Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

If any of you happen to be Atlanta Falcons fans, you have my sympathies.

Blaze1992: Let's keep things in perspective, they were in there for two or three days tops, the only way they couldn't walk out under their own power was if their legs had been broken. This wasn't exactly the Raid at Cabanatuan or anything. As for this chapter, you'll see how messy it's going to be.

BlkBird: Those are fair and valid concerns, like I've said before, I do want to take another pass at those early chapters, especially trying to get Cooper's character well set up so that his interactions with Felicia make more sense.

Guest: As BlkBird said, I believe that was just a translation error where he meant 'betrayal' when she sold him out to the police.

Now, I've been waiting to get back to a Sabaton song, and even longer to use a track from what many fans consider their best work: Carolus Rex. This 2012 concept album about the rise and fall of the Swedish empire during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The album gets its name from one of the kings that reigned during that period, Charles XII, one of the most formidable warrior kings despite not really being well known, at least here in the States. So fascinating in fact, that I use him as inspiration for a certain character in this story. Unlike every other Sabaton album, there are two versions of Carolus Rex, one in English and one in Swedish. This got the band labeled as far right in Sweden, somehow. Still, no mater what version you listen to, there are a lot of great songs on this emotional roller coaster of an album. Lion From the North, Gott Mit Uns, The Carolean's Prayer, Carolous Rex, and Long Live the King are all tremendous songs.

But the one that I went with for this chapter was this fast paced and hard hitting track about one of the battles the album covers (there are only three, Gott Mit Uns, 1648, and this one). I used the battle as a basis for the first half of this chapter, and while I won't go into the history of the battle here to avoid spoilers, the band itself has a good video on it on their Sabaton History channel for those interested. For me the best part of the song is the, I think, bass, that backs the lead guitar with a fantastic riff, though if you are more musically inclined then please tell me if this is correct or not. Give it a listen because you won't be disappointed, you'll probably be headbanging by the time they get to the second verse.

One last thing, this is by far the longest chapter I've ever done, it's over 15,000 words, so I dropped the logbook entry. They should return next chapter.


Power Without Question – Chapter 67: Poltava

Listen, excuse for a king. Trust me, this fight you can't win

Poltava; Rode to certain death and pain

Poltava; Swedish soldiers met their bane

Poltava; Sacrificed their lives in vain

Poltava

In the shade of morning mist, Advancing on their foe

Bullets break the silent air, Wasted battleplan

Swedish forces stand alone, King has left command

Rule is left to lesser men, Waiting for their chance

Listen, obey my command

Hear me, or die by my hand


Click click…click click…click click, the sound of the fire selector of the CAR SMG being flipped from side to side was the only one in the half built building on the corner of Madison and 28th, one of Fisks' smaller construction projects that was conveniently abandoned with the rise of the Inner Demons. Having gotten word from Hardy that she had sent Bliss the bait, Cooper had nothing to do but wait to spring his trap. A second ping rang in his ear and he brought up the feed from the camera's he had set up onto his HUD. They showed that the Sable convoy had in fact taken the most direct route to the construction site and gave him an idea of what would be coming. Getting to his feet, he kept an eye on the vehicles that rolled by, running a mental tally on what to expect, he made his way to one of his sniper's nests at the closest corner to the incoming Sable Mercenaries.

Passing by the various surprises he had waiting for the white clad troopers, the Marauder ascended to the third floor, which was the highest one completed, and made his way to a waiting Kraber. Slinging the SMG over his shoulder, the Texan took up the massive 14.5mm anti material sniper rifle and propped it up on a half finished wall. Peering down the scope, Cooper took aim at the end of the street as the first APC rounded the corner and pulled down the street, followed closely by a pair of open topped transport trucks carrying yet more Sable Troopers and another APC at the rear stopping at the corner. The second half of the convoy remained on Madison and in a similar formation so the second and fourth APCs were parked next to each other as doors began to open and Troopers began to file out and establish a half perimeter. From his position, Matthew had a commanding view, panning the monstrous rifle across the men and machines arrayed against him while his left hand reached out and grabbed a mag loaded with armor piercing incendiary rounds and slid it into place.

Before he could chamber a round, his sights settled on a pair of unusual vehicles that didn't match the transports or armored vehicles that made up the majority of the convoy. The army style Humvee emblazoned with a bird skull logo stood out first, the emblem of Lieutenant Colonel Bliss. The door on the far side swung open, but Cooper couldn't bring the rifle to bear on the man himself before the muzzle shifted to the vehicle behind the HMMWV, a low slung Sable International fast response vehicle. The driver's door opened and Silver Sablinova stepped out, standing tall in her grey duster as she looked up at the half built structure Cooper was in, scanning it until her eyes narrowing right as it felt like they came to a stop looking right at him through his scope.

Her arrival complicated matters significantly for the Pilot, not only did he not want to kill the Symkarian, he knew that she was very good at what she did, and she would easily see what he was doing. Taking this in stride, Matt looked away from his scope and to the handful of loose rounds within arm's reach and grabbed a blue tipped one from the bunch. Twirling it between his fingers, he brought it around and over the top of the massive Kraber, switching it to his right hand before he eased the bolt open and slipped the round into the breech before closing the bolt. Settling back in behind the gun, he scanned the area once more and found that Sablinova had made her way to the shape he assumed was Bliss, still mostly concealed behind his Humvee. Steadying his breathing, he flicked the safety off as he took aim, finger coiling around the trigger.


Looking up at the construction site, Silver couldn't fully suppress the worry that plagued her from the back of her mind that this was a trap that they were being forced into. Shaking her head, she couldn't even say lured, their hand had been effectively forced, and she did not like being at a tactical disadvantage. Taking a breath, she idly wondered if the Marauder was here, and if he was, where would he be? Looking over the half finished structure with a keen tactical eye, if it were her, decided Sable, she would be posted up on the nearest corner, probably the highest completed floor so that any passing drones or rooftop snipers couldn't see her. Looking right there, she wondered if the Major was indeed right there for a moment before shaking the thought off. But as she strode towards Bliss, even her discipline couldn't keep the hairs on the back of her neck from standing on end.

"Sir, the company has dismounted and is deploying as we speak," informed a trooper, "I have marksmen moving into these two buildings," continued the junior officer, pointing to the two structures either side of the construction site. Sable came to a stop as she listened, but infuriatingly, had to hold her tongue with Osborn ensuring that she had been rendered an observer to coming events. "1st and 2nd squads are preparing to breach and clear the target structure as soon as our perimeter is secure."

Bliss nodded approvingly, "Very good Captain. Do you have confirmation on the Marauder's location?" asked the Lieutenant Colonel curtly. Silver kept her attention split between the conversation and the building, scanning for any sign of movement or anything else to put her mind at ease. Around them, the company was splitting into its smaller units, taking cover behind the vehicles and readying their weapons as others moved further around to completely surround the building, ensuring there was no way in or out.

"I do not sir," admitted the Captain curtly, "we're trying to confirm that now." As soon as the words left the man's mouth, Sablinova felt like she got punched in the gut as the deep resonating thunder of a high powered rifle echoed through the streets. Trying to react and dive for cover, Silver found herself planted to her spot as pain tore through her, her muscles contracting as she fought a losing battle to keep her balance and stay upright. "Contact!" shouted the Captain as Sable finally lost control of her legs and fell backwards, able to get one arm out to break her fall somewhat as she slammed into the pavement, knocking the air from her lungs.

Trying to turn, move, get up, anything, the Symkarian found herself terrifyingly immobile, only her eyes able to move as she attempted to comprehend what was going on around her. There was another crack of the rifle followed up by a series of secondary explosions while the Mercenary tried to resist the overwhelming sensory input from her seized up muscles, arms and legs bolt straight as she faintly heard "Silver Bird's down!" before her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out.


Bliss watched the missile battery atop the nearest APC tear itself apart as explosions rippled through the system with a clenched jaw as his mind moved rapidly to figure out how to reassert control over the situation. Before he could, however, the Captain of the company called out "Silver Bird's down!" and caused him to spin around, still pressed against his vehicle as he caught sight of the head of Sable International sprawled out across the street. "MEDIC!" called out the Captain as one trooper, red cross on his shoulder pauldron, sprinted over as the rifle cracked again and the APC on the other side of Bliss had its missile system's optics and targeting system shatter, rendering the entire thing useless.

The Medic had dragged an unconscious Sablinova into cover behind the Hummer along with Bliss and the Captain, going over her quickly, "vitals are normal, but she's out cold sir," reported the trooper. "I think she got hit by one of those arc rounds."

At least the woman wouldn't be able to interfere and tie his hands, "Get her out of here!" ordered Bliss, pointing to the nearest APC, its weapon system out of commission, "Take that vehicle and extract her to Yankee!" With a nod and half salute, the medic pulled a stretcher from his back and unfolded the collapsible piece of equipment as two other troopers helped load the woman onto it and Bliss turned his attention to more pressing matters as a third shot rang out, punching through the hood of the Hummer and causing a sudden eruption of steam from the engine. "Captain!" he barked, "I want suppressing fire on this motherfucker! And tell those squads to pick up the pace and get the hell inside!"

"Yes sir!" shouted back the Captain in reply as Sablinova's stretcher was lifted and hustled to the armored vehicle. "Foxtrot 1, Foxtrot 2, you are clear to breach," called out the Captain over the radio before he poked his head up and pointed to the building, "2nd platoon, I need…"

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Bliss, jumping only slightly as the Captain's head was blown off and his lifeless body was thrown two feet back from the impact of the rifle that echoed through the streets once more. Pulling the door open, the Lieutenant Colonel reached inside the Hummer and pulled out a backup comms set and slid it into place, "This is Black Horse actual, I need suppressing fire on the northeast corner!" he ordered calmly.

Seemingly at once, every gun arrayed before him fired up at Cooper before he replied with the last round in the magazine of the Kraber, sending the 14.5x114mm slug into the fuel tank of one of the soft skinned trucks, the incendiary tracer round igniting the gasoline and causing a fireball to erupt as the truck burst into flames. But that did little to slow the torrent of red laser bolts that flew back up at the Marauder as he ducked down and grabbed the handle to yank the side mounted magazine out of the gun. Faced with a whole company of nearly 100 Sable Troopers, he was going to have to play this smart, and so he set the big anti material rifle aside.

Staying low, he moved away from the wall as a few laser rounds made it through the unfinished windows and blackened the ceiling above the Marauder. Making his way to the nearest stairwell, the Pilot dropped down to the second floor as the sounds of gunfire continued outside. But Cooper knew that Bliss would not be content to merely plink away forever and would have his men come in after him. Moving to get ready for that, he turned over the barrel at the edge of his prepared location, pouring the gasoline inside down the pipes and into the channels below. Moving behind the stacked up sandbags and other impromptu fortifications, he pulled the bolt back on the Spitfire to chamber the first 8.19mm round.

Already, his HUD was alight with warnings that the perimeter sensors had been tripped as Sable Troopers rushed inside from both flanks, but they had all come in the west side and were being funneled straight into the warm welcome he had prepared. A part of him couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction when he heard the first anti-personnel mine detonate; its laser tripwire broken by one of the mercenaries. Soon, more of the muted explosions could be heard as each one unleased 700 potentially life threatening 1/8-inch diameter steel balls in a 45-degree arc, cutting down any troopers in their path.

But that was just the warmup, and soon enough he saw a hint of movement at the end of one of the hallways that led into the large open ground before him. Wearily, the first group moved forwards, unsurprisingly, one or two looked up at the high ground and the various pallets full of dry concrete, one of which Cooper was hiding behind, but most were looking at the ground in case they came across any more mines. Grabbing the electric smoke grenade he had left here, the Pilot pulled the pin and tossed it out, drawing an immediate reaction as the mercenaries opened fire while the obscurant filled the room. Counting to three, the Pilot pulled himself to his feet and slung a pulse blade out, lighting up all the Troopers and opening fire with the Spitfire. Those in the middle of the room were cut down by the torrent of armor piercing slugs as the remainder sought the only cover available, a few columns that just so happened to sit right over the gasoline fueled crevices in the floor.

With most of the survivors firmly entrenched, Cooper picked up a firestar to burn them out, hurling the ordnance down to ignite the gasoline that had flowed through nearly the whole room before ducking down to reload. Though he didn't see it, Matt knew that the fire from the ordnance quickly spread through the room, including to the packs of TNT that were strategically placed around those columns. The volatile explosive went off, throwing the men across the room, some of them wound up in the still burning gasoline as their armor caught fire. Standing back up, Cooper didn't see anyone shooting at him and took the opportunity to put a few rounds into the burning Troopers who looked like they were still moving.

But that didn't last long as a second wave began to pour into the room, this second waving wisely having their shield wielding troopers up front to weather the storm of fire from the LMG Cooper had. The distance closed as the fires began to burn themselves out and the armored troopers began to work their way up the staircases to the second floor, the first one to emerge getting a burst of fire stitched across his chest as he fell back down the way he came. But as Cooper ducked back down, he shoved a fresh 80 round drum into the weapon and grabbed the others in easy reach before activating his phase shift and bolting out of cover, using his few seconds of invulnerability to fall back deeper into the construction site, with the Last Man Battalion hot on his heels.


"Hostile Mike-One is falling back, Echo-3 is in pursuit," reported one of the squad leaders over the comm link. "Be advised, Foxtrot-1 and Foxtrot-2 are KIA," reported the sergeant, "Echo-1 and Echo-2 have sustained heavy casualties."

Bliss grimaced at the report, casualties were piling up, not that he was particularly concerned with the implications of that, but he did only have one company of men and had already lost nearly a quarter of them. "Echo-3 this is Black Horse, pursue and maintain contact with hostile. Be advised, reinforcements are en route, how copy?" ordered the Lieutenant Colonel firmly.

"Solid copy Black Horse," replied the Sergeant on the other end of the line, "Echo-3 out." There was another echoing of gunfire just after the line cut out, but Bliss ignored it in favor of coordinating the rest of the company.

"Where are those damn ExAACCT guys?" he cursed lowly as he looked to the sky for any sign of the helicopters carrying the jetpack equipped troopers. As much as he loathed to admitting it, his ground perimeter wouldn't do much good if the Marauder simply leapt from an upper window and ran right over their heads. The squads he had been sending in to keep the man occupied were just stalling for time until air support arrived and he could trap the Marauder in the structure he had chosen. Through the muffled gunfire, Bliss could hear the distinct sound of approaching choppers, "About fuckin' time," groused the officer.

The trio of helicopters came into view, flying low and skimming the rooftops with the jetpack equipped troopers sitting on the skids. "Black Horse actual, this is Panther Lead," announced the ExAACCT operator over the radio, "Panther, Jaguar, and Lion teams are standing by and ready for tasking."

The trio of helicopters circled overhead like predatory birds ready to swoop down on their prey. "Panther lead, you are to insert via the roof of the target structure and hold it. Engage any hostiles that try to escape, lethal force is authorized," rattled off Bliss quickly as more echoing gunfire sounded from inside the building.

The response was immediate; flickers from the jetpacks coming to life could just be made out from the ground, "Acknowledged, Panther Lead out." The first Helo swooped in, flying in low and flaring its nose as the two ExAACCT operators disembarked and floated off as the second chopper followed suit.

Bliss watched steely eyed as the Last Man Battalion prepared to drop the hammer on the Marauder.


"Right on time…" mused Cooper as a laser bolt slammed into the wall he was behind mere inches from his face, he knew that Bliss had landed teams on the roof. Bliss thought he was trapping him here, but Matthew had no intention of leaving this spot, especially with all the cards he still had to play. Knowing it was time to play one now, the Marauder dropped an A-Wall that absorbed the incoming laser fire before he stepped out and cut loose with the Spitfire as he backpedaled away towards the staircase that led to the third floor, firing until the gun ran out of ammo and was tossed aside. Cooper rounded a corner to reach a long hallway and activated his STIM, rushing down the corridor in a dead sprint as the A-Wall faded and laser bolts saturated the air in his wake. Waiting for him halfway down was a Double Take he scooped up as he slid past without slowing down.

Reaching the end, he rolled behind the corner and lay in wait, activating his cloak to make him invisible from the other side of the hallway as he steadied the dual chevron reticle and waited. His patience was rewarded as the first Sable trooper rounded the corner, then the second, third, and fourth soon followed as they carefully made their way down the narrow hallway, almost certain they were walking into a trap.

The Marauder took aim and proved them right, squeezing the trigger and sending a pair of bright blue tracers down range that slammed straight into the chest of the point man, blood erupting from the twin bullet holes as he coolly transitioned to the next nearest trooper. The bullpup barked again as the second trooper instinctively ducked at the sight of his comrade getting two more direct ways to get oxygen into his lungs and so one of the slugs from Cooper's rifle missed, but the other slammed directly into his head and blew his brains all over the wall behind him. The two remaining mercenaries dropped to the floor and returned fire along with the others behind them, forcing Cooper to roll to his left and into cover as he let the D-2 fall across his chest and pulled a frag from his web gear. "Here, catch!" he ground out before pulling the pin and tossing the grenade down the hallway into the Sable troopers before exploding with a muted thud, sending hundreds of pieces of razor sharp shrapnel out in all directions. In addition to peppering the walls and throwing up a nearly impenetrable wall of dust, the metal fragments made mincemeat of any men caught in their path.

Both of those effects allowed him to break from cover, snapping off one last parting shot before squeezing his left fist to rip his body through dimensions and double jump up to the wall and bounce off it to ascend the stairwell, bypassing the mines that lay in wait on the steps. Emerging onto the third floor just as the phase shift ran out and he found himself amongst a veritable forest of concrete columns that broke up the otherwise unwalled floor. There was another staircase in the opposite corner, all the way on the other side of the building from where he was, but it was where his rifle was turned first to find that Sable Troopers were already up on this floor, taking advantage of that other stairwell. Red and blue tracers shot back and forth as the two sides traded fire, Cooper strafing into cover as he emptied the rest of the magazine, putting four bullets into the one in front even as two of the return shots slammed into the grey dragon scale vest, sending a burst of heat through Cooper's chest.

Gritting his teeth as he ducked behind a pillar, the Marauder dropped the empty Double Take and drew the Smart Pistol from his chest rig before looking down at the phase shift device on his left hand, waiting for the gauge on it to show it was recharged and ready to be used again. Before he leapt out, he poked his head around the pillar for the briefest moment to see his Mastiff shotgun stashed just 10 yards away…and the troopers spreading out to advance towards him, very accurate laser fire forced him back.

His knees bent subtly by reflex as he flicked the safety of the MK6 off, preparing to leap out as soon as his tactical ability recharged just as he heard a trio of explosions from behind him as the bouncing betty mines that were covering his retreat went off. They had been fused to all leap up when the third one at the top of the stairs was triggered, so the entire stairwell became an abattoir and prompted him to move since he no longer had anything watching his back, meaning his only option was to go on the attack. "Let's do this," growled the Pilot with a cocky grin as he leapt out from behind his cover just as he activated his phase shift, vanishing into thin air as he sprinted for a second before the air began to crackle around him and he dropped, sliding across the concrete like he was gunning for third base.

Most baseball players didn't raise a pistol in their right hand as they did it, and when he emerged with a trio of shocked Sable mercenaries as the gun locked on and he pulled the trigger, six bullets leaving before his momentum ran out and all three crumpled to the floor in heaps. As the rest turned towards Cooper, he rolled into cover and got to his feet, reaching up to the shelf and retrieving the self-loading energy shotgun. Pulling the charging handle back to chamber the first energy 'slug' round into the weapon so the Mastiff had some reach in addition to its formidable stopping power. Shouldering the weapon, the solid heft offering a keen sense of its power as Cooper jumped up before planting both feet on the concrete column and pushing off, jump kit firing licks of blue flame as he jumped back and lowered the Mastiff before the gun barked and a bright red 'slug' of light slammed into the nearest Sable trooper and bore through his armor and body as he fell back, dead.

But Cooper wasn't focused on that, he was already extending his left arm and leg to push himself off another pillar, taking advantage of the small 6 foot gaps between each one to stay above the mercenaries. Ignoring the red lasers that flew back at him, the Marauder fired again, the semi auto barking loudly in stark contrast to the constant higher pitched chatter of the Sable energy rifles. With no sixth sense or superhuman reflexes, Cooper relied on speed, activating his stim to bounce from pillar to pillar with a distinct trail of blue light behind his green armored form as he leapt at another mercenary, blasting his head off with one of the energy slugs before hitting the ground in a high speed slide, twisting his body to bring the Mastiff to bear on another and firing again as he tried to spin to bring his own gun to bear, but couldn't keep up with the highly mobile Pilot, the fourth energy slug impacting him with such force that it sped his spin and sent him to the floor. The fourth, and bravest trooper yet, stepped in front of the Marauder, only for the Pilot's jump kit to ignite again, throwing the SRS Commando up and forwards as he readied an arc charged uppercut and planted it on the merc's chin.

When he landed after the jump up, he rolled to his right into cover, quickly turning the gun over and pulling shells from the receiver mounted shotshell holder and shoving them into the tube. He got two in before the proximity alert lit up in his HUD and he tried to bring the gun up, but couldn't quite manage it and settled with swinging the muzzle of the gun up and slamming it down on the white pulse laser rifle that came around the pillar before his left hand left the gun as it continued its downward arc and went to the axe on his left leg. While the mercenary fumbled with his rifle, Cooper swung the tomahawk and buried the axe head into the man's throat before ripping it back just as quickly. By the time it was back in its holster and the mercenary had fallen to the floor, the next pair of white armored troopers were bearing down on him with malicious intent. Firing from the hip, the Pilot snapped a shot into each before he caught one in the side from a third before he was able to duck back into cover, only there were too many angles, and Sable was boxing him in smartly.

The nearest escape was a window on the far side of the nearest mercenary, but before Cooper could reload the Mastiff, a bright, blinking red sphere landed and rolled past him, causing his eyes to widen behind the visor and inciting immediate action. Activating his phase shift, he leapt out towards that last obstacle, swiftly bringing his right hand forward to guide a single emergency shell mounted forward of the bolt into the breach of the energy shotgun, the hexagonal cartridge sliding cleanly in just as the Marauder came back to reality and planted the barrel on the stunned trooper's chest plate before pulling the trigger and blowing it to bits along with the man behind it before throwing the scattergun at the next closest man, forcing him to duck and allowing Matt to take two running steps, slide, and then jump out the window. He only fell a few feet as he swung his torso around and brought up his left arm to unleash his grapple, pulling himself up towards the roof while knowing what would be waiting for him when he reached it.

As he crested the edge, Cooper disconnected the hook and fired his jump kit to launch himself up over the edge, right hand pulling out his Smart Pistol as his left pulled out a detonator for the ANFO down below and squeezed it, rocking the whole structure as the blasts tore through the top floor and Cooper came down on the half finished floor that was the roof. Sliding across the concrete, the jetpack adorned troopers swooped down and surrounded him as he got back to his feet and found himself surrounded, the six ExAACCT troopers hovering above him.


The shockwave hammered Bliss' ears as he instinctively ducked behind his Humvee, dust filling the air and slowly descending on the men holding the perimeter while those on the third floor were blasted into oblivion. As the ringing subsided in his ears, the Lieutenant Colonel was shaken by the company's XO and turned to look up at the armored officer, "Sir! Sir, we can no longer ensure your safety, a helo is inbound. You need to evacuate, now!" he shouted as a rippling string of explosions erupted from the rooftop as Bliss realized the 1st Lieutenant was correct, there was only a small group of Agents between him and the Marauder.

That didn't mean he liked it. "Motherf…" he snarled in reply before he finally came to his decision, "Right, ETA on the chopper?" he asked. But before the Agent could answer, the dust that filled the air was blown away as a white ExAACCT transport gunship slowly lowered itself into the intersection.

"Don't worry sir!" assured the XO, "We'll get it done!" shouted the man over the sound of the chopper as Bliss gave a quick salute and dashed towards the waiting helicopter, opening the co-pilot's door and pulling himself up and into the seat before closing the door behind him.

Pulling onto the headset, Bliss turned to the visor obscured face of the pilot, "Alright," he ordered calmly, "take us up." Immediately, the craft lurched and lifted off the ground as Bliss craned his neck to look out at the building, allowing him to see an ExAACCT trooper make a diving pass at a green shape that dodged away and then fired a line at the white armored mercenary, the green shape pulling itself up onto the agent's back just as the helicopter turned and set off.


"Shit…" cursed Cooper as he watched the white bird get smaller, left arm still wrapped tightly around the throat of the Sable Jetpack Trooper, pressing the muzzle of the MK6 to the white helmet and pulling the trigger, killing the second of the six jetpack equipped agents. Bliss running hadn't been part of the plan, but he quickly pushed that thought aside as he jumped away from the dead trooper, the force of his kickoff sending the body careening away. As the Marauder fell back down towards the construction site, a flash of movement from his left side, and he turned to look just in time to register another of the Sable troopers streaking in before the two collided, knocking the air from Matt's lungs. Before the Pilot could retaliate, he was unceremoniously dumped down on the rooftop and sent rolling across the concrete, grunting in pain and thankful for all the padding that absorbed most of the impacts before he came to a stop.

But he scarcely had time to catch his breath before another string of flashing red grenades landed next to him and he activated his phase shift, blinking out of existence as he rolled away and up into a crouch, holstering his Smart Pistol in favor of the CAR he had slung across his back as color returned to his world. Immediately, he looked for the nearest ExAACCT trooper and went on the attack, not letting himself get surrounded and trapped as he activated his STIM and slid forwards. Jumping up and planting one boot on the top of a half complete column and launching himself up before his Jump Kit flared to life, Cooper felt his momentum grind to a halt as he came to a hovering halt and he brought the SMG up and cut loose with a long burst. As the third operator's armor and chest was shredded by the advanced 6.19mm rounds, Cooper got moving again, the Kit slowly pushing him back up to speed just as a bola flew past where he had been. Twisting his upper body, he fired again, cutting loose with a burst that chased the fourth trooper off as he dipped down below the level of the roof and Matt landed once again, sliding and reloading seamlessly before jumping up and launching himself off a wall.

His sudden U-turn caught the two ExAACCT operators by surprise as they tried to bring up their respective weapons, but failed to do so in time as the CAR chattered loudly, peppering the far trooper with lead as he closed with the nearer, left hand reaching to draw his combat axe. But it stopped short as his opponents jetpack flared and the agent dodged and turned away, getting out of range as Cooper's hand went to the pulse blade on his belt instead and slung it, the flash forged blade burying itself in the jetpack as the trooper ascended.

The pulse caught the last ExAACCT trooper that the Marauder had driven off earlier, showing him come back up as Matt smoothly drew the MK6 and had it waiting to put a pair of bullets in him as soon as his head came into view. Above the Pilot, the pulse blade self-destructed, taking the jetpack it was buried in with it as a fireball erupted in the Manhattan skyline. Dropping the mostly spent magazine from the Smart Pistol and slamming another one home, Cooper turned to a stack of unassuming wooden crates as he drew his axe and pried the top one open to reveal the R-6P Softball grenade launcher inside.

Grabbing the weapon and giving the loaded cylinder a spin, Cooper felt the weight of the six HEDP grenades inside as he made his way to the edge to look down on the remaining 4th Security Battalion vehicles. With the CAR slung on his back, Matt shouldered the Softball and took aim before pulling the trigger, feeling the weapon buck as the distinct 'thunk' of the report echoed off the concrete walls and pillars around him. The shaped charge wrecked the vehicle it hit, shrapnel cutting into the men around it as smoke emanated from the impact point while the Marauder swung the weapon to the next vehicle and pulled the trigger again, and then a third time for the final MRAP. As the smoke rose up to the level of the rooftop, Cooper fired his grapple and pulled himself to overlook the rest of the white painted vehicles, emptying the rest of the cylinder into them and turning them into useless hulks with the rotary grenade launcher.

When the sixth grenade detonated, it brought with it an ominous silence, the gunfire stopped, replaced by the crackling of the burning vehicles as Cooper looked down at the streets below. Looking for any sign of movement and finding none, the Marauder eschewed the bulky R-6P and pushed a fresh mag into the CAR before casually jumping over the side of the building, letting his Jump Kit take the fall. Boots hitting the concrete, the orange and white SMG swept over the wreckage as he moved forward cautiously, waiting with finger curled around the trigger for any sign of opposition. But the Last Man Battalion was broken, Matt could feel eyes on him, but nobody fired, nobody moved as he walked past the line of disabled vehicles and into the intersection.

But the silence was broken by the distinct sound of an approaching helicopter before it came into view, the Sable gunship circling above the intersection as a loudspeaker announced who was inside. "Soldiers of the Last Man Battalion, this is your commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss. And I tell you that we will not fall this day! We are soldiers! We have survived the virus and brought order to the streets, and we are NOT going to go down to some damn vigilante who thinks he knows how to fight. Regroup and engage the enemy! We are taking him down, and we will fight to the last man!" roared the officer for all to hear. The effect was immediate, Cooper turned around to see white armored LMB troopers emerge with malicious intent and reacted, pulling out and dropping an A-Wall to solidify his position as he brought the CAR to bear, spraying a long burst into the group to force them into cover as his mind raced to come up with a plan.

Before he could, he heard the high pitched shriek as the mounted directed energy weapons on Bliss' helicopter opened fire, unleashing a torrent of red laser bolts as Cooper sprinted forwards. Activating his STIM to try and get out of the way, the Marauder slid across the last few yards until he was under one of the APC's he'd disabled with the Kraber. "Motherfucker!" cursed Matthew as his mind raced to come up with a plan while the helicopter banked away and he turned over to see a half dozen pairs of feet coming towards him as he rushed to get his SMG around in the confined space below the vehicle. If he had been using a longer weapon, he would never have gotten it around, but the muzzle poked out from under the armored truck and began to spit out 6.19mm rounds into their shins, causing them to fall into the line of fire as Cooper held down the trigger until the bolt locked open, magazine empty.

Instead of forcing a reload in the confined space, the Marauder decided to go on the attack as the gun fell across his chest and he took aim with his grapple hook. "Fuck it," he snarled as he let it fly and the hook buried itself in a streetlamp, "Yippy ki yay!" With that, the grapple pulled him out as he slid on his ass out from under the APC, drawing his Smart Pistol, the high tech weapon quickly locking on and dispatching the three nearest Sable troopers with a rapid burst as his feet hit the curb and he used that to throw himself into the air and sling shot around the streetlamp 180 degrees. Above, Bliss' helicopter had circled around and was descending into the intersection once more to try and draw a bead on the fast moving Marauder as Cooper retracted the grapple line and fired his Jump Kit, sending him lurching forwards as he activated his STIM, giving his body a blue contrail as his left foot landed on the top of the pockmarked APC, then his right came down in full stride before he jumped off the vehicle, licks of flame launching him forwards even faster.

As soon as he was airborne, the air around him was filled by red laser fire, both from the helicopter in front and the troopers at his back, but he pushed through it, firing his grapple again as the hook latched onto the nose of the gunship. Matt swung through the air, hook retracting to pull him closer to his mark even as the helicopter ascended above the rooftops just as Cooper was able to reach out with his free hand and grab hold of one of the landing skids. With exo assisted strength, the SRS Pilot pulled himself up despite the rotor wash that hammered his head and found himself staring Bliss right in the eye. Bracing one foot on the skid as Bliss went for his gun, the Marauder yanked the door open and reached out for the Barretta, slamming the hand with the weapon into the dashboard just as the gun fired, sending a round through the air mere inches from his helmet. With his MK6 stuck in the hand holding onto the helo as the pilot of the bird threw it over in an effort to shake the Texan off, Cooper could only counter by letting go of the gun with his left hand and throwing a weak punch into Bliss' face, catching the man off guard.

While the Lieutenant Colonel slumped back to shake off the strike, the pilot pulled out his own sidearm, sending a string of glowing red bolts through the air and forcing Matt to duck behind out of the doorway to safety, but not before he ripped the M9 from Bliss' hands and got a grip. Without aiming, Cooper pulled the trigger, sending 9mm FMJ through the cockpit, into the dashboard, and out the opposite door as the gunship lurched suddenly when the Sable pilot yanked the stick over as he reflexively dodged back. Looking out the cockpit window, he saw the chopper careening back towards the construction site, barely still in control just as Bliss wrapped both his arms around Cooper's left in an attempt the wrestle his gun back. Gritting his teeth, Matt instead went on the attack, planting his other foot on the cockpit floor and leaning fully in, leveling his Smart Pistol and putting a round right through the helo pilot's faceplate.

The dead man slumped forward; his whole body weight falling on the controls caused any remaining semblance of control to drop as fast as the helicopter was losing altitude. Without wasting time, Matt brought the MK6 down on Bliss's face, smashing his glasses and breaking his nose, causing him to let go of the Marauder's arm, as soon as it was free, Cooper jumped back and free fell into the intersection just as the chopper's tail swung out and it turned onto its right side, crashing into the parked Humvee and going up in flames and with it, the Last Man Battalion.


Silver Sablinova did not fidget, nor did she squirm or twitch as the elevator ascended towards the penthouse of her employer. Even if she gave no outward indication of it, the Symkarian was nervous. No doubt Osborn was aware of the events that had taken place two hours prior, even if she had to be informed of them after recovering from being shot by the Marauder, most of her time had been spent quickly folding what remained of the 4th Security Battalion into the 1st Guards Brigade to maintain some semblance of a chain of command. When the Marauder had said he would go after Bliss and his men, she had not expected the end result to be that there was not a single unit greater than platoon size that was fully operational.

Now, in this moment of something resembling peace, the questions that swirled in the woman's mind began to come back to the forefront without some other task to push them aside. The Marauder was still at large, as was Spider-Man, despite the vast number of resources and lives lost trying to comply with Osborn's demand that the two be detained, what would Osborn's reaction be? Octavius and Li remained on the loose while Devil's Breath tore through the city, the virus another of her company's myriad failures in the last few days. Only now were they able to meet their targets for resupply of their own resources as well as local hospitals and shelters when it came to food and medical supplies. Add onto that the need to soon provide security for the production and distribution of the antiserum, and Sable International was facing the prospect of being stretched dangerously thin, with so many casualties sustained during fruitless efforts to detain individuals that been designated as 'targets' instead of 'allies' as Sablinova would have preferred.

Speaking of them, the Symkarian idly wondered what their next move would be as the lift slowed to a stop and the doors opened.


"We're ready to make our move," informed Mary Jane, her lips barely moving as the throat mic under her scarf picked up the words, "wish us luck." Both Spider-Man and the Marauder were close by, though the reporter had no idea where, similarly absent from sight were any of the white and black armored Sable personnel as both the redhead and platinum blonde walked through the doors and into the lobby of the high end apartments. Both women were dressed to not draw attention to themselves, with Felicia wearing what Mary Jane suspected was her most modest outfit, a pair of red converse sneakers were probably the only thing that wasn't designer that the heiress was wearing. Designer jeans, tan hat, black elbow length gloves, and zipped up black jacket to conceal her own throat mic were complimented by a large purse that the redhead knew held a few of her tools just in case the pair ran into trouble. The reporter was similarly dressed, Levi jeans, green shirt, and brown jacket with an old-fashioned Kodiak disposal camera instead of a bulkier camera tucked inside.

But as Mary Jane took in her surroundings, she felt quite underdressed considering the vast amount of marble that had been polished to a mirror shine, broken up by the beautiful cherry wood desks topped with dark granite and illuminated by bizarre post-modernist light fixtures beyond a massive column of marble, a cutout behind the main desk allowing the pair to see the crowd that filled the lobby. "Norman's penthouse is on the top floor." informed the redhead as she turned to look at the thief, who had her eyes concealed behind a pair of Ray-Bans.

Hmming in agreement, Felicia added "The elevator will be locked down. Override will be in the security room." Mary Jane had to remind herself that, of course, the Black Cat would know that, and judging by where the silver haired woman's head was facing, the reporter could guess where that security room would be.

But while Felicia was looking over things with a cool and experienced eye, Mary Jane did what she did best, get out there and talk to people. Mustering her confidence, the redhead stepped up to the reception desk with a look of measured concern and asked the man at the desk "Excuse me," she began, noticing Felicia beginning to weave through the crowd and move deeper into the lobby, "the lobby seems to be pretty busy; is everything okay?" asked the redhead innocently.

In a fashion that the reporter immediately pegged as having been rehearsed, or at least done many times, the uniformed man placed his hands behind his back and answered in a sympathetic tone. "Residents have been asked to…temporarily vacate their units while Sable International performs a security sweep."

Processing the words, the reporter nodded in understanding, "I see…" began the redhead as she watched Felicia prowl through the crowd, "have people been waiting down here long?"

"No no," assured the receptionist quickly, "only one or…two…hours." Mary Jane fixed the man with the unamused look she usually reserved for Peter or similarly annoying boyfriends, causing the man to raise his hands placatingly. "We all greatly appreciate Sable International's…generous assistance with security," he assured with a painfully fake smile.

"Ah, has the penthouse been affected?" asked the redhead, the inquisitive side of her unable to be suppressed, keen to learn whatever she could from the man. Sable was in the building, even if she couldn't see them, but they were occupied for now, though might not be for much longer. Now she wanted to know if they were going into a trap.

"Oh my no," replied the receptionist, almost offended at the very notion of Norman's personal sanctum being disturbed. "Our advanced security systems ensure that the Mayor remains totally undisturbed."

Nothing but the best for our beloved Mayor mused Mary Jane internally as she mustered a fake smile of her own, "Thank you for your help." With that, she slipped away and went to find Felicia taking her time as she overheard displaced residents discuss Osborn's chances in the election in two weeks, the Knicks, and the Marauder. Finally, she spied the platinum blonde, blending in quite well for someone who usually attracted every eye, Felicia looking like she was checking her phone, even though MJ could see her green eyes scanning for cameras and guards. Pulling out her own phone, the redhead quickly typed out a message. 'Sable sweeping building, not much time left, penthouse elevator is the one closest to you on the opposite wall.'

Looking up from her phone, MJ saw the security guard standing in front of a certain door, "Must be the security room…" assumed the redhead as her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked down at the screen, 'I know' read the reply as the reporter couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'We need a distraction to draw the guard away.'

"Distraction," breathed out MJ as she put her phone back in her pocket, "I can do that." Looking around, the redhead meandered towards a group, naturally joining it despite being well out of her depth.

"Left my stupid inhaler upstairs…" complained one as MJ took the opportunity to speak up.

"I heard they'll let you up if you claim special circumstances," offered the reporter with a straight face, "health emergency might do it," she reasoned.

"Really?" said the distressed man with a bit of relief, "Come on, let's go talk to security…" he beckoned as he turned and made for the security office. As Mary Jane watched them, she caught Felicia moving casually in the corner of her eye doing something similar, speaking to another group of people and getting them to move to the door. The Thief was amongst them and MJ moved to the door as well, using the assembling crowd to stay out of sight of the guard at the entrance to the security station.

Peering through the crowd, the redhead could see the security man saying something into his radio as he tried to calm the increasingly agitated group to no avail. Mary Jane watched Felicia make her way to the wall and edge slowly towards the door and tried her best to do the same from the opposite side. "Everyone, please stay calm!" implored the guard loudly, his pleas nearly drowned out by the agitated grumbling of the residents, "Sable International has nearly finished their sweep!"

"That's what you said an hour ago!" shouted back a voice in the crowd just as the door opened and a second guard emerged from the closed doors. While the uniformed man stepped forwards to join the other, the Black Cat moved with speed and grace to slip in behind the guard and catch the door before it could close as MJ quickly dashed to follow her through, both women slipping past the door before gently closing it behind them.

"Not bad red," whispered Felicia with a smirk, "come on." Both women crouched low, with Felicia in front, the moved quietly and deliberately further forward.

"Just don't see why you guys need to be back here," came a muffled voice from behind the doors to the duo's left as the Black Cat instantly went on alert and looked around for any cameras that would reveal them.

Thankfully, the thief let out a relieved breath a second later and gave a reassuring nod to the redhead. "Because you rent-a-cops are incompetent," retorted a filtered voice, "alarms every other minute."

Still moving cautiously and following the Black Cat's lead, Mary Jane noticed something interesting sitting on a shelf in the hallway. "Hel-lo," purred the redhead as she picked up the pistol shaped object, "I know a few Sable Agents who'd love to meet you." Checking that the X-2 Taser was loaded before tucking it into her coat, the reporter heard the conversation continue on the other side of the wall.

"And where's your stun gun?" asked the filtered voice of a Trooper accusingly, "You aren't even ready to work."

Felicia grinned approvingly, "I like the way you think red," she complimented in a low whisper. "keep that ready and follow my lead." Nodding in understanding, she watched the thief flex her fingers to reveal the gloves were her Black Cat gloves as claws emerged from the fingertips. In addition, the heiress produced a pair of carbon tubes with a thin wire between them, her custom garrote.

"I uh…set it down…somewhere…" replied the Security Guard after faffing about for a few seconds, "I swear I just…"

"Swear on your way outta here," retorted the Mercenary, clearly at the end of his rope, "get out. We'll do your job for you." The door ahead of them flew open as both infiltrating women ducked behind the shelf, out of sight of the white armored Trooper who emerged from the security room.

Thankfully, he turned away from the pair and the Black Cat moved, clearly falling into her element as she left the redhead behind without a second thought. Moving faster without having to consider the reporter, the platinum blonde readied her fiber wire weapon and pounced, wrapping the wire around the man's neck. Pulling the wire tight, Felicia turned and crouched, pulling the man down so they were back to back, using the leverage generated to squeeze the consciousness out of the trooper, his rifle clattering to the floor as he struggled to get free for the few seconds he had before he fell limp. "The hell?" muttered a filtered voice, "1-5, say status…1-5?"

Beckoning the redhead over with a quick nod, the pair pulled the man back as heavy boot falls approached, looking up, Mary Jane saw the first hints of white and drew her stolen taser, flicking the safety off. Leaping at the Sable Trooper, she pressed the muzzle of the weapon into a gap in his armor and pulled the trigger, the weapon sparking to life and eliciting a satisfying grunt of pain from the Sable Agent before he fell forwards and Mary Jane gently set him down. "Not bad red, come on," beckoned the heiress.

The two moved into the security room over the body of the tased Sable Trooper and saw the array of screens from various cameras around the building. As her eyes roved over the screens, the redhead couldn't help but quip "Mary Jane Watson: Superspy."

"My god," muttered Felicia as she pulled something out of her purse and stepped up to the room's controls, "you two really are perfect for each other." Ignoring the jab, MJ watched the thief work the controls.

A view of the inside of the Osborn penthouse came up front and center, the word 'alert' blinking in the bottom left corner as the camera showed Sablinova rushing Osborn out of the penthouse and towards the elevator. "What are you doing?" asked Mary Jane curiously as Felicia inserted something into the computer there and did more.

"Making sure the elevator remains unlocked, erasing the video recordings, and locking anybody else out of the system so they can't undo anything," replied Felicia calmly before emphatically hitting one last key, yanking the drive out of the computer, and spinning around with a flourish. "We'll have 20 minutes to look around," explained Felicia as she strutted out of the security room, "now come on, time for us to have some fun." Unable to suppress a smile that matched the silver haired woman, Watson followed her out back the way they came and back into the lobby, noting that the security guards were nowhere to be seen.

With poise and confidence, Felicia weaved through the people still milling about the lobby as MJ could only keep up. The duo reached the other side just as the penthouse elevator pinged and two fully armored and armed Sable Agents stepped out, blank black visors scanning the room as Mary Jane averted her eyes after a split second of hesitation and noticed that Felicia had turned around and was staring right at her. "This is my idea of 'girl time' by the way, we should do this again," suggested Felicia with a smirk.

Mary Jane laughed lightly at the remark but tried to stifle it, feeling like she would give them away, doubly so as the ever stern Silver Sablinova emerged from the elevator, followed closely by the smartly dressed Norman Osborn. Norman and Sable, right on cue mused Mary Jane as she watched the executive past the still grinning Felicia, about to ask what their next move was when Osborn's authoritative tones barked out "Find the alarm technician. Fire him."

MJ snorted lightly at the blunt demand as Osborn was escorted out by the pair of troopers and Mary Jane saw their opening, seizing the initiative and stepping past Felicia and making a break for the elevator. As soon as she slipped inside, she felt another presence in the confines of the small metal box and craned her neck to see Felicia pressing herself close to MJ as she calmly pressed the button for the penthouse. Unable to stay her anxiety, the reporter poked her head outside the elevator just long enough to see Silver Sable stop and begin to turn around before the redhead practically threw herself back out of sight of the Symkarian. "Calm," whisper hissed Felicia with a biting calm as a gloved hand gripped MJs shoulder as the elevator doors thankfully slid shut. Mary Jane felt the tension leave her body as she bent over, put her hands on her knees, and took in several deep breaths.

"It's a rush, isn't it?" asked Felicia, the veteran thief's smirk slowly creeping to excited grin that Mary Jane found far too easy to understand as she returned to her attempts to replace the oxygen that had been nervously ejected a moment ago.

"Yeah, yeah," replied Mary Jane dismissively before standing back up to her full height, only to find herself a few inches shorter than the still smiling thief. "Don't tell Pete I said this but…I see why you do it," confessed the redhead as she matched the silver haired woman's smirk.

That got an airy laugh back from Hardy, "Should've expected as much, Spider likes 'em feisty. Good for me too, this is the kinda fun I like to have on a girl's day out," quipped the burglar as it was Mary Jane's turn to laugh. "Spa days might be relaxing, but nothing gets my blood going like a good heist. And besides," said Black Cat with a grin, "this turns me on far more."

Caught off guard, MJ coughed on nothing, still processing the blatant admission while trying to quell the heat she could feel build up on her face and neck, which the redhead was certain was the cause of the widening of Felicia's grin. "Does it?" deadpanned MJ, not able to come up with a better response as she averted her eyes and took a step away from the vixen, though that did little good.

"Absolutely," purred Felicia as MJ lifted her head just enough to see how many floors she had left until she could get away from Hardy. Far too many groaned the reporter internally as the thief continued, "trapped in a cramped metal box with a sexy lady like moi? Don't tell me you aren't the least bit hot and bothered," challenged Felicia, clearly enjoying this. "Spider can thank me later; you'll probably jump straight into the sack with him first chance you get," said Felicia with an annoying self-assurance, not helped by how annoyingly accurate the statement was.

"Can you stop?" snapped MJ weakly, eyes now solely focused on the floor readout in the hopes that the action would make the number climb faster, "Please? We should focus on what matters."

"Lighten up red," chided Felicia haughtily, totally unconcerned and in control of the situation in a way that only someone with her experience could. Hearing the vixen chuckle to herself, MJ's inquisitiveness won out and she looked towards the woman to hear what was so funny. "Just remembered how much fun sex in an elevator is."

Mary Jane's jaw dropped slightly, but that only made it easier for the words to come out of the reporter's mouth. "What's the story there?"

Felicia gave a cheeky grin, "I may have bet Matthew that he couldn't make me cum before we got up to my place."

"And?" prompted Mary Jane almost automatically.

Felicia smiled, "best bet I ever lost."


Watching another fully loaded prison van depart from behind the wheel of her cruiser, Yuri Watanabe looked past the dozens of inmates in orange jumpsuits that lined the street, hands in cuffs and on their knees following a concerted effort from the NYPD to bring the city back under control. With elements from Sable International to assist, they had rounded up almost 150 inmates and were preparing to ship them back to Rikers island. But a radio call had come in of a fire alarm at Mayor Osborn's residence, with other officers about to respond and Yuri supervising the effort, since Sable was under a much tighter leash, probably because this was Mayor Osborn's residence.

Pushing that unflattering thought of the man aside, the Captain put the car into gear only for her phone to ring. Seeing as she was stuck in slow moving traffic, Yuri deftly removed her phone, narrowing her eyes at the contact name before answering. "Marauder, you have something for me?" she asked brusquely.

"Working on it, I was actually hoping to ask for a favor," replied the SRS Pilot in his cool drawl, which she suspected was masking something. Instead of pressing the Major, she merely grunted that said 'explain' as she was forced to stop at a red light. "If you happen to get a call to go to our good Mayor's penthouse, I need you to…uh…not answer it."

Blinking her eyes a few times as she replayed the request over in her head, the Captain understood what he was saying, "What are you up to?" she asked curtly.

"I'm not actually up to anything," deadpanned the Marauder, "but I have friends that are, and they have enough to worry about as is."

"I see," replied Yuri coolly, processing the request and understanding what was implied as well as connecting it to what Spider-Man had mentioned earlier. While the duty driven part of her, as always, wanted to ignore the request, but the part of her that reminded her that her duty was to the people of New York suppressed that quickly. "I'll see what I can do, make sure they don't screw around." With that, she ended the call and dropped the phone into the passenger seat as she grabbed the radio handset and took a deep breath and depressed the transmit button. "This is Watanabe, all units responding to the 10-31 in the Upper East Side, be advised that it may be a false alarm. Stand down and await confirmation…"


When the elevator came to a stop and the door opened to reveal the lavishly furnished penthouse of the Oscorp CEO, Mary Jane didn't hesitate to almost leap from the elevator and away from the grinning Felicia who strutted out after her. The Bugle reporter that she was doing well for herself with her own apartment, but seeing the beautiful woods, perfectly manicured plants, and shining tile reminded her that there was a lot higher to climb. Looking over her shoulder, she could see even the heiress behind her was impressed by the Osborn abode, and Watson knew it was larger than the thief's own penthouse. But that only lasted a moment before the Black Cat was back to all business, "No guards, we need to find an office or den, any sort of private files or computer," instructed Hardy as the redhead nodded in reply.

As the pair moved out of the entry way an into the living room, the House AI dutifully made an announcement over the space's intercom. "Warning: fire doors engaged. Automated self-diagnostic commencing. Please remain calm." As the system droned, Mary Jane continued to lead, heading for Norman's 'business desk' where he would discuss work with colleagues and other visitors.

The Black Cat got to work, beginning to open drawers to look for any useful information while MJ found herself drawn to the items left sitting out on the desktop. Moving the odd metal thing aside, she examined the blueprints underneath, "What is this thing?" she wondered, "prototype combat mask that can reveal structural weaknesses…" she rattled off from the documentation. Curious, she slipped the thin metal mask on, "Wow," she breathed as the HUD booted up with a plethora of information, ranging from her GPS location to heartrate, "this mask is incredible." The heiress ignored her as the sensors swept the wall ahead of her, though as a dotted line formed on the wall and a label that red 'structural weakness' appeared on the display, the redhead furrowed her brow and reached out to tap her partner on the shoulder. "I think there's a door hidden in that wall!" she said, trying to contain her excitement at the find while pointing at the wall in question.

Felicia took a moment to process what MJ had said, but her eyes soon lit up in understanding, a Cheshire grin on her face as she looked at the well next to the portrait of Norman and Harry. "Wonder where it leads…" mused the thief as she strutted over to the wall, "but I bet I can find the way in…" MJ watched as the silver haired vixen made straight for the painting before reading out the title, "Norman bids his son farewell."

"Must be from when Harry left for Europe last year," provided Mary Jane in reply before voicing the obvious question, "why was Norman so dramatic about a trip to Europe?"

"I don't know that, but I do know is that…" began Felicia as she pressed the plaque down to an audible 'click' and the painting slid upwards, "that there's a secret keypad behind the family portrait," she finished as she stepped aside to reveal the white number pad and digital readout.

Mary Jane quickly came forward and the pair looked at it closely, "So…" asked the redhead, "can you crack it?"

There was a moment of silence between them before MJ looked down to see the frown on her face. "If I had my gear…but this is a high tech lock, you put in the wrong code and it'll set off another alarm and I don't have the tools to disable that system," explained the thief as she stepped back from the keypad. "If we set off that alarm, Sable will swarm this place."

Mary Jane nodded in understanding, "So we need to find the code," she explained simply, "alright, then." Splitting up, the Felicia went back to the desk while Mary Jane made her way into the sitting area and began rifling through the papers on the coffee table. "Scientific journals debating the 'Spider-Man problem.' So weird that there's a whole cottage industry focused on explaining Peter's powers," she mused as she looked through some of the published articles as the author of one stuck out at her, "Weirder still that Norman is an active part of it." Doubly so when you knew where his powers originated as she did.

"Red, over here!" called out Felicia as MJ set the journals down and made her way over to the heiress, "Work order for a keypad lock," explained the vixen as she held up a piece of paper before pointing to some handwritten writing, "says the combination is 'Harry's last day,' do you remember what that is?" she asked hopefully.

"That must be the day Harry left for Europe…" muttered MJ as she wracked her brain to remember what that was. "It was…a year ago, before Matt got here," she recalled, but failed to remember anything more specific.

Her attempts at getting the exact date were interrupted by the sound of the House AI. "Self-diagnostic complete. No faults found. Fire doors disengaged." When the calm tones of the AI ceased, the doors leading out of the living room slid open to allow access to the rest of the penthouse.

As the duo made their way towards the dining area and kitchen, Mary Jane continued to try and remember, "I know it was the summer, but was it July? Or August?" she wondered before finally shaking her head at the futile attempts while Felicia stopped at a paper at the head of the dining table. "I know Harry kept a journal and he couldn't take it with him. It's probably in his room."

"Which is locked," returned Hardy as she traced a clawed finger on the paper, "on orders from Daddy Dearest." She then smiled, "that one I should be able to handle, you know where his room is, yeah?" Mary Jane nodded, and Felicia smiled, "alright then red, gimme the tour."

"Well back there is where he keeps his wine, probably from his vineyard in Burgundy," began the redhead as she tossed a thumb over her shoulder and saw the burglar's eyebrow go up in intrigue, probably making a mental note to come back and help herself to a bottle or five later. Heading past the kitchen, MJ pointed out the custom plates on display, "the Osborns have a coat of arms. And a motto, 'Pax in Bello.'"

"Peace in War," murmured Felicia, "fitting."

MJ nodded in agreement, "I'll have to remember that if I ever write a book about all this..." she murmured as she walked out of the kitchen and came upon the floor to ceiling windows that looked out upon the patio, fully furnished and featuring a fire pit and, of all things, a pool. On the other side was the laundry room, "city's in a state of emergency, but Norman still manages to get his laundry and cleaning done for him," scoffed the reporter, "what a hero." Felicia, for her part, was more interested in one of the paintings on the wall as they made their way through to another sitting area, this one with massive entertainment system taking center stage, the seating arrayed to give a view of the huge plasma flatscreen. "God," breathed MJ as the memories came back, "Pete and I loved coming over here to watch movies when we were kids. A different world from Queens," she recalled, "funny how Harry always wanted the opposite; nothing made him happier than watching cartoons on that little TV in May's kitchen." Felicia looked almost forlorn as she listened, though there was still a keen eye scanning the room as MJ led her up the steps to a locked door, "This is it, work your magic."

Now knocked from her stupor, the Black Cat crouched down and produced a set of lock picks from her purse, "You're in my light red," deadpanned the Thief as MJ took a shy step back, "feel free to enjoy the view while you're back there." encouraged Hardy as the redhead couldn't help but roll her eyes. After a few moments of working, there was a barely audible click as the Platinum haired thief grinned, "Voila," she announced happily as she stood and stepped back, "care to do the honors?"

Twisting the door handle and throwing it open, Mary Jane couldn't help but suppress the exclamation that flew from her mouth, "What?" she said in shock as her eyes settled on the hospital bed, wheelchair, and medical monitors arrayed in the middle of the room, "this can't be for Harry, can it?" She stepped forward in utter shock, "why didn't you tell us you were sick?" she wondered sadly, Felicia remained still and silent as Mary Jane took in the scene, searching for some sort of explanation.

Finally getting to grips with herself, she spied Harry's journal sitting on the dresser and ambled over there, still somewhat in a shocked daze as she looked down at the page that had been left open. Wanting to respect her friends privacy, she only looked at the date in the upper left corner, "July 18th, that must be the code…" she said aloud, just loud enough for Felicia to hear it as she was about to turn away before a part of the neat handwriting caught her eye.

To Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson.

Guys…I'm sorry. Really sorry. If you're reading this…man. This is tough. Even in an imagined hypothetical letter to you it's hard to be honest. Here goes.

I'm sick. Like really sick. Doctors think it's the same thing my mom had. Neural degeneration, rapid onset. I've known for a while, but I thought I could manage it. I didn't tell you cause…well cause I didn't tell you. I was worried how you'd react. And I couldn't stand to see you go through what I did with mom. Watching her suffer. Knowing I couldn't help. Watching her die was worse than the dying.

Things got really bad recently. All those times I was 'wiped out from partying' or 'just super busy'? Not partying, not busy, sick.

This 'Europe Trip'…well it's a cover. I'm going in for treatment – experimental, long term. Dad's been working on it forever, promises it'll work. He hates the nickname the lab techs have for it – 'Devil's Breath.' Says it makes something good seem scary. But maybe 'Devil's Breath' is what I need. Little bit of bad to do a lot of good.

Ok, dad's here. Time to go.

Mary Jane's hands were shaking when she stepped away from the book as her earpiece crackled to life, "Incoming, get to cover!" ordered Matthew tersely as MJ complied, matching Hardy's crouched stance as she crept towards the door and peered out.

It wasn't hard to spot what had the thief on edge as Norman and Sable emerged, the Symkarian ordering the pair of troopers with them to remain outside the entertainment area as she followed Osborn inside before speaking, clearly tense if not frustrated. "I am saying we should not rush off without a plan…" she began.

"We?" snapped Osborn loudly as he wheeled around on the Mercenary, "You are staying here!" he barked with an accusatory finger while the two infiltrators remained silent. "The antiserum is ready and I am going to supervise production!" declared Norman.

But, surprisingly, Sable wasn't done and was undaunted as her employer turned away, "You will be completely vulnerable without me," she argued.

"Based on you lack of results in the last 48 hours," began Norman dismissively, "I seem to be completely vulnerable with you!" he retorted. "I'm going alone. End of discussion!" he barked decisively, finally cowing Sablinova as he picked up a briefcase and stormed off.

After a moment, Silver finally seemed to have calmed herself down, "Sergeant!" she barked out, one of the white armored troopers appearing and standing at attention, "Keep team two on standby," she ordered, "I am getting some air." With a flourish of her admittedly stylish duster, the Mercenary strode for the patio while the trooper turned and marched back the way he came, leaving the immediate area clear.

"Cowboy," whispered Felicia, "what's the count?" she asked.

"Osborn is on the roof, it's just Sable and three troopers inside." Assuming that the sound of an incoming helicopter indicated Norman's method of going to the production site, and ignoring the fact that the penthouse had a helipad, that meant they had to act fast if they were going to find out where he was going.

"Pete," whispered MJ into her own throat mic, "Norman's cure is ready. He's headed to the lab it's at now – can you follow?" she asked.

"Not without alerting him," replied Pete sadly, "somebody spiked Sable's coffee today. There are two gunships circling right now to escort Norman's ride."

"Okay then, stay ready," she said lowly, "we've almost got the location." With a nod, the two crept back the way they came, moving as fast as they could while staying quiet, heads constantly on the swivel for any sign of either of the two Troopers. Moving back past the laundry room, Sable standing outside on the patio with her back to the two women, Felicia came to a sudden stop, pointing to the entrance of the apartment where MJ spied the pair of Troopers standing guard by the path to the elevator. "I got this," said the redhead confidently as she pulled out one of the lures that Peter had given her and armed it before tossing it towards the other side of the room, the odd tone it emitted immediately getting the troopers on alert.

Raising their weapons, one made a simple hand gesture before they split up, moving towards the source of the noise from two separate directions. Looking over to Black Cat, MJ saw the thief point at her and then the nearest guard. Nodding in understanding, the reporter pulled out her taser and slowly crept forwards, using the furniture to stay out of sight and move around behind her assigned mark. As the two trained their weapons on the corner of the room where the lure had landed, MJ seized the opportunity, ramming the muzzle of the weapon into the agent's side and pulling the trigger as he grunted in pain and collapsed to the floor. The second turned and made to say something when Felicia struck, wrapping the garrote around his neck and choking consciousness out of him before he too lay limp on the hardwood. "Nice one red, let's shake a leg."

Nodding, the two eschewed stealth to move quickly to the keypad and MJ punched in the code, "Ok, July 18…bingo!" she said happily as the status light went green and a section of the wall slid back and then to the side, revealing a high tech lab on the other side. The two quickly stepped inside as the door closed behind them, the lights flickering to life, "Super-creepy." breathed MJ as her eyes settled on the containment cells that all had spider habitats inside.

There was a hum of agreement from Felicia, "Is Osborn trying to reverse engineer Spider's abilities?" she mused quietly as she bent over to get a better look at some of the labels, "Bio-electric kinesis, optical camouflage, what the hell is he up to?" she whispered quietly

Mary Jane had moved past her and picked up a recorder sitting on the desk, pressing 'Play.' "Norman Osborn: GR-27 research log," intoned the deep and tired tones of the Mayor, "the whole project has gone to hell. GR-27 is a cure, not a disease. But try telling that to the evening news. Somehow, they've picked up the technicians' morbid nickname - 'Devil's Breath' – and are using it to stoke hysteria. They have no idea what it's really capable of, a cure for cancer, genetic disorders, birth defects…with just a little more research I know we could perfect it. Instead, I'll spend the next 18 months on PR mop up. What a waste of time…" bemoaned the CEO.

"What a comfort to the dead," sneered Felicia lowly as MJ set the recorder down and nodded, but said nothing, instead turning to the large table, though it clearly looked high tech in some way.

Running her hand over what looked like the control panel, MJ flinched when the holographic display sprung to life, "Woah, Norman wins the fancy map contest." she quipped dryly as she examined the 3D buildings, "Looks like the upper west side…" Felicia took an acute interest, moving to the other side, "let's see…critical personnel...list of Oscorp properties…Sable patrol routes." Working the touchscreen interface, she found Dr. Michaels already had his movements through the area mapped out, "creepy, but that's our Devil's Breath expert."

"Norman will put the lab somewhere hidden, where it won't attract a lot of scrutiny," interjected the Black Cat, "look for something like a call center, a warehouse, or…"

"A records building…" finished Mary Jane as she selected that option and saw two such properties overlap the good doctor's route. "Now whichever one has a Sable presence…" she began as she cycled through the three platoons assigned to patrol the area and soon had one overlap, "is our location."

"10th and Cathedral…" read out Felicia with a smirk, "now let's go."

But MJ wasn't in such a hurry, something about that address elicited a memory in the back of her mind, "Isn't that…" she began before abruptly turning to one of the terminals on the wall, able to feel the piercing gaze of Felicia behind her, she explained, "I know the Bugle did a story about an incident there years ago, Ben was telling me about it when I came to him with Devil's Breath. It's gotta be related…" she explained as she opened up the files Norman had on the facility and was met with a massive list of experiment logs, but one stood out. "The Martin Li Incident?" she questioned, seeing that it was next to 'GR-23' which MJ assumed was a predecessor to the current GR-27. Opening the video, the two women watched in rapt fascination.

"…we are rolling," announced a grainy image of a much younger looking Norman as he stepped back from the camera to allow it to see the familiar lab coated form of Doctor Octavius, dutifully scribbling notes on a clipboard and an Asian family of son, mother, and father, with the youngest seated in a chair and hooked up to some equipment. "I will be right next door, just relax and let the machine do its work." The woman spoke in a foreign language that MJ couldn't understand before the father did the same. But after a moment, the child convulsed violently, thrashing against the bands that kept him restrained as the parents became frantic, crying out as the father left the frame in a mad dash. Then the boy began to glow an ominous black, white fumes coming off him as the father rushed back in to try and calm the boy before there was a blinding flash of light that exploded out, enveloping the two adults. When it faded, the camera had been revealed to be knocked from its mount and was looking at the charred remains of the mother, her face burned to the bone and sizzling black skin were all that remained.

"Holy shit…" cursed Felicia, lacking all of her usual grace and elegance as she stared slack jawed at the image.

"I have to get this…" realized MJ as she pulled out a flash drive from her pocket and stuck it into the console, quickly downloading the video and any other files she could, still breathing heavily and on edge, a flash of movement caught her eye. Leaning close to one of the glass tanks, she saw a big black spider crawl along the wooden branch inside when it suddenly leapt at her, sticking to the glass right in front of her face. "Woah!" she yelped as she jumped back, accidentally throwing herself into a smaller cage that served to transport one of the spiders and sent it tumbling to the floor, shattering on impact.

Any hopes that her klutziness would go unnoticed were shattered quickly, "Who is there?" called out the thick accented voice of Silver Sable, muffled by the walls as MJ's eyes shot wide open. "Sergeant, sound off!"

Felicia shot over to try and yank the reporter down and out of sight of the door, but MJ defied her stubbornly as she waited for the download to finish, "Come on, come on…" she encouraged before the download finished and she yanked the drive out before she was pulled to the ground and found her back pressed to the table just as the door slid open. Looking at Felicia, she saw that the Thief had the claws out on her glove and features tense, clearly expecting a fight.

But Mary Jane was more concerned about the tickling of the Spider that was crawling up her arm.


Silver narrowed her eyes as she scanned the strange hidden room, right hand resting on the grip of her pistol as she tried to look for anything amiss in the bizarre space. It was a laboratory of some sort, like her employers private one, and she had never even noticed the keypad before and wasn't sure what was as it should be and what was out of place. Despite that, she could feel something wrong, the whole situation felt undeniably off, and with her team not at their posts, she made up her mind. Pressing her finger to her earpiece, the Symkarian turned back as she spoke, "We have a breach, high alert," she announced as she strode back out. When the door opened, she saw the distinct white armor of one of her troopers that was sprawled out on the floor up ahead. "Man down!" she called out quickly as she rushed to check on the man, "Team 2, get in here!" she ordered.

Crouching down to look at him, she saw he was still breathing and there weren't even any visible wounds as she turned him over. "Are you with me sergeant?" she asked as she tried to shake him from his stupor. When he didn't come to, she finally drew her pistols as she heard the door to the lab behind her open.


When the door slid closed, Mary Jane leapt to her feet and shook out her jacket, desperately trying to get the arachnid out of her clothes, wherever it may have been hiding, but was stopped when a hand wrapped her wrist in an iron grip. "The fuck was that?" hissed Felicia, when the reporter failed to form a coherent answer, the heiress continued, "get a grip red, we gotta go." Now speaking into her throat mic, Black Cat radioed the boys, "Cowboy, we got what we came for and a lot more. But we've been made; can you come in and get us?"

"Not likely darlin'" drawled back Matthew coolly, "Sable has spotters on the roof that will see us coming in and more forces are in the building. We go in guns blazing, they collapse on us, and we'll have to fight our way out," explained the Marauder.

"How about a pickup?" suggested Mary Jane, "we get to the patio and you two swing in to pull us out?" Looking at the platinum blonde, she saw the thief looked shocked before her face became more confident.

"Can do MJ," responded Peter as MJ pulled the taser out and readied it, "we'll be there as soon as you are." With that, the comms went silent and, with nothing else to say, the pair of women moved to the door, Felicia pulling some items from her bag as MJ tried to steady her shaking hands.

"We'll be fine," assured Felicia calmly, steel in her voice as she placed a steadying hand on the redheads arm, "just keep your head down and don't stop. I'll be right behind you and cover you. It'd be a shame to lose an ass like yours."

Mary Jane blushed at the compliment, but found it boosted her confidence just enough to go through with this as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves, "Just try and keep up," she challenged back with a forced grin.

"Atta girl." replied Hardy as she poised her finger over the door control, "Ready?" she asked, and MJ nodded. "Go!" snapped Felicia as soon as the door opened, Mary Jane darted out, catching a glimpse of Sable at the far end of the room and see the thief toss out an EMP grenade towards the mercenary in the corner of her eye, she went back to keeping her head down as she ran through the middle of the room, jumping over the sofa and up the steps at the other end.

"HALT!" roared Sable angrily as Mary Jane tore back past the laundry room, looking back at the sound of a loud pop and seeing the smoke clouds from one of Black Cats smoke bombs fill the hallway behind the pair. But just as she reached the end of the hall, she felt the air turn hot as red laser bolts shot over her head and slam into the hardwoods as she darted around the corner, heavy breathing and pulse pounding in her head drowning out the sound of gunfire. "After them!" barked the Symkarian as the clatter of armored troopers sprinting towards them filled the air.

Mary Jane tore through the tv room and hung a left up towards the master bedroom and burst through the open door only to be knocked off her feet, "Hands where I can see them!" barked the filtered voice of the Sable Agent that had been guarding the terrace, his rifle pointing right at her.

Before MJ could respond, a gloved black hand slashed the man's wrists, causing the gun to drop down as he turned and threw a punch at Felicia who ducked and rolled past him and he turned to face her, opening him up to MJ. Pulling the trigger on the taser, the redhead rammed the weapon into the back of his leg, shocking him and causing him to crumple to the floor. "Get up!" ordered Hardy as she yanked MJ back to her feet and rushed her out the door as more laser bolts filled the air. Tossing out another EMP to temporarily disable their weapon, Felicia bolted out while MJ closed the door behind her and toppled a shelf over to keep it closed. "Anytime boys!" said Hardy over the radio, the first hint of nerves creeping into her voice.

"I'm turning onto lex now, sit tight Felicia." replied Peter, "You two okay?"

"For now…" answered the redhead as the two women backed up and the Sable troopers entered the room, staring them down on the other side of the glass before Sablinova herself emerged, sneering at them as the soldiers looked to her for orders.

"Do you trust me?" asked Felicia as the two now found themselves pressed to the rail, Mary Jane hesitated for a split second, but her mind was quickly made up when Sablinova triggered her twin pistols and shattered the glass, emerging out onto the patio with weapons drawn and troopers in tow, smelling blood in the water. Nodding, she was pulled up onto the balcony, "You're up boys!" called out Hardy as the two, with no other options, leapt over the side.

The two fell very differently, Felicia was clearly the trained and experienced acrobat, as she immediately went into a spread-eagle position, arms and legs out to slow her descent. Mary Jane, meanwhile, lacked the same grace, more or less still vertical as her arms and legs flailed wildly, just fighting to keep her eyes open and lunch down with the feeling of weightlessness that began to overwhelm her. Eventually, she had to close her eyes, unable to bring herself to watch the floors of the building ahead of her fly by as she got closer and closer to becoming a red smear on the streets.

When the air was forcibly driven from her lungs, the redhead feared the worst, but the feeling of wind on her face and an arm wrapped around her caused her to open her eyes and stare into the mask of her boyfriend as they swung through the air. Looking past him, she could see another swinging pair behind them, Felecia wrapped tightly around the Marauder with both legs and arms. Cooper's deadpan came over the radio as the four swung away before Sable could muster a response, the Texan saying "You crazy Cat."

"I wouldn't be as fun otherwise," purred Hardy in response as MJ chuckled at the couple, disabling her own mic as she looked back at Peter.

"He's right you know." said the Web head as he fired another line, "You are crazy."

"And you," she replied, "are Amazing."


Closing Notes: Hopefully that wasn't too much because even without a logbook entry and before I added notes this was the longest chapter I've ever uploaded. I think that this was probably too long and I will be avoiding doing chapters this long in the future. Still, I did have fun writing this one, with Cooper taking a few pages from John Wick 2 in what was his big tour de force. The final encounter with Bliss was inspired by his bossfight in the Division, mainly him being in a helicopter for it.

The main difference in the subsequent section was simply giving MJ a partner in the shape of Felicia, because there is no reasonable explanation for her not going. Writing them together was fun and hopefully that came across in the end result. Leave a review if you have any thoughts about this little team up or anything else and I'll see if I can make another one happen down the line. Still, that won't be for a bit, because there's plenty to do in the short term.

With the city pushed to the brink, set your watches, because next chapter it will be 2 Minutes to Midnight.

Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out.