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

Am I the only one mourning the seemingly apparent death of my beloved M45/M90 shotgun in Halo Infinite?

MarauderPrime12: Thanks man.

FriggleBerry: No idea if you've made it this far, but hopefully you've enjoyed this story up to this point. I tried not to stick to much to Crysis Effect beyond the basic premise sort of thing. Still, I hope this story is half as good, I enjoyed that old one.

So this song is something a little different, by an Ausie band called 'Wolfmother' and is apparently used by the Chicago Bears. Which means I'm already a little sorry it has to be associated with the horror that is...the McCaskeys! Despite that, I can admit that it's got a good groove, it's just a fun tune that apparently takes its titualr characters from that classic tune 'All Along the Watchtower.' It's a fun song and I think it sort of fit Matt and Felicia.


Power Without Question – Chapter 83: Joker and the Thief

Can you see the joker flying over

As she's standing in the field of clover?

Watching out everyday

I wonder what would happen if he took her away

What you see, well, you might not know

You get the feelin', comin' after the glow

The vagabond is moving slow

So I'll tell you all the story

About the joker and the thief in the night


"What's the game plan darlin'?" asked Cooper as he crouched down next to Felicia, the duo looking down on the bar and restaurant that they were going to hit. Connected to Hammerhead, which was all the explanation Matt needed, he hoped they would find what they needed inside. There was no doubt that there was something there, a normal bar and restaurant wouldn't have armed men patrolling the outdoor dining area.

The Black Cat, who was getting a lay of the land from behind the soft green grow of her eye lenses, hummed an affirmative. "Hammerhead's keeping something 'extremely valuable' in the office above the bar. I doubt it's the drive, not in this public of a place, but there could be records on where he has it."

Unslinging his R-97, Matthew replied, "and you're going to sneak in and have a quick peek while I'll take care of the Hammerhead's people," finished the Marauder. Nothing special or unique, but it was a basic strategy that had worked well for the pair in the past. "Don't worry Felicia," began Cooper as he pulled back the charging handle of his SMG before releasing it, chambering a round as the bolt closed with a metallic 'smack', "I'll keep you covered."

While he shouldered his weapon, Felicia turned to him and rested her chin on her hand, looking at him with a dreamy expression on her face, "My hero," she purred as she pressed against him.

Cooper smirked cockily behind his helmet, "You sure do treat me like one sweetheart," drawled Matthew as Felicia giggled lightly and drew back. Giving him one last smile, Felicia drew her grapple and fired at the building she had to get into before swinging across the street. Matt watched her go and gave her a minute before he set off after her, firing his grapple at the top of the brick wall and then firing his jump it to throw himself skywards and slingshot over the wall. Twisting around to face the direction he just came from, Cooper hit the ground and slid back, his momentum carrying him as he brought his gun up and faced the startled Maggia enforcers. "Fill your hands you sonsofbitches," snarled the Marauder as they all reached for their guns while the Pilot opened fire.

Strafing right, Cooper swept the muzzle of the suppressed subgun across the patio as it spat out 4.6mm rounds and sent brass casings flying out the side while the Pilot strafed to his right as his long burst cut down several of Hammerhead's men. Matt kept pouring it on, gritting his teeth before the bolt locked open, the magazine dry as the SRS Major dropped down behind a stone planter and pulled a fresh magazine from his gear as bullets tore through the bushes above him. As soon as he jammed one in the gun his earpiece crackled to life, "I got something," reported the heiress, "Hammerhead recently bought a room-sized 'impenetrable vault' to store his most high value items."

Dropping the bolt, Cooper looked out to see the door from the restaurant burst open and more men came out as Matt tossed a frag amongst them. "Yeah, we'll see about that," he grunted before standing up and loosing another long burst and ducking back down. "Any idea where it is?"

While Cooper stayed low and moved along the length of the planter, Felicia replied over the comm over the roar of automatic weapons fire. "No details yet, but I've got more books to go through," she replied as Matt slung out a pulse blade to see that most of the remaining men were in the bar across the patio from him.

"Well take your time darlin," he drawled before the line clicked off and he popped his phase shift and darted out from his cover, moving through the black and white dimension as he slid across the concrete and bounced up to run along the wall. As soon as he felt himself get pulled bank between dimensions he jumped, his jump kit spitting licks of fire as he brought the gun up, spraying the rest of the magazine into the utterly bewildered Maggia gunmen before he hit the ground and slid across the floor. Letting the empty weapon dangle from its sling, Cooper drew his MK6 as he slid across the floor of the bar when one of the Maggia men came out and tried to bring his gun up only for the Pilot's kit to flare to life as Cooper planted a powerful uppercut on the man's chin that sent him flying upwards.

"May I have this dance?" called a familiar female voice as Felicia swooped in, grabbing the man by his ankle, spinning to throw him back down to the ground before she landed alongside the Marauder. But the sound of whirling barrels caused whatever comeback Cooper had to die on his tongue as he wrapped an arm around Felicia's waist and dove away as red tracer rounds ripped through the air, shredding tables and chairs as they scampered out of the line of fire. "One way to get the blood flowing!" she quipped as she extended glove's claws.

When the tracers stopped coming and the Minigun spinning down, the Marauder seized the opening. Activating his STIM and charging forwards, raising his Smart Pistol, Cooper pulled the trigger, sending a burst of guided bullets out at the scattered Maggia men as he bore down on the Minigun brute. As the man leveled his weapon at the Marauder and the barrels began to spin and the Pilot activated his phase shift before bullets ripped through the air where he just was. Drawing his pulse blade as he was in the phase, Matt was pulled back just as he was about to shoot past the brute and reached out to wrap his right arm around the man's neck as Matt came to an abrupt stop. Teeth grit, Cooper spun himself around and planted his boots in the man's back as he slammed the pulse blade down into the top of the man's skull, killing him instantly.

Even as the big brute toppled forwards to the ground the screeching of tires preceded the sight of a sedan crashing through the gates by the street. Gunfire streamed from the windshield, forcing the Marauder to take cover while men filed out of the back of the car and smoke began to pour from the engine. But the Black Cat pounced on one, planting her feet on his back and slamming him into the car as she flipped off and landed gracefully while the Maggia man who got out of the passenger seat turned towards the thief. He never got a shot off though, his gun clattering to the ground as more than 240 pounds of fully geared Pilot slammed into him. As he staggered back to his feet, Felicia went for the two men on the far side of the car, acrobatically rolling over it as she swiped with her clawed glove at the first before firing her grapple hook at the second. Cooper pumped a pair of 9mm rounds into the chest of the man he had just hit before putting a third in his head. "Nice hook!" he called out as Felicia arrived at the last man and kicked him.

"You checking out my gear?" called back the Black Cat as she grabbed the man by his hair and slammed his face into her knee, breaking his nose with an audible 'crack' as Cooper slid over the hood of the car and planted a boot in the back of the man Felicia had scratched.

Firing his grapple at the man he had just kicked, ripping the stumbling man off his feet and yanking him back before slamming him into the car he drove up in, Cooper answered by grinning and saying, "Not your gear darlin!" Felicia responded by jamming the heel of her boot down on the top of the man's foot and then climbing onto his back before jumping onto his head to drive the man face first into the concrete.

The first Maggia Felicia had attacked staggered back up to his feet as the Thief climbed up to the rafters, "You first Cowboy," she said as the man spun around and his eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen.

"Oh, no, no, no, NO!" he cried as he turned and ran towards the bar and the Marauder activated his stim and jumped up, bouncing from pillar to pillar before leaping at him and throwing a brutal right cross that sent a tooth flying as Matt slid across the floor and came to a halt in a crouch as Felicia pounced. The Black Cat planted a foot on the railing around the bar before gracefully flipping forward, planting both hands on Matt's back and pushing off as she swung her leg in a crushing kick right in the man's face as he turned to face them, sending him slumping over the bar and out cold.

Matt stood back to his full height as his girlfriend pulled the limp body of the last Maggia goon off the bar and agilely vaulted over it, only pausing to pick up a glass that was sitting on the bar before she turned to the array of bottles sitting on the shelves behind the bar. Cooper strode over, holstering his pistol and watching with a smirk as Hardy looked over the bottles, reaching out for one only to flick it off the shelf and let it fall and shatter on the floor as she kept walking, doing the same thing to a second, and then third bottle of high end liquor as she worked her way towards the Marauder until she finally plucked a bottle of champagne from the shelf and popped the cork and poured herself a glass of the bubbly. Returning to the counter, she poured more of the bottle into a second glass, "I disabled the cameras, take your helmet off stud, relax, enjoy a drink," she suggested with a smile.

Cooper did just that, taking off his helmet and tucking it under his arm as he picked up the glass and clinked it against hers, "what about this vault? You find a location?" he asked as he took a sip. It was a crisp drink for sure, bit tart for his taste, but it wasn't a cheap drink by any stretch of the imagination.

Felicia strutted past him, hips swaying rhythmically as he leaned on the bar to enjoy the view before she turned around with a Cheshire grin on her face. "No," she admitted, "But maybe Spider can help us out with that. It's definitely where they're keeping the drive." With that she tossed the bottle of champagne over her shoulder and let it smash against the floor before she pulled her hood down and let her white hair loose.

Cooper nodded, relieved to hear that they were making progress as he sipped the champagne to calm him down as his mind started to wander. Felicia seemed to notice his introspection, scrutinizing him as she stepped forwards and stepped onto a box that was next to Matt, allowing her to raise her goggles and look him in the eye. "You love this don't you?" she asked, her expression amused as Cooper snorted in response.

"Getting shot at while you steal stuff?" he deadpanned with a smirk. The heiress rolled her eyes and turned away with a 'tsk.' "Or would you rather me say that I'm showing my gal a good time."

That got a breathy chuckle from the Black Cat as she sashayed to a chair and sat in it, leaning back and kicking her feet up on the table, crossing her legs at the ankles. "Remember when I tried going straight?" she asked as she sipped her champagne as Matt nodded. Her mouth downturned in a pout at the memory, "Had a job that didn't involve breaking or entering?"

The Texan hummed, "I remember you wearing sweatpants on weekends," he drawled as he shook his head to rid himself of the memory before taking drinking more of the champagne.

Felicia took a sip as well, smirking at Matt's distress, "That must have been so hard for you," she said with mock sympathy before setting her glass down on the ground and pressing her shoe to the edge of the table and pushing back. With feline grace, the Black Cat extended her hands over her head and place them on the ground before kicking her legs up over the top before bringing them down to the ground, sticking the landing and standing up to her full height and came back towards him, "We have to go deeper to pull this off," she said as she placed her hand on his cheek and caressed it lightly. "Nobody else, just us," she whispered before taking the glass of champagne from his hand and finishing it off.

Chuckling at her minor theft, Matt nodded somewhat reluctantly, "I know," he admitted, "it's better than doing nothing."

Sliding her mask back into position and pulling her hood back up, Felicia replied, "Some things are better when it's just the two of us," as she drew her grappling hook. "A lot of things," corrected the Thief huskily before firing the hook and pulling herself up and away.

Shaking his head, the Marauder flipped his helmet around and slid it into place before his gear came back to life and he fired his grapple to vanish into the night.


While Felicia was going through her notes at his place, Matthew had been kicked out to give her some peace and quiet while she worked. So, the Pilot was out looking for the last painting 'Mackey' had given him. As the night wore on, the more the SRS Major was certain the man wasn't who he had claimed to be, but Cooper wasn't exactly sure who he was, not yet. Following the reading his suit was giving him to guide him closer to the last painting, Cooper found himself in an area that was under construction. Climbing down the scaffolding into the trench that had been dug to reveal the support infrastructure for a subway line, Cooper weaved through the metal and into a hallway and found a box like one of the fake ones he had seen earlier. Just like before, Cooper opened it up to reveal another art tube inside.

With that secured, Cooper sent his coordinates and made a call, "Detective, I just found the last of the paintings and sent the location to you," reported the Marauder.

"Thanks, you've been a big help," replied the Detective, "I was hoping to ask you something though. Your relationship with the Black Cat, how'd that come about?" he asked curiously.

Cooper took a breath, one of the things he knew was that the police net never had any units being dispatched to where he found art pieces and that had the Pilot curious. With time to kill, he took the art tube with him sat down on a box in the corner that kept him out of sight of the entrance before answering, "We figured out after we first met that we were both gunning for the same guys, so it made sense to work together." Deciding to skip a few details, the Marauder continued, "We both enjoyed it, we made a good team, and one thing lead to another until we were romantically involved too. It all felt natural."

"You didn't have a problem with her being a Thief?" he asked.

"I knew who she was when we started," replied Matthew with a shrug Mackey couldn't see. "And it ain't like I'm a saint either, she steals stuff and I hurt people. We don't have to pretend to be something we aren't with each other and that's something we both like."

There was a pregnant pause over the line as Mackey sighed tiredly, which wasn't surprising considering it was almost 4 A.M. "I wish my wife was as understanding," he said with a hint of bitterness. "I don't see her much anymore," admitted the detective with a sigh that Cooper could understand, but then the conversation took an odd turn. "It's been good working with you Marauder, you've helped me find the missing pieces of Hardy's legacy and I can't thank you enough. Oh, and I think you're right about the new Cat," he added suddenly, "Take care of her for me, would ya'?"

The line instantly went dead, "The fuck?" muttered Cooper before realization began to dawn on the Pilot. "No goddamn way," he grunted as his helmet went back and hit the concrete behind him as he let out a grim chuckle and called another number. As soon as the line clicked, he began without preamble. "I know this is weird darlin, but just trust me, okay?" he implored sincerely, "I need you to head over where I am to look at a piece of art…"


Still wearing his police outfit, 'Detective Mackey' carefully descended the scaffolding with an agility that was more reminiscent of his previous work rather than what a man of his age should have been capable of. His naturally silver hair and mustache that had been eye catching years ago now served to sell him being the near retirement Detective tying up a few old cases. Reaching the level where the Marauder had dropped coordinates for the artwork he had found, Mackey found himself recognizing the place despite not being here in years. Moving inside, Mackey found the fake box he had set up a long time ago and moved over to look inside only to find it empty.

"Looking for this?" asked a filtered voice as Mackey spun around to see the Marauder sitting in the corner with a pistol in hand pointed at him while the tube containing a painting was sitting next to him. The older man remained expressionless, causing the Pilot to sigh as the emotionless x shaped visor stared at him and the man behind it continued, "I have to admit, you had me going for a bit there." Walter's hands began involuntarily clenching, the silver haired man weighed his options while the Pilot spoke, "If you had tried this with Spidey you might have gotten away with it, but I prefer to trust but verify. And funny thing happened when I tried to verify you, I got nothing."

The silver haired man's blood ran cold, freezing him in place.

"So do you want me to keep calling you 'Mackey' or would you prefer something else?" asked the Pilot conversationally. When the man in the police uniform didn't respond, the armored man shrugged his shoulders, "You're going to play the quiet game then? Fine by me. I don't really care if you talk to me or not," revealed the Marauder.

Before 'Mackey' could figure out what that meant, a new voice called out from the entrance, "Cowboy?" said a feminine voice, "you back there?"

"I am," called back the Marauder, "head back here and I'll catch you up." The sound of light footsteps caused the Detective to turn around and see a black clad woman in a form fitting jumpsuit move towards him, eyeing him suspiciously behind glowing green eye lenses. "Earlier tonight, that guy over there gave me a call, told me about some stolen paintings," explained the Pilot.

"Who is he?" asked the woman as the white haired man tried to keep from looking at her and remain calm.

"I'll get to that darlin," drawled the Marauder as he tossed the Black Cat the art tube, "This is one of the ones he told me about, I want you to see if you can tell me what it is."

The woman, seemingly still confused, flicked her hand to cause claws to extend from the fingers of her gloves as she popped the cap off the tube and slid the artwork out. Carefully, the woman unrolled the painting to reveal a vibrant watercolor painting that she carefully appraised. "I recognize this piece," she said suddenly, "It's a Somers, abstract expressionism style from the early 50's called Hiram's Remorse. Probably worth around $400,000 since he didn't do many watercolors, that, and it went missing 20 years ago, presumed stolen."

"By whom?" asked the Marauder, "Any ideas?" The Black Cat shook her head while the Marauder nodded in understanding before gesturing with his pistol, which was still pointed at the cop. "Well I want you to meet the person who helped me find it. Walt, this is Felicia," introduced the Marauder, "That is your name, right?" asked the Pilot, getting a curt nod back from the older man. "Felicia, sweetheart," the Pilot said as he holstered his weapon, "…this is your dad."

The woman next to him spun to face the disguised former burglar as the silver haired man faced his daughter and let a genuine, if remorseful, smile appear on his face. "Hello Kitten," he greeted lowly.

There was a brief moment as Walter Hardy waited for his daughter's reaction before she suddenly came at him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug that he returned. "I'll cover the door," said the Marauder as he stood up and moved to leave, "Take all the time you need." His tone was softer than the former Cat had heard from the Vigilante before as he quietly slipped out, the sound of the rocket pack echoing through as he jumped up and away from the entrance.

It was with some reluctance that the older Hardy separated from his daughter, it had been almost two decades since he had last gotten to hold her and it was even harder to let her go this time. When he did, he watched her pull down her hood and remove her mask, revealing that she shared his eyes and that she truly was a beautiful young woman. "I suppose I have some explaining to do…" he began as he moved to sit where the Marauder had and took a deep breath, "I really wish there had been another way Kitten," admitted the older Cat. "But I did what I had to for you to stay safe, the Maggia never would have stopped looking for me after I turned them down, and they wouldn't have hesitated to come after you too."

"Bastards," cursed Felicia, so harshly that even Walter almost flinched at the vitriol in her tone before she took a deep breath.

Before she could speak, the older man interjected, "I wish I could have been more of a part of your life Kitten," he told her candidly, "And I never wanted you to do what I did, do…this," continued the former Cat as he gestured towards her gear.

The younger Black Cat shrunk in on herself, "I'm sorry father," she answered, truly somber, "when I learned about what you were…I…I wanted to try and be more like you, be closer to you, after I lost you," she answered timidly.

Walter stood up and stepped towards his daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder and placing his finger under her chin to tilt her head up to look him in the eye. "Felicia, I am so proud of you and everything you've done," he said sincerely.

"But you just said…"

"I said I didn't want you to feel like you had to do what I did," he repeated as he placed his other hand on his daughters' other shoulder, "But you have taken what I used to do and made it your own. And no matter what you did I just wanted you to be your own person Felicia," he said with a fatherly candidness and wide smile, "And to see you do just that Kitten…I couldn't be more proud."

He was happy to see his expression returned by her daughter as she beamed with pride, "Thank you, father," she said sincerely.

"Anytime Kitten," replied the old Cat understandingly. Only then did Walter's expression harden somewhat, "Now tell me more about this boyfriend of yours…"


Said boyfriend was patiently waiting outside, suppressed G2A5 sitting on his lap in preparation for what he expected to happen shortly, but enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasted. Though from the sounds of approaching footsteps that peace was probably about to come to an end. Surprisingly, it was the former Cat who came out first as Matt climbed back up to his feet when the man suddenly turned towards and approached the Marauder. The Texan could tell from the man's expression that he had something to say, so the Pilot waited patiently for him to get it out. "I just wanted to say thank you for arranging this meeting," began the man carefully. "I didn't think I would ever get to see my daughter again, but I'm glad I did." The older Hardy then asked a rather simple question, "Why?"

"I assume she told you about where I'm from?" he asked and got a nod back, "Well I don't think I ever told her this but…if I had the chance to go back and talk to anybody one last time, it'd be my old man. He was a cop if you could believe it, but he believed in doing what you had to. My dad was also the guy who first taught me how to shoot, so I still use what he taught me to this day. And when you started telling me about Felicia's inspiration, I figured she would want to talk to you one last time."

Walter nodded in understanding, "So you did it for her?" he asked, and Cooper nodded. "I see," the older Hardy as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, "You wanted her to have more than I was willing to give her," he said with a derisive snort, "Shows what kind of father I am."

"If I may," asked Cooper quietly, "we're all flawed, but you truly did everything you could to keep your loved ones safe. That can't be faulted…by anyone," assured the Marauder in his calm drawl. "I've done a lot of things to the same end."

"I've heard," replied Walter as he pursed his lips, "Another thing to thank you for," he finally said sincerely before his expression turned serious. "This plan of yours, do you really think you can pull it off?"

"It ain't my plan," corrected the Marauder quickly, "Cat came up with it. Like father like daughter I guess."

The older man hummed, clearly not best pleased by what he had been told by his daughter before he asked something else surprising of the Marauder. "Would you take off your helmet?" he said bluntly. Matthew cocked his head sideways in question, "Show me your face son, I want to look you in the eye." After a pause, Matt looked to make sure there weren't any prying eyes and lifted his hands to either side of his helmet before slowly lifting it off to comply with the older man's wish. "Do you care for my little girl?"

Cooper nodded, "Yes sir, do," he answered with calm certainty.

"I meant what I said, take care of her for me," he began, "But something else I want to say, if I don't ever see either of you again, just know that your relationship with my daughter has my blessing."

"Thank you, sir," replied the Marauder sincerely, "That's a lot more than Felicia's mother has ever given me. Though I think that's part of the reason Felicia keeps me around."

Felicia then exited, "Are you giving him a hard time father?"

"Not too much Kitten," he assured as Felicia gave him the repacked art tube, "Now I won't intrude any longer. Good luck to you two," he said as he shook Matthew's hand and then gave his daughter a warm hug as a tear began to roll down his face, "Until we meet again."

As the man turned, he began to agilely ascended the scaffolding until he was up and out of sight and Matt slipped his helmet on as Felicia spoke, "Thanks for that Matthew," she said lowly, "But I just got a call from Red, she has a location on the vault."

"Let's ride."


"Peter, I decrypted that laptop," began Mary Jane without preamble as soon as Peter answered the call, "remember that room sized vault Felicia was looking for? Well I found a record of it being delivered to a shipping yard near Hell's Kitchen. Felicia thinks that's where Hammerhead's keeping the last drive."

"Great work MJ," he replied, thankfully he was close to that address as the waypoint popped up on his HUD, "I'll be right there," he finished before swinging that way, quickly spotting the shipyard. Forty foot containers were sometimes stacked four or five high and a few tall cranes were erected over the yard with a single large structure on the far side. Getting closer, the Webslinger could pick out human forms on the roofs and posted on some containers holding rifles and scanning the perimeter. Thankfully, their eyes weren't on the sky as Spider-Man came in overhead and stuck to a leg of the crane at the center of the yard and surveyed the scene below him. "This place is isolated," he murmured quietly, "Perfect place to keep something valuable…"

A 'thunk' above him cause him to look up as he heard a hiss and saw the Marauder land, grabbing hold of the rail to hang near where the Webslinger was as his blue visor glowed in the night, illuminating the suppressed long rifle in his hand. "Marksman in overwatch positions, good defensive positions otherwise, lotta chokepoints," observed the Pilot.

There was another slight breeze as Peter looked up to see that the Black Cat hanging from the Marauder, an arm and leg wrapped around the Pilot as the Thief looked over the area. "This is the place," she said confidently, "It's here."

Now even more confident that MJ had been dead on, "If they spot us then this is over," added Peter, "we need to take them all out…quietly," he emphasized, mainly for the Marauder's benefit.

"And as a team," added the Texan, "it's the motto of the Squadron," he began as he flicked the safety of his battle rifle off, "United we stand…"

"And divided, we ambush," finished Felicia as she flashed Peter a smirk, "Try and keep up boys," she challenged before falling away from the Marauder as the two men dove after the Thief. All three landed on top of a stack of containers below and Felicia called targets, "Cowboy, the sniper on the far building," she whispered over the comm system the group shared. "Spider, that guy down on the right? He's yours. I got the guy directly ahead," relayed the Black Cat before she gracefully leapt forwards onto a container above another lookout, "On my mark. 3…2…1…mark!"

All three acted, Peter could hear the cough of Matt's gun as his own webshooters hissed and plucked the sniper from his perch, expertly ensnaring him in a cocoon of synthetic silk as he looked up to watch Cat pounce on her target. With the Maggia gunman snuggly wrapped up and suspended from a wire overhead, Peter spoke quietly over the com, "Lotta guys guarding this place. This won't be easy," he warned as Cooper dropped down behind another gunman and wrapped his arm around the man's neck, choking consciousness from him as Peter zipped over to where Felicia was.

"Divide and conquer buddy," drawled Matt, "You and I got those two below you, I got the one on the right. Darlin, you take care of the guy right beneath where I am. On my shot," rattled off the Marauder as Spider-Man prepared an impact web and took aim. Peter watched as the man next to his mark had his head snap sideways and then he fell just before he fired the impact web he had ready slammed into the back of the second man and slammed him into a crate, knocking him out and securely webbing him to the steel. Looking over, Peter saw that Felicia had descended to take down her target before using her grapple gun to pull herself back up to the top of the containers. "Wait, sniper," called out Matthew as the Pilot cloaked and relocated, Peter able to pick out the licks of flame from his Jump Kit as he leapt to another stack of containers, "I got him."

The Marauder's rifle coughed again as the suppressed gun spat out another round and a red laser sight flickered off. "Good shot cowboy, let's keep moving." With Felicia in the middle, Matthew moving down the left side, and Peter working his way across a cable that was effectively a tightrope that led towards the main buildings.

"I got this one right below me…" began Peter.

"Wait one, got two more on the center crates," cautioned Cooper. "Alright, we're in position," alerted the Texan.

"Okay…now!" whispered the Webslinger as he leapt and wrapped his legs around the throat of the Maggia gunman before twisting his own body and ripping the man to the ground before springing back up to his feet and webbing the man down.

"I love watching men work," purred Felicia happily before the Thief crouched down on the edge of the stack of the containers. Peter leapt forwards to the target buildings and crouched on the railings, "Those guys are ripe for the picking, you boys mind?" asked the Black Cat.

There were four men milling about by the main entrance of the building, which were the last four men in the area that he could see. "Let's put on a show buddy," drawled Matt as he dropped down from his perch and Peter watch him creep forwards taking cover behind a forklift while the Wallcrawler worked his way along the railing until he was right above the Maggia enforces, "Alright, start us off."

Spider-Man pulled a trip mine and took aim before slinging the device against the car next to the Maggia men and watching the device come to life, unleashing a webline that ensnared one of them and yanked him away as the hero struck, firing a pair of weblines at a second and pulling himself to him, streaking down and slamming his two feet into the back of the man he had just webbed. Simultaneously, the Marauder, who had cloaked to approach invisibly, struck, kicking one man in the back to shove him forwards as the man then spun around only for the Pilot to step forwards and jump up, planting his armored knee into the Maggia gunman's chin before his jump kit fired, throwing him towards the last foe as he spun and lashed out with a boot that landed squarely on the man's chest. As the Pilot landed he fired his grapple, yanking the man back towards him and throwing a final punch that sent him crumpling to the ground. "That's the last of them," alerted Felicia from her overwatch position.

The Black Cat landed next to the two men amidst the bad guys they had just defeated. "Lots of places to hide a vault around here," mused Spider-Man as he looked around the shipping yard.

"You check the shipping containers, we'll search the buildings," suggested the burglar, "The specs for the vault say it requires air circulation. So look for shipping containers with a vent."

Nodding, the couple made to turn towards the door when Peter spoke up, "I'm glad you two agreed to work together," he said truthfully, "We'll get through this, I promise."

"I know man," replied Cooper, "It's been good." With that, the pair turned and moved inside, leaving the Webslinger alone in the night.

With that, Peter jumped up to the center stack where Felicia had been, remembering seeing a vent in the side of one of those containers. Finding it and planting a webline on each door before yanking them open to reveal… "Building supplies?" said a somewhat disappointed Webhead before shaking it off and moving to the next. Dropping down he turned around to face the stack and noted the middle one in the three stack had a vent. Repeating the process, the Wallcrawler ripped those doors open to find something even stranger, "Pianos?" he wondered aloud, "Kinda random." Turning around, Peter noticed another container all by itself under a crane in the corner of the yard. Quirking an eyebrow up behind his mask, the Webhead began to stride purposefully towards it, "I wonder what's behind door number 3…" he began as he fired his webshooters and pulled, straining harder against the lock before it gave away with a snap and the doors flew open. When they did, Peter found himself faced with a familiar logo, "Sable International?" he wondered as he walked closer, "what is this stuff…"

Looking closer, Spider-Man realized those were gun racks, and they were packed full of the PMCs distinct white energy rifles. Behind that was even more equipment, crates with armor, grenades, and probably more. "Hammerhead's got Sable weapons," realized the Wallcralwer, thinking back to those reports of missing Sable inventory that had been left behind and Matt's words about Hammerhead gearing up for something, the pieces all coming together to form a scary picture. "I wonder what else he has…" wondered Parker, though the world didn't leave him wanting for answers for very long.

A crash at the front gate sent his sixth sense ringing and caused the Arachnid themed hero to leap up onto the crane as he looked around and saw the source, screeching brakes and tires fighting against the immense bulk of a white Sable International MRAP to bring it to a stop. "That answers that question," quipped the Wallcrawler as the doors flew open and Maggia men in suspenders jumped out wielding the same type of Sable rifles he had just found.

Sadly, the APC came to a stop beside a webbed up enforcer that was quickly noticed and the gunmen looked up and the base of Peter's skull began to hum dangerously, "Spider-Man, shoot him!" yelled one of the Maggia men as he snapped his gun up and Peter leapt from the beam, flipping through the air just as red laser pulses began to streak through the air.

The turret on top of the white armored vehicle began to try and track the Webslinger as he brought his arms around and fired weblines at the heavy weapon and pulled himself towards hit, planting his hands between the guns and flipped over the top just as laser fire filled the space he had just occupied. Coming down atop the vehicle behind the turret, Spider-Man lay down on his back and pressed the bottom of his feet against the back of the guns he had just dodged and pressed against it, using his super strength to unseat the guns from their mounting and push them forwards. Ahead of the vehicle, the gunmen fired uselessly into the sky above the gun turret until the guns were forcibly ejected from their mount and rolled across the top of the vehicle and down the front, causing the men there to run away as Spider-Man leapt back to his feet and sprinted forwards after the disabled gun. "Hammerhead thugs and Sable weapons. It's the perfect mashup I never asked for," quipped the Wallcrawler as he landed amidst the four men that had arrived, firing a webline at the gun of one and ripping it from his hands, swinging the white weapon around to clock a second Maggia thug in the head, stunning him before the Webeahd fired a line at the stunned gunman and leapt at him, spinning around to plant a kick on the side of the man's head. Transitioning smoothly, Spidey then planted that same foot on the grill of the MRAP and leapt into the air, firing a webline down on either side of the man he took the gun from and pulled, spearing his feet into the man's chest to put him down from the count.

Rolling as soon as Spider-Man hit the ground, the Webslinger came up and flipped when his sixth sense hummed and red lasers tore through the air, the distinct chirp of the weapons that fired them filling his ears. Planting both hands on the blacktop, the Wallcrawler did a handspring and twisted around, planting his fist in the Maggia enforcer's stomach before a leg came around and hit the man in the side before the Webhead's sixth sense buzzed and he bounced away as a red Sable shock baton was swung through the air and whizzed past him. Coming back to his feet, Spider-Man took aim and emptied the cartridges of both webshoters at the man, webbing him up before the Webslinger sprinted back in and landed a trio of punches before jumping up and planting both feet on his webbed up chest and pushed off, throwing the man into a container where he got stuck. "Stick around," quipped Peter as his sixth sense buzzed once again and he jumped back as his webshooters cycled the next cartridges in and he fired them again, planting a web in the man's face while he hit nothing but empty air. Coming to a crouch, the Wallcrawler fired a pair of lines that snagged each of the man's hands before leaping in the air, corkscrewing over the top and coming down behind the Maggia thug and yanking, smashing the man's own fist into his face before he fell on the ground.

With the area now quiet, Peter pressed a finger to his ear and hailed his companions, "Cat, Marauder? You two alright?" he asked, getting nothing in reply as he moved towards the building, "I just got attacked by Hammerhead's men with Sable gear, you guys in trouble?" When nothing but static greeted him, the Webslinger picked up his pace and rushed to jump up to a second-floor balcony and the open door. Heading inside he saw no sign of his friends but quickly laid eyes on a two foot thick vault door, three massive deadbolts clearly retracted to allow it to open, and open it was, just a crack, but there was no denying it. "Guys?" called out Peter as he slowly pulled the thing further open to reveal another veritable arsenal on the other side. The Webhead's eyes roved over racks of rifles, some bulky looking white weapons that in the hero's mind were classified as rocket launches and somewhat resembled Cooper's 'Thunderbolt.' On the opposite wall were some filing cabinets containing god knew what, along with a few of Sable International's drones, and then something even more eye opening, a few reasonably intact IMC automated infantry, both types.

But the Queens Native wasn't sparing much time to ponder that, instead focusing on the open hard case sitting on a countertop at the far end of the room sized vault. The foam lining had a cutout in the distinct shape of a USB stick that was obviously missing, and sitting next to it was a small black plush cat, leaving no doubt as to who had taken the drive. "No, no, no…you've got to be kidding me," he snapped with frustration when he heard the vault door begin to close and spun, quickly snapping off some webs to pull him back as it closed on him and he slammed into it full force just as it clicked into place and the deadbolts secured it, the metallic clicking of spinning gears securing the steel into place. Slamming a fist uselessly on the cold metal, the Webhead cried out, "Tell me you two weren't just lying to me the whole time."


The Marauder took a deep breath outside the door as Felicia set the time lock. "I am sorry buddy, but it's not that simple man," called back Matthew, genuinely sad to have to do this. "You see what Hammerhead's got? We don't have time to do this the right way, and I can't let you stop us…because we wouldn't do it your way even if we could," he admitted with a tinge of remorse.

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked the Wallcrawler indignantly.

"It means we made a promise," replied the Black Cat coldly, "A promise to a mother and father that justice would be brought to their daughter's killer," continued the burglar as she finished her work and collected her equipment before stepping back, "And that is one of the few promises I intend to keep."

There was a moment of silence before the Webhead responded, "what are you talking about?"

Matt swallowed the lump in his throat, "Mathilda," he admitted with some difficulty. "I always told you that she went back home, but I wasn't honest about how. Hammerhead killed her when he was trying to come after me. When I returned her to her parents…I had to return her body," revealed the Marauder. "A body that Hammerhead had mutilated to make a statement, and we're about to deliver a statement right back to him."

"And now we have a way to do it. The wealth of the Maggia," explained Felicia as she held up the last drive, "All in the palm of my hand."

"So…needing my help, willing to work with the police, working together, it was all just a lie?" he demanded angrily.

"No," replied Cooper somberly, "Not all of it." Taking a deep breath, the Pilot said, "I do hope that, when we're done, I can still call you my friend."

"Do the right thing," implored Spider-Man, "take the drives to the police, use them to build a case against Hammerhead and the others and then arrest them."

"You see that shit in there with you man?" snapped back Cooper, now becoming frustrated with his friend, "We've known that Sable's stuff has been going missing for months, what if Hammerhead has all of it? What if he has more that we don't know about? He's on a mission and the only chance we have to stop him is to strike hard and strike first. We don't and there's no telling what the death toll will be, how many cops and civilians will die." When Peter didn't answer, the Pilot added, "not killing them isn't an option. Remind me how taking Electro, Rhino, and Li alive worked out," sneered the Texan. "Doing the wrong thing is better than nothing."

Before the Wallcrawler could respond, there was a yell from outside, "They cleaned out the whole yard! Check the vault!" shouted what was probably one of Hammerhead's men.

That had the couple refocus, "Time to go," said Felicia loud enough for both him and Pete to hear as Cooper gave a nod of affirmation. "We'll raise a glass to you on the Riviera Spider," said Felicia as she rushed to jump up on a small lip in the finely carved wood pillars, pressing her body to the wood as Cooper engaged his cloak and crouched down on the opposite side of the door and two men in Maggia dress came in, completely missing the pair's presence.

Without another word, the pair slipped passed them and into the open air, firing their respective grapples to get clear of the yard, "Time lock should let him out in a couple hours, unless those goons let him out sooner," said Felicia over the comm as Matt began running along the side of a building. "If they do, you still got our backup plan cowboy?"

Cooper reached down to feel the Maggia detonator in a pouch, "I do," he assured, "here's hoping we don't actually have to use it."


Still trapped inside the vault, Peter heard the gears of the lock begin to turn as a combination was entered and the deadbolts released from their electronic seals. Then someone began to turn the massive wheel and retract the bolts. For a brief second the Arachnid themed hero felt hope well up, maybe Matt had come around, but his sixth sense began to hum lowly and he figured that wasn't likely, instead choosing to leap up and twist himself around so he was hanging upside down from the ceiling. "Boss, we're in," announced one of Hammerhead's men into the phone pressed to his ear as Peter watched from above, straining his enhanced hearing to make out the reply.

"And?" asked a gravelly voice as the two men looked around and moved towards the empty hard case.

"Drive's gone," reported the one on the phone, "Looks like Black Cat took it."

"Argh…" snarled the 'Boss' angrily, "new plan," he announced. "There's a tracker on that drive. Find them and kill them," ordered who Peter now presumed was Hammerhead himself. "And if she's dumb enough to go to her little penthouse, I had a crew already wire it up, they'll send it sky high."

"What about the drive?" asked the lackey.

"I have backups of mine, and I know where she's keeping the others," replied the Mob Boss, "I just want them DEAD."

"Got it," replied the man on the phone as the two Maggia thugs turned and retraced their steps, heading out of the vault, "We'll find her," promised the enforcer as he left and Peter crawled along the ceiling, exiting the vault just as they did before they turned around and resealed it. The two moved quickly, heading downstairs and leaving Peter alone as the Webslinger dropped down and rushed outside.

"If there's a tracker on that drive, Matt and Felicia are in trouble," murmured Peter as he sprinted out and leapt into the sky, firing a webline to begin swinging through the city. "Gotta get to them, fast," he grunted before pulling himself up and web zipping to a rooftop corner, launching from it to pick up speed rapidly. As he flipped through the air, he called Matthew, hoping he could warn the Texan what was coming and that the Pilot would listen to him.

"What?" asked the Marauder, "I'm not changing my mind," he said irritably.

"Hammerhead knows where you are," snapped the Webslinger, trying to get to his friend's pragmatic side, "He's going to kill you. There's a tracker on the drive…" he explained.

"Good," replied the Marauder, cutting off Peter, "Saves me the trouble of having to find him. I get to choose where I want to kill him and have him come to me. I'll be waiting for him with BT, all I need to do first is get the other drives from Felicia's place."

Hearing that caused something else Peter had heard to rush to the forefront of his mind, "Wait!" he cried out, "the penthouse, he's rigged it to explode!" warned the Webslinger frantically.

"Don't worry pal. Every battle is won before it's ever fought," replied the Marauder cockily before hanging up on Spider-Man.

"Damnit," cursed Peter angrily as he continued to swing quickly through the city, trying desperately to catch up to his friends despite their head start. "Hang on guys, I'm coming," he promised to himself as he fired another line and swung around a skyscraper, "I'm almost there…" he said, ignoring the protest of his arching shoulders from the high speed swinging as he kicked his feet up and flipped, pressing his hands on the top of a rooftop and launched off it and firing another webline as he dropped down between two buildings, with Felicia's penthouse in sight.

Pulling himself up, Spider-Man looked up to see a distinct blue contrail and lick of flame above him that landed on the patio outside the penthouse as the Webslinger pulled himself up and saw the couple open the door, "Cooper! Felicia!" yelled out Peter as he saw them vanish inside the penthouse and he fired a webline to pull him towards the door that had just closed behind him. He was less than thirty yards away when he felt his spidey sense buzz angrily, but he ignored it, pressing closer until, to his horror, the penthouse exploded, the shockwave knocking the Webslinger from the air and driving him down onto the rooftop of a lower level, the impact forcibly emptying his lungs and causing Peter to involuntarily inhale deeply smelling the burning gasoline and ash that now filled the air as a fire broke out, consuming the penthouse entirely.

Looking up as secondary explosions rippled through the penthouse, smoke and fire pouring through every open window, Peter couldn't escape the crushing sense of dread that filled him, the certainty that nobody could have possibly survived.


The only emotion Hammerhead displayed as he watched the explosions tear through the penthouse with both the Black Cat and the Marauder inside was a curt nod of grim satisfaction as he watched the raging inferno take root. Turning away from his vantage, the Mob Boss headed back to rejoin his men, ready to take the next steps and show the city that the Maggia was back.

And that this was just the beginning.


Cooper's Logbook – IMC Automated Infantry: STALKER

These up armored Specters were a constant pain of my ass back on Typhon. They have the same sort of armor as Titans and Reapers, rendering them highly resistant to small arms. The strengthened servos and motors mean that these bigger bots carry bigger guns. Light Machine Guns, grenade launchers, AT weapons, all the scary stuff. This means that STALKERs are capable of, and do, take on Titans and, in large groups at least, can bring down the piloted behemoths.

All that extra strength and toughness requires more power, and since the STALKER is based off the same basic frame as the smaller Specter, there isn't room inside to fit that extra juice. The solution Hammond robotics settled on simply bolting extra battery packs to the back of the bots, cheap, gets job done, and makes for a spectacular explosion when they get hit.

The other thing about them, is that they're basically Terminators. You blow off their legs and they will crawl to you with their arms to rip your legs off. You try to punch them and they can tear your arm off before punching straight through your ribcage. You run and they will rip your spine out your back. They can't be reasoned with, can't be bargained with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear and absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead.


Closing Notes: We have now reached the end of Turf Wars, which has been an interesting thing to write. Obviously, this chapter is a little all over the place. From the best cutscene of the DLC with Black Cat at the Maggia bar in the begininig, to the family reunion inspired by Black Ops II, and then the stealth section and betrayal at the shipping yard. The most surprising thing about this chapter? That I managed to have Spidey quote Schwarzenegger in the shipping yard, specifically, the classic film 'Predator.'

If you have any feedback or thoughts on this chapter, or anything else in 'The Heist,' then feel free to leave a review and give it to me. I'm trying to strike a balance between adhering to the game while also smoothing out some of the creases that appear when I have the different circumstances of this story.

Next up is Turf Wars, and that will obviously see a few more tweaks than my retelling of The Heist did. The first of which is a transition chapter to set up some stuff instead of just getting straight into it, and that is what is coming in two weeks time.

Where the cast reflects on The Evil That Men Do.

Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out.