The John F. Ostrander Federal Building stood taller than virtually any other building on Midway City's skyline. Standing on the concrete sidewalk below only emphasized the height, and reminded everyone that they had to get all the way to the top, even if the building was full of the bubble monsters or the structure was compromised.
Flag, GQ, and the rest of the SEALs had positioned themselves low around the front of the building, guns aimed in case anything was going to come rushing out at them. Flag gripped the walkie on his vest, speaking into it softly. "Waller, we're outside the building. Have the chopper ready." He was hoping to get some information on what was going on inside, but he wasn't given the time to.
"What do you say we get this over with?" Deadshot was walking past the SEALs, and towards the building.
"What the hell?" Flag kept his voice low, not wanting to gain the attention of any potential enemies in the area. "Deadshot! Fall back!"
Deadshot ignored Flag complete, and instead reached for the silver handle of the door of the building. The door didn't open; it shattered, the handle coming off of it as soon as he pulled on it. "Shatterproof glass, wonderful." He muttered to himself as he walked into the tower, the sound of glass crunching under his feet.
"Dammit." Flag raised to his feet and kept his rifle up. He rushed into the building to catch up with Deadshot. "Mind if we join you?"
The remaining SEALs and Task Force X followed suit, cautiously scanning their surroundings. Everyone had their weapons at the ready, as they all expected a fight. The place had clearly been torn up; papers were scattered over the floor, tables and chairs were turned over, and there were mysterious gray stains on the otherwise impeccably white walls. The damage didn't happen on it's own.
"How many of those things do you think are in here?" Boomerang had ended up back at Aura's side, and he wasn't complaining about it. "Hey, can you sense them with your energy field stuff?"
"I can't really see them, no. It's like they're on a different frequency; like I'm on a radio station one over from them. I can pick up something blurry every once in awhile, but I can't tell where it's coming from." Aura shrugged. "And I'd guess there's more in here then there were out there."
"Yeah, about being out there; we made a pretty alright team." Boomerang inched forward, his eyes darting around the lobby. "Maybe we should do that again, in here. Watch each other's backs."
Aura rolled her eyes, but nodded. "Yeah, sure thing, Boomer. I'd rather not die, after all."
The pair approached the information desk in the middle of the lobby. Flag and Deadshot were standing behind the desk, looking at the monitors resting on it. They were showing various camera feeds from around the building; nothing on any of the screens was moving, not a bit. That was a good sign- maybe those creatures had already abandoned the building.
"Oh, look at that, Aura. Looks like we got a spot of luck, here! This should be a walk in the park." Boomerang smiled, relaxing a bit. "Easey peasy."
"Don't make me shoot you." Deadshot wasn't in the mood for messing around. He wanted to get to the top of the building and get out of there.
"C'mon mate, I'm just having a laugh." Boomerang chuckled. "Grin in the face of tragedy, I believe is the saying."
"Nope, not a saying." Aura shook her head at Boomerang, "Just something I said on the helicopter over here."
"Well, it should be a saying." Boomerang leaned against the counter, trying to get a better look at the screens. "Really does look easy, though."
"Do you two ever shut up?" Flag was the one scolding this time. "Quiet."
Ding
Everyone's heads turned towards the noise, only to see a glass elevator rising with Harley inside, waving back at them.
"Dammit, Harley!" Deadshot's voice came out in a whisper yell as everyone rushed for the nearest set of stairs.
Harley had a pretty good reason for separating herself from the group: she'd felt that tiny little cell phone vibrate and couldn't risk looking at it if someone else was going to see. She absolutely could not miss out on reuniting with her Puddin', which is why as soon as she was out of sight, she peered at the screen of her phone.
FROM JOKER:
I am close be ready...
Harley's face lit up like a kid finding a puppy under the tree on Christmas morning. Perhaps she wouldn't have to deal with this insufferable group of wannabes much longer. Instead, she would be back in the arms of the most genius criminal mastermind to ever live. Her life would return to the way it was: beautiful parties, fast cars, and enough murder and mayhem to keep her entertained. One simple text message had sent her brain into fantasy mode, and she was enjoying the break. Until one of those bubbly faced monsters dropped from the ceiling of the lift and wrapped its hands around her throat, that is.
She thought quick, punching it a few times with her left fist while she retrieved her revolver with her right. Then it was a simple pull of the trigger to the approximate area of a human temple, and the thing was down. Harley rolled her shoulders back, and looked at her reflection in the glass; she fixed her ponytails and admired her own appearance.
That too was cut short when a second attacker swung through the glass and slammed her against the door of the elevator. She used her position to her advantage, and flipped the monster over, giving her enough time to strike it a few times with her bat. It recovered after each swing, though, and caught her by the waist. She struggled to break free for a moment, but figured out a way to utilize the environment within the second. She ran her feet up the wall, flipping herself over the monster, and providing enough momentum to give a killing blow.
The rest of the crew was waiting at the top of the elevator shaft, weapons drawn, when the elevator opened its doors. Harley strutted out triumphantly, not a drop of fear or doubt being exuded from her. "Hey, guys!" She walked past them, only pausing when she realized they weren't following. "Come on, let's go."
Everyone was dumbfounded. No one knew what they were expecting, but it wasn't an unscathed Harley and two dead bubble monsters. Despite the questions running through the heads of pretty much everyone in the room, no one asked anything; they knew they wouldn't get an answer anyway.
Flag pushed his way back to the front of the team, and gestured to the double doors across from the elevator. "We have to go through this office, and get to the stairs on the other side. The second level of elevators isn't going to be safe; we have to climb to the top. Good news is, it's a straight shot up once we get to the stairs. The bad news is, I think we might have some unfriendly company before we make it there." He looked at the mix of criminals and war heroes in front of him, and gave a single nod. "Let's go."
The office the team entered was far worse off than any other part of the building they'd seen. Most of the fluorescent bulbs on the ceiling had been broken, causing the room to be almost totally dark; the only illumination was provided by lights outside shining through the glass wall on the far end of the room. The dim glow was enough to see that everything had been torn apart. The drawers had been ripped from desks, file cabinets overturned, chairs broken. It was clearly a disaster area.
"I don't like this, Flag." Deadshot wasn't stupid, he knew what was about to happen; the fact that he had to wait for it made it much worse.
"I don't like it either." Flag shrugged; the feeling of dread had once again settled in, and it wasn't an enjoyable feeling in the least. The only comfort he felt was the knowledge he had a very capable and resilient team standing by him.
"Good to know you aren't stupid." Deadshot did not feel that same comfort; if this fight were anything like the last, he was going to be the one leading and doing the brunt of the work. However, he was prepared for it. He pulled his white mask over his face, eyepiece in place.
Harley smirked at the addition of the face protection and eyewear, finding it amusing. "Pussy."
"I will knock your ass out, I do not care that you're a girl." Deadshot would've liked to berate Harley longer for her unneeded comment, but the chance was lost when half the ceiling tiles broke open and bubble-faced monsters dropped through.
The room immediately erupted in gunfire. Any glass that hadn't broken before that point was within the minute. Bullets were flying in every direction, pinging off of metal and ripping through flesh. Everyone was in a much closer proximity than last time, which had its advantages and disadvantages. Advantage: It was easier to hit your target if they were three feet away from you. Disadvantage: It was easier to hit your ally when they were three feet away from you. The SEALs with large guns and plenty of body armor were in their element- some of the criminals, not so much.
Captain Boomerang and Aura both typically relied on stealth in their criminal careers. Boomerang was a robber- his career depended on breaking into banks and museums undetected. Sure, he could take a beating better than most, and he'd tussled with guards when necessary, but a brawl setting like this was not his usual. His weapon of choice was a boomerang, and that simply didn't work in such a small space with so much activity. Aura actually fared worse: she was a sniper, first and foremost. She had rarely interacted with her targets since her partnership with Croc had ended; she usually kept her distance and only came near her victims when they were already critically wounded. Sure, she had spring-loaded blades on her wrists, but they were more for show than anything at that point in her career.
The pair did have one thing going for them: their fighting styles were similar, and their reflexes were fast. They stood side by side, the Captain with his razor boomerangs and Aura with her wrist blades, slashing and stabbing anything that dared to come near. They were mostly successful, too.
Meanwhile, Deadshot had found a vantage point. He stood on top of a desk in the center of the office, placing him significantly higher than anyone else in the room. He could see everything that was happening, and shoot nearly anything there. He was covering everyone and was still getting more hits than anyone else. He took extra care to keep Harley in his sights because frankly, he didn't trust her. Harley didn't need an eye on her, though. She was handling herself fine; her bat and pistol were enough to keep her efficient.
Killer Croc was the only one fighting without weapons. He used only his brute force to kill. He could disembowel a man with his nails; he could throw a man twenty feet with one arm. He was ripping bubble-faced monsters in half with ease. It wasn't as quick as a bullet, but it looked a lot cooler. If Diablo had wanted to, he could've put on an even more impressive show; however, he didn't. He stood in the corner, not fighting, not moving at all.
"Fuck me!" Boomerang's shouts were muted by the gunfire, but they were still there. He'd been tackled by one of those of creatures, pushed through a room divider. "Aura! Pay attention, woman!"
Aura had misplaced her focus; she was trying too hard to get a read on Diablo and had nearly forgotten to watch Boomerang's back. The only thing that reminded her was the sound of his voice. "What?" She turned her head, just in time to see a knife plunged into Boomerang's chest. "No!"
Boomerang reached his hand up, slit the throat of the monster, and pushed it off of himself. He sat up, looked down at the knife sticking out of his chest, and sighed. "Bloody typical." He pulled the blade from his torso, a stack of fifty dollar bills coming with it.
"You're... okay?" Aura was surprised to not see even a single drop of blood, but was more shocked by the thousands of dollars Boomer had kept hidden. "Where'd the cash come from?"
Boomerang grinned up at Aura, the stunned look on her face granting him plenty of pleasure. "You think you're the only one who can sneak off for a minute?" He got back on his feet, stashed the money back in his coat, and tossed the knife to the side. "C'mon then, we have a fight to finish."
"God, you're fucking arrogant." Aura scoffed at Boomerang. "You could've died."
"And it would be your fault, now wouldn't it?" Boomerang shook his head as he moved past Aura and back to the brawl. "Now you have to make it up to me, love."
"Shit." Aura muttered as she shook her head, following behind Boomerang. "Last thing I need is to owe you a favor."
On the other side of the office, Colonel Rick Flag was truly struggling to keep himself afloat. He was being targeted, an extremely high amount of the monsters were going straight for him. GQ was on his back, but everyone else was mostly focusing on their own bubble. It wasn't until Flag was being dragged across the floor that any member of Task Force-X took notice.
"They're after Flag!" Deadshot's voice rang out over the sound of bullets, even as he shot his own at Flag's captor. "Circle up, protect Flag! Circle up!" Deadshot had a very commanding presence; even through all the noise, he had gained the attention of his teammates, and they did as they were told. Harley, Boomerang, Aura, Croc, and all of the SEALs had created a protective ring around Flag.
"Let me fight!" Flag attempted to muscle himself away, but it did little for him.
"If you die, we die," Deadshot answered back to him, still shooting. He wasn't going to lose his life because Flag wanted to be a hero, not a chance.
Luckily for Flag, the rest of the bubble-faced monsters in the room were quickly picked off. He pulled out of the circle and gave Deadshot the sourest look her could. He wanted a partnership, not to be second in command. He was the leader, he was the boss. "Move out!" He turned back to the (now mostly shattered and broken out) glass wall separating the office from the balcony. It was their ticket to the stairs.
As the gang walked onto the balcony, though, they were once again hit with gunfire. This time, it was coming from several floors across the way; there were more of those monsters than they'd seen yet, and they were further away, which could've proved to be a problem. Sure, the SEALs could shoot, but they only had so much ammo. And Task Force X? The only one with a rifle suitable for the situation was Deadshot. The revolvers Harley and Aura carried weren't quick to reload, nor were they very accurate from a long distance. Aura was also beginning to realize her sniper rifle may not be the most practical weapon when in a hostile environment like that one.
With an endless hail of bullets and lack of weapons to defend themselves, some of the fighters had taken shelter. Harley tucked herself back in the office, safely behind a thick concrete pillar. Aura and Boomerang had each independently taken the same actions: drop and cover. They were both belly-down on the ground, commando crawling in the direction of the stairs. The bullets simply bounced off of Croc, so he made no action. Diablo was also making no action, something that Deadshot was not happy about.
"Where you been Homie?" Deadshot had removed his mask and turned to face Diablo. He stared him down, looking into his eyes.
"This ain't my fight!" Diablo growled in return, "This ain't my fight, man."
"You know what? You don't stand for shit!" Deadshot yelled back, "You don't fight for shit, you don't stand for shit, you aren't shit." Deadshot had cornered Diablo, an obvious intimidation technique.
"Don't tell me what I stand for." Diablo was trying to remain calm, but he could feel a spark deep in the pit of his stomach. "Don't push me."
"Don't push you? Don't push you?" Deadshot shoved Diablo against the wall, "Come on, show me something.
"Don't touch me, man." Diablo shoved back, "Don't fucking touch me!"
"Show me something then." Deadshot knew he was getting somewhere, he could see the change in Diablo.
"You wanna see something?"
"I wanna see something!"
"I'll show you something." The spark in Diablo's stomach had grown into a raging fire, and he couldn't contain it any longer. He threw Deadshot out of the way, raised his arms, and let it loose. Streams of fire poured from his palms, stretching across to the opposite balconies and burning up everything that could be burned.
"Holy shit..." Aura, still lying on the ground, wasn't looking at the flames or the bodies tumbling down several stories. She was staring at Diablo himself. "He's red, like, really really red."
"He's shooting fire from his hands and you're focused on the fact that you see red?" Boomerang was once again confused by Aura. "You're not impressed with the fact that he's barbecuing those things?"
"You don't understand, I've never seen someone change colors like that. Most people don't change colors hardly at all; just slight variations. He just went from blue to pure red. The strongest, purest red I've ever seen." Aura was beyond fascinated, "It's like it's not him, it's something else."
The fire slowed, and Diablo was shaking. He dropped his hands to his sides, shaking his head. "You satisfied?" The words were directed at Deadshot.
"We needed you, I was just trying to get you there." Deadshot's words were apologetic as they were going to get coming from him. "Phil Jackson. We good, right?"
Harley emerged from the office, a grin on her face. She threw her arms around Diablo's neck and kissed his cheek. "I knew you'd come through for us!"
"This shit is crazy." Deadshot shook his head.
On the other end of the balcony, Aura and Captain Boomerang both stood up and dusted themselves off. They took almost the exact same actions: wiping off their jackets, picking plaster from their hair, and rolling their necks. Aura recognized their behavior as being similar, something she was not particularly happy about. "What's happening here, Boomerang?"
"I think Hellboy over there just saved all of us," Boomerang smiled, thinking himself clever. "And I think we're almost out of here."
"That's not what I meant." Aura sighed in return; she knew Boomerang was going to avoid talking about anything real with her. "Don't play dumb."
"Oh, I know it's not what you meant, but it's really not important." Boomerang shrugged, "We just met, darling. Don't go thinking about things too much."
"You're a pain in the ass." Aura rolled her eyes.
"I knew that too," Boomerang chuckled at Aura, but redirected his attention as the rest of the team approached. "Where to now, King Commando?"
Flag ignored the name-calling, thinking it wasn't worth the energy to deal with Boomerang. "Through that wall and straight up." He gestured to the concrete panel to his left, "GQ, if you could blow a hole there, it would be great."
"Yes, sir." GQ nodded and immediately took a knee beside the wall with another soldier. They started to work, setting up an explosive.
"Alright, I'll be in front on the way up. I want Boomerang, Aura, Harley, Diablo, and Croc behind me. GQ and his boys behind them, and Deadshot following in the back." Flag looked around at his team, wondering to himself how they were working together so well. He had expected his soldiers and Task Force X to be at each other's throats. "We're almost out of here."
"Clear!" GQ shouted as he detonated the explosive, the concrete giving way to a grey stairwell. GQ and the other soldier then stood aside, allowing room for Flag and the criminals to go through.
One by one, Flag, Harley, El Diablo and Killer Croc stepped through the man-sized hole and started up the stairs. (KC did have to widen the hole a bit to fit through.) When it got to Aura and Boomerang, things slowed down. "Ladies first," Boomerang attempted to usher Aura inside, but she didn't move.
"Then go on through, I'll catch you if you fall down the stairs." Aura had crossed her arms, waiting to follow Boomerang. "Go."
"Ya know, I was trying to be chivalrous and you immediately decided to insult my manhood." Boomerang was perplexed by Aura's rapid switching between acting interested and disgusted with him. "What's your problem?"
"It's not chivalry if the reason you wanted me to go first was your intent to stare at my ass. That's, like, the opposite of chivalry." Aura pursed her lips together, waiting for the surely brilliant response from Boomerang.
"I forgot you could do that whole intentions thing." Boomerang climbed through the wall, pausing for Aura to respond.
"That was actually just an educated guest. I more can tell if someone intends to cause harm or good, can't really see the exacts." Aura shrugged, knowing she was going to piss Boomerang off, "You're just predictable, I guess."
"Low blow, there." Boomerang "How do I know you aren't going to stare at my arse?"
"Boomerang, babe, you'd have to have an ass for me to stare at it." Aura mocked as she finally entered the stairwell, allowing the flow of people to begin again. "Plus your coat is so long I couldn't see anything if I wanted to."
After a few flights, Harley stopped and leaned against the railing of the stairs, looking down. Her breathing was heavy, "I really need to work on my cardio." She seemed dazed, something that Deadshot noticed as he came up the tail of the group.
"Harley?" Deadshot said her name, but there was no response. "Harley!" He was louder the second time, and he got her attention: in the form of her revolver in his face. "Whoa, whoa, easy there; it's just me."
Harley looked as if she were about to cry, and she didn't lower her weapon. "You ever been in love, Lawton?"
Deadshot hated hearing his own name spoken in this environment, but he didn't dare correct Harley. "Nah, never been in love."
"Bullshit." Harley spat back in Deadshot's direction.
"You don't kill as many people as I have and still sleep like a kitten if you feel shit like love."
Deadshot hoped he was saying something that wouldn't get his head blown off, but he wasn't sure. Harley was hard to read.
Harley lowered her gun, "Huh. Another textbook sociopath." All at once she seemed to return to normal, and she turned to run up the stairs and catch up with the others.