Quick warning, the Timestamps might get confusing but rest assured they're all worked out.
You see Gotham City and mount justice often goes by the EST timestamp and is one hour ahead of the Caribbean ECT, i.e. if it's nine o clock in the morning in Gotham, it would be probably eight in the morning in the Caribbean.
So don't worry if it looks a little disjointed it's all playing out in order.
Hope you enjoy reading.
Your author,
Fuzzybeta.
Chapter 1: Agents
Gotham City, January 1, 14:58 EST, 2010
"Cody! CODY!" a woman's voice calls loudly throughout the small but neat apartment. Hidden in a room, barely the size of a closet a small lump snores in a cramped bed, blissfully unaware of the tall shadow that has just entered his room.
"Come on Cody, time to get up!" a man's voice barks, grinning as he walks over to the bed and yanks the covers off the lump, revealing a ten-year-old boy, with dark brown hair and pale skin. He's skinny and lanky yet short, and he glared grumpily at the man that had disturbed his sleep with bright green eyes.
He was a beefy man of Eurasian descent, his hair a dark brown like his son's. His thin almond brown eyes were crinkled in a fond smile as he shook his son's shoulder gently. "Come on champ. I know you had a late night, but it's time to get up."
"Don' wanna" the boy, Cody, grumbled shoving his face back into his pillow, only to have that too snatched from under his cheek.
"Nope. Sorry, Cody but you've got to get up. We've got that family dinner tonight, and your mom and I need you to help clean up around the house, starting with this room. God, how do you even sleep in here?" his father scowled as he looked about the small room. Most of it was clean, yet there was such a clutter on the boy's small desk, and clothes hung out of his wardrobe while bits of tech equipment, wires and circuit boards were scattered all over the floor.
"CODY! Oh for Pete's sake, Han have you got that boy up yet?" the woman's voice from before called out. Cody and his father Han looked up to see a woman with short reddish-brown hair, pale freckled skin and green eyes frowning at them from the doorway to the room. She was wearing a white and blue apron and carrying a mop in her hand.
"Hey, mom," Her son Cody, grinned sheepishly as he sat up in his bed gulping as her eyes scanned his messy room
Her scowl deepened as she caught sight of the dirty state of the room.
"Nicodemus Edward Morse! You better get up this instant and clean this room, or else I'll have you doing all the washing up tonight after dinner. I mean it! And once you're done cleaning this mess, you can go with your father to pick up more meat and veg from the grocer."
"Yes Mom" Cody groaned, and his dad chuckled as his mom left the doorway.
"Come on bud, let's get a move on before she turns into Momzilla again."
"I heard that Han!" Cody's mom yelled from another corner of the house.
Despite her temper, both Han Morse and Cody Morse smiled unaware of the small cloaked drone that just flown away from Cody's window.
The car was peaceful as both father and son drove along the road, the back seat loaded with groceries from that morning's trek.
"I don't see why Mom has to make all this stuff tonight. Ba-Ba and Aunty Kim are already bringing a lot of food with them" Cody groaned, not looking up from his smartphone, much to his dad's exasperation.
"Cody, you know how your mom is about these things. She didn't have much of a family growing up so-"
"So, she tries to make most of the family she has now. I know, I know" Cody sighed, pouting grumpily as he accidentally made a wrong swipe of his game. "Argh, Dammit!"
"You know, if you spent less time on that phone you might be less disappointed for once" Han snorted quickly winding down the passenger window. "Look, it's a beautiful day"
And indeed, it was. The sun was shining, and the sky was a bright cerulean blue without a cloud in sight. And while there was some snow littered here and there everything seemed bright and cheerful. In short, it was rare weather for Gotham City.
That was until something like a strange mist wafted into the air.
"What the hell?" Han frowned as he struggled to look through his front window.
With all the traffic in front of him, it was hard to make out what was going on. There appeared to be billows of something white and faint orange.
Han's face paled. He knew that mist. Being a seasoned security guard in Gotham's National Bank, who'd seen one too many break-ins by supervillains, he knew the horrors that came with the mist and the horrible person that had inflicted it.
His worst fears were confirmed when violent piercing shrieks of terror, began issuing from the traffic in front of them.
"Quick duck down to the ground," Han commanded as he made to shut all the car windows and lock all the doors.
Tucking his phone away in his jacket, Cody quickly did as he was told, doing his best to make himself as small as possible as he slid down to huddle on the floor of the car.
He had just managed to push his seat back to give himself some more room to fit when something heavy thudded into his door on the other side.
His dad quickly shoved his hand over his mouth, silencing his yelp as the shadow of a couple of people loomed over through his window, shrieking and banging its fists on the glass.
They looked quite deranged, their hair dishevelled and damp from the mist. Their eyes were red and wide with terror as they began screaming and screaming. And they weren't the only ones. Several people passed the car by, shrieking, panicking, shoving each other to the side, some of them colliding with the car as they desperately sought escape. Some people were clawing at their skin, drawing blood as they struggled to fight off what appeared to be invisible creatures from their flailing limbs.
"We keep down here until the crowd thins" Han whispered to his son "Then we'll drive away. Got it."
"Why don't we drive away now and get out before Scarecrow gets here?" Cody shivered. Even saying the supervillains name was enough to give him the shivers.
"Do that and we'll risk either running someone over, or we'll be attacked by an angry terrified mob. No Cody, it's better we stay still until it's safe to-"
BANG! BANG-BANG! BANG!
The gunshots reverberated through insides of Cody's skull as it smashed through the window of the car.
"Dad!" he cried out as his dad leapt back into the driver's seat and revved up the engines.
"Cover your mouth and hold on!" he cried out as tendrils of mist began seeping through the bullet holes.
Yet he had barely even moved the car an inch when suddenly something crashed through Cody's window.
"CODY!" he cried out reaching for his son as the long black-clad arm swiftly undid the lock on Cody's door from the inside.
"DAD!" Cody cried out as his door was forced open and he was ripped from his seatbelt.
His dad lunged for him, grabbing at his ankles, which slipped from his grip as a gun fired towards his wrists. Quickly he retracted them before the bullets could hit but the damage was done and his son slid out of the car.
"Shit!" Han swore as he scrambled for his glove compartment and pulled out a black gun from its depths. Quick as lightning he hurled himself out of the car, aiming his gun at his new targets.
For there were two figures in black dragging his son away into the mist.
"LET MY BOY GO!"
They turned as they heard him prep the gun to fire, one of them sneering behind his big oxygen mask.
"Shoot, and your boy dies" he pointed a gun to a terrified Cody's dark head of hair. The poor boy was nearly pissing himself with fright as tears streamed down his eyes.
"Dad, Dad No-Dad-"
He winced as his captor shoved his gun against his head.
Han gulped down a huge breath, his hands shaking on his firearm. This was too much for him to take. He had no trouble shooting a man, but with his son's life in the balance…
Slowly and surely, he lowered his gun to his side.
"Smart man" the dark figure with the gun to Cody's head smirked through his mask. "Now put the gun on the ground"
Han shut his eyes. It loathed him to let anyone tell him to put his gun down, but his son…
He put the gun down to the ground, kicking it to the side for good measure.
"Good man," the man in the mask nodded.
"I did as you asked" Han's voice was now shaking more than his hands, his heart hammering in terror. Yet despite his own struggle and the very thick fear gas around him, he had enough courage in him to blurt out "Now give me back my son"
"I'm afraid your son is coming with us" the man in the mask replied coolly.
"Then take me with you. Surely two hostages are worth more than one." Han was sweating profusely now as he felt the toxin around him fill his lungs with every breath. "I-I work security at the National Bank. I-I could help you guys-"
The man in the mask just laughed.
"You, help us? We don't need the likes of you to get us into the bank. We get paid a hundred times your salary in one day's work."
"Ahem," the other masked man coughed irritably "We need to get a move on. The boss is getting impatient and we promised him we'd have no witnesses."
"Well, then we better not disappoint him then" the first masked man shoved Cody into his mate's grip, now aiming his gun at Han.
"Wait-w-what are you doing?" Cody spluttered as he watched his father's face turn the colour of chalk.
"Sorry man, but as you've heard. We can't allow any witnesses. It's nothing personal. It's just business. You understand I'm sure. Devers cover the kid's eyes. This will be messy"
"No! Wait! Stop-DAD!"
BANG!
"CODY!"
Bermuda Triangle, January 1, 07:20 ECT, 2013
"CODY!"
BANG!
Cody Morse groaned loudly.
He was on the floor, or rather his head and torso were on the floor, while his feet rested on the lower bed of the bunk bed he had just fallen from.
Above him, a shadow loomed over, folding their arms and grinning widely. It was a teenage boy, lean with a short mop of bright ginger hair and golden brown eyes, wearing a baggy black sweater and sleeping pants
"Morning sleeping beauty" he gave a crooked Cheshire grin.
"Shove off Tom" Cody sat up groggily, running a hand through his dark brown hair. Blindly he reached for his glasses that sat on his bedside table, ignoring his roommates chuckling at his expense.
"What time is it?" he mumbled.
"Almost seven thirty" The other boy, Tom, smirked as he nimbly clambered his way up the bunk bed ladder to grab his toothbrush from its case on the windowsill.
"You woke me up before the alarm?" Cody asked incredulously as he finally got a look at himself in the mirror plastered on the door of the room's small rather dull looking grey wardrobe.
He hadn't changed much over the past three years. True he had grown taller and leaner with a little more muscle, and sure his face had started to lose some of its baby fat, revealing what was promising to be a pointed thin face. But his hair was still the same dark brown and his eyes were still the same green, almond-shaped orbs as before.
If only mom could see me now…
Cody thought glumly as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
"Hey, you getting ready or are you too busy being falling in love with your reflection?" Tom called from where he was brushing his teeth in the tiny en-suite bathroom, his mouth full of white foam.
He frowned as he caught sight of his friend's stricken face.
"Oh yeah, I forgot, it's the anniversary today ain't it?"
"Yeah. It is" Cody sighed heavily as he trudged over to the wardrobe.
It had been three years to the day since he'd been taken away from Gotham City. Three years after his dad was murdered and he was kidnapped. Three years since he'd heard his mom yelling at him to clean his room, or even wishing him a grumpy but loving goodbye as she hurtled through his old apartment like a tornado.
She would be impressed by how clean I've managed to keep this room for the past three years
He snorted to himself as he slipped on a pair of long sports leggings, a grey T-shirt and a pair of standard black trainers. Morning training would be beginning soon, and tired as he was, he wasn't too fond of the idea of being late…again.
Once he was done, he quickly dashed to the bathroom to finish his morning routine while Tom got dressed in his own training gear, only he wore a black tank top.
"Sneaking your earplugs in again? Slade's gonna love that" Cody shook his head as he spied Tom pocketing the small plugs in the pockets of his leggings.
"That old man can go suck it for all I care" Tom rolled his eyes pricking his ears as something knocked on the opaque glass wall opposite the bed.
"HEY! Tom? Cody? Are you both decent?" A feminine and a distinctly British voice called through.
"Depends on what you mean by decent" Tom grinned as he gently swiped down the opaque glass. As his fingers travelled downwards, the glass slowly but surely became more and more transparent until finally, the two boys could see out into the corridor outside.
On the other side of the glass, two girls around their age stood. One of them, the girl that had spoken, had her arms folded and was pouting irritably. She like them was wearing the same black tights and trainers, though she wore a white T-shirt. Her blonde curls were tied in two short but high girlish pigtails with black bows. Behind her, the other girl was dressed in a white T-shirt and leggings, though her long purple-black hair that reached down to her waist, was tied in a long plait, with one of her front bangs held back by a small black clip with a tiny white flower.
"morning" she mumbled, her freckled cheeks blushing a bright pink, as she caught sight of both Cody and Tom through the glass.
"Morning Bella, you're looking lovely this morning. Ain't I right Codes" Tom winked elbowing Cody hard in the ribs as the latter failed to get a word out of his gaping, flushing face.
"H-hi…"
"Hi" she gave him a shy smile before mumbling "Uh…you got some-"
"Oh right," Cody wiped at the remaining toothpaste that sat at the corners of his mouth.
There was a very pregnant pause, only punctuated by the blond-haired girl's cough.
"Ahem, training, five minutes." She pointed to the corner of the glass where a large holographic digital clock was counting down the time.
"Shit didn't see that. Thanks, Ducky" Cody quickly rushed back into the bathroom to wash his face while Tom quickly deactivated the glass door to their small room.
As he did so, the girl Ducky quickly snatched at Bella's elbow.
"Come on Bells, before Slade kills us too"
"Oh-okay! See you at practice!" Bella waved shyly at the two boys as she was dragged down the corridor.
"CODY!" Tom growled as Cody came stumbling out of the bathroom.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
The Batcave January 1, 10:25 EST 2013
Batman stared at the screen before him, where a crime scene blared out in front of his eyes.
All that blood…so much blood.
He had worked in crime fighting for years and had grown accustomed to the sight of such grizzly scenes. Yet even as he examined all the information that he had laid out before himself…
"Master Bruce," the calm yet sad voice of his butler Alfred spoke softly from behind him.
"Not now Alfred" Batman pinched the bridge of his nose as he willed himself to keep everything together.
He just couldn't believe it was true. He couldn't.
It must be a setup. There's no way it could be possible otherwise.
"I know everything looks bad. But I know you'll find a way around this. You always have and you always will" Alfred put a firm but gentle hand on his shoulder.
"And what if I can't?" the great detective now had his head in his hands. "What if…what she…what if it's all true and-and, Dick. What am I going to tell Dick and Jason?" his voice fell away, unable to say the words that got stuck in his throat.
There was a silence as Alfred sighed and set down a calming cup of tea on his charge's desk.
"You'll find a way, sir. You always do"
Bermuda Triangle, January 1, 09:25 ECT, 2013
"Well, there they are. What do you think?"
Lex Luthor smiled as he looked down upon the training arena.
He was standing raised on a high metal catwalk, leaning down eagerly to watch as a tall man with short grey-white hair and beard, in orange and black Kevlar suit with an eyepatch over one eye and two katana on his back, monitoring eight teenagers closely as they sparred in pairs against one another. As they fought, the man would watch, providing pieces of advice and criticisms to their work.
Beside Luthor stood a rather short plump middle-aged African American woman in a dark blue suit, and a young tall beautiful middle-eastern woman in an ornate turquoise hijab and a long white doctors coat over her clothes.
It was the plump woman who scowled down at the group of teens with folded arms.
"So, these are the infamous agents of Project Tartarus? I was expecting more." she glanced in disappointment at Luthor who smirked.
"They may not look like much now Waller," he drawled "but we have been running extensive tests on their abilities throughout the three years we've been training them, and they've been making remarkable progress. Isn't that right Doctor Bishara?" he turned to the younger woman who smiled and nodded enthusiastically.
"Indeed, Mister Luthor. If the lab's calculations are correct, it shouldn't be long now till they're ready to go out into the field with their abilities."
"And how long will that be?" the woman, Waller, raised her eyebrows.
"According to our calculations…it would be around six months, maybe eight if we really want to be certain." Doctor Bishara checked her smart-pad quickly.
"Six months? I thought you said they would be ready for a mission now!" Waller muttered, glaring at Luthor "The longer we put off putting these agents in the field the closer the Justice League gets to-"
"I am aware of the League situation." Luthor put up a placating hand "And as for our new agents, their trainer Deathstroke is quite assured that they are ready to start fieldwork. We just have to give them one final test"
"Sir, with all due respect" Doctor Bishara narrowed her eyes "The Agents have yet to refine their abilities-"
"They can refine them in the field" Luthor waved the younger woman off "from my experience, field work often forces agents to hone their skills at a much faster rate than if they were just sitting holed up in a cave"
"So, we agree. We send them tonight for their trial run" Waller huffed.
"Yes, tonight" Luthor nodded, shooting a dangerous glance to Doctor Bishara who had opened her mouth to speak, only to shut it hastily and sigh.
"I suppose it had to happen sometime"
"Good. Now we're all in agreement perhaps you can tell me more about these agents" Waller's shoulders relaxed as she straightened up.
"Of course, doctor?" Luthor gestured to Doctor Bishara who quickly brought up a holographic screen in front of them.
"So, tell me, doctor, what are we working with?" Waller folded her arms as she stared at the various personnel profiles that suddenly appeared before her.
"I think you mean, who we are working with" Doctor Bishara muttered darkly as she pressed her finger to the holograph nearest her.
In it was a picture of a pale young girl with long dark black hair with a purple sheen and bright violet eyes wearing a plain black bodysuit.
"Let's start with the youngest. Belladonna Isley. Codename: Nightshade. Age: twelve years old. A plant, human hybrid created by Poison Ivy whom she calls Mother."
"And does she share the same abilities as her mother?" Waller quirked a brow and Bishara nodded.
"More or less. Though unlike her mother she appears to have a far less manic disposition. If anything, the girl's a pacifist, and prefers to devote her abilities to the healing and wellbeing of her fellow agents"
"Rest assured we're doing what we can to staunch her bleeding heart." Luthor scowled but surprisingly Waller shook her head.
"No, a good medic is an indispensable resource, especially one with abilities like Poison Ivy. Continue Doctor"
"Thank you, Mam" Doctor Bishara pulled up another file over Belladonna's. This time they could see the image of a young Eurasian boy with dark brown hair and bright green eyes half hidden behind thick glasses.
"Nicodemus 'Cody' Morse. Codename: Cypher. The nephew of Edward Nygma also known as the Riddler. Age: 13. A technological genius, and an IQ of 158. While his academic knowledge and problem-solving skills are off the charts he is still one of the weakest in hand to hand combat-"
"Just like his uncle" Waller sighed heavily "Have they had any contact?"
"Yes, Mister Nygma often comes to visit his nephew between his stints in Arkham, however his visits are rather infrequent."
"Hmm…I suppose it's for the best. Nygma is a troublesome man to work with, God forbid he has any large influence on any of the agent's minds" Waller conceded, gesturing for Bishara to bring up the next file in which a ginger-haired boy with catlike amber eyes.
"Ah, I know this one." Waller smirked "Thomas Caterwaul Junior, son of Thomas Caterwaul Senior the CEO and founder of Caterwaul Security. His father said he was studying abroad,"
"Well, he technically wasn't lying" Luthor shrugged oh-so-innocently "Caterwaul senior sent us junior thinking he was going to attend a reform facility to cure him of his kleptomania and his obsession with Catwoman. Hence the codename Tomcat"
"And instead you sent him here?" Waller quirked a brow.
"Second to Cody, Tom is one of our best hackers." Bishara explained, "this added to his advanced training in hand to hand combat, stealth and gymnastics he potentially could turn out to be one of the best thirteen-year-old cat-burglars in the world."
"Impressive" Waller nodded impressed as she reached out herself to flick to the next profile, where a young girl with blonde pigtails with black bows, and a slightly beaky nose.
"Odette Cobblepot. Age fourteen. Daughter of the Penguin himself. Codename: Ducky"
"Ducky?" Waller rolled her eyes and Luthor snorted darkly.
"Don't let that cutesy Lolita Doll face fool you, Waller. I've seen that girl shoot a small tin can from nearly two miles away without batting an eye"
"She's a good shot then?" Waller turned to Bishara.
"Trained by Deadshot himself. Though even before that she had extensive knowledge of firearms thanks to her father. She also has quite a shrewd head for money and business if I should say so myself. Which brings me to our next Agent."
Bishara quickly pulled up a picture of a girl with a thin pointed face, chalk-white skin, long white blonde hair, and sultry jet-black eyes flecked with red sparks.
Despite it being only an image, all three adults shivered where they stood, as those dark eyes seemed to pierce into their very souls.
"Mina Poole. Age, fourteen. Codename: Siren. Daughter of…well, you can read for yourself" Bishara gulped as she forced herself to look away from the image and towards the text.
"To think that man could actually spawn anything" Luthor muttered darkly running a hand over his bald head.
"She's a telepath?" Waller read from the text below the image and Bishara nodded.
"Yes and a powerful one at that. Though we keep her powers contained with the help of her inhibitor collar, which she wears all the time. However, while it suppresses her telepathy, we have set it to not suppress her augmented strength and advanced regenerative abilities."
"I can imagine with her…uh…abilities she's not too popular with the rest of her teammates," Waller asked but Bishara raised her eyebrows.
"Actually they all seem to be rather comfortable around her. The girl might look like a demon from hell, and while it is true she does display some psychopathic tendencies, she is otherwise a very calm and level headed, if slightly moody, teenager. Of all of our agents, I'd say she has the most qualifications to be the team leader in the field."
"So I see." Waller pursed her lips as she read all the girl's recommendations at the bottom of the page before sliding to the next file.
In it was an African American boy with short dark spiked hair with orange dyed tips, dark eyeliner and many silver earrings dotting all the way up his ears.
"Who's this little punk?" Waller narrowed her eyes, clearly not impressed with the boy's less than professional appearance.
"Frances "Franky" Mason. Codename: Friday#13. Age fifteen. Protégé of Jonathan Crane, aka the Scarecrow." Bishara chuckled at Waller's reaction "A budding artist, Franky makes his own toxins and fear gas formula which he disperses with the help of his spray cans. Thanks to the various experiments he has let Crane conduct on himself over the years he no longer feels any pain nor any fear."
"So this is the graffiti artist that has been vandalizing the rest of the facility is it?" Luthor smirked shaking his head.
"He says he's making a new exhibition" Bishara chortled "I gotta say though, some of his work is quite brilliant. It really does liven the place up a bit, sorry" she added as both Waller and Luthor raised their eyebrows at her.
"Now, for the last two." She quickly coughed as she pulled up two files side by side.
One was a very tall and hulking young man, built strongly like an ox with dark hair cut in a short buzzcut. The other was a strongly built, muscled young woman with a beautiful face and long dark hair tied in a ponytail. Both had tanned skin and bright blue eyes.
"The twins, Esmerelda and Brutus Dorrance. The son and daughter of Bane and our strongest hand to hand combatants. Or as their codenames call them, Beauty and Beast. Both our oldest agents at sixteen, they volunteered to join our program if we promised to help come up with a cure for their father's addiction to Venom"
"They don't take Venom themselves?" Waller frowned in surprise.
"No. They refuse to even have anything to do with the substance, or really any addictive performance-enhancing substance, especially Esme. She's quite a health nut. We have instead augmented their super strength by activating their dormant meta-genes."
"And how strong are they at present?" Luthor pursed his lips.
"Much like the Terror Twins, they are just under the strength level of your ex-Cadmus experiment Project Kr. But with a couple more experimental procedures they should catch up to him quite soon"
"Hmm…Good." Luthor murmured, though it was plain to see he wasn't too happy to hear about his previous experiment, and for good reason.
His thoughts were interrupted as a ping as a male voice barked:
"STOP! That's enough!"
"Ah, I see Slade has finished his session" Doctor Bishara quickly swiped the holographic files away as she, Waller and Luthor all looked down to the floor below.
"That's enough!" Slade Wilson, aka, Deathstroke's voice cut through the hubbub of the four sparring matches, which quickly halted at once.
"Thank god" Cody sighed in relief as he and his sparring partner straightened up.
His partner, a tall hulking mass of muscle dressed in black, smirked as he thudded him playfully on the shoulder.
"Come on you've barely done five minutes with me"
"Yeah, well not all of us have super strength Brutus" Cody wiped his sweaty brow, nose wrinkling as his arm became soaked.
He wasn't the only one. Beside him on his left, Ducky was sweating buckets as she still desperately tried punching at a tall muscular girl with a dark ponytail.
"Argh! Esme! Damn you big f***ing-one of these day's I'll-ARGH!" she cursed, her British accent thickening as she continued to flail at the older girl who held her still with one hand pressed casually over her face.
"Come on Ducky, it can't be that hard" Esme smirked as she calmly checked her nails. "Damn, the polish is chipping. Hey Franky, you think you could do my nails again?"
"But I just did them yesterday!" the dark form of Franky rolled his eyes, running a hand through his spiked hair as he and Tom both straightened out and gave each other a fist bump. "Good work Kitty Cat"
"Right back 'attcha Pumpkin" Tom grinned as he turned to the last pair.
"Oy, Bella, Minny, how you both holding up?"
"Oh, we're fine" the very pale face of Mina Poole scowled as she reached down to help a trembling Belladonna back up to her feet from where she'd swept her down in a takedown. "You okay Bells?"
Bella nodded meekly, flushing red with embarrassment as Deathstroke gave a very exasperated cough.
"That was a good session"
Everyone's ears perked up excitedly, only to deflate as the mercenary narrowed his eyes and said:
"Or rather, that would be a good session if I were training a bunch of pathetic wailing infants, which I know I am not. I expect better from you in your simulation exercises. We have some very special visitors coming to watch your training this afternoon, so you better bring your A-game or else I'll have you on another Island run, is that clear?"
"Sir yes sir!" all the teenagers stood to attention in unison.
Seemingly satisfied with their answer, Deathstroke nodded and jerked his thumb over his shoulders.
"Good. Hit the showers and get some breakfast. We recommence training at thirteen hundred hours sharp. If you're late, you can expect a personal thrashing from me. Now go!"
"Finally" Cody sighed as he and the others all quickly dashed off to the large door behind the mercenary who sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Kids" he huffed hands on his hips as he looked up to see Amanda Waller, Lex Luthor and Doctor Adiva Bishara walking down the stairs from the catwalk to the ground.
"Great…more top brass" he muttered darkly to himself, though he quickly settled his face into its professional stern mask as he nodded at each of them in turn.
"Luthor, Waller, Doc"
"Mister Wilson" Luthor smiled his fake businessman smile as he greeted the mercenary. "I must commend you on your teaching skills, your pupils have certainly improved since the last time I was here."
"Really I hadn't noticed," Deathstroke said dryly as he turned to face Waller, not even bothering to hide his loathing as he sneered.
"And what are you doing here Waller? I thought I was finally taken off your roster for Taskforce X"
"And you still are." Waller returned his glare with interest "Don't worry. You won't be going on any suicide missions for a while. Besides the board has agreed that you're of more use to us here keeping an eye on our new recruits."
"So I see" Deathstroke, glanced at Luthor, suspiciously, eying the way the business man's hands fidgeted and flexed by his sides, a habit he knew, the tycoon fell upon when he was stressed.
"Something has happened hasn't it. Something big"
"Indeed it has" Luthor murmured, his smirk giving way to a grave scowl as he shooed Doctor Bishara away. "Doctor, if you wouldn't mind leaving us. Perhaps go check on our agents. Waller and I would like a private word with Mister Wilson Alone"
"Of course, right away sir" Doctor Bishara nodded and was quick to dash off through the door the teenagers had just left through.
Once the door had shut behind her, Deathstroke straightened up and looked Luthor dead in the eye.
"Alright, we're alone. I'm listening"
"It would appear…that our comrade Red Queen is dead." Luthor managed to spit through his grit teeth.
There was a silence as the words seemed to echo around the room.
"Dead?" Deathstroke snorted in disbelief. "You mean to say that your fiancé, one of the most notorious crime bosses in the world. The woman whose stronghold is so secret and so heavily fortified, who is paranoid about her own security to the point of madness…is DEAD?"
"Yes," Waller murmured grimly. "Killed last night at the turn of the new year as it happens?"
"Let me guess, you want me to find out who killed her?" Deathstroke turned back to Luthor who shook his head.
"No. We already know who the killer is. All we need to do is to track her down."
"Her?" Deathstroke frowned and Luthor sighed.
"We will explain the details this afternoon when you rally your Agents for training."
"The agents-wait let me get this straight, you want them to track down the Red Queen's killer?" Deathstroke shook his head.
"You doubt your own pupil's training?" Waller raised her eyebrows and Deathstroke gave a hollow chuckle.
"They have skills for sure, but they are nowhere near ready to launch an investigation of this magnitude."
"Not without guidance they won't, which is why we need you to walk them through it." Waller explained matter-of-factly "We won't get them to do anything strenuous tonight. They'll just be running a rudimentary patrol of Gotham City, the place the killer was last seen. They'll trace their movements and return in the morning back to the island to report whatever they find."
"And what about Batman?" Deathstroke spat the heroes name out with undisguised contempt "He'll no doubt have his sticky paws all over the crime scene."
"Hence why the agents will go undercover as street kids." Waller finished firmly "Like Luthor said, we'll explain everything this afternoon when we brief the agents. Now, come on, let's find a place to sit, my legs are killing me"
"There is a conference room on the floor below we can sit in comfortably and talk." Luthor offered as he began leading the way out of the training room "If you would follow me this way. Slade, if you would like to join us"
"No thank you, Luthor. I'm perfectly fine here" Deathstroke scowled as he turned his back on the billionaire and the government agent and pulled up a hologram search just as the door closed behind the two guests.
He sighed as the door shut behind them both, relishing in his solitude as he examined a few pictures of a bloody office, and of a blonde-haired woman dressed all in red, with a strangely shaped hole stuck straight in the middle of her forehead.
As far as he could tell when he zoomed in on the image, it wasn't a bullet hole, for there were no powder burns around the hole and it wasn't a regular circular shape. It wasn't a knife stab either yet, whatever had pierced the skin and bony skull also must've gone straight through, because there was a massive bloodstain on the carpet beneath her head.
So if it wasn't a bullet or a knife then what was it? Crossbow perhaps?
He rubbed a hand over his bearded chin and sighed heavily as he looked into Red Queen's lifeless eyes.
Though he hadn't liked the villainess by any stretch, he still had some level of respect for her. The members of the organization, the Light, were not people to be trifled with. To become a respected member was an accomplishment in its own right, though Deathstroke himself wasn't too keen on the idea, being more of a lone wolf himself.
Yet that only begged the question. Who or rather, what kind of being could've possibly killed such a dangerous villain?
And why the hell does Luthor want these kids to find them?
Why indeed.
Mount Justice, January 1, 13:12 EST, 2013
Recognised Robin B-0-1
"HEY DICK!" Wally West beamed delightedly as he ran up to his best friend.
"Happy New Year man!"
"Yeah…yeah…happy new year" Dick Grayson smiled quietly, though it was plain to see his heart wasn't in the greeting. "Where is everyone?"
"Recovering in the rec room. You and Chris missed quite a party. Poor Kaldur is still waiting for his New Years kiss." Wally winked cheekily, elbowing his friend hard in the ribs only for his smile to fall as he saw that Dick wasn't grinning at the jibe.
"Whoa, hey dude what's up? Did I say something wrong?"
"Wally….I…" Dick looked down at the ground his blue eyes oddly misty and blank.
"Oh god, please don't tell me you guys argued, again?" Wally frowned, his worry growing deeper by the second even as his best friend made to swipe a hand through his rather messy black locks.
Now that he thought about it, the boy wonder's eyes were looking rather red as he shook his head.
"No…no we didn't fight…It's just…" he sighed heavily. "Get the team here, I'll explain everything"
"What? You mean the whole team or-" Wally frowned but was waved off by Dick.
"No, just Kaldur, Conner, Miss M and Arty. The less who know about this the better. Trust me"
"Uh...Alright Team vets only. Got it. I'll go get them." Wally frowned as he turned his back and sped away through the mountain.
Something was wrong, he could feel it in his fast metabolising gut. Something was very, very wrong.
Dick, what the hell is going on? And where the hell is Christine?
Bermuda Triangle, January 1, 12:49 ECT, 2013
"So, what do you think's going to happen today?"
Franky's question seemed to pierce through the silence that had engulfed all the Agents.
They were all sitting in their shared common room, all lounging about in their special plain black Kevlar catsuits.
"What do you mean?" Brutus looked up from his fourth helping of omelette his sister Esme had just served him from where she had been cooking in the kitchen.
"Well…in training today, Slade said we'd be having visitors coming in to watch us" Franky shrugged from his armchair as he braided a napping Bella's long black-purple hair.
"Usually when an outsider comes over to the island, like Luthor, or Riddler or Bella's mom, Slade says their name. He's always told us who's coming before, but this time there wasn't even a peep."
"Girl's got a point" Tom grunted from where he was hunched over a Nintendo controller as he, Ducky and Cody all played Mario Kart on the common room's large television screen.
"He also doesn't suddenly change our meeting place to the common room instead of the training roo-Wait what the-HOLD ON! WHO JUST BLUE SHELLED ME?!" he yelled angrily at the screen.
"I did." Cody grinned as his Koopa Troopa passed by Tom's Bowser.
Tom's nostrils flared.
"Alright, that's it you're going down! No-wait Duck come on!" he cried out as he slipped on a banana peel that Ducky's Princess Daisy had just dropped down onto the track.
From her beanbag chair to the sofa's left, Mina rolled her eyes.
"Blue shells and Banana peels? What you guys see in this game is truly beyond me" she muttered as she turned a page in her small book titled "The Shunned House" by H.P. Lovecraft.
"Says the ghost girl who reads horror stories for fun" Ducky raised a haughty brow at the older girl who merely raised her eyebrows.
"You should be careful, you're gonna get exploded by that bomb"
"What bomb?" Ducky turned back to the screen, just in time to see Princess Daisy be exploded by an upside-down box.
"Tom!" she growled as Tom now grinned.
"Payback's a real bitch ain't it?"
"Whoa, hey guys, language!" Franky clapped his hands over Bella's ears as the young girl started to stir.
"Franky? Waz…waz the time?" she yawned as she straightened up in her spot.
"Around 12:55," Esme called from where she had been cleaning up in the kitchen, pointing a now clean spatula at the three video game players. "You should put that away before Slade gets here. You know how he hates you guys playing those games. Especially when he's irritated"
"And right now, he's really pissed about something" Mina sat up from her beanbag, rubbing her temple as she felt a wave of mounting aggravation that wasn't her own, swiftly begin to make its way to their position.
"He's close. Come on, pack up and get in line" she barked and at once all of the Agents quickly scrambled to put their games, books and food away.
They had only just gotten to their feet and were trying to assemble themselves into a line when the mercenary turned trainer entered the room through the automatic doors.
His already stern face was even grimmer than ever as he looked each of his Agents up and down, and then turned to the television where the Mario Kart pause screen was still switched on.
He quirked a disappointed brow as everyone pointed to Ducky, Cody and Tom.
"Turn it off. Now" he snarled, and Tom was quick to turn the Television off, looking down to his toes as their trainer cleared his throat.
"Now that you're all finally ready, you will follow me to the mission room. You know the rules, no talking and no dawdling and certainly NO humming." He looked directly at Franky who gave a sneaky grin at Mina who shook her head.
Don't try it today Frank. Slade's so antsy that I wouldn't put it past him to kick all our asses today if we pissed him off.
She told him telepathically and was relieved when she felt him back down from his argument.
Slade glanced at Mina suspiciously, his eyes travelling down to the thin silver choker band that collared her neck. Though her inhibitor collar was powerful, he knew the girl was only growing stronger with each passing day.
Why they even bother to keep the damn thing on her is another mystery.
He thought as he led the team of agents out into the hallway and towards a large lift.
They took it up two levels, the doors opening out onto a gigantic hall.
It was massive. Around the size of a small football stadium, with one massive wall of lava flowing down from the ceiling.
In front of this wall, a tall female doctor in a turquoise hijab was standing with her clipboard.
"Good afternoon Agents. How are you all today?" Doctor Bishara beamed at the teenagers as they all filed into the room.
"We're all doing good thanks Doc," Brutus answered, as he and the rest of the group all nodded, smiled and waved warmly at the woman, much to Deathstroke's annoyance.
"I didn't know you had clearance to this level Bishara" he muttered and was not disappointed when the doctor spared him a dirty glower.
"I should be saying that to you seeing as I have always had clearance to every level of this facility Wilson"
Unable to give any retort back, Slade turned to face the wall of lava, the Agents following in his stead as he pressed a button on a remote control from his pocket.
"Behold the Voice of God" he drawled sardonically as a large holographic video feed suddenly appeared in front of the lava.
In it, a plump dark woman in a dark blue suit could be seen sitting at a table in a high backed black chair.
"Agents. My Name is Amanda Waller, and I am the new Director of Project Tartarus."
"New head? More like new mound" Tom muttered softly only to be slapped sharply on the back of the head by Mina.
"Sorry, Madam Director. Please continue"
"Thank you, Agent Siren," Waller smirked down approvingly at Mina before continuing "As I was saying. I am the new director of Project Tartarus. Now from what I understand of each of your personal files, you all have been training at this facility for the past three years, and since then you have yet to go on any mission, correct?"
"Yes mam" Mina nodded on behalf of the team, scowling as she felt the irritated thoughts of her teammates around her.
Yet to go on a mission? More like kept imprisoned.
Yeah I know right, I mean three years stuck on one island with no malls, no fast food-
I miss McDonald's-
Yeah me too especially their-
GUYS! Shut UP! Mina turned back to glower at them all and they all quickly schooled themselves back into quiet dutiful parade rest.
Waller, however, did not seem to notice as she pulled out a smart-tablet in front of her and began swiping at it.
"Today's your lucky day then because we have your first assignment."
There was a silence as all Agents ears finally picked up at the news. Had they heard right? Was it possible that after three years of deadly Bootcamp they'd finally have a chance to get off this damn island prison?
As if guessing their thoughts, Waller's eyes hardened dangerously upon the group of teens.
"Yes, I understand you are all very excited to get off this island, but be warned, this isn't a sightseeing trip. This is a mission. I expect you to go in and get out quietly. No side-tracking, no trying to escape. If you do, you'll be dealing with me, and as your trainer here knows, I don't take disobedience lightly"
"Understatement of the century" Deathstroke muttered under his breath, but Waller ignored him as several holographic files suddenly appeared around her screen.
"Last night at midnight, recording company CEO Scarlett Taylor was found brutally murdered in her office. The GCPD and the Batman are both already investigating the case however it would appear the assailant and the murder weapon have both vanished. For the next few months, it will be up to your team to track down this assailant and bring them in before Batman or the League can get their hands on them. Tonight, you'll start by investigating and observing the area around the crime scene once Batman and Robin have left."
There was a pause in which Waller leaned in, eyes flashing dangerously as she growled.
"You will enter the city through a boom tube hidden in the Gotham Sewers. You have until midnight tonight to conduct your observations, COVERTLY. That means no witnesses and no stunts that will get you noticed especially by the Bat or his protégé who will undoubtedly be searching high and low from the killer. If you fail in this you can be sure there will be dire consequences."
"Why?" Tom blurted out before anyone could stop him "I-I mean I know why we don't want to run into Batman, I mean, yeah sure he's the enemy and all that and we don't want to get beat up by him and…and…"
He trailed off as Waller's stare turned especially dark on him.
"What Tom means to say, mam," Cody sighed from his spot next to his best friend and roommate "Is what has this assailant got to do so closely with Batman? What interest does he have in this case apart from the assassination?"
"What do you mean by interest boy?" Waller looked down on the young boy warily.
"Well…uh…" Cody blushed as the spotlight was suddenly turned on him. "It's just…the way you're talking about this case, of how Batman and Robin are both searching high and low for the killer…while assassinations of huge execs are a big deal, you kinda make it sound like there's something personal going on here with the Bat"
Cody gulped and bristled as he felt the older woman's eyes scan him up and down like a computer. He had never felt so exposed in his life, and quite frankly he wasn't sure he liked it very much.
Needless to say, he was glad when she straightened up in her seat with a sigh.
"I suppose the news will be out anyway." She folded her hands together before her on the table she sat at.
"The person you will all be searching for, the murderer of Scarlett Taylor, is Batman's second protégé, Swift."
MUAHAHAHAHA! Bet you guys didn't see that one coming!
So yeah, it appears Swift is in pretty hot water for MURDER. So for those of you who read Swift Ascension (the New Remastered Edition), you'll remember my Main OC Swift's major rival was a woman called Red Queen, aka Scarlett Taylor. so if you want to know more about their relationship feel free to read Swift Ascension (Remastered) to find out, or you can continue to read this fic and wait to find out because I'll probably be explaining it again at some point.
Anyways I've also introduced our new team of Agents. I've tried to make them as unique and Non-Mary-suish as possible but still, send me your thoughts (constructively of course) on what you think of them. I know there's not much to go on here in this chapter but you'll get to see more of them and their abilities in the next chapter.
So you guys all know the drill by now. Keep reading and reviewing for more and hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon.
Looking forward to writing more and happy to be writing in the YJ community again.
Till next time,
Cheers,
Fuzzybeta :)
