynda had just listed off.

The well-dressed woman nodded, looking about at the bookshop they both stood in at this time.

"Is there a reason why you came here?"

"Library was closed and this place seemed the most reasonable place to check out at the time. You?"

"Wanted to get myself a new book or two to read and add to my collection before the upcoming school year."

Steve conveyed a level of surprise. "You're a teacher?"

"At Beacon Academy, yes."

"Beacon…"

Glynda frowned now upon detecting how that was said. "Have you not heard of Beacon?"

"Can't say that I have."

Now the spectacled woman found herself suspicious of this strange man.

What person hasn't heard of Beacon or any of the great academies for that matter?

There wasn't a person under the sun of Remnant that didn't know about the four great academies that were the breeding ground of the Huntsmen and Huntresses that protected the civilians of this world.

Granted it is understandable on the subsidiary schools -Signal, Patch, Sanctum, Oscuro, Kuchinashi- as they lead up to one's entrance to the higher ones. It's sometimes hard to know them from foreign kingdoms in a normal perspective instead of their own.

But to be unaware of the main academies.

There was something strange about this whole situation.

Still… the more she stared at the man in front of her, the more she had a sneaking gut suspicion of something else under the surface of this man.

"You claim that you're a Captain," Glynda said. "From kingdom do you serve under?"

"Kingdom?" Steve repeated the word. "I wouldn't say that my country is a kingdom or something like that but I served in the United States Army… and you don't know what that is either."

The woman shaking her head confirmed it.

"It appears we are both in a predicament of having knowledge that neither of us possess on one another." Glynda remarked.

"Yeah, yeah, seems to be the case."

The woman eyed the man analytically, taking note of the large disk attached on his back.

"What is that?" She found herself asking, gesturing her chin at the object with Steve looking at it than her for confirmation as to what she was referring to.

He took it off and showed his colorful, overgrown frisbee. "This is my shield."

Goodwitch leaned forward with a look of interest.

Her hand reached forward and gently brushed her fingertips over the metal.

"Fascinating." She said in a low voice. "I'm not one for understanding the complexities of metallurgy but… this feels… different."

"Not all that surprising." Steve remarked. "This here is a special gift that was given to me by an old friend. The only one of its kind."

"I can tell." Glynda mused.

It seemed like an ordinary shield, a good classic. Not one which would change and alter into anything else like most equipment these days. Yet there were no signs of any dents, scratches or blemishes of any kind.

Either it was freshly made or something else in particular was at play here.

There was a moment of silence between them both until it lasted a tad bit longer than anticipated.

Glynda coughed into her hand awkwardly with Steve realizing they both had been relatively silent for the past few seconds.

He placed his shield one his magnetic harness on his back.

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it." The teacher said in response. "Tell me then, Captain Rogers. What is a man in the military doing in a place like this? What has led you here to Beacon?"

"That… is a question that I'm still trying to figure out." Steve said with a frown. "I didn't come here of my own volition if you're wondering. I had arrived in this city with my newest team member not too long ago and the two of us had split up for the time being to figure out where we are."

Glynda had a litany of questions but the one thing she focused on was that this man was part of a team. Perhaps they could give her some better context on this unusual man.

"A team you say?" He nodded. "Do you know where they are?"

"Wish I knew their whereabouts." Steve said with a slightly defeated shrug. "I've been trying to get into contact with them for some time now though I haven't gotten anywhere with that."

"Have you not tried using the CCT?"

"The what?"

Glynda let out a troubled sigh. "It appears you're more lost than you seem."

"Starting to look more like it, yeah." Steve said with a strained smile.

The blond teacher hummed in thought, trying to figure out what to do next.

She didn't want to leave this man who was very much lost right now and clearly needed help.

But the main question she had to ask herself was how exactly could she assist him.

Before either of them were able to say or do anything, a beeping was heard coming from Glynda.

"Sorry, I need to take this." She said in an apologetic manner, pulling out her scroll. "Goodwitch here, who am I speaking to?"

Over some brief periods of silence, the spectacled blonde gave a number of nods and tired sighs.

Steve, meanwhile, stayed patiently for the call to end.

Glynda put her phone away with a rather irritated look on her face now.

"You seem troubled." Steve pointed out.

"Annoyed is more like it." She replied, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Any reason why?"

"Recklessness and children. Something which comes with the job, as I need to be in the know of many things in this city."

Steve couldn't help but find a degree of amusement in hearing that. Recklessness was sort of an old friend to him and the rest of the Avengers.

"And would you be so kind as to indulge me in the details?"

Not entirely seeing any harm, due to most of it going to be on the morning news, she gave him the basic gist of the situation.

A pair of teenagers attacked a nightclub.

The establishment is often known to be run by a gang leader.

And why hasn't this "Junior" been brought in?

Not enough evidence, among other things.

This wouldn't have caught much on Steve's radar if it weren't for one particular detail.

One of the assailants was reported to wear a red and blue "onesie".

With this having been said, Glynda received a particular reaction from Steve.

"I take it you know this individual."

Steve winced. "I hope it's not who I think it is."

"And if it is?"

"Then I'll be needing to have a stern talking to with him." He said with a sigh. "And to make sure it was a warranted attack."

Glynda could only raise a brow, hesitant to let this man come with her yet…

"Very well then, come." She declared. "Let us hope it's not who you think it might be."

Steve was rather surprised at her willingness in letting him come along with her but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Exiting the bookstore, the pair headed off in the general direction towards the commotion that demanded Glynda's attention.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination, a nightclub known as… The Club.

A rather underwhelming name for an establishment but Steve doesn't really judge.

There were police officers surrounding the wrecked building, taping up the area with a number of men being handcuffed and put away.

Glynda let out an annoyed sigh and walked right into the middle of this mess. Steve simply stood back and observed, seeing if he could spot this individual in the red and blue onesie that wasn't him.

After conversing with the local law enforcement, they went elsewhere into the night.

"Well, it seems the troublemakers that were the root of this incident have long since left." She revealed in an exasperated sigh. "Wherever they may be, they're off in the wind."

"Any security cameras we could use?" Steve asked, looking at buildings and streetlights for any indication of some that could be nearby.

Before Glynda was able to respond, Cap spotted a colorful being go by out of the corner of his eye.

Steve craned his head up, seeing a familiar red and blue figure landing on the street across from him. He was looking around as if trying to search for someone or something.

Approaching him, the First Avenger heard Peter speak to himself.

"Okay, there was the library… What else did Cap say he may check out?"

Rogers shook his head, a wry smirk making its way onto his face as he approached the teen from behind. Once he was close enough to the rambling vigilante…

"Ahem."

Peter froze up and he slowly turned around to see one stern but also amused looking Captain Rogers.

"Oh… hey, Cap. What's up?"

"Nothing much. Seeing the sights, taking a nice stroll, hearing on the news of a pair of teenagers causing havoc at a nightclub."

"...I have a reasonable explanation for that."

"Try me."

"Is this your… student, Mr. Rogers?" Asked Glynda, who was standing behind the good Captain.

She had thought Steve's teammates would be around his age, not that of a teenager. And seeing how this person is reacting to the shield wielder, made her think he was an instructor.

"He more or less is." Steve said with a small laugh. "So Peter, mind explaining how in a few minutes that we were apart you apparently got into a fight at a bar owned by a criminal?"

Peter greatly wished he could flee and get as far away from the scene as soon as possible. Yet he couldn't for a good number of reasons.

"Were they doing something that warranted you thrashing them like that?" Steve asked.

"Er… they were attacking a girl." Peter quickly said. "And not like one or two of them. There was a whole gang ganging up on her. Don't mind the bad grammar."

"And what else…"

-Scene Cut-

Within an office situated at the top of Beacon's CCT Tower, a white haired spectacled man was looking over a number of documents. From behind him was a large window coming from the clock face, revealing most of the campus grounds and the land beyond it. It's interior was a circular room in gray-green tones with thick glass paneling to reveal the intricate gears and mechanisms.

He took a sip from his favorite mug and released a pleasant sigh.

"Ah~ nature's natural elixirs never cease to rejuvenate me."

There was nothing as good as a late night cup of coffee to help alleviate his tiredness.

He would've gone with a strong brew of tea, but there was quite the workload he needed to finish up before retiring for the night.

A certain chime rang out on his desktop computer, signaling he was receiving a call. Looking over, he saw who it was on the screen. Upon answering, he had it go on speaker.

"Glynda." The spectacled man said pleasantly. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this late night call?"

"Professor Ozpin." The voice on the other end sounded a bit tired but still held a dignified air. "I have something for you that's quite… curious and interesting to say the least."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"Two individuals with me who are a special case."

Ozpin frowned in thought. "Special how?"

"Special in the sense that I am willing to forego a litany of the usual methods that I use in many circumstances and come directly to you." Was Glynda's immediate response.

The headmaster raised a brow. "Really? And you're bringing them over now?" There wasn't a verbal response from the other end, but after working together for a long time, the message was clear. "Then I await your arrival."

Ending the call, Ozpin leaned back in his chair and pondered on what will be presented to him in due time.

To hear her not report these "special cases" in and have them instead brought directly to him…

Whatever occurred on Glynda's end made her forgo some procedures. Clearly what she wanted to discuss couldn't be done over the phone and done in a more private setting.

Any other musings were cut short when he heard another chime from his computer.

He seems to be rather popular tonight. Or a litany of people want to unintentionally keep him away from his duties all at once.

Looking over, he saw who it was and answered.

"Good evening, Qrow." Oz answered in a friendly manner.

"Hello, Oz." The Huntsman on the other end groused out tiredly. "Sorry for not calling sooner, but a few things came up."

This was clearly not a social call, given how things go with his agent. He never calls for pleasantries, except when it comes towards his nieces and Tai.

Asides from this fact, he often tries to report in every week or so whenever he's not teaching over at Signal.

Yet something didn't sit well with the headmaster as this was said.

"Is something wrong?" The headmaster of Beacon asked with a frown.

"A number of things are wrong." Came the tired, gravelly voice. "Oz… Amber was attacked by Salem's people and almost died."

With a start, Ozpin rose to his feet in sharp alarm.

"What?!"

"Before you jump to conclusions, she's safe." Qrow quickly said. "Though she may not be walking for a while. An arrow pierced along her spine will take some time to recover from. She'll need better medical attention than the patch job done on her."

A number of thoughts quickly surfaced as Beacon's headmaster sought to calm himself down. After some moments, he looked back on the computer screen and envisioned Qrow's face on it.

Oz sat back in his chair, slumping slightly with some relief. Hurt as Amber may be, she was alive and the powers of the Fall Maiden were still with her.

"I see. I thank you for saving her."

"As much as I'd like to take the credit, that all goes to the ones who stopped this from happening."

"Someone else was there." Ozpin stated, not questioned.

"Some people." Qrow corrected him. "A pair of twins."

"And did you… and them… apprehend or take care of Amber's attackers?"

"I wish we did, but Grimm stopped that from happening."

Ozpin let out a drawn sigh, knowing what's implied there.

"I see. Where are you all presently at? I'll send out a Bullhead immediately."

"I'll text you the coordinates. Listen, Oz, about the ones who saved Amber, they're unusual. Same with this guy I ran into who personally knows them."

The white-haired man got a sudden case of Deja Vu.

"Okay, and?"

"And I'll be needing to bring them along as well. There's a number of things better discussed in person on their… circumstances." Qrow said enigmatically.

Ozpin blinked in confusion before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "I understand. And tell her saviors they have my undying gratitude."

"Will do. Oh, and do me a favor and inform Jimbo on this."

"And why not yourself?"

"Is old age finally kicking in?" Qrow rhetorically asked. "You know as much as I do that if I told James this, he would basically start a shouting match with me on how this was mostly my fault and not keeping a better eye on her. On top of that, send a fleet of bullshit to "make sure" everything is safe and secure. You, however, can lessen the blame."

The headmaster gave a small snort of understanding.

Much as Qrow likes to dramatize certain things, Ironwood's rather intense reactions to situations that can prove to be dangerous is not one of these things.

"I'll do so when I can."

"Do so sooner, please and thank you." Was Qrow's parting words before ending the call between them.

Ozpin was left alone again and he briefly contemplated the two calls he had just received from some of his most trusted allies.

To have them reach out to him just seconds apart from one another.

And they both spoke of unique individuals that had garnered their attention…

There was a connection.

There just had to be. No way were these just coincidences.

He shook his head, knowing that answers were to come his way soon enough.

Seeing as he needed to kill time for Glynda's arrival, he decided now would be the time to inform James of recent developments.

Afterall, who knew but the Brothers themselves would know how long his coming conversation would take.

Just as he was about to contact the general-

*VVVV*

"..."

"No… this isn't a coincidence."

Ozpin clicked accept and on the screen in front of him appeared General Ironwood.

"James, I was just about to call you." Oz said straight away.

The General raised his brow.

"Were you?" He said in slight surprise. "What for?"

"I honestly wish the call was going to be something on a far more lighthearted note."

Ironwood now appeared weary. "Ozpin… What's going on?"

"Do you want to start first or should I?"

"...Apparently there was an unusual event which occurred over at our airspace earlier. But I doubt it pales in comparison with what you want to speak about."

The Beacon Headmaster felt a migraine coming on now. "Sadly so."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Qrow called."

James was hardly able to contain his derisive scoff. "He finally did? And on time?"

"You still don't believe he reports in regularly."

"Unless he is compromised… or worse… or drunk. Now, what did he call about?" The general said evenly.

Beacon's headmaster rubbed his eyes as he exhaled a sigh. "Amber was attacked."

Just like he expected, Ozpin heard the startled reaction on the other end. Ironwood looked as though he was about to blow a gasket but Oz prevented him from doing so.

"Be calm, old friend, she is safe and sound, albeit her being limited on movements for some time."

"What in the world- how did this happen?" Ironwood was barely restraining his worry and rage.

"She was attacked suddenly by Salem's followers but she was saved."

"Saved?" James' confusion was obvious to see and hear. "By who?"

"From what Qrow reported, Salem's people were stopped by some unexpected variables. I'm about to send out a Bullhead as we speak to their location to retrieve them all. Upon their arrival, I will be questioning them amongst other things."

"I'll be sure to get over there post haste and-"

"James." Oz cut him off. "If you do, it may complicate matters. Salem has eyes and ears everywhere and you causing a drastic scene…"

Once again, Qrow appeared to be right of James perhaps about to go overboard.

The General gave Ozpin a hard stare before he released a sigh of resignation.

"Alright, fine, I'll wait until we hear more about from what Qrow has to say." Ironwood said with a grunt of irritation.

"Good man. I promise I'll inform you once everything is settled and discuss the next course of actions." Ozpin assured. "Now then, what has happened on your end that made you reach out to me?"

Ironwood frowned in thought. "Well… from what you have just told me, it feels fleeting in comparison but earlier today, my men had picked up on two strangers entering into Atlas Airspace before disappearing from our radar entirely."

If he already didn't have gray hair, Ozpin didn't know if he would get any more this night from stress, curiosity and worry alone.

-Scene Cut-

"What does that look like to you?"

"Continents."

"Of?"

"Land."

*Flick*

"Ow! Wanda?! What was that for?"

"For being an idiot."

"Hey, knock it off you two. Amber's sleepin' and the last thing I need is a headache from you both."

"She started it." Pietro childishly said, pointing at his twin sister.

Clint shook his head, resuming his analytical gaze of the map that was on the table before him.

It was a map of the whole world.

A world he did not know.

There was a continent looking like a western dragon, one resembling an eastern dragon… positioned over something else. One resembled a giant fish. Another looked like a fruit and the last was hard to describe.

All in all, after extensively looking over this layout of the world, it was easy for Clint, Wanda and Pietro to realize one thing.

They were clearly no longer on Earth.

The map they were looking over was alien to them with its geological layout.

There were no continents, countries, borders or states they recognized.

Only kingdoms, disputed lands and a precautious forbidden territory.

And that was just the map that they had read.

After all that, there was something else to consider with their actions earlier that day.

It was strange for the three Avengers to be introduced into a shadow war against an ancient, long-living witch named Salem.

Then again, Shadow wars were Clint's MO so it was strange to have a grasp of some form of familiarity despite their circumstances.

It took a number of discussions for the trio to understand a litany of issues being at play.

The creatures of Grimm, how significant the Maidens were, just about everything necessary to know what was at stake.

Problematic was a clear understatement.

At this moment, they were now awaiting for a transport to bring them to a place called Beacon Academy where the three Avengers will meet Qrow's superior.

"So what's our plan, Clint?" Wanda asked softly. "Where do we go from here?"

"Find the rest of us. After that, find some way back home."

Wanda knew from the archer's gaze that he was determined to return home. He had a family to go back to who he missed dearly.

"And how do we do that?" Pietro inquired, leaning against a nearby wall. "Try a repeat of how we got here? Not gonna lie, really don't wanna do that cause that was a horrible trip."

"If that's the only way then we have no choice." Barton said simply.

"What about Amber?" The scarlet garbed Avengers said, turning her head in the direction of the open doorway to where said Maiden rested. "I don't really wanna leave her so suddenly."

Clint simply nodded his head, leaning back in his seat while giving one of his young "wards" a scrutinizing look.

"So… what did you get out of her?"

"She's been traveling alone for the most part." Wanda said with a sigh of guilt. "Going from town to town without ever stopping and being completely by herself. She's aware of Salem so…"

Clint crossed his arms and appeared deep in thought.

"Well I know we can't leave her." Barton said with a shrug. "The two of you saved her. She's your responsibility now."

"She ain't some pet we're taking in. She's a human being." Pietro retorted.

"You know what I mean, doofus." Clint shot back.

The speedster opened his mouth for a counter when they all heard a soft moan and in an instant, Pietro was by Amber's side.

"Hey, hey, hey." He said in a soft voice, placing his hand over her shoulder to make sure she wouldn't move or try to sit up. "Easy Amber, try not to move too much."

"P-Pietro?" The muttered, voice weak. "My legs… they hurt… so much."

"Try not to strain yourself." Clint spoke up, voice kind and warm. "You took a serious hit and don't wanna see you stressing yourself."

She nodded and tried to relax as best as she could.

Her hand shook as she reached for the blanket at her legs when Pietro quickly moved to place the blanket over her.

The brown haired woman simply gazes at him with a grateful smile, hand managing to reach his own and squeezed it gently before falling asleep soon after.

Pietro found himself smiling when he felt someone nudge his shoulder and he craned his head up to see Wanda smirking down at him knowingly.

He coughs, looking away to hide his reddening face. "What?"

"Nothing~" She teased.

"Don't lie to me. You have that annoying smirk of yours."

"Like you don't have your own."

"Wanda-"

"Shh, your girlfriend is sleeping."

"Ah shut up. Like you haven't-"

Clint simply chuckled to himself, stepping out of the room as he listened to the two continue to bicker with each other.

As he turned away from the twins, he saw Qrow entering into the cabin that was given to them to stay in until they leave for this Beacon academy.

The Huntsman immediately spots Clint and where he was standing in particular.

"She alright?" Was his first question.

"She woke up." Clint said. "But she should be asleep already. Pietro and Wanda are there with her."

"You sure it's wise to just leave the two of them alone with her?" Qrow asked, walking over to a nearby seat and promptly plopping himself down on it. "Seen how those two "talk". They would keep her up all night."

"They're kids. It'll be good for her to talk to those who are close to her age."

"They're not kids." Qrow corrected him.

"In my eyes they pretty much -in a sense- are." Clint rebuked. "They're not like the two of us."

"Oh? And what are the "two of us" exactly?"

"Weapons." Barton said, a sharp gaze locking onto Qrow's, the huntsman stiffening slightly. "You and I both know who and what we are and what our professions are. Pietro and Wanda have grown up with a rough life but they're still kids to me. And Amber is no different. Let them be and let them have a sense of normalcy for once."

Qrow appeared hesitant but opted to leave the issue be for now.

These strangers had saved the Fall Maiden and had been keeping her safe and comfortable while waiting for the Bullhead that would pick them up and bring them to Beacon.

Them knowing about Salem and the Maidens in general were disconcerting but they earned a semblance of some trust.

Time would tell if this was a wise decision or not.

He internally grumbled to himself as he reached into his jacket for his flask.

"Does that thing ever get empty?" The Scythe wielding Huntsman heard the archer ask.

"Not while I'm around."

"I can grossly imagine how much money you put into that, then."

Qrow actually 'hmphed' in amusement. "Please don't. I'd rather not discover how financially inept I am with my alcoholic tendencies."

Clint snorted to himself, glancing over at the slightly ajar door, spotting the twins still at Ambers' bedside, bickering with each other.

"You know, you never really explained to me who you people are." Qrow spoke up.

"I could say the same for you." Clint shot back, turning back to face the man.

"Touché." Branwen grunted, pocketing his flask. "That map I give you help at all?"

Clint nodded slowly. "Yeah, it did."

"...and?"

"Jack squat."

"Huh?"

"We're far from home to say the least." Barton clarified. "Not near any place we'd recognize."

"Oh yeah? Then where are you three even from?" Qrow asked with his arms crossed. "You I can sorta see from Atlas though I feel like you'd give Jimmy a headache. The wonder twins back there I can't put down other than Vacuo or a frontier settlement."

"And if only I knew what you were talking about." Clint whimsically responded in kind.

Qrow's lips downturned now, narrowing his eyes at the marksman.

"Then I believe, while waiting for our ride, it's time for you to tell me a tale."

"Being?"

"I heard from Speedy there something about others and this team of yours." Qrow revealed. "Averages, was it?"

Clint sighed. "Avengers."

"Yeah, that." The Huntsman said, pointing at Hawkeye. "What is that? A band?"

The marksman laughed at that. "No, no, though don't let Tony hear you say that. I wouldn't put it past him to try."

Hawkeye then got himself comfortable in his seat as he prepared his tale.

"It all started with an idea…"

Happy New Year folks, hope you guys are ready for the surprise to come in this chapter.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Age of Remnant Chapter 4: So this place is called Remnant

Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy, sat behind his desk with his coffee in hand and patiently waited for several people to arrive.

Glynda Goodwitch, one of his closest friends and confidants, spoke of two unique individuals she had encountered in the city of Vale.

Coincidentally, Qrow Branwen, another of his friends and comrades, reported a similar case in having met up with three special individuals.

And to top it all off, Ironwood had reported picking up on two more in Atlas.

Suffice to say, once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence but three?

And all within the span of one day?

This was beyond any of that chance sort of encounter and event.

It all depends on whether or not this could all be brought together and there be a legitimate connection between all these "sightings" and "meetings".

The headmaster came out of his thoughts upon hearing the doors to his office whoosh open.

Tailing behind the academy teacher was a tall blonde man whose appearance reminded him of a veteran soldier. And the one beside him was a young man wearing a red and blue spandex-like suit of all things.

Ozpin stood from his seat, walking around to greet the two strange men that Glynda had brought back with her.

"Hello to you both." The headmaster of Beacon greeted in a cordial manner. "My name is Professor Ozpin. I am the Headmaster of this academy known to the World as Beacon. My friend, Professor Goodwitch, has told me some interesting things about you both. Primarily you, my spandex wearing friend."

"Heh…" The young teen said, rubbing the back of his head. "Hope it wasn't too bad, right?"

"Public disturbance and causing a brawl to break out at a bar that is known for hosting criminals and their business." Glynda listed off, making the teen visibly wince.

The older of the two newcomers chuckled slightly at the reprimanding voice of the Professor, Ozpin's lip twitching upwards.

"Bygones, be bygones." He declared, earning an indignant huff from Glynda.

"Ozpin-"

"Come now, Glynda." The Headmaster remarked with an amused smile. "Let's give him a pass in this instance. He was after all fighting known criminals, yes? I think we don't need to hang that over his head."

"He was doing so without a license and without any professional around him."

"I'm a professional." The teen spoke up though immediately retracted from the burning gaze directed at him from Goodwitch. "When I want to be."

"You still got a ways to go, sport." Steve jokingly remarked.

"Mr. Rogers." Glynda admonished, shooting an annoyed glare at the spandexed teen who covered his mouth from laughing.

Ozpin was finding himself to be amused by these two if they were able to rile up Glynda so easily.

Not that he enjoyed seeing her stoic demeanor broken so easily.

No, not at all.

"If I may know the names of the two who caught the interest of my faithful Professor." Ozpin spoke up, making both men look at him once more.

"Right. Captain Steve Rogers." The oldest of the duo said, offering a hand for Oz to shake which he did.

"Peter Parker." The younger one said with a small wave.

"Mr. Rogers, Mr. Parker." The Headmaster nodded at them in turn. "A pleasure to meet you both. If you don't mind me asking you two but where exactly have you both come from? I have been all over Remnant and have never seen men such as yourselves. Especially with garments such as yours."

"What's Remnant?" Peter asked, making the two teachers blink at the question.

"I… beg your pardon?" Oz responded in kind.

"Remnant" Parker repeated. "You said you've been all over it. What is that? A new realm or something? Like… are we on another world or plain of existence? Like with Thor and his Asgardian stuff? Is it like that?"

It had to be the tiredness finally kicking in and his coffee not doing its job tonight.

"Remnant… Remnant is the name of the planet." Glynda said in a slow, unsure voice.

"The planet?" Steve sharply said with a deep frown in place. "What do you mean? Is this not Earth?"

"...Dirt?"

Oh yeah, it had to be the coffee. Or by Ohm, it had to be his age finally getting to him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute." Peter exclaimed. "Wait, hang on, wait. Is this… is this not Earth? You just said this planet's name is Remnant, yeah? So… is that like what you call Earth or is this seriously another world? Are we on an alien world with… with other humans, ah wait, that just feels lazy."

The Headmaster might need to change brands or-

With another whoosh of the doors, Ozpin realized Qrow arrived with his tag alongs.

However, before he could address any of them-

"Cap? Peter?"

The two spun about to see-

"Clint? Pietro? Wanda?" Steve listed off the three new arrivals that arrived with Branwen, a look of visible relief appearing on his face as the five Avengers were now reunited.

Qrow could only stare in bewilderment at the strange group, a sentiment shared with Oz and Glynda.

"Branwen." Goodwitch muttered, the man murmuring out her name in return.

"So…" Oz coughed into his hand.

"Yeah…" Was all Qrow said.

"Clearly they know each other." Glynda pointed out.

"I concur." Said the Headmaster before addressing his grizzled agent. "Qrow, how's Amber?"

At the mention of this name, Glynda snapped to attention, turning to Qrow as well.

"What happened? Is Amber alright?" She asked in slight alarm.

The Huntsman waved his hand down in a placating manner. "She's okay. Currently on her way to the medical ward."

"Did something happen to her?" Glynda said, clearly not in the know.

"She was attacked." Said a female voice, the trio turned to the odd group standing before them.

Glynda frowned, looking between the three that came in with Qrow and at said Huntsman.

"I'd ask for an explanation but…"

"Feels like that's the course of the evening." Qrow remarked, taking a sip out of his flask. "So, who wants to go first?"

"Are you sure it's an appropriate time to be drinking?" Rogers inquired, arching a brow at the man.

"With the crap happening lately, I feel this is justified."

"We've seen Tony drink for less reason." Clint quipped, making Steve snort.

"He's been getting better from what Pepper told me."

"That's just her biased opinion." Pietro waved off.

"Speedy, you clearly don't know Pepper then." Barton countered.

The small banter between them was cut short when Ozpin cleared his throat aloud, making them turn to him as he gazed upon them all intently.

"I understand that there are undoubtedly many, and I mean many questions all of us will be exchanging." The headmaster of Beacon stated. "So perhaps, rather than a cramped office space-"

"Really?" Peter looked around. "Cause there seems to be plenty of space here for all of us."

"There is only one chair." Qrow pointed out. "And I don't think Ozzy would appreciate me using his desk as a bed."

"No, I wouldn't." Oz plainly said. "Come, I know just the place."

Once leaving the headmaster's office, the entire group was escorted to one of the academy's classrooms.

It was a large auditorium with multiple rows of seats and an amphitheater in the center of the room.

"Whoa." Peter couldn't help himself and surprised the three residents of Vale when he fired a webline and zipped up to the ceiling of the room. "This place is amazing."

"My word." The spectacled man with the cane murmured, pushing up his glasses slightly with a look of intrigue that he couldn't describe.

"This classroom looks more like a place for university students." Noted the shield wielder.

"In a manner of speaking." Glynda said, turning to the five superheroes. "Now, if you would like to take a seat, please do."

"Scratch that last comment." Clint wryly said. "This is a university, isn't it?"

"So are we gonna have like a home economics class or…?" Pietro asked in a faux-serious manner.

"I think geography and history should be our main focus." Wanda said, eyeing Qrow who sat down at one of the desks.

"Those were never really my strong suits." Branwen dryly said, slouching in his seat tiredly.

"Until it was." Glynda said, straightening out. "Now then, who would like to start us off? I feel as though we'll be here for a while."

"Clearly."

They heard several *THWIPS* overhead. Looking up, they saw Peter making a web-hammock before lying in it.

"Please don't doze off, Peter." Steve said.

"Don't worry Cap, just makin myself comfortable."

"That's what they all say before-"

"I'm pretty sure with what we're gonna be talkin about, no way am I gonna get bored." Peter shot back. "Pietro might, thought."

"Hey!"

"He's not wrong." Wanda said with a shrug, earning an unamused look from her brother.

"Now then." Oz said, lightly tapping his cane on the ground. "As Glynda said, who would like to go first?"

There was a moment of silence between them all, the seconds ticking by until Clint cleared his throat, speaking first.

"Alright, guess I'll start us off." The marksman remarked. "Before coming here, me and the wonder twins were looking at a map Qrow gave us when we were taking care of Amber. There were no continents, countries or land masses that the three of us recognized. Only that the map was one for a place called Remnant."

"That's what they said." Peter spoke up, pointing to Glynda and Ozpin. "They called this world Remnant, not Earth. So… either… actually, no, I think-"

"We're on another planet." Pietro stated with a deep frown, as if now the concept of no longer being on Earth struck him.

"How would you know or even believe such a notion?" Glynda said, face contorted in skepticism.

"Well what else can we chalk it up to being?" Clint retorted. "Another reality? Another dimension?"

"Whoa~~" Peter drooled at the idea. "Maybe… oh god, what if this is a multiverse? Like, that would change everything we know about the initial singularity, we're talking about an eternal inflation system of infinite relativity and that's not even delving into the whole quantum aspect of…"

The web-head trailed off upon seeing the others were just looking up at him with blank and bemused looks.

"Er, um…" Parker laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, just sounds really cool and all."

"Intelligent one, isn't he?" Ozpin said, more to himself than to those around him.

"Can give Tony a run for his money." Steve commented with a small smirk. "Let's try to hopefully keep it to the same universe, Queens. It is a big place, after all."

"Right, right, sorry Mr. Captain Rogers." Peter stammered out.

The other Avengers chuckled at the young hero's words whilst Ozpin continued gazing at him than the rest of the newcomers with a degree of growing interest.

Steve coughed into his hand. "Ok, since we're all over the place, I'll start then."

"By all means." Oz gestured in a 'go ahead' manner, taking a seat for himself as Rogers began speaking on their circumstance.

"The planet that we call home is Earth. And on it, we form the team known as the Avengers. Earth's Mightiest Heroes."

-Scene Cut-

Atlas.

The city of technological advancements and marvels.

It shines as an example of what the future can hold for the people of Remnant, both as a model place to live as and one that people can aspire to become.

And then…

There's the undercity.

Or as it is called, Mantle.

The literal city beneath the floating metropolis.

Mantle was built within the crater where Atlas once resided before it arose into the sky some unknown time ago. A gray fog covers most of the land due to the effects of Dust mining, giving everything a darker tone on some parts of the day. A heating system is what helps provide warmth to its residents on this cold, northern continent. And on its initial construction, a large wall was made to keep out the vast Grimm from entering the city.

When traversing through the city, Tony and Sam could clearly see how bad a number of places this city was with its conditions. From the slums to the industrial areas to the simple living environments clearly showed its poor state compared to the nice, pristine look Atlas bore up above.

In a sense, Mantle was truly Atlas' shadow on a number of aspects.

Aside from it literally existing in the shadow of the floating city above, Mantle was always far more grimier and lacking in the technological advancements that Atlas thrived in. Not that they were behind it's just… they didn't have what Atlas had.

The people of the undercity were more rough and tumble than the pristine and dignified manner in which the floaters, as they called them, presented themselves to be.

Given what few choice words the Avengers heard, to mostly sum it up, they have a grossly large stick up their collective ass's in order to keep up appearances.

Call it biased, but with how a good, influential majority those in Atlas are, it's hard to argue otherwise.

The patrols of those "drones" made and sent from Atlas honestly didn't really help in painting the floaters in a better light.

Some of the bots even had other men and women with them. Some called them Huntsmen, Huntresses and guards but a prevailing nickname stuck with them all.

Enforcers.

Quite the sad title for them.

Even a group such as them couldn't be entirely bad.

One would just need to look hard enough to see who's a saint from those who ain't.

Anyways…

Once evading the military, Tony and Sam had to essentially go into hiding. They would've preferred an alternative, but what choice did they have.

They clearly couldn't land anywhere on Atlas, due to the local military residing there and both them and the Enforcers were on the lookout for not just them but any unsanctioned "guests" at all. Either to deport them back to the "undercity" or jail them for an untold amount of time.

Thus they came to Mantle.

The duo had been walking through the streets, their suits having been taken off for the time being.

Tony had his Iron Man suit reconfigured into a setting he hadn't thought of using for a good long while: a bulky suitcase. Last time he used the concept was years ago during his… episode when he was slowly dying because of his arc reactor poisoning him. Since then, he had the program set into a handful of suit models he focused on wearing for long periods of time and needed to use it on the fly.

Sam's wingsuit retracted and "shrank down" into that of a literal backpack, courtesy of Stark upgrades to his suit. The only thing he kept on was his goggles as that fashion statement didn't really stick out all that much whilst also allowing him to see whatever information Friday is able to get for the both of them.

During their self-exploration, the two Avengers slowly learned much of their present environment through Friday's help. Having her dig online, the AI provided a whole lot of information. Worry did weigh heavily on them on the ramifications.

Terms like Dust, Huntsmen, Huntresses, Grimm, Atlas, Vale, Vacuo, Haven and Faunus.

Items, names and places that neither of the two were able to equate to anything they know personally.

Then came the map that Friday had for them a place, no, a planet called Remnant.

Not Earth.

"Ok, so, either we're on another planet or the multiverse is real." Tony said after some time in a low voice.

"I wouldn't go that far on the last one, Stark. The universe is a big place."

"Yeah but with our line of work, multiverse is an eventuality, not a what if." Stark countered idly.

Sam wanted to say otherwise but chose not to tempt fate like that.

"Still… what's with all the add on animal parts some of these people here have?" Wilson inquired. "Friday said they were… Faunus, right? They like separate from humans or they have some extra parts here."

Tony had to fight the urge to look at a few passing Faunus to do an analytical inspection. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, let alone make it appear he had other notions in mind.

"Thor is Asgardian and yet looks human."

"That's just lazy." Sam couldn't help comment.

"You got a better argument? I'm all ears."

"Yeah, if there is a God, or multiple Gods with Thor and his bunch, they really gotta inject some creativity." Sam stated. "Kinda boring if everyone is a human look-alike."

"Then what would you prefer? Cthulhu and his brood?"

"God knows but at least there's variety."

The two stepped back slightly and ducked their heads a bit, averting their gaze at several drones that passed by.

They kept their eye on the patrol as it got further away before rounding a corner and disappearing from view.

"Can't exactly do this whole Cap style of hiding in plain sight." Stark wryly said. "We gotta figure out a place where we can hunker down and plan out our next move."

"My thoughts exactly, but with what money?" Sam pointed out. "Your credit is literally not good here, Tony, just as much as mine."

"Always an odd job we can go for."

Tony received the flattest look Sam was able to muster.

"What?"

"You literally had no job outside of your father's company." Wilson stated. "Did you ever even work an "odd job" in your dad's business?"

"I did." Tony said indignantly.

"Really?" Falcon crossed his arms in disbelief. "As what?"

"Mailroom, first job." The billionaire said with a huff of pride.

His fellow Avenger remained skeptical. "Where exactly?"

The Genius inventor looked away, coughing slightly.

"...A subsidiary of Stark Industries."

"That's what I thought."

"Bite me, Wilson." Tony petulantly retorted. "Or peck, being a bird and all."

Sam rolled his eyes at the man's behavior, watching as Tony crossed his arms and tapped on the side of the glasses he wore.

"Friday, any luck in getting us some-"

"I seriously do not want you hacking into people's accounts and bleeding them into your pocket." The Aviator cut in.

"And where did you get that bright idea?"

"Parker was playing some game at the compound one weekend and it had that function on some segment or something."

"...You mean Watchdogs?"

Sam blinked before he snorted. "You would know that game, wouldn't you?"

Tony shrugged, taking a moment to look around the area they stood in.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a loan that we can take into an investment."

Wilson remained silent.

"I'll give it all back once we're on our feet on some good financial stability."

The winged Avenger let out a sigh, rolling his hand as a go ahead.

"Fine, but we're Robin Hooding it alright?"

"Steal from the rich?" Tony said with a raised brow. "That's a bit cliche, isn't it."

"Then get the funds from criminals or shady businessmen." Sam said. "They already extort everyone else. Yet you ain't giving it to the poor. And don't say that it's just us."

"Saving the world, funds, programs, internships." Tony rattled off. "You know Sammy, I do have a busy schedule of my own to keep up with."

"Ever the "saint"."

"Why thank you. I do try to do more than just stopping nukes and killer robots." Stark then saw several stores and establishments they were close to. "Ok, so where to first?"

Sam gazed at the collection of shops, eyes landing on one that had the name of something they had learned of recently.

From Coal to Dust.

"Let's start with that one." Wilson pointed ahead to said store and Tony wordlessly nodded, the two going over and entering the establishment.

Upon entering the store, Stark had Friday ready to supply information on whatever it was they caught their eyes for them to read or hear about.

From the cashier's desk, there was a display case of a plethora of uncut dust crystals. Along one wall was a dispensary system for powdered dust. Another wall had several sliding glass doors to secure bagged and boxed up ammunition. There were many shelves and tables which displayed many products from glass vials of varying designs to dust imbued cloth bundles as some examples. And of course there was a magazine and newspaper rack at a secluded corner.

The store was relatively empty for the most part with only a few potential customers here and there. It would've been more quiet if it weren't for the soft jazz playing over the radio.

Sam and Tony took a moment to look around the place, splitting up into separate isles to look over and see what this place had to offer. They inspected a number of the offered wares, whilst trying to still wrap their heads around the "alien" substance and concept behind it all.

As Stark drew closer to the end of the store where the cashier was positioned, he heard a conversation coming from two young men who were close by to him.

"Are you sure we should be here? I don't exactly like the idea of coming down here for our… *cough*, resources." Spoke the taller of the two, more trimmed hair, broad shouldered and a small hint of stubble growing in.

"As opposed to the already unsanctioned and unlicensed work the two of us are already undertaking?" Said a young, gaunt man with a thick European-like accent. His brown hair was slightly combed, yet raggedy. And tucked under one arm was a long crutch to help hoist him up.

His older compatriot snorted, shooting his shorter compatriot an amused, wry look.

Both of these men came up to the counter and the cashier behind it looked up from a book he was reading and his expression brightened upon seeing them.

"Ah, Jayce, Viktor. Good to see you two boys here today." The man said with a pleasant smile.

"Hello Mr. Coal." Viktor, the man with the crutch said with a kind smile. "I hope you don't mind us coming in at the last second-"

Mr. Coal waved him off. "Nonsense. You two are among my favorite customers. I am always ready to help my favorites."

"Isn't that bad for business?" Jayce, the broadly built of the two asked with an amused grin.

"Oh contraire, Jayce my boy." Coal said, wagging his finger slightly at the young man. "It's the favorites that keep my fine establishment going."

"Appreciate the favoritism." Viktor remarked, reaching in for his pocket to pull some colorful bills and a piece of paper attached to the wad of cash.

He handed it over for Mr. Coal, the man taking the paper first to unfurl and read it off.

The owner of the store read along each line, a neutral look on his face whilst humming aloud. "Quite the list you have here this time."

Jayce shrugged. "Wish it were smaller, but our project-"

"Say no more." Coal cut him off, chuckling slightly. "You academy students have your studies and whatnot. Heck, my boy Flynt had some troubles with a course of his earlier this semester."

Counting up the Lien, Mr. Coal looked back on the given list. He exhaled a sigh as he placed it back down.

"I may not be able to provide you with your full request today."

Viktor frowned upon hearing this, looking back and forth between Mr. Coal and the Lien he and Jayce had contributed. "But I thought the prices would be lower. I calculated and… Are your suppliers having trouble in the mines or-"

"It's not that, Viktor." The owner of the shop slouched slightly, leaning upon the counter. "Jacque Schnee is making things difficult lately. I just can't compete with his prices and quality."

"Quality?" Jayce scoffed. "What sort of quality does a sycophant like Jacque Schnee have over someone like you?"

"It's more like quantity." Viktor mused aloud, lips angled downwards. "They are functioning and doing what they're designed to do in vast amounts of energy with none of the specialties individuals like Mr. Coal possesses."

"Not to mention Jacque has possession of most of the major mines in each of the continents, all except for the Grimmlands and Menagerie." Coal said with a glum tone. "Either through inheriting it from his late father-in-law to buying them out from good people."

"Sounds like some people I know." Spoke a voice unfamiliar to the three men conversing with each other.

Looking away from each other, they saw the "interloper". From what they could tell, he had a certain air around him. A businessman with a hint or sense of arrogance yet had it controlled to a degree… somehow.

It was hard to really describe, given their experience with many residents in Atlas.

"Sorry on butting in. I couldn't help but overhear." Tony said, walking towards them with his hands raised in a manner conveying he meant no harm. "I know this may be out of the blue, but can ya help me and my friend there with a few things? Just questions mind you, we're new around here."

"You seem like it." Jayce said, crossing his arms as he gave the Avenger a once over. "Where are ya from? Vale? Mistral? Look a bit too sophisticated for Vacuo."

"None of those." Sam's voice was heard from the side, the four men turning to the aviator who was walking over to them.

"Some settlements, perhaps?" Viktor suggested more than asked.

Wilson held up his hand, giving a silent "iffy" gesture.

"None you would really know." Falcon said with an unsure response as he was not exactly certain how to continue this conversation. "Let's just say that my friend and I here are not from around Mantle and Atlas. Our home place is… really, really far."

"That's putting it mildly." The Iron Avenger murmured until sticking out his hand. "Tony Stark, Genius, soon to be billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. That sort of thing."

"Soon to be-?" Jayce repeated with surprise. "Quite the proclamation."

"Don't let Schnee hear of you. He'd run you out before you know it." Viktor said with an annoyed tone at just mentioning this Jacque person.

"Please. I've known businessmen who are more intimidating than from what I've heard and read about this Schnee guy." Tony said, waving off the comment.

Viktor and Jayce shared a look of bewildered confusion.

This stranger with the way to specific trim was displaying an odd sense of dismissiveness towards one of the most lucrative and ruthless businessmen the world over.

"If you wanna beat a guy like this Jacque Cousteau fella, ya gotta outwit them at their own game." Stark said, tapping the side of his head.

"Most men have tried and failed." Viktor spoke with a slightly bitter tone.

"He hasn't had a worthy opponent in the business field. That and the determination, the drive." Sam spoke up, giving a wry smirk towards Stark who pulled out his personal phone.

Jayce and Viktor stared at the phone in interest as they watched Tony typing up something that they were unable to discern.

"Interesting scroll you have there. Not a model I'm familiar with." Viktor murmured, leaning forward to get a better look at the phone.

"Something I made a few years ago. Hasn't failed me yet."

"You made that?" Jayce said in clear astonishment.

"Yeah, but before that…" Tony held a finger up before looking to the owner of the Dust shop. "Mr. Coal, was it?"

The cashier blinked at the sudden attention before nodding slowly.

"Yes, that's me."

"How would you like to be able to live comfortably while still sticking it to this Schnee guy?"

A few reactions were expressed on the store owner's face, but sternness was more prominent in mere moments.

"If you mean to buy me out, I ain't selling." Coal said defensively.

"No, no, no, none of that." Stark said, a smirk appearing on his face. "I'm not buying your business, Mr. Coal. I wish to invest."

"Invest?" The store owner parroted. "In my store? Who even are you? Why would you do something like that?"

"Ah yes, of course." The armored Avenger lightly bopped the side of his head. "This is my friend Sam, you already know me. We're good Samaritans."

"Good Samaritans?" Jayce, Viktor and Coal all parroted at the same time.

"No, see, I'm a good Samaritan." Sam proclaimed, patting himself on the chest. "Tony… just does good things here and there to make himself sleep better at night."

"Not the furthest thing from the truth." Tony said with a shrug, holding up his phone to Coal. "I'm willing to give you this to help your store out."

The Dust shop owner saw the number of Lien Stark had offered and nearly choked on his own breath.

Both Viktor and Jayce also saw the amount and their eyes were the size of dinner plates, jaws dropping as they gaped in disbelief.

Mr. Coal sputtered and stammered, trying to make sense of what he was being offered.

"Wh-what? Why? When? What do you gain from this? Why are you even doing this?"

"I'm an entrepreneur and a businessman who is looking for my next big investment." Tony plainly said. "Atlas? That's easy and there's enough smug bastards up there who sniff the crap that comes out of their ass's on the daily. But down here? I see a chance to give a serious boost in the system to show the smug ones that they aren't the only ones who can be that smug."

Coal was still stammering, wondering whether or not that this was a dream.

He shakily reached forward, Tony lightly flicking his phone. A moment later, Coal's own "phone" buzzed in notification and the man immediately took it out.

The man opened up his device and lost a moment to breath as he saw the deposit was set and ready to go.

"How'd you get my… This better not bounce if this is legit."

"It won't." Tony assured with a confident grin.

Given the message Tony got from Friday, she pilfered the lucrative sum from a number of dirty accounts through the internet equivalent of this world called the CCT network. A mob family here, a radical terrorist group there; given the data report. And if there was a chance of people trying to hunt him down for their Lien back, it would be quite hard with his second favorite AI creation.

Jarvis, now Vision, is still his number one.

Coal's hands trembled as he saw the Lien get deposited into his account. "I don't know if I could repay what you're offering. I don't have stocks for my business and-"

"Don't worry about when you'll pay it back." Stark held up a hand to cut him off.

"That doesn't sound reassuring." Jayce commented, reeling back from what he just saw.

"He may be flippant but Tony's dedicated to what he puts his mind to." Sam said with a confident tone. "Mr. Coal here's got nothing to worry about."

"Other than competition." Tony said, shrugging slightly. "But then again, this Schnee guy isn't really making it a competition, is he?"

Coal was silent as his eyes and mind were adjusting to the number of Lien that he had just received.

Jayce and Viktor continued to gaze upon the billionaire with surprise though now there were hints of suspicion.

"Why do this for him?" Jayce asked, crossing his arms. "Not to put you on the spot or anything but this feels a little too good to be true."

"I do concur with my friend here." Viktor spoke up. "Whilst we are glad to see our favorite storekeeper get help of that magnitude, we find your suddenness in aiding Mr. Coal here is rather unusual."

"I don't blame you for being sus about my actions. I just have a soft spot for family founded and owned businesses." Tony admitted. "That and I figure if I'm gonna make a few millions bucks- lien, I can help a bunch of people on my path to do so. And speaking of help…"

Tony approached the counter and peeked over at the list of supplies that the two young men had brought with them.

"How about I pay for these boys' order."

"Huh?" Was Viktor and Jayces response.

"Best let him do it." Sam said, shrugging slightly. "He won't take no for an answer once he starts going. Just ask Peter when ya meet him."

"Who?"

"When you meet him." Wilson emphasized.

The two Atlas students shared a look of bewilderment, hearing the ringing of the cash register. A moment later, all that they had requested were placed upon the counter.

"I… I don't know what to say." Jayce mumbled, eyes wide at seeing their resources be given to them from a stranger's assistance.

"Happy to help." Tony casually said.

Once everything was gathered and rung up, the two students made their way to the exit.

"Thanks again for this, Mr. Stark." Said the gauntly teen before turning to his friend and partner. "We better get back before curfew."

Jayce nodded as he carried the load as Viktor hobbled along.

"I expect to see headlines of you both, you know." Tony said, making the two turn and stare at him in surprise.

"What makes you assume that Mr. Stark?" Viktor inquired.

"It's kinda easy to figure out honestly." Sam spoke up. "All those materials, the equipment. You boys are planning something, aren't you?"

The two teens blinked and a look of… well, it wouldn't be described as guilt, moreover guilt in getting caught.

"What makes you say that?" Jaye defensively asked in a stammer. "Th-this is just a school project."

"Y-yeah."

Tony and Sam then shared a look. "Uh huh."

"It is." The taller of the two teens said emphatically.

The two Avengers chuckled at their responses.

"Alright, alright, no need to get your drawers in a twist." Sam said placatingly. "But since we helped you out-"

"You mean me."

"-Care to return the favor?"

Viktor and Jayce glanced at each other, the latter asking. "Like what?"

"Mind telling us if there are any hotels around here. We're new around these parts."

-Scene Cut-

Making back to Atlas Academy was a close one for the two students.

They essentially had to sneak past several guards whilst also making as little noise as possible since they were carrying so much equipment with them.

Once they left their recently purchased merchandise in their dorm, the two went over to a computer lab nearby their dorms.

The purpose of this visit?

"Nothing." Jayce said with a hint of frustration. "There's nothing on the CCT network about this Tony Stark or his friend, Sam Wilson."

"Are you sure you're using the right clearance codes?"

"I am and I'm finding squat."

Viktor frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. "How can it be that neither of these individuals appear on the network?"

"I don't know if Stark is a Huntsman, which would slim things to a degree. But that Wilson fellow clearly looks military." His black haired friend remarked.

The two were silent for a brief moment, gazing at the blank screen in front of them.

"Perhaps they are frontiersmen?" Jayce suggested.

Viktor shook his head. "I find that argument lacking. Both of them don't fit the feel of those out in settlements and villages outside the Four Kingdoms."

"Could be. But then how is it they ain't in the system?"

"Stark perhaps bribed someone to take him out of it."

"Or he did it himself." His friend gave a questioning look, thus a little explanation was in order. "Remember what happened to Mr. Coal's scroll? How was it that the money suddenly got into his account without getting any bank or phone information?"

The gaunt teen hummed as he pondered.

"You could be right."

"Well now, a late night session again boys?"

Both teens jolted at the posh, amused accent that came for the side.

"Professor Heimerdinger." The duo said in surprise.

Looking downward, they saw one of the academy professors, a small dog Faunus.

He was dressed in a prim and trimmed blue suit designed for his stature being that of around four foot eight.

"Once again I find my most prized and ambitious students huddled in a corner of the academy." The Professor remarked with a chuckle. "Tell me boys, what wild and daring ideas are you working on this time?"

The two teens were slightly embarrassed at being caught once more by their mentor when Viktor hummed to himself aloud.

"Professor," He said in a slightly unsure tone. "I don't mean to come across as rude in this question but you are a man of well renowned knowledge and travel, yes?"

Heimerdinger tilted his head at the question before nodding slowly.

"I'd like to think I'm knowledgeable, yes but one cannot know everything."

"We're hoping you might have some knowledge then." Jayce said in turn, catching on to what Viktor might ask. "Are you familiar with these names? Tony Stark and Sam Wilson."

The dog Faunus pondered for a moment before shaking his head 'no'. "None that I'm familiar with. Why are you interested in them?"

"We met them earlier and we got curious-"

"Trying to pry into their lives may not give them all the answers you seek in such a way as this."

"It's not that we want to." Jayce hastily said. "It's just… there was something off about the way we met them."

"Yes." Viktor nodded. "There was something strange about these two gentlemen and well, we couldn't really fight our growing curiosity."

"What exactly was it about these two men that warrants such research about them?" Heimerdinger inquired patiently.

"The way they were and this Starks' seemingly bottomless funds."

"I beg your pardon?"

"We saw this man, Tony Stark, on a whim deposit a great amount of Lien to the Dust shop Jayce and I frequent." Viktor stated, elaborating on his friend's comment.

"And this concerns you… how?"

"Just the method on how it was done. It was… irregular."

The Atlesian professor hummed before regarding these words.

"I can see that this is weighing heavily on both your minds." Heimerdinger noted, sighing a moment later. "If it helps, I'll pass this along to Ironwood."

"Thank you, professor." His students said in unison.

The Dog Faunus huffed in amusement, waving his hand at them both. "Now run along. You two need your rest. It's not healthy to prolong and shorten it. You got classes in the morning, you know."

The two students nodded and scurried off, leaving Heimerdinger alone in the lab for several moments to shut off the computer.

"Children these days… Always so eager…"

-Scene Cut-

"Guess we really are on another world." Peter said, hanging from his hammock whilst staring out the window of the room he and the rest of the Avengers currently occupied.

The past hour or so felt longer than it was intended. All due to the factor of further exchanges of information between the two parties.

Yes, Clint and the twins already knew more beforehand but not for the two New Yorkers. But in the end, things were expanded more in general for the present Avengers to grasp the general picture.

"And Thor is nowhere to be found." Pietro idly remarked, wolfing down some food as he had developed an appetite since coming here. "If he were here, he could call his guard pal to send us back."

"Would that even work?" Wanda inquired, cheek resting against her palm as she gazed around at the rest of her teammates.

"What do we do now, Cap?" Clint asked, leaning back on the couch he was resting on.

Steve stood at another window in the room, arms crossed and eyes ahead at the city of Vale in the distance.

The room they currently occupied was given to them by headmaster Ozpin of the academy of Beacon.

They had come here after a long and extensive conversation between them and the trio of teachers about their situation and suffice to say…

Well, Cap was fairly confident in saying only Thor really has an idea on what to do when winding up on another planet.

And Thor's not here and they don't have any means of contacting him.

So for the time being, they were stranded on Remnant.

"Look at the moon." Parker said aloud, causing the other four to gaze out at the night skies above and see a moon shattered and its pieces floating close by.

"I don't know if that is or isn't the strangest thing we've seen or heard today." Clint commented in a deadpan voice.

"Hang on, wouldn't that cause some gravity problem?" Pietro asked, looking up at Peter. "Wouldn't it?"

"Maybe it already did." Peter said, hanging upside down now. "Or maybe it's doing it right now and we don't realize it. Or it could be something else, I dunno, I need more info on it."

"So moon business aside, what now?" Wanda said, clearly at a loss, a sentiment shared with the other Avengers. "We should find Sam and Stark but then what?"

"What about this whole Salem, Grimm and Maiden business?" Pietro spoke up. "I mean, I know we just got here and all but we basically shoved ourselves into their business without even realizing it."

"If we're gonna be here and I got a gut feeling that that's likely our case, we'll have to be ready for any form of retaliation." Rogers firmly declared.

"At least it'll give us something to do while trying to find a way back home."

"If there is a way."

"There has to be." Clint said with determination in his voice as he wanted to see his family again.

Peter nodded in agreement, given he wanted to return to Aunt May.

"If those Grimm can make their way to our world and back, so could we." Steve said.

The Avengers nodded at the Captain.

"How are we gonna find Mr. Wilson and Mr. Stark?" Peter asked, slightly descending on down from his web hammock while still being upside down.

"Are you not sick hanging there like that?" Pietro couldn't help but ask, angling his head around in an attempt to be upside down like the webhead.

"I've grown used to it."

"We shouldn't be too worried about finding Sam and Tony." Steve said, walking over to the be with his team. "This place has a lot of similarities to Earth to a degree. And even if it doesn't have the internet that we know, I wouldn't put it past Stark to figure out his own way of contacting us. We just need to be patient."

Back in Ozpin's office, another meeting was taking place.

"Quite the claim these Avengers have told you." James Ironwood said through a video call.

Beacon's headmaster was keeping his promise to his Atlesian counterpart and informing him of what occurred earlier.

Suffice to say James was mixed on his feelings.

To just tell five complete strangers so much about what they had been doing these past few years.

"Do you think it was wise to inform the Avengers of what's going on?" The General of Atlas asked, a frown present upon his face.

"It was out of my hands, James." Oz said, shaking his head. "The girl, Wanda Maximoff, was able to read the thoughts of the ones who attacked Amber. I actually see it as a good thing."

"A good thing?" both Glynda and Ironwood said at the same time.

"We were able to get to know some of her present servants. We will be able to look out for these three individuals in the near future if they try to come to any of the kingdoms."

"And we now know that Salem is making her move sooner than later." Qrow said with a grimace. "Her using this Cinder to almost steal a Maiden's power is not something she could perhaps pull off."

"How is this even possible?" Ironwood's brows furrowed in thought. "I thought that only a willing or chance transfer of the Maiden powers was feasible. Not outright steal them."

"Nothing is impossible, James." Oz said with a knowing tone and gaze. "You should know this by now."

"If one kills a Maiden and their thoughts are towards their attacker could let the powers transfer to them, if they'd be a woman." Glynda reminded the Atlesian general. "And yet their intended method…"

"Salem's becoming a bit more creative now." Qrow murmured, twirling his flask in his hand.

"And that means we shall have to do the same." Ozpin declared.

James exhaled a sigh, knowing this to be right.

They can't stay with their usual methods anymore if Salem is changing tactics.

"When do you plan to inform Leonardo and Theodore?"

"Soon so they may keep a look out for their wayward companions." Oz assured.

"And the Avengers? What do you plan on doing with them?"

"I plan on nothing, James." The Headmaster of Beacon stated. "They come from a different world, unintentionally into ours. If they wish to return, far be it from me to stop them."

"Is that truly wise? To let individuals such as ones who discovered Salem's plans be free?"

"Why the change of tune, Ironhead." Qrow quipped. "Salivating at the thought of having them serve under you?"

"In case you have forgotten our mission, Qrow."Ironwood barked. "We are still at war with her and we need every advantage that we can have to beat her back and achieve victory."

"I haven't forgotten, Jimmy." Branwen retorted with a slight glare. "Unlike you, I actually go out on the field and try to do what I can there and then. Not hole myself up behind a cushy desk and floating city."

"Enough." Oz said aloud, lightly slamming his cane on the floor to elicit some small sparks.

Both men immediately backed down from their argument.

"We are here to be working together for the betterment and safety of Remnant, not claw each other's throats out." The Spectacled man said with a stern tone.

"So what is your plan then, Ozpin?" Glynda asked the question in their minds.

"Equivalent exchange between ourselves and the Avengers." He revealed. "They help us out, we help them out. After all, they did state how they came here was due to a Grimmpool being in their world. There may be a further connection than we realize."

"This does bare investigations." James said with a hum. "They say they came through here via a pool of Grimm from their world, yes? That statement alone gives us much to look over."

"Perhaps there might be a connection to this Earth they come from that we are unaware of."

"Perhaps." Oz mused aloud. "I haven't ever considered the possibility of connections to other worlds in my many lifetimes."

"We just never expected there to be life outside of our own." Goodwitch couldn't help but say.

"Seems one of life's great mysteries was answered." Oz remarked, gazing out at the shattered moon above. His expression then grew weary and guarded.

"But what else may we get in the coming times?"

Let's keep the ball rolling in this New Year.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Age of Remnant Chapter 5: We're gonna need time to adjust

She had been alone in her throne room for some time now.

The Queen of the Grimmlands and ruler of the Grimm sat at the head of her table with a large, decrepit book that she had been reading over for some time now.

Salem has been over this book a number of times and yet still, in her many centuries of immortality has yet to fully grasp all that resides within the pages of this ancient tome.

It was a Remnant of a time long passed before the God of Darkness wiped out humanity all those years ago.

She was a different woman back then or maybe, she was lying to herself.

Maybe Salem was always the woman seated here. She just never had the chance to bring this side of her out.

…Or, and a big or, it was probably that dip into the pool of Grimm in the realm of the Dark God after she swam through this world's fountain of apparent youth.

Yeah, it was probably that.

Madness comes in threes.

First the love of her life, then immortality and finally her final attempt at suicide.

Strange eternal life she has.

Now, here she was, deep in her studies with the book in her hands.

Whilst she had been around for multiple centuries, in terms of lifetime, this tome was a recent addition to her collection.

It actually came with her advisor Agatha when the witch first arrived here in her domain.

When Salem first encountered the wanderer, she had initially intended on interrogating her as to how she got to her realm before killing her.

Imagine the Queen's surprise when she discovered this newcomer was capable of using magic, an ability long believed to have vanished from Remnant.

She was extraordinarily gifted and skilled, being able to put up quite a challenge for Salem.

But eventually, she was overwhelmed by Salem's raw strength and continued existence; which exhausted the intruder after quite the amount of time trying to kill her.

After their battle subsided, she opted to question this newcomer and discovered a litany of fascinating discoveries.

For starters, Agatha came from a world not of her own called Earth.

That tidbit was just one of many surprising revelations.

Learning about life outside of Remnant was one thing…

But for Agatha to come from a Coven of witches named after her yet having nothing to do with her?

This had to be more than a simple coincidence.

So many questions and thankfully, they had all the time in the world being that Agatha was apparently also one of longevity.

With this new witch, she brought with her a book of ancient and vast knowledge from her homeworld that shockingly had deeper rooted connections with Remnant than she realized.

"Reading once again, Mistress?"

Salem was snapped out of deep thoughts as she looked up to see Agatha entering the throne room.

"There is still much left to learn in this book, Harkness." Salem remarked conversationally, shutting the large tome shut. "You yourself admit to your lack of understanding of the Necronomicon."

Agatha only hummed to herself, fingers trailing over the back of each chair before seating herself right next to her Mistress and sliding the book to herself.

"My master never elaborated on its knowledge, only reading off what was allowed at the time." Agatha said with a small shrug of her shoulders. "No matter. Everything here will eventually be ours to use once the time comes."

"And how many more decades or centuries do you intend that to be?" Salem asked in a dry voice.

"How many are you willing to spare?" She lightly inquired in return.

Salem narrowed her eyes at the woman yet found her lip twitching upwards.

"Did you always talk like that to your coven mother, Harkness or is it just me?"

"Oh, always." Agatha answered with no hesitation. "It's funny when people say how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Several hundred years of walking multiple lifetimes and some things remain consistent."

"And what would that be?"

"Humanity and their want for struggle. Their own want for self-destruction in the pursuit of meaningless power."

"And what of that which does incite change?"

Agatha was silent momentarily, slightly unsure as to what Salem was speaking of until realization dawned upon her face.

"You speak of those troublesome individuals that halted Cinder in her attempt at the Fall Maiden, yes?"

"I am. Actually something happened recently pertaining to them."

Harkness tilted her head, leaning upon the table now. "Go on."

"I received word from our informant in Haven."

Agatha scoffed. "What does that coward Leonardo has to tell us that we don't already know?"

Salem arched a brow at her before continuing on. "There has been a new development and those people who stopped Cinder and her team are a part of it."

Her advisor blinked at this unexpected news. "Truly?"

"Yes, and it appears they are not alone." Salem revealed. "From what Leonardo has told me, there were two others with them when they had apparently met with Ozpin. Five in total from what he told me."

"Anything else?" Agatha asked, now greatly intrigued by this development.

"Not much else other than then the prospect of there perhaps being two other individuals associated with these five on Remnant."

"Then we'll be needing to look out for them as well." The Witch was clearly not one for such tasks. "Lovely. Anything else he told us?"

Salem shook her head. "It was only a barebones sort of information. But it's enough that we need to be alert for the time being. Five of these individuals have already fallen into the hands of Ozpin. We will have to watch them all carefully given what Cinder and her subordinates told us of the two in particular that stopped them. If their apparent companions are anything like them…"

"Say no more. This will clearly get the others more things to work with."

"Perhaps…"

Agatha raised a brow at Salem's response.

"Are you expecting something else?"

"What I expect is Ozpin has a sudden and foolish belief that he has an advantage over us."

"Unless he somehow found something stronger than those brother gods; good luck with that."

That actually irked the Grimm queen, making her shoot a murderous glare towards Agatha who had the decency to look away from her blood red eyes.

"What? I'm just saying…"

"I know. Still don't like bringing them up no matter how long it's been."

"Alright, alright." Agatha said in a pacifying manner. "Apologies, Mistress. I overstepped myself."

"See that you don't next time." Salem said in a tone indicating she wished to be left alone.

Sensing this, Agatha quickly stood from her seat and deftly walked away, leaving her Mistress to herself.

Salem was silent, interlacing her fingers whilst propping her elbows upon the table, listening to the heels of Agatha's shoes get further and further away until she was left with ambient silence.

She had closed her eyes, her mind a whirl with activity.

She had long given up hope of there being any other means of her true death. Only the brothers may do so and had plans on making it happen.

Until then, all she could do was play the metaphysical chessboard for all these years with her adversary.

The Grimm queen's eyes opened, a deadly glint in them. "I await your move, Ozma."

-Scene Cut-

"If you eat all those cookies, you do realize you're gonna have a cavity in every other tooth, right?"

The answer she got was one of a muffled protest.

"Chew before you swallow, sis."

*GULP* *FWAAA~~*

"Oh please~ No matter how many years I've eaten these sweet deliciousness, I've never gotten one at all."

"You think milk protects you from these sweet deviants?"

"It is what makes me grow and be strong."

The young cookie eater flexed in a dramatic fashion, a ray of light from seemingly nowhere shining down upon her.

Her older critic simply laughed and flipped the hood she wore over her eyes.

"Whatever you say, Rubes."

"Yang~~" Ruby Rose whined aloud, tossing her head back to get the hood off. "I just washed, dried and combed my hair."

"Which you're gonna have in a mess as soon as you wake up." Yang Xiao-Long retorted with a cheeky smile in place.

"Not like we're gonna be going anywhere." Ruby said with an annoyed huff, giving her older sister a stink eye.

"Wha- then why complain about your hair? We're not going anywhere so who would even see it?"

"Hypocrite!" Rose proclaimed, tossing her pillow at her sister's face. "You who spend hours on end fawning over her hair have no right to speak of my beautiful follicles."

"Nobody calls hair follicles, Ruby." Yang said with a dry laugh.

"Girls." Came a stern voice from outside Yang's room. "Are you two goofing off or doing your homework like you're supposed to be doing."

"We are dad." Yang shouted back.

It was the weekend and as much as the sisters wanted to go out and about, they were confined to their rooms.

Reason being their father caught them in the act getting home late the other night and had essentially grounded them.

In order to pass the time, the sisters needed to finish up whatever homework they had from Signal, the academy they presently went to.

Well not for long.

In the coming school year, Yang will be attending Beacon Academy while Ruby will join her… in a few years.

"Uh huh." Was the disbelieving response of Taiyang. "Don't make me come in there and search your room for any games. And I don't want you on your scrolls the entire time."

"But what if we need to call someone?" Ruby innocently asked.

"Then you would be running it by me first."

"That's lame dad." Yang said.

"It's what you get for coming in late, young lady."

The blond brawler only huffed, blowing a strand of her hair out her face as she gazed down at her homework that was almost complete.

Lying on her bed, Yang looked to the side to gaze at the Achieve Men boy band poster.

She really wanted to play some of their songs right now, let alone any songs in general. But all of her music was on her scroll and if she played anything, then their father would take it away.

"Hey Yang."

"Hmmm?"

"You never explained to me what happened that night with that boy?"

Yang had a coy, mischievous smile that appeared suddenly. "Ooooh~~ is my little sister in the mood for some gossip?"

"No you dingus." Ruby said with a roll of her eyes. "I just wanted to know the whole story. You just told me he was your "clubbing" buddy for the night."

"You just want to waste time instead of doing your homework."

"I'm already done with mine."

"You are? Can you help me with mine then?"

"Yang." Ruby said with a puff of her cheeks.

Her older sister laughed at her plight, placing her hands behind her head as she kicked her feet up and stretched out.

"Well~ it was kind of an accident how we met. Or… coincidence? Happenstance? It wasn't planned, is what I'm saying."

"Oh, that I believe."

Yang's head shot up slightly with an angled brow. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That you throw a punch first before you think." Was Ruby's simple and sufficient response.

Rather than get peeved, the blond snorted, leaning her head back down.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"So about him…"

"What about him?"

"Well, who was he?" Ruby asked, gaining stars in her eyes. "And what was that suit of his? I can tell it was lined with tech from top to bottom!"

"How can ya tell? It was a onesie."

"It was far more than a onesie Yang." Ruby proclaimed. "I can smell the tech off of him."

"You could smell it?" Yang snorted. "Ew, sis."

"You know what I mean. But in all seriousness, who was he?"

"Just some guy I met and fought with."

"Wha- that's it? That can't be it."

"What? It was." Yang said defensively. "He was apparently raised to be a "Gentlemen"-"

"So he helped you in a bar fight?" Ruby said in confusion. "How is that making him a gentleman?"

"It's called chivalry Rubes." The older sister remarked. "Apparently, there are still signs of it in this crazy world."

Not that she would voice it, just so she wouldn't get teased by her sister, but she really liked her time with him. There was this sense of thrill with him. More than she perhaps never felt before. It may have been with him swinging her around most of Vale to get away from the authorities to get her back to her beloved Bumblebee.

Or just having him fight by her side while being abnormally entertaining to be around. On top of being a gentleman in giving her what's hers; not that it really wasn't.

And the fact that his first words to her were about her beauty added brownie points in her mind.

Good of him to recognize it when he sees it.

"So what's his name?"

"What, did ya forget already? It's Peter Parker, remember?"

Ruby blanked for a moment before she recalled the night from before. "Oh yeah… kinda forgot… with us being grounded and all."

Yang shook her head with an amused smile. "You're so weird sometimes, sis."

Her little sister only pulled on her left eyelid whilst sticking her tongue out.

The blond only laughed at this, feeling herself relaxed as she adjusted herself on her bed.

"Wonder if I'll see him again." Yang said aloud. "He was real fun to be around."

"Maybe you'll run into him again in Vale." Ruby said chipperly. "Or he could wind up going to Beacon like you."

Yang's shoulders shifted up and down. "Maybe. He sure knew how to fight. Wouldn't be surprised to see him there."

As the two sisters continued conversing, they were unaware of their father Taiyang standing outside the room.

He had a small smile on his face as he listened to his two daughters talk animatedly.

Though he couldn't help but feel a spike of fatherly concern upon hearing about this "Peter Parker" that Yang had taken an interest in.

It was clear for the father to hear from the way she spoke of this boy and immediately, it sent him on edge.

It didn't help that Ruby appeared equally as interested in this boy though thankfully, it was for far more innocent reasons, one relaying her interests in weapons.

Still, if Yang indeed has any interests with his boy, he would want to meet him and have words with him.

After dusting off his shotgun kept in the closet.

No daughter of his would be seeing anyone that wouldn't meet his standards. His… womanizing standards… ok, maybe he wouldn't be too hard on the kid but dammit if he wasn't going to do his job as a dad.

For now though, it was time to feed their dog Zwei and take him out on a walk.

The little corgi had trotted up to him and sat down, leash in mouth and stared up at his owner expectantly.

"Alright boy." Taiyang said softly, taking the leash out of his mouth. "Come on."

-Scene Cut-

"Any luck?"

"Nada, haven't been able to contact Tony or Sam."

"We've only been at this for several days, you know."

"And in that time, we managed to get back together."

"That was a lucky coincidence really."

"So what, our luck ran out?"

"I don't think us winding up on another world accidentally counts as luck."

The five Avengers that resided within Beacon sat around a circular table, having lunch together at this time.

They were seated in the currently empty cafeteria of this apparent prestigious academy wherein the institution trains and teaches the future protectors of this world.

It was bizarre to say the least in being on another world where the food that they had on Earth was the same here.

Makes one wonder whether this was a cosmic coincidence or something far more deeper that they had yet to see.

Still, it was a strange comfort to have such familiar foods for them to eat. As if a piece of home had followed them here.

It had been only a number of days since their arrival and it's currently the weekend.

There were a few academy students still on campus as the rest are either visiting the nearby city, in their dorm rooms for homework or out on missions.

The Avengers themselves were in the process of devising a plan.

That plan being simply to find Tony and Sam and figuring out what to do next. Ozpin had told them a great deal in regards to this Salem who was apparently someone who was an immortal and hellbent on the destruction of the world.

So… a usual sort of threat that the Avengers have faced off before.

HYDRA, Loki, Ultron and that was just in team settings.

Though dealing with a threat that had been around for thousands of years with no apparent means of killing them was a slightly new one to them.

Regardless, if this Salem were to rear her head in their direction and come after them, they would be ready.

Granted that was likely a reality since they had stopped one of her subordinates from acquiring an objective of hers so they were really just waiting for the most part.

"Alright, so, what's the plan Cap?" Clint asked, arms crossed and looking over at the leader of the Avengers. "You usually have one off the top of your head."

"Well dealing with us being scattered on a world that isn't Earth is a new one." Steve wryly stated.

"Doesn't waking up 70 years in the future count as one?" Pietro remarked, wolfing down food in one to two bites. Speedy metabolisms garner large appetites.

"That sounds more like a technicality, honestly." Peter commented, fiddling with his web shooters. "It's still Earth in the end."

"And stop eating with your mouth full, Pietro." Wanda admonished with an unamused look, having used her telekinetic powers to catch crumbs flying out from her brother's mouth.

He had the decency to look sheepish as he wiped his mouth and finished what he was chewing on.

"We need to first find our wayward teammates." Steve said firmly. "With all seven of us, we'll at least have some idea of what all of us can do in finding a way home."

"Gonna place the whole process on Tony?" Pietro asked with a knowing grin.

"Well if he claims to be a genius billionaire, it's high time he lives up to that moniker in a positive manner."

"Yeah, cause as it stands, he's one for one." Clint tacked on. "His suits, good. Ultron? Bad. Needs a good tally mark to break the tie."

"Don't I count as a good deed?" Peter innocently asked.

"You were already doing hero work before meeting us, Peter." Wanda kindly said. "You don't count."

Peter found himself smiling bashfully at the praise.

"Ok, so that aside, we gotta start figuring out where they could be." Clint spoke up.

Pulling out a phone similar to Tony's, the archer flicked it open and waved it forward.

A holographic screen appeared that displayed a map of the recently scanned planet of Remnant.

Four regions were highlighted, signifying the four Kingdoms of this world.

"Alright so we're here in Vale." Barton started off, pointing to the country they resided in at this time. "We've got Vacuo, Haven and Atlas as our other prominent places to explore."

"What about all the frontier colonies and villages?" Peter asked.

"The what?"

"I read about them last night." Parker said, his finger trailing across a number of areas that weren't within the four kingdom territories. "There's a lot of them out there so…"

"They could have also wound up there." Steve said with a frown.

"God forbid they wound up in the Grimmlands." Wanda said with a disturbed look. "Don't know what may happen if-"

"Let's not think about it." Steve said with a shake of his head.

"But what if-"

"Thinking like that won't get us anywhere." Rogers declared. "We just need to hold out and hope that they're both alright."

"Another question we haven't considered, did they appear here together or separately?" Clint asked.

"I think they could be together." Pietro stated.

"What makes ya say that?"

"Aside from you, didn't all of us wind up in pairs?" The silver haired twin pointed out. "So maybe that's what happened with Stark and Wilson."

"Fingers crossed."

"And if separated?"

"They can handle themselves." Steve said with confidence. "Sam's a seasoned soldier before he was an Avenger. And if Stark can make a suit in a cave with a box of scraps…"

"Maybe we should just wait for some kind of loud noise and destruction." Wanda suggested. "That's usually not far behind from when we work."

"That's not depressing to hear at all." Peter said with his shoulders sagging. "Do we really cause that much collateral?"

"It's usually cause of stuff that wants to blow everything up." Clint retorted. "Don't let it get to ya, kid."

Steve cleared his throat, making them turn to him as he was gazing at Remnants map intently.

"Ok, where should we start?" Rogers asked the team. "Ozpin mentioned this CCT network that is able to connect the Four Kingdoms and send out messages to the four corners of Remnant."

"Their version of the internet." Pietro idly said.

"Maybe we can send them a message through this network and Tony or his AI Friday can pick up on it." Clint suggested.

"That's a great idea." Peter cheerfully said. "Mr. Stark and Friday can definitely find us on the CCT."

"Would need to perhaps make the message such a way for either of them to pick up on that it's us." Wanda said, humming in thought as the idea held promise.

This world had tech similar to their own home so perhaps finding their lost comrades wouldn't be as difficult as initially believed.

Before they were able to speak any further, they heard the sound of a man clearing his throat from nearby.

The five of them looked over to see a middle-aged man standing close by with an amicable smile.

He had brown hair with light green eyes behind a pair of glasses he wore. His clothing was simple with a white button up shirt, striped tie, brown vest, blue jeans and brown shoes. The only unique aesthetic to his wardrobe were the golden lines that accented his jeans and vest.

"Never seen you folks around here before. You must be new around here." He said politely.

"We are. Steve Rogers." Cap said.

The rest of the team quickly introduced themselves in rapid succession, a look of slight recognition dawning upon the brown haired man.

"Ah, so you must be these Avengers Ozpin has told me about." The man said with a bright smile.

"Yeah, that's us." Steve said politely. "And you are?"

"Newt Featherington." He introduced himself, hand outstretched. "I'm the smith here at Beacon academy. Weapon creation, upkeep and tech designs all around."

"Pleasure to meet you." Steve said. "But if you don't mind me asking, can we do something for you?"

"You already have to a degree." Newt stated. "Your rescue of Amber, the Fall Maiden, was of a great relief to hear."

"So you're in Oz's little circle." Clint said factually then suggestively.

"For some time now, yes." He confirmed with a nod. "He said it was the… twins was it?"

"That's us." Pietro said, thumbing to himself and Wanda.

"So I don't count?" Barton sarcastically asked.

"Well, we did do most of the heavy lifting." The Speedster said with a smug grin and flex of his arm.

Clint and Wanda simply rolled their eyes at the same time, the latter looking at Newt.

"Since you spoke of her, how is Amber?" The telepath asked.

"I'm glad you asked." Newt said with a bright smile. "Care to come and see for yourselves?"

"We'll hang back." Clint stated. "Still gotta figure things out on our end. Pietro, Wanda, why don't you two go. She could use some familiar faces."

"Sure thing." Pietro said. "Wanted to see how she was doing anyway."

"This way you two." Newt gestured for them to follow. "And it was nice meeting you all. Perhaps we can help one another in the future."

"Maybe." Steve said, waving goodbye as the twins followed after the Beacon Professor.

The twins walked behind the newly met acquaintance with Pietro speaking up first.

"So Newt…"

"Hmmm?"

"How is Amber right now? Sucks that we didn't get to her in time and all when I say this but last we checked on her, she took an arrow to her back. Like her spinal area." The speedy Avenger said, arm subconsciously reaching for his own back.

Wanda grimaced at that. "That can be dangerous, yeah? Was there any… serious and permanent damage?"

Newt let out a sigh, hand running through his hair. "Have to admit when I saw Amber's condition, I had my work cut out for me. The arrowhead narrowly missed her spinal cord. And I mean by mere centimeters."

The duo shivered as they were led into the medical wing by Newt and the first person they saw was Amber laid out in a bed on the furthest corner of the room.

Both twins quickly rushed over to the Maidens' side.

"Easy now." Newt said gently. "She's not going anywhere."

"She's been here all this time?" Wanda asked, looking back at Featherington who approached the foot of the bed.

"Yes, since Qrow brought her in." Newt said. "Stand back, if you would. It is actually time for her healing session."

They acquiesced, watching as the Professor walked around the bed to a metallic compartment on the wall.

He pulled out a cylinder that he pressed down upon and it sprouted out three separate mechanical limbs.

"Whoa." Pietro blinked at the strange device. "What's that supposed to be?"

"One of my darling creations." Newt said with a bright smile. "A device I made to supplement aura that can't heal more serious injuries like our deal Fall Maiden here had suffered from."

"What is it?"

"I call it Luminous." He said, placing the device over Ambers chest, the three limbs closing around her body.

"Why Lumi-"

Before Pietro was able to finish his question, a bright green glowing dome appeared around Amber's body and in an instant, the look of pain she had disappeared into a calm expression.

"Whoa~" Was the speedster's response. "That's amazing."

"Thank you." Newt said with a proud smile. "Took me a while to get it right but after some trial and error, this little darlin has saved more lives than I can count."

"Shame Parker didn't come with us or Stark isn't here." Wanda commented. "They love stuff like this."

"Oh? Are they tech savvy like yours truly?" Featherington asked with great interest. "Saw that young boy working on devices of some kind on his wrist at the cafeteria."

"Like you wouldn't believe." Pietro said with an amused shake of his head. "When we find Stark, you're gonna fall in love with his suit the moment you see it."

Newt's grin widened considerably at the prospect of seeing something technologically new and advanced.

"I can't wait. It's been a while since I conversed with someone of that field of caliber."

Wanda only hummed at his words, eyeing the Fall Maiden within the green healing dome.

"How long is she going to be like this?" She softly asked, making Newt's grin fall with a grim look now taking its place.

"Well, aside from the arrow itself, there was something else I found within the injury she had sustained."

"What?"

"A sort of residue, if I could describe it, of Grimm." Newt said with a disturbed expression.

"Residue of Grimm?" Pietro parroted with a slightly squeamish face. "What does that mean?"

"You have faced the creatures of Grimm, yes?" The twins nodded. "They're made of a substance that can't be identified or understood entirely unless you are the one in control of it."

"So Salem then."

"Exactly. She knows how to use both her creatures and the essence in which they are composed of in methods we have yet to encounter. No matter how long one studies them, their substance literally goes up in smoke before having a proper chance to fully analyze them."

"So this… Grimm essence was in the arrow that struck Amber?" Wanda inquired.

"A means of disabling her and preventing her retaliation for that nefarious act which almost occurred." Said Newt with clear disgust in his voice. "Regardless, she'll unfortunately be confined in this until she's fully healed. After that, physical therapy will be needed to help her relearn how to walk. How long that may be, long perhaps but her being a Maiden coupled with my device should hopefully speed up the process."

The twins were silent as they watched the healing process when they heard a soft moan come from the Maiden and saw her shift about slightly.

"Amber?" The Silver haired Maximoff said quietly, kneeling down to be on her eye level.

The Fall Maiden let out a soft groan, head shifting slightly to turn to the source of the voice.

She slowly opened her eyes with her vision blurry at first until the hazy figure before her became more clear.

"P-Pietro?" Amber asked in a weak voice. "Is.. that you?"

Pietro smiled sadly at the Maiden, reaching forward to grasp her hand gently. "Yeah, I'm here. And so is Wanda."

Amber groaned slightly again as she turned her hand around to hold Pietro's hand. "She is?"

"Right here."

Seeing the Maiden's gaze on her, Wanda gave out a small wave of "hello".

"How you doing?" She heard the twin brother ask.

"Tired and I can't exactly feel…"

"Don't worry. You'll be fine before you know it." Newt spoke up with an assuring tone. "It'll take some time since the damage was close to your spinal cord so it'll be a delicate process. But if you're worried about walking, don't worry, you'll be running around in no time."

"That's… good…'' Amber murmured.

"Need anything?" Pietro asked.

"Just…" The Fall Maiden was unable to finish as she had drifted back into unconsciousness, dozing off in front of them.

Pietro's expression fell slightly, something his sister caught sight of.

"What's wrong, brother?" She said, lightly flicking his temple.

He didn't even register the small strike as his eyes stayed on Amber.

"Say we do manage to find a way home." He suddenly said. "What about Amber? Are we just gonna leave her here?"

Wanda was a bit surprised by such a question.

"What do you mean?"

Her brother's head shifted from side to side with a conflicted look clear to see.

"I dunno," He said with an unsure tone. "We helped save her, right? Doesn't that make her our responsibility?"

His twin was certainly surprised by this question, a teasing smile making its way onto her face.

She leaned over, bumping her shoulder up against her brothers.

"If Clint would have heard you now." Wanda said with a coy smile.

Pietro clamped up, an embarrassed shade of red that matched his sister's garments.

Hearing Newt chortle at his expression didn't help.

"Sh-Shut up." He muttered, looking away from both of them.

-Scene Cut-

Tony grunted, shifting about slightly in the bed he currently laid upon, tossing and turning about.

"What's the matter Stark? Bed not comfy enough for your standards?"

"And what standards would that be, Wilson?" Tony retorted. "A Malibu bed, winter forest floor or middle eastern rock cave? Pick your poison."

"Well a rock bed is at least familiar." Sam remarked from his own bed which was currently occupied by his wingsuit. "How long are we even staying here?"

"Until room service dips below three stars." Tony said, lifting up his platter of food that was delivered to their room a short while ago.

The duo had found this motel courtesy of Mr. Coal pointed it out to them as being one of the best in Mantle, being one that was "untouched" so to speak.

It was easy for them to deduce that there were shadier things going on in Mantle and from what Friday had gathered in terms of police reports…

"Can someone explain this to me." Sam suddenly spoke up, breaking Tony out of his stupor.

"What was that?" He asked, just as he was about to take a bite out of his meal.

"How in the hell did we end up on a world with humans, some having animal features, similar means of living, similar foods and similar architecture."

"Pretty sure we don't have any floating ci- Intentionally floating cities." Tony pointed out before he paused in thought. "That we know of. Unless there's a Miyazaki fan on this world that we don't know of."

"Well unless they call themselves Howl, Atlas seems to be the only place with a floating city." Sam said, walking over to the window of their motel room and gazed up upon said city.

"Maybe there's one back home." Stark said with a shrug. "Wouldn't put it past our home turf to be hiding a city that can float in the sky or do some other stuff we have yet to see."

"Had you said that five years ago, I would've called you crazy." The bird-themed Avenger quipped. The man let out a sigh a moment later as his gaze wandered down to the streets below.

"Any luck on seeing if our friends are somewhere here?"

"Friday's been scouring this CCT network of theirs for the past few days." Tony said, a hint of confidence in his tone. "If they do access their network, we should be able to detect it."

Sam really hoped it could be soon. He was beginning to get stir crazy. Not just for his friends and fellow Avengers, but the goings and happenings back home.

God knows how his sister would be right now. And that's just him.

Tony has Pepper, Clint has a family, their newest recruit has an aunt whilst the others…

He needs to ask if Rhodey is seeing anyone and maybe take up Nat's idea of getting Steve a girlfriend.

His buddy needed to get out more.

"What's the matter?" Wilson blinked upon hearing Tony's voice. "Feeling clipped here."

"I don't exactly have much of a problem if I had something to work with my hands. Usually it would be me working on my cars or on a new project. But I don't have either."

"And what of what you found?"

"Can only look over schematics for so long without handling it personally." Tony rolled his eyes slightly, popping up out of his bed.

"Come on, let's stretch our legs a bit." He stated as he placed on his glasses. "Don't wanna be cooped up all day and just wait for something to happen."

"So you'd rather run towards a problem?" Sam wryly asked.

"It's the only way I know how." Stark plainly admitted. "That and there's always a one hundred percent likely chance of it just coming right towards us."

Sam couldn't really deny that. "Comes with the territory."

Tony grabbed a red and gold suitcase whilst Sam's wingsuit shrank back down into a backpack before they went out and wandered Mantle's streets once more.

They passed by a number of shops and establishments with some clusters of people here and there.

"Quaint." Tony commented, looking over at a cafe that caught his eye.

"Not the word I would use to describe this place." Sam stated eyeing a less than ideal looking building.

It wasn't the only one as he saw a number of them during their little stroll through this city under Atlas.

"So what, crime lords, crime bosses galore run this place?" Tony asked though it was clear that it wasn't really a question.

"Makes me wonder what caused this." Sam said, a deep frown in place. "I mean come on, the divide here is almost too literal."

"Yeah, can't deny that." Stark remarked, head tilting up to Atlas. "Just… could you have made it any more obvious?"

"Hard not to, but I just didn't want to conclude that."

The two were silent for a moment, quietly walking alongside one another.

"Where do you think they got the name Atlas?" Tony abruptly asked. "Ain't that from our world?"

"One question after the other with this place." Sam said, thinking over something the two of them had discussed since coming here.

The striking similarities Remnant shared with Earth.

It couldn't be a coincidence, right?

Thor and his people sort of made sense since they were within the same Cosmic neighborhood so to speak.

Did that mean that Remnant could also be-

*BOOOOM*

Their little stroll came to a rather climactic end upon hearing a set of explosions going off in the distance.

"Huh." Was Tony's response, slowly looking over to Wilson. "So…"

Sam grimaced and rolled his shoulders. In an instant, his wingsuit materialized around him whilst Tony held up his suitcase up to his chest.

Pressing a switch, the metallic container opened up and began reconfiguring around Tony's form. In a matter of moments, his armor unfurled and locked into place with the faceplate eventually sliding into place.

The duo took to the skies, ignoring several onlookers who saw this, flying straight towards the commotion and burning buildings.

They watched as multiple people fled for their lives from the destruction and flew down to see a number of individuals standing in the middle of a demolished store shouting at each other.

"-at crazy bitch! She blew the whole load up! What the fuck is the matter with her?!"

"Why did she even come along? Who the fuck decided on that?"

"Who do you think?"

"Ah fucking dammit. Why does the boss man force her to come with us? She ruins everything."

"Where even is she?"

"Huh?"

"She's gone."

"That bitch! Why in the fuck does Sil-"

"Excuse me gentlemen."

The collection of armed and dangerous men and women halted in their arguing when they turned over to see-

"Up here."

Their heads craned up to see a man in red and gold armor with another in red and silver wingsuit floating above them.

"So then." The Invincible Iron Man said conversationally. "Who wants to go to jail first?"

"Enforcers!"

"Avengers." Tony corrected, holding one of his hands up with his repulsor center whirring up with energy.

"Don't care. Get-"

One of them was sent flying away from a repulsor blast.

"They never learn, do they?"

"They've never met us before, remember?" Sam said, throwing his hands up and his machine guns expanded into his palms. "This is our opening act."

"Oh yeah, good point." Tony then jolted to the side as a missile flew by. "Whoa! That's a bit extreme."

Stark retaliated quickly by firing off another blast from his repulsors that sent the rocketeer hurtling back.

Neither Avenger didn't want any unnecessary damage to appear around this city. Though with those missiles going around may make that rather difficult.

With the one man down, Tony fired off a missile of his own to destroy the one flying past him. An explosion soon went off as the Iron Avenger went off to take care of some other thugs.

"Honestly don't know how Peter does this sort of thing on his own."

"You just don't do things conventionally."

"And you do?"

The duo made short work of the criminal bombers, taking out one at a time with practiced ease.

As another was shot down by Tony, Friday notified one trying to escape the scene.

"We got a runner." He said aloud, Falcon being in the air at the moment.

Sam wordlessly deployed redwing which flew straight after the fleeing criminal.

The small bird-like drone zipped past the crook and halted right in front of him.

The man let out a yelp, stumbling to a halt just as Redwing shot out a small disk that latched itself onto his head and electrocuted him into unconsciousness.

It was all over in a matter of seconds, the two Avengers bringing together the group of criminals. Tony bound them together with metal he picked up and welded around them to keep them in place.

"How long do you think that'll hold them?" Sam asked with a chortle. "Ten, fifteen years?"

"Well…" Tony patted the metal that was keeping the criminals in place. "Give or take several years or two."

Wilson shook his head, smirk in place as he turned to face the destroyed establishments and buildings that were just blown up.

"God damn psychopaths." He murmured angrily under his breath, turning back to glare at the criminals.

He tried to spot any that were conscious but all appeared to be thoroughly knocked out.

Maybe he and Tony should have kept one awake for interrogation.

All of this was an extreme method in trying to… what were they even here for? Robbery? Extortion? Threats?

This is one hell of a threat.

"What's with the monkey drawing?" Tony's question made Sam snap out of his thought process.

"What monkey drawing?"

"The poor piece of graffiti here, Wilson." Iron Man said, pointing to a glowing neon drawing plastered on a nearby wall.

"That's a monkey?"

"A coked up one from the looks of it." Tony murmured, helmet flipping back as he stared at it. "A calling card, perhaps."

"Hell of a calling card."

Sirens were soon in the air, signaling the arrival of a number of the local law enforcement.

"And look who finally arrived."

The vehicles came to a halt with their occupants coming out with their weapons trained at the two Avengers.

"Hands where we can see 'em!" Shouted the head officer.

"Hello officers." Tony greeted in a grandiose manner, gesturing to the bound criminals. "Took care of these men for you. You're welcome by the way."

"I said hands where I can see them!"

"That's not generic of a response at all." Sam said, sighing as he felt as though they may have another fight on their hands.

"Look boys, can we sort this out like gentlemen?" Stark put on his most business-like and personable tone. "We're on the same side here. Stopping bad guys, kicking ass, taking names. Pretty sure we can help out with repairs here too."

It appears that the lead officer wasn't having any of it with a visible look of anger rising on his face.

"This is your last warning. Refusal to comply-

One of the enforcers came up to the other and whispered into their ear.

"Wait, sir, aren't these the two General Ironwood told us to look out for?"

In an instant, the man's rage dissipated into uncertainty. "Wait, what? How can you be so sure?"

"I was looking over the file with my partner earlier today." The younger officer quickly said. "They match the wing and red suits descriptions."

The lead Enforcer was then shown the images taken from a few days ago of two individuals with suits that gave them the ability to not only fly but also evade their Bullheads and sensors.

Were these really the two that Ironwood had told them to look out for?

He narrowed his eyes at them both who were looking back at him with a surprising amount of patience.

Clearing his throat, he cautiously stepped closer towards them.

"We would need you two to come with us."

The two Avengers shared a look before focusing their attention at the one enforcer.

"And what if we say no?" Tony idly asked.

The officer now glared. "Then there will be violence."

"Violence huh?" Iron Man casually glanced back at the men they had just caught. "Yeah… sure, you really wanna go down that path?"

"Only if you poke us the wrong way."

"And that would be… what? Doing your jobs for you?" Sam rhetorically asked, a challenging look directed at the Enforcer.

The officer's brow twitched, lip curling up into a snarl as he opened his mouth to retort when another Enforcer jogged up to his side and quickly whispered something into his ears.

He blinked upon hearing this, gaze becoming infuriated.

"Are you kidding me?" He hissed.

The Enforcer shook his head. "I'm not sir. He's on the other line right now."

It was clear to see that this aged veteran of the Atlas police force did not like what he was about to say.

"General James Ironwood formally invites you both to come to Atlas Academy." The lead Officer said through gritted teeth.

"A general, huh?" Tony mused aloud. "Sounds promising."

"Tony, don't."

"What?"

"Even if I'm not Rhodey, I know how you're with the military. So whatever you have in mind…"

"Yeah, well then you should also know about my amazing reputation I have with them."

"Sleeping with every female officer under the sun doesn't count as reputation."

"Credibility."

"That's the same thing."

"Are you two coming or not?" The Officer snapped impatiently.

"Yes, we'll come."

-Scene Cut-

"So then… who wants to start us off?"

"Rhodey… just… not now."

Natasha Romanoff, otherwise known as the Black Widow, sat at the head of the table in the meeting room within the Avengers HQ.

"You know as much as I do we've held this off long enough." War Machine stated, eliciting a sigh from the former SHIELD agent.

"Yeah and we still have no clue as to what happened to them or if they're even alive." Nat said with a bitter tone.

"I would rather have it if we were not so pessimistic, Natasha." Said the synthetic Avenger. "They have people to go back home to. They're clearly worried-"

"I know. You do not need to remind me."

Nat clearly thought of Laura. She had gotten a call from her when Clint didn't reach out to her when he was out on assignment. The Black Widow had done her best to assure things were fine, despite things clearly being the opposite.

Laura even threatened to call Fury to figure out what's happening. And it was there she would need to come clean to her best friend's wife and family soon or else everything may fall apart.

"So who should go where?" Rhodey asked with a grim look.

"I got Clint's family." Nat said without hesitation. "Better be it from someone they trust."

"I'll handle Pepper and Sam's family." Rhodey declared. "Less liable to get thrown something at me."

"Who does that leave me with then?" Vision inquired curiously.

"Uh…" Nat quickly swiped through several files before settling upon the last one involving the team's roster. "Peter Parker's aunt."

Vision's brows furrowed and tilted his head.

"Why me exactly?" He asked.

"Only one left really." Rhodey plainly stated. "That and we figure your voice can keep her calm."

"Would it?"

Natasha's head shifted left and right. "Yeah, I can see it working. Very soothing."

Vision hummed thoughtfully at this endorsing compliment.

"How should I go about this then?"

"For starters, you gotta make sure to gently ease her into it." Rhodey instructed. "And please don't scare her."

Vision looked at them both in bewilderment. "Why would I scare her?"

Rhodey and Natasha shared a look.

"Do you want to tell him or should I?"

"Tell me what?"

"Your… appearance."

Vision blinked as he regarded his physical features.

"Ah, yes, my features would be difficult." The Cape wearing Avenger murmured. "But clearly Mr. Parker told his aunt about me, yes?"

"Yeah. And another thing. Don't phase through the walls just to meet up with her." Nat said in an almost motherly fashion. "Knock first and foremost."

Vision actually looked bashful at being given such instructions. "...I've been told by Mr. Rogers and Ms. Maximoff to withhold doing such actions."

"And yet…"

Viz coughed into his hand. "If my appearance would cause a rather frightened reaction for Ms. Parker…"

A yellow glow appeared around his body. In mere moments, his body started to shift and change.

What was once a synthetic man with magenta skin with circuitry markings now stood a Caucasian man with blonde hair.

Both of his Avenger teammates stared at their synthetic comrade with looks of astonishment.

"Since when could you do that?" Rhodey stammered out.

"Recently, I believe." Vision plainly admitted. "It's taken some practice but thankfully it seems to have paid-"

In an instant, there was a yellow flash and he was back to his usual look.

"It appears I still need some more practice to keep the visage up." Viz said to himself, looking at his hands.

Nat let out an amused laugh, shaking her head at this sudden revelation.

"Well kids, we have our "objectives". So let's head out and get it over with."

Both Rhodey and Vision wordlessly nodded and the trio began their preparations to meet with the people they had been assigned to in breaking the news of the disappearance of the Avenger they are closely associated with.

Vision and Rhodey simply flew off given that they had the coordinates locked into their systems via suit or supercomputer brain.

Widow had the quinjet on once getting in and the three went their separate ways.

It didn't take long in the red headed Avenger to get to Clint's family homestead, having placed the quinjet down in a secluded location and taking a car to get the rest of the way there.

Entering into the secluded farmland in Missouri, Natasha pulled her car to a stop. Romanoff stared out at the farmhouse for a number of minutes until she forced herself to finally get out of the car. Stepping out, she took several calm breaths as she walked along the dirt path leading to the homestead.

Before she was able to even get to the front door, it swung open to reveal a familiar and friendly face smiling at the former SHIELD agent.

"Natasha, good to see you." Laura Barton, wife of Clint Barton, said with a warm smile as she walked down the porch steps to her friend. "Saw you through the window."

Nat only smiled in return, the two hugging one another once reaching each other. "Hey, Laura. How are ya? Are the kids home?"

The mother and wife shook her head. "Asides from Nathaniel sleeping upstairs, no. You came just in time actually. Just made a fresh pot of tea."

"That sounds wonderful." Nat said with a tired sigh. "Can really use one actually."

"Come on, come on." Her friend ushered her in, the pair walking into Barton's house and seating themselves at the kitchen.

"So Natasha, what's with the surprise visit?" Laura inquired. "Is Clint still busy with Pietro and Wanda? I know they have their parole and all but-"

"It's… It's not that." Nat interrupted, a strained look visible for her friend to see.

Laura frowned, setting her cup down slowly as she picked up on a level of distress coming from Romanoff.

"Is… is everything alright with you?" She hesitantly asked.

"Physically? Yeah, yeah, I'm good, I'm all there. Mentally and emotionally on the other hand… could be doing better."

It was now that her best friend's wife became far more alarmed and alert, eyes drilling into the redhead now.

"Nat, what's going on?"

Her fists were clenched tightly now as she struggled to speak for a moment. "Something I should've told you earlier…"

"Nat…"

"Fury knows, but he told me I had to tell you myself. Vision and Rhodey are doing the same on-"

"Nat, where's my husband?"

The Black Widow cupped the mug and tightened her grip around it.

"I… don't know." She said after a few seconds of silence.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Laura asked, a worried but also angry edge to her voice.

"That's just it." Romanoff said, a genuinely miserable look coming over her. "Neither of us know. Our last mission at a HYDRA base…"

Laura swallowed a nervous lump in her throat.

"Nat… please… is he…"

"We don't know if he's dead. But we also don't know if they're alive. All we do know is that they fell into something we don't understand and are trying to figure out if we can get them back out."

She silently reached forward to gently take hold of her friend's hand, squeezing it lightly.

"I'm beyond worried about him too, Laura. I owe him everything. And I plan on paying it back every way I can." Nat said, Mrs. Barton knowing full well she meant it. "We're gonna do everything we can to find them."

Laura closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from breaking though Nat was able to feel the woman trembling.

Romanoff wordlessly moved her seat closer to her and draped her arms around the woman with her wrapping her arms around Natasha in turn.

"It's… it's not just him?"

"Steve, Pietro, Wanda, Tony, Sam and our newest recruit."

"The kid?" Laura asked, Nat nodding in confirmation. "Wasn't he only 14?"

"15." Nat corrected.

"God, I don't know how his parents-"

"He only has an aunt. She's his only family in the world."

"Then she must be having it worse than I am."

Speaking of…

In Queens, New York, Vision seemed to have a better time on his little assignment-

*CRASH*

Or maybe not.

"Ma'am please, throwing around your fine China won't do you good." Vision calmly said, catching a dish thrown through the air.

He stared at the slightly frightening image of a very furious Aunt May Parker with a glare that would have been able to melt Vibranium if she were able to.

"You're telling me," May seethed, tears threatening to spill from the corner of her eyes. "That my nephew, my boy, who I entrusted to you heroes could be dead and gone?! And you didn't have the decency to tell me sooner?!"

Vision watched as she grabbed a stack of plates and flung it at him.

He quickly caught them all in rapid succession though he missed a surprise one May managed to throw off that broke apart upon striking his face.

"Ms. Parker." Vision spoke as calmly as possible. "I understand what you are going through-"

"Tell me, how could you even come close to understanding what I'm experiencing right now?" May raged, now openly weeping. "That's my boy. He's mine. I raised him with Ben. And I've already lost my husband. Now you're telling me…"

She only let out a strangle, choked breath as she practically collapsed onto her couch and simply sobbed aloud.

Vision could only gaze upon the woman with a conflicted expression as he wasn't entirely sure as to how to proceed here.

He quietly walked over to her, standing next to her now as she paid him no attention.

"You lost your husband?" Vision softly asked as he sat down beside the distraught Aunt.

The Queen's native nodded tearfully, lip trembling whilst dabbing a tissue at her eyes to dry them.

"I'm sorry." He said. He hesitated for a moment before he placed his hand upon her shoulder.

She jolted from the touch for a second but didn't pull away as she continued crying into her hands.

"I… I wish I knew or fully understood what you are going through, Ms. Parker." Vision suddenly said. "Truly, I do. I wish to understand what it means to be human having only been alive really for a few months. I haven't had the chance truthfully to form such close bonds as you have with your nephew and husband."

"Then why are you here?" May bitterly asked.

"To let you know the truth. He is your nephew whom you raised. It is well within decency to let you know what has transpired."

May scoffed, letting out a humorless laugh. "Decency he says."

She looked up at one of the shelves in her apartment, eyes falling upon a framed picture of herself with two other people with her, smiling and laughing together.

The Aunt stood from her couch and walked over to the picture, taking it into her hands as a pained smile came over her.

"This was our last picture together." May quietly said, gripping the portrait tightly. "Before Ben died that night. Now with Peter gone… I have no one left in the world."

"He's not gone." Vision quietly and firmly said.

"How can you say that after what you just told me?" May snapped at him, expression rageful once more. "How can you even believe such a thing?!"

Vision stared at her for a few seconds until slowly getting up to his feet once more and walking over to stand in front of her.

Instead of looking at her, he had his eyes upon the picture, staring at the two men standing with Ms. Parker.

"I have a thing called… hope."

May blinked upon hearing this, clearly in disbelief as to what Vision just said. "Hope?"

"Hope that my friends and comrades are alive out there… somewhere. Hope that we'll find a way to bring them back home. All we can do now is hope." Vision stated, placing one hand over hers whilst also taking the picture from her and placing it back where it stood. "Your nephew is alive, Ms. Parker. Of that I am completely confident in. And we will find him and bring him back to you. That, I promise you."

May gave him a hard stare, trying to find any hints of deception or falsehoods in the android's eyes but found none.

She released a shaky breath, pulling away from him as she walked elsewhere in her home.

Her eyes scanned the place as she could picture her sweet nephew still there, despite this travesty in her life.

"I want him back here." May said through a broken voice. "I want my son back."

Even if her nephew wasn't her own flesh and blood, she deeply thought of him as her son in all but name.

"We will bring him back, Ms. Parker." Vision assured her. "After all these months since I became… me, I've come to understand that hope is something which helps light us through our darkest moments. Don't lose sight of hope for your nephew. Just like I won't for the rest of the Avengers."

May let out another sigh before looking back at the Vibranium made Avenger with a weak smile.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, Mr. Vision."

"Just Vision will do." Viz said with a kind smile.

"Vision." She said with a shaky laugh. "And also for throwing those dishes. And thank you for catching them to, I was-"

"It's alright, Ms. Parker, you-"

"May." The New Yorker cut him off. "For what you did, you can call me May."

Vision was surprised but found himself smiling pleasantly at this.

"May." He said as if testing the name for himself. "Think nothing of what I've done for you today."

It will be a long while for her to work through this new sense of grief hitting her. She already went through it once years ago when Peter's parents died as she had Ben with her. Then, again, when her husband had left this world, Peter was with her to mourn the loss.

Now… Now it will be difficult with just herself.

"If need be, you can come to our headquarters at any given time." Vision declared. "Our doors will always be open to you."

All May could do was give a pained but kind look at the Vibranium Avengers' words. "Maybe… Thanks… But for now… I'd like to be alone now."

"I understand. If you need anything, do not hesitate in reaching out to us."

"Thank you, Vision."

Elsewhere…

Rhodey exhaled, feeling a feeling of mounting dread as he drew closer to the door to Tony's home.

He had already spoken with Sam's sister, Sarah, earlier and boy was she worried like no tomorrow.

And that was just one person.

"Why did I agree to do two?" War Machine berated himself. "We should've tackled this one as a team. God dammit Tony, why'd you have to be my best friend?"

Knocking on the door, he waited for several moments for someone to answer before ringing the doorbell. After what felt longer than it should, the front door opened to reveal Happy.

"Rhodey." He said with a friendly tone.

"Hey. Can I come in?" James said in a tired fashion.

Happy arched a brow at the request as he stepped aside for the Colonel. "Yeah."

Stepping through the door, Rhodey saw Happy close the door and escorted him inside.

From what the colonel knew, Happy primarily lives at a condo in New York. But in the past several days, he's been bunking at the residence shared by Tony and Pepper.

Coming into the living room, Rhodey saw the present CEO of Stark Industries sitting on her couch, in pajamas while drinking a bunch of orange juice.

"About time you answered or came on by." Pepper Potts said in a loud, frustrated voice, setting down whatever it was she was looking at to walk right over to the Avenger and give him a quick hug.

He was a bit startled by the force in which she delivered it but hugged her back all the same.

"Sorry about her, she's been all over the place lately." Said the bodyguard.

"I can't imagine why." Rhodey wryly said as Pepper pulled away from him. "Sorry for not reaching out to you sooner. Things have been… hectic at HQ to say the least."

"You better explain to me why you or Tony haven't returned any of our calls." Pepper all but demanded with her arms crossed. "I've been worried sick."

"You look sick actually."

"She hasn't been feeling well." Happy remarked with a sympathetic gaze at the overworked and stressed CEO of Stark Industries.

"Speaking of, I got something weird actually from or really about you, Pepper." Rhodey rolled his eyes at what he just said. "Well, not as weird as what happened to Tony and the others, rambling, sorry. What I was saying was I got some kind of news report and notifications that you fainted at a board meeting two days ago and threw up the day before that."

"Rhodey… I love and care for you, but you're sidetracking and dragging."

"Pepper, I-"

Happy crossed his arms and gave the colonel the same look Pepper presently wore. "I agree with her. What's going on?"

Time to rip off the bandage.

"Guys… Aside from Vision, Nat and I, the Avengers have all disappeared."

He was met with silence from his two friends as they both gazed at him with bewilderment.

"...Excuse me?"

"Our last mission, raiding a HYDRA base… it went sideways. Neither of us was prepared for what happened and-"

Happy started to understand what was being implied. Yet whatever he tried to comment on was halted. All due to something he saw out of the corner of his eye that being his friend not taking this news so well.

In more ways than one.

"Uh… Pep? You ok there? You're looking a little pale."

"I…I-I-I'm…" Pepper stammered, a cold sweat coming over her now.

She began to heavily breathe as she started to lose focus.

Before she knew it, darkness overcame her as she fainted.

The last thing she saw and heard were her friends rushing over to her, calling out to her.

Don't have much to say other than to say thanks for being patient and the artist of Jaenapkun is to thank for the art piece that's attached to this chapter.

Be sure to check it out on my DeviantArt account as soon as your done reading this chapter.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Age of Remnant Chapter 6: Thankfully, that didn't take long

James Ironwood sat within his office in Atlas and waited patiently in his seat.

He had received a call not too long ago of a group of Atlas Enforcers encountering two uniquely armored and skilled men who took down a group of thugs down in Mantle.

At first, he was confused as to why this needed to be brought up to him as it seemed like something the local law enforcement of Mantle would handle.

But then came in images of the two flying "invaders" the defense systems picked up on.

And with it, a clear image of the duo that the Enforcers had "apprehended".

"Son of a bitch." Were Ironwood's first words upon seeing them, not believing his luck.

It was them. They were finally found!

And he was going to see just who and what they were really all about.

So here he was, awaiting their arrival with his eyes set firmly upon the doors adjacent to his desk.

Now, some would assume this to be a bit of obsessive or strange behavior in simply sitting there so still and unmoving just to meet some new people.

But when it came to people of significant interest, Ironwood had the tendency of going to his office and sat there, playing out any and all possible scenarios in how a meeting would play out.

Some would call him paranoid but he preferred the term prepared.

The General was deep in thought when his doors swung open.

He didn't visibly respond though his eyes widened slightly at being jolted out of his thoughts.

Still, he kept his composure as he slowly stood up from his seat and watched as several specialists escorted in the two that had been brought to him.

He opened his mouth to greet them yet one beat him to the punch.

"So… you're not looking menacingly cliche at all." Said the one in the brightly colored red and gold armor. "What do you think, bird person?"

"Normally, I'd say you're looking too much into it but…" "Birdperson" shrugged. "Yeah, does have a cliche vibe to him. Let me guess, General Ironwood, yeah?"

The specialists around these two instantly felt incensed by the blatant disrespect and casual addressment of their superior officer. They all opened their mouths to protest and berate the pair before Ironwood raised a calming hand for them to keep silent.

"If one deals with the company that I keep to myself, these two are the least of whom you'd find to be disrespectful." James said in a calm fashion, making most of the Specialists stand down yet some still held glares directed at the two strangely garbed men.

"I take it you know of me." The General stated more than asked.

"Not hard to discern that really." The Armored one said with a shrug as he thumbed at the Atlas Huntsmen and Huntresses present. "Heard much from the grapevine since we came here and… well…"

James' lip twitched upwards as he walked down the single step in his office to stand before the pair with an analytical eye looking them over.

"You know it costs extra to stare." The Armored one remarked, hands on his hips. "I know how devilishly handsome I can be but I do have a woman that tolerates me for more than three hours a day so by all accounts, I'm taken."

The man beside this chatty fellow rolled his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Tony… for the love of-"

"Stark." James Ironwood finished the name with a sharp glint in his eyes. "Tony Stark, yes?"

"I'm sorry but how do you know my name? I didn't tell that to your enforcers when we were brought in."

Ironwood didn't answer him as he looked at "birdperson".

"And you must be… Lieutenant Sam Wilson." James declared, setting Wilson on edge. "Iron Man and Falcon, correct?"

"You… you know us." The latter of the two warily said.

The military man nodded. "I do, as I do your friends. Captain Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff and Peter Parker. They're your team, yes?"

Tony and Sam's eyes widened, sharing a look before turning back to Ironwood.

"Where are they?" Sam asked straight away.

"Over at Beacon Academy located at Vale." James answered assuredly. "And before you ask, they're safe and sound. My colleague and friend, Headmaster Ozpin spoke with me on this matter and informed me of two others that they were looking for. I guess we can consider ourselves fortunate in encountering one another that much sooner after I had learned of your circumstances."

"Uh-huh." Tony said, slightly unconvinced.

The General cleared his throat a bit as he turned round to get back to being behind his desk.

"Now then, if either of you are in need of something, I would be happy in providing you-"

"Alright, let me just stop ya right there." Sam interrupted, hand raised.

James looked back at them quizzically. "Yes?"

"Let's just rewind this a bit." Falcon rolled his hands around one another. "You know who we are?"

Ironwood nodded.

"You've met our friends?"

"Headmaster Ozpin has." James corrected. "He's a good friend of mine and they are over at Beacon Academy in Vale."

"Don't know what that is," Wilson bluntly stated. "But so long as they're alive and well."

"They are and then some." Ironwood said.

"What does that mean?" Stark inquired.

"They have recently done a great service, a boon of sorts for Ozpin and really myself as well in saving the life of someone very important to us." The General looked between the pair. "And it appears the urge to help others in need is not relegated to just a select few in this team that you are a part of. I read the reports of your quick actions in apprehending those bombers. You have my thanks."

"Oh sure, sure." Tony waved off casually. "All in a day's work."

"And yet you didn't do squat." Falcon said to the Iron Avenger. "Don't take credit if you didn't take part."

"Hey, these babies were primed and ready and fired quite effectively thank you very much." Stark rebuked childishly, holding up his hands with the glowing circles whining with power briefly.

"But first."

Tony then rounded on James with a far more stern and unreadable expression, slightly surprising the man in the change in attitude.

"You say you know our teammates but how do we not know you're just pulling our leg here?"

Wilson appeared to share this sentiment and the pair of Avengers now stared at the General in an almost challenging fashion.

Something the Specialists who were still in the room noticed and did not take too kindly to such actions.

Luckily, Ironwood took it in stride as he raised his hand again to make sure they didn't do anything drastic.

Wordlessly, James pressed on one of his hands atop his desk which lit up upon his touch and a moment later, a holo-image was displayed for Sam and Tony to see.

Both of their eyes widened slightly and a feeling of tension they didn't know that they had lessened when they saw an image of all five of their teammates that fell in with them apparently alive and well.

"Does this assuage some of your concerns?" They heard the General ask.

Sam relented, sighing with a smile worming its way onto his face. "Sorry if we don't seem all that trusting so suddenly. We've had our fair share of backstabbing among other things in similar actions."

Ironwood snorted upon hearing that, a mirthful look being seen. "And I wouldn't blame you. Such things must be often earned than given."

"Easy to preach it rather than enacting and following through with it." Stark murmured.

"Ok, so you know our friends."

"Know of." James corrected slightly. "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting them just yet."

The general nodded his head at the Specialists in the room and hesitantly, they all exited a moment later to leave the three of them alone.

"So they're over with a friend of yours." Tony said. "What kind of friend we talkin' here?"

"A fellow headmaster, for starters."

"Right, you said that already."

"And someone who, like myself, is committed to fighting for and keeping the peace on Remnant." Ironwood said in complete seriousness as he sat himself back down behind his desk.

"Oh? So you're that kind of guy."

"Yes, Mr. Stark, I'm that kind of guy and from what Ozpin has given me as a description of your group, you all are of a similar mindset."

"Is this a recruitment ad or something?" Wilson abruptly asked, chortling slightly.

"Pardon?"

"Come on." Sam said, rolling his head about slightly. "You're telling me that you didn't plan that whole bit with us all being protectors of the world or shit like that."

"It is pretty on the nose." Tony airily remarked, tapping his finger on his chin.

Ironwood had a brow raised until, surprisingly, he found himself laughing slightly.

"You know, Ozpin relayed a message from me from the apparent leader of the team-"

"I'm sorry, leader?" Stark cut him off, somewhat petulantly. "I should have you know I am the leader of the Avengers. I just let Steve lead us cause he's good PR."

"Sure, Stark, keep telling yourself that. It'll help you sleep better at night."

"I happen to sleep wonderfully at-"

*Knock Knock*

The three men paused in their conversation, all eyes now on the door that slowly opened and in walked-

"General Ironwood, I'm sorry for barging in and-Oh, I didn't know you were in a meeting."

"Councilmen Aris." The General greeted cordially. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Said councilman was a human male of around the age close to Sam's who wore a rather strange but fashionable set of clothing.

Tanned-cream colored waistcoat and trousers with golden stitching and occasional blue designs. Knee high black combat boots with golden bands. Blue cravat vest underneath with varying gold designs into the cloth.

"Just that Professors Polendina and Heimerdinger wished to see you." Aris said, pointing behind him, turning his attention to the Avengers in the room. "And who might the two of you be?"

"Sam Wilson." Falcon said, stepping down to the Councilor and offering his hands to shake which he took.

"Tony Stark."

"Aris."

"Just Aris?" Stark remarked.

The newly arrived man only smiled pleasantly. "Just Aris. And sorry for barging into this meeting you were having with General Ironwood."

"It's alright." James said. "This seems rather important for you to come from their lab, Aris."

'Lab?' Tony immediately perked up at the mention of one of his favorite environments in the world.

"Well I believe that it's something worth seeing." Aris said with a wide grin. "They've made an incredible breakthrough that you have to see for yourself."

James nodded, grunting slightly to himself as he had just sat down in his chair less than a few seconds ago.

"If you'll excuse me gentlemen." Ironwood said, getting up to join the counselor before looking back at the two. "My specialists can take you to some available guest quarters until we can find one more accommodating for you."

"Appreciate it." Sam said before Tony was able to make any comments.

As soon as the General and Councilman left the room, Stark immediately looked over at Wilson.

"The moment I see them taking us to some cells, I'm high tailing out of here."

"Quite the exaggeration there but wouldn't quite put it past them." Sam murmured, rolling his shoulders with his wingsuit humming momentarily as he put it on standby.

A second later, in walked one of the specialists that had escorted them here with his arms behind his back.

This Specialist was a tall man with short shaved gray hair, deathly pale skin and light blue eyes. He had several tattoos, including a third eye tattoo along the center of his forehead and chin.

He wore what appeared to be a Specialist uniform that consisted of a white double-breasted, partially unbuttoned coat with a broad tail, navy blue accents, collar and shoulder flaps, a red sash running diagonally over his left shoulder meeting a second red sash around his waist under a large blue belt, and navy blue fingerless gloves that go up to his brachium. Navy blue pants were tucked into a pair of navy blue thigh-high boots with steel toe and heel plating, a small pouch on the sides and knee pad detailing.

The last notable piece of clothing was the beaded necklaces around his neck and beaded bracelets around his right arm alongside two silver bands, one small, one large on his left forearm.

"General Ironwood has instructed me in taking you to your guest rooms." The man said in a crisp and professional manner. "If you would follow me."

"And your name would be…"

"Vine Zeki." The monk-like man said with a slight bow of his head.

"Oooomm-Grk." Tony grunted a small laugh at the elbow Sam delivered into his side, confusing the Specialist.

"Don't mind the man child." Wilson dryly said. "Lead the way, Vine."

The specialist nodded and escorted the two Avengers to the guest quarters.

They soon arrived at two separate doors and when both men opened them, they saw they both had relatively plain but spacious enough rooms for themselves.

"So not a cell." Tony commented, looking around at the room with a nod of approval. "Beats a cave any given day, that's for sure."

"Thanks for this." Sam earnestly said, nodding at Vine who inclined his head in return.

"General Ironwood will come back to you both soon enough." Zeki assured. "If need be, there are scrolls in your rooms that can assist you if you require anything."

"Appreciate it." Wilson said.

Lying on his bed, Tony quickly pulled up his phone and began scrolling through several things. Before long, he gave a written order to Friday to check up on something for him.

Meanwhile…

"It's astonishing, Ironwood." Aris chattered excitedly as the two drew closer to the main laboratory of Atlas Academy. "I believe our resident geniuses have found a way to stabilize the core to keep Aura flowing at a consistent rate."

"No drawbacks? None of the usual sputters and sparks I've seen before?"

Aris shook his head, a wide grin ever present on his face.

"So how'd they do it?" James inquired, interest now growing quite rapidly.

"Best have it saved for them to explain it for you." The Counselor said, rubbing his hands together as both men were now at the entrance to the lab.

The doors were open so they walked right in and immediately spotted two individuals in the center of the lab with them both on either side of a table.

"I believe if we can have a means in which to circulate the flow of the aura, it will be stable for the most part."

"That's if we opt for a centralized core. There's the advent of splitting them up in order to handle more distribution to specific body parts."

"Those are modifications. The real test is making sure the flow is consistent. Otherwise the core would overload itself."

"I see you both are still at work despite being promised a presentation." Ironwood announced himself, shaking his head in amusement at the duo of brilliant scientists who finally realized he had arrived.

"Ah, General Ironwood, just in time for the show my boy." Professor Heimerdinger proclaimed excitedly, removing the goggles he had on. "Pietro and I were just about done here with our first test drive. Suffice to say, a major leap forward has been achieved today."

"I can imagine." James stepped towards the table, standing by Heimerdinger while Aris stood next to Polendina who had also removed his goggles. "I heard both of your manic babble from the hallway."

"It's hard to contain ourselves, General." Pietro Polendina said in a kindly yet giddy voice. "We've been trying to get this done but to have it happen-"

"How did you succeed in this endeavor?" James cut through the excitement and the question only seemed to stem more passion from the two geniuses.

"Why it was simple really, something we should have started with in hindsight." Heimerdinger said in a self-deprecating manner.

He held up his hand and it glowed slightly.

"Now, I understand that I'm not the best in terms of utilizing Aura." The Canine-based Faunus remarked, waving his hand about. "But what we were trying to do is create an artificial being with Aura. And that is not something that can be done with machines and technology."

"Aura, as you already know, is the manifestation of one's soul." Pietro said, picking up for Heimerdinger. "So if we are to give an artificial being a soul-"

"It was to come from someone who has the ability to do so." Ironwood finished, understanding dawning upon his face.

"Suffice to say, such a thing is unheard of or at least heavily rare of being unrecorded." Polendina commented, looking back down at the glowing green orb in the center of the table.

"And I take it that one of you gentlemen was the one to graciously "donate" their aura in this matter." Aris stated more than asked.

Pietro chuckled sheepishly, holding his hand out to the floating sphere that flickered in his direction.

Moments later, the orb vanished.

Both scientists let out a synchronized sigh of annoyance.

"We still have some kinks to work through, sir." The shorter of the two remarked.

"Can clearly see that." Ironwood said in good humor. "Still, this is quite the leap forward gentlemen. Very impressive, both of you."

Heimerdinger and Polendina resumed speaking animatedly to the General and Counselor on their breakthrough.

Through this entire interaction and demonstration, one playboy philanthropist observed it all via the visual and audio feeds his AI had managed to tap into.

"Tony…"

The Iron Avenger looked up from his phone to see Sam giving him a particular look.

"Yes?"

"You got that look on your face."

Stark gave off an innocent, quizzical expression. "What look?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't. Please be specific."

"That look."

"What look?" Tony asked again.

"The look that you got something you know you're not supposed to know."

"Oh… Well, most information is meant to be known eventually."

"That's not how it works."

"Doesn't it? You're not about keeping sensitive information from the public now, are you Mr. Wilson?"

Sam grunted now, turning in his bed with his back facing the Iron Avenger.

"I'm going to bed."

"Oh come on now, you can't just leave me high and dry like that, Sammy."

"Good night Tony."

"Samuel Wilson, AKA the Falcon AKA Birdpers-"

"Good night!"

The billionaire exhaled a sigh as he leaned back on his bed, continually watching the proceedings on his phone with a litany of mental notes being jotted down.

-Scene Cut-

James Ironwood had returned to his office, having gotten a full presentation of the progress Pietro and Heimerdinger had made in their project.

He was greatly pleased to say the least and anticipated further advancements in due time. Pietro believed they would have their first "model" up and running by the start of the school year.

It's understandable on the slow progress, given such territory they're traveling into has never been attempted before.

Extensive amounts of research, calculations and theory have been discussed time and time again with them only getting a small foothold.

James didn't know if he may be really frustrated about this if there was a sense of urgency looming over them. Perhaps it would be present if the attempt on Amber's life was successful, making him push on this project a whole lot farther.

To not think but know that Salem was making her moves was concerning to say the least.

Ironwood can't deny the blessing Ozpin had when these Avengers had stepped in to save the Fall Maiden.

For once, they actually have the advantage of knowing what is to come. Or at least an idea of it.

And speaking of which…

"Ah, James. Good day." Came the voice of his friend and leader in the fight against Salem.

The Headmaster of Beacon was displayed before him via a holo-screen link.

"Ozpin." The General said with a nod of his head.

"This is a rather sudden call. Is there anything you wish to inform me with?"

"I do. I found them." He said straight away.

Oz cocked his head to the side. "Found who?"

"Tony Stark and Sam Wilson."

The spectacled man on the other end blinked, mouth opening up slightly in clear surprise.

"Truly? How did this come about?"

"They quite literally fell into my lap by being brought right to me."

"Really? How?"

"Remember the odd appearances in our borders?" James rhetorically asked. "That was them. Followed by a few days later of them apparently capturing a number of criminal bombers in Mantle. And right now they're staying in Atlas."

Ozpin let loose a sigh of relief with a following nod. "I'll be sure to inform them. They'll no doubt want to meet up with each other again."

"It'll be a wait, given how long the trip will be either way."

"Yes, their patience will be tested, given how anxious they are for their reunion." The Silver haired headmaster nodded. "However, at the very least, they'll be glad to know that in the end all of them are alive and well."

"I take it you're already preparing to tell them."

"Better now than later. After All, a week's travel would be tedious. Save for Mr. Maximoff."

"Right. I shall prepare for their arrival."

-Scene Cut-

The next day was relatively simple with how it began.

Tony and Sam woke up around the same time and were quick to wonder where they could get some grub.

Walking out from their room, Tony was the one who took the lead in guiding the two to where they would be able to have breakfast thanks to Friday's input in downloading the layout of the academy they resided within at this time.

The pair soon found themselves in the cafeteria and grabbed some food by a certainly confused cafeteria lady being that she had never seen the two before.

Being in the mess hall was relatively odd for the two Avengers to some degree. For Sam, the last time he was in such a place was during his time in the army. For Tony, it was either when he was just a kid at grade school or when he went to MIT.

"So are we supposed to go to gym after this? Physics? Chemistry? Or is recess in session and we're the ones who got punished accordingly?"

Sam rolled his eyes as he drank some coffee. "We'll probably need to find Ironwood or at the very least one of the instructors to see what could be done next."

"Or" Iron Man held up a finger. "We could… Friday."

"The present school year is coming to an end, Boss. The professors are holding finals at this time. This is the last two weeks." His trusted AI informed the two.

"There, ya see?" Tony said. "And an academy huh? Feels like a blend of MIT and military school."

"Never thought I'd see such a thing."

"So the kids are away."

"Focusing on their tests and projects."

"Wonder where Jayce and Viktor are."

"Think they come here?"

"Of course they do." Tony said with a roll of his eyes. "Friday confirmed it for me last night."

"You know, you really need to stop hacking into everything that you come across."

"And miss the chance at uncovering a possible HYDRA revelation? No thank you."

The lieutenant rolled his eyes as they continued on with their breakfast. Much as he wanted to deny it, Wilson did internally admit that Tony had a good point. After all, he himself with Steve and Natasha uncovered HYDRA within SHIELD.

Best not to take chances anymore.

So the two ate in relative silence for a time until they heard chatter coming from one of the hallways that led into the cafeteria.

Straining their ears slightly, the Avengers heard what appeared to be three individuals in deep discussion with one another.

Of the three, two sounded young and distinctly familiar to both Tony and Sam and they had now turned their heads in the direction of where the sound of them talking were coming from.

"...t's plausible…"

"...ghly unlikely… you're asking…"

"...fessor, but what if it can wo…"

"...he end it's only a matter of speculation."

In walked Professor Heimerdinger with two young gentlemen.

Gentlemen that Sam and Tony had met not too long ago.

"But Professor, Jayce and I are close to a breakthrough, we know it." Said an accented voice. "Just please, can you not assist-"

"In something I myself do not understand?" The smaller statured Faunus. "I'm sorry, but I may not be of any use at this time. I already have much on my plate I need to clear before I can be remotely free for such consultations."

"But…" Jayce appeared conflicted.

"Besides," Heimerdinger's tone became a tad more softer now. "Do you two not wish to achieve this for yourselves?"

Before either of his two pupils were able to produce an answer, Jayce caught something out of the corner of his eye.

He looked over to see that not only were they not alone.

And not only were they not the only occupants in the cafeteria, Jayce, and a moment later Viktor, saw that they were individuals both students had met less than several days ago.

"Mr. Stark? Mr. Wilson?" Jayce said aloud in clear surprise.

"Oh hey you two." Tony casually waved at them. "Fancy meeting you here."

"How is it that you are here?" Viktor inquired, stammering a moment later. "Not to be rude or anything."

Tony gestured to him to quiet down with a small grin on his face. "Easy there, kid. We were invited-"

"After being brought in." Sam corrected.

"You're not in trouble, are you?" Jayce warily asked.

"Quite the opposite." Tony stated.

"Would be possible if Stark here starts it."

"Oh ye of little faith."

"Ahem." Everyone turned to see Heimerdinger lowering his fist from his mouth with a bemused smile. "It appears you've made some new friends, my young students."

Jayce and Viktor reddened slightly in embarrassment upon realizing how they had effectively forgotten that their mentor was standing right behind them.

"Oh, apologies Professor." Viktor sheepishly said, Jayce murmuring a quick 'sorry' of his own. "We forget our manners. This is Tony Stark and Sam Wilson. We met them both not too long ago in Mantle."

"A pleasure in meeting you." The small professor said, stepping forward with his hand offered toward the two men who shook it in greeting. "I take it you know my two proteges here."

"Yeah, we met in Mantle." Sam revealed. "We were new to the area, explorin' the whole place and all."

The Faunus professor squinted his eyes slightly at the Avengers, scrutinizing them.

"Say… I had heard news recently of some terrible goings on down in Mantle about a bombing that had taken place." Heimerdinger said offhandedly. "Yet there was also news of two individuals with some extraordinary capabilities and technology that quickly apprehended the bombers."

Rather than verbally answering him, Stark held his right hand up and began fiddling with his watch. In mere moments, it began to reconfigure and expand to cover not just his entire hand but the rest of his arm in hotrod red armor. And at his palm, the repulsor formed to finalize the transformation

Sam rolled his shoulders and his wingsuit unfurled on his shoulder and back, his thrusters flaring whilst his wings came out.

The three Atlas natives jumped back in astonishment, eyes wide at the suits the two men wore.

"Extraordinary." Heimerdinger whispered, walking over to the Avengers to examine them closer. "I haven't seen technology on this level. Collapsing weapons are one thing but-"

"You managed to make it full fitting body armor with wiring and a shrinking capacity." Viktor said, hobbling slightly towards Sam.

"It collapses and folds in on itself." Jayce said in equal awe.

"Dear god, these are your people, Tony." Sam guffawed slightly, quite literally seeing a glowing aura of tech nerds from these three.

"Damn right." Tony said, wide grin in place as his armor retracted. "It feels so good to be with likeminded people." He then focused more towards the Atlesians. "So you boys know your science then? Know a kid who you two would get along with grandly."

"He has technology like you two?" Jayce inquired eagerly.

"Better, a mind to match." Tony said, tapping his temple.

"Sounds like someone I would like to meet." Heimerdinger commented.

"You may be able to soon enough if you're lucky." Sam shrugged. "They're on their way over from Vale."

"Marvelous." The short Professor said aloud in a cheerful voice. "I can't wait to meet him."

Tony hummed to himself, a thought crossing his mind.

"So gentlemen, I take it you have some free time since you're here, no?"

"We do." Viktor confirmed. "Jayce and I just finished some of our exams and have some time to ourselves."

"Great. Then we can pick up on our previous conversations from when we last met." Tony clapped his hands together. "Sam and I are still new here, so we'll take every chance we can get to learn more about Atlas and Mantle."

"Only if you tell us how your technology works." Jayce excitedly asked.

"Call it an exchange program." Stark said, gesturing to the table he and Sam were sitting at.

"Wait, what about your project you talked about back down at From Coal to Dust?" Wilson asked, looking at the two teens.

"It's the part in which we were asking Heimerdinger for some advice." Said the gauntly teen.

"And in which I told the boys that this is something outside my field." Heimerdinger quickly retorted. "This is something that they themselves must pursue."

"And what is it that you are trying to achieve?" Stark asked with genuine interest.

"You can say it's a passion project of ours." Jayce proclaimed.

"We wish to achieve the impossible."

It was rather vague, but it may have drawn Stark's intrigue.

They expected a moment of disbelief, dismissal or even a laugh from the genius billionaire but what they got was a manic gleam of approval.

"The impossible you say?" Tony had a wide grin now in place, Sam smirking to himself as he sensed his comrades excitement. "Well boys, you couldn't have spoken to a better person. See, the impossible is something I work to specialize in. Maybe while you two look after my tech, I'll take a look after what you've got so far. A fresh perspective may spot some holes. Since your professor doesn't have time for consultation, I'm willing to lend a hand."

"You sure that's a good idea Tony?"

"Hey, neither of them scream Justin Hammer, so what's there to worry about?"

"It's not that. It's what's going to blow up once you start working on something."

Stark gaped in mock offense. "Since when has anything I have worked on blown up?"

"Before Jarvis dropped the first three letters of his name, he showed us how you made your first suit. Lot of cars and fires-"

"Dum-E was just overreacting." Tony petulantly countered. "He worries too much."

Jayce, Viktor and Heimerdinger could only watch on in bemusement at the two bickering with one another before the conversation between all five of them resumed.

It was mostly small talk, a story here and there and more delving into scientific know-how that Sam checked out several times as he himself stated that he was a soldier.

As it went on, the conversation steered into a rather more… serious topic.

One that Heimerdinger wasn't suspecting or most of the group for that matter.

"I hear you are having problems with a project again." Stark casually remarked.

"Eavesdropping again, Mr. Stark." Viktor stated, not questioned.

"Hard not to earlier."

"Eavesdropping?" Heimerdinger looked around in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that it appears you and I work in a similar field of expertise." Stark said, now completely serious. "And I want to help you so you won't make any mistakes like I did."

The Faunus professor now frowned at the rather sudden shift in Stark's mood which was just easygoing and flippant.

The air around the group had now changed drastically as Heimerdinger and Tony locked eyes with the former gazing at him with great trepidation.

"What mistakes would you even be referring to, Mr. Stark?" He cautiously asked.

"Artificial life and Intelligence is a dangerous game to be played with, Professor." Iron Man stated in a grim tone. "Let's just say one mistake is enough to change your whole perspective on how you can do things adequately without having a slip up that can haunt you for the rest of your life."

The Faunus professor stiffened when hearing this but hid it well.

A coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

Sam was frowning at Tony's brazen offer whilst Jayce and Viktor could only look back and forth between Stark and Heimerdinger in open bewilderment.

"Tony…" Came Wilson's warning.

"I'm just extending an offer of help." Stark plainly said, holding both hands up. "I've seen the ups in what Heimerdinger and his friends have worked on… and I've also seen the drastic downs that come with that territory."

To say the Atlesian Professor was startled would be an understatement.

'How does he know of this?' Thought the small Faunus professor. 'It's a tight lipped project. No one outside of the core associates knows of it.'

Heimerdinger looked deeply into Stark's eyes, searching for any signs of deception or trickery yet he found none. His offer was genuine and coming from a place of experience.

Something Heimerdinger himself can admit to not having as much of considering the project he and Pietro were undertaking.

'I'll need to inform Ironwood and the others.' Thought the Atlesian professor before speaking. "We shall see, Mr. Stark. We shall see."

-Scene Cut-

-One Week Later-

Slowly, a lone bullhead descended from on high down to its designated landing platform, one of many in the Atlas Academy.

Standing on the ramp that leads into the academy were three individuals.

James Ironwood, Tony Stark and Sam Wilson.

They watched as the bullhead lowered itself onto the platform, touching down after a few more seconds of waiting.

Moments later, seven individuals came walking out as five of them smiled at Tony and Sam.

"Thought we'd find you in a glacier again." Stark greeted straight away, approaching the star spangled Avenger.

"Or desert cave on your end." Steve Rogers retorted in kind, the two grasping each other's hands with Tony patting the super soldier's shoulder.

Steve turned to Sam, the two soldiers grinning at each other before going in for a quick hug as the Avengers all exchanged greetings of their own.

"Couldn't stay out of trouble for long, could we?" Clint sarcastically asked.

"Yeah, well what're you gonna do?"

As this went on, the Atlesian general met with two of his compatriots on their war against Salem.

"Qrow. Glynda."

"Hello, Jimbo." Qrow groused out, one eye half shut, flask in hand.

"James." Goodwitch greeted far more respectfully.

Ironwood resisted the urge to scowl at Branwens behavior so he was silently thankful for Glynda in being here.

His attention was then drawn towards the man who was the apparent leader of this group of enhanced individuals who walked over to him.

"You must be General Ironwood." Rogers said, offering his hand which James grasped right away.

"That I am." The well-trimmed and uniformed man said. "Good to meet you, Captain Rogers. James Ironwood. I welcome you and your fellow Avengers to Atlas."

"Glad to be here." Steve nodded. "I'd say thanks for finding our friends but I figure they fell into your lap from what I understand."

James' lip twitched upwards, finding a sense of kinship with this man. Sort of like how Sam was.

The General was quick to see the two were career soldiers like himself and have put themselves on the line of duty before.

Maybe these people can truly be helpful in more than just what they had already learned of them.

"Please, do come in." Ironwood said, gesturing toward Atlas Academy. "I know that getting here is an ordeal in itself."

"Appreciate the gesture, General." Steve respectfully said.

-Scene Cut-

"How nice of them to give us our own meeting room." Tony casually commented, seated at the center chair of the rectangular table that occupied the room. "Friday, any devices we need to know about?"

"Why would they spy on us, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked in confusion.

The billionaire genius let out a disgruntled sigh, looking up at the ceiling before smirking slightly at the teen hero.

"You got a lot to learn, kid. Trust me, there's always a reason to be spying on someone."

"Like we did with you when we recruited you." Clint cheerfully said, patting the teen on the back.

"What?"

"Clint…" Steve said in a light admonishing tone.

"Hey, it was Tony's fault really."

"I wasn't spying." Stark quickly corrected. "I was scouting."

"That's just another word for spying." Wanda rebuked.

"See? Wanda gets it."

"Guys…" Rogers rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Seriously."

"Alright everyone, settle down." Tony jokingly chided the group. "Old man Rogers' blood pressure is acting up again."

"We're in unfamiliar territory, quite literally so. I, for one, am not going to let my guard down with someone peeping in on us." Sam spoke up. "So… Friday?"

"No sign of any planted devices, Mr. Wilson." Responded Tony's suit AI.

"Alright then, free speech reigns." Stark declared, sitting up slightly. "So, who wants to go first? Clint? Pietro? Have anything to contribute, kid? What about you Cap? You're the star-spangled man with a plan for a reason."

"Trying to find the means to get home to Earth from another world isn't in my portfolio." Rogers dryly said.

"But waking up seventy years in the future from ice is in there." Tony said, undeterred by this. "Technically counts as time travel."

"That's… that's not how time travel works."

"But seriously," Wanda now spoke up. "What're we gonna do? How are we supposed to get home?"

"We could try jumping in another black pool." Pietro suggested with a shrug. "That's what got us here in the first place."

"Yeah, no." Sam deadpanned. "Did a bit of reading up on the world waiting on you guys and apparently jumping into those things are a death sentence. We were… well, a one in a million chance. That or they operate differently on our planet."

"So skinny dipping is a no go?" Tony remarked, letting out a "disappointed" sigh. "And rid the world the chance at seeing Iron Man in all his glory."

"Oh the misery." Clint blandly said, lightly flicking a piece of paper from his hand right at the well-trimmed hero's forehead.

"But what are we gonna do?" Pietro asked, more emphatically. "We're stranded here and we got no way of contacting the others back home."

"Do we?" Wanda murmured, turning to Stark who shrugged.

"Got nothing." Tony revealed. "Been trying for the past few days and all I get is static."

"We even found a small Grimm pool that we went out to locate and," Sam threw his hands up. "Nothing except more chompers."

"Chompers?" Barton snorted. "You know Walking Dead ain't so relevant anymore."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean, bird eyes."

"You tell me, birdperson."

"Guys." Steve said, smirking in amusement. "Come on, let's focus here."

"You don't need to worry yourself too much, Cap." Tony said dismissively. "Us geniuses have it handled."

"I don't think two will be enough for this instance." Clint muttered, patting Peter's back.

"There has to be something that we can use." Pietro grunted out.

"Use? Use what?" Stark asked.

"I don't know, something." Was his vague response. "There's humans here and some of the technology is kinda like home…"

"It does have a lot of similarities." Wanda muttered. "I know Thor is one matter but how are there humans on other planets?"

"The universe is lazy, let's just chalk it up to that for now." Stark said, rolling his eyes.

"Then what about Salem?" Wanda asked, deadly serious now.

Peter, Steve, Clint and Pietro shifted about whilst Sam and Tony were at a momentary loss.

"Salem?" Sam parroted. "What, like… like the witch trials or something?"

"Are we gonna burn a witch?" Tony gasped. "Did one of you turn into a newt and we didn't know about it?"

"No Python, it's something else." Barton quipped. "Apparently she's some immortal fruitcake that's been terrorizing this planet for centuries."

"She's the Grimm queen." Peter added in.

"Wait, those rabies infected freaks?" Wilson asked.

"Well now, looks like she's also into Dungeons and Dragons."

"Tony, this is serious."

"Come on Cap, you may be a spry old timer but I saw your character sheet before we wound up here."

"Tony."

"Alright, alright." Tony threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender, expression shifting into that of a more serious one. "So, this Salem chick. She's the one in charge of the Grimm."

"And she's after these four women called Maidens." Wanda informed. "Women with great magical powers."

"So we're dealing with more magic then, huh?" Sam groaned slightly. "Ain't there some way to reach out to Thor? I don't think Wanda counts."

"I don't even know what my powers are." Wanda admitted with a shrug.

"Ok, ok." Tony made the letter T with his hands. "Let's just back up a bit and start from the beginning from all our sides and then compare notes, 'kay?"

The Avengers all voiced their agreements and began taking turns in speaking on where they had wound up, what they had gone through and what they had learned as a whole.

Remnant and its four kingdoms.

There being two categories of people being humans and Faunus.

Menagerie, an apparent separate country composed solely of Faunus because of the actions in the Great War.

The Grimm and their ruler, Salem.

The Four Maidens.

Ozpin, the other heads of the schools and a select number of trusted individuals being the only ones who were aware of the true threat of Salem whilst the world remains ignorant to her existence.

Dust.

Aura.

Semblances.

The Academies.

All of it was put on the table with next to nothing being left out until the Avengers figured they had covered all their bases.

Aside from that, there was also catching up with what happened during their time of separation.

Speaking of…

"With all that out of the way, I'll need to introduce Peter to a few people." Tony said, standing up from his seat and placing a hand on the teens shoulder.

"Huh?"

"You're gonna love it here, kid. It's Candyland." An excited smirk was visible for all to see on the former playboy. "Met a couple of young bucks in a similar vein to you. Think you guys will get along greatly."

It was at this that Peter was basically dragged out of the room in an odd comedic way, given how enthusiastic Tony was all of a sudden.

The other Avengers stared at the two as Tony pulled Parker out of the room, talking up a storm on what he had seen here and what the two of them can learn before they head home.

"Um… What do we do now?" Pietro asked, turning to Steve who had his arms crossed in contemplation.

"Honestly?" Rogers shook his head. "I really don't know. All we can do is take it one step at a time really."

Clint shrugged. "Guess so. Yo Sam?"

"Hmmm?"

"Know where the cafeteria is around here? I'm hankerin' for a bite."

"Cafeteria is down the hall on the left." Sam said. "You can't miss it. And Steve?"

Cap turned to his "wingman" who had a small grin.

"Got some people that I think you'd get along with to meet as well."

Quirking a brow at his friend's behavior, he asked who and Sam gestured him to follow.

"They're specialists like us Avengers. Just… not as cool."

-Scene Cut-

Within a dank, dark office, a man sat alone as he went over a number of documents. All the while he was having a video call from an associate of his.

"Just make sure that our shipment is delivered and stored." The man ordered. "I don't need all of Atlas cracking down on us. We've stepped on their toes recently as is."

He is a tall, thin, pale skinned middle-aged man with combed dark hair with gray streaks and temples. His right eye was blue while his left one was discolored, with an orange iris and black sclera. Said side of his face was heavily scarred and he lacked an eyelid on his right eye. As for his attire, he wore a red and black three-piece suit.

"Of course, sir. I'll be sure to remind the others." Was all the man said before ending the call.

Not a moment later did another call come in, eliciting a groan from the scarred crime boss.

Without even looking up from his documents, he answered the call with a new screen coming on of a man in a dapper suit, cane and bowler hat.

"Silco old chum." The ginger-haired man on the other end greeted grandiosity. "So good to see you again."

Silco inclined his head up upon hearing his name and recognizing the voice of the man who had called him.

"Torchwick?" Silco drawled lazily. "To what do I owe the "pleasure"?"

Roman Torchwick.

Whilst many would call Silco the crime boss of Mantle and Atlas, Vale was the domain of the cane wielding, top hat wearing career mob boss.

Roman, like Silco, began their empires at a young age and had spent years building up their repertoire, finances and influence to where they stand now.

And naturally, as the world or destiny perhaps seems to go, the two crossed on many occasions and had worked with one another a number of times.

"Is that anyway to greet an old friend?"

"This "old friend" is rather busy at this time, dealing with a migraine of shipment being brought in without Atlas Specialists or those blasted Firelights coming down upon me."

"Ah, the usual sort." Roman nodded his head in understanding. "Yes, yes, I see."

"What do you want, Roman?" Silco asked with an annoyed look. "I just told you I'm busy so if you called here to waste my time-"

"Straight to the point, as per usual." Torchwick cut him off. "I like to see how some things never change. Always liked that about you."

"Torchwick…"

"Do you remember the time I sent you that needed shipment or… chemicals? For your mad scientist?" Silco slowly nodded. "Well it's my turn to cash in my check. I'd like to ask a favor."

"I'm listening."

"I'd like to borrow her again."

The Atlas crime boss inhaled sharply, staring intently at Torchwick who dropped a great deal of his joking demeanor.

"For what purpose?" He cautiously asked.

"Got a big gig comin' up that's gonna require some extra muscle." Roman said, no sign of jokes or gaffs. "And I may need her for a prolonged time."

"And why would you need her for more than one operation?" Silco was now glaring at the cane wielding criminal.

"Call it a gut feeling." Torchwick stated. "And you know my gut-"

"Is usually never wrong." Silco muttered out, leaning back into his chair with a deep frown being visible for Roman to see.

The two gazed at one another for a number of seconds with neither side breaking until the Atlas crime lord relented.

"Fine, she can go to Vale." He then held up one finger. "In return-"

"I'll look after your cargo for the duration of the loan." Roman said, straightening out his jacket. "I'm a man of word and principles, Silco."

Silent for a few moments, Silco gave a nod in accepting the deal. It'll save some problems moving his product from Solitas to Vale.

"Good." A smile soon graced Roman's face. "Neo will be happy to be with her friend again."

"How is it that Jinx can stand your silent assassin?" Silco asked absentmindedly.

"Oh, that's the beauty of it, Silco. They just get one another, you know what I mean? That and she's like me in understanding her completely."

Silco exhaled an exasperated sigh.

"Come now, they're the future of our work, no? It's best that they have this friendship. Less bloodshed between our empires."

The blue-orange eyed crime lord simply scoffed before cutting off the connection and went back to reviewing his documents.

Loathed as he was to part from his top enforcer, Silco found himself hard pressed in denying Roman as he found himself glad that she would be going to not only stir up chaos but be with someone she appeared to genuinely care for outside himself.

"What am I going to do with you Jinx?" The crime lord quietly asked himself.

He didn't know if loaning Jinx over will cause some issues on his operation here in Solitas. There obviously wouldn't be any at all, outside of the norm.

But those thoughts changed after a recent string of events these past days.

Two unique fighters appeared from nowhere and began disturbing a number of jobs his men were supposed to complete. One in a suit of armor and another in a wingsuit rounded up his people and got them imprisoned.

It'll be a while to get them out of jail, either by pulling strings or having Jinx help break them out before she goes to Vale for the unforeseeable future.

And with these two newcomers, the crime lord will need to rework a number of his plans. More so if they so happen to begin working alongside the Enforcers and Specialists.

He'll need to find out more about these two and plan accordingly sooner than later.

So much to do in so little time.

-Scene Cut-

"We should ask them outright."

"And have them join your little army, Jimbo?"

"We can't have them running around Remnant doing whatever they please."

"If it means stickin' to the Queen piece, let 'em have at it."

"This isn't a game, Branwen."

"Do I look like I'm treating it like one?"

"You're acting like it."

"And you still haven't gotten that stick out of your ass."

"Will you two just please behave like grown men -instead of children- for at least five minutes."

Qrow and James turned their heads in the direction of the clearly irritated Glynda Goodwitch who was glaring at both men in annoyance.

Currently, the three grownups occupied Ironwoods office and on a screen upon the wall was headmaster Ozpin on his end in Beacon Academy.

The group were called in for a meeting by Oz after the Avengers had been reunited and were now discussing their next move.

Now that all seven of them were together, James had asked the rather difficult question of what exactly they should do with them.

Being a military man, Ironwood outright suggested they be recruited and brought into the fold under them in the fight against Salem. It was clear that having people like these otherworldly enhanced individuals was a proven advantage given what just two of them had learned by simply stumbling upon one of Salem's pieces.

Glynda was not adverse to the idea though she was still unsure as she was still trying to wrap her mind around the idea that these people were from another world.

Qrow on the other hand seemed surprisingly open to them joining yet was adamantly against Ironwoods proposal that was laced as a means of having them under his watch.

Thus leading to their current spat the Ozpin had simply stood back from his end and watched.

"Glynda, you really think handing over these army killers to Jimbo here is a good idea?"

"What I'm suggesting is someone who can keep watch over them and provide for them the means in which to operate out of-"

"While having them under your thumb." Qrow scathingly interrupted.

"If neither of you will shut your mouths, you are both being thrown out the window." Glynda threatened, riding crop in hand.

Rather than addressing the threat, Qrow and Ironwood simply glared at one another with sparks being visible to see

Glynda and Ozpin would never know when this will ever end. They have grown both used to and became quite tired of witnessing this time and time again.

The Headmaster of Beacon cleared his throat, garnering the attention of the trio in Atlas as he took a sip of his hot cocoa.

Coffee was somehow not available at this time *cough* Oobleck *cough* but thankfully, Ozpin always has hot chocolate on standby as his alternative.

"I understand that there are many concerns and worries in regards to our new… "friends". But I do believe we must consider all our options before we make a decision."

"Oz, you seriously can't consider Jimbo's half assed idea of coercing-"

"Stop making such foolhardy suggestions." Ironwood practically shouted.

"One more time, gentlemen." Glynda growled and both men clamped their mouths shut upon seeing her clothes shifting about and light flashing of her aura flaring up around her.

The General turned directly to his fellow Headmaster.

"What would you have us do, Ozpin?" James asked. "I'm not going to lie and tell you that they should go about and do as they please."

"I understand your concerns, my friend, but this is a situation that requires good thought and a delicate hand." Oz said. "If we force ourselves upon them, the reaction we get may not be what we desire."

"They are not individuals who would bow or abide by others so willingly." Glynda spoke up. "All of them are individualistic yet choose to work together. Their leader, Captain Rogers… he seems like a man who would need a good reason to follow or at the very least work with someone like us."

"Been lookin' at him a lot, Goodwitch?" Qrow couldn't help but tease. "I mean, I don't swing for the other team but even I can admit he's a looker."

"Hush you." She snapped, throwing out her riding crop at Qrow.

He quirked his brow at the action, not feeling anything when his eyes widened at the sight of his flask flying into her hands.

"Glynda…" Branwen held out a hand in an almost pleading motion. "Please…"

A moment later, the contents of his flask were dumped onto the floor.

"Nooooooo~~" Qrow dived forward in a desperate attempt to save his liquor but he was too late.

"...Couldn't you have just done that in the trash can, Glynda? I just had the floor cleaned earlier."

James stared down at the comically weeping Huntsman clawing at the ground in hopes of trying to get what he can.

"On second thought, you should have done that sooner if this is what I got to see." Ironwood snidely said.

Qrow only glared up at the General until they heard several heavy taps from Ozpin's cane as they saw that he was now getting a bit annoyed by their rambling.

"Can we please get back to the matter at hand?" He irritably said. "Now, what are your thoughts on how we can gain favor with the Avengers?"

The group was silent for a time as they all contemplated on just how to approach Earth's Mightiest Heroes to ask for their aid against Salem without coming across as desperate.

"The Avengers… are not ones who can be bullied, deceived or coerced into assisting us." Glynda stated after a few seconds of silence. "We need to have something that we can give in return for their duration here on Remnant and cooperation."

"And what can we give them that they can't take?" Qrow rhetorically asked.

Ozpin's head tilted upwards, something that Ironwood saw.

"Do you have something in mind, Oz?"

"Perhaps…" The Beacon Headmaster hummed to himself as he wracked his brain for an idea. "They appear to be self-reliant but we extend an olive branch for them. A place that they can stay in comfort at the very least whilst they operate here on Remnant. For the unforeseeable future, until they find the means of returning home, we can offer them roles in our Academies. A means of keeping an eye on them during such times if it means so much for you, James."

"Are you certain that these people can function as instructors?" Glynda raised a skeptical brow.

"Which is why I leave their "interview" in your hands, Ms. Goodwitch." Ozpin said in complete confidence. "If anyone can sniff out the educator in someone it would be you, my friend."

Glynda simply nodded and already began thinking of how she would approach this task bestowed upon her.

"Hold on, time out." They all turned to Branwen who had his arms crossed.

"I can maybe see that as an option with the adults, but Parker clearly ain't one in case you forgot he's still a kid." Commented Qrow.

"Then he may be a student in the upcoming school year." Oz said offhandedly.

"He's only fifteen." Glynda pointed out, frowning at the Beacon Headmaster.

"A fifteen year old who appears to be able to stop a bus with his bare hands." Oz retorted. "I have recently received a video from a T. Stark displaying some of Parker's abilities."

"He sent you a video?" Ironwood said with a raised brow. "When was this?"

"Not too long ago. It appears that Mr. Stark is one who has also considered having Parker be a part of the academy."

James grunted out in aggravation, something that the others easily picked up on.

"Alright, what is it this time?" Qrow asked, eyes staring at the General in a half-lidded gaze.

"Recently… one of my scientists and professors in Atlas came to me with some startling news." Ironwood began, walking over to his desk. "He spoke of Stark speaking with him and two of his students and it appears that this man has learned of the secret project Polendina and Heimerdinger have been working on."

Glynda and Ozpin blinked in surprise whilst Qrow looked between them all in confusion.

"Wazzat?" Branwen turned to Glynda. "What's he talking about?"

"My two best minds here are working on creating a being that has artificially created Aura." James revealed to the Huntsmen. "Basically, we're creating an android with a soul."

Qrow's eye twitched, his brain momentarily short circuiting.

"What the hell do you people do while I'm gone?"

Glynda shook her head, ignoring Branwen's comment. "James, are you certain of this?"

"He offered to help them, if you want any more confirmation that he hacked into Atlas' security footage and databases and found out about the project." Ironwood sternly said.

"But he offered to help them." Oz pointed out. "Why?"

James contemplated this question for a second as he recalled the conversation he had with Heimerdinger. "From what was implied, Stark has experience in the field. He practically warned Heimerdinger of the dangers of traversing through it without precautions. Councilman Aris told me a similar story when he spoke with Stark. Whatever this experience is, it appears Stark is adamant about assisting us on this project."

"Then all the more power to him." Oz endorsed. "Think of this as another means of keeping him close and having an eye on the gentlemen."

Opposed to the idea as he was, James simply accepted this in silence as all four of them stood quietly for a moment until the Beacon Headmaster spoke again.

"I shall approach them with our offer once I arrive in Atlas."

"You're coming here?" Glynda said in surprise. "What about Beacon?"

"Oh, I think Beacon can survive two weeks without me, yes? And it's easier for all of us since you are in one spot. Would seem selfish for you all to travel back here to me, no?"

"You mean I gotta stay here for more than a day?" Qrow bemoaned aloud, form slouching over dramatically.

"Trust me, I don't like this as much as you do." Ironwood snipped.

"You're one of the first people some of their members had met and they appear to, somehow, have some degree of trust with you." Glynda pointed out. "At the very least they can have someone they know a bit more than just us three."

Qrow groaned childishly. "Fine. But don't even think about ordering me around like one of your soldiers, Jimbo."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"If you two are finished." Glynda gritted out, a tick mark appearing on her forehead. "We have much work to do."

"Yes, practicing our proposal." Ozpin said lightheartedly. "I shall see you three again soon enough."

-Scene Cut-

-One Week Later-

The Avengers were gathered in the cafeteria of Atlas Academy, the seven superheroes enjoying a nice lunch with one another.

They had a simple kind of conversation, talking about what more they had learned whilst being here and what passes as forms of entertainment.

"You have got to be shitting me." Sam said aloud. "Spruce Willis? No fucking way that's real, no way."

"Oh he's real." Pulling up his phone- er scroll, Peter showed the image of the one actor of this world who was a spitting image of Bruce Willis back home.

"What kind of cosmic universal coincidental bullshit is that?" Wilson asked in utter disbelief. "He even looks like a younger version of him."

"If there is a God, he got really, really lazy." Tony remarked, also having a slight bug eyed look at the earth actor's doppelganger.

"Makes you wonder if there is a version of us here." Wanda murmured, intrigued by such striking similarities.

"Wait, so, does that mean we're in another reality? Or are we on another planet?" Peter asked, looking between the Avengers. "Cause if it's another reality, that's way cooler than another planet. That means the Multiverse is real!"

Several shrugs were all that was received.

"Boy bands, food that's similar." Pietro listed off. "Maybe we are in another universe."

"Or maybe we aren't though the whole Grimm pool crap is a lot like a wormhole situation." Tony said, rubbing his chin.

"Think that can be a means of us getting home?" Steve asked, seeing Tony shake his head.

"It's all theoretical." Stark plainly admitted. "If Thor were here or maybe if we had a means of contacting his people and get an idea of their rainbow bridge. If we were to try and get word out to him… or anyone out there… a certain issue needs to be resolved."

"Being what?" Clint asked.

"Better communications." Tony soon explained. "Remnant only have the CCT towers in order to communicate around the world. Yet they do not have any satellites, given their technology is limited to Dust. If it leaves the atmosphere, it all swiftly burns out and becomes useless. If any or all of the towers go down, then a massive amount of problems ensue throughout the globe."

"And I bet you have a plan to fix that." Rogers knowingly said.

"I do. Been scrounging up every satellite design back home to make something appropriate that won't rely on Dust to get it to orbit and make it function. If needed… I may have to do something drastic to make it happen."

"And when do you plan on presenting this?"

"Soon-ish. Need to study more and figure out compromises as this world doesn't have all of the same resources and materials back on Earth."

"This place does feel a bit strange in that regard." Barton muttered. "They have some forms of advanced technology but then they seem a few decades behind us."

"Seems like all their focus went into how big a weapon their enhanced can do." Pietro noted.

"Like an anime." Peter added on, making the speedster giddy now.

"Yeah, exactly like an anime!"

"Boys." Wanda said in amusement.

Steve ignored their banter, gazing at Tony intently.

"You don't want to leave just yet, do you?"

"Hmm? What makes you say that? You do realize I have Pepper waiting for me at home right? She's gonna give me an earful when I get home."

Rogers didn't respond, instead keeping his gaze steady on Tony with Iron Avenger shifting about in his seat.

"Can you not give me that look?"

Cap remained vigilant.

"Capsicle, I'm serious, I will freeze you again."

Rogers was undeterred.

Stark groaned aloud. "Ok, Ok, Yes, I don't wanna leave here just yet. This place needs a serious tune up from top to bottom and I know how to do it. Is that such a hard thing to believe I wanna help?"

Captain America only smirked, shaking his head.

"I don't blame you." Steve said. "You're like your father in that regard. Except you can actually get it done."

"Well there's a ringing endorsement if ever there was one." Stark said in a faux uncaring tone but the appreciation was easy to see in his eyes.

"Well now, it's good to see you are all doing well."

The seven Avengers turned to see none other than the Beacon Headmaster standing by their table with Glynda Goodwitch and James Ironwood in tow.

"Ozpin, Glynda." Steve greeted respectfully. "General."

"I hope we weren't interrupting anything." Glynda politely spoke up.

"Not really." Sam said with a shrug. "Just comparing notes is all."

"And realizing that whatever God there might be is a bit of a hack." Clint added. "Guy opted for just copying and pasting most everything."

The three Remantians shared a look of curiosity, knowing there was something else going on but put it aside for the time being.

"So you here with an offer or something?" Tony spoke up, gesturing to the three of them. "You're all lined up in a taking turns on what to say manner."

Ozpin actually couldn't help but snort at the man's concise and accurate observation, James' eyes narrowed at Tony's comments and Glynda remained neutral.

"You would be correct in that regard." Goodwitch stated. "We are here to offer and also ask for your help."

The seven Avengers exchanged looks with each other before turning back to the three in front of them.

"And that would be…" Clint rolled his wrist in a silent gesture of 'go on'.

"You need help and honestly, so do we." Ozpin freely admitted. "Perhaps we can work something out that can be mutually beneficial for the two of our parties."

The Avengers didn't respond right away until Steve spoke up.

"We're listening."

Back in the game.

Let's get to it.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Age Of Remnant Chapter 7: Gonna be here a while

"Mr. Rogers, I have a question for you."

Captain America deadpanned at the billionaire standing in front of him whilst working on his suit.

"See, when you take the square root of a 144 and divide it by patriotism-"

"Tony." Rogers grunted.

"What do you get?"

Steve only hung his head, opting not to respond to his quippy friend who kept on chattering, quipping and commenting on any topic that involves school.

It had only been several days since the reunion of the Avengers on top of the offer Professor Ozpin had given them and they had taken that time to discuss their options.

The idea of them being teachers and instructors to teens was… certainly a choice none had anticipated.

Tony had taken this idea with great gusto, relentlessly joking at the expense of the others, particularly Steve as the idea of Cap being a teacher appeared to greatly amuse him.

The rest of the Avengers were mixed on the idea to say the least.

Not that they were adverse to such a notion, just not entirely just how they would be instructors to super kids from the description given to them about the roles of the four academies.

Sam was half and half on the idea, considering that they needed to focus on getting back home. Yet he couldn't deny an odd but familiar pull about speaking to and helping kids or whoever really. The thought of being a teacher made him think back to his time at the VA in DC.

Pietro displayed confused uncertainty. He genuinely didn't know what he could possibly offer in the form of being a mentor to anyone. The speedster even had the modesty to admit he hasn't even figured himself out entirely. Something his twin teased him for with no end in sight.

Wanda appeared to be far more open to the thought of being a teacher, finding herself wrapped up in the idea of teaching. When asked why, she said it was always something she had wanted to try when she was younger. And Clint apparently rubbed off on her since he had been a pseudo-mentor to her and Pietro since they joined the Avengers.

Clint seemed all for it, not minding teaching some "wet behind the ears" kids on how to not be screw ups. He stated that if he was able to handle five kids at once, he can handle a classroom. The twins squawked in protest when he said that and he responded with "See? Kids.".

But he did recall a program Fury was planning a while back but shelved for numerous reasons. Either due to timing or not having enough "youths" to recruit for a Shield academy to help pave the future of the organization. And senior members of Shields would become instructors for the youngsters as they take on their equivalent to advanced high school curriculums.

Tony was way into the idea, citing his accomplishment with Peter though the rest of the team was quick to point out that Peter had been a hero of his own volition and not an Avenger for that long.

Peter asked what he could teach but Ozpin said he was still too young to be a teacher. Not that the teen minded.

Steve appeared to be the only one who was undecided on the proposition.

As a matter of fact, he hadn't really given any answer when he was asked by the others. The super soldier simply fell silent with a contemplative expression to be seen by all.

In that time, Stark just kept thinking of ways of breaking the facade and usually succeeded as he went through great creative hoops to garner a reaction from Rogers.

"So what's the play here, people?" Clint asked, leaned back in a reclining chair stool with an arrowhead in hand. "We becoming faculty or what?"

"What would we even teach?" Sam inquired, cup of coffee in hand. "We don't have the actual licenses, let alone exactly qualified to be teachers. And no Tony, you don't count."

"I think you're just taking away my advantage so we're all on a level playing field." Tony airily remarked.

"What about getting home?" Pietro spoke up. "Anyone given thought about that?"

"Pretty sure that's the only thing really that's all on our minds." Peter answered, laying in a web hammock with him working on his web shooters.

"How would we even get home?" Wanda looked at the team with conflicted expression. "Ozpin told us how it was basically a fluke that we survived through a Grimm Pool without being corrupted, like he said."

"Wonder what this corruption would look like." Wilson muttered.

"We already have enemies here." Pietro pointed out abruptly. "Salem and her goon squad will be coming after us now."

"Other than their war on this whole world." Clint said in a low, grim voice.

"Ain't she immortal or something from what the wizard said?" Tony inquired, looking over at Steve with the Captain rolling his eyes.

"Tony, you do know that joke is old by now? Even by my standards."

"Well, I just wanted to keep your memory sharp, old-timer." Stark said in a faux gentle tone.

"You don't seem too keen on going home yourself, Tony." Clint noted, eyes squinting slightly at the Iron Avenger.

"I'll have you know, I very much would like to get home." He countered. "I need the cheer and adulation of the world acknowledging their greatest hero after all. Ego's always gotta eat. That and I miss Pepper. She can't do anything without me."

The rest of the Avengers were well aware of their friend's desire and want to return back to Earth. Though he hid it well, there were moments of a glazed, longing look in his eyes in moments of silence whenever the man receded into the recesses of his mind.

He longed to return back to his girlfriends' side, the woman he loved while also reuniting with his two closest friends.

It was easy for Clint to pick up on especially considering he was in the same boat as the billionaire if not more so with his kids also waiting for him back home aside from his wife.

Peter wished to get back to Aunt and the other Avengers also missed home.

But Tony had also shown a bizarre desire to not stay per say, but not leave just quite yet.

This place, Remnant, sparked a fire in the inventor's eyes and he was brewing up a storm of ideas that he could implement on Remnant.

Their technology mixed with the knowledge of what Tony knows made the billionaire practically vibrate at the thought of what he can accomplish here for them.

Frankly, the team wasn't against the idea at all.

Whatever technological advances and innovations Tony could pull off could be used in their fight against the Grimm and expansion into the frontiers of unsettled land across the continents.

And really, Stark couldn't help himself even if he tried.

He just sees that he can do something with his technology and his genius and he just needs to do it.

Call it a lifetime of atonement for what his "genius" had brought about before getting hit with an irony missile right to his chest.

"What would you even make, Tony?" Steve asked and his friend looked at him as though he had grown a second head.

"Satellites, for starters." Iron Man responded, an unspoken "duh" being felt from his tone. "Make sure everything is more connected. That CCT tower? One knockout and global communications are down and gone. Can't have that now, can we?"

"What about those two poor kids you roped in with your "charm"?" Sam questioned with a raised brow.

At the mention of the "two poor kids", Peter instantly shot up from his hammock with an excited gleam in his eyes.

"Viktor and Jayce?" Parker excitedly said. "Do you know what they're trying to invent? Magic! They're trying to harness magic! How cool is that?!"

"...You sure it ain't being confused with something akin to Asgardian tech?"

"Even Asgardians have magic." Tony countered. "Or… both really from what Thor told me once. Science and magic being sorta the same or something like that."

"Scientific magic…" Pietro mused. "Like Full Metal Alchemist?"

"Yeah… or… no… uh…" Peter frowned in thought. "I gotta talk to them about it. The equations they had seemed applicable, it's just the stabilizing agent that they're trying to keep while conducting an experiment. Coupled with the erratic energy and the unknown reactions they might get in making sure to apply the right and consistent amount of power when formulating a proper outline-"

"Oh great, the rambles."

"Let him have his fun." Tony waved off the archer. "Kid's gonna be doin' a lot with that brain of his in the future. Best not to quell it like the school system does."

"There's still Salem we need to factor into all this." Steve spoke up in complete seriousness. "An immortal who can't be killed, who has centuries of power she's undoubtedly been building up. Who is to say she won't be making a move sooner rather than later now that we're here."

"Are you telling me the boy scout Captain America wants to rush into a dangerous situation again?" Tony asked in a mock gasp.

"How is Steve a boy scout?" Pietro abruptly asked. "Pretty sure boy scouts don't participate in wars against genocidal maniacs."

"Or kill people." Wanda tacked on.

"You wanna stay here, Steve?" Sam stated more than asked.

Rogers didn't respond at first with his mind afflicted with turmoil.

"I just… I don't know. I can't help it." Steve admitted. "If I see a situation pointed south, one where I can help, I can't avoid it. Sometimes I wish I could."

"No you don't." Tony knowingly countered.

Rogers 'hmphed' with a small smile, looking down. "You're right, I don't."

The super soldier then turned to Peter who seemed a bit surprised at the Captain's attention.

"What was it you told us, Queens? When we first met you? Why you do what you do?"

A look of understanding dawned upon the young teen hero.

"Great Power-"

"And Great Responsibility." Steve finished for the vigilante. "We have that right? Our abilities and our powers to help the people of this world. Shouldn't we do it?"

"Yeah." Peter instantly declared with a determined expression.

"Oh god, he's got the kid on board." Sam jokingly bemoaned.

"I don't know if they're gonna guilt trip us." Clint remarked.

"I say we do it." Pietro proclaimed, jumping up with his fist raised. "We can definitely show this immortal witch queen that we can take her on and anything she throws at us."

"If this is an attempt to try and impress Amber-"

"I don't need to save the world to do that." Pietro brushed his sister off cockily. "My natural charisma and charm can do that."

"That's what they all say."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Said Tony, sounding hurt.

"You got Pepper out of pity, Stark, we all know that." Clint pointed out.

"Excuse me!" The billionaire squawked.

"Then it's decided." Steve spoke aloud over the bickering. "We're gonna be helping them against Salem while we stay here."

-Scene Cut-

The Avengers had split off to do their "own" thing for all intents and purposes.

Wanda had gone off to the library to see if there were any interesting books she could read while they still remained here.

Pietro dashed off to grab something to eat with Sam having to fly after him to join him.

Clint, Peter and Tony remained in the lab as they were all working on their suits and devices leaving Steve to be by himself.

Feeling a bit loose, the veteran asked Friday if there was a gym nearby that he could use and the AI directed him to one two floors down.

He found the gym to be both plain but also technologically advanced as there were a few stations that seemed to be geared towards those who wish to practice with their abilities.

Testing their strength, speed and such.

There were treadmills, dumbbells and an assortment of other machines used for exercise.

So he got to it.

It was simple for the most part.

Some running, benches, lifting, etc.

"Simple" being that of what Steve was used to by now considering his enhanced anatomy.

If anyone were to see him that were normal, so to speak, they would have bug eyed looks at how much Cap had to work through to accumulate just a light sheen of sweat.

He had soon arrived at the closing part of his workout routine which was how he usually finished whenever he did exercise.

Rogers sighed slightly, lightly nudging the large punching bag with one fist before doing it again with the other.

He then lightly struck it, the force making it wobble slightly.

*Thmp*

*Thmp*

*DDFFFF*

And like that, Steve unleashed a torrent of punches, rapidly striking the punching bag with his taped fists.

Each punch came across as a cannon striking the fabric of the punching bag, the sound echoing all over the walls of the gym.

His breathing became heavier as he continued his onslaught, his strikes becoming far more brutal and efficient with every punch until it began to happen again.

The flashes of his past life.

He kept replaying it over and over again.

Running into battle with the Commandos.

The time he spent with them every single day.

Laughing with Bucky.

Celebrating Dugan's birthday.

Hearing Peggy's final words to him.

Without even realizing it, he punched the bag so hard that rather than making it fly off the metal chain it hung from, he cleanly punched straight through it.

Steve blinked upon seeing his arm through the punching bag and grunted at his lack of self-control.

Sand fell from the hold he had made, littering the ground with his arm being coated in it from the sweat he had worked up on top of it getting underneath his taped hands.

A small flash of annoyance flashed in Steve's eyes at feeling the sand shift about underneath the taping as he freed his arm from the punching bag.

The sand was coarse and rough and had a tendency to get everywhere.

He began getting the tape off when he heard someone clear their throat behind him.

Turning around, he saw the familiar sight of the ever professional Glynda Goodwitch, riding crop in hand and a raised brow conveying a silent question of "what did that punching bag do to warrant such a thrashing?".

"Captain Rogers." Glynda greeted cordially. "I was going to ask if you were alright but…"

"Sorry." He said with a sigh staring down at his hand. "Don't know what came over me. Just… I dunno."

Glynda only hummed, waved her crop around and in an instant, the punching bag and all its contents were sealed back up with no visible damage to be seen.

"There we are." She plainly said. "Like nothing happened."

Steve huffed in an impressed manner. Having an ability like that to fix virtually anything so easily is damnably useful.

"Thank you." He said politely. "What can I do for you Ms. Goodwitch? Do you need something?"

"As chance would have it, yes, I would like to speak with you." Glynda admitted. "I was looking to come meet with you to speak privately but you were not with Misters Stark, Barton and Parker when I was informed of your team being in one of Atlas' labs. In my search for you, I heard your rather aggressive training regimen."

"Sorry about that."

"No need to apologize." She waved off.

He gave her a polite nod. "So, Ms. Goodwitch. You wanted to talk to me about something, yes?"

"Indeed I did." Glynda appeared to have straightened out more if that was possible and stared intently into Captain America's eyes. "I take it that you and your companions have discussed the offer Ozpin had given to you all."

"We have." Steve confirmed. "Quite recently actually. Just before I started my work out here."

"And have you come to a decision?" Goodwitch asked in a completely serious tone.

Her voice made Steve raise a brow slightly, a brief glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

"I take it this is an interview." He stated more than he asked. "Or is it an interrogation?"

This appeared to have a positive effect as the blonde woman's lip twitched upwards.

She smoothed out her skirt that really didn't need to be and pushed her glasses up slightly.

"Interrogation is Ironwoods' domain." She corrected cheekily. "I am in the domain of aggressive examination in making sure those who become instructors meet the standards of Beacon."

Steve couldn't help but laugh at that explanation, seeing Glynda openly smirk now.

"Now then, has your team decided on the offer?" Glynda asked once more.

Cap nodded. "We have. We've decided on taking you and Ozpin up on being teachers and helping you with your fight against Salem."

It was subtle but Steve was able to pick up on her eyes barely widening before they returned to normal.

"I see." Glynda slowly nodded, clearing her throat. "Well Captain Rogers, I hope you understand that you will have to undergo several tests, procedures and exams to make sure that you are adequately prepared in being a teacher at Beacon. Several quick lessons to help you get an understanding of-"

Steve felt his ears ring slightly at how rapidly Goodwitch spoke, listing off an assortment of topics and matters pertaining to being a teacher that Rogers felt was… a bit much.

"Now then." She spoke in a calm manner, not even out of breath. "I have one last thing to ask of you, Captain Rogers."

He silently leaned his head to the side, signifying he was listening.

"Why?"

The veteran blinked at the question, seeing her expression shift into a far more serious demeanor then just a few seconds ago.

"What?"

"Why?" Glynda said once more. "Why choose to fight a battle that is not yours to take? This is not your home, not your world, not your fight. Why do this?"

Steve crossed his arms, tilting his head down in thought.

"Simple really." Rogers remarked. "We have the capacity and ability to help and that's what we're going to do."

Glynda jolted back slightly, a troubled look coming over her. "Are you telling me that's it? That's your answer?"

Cap simply chuckled lightly at her disbelieving response. "Is it that hard to believe?"

"Yes actually." Glynda bluntly admitted. "A number of reasons really to decline such a situation. Are you not at all concerned with returning home and assuring its safety? Do you not have other duties and people you care for back from where you came from?"

"Of course we do." Steve answered straight away. "We all have friends and families that are more than likely worried out of their minds right now for us. Peter's Aunt especially given our initial meeting with her. And we still have to be there to protect our planet."

"Then why accept the burden of additional responsibility such as this one?" She questioned. "Would this not keep you from helping you get home?"

"We're not sure what will get us home." Rogers freely admitted. "Be it the same fluke that got us here or something Tony or someone else may discover. The fact is, for now, we're stuck here. And since we're "superheroes" back where we come from, we can continue doing what we're best at here as well."

This appeared to be a dissatisfactory answer for the teacher as she scowled.

"So that's it then? Boredom? To pass the time?" She said accusingly.

Steve's eyes widened considerably in surprise, shaking his head quickly.

"Wait, wait, no, no that. Nothing like that." He stammered out. "We're doing this because we have to."

Glynda raised an unbelieving brow.

"Look… Ms. Goodwitch," Captain America spoke slowly. "For a while, a lot of people have talked about why people like us do what we do. Sometimes it's for attention, others as a form of redemption and in some instances it's just all they know. I would like to say that it's just the right thing to do but it's not like that."

A fond look came over the good Captain as he huffed out a laugh.

"At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I recently heard a phrase from a young man, far younger than me, that recontextualized everything it means to be a hero. To be an Avenger."

Glynda subconsciously leaned forward as Steve went on.

"For the longest time, the phrase "we do it because it's the right thing to do" is something I've noticed has garnered a lot of criticism and even dismissal." It appeared to cause the Super Soldier to become a bit dejected. "An old fashioned notion for an old fashioned time, some would say."

'Where is he going with this?' Glynda internally questioned yet remained silent as Steve went on.

"But, recently, fairly recently, I met this kid from the same state I came from and he told me something that I now say to you." Steve looked the woman dead in the eye, startling her with the fire they held. "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. A kid told me that but he understood like few others can. And it's why we're going to do this. Why we will join you in your fight against Salem. We have the power to do so, to make a better change and it is our own responsibility to make it happen. To shove our hands into the dirt so that other people don't have to suffer through such hardships."

Glynda was quite floored and stunned by such a response, feeling the determination and earnestness radiating off the man.

And that line about power and responsibility.

Perhaps she can use that in one of her lessons or make that the Beacon school mantra.

"Where did you hear such a phrase?" She suddenly asked.

"Hmm?"

"That saying you just said." Glynda clarified. "The one of Responsibility. Where did you hear such a saying?"

"Oh that?" Steve chuckled lightly. "Peter told me that the day Tony and I recruited him into the Avengers."

"Peter?" Goodwitch said aloud, clearly surprised at such a source.

"Yeah." Roger confirmed. "A fifteen year old kid told that to a hundred year old man."

"Huh?"

Cap laughed. "Sorry, story for another time. It's complicated and really strange."

"I'll take your word for it." Glynda said, giving Cap a dubious look which fell into a smirk. "Well then, Captain Rogers, welcome to Beacon."

She held out her hand which he accepted straight away and they shook hands.

"Steve." The Avenger corrected her. "Since we're gonna be colleagues."

"Glynda, then." His fellow blond said in turn, a more genuine and friendly smile directed at him which he returned in kind. "I look forward to working with you, Steve."

"Likewise, Glynda."

-Scene Cut-

The Avengers stood before Ozpin, Glynda Goodwitch, James Ironwood and Qrow Branwen.

"So we're doing it like a ceremony then." Tony commented. "Cut hands, shake and officially call one another blood brothers?"

"That's exactly how it works." Oz said in dead seriousness. "Once the blood oath has been recited, we are bound by soul and body and should you stray, your souls shall be lost to the pits of hell."

Peter squawked. "Wait, what?"

Qrow snorted. "No, it's not. Just some humor he attempts to use on unsuspecting kids."

"Can't imagine why." Sam said with an amused roll of his eyes.

"Must you have to spoil my little fun, Qrow?" Oz jokingly asked in an annoyed manner.

"Yeup." Qrow said with a slight belch, getting a disgusted eye roll from Glynda.

Ironwood stepped forward, a dead serious expression for all to see.

"I take it you calling us all here for a meeting means you've made your decision, no?"

"We have." Steve now stood before the Avengers. "On behalf of all of us, we accept your proposition and will join you in Beacon and in your fight against Salem."

It was barely noticeable but several of the Avengers saw how Oz had inhaled sharply, a glimmer in his eyes that would be best described as relief shone through them.

"I thank you." He said softly, yet firm, walking up to Rogers with an offered hand that Cap accepted straight away.

The Beacon headmaster then went over to each Avenger individually to shake their hand, thanking them personally.

After that was all said and done, Peter had tentatively raised his hand.

"Mr. Parker?" Glynda spoke up, making everyone turn to the young teen hero.

"Um… we appreciate having a place to stay and all," Peter earnestly said. "But, Uh, if we're gonna be teachers… what would I teach?"

"Oh, you're not going to be a teacher. You're too young for that."

Hearing this made him more or less let out a sigh of relief.

"No, you're gonna be a student."

"Oh… wait, really?" Peter said in surprise. "Aren't I too young or something? I heard that the starting age is 17."

"We have exceptions here and there." Oz airily stated. "Though there are some students in places like Signal who are taught combat at a young age, how many of those students actually hold experience such as yourself and being a part of individuals like the Avengers?"

All the Parker boy could do was shrug as he didn't have an answer.

"But that won't excuse you for not being prepared for the upcoming school year."

"...Wait… are you telling me I need to go to Summer school?"

"Well…" Oz held up an 'iffy' hand gesture. "Yes and no. Sort of a catch up set of lessons so to speak."

"Aw do I have to?" Peter bemoaned. "Can't I just learn on the fly?"

"If it makes you feel any better, some of your colleagues will also have to attend."

"Yippee." Was the dry response of Sam, Pietro and Clint.

Stark snorted before looking over to the military man in the lineup. "Yo, Jimmy."

Ironwood usually responds to being called this by Branwen but hearing that now from Stark will take some getting used to.

"Yes? May I help you?"

"Got something real special to show ya." Tony excitedly said, holding up his phone that had recently gotten through some assimilated upgrades.

The general felt his scroll vibrate, making him briefly ignore it to focus on the Iron Avenger.

And yet…

"You should take that." Stark remarked, a wide grin in place now.

The Atlesian's eye twitched, figuring out Stark may have hacked his device or at the very least sent a message.

Pulling it from his pocket, he opened up the sent message and saw… something.

By the looks of it, they were plans, schematics for a large device.

It took some time for him to realize what this remotely was.

"This…" James' eyes widened considerably. "This is-"

Looking over some of the plans Tony presented to him made him quiet for a bit.

The idea of such a thing wasn't entirely new in past years. Some of their brilliant minds had sought to solve this issue but nothing had seemed to work.

Yet Stark seemed to show elements in his plans he had never seen before.

"How?" Was all Ironwood asked, Glynda peeking over his shoulder to get a glimpse as to what Tony had just sent the man.

"We have stuff like this back home." Stark waved off, cocky smirk in place. "Trust me, you guys are close to getting what we have. It's just you needed a nudge to get you over the line."

Ironwood was at a momentary loss for words Glynda having now seen just what it was Tony had intended on building and her own eyes widened as she finally understood

Advanced CCT towers… in space?

No, satellites.

"How would you be able to do this?" Ironwood asked, still trying to wrap his mind around what was being presented to him.

"I'm quite the designer and engineer." Tony declared.

"He is."

"Yeah."

"Not lying when he says that."

"Very true."

"He built his armor in a cave."

Well, the rest of the Avengers seemed to be behind Stark's statements so who was he to judge.

"If you do this-"

"You'll be indebted to me forever, all of Atlas will owe you, the world will love you. Yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda." Tony prattled off. "Heard that spiel back home, would like to get started sooner rather than later. I'd like to have my name back up in space, please and thank you. Now I'll be needing to borrow your facilities to begin making the proper equipment to get this project rolling."

Qrow guffawed at Tony's brazen dismissal of Ironwood.

If he wasn't impressed by this guy before, he may as well begin so now.

"Oh man~" Branwen remarked, saluting Remnants Mightiest Heroes now with his flask. "This is gonna be good~~"

Glynda, all the while, found herself rubbing the bridge of her nose.

How in the world did a man like Steve consider himself friends and allies with a man who appeared to be even more insufferable than Qrow.

Ozpin simply smirked behind his mug, a swelling of hope coming over him as his eyes drifted across the seven unique, skilled and powerful individuals who have chosen to ally themselves with him.

Maybe, just maybe, this was what he had been waiting for after all these lifetimes.

This was the turning point that he needed to at last complete the mission he had accepted those many centuries ago.

-Scene Cut-

At the southeast corner of Remnant's map lies the large settlement of Menagerie.

Two-thirds of the small continent consists of desert, forcing the locals to congregate on smaller areas resulting in small and dense settlements. Mostly due to the factor Grimm does reside in a number of locations, primarily in the desert regions. The landmass is considered a safe haven for the Faunus. But more likely than not, the population wanted to be left alone from the rest of Humanity.

The biggest of them all was its capital of Kuo Kuana.

It was a bustling town packed to the brim with residential homes to the expansive markets. The houses come in many different shapes and sizes accommodating the litany of Faunus living here. There were even districts to help work with the differing groups. Boardwalks are connected with wooden rope bridges and are populated by booths selling food and drink. Water areas feature a submerged market area for aquatic Faunus enabling them to converse with the rest of the population.

Running through the very middle of the city was the main street which goes from the port all the way to the Chieftain's house. It was rather big and can be seen just about anywhere in the city in general.

Within a restaurant was a lone woman casually sauteing her latest dish while whistling a jaunty tone.

This woman was, to put it plainly, stunningly gorgeous.

And she made no effort in hiding her beauty.

Fair skin with platinum blond hair, sky blue eyes with rosy lips.

An hourglass figure, wearing tight jeans with golden accents that made patterns upon them, bands around both her triceps, three bracelets on her right wrist and voluptuous assets being held by turquoise blue bra that also had golden accents decorating them.

This woman kept on whistling, not even tilting her head to regard the restaurant entrance that opened up with a single woman with black cat ears walking in.

"You came in just in time, Kali." The blonde woman said cheerfully. "My newest dish is just about ready."

Kali Belladonna, wife to Ghira Belladonna and chieftain of the city, had a bright, sparkling smile with her irises changing into that of stars.

"With the fish?"

"You know it's with the fish."

"Kat, you're a doll." Kali said with an excited gleam in her eyes as she seated herself at the front table where her friend was cooking.

Katina or Kat for short, smiled at Kali and continued cooking, tossing up her dish several times from its pan before setting it down in a little dramatic fashion.

She pulled out two bottles, uncorking their tops and a seemingly dramatic dash, had the sauces from the bottles fall upon her dish.

Kat smiled in satisfaction at the sound of the proper sizzling and mixing of the ingredients.

With a flourish, she smacked the handle of the pan, flinging the contents within out of the cookware and directly into a bowl Kat grabbed from behind her and caught it in one go.

"Viola." The chef proclaimed in a grandiose fashion, presenting the bowl to Belladonna. "Smoked salmon and tuna pan seared for twenty minutes with lemon, pasta, parmesan and pepper. For you, my lovely friend."

"Yay~~~" Kali clapped excitedly, vibrating in her chair as the bowl was placed before her.

She took one whiff of her dish and practically melted right there and then.

"Enjoy." Kat said, leaning her elbow on the counter with her head resting in her palm as she waited for her newest creation to be eaten.

Kali was like a cat ready to pounce when she noticed something. Not something, someone.

Someone who was normally here before her or usually arrived around the same time as her.

"Not waiting for your boy toy?" Kali cheekily asked.

Kat rolled her eyes. "He'll be here soon enough. He knows by now if he doesn't come to me, I'll come to him."

The cat Faunus giggled into her hand before digging into her meal.

She purred in delight when tasting the delicious flavors assaulting her senses. If she were to have a tail, it would be wagging to and from. But all she did in the end was have a pleasant Cheshire smile as she savored each and every bite.

Every single bite was like heaven on Remnant, her practically running and frolicking through a field of indescribable taste that sent her soul on a journey.

She always was naked in these daydreams but that was the intense and bizarre effect Kat's cooking had on her.

And if she wasn't naked, her clothes literally exploded off of her when she reached the crescendo of the flavor.

In her mind.

Not in real life.

…Not yet at least.

Apparently it's already happened to a few dozen people who have eaten Katina's cooking.

It was a rather astonishing sight to behold from what Kali had heard.

"Oh if only Blake were here to eat this with me." Belladonna longingly stated, ears flattening down to reflect her mood.

"Ah don't worry about her Kal." Kat said reassuringly. "She'll be back before you know it and you'll both be here with me and your man again."

Kali gave her friend a grateful smile before ravenously eating her meal again, eliciting a laugh out of the chef from such drastic mood swings.

Midway into the meal, Kali heard the restaurant entrance open. Glancing over slightly, she gave out a small wave as she was more preoccupied with her meal.

"Hiya Doc." Kali said through a stuffed mouth.

"Doc" laughed at the greeting, shaking his head in amusement at the childish sight of the woman who was the wife to the elected leader of Menagerie.

"Kali." Greeted the new arrival before turning to the restaurant owner. "Katina."

"Hello~ handsome." Kat brazenly tugged on the man's shirt and pulled him into a searing kiss that caught him off guard and she pulled away, smirking at the dazed look her boyfriend held.

Kali giggled through her food and the Doc remained in an almost hypnotized state.

"I don't think he's used to such a greeting yet, Kat." Kali quipped heartily.

"I hope not." Kat said with a saucy smirk, licking her lips. "I love doing this to him."

Eventually, the doctor snapped out of his daze, giving a wry look at his girlfriend who only smiled mischievously, gesturing him to sit down.

"You're incorrigible." He remarked, sitting down with a bowl of the same pasta dish Kali was eating.

"And you're irresistible." Kat sensually said, reaching over to trail her finger across his jawline.

Kali groaned a little. "Will you two just take that upstairs? I'm fine with the lovey dovey stuff, but you make it sooo nauseating."

"Oh don't be such a prude." Kat blew a raspberry at her friend. "Like you don't get like that with Ghira. Remember that time with the tuna dish that made you-"

The chieftain's wife shot out of her seat with a red beat face. "KAT! You told me you won't bring it up with others around!"

"In public. This is a private establishment. Fair game, my dear."

Kali practically hissed in response.

The Chef smiled victoriously, reaching over to interlace one of her hands with the one her boyfriend wasn't using to eat with.

"So honey, how's the clinic today?" Kat inquired, rubbing small circles on his hand with her thumb.

"Rather slow." The Doctor said, chewing with one side of his mouth.

"Would prefer it that way."

"Could expect more from those along the borders." The doctor explained slightly. "Through the grapevine, there's a company of Huntsman and Huntresses trying to clear out some nests to help a survey team."

"For what?"

"Potential dust mine."

"That'll be good." Kali sipped some water to wash her pallet. "Gives us more income and exports if this were to happen."

"Oh, Kat, before we go out." The doctor dug into his pocket and retrieved a small string with a sapphire orb attached to it.

Katina gasped in disbelief. "What is that?"

"Your gift."

Her jaw dropped in astonishment. "I thought this was outside your price range."

"Well, when you have had friends like I have, you learn to pull a few strings with some favors here and there to get things you normally can't have to please the people you love." He said in a dorky suave manner.

"Oh~~~~" Katina practically squealed. "Babe~~ you're too sweet."

She jumped over the counter, plopping herself down on the empty seat next to her lover with her back to him and hair moved aside.

"If you would." Kat said, and wordlessly, her lover placed the necklace around her neck and she placed a hand over her new gift before turning around to kiss him lustfully though this time, he reciprocated.

Kali rolled her eyes at the duo's excessive display of affection though really it was Kat's over exuberant nature that countered her boyfriends' more reserved demeanor.

"Wait." Katina coyly eyed him, pulling away from the kiss. "Who's idea was this? Is this from you? Or… the Other Guy?"

"Mine." Her lover assured with a smile. "Though the Other Guy nudged me to do so."

"You two… are so sweet."

-Scene Cut-

"So how would you crank it then?"

"It's a matter of not how but when."

"We need to make sure that when we initiate the experiment, the runes, device and energy output work in tandem with each other. If it doesn't… Well, I don't really know what will happen, we're dealing with something we can't quantify yet."

"That's not really something that bolsters confidence, Jayce."

"Science isn't about confidence."

"I'd say it plays a role in it, at the very least."

"Then Jayce and I are confident that this will work… probably."

"Viktor… seriously?"

"Would you rather we lie to our new friend?"

"Yes! Yes! Always lie!"

The three teens broke into a laugh after that joking proclamation.

Peter hung upside down in front of a chalkboard he was looking over with his two newest friends in Jayce and Viktor.

It was strange as it was natural how these three young men became such fast friends thanks in no small part to Tony Stark literally shoving Peter forward and saying he was a natural genius like the both of them.

The introductions turned into small talk which turned into theories then equations then experiments and then they realized it was morning, they hadn't eaten and had been up all night.

Since then, until the Avengers return to Vale, the three boys had been almost inseparable.

They spent practically every day together, chatting about science, the idea of magic being utilized for everyday people.

The two Atlesians were surprised really with how open and enamored their new friend was with their rather out there and project of unknown end results.

Peter claimed that he was rather open with the impossible, claiming to have seen such things and is excited at the prospect of perhaps contributing to such an endeavor.

Curious to what he meant, the Queens teen was a bit candid with his explanation.

He spoke of the place he hailed from worshiping some kind of Thunder God by the name of Thor and how it turned out that he was real.

When he described the man, Parker told them that he was tall, muscular, blond with blue eyes and wielded a hammer that commanded storms and thunder.

At the mention of the hammer, Jayce was drawn in, citing he had heard a similar story to that.

There was a similar God and story to this one from his hometown that his father spoke of named Þórr.

His nickname was Hammerborn and with his star forged hammer, he could craft wonders just as easily as he was able to destroy. A being meant to be one of balance.

It was extremely interesting for Peter to hear such correlations and similarities between the stories. This only added further credence in perhaps there being a deeper connection between Remnant and Earth then initially theorized by himself, Tony and really, all the Avengers.

There were too many coincidences and similarities between both worlds for there not to be a connection.

There just had to be. Really, it was all about finding said connection or connections as there can always be more than one.

"So how exactly do you think the core implementation will work?" Peter asked, piece of chalk in hand as he expertly wrote another equation while upside down. "Is it a stabilizing agent or do you need to jump start the whole thing?"

"It will have to be a mixture of both." Viktor said. "Once we initiate the climbing stage here and here, that's where the core's next function begins."

"So long as the core's energy output doesn't stress the device, it should be able to counteract any variable branches or unforeseen consequences." Jayce then sighed, leaning his elbow against the board. "Of course when dealing with magic, the unforeseen is what we're trying to bring to light."

"Well the impossible has to start somewhere." Peter remarked, circling a particular fraction. "Think that'll be enough?"

"For a later experiment, maybe." Jayce murmured, tapping his own chalk piece on his chin. "But from what our calculations show, this would be better used for more extreme methods or something larger able to take the energy output otherwise the results may be dangerous."

Viktor was rubbing his own chin in thought, eyes momentarily drifting over to their upside down friend.

"How are you not sick hanging like that?" The crutched student inquired, angling his head slightly sideways.

"What, this?" Peter gestured to his current position, Viktor and Jayce nodding.

"Gotta admit, it does look a bit uncomfortable." Jayce stated, looking up at the web line attached to the ceiling that allowed Peter to hang in this position.

Parker only shrugged. "Kinda find it comfortable actually. Gives a new form of perspective."

Jayce huffed in amusement. "That's a lame joke if ever there was one."

Peter only laughed. "It's not all bad."

As the three teens continued conversing and simply spending time with each other, the other Avengers were currently preparing for their eventual return to Beacon Academy.

Save for one.

"Are you sure you wanna stay behind, Tony?" Steve asked, the two standing on one of the main platforms of Atlas that overlooked the city itself.

"Yeah. I somewhat feel more of my element here."

"A cold, desolate wasteland to fit you most of the time."

"Oh ha, ha, ha." Tony dryly remarked. "This coming from a capsicle, I'm surprised you didn't wanna stay yourself. Another seventy year ice nap does wonders for your pores."

Steve's dry look only got him a triumphant look from the billionaire.

"You can be insufferable, you know that?"

"I try." Tony casually said. "Besides, not gonna have this much freedom until we get back home. God knows the restrictions Pep is gonna place on me once we see them again."

"You really think we'll find a way back?" Rogers asked, looking intently at his friend who balked.

"I'm sorry, who are you and what have you done with the boy scout of endless optimism?" Tony said in mock horror. "You're a clone aren't you? An android? Maybe some kind of mutant alien with shapeshifting abilities?"

Steve only rolled his eyes good naturedly at the yammering of his fellow Avenger, the pair staring out at the city.

"So… you as a teacher, huh?" Stark mused.

Steve shrugged. "Felt like a natural progression for a hundred year old man like me. Pass on what I know to the… what do they call kids? Whippersnappers?"

"Yeesh, you're so bad at being an old man, even your lingo is off."

Steve huffed. "And yet, you being the older man biologically is the bigger man child."

"Man child?" Tony repeated in a false affronted manner. "I'll have you know I'm youthful. Only Pepper can call me a man child."

"In front of your face."

"Exactly, behind my back, you have free reign."

Cap only chortled at the response, shaking his head at his friend's antics.

The super soldier let out a sigh a moment later.

"Still not sure we should be splitting up like this." Rogers murmured. "This Salem and the Grimm she controls. They're all over the planet."

"All the more reason to have our bases covered."

"That's only in two places." Steve reminded him.

"We're the Avengers." Tony countered. "Mightiest Heroes of two worlds now. Nine if we decide to include Thor's escapades."

Steve frowned thoughtfully. "Don't think he would mind really. More for him to brag about."

Stark had a wide grin in place upon hearing that. "Now you're getting it. See, I knew you had a dark side to ya."

"This isn't the dark side Tony." Steve flatly said. "This is just me being pragmatic."

"Taking credit is pragmatic?"

"Of course it is."

Before they were able to continue their war of words, the two men heard a young man crying out in anguish at being pulled away from Atlas.

"No, no, please let me stay! It's heaven for me!"

Tony and Steve glanced over to see Wilson dragging Peter Parker out of the building with a laughing Wanda by their side.

Sam remained unperturbed as he dragged the flailing teen towards the bullhead. "No, Peter, you need to return to Vale with us."

"B-Bu-But I'll be useful here!" Peter cried out, both hands stretched out back towards the academy. "Jayce and Viktor need me!"

"I'm sure they'll be fine on their own." Wanda said with an amused smile, patting the brunette on the head. "You can still call them and message them like any normal teen out there."

"Why is Mr. Stark staying while everyone else is returning to Vale?!" Peter whined out, reaching out to said billionaire as they passed him by. "Mr. Stark please."

"You're on your own, squirt."

"Mr. Stark!" Parker cried out in overexaggerated anguish, the scarlet energy fields of Wanda surrounding him as he was floated into the bullhead.

"NOOOOOOOO~"

"...God help me if there's another person out there as strangely enthusiastic like him." Tony murmured, amused and bemused all at the same time.

Over in Patch…

"ACHOO!"

"Bless you."

"Thanks Yang."

-Scene Cut-

As the Avengers made preparations in Vale and Atlas, organizations around the world made theirs.

Not in response to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, no.

Not at this time.

They had plans in the works far before the arrival of the heroes from another world.

One such organization was one composed exclusively of the secondary humanoid species of Remnant known as the Faunus.

This group, once led by a belief in unity and equality through peace soon became radicalized and transformed into an association that most of the world would describe as terrorists.

The White Fang, as they are called.

Currently, a number of tents were pitched in an undisclosed location within a forest.

Those occupying the camp were only a few dozen but among them were members that were considered some of their best and elite.

In charge of this group was a man in his early twenties, a tall Faunus with a lean build and auburn hair that spikes backward in a windswept way. While most of his hair was red, he had streaks of brown. A noticeable trait of his appearance was the mask he wore, which obscured his entire upper face above his nose.

His clothing was that of an asymmetrical design having black, long-sleeved, double-breasted stylized high-collared blazer with slit sleeves along with red thorn sigils adorned with a white crest that lined up on his left shoulder. The suit jacket had crimson lining atop his red shirt, with red thorn sigils atop a black flap attached to the bottom of the left hem and his wilting rose emblem on the back over an emblazoned white sigil resembling the curved stems and flower of the deadly nightshade plant. His blazer was half-buttoned, exposing a red shirt with a black line running parallel to his collar under it.

His mask was whitish-tan with red, Japanese style, horn-like symbols decorating the front and two slits on each side presumably to allow for vision. He wore long black dress pants, black shoes with red soles and black gloves with red sigils resembling the Greek letter Ω (Omega), the last letter in the Greek alphabet and a black belt with white domino marks on it to finish off his rather intricately designed look.

This man stood in the largest tent of this makeshift base camp with two girls by his side.

One was a woman also in her twenties having an aesthetic of white and blue having white pants that went down to just below her knees, white high heel sandals that had straps past her ankles, a blue dress shirt that had a collar that covered her neck with the chest portion cut out to allow her voluptuous breasts to be easily visible in their white bra topped with a set of white hair, white rabbit ears and blue umbrella.

The other woman was really a girl entering her late teens.

She had black hair that contrasted her pale white complexion, amber eyes with purple eye shadow around them and cat ears that almost blended into her hair.

Her clothing consisted of a black, buttoned vest with coattails and a single silver button on the front. Underneath this is a white, sleeveless, high necked, crop undershirt and white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg with a YKK logo.

She also wears black low-heeled boots and full stockings with a color gradation of black to purple at her ankles. An emblem of a black flame is visible on the outside of both thighs just below her shorts in white. On her left arm is a black detached sleeve with a silver cuff around her bicep, and black ribbons are wrapped around both forearms. A small, loose, black scarf is wrapped around her neck, and a gray magnetic backpack is strapped to her back, hidden by her hair.

"So Adam," The rabbit Faunus cheerfully said, spinning her umbrella about. "What's the crazy mission for us this time?"

Adam Taurus, leader of this group of Faunus, remained stoic and unreadable despite the casual nature in which he was addressed.

"We have a Schnee cargo train going on this route several days from now." Taurus said, placing an index finger over the outline of a train track going through Vale. "It's supposed to connect to a freighter the day after, which is reportedly going to be heavily guarded. We will need to hit the train before they meet or else the plan ultimately fails."

The black haired teen, whilst her face remained neutral, shifted about from side to side.

"What's the matter, Blakey?" The white haired Faunus innocently asked. "Having second thoughts?"

Blake Belladonna, daughter to Kali and Ghira, glared up at the rabbit woman who only had a wide grin in place.

"Knock it off, Lorina." Adam sharply told her, shifting his head slightly in the woman's direction.

Though she didn't see them, Lorina Dodson otherwise known as the White Rabbit could feel the gaze directed at her from Taurus.

"Alright, lay off Adam." Lorina petulantly said. "I'm just playing around here."

"Well this isn't a matter where you can joke around in." Taurus rebuked. "This is a mission that is very important to our cause."

"One that you're paying me to be a part of, remember?" Dodson dryly reminded him. "Ya gotta lighten up, man. You're taking this shit way too seriously."

"Can you take things seriously for once?" Blake countered, annoyed by the woman's callous and dismissive behavior.

"You guys paid me already, remember? My personality is just a bonus."

"One which I'm having regrets on." Muttered the redhead.

White Rabbit only groaned dramatically. "Alright, alright, fine, just explain to us this next crazy robbery you have planned."

Adam glared lightly behind his mask at the mercenary before returning his attention to the map they had laid out on the table before them.

"There's also a warehouse that's supposedly storing some experimental hardware. If done successfully, we'll be able to get a better edge on future raids."

"Depending on what's found there. Could be failed prototypes for all we know." Lorina muttered. "Happened before with Atlas dumping useless models or keeping them in storage."

"Their trash and "failed" prototypes are what we take in our war against them." Argued Adam. "We can dismantle them and rebuild them to our specifications. Perhaps even improve from their flaws."

Dodson remained unimpressed, seating herself on the table as she looked down at the map.

"Alright bulldozer, so what's the plan then?"

Though it was barely visible, the cheek of Adam twitched lightly, getting Lorina to grin widely as he pulled out a marker and drew several lines and shapes around the warehouse and the railroad.

"We'll be having two teams to take care of these targets." Taurus stated. "The warehouse will be easy enough, stationary location and all. The train on the other hand is gonna require more speed. That's where the two of you will strike."

"What are we even stealing?" Blake asked, a hard edge in her voice.

"Dust for the most part. We have a slight shortage on our hands at the moment." Was the redhead's response. "Anything else is possibly of good value if they are good in quality." He tapped his chin a little as he soon pulled up some files. "From reports, they're cutting back on workers and having mechs replace the majority of the crew. So we'll be able to remotely go all out with little to no repercussions; especially since they'll be programmed to hold back no restraint."

"You know, you could just buy the Dust." Lorina dryly said. "No need to do something this needlessly reckless."

"Must we remind you we are not swimming in Lien like most in the world."

"Yeah but still, it does seem a bit much really." Lorina countered.

"Any dust you can fit in your pockets on this particular job is yours." Adam swiftly countered.

"Sold!"

Blake closed her eyes, clenching her fists in irritation at Lorina's chatter.

"Besides, this is a Schnee Dust Company train." Adam said, tone shifting into that of a venomous inflection. "Anything taken from them is another victory for our people."

"Ah, so they won't even notice this little train robbery." Lorina stated more than asked, checking over her nails.

Blake however, appeared unconvinced. "Um, Adam, are you sure about this? I know the White Fang hasn't stolen any dust from the Schnee Company for a while now but wouldn't they pick up on a trend at the very least?"

"That may be a possibility but what we do always incurs risks."

"What kind of half assed leadership is that shit supposed to be?"

"Would you rather I lie and say everything is gonna turn out splendidly?" Adam rhetorically asked.

"Aw~~ you do care." Lorina cheekily said, reaching out to pat him on the cheek only for him to swat the hand away.

"We have our targets and our objectives." Adam declared. "Prepare what's needed and we move in two days. We will strike then."

The meeting disbursed with the tent's occupants going their separate ways. Adam went to inform a number of others to go more into deeper details on the upcoming missions. Lorina goes off to inform her team on what's to come. As for Blake, she went off on her own.

The cat Faunus walked in between the tents with a clearly conflicted expression plain as day to see.

She passed by many White Fang members who took a moment to nod at her though she ignored them for the most part.

Upon reaching her own personal tent, a familiar voice called out to her from behind.

"Blake."

Belladonna sighed, turning to face the person who was walking up to her.

"Ilia." She greeted her fellow Faunus.

The White Fang member smiled at her as she took off the mask that was akin to that of a chameleon, giving away her species of association.

Ilia's skin tone was of a tan complexion with brown hair and gray eyes, sporting multiple scale-like patches all over her body to reflect her chameleon nature.

She wore a black, gray and dark gray sleeveless stealth suit with short legs that resembles a playsuit with black trim around the legs. The color divide is at the center of her thighs. The stealth suit's zipper is gold, and over it, she wears gray belt straps with gold buckles and a pair of black calf high boots that are folded over and a black glove on her right hand.

Overall, a more stealth oriented set of garments to reflect her natural abilities.

"I heard from Adam that we're set and ready to go." Ilia declared with a confident grin.

"Yeah, he did." Blake mumbled, turning away from her friend.

Ilia frowned in concern. "Is… is everything alright?"

"Just not sure about this anymore."

The chameleon Faunus tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"This." Blake said in a more broad sense as she gestured to the whole camp site. "I thought we were a group meant to fight against Faunus discrimination, not incite terror."

"But we're fighting back against those who have treated us wrongly." Ilia argued back passionately.

"By doing and becoming the things they claimed us to be?" Blake shot back, hanging her head low. "I don't really know what to do."

Her friend appeared hesitant, taking a moment to figure out what to say to lift her spirits.

"Desperate times, Blake." Was what she was able to come up with.

"Is it really that desperate?" The black haired teen questioned. "Attacking convoys, stealing military equipment? That's not desperation, that's us preparing for another war."

Ilia didn't really know how to respond to something like that as that was a sentiment she had shared a number of times before. Much as she did believe in the White Fang, to the extent of getting their hands on military grade equipment was disconcerting.

"We were once an activist group." Blake went on, forlorn at once was. "Now we became this. I wish it could go back the way they were."

"You and several others." Ilia said sympathetically. "Yet changing back will not be that easy. Not now."

"Change was never meant to be easy but I sure as hell didn't want it to be violent." Blake dejectedly sighed. "Let's… let's just get this over with. If there's anyone on board, we leave them alone."

Ilia could only nod in silence as she watched her squad leader and friend go into her tent, mumbling that she was not to be disturbed.

A sad frown was now present on her face, staring at the tent before turning to walk away with her mind a whirl with conflicting emotions and thoughts.

-Scene Cut-

"Ah~ ah~~~ Ah~~ Ah~~~~~"

"Wonderful Weiss, you sound simply divine."

Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, turned her head in the direction of the man who had praised her, giving him a warm and kind smile.

"Thank you Klein." She happily said. "I hope it's up to your expectations."

Klein scoffed, going over to pat Weiss' back with a proud smile in place.

"My dear, you always manage to find a way to exceed them."

She only continued smiling up at him in appreciation before looking back at the mirror she was seated before.

The young girl took a moment to look over her dress, making sure everything was in order.

Her long white hair, held up in an off center high ponytail and her eyes lightly reflected her light blue color from the lights on the mirror.

She wore a thigh-length strapless dress with a faint color gradation from white to pale blue at the hem. A small piece of black lace sits in the front of her neckline and the hem of the dress is scalloped and stitched to resemble snowflakes, with layers of white tulle under the skirt. Over this, she wore a bell-sleeved bolero with the same color gradation as her dress from shoulder to wrist, lined in red and with a ruffled collar. On the back of the bolero is the Schnee Crest.

She also has a small apple pendant on a silver chain and thin, rectangular silver earrings. Her boots are white, wedged heeled, and higher at the back than the front. They have a small silver decoration across the top of the foot and are lined in red. A thin white sash is tied around her waist with a pouch attached to the back.

Standing behind her was her ever loyal and faithful butler Klein Sieben.

He wore his usual suit being a white collared long sleeve shirt, black vest, cyan tie, black trousers, and black shoes that seemingly complimented his brilliant mustache.

Blinking, his eye color shifted into a slight red tint as a more smug visage appeared on his face.

"Are you ready to show all those snobbish bats where the real talent of the Schnee family lies?"

Weiss giggled into her hand at his mood change.

"Don't let Winter hear you say that." She teased. "She would never let you hear the end of it."

Klein blinked and his eyes became lavender and expression was now distraught.

"Heavens no, I would never insult Lady Winter in such a disrespectful manner. How terribly rude of me."

Funny thing about him, his personality changes and is quite noticeable when his eye color becomes something else entirely.

Weiss giggled once more at his eccentric and endearing behavior.

For years now, Klein was someone the young Schnee heiress had found herself relying upon and confiding in as time went on.

Yes, she had her family and she greatly admired her older sister Winter who is part of the special ops of Atlas.

But she hadn't been able to speak with her as much as her sister was a busy woman now.

And… much as she berated herself for it, she felt a growing disconnect from the rest of her family.

She felt a soft hand upon her shoulder, seeing it was Klein giving her a supportive smile beneath his bushy mustache.

"In the upcoming months, you'll finally be attending the Huntsman Academy. Aren't you excited?" He asked, grinning widely.

Weiss returned his smile, reaching up to pat his hand in appreciation. "I am, Klein."

Klein's demeanor changed again, a more derisive tone coming out now. "It'll perhaps help give you a break from all of these performances your father has been putting you through. Brothers know that man needs a bonk on his hard noggin."

"Klein." Weiss chided though there was no bite in her tone.

Her faithful butler only huffed, crossing his arms now and looking away petulantly.

"You know this to be true, milady, I just have the audacity to speak my mind on such matters."

"And survive with no repercussions." Weiss tacked on, patting his cheek now.

"But of course, my dear." Klein's eyes were now yellow and his personality was far more jovial. "I have you to thank for that."

The two paused in their small interaction, hearing the sound of a rumbling applause.

"Soon you shall be showered with adulation, making all those who had come before look meek and worthless in comparison." Klein proclaimed, eyes red and appearing to be on fire.

Weiss smiled at her butler's over exuberance before looking down to hide her downcast expression.

Many performances have somewhat taken a toll on Weiss. She had worked much on her schoolwork while balancing it with her singing lessons and gala events. Yet all that often became overwhelming as time went on, no matter how much she tried managing it.

That'll all change once she attends the next step in her years at the academy.

Sacrifices will have to be made once attending the upcoming stage of becoming a Huntress, which would soon lead her to becoming the next head of the Schnee family once her father steps down or passes on from life.

It would've originally gone to her older sister, Winter, but circumstances made that impossible now.

This would mean no "extracurricular activities", such as her performing in concerts, until further notice.

Looking back up at the mirror, Weiss's eyes landed upon a fresh scar above her left eye, one she had gotten not too long ago.

She had been conducting a training exercise being supervised by a number of officials who worked for her family's Dust company in preparation for what they believed to be her "practice application" into Atlas Academy. In fact, it wasn't one at all, merely a lie to push her further to accomplish a given task as usual.

No, she will not stay here in Atlas under her father's "watchful" eye.

"I have been thinking about this Klein," She spoke softly. "But I don't think I want to go to Atlas academy."

Klein blinked, reverting back to his usual more calm yet chipper demeanor.

"Really? Why not?" He questioned curiously.

"I just… I just need a change of scenery if it makes any sense."

Klein thought about it and gave a nod with what she's implying.

"Blazing your own trail, yes?" He knowingly asked. "Same as your sister but even more so."

As much as Weiss would love to attend Atlas Academy, much like her relatives have done over the years, she felt a change of scenery was needed. She sought to take a page out of Winter's book and do something else with her life.

Weiss smiled at him before frowning. "Yes… If I'm in Atlas, my father will still have sway in my going on. My failures will not reflect me but him. My success will not be because of my own work but because it's "expected" that the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company must be this way."

"You know your father would not take too kindly on the idea of going anywhere else but Atlas."

She snorted, pleased at the thought of angering her father. "I know."

"At least give it more thought on the matter. Especially your options on what other Academies you wish to attend. You do have until two weeks or so before the upcoming school year to submit an application."

"Yes, a few months from now is the deadline." She breathed out. "And… I have one in mind. I'm just unsure of the choice."

"No need to rush this matter, my dear." Klein said kindly. "Like I said, think more on the matter. You don't want to go to a place you'll regret attending."

"I know, I know." Weiss murmured.

Before long, the pair heard a soft knock from her dressing room door.

Klein clapped his hands together, quickly moving to straighten out a loose tuft of her hair.

"It's time milady." He softly said. "Knock 'em dead."

"I plan to." Weiss confidently said, sharing a quick hug with him before she walked out her dressing room and proceeded to go towards the center stage of a large auditorium with every seat having been full.

She looked out at the crowd, taking in the sea of people that… she couldn't quite put a face on.

Or rather, to her, they were faceless for the most part.

Yet, several individuals had caught her eye.

Two were seated in their own personal booth and saw that they shared in her hair color.

Her mother and younger brother, Willow and Whitley respectively.

But just below their booth was another and in it was none other than General Ironwood.

Next to him was her elder sister Winter, smiling down at her and next to them was a man she hadn't recognized.

And of course her father, Jacque, who had an unreadable expression whilst seating with the rest of the family..

But her eyes were back on the new individual seated next to General Ironwood.

He had black hair and an unusually trimmed beard, a black suit and was…

'Is he seriously sleeping right now?' Weiss incredulously thought to herself.

How can anyone sleep in a place like this with this much noise?

Scrunching her face up as she prepared herself, she would make sure to get this man's attention.

The piano began to play from nearby with the orchestra following soon after. Once getting to a certain part of the music, the heiress readied herself for her start.

Weiss exhaled calmly and opened her mouth as the words came flowing out as it followed the symphony of the instruments.

"Mirror, tell me something,

Tell me who's the loneliest of all?

Mirror, tell me something,

Tell me who's the loneliest of all?

Fear of what's inside of me;

Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?

Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?

Save me from the things I see!

I can keep it from the world,

Why won't you let me hide from me?

Mirror, mirror, tell me something,

Who's the loneliest of all?

I'm the loneliest of all."

Soon enough the music started to change as the continuation of the song soon went underway on the performance. The piano score became more prominent before other instruments would follow afterwards which would be more softer than the slightly upbeat half from earlier.

"Who am I to complain?

My life's been spared so much pain

Born with all that I need

My comforts all guaranteed

So what's the problem

What's keeping me

From moving forward

It's hard to see

I should be free now

I should be fine

But the life I fought for

Still isn't mine

Some believe in fairy stories

And the ghosts that they can't see

I know that I could do so much

If I could just believe in me

Mirror mirror

Tell me something

Can I stop my fall?

Years of scorn will leave you cold

'Forget your dreams do what you're told'

When disapproval's all you're shown

The safest place becomes alone

And isolation's

The price you pay

And every friendship

Is pushed away

But bit by bit now

A step each day

I'm slowly starting

To find my way

Some believe in fairy stories

And the ghosts that they can't see

I know that I could do so much

If I could just believe in me

Mirror mirror

I'll tell you something

I think I might change it all"

Upon opening her eyes, Weiss was met with thunderous applause and she couldn't help but slightly smile at the praise.

Some flowers were thrown at the stage and she had caught one subconsciously, holding it up to her chest.

She looked up and saw her mother and sister clapping with pride and approval. Klein managed to even make his way up to their booth and was applauding jovially along with them.

Her brother was doing the same, albeit far more politely and subdued.

Ironwood appeared generally impressed yet her father seemed nonplussed in this regard, clapping almost boredly.

Yet when her attention turned to the strange, trimmed man, she almost jolted where she stood at the intense gaze that he was directing at her.

It wasn't that of approval, disapproval or boredom.

He wasn't looking at her but into her.

She didn't understand what it was about this gaze that startled her but the intensity and analytical nature was off putting.

When she started her song, he appeared to be asleep but now he was staring at her and…

Was that understanding in his eyes?

Where'd that come from?

Coming to her senses that she had been standing stock still for a few seconds, Weiss quickly began bowing and thanking the crowd before hurriedly rushing off stage.

Other performances went on for the evening as Weiss wasn't the only musical act in the event. After all, it would've been an odd waste to have one performer and only sing for several minutes and be the end of it. Weiss didn't have a litany of songs under her belt, unlike many bands and professional artists out there in the world.

In the after party, the Schnee heiress and the other performers were met by a number of individuals.

She walked amongst them all, saying hi to some whilst passing by others.

The girl was undisturbed for the most part until…

"Weiss Schnee, yes?"

The Schnee heiress looked up and blinked in surprise to find the man who had captured her attention standing before her now.

And rather than the bored slumber or sharp seriousness she had seen prior, he appeared more relaxed and laid back.

"Quite the set of pipes you have there." He greeted "politely". "You do birthday parties, yes?"

An interesting compliment she had heard, rather original than from what she heard in the past. She would've been crass in response, given such a thing being said could've been considered rude. Yet she was in a public party and had to be the heiress she is.

"Thank you." She responded cordially. "Mr…?"

"Stark, Tony Stark." The man introduced himself. "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, at your service."

Weiss rose a brow upon hearing what this Mr. Stark introduced himself as.

Genius? There's quite a lot of them out there these days; even if they were legitimate or self-imposing. Billionaire? She would've known, let alone heard, of there being another billionaire out there in Remnant, but she isn't all that knowledgeable apparently. Playboy? Well… she'll have to be careful if that was the case. Philanthropist? Will be interesting to see what to make out of that.

"Good to make your acquaintance."

"Ah, prim and proper." Tony remarked. "Dime a dozen of that. Tell us how you really feel."

"Mr. Stark." Came a familiar female voice to Weiss. "Please stop aggravating my sister."

"Whose sister? Your sister?" Tony innocently asked. "And aggravating? I'll have you know that my manner of speech is construed as charming and charismatic."

Winter opted to ignore the rambling man, coming up to her sister with a proud smile.

"You sang beautifully tonight, Weiss." Her older sister said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm very glad I managed to see you perform tonight."

Weiss preened at her sister's compliments, glowing with joy. "And I'm glad you were able to attend, given your tight schedule."

"When it comes to family, one should really try to make time for such an occasion." Said Tony.

"No one is quite privileged for such things." Came Winter's response.

"I know, but I'm just making a small point. It makes things more memorable, regardless if things go well or not."

Tony soon said his small farewell and left elsewhere to mingle with the other attendees of the after party.

"Winter?"

"Hmmm?"

"Who was that man back there? Tony Stark, was it?"

"He… is someone who has recently gotten on General Ironwood's radar." Winter candidly explained. "He's an associate, part of another group of rather exceptional individuals that you might be hearing about rather soon when the time comes."

Well that wasn't confusing at all.

"General Ironwood is working with him?"

Winter nodded. "He is an odd man and rather flippant. But… I have seen what he is capable of recently and I am confident when I say that a great change in Remnant is on the horizon."

Weiss found herself being drawn into what she was saying, bewildered and enticed by Winters' words.

What did she mean by that?

What changes?

And again, who was this Tony Stark?

And associates?

Consider Weiss curious now as she was really interested in whatever it is Winter was talking about.

Though…

That would have to be saved for another time.

Winter had just said she was taking her out to eat on her treat and she wasn't going to pass up the chance to spend time with her favorite sibling.

Been a while, right?

So let's not waste with idle chatter. That'll come at the end.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Age of Remnant Chapter 8: Debuts and Preparations

"Home sweet home." Were Sam Wilson's first words upon the return of the Avengers to Beacon academy.

Or more for the other five Avengers with him as this was his first time setting foot in the Academy of Vale.

They had returned back from Atlas not too long ago and right now were in the process of getting themselves situated in Beacon for the foreseeable future.

As teachers.

The thought itself was so bizarre to consider and process as…

That was never really an idea or thought any of them had ever considered. To be mentors and teachers to students who have powers.

Peter kept remarking that it sounded like something out of a manga and comic book. Pietro was inclined to agree. And that was the first thing the pair opted to purchase on Remnant.

Not anything useful but entertainment.

Currently, the Avengers had all been given individual rooms, courtesy of Ozpin and they were all getting comfortable within them.

Each one had been given an "advanced paycheck" from Ozpin as their "sign up" bonuses for being Beacon faculty and had gone on several shopping sprees in getting clothes, food, an assortment of other materials and anything else that had caught their fancy.

After all that was said and done, the group had a small get together in the empty faculty room with Tony being present via Scroll-facetime.

"So, how's everyone getting settled in? Got everything ya need?" Tony inquired on his end. "If ya wait like two weeks, can send a couple of things over ya know."

"No need for that for now." Steve waved off. "Right now, we just need to focus on… well, getting used to all this."

"Shouldn't be too hard." Clint remarked, leaning on the couch in Steve's room which was occupied by Wanda.

Pietro was sitting at the table near the right wall with Sam on the other side.

Peter was sitting on the wall near the door, taking apart his web shooters as they had their meeting.

"How is it not hard?" Wanda asked in confusion. "This is an entirely different world."

"With a lot of similarities to our own." Sam pointed out. "Shit, they even have some of the same dishes as we do. You can't tell me that's not a coincidence."

"I'm at a loss as you are."

"But still…" Peter muttered. "This can't be just a coincidence right? Is there like a connection between here and Earth?"

"We did fall through a Grimm portal, kid." Clint said in a "duh" fashion.

"Has to be, honestly." Steve mused. "What do you think Tony?"

"Why defer to me?" Stark inquired haughtily.

"Because you always love to talk and show off." Barton retorted. "So come on smartass, flap your gums."

The smartass on the other end only rolled his eyes before drumming his fingers against his chin.

"For starters, the similarities Remnant shares with Earth is a bit too uncanny." Tony stated, expression conveying deep contemplation. "Scarily so. So the kid ain't wrong about that. There's a connection that both these worlds have without question. And it's not relegated to just those tar pits."

"There's much we still don't know or understand." Sam said with his arms crossed. "Gonna need a lot of time figuring all of it out."

"What about a way home?" Peter asked anxiously. "I mean, I know we talked about it and all but-"

"Using the same method may have different results and consequences." Wanda interrupted.

"I figure that." Peter quickly said. "But that was because it was all unintentional really. Ain't there a way to do it in a more controlled setting?"

"That would be poking the metaphorical bear, or Ursa, in that case." Tony said, mulling the idea over in his head. "We don't know what exactly caused us to slip through from Earth to Remnant. Could be a one in a billion fluke really."

There was a momentary uncomfortable shared between the Avengers until they heard Pietro grunt aloud.

"What's up, speedy?" Clint spoke up, looking over to the speedster who appeared to be in thought. "Something on your mind?"

"Yeah…" Pietro murmured. "Did we ever talk about just what HYDRA was doing with that Grimm Pool? How long were they studying that thing? Better yet, how'd they keep it contained like that for so long?"

This got the others to be silent and ponder about these questions.

Pietro did bring up a good point, which was rather worrisome.

Not to say that he didn't have his moments but they, including Pietro himself, knew he was an act first ask questions later kind of guy.

Tony hummed aloud now. "Would've seen something like that from what Natasha leaked onto the web."

"Perhaps HYDRA never put everything on their servers." Clint pointed out. "Remember how we found out about Klaue?"

"So there's likely documents that they may have off the books on the Grimm Pool on Earth." Rogers surmised. "Think Nat will find them?"

"If anyone can do it, it's her." Clint said in complete confidence. "She's not alone either."

"So she's got Vision and Rhodey." Wanda remarked.

"But would they be enough?" Clint asked.

"I wouldn't count on that."

This got a number of eyes aimed towards Stark. They saw he was looking away, idly working on his suit at the moment.

Steve let out a tired sigh. "What did you do?"

They watched as he ran a hand through his hair, chuckling slightly. "To be honest, I never thought one of my protocols would finally go off."

"What protocol is this?" Clint warily asked.

"One of my better ones."

"Tony…"

"Look, it's not a murderous AI this time around." Stark quickly said, hands held up in a placating manner.

"Get to the point." Sam said, now impatient.

"...Well…"

-Scene Cut-

"Tony had this?" Natasha said in surprise, looking at a datafile that had apparently been active since the disappearance of the other Avengers.

"Apparently." Rhodey stated, already sifting through it.

"Paranoid much?" Nat said with a snort.

"Given his track record in these past years, yes." War Machine remarked before giving Nat a look. "And who are you to call him paranoid?"

"Hey, I'm properly paranoid." Romanoff rebuked the colonel. "He's world ending paranoid."

"You worked for SHIELD."

"My statement still stands."

Rhodey only rolled his eyes at that with neither speaking any further save for comments on the file every now and then.

Vision had been silent in all this, simply gazing at the litany of candidates that Tony had dubbed the "New Avengers" contingency. It appears that this had been put into place after the battle of New York back in 2012 but became solidified after the downfall of SHIELD last year.

It appears that Nick Fury had been busy keeping up with the growing numbers of enhanced across the world and upon SHIELDs downfall, Stark picked up the slack.

Since his birth being only a few short months or rather weeks ago, the android Avenger had noticed the growing uptick in world ending events coupled with the rising number of those of the superhuman variety. Not much of a surprise to know that Tony was keeping up to date with them like he was. He remembered many of the files that his creator had compartmentalized away which was apparently meant to form this contingency that they had found not long after the disappearance of their friends and comrades.

And would you look at that, there are some of these enhanced individuals right in their New York backyard.

"So," Natasha speaking caused Vision to break out of his deep thought process, looking over to the now de facto leader of the Avengers. "Where and who should we start with?"

-Scene Cut-

-Remnant-

-Several days later-

Sam Wilson was casually strolling through the halls of Beacon Academy, the aviator becoming more accustomed to the school as the days have gone by. He knew they were gonna be here for an indefinite amount of time until they find a way to get back home so may as well familiarize himself with this place.

After all, he and the rest of the team save for Peter would become teachers here.

'A teacher.' Falcon huffed to himself, shaking his head at the thought. 'How in the hell did we get roped into being that?'

Were any of them even qualified?

Just cause one saves the world doesn't mean they'd make for good teachers.

With another shake of his head, Wilson arrived at his intended destination.

He walked into the meeting room that Ozpin had bestowed to them in Beacon and found Pietro and Clint lounging about, eating lunch together.

"Hey Sam." The speedster greeted casually, the archer nodding silently at the aviator.

Wilson simply inclined his head at them before looking around the room.

Clint saw this, raising a slight brow at his fellow Avenger.

"Lookin' for something, Sam?" He asked, making Pietro look back up at Falcon.

"Yeah…Where's Peter?"

"Huh?" Maximoff said in confusion.

"Peter," Sam said again. "Where is he?"

"Don't you know?" Pietro asked.

Falcon rolled his eyes. "No, that's why I'm asking you."

"Oh. uh…" The Sokovian shrugged. "Dunno really."

Sam only deadpanned now at Pietro, turning to the more mature of the pair in front of him.

"Do you have any ideas, Clint?"

Hawkeye only shook his head. "Haven't seen him all day really. Why are ya lookin' for him? Do you need him for something?"

Wilson only gave an iffy hand motion. "Sorta. Just Cap and I haven't seen him since morning. We know everyone else is here but after breakfast, Parker just up and vanished and we haven't seen him since then. Did you guys see him at all?"

Pietro and Clint shared a look, a silent conversation between the two as a means of asking each other if they saw Peter at all. They both soon came to the conclusion that-

"Nada." Barton answered for the pair. "No idea where he went off to."

"Tsk." Sam rubbed his chin after hearing that.

"What's the big deal anyway?" Pietro asked, now leaning forward on the table. "What's up with you wanting to know where he went?"

"Just something Steve wanted to know." Wilson elaborated. "He figures a kid like Parker ain't one to sit still even if told to."

The archer hummed aloud, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed and face conveying thought.

"Well, there's a number of places he can be right now." Barton remarked, thinking over said places. "This place has a lab for him to use so he can be there. A smith shop to make more gadgets. The library is another place since he absorbs knowledge like a sponge. And then there's-"

"Alright." Sam cut the archer off, handheld up to him. "That, that's real helpful as much as it isn't really."

Clint simply shrugged, a silent response of "you asked, didn't ya?"

Wilson sighed, hand dragging over his face.

"What's the problem?" Pietro asked. "It's not like Peter's a troublemaker."

That seemed to draw the ire of the bird-themed Avenger, drawing a bewildered gaze from the speedster.

"What? What'd I say that was so wrong?"

"Aw come on Pietro." Sam bemoaned. "You should know this about us by now. It's not that we're troublemakers. It's that trouble always finds us no matter what."

Much as he wanted to, neither the Sokovian nor the marksman could deny such a reality. It honestly came with the job of being superheroes.

Trouble always comes around.

And speaking of the topic of their discussion.

Said topic was currently getting adjusted to the world they currently found themselves in by web swinging in between the tall buildings of Vale.

Garbed in his suit, Spider-Man landed atop a roof that gave him a good vantage point of the cityscape around him.

He was crouched down low with knees up to his shoulders and hands placed upon the ground.

'Lot like New York.' Peter Parker mentally said to himself, surveying the streets below. 'Just a lot… cleaner… and smaller.'

With a shake of his head, Spider-Man jumped from the rooftop, free falling for a few moments before firing a webline to swing up high into the air.

He had been out here for about an hour by now, wanting to fully adjust himself to this new but also familiar environment. It was still a bizarre thing to see and realize just how much in common this place had with New York.

Or really, how much this world had in common with Earth, rather.

The young webhead was still in deep internal debate on just where the Avengers had ended up at.

Was this another planet? An alien world?

Or rather… and this one is just crazy in the mind of the teenage superhero, what if they had found themselves in the middle of another universe.

That idea alone was insane to consider honestly.

That would completely change the initial idea of singularity. If there is indeed a multiverse, they would be dealing with an eternal inflation system of never ending changes and probabilities and possibilities. A truly mesmerizing, tantalizing and terrifying thought.

With a shake of his head, Peter banished the thought for now.

Being on another world was cool enough as is.

Multiversal stuff, should it exist, can come later.

He landed on a wall, quickly scaling up the building and flipping over to land on another roof that overlooked a plaza down below.

It was pleasant for the most part with the people of the city idly going about their everyday business. Some were rushing to work, others were on a lunch break whilst families were spending time together.

All in all, a nice, peaceful day.

…

So what was this strange buzzing that he was feeling right about now.

Scrunching up his face beneath his mask, he held a hand up to his head, patting it several times in different spots as if to see if that can help him figure out what he was feeling right now. He shook his head several times and surprisingly, the buzzing subsided…

…a bit.

Now it was like this subtle hum that he can still sense from the back of his head.

He shook his head again, rubbing the back now.

What is going on right now?

Whilst Peter was going through this unusual episode, down below in the plaza was a single man in a hoodie who was walking in between all the civilians at a casual pace. He wasn't rushing nor making any moves that would seem suspicious.

This man had one destination in mind.

A dust shop directly in front of him that also served as a bank.

Typical of the Schnee brand. Profit and the commodity all in one location. The arrogance was on clear display for all to see.

And in that arrogance, a target.

He walked into the bank/shop, taking a moment to scope out the area. There were some civilians here and there.

Not that they mattered really.

One of the employees within the shop noticed his presence.

"Yes sir, can I help you?" She politely asked.

The man slowly raised his head up to the woman who addressed him and a crooked smile made its way onto his face. The woman's' face faltered slightly until she saw something wafting around the man.

At first, it appeared to be dots of some kind until she squinted and saw that it looked like-

'Sand?' The woman internally thought when her eyes widened into that of terror.

The sand converged around one of the arms of the man which in turn formed an oversized mallet.

He hefted his arm up, ignoring the cries of fright all around him as he mallet arm down into one of the dust stands close to him.

"A purchase and withdrawal please." He remarked cheekily.

It wouldn't be long before alarms flared to life as the man burst out from the building with duffle bags of lien and dust in his enlarged sand hands.

People screamed and began fleeing from the man who laughed at the pandemonium he caused.

Taking a step forward, he was blindsided by two lines shooting down from above, snagging the bags he held and pulled them right out from his hands.

"What the-?"

"I believe these belong to the nice people working at this establishment."

The man looked up to see a rather unusual sight.

Standing atop a lamppost was a man clad in a bright red and blue spandex suit with wide white lenses and black web-themed lining the suit and spider symbol on the chest of the suit.

"Sup." He casually greeted.

"Who are you supposed to be?" The man irritably asked.

"Just a well concerned citizen doing a righteous duty."

"Don't you know who you're messing with?" The man challengingly asked, holding up one of his arms that morphed into a large spiked, sandy mace.

"No, but I can tell you'll tell me anyway."

"You're not from around here, are you?" The Man snidely said.

"I'm new in town."

"Well Deadman, the name's Baker. William Baker."

"Baker? Like cookies and pastries?"

"Does this look like a pastry dish to you?" Baker barked, holding up his sand-mace arm. "You really aren't from around here punk. Everyone in this town knows not to mess with the Sandman."

"Sandman?" The brightly clad hero chortled. "What, did your mom give you that name or did you think of it yourself?"

There was a noticeably visible twitch of anger from the Sandman as this strange newcomer kept on talking. That voice of his was grating on his nerves already and he still held the haul he had just gotten in his hands.

"Then again, Spider-Man isn't all that original either." The red and blue teen said with a cross of his arms. "So who am I to judge, honestly?"

Baker had enough by this point, rearing his arm back. "Not gonna be any judge for that much longer you punk."

Sandman swung his arm at full force, smashing into the lamppost and breaking it in half.

"Whoa!" Spider-man exclaimed, grabbing the bags to throw and web them up to the wall above the Dust shop/bank before landing in front of Sandman. "Swing and a miss!"

This only served to further incense Baker who was now glaring angrily at the hero.

"Who the hell are you?" He shouted, morphing both his hands into enlarged fists.

"Didn't I tell you already? I'm Spiderman."

"Is that supposed to mean something?" William barked out, cocking one of his fists back.

"Well… no not yet this is my first outing out-WHOA!" Peter jumped back as a sand fist smashed into the spot where he stood.

Sandman moved to pursue, swinging his fists wildly about, extending and growing them as Spider-man got further and further away.

Webbing a line to another lamppost behind him, Peter swung around and slingshot himself right at the Sandman. William hastily erected a sand barrier in front of him that took the brunt of the attack but was still sent hurtling back to the ground.

Sandman growled, pushing himself up being now fueled by anger.

"Who in the hell do you think you are, you snot nosed punk!" William all but shouted, getting back up to his feet. "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with right now?!"

Spider-man tilted his head at the man, noting the hoodie he had worn had fallen off during his kick to reveal a striped shirt of light green and dark green.

"Is Waldo a cousin of yours by any chance?" Peter couldn't help but ask.

Sandman paled slightly. "You… How do you know about Waldo?"

Spider-man almost fell over upon hearing this. "Holy-Really? I was joking about that! You actually have a cousin named Waldo?!"

Baker had a tick mark appear on his forehead as the teen hero began to laugh.

"What's so funny!?" He roared out, slamming his enlarged fist towards the costumed teen. "Tell me, you bug!"

"Make me." He taunted.

William exhaled steam out of his nostrils. Never before had anybody in such a short amount of time successfully managed to piss him off so easily and seamlessly. It was almost impressive if it wasn't so downright infuriating. He wanted to kill this chatterbox already.

"I will, right before I bury you alive!"

"Oooo~ generic much."

"HOW ARE YOU THIS ANNOYING?!" Sandman thrust his arms out, sending two sand pillars in Spider-man's direction.

The web head leapt over the two pillars, landing on one and running atop it before jumping into a web swing.

William didn't react in time from the dual kick to the chest he got from the web-head, sending him flying into a bench that was dented upon impact. The criminal groaned in pain, the flare of his aura surrounding his body.

During the last few moments of this fight, loud thudding sounds could be heard along the street. This was somewhat ignored by Spiderman, that was until that strange buzzing started to flare again once the thuds began to escalate.

A moment later, Peter was struck from the side and sent flying.

Sandman let out a groan, looking up at a rather large, broad form standing over him with a hand being offered for him to take.

"You took your sweet time, O'hirn." William grunted, shooting an appreciative smirk at the man that had come to help him.

"I waited for ya at the rondevu point and you didn't show. Now I see what held ya up." The larger of the pair stated.

The man was gargantuan to say the least, being at the very minimum six foot eight. He wore black cargo pants and boots with a gray shirt. There were unusual patches on his muscular forearm that didn't look like regular skin. In fact, it looked a lot like a leathery hide or the skin of another animal entirely.

What this comparison might best be described to be comes from the most discerning feature about this man being the large rhinoceros horn on his head.

"So who's the bastard holdin' us up?" O'hirn inquired, looking around the area until Baker pointed behind the larger man.

He turned to see Spider-man get back to his feet, white lenses landing upon the two and his posture slouched slightly.

"A two for one special. Fantastic."

"Who's the runt?" The horned foe asked, eyes narrowing at him.

"Punk calls himself Spider-man." Sandman said, slamming his fist into his palm.

"What a lame name for a Faunus to call himself."

"A Faunus?" Peter repeated, thinking back momentarily to the secondary subspecies of humans with the additional animal features on Remnant. "Uh… not a Faunus dude. Just a guy who's all spider-themed with his heroics."

"Then I find it insulting." O'hirn's nostrils flared like that of a charging rhinoceros. "Looks like you need an education when dealing with the Sandman and Rhino of Vale."

"Wow, education?" Peter parroted. "I didn't realize you had the capacity to speak words with more than four syllables."

Rhino's expression fell, now looking both unamused and annoyed.

"Yeah, he doesn't know how to shut up." Sandman grunted, not even needing to look at his partner to see the expression he currently held.

"I can see that." Alexander O'hirn grunted, widening his stance now. "Let's give him the old one two."

A menacing grin blossomed on the shorter of the pair, holding up both arms, conjuring sand around his hands. One was a giant hammer and the other was the spiked mace whilst Rhino called forth his semblance. A gray, silvery aura began surrounding his body before concentrating around his legs and large horn.

"Oh boy." Peter quietly said to himself, that weird buzzing sensation starting to scream now. "Gaara and Toro the bull. Naruto and Looney Tunes. What a combo."

The criminal pair ignored what the kid was saying and went in on the offensive.

Rhino charged forward in a shocking display of speed, making Peter's lenses widened in fear. Jumping into the air at the last second, instincts took over as Spider-man angled his body in time as Baker had leapt after him with the intention of smashing him into his sand mace.

He landed on the ground, angling his entire body back in a matrix-like dodge to avoid the beefy arm of O'hirn. Letting his back fall to the ground, he immediately went into a back roll, kicking his legs up to strike at Rhinos' arm.

Alexander let out a grunt, eyes conveying clear surprise at the pain he had just felt.

His aura held strong but that was a definite shock.

"Eat this you little shit!" Sandman bellowed, going in for another series of rapid swings with his sand arms now shaped like a pickaxe and baseball bat.

"Sorry, but I have a strict diet for survival."

"Then how about a taste of metal."

"Ack!"

The distraction by Sandman was enough for the Rhino to grab Peter by the chest and without warning, the teen was thrown at full force towards a passing bus.

Plowing through the bus window, Peter quickly recovered and maneuvered away from the seated and standing passengers.

"Excuse me! Pardon me! Coming through!" He said, landing and flipping through the moving vehicle towards the back.

Reaching the end, Spider-man kicked through the window and landed on the other side… right on a rather skittish belly-flop.

"Ow, ow!" He groaned. Standing up, he patted himself down as he saw some vehicles coming to an abrupt stop around him. "Arms, check. Legs, check. Head, check. Mouth is surprisingly still in order."

"NOT FOR LONG!"

Spider-man snapped around in time and let out a girlish shriek at the sight of the charging Rhino making a beeline straight for him.

"Oh crap!" Spider-man barely managed to jump and flip right over the Faunus whilst shooting a small web right at the eyes, temporarily blinding the man.

"Hey!" He yelled out, reaching for his eyes, trying to pry the webbing off before crashing headfirst into the side of a building and falling over in the rubble.

"Aiya, that's not good." Peter said to himself, seeing the destruction that was transpiring now.

"Hey freakshow!" The now familiar voice of Sandman came from behind the superhero. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"I thought that's what you were gonna do." Peter shot back. "You know, with all the money you- oh that's right, you failed to steal it if memory serves me correctly."

Hearing this got the desired reaction from Baker, the man having his eyes nearly bulge out with anger and vein on his neck. It's amazing how quickly this kid successfully managed to get under his skin but by the gods, he was doing it with flying colors.

Before long, he could hear the police sirens in the air. This got Baker to grit his teeth in annoyance.

"Damnit, the fuzz."

"About time." Peter said in relief, crouching down, one hand on the ground and another raised above and behind him. "Alright Mr. Sandman, how do you wanna play this out? Do you wanna be a good little boy and take your punishment or-"

"SHADDUP!" Sandman created a sand ax and flung it at full force at the web head who jumped to the side to avoid it.

The sand ax smashed into another building, eliciting more panicked screams from the civilians around the area.

"I need to get them away or else people will get hurt." Spider-man muttered to himself. "His schtick is sand so if he needs it dry, let's see how he likes it wet… God that came out horribly." He shook his head, clearing out those thoughts. "If I remember, the wharf is over this way. Hopefully it's deserted at this time of the day."

Peter leapt into the air, firing a webline and swung away from Marko all while taunting him.

"C'mon Sandy, I'll be easier to find than your cousin Waldo if ya can keep up."

"Don't ever mention my cousin!" Sandman roared, pursuing after the spider-themed Avenger who was staying ahead of him whilst guiding him to his intended destination.

As this went on, O'hirn was surrounded by the newly arrived police.

"Keep your hands up where we can see them."

O'hirn smirked. "Oh you'll see 'em." He said, reaching down and prying out a large chunk of road debris. He then chucked it right at the police vehicles.

Several were practically wrecked at this time with many officers diving away for safety. More so when the destroyed vehicles were soon picked up by the rhino Faunus and thrown moments later.

Instead of crushing a few officers, a number of people saw the vehicle was suspended by a litany of webs.

Confusion was rather present before they saw someone swinging in. "This one's mine, officers."

There they witnessed Spiderman coming in and striking O'hirn hard with a dive kick before delivering a series of punches and kicks.

"Hey, needle nose!" He said, hands on the rhinoceros horn and swinging around it. He then leapt away once letting go, not before kicking the large Faunus at the back of the head. "Party's this way!"

The Rhino growled before giving chase alongside the Sandman.

Swinging about, Spider-man avoided many thrown objects from behind. Mailboxes, lamp posts, cars were a number of examples, courtesy of the criminal duo.

Rounding the corner, he avoided one such item. As he did, he saw a harsh impact on a building with a mother walking with her daughter beneath it. Debris began to fall, causing the mother to push her daughter out of harm's way.

Witnessing this, Spider-man swung back in, fired a webline at the mother and pulled her out of the way. With the intensity of the pull, the masked hero had the mother practically fly towards him. He soon caught her before swinging down to the ground where the fallen child waited.

Once depositing the mother towards the child, the pair took off in fear as Spiderman didn't get any form of gratitude.

He soon found the reason why in a mere moment later.

Parker yelped as he was snagged from behind and was slammed onto the ground several times like a ragdoll before being thrown away as one. He was then grabbed by a sand appendage, flinging him roughly into the ground, picking him up and throwing him again.

Next thing the kid from Queens knew, he crash landed into what appeared to be a sports store.

His body tumbled about, colliding against several stands and displays before coming to a stop.

"Oh that's gonna leave a mark." Peter bemoaned, his entire body aching from pain.

A loud crash was soon heard, prompting Spiderman to peer over from his prone form to see the Rhino has charged and broken through a store wall.

Looking over, Parker saw a bowling ball display and had a small idea.

Firing off some webs at it, he pulled hard to cause the display to fall over and have the many weighted balls roll towards the Rhino.

"Cartoon logic, don't fail me now."

In his mind, he thought the Rhino would step on at least one of them and comedically fall over. Unfortunately for him, the large Faunus stepped on several balls and simply crushed them under his feet.

"Cartoon logic, you completely failed me." Peter said, hanging his head in disappointment.

The Web-Slinger was soon kicked away, causing him to tumble once more some distance away. He soon turned over and saw the Rhino peering down on him with a smirk.

"Now I'm gonna crush you like what I did to those bowling balls." O'hirn stated, leering at the teen.

Peter soon panicked as the Faunus lifted his large foot above him. As this happened, the teen Avenger saw what was behind his present foe.

"Wait, wait!"

"What?"

"Weight."

Firing some weblines, they attached to some shelves containing various gym equipment weights. Tugging them, Peter saw the large shelves topple over and fall on top of the Rhino.

With the Faunus temporarily down for the count, he got up and ran out of the store-

*BAM*

-only to be met with a fist to the face.

"Urgh." Peter murmured, rubbing his face, feeling particles of sand falling from his mask.

"You think you can mess with us and just get away like that?" William Baker snarled, stomping towards the downed hero with his arms covered in sand that took the shapes of spiked kanabos. "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?"

"Why do you sound like you're from Brooklyn? Or Queens for that matter?" Peter couldn't help but say despite his slightly disoriented state. "There another New York Cap and I should be aware of?"

"Who and where?" Baker said in bewilderment. "The fuck are you even saying right now?"

"Hey, hey, is that language really necessary?" Parker admonished, shaking off his dazed stupor.

Hearing this, Baker was unable to prevent himself from rolling his eyes.

"For real?"

"I have some standards to uphold for all the good little boys and girls in Remnant."

"I've never even seen your ugly costumed ass around these parts."

Hearing this made Peter incredibly defensive. "Hey, I'll have you know that I happen to like this suit. It makes me look awesome while kicking your butt."

"Ah, Shaddup already!" Sandman roared, slamming his sand surrounded arms into the ground, the pavement cracking before multiple sand spikes erupted from the ground.

"Whoa!" Spider-man was airborne once again, jumping from spike to spike. "Nice video game moves."

"Keep yappin' it up, bug boy."

"Ok, see, that right there is your first mistake." Peter said akin to a teacher lecturing a student. "I can understand the mistake that comes with identifying insects and all. See, an arachnid is an insectoid-"

Peter's "lecture" was interrupted by a pillar of sand nearly crushing him. "Like I care!"

"Your pal would." Parker shot back. "He looks like the smarter of the two."

"Equal distribution of intelligence!"

"Wow, you can say four syllable words too?"

Sandman felt like exploding with rage right about now.

'Does this guy ever SHUT UP?!' Was the internal scream of the criminal who started to create sand spears and chucked them at the wall crawler.

Spider-man was mentally starting to get tired of jumping and dodging all the time. He needed to hurry up and end this now cause the destruction was starting to climb.

It was at this time that the young Avenger then heard his comms flaring with someone familiar speaking on the other end.

"-eter? What the hell is going on right-"

"Sorry, can't exactly talk right now." Peter hurriedly said, leaping over yet another sand mace swing from Sandman.

He heard more chatter but he shut it off by this point as it only served as a distraction.

Right now, his mind was rapidly thinking of just how to take this guy out.

He can get in close but with the sand, he could easily get repelled back. His eyes beneath his mask are darting around rapidly to find the means of finishing the fight.

It was then that his eyes landed on the water nearby.

He almost slapped himself upside the head when he remembered they were now fighting in a wharf. And a wharf has water around it. And what happens to sand when it gets wet?

'Just need to get him soaked and it's smooth sailing from-'

His thought process was soon interrupted by a bellowing roar, rocks being flung about and a pattern of shaking stomps headed right towards him.

"And look who's back. Seems those weights wouldn't hold him down for long."

"YOU'RE DEAD YOU LITTLE MAGGOT, YOU HEAR ME?!" Rhino was practically frothing at the mouth as he ran at full speed towards Spider-man.

Peter was tensed up, waiting for him to come with William even halting in his attacks in hopes of O'hirn managing to gore the young hero.

Just as Rhino was a foot away from the web head, he drops to the ground and kicks the charging Faunus in the knee.

Though it didn't break the bone, it was still enough of a shock for the foe to stumble, fall flat on his face and then proceed to tumble down into the water.

"WOOO!" Peter cheered, jumping into the air. "I am a matador now!"

"O'hirn!" Sandman shouted, facing Peter again. "You little shit! You're a Deadman."

Just as Sandman raised his hands to conjure more Sand, he abruptly froze in place. Around the man was a red hue that prevented him from moving at all.

"What the he-GAH!"

Baker was then violently shoved right into water via a silvery-blue blur that screeched to a halt right next to Spider-man.

"So this is what you were doing." Said a familiar accented voice.

The sound of thrusters followed by arrows being launched came after and moments later, the Avengers were on the scene.

"Oh hey guys." Peter whimsically said, plopping down to the ground as the team all turned to him with raised brows. "Nice of you to finally drop in. I totally had that handled."

Captain America stared at the teen before looking behind him to see some of the destruction that had transpired in the wake of Peter's battle with the Sandman and Rhino.

"Yes, with plenty of property damage." Clint commented in the stead of Rogers.

"Not my fault." Peter said.

"Least he didn't get the city blown up." Wanda remarked, raising her hands that were glowing red. "Or destroyed."

"Is that what we qualify as a job well done?" Sam Wilson inquired, idly watching the two men that Peter had been combatting for the past few minutes get lifted out from the water. "Cause if so, we've set a terribly low standard."

Hawkeye wordlessly pulled several arrows, aiming them at the duo and firing. Both were struck by taser arrows followed by rope arrows to bind them after they were knocked out.

Steve watched in silence for a few seconds, the police coming in to apprehend the two criminals whilst Hawkeye opted to approach the cops, pulling out the identification he got from Ozpin.

Rogers turned back to the teen hero who had gotten back to his feet.

"Hell of a debut." Steve couldn't help but say.

"Better than what happened at the club." Peter quipped.

"Ya did… Well, it's passable." Rogers jokingly praised.

"I'll take it." Spidey said with

"What now?"

"Hopefully this will be done quickly and we'll be back to Beacon." Steve said, patting the teen on the shoulder. "Come on, let's head back."

-Scene Cut-

Over at the cold, yet climate controlled city of Atlas, one billion, playboy, philanthropist was really regretting the situation he was in right now.

Why?

Because he was in one of those stupid and excruciatingly boring rich people galas where all the attendants do is stand around and pat themselves on the back in the most narcissistic ways possible.

And they're not even doing it the fun, awesome way that he does it.

It's the typical snobbish, nose upturned cause of all the crap they love to smell that revolves around themselves.

So really…

Something he had long since moved away from.

And yet he's been brought back in due to present circumstances.

So many people here who seriously needed an attitude change. Should he be the one to do it?

Well… if given the right circumstance and motivation to do so, yeah, he'll do it.

"Yes, this year has been troublesome with the White Fang but our profit margins are still looking up." Said a snide and overly condescending voice.

Tony rolled his eyes, looking over at the man of the hour who had put this gala together.

Seeing Jacque Schnee before him… boy the man looked horrifyingly similar to his late father… minus the rather large mustache. And douchey vibes.

His dad was an asshole and didn't really show him much love. And Howard Stark did have regrets on such things, given what he learned over the past years. But my god, douchebag if ever there was one, he dubs thee Jacque Schnee.

He really wished he wasn't here right now.

Is it too evil to wish for something bad to happen so he can just suit up and show off?

"-es, I'll be sure to let your sister know."

Tony glanced over to see General James Ironwood speaking with a young, whitehaired girl that he had recently seen perform.

Weiss Schnee, daughter to Jacque Schnee, was standing before the general and she was as prim and proper as they come.

Very much of a military/perfectionist girl if he ever saw one. Disciplined to a fault, hardly anything out of line. Had a stick so far up her ass, which would explain her attitude if anything.

Would explain how she and Winter are sisters. Seems the young one either is emulating her sister intentionally or it's all in their blood.

But at the same time, he could spot the distant detachment she held at this moment. How much she clearly did not want to be here. She was only here for one reason.

Her obnoxious father who made some lame joke just now with the group around him laughing that fake laugh that all elitists share.

'She clearly needs to loosen up and find someone to open up towards… who may pull out that stick out.' Thought Tony, taking a sip of his drink. 'And I need a stronger drink.'

"Tony Stark."

Arching a brow, the Avenger turned to see none other than Jacque Schnee standing before him.

"Monopoly." Tony greeted in return.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, just reminded me of a guy I knew." Stark quickly said.

"Uh huh…"

"He's wealthy, if you wanna know." Tony tacked on, a wry grin making its way onto his face.

"I wouldn't know who you speak of."

"He's a private guy. Likes to keep to himself."

"I'll take your word for it." Jacque said, clearly uncertain as to what Tony was talking about, clearing his throat a moment later. "Anyways, I wished to meet with you properly."

"Properly met." Stark said cordially. "What can I do you for, Jack?"

The mustached man's brow twitched but he kept himself composed.

"I have heard of some rumors as of late, pertaining to you."

"Pertaining to what?" Tony airily asked.

"Your sudden rise of wealth, for starters. I pay attention to a litany of people across the world to see how their financial management goes with their businesses. You, however, have come literally out of nowhere overnight."

"Oh that?" Tony scoffed good naturedly, waving him off. "It's nothin'. Just saw an opportunity and capitalize on it."

"It's nothing?" Jacque parroted, finding the man's dismissal aggravating. "Mr. Stark-"

"Tony." He cut him off. "Mr. Stark was my old man."

Schnee silently fumed, finding the man's dismissive and abrasive manner to be greatly grating on his nerves already.

"Tony." He gritted out. "I would have you know that I keep up to date on the economics of the world. It comes with the position I hold."

"Oh, keeping up with the competition, I see?" Tony stated more than asked.

Jacque 'hmphed', looking away slightly. "Is it wrong to know how the market goes?"

Tony shook his head. "No, it's not. Depends if there's an unhealthy obsession towards it."

"And what does this conversation qualify as?" The Schnee Patriarch asked, a challenging edge to his voice.

Stark smirked at him, stepping close to the man, eyes locked onto his own.

"That's for you to decide, Monopoly." Tony remarked. "Maybe some competition is good for ya. Or maybe you can't handle it. Your response is up to you."

It was gratifying to see the man clearly get angered and rattled by his words.

"I see one daughter here." Tony observed offhandedly. "Would've thought you'd have your other rugrats attending if the trend often goes. Unless they're hiding somewhere amongst the crowd."

"They don't always go to every event." Jacque commented before briefly eying his eldest daughter. "As for Winter, she's a Specialist and Ironwood's right hand, per say. Nearly every event he attends, she's not far behind."

"Uh huh, like you dragging your youngest pair to things which are rather unnecessary for their presence; all for publicity."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Oh, I can think of a great number of things." Tony said, clearly speaking from experience. "Obviously they can refuse, yet you silently force them to attend to make yourself look good."

This only served to further raise the ire of the owner of the Schnee dust company.

Tony Stark is already working to embarrass and anger him with every single sentence he says. The callous and brash manner in which he spoke.

He showed no sense of respect towards the man who basically runs Atlas and most of the world with his company.

"I am trying to prepare them for what to expect as they're the future of the company." Schnee arrogantly said, tone tinged with pride.

"The idea has merit, don't get me wrong, but it's mostly how it was done on the intent. Thus it becomes more of a likely excuse, which can only go so far with how you've enacted it. "

Jacque gave the man a small glare. "What are you insinuating Mr. Stark?"

"What makes you think I'm insinuating anything?" He asked rhetorically. "I'm just voicing my factual thoughts."

"Factual?" Schnee's ire only continued to grow, much to the amusement of the Iron Man. "What makes you presume this to be factual?"

"I bet you fund quite a lot of your financials to your PR department to save face and cover up a whole mess load of issues you've done in particular since you took over your father-in-law's company."

Jacque found himself choking upon his breath. "Wh-what?! H-h-how do you know-"

"I'd try the panache." Tony casually said, walking away from the man. "And don't think you're the only person out there in existence to pull such a move."

Jacque only huffed, turning to walk away from the Stark before he could, clearly reaching his limit with the Avenger.

Tony simply snorted at the man's behavior. It was at this moment he spotted Ironwood giving him a wry look, the billionaire to be on Remnant giving him a cheeky smile in return.

James only shook his head with mirth, Tony turning away to stare intently at the Schnee stomping away from him.

'To think I'm gonna have to be more involved with that guy with my new job here.' He thought with disdain. 'My mental sanity can only take so much of his bullshittery.'

If he were to gauge the man, he'd place Jack Frost in between Obadiah Stane and Justin Hammer. Yes, the head of the Schnee company can be considered a threat with how much power he holds, yet he can't be all that intimidating.

That man seems to fold from just some light taunting; which was rather entertaining if done right. Or maybe Stark has had just too much practice with these kinds of situations. Probably that.

People like Jacque, he's seen a dime a dozen on them.

With a sigh, he turned back to face the gala of glum and gloom, spotting the small form of Professor Heimerdinger of Atlas. He made his way over to the stout Faunus when someone else caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

He spotted a young girl amongst the gala attendees. One which he was familiar with to a degree. She had a good singing voice from what he had seen.

And it appeared she wanted to be anywhere but here given her isolated location in standing alone out on one of the many balconies of the gala hall.

Before long, he was able to get close to her in order to strike up a conversation.

"So…"

The young daughter of Jacque Schnee jolted, spinning around to see Tony Stark walking up to stand beside her on the balcony.

"Mr. Stark?" Weiss Schnee said in surprise, the man ignoring her comment.

"How are you liking this gaudy get-together of the world's best douchebag?"

"Excuse me?" She said, sounding rather affronted.

"Come on." Tony said conversationally. "You know how it is. You can smell the bullshit just wafting in the air."

Weiss gaped in disbelief at the man's callous and casual insulting manner he was displaying right now. Far from the way he was when she first met him.

"I'll have you know that I take great pride in being here." She said in an affronted manner. "The good name of the Schnee is to be represented here and-"

"Wow~ If that isn't the most forced thing I've heard all week." His drab statement prevented her from finishing her own sentence. "Jesus, why can't any of these ever be honest? We just need more events where there's hardly any snooty people around for their own self-interest. God, that will be a breath of fresh air."

Weiss was really unsure and frankly flabbergasted that a man as brazen as this one here was amongst the elite socialites of Atlas. She didn't know whether to be insulted or gladdened that not everyone is as stuck, uptight and as arrogant as most everyone in this gala.

She had gotten a strange feeling from him the first time they met after her recent performance but the way he was acting was not exactly something she was used to. Just who was this man?

"Meh~~" Tony blew out a bored breath. "Can the school year just hurry up and start already? Something interesting should come out there."

Weiss blinked upon hearing this. "School year? Why are you interested in such things?"

"Is it such a crime to be eyeing the future of the world?" Tony rhetorically asked. "I'm already working with Jimmy and have some investment in future projects in Atlas and Vale."

"Vale?"

"Got a… protege, if you can call him that, down there that honestly… he has potential. A lot, really. More so than me and my band of merry men."

She really has no idea what this man was talking about now.

"And speaking of all this school stuff, Winter sure has been making it known about her precious little sister starting her first year in the school of super teens."

Hearing Winter speaking about her made the younger Schnee perk up, Tony turning to eye her inquisitively.

"Don't mind me asking but in the upcoming school year, what elective classes in particular do you plan on taking here at Atlas?"

Weiss squinted at him. "And why would you ask me such a question?"

"Eh~ it's been a while since I've been to school and things clearly have changed since then." Tony offhandedly said. "That and I'm just a little curious. My school life wasn't… normal if you wanna call it that."

She was silent for a moment, looking at this weird man hesitantly before answering him. "I don't plan on attending Atlas Academy."

"Oh really? Why not?" Tony then listed off some facts. "It's close to home. Easier to travel if you don't want to stay on campus-"

"I just want to do something for me." Weiss firmly said, cutting him off from speaking any further. "Something that is not decided by my name but my actions."

The Iron Avenger paused from the interruption. He stared at the girl in an analytical fashion before a small, approving smile wormed its way onto his face.

"Do ya now?" He softly said. "Rather the bold choice. Tell me, are you doing this clearly for yourself or doing it to get away from and get at your father?"

Weiss seemed to realize that she had spoken rather… uncharacteristically brash and was about to apologize when Stark prevented her from doing so.

"Hey now, believe me, I get it." Tony said with complete sincerity. "Your father's shadow is big, but how dark is it for you to be encompassed by it?"

"I just wish to make it myself." Weiss said, a feeling of Deja vu coming over her. "I don't want to be just known as "the daughter of Jacque Schnee". Everyone will always say that here."

"Here?" Tony noted. "So I take it you've set your sights elsewhere."

Weiss nodded assuredly.

"Any place in particular?"

"Beacon." She said with certainty.

Stark blinked upon hearing that, a wry smirk now in place. "Beacon, eh?"

"What's wrong with Beacon?" Weiss defensively asked.

"Nothing." Tony raised his hand, laughing now. "It's just that came as a surprise." She merely gave him a questioning look. "Let's just say starting this upcoming school year will be quite exciting for you and your fellow students."

The heiress can clearly see Mr. Stark knew something. Just that particular smile practically screamed it.

"Ok, you wanna the truth?" Tony said in a conspiratorial manner, making Weiss lean in. "You see the news lately over in Vale?"

"I haven't."

"I suggest checking it when possible." He enigmatically stated. "You'll get an idea of what'll happen. I won't give out spoilers."

"Isn't it easier to just tell me?"

"And ruin all the fun?" He retorted with a snort. "Look Ice Queen-"

"I beg your pardon?!"

"-Just trust me when I say this. When ya get to Beacon, you'll know who I'm talking about. You'll be in good hands."

Once saying his piece, Tony left the Schnee heiress alone as he went back inside.

What he said to her didn't exactly feel reassuring if he was merely teasing her at all. Rather hard to tell.

Her curiosity would get the better of her later tonight in the comfort of her bedroom to see the latest news reports in Vale. Once viewing it, her anticipation in attending it's academy will grow a bit more.

Of course, even if she were to fully attend Beacon, she'll need to go through her father's "tests" to get his full permission and acceptance.

-Scene Cut-

As one future student of Beacon was dealing with her own little conundrums, there was another in the kingdom Mistral undergoing her own preparations for the new start at said academy.

She was a girl of seventeen, fiery red hair and striking emerald eyes.

Her outfit consisted of a brown over bust corset with a light brown vertical stripe down the center, an elastic black, A-line miniskirt, black opera gloves up past her elbows and a red, ankle-length sash around her skirt.

Additionally, she wore elaborate bronze greaves that started below her mid-thigh before continuing downwards into her boots as well as a pair of cuisses that began at the mid-thigh and ended slightly above her knees. She was also equipped with a bronze bracer capable of connecting with Akoú atop the sleeve on her left arm. Her high-heeled boots were brown with bronze trim, matching her skirt and sleeves and reaching up to mid-calf.

To top it all off, she wore a brown circlet beneath her hair with green teardrops on chains, a bronze gorget around her neck and a bracelet on the upper half of her left arm.

Within her hands was a javelin/sword/rifle and a dipylon shield with two sections of the shield looking as though they were carved out.

She stood in a battle stance, ready for a fight, her opponent being a woman that looked to be in her late thirties.

The woman had a darker complexion compared to the girl's lighter, almost porcelain pigmentation with magnetic black hair and a golden headband crown of her own with the sides going down her cheeks.

She was garbed in a skintight outfit of red and whitish-turquoise with golden lines tracing all over her body, three gold jewels embedded into her outfit on her chest and a golden battle sash around her waist.

"Now then Pyrrha," The black haired woman calmly said. "Are you ready?"

Pyrrha Nikos, top graduate of Sanctum Academy, nodded determinedly, grasping her weapons tighter now.

"Yes Master Tina." The red haired girl declared.

Tina smiles slightly before focusing up. With a wave of her hand, a litany of weapons of all shapes and sizes surround her in an ethereal golden glow of translucence. It wasn't until she grabbed a mace from the lineup that it gained a more solid appearance, the rest of her weapons disappearing from sight.

She hefted the weapon up and rested it on her shoulder, staring at the girl in a patient manner.

"Well?"

Without needing any further prompt, Pyrrha rocketed forward, clashing her blade with Tina's.

She grit her teeth slightly as the older opponent seemed unfazed by the attack until she applied her semblance.

"Already?" Tina teased, her weapon vanishing to only be replaced by a trident. "Come now, Pyrrha, I thought you'd do better than that."

Pyrrha said nothing, showing no visible reaction other than pivoting herself into a horizontal swing that Tina deftly avoided.

What followed was what could be described to be a dance rather than a fight as both of them moved with such grace and precision, it didn't look like they were attacking or defending from one another.

Pyrrha was always on the offensive yet no matter how many ways she attacked, from whichever angle she went in from, Tina blocked every single one of them. But the girl was not to be deterred.

She kept changing up her attack pattern with Tina changing up her weapon in return. For every switch up of attacks came a switch up of weaponry from the older of the two, having Nikos constantly changing how she goes at it in this battle.

This went on for indefinite period of time until at last-

"Well now," Tina casually remarked, eyeing the tip of Pyrrha's javelin that was an inch away from her waist. "You got me, my young pupil."

Pyrrha was breathing heavily now, her form relaxing as her mentor dismissed her weapon.

"Come now." The ravenette said, placing a hand upon Pyrrha's shoulder. "Let's get some rest."

The red haired fighter simply nodded, breathing in deep breaths all while trying to steady her heart rate.

They sat down at a nearby bench with some duffle bags and water around it, both taking a bottle for themselves. It was silent between the two for a few seconds, drinking their water whilst resting from their sparring session.

"You let me win." Pyrrha stated, breaking the silence between them.

Tina simply eyed her from the side, arching a brow up in clear amusement.

"Did I?" She murmured.

The ravenette let out a small chuckle at the sight of seeing her student puffing her cheeks out. "You did."

Tina only hummed candidly, looking innocently away, somehow making Pyrrha have her cheeks comically expand even more so.

"Master~~~" She whined, becoming almost chibified with how she was reacting to her teacher's nonchalant manner.

All she got was more laughter in return with then her vision being blindsided by the color red.

"Master~!" Pyrrha grumped, shoving her own red hair out of her face. "You know it takes forever for me to get this hair right."

"Then why not cut it like I always tell you to?" Tina countered, flicking her own hair behind her ear.

"I quite like my hair like this, thank you very much." Pyrrha petulantly said in a huff, turning away from her mentor whilst delicately stroking her hair back in place.

There was a bout of "tense" silence that was soon broken down into a fit of giggles shared between the mentor and student.

"You've improved greatly, my young apprentice." Tina proudly proclaimed. "You're getting faster with your change ups and are becoming more difficult to predict."

"But that's only because I'm used to fighting with you." Pyrrha quickly pointed out. "I don't know how other people will be when getting to Beacon but-"

"But nothing." Her master interrupted, throwing an arm around her shoulder with her other outstretched towards the horizon. "You are gonna go in there and knock them all dead. Show them why you're called the invincible girl."

Hearing the title that had been bestowed upon her only caused the girl in question to squirm within the arm of her master.

"What?" Tina pulled back slightly. "Still not used to the name?"

"I don't know…" Pyrrha rubbed her right arm. "I mean… it's not one I chose."

"But it is one that fits." Tina stated.

"Yeah, when it's everyone else but you." Nikos countered with a light shove of her shoulder against Tina's.

"Well of course not against me." Tina haughtily said, nose up high in the air. "As your master, I always know how to beat you."

Pyrrha's response was that of flicking her tongue at her master, the older woman laughing heartily at her protege's reaction.

A comfortable silence befell the two, the pair simply gazing out at their training grounds. There was a light and pleasant breeze that rolled on by, Tina breathing in deeply.

"You've gotten far in your training, your tournament victories, all of it." Tina quietly said. "And yet what's to come I feel is to be your greatest challenge."

"And what's that?" Pyrrha inquired curiously.

Tina shrugged. "Normalcy."

"Normalcy?" Her student parroted with a bemused look.

She chortled. "Well… as normal as one can get when attending a school of up and coming Huntsmen and Huntresses. You know how it is."

Nikos had her shoulders mirror Tina's moments ago. "I guess."

A thought then crossed the Invincible Girls mind, something that has been bugging her for the last few weeks now as her time in Beacon drew closer.

"Master Tina." She hesitantly said. "Since I'm leaving for Vale, for Beacon… does that mean-"

"There are times where you learn on your own, things you must experience for yourself." Tina stated, looking directly at her pupil. "I may not have anything else to teach you at this period of time. Perhaps later on if we were to meet again. You'll just need to broaden your horizons."

Pyrrha appeared uncertain until feeling Tina pat her shoulder.

"But you'll always be my precious student." The Amazonian Ravenette promised. "Anything you ever need from me, don't hesitate to ask."

Pyrrha only smiled up at her, appreciation gleaming in her emerald eyes.

"Come on, Master." Pyrrha said, getting up. "My mom is preparing your favorite dish as a celebration."

"Oh~~~" Tina mused. "Can't wait to dig in. Oh before we go…"

Pyrrha turned over and saw Tina hold out a sheathed knife towards her.

"What's this?"

"A gift signaling your acceptance into Beacon."

Pyrrha's eyes widened slightly. "A… gift?"

"Each of my students obtains a different gift from me. Yours, in particular, is a knife."

"...Okay, but why a knife?"

"Thought a changeup of your arsenal would be good to make things unsuspecting." Once Pyrrha took the item from her teacher, Tina continued speaking. "Once I take on a student, I forge a pair of weapons; using materials from my home and here in Mistral. One for myself as a reminder of who I taught and obviously one for the student, such as yourself. And todays the day you finally have this."

The "invincible girl" smiled softly before strapping it to her belt.

"One step closer to being a huntress like yourself."

"You can never be a huntress like myself. You can be someone better than that. In time, you will be even greater."

"I bet you say and do this for all of your students." Pyrrha coyly said.

"Not all of them." Tina said with a shake of her head. "Just the really, really good ones. Just the ones I have nothing but pride for."

Nikos couldn't help but blush at such praise since her tone was so earnest and true.

"One last bit of lesson for you to hear today." Hearing this, Pyrrha squared up her shoulders slightly since her master took on a more serious demeanor. "The power of your weapons and semblance comes from here," Tina pointed towards Pyrrha's heart before moving towards her head, "But only tempered by this. The self-control, the discipline, all that comes from the one who wields it. That is where the true strength of a fighter like ourselves derives from. Never forget that."

Pyrrha looked up with resolute determination, holding up her new knife, clenching it tightly in her fist. "I promise to never forget."

Her Master nodded in satisfaction, patting her shoulder. "Good. Now we must be off to see your mother with dinner. We're done for today."

-Scene Cut-

There it is.

The weapons of his family.

The sword and shield combo that had been passed down from generation to generation. It even predated the great war from what he had been told but he wasn't sure about the authenticity of such-

"JAUNE!"

"GAH!"

Jaune Arc, the sole son of the Arc family, jumped in terror from the scream that came from behind him.

He rounded on the person that startled him, glaring at her in comical anger.

"What the hell, Saphron?" Jaune complained, stomping his foot slightly.

"You were getting all swept up in your fantasy land again." His sister idly said, poking his forehead. "Come on, lunch is almost ready."

"Come on dear, no need to scare him like that." Chided a soft voice from the side, making Saphron look at the woman standing down the hall.

"Aw Terra, let me have my fun." Saphron pleaded childishly. "I haven't seen my precious baby brother in so long. We haven't done this in so long."

"I'm pretty sure he would appreciate it if ya just spent time with him without antagonizing him all the time."

"See, why can't you be like Terra, Saphron?"

The response he got in return was his sister simply patting his cheek in a condescending manner "Hurtful, little brother, hurtful. What happened to the sweet little tyke who would follow me around?"

"Gee, I wonder." Jaune sarcastically said, looking over to a picture of himself with his seven sisters all making silly faces and poses whilst he sat in the middle with a miserable expression, holding a sign that said 'Help Me'.

"Come on, you two." Terra called out to them. "Your parents are calling for us for dinner."

"That's what I was telling him earlier." Saphron stated. "Let's go little bro. You know how fast it goes in here."

Jaune took one final look at the ancestral weapons of his family, the sword and shield combo of Crocea Mors before following after Saphron. He looked up at her to catch her staring at him with a slightly worried look, making him tilt his head at her.

"What?" He asked, his older sister sighing.

"Are you… still thinking of-"

"Yes, I am." Jaune interrupted, knowing what she was about to ask. "I already made up my mind when I was a kid and I still wanna do it now."

"But Jaune, why are you so adamant about it?" Saphron was now sounding more fretful. "You could still go for a normal life, Jaune. Do like anything. You don't have to be a fighter like everyone else in the family. I mean, look at me."

"That's for you, Saphron." He quietly said. "And I'm really happy for you with your decision on life. But I don't want that right now. I have to do this."

"Who told you that you "have" to do something like that?" His sister challenged. "Nobody is forcing you to do this."

"Sure are a lot of people trying to talk me out of it." Jaune murmured in annoyance.

"They're only doing so cause they worry about you." Saphron remarked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It sure doesn't feel like it." He bitterly said. "Just discouragement so I don't "embarrass" myself."

"Now who said that?" She asked angrily, her other hand on her hip.

"It doesn't matter." He brushed her hand off.

"Yes it does." Saphron said with a bit more force. "Jaune, it's not that we don't believe in you," She saw him scoff but she went on. "But you know it's gonna be extremely difficult if you plan on going to… any academy out there. Not going through the normal protocol of the schools before the main academies. Hell, you never sought to ask for lessons from our sisters or parents."

"Cause they're always busy and never give me the time of day to focus on me."

It was a sad, bitter truth. Jaune was always the quiet one of the siblings and became overlooked rather often. He honestly tried his best to live up to expectations, despite not having anything done on him to make things easier. Overall, he felt rather unappreciative.

"Jaune…" Saphron softly said though it appeared her brother wasn't going to hear any of it.

"Look, Saphron, can we not right now." He said, voice low and slightly defeated. "Let's just… let's just eat before you and Terra leave."

"I'm here for another few days, Jaune." She reminded him.

"Great, then we have time to talk and fight like we used to about anything else."

He moved past her but she stayed where she was.

"There's nothing I can say to you that will change your mind about this?"

The taller but younger blond halted in his tracks, looking back at her with a more determined expression.

"I made up my mind when I was a kid and it's still the same now." He declared. "I'm going whether you like it or not."

With that final statement, he left his sister standing alone, a look of clear concern written all over her face. She slowly turned to the family's ancestral weapons, almost as if she was blaming them for her little brother's choice.

Being the only male of the present generation of the family, it's his right to inherit them. His responsibility to carry on the legacy.

Unfortunately it was done poorly, due to circumstances. He never could live up to the Arc warriors that have come before and that grated on him much as he pretended that it didn't.

And now…

"Saphron, come on!" Called out her wife, breaking the woman out of her thoughts.

"Yes, yes, coming dear." She called back to her.

Shooting one last glare at Crocea Mors, Saphron left the blade and shield be, joining the rest of her family.

Yet again, back once more after a prolonged absence but we've been busy with other things unfortunately.

But we're back and we'll explain our hiatus in the end AN.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Age of Remnant Chapter 9: Well now… this is awkward

James Ironwood stood stiffly, tingling with anticipation as he observed Tony Stark and Pietro Polendina hard at work for their latest experiment.

That experiment was something of a miracle.

A technological breakthrough that Ironwood never thought he would see, one accomplished by the billionaire Avenger in a matter of weeks.

It was astonishing, really, with just how quickly Stark had managed to pull this off. It seems the teammates boasting of his brilliance was not to be smoke in the air.

His eyes glanced up at the screen displaying a lone sight surrounded by specialized equipment to monitor the procedure of this moment.

The launching of Remnants' first proper satellite.

Many attempts of getting someone or something into space had always resulted in failure. Whilst Dust was the element from which innovation and advancement had come from, caveats began appearing soon after. Naturally, some workarounds had been developed but space travel? That had always felt like an unreachable goal. At least within this lifetime.

Dust becomes useless once reaching a certain height above the planet's surface.

That was, until another factor came into play.

With Stark's arc reactor being added into the equation, the issue of Dust being heavily needed for this project and even other areas were resolved in a sense.

Once the Dust is relatively useless, the arc reactor will pick up the slack and then some.

"Everything set here?" Tony asked Pietro, the man making one final scan of all systems, functions and any other factors that would come into play.

"Skies are cleared of traffic. Nothing to hamper the flight path unless some Grimm decides to show up."

With a wordless nod, Tony turned to leave the room, passing by a suitcase stationed near the exit. Clapping his hand atop the hand, the briefcase broke apart and soon formed around him into his Iron Suit as he exited the room and made his way out onto the platform where the satellite was stationed.

He made some final checkups and calibrations before the satellite began whirring with energy.

The armored head of the Avenger looked back to Pietro and Ironwood.

"Ready on your mark." Came Tony's voice through the intercom.

"Moment of truth." Polendina glanced at the general of Atlas.

James took a deep breath before speaking. "Launch."

One of the techies flipped the switch, igniting the engines and having the project take flight.

Launching alongside the satellite was the Iron Avenger. A means of precaution if the project malfunctions once airborne and to be sure it reached its designated destination.

James watched with tense silence whilst Polendina continued working next to him, monitoring the satellite for any issues that may arise.

"Levels are holding steady." Pietro said aloud.

"Boosters are now in effect." Tony chimed in, the first set of Dust rockets flying off to generate the next propulsion for the satellite.

With Iron Man, the hero flew right alongside the rising satellite, his own suit able to keep up with it.

"Time for me to carry this to the final stretch."

Positioning himself a slight way beneath the satellite, Tony readied himself for the last of the boosters to disconnect from the device. He, along with the arc-reactor propulsion on the satellite, would push this machine up to its intended rotation

To Stark, it was a little nerve-wracking with what he was about to enact.

The last time he was relatively in space was with the Battle of New York, having to carry the nuke through the portal to destroy the Chitauri fleet.

He had nightmares and personal problems as a result for a while and still does if he was really honest about it.

But he was also a man of scientific ambition.

And to be the first on a planet to get a satellite in orbit with his own technology and expertise was well enough to quell any fear or trepidation he may hold at this moment.

Besides, having the name Stark in space around another planet was well, a significant ego boost to be sure.

Two Stark planets for the price of one Tony Stark.

Yeah, an ego boost would not even come close to how smug he would feel.

When he saw the last of the boosters detach themselves, Stark flew in.

Combined with his own repulsors and the satellites, the speed increased drastically to the point that a level of heat began to generate, noted by the cone appearing slightly over them.

Just as soon as Stark gave the final boost he let go, falling back slightly and watched as the satellite soared into the air.

"How we lookin' Geppetto?" Tony asked through the comms.

Pietro ignored the nickname and eyed the monitors alongside a number of his colleagues.

"We have entered the mesosphere." He announced.

"Is the connection stable?" James inquired.

"As far as we can tell in the diagnostics." Pietro then began to grin. "We did it."

There was a raucous cheer from the other techies and scientists in attendance with Ironwood cracking a grin.

"I'll be damned." He muttered. "Smug bastard actually did it."

"You doubted him?" Polendina knowingly asked.

"One only lives a life of foolishness if you don't have room for doubt." The general casually remarked. "But when doubts like these are proven wrong, well…"

Nothing needed to be said there, the bespectacled scientist humming with a wide smile as he observed the joyous crowd of Atlas techies.

"So far it's a success. We'll have to continually monitor it for any possible hiccups." James commented. "Around the clock, even."

"Given it's a prototype." Pietro admitted. "But if this prototype is a success, I can only imagine what greater heights we can achieve."

The general nodded as he could already see the possibilities. To think this happened in such a short amount of time.

"Once this is truly successful, the next steps of a united Remnant will be assured." Pietro confidently declared.

Before Ironwood was able to comment, there was a loud metallic thud outside the test room and a moment later, Iron Man walked into the room. Several of the scientists closest to him swarmed the superhero, only his helmet retracting back to reveal his grinning face.

"Yes, yes, I know, I know, We're awesome, i.e. my form of humbleness to say that it's mostly me."

He made his way over to Ironwood and Polendina after shaking a few more hands and enjoying several congratulatory remarks.

"General." Tony boisterously greeted. "Can I deliver or can I deliver?"

James 'hmphed' in response though his smirk remained.

"Your experiment was… adequate."

Tony rolled his eyes at that.

"Adequate," He mockingly parroted. "That's what passes as a complement here?"

"He means you've exceeded his expectations, Tony." Pietro said with a pleased grin. "He just has difficulties in expressing such praise."

Ironwood huffed in mild annoyance at their banter but his mood remained high.

Though his pragmatic side soon took over.

"Eventually there will be a public awareness of what we've accomplished today. We'll have to get ready for that."

The "philanthropist" of the group waved his hand at the thought in a dismissive manner. "I've got plenty of experience for that."

James shook his head.

"This isn't something that can just be brushed aside, Stark. The rest of the world, despite lacking our technological advancements, will undoubtedly discover this sooner or later."

"And that's alright, Jimmy John." Tony said, patting the man on the back. "We're gonna tell the world about this sooner or later."

The general opened his mouth to counter this statement but Iron Man prevented him from doing so. "James, you're killing the moment. Relax. Bask in the accomplishment here."

Ironwood relented, a wry smile shot in Tony's direction before other scientists and engineers came in, their excitement palpable at what had just been accomplished.

Pietro, all the while, monitored the satellite currently in orbit while his mind was a whirl with what the future entails for this successful launch.

To fully get a better connection throughout Remnant will require another satellite or two. Four satellites in total maybe, reflecting the four kingdoms of Remnant whilst one could serve as a backup in case one is damaged, destroyed or needs to be put under maintenance.

It would be from here would the Amity system be fully functional.

Stark had really thought through every single detail possible for this endeavor and he left nothing to chance.

Some chance for what could come after but everything in preparation was meticulously planned and detailed.

In his brief scans of the function of the satellite, an unusual blip appeared on his screen.

Pietro blinked at the appearance, squinting his eyes slightly, leaning in whilst pushing up his glasses to get a better look at what just came up. He did a quick rundown on his keyboards to see if this was a glitch or malfunction but found none.

"Mr. Stark, I think we have a problem." Pietro solemnly said.

Tony hung his head, apparently anticipating such a statement. "Already? Alright, what is it?"

Polendina shifted aside slightly to allow Stark to see what had been detected.

"We're picking up a signal over in Menagerie of all places and we don't know why."

The superhero frowned. "Let me see."

Pietro moved over entirely, Iron Man leaning over the screen as he got a good look at the signal. A brow quirked at what he was looking at and he proceeded to do a proper scan of this detection, running through several comparisons and other signals.

The conclusion he came to was both befuddling as it was a bit startling.

"No… that can't be right." He muttered.

"Tony?" Pietro said in slight concern, James silently looking down at the billionaire who appeared to be greatly troubled.

Tony pulled up the coordinates and obtained the readings. He soon made a comparison with some others over in Vale.

"This…" These results made Stark pause in thought. "This can't be… can it?"

"Tony." James now spoke. "Is everything alright?"

"That depends." Stark answered, subdued yet somehow anxious at the same time. "Is this good news or bad news?"

"What's bad news?" Ironwood asked, now far more serious.

"That's what we're gonna find out." Iron Man stated, accessing a separate set of comms.

The voice he was anticipating answered seconds later.

"Tony, what can we do for you?" Came the voice of Captain Rogers.

"Hey Steve, I need a favor from you. Can you guys head on over to Menagerie?"

There was a brief pause of confusion from the other side. "Why?"

"I need a confirmation for something and it'll take too long for me to get there."

"You sure about that? Even with your suit?"

"It's way south from where I am and you're the closest ones there." Tony elaborated. "But you need to go there and check it out post haste."

"What's supposed to be down there?"

"I don't know." Stark admitted. "But what I do know is that it's not from this world. It's from ours. More importantly Steve, it's our signal. "

-Scene Cut-

The bullhead flew through the skies, its occupants being Captain Steve Rogers and the twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.

Their destination?

Menagerie, an island populated exclusively by Faunus.

Their purpose?

Well, they're going to find out soon enough.

"So what is this place exactly?" Pietro inquired, standing behind Steve who was piloting the ship.

Since coming here, most of the Avengers figured it would be smart to learn how to operate one of these things considering most knew how to fly the quinjet back home.

"From what I read up, this is a place that is inhabited by Faunus after this world's Great War." Steve informed the speedster, having read up on this island the day prior to their journey here.

"They got an island to themselves?" Pietro's face scrunched up. "That… feels weird, honestly."

"Prejudice still remains against them, it seems." Steve dejectedly revealed, a shake of his head.

Even on another planet of humans, division of such petty differences remains.

It was a bit disheartening really but there wasn't much Steve could do at this time.

"Depending on one's perspective, they were rather jipped with how much of the land is uninhabitable." Wanda commented, having also familiarized herself with the world and some of its history.

She was with Steve the day before when the good captain opted to study up on their destination, wanting to have at least some idea of what they might be getting into.

Suffice it to say, what she learned about the circumstances about this island left a bit of a bad taste in her mouth.

"So…" Pietro frowned in uncertainty. "Should we expect any trouble or…"

"Not unless we cause any." Rogers stated. "Besides, Ozpin sent a message out to the island so they should be expecting us."

Pietro silently nodded, watching from behind the pilot's chair as the isle of Menagerie was soon spotted on the horizon.

It didn't take long for the bullhead to reach the island.

They were contacted by the aerial security of the island, directing them to a landing pad on the eastern section of Menagerie.

Slowly descending the ground, once he felt the bullhead touchdown, Steve stood from his seat, nodding at the twins. A silent conversation of readiness and being prepared for anything that may happen.

The ramp came down, soon having the tropic air hit the vehicle's occupants with them seeing a number of locals awaiting them. Some looked at them with interest whilst others had mistrust and suspicion.

The trio ignored these looks, walking towards the two uniformed Faunus waiting for them at the end.

"Are you from Beacon?" A Faunus with bear-like features and stature inquired, the three Avengers wordlessly pulling out their scrolls to show the confirmation of identification.

Satisfied, he and his partner nodded.

"Welcome to Menagerie."

"Steve Rogers." Cap greets the Faunus guard, offering the man his hand which seemed to slightly surprise him somewhat yet shook his hand all the same.

"We got the message from Ghira that you'd be coming here, courtesy of Beacon."

"Something like that." Steve answered. "It's a bit more… complicated to explain."

The bear guard snorts understandingly. "Of course. If you and your people will follow us, we'll escort you to the Belladonnas."

The Avengers nodded, following after the pair, the small crowd that had gathered dispersing to go about their own business.

In their walk through the town plaza, the three superheroes took in the sights and sounds of Menagerie. The multitude of booths with their products, equipment, shops and all.

Wanda was enamored with a set of trinkets to the side whilst Pietro eyed some of the ladies that passed him by, smiling slightly at kids running around and playing.

Steve noted a lack of guards with only some passing by every now and then.

All in all, a relatively quaint and peaceful town, if not a bit stuffed with how populated this one area is.

The group expected to go to some government building or at least some residence, not what appeared to be a restaurant of all places.

"Uh…" Was Pietro's unspoken question.

"Yes, I know." Spoke the other guard, this one having leopard prints and a tail. "The Belladonna's frequent this place so often that we've started to check this place as much as their own home to find them. I believe Ms. Belladonna should be here. Our leader Ghira is in the middle of some personal matters for the island and his wife will be able to bring you to him once he's all clear."

"If you say so."

They approached the establishment all while hearing some voices coming from within.

"Come on, Doctor~~" Purred a sensual voice from behind the door. "I need a serious checkup. Won't you please~~?"

"Kat, you know I'm not the best at roleplaying." Spoke an amused and flustered voice, one that gave the Avengers pause.

'That voice…' Were Steve's thoughts.

It sounded familiar to the Super Soldier.

"You're incorrigible, you know that? Kali's in the other room."

"Oh please, she doesn't even hear us."

"She can walk right in."

"Then we better do it quick."

The guards who heard all this had their faces flushed in a deep crimson with even Wanda sharing their reaction.

Yet Pietro held a strained look of concentration as he focused on the voice, something Steve copied.

"But Doctor~~" The Feminine voice purred once more. "Your patient neeeeds~~ her fix. Don't you understand what you're doing to her when you neglect her services?"

"Jesus Christ, Kat."

Shaking his head, Cap walked forward, ignoring the less-than-enthusiastic pleas from the guards that maybe they should come back at another time.

Pushing through the doorway, Steve stood and froze in place when seeing a peculiar sight.

Over by the bar was a couple, with a woman sitting on a man's lap.

Though this wasn't any ordinary man.

"B-Bruce… Is that…"

A head whipped around, eyes widening in recognition soon after. An instant later, he shot up from his seat so quickly, the woman nearly fell to the floor with a yelp if she didn't catch herself.

"Steve?" Spoke Bruce Banner in stunned disbelief at who had just walked in.

"Bruce~" The blond woman whined, making the man wince at what he had done, assisting her up from her awkward position, not realizing Steve had gone over to him and was now hugging him.

"It's good to see you again, buddy." Rogers earnestly said, patting Banner on the back. "When we lost ya…"

Though he didn't finish that statement, Bruce felt the relief coming from his friend and old team leader all the same. He smiled with a hint of pain from the memory of leaving his comrades behind back at Sokovia, hugging Rogers back.

"Good to see you too, Cap." He quietly murmured, pulling away from him before seeing the twins. "Wanda? Pietro? You're both here too?"

"Not of our own volition." Wanda said with a slightly strained smile, feeling a bit awkward in being around Bruce. "The Team, well…"

Bruce looked back at Steve. "The others are here?"

Steve shook his head. "Not all of us, just seven. Nat, Rhodey and Viz got left behind."

"Huh." Bruce then scrunched up his face and did some quick mental math. The last he checked the Avengers he was a part of had nine members. Rhodey joined up it seems and if there was another, the only logical solution was probably Sam Wilson AKA the Falcon.

"Wait, seven? We get some new members or did we lose some?"

"Something like a mix of both." Rogers said. "Thor had to leave and the other you'll meet him soon enough."

"Brucy." The blond female next to the scientist reasserted her presence by draping her arms around his shoulders. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

It was then that the Avengers turned their attention onto the beautiful woman standing beside Bruce, the speedster of the group whistling aloud.

"Damn Banner." Pietro was unable to hide his admiration for the form of the buxom blonde seated next to the scientist. "Well done."

The scientist stammered a little. "Uh, yeah."

The blonde simply smiled seductively, peppering Bruce's cheek with kisses. "I certainly have done well, don't you agree doctor?"

Bruce tried to formulate words but the amused smirk Steve was directing toward him was making it hard to respond. It didn't help that his lover was being so promiscuous in front of his teammates.

"So Bruce," Steve's grin threatened to split his face. "Looks like you've got a story to tell."

-Scene Cut-

It was peaceful.

That was the observation that ran through the mind of the lone cat Faunus seated upon the single rock situated in the center of a forest clearing.

Around her, red leaves drifted by, be it to the ground or floating through the wind blowing between her hair.

The tranquility was juxtaposed with the girl's nervous aura emanating around her. Her heart rate was a tad erratic at times with a pit in her stomach that had settled there since she sat down.

She didn't want to be here.

Not really.

Beautiful and scenic as this place was, she wanted to be anywhere but here.

But she had to be here. She needed to.

For her, this was a make-or-break mission. If she would be able to live with herself. If she could even have a life after today.

"Oh~~ ain't that scenic." Spoke a slightly cheerful voice. "Someone should take a picture. It'll last longer."

The girl atop the rock didn't say anything, instead turning her amber eyes upon the rabbit Faunus approaching her, blue umbrella casually being twirled about by its handle.

"What do you want, Lorina?" The Amber-eyed girl curtly asked.

Lorina Dodson took the snipped and dismissive tone in stride, casually strolling up to the Faunus on the rock.

"Is it such an action warranting interrogation to see how a friend is doing, Blake?" Dodson cheekily asked, getting an annoyed look from the cat Faunus.

"Just leave me alone, Lorina." Blake Belladonna said irritably. "I need to focus."

The rabbit-eared Faunus rolled her eyes. "On what, Blakey? A train robbery? You do know they aren't all that cracked up to be right?"

"This is one coming from Atlas." Blake retorted. "You know it's gonna have security."

Dodson waved off such concerns. "Nothing we can't handle. Just a couple of toys and turrets we can take out easily."

"And if there are people on it?" Belladonna rhetorically asked, eyes narrowing.

Lorina gave her an odd look in response, one of scrutiny.

"What's with you?" She found herself asking.

Blake silently stared at Dodson with a slightly intense look before silently turning away.

"Ok, that's not really an answer, Blake." Was Lorina's flat response.

She didn't get a chance to hear Belladonna's retort as another figure came into the clearing.

The rabbit Faunus glanced over to the newcomer. "Adam."

Adam Taurus regarded his two partners for the upcoming mission for a few seconds until-

"Blake, Lorina, it's time."

The cat-Faunus turned and regarded Adam. "Okay."

Lorina grinned, twirling her umbrella once more before grasping the handle tightly.

"Let's do this."

Wordlessly, the trio of Faunus dash through the crimson forest, leaves kicking up in the wake of their sprint. They continued their run through the forest until coming across a cliffside overlooking train tracks below.

"This it?" Blake quietly asked, seeing Adam nod out of the corner of her eye.

"This is the place." Adam turned his head towards the direction where the train was supposed to be coming from.

*WHOO* *WHOO*

Right on schedule.

Adam smirked and he jumped, the two girls following after him. They slid down the cliffside until propelling themselves by jumping onto the train, landing atop one of the carts.

"As far as we know, the guards will only be Atlas toys. The humans fear the White Fang too much to face us." Adam quickly informed his partners. "We go in, make quick work of whatever security they have and get out with everything they have here."

Before he took another step, he turned to point at Lorina.

"None of that White Rabbit garbage." He dryly ordered.

"Excuse me?!" Dodson's response was one of faux offense. "I'm the White Rabbit and I have a reputation to uphold."

"A white rabbit tramp stamp on a robbed train ain't much of a reputation." Blake deadpanned.

Said White Rabbit turned to the cat Faunus only to pause, noticing a slight tremble in her hand.

"Don't tell me you're getting jitters already." Said Lorina.

"Do you think I'm the type to scare easily?" Was Blake's response.

"I'm very aware of your bravery, miss Belladonna." Dodson mockingly retorted.

"Stow it." Adam ordered, cutting open a hatch on the train cart they stood on. "Let's move."

They jumped into the train cart, finding nothing but crates stashed with Dust, military equipment and all sorts of other technological and basic resources.

"Woo-wee." Lorina whistled. "We've hit the jackpot, haven't we?"

Blake was inspecting the crates, having opened one up to reveal gizmos and gadgets she couldn't begin to make sense of.

"What is all this?" She questioned, glancing over to Adam. "This doesn't look like your run-of-the-mill Atlas Tech."

Adam frowned, walking up to look down at the machinery Blake had opened up, tilting his head as he analyzed it.

"Nothing I've seen before, that's for certain."

Lorina only grinned in response, throwing her arms out wide.

"Looks like the whole cargo train is ours for the taking." Her mood then became deadly serious, eyes shifting about. "Which is too easy. Where the heck is security?"

Adam silently agreed, looking around the cart they stood in. Only crates seem to occupy the space with no sign of drones or turrets to defend the cargo.

What was this?

Being cautious, Taurus quickly inspected several areas that may have hidden defensive measures behind the crates but found nothing. Rather than set him at ease, Adam became far tenser as he was beginning to get a gut feeling that all was not as easy as it appeared to be.

"Come on." Adam spoke up. "We're checking the whole train."

Blake found herself hesitating at the idea. Though she kept this feeling to herself, walking after Lorina and Adam into the next cart over.

They walked into a darkened area only for red outlines to appear, all turning in the direction of the three intruders.

"There we go." Lorina remarked, getting into a stance, gripping her umbrella tightly.

"Looks like we're gonna do this the hard way." Adam stated hand on his sword's hilt.

Blake was unable to hide a moment of amusement at her leaders' words. "Don't be so dramatic."

One of the Atlas drones pointed their machine gun hands at Taurus, its red face plate flashing several times.

"Intruder, identify yourself."

Neither of them answered verbally, only moving soon after. As a result, the drones opened fire.

In response, Adam shot out his sword like a shotgun, the hilt smacking the closest drone in the head, cracking the faceplate. With a burst of speed, petals in his wake, Adam grabbed his sword out of the air. Grasping it in a backhand grip, he performed an arching swipe that had him angled facing away from the drone he just cut in half.

That single motion was the trigger needed for the fight to ensue.

Blake began zipping around, leaving illusionary clones of herself whilst slashing and cleaving through the drones.

Lorina jumped from the ceiling to the wall in an extraordinary burst of speed, launching herself down to perform an ax kick that knocked the head off a drone.

Adam had already advanced, slicing multiple drones to ribbons by now.

The trio was cleaving through the drones rather quickly and effectively as possible. Each was taking care of their opposition as they kept progressing onward.

Entering the next car, they saw it was filled with more dust crates.

"Perfect." Said Adam, inspecting the contents of one of the crates. "Move up to the next car. I'll set the charges and run this train into the ravine."

This soon got Blake to bring up an argument. "It isn't on autopilot. There are human workers riding, too."

"Just humans." The White Fang Lieutenant dismissed. "They aren't Faunus like us."

Blake was down casted, but Adam didn't focus on that.

"Right…" She quietly murmured.

Though she didn't comment on the action, Lorina found herself frowning uncomfortably at what Adam quietly stated just now.

How he was willing to let innocent people die simply off the basis of them being human and not Faunus.

Regardless, she shook it off. She was paid to do her job, not let her morals come into play.

Things were running smoothly so far in their operation.

But not everything could be smooth for long.

Adam felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and at the last second spun around to hastily deflect a projectile that bounced off his sword.

A moment later, a small explosion came from whatever hit his sword and he was sent flying back with Blake and Lorina getting caught in the small shockwave.

The White Fang lieutenant grunted as he forced himself to his feet.

"What the hell was that?" Lorina grumbled, feeling her ears ring.

Adam merely looked onward, glaring soon after as he soon saw someone else was in the train cart with them.

"Appears the Schnee Company has decided to hire a Huntsman for once." He snidely said, getting ready for a more difficult fight.

"We ain't from the Schnee Company." The man with the bow and arrow casually stated.

Blake's ears twitched. "We-GYAH!"

From behind, several white ropes ensnared her and she toppled over.

"Got 'em!" Said a youthful voice, making Lorina and Adam turn to see someone in a red and blue skin-tight suit with white lenses.

The bull Faunus grit his teeth, not expecting to deal with two Huntsmen. Having taken a look at the two, he found them a bit… unusual.

The one with the bow and arrow looked like a typical Huntsman but had a streamlined if not militant look about him. But the brightly colored red and blue huntsman behind him was bizarre, to say the least.

He had seen many Huntsmen and Huntresses in colorful outfits but this was certainly out there from Adam's perspective.

They got the drop on them and the one with the bow had said we. There could be possibly more than just the two of them right now.

Shaking his head, Adam refocused on the mission.

They had already come this far and failure was out of the question. He refused to leave empty-handed, strike a blow or at the very least, take down some more bastard humans.

With a quick draw of his sword, the "rope" around Blake was cut but not entirely.

"Aw come on, that's a new formula." The one in red and blue childishly whined.

Though she was not entirely free from the "rope", Blake had enough mobility now to use her own bladed weapon to cut herself free and stand back-to-back with Lorina and Adam.

She was tense and nervous, looking at the oddly clad Huntsmen in front of her.

'Are… are these the ones?' She thought to herself, momentarily looking back at the archer who caught her gaze.

She didn't understand what that look he just gave her was but it seemed like a kind of… recognition? Reminiscence?

What was that look?

"If you really think that the two of you can take us out, you're sorely mistaken." Adam challenged, pointing his sword in the marksman's direction.

Said marksman rolled his eyes.

"Spidey, handle bullrush here, I'll take the other two."

"Yes sir, Mr. Barton."

In the blink of an eye, Clint Barton fired another arrow.

Adam sliced it in half yet the tip went off, a thick mist shrouding the Faunus.

"WAH!/YAH!" Came the dual cries of the two girls in the mist, alarming their leader.

"Blake! Lorina!" Adam cried out in vain, using several swipes of his swords, conjuring up small gusts to dispel the fog around him.

The two were gone, his ears picking up clashes up ahead. He spotted from the doorway where the archer was that he somehow dragged them both out onto the next cart, this one being an open platform for them to fight on.

Just as he was about to rush forward to assist them, something latched onto his back.

"Sorry El Toro, I'm your opponent." Spider-man called out, pulling him back.

Surprised by the strength, Adam found himself flying back to the webhead.

Had it not been for his years of training, he would have gotten a kick to the face. Using his reflexes and weapons, he managed to slam his sword on the ground and adjusted himself to fly headfirst at the young hero.

Seeing this, Spider-man flipped right over the Faunus, landing and throwing his arms up dramatically.

"Olay!"

Adam landed on the ground, jumping forward in a burst of speed.

Once more, Spider-man dodged the man, attaching himself to the cart ceiling. Adam didn't relent in his attack, expertly swinging his sword in an attempt to cut the webhead to ribbons. The Queens native weaved and swerved around the swings and thrusts over and over. When an opening was present, Spidey went in and delivered an array of punches and kicks, which Adam blocked and parried with his own.

They eventually got atop the train cart, the two facing each other down.

Not wanting to give this new foe any breathing room, Adam charged at the brightly colored hero. Spidey once again flipped over his opponent. This time, however, he used the Faunas as a springboard, which made Adam nearly stumble to the ground.

Taurus grit his teeth, hearing a cheer from the red and blue-clad Huntsman.

He turned around and though his mask obscured his face, Adam felt like the man had a teasing grin hidden beneath it.

"Is this a game to you?" Adam snarled, standing back to his full height, flicking his sword slightly.

"Is raiding a train a game one for you?" Spidey retorted.

Adam said nothing in response, instead zeroing in on the emblem his enemy beheld on his chest.

"A spider?" Taurus murmured aloud, making Peter glance down at his chest. "Are you one of Lil Miss Malachite's people?"

"Huh?"

"Malachite." Adam emphatically stated. "Or… are you… a Faunus?"

"Faunus?"

"Where do your allegiances lie?"

Peter's white lenses blinked for a moment.

"Oh." Spider-man rubbed the back of his head. "No to both of those things. I'm an Avenger."

"Avenger?" Adam parroted, clearly unfamiliar with the name.

"My team. Though not one who gets club jackets like you guys." Peter said with a shrug. "Or masks. Or tattoos."

The Bull Faunus' brow twitched at the incessant chatter from this young hero.

"Must you prattle on unnecessarily?" Adam rhetorically asked.

"Must you query these actions so Shakespeareanally?" Parker shot back, hand up to his chin. "That last one might not be a word."

Adam rolled his eyes, dashing forward, eliciting a small yelp of surprise from Spider-man.

Tilting his body back in an angle akin to a matrix dodge from the horizontal sword swing Taurus tried at him. He then dropped and rolled to avoid an overhead slash, running alongside the train to dodge several more attacks.

Jumping back to the train car top, Peter raised his arm up to grab Adam's wrist from stabbing him with his sword.

Taurus then let go of his sword but found himself thrown off by the inhale and 'Ooooh~' that came from Spider-man.

"Whoaaa~ that was sick, dude." Peter complimented. "Straight out of a movie."

Having been so caught off guard by the proclamation, he failed to anticipate the spinning upward kick to his face that sent him flying back.

Once more, Adam was caught off guard by the strength behind such an unassuming and brightly colored costumed hero. Rubbing his jaw, Adam noticed a brief flash coming over his body, making him tense up momentarily.

That was his aura just now.

It hadn't burst but still, that kick held a lot more power than anticipated.

As a matter of fact, he had a gut feeling that the kick he just got wasn't even the Avengers' strongest.

Yet the tense atmosphere was soon cut by the teen's apparent incessant need to chatter on.

"So uh, what's with the mask doohickey getup?" Spidey asked, gesturing to his eyes. "That like a tech thing or fashion statement? Does the name El Toro Fuerte mean anything to you? Do you ever take off that mask? If so, do you have sensitive eyes? And if not, have you considered being a luchador or Matador? Oh, wait, what is your name or moniker anyways? Don't tell me it's Red Bull, cause I bet you'd violate a copyright infringement from-"

"BY THE GODS!" Adam roared. "Do you ever SHUT UP!"

"In my sleep. Though I think my aunt told me I mumble-"

"Then let's test that theory, making you sleep for good!"

"Ok, I haven't been at this for that long but even I could say, what you just said was so gener-WHOA!"

Adam was already attacking with Spider-man dodging his attacks like before.

As these two fought on, Hawkeye battled against Lorina and Blake alone.

Or so they had assumed.

Upon having been pulled away from their leader, both ladies prepared to fight against the archer when the White Rabbit was nearly knocked off the train.

The speedy Faunus rolled into a kneeling position, looking wildly around until her ears picked up on something flying above.

Looking up, she saw something that made her give pause. "Who the-"

"Sorry lady, but you're not getting out of here so easily like that."

Lorina looked at the flying man above her with an incredulous look.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" Lorina asked with a slight sneer. "Birdman?"

"Birdman" laughed at the nickname, calling forth his miniature machine guns which were pointed right at her.

"Sam Wilson." He introduced himself. "But call me Falcon. After all, judgin' by those ears of yours, you should already know this little-known fact. Falcon's hunt rabbits."

"I don't plan on being snared by the likes of you."

"Well your plans aren't exactly going along swimmingly right now, are they?" Wilson cheekily shot back.

"A minor setback." Lorina said, thrusting her umbrella out to her side, the accessory snapping into the shape of a crossbow.

Sam rolled his eyes at hearing that. "Minor, she says. Generic and unoriginal."

The airborne Avenger then opens fire upon her, prompting her to dash away. He trailed after her but began noticing something popping up in the path of her run.

What he thought was some kind of illusion proved to be false as multiple Lorina's now populated the flat, open platform cart.

"Ah shit." Falcon murmured, realizing the enemy he was facing.

Sam wasn't the only one, however, facing a foe that leaves clones in her wake.

Blake appeared to be moving around Clint with the greatest of ease, the man appearing to be unable to keep up with her illusionary afterimages.

However the second he pulled an arrow back and pointed it behind him, she realized too late that she didn't have him fooled for a second.

The arrow was already released and before was able to swat it aside, it burst into a bolas that ensnared her legs and one arm.

Gritting her teeth, she quickly freed herself with her free arm, landing on the ground in time to see Hawkeye running at her. His bow transformed into a bo-staff and was reared back.

In response, she clashed her blade with his bo staff and unexpectedly, she found herself getting pulled in close, surprising her.

She was even more thrown off by the hyperintense eyes that met hers, Blake jolting back from it.

"It's you, isn't it." He quietly said.

"Wha-"

"You're the one who sent that tip off." Clint Barton surmised, eyes not leaving hers. "You want out of the White Fang."

Blake's eyes widened considerably, her breath being caught in her throat briefly. "I… h-how-"

"These eyes aren't just meant for picking out targets." Hawkeye answered her unfinished question. "Besides, this ain't my first time in this kind of tango."

The Cat Faunus found herself breathing heavily now.

"You don't want to do this." Barton's voice was softer now. "I know that look anywhere. You want to believe in what you're fighting for but this isn't it, ain't it?"

Belladonna's face became crestfallen, eyes glazed over.

"No." She softly said. "I want to take the path I want, not what others desire. I want to fight for my people but not like this. Never like this."

Clint gave her a genuine smile that threw her off. "The first step to redemption is always the hardest. So if we're gonna pull this off, take the fall and make it convincing."

Before she could say anything, Clint quickly pulled out an arrow from his quiver and held the arrowhead next to her face. A plumb of gas went out, causing her to black out soon after.

"Or I distract you long enough to do that." Clint said, preventing her from falling to the ground, gently hefting her over his shoulder.

As this conversation went on, Lorina battled against the Falcon, proving to be a tricky opponent to pin down.

The flying Avenger was on the defensive for the most part as the White Rabbit was jumping around, making her difficult to pin down.

Added to this was the fact that she kept leaving afterimages upon every jump. And they didn't disappear or stay stationary as Blake's did, they had a level of agency to them that Sam found out the hard way when several of them damn near kicked one of his wings off.

But in that instance, Sam noticed something.

Of the four Lorina's that attacked him, three went hazy whilst one remained clear.

Eyes narrowed, an idea came to mind that was a bit of a gamble.

Launching redwing, Falcon dive-bombed as Dodson fired a torrent of fiery bullets from the tip of her crossbow umbrella.

"Whoa, ok, so what, are you a fan of the Penguin now?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Other comic book universes." Sam waved off, firing his SMGs at her but the one he fired at proved to be an afterimage.

Looking around, he spotted seven surrounding him, all pointing their umbrellas at him.

Though it seemed as though she surrounded him, what the White Rabbit failed to notice was the additional drone flying from above, monitoring the seven clones.

It made quick scans of each of the clones and spotted the one that stood out in the group.

The one that had a heartbeat.

Redwing sent this discovery to Sam's tech goggles and the man grinned slightly.

Whipping around to his left, he fired at the Faunus who was very much surprised at how he was able to deduce she was the real one.

Still, she managed to jump away in time but again, failed to account for Redwing in the sky.

Both it and its owner shot several missiles in her direction and rather than trying to hit her dead on, blew up in a large cluster around her, preventing her from creating an afterimage to dodge the oncoming projectiles.

She flailed through the air, the explosions actually getting through her aura.

Thankfully for her, Adam appeared, catching her in midair and the two dropped onto the open platform of the train cart Lorina was fighting on.

"Hey Toro, where'd ya up and run off to?" Came the taunting voice of Spider-man.

Lorina saw that they were surrounded and looked at Adam.

"We need to get out of here." Said the White Rabbit.

The White Fang operative gritted his teeth, reluctantly agreeing with the decision.

"Blake. Time to go." Called out Adam, getting no response. "Blake!" He yelled again, looking around to find her when he stopped cold.

The archer of the group had Blake's unconscious form slung over his shoulder.

"Blake!" He yelled, ready to jump for her when Lorina stopped him.

"We're outmatched and outnumbered." Dodson said through her teeth.

Adam hated that she was right. He was confident in his skills, no question, but these were new adversaries, enemies he had never faced before. Enemies he didn't fully understand how to fight just yet.

They were clearly not prepared for this. If they were, they'd have more people brought along.

As it were now, this was a lost battle.

They needed to retreat.

With one final burst of speed, Lorina and Adam jumped from the train into the nearby forest.

Spider-man and Sam wanted to pursue but Clint stopped them.

"We finished what was needed." Barton stated. "Nothing was stolen."

"As far as we know. They might've taken some dust." Sam argued.

"I can check on that." Peter declared, looking down at his chest. There was a small hiss that came from his emblem and out jumped a small spider drone. "Hey little guy, make a quick scan of the train."

"Good idea." Sam nodded approvingly, looking up at his drone that was still airborne. "Redwing, if you would join him."

The two animal-themed drones went about scanning the train whilst Clint gently set the unconscious Faunus girl down.

Sam and Peter stood over her whilst Clint checked her over, seeing if she had anything on her when he found her scroll.

"So this girl is our prisoner, huh." Sam surmised.

"Not really." Clint shook his head.

"Then what?"

"A defector."

"Defector?" Spider-man tilted his head. "Why is a defector knocked out?"

"Needed to make it convincing that she was taken."

Elsewhere, Adam and Lorina had gotten far enough away from the train and met with other White Fang members at a camp that was a rendezvous point.

Several members immediately surrounded them, helping their leader and their paid mercenary to some nearby tent for any injuries.

"We saw what happened, sir." One of the Fang members spoke to Adam. "Had to turn around and-"

"Enough. We need to pack up and get out of here."

"Should we go after them and get back Blake?"

Adam's fist clenched up tightly, teeth gnashing together with rage and remorse. He silently shook his head, the White Fang helping him to the tent grimly nodding.

Lorina huffed, waving off the help, turning back in the direction of the train, spotting the vehicle drive off towards its intended destination.

She glared at it, eyes narrowed as she managed to spot the fleeting image of a man flying over it in the distance.

'Sam Wilson, huh?' Dodson internally mused. 'I'll get you back. You have my word on that.'

-Scene Cut-

'Where the hell are you this time?'

Hunting down people is a rather tedious chore for him.

Don't get him wrong, he can get the task done easily if he knows a person; in a sense. Research, investigations, effort. All done by his blood, sweat and tears.

It's a reason why he's good at his job, among other factors.

Yet there are moments Qrow really hates hunting certain individuals.

Remnant is a big world with a lot of ground to cover. No one cannot disappear off of its surface unless they truly work hard in doing so or get killed by Grimm.

When he knows a certain person to a certain degree, Qrow can be able to sniff them out through their usual haunts, most traveled routes and general areas they've often been spotted at.

Such a case is rather difficult when it pertains to his sister, Raven.

If he can hear any news of bandit sightings or raids, then Qrow can more or less know where she's presently at. After all, Raven Branwen is dubbed the Bandit Queen.

Now this factor can be considered a no brainer for anyone out there. Track down the bandits and that's where you'd find Raven.

That's where they'd be wrong.

With her Semblance -Kindred Link- she can make portals to just about anywhere in the world as long as she has a strong emotional connection to certain individuals.

She originally can make said portals with just her hands, but she had to be a showoff and pull it off with any bladed weapon for her preferred tastes.

Though there is a hiccup -a flaw- with her semblance, but that's a discussion for another time.

Right now, he just needed to find his elusive sibling, wherever she might be.

He was flying over this village in the more open frontier of Vale, not too far from the city. She sent him a missive earlier asking that she meet up with him to discuss whatever it is she wanted to talk about.

Much as he wanted to reject her, Qrow wasn't so petty or foolhardy as to blow off a meeting with his sister. Annoying as she may be with her attitude.

He'd rather sever ties with her, given their relationship, but circumstances made that hard.

Loathe as he was to admit it, Raven kept him updated on a great many deal of things such as the lawless parts of Vale and Remnant as a whole.

Though the tribe of which they come from was small their reach was far.

They had agents, allies and small degrees of influence across the four kingdoms which has led to their enduring survival after all these years.

Not something he's proud of frankly.

That tribe is composed of nothing but the worst of Remnant. And the fact that it's his name that leads them makes it worse.

Shaking his head in an effort to dispel the growing negative thoughts, Qrow resumed his search for his sister again.

Presently in his avian form, he soared through the skies of the umpteenth town he searched this day. This was his quickest form of transportation, letting him go nearly everywhere inconspicuously.

Out of the corner of his eye, Qrow spotted a full set of black hair from a window he flew by.

For some, it might have been anyone else, but for the flying crow, he could recognize his sister's hair in a crowd. Despite where she lives, Raven always did keep it up to a certain standard.

Something her daughter inherited.

Turning back around, he glided to get another look to be sure he found his target. The wind today made him go a little faster, making him zoom past the window of some hotel. He didn't get much from the crossing, but he was able to get confirmation it was her with both her black hair and red eyes.

Though the room was darkened, he knew it to be her.

Going for one final turn, Qrow went in and was ready to make a "spectacular" entrance. A surprise method of his in catching people off guard when crashing through a window.

The crow flew at full velocity, rocketing towards the window until his eyes saw something else.

Something he wished to every god of Remnant possible that the image could be burned out of his mind and eyes.

Qrow squawked out of utter surprise, crashing into the window. His avian form leaves a dusty imprint on the glassy surface before skidding down and plopping off.

"What was that?" Asked a gruff, bewildered male voice.

"No clue." Raven answered.

"Wanna check?"

Red eyes rolled over slightly, giving him a look that said otherwise before their owner resumed her previous activity.

One may ask what it was. Well…

"C'mon, keep on fucking me."

"Heh, you asked for it."

"NOOOOO!"

Raven Branwen froze upon hearing that voice, a cold chill going down her back as she recognized just who it was that crashed into the window.

It burst open and perched upon the windowsill was a man burning with embarrassment and rage.

In the hotel room, Qrow bore a face with twitching eyes as he saw his sister in a reverse cowgirl position on an all too familiar man, who had his hands firmly on her ass and hips whilst partially lying on the bed. Both were naked, sweaty and panting from gods knows how long of their fuckfest.

"Dexter." Qrow growled out, eyes comically rageful and teeth morphing into jagged canines. "Would you kindly-"

"Dexter" sighed, hanging his head as he pried Raven off of him, grabbed a blanket and threw it around the two, covering them. "There goes the mood."

A few minutes later, Raven and Dexter sat in front of Qrow who had bandages over his eyes that were damp with alcohol and his blood.

Whilst the former was normally one who was in control of her composure, she was unable to hide the crimson face she held whilst the man next to her did everything he could to avoid looking at her brother. After having seen them… in action, the man grabbed the nearest bottle of alcohol in the room, went into the bathroom and began rinsing his eyes out, hoping to burn away or at least clean the memory out of his eyes.

They got dressed quickly and seated themselves in front of the seemingly dead Branwen who slowly removed his bandages from his eyes. He gave his sister a dead look, Raven coughing into her hand whilst looking down.

The silence was awkward as it was deafening, neither party wanting to speak until-

"So… this is what you've been doing instead of being a mother and bandit queen?" Qrow blankly looked over to Dexter now. "And how long has this been going?"

It was oddly weird he had to be the reasonable adult in the room. Well, more so now than before.

"...A while." His sister quietly answered, coming out in a squeak.

Qrow's piercing eyes turned to her, making her squirm. The blood around them sure as hell made him look miserably frightening. "And how long is 'a while'?"

The only extremely rare instance of a flustered Raven.

"Don't get me wrong, it could be... nice to have more nieces... or at least a nephew... as long as they ain't raised by Raven of all people." Qrow said, regarding the man seated next to his sister.

Upon hearing that, any mortification she felt faded, red eyes narrowing whose owner hissed. "I'm still here, Qrow. Don't say it as if I'm not here."

"I know." Qrow drably said.

"There aren't gonna be any children." She spat out.

"That's what you said before Yang." Came the retort. "Tell me, you get your tubes tied or snipped? Or has menopause finally kicked in?"

"QROW!" Raven felt her rage explode from hearing that.

"It's a legitimate question." Her brother was nonplussed from her explosive shout.

Dex decided to contribute to the conversation, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "Don't know... been doing this for a while. Maybe it's just the timing."

"DEX!"

"...Yeah like her ovaries are saying "yeah, let's not have any more brats to pop out."

A black and red aura began emanating from Raven, her eyes shifting into sharp edged shapes, turning crimson red and her face blackening. "I can kill you both right now if I want to."

Her threat was ignored.

"Or is it just that you're shooting blanks... or sterile? Not judging on that, Dex, it's perfectly natural if it was." Qrow sated, hands up in an "understanding" fashion. "Then I'll say both that I'm sorry and you really lucked out in not popping a kid from this bitch."

Dex dragged a hand over his face, the other running through his silver hair. "God dammit Qrow."

Qrow then shot a glare at his sister, having seen her twitch at the name he had given her. "With how you are and your track record, I have the right to call you that."

"If this is about Yang-"

"It's always going to be about family and you know it." Qrow snapped at her, a different kind of fury coming over him. "I don't care about your reasoning and I never will, so give up on trying to say otherwise."

Now the air was tense, the two siblings glaring at each other with Dexter Dexios caught in the middle. The man's crystal blue eyes shifted back and forth between the siblings, unsure as to what he could say to dissuade the situation.

His shoulders slumped slightly, having grown accustomed to such scenes after having seen it so many times before.

Trying to steer things into a more cordial air, Dex spoke up.

"Why are you here, Qrow?" He asked as politely as could. "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, I would remember the reason if it weren't for the image of you two fucking seared into my brain." Qrow withdrew his flask from his pocket and opened it up. He sought to drink its contents, only to find it empty; much to his dismay. "Gonna need a lot of booze to bleach that out."

"Qrow, focus."

"I'm trying and failing." He shot back, standing up from his seat to sift around the room they were in.

Since it was a hotel room, he figured there should be some alcohol leftover since he already used a bottle to burn his eyes out.

Oh and it reeked of dirty sex. Gods, he felt bad for the cleaning staff. And he doesn't know what will happen if he whipped out a black light in here.

"Qrow." Dex spoke again, the man raising his hand in response.

"Hang on a sec, dammit." The male Branwen grumbled. "I need a stiff drink."

He finally found some hard liquor, looking upon it as if it were his savior and proceeded to chug half its contents down in one fell swoop.

"Oh God." Qrow released a satisfied sigh. "Thank fuck for that." He shook his head. "Alright you assholes, what's the word on the Grimm on your end."

Raven and Dex gave him a bewildered look, sharing a glance before turning back to Qrow.

"What the hell?" Raven was very much annoyed right now. "That's it? That's why you wanted to meet up?"

"I wanted to meet with Dex honestly till he told me he met up with you and you're both staying in the same village." The brother shook his head in a failing attempt to banish the thoughts of what he just saw minutes ago. "Look, I need to know what's going on in the Frontier with the Grimm and all."

"Why is it so important.?" Dexter questioned, now leaning on the table.

"Cause there has been some recent developments on our end regarding Salem." He noticed the two tensed up briefly. "Yeah, she's making moves."

He then surprised the two with a cocky smirk. "And we know a lot more than anticipated."

"What happened?" Raven asked, eyes narrowing again as Qrow appeared candid in answering.

"Let's just say recently, we've got some new "friends" that may tip the scales in our favor against Salem."

-Scene Cut-

All while one awkward situation and meeting was transpiring, another on the island of Menagerie was occurring with another couple that had been caught in a… situation.

Bruce Banner sat in a booth with his head ducked low, avoiding the highly amused grin Captain America was directing towards him.

On one side was Kali Belladonna, the wife of Ghira Belladonna, observing all this with a highly amused yet curious expression. She kept looking down at the human she had come to call a friend in these last few months, looking like an embarrassed child would if getting caught in a humiliating act by their family members.

In front of him were three uniquely garbed humans that appeared to know Dr. Banner quite well given their reactions upon seeing him.

To Bruce's other side, refusing to have left him alone, was Kat who kept her arms draped around his shoulders and voluptuous body pressed up against him.

Behind Captain Rogers were the Maximoff twins who were watching in a mixture of amusement and slight mortification.

Pietro had his arms crossed, one hand raised for him to bite his thumb as a grin threatened to split his face in half.

His sister Wanda was bemused to say the least but was somewhat thrown off and a bit flustered with how affectionate the blond was being to her former thrall.

Finally, after a prolonged silence, Steve broke it with a simple question. "So~" He coyly began, unable to hide his enjoyment of Bruce squirming. "How did this happen?"

"Would you like the long or short version?" Bruce murmured.

Kat proceeded to breathe on his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. "I'd prefer the loooong one. Just the two of us."

"Kat, not the time."

"Hmmm, why not the long story, Bruce?" Kali slyly said. "We can give you two a moment alone to get the story straight and not miss any details."

The scientist groaned aloud, head falling in his hands. "Not helping, Kali."

Steve cleared his throat, garnering their attention as he shot his friend a sympathetic smile.

"Bruce, I hope you understand how lucky you are right now that we were the ones to find you and not Tony." Rogers knowingly said, getting the desired, hilarious reaction.

"Oh God, please don't tell me he's here."

"Oh yes he is." Pietro answered, grinning madly now. "And as soon as he hears about this-"

"Expect a visit this week. Or even within the day." Wanda finished for her brother, knowing all too well how Stark would react to knowing one of his best friends was here, found alive and well.

"He might give you pointers." The speedster tacked on.

Bruce wanted to bury himself, curl up in a ball and die.

"Oh~~ More ways to make our nights fun?" Kat said, trailing her lips across his neck. "Please, do invite him."

"Jesus Christ, how the hell did you land her?" Pietro couldn't help but ask.

"I landed him." Kat sensually said, though her bright smile was genuine, leaning her cheek on Bruce's, the man smiling earnestly in return. "Right on top of him."

"Jesus H." Pietro muttered at how open this woman was. "Now we know who wears the pants in the relationship."

"Or none at all." The blond coyly said, a sensual, mischievous grin for all to see.

Wanda cleared her throat, her face became as scarlet as her clothing. She unfortunately had a mental image of Kat and Bruce appear in her mind and… the image was projected quite vividly, courtesy of the former's clear desire.

She never met anyone as promiscuous as this woman before her and her intentions were so clear, she didn't really need to use her telepathy to pick up on her thoughts.

"Can… can we just…" Wanda's voice came out like a mouse, Steve glancing back at her, bewildered by her change in expression but nodded all the same.

"All joking aside, how are you here?" Bruce finally asked. "How did you guys even get here?"

The question that went unspoken was picked up by his fellow Avengers, the trio all showing different reactions.

Frustration, confusion and an assortment of synonyms related to the prior two words.

"That's really complicated." Steve answered. "And it has to do with HYDRA and what could be a one in a billion fluke or accident. We're still trying to figure out how what happened to us made us wind up where we are."

"And how did you wind up here?" The fastest Avenger asked. "Last time anyone knew where you were flying away from Sokovia."

"That's also weird and complicated, mostly with the big guy having the controls at the time." Bruce plainly said with a shrug. "But when did you guys get here?"

"Not too long ago, really." Steve earnestly said. "Several weeks by now, probably more. Haven't really checked honestly."

"And finding me?"

"Stark." Wanda plainly said. "He launched a satellite recently and-"

"If it's his tech, must've picked up on the Quinjet's signature." Bruce immediately surmised, hand rubbing over his chin.

"Satellite?" Kali spoke up, a clear face of confusion. "What's a satellite?"

"Think of it as another form of the CCT towers." Bruce elaborated. "But instead of it being grounded on Remnant, it's a device that orbits around the planet and allows for intercontinental communications without the need for the CCT to a degree. We can transmit messages, videos and all to any scroll or screen at any point on Remnant."

Kali's eyes widened upon hearing this, not fully understanding what it was that he was talking about but grasping enough of what he was inferring.

"What… what does that mean?" Kali quietly asked.

"Things are about to change a great deal in the next few months if Tony Stark is here." Came Bruce's answer, a fond look coming over him. "Where is Tony, anyway?"

"Atlas." Steve answered. "But soon as we tell him you're here, he's making a beeline for Menagerie."

Bruce only hummed, his smile widening at the thought of seeing his friend after all this time. Even if it was a few months, to him, with everything he's done since coming to this world, it has certainly felt longer.

"Who else is here? You mentioned seven."

"Well you know the three of us and Tony. Sam's also here with Clint and our newest recruit after these two." Steve answered, thumbing to the twins behind him. "His name is Peter Parker, calls himself Spider-Man. Real smart kid, I think you'll like him a lot."

"Natasha, Viz and Rhodey were left behind." Wanda spoke up. "We haven't been able to make contact with them yet."

Bruce's shoulders slumped slightly but his mood remained high nonetheless. He knew what the Hulk was doing at the end of the Battle of Sokovia and he himself internally agreed and nudged him to do so.

After what happened during his rampage in South Africa, despite being protected by his team, Banner knew that they could only hold back the world government for so long. He may be a hero, an Avenger, he can't keep such consequences from the team.

Bruce cared not for what would happen to him. His life had strengthened him through such trials. But he would not allow his actions to be the point that would bring the Avengers down.

So he and Hulk removed themselves from the equation.

But seeing his comrades here before him, he was unable to hide the relief and joy in seeing them once more.

"And~ he's on his way." Steve's voice broke Bruce out of his thoughts, making the genius blink in the direction of Cap.

"Pardon?"

Rogers held up his scroll for him to see and Dr. Banner spotted the word Stark atop the screen and one single message Steve had sent to him.

Bruce is here.

The Gamma radiation specialist could only give an exasperated sigh of amusement.

"Better to rip the band aid off now than later." Pietro spoke on behalf of the good captain.

"How long do you think it will take for him to get here?"

"Wait, wait." Kali spoke up, waving her arms in front of herself. "To get here? This friend of yours is on his way here now?"

"Yes, at this very moment, really." Wanda answered.

"How?" The Belladonna asked in bewilderment.

"You'll see." Wanda enigmatically said, a wry grin on her face. "I'd say he'll be here in a few hours."

"Ooh~" Kat nuzzled. "More of a chance to show you off to your friends, eh?"

And in an instant, Bruce's expression fell, dreading the near relentless comments that are now flying towards the island of Menagerie at this very second.

Wanda only sighed aloud, already hearing the prattle and chatter that was on its way at this moment.

Still, awkward and unfortunate as their initial meetings were this year, it was good to see the Doctor was alive and well. Looking at him in such an amusing position of this blonde woman fawning over him was certainly not what she expected to find on the island.

Yet in seeing the man again, a feeling of guilt welled up within her gut.

And though he hid it far better than she, Wanda felt the same feeling from her twin with his eyes on Bruce who was now getting into a small explanation of how Kat found him and took him in to recover.

They were Avengers, yes, and as time has gone one they've embraced their roles as being a part of Earth's and now Remnants Mightiest Heroes. But the sins and actions of their past weighed heavily on them.

Despite how short of a time it was, they contributed to the near extinction of humanity back on their world all due to a childhood, somewhat misplaced grudge on one of the Avengers. In doing so, Wanda released the Hulk on a rampage, hurting and killing many innocent civilians.

She found a sick pleasure in watching the Hulk be viewed as the villain he should be but she was unable to hide her own disgust at her actions upon seeing the news of the devastation. At that time, she quelled such feelings but upon realizing Ultron's true intentions, all of her actions came rushing into her like a flood from a broken dam.

Shaking her head, Wanda internally swore to herself she would do whatever is needed to redeem herself in Bruce's eyes. To her, joining the Avengers was only the first step. There was still a great deal more that she had to do but Wanda and Pietro would put themselves through it to make it right.

For themselves, their parents, their new friends and teammates and to atone for their mistakes.

-Scene Cut-

Clint sat to the side, arms crossed and slouched in a comfortable position with his eyes on the unconscious teen Faunus on the bed in the empty room.

He had returned with Sam and Peter to Beacon not too long ago with their newest "guest" and he awaited her eventual awakening. They had reported to Ozpin about their mission, sending out a message to the rest of the team.

Last they told him and the others, they went to the island of Menagerie, investigating something about a signal Tony picked up on.

Whatever it was, they got it handled.

The archer's thoughts were disrupted by the sound of the door opening and in walked Sam and Professor Ozpin.

"How is she?" Were the Headmasters first question.

"Still out like a light."

"Jesus Clint, what kind of gas did you use?"

"Er…" Clint glanced back at his quiver of trick arrows and shrugged. "Just enough to keep her asleep."

"Or in a coma."

"She's breathing."

"Not the point."

"Urgh."

Their banter stopped at the sound of bed sheets shifting.

The three grownups turned to see Blake Belladonna moving about on the bed, groaning with her hand over her eyes.

"Wha-" Was her groggy statement. "What happened?"

"Sleeping Beauty finally awake. See, told ya she was alright." Clint declared, gesturing to her whilst looking at Sam, the aviator deadpanning at the marksman.

Ozpin ignored the two, instead opting to approach the semi-conscious teen who still seemed to be in a daze.

"Ms. Belladonna." Oz spoke softly but loud enough for her to hear him. "Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

"What?" Blake rubbed her eyes, the black splotches slowly clearing out of her vision. "Where… am I?"

"Vale. Beacon to be more specific." Ozpin answered, pulling out a cup of hot tea from seemingly nowhere and offering it to her. "Here, this'll help clear your head faster."

She still didn't have a clear idea of who it was that was holding the cup out to her but the cup itself was visible enough for her to take it. With a small sip, Blake exhaled in relief and satisfaction, the hot tea warming up her entire body and the fuzziness she had faded.

Upon looking up, her eyes widened considerably at the sight of the headmaster of Beacon Academy standing over her. She glanced over to see both Sam and Clint silently observing her and she was unable to hide her flinch of fear.

"No need to worry." Oz said with a comforting smile. "They're not here to hurt you. They're the ones that brought you here to me. After all, I got you application not too long ago, Ms. Belladonna. And I can say without needing any further examination to tell you that you have been graciously accepted into Beacon Academy. Welcome."

Of all the things she expected to wake up to, this was certainly the last thing Blake Belladonna believed would happen.

She was so surprised that Clint snorted, nudging Sam.

"Now she's comatose."

Wilson only rolled his eyes, ignoring the nervous stare Blake sent in their direction.

"Who are you people?"

"We're the ones who saved your ass and brought you here." Sam plainly said.

"And the ones who were told about your little tip off on that train robbery." Clint added on.

"No, no, no." Black shook her head. "I meant who are-"

"Sam Wilson or Falcon when I'm on a mission."

"Clint Barton, Hawkeye." The archer said after the aviator. "We're part of the Avengers. Yes," He raised his hand to pause her from her next question. "You don't know who we are but you will soon enough."

Blake could only find herself bewildered by the statement when another thought strayed into her mind.

"Adam!" She said aloud in panic. "And Lorina where-"

"They ran off." Barton cut her off. "Soon as they saw we had you, they dipped off into the forest."

"Did you see where they went?"

Sam shook his head. "Our main objectives were complete. We got you and anything they tried to steal, they failed. No need to kick a wounded dog."

She fell silent upon hearing this, eyes turning downward as her thoughts turned towards the man she once called her mentor, friend and comrade.

Though he doesn't know about it yet, she betrayed him.

She betrayed the White Fang.

People who she spent so much of her life with.

They may not know it yet but she knew it would only be a matter of time until they do find out about their treachery.

And speaking of the White Fang…

"SON OF A BITCH!"

A bunch of books and other items were flung off one of tables within the largest tent of the White Fang camp.

Adam Taurus was seething, the table flip only scratching the surface of his rage.

He had failed, spectacularly so.

It was one thing to lose the mission on the train robbery.

It was a completely different matter in losing one of his members.

That Avenger -as he called himself- and his partners took Blake. They took her right from under his watch and he failed to stop them in the process.

He's honestly scared of what they'll do to her. His mind was rampant on the possibilities.

She was a member of the White Fang. He knew of the stories of what happened to some of their operatives. The treatment. The torture. How it was far worse than he could imagine.

Adam mildly brought his hand up to his mask, brushing over the one side of the phantom feeling. Even though it's been years since it subsided, he can feel the occasional sting.

A constant reminder on how the humans treated him back then. One which reflects on the present for many of his people.

Clenching his fists tightly, he walked over to the table in the center of his tent, slamming his fist onto the wood, cracking it slightly but it remained standing.

He leaned heavily on it, head hung low, grinding his teeth against each other. He cannot abandon her. He cannot abandon his people.

Adam would be damned before he leaves his kin for dead or worse.

So that meant it was back overlooking the map of Vale.

'I need to find her.' He thought to himself. 'She's somewhere here. She has to be.'

Standing not far away, one of the White Fang lieutenants spoke. "We'll find her, sir, I swear on my life."

Adam sighed, hand over his mask. "I know, Gray. But we need to return to Mistral and-"

Out of nowhere sounds of gunshots, struggle and combat was present outside of the tent.

Instantly, Adam and the lieutenant rushed out of the tent, their weapons drawn, more gunshots heard in the distance.

Getting to the entrance to the camp, Adam froze at the sight before him.

All around, many of their party were lying on the ground. They were either groaning in pain or lying motionless. On the latter, they were either unconscious or bleeding out or worse.

Only three were standing and none were of his ilk.

One was a teen boy with silvery gray hair, one of his legs on the back of one of his downed comrades.

The other was a green haired, tanned girl who stood behind the leader of the group, an older woman with jet black hair and a red dress and heel shoes, something that would appear to be out of place in a place like this. Said individual wielded a pair of curved swords.

He knew them. He knew these humans.

"You. What the hell are you doing here, Cinder?"

These trio of individuals came to his party weeks ago, seeking his audience. The ravenette, Cinder, sought his "assistance" on a certain matter which she never disclosed anything details at all about.

He knew at the time she was trying to be charismatic towards him with the little silver tongue of hers. But it wasn't going to work.

For one, she was human. Second, she never bothered to tell him what she was seeking in the first place when requesting his "help".

All which she disclosed were her plans pertaining to Vale and that was it.

He all but kicked her out of the area with the threat of killing them if they came back again. He wasn't going to waste his people for a cause which Cinder wasn't going to detail about.

"I'm not here to play games, Adam." Cinder aggressively said, Taurus tensing up as he noticed something unusual about her.

Around her hands, an unusual energy permeated around them, setting the Bull Faunus on edge. She sure as hell didn't have that last time.

And she also wasn't as angry and rageful as before.

"We could've gone to anyone for help, but we chose you, Adam Taurus." Cinder soon strolled forward a little. "Our plan will be beneficial for both of us."

"Both?" Adam scoffed. "Or just you? I will not align myself with sycophants and power hungry fools who threaten the lives of Faunus."

Cinder's visible eye narrowed, her glare intensifying. "Perhaps only one of us then. Depending on your choices."

Wordlessly, the green haired girl behind Cinder raised her hand and from seemingly nowhere, another girl appeared at the feet of Cinder.

It was someone Adam recognized immediately, eyes widening in horror.

She had a tan complexion with a few patches that almost appeared scaly like a lizard. Her eyes were gray with some tears streaking down from her face and black suit that was shredded in several places, blood leaking out.

"ILIA!" Adam yelled out, his body screaming for him to move but his mind managing for him to stay put.

Any foolhardy moves can result in her death at the blade held above her neck, courtesy of Cinder.

How was she there? She wasn't there before.

Something wasn't right. It had to be. A semblance to mess with his senses. He saw the mint-haired human do something.

Was Ilia hidden from their very sight or is she not there at all?

"How did you-?" Adam silenced himself at the flexing of the sword in Cinder's hand, the tip of the blade now touching Ilia's neck.

"So… which will it be?" She goaded, tone murderous.

Taurus hated this position right now.

He hated all of this. First Blake and now Ilia?

Did the Gods of this world have a vendetta against him?

"Let her go. Now." He growled out.

The look he received in return indicated that was not the answer she wanted to hear.

"Last chance." Cinder quietly snarled, drawing blood now from Ilia's neck.

Adam inhaled sharply, forcibly stopping himself from moving again. Once more, he saw that energy from before swirling around Cinder's arms.

What in the world was that? A semblance?

No, something was off about it. He could feel it.

To prove such a point, the energy seemed to make Ilia appear weaker. Her skin is growing paler and sinking within itself, making it appear she's becoming malnourished at an alarming rate.

Bitterly, Adam removed his hand from his sword hilt.

"Gray. Stand down." Adam tersely ordered.

"But sir-"

"Stand down." He shouted now.

Grudgingly, the lieutenant put away his chainsaw-sword but still glared at Cinder from underneath his mask.

Cinder smiled when seeing this. "Good to see we've come to an understanding."

Adam was seething, practically hating that smile of hers. It's the same damnable smile and sneer he had seen before from so many other humans. The one of superiority where they looked down on his people.

One he swore he would wipe off one day.

Cinder withdrew the blade from Ilia's neck before walking away.

"I'll be sure to contact you in the future on further planning. Tata."

In a flourish show of exiting, the same power Cinder had swirled around her and her comrades. It encompassed them all before disappearing from the vicinity.

It may have been another act from the mint-haired human's semblance. May have not.

Ignoring all that, the cell leader went up to the downed Faunus girl and knelt. A moment later, she weakly latched onto him like a lifeline.

"Ilia, it's okay." He quietly said, running a hand down her hair.

He felt his clothing get damp slightly but disregarded that.

"It hurts. It hurts all over." He heard her say.

Looking over, Adam gave Gray a silent command to go check on the others. The lieutenant complied and rushed over to the nearest one.

"We'll get you checked out." Adam assured her. "Come on."

Nodding, she was helped up by her leader when she froze, eyes widening in horror.

"Ilia?"

Her eyes somehow became even wider, pupils shrinking and she opened her mouth in a silent scream.

"I-Ilia?" Adam felt his heart clench up in dread at seeing her like this.

A moment later, she collapsed onto the ground and started convulsing for several moments before being deathly still.

"ILIA!"

He knelt down once more, carefully holding her up and gently rocking her.

"No. Nononono."

"Just to make my point clear." Cinder reappeared, Adam snapping his head up at her.

Her arm was outstretched and the energy from before was swirling around her whilst also surrounding Ilia now.

In his arms, Ilia began to shrivel up, skin blackening until she became a corpse that turned to ashes seconds later.

He stayed there in a state of disbelief. Seeing Ilia's form there in an imaginary state. Yet he could see her ashes were now on his clothes and parts of his skin.

Fury swiftly bubbled to the surface, whipping his head towards the assailant and roaring at the top of his lungs.

"YOU BITCH!"

"If you think for one instance of betraying me, that is the fate that awaits your entire organization." Cinder sounded demented now, an evil grin in place, inhaling deeply at the power she possessed and just now absorbed. "I'll make sure you watch them all perish."

The entire White Fang camp was filled with nothing but cold, unrepentant fear and dread. All but one who could only hold indescribable fury directed only at one woman at this moment.

"You will answer when we call." Cinder said with finality, turning to leave.

Adam was left on his knees, looking only at the ashes of Ilia before him.

He'll kill Cinder if it's the last thing he did. He swore it more than ever. The Avengers were one thing but this became far more personal now.

Cinder will pay.

Happy 2023 folks

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