"I trust everyone has their lists ready." Said Hamilton, who was met with nods and grunts from everyone else. "Good, we will go around the table, starting with Director Waller, going to General Eiling, to me, to Dr. Strange, to Lord, to Ms. Rochev. Once someone has been chosen, they cannot be unchosen, and everyone else must cross them off of their list, no matter how high they were ranked. Understood?" Everyone nodded. "Good. One last thing, a lot of the candidates are more powerful than others, so a lot of them will be implanted with nanotech that will make things a little more… even. Now, to get started." Hamilton pulled up a hologram screen that they could all face, with each of their names written up at the top, and seven empty slots under each name, where their team's mugshots would go.
"Ms. Waller, you're first."
"I choose Deathstroke." She said.
Dammit! Thought Rochev. He was her first choice as well. She scratched him off as his mugshot went under Waller's name.
"General."
"I want the Reverse-Flash. He and I have got a long history together, and I want to see him suffer in there!"
"General, I assume you're aware that we are rooting for our own team, correct?" asked a cautious Hamilton.
"I know, I know, but that doesn't mean I don't want them to take a few good hits in the process! I also want to see the look on his face when he finds out he'll be working for me." Said a smug Eiling as Eobard Thawne's mugshot went under his name.
"Very well. I choose Black Manta." Said Hamilton, as he put David Everhart's mugshot under his own name. "Doctor Strange."
"Bane." He responded, simply. This got a lot of frustrated looks from everyone else. He was a popular choice, but his mugshot went under Strange's name.
"Alright, alright, my turn!" said an excited Maxwell Lord. "I choose Deadshot!"
Shit! Thought Rochev as she scratched off her second choice.
"Ms. Rochev." Said Hamilton, with a subtle hint of disdain in his voice.
"Well, since I, of course, end up being the only one whose first and second choices were chosen, I will go with Mirror Master." Hamilton smirked as he put Evan McCulloch's mugshot under Rochev's name.
"Going around again, Ms. Waller."
"I'll be forced to resort to my fourth, as my second and third were already chosen," she said, shooting a glance at Rochev, who rolled her eyes. "Give me Sportsmaster." Lawrence Crock's mugshot went beneath Deathstroke's.
"Genera-"
"Grodd." He said, interrupting Hamilton.
"Someone else you'd like to see suffer?" asked Hamilton rhetorically, shooting a look at Eiling, who just shrugged.
"I will go with Metallo." He said, adding John Corben's mugshot beneath Black Manta's.
"Give me the Riddler." Said Strange, which got a few weird looks from everyone else. Most of them only had combat on their minds, but Strange was one to consider behind the scenes as well, something the Riddler was perfect for.
"Alright then, I want Captain Boomerang!" said Lord excitedly.
"Give me Black Spider." Said Rochev, already resorting to her seventh choice.
"For my third team member, I want Killer Frost." Said Waller.
"Plastique. I was her superior officer-" began Eiling, before Hamilton interrupted a story they'd all heard before. Bette Sans Souci was placed beneath Gorilla Grodd.
"Anyways, I will take Volcana." Said Hamilton.
"Harley Quinn." Said Strange. He was choosing a lot of villains that had been ranked relatively low on everyone else's lists.
"Okay, um, give me Captain Cold!" said Lord as Leonard Snart was added to his roster.
"Multiplex." Said an increasingly irritated Isabel Rochev, having just chosen her ninth choice for her third team member.
"I want King Shark." Said Waller.
"Dammit Waller! You broke my perfect streak!" said Eiling, clearly not actually angry with her. He viewed this whole thing as a friendly game, which he was getting very into. "Since I can't have Shark, Hamilton, give me Parasite!"
Joshua Michael Allen's mugshot was added fourth under Eiling's name.
"I will take Girder for myself." Said Hamilton, adding Tony Woodward to his own list.
"Doctor Strange?" asked Hamilton, already knowing he will choose someone from Batman's rogues gallery. To no one's surprise he said…
"Poison Ivy."
"Okay, okay, let me see…" said Lord, looking down at his list. Much like Eiling, he was getting pretty into this "game". "Give me Count Vertigo!" he said as Werner Zytle's mugshot was placed beneath Leonard Snart's.
"Finally, I get two choices in a row. Hamilton, give me Slipknot." Said a less irritated Rochev as Christopher Weiss was added to her roster.
"I would like to add the Cheetah to my roster." Said Waller, kindly. She seemed to be one of the few board members who actually respected Hamilton and treated him as such.
"Alright, I want David Cain! I was beginning to worry I'd lose him!" said Eiling.
"I'll give myself Ocean Master." Said Hamilton.
"Manta and Ocean Master? Not much variety there, Hamilton." Said Lord.
"Similarities can be very useful when it comes to fighting to the death, Lord." He responded angrily. Lord then raised his arms in defeat as it went over to Strange.
"I will take Killer Croc." Waylon Jones was added to the strictly Batman villain roster.
"Alright, could I get Copperhead?" said Lord. "Can I also say, that I'm on a roll? I just got all my top five choices." Boasted Lord, never taking his eyes away from Isabel's.
"So have I." responded a monotonous Strange, staring at him, causing him to become uncomfortable.
"Anyways," said Rochev, changing the subject. "Hamilton, give me Pied Piper." She tried to make it seem as if she was happy to end up with him, but in reality he was her sixteenth choice.
"Ms. Waller, your sixth choice." Said Hamilton.
"I'm honestly surprised no one else has chosen him yet, but give me Weather Wizard." She said, smirking. She was feeling very proud of her team.
"General."
"Let's see, next I've got… ah! Man-Bat!"
"No!" shouted Strange, pounding his fist on the table, earning startled looks from everyone else. He then took a deep breath and patted down the hair on the back of his head and cleared his throat. "My apologies, it's just that Mr. Langstrom was very high up on my list. Moving on."
It was silent for a few more seconds before Hamilton gave himself Firefly, who was ranked #25 on his list. But he wasn't willing to complain about it like Rochev.
Strange then chose the Scarecrow, who was ranked just above Man-Bat, who he wouldn't be getting.
"Well, damn. My streak is broken, by quite a large chunk, actually. Well, I guess I'll go with Ragdoll." Said Lord, resorting to his twentieth choice.
"Oh, poor baby. Give me Heatwave." Said Rochev.
"Alright, only six candidates remain, Two-Face, Electrocutioner, Shrapnel, Trickster, Bronze Tiger, and El Diablo. Ms. Waller, who will you choose?"
"I'll take El Diablo." She said, finalizing her team's roster.
"Alright Hamilton, I will take Shrapnel." Said Eiling, choosing his 32nd choice.
"Very well. I will choose Bronze Tiger as my seventh and final member." Said Hamilton, adding Ben Turner's mugshot to his list.
"I will take Two-Face." Said Strange, still angry that he was forced to resort to his eighth choice, not getting Man-Bat.
"Alright, give me Trickster!" said Lord, excited to see his completed roster.
"Of course. Of course I'm left with the Electrocutioner! Well, at least he wasn't my last choice." Said Rochev.
"Yeah? What was he?" asked a smug Lord.
She looked away and hesitated. "Second to last." He was just above Metallo on her list.
"Alright, these are our final rosters. We have Deathstroke, Sportsmaster, Killer Frost, King Shark, Cheetah, Weather Wizard, and El Diablo fighting for Director Waller. Reverse-Flash, Gorilla Grodd, Plastique, Parasite, David Cain, Man-Bat, and Shrapnel fighting for General Eiling. Black Manta, Metallo, Volcana, Girder, Ocean Master, Firefly, and Bronze Tiger fighting for me. Bane, Riddler, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, and Two-Face are fighting for Dr. Strange. Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Captain Cold, Count Vertigo, Copperhead, Ragdoll, and Trickster are fighting for Lord. Lastly, we have Mirror Master, Black Spider, Multiplex, Slipknot, Pied Piper, Heatwave, and Electrocutioner fighting for Rochev."
They were all impressive teams. This was anyone's game.
"Amazing! I just got word from the tech department, the arena should be ready in just under eight hours." Said Eiling.
"Perfect. Strange, in that time pull your entire team, as well as any others from Arkham Asylum. Meanwhile, we will get started on the breakout at Belle Reve." Said Waller, adjourning the meeting.