The Arkham Redeption- Task Force XI (1/3)

== Markovia- Five Months Ago==

 

Slade Wilson. If anyone asked who was the best killer in the business, chances are, his name would be the first to come up every time. Trained in the US army, he was the only one in his squad to volunteer for the experiments that would grant him enhanced strength, intellect and a healing factor. When Strange recruited him in Markovia, toppling a monarchy of some kind, he was quick to suss out his true agenda (or one of them at least). The only member to know the truth about Arkham City, Strange was adamant he be put in charge, the only one he was sure he could trust. So long as the money didn't run out, which was never going to be an issue with the Court of Owls.

 

====Today====

 

*The fire basks them in an orange glow.*

 

Talia- Tea?

 

Miranda- Yes.

 

*She pours a stream of Chinese tea from the teapot, and they drink*

 

Talia- Your father was once a powerful man, and a friend of the League. He must be proud of you.

 

* "He is." she replies, not taking her eyes off the tea, sipping it slowly in case it's poisoned. Talia watches her curiously, it was ten years ago when they first drank tea together, and she had been just as suspicious then*

 

Talia- Good. I'm glad.

 

Miranda- Still with *your* dad, I presume?

 

*Talia stokes the flames with a wooden stick*

 

Talia I work with him, yes. But, I am here now, not as your enemy, but as an old friend, and as a sister, warning you. Turn back.

 

*Miranda rises*

 

Miranda- Yeah, no, I don't think so. Thanks for the tea. And, uh, knocking out Chancer for a bit.

 

Talia- Please. There is no safe space for your family. Ra's Al Ghul is a man of great resources, you know this. If The Demon's Head has decided that your family must be punished, that your husband must pay, you must understand that there is no place on earth where they can go where they can't reach them. But it is not too late for you. My father is still fond of you, if you would only-

 

Miranda- I'm not going back Talia. You should be the one joining *me.* Help us stop him, before he destroys Gotham, or whatever it is he's planning.

 

...

 

Talia- My father has sired hundreds of children, many of whom have perished in the name of his cause. In spite of his fondness for myself and for you, he will not hesitate to sacrifice either of us, if we were to stand in his way. He may be a man of honour, but even he has his limits. And he is tired of betrayal. Unfortunately for you, neither Hugo Strange nor The Court of Owls follow those same principles. Do you truly believe your husband has any hope in completing the Trials?

 

*Miranda had no intention of killing her. But in that moment, she was contemplating slapping her across the face*

 

Talia- I mean no disrespect, but he is not you, he is not my beloved, nor is he my father. You know that toys or not, he is but one man who's "training" has been conducted solely by arsonists and drug addicts in asylums and prisons, and when he challenges him, my father will draw his sword through his chest, and end him.

 

 

==San Francisco- Four Months Ago==

 

Alcatraz Island has changed a lot in the last year. The present home of the Suicide Squad, it has been completely renovated to accommodate the task force, and the scores of potential members and prisoners. One such inmate caught the attention of Senator Wade Eilling four years ago, when he fought the entire Justice League to a standstill. His real name may be purged from any computer database in the world, but his alias is well known by every government agency from Washington to Louisiana. Prometheus. He would become the second recruit of Task Force XI, much to the protests of Amanda Waller, who's warnings went unheeded. He didn't need to be a team player, Eilling thought, he didn't need to like the feds. He just needed to wear that helmet, and wear it well.

 

==========

 

*Those were Black Mask's men they'd past. Preparing for a siege of some kind. Armour, guns, makeshift tanks. Selina growled. Roman Sionis was far from a friend of hers, and she'd very much like to keep out of his territory*

 

Selina- Just where are we going?

 

Drury- The old GCPD precinct. About a hundred yards that way

 

Selina- The one you burnt down?

 

Drury- The one Gar- Yeah, that was us. We can set up a camp there, meet up with Miranda, and contact Chuck, Chuck Brown. He'll know what's going on.

 

Norbert- If he's alive.

 

Drury- Don't think like that Norbert.

 

*And yet, amidst the ruins and gunfire, it was hard for either of them not to rule it out. If only they knew all the Misfits had been through, and all which was still to come.*

 

==Brazil- Three Months Ago==

 

The Copperhead Gang was born out of poverty, living in the slums of Rio, quickly taking over the favellas and establishing a vicious syndicate of drugs, murder, and occasionally cannibalism. Only two ever left for the States, the most talented out of all of them. One, Larissa Diaz, specialised in poisons, and acrobatics, currently resides in Central City, as one of the city's biggest crime bosses. The other, a John Doe, a body contortionist, was deported to a Brazilian jail after Edward Nygma sent out an anonymous tip when a previous team-up saw him throttled one too many times. This Copperhead's skills are just as great as his unpredictability, but there was no doubt in Strange's mind he'd come in handy.

 

========

 

She brought him to an old warehouse, filled with C-Listers. A few glared at him. The Iceberg Shooting, and the ensuing hunt had hurt them badly. They didn't quite like Needham. He didn't blame them. But of course, they liked Penguin even less. Rigger offers a handshake, and Needham takes it, addressing the assembly.

 

Needham- None of you shoulda come here. You don't know what Penguin's capable of.

 

Rigger- We knew what we signed on for. Didn't we lads? We're getting you out of here, and we're doing it tonight.

 

*A pair of gloved hands clap, and from behind Zeiss emerges*

 

"Actually, I don't think you do. Penguin isn't the one you have to worry about. It's me"

 

Rigger- And who the hell are you, Mohawk Man?

 

*Dragonfly spits on the ground*

 

Meghan- Zeiss. His name is Zeiss.

 

He smirked. "My reputation precedes me. Let's make this interesting." He slicks back his hair, and he tosses his guns to the side, and empties his pocket. "Now we've leveled the playing level... Let's begin"

 

Ten was first. He ran at Zeiss with everything he had, but was thrown to the ground almost instantaneously. Rigger was next, firing blasts of Napalm from his gun, none landing their mark. He was grabbed from behind and pushed into the dirt. To add insult to injury, Zeiss jumped on his leg, snapping it in two. A perfect compound fracture. Dragonfly flew in furiously, trading blows, but he sweeped her off her feet, knocking off balance, leaving her vunerable enough for him to take her out next. Then came the Spiders. Eric Needham was done letting people get hurt because of him- he and Violet rushed Zeiss, and for a while it looked like they might just beat him. Then he pinned Needham's arm behind his back, and dislocated it. Then he did it again with the other arm. Distracted, and rushing to Needham's aid, Silken Spider was the last to fall.

 

Zeiss- What a disappointment. Oh we-

 

A squirt of ketchup covers his face. And he snarls. "Almost forgot about you." Mitchel Mayo, bottle in hand stands defia- he stands. "I... I should've used the peanut oil." Zeiss nods mockingly. "Well, it'd be a shame to break up the set."

 

==Manchester- Two Months Ago==

 

And lastly, the wildcard. Ever since he was a boy Abner Krill had an obsession with the round, the dotted and the circular. Some blamed it on autism, others claimed it was a form of OCD. But, whatever the case, as he drank from a perfectly round coconut, atop a bar stool in the middle of his living room, one thing was certain- it was one hell of a quirk, and manifested itself in nearly aspect of his life. His latest in a long line of girlfriends was a Geordie called Dot.

With a gimmick like his, many wrote him off as a C-Lister. He let them believe that, kept the attention away from him. If they took a second to think about exactly how much power he has, he'd never get a moment's peace from the idiots wanting to have a go with his tech. He turns to his visitors, a bald man with a pair of dark glasses and a beard that couldn't possibly be real and his equally bald colleague with a spruce moustache, and reached into his pocket.

 

"Skittle?"

 

"No," Strange replies. Abner shrugs, and pours the whole packet into his mouth, washing it down with some more coconut milk straight from the source

 

"Sorry about that, was a bit peckish. So what's this job anyhow?"

 

==========

 

Len- Chuck.

 

Chuck- Len.

 

Len- You look like shit.

 

*"You don't. Soda please" he replies faintly. Len nods, and fills the glass with something that's definitely not cola.*

 

Chuck- You shouldn't be here. Bartending. Not here.

 

Len- Neither should you. Needham escapes, you were the last one to see him... If I can connect the dots, then so can-

 

Chuck- I can't explain it, not now, not-

 

"Well, you better explain it. Fast."

 

Sionis- Where's my Spider, Charlie?

 

==Arkham City- Four Days Ago==

 

"I want in."

 

Strange turned to the bearded, shaggy haired imbecile behind the glass. He'd stop scratching the walls. That was some progress, though they'd still spot him pacing about on all fours every now and again. They'd caught him nine months prior, when he'd broken into Julian Day's cell with a kitchen knife, and he had been hissing at the guards ever since. Strange, the file said he had brown eyes, but it was green ones staring at him now.

 

Strange- Absolutely not.

 

"I'm a wild animal Doc. Need to feel the wind on my face, need to kiss a girl or two. Need a cell that's not two meters big!"

 

Strange- And how can you assure me you won't simply kill me or Mr Day?

 

"Can't. But you're a shrink. Admit it, you're curious"

 

Strange- Very well Thomas. I will see what I can do.

 

He kicked his lips. Then spat out a hairball.

 

"What?"

 

 

 

Done