10 Justice League Shadows
"Wakey, wakey," Harley barely heard and then a god-awful smell assailed her nostrils.
"I'm awake!" Harley squawked as she batted the offending hand holding smelling salts away. Harley pried her eyes open and found Black Orchid leaning over. Harley yelped.
"You're alive!" she said in terror, "But I killed you!"
"No, you shot me. Three times to be precise but I'm awfully hard to kill," Black Orchid happily explained, "Now Black Spider? He may have a beef with you later."
"Okay Susan. Don't get her riled up. We need her focused on the here and now. If she's fretting about later she's liable to make a bad choice," Nightshade said from the door.
Black Orchid studied Harley for a moment and then her face puckered up, "I think you may be right, Eve."
"Why're you usin' your real names?" Harley inquired, "Is it `cause you're gonna kill me?"
Black Orchid pulled her mask off, "Not quite."
Harley covered her eyes and shrieked, "I didn't see nuthin'!"
Black Orchid and Nightshade exchanged a wry glance. Black Orchid sat on the edge of Harley's bed, "Harley, look at me."
"Nope," Harley insisted as she shielded her eyes, "I ain't givin' you any excuse to off me."
"Who said we wanted to kill you?" Nightshade asked.
"The guy in the stars and stripes pajamas. He said if I didn't come with you, he'd carry out my sentence," Harley revealed.
Nightshade let a few choice words fly. Composing herself, she tried again; "Harley, we're here to help you not kill you."
"Help me?" Harley was suspicious, "How?"
"I'll let someone else explain the deal. But first, I'm Eve Eden, also professionally known as Nightshade." She explained.
Harley lowered her hands from her eyes, "Didn't you used to run with King Faraday?"
"Yes," Nightshade shared.
"Whatever happened to him?" Harley wondered.
Nightshade froze for a second. When she loosened up she merely said, "I'd rather not talk about it."
Black Orchid took over, "And I'm Susan Linden. Also called Black Orchid."
"Yeah, I caught that earlier before I blasted ya," Harley admitted, "I'm…"
"The former Dr. Harleen Quinzel," Nightshade supplied for her, "Also known as Harley Quinn. You were also the one time girlfriend of the Joker. Word is you're the only one that actually knows what happened to him and why he disappeared."
"Yeah, I do," Harley said edgily, "But I ain't talkin'."
"Then it's a good thing we aren't asking," Black Orchid said brightly.
Speedy appeared behind Nightshade, "Is she ready to move?"
"Looks that way," Nightshade replied.
"Good," he said, "Waller's here. Harley has a minute to grab some food and something to wash it down with and then the Grand Dame is going to toss the sales pitch at her."
"Warn the kitchen we'll be there in a minute," Nightshade replied. She suddenly grinned, "Just out of curiosity, who's manning the stove?"
"El Diablo and Psi have KP," Speedy shared, "They sat out the op on the Washington Bridge so now they're making up for it by cooking for everyone."
"That goes for the whole group?" Nightshade wondered.
"Pretty much," Speedy revealed, "Chronos, Sportsmaster, Shrapnel, and Shrike have the first watch. Phantasm is in charge of them."
"And what's to keep Miss Quinzel from bolting like a scared rabbit?" Nightshade wanted to know.
Speedy smirked, "Just a room full of the same people that chased her down earlier."
"And they didn't catch her, did they?" Nightshade remarked.
Speedy scowled and tromped off. Nightshade smiled at Harley and Black Orchid, "God, that man is easy."
A few minutes later, the ladies were witnessing a fairly impressive display of culinary carnage. Even El Diablo and Psi were blatantly staring. Harley finally slowed long enough to grab some milk.
"Hungry?" Nightshade mused.
Harley wore an embarrassed grin, "Well, I skipped lunch and ya all ambushed me before I could grab dinner. `Sides, I love Mexican food."
"What about Mexican cooks?" El Diablo inquired hopefully.
Psi took a break from the dishes to smack him upside the head, "She wants a burrito, not your burrito, Chato."
"One can always dream, Gayle," El Diablo sighed.
Psi rolled her eyes and returned to the dishes. Of course, thanks to her psychokinesis, Psi didn't have to ever touch the dishes. She didn't even have to wave her hands about like she did but it helped her focus on the task.
"Hurry up, chica," El Diablo urged, "I need to start on the second course."
"Bite me, Chato," Psi retorted.
"Is that an invitation?" he smirked.
"Keep thinking along those lines and I'll scramble your brains," Psi warned.
King Shark strolled into the kitchen, "Any seconds?"
El Diablo frowned, "You've eaten all of the fish and I can't get resupplied until later this morning."
"Look, as long as it's meat and it's raw, I'm good to go," King Shark reminded him.
"Hold on Nanaue, there are a couple legs of lamb in the walk-in cooler," Psi informed him. She strolled over to the cooler and opened the door. Two legs of lamb came floating out. They flew into King Shark's outstretched hands.
"Thanks, Gayle. You're a lifesaver," King Shark said gratefully.
"Remember that the next time I need a favor," Psi advised.
King Shark chuckled, "Just keep feeding the beast and he will do anything for you."
"Promises, promises, that's all I ever get," Psi retorted.
King Shark departed as Speedy moved around him, "Waller is ready."
"Who's Waller?" Harley suddenly asked.
Speedy looked impatient but Nightshade intervened, "We owe her that much, Roy."
"It's actually Amanda Waller," Speedy shared, "She's the executive director of Task Force X."
Harley mouthed the name at Black Orchid and she smiled, "That's us. We're also known as the Suicide Squad. You'll find out why later."
"This Waller chick sounds familiar," Harley searched her memory, "Hey! Does she know she has the same name as the bimbo that bosses the Justice League around?"
"She shares the name because she's the same person," Speedy grated.
"What?" Harley exclaimed, "You're handin' me over to the Justice League?"
She was getting ready to bolt again. Nightshade was on her feet and had a hold of Harley's wrist, "Calm down! We're not handing you to anyone. She's here to recruit you."
"I'm joinin' the Justice League?" Harley wore a grin.
"Not quite," Nightshade warned her.
Harley sat on a chair in the middle of the room. It had been brought in from the kitchen and was an old fashioned Shaker style hardwood furniture. Harley wore a goofy smile. Waller could already tell Harley was tripped out into her own dementia. Frankly, it irritated Waller to no end. She had places to be and was on a schedule. Talking to whack jobs wasn't her priority.
Harley studied Waller as the older woman pulled Speedy into the corner of the room. The meeting was taking place in the living room of the brownstone the Suicide Squad currently occupied. The rest of Task Force X was scattered across the building. Most were in the entertainment room unwinding.
The crowd in there had dwindled somewhat because King Shark insisted on ingesting raw lamb's legs in there. Harley could tell from reports Speedy was getting over the radio that a foot patrol was on the grounds and the roof. Harley had heard him mention the Phantasm.
Harl was curious if this was the same Phantasm that she'd known in the Legion of Doom. That one had been a woman that disguised herself as a man. Harley had thought it was a great gimmick. Phantasm had employed a voice synthesizer and everything so she really did sound like a guy. Apparently she sounded like her father. Phantasm wouldn't go any further into it.
Mister J had known Phantasm's whole story. He'd boasted that he'd created the assassin. Harley had been a little jealous after that and guarded the Joker from the "other woman" for awhile. Eventually she'd realized that Phantasm didn't have an iota of interest in the Joker. Then the woman had disappeared altogether.
Nightshade and Black Orchid stayed in the room with Harley but they'd grown silent. As Speedy and Waller returned, Black Orchid excused herself. Harley had the impression she was off to mind the children.
Despite her admitted insanity, Harley was very good at reading people. She actually defeated Batman after all. Of course, the Joker had been so incensed and jealous he'd pitched her out a window but it had been done out of love. Really. And it wasn't like her Puddin' hadn't suffered as well. He'd released Batman and the vigilante had beaten the crap out of him. In fact, the Joker had been presumed dead afterwards.
Now she had all of Batman's secrets. And she wasn't sharing them with anyone. Mister J had died because of what they'd learned from Robin and she was in no hurry to join him in the afterlife. She had a feeling it wouldn't be a very pleasant experience.
"Ms. Quinzel," Waller began at last.
"Call me Harley," Quinn insisted.
"Ms. Quinzel, do you know why you are here?" Waller was a little more adamant this time.
"I was told you're gonna try and recruit me," Harley said happily, "How much does the Justice League pay anyways?"
Waller gave Speedy a sharp look. He discreetly pointed a finger Nightshade's way. Harley couldn't see it but Nightshade merely shrugged when Waller glared at her in turn.
"You're not being offered a place in the Justice League," Waller said a touch irritably, "You're being offered a position with Task Force X."
"Okay," Harley amiably went along with this shift, "What's that?"
"Task Force X is a covert operations group," Waller said, "Do you realize what that means?"
"Nope," Harley bubbled.
Waller grated as she replied, "It means that the agents undertake hazardous missions. Missions so hazardous, in fact, that the unit is known as the Suicide Squad."
"Catchy name," Harley commented, "But why come to me?"
"Most of the agents are like you, condemned convicts who are earning a reprieve of their death sentences," Waller explained, "Once a stay of execution has been granted the agents are then offered a chance to either return to prison and serve out their sentence or to stay on with the squad and potentially earn an early release. This is not a pardon but a parole. Do you understand?"
"Sounds peachy," Harley commented, "What's the trick?"
Waller turned to Speedy, who answered; "The trick is you have to take orders and follow them."
"Okay," she said somewhat reluctantly, "But why do I think there's more?"
"Because there is," Speedy admitted, "You have to survive long enough to earn your reprieve."
"So that's why it's called the 'Suicide Squad', huh?" Harley surmised, "No thanks. I'll pass."
"Then you will be immediately handed over to the authorities and you will be shipped back to Belle Reeve Prison. There you will sit on death row until you're appeals run out. After that, you'll take a quiet trip to a small room with an observation window. You'll be given an injection after being strapped to the table. And that point you will die. No one's ever survived to complain about whether it hurt or not," Waller coldly described Harley's future, "Or there's us."
"Hey, you're lookin' better all the time!" Harley enthusiastically declared.
"Make up your mind, Quinzel," Waller ordered, "Once you're in the only way out is to be killed in action or be remanded back into custody for immediate execution. There are no second chances. To be blunt, the field commanders have the authorization to carry out your sentence at any given moment."
"How?" Harley was afraid to ask.
"You must have noticed the collars around every agent's neck except for Commander Speedy, Deputy Commander Nightshade, Black Orchid, and the Phantasm?" Waller inquired sharply.
"Yeah," Harley warily responded.
"Those are explosive collars," Waller explained, "They are guaranteed to blow your head off of your shoulders. Speedy and Nightshade hold the remote triggers."
"Why not Black Orchid and the Phantasm?" Harley wondered.
"Because they are trustees, not command staff. In other words, they're former prisoners who have earned their paroles but opted to stay with the team," Waller laid it out in simple terms.
"So, what would get me my head blown off?" Harley wanted to know.
"Endanger a mission or a teammate and I'll blow your collar without thinking twice," Speedy declared.
"And you decide if I'm endangering anything," Harley was getting the idea now.
"Exactly," Speedy confirmed it.
"And what happens if I decide to kill both of you?" Harley glanced back at Nightshade, "No offense."
"None taken," Nightshade chuckled.
"Nightshade and I wear bio-monitors. Our life signs go flat line and everyone's collars get triggered," Speedy informed her.
"Good ta know," Harley replied, "Okay, so it's this or prison?"
"Exactly," Waller confirmed it.
"And all I gotta do is stay alive?" Harley wondered.
"And follow orders," Speedy reiterated.
"Natch!" Harley agreed, "Okay, where do I sign up?"
"You just did," Waller decided.
"Ain't there paperwork ta be signed?" Harley inquired.
"With us, there is no paperwork. We don't exist," Waller stated, "You're initiation is being fitted with a collar."
Nightshade suddenly came from behind, wrapped a collar around Harley's neck and locked it into place. Harley was indignant, "So when I'm not out and about, I can take this crummy thing off, right?"
"Wrong," Waller shared, "As long as you're in the program, you wear the collar."
"Even in the shower?" Harley yelped.
"It's waterproof," Waller dryly deadpanned. She turned to Speedy, "That's it. I'm out of here. You know what comes next."
"We're ready," Speedy assured her.
"You'd better be," Waller warned him, "You're quarry is a slippery one."
"So is this one but we bagged her," Speedy boasted.
"Are you gonna keep talkin' like I ain't even here?" Harley wondered.
"Come on, Harl," Nightshade ushered her out, "The pissing contest has begun and it gets tiresome rather quickly."
"Just get the job done, Harper," Waller demanded, "And remember, if the job gets to be too much for you, you can always go crawling back to Green Arrow."
"Yes, ma'am," Speedy grated as Waller summoned a teleport.
Ivy watched the foot patrols for a few hours. As the dawn broke, those on patrol grew tired and less vigilant. The lights had begun to darken just before the sunrise. Whoever these people were, they'd waited all night for someone to make a move.
Her hunch was that this was a trap meant for her. Ivy had taken over a nearby Victorian built behind the subject brownstone. Her link up with LexCorp's computers had given her a lot of information already. Talia had dedicated a research team to Ivy's requests.
The brownstone had been seized by the government through a tax lien. It had been transferred through various agencies until it disappeared from the property rolls. The city, state, and county taxes were paid through anonymous wire transfers.
Ivy's phone vibrated. She checked the caller ID and saw that Talia herself was calling. Ivy chose to accept the call.
"I've run a trace on the wire transfers," Talia announced without preamble.
"Tell me," Ivy requested.
"The probable entity is an ultra black super agency called ARGUS," Talia reported, "They're good. Very good. They actually repulsed my team's efforts to breach their security. They almost traced the attempt back to us."
"Impressive," Ivy admitted, "Would the League of Shadows have any pertinent data?"
"I'm not asking my father for help," Talia said icily, "You came to me rather than Luthor for similar reasons."
"Touché," Ivy remarked, "Any identities on my targets?"
"Are you still logged into our secure server?" Talia wondered.
"Yes," Ivy replied. She wondered why Talia couldn't see that she was.
"Not our corporate server," Talia corrected her, "Our special projects server."
"Give me the URL," Ivy demanded. Talia did so and images began to flash across her laptop's screen. JPEG images captured with her camera were displayed next to captured imagery from various scenes and locations.
"Click the tab for a slide show presentation," Talia instructed.
Ivy followed the software prompts and achieved her goal, "I'm there."
"Now I'll run you though each file. A full dossier and work up is available for each subject upon request," Talia explained, "You're first photo is of a woman named Shrike."
Talia filled her in on each person and their primary abilities or skill sets afterwards. Ivy warned Talia that a new group of costumes had just relieved the perimeter guards, "You'll love this bunch."
She snapped and transmitted the imagery. Talia came back a few minutes later, "You're right. This cast of characters is different than the usual low rent super villains you've been tracking. This is a so-called super team. They've been branded the Force of July. They were government operatives but a mission in Afghanistan went south and they were accused of mass murder."
"Did they do it?" Ivy was curious.
"By all accounts they did," Talia confirmed it, "Of course, they were completely justified."
"Of course," Ivy chuckled, "Aren't we all?"
"Always," Talia shared her mirth, "They're trained to operate as a unit. Be careful that they don't overwhelm you though sheer numbers."
"Yes, mother. I'll be careful," Ivy flippantly replied.
They ran down the Force of July's cast of characters and then finished the original list. There was a moment of silence before Talia ventured further, "There's something up with this group. They're connected to a clandestine agency that doesn't exist and doesn't want to be found. Rumor has it that CADMUS created a unit called Task Force X that pulled off a mission aboard the JLU Watchtower. It was comprised of one government agent and a group of so-called super villains."
"Yes, Plastique, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang used to wax poetic over the operation," Ivy named off her sometimes teammates in the Legion of Doom, "Clock King was involved as well but he keeps his mouth shut."
"Indications are that ARGUS absorbed CADMUS' functions. Task Force X might be part of that deal," Talia theorized.
"Thank you for everything," Ivy expressed, "I'm going in now."
"Pamela," Talia spoke again, "Is Harley Quinn really worth it?"
"Do you even have to ask?" Ivy wondered.
"Good luck then," Talia wished for her.
"Wish them luck," Ivy said resolutely, "They'll need it after kidnapping Harley."
Talia signed off without comment.