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The Sensational Scarlet Spider - Spider-Ruby Chapter 1
🕑 Added 2024-01-24 16:09:16 +0000 UTCSpider-Ruby commission! Bit of a return to form for me writing Spider stories again. I admit I'm feeling a bit rusty going back to the superhero genre. Hope this works out.
This comm will only last two chapters rather than being a full story. Mostly we'll explore Ruby's POV and her motivations for being Scarlet Spider along with how her daily life as a superhero is.
For anyone interested in making a commission, email me at: storylover543@gmail.com
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Vale, the city that never slept. A kingdom proud of its traditions and independence. While they didn't have the technological advancements of Atlas or the decadence of Mistral, they more than made up for it in other ways. They were known for creating the best Huntsmen on Remnant, were more accepting of the Faunus (though some kingdoms listed that as a negative), and had the lowest crime rate across all four kingdoms.
...Or at least they used to. Things changed ten years ago when a new breed of threat suddenly arrived. Criminals, crime gangs, and thieves like Roman Torchwick were expected. Even the occasional rogue Huntsmen, rare as they were, were hardly considered anything more than something for people to muse over for a week before moving on to the next bit of news.
And then the supervillains came. It sounded so petty, so fantastical when they were called that, but it was the best way to describe them. People in bizarre costumes who caused widespread damage whenever they appeared. Their origins were unknown and they struck without warning or mercy. Even teams of Huntsmen fell before them with the lucky ones barely making it out with their lives.
Case in point...
The side of the Parasona Mall exploded in a shower of debris with a limp body crashing through. The figure impacted against the wall and landed on the ground of the parking lot with a painful thud, his pale orange Aura sputtering out. People looked on in shock at the figure - a Huntsman's - state before quickly running and screaming. Anything that could do that to a Huntsman could do far worse to them.
"HAHAHA!" Another figure jumped through the wall. He landed on the concrete with enough force to crack it and stood up in a hunched posture, wiry figure twisted. His entire body was covered from head to toe in a dark green exoskeleton that left no trace of his skin exposed. Hanging lazily above his right shoulder was an equally armored scorpion's stinger tail, the tip glowing with a sick green light. All those coupled with the cackling laughter and crazed look in his eyes, he appeared more like a creature out of a nightmare than a Faunus.
The deranged figure stalked towards the unconscious Huntsman, tail flicking excitedly as he drew closer and closer. He was just in front of his prey, stinger tail raised, when a noise rang out.
*thwip*
A thin white line covered the tip and the man's head snapped to the sudden intrusion before he was suddenly flung away clear to the other side of the parking lot and smashed into a car with enough force to bend metal and shatter glass.
"Not so fast there!" A smaller, lither figure pulled the Huntsman away to a nearby roof for safety then landed on a nearby lamppost, balancing on the tips of her feet. To contrast the somewhat hulking figure, the new arrival was smaller with a costume made out of red and black spandex with a spider symbol at her torso. On top of that was a small red cloak that barely went past her shoulders and a hood raised to partially cover her head.
"Scorpion. Shouldn't you be in prison?" Her eyes, hidden from view with wide white lenses, nonetheless narrowed after her question.
Scorpion stood up, showing no signs that he was hurt from the crash. He looked up at the new arrival and cackled again, "Spider-Girl," he said, voice dripping with venom. His tail flicked and raised higher, "You're not the one I wanted!"
"Really? But I've been looking for you! You know it's rude to leave without a 'goodbye'!" She jumped to avoid the bolt of green energy he shot at her. The ball of condensed plasma destroyed the lamppost in a shower of metal and sparks, "Rude! And it's Scarlet Spider, by the way!"
"Do you know how disappointed I was?" Scorpion said, a tinge of anger slipping through the manic glee, "When Spider-Man put me in prison, all I could think about for all those years was what I'd do to him once I got out! And now?! He's gone!" Another bolt of energy shot. Scarlet flipped through the air and grimaced as it destroyed a chunk of wall from the building behind her, "Now I have to do with his second-rate replacement!"
"Rude! Again! I'm more than second-rate, Scorpion!" She shot two weblines at his side and pulled, shooting forward and kicking him with both feet. He blocked the attack with both arms, but she didn't miss the way he grit his teeth or how he was forced backward from the strength of the blow.
She hopped back and landed in a crouch a fair distance away from him the grimacing supervillain.
"I'll give you one last chance, Scorpion. Turn yourself in and maybe they'll go easy on you."
"Trying to copy him? I'll enjoy gutting you!" He shot forward with surprising speed and bore down on her, tail poised to strike. Scarlet's eyes widened and she flipped back to avoid the stinger that easily impaled itself through the concrete, "Hold still!"
"Gonna take that as a no!" She hopped on top of his oversized tail and pinned the stinger to the ground with a few shots of webbing, "So I gotta ask, did you really break out of prison just to attack a mall? I'm curious!"
He didn't answer. Instead, he pulled the stinger free with a ferocious scream and used his tail to bat her away. Scarlet flew through the air briefly and flipped before she landed on her feet on the vertical surface. Without missing a beat, she jumped off the dusty brick surface and tackled Scorpion hard. The supervillain's manic eyes widened as he was pushed with surprising force and collided through two more cars.
"You...need a time out!" Scarlet shot thick ropes of webbing into his arms and legs, pinning him to the floor, "Now stay still before-"
Spider-sense.
She jumped away just in time to avoid the sudden swipe at her neck from the sudden blades jutting out atop his wrists. His other hand easily cut through the webbing too and he stood up, tearing through the webs holding his legs. The masked vigilante eyed the crescent-shaped dual blades and the gun barrels almost hidden underneath the plating. If it were any other time, she would've loved to take a closer look at them.
She swung around the parking lot with the barrage of gunfire trailing after her, 'Gotta keep civilians safe.' She covered the hole with a wall of webbing. It wouldn't hold up to a continuous barrage, but it'd keep the civilians from running out in a panic. That done, she looked back down at the rampaging supervillain and grimaced. This would've been so much easier if she had her weapon with her or she could use her Semblance, but she knew she couldn't. It would've made it too obvious who she was.
So instead, she tapped two buttons on her web shooters before she fired two electrified blue lines at his wrists. She landed on the ground again and slammed her arms down, forcing his wrists to shoot against the ground instead. Another tap and the electric dust in the webs activated and sent a powerful jolt of electricity through his body.
Scorpion's entire body seized up for a moment before he cut through the webs again, "You're gonna have to do better than that!" He shrugged off the electricity and snarled, "Is swinging and using toys all you can do?! I knew you were a disappointment, but this is worse than I thought!"
"I'm trying to give you a chance here!"
"Aww, that's so sweet," he said, voice dropping with mock sincerity, "But I didn't ask for your pity, little girl! I'm not going back to that pit! So you might as well kill me now because you're never taking me alive!"
"You wanna bet?" Scarlet muttered under her breath. Her right hand clenched into a tight fist and she felt her Aura flaring. She always had to hold back even when fighting supervillains. Aura was multiplicative, that was something she was taught young. The stronger you were without Aura, the stronger you were with it.
And after that spider bite, she was really strong.
Releasing a quick breath, she ran towards the cackling supervillain. She easily dodged his next barrage of gunfire and did the same for his crazed slashes. His arms were coated in purple Aura. His Semblance allowed him to cut through Aura for critical strikes. She could survive given her powers, but she still didn't want to risk it.
"You asked for this!' she flipped forward and kicked him right in the jaw. He wanted to laugh it off, she could tell, but instead, he found himself stumbling back from the force of the blow. She followed up with another double kick to his gut that almost sent him crashing to the ground entirely.
The wave of attacks continued for almost a minute with Scarlet zipping past him and striking with powerful blows before easily dodging his attacks. His Aura sputtered out after enough strikes and yet she kept going, every hit damaging and denting the exosuit.
He raised a hand to fire and she pinned it to the ground with another shot of webbing. She knew better than to think it would hold him this time, so she pinned the other one along with the rest of his body and then quickly grabbed between the blades, "What are you-" He screamed when she pulled and ripped both the guns and blades away from his right wrist.
She'd read up on Scorpion- on all of Spider-Man's villains, actually. The exosuit was attached to his body with no way to remove it. She was sure that it felt like she was ripping out a limb when she did that, but right now, she put that thought out of her mind. If he refused to surrender then she'd do anything she could to take him down without killing him. The civilians mattered more than his pain.
She did the same to his left hand before her spider-sense rang again. The stinger tail shot through the blanket of webbing covering him and nearly stabbed her in the shoulder. She stopped it just inches from the skin, "Rrrrghhh." Scarlet growled and pushed it away, letting it impale itself on the ground again. This time, she didn't just swing away.
Scarlet wrapped both arms around the length of the tail before it could break free and pulled. Scorpion's eyes widened, and for the first time, she saw unbridled surprise and panic in those crazed irises. She didn't let it deter her and, with another powerful tug, the tail was torn away from the rest of his body in a shower of sparks, artificial blood, and broken machinery.
"AGHH, YOU BITCH!" Scorpion screamed and struggled, but she kept him pinned down with more and more webbing every time he almost tore through in his frenzied movements, "I'M GONNA KILL YOU! I'M GONNA-"
She slammed her foot on top of his face. Then did it again to knock him unconscious. It wasn't honorable or graceful, but it wasn't like he was just gonna lay down and let himself get arrested.
The sounds of sirens in the air made her grimace. As much as she would've loved to stay and talk to the cops about this (and check inside the mall for any injured civilians)m the relationship between her and the boys in blue wasn't exactly the best. They didn't shoot at her, sure, but she was still a vigilante and they often tried to take her in for questioning, which meant taking off her mask to see who she really was.
No, thank you.
With one last glance at Scorpion's unconscious body, she swung away just as the police cars and SWAT vehicles rounded the corner. Nothing less for an escaped Supervillain, "You're welcome!" she called back before swinging out of sight. They could handle Scorpion, and hopefully put him in a more secure cell this time.
Scarlet kept swinging till the sounds of sirens disappeared. Scorpion wasn't the first Supervillain she'd ever fought, but he was the first one she'd 'inherited' from Spider-Man. Ever since the first Spider-Man...died, new villains kept popping up. Maybe they thought now was their chance to make their mark on Vale now that its decade-long protector was gone.
Well, she had something to say about that.
Scorpion's words from before got to her more than she wanted to admit. She knew that she had big shoes to fill and that he was just trying to insult her, but...
No. She shouldn't think about it.
Scarlet swung around aimlessly looking for crime to stop. Thank god today was Friday. The last thing she wanted to worry about was having to go to school tomorrow. Oh, and she had to beg her dad for more of an allowance to afford the bullhead trips between Patch and Vale. Ugh. Things would've been so much easier if she got paid, but vigilantes didn't have the benefits of a paycheck.
Maybe if she just took a little bit from the criminals she stopped...
She shook her head. Nope, nope, nope! She was a superhero, not a thief! She had to be better than that. Maybe she could do some part-time jobs or something. Mowing lawns would be super easy with her Semblance. But that meant less time to be a hero, and today she'd barely made it to Vale before she heard the screams from the mall a block away. If she was just a few minutes later.
She put it out of her mind for now. No use distracting herself.
Thankfully, the rest of her patrol was easy. Just a few purse snatchers and drug dealers that she left tied up with little sticky notes. As afternoon turned to night, Scarlet debated on whether she should cut her patrol short here or spend some of her meager allowance on a motel room. It'd be cheaper than two round trips, but if Dad found out she stayed over in Vale he'd start asking questions...
The internal debate was cut off when she heard screams coming from what looked like a club. Junior's was the name. Another supervillain? She hoped not. She'd had enough for one day.
Scarlet clung to a nearby wall and grimaced at the sight that greeted her. Yang stepped out of the club's (broken) entrance with the most satisfied look on her face. She sighed. Of course, it was Yang. She couldn't even say this was the first time she'd run into her on patrol. The temperamental blonde had a habit of getting herself in trouble. How she hadn't gotten arrested yet was beyond her.
She wanted to swing away before Yang spotted her, but of course, it couldn't be that easy. She stuck out like a sore thumb and the older girl's head flicked up to look at her. Their eyes met and Yang's mouth curled up in a cocky smirk, "Well, well, well," she purred. Scarlet shuddered at that, "Scarlet Spider. Stalking me again, huh?"
"Hardly?" Scarlet scoffed, thanking the Brothers that she got a voice changer before starting her career as a superhero, "Getting in trouble again, Ms. Xiao Long?"
"Call me Yang." The blonde pouted. Scarlet almost gagged, "You wanna come down so we can talk face-to-face?"
"I'm fine up here, thanks." She did not squeak, thank you very much. Anyone who said she did was a dirty liar, "Why are you stepping out of a destroyed club, Ms. Xiao Long?"
"Oh, you know, just a little exercise." She stretched her arms above her head and laughed, "Hey, they were totally bad guys. Red Axe Gang. I basically did the same thing you did!"
"Were they committing a crime?" Scarlet asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Well...not that second, no, but they definitely did something bad at some point and didn't get punished for it. Call me karma!" She put her hands on her hips and laughed. Scarlet palmed her face and groaned. Yang was right that they were criminals, but just beating them up wasn't really helping anything. It wasn't like she could get them arrested for it, "Victimless crime!"
"Except for all the victims inside?"
"Details. Criminal, victimless details."
Scarlet sighed. There was no arguing with Yang when she got like this, "Fine, whatever. Just get outta here before the cops come. I don't wanna get involved with this."
"Hey, wait!" Yang called, "We still on for that date?"
"I said no!" Scarlet grimaced and resisted the urge to puke as she swung away.
"I'll get you eventually, Spider!" Yang laughed.
No, she really wouldn't. Scarlet sighed and ignored the brawler's teasing laughs. Running into Yang was awkward enough on its own, but then she convinced herself she could snag a date with Vale's newest superhero, and no amount of refusals would convince her otherwise. She took it as a challenge, and if there was one thing Yang was, it was someone who never backed down from a challenge.
Scarlet shuddered and resolved for Yang to never find out who she was under the mask. For both their sakes.
She decided to do one more hour of patrols before staying at a motel. Dad might ask questions, but she didn't like the idea of going on a round trip after the day she'd had. Scarlet let her spider-sense guide her as she used her scroll to listen to the news.
"This is Lisa Lavander with the news. Our breaking story is about the escape and subsequent capture of Tyrian Callows, known better by his alias of the Scorpion. He escaped containment during a proposed prisoner transfer from our very own Bastion to Atlas' White Garden. After his escape, he proceeded to rampage at Vale's Parasona mall where a nearby Huntsman by the name of Roch Saltz attempted to stop him."
She hoped the guy was okay. He was still alive, but she didn't have a lot of time to check up on.
"Mr. Saltz claimed that he singlehandedly stopped the Scorpion's rampage." Of course he did. Scarlet sighed, "However, eyewitness reports indicated that it was our very own Scarlet Spider that stopped this deranged supervillain. If you're listening, Scarlet Spider, we at Vale would like to thank you." Scarlet smiled. As much as the cops might've had mixed feelings about her, the public was much more supportive. They treated her like any other Huntsman, "But this isn't all good news, ladies and gentlemen..."
She continued listening to the report. So far there were two dead and at least seventeen wounded. Her hands gripped the webs tighter at that. She knew she couldn't have done anything - she'd swung over there as soon as she arrived in Vale - but it still made her angry to think about. She just...didn't understand what motivated these people. Money? Sure, but criminals like Torchwick didn't go around killing people for kicks. She'd still stop Roman if she saw him, but at least she understood him.
Her enhanced senses saw a figure jumping across rooftops. Even through the shadows, Scarlet recognized the distinctive silhouette and smiled. She followed after them till they finally stopped and attached a web to a nearby horizontal pole before lowering herself down.
"Hey, Cat."
The woman jumped slightly and turned to meet her with a scowl, "Scarlet..." she huffed, looking more annoyed than anything. She hid the small pouch in her right hand behind her and stepped back a bit. She was tense, that was obvious even through the leather catsuit (heh) she wore. The domino mask left most of her face exposed, allowing Scarlet to see her put-off expression and the way her dark cat ears twitched.
Black Cat, her...well, she wouldn't call them friends - Cat definitely wouldn't - but they weren't exactly enemies either. Acquaintances, maybe? But she didn't like to call it that. They'd teamed up enough times to be more than just acquaintances.
"Whatcha got there?" Scarlet asked.
"Nothing."
"Uh-huh. Sure." She flipped herself upright and landed on the rooftop. Cat took another step back, "Relax, I'm not gonna take it from you. I already know how you work." Scarlet rolled her eyes.
Black Cat was a vigilante thief. Not a superhero - she hated the term - but she made sure to steal from those who did something to deserve it. Meaning those who abused the Faunus. While Scarlet wasn't sure she exactly approved of theft as payback, she let it slide. It was better than what Yang got up to.
The thief's amber eyes narrowed for a moment before she eventually pulled the pouch out and showed her what was inside, "Woah!" Scarlet gaped at the diamond sitting inside the pouch.
"Yeah..." She closed the pouch and latched it back onto her belt.
"What'd this guy do?"
"Stole money from a Faunus charity. Talked all about how he was going to help victims of hate crimes and then he just pocketed all the donations. Well, he's going to pay one way or another." She smirked.
"Lemme guess. You got proof he was embezzling too?" She didn't answer verbally. Instead, she raised a data stick, "Right. Well, it's for a good cause." Scarlet smiled. Sneaking into places to steal wasn't her thing, but she couldn't deny that Cat was helping people. It was just... "You thought any more about my offer?"
"The answer's still no." Scarlet sighed. She offered to team up with Cat on a more permanent basis but was soundly rejected. She left the offer open, but so far Cat wouldn't budge, "You stretch yourself too thin, Scarlet."
"People need help. I do whatever I can."
"The Faunus need help too."
"I help them!" Scarlet crossed her arms.
"I know you do," she said, voice uncharacteristically warm, "You help everyone. That's the problem. You're still just one person and you can't be everywhere at once. The Faunus already don't have enough, I can't afford to split my time."
"Yeah..." She understood why, but it still kind of bummed her out. Things would've been so much better if she had a partner, someone she could confide in and trust to watch her back, "Can we at least exchange numbers?" That was another thing she asked semi-frequently. Even if Cat didn't want to be partners, having each other on speed dial for help would be nice, right?
"...Maybe someday, but not now." She turned and jumped to the other rooftop, dark hair fluttering in the wind. Scarlet watched her go and shook her head. Well, at least she said 'maybe' this time. Usually it was a flat no.
Just one more stop.
Scarlet swung to the all too familiar neighborhood in southern Vale. She made sure to keep a low profile as she hopped across the small brick townhouses. Vale didn't really have the space for suburbs, so this was the closest one you could find to it. She sat down on her usual spot and, after making sure that no one was around, slowly lowered her hood and removed her mask.
Ruby breathed in the cold night air and let it cool her sweat-soaked face. Her hair was muttered and clung tightly to her scalp, but she paid it no mind.
Her silver eyes were focused on the brightly lit townhouse across the street where two figures lived. Pyrrha Arc-Nikos and her three year old daughter, Pythia. The scene was cozy, almost picturesque. Pyrrha eating dinner while smiling and listening to her daughter babble. They were like this every night for the past two months she'd been watching them. They never saw her, and she made sure to keep it that way.
After all, how would they feel knowing the girl who got their husband killed was watching over them?
Her grip on her mask tightened and she shuddered. Spider-Man - Jaune - saved her life at the cost of his own. She couldn't...she didn't even have the guts to tell them the truth. She brought his body back to their home like he requested, but then she ran when Pyrrha demanded an explanation. She couldn't bear to tell her what happened. Even now, thinking about it made her sick to her stomach.
This was the closest thing she could to do make up for it. Watch over them every night to make sure they were safe. It didn't make up for what she did, she knew that, but it was the only thing she could think of.
And so Ruby sat in silent vigil, waiting till they finished dinner before swinging away.
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Ozpin was a man who'd seen and done much. The chronicle of all his experiences would be enough to fill a library with room to spare. From warrior to king to immortal. He'd lived vast and storied lives indeed.
Which was why he found himself not surprised in the least by the advent of these supervillains. His conflict with Salem had taken many forms over the millennia and this was simply her latest tactic. Perhaps she really thought it genius, or perhaps she'd simply read one too many comic books. Regardless, she'd poured considerable resources into this endeavor, and despite their oddities, they had proven surprisingly effective at countering his Huntsmen.
And yet they found themselves halted by a third party.
He reviewed the footage of Scarlet Spider's fight with Scorpion. Callows was a particularly dangerous individual with the deaths of at least a dozen Huntsmen to his name. The fact that only three people had died so far, as morbid as it sounded, truly was a miracle.
And yet, this teenager - for she was a teenager, no matter how much she tried to hide that - had taken him down all by herself. And she'd done it with no weapons. The only reason the fight lasted as long as it did was because she tried to give him a chance to come peacefully. A kind, if naive, gesture. He paid particular attention to the speed and power of her strikes. She clearly didn't have much experience in unarmed combat, and yet her raw power was enough to crush through both Callows' Aura and exoskeleton.
She was strong. Perhaps as strong - if not stronger - than Spider-Man. He had little idea of where the both of them received their powers from, but it was clearly more than just Aura. Spider-Man was more than capable of taking down an entire team of experienced Huntsmen and his successor, while obviously inexperienced, was already following in his footsteps.
The door to his office opened and James stepped in looking rather displeased. That was to be expected. It was, after all, an Atlas transport that Callows had broken out of. His claims of the Atlesian Knights being enough to keep the deranged criminal contained had left him with egg on his face.
Especially when it was a vigilante that stopped him.
"Oz," James rumbled, standing rather than sitting despite the offered chair.
"James." He poured a cup of hot chocolate, "Chocolate?"
"No, thank you." His lips pressed into a thin line.
"Suit yourself." He took a sip of the heavenly confection and let out a relaxed breath. Salem might've been a conniving bitch that sought to destroy everything he held dear, but she still hadn't taken hot chocolate away from him.
"You know why I'm here."
"I assume it concerns your failure to keep Callows contained," Ozpin said bluntly. James was a man who despised prolonging dialogue. Getting straight to the point may not have gained his affection, but it did earn his respect.
"Yes." The General's face knotted in distaste, "And about how he was stopped by a vigilante."
"I believe the proper colloquialism is Superhero."
"I'm not Valean. I don't believe in legitimizing vigilantism."
"And yet this vigilante stopped Callows where you Knights and a more experienced Huntsman could not." Ozpin stood and looked out at the night sky and the halls of Beacon Academy. This place was meant to be where the future protectors of mankind were to be trained and yet they found themselves outpaced by a girl in a costume.
"I'm not ignoring her skills. Far from it, actually." He couldn't see James' expression, but he could hazard a guess as to what it looked like. Determined with no room for argument, "If she's as competent as she is right now, then we can't just let her run around like a child. We need to induct her into the fold. She can do more than be some lawless vigilante."
"She's a teenager, James. I'm sure you can see that."
"And yet she chooses to risk her life fighting these madmen. She will have already earned Salem's ire." Ozpin hummed but didn't disagree. He was right, "You insisted that we leave Spider-Man alone and now he's gone. Would you risk doing the same here?"
"We can make her the offer, of course, and if she says no?"
"Then we insist." Ozpin sighed. He knew what that meant, and he also knew that James wasn't one to be deterred. That and Ozpin couldn't wholly disagree with him. Spider-Man - Jaune - had refused his offers to join their group and Ozpin respected it. After his death, he did wonder if perhaps he should've been more forceful. That if he'd still be alive if he didn't accept his first refusal.
"We can meet her soon."
"You already know who she is?" James sounded surprised, "I expected we'd have to do some searching, at least."
"I know her name, and I'll tell you when we go to meet her. Until then, I ask that we respect her privacy. She deserves that much."
"...Fine. Tell me when you plan to meet her."
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Another day, another patrol finished. Ruby sat down on the bullhead and groaned. Saturdays and Sundays meant full day patrols, and while her powers meant it took a while for her to get exhausted, patrolling all day with the sun beating down on her was an absolute pain. As stylish as the costume was, spandex wasn't very breathable. She missed her usual outfit.
She gave out almost all of her allowance to pay the fee and hopped off the bullhead. Great, now she had twenty lien to her name. She either had to beg Dad or Yang for extra then come up with an excuse for why. She could only use 'I needed to upgrade Crescent Rose' so much before they decided that wasn't good enough.
She trudged her way back home with the shattered moon shining over her. Thankfully, Dad was off on a mission, so her extended stay in Vale went without question. Yang definitely wouldn't say anything. As far as she was concerned, the late trips out to Vale was just Ruby getting into her rebellious phase. She just let her keep thinking that.
"I'm home," she called out tiredly.
"Hey, you're back!" Yang hopped up from the couch and hugged her before stepping back, "Ugh, you smell like sweat, Rubes! What were you doing?"
"Oh, you know...visiting the forge."
"Again? You've been obsessing over that weapon of yours way too much."
"Yeah, about that..." She rubbed the back of her head, "Could you, uh, lend me some money? There's this really nice spring I saw..."
"Nope." She made an X with her arms, "I'm cuttin' ya off, Rubes. This is too much."
"But-"
"I spend a pretty penny myself, but not to the point where I have to beg you or Dad for cash. I'm putting my foot down. No more weapon upgrades till you can afford it."
"...Fine." That meant part-time jobs, which meant less time for patrols. Ugh! Whoever said being a superhero was easy could suck it.
"Go take a shower. I'll heat up something for you, alright?" Yang smiled and clapped her shoulder, "When you get down, I'll tell you all about how I almost snagged a date with Scarlet Spider!"
"Ugh, Yang! I don't wanna hear it!" Ruby stomped up the stairs while Yang laughed. She just thought Ruby was being grossed out about her big sis bragging about her 'conquests'. If only she knew the truth.
Dinner was...nice, she supposed. As bummed as she was about her lack of funds, she really couldn't do much but just suck it up and deal. Jaune made it work somehow, and she could too. Who knows, maybe taking a small break from patrolling would do her some good. Her grades were slipping lately. She didn't really have a lot of time to do homework and projects in between patrol and fighting supervillains.
She'd just finished washing the dishes and was about to get some well-deserved rest when there was a knock on the door. Was Dad back? No, he said the mission would take another week, at least.
"Coming!" She put her Aura up (safety first!) and opened the door to meet three unexpected figures. Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Glynda Goodwitch, she recognized. They were on the news all the time. The third one was a mystery to her. A giant with short dark hair and eyes that seemed to stare right through her. She suddenly felt nervous, powers or not.
"U-Um, hello?" Ruby smiled nervously, "Headmaster, are you looking for Dad or Uncle Qrow? Cause they're-"
"They're out. We know." The headmaster smiled placatingly, "We're actually here to talk to you, Ms. Rose It concerns something personal."
"Oh...what kind of personal?" Was she in trouble?
"Something of the Scarlet variety." Ruby's heart leapt up to her throat and she almost slammed the door in their faces, "We're not here to arrest or detain you, Ms. Rose. We're here to discuss an offer you might be interested in. Please, just give us a chance to explain."
"...Alright." She let them inside. As nervous as she felt right now, the headmaster was probably the most trustworthy person in all of Vale. He was the head of Beacon Academy! And she did still want to be a Huntress, even if she doubted she'd go to Beacon instead of testing for the license straight out.
Ruby took a deep breath and closed the door. Time to find out what they wanted.
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Poor Ruby. Has to deal with guilt and flirted with by her sister. I'm sure she'll take the secret to the grave with her. Anyway, next chapter will come in a while. Other comms and my own stories, you know.
