Chapter 6: The Black King

'No more hiding in the shadows. That's a declaration of war.' – Rick Flagg, Season 10, Episode 7: "Ambush".

May 29th 2012. 01:28 PM UTC-6. White House, Washington D.C, USA.

Lex Luthor looked out of the oval office's window, his eyes unseeing. Ever since the attempt on his life, the president often found himself lost in moments where all thoughts evaded him. He was alone in front of his own image and, far in the background, the skeletons of the rest of the world.

Sometimes the eyes looking back at him were softer and more innocent. This Lex Luthor still had his pale red hair and the face of a teenager. Other times however, the man standing in front of him was older, sporting hardened features, a gloved hand as well as a nasty gash on his right hip.

"Reflecting again, aren't you?"

That sneering voice. Lex barely batted an eye anymore. He knew who was standing by his side, sipping on a single mat as he watched the sun still high in the sky at this time of the day.

"Don't you have other people to haunt, dad?" Lex demanded, his voice wary.

Lionel laughed into his glass. "Oh Lex, I doubt most other delusional people in the world hallucinate about me!" he earned himself a glare from his son. "Face it, Lex. You are delusional. I believe that's a result of this little scratch right there." he pressed on Lex's right hip, making him hiss and back away.

"Don't you dare!"

"Ah, Lex, Lex, Lex..." the old Luthor shook his head, grinning. "What's the reason of gathering all this money and power if you can't even find good surgeons capable to fix yourself and get that alien bacteria out of your bloodstream?"

"Why are you here?" Lex barked.

"Well, it looked like as good a time as any to squeeze in some... father-son bonding time, I suppose."

Lex scoffed. "Spare me the lies, dad."

Lionel watched him, a haughty look on his face. "I find it baffling that after all these years and all that you've done, there's still a part of you that doubts."

"I have no doubts." he replied quickly, too quickly by the look on his father's face.

"That's what I'm talking about." Lionel pointed a finger at him. "Somewhere in here there's still the young Lex Luthor who tries to tell you what you're doing is for the benefit of all mankind. Do you really think they're going to praise you when it bursts out into the sunshine? You can't rely on their satisfaction, son. The people aren't able to grasp even the simplest idea of what you're trying to achieve. You need to rule them, rule them with an iron fist and never allow yourself to let their opinion influence you."

Lex rubbed his temple and sat heavily into his stuffed chair. "Thanks for the lesson, dad, it's refreshing, really."

Before Lionel Luthor's ghost could take another dig at him, the intercom buzzed. "What is it?" The President asked.

"Sir, we've just received a message from Colonel Casey telling us Location X has been compromised!"

Lex rose from his seat so fast it fell back. "What?!"

Lionel started to laugh. "Oh Lex! Don't tell me it comes as a surprise! You knew this was going to happen from the moment they broke into the first facility. It was only a matter of time, how could you be so careless?"

The younger Luthor's face twisted in rage. He grabbed his father throat and pushed him against the wall. "I have enough, ENOUGH I tell you of your mockery!" he exploded. "I will crush them under my boot like cockroaches and put the world on its knees without your help! I killed you back at Luthorcorp so I didn't have to deal with the weak-minded looser you'd become and I'll achieve what you've never been able to do without your HELP!"

He pushed Lionel on the ground and the bust of Thomas Jefferson crashed on the wooden tiles of the Oval Office as an uncertain voice came from the intercom. "uh... My President?"

"Prepare the helicopter and call the navy!"

May 29th 2012. 01:52 PM UTC-6. Metinic Island, Maine, USA.

Stars were invading Oliver's vision. His labored breathing and and the pressure increasing in his head weren't helping in his struggle against Victor. The cyborg's hold on him was growing stronger and in a matter of seconds he would be defeated against a man he once considered a friend.

"Vic... Victor!" he whispered harshly.

Oliver felt himself go and, in a desperate attempt to survive, trashed against his attacker in vain, trying to push him away until the last of his strengths gave up and his vision started going black.

He blinked when he felt the pressure being relieved and found himself sprawled on the ground, shocked to have survived what seemed to be an inescapable outcome. In front of him, through his blurry eyes, Oliver took notice of a small group of inmates sitting on Victor. These people, in terrible shape, professed an immense courage to risk themselves in going against such a powerful opponent. They may have been seven sitting on his back but the cyborg looked unaffected and almost effortlessly lifted himself up, forcing them to fall over themselves.

Victor's focus was firmly set on Oliver and he ignored the rest of them as he headed back for the vigilante. The latter was well aware he had no chance in a fair fight, the cyborg being stronger and faster than him, so he decided to play his last card on him.

The Green Arrow waited for the last moment, his hand going to his back when the cyborg grabbed him by the collar and forced him up. Oliver's hand reappeared carrying a taser which he pressed against the mechanical side of Victor's skull.

He felt the electric shock and kept it short. The cyborg's systems being troubled let go of Oliver as he fell to his knees, shaking like a leaf. The vigilante, still recovery from the electric shock, wasted no time and tased him again, forcing his friend writhing on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Vic!" he called over the noise.

Victor Stone's entire body convulsed even after Oliver removed the taser and watched, unable to help him as he experienced a power crash, his entire system being forced off. Victor's cyborg eye stopped glowing and Oliver breathed out a long sigh, kneeling at his side.

"Arrow, are you okay?" came Batman's voice.

"Victor is under control for the moment but he might come back at any time." Oliver retrieved a USB device from his pocket. "I may have something to help him."

Chloe felt the ground moving under herself first. She winced, her eyes still closed when she smelled a foul odor surrounding her and wished it along with the pain in her chest to go away so she could sleep at peace when water sprinkles started raining down on her face and the noises she could pick up in the background started to get more real.

Another splash caught her attention close by and she groaned, wondering where she was and what had woken her up. Opening her eyes seemed to be an awful task. Her eyelids refused to cooperate as if it demanded too much strength from her and she was about to give up when cracklings started erupting in her back.

"...ower... you... py?"

The undecipherable words got her attention and, curiosity being her greatest strength, she forced her body to pulled her out of her comatose. The light was almost too strong for her weakened sight and she moaned, lifting herself on her elbow before shaking her head and taking another chance at glancing around.

The ground continued to feel unstable and the first thing her eyes noticed was a navigational wheel just at her face's level. Then the pool of vomit at her side which prompted her to roll over the other side to escape the smell. She took in the interior of a boat and her memories chose this moment to cut through the haze. The island! She was being pursued!

A blurry figure materialized itself outside her cabin and moving in the direction of the door. Chloe laid back down right as she heard the characteristic hiss of the hinges moving and heavy footsteps approaching. The person fumbled around as they stopped right above her, she could imagine them looking down in pity at her unconscious form.

A loud radio spluttering almost made her jump. "Captain, warn the boss I've found her." a male voice spoke, she felt him looking away from her. "We might need medical assistance here, she doesn't loo-"

The man paused in the middle of his sentence as his eyes fell again on the young woman pointing a gun in his face. He looked like he didn't know whether to be embarrassed or afraid. "Back away." she ordered quietly.

His face broke into an embarrassed smile. "Miss Sullivan, I assure you we mean no harm." he said, raising his hands up and taking a step back

She grumbled, lifting herself on uncertain feet. "You weren't chasing my boat around just for a chit-chat, sailor." she snarked back, keeping her aim on him.

The man didn't have time to react as the radio interfered again. "Bishop, this is King," a new voice came. "Have you found Oracle, confirm?"

Chloe looked in confusion as Bishop pointed at the radio in his hand. "That's my boss, Miss. He's going to want to talk to you soon."

Her brows furrowed. Bishop, King... she was having an idea of who these people were. "Who are you, people?"

Bishop nodded towards his back. "Look over the window," he said as an answer.

Chloe bent on the side and immediately caught sight of the speedboat that had been following her out of the harbor. It was being stationed right behind her own boat, several armed men in dark military uniforms were walking on it as a little zodiac was making the journey from the hydroplane to an immense emerged submarine.

Her jaw dropped. She could clearly see the chess logo painted on its side at sea level.

"We're Suicide Squad – Checkmate." Bishop confirmed. "Can I, now?" he pointed to the radio.

Chloe took a moment to pick up her spirits and nodded as she lowered her weapon.

"Sir, this is Bishop. I confirm. Oracle is here with me she's doing okay." He grinned.

She could hear the hurrays on the radio. "Bring her over ASAP." The Black King answered. "We're going to need her if we want this operation to be a success."

"Copy, leaving now. Over." Bishop ended the conversation. "We can get you to safety, Miss."

She raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you're here to help us, right? My friends are caught in the facility on the Island, the alarms have been set off."

He nodded, his face going serious once again. "We're aware and we share the same goal, Miss. Come with us, you'll have all you need back at HQ to help your friends."

She was about to agree when another voice interrupted her. "Watchtower! Watchtower! Do you read me?"

It was Oliver's frantic tone calling her over the radio. She rushed at her equipment and picked up the microphone. "I hear you, Arrow. What's going on?"

"I need you to hack into the remote device you gave me, it's linked to Victor's system and he needs a reboot!"

"Wait, what?" Chloe blinked.

"It's a long story, Tower. I'll explain when we're done." Oliver urged.

She nodded emphatically. "Okay, okay. Give me two minutes!" she turned towards Agent Bishop who was taking interest in her conversation. "What kind of computer equipment do you have in your submarine?"

The President's helicopter appeared in the sky of the Metinic Island followed by its security escort as they kept their altitude and circled over the facility which, from the outside, seemed unaffected by any of the ongoing drama.

Lex Luthor's goggles were glued to his eyes. He inspected every inch of the island, trying to find out what had happened. "Look over to the west," came the pilot over the radio. "In the sea, Mr President, there's some agitation going on."

Changing direction, the helicopters found a point over the water and flew around it. The President first noticed the two boats drifting apart through the effect of the waves. His eyes almost got blown out when a submarine appeared in his sight.

"What is it?" he demanded. "There's a damn submarine over here!"

The pilot shrugged as another voice gave him an answer. "It's not government, sir." an officer from the second helicopter replied as he inspected the ship. "Wait, I don't believe it, it's the Tucson! The Tucson, sir!"

Lex gritted his teeth together. The USS Tucson. The submarine Checkmate had stolen right under the nose of the navy months earlier. It only meant one thing: the battle for Location X was going to prove more difficult than he had anticipated.

"I want all of the bases in the area on full alert. Mobilize everyone." Lex ordered through seething rage. "I want every ship, every plane, every destroyer around this fucking island. Right. Now."

Inside the submarine, Chloe was caught in her work trying to reverse Victor's programming and bring him back to his old self. Her eyes ran over the lines of codes on the screen, she did her best to compare it, from memory, to the original code and find out was had been altered.

She was so caught up into her work that she wasn't noticing the men of the Suicide Squad watching her.

Back into the adjacent room, the radar operator rang the captain. "Sir! I get two signals right above us, seven more coming from the south!"

The captain approached and took a look. "These are aerial." he said before grabbing the radio. "Get everyone back on board, we're diving!"

The alarm wailed, snapping Chloe back to reality. "What going on?"

The Black King, raised a finger and moved into the captain's lair as Rick Flagg shrugged. "Don't let yourself be disturbed. Whatever we do isn't going to hinder your work." he said before joining his superior. "What is it, sir?"

The king nodded to the captain and folded his arms over his chest. "Governments helicopters, they've spotted us." the captain explained. "I'm going to move the ship to the other side of the island in the Atlantic. It's safer in high sea."

"Do it." The king ordered.

"Dive!"

May 29th 2012. 04:00 PM UTC-6. Metinic Island, Maine, USA.

Everyone was relieved when Oliver found the circuit breaker and cut off the siren. They were supposed to stay for an hour at most, Bruce and Oliver were now counting close to four hours inside the facility and leaving anytime soon seemed to be an impossible task.

The atmosphere had quieted down once the last guards had been knocked out and the most shell-shocked prisoners, calmed. With the adrenaline lifting off, a certain sense of gloom had settled over the people inside when they realized all of the exits were surrounded by military personnel.

With Batman and Green Arrow's help, the few able-bodied inmates had managed to seal off all of the entries to prevent another assault just as the last bit of smoke finally disappeared. The news from Chloe that the Suicide Squad was outside and plotting for their rescue had lifted up their spirits and they were now organizing themselves to face the next couple of hours at the end of which, everyone hoped to leave the island alive.

Oliver himself was itching to get his friends to safety on the submarine where Chloe was waiting for them. He, however, wasn't sharing the current enthusiasm of the inmates around him who were blinded by their thirst of seeing their predicament finally end that they were forgetting how many people were waiting for them outside, ready to pull their triggers if need to be.

"How's she doing?" he asked as he pulled up at Batman's side. Dinah was laid down onto the medical bed of a blockroom, still in a state of comatose.

Bruce pursed his lips. "I don't know what kind of drugs they were giving her but she's caught in this hybrid state between consciousness and a full blown coma. Also," he traced the stitching lines in her throat. "She's been operated on more than once. I don't know what that will do to her ability but it's not good."

Oliver remained silent. The woman behind the Black Canary had always been strong and able to take care of herself. The Dinah now lying on this bed was as far removed from the memory he had of her. She'd lost a lot of weight and looked a lot more fragile than he was sure she wanted to be. If someone like her was suffering this way, he didn't want to imagine how the other inmates unable to help make a stand were doing.

The ones able to stand on two legs without wincing had been busy setting free their comrades and giving them first aids with the Batman's medical knowledge while Green Arrow, flanked by ten other men and women had circled the entire facility and jammed each door and window.

Bruce turned to him, he still kept on his mask while Oliver had pushed back his hood and taken off his glasses. "And Victor?"

"Still out." Oliver grimaced. "The programming done on him seems to be pretty hard to undo. Tower's been at it for the past two hours."

"At least he's alive and as long as he's not waking up in the process to attack us, it's a good thing." Bruce summarized before setting his eyes back on Dinah. He seemed to hesitate. "What do you think about this Suicide Squad? Can we trust them?"

Oliver made a face. "I don't know how much we can trust them but the thing is... they're the only ones on our side at the moment." he said. "I can put up with them even if we don't see eye to eye on everything as long as Lex is out there."

"Hum, Mr... Green Arrow? Batman?" A young woman draped in the medical cloth of the facility was wringing her hands by the doorway. They waved her in. "What can we do now?" she asked.

"Now?" Oliver repeated. "We wait. Right now our fate's out of our hands."

May 29th 2012. 10:02 PM UTC-6. Metinic Island, Maine, USA.

The sun had given one last burst through the clouds and was starting to set, starting the slow process of giving over the reins of the easing weather to the night. A light breeze was blowing over the island as the waves were now gently rocking the submarine.

On its deck, the Black King was looking over the island's horizon through his goggles, spotting two groups of his agents on the land, he watched them progress closer to the facility before he turned around and set his sights on the two frigates that had set anchor a couple of miles on the submarine's tail.

Luthor hadn't lost time calling over half of the east coast's military harbors for help. The federal army was now slowly but surely setting a blockade around the Expandable. The king didn't know if the president would dare targeting the submarine in a direct hit but if he did, the Suicide Squad would have one last card to play. And nobody was going to like it.

On the island, Rick Flagg led twenty combat-experienced men and women through the uneven land in the facility's direction. The distance from the Atlantic coast to the building was closer that way but the sloped terrain was making up for it by forcing them to advance blind, making them more vulnerable from an ambush.

"We're halfway there, people." He said over the radio. "Keep stealth and everything's gonna be okay."

The darkening skies were helping the squad even with their lack of night vision equipment. They had a mutant part of their team who was able to guide them through the darkness thanks to his ability to map the area through sound waves.

Operating in darkness was where they excelled. Their training was tailored for it, it was the entire reason for Checkmate's existence.

"Halt!" Flagg ordered. They'd stopped at the base level of the last slope on their way separating them from the facility. As usual, he sent one of his men ahead to scout over the area and check if the land was clear above the slope.

They watched the scout escalate the steep curve of land before them and peek on the higher plain. The woman ducked and called over the radio.

"Contact!"

A second later, an entire battalion appeared and started firing on the squad from above. "Take cover!" Flagg yelled. Out of the corner of the eye, he caught sight of his scout rolling down the slope and catching a bullet before she could hide in a bush.

"Man down!"

His second-in-command grabbed his shoulder and shouted over the fire. "We need to fall back, it's going to be a slaughter!"

Rick ran a hand over his face. "God-fucking-damn it!"

The Black King saw his men fall into a trap in real-time. He jumped from the deck inside the submarine and precipitated himself to the radio room. An operator was waiting for him, holding a device up for him.

He took it immediately. "Report, Flagg!"

The deafening shots made it difficult to understand the agent over the radio. "We're caught in a dead end, sir! Can't fall back or we'll be taken down one by one before we get to the beach!"

The King cursed. "You hold on, kids! I'll get you out of here, do you understand?"

"Copy, over!"

He handed back the radio and flattened his hands on the desk, shaking his head. Around him, everyone was silent and he could feel their expectant gazes on his back. "Captain!" he called from his position.

"Sir!" came a voice behind his back.

"What's the range between us and the building?" he asked, facing his men.

The captain hesitated. "2.8 miles, sir..." he didn't say it but the King could hear the question: why?

He smirked and passed by them on his way back to the deck, goggles in hand. "Lock target on the facility and fire without confirmation. Two rounds of air missiles." he glanced at the radio operator. "Get me in contact with Luthor over the wireless waves."

His men knew better than to question him and the King went up just in time in the deck to see the first missile taking off high in the sky before crashing down on the white building in the horizon. The two blasts were enough to take down a wall and waking up anyone inside. The echo of the explosions seemed to reverberate on the water.

"Line established, sir!" came the radio operator's voice on his device.

The Black King kept his eyes on the facility as he brought the radio up to his mouth. "I know you can hear me, Luthor." he spoke up. "This was a warning shot. I've got a full store of them if you want to see it."

"What are you trying to achieve?" came the president's unnerved voice. "All I see is you gunning down your allies."

The king's eyes thinned. "I'm sure you won't miss the tons of data gathered in this place." he challenged. "This project's your baby, isn't it? What would it feel to see it die before your eyes?"

Luthor took a long moment before answering. "I'll have your skin." he seethed before ending the call.

Minutes later the government forces backed down from their position and Flagg's squad was able to make it back to the beach. The Black King descended in the Expandable to request a zodiac for himself and the ship's surgeon when he fell face to face with an agitated Chloe Sullivan.

"Who's the idiot that decided it was a good idea to bomb the facility?!" she yelled into the control room.

"Calm down, Miss." he motioned for her to back off, an option that had the opposite effect as she looked him dead in the eye.

"It's you isn't, it?" she went on before he could answer. "Pull that move again and I'll hack into your systems and take control of the ship myself, am I clear?"

The King realized the precarious position he was in, being yelled at in front of his men. He licked his lips. "I'll run it by you before I take the decision, is that good enough for you?"

She nodded and backed away. "Don't underestimate me." she said before disappearing back into the computer room, leaving the king a little shaken up and the crew amused by the scene.

He cleared his throat and bellowed in his most commanding voice. "Get me a zodiac and prepare to set foot on land!"

By the time the night had fallen, all sides knew they were at a stalemate. Lex Luthor couldn't afford losing the facility and, more importantly, the database inside which took years in total combined with the results of Luthorcorp's various projects to amass. Going after the Suicide Squad meant threatening the facility's integrity. His only solution was to find a way in the building without attracting attention which proved to be an impossible task so far since Green Arrow and Batman had made sure to seal every entry.

Meanwhile, the Black King's only positive point was the fact that he ensured the Expandable's safety and managed to take control of the eastern beach where the Suicide Squad had set up a small camp to supervise the operations. It was a massive advantage to have a safe path between the land and the submarine.

The other side of the coin wasn't so bright unfortunately. His audacious move – bombing the facility – may have ensured his men's security but it also made the situation into what it was at the moment: a dead end.

Trying to send another team in the facility would be like taunting a wounded bull and risking everyone's lives in the building which, Oliver and Bruce were keen on. The two vigilantes had nothing to do but tend to the sick and wounded while waiting for whatever would come next and try not to think about it in the meantime.

The hours passed. The stars sailed through and the situation remained the same. As Lex Luthor alternated between feats of maddening rage and desperate military planning, the Black King sat in his tent, lost in thought. Chloe was determined to find a way out through virtual simulations and Oliver and Bruce took turns trying to sleep. They all had the same question in mind: How to end the stalemate and turn the situation to their advantage?

They thought, they waited and waited some more...

May 30th 2012. 04:34 AM UTC-6. Metinic Island, Maine, USA.

Oliver was shaken awake to a bottle of water being handed to him. He didn't hesitate taking it and drank half in one go as Batman sunk down into a kneeling position against the wall his partner had slept against.

"At least we have that." Bruce said pointing to the bottled water that came from a large stock which wasn't the case for the food.

"What time's it?" Oliver asked, still shaking off his sleep.

"Five-thirty five. It must be dawn outside."

The two men sat in silence, watching the inmates around him either sleeping, guarding the area with the staff's weapons in hand or doing just the same. "By the way, the transfer's finally over. Chloe's got all the data."

Oliver turned a bleary face towards his companion between erupting in laughter. "What's funny?" Bruce asked, taken aback.

"S'nothing," Oliver shook his head. "It's just you're telling me this like you just remembered you ordered a pizza!"

Bruce may not have laughed but Oliver could at least take pride in making the Batman crack a smile. He took his breathing back under control. "Ah sorry, buddy. It's the nerves I guess." he said while stretching his arms above his head and yawning.

"It's been a long day." Bruce agreed.

"Come on," Oliver said, standing up. "I'm taking the shift, get some rest."

Every step he made in the middle of these dark corridors stemmed with people was a painful reminder of their predicament. Oliver's light mood was soon forgotten. All of this suffering was going to end one way or another and, even if the odds were stacked against them, he still kept a sliver of hope in his heart that all of these people would walk out of their prison unharmed.

What would happen next was a mystery. Checkmate's submarine might have been huge but it would never, ever, in a million years be able to host almost two thousand people on board. Oliver didn't even count the time it would take to get them all on board. They would all be exposed for an incredible amount of time, it would be similar to walking on a thin rope above a sea full of sharks.

Oliver could rehearse things over and over again as he circled blocks after blocks, he couldn't see a way out. The situation was entirely out of their control and that was something he hated.

He knelt by a young boy who was staring at him through the warm blanket wrapped around his body. He looked barely old enough to be a teenager. "Hey there," Oliver whispered. "Can't sleep?"

The boy shook his head. "You think we will live?" he asked in a timid voice.

The vigilante stared at him. What could he say to this child? Could he lie? Did he even have the strength to lie anymore? He had done his best to give these people hope since the first minutes of the siege but with each passing hour, he found his own assurance to be losing place against the sense of gloom that now reigned over his mind.

"I... I don't know, kid." he croaked out, looking down as if he were ashamed of himself.

"So they'll kill us all?" There was no fear in his voice, just the curiosity of youth.

Oliver put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll do whatever we can to get outta here in one piece. That's all I can promise you, kiddo."

The boy smiled and sat back, closing his eyes. "Thanks."

He didn't know how long he spent looking at this child sleeping but it was enough to throw him off-balance when a small detonation resonated above him. The vigilante looked up to the air vent, his heart picking up pace when he saw white smoke slowly spreading inside the corridor and felt his eyes stinging.

Reacting on instinct, Oliver grabbed a blanket and stuffed it far enough into the airvent to seal it off. Another detonation happened further away followed by another, and another... and a lot more.

Oliver taped his ear. "Batman, we've got a problem. Get up, get up now!"

The entire facility was beginning to be filled with the gas and he could hear people start to cough and shout. "Put on your gas mask." he told Bruce, doing so himself before calling up to everyone's attention. "Get on the ground, they're pumping tear gas in here!"

"They're preparing their assault." Bruce warned.

Oliver started running towards the stock of weapons they'd amassed from the guards and waved people on. "Watchtower, they're coming at us! We need help now!"

A yell caught everyone's attention from the other side of the facility and firefights started erupting by the far-end on the opposite side. This is it, he thought. It's the final hour.

At the beach's camp, the Black King strapped on his bulletproof vest and grabbed an automatic rifle. The facility was half a mile away and yet they could hear the firefight happening inside. It had been going on for ten minutes already and he wasn't about to watch by the sidelines.

Rick Flagg came in the tent and nodded at him. "Troops are ready, Commander."

The King glanced at him and set a radio device in his ear. "Captain, do you read?"

"Loud and clear, sir." came the reply from the Expandable.

"It's time." he said. "Light them up."

They had had to make up a plan in barely five minutes after the first signs of assault started to make themselves clear at the facility's side. It was going to be hit or miss but there would be no second chances. The king hoped Luthor was still as arrogant and sloppy as his reputation predicted, otherwise, he didn't want to think about the consequences.

He trotted out of the tent to meet his squad in full gear under the deafening noises of the air missiles being fired from the Expandables and landing violently a hundred yards or so west of the facility where his scouts had spotted the place chosen by the government's forces to settle their own camp.

"Let's go!" he shouted, leading his men over the exposed land that separated them from the facility as they used the distraction from the submarine as a cover-fire.

"Contact, nine o'clock!"

"Flagg!" the king called. "Take five men and cover us."

His second-in-command wasted no time following his orders and sprinted ahead of the troops to secure the path towards the facility. The king ran faster, spurring his men to do the same. "When you get inside," he spoke into the radio. "Don't wait up and go in but be careful not to shoot up the wrong men."

They knew from Sullivan's intel that Location X had become a hellhole and telling Luthor's forces from the armed inmates in the dark would be no easy task. There was also the added difficulty of said inmates firing at them if they mistook the Suicide Squad with the government's staff.

"No more ammo, Commander." the captain announced over the radio. "We're diving now, good luck."

The king blew out of breath and leaped against the building's walls. "See you in a few, captain. King out."

Oliver grit his teeth together as his ears were ringing. He figured Bruce was feeling the same headache threatening to knock him out. The two of them had refuged themselves into a blockroom and pressed the desk against the door when they realized they were surrounded and the people against them weren't in it to take them alive.

It had been a real slaughter so far.

At the moment, the soldiers were emptying their magazines against the door in hope to break it down. The two vigilantes were forced to sprawl themselves on the ground to avoid the bullets. They'd been incapacitated for a good twenty minutes and outside, even when the men after them stopped shooting to reload, they could hear other firefights happening at other parts of the facility.

Oliver tried to talk to Bruce but it was useless against the noise. He tapped his friend's shoulder to get his attention and tried to make his plan comprehensible through hand movements. The Batman pulled a flashbang from under his cape and showed it to him. Oliver nodded.

The shooting stopped. "Now!" The Green Arrow yelled at the top of his lungs.

Both men jumped on their feet and Bruce punched a hole into the weakened door before slipping his grenade outside. The explosion caught the men unaware outside and found themselves blinded by an intense ray of light, allowing the vigilantes to move the desk away and spill into the corridor.

The soldiers offered no resistance and were easily overcome when they lost their sense of vision. However more men appeared from a corner and Oliver grabbed a rifle from the ground, aiming it at the new arrivals.

"Don't fire! Don't fire!" the men yelled and rushed to cover. One of them waved an arm behind the corner. "Friendly! Friendly!"

Oliver couldn't hear them, the constant whistle that filled his ears kicked away any other sound but he noticed the unusual behavior of the troops ahead of him. "Who's there?" he yelled as Bruce moved to his side and looked as surprised as him.

"Suicide Squad!" he could hear they'd said something but the sense of their words couldn't reach him yet.

"Show us!" Oliver replied, hoping they weren't being played for fools.

When the logo of a chess plate was being waved at them, he let out a sigh of relief. The nightmare was over.

Chloe couldn't wait for the airlock to open itself. The divers had just come back from the facility, carrying with them Oliver, Bruce and the wounded Dinah and Victor. They were all inside, waiting for the water to be pumped out.

Her breath caught when the door emitted a metallic noise as it opened and the men emerged. She leaped on Oliver, feeling his arms wrapping around her as she buried her face in his chest.

"I'm okay." he whispered in her hair.

Oliver tightened his grip around her. Both of them knew how close they came to be ripped apart in the last twenty-four hours. It wasn't a feat they were willing to repeat anytime soon.

Two stretchers carrying Dinah and Victor were moved past them to the infirmary. They would join the injured scout who received a bullet as she was looking ahead of Rick Flagg's team.

"Tell Agent Bishop we've arrived safe and sound. He makes one last sweep before joining us." The Black King ordered to the radio operator.

"Wait," Oliver interrupted. "What are you going to do about the inmates?"

The king nodded. "We'll make sure they are seen by the army on the island. That's their best chance of survival."

"The people shooting at us were soldiers. You're going to send them to their death!"

"No, Mr. Queen." the king calmed him down. "The soldiers going after you were all affected to the facility since the project's birth. They were trained as part of the program. Most of them are dead now." he explained. "There's another garrison on the island that came after the attack and these ones aren't aware of what's going in there. Luthor won't be able to do anything once his army sees what he's been up to."

He paused and smiled. "But please, you've been in a high-stress situation for several hours, you need to rest." he said. "I'll have a room made for you."

"Commander!" the operator called. "A call for you."

Location X remained the theater of gunfire for another couple of hours, the time needed for the Suicide Squad to check every room. They'd split in smaller groups to cover more ground in less time and often reported back to their leading officer the presence of dead or dying inmates caught in their rooms. There were those who'd been killed during the assault, of course, but a large part of them had died before the vigilantes of the Justice League had got in.

One of them, a group of three Suicide Squad agents were finishing their last section when they came up to a blockroom with a door locked from the inside. The leading officer, a battle-hardened woman in her thirties received the call to wrap up her task, prompting her to pick up the radio.

"Roger that, sir." she acknowledged. "We've got one last room to check and we'll be on our way."

"Copy." Flagg replied. "Make it quick, you're the last ones and the king's in a hurry to leave."

Yep, so are we. She thought before turning to the two men she commanded. "Come on let's push that one open."

It took all of the strength of the heavy brute under her command to break the lead-door and rush into the room. "Clear!" the second man shouted.

"Clear!" the giant echoed.

The officer's eyes fell on the man laid on the medical bed. "I've got something."

The two subordinates went by her side, inspecting the unmoving dark-skinned inmate strapped to the bed. His eyes were still open, staring at the ceiling while his mouth was parted as if in shock.

"He's dead."

"Wait a minute, Ben." the woman exclaimed, taking a closer look at the inmate's face. "That's the Manhunter, isn't it? You got your picture?"

"Sure," Ben Turner replied, producing a piece of paper from his pocket and comparing the two faces. "Fuck, you're right, it's him."

The officer sighed. "We're too late for him. Come on let's get back now, they'll leave without us otherwise."

Turner looked back when he reached the doorway. "Come on," he said in his growling voice. "Let's go, Clyde."

The third agent remained rooted at the Manhunter's side. "You go ahead." he said quietly. "I have to pay my respects before I leave."

"Make it quick." Turner shrugged and went after his superior already walking down the corridor and making sure there remained no hostile on their path.

Clyde Philipps holstered his gun and took off his gloves before touching the alien's face tentatively. The Manhunter's skin was turning grey, he must have been dead for a long time already. The agent stared at him for a moment when a strange phenomenon happened.

Clyde's irises were flooded by a wave of black liquid filling up his eyes before a red dot appeared in the center. His inhuman gaze looked over the martian as his ungloved hand touched the alien's skin. The corpse started to produce a light of its own which became brighter and brighter until it engulfed the entire room and Clyde himself.

There was no Manhunter, no Clyde, no bed and no walls. Just an intense white light and nothing else. It seemed time also disappeared in this moment as everything stood still until the light, eventually, started to fade, leaving the room into its earlier state.

Clyde touched the martian's throat before pulling away and slipping his gloves on again when his companion came back in the doorway. The red dots disappeared and his eyes came back to their normal state.

"What was that?" the officer asked, her eyes wide.

"There was some light coming from here." Turner sported the same expression. "Thinker, you okay?"

Clyde Philipps looked nonplussed by the experience and nodded towards J'onn J'onzz' body. "It was him." he said. "He's alive."