Spider-Man gets close to theJTF base of operations and stops as John and Oliver get ready to head inside. The agents turn around and look up to Spider-Man swinging around the building. He stops and hangs upside down. Oliver points to the Joint Task Force's main base of operations.
"John and I are heading inside to talk to Rhodes." Oliver says. "Want to come inside and warm up?"
"Love the offer." Spider-Man replies. "But after what I saw in the subway, there has to be trouble on the streets. I'll catch up with you agents later."
Spider-Man nods to John. John gives a thumbs up and walks in with Oliver. Spider-Man sighs with relief and swings onto the top of a roof across from the base and changes out of his outfit. The outfit must smell like the subway and the sewers by now and he hasn't showered or slept in several days. He folds up the suit and stuffs it into his backpack before climbing down the building and walking across the street.
He steps into the base of operations and walks through the corridor of black lights before getting into the building. The base has started to build out of the crap state of the art it was in when he stepped into the base the first time around. Peter thought back to what the hell just went with his days ever since he joined up with the Division's fight to take back New York.
His friends are helping out the JTF in some way, either volunteering or actually fighting on the streets to take the city back from hostile forces. Instead of super villains and petty criminals, he now has fought with what it seems to be escaped criminals, arsonists in gas masks, and thugs who have grown desperate to kill and steal. Most of the super villains are locked up in the Raft and is still secured. The New York he's fighting in has definitely changed since he been blasted away by the PMCs in Wall Street.
He stops thinking for a moment and steps into the security wing. Peter spots Aunt May checking over a stack of crates with a clipboard in hand, wearing a JTF jacket. He realized he hasn't checked up on Aunt May since he safely reached the JTF's base of operations, and it has put some guilt on his shoulders. Time to set things right. She snaps her head back to Peter as he walks up to her to say hello.
"Peter!" Aunt May gasps and puts her clipboard down. "You're ok!"
Peter smiles as her aunt wraps him up in a loving hug. The sound of her voice made him feel better after everything that happened. After a few seconds, she separates herself from the young man and grabs her clipboard. She looks over the inventory while keeping an eye on her nephew.
"You had me worried, even after I heard that the JTF took you inside. Why didn't you come to me?"
"The JTF kept me busy with things." Peter kind of fibs. "I'm on break for a bit."
"Good. They aren't sending you out in the city on patrols, are they?" Aunt May asks with concern.
"No," Peter says quickly. "I'm just checking up with FEAST, checking in on inventory, and making sure the power doesn't go out."
"Good. I was getting worried when I saw Doctor Oxton going out onto the streets with the nice police officer. The JTF say they aren't safe without an escort."
Peter nods a little. "They are doing what they can to take back New York."
"I suppose you're right." May sighs. "How did you find your way to the JTF's base?"
"I got lucky." Peter says. "I first went to FEAST to find you, then Doctor Oxton with some JTF soldiers found me and brought me here."
"Doctor Oxton… I'm glad he and the JTF are around to help us out." Aunt May sighs. "I was definitely swamped with taking care of the base for Captain Benitez while he was out. Glad he's back now, so I can run FEAST while he takes care of the JTF."
"Is it operational?" Peter asks.
"With the state this base is in, not yet." Aunt May shakes her head. "I can't sustain a misplaced family without the basics. Shelter is all the JTF, and I can give, but Food? Water? Medicine? We don't have what it takes to provide a sustainable community for a crowd."
"Yeah, but it'll take time for FEAST to be up and running once again." Peter beams with positivity in his voice.
"You're probably right." Aunt May stops what she's doing and walks away from the crate of food and barrels of water before handing the clipboard to her nephew. "Can you send this up to technician wing? They're waiting to log in the amount of food and water we have recovered recently."
"Sure." Peter takes the clipboard from his aunt's hands. "It's good to see you."
"Oh, it's good to see you too." She waves with her hand. "Perhaps we can get dinner tonight."
"Of course. I wouldn't miss it."
Peter climbs up the stairs into the technician wing. There's simply a lot to do in the base just as much there is on the outside. With society broken and gone, it's stuff like food and water what matters most than just having money, not that it matters since currency has been contaminated with a super strain of smallpox. Still, he could help out with clearing the streets as Spider-Man to get more water and food inside of the base.
He reaches the offices and sees agents Oliver and John report to Rhodes as he types away on his keyboard. Then he stops and stands up before glancing at the two agents standing there silent and still.
"Look, I don't do sentimental. But you and Spider-Man got me out of a jam, so thanks. But I know you want more from me than just warm fuzzies for saving my sorry ass. Like getting this shit hole up to par." Rhodes examines the laptop for a few seconds in silence. "Government standard, I see. Nice to see they're still keeping the bar low enough that even roaches can walk right over it. If you want quality, you go private. That's what I learned in Basrah."
Peter scoffs as Rhodes steps away from agents Oliver and John. The man is definitely what Faye said about him as they rescued him. Quite cynical, indeed. The head JTF technician turns around and walks away before returning his attention to the agents standing before him.
"So yeah, city can't just live on farts and good intentions. Power, water, all the bells and whistles. Not that you're the first one to try it." Rhodes pauses and almost laughs. "I hear a bunch of you people went missing when shit hit the fan. Got some theories of that myself. My point is, when you're out there, hooking up the city, poke around a bit, see what you can find out. Maybe the virus got them. Maybe the brutes got them. Maybe the city opened its rotten core and swallowed them whole. I'd believe that."
Finally, Rhodes sits down. Peter freezes to think about what Rhodes just said. It's kind of strange the first group of agents are gone before the second wave came in. Perhaps Mars can provide some insight into that if he can find that agent again. Peter squeezes his eyes shut, realizing he could just talk to Faye Lau about Mars. Then again, this agent really is working alone instead of a team like Oliver, Freya, John, and Shane and is reporting to Faye Lau directly. He looks to Rhodes as he wraps up his thanks.
"Go on, see what you can find out. I'll let you know which shit to hook up." Rhodes returns his eyes to the massive screen displaying security footage of New York. "Careful this city doesn't eat you too."
Very funny. Still, he needed to do this task for the JTF before he could go out and patrol the streets for criminal activity. But where or who should he go to help finish this small assignment. Then, it hit him. Miles could help him figure out where to turn the clipboard in. Peter turns and places the clipboard down before turning his head into Miles's small office.
He twists the knob. It doesn't budge. He waits a few seconds before knocking. A few minutes later, the door opens. Miles steps out with sweat on his forehead. Peter raises an eyebrow before asking.
"Is everything ok?" Peter asks.
"Glad you're here, Pete. I've got something to show you."
Peter steps in with Miles and can see what is on the table. A seeker mine lying dormant and being taken apart. Miles gets back down to his chair and pulls up another for Peter. Peter studies the seeker mine Miles is working on before breaking the silence.
"Woah! When did you get your hands on a seeker mine?" Peter asks.
"Just recently. I'm competing with some of the technicians to work with the Division."
"That's wonderful, Miles." Peter exclaims. "You need any help?"
"Sure, I could use the extra set of hands from you."
Peter pulls a chair and sits next to Miles as his friend moves the pieces away to a safer place. Peter begins analyzing the Seeker Mine. He could tell already that it's shut off and safe to dismantle, perhaps Faye Lau made sure her technicians don't set anything dangerous off while they work on their projects. Peter takes a look on the inside of the seeker mine and notes the features inside. Miles put a lot of work in to carefully take it apart.
"You took this apart by yourself?" Peter chuckles a little. "Nice!"
"Yep. I figured out the inside and outside of the seeker mine. What I found is pretty interesting."
Miles passes one half of the sphere to Peter. Peter looks at the inside of the shell to find a hollow center. Then he notices three spherical capsules on a plastic tray labeled in a different color. There's an orange, a red, and a yellow capsule. Miles grabs the red one and shows it to Peter.
"I imagine you have seen one of these guys in action, courtesy of our friends in the Division. Faye gave me parts to different types of payloads, and they make the seeker mine itself act differently. This one jump up and explodes into flames, the orange capsule rolls up to the nearest target and explodes, and this yellow one fits in a special shell to deploy miniature explosive versions of the it to target multiple targets at once."
"How long did it take you to figure this out?" Peter asks.
"In a couple of hours." Miles answers. "I've figured out how to get the specialist position. I'm not just going to improve the seeker mine but create a new version of it. I'm going to develop a payload that's used for non-lethal purposes."
"Wait, don't you like working for Rhodes?"
"Between you and me, Rhodes is better with civil engineering than I am. I wanted a place where I can just… be me, working with gadgets and tech. You know what I mean?"
"Fair enough." Peter nods. "What do you have for a non-lethal payload? A taser for electric shock?"
"It unfortunately wouldn't work like that." Miles points out. "It's designed like an automatic RC car, and I suspect an electric discharge would likely short circuit the entire thing and kill the motors that make the ball roll."
"You got a point." The two fell into silence and start to think for an alternative. Then, Miles snaps his fingers. "What about your web fluid?"
Peter blinks a couple of times before beaming. "Great idea! I have a set of web fluid to donate. I just need to make it first to fill however much that payload capsules can take."
"Fantastic!" Miles says. "Do what you need to make that stuff."
"Of course, just let me get my kit out first."
Inside his backpack is a small case that is sitting snug inside a safe pocket. It was given to him by Uncle Ben who encouraged Peter to pursue his passion for science. Peter carefully pulls out a special brown and olive case from his backpack. Inside the case contains beakers, a funnel, liquid chemicals, and a rod to mix the concoction together. Peter had the liquid chemicals and formula needed to make a batch of spider fluid.
As Peter goes to work on mixing the stuff into a beaker, Miles grabs an empty payload capsule and passes it to Peter. Peter places the capsule to the side while the chemical in the beaker starts bubbling. Peter grabs the rod and mixes it up in several swirls. Miles watches as Peter grabs a funnel and pours it down into the payload capsule to make sure none of the sticky stuff got on anywhere else other than the inside of the capsule. Peter seals it and hands it over to Miles. Miles grabs some tweezers and slides the payload into the seeker mine.
"I'm going to put the seeker mine back together, which should take some time." Miles gets started on the task. Then he stops and looks up. "Pete, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, I can take any questions."
"I don't know if it's the lack of sleep talking here, but don't you ever wish that this Dollar Flu thing never happened. I still remember working about being excited for Winter Break after doing well on the engineering project in school and now I'm here working on a unique version of a weapon for a group of agents that I didn't know were waiting for a catastrophic scenario like this."
"Honestly, I get that feeling too." Peter says. "I can remember how simple things were from working part time at the Daily Bugle, making sure the people were safe, and keep the city clean before everything went to hell. Speaking of lack of sleep, I haven't slept in 2 days. Think we both earned a rest for a bit."
"Yeah, I agree." Miles screws the shell onto the center. "I'm almost done here. You think of giving this guy a field test?"
"Of course, but I don't exactly know my way around the New York it is now." Peter says. The next was something he didn't say out loud. "According to Mars."
"I know someone who be happy to pass you information. You know the guy who gives guns to the agents, Aaron? He's been keeping tabs on the bad guys for JTF patrols. He should be in the basement of the security wing."
"Thanks, Miles. I'll see you later."
The two do their signature handshake; a fist pump up and down. Miles and Peter nod to each other before the latter leaves the room and walks downstairs into the security wing. After passing by Oliver who was having a cup of coffee with Freya, Peter walks downstairs into a basement. It's a huge space with junk and stuff cluttering most of the room. He sees Shane talking with a young man wearing a green shirt with the letters JTF marked across. The gunrunner slaps the top of the assault rifle as he explains the capabilities of the rifle.
"This G36-C is the best AR I have. It will take out the cleaners faster than they can use their flamethrowers." The gun runner exclaims.
"It looks great." Shane laughs. "I'll take it."
"And… Sold! To the guy in the beanie."
Aaron hands the G36 to the sharpshooter agent and sends him off with his purchase. Peter and Shane stop as they pass by each other. Peter yawns as Shane holsters his rifle. The gunrunner turns on the radio, letting rock music play out loud.
"Hey Peter, what are you doing down here? Getting yourself a piece? We could run some rounds on the firing range." Shane says pointing to the firing range that's a work in progress.
"Nah, just need to ask him for something else. Besides, guns aren't my style."
"Alright. Let me know if you change your mind."
Shane walks upstairs as Peter walks up to the counter. The merchant was rocking his head back and forth to some rock music before he turns his head to his customer. Peter sweats a little as the gunrunner turns the radio down a little. The gunrunner smiles wide and claps his hands together.
"I see a new customer has found his way down here." The gunrunner laughs. "Welcome to my little shop. I'm Aaron, Aaron Richards, and I sell great conditioned guns at a good price. And yes, what you see here is looted from Rikers, Cleaners, and stupid Rioters. What can I get for you today… what's your name kid?"
"Peter." Peter shakes Aaron's hand firmly. "I'm not in for the guns."
"Oh, so you're in for parts. I got attachments and gear mods for all your crafting needs."
"Not exactly." Peter sways his hands. "I'm here for information you might have on the streets."
"Oh, you're in for that?" The gun runner scratches his head. "Did Miles send you?"
"He did." Peter answers.
"I figured he was going to field test his little project one day or another. But why did he send you?"
Peter gulps. His head races to come up with answers. "He's pretty busy on his project, so I'm helping out."
"Yeah, but you're not planning to walk out of here and test that thing on some street hoodlums, right?" The gun guru shakes his head a little. "Don't get me wrong, but you seem a bit young to be out there on the streets without a JTF escort."
"Funny, I can say just the same to you." Peter fires back.
"Buddy, I've spent a couple months in the army before the shit hit the fan." The gun runner raises an eyebrow. "No offense, but I don't want to send you out there to die on the streets. You know, I am building a firing range and was thinking you could test out Miles's little gadget on here that way in the comfort of the base. But since there isn't a lot of time for Miles, I'm going to resort to some desperate measures."
Aaron pulls out a binder and opens it up. He pulls out a giant map of New York and unfolds it across the table. Peter glances at the map as Aaron points to a section labeled in blue.
"That area near Madison Garden is filled with some stupid hoodlums looking to rob anyone to survive. Hopefully, Spider-Man's or the Division's patrol on the streets will make the bad guys think twice." Then, his finger traces to the yellow. "I've just got reports of cleaners near Abel's mall and Hudson Rail Yards moving heavy amounts of supplies and weapons for some strange reason. I suggest you stay away from that area until I can figure out what's going on with our little arsonist friends."
"I'll keep a look out and stick around this area." Peter points to the outside perimeter of the base. "Thank you, Aaron."
"Don't mention it, Peter." Aaron says. "Oh, one more thing."
Then he heads to the back and passes something to Peter. Peter nearly gulps as he finds himself holding a pistol in his hands. Peter looks up as Aaron nods.
"Those hoodlums won't hesitate to put a gun at your hand and give that seeker mine to them." Aaron says. "It's not safe to be caught dead without this in your hands. Use it as a last resort. This is the one time I gave my guns away to someone."
"Sure." Peter couldn't bear gripping the cold steel of the gun any longer. "Thanks again."
Peter walks away from the gun runner and head's to Shane's storage box. The box itself had an orange circle at the top center, indicating it's only for Division agents. He tries prying it, but the chest doesn't budge. Peter abandons the pistol and races upstairs for Shane. He looks around and finds Shane eating dinner. Shane looks up and grins.
"Hey, Peter." Shane swallows his food. "How was Aaron? Resourceful guy, am I right?"
"He is. However, I need to ask you something." Peter replies as he presents a Seeker Mine to Shane. "I have something to test, and I was wondering you can help."
"Where the hell did you get that?" Shane asks in confusion.
Peter explains to Shane about how he is helping Miles with a project to help his friend become a SHD tech specialist that needs to be field tested and how it would be better to test it on a live target. Shane nods slowly and looks around before glancing back at Peter.
"Alright, I'll help under one condition." Shane grins a little. "Once we're done here, you take a break and get some sleep. You look like you have bags under those bags on your eyelids."
"That's a deal. When you're ready to go?" Peter asks.
"Well, now. This is my break and I'm so bored of not being out there." Shane yawns
Peter paces back and forth a little. He was hoping he could sneak off and change into his suit. However, Shane seems to be ready to go, having a pep on his step. Shane snaps his backpack on and takes his assault rifle before bringing Peter along to head out of the base and onto the streets.
They step outside and hurry through the streets. They move past Madison Square Garden and reach around a street corner. Peter looks around and thinks of a way to disappear off to change his clothes. However, Shane has him on a tight leash and wouldn't let him go without exposing his secret identity.
Then, Shane pulls his rifle up and points to a scene unfolding ahead down in an alley. A man is being beaten up as a second guy digs through his suitcase for valuables or food. A third points his rifle at a woman and a kid, absolutely terrified. Peter feels the urge to run off and change, but keeps it restrained. Peter passes the experimental seeker mine to Shane. Shane taps into his watch to activate the seeker mine before dropping it on the ground. The seeker mine lights up green, then turns red and races for the one scavenging their victims stuff.
The rioters snap their heads to the seeker mine as it races for their second friend. Before they could react, the seeker mine jumps up and pops like a bubble. A massive blob of web fluid drops down on the second target and webs his legs to the ground. He tries to move and falls down to the ground.
"What is this gunk?!" A rioter yells.
The other two run in to free their friend. However, Shane steps out of the wall and quickly shoots the first rioter while the third reacts and points his pistol at what's presumably the mom. Shane points to the third but holds his fire. The rioter waves the gun.
"Drop the gun, man. Or I'll shoot them." The rioter growls in panic.
Shane makes a hand signal to Peter to stay put behind the building. Shane then nods slowly and drops the rifle. Peter eyes widened. He starts stepping away from the building to reach the alleyway across the street to change into his Spider suit. Suddenly, he hears three quick gunshots. There's a scream. Peter quickly freezes as he feels dread, wondering what just happened.
He peeks over the wall and sees a different scene than what he imagined in his head. Shane still stands tall and holds a smoking pistol. The rioter, however, falls dead with two holes in his chest. The third came from the rioter trying to shoot Shane, who then drew his pistol out with lighting reflexes and fired the first two shots. Shane breathes gently before lowering his pistol and walks over to the father on the ground. The father looks up to Shane offering a hand. The sharpshooter pulls the family's father up to stand. The mom runs to hug her husband with her child in tow.
"I-I thought that I was going to die with my family." The father says. "Wh-Who are you?"
"I'm with the JTF. You seem to be in shock." Shane notes to the father. "Head to the Farley post office and you'll be taken care of. The streets aren't safe."
"Of course! Th-Thank you."
The family of three leaves for the post office. Peter walks out from behind the wall and looks over to the thug tethered down onto the ground struggling to break free before turning to Shane. Shane stands over the body and stays silent.
"Wait a minute, this is webbing?" Shane asks with confusion.
"Yes." Peter gulps. He realizes he may have given himself away. "Why?"
"Can't talk right now." Shane remarks. "Let's leave the area before a group of Cleaners or Rikers show up."
Shane and Peter quickly head back to base. He walks up stairs to Miles's small and private workspace to deliver the good news. Peter knocks three times on the door. Miles opens the door and lets his good friend inside.
"So, how did it go?" Miles asks.
"It works." Peter grins with a thumbs up.
Miles laughs and pumps his fist. "I can't believe it worked. This will be a good tool for the Division, if not Spider-Man. Specialist position is so going to be mine."
"Yeah." Peter yawns and stretches his arms. "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling tired. I'm going to catch some Zs before I get back to work."
"Alright. Take care, Pete." Miles waves to Peter as his friend walks out of the office.
Peter walks downstairs and turns to the spare bedroom. He spots Cade sleeping sitting on a chair as he guards the door before entering into the bedroom. Peter looks around and finds a nicely made bed at one end of the room with his name on it. He lets out another yawn before looking around to find Freya asleep in a bed further down. He finally rests his head on the pillow and falls asleep in the nice warm bed.
-Unknown security guards-
In the Turtle Bay district of New York, a group of soldiers sweep a building for anyone inside, no matter if it's just some random squatter or not. The building itself is a police station. The soldiers aren't JTF, nor cops. They are security guards from a prestigious business firm and are wearing purple and black with padding all around. They stack up and set explosives charges to a metal safe in a circle shape before pressing down on the detonator.
The door flies off from the hinges. The men in purple run in and search the room. Their radio comes to life from the voice of a heavy man.
"Did you find what our friends wanted?" Their boss says on the radio. "I don't want to keep them waiting."
A guard shines his flashlight on a filing cabinet that's labeled Herman Schultz. The guard rips the drawer open and looks inside. A red and yellow suit with black linings running all throughout the suit was there. The best part is that it came with two yellow and silver electronic gauntlets. The guard from Fisk's security team grabs the radio and calls in on the boss.
"We found it, sir." The security grunt replies. "It's all there."
"Good. Bring it to my benefactors. They'll be happy you found what will be a great tool to take out Spider-Man before he helps the JTF take away my city."
The guard hangs up and gently places Herman's former equipment inside a case before running out of the evidence locker room. As they walk outside, one of them stretches his arms out and yawns. Their side operation is done. Now it's all a matter of returning where they are sent from with the prize intact.