Amanda Waller entered the room with heavy, loud footsteps and one of the guards following her closed the door behind them. As soon as she entered the room the chatter stopped abruptly and she met several pairs of cold eyes.
"Well well, look who shows up." Captain Boomerang spat venomously, glaring at her with nothing but hatred in his eyes.
Enchantress snorted derisively. "Another mission?"
The director of Belle Reve Penitentiary nodded. "That's right." she walked over to the table and slammed a photo on it.
All the assembled super-villains immediately recognized the face of the image. "Absolutely not." Harley Quinn growled, her usual smirk slipping away quickly. "Whatever you or the fucking American government wants from him, I won't help you."
Amanda ignored her and began explaining her mission. "I want you to catch Renegade off guard after one of his usual contracts and take him down by any means. It doesn't matter how or at what price and I don't care if you bring him back alive or dead. I just want Renegade out of the picture."
"Have you developed a hearing problem, bitch?" Killer Croc growled dangerously, baring all his sharp teeth at her threateningly. "Our answer is fucking no."
Deadshot shrugged casually as Amanda's gaze fell on him. "Nope."
Enchantress nodded, crossing her arms in determination. "Absolutely not."
King Shark simply remained silent, staring at the black woman with an indecipherable gaze.
"Don't be idiots." Rick Flag, one of Amanda's most loyal and trusted agents and leader of Task Force X aka Suicide Squad, growled. "Waller has given you a mission and you will complete it without discussion."
"Yeah, no."
Amanda narrowed her eyes coldly at Harley Quinn and smirked menacingly. "Oh? And why on earth, let's hear?"
"Because that guy is one of the best people I've ever met and he's making the world a better place far more effectively than you, the A.R.G.U.S and the American government in general." the former psychiatrist stated bluntly, meeting the older woman's gaze without any fear.
"I've watched him grow since he was a little boy and he's a nephew to me." Killer Croc growled. "I wouldn't betray him for the world."
"He's one of my best friends and he pushed me towards the anti-hero side rather than the super-villain side, improving my life." the red-haired, green-eyed sorceress continued, her frown deepening. "I owe him a lot. He's like an annoying brother but much more skilled than anyone I've ever met."
"I'm not suicidal enough to chase him." Captain Boomerang snorted. "Although I have met him a few times, it is undoubtedly obvious that this boy is capable of things that no one can even imagine. I bet if you ever catch him, and I strongly emphasize if, he will escape Belle Reve in less than 24 hours."
"In fact, if he is captured alive he will not be transferred to Belle Reve."
Floyd Lawton pursed his lips. "And where, then?"
Amanda's cold, icy smile sent shivers down his spine. "In a maximum security facility of the A.R.G.U.S. where there is literally the worst of the worst and it is impossible to escape, much more so than this prison. In comparison, Belle Reve is a walk in the park."
Harley Quinn's eyes widened in shock and she gasped as if she had been physically hit. "There is the greatest scum of all humanity there! Criminals without any moral restrictions towards anything or anyone as serial killers, rapists, depraved and mentally ill people, pedophiles, traffickers of children, organs and human beings and more! None of them would hesitate to sell, rape, torture or kill their parents or children if it meant lessening their sentence by even one measly year! At least most of us super-villains have some sort of moral compass but they don't!"
"Bingo."
"You can't take him there!" June Moone hissed angrily, her green eyes gleaming with fury and panic. "Those sick bastards wouldn't hesitate to team up with each other to put Renegade through hell! Not after he brutally killed hundreds and hundreds of guys like them!
Dick has already suffered immensely and undeservedly in his life and he definitely doesn't deserve to go through a second hell again, dammit!
"It's not my problem." Amanda shrugged her shoulders indifferently and impassively. "It's what he deserves to play God all over the world."
"His playing God, as you call it, has caused crime to drop by many percentages internationally and has wiped out the scum of the world." Killer Croc spat venomously. "He's more effective than you fucking state slaves! Just because Ren is out of your control doesn't mean he should be stopped!"
Deadshot nodded in agreement. "Renegade definitely doesn't deserve to end up in that hell."
I might not like Slade but Dick definitely doesn't deserve this. That boy is truly special and unique.
"Unfortunately for you, the order comes from Mrs. Sasha Bordeaux, director of the A.R.G.U.S. who in turn received the order directly from the president." Amanda declared in a mock-sweet, honeyed voice, as if she were talking to stubborn children.
Several snorts sounded. "Obviously. I bet that son of a bitch hasn't gotten out of his chair since he put his ass in it." Waylon James drawled sarcastically.
Rick Flag growled at him. "Give respect to our president, asshole!"
The former Gotham super-villain rattled loudly the heavily reinforced chains that kept him immobilized. "Why don't you tell me closer, you coward?" he smirked at him, his sharp teeth clicking together forcefully.
"Only this shitty nation is actively hunting Renegade." June snorted bitterly.
"There is literally an international arrest warrant for Renegade." Rick pointed out, looking away from the giant crocodile to stare at the sorceress.
"It's just a formality and you all know it." she responded by waving a hand dismissively. "No other state in the entire world is actively trying to stop Renegade as they all secretly agree with his methods, even if for obvious reasons they cannot express that opinion publicly. Only the US wants Renegade out of the picture only because they don't have any form of control over him and he basically does his job all over the world which strokes the egos of senior US officials. After all, it's the same thing as the fact that you can't even keep the heroes on a leash: it's always been bugging you since the Justice League doesn't answer to you but is independent of everyone."
"Especially you, Waller." Harley Quinn sent her a smug, mischievous smirk. "Ever since Renegade appeared you have been trying to capture him but every single one of your attempts has failed miserably. Tell me, you fucking whore." she placed her hands on the table and stared at her intently, her blue eyes dancing with wild mirth. "What does it feel like to fall so low and hit rock bottom so desperately that you have to enlist the help of the Suicide Squad to capture Renegade?"
Amanda stared back coldly and approached her with a slow, menacing step. "All you bastards will help me."
"I don't think so." Captain Boomerang shook his head. "Not just because most of us care deeply about him or, in my and King Shark's case, are fucking terrified of him and still respect him a lot, but also because how do you think it's possible for us to capture him?"
"I will make your heads explode if you don't accept the mission." Amanda growled, pulling out the remote control that would activate the bombs implanted in the super-villains' heads.
"Go ahead. For Renegade I would die every day." Enchantress stated, contemptuous of her own life.
For Dick this and much more.
The other super-villains nodded. "Then you will have to waste your precious resources, time and energy capturing other super-villains, implanting bombs in their heads and inevitably repeat the cycle once they too learn of your mission, rejecting it without hesitation." Deadshot pointed out with a smirk.
"And then we're the bad guys." the Joker's ex-girlfriend muttered.
"If you don't I will not hesitate to persecute your daughter Zoe, Lawton."
"You fucking bitch!" the best sniper in the world roared furiously and pointed a finger in his direction. "If you even dare-"
"Oh, I dare indeed." Amanda cut him off coldly, her eyes shining with victory at his reaction. "As I have said several times, I have no qualms about achieving my goals, especially if it involves stopping that bastard Renegade."
"And then we're the bad guys part two."
Floyd clenched his fists but didn't move an inch, knowing that she would be able to blow his head off if he made a threatening move towards her. He contented himself with giving her his scariest look but predictably she wasn't scared at all.
"You know, it won't take long."
Waller's gaze shifted to the sorceress and regarded her warily. "What are you talking about?"
"About Renegade notices our absence." Enchantress pointed out with a smirk, her green eyes sparkling with cold, deadly joy. "What do you think he will do when he finds out about the Suicide Squad? That some of his greatest friends are under the control of a bastard like you and forced to go on suicide missions authorized by the president himself because you're just fucking pussies threatening us with bombs implanted in our heads?"
"Renegade will never discover the existence of the Suicide Squad." Amanda bluntly denied it. "This will only happen when he is eventually not killed but captured alive, sent to a maximum security facility of the A.R.G.U.S. and included within this team. If neither the JL nor any super-villain is aware of this team, he won't be either." she stated confidently.
Some super-villains burst out laughing. "You are more naive than I thought if you truly believe that Renegade is on the same level as the JL or the other super-villains." Harley Quinn scoffed with a snort. "He is totally of a higher class than the heroes. Like my friend said, it's only a matter of time before Renegade finds out your true nature and all this shit.
"And when he does, he will not hesitate to break you in every way, to irreversibly ruin the A.R.G.U.S. and cast US departments, even the president himself, in a bad light." the ex-psychiatrist's smile became even more crazy and sinister, a disturbing glint in her blue eyes. "How do you think the whole world will react once it finds out that the highest leaders of the US, the so-called bearers and supporters of freedom and justice, authorize such a violation of human rights? Believe me: Renegade will not hesitate to make public such information that will go around the world in a few seconds. It doesn't take him long to hack every computer server, so it's not a big challenge for him at all.
"Renegade will totally humiliate the US which will lose prestige, credibility and funding internationally, in the media and among its own citizens, thus ruining the lives of all you fucking slaves of this shitty corrupt system. And he has many allies in the criminal world on his side. And most likely even the Justice League itself will help him because they, although pain in the ass, are true heroes and will not look the other way once they know how much the US government sucks. This country's reputation will be permanently ruined and destroyed thanks to Renegade and there is nothing you can do to stop him once he has a plan to carry out."
Amanda Waller stared with an icy, impassive, indecipherable gaze at Harley Quinn, gritting her teeth furiously when the other super-villains shouted in agreement with their teammate.
"I can smell your fear." Killer Croc purred, a creepy smirk on his monstrous face. "Who would have thought that the powerful Waller could give in to fear?"
Amanda ignored him. "Renegade won't do anything like that. I have some cards to play that would prevent him from following such actions."
"Oh?" Captain Boomerang tilted his head to the side, a curious and amused twinkle in his eyes. "And what are these cards?"
"It's none of your business." the director of Belle Reve declared coldly. "It's clear that I'm just wasting my precious time here on you bastard sons of bitches. I'll have to find another way to neutralize Renegade once and for all."
Enchantress waved a hand lazily in her direction, a victorious smile playing on her lips. "Good luck, you fucking bitch. I hope Renegade tears you to pieces until there's nothing left of you, damn you."
Amanda didn't dignify her with an answer and turned away, waving to a guard at Belle Reve Penitentiary as she began to walk away. Just before leaving she gave a sadistic and satisfied smile when she heard curses and agonized screams of pain from the super-villains who were shocked with high voltage electricity thanks to the inhibitor collars around their necks.
She closed the door behind her, their screams still ringing softly in her ears as if it were classical music.
Suffer, rubbish and rot that you are nothing else. I'll also neutralize Renegade soon.
It doesn't matter whether alive or dead. I will take down that arrogant bastard once and for all.