In the Shadow of the Bat
Suicide Squad
Colonel Rick Flag was a military man. He'd worked in covert ops too, and handled some very weird stuff with a crack team of officers. Most of them died in a final mission. He was then recruited by Amanda Waller for her Task Force X... the Suicide Squad.
"This is a Gotham mission," Amanda Waller noted to Flag, "so we're using Batman rogues."
"This isn't going to end well," Flag predicted dourly.
"Captain Stingray, aka Karl Courtney. Thinks Batman is his brother. Uses electrified pirate's cutlass as a main weapon."
"He's a pirate cosplayer," Flag blinked. "Correct that, he's a CRAZY pirate cosplayer."
"Corrosive Man, aka Derek Mitchell. Gained acid powers in a chemical accident, wants revenge. He's obsessed with killing Mortimer Kadaver." Waller added, "His power keeps us from using the usual explosive implant."
"What's to stop him from going off mission?" Flag asked.
"If he does, he'll distract Batman," Waller noted.
"Point," Flag conceded.
"Getaway Genius, aka Olivia Reynolds. Is a mistress of escaping the law, with a high tech supersuit. She'll be your covert ops person."
"What happens if her suit breaks?" Flag asked.
"Cannon fodder," Waller said flatly.
"Ah, there's that compassion you're known for," Flag murmured.
"Kite Man, aka Charles Brown. An expert hang glider, he designed a flight rig to rob high buildings in Gotham. He can be your air scout."
"Wait, he uses kites and is named Charlie Brown?" Flag blinked.
Waller just ignored that, "March Harriet aka Harriet Pratt. Former con artist who fell in with the Wonderland Gang. She has various rabbit themed weapons, including wearing rabbit ears that shoot bolts of electricity."
"What." Flag shook his head.
"Wraith, aka Elliot Caldwell. Parents were crooks killed by cops, he trained himself to ba a Anti-Batman basically. Was previously rich, but Bruce Wayne helped plunder his fortune, so he hates his guts."
"Oh, he's going to be fun," Flag muttered. "No Deadshot, this time?" he asked.
"Floyd actually earned his freedom, recently," Waller admitted. "I expect him to fuck up and be behind bars again, but for now..."
"Good for him," Flag nodded. "What's the mission?" he asked.
"We're retrieving a target for the Feds," Waller said, "Albert Falcone pledged to testify against the Gotham mobs, but got cold feet. We bring him back alive."
"Do we know where he is?" Flag asked.
"Holed up with the local Russian mob. Specifically, he's protected by the KG Beast," Waller said.
"Even better," Flag sighed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Getting the Squad into Gotham was a whole other problem. Batman loathed the Squad and Waller with a passion, which meant flying the team in as usual was a no go.
"This is a party bus," Kite Man noted disbelievingly. "Is that a stripper pole?!"
"Not it," March Harriet said, the woman dressed in a half bathing suit, half formal wear with fishnet stockings and, yes, bunny ears.
"Seconded," Getaway Genius added, the woman dressed in her metalic armor.
"I am so impressed with this operation," Wraith noted, the man dressed in his purple pseudo-Batman gear.
Flag just ignored that. "Here's the mission, boys and girls: hit the Russians, grab our target, extract our target alive."
Corrosive Man quietly stewed in his restraints. He was creeping everyone out...
"You say 'hit the Russians' so casually," Captain Stingray drawled. He sighed, "They're going to murder us."
"Don't you mean, 'keel haul us' or something?" March Harriet noted.
"Ha ha," Captain Stingray scowled.
"I can go in from the roof," Kite Man offered. "And carry in one other person, if their reasonably light," he added.
"You and Getaway Genius will go in from the roof," Flag agreed, "the rest of us distract them."
"We're all gonna die," Captain Stingray sighed.
"Can we just NOT?" March Harriet asked, exasperated.
"Unless you want Waller blowing your head off," Flag noted.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
As soon as the restraints were removed, Corrosive Man ignored orders and walked off, presumably after Kadaver.
"Why aren't you shooting him?" Wraith demanded.
"He'll distract Batman and pals," Flag noted, sighing.
"Yaarr," Captain Stingray was trying to get in the mood, practice swinging his cutlass.
"Kite, Getaway, use the fire escape over there to get some height, then glide over to the roof. Quietly," Flag ordered.
"Hell yeah," Kite Man gave a thumbs up.
"Wraith, Harriet, Captain, you're with me," Flag ordered, the group advancing on the building.
The Russians were headquartered above a grocery, occupying three floors. Men lingered outside, not visibly armed but on guard.
"Wraith, take 'em. Quietly," Flag ordered.
Wraith drew a pistol, added a silencer, then calmly shot all three in seconds.
"That's not what..," Flag started. He shook himself, "Go! Go!"
The four charged the now unguarded entrance, Flag and Wraith with guns drawn. A man ran down the stairs at them, and Stingray jabbed him, shocking him unconscious.
"I hear loud footsteps," Harriet noted nervously.
"Wraith, your our best fighter," Flag said as they ran up the stairs, "KG Beast is yours."
"Fuck," Wraith cursed.
"Intruders!" KG Beast came around a corner, the giant of a man towering over them.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"I can cloak, somewhat," Getaway Genius said tersely as they came down on the roof. It was surprisingly unguarded. "I'll go in, you wait and carry me out if needed."
"I can help!" Kite Man protested.
"The green and yellow costume does not blend in," Getaway said. "Wait!" she ordered.
The rooftop door was locked, but easily picked. As Getaway Genius descended she knew the target was on the top floor, and in a center room. Presumably to prevent sniping through a window. She cautiously advanced.
(Below her she could hear mayhem unfolding Guns were firing, metal clanged, and a grisly cry rang out. A male one, interestingly.)
Getaway Genius reached the door, frowning as she noticed it was open. She pushed it open the rest of the way, then peered inside.
Albert Falcone lay on the bed, a rubber band secured around his arm, a needle in the vein. From the way he was staring sightlessly at the roof, he was obviously dead.
"FUCK," Getaway Genius cursed. "Flag!" she used the team communicators, "The target is already dead! I repeat, target is dead! Overdosed!"
EVERYONE bust into swearing at that point.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Flag had Stingray's sword in one hand, a gun in the other as the Russian mobsters died around them. Wraith had managed to disable KG Beast, but none of them thought he was going to stay down for very long.
"DIE, FUCKERS!" Harriet shot a man in the face, blood running down her side.
They left Captain Stingray's corpse behind them, even as Wraith dropped smoke bombs to cover their escape. "Hold your breaths, it's lethal," the gas mask wearing man warned them as they ran to the exit.
There were police sirens in the distance, but not getting closer. One assumed that Corrosive Man was drawing them off.
They burst from the building, Harriet staggering. Flag got her over his shoulder as they ran, even as a explosive the bunny had planted went off, sowing more chaos.
"Do we still get time off our sentences for this?" Kite Man asked as they met up.
"Shut up and help me bandage her," Flag sighed as Getaway Genius demonstrated she was a decent medic too.
To be continued...
Notes: I've always liked Suicide Squad. If you've not read it, try John Ostrander's run of the book... Picked a random list of Batman c-listers. Not canon to the actual comics, as I was just using wikipedia as a reference.