Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respctive owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

So Starship Troopers is on Netflix at the time of release of this chapter, if you haven't seen it then do yourself a favor and give it a watch. Me? I finally got around to Demolition Man, which, considering the current trajectory of society, almost feels prophetic.

Blaze1992: I, honestly, am not sure where you're going with this. SHIELD is not in the business of being good guys, at least to my mind, Fury wants to be in control, weather it's via a velvet glove or iron fist makes no difference to him. He has his own motives, maybe he wants Cooper to be completely under SHIELD's control, and that would have been his price to fix BT. Romanov, who is also a spook, would have wanted this to be the case when she approached him after the battle, but she didn't make the deal, Cap did. He, obviously, is a decent and upstanding guy who felt he was making a fair deal, but Fury doesn't like fair deals. As for why SHIELD has withdrawn completely, one of the bits that sadly got trimmed revealed that Osborn was pulling strings to have Fury's superiors lean on him to pull out prematurely. Ultimately it came off as clunky and it was a few throwaway lines effectively, if Osborn was a more central villain then maybe I'd have kept them, but he isn't.

Guest: Thank you for an honest assessment, I generally agree that those early plots are...not the best, I probably took a bit too much inspiration from 90s action movies when writing those early story arcs, but my goal was to have fun action sequences and good characters. The plots were there and constructed in such a way to allow for those to happen, by having conflict and action and allowing the characters to interact and play off each other, it's why solo segments have been rare after that first arc. This is something I've tried to work on and would like to improve even more, particularly in wanting to have better villains.

Unsurprisingly, I almost used the AC/DC song of the same name for the title but went with Thin Lizzy instead. Off of their 1976 album of the same name, 'Jailbreak' is the Irish band doing what they do best, playing the role of 'tough guys' in the same way as the album's other single, 'The Boys are Back in Town.' I don't use enough of these classic rock tracks, but whenever I hear this I associate it with movies like 'The Warriors' and that was what prompted me to pick it. That, and the ending of the AC/DC track where the escapee is shot in the back as he escapes really doesn't fit.

Power Without Question - Chapter 57: Jailbreak

Tonight there's gonna be trouble, Some of us won't survive

See the boys and me mean business, Bustin' out dead or alive

I can hear the hound dogs on my trail

All hell breaks loose, alarm and sirens wail

Like the game if you lose, Go to jail

Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak

Somewhere in the town

Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak

So don't you be around

While she considered herself to be a calm and collected woman, Yuriko Watanabe was having a really difficult time keeping that after she had spent the last quarter of an hour berating the man standing in her office. "Marauder," she addressed coolly, her initial anger having passed and her rational mind guiding her to get down to brass tacks. The green and grey armored man remained motionless except for his head, the blue x shaped visor glowing as it tracked her while she paced behind her desk, "I want to know what possessed you to make you think it was okay to send your girlfriend into my station to steal evidence in an active case."

"Captain, whatever it is you're looking for…" he began slowly, deliberately, "I'm afraid I can't give it to you." The pair met eyes, the Captain's brown eyes narrowing, demanding a further explanation. He seemed to know better than to try and defy her, "This is something that means too much to us and coming in here was not a decision we made lightly," he assured, at least it sounded that way through the voice filter. "What I can give you is my word that we will use what we got to tear the maggia apart," he continued, "and I think you know that I'm not lying to you."

The Captain held his gaze for a moment before taking a deep breath, "I know you better than that Major," she agreed, "I just needed to hear it again…to make sure." Placing her hands on her hips, she looked up to try and take a moment to clear her head, "but this is personal for me too Major" she admitted quietly. "The Maggia…it's not a case I'd normally entrust to anybody else…but it's not like I have a choice at this point, now do I?" asked the oriental woman rhetorically.

It was now the Pilot's turn to sigh, "If there was a way for us to go after them together…I'd take it in a heartbeat," he admitted truthfully. "I…I didn't know," he added softly, "that this meant anything to you Captain."

"Your girlfriend did," spat out Yuri bitterly, "even longer than Fisk," revealed the Captain. "It's a long story, one I'm not keen on sharing," she continued, "but you will promise me that when you're through…I'll never hear about these guys again. I don't care what you do or how…just so long as it's final."

The Marauder noticeably stiffened at her words, clearly not expecting the venom in her voice, "I know better than to ask questions," he finally said, understanding that this was a sensitive topic, "but I can promise you that it will be the last you ever hear of them."

Nodding, the room fell into an agreeable silence that was broken by the sound of her door being thrown open as another officer burst inside. "Captain! Sable just sent word…they lost Devil's Breath!"

"Son of a Bitch!" shouted both Yuri and the Marauder simultaneously.

Knowing what was coming, the Pilot shuffled off to the side as Watanabe went into full 'captain mode' and grabbed her gun. "Details Burke," she barked, "when and where? Where is it now?"

"From a truck on the upper east side, unknown perpetrators, no survivors" rattled off the cop. "No leads either…at least not any that they're sharing." Of course they weren't, groused the Captain internally, why should they change anything?

"Well that's gotta change" she ground out, "keep trying them and issue a BOLO for Devil's Breath. We cannot allow it to be on the loose," she added as she stuffed the gun in its holster. "Marauder, with me, you have your car?" she asked, getting a negative shake of the head in response, "Then we'll take an interceptor, come on" ordered Yuri as the pair made their way out into the station.

They barely made it 15 feet before there was another wrinkle. "Captain! Report from Rikers! They say they're experiencing technical difficulties, the Warden has raised the alert level and locked down the island," reported an officer manning the radios.

"Shit," she cursed, "New plan. Have the heliport get a chopper ready in 10 minutes" she barked before stepping into the elevator, the Marauder falling in as she pressed the button for the garage. "We're going to need eyes in the sky to find and run down whoever did this. Once we do, you take 'em out," she explained. It was a simple plan, but the constraints of the rapidly changing situations didn't allow for much more. "Hope you brought your wings Pilot."

"As long as I don't have to fly," he deadpanned.

Yuri was unable to stifle a chuckle at that, "You won't," she assured, "Because I will."

The elevator 'pinged' as the doors opened to let them out and the Marauder replied in a flat deadpan, "I feel better already."

Going up the steps into F.E.A.S.T., Peter Parker couldn't help but feel sorry about what happened to Martin Li. At the very least, the homeless shelter that represented the good in the philanthropist had survived the recent events almost unscathed. And it was a good thing too, there were a lot of people in need of a bit of help after the IMC had wrecked their homes. That also meant that those volunteering were putting in overtime to take care of everyone, so it was a very weary looking Miles Morales that staggered out the door as Peter reached it. "Hey Pete," he greeted tiredly, though managing to muster a smile nonetheless.

"Hi Miles," returned the Queens Native, "how're you doing with the news about Li?" he asked. When the teen didn't answer right away, Peter pulled him aside and spoke lowly, "Look, if you don't want to work here anymore, May and I would understand."

"I did want to quit when I heard," began Morales, unable to meet the scientists eyes, "Then I remember what my dad used to say… 'a hero's just a guy who doesn't give up,'" he answered.

Peter couldn't help but smile, the kid had no idea just how true those words were. "That's true…assuming he's doing the right thing," he added, because then he would have to call Frank Castle a 'hero' instead of a 'nutjob' like Peter thought he was. "I got you that job, I'd hate for you to keep doing it if you think it's wrong."

"The people here…" he began as he finally looked up, "nothing Martin Li did is their fault. They need help, and I'm helping them" he finally answered, steadfast in his resolve this time. "I think dad would want me to stay. I think he'd be proud."

Now the Queens native was beaming, Miles was a good kid and he was proud to know him. "I know he would. And Miles…I'm proud of you too" he added sincerely. "Anytime you wanna talk, just call."

The teen nodded, "Thanks Pete," he answered sincerely, "I gotta go, May just gave me a list of office supplies to get," he said, holding up said list, "later."

"Later," he replied as the kid went down the steps and Peter made his way inside. Making his way through, the wallcrawler was met with a lot of familiar faces, all enjoying a bit of company and what comforts they could get. Soon enough, Parker found himself in the kitchen as his Aunt May was rifling through the fridge.

She soon came out with a bottle of mustard, face lighting up as she saw him, "Peter!" she greeted happily.

"You okay?" he asked, and not without reason, the woman looked worn out. And, even if she didn't want to admit it, she wasn't as young as she once was.

She let out a sigh, "I'm getting by," answered the older woman as she went back to making the meal she had been working on.

"I don't know how I feel about you running this place by yourself," he admitted.

May looked at him apologetically, "These people need my help," she returned, "If I lose a few hours of sleep, so be it."

There was little dissuading the woman when she set her mind to mind to something, it seemed she had been infected by the 'Parker Pride' when she married Uncle Ben. Still, he had to breach an uncomfortable subject, even after weeks and an IMC invasion attempt, the former head of the shelter still cast a shadow over it, "So…have you heard from Mr. Li since -?"

A tired sigh escaped May as she finished her task, "no," she revealed, "But the Martin I know couldn't have done that," she insisted. And how Peter wished that was true, but he had come to terms with the fact that it wasn't. "Whatever's become of him, that's not the one I want to remember" she finished, and on that, Peter agreed wholeheartedly. He was so in agreement that he was caught off guard when the subject changed, though in hindsight he should have expected what it changed to. "So, how are things with MJ?"

"Oh, it uh…" he began dumbly as his mind scrambled to try to explain the current state of limbo their relationship was in, "Well, y'know, she's, uh…" he rambled before finally deciding to just say the honest truth, "It's, uh…it's complicated," he finally managed. They were talking, he was helping her with her stories, even managed to convince her to let him make dinner again. But he was taking things slowly; he could see that she wasn't exactly the same woman after everything. She didn't know, but he noticed when she looked out the window with that all too familiar 'Thousand yard stare' that Cooper sometimes had. Not able to weather the withering gaze May was giving him, he turned and went to wash up so he could help.

As he turned on the water, his Aunts sagely tones came at him from behind, "Honesty," she called out. "That's what got me and Ben through the rough patches" she added sincerely.

"You guys had rough patches?" he asked dumbly.

"Oh sure," she replied, "Especially when we were your age." Peter considered her words as he made his way back, "So, are you honest with her?" she asked, "Does she know the real you?"

Before he could answer, or really even consider the question, another voice cut through the tension. "Hey, turn it up!" he shouted, "I wanna hear this!"

Peter couldn't help but pay attention to the small TV, his superhuman senses enabling to make out the news bulletin with ease.

"…a spokesperson for the police has confirmed that this truck was carrying the device used in the Grand Central Terminal attack…"

Peter didn't even hear his aunt sigh and say "It never ends." He was already out the door and on his way to the roof to suit up.

"…And when you ask them, "How much should we give?" Ooh, they only answer "More! More! More!" yoh. It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, son. It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one, one..."

"Are you seriously playing 'Fortunate Son'?" asked the half annoyed, half amused voice of Captain Watanabe as she remained focused on controlling the Police Helicopter as it tore along at rooftop level, the rotor wash kicking up all kinds of debris as they went north.

Instead of being inside the enclosed Cockpit, the Marauder was standing on one of the skids, back resting against the door and completely exposed to the elements. "It fits," he replied dryly as the Creedence Clearwater Revival tune played out in their headsets and they approached their destination. Readying his SMG, the Marauder prepared to leap into action, literally, at a moment's notice.

But the situation was still incredibly fluid, "Marauder," called Yuri, "We have officers on the scene, they confirmed that Devil's Breath isn't there." Before the Pilot could begin to form a response or simply curse in anger, things went from bad, to worse. "And Rikers Island is reporting that they're losing systems and are in trouble. If we don't act fast, we could be looking at a breakout."

Down below, he could see the rapidly advancing flashing lights of the NYPD Perimeter around a wrecked Sable convoy as Yuri deftly brought the chopper around, flaring the nose as she lowered the bird and circled around the waterfront by the ring road as they both got a good look at the scene.

The vehicles were trashed, but Cooper couldn't begin to guess the cause of the destruction, and the bodies of the men manning them were strewn about the area, twisted, broken, and clearly dead. But the Pilot could see another familiar figure down below, the red and blue spandex outfit standing out against the dark street. Instantly, he connected Spidey to their radio channel as Yuri cut in, relaying the situation to the Webhead. "The devil's breath is gone, but we got even bigger problems…" began the Captain as fate obliged, a series of deep rumbles and the matching fireballs erupted from the island prison just offshore.

"Rikers?" guessed the webslinger.

"We have to hurry" insisted Yuri as she spun the chopper around and held it steady, "Hop on!"

Cooper could feel a 'thunk' as Spidey slammed into the opposite and latched on with his superpowers. "What happened?" he asked as he helicopter banked away.

"Latest reports say it was a coordinated attack. Must've been planned from the outside," she revealed as more explosions ripped through the facility, deep rumbling explosions that sent shockwaves reverberating through his chest. Already, the Pilot could see fires raging across the island as the chopper got closer. But that was the least of their issues, "Every cell block is breached," reported the cop, "We're minutes away from every prisoner in Riker's walking right up Fifth Avenue."

It didn't take a genius to figure out how bad that could be, while a lot of the occupants of the Prison were just guys doing a night or two for possession, there were a lot more that weren't. Gang members, drug dealers, and plenty of other scum occupied the cells on the island. Spider-Man knew that more than Matt did, he had been putting people in there for eight years, and many that he did were still there, serving their time. But the Queens Native was also more cognizant of the larger threat right next door. "What about the R.A.F.T.?" he asked, almost frantically.

Thankfully, it seemed like Yuri was the bearer of good news for once. "Should be okay. It's a supermax facility – better security, and a separate power grid," she reminded, but even the veteran lawwoman didn't sound completely convinced.

Cooper checked his SMG once more, chambering the first ARC round and flicking the fire selector from 'safe' to 'full' and began to scan the ground below to get a lay of the land before jumping into the fray. "Good. What about Devil's Breath?"

"Sable's handling it," ground out the Captain.

Spider-Man bristled at that news. "Do you trust them?"

Before Yuri could answer, Cooper cut him. "We don't have a choice" he returned shortly, and truth be told, the Marauder did. As long as Osborn let the feisty Symkarian Mercenary off the leash, Matt had no doubt she was more than capable of hunting down and ripping apart whoever was responsible. The only question that remained is what Osborn would order her to do afterwards.

But that was in the future, for now, the Renegade Gunfighter's eyes were drawn to a wildly out of control prison van that was charging headlong towards the gate, men in orange jumpsuits hanging off the sides. Without slowing, it slammed into the gate, going straight through despite the now wrecked front end. Seeing the escaping prisoners, Spider-Man leapt towards it, sticking to the truck and reaching through the window. "Shoulda worn your seat belt," quipped the wallcrawler before Cooper saw a man in a prison jumpsuit get tossed out and webbed to a lamppost. But while the van easily handled the gate, the spike strip on the other side was a different matter, blowing out one of the tires and causing it to veer sharply towards a fuel tank as the Webhead fired a web and pulled himself away.

And not a moment too soon either, the van slammed into the tank, coming to a dead stop as there was a brief pause before the stored chemicals ignited, the shockwave shaking the chopper as Cooper fought to hang on and muttered "holy shit…" under his breath. Looking down, he saw some of the vans passengers get back up and decided now was the time to get stuck in. "Thanks for the lift," he said before jumping from the skid and plummeting towards the pavement. Just as Spider-Man landed and squared up to the group of convicts, the Marauder landed next to him.

From her overhead vantage as the helicopter began to circle, Yuri cut back in over the comms. "Take 'em out! Hurry!" she ordered as Matt moved to comply, flicking the fire selector to burst fire to save ammunition as he sighted up the SMG. The CAR spat out rounds with the rhythmic consistency of a drum, each two round burst found its mark as the Marauder cut down the inmates that challenged him with cold efficiency.

Spider-Man barely had the chance to act as the Pilot moved forwards, undaunted by the twitching forms of the prisoners still under the effects of the arc rounds. Still, Matt knew those were temporary, they had 20 or 30 minutes until all that was for naught. At least they weren't the only ones trying to contain the situation as the intercom crackled to life with the voice of one of the guards. "Attention all CO's, institute lockdown procedures," ordered a man on the intercom, trying his best to sound cool and collected as the two vigilantes pushed deeper into the facility. "All inmates return to your cells. Repeat; return to your cells. This is your last warning."

Matt's eyes were drawn to a distinct flash on the upper levels as he leapt to his right, jump kit igniting to throw him further out of the path of the incoming rocket as Spider-Man did the same and the RPG shot slammed into the ground, throwing up shards of asphalt. "Damnit! They got into the armory!" called Yuri.

"What was your first clue?" asked the Webslinger sarcastically as another rocket streaked overhead and the duo resumed their advance into the courtyard.

Cooper had another question, however, "Why the fuck are there rocket launchers in the prison armory?" asked the Pilot as Spider-Man fired a webline and shot skywards to take down the lucky, now unlucky, inmate who had claimed the weapon. While the webhead dealt with him, the Marauder took care of the rabble on the ground level.

"In case Li tried to use another one of those APCs to break his followers out," returned the Captain flatly as Cooper merely grunted in acknowledgement. He could tell that Watanabe felt about the same as he did about that idea and how dumb it was, Mr. Negative didn't care about his 'followers' because they were brainwashed minions, and he could get more from almost anywhere.

But those thoughts were pushed aside as Cooper leapt up and ran along a wall, SMG chattering as fired on the mix of armed and unarmed prisoners with near impunity. The Marauder ended his wall run and fired his jump kit, causing him to sail through the air until he came to ground and took cover behind two bullet ridden police cruisers to reload. While the inmates were focused on him, Spider-Man rejoined the fray and drove an inmate into the concrete before leaping to the next and throwing a powerful punch. While the two vigilantes were making quick work of the inmates, the situation elsewhere was dire. "Abandon stations!" shouted the man on the intercom frantically. "Repeat, abandon stations. Arm yourself and get the hell off the island!"

But neither the Marauder nor Spider-Man had any such intentions, even as another group of inmates charged into the courtyard, stolen weapons blasting away. Instead, the pair leapt into the middle of the group, the Marauder sliding as his sub gun chattered, the staccato and rhythmic gunfire was contrasted by sound of Spider-Man punching anyone who tried to get behind the Pilot, punctuated by the pneumatic hiss of his webshooters. Bravely, though foolishly, many of the prisoners rushed the Marauder only to get arc rounds to the torso for their trouble, but they did have the numbers and for every one Cooper took down a replacement took his place until the bolt of his CAR locked open, magazine empty.

Thankfully, there were only three inmates left to his front and the first got the buttstock of the gun across his face, sending a tooth flying as he spun around, and Matt moved onto the next. Instead of letting them come to him, the SRS Pilot pressed the attack, lowering his shoulder to plant his shoulder pad under the nearest prisoner's chin to knock him back before throwing a knockout uppercut that sent him flying back as the third and final jump suit threw a punch right into his armor as Cooper threw an elbow into his head before following it up with a cross that caused him to stagger back before the Pilot fired his grapple, ensnaring his leg as he ripped him back the other way and off his feet. Having dealt with the guys behind the Gunfighter, the Webslinger jumped and flipped over his head before coming down on the inmate, foot driving the head into the asphalt and knocking him out. "Nice," complimented Yuri, "there are more on the west side."

"I'll take the lead on this one," called the Wallcrawler as he fired his weblines to charge ahead, the Titan Jockey activating his STIM as he took off after him, leaping up onto the concrete walls to run forwards over the barbed wire below. Jumping from that vantage, he drew his axe and buried it into a wall to hang from it, three stories up as he watched Spider-Man use his superhuman abilities and sixth sense to run rings around the guys foolish enough to take him on.

As the spectacle played out, a transmission broke in over the emergency frequency. "Come in, this is Sergeant Hanson – anyone on this channel?"

"This is Captain Watanabe, where are you?" asked the cop as the helo she was piloting continued to circle overhead.

"Electrical access…rooftop near cellblock D," reported Hanson as the spotlight on the chopper shifted to the called out location, Cooper's visor following it as Hanson explained what he was doing. "I'm trying to restore power. That you in the chopper?"

"Affirmative," replied the Captain crisply, "what happened here?"

Down below, Spider-Man continued slugging it out as more and more inmates emerged from the holes blown in the facility by the RPGs. "No idea. First the power went out – then all hell broke loose."

"Hold tight," ordered Watanabe, "we'll get you as soon as we can. Marauder? I need you to get over there and help that officer. How copy?"

"Solid copy Captain," returned the Marauder as he mentally charted out his route, "I'm on the way, Spidey? Can you hold down the fort?"

"What's left of it," quipped the webhead in reply as Cooper fired his grapple at a watchtower and used his jump kit to 'slingshot' himself around before chaining that move into another wall run that he ended as he made a final leap for his destination. But if the orange clad figures weren't enough of a giveaway that he was coming in hot, the gunfire coming up at him certainly was. Pulling an arc grenade form his belt, he tossed the ordinance to stun the gunmen on the roof before planting his boots in the nearest one.

As that prisoner slid across the rooftop, the Pilot wheeled around and leapt at the second, an arc charged punch slammed into the second rifleman manning the railing before placing a hand on the back of his head and slamming it into said railing, knocking the inmate out cold. The three at the door turned to face him, the cluster of men packed tightly together as Cooper pushed his CAR aside and whipped out the Mastiff, firing the scattergun once as the blue energy bolts got all three with a single shot. "And stay down," growled the Marauder as he pressed a fresh shell into the bottom of the gun. "Hanson, it's the Marauder, all clear out here," he called as he heard the door unlock.

"Holy hell, it is you," said the man in awe as he looked down at the knocked-out prisoners with wide eyes. "We gotta get outta here. The whole grid is fried."

But as the two moved to descend the ladders to ground level, the guard's walkie talkie crackled to life. "Where is everybody?" cried a voice frantically, "They're attacking my car!"

"My god, that's the warden," exclaimed Hanson as Cooper saw a police cruiser, swerving frantically as two inmates clung to it as it hit a spike strip, the tires popping loudly as it spun out and crashed as more prisoners descended on it like a pack of hyenas. "Go help, I'll be fine" assured the Sergeant as Cooper tore off, firing a wild burst to try and dissuade the attackers but to no avail as they forced a door open and ripped the Warden out before they began brutally beating the man with stones, pipes, and stolen batons.

At the same time he tossed an arc grenade, a web bomb went off amidst the group, stalling them before the ordnance stunned them and the webhead set to work, picking one up with his weblines and spinning him around to knock the others off the feet before throwing the ensnared inmate into a wall, the webbing holding him fast.

While Spider-Man took care of that group, the Marauder focused on the second that just burst out of a door, hosing them down with his CAR until the last one left knocked the gun away and swung at him with a Baton. But the Titan Jockey held his forearm up to block it, the exo absorbing the blow as he drew his axe and swung, slicing the weapon through cleanly through before pressing the muzzle of the SMG into his assailants gut and emptying the last three rounds into it, putting him down. "Shit," he muttered as he turned around, seeing the warden lying dead on the ground with a shank shoved through his throat, bloody hands that had been trying in vain to remove the makeshift blade hanging limply off to the side.

But there was no time to process that as the situation continued to deteriorate rapidly. "Look out!" cried Spider-Man as a rocket streaked up and slammed into a guard tower, causing debris to rain down on the pair as Cooper reflexively activated his phase shift and dove away.

When he came back, he reloaded his CAR as the situation continued to deteriorate around them as the walls were looking like swiss cheese with all of the holes blasted in them with the stolen rocket launchers. Fires had broken out as more and more prisoners spilled out of the prison as if it were a sieve. From her vantage above the scene, Yuri could see the full extent of the chaos. "Could this get any worse?" she asked.

"It can always get worse," returned the two vigilantes simultaneously.

"Why do I even ask?" grumbled the Captain, "They're stealing a chopper."

Sure enough, the two saw a helicopter begin to slowly lift off and appear over one of the cell blocks. "Don't worr,y" called out spidey as he raised his arms, "I have a plan."

"Like the last one you had when we had to take down a helicopter?" deadpanned the stunned Texan. Instead of retorting, the Webslinger fired two weblines that latched onto the escaping chopper as Spidey dug in his heels and grit his teeth. In an incredible display of his superhuman strength, he held against over 2,000 shaft horsepower as the engines whined under the immense strain. Seizing the opportunity, the Marauder jumped up, firing his grapple once to slingshot over the rooftop before retracting the hook and firing it a second time into the thin aluminum skin of the helicopter, feeling it latch as he shot up at the commandeered chopper.

As he did, the side door flew open and he saw the distinct tubular outline of an RPG emerge from the door before a rocket streaked out. Unable to stop the shot as he reached the bird, the Marauder buried his axe as he hung on the outside of the craft, just as he did, a red and blue blur shot by, kicking the two men out of the back while Matthew wrenched open the cockpit door to reveal a thoroughly distraught inmate at the controls. Reaching out with is free hand, the SRS Pilot grabbed him by the collar and slammed his head into the controls as the helo lurched precariously before Cooper looked into the man's bloody face. "Can you fly, Bobby?" he sneered before ripping the man from his seat and forcibly ejecting him from the helicopter as a webline snatched him from the sky and secured him to the side of a cell block.

On his way out, the man had knocked the controls as the Chopper began to spin as the Marauder leapt from the stricken craft before it flipped over and slammed into the courtyard, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. "Well…at least it didn't destroy half the city this time" conceded the Major dryly.

Much better was the convoy of flashing red and blue lights on the horizon. Indeed, Yuri came over the comms with the first good news the Texan had heard all night. "Okay, looks like things are somewhat under control…" she began only for the situation to nosedive once more as the sky erupted with yellow lightning arcing through the clouds, and the source was much too close for comfort.

"I thought you said the RAFT was secure?" asked Spider-Man.

"It was," returned Watanabe, no nonsense demeanor back in control, "let's go" she ordered as both men raised their left hands and fired their respective devices to pull them to the hovering helicopter. "Maybe it's not as bad as it looks," said Yuri as the craft banked away, trying to be the voice of optimism.

"Love the optimism," returned Spidey over the rotor wash. "But in my experience" he began, "when it looks bad…"

The Pilot finished his thought for him. "It's probably worse."

Peter couldn't help agree with his friend's wisdom, and while his Spider sense was humming lowly, it was a nagging feeling deep in the pit of his stomach, a 'gut feeling' as Cooper would say, that was giving him worry. Unlike the Marauder, the Webhead knew exactly who was in the supermax prison, nearly every superpowered villain he had bested in the last eight years was confined to the RAFT, and if the situation was half as bad as Rikers…

No, he wouldn't think like that. Yuri was right, this was a supermax facility, separate power grid, far more numerous and more intricate security systems, and far more redundant systems in place to prevent a breakout, even with outside assistance.

But all of those positive thoughts went away as the chopper rose to give the three a view of the source of the odd visual spectacle: Electro.

The Webhead's sixth sense kicked into overdrive at the sight of the grinning superpowered criminal charging up a potent electrical attack. "Look out!" he cried as he felt the helicopter shift, but the big bird could never hope to respond in time as Max Dillion unleashed a fury of yellow energy. When Yuri cranked the chopper over, she had done so in such a way as to use the bulk of the craft to shield the two passengers from the blast, but the helicopter took the brunt as the result. The effects were instant, the whole craft sparked as smoke belched from the engines, but most pressingly, the craft spun violently as both men lost their grip, the Marauder having to fire his grapple hook to keep him along for the ride as the chopper began to list. "Yuri!" called out the Webslinger as he yanked the door of the stricken chopper open.

Inside, he found the Captain struggling to undo her harness, and when she did she was instantly tossed into the opposite door. "I'm slipping!" she cried as he dropped down and wrapped his arms around her.

"I gotcha" he assured as he reached back to yank on the stick. "Hold on" he ordered as he pulled, only for nothing to happen as the controls sparked angrily at his attempts to wrestle some sort of controlled flight from the wounded bird.

Suddenly, a green shape appeared under the door at his feet as the Marauder wrenched it open and both Spidey and Yuri fell threw the newly created gap and Peter fired a webline as the ground flew up at them and he clung onto the captain with his other hand. He could hear the horrific sound of twisting and shearing metal from the helicopter crashing beneath them. As he took a second to gather his bearings, he slowly lowered them until they were on the ground next to the crash site. While they booth took in deep breaths, there was a hiss as the Marauder landed next to them. "New rule," began the Pilot as he looked down sadly at his bent submachine gun before tossing it on the ground, "no more helicopters," he said as he looked towards the wreckage, "ever."

"Seconded," added Spider-Man as he cycled fresh cartridges into his webshooters.

"Good," added Yuri through haggard breaths as she drew her revolver, "consider it a standing fucking order." The trio shared grim looks, Yuri pulling the hammer back on her pistol, Matt unsling his SMG, and the distinct hisses of new cartridges of webbing being chambered said everything that they were thinking when a yellow blur flew overhead and slammed into the door behind them.

Everyone rounded on Maxwell Dillion, the Supervillain still sporting the same twisted grin as they trained their weapons on him. "Welcome to the party…" he greeted, "just in time for the fireworks." With that, he fired another string of lightning off to his right before disappearing deeper into the prison.

The purpose of that blast was revealed as another voice yelled "Looks like we made parole boys!"

"Electro…why is he letting everyone out?" said a thoroughly confused Wallcrawler as he turned to look at his compatriots.

Inside, the released inmates were growing rowdier by the second before Yuri gave orders. "I'll head for the main control station and see how bad the situation is," announced the Captain firmly as she turned to the two men.

"Got it," returned the Webslinger with a nod before turning to the entrance made by Electro, "I'll go join the party" he finished as he saw the Marauder unsling his shotgun. "Matt…go with her," he suggested.

Thankfully, neither of them argued. "You got it," replied the Titan Jockey as he cycled the action of his weapon, the bolt dropping with a solid metallic sound. "You take care of yourself out there, I'll make sure Cap gets where she needs to go. Kick ass."

"You too," replied Spidey before they all exchanged nods and gun toting crime fighters moved out, weapons up and in step with one another. After they rounded the corner and were out of sight, Peter sprinted into the first cell block, orange jumpsuited men with high tech electrical sensor collars around their necks milling about the wrecked space. "Everyone just quietly go back to cell and lock your door behind you!" he shouted out as he came to a stop and the inmates turned to face him, snarls and sneers on their faces, "okay?" The first one came at him as he leapt up and flipped over him, firing a webline to pull him to one inmate and planted his feet in his chest, sending him across the room and into an open cell, knocking him out. "Like that!" he called before his sixth sense warbled and he leapt up and stuck to the wall, "please?"

"I'm gonna gut you Spider!" called out one, dashing that faint hope as Peter merely double tapped his webshooter button to loose and impact web that slammed into him, knocking into a column and webbing him in place. Firing a webline at the opposite wall, the Webhead swung through the space like Tarzan, grabbing one man by the oversized collar and tossing him into another cell before spring boarding off the floor and into another, backflipping before delivering a knockout blow as he came back to ground.

But just as it seemed he was getting a handle on things, more collar burdened men charged in, causing the Wallcrawler to hang his head in despair as he pulled out a web bomb and threw it in amongst the crowd, stopping them dead in their tracks. With the opening, he used a webline to yank one off his feet and spin him around, knocking all his buddies down before throwing the ensnared man into a third cell. "Power failure in cellblock C…Catastrophic failure detected," intoned the intercom as the superhero made his way up to the reinforced door that led deeper into the facility.

"That doesn't sound good…" murmured the Webslinger as he began to force the doors open only for his spider sense to ring out and his eyes widen at the sight of 10 feet of concrete pillar come flying right at him and slam into the door. Leaping away just as the door failed, he looked up to see a familiar face…or horn. "Oh…hi Rhino" said an exasperated Spidey as he saw the armored man hoist another pillar and toss it aside.

Turning to face him, the glowing blue eyes of the suit bored into him as the thick Russian accent of the man inside, Aleksei Sytsevich, to call out to him. "Hope you like surprise Spider," he taunted before he and Electro took off, the latter cackling all the way.

"Surprise?" questioned the hero, not particularly liking the sound of that, "What is he talking about?" Doggedly, the Webslinger kept up the pursuit through the ruined cell block when his comm beeped.

"Hey, what's your status?" asked Yuri in a no-nonsense tone, clearly not concerned by the gunfire Peter could make out on the line.

The Webhead came to a stop and perched on a railing on the opposite side of yet another ruined door. "Me?" he began sarcastically, "Just trapped in a prison with every criminal I've put away in the last…" he began to quip before his sixth sense sounded loudly and he tried to leap up out of the way, but a familiar and tight gripping tail wrapped around his neck and lifted him up until he was staring at the red visor of Mac Gargan, still in the suit of stylized green power armor that gave him the moniker of 'Scorpion.'

The deranged mercenary chuckled darkly, "This is too good to be true," he gloated as the grip tightened and Spidey chocked a bit as his hands tried to pry the tail off.

"Scorpion – can you hold on a minute?" he asked as he forced breath into his lungs to finish his quip, "I was in the middle of a phone call and it was business." Before he could act further, an explosion went off right behind the villain, loosening his grip and sending the arachnid themed hero flying. When he got back to his feet, he caught one last glimpse of that stinger tipped tail retreating through the newly made hole in the concrete. Shaking the haze from his mind, the Webslinger turned around to face the prisoners gathering behind him, this bunch being armed with a variety of shields and batons undoubtedly taken from the guards lying on the floor on the far side of the room. Charging at the lead shield wielder, Peter agilely slid under the shield and spun around the knock the man up into the air, sending the shield flying as the Webhead shot out a line to grab the man and slam him back into the floor.

At the same time, his built in mask phone beeped again, "Lost you for a second there," said Yuri calmly before the thunderous report of her magnum revolver filled the airwaves, "You okay?" she asked before the even more thunderous report of the Marauder's shotgun came through.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man dodge away from a shock baton, throwing a blast of webbing into the man's face for his troubles before grabbing a chunk of concrete with another webline and swinging it over his head to bring down on the top of the blinded man's skull. "Not really," he replied honestly, "Electro, Rhino, and now Scorpion are all on the loose. What's going on in the rest of the prison?" he asked, really hoping they were having a better go of it.

"We're almost to the…left side! Left side!" she shouted suddenly as there was a furious exchange of gunshots before all was silent once more. "We're almost to the secondary security station," she reported far too calmly considering what had just happened. Though it wasn't like Spidey could do any talking, he was acrobatically flipping between three different inmates, firing a web at two different ones to slam them into one another as he also carried on a conversation. "Should have camera's up inside two minutes, I'll give you a sitrep soon."

"Okay, I'll keep tracking Electro," he replied before cutting the link and looking around him, the last four prisoners surrounding him. Picking one, he rushed the lucky winner, drawing a trip mine. "Think fast!" called out the Webhead, sidearming the device at him and sticking it to his chest. Leaping over the top, he gave the man a kick in the back of the head, sending him forwards as the other three prisoners charged after the vigilante, so when the mine activated and dragged two goons together, webbing up both as Spider-Man added an electric web blast, stunning all four as he quickly finished those who weren't webbed up.

Continuing, he went through the next set of doors as his sixth sense kicked back into overdrive and he leapt up for the ceiling as a blast of familiar yellow lighting surged through the space he had just been occupying. "C'mon Spider-Man" taunted electro, "I thought this was a chase!"

With that, the eclectically enhanced villain shot up the shaft as Spider-Man dropped to the floor. "Gotta stop this guy…"

Gritting his teeth, the Marauder watched as Yuri swiped a security card over the scanner outside the door into the security station. As soon as she did, the light turned green and the door slid open to let the pair in. Cooper was in front, shotgun up as he took in the sights of three inmates trying to break into an arms locker and fired, the Mastiff spitting out the last of its shells, catching two in the blast as the third tried to rush him, but it was a futile effort as the Marauder stepped forwards and rammed the muzzle into his gut. The man stopped dead in his tracks and doubled over, clutching his stomach until swung the butt of the gun up in a brutal uppercat that sent him sprawling back against the locker he had just tried to break into before the stock slammed into his face again, breaking his nose before he crumpled to the floor. "Clear!" he called out.

Yuri, who had been covering his back, came into the room before closing and locking the door behind her. "They shouldn't have been able to get in here even with the power outages…" she ground out before shaking her head and beginning to flip through the cameras, grimacing at what she saw. "Camera's are still up, but nearly every other security system is totally fried. Even the backups on isolated systems," she reported, "there isn't a single secure cell left in the main holding blocks and the connection Enhanced Containment Block is severed. Hell, even the main gate is locked in the open position."

"Electro did all that?" asked the Marauder as he cuffed the knocked out inmates to a post.

"Couldn't've" returned the Captain, "Logs report the outages started before he got out of his cell." Cooper raised an eyebrow at that, something was wrong with this whole picture. As she continued furiously working the controls, she keyed her earpiece again as the connection with Spider-Man was reestablished, it was obvious she was looking for the hero on the feeds. "Okay, I got the security cameras back online," she reported tersely.

"How does it look?" came the strained reply as the Pilot turned his attention to the electronically locked locker.

"Well…" began the Cop, "it looks like the entire population of the Raft has escaped" she reported without changing her tone in the slightest. Then, things got even worse, "Including Martin Li. That makes FIVE of your worst enemies on the loose."

"Hehe…" chuckled the webslinger weakly, "for a second there I thought you were serious."

That tore it, drawing his Data Knife, the Marauder jammed it into the lock and waited for it to unlock for him before almost tearing the door off its hinges. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Yuri staring at him, "Do you mind?" he asked.

"Help yourself," replied the lawwoman as Cooper did just that, perusing the stock as the Captain continued to update the Webslinger. "I am serious" said the woman tersely, "I have to go – some of them are heading into the city. I'm sending the Marauder to assist you" she finished before cutting the connection.

As she was relaying that to Spider-Man, the Marauder was rearming, selecting a SPAS-15 shotgun and was about to reach for rubber buckshot when Yuri appeared at his side, "Don't bother with those," she ordered tersely as she grabbed an assault rifle from the stock. "If it comes down to you or them, make sure it's them" she ordered as Cooper nodded and began stowing 8 round magazine packed with lethal ammunition. "If we can't contain the escapees then it's going to take a miracle to stop them," she asserted grimly.

"Understood," replied the Pilot tersely as the two moved to the doors. After Yuri opened them and they swept the hall immediately outside, they prepared to go their separate ways.

He was really missing having BT available to feed him real time intel and guidance, but the veteran LEO was more than capable of getting him through the labyrinth. "Down there, left, then the third right should put you at Electro's last known position, the only way out of there is up." With that, the Pilot turned when he heard the Captain call out "Good luck Marauder!"

"You too."

Allowing himself to breathe after threading the needle of the mess of shipping containers behind him, Spider-Man looked up to the smug grin of Electro staring right back at him. But instead of standing to fight, Dillion tore off skywards, leaving a trail of scorched cement in his wake. "Keep chasing!" he called out as Spider-Man did just that, determined to take down who he felt was the most dangerous of the escaped convicts, "Party's almost over!" Running up the sheer vertical surface, he saw a familiar lick of blue flame as the Marauder jumped into the shaft, bouncing off a wall and ascending as well, joining the pursuit. Even as the villain began throwing waves of electricity down at them, both easily avoided the deadly energy as their superpowered foe shot out of a hole in the ceiling and onto the roof, both vigilantes in hot pursuit.

"Thanks for waiting for me," drawled the Marauder dryly as a way of greeting.

"No problem," returned Spider-Man as he shot through the same hole and the two landed next to one another, "I don't mind sharing the fun" he quipped as both scanned for any sign of their quarry. Seeing a stray bolt of yellow lightning, Spidey's lenses narrowed as he fired a webline and shot up in pursuit, a grapple following close behind.

Landing atop the roof, the pair was met with the sight of Electro leaning against an antenna as Spider-Man got his first good look at him, and it didn't take long to notice something was different. "How do you like my new suit?" asked the supervillain with a grin. Said suit was little more than a rudimentary harness, but the plethora of wires that interconnected the conductive panels indicated it served a greater purpose, and was probably the source of the man's enhanced capabilities.

"Dashing," quipped the Webslinger as he stepped forwards, able to feel Cooper strafe to the left to not bunch up, weapon up and trained on Electro. His finger was poised over the trigger as Spidey got closer, ready to pull it at the slightest provocation. "Where'd you get it?"

Maxwell's grin tightened into a wolfish smirk, "It's an exclusive club." As soon as he said it, the back of his head was beat like a drum by his sixth sense as a familiar streak of green shot up over the edge and the Marauder's weapon fired as the Vulture rolled away.

As soon as one threat was driven off, another replaced it as the colossal bulk of the Rhino vaulted up onto the rooftop, lowering his horn and charging the Pilot. Instead of fighting the armored behemoth, the Major phase shifted away as Spidey leapt up to dodge the horn, coming down behind just in time to look up and see the Vulture diving on him. But a crackle off to his left indicated he wasn't alone as the Marauder fired again, buckshot slamming into the mechanical wing as the man in the harness, Adrian Toomes, tried to regain control but Spidey had no intention of letting him. With a flick of his wrist, a webline snatched him out of the sky and redirected him into the armored bulk of the Rhino just as a helicopter pulled in, door opening to reveal the glowing suit clad Mr. Negative charging up an energy blast.

The Wallcrawler leapt up and flipped back onto the head of the Scorpion before he was thrown off and he scrambled to get back to his feet as Li stepped off the chopper and onto the rooftop. The Marauder had come out of his roll and fired a shot at the closest enemy, who happened to be the Rhino, the buckshot bouncing off the heavy armor before the Pilot was backhanded and landed next to the Webslinger, his Jump Kit keeping him upright as he settled down, cracking his neck. The two heroes were back to back, surveying the odds stacked against them, five superpowered villains that were out for blood. "Remember," called out the head of the Inner Demons as he cracked his knuckles, "he said not to kill them."

"Good idea," returned Spider-Man lightly, "In fact we don't have to do this at all if you don't want to…" he offered.

"We definitely want to," returned the Rhino as he dragged his foot across the rooftop, preparing to charge.

"You want it?" called out the Marauder before working the pump on his shotgun, "Then come get some!" The Vulture lead the charge, coming in from Spider-Man's side to avoid the Marauder's weapon, with Rhino coming in right behind the flyer. Dodging the Vulture just as the Marauder whipped around and snapped off a shot, drawing first blood on the Vulture as the Rhino's massive fist came down and two red covered hands went up to stop it dead in its tracks.

Behind him, the Marauder swung the shotgun back to Scorpion, firing twice in quick succession to little effect before finally jumping up and kicking the man in his exposed jaw, causing him to stagger. But Mr. Negative was there to support, hitting the Pilot with a beam of black and white energy and opening up Spider-Man as Scorpions tail slammed into his back, sending the two in opposite directions. Now unable to support each other, they found themselves under more pressure, while Rhino and the Vulture turned for the Pilot, Electro, Scorpion, and Li came for Spidey.

Electro fired a wave of lighting as Spidey leapt up, firing a web at the antenna behind him to swing around and come back on the attack, planting both feet in the Scorpion's chest and sending him back. Looking up, he saw that the Marauder had given up on his shotgun, having jumped up atop Rhino, blood soaked knife being pulled out of the exposed skin on the man's arm. But before Spidey could shout a warning, Vulture swooped down with talons out and ripped the Pilot off his perch, digging into his arm as the Pilot roared in pain over the comms. Peter's last glimpse of his friend was of him kicking his feet up to ram the still bloody blade into Toome's side.

A ringing of his sixth sense as Li fired another blast at him forced him to dodge away, right into the waiting tail of the Scorpion as the poison tipped stinger was driven deep into his back. As he fell to the ground he saw the Marauder slam onto the rooftop next to him, one arm bloody as the other hand still held the knife. As Spidey tried to turn over, a glowing shoe kicked him in the face, snapping his head over to see Cooper try and get up but have the Scorpion's tail trip him up as Gargan took the knife from the Pilot's hands and drove it into his leg with a laugh. The Major tried to throw a punch with his one good arm, but a blast of energy from Electro caused him to convulse and hiss in pain.

Neither of them could keep fighting, they had to leave now, mustering what little strength he had left, Peter got to his hands and knees, with only a punch from the Rhino slowing him as he pushed through the pain, reaching back to grab the Marauder and drag him to the edge of the rooftop. His friend was terrifyingly limp as the villains watched the pitiful sight, not even bothering to continue to attack the pair. A trail of blood marked their path, the drips of Spider-Man as he crawled distinguishable from the smear of the dragged Marauder until they reached the edge and Electro sent one last blast of electricity into both of them. Unable to stop himself, Peter cried out in pain as the Marauder remained silent, both convulsing from the shocks with wisps of smoke rising from their battered forms. But he had made it, the Webslinger was almost home free, if he could just get off this rooftop then there was a chance to escape and fight another day.

It was not to be, a terrifyingly familiar black and yellow claw slammed down into his hand as the Webslinger could feel his webshooters get crushed and bones crack from the impact as another claw emerged and came down around the Marauder's torso, digging into the armor as a third slammed into the rooftop and then a fourth did the same. As Peter craned his neck up, he saw the man at the center of the four arms emerge and look down at him with a familiar goggled face. "Do…Doctor Octavius?" rasped the Webslinger in shock as his mentor just sneered down at him.

His spider sense went off, but he was unable to prevent another claw from wrapping around his thigh, spikes digging into his skin as he his hand was released and he was lifted aloft alongside the limp form of the Marauder. "First and final warning" threatened Octavius calmly as he cast an uninterested glance at the Pilot's body before bringing the inverted Spider-Man closer, looking the younger man eye to eye. "Stay out of our way," he ordered calmly before both men were carelessly tossed off the rooftop, plummeting towards the ground below.

Cooper's Logbook – Locations: The RAFT

Originally planed to replace Rikers Island, the RAFT was retooled during construction to be a supermax facility with a special capability to intern enhanced individuals that supplemented the legacy facility. The original intended person the prison was designed around was, in fact, Spider-Man, though it soon became known as where his most formidable foes served their time. A man made fortress of steel and concrete situated between Rikers Island and Roosevelt Island, with the latter providing logistical support, the prison is as capable of keeping people out as it is in.

The exact details of the security systems are a closely guarded secret, but people have figured out that the guard towers around the central facility are arranged in such a way as to use the tides and waves in the east river to provide electric power, aided by solar panels. Supplies are brought to the facility by transfer lines in the same way resupply at sea is done to offer as few opportunities for escape as possible. Guards and other personnel are brought in and out by boat, usually from Roosevelt Island.

While it's most famous occupants are metahumans, the RAFT is among the most secure internment facilities on the east coast, and so it is the home to prisoners from more than a dozen states, with a majority of those lacking powers. This is a matter of justifying the more than billion dollar investment the state of New York made, but seeing as there have been no successful breakouts thus far, it seems to have been money well spent.

Closing Notes: I know people have been looking forward to this, and I have too honestly, this was a great sequence in game and I hope I did it justice. This was one of the sequences shown pre release when it was one of the highlights of E3 2018, probably even more so than the helicopter chase shown the year prior, at least for me. Obviously, like the game, this was a rather abrupt kickstarting of the Sinister Six story arc and I wanted to keep that feel regarding the events that took place. I will be trying something different this time around, a sort of twin story arc, one based on the game, the other original, I've gone down this path because this entire arc felt kind of rushed in game, and since I have even more characters to juggle and smaller arcs to progress along with them, I needed to expand it some way. Instead of stretching the story arc out I took the approach of adding another layer.

This layer will not be related to SHIELD or the Avengers in any way, shape, or form. I know that will probably disappoint some of you, but I just could not come up with a good 'story' reason to include them. The best part of the game was how it was a personal story for Peter and I don't want that to change, having the Avengers show up would only hurt that in my eyes. Matt, in all honesty, kind of does the same thing, which is why he's going to be off on his own most of the time. I think it's good stuff and I think y'all will enjoy it.

Leave a review if you have something to say, either about this chapter or something else that you might be looking forward to.

Next week, we focus on the guys who are behind the scenes and pulling the strings, making your life burn faster, so obey your master, the Master of Puppets.

Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out.