-Unknown Location-
The man wearing a white hood, cape, and a blue battle outfit along with a skull mask looks down at the group of men and women he assembled and lined up for a special event. Behind him were an assembly of gym mats laid throughout the hangar. He finally breaks the silence and began his speech.
"Recruits, veterans, and all between. You've been chosen to compete for an important and special position within the company."
He lifts the briefcase and puts it on the ground. The people trying out stare at the high-tech briefcase in awe. Then, the hooded man pulls out a sword and points it at all the attendees.
"All of you will prove to me that you have what it takes to don the mantle of shocker." Taskmaster replied. "But only one of you will earn the right to wear the gauntlets, work with me, and have a special bonus. When we begin, I want you to look at the board and find the person you will spar against. I'll be judging you on your abilities. Is that understood?"
They all replied with 'Sir, yes sir'. Taskmaster nods and dismisses his attendees. They all lined up and continue their tryouts. Some took the mat in pairs to fight each other while the rest went through an obstacle course with live rounds being used. The head trainer of the LMB continued to observe all the participants movements, learning little by little which one was the best.
-Spider-Man-
Spider-Man drops down to a nearby alley and grabs his backpack he hid behind the dumpster. He hoped no Cleaners came around sanitizing the place with fire as he lifts the dumpster a little. His backpack is intact with all the clothes accounted for. He takes a sniff before recoiling at the stench of his BO and the dumpster in front of him. He promised himself he would get his clothes cleaned. However, the base wasn't equipped to wash clothes, so the laundromat had to do. That is if he can find one.
He looks around and spots a laundromat a few blocks down. He swings over and lands in front of the entrance. He presses on the doors. They don't budge. He felt bad for breaking into a laundromat, but he cannot exactly return to the base smelling like trash. He looks around and notices the vents on the wall. He climbs up and slips through the metal gate. A rat scurries out of the way as he climbs through the air duct until he stops at another vent. He presses down on the vent and drops down onto the floor.
The place was dark, but Spider-Man can see just fine as his lenses switch to night vision. He quietly walks around, checking the area for any squatters before he noted the laundromat is clear. He digs into the pocket of his backpack before he fishes out some pocket change. He opens the laundry machine and stuffs his clothes in quickly. Then, he presses a few buttons to set the machine to wash. He looks around and finds a few abandoned packets of detergent on the counter. What a score! He tosses the packets into the wash and presses start.
Then, he sits down and takes off his mask, finally having some moments to reflect. He thought about the agents in the Division; Oliver, Freya, Shane, and John, and how quickly they became from everyday people to federal agents. They are getting powerful slowly with Miles help in exploring different possibilities with their SHD technology and taking any gear and weapons they can find from their enemies. Then, he thought about the fight with the man on fire.
He couldn't believe his former classmate, Mark Allan, is Molten Man and he is after him. At least he has a reason why Molten Man wanted Spider-Man dead, to save his sister. Was he talking about Liz? The thought made his heart sink as he knew her. To hear about her having the dollar flu made him sad. Then he shakes his head, realizing it be better for him to find another way than giving up his life to help Mark, wherever he is now.
Suddenly, there was a crack and a snap before the door rang open from the main entrance. Spider-Man pulls his mask back on and leaps up to the ceiling. Then, the door swings open. A single woman wearing a purple puffy coat steps into the laundromat with a submachine gun drawn.
"Anyone in here?" She asks while sweeping the area with the barrel of her gun. "Come out slowly with your hands up."
Spider-Man recognizes the voice. The woman is Freya Springfield. Spider-Man drops to the ground with his hands up. Freya turns around and points the flashlight attached her weapon at Spider-Man as he raises his hands up, making him squint. She lowers her weapon and slips it onto her backpack. She shakes her head as Spider-Man rubs the back of his neck.
"I could have shot you." Freya scowls. "What are you doing here in the laundromat?"
"Cleaning clothes…" Spider-Man pauses for a moment, being careful of what he has to say. "For the civilians. What are you doing here?"
Freya sits down at a bench in front of the washer scrubbing his clothes. "I came searching for Peter Parker. He hasn't shown up in base all day and the JTF asked me to look for him."
Spider-Man freezes in his tracks. He thinks of something quickly on the spot while Freya stares at the wash spinning around to clean his clothes. Then, Freya looks at Spider-Man.
"Have you seen him?" She asks
"No, but I can go look for him."
Spider-Man gets up from the bench to leave, but Freya places a hand on his arm, telling him to sit down next to her. The wall crawler realizes it was risky to leave his clothes unattended. He sits down next to her and focuses on the timer for when his clothes should be done washing. Then, after of moments of silence pass, Spider-Man glances at the glowing orange circle on Freya's shoulder and breaks the awkward silence.
"So can I ask about your training with the Division or is that classified?"
"Since its you, sure. But you owe me one thing." Freya says as she thinks back to her training. "Years before the outbreak, I was encouraged to sign up for special classes from martial arts at the gym, some advanced firearms training at the firing range, and technology courses taught in a local community college. They were taught by senior Division agents at local communities."
"In other words, it was just secret agent training." Spider-Man shakes his head slowly, stunned to take the information in. "I had worked with SHIELD before, and they are less… clandestine… with their training. But didn't Cade teach you how to use pistols and revolvers?"
"Yes, but not the rest of the firearms. As much of a jackass he can be, he was kind of protective." Freya nods a little. "Besides, my time with being a reporter for the Daily Bugle landed me in some hostile situations. I even covered the war in Afghanistan."
"True." Spider-Man nods. "I bet you have some crazy stories."
"Yeah, I do." Freya looks at the washing machine as the timer ticks down to five minutes. "But enough about me. I need to ask you something."
Spider-Man nods and waits for Freya to ask him the question. After a long pause, she turns her head to Spider-Man and takes a breath.
"I have a feeling that I don't have to look far for Peter Parker." Freya laughs a little, nervously. "Are you him?"
Spider-Man looks around and scoffs. "What makes you think I'm him…?"
"Well, there's been some BS in your story of how Spider-Man know each other, especially when it was you who made the same webbing. I'm sure your Aunt May would have a heart attack for you to sneak out and planting batches of web fluid on the streets for him to find. Plus, I heard you went out with Shane to use a seeker mine you helped Miles built. It's kind of obvious you're either Peter Parker or Miles Morales, but I think you're too tall to be Miles. Anyways, if you want to prove me wrong, take off your mask."
He realized the jig is up. Freya is as smarter than she looked. Then again, she was a celebrated reporter of the Daily Bugle, so there's no use to lying to her. She had him figured out.
Spider-Man slowly shakes his head and pulls his mask off, revealing to the former reporter that she didn't need to look far. Freya smiled as Peter's face turned red. Then, Freya puts her hand on his shoulder and rubs it a little.
"You can put your mask back on." Freya coos playfully as Peter slipped it back on. "I'm just glad I know who I'm working with."
"You're not mad?" Peter asks.
"Why would I be mad?" Freya giggles lightly. "Though you might want to open yourself to Shane, Oliver, and John before we continue to work together."
"John already knows." Peter says. "But I'm worried Oliver would freak out if he knew who I was."
"Why would he be mad? You're just a kid."
"That's the point." Peter sighs nervously. "He wouldn't want some kid like me in harm's way."
"We cannot have secrets between us." Freya says. "That's how Cade and I work well as a team."
"You know I've been hearing rumors about you two." Peter starts to smirk. "Are you sure you two are just a team?"
Freya's cheeks start to warm up. She covers her face before letting out a squeal. Then, she falls silent and keeps her head still. Then, she looks toward the exit.
"I'll let you know later." Freya says. "You ready for Shane and Oliver to see who Spider-Man is?"
It took Peter several moments of silence to think about this. In one hand, Shane and Oliver are more than capable agents of the Division. He wouldn't have to hide as much anymore. But this would come with a big risk as it would mean it would compromise more people he'd swore to protect. Finally, Peter makes his decision and nods. Freya calls for Oliver and Shane through her smartwatch.
A few moments later, Oliver and Shane enter the room. Peter's face flushes red before Freya pats his back, prompting him to look up from the floor. Shane grins as Oliver's eyes widened. The former SWAT sergeant shakes his head a little and sighs.
"I thought Freya's hunch was crazy when she said she wouldn't have to look far for Peter Parker." Oliver laughs a little before his tone drops into something more serious. "I just can't believe I worked alongside with a sixteen-year-old kid for all these years."
"You're not mad?" Peter asks.
"I'm worried." Oliver replies while crossing his arms. "But that means we found Peter Parker."
"Don't worry," Shane flickers a grin. "We aren't the gossiping type."
"Good." Peter looks to the washer as the timer reaches 0. "I've got to dry these."
Peter pulled his clothes out of the washer and placed them on an abandoned basket before moving them to a dyer. Thankfully, the place allowed drying clothes for free. Freya watches Peter put his clothes inside before pressing a few buttons to start the machine. Then, he sits back down on the bench with his mask on. Oliver, Freya, and Shane sit on the bench with him.
"I bet it'll be good to get clean clothes again." Shane says as he stretches his back. "Once we're done with the city, we'll have the New York we know and love."
"Exactly." Oliver nods in agreement. "But now we've got something big on the horizon."
Spider-Man picks his head up as Oliver projects a 3D holographic map of New York and points to a large construction site. Oliver gets up from his seat and folds his hands behind his back.
"This is the first time that will require all of us to be on our feet for." Oliver began. "This construction site doubles as a major production line for the Cleaner's Napalm B. According to Faye and Roy, there's a good chance that the head honcho himself is going to be overseeing the production of Napalm, Joe Ferro."
ISAC projects an image of Joe Ferro in Spider-Man's HUD, a blue-collar worker who is leading the Cleaners to sanitize New York City. The wall crawler frowns under his mask as he looks at the image of the blue-collar worker. To Spider-Man, he couldn't be that evil like his adversaries. To take Ferro out without any sort of due process felt off to Spider-Man.
"Get Dr. Oxton ready because we need everyone on this if we want to knock down a major faction off the map." Oliver says before dismissing the agents.
Shane heads off to base while Freya and Oliver stick around the laundromat as Spider-Man kept his eyes on the dryer. The next mission sounded important, lots of bad guys, dismantle the napalm production center, and take out the man who is running the operation. All sounded beneficial except taking out a blue-collar worker who is leading the Cleaners. It just made Peter feel sick to his stomach.
"How soon are we going to the Napalm Production facility?"
"As soon everyone has the proper gear and weapons for this operation." Oliver replies with authority. "I hear the JTF gunrunner found an Classic M1A along with some other loot. That should be a good sniper rifle for engaging them at long distances."
"I… don't think it should be necessary to kill Ferro and his people." Peter says while scratching the back of his head.
"Say what now?" Oliver lifts an eyebrow. "What you mean? You were with us when we took on the Cleaners. There's no cops, no court system and no due process anymore. Those Cleaners have been killing people and burning down New York. We've got our orders to prevent the Cleaner's to start over their Napalm production."
Freya doesn't say a word and remains still. Oliver wasn't angry, just surprised as he sits up from the bench.
"I know, but what if we can reform this Joe Ferro guy to do something good." Peter says. "We don't have to put him down like a dog."
Oliver takes a moment to think it through. He looks at Spider-Man who looks back at him. Then, he nods at first before shaking his head.
"We'll try your approach." The former SWAT officer says. "But if it doesn't work, then we are going to take down Ferro to completely annihilate the Napalm production facility. I'm going to talk to Faye Lau about this."
Peter nods as Oliver walks past him while waving goodbye and leaves the laundromat. Freya looks over to the window as Oliver makes his way back to the base. Then she looks to the dryer as it reaches to minute left on the clock.
"I never thought Oliver would concede to your suggestion." Freya says while nudging Peter.
"Well, we worked together as a team." Peter shrugs. "Guess he didn't care how the job is done as long its done and it works well with his superiors."
"True."
Finally, the dryer lets out a buzzer. Spider-Man gets up and removes his clothes out of the dryer. Then, he stuffs them in his backpack and zips it up before grabbing it. Freya scans the outside before stepping out with Spider-Man. He goes one way as Freya goes another. The two stop and look at each other.
"Miles got something for you." Freya says. "Just change before you enter the base. Or you don't have to. Either way, Oliver is going to signal everyone when it's time to take down the Cleaners."
Spider-Man nods and heads over to an alley to change. After several minutes pass, Peter emerges and runs over to Freya to walk with her into the base. The JTF breathe a sigh of relief as they see Peter with the Division agent.
-A.I.M.'s Headquarters-
Monica nods away as Mark explained everything from the agents and their fancy technology like the healing station and the sticky bomb launcher to the fancy watches to control basic functions like activating the water sprinklers. The other scientists look at each other, unsure what to say in front of the scientist supreme. Then, Monica gets up from her seat and folds her hands behind her back. Did the mysterious friend have to do with their predicament?
However, that would have to wait. A doctor walks forward with a syringe containing an orange substance. Mark looks up and takes his shirt off and waits for the doctor to inject him. Instead, M0onica walks behind Mark and puts her hands on his shoulders. That's when he heard Monica's soothing voice.
"We found a more permanent solution for Molten Man. We're going to inject nanobots inside of your body."
"Why not the formula you made me drink?" Mark asks.
"The drink wasn't that potent enough." Monica sighs. "The nanobots will allow your body to phase into Magma in a single thought. You can see your sister again… once you kill Spider-Man."
Mark nods furiously before looking at the doctor holding the syringe. The doctor walks forward and injects Mark with the nanobots. Monica steps away and reaches into her pocket and presses a button. Then, the magma foams into his skin. Mark grins and gets up from the bench. Another doctor walks forward carrying a magma suit to prevent him from burning anything down. However, Mark holds up his hand and shakes his head. He won't be needing a suit to contain his powers.
He gets up and walks away from the doctors and Monica before heading up the stairs to exit the building. Monica grins as one of the doctors walks over to Monica.
"You know he has no control of his suit, right?" Says the doctor.
"Oh, I know. If he succeeds in cleaning up our problem, we send him off as a happy person." Monica folds her arms and watches the screen. "But if he fails, he can reconsider coming back to us until he succeeds or he gives up and see his sister die."
