2/2

Only now, 63 floors up and hanging off the side of the skyscraper, did Cooper catch his breath as he fumbled around his belt for a breach charge. Slinging the knock knock onto the window beneath him he pulled out the clacker and took a deep breath. "One really big fucking hole coming right up" he said to himself before detonating the explosive.

Cooper jumped down and into the new entrance, shotgun at the ready. Realizing he couldn't see shit, he clicked on his helmet light and realized he had crashed into the break room. He moved through the standard office space, shotgun swinging to each door as he checked the rooms behind. Vast spaces of cubicles, server backrooms, and file cabinets, none of which had anything he was looking for.

He finally reached a cluster of larger executive offices deep in the office suite. On the third one he entered; he saw a plaque on the desk. 'Hannah Lau' it read as the Pilot set his shotgun on the desk and moved to the other side, kicking the rolling chair away as he booted up the desktop.

He bent over and jammed his data knife in the computer when he heard something outside the office. Slowly reaching for his shotgun, Cooper kept an ear out for any more signs he wasn't alone.

He didn't have to wait long.

The entire front of the office erupted in a cacophony of gunfire as the Pilot instinctively hit the floor and pressed himself into the thick mahogany desk as the SMGs tore into the bookshelves and wall behind the Marauder.

As quickly as it began, it was over, their mags ran dry as Cooper readied the Hemlock. "My turn" he snarled as he slammed an A-Wall down and stood before tossing a pulse blade. The thugs illuminated by the tactical on the far side of the sheetrock stood no chance as the amped 7.62mm AP rounds sliced through their cover like a hot knife through butter. Cooper rapidly emptied the eight bursts on tap, placing two on each hostile he saw before he stowed the rifle and heaved an arc grenade.

Vaulting over the desk, he picked up the EVA as the stunning sphere detonated and shocked the remaining ambushers before he slid to cover the ground and leapt upwards. Matt threw all of his weight and momentum into the door of the office, the impact knocking it clean off its hinges as he raised the shotgun and held down the trigger, hosing the survivors just as they recovered from the grenade.

Only he forgot to check his corners, the only thug that was to the left of the door got the drop on him, coming up from behind and wrapping an arm around his neck and tried to choke the Pilot. The Marauder panicked, still holding the trigger down on the shotgun after the mag had run dry and struggling against the vice grip he was in.

His vision fading, he tried to throw an elbow into his attackers' stomach, but in his oxygen depraved state he couldn't muster the strength to make the strike effective. In a last ditch move, he pulled out the Smart Pistol and jerked his head to the right and stuck the gun over his left shoulder until he felt the muzzle pressed against something and squeezed the trigger.

Cooper fell to the ground, released, and struggled to fill his lungs with air as he rubbed his sore neck and stood, his legs still a bit shaky as he retrieved the empty shotgun. "BT" he rasped, "anything in the data?" he asked while he made his way back into the office.

"There are no references to a 'Project Cinderblock' anywhere in the transmitted files Pilot" responded the Titan. "I suggest we search for alternative sources of information."

"Agreed, call Watson, maybe she has something else for us" he ordered as he pulled out the knife and put it back in its spot on his left shoulder.

The Titan came back sooner than the Marauder expected, though not with the words he wanted to hear. "Pilot Cooper, Mary Jane Watson is not accepting your call for unknown reasons" reported the Vanguard class Titan.

Cooper grimaced, it was late, but not that late. There was an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Can you track the signal?" Maybe it was nothing, but he always trusted his gut, it had gotten him this far.

"Trace complete, current location; the offices of Alenko Architecture. 3477 meters from your current location" replied BT in his mechanical monotone.

"Fuck" cursed Cooper eloquently as he scooped up his weapons and made for the door. "Gimme a waypoint BT, I'm not done just yet."

Cooper arrived at the offices, but they were situated in a refurbished warehouse as opposed to a Highrise, and this dictated a different greeting for him. Instead of guards waiting in ambush at elevators and stairs and then having to react when he came in a window, gunmen were patrolling the perimeter, and there were likely more inside.

The pilot watched from the shadows and shook his head, if Watson was here then she could get caught in the crossfire. "BT, try Watson again" he ordered, hoping she would finally pick up.

"No response Pilot" confirmed the Titan, leaving Matt with no choice.

He shouldered the Hemlock and flicked off the safety. "Alright, I'm going loud, keep trying her cell BT, and give me a waypoint if you pinpoint her location." Stepping out of the alley he was waiting in he made straight for the main entrance, noticing the two guards straighten as they saw movement. "Surrender now and you will not be harmed!" he yelled out, getting an immediate reaction, though not the one he was hoping for.

"Oh shit! Its him!" yelled out one of the guards as he raised his SMG and opened fire. Cooper slid to the left and began squeezing bursts off, dropping one quickly as the other fell back inside. Matt reloaded, but didn't follow, instead using his grapple to pull himself up to the roof and made his way towards the large skylight.

Peering down from above, he could already see a dozen more guards inside preparing for him to come charging through the door, barricading themselves behind desks and filing cabinets. The Pilot placed a breach charge on the skylight and double jumped up and detonated it as he came down, falling through the hole with the shotgun out.

His feet came down on the shoulders of one gunman to break his landing while the guards turned and opened fire. Cooper dispatched two with a pair of buckshot rounds before he got moving. Jumping up and back, he tossed out an electric smoke grenade before charging forwards.

Using the wall to flank up and out of the line of fire, he was soon in amongst his opposition, his one advantage being that they would hesitate to fire lest they hit an ally, the Marauder had no such issues.

Leaping into the dissipating smoke, the EVA barked four more times, tearing limbs and shredding torsos as four more gunmen were dispatched. When the fifth thug stood, Matt raised the shotgun, only to get a click instead of a shot. Instead of reloading the weapon, he closed the gap and grabbed the shotgun by the barrel. Like a big-league slugger, Cooper swung the weapon as if it were a baseball bat, the blow causing the gunman to double over. The pilot immediately followed up by drawing his axe and bringing it down, burying it in the back of his head before letting the man crumple to the floor.

More gunfire poured towards the Pilot, Cooper ducking and running as the offices were shot full of holes before he made it to the edge of the room. The Pilot's jump kit fired as he began running along the wall, MK6 drawn and already locking on to the remaining gunmen. "Shoot that guy!" one yelled as Cooper jumped off the wall, the Smart Pistol firing and putting a round to the head of each.

Landing and coming to a halt, Matt reloaded as he scanned the area. "Hey asshole" yelled someone, causing the Marauder's head to snap to the source of the noise, a trio of men looking down on him from a second-floor catwalk hefting M32 multi shot grenade launchers. "End of the line for you Marauder."

In the dark office across from the newly appeared enforcers, Mary Jane watched in shock and horror as they fired down on the Marauder, eighteen 40mm grenades covered the whole area in explosions and fragments. As the smoke cleared, the results were devastating, the workspaces that had once filled the floor were completely destroyed, the area they occupied rendered unlivable by the sustained assault.

She thought this would a simple excursion. Show up, have a look around, find this Lau character's office and see what was on the computer. That plan had gone out the window when a dozen armed men had shown up and forced the reporter to hide in Lau's office. "Alright boys" said the leader as Watson started to panic. "I'll let the boss know, drinks are on me tonight" he declared as the trio whooped and hollered in celebration.

Only for the enthusiasm to come to a screeching halt by a filtered voice that echoed around the office. "Were it so easy" it said as Watson looked at the center of the devastation to see the Marauder standing there, flicking a bit of debris off his shoulder pad.

The three enforcers just stared blankly as the Marauder pulled something from his belt and hurled it towards them, the object buried itself in the wall behind him before it began to glow a bright blue.

Only then did things get really weird, all three goons were picked up off of their feet and sucked towards the now pitch-black orb that had formed, arms and legs flailing as they fought against some unseen force.

Their struggling came to an abrupt end when the Marauder fired his pistol three times in quick succession. A moment later the orb exploded, sending the three lifeless bodies flying in different directions as the Marauder spun the pistol around like an old west gunslinger before holstering it. "Area's secure, come on out whenever you're ready" he called. MJ chose not to respond, maybe he was there by chance and was simply looking for anyone left in the building. "You know Watson" he called out tiredly as he picked up the weapon he had dropped earlier, "I find waiting more stressful than being shot at. So, unless you want me to have a heart attack before we have that interview, come say hi" he said, fatigue affecting his usual dry sarcasm.

The redheaded reporter sighed and opened the door before she stepped onto the catwalk opposite where the three gunmen had been. "I'm up here" she replied. The vigilante turned and fired a grappling hook and pulled himself up to her level. "But what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was hoping you could answer that" he responded dryly as he walked past and into the office and flicked on the light switch. "You are the reason I nearly had a heart attack and had to haul ass halfway across the city to get here."

Watson sighed; she had a feeling where this conversation was going. She and Peter had it too many times for her not to. "I was here checking another lead. I figured you had your hands full, so I decided to pick up the slack" she explained.

She then braced for the inevitable condescending reply, only to be shocked when she got a chuckle in return from the helmeted Marauder. "You got guts Watson" he complimented. "Was this excursion worth the risk?" he asked casually.

The redhead stood still as she processed the lack of any sort of 'this was too dangerous, leave it to me' response before she answered. "I already went through the computer, copied everything off of it." She then watched as he made his way to the desk and examined the computer. After a moment, he pulled out a knife and flipped it around. "What are you…" began MJ as the blade was jammed into the top of the machine and an orange circle popped up from the base of the grip.

"This is how I extract data" he explained as the circle began to turn blue. "Best if it looks like I was only one here, don't ya think?" he asked, to which MJ nodded as the circle turned completely blue. "Now that that's done, it's time to get the hell out of dodge."

Before either of them could move, a blob of white landed on the Marauder's hand, sticking it and his knife to the desktop as both of their head snapped towards the door. "You're not going anywhere pal" said a voice Mary Jane instantly recognized, though the usual joking tone was gone.

Spider-Man was here.

Cooper's Logbook – Exoskeleton

I wish I had this thing on Typhon. Compared to the flashier additions of the Vanguard Pilot's gear I've been using the Exoskeleton doesn't do much. It makes me a little stronger, but I was never going to trade punches with anyone, not when I can move as fast as I can. What it does allow me to do is go the distance, I don't get sore or tired. Sure, there's mental fatigue from combat, but it has made going out again and again feasible. Not only that, it means that no matter how long a fight drags on, my body is taking less of the load, I've got more endurance than any normal human, which his good considering how outnumbered I usually am.

The exoskeleton itself isn't much too impressive from the outside, since it integrates seamlessly into other parts of the armor. The solid strips of metal on the arms link into the shoulder pads, elbow pads, and gloves. On the legs it goes from a belt to kneepads to boots. All parts of it connect to the metal cage structure in the metal chest rig with the Dragon Scale armor on top. The other upside is the extra strength helps offset the higher weight of all the kit for me, not so much for anybody I throw myself into.

Log – Assault Rifle: M1A3 Hemlock BF-R

I love this gun, but the fact that they just tacked on BF-R, meaning 'Burst Fire-Rifle' rubs me the wrong way. Just adding that in case us dumb grunts forget how to read the fire selector. Not only that, but it can fire in semi auto and full auto too! Though the fast burst and recoil dampener mean that there isn't much reason to use the single shot setting. It fires the same 7.62x35mm round as the Spitfire LMG, better known as the .300 Blackout. It's an old round compared to the 8.19mm used in the R-201, but the round is more compact for only minor tradeoffs in stopping power but has better velocity and energy retention over range.

The rifle itself is built like a brick shithouse, and while many grunts swore by the simplicity of the V-47 Flatline, this thing is rugged as all hell. And unlike that bullpup monstrosity, the Hemlock kicks upwards as a rifle ought, not sideways. How the militia can simultaneously produce the most user friendly and advanced Titan and the most idiotically designed infantry rifle still baffles and amazes me.

Jesus that was a rant, all that really means is that if worst comes to worst, I can always use the Hemlock as a club and beat someone into a bloody pulp with it.

Closing notes: I hope I've done enough to earn that cliffhanger ending and I don't get too much flak for it. But if you think I do deserve some flak then let me have it. The follow up chapter should come out Monday and will set us up for the home stretch of the Cinderblock arc. Also, feel free to leave suggestions for Cooper's Logbook entries if there is something you want cleared up. Unlike most of the story itself those haven't been written so requests will be prioritized.

Also, small blink and you miss it reference to the Arbiter in Halo 3.

If you read the Logbook entries in this chapter, the .300 Blackout is a real bullet, you can find it for sale today. 8.19mm is not real however, but it is the canon round for several weapons from the Titanfall universe such as the R-201 Carbine that appeared in Chapter 5. If you care, the lore for Titanfall only specifies that the Hemlock and its sibling, the Spitfire, fire a 7.62mm round, but not exactly which kind of 7.62mm. So I picked 7.62x35 because its an intermediate round befitting an Assault Rifle and LMG, and I didn't go with 7.62x39 because I'm not a communist.

Next chapter, don't close your eyes, don't run and hide, I'm not Foolin'.

Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out.