The Hunted Avenger

Chapter 1

A Normal life

"Rose! Hurry up and get that damn combo plate out to table seven! Ricardo forgot to put beans on it and I'll be damned if I let him screw it up again!"

Ruby Rose grit her teeth, careful to only curse the head chef in her mind, before grabbing the combo plate in question, and quickly headed out the kitchen doors into the restaurant.

The place was packed. Dozens of patrons sat around enjoying their food; families civilly eating, a group of teens seeing who could eat the most Flautas, and older couples enjoying the liveliness of the atmosphere.

At one time she would've enjoyed being around so much life, but right now her head pounded and her brow furrowed as she set the combo plate down at a couples table, being dismissed by a simple 'thank you' by the woman.

She gave a nod, slipped by the other patrons and returned to the kitchen even as her forehead growled in agony. Damn allergies.

"Thanks, Ruby." A boy, a few years older than her with bags under his eyes, gave her a tired smile before returning to his duties of frying and cooking.

She only nodded in response, quickly rushing over to the nearest table where the head chef was preparing another meal and barked orders at a few others who were cooking and preparing meals.

Ruby frowned as he failed to thank her, and instead insisted she start chopping a bulk of tomatoes and celery before he 'fired her lazy ass for slacking off'. He never did fire them, but it still irked her to no end.

Still, as her father had taught her, she held her tongue and did as asked.

And so the night went as usual, she cut, and cooked, and passed out plates whenever the cook got tired of everyone else.

Which was every few minutes.

The hours passed, and finally the night shift ended with a eerie quiet as the last of the patrons left and the restaurants shut its door.

She glanced at her scroll- 'no, its a phone' she mentally scolded herself- and saw the big numbers of 2:03 A.M, glaring straight back at her. Her eyes ached and she huffed loudly even as the kitchen staff and waiters did their best to wrap up for the night.

"Tired?"

She gave a weary smile to Ricardo as he dumped the wasted Tamale skins into the trash next to her, "Only a bit."

Ricardo gave a tired laugh at that, carefully to ensure the skins all fell within the trash lest they bring down the wrath of the Head Chef on them.

"You and me both."

She chuckled and grabbed a bundle of unused tomatoes, "at least your brother cooks good. Jaune, burns everything. Even the cookies…" She shivered at the thought.

Ricardo laughed heavily, grabbing a bucket of chili as he followed her towards the back.

"Pos, Jaune's got to learn how to cook! He's got to keep his lady happy! Eres Hermosa senorita!" He made a fake kiss towards the air in a dramatic enough fashion she wondered, not for the first time, why on earth he hadn't pursued a career as an actor.

"We're not together," She laughed, grimly reminded of Nora, Ren, and her home, before her current objective pulled her back to the present. She hefted the bundle of tomatoes into the massive walk in fridge and waited at the door as Ricardo did the same for the chili.

He walked up to her, wiping his hands on his apron as he looked at her, "I know, I know, Ruby Rose is too naive for an obvious potential boyfriend."

"Hey! I am not naive!"

Ricardo laughed heartily.

She pushed past him with heat in her cheeks, "Oh hush! What about Ayana huh? You haven't even asked-"

"And of course Ayana and I are great friends!" Ricardo raised his arms with a dramatic laugh as another waiter walked by them with barely concealed suspicion. He continued his laugh till the waiter was out of sight and sighed, "damn it Rose! I told you not to tell anyone!"

"I didn't!" She squeaked with a pout, crossing her arms as she walked by him, "I told you that!"

He rolled his eyes, "but you're loud!"

"I am not!"

"Rose! You're loud!"

"Sorry!" She squeaked careful to duck as she awaited more of the Chef's wrath. Fortunately it seemed he was in a good mood and he only walked away with a grumble.

She slowly stood to her full height as Ricardo laughed once again, patting her on the back as he walked by, "get home safe Rose, kiss Jaune for me and see you tomorrow."

"I'm not dating him!"

His laughter filled the kitchen.

She groaned, dragging a hand over her face before following him.

Another half hour of bickering with Ricardo, two close calls with the Chef, and by 2:45 in the morning, Ruby found herself leaving her work and trudging down the streets of New York City, the City that never sleeps.

People rushed about, laughing and animatedly talking about whatever it was their lives entailed. Taxi's and cars honked and slithered by snails pace since there was far to much traffic for the city, though it was bigger than her home.

A cool breeze blew around her and she shivered once before shifting her coat and tightening it around her.

The lights around her were bright, and the noise kept a smile on her face as she was careful to avoid the dark alleys and stores with no light. She ahd learned in the first month of being in New York that the dark places of the city held monsters in the form of people. People who wanted horrible thigns from her.

Her jaw clenched as a group of boys, tall and obviously of college age walked by her. They ignored her and she relaxed, remembering her first week where a group of similar boys had wanted her.

The ghost feeling of bones breaking under her attacks sent a cold fear down her arms and she shoved her hands in her pockets.

The memories were shoved away and she looked up to the buildings and lights of the city.

As per her routine, she continued down the road, the noise of Times Square obvious in the distance, and she spared a glance down 34th street, eyes glittering as they landed on the Empire State building.

The building itself as sent jitters of wonder through her, the sheer size of the building baffling her imagination. It was taller than any building from home, taller than anything she'd seen before. Well, before a year ago that was.

Another breeze sent a shiver down her spine and she closed her eyes.

Cold. It reminded her of home, of a friend long gone, white piercing blue eyes and a bite with words.

But she wasn't the only one.

With a heavy sigh she turned away.

Memories of what once was, fading away.

She continued on, her eyes absently searching the streets for blonde or white hair. For people long gone.

How would they have reacted to her working in a restaurant? Would they have laughed? Or cheered her?

The wind grew strong and she kept her head down, frowning and clenching her fists as the sounds of sirens grew louder.

Images of blood, and broken bodies filled her mind.

She shut her eyes and trudged onward.

Onward, to her normal life.

The door to her apartment, as usual, wouldn't budge without appropriate force and Ruby was forced to look around an ensure she was alone before acting.

She bit her lip, coated her hand in aura, and shoved.

The door flew open, slamming against the wall, and the yells of her neighbor once more filled the halls as Mr. Leshon cursed out her very existence.

"Sorry!"

His intelligible rumbles followed her into her apartment, and she shut the door without so much as a pause. She locked the deadbolts, and turned to look at the form of Jaune unconscious on the couch and the TV blaring at his limp form. She could see the trails of sweat and the sunburns on his skin from his construction job. Sometimes she wondered if he should take a a week or so off, then remembered how they barely afforded rent last month and shoved the thoughts deep down.

She spared a glance to the TV.

"And so the Stark Expo is coming up next week, dozens of Tech companies preparing to show off state of the art-" she shut the TV off before tossing the remote onto the coffee table.

For a moment she considered trying to carry Jaune to his room, but brushed the thought aside as her own exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her eyes, and they began to close on their own accord.

With a yawn she pushed on towards her bedroom; Jaunes room across the hall from her and perpendicular to their kitchen and living room.

She pulled her shirt off, tossing the garment on the floor while carefully slipping into her pajamas.

With a gentle sigh of relief she flopped onto her bed, shoving pillows to support her neck as she pulled up her phone and scrolled through Facebook, Instagram, and everything that was considered mind melting social media and only for her 'generation'.

Post's of friends lives, from food to trips to schools, and then their friends and family, filled her feeds and a pain echoed through her heart.

Pain.

She let out a shivering breath, feeling the aches in the bottom of her soul, and the warmth behind her eyes.

"Don't cry," She grit her teeth, her fingers pulling on the sheet of her bed and nails digging into fabric without remorse.

Another shudder, and she tossed her phone to the side, sitting up as the weight in her chest multiplied.

Her eyes moved to her closest, where her baby slept.

Before she knew it she was standing in front of the closet, fingers sliding the door open and her eyes settled on the block of red and black.

She smiled as she took in the sight, fingering the edges of her pajamas as memories rushed through her mind. Of adventure's and trials. Of roaming through woods, and seeing the great beasts of pure darkness. Of her friends, and sister.

Her teeth ground together and grabbed the block, twisting it with muscle memory that felt older than her body. A click, and a silent shift, and Crescent Rose in all its glory unfolded, the blade as sharp as ever and the weight bringing a smile to her face.

While her smile grew she leapt onto her bed, spinning the blade around her as an imaginary foe of sheer black and white fell before her blade.

She envisioned yellow, black, and white by her side and shouting orders as they attacked a horde of dark creatures rushing her.

Ruby flourished her weapon, landing on one knee and chambering the rifle before pretending to fire the empty rifle at a foe across an imaginary foe.

She flipped around, resetting her stance and raising her weapon once more then reaving the head off another foe that had snuck up behind her.

"Sunflower!" She called out in a whisper, flipping over once again, the bed creaking under her and her weapons weight, she readied herself watching as the massive Gri-

"Please don't break anything," A chuckle filled her room and she felt heat rush to her cheeks as she spun in place, folded Crescent Rose, and stared at Jaune with a pout.

The blonde was smirking tiredly from her doorway, a yawn gracing his features as he stretched and said, "Got work tomorrow?"

"Duh, its Friday!" Ruby grinned, hopping off her bed and gracing her friend with a hug which he lazily returned before separating with another yawn.

"Oh yeah, well I got the day off, so I'm gonna fix the sink and then grab some groceries, anything you want?"

She beamed, "You have the day off! Finally! Did you ask your boss? Cause I've told you for weeeekkkkss that you needed-"

"Yeah yea," He waved off her comments, "but groceries? I'm assuming cookies?"

She scowled and poke his chest.

"Figured," he laughed and turned away, "night, Ruby."

He hesitated, "if you have nightmares-"

She smiled at his back, "night, Jaune."

He nodded and so silence returned to her room with the shutting of Jaune's door, and she sighed glancing down at the bulky form of Crescent Rose in her hands. She wished she could use it more often. But wishing solved nothing, and so she shoved it back into her closet and sank back into her bed.

Memories ravaged her mind, men laughing as they approached her, her fist breaking ones face in before she even realized what had happened. Bullets and aura. Knives. Crescent rose gorged in blood.

Tears, and screams.

She turned watering eyes towards her nightstand.

A figure of gold and red stood with hands outstretched, blue blasters facing her.

Iron Man.

She grabbed the figure and brought it to her chest, closing her eyes as her breathing slowed.

Thoughts of hero's and hunters rushed to her mind as she drifted.

If only there was a way…

A/N

This has been in my head since the day Infinity War came out. So I finally bit the bullet and started it. Some foreshadowing here along with things that aren't just spelled out for you.

Iron Man, the Stark Expo, Crescent Rose, Aura...

Ruby's living and obviously normal life in the MCU, but at what time period? And why isn't she running around playing hero? There's hints, plenty of them. Don't worry, all of Team's RWBY and JNPR will be featured in this story at some point, but for now we see Jaune and Ruby, and obviously Tony Stark is around.

Next chapter on Thursday. Trying to make a schedule now so that should be out by then.

Hope all is well, enjoy.

God bless.

-Metal4k