"Randomized my ass..." I remarked, my eyes twitching as I watched yet another pair of super brutes squaring up in the ring while waiting for the announcer to finish his nonsense.
After Croc and Bane's fight, several dull, long matches between regular thugs ensued with no notable names, making an appearance so far until Crush and Amygdala walked into the arena.
If I had any intention to believe The Penguin's words, then it just fucking evaporated. The mob boss was clearly pitting the powerhouse against each other and having them take each other out.
First, it was Bane and Crocodile. Now it was Crush and Amygdala.
'Why the sudden rush...? Did something change...?' I mused, watching as the two fighters headed to their respective sides after the announcer finished his nonsense.
'In the first place, what would The Penguin do with a bunch of superpowered juggernauts...?'I idly wondered while keeping my eyes on the fight as the match began and the two fighters quickly began punching at each other.
Amygdala initiated the engagement as he charged Crush, quickly closing the distance and driving his fist into the side of her face. Crush's head jerked sideways as the attack connected with a loud bang.
The alien girl shook her head and smirked at Amygdala before returning the favor and punching him with a straight to the face that sent him flying, only to crash into the arena's wall.
"That kinda hurt..." Crush said while rubbing her cheek where Amygdala hit her as she watched the latter get off the wall, screaming in a fit of violent rage. However, he looked unharmed beyond that.
"You make me so angry!" the muscular, humongous brute exclaimed with two balled fists in front of his rage. Every muscle in Amygdala's body enlarged as if to prove his point, making his already buffed body look even more intimidating.
"You make me want to hurt you! Crush your skull! Break your bones!" Amygdala roared as he charged at the alien girl. Suffice to say. She didn't look intimidated, more amused than anything else.
"Crush is my name, buddy. Breaking bones and skulls is my shtick," Crush said, maintaining her smirk as she stood her ground, lowering her posture and waiting for Amygdala to get to her.
"Get your fucking own, bitch," Crush added as Amygdala finally was upon her. She reached forward, holding the brute's shoulders and stopping him in his track.
The pale brunette grunted as she raised the brute into the air and smashed him into the ground, head first. She used so much force Amygdala had his head buried into the floor.
Crush kicked Amygdala's stomach getting him out of the ground and onto his back as she stood over him and proceeded to rain punches on him without saying another word.
Every hit would make the brute's face jerk to the side, but he persisted, still struggling to get up despite the constant punishment, and Crush seemed to it as a challenge.
She gradually began increasing the strength and speed of her punches, to which Amygdala's struggles lessened with every passing second. He never gave up trying to get up until the last second, when he lost conscience.
"You can take a beating... I'll give you that much..." Crush said to no one in particular as she turned away and left the stage without waiting for the announcer to declare her win.
The announcer did it anyway. He quickly ran to Amygdala's side to check his condition and immediately signaled for the bell to be rang, declaring the alien girl's victory.
"Another one bites the dust..." I remarked as I turned to Richard and Ben, who nodded and shrugged each. "Still, I wonder what the Penguin is doing with the losers..." I added with a sigh as I resumed my line of thought that the match interrupted, feeling the urge to scratch my head, but the helmet was in the way.
I already told the two about my discoveries, hoping they might know something, or at the very least help me brainstorm to get to the bottom of the matter, but apparently didn't have any idea.
"Who knows? It's none of our business..." Richard said with a shrug, briefly exchanging a cryptic look with Benjamin, to which I raised an eyebrow.
"I don't like not knowing what's going on around me. The cameras and bugs I left in The Penguin's office didn't catch anything useful..." I said, sighing as I shook my head and feigned ignorance of the suspicious looks they kept giving each other.
"I'll sneak into the club after the fight to see what's going..." I added, and the slight surprise in their expression and look of getting caught off guard, which they quickly hid, told me everything I needed to know.
'Looks like they might know more than they're telling me...' I held a sigh at the realization but didn't feel like exposing Richard and Benjamin for it, so I didn't say anything.
I had absolute that Richard would not do anything to harm me, and I could trust him to look out for me, and the same goes for Benjamin, even though I didn't like him when he first showed up.
If they were hiding something from me, then they probably thought it would be for my own good, which it might be, but I'm getting to the bottom of The Penguin's scheme regardless.
The aftermath of The Penguin's schemes might affect me negatively if I didn't do anything about it, or I might be able to benefit from it. Either way, I needed to know.
"That might not be wise, Gray," Richard said, immediately regaining control over his expression as he cleared his throat. "You've already injured one of The Penguin's announcers. Perhaps it would be more prudent to wait until the end of the tournament to make a move..." he calmly added, and I could see the reason in his words.
"We can't afford to piss him off too much before the end of the tournament, as you know..." Richard concluded, and I merely nodded without replying, still intent on sneaking into the club tonight.
Benjamin remained surprisingly silent during the conversation, maintaining a blank expression as he kept his gaze on the arena as if it was of no interest to him.
I copied Benjamin and stared into the ring, but I was zoning out, my mind going wild with theories and ideas about what could drive The Penguin to do such a thing.
Was he using them for labor, maybe hired (forced) muscle? No, he didn't have the means to control them. He was rich enough to pay for their services. Heck, the prize money and costs for arranging such an event would probably be more expensive than hiring everyone here.
Did he intend to take them out so they wouldn't get in his way? No, The Penguin isn't stupid. He'd surely realize doing that would make him a target to every single villain in Gotham if word of it gets out.
In conclusion, The Penguin wasn't doing it for himself, and the only reason he'd do something like this was if someone forced him, which begs the question, who?
It has to be someone powerful, connected, likely an organization interested in acquiring supervillains.
The only individual I could think of who could pull something like this was Lex Luthor, but the man was far too arrogant to resort to such methods, and it didn't fit his style.
Alien traffickers, who kidnap and sell meta-humans to warring planets? Possible, but highly unlikely. Such groups have their own channels and usually operate in Metropolis City and other meta-humans-infested cities and stay clear of Gotham because of how chaotic it is.
'That only leaves... The Suicide Squad...' I had the urge to sigh and face palm as the realization finally hit me. Amanda Fucking Waller was at it again.
It honestly made sense. I should have realized it sooner, but I was too focused on The Penguin and rushed to get a quick answer to make sense of the situation.
With how many people were in The Suicide Squad and their different power sets, it wouldn't be too hard to dig up some dirt on The Penguin and force him into something.
The man relied on his facade as an honest businessman to stay out of jail and run his crime ring personally. He would lose too much if someone exposed him for the vicious, penguin-obsessed mob boss he was.
It wasn't out of character for Amanda Waller to use such methods to recruit people into her Suicide Squad, but until I know for sure, my theory is just a theory, even if I'm 99% sure it's correct.
By Tonight I should have my answer.
...
"hmm?" I hummed, frowning in confusion as Cassandra walked into the arena after the announcer called her name. She was up against a regular old thug with average martial arts.
Based on how the matches went so far, I thought The Penguin would put powerful opponents against each other while giving the average joes a chance to show off against their kind.
It was how the matches were so far since the start, with the only exception being Killer Croc's first match since he was the only guy with powers or superior martial arts mastery to fight a regular person.
I honestly thought she'd go up against that Zero guy or me. So I was understandably confused when I saw her walk into the ring and finish off her opponent before I even finished my line of thought.
Either way, I didn't get to keep ruminating as a henchman walked into the VIP spectating area, promptly making his way toward me with a blank expression.
"Your match will soon begin. Please allow me to guide you to your waiting room," the henchman said as he stood beside my chair while gesturing towards the room's exit.
"Looks like I'm up. I'll head home after the fight, so don't wait for me..." I remarked, trailing off as I turned to Benjamin and Richard, and they merely nodded. I took that as my cue and got up.
"Lead the way," I said as I turned the henchman, and he nodded as he began walking towards the exit at an even pace with me following behind him.
We both remained silent as we walked through the hallways, making several turns towards the waiting room until I spotted someone coming from the opposite direction.
'Cassandra Cain...' I immediately recognized the girl. She still had the hoodie covering her face and hiding her expressions, but my empathy and the girl's body language told me she was giddy for some reason.
I could almost picture the beaming smile under her hood as she walked past me with spring in her step, holding close to her chest a bulging backpack filled with whatever.
'Good for you...' I mused, smiling under my helmet. Honestly, if anyone deserved to be happy in DC comics, it has to be Cassandra Cain because of how much shit she went through.
Her backstory was one of the most tragic, even for a hero, so I wanted my interactions with Cassandra to be as brief as possible. Heck, I'd avoid any contact with her if I could.
She'll get her happy ending eventually, and any interference or influence on my part may rob her of the happiness she rightly deserved, granted that might have happened already because of the Lady Shiva situation.
It's why I intend to keep a close eye on Cassandra and give her a push in the right direction if she doesn't end up running into the Bat Family by herself.
"We're here, sir," the henchman said as he stopped before my waiting room's door after we walked for another minute. "A match is currently ensuing in the arena, so feel free to rest or prepare until it is over," the henchman concluded as he opened the door, nodded at me, and turned to leave.
Walking into the room, I closed the door and turned to the monitor hanging on the wall to see who was fighting. I immediately lost interest when I saw two regular guys beating the shit out of each other.
It's really curious how much having power and experiencing high-level martial arts altered my perspective on many things. I loved watching violence as much as the next guy in my past life.
I was a fan of UFC for a couple of years. I even took kickboxing lessons and used to sit at the edge of my seats screaming like a fan girl over these kinds of fights before coming to this world.
Yet here I am, finding the mere idea of watching these fights appalling, not to mention enjoying them. But I suppose that everything the thugs throw at each other has been done to me by Richard at least a dozen times in the name of sparring might have something to do with my lack of interest.
Whatever, I guess.
I retrieved my phone and began fiddling with it to pass the time, paying no attention to the match on the screen, and I heard a knock on the door before I knew it.
I looked at the monitor and saw people carrying the loser with stretchers before walking to the door, opening it, and asking my guide to lead the way.
He obliged, nodding as he obliged, and I followed behind him to the arena where I met my opponent, who was no one special, just a thug enforcer under The Triads.
The man had above-average martial arts, but it didn't help him much since I ended the fight in seconds using nothing but pure technique, showing none of my strength.
'I'll work on the forge until it gets dark...' I mused as I left the arena without waiting for the countdown since I made sure to beat my opponent senseless before leaving.
I'm not about to make a fool of myself by walking out on a still-conscious opponent. Thank you very much.
Now, I just needed to pass some time until the last match for today, so I could sneak into the Iceberg Lounge and see what in god's green earth is The Penguin plotting.
...
Gray's hideout
"Almost done..." I remarked to no one in particular as I took a break to look at my handy work, the now-almost-finished forge.
The biggest reason that the forge was taking me so long to complete was that I didn't have the proper tools to shape metals since I had to do everything the ancient-fashioned way.
Ironically, I'd be able to build another forge in only a couple of hours once I finish the one I'm working on currently. I would have saved a lot of time by buying ready materials and assembling them, but I wanted to do it on my own, all the way from scratch.
I nodded in satisfaction at what I saw and was about to resume working, but a loud ding resounding in my head made me stop, dropping my hammer as I walked to the couch.
'Looks like that's the last fight for today...' I mused as I took out my laptop and put the match footage on fast forward, intently watching the fights, which was less boring now that it was going so fast.
It was the same old stuff, regular guys, regular fights, or some supervillain beating up some poor schmuck, except for the last match, which had Kite Man fighting Zero.
It was interesting to watch, even though it was one-sided for the most part. Kite Man put up a good fight at the start of the match as he glided around and used altitude to his advantage.
It all went downhill for the green villain once Zero managed to latch on to him after a couple of minutes of passively defending hits as Kite man kept diving towards him, attacking and soaring back up.
Once he managed to get his hands on Kite Man, Zero didn't let go until they crash-landed, to which he straddled the green villains and started wailing on him till he was out cold.
'Doesn't look like he has any superpowers, but that's some high-level martial arts...' I frowned as I paused the fight and watched it again to observe Zero's movements more closely.
Zero's movement speed was consistent throughout the fight, meaning he gave it his all and fought at 100%. It's that, or he had godly control over his muscles to hold back and maintain a consistent performance without any fluctuations in strength and speed.
Either way, I need to keep an eye on him.
'With that out of the way...' I mused, nodding as I took out my phone to see the time, noticing that it was already the Iceberg Lounge's closing time.
The club usually stays open 24/7, but they had to close down during the tournament to prepare for the next day's fights, or so The Penguins goons said. But it probably has something to do with the kidnapped contestants.
I got off the couch, equipped my gear, and promptly walked to my hideout's exit.
'Time to get to work...'
...
"You know the kid's going to sneak into the club, right?" Benjamin asked, grinning and turning to his old friend and fellow student as they walked side by side, heading towards Gotham City's Park.
"I know," Richard replied, sighing as he gave Benjamin an exasperated look. "Gray is his own man... he still has a long way to go, but he can take care of himself..." he added, shaking his head.
"Though I don't want him to be involved with those vicious government people... but I can't stop him either..."
...
"I'm sorry, oh mighty door inventor. Please forgive my sin, and rest in peace...' I mused, joining my hands in silent prayer before I opened the window before me and snuck into the Iceberg Lounge.
The Penguin's club was incredibly secure, with cameras and motion sensors strewn in every corner, not to mention the mobsters patrolling outside and inside the establishment.
Luckily, I was something of a computer wizard. Disabling some surveillance devices was child's play at this point, and my phantom belt allowed me to sneak my way inside right under the guards' noses.
I broke into a room on the second floor after climbing my way to its windows with my boots, surveying the surroundings, and only entering after making sure no one was there.
'Looks like The Penguin is in his office...' I noted as I listened to his conversation with Scarface as the two mobsters discussed their plan to take over small gangs on the sly when no one was watching.
'So he's looking to expand as I thought...' I mused, nodding as I exited the room and inspected the surroundings before walking towards the staircase, having already memorized the layout of the building.
I even took it upon myself to hack into every camera before coming here to see if that would help me make sense of the situation. Though I observed a shit ton of shady dealings, nothing was remotely related to the missing losers.
There were at least two cameras in every room, except the huge basement where the fights took place in the arena, so I knew that I'd find what I was looking for there and didn't bother to look anywhere else.
It also made sense to keep the dangerous super villains who could punch through concrete walls in the basement, where no one would see them and hear the fuss they would inevitably cause once they realize their situations.
'He's been doing it for a while too...' I raised an eyebrow as I heard Scarface casually name at least ten small gangs he took out or incorporated into The Penguin's mob this week alone.
I suppose it made sense that The Penguin would immediately make a move once Black Mask was in police custody, especially with how embarrassing the latter's fall from grace was.
Imagine issuing a bounty on someone. Hundreds of mercenaries come from all over America, only for that same someone to kidnap you, use you as bait, and beat the shit out of everyone that came up without lifting a muscle.
Many gangsters lost faith in Black Mask since they were attracted to him because of his reputation as a ruthless, brutal cutthroat, which he cultivated through years of committing atrocities.
Any respect these people had for Black Mask immediately evaporated after his disgraceful defeat, and The Penguin was the next best thing, so many rallied under his banner.
'Hah... whatever. Better The Penguin than some other crazy piece of shit...' I shrugged my shoulders as I continued to cautiously make my way for the basement, having already reached the first floor.
There will always be crime in Gotham, organized or otherwise. There will always be mobs and mobster bosses until I have the power to do something about it, which will come in due time.
I will eventually fix this retched asshole of Cthulhu excuse of a city and make it some place I wouldn't mind living. But I intend to do it right, with money and politics.
Until I could do that, I was content and happy to let The Penguin run the show since he was more reasonable than the other substitutes this city had to offer.
'And here we are...' I mused as I stood before the basement's entrance, moving out of the way and accessing nearby cameras with my personal computer power.
Convinced no one could see me, I retrieved my steel wire and moved to the basement's entrance. I inserted the wire into the lock, and the tip immediately began transforming once inside to match the pins.
Turning the wire, I smiled as the door opened with a satisfying click. I walked through, not forgetting to close and lock it behind me as I proceeded towards the ring.
My steps were deliberate, and I was acutely conscious of the environment, making no sound as I walked down the stairs, unseen and ready to react to any sudden encounters.
I started looking for cameras and found none, much to my surprise. Even if I couldn't access any in the basement, I didn't think they didn't exist. I only thought they'd connected be to a separate database to maintain secrecy.
The revelation confirmed my suspicion that someone was forcing The Penguin to kidnap the tournament's losers. That certain someone, or someones, seemed to value their secrecy highly by the looks of things. Enough to make The Penguin remove the basement cameras.
'Sounds more and more like Amanda Waller...' I sighed at that thought. It makes sense that the task force x director would value the secrecy of her operations.
The U.S. government would be forced to disband her task force and throw Amanda in jail to rot for the rest of her if the public even got a whiff of the shady shit she was doing in the name of justice.
Amanda The Wall Waller was not someone you'd want to get involved with under any circumstances. Any interaction with her would be a lose-lose situation.
She was so paranoid she'd make even Batman look cute in comparison, especially with how far she was willing to go and her readiness to shed blood to get things done.
Amanda was one ruthless bitch I wanted to give a wide berth to if possible, but that didn't seem like an option at the time. She was operating in Gotham, and I didn't feel like waiting for her to make the first move.
It was the perfect opportunity to get ammunition against Amanda Waller in case she does come for me, which I imagine she would since she even targeted The Justice League at some point.
She was suspicious of everyone and everything that had an excess of power, and I'd sooner or later match the general description of the people she was famous for taking down.
'I should start from the arena...' I decided, making my way to the fighting ring where I last saw the defeated contestants, to follow their trail, hoping it would lead me to Amanda Waller or whoever was responsible.
Wherever The Penguin's goons took the losers, it has to be connected to the arena, and I only have to find the right trail and follow it to get there, granted that tracking wasn't my forte, but I'll manage somehow.
I quickly reached the arena and took the right entrance, walking for a minute until I arrived at the first crossroads. 'Left or right...' I frowned as I inspected the two paths.
The left path was spotless without a speck of dust, while the right one obviously had more traffic, evidenced by barely distinguishable footsteps here and there.
I was about to go with the right path, but I stopped as I noticed the wet sheen on the left one. Frowning, I walked closer as I took off my gloves and squatted to touch the ground.
The ground was slightly wet as if someone had cleaned it not long ago, and the water was about to dry out. Upon a closer look, I also noticed some scratches on the floor.
I took out my steel wire and dug into the scratches, raising an eyebrow at the red residue that got stuck at the tip of the wire when I took it out, and immediately concluded it was the right way.
'Blood...' I noted as I got up and walked into the left hallway. That wasn't the last crossroad I encountered. The Iceberg Lounge's basement turned out to be one giant maze, but I only had to follow the scratches to reach a big room akin to a storage room.
'Bingo...' I had to resist the urge to exclaim and do a fist pump as I finally arrived at what seemed like a storage room upon noticing the unconscious figures of Killer Croc, Amygdala, and Kite Man in cage-like containers.
There were mobsters running all over the place, doing all sorts of busy work. Some carried needles, which they continuously injected into Amygdalas's body, while others patrolled the area.
I quickly began moving, installing bugs and cameras in every hidden corner I could find before moving towards Killer Croc's cage, the only one unattended.
'Now that I know he's keeping these villains here... I just have to figure out where he's taking them next...' I mused as I took out a tracking device and immediately put it into Killer Croc's pocket.
'What's that...?' I tilted my head as I noticed some dirt in the pocket with a patch of weed growing into it, but I didn't give it much thought and I retreated after planting the device.
...
'Now I wait...' I mused, sitting on the edge of a roof overlooking the Iceberg Lounge. I'd already installed several cameras and mics in the basement area.
All that's left to do is wait for the signal from the tracking device I left in Killer Croc's pocket to start moving and follow it to what is hopefully the base of operations for the people pulling on The Penguin's strings.
Leaving a tracking device in Killer Croc's pocket might have sounded risky, as anyone would find it if they were smart enough to search his body for anything like that, but I was ready for that eventuality.
The device was something I built myself, and I could activate a small charge that would destroy it, turning it into nothing but grains of scrap metal that even I couldn't put back together unless I used my machine morph and assembly powers.
Speaking of those two powers, I tested their limits sometime before the tournament in a scrap yard, and let me tell you, that shit was impressive as fuck.
Machine assembly basically allowed me to create any machine as long as I had the required parts to build it close by or in my inventory and disassemble it with but a thought, as long as I understood its inner workings and basic design.
Machine Morphing allowed me to change and morph a machine's inner components to any shape I liked, like turning a semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic one by manipulating its firing mechanisms.
The finished product might be flawed and prone to overheating and similar issues because the original design and materials were more suited for semi-automatic firing, and that's where combining the two powers would come clutch.
Unfortunately, both powers were limited by my mechanics skill level. Thus I couldn't do anything exaggerated with them just yet. But that would come in due time.
'Time... huh?' I chuckled at the thought. I was slowly coming to realize the things I could do, my potential, if you will, now that I had the leeway to think about it and contemplate the future, mine, and that of the world.
Every day used to be a struggle for me. I battled my insecurities and lived in fear of the city's villains, Batman, and the consequences of my actions and choices catching up with me.
I was merely living, and my survival was the only thing on my mind with no thought for the future. First, it was getting out of Logan's apartment, and obsessing over money, which I still do to some degree.
Then it was the struggle to maintain my secret identity, my various interactions with Selina and Harley, being prepared to kill, and taking KGBeast's life in a fit of rage.
Finally, it was my irrational fear of Batman.
Now? I couldn't give a shit about money (sort of-kind of-somewhat didn't, you get the idea), my secret identity, and even the Caped Crusader himself.
With my current skill set, I could make enough money to spend for a lifetime just sitting on my ass and doing nothing like your average couch potato.
My secret identity didn't matter to me anymore since the only two people I was close to were Benjamin and Richard, and good luck trying to fuck with those two.
Batman, though? I still didn't want to mess with him if possible, but seeing his brief moment of panic, that slight passing display of weakness when he realized his buddies messed with his mind, made me understand he was only a human who would bleed the same red as me.
In a way, bleeding red wasn't the only thing we had in common since I was just as suspicious and anti-social towards others as he was, but somehow I don't see us bonding over that while having a beer in a corner bar.
With all that pressure off my shoulders, my mind was finally clear to think about the future, what I really wanted to make of myself, and what I wanted to make of this world.
I even started having fun with my powers and noticing the positives of my situation rather than single-mindedly focusing on the negatives. I turned to the possibilities of this world and away from the impossibilities.
Once I knew where to look, I witnessed infinite potential, sitting there, waiting— to be harnessed. Or so I'd grandly and boldly declare if I was some mustache-twirling comic villain with glinting shifty eyes, a sly grin, and a diabolical scheme to take over the world, but you get the idea.
I still had my worries, of course, but who didn't? Even if mine vastly differed from the clueless average joe, like the shit Etrigan casually dropped on my lab in the cemetery.
Either way, I now knew better than to drown myself in overthinking and worrying, and that's all that mattered. I was here, in good health and better circumstances than most, capable of things the average man could only dream of doing.
In a way, I was living many people's dreams. My paranoia and thinking that if something feels too good to be true, it probably is, were the only things getting in my way.
Though I couldn't dismiss my suspicions, so rooted and at home in the darkest corners of my mind as they were, I could at least keep them there, never-forgotten or dismissed, but sealed away.
Alas, my chain of thought was interrupted by a thud behind me. Barely holding back a sigh, I bitterly smiled as I slowly turned around to face the person who managed to sneak up on me, whoever they were, with only one thought in my mind.
'Please don't be Batman... Please don't be Batman; anyone but Batman...' I internally chanted as if my thoughts could alter reality while I turned around.
I immediately regretted my thoughts as I finally had an eye-full of the person behind me and immediately recognized them.
'Awe come on... couldn't you just be Batman?'
...
Somewhere in America
An abandoned circus
Well within an abandoned circus court lies a dark and horrible torture room. Inside it was a man wearing a pig mask and a white apron, stained in fresh blood. He was operating on a woman, who did not seem thrilled at the treatment. She screamed in agony and thrashed against her restraints to no avail.
"YES! SCREAM NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN!" the man in a pig mask madly exclaimed, cackling even as he continued to operate on the woeful, agonized woman.
He was Lazlo Valentine, better known as Professor Pyg, a deranged, schizophrenic scientist and the Circus Of The Strange's founder. His only purpose in life was turning helpless victims into mindless obedient dolls he called the Dollotrons.
The Circus not only served as a physical hideout and operation room to create Pyg Dolls but is the living space of various evil, demented people who saw Professor Pyg as their leader.
"Resist if you must; it's no use— I will soon make you run to me... obey me... love me..." Professor Pyg added more calmly as he stopped working, taking a step back to appreciate his handy work as the woman stopped screaming.
"Arise my doll..." The demented scientist muttered, and the woman obliged, slowly sitting up as she turned to him, a blank doll-like expression on her face.
"SSSOOOEEE!" the professor raised his head and howled in excitement and satisfaction at completing yet another masterpiece. It never got old, no matter how many tens or hundreds he turned to Dollotrons.
"Impressive..." a calm, hypnotic voice sounded from a dark corner of the room, startling the deranged scientist, and he reacted by taking hold of his knife and turning to the source.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" the professor angrily exclaimed, his body tense as he held the knife in front of his face and threateningly gestured at the intruder who was yet to reveal himself.
"An admirer of your work, professor..." the intruder said as he walked out of the shadow, revealing a handsome visage, which the half-face masquerade mask he wore couldn't hide.
"It would be a shame to see a man as talented as you waste away here in this forgotten corner of the world..." he added as he walked forward with a leisurely grin stretching his lips.
"There's a much grander stage a man like you could use to show the world his brilliance..." the theatrically dressed man went on, grandly gesturing to the side, causing his black cape to flutter.
"I can take you there... with my aid, you will shine, and your light shall blind the world..." he concluded as he reached towards the deranged scientist, his smile widening.
"Who are you...?" Professor Pyg said, still clutching his knife, but the man's words seemed to have worked their magic as the deranged scientist looked much more relaxed.
"I have been called many names... but you may address me as Hurt, Doctor Hurt..."
...
As he turned to face the person behind him, Gray's mind was in turmoil. However, he didn't allow it to show in his body language, calmly staring into her green, mesmerizing eyes.
The woman was of average height, 5.6 feet tall at best, with a wild mane of smooth, long red hair that naturally fluttered in the wind as she stood there with a smile tugging her lips.
Her face, easily one of her most distinctive features, was exquisite, delicate, and every other word one would use to describe beauty. However, most people would remember her by an even more distinguishing feature, her lustrous, light-green skin tone.
It made her look exotic, but by no means did it diminish her beauty. Her green skin emphasized it and made her look even more charming than her natural looks already had.
"You don't look happy to see me... I'm offended..." the woman, Pamela Isley, said, tilting her head as she faked a pout, to which her aura suddenly changed from a charming lady into an adorable young girl.
"Where I'm from, people don't usually throw parades when they meet internationally wanted terrorists..." Gray quipped, dismissively waving a hand to the side and scoffing at her remark.
"Let's cut to the chase. What do you want?" he quickly continued, cutting off Pamela as she seemed to have a quip of her own at the tip of her tongue to make the altercation as short as possible.
"Fair enough..." Pamela replied, still smiling as she chuckled. "You are friends with Harley Quinn...?" she continued, raising an eyebrow as she paused and waited for a reply, which was a simple no.
"No?" Pamela repeated, tilting her head in confusion. "Then maybe tell it to Harley. She seems to think you two are bosom buddies with how she talks about you..." she added, her smile exasperated as she shook her head.
"Believe me, I did, in more than one way and occasion..." Gray replied, allowing himself to let out a sigh of annoyance at the mention of the clingy, crazy, blonde psychiatrist.
"Either way, Harley is in serious trouble. I need your help to get her out of it..." Pamela said, shrugging her shoulders and dropping the subject of Gray and Harley's one-sided friendship.
"And why on god's green earth would I do that? It has nothing to do with me..." Gray replied, his tone blank, as he firmly shook his head to show his unwillingness to get involved further.
"Because I asked..." Pamela instantly replied with a soft smile that made her look even more charming. "And you can't resist me— no man could..." she continued, trailing off as she put a hand behind her head and raised her hair.
"Now come here, lover..." Pamela concluded, releasing her pheromones and extending her hand forward with a smile as she watched Gray's body stiffen.
Pausing for a second, Gray began moving towards Pamela, reaching forward as if to hold her extended hand halfway through. But before their fingers could touch, the unexpected happened.
A sword materialized in Gray's hand, and the tip of its blade settled on Pamela's neck, close enough to draw a drop of blood from, much to the latter's surprise.
"If there's one thing I hate, it's people who like to fuck with other people's minds..." Gray said, maintaining a battle-ready posture as if he was inclined to lob Pamela's head at a moment's notice.
"Get lost before you really piss me off," Gray continued, moving his sword away from Pamela's neck, but he didn't forget to give it another scratch to remind her of how close she came to dying.
Pamela slowly raised her hand to touch her neck, seemingly appalled by the wet sensation on her fingers as she brought her palm before her eyes and noticed the red color.
However, she quickly gathered her bearings and smiled. "Harley told me my pheromones might not work on you ..." Pamela said as she rubbed her fingers together, chuckling as she turned to Gray.
"I wonder how... is it the helmet...?" the botanist asked as she lowered her hand. Her tone was profoundly bewildered at her failure to control Gray as she gave him a curious look.
"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, this conversation is over. Next time I'll use a longer blade," Gray said as he turned around, walked to the roof's edge, and prepared to leave.
"Wait!" Pamela said, prompting Gray to stop just as he retrieved his steel wire and was ready to swing away. "You said it has nothing to do with you, but those people are targeting everyone..." she quickly added, seemingly sure that Gray understood who she meant without needing to elaborate.
"They took Harley, they came after me and many others. It's only a matter of time before they come after you..." Pamela continued, hoping her words of reason would sway Gray.
However, Gray's only response was silence as he jumped off the roof and swung away.
...
'Well, fuck...' I mused as I landed on a rooftop a respectable distance away and immediately began inspecting my clothes. 'Now that's just bullshit...' I sighed as I found a single blade of grass clinging to my back.
I was, pun intended, with extreme prejudice, green with jealousy at Poison Ivy's bullshit powers. Here I was, busting my ass and grinding my skills, and I could barely build a simple tracking device while she could achieve similar results with her green mojo by whispering to fucking plants.
I was less than enthused to meet Poison Ivy, even if she was one of my top 10 teenage crushes. The fact she was hunting down the Suicide Squad would only make matters complicated as well.
I didn't intend to antagonize Amanda Waller purposely. My only goal was to gather ammunition against her if she suddenly decided I was Suicide Squad material or wanted to get rid of me for whatever reason.
You never know what someone like Amanda would do, so it was better to be ready to deal with her, and the same goes for Poison Ivy. Both those two women were crazy and unpredictable in more than one way.
I would have probably killed Poison Ivy then and there if I was even a little weaker and less confident in my ability to defend myself should things turn awry.
I would even rather deal with Amanda Waller over Poison Ivy as the latter had a weakness I could conveniently grasp with my current abilities and use to 'end her whole career,' as one wise man once said in the greatest rap battle of all times.
Ivy, on the other hand, was tireless. She'd always find a way to bounce back and resume her so-called crusade to save the plants as the ultimate anti-vegan.
All jokes aside, though, Poison Ivy was prone to obsessive fits, and I didn't need that shit on my plate. I'll pass on having a personal nemesis, thank you very much.
'Hopefully, I won't have to deal with her anymore...' I mused as I finally received the notification that Killer Croc was on the move and immediately pursued.
I was intent on getting a digital trace, a phone call, or anything that would help me track Task Force X's database as soon as possible and avoid further contact with Poison Ivy since she might be there.
...
As he stood inside the secret basement of a fully functional hospital, Rick Flag's hand rested on the pistol at his hip, intently watching The Penguin's goons delivering the newest batch of Suicide Squad recruits.
He wasn't alone there, as King Faraday stood right beside him, just as vigilant and prepared to open fire at a moment's notice should the need arise.
The two men were some of the bravest, most lethal, and most efficient agents to work in service of The U.S. government. They worked for multiple branches of government, military, special ops, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies, achieving great success wherever they went.
However, such highly decorated soldiers didn't exist in any public record, and only the most privy government officials knew they even existed due to the nature of their current employment.
"Where is Virtuoso?" Rick Flag asked as he turned to King Faraday, frowning. "She should have been here by now..." he added, trailing off as he resumed watching The Penguin's subordinates.
"Who knows...? Nightshade is probably throwing another tantrum at Waller and refusing to work..." King Faraday replied, chuckling as he shook his head.
"We need Virtuoso to wipe these people's minds. We'll be comprised otherwise," Rick Flag said, unmindful of King Faraday's joke that failed to get a chuckle out of him.
"Why don't you try calling Waller if you're so worried? We can just put those scumbags down if it comes to it..." King Faraday replied, rolling his eyes at Rick, to which the latter sighed and made the call.
...
'And that's all I needed...' I mused, broadly grinning under my helmet as I watched Rick Flag contact Amanda Waller and immediately activated my personal computer power to trace the call.
As much as I wanted to take credit for the delay in Nightshade's arrival, I wasn't that shameless. It was a lucky coincidence, which I took advantage of without hesitation.
It might have seemed irresponsible for Rick Flag to call Amanda Waller so casually. But he wasn't using any old regular phone. He used a protected one likely made with security in mind.
The signal didn't directly connect to Waller's phone, but a satellite (government owned) and encrypted to hell and back. Though, it was nothing that I couldn't crack with time.
As long as I knew where the signal was heading, I could hack into it later and find Waller and the Task Force X database by proxy, which was all I came here to do.
My job complete, I turned to leave and immediately froze at the sight of a rippling dark circle that seemed to bend the very space around it. I cursed my luck as I slowly moved back to a corner, holding my breath and standing still.
The circle stabilized after a second, and a woman wearing a black and purple tight full-body suit walked through, followed by another wearing a fancy black dress and carrying a violin.
"Missed the mark again. Why am I not surprised?" the brunette with the violin mockingly said as she turned to her companion after noticing the distance between them and Rick Flag.
"Shut your mouth and follow me, Virtuoso. We have work to do," the other woman who opened the portal instructed, ignoring the attempted insult as she walked towards Rick Flag.
Virtuoso clicked her tongue in annoyance but still followed all the same. Rick Flag and King Faraday noticed the two women's presence and met them halfway.
"You sure took your time. What happened?" Rick Flag questioned as he stood before the two brunettes, his blank gaze alternating between their faces.
"Princess here was throwing another tantrum at Waller..." Virtuoso replied, mockingly grinning as she gestured to Nightshade, who didn't seem too amused at the remark.
"Called it..." King Faraday commented from the side with an 'I told you' face as he turned to Rick, to which the latter could only sigh in exasperations while palming his face.
"No matter, let's get to work. Virtuoso," Rick Flag said, turning to the violinist and gesturing towards a balcony overlooking the area where The Penguin's goons were still working on unloading the villains.
"With pleasure..." Virtuoso replied, nodding her head with a widening smile as she walked to the balcony, raising her violin to her shoulder and clearing her throat.
The violinist looked like she had something to say as if she'd already prepared a post-performance speech, but a stern glare for Rick Flag caused her to sigh and immediately start playing.
Blue musical notes materialized in the air around her and slowly floated towards the bewildered criminals. They began to panic, but it was too late as every one of them stiffened and turned motionless once touched.
'Mother fucker...' I internally cursed as I gritted my teeth, feeling the urge to punch something while watching the spectacle. One could argue that they were merely criminals and had it coming, but no one deserved to have their minds messed with like that. Fucking no one.
Watching such a scene, I felt my anger rise, but I forcefully suppressed it and turned to leave again, but it was not meant to be.
Having finished her work, Virtuoso grinned as she got off the balcony and slowly walked towards Rick Flag. "I heard that Bronze Tiger and the one that helped him escape are in Gotham..." She said as she stopped before the government agent.
"Once we catch them, you should give them to me. I'll turn them into obedient little soldiers in a matter of days..." she concluded.
I took a deep breath and began chanting the lines Benjamin taught me, attempting to calm myself. But the steel wire materialized in my hand, and I was out of my invisibility before I knew it.
"Bitch!" I exclaimed as I took out Ebony and my steel wire. Everyone immediately turned to me, and stopped what they were doing as they turned to me, surprised by my sudden appearance.
"I'll fucking kill you if you so much as breath on them!" I screamed, and they exchanged glances before jumping into action. Virtuosos aimed her violin at me and started playing, shooting her blue notes in my direction.
Rick And Faraday immediately took out their guns and opened fire, while Nightshade opened a portal and disappeared to god knows where, but I didn't care.
Thinking on the top of my head, I poured energy into my steel wire and swung it at the musical notes, and they fell apart, dissipating into blue particles, much to my surprise.
I had absolutely no plan and was acting out of pure dumb anger, so the realization that I could protect myself from the bitch's mind-fuckery was an instant relief.
I allowed the two agents' bullets to bounce right off my trench coat and returned fire, causing them to duck into cover as I approached the violinist, to which she flinched and stepped back.
I kept firing at the two agents, using my ricochet mastery to harass them from cover to cover, while I kept my eyes on Virtuoso as I charged her, much to panic.
The violinist immediately resumed playing, furiously sending rows upon rows of musical notes towards me, which I casually ripped to shreds. She panicked, realizing her power wouldn't work on me, and turned to run.
I started sprinting and closed the distance in a mere second, prepared to tackle the violinist and turn her into a bloody smear on the ground, but a dark portal opened before me, and an arrow flew through it, straight towards my face.
I stopped and moved my head to avoid the attack, and more followed as a giant, pale man with a rotten face and tattered clothes jumped through and swung at me.
'Solomon Fucking Grundy...' I mused, frowning as I raised my gun and started firing at the humongous undead while moving backward as more and more people stepped through the portal.
'Merlyn, Deadshot, Lady Vic, Marauder... and Harley Quinn...' I noted the newcomers as I increased my pace to dodge the rain of projectiles flying toward me and the two brutes charging me (Grundy and Marauder).
"Born on a Monday!" Being the first to reach me, the slow-witted zombie remarked as he swung his gigantic fist at me with incredible speed you wouldn't expect from anyone his size.
I put my gun away and reached for his wrist, diverting his punch to the side and moving forward. I put my shoulder to his chest and caught his wrist, spinning and using him as a human shield before throwing him towards Marauder.
The two brutes, one mechanical and one undead, crashed against each other and flew away with a loud thud.
I looked around, trying to locate Virtuoso, and was greeted with a baseball bat flying right towards my face before I could find her, prompting me to block the attack with my forearm.
"Sorry puddin', but I'm gonna have to kick yer ass, or my brain goes splat..." Harley said, grinning as she looked into my eyes and raised her baseball bat to strike again.
The only answer I gave her was silence as I kicked her away once I found my target. I ran towards the violinist, and the two sharpshooters, Merlyn and Deadshot, promptly opened fire along with Faraday and Flag.
I kept running, dodging, and weaving through the hail of projectiles, but evading everything proved too much even for me. Still, I tanked whatever hit me, including Merlyn's special explosive arrows that only staggered and slowed me down.
I finally reached the violinist again, ready to strike her down and vent my anger, but another dark portal opened before me, a hand sticking out of it and grasping at me.
I scowled at the hindrance and caught the hand, pulling it and its owner, Nightshades, towards me. I slammed her to the ground and prepared to knock her out, but Marauder interfered, smashing into me with his shoulder and pushing me away.
I retrieved my sword, plunging it into the ground to halt my momentum, and lunged at the red cyborg. He held his ground, spreading his arms as multiple small hatches opened in his mechanical body, launching mini-missiles.
I put away my sword, taking out my steel wire and Ebony as I started shooting down the incoming projectiles one by one, only to swat away any that came close with the wire.
I had no leeway to dodge anymore, and almost every shot that the sharpshooters took hit, but I was still shrugging them off until I reached Marauder.
At the end of my patience, I didn't feel particularly merciful and launched a full-powered, energy-enhanced punch at the cyborg's midsection, blowing a hole in the middle.
To confirm he wouldn't get up again, I activated my network crash power and watched as the cyborg's eyes dimmed, and he fell to the ground in a heap of scrap.
However, my victory was short-lived as Grundy came crashing down on me and caught me in a bear-zombie hybrid hug which I felt despite my superhuman durability.
To make things worse, I looked up and saw Nightshade weirdly gesturing with her hand to open another portal that brought even more enemies.
...
'Captain Boomerang, Copperhead, Double Down, and there's still more...' I noted as I watched the trio walk out the gate, accompanied by even more costumed freaks I didn't recognize and a bunch of government agents.
I sighed, going still in Grundy's arms to think for a second since he was protecting me from getting shot, ironically enough. Even more, ironically, I still didn't feel like leaving.
The situation might seem bad, but only three people in this room could pose any threat to me here. Marauder, Deadshot, and Grundy. The rest were just numbers.
Marauder was already down, and Deadshot didn't have the time to pull off a batman and build some whack-ass custom-made rifle specifically designed to probe my ass or something.
Grundy? The slow, dimwitted zombie was where I wanted him, believe it or not. He might have pinned my arms, but I have other ways to attack, and I could easily escape whenever I wanted.
"Wraith, Right? Why are you here? How did you find this place?" Rick Flag blankly said as he approached me, stopping before Grundy and looking me in the eye after giving me once over.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" I replied with a scoff. "Though I could ask you the same question, what's an elite soldier and government agent like you doing here, consorting with these convicted super villains?" I asked, looking around the room.
"And that chick in purple over there, isn't she a hero from the capital? I wonder what people would think if they find out this kind of shit is going on right under their noses..." I calmly concluded, chuckling as I kept my eye on Virtuoso, but the bitch was smart enough to maintain her distance.
"I imagine they'd be upset. But you'd need to get out of here to tell the tale first," Rick Flag said with a smile, shaking his head. "Why don't you make it easier on yourself and start talking?" he added, gesturing to the crowd of government agents and supervillains surrounding me.
"Look around you, son. You've already lost," he concluded, his expression hardening as he stepped forward and reached for my riot gear, clearly intent on unmasking me.
"All I see is dead men walking," or so I badly wanted to say, but that would be lame as fuck since I wasn't about to commit mass murder, but you get the idea.
I retrieved my steel wire and sent it flying at Grundy's eye, causing him to scream in agony as he let go of me. Capitalizing on my advantage, I injected energy into the wire and decapitated the undead brute with one swift swing.
Turning back to Rick Flag, I quickly caught him as he tried to flee. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, pointing Ebony at his head.
"You seem to misunderstand the situation... I'm not stuck here with you..." I said, using my steel wire to swing us away into a corner to make sure no one sneaks up on me.
"You're all stuck here with me," I added, making up for the missed quote opportunity, and Harley was quick to cheer and whistle, ruining the moment much to my chagrin.
Still, I delivered the quote and didn't get dragged into solitary to get beat up by a punch of fat, sweaty jail guards, so it's still a win as far as I'm concerned.
"Now be a good hostage and call Waller for me before I blow your fucking brains out," I remarked, pushing the barrel of my gun against the agent's head, and the only response I received was silence.
I sighed, lowering the pistol and shooting the government agent's foot to emphasize my point. He grunted in pain and twitched but still said nothing, clearly refusing to give in to my demands.
"Wait," King Faraday said, frowning as he watched me raise the gun to shoot Rick Flag in the arm next. "You won't get anything out of Rick even if you kill him. I'll call Waller for you," he added as he retrieved a phone from his pocket and fiddled with it.
He put it on speaker, and I could hear a firm feminine voice from the other side. "Agent Faraday?" Amanda Waller said in a questioning tone as she picked up the call.
"Our guest here specifically asked to speak with you. He's taken agent Flag hostage," Faraday replied, causing Waller to go quiet, likely contemplating how the situation turned this way.
"Give him the phone," Waller instructed, and Faraday obliged, nodding as he threw the phone at me, prompting me to scoff at the obvious bait.
'Nice try, buddy,' I mused, using my steel wire to catch the phone without letting go of my gun or my hold over Rick Flag.
It was the oldest trick in the book; throw something at the bad guy holding a hostage, and attack while he's distracted. I'd have to be fucking daft to fall for that kind of shit after all the movies and shit I've watched.
"Amanda The Wall Waller, Task Force X director, and the coldest bitch to ever work for the US government," I said as I put the phone near my face while keeping it on speaker.
I've already fucked up any chance of peacefully or subtly solving the conflict, so there was no point in hiding my cards. There was only one way this was going to end.
"You seem to know a good deal about my team and myself while I know little about you..." Amanda replied, maintaining a calm tone. "Care to even the playing field?" she added.
"Not one bit. You already know all you need to give me what I want," I replied, maintaining my posture and pretending to be oblivious as I watched Nightshade inching away towards a corner where I couldn't see her.
"And what is it that you want, exactly?" Amanda asked after a second of silence, and I immediately realized she was trying to buy time as her usual reply would have been to hang up on my face.
I didn't really care since I was trying to buy time myself. It would take me days of work to trace Waller's Signal through the satellite, but now that I had a direct link to her, I could easily pull it off in a minute or two.
"I want you to fuck out of Gotham and never come back. Not you, not any of the bitches you've got on a leash," I mockingly added as I looked at the gathered supervillains, who were none too pleased by my remark.
"And leave the bitch with the violin too," I concluded as I turned to Virtuoso, and she visibly flinched, seemingly confused and frightened in equal measure.
"You know I can't-" That was all Waller could say before I hung up the call myself, having already traced her signal. I had no more reasons to keep the conversation going.
I raised my gun and fired at the ceiling, watching as the bullet ricocheted and hit Nightshade, who was already behind cover away from my sight, attempting to open a portal.
The bullet hit her, and she was out cold, but it didn't reach her in time before she opened the portal, and sure enough, I could already spot a towering blue-skinned brute walking through it.
'Fucking King Shark...' I mused, my expression darkening as I watched the 7-foot-tall humanoid shark walk from behind cover, his nose twitching as he caught the smell of blood in the air.
"Shit..." Captain Boomerang, who was the closest to King Shark, said, immediately turning to flee as he noticed the latter's eyes turning red at the smell of blood.
However, he did not get far before the humanoid shark lunged at him, pinning him to the ground and biting his head off his neck.
King Shark growled as he surveyed the area and jumped towards a cluster of government agents, intent on shredding them to pieces. However, he stopped, his body stiffening as visible arcs of electricity coursed over his body.
He stopped moving, still seeming as if he wanted nothing more than biting the government agents' heads off, but the loud ringing from the oversized metallic belt he wore calmed him down.
The humanoid shark scowled and turned to me as his eyes reverted to normal. He began approaching me at a rapidly increasing pace, and something told me the hostage in my hand wouldn't do much to stop him.
...
'Now that's troublesome...' I mused as I knocked out Rick Flag and swung away before the humanoid could reach me. I then retrieved Ivory and started rapidly firing.
I frowned as I watched the medium energy output bullets dissipate without slowing down the humanoid shark. However, I didn't have time to overthink it as the sharpshooters went to work, sending a hail of projectiles flying toward me.
'I need to thin out the numbers, or I'll be in trouble soon...' I surveyed the area and quickly came up with a plan of action. Maneuvering myself in the air while dodging bullets, I landed amidst the crowd of nameless government agents.
They were quick to react as one of them was already swinging his electric rod at me before my feet could touch the ground. I adjusted my posture and kicked the man in the face, using him as leverage to send myself flying toward another agent with a gun aiming at me.
The latter adjusted his aim and tried to shoot me as I landed, but I caught his wrist, moved it to the side, and forced him to shoot two of his fellows in the legs before I spun around and sent him flying and knocking even more of his buddies.
Suddenly, a flash of copper appeared as Copperhead swiped at me with claws that dripped green deadly venom. I won't lie; I didn't see the surprise attack coming, which was astonishing, considering Copperhead's gaudy fashion choices.
If I was a little slower, the swipe might have hit, not that it would have done any damage, but it was still impressive enough for me to prioritize knocking him out and neutralizing his threat.
After dodging, I punched at Copperhead's chest and was surprised to see his body contort unnaturally, causing my attack to miss, but I had enough control to stop my fist and swing at his head.
My attack connected, and I only realized I put too much strength into it out of surprise too late as I watched the serpentine assassin go flying with blood gushing out of his ears and nose.
'Shit...' I internally cursed, hoping I didn't just kill another person because of my lack of control. However, I didn't have time to dwell on the subject as King Shark was rapidly approaching like a particularly enraged cargo truck.
I retrieved my wire, ready to swing away, but two government agents quickly lunged at me, clinging to my legs. They didn't stop me, but they slowed me down for half a second before I pried them.
Half a second might seem like a short time, but it was nothing to scoff at when a gigantic humanoid shark was charging toward you with all his might.
King Shark closed the distance before I could move away and caught my leg just as I was finally in the air, and I immediately put away my steel wire, channeling energy into my free foot.
I kicked at the humanoid shark's arm to force him into letting of me, but he merely grunted in pain before slamming me to the ground. I didn't suffer any damage because of my hardened skin, but the impact drove the air out of my lung and dizzied me.
I gasped for breath, quickly rolling to the side as King Shark tried to stomp me to the ground. I then retrieved my Ebony and Ivory and started firing at the humanoid shark's face, targeting his eyes.
He raised his hands to shield his vulnerable eyes, but he was slow as one managed to hit him in the corner of his eyes, causing him to reel back, roaring in agony.
I kept firing as I made use of King Shark's brief distraction to retrieve my steel wire, wrapping it around the closest ledge and using it to pull me away from the amphibian brute.
However, I barely moved a couple of meters before an explosive arrow hit the ledge my wire was latching on to, obliterating it and stopping my momentum.
'Fucking Merlin... I need to neutralize him...' I pushed myself off the ground and jumped back as King Shark recovered and came swinging at me to widen the distance between us.
Looking around, I quickly found the bow master, and he was already knocking another arrow while aiming at me. I dodged as he let it loose and started sprinting towards him.
More government agents threw themselves at me, but I didn't even spare them the time and kept running, bulldozing everything in my way. If I'm to have a chance at winning here, I'd need to keep moving and never stay still for more than a second or two.
Thus, Merlin needed to go as it would be impossible for me to move around as much as I liked with the bastard blowing up every ledge I latch on to with my steel wire.
The bow master was quick to react, moving away from me without stopping his barrage of arrows, utilizing cover and his bow's flexibility to shoot arrows without giving me a clear shot over him.
I still fired several energy projectiles, hoping to catch him off guard with my ricocheting bullets, but he'd already seen it before and managed to avoid getting hit.
I still managed to close the distance relatively quickly despite Merlin's efforts, even as Dead shot and the other sharpshooters kept sniping me from a distance, and a dozen or so agents threw themselves at me.
However, I was interrupted before I could take Merlin out of the fight as a line of blue musical notes came at me, forcing me to divert my attention away from the bow master.
Gritting my teeth in frustration, I infused energy into my steel wire and ripped the notes to shreds, turning back to Merlin, only to find that he'd already fled and created more distance between us.
To make things worse, Deadshot shot a flash grenade that exploded right in front of my face, blinding me momentarily, and by the time I regained my vision, King Shark was already upon me.
The humanoid shark rammed me with his shoulders and sent me crashing into the nearest wall. I quickly recovered and jumped out of the way as King Shark came sprinting to finish the job and turn me into a bloody pancake.
'They're adapting to my fighting style... fuck...' I internally cursed as I resumed moving, watching as the sharpshooters did all they could to stay away from me, content with shooting from a safe distance as they watched King Shark chasing me around the vicinity.
'I need to stop holding back or leave before I get overwhelmed...' I mused, analyzing the situation as I debated my options and tried to figure out the best course of action.
If I stopped holding back and utilized everything I have, taking care of everyone here (at the risk of casualties) wouldn't take much effort except for King Shark.
Still, even if the situation turned into a one-on-one fight between King Shark and myself, I wasn't sure I could beat the humanoid shark since he was a recurring enemy of Superboy. You know the one, Superman's angry clone or cousin or something.
I'd also have to display more power than I was comfortable with, and I honestly had no idea if someone was hiding in the shadows somewhere, watching the fight.
However, I might blow away any chance I had to neutralize Amanda Waller and make sure she doesn't become a future headache now that I blew my cover and went guns blazing.
Amanda now knew that I knew about her, and even though I managed to track her down with the call, I had no idea how secure the Task Force X database was and how long it would take me to break into it.
How Waller would react during that time might make me into an official enemy of the US government and put a massive target over my back that most heroes would be happy to go after.
In other words, I needed to oust Waller and her Suicide Squad to the public before she manipulated the facts and did the same to me.
I had a plan for that, but I'd need to beat down everyone here for it to work, which wasn't possible without killing some and possibly causing the entire thing to backfire.
'Fuck it... one more try...' I concluded, intent on trying to win the fights without killing one last time.
If it still doesn't work? Well, I'll just have to look out for number one and do what needs to be done.
...
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