It's a warzone at the Lincoln Checkpoint grabbed Benitez and escorts him to the back as the metal door was blown open. A group of rioters storm inside and start shooting. Oliver pops out of the office and fires his light machine gun, shredding those who dared enter the premises. Captain Benitez pulls out his pistol and fires back from the office.
"Oliver," Captain Benitez shouts. "Fight like hell!"
Oliver nods and trains his eyes at the hole. Several soldiers of the JTF stand behind him to cover his back as Oliver creates a massive amount of suppressing fire with his RPK-47 light machine gun, pinning the heavy gunners outside down. Oliver keeps firing at the heavy machine gunners until one poke his head out and falls back after being hit. He stops firing and signals the JTF to hustle up and spread out onto the open.
However, two Rioters climb onto the roof and train their sniper rifles at the JTF and the division agent. They fire, taking out one while forcing the rest of the group to hug against the concrete barriers for dear life. At the same time, more rioters enter the fray, firing their pistols and small machine guns wildly out in the open like amateurs. Oliver deploys his shield and fires at the reinforcements as the snipers bounce their bullets off the shield.
"Christ!" Oliver curses to himself. "I'm taking some serious fire."
Behind the toll booth, Shane O'Connor arrives and quietly walks toward the snipers. After quickly climbing up the ladder to get onto the roof of the toll booth, he levels his assault rifle and opens fire, killing them both before they could turn around. He quickly hunkers down and watches the assault unfolding between the Rioters and the JTF.
He uses the pulse to highlight the area of hostiles and friendlies to get a better picture and not give away his position. Shane spots his good friend Oliver mowing the Rioters with his light machine gun. Shane shakes his head, not wanting to reveal his presence to the enemy quite yet. He finds the grunts in front of the checkpoint taken out as the rest retreated to the parking lot. He crawls on his stomach and pulls out his sniper rifle before checking to spot a Rioter sneaking around to take on Oliver from the side.
Oliver moves up with his shield raised, blocking the incoming fire from the parking lot ahead. As he fires his revolver at the Rioters in the parking lot, a rusher pops out of a medical tent and tries to get around Oliver's shield. Suddenly, there's a thundering gunshot. The Rioter falls back and lays motionless. Oliver stands confused until another gunshot woke him up. A thug falls back and drops the cooked-up Molotov cocktail on himself. Then, he hears someone in his coms.
"Wake up, buddy." Shane announces. "I've got you."
Oliver looks up and spots Shane fire another single shot. Then, the Division sniper jerks his head and ducks behind the electronic sign. Oliver looks over his shield to find his pal engaged in a duel with a sniper. Shane tosses a grenade over to the parking lot. It explodes and takes out a group of Rioters.
"That sniper is in my way." Shane breathes out hard on the radio. "Get close and take him out."
Oliver puts his shield up and signals the JTF to follow him. They slowly move up on the rioters with Oliver in the lead. The Rioter's sniper, that ISAC identified as Finch, puts shots at Shane's position. Oliver pulls his pistol out and shoots a couple of times. Finch gets hit twice in the chest and falls off of the truck. Oliver grins and puts down his pistol.
"The area is clear, Captain Benitez." Oliver says on the radio. "Shall I escort you back to base?"
-Spider-Man-
The agent named Mars leans back as Spider-Man continuesto stare at the wall running around the central part of New York from the penthouse. It's a spectacular, but eerie sight to look at. It's hard to see what's going on in the streets beyond the tall metal walls. But enough about the metal walls, he needs to get to Oscorp fast to find the information he wants to confirm. Spider-Man walks to the edge of balcony as the agent lets out a sigh, sounding as he's annoyed. He steps inside of an apartment unit to get himself warm. He leaves the door open.
"Why are you staring at the Dark Zone?" The agent groans in annoyance. "It's not like you'll get past those walls."
"There is something else that..." Spider-Man walks inside and shuts the sliding door behind him. He sits across from the agent and blinks a couple of times. "Wait, what's the Dark Zone?"
"Oh, so you really did come back from the dead. Let me show you something interesting."
The Division agent displays a map with his high-tech contact lenses. Spider-Man backs up as he sees a full map of New York in front of him and the agent. He wished he had something as cool as the 3D holographic map of New York built into his mask. The agent points to a section of New York highlighted in red as he explains what the Dark Zone is.
"That's the Dark Zone, a dangerous section of the city filled with contaminated areas, hostile factions, and lack of visibility. You may not set off the turrets when you get inside, but you will not last more than 10 minutes. The place is lawless area thanks to the Dollar Flu and the lack of control of the government."
"We lost that area of the city?!" Spider-Man gasps in disbelief. An entire city fell while he was knocked out. "The JTF was working hard to keep it from falling."
"Oh, they tried all right." The agent shakes his head, his voice drifting into somber. "But unfortunately, they eventually pulled out and had a wall built around it. People say all their equipment, weapons, gear, and supplies were left behind, just waiting to be taken by the people brave and strong enough to enter
"You make a good storyteller." Spider-Man quips.
"Well, thank you." The agent says. "However, what I'm saying is true. Just stay out of the dark zone and you should be fine. But I take it you're on your way to Oscorp. I wouldn't go there and suggest you turn back."
"Why not?" Spider-Man asks.
"It's dangerous." Mars puts it simply. "There's no JTF patrolling in that area and I'm sure you wouldn't want to be caught in the middle of a fight with all these factions trying to take the city."
Spider-Man steps away from the ledge and turns around. Mars seems to be a helpful agent. There's this charismatic energy flowing from him. The voice is quite soothing, calming yet had a taste of authority. The fact he gave him vital information. Perhaps he can help him out on this bit.
"Unfortunately, I have to get to Oscorp." Spider-Man says. "It's the only way my suspicions will be proven."
"Well, I have something that can go through any public archive in the city." Mars presses on his watch. "You can give me a name and I'll have my watch look him up."
"A doctor named-"
Spider-Man is interrupted by a loud ringtone coming from Mars's watch. At that moment, the agent holds his hand up and points with one finger, signaling Spider-Man to hold his thought as he presses a button on his earpiece to answer his call. Then he sets it down to a whisper before talking to Spider-Man.
"Mind holding that thought. I have to take this urgent call. I'll be right back."
Mars steps back and walks away from Spider-Man to take the phone call. He leans up against the wall as Spider-Man fiddles with his mask. Then, he remembered something. He has ISAC built in his mask. Before now, he only got ISAC to keep him safe from the contaminated zones and make sure those around him can stay out of danger. But can ISAC look up through Oscorp's records? Only one way to find out.
"ISAC, can you match references between Gordon Amherst and Oscorp?"
ISAC: Cross referencing Oscorp and Gordon Amherst... Several matches found.
Spider-Man blinks as ISAC displays files borrowed from Oscorp's public records. There's a time Amherst gave a talk at a conference where he gave a talk about his paper. Surprisingly, it didn't end up in riots as it had in the past.
The event triggered flashbacks to a time where he was sent by the Daily Bugle to get photos of the event. He got a picture of the doctor giving a good handshake with the CEO and Mayor, Norman Osborne. The two seemed pretty happy as they shook hands with each other. It was a good shot of the two to everyone in the Daily Bugle (Except Jonah Jameson who also wanted pictures of Spider-Man). It confirmed his memory this is the same Amherst that made a talk at the Oscorp science expo last spring. Last thing Peter heard was Amherst being offered a job with Oscorp. He never got to hear the end of that.
Spider-Man closes out the files ISAC displayed on. The fact a doctor is somewhat connected to the Dollar Flu virus could have ties with Oscorp. The thought made him take a huge deep breath. Mars steps away from the fireplace and ends his call from his coms. The agent returns to Spider-Man and scratches the top of his head.
"Sorry about that. Now, where were we?"
"You were going to help me on something. But don't worry, I got what I came looking for without having to move an inch."
"Well, good for you. I was going to tell you not to go to Oscorp." Mars claps quietly. Then, he turns around to leave. "Then I guess we're done here. I'll see you around."
"Wait!" Spider-Man interjects. "Where you are you going?"
"Been called somewhere else to help." Mars replies quickly.
"You sure you don't need me to tag along with you? I'm sure you could be useful."
Suddenly, the division agent stops. He slowly turns around and stares at the hero's eyes and falls silent for a couple of moments. Then, he places a hand on Spider-Man's shoulder.
"You're quite interesting, Spidey. Looking out for the little guy. The Division could use people like you. But don't worry about me." He pauses again. "I'm one of their best agents and I work alone. So, trust me when I say I can really handle myself. But I'm sure this isn't the last time we'll be seeing each other especially when you swing around the city but be careful where you swing. There's no cops to take care of the bad guys anymore. It's a war out there."
"True. But one day that war will be over." Spider-Man nods. He walks out to the balcony before he moves in a dash. He leaps off the balcony and starts swinging with his his webs. He turns his head back to the agent who makes his way out of the apartment complex by taking the fire emergency exit. A thought creeps into his head. It's weird for an agent like Mars to operate alone. Don't agents usually get some help? Suddenly, he intercepts a call from another agent.
"Spidey, it's Freya." She reports. "I assuming you're not busy at the moment."
"Not anymore." Spider-Man says. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing wrong. Just letting you know Oliver has brought back Captain Benitez. Doctor Oxton and Oliver are getting ready to bring the technician back to base. The gunsmith you rescued is giving out gas masks."
"Wait, where are we going?" Spider-Man asks.
"To a morgue in the subway, which is seriously contaminated with the Dollar Flu." Oxton joins in on the conversation. "There's going to be a lot of dead bodies, so I hope you have air filters built in the mask of yours."
"Which I don't." Spider-Man says.
"We figured you say that." John says. "Which is why we need you back in base. Miles told us he has made something for you to use."
"I'll be on my way."
Spider-Man lands on top of another rooftop and spins around before leaping and swinging back to the JTF's base of operations. It sounds like Miles has created something that can help him with this dangerous mission.
-Peter Parker-
Peter changes out of his suit in an alley nearby before he returns to the JTF's Base of operations, still in bad condition and unsuitable to help civilians with basic needs. Peter sees the former narcotics officer, Captain Benitez, talking with Faye Lau and the other agents. He points at a map of New York with thumb pins tacked onto it as he goes over the security detail on the street. Faye to Peter as he walks by.
"Peter, before you go out getting supplies with the JTF, come on over." Lau says. "Captain Benitez has found some fresh coffee."
"I just happened to walk by what's left of Kerman's." Benitez admits before getting right to the point. "So, what we're responsible for is Midtown to lower Manhattan, mainly because nobody can get off this island right now, including us. The biggest problem is manpower, or lack thereof."
Benitez's hand hovers over the thumb tacks on the board. There were color coded in red, yellow, blue, and green with giant circles colored in the corresponding colors. Peter takes a glance to see it's an indicator of what's out there.
"Right now, we have criminal elements occupying and controlling most of these neighborhoods."
Faye Lau finally takes her hand and points to the green thumbtacks on the map. She points to three different colors to label each one.
"Rikers, Cleaners, Street gangs."
"Cleaners?" Peter mutters to himself.
"Now I don't have enough people to secure a street block, much less to maintain order and safety." Benitez says. "So basically, these assholes are running around taking whatever they want and killing whoever they want, because we got nobody to stop them."
"Which means we get the task of cleaning out the neighborhoods so we can at least get food and medical aid to the residents." Lau states with pride.
"I dunno..." Benitez circles around and swirls the coffee in his cup. "I mean an area this size, this many bad guys- I don't think you people can handle it alone. I mean, no offense, but I just don't like the idea of throwing you agents to the wolves."
"Captain, we are the wolves." Faye Lau says with a smug grin.
"Yeah." Benitez nods and nearly lets out a chuckle. "Right, well then maybe you can convince the Division to send more of your guys?"
"For the time being, what you see is what you get." Faye says quickly
"I can't believe I'm begging the feds to take over my city..." Benitez sighs.
Faye Lau finally turns her head to Peter and the agents. "Any intel we receive, you'll be the first to know. Good luck."
"You'll need it." Benitez remarks before watching the hero leave with the agents.
"Alright." Oliver signals the agents to gather up by swirling his hand in the air. "We ready with getting the technician out of the subway morgue. I'm thinking of taking the doctor on this one. Shane, does the gunsmith have something new?"
Shane explains that the gunsmith came back with new weapons that the Rikers were trying to steal, thanks to Spider-Man. Oliver nods and glances at Peter with warm eyes.
"I'm going to get myself something new for my shotgun while Doctor Oxton gets the healing equipment ready." Oliver snaps a finger, as if he just remembered something. "Oh yeah, there's a JTF volunteer by the name of Miles Morales. He's got something that can help us out on getting Rhodes out if you want to help getting power back to the base."
"Sounds fine to me." Peter looks to the stairs. "I assume he's up that way."
"Yep. Miles should have a place up there on the first door to the left." Oliver says pointing to the door at the top of the stairs.
Peter nods and leaves to head up. He quickly opens the door on the top of the stairs and finds Miles working alone in the tech wing. The young kid looks up and smiles to Spider-Man and greets him with a fist bump.
"It's good to see you, Peter." He quickly shuts the door as he says that, muffling the room of any noise. "I have something that will help with dealing with contaminated areas in New York and help those federal agents in their part to bring order back to New York."
"Show me what you got." Peter says with excitement.
Miles goes to a drawer and pulls out a sturdy box. He opens the box in front of him and pulls out a mask similar to his. It looks like an exact replica of the red and black mask. However, he can spot two small circles popping out on the front sides of the mask. This got him interested and put two and two together.
"You built something into the mask that can help me breathe in contaminated areas?"
"That's right. A small facepiece respirator." Miles nods. "Go on, try it out."
Peter slips on the upgraded version. Miles steps back and takes the discarded mask as Peter tries out the new one. So far, the facepiece respirator fits in with the mask. Peter takes a breath and holds it for a second before he breathes out. The lens are fogging up, but just a little. Peter gives Miles a thumbs up.
"This works great." Peter says. "You made this yourself?"
"Well, not really. I had some help from their commander, Faye. She seemed to know a lot about how your mask worked and gave me some pointers on how make it adapt to contaminated areas." Miles blinks and looks up at Peter. "You think that this is some test, to prepare me for something?"
"Maybe." Peter shrugs. "Considering you're running the power and water supply the best you can."
"Yeah, I'm doing my best." Miles nods in agreement. I'm happy to help you and the agents out as you guys saved my mom. I hear you guys are getting Rhodes out of that subway."
"According to Oliver and Doctor Oxton, we are. The sooner we get him back, the better, right?"
"Definitely."
The two share a quick laugh together. Peter gets up from his seat and heads for the door before waving goodbye to each other. Peter slips the mask into his backpack before leaving the room and walks downstairs. Doctor Oxton walks out of the advanced armory and slips his first aid stimulant launcher onto his holster while Oliver clips his new well-conditioned shotgun to his backpack. It's the first time John Oxton is going out onto the field since Brooklyn and taking back the base of operations. Spidey quickly notes to look out for the doctor before he leaves the base with them on another mission.