Authors Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn, etc.

Alright, the only thing I can think of that happened in the last two weeks is a new Iron Maiden song, 'Writing on the Wall' which is worth a listen.

Also, if you have noticed that the last few chapters have been better written, it is thanks to V-rcengetorix and his help editing things.

This is one of the most heavily changed events from the DLC, with only the basic premise being kept and everything else being redone, because, let's be honest, this was a terrible final boss fight. Even by the standards of a game with really mediocre boss encounters, this one was really mediocre. The arena isn't that interesting, the boss attacks aren't interesting, and Sable doesn't play much of a role outside of QTEs. The same could mostly be said about the games other boss fights, but what they lacked in gameplay they made up with in style and presentation, which made them really easy to write. Other than the basic concept of 'fighting Hammerhead and goons on aircraft carrier off Manhattan' I had to pretty much do everything from scratch. Be sure to let me know how you think I did.

Even if this isn't the end of the story, it is still the last big fight in New York, and that warrants an appropriate title. This song is the final one off The Last Stand and is therefore another Sabaton tune. It's grandiose, it's epic, a feel good story of former foes all coming together, it's about the strangest battle of WW2, the Battle of Castle Itter. It really is something worth looking more into, but the long and short of it is that American GIs and German Wehrmacht soldiers joined forces to defend political prisoners from the Nazi SS soldiers sent to kill them at an old Austrian Castle. There are both parallels between that battle and this one and the fact that it just fits too well that I had to use it, and I'm never opposed to a Sabaton song. So with that, sit back, relax, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.


Power Without Question – Chapter 95: The Last Battle

After the downfall, a castle relieved

Defeating the Nazis who held them besieged

Gangl and Lee and their men set the prisoners free

And it's the end of the line of the final journey

Enemies leaving the past

And it's American troops and the German army

Joining together at last


Peter wasn't quite sure how Sable's troopers rode around in these armored vehicles. Even with only six people in a vehicle with, allegedly, twelve seats, it felt like there was barely enough room for the five of them. The group had driven to one of Cooper's safehouses and taken the time to gather whatever they would need for the coming battle before regrouping. Matthew had grabbed more weapons and ordered BT to go to the docks while Felicia had similarly rearmed. Yuri had vanished and returned with a large leather wrapped case while Sablinova had simply raided the fridge in the safehouse. Spider-Man had undergone a rather more serious transformation, since he had gone to Parker Industries to find that the rebuilt Velocity Suit was ready for a field test and it had successfully gotten him back to the safehouse without issue, so the Webhead was confident enough to use it against Hammerhead's men.

But the additional armor meant that the seat, even though it was itself ostensibly meant for armored troopers, was horribly uncomfortable.

The ringing of the phone in his mask distracted him from that, and since those around him were busy with their pre battle habits, or driving in the case of Sable, than talking, there wasn't anything to prevent Peter from answering. The eager tones of Miles Morales came over the line, "Hey Peter, just letting you know I haven't left the house."

"Glad to hear it. What's up?" asked the Wallcrawler.

"I've been listening to the police radio," revealed the Midtown High student. "And there's stuff happening all over the city, like constantly."

Peter couldn't help but smile behind his mask at the awe in Miles' voice. "Pretty overwhelming, isn't it?"

"How do you do it?" questioned Morales. "I mean, you can't be everywhere at once."

"Remember what May used to say, 'You help someone, you help everyone.'" That quote was one that kept him going as much as his final lesson from his Uncle Ben, and it helped keep her memory alive.

"Yeah, but I never really understood what she meant…" admitted the teen.

"Ok," replied Peter as he tried to think of a way to explain it before it dawned on him. "You remember that lady that came into F.E.A.S.T. the other day with her two kids?"

"The one who just got evicted?"

"Yeah," responded the Webslinger. "After she found a job and was about to move into her new place, she told me, 'As soon as I get my first paycheck, I'm sending as much as I can back to this shelter.'"

"So we help her," began Miles as he slowly thought through the anecdote, "And now she wants to help others. Helping is like a force multiplier."

"Exactly," replied Peter.

"May was pretty great, wasn't she?"

Even if his smile turned slightly somber for a moment, Peter still answered. "The greatest," he affirmed proudly before taking a deep breath. "I'm gonna send you an address as soon as I'm done with all this, so stay ready. And bring those webshooters with you."

"FINALLY!" exclaimed Miles joyfully, Peter could almost see the gleeful expression on the teenagers face as he hung up.

Peter looked around the back of the vehicle to see Matt and Felicia across from him, both with their heads uncovered as Felicia's lay against Cooper's shoulder. The Texan looked at Peter with a curious look in his eye before finally asking, "That the kid?"

"That was Miles," confirmed the Webhead, "He's really eager to start training, been pestering me about it all week. I still don't know what I'm going to do with him once I start working with him," admitted Peter with a shake of his head.

"Oh, don't worry about it Spider, you're a great teacher," replied Felicia. "After all, you taught me how to be a hero and I know at least one person who thinks I turned out okay."

"Uh… I don't think that was as reassuring as you were hoping Felicia, but I appreciate the vote of confidence," replied the Wallcrawler. Shaking his head, he turned to Matt, "What do you think I should do Coop? Honestly."

The Texan paused to take a deep breath, "I think training him is the right move, you don't give him some direction and he's going to hurt himself by screwing around on his own…."

"He wouldn't do that, Miles is a good kid," insisted Peter.

"Dude, doesn't matter, he's a teenage guy," retorted Cooper. "Remind me, what kind of dumb shit did you do when you were sixteen?" Peter winced, which only caused Cooper to smirk smugly, "Exactly. There ain't nothing wrong with him specifically, it's just a fact of life. My only advice? Don't rush to getting him onto the streets. Once you do, he's going to see some shit, and you never know how that's going to affect him. Us? We're used to it all the shit, the death and suffering, making the hard choices, knowing you can't do it all, and we keep going. That? That's something you can't teach."

Those were tough words for Peter to hear, but that didn't change the fact that they were correct. "You're right," he agreed, "I got a good feeling about him though, he saw a lot working at F.E.A.S.T. last year. I just hope I can keep him from being too eager to 'help' and getting himself hurt."

"Well, uh, I hate to break it to ya pal, but you ain't gonna be able to. He's a teenager, he'll do dumb shit and he'll get his ass kicked. You just gotta make sure he learns from it," drawled Cooper. "Happened to me all the time when I played ball, every so often I'd run into some big lineman who'd knock me on my ass. It's going to happen to him too, just like it probably did to you when you started out."

The Wallcrawler hissed at the memory, "Sandman," he replied without having to think much about it, "Electro too." Like the other superpowered members of the Sinister Six, Electro was being held at a different high security facility until the special cells on the RAFT could be rebuilt, hopefully to resist any breakout attempts like the one that had been successful. "But I see your point, still wish there was a better way though."

"You're smart, if anyone can figure something out, it's you," assured Matthew.

"Yeah, speaking of figuring stuff out, do either of you know what's happening?" asked the Arachnid themed hero. "Nobody's told me anything."

"Because we don't want to spoil the surprise Spider," replied the Black Cat, Cheshire Grin on her face, "You'll just have to wait and see."

"We're going to Sable's base," explained Matthew, "She says it's where she's been flying her VTOLs from and it has something we can use to jam and disable the Olympus armor."

"Wait… how does she have a base in the city we don't know about?" asked Peter, "You two don't know about it, do you?" All he got back was both their heads shaking a negative.

At that moment, the MRAP rolled to a stop as Sable called back, "Enough talk. Let us get to work." Matt and Felicia shared a quick kiss before donning their respective headgear and retrieving their weapons. Opening the doors, the group filed out of the armored vehicle as BT lumbered out from one of the warehouses nearby, completing their team.

But as Peter looked around, he couldn't help but notice that something was seemingly missing. "So uh, Sable, where's this 'Base' you talked about?" In reply, the Symkarian merely pointed out over the water, seemingly at nothing when the air began to shimmer, only for thin air to give way to the grey painted hull of an aircraft carrier that was coming up alongside the dock. "Whoa… your toys are so much cooler than mine!"

Approaching under its own power, the 670 foot long ship was already slowing before it came to a stop alongside the dock and extended a massive ramp from one of the davits on the port side while anchors were released. Peter, like the rest of the group, stood in shock at the sudden appearance of a fully armed warship that had cloaked its way right up to the shores of Manhattan. Sable wasn't surprised obviously, not by the way she strode towards the base of the ramp.

"Your company has an aircraft carrier, yet Osborn paid your fees without hesitation. But when the Department asked for a bigger budget, we were told to pound sand," muttered Yuri under her breath, and it was only due to Peter's superior senses he was able to hear her at all.

Cooper's response was somewhat different, "That's a helluva ride Sable. She got a name?" asked the Pilot as Silver turned around.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the In Amber Clad."


"So that's what the bitch was hiding from me," growled Hammerhead as he lowered the pair of binoculars he had been using to look at the Sable International ship that had just raised anchor across the East River.

"What are we gonna do Boss?" asked one of his surviving lieutenants. "They got everyone on that thing. Silver Sable, the Marauder, Black Cat, Spider-Man, and that Cop. Hell, the Marauder even brought his giant robot on board."

It was almost too good to be true, everyone he wanted dead all in one place, and that place was one he wanted for himself. After a few moments of thought, Hammerhead turned towards his subordinate, "We still got that EMP, right?" he asked, getting a nod back. "Get it, and have the rest of the guys find some boats, I got an idea."


"Admiral on deck!" barked Captain Jellicoe as the entire bridge crew of the In Amber Clad snapped to attention.

Silver Sablinova returned the salute, "As you were," intoned the Symkarian as the men and women went back to work, not paying any mind to the new arrivals. The rest of group was surveying the CIC as the In Amber Clad began the laborious task of coming about and heading back the way it came while dodging all the smaller craft that crowded the waterway. The Marauder's Titan was being stored on the hanger deck, but the group had been brought up so that Silver could consult with Jellicoe about her plan, and the best place to utilize the onboard ECM equipment to jam the Olympus armor. "Captain Jellicoe, a word when you are able."

"Aye ma'am," he replied before returning to his duties and leaving Silver Sable to assess their situation. Once the armor was jammed, they could use the Marauder's Titan, the AV-22 Sparrowhawk VTOLs still on board, or take one of the CB-90 Fast Assault Craft carried aboard the ship to engage the Maggia, though how much of a fight they would be able to put up with their armor disabled was yet to be seen. She was broken from her thoughts on how the action would proceed by the sound of the Captain's voice. "We're underway, all systems normal."

"Very good Captain," replied Silver, "We must devise our strategy, I have need of your input Captain. All of you, follow me." To their credit, it seemed that nobody objected as the group made their way to one of the holographic display tables. Once the group had assembled around the table, she brought a map of the city to life. "The specifications of Project Olympus suggest a weakness that we can exploit. Should we be able to sever the link between the armor and a command uplink node, the armor systems will deactivate. The Electronic Warfare suite of In Amber Clad should prove adequate to accomplish this, and should be able to jam any armor within a five kilometer radius," she revealed as a circle showing that effective range appeared around the marker of the ship. "We need a suitable location to engage Hammerhead while remaining within the effective radius of the jammer. Suggestions?"

Jellicoe cleared his throat and spoke first. "If I may speak freely ma'am?" he asked, to which Silver nodded. "I do not agree with putting my ship in harm's way…."

"Noted and overruled Captain," cut off Sablinova. Her expression was seemingly carved out of granite as she considered just how much she was willing to risk for her home. "Safety of In Amber Clad is paramount. Where would you suggest In Ambler Clad be located to ensure it is within range while remaining as safe as possible?"

The ex-Royal Navy man was not thrilled by her words. "If I had to pick?" began Jellicoe, "It would be here," he said, pointing to a spot between the Statue of Liberty and southern tip of Manhattan, "It would allow us to bugger off to open water if we have to, and we only have to pass under one bridge."

Silver nodded, "Very good. Now," began the Symkarian as she turned towards the eclectic individuals who would be backing her up, "Where is the best place for us to…"

But Silver didn't get to finish as a bright blue light erupted outside the window to the ships port side while the air around them seemed to prick at her skin before the world went white for a split second. When her vision returned, she saw that the hologram had fizzled out and the table lay dark and dead, despite the smack she gave it. Even worse, the rest of the screens in the CIC had gone dark and the thrum of the ships Magnetohydrodynamic drive had gone. The only thing that seemed to work was the Marauder's visor, which still glowed blue as he shouted out, "We just got hit with an EMP!"

"Where did Hammerhead get an EMP?" wondered Spider-Man aloud as his webshooters sparked on his wrists.

Sablinova grimaced but did not answer, only making a mental note to have words with Osborn about the appalling state of his security when she did finally get around to meeting with him. "It does not matter," replied the Mercenary, "Captain, what is our status?"

Jellicoe turned back around, "All stations, sound off!"

The first to respond was the helmsman, who confirmed what Sable already feared, "Helm is unresponsive, no propulsion or steering! We're drifting!"

"Main reactors are recycling! Diesel backups are online and providing emergency power." Right as the officer who relayed that did, the CIC was bathed in red emergency backup lights. "10 minutes until reactors are providing minimum acceptable operational power."

"Weapons?" asked Jellicoe.

"Running diagnostics, stand by," replied woman at the weapons console. "Sea Sparrows are offline. Bow Phalanx mount and gun is operational. Aft mounts aren't responding. All sensors are down, the guns are blind."

"Meaning we're sitting fucking ducks," grunted the SRS Pilot, which Sablinova could not help but agree with, even if she would not have used that exact phrase. "Hammerhead wouldn't have done this unless he was going to follow it up. We need to get ready for a fight."

"Agreed," returned Sablinova, but before she could continue, exactly what Hammerhead's follow up would be revealed itself.

A lookout burst inside from a small platform on the aft side of the island. "Numerous small craft approaching at high speed! I can see armed men aboard!"

"Captain, sound general quarters," instructed Sablinova before turning to the others and quickly coming up with a plan. "Watanabe, I want you to take position atop the island. Find a good vantage point, call targets and engage targets of opportunity."

With a silent nod, the former police captain headed out the way the lookout had come in before the Marauder spoke up. "Cat, go with her. Watch her back," he instructed.

The Thief smirked, "With pleasure," she purred, "We'll make sure to leave some for you."

"Marauder, Spider-Man, I want you both on the hanger deck," continued the Symkarian, "The most likely boarding location are the davits there."

"You can count on us," returned the Webhead before both men turned and jogged back down into the bowels of the ship.

Just as they disappeared, the shipwide PA system crackled to life and played a harsh warning tone that would bring direction to the chaos and confusion of those on board before it was replaced by the voice of one of the officers on the bridge. "General quarters, general quarters. All hands man your battle stations. Up and forward on the starboard side, down and aft on the port side. Set material condition 'Zebra' throughout the ship. Inbound hostile surface contacts. Boarding action imminent. All hands stand by to repel borders."

"Never thought I'd live to hear that," grunted Jellicoe as he produced an old L9 semi-automatic handgun. "But if those bloody delinquents think they can just take my ship, then," said the Englishman in his posh accent as he spot checked his weapon, "They have another thing coming."

Sable drew her own sidearms and hit the buttons to cycle them as they hummed back to life, prompting Silver to narrow her eyes. The Symkarian was not able to agree with Jellicoe more.


Pulling herself up atop the forward part of the island, just ahead of one of the small radar arrays that atop the Bridge, Yuri set down the leather-bound case she was carrying. Off handedly checking her watch, Yuri noted that it was 4:38 pm, and her mind went about remembering the tendencies of the wind and relative position of the sun while her hands, on autopilot, set about undoing the latches of the case. Watanabe pulled out the GOL Sniper Magnum from the where it was nestled inside the foam lined housing and inspected it, checking that there was no noticeable damage to the weapon. Satisfied the sniper rifle was in good working order, Watanabe opened the bolt and slid a magazine of .338 Lapua Magnum rounds into the bottom of the gun before sliding the bolt shut and making her way to the edge of the island. Laying prone, Yuri extended the legs on the rifles bipod and settled in behind the gun, resting her cheek on the rubber risers she had fitted to the stock before she heard a sound behind her.

Reacting instantly, the Wraith rolled onto her back and drew her revolver, finger poised around the trigger as she pointed it at the source, only to lower it when she saw who was responsible. "Black Cat, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm here to spot for you while you do your thing," answered Hardy with a smirk as she took up a position nearby and pulled out a pair of binoculars. "And watch your back. Make sure that ass of yours stays intact," finished the Black Cat with a grin.

"Would rather you focus on other parts," deadpanned Yuri before rolling back onto her stomach and settling back in behind the rifle, adjusting the scope atop the bolt action to give her a better look at what was around them. In Amber Clad had just passed over the Holland tunnel and was still drifting south, about midway between Manhattan to the west and Jersey City to the east. The Sable warship wasn't the only one caught in the blast either; other smaller ships floated aimlessly on the water, powerless and out of control without the backups and hardened systems of In Amber Clad.

But it was equally obvious that there were boats that weren't affected, out of the blast radius of the EMP, and they were coming towards In Amber Clad. Upping the magnification on her scope, Yuri took a closer look at those ships, a motley collection of trawlers, fishing boats, private yachts, and other craft. Looking closer, Watanabe could see some people on those incoming ships, all clad in white Project Olympus armor.

The Maggia goons approached what they thought was a beached whale, smelling blood in the water. "Watanabe, this is Sablinova. Point defense turrets are active, but as the automated targeting is offline you will have to be our eyes. How copy?"

"Solid copy," replied the Sharpshooter. The internal sensors of the Wraith kit did all the hard work, bringing an overly in front of Yuri's left eye, so that her right could remain focused on her scope, showing the exact range, bearing, speed, and deflection of the incoming Maggia boats. "Group of six boats off the starboard bow, bearing 210 at 800 yards. You see them?"

"Affirmative, stand by," responded Sablinova before the white dome on the bow of the ship turned towards the small incoming ships, the six barrels protruding out the base of the dome beginning to spin as the entire mount forwards to the proper elevation. An ear piecing roar and spit of flame from the muzzle announced that the Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) had opened up, sending a barrage of 20mm slugs downrange, every tenth round was a tracer, and the red trails they left behind culminated in a series of splashes before the fire was walked onto the lead ship, turning it to matchwood under the withering barrage of lead.

"I think she got 'em," observed Black Cat dryly, "You think that'll convince them to stop?"

"No," replied Watanabe, and she was immediately proven correct as the Maggia boats reacted. They scattered into every direction, picking up speed as they continued to approach the ship as the Vulcan cannon inside the dome roared to life again. More shells splashed into the water as the gunner walked the stream of fire towards the target, the stream of rounds clipped one of the evading craft as Yuri began scanning around, looking for additional inbound threats. "Sable, more incoming boats off the starboard beam, 285 at 600 yards, they're using the ferry as cover."

"Understood, we are beginning to restore some sensor functionality," replied the Symkarian, but before she could continue, the sound of the rotary cannon spitting out more rounds at a rate in excess of fifty slugs a second drowned out the words. "We will continue to prosecute targets manually, break. The CIWS cannot engage any target near civilian craft, but you are cleared to do so at your own discretion. How copy?"

"Solid copy, engaging now," confirmed Yuri as she picked out a fishing boat coming at In Amber Clad as it passed around a drifting ferry, the armored Maggia goon silhouetted on the front of the boat. Taking aim, Watanabe had to account for the distance, wind speed, and relative motion between the two ships that was displayed on her HUD as she steadied her breathing and began to slowly press against the trigger. With a sharp Crack, the 274 grain projectile shot from the muzzle at almost 3,000 feet per second and covered the distance to its target in less than 800 milliseconds. Once there, the tungsten carbide penetrator at the core of the armor piercing round cut through the Olympus armor and carved its way through the flesh on the other side, but didn't have enough energy left to penetrate the armor on the man's back. Bouncing off, the bullet tore through the man's chest again, doubling the damage as he dropped down on the deck.

In a set of fluid motions, Yuri's hand moved from the trigger to the bolt, lifting it and pulling back to eject the spent brass onto the ground next to her before smoothly pressing the bolt forwards and down, picking up the next cartridge and locking it into battery. Settling her scope back onto target, Yuri picked out another incoming boat in the colors of the New York Harbor Patrol, but commandeered by Hammerhead's men, at least judging by the incredibly optimistic laser fire coming off it. While their weapons were not meant to engage accurately at range, Yuri's GOL was purpose built for the task as she lined up on the man at the controls of the boat. Repeating the process, Watanabe steadied her breath and emptied her lungs before she slowly pulled the trigger back, but right as her rifle fired, lady luck conspired against her.

The boat she was targeting hit the wake from the one she had already taken a shot at, and the bow of the craft pitched upwards violently. When the .338 slug hit, all it did was bury itself into the cabin instead of the man inside. Growling, Yuri cycled the action and tried again, sending a third bullet down range, and this one found its mark, piercing the glass and taking off the top of the skull belonging to the man behind said glass.

But while Yuri was cycling the bolt, the Phalanx on the bow opened fire again, spitting out rounds when there was an ear shattering sonic boom and the gun fell silent. "Watanabe, the CIWS mount is no longer responding, what happened?" asked Sablinova as Yuri turned around to see that the gun mount had been blasted apart and sat smoking on the bow of the ship.

"It's been destroyed," she reported before she felt a tug on her shoulder and she saw that there was another group of boats leaving from Manhattan, including several large barges. Zooming in with the optics on her mask, she could see that whatever was on the barges was covered in tarps, and Yuri couldn't begin to guess what was being hidden. "And we have more incoming."


"Spider-Man, Major, we have multiple incoming vessels intending to board the ship. You will stop them," instructed Silver Sable as Spider-Man noticed that the big digital clock on the bulkhead was still working, big red numbers reading 16:46. The hanger deck still had a few of the same type of hover jet that Sable had been flying, though they had been secured to the deck. In the few minutes he had been down here, he had watched the crew of the ship move with speed and poise to secure anything that posed a potential fire hazard, ensuring that neither fuel nor ordnance was exposed to any fire. There were two davits on each side of the deck, one at the front of the ship and one at the back, those were where the Maggia was likely to come in, even though the elevator that led to the flight deck was lowered into the hanger deck. BT was in the center of the deck between the two sides while Cooper was next to Peter, loading his machine gun. "Good luck," finished the Mercenary with a surprising amount of sincerity before the radio crackled and went quiet.

"Hey buddy," said the Marauder, "Just like old times, huh?" asked the Pilot as he hefted his machine gun.

"Your memory must be a lot different than mine," replied the Wallcrawler with a grin. "I don't ever remember us going up against a bunch of wannabe 20's gangsters in power armor on an aircraft carrier."

That drew a chuckle back from the Marauder, "I don't either," he admitted, "Still, good to have you watching my back again Pete." Before Spider-Man could respond, the Pilot threw a friendly jab that hit the shoulder plate of the velocity suit before turning and heading for the other side of the deck.

It was hard to grasp that Cooper had tricked him and faked his own death less than a week ago while still seeming to want to work together, but Peter was willing to accept it, for now at least, especially since he saw a series of grappling hooks latch onto the edges of the hanger openings. Soon, Maggia goons in Olympus armor began to clamber up onto the ship as Spider-Man squared up to face them. "Hey guys, tickets please!" he called out, causing one to look up before Spider-Man fired a webline right into his face. Yanking the line, the Wallcrawler flew through the air and lead with a kick that sent the man stumbling back. Backflipping, the Webhead fired another line that hit the man's chest, "If I don't see any tickets I'm going to have to ask you to leave the ship." The only response was the ringing of his sixth sense as a red laser beam cut through the air, the Wallcrawler jumping and twisting over it before landing back on his feet, "No tickets? Okay then."

Bringing up his second webshooter, Spider-Man fired a burst of impact webbing that slammed into the weblined goon, sending him flying back towards the edge of the ship. The Webslinger let out more line from his webshooter until the man it was stuck to flew over the edge and the Webhead stuck the end of the webline he had to the deck, ensuring that the man was left dangling from the side of the ship.

The Marauder was busy at work on the other side of the hanger deck, the distinct sound of his Devotion echoing through the hanger as Spider-Man turned on the other goons that had made their way onto the ship. One lashed out with a whip, the glowing weapon came at Spider-Man as he launched himself at the goon, flipping out of the way of the whip and firing a squirt of webbing into his face. While the goon frantically tried to rip the sticky synthetic silk from his face, Spider-Man seized the opening, throwing two quick punches at his unprotected chest before planting his feet on the man's shoulders and launching himself up. Flipping over in mid air, Spider-Man simultaneously fired weblines int opposite directions, one hitting the goon in the chest and the other going up to latch onto the ceiling. With a bit of exertion from his superhuman muscles, Spider-Man spun himself around and yanked the Maggia thug up, launching him into the ceiling as the Webslinger began to fall, but not before snapping off an impact web that made sure he remained firmly pinned to the steel.

Landing back on the deck in a crouch, Spider-Man was soon beset on opposite sides by the last two Maggia goons, his sixth sense buzzing madly as he rolled out of the way of the punch thrown by the first one. With the second one still coming at him, the Wallcrawler jumped up in the air, throwing a punch at the one who had already swung at him while lashing out with a kick at the one coming in. Both blows found their mark, sending those on the receiving end in opposite directions. Seeing that one was stumbling towards the opening, the Webslinger fired a line at him and yanked, pulling the man off his feet and swinging him around before sending him at his compatriot, the two armored goons colliding with an immense crash before both were webbed down by Spider-Man.

"Look out, we got jetpack guys!" called out Cooper as the Webhead spun around to see that the Pilot was battling a group of Maggia men using the Sable jet packs. The Pilot had set down his A wall and was shooting it out with them, trading fire when another one with a shield came up over the side and charged at the Marauder. Cooper dove away as the Maggia man continued to steamroll across the deck, right at Spider-Man. The Webslinger squared up to him, seeing how the man had a sneer etched deep into his face as the goon continued his charge. Jumping up, Spider-Man fired a webline down at the goon as he passed beneath the Wallcrawler. Yanking on the line, Spider-Man stopped the man's momentum dead, tilting his shoulders behind his hips, causing his jetpack to launch him up as Spider-Man held on tight, swinging him over the top and slamming him down onto the deck and knocking him out. "Takes care of that…."

But the pounding of Peter's sixth sense at the base of his skull caused him to snap his head up and see a sight that caused his eyes to widen behind his mask. The massive white shape was angular and had a mechanical arm coming out of each side as flames on the back and bottom of the two feet propelled the machine up. Reacting, Spider-Man fired a webline, not at the machine, but at Cooper, yanking the Pilot out of the way as the robot raised its hand and opened fire, sending a barrage of red plasma balls down onto the deck where the Marauder just was. But that was not what had caused his Spidey Sense to buzz, and as soon as Cooper was clear, the Webhead turned to see that another one of the machines had appeared behind him and had raised its own arm to open fire. Diving forwards, Spider-Man rolled under the blasts and came up to punch the machine, but before he could, the other hand grabbed him and threw him across the hanger.

Slamming into one of the parked jets, Spider-Man felt the air get knocked from his lungs as his head crashed into the metal skin and caused his vision to fog. But through that, he saw Cooper jump up and climb into the cockpit of BT as the Titan and white robot moved at the same time. The white robot leapt through the air, flames propelling it towards the Webhead as the Titan dashed with its rocket boosters across the hanger deck as it reached out with an even bigger metal hand that wrapped around the machine's legs and ripped it out of the air. With seemingly no effort whatsoever, the Titan slammed the smaller machine into the deck, denting the metal of both the deck and the machine before BT lifted and slammed the robot again and then letting go of it while lifting one of its metal feet and crushing the smaller bot underfoot. "IMC Reapers," the Marauder's digitally enhanced voice snarled, "Leave them to us," continued the Pilot as the Titan pointed a thumb at itself, "We got this."

The Titan then turned back towards the other two Reapers that had landed on the deck as both of the white machines raised both hands and unleashed a volley of plasma at the Titan. Cooper raised his robot's shield, absorbing the incoming fire with the swirling blue light of the Vortex Shield as BT closed the distance with the Reapers. But while Spider-Man was engrossed in the spectacle of the machines slugging it out, a fourth Reaper rose up and landed behind the Webhead with a metallic Thunk.

Letting out a warbling mechanical roar, the Reaper looked at the jet that Spider-Man was perched on and raised its hands, palms glowing before it let loose a stream of energy shots with a distinct high-pitched scream. Spider-Man gathered his wits and jumped away, feeling the immense heat through the layers of his Velocity Suit as they gutted the white aerodyne, before landing on the deck and facing the IMC built machine.

Taking a quick peak over his shoulder, Spider-Man could see that while BT was facing one Reaper, the second had jumped on the Titans back. Cooper reacted quickly, spinning his machine and dashing back to slam the Reaper into one of the hanger walls. And while it looked like the Marauder was winning, he wasn't winning fast enough to be able to help with this Reaper. "Looks like it's just you and me," muttered the Webslinger as he looked back at the Reaper, "Wait, can you even understand me?"

In response, the Reaper fired a handful of circular objects out of its back that landed between Spider-Man and the Reaper. Each of the three circles extended four spindly mechanical legs and stood up, red cylinders coming out the top as they began to skitter across the deck towards Spider-Man. "Are those Spider-Bots?" asked the Webhead, his tone light as he fired a few squirts of webbing at one of the ticking machines, causing it to explode. "Exploding Spider-Bots," exclaimed the Wallcrawler as the Reaper took a step forwards and swung its arm at him.

The Webhead dove forwards, twisting over the arm before flipping over and landing, firing a flurry of webs at the Reapers legs, binding them together. When the machine tried to turn around, it tripped and fell over, crushing one of the Spider-Bots and causing it to explode. The last of the small bots jumped up and skittered across the back of the toppled Reaper before jumping through the air, right at the Wallcrawler, the top of the bot glowing dangerously as Spidey reacted. Firing a webline at the base of the Tick, the Wallcrawler began whipping it around while the Reaper broke free of the webbing restraints and got back to its feet. As soon as it did, Spider-Man threw the Tick back at the host Reaper, the bot slamming into the Reaper and exploding, stunning the white machine and causing it to stagger back.

Spider-Man waded in, jumping up and throwing a punch that slammed into the armor, denting the plate, but hurting his own hand just the same despite the armored gauntlet. Dropping back to the deck, the Webhead felt the base of his skull buzz as the Reaper tried to slam its fist down and crush him, only for the Arachnid hero to hold his hands above the head and intercept the metal limb. With his superhuman strength, the Wallcrawler held the arm, gritting his teeth as he pitted his muscles against the advanced motors and servos of the Reaper.

A buzz from his Spidey sense warned him that the Reaper was charging up the plasma cannon in the palm of its other hand, poised to blow him away. Reacting in a split second, Spider-Man jumped up and flipped over, planting a foot on the arm he had just been holding up before jumping up over the top of the Reaper. As he shot past, the Wallcrawler extended his hand and latched onto the top of the Reaper.

Letting out a warbling bellow, the Reaper thrashed around as Spider-Man clung on for dear life and tried to get a handle on how to destroy the Reaper. He was able to catch sight of how the Marauder was doing, and watched as the Titan backhanded one of the Reapers away before kicking the second, sending it into one of the parked jets, wrecking the plane.

But Spider-Man had to focus on destroying the machine that he was riding, his eye lenses focusing on a hatch that had black and yellow tape wrapped around the handle. Giving it a yank, the Webslinger ripped the entire hatch clean off, exposing the circuitry inside, Spider-Man reached in and ripped the wires apart, causing a red light to flash and warning alarm to go off. Leaping off the bucking iron bronco, Spider-Man rolled across the deck and came into a crouch as the smoking, damaged Reaper charged at the Webhead.

Firing a webline at the wall of the hanger to his left, Spider-Man darted forwards and to his right, using every bit of extra speed the Velocity Suit could grant him to get his trip line into position. Covering thirty yards in the blink of an eye, Spider-Man held the web taut as the Reaper ran straight into it and fell to the floor with a thunderous crash. Before the machine could recover, Spider-Man unloaded his web cartridges into the Reaper, binding it in a thick blanket of white webbing. Sprinting around to get a better angle, Spider-Man then jumped up and fired a webline at the ceiling before swinging at the Reaper, legs extended as he kicked the four ton machine with all his strength and sent it sliding across the deck, metal grinding against metal until it reached the edge and fell out the same opening it had come in and falling into the water below.

Turning around, Spider-Man saw one Reaper jump at the Titan, only for one of BTs hands to extend and wrap around the waist of the smaller machine. Holding it at arm's reach, Cooper then turned towards the other Reaper as a pod extended from the Titans shoulder and fired a laser beam that bored straight through the white robot, causing it to collapse, disabled. Then, with seemingly no effort at all, the Marauder squeezed the bot in BTs hand until the metal armor deformed and then collapsed completely, causing the machine to spark furiously until it fell limp in the Titans mechanical hand. "Just like old times," drawled Cooper over the comm as he let the Reaper slip from his grasp.

Looking past his friend, Peter saw the same clock on the wall, which had a bullet hole in it, read 16:52. Before he could make a joke about all that being done in six minutes, the Symkarian's voice cut over the comm. "Major, get BT and go to the elevator, you are needed on the flight deck. Hammerhead is here."


"Something just took it out, and we have more incoming," warned Watanabe over the comm. Further compounding their situation, with propulsion still out of action and their last offensive option now destroyed, Hammerhead's men were trying to swarm the ship.

Despite that, the simple analogue clock on the wall of the CIC continued to tick away as it read quarter to five. Some small piece of the Symkarian's mind drifted off to wonder just who that ticking clock was for before steering herself back on track.

Silver Sablinova pressed her lips into a thin line and responded, "Understood, continue to engage at your discretion." But it was a matter of time until the Maggia was on her ship now, nothing could be done about that. What she could do was fight to ensure that they did not take control of In Amber Clad. "Spider-Man, Major, we have multiple incoming vessels intending to board the ship. You will stop them," she ordered before pausing and adding, "Good luck."

"Ma'am! Enemy ships on all sides preparing a boarding action!" alerted one of the bridge crew as one of the displays showed video of the various small craft coming up alongside the In Amber Clad. "They have…."

Whatever the crewman was about to say was cut off by an RPG slamming into the side of the bridge, ripping open the steel and sending members of the crew flailing through the air as Sable reflexively shielded her face with her arm. Feeling the heat on her skin as the pressure wave pounded her ears, Silver looked up to see that the man with the rocket launcher was hovering just outside the blasted open section as she reached for her pistols, only for a string of gunshots to ring out as the man staggered until one round struck his head and he flew off errantly.

Jellicoe, smoking Hi-Power still in hand, yelled out over the sounds of gunfire, "Security team to the Bridge! There's been a breach!"

But while the Captain was running his ship, Sablinova was feeling that her usefulness in the CIC was at an end, her talents would be best used taking the fight to the enemy, and so the Symkarian weaved her way to the hole that had been blown open and looked outside. The sky was abuzz with more Maggia men with jetpacks as they swarmed the ship, some landing on the deck while others stayed airborne, only for a high power rifle shot to ring out and kill one who had stopped moving for a split second too long. A loud clanging on the door that led to a catwalk outside had everyone on the bridge looking at the door before whoever was on the other side shouted, "Open the fuck up before we blow this door down!"

Sablinova felt useful once more; security wouldn't demand entrance for areas to which they were already cleared. "Do not open that door, I will handle them." With that, the Mercenary clambered out of the hole and leapt to the catwalk, fingers wrapping around the railing as she dangled precariously over the water below. Through sheer willpower, Sable pulled herself up and hooked an arm over the top bar when a Maggia goon appeared around the corner and saw the Mercenary. "Hey! Pleasure to kill you!" he hollered out.

Sneering at the man, Sable watched him get closer to her through the corner of her eye as she acted, swinging her legs until her feet found the wall of the bridge and she dug in her heels and flipped her whole body up. Flipping over while twisting her whole body over the railing, Sablinova put her whole body-weight behind a crushing kick that came down on the man's skull like an anvil. The man screamed out as he slammed into the railing, bending over it as the Symkarian gracefully landed on the catwalk and drew one of her pistols, putting a shot into the man's jetpack. Sparking furiously, the jetpack let out one last useless spurt of flame before Sablinova dropped down and grabbed one of the man's legs, lifting it up to dump the man over the railing, hearing him scream as he plummeted into the water below.

For her part, Sablinova did not care if it was the impact that killed him or if he drowned after the fact.

Drawing her second pistol, Sable rushed along the catwalk and up to the corner, spinning out from behind it and opening fire. Two of the three men were cut down in a hail of laser bolts, but the third raised his shield and deflected the red energy bursts before Sable shifted her point of aim lower and put one through his foot. Screaming, the Maggia goon tried to charge at Silver and bash her with his shield, but the Symkarian sidestepped the attack and slammed the heel of her boot down on his wounded foot, causing him to scream again and drop down to one knee as Sable brought her handgun to bear and put a round through his head.

Sablinova had no time to catch her breath as more hostiles came in and raised her pistols only for a stream of automatic fire from the top of the island to kill one. A second one came to a hover, only for a high powered rifle shot to punch through his armor and go through to the jetpack. The round caused it to explode in a bright fireball before two more took his place, all converging on the top of the island. Refusing to be left out of the fight, Silver re-holstered one of her pistols and began to climb a ladder up to the roof, poking her head up to Watanabe and Hardy each in their own fights with groups of Maggia enforcers.

Hardy was closer, expertly going back and forth with two foes, but a third one with a shield prepared to charge at the Black Cat only for Sablinova to plant a shot into his back. The laser bolt hit the jet pack just as the man began to charge forwards and caused one of the thrusters to explode, sending the man careening off the Island and towards the flight deck below. While the Black Cat didn't seem to notice what had happened, the two men she was fighting did, and it was a mistake that would cost them. With impressive speed, the Thief lashed out with her leg, sweeping one man off his legs before firing her grappling hook at the second. "Nice of you to show up!" called out the Black Cat before delivering a flying knee to the chin of the man she had on her grapple.

Sablinova climbed the rest of the way onto the roof to assist, though the Thief seemed to now be in control. Watanabe was struggling against three more men as she rolled away from one and drew her revolver, planting a shot in his chest that caused him to drop his rifle before turning to a second. Both women fired at the same time, a pair of laser bolts going into the Maggia man's back while a .357 slug went through the same goon's skull. The third one had not been hit and dove in, driving Yuri to the roof and knocking the revolver from her hand.

Sablinova switched towards the one recovering from being shot in the chest as he dove for cover behind a sensor array, Silvers pistols barked furiously as they sent deadly laser fire down range.

The Mercenary continued to close towards the cowering Maggia man while Watanabe struggled with the other. When he tried to throw a punch, his arm was skewered by the rapid extension of the blades on Yuri's wrist as he screamed from the pain of the Wraith pulling the blades out before throwing her own punch. Stunned and in pain, the Maggia enforcer offered no resistance as Watanabe wrapped a leg around his waist and flipped them over. With a single stroke, Yuri slashed the man across his neck, sealing his fate.

At the same moment, the previously disarmed man made his move, diving from cover for the dropped revolver. Watanabe had seen this in the corner of her eye and dove for the gun too, but she was too late. He would have been fast enough to get to it before Watanabe could, but he could not get to it before Silver's laser. The Symkarian unloaded a steady stream of deadly accurate blasts that riddled his torso. His body came back down on the roof and slid across, trailing blood before he hit Yuri's revolver and knocked it off the edge and into the river below just as Yuri drove her dual blades into his already bleeding stomach, "You bastard," she snarled as she twisted her wrist, "I liked that gun."

With that, she shoved the man off her blades and, just like her gun, into the river below. "Clear?" asked Silver.

"Not yet," replied Black Cat as she pointed out towards Manhattan. Looking that way, Sable spotted three barges approaching.

They were all carrying something, a tall and distinct form that the Mercenary would never forget, something that could only mean one thing, and something that the three of them were wholly unable to deal with. Thankfully, there was somebody on board that could deal with what was coming.

"Major, get BT and go to the elevator, you are needed on the flight deck. Hammerhead is here."


"About damn time," drawled Cooper as he guided BT towards the elevator at the center of the hanger. Covering the distance in a few massive strides, the Titan stepped onto the platform before the hydraulics went to work, raising the 40 ton machine. "BT, how we looking?"

"All systems are green Pilot," responded the Titan instantly. While the elevator carried them up, Cooper brought up the loadout menu and thumbed through it. "Attention, hostile Titans detected."

That caused the Marauder to snort inside the cockpit as he selected the classic expeditionary loadout. "The bigger they come, the harder they fall." The Marauder rolled his neck, his hands gripping the controls on either side of his ejection seat just a little bit tighter.

But he wasn't going up alone, a thud on the side of the Titan told him he had a passenger hitching a ride. "I got your back Coop. Just like old times," said Spider-Man over the radio.

"Good to have you along for the ride buddy," replied Cooper as the top of the Titan emerged from the bowels of the ship and stepped up onto the deck before the Webslinger leapt off, swinging to the island to join the others. Reaching back, Matt had BT grab the reliable XO-16 and loaded the 20mm chaingun while the rest of the systems showed ready, and not a moment too soon.

At the bow of a ship, the hulking form of an Atlas Titan appeared, lifted into the air by a massive array of thrusters on the back and legs of the former IMC machine, still sporting its white paint job. In the hands of the Titan was a 40mm cannon and there were rocket pods on either shoulder of the former Ion, though it had clearly been heavily modified by Oscrop, at least if the logos on some of the applique armor was anything to go by.

But that wasn't it, two more of the mechs rose up from below and landed on the stern, a Brute and a Northstar, both with the spindly bodies of a Stryder class and armed with Quad Rockets and a Plasma Railgun respectively. Both of them moved in perfect sync, their movements janky and rigid, all were signs that these were Auto Titans, prompting Cooper to turn his attention back to the first one.

"There's nothing that warms the heart like knowing that you're bringing people together," began the Maggia Don, his voice being projected from the modified Ion. Proving that he was referring to the Maggia families as much as he was the group defending In Amber Clad, at least a dozen more men with Jetpacks flew into view, hovering behind their boss's Titan. Hammerhead's thick accent then took on a much darker tone, "Too bad it won't do you any good."

Taking that as their cue, the goons with jetpacks and RPGs opened fire, sending a salvo of HEAT rockets at BT as Cooper snapped up the Vortex Shield, catching the incoming ordnance as Sable broke in over the radio. "Major, we will engage the enemy infantry, the Titans are your responsibility."

In response, Cooper whipped around and flung the rockets at the Brute, staggering the Auto Titan before popping off some electric smoke as the air around the Vanguard was filled with the energetic obscurant. "Copy that, enjoy the show," replied the Marauder cockily, pressing the button to engage the dash thrusters and launch BT forwards, closing the distance with the unmanned Northstar. The long-range Titan was unable to back up and with its VTOL thrusters unavailable the AI had no choice but to raise its Plasma Railgun and begin to charge up a shot.

Knowing that he was outnumbered and caught out of position, if not outmatched, Cooper singled out the easiest kill that also presented the biggest threat, and that was the Northstar. With a backhanded slap, he knocked the glowing muzzle of the Plasma Railgun away before it fired, sending its shot into the deck of In Amber Clad and punching clean through the steel. Wielding the 20mm like it was a much smaller weapon, Cooper fired the gun from BTs hip, stitching a burst of rounds up the length of the Northstar from point blank range, shattering the Titans shields.

Before he could finish off that kill, the impact of a salvo of Quad Rockets shook the Titan, causing Cooper to snarl inside the cockpit as he rounded on the Brute that had fired them. With the unmanned Brute poised to fire another salvo, the SRS Pilot acted first, finger slamming down on the button that caused a rocket pod to extend up and fire a salvo of unguided rockets at the smaller Titan. Each of the warheads that hit beat the Brute like a drum, stripping it of energy shields and shearing armor plate off, exposing the metal skeleton beneath.

Turning back to the Northstar, Cooper threw a punch that impacted square on the rounded 'torso' of the smaller titan, crumpling the light armor plate and smashing the optic at the center. Desperate, the AI tried to retaliate with its own punch, but Cooper knew the move was coming and had already raised BT's hand to catch the incoming mechanical fist. With a simple effort, the hydraulics of the Vanguard crumpled the titanium alloy construction like tissue paper while raising a foot and planting it right in the gut of the Northstar. Both moves worked in concert, the kick sent the Titan back until it was teetering on the edge of the deck as the arm it had thrown the punch with was ripped from its socket and used as a club to bash it across the face, sending it off the back of the ship and into the water below.

"You just don't give up, do you?" asked Hammerhead as the smoke Cooper had dropped finally dissipated to reveal the Don as he leveled his 40mm at the SRS Titan and pulled the trigger, sending a trio of shells at Cooper, but not before the Marauder had raised his Vortex Shield. As soon as he caught the cannon shells, a salvo of rockets from the Brute flew at him and was also caught, but only proved he was cornered. Cooper now had both remaining Titans in front of him as he looked for an opening. "I respect that. But I'm still going to kill you like I did that bitch you stole from me," snarled the Maggia Don as he fired again, but the rounds were only absorbed by the Vortex Shield and did no damage. "And then I'm going to kill your friends, maybe I'll start with that cat whore of yours."

Knowing that Hammerhead was trying to goad him, Cooper grit his teeth and held his ground when he saw the Brute lift off the deck, its back mounted VTOL thrusters spitting out flames. Reacting instantly, Cooper sent the collected shells and rockets down the length of In Amber Clad at Hammerhead before turning to the hovering Brute just as a pair of rocket pods rose over its shoulders. The modified Ion took the backfired barrage straight to the face as BT sprinted towards the hovering Auto Titan just as it opened fire, rockets from the Salvo Core raining down on the flight deck around him.

Slinging the XO-16 onto the magnetic plate on the Titans back, Matthew used BT to reach up and wrap a hand around the ankle of the Auto Titan and ripped the smaller machine out of the sky, slamming it down on the deck. When the Brute slid to a stop, Cooper keyed the Dash thrusters and flung the Vanguard out to finish him, only to catch sight of a few laser beams flickering into existence around him that originated from Hammerhead's modified Ion. With seconds before the Laser Core would turn him and BT to a pool of molten slag on the deck, Cooper reached out and grabbed the unmanned Brute. Hauling the Auto Titan to its feet, the Marauder placed the machine between himself and Hammerhead, and not a moment too soon.

The Laser Core flashed into existence like a small sun, a ruby red lance of energy four feet across tore through the air and ripped into the unshielded, lightly armored back of the Stryder. Bit by bit, the Brute began to heat up, warp, deform, and then melt and disintegrate from the attack with the thruster pack disintegrating, then the light armor, then the structural elements of the frame as the Laser Core petered out and the badly battered Brute collapsed to the deck, utterly destroyed. "Is that the best you can do?" asked the Marauder as he eschewed the wreck of the Stryder.

"Still no respect!" boomed Hammerhead as in response, "What's it gonna take? I got the Titan! I'm a Pilot! I'm your equal!"

"Just because you call yourself a Pilot, doesn't mean you're a good one. And it definitely doesn't mean you're as good as me," replied the Marauder. With his own Core ready, the SRS Commando pulled out the XO-16 and dropped the half spent drum, "You think you're better? Prove it. I kill you, I'm better. You kill me, you're better." Activating the Burst Core, Matthew reloaded a new drum of 20mm and cut loose, dumping the entirety of the 40-round magazine in a single two and a half second barrage. The SAPHE projectiles dug into the armor plate of the modified Ion and exploded, blasting off the applique armor plates and sending splinter flying in every direction.

Dropping the still smoking chaingun, Cooper didn't hesitate to close the distance. As BT stomped forwards, Hammerhead lashed out with a punch that Cooper dodged with ease, dancing around the Ion before reaching out and grabbing the Titan by both shoulders. Punching the Dash Thrusters, the Marauder and the Vanguard shoved the Don forwards, slamming the Ion into the island. Leaving a slight imprint in the shape of the Titan, Cooper followed up with a punch to the midsection of Hammerheads machine before landing a powerful hook that sent Hammerheads Titan staggering down to one knee and knocked the cockpit hatch off kilter.

"No! You can't do this!" roared Hammerhead as he shoved the Vanguard back before the Atlas stood. "This is MY city!" he screamed as he tried to bring up his 40mm cannon, only for Cooper to wrap both of his Titans hands around it and struggle for it. "You won't take it from me!" shouted the Don before he headbutted BT. The Vanguard staggered back, but he had managed to wrestle the 40mm from Hammerhead. "I won't let you!" snarled the Maggia boss.

In a series of fluid motions, Cooper flipped the cannon around and snapped off a shot from the hip that slammed into the Ion's knee. The joint began to crumble, and Hammerhead tripped right as Cooper shoved the muzzle of the 40mm through the gap in the hatch and turned, heaving the Atlas over his shoulder. With a colossal crash, the Ion rammed into the Flight Deck as a rocket pod extended above BTs shoulder and cut loose, sending a salvo of unguided weapons into the beleaguered Ion. Each of the warheads took out a vital system, slicing through structural supports, blowing off weapon systems, severing the torso from the legs.

Ripping off the battered hatch, Cooper saw the result of the attack. A beaten Hammerhead slumped in the ejection seat, his formerly white Olympus armor blackened; shrapnel ridden, chunks of his face were blown off, along with the prosthetic arm he'd replaced the one Yuri had shot off. But, incredibly, he managed one last shark like grin on his mangled features. "If I'm dying…then I'm taking you with me," he managed before pressing a button that caused what Cooper recognized was a core overload.

A blinding blue light began to emanate from the Titan as Cooper reacted instantly. Pressing the palms of BTs hands to the wrecked Ion, he shoved the hulk over the side of the ship as the shriek of the reactor got louder. With a tremendous splash, the Titan hit the water, falling beneath the surface for a few seconds before the reactor blew and a massive explosion rocked the 20,000 ton In Amber Clad. The blast sent a geyser of water towering into the air and crashing down onto BT and the deck around him. "Looks like I'm better. And when you mess with the best, you die like the rest."


Cooper's Logbook – Phalanx Close-In Weapons System

Before the advent of surface to air missiles, the way surface ships were defended from air attack was by bolting as many automatic anti aircraft guns as you could fit to the ship in question. In certain cases, especially among the US Navy (where the thinking seemed to be that every crewman aboard had to have a gun with which to exercise his 2nd amendment rights in the face of the enemy), this reached almost ludicrous levels. For example, USS Baltimore was a heavy cruiser that had six twin 5 inch/38 caliber guns, 12 quadruple 40mm Bofors gun mounts, and 24 single 20mm Orelikon gun mounts. For those of you who struggle with arithmetic, that is 72 Anti-Aircraft guns.

But the advent of jet powered aircraft and long-range missiles in the 1950s made this type of air defense obsolete at least until the 1980s, when it wasn't anymore.

The Phalanx was made not to shoot down airplanes, but the missiles those planes fired. Weapons like the French Exocet proved effective in the Iran-Iraq War and the Falkland's war and so this was the counter. Modern radar and the M61 Vulcan 20mm cannon from American fighter jets could detect, track, and destroy incoming anti-ship missiles with a hail of armor piercing tungsten penetrator discarding sabot rounds.

Later Block 1B models of the Phalanx added the ability for the system to engage surface targets following the bombing of the USS Cole in the year 2000. 2 Al-Queda suicide bombers blasted a 40 by 60 foot hole in the side of the destroyer using C-4 packed into a small fiberglass boat, killing 17 US Navy sailors. So now the list of things that can be turned into Swiss Cheese with the press of a button has expanded to anything land, sea, or air within about 1500 feet of the mount.

And that mount is notable for its shape. The white cylinder with the hemispherical top that spins around seemingly with a mind of its own has earned it the affectionate nickname of 'R2-D2.'


Closing Notes: And with this, the City That Never Sleep comes to an end, and with it is all of the content related to the game that Insomniac made.

That is not the end of this story however, I have one more story arc I want to do and there will a be a few chapters to transition us to it. Stuff to both wrap up some loose ends here and transition everyone to where they need to be for that next story arc. Still, the end is already plotted out and very much in sight at this point. Which is a damn good thing because this story is way to damn long.

And that length has hurt some things, for example, Hammerhead references something that happened way back in chapter 22, which I don't expect anyone to remember but I put it in anyways. I didn't know just how long getting through everything to take, so when I set up that detail I wasn't expecting to have to write another 73 chapters to get to the payoff. That is just one way in which this whole thing has been a learning experience for me, so hopefully when the time comes to do the sequel to this story, I can correct some of those mistakes.

That's long term, short term? Well it's time for some people to hit the road and move on from the Maggia, because Life is a Highway.

Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out.