Last time
"Slade is alive, I don't believe it." Sara said as she, Nathan, Helena, Lyla, and Chien sat by the fireplace.
"He has to be stopped him." Nathan said firmly.
"We will be okay, you will." Helena assured him.
"We have to," Nathan corrected her, "because now, there is so much that we have to lose."
Suddenly, his phone went off. Picking it up, Nathan answered, "What do want, Waller?"
"Something's come up, Mr. Queen. I have a mission for you." Waller said.
"Are you fucking kidding me!? I am in the middle of a crisis! I don't have time for your bullshit right now, Waller!" Nathan growled.
"If you wish to keep your identity a secret, you'll do as I say." Amanda warned him and Nathan hung up in frustration, before throwing the phone at the wall, causing to explode upon contact. Amanda was starting to become a nuisance. For now he would do as she said, because of her leverage over him, but afterwards, maybe it was time to start thinking of getting rid of her, for good.
Chapter Start
Nathan leaned back against the metal walls of the white room he was in, with his hood down and mask off, gazing upon the Convicts that were assembled for task force X. They were Floyd Lawton, Digger Harkness, King Shark, Black Spider and Harley Quinn. Nate knew about Lawton and Harkness from his previous interactions between them. The others were another story.
Shay Lamden aka King Shark had been told by a man named Dr. Shults of Star City that he had a very little chance of survival, already being in the fourth stage of his illness. The doctor, however, suggested a clinical trial—using shark cells to help regenerate the dying body cells. As they began inserting the shark cells, the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator exploded, sending out theoretical particles, causing Shay to be mutated with the shark cells, turning him into a man-shark hybrid. He grew hungry, tearing apart Dr. Shults and eating him. Lamden still had some form of intelligence about him but not much. He had been on a killing spree until Waller's men had managed to subdue him.
Eric Needham aka the Black Spider. As a young man, Eric Needham became addicted to drugs and turned to crime to fuel his addiction. As a result, he robbed his own father's liquor store, killing him in the process. After being arrested, he kicked the habit out of remorse and began a war on the drug trade in Gotham City. Donning a costume, he became a self-styled vigilante and began killing those suspected of dealing drugs. This soon brought him into conflict with Batman. Needham believed that the two should be allies, as he saw common purpose in their war against criminals. His murderous methods however continually put him at odds with the Dark Knight, who stopped him during his first criminal strike.
And Harley Quinn, honestly, what was there to say? Everyone who knows the Joker, knows who Harley Quinn is. You literally can't mention one in a sentence without thinking about the other.
The convicts all groaned as they woke up. First it was Lawton, followed by Harkness, Harley and then the rest.
"Ugh, I got the hangover, but I don't recall the party." Boomerang groaned.
"Aah, crap, not this again." Harley said as she flopped back down.
"You too?" Boomerang asked Lawton, "It's like a bloody recurring nightmare."
"Looks like we got rookies." Lawton observed before his eyes widened when he saw Prometheus. Even though his hood was down and mask off, he still recognized the uniform. Nathan was not really worried about that, as he was using his alternate appearance: black hair, kyuubified eyes, fangs for teeth, and thick pronounced whisker marks on his cheeks. All this made his face dissimilar enough to his real face that no one would ever know it was him. Well, except Waller, as he had not yet gotten this transformation down when she first recruited him.
"Whose the rookie?" Nathan asked with a menacing tone as his eyes glowed red while everyone looked at him in fear, except Harley. Few things actually scared the crazy girl. "Don't worry, if I was here to kill you, none of you would be alive right now."
"No bars, no chains. Time for meat." Shark said as he grabbed Spider by the ankle, even though he had a mask covering his mouth. As he did, Spider kicked him in the nuts, making him let go, before he tripped him up. Getting on top of the shark-human hybrid, he held a knife against the shark man's throat.
"Try it. They'll never find your body." Spider warned.
"Everybody, shut up." Said Amanda as the door opened and she walked in, "Sit down." Most of them besides Deadshot and Nate did so.
"I'm Amanda Waller. I'm here to indoctrinate you convicts into our special forces." Amanda said, while some voiced their opinion, others were alright with it, as they got out of jail quicker.
"Task Force X is an off-the-books government strike team made up of convicts with no hope for release serving as expendable agents for impossible missions. Succeed and I'll shave time off your sentences." Amanda explained.
"If we don't?" Shark asked.
"You'll be dead. Any other stupid questions?" Amanda said.
"What did you put in our necks? A tracker?" Black Spider asked.
"Yes. And a powerful nanotech explosive. Run away, get yourself captured, disobey an order, hell, give me a right answer too slowly, and I'll blow your head clean off." Amanda informed them, to most of their fear, though Nate had nothing to worry about, as he had no bomb in his neck.
"So, what's so dangerous this time that you had to call me in?" Nate asked.
"You're going to break into Arkham Asylum." Amanda announced, and most of the them voiced their disproval. Floyd was indifferent and Harley was excited for…reasons.
"Where do we start?" Nate asked without missing a beat. The sooner he got this nonsense done, the sooner he could return his full attention to Slade. This seemed to get Harley's attention as she looked at him and got up, walking over to him.
"Oh. I like you, cowboy." She said with crazy desire and lust, pressing her fit body against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "You're loco and me likey your loco-motion."
"What's the situation we're dealing with?" Nate said, not minding the contact one bit, the others being a bit weirded out by him letting the crazy broad stay that close to him.
"A week ago, while in my employ, a lowlife calling himself the Riddler managed to gain access to my computer system. He downloaded a file containing the identities and histories of every current, past and potential member of the suicide squad." Amanda said as she looked at Nate, knowing he was angry for being called away from the Slade situation. He had left a clone to act in his stead, but he still would prefer to handle something like that in person.
"Including ours." Nate stated, now seeing that this was something that needed dealt with. He couldn't have his secret identity out in the open. That is, of course, if she was telling the truth. He knew better than the others that Waller was always working some other angle.
"He's threatening to release them all on the Internet. You're going to get it back. Riddler's got one copy and it's on a thumb drive in his cane which is currently locked away in the Arkham property room—" Amanda was saying but Harley finished for her.
"—In the intensive treatment building, right under the solitary confinement cells. Good times." Harley said.
'That's right, I had almost forgotten that she used to work there when she was still sane. Before the Joker broke her mind and turned her into what stands before me.' Nate observed.
"So we'll need someone inside." Lawton observed.
"Is it me? Can it be me? Dibs!" Harley said excitedly.
"She's a wild card, luv." Harkness pointed out to Amanda. He had been forced to work with Harley before, so he knew from experience.
"Harley Quinn has an encyclopedic knowledge of Arkham's layout and its logistics." Waller said.
"She gonna be okay that close to the Joker?" Lawton asked, and Harley actually seemed to get angry.
"I'm fine. We're done. He's a jerk. Whatever." Harley said in a pouty and angry expression.
'Man, I wish I could still sense emotions so I could know for sure what she was feeling.' Nate sighed mentally, then groaned in annoyance, because he did not want to be dealing with or thinking about the weird memories right now.
"You'll be snuck into Gotham. You'll rendezvous with a power broker who will set you up for the break-in." Waller said, "This is as off-the-grid as it gets, so let's keep the body count to a minimum. Deadshot, rubber bullets only."
"What about the Bat?" Nate asked.
"He has his hands full on another case. In fact, we work it right, we might be able to take advantage of him." Waller said as she turned to walk away. "I'm clear. Gas them." Amanda said as the door closed and the room filled with the gas.
On the plane
"I'm getting tired of this trick." Lawton said as he groaned awake.
"Ugh, I sure didn't miss this at all." Nate said as he woke up, to find every one cuffed to their seats.
"You and me both, cowboy," Harley said to Nathan as she started to flirt with him, "Maybe when we get into Gotham, I can show you around. I know some tight places."
"I'm down for that," Nathan flirted back, getting raised eyebrows from Lawton and Harkness.
"I told you, Harley. If you're giving it out, heave a chunk my way, eh?" Harkness offered.
" Ah. You wish." Harley said in disgust, "Shake your boomer-wang at the shark guy."
"Do it, and I'll bite it off." King Shark commented and Nathan chuckled a little.
"Come on, Harl. For old time's sake?" Boomerang pressed on and Lawton was getting annoyed.
"Are we gonna have a problem this time around?" Lawton asked Harkness.
"I think we might, mate." Harkness bit back.
"Enough." came Nathan's voice as suddenly Harkness found himself being choked by Nathan, who had gotten out of his seat. His demonic eyes glowed redder than usual as Harkness struggled to breathe. Lawton narrowed his eyes, containing the surprise.
"The lady made herself quite clear. She's not interested." Nate said as he left go of Boomerang, letting him breathe.
"Oh, you tell him, hot stuff." Harley complimented. It was then that the red lights blared to life and Nathan sat back in his seat as everyone was strapped in.
" You think that means we're there?" Harley asked. As if on cue, walls closed around them and they were dropped in separate cubes from the plane.
"Remember this feeling, convicts. I hold your lives in my hands." Waller taunted them after letting them fall for a bit.
"Damn it, Waller! Open the chutes before you get us killed! Now!" Nate shouted and finally, the cubes opened and they fell for a bit more before their parachutes opened to slow their descent. It was clear that Harley had a bad chute when her's snapped and she was free falling towards the ground.
Nate made a split-second decision and he caught her, to Harley's honest surprise and gratitude.
"Everyone good?" Nate asked as the others landed safely and without issue. "Great. We need get to the rendezvous unseen." Black Spider then pulled open the gate in the road to the sewer.
After a good 10 minutes, Black Spider informed the team, "A few more miles."
"Good, let's not dawdle," Lawton mentioned.
"Aah! This is flipping bonkers." Boomerang complained when he stepped on a dead rat, "Sloshing through sewage so a guy dressed like a bat won't spot us?"
"You wanna head topside and mess with him, slick? Be my guest." Nate said and everyone stopped to glare at Boomerang.
"No, we're practically there." Boomerang said as he caved and Nate smirked.
"Yeah, that's what I thought, dumbass." Nate said in insult.
20 minutes later, they hopped out of the sewer to be in front of the Iceberg Lounge, which was the base of operations for mob boss Cobblepot aka The Penguin.
"We're closed. Private party." The goon said when Lawton knocked on the door.
"Yeah, we're the private party." Lawton said as they opened the door.
As they walked in, Nate whispered to Lawton. "Penguin knows you best, so you should probably handle the talking." Lawton was in agreement as that would help make this mission go a little smoother. The Iceberg Lounge was rather stylish, Nate had to admit.
"This way. He's waiting on you." The goon said as he announced there presence to his boss. "Your guests have arrived, Mr. Cobblepot."
"Right, right. Come in." Penguin said as he was chowing down on some raw fish. "Welcome to the Iceberg Lounge. I'm just finishing my supper."
"Pardon me, Mr. Cobblepot." Lawton said, getting his attention.
"Lawton? Oh, I never pegged Deadshot for a team player." Penguin commented.
"Oh, things are tough all over, sir." Lawton said.
"That's a good one. Ha, ha." Penguin laughed as he turned to one of his goons, "This man is the best assassin I've ever seen. And I only work with the best."
"I aim to please, Mr. Cobblepot," Lawton replied back, "I was told you can get us into Arkham?"
"I can indeed. I've made arrangements to sneak you into the crazy farm." Penguin said as he grabbed a file and was about to hand it to them, "Follow them to..." Penguin stopped when he recognized Harley.
"Clown!" he shouted as he drew his umbrella gun.
"You're not still mad about that truck, are you, Pengy?" Harley asked innocently as she peaked out from behind Nathan. On cue, all the goons pulled their guns out on them, "It feels like you are."
"You cost me a lot of money, funny girl. Her and her looney boyfriend nicked my truck of high-dollar cigar's and drove it into the river. Just for a fucking laugh." Penguin informed the Suicide Squad.
"Does it matter that Mr. J and I aren't together anymore?" She asked, and that only served to spur him on.
"Nobody steals from me and walks away. It's bad business, love." Penguin said as he was dead set on killing her right now.
"You're right, on principle, you should kill her." Nate said, as he understood the need to maintain one's rep.
"But you know what else is bad for business, baldy?" Nate said as his eyes glowed, his demonic look being more pronounced, "Double-crossing your clients. And I imagine business won't be nearly as good if people think Mr. Cobblepot can't be trusted to keep a deal that's already been shook."
At this point, everyone was sweating as Penguin contemplated Nates words and the effects his actions would have on his future business dealings before he backed down, "Get her out of my sight."
Nate stepped in front of Harley as Lawton took the package, "There's your files. Memorize the contents. You can grab some shuteye in the rooms above. You deploy tomorrow night under the cover of darkness, and then I never want to see any of you on my turf again."
"Now get the hell out of here!" Cobblepot shouted angrily at them and the Suicide Squad was allowed to walk away with their lives.
'Oh, don't you worry Penguin, I'll get you someday. Luckily for you, I've got bigger fish to fry right now.' Nate thought to himself as he walked with the rest of the Squad to get their gear.
Later
Nate's Room
Nate walked out of the shower and bathroom and looked in mirror. He had just gotten off the phone with Helena and the others, having called them to let them know how he was doing and to see what was happening. So far, nothing major had happened back home and Nate was hoping it would stay that for just until he got back.
Nate stared at the mirror, thinking to himself that it was good that he was here in Gotham, as there was some business he needed to handle in Arkham. Some names to cross off and whatnot. 'But for now,' Nate thought with a smirk as he knew Harley was hiding under his bed, having been waiting for him to come back, 'time to have some fun and maybe also see if I can't break Joker's hold over her.'
Nate climbed onto his bed and made to get some sleep when Harley's voice was heard, "Welcome back. Did ya miss me?"
"Something I can help you with, Harley?" Nathan asked as he turned onto his back to Harley already naked and straddling his lap.
"I got an itch, that I need some help scratching, cowboy," Harley whispered as she made to kiss him, but grabbed her and tossed her over so he was on top and holding her hands above her head. "Oooh, good start."
"You're about to learn something, hot stuff. In this bed, I'm usually the one in control." Nate smirked as he leaned down and kissed her on the lips.
Next Night
Doll Shop
In front of a random doll shop, was the truck that the Suicide Squad was in. Well, them minus Harley, as she was currently inside the doll shop across the street, breaking and entering, plus vandalizing the property. She made it look like she was looking for some doll she wanted, which would fool most people, as those people assumed she was insane, which she sort of was. What was bothering Nate about this was not Batman stopping her, as that was all part of the plan to get inside of Arkham, but rather what he was demanding of Harley, demanding to know where 'it' was.
"What's he talking about?" Deadshot asked, as he too was curious about what Batman wanted and concerned it might interfere with their mission.
" Who knows what these wankers get worked up about?" Boomerang asked, as he did not care.
"I don't feel like going in blind here." Nathan said as he called up Waller, her coming onto the screen very shortly. "Waller, what the devil's going on?"
"You don't get to call me up and demand answers, convicts." Waller said in annoyance.
"I do when it concerns the mission and things that might interfere with it. What is Batman on about?" Nate pressed and Waller considered not telling him before she relented.
"Joker stole a dirty bomb and hid it somewhere in Gotham." Amanda admitted, shocking everyone but her. She had not really seen a need to tell them, because as far as anyone knew, the bomb wasn't even armed, "Apparently it's large enough that the radiation would kill half the population. Batman's torn the city apart trying to find it. At one point he thought Riddler might know."
"Waller, this is crap." Deadshot said in frustration.
"I do not care, convict. Do your job." Waller said coldly before she promptly ended the call. Nate was not happy about this. He knew Joker was dangerous, but apparently, he had actually underestimated the bastard's madness. Joker was not going to live past tonight now, that was for sure. But first, he had to get into Arkham.
Arkham Asylum
A little bit Later
Nathan stepped out of the police car, wearing the mans clothes, who was currently inside the trunk. A couple of knocks and both he and Harley, who he was escorting in, were inside Arkham Asylum.
"I'm in the middle of lunch, now I gotta process this dizzy dame?" The fat guard said in complaint.
"Crazy, huh?" Said Harley with crazy look on her face as she pressed her head up against the glass.
"Why don't I just toss her in her old cell and come back?" Nate offered. It would speed this mission along and also help avoid the Joker. He'd come back and kill him later.
"Yeah, right. I got, like, half a dozen new forms to fill out before you can even come in." The guard scoffed in complaint as he moved to his computer. When the camera turned away from then, Nate whispered in her ear, "We've got 10 minutes tops to plant the device."
After taking a few minutes, the fatass at the desk finally filled out the forms and let them walk through. The junction box was up ahead. They nearly made it when they heard a voice.
"Harley? Huh! Is it really you?" came the voice of another crazy. Both turned to see the Joker in his cell. Harley felt like she was bout to break in half, torn between her old loyalty to Joker and the new one that budding between her and Nathan.
"Ah, shit." Nate muttered. He had been hoping to avoid the Joker while he was with Harley to avoid a scene but guess that plans out the window.
"Aren't you even going to say hello? Heh, heh." Joker laughed.
"Keep walking." Nathan urged her in the opposite direction. He fully intended to deal with Joker soon, but not right now. Inconvenient timing and all that.
"Tell him to shut up." She whispered back.
"Aw, I can tell you're still sore. At least the bruises cleared up nicely," Joker chuckled, "What's your hurry, Harl?"
Harley could take it no more as she grabbed the gun from Nate's side and ran at the Joker, shooting at him while shooting, "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!"
"I hate you, you bastard!" She shouted as she shot at him, Nathan coming up behind her to try and restrain, some of the bullets she fired hitting a nearby junction box. "I'll kill him! I'll kill him myself for what he's done to me!"
"Women. Am I right, officer?" Joker asked Nate nonchalantly, "Can't live with them, can't kick them out of a moving car."
Nathan held her against him and saw out of the corner of his eye some exposed 120 volt wire from where she shot. Getting an idea, he whispered in Harley's ear, "Kick me towards the junction box."
"What?" She asked in surprise.
"Just do it, and then you can go back to killing him." He whispered in her ear so nobody knew. She did so, kicking Nate and he made himself slide over to the junction box.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Sorry, hon. Bulletproof." Joker tsked her when she walked close to the glass and pointed the gun at him.
"Even better." She said, sticking the gun through the airhole, "Pudding."
Harley fired her first shot which almost hit the Joker and ricocheted off the metal walls. She emptied the rest of the clip into the cell as Joker hit under the metal frame of his prison bed. " Why, Harley, if I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to kill me." Joker said, relieved that he wasn't dead yet. He wanted to still be alive for when his nuke went off!
She snarled and threw the empty gun down. "We're finished, you and me! I got someone new now. Someone BETTER!" Joker growled in response, jealousy and anger shining in his eyes.
"Oh, well. This'll have to do." Nathan said as he finished discreetly attaching the device to some exposed wire, which would hack into Arkham's network and allow the rest of the team to infiltrate the prison.
"Come on, we're out of time." Nathan said as he walked up to her, reminding her about the bomb in her neck and that Waller needed to be appeased if she wasn't going to blow Harley's head clean off.
"New guy?" Joker asked.
"That's right!" she sneered down at her former lover. "You're not jealous, are ya?"
Her finger jerked over a shoulder, her face preening with pride as she indicated Nathan. "That's him."
"Bah! I bet you buy your shirts secondhand too!" Joker said after looking at him for a moment.
Nathan, who had been in the process of moving Harley along, suddenly went very still. "...what? What did you say?"
The Joker laughed wetly. "I said she's used goods! You can have her! Never could handle a little blood in the bedroom."
Harley felt her heart wrench. Somewhere inside her, that last shred of loyalty she had to Joker shriveled and started to die.
Nathan grew annoyed at this, his eyes going kyuubi for a moment. "Don't you worry, Joker. You'll get yours too." He had bigger fish to fry at the moment, but he would be back. Oh, he would be back.
Main Control Hub
Deadshot knocked politely on the doors to Arkham's main control hub. King Shark gargled a laugh at him. "Knocking is for the weak," he declared as he shoved the doors open. Boomerang ran in and tossed a pair of his namesakes around the room. All the guards and officers who turned to face them barely had time to reach for their weapons before they were hit in the head by the flying projectiles. Boomerang caught his tools and tucked them away as the team moved into the room. In Nate's ear, Waller's communicator activated. "You're at the point of no return," she told the team, "Don't get too cocky."
Boomerang reviewed the computers and grimaced. "That kitchen fire put the whole island on yellow alert. Those cameras make us, we're toast."
"So, shut down all the security cameras. Duh," said Harley, making squiggly smiles on the knocked out guards.
"That's a sure-fire way to get the Bat's attention," said Deadshot.
"Play yesterday's footage," suggested King Shark, .
Boomerang turned to grin at him. "Aw, the shark had his first thought."
"Shut up, you imbecile," Nate snapped at Boomerang before calmly addressing Killer Shark, "Run that by me again."
King Shark blinked nervously. "Play yesterday's footage of the same time."
"I can do that!" squealed Harley as she put herself behind a computer.
"We can operate without eyes on us," nodded Deadshot.
Boomerang folded his arms. "Batman's or Waller's?"
"Both." Deadshot said. Nate wasn't so sure. Batman was known to be very smart and made it his business to know everything about everyone. It might fool him for a little bit, but Nate doubted it would last long.
Black Spider reviewed a map of Arkham on the wall. "The intensive care ward is just across the yard," he announced, "We'll have to bypass a few guard towers to get there."
"No problem," said Deadshot smoothly, "Let's move, but low profile." They turned to leave, but Black Spider stayed a brief moment or two longer at a computer. Nate glanced at the screen before he shut it off to see a live stream of security footage from the cell of one Edward Nigma. Interesting.
It was raining when they got outside, yet another of Gotham's perpetual on-again, off-again rainstorms. The team hid behind a row of bushes as the roving lights of the guard towers played over the yard. Black Spider peeked around the foliage. "I can scale the towers," he said.
"No time," replied Deadshot. He spun out from behind the bushes and raised his wrist guns, marking his targets.
Boomerang pushed past him and drew his trademark weapons. "You do two, I'll do two," he said.
Deadshot frowned, but nodded. "On my mark," he murmured but before he could give the signal, Prometheus drew his bow, and rapidly nocked and fired 4 arrows at the guards, each one piercing their brain. Thanks to his physical enhancements granted by the Mirakuru being enhanced further, Nate almost had superspeed at this point, and could draw and fire hundreds of arrow's a minute if he felt the need.
"You two were taking too long," Prometheus said as he holstered his bow.
"Hmph, fucking wanker," Boomerang growled as he looked away, angry that his chance to show off had been ruined. He looked back to see that Prometheus was gone. Everyone else noticed this as well. "Where'd the bastard go?"
The only indication they had was when they saw him through the window of the guard shack near the gate to the storehouse, as he came up being the guard and snapped his neck. Prometheus pulled the guard down and out of sight. Once he was out of there sight, he made a clone of himself. "Go. You know what to do." The clone nodded as he disappeared from sight just as the rest of the squad met him near the gate.
"Oh, I didn't know you were a ninja, loco. Ninja's are awesome!" Harley exclaimed.
"Perhaps I'll show you more sometime," Prometheus flirted back with her, "But preferably after we are not in hostile territory. Let's move."
He and the team followed Deadshot into the ward and down into the basement where they were met by a large metal door and a keypad.
"This is the property room," said Deadshot, "Locked, of course."
"Not for long!" snarled King Shark. He strolled forwards and bit at the bar locks on the door. He tugged hard, but the bars didn't budge.
Boomerang smirked at his struggle. "Now that's just pathetic."
Harley rolled her eyes. "Every Arkham warden since the first one uses their birthday backwards for practically everything," she told the group as she punched numbers into the keypad.
Deadshot frowned at her. "How'd you know that?"
"I used to work here," said Harley, twirling her bat, "Didn't I mention that?"
Boomerang looked at her with a sneer. "Oh c'mon!" he said in an exasperated tone, "As what? A janitor?"
"A psychiatrist silly," she replied, "By the way pal, someone who uses boomerangs has some real issues letting go." That brought a chuckle to Nate.
The doors slid open and Harley bowed. The room beyond was a wide warehouse filled with wooden crates stacked atop each other. "Blimey, where do we even begin?" asked Boomerang.
"Everyone take a section," ordered Nate, "Just start looking."
They each walked off to their separate sections. Harley walked alongside Nate for a little bit before she found the box that contained her stuff. Harley opened the box happily.
"My acid playing cards. I knew I left them here." She said as she rummaged through her stuff before she found her big mallet and picked it up. "Aw. I've been looking all over for this. Here's where it went."
Nate noticed that the air around that hammer felt weird. 'That's odd,' He noted suspiciously.
Prometheus soon found Riddler's box. "Bingo," He said as he opened it and found the cane. He pulled the ball part off and then opened it to find it was empty.
"What!? It's empty," Nate said to himself, staring at the empty space inside the ball. Waller, he realized in anger, had played him. There was no copy of the suicide squad lists! That means she wanted to keep the team for the most part, distracted, while Riddler was the real target!
He was brought out of his inner anger at being played when he heard a cry of "It's Batman!". Nate leapt up into the rafters to see Batman had dodged around bullet fire from Deadshot and hurled exploding batarangs into his wrist guns. As Deadshot stumbled backwards, Batman grappled up to a catwalk where he engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Black Spider. Black Spider was certainly skilled but he was no match for Batman who quickly took him down.
Batman then dodged Boomerang's attack with ease before using his zipline to wrap around Boomer's wrist, before pulling him close and delivering a hard elbow to the face, knocking him down. Harley erupted from a nearby crate wielding her giant mallet. She twirled it expertly as she charged Batman, but he delivered a simple yet devastating clothesline to her neck and she flew back into another crate. King Shark burst through a wall of crates and tackled Batman to the ground, but he used a pair of defibrillators in his belts as tasers and delivered an electric-charged punch to the man shark's jaw.
Meanwhile Nate was examining the fight below. Something did not seem right about this. Waller clearly wanted Riddler dead. If he did indeed know the truth, he didn't make a copy, he would have memorized it. It was certainly possible, so Riddler would need to be added onto the list of people Nate would be killing tonight. So that left Batman and the nuke. As he watched Harley and Batman's brief exchange, his eyes widened under his mask as he finally figured out where the bomb likely was.
That was when Deadshot reemerged onto the scene with a rocket launcher. He fired the first rocket at Batman, but the hero easily dodged under it. The rocket spiraled upwards and exploded near the ceiling, sending part of the catwalk tumbling to the ground. Deadshot loaded in another rocket and aimed it again, but Batman knocked it away from him before he could fire again. Large chunks of the ceiling began breaking apart and falling to the ground, making all the members of the Suicide Squad run for the exit.
Batman made to escape as well but was interrupted as Prometheus tackled him to the floor as the roof finished collapsing. Batman pulled himself to his feet as the dust began to settle, only to find Prometheus standing a few feet in front of him.
"Pleasure to finally meet in person, Dark Knight." Prometheus greeted. Batman didn't have time for this and went for a batarang. At inhuman speed, Nate pulled out, nocked, and trained 3 arrow's at Batman, causing the Dark Knight to pause. "Ah ah, don't even try it. I'm a lot faster than you are."
They were at a stalemate for a moment before Nate said something. "So, I heard through the grapevine that you're looking for a nuke."
"Tell me where it is." Batman demanded.
"Why are you so adamant to find it? Surely-" Nate paused for moment as he thought about something before he asked, "Don't tell me that crazy fuck of a clown actually rigged it to blow!?"
"I don't know for certain, but I can't take the risk that he did. I've been searching for it for a while now. Every second I don't find it is another second that Gotham potentially loses. If you know anything about where it is, you need to tell me." Batman demanded.
"…I think I know where's it at. I just managed to piece it together during your little fight with my team. But before I give it to you, you have to swear to give me and my team a head start. It the only way I tell you anything." Prometheus said. Batman would not normally agree to this, but the quicker he found that nuke, the sooner he could disarm it and prevent millions of people from being nuked to death.
With the Suicide Squad
The squad minus Black Spider was outside of the entrance to the recently collapsed building. They saw a silhouette through the smoke. They thought it was Batman and prepared for another fight, but soon lowered their weapons when they realized it was Prometheus.
"No way," Deadshot muttered as he lowered his remaining gun in assumption.
"Don't everyone get excited now." Prometheus said as he walked out of the cloud of dust.
"Do you have the drive?" Deadshot pressed.
"There is no drive, Deadshot. Waller played us. The real target was Riddler all along. If there is indeed a list, it's one Nigma has memorized." Prometheus said. "But enough about that. Harley, I need the bomb Joker stored in your hammer."
Harley absolutely hissed, her skin going chalk-white beneath her makeup.
"Wait, whaddya mean BOMB?!"She demanded to know and Nathan just took the hammer and put it on the floor, popping the top to reveal the nuke, which was counting down.
"Wait, that's-" Lawton muttered as he realized that Joker did indeed a have nuke. And worse, it was rigged to blow, judging by the beeping and the timer ticking down!
"Yes, it appears the crazy clown did indeed have a nuke in here. I cannot disarm it." Prometheus said as he very gently removed the nuke and placed it on the ground before reassembling Harley's hammer and handing it to her. "Fortunately, there is someone that can."
At that cue, Batman came rushing out of the smoke. "Forget about Batman. We need to move! Spider's gone after Nigma!" Prometheus ordered as he pulled the team after him and left Batman to hopefully defuse the nuke.
With the Riddler
Nigma was reading a book as he usually did to pass the time in his cell when he noticed something was off and sat up. "I knew Waller would send someone eventually. I'm too clever to be left alive." He had a smugness about him, despite his high intelligence.
"Nothing get's passed you does it?" Spider asked as he picked the lock and opened the door walking in.
"Do you even know why you're assassinating me?" Riddler asked. He was not begging to be spared, merely asking a question. The Spider's answer would formulate how he would respond next.
"Waller says you stole from her and that she wants to make an example out of you."
" And that satiated your curiosity?" Riddler asked, again digging for information, while his calm and soft-spoken disposition made it seem like he wasn't.
"I follow orders. I don't care for questions from scum like you." Spider snarled.
"I don't believe that. The human mind always has questions." Riddler corrected as he tried to stand, but Spider pulled out a knife and held it to his throat.
"Fine, I suppose I do have one question. Why didn't Waller just blow your head off with your nano bomb?" Spider demanded as he pressed the knife against Riddler's throat.
"It's the same reason she needs me dead. Because I know how to diffuse them." Nigma revealed.
"Interesting," came a modulated voice. That was all either Nigma or Spider heard before a black and red arrow pierced the brain of Black Spider, killing him instantly. Nigma pushed the knife away from his throat and looked to the entrance of his cell to see Prometheus and the Suicide Squad.
Prometheus approached Nigma menacingly, "Let's see what you can do for us, in that case." Nigma was still too dangerous to let live. He would still kill Nigma on the off chance that he did actually know who Prometheus really was underneath the mask. But for now, he was going to use him to screw Waller over. He was done with letting Waller order him around and once this mission was done, he would start working on getting that little bitch replaced and putting someone far more loyal to him in charge of Argus, not to mention, erase all records of his secret identity. The less potential leaks, the better.
Meanwhile with the Joker
Meanwhile, Joker was sitting in his cell, contemplating what Harley had told him earlier.
"So she's got herself a new guy. After everything I've done for her." He said to himself in anger, "Ooh, we'll see about that. I'll make five more just like her. I'll take her skin and put someone else in it. Oh, that perfect creamy skin. Pull yourself together, man! She mocked you right to your face! Even dared to call you..." Joker stopped when he saw the hole in his cell, made by a lot of bullet's ricochet's off that specific point when Harley fired them in here. "…pudding."
"Oh, that darling girl! She might even deserve me." Joker said happily.
"Okay, babies, let's cook." He pulled two wires out and put touched them together. This resulted in the door to his cell opening up. "Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Ha-ha-ha."
As he walked out of his cell, he started laughing to himself. "Oh, Harley, I take back half the horrible things I've done to you. Hahahahahahahaha-GAH!" He was interrupted when an arrow pierced his knee and made him tumble to the floor in pain.
"So, you're the infamous Joker. People talk like you're some kind of unholy demon. All I see is a pasty fool wasting his life away to get his sick jokes and kicks off of hurting innocent people. It's pathetic when you think about it,"said Nathan's Black Arrow clone said as it walked out of the shadows.
"Is this the part where you kill me? We both know you won't. Hahahaha!" remarked Joker as he laughed off the pain.
"You actually believe that? Awfully presumptuous of you, considering you know nothing about me." Said the clone.
"You heroes are all the same. All bark and no bite. Oh you may break a few limbs here. A concussion there. But nothing the good doctors in this place can't fix. And the lawyers who defend us can just argue cruel and unusual punishment to get us out early too. And if you do kill us, it makes you the bad guy." said Joker with a slight grin on his face at the joke he considered behind the twisted way the world worked.
"You are assuming wrongly that such thing's concern me or keep me up at night. They don't," countered Black Arrow, who pulled out another arrow and shot it into Joker right lung, causing a shout of pain from the clown.
"And you don't know me or my apprentice at all." Said another clone of Prometheus as it jumped down from the rafters to join the clone posing as Black was being broadcast to the local news station's in Gotham and the entire world would all see the Joker finally die for his crimes. "My apprentice, Black Arrow and I, we are not like Batman. We kill because it is the right thing to do. We kill those who deserve to die and do what the people like Bat's do not have the spine to do," replied Prometheus before walking into the cell while Joker scowled further with his grin having left him.
"I see. You-cough-aren't like Batman. No. Batsy won't cross the line because he fears becoming the very monsters he faces. You two will. You'll trample all over it, blur it, and even rewrite it to suit yourselves. I don't find that the least bit funny," remarked Joker as he slowly coughed up blood.
"Of course you don't find it funny. You aren't facing someone who prefers to let psychos like yourself run wild in the city streets. You aren't facing someone who handles monsters with the kid gloves. You think the world is just one big joke. I see the world as living in a daydream, and needing a harsh wake call in how to deal with scum like you." countered Black Arrow.
Before the Joker could say some witty remark meant to bring a laugh to his insane person, both clones began to litter him with arrows. The Joker's screams and the sounds the arrows made as they pierced his flesh echoed throughout the hall for all the criminals to hear and it terrified them beyond measure. Even Scarecrow, who was considered the Master of Fear for his use of fear inducing hallucinations was scared beyond measure. He had also wrongly assumed these "heroes" were one's who didn't cross the "no killing" line. But being in a cell across from the Clown Prince of Crime allowed him to see how wrong he was and how violent these heroes were willing to get.
After the two clones had pumped 20+ arrows into the Joker, Black Arrow walked up to the Joker, and ripped his head off. Crushing it in his hands, Black Arrow pulled out a turpentine arrow and hit Joker's body with it, burning the body to a crisp. This brutal method of killing the Joker would ensure that he could not possibly come back this time, as he was known to have cheated certain death numerous times. He would stay dead this time.
"Finish up with the scum here and meet me back at our base." Prometheus said to Black Arrow, mostly just for show, since this was being broadcast to every single tv in Gotham. The clone posing as Prometheus then jumped into the rafters above and disappeared from sight. When Black Arrow turned around, the sight of the neighboring cell holding Scarecrow came into his line of sight, and saw Dr. Crane was indeed terrified of him.
"D-Don't kill me. Please! Have mercy!" begged Dr. Crane while Black Arrow looked at him behind his mask.
"Why would I show mercy?" Black Arrow knocked another arrow and pointed it at Scarecrow. "You're just as bad as the clown." Black Arrow let the arrow loose and all that could be heard by the other prisoner's was a scream of pain by Crane.
Arkham Medical Room
Prometheus and the Squad had snuck Nigma into the medical center and he led them to an operating room so Nigma could disarm the bombs in the others. "Let's see now," he murmured as he turned on the equipment, "We'll need this on, this for backup. Everyone grab a chair and circle up!"
"How exactly is this gonna work?" asked Deadshot as the team assembled their chairs.
"Electro-shock," said Nigma smartly.
Boomerang glared at him. "The what now?"
Nigma held up electrode patches and twirled them playfully. "I'm gonna run a thousand volts through your heads and fry your bombs."
"Ooh! I love Electro-shock!" laughed Harley as they sat in their chairs around a generator, "It's like a massage for your brain!"
"Lose anything metal," Nigma ordered.
"I'll keep a look out," declared Prometheus, stationing himself near the window. "More cops," announced Prometheus, "Choppers too."
Nigma started to strap them down to their chairs. "This'll work?" asked Deadshot nervously.
"Or give you a grand mal seizure," said Nigma with a shrug. He attached the electrodes to their temples as he thought aloud. "Thousand volts, five bodies, multiply by 3 second pulses…"
King Shark strained slightly against his bonds. "You know what you're doing, right?" Nigma shot him a knowing glance.
The communicators activated again and Deadshot grimaced. "Don't stop working," he ordered Nigma as he answered, "Yeah, Waller?"
"The authorities know there's been a break in at Arkham!" shouted Waller, "You're on red alert!"
"News to me," said Deadshot calmly.
"What part of off-the-books did you not understand?!" demanded Waller, "Are you in the medical center?!"
"We hit a snag," said Deadshot quickly.
"Batman again?" Waller asked.
"Spider needed medical attention," Deadshot lied.
"Good one," whispered Boomerang. Nigma broke a broom over his knee and put the splintered pieces in their mouths.
"No excuses!" shouted Waller, her froth evident in her voice, "Get back now!"
"Uh-huh!" said Deadshot through his broom piece. He nodded to Nigma.
Nigma grinned and kicked the generator on.
He heard a high pitched laugh and realized Harley had spit out her broom piece to fully enjoy the experience.
"I never need to do that again," sighed Boomerang when it finally ended.
"Are you kidding?" said Harley excitedly, "I feel great! Can we do that again? Pretty please?"
A sudden beeping noise cut through everyone's hard breathing and groans. Slowly, all eyes turned to its source, King Shark's head. He suddenly didn't look so strong. In fact, his eyes were small and his face was scrunched up like a child who had just had their first nightmare. "Uh, guys?" he said slowly.
"I don't know, maybe his skin was too thick?" Nigma mused aloud.
Nate looked as King Shark's forehead slowly expanded. King Shark shook for a moment and closed his eyes before his head exploded. Pieces of his skull and brain scattered over the team and they cried out in surprise and disgust. Shark's metal teeth embedded themselves in the wall behind Deadshot's chair, missing him by mere inches on the way past.
There was a long pause before Captain Boomerang cleared his throat. "So, ah, why'd his head explode?"
"Obviously, its because the bomb in his neck didn't defuse, you moron" said Prometheus.
"Doesn't matter now," sighed Deadshot, "Waller just declared us all expendable. We're lucky ours defused."
Boomerang's eyes narrowed. "So what's his excuse?" he asked, nodding to Prometheus in suspicion.
"I never had a bomb in my neck to begin with." Prometheus said as he turned and stalked toward Nigma. On the way, he pulled off the electric cables that connected Harley Quin to the system and undid her restraints. In truth, he had really only done this for Harley. He didn't care about the other's as evidenced by him pulling out his chokuto. "Thank you for helping Harley, Nigma. But this is the end of the line for you. I can't take the chance that you somehow learned my secret identity." With a single swing, Nate took off Nigma's head, along with any chance of Nigma possibly revealing Prometheus's identity. Prometheus then turned on the generator again, letting the electricity flow through their bodies.
Deadshot and Boomerang, the only two member's of suicide squad left aside from Harley, shouted in pain as they were shocked again, though Deadshot's cry's were silenced when an arrow pierced his throat.
Nate was about to turn and fire on Boomerang, except then Batman showed up, punching him and throwing off his aim, the arrow just barely missing Harkness. The distraction by Batman caused Nate's hand to fly out as he was knocked down and it grabbed the generator knob, which turned off the electricity.
"Talk!" Batman ordered, as he disarmed Nathan and pushed him against the wall, "Why are you here?"
"Amanda Waller wanted the Edward Nigma dead." Nathan said, there was no need to hide it, the deed was already done. The fact that Batman was here meant the bomb had been disarmed successfully.
"Waller?" Batman frowned, "What's she playing-" He was interrupted by Harley swinging her mallet at him, smacking him hard in the back, causing him to lose his grip on Nathan. Nathan took advantage of this, grabbed Batman and threw him out the window. Batman quickly got out a grappling hook and fired it, catching onto a building and allowing him to swing to safety.
"Time to go, beautiful," Nate said as he and Harley made their escape, though not before putting an arrow through Harkness's brain. The two of them ran through the hallways. Nathan kept thinking that while he could teleport them away, he still had one more errand to run and needed to distract Batman. Remembering that there were other prisoners, Nathan said to Harley, "We need to get into the control room. You used to work here. What's the quickest way there?"
Harley racked her brain for an answer when she saw the laundry shoot and remembered a shortcut to the control room through there. "There!" So the both of them hopped down the laundry chute, Nathan going first. landing in the pile of towels below. Getting out and moving the towels out of the way, Nathan caught Harley in his arms as she fell.
"Come on," He said as he let her down and they made their way to the control room.
With Batman
Batman had returned to the building after making a safe landing earlier. It was then that a video feed turned on which drew his attention.
"I know you can hear me Batman." Nathan said as he broadcast his video from the control room. "I know you will stop at nothing to catch me. So, I figured I'd invite some pals to keep you company." With that, Nathan cut the video feed after he pulled the lever, which would let all the villians of Batman out of their cages. It was not as bad as one might think. Given that Joker, Scarecrow, Riddler, Killer Croc and Bane were dead and filled with arrows, the breakout could be more easily contained by the police. This was merely a distraction so Nathan could free the last inmate on his list that he had time for today.
As he cut the feed though, Nathan heard something behind him. "Mr. J?" It was Harley's voice.
Turning around he saw that Harley was staring at the video of his clones brutally murdering the Joker.
"Ah crap," Nathan said as she turned to him, her eyes filled with anger and rage as she started to swing her mallet at him. He didn't expect it to happen, but clearly one incredibly passionate night where he gave her more love and pleasure than Joker ever did in her existence was not enough to break his hold over her.
'oh Well,' Nate thought as he knocked her out and made a clone to carry her, 'Guess it's rehabilitation for her. But first, I need to get the other one.'
The Greenhouse/ cell of Poison Ivy
All general hell was breaking loose as the entire prison rioted. It seemed to happen quite often. Someone or something was always trying to break in or out of the famous penitentiary for whatever reason. Thanks to the Bat, they almost always failed.
Today was an exception.
Even now she wasn't entirely sure what happened or how. Poison Ivy, formerly known as Pamela Isley, wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She already knew Batman would try to stop the one's responsible, this Black Arrow and Prometheus, which from what she knew, were native to Starling City; regardless, she'd no intention of sticking around to see whether or not he would succeed.
Two officers entered her domain, probably to make sure she stayed put. They advanced on her the moment she stepped from hiding, their shotguns in hand. Smiling, she sauntered forward. They hesitated, transfixed by her exotic beauty. Predictable; they never even noticed the roots she'd summoned, crawling across the roof, the ground, the very glass itself. One managed to work up enough nerve to call out to her:
"Stop!" His voice turned into a squeak as she continued to advance. "Please?" Ivy smiled.
"Let me think about tha-no."
She waved a hand, and the vines found them. Too late they fired, their guns barking uselessly against the thick roots before being ripped away.
"Stop."
Ivy never believed a simple word like that could produce the effect that it did, but she was proven wrong this day. One moment, her vines had crushed the guns of the two officers and were about to ensnare the men so she could mind control them with her pheromones. Instead, they fell unconscious, her plants were frozen still, covered by a light blue aura, and Prometheus stood several feet in front of her, holding on unconscious Harley Quinn over his shoulder. That sent a spark of anger through the Green skinned woman. Harley and her were friends, and to see her in such a state made her mad.
"Nice to meet you in person, Pamela Isley." Prometheus said nonchalantly.
"Why are you here? What do you want with me and Harley?" asked Pamela while calling out to her children that were not frozen by the blue aura to be ready to defend her against this potential enemy.
"To talk. Why? Did you do something recently to warrant the end of your life?" asked Nathan rhetorically, while he had to admit she looked very sexy with that exotic green skin and red hair.
"Not that I can recall. Contrary to what might have been said about me, my kill count is still zero," replied Pamela while her plants that were not frozen by the blue aura moved around her form to protect their "Mother" from harm.
"And it's that very reason I don't see a need to put one my arrows through your chest," Prometheus said, implying that he already knew her kill count was zero. "Now before you make the wrong assumption about what I want with Harley and try to go all 'wrath of nature' on me, let's have this conversation that I want with you like normal people."
"Maybe you didn't notice, but I am NOT normal," said Pamela.
"I am aware of that. But when was the last time you had an actual normal conversation with someone without resorting to a standoff like we are now?" asked Nathan with Pamela being silent since she honestly couldn't answer it.
"Lets assume for a moment that I don't want to fight. Why would I want talk with you in the first place?" Poison Ivy said suspiciously, but still willing to hear what he has to offer.
"Because we don't have to be enemies. I certainly don't want to be your enemy Pamela. You and I actually share a common interest surrounding nature," replied Nathan before walking over to some of the plants and gently touched them.
To Pamela's shock, the plants actually welcomed it. They practically screamed happiness and joy from his touch from what she felt at the moment. How was this possible? Was this some kind of trick? Or was he more like her than she realized?
"How are you doing that to my babies?" asked Pamela while her plants seemed to swoon under his gentle touch, more so since he undid his aura on the plants.
"As I said, we share a common interest in nature. Your plants, evolved as they are, are able to sense that," answered Nathan before he turned to look at Pamela.
"What about Harley?" asked Pamela curiously, yet just as cautious.
"I had to knock her out. What little time she and I have spent together was not enough to break Joker's hold over her. She's going to need rehabilitated. I know that modern medicine cannot fix her, but I have other ways of removing Joker's influence over her" replied Nathan calmly, disliking that once again, he was going to resort to magic.
"If you really can help Harley, would she still be...Harley? Regardless of the Joker's influence being removed?" asked Pamela since Harley had always been a happy ball of sunshine in the past and was a good friend to her.
"Harley will still be her usual happy self. Just without the Joker's mentality and influence messing up her mind," replied Nathan.
"You are not what I expected. I heard rumors and news about you and your master. The way people have been speaking about you being a ruthless monster worse then Batman," remarked Pamela with Nathan letting out a chuckle.
"So what happens now?" asked Pamela.
"Well I would like you along with Harley once she is no longer under Joker's influence, to join my side in Starling. And in return, you'll never have to worry about Batman or the cops ever again, so long as you keep your nose clean," answered Nathan with Pamela looking shocked by this.
"What's in it for me? Aside from your protection?" questioned Pamela since she wanted more than just the usual deals where her end is the shorter part of the stick.
"Like I said, I can keep others off your back. Not to mention Harley will be a part of it so the company around you won't be boring in the slightest. In addition to further sweeten the deal, I will help you in protecting the planet from being destroyed by humanity. Namely the protection of the rainforests and plant life this world still has left," said Nathan.
"You see, I lived amongst nature for more then 3 years, so I know better than most the suffering caused from the polluted air and water. But when I do help you, it will be done my way. Don't get me wrong Pamela, you've had the right idea, but the way you've gone about it has not helped your cause at all," replied Nathan knowing her way was just never going to work.
"It's all I know. Besides, what do you suggest I do?" questioned Pamela since she wanted to hear his opinion on the matter.
"For one, don't act like the psycho the media makes you out to be when it comes to protecting nature. The companies responsible for dumping toxic waste, polluting the air, and the water thrive on your actions. All they have to do is gas light the public by pointing to your attacks and painting themselves as the ever-tragic companies being hurt by a crazed lunatic with a radical hippy complex. Your reasons, no matter how just, are swept under the rug by the media they provide funding to, and keep the general masses in the dark about the truly nefarious things they do. The best way to fix the planet is to show the world what these companies are really doing. What they are trying to hide. Use the media to tell your story and show the world what these companies have been doing for years when they thought no one was looking. How this will hurt the following generations. Show them the painful truth without the crazy looking plants you make in the background, and I guarantee your voice will be heard where it counts," said Nathan since he knew all about perceptions and how to get people to see things from his or someone else's perspective when necessary.
"That takes time. And these companies have an army lawyers, media outlets, and all other resources at their disposal. I don't have that kind of juice to counter anything I release to the press. I will still be seen as a environmental nutcase or terrorist!" exclaimed Pamela in frustration what he was saying was the correct approach.
Nathan, knowing he needed to move this along, pulled his mask off and showed his true face to her, causing her to gasp in surprise as she had no idea that Prometheus was Nathaniel Queen.
"And you believe that I can't give you what you need? Make no mistake Pamela, what I am asking you to do will be difficult, and yes, it will take time. BUT, nothing worth accomplishing is easy. With my aid, those companies will fall, their resources will be taken away, and those responsible for the planet's suffering being taken down will all be worth it. I promise you that much, if you put your faith in me," replied Nathan with his hand now outstretched and she hesitantly took it.
"Fine! I'll join you, but I'm expecting you to keep your word, Mr. Queen" questioned Pamela with Nathan sporting a cheesy grin.
Had she still possessed normal blood, Ivy would've blushed. As it were, she was left to sputter helplessly as he pulled her against his chest like a husband would his bride.
The man chuckled as his blue portal open and closed around them, taking them away from her and Harley away from Gotham for what would likely be the final time. "You and me, Pamela...we're gonna do great things together."