AN: This chapter is one of my favorites to write about! Now, there is mayhem on the beach!
Chapter 4 - Blood and Water on the Sand
Savant is the first to swim to the shore. It is nearly dark to see, but he spots the large beach ahead that is the size of a football ground. There is a tall layer of sand right in front of him, perfect for him and the rest of his team to hide behind. There are boulders and a huge rock formation on the beach. The said rock formation is closer to the jungle than the water. Tropical trees covered the rest of the land. The air is as warm as the water.
He placed the unconscious Weasel next to him, checking his pulse. It is slightly faint. He must have swallowed a lot of water. He tries to perform CPR on it, but he isn't sure if his heart functions like a regular human.
After pushing his heart a few times, Savant leans in close. No, he isn't going to give him the kiss of life.
"Weasel," he grunted. "Wake up. Wake up right now! Say something!"
Weasel's response is to choke water out of his mouth, accidentally spraying all over Savant. The vigilante yelps and tries to use the nearby water to wash his face off. Weasel continues to cough out water before he shakes his head. He starts to chitter, looking around at the new environment in curiosity.
"The Weasel is not dead!" called Savant. "I repeat, the Weasel is not dead!"
"Task Force X," called Harcourt. "Approach the shore carefully."
Savant looks behind to see the rest of his team slowly catching up.
"Savant!" ordered Flag. "Hold your position with Weasel."
"Roger that!" said Savant.
As they wait for the other team members to arrive and get into position, Weasel takes the time to pop his head over the wall of sand to see the entire beach. He chitters in excitement, his tongue poking out. He is finally out of the prison in a new place! He starts hopping a little, wanting to explore a little more, but Savant holds onto his shoulder.
"Not now," grumbled Savant. "Stay down."
Weasel took this as the time to not go, lowering his head as he chittered at Savant.
"Amatuers," grumbled the old vigilante. Who in the right mind sent an inexperienced swimmer on this mission?!
The two of them look to their right. Flag has taken the middle area. He is somewhat exposed to any danger, but the man is prepared. He rests on one knee and takes out a large gun, pointing it at the open area in front of them.
"Waller," he said. "We're on the beach and dry."
All of them aren't exactly dry.
On Savant's left, Javelin, Blackguard and Boomerang hid behind the large sand walls. Javelin just swims through the water like a natural before smoothly walking across it and slowly stands up with his javelin ready. Boomerang doesn't have any trouble shifting through the water, slowly crawling on the ground and keeping his head low. Blackguard probably has the toughest since his jacket is holding him down, prompting him to drag his way up to the shore.
Back to Savant's right, Harley slowly walks on her feet before hiding behind the closest rock. She drops her duffle bag down, unzipping it. Mongal follows behind her, her swords in use for defense. T.D.K waddles closely, hiding behind another rock near Mongal.
Harley giggles as she unzips her duffle bag and pulls out what appears to be a red and black missile launcher. Even though it is slightly heavy, she pulls it up and rests it on her shoulder. Mongal raises an invisible eyebrow, surprised by what this woman is taking on this mission. Harley chuckles and the alien warrior gives her a nod of approval before they get themselves ready.
Weasel chitters as he pokes his head over the wall again. This time, Savant decides to check again. He squints his eyes as he surveys the large beach.
It is too dark to see what is hiding in those trees. There could be soldiers or patrol guards walking through. However, nobody really hears any movement so far in there. What kind of danger are they facing on this beach?
Savant taps on Weasel's shoulder and the latter chirps, lowering his head down. The vigilante follows, a worried look on his face.
What are they up against?
Who are they waiting for?
He looks to the left to see Blackguard giving a cocky smirk before flipping off.
"See you later, motherf**kers!" he said before climbing over the sand wall.
Boomerang is the first to take note. "Blackguard?"
The black-cladded mercenary got onto the layer of sand and dirt, standing up and raising his hands up in defense.
"Hey, guys!" he called really loudly.
"Blackguard! Get down!" hissed Boomerang. "There's f**king soldiers everywhere!"
But Blackguard ain't listening. He is slowly walking across the beach.
"You can come out now! It is just me!"
Savant's eyes widened in horror. What did Blackguard do?
"What the f**k is Blackguard doing?" said Flag, voicing his growing worry.
"I'm the one who contacted you!" called Blackguard, sounding more obnoxious than ever.
Boomerang gritted his teeth. Is this guy trying to betray them?! He has to act quick or else all of them are doomed! The Australian quickly got up and tried to get close to Blackguard, hissing at him to stop. There is no way this mission is going sideways now.
"Stop right now, you motherf**king bastard!" snarled Boomerang, keeping his voice to a whisper.
But Blackguard was far out of reach to even care about his companion telling him to get down.
"Is this what's supposed to happen?!" snarled Javelin. "What the f**k?!"
Flag looked stern. "Blackguard! Get back into your position!"
Savant slowly took out his pistol, ready to fire at the idiot.
Harley and T.D.K remained quiet, looking quite miffed about this.
Mongal snarled, her hands twitching and nearly dropping her blades.
"Look!" called Blackguard, already halfway across the beach. "I brought everybody, look! They're all right here! They're right behind me!"
Suddenly, lights start to flash in the night. Flashlights attached to the soldiers' guns. They make their appearance already, slowly pointing all lights at the dim-witted mercenary. They start to spread out across nearly the entire jungle, surrounding the team.
Blackguard starts to feel anxious about this. "Whoa! Hey, guys! Look, we have a deal, right?"
All hope for an escape went out of the window when he spotted a battle helicopter flying right in. Boomerang gasps before quickly hiding behind a rock, not wanting to be shot as well.
Flag could only stare at the suddenly bright jungle in horror. This is actually a trick by one of their team members! They just arrived right in front of death's door…and there is nearly nowhere to go other than the endless sea behind them.
"Waller," he said. "We're made!"
Blackguard hasn't moved any further, his legs completely frozen. His smart mouth continued talking however.
"Uh…I'm the one who called you!" he said.
Unfortunately, none of the soldiers are having any of this.
A couple of them take fire on Blackguard, but the black-cladded mercenary is surprisingly prepared for this. He quickly took out his whip and spun it around in a similar way to how Wonder Woman did. While it isn't as strong as the Lasso of Truth, the whip actually forms a golden energy shield in front of him, protecting him from the bullets. The idiot just grins nervously as he spins his whip around, waiting for the first outpour to end.
When the soldiers stops to reload their ammo, Blackguard places his whip back to his belt.
"C-C'mon, guys!" said Blackguard, sounding more like he is lying. "Remember my voice? I was loud and clear! I told you that we were going to be here, right-?"
A bullet from a sniper came flying towards him, but it only bounces off his shoulder pad.
Could have shot him in the face.
Feeling this, the mercenary yelps as he jumps onto his back. There is a yell from the soldiers as Blackguard quickly scurry and hides behind the same rock Boomerang is taking cover at.
Boomerang is not pleased.
He whips out one of his boomerangs and angrily places it near Blackguard's throat.
"Give me a reason in ten seconds why I shouldn't slit your throat!" snarled Boomerang.
Blackguard stared at him. The Australian looks really pissed. Oh well, they are all gonna die anyway.
"Eh," said Blackguard, wearily. "Worth a shot."
All the soldiers took fire, prompting all of them to cover their heads from the incoming rain of bullets. Weasel screams, hugging onto Savant like a scared bribe. The vigilante could only stare at the sudden attack in disbelief.
"Blackguard sold us out," muttered Flag, realizing what was going on. "He contacted the f**king Corto Maltese Army! Waller! We need to retreat!"
Waller's voice crackles back to everyone's earpiece. She sounds as surprised as they are, unexpected of Blackguard's immediate botched betrayal. She hesitates at first, trying to think of what to do now that one of them nearly sold their lives. However, she reminded herself why they are here. This is exactly how she wants them to be.
"Negative, Flag," she said. "The mission is too important. This is a tough group. You can make it."
Harley listens carefully before shrugging. "Okey dokey!"
"Waller, with all due's respect, we're in the middle of a damn-" Flag never gets to finish his argument when he sees Harley standing up. "HARLEY! WAIT!"
But Harley is already into the action as she whoops in glee and fires the missile right at the soldiers.
KABOOM!
It landed in the middle of three soldiers, sending them flying upwards the ball of flame and smoke. The helicopter flew nearly close to it to inspect the damage while the other soldiers quickly avoided it before continuing to attack. Harley cackles in glee, but she gets nudged in the shoulder by Mongal.
"Couldn't you take down the chopper first?" she hissed.
"No matter," said Harley. "Because it's all about the fun here!"
Savant rolled his eyes and about to fire his weapon. However, he catches sight of Boomerang telling Blackguard to stay down before standing up and flinging one of his boomerangs to a few soldiers that are already coming onto the beach for a closer shot. The Australian grinned, waiting to see the impact. It flies right through two soldiers before returning to him, catching it.
One soldier, who got slit in the throat, immediately falls down.
The other one, a bald, bulky guy, took a long time. Through seeing their shadowy silhouettes, Boomerang can spot that soldier's head slowly being sliced off as blood drips downwards. He can't spot what was inside the opened head, but the soldier slumped, dead.
Boomerang cackles before throwing another boomerang, managing to slice down a few more soldiers.
Savant turns to the right.
One soldier shoots a missle right where Harley, Mongal and T.D.K are, but only in front of their cover. They grunt as they try to keep their heads up and down to find their next attack while dodging the incoming bullets. Savant spots another soldier about to fire another missile at them, but he quickly raises his pistol up.
He doesn't even need to aim.
The bullet got through the soldier's eye and he fell down.
Harley grins, turning to Savant. "Thank you!"
Savant nods at the gesture before he continues to fire on the soldiers. The ones that could have killed Boomerang since he is willingly out in the open area. The Australian doesn't bother to see, but he notices that Savant is covering his back for any enemies he is unable to spot quickly.
Blackguard, still in his hiding position, groans and rolls his eyes. F**k it. He has guns. He might as well die now. He lifted his head and took out his pistols, taking shots of incoming soldiers. Some of them he missed, but at least he is able to take down some of them.
Even Javelin is on the action. While he can't stand up to throw his large javelin, he has his utility belt of smaller trick spears shaped as javelins. He makes sure to quickly behind another rock formation on the light, quickly peeking upwards to kick or throw his weapons at the enemies.
Weasel cuddles near Savant, completely scared of what is unfolding in front of them. Where are they going to go now?
Savant grunted, giving Weasel a look, but his attention turns back to the others when he hears Flag barking.
"We still got to go further!" he called. "It's too many! There doesn't seem to be an easier path!"
"Everybody, just try to get through with whatever you can!" called Harley.
As Flag pleads Harley not to do anything stupid, the leather-cladded woman already makes her way into the battlefield. There is already a heavy spray of bullets that nearly appear like red lasers, missiles and bombs being thrown at her. Flames and heat blown in her face. The sand flies all over her. She quickly zig zags and ducks her head as she runs before quickly taking cover on the rock formation on the right.
Rolling onto the ground, she hides there, taking out a small gun in case any enemies come in. She looks around. The soldiers are already attacking the rock formation, trying to blow it down on her. Rock dust and sand flew right in front of her. Explosions and bullets hitting the sand is all she can see in front of her. For a moment, there is childlike wonder in her eyes.
She can see her teammates still hiding getting into action. Mongal is already helping T.D.K get a bit closer to the next cover-up. Flag is already on his feet, shooting down a few soldiers. When there is a clearing, he quickly runs across the beach, towards where Harley is. He then takes out a smaller gun since he has a bit of a closer shot with the soldiers in the jungle.
He slides across the sand, right next to Harley. He turns to her, checking if she is alright.
There is a huge explosion behind them, sand sprinkling all over them with a bright orange glow.
Harley turns to Flag, gasping as if her knight in shining armor just arrived. She knew that this man is a softie for the team now.
"Hey, Flag!" she said cheerfully. "Tell me, how was your fiance?"
Flag could only stare at her. This isn't the time to chit-chat!
"Uh…" he said awkwardly. "You see, I-!"
KABOOM!
Another explosion, causing them to cover their heads in case something hit them.
Meanwhile, T.D.K quickly jumps right behind another rock nearby. Mongal comes out of her cover, her blades are ready. The two haven't gone out on the offense yet, but they have to see what they can do.
"Zero-two-two-seven is wide opened!" instructed Harcourt as Flag noticed that the area he and Harley are near isn't under attack.
"Colonel, dispatch the Detachable Kid!" called Economos.
Flag quickly observes the area. There are five soldiers coming out of the jungle, near where they are. T.D.K is the closest to facing them.
"T.D.K!" called Flag. "Two o' clock!"
Hearing this, the teal-cladded metahuman nodded and grinned. He slowly stood up, welcoming himself to the fray of a dozen heavily armed soldiers and air of bullets nearly hitting him. He puffs up his chest, looking badass.
Harley blinks, confused with the reveal of T.D.K's full name.
"T.D.K is 'The Detachable Kid'?" she repeated.
Before Flag could respond, they were given the answer.
T.D.K lifts both of his arms…before detaching his right arm. It floats in the air with the meat socket and bones poking out from where his right arm used to be and the arm. Then, the other arm. They both float with his hands opened like he is doing a magic show. He grunts as he pushes the arms forwards. They move VERY slowly through the battlefield at a walking pace, towards the five soldiers he targeted.
The arms got close.
He grunts again, swinging one arm forwards.
It turns out, they don't have any kind of force. The floating arms just limply slap the soldiers on the faces, annoying them.
Harley and Flag stared at this sight, dumbfounded
Savant just watches, thinking, 'what the hell is this about'.
"Awf?" squeaked Weasel, tilting his head. He is even confused about this.
T.D.K has an earnest look of seriousness, trying to make himself look cool. However, he pitifully tries to steal the guns which is kind of hard to do when its hard to spot the shape of his targets.
Harley turns to Flag. "What the F**K?!"
Flag growled. "I didn't pick the damn team!"
"Don't worry, Flag!" called Mongal, rushing to T.D.K's side. "I got him! Get the guns!"
T.D.K nodded as he waddled backwards, still having his eyes on grabbing the guns from the five soldiers. Mongal snarled as she stood right in front of him, spotting other soldiers aiming their weapons at them. They take fire, but she quickly whips out her blade. With every bullet shot, she quickly reflects them with the blades to protect T.D.K. She doesn't even need to protect herself since she is impervious to guns.
And miracly, the bullets managed to hit any unfortunate soldiers who tried to take her down.
T.D.K finally grabs two guns from the soldiers. With a laughter of pride, he starts to fight back. His floating arms start to spin around, holding onto the trigger. All the bullets shot the five soldiers and those who remained hidden in the jungle. Flag and Harley are hiding behind the rock formation, so they aren't caught in T.D.K's crossfire.
However, he nearly shoots Boomerang's head off if it wasn't for Blackguard quickly pinning him down.
"Oi!" yelled Boomerang. "Watch where you are shooting, you weiners!" He quickly gave a dumbfounded look back at Blackguard. "What was the tackle for?"
One soldier lets out a banshee scream as he tries to attack them with a black baton…only to be shot in the face by a recovered Savant.
Blackguard rolled his eyes as he rolled off Boomerang.
"It's nothing!" the bleached blonde snarled before shooting back at the enemies. "Every man for himself now!"
Boomerang stares at Blackguard. One second, he tried to betray them. The next second, he saved his arse. He will have to deal with that blonde bloke later.
"What now?!" said Flag, trying to call back to Waller. "Waller! I don't see another way of getting out of this! We are surrounded!"
"We have to take down their biggest advantage first to get moving!" said Harley, quickly turning to her Australian friend who is still throwing boomerangs. "Boomer! Take down the chopper!"
"Wait, what?!" said Flag. "How is that going to distract them?!"
"Don't worry, Flag!" shouted Mongal, now near the rock formation after protecting T.D.K. "I got the bird!"
Flag's eyes widened in horror while Harley stared at her, wondering what she was going to do.
"Mongal!" shouted Flag. "Don't!"
It was already too late. She runs across the top of the rock formation before using her strength to run faster. The chopper is just nearby and not too high from them. Its light is shining on T.D.K's arms shooting down the soldiers. With enough speed and a battle cry of anger, she jumps high and manages to grab onto the helicopter landing gear.
Unfortunately, she underestimates how heavy she is OR how she can take on a helicopter.
The momentum of her suddenly leaping onto the helicopter is enough to make it tip over and spin around.
Mongal lets out a high-pitched scream as the helicopter spins out of control, holding onto the landing gear in a blind panic. This ISN'T how she wants to take down the helicopter!
It spins and swings around, out of anyone's control with the shrieking Mongal holding on. It starts flying on the left of the beach, sometimes flying high or going down low. The tail and the helicopter blades keep hitting the trees, even going down to kill the unfortunate soldiers who are in the way.
Blood, sand, leaves, timber and flesh went flying all over.
Savant stops shooting, staring at the spinning helicopter.
Mongal continues screaming, now too afraid to let go of it and even out of arrogance that she can take it down. It gets worse when the tail swings hard onto one of the trees and gets chopped off, losing an important part of the flight vehicle to balance itself. It continues to spin through trees…right in front of Boomerang.
A couple of splinters flew towards him. The Australian acts quickly and raises his right arm to block his face. He hissed in pain as they stabbed right through the sleeve and into his flesh. Good lord that most of them are small, but the bad thing is that he spots three large branches nearly poking through his arm. After stumbling and nearly dropping his hat, he drops onto his knees, clearly injured.
He places his boomerangs back onto his strap and holds onto his right arm. Looking up, he can see the distressed look on Harley's face and the horrified Flag. Boomerang doesn't even need to look behind. Mongal did successfully take the helicopter down…but there is an explosion and because the blades are still spinning, they are advancing towards him.
"BOOMER!" cried Harley.
Boomerang hissed again as he tried to move away. He looks behind the helicopter, coming towards him. A flaming ball of fire coming his way with blades still spinning. He sighed, knowing that this might be it. He closes his eyes and…
Waller watches the live footage of Team 1 distracting the army. This is good so far. Really good. Now, that gives them an opening to silently invade the island.
"How's Team 2 going so far?" asked Waller.
"Team 2, check," said Crawley, checking on Team 2's coordinations. "Set point, bravo."
"All the troops on the south beach are engaged," said Harcourt. "Team 2 is clear to go to the north beach."
Waller sighs in relief. She quickly checks on Team 1. They are still drilling in with the soldiers. However, with the entire army now focusing on them on the other side - with the implication that Blackguard SOMEHOW contacted them - it gives Team 1 a clear and calmful opening to get onto the island. These are people Waller doesn't really want to throw away.
Moone just stares at her screen, seeing her fiance in battle. Is he placed in the wrong team because…?
She slowly stares at Waller who is crossing her fingers.
"Congratulations, Bloodsport," she said through the com.
She watches the screen carefully as the five chosen members for this important task arrive on the beach. It took them some time to get up due to the weight of their gear and backpack, and having to stand up after swimming in the ocean for a long time. At least King Shark is good at swimming. Bloodsport stands in front of the group, looking around the empty tents.
"How'd you do it, Waller?" asked Bloodsport. "There's no soldiers out here on patrol at all."
Waller smirked. "Let's just say they were distracted."
Bloodsport observes the empty beach. Campfires and tents are left around the place. There should be at least two soldiers watching over, but it is empty. Like there is some kind of storm coming in and they have to all retreat. The response from Waller makes him feel a little tense on what she organized this. However, it doesn't matter to him.
As long as his team is safe, then it's all good.
The rest finally arrived and got out of the heavy water. Peacemaker grins as he places his hands on his hips, making sure that they are easy to move…and grabbing a hand to his own dong to make sure it is comfortable. Ratcatcher II takes off her mask, gasping for fresh air. Sebastian squeaks, crawling out of her wet hands and resting on his shoulder. Polka-Dot Man pants a little after all this swimming while keeping an eye on King Shark.
King Shark looks very excited.
The team starts making their way across the beach. Bloodsport keeps an eye out for anything. As he takes off his helmet, he remembers, everytime you get into one, you need to be prepared. He already has his back-up, so that should be a good thing. He makes sure that he isn't caught off-guard since this is a do-or-die mission. Bloodsport would get the job done and move on.
KABOOM!
The impact from Mongal downing the helicopter can be seen, even from far away. The huge explosion can be seen as the flame ball shoots upwards.
Immediately, Bloodsport pulls out a pistol and points it in the front.
"Control," he said worriedly. "We have a disturbance south of here."
"It's just a diversion, Bloodsport," said Waller.
"Just a diversion?"
"Remember your mission. Whatever is happening there is completely none of your business. We've checked and it works as an advantage to help you through."
Bloodsport shrugs before leading the team through the jungle. He hasn't been on a tropical island or place for so long. He normally went around in rural areas or city areas during his assassin career. Not only is it so humid, but the bushes are so thick and the trees are everywhere that it is nearly impossible to get through a clear path.
"Alright," he instructed his team. "We cut through the jungle to get to Valle Del Mar."
"Don't they have blockades at the city limits?" questioned Peacemaker.
Bloodsport nodded. "That's the word."
"How are we getting in?" asked Peacemaker. "Especially with Charlie the Tuna here."
"I'm still figuring it out," said Bloodsport. "I don't really have a plan at the moment."
"So…we're just going to go in without one?" asked Ratcatcher II curiously.
"Look, I'll decide when we get there," grumbled Bloodsport. "It's going to be a long walk there."
"Well, don't you have a map or an estimation of when we are able to reach there?" asked Peacemaker.
"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Bloodsport could easily use his device to see the map, but not how long they will be able to get there. It isn't built for holiday travel.
"You're the leader," pointed out Peacemaker. "You're supposed to be decisive."
"And I've decided that you should eat a big bag of dicks," growled Bloodsport. "How's that?"
Peacemaker rolls his eyes. "You're being facetious." He waves his hand around. "But if this whole beach was completely covered in dicks and somebody said I had to eat every dick until the beach was clean for liberty, I would say no problemo."
"Why would someone put penises all over the beach?" asked Ratcatcher II, disgusted.
"Who knows why madmen do what they do?"
Bloodsport groaned. This isn't really the time for them to be chatting about this nonsense. Especially at night time where anything can strike at them. He turns around to make it clear to Peacemaker.
"Well, you know what I think?" he said. " I think liberty is just your excuse to do whatever you want. Whether that's to eat a beach full of dicks or killin' folk."
There is an awkward silence as Peacemaker stares at Bloodsport turning his back. That isn't really true! He made himself a man for peace, no matter the cost. For peace, it would require a lot to destroy. Peacemaker thinks of himself as a hero. It is his true job. His integrity for the country. And someone is now questioning his loyalty?
"Oh, yeah?" he deadpanned. "At least I don't kill men for money like you."
Bloodsport groaned. "Oh, here we go."
"You have been wasting your life a little too much, don't you think? I kill for a very good purpose rather than wasting my life. What about you?"
"You know that both of us are criminals," pointed out Bloodsport. "But the truth is that I don't really have anything to serve for anyone. I don't even have a choice being on this team, right? The reason why I came to it is because I don't have anything else for me. Not even being good at anything other than killing."
Peacemaker raised an eyebrow. "You know that you're a little f**ked up."
"Well, so are you."
"Well, you could have just asked to not be in it."
"I can't. Or else, Waller is going to have someone by the throat."
Peacemaker scoffs. He never heard that Waller forced Bloodsport to be on the team.
"I don't think she did that to you," said Bloodsport. "If you really think this is suited for me, then why can't YOU be the leader? I don't usually do all the planning or make things perfect as a leader."
"I could have been," said Peacemaker, a little teasingly. "But I've heard that you were chosen as a leader due to your psychological profile. And now, when I was told about your skillset and looks, I thought you might be a little bit like Kenneth. Maybe trying to be more like Mace Windu. Morpheus, Avery Brooks, Shade!"
"I don't watch as much pop culture as you do."
"But if you really want to take this task seriously, you have to show you have to take this task REALLY seriously."
"And that is exactly what I'm trying to do."
"Well, you don't have the headstrong and being really likable. You don't have that twinkle in your eye."
"Twinkle?"
"Just saying that you don't try to look really nice. You have a bit of a branding issue. No wonder why you choose to be a contract killer."
Bloodsport turns his head away. He doesn't really have time for this and they should be already hiding in the jungle since it is dark. Ratacher II could only stare at their argument, feeling that maybe they should just go on without bickering too much. It shouldn't be too much to handle working together despite being new on the team. As she turns around to see the others' reaction, she notices something glowing on Polka-Dot Man's face.
"There's something wrong with your skin," she said.
Polka-Dot Man froze up. There is already a large red ball covering his top forehead and a growing green dot on his cheek.
"It's just a rash," he immediately said.
"That's a rash?" asked Peacemaker.
"Just ignore it. It's nothing."
"You're sure?" asked Bloodsport. "Is there anything you need to do?"
"I'll be fine," said Polka-Dot Man, holding his hands behind his back. "Don't worry."
Sebastian squeaks as he sniffs the white-cladded supervillain.
"Sebastian says that there is something growing all over you," said Ratcatcher II.
"How does he know?" asked Polka-Dot Man.
Before anyone could continue to address the problem, there was another explosion on the other beach.
Boomerang hissed again as he tried to move away. He looks behind the helicopter, coming towards him. A flaming ball of fire coming his way with blades still spinning. He sighed, knowing that this might be it. He closes his eyes and…
…feels Blackguard quickly pulling out of the way.
The two men scramble across the sand due to how hard Blackguard pulled, just in time to see the helicopter exploding into flames and turning upside down. It creates a huge explosion that starts spreading into the jungle, scaring off nearby soldiers. Harley yelps as she grabs onto Flag's hand, nearly thinking it would crash into them.
"Holy smokes…" said Boomerang.
"Just get a move on, idiot!" yelled Blackguard as he runs to take cover from the next batch of bullet fire.
Harley sighs in relief. Good thing that Boomerang is safe! Though, Flag is extremely worried. Staring at the crackling fire covering the entire broken helicopter.
"Is…she dead?" he said.
There is a raspy battle cry from underneath the flaming helicopter before it suddenly flies upwards. It went flying in the air before crashing into the jungle, killing a huge number of soldiers right there. There isn't another explosion, but the fire spreads across the trees and causes a much higher fire burst.
And the very person who threw that helicopter is standing where the helicopter first landed.
Surrounded by flames, chucks of earth and dropped pieces from the helicopter. It is Mongal. All on fire. Head to toe, eyes and mouth. Though, it seems that she is immune to fire judging by how her orange skin appears unchanged outside her slightly charred armor.
"...ow," she muttered, small but genuine.
There is another rain of bullets, hitting Mongal in the back. Realizing that there are still more soldiers, she quickly runs back towards the water, grunting all the way. She can't really see well with fire over her body. With a quick dash and roll, she dives in the water, extinguishing all the flames.
Javelin stands up and is about to use his large javelin…only to be shot at. He grunts in pain as he feels a roll of bullets hitting around his shoulders. Thinking that he is shot all over, he falls backwards, his body disappearing behind the rock formation.
"AH! AH-HA-HA-HA-HA!"
T.D.K got it uglier. Despite his floating arms having guns, another row of soldiers start firing on the arms. It turns out, bullets DO harm T.D.K. The metahuman went scrambling on the floor and screaming in pain as he felt his arms getting shot to pieces.
It really hurts so much!
Weasel is already starting to cry, nuzzling his head into Savant.
Savant just grits his teeth and continues fighting. With his silver pistol, he quickly shot down T.D.K's attacker one by one before throwing himself into the warzone. He runs over to the fallen metahuman, picks him up and runs back behind cover near the ocean. As the two drop behind the large sand wall, Weasel has already fainted, looking dead.
"Great," grumbled Savant.
T.D.K whimpers a little, trembling from getting shot at. With his head resting against the wall, he tries to breathe in and out, but he can still feel his arms writhing in pain.
"Stick with me, kid," said Savant quietly. "You'll make it. You'll make it."
"I know," said T.D.K, closing his eyes as he tries to concentrate.
His arms, already bloody and filled with bullet holes, drop dead onto the sand.
And then, a new pair of unharmed and fresh arms popped out of T.D.K's arm sockets.
Savant nearly falls down, surprised by this.
"You…can regrow your arms?!" he said.
T.D.K chuckled wearily. "Well, yeah…though, it could harm me due to the blood loss." He looks down. "Sorry, it's a lame-"
"Doesn't matter, soldier," said Savant, saving the weirdness for later. "This is no time for feeling sorry for yourself! Get to the other boys! I'll go get Rick Flag! We're getting out of here!"
There is no need to officially agree because with the flaming helicopter already killing a bunch of soldiers, it provides an opening for everyone to retreat into the island. T.D.K got up on his feet and ran across the beach. He found Blackguard trying to shoot down the soldiers pouring in while holding onto a livid Boomerang.
"LET ME FIGHT!" shouted Boomerang as he tried to reach for his weapons despite the pain in his right arm. "LET ME FIGHT!"
"How are you going to f**king aim with a broken arm?!" snarled Boomerang.
"Guys!" called T.D.K, reaching up. "Where's Javelin?!"
There is a bomb thrown near the rock formation Javelin took cover at, creating a wall of fire to prevent them to come close.
"He's already shot!" said Boomerang. "I think they already got him!"
"We have to go right now!" said T.D.K.
Savant, carrying the unconscious Weasel, runs up to Flag and Harley who are unable to move from their position. He nearly drops to his knees, catching his breath.
"Hi there, grandpa!" said Harley chipperly.
"This is no time for a picnic!" roared Savant. "We are moving out right now!"
"Got it!"
"Harley!" shouted Flag. "Hold on!"
But it is already too late as Harley already makes a move out. Before the two older veterans could come out from their cover, there is a loud explosion, forcing them to duck their heads. Harley looks behind, realizing that she is leaving behind her colonel.
Before she can turn around, she bumps into someone. The two would have fallen down if the other person didn't grab her hand. It is Mongal who finished getting rid of the flames.
"You!" said Harley.
"You," grumbled Mongal, her voice scratchy. She suddenly bent over and coughed out smoke.
Harley grinned tightly. "I am so pleased that you did that amazing circus trick! I love the part where you nearly died."
"Be grateful that I took down a huge enemy for all of you!"
Harley's smile faded. "Well, thank you for nearly killing Boomer. You idiot."
Mongal blinks. "Wait, what?"
Harley isn't able to explain when they felt an explosion nearby. Knowing that they have to go, the two women start to run, trying to catch up with the rest of the guys taking cover from a larger rock. However, with the overwhelming rain of bullets and explosions around them, they come across another rock formation that is further away from Boomer's group. Mongal quickly grabs Harley and jumps over the flames, landing right behind the rock formation.
Due to the two women's flashy colors, all attention is drawn to them. The soldiers start to make their advance onto them, shooting to try to see if they will pop out.
This gives Boomer's group an opportunity to escape into the jungle.
This isn't the case for Boomer.
"HARLEY!" he shrieks as he tries to run towards where she is hiding. "HARLEY!"
There is no way Boomerang is going to lose his friend in this. It blew all over and Harley is soon to be one of the casualties. After getting to know her before her escape from prison, they didn't really have enough time to talk with each other. He tries to run, but he is held back. T.D.K and Blackguard held onto his arms and tried to drag him into the safety of the darker parts of the jungle.
"Do you want to end up with a shot face?!" hissed Blackguard. "We got to move!"
"NO!" roared Boomerang. "FLAG!"
Flag hears Boomerang and sees the trio hiding in the jungle. However, they are so far out of reach and soldiers are already scanning through the battleground. He looks back at where Harley, Mongal and Javelin are hiding back.
He doesn't want to leave them behind, but he has no choice.
This plan went out of control.
"Savant!" he said. "Follow me!"
With the soldiers distracted, the two - along with carrying the still unconscious Weasel - quickly ran from their hiding and took refuge in the darkness of the jungle on the right of the beach.
Meanwhile, Harley and Mongal come across the injured Javelin. Bloody gunshots are noticeable all around his front shoulders. The rest of his body appears pristine, especially his shiny javelin. He has his eyes closed, nearly knocked out from the pain. However, it might be due to him hitting his head on a rock below him since his head is slightly lifted like he is resting with a bed pillow.
Harley gasps, distraught with seeing one of her fallen team members.
"Oh no…" she whispered.
Mongal could only stare. She doesn't like Javelin, but when on a team, she has to honor those who fight along with her.
"Is he OK?" she asked.
Harley doesn't answer, she slowly creeps towards Javelin. She stares at his face for a few seconds, worry written on her. She slowly lifts her hand, nearly touching Javelin's face. Due to how close she is, Mongal thought that she was going to kiss him…
WHACK!
Nope, she just slaps him awake.
"Argh!" exclaimed Javelin, blinking. "What was that for?"
"Phew," said Harley, grinning. "You're still alive."
"Well, not for long." Javelin groans, feeling pain rushing through his forehead.
"Don't worry!" She starts to take a long roll wrap of bandage from her jacket. "I have some bandages with me! A little water-soaked, but it should be fine!"
Finding the zipper on Javelin's suit, she zips it slowly down and removes the parts covering his top torso. Showing his bare chest no less. She oohs at this and spends a few seconds groping Javelin's chest. The German chuckled before pointing to the bleeding bullet holes. Harley chuckles before using the bandages to cover up the wounds.
Mongal just rolls her eyes, keeping an eye-out for if the enemies are coming close.
"There we go!" said Harley cheerfully. "All done! I knew I did well as play doctor!"
Javelin grins before groaning in pain a little, trying to roll his now-covered shoulders around. "I think I will be a bit out of action until I fix this."
"Don't worry. You'll be fine, we'll get off this beach and we'll complete the mission!" Harley turns back to Mongal. "Ain't that right, girlfriend?"
"We should get moving now," said Mongal flatly.
"Hey, Harley…" Javelin hisses a little in pain. "There is…something I need to…tell you."
"Is this the time now?!"
Harley is however patient. "What is it?"
Javelin clears his throat. "Well-"
Mongal suddenly drops to the floor when the butt of a gun hits her forehead, out like a light. The two blondes realize that they are surrounded by several soldiers, holding all of their guns at them. Now, they are trapped. Javelin sheepishly grins and raises his hands up.
"Oh, c'mon!" said Harley angrily. "Can't you see that we are talking?"
"Don't do anything, Harley, Javelin," said Waller's voice through their earpieces.
"Wait, what?"
"Trust me. I know much about Luna and he knows about you."
Before Harley could answer, the colonel of the army - a black-haired soldier - points a finger at them.
"¡Ríndete ahora o muere!" he ordered.
('¡Ríndete ahora o muere!' means 'Surrender now or die' in Spanish)
Harley pouts, despite not understanding the language. "OK, fine! Fine!"
A couple of soldiers quickly pin the two down and put on handcuffs around their wrists. They did the same to the knocked-out Mongal, making sure that she doesn't escape since she is the heavy of the group. The mission going wrong is one thing, but getting caught just agitates Harley more.
"Are you happy now?" she said.
"Story of my life," grumbled Javelin.
Waller has yet to give them more instructions of what to do next.
Back at the communication hub, Waller stares at the map in surprise. One trio quickly got out through the left side, one trio escaped through the right side and one trio was caught by the soldiers. But what makes this so miraculous is that all of them actually survive being on the beach! Everyone expected them to die when they arrived, but it seems that they prove to be worthy members of Task Force X.
They surpasses Waller's expectations.
Even though it annoys her, it means another advantage.
Now, they have more squads going through the island.
The more people, the better.
"Huh," thought Waller to herself. "I honestly believe that they are perfect drop-outs for the decoy. They impress me." A smirk crawled onto their face. "If they managed to get out alive in the next few days, then I have to remind myself to give them special awards."
All the staff have started to exchange money with each other, sorting out who won and who lost. However, there is one person who isn't joining in.
That is the fuming Moone who gets up into Waller's face.
"Waller!" she said. "You just sent Flag to an army who would say hello and then tear his face off!"
"Well, now we know who we are dealing with," said Waller sarcastically.
"Did you send Flag into there to lead the team to death with him?!"
"Not really. Half of me expected that he would actually survive. He is an experienced soldier outside of the criminals we have enrolled."
"But isn't that cruel to send a man who isn't a criminal out there?"
Waller gives her an empty stare as she takes a step towards Moone. "Sometimes, sacrifices are needed."
Moone could only glare back, but all confidence is nearly gone when looking back at Waller's dead eyes. The same ones she saw when Waller provoked Enchantress and constantly tried to keep her under control. They continued to haunt her, reminding Moone that Waller is still dangerous to everyone. Even for Task Force X.
Moone could only scoff before slithering away back to her desk. Waller has already shifted her attention back to marveling at how Team 1 survived. For all Moone knows, Waller isn't doing this for the greater good.
She sent Flag, an honorable and moral soldier, near to his death.
Just nearly.
AN: You really think that Team 1 is going to be killed on the beach? Well, here, you're wrong.
This time, they actually survived.
I feel that I gave them 'Adaptational Badass' because despite all the realistic consequences of going into a battle like this, they survived. It might not be logically sense, but I'm sure that there are a lot of people wanting to see these characters and see their demises later.
Ever since hearing about the latest chapter of Peacemaker, I think I would have this character really knowing a lot of characters. Hell, maybe someday I might break the fourth wall.
With Team 1 able to survive (but split up unfortunately), that leads you all to be wondering; how will they die in this story? Oh, but first, Boomerang is still alive as well. This is a reminder again since you all are going to be responsible on whether he lives or not. Vote in the poll on my profile page and decide on his fate for this story! I'm just saying this now; there aren't that many votes, but the numbers are building up!
Oh, also, this is the first really gory chapter, though I must have downplayed it a little, but I didn't remove Captain Boomerang slicing heads. Think I should change to 'M' or keep it like this?
Thanks for reading this chapter! This story is still in-progress, so be ready for more updates. If you enjoy this story, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. Make sure to review this chapter on what you think about this chapter. I'm OK of hearing improvements from you (please no flames).
Until next time, keep on rocking!