A/N: Let's get straight to the point. Here is the long awaited chapter you've been waiting for over a year. Screw everything I said about postponing chapters for each review asking when the next update is. But please send a PM rather than flood the review. That goes for suggestions and other stuff.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Halo franchise nor do I own Marvel and its characters. They belong to Microsoft and Disney respectively.

Enjoy.

Unknown Location:

"Dammit, Caboose! Look what you've done!"

"Sorry, sorry." An innocent voice apologized profusely.

"You've activated the damn thing and we don't know what it does!"

Dozens of soldiers that either consisted of Tanish-Brown armor or White armor starred at the sky as one of the relics had been activated. The beam, white with a tint of orange, shot from the relic that Caboose had activated.

"Let's just hope that it hurts the pirates more than it hurts us…"

Above in Space:

In darkness of space, a lone and seemingly lifeless vessel drifted in the deep space ominously. However, inside, a small infestation was finally dealt with.

"Are you sure there's no more of those parasites, professor?" Jerome asked to be sure.

Ellen Anders nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I did a scan and there seems to be no life forms on the ship besides us."

"Good," Jerome said, relieved.

"Professor Anders...I need to ask a favor, if you don't mind." Serina's voice cut in, a hint of regret displayed on her face.

"Uh, sure…"

Before Anders could approach Serina something alarming happened.

The ship suddenly shook and it was as if it was being sucked into something.

"Serina, what's happening?!" Anders asked the Spirit of Fire's AI in alarm, barely keeping herself steady.

"One moment," Serina excused herself for two seconds at most before returning, struggling for a brief second. "It seems that we are being sucked into a vortex of sorts."

"What?!" Anders exclaimed, steadying her balance once again. "Serina, take us out of here!"

"Aye, aye." Serina nodded and attempted to prevent the ship from being sucked in from the vortex that suddenly appeared. Then she noticed something peculiar. "Hmm, how have I not noticed this?"

"Noticed what, Serina?" Jerome asked in a calm voice. Spartans were trained to keep themselves composed, after all.

"There is a planet below us and it seems as if the beam is the origin of this vortex." Serina replied with wide eyes, her image flickered for only a second.

"Serina…" Anders said warningly.

"Professor Anders, I'm afraid that there's not much I can do." Serina regretfully replied, her avatar hanging her head in shame at her inability to help.

Both Anders and Jerome understood the implications. She was probably weak in her state and even then the ship's been inactive for quite a long time. Booting up the engines that had been inactive over a long period of time would be like booting up a computer that had been in storage for over thirty years.

"Then we can only hope for the best." Anders stated grimly.

From there, the three could only witness as their ship entered the vortex, never to be seen again. What they didn't see was the vortex closing and the beam slowly dying down and diminishing.

New York, Manhattan:

Local Bar:

Dutch and Buck were enjoying their drinks at one of the many bars that New York City had to offer. They didn't pay attention to the name of the bar they had settled on. All that mattered was to drink and make the most of it.

Dutch easily downed his liquor while Buck just took the time to enjoy the drink instead of slurping it all up like it was a damn slurpee.

"Looks like I'm driving," Buck said in slight despair as he watched his friend and subordinate down his third one.

"I can handle my own just fine, thank you." Dutch replied with a smug smile before wiping his lips.

Buck felt a smirk tug at his lips, wanting to escape and express itself. Buck decided to stay quiet for the time being. He took the time to observe his surroundings. The bartenders crafted drinks for the customers and some even took the time to try and cheer up the ones where drinking themselves out of depression. A group of men were shouting, whooping, and cheering as they watched a game play out on the TV mounted on one of the corners in the bar. In another area, Buck saw some men try their luck with the females that decided to entertain themselves in the establishment. Finally, Buck returned his attention to his teammate and friend.

"Come on, Buck. Drink some more, live a little!" Dutch encouraged his leader, gesturing the bartender for another shot before slamming down a crisp ten dollar bill for said bartender to pick up.

"Hey, I'm just trying to enjoy my drink." Buck said, shrugging. "Besides, I want to be able to drive home, not end up in the hospital."

"Fair point, fair." Dutch conceded with a nod. The bartender handed Dutch his fourth shot and Dutch nodded appreciatively before moving to down it.

"Throat must hurt like a bitch, huh?" Buck chuckled as he saw Dutch subtly scratch at his throat and twist his face.

"You have no idea."

"Then why do you keep on getting more?"

"Because I can."

"Because you can?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Maybe so?" Dutch shrugged.

Suddenly a man dressed in dark clothing dropped in unannounced by taking the empty seat beside Dutch.

"The usual." The man simply said to one of the bartender. Said bartender nodded and went to fetch the man's usual.

Dutch and Buck regarded the man curiously. Buck took a sip of his liquor as he eyed the man. Both had a feeling that he seemed familiar. They couldn't be too sure, his face was well concealed from their view at the moment.

The man glanced towards Dutch and Buck for a moment. Even for a moment his eyes were calculating and observant. He concluded his brief observation by taking his drink that the bartender has recently left there. Then he turned his attention the Buck and Dutch, both noticing that he took on a respectful route.

"Name's Castle. Frank Castle. You boys look military." The now named Frank Castle began. "Marine Corps. You?"

Both Buck and Dutch exchanged a brief glance before Buck took the initiative and answered.

"Marine Corps. Spec Ops."

"MARSOC?" Castle questioned, intrigued.

"You could say that." Dutch nodded, taking his cover story.

Castle nodded respectfully then raised his glass as a sign of toasting.

Dutch and Buck raised their glasses as well. The trio commenced a silent toast, each remembering their dark pasts, some recent than others. Dutch and Frank downed their drinks at the same time while Buck regarded his drink is mild interest for a brief moment.

After examining the drink, Buck finding himself doing such an action mindlessly, he then moved to take a sip.

"Bottoms up…"

Spirit of Fire:

"Captain, wake up. Something has happened."

The female voice had garnered Captain James Cutter's attention as soon as he was out of cryo. Sitting up from his tube, Cutter observed the cryo bay where the rest of personnel were being awoken. Grunting, he then continued to dress himself appropriately considering that he, like the rest of the crew, were indecent. Cutter, as well as everyone else, sure didn't want to experience their first time coming out of cryo while clothed.

Once properly dressed, Cutter walked towards the bridge with hands clasped behind his back. Either it be a marine, crewman, or ODST that passed Cutter they all saluted the Captain with immense respect. Cutter responded to each salute with a Courteous nod.

The door leading to the bridge slid open once it detected Cutter's presence. Shorty after, Cutter entered the bridge and nodded towards each crew member occupying their stations.

Cutter observed the empty space that laid behind the glass and what he saw within the dark space slightly baffled him.

"Is that-?" Cutter asked breathlessly, eyes widened.

"Earth's own moon?" Serina materialized on the holo panel, baffling Cutter.

"Serina, it's been more than seven years…" Cutter trailed off as a look of shame briefly passed his eyes.

"I know, sir." She nodded grimly. "But, there is something I must know before I do go."

"What might that be, Serina?" Cutter inquired cautiously. AIs who somehow live past their seven year lifespan develop an overwhelming urge to learn everything; the longer they live past seven years the more unstable they become. A sense of worry developed within Cutter when Serina mentioned that she needed to know something.

"An anomaly-perhaps it may be a side effect of my age-but there is something peculiar."

"What might this anomaly be?" Cutter questioned doubtfully as he sat down and make himself comfortable in his sleek and comfortable chair.

"Perhaps I should show you…"

Serina took control of the ship and plotted coordinates to the other side of the moon. In just a few short minutes Earth appeared. One by one the crew set their sights on Earth and shortly they began whooping and cheering.

However, Cutter began to feel dread build up. His eyes scanned the space furiously. His crew began to take notice and their cheers died to down to a deafening silence. Cutter, no matter how hard he searched, couldn't find the most important aspect that protects Earth.

"The orbital defense platforms...where are they?" Cutter asked Serina, fearing for the worst.

Serina had a look of worry flash over her face. "...I"m afraid they're not here. Almost as if they had vanished."

The crew knew what it meant. No defense platforms means the Earth is utterly defenseless; the Earth is vulnerable to all attacks, especially Covenant attacks. Yet, the Earth looked unharmed. It looked natural and thriving.

"However, I'm detecting only one UNSC actual." Serina said positively, brightening the mood just a tad bit. She brought up a live feed from one of the cameras and sure enough there was a ship. Relief flowed throughout the bridge. Finally they weren't alone.

Cutter could recognize a UNSC ship anywhere, but he could tell that it was a heavily modified frigate. The crew stared at ship, confused, but chose to remain silent.

"Can you initiate contact?" Cutter said not as a question but as an order.

Serina nodded, "I've done so just now. Now we wait for the reply."

Forward Unto Dawn:

Miranda Keyes was currently looking over the details pertaining to a handful of projects that Cortana and Green were working on cooperatively. The ideas were very detailed and the explanations proved that they could be effective on the field.

Suddenly, she heard a female british voice come from the terminal just a short distance away from her, allowing her to hear it clearly. What puzzled her was that the terminal only received transmissions only on a frequency only known to the UNSC.

"Spirit of Fire to unknown vessel, please respond."

The message repeated in a ten second interval, Miranda surmising that it was a distress signal. Slowly, but surely, Miranda felt that the Spirit of Fire sounded familiar. She wracked her memory, and sure enough she remembered.

'That was the ship that was supposedly lost with all hands during the early years of the war!' She realized with wide eyes.

Quickly, she stood up and rushed towards the terminal like she was being chased by a pack of Brutes.

Miranda took a deep calming breath before replying.

Spirit of Fire:

"What else can you tell me, Serina-besides the defense platform situation." Cutter questioned the AI.

"I can confirm that there is life down there on Earth." Serina provided somewhat helpfully.

Cutter clenched his jaw, an action that he finds himself doing when he's in deep thought.

However, he was interrupted with the reply of the unknown UNSC ship. Serina had made the receiving transmission more audible on the ship should they get a reply.

"Spirit of Fire, this is the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn. Do you read me, over?" A female voice sounded out across the bridge.

Serina gave Captain Cutter a small smile. "Perhaps you'd like to take the call, Captain?"

Cutter immediately nodded. Once Serina gave him the green light he then ceased the moment to reply to the Forward Unto Dawn.

"Forward Unto Dawn, this is Captain James Cutter of the Spirit of Fire. We hear you loud and clear. What's the situation?"

It took a moment for the voice on the other end reply. "Captain, there is no situation at the moment. How did you and your ship end up out here?"

"The answer to your question remains unknown. May I ask who you are?"

"You may," Cutter could almost feel her nod on the other side. "I am Commander Miranda Keyes of the Forward Unto Dawn."

"Nice to meet you, Commander. May my team and I come aboard so that you might answer our questions, ma'am?"

The reply was smooth and without a trace of hesitation. "Permission granted, Captain. We await your arrival, sir. Keyes, out."

With that, the transmission was severed, leaving a silent bridge. Cutter broke the silence shorty after with his order.

"Serina, prep a pelican and inform Red Team that they'll be accompanying me on my trip."

"Aye, sir." Serina went on to carry out her tasks.

But before she did Cutter produced a question. "Where's Anders?"

"She retreated to her lab." Serina answered then added, "In fact, Red Team leader and professor Anders were brought out of cryo to assist me with a problem that I could not resolve myself."

"Perhaps you'd like to come as well?" Cutter somewhat subtly suggested as he made his way towards one of the tables where a single AI chip laid untouched.

"Maybe…" Serina said, her image flickering and stuttering for a second went unnoticed. Cutter returned with the AI chip and inserted it in the slot located on the holopanel. In just a few seconds Serina vanished and reappeared on the circular frame on the AI chip.

"So cold…" Serina commented, her AI avatar shivering for a moment.

"I thought you were interested in cryogenics, Serina." Cutter said, a thoughtful expression appearing. "Kind of ironic, isn't it?"
Serina's only reply was a very apparent frown before vanishing. Cutter shrugged before sliding the chip in one of his pockets that came with the uniform.

The journey to the hangar was quite short. Cutter found Spartan Red Team already decked in armor and heavily weaponized for the escort mission they were assigned. Cutter nodded to each individual Spartan in greeting.

"Red Team is prepared, sir." Jerome-092 announced, regarding Cutter respectfully. "Whenever you're ready."

"One moment, please." Cutter replied before taking a look around the hangar. Cyclop units manned by Marines were moving items across the tremendous hangar since they were deemed too heavy for a regular human to handle. In another section multiple mechanics were occupied with making repairs to various aircraft that were damaged during their battle on the Shield World. Others were arming or rearming ships that had combat capabilities. All-in-all, Cutter enjoyed each and every sight. It was a long time since he had seen his ship in such a lively state despite feeling that it really wasn't due to cryosleep.

Cutter concluded his 'stargazing' by returning to look at the leader of Red Team and saying, "I'm ready."

Cutter boarded the Pelican that had been prepared for his journey. Red Team followed shortly after.

The bay door of the Pelican closed and the familiar whirring of engines and jets followed. Cutter stood behind the recently closed bay door and stared out through the small window. He watched as he descended with the Pelican, the world around them becoming darker and darker as they went lower and lower, an alarm sounding in response, informing the crew above that a Pelican was taking off.

Total darkness, besides the red light within the pelican troop bay, was what Cutter saw. This meant that the landing pad above had been sealed shut. What followed was the second landing pad below Cutter's Pelican had descended once more, and shortly after the darkness disappeared.

Cutter was met with the darkness of space, the stars glowing and twinkling. Cutter couldn't get a clear visual due to the small frame, but it was just enough to bring a smile out of him.

Cutter could faintly hear control giving the pilot the OK to proceed. Just like that the Pelican shot off into Earth's space towards the Forward Unto Dawn.

Yet another journey was short, Cutter starting to believe that it will become a reoccuring theme ever since he was called out of cryo.

"Captain, will you not take a seat?" Alice-130's voice asked curiously.

"No, 130," Cutter addressed her by her number. "I will not. I prefer to see the stars for the first time in a long time, especially if they're the same stars that Earth sees."

The Spartans accompanying him remained silent for the time being. Cutter watched as the Pelican slowed down and waiting for the signal from the Forward Unto Dawn's own control to give the signal. Cutter faintly heard a few words being exchanged between the pilot and the Forward Unto Dawn's control before the pilot spoke through the built-in intercom within the Pelican.

"Captain, you're going to want to see this…"

New York, Manhattan:

Pizza Hut…

"That's an interesting story, Ms. Danvers." Nate commented in an entertained voice.

"T-Thanks," Was the somewhat meek and shy reply as she brushed away a strand of blonde hair away from her eyes.

"So, what do you guys do for a living?" Nate threw out the question out, awaiting an answer.

"I'm a lawyer."

"I design clothes."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you already know what I do. I am pretty public compared to others."

Nate finally set his sights on Carol who fidgeted quite a bit under his curious and watchful eye. The rest quietly sniggered at her reaction, earning a glare from the poor woman under so much teasing.

"Come on cupcake, say something!" Johnson encouraged and his guffaw followed.

Carol suddenly gained the courage and determination to answer the question her not-so-secret crush asked her. "I'm a writer."

"That's interesting…" Nate said as if he knew something else.

"Man, this guy's a blast to hang out with!" She-Hulk embraced Johnson with one arm, and considering her strength Johnson was not happy.

"Hey, watch it broccoli girl!" Johnson warned as he failed to pull away from her extremely tight grasp. "God damn it…" He sighed in defeat, but a small smile tugged at his lips.

"I've heard worse, macho man." Jennifer jested, Johnson chuckled at the nickname she had given him.

"That's the weakest nickname insult I've ever been given, green beans." Johnson shook his head as if he were disappointed, but they all knew it was out of jest.

Carol couldn't help but feel that Johnson seemed familiar to her. It felt like it was at the tip of her tongue, but it really wasn't. The answer was so close yet so far. It just didn't make any sense to her. But when Nate's eyes made contact with hers any previous thought melted away and a pin was placed on them. She didn't mind the cold look Nate's eyes had when he was looking at her. It just seemed natural for him and it honestly made him attractive.

"So, have you met anyone interesting, Nate?" Janet asked. It was a ploy and common tactic that Janet and many other women use to learn if the man was taken.

Nate was aware of the tactic Janet was using, but he didn't mind that much. His face took on a thoughtful expression, racking his mind of everyone he's ever met so far.

He settled for, "I did. If I remember correctly her name was, uh, Felicia Hardy?" Nate feigned his lack of knowledge and forgetfulness.

Every woman's eyes' widened and surprise had taken over their faces.

"Her?" Susan said bitterly, remembering the time when Peter told her of his ex in great detail. However, that was a long time ago before Peter had gotten married to Mary Jane, so she wasn't really up to date with what the cat burglar was doing in her spare time.

Nate gave her a strange look then resumed his story. "Yes. I had taken her home-"

The Rookie didn't have a chance to finish his sentence as Janet yelled, "What?!"

This outburst had drawn many curious eyes and Johnson kept the other people from sticking their nose where they don't belong by delivering a glare to each and every eye. This proved successful, amusing Jennifer much to his chagrin.

"You already-!" Carol looked like a puppy denied a treat. Nate could already see the tell-tale signs of tears, despite being small, threatening to spill out.

"You haven't given him the chance to finish!" Johnson growled angrily. He didn't want to hurt feelings and strain relationships this soon.

Each women besides Jennifer blinked, then proceeded to blush in embarrassment.

"S-Sorry," Susan apologized, presenting a nervous smile. "Guess we were too, uh-too quick to assume."

"That's one helluva understatement, invisible Smurf." Johnson snorted, She-Hulk laughing at her friend's nickname afterward.

"As I was saying," Nate continued, "We met under unusual circumstances. She-" Rookie was once again interrupted but in the form of a phone call that Johnson was getting, rock music blasting from the device.

"Excuse me," Johnson muttered as he moved to get up and move to a more quiet area to answer the call.

"What circumstances did you and Hardy meet?" She-Hulk asked out of curiosity.

"I was getting to that," Nate shot her a dark look that visibly made her inadvertently shudder and tense up, surprising her friends. Carol made note of this moment as a form of payback.

"As I was saying," Rookie paused to see if anyone or anything was going to interrupt him. Once he was satisfied he then continued, "Ms. Hardy and I met when she brought my-"

Once again, Nate's tale was interrupted in the form of Johnson.

"Rookie, we need to head out." Johnson informed him in a serious voice.

The Rookie knew that this was a situation that needed to be tended to. He just knew that the Commander had called Johnson and told him something of great importance.

"Right," Rookie nodded then turned towards the ladies. "We're going to have to cut this short. Here," He grabbed one of the unused napkins that laid useless on the table and snatched a pen from the shirt pocket of a conveniently passing pizza delivery boy that was heading out.

"Hey!" The boy protested, but went ignored.

The ladies watched Nate write numbers on the napkin with morbid curiosity. Once he was finished he handed napkin to Carol before offhandedly saying, "Call us if you feel like it."

"Here," Nate slid the pen in the shirt pocket that belonged to the pizza delivery boy he had just supposedly robbed and straightened it out. The boy was too confused and baffled that he didn't notice something else slip inside his shirt pocket. "Enjoy."

With that Nate nodded towards Johnson. Without a word, Johnson exited the establishment with Nate following close behind.

The ladies and the boy stared at two doors that served as both an entrance and exit.

"That was pretty badass." She Hulk commented.

"It sure was." Janet and everyone else agreed with a nod. The boy was too stupefied to notice two well-known female superheroes that were beside him.

"That sure was weird…" The boy mumbled before he realized something strange. There was something else in his shirt pocket, besides the pen that had been replaced by Nate. Digging in, what he found amazed him and the superheroes that were watching him.

He had taken out five half folded Benjamins that had fit so perfectly in the pocket that if he didn't feel it then he wouldn't have known it was there in the first place.

"Woah," His eyes eyed the cash with awe before he broke out into a large smile. "Cool!"

The females watched the boy walk away and out towards his delivery car to continue doing his job. They were honestly touched by what Nate had subtly did. Even they didn't notice Nate inserting the cash in the pocket.

"Aww, that's sweet." Susan cooed.

"Now I see why you like him, Carol." She Hulk commenced the teasing.

Master Chief and Cortana…

The Spartan and his trusted companion, Cortana, had cleaned up the streets pretty well for the night. They had tended to those who needed medical aid when they were unfortunately caught in the chaos.

Currently, the Master Chief was having his very first official team up with the arachnid hero, Spider-Man.

Chief had noticed a brawl in the streets between Spider-Man and one of his rogues, Mysterio. Honestly, Chief didn't see Mysterio as much of a threat. His illusions were only visual, so his supposed clones were not showing up on his motion tracker. This left pinpointing the real Mysterio quite easy.

Though, Chief didn't want to end it just yet, even though he could if he wanted to. He didn't want to raise questions within the villain community. He wanted the villains to underestimate him beforehand.

Master Chief could see Spider-Man familiarize himself with Mysterio, finding the villain's attacks more predictable. Spider-Man had much more experience fighting Mysterio than the Chief ever did.

The Chief was about to jump into the fray once more. However, Miranda Keyes had other plans.

"Hello, Chief, Cortana," Miranda greeted. "I'll need you guys up here ASAP."

Cortana asked, "What for? Is there an alien army waiting out there?"

"No, something much more surprising. I'll explain when you're up here, Keyes out." Miranda ended the transmission there.

"Alright, Chief. It's time to end this,"

The Master Chief nodded in agreement. So, he decided to show the true force of a Spartan-II.

"Fool! You and your ally cannot decipher which is the real me. I'm sure all my clones trigger your spider-sense." Mysterio said arrogantly.

Suddenly, the multiple copies of Mysterio flickered into nothingness when the real one was suddenly shot in both of his legs.

"AGH!" Mysterio yelled in agonizing pain, looking towards the man who had shot him which turned out to be the Spartan. The armored man had fired two rounds from his pistol, smoke emitting from the barrel.

"Dude, you freaking shot him!" Spider-Man exclaimed, rushing towards Mysterio's down form.

"Non-lethal shots. Grazed both of his legs. He'll be fine." Master Chief calmy assured Spider-Man, already moving towards a secluded area.

Spider-Man decided to examine Mysterio's wounds and the Spartan was right. Mysterio was incapacitated, not fatally injured.

"But, still…" Spider-Man trailed off, shooting webbing on Mysterio's wounds. Mysterio hissed in pain, glaring at both Spider-Man and the Spartan.

"You'll pay for this, Spartan!" Mysterio vowed with a heated glare aimed towards the heavily armored man.

"Dude, you so do not want to piss him off." Spider-Man said. "Now, say nighty-night!"

Mysterio's helmet was suddenly smashed as Spider-Man delivered a powerful yet nonfatal blow, driving Mysterio into a state of unconsciousness.

Spider-Man looked back at the Spartan and gave a thumbs up, but realized he was only giving it to an old man who had witnessed the entire scene.

"Thanks, Spidey. You're okay in my book." The elder appreciated the gesture Spider-Man had meant to give to the Spartan.

Spider-Man sighed, "You're welcome, Stan. Now, where is he?" He murmured his final sentence, looking all over for the Spartan.

Giving up, Spider-Man placed Mysterio in a web cocoon. Once he was done he told Stan, "Call the boys in blue. They'll want this nutjob in a nice jail cell."

Stan nodded before pulling out his phone and dialed 911. Meanwhile, Spider-Man was swinging off into the distance, continuing his vigilant patrol.

Forward Unto Dawn:

Hangar…

"Nice of you guys to join us," Miranda said, greeting the others who had recently been beamed up.

Buck, Dutch, Rookie, Johnson and Master Chief saluted the Commander then dropped it. Romeo and Green stood by each side of Commander Keyes.

"Good to be back, ma'am." Johnson said, puffing out a smoke as he enjoyed his Sweet William Cigar.

Johnson was decked in his M52B armor and wearing his green cap that. The ODSTs were only dressed in their civilian clothes, and of course, Master Chief was still in his armor.

"No need to gear up, troopers." Miranda Keyes answered their unasked question.

"So, what's the occasion?" Cortana's voice asked from the Chief's armor.

Miranda gave a strange look before explaining, "Somehow, someway, a UNSC ship ended up out here."

Once again, for an unknown amount of times, Johnson choked while he smoked on his Cigar. "What?!"

The ODSTs gave out shocked expressions.

The Master Chief, however, remained silent.

"What's this vessel's name, ma'am?" Master Chief inquired, genuine curiosity flowing from his voice.

"The Spirit of Fire. Cortana and Johnson should be able to recognize the name." Miranda answered, giving a look to the AI and Sergeant Major.

"Spirit of Fire…" Johnson murmured before realization struck him.

Cortana, however, beat Johnson to the punch. "That's the one ship that the UNSC could never find! Just up and disappeared after Arcadia."

"Wait, didn't they have-" Buck didn't have the time to finish that as the large hangar door opened, and a blue energy like shield materialized behind it.

Cutter's Pelican…

"What's this about?" Cutter inquired as he strolled in the cockpit of the Pelican where the pilot and co-pilot were.

"Look at that…" The pilot said in awe.

Cutter looked to where the pilot was referring to and saw a blue like energy shield appear and the hangar doors opened behind it.

"Have the UNSC really advanced this far?" Cutter wondered to himself.

"Alright, just ease in and land on pad 5 to your right." The Forward Unto Dawn's control instructed the pilots from the speaker.

"Alright, got it." The pilot replied. "Thanks."

The pilots of the Pelican maneuvered the aircraft to their designated pad. Cutter had already returned to the the back, the door belonging to the cockpit sliding open as Cutter passed through it, then closing.

The Pelican landed with a slight thud. Soon enough the bay door of the Pelican slowly lowered and Cutter piled out first with Red Team following in a vee formation. When combined with Cutter the formation was roughly a human diamond.

Waiting for them was a woman in the UNSC naval uniform and four men that looked to be in civilian clothing, a Marine, and a Spartan. For a frigate the hangar is pretty big, thought Cutter as he took a look around. Crewmen were walking towards their specific locations on the catwalks, aircrafts that were both familiar and new were being armed, and soldiers moved materials around.

Cutter saluted, as per the usual higher rank procedure. The woman, he's guessing Commander Miranda Keyes, returned the salute. He barely notice the others with her give a salute as well.

Everyone dropped their salutes and Miranda spoke first, "Glad to see we're not the only ones stuck here."

Spartan Red Team moved forward, and so did the other Spartan. In such a short moment Red Team and the other Spartan were facing each other, studying each other before one of them spoke.

"You haven't changed a bit, John." Jerome commented, a smile hidden beneath his helmet. Even with the drastic change in armor they were able to tell that it was him.

"Jerome, Alice, Douglas. It's been awhile." Master Chief said, relief slipping in his voice.

"However," Douglas stepped forward, eyeing John's armor, "Your armor looks much more different last we saw."

Cutter raised an eyebrow at the interaction, but decided not to make a comment. Then he noticed an odd spherical metal object with a Green eye hovering beside the Commander. "What is it?" Cutter gestured towards the object.

"Not what, Captain, but who." Miranda clarified.

"I am Green bias, reclaimer." Green introduced himself in a jovial manner. "But I do believe we should discuss the matter at hand in an alternate location."

"Right, if you'll follow us to the war room we'll be able to catch you guys up to date." Miranda said before leading the group to the room.

Along the way Cutter and Red Team had seen some remarkable things in the ship. Though, Red Team almost had a hostile confrontation with the Sentinels and Engineers.

"What are they doing here?" Jerome asked the Dawn's crew as he and his team aimed their weapons at the Sentinels and Engineers working together.

"Wait, you've encountered these before?" A female voice resonated from Master Chief's armor. Red Team gave their fellow Spartan a strange look behind their helmet, but still trained their weapons at their supposed enemies who continued to do what they were designed to do, ignoring the obvious threat.

"Wait," Cutter looked at Master Chief expectantly.

"Cortana," Master Chief signaled for an unknown individual.

The projection of a blue female AI appeared, surprising Cutter and Red Team.

Serina took the moment to appear as well, though her image stuttered an flickered for a brief moment. "If I'm reading this correctly then you're past the seven years and no signs of rampany. How?"

"That would be my doing," Green claimed, hovering beside Cortana. "I have extended her lifetime by approximately ten times using my creator's technology. Isn't that wonderful!"

An idea suddenly popped into Cutter's head, "Can you apply this same technology to Serina?"

Green slowly moved forward as Cutter brought out the chip that housed Serina. Green studied both the chip and Serina in all possible angles and directions.

Green bobbed his figure up and down, his form of a nod, "I believe so." He turned to face Miranda while whistling to bring a nearby Engineer's attention, "Shall I prepare the procedure, reclaimer?"

"The sooner the better," Miranda answered with a curt nod.

"Splendid!" Green cheered, returning his attention to Cutter. "May we?"

"Go on ahead," Cutter said, allowing the Engineer that Green called to retrieve the chip. "You'll be fine," Cutter assured Serina.

Serina dissipated into the chip, leaving Green to lead the way to another corridor with the Engineer delicately holding the chip to follow his lead.

"Anyway, let's continue." Miranda said, noticing that they had gotten off track lately.

In just a few short minutes everyone piled in the war room that will currently serve as a briefing room. Cutter paid attention to the holotable that was placed in the center and ignored the military green crates that laid in one of the corners of the room.

Captain Cutter tooka seat on one side of the table while the Dawn's crew took the other, leaving Master Chief and Red Team standing on opposing sides, though Red Team still maintained their vee formation.

"You can take a seat," Miranda addressed the three Spartans. "These are built to withstand the weight of the Chief, too."

"We're fine," Jerome spoke for his team.

"Okay then," Miranda shrugged.

Everyone allowed themselves to relax for a moment before Cutter brought up the important question.

"What happened? Why are you the only UNSC ship out here and where are the defense platforms?"

The Commander presented a serious expression and replied, "You are in another reality altogether, Captain."

"Can you elaborate, please?"

"What she's trying to say," The man in the green UNSC armor, that neither Cutter nor Red Team were familiar with, cut in, "The UNSC doesn't exist here. We're in the 21st century, sir."

"You're saying that we've somehow traveled back in time with you?" Jerome asked to clarify.

"No, nothing to do with time travel, Jerome." John said, placing his hands on the table and leaned forward. "Another reality altogether where super powered individuals exist. One where a super soldier was created in World War Two."

Captain James Cutter looked absolutely baffled and incredulous at the information presented to him. "How could we have ended up here-for that matter how did you end up here?"

"Slipspace malfunction," Miranda answered with a huff of annoyance. "The only hope we have of returning is a superfamily with an expert in crossing dimensions or something."

"You'll be happy to know that we've won the war before we got here," The man that looked more like an actor than a soldier added.

"Thank god," Cutter said, relieved. "Sorry, we haven't had the chance to familiarize with each other. I'm Captain James Cutter," He introduced himself once more then gestured for Red Team to follow his lead.

"Jerome-092."

"Alice-130."

"Douglas-042."

Miranda then took the initiative and introduced her crew as well, pointing out who was who as she said the names, "I'm Commander Miranda Keyes as you already know. This Spartan is John-117, we have Kojo Agu or Romeo, Edward Buck, Taylor Miles or Dutch, Sergeant Avery Johnson, and finally The Rookie."

A female voice coughed intentionally.

"Oh, right," Miranda did a slight facepalm. "We have Cortana, too. As you can probably guess she's an AI."

Cutter eyed Cortana with interest. He was able to tell that this one is particularly close and attached to Master Chief, even if she wasn't really human.

"Alright, I'd like to know about the war, if you don't mind." Cutter said, bringing his eyes to meet the Commander.

She nodded, "Alright, let's start with what my father found: Halo…"

Unknown Location:

"Do ve has zee symbiote?"

"Yes, we do. All thanks to Spider-Man's blood."

"Vhat, pray tell, vill make zem prove more successful zan ze originals?"

"Well, with Spider-Man's blood, thanks to the Green Goblin, we've applied his healing capabilities to the symbiote.

"This means that they will gain the healing factor of Spider-Man, effectively doubling it altogether. We've also increased their, uh, reproduction rate by tenfold."

The Red Skull pondered what the implications could mean, but was stumped after a few second of thinking. "So, vhat vill zis mean, exactly?"

The man, who was wearing a usual white lab coat and had brown hair, gave the Red Skull a sinister grin.

"Think of New York under a...symbiote invasion of sorts."

Red Skull now understood and shared his own malicious grin. "Vhen vill zey be ready? "

"Oh, they're ready now. All you need to do is get someone to deliver these to Mr. Brock and Mr. Cassidy on Rikers Island. Thing is, it's a maximum security prison guarded by S.H.I.E.L.D. Then, after twenty four hours, they won't be in control.

"When the symbiotes begin to gain control things might be...strange in New York before it plunges into an apocalyptic like state."

Red Skull gave the man a look, "You are very strange and vicious. Very vell, I vill have both ze Carnage and Venom symbiotes delivered to zeir hosts immediately."

"What, you got HYDRA agents in S.H.I.E.L.D?" The man snorted doubtfully.

"Yes," Red Skull nodded nonchalantly.

The scientist's eyes widened. "Wow, that makes things much more easier. Alright, here," he handed Red Skull the two medium-sized vials that held the two symbiotes.

Red Skull gently grabbed the two items and inspected it by twisting the two around, looking at it from each possible angle.

"Excellent," Red Skull said, very satisfied before excusing himself to carry out the mission, leaving the man alone.

"Not even a thank you?" He frowned. "Asshole," He muttered, swiveling around in his chair to continue doing his work.

Forward Unto Dawn:
Captain Cutter was having a hard time digesting the information he was given. Yes, Spartan Red Team was familiar with the parasitic aliens known as the Flood-Jerome quite familiar as of recent events-thanks to Cortana, Master Chief, and Johnson sharing their time on the ring world known as Installation 04 or Halo. Romeo visibly tensed up at the footage with the Flood, but only Johnson and Jerome noticed his behavior. Spartan Red Team also recognized the Sentinels from the footage from John's perspective and learned that they were Forerunner. They were later told that Green was of Forerunner origin, and one of the many to monitor Forerunner areas. Those present who fought on Alpha Halo described the Covenant as foolish since they had released the parasites upon the world.

Red Team and Cutter, as well as everyone else, bared witness, via recording, of Master Chief punching a hole straight through Captain Keyes' Proto-Gravemind form, leaving a considerably disturbing sight.

Miranda Keyes had a few tears spill out, but she understood. It pulled her heartstrings to hear her father's strained and weak voice when he told Master Chief to leave him.

Red Team could only feel regret as they watch the Master Chief travel the Pillar of Autumn and fight all the Covenant, Flood, and Forerunner forces alike. That regret soon built up when they watched John escape the Pillar of Autumn in a Longsword, then they unmistakable rumble on John's feed indicated the explosion of the Halo ring. Any life on that ring, especially human, definitely ceased to exist. It didn't bode well with Red Team that they had been absent for the whole was instead peacefully rested in cryo.

Then the footage fast forwarded to Cairo station, one of the multitude of orbital defense platforms that protected Earth. Cutter was shocked to see that the Covenant had discovered Earth while Red Team quietly watched to see what would happen.

Covenant boarded the station, Master Chief fought his way to disable the bomb, two Defense Platforms were destroyed, and finally reached the bomb and eliminated the guards. Red Team nodded in approval, proud that a Spartan giving hell to the Covenant.

Master Chief dragged the bomb to the elevator and the rest made Red Team and Cutter proud.

They were stunned to learn that the In Amber Clad had stumbled upon another Halo when piggybacking a ride on the Prophet of Regret's carrier. Cortana then showed two clips side-by-side that were synchronized with that time that they were taken. One was inside the In Amber Clad and the other was a team of ODSTs dropping straight into New Mombasa. The Spirit of Fire crew later learned that video of the ODST drop was from the perspective of the Rookie and that Dutch and Romeo were there, all part of the same team.

Cutter silently cheered as he saw Master Chief beat the Prophet with only his fists.

Cutter and Red Team were well informed about Delta Halo, the index, Battle for Earth, the Covenant Civil War, High Charity, and the Battle for Installation 00. Cutter was both horrified and shocked of the Flood's small invasion of Africa, and viewed the alliance with the Elites with a skeptical look. Red Team shared the Captain's skepticism as well.

They watched the final hours of the war. The assault on the three barriers, Johnson's capture, the battle with the two Scarabs, the temporary alliance with the Flood, and Miranda's death.

"How are you still alive?" Alice asked, looking at Miranda with disbelief.

"I owe it to Green. So does Johnson," Miranda answered, rolling her head in the direction of Johnson. Said Sergeant only grunted in reply.

"Can't believe we missed this much," Cutter said with regret.

"Maybe you'd like to share us your story and how you went missing?" Cortana suggested with a gesture towards Captain Cutter.

"Maybe another time. Right now we'd like to find out what happens at the end and what we're going to do while we're stranded."

Truth almost being consumed by the Flood certainly disturbed Cutter, but he found it much more satisfying to see an Energy sword be driven into him. He wasn't sure of what Red Team was thinking about, but he dropped the thought.

It didn't surprise Cutter and the Spartans that the Flood betrayed the Master Chief and the Arbiter. Douglas nodded in agreement to the Arbiter's 'trade one villain for another'

Master Chief saving Cortana made the three washout Spartans smile. Then it came to the final moments of the war where they will see Cortana's Flood solution that she mentioned in her message that John found on Earth.

Cutter observed the Master Chief and Arbiter fighting the Flood up to the control center. That was where Johnson and Alpha-Nine were fending off hordes of Flood. They continued as planned, and the last minute betrayal of 343 Guilty Spark didn't really surprise Cutter all that much. He was pretty sure that Spartan Red Team harbored dark feelings for the bowling ball bastard ever since they learned that he was gunning for Chief so that he could activate a weapon that could destroy all life in the universe.

Johnson had a neutral expression as he watched his death scene play out, but the Chief was too stubborn to let his friend die. Sure, he was grateful for the rescue, even if he did die, but at least let an old man die peacefully, he thought.

Jerome, Douglas, and Alice wished they could be there to help out their fellow Spartan. They watched John carry the dying Sergeant Major while he allowed Alpha-Nine and the Arbiter to clear the enemies.

Then came the part in which Cortana dubbed it as the 'Warthog Run'

Two Warthogs, one Troop variant and the other was the Gunner variant, laid at the end of the Forerunner tunnel. Johnson was placed in the passenger seat of the Troop Warthog while Rookie took the role of the driver while Dutch and Romeo rode in the back. Master Chief, Arbiter, and Buck were in the driver, passenger, and gunner seats of the Warthog respectively.

If there was one word to describe the whole scene that Cutter just watched it would be 'Chaotic', especially the leap of faith at the end where they somehow made it.

In the end, the Installation was becoming unstable, and delivered a blow to the Forward Unto Dawn that caused it to split in half. Only the Arbiter was on the other half while everyone else: Buck, Dutch, Johnson, Chief, Rookie, and Miranda-who was placed in a cryo chamber by Johnson earlier-were on the other half.

Then came the part where the Captain couldn't digest the information: Superheroes.

Cutter and Red Team sat-though, in Red Team's case, stood-through what could be described as a school lesson. Cortana presented several heroes and displayed pictures of each one. Everyone else occasionally jumped in to add something of relevance to the topic, though they were mostly first-hand experiences.

Red Team was pretty intrigued with everything this reality had. Though, they immediately despised the terrorist organizations. In their mind they were no more better than the Insurrectionists, or the Covenant for that matter.

Once Red Team was done asking questions the lengthy briefing concluded there. However, a question came to Cutter's mind at the last second.

"I have about eighty-five percent of my crew, and that's quite a lot. Surely your crew aren't bottled up here forever, so where do they live? Where will my men live?"

"Ooh," Cortana hissed, wincing. "About that…"

"We're the only crew here." Rookie answered for Cortana.

"What do you mean?" Alice queried, puzzled.

"Our crew is full of advanced robots that will one day take over this ship and attack the Earth," Romeo said with a laugh before crying out in pain. "OW! Buck! I was just kidding."

"He is right about the advanced robots. They belonged, emphasis on the past tense, to a peacekeeping organization named S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Um, I kind of forgot what the acronym was." Buck admitted sheepishly, ruffling his hair.

"It's Strategic Homeland Intervention, and Enforcement Logistics Division." Cortana provided. "Anyway, we've acquired their LMDs, or Life Model Decoys. They can take on the shape of anyone and I've made some major changes to them so that they actually look, feel, and act like UNSC personnel."

Douglas drawled out a whistle, impressed in what a single AI could do.

"So, they don't smell like them?" Romeo asked, biting back a bark of laughter ready to escape.

"I'm still working on that," Cortana replied then noticed the weird look Romeo was giving her. "What? We've got people down there with a killer nose."

Cutter made himself known by clearing his throat, drawing the attention of everyone. "Well, it's been really nice knowing that we've won the war, but we still haven't discussed the issue with my men."

"Right, of course." Miranda mentally facepalmed. "So, right now these men here," Miranda held out here hand as if she were introducing them, "Have registered identities in the United States and reside in New York, Manhattan. Cortana here had acquired funds from some people who really don't deserve it, and then we've sort of lived our lives from there."

"Soon enough we'll try to find some sort of job and provide a steady income that's legal," Master Chief spoke on behalf of his group, though earning a glare from Cortana.

"Taking a subtle approach at this particular problem is probably the best course of action." Buck said, stepping forward. "Wouldn't it be suspicious to suddenly have a couple thousand U.S citizens-or for that matter any country-registered in their system all at once?"

"Makes a good point," Dutch agreed.

"I would suggest registering your men in intervals, y'know? One at a time, take it slow and steady." Cortana said, looking at the Captain of the Spirit of Fire.

Cutter conceded with a nod. "Yes, I believe that's our best option." He stood up and Red Team prepared to escort the Captain back to his aircraft. "Thank you for the information. I'll be sure to relay it back to my crew."

"That you do," Miranda smiled, extending her hand. The Captain wasted no time in grasping her hand and giving a firm and strong shake.

"Glad to know that we weren't the only ones stranded." Cutter remarked.

"Likewise," Miranda nodded.

Both drew back their hands and Cutter turned to Red Team to address them. "You needn't escort me, Spartans," Cutter said, shaking his head. "Maybe this would be a good time to catch up. I know you three more than deserve some R&R."

Jerome, Douglas, and Alice looked at each other before going to attention and snapping a salute with a, "Sir!"

Cutter craned his neck for a moment before saying, "Good luck, Spartans. I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Now where is-"

The door that Cutter was about to exit suddenly slid open and an Engineer along with Green hovered forward, Serina standing atop of her chip that the Engineer grasped with its tentacle.

"Captain!" Serina greeted cheerfully.

"Serina? I'm assuming that you're clear of any rampancy, correct?"

"Oh, your construct is more than cured!" Green announced enthusiastically, spinning in circles like a child on Christmas.

Cutter broke out into a small yet noticeable smile, relief painted on his face. The Engineer approached Captain Cutter with a look of intrigue as if the supercomputer was studying him, making chirps and hums. After a brief moment the Engineer delicately held out the chip for the Captain to take.

This would mark the first time in his life that Cutter had smiled at a Covenant species. Then he admitted to himself that he didn't mind. The Engineers looked harmful and only wanted to help. Maybe they were enslaved by the Covenant, was the stray thought he had.

Cutter took the chip slowly and gave an appreciative nod towards the creature. The Engineer actually looked happy-it sounded happy, it seems if the uplifting chirps and cheerful humming was any indication.

"Again, thank you." Captain said, not just to the Engineer and Green but to everyone.

"My pleasure!" Green replied, taking the gratitude to heart.

"Wait, I missed everything?!" Serina exclaimed uncharacteristically, utter disappoint evident on her face.

Everyone, even the Spartans,-though low-gave a humoress chuckle.

"I'll tell everyone, that includes you, everything in great detail when we get back, Serina."

Serina conceded with a nod before turning to face the two things that had brightened up her very core. Literally.

"I am grateful for what you've done, Green. In fact, I wouldn't be here right now if I never noticed the anomaly that is this ship."

Green's emotionless bright green eye stared at Serina for a moment before he spoke, each word brightening up his eye, "It is as I said: my pleasure."

Serina nodded before disappearing into the chip Cutter held, allowing him to slot the chip in his pocket. Cutter craned his neck before taking his first step and exiting the room, the door sliding open for him before shutting.

Cortana appeared right in front of Red Team and had a glint in her eye that made them nervous.

"Let's get you two registered, then you can get acquainted with the world."

The ODSTs wore amused expressions as did Johnson and they could see John's hidden smirk. Miranda just shook her head disappointingly out of jest.

"Uh, oh." Jerome couldn't help but say aloud.

New York, Manhattan:

Baxter Building:

Reed Richards reviewed the footage of the Spartan and his so-called ODSTs fight the Sinister Six for perhaps the billionth time.

"Incredible," He whispered in awe, stretching his neck so that his face may be closer to the screen. "You said that this Spartan had some form of energy shield, correct?" Reed asked, turning to the man standing beside him.

The man rubbed his head with a single red gloved hand. "Uh, I think so. I was there. I'm, uh, pretty-uh sure that my webs don't, y'know, disappear when they're only a few inches from hitting their target."

"Interesting," Reed muttered, a thoughtful expression appearing on his stretchy face.

"Aw, c'mon, Stretch. Don' tell me you're still on about how fascinating their technology is?" Ben Grimm asked in an exasperated voice as he entered the lab.

Spider-Man looked at Ben and the eyes of his mask perfectly captured his confusion. "Wait, how long-?"

"Two days." Ben simply replied, rolling his eyes.

"Oh."

Spider-Man and Ben silently watched Reed Richards review the footage once more and saw him literally push his face up against the monitor for a 'closer' look.

"Uh, does he know anything about high definition or 4K?"

"Hey, cut 'im some slack, webhead." Ben shrugged then motioning towards the monitor. "That's the only footage of that fight; shot from a phone. I think he went as far as downloading it straight outta Youtube just so the ads won't pop up."

Spider-Man hummed in response, understanding the situation.

"What are you doing here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I, uh, was going to ask Reed-ah, forget it." Spider-Man finished, abandoning the idea in his head.

"Then you should get home, webs," The Thing advised, his eyes trained on Reed. "It's getting pretty late. Your wife must be worried sick."

"Of course," Spider-Man facepalmed shamingly, stepping towards the window to hop out. Then it was that realization struck him. "-Oh, wait! Now I remember why I came here!"

Ben looked befuddled and asked to clarify, "I thought you dropped it?"

"No, I just-I met the Spartan again."

This gained Reed's attention, curiosity evident on his face. Stopping the playback, Reed turned to Spider-Man. "What? How? When?"

"Now we have his attention," Ben rolled his eyes.

"I was just fighting Mysterio when-BOOM!-He comes down outta nowhere-just like Randy Orton...you don't get the joke, do you?"

"I'm afraid not," Reed murmured while motioning for Spider-Man to continue his story.

"Heh, I do." Ben said with a hearty chuckle.

"Finally, someone who laughs at my jokes!" Spider-Man raised his arms victoriously. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure wherever he came from he was pretty high, and you probably know this already but he's pretty heavy considering the small crater he left when he landed."

"Then it must be the armor," Reed commented, making a mental note.

"I could tell he was holding back ony Mysterio, though. Just like Cap when we're training, but, y'know, just without all those corny life lesson lectures and 'eat your vitamins, kids' coming from him."

Ben chuckled once more before clapping Spider-Man's shoulder,making the arachnid hero wince. "See, this is why webs needs to be part of the Fantastic Four officially!"

Spider-Man took Mr. Fantastic's silence as a way of him telling him to continue. "The fight dragged on, he was still holding back while I tried to find out where the real Mysterio was. He's somehow made all his illusions of himself trigger my spider-sense. Then, suddenly he goes on full serious mode and just like that-BAM!BAM!-whips out his pistol and shoots both of Mysterio's legs.

"I freaked out, he said those were non-lethal shots and were meant to incapacitate Mysterio. I checked, and sure enough they only grazed his legs. Dude's pretty accurate, almost like Hawkeye."

"Highly trained, then?" Reed muttered to himself before saying, "Thank you for sharing this information with me, Spider-Man."

"Uh, no problem?" Spider-Man replied, finding the whole situation strange. "Look, I think you should spend time with your family, especially your kids. It's been, what, two days since you've been bottled up in this lab?"

Reed hung his head in shame, finally realizing that his scientific interests had pushed him away from his family once more.

"Webhead's right, Stretch. Suzie and Franklin are beginning to get worried. Hell, even Johnny and Valeria, too."

Reed sighed before looking up at Spider-Man gratefully. "Spider-Man, I-thank you. For helping me realize that lately I haven't been the best father and husband."

"Hey, glad to help." Spider-Man said before leaping out the window and swinging into the distance.

Reed turned to look at the paused video of the Spartan, his eyes lingering on the armor before he turned to look at Ben. "Thank you, Ben. I-I can't believe that I ignored you all, especially Sue and the kids."

Ben was silent as he craned his head to turn to look where Spider-Man had disappeared into the concrete jungle. Gazing at the colorful and bright city that the darkness could never envelop he said, "Don't thank me, we owe it to the webhead."

New York, Manhattan:

Local Mall, Food Court:

Once Cortana had registered Jerome, Alice, and Douglas as U.S Citizens she had suggested that they come down to New York and experience the wonders it had to offer. John offered to lead them and show them around. But they had to take the armor off of the three and it was quite a long process despite the fact they had Forerunner technology on hand but it was definitely faster compared to using modern UNSC machines. It was the fact that Red Team were outfitted with the MJOLNIR Mark IV that made it a tedious process. The ODSTs and Johnson went back down to New York for whatever reasons they had.

Nonetheless, they were stripped of their armor besides the inner skinsuit they wore beneath the armor. Jerome was revealed to be a brunette with a military cut and had brown eyes. Cortana could already tell that the ladies would already be lining up for this Spartan.

Douglas was revealed to be a brunette as well. His blue eyes along the slight hint of a shaven beard made him seem more ruggish. Cortana could already see the ladies eye him like a piece of candy.

Finally, Alice was revealed to be a blonde woman with green eyes and a beautifully shaped face yet had a dangerous look to her. Cortana could already feel bad for any of the men bold enough to make advances on her.

What each member of Red Team shared was that they looked younger than John, each looking to be in their early twenties.

The skintight suit was easily taken off, in private, of course. While Green set out to update their armor to Chief's current version, the three Spartans had taken the time to shower. Once they were done they got dressed in the civilian clothes that John had left for them, even the undergarments and a bra for Alice. Somehow John correctly guessed their sizes and Red Team found that they fit like a glove. Jerome wore a plain olive shirt and some black pants to go along with it. Douglas had a red v-neck shirt and some simple blue jeans. Alice had a casual green shirt and a pair of brown loose-fitting pants.

Before they left, Jerome requested that their armor would retain the same look, and Green conceded. Soon enough they beamed down into the house that John and the ODSTs resided in. The others were found to do various activities such as Buck reading a book, Johnson watching a sports game on the 90-inch UHD Tv, Romeo snoring in his sleep on the couch, and Dutch and Rookie looking at something on a tablet.

Chief exchanged pleasantries with those who were awake before leading the other three Spartans to the garage where his ride laid.

"I was thinking that you were going drive in what could be considered a modern car in this time, John." Jerome commented as he stared at John's modified Warthog.

"I'm not complaining," Douglas shrugged, already getting in the back. Alice followed Douglas' lead and took a seat in the back of the scout 'Hog.

"You sure we won't get pulled over for this?" Alice asked as John and Jerome got in the driver seat and the passenger seat respectively.

The engine roared like a lion as John started the Warthog. He then looked at the two in the rearview mirror, seeing Douglas and Alice grip the handles that were provided so that there wouldn't be any unfortunate accidents. Spartans could balance just fine due to augmentations but the Spartans could never be too sure.

"I've cleared it with the DMV. So long that there's handles and you're wearing a seatbelt, then we'll be just fine."

"What seatbe-" Alice cut herself off once she saw the seat belt to her left, sitting there casually. Douglas chuckled at the display of forgetfulness, already clipped in his seatbelt. Alice proceeded to clip in her seatbelt and sent a glare at Douglas' teasing smile.

"We ready back there?" Jerome asked his two teammates, eyes scanning their forms in the rearview mirror.

"Yes," Both Alice and Douglas answered.

John had decided that they should eat first before he showed them around. That brings them to now: eating a meal from one of the outlets in silence.

None of the four wanted to speak for the time being. They just wanted to enjoy the food in silence, but with all the constant chatter from the civilians it was quite difficult to. Yet they managed to do so.

Out of the corner of his eye, John saw a brawl between two men about to commence and was just about to get up to intervene when mall security showed up to defuse the situation. Even so, John still maintained visual. Red Team was too engrossed in their dinner-considering it was night time in New York-to take notice of John's behavior.

Mall security seemed to have defuse the situation. John visibly relaxed and continued digging in his meal slowly to savor the taste. Those around them gave the four strange looks since they seemed to take a sip from their soft drink at exactly the same time.

Like the trained soldier he was, Jerome was able to notice small detail that anyone else would have missed. If he hadn't looked up from his drink, then he wouldn't even have noticed it all. The man standing in the middle of the area, people paid him no mind or regarded him strangely. The way the man stood, his form, and the location of his hand meant the man had nothing but malicious intent. He was not about to sacrifice civilian lives just to find out. The others wouldn't have noticed at all since they were facing each other besides John. Only Jerome had sights on this man so far.

When the man went to reach for his concealed gun Jerome wasted no time and getting up. The three other Spartans abandoned their food for the moment and quickly caught up to Jerome, his urgent movements having caught their attention.

This, of course, had garnered quite a look from the surrounding patrons. The murmurs from them became much more audible to the Spartans than ever before. But it didn't matter once the other three also noticed the man had already brought out his gun. Before the man could fire a single shot into the air, Jerome surged forward and tackled the would-be murderer. Yes, Jerome could tell what his intention was and it didn't bode well with him if he had gotten away with it.

The hostile confrontation gathered the attention of just about everyone in the vicinity. The three Spartans laid back and allowed Jerome to handle the situation, but were ready to jump in if the need ever arose.

Blinding flashes and people exclaiming in surprise came from just about every direction, but Jerome ignored it and focused on the task at hand. He moved his head up and found the pistol laying on the floor.

'Good, he's disarmed, now.' Jerome thought, then brought his attention back to the man groaning, stunned.

Jerome wasted no time and delivered a swift yet powerful punch to the man's head that rendered him unconscious. Getting up, he now noticed the food court was deadly silent as everyone looked at him in shock. Much like how John described his time here, Jerome didn't like being in the spotlight, especially without armor.

Then every patron noticed the pistol lying on the floor. The deafening silence slowly turned into an applause. One giant applause for the hero that had prevented a massacre. This was not what Jerome nor the other Spartans were expecting.

Some of them even began whooping, making their gratitude well known.

Meanwhile, John stepped up beside Jerome with narrowed eyes. The cold expression he gave slowly created silence, the cheers and applause dying down.

"What are you doing?" Jerome whispered to John, awkwardly stepping away just a bit.

"Getting a point across," John replied in a stern tone before speaking up in a voice that everyone could hear. "Listen up! I know that this man, my," John struggled to find a word to suit Jerome before settling on one. "Brother saved your lives. But, what if it was someone like Spider-Man? Would he be receiving the same applause as my brother did?"

"Of course not! He's a menace!" Someone shouted out.

"What makes him a menace?" John asked, swiveling around and his eyes landing directly on the man who had spoken, surprising him. "The fact that he operates outside of the law?"

The forty-something year old man audibly gulped before replying, "B-Because h-he is! J. Jonah J-Jameson proves it!"

"Screw that hitler-stache fascist! He spreads nothing but shitty lies!" A young woman retorted heatedly.

"Then why the hell does Spider-Man hide behind a mask?" Someone else argued.

That was when the citizens turned on one another, one side defending Spider-Man and one side against Spider-Man. The Master Chief had enough of it after hearing a barrage of verbal insults and arguments.

"ENOUGH!" John raised his voice, somehow cutting through everyone's voices. His outburst was enough to silence the patrons.

"Whether you think Spider-Man is a menace or not means nothing. Whether you think the Hulk is a monster or freak means absolutely nothing. What matters is that they save lives, not just for the publicity, but because it's their duty. They do it because it's the right thing to do.

"They do it because there are situations in which the law enforcement officers cannot handle. If we're talking about someone like the Punisher then it's a whole different story. But Spider-Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, and the X-Men? They protect you from people like him," John pointed at the unconscious criminal. "Even worse." John saw Mall security approach him and his group to figure out what has the food court riled up.

"If you support these menaces, then why the hell do they hide behind a damned mask?" The same person who previously shouted practically the same thing asked.

John laid his eyes on the individual who spoke out, discovering a blonde in her mid-twenties. He delivered the same cold glare he gave earlier to the man in his forties. The same reaction was fairly the same, except this one was a bit more braver.

"When the mask comes on they're a different person. Under the mask they're just like you, but with superhuman powers or intense training. They aren't without families just like you." John pointed out, then finished in a cold tone, "I hope you all learned something."

With that, John stepped forward to face the Mall security who had laid back to allow him to give the speech. John motioned for Jerome to come forward to help explain what happened. The two security officers nodded understandingly once they heard the whole story.

"We'll take him in," The leader said, motioning for his partner to bring out a pair of cuffs. The man beside him fished for said utility while the leader looked at John with admiration. "I wholeheartedly agree with you. If only people had the same views as you and I."

Douglas and Alice joined John and Jerome as soon as the security officer finished his sentence.

"If only," John concurred with a sigh.

Jerome, Alice, and Douglas couldn't contribute to John's motivative speech since they were a bit out of the loop. They weren't really caught up with this Earth, only glossing over the details during the briefing.

It seemed like forever when the man's partner finally approached the downed criminal and detained him with the cuffs.

"Unfortunately I think this one will get away scot free." The man sighed exasperatedly. "He hasn't done anything wrong, but I'm certain he'll be brought up on charges of putting lives in danger and having a weapon in an area where weapons are forbidden."

"Well, it isn't worth it to sacrifice one life just to put one man behind bars." Alice said wisely, expressing a frown.

"Amen," The security officer agreed. His partner seemed to struggle pulling the man up, causing the leader to sigh before moving to help his partner.

"Who knew you were so passionate about superheroes, John?" Douglas mused with a smile.

"Sorry about that," John apologized. "Once you know everything about Spider-Man you'll understand. Now, I think it's best if we finish our food before I continue to show you around the place."

Red Team couldn't help but agree more, and so all four returned to their table to continue eating. The food court was once again filled to the brim with constant chatter and murmurs, something that the Spartans preferred over silence in such a large area with such a large number of people. They ignored the stares they were given to the best of their ability, subtly eating their food faster in response.

In just a little under an hour they had traveled across the mall to various different stores to obtain or just browse the items. Most importantly, Red Team now had an assortment of clothes that John gladly paid for. All of them avoided any conversation with a stranger if possible. The less attention the better. For them, at least.

John then drove them around the sights of the city, something that he found calming and relaxing. Spartans were good at hiding emotions from other people. Hiding it from each other, not so much.

John could tell that they were in awe as they passed buildings and landmarks that would be considered antiques in their time. They even saw the commercial neighborhood that is Times Square, but Chief refused to drive through there, saying the traffic was much too taxing. Either way, it looked beautiful in the eyes of Red Team. It was now that they felt grateful for Captain Cutter allowing them some R&R. At first they were skeptical and unsure, but all the apprehensive feelings they previously harbored disappeared and was replaced with appreciation.

When John turned the radio in the Warthog on they were instantly hit with heavy metal that they found unpleasant. John quickly changed the station then soothing classical music flowed from the speakers. The Spartans eased themselves and their senses were calmed. All they could hear was what the musical masterpiece that made them content.

It was about one in the morning when they finally returned home. John showed them around the house and Red Team could definitely see which areas had John's personal touch. They kept their volume to a low as to let the ODSTs and Johnson sleep peacefully upstairs. Once John was finished giving a tour of the house they all settled on skimming through the channels on the oversized TV. It was to sate their curiosity, but also hopefully finding something that interested them. They might as well kill two birds with one stone, and so the TV flickered to a news channel where they were delivering stories and information about the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Heroes for Hire, and the night vigilantes.

Red Team paid close attention and stored the information in their minds for later use. It was when the news anchor brought up yet another story they began to give John a strange look midway.

"Earlier this night witnesses claimed to have seen the vigilante Spider-Man and one of his rogues take a brawl in the middle of the street. That was not all, however. It appears that sometime during the brawl the unknown Spartan," A low quality image of John in his armor faded into view to the right of the screen, "had joined in to assist Spider-Man. When police arrived they discovered Mysterio trapped in webs and bleeding. It was confirmed that the two gunshot wounds had only grazed each of Mysterio's legs, classifying them as non-fatal."

Jerome, Alice, and Douglas turned to look at John with a look of intrigue.

John pursed his lips, eyes glued to the screen, and explained, "Mysterio was a threat that needed to be neutralized. He was endangering the lives of others. I had to step in to ensure that he was taken care of."

Alice shifted her posture a bit and chose her words carefully, "I see. The lives of others mean well to you, John."

"You won't be able to save everyone," Jerome added, memories of Arcadia came to mind.

"I'm well aware of that," John recalled, endless and hopeless battles resurfacing in his mind. "There are many threats on this Earth-in this...universe that its own protectors cannot easily handle alone. That is why we will defend this Earth as if it is our own."

Douglas nodded with no trace of hesitation. "Whatever it is, we'll follow you, John."

Both Alice and Jerome nodded in agreement. John smiled, his way of showing the Spartans that he appreciated the back-up.

"I'm sure the Captain will follow you as well," Jerome said, patting John's back softy.

John hummed before he and Red Team refocused their attention on the news.

Spirit of Fire:

Bridge:

"Serina," Captain Cutter motioned for the AI to broadcast his voice throughout the entire ship. The entire room watched the Captain in silence, curious as to what he was going to say.

"You're live, Captain."

Cutter cleared his throat before speaking into the microphone, his voice audible in just about every section of the ship. "May I have everyone's attention for a moment, please?"

Hangar:

"Hey," One Marine bumped his buddy's shoulder, pointing upwards. "The Captain's talking."

All activity within the area came to an immediate halt as they listened to the Captain speak.

"Recently I had the chance to talk to the crew of the lone UNSC vessel that we've found. After going into great detail, I am pleased to say that we have won the war!" Captain Cutter's voice held pride, pausing for a moment to allow everyone aboard the ship to cheer.

"Yes, the crew of the ship now classified as the Forward Unto Dawn had endured and came out top in the war. However," the Captain's voice dropped to a sigh, concerning the crew.

"We face a new challenge, men. Earth is practically in front of us as we speak, but don't break into cheers yet. This is not the Earth that we are sworn to protect."

Murmurs of confusion spread across the entire ship, some even nervous to know what the next few word were going to come from the Captain.

"There are no defense platforms, there are no defenders beside us the and Forward Unto Dawn, and most of all there is no UNSC."

"What the-?" One crewman uttered.

"WHAT?!" Someone shouted in outrage.

"Where even are we?" A Marine asked himself.

Outrage, confusion, bewilderment, and a slight hint of fear were the reactions of the Spirit's crew.

"Men, we now live in a word where we have superhumans, aliens, and supervillains. Welcome to the 21st century," Cutter sighed defeatedly before continuing, "However, we will not be facing this alone. The Forward Unto Dawn's crew is adjusting themselves to the era, and we will work," Cutter began to raise his voice at this point. "Side by side!" Even more.

"Shoulder to shoulder!" Even louder and prouder.

"And arm in arm to show that Earth won't go down without putting up one helluva fight!"

"OOH-RAH!" The entire hangar chorused, exploding with cheers and manly whooping.

Bridge:

"OOH-RAH!" The bridge chorused, Cutter being able to hear the faint chant just behind the door, bringing a proud smile to his face.

Serina looked at Cutter with an impressed look. "Quite the morale boost," She remarked.

Anders walked in wearing her lab coat and her hair tied into a bun, looking mildly annoyed from all the exponentially loud whooping.

"Anders, nice of you to join us." Serina greeted pleasantly.

Anders took a step forward and stood right beside the seated Captain Cutter. She looked and Serina and regarded her strangely. "You look more healthy, what gives?"

Captain Cutter rested his chin on the palm of his hand, cutting out the broadcast, and answered, "She's been repaired by our friends on the Forward Unto Dawn."

Anders looked down at Cutter with widened eyes. "How?"

"Not just repaired," Serina cut in, smiling. "I would say I was given a complete overhaul. I feel much better, now."

Ignoring Serina's newfound bubbly personality, Cutter answered the question with a small smile, "You know those advanced mechanical beings we encountered on the Shield World?"

Anders nodded, recalling the memory. "Yeah, why?"

"Apparently they have those same beings on their ship, and one of them was interesting. I believe his name was Green bias and he was a monitor of one those Forerunner worlds."

"So that's what they're called?" Anders mused to herself while Serina listened intently.

"They also have Covenant Engineers," Cutter said casually, shocking Anders.

"What?!" Anders exclaimed.

"Don't be too alarmed, Anders. They're on our side this time." Cutter assured the alarmed professor.

"The Engineers were...quite adorable." Serina admitted with a notable smile. "In fact, one of them helped me become what I am now."

"An overexcited child, yes." Cutter sighed in jest.

"Hey!" Serina, protested before realizing that she did act like one. "Oh…"

"In all honestly I think those things were harmless to begin with." Cutter gave his own two cents. "I have a feeling they were enslaved by the Covenant. All they wanted to do was help."

"Yes, I kind of got that feeling from them too." Serina agreed after recovering from his childish antics.

Anders took a moment to digest and process all the information she was given before nodding in finality. She turned to Serina and asked, "So, what was that favor you asked for?"

That was when Serina appeared crestfallen for a brief second. The guilt she had was overwhelming, recent events came crashing back. She began with an unexpected apology.

"I-I'm sorry…" Serina trailed off.

"What for?" Captain Cutter leaned in closely.

"I-I failed, Captain. The curiosity and knowledge, I craved for it. I almost put the entire crew in jeopardy." She said sorrowfully. Memories not too long ago came back to her. Observing the infected Maldini and allowing the parasitic life form to produce more infection forms, crew members being awoken from cryostasis only to be infected, everything. If she hadn't snaped out of her mindless curiosity state and hadn't woken up Anders and Jerome the ship would have fallen. Her rampancy had almost costed the entire crew, and that hurt her. Even with her being rampancy free she still didn't entirely trust herself.

"Serina, what happened happened." Anders sighed. "It was beyond your control, and it was bound to happen sooner or later."

Cutter remained confused as to what had transpired earlier. "What exactly happened?"

"We had a breach. Somehow those parasites managed to stay hidden-the point is that it's been dealt with." Anders explained, but went straight to point once she noticed how uncomfortable Serina looked.

Cutter nodded understandingly. Whatever happened to Serina had affected her greatly that much he could tell.

"I won't pressure you into telling me, Serina." Cutter sighed, rubbing his face triedly. "But I'm going to need an answer soon to explain the mess." Cutter motioned his head in the direction of the COMMS where some crewman reported of an unknown bloody mess.

Serina was never more relieved that she ejected all the specimens into the vacuum of space.

New York:

Rikers Island Maximum Security Penitentiary:

Eddie Brock mindlessly played catch with himself using the wall in his confined and highly secured cell. It wasn't easy at first, but he managed to drown out the crazed and maniacal laughs from the cell next to him, belonging to one Cletus Kasady.

Both were without their symbiotes, having been destroyed in their confrontation with the Spartan and his ODSTs. It was their surprise and unpreparation of an unexpected arrival that lead to the Sinister Six's downfall.

Usually Venom and Carnage wouldn't be working together during that time, but Doctor Octopus united them under a single objective: destroy Spider-Man.

It would've been easy, too easy. The Sinister Six...could have-scratch that, Eddie thought. They might have stood a chance against Spider-Man and the Human Torch without the intervention of the Spartan and his four companions.

Eddie sighed as he caught the ball with ease, half of him was on what S.H.I.E.L.D considered a bed and the upper half was drooping on the floor. He stared at the darkness that is his ceiling, wondering how he would get out of this predicament.

The small window that could be slid open from the outside suddenly opened to reveal a S.H.I.E.L.D agent decked in blue armor and wore a full-face helmet and what seems like a gas mask with goggles that looked like blue fluorescent lights.

The bright blue lights emitting from the reinforced cell door gained the attention of Eddie Brock. Making himself stand up, he approached the door cautiously. He always thought they looked more like soldiers than agents, but then again they could basically be the same thing.

"What do you want?" Eddie asked bitingly, glaring at the light blue fluorescent lights for goggles.

The man, or woman, just silently stared at Brock. Eddie could've sworn this person was holding a staring contest just for the fun of it.

"Oh, hahahahahahaHAHA! This FEELS MUCH BETTER!" Eddie heard Cletus cackle, his voice deepening and becoming more sinister. Almost as if he had the-

"Symbiote?" Eddie Brock finished the thought aloud, looking puzzled. Suddenly, the agent produced a medium-sized vial and somehow managed to slide it through the small window. Eddie just barely caught it before it smacked the ground. Bringing the item closer to the light the supposed S.H.I.E.L.D agent was emitting, he finally saw what was in it: his symbiote.

"H-How? It got destroyed?" Eddie wondered to himself for only two seconds before looking up and delivered a malicious grin aimed at the agent. He faintly heard the agent murmur to himself in a male voice, 'Hail -YDRA' but he didn't really care.

Eddie gently opened the vial, producing a slight hiss in the process. The symbiote eagerly slithered out and began consuming Eddie starting with his hands.

"Oh-ho-ho...we're back…"

A/N: Sorry to disappoint you all but here's the end. Please leave a review and please be honest. I want to make sure most of you enjoy it and I want to know from you guys on how I can improve.

Next chapter begins the untitled Web of Shadows arc. There will be some twists to it and the Spirit of Fire, Forward Unto Dawn, and Marvel's heroes face the symbiote invasion.