Mount Justice, September 8th, 7:04 A.M.
The monotone beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound in the infirmary. Connected to it was the burnt and bruised body of Hunter Prince. His arms have been chained together by his bracelets. A ventilator mask covered his mouth filling his unfunctional lungs with air.
Down the hall, in the mission room, the team and the Justice League have gathered. On the holo screens were multiple news channels covering Wonder Warrior's rampage. Standing off from the group was Superboy who stayed out of sight. His hand over his wound he tried to keep silent.
Flash was the one who broke the tense silence, "We've extracted a sample of Hunter's blood and found this."
An image of a purple liquid replaced the previous images. It was a stark difference between Hunter's blood and the substance.
"We found that it was a hallucinogenic neurotoxin." Green Lantern stated, "Our guess is someone must have slipped this into his system somehow."
"Like cutting into his arm?" Kaldur asked gaining everyone's attention, "During his fight with Cheetah she dragged her claws down his arms." He informed.
"Yeah, that could do it." Flash replied.
Superman continued, "We've deduced that this substance is magic based and not only that, it bears the signature of-"
"Dr. Poison." A booming voice echoed through the room.
Everyone turned to find Wonder Woman entering the room. The heroin joined the group and looked up at the screen. She looked and sounded calm but everyone knew what she was feeling anger and fury. The team especially understood her, Hunter was good and compassionate and would never hurt an innocent person but someone made him see an enemy who he was dedicated to stopping.
"Marina Maru is the granddaughter of the original Dr. Poison the chief scientist of the Nazi poison division." She explained, "She developed the Reverso drug. A drug that could turn soldiers against their own men. I suspect that this new toxin is an evolved version of this drug."
"But even the strongest of toxins can't affect your amazonian geology." M'gann replied, "Hunter told me that his immune system can fight off almost anything."
"Yes but as we said this toxin is magic based." Diana replied, "I suspect that Ares or Circe had a hand in developing it."
The mention of the God of War caused the whole team to tense up.
"There's been an official call for Wonder Warrior's arrest." Batman informed, "Destruction of property, assault and in one case murder."
The team looked up in shock. They thought they had saved everyone from Hunter's rampage. Superboy felt anger boiling up in his chest. He knew that Hunter would never forgive himself for this. He wanted to slam his fist into the wall but the wound in his stomach wouldn't let him.
"We're not gonna turn him in right?" Wally asked like it was obvious but he got a tense silence as an answer, "Right?"
"The Justice League is not above the law." Batman stated sternly, "We can't pick and choose when we want to follow it. The people will lose faith in us if we protect a criminal."
That single word nearly sent Connor over the edge.
"But it wasn't his fault, you said it he was drugged!" Artemis argued, "We can tell everybody that Ares was behind this and-"
"It'll only look like we're trying to protect him." J'onn stated trying to ease the tension, "The people and the world governments will lose trust in us if we do not abide by the law."
"But Hunter would never do this on his own." Artemis stated.
"But the public believes that he did." Superman replied, "I don't like this as much as any of you do but until we can definitively prove his innocence we must turn him in."
Robin then asked, "Where's he going then, Blackgate, Iron Heights?"
The League besides Wonder Woman shared a look before Black Canary spoke, "Belle Reve."
The team fell silent. Belle Reve held the worst of the worst of all villains. Blackgate, Iron Heights, even Arkham paled in comparison. They'll all be gunning for Hunter and probably try to kill him. Some of the people they've locked up were committed there, including Cheetah.
"You're not taking him." Conner said finally making his presence known.
Batman, already knowing he was there, said, "This is not up for debate."
"The hell it isn't!" The clone exclaimed, "I don't care if I have to fight all of you, you are not taking him!"
"Do you really think you can stop us, in your state?" Batman asked skeptically.
Silently Wonder Woman came up between the two, "Do you all think you can stop me?" She challenged standing tall ready to defend her son.
Eventually the team gathered behind Wonder Woman. They were all ready to defend Hunter even if it meant going against their mentors. The two opposing groups stood tall in silence until the squeaking of wheels echoed from the hallway.
Coming into the light it was revealing to be Hunter who held on to his I've for a crutch, "Stop." He said, his voice cracking and wheezing.
Diana was at his side immediately, "You should be in bed." She gently placed her hands on his shoulders.
"I heard everything." He wheezed out, "I need to pay for what I did."
Conner approached him, "You didn't do anything." He argued.
Hunter only looked down at the bandage across Connor's abdomen. He put a gentle hand over it and looked up at Conner sadly, "I did this and now I need to face justice."
"You're innocent." Conner argued intently.
"Not to everyone else." Hunter whispered before he walked past the clone, "When do I leave?"
"As soon as you're able." Superman answers.
Hunter simply nodded before he turned around and walked away. Everyone watched him as he and Diana entered the darkness of the hallway. Conner let out an enraged roar before slamming his fist into the stone wall creating a hole. Everyone watched as the clone stormed away. Soon one by one the team followed.
Louisiana, September 9th, 11:00 P.M.
Hunter watched as the swamp before grew closer. Standing tall above it was Belle Reve Penitentiary. His bracelets have been bound together by chains effectively binding his powers. The orange of the prison jumpsuit was glaring amongst the green sphere around him. Looking up from his bounds eyed Superman and Green Lantern.
Sighing he thought of how he got here. After two days of respirators and pain, Hunter finally felt healed enough to move. It didn't take long for Batman to find out and inform the League. Wonder Woman originally wanted to escort him but Batman objected saying that she wouldn't be able to let go in the end.
Finally reaching the ground he found Batman and Green Arrow waiting with a group of armed guards. Amongst them was a single woman. The infamous Amanda Waller. He's heard Batman describe her as cold, calculating, and ruthless.
Landing on the ground Green Lantern drops the shield around him. The guards immediately held his arms and placed a collar on his neck. He irked at the collar, reminding him of the slave history of the Amazons.
"I understand you came here willingly even when your mother objected." Waller said stepping forward, "That means you're smart but make sure you're smart enough to understand that I am the law here, not your friend, companion, or your ally, I am your warden." She said sternly, "Take him inside." She ordered and the guards began to escort him through the gates and with one glance he saw Batman give him a nod.
"I'll see you soon." The Dark Knight said before he walked up to Waller, "We need to talk."
Amanda matched his stare, "My office."
"You want to what!?" Amanda demanded rising from her seat.
"I need Wonder Warrior to act as a mole." Batman repeated.
"You've got some nerve, Wayne." She sneered at him, "Why would I allow that?"
"Killer Frost, Captain Cold, Minister Blizzard, Icicle Jr., Freeze?" Batman simply inquired, "Five ice-based villains caught and imprisoned on the same day. Blizzard, Cold, and Frost are already here and I know for a fact that Freeze and Jr are being transferred here in a week. You and I both know that's too much of a coincidence."
"I'm not worried, Superman himself couldn't break through my walls." Waller replied defiantly.
"We both know you're too smart for that." The Dark Knight replied, "Wonder Warrior could act as an informant in exchange for his freedom."
Sitting back down Amanda mulled it over, "You're forgetting one crucial part in this little scheme of yours. He actually needs to get information. These inmates hold grudges and your little sidekick helped put some of them in here." She smirked, "How exactly can he acquire this information?"
"I've already planned for that." He replied confidently.
Amanda gave him one last stern look before she replied, "On one condition."
Hunter had been escorted into a visitor's room. Alone with his hands bound to the table, he looked at his reflection in the two-way mirror. With his power bound he can't hear a thing beyond this room. Now, he's just like everyone else.
With a buzz, the door opened revealing Batman. Hunter sat up straighter at the sight of the Dark Knight. When the caped crusader sat down he immediately threw a Batarang over his shoulder and destroying the security camera.
"You know you could've just unplugged that." Hunter said.
"I've discussed with Waller about your stay here." He said ignoring the comment, "You're going to inform her on everything the ice villains are doing around here. Their habits, who they affiliate, and whatever schemes they're plotting."
"I doubt that I'll exactly be buddy-buddy with them." Hunter sighed, "I'm not gonna last long, especially like this." He said raising his bounds, "They'll eat me alive."
"You're more than your abilities. You're one of the best fighters I've seen and you were trained by Wonder Woman herself, you may not have your strength but you still have your skill." Batman replied making Hunter feel a bit better.
"I doubt the warden agreed to this without demanding something in return." Hunter replies meeting the white eyes of the cowl.
"She wants you to be a member of Task Force X." Batman stated.
"You mean the Suicide Squad? Mother has told me about them." He said leaning back on the chair, "She told me, Deadshot and Harley Quinn were members."
"Yes they are but you'll only be around her during missions." Batman stated, "Currently the team is comprised of Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, El Diablo, Copperhead, and Killer Croc. All lead by Rick Flagg."
Hunter gave a slow nod, "Seems to me they're a pretty well-balanced team."
"They have a mission in a few days so use that as an opportunity to gain their trust." Batman explained, "Or at the very least make sure that a few of them owe you a favor."
"I'll do what I can," Hunter replied before the doors bursts open with guards flooding into the room.
They escorted him from the room and out into the corridors. Soon they entered a corridor with large steel doors lining the walls. Walking down the hallway he glanced at each door. Who could be in these cells?
They reached an elevator at the end of the hall. Glancing down he noticed that the key code to the elevator is 1987. The doors slid open and he was shoved inside. Looking at the buttons he saw that the elevator only went down to sub-levels with the lowest being 50.
The elevator began to descend them the officer pushed the button. Hunter glanced at the guards and noticed their nervous sweating. They think he's going to try to escape. Sighing he bowed his head
When the elevator reached sub-level 25 the doors slid open, "Welcome to Waller's freak show." One of the guards sneered before he was shoved forward.
This hallway was different from the others. Instead of steel doors, the walls had large glass panels. Walking forward he saw the first two inmates were Deadshot and Harley Quinn. The two stood close to the glass curiously.
"Oooh, a new bestie!" Harley said pressing her face against the glass and gasped, "Wonder Warrior?! No way, big fan!"
Deadshot only gave him a suspicious look before turning away.
The next two were Captain Boomerang and Copperhead.
"Welcome home." One of the guards said as he walked in.
The door slammed shut behind him. He stood for a moment basking in the silence. Letting out a shaky breath he looked around. A small twin bed that didn't look all too comfortable, a chrome toilet with a matching sink and a mirror above it all lit by low yellow light. That was it, this is his life now.
Without a word, he slowly walked to the bed and sat down. Looking up at the ceiling he sighed.
"This is suicide." He mumbled.