"Ladies, Gentlemen over these past few months we've been reviewing drone footage from January twenty-second operation and it pains me to say that we've come up with nothing actionable. Whoever attacked us knew how to cover up their tracks well but I can say with certainty that all of our initial suspect groups can written off. That being said if you should run into these soldiers again, and I'm certain you will, try to capture one alive or at the very least their effects. While we do have Floyd Lawton in custody he is proving to be a tough nut to crack."
Alex, Harley, Ivy, and the Bats sat around Alex's living room as General Anderson finished briefing them about the unknown group that had attacked them. Pretty much nothing came up and it was driving the General crazy that these people were able to stay one step ahead of him.
"No statements, no declaration of war, nothing? I don't like not knowing who we're fighting Sir." Alex asked, already knowing the answer.
"Absolutely nothing Sergeant. I realize that I'm throwing you all in blind but trust me when I say that I don't have any other choice in the matter. You know as much as I do on the matter I'm afraid."
"I'll do some digging of my General, perhaps I can find whatever it is your men are missing." Batman chimed in and the General nodded in agreement.
"That would be appreciated Batman. Now just because we're facing an unknown threat doesn't mean that our original mission has changed, there are still a number of vigilante criminals loose in Gotham and we need them dealt with before we can refocus our priorities."
"Understood Sir. You said you had a new mission for us?"
"Indeed, I do Sergeant. While the Joker may be gone and Doctor Quinzel is on our side, his gang is still out there stirring up trouble in his name. Batman and the others that remained in Gotham have been doing their best to break them up but they haven't been able to track them down. But what concerns me is that about four weeks ago they suddenly dropped off the map and I don't like that. It's possible that their planning something big and I want it stopped. Dr. Quinzel I want you to take the team to their hideout and then I want them dealt with, permanently."
This was a test, it had to be. Eliminating the remnants of Joker's gang would be the last tie Harley had to severe to her old life and he wanted to see if she was capable of doing so. She looked nervous being put on the spot like that but she put on a brave face and nodded her head.
"Yeah, I think I know what hideout they'd be using. Shouldn't be too hard ta get to."
"Then gear up, you have one hour to depart."
"Yes Sir, Harley come with me, the rest of you gear up." Alex ordered, leading Harley over to the armory and opening the door. "There's extra BDU's in that trunk, find some close to your size and get dressed."
While she was doing that, Alex donned his own gear and unlocked the weapons cages, retrieving his IAR, M9, and magazines for each before picking out a suitable weapon for her, something lightweight and easy to manipulate to allow her to retain her preferred style of combat. After scanning the weapons and considering the benefits of each Alex finally settled on the Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine gun. The light weight weapon could be fired dual or single wield and packed enough rounds per minute to lay waste to anyone in its crosshairs.
Harley finished getting dressed as Alex op-checked the weapon, the black fatigues and combat boots looked a size too big for her but they'd have to do until they got actual uniforms made, and she'd changed her hair style to a single tail instead of two, probably to further distance herself from her old self.
"Here, this should suit your fighting style just right." Alex said, handing her the SMG and a belt of loaded magazines. She took the weapon and examined it, cycling the action and smiling as the bolt locked into place with a satisfying 'Click'.
"Wow, this is way nicer than the guns we'd get off the street! I remember my old one used ta jam a lot, probably a good thing too now that I think about as it never killed anyone."
"Well you shouldn't run into that problem with this one, if there's one thing the German's know how to make its quality weapons." Which is true, the same company that produced the SMG he'd just given her also made the IAR that he used and it hadn't failed on him once yet.
Speaking of weapons, the pistol he'd sent in to be made for Harley had arrived a week before they got back and it was absolutely beautiful, all the engravings had been made just right and was a vast improvement over the state he'd found it in. Alex still hasn't presented it to her yet though as he was saving it for a special occasion so it would be that much more meaningful.
With everything set they left for their respective vehicles, Harley navigating them towards where she believed the gang to be hiding. They ended up at an abandoned metro access point in Old Gotham, the section of subway below having been damaged and abandoned after an earthquake several years ago, the perfect place to hide a large group of criminals.
Alex took point as they descended the stairs to the platform below, Harley, Batman, and Ivy following close behind while Barbara and Robin brought up the rear. The inside of the platform was an absolute mess, debris and trash covered the floor and graffiti coated the walls. Access to the subway tracks was cut off by rubble, the only way in being through the maintenance tunnels running parallel to them which was blocked by an old rusted metal door.
"This is the place but it looks abandoned, I mean more than it was before." Harley said as she tried to yank the door open, but it was rusted shut. "Damn it, open!" She hissed in frustration.
"Hang on I got this." Alex said as she gave up and moved aside. He removed his pack and pulled out a Det Linear charge and stuck it along the doors hinges before priming into it with a twenty second initiation system. The others backed up once they saw what he was doing and he waited until they were a good distance away before popping smoke on the initiator. "Fire in the hole!"
Alex walked back to the others as the fuse ignited the explosives, blowing the door off its hinges with a loud "BOOM!" that echoed through the tunnel. Once the smell of explosives wore off they were suddenly hit with an overwhelming odor of decaying flesh and Alex had to resist the urge to gag as his eyes began to water.
"God damnit that smells!" He heard Barbara curse as she wretched from the smell. Understatement of the year, as this was by far the worst thing Alex ever smelt in his life.
There wasn't any power running through the hallways ahead so Alex activated the flashlight on his IARs PEQ-16 and flashed the hallway, seeing nothing in the immediate area.
"Alright, looks like we gotta go further in, but from the smell I don't think anyone will be responding to that explosion."
"Regardless we should be wary, whatever caused that smell could still be in there." Batman warned and Alex nodded in response, keeping his rifle at the alert as he stepped into the dark hallway, flashlight being the only source of illumination.
"Someone must've cut the power, we always had working lights down here before. I don't like this." Harley voiced her concern as we made our way deeper in. Eventually they came across a maintenance room that had been converted into living quarters but it was eerily devoid of life, although weeks old food was still laid out on the table as if someone had been eating.
"Hey check this out!" Robin exclaimed, holding up a metal cylinder for us to see. Batman took the object and checked it over with a gadget from his utility belt.
"Hmm, traces of chlorobenzalmalononitrile. CS-Gas, not particularly lethal but it's still nasty stuff. Guess that explains why we haven't found any signs of struggle yet, to busy choking on gas to fight back. I'm betting we'll find what's left further in." Batman explained to us.
"Isley, anything you can do if there's still left over gas?" Alex knew that Ivy was knowledgeable about chemical weapons and hoped that she'd be able to provide some form of counter-measure to any residual effects with her abilities. CS-gas would dissipate over time but he wanted to take into account the possibility of any remaining active munitions.
"Unfortunately, not at this time, Harley has a slight immunity to the effects of chemical weapons but I'm afraid the rest of you will just need to be cautious. I'll work on creating the anti-toxin I gave Harley for the rest of you once were out of this hole if you'd like."
"Do it. Alright let's keep moving but keep an eye out for any more ordnance."
They proceeded further in, the smell of rotting meat getting stronger as they approached the door to the adjacent platform, which according to Harley was the center of this hideout. As Alex walked up to the door he expected it to be rusted shut like the previous one but instead it opened with ease and he was overwhelmed by the stench from within. After coughing for a brief second, they entered the room and his light passed over the bodies of Joker's gang piled up on the tracks, shell casing littered the platform indicating the thugs had been executed and thrown onto the tracks.
"Ugh, bodies are badly decomposed, these men have been dead for weeks." Alex observed, their skin was already sunken and decaying with flies swarming over the pile. He'd seen a lot of things he wished he could forget but this…this was by far the most haunting thing he'd witnessed and he could tell from the looks of the younger members of Batman's team that the feeling was mutual for them as well. Someone must have found the circuit breaker as the lights flickered back on, illuminating the rest of the platform.
The rest of the platform was a mess as they expected it to be and a quick look around showed nothing else noteworthy, or at least Alex thought until he spotted Harley staring at something in the far corner with Ivy by her side. As he approached Alex thought that it was a person they were staring at but as he got closer he realized that it was mannequin they were focusing on, a mannequin dressed in Harley's old jester outfit. When Alex got to them he saw that Harley was fighting back tears and he quickly realized why, a disturbing smile and crossed out eyes had been smeared on the mannequins face in what appeared to be blood and a piece of parchment was stabbed into its heart.
Harleen Quinzel
You may have escaped us once but we know your still out there and we will find you. Run to the heroes who you called your enemy, run to the military who fails to end the wars plaguing the world, it matters not who you decide to hide behind, we will reach you.
A new world is coming, one without war, without famine and poverty, without heroes and villains playing their petty games while the rest of us suffer. You will not be a part of this new world, you will be forgotten as will everyone who has made the world a battleground for their own amusement. And while we wage war on your kind we do so to provide a safer world for all of humanity.
So, run, hide, surrender, either way know that you will not escape what is coming to you.
Through action we bring war, through war we bring order, through order we bring peace.
The New Era
Harley looked like she wanted to puke, and it wasn't because of the rancid smell of rotting corpses nearby. Ivy offered her comfort by holding her close as the others came over to see what the fuss was about.
"The New Era, never heard of them before." Barbara said after reading the note they had left for Harley.
"Same here but these gotta be the guys that ambushed us. Alright enough standing around, gather evidence and photographs for the boss while I mark the area for site exploitation." Alex ordered Barbara and Robin who immediately got to work. "Hey, don't worry about these guys alright, we already fought them off twice what's the worst they could do?" He consoled Harley. Famous last words anyone?
...Mission Complete...