Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.
If you haven't seen Extraction, than pull up Netflix and give it a watch, very John Woo like vibes, fun action movie.
Blaze1992: These are cops, they aren't familiar with these sorts of military type maneuvers, especially done under fire. They can clear a building, but that doesn't make them the 10th Mountain. (But if there is anybody more familiar with SWAT training, correct me if my browsing of Wikipedia gave the wrong impression.)
1. No random civ's or anything, having one show up randomly would be too contrived and that is something I have chosen to avoid.
2. Osborn's motivations and machinations will become more apparent in this chapter and ones following it. He has plans on how to take advantage of the situation, and they don't involve the villains in the RAFT.
Threll Ignis: Good to know. I have plans for more Frank and Yuri coming up. And slight correction, the various chapters more or less take place in sequential order, but focus on different fronts at different times. The events of this chapter start around the same time the previous one ends for example. Thanks for the feedback.
ILoveBlueAndRice: You'll never read this, but thanks for giving the story a shot, even if it has the pairing in the story description.
But this has me curious, the way I tried to avoid the situation described is by having Cooper accept that Black Cat will never be pure good and not trying to hold her to that standard. Having her almost get him killed in chapter 9 and then have him not get mad about it was what I did to try and set the stage for their relationship being different. They're both anti-heroes, or something that at least isn't 'pure' hero, which is also a factor.
For this title, we have another track off of Art of War, in fact, it's the song immediately following 40:1, meaning it corresponds to chapter 5, relating to creativity and timing to build the momentum of an army. Fitting then that the historical basis for this song is an ambush conducted by Partisans during World War II, though the band can't remember exactly which one. But it was that setting of a mostly para military resistance to a superior invading force that caused it to be picked. As for the song itself, it's an odd one, almost feeling like two different songs fused together. The first part is slow and deliberate before it breaks down into chaos in the back half, which I had intended to try and replicate with this chapter, but not much of that idea remained in the final edit. I promise, next week will have a different band than Sabaton.
Power Without Question - Chapter 48: Unbreakable
They'll never know we give no warning
We set a trap they took the bait
Leading them straight into hell
They will not live to tell the tale
We'll strike at dusk and fight 'til dawn
Tonight our foe is bound to fail
Our time is now all ready at arms
If there was one thing Peter was not prepared for, it was the continual pounding in his head from his spider sense as he spun and flipped through the air as the bullets whizzed and snapped around him. Unlike the other defenders, the east side, with their abundance of superhuman combatants, was fighting out in the open with the few shooters they had from Fisk supporting them from cover. At the apex of his swing, the webslinger disconnected the line and streaked straight down before firing more weblines at the ground below and slamming into the concrete right in the middle of the group of grunts. The force of the impact knocked them back as the armored webhead reacted to the ringing at the base of his skull and rounded on a solider behind him who was trying to raise his rifle.
Even with the additional weight from his heavy armor, he moved with superhuman quickness as he closed the gap and slapped the gun away while throwing a right cross that slammed into the man's jaw and spun him around. Deftly firing a pair of weblines, he ensnared the trooper's feet before yanking them out from under him and whipping him around, knocking two more soldiers down before a third was slammed into a wall. His spider sense was still buzzing, and he reacted by jumping and flipping over a car as a burst of gunfire tore through the air and he crouched down low. Poking his featureless mask out from behind his cover, he saw the IMC trooper with a particle wall barrier holding a machine gun.
Before Spider-Man could make a move, a shapely black clad figure passed straight through the wall right behind the gunner and delivered a savage kick to his knee, the X-Man followed up by slamming an elbow into the back of his head that knocked him out. "Hey Spidey" she called out with a jovial wave, "How have you been?" she asked.
"Pretty good" he returned absentmindedly before his sixth sense blared as he dove across the sidewalk as bullets tore through the air and he slammed into Shadowcat and tackled her as the two slammed down into a doorway of a shop. As the pair untangled themselves, Peter poked his head out to look at the situation, "Okay, so that's a lot of angry robots" he remarked as more bullets and blue tracers darted by.
Kitty looked out, placing a hand on his shoulder as she pressed against him and used his armored body for cover. "We've dealt with worse" reminded the X-Man as the two ducked back down and decided on a course of action. "Remember Mysterio? He must have at least twice that many robots" continued Pryde dismissively. Peter didn't feel like arguing that these machines were far more dangerous than anything Beck had brought to bear. "I'll go left, you go right?" she suggested as she batted her eyes at him.
Doing his best to ignore her advances, Peter refocused his mind on the immediate task ahead, "Sounds like a plan" he replied, "on a count of three…one…two…seriously Kitty?" he called out as the mutant phased through him and tore off down the street, charging forwards. "Impatient as ever" he muttered as he fired off a webline and shot across to the other side of the street before sprinting along the wall to catch up.
Before he could, Shadowcat had already closed the gap and was busy disarming the first machine, ripping its weapon away and bashing the machine over the head, the polymer stock of the gun shattering from the superhuman force of the strike. Behind his mask, the webhead narrowed his eyes at the machine coming up behind his ex and swung in, feet up as he planted both in the machines back and sent it flying. Deftly flipping over and landing on the ground, he opened up with his web shooters on the nearest Specter, webbing it up as Pryde phased through her opponent to deliver a spin kick to the ensnared bot while Peter rounded on the machine she had been fighting. Delivering two quick blows to stagger the machine before an uppercut sent it airborne as Peter leapt up and continued to wail on it until its armor was buckled and it's internals fried from the abuse.
Landing back on the ground alongside Shadowcat, Peter settled back into a fighting stance as the remaining machines surrounded the two heroes. "How much you wanna bet I'll get more than you?" asked Katherine casually as the two stood back to back.
"How many times have I beaten you?" he asked, "What makes you think this time will be any different?"
"Because we broke up" supplied the mutant brunette quickly. "So, I don't have to worry about placating your ego, I can go all out" retorted Pryde with mirth before she leapt onto the offensive, diving at the nearest machine.
"Still impatient" muttered Peter as he snapped off a Webline with a flick of the wrist and yanked himself towards the largest group, determined to not let his perfect record get a blemish.
About 100 yards behind the duo, another watched with varying levels of interest. "What's gotcha' worried luv?" asked the older of the two in her English accent, "as far as fights go, this has been a pretty easy one. Those 'heroes' are bloody crazy…and bloody good" she commented, unknowingly striking the nerve that had Mary Jane worked up as she watched Spider-Man and Shadowcat tear through a group of IMC machines, working together seamlessly to do so.
"Yeah…they're really good" she answered, concealing her jealousy the best she could as she waited for the pair to split up and put some distance between them. When they did, she took a photo that showed Spider-Man, in his armored form, alone and standing tall after driving the last machine into the ground. Meanwhile, the brunette in her figure flaunting outfit was busy phasing through solid matter before ripping a car door from its hinges and bashing another Specter with it while she was stuck out of the fight, sitting on her less shapely ass and could only take pictures.
When she finally let out a shaky breath and lowered her camera before taking a swig from one of the water bottles she had brought before she noticed Gates had turned to look at her. Chuckling lightly, MJ could only glare at the 6-4 veteran. "Which of you is his ex?" she asked knowingly, causing the reporter's mouth to fall open, drawing another bark of laughter from the woman, "It is obvious, the way the two of you stare at his ass…not that I can blame you."
Ignoring the heat in her cheeks as she looked away, or at least trying to, Mary Jane tried to answer Gates. "We both are…technically. Though we're trying to get back together after seeing other people. But it…it's been a challenge" she explained weakly, "I just…how am I supposed to compete with her, or people like her?" she bemoaned rhetorically. Even after GCT and working with Peter, Matthew, and Felicia, she was suddenly and brutally reminded of just how vulnerable she was, especially compared to somebody who was truly superpowered.
There was an awkward silence for a moment as MJ realized she may have overstepped a bit and shrunk a bit before Gates suddenly spoke up, only something changed in her tone of voice. "Tell me about him" she said simply as the redhead stared at the woman dumbly only to widen her eyes as she took off her helmet to reveal her face. A head of full blonde hair and alert blue eyes stared back at MJ as the reporter noted the large scar than ran down her cheek as she sat down and placed her rifle on the ground. "What's he like as a person when he isn't bringing fists to a gunfight and winning?"
"He uh…he's smart and kind" she responded as her mind raced to try to describe the utter enigma that was Peter Parker. "Like really smart, those webshooters he uses? Made those himself when he was 15 while I was still trying to wrap my head around the quadratic equation" she remembered with a slight chuckle. "Back when I was a theater diva and had to go to him for tutoring, he would always show up sweaty and with bruised knuckles before teaching me whatever I needed help with it that way where it was clear that he cared even if we only could barely be classified as acquaintances."
The Pilot gave her a small smirk, "And I don't suppose you had any trouble paying attention to those lessons, did you?"
Her lack of an answer was answer enough, but she tried to push on beyond that anyways. "I'm not sure when it happened but soon we became friends, then I wanted to be more than friends, and when I heard he didn't have a date to Junior prom I showed up on his doorstep and practically dragged his ass to the dance" she recalled fondly, things were so different back then…simpler. "I still remember what I said when he opened that door with the dumbest look on his face. 'Face it Tiger, you hit the jackpot' I told him." Both women shared a laugh at that before a more comfortable silence settled in, despite the surrounding sounds of distant gunfire. "Can't believe that worked" she muttered with a shake of her head.
"If it's stupid but it works, then it isn't stupid" reminded Gates with a smirk as Mary Jane nodded in agreement. It was odd to think about all of those early times again, back before she knew about his alter ego, which was what Gates asked about next, "must have been quite a shock to find out your boyfriend was such a violent bloke" assumed the Pilot.
"He's not violent" she defended adamantly, bristling at the accusation. In response, Gates merely leveled a look before casting a sideways glance out the window. On the street below, Peter was moving with the fluidity and grace only he could as he bounced between IMC robots, tossing them up and throwing them at more machines, crushing them against walls as another came up behind him. Peter caught it's arm with his hand before picking the STALKER up and smashing it into a lamppost with such force the machine snapped clean in half. "He isn't" she insisted, "he has never killed anyone because it isn't in his nature…none of that is."
Mary Jane looked at Gates and could easily see that the 6-4 pilot was far from convinced. "Pe…Spider-Man never flaunts it, despite what Jameson may say. I remember this one time" she began as she had to stifle a laugh at the memory, "this one time after we started dating I finally got tired of him being courteous so I just kissed the hell out of him and was trying to get his shirt off, right? And he just freaked out because he had his costume on underneath. But I didn't know this and thought he was either super shy or whatever, but he just up and left" she recounted before bursting back out into laughter at the absurdity of it all. "This was at a point when half of Midtowns female population had shrines to Spider-Man and thanked all that was holy for that outfit."
By this point, even the steely eyed veteran had a hard time containing herself and sputtered with laughter before a large explosion knocked them from their revelry as Gates looked out the window before waving off MJ from doing the same. "Just another airstrike, nothing to worry about" she assured before sitting back down. "Let me get this straight" began the pilot as she furrowed her brow, "he's being doing this since he was 15and doesn't tell anyone?"
"Basically, though I figured it out and I think the Marauder did too…but I'm not sure how. He may have only told one other person but that's it" revealed the reporter, "like I said, when he isn't doing this, he's just a normal guy, a nice, normal guy. Just…don't ask him to make dumplings" she added with a smirk as Gates shrugged at the inside joke.
"If it's okay" began the Pilot slowly, "I'm going to tell you what I think." MJ quirked an eyebrow at the blonde, but nodded nonetheless, intrigued at what the veteran would make of the Webslinger. "There are three kinds of Pilots" she began as she held up the corresponding number of fingers, "Those who seek strength. Those who live for pride. And those who can read the tide of battle. Those are the three" she explained. "The uh, what'd you say he was called? The Marauder? He's special too, because he's all three" she said, "a pilot has to love to fight, to feel the sting of battle and push himself to his limits. Some set out to be the best, the fastest, the most deadly, most skilled. Yet there are others who make it through without any of that, because they got a good head on their shoulders and know what moves are the right ones to make. That's what I am, I never wanted to be the fastest or the strongest, I just wanted to get through it, still do" revealed Gates curtly.
"I see" replied MJ as she mulled the words over before her mind wound up with a fairly logical question. "And what about Spider-Man?"
"Him?" she asked as MJ nodded and Gates cracked a knowing smile. "He's even more unique I think" she began as MJ waited patiently for the Pilot to continue. "Spider-Man isn't like a pilot at all, in fact he sounds like the farthest thing from one. He isn't any of those" she said confidently. "Which is why you shouldn't worry; he doesn't care if he's strong or if you're strong. He isn't so prideful as to judge you solely by your looks. And he lives in the moment, he wants what he wants and doesn't give a damn about what anyone else thinks. He cares about you because he cares about you. The sooner you realize that then the better off the two of you will be" she said finally before slipping her helmet back on and picking up her rifle. "Trust me luv, I know."
"Is that what that's for?" asked MJ, unable to contain her curiosity as she stared at the playing card patch on the pilot's sleeve, an ace of hearts with a dagger driven through it.
"That?" asked Gates as Mary Jane nodded, "that's just an old war wound now."
Scanning ahead of him, Cyclops saw nothing moving on the lifeless street ahead of him, the street and buildings criss crossed with black scorch marks from both his own crimson eye beam and lightning summoned by the woman he had been holding this position with. "Storm" he called out, the woman in question hovering in midair, the cape on her back fluttering in the breeze she commanded to keep her aloft. "We need to regroup and find Logan; do you see anything?"
Before the mutant woman could answer, Scott Summers felt a familiar presence in his mind before the sagely tones of Charles Xavier entered his head. 'You will find Logan approximately three blocks to the west' informed the Professor politely all the way from Roosevelt Island. "Did you hear what the professor said?" he asked as the woman elegantly descended to land gracefully alongside him. Nodding, the pair began to stride off towards their wayward companion. "I suppose we'll just go with the usual plan once we get closer."
"Follow the screams?" returned Ororo dryly, both X-Men at this point being quite familiar with how the Wolverine operated and the results of his style. And the results were quite messy. "Cyclops" began the woman regally as the visored man turned to the blue eyed woman, "I fear for the outcome of this day, it is far from over" she said as they continued to move cautiously towards Logan.
Internally, Summers shared the same concerns about how things were going. From what Professor X had relayed to him, the defender's lines were holding…barely. The Sable lines in the middle were being pressed the hardest, but the X-Men had been under constant pressure from Grunts, Specters, and STALKERs. Most of the Fisk shooters had already fallen back while the heroes maintained contact. Word had just come in that the NYPD had fallen back as well lest they be outflanked, and it was looking like the X-Men would have to cede more ground if they didn't want to become surrounded. "We'll make it Ororo" assured Scott firmly, not wanting any of his people to become disheartened, if they became distracted then there was a very real possibility they wouldn't make it out.
The woman 'hmmed' in reply, but didn't appear entirely convinced. However, Summers chose to drop the subject as they got closer to where they could hear a scream of pain. Exchanging a knowing glance, the pair sprinted forwards towards the source and rounded a corner to a familiar sight. An alleyway was covered in gore and wreckage as their short, broad shouldered ally drove three adamantium covered claws through the chest of a screaming soldier, causing him to fall silent. "Logan" addressed Scott calmly, "you've been busy" noted the mutant.
The Wolverine snorted dismissively as he pulled a cigar and lighter from his tattered trousers and lit it as he marched through the carnage. By the time he reached his fellow X-Men the numerous bullet, knife, and fragmentation wounds he had sustained were nearly invisible due to the immense healing factor the man possessed. "I suppose that if you two are here it means that the IMC have pulled back for now?" he asked, Summers nodding as Logan shoved the cigar back in his mouth and puffed. "Shame."
Summers exchanged a glance with Storm, and despite the crimson visor that covered his eyes, the woman got the message he was trying to convey easily enough. "Professor Xavier wishes for us to regroup with the others, another order to retreat is due to arrive soon" informed the Cloud Walker calmly, even as Scott's patience was beginning to wear thin. Logan merely grunted before walking off in the wrong direction. "Logan, the others are this way" informed Storm politely as the Wolverine seemed unconcerned with that detail.
"I know" he called back over his shoulder before he looked at a ruined storefront and made his way inside. Cyclops and Storm shared a shrug before Wolverine emerged a few moments later, beer in hand, and began to march back up the street towards the other mutants. Knowing what he would be asked, he answered preemptively, "If we're leaving, I figured I'd better grab one for the road."
"Director Fury" intoned the smartly dressed man at the head of the table in the Situation Room with icy calm, "I made my decision. You are to deploy the Avengers to Manhattan immediately. Do you understand?" The room fell silent as the Joint Chiefs turned their attention to the eyepatch wearing director on screen, who had entered a staring contest with the speaker.
Finally, Fury broke the tense silence as he cleared his throat. "I respect that you've made a decision Mr. President, but given that it's a stupid fucking decision, I've decided to ignore it" responded the Director coolly, seemingly unfazed by the stern expressions being directed at him by the men and women gathered beneath the White House. "All operational Avengers, along with the Helicarrier Yorktown, are currently deployed on operations against suspected HYDRA activity in Northern Serbia. If HYDRA is up to something…"
But Fury didn't get to finish, the President's patience for the ex-CIA man had finally run out and he slammed his fist down onto the table, the sound reverberating throughout the room as the Commander in Chief glared at the SHIELD Director. "I don't give a damn about whatever a shadow organization that may or may not exist may or may not be up to over in the world's asscrack!" he shouted angrily. While many others shrunk in their seats or took a step back from the President, Fury stood straight, tall, and proud. "What is the name or your Agency, Director?" asked the Chief Executive.
"The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division" answered Fury calmly before adding on, almost as an afterthought, "sir."
"That's right Director!" retorted the President. "Strategic Homeland," he emphasized angrily. "And the damn purpose is to prevent and counter threats on US soil. I couldn't give two shits about what's happening in Syria…"
"Serbia, sir" corrected and aide.
"Who gives a fuck?" retorted the President as he quickly placed his derailed train of thought back on the tracks and resumed his tirade. "Point is, I don't care where you are or what you're doing. I want you to get every Avenger on the Yorktown and then for you to turn that thing around and head back here immediately. Am I clear?"
Fury's sole eye narrowed as he held his ground for a brief second before answering. "Crystal, sir" replied the Director, "our ETA is 18 hours, Fury, out" finished the head of SHIELD before the screen went to black and the President leaned back in his chair before letting out a sigh.
Turning to the other screen, the President addressed the man on it, bags under his eyes. He had eschewed his suit jacket, and his appearance was, in a word, disheveled. "You heard the man Mayor Osborn" began the President, "now the question becomes weather or not your people can hold out for 18 hours." There was a tense silence in the room, but just as it looked like the former CEO was about to answer, the President added "and no bullshit Osborn. Honest assessment about what the situation is down there."
"Everyone is out there fighting with everything they've got" he began, "and we haven't sustained that many casualties…yet." Of those Osborn was addressing, a majority of them were the Joint Chiefs of Staff or their aides, professional military officers who understood full well what was likely to come out of his mouth next. "But sooner or later their backs will be pressed against the wall and we will start taking casualties. A lot of casualties."
The President looked to the others as he grimaced before probing further into the matter. "Numbers Norman" said the President, though the weight in the words made it clear that they weren't a request. "How much time do you have left…realistically"stressed the Commander in Chief.
"At this rate? In about six hours everyone will have pulled back to the last defensive line at 112th," he answered. "All that's after that is makeshift hospitals, refugee camps, and the like. That's where they'll make their last stand. Once there? Nobody is really sure but most estimates are somewhere around six hours. The most optimistic ones say eight, while others are as low as two hours" finished Osborn.
Taking a moment to digest that revelation, the President turned to the officers in the room as well, his expression clearly prompting some input from them. "Those estimates are in line with ours" answered one.
"And a damn sight better than we originally thought" deadpanned a gruffer voice.
"If it weren't for Sable International then we would have been overrun already" agreed Osborn, though the fact that the Mayor credited their continued success to the PMC that he himself had brought in and was paying for.
The fact that it was very possible that Osborn could very well be the main candidate against the incumbent President in his bid for reelection didn't escape the Commander in Chief. "Very well Mayor, just hold on for as long as you can, any help we can send your way we will" he promised, "the country stands with New York City."
At that, Osborn terminated the connection as the President turned to the officers. "I need options, who can get forces in to help them within the next 12 hours?" he asked, point blank.
The Joint Chiefs squirmed for a moment, all but one, a grizzled older man in Marine green coat and pants, khaki shirt and belt, with a chest full of ribbons, including two blue ones with five white stars, indicating he had been awarded two Congressional Medals of Honor. "I believe I can sir" he said with confidence.
"Alright General Butler" said the President, seeing as nobody else seemed eager to speak, "what do you have for me?"
"Jesus Christ" muttered Captain Nicole 'Lanner' Brown as she winged over, the colossal 45,000 pound jet responded sluggishly, but the Air National Guard pilot was more than okay with that. "Look at that fucking beehive" she commented to the three other pilots of Steeljaw flight, 104th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the Maryland ANG 175th wing as the came into sight of Manhattan. Her flight of four A-10C Thunderbolt IIs, known around the world as the 'Warthog' and the legendary Tank Buster responsible for the Highway of Death, had been sent to help in the way only Hog drivers could.
When the fighter jocks in their fast movers had long since blown their loads and had to go back to base to refuel, that meant the A-10s had clear skies to do what they did best, even if they couldn't do it very quickly. But what the quartet lacked in speed they more than made up for in raw firepower. Each plane carried 15,000 pounds of ordinance, including semi guided 70mm rockets, AGM-65 Maverick anti tank missiles, JDAM precision guided bombs, and over 1000 depleted uranium cored 30mm armor piercing rounds for the GAU-8/A. The 'Avenger' was a seven barreled rotary cannon that the A-10 was literally build around, and it's combat record meant that many soldiers would rather have this Avenger backing them up than any other.
"Alright Steeljaws, let's get to work" called Lanner as she strapped on her oxygen mask and lowered her visor to limit the glare coming from the slowly setting sun. "Overlord, this is Steeljaw lead, flight of four A-10s coming in from the southwest, bearing 030. Ready for tasking" she called out over the channel.
The response was immediate, "Solid copy Steeljaw" returned the FAC, "good to hear from you." As the famous landmarks of Manhattan, the Empire State, Avengers, and Oscorp towers, slowly came into clearer view, the four attackers spread out as each pilot went 'switches on' and armed their vast array of weapons. Now, the Warthogs had barred their teeth and were ready for action. "Hopefully you all are ready to work, you're going to be busy…"
"You really don't have to do this MJ" insisted Peter, though he was still wearing his mask he had half of his armored top off while the redhead was crouched next to the seated superhero, first aid kit open on the floor next to her. He winced in a very un-superhero like fashion as she dabbed a disinfectant soaked rag into the gash on his side, "Stop that!" he yelped, "I'll be healed up in an hour anyway" he insisted, but the glare he got when he turned to look at 'Nurse MJ' quickly shut him up.
"If you won't take care of yourself then I will" she replied calmly, though she was focused on cleaning the wound as she said it, "you'd do the same for me." Tossing the rag aside, she began rifling around the kit for something to seal up the wound, knowing that Peter was too stubborn for her to sew it up, the reporter settled for a pack of heavy duty adhesive bandages. "I don't need you to try and be a macho man out there…leave that to the Marauder, he's much better at it. Now sit up straight" she commanded firmly as she set to work.
"I'm sorry MJ" he admitted quietly, "it's just…Li and Devil's Breath, and now this? What's next?" he whispered.
"Whatever it is," began Watson with absolute certainty as she secured the first bandage and set to work on the second, "I know you'll be doing what you are right now. Doing the right thing and trying to stop it."
There was a brief silence before the armored Webhead answered, "Thank you Mary Jane" he said sincerely.
"You're welcome" replied the redhead with the same tone as she finished bandaging the wound and stole a glance at his abs before stepping back and allowing him to put his armor back on. "Go get 'em Tiger" she said before planting a quick kiss on his mask.
"You two love birds done yet?" drawled an accented voice as both whirled around to see Gates standing in the doorway, helmet tucked under one arm while her weapon was cradled in the other, a bemused look on her unmasked face. "Same drill as before, the grunts are falling back and we gotta buy some time" she informed as she slipped her helmet on and turned around, beckoning the others to follow. The two partners returned back to the lobby of the hotel to find a gaggle of Fisks men bustling about as they prepared to pull back.
"Contact!" shouted Summers over the tactical net, the sole word causing everyone to react, either by moving faster or halting dead in their tracks. "X-Men, Spider-Man, get out front to give these guys a warm , get out on the flanks and harass these guys. Everyone else keep doing what you are and fall back to the next defensive line." The calm and collected words of Cyclops seemed to get all the Fisk shooters back on track as they resumed whatever it was they had been doing before the alert came in.
"I gotta go" said Peter quietly as he turned to the redhead, pushing a wayward strand of red hair up over her ear, "stay here, I'll swing by and pick you up on my way out" he said. "Just keep your head down, promise me you'll stay safe" he begged silently.
"Only if you promise the same thing" returned Mary Jane.
"I promise" he said sincerely as he turned and made his way out the front door with the other supers. MJ ambled towards the door to look out at the six strangely dressed individuals standing in the middle of the street. At the edge of her vision, the far end of the road she could see the lead IMC vehicle, a four by four white truck with a turret atop the roof. Immediately, she reached for the camera hung around her neck and raised it to take a picture, only for Peter to turn around and look right at her. The narrow blue eye holes brokering no argument as MJ scampered away, taking the stairs up to the second floor so she could get a better view and stay out of the way.
The sky rumbled forebodingly, which could only signal one thing. Now with her camera up, Mary Jane watched with awe as she saw the white-haired mutant woman rise into the air, cape fluttering in the wind as she lifted her hands to the sky. Angry white bolts of lightning tore through the air and slammed into the lead vehicle repeatedly in reply.
That was what kicked the battle off as a torrent of lead came flying back at them, forcing the defenders to duck and scurry into cover as MJ ducked reflexively, a few windows shattering from the barrage of bullets. Peeking her head up, the reporter could see total chaos outside, tracers came in from the next pair of IMC trucks as a distinct red laser shot back in reply. Infantry emerged from alongside the vehicles as the X-Men replied with Storm once again bending mother nature to her will. Razor sharp hail fell from the sky, pelting the troops and vehicles, slicing through clothes and flesh and denting the armor plate of the vehicles.
While the X-Man was keeping up the ice-cold assault, more IMC forces emerged from alleyways on either side of the street, prompting the others to charge forwards into the fray. Even with her elevated vantage, the reporter was unable to distinguish individual actions from the few blocks distance. Even then, it wasn't hard to see that the good guys were winning, the distinct blue contrails of a Pilot's jump kit streaked over head as Gates fired her rifle on the soldiers below before darting away to make sure no parallel pushes outflanked the group. While that itself did little damage, it did force the IMC grunts to keep their heads down as Shadowcat, Spider-Man, and Wolverine closed the distance until they were right in the faces of the white armored troopers. In the face of the superpowered individuals, there was no way in hell the IMC was going to be able to stand up and fight.
But the large grey shape rumbling into view gave Mary Jane the impression they weren't going to stand up and fight. Trundling through the hailstorm, shrugging off the razor sharp ice like gnats, the monstrous tracked tank rode up and crushed the smaller jeeps like toys before slamming back down to earth, cracking the concrete on impact. Sticking out of the turret, MJ could make out two massive cannons, with her suspicions confirmed when one of them thundered, kicking up a plume of dust as the shell launched down the street.
The intended target, Shadowcat, merely phased out of existence as the round impacted, throwing up a towering plume of fire and dust as cars were thrown about as if they were made of plastic. Mary Jane could feel the entire building tremble beneath her feat as she snapped off as many pictures as she could. Bravely, or perhaps stupidly, some of the remaining Fisk Syndicate Enforcers decided to get involved.
From below the redhead's position, three rockets streaked out of the first floor and right down the middle of the street. Mary Jane silently cheered for the projectiles as they drew closer only to widen her eyes as they exploded well short of the IMC tank, blown out of the sky by the advanced vehicle's Active Protection System. The first to respond was Cyclops, dashing from cover back to the entrance of the building, screaming all the way for the others to get inside. But MJ missed this scene, instead focused on the massive twin gun turret turning to take aim at the source of the rockets. "LOOK OUT!" cried the redhead frantically, prompting the mutant to turn around as the cannon was brought to bear. Her warning arrived in time for them to react, but not enough to fully get clear as the second cannon thundered, sending its own high explosive packed shell straight towards Mary Jane's position.
The redhead had just enough time to throw herself to the floor and cover her head with her hands as the airburst fuse detonated in the lobby below, shaking the whole building as windows were blown out. Ears still ringing as she registered that the floor was still creaking until it began to give away completely, wood snapping and splintering as MJ lurched down as the floor crumbled. For a brief second, the floor seemed to hold enough for the reporter to try to crawl across it towards the staircase at the back, but that was for only that brief second.
Before her mind processed what was happening, she was screaming at the top of her lungs, her heart in her throat, and stomach lurching until she slammed into a table one the floor below. Groaning and coughing to get the dust from her lungs, the redhead found, to her great relief, that all her limbs still worked, even if they all ached horribly. Slowly, she brought her hand up to investigate a sticky feeling on her face, running the red substance between her fingers before her concussion addled mind registered the fact that it was blood, specifically, her blood.
As soon as it was registered, it was pushed aside as her mind fixated on another familiar object, her camera. Slowly getting to her feet, she staggered over to her camera and found it thankfully intact before she turned around and surveyed the carnage surrounding her. Bodies and body parts were strewn about, furniture was reduced to splinters, and the floor was charred and peeled up. Through the devastation, MJ heard someone cough and immediately began to head for the source. "Hello?" she called out uneasily, "who is there?" she asked tentatively until she could make out the shape of a man trying to crawl across the rubble. "Are you alright?" asked MJ, somewhat bewildered that anyone could be alive at all.
Crouching down at the man's side, she saw the black uniform with the yellow x across the back and immediately deduced that Cyclops was the wounded man. Instinctively, she grabbed the many by the collar and dragged him to a hallway despite his groans and hisses. Propping him up against a wall, the redhead could tell that his arm was dislocated by the way it hung limply, seemingly held where it was solely by his suit. "Arm dislocated, ribs cracked, shrapnel in my leg..." listed off Cyclops as Mary Jane noticed the darkening in his suit around a hole, a piece of metal jammed in it.
She might not have been able to do anything about that, but she had enough experience with dislocated shoulders as she grabbed hold of the afflicted appendage, "This'll hurt, I'm going to reset it, alright?" she asked, getting a nod in return. Focusing, she took a deep breath before beginning to apply pressure as she guided the arm back into place. Once she felt it was lined up, she pushed with all her strength, aided by adrenaline.
With a 'pop', the shoulder reset, Cyclops roaring in anguish before slowly testing his arm. Before Mary Jane asked if there was anything else she could do, the mutant used his other arm to grab hers and force her to look him directly in the red tinted visor. "Take my radio, get air support" he rasped as the reporter went about gingerly removing the headset and placing it on her own head, "hurry, they won't last long."
"You still breathing one-eye?" came a gruff voice over the headset as MJ rushed outside, past more bodies and into cover. "Talk to me Scotty."
"Cyclops is breathing, but out of the fight" she answered, trying to keep her voice calm, but knew that she probably wasn't doing a very good job, "I uh…" she began before stuttering as she tried to piece together her thoughts, "I need some help here" she admitted, "what do I need to do to help?"
"Okay MJ, I'm going to walk you through this" came the somehow calm tones of Peter, her partner not judging or even raising his voice as she could hear the snaps of bullets over the connection. "On a wire connected to the headset should be a little box, find the dial or switch on the 'transmission' setting and switch it to 'FAC'" instructed the webslinger.
Mary Jane did as told, fumbling with the controls for a second before she managed to work the switch, being rewarded with a crackle of static before she spoke tentatively. "Hello? Is anyone there?" she began, "this is Mary Jane Watson with the X-Men and Spider-Man. If anyone is receiving this, we need help."
"Solid Copy Red Headed Stranger" returned a stoic Sable controller as MJ made a befuddled expression at how she had a callsign, and why that callsign was the name of a lingerie line. Quickly, the reporter remembered that one of Peter's exes, who she suspected was a nymphomaniac, had been around Sable bases a lot and had probably snuck in to mess with the databases and did this as her idea of a joke. "Transferring you to nearest available CAS asset, callsign is Steeljaw lead" explained the controller before there was another burst of static.
The stoic male voice was replaced with a female one, though MJ first got an earful of the woman's strained breathing in her flight mask. "Listen, I'm just going to call you 'Stranger' alright?" said the woman without preamble, "you said you were in trouble Stranger, what's the problem?"
MJ peeked around the car she was crouched behind to get her bearings, "There's a really big fucking tank on the corner of 65th and 2nd" she explained as she tried, and mostly failed, to stay calm as she felt and heard the impacts of bullets against the car, her voice getting higher in pitch and faster in pace. "And a lot of bad guys too" she added as another massive tank shell blew up somewhere, sending a shockwave reverberating through the air that rattled her insides, "a whole lot" reiterated the redhead.
"Understood, hold tight, we're inbound" returned the pilot as MJ waited, unknowingly grinding her teeth as she waited. But a sound in the distance raised her spirits as she craned her neck up and saw a pair of jets lumber overhead, their straight wings loaded down with bombs and missiles. "Stranger, this is Steeljaw Lead, I'm seeing lots of activity down there and can't distinguish good guys from bad" explained the Pilot as the jets pulled up and circled back around, "you down there need to designate the hostiles, over."
"Uh…okay Steeljaw" returned Mary Jane as she frantically thought of a way to mark the tanks for the pilot, "give me a minute" she requested. She needed something that could go on the tank but was easy to spot, preferably bright. After a few moments of frantic thought, a literal spark came into her mind as a small smile came across her face and she flicked through the settings on the radio back to their original ones so she could talk to the super heroes. "Storm!" she called excitedly, "I need you to hit the tank with lightning! Everyone else needs to get the hell away from that tank!" ordered the reporter quickly.
"Mary Jane? What are you…" began the voice of Shadowcat.
But she was cut off by Spider-Man, "Do as she says!" barked the webslinger, being as authoritative and confident as she had ever heard him, "Ororo, hit it!"
The sky crackled and arced menacingly as the Bugle reporter flicked the radio back to the other channel and hailed the pilot. "When you see the lightening, where it strikes is your target. Can you do that?" she asked, she may have been optimistic, but it was the only real option they had.
In reply, she got a small chuckle, "Stranger, I'm a Thunderbolt driver. We ride the lightning for a living." That caused MJ to let out a heavy sigh of relief that her hair brained idea would actually work. A few seconds later, the bolts of blue-white electricity came down from the heavens, scorching the paint of the tank and flickering brightly. "Confirm, hostile armor and infantry in the open, danger close. ETA 30 seconds" rattled off the pilot coolly as MJ worked the headset again.
"30 seconds! Everyone DOWN!" she ordered as everyone hit the deck, diving behind or under anything remotely solid.
"Steeljaw Lead: Guns guns guns" called out the pilot as Mary Jane looked up to see the mighty airplane coming in from behind her, going head on with the tank. But it was tank vs tank buster, and there was only one way this could go. The next thing that MJ heard was one she would never forget, a deep ferocious roar that echoed through the streets, the war cry of the Warthog, Brrrrrtttt!
The resulting rain of shells, more than 300 that were unleashed in the three second burst, overwhelmed the energy shield of the tank before cutting through the thinner top armor of the turret and engine deck. 14 ounce depleted uranium incendiary rounds tore through the fighting and engine compartments, causing the men inside to suffer a significant emotional event. It was even worse for those in the lighter armored vehicles, the 30mm rounds left basketball sized holes in the vehicles and vaporized anyone even more unfortunate and was outside and in the open.
"Steeljaw 2, rifle" called out the second jet as it unleashed a barrage of 70mm rockets. The 24 Hydra rockets, each loaded with airburst APERS warheads, stitched a line of blast marks across the street, further adding to the death dealing ordinance pummeling the exposed infantry and machines advancing up the road. A few rockets slammed into the tank, but did little against the heavy armor. Still, the damage had been done, one of the 30mm rounds had struck the ammunition, causing a chain reaction as the massive rounds 'cooked off' inside the tank, sending up a geyser of sparks before a massive explosion rocked the street, sending the turret flying fifteen feet up into the air.
"Steeljaw, thanks" breathed MJ as she stared in awe at the burning wreck, "you got them" she confirmed, the Superheroes emerging from their hiding places to survey the results, most prominently the pillar of thick black smoke that went up as high as the jets peeled away, their work done.
But before the celebration could begin, the ground had begun to shake again as all eyes were now narrowing towards the wreckage of the IMC force until a shape began to take form through the smoke. "The hell's that?" asked Wolverine wearily as a single blue light pierced the blackness, 20 feet above the street.
"IT'S A TITAN!"
Peter stared up blankly at the hulking from of the IMC mech, massive cannon in its hands as the blue eye scanned the street before fixating on the heroes. It was about the same size as BT, but had a more rounded construction to the torso. Most strikingly, it was painted a deep red color, the skull of a strange horned animal emblazoned on the 'forehead' of the machine. "It's an Apex Predator" realized Peter in horror, the best of the best, and according to Cooper, absolutely ruthless. A fact that was reinforced as a pair of very familiar looking pods extended up over the Titan's shoulders, "RUN!" cried the Webhead as he and every other hero turned and took off in a dead sprint for their lives.
Spider sense blaringly madly, the wallcrawler pulled himself skyward with a webline as he flipped in midair, firing out another line to snatch a missile out of midair and redirect it into another, causing them all to detonate in a massive chain reaction. "Webs, how do we kill this thing?" asked Wolverine gruffly, the others using the brief reprieve to duck into cover as Spider-Man landed on a rooftop, already charging back towards his foe. Already, his friend's words were coming back to him, 'The only things that can defeat a Pilot and Titan is overwhelming firepower, or an equal.'
They didn't have a Titan of their own and unless they could get those planes to come back they were definitely outgunned. Still, they had to take this thing down, "Same as everything else" he called as he leapt off the roof and zipped straight for the Titan, "we improvise." The hero stuck to the chassis of the machine, crawling over to the back as he looked for anything that could be a weakness. Unsurprisingly, the Apex Predator thrashed the entire 40 ton bulk of the walking tank thrown around the street in an effort to shake Spider-Man loose.
Meanwhile, the cannon in the Titan's metallic hands hummed menacingly, deeper in pitch and greater in intensity until a mighty bolt of lightning leapt from the muzzle as the two parts split open to release the excess charge. Seizing the opening, the three X-Men still standing charged forwards at the colossal metallic monster, intent on doing something, anything to stop the Titan. Kitty was the first to arrive, the Apex Predator slamming a steel fist down in an attempt to squash the mutant only for her to phase through the attack. Behind her, Logan leapt through the air, claws extended, and landed on the four fingered hand. The Wolverine drove his adamantium covered claws into the titanium composite fingers of the Titan before using them to work his way up the attached arm.
Storm ascended into the air, hovering daintily and easily as she guided a barrage of lightning strikes against the Titan until it's shields depleted and 'popped.' All the while, Logan continued clawing his way upwards until he reached the elbow joint, slashing wildly at anything that could limit the Apex Predator's fighting ability. Meanwhile, on the back of the Titan, Spider-Man saw the other arm come up and leapt into action. Firing off his webline, Peter fired a glob from his other webshooter and held it as he used the first to fire off another line, so he circled around the raised arm, restraining it to the top of the torso.
But that didn't last for long, seemingly fed up with the collection of annoyances pestering it, the mechanical beast tore through the webbing and wrapped its fingers around Wolverine before hurling him into a building before the mutant fell to the ground, splattering across the pavement. Down to three, they pressed their attack with even more ferocity, shifting to the legs. Kitty Pryde stuffed a stolen grenade through a gap in the armor around the shins to minimal effect. The Webhead decided to take inspiration from one of his favorite films and try to wrap up the legs of the titan like an AT-AT. Using his Spider sense to dodge the next missile to fly his way, he then set to work, attaching the two together as he circled low around the thighs of the Titan. He then set about pouring on the webbing,
While Peter wrapped the legs up in a veritable cocoon of synthetic silk, Ororo stayed at a higher altitude, eyes almost glowing as more lightning crashed into the Titan. A single missile pod popped up, only for the Wind Walker to focus her efforts there, the heat from the strikes igniting the rockets in the tube and blowing the pod to bits. Staggering, the machine wobbled precariously, unable to move its feet freely as it teetered on the brink before it was Storm gave it the final push. Thrusting both hands forward, the woman bent nature to her will and summoned a gale force wind that turned the street into a wind tunnel as Peter pulled himself to a building and stuck fast as garbage, debris, spent shell casings, and even vehicles flew past when he saw Shadowcat finally lose her battle to hang onto a lamp post. Firing out a webline, he was now standing on the side of the building, hanging onto the line with both hands while Katherine did the same.
But finally, it was the Apex Predator who lost, the 40-ton titan crashing to the ground with a massive crash as the wind died down. However, just because the Titan was down did not mean it was out as it let go of its lightning gun and reached down to tear away the webbing with its metallic hands. As Peter frantically tried to come up with someway to put the monster down, a familiar shape flew at the struggling titan, howling in rage, and slammed his gleaming claws into the glowing blue eye.
Still lying on its back, the machine thrashed wildly as it brought a hand up to turn the Wolverine to paste, only for Logan to roll away and the blinded Titan to smack itself. But it still wasn't down, even if Peter could see a crack where the hatch had buckled from the impact as the Apex Predator got back to his feet. Peter had his own spark of an idea as he narrowed his eyes at the huge weapon the Titan had dropped as he leapt over to it. Kicking it around so that the muzzle was pointing towards its former wielder, Peter flipped down so that he was behind the gun and put everything he had into pulling the huge trigger. The ARC Cannon fired with a massive electric 'snap' as the bolt of blue lightning found its mark, arcing across the Titan as it staggered and froze for a split second.
Seizing the opportunity, Peter fired off a pair of weblines and pulled, grunting, he finally felt the Titan give and begin to tumble forwards, his Spider-sense blaring madly as it fell towards him. But instead of being crushed, he felt a familiar tingly sensation as Shadowcat sprinted in and grabbed hold of him, phasing them both through the falling Titan until they reached safety. Wolverine once more took advantage, leaping on the back of the fallen Apex Predator and tearing into the thruster pack with reckless abandon until sparks from his claws found a fuel line.
The resulting fireball engulfed the Titan as Wolverine was thrown from his perch, Peter instinctively shielding Shadowcat as his armor took the brunt of the force. When he finally looked up, the Titan was a raging inferno, slowly blackening from the intensity of the still burning flames. Undeterred, Wolverine marched right up, cigar in hand, and lit the tobacco with the flames before marching back to rejoin the others, letting out a puff of smoke on the way. "Well" began Spider-Man as he finally tore his eyes from the Titan, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall I guess."
Cooper's Logbook – Titan Loadout: Scorch
Shorthand for 'Scorched Earth,' the main tool of this loadout is fire. There's a brutal simplicity to it, the psychological or tactical effects of fire never diminished over time, but the ways of delivering it have only evolved. From Greek Fire to Napalm, fire arrows to fire bombing, it's always been a formidable weapon and coupling that to a neigh invincible delivery system is a solid choice dating back to the 'Crocodile' tanks of the second world war. Whereas they had flamethrowers, 'Papa Scorch,' as he is affectionately known, packs a mostly thermite based arsenal. For most cases, the T-203 Thermite Launcher will do, a large breach loading weapon based on a standard grenade launcher but modified to handle the specialized thermite rounds.
But when it comes to literal 'firepower,' then the T-203 is just the beginning, and when Scorch needs more area denial, then there are the incendiary traps, letting off a flammable gas in the same way as a fuel air bomb. These can be set off by the T-203 or the unique ability that most Pilots ignore the actual name of and simply call the 'Fire Wall.' Through some black magic science stuff, a slammed fist can project a line of thermite along the ground, effective for dealing with heavy armor. If that doesn't deter them from getting right in your grill, the Scorch can flam broil anything with the Thermal Shield, which burns so hot it destroys any incoming ordnance, but serves as the loadouts close range melee option. Able to melt through fortifications, vehicles, and Titans with equal ease.
No matter how deep the enemy is dug in, Scorch can burn them out.
Closing Notes: I've wanted to do a Spider-Man vs. Titan fight for some time, even if this wasn't that exactly it I think it was good enough, let me know if it scratches that itch. The whole chapter was merely setting up that setpiece at the end, so everything else that happens isn't as impressive upon rereading it. Hopefully the stuff with MJ doesn't come across as awful since she has her fair share of detractors, understandably, but the experiences and wisdom she receives should contribute to her behaving differently than her in game counterpart later on. Gates got a lot of inspiration from Ace Combat 5's Captain Jack Bartlett, right down to stealing his 'Heartbreak 1' emblem and mentor role, but her words about the types of Pilots are pulled straight from Ace Combat Zero's Larry 'Pixy' Foulke.
Just to have more Ace Combat references, 'Lanner' is a callsign from AC6, though in that game she flew an F-16. The squadron she comes from is a real unit that does fly A-10s, and as a fan of the aircraft, I had to feature it doing some of the tank busting it was designed to do and has done for 35 years. It is perhaps the most stereotypically American aircraft, since it is quite literally build around it's 30mm cannon, and that gun is what creates that legendary 'Brrrrt!' sound.
But there was the beginning of how this arc will come to an end hinted at, if you paid close attention, and are familiar with US Military uniforms, or history, you might be able to guess who's coming to help. In a similar thing, the wiki said that Helicarriers are usually named after norse gods, but I've decided that that's really stupid, so in this story all Shield Helicarriers will bear the names of historic US Aircraft Carriers. Hopefully nobody cares too much about that, but I like naval history and since modern US Carrier names almost all suck, I'm making this change because I can.
If you have thoughts or feedback of any sort, even if you just want me to shut up and not make such lengthy author's notes, leave a review.
Next chapter, they will see what will be, blinded eyes to see For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out.