Peter and Pyrrha flew through the city, when Peter suddenly got a call from Yuri. "Spider-Man, Arkos, listen. Devil's Breath cases are getting worse and Oscorp is being coy about an antiserum. I'm worried they're seeing dollar signs in a seller's market." The police Captain explained.
"Can they do that? Just keep the cure to an epidemic like that?" Pyrrha asked.
"Well, Osborn is the mayor after all. For all we know, he could just pass a bill giving businesses the right to hold their products. At this point, he basically has the city hostage for it, anyway. It wouldn't be a good idea telling him what he can and can't do." Yuri said.
"I'd expect nothing less from our beloved Mayor. But don't worry. He won't get away with that. We've got one of our best people on it." Peter explained as they hung up.
"MJ... You're our only hope now." Pyrrha said worriedly.
As if it was a miracle, the heroes suddenly got a call from MJ. "Hey, Pete. Pyrrha. Listen, I've been through all the city's records, state and federal databases. If this Devil's Breath lab does exist, it's not on the books." She said.
"There's a man very similar to the Mayor back in my world. According to his daughter, he keeps all his most damning or lucrative records closest to him where only he has access to them. Perhaps Norman does the same. They'd be either in his office computer or his home one." Pyrrha said, thinking back to all she heard about Jacques Schnee and Weiss wishing many times that she could expose him for the criminal he is.
"And I've already been through his office computer. Then the only place left would be his penthouse. But there's no way either of us could go there. That building's full of Sable's men." Peter said.
"Right. If we're caught, civilians could be caught in the crossfire." Pyrrha agreed.
"Wait, Pyrrha, what if you took off your armor? No one knows who you are without it. Even if Peter or I tried to sneak, if Norman saw us, he'd recognize us, but you're a complete unknown." MJ suggested.
"Right, but... magnetism and computers?" Pyrrha reminded them awkwardly.
"Well, I could still try to get in undetected. I could sneak in, find the lab's location and get out. Then, if anything goes wrong, I'll call one of your for back-up." MJ told them her plan.
"Alright. It's risky, but we need the location. Wait for us to get nearby before you make your move." Peter told her.
Suddenly, they got another call. "Hey, Pyrrha? It's Miles. Listen, I think I'm in trouble. I'm down at the docks. I had to make a medicine run for F.E.A.S.T, but they were attacked by Ryker's prisoners. And Rhino. I'm getting away so far, but he's not giving up. I'm running out of options." Miles told her.
"I'll be right there." She told him, before looking to Peter. "You think you'll be alright to back up MJ on your own?" She asked.
"Yeah, We'll be alright. Just go make sure Miles is." He told her.
"Alright. Good luck, MJ. Be careful." Pyrrha said.
"I'm not the one going after an 8 ton lunatic in an indestructible suit! Best of luck to you, too, Pyrrha." MJ said.
Pyrrha then quickly altered her direction and headed towards the docks in order to save her young friend.
Miles panted heavily as he continued to try and flee the docks while staying out of Rhino's sight. Which proved to be a challenge as somehow, the behemoth of a man made his way to exactly where Miles was heading without fail, forcing the boy to narrowly avoid him multiple times. It was almost like the brute knew exactly where he was at all times without knowing EXACTLY where he was. He had tricked Rhino into destroying a large pile of boxes and crates in front of an open shipping container that, with the debris destroyed, now made the perfect makeshift ramp for Miles to get up and over the wall of the shipping yard and he'd be able to escape. However, as soon as he entered it, he felt a great shake as he saw Rhino's hands wrapping around the opening in the front and the side, lifting and flinging the crate across the harbor.
Fortunately, Miles somehow survived, but was severely disoriented from the throw and tumbling around through the air in the crate, so he could barely walk as he staggered out of the crate. And in doing so, wound up in Rhino's direct line of sight. "There you are, child! I am sick of this chase! Now I crush you!" He declared as he charged at Miles. Miles tried to run, but he only managed a few steps before he fell, looking back and bracing for the impact.
However, before he could reach the boy, Rhino was suddenly smashed between two shipping containers. He pushed them apart with little effort, although he was clearly caught off-guard by the attack and it at least stung him, leaving him open for one more container to be flung directly at him. He staggered back and dropped to one knee after the attack, fully stunned. Miles turned to where the crate had come from and cried out in hoy and relief to see the armored heroine floating up to him. "Arkos!" He cried out as she landed beside him and helped him up.
"You did great out here, Miles. Now hurry back to F.E.A.S.T with that medicine." Pyrrha told him.
He nodded and quickly ran off as Rhino tossed the crate away and got back to his feet. "Arkos. The new little girl playing hero I hear about. Impressive armor, but it did not save you at the Raft." He snapped.
"You had friends at the Raft. But now you're all alone." She told him.
"This is the way I work best! I will give you one chance to run. I would take. Octavius has many plans for you and Spider as it is." He told her.
"Thanks, but I'll take my chances with you instead." Pyrrha told him.
"So you choose death!" Rhino declared, charging at her.
Background Music: "The Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace
Rhino charged at Pyrrha, who sidestepped out of the way and slammed her shield into the back of Rhino's knee to try and bring him down, but this didn't effect him in the slightest, continuing all the way until he crashed into a stack of shipping containers. "This is going to be a little more difficult." Pyrrha said in shock.
"You will have to hit me far harder than that if you wish to harm me, devushka! (girl!)" Rhino declared, turning back around to face her.
Pyrrha looked concerned at this, but then looked up above Rhino to see the shipping containers. "Then how about this?" She asked, pulling down the container on the top of the stack, collapsing down on the giant, bringing him to one knee as she intended. She then threw her shield at him, hitting him directly in his exposed mouth, causing him to reel back a bit, before she flew at him and delivered a powerful round kick to his head, recalling her shield and landing a powerful barrage of blows to his head with the sword, shield and occasionally a knee or kick. Sure, she wasn't as powerful as Peter, but the metal weapons hitting his head and clanging against his metal helmet likely rattled his dome quite well.
However, Rhino soon recovered and grabbed Pyrrha, smashing her against the ground, raising to his full height, holding her above his head and throwing her to the ground with all the force he could muster, stomping on her twice, then kicking her away. "You are clever, like Pauk (spider), but Rhino's strength cannot be stopped!" He declared and charged at her once again. However, Pyrrha noticed that he also seemed to have exposed areas on his side. His arms were covering them most of the time, but as he ran, she might have a chance to hit them. She waited until he almost reached her, then rolled out of the way, changing her weapon into its rifle form and landing a few fire round shots on his side, causing him to slow down and hold his burned side, glaring back at Pyrrha.
"Really? Because it seems like it really doesn't take that much to stop you." Pyrrha taunted.
"You joke like the spider, too! I hate his jokes! I hate your jokes! I will break your jaw!" He shouted and rushed towards her. Pyrrha looked into her pouch of dust and found she had one crystal of Gravity dust left. She'd been trying to preserve her crystal supply above all else, but this seemed like as good of a time as any in order to use one. So she threw it to the ground in Rhino's path. She waited just long enough and fired when he was standing above it, breaking it and sending a burst of force skyward, sending Rhino into the air, crashing into the crane he had been under. As he was in the air, Pyrrha managed to carefully aim, sniping the openings in Rhino's armor in a fashion that would've made Ruby proud, damaging his exposed sides even more before he finally crashed to the ground. "I will crush you!" Rhino shouted, charging towards her.
Pyrrha tried to dodge once again, but Rhino unexpectedly stopped and shot his arm out, grabbing her and pulling her into a bear hug. "This is where your journey ends, devushka! (girl!) But don't worry. You will not be alone. That boy shall follow soon after. And then the spider!" Rhino declared, squeezing her tighter.
"No... I won't let it end like this..." Pyrrha declared, looking up at the crane hook above them and focusing through the pain, controlling it with her semblance and brining it down on Rhino's head. This forced him to let her go, allowing her to jump back and shock him with lightning rounds as he attempted to get up, before throwing one more shipping container at the behemoth of a bad guy.
End Music
Rhino fell onto his back after the assault. He managed to get up one last time, but Pyrrha used her gauntlets to control the wire from one of the cranes, ripping out a good length of the wire and sending it at Rhino, coiling around and immobilizing him much like a snake would, then fired a few lightning rounds to shock him once again. He struggled against his bindings, but at this point had spent all of his energy and simply collapsed to the ground, defeated. "Thank goodness." Pyrrha sighed in relief, before calling Yuri. "Captain. Good news. Rhino's been taken down. Now we only have Octavius and Li to worry about." She explained.
"That's great news. Still, something tells me they'll be the hardest to take down. And we still have to worry about Devil's Breath." Yuri explained.
"Spider-Man's on that as we speak. The nightmare's almost over, Captain. We just have to hang in for the final stretch." Pyrrha told her. "I hope you've got something Peter. MJ. I'm not sure how much more of this these people can take." She said.
Mary Jane was in the hotel that Osborn stays at and found it basically on lockdown, Sable Agents everywhere, blocking anyone from going upstairs. She noticed the back door to the security room, where she knew she could gain access to Norman's penthouse, or at least find out when he was coming down. Unfortunately, it was being guarded and she couldn't take the risk of being captured. Luckily, however, she took note and advantage of the unrest of the residents and gave them reasons to complain, eventually luring the security guard away from the security doors.
"Alright. The easy part's done. Now I just have to avoid the trigger-happy Sable agents." MJ said, before noticing something, approaching a nearby shelf and picking up a stun gun from it. "Hello. Speaking of the Sable Agents, I bet they'd love to meet you." She added, pulling the trigger and getting a few sparks from it, before putting it away. Luckily, she wouldn't have to wait too long to be able to use it, as a Sable agent came out of the door ahead of her. She quickly, but quietly moved behind him, put the stun gun to his back and shocked him. "I like this thing." She said, hurrying down the hall, stopping beside a laundry basket when she saw another agent guarding the hall, facing towards her. However, she quickly turned him around with one of Peter's lures and shocked him as well after he turned around.
She then found and entered the security room where all the security camera monitors were, with a Sable agent standing guard in front of those monitors. However, before MJ could shock him, he turned around and noticed her. "Who the hell are you!?" He demanded, raising his gun, preparing to fire.
"Wait!" MJ pleaded, closing her eyes and raising her hands in protection, before a bright flash went off. However, this bright flash was followed by a shout of surprise and alarm from the Sable agent, who'd been blinded by the light, which had come from MJ's hands.
"My eyes! I can't see! What the hell'd you do!?" He demanded. It seemed like he began to recover and raised his gun again, but MJ quickly lunged forward and shocked him with the stun gun, putting him down.
"What the hell was that?" She asked in alarm. However, she then noticed she was holding something in the hand that wasn't holding the Stun Gun. It was a photograph of the Sable Agent before her. "Did I just... take a picture? But I wasn't holding my camera." She said, before thinking back.
"Sometimes, a semblance may activate out of nowhere in response to a stressful incident. For instance, my teammate Ren discovered his Semblance as his village was being attacked by Grimm. And my other teammate Nora was struck by lighting and found her Semblance: absorbing electricity." Pyrrha's voice echoed through her mind.
"Well, I'd certainly call having a gun pointed at me stressful. So, could that have been my Semblance?" She asked, looking at the picture and chuckling. "So, I'm a walking Polaroid with a nasty flash. I guess it's fitting in a way. And it could be useful if I ever go somewhere and I'm not allowed to bring a camera." She said, pocketing the photo and hurrying back to the lobby after noticing Osborn was on his way down. She then quickly snuck into the elevator as soon as Osborn and Sable were off it, heading up to his penthouse after a few torturous seconds when it seemed like Sable would catch her. From there, she entered the penthouse and tooled around, finding a strange mask and putting it on, discovering their was a hidden panel for a hidden door behind the portrait of Norman and Harry. She discovered the code was the day before Harry left for Europe. With that knowledge in mind, occasionally remembering some times from her past with Peter and Harry in the rich boy's home, but eventually discovered a key to Harry's room.
She entered her old friend's room and was shocked to find a bed similar to the one patients sleep in at hospitals, complete with an IV drip right beside it. She was shocked and confused, unable to process what she was seeing, until she found Harry's journal, where she learned the shocking truth her childhood friend was deathly ill and went to Europe for treatment. This information was devastating, but she had to press through, returning to the main room of the penthouse, but was forced to take cover as Osborn returned, accompanied by Silver Sable herself, as well as a decent number of agents. She still kept up her stealth, but was a bit more brazen as she moved from place to place with less cover in between. She managed to shock one agent, but another one soon saw her. Luckily, thanks to her semblance, she blinded him as well, quickly rushing in and shocking him before heading to the panel and inputting the date of the day before Harry departed.
The secret door then opened to reveal a strange laboratory, full of small enclosures for spiders and a large holo-table. Quickly searching on it and changing a few things around, she soon discovered the location the antiserum was being made in, ironically in a place with the same label as Devil's Breath itself: GR-27. However, she then noticed the spider enclosures and checked them out, believing that Osborn was trying to recreate Spider-Man. However, one spider jumped onto the glass and scared her, making her jump back, knocking over the table behind her. This alerted Silver Sable, as she just finished arguing with the Mayor again, forcing MJ to hide behind the holo-table. Sable walked right up to the table and looked around, finding nothing and, being the well paid INTERNATIONAL SUPER MERCENARY she was, didn't even bother to walk around the table and look, walking away.
"Peter! Pyrrha! I found the location of Devil's Breath! Pyrrha, meet up with Pete and come find me, quick!" MJ whispered.
"I'm already outside with him. We're just waiting on you." Pyrrha said.
"Right. I'm working on that." MJ replied.
MJ then made a break for the balcony outside of the penthouse, flashing a few Sable agents... WITH HER SEMBLANCE! And then shocking them with the taser. After she dropped two more agents like this, she put a hand to her head, a bit dizzy. "Whew. Stunning them with that light show is satisfying, but tiring. I better give it a rest." She said, making it to the balcony and using her taser on one last Sable agent. Unfortunately, as this one dropped to the ground, his gun went off, alerting the other agents, who charged towards her location with Sable storming after them, forcing to pull down a shelf to block the door. This managed to stop her grunts, but soon Sable herself was likely going to be another story. "Pete, Pyrrha! Really need you guys right now." She told them.
"I'm only a couple buildings away, MJ. Don't worry." Pyrrha assured her.
"Same. Turning off Lex now. You okay?" Peter asked.
"Not for much longer. Southwest corner." She told them.
"That's where I am." Pyrrha said.
From her location, she could actually look up and, with the enhanced zoom on her helmet, she could indeed see MJ near the top of the building. With that, she quickly flew to the top as fast as she could. Sable had shot through the window beside the door and was making her way towards MJ, but Pyrrha landed in between them, holding up her shield to block any shots they might fire at MJ. "You again! Why am I not surprised you are here?! What is the plan this time? Finally going to directly try to assassinate my client? Sabotage?! What?!" Sable demanded, aiming her guns at Pyrrha.
"Osborn is none of my concern. The only thing we're after is the location of the antiserum so he doesn't charge sick, dying citizens for their only chance to survive this plague." Pyrrha told her.
"Osborn made serum. How he uses it is his business alone." Sable countered.
"Not with this many lives at stake." Pyrrha argued.
Suddenly, Spider-Man began to fly by. "Pyrrha, shield your eyes!" MJ warned her. Pyrrha was confused but did so, MJ using her semblance one final time to stun Sable and her agents, before getting up on the railing as Peter swung by and caught her around the waist, Pyrrha soon leaping off the balcony as well and flying after them.
The trio soon arrived at F.E.A.S.T, landing on the rooftop. However, no sooner than they arrived did Peter have to sit down from the knowledge bomb he'd received. "It's so much to take in. Harry sick. And Norman and Li... And Doctor Octavius..." He said, struggling not to break down and cry from the sound of things.
"Unreal. The last time so many things went wrong for me all at once, I died." Pyrrha stated.
"This is all my fault." Peter said, lowering his head.
"ENOUGH!" Pyrrha snapped, causing both of them to jump. "It's admirable how much responsibility you shoulder on a daily basis and how you're willing to take the blame for the things that go wrong, but you take the blame for entirely too much. Honestly, I'm amazed you don't blame yourself for world hunger! None of this is your fault. This is all Norman and Octavius' fault. Norman was the one who first made GR-27, he's the one that didn't listen to Otto's warnings, he's the one who made Li. And Octavius isn't much better. He still had a hand in this as well. You gave him all the warnings about the neural interface, yet he still used it as soon as you left him and he's the one who did every atrocious act that has happened that's led up to this since we stopped Martin the first time. And whatever blame there is for you to take and all the responsibilities that come with it... From now on, I'll shoulder it with you." She told him.
"That was beautiful, Pyrrha." MJ said.
"Sorry I snapped a little. But it was getting a bit ridiculous with how much you were putting on yourself. I've seen someone do that before and it wasn't pretty. It nearly cost him everything." Pyrrha said, thinking back to Jaune with a sad smile.
MJ nodded at this. "Miles and I will look after F.E.A.S.T, you two go find Norman and the cure. We're so close to the end. Let's finish it." She declared.
"That's a good idea, MJ." Pyrrha said, offering Peter her hand and pulling him to his feet. "Are you ready?" She asked.
"Yeah. Thanks, both of you. Partners." He said, before he swung off into the night, Pyrrha flying close behind him.
