In the Outpost, Matis waited calmly for the return of their new 'boss' and Commander, the Rookie. Maxwell worked on upgrading her rifle with some bits and bobs from a UNSC Stanchion sniper rifle, with her hands steadily working through decoupling the upper magnetic systems of the weapon in order to slot in the additional cooling and sensor suites of the Stanchion.

They were out in the open at the Outpost's newly built shooting range, where UNSC and Nikke troops were training with their new long guns, as well. Doctor Halsey had put a lot of stock in building new magnetic weaponry and several UNSC units were already testing the new stuff in order to put the fear of God into the Raptures.

Admittedly, Maxwell thought, it seemed as though a full magazine from standard UNSC MA5 and MA40 assault rifles was doing enough damage to Raptures if they focused fire. It was still not quite Nikke Weapon-Tier, but she put that on the fact they were still using human-fired guns, though 26th Century ones.

She shifted her rifle onto its side, took a panel off and turned her head as she saw Drake firing her shotgun with a mirthful laugh. No spent shells fell out of the gun as the in-built rail-and-magnet system launched the ferrous wads full of buckshot out at hypersonic speeds, the gun's roar filling the entire shooting range.

Beside her, Laplace was charging up her modified plasma cannon, Hero Syndrome, to fire at a distant 'armored' target:A heavily damaged UNSC Warthog that had been disabled in earlier fighting. The cannon charged, then flashed and a beam of energy shot forward, drilling into the artificial mound built into the back, through the damaged plate of the 'Hog and splitting the hull in half.

Laplace laughed as the cannon began to cool down, letting it disappear with the rest of her armor and cheering, "Did you see that!? Truly, a power worthy of the Ark's greatest hero!" before she sat down and breathed a deep, long sigh of relief. She mumbled, "Mental note:Thank doctor Halsey for upgrading the energy emitters…"

Maxwell smiled at that, "And Handsome for suggesting she does."

"Yeah!" Laplace bounced, very happy and proud of herself for managing to convince both Jonathan and Buck to let the former serve as Matis's Commander. Not to mention getting approval from Doctor Halsey for it, considering she wanted them around the Ark, still. Though, unlike Syuen, she did allow them a lot of freedom in how they stayed 'around the ark'.

"This is fun!" Drake exclaimed happily, laughing as she dumped multiple magnetically-enhanced slugs into the targets ahead next, the reinforced metals clinging with each strike from a hollow-point slug, denting and creaking underneath the hypersonic impacts. They were even landing in old wounds from the buckshot rounds.

"Yep," Maxwell nodded happily, then re-assembled her rifle, locking home each wire and panel and activating it by thumbing the safety to off. The gun whirred to life, the enhanced magnetic rails inside slowly coming to as coolant flowed gently into the system. She smiled, nodded approvingly and turned off the weapon, then decoupled it from her leg exo and said, "Seems the doc likes using us as the testbed unit, too, considering the stuff she's handed to us and other supporting teams."

Drake dumped a few more rounds, until her mask's HUD warned of overheating in the weapon's rails. She let the coolant flow within the weapon and loaded a few extra 'shells', then sat down in front of Maxwell and told her, "At least she's nice enough to warn us when something has a risk of blowing up in our faces."

"Syuen's paying for that one in full, too," Max smirked, though she felt a pang of guilt the moment she saw the frown on Syuen's face. The little blonde had basically been given a new lease of life by becoming a Nikke. Added upon that was the fact that Syuen, who had originally built them, made them to be the best and…

The girl let out a more quiet, saddened, "Yeah…"

The team's own inventor sighed deeply, took her cap off her head and ran a hand through her loose orange hair before speaking, "Don't give us that long face, Laplace. I think we all knew deep down that Syuen wasn't good for anyone," before standing up and walking to Lap. She pat the girl on the head and mumbled, "Why the hell she wanted to snag the Ark and rule it as her own personal kingdom, only God knows. Same for all the experiments…"

"I know… Thing is we trusted her," The blonde looked up at her friend with furrowed brows and disappointment visible in her gaze. She sighed, then bowed her head and rubbed her shoulder, "She lied to us, like she lied to the rest of the Ark…" all while acutely aware that Max had had that bad gut feeling. She wondered why she hadn't just listened to her team-mates… Maybe she was not a good leader, she thought.

"The only people we oughta trust from now on are each-other and, if they actually put their money where their mouth is, these UNSC folk. No need to mope about Syuen…" Drake quickly changed the subject, probably not wanting to talk about it either, going by the faint outlines of a scowl forming on her face. Max understood. She'd trusted Syuen, too, regardless of how she acted right now…

"Yep…" She then sighed, paused as her personal phone pinged and pulled it out from between her breasts. She opened the phone screen, reading the new text, then she smirked and told the two, "Hey, by the way, Handsome should be coming back to the Outpost soon. Halsey's done with modding him… Says we'll probably like it."

"Ooo!" Laplace's interest was clearly piqued. Good. That got her out of her funk.

"Took him a while, heh," Drake smirked, meanwhile, then gently leaned forward only for her shotgun to fall onto the back of her head. She whined and rubbed where the heavy hunk of angled metal had hit, then picked it up and set it aside while grumbling annoyedly. Lap let out a laugh at the misfortune of her buddy/rival.

Max chuckled, too, "Yeah. Speaking of things taking a while," she then shifted her gaze up, looking at the hundreds of tubes crisscrossing the area ahead, leading to the surface, then stated, "Cutey, Chief and the others are still away, aren't they? New combat mission, hunting Heretics."

"Do you think we'll be joining them?" Laplace grinned her usual catty grin, while Drake finally picked up her weapon. She seemed excited as she spoke, "I heard the Heretic they're hunting is pretty strong and I'd love to test my new mettle against her!" all while Drake grinned, too, baring the 'fangs' of the "Great Villain".

"Settle down. I don't think they're gonna be sending us out to support them just yet." Max told her, then looked at the two seemingly focused women and told them, " Two elite squads like theirs should be able to deal with it, no problem," as she thumbed closed several apps she'd left running on the phone, which were eating battery life. Seriously, she could focus on an experiment for hours but forgot to shut down apps…

"Aw…" Lap whined, mildly disappointed at not getting to kick any butt with her new weapon upgrades.

"Booooring," Drake drawled as she plopped back, raising her arms. Maxwell snorted and shook her head at the two babies she was basically babysitting at this point. She shifted on her seat, then mumbled something about the fact that she did want to test out her new toys as well.

"Heh… Better than dying if you ask me," A familiar voice spoke, even if it sounded like the man had dropped an octave into a deeper tone. All three members of Matis swiveled about at the sound, eyes widening as they saw the young man clad in the locally-produced MJOLNIR variant, Goddessium-infused black battle plate with white stripes and an ODST helmet slung under his arm, all glistening in the artificial sun as the young ODSt stood, about a head taller than he previously was.

He raised his hand in greeting and said, "Hey, girls," with a smile still plastered onto his calm face. Laplace and Drake both momentarily had to figure themselves out as they looked over the man's new gear, while Maxwell?

Well, Maxwell seemed to turn slightly more sultry as she greeted, "Holy hell. Hey, there, Handsome~..." while scratching her chest. To put it bluntly, Maxwell was quite endeared by what she saw right now in front of her own two eyes. Jonathan felt slightly uncomfortable at the more scientifically-inclined Nikke as she stared at him with those kinds of eyes.

To the point he even considered asking Buck later on during downtime what that kind of stare meant. Like, he wasn't blatantly oblivious, but he'd very much rather not misinterpret it. It was part of the reason he wasn't even blushing at whatever implications there were, rather simply confused. Thankfully for him, the other two were being geeky enough for the whole lot.

"You look awesome!" Laplace herself spoke, giddy as all heck at the sight of their own Private Eye wearing the coolest set of armor in the world. Heck, she could even see some of the added attachments to his helmet, like better sensor suites and all, for finding targets that they needed to take out. Plus what looked like a rangefinder enhancement of some kind.

"Oh, yeah, he does! Could use a little more evil red, though," Drake, meanwhile, grinned proudly at her own silly declaration. She told him, "Trust me, it'd look cool!" as she stared him right in the eyes. The Rookie snorted.

He then spoke, "Thanks for the warm welcome, I guess. Good news is you'll get to see it in action. Matis has been asked to assist a surface scouting mission after doctor Halsey picked up another Forerunner Artifact near the ruins of New York."

That seemed to cause a little moment's pause for the gang. Maxwell herself was pretty sure she'd heard it right, but, just in case, she stowed her phone back down her shirt and checked her own audio sensors in a quick, non-invasive diagnostic screen on her glove. She shifted uneasily, then nodded to herself.

"Alright!" Drake pumped a fist into the sky. She and Laplace began laughing heartily, both in their specifically goofy ways-Drake's long, drawn-out laughter and Lap's more quick, more jovial and 'heroic' giggle.

Max chose to remain the sole sane member of the team, asking him, "Already? I'm sorta surprised they'd drop you into the active-duty roster immediately post-op," as she picked up her gear so as not to be misunderstood. She did want to go have a scrap with some alien monsters. Plus, she never got to examine anything Forerunner yet. Halsey was still working on shipping some of the movable artifacts from the Northern Base.

The Rookie clarified, "I feel fine and doc wants combat testing done by multiple subjects," as he drew his battle rifle off of his back, racked the bolt, then checked the twin SMGs he'd clipped to his belt, brandishing them with some flourish like an old cowboy. He stowed the weapons back into the holsters on his belt, folded, then did a double-check of the ammo in his pouches.

"Guess that makes sense…" She was a bit unsure about it, honestly. Doctor Halsey might've given the green light, but-She coughed as she felt Drake slap a hand onto her back. She looked at the white-haired, red-eyed 'Villain', who simply gave a thumbs-up to reassure her, which caused her to sigh deeply.

They accepted this too quickly. She cast another glance at Jon, then scratched her cheek, face flush. She told him, "Lead the way then, Handsome…" and hefted her gear. The other two cheered, repeatedly spouting 'Road Trip!' at the top of their lungs. The four-man fireteam walked toward the landing pads, where their specific Pelican, that being Alpha-Nine-Twelve, waited for them.

The pilot, 'Goose Chase', greeted them with a nod and boarded the vehicle with his co-pilot after making sure their fuel was topped up. The two entered the cockpit as Matis settled down into their seats, with all three girls trying to sit beside the Rookie. A platoon of Marines also boarded the transport, carrying heavy weapons on their shoulders.

Daisy and Cal also boarded the bird, with Daisy greeting, "'Sup, Doherty?"

"Chief Petty Officer," The man replied with a nod, "Guess you're heading out with us?" while his team-mates suddenly became very protective. Daisy, though she showed a moment's confusion, grinned and gave a gentle elbow to Cal, who sighed deeply.

"We have some work to do in the Big Apple ourselves," Cal replied, shifting her SRS-100 Stanchion onto her back and cradling an MA5. She and Daisy sat down opposite the Rookie and his team as the Pelican's rear door closed behind them and the engines droned, roared and came to life. Their radio systems crackled to life with static, at first.

Then, the voice of Captain Cutter came over the com, " This is Spirit Actual to Alpha Nine-Twelve Heavy. Be advised, reports from the local base of operations on the outskirts of Manhattan Island report heavy contact with enemy forces. Alva Particle concentration scrambled our coms before we could get an estimate on what we're looking at. Fly low and fast. Actual, out. "

"Sounds like we're going in hard!" A Marine voiced, racking the bolt of her MA5. The Pelican ascended, arriving at the surface and engaging its engines at maximum power, the Co-Pilot casting a glance back every so often while doing one final weapons check. The Pelican itself was a gunship type, armed with a nose-mounted 40mm Autocannon and multiple anti-tank missile pods on its wings.

"This is gonna be fun~!" Drake spoke excitedly as she slammed her fists together. She and Daisy started giggling, only to be joined by Laplace, while Cal looked at Maxwell and Jonathan with an apologetic smile, almost like a mother trying to say sorry about her misbehaving child without having to actually say it.

"Don't suppose you girls know what we're looking for there, right?" Maxwell inquired.

Cal told them, "No. The artifact you're looking for is probably going to be in the Natural History Museum. Deep in Manhattan island itself. As soon as we secure the Forward Base, we'll help you find a Metro entrance, then proceed to our own target. Before you ask, we're retrieving a piece of tech that was supposedly stored on the Intrepid as the ship was undergoing recommissioning for the war."

"Got it," The Rookie nodded, checked his battle rifle, then paused as he realized they didn't hear the Sonic Boom, probably due to the conversation. The flight, however, continued rather normally, with small-talk about the weather and the likes being exchanged between the gang as they traveled over to their new Area of Operations.

… It wasn't until they made it to the AO that the pilot slowed, the aircraft suddenly shaking under fire from down below. The pilot barked, "Enemy anti-air! I'm seeing allied infantry engaged down there, near the Battery Park Base! Be ready, we're swinging in low!" then he switched on his mike and spoke, "Battery Park HQ! This is Alpha Nine-Twelve Heavy coming in from your South-West! Low angle of attack! Be advised:Will initiate danger-close CAS runs and drop off a platoon of Marines, three Spartans and NIKKE Fireteam 'MATIS', over!"

A mayday also filtered into the com as the teams tensed. A local Commander spoke, " This is Battery Park. Copy your last, Alpha Nine-Twelve. Glad to have you and your troops here. Drop at position one-one-five, two-two-nine. The Nikke platoon holding the line nearby the waterfront needs the support there. Battery Park HQ, out. "

The Nikkes and UNSC personnel stood to their feet. Outside, they could see the overgrown city of New York, its sprawling ruins either collapsing skyscrapers, or still-standing, overgrown buildings that nature had long-ago reclaimed and started eroding. Below, they could see the tracers. A thunk echoed, followed by the roar of a rocket motor. An ATGM launched from the wings and struck one of the enemy's AAA, destroying it on the spot as the 40mm Autocannon let loose on the rooftops.

Jonathan looked to his team-mates, all of whom prepared their weapons, then asked them, "Ready, ladies?"

"You bet!" Laplace smiled.

"Boy, are we!" Drake sounded a little more aggressively jovial, preparing her shotgun.

"Let's kick some butt!" Max said, self-assured, as the gunfire struck the body of the Pelican. The Pilot and Co-Pilot replied with the aircraft's guns and cleared a path to the defenders below as mayday calls started echoing. The ODST-turned-ARES Spartan gave a nod, activated his energy shielding, then saluted Cal and Daisy and surged forward.

Jovial laughter followed behind Matis as they dropped from the Pelican, the Rookie diving face-first toward the Battery Park's remnants below. He saw automated turrets and tanks engaging platoons of heavy enemy units and light air and ground forces. Nikkes and Marines fired and fired. He looked back and called out, "Laplace!"

"On it!" She called out, then adjusted her fall trajectory and let Hero Syndrome materialize, calling out to the Raptures down below, "The Hero Of the Ark greets you, worthy foes!" in her usual nerdy voice as the energy cannon charged. A ball of energy formed at the tips of the four prongs making up the gun's emitters as her Heads-Up Display marked a path for her armor's servos to take as they fell, accounting for the speed they were falling and their targets' movement.

When all was said and done, Laplace called out, "MATIS! SHOW THEM THE MIGHT OF MANKIND! FIRE!" and squeezed the trigger of her weapon. A flash of light later, a beam of energy lanced out from the maw of the cannon and slashed across the boulevard ahead of the main defenders around Battery Park, cutting in two a multitude of Rapture heavy units while outright vaporizing the lighter ones.

"Hahahaha! EAT THIS!" Drake laughed maniacally as she aimed her shotgun, firing the weapon at maximum charge as they fell. Seven shells were spat from the muzzle, a combination of buckshot and Slugs. The rain of ferromagnetic alloy balls and projectiles cut down several more enemy units across adjacent boulevards and tributary roads, wiping out three Lord-Class Raptures leading platoons of the enemy.

Maxwell wordlessly shifted position, utilizing her exo and some of her momentum to put her weight down, all while aiming her own weapon. She flicked on a switch and the weapon screeched to life, the internal magnetic rails warming, then hissing as she loaded a fresh magazine and connected the weapon to the coccygian port on said Exo.

The weapon charged and, yet again, another flash of light ripped through the sky, the magnetic 14,5mm Armor Piercing dart slashing through a trio of lined-up enemy air units and slamming into a skyscraper that was currently leaning on its neighbor, its foundation broken. The shot cratered the Skyscraper half and nearly shattered it, raining stone shards down onto other enemy units below.

The Rookie came next, drawing his rifle and aiming at the first Raptures he could spot. He fired three bursts from the weapon, spun about to land on his feet and locked his armor mid-fall. When he impacted the ground, or, more directly, the Rapture leader on the ground below, it shattered like glass under the weight of a MJOLNIR-armored supersoldier.

The man had to admit, he could appreciate the speed which the suit granted through its reaction time. De-activating the armor lock, the man burst out of the smoke and fire left behind by his impact just in time to see the rest of his squad land, firing their weapons at the Raptures around him. Several stunned MP Nikkes and even a platoon of Marines stared at the new arrivals.

In the distance, the Statue of Liberty still stood, though overgrown, her torch shining in the glistening sunlight of an early summer. The Rookie swiveled about as his Motion Tracker pinged with a warning, a hundred new enemy units surging toward him. Laplace ran up to his side, aimed her cannon and fired just as the first tracers struck along the broken boulevard from their opponent's force.

The beam slashed in half the leading enemy unit, to which Laplace cheered, "Doctor Halsey, I wish I could kiss you on the cheek right now! You've made a weapon worthy of Earth's Mightiest Heroes!" as she laughed. She gasped, however, interrupted by a large Rapture barreling through the broken facade of an ancient building and aiming its twin magnetic rifles at her with a baleful, emerald-glowing Core and sensors.

Drake was quick to reply, pumping several shotgun shells into the target that caved its armor in and caused it to collapse. She ran up to the group and engaged the coolant lines, several of the ports of the weapon opening to shoot out steam as she said, "If there's one annoying part about these things, it's that they overheat!" before slamming several new shells into the magazine.

Another APFSDS round shot past them from the upgraded 'My Cutey'. Maxwell spoke, "Keep your eyes open, you goofs!" as the round tore through a trio of enemy units. She ran up to them, joining the squad and forming a perimeter. More Rapture units seemed to be charging them, with Maxwell noting, "These guys are coordinated!"

"Think there might be a Heretic here?!" Rookie asked as he took cover behind an overturned car and opened fire. Beside him, Laplace activated her own weapons' cooling systems and Drake fired her weapon like she was at a skeet shoot.

"There is!" Daisy barked as she hefted and long-armed two plasma grenades at an enemy heavy. She took cover beside Maxwell and told the gang, "It's what we're aiming for! We think she might be in the Intrepid, or aiming for the Natural History Museum like you are!"

"So, you guys take her out or force her to retreat and we take the artifact!?" Rookie inquired, dropping a spent magazine from his rifle and slamming in a fresh one. Glass shards crackled below his feet as he shifted to face the Spartan, only to gasp as a Stanchion shot snapped overhead, nailing a larger enemy air unit as the Marines and Cal set up.

"That's the plan!" Daisy grinned.

Laplace smiled at that. She liked the plan, but that meant leaving the place underdefended. She heard the thunder-crack of a Tank firing its main gun and looked back, only to hear an MP Nikke call out, "Matis just came to our rescue, boys and girls! Let's back up the Heroes!" and several Marines and other Nikkes cheer.

That caused her heart to well as she realized something:It mattered little what Syuen thought of them, or what had happened with her. There were people who needed help, comrades of theirs still fighting this bloody fight to win the peace they all sought together. That Syuen betrayed Man so willingly, just to line her pockets…

She sighed and said, "Matis! Let's form up with our Private Eye and get moving! If we can get that Artifact, that should force our enemy to retreat… And that means we get to save these people at the Battery Park FOB!"

"There's metro access nearby!" Daisy called out, "From Wall Street, take the Red Line up to Central Park! If the Signage didn't fade, it should give y'all a straight shot!" then she ducked as a round zipped over her head. A pair of Marines beside them collapsed, dead to enemy bullets. Daisy swore, poked out and fired her rifle, then told them, "We'll hold them off and then bee-line it for the Intrepid !"

"Roger that!" Rookie nodded. He balled his fist, showing his team to rally up, then surged through toward Wall Street, following ancient, faded signs and fighting through the open boulevards, past burnt-out smart cars and destroyed futuristic buildings that mixed with the old beauty of New York City's ancient grace.

Wall Street, the famed economic center of the US and the World, where the once-great Stock Exchange stood, was now an overgrown nightmare of abandoned vehicles, destroyed billboards, smashed-in windows and multiple Raptures. Matis didn't care about obstacles, however. They would defeat their foe and make it to their target area.

It was what heroes did, Laplace thought as she ran side-by-side with their Private Eye. Their Handsome, their Comrade. She saw the man, not winded by their run or by the fight, leading them to the open maw of a once-beautiful train station. They surged down the broken stairs, firing back at enemy units that tried to give chase and entered the winding subway itself.

Their objective lay a few kilometers away. They would make it.

They would damn well make it, for Battery Park.