Spider-Man: Agents of the Division

Ground Zero

-Two Weeks after Black Friday-

A lone red van rolls past a couple of abandoned cars in the middle of the street before it regains its normal speed. The two people in the van are a news team duo of the Daily Bugle: reporter Freya Springfield and cameraman Cade Brooks. Cade kept his eyes on the road as Freya is glued to the sights out of window. Fires on the street, sidewalks piled up with trash, and cars piling up and congest the way.

New York is in hell since Black Friday. The city wasn't in a full city riot, but instead hit by a wave of smallpox that's been called as the dollar flu. It got it's name after it was found in dollar bills passed between hands during the sales. In a matter of weeks, the city falls to panic, riots, and death and with emergency services either dead or left their post to survive the epidemic.

They are now rolling up to Wall Street. A checkpoint appears in front of them with armed soldiers posted in the area. One of them points at their vehicle and gestures them to drive up. Cade sighs and rolls his eyes. Freya pokes her head from the back.

"Is that the army?" Freya whispers. The soldier gets close.

"No, it's The Last Man Battalion." Cade replies. "They're guarding Wall Street. I'll handle this."

Cade rolls the window down. The guard keeps his distance and rifle at ease, but ready to shoot on the first sign of trouble.

"Show me your identification, now!" The LMB mercenary growls.

Cade hands his and Freya's ID card to the soldier. The mercenary glances both of them for a few seconds before shoving them back into Cade's hands.

"What's your business passing through here?"

"We need to get to the quarantine site for an interview." Cade answers. "We're with the Daily Bugle."

"The Quarantine site? That's full of infected and dead people." The mercenary waves them off. "Do yourself a favor and go home. You have no business down here."

"Please. The people want to know if things are going to get better." Freya chimes in with a plea.

"Better?" The mercenary scoffs. "It won't with the government's rag tag of volunteers running this operation. Turn around now! Your interview won't happen."

Cade tries to protest against the soldier's orders. The mercenary had enough and levels his rifle at Cade. The camera man puts his hands up. More mercenaries appear and surround the vehicle.

"Sorry sir, it's time for you to leave."

"Fine. I wasn't in the mood for arguing."

Cade shifts the gear into reverse and is about to turn around. Just then, an armored green and hummer rolls into a stop. A squad of soldiers in fatigues step out and glare at the mercenaries. One of them, who seems to be an officer from the national guard, waves his hand at the mercenary.

"What the hell is going on here?" The officer shouts.

"Stay out of this, JTF!" The mercenary snaps at the officer. "This is none of your business."

The Joint Task Force, or JTF, are a combined group of firefighters, medical workers, volunteers, cops, and soldiers of the national guard. They were created shortly after the epidemic began to contain the peace and prevent the spread. To Freya, they're people the reporter can trust.

"We're reporters from the Daily Bugle!" Freya shouts over the mercenary. "We're authorized to enter the quarantine site by John Oxton."

"You're Freya Springfield?" The JTF officer asks.