AN: Don't know if this would get me in trouble, but I have included the extended scene of Grieves getting viciously mauled. Though not in full detail. Don't know if that will be where the M rating will be slapped on this story. And this chapter was supposed to show the full collapse of Jotunheim (and the fall of another squad member), but I don't want to make this chapter too long. Hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter 17 - Peace is Not a Task, It is Given

Ratcatcher II is the last to wake up. She can hear the quiet threats Mongal is making to the groaning Grieves, the stuttering from Boomerang over the hopelessness of their situation and the squeaking of Sebastian trying to wake her up. She is covered in grey dust and a few cuts on her face despite not getting into a fight yet. As she slowly comes to, she gets up, blinking.

It's a bit disoriented for her, but she manages to see the image of Boomerang running to her.

"About time you're up," said Boomerang, his voice lacking any mirth. "C'mon up, mate. We got to scram now."

Ratcatcher II blinked. She finds herself having enough energy getting up. She is lying on a bed of rubble, the ceiling nearly gone. Everything is already a mess like a tornado really struck this time for sure. Looking at what is behind Boomerang, she finds Mongal glaring down at the recovering Grieves.

"...you wretched soul could have thought twice using a Star Conqueror," is all Ratcatcher II is able to hear from the seething alien. "If I could, I would have left you and your accomplices here to rot. But it seems that Flag is right; your arrogance needs to be told to serve a better punishment for your callousness and misuse of a monster no one can control. You deserve to have your image tarnished."

Grieves barely pays attention to her as he slowly got onto his hands and knees. His head is already an ugly mess due to missing bulbs on his head. Bloodied and shaken, he turns around and his fears are confirmed.

The large window is broken. If the tower about to collapse isn't the worst, then THIS is for Grieves.

"What have you people done?!" shouted Grieves.

Before he can crawl away, white tentacles suddenly shot from the smoking window, wrapping around Grieves' trembling body. They barely hit Mongal, Boomerang or Ratcatcher II, wanting to get their first victim. Grieves struggles to get out of its grip, feeling several tentacles wrapping around his arms, legs and his throat. When it lifts him up, he tries to use his legs to run, but that just leads him to fall back onto all fours.

Eventually, the tentacles prove to be strong enough as they pull the howling doctor right toward the window. Not even digging his nails into the floor is enough to save him. The three criminals watch in horror and amazement as Grieves disappears in the smoke.

"We got to go now!" said Ratcatcher II.

"Hold on a minute," said Mongal confidently. "I believe we can have a mutual discussion with the Star Conqueror."

A loud roar shook the entire place. It would have been enough to cave the entire ceiling in again.

"Lady, this is not the time now!" said Boomerang, grabbing Ratcatcher II by her arm. "We're not even safe!"

"It hasn't got everything it wants," remarked Mongal, taking a step forward. "We should help free it."

"We are not going to be free when it free itself!" snarled Boomerang, grabbing Mongal. "Come on!"

With the loud growling from the giant starfish booming the place, this is enough to convince the trio to try to escape. They try to run back to where the elevator is, but both corridors are blocked off. There are at least two holes on both sides, but the ashes and rocks falling right through serve as a sign that it is not the safest path despite light shining through.

There is a loud bang and Ratcatcher II turns around to see where it is coming from. A gigantic blue and pink appendage burst through the window, stretching and crashing through the walls to find its next prey. Smashing angrily through the rubble surrounding it, willing to destroy everything in its path as well.

"So he does want to kill us," said Mongal flatly.

"No s**t!" shouted Boomerang.

Sebastian squeaks loudly to catch the three criminals' attention. He runs to their left, encouraging them to go through the narrow gap between the mountain of rubble. He has sniffed another way out through the emergency exit.

"Good work, Sebastian," said Ratcatcher II, following him.

"So your rat has a good smell range," said Mongal, nodding. "Impressive."

Ratcatcher II, Boomerang and Mongal quickly got into the safety of the rubble, just as the white tentacles begin searching around the empty space. As they advance, they don't need to worry about it for that since the appendage is retracting back anyway.

In the center of the dirt, Starro pulls his appendage out from the window, his large eyeball glaring at Grieves in his tentacles. Finally up close and personal, the gigantic starfish alien growls in burning anger. Pointing his hatred at the one guy who put him through too many experiments for decades. The sight of the scared and pleading doctor just pisses him off.

"OK, OK, we gotta calm down," whimpered Grieves, absolutely fearing for how the alien is going to play with him this time. "Let's all just-let's just talk about this! I understand where you're coming from! I crossed the line!"

Starro only responds by wrapping his white tentacles tightly around Grieves' limbs, pulling them upwards.

"OK! I crossed a line!" cried Grieves desperately as he feels his limbs being pulled in all directions. "I realized that! But I'm ready to change! I'M READY TO CHANGE! AND I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT YAAAAAAARGH!"

Starro pulled Grieves' limbs so hard that his right arm and leg gets ripped off, swinging his body right against a window. One splat and a stain of blood are left there. When Starro hears a groan from Grieves, he slams him again. Grieves groans more, but it seems to be the last. As Starro pulls him back, he gets to see the state of the doctor's body. With seemingly broken all bones, Grieves is nothing more than a mangled pre-pulp and a disjointed jaw.

The starfish alien suddenly remembers back to his nightmares of seeing Grieves. Having the same reddish, ugly grin before electrocuting him for real. It is through his mini clones that Grieves is able to use to connect to Starro, he has been battered by the mad doctor for too long. Too long since he has been left here scared and confused. But now, he gets to rip this man apart, but seeing his face just scares Starro.

And the more the face scares him, the more frustrated he gets.

Starro lets out a loud roar before swinging Grieves back at the window. His nightmare seems to be over when Grieves' entire body splatters like a bug.

On the other side of the dirtied window, Peacemaker slowly awakens, unaware of Grieves' death. As he slowly comes to his senses, he notices that his helmet has rolled off. That allows him to give him a reflection of Flag slowly getting up…and finding the red hard drive next to him.

Both men quickly turn around, seeing that the drive hasn't been destroyed yet. Flag immediately pounces on it, but Peacemaker quickly tries to subdue him for it. The two of them start to get into a full fistfight, intent on being the last to carry the evidence about Project Starfish.

Flag finds himself nearly outmatched due to Peacemaker's massive strength and bulky build. He had to rely on anything he can grab to defend himself. While Flag is aware that he is in a mess and he is fighting against a person who probably can overpower him easily, he musters all the anger and sorrow from what he learned, using it against his opponent. Flag didn't back down from this fight, wanting to make sure that Peacemaker - a symbol of what America stands for - stays down.

Peacemaker is nearly lost in his determination to stop Flag, but his mind is on peace. Wanting to achieve this peace. If this hard drive gets sent to the world, then that means the world will never be at peace. He'll never find his peace ever. Protecting this world is what his purpose meant to be, no matter how much it takes. No matter how much he has to do, he'll do it, so that he can fulfill his long-growing vow.

As the fight moves through several rooms and into what appears to be a feeding section, the Starro-infected test subjects watch from the grinds. All eyes became the spectators, linking to Starro watching the entire fight. The starfish alien considers killing the squad since Grieves told him that they were going to kill him, but it doesn't seem to be that way anymore. At least not for all of them under what they desire.

He can see how battered and furious Flag is as he throws containers, punches and kicks at Peacemaker. This one realizes what Grieves and the government did wrong to him. Even if Starro may die, Flag would want to show to the world how much they treated Starro and the poor, innocent souls wrongly. He's doing this as a way to free himself from the misery of being trapped.

Eventually, the two men crash right into the bathroom section with Flag having enough strength to throw Peacemaker right at the urinals. Broken pieces of plastic fly everywhere, nearly cutting into their skin. As Peacemaker coughs out blood from his mouth, Flag stumbles onto his feet, his stamina nearly running out. However, seeing his enemy still alive gives him enough determination to take him down.

Flag rolls right on top of Peacemaker, placing a pipe right on top of his neck to choke him. Enough to hopefully make him unconscious and spare Flag himself time to regroup and escape. A curse ran through Flag's lips, but it nearly sounds like gibberish or a snarl. Flag is far in his rage to think of stopping. His eyes burned in anger, wanting to make sure that Peacemaker doesn't get away from it.

This ultimately leads to Flag's own death when Peacemaker wildly grabs a shard of broken tile nearby and stabs Flag right in the chest.

Flag freezes, letting go of the pipe. Another big mistake. Peacemaker slams it further. If one takes a closer look, the shard rams right into his heart, causing massive amounts of blood to gush out of it. The awareness of this comes in as Flag suddenly feels pain spreading throughout his entire chest. It is unlike anything he felt before, more than getting hit or stabbed on any other parts.

Then, the dizziness. Flag can feel his mind slowly fading due to the lack of blood running through his head. Eventually, all of his stamina is used and this further drives home that he isn't going to wake up sooner than he thinks. He is dying for real. There is no quick way to save him before his heart is further beyond repair.

Memories flashed through Flag's eyes. From meeting June Moone for the first time in his life, alone and scared, to meeting the first formation of Task Force X, a bunch of baddies who change his life, to joining this crazy team, getting such an adventure. Now, he realizes that he may not be able to come back out alive with his friends or Moone. He is done for.

And Peacemaker and Waller got what they want. It would have been for the best, but Flag's efforts for trying to expose the truth are held back. The rest of the world would be left in ignorance blissfully and America may go on creating more dirty little secrets. His sense of justice got him here, but at the cost of his life and future.

Who is going to take care of the rest of the squad? Who will help reveal the evidence to the world about how twisted his country is? Who is going to look after Moone for him?

Flag breaks out from his silent distress to see Peacemaker's horrified look. The sudden kill and the saddened, betrayed look on the colonel's face must have snapped him out of his desperation. For what it was worth, Peacemaker has nothing but respect toward him. Needing to kill Flag on his own accord is what drives him to murder, but he never thought he would be able to get through this. This is probably the first time Peacemaker ever gets to think through killing someone.

With tearful eyes, Flag scoffs. "'Peacemaker'. What a joke."

Those last words of hatred from his last breath reaches through Peacemaker as Flag slumps to the floor, his eyes wide open. The former remains on top of him, trying to regain his composure from what he has just done. He did what he has to do, so this is the right thing, right? Is this worth protecting his country and protecting wars from happening?

His quiet moment pauses upon seeing the red hard drive Flag dropped. Right in time to see Ratcatcher II, Boomerang and Mongal who came from crawling underneath the rubble. The three criminals stare at Flag's body before looking back up at the blood-splattered Peacemaker. There is no need to ask what really happened.

Peacemaker notices the lack of expression they had. No narrowed eyes. No clenched teeth. Just looks of coldness, shock and disappointment. Ratcatcher II looks especially betrayed as she slowly reaches in to take the drive.

This is what turns him back into doing his mission.

"...kid, hand me the drive," whispered Peacemaker.

Ratcatcher II refuses to listen, getting right onto her feet. Boomerang follows her, finding the door to the emergency staircase. However, as they are about to make a run for it, Mongal quickly blocks the stumbling Peacemaker from getting to them.

"Mongal!" shouted Boomerang. "What are you doing?!"

"Go!" demanded Mongal. "I'll hold him off!"

Boomerang and Ratcatcher II stare at the alien warrior. While they may not have that much time to know the alien warrior, there is a sense of dread that they are going to lose another member of their squad. Even when everyone seems to be getting along well. This might be when everyone is going to die. With a teary look, Ratcatcher II turns away as she pulls Boomerang right up the stairs.

Peacemaker scoffs as he gets up, getting through the pain. "Haven't you had enough?"

Mongal's eyes glowed dangerously, summoning her blades. "I would have asked the same."

The two of them get into another fight. While Peacemaker has his strength, his weariness and frustration nearly become no match against Mongal's fresh fury, agility and weapons. He keeps dodging as she swings her blades around, entering the feeding section again. Peacemaker tries to charge in with a punch, but Mongal quickly hops onto him.

Taking inspiration from her observations on Harley and Javelin, Mongal wraps her legs around Peacemaker before pulling him back as if wanting to pop open his head. While that didn't work, it does throws Peacemaker to the ground while Mongal rolls back onto her feet. She lifts one of her blades upwards and swings it down for the final blow.

Unfortunately, Peacemaker manages to grab both flat sides of the blade before it can touch his nose before swinging it downwards. Him using all of his strength is enough to send Mongal falling down. Peacemaker then rolls around and jumps up, landing right on top of the alien warrior. With her blade in his hand, Peacemaker starts slamming the blade right into the back of her neck.

Mongal let out a scream of agony, feeling the blade cutting right into her skin. Peacemaker does this again, eliciting another scream. A third. A fourth. He can start to see blood spilling out and what appears to be her flesh. A fifth. Mongal's neck is dangerously close to its half being cut off.

The alien warrior grits her teeth, growling in rising anger and pain. Her time is nearly up, but at least she buys her squad enough time to escape. At least she can live with the fact that Harley and Javelin will escape.

She lets out one last yell of defiance. "YOU LYING MOTHERFU-!"

Mongal never gets to finish as Peacemaker swings the blade right back into her neck again, decapitating her. Her head bounces off, red blood gushing out from the stump of the head and the neck. This time, Peacemaker barely bats an eye for his victim.

The Starro-infected test subjects moan at the sight of the fallen Flag and Mongal.

Meanwhile, Ratcatcher II and Boomerang finally reach the surface. They find the entire room about to collapse, light breaking through the now huge gaps in the walls and doors. They can hear shouting above the crumbling, but they just want to get out. They don't care if they get surrounded. If they find a way out, then they will be safe.

As the two try to run and Ratcatcher II takes out a wand, Peacemaker suddenly arrives and pushes Boomerang down alongside Ratcatcher II. He then slams his foot right onto Boomerang's neck, seizing him from running away.

"W-What?" choked out Boomerang, wheezing for air.

Ratcatcher II looks up, her eyes widening at the sight of a bloodied and exhausted Peacemaker pointing his gun at her.

"I told you not to release that info!" he yelled. "F**k!"

"OK, destroy the hard drive!" cried Ratcatcher II tearfully. "Why kill me?"

Peacemaker feels a large lump in his throat. That is the question. Why should he kill Ratcatcher II? The red hard drive is nearby, so he can destroy it. Boomerang can't move around and his boomerangs are out of reach, still inside his coat. Sebastian is right next to the shivering Ratcatcher II, but has no effect to stop him except for begging for mercy.

If he kills them, then he might lose one of his closest friends.

But he cannot concentrate on that. The peace of the world is significantly important compared to just one life.

Peacemaker swallows his conscience, turning off the safety of his gun.

"Because I'm thorough," he said, his voice breaking.

"What?" whispered Ratcatcher II, realizing what he is about to do."

"No…" croaked Boomerang, his hands trying to grab anything to help.

"I'm sorry, kid," said Peacemaker, inches away from pulling the trigger.

Ratcatcher II shields herself, unable to face being killed by someone she trusts so dearly…

8 minutes earlier…

The cries of soldiers outside are what catches Bloodsport's attention to look out from the window. They have been drilling through any soldiers left in Jotunheim and not stopping, but it seems that by the time they are close to finishing all the floors, that is when the rest will come in to try to burn them all down.

From the ground far below, he can make out the figures of more soldiers coming in with General Suarez with them.

"Ah, s**t," said Harley. "Everytime, they have to come when we are busy here?"

"Is…this a good time to run now?" asked Blackguard.

"Don't think of weaseling your way out, coward," hissed Javelin.

"We only got nine floors left," said Bloodsport. "If we blow them now, then it wouldn't be enough to destroy the whole tower."

"It would…maybe," muttered Polka-Dot Man.

"But we would need to make sure the whole tower collapse into the ground," said T.D.K. "We were meant to destroy every trace of Project Starfish after all."

"Hope that Flag and the others will be alright…"

"C'mon," said Bloodsport. "We shouldn't stay standing here. Let's go, go, go!"

As the current floor they are on hasn't been filled with explosives yet, Bloodsport, Harley, Javelin and Polka-Dot Man rush right through an entrance that leads through an office corridor. However, before T.D.K and Blackguard can join along, they notice that one of their teammates isn't focusing on the mission.

King Shark is starting to wander off, just finished planting a bomb on the brick wall.

"Uh…Nanaue?" called T.D.K. "Hold on, did I say that right?"

King Shark barely paid attention as if he is in a daze. He absentmindedly travels his way up a lonely row of stairs. That doesn't look like a staircase leading up to the next level, but instead more of another room that is separated from the rest.

"Nanaue?" said T.D.K again, tapping his foot. "Are you there, buddy?"

King Shark pauses for a moment. But it seems to be more of him inspecting the crack in the wall.

Blackguard groans, stomping toward the giant shark. "OK, stupid. Time's up. Let's go right now-!"

But the second he pulls on the dorsal fin, King Shark swings around with an agitated attempt to bite him. The blonde mercenary squeaks, jumping upwards and hiding beside T.D.K. The giant shark growls at the two. He pretty much only sees those two as just people since he didn't take that much time in getting to know them.

T.D.K glances at the cowardly Blackguard touching him. Yes, touching him for once. He never tries to touch someone on the shoulders or hips before. T.D.K glances back at King Shark.

T.D.K knows that he can make too many dangerous decisions. Some of them are flat-out pathetic. Even though he is wise enough not to provoke the shark, he knows that they can't explore Jotunheim like a vacation as much as anyone wants to. Remembering back to how Ratcatcher II told him how to approach King Shark properly, T.D.K took a deep breath.

"OK…sorry, Nanaue," said T.D.K, patting Blackguard's head to prompt him to let go. "My friend can get a bit…cranky, I guess. Look, I know that you want to play around, but our friends need help. We're on a mission, so…"

King Shark's glare seems to soften. He stops growling, but his heavy breathing doesn't seem to make Blackguard calmer. He looks back at the room he is about to go into and back at the two criminals.

"Plant bomb there?" he asked.

"Oh, really?" said Blackguard, crossing his arms. "That's so fast-"

"Hold on a minute," said T.D.K. "I guess that's fair. Makes it faster if we plant bombs up there. What do you say, friend?"

King Shark is surprised to hear this. "Friend?"

"Yes, friend."

For a moment, both of them are afraid that he would ignore them, but King Shark seems to accept their offer. In fact, him smiling probably tells them that he trusts them now. They aren't a threat to him and he will not be a threat to them. T.D.K flinches on instinct, but relaxes himself when King Shark is just jumping up and down giddily.

"C'mon, friends!" guffawed King Shark. "Come now!"

Excited over what they may find together, he rushes right into the room. Blackguard slowly stares at T.D.K, unable to believe what he just did.

"You're a shark tamer?" questioned the blonde mercenary.

The teal-cladded villain shrugged, grinning. "Not really. I'm more of an alien expert."

"That you know of."

Blackguard and T.D.K catch up with King Shark, wondering what they'll find. At first, they all start to plan where they should glue the explosives at. However, when they are under the blanket of blue light, this is what causes them to forget about their current mission. It feels so unlike the rest of the grim, boring and creepy tower. It is more…enchanting.

Wanting to get close to the vibrant blue color, they enter the large circular room. Stretching from one side to the other is a glass wall with water on the other side. A full-built water tank like it is an aquarium complete with sand, coral and rock formations for any fish to hide in. It looks so identical to under the sea that it could have come from a fairy tale story.

King Shark gapes as he looks through the turquoise-colored water. This reminds him of home. Where he used to swim before he was taken in by humans. When you can breathe underwater, you get to live with the fishes and the colorful coral formations around you without needing to worry about standing up or walking around through a maze of buildings. He has nearly forgotten what it is like to be back in the ocean. The one place where no one can call him a monster.

T.D.K and Blackguard aren't too behind him, having a mixture of amazement and confusion. This feels off for some reason. No scientist like Grieves would go out of their way to create a beautiful tank like this.

As King Shark gets closer to the tank, small colorful jelly creatures come out from hiding.

T.D.K and Blackguard swear that they are tripping.

Though, the way King Shark tilts his head shows that they aren't dreaming. These creatures swimming right towards them resemble some kind of jelly blob with big eyes and furry antennas. Must be something Grieves was experimenting on. At least they don't look too dangerous as a couple of them smoosh up against the glass. It is kind of funny with the way they do so. Maybe it is due to the big googly eyes they have.

To their surprise, the sea creatures are trying to get close to King Shark. The closest near the tank while the other two watch on. All the sea creatures got into a group before forming a shape similar to King Shark. The giant shark is amazed by this, jumping upwards. The creatures break out briefly before forming again in a bundle. King Shark does it again and the creatures repeat again, mushing up each other.

King Shark starts giggling. "New dumb friends!"

Excited to make new friends with these new animals, he starts running around the room. The creatures seem to play along with chasing him, following him without one dragging behind. Despite knowing that he has a group of people who are looking out for him, King Shark finds himself missing being around sea creatures. This is the closest to feeling like being in the sea.

Meanwhile, T.D.K and Blackguard stand there, watching the giant shark play with the fish.

"Come on," said Blackguard, turning on his heel. "We gotta go now."

On the other hand, T.D.K is mesmerized by what he sees. "On second thoughts, let's stay here for a while."

"What?! And get our heads blown for being inactive?!"

"Then maybe you'll be the one who can try to give the others an explanation of where he went," deadpanned T.D.K, sitting down. "Be cool for now. Take it as if we are having a break."

Blackguard grits his teeth. "W-Whatever! It's not like I really need one! I can go through the other levels just finely with those bombs we can create! I-I…I'm good at making them! And nothing can really stop me!" Eventually, he stops his rambling when he notes how tired and burnt out he feels. Climbing through Jotunheim probably doesn't help since his feet are already killing him. He does not want to be yelled at by Flag for wasting time, but…it would be better for him if he takes an opportunity to recover first. "Oh, good lord. Yo, you're probably right. I…I need some energy."

T.D.K smiles as Blackguard sits down. "There we go. Not so hard, isn't it?"

Blackguard sighs. "I…suppose so."

The blonde mercenary doesn't understand at first about taking a break here. However, being in a place that can resemble an aquarium suddenly makes him forget the seriousness of the whole mission in Corto Maltese. Like this is a breakaway from all the bloodiness and the grittiness of their environment. Seeing the colorful tank and the playful shark running around makes him feel as if he is a kid again.

Like how he feels like to be before he became a criminal…when things are more carefree and less stressful about how he would need to look out for himself.

T.D.K removes his helmet to reveal his risen eyebrow when he sees Blackguard relaxing. "There's something I…meant to ask you. I know that you probably don't want to reveal everything about why you became a criminal, but…why with the attitude towards the others so far? Why like this?"

Blackguard suddenly turns back to being uptight. "Don't get too attached, man. That's private business. Haven't Boomerang told you about his?"

"Turns out I didn't really need to," said T.D.K. "Yeah, he's a douchebag, crass and overly pompous. But he isn't that much of a bad dude to be around with. He isn't really the immediate lying type. It's clear that his time on the squad makes him a cooperative team member. And he's more open."

"That's the problem there," hissed Blackguard, pointing a finger at T.D.K. "You get too open; you get yourself into trouble. You shouldn't have brought up your reason for how you became a criminal since you would have been laughed at for your attempt in joining the Justice League."

The team-cladded supervillain frowns. "Sounds like something you would laugh at." And he knows that Blackguard didn't laugh before when he explained for the first time. "I just…want to give a full explanation of how I came here. Don't want to make things too vague. I know-know that my powers are a joke and I'm just…somebody in the crowd, but…there's always a time where I try to connect with others being my supposed death."

"Wouldn't you rather die than let others try to monetize your story?" pointed out the blonde mercenary.

"Maybe, but at least I know what I'm doing for what's good. Well, sort of. I want to carry on some kind of memory for others to remember."

"Funny that you say," scoffed Blackguard, crossing his arms. "Experience told me that you can't rely on anybody else to carry on your memory."

"Right, right," said T.D.K, holding his hands up in defense. "Sorry. It's just…nice hanging around you and Boomerang." He paused, biting his own lip. "I know you probably don't feel that way with how you act so highly-"

Blackguard raises a hand up, telling him to stop talking. However, this doesn't mean he didn't acknowledge what he was about to say. T.D.K saying that it was nice being around with Blackguard sounds foreign to the blonde mercenary. This isn't how he really interprets things to be. Well, to a degree, but seeing T.D.K considering Blackguard as a friend?

That is a surprising thing to know.

Blackguard is brought back to remember what happened back then when he and Polka-Dot Man were supposed to be checking on Grieves. How Blackguard was conflicted on defending T.D.K or saying things behind his back so that a third party could use this information to split the group up.

"Pitzner," said Blackguard, surprisingly softly. "Can…I be honest here? If…you REALLY mean it, then there is something I need to tell you. I'm not a good liar. Only good to not bother to tell. With the whole thing with Grieves last night, there is a reason why Krill shot him in the ear."

T.D.K leans in closely. "Why's that?"

Blackguard sighs, wrapping his arms around his legs. "He tried manipulating him. I would have come in to stop Grieves if it wasn't for him cutting into my skin as well. He…questioned if you are better than PDM."

The teal-cladded supervillain sat up, but there is barely any hatred he is showing off. "Wait, what? Don't…don't listen to what that man told you, Hertz. Aren't we all bad in a way? Polka-Dot Man has cool powers! He isn't useless. That scientist doesn't know that we are all equals on this team."

"No, it doesn't feel like it that way, Pitzner," growled Blackguard. "I'm talking about logic. Real-life stuff. S**t that tends to happen. I could have said that Polka-Dot Man was better than you. I really wanted to since I could see that Grieves was going too far with him. But…I'll admit. I'm a coward. So, I kept my mouth shut about it and look at how Grieves nearly influenced me to…" He pauses for a second. He feels embarrassed saying this, but he finds himself coming with how much he enjoyed being on the squad than he initially thought. "...lose you and Boomer."

"What? Hey, you didn't fall for sabotaging us a second time. And I wouldn't have taken Grieves' word seriously since he doesn't know about us."

"Whoa, man. You really don't take everything too personally?"

T.D.K thinks about it before shaking his head. "It's…not easy, I'll say. But I can't be a full jerkass to you, right? Besides, I'm sure everyone has some sound reasons. Even if you…are one, what would that make me if I do the same?"

A lump forms in Blackguard's throat. "Pitzner, the point is I ha-have really grown to be like this recently. You want to know why I act like this? I don't trust being in teams. A part of me DOES want to be with other people. Even if I have no regard for others, I don't want to be lonely for the rest of my life. However, being on a team is just crazy. And someday, I believe some kind of force - either you, someone else or an outsider - will take that away and I'll be kicked out once again." Blackguard stops for a moment, feeling something is killing him inside. But that is just his own anxiety, so he tries to push it aside. "I don't want to have that feeling of knowing that I f**ked something up somehow and thus, I would be the one to blame for no reason. That's why I tried taking the first opportunity of turning you all in, so that I can get through it without feeling guilty. I just…hate having the short stick."

T.D.K is rather surprised to hear this. From Blackguard trying to sell out the team when on the beach to his overall attitude towards him and Boomerang - even if they poked fun at Blackguard for acting this know-it-all - he seems to be aware of how bad he can be as a prick. But this is all in the survival of not falling behind. In fact, remembering back to Blackguard's background, T.D.K connects the pieces that would explain the blonde mercenary's indifference.

"With the 1000, is…that how you got kicked out?" he asked.

Blackguard wants to deny it, but he lowers his head. "It's not their fault. I was the dumb one."

T.D.K places a hand on Blackguard's shoulder. "You're not dumb now. Look at how much you have grown."

"No, don't say that," said Blackguard, slapping the hand away. "Me growing like this? I'm…a more terrible person than I was with the 1000. Maybe I picked the wrong squad to try to go against when Waller called me over. I deserve this…"

T.D.K doesn't know how to put it this way, but after all they went through, he can't be angry at Blackguard anymore. Not when he is working more effectively with the team than before.

"Well, put it this way," said T.D.K. "You're surprised at how much I stick around with you for. With all that jacking off, I remained by your side. I know we haven't gotten along, but it's fun having at least a few people I get to chat with. Someone who is feeling the same way as I do."

Blackguard rolls his eyes. "I don't think we are the same. Don't use that s**t on me."

"Not really. However, we both feel like we are nothing compared to the others. I still feel doubt about my own powers, but yet, I keep trying and they turn out to be helpful. Even Boomerang - the biggest douche - is impressed. I don't know about him, but the two of us don't really hold that much against you. You prove to be more than what you think to be a burden. And even more than a backstabbing slimeball."

Blackguard's lips tremble a little. It doesn't feel that way since he knows Squad A would still be mad at him.

"Then, how come I sometimes feel this way that there are people who know that they are right…and I am not?" he questioned.

T.D.K remains quiet for a while, thinking about it. "Everyone has their own rights, I suppose. It all depends on what should be fair to us, but also how we could have been fair to others. However, from what I can see, at least this isn't like back in Belle Reve. We had an amazing adventure with friends. All the other assholes got nothing but a miserable life with nobody to care for them when hanging onto life. I don't exactly know what you were like before, but from what I saw from you now, I like how you are now. You are a nice guy to hang around with."

"Even after…well, everything?" asked Blackguard, his voice cracking.

"Well, if I don't remember you in my memory when we worked as an excellent team together, then what would that make me?" asked T.D.K. "It wouldn't make me exactly right if I just left you like your team. You have good value, but…I sometimes feel that you're scared at times to try it out for good. Just like how I fell into becoming a criminal."

This is actually what got to Blackguard. Even though he is still stubborn enough to try to insist that he isn't vulnerable, he finds himself feeling…grateful that T.D.K does see something in him. Even after all that attitude, Blackguard proves his worth on the team and even his award of ten years of his sentence. Not only that, not everyone on the team continuously holds a grudge against him and even if they can, they didn't choose to betray him as he feared. He unintentionally redeemed himself.

He doesn't know why his story is written out like this, but it turns out that Boomerang and T.D.K never chose to leave when they got the chance to prove he was weak.

For nearly the first time, a genuine smile comes across Blackguard's face. "No wonder why you became a supervillain. You're…kind of like a hero in disguise."

T.D.K is surprised to hear this. "Oh, really? I…never thought that way.

"Yeah," said Blackguard, rubbing his arms. "Thank you, Pitzner. I owe you." Bad habits die hard however as he quickly tries to act rough. "Well, I-I mean until we get out of prison, of course."

T.D.K chuckles, knowing it's probably his way of saying thanks. "Sure then. Guess that we are now officially friends?"

"Dork," chuckled Blackguard with a raised eyebrow. "Don't bring out the bracelets for this."

"Come here, you!" said T.D.K, jokingly hugging Blackguard.

The blonde mercenary finds himself unprepared for the sudden embrace. It feels sort of nice. Though, it feels a bit too intimate.

"W-What? OK, please let go!" he pleaded uncomfortably. "You're making my face…warm up!"

"Just a little longer," said T.D.K, grinning.

CLICK!

"Wait, is that a gun underneath my dick?"

"Yes, it is one," said Blackguard bluntly.

"OK, OK," laughed T.D.K, letting go. "Call me if you want another one."

Blackguard is about to say 'no', but he has a thought about it. "I'll give it a think."

Meanwhile, the kiddy laughter from King Shark echoes through the room, embodying the safety of getting to rest here from the rest of the world.

For now, that is.

After a whole decorating the offices in the corridors, they finally got to the huge office room. There are a lot of office cubes, but they plan to plant a bomb on every supporting beam they can find. At this point, it starts to feel more like needing to cleanse Jotunheim for its dirtiness - Javelin has started nitpicking how awful it looks - and it would have been degraded into a chore they are forced to do. But they cannot stop due to the troops gathering around outside.

The bag filled with makeshift bombs is running low and so is the bag itself. Literally low as the smallest hole in it starts to open. A couple of the bombs fall out. Polka-Dot Man is the first to notice.

"Aw, fizzle sticks," he said. "Hold on."

Before he can bend down, a couple of soldiers storm in and start shooting. Bloodsport and Polka-Dot Man quickly duck into the nearest squares they can find. Javelin has to grab Harley since she was too close to the soldiers, though accidentally by the goggles. Though, the only thing the soldiers managed to shoot was the man that had been following the squad to help them with the bombs.

Polka-Dot Man yelps when he sees the body of Milton dropping to the floor alongside his bag of bombs. Angered, he turns around to the soldier and opens up his gauntlet, firing several polka dots at them.

The soldiers are reduced to nothing but red mush, their legs still standing.

It fell quiet.

Polka-Dot Man takes one last look at Milton's bullet-ridden body before hiding in his square.

The squad waited patiently for the next wave of soldiers to come in. If there is any. King Shark and the others are missing, so maybe they are drilling with them.

"Has anyone got eyes or ears on any more?" called Bloodsport.

"All I can hear AND smell is rotting corpses," said Javelin, trying not to look at the remains of the unfortunate soldiers.

"They killed Milton!" cried Polka-Dot Man.

"...Milton was still with us?" said Bloodsport, confused.

"Where'd you think he was?"

"I don't know! I thought he stayed back with Savant and Weasel. What was Milton gonna do?"

"He was helping us!" reminded Polka-Dot Man.

Harley is puzzled. "...who's Milton?"

"What?!" shouted Polka-Dot Man.

"I don't remember any Milton."

"F**K! He has been with us THE WHOLE TIME!"

"Somebody named Milton has been with us the whole time?"

"YES!"

"I don't think so," said Harley in a chipper tone. "I think I would've noticed if a guy named Milton's been with us. It's not a very common name. I don't think I've ever even met Milton. Have you, Javvy?"

Javelin thought for a while. "Well, I only met a Milton once, sweetheart."

"Oooh! How does a Milton look like?"

"I expected him to look a bit pudgier, bald-headed, wimpy," explained Javelin casually. "But the one I met has a really strong Australian accent as Captain Boomerang has! He was a bit of an ass since he was no fun at all, but given that he just got out from university, he just burnt so hard! I think his last name was Gumbo as well. It doesn't sound that fun unless he was chewing-"

"Are you messing around right now?!" exasperated Polka-Dot Man, standing up from his square. "He was a really nice guy and he sacrificed himself to help us!" He then gestures to Milton's body. "And now look at him. He's dead."

Harley peeks out. "Oh, that guy! Milton, Milton."

"Aww, our empanada supplier," whined Javelin.

As everybody gets back up once it is confirmed that the coast is clear, a confused Bloodsport walks over to the grieving Polka-Dot Man. The Corto Maltese bus driver is already in a pool of his own blood. He doesn't look too significantly unique, so…maybe it's not a huge loss. Depends on if Soria asks what happened to him.

"So…when did this great love affair with Milton start?" asked Bloodsport awkwardly.

"Aww, you're not going to ask about our affair?" remarked Javelin.

"I liked him from the beginning, OK?" grumbled Polka-Dot Man. "I just didn't say anything until-"

Without giving him a chance to finish, Bloodsport suddenly raises one of his guns to a group of incoming soldiers. Polka-Dot Man quickly does the same, raising both of his hands to let his polka dots fly out from his gauntlets. He faintly hears Harley letting out a loud cry, but it is already too late. They are already zipping toward their targets.

And one of them is close to Milton's dropped bags of bombs.

AN: Well, Rick Flag and Mongal are dead. And oh, so is Milton. I know this could be all avoided, but this IS called the Suicide Squad. This is the part where people from the squad start dying. It's pretty brutal I have to admit for Flag. I can't really replicate what he is feeling or what is going through his mind during his last moments. However, it isn't pretty, especially with how he is stabbed in the heart by Peacemaker. So, I did my best, but I wished that I could hit the part more with Flag.

Mongal's death is much more closer to her death in the comics. Sort of. At first, I was going to make her blood black. But given that Starro bleeds red blood, I might as well use red blood. Besides, in one of the behind the scenes videos, you can see that when she is burning alive, it also reveals that her face is scratched badly to reveal bloody marks on it.

The scene between Blackguard and T.D.K is what cement their character development before their coming deaths (?). Especially Blackguard since the whole time, I made him act like a jackass. Decide that this is where he starts to loosen up and even gets to have some respect. It even cements T.D.K's character development as a hero in his own rights. Well, there is still one more thing for him which will pays off in him being more than a criminal.

Javelin talking about a specific 'Milton' is actually a reference to a Bad Guys OC I made. You might be able to find this specific 'Milton' character on my DeviantArt and Twitter page, but it's just as a reference. After all, got to make sure that a lot of things don't make sense in stories.

Thanks for reading this chapter! 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. Constructive criticism is good as well. Please don't be nervous in revealing your thoughts about this as I would like to hear.

Until next time, keep on rocking!