Chapter 5- Into Battle We Go
Unedited and I only own Violet, her speech and any plot changes.
Colonel Flag swiftly shook off his shock at the brunette's argument and quickly began shouting orders before rounding up the remaining inmates and escorting them in the same direction Violet had wandered off. All the while trying to sort out his jumbled thoughts that were now in more turmoil than before.
The Colonel barely paid attention to what happened around him until he was safely aboard the helicopter with the inmates of Taskforce X. The moment he stepped on the aircraft though, his eyes immediately sought out the brunette killer that had unknowingly consumed the soldier's thoughts.
He watched as she turned around from staring out the window to talk to El Diablo. Rick paid extra attention to the way Violet unconsciously clutched at the chain around her neck every time she spoke. He frowned at how her attitude seemed to have taken a complete turnaround from just mere moments ago, when she was hostile and angry. Now she was calm and having an actual conversation. He had to look twice when he heard a tinkering laugh and witnessed a small smile cross the female metahuman's lips. The Colonel's stomach twisted uncomfortably at the sight, confusing the man as to why. However, despite his jumbled emotions, Rick couldn't help but overhear the rest of the two criminals' conversation.
"You're looking at me like I'm a ticking time bomb" The brunette teased
"Aren't you?" Diablo was hesitant to talk to the woman who seems to be too much of a loose cannon.
"Aren't we all" She smirks, tapping the side of her neck.
The Mexican gangbanger chuckled, which was a foreign concept to imagine let alone witness for those within the aircraft.
Violet playful pushed the other metahuman before asking on of the questions that was niggling away at her "So… how'd you end up here?"
Diablo automatically stiffened and became closed off again. "Death" He responded curtly.
She nodded in understanding, knowing exactly what the gangbanger meant "Hm, the way I see it, we're at two different ends of the spectrum. Where you turned to self-loathing and blamed yourself. I turned to anger and blamed everyone else" The brunette shrugged and offered a small pain filled smile, letting him know that she knew exactly how he felt.
"You can't change or help the way you're born"
"Maybe you should try telling yourself that, once in a while" She gave him a pointed look that made the tattooed metahuman look away
Diablo scoffed, his self-hatred burning bright at the moment "I'm cursed"
"Join the club."
"Yours wasn't a gift from the devil"
"Nope. But mine is hereditary" She grinned and knocked her shoulder against his. At the fire wielder's furrowed brow, the female killer elaborated "It's all about the genes. There's two types, naturally. You've either got the dormant or the dominant but it's kinda like playing Russian Roulette. You won't know what gene you've got until it's too late."
"Then why hasn't anyone known about your family's powers before?"
Judging from the way the surrounding soldiers suddenly perked up and inched closer to the chatty two; it was obvious that Diablo wasn't the only one interested in Violet's answer
"Firstly, it's only passed down to the females in my family, and secondly, because the last time anyone actually had the dominant gene was about 2,000 years ago, lucky me huh?"
"So you're like me? You've had to deal with it your whole life" His tattoo covered body sagged slightly, he couldn't help the connection or small swell of gratitude he felt towards the female sitting next to him. It came as a relief to him that he wasn't the only one cursed.
"Unfortunately."
"What made you go off the rails?" The gangster watched as a bitter look flashed across her expression whilst her eyes became unfocused, it was obvious that her mind with remembering a past horror
"Death." She simply stated, repeating what the metahuman said to her before. He nodded in understanding, it was clear that the topic was no longer up for discussion.
The thump at the opening of the aircraft interrupted any type of response the metahuman was about to give. Everyone's head shot over to the origin of the noise only to discover a masked stranger standing there holding a katana.
The good Colonel was too lost in thought to pay attention to the new arrival at first. His mind was racing with question surrounding the one topic that had been plaguing him for the last couple of days. Violet Jackson. This new side of her, when she wasn't confronting, threatening or arguing was quite refreshing and just served as evidence to some of the more doubtful statements in the killer's file.
When two boot covered feet appeared in his line of sight, Rick manged to snap out of his thoughts long enough to make the introductions "This is katana. She's got my back. She can cut all of you in half with one sword stroke... Just like mowing the lawn. I would advise not getting killed by her. Her sword traps the souls of its victims."
Violet couldn't resist to make a teasing comment "What if we don't have a soul for it to trap?"
"Then it'll just kill ya" Rick deadpans, clearly not amused with the metahuman's sass
"Bring it on" she scoffed, feeling the silent challenge from the sword warrior's glare
Rick stood in between the two females eyesight, blocking them from each other, inserting his dominance "Stand down" He demanded throwing a pointed glare at Violet's smirking expression.
She held up her hands in mock surrender but said nothing. Instead Violet just turned to stare out the window, her smirk firmly in place. Rick bristled at the obvious dismissal of her actions but didn't say anything else to the female metahuman, mostly because the renounced queen of Gotham decided to speak up.
"Harley Quinn. Nice to meet ya." She grinned like a maniac, holding out her hand for the latest arrival to shake "Love your perfume. What is that? The stench of death?"
Clearly Katana wasn't feeling as welcoming as the Joker's girlfriend and made a move to remove her sword, ready to go on the attack. "Should I kill them?"
Violet understood the warrior's foreign words perfectly and she let out a sarcastic scoff "I'd love to see you try"
"Whoa. Easy, cowgirl." Rick was quick to intervene "Ain't that kind of mission. Have a seat."
"She seems nice" Harley remained unfazed as she grinned at the rest of the taskforce before her attention was drawn out the window. "Look at the pretty lights! Are you guys seein' this?" She spoke with childlike wonder; eyes wide with fascination at the sight of the bright flashes of lightning that surrounded a pile of floating metals in the sky.
Violet snorted with amusement and shook her head at the scene which caused her to be the on the receiving end of two quite fierce glares from the soldier and new arrival. The Colonels glare didn't ease up, if anything it gradually became more intense and slightly confused. Once again Rick's thoughts were in torment, which seemed to be happening a lot since meeting the powerful female killer. It infuriated the soldier that he actually felt concern and the slightest twinge of fear just then when Katana offered to kill the members of his new Task Force; not that he actually cared for the group of criminals. Or so that's what he told himself however, Violet's piercing hazel eyes flashed in his mind as if to serve as a protest to that statement.
Deadshot's voice and question caught his attention "What happened?"
The Colonel thought back to the night everything screwed up. He remembered how much of a failure he felt like when the Enchantress not only fooled him but also when she disappeared taking over his best friend, June.
"Terror attack. Dirty bombs, bad guys shooting up the place with AKs. You know, usual shit." Flag tried to cover up how he froze, by keeping his expression blank and speaking in a monotone whilst fiddling around with his guns. However, Violet had been watching the Task Force leader with intense laser like focus and she had caught his little slip.
"Bullshit" Violet sung, joining the conversation as she slid next to, Floyd, the male assassin.
Deadshot snapped his fingers and nodded at her with a small smile to show his agreement "Exactly. Yeah, you're a bad liar. I don't know if they told you ...but I'm a hitman. I'm not a fireman. I don't save people."
"Anything for a dollar, right?" The accusation with clear in Rick's tone and his glare as he scoffed. His judgement of the hit man agitated Violet
Floyd on the other hand just brushed off the soldier's insult and slyly threw his own "You know the dark places, too. Don't act like you don't."
"I'm a soldier! And you're a serial killer who takes credit cards. When the shooting starts ... and it will, you'll cut and run."
"You know what, I'm getting sick and tired of your self-righteous bullshit"
He frowned and became tense at her suddenly exclaim, his defensive side reared it head "Wha-"
"Why did you become a soldier? Hm?" The female metahuman challenged, leaning forward, her stare never leaving the Colonel's own "Family? Honour? Or was it the idea of legally being able to kill the enemy? So you would be able to justify any lives you took and keep you conscious clear… You might be on the 'right' side of the law but you can't deny, you've racked up a body count as well" She leaned in closer, her lips just mare inches away from his "Justified or not… you still have blood on your hands"
"You're murderers" Rick struggled to get the words out with her so close; the fragrance of her fruity perfume was invading his senses and clouding his judgment.
The female killer's eyes lost their fire and she sat back, casually resting the back of her head against the wall with a shrug "Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do"
"Oh yeah and what's that?" Rick scoffed
"Love." She nodded at Harley
"Nurture" Killer Croc
"Family" Deadshot
"Vengeance." Katana
"Guilt" El Diablo
"Fun" Slipknot
"Greed" Boomerang
"Honour" She gave Rick a pointed look
He ignored her look and tried to fight back the multiple questions that were burning his tongue however, one slipped through "What 'bout you?"
"Me?" She fought down the swell of emotions that accompanied Rick's question. Her expression became a blank slate of marble "Nothing. There's nothing for me anymore"
Rick swallowed the lump in his throat from the raw pain in her eyes, before he decided to focus on prominent emotions; frustration and anger with a hint of disgust "An' that's supposed to make it better?"
"No… it's supposed to show you that despite your beliefs, there's a reason why we're the way we are" She noticed his disbelief and felt her annoyance rise slightly "We didn't just wake up one day and think 'you know what, I'm gonna start killing people today'" Violet paused, thoughtful for a moment "Well a majority of people don't anyway"
It happened so suddenly that everyone was stunned for a split second as the ride went from being smooth and peaceful to chaotic in a fraction of a second. The helicopter shook, sending its passengers stumbling and in a panic. "What the fu-" Violet's grumbling was cut short when the aircraft once again shook violently, tossing everyone around the compact area. Violet gritted her teeth as she was sent flying into the wall of the aircraft, the crack of her left shoulder connecting with the structure confirmed to the brunette that at least one thing was broken.
"Six- one is going down. Six- one is going down hard. Stand by. Drop the ramp!" The voice of the pilot blared over the anarchy taking place. His voice kick started the soldiers out of panic mode and into action.
It was instantaneous, soldiers rushed, as fast as they could whilst being thrown around, to the back of the aircraft. They started shouting orders and demands at each other and the inmates to move to the back to where the ramp was quickly descending. Rick's second in command; a fairly attractive tall, milk chocolate haired man, Edwards. He went over to where Violet was currently pressed up against the wall, poking and prodding her shoulder, by now she was completely unfazed by the chaos happening around her. The good soldier clamped down on her arm and refused to budge until he had her entire attention.
"You mind?" She shouted above the ruckus, motioning down to his tight grip. Edwards just held on tighter in response and began pulling her towards the others.
The plane's shuddering became more intense seconds before it suddenly began plummeting towards the ruined city. Every passenger stumbled, desperate to hold onto something secure that would act like their life line during this seemingly fatal incident. A small explosion suddenly went off outside, hitting the right side of the helicopter, it caused the electronics inside the aircraft to spark dangerously. Edwards eyes widened when he noticed one of the live wires spark too close to the brunette killer; before he could process his own thoughts properly, he had already pushed Violet to the ground and covered her body with his own. Just in the nick of time it seemed as the last resistance of the helicopter finally collapsed, sending itself and its cargo inside plunging to the ground at a terrifying speed.
Violet felt her irritation climb as the screams of everyone around her pounded in her mind.
She pushed the soldier off and shot up to her feet "Oh enough of this!" She groaned in annoyance, raising her arms out sideways, palms flat and facing the roof. Her eyes glazed over, focusing on nothing in particular. The group around her exchanged expressions of curiosity and shock as the shakiness of the aircraft gradually mellowed out completely however, a deep rumbling from outside drew Rick's attention and caused him to stare out the window in disbelieving awe when he laid eyes on the ground as it came closer. Literally. His awe was due to the fact that the helicopter was no longer descending no, in fact it was the earth that was moving; Rick was no longer the only one watching as the once solid concreate road slowly climbed higher, looking much like a volcano, as it comes to a stop underneath the helicopter. Once the base connected with the top of the ground pile, it began its own smooth descend. Returning to how it was as soon as the wheels touched the floor.
As soon as that happened, everyone jumped out and released a collective sigh of relief at the feeling of solid ground beneath their feet. Violet followed a little slower, completely calm and seemingly unfazed by such a close call. She ignored the wary glances being thrown her way by the soldiers for her little power display but on the inside, she chuckled.
If these soldiers were on edge around her now, then they're in for a big shock because that was nothing compared to her true ability.
"What a ride!" The crazy pink and blue haired female exclaimed, the exhilaration clear on her face and in her tone.
Rick gave a quick glance around to confirm everyone's presence and their condition, he tried to overlook how he lingered of the brunette a lot longer than the rest or how the tension in his mind and body relaxed at seeing her standing, healthy before speaking into his radio "We're okay. We're okay. Assets are undamaged."
"Speak for yourself… I just broke a nail"
Rick turned and stared in disbelief as Violet held up her left hand and stuck up her middle finger with an amused pout before she grabbed her shoulder and seemed to crack something back into place, without any fuss. She grinned, almost ferally and walked over to Deadshot, who was watching was a keen eye and small smirk at the woman's guts.
The order to move was silent as Rick and three or four men walked ahead whilst the rest of the SEALs took the back so that the villains were contained in the centre under watchful eyes.
"Mind games." Boomerang mumbled to the criminal walking next to him, trying to seem inconspicuous as they slowly began to fall behind
Slipknot frowned in confusion at the sudden conversation "What's that?"
"All this bomb in the neck crap. That ain't real, mate. See, they're trying to trap us with our own minds. right? But you look around, we're free, brah."
"How do you know this?"
"Just trust me. I know, alright? It's a con. Now I'm going. because I got a life to live. Question is, are you coming?"
"Yeah!" Slipknot was blinded by his thirst for freedom that he didn't listen to when his subconscious tried to make him aware of the danger of this choice
The brunette, who had been listening in, shook her head and walked ahead of the two scheming criminals. "Idiots" She muttered loud enough for Rick to glance at her in worry and confusion however, before he could question her sudden insult, a loud scuffle and commotion captured their attention.
They all watched as Slipknot and Boomerang fought against a couple of Navy SEALs before Katana intervened and subdued the captain, holding him a sword point against a brick wall of one of the surrounding buildings. Slipknot on the other hand successfully managed to knock the soldiers out of his way, which gave him enough time to activate his high-tech grappling hook. It shot out from his belt and embedded itself high up within the walls structure; seconds later the professional criminal flew up, following the direction of his rope, until he landed on the side of the building. He wasted no time attempting to climb up the buildings surface.
Captain Boomerang commented from his position, watching his partner with a impressed expression "Smart!"
Whilst the rest of his Navy SEALs team was scrambling in their alarm at a convict escaping, their immediate instincts had them loading their weapons, ready to shoot. Rick remained calm and in control, pulling out a small black electronic device as he ordered "Hold your fire!"
And without hesitation he pushed the button. A fraction of a second later everyone watched in mute fascinated horror as Slipknot's head blew off with a pop.
Violet let out a low whistle "Pop goes the weasel"
Her comment caused her to be on the receiving end of many harsh and judgmental glares from the soldiers.
Captain Boomerang noticed the glare Katana was throwing at him and shrugged, feigning innocence "Sorry. It's what I do."
Harley bounced in her spot, despite the insane grin on her face, her eyes gave away the fear that was there from the demonstration of what the bomb in her own neck was capable of "Now that's a killer app!"
"Okay. you wanna keep playing ...the Hollywood Squares version of "I'll Blow your freaking Head Off? Are you next?"
Diablo backed off, holding his hands up slightly to show his surrender, palms facing outwards "You tripping, homie."
"You next, Deadshot?"
The black assassin expressed his shock and disbelief as he stormed up to the Colonel "You just threatened me?"
Rick didn't back down "Oh, yeah."
"He just threatened me." Deadshot's anger was barely concealed as he strode away from the 'good guys' and over to the other villains. Where Violet patted him on the shoulder, a half smile and mock sympathetic expression on her face.
Rick turned his attention to the still smirking brunette metahuman "How about you, Chaos?"
"Bite me" She just rolled her eyes, not rising to his challenge however, that just made his temper climb higher.
"What did I say about vexing me?"
Unfortunately, it seems that Rick's superior tone and aura had finally pushed Violet's buttons- the wrong way. She let out a agitated huff, clenching her fists as she strode up to the man who'd been causing her mind to go haywire all night.
"Look you want to kill me then be my guest. Go on press the button. But if you think for one second I'm going to let you wave that threat over my head for the rest of this suicide mission then you've got another thing coming GI Joe"
She didn't pay any attention to the way the rest of the SEALs became alert and raised their weapons in her direction as she unfastened a dagger from her thigh. The metahuman's eyes never left Rick's murky brown ones as she raised the blade to her own throat, stunning everyone around her.
The Colonel's usual stoic expression turned to one of panic, despite how much he tried to hide it. "Wha' the hell are you doing!?"
His question is answered when Violet drags the blade across the side of her neck, her crimson lifeline began streaming down her neck and chest, becoming more fluent as her fingers entered the wound and began digging, searching for the foreign object that acted like an invisible leash. The soldier's watched in horror and panic as the short tempered metahuman smirked slightly in satisfaction before removing her fingers from the wound and holding up a tiny grain sized, cylinder shape between her index finger and thumb for everyone to see.
"I have never and I will never be someone's bitch" and with that the once ticking time bomb metahuman causally dropped the tiny, powerful grain explosive device at Rick's feet and brushed past him, making sure they clashed shoulders. The brunette didn't look back once at the flabbergasted group of good guys and villains that were once again left gaping after her strutting form.
SURPRISE BITCHES, BET YOU THOUGHT YOU'D SEEN THE LAST OF ME
You have no idea how sorry I am. I wasn't supposed to take this long updating but it seems that my muse had abandoned me but now I'm back and I'm determined to complete this story (There will only be about 9/10 chapters maximum) so I'm already about half way through.
I'm excited for the next chapter because let's just say that Violet won't be holding back against those creepy people/monster thingys. I was contemplating entering this story into the Wattys but I'm unsure? Any opinions…
Only one update next and maybe a new chapter for a new story… hmm
Tell me what you think anyway… I love hearing from you :)
