Chapter 3: With Great Power….

Ruby Rose was many things, but patient, was not one of them.

Ruby sighed heavily, continuously tapping her foot on the classroom floor. Guhhhh why does detention have to be so BORING! She thought, trying to figure out how to pass the time. She looked around the room, her eyes eventually landing on a small notebook that was peeking out of her bag.

Hmmm… that could work, she mused, taking the notebook out of her bag and opened it on a page filled with crude drawings that she made over her last few detentions. These drawings showcased a red and black outfit similar to what she had on now, the only differences being a much shorter skirt and a red spider in the middle of her corset. The ruffles of her current outfit were replaced by more flexible spandex like material. Ruby bit her pencil in contemplation. It looks okay but I feel like something's missing, but what? She mused, trying to think of how to complete the look.

She knew the point of this outfit was to allow herself more mobility when using her powers, and, by all intents and purposes, she had done that, so why did it feel incomplete? Is it the skirt? Getting rid of it would probably allow me to move easier, I already had this design made, but making another outfit probably wouldn't be too much trouble. Still…." She shook her head, now she was getting off-topic. If it's not the skirt, then what's-.

"Hey Rubes, what'cha drawing?" Yang asked taking a quick peek at her notebook

Ruby snapped out of her funk, quickly closing her book before Yang could get a good look at it. 'EEP!" she screamed, alarmed by her sister's surprise entrance. "W-when did you get here!?" She sputtered, her heart thumping rapidly from surprise.

Yang's eyebrows rose in amusement, "I'm here to take you back to our room, detention ended like 10 minutes ago.

Ruby mentally facepalmed, No wonder Weiss keeps calling me a dolt, whatever that means. "O-oh right, sorry I just uh, got distracted for a bit." She lied, hoping her sister wouldn't press for more.

Luckily if Yang knew she was lying, she didn't show it. "Relax Rubes I was just curious, c'mon, Weiss wants you to study for Port's next test".

Ruby groaned, "Guhhh, but I don't even have any notes for his class."

"Well, then it's a good thing that she's studying with you cause I'm in the same boat". Yang laughed, resting her arms over her head.

Ruby only groaned in response as they made their way back to their dorm room. However, while she was busy groaning in despair about Port's test, she failed to notice the familiar ringing in her head was notifying her that someone was rounding the same corner, causing herself to accidentally stumble into them on accident.

Ruby opened her eyes, noticing her favorite professor she quickly apologized. "O-oh, Professor Peach Hi!" Ruby greeted jovially, happy that she stumbled upon her favorite teacher.

Peach smiled back, pleasantly surprised at seeing the daughter of her old friend. "Hello Ruby, Yang. She greeted, nodding at her two students.

"Hey teach". Yang said, giving her a two-fingered salute.

"What are you doing here Professor?" Ruby asked, wanting to know why Peach was in close proximity to the detention hall.

Peach chuckled, "Oh I was just walking back from the forge, I wanted to upgrade my swords and decided to experiment.

As soon as she mentioned swords Ruby's eyes began to sparkle, "Ooooh! What did you do? Did you upgrade the dust capacitors? Reload speed? Or did you do-". She was cut off when she felt herself being picked up from the ground. 'W-wait Yang! What are you doing!

"C'mon Rubes, we gotta get back to the dorm, it's getting late.

"B-but I want to talk about weapons!" She cried, her arms falling around as she found herself being farther and farther away from Peach.

Peach couldn't help but smile, 'Those two have an absolutely wonderful bond, Summer and Tai must have raised them well". She concluded, continuing her walk to the teachers' lounge.

(oooooo)

The next day, deep in the Emerald Forest, below Beacon academy there stood a group of figures in all black.

"All Right everyone, listen up! If we pull this off we could be rich!" One of the men said, seemingly in charge as he pulled out a map of Beacon's Campus.

"Just tell us what we have to do Boss". One of the grunts smiled, excited at the thought of becoming rich from one mission alone.

"No offense Boss but are you…...sure that the contact can pay the amount he promised us? I don't think there are many people with that type of money that are willing to pay us for our….services". Another grunt said.

The 'Boss' just laughed, exposing his unnaturally white teeth as he turned to the grunt in question. "Trust me, the money he's paying us is nothing more than pennies to him". He reassured the grunt.

The grunt nodded, "Whatever you say, Boss"

The Boss' smiled. Turning his attention towards the map he said, "Remember the plan, I'll snatch the documents from the lab while all of you take care of any distractions…." He trailed off, leaving the statement purposely vague.

Another one of the grunts laughed, "And what do you mean by that Boss?" He asked rhetorically.

The Boss let out a sinister laugh, "Let's just say that our client doesn't want any…...loose ends so to speak".

The grunts all nodded in unison. "That won't be a problem Boss".

The Boss let out one last laugh before saying, "Good…"

(oooooo)

For the past five minutes, Ruby found herself wandering around aimlessly in a dark corridor, the only sign of life being some small strands of webbing scattered about. Suffice to say, Ruby had no idea where she was. "Where am I?" She thought out loud, confused about her way.

Just when Ruby was about to turn around, she heard a disturbingly familiar voice.

"Ruby." A voice whispered.

Ruby's heart nearly leaped out of her chest, and she grabbed her chest in surprise. "W-who are you?" She whimpered in surprise.

"Ruby." The voice said again, this time coming from all around.

Ruby looked around in confusion with wide terrified eyes, curling up in a ball from the fear around her. "P-please stop". She cried, feeling tears beginning to form in her eyes.

What happened next was the last thing Ruby expected. The voices momentarily stopped, thinking she was in the clear, Ruby slowly opened her eyes, only to hear…

"Rise child". The voice said in a surprisingly soft tone.

Still scared, Ruby slowly stood up, only to be confronted with the same spider that had been haunting her dreams for the last week. 'W-who are you?". Ruby asked once again, hoping to get a definite answer from the beast.

"The web will reveal all in time, but that is not why I'm here." The spider answered in an unnaturally calm voice.

Ruby found herself staring at the beast in confusion, "T-then why are you here?" Ruby asked with a slight stutter.

For the first time, the spider visibly shifted, leaning in closer to Ruby it said, "Be warned child, today will be your first trial. After today, you will be reborn" Its voice echoed ominously.

"W-what's that supposed to-"

The spider cut her off, "Never forget, with Great Power, comes Great Responsibility". It said, the very presence of its voicing causing the room to begin to crack and distort.

'W-wait you told me that already, but what does it-'' She couldn't finish her sentence as she got an eerie sense of Deja vu, the ground beneath Ruby began to crack and crumble, causing Ruby to once again fall below into the inky dark abyss.

"Ruby are you okay?"

Ruby nearly jumped out of her bed, taking deep breaths as she processed her surroundings.

"Woah Woah, it's okay Rubes, it's just us." The figure said soothingly, raising their hands over their head to show that they had no ill intent.

Ruby's vision cleared, finally allowing herself to relax when she realized it was only Yang, her other teammates giving her looks with various levels of concern. 'Oh, it's just you guys." Ruby breathed in relief, happy to be back in a familiar setting.

"Are you okay Rubes? You looked like you were having a nightmare." Yang observed, remembering how uncomfortable her sister looked in her sleep.

"Y-yeah, sorry. I…. had a bad dream"." Ruby said, attempting to laugh it off but to no avail.

WBY collectively raised a brow at this, "Well it must have been some dream, you were talking to yourself….a lot. Weiss observed, crossing her arms.

Ruby's breath got caught in her throat "W-what did I say?" Ruby asked, hoping that she didn't reveal too much.

Weiss shrugged, "Not much, it was more like mindless gibberish if you ask me."

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Zwei…" She muttered under her breath.

'What was that?" Weiss asked she could have sworn that Ruby had said something.

"N-nothing!" Ruby said way too quickly, causing her team to look at her in confusion.

"Ooooookay". Yang said, noticing how her sister was obviously being bothered by something. "Well, we were about to go train in one of the spare sparring rooms, wanna come?" Yang asked with a smile, hoping a good spar would get Ruby out of whatever sort if funk she was in.

Yang started to get worried when she noticed how Ruby's eyes had widened considerably, displaying a mixture of excitement and fear before finally landing on what seemed to be a hard resolve. Weiss and Blake must have noticed too as their eyes displayed the same concern as Yang.

"O-oh! Uh sorry, but I need to go to Vale. I…...have to get some new parts for Crescent Rose".

Yang flinched, surprised that her sister would pass up the chance to spar. "Are you…...sure you're okay Rubes? It's only Saturday so we can always spar another time if you aren't feeling up to it". Yang asked, genuinely not wanting her sister to spar if she was coming down with something.

Ruby shook her head, "No, it's okay. I'll come next time, promise." She said, doing her best fake smile.

Hesitantly Yang nodded, turning to go but not before saying, "You know we're always here for you Rubes, and…. if something's on your mind we'll try to help you the best we can, right guys?" She said, turning her head towards her two oddly quiet teammates.

"Of course." Blake spoke genuinely.

"What kind of partner would I be if I let our leader fall behind?" Weiss huffed, crossing her arms in fake bravado.

Despite the weirdness that had been this past week, Ruby smiled, "Thanks guys, I'll keep that in mind."

They smiled, and with that, Ruby was left alone in the room. Ruby just stood still for a few minutes, before finally taking a deep breath. She climbed up her bunk, lifting the mattress to reveal the same outfit she had been sketching over the last few days

After today…...hopefully, I won't have to hide you anymore. She thought, stuffing her new outfit into her backpack before finally heading off to vale.

(oooooo)

Later that night Ruby returned, satisfied with her purchase she saw the entrance to the dormitories. She sighed, This is it…. She thought, and with a deep breath she opened the door…. only to find that it was completely empty.

Ruby furrowed a brow in confusion, 'Why is it so quiet?" She asked herself, wondering why the hallways were so devoid of life. "Is there assembly or something?" She thought, trying to come up with a plausible explanation for why everything was suddenly so quiet.

She continued to talk to herself until she found herself in the main lounge, once again befuddled at the lack of students, she was about to continue to one of the spare sparring rooms when she suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind her.

Ruby spun around, quickly locking eyes with a man that certainly looked like he belonged at any place but Beacon. He was of a decent height, possibly over six feet, sporting a large black suit, his pearly smile sent chill down her spines. At that moment her 'Spider-sense' as she called was blaring, the ringing noise was almost deafening to her ears. However, it faded away as the man escaped from view, leaving Ruby an extremely confused look on her face.

"Who was that supposed to-".

Peach quickly cut her off, "RUBY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE"." Professor Peach screamed out in a mix of terror and surprise.

Recognizing her voice, Ruby quickly met eyes with Peach, who, in Ruby's opinion, was looking extremely worse for wear. Her normally vibrant hair was extremely tangled and rough, making her look like she had just gotten out of bed. Her normally pristine blouse was covered in sweat and blood. 'P-professor Peach, what happened to your-"

"No time to explain, there's a dangerous group of criminals on the loose, you need to get back to your dorm now." Peach commanded.

Ruby slightly flinched at her tone. However, she quickly collected herself. "B-but I can help, I have these powers that-"

"I don't care what you have, these people are EXTREMELY dangerous and have killed grade A Huntsmen without a second thought!" Peach yelled, not in the mood to deal with overconfident students.

"B-but I-." Ruby hastily stuttered out.

Peach took a moment to collect herself, "Ruby Rose, if you don't go back to your dorm this instant then I will have no choice but to expel you from Beacon Academy, do I make myself clear?" She stated firmly, leaving no room for argument.

Ruby felt like she was at war with herself, a part of her reminding herself about how inexperienced she was with her powers, along with the fact that her aura hasn't been working correctly either. However, another part of her wanted to ignore her professor and help anyways, not caring about the consequences as long she was able to protect the people she cared about. Perhaps If she was only a few years older, that extra wisdom may have led to her making the right choice. But her fear combined with having zero to no experience with her powers led to Ruby making what she would often come to see as the biggest mistake of her life.

Wordlessly, Ruby nodded her head, running in the direction of her dorm while Peach went after the man she saw earlier. While she was running back to her dorm, she could feel her mind nagging at her, replaying the conversation repeatedly until she stopped running. What am I doing? I should help her! Her inner consciousness was telling her. No, you said it yourself, your aura is acting up and you can barely control your powers. Even if you could help her, she could expel you! Being a huntress is your dream, are you really going to throw it away just because you're worried your Professor can't handle some thug. It's not your problem, let the professionals handle it. Her logical side was telling her.

She was torn, and she had no idea which part of her was right.

"GUUUH" Ruby yelled out. "I-I have no idea what to do! I wish there was a way for me to hide my face. If only I had a-"

BANG!

Ruby paused, her throat constricting in horror. Before Ruby could fully process the noise, she found herself running, unconsciously picking up a nearby mask in the process.

Ok, Ruby, you can do this. All you have to do is find Professor Peach, punch a couple of bad guys and get back to my dorm before my team even notices that I'm-".

What she saw was something that would be stitched into her memory for the rest of her life.

Lying on the floor, laid a beaten and battered Peach collapsed in a pile of her own blood.

Ruby's eyes widened in mortification. No no no no no no, she has to be okay. She thought. checking her pulse in an attempt to alleviate her distress. Unfortunately, she was too late.

There wasn't a pulse.

Peach was dead, and it was all her fault.

For a moment, time stood still for the young huntress, shocked at the fact that her Professor, the person who told her things about her mom, who opened her door to Ruby out of pure kindness, was gone.

"It's not your problem".

"What have I done?" She croaked, looking at her hand now blood-covered hands. "WHAT HAVE I DONE!" She screamed out in pure anguish.

CLUNK!

The noise of a door being slammed shut temporarily snapped Ruby out of her anguish, looking in the direction of the noise she spotted him.

The man that killed peach

The man that she let go.

The man that would pay for his actions.

No matter what.

Without a second thought, Ruby sped after the man at an inhuman speed, with only one thought filling her mind.

MURDERER!

(ooooooo)

The man in black sighed, holding his wounds as he checked on the status of his compatriots. Dammit, that huntress nearly killed me! If it wasn't for her being distracted by that kid then I'd be a dead man, the man thought in relief, quickly shaking it off when he heard a call from one of his 'employees'. 'Status report". He asked tiredly, worn out from the fight with Peach.

"We're not doing so good boss". One of the goons responded.

"Yeah boss, were surrounded what are we gonna do?" another goon questioned, fear present in his voice.

He sighed, "Retreat, I have everything we need right- OOF ".

"MURDERER!" Ruby screamed, voice dripping with venom as she punched the man as hard as she could

The man was sent flying, his body landing on the ground so hard that he found his teeth clattered from the impact. The man barely had time to process what just happened before Ruby landed a kick to his side, cracking his ribs on impact before he crashed into a nearby wall. 'W-who are you?" He grunted, secretly afraid of the power the girl displayed.

Ruby momentarily halted her movements, her body shaking with a wave of primordial anger she hasn't felt since her mom died. "How could you..." She spoke shakingly, her voice barely above a whisper.

The man in question couldn't help but look at her in confusion, "W-what?" He asked, not expecting her response.

Ruby glared at him, and he swore that he could see a faint glow behind those blood-red lenses. Ruby clenched her fists tightly, "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HER!'" She screamed, voice dripping with venom.

The man could only stare, paralyzed in fear at the sight before him.

After Ruby realized that he wasn't talking she grabbed him by his shirt, forcefully slamming him to a nearby wall. Ruby growled, '"WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT! SHE WAS A HUNTRESS; HER JOB WAS TOO PROTECT HUMANITY!" She shouted, throwing him across the pavement.

Ruby fell to her knees, 'W-we should all be fighting together, not against one another". She sobbed, tears quickly finding their way through her mask

After what seemed to be an eternity the man coughed out, "It was just a job, nothing personal kid". The man said, voice devoid of emotion.

Ruby stiffened, standing back up with a renewed vigor. "Just a job?" She asked rhetorically, slowly turning her body to face him.

Silence

The usually cheerful girl was silent, for what felt like an eternity all she would do is stare, feeling as if her eyes were piercing his very soul. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, she snapped.

"JUST A JOB!" She cried, punching the pavement that was dangerously close to face

The man's eyes widened when he saw the freshly made hole made by a girl. "H-hold on kid, maybe we can work something out. He said, his deep voice toned with the slightest ounce of fear.

Ruby's eyes narrowed under the mask, preparing another attack when for the first she looked at him, really looked at him. The man's body was beaten and battered, his face was bruised beyond belief, he looked like he was about to pass out from the pain alone.

"She always said, With Great Power, There Must Also Come Great Responsibility"

Ruby gasped under the mask, suddenly finding it very hard to breathe. This isn't what her mom would want, what anyone would want. With newfound clarity, Ruby took a deep breath and turned her attention back to the man below her. Ruby hoisted him up, giving him one last hard look, "I should break you, take what you took from Celestia Peach!" She said, dropping him back on the ground with a thud. An image of her mother briefly clouded her vision. "But she wouldn't approve…. "She fought down the urge to cry, "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility". Before she could further dwell on those words, she heard something in the distance.

"SOMEBODY HELP PLEASE!". Someone girlishly screamed, seemingly coming from the other side of Beacon.

Ruby craned her head in the direction of the noise, her expression morphing into what could only be described as pure determination. Not again, never again". She thought, taking one last look at the men in black before sprinting in the direction of the scream.

(oooooo)

Jaune Arc must have been the unluckiest guy in all of Vale.

All he wanted to do was go into Vale on his day off to get some comics, only for Cardin Winchester to shove him into a locker and send him flying into the emerald forest, forcing him to run away from Grimm all day. When he finally gets back, he gets a notification on his scroll that the school was being attacked. Then his scroll died, so he couldn't even call his team. So, there he was, trying to dodge through Beacon's halls in order to get back to his dorm without being killed by people strong enough to attack the best Huntsmen Academy in the world.

So yeah, pretty unlucky.

Pyrrha was right, I should have at least brought a map with me. Jaune thought, facepalming himself for his apparent stupidity. At least I haven't run into one of those mercenary guys, maybe if I'm lucky I can get out of this in one-

"Have you heard from the boss? Last time he contacted us, he was busy fighting some huntress chick." Jaune heard the grunt that was in an unusually tight pair of skinny jeans asked.

"Yeah, now that I think about it your right! Do you think she was able to pull one over him somehow? The other grunt asked, just as confused as his partner.

The other grunt only laughed, "Yeah right! You know the boos graduated top of his class; I highly doubt that some measly professor is strong enough to take him down".

Noticing how the grunts seemed so wrapped up in their 'enrapturing' conversation, Jaune decided that this would be the perfect time to walk away.

Unfortunately, Jaune failed to notice that one of his shoes was untied, causing him to trip and fall…..flat on his face. Jaune groaned in pain, At least Weiss didn't see that. He thought, messaging his now aching jaw.

"Hey did you hear that?"

Jaune's eyes widened in horror, slowing inching his neck across to the two grunts staring right at him!

Knowing that he was caught, Jaune looked at the grunts, hoping to smooth things out he said, "Heh heh, this isn't the bathroom. I'll, uh, just be going now." Unfortunately, the grunts didn't seem to share the same sentiment, raising their weapons to start shooting at him. Jaune broke into a sprint, running down the halls and screaming, "SOMEBODY HELP PLEASE!"

"Hey, did somebody order a pizza?" A voice quipped.

This caused all three men to stop, looking around the grunts asked, "Who's there?" He questioned, searching for the source of the voice.

"Up here skinny jeans."

The other grunt couldn't help but chortle, "Heh, she's right dude, those are some unusually tight-".

"Shut up". The grunt in the ridiculous looking jeans ordered, focusing on the ceiling above him.

Their eyes widened, Jaune's included when they spotted a very oddly dressed individual who was somehow sticking to the ceiling like glue.

Ruby tilted her head, "What? Don't tell me you've never seen someone stick to a wall before?" She asked in mock surprise.

Before they could answer, Ruby, sprung toward the grunts, taking a swing at the one in the jeans she asked, "So what's your story? Were you promised a buttload of money if you helped steal from one of the best huntsman academies in the world? She quipped, her fist colliding with the man, causing him to stumble back in pain.

Ruby was about to continue her assault when she felt an all too familiar ringing coming from the back of her head, allowing herself to perform a backflip mere milliseconds before the other grunt's fist hit the area she just was. I knew the skirt was a bad idea. Landing on a crouch, she said, "Huh, I totally forgot about you". She observed, delivering a spin kick to his jaw.

The man grunted in pain, his skull hitting the pavement with an audible crack.

Ruby winced under the mask. Oof, maybe I should hold back a bit more, I wouldn't want to kill someone on my first day. She mused, making a mental note to practice after she got Jaune out of this mess. Unfortunately, her thoughts were cut short when the grunt in the jeans sent a fierce haymaker in her direction.

Luckily, Ruby's spider-sense allowed her to avoid it with ease. "So skinny jeans, your friend is down and you're not looking too good yourself, how about you make it easier for the both of us and give up". She asked, secretly hoping she wouldn't have to hurt the man anymore then she had.

She was met with a fierce growl, "MY NAME. IS NOT. SKINNY JEANS!" He cried, sending a sloppy punch her way.

Ruby sighed, "M'kay, didn't want to do this but…." She mumbled childishly, catching the punch while sending one of her own

The force of her punch made the grunt collide with a nearby wall, knocking him out of the fight.

Ruby let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Okay, for a second there I-.

"THAT. WAS. AWESOME!" Jaune exclaimed, in awe of the girl's strength and agility.

Ruby turned around in surprise, only now remembering that he was the whole reason she started the fight in the first place". "O-oh it was nothing" She squeaked, frazzled by the sudden praise.

Jaune, however, wasn't having any of it, "Are you kidding me? You beat those guys like it was nothing! Who are you!?" He asked in excitement, wanting to know the identity of the girl who saved him.

That snapped her out, finally getting over his praise she said: "O-oh I uh…." She trailed off, not really expecting so many questions. Is this how it feels when bombarding someone with questions about their weapon? No wonder Yang thinks I'm socially awkward… "Uh actually, I was kinda hoping that you can just forget this whole thing ever happened". She asked sheepishly, gauging her fellow leader's reaction.

Jaune's brow furrowed in confusion, "Wait what? Why would I-" He was cut off when the girl started to move.

"WellitwasnicemeetingyougottagoBYE! She said, the words coming out of her mouth at a rapid pace before she sped away on the wall closest to her.

After she was out of sight, Jaune could only blink in confusion. "Uh, what just happened?"

(oooooo)

Ruby could only look in sadness when she saw the paramedics put a tarp over Peach's body. She clenched her fist, It's all my fault, I couldn't even catch the guy. After she saved Jaune, she went back to find the man in black, only to find that he was gone. If only I-.

"RUBY!" Ruby looked over her shoulder, seeing the running forms of her team barreling in her direction Yang quickly rushed over to her sister. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Yang shot question after question, inspecting her sister to make sure she wasn't injured.

"I'm fine Yang, besides…. I'm not the one you should be worrying about." She croaked, her eyes brimming in tears as she stared at Peach's cold dead body.

"Ruby, what do you-" Weiss's words die in her throat when she saw the body.

"My god…." Yang whispered in disbelief.

"That's… awful." Blake said, stunned that somebody actually managed to kill her teacher.

"It's all my fault". Ruby's voice cracked, her eyes filling to the brim with tears.

WBY's eyes widened at her proclamation. "What? Ruby why would you think-" Yang was cut off when she locked her in a fierce embrace.

The other members of team RWBY could only stare in shock, never thinking for a second that Ruby would be this distraught over this. However, Yang didn't question it, only patting her sister on the back as she let it all out.

(oooooo)

Ruby couldn't sleep.

Her mind was filled with the memories of what happened that day, the blood, the tears all of it. With a heavy heart, Ruby quietly got out of her bed, grabbing her ideas book before heading back to bed with a night light.

Going through her book she went to the page with her most recent costume design. She stared at it for a moment before shaking her head and turning to a blank page. With a deep breath, she wrote on the top of the page, Project: 'SS'. I'm gonna help people…...even if it means not being a huntress when I do. I can never forget…. With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility.

(oooooo)

The man in black slowly approached the dark corridor, holding his ribs in pain. That girl's gonna pay, when I get my hands on her I'll- "

"Did you get the papers?" The man asked, his features hidden by the darkness.

Quickly shaking his head, he said, "Yeah….AT THE COST OF MY DIGNITY!" The man in black roared, upset by how he was bested by a mere girl. Nevertheless, …he got the job done, that's what truly mattered.

"I…. see that you had some complications". The other man noticed, scanning the man's bruises.

The man in black scoffed, "I know Beacon has some weird kids, but who would have thought one could climb on walls." He said, thinking back to the mysterious girl who bested him

This made the shadowed man pause, "… What did you say?" The man asked in slight disbelief.

The man in black coughed, "There was some weird chick who could climb on walls, not to mention that her strength and speed were off the charts, especially for a kid."

The shadowed man's eyes briefly narrowed, before quickly reverting to their normal state. "Interesting, nonetheless… a deal's a deal. He said, taking out a briefcase full of money.

The man in black smiled, "Pleasure doing business with ya." He grinned, eagerly taking the money before turning around.

"Oh, and one more thing." The shadowed man asked, causing the mercenary to momentarily halt.

"Huh? What is-"

BANG!

The man in black briefly stared, wide-eyed before falling to the ground, limp.

"You were of great help, but unfortunately …. He trailed off, stepping out of the shadows to reveal Norman Osborn. "I can't have any loose ends."

Hey guys! Sorry for the late update…. again, but School has really been kicking my ass. I'll try to get the next one out in a timely manner. I hope you enjoy and as always, leave a review if you can!