Peter returns to the JTF base of operations with Oliver and Freya at his side. Peter breathes a sigh of relief as he heads to the JTF's security wing. May is at the back sorting out clothes before she turns her head around to Peter walking up to her. She stops what she's doing and hugs Peter close. Peter can hear Freya walk up behind them and hangs up her coat before May separates herself from Peter.
"There you are!" Aunt May exclaims. "Where were you?"
"I thought of cleaning some clothes for the JTF." Peter replies. "I saw a laundromat across the street from the base."
"Peter, you didn't have to do that." Aunt May says. "If you wanted to help out, you can always ask me."
"True." Peter gives a soft smile.
"You gave us a bit of a scare, kid." Benitez remarks before taking a sip of some coffee. "Just glad we didn't lose a volunteer. But if you ever want a job out of the base, we can arrange that in time."
"Peter is good where he is." Aunt May snaps gently.
"Just a suggestion." Benitez says while holding his hands up. "Just don't leave the base without letting us know. You're lucky the Division agents are around."
Peter nods before hugging Aunt May. Then, he separates himself from her and heads up the stairs. He looks around to see a bit more technicians working on the base's electricity. He notices that the Division agents helped install a phone charging station. He walks past the desk charging phones and looks out of the balcony. Down below was a massive generator with a JTF guard writing things down on a clipboard. Just then, he feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns around to see Miles behind him.
"Hello Pete." Miles greets with a soft smile. "You like what you're seeing?"
"Yeah." Peter nods a little. "I just notice the JTF have a generator now to power the base. When did they install it?"
"They installed it an hour ago." Miles points out. "Now we can keep the lights running."
"And that phone charging station would be great use." Peter remarks before laughing quietly.
"Yeah, so where did you go? The base was looking for you."
Peter scratches the back of his head. He explains to Miles that he went to a laundromat to clean his clothes. Then, he quietly lets Miles know that the Division agents know that he's Spider-Man. Miles nods and scratches the back of his head.
"How do they feel about it?"
"They really didn't care who I was, which is surprising for the most part. Oliver was shocked a young man like me was working for him."
Miles laughs a little. "He thought you be taller and older."
"Exactly." Peter laughs. "So how is your job as the Division's tech specialist?"
"Oh, it's a lot of work, learning, and fun. Quite daunting at first because I'm not exactly into creating tech to kill people, you know? The gunrunner has been kind enough to allow me to test the equipment in his firing range."
Peter nods and places a hand on Miles's shoulder. Then, Paul Rhodes pokes his head into the balcony and walks in. He looks at Miles with an annoyed look.
"Miles, have you developed the sticky bomb? That cop is looking for you."
"Yes, I've got the sticky bomb ready for him." Miles says to Paul before leaving the balcony. Miles then turns his head to Peter as the two walk back into the technician wing. "That reminds me, I have something for you as well."
"Oh Miles, you shouldn't have." Peter laughs as the two of them return to Miles's office.
Miles pulls out two devices. The first is a sticky bomb launcher with an orange light glowing out the sides. The other is a seeker mine with a white circle glowing out of both sides. He hands Peter the seeker mine as Oliver enters the room to grab the sticky bomb launcher. Oliver pats Peter's shoulder before leaving the room.
"We're going to be on the move soon." Oliver says as he stops at the threshold. "Make sure Spider-Man is ready."
Peter nods away as Oliver steps out of the room and shuts the door behind him. Peter looks down to the floor as Miles cleans up his workstation. Miles then looks up from his workstation to Peter's eyes glued to the floor. He walks over and pats Peter's back.
"Hey, are you ok?" Miles asks with concern in his voice
"Not really. I'm kind of in between a rock and a hard place" Peter says quickly. "The Division found the Cleaner's HQ and want me to help them so they can blow up the napalm production and take out their boss."
"That's… huge…" Miles says slowly. "But you don't kill people, right?"
"I don't and I preferred this Joe Ferro guy, and his people didn't have to die." Peter replies. "I know there's good in them. We could work together to make New York safe again."
"I agree." Miles puts a hand on Peter's shoulder. "I wish they didn't burn down the F.E.A.S.T building. Maybe you can dismantle their operation, subdue as many cleaners as you can, including Joe, and perhaps convince them there's a better way to save New York from the virus."
Peter smiles brightly. "Yeah, I hope I can stop the Cleaners before they cause more damage to the city. The JTF can't put out all the fires the Cleaners start. Hopefully by taking out their napalm production there would be fewer fires starting.
"Exactly." Miles nods in agreement. "They lost hope in the city when Spider-Man died. Now that you're back, maybe they'll change their minds and join the JTF once they see Spider-Man and remember the good things he's done."
"Yeah, me too." Peter nods. "I appreciate the conversation, Miles. You're a good friend to talk to."
"It's no problem, Pete." Miles replies. "Now, feel free to take the seeker mine and go out there to make New York a safer place."
Peter nods before the two do their handshake. Then, Peter leaves with the seeker mine in his hands before walking down the steps. He looks over to the ground floor where two agents, John, and Shane, talking with the weapons dealer, Aaron Richards. The young man takes John's and Shane's excessive junk weapons before he pulls out an AK-47 and hands it to John. Shane receives a M1A classic before giving credits to the young gunrunner.
"That's a good rifle. I took it from the hands of a Riker Marksman." Aaron says to the agents before waving. "All sales are final. Happy hunting."
Shane and Oliver nod at the weapons dealer before splitting up. John walks into the medical wing as Mary Jane steps out. Peter frown forms into a soft smile as he steps into the ground floor and makes his way to Mary Jane. She looks up and smiles back before Peter reaches to her.
"Hey Peter," MJ says. "It's good to see you."
"I can say the same." Peter replies. "The JTF have kept you busy. Are you doing, ok?"
"Things are getting better." MJ says. "I'm doing less medical work thanks to Dr. Oxton, Mrs. Morales, and Dr. Kandel's medical staff. I might be transferred to help with F.E.A.S.T in the security wing because of the help of the Division agents. Every time they go out there, they help put in medical equipment needed to keep the hospital running. Meanwhile, Spider-Man is giving the JTF hope they need to continue fighting and make the streets safe."
Peter nods quickly and sits down on a chair. MJ sits next to him. Then, he looks over to the JTF standing over by the table with the radio playing music. Then, the JTF soldiers flickers the dial to change the channel. It jumps from playing Christmas music to the theme song that Peter knew too well, Just the Facts by JJ Jameson. Peter sighs to himself as the theme song concludes. As much as he wished this wasn't on the air, it's always interesting to hear what the brush head man had to say.
"Today, my dear listeners, is another day in the apocalypse and I'm here to keep you updated on the facts at a secluded location. This two-time award-winning journalist is going to have an interesting discussion with a officer of the Joint Task Force." Jameson introduces to his audience." Take it away, Sergeant Davis."
"Well, we've been getting a lot of questions from civilians if Spider-Man is back." Sergeant Davis replies. "I will address the question head on. Is he back? Yes, he is out there making the streets safer again."
MJ gets up to hopefully change the channel, but Peter stops her by grabbing her hand gently and looks up to her before shaking his head. MJ sits down and listens to the podcast with Peter. If a madman is obsessed with the wall crawler, it be worth to hear what her former boss has to say when the facts clearly state he is doing good for the people of New York.
"I understand you and the proud people of the JTF are struggling greatly to make our streets safe again. But let's not get desperate and put our faith on a masked vigilante." Jameson snaps. "He's a menace who thinks he's above the law and to rely on him to clean up our fair city is irresponsible and dangerous. For all we know, he dreamed for this scenario to happen because then he can make the fine people like you to worship him, no matter how much further damage he causes to the city."
Peter felt tense at the moment. Even in a city destroyed by a disease like the Dollar Flu, Jameson hasn't changed his opinion on Spider-Man. A JTF turns the knob to increase the radio's volume.
"I get you're concerned about New York collapsing." Sergeant Davis replies. "However, we need all the help we can get and if it makes you feel better, we have kept an eye on Spider-Man closely than you think."
"And how do you keep track of that feckless wall crawler?" Jameson asks. "How do you hold him accountable for his actions?"
"The Division agents?" MJ whispers quietly.
"Well, they don't keep me on a leash." Peter replies back before his eyes go back to the radio. "Except Oliver."
"We have people in the JTF working with him directly." Sergeant Davis replies. "I can't give out their names, but they will tell you that Spider-Man hasn't done anything wrong."
"Yet… when your so-called babysitters have their backs turned. I assume you're talking about the team you lead. My sources tell me you have a team of oddities in your regiment, and I've got a glimpse of who you command. A young man who is barely in his 20's taking guns from criminals and looters only to sell it back to the JTF sounds like morally wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if he was inspired by Spider-Man."
"I would like to see him out there taking on the Cleaners." Aaron groaned from a few tables down.
"I think that's irrelevant." Sergeant Davis sighs. "If you can see our situation, we are out manned and out gunned and have to make do with the help that we've got. I've got a shipment of food that's on its way and I need to get back to do my job. Good luck to you, Jonah."
"Guess Spider-Man has his hooks on this officer." Jameson huffs. "That's all the time we for now. We'll be back after our break. Jared! Cut to some music!"
Then, the radio starts playing some pop music. Aaron walks over and changes the radio to some rock music. He walks back to his weapons booth while bopping his head to the beat of drums. Peter and MJ get up from the bench and walk over to the medical wing.
"I'm glad that's over. Let's not make it about business." MJ sighs before looking at Peter who is completely relaxed "So what's going on with you? You are taking a breather for now?"
"You can say that." Peter gives a soft nod. "But… all of the agents are heading out soon. They likely need me to help."
"I heard one of them mentioning about the Cleaners." Mary Jane remarks. "What's your take on them?"
"Well, I see them as misguided arsonists." Peter replies plainly. "They are organized and dedicated through their cause of cleaning up the city."
"And you want to help them through this one." MJ replies. "You know you can't baby sit them all the time. From the way they handle themselves out there, they can handle themselves."
"I know they can handle themselves, it's just their next mission is dangerous and I don't want them gone."
That's when Peter goes on to explain the former associate editor of the Daily Bugle on the situation where they're blowing up the napalm production facility and taking out the man behind the operation, Joe Ferro. MJ's mouth opens as she gasps. She looks around before dropping to a whisper.
"You're telling me that you're asked to help them assassinate someone and blow up all the napalm in their base?"
"Yeah, it sounds grim when you put it that way." Peter shakes his head. "But no, I talked about it with the agents, and they seem to be talking with their commander on going easy on the Cleaners. Hopefully, it should make the Cleaners less of a threat."
"Good. I don't want you to get caught up in something horrible." MJ leans over and puts a hand on his leg. "When are they going to come out and deal with the Cleaners?"
"Soon." Peter gives a soft smile before looking to the ground before looking back at MJ. "I hate to talk and run."
"I'm not going to stop you." MJ puts an arm around Peter's back. "Just be careful out there, ok?"
"You don't have to tell me twice." Peter grins a little before he hugs Mary Jane. Then, he separates himself from her. "Glad you're ok as well."
MJ blushes a little before Peter gets up and grabs his backpack. By that point, The Division agents are sorting their weapons and getting their gear in order. Freya slips on some new kneepads while Oliver slips his revolver into his holster. Shane slides a scope onto his rifle before he clips it onto his backpack. Dr. Oxton slips his face mask on before clipping his medic station onto his backpack. Then, the four agents approach Peter.
"We talked to Faye, and she says we can capture Joe Ferro and any Cleaner that wants to surrender if it's possible." Oliver began. "But I honestly doubt we'll get that lucky. They're too dedicated in their cause to surrender."
"Well, they are in over their heads." Peter says. "I know it's a tough call to make in a place like this, but we got to do what we can to end this war of New York."
Oliver shrugs a little, raising his shoulders up by a couple of inches before lowering them. Freya walks by to Peter and pats his shoulder before Shane and John walk by. Peter sighs and heads out of the base with the agents with his backpack on his back before walking to the nearest back alley. He look around before he slips into his suit.
As he slips his mask over his head, he looks around before tapping the side of his mask. The coms built into his mask has an incoming call. The number displayed in his HUD is listed as unknown. Spider-Man hesitates before he presses a button to answer the call. Then, there's a pause on the line before the speaker starts to talk.
"Glad you got my call." He recognizes the voice belonging to Mars. "Hello Spider-Man."
"Hey Mars, what can I do for you?"
"I decided to go ahead and do you a favor." Mars replies. "That favor would be tracking down Molten Man."
"Wait, you can't be serious." Spider-Man gasps and starts walking in circles in panic. The last thing he wanted was to send Mars against a man like Molten Man. "You have no idea what he's capable of."
"Relax. I know my limits." Mars growls with annoyance. "I'm not going to engage him, just going to find him and let you know where he is."
"Alright, just let me know when you do, and I'll swing by to deal with him as soon as I can."
"Good. I hope you can swing by before he notices me once I find him."
"Don't worry," Spider-Man shakes his head. "I'm just need to do something important before I can meet you."
"What do you have going on?" Mars asks.
"A special mission on defeating the Cleaners."
"I see…" Mars pauses on the phone, as if he was thinking of what to say. "Well, good luck with them. Just don't get to close to them and be ready to meet me once I find Molten Man."
"Good. I'll see you later."
Spider-Man ends the call by pressing a button on the side of his mask. At that moment, Oliver and Freya poke their heads into the alleyway just as Spider-Man stretches his limbs out. Oliver grows a confused look on his face.
"Who were you talking to?" Oliver asks.
Spider-Man rubs the back of his head and laughs a little. He realizes he got himself into a pickle again. He quickly thinks of a quick white lie to Oliver.
"I was talking to the JTF who are on the lookout for Molten Man."
"Molten Man?" Freya and Oliver ask in unison. Spider-Man then explains to the two of them that John, Shane, and him encountered a man in an armored molten suit that had hands covered in molten lava and the JTF are now keeping an eye out for a man that matches their description. Oliver and Freya nod and look toward the streets. Spider-Man casts a web and starts to swing as Oliver and Freya begin walking to the construction yard, also known as the Cleaners HQ.
-Kips Bay-
The tryouts were going better than the man in the white cowl expected. 100 applicants joined, 98 were knocked out by knockout through a series of trials that lasted the entire day such as hand to hand combat, intense exercises, endurance tests, and even seduction. The man in the skull mask shifts his eyes to the remaining two firing their rifles at the firing range. A woman is a sniper in her unit, hitting the targets in the body area. Then, his eyes pick up on a man who is firing in semi-automatic shots at the head. He grabs his clipboard and reads off the name on the sheet, Jackson Brice.
He had a copy of Brice's files. Jackson was a former marine who served several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and has joined the group as of last year before the dollar flu hit. She barely made it to the top two as Jackson has been one step ahead of the game. Then, he puts his hands on the podium and clears his throat.
"Everyone stop."
The gun fire dies down. Everyone place down their rifles and turn around to face the instructor. Then, the man in the white cowl pauses for a moment as everyone stood still with their hands behind their back, feet apart. Just as he is about to say something else, the door opens. One enters the room, Wilson Fisk.
"What's your progress, Masters?" Fisk asks quietly.
"I found the next candidate for the Shocker gauntlets." The man named Masters points to Jackson Brice with his sword.
"Good. Get him in the suit and send him off to eliminate Spider-Man." Wilson Fisk says aggressively.
Masters shakes his head. He waves to dismiss the other person in line. She left the hangar quickly and quietly. Then, Jackson steps up closer to the podium.
"Not yet." Says Masters. "I'm going to talk with Bliss and see what we do. I believe we would have to wait for the perfect moment."
"Why is that?" Kingpin demanded impatiently. "I spent money on you to join the Last Man Battalion and train someone to take out that pest."
He thought for a moment to take out his sword and hold it against his employers throat. But that would be unprofessional, and Wilson Fisk is the main supplier of weapons, men, technology, infrastructure, and even territory. That wouldn't be good for Bliss, which he respects more.
"He's got something that will allow us to track Spider-Man."
"What?" Fisk raises an eyebrow. "Drones?"
"Something like that. For now, we wait." Taskmaster sheathes his sword into his scabbard. Then, he leans forward and talks to Jackson Brice. "Corporal Brice. You got the promotion."
A/N: Incoming Transmission!
Well, Christmas is coming soon and I'm so glad to be posting this chapter. I'm not going to lie, I'm excited to be done with the Cleaners. They're about to be swept off the board. For now, I'm going to cross post every chapter onto AO3 and then continue writing this book. Let's see if I can make another chapter before I have to go back to school.
Marvel related works/Spider-Man: Stan Lee & Steve Dikito
Shane O'Connor:
John Oxton:
Oliver Borkovic:
Freya Springfield:
Tom Clancy's The Division: Ubisoft & Massive Entertainment