Gotham City: a clinical shithole of crime and corruption that seeps into every decrepit alley. An asylum for all those who don't follow the rules of laws and sanity. Above all else, though: it's a fucking crappy place to live. Still, it seems like a haven for all the screwups and scumbags that haven't found their home, which makes this meeting feel all the more destined.
For on another seemingly perpetual night amidst all the muggings and thefts was a large shooting star. A star dangerously close towards the city, entering the Earth's atmosphere and burning on reentry. Upon closer look, though, the streak soon looked like a pristine ship, alien in origin, as it fell like a meteor.
A speed that took an abrupt deceleration as it prompts crashed through the centuries-old Orchard Hotel. Thousands of dollars worth of property damage got unleashed in seconds as tons of debris were rained on the populace indiscriminately. Unfortunately, the rain of terror was not over in the slightest as the ravaged streak throttled towards two more buildings before making contact with concrete. 666 Earl Street got ripped up for a good half-mile, along with any traffic light, car, and bike sent flying.
Dead silence filled the air as, for once, a city so used to madness found the sense to stay quiet as the ship in its damaged frame tried to rumble up. Instantly hundreds of people started to run away from the sound alone, knowing all too well its sister city's run-in with the extraterrestrial. Which immediately left the ship inhabitants with no audience as a hatch unlocked to reveal some little green men. Or, in this case, a little brown raccoon man.
CP813, better known as Rocket Racoon to those unlucky enough to meet him, comically plopped down to the ground. Any pain that he felt immediately got replaced with piercing anger after seeing what had happened to "ships."
"Damn it, Quill, look what you did to my ship."
Almost immediately, a bruised but equally pissed Peter Quill, barely known as Starlord to every person with common sense, instantly snapped back.
"What do you mean it's my fault?! Last time I checked, you're the one who sent those golden assholes after us in the first place," Quill said begrudgingly.
"Eh, that was like four years ago. I'm talking about how you had the brilliant idea of evasive maneuvers while using the universal neural teleportation network! Now you've brought us to- where the heck are we?"
At that moment, the daughters of the Mad Titan Thanos, Gamora and Nebula, respectively, stepped out of the wreckage with the former saying.
"Scanners managed to say Earth right before they shorted out. Meaning we're stuck here."
Shortly after them, a heavily tattooed green man carried two other aliens on each arm. One being a dazed Mantis, while the other being a pissed-off adolescent plant man.
"So this is where you're from, Quill? I thought it would be small and pudgy like you," he said in a rather playful manner.
Personally offended, Quill stated back towards Drax.
"I'll have you know that we Earthlings are some of the kindest people here in the Galaxy," he said in faux pride.
Unfortunately, Quill would immediately be proven wrong as a lone van approached the fallen Benatar through the war-torn battlefield. The Guardians of the Galaxy looked on in casual curiosity, wondering whether they were friend or foe. A cavalcade of costumed convicts from the convoy walked out with arms ready.
To the broader world, they're nothing more than criminals. But at this moment, together, they are one of the few groups dying to save the world: Task Force X. However they prefer the term Suicide Squad. Back in 2016, Amanda Waller created the group to stop the next threat from the stars. It's time to make due on the promise.
From the van, seven supervillains came out: master mercenary Bloodsport, violent vigilante Peacemaker, deranged sociopath Harley Quinn, criminal with a heart of gold Ratcatcher 2, godly King Shark, nihilistic Polka Dot Man, and war hero Rick Flag. Aggressively, they walked out, ready to kill. Only to be met with a sight that genuinely proved truth was stranger than fiction, leaving them all speechless, except for two.
"Um, hello, Extraterrestrials. Welcome to Earth. Do you speak, hu-man," Harley said in a mix of condescendence and ignorance.
"Bug, Rat, Tree," King Shark said as he pointed towards Mantis, Rocket, and Groot, respectively.
"Eh, who are you calling Rat," Rocket said aggressively as Mantis started to wake up while Groot started to get annoyed.
That line alone was enough for Bloodsport to finally break out of his trance, taking charge of the team while unfurling his collapsible gun.
"You know what, I don't even care, let's just get this over with," he said as he started to address the guardians more boldly, "Look, I don't care who or frankly what the fuck you are. But you need to leave. Earth isn't for sale."
The Guardians started to gain a look of both confusion and tension as Starlord answered back.
"Um, buddy, in case you haven't noticed, our ship is in shambles. We can't leave if we try. Now if you can maybe call up some people and-"
In an instant, Bloodsport fired a shot, intentionally scratching the son of a Celestial cheek.
"Then I guess you'll be leaving in a body bag," he said firmly.
In an instant, both groups leveled their respective arms. Bloodsport and Starlord readied their masks, loading his Zune music player while stating.
"Let's see you try," he said.
All hell broke loose from there. Immediately Polka dot man fired first, creating corrosive colored confetti that instantly got met by electricity, plasma, and lasers' respectively. However, that didn't stop some of them from getting through, causing several light burns and cuts to start to collect. Groot and Nebula were hurt most of all, stunning themselves as their skin started to smoke.
Before the other Guardians could even call out their names, though, the Squad didn't dare let up as they sent their big gun. King Shark excitedly jumped up, crashing into the ship so hard that all the Guardians were sent flying. All except Drax, the Destroyer who managed to meet his strike head-on. Surprise and shock took King over slightly before Drax, in primal rage, threw him into Hotel Aventine.
After that, he pulled out his dual knives and charged right into battle. However, things were getting more interesting elsewhere as Groot regenerated over his body, now more pissed than ever before. Before most other squad members could press on, they were soon met with a small army of violent vines that erupted from underneath the ground to ensnare anything in its path.
Instantly the defensive went back to Task Force X as the remaining squad members tried to hack through the vines. Peacemaker, Harley, and Rick were all fighting hacking away with bullets and blades while Ratcathcher tried to activate her rat communicator but it instantly got slapped away—leaving Bloodsport and Polka Dot man the only ones to make headway, selectively burning themselves out of there confinement.
They were already too late, though before Bloodsport knew better, he got tackled by a flying Starlord who picked him up far from the battlefield. Polka Dot tried to shoot up without realizing that Quill had left a small present for him. The minute he fired his trademark weapon, a gravity mine activated within his vicinity, causing his dangerous projectile to come right back at him.
While his body was immune to his dots, his costume was far from it, causing his outfit to burn and smoke at the seams, which left a Guardian all the time in the world to get their revenge. Before Polka Dot could scream in pain, Nebula descended like an archangel, energy dagger in hand as she preceded to pierce his heart. Polka dot-colored blood started to spew from his mouth, forcing him to suffocate on his blood before dying. Abner Krill had finally gotten the death he sought but not the one he needed.
Every squad member besides Rick and Harley grew utterly saddened by the death. But dread soon replaced fear as Nebula turned her blade towards them while Rocket, Gamora, and Groot recovered. However, that would have to wait as the fight with King Shark, and Drax continued. And it wasn't going well for the Destroyer.
The Klyosian got throttled into a concrete wall like a ragdoll, blood coughing up from the sheer impact alone. Still faster than he got thrown, he got back up, bearing his twin daggers at Nanuae with almost berserker-like determination. With almost predatory intent, the two fighters screamed bloody murder as they charged violently towards each other.
Intelligence beats instinct this time, though, as Drax at the last moment slid to create a small gash on his left leg. It wasn't the fatal blow he wanted, but the momentum behind it forced King Shark to stumble greatly. Taking this in stride, Drax instantly gave a mighty knee to the Shark's face, disorienting him even more. Shark tried to pin him with a mightly left swipe, but Drax reacted accordingly, spinning out of the to deliver two small cuts to his arm.
Following up the deadly dance, Drax unleashed two deadly slashes upwards, breaking up Shark's guard enough for him to move in for the eyes! It was here that instinct took the lead, though, as Nananue, in pure survival mode, caught Drax's right forearm in his serrated teeth. To the Destroyer, though, it might as well have been a row of red hot daggers as he let out a scream filled with as much pain as when he lost his family.
Streams of hot blood stained the market, a sight that wasn't too uncommon in Gotham. Piercing weakness took over the Guardian's frame as Nanue lunged towards him. From there, a desperate inhuman grappling match came back as Drax tried desperately to get out of the way., dodging chomps that carved themselves into concrete. Still, his stamina failed him again as Nanaue chomped into left shoulder.
At that point, all of the Destroyer's strength left him in the form of another painful scream. His bonfire's worth of fighting spirit became a flicker. His razor-sharp senses started to shut down immensely, his vision blurry as saw his potential death in the eyes. Realizing his fate, Drax said this.
"I'll see you soon, Ovette, Kamaraia," he said as he closed his eyes.
Before he could meet his fate, though, one unaccounted Guardian entered the fray. Like her namesake Mantis jumped in to touch Nanaue, instantly subduing him with her empathic powers while slipping into unconsciousness. For a moment, the Guardian looked happy, knowing she had claimed victory. However, the minute she saw Drax's fading body, a creeping sadness came over.
Flooding tears started to overwhelm her, but she kept her composure long enough to do one last favor for her dear friend. And that was to hold Drax's hand as he gave the warrior the rest he so desired.
Moving back towards Quill, he and Bloodsport engaged in a mid-air scuffle. Quill tried to aim a shot, but Bloodsport was too close and skilled to let him get one-off. Instead taking the initiative by firing a grappling hook that sent both fighters on a one-way collision course to a high-rise Wayne Enterprise building. Glass and furniture were all sent flying as the two hotshots crashed violently on the floor.
Yet the two fighters didn't miss a beat, instead using the momentum to execute an acrobatic roll and fire their signature weapons. Bullets meets bolt in a fantastic shootout, turning the small office room into a warzone. However, it was still Bloodsport to take the offensive in the fight, lunging in with his deadly sword. With him being too close to counter, StarLord met the sword head-on with the grip of his Quad Blasters.
Quill tried to clobber the saber away with his firearms; however, Dubois pressed the offensive advantage, breaking his defense by hacking away until he was close enough to unleash his ace in the hole. In a single fluid motion, he unleashed the touch of death to Quill's heart pushing back and having him land in a heap. Bloodsport was about to walk away till he heard some stirring without even so much as an added word.
Across his life, DuBois had killed many a man, but he should've known that killing aliens was easier said than done. Amid his touch, Bloodsport failed to realize that one of his guns was missing, which Quill took full advantage of as he unfolded it while saying.
"Yippe, Kai Yae mother fu-," he says before firing his rifle right at Bloodsport's neck, killing him instantly.
A reverberating silence took over the small office as Peter Quill started to slip towards unconsciousness, with his music still blaring. Which left us to the most chaotic fight of them all; mounds of ammunition were sent flying across the city streets, tearing up Gotham worse than any paltry gang war or shootout. It was an utter pandemonium of epic proportions.
Harley and Gamora clashed with their javelin and sword, causing violent sparks at near inhuman speeds. On the other hand, Nebula was relying on a more long-range fight, keeping Rick Flag pinned.
Peacemaker got the rawest deal of all, though, as every explosive shot from his desert eagle did nothing more than prevent his inevitable loss against Groot. The Flora Colossus seemed to get more determined the more he got pushed back with no blow actually putting him down. Leaving only Ratcatcher 2 to turn the tide if she can survive the wrath of Rocket. In between Groot's vines and the general craziness, she almost lost track of her device completely.
However, after minutes of scurrying around the battlefield like her namesake, she saw the communicator wedged beneath a car, which would have been easy to procure if it wasn't surrounded by a maze worth of ruined cars. An angry but furry mercenary wasn't chasing her. To the best of her ability, she ducked out of Rocket's precise aim with only adrenaline and survival fueling her forward.
Miraculously she got within grabbing distance of the device, seconds away from the factor that could turn all the tables, only for Rocket to line up a blast that tears through her legs, forcing her to fall just within reach of her sacred object. Rocket quickly closed the distance between them with animalistic intent, aiming his blaster for close-range shot. However, by the time he got there, it was already too late for him, as Ratcatcher 2 revealed her glowing rat communicator with a mix of resolve and triumph.
For centuries now, Gotham City has been labeled a haven for screwups and scumbags. However, if you were to ask who ruled over it, everyone gives a different answer. Some would say the Dark Knight or maybe the Clown Prince of Crime, but really, it belonged to true bottomfeeders and underdogs: the rats. That fact became all the more clear as an army of them completely covered the entire city block.
Every combatant in the area froze in sheer astonishment at the sight, not knowing the hell that's about to come except Ratcatcher 2. Thousands of the dreaded creatures completely overwhelmed the area, taking Rocket instantly and suffocating like he was underwater. The other Guardians couldn't even shout out his name, realizing they had to put all of their energy into their survival.
Waves of rodents started to trap their feet and gnaw on their skin, limiting their movements and making their fights all the harder. That was made all the more apparent as Harley, in deranged excitement, took the lead and stabbed Gamora in the gut. Harley twisted the spear, even more to make the pain even worse, forcing the Zehoberei to grit her teeth while the criminal relished every moment.
"Ready to throw in the towel?" she said musingly.
The quote alone was enough to fuel Gamora's resolve, refusing to lose more of her family to these walking death warrants. So in one swift motion, she grabbed the golden weapon with superhuman strength, breaking it free from her grip while slicing into her with her GodSlayer sword! Scarlett blood-drenched the warrior's red highlights while she instantly took command.
A jolt of pain reverberated throughout as she pulled the javelin while commanding her sister before getting swarmed by rats.
'
"Nebula!"
Nebula instantly responded without even looking back as she caught the bloody spear. She finally took the close-quarter offensive with her new weapon in hand, jumping on the surrounding cars to avoid the rats. Using his Benelli M2 Super 90 TTI, Rick Flag tried to take out Nebula, desperate for that one shot to end this chain. Unfortunately, that shot never came as Nebula launched the javelin straight through Rick's heart.
The soldier's instant death caused Peacemaker shock and visible pain. Unfortunately for him, Peacemaker was already in a fight where distraction would immediately make defeat. Groot used his little stamina to reinforce his right arm, delivering a mighty right hook that caved in his skull. Thus leaving Nebula completely unstopped as she used her grappling hook to snatch away the Ratcatchers controller while ripping it apart.
As quickly as they came, the storm of rats left, leaving only the two daughters of criminals left standing. A deafening silence took over the entire field, realizing that the two warriors were now alone amongst corpses while Groot regenerated. Ratcharacter 2 desperately looked around, trying to see if anyone could save her, like Dubois or Nanaue, but they never came.
Which left her doing the only thing that she could think of at this point, accepting her fate as Nebula's blaster fired, leaving a sense of irony as the Guardian took a burden worse than anyone of her punishments or even death. And that was being alive. At the same time, so many close friends didn't make it.