Answers to reviewers' questions or statements:

felpere8Ranco: Peter will have some vague recollection of Kat during their training on Onyx and it will be shown in both flashbacks and through their interactions but it'll be brief considering they were in a class of over three hundred children and not long after they 'graduated' he was taken out of Beta company along with a few other Spartan-IIIs. As for other Marvel characters it's going to be people that would actually exist in this universe like Silver Sable, granted she'd have to be modified like Peter was but she could exist here, people like Sandman or Electro are out though. As for the whole Nobel thing, I actually didn't notice it until you pointed it out and went back and changed it, along with the whole 321 thing, at least I think I got it all, I'll be sure to re-check after every chapter before updating just to be safe

justafan: What is WORM?

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Halo characters seen, mentioned or used in this story


Noble team was silent for over half hour as the Falcons made their way over Reach's mountainous terrain before Carter spoke up "Listen up, Noble Team. We're looking at a downed relay outpost fifty klicks from Visegrad. We're going to introduce ourselves to whoever took it out, then Kat's going to get it back online"

"Just get me under the hood, Commander" Kat said

It was then that Jorge spoke up "Sir, why would rebels want to cut off Reach from the rest of the colonies?"

"You get a chance, maybe you can ask them, Jorge" Carter said with a slight shrug

"Hope you've been practicing your bulletinese Jorge, cause these rebels will be speaking plenty of it" Peter chimed in as he drew his MA37 ICWS and checked to see that it was loaded and ready for possible hostile contact "Also they might throw in some rocketism to spice things up"

"Don't worry, I've been speaking bulletinese since I became a Spartan" Jorge said with a chuckle "I've even taken the opportunity to learn several different dialects since then"

"Someone's an overachiever" Peter chuckled as he looked out to the cloud covered mountains

"I'm afraid I'm a bit rusty on mine" Jun said with an auditable sigh "Guess I'm going to have to rely on my rifle to do the talking"

"Hey if it makes you feel better, I don't know knifeinese" Peter said as he ran a quick last minute diagnostic of his armor

"I do" Emile said fondly as he idly petted his M45 Tactical Shotgun like it was some sort of cat "Most intimate language you can speak to another being…be they human or Covenant"

"And that Emile, is why your still single" Kat said before she made a slightly surprised sound

"Kat, everything alright?" Carter looked over towards his second in command

"No, we've lost our signal to HQ commander" Kat responded

"Back up channels?" Carter asked starting to feel uneasy

"Searching…nada. Can't say what's jamming us" Kat said as she tried to reconnect with HQ

"You heard her, dead zone confirmed. Command will not be keeping us company this trip" Carter said as he drew his Designated Marksman Rifle and began to adjust the settings for the scope

"I'm lonely already" Emile said with mock sadness

"How so? You still have your left and right hands" Jun pointed out

"Heh, burn" Peter said with a snort of amusement while Emile extended his middle finger towards Jun and Peter

Peter shook his head in amusement and turned to look out the Falcon to see that they were approaching a small little settlement.

Carter scanned the area beneath them before radioing the pilots "Shoot down attempts are likely, so keep your distance"

"Yes sir" the pilot responded as he raised the altitude of the aircraft slightly and kept a safe distance from the settlement

"Let's stay focused and watch your sectors" Carter advised the team as they observed the area for signs of possible rebel activity

It was then that Peter made out a large structure in the distance, it was a large satellite dish

"I'm guessing that's the communication outpost that's gone quite?" Peter questioned

"Yeah that's it" Jorge responded as he observed the distant structure "Look's to be intact…"

"For now, anyways…" Kat said as she checked her data pad "Commander, I'm reading a distress beacon, it's coming from the settlement…there"

A small waypoint appeared on all of the Spartan's HUD's that showed the location of the beacon.

Peter frowned as he made out the burning wreckage of what looked like a Warthog, what variant it was Peter couldn't tell but it looked like it may have been a M12

'Well that's not ominous' Peter thought with a sigh as he drew his MA37 off his back and clicked the safety off

"Could be the missing troops, let's check it out" Carter said as he signaled for the Falcons to land "Put us down on that bluff"

The Falcons began to approach the raised elevation that overlooked the seemingly empty settlement. Peter looked over towards the other Falcon and saw Kat was slapping a extended clip into a MA5K Carbine that had a small reflex like scope on it that helped Kat improve her already deadly aim

"Interesting choice in weapon there Kat" Peter said with a nod towards the firearm used by the UNSC's special forces, the Spartan-III's in particular

"I like it, it's light and easy to handle" Kat said as she checked to make sure her rifle was in working order "Plus I can add more things to it"

"Jun I want your eyes in the sky. Let's go Six" Carter said as the Falcon's landed and he and Peter immediately disembarked with their rifles at the ready. Emile and Kat exited their craft while Jorge remained to provide fire support if required

The Falcons quickly rose back into the air as the four-man team of Spartan-III's began to approach the settlement

"Spread out and keep an eye out for hostiles" Carter said as he gestured the team to move towards the structures

"Copy that commander" Kat said

"Understood" Emile responded

"On it boss" Peter said as he maneuvered down the slightly muddied slopes of the hill "Also be aware that the ground is a bit unsteady from the rain so watch your footing, don't want to slip and fall because the mud can't take a couple hundred pounds of whatever metal these things are made of"

"Understood Six" Kat said as she stayed close to Carter while Peter and Emile made their way towards the structures

When Emile was halfway down the hill he quickly made his way to a large rock formation and used a combination of his enhanced speed and strength to climb to the top and give him a good view of the outpost

"Structure point three four looks clear from this angle" Emile said as he scanned the buildings for signs of life

"Normally I'd find that assuring but given this situation I don't like the sounds of a civilian structure being clear on top of our coms being down" Peter said as he hopped over a small boulder and landed in a crouch

"Could be worse" Jun said from the Falcon as he scanned the area with his sniper rifle's scope for any heat signatures

"Commander, the distress beacon is coming just south of here" Kat said as she and Carter made their way down with their own route

"Roger that Kat, eyes peeled Noble" Carter said

Peter was approaching the buildings with his weapon at the ready when he felt a small tingling like sensation at the base of his skull, he stopped dead in his tracks and carefully scanned the area for any signs of hostiles

'Something tells me this mission isn't going to be as easy as I thought' Peter summarized as he tightened the grip on his weapon and entered a small courtyard that had the burning Warthog in it along with several other vehicles that looked like they've seen better days at the scarp yard

The other three Spartans soon entered the courtyard and scanned the area for signs of hostiles or whoever used to live here, including the missing troopers. Peter was nearing the burning wreckage of the warthog when he noticed something under a small piece of burnt wood

He kneeled down and brushed it aside and was greeted to the sight of a small beacon that was definitely not civilian issued

He looked over towards Kat and held the device up "Found the Beacon"

"Can you make out any ID?" Carter asked

Kat took the deceive from Peter and scanned it "No, but given it's military issued, I'd say it belonged to our missing troopers"

"So where are they?" Jorge asked form the Falcon circling above the team

"That there is the million-dollar question Jorge" Peter said as he stood up, again feeling that faint tingling at the base of his skull that's come to associate with danger being close by

Kat who was scanning the courtyard and the destroyed Warthog frowned when she noticed something odd "I don't see any explosive residue…Noble Three can you confirm?"

The four waited a moment as Jun did what Kat asked before speaking "Negative, area's clean Kat"

"Could be plasma" Emile threw in his two cents

"Can't be, not on Reach" Jorge said with some doubt

"Not unless these Rebels, assuming that's what we're still dealing with, have weapons from the Covenant. They have been known to trade these things on the Black Market. Maybe this cell got it's hands on some" Peter said as he kneeled down and observed several pools of blood, it looked fresh still

"Then why is there so much blood on the ground?" Kat asked with some confusion "Plasma would have cauterized any hits, but here it looks like someone was gutted"

"Unless our boys here have Brute weapons" Emile said with some disdain "Those things will tear you right up, if they don't hit you somewhere vital it's the blood loss you'll have to worry about"

"From which ones, the spikers or the shots?" Peter asked

"Either, especially with those blades on the end, I'd rather get stabbed by an energy sword than one of those" Emile said

"I'd rather not get stabbed at all if I can help it, but hey when has the universe ever cared about what I want" Peter said with a snort as he felt the tingling sensation at the base of his skull fade meaning whatever threat was nearby was gone now "Well commander, hate to say it but whoever or whatever did this ain't here anymore along with the troopers"

Carter nodded at that "Agreed, alright Noble let's move out"

The four Spartans quickly left the courtyard and made their way into a more open space and saw a path that led to another structure not too far away, half a kilometer at best. Peter's eyes narrowed as he saw more smoke coming from it as well, not as much as the place they just left but far more than what he assumed a fire place could emanate

Kat also saw this and spoke up "Smoke coming from the next structure boss"

"Circle west and check it out" Carter said as he signaled the team to move "Noble Team, you have permission to engage but be selective. We don't need to telegraph our presence here"

"Not that several near seven-foot-tall heavily armed and armored soldiers isn't attention grabbing enough" Peter quipped

"With you Peter they'll probably here your talking" Kat said dryly

"Heeeey I can be quite when I want to!" Peter nearly whined "I just don't want to be a Spartan stereotype is all"

"Spartan Stereotype?" Carter questioned with confusion

"You know, Spartans are supposed to be all quiet and serious, I'm trying to break that trend" Peter said as he and the team carefully neared the structure that looked like it's seen better days

"Finally, someone understands" Jun spoke up over the coms "The ODST's are allowed to be all talkative, why can't we?"

"Because we're supposed to be better than them" Jorge said with an audible chuckle

"Well we don't die as often does that count?" Emile asked

"And we do get the better armor which I'm sure the tax payers are just loving us for" Peter said as he neared a corner before he saw something on his motion tracker, two somethings, moving fast and right towards him "Hey I have two-"

Peter didn't get to finish as two large bird like animals emerged from around the corner and brushed past the Spartans like a bat out of hell

"The hell are those?" Peter asked with a quirked brow "They look like those ostriches I saw on an old documentary once"

"Their called Moa, they were named after an earth based species that was similar to them in appearance when they were first discovered" Jorge commented with a distant tone in his voice "Used to be a small flock of them near my home when I was younger"

"Are they easily startled?" Peter asked as he followed the team around the corner and down a path way that showed they were on a Cliffside with an old wooden railing near the edge to keep someone from hopefully falling to their death, the view was pretty nice Peter was willing to admit

"Yes, but their harmless unless you corner one, after that can't say it won't try and peck at you" Jorge said

"Good to know" Peter responded as he and the others began to make their way further down the path to a stair case that connected to a cliff side home's balcony

Carter came to a stop just several feet from the house's entrance and held his fist up to halt the rest of the team. He then looked towards Peter

"Noble Six, move into the house, go in quiet. I'm right behind you" Carter gestured to the door way as he checked his weapon

"Aye aye boss man" Peter said as he readied his rifle and flipped it's firing setting to burst, in tight quarters in a civilian home, full automatic might not be the smartest idea at the moment

He slowly entered the space and checked his corners for signs of life, be it the homes residence or something else be it Moa or Rebel. Seeing none he made his way further into the house and up a small stair case that led into what looked like the living room with Carter following close behind

It was then that Peter came to a stop as he saw a large section off the house was missing, exposing a courtyard and another building a few meters away. The hole looked like it was blasted open by something

"Whoever they hired to install a new window, should be fired" Peter commented as he and Carter carefully approached the hole in the building with Kat and Emile bringing up the rear

It was then that Jun spoke up "Noble leader, I'm seeing heat-sigs in the structure ahead of you"

"Roger that, Jorge get down here. We may end up needing you for whatever happens next" Carter said

"On it" Jorge said before the Falcon he was in appeared and came in for a landing

Peter eyed the building for a moment and aimed his rifle towards it along with Emile and Kat as they spread out into the courtyard. It was than the door opened and Peter took aim but kept his finger off the trigger, the tingling sensation in the back of his head wasn't going off so whatever it was, wasn't a threat

Peter quickly eyed the figure that emerged from the structure and identified him based on his clothing "Civilian boss"

The man started to speak and what Peter's armor identified as Hungarian with his hands held up

"On your knees now!" Emile growled as he aimed his shotgun at the man

"Whoa their Emile, he's just a farmer not a rebel so put the gun down" Peter said as he lowered his rifle and glanced over the man's shoulder and saw more people, women and children mainly in the doorway

"He's right Emile, lower your weapon. Guy looks traumatized as it is" Kat stated as she clicked her safety on and lowered her carbine

"Jorge, ask them what they're doing here" Carter said as he saw that there were far more people inhabiting this building then it could support and based off their expressions, something had them spooked

Jorge begins to question the scared farmer while Peter makes his way towards Kat and stood beside her

"What do you think?" Peter nodded towards the man that was speaking to Jorge who would then translate to Carter what he was saying

"That something isn't right here" Kat said with a frown "and looked back towards the building and saw several children watching her and Peter though a window's shutters "Look at them, their terrified"

"Well Emile's appearance and behavior doesn't really scream hugs and kisses" Peter joked lightly before his face sobered "But yeah I know what you mean, ever since we got here I've been on edge…"

Kat was quite for a moment before speaking "Peter…I'm starting to think that rebels aren't the cause for…whatever it is that's happening here"

Peter nodded "You may be right on that one Kat…"

It was then that Jun spoke up over the coms in a more serious tone than previously heard "Commander be advised. I'm reading heat signatures in the structure directly east of your position. Over"

"Copy that" Carter nodded and looked to Jorge "Get them back inside"

Jorge began to speak Hungarian and ordered the people back inside as Peter, Kat were briefed on what Jorge told Carter

"These people were hiding, something attacked their neighbors last night and the man we just spoke to lost his son in the fields to something" Carter revealed as the five Spartans began to sprint towards the structure Jun marked for them

"Something, not someone commander?" Peter asked starting to feel uneasy, and it didn't help that tingling sensation was starting up again

"Noble Team I think it's safe to say we're about to meet our hostiles" Carter said grimly

'Something tells me I already know who it just might being…I can only hope I'm wrong' Peter thought and even though he couldn't read minds or see the expressions the others had, he knew that their line of thoughts were pretty close to his

They soon arrived at the structure and almost immediately the sensation Peter was feeling intensified. He responded by clicking his safety off and running a quick check to make sure his armor was operating at one hundred percent, and it looked like the rest of Noble team were doing the same

Peter saw that the door to what looked like some sort of garage was opened and Peter could make out several bodies off to the side with two of them clad in army uniforms pinned to the wall. His grip on his weapon tightened as he and the rest of Noble team entered

"Damn…" Carter said as he took in the state of the dead troopers and civilians…or what was left of them

"Fill me in commander, what are you seeing. Over" Jun requested

"Carter kneels down to better examine the men's bodies, while he was doing this Peter saw something that caused his blood to run cold

Footprints in blood…and they weren't human in fact they looked more avian and Peter could already tell they weren't made by Moa…

"We've got civilian and military casualties Jun. Two of our missing troopers" Carter said as he examined the men's wounds with a grimace "Looks like they were interrogated…it's messy"

"Commander these guys looked like they just got into a pissing contest with a Hunter and lost…badly" Emile commented as he kneeled down to examine the tracks that Peter was observing "…or a Jackal…a very big Jackal"

"Alright Noble let's move" Carter said as he retrieved the two men's dog tags and placed them in a pouch before signaling the team to make their way into the adjacent room…the same direction the footprints went

It was when the team was moving up a small ramp that they all heard something moving around above them on the roof, their motion trackers confirmed it and listed it as a hostile while Peter also felt the tingling increase even more so than it already was

'Looks like what made these tracks stuck around' Peter thought as he readied for the fight that he knew was about to happen

They approached a doorway to a courtyard that was starting to fill with water as the rain began to pick up

It was than that for a brief moment Peter saw something move at the edge of his vision on a rooftop that overlooked the courtyard. He quickly brought his rifle to bare and aimed up towards the unknown's last location

Emile also saw it as he aimed his shotgun in the same direction as Peter's MA37

"What the hell was that?" Emile demanded as he scanned the rooftops for hostiles

The Spartans knew they were there, the question still was where exactly are they and who were they, but given the mounting evidence they all were beginning to come to a rather terrifying conclusion on just who was here…

Carter contacted Jun, hoping that their eyes in the sky can identify and locate what was here with them "Jun, you see anything from up there?"

"Negative, thermal's clean, but it doesn't mean whatever it is, isn't still there commander" the resident sniper said as he continued to scan the area carefully

Carter nodded and signaled for Noble Team to make their way inside the other part of the structure while maintaining vigilance and to get them out of the open. As the five Spartans made their way through the trashed and abandoned building that Jun spoke up just as Peter felt the tingling sensation again

"Boss, I see movement outside your structure!"

"Copy that" Carter said before signaling to the team to pick up the pace and make their way outside as fast as possible

It was as the five-man team passed several large windows that they finally saw what Jun saw and all of them collectively inhaled and felt their blood freeze

In the courtyard below…were multiple grunts of varying ranks and what looked like Jackals but larger, more avian in appearance then what any of them remembered seeing

"…Oh shit" Peter said in horror

"Oh my god…" Kat said equally horrified that Covenant soldiers had done what she hoped would never happen

They made it to Reach…


And done.