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Archon IV
March 10 2524

"Shoot him! Damn it! Shoot him!" Klien was panicking as the shooting continued behind him punctuated by Screams behind him. Who was that behind him? In a matter of moments most of the cell was dead or broken. Could the bastards actually have made super soldiers? He didn't know he needed to warn the cause.

He screamed as a hot blade cut through his shoulder, he fell down on the ground as his calf and foot were entwined by a net and dragged into the darkness. He twisted onto his back ignoring the pain, bringing up his magnum only for it be coated with sticky substance rendering it useless. He looked at the soulless red orbs as he was choked..
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Twenty figures slowly made their way through the facility. Tense and ready. They all knew their jobs the prevention of the loss of life was paramount.

The first team entered and gaped followed by the next team.

"Command this Ochre 5 come in, we have a situation."

"Copy Ochre 5, what's the situation?"

"Someone hit them before us."

"Holy... Is that ARM?!"
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1

Archon IV
April 20 2537

UNSC light cruiser megellan

The man watched as the teams as they left. The covenant despite casualties being inflicted had made it to the surface, the aliens had engaged the defence forces all the while civilians were evacuating for several days it had been swinging, now it had reached a critical moment and the fleet were withdrawing. Spartan teams and Helljumpers were deployed reinforce the beleaguered Army, marines and whatever remained of the colonial militia forces below.

"Master Chief, your team is tasked with finding and extracting three important individual." The Spartan IIs didn't blink. "Yes commander. Who are they?"
==============

"A vigilante?" Fred asked surprised, John nodded. "I can understand the other two but why a vigilante?" John was just as puzzled. "From recordings he's fast and strong like us. Responsible for the bastet operation and the battle at the cargo docks." Several civilians had been murdered by the machines before they were taken down.

"Sixty insurgents dead or mangled by one person?" Kelly spoke interested. The bastet operation was talked about in ODST circles the UNSC took responsibility for the operation which saved millions of lives with the recovery of two nuclear charges. Finding out the real reason changed everything by seconds. "He's been active in strangling the supply of stolen weapons and terror attacks." John continued as the rest of the team, Kelly, Linda, Fred, and Will listened.

"John we can extract the scientists, but this vigilante how are we going to find him? He could be anywhere right now." Fred pointed out. John agreed. "The commander told us, he'll find us or will be with the militia in new Toronto city." Will looked grim, the city was a battlefield and one of many positions where the covenant attacked heavily, the situation there was that the army and militia had withdrawn to second positions.

"Force deployment in fifteen minutes." The landing Bay speakers announced.

"Everyone got their gear checked and ready?" Helmets came on followed by green lights on each others HUD. John nodded. "Let's move people, our first target is honeycomb base."

Within fifteen minutes the next wave of pelicans and albatrosses went down.

2

Pelican 025 call sign Tangerine

John watched as the pelican descended from orbit, into the atmosphere. He could see the devastation once the clouds disappared. The covenant had grinded the army and militia from he learned brutes were leading the attack. They were tough, dangerous opponents, ruthless and cunning. Hence why every Spartan had opted for a SAW and battle rifles. Since the introduction of laser weapons in 2523 the UNSC had slowed the covenant advance but never stopped it.

"We're approaching the city. Brace for anti air." The pilot spoke. The Spartans once again checked their weapons and armor. "All green chief." Fred gave a thumbs up.

"Vampire! Vampire! Two pairs of them closing in from north east!"

The group leader shouted through the comms. John knew what Vampires were capable off. "Eli 2 moving to intercept."

The longsword escorts raced towards the alien fighters, knocking out the first one followed by its wingman. The other pair dove down and away from the pursuing human fighters.

An albatross exploded as several plasma Beams cut through the transports armour and personnel, death was instant. The human pilots reacted and broke formation. "Banshees! Banshees! The bastards came from up top! Eli 4 engaging."

Blue team held on thight as their pelican moved right the left, avoiding plasma fire as it dove down. John could hear the comms chatter. "Eli 1 and 2 are engaging." "Eli 4 I'm breaking off!"

"We're past the city limit." The pilot spoke the banshees were gone, chased away by their escorts. He moved the pelican towards the drop off zone. Fate was not so kind, a vampire appeared right in front of the pelican, both pilots pulled the trigger. Both got hit.

The dropship shuddered violently. "We're hit! Tangerine is hit!" The pilot shouted unaware no one could hear him. The dropship wobbled and moved in the air fighting to keep itself level and barely managing to do so. He then looked to his Co pilot and saw him head flopped to the side and a funny angle. He was aware of another figure in the cockpit he looked up into the gold visor
"Frak! frak! One engine is out and a wing too. Can't hold it steady. We're gonna hit hard."

"Understood." Was all he heard and the figure was gone, leaving him to wrestle a dying machine. He knew he couldn't make it to the drop zone, he had have crash land it. Looking at the ruined city below, deaths and skeletons everywhere. The image of new Mombasa streets came to him for a split second, he saw an opening below. He took his chances.

He lowered the landing gear, slowly shut down the dying engine. Decelerating from subsonic to below. The ground coming up fast to meet pelican like an old friend, the air brakes open. Everything slowed, he could see the Destruction, the battles, skeletons of building standing on either side of the road, littered with wrecks of cars and warthogs.

Then impact, the craft slid on the road hard, flipping cars and tearing away the chain gun.

3

New Taranto city
Helix Road

John helped the pilot out the seat, his tag read Airman Dean. The Co pilot was dead. The controls for the bay doors had been damaged, the doors opened halfway before getting jammed. The pilot wordlessly put on his helmet and took out an M7. Will, Fred, Linda and Kelly were holding position outside. "I'm fine thanks." Dean spoke as he checked his M7. John nodded."

"Not the best of landings but better than leaping out like the last time." Fred spoke. "Or taking the controls." Will answered as blue team. John came out from the bay along with the pilot, John spoke "We're mile from the facility. We better get moving we don't have long before ghosts arrive. Kelly take point, Fred cover the rear, Linda on overwatch."

Blue team set off towards the facility, crystal peak. As they did John and others kept an eye and ear out for any telltale signs of covenant vehicles and troops. John studied the cars and buildings as Kelly checked every street and corner. It was obvious that the covenant been here in the first days, melted cars, barricades, discarded weapons and the occasional skeleton told of a hard fought battle.

As they turned they prepared to turn the corner around the remains of a shop, Kelly flashed a red dot. "Trip wires" She spoke into the comms. "Not explosives, flashbangs." Chief knew what that meant, booby traps served a much bigger purpose. "Linda?" He asked. "No heat signatures or movement chief in any of the building."

That made him curious. "Can you disable them?" Kelly didn't answer only flashed green dot. After four minutes her voice came. "Clear." They continued staying in the shadows and ruins finding the remains of a large covenant vehicle a shadow and took position around it. "Should've signed on as a gunship pilot." Dean finally spoke. "At least I stand a chance." Blue team couldn't fault the pilot, pelicans and albatross pilots ran the gauntlet everytime they were deployed. "No movement chief." Linda informed.

As they prepared to move out, a sound pierced the air. Once then three times and then silence. "Door bells?" Fred asked. John heard them too in the distance. Motion sensor alarms very useful and that meant either friendly or hostiles. "Move out."

Spartan Kelly listened for the sounds of covenant troops, she may not be as dedicated as Anton in scouting but she was proficient as every Spartan. The use of motion sensors was smart, whoever set it up knew what they were doing. She stopped and flashed red on the team's HUD she could hear the distinctive sounds of grunts. "Fred and Kelly go east, Linda overwatch. Will and I will take the street. Pilot Dean stay behind us." John snapped his orders. "Hold fire unless we're detected."

Taking advantage of their BR55 and sniper rifles long range, they took positions and waited. Minutes past, until the first grunts appeared hunchbacked things carrying cone shaped methane tanks behind them were seven brutes three of them were a high priority danger. John knew them, ONI tagged them as major, shielded power armor, the other two were stalkers active camouflage, the rest were minors near unarmoured and as grey team once told 'Easy to rile up'. He flashed amber.

John made plan, grunts walked first in a tight formation, a flashbang followed grenade or two would deal with them and the stalkers. The rest were gunned they would gun down, the 9.5mm of their battle rifles were overkill sometimes. One of the stalkers stopped in his tracks, it's cyclopic eye moving with its head, sniffed the air several times and growled, but resumed walking. Time slowed when an object flew over the building behind the group, landing among the grunts nothing happened they just looked at source of sound in confusion barking confusedly then one of them screeched waving it's gun, so did the others with the brutes joining them. Another object landed in their midst and someone out of their view opened fire. "Open fire!" He ordered someone had engaged the aliens and he would find who.

Almost immediately John noticed when the grenades didn't explode it wasn't a flashbang or frag. What it had done after the first set of grenades that went off from his team was that the grunts hadn't opened fire only the brutes did even then their plasma rifles didn't fire. John pulled the trigger on a grunt, it tumbled it's tank spraying methane gas. He moved to the brutes killing one while the stalkers moved away from the battle with their leader.

Someone attacked the remaining four brutes, he landed straight in the middle of them. He kicked the leader in the torso slamming him into his escorts and sending them back a dozen meters. Turning fast, as fast as Kelly he emptied his weapon into the brutes face. Turning back to remaining three who recovered major and the other brute charged at him.

Linda took out the last two in quick succession, when the unknown person shot twin strands from his wrists enveloping the aliens arms and chest, pinning them. What happened next made everyone pause, the man hands on the strands pulled swinging the roaring brute into the remains of a building destroying the remaining wall. He threw a grenade inside which exploded silencing the alien.

The unknown turned to face them.

"Spartans."

4

New Taranto city

"Spartans." The soldier said

John studied the man's armour it looked like a more streamlined version of the standard ODST armour, grey and black colors with exception of dark red gauntlets. The most distinguishing and confusing features was the huge dark red spider symbol fangs starting the the top, body ending above the waist. Four legs on extended our, wrapping around the torso on sides. A belt of pouches on the waist, the helmet had two white rectangular eyes pieces unlike the cylopic visor designs of all UNSC armours. And master chief knew that the man was studying him and blue team with no fear or hesitation.

"Saw your pelican go down." He continued. "You're here for the facility?" John asked his own question his HUD showed no IFF. "Master chief Spartan 117. Identify yourself?" By now the rest of team had come out. The man tilted his head. "There's several warthogs waiting a block over. Everything will be explained in due time. Waiting is not an option." He reloaded his weapon. "Will police those weapons." The unknown held up his hand. "I wouldn't go for the guns, won't work."

Wills voice came over the comms. "He's right John all the grunts guns are burnt out." He looked at the unknown soldier. "Lead the way." The soldier nodded and started walking, along the way John wondered what and how. What kind of armor did the soldier use that allowed for him to flip a fully armoured brute up into the air? Customised armour such as the spider symbol was not uncommon among UNSC special forces like the helljumpers but not to such an obvious level. Which meant either he came from the facility or was it from someone in the chain of command?

Ten warthogs were there, a mix of M12, M831 with a single M12G1, militia and army troops standing ready holding position M41s ready, a sniper aiming at the buildings. They were completely surprised to see his team "Spartans? I thought it be jar heads or helljumpers." The leader who's tag identified him as Lieutenant Calder. John nodded, the man also responded in kind. "Master chief Spartan 117 blue team." "Hop on." The other Spartans took their positions on the Gunner seats. That's when John realised something there was no space for the soldier. He looked at the troopers all of them were waiting for something.

The man himself knew it. He looked at John. "I've got my own way." Before he could ask, the distant sound of loud vehicles was heard, he knew what it was as the convoy gunned it. It was the sound of brute choppers.

As the convoy raced down the streets towards friendly lines, Will spoke through his comms his voice full of surprise. "What the bull is that?" "I see it too, how is he doing that?" Master chief looked up, he couldn't belive it. The man was swinging through the air keeping pace with them. The commando blinked twice, he studied carefully. He shot out a new strand everytime as released the previous maybe even pulling it, using momentum and inertia. "If that's power armour than mjolnir a knock off." John admitted, it was impossible for any person to do what he was seeing even them in full armour Spartans weighed half a ton. "Focus, well learn more later." "Yes sir." He turned to the Lieutenant he was aware of what was happening. The man spoke. "He isn't part us. Right now so many people are alive because of him. He's been busy knocking off snipers and helping us deal with raiders." Master chief raised an eye brow. He saw how he handled the brute. "He works for you?" The man shrugged. "Sometime with a platoon, sometimes by himself, putting sensors, traps and such."

Linda called out. "Enemy on our six, three choppers closing fast." Kelly who was the rear held the heavy weapons, she hadn't had time to study it. It wasn't an M41 it fired something much larger than .50 Caliber 20mm, it didn't matter she pulled back the charging and took aim the first chopper. She pressed down, a stream of projectiles shredded the chopper and it's occupant in a sea of explosions, she moved from one to the next killing all of them in a handful of seconds. Kelly tuned to see the unknown simply swing and land on a M831 cage perfectly. She was impressed.

Within moments the convoy reached UNSC lines, the barrier opening up. The unknown jumped off the warthog and walked. "You think they'll let use that armor?" John turned to Fred. "You think he made the armor? Or?" John waved a hand. "The information that we have is incomplete."

These was one of times he wished that Kurt 051 was here, he could have learned more from the man himself.

5

UNSC army FOB Arracourt
April 20 2537

"Colonel Jaime Master chief Spartan 117 blue team." The man returned the salute. "At ease master chief, I heard about your pelican going down and sent a team there, your superiors informed me about your mission." "Yes Colonel." The man looked grim as he activated the holo table. "We have this much of the city under our control." He indicated by showing new taranto city tagging the various positions and strong points and covenant controlled areas. "This isn't a normal invasion by any means. There hasn't been any sign of elites only brutes leading this charge." Jaime didn't look happy.

A flash of anger appeared on the man's face. "Elites are professional. They kill and move on no fuss. But these aliens are barbarianss." John could only nod that was true. He didn't say anything "Your team is expected at dark cove facility. You will escorted there." "Permission to speak?" He nodded. "Colonel my team encountered..." The Colonel cut him off. "The vigilante. Suppose it would be matter of time he's been active, before harvest we all heard rumours after the bastet hotel operation. I saw him with my own eyes when the aliens came. He took a brute in hand to hand combat and ripped it's face clean off. A lot of people got out because of him." Jaime looked him square in the face. "Leave him be master chief, he's more important here than off world. Understood?"

As master chief stepped out, he pondered the new information. The man was their target the vigilante. He wanted to look for the vigilante himself, he was on the list. From the recordings he had seen, he was faster and stronger than any Spartan he had sparred against even if he was wearing power armor but time was short. He headed to the vehicle pool where his team was. "I've found our third target. He was the one that helped us." He informed team. "The vigilante? I think we should convince him to aid us." John shook his head. "The Colonel was adamant that we leave him be, he's too important here unless circumstances change." Fred accepted but from his body language he wasn't happy.

As they boarded the M12A2 warthogs, it was an M12 that had it's M41 LAAG removed for the 20mm cannon found on falcons, it gave far more punch at the cost of ammunition capacity. John's motion tracker told him of a contact behind him "Master chief." He turned to see the vigilante behind him, he carried no weapons except a large bag, master chief knew of those strange mechanisms in the wrists. He approached the Spartans.

"Here you might need these." He held out the large bag, John counted two dozen cylindrical grenades in it. He took it and the vigilante explained.

"They are not frags, aerosol grenades." John blinked. "I made them, perfect for disrupting the AV-CAM of the aliens. They don't handle well to heavy particles in air even flour works." Master chief nodded. "Thank you.." Probing for a name he couldn't call the man 'The vigilante' he was rewarded. "I have an alias master chief given I am 'in uniform' so to speak and it's best to refer to that." John noted man's stance and body language changed as if he was reluctant to tell it, something he himself would do. "It's Spider-Man master chief." He pointed to the huge spider symbol on his chest. "Spider-Man." John tested the name. "I will be seeing you later." 'Spider-Man' Nodded, turned back and walked.

As they drove towards the facility, Kelly spoke her voice was amused. "Spider-Man? That's not as atrocious as some of the call signs we've heard." John smirked. "Yes Kelly, but still it doesn't quite as fit." Will also added in. "Maybe it's more than a call sign?" "Maybe get ready were almost there."

As the convoy got closer master chief could see the facility had been attacked by enemy aircraft, the remains of spirits, banshees and other craft were littered around the base, the walls been hit by plasma and fuel road attacks. Two pairs of scorpions and sun devils guarded the entrance, with gauss hogs and the black and green armour of Helljumpers and marines. They stopped, "Blue team your expected."