*Click*
Reacting as soon as the familiar sound reached his ears, Esau leapt to one side just as bullets burst through the doors and parts of the wall. Keeping his chest as close to the floor as possible, Esau waited patiently as his mind played over possible, briefly considering jumping out the window. That was until he picked up movement on the roof of the opposite building, seeing slight shadows as men repelled from the roof of this apartment complex, unnoticeable to the human eye, but not his.
'Whoever organised this is clearly good.' There was nowhere for Esau to go and he doubted that jumping down would be any good, not only due to how high up he was. If the leader of this ambush had enough men to line the roof of the opposite building, it wasn't a stretch of the imagination that they would have more men waiting downstairs. 'Now the question is how they knew who I was and what they want?'
Before he could think more about this, the gunfire stopped and the door was kicked open.
Moving quickly, Esau shot up and turned to see ten armoured men enter the room with guns raised, and more waiting outside.
Yet Esau was already in motion and was upon them before they could start firing, ignoring the sound of glass shattering as men repelled into his apartment.
Smacking one gun to the side so that it fired harmlessly into the ground, Esau kicked the man to the side with enough force to send him flying into the kitchen counter. Another man moved forwards and Esau gripped ahold of his bulletproof armour and threw him across the room where he slammed into the wall of his bedroom, the drywall denting heavily.
A front kick to the third man sent him into two more behind him dropping them to the ground and that was when he felt something pierce his side.
Looking down, Esau noticed a dart of some kind sticking out. 'Capture then.' Esau deduced but didn't even slow down and rushed the guy that shot him, who was flanked by four guys, all standing by the smashed windows and guns raised.
A few blows sent them all to the ground in a groaning mess only for another two darts to pierce his back.
Growling, Esau gripped the leg of one soldier and swung him around into three others sending them to the floor before reaching down and pulling the carpet out from underneath four more, each falling to the ground as their bullets hit the ceiling above them. Another dart hit his back and with one hand holding the leg of his coffee table, Esau spun round and launched it at the guy who fired. He, having moved around the corner of the room to move behind Esau and while it worked, Esau was ignoring the drugs that were in the darts and continued to fight.
Six more guys dropped to the floor as more and more men piled into the room, some more having repelled from the roof.
'Damn it!' Esau cursed as he stumbled slightly on his feet as knocked one guy unconscious with a punch to the face. Only for two more guys to fire at him, and he avoided one bullet only for the second to hit his leg. 'These guys are good.' It was like fighting the soldiers of Hammer all over again, but this time in greater numbers.
He would be the first to admit that the reason he lost so miserably to the Hammer was that he overestimated himself and underestimated them. Their teamwork was phenomenal, covering each other's weaknesses and taking full advantage of his weakened state to a degree that it only took six of them to take him out. Yet, Esau was confident that if he had been in top condition, he could have escaped, not won, but escaped, that much he could acknowledge, very aware of their skills now.
These guys he was up against right now, they were no different.
Except he had nowhere to run to.
He was surrounded and the only thing for him to do was fight and that's exactly what he did with all his might and will. Esau was outmatched in numbers, their teamwork was solid and their movements as they covered the room and came at him from all angles showcased that fully. But he was their superior in skill and athleticism, a few blows to each being enough to finish them off as he made sure to try and keep one wall to his back. Yet, unlike common thugs, these trained professionals knew what he was doing and were doing their best to deny him this by forcing him to come to them.
If he didn't, he was a sitting duck and it would be like shooting fish in a barrel.
Backhanding one man that attempted to sneak up on him, Esau gripped his armoured suit and chucked him into the roof and as the man fell to the floor, Esau kicked him with enough force to send him flying into two others where they collapsed to the ground in a heap.
Breathing heavily as the drugs started taking effect, Esau felt his body moving sluggishly, leaning forwards deeply as his arms hung loosely. His movements were still fast and strong, but nowhere near as crisp or as fast as they were at the start and with more darts managing to hit him, the effect of the drugs got stronger and stronger.
Whoever these guys were, they were well-trained and had experience with fighting enhanced individuals, clearly, this is what they were trained to do.
Grunting as something pierced his skin feeling like pincers, Esau looked down to see two prongs poking out of his body. That moment of hesitation was all they needed for six more to pierce his body and Esau only had a moment to realise what they were both electricity coursed down the length of the wire before he cried out in pain.
"Gah!" Dropping to his knees, Esau braced his hands on the floor and breathed heavily as his body let off some smoke.
As one of the soldiers moved towards him, Esau lashed out with a punch that whipped his head upwards and then threw him at one of the guys holding the modified tasers. As soon as he did another current of electricity coursed through Esau's body as he dropped to the ground once more, momentarily trying to inch his way forwards before more taser prongs pierced his body, increasing the electric current.
It was longer this time and it felt stronger as well, to the point it left Esau paralysed for a few seconds.
But just as feeling began to return to his body, one of the soldiers's stood above him, gun raised into the air.
It slammed down onto Esau with enough force that his nose burst open, blood pooling down his face.
Yet Esau registered none of that as his vision slowly blurred and became black.
-X-
Wednesday 29th April 2009, 20:10.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
Narrowing her eyes, Barbara looked through the lenses of her Batgirl costume as it zoomed in on Esau's apartment. As of a few minutes ago, a number of calls to the police had been sent in asking for help upon hearing gunfire in the apartment complex. Barbara upon hearing about gunfire in Esau's apartment complex had rushed over as quickly as she could, sparing Bruce only a few words.
'He doesn't need my help anyway; the Joker's already been caught.' Barbara thought back to what she and Batman had been doing for the past two days. Ever since the news of Killer Croc's death at the hands of Esau had sent those few criminals that had gotten a little too confident in Batman's short absence scurrying back into their holes.
As much as they would have liked Batman's absence to have gone unnoticed, it had not.
Thankfully, Black Hood had sent a message to them that Gotham was still protected and Barbara was equal parts happy as it bought Bruce more time to recover, she was also saddened by how he had done it.
Either way, with the criminals hiding – anyone who could kill Killer Croc was certainly something to be feared in their books – Bruce had been able to recover without forcing himself to drastic measures. He wasn't at full health by any stretch of the meaning, but he was certainly fit enough to fight and they had not wasted a moment and began their hunt for the Joker.
It had been a little difficult in the beginning, but like always, the Joker couldn't help but leave a trail for them to follow. His little messages to Batman that taunted him, begged him to come as part of their game of cat and mouse.
As soon as the report had come in, she and Batman had already finished detaining the Joker and Batgirl had instantly rushed off.
Now here she was looking at the apartment complex in worry. Through her built-in lenses, Barbara had zoomed in on Esau's apartment where her dad was currently studying the mess that her friends' room had become. The number of bullet holes littering the walls and the dents from what were undoubtedly bodies hitting them was immense and it would cost hundreds if not thousands to repair.
Yet one question plagued her mind. 'Esau, where are you?' Barbara wondered; her mind clouded with worry.
-X-
Thursday 30th April 2009, 19:00.
Location Unknown.
Groaning, Esau slowly opened his eyes and quickly closed them when the blinding light of the room was too painful for him. After a few seconds, Esau opened them once more and while it was certainly better, it wasn't great and so, lifted one hand to cover his eyes a little and looked around.
The first thing he took note of was that he was wearing his suit minus the face mask, and hood as well as his weapons, including his gloves.
Then he saw the number of individuals in the room as well.
Around him, he could make out the sight of seven other people all slowly waking up the biggest of the lot, a large bulking beast that looked almost like a shark with a muzzle on his face, caught his eye immediately. 'If he's here and they fought him, then whoever captured me has a lot of experience and knowledge on enhanced people like me and how to beat them.'
His eyes then panned to the sight of a tanned, well-built man in an all-black-tactical combat gear that looked awfully familiar quickly rising to his feet. 'He's definitely been through this before.' Just by how quickly he got to his feet told Esau more than words ever could.
Slightly in front of the man was a middle-aged man with brown hair and noticeable sideburns, dressed in black jeans, a blue overcoat with a black shirt underneath and a scarf around his neck. "Shit!" The man muttered with an audible Australian accent as he rubbed his eyes irritably. "I've got the hangover, but I don't remember the party."
That's when a very attractive blonde dressed in a jester outfit with her hair pulled into twin ponytails shot up into a seated position. "Oh crap, not this again." Then the woman dropped back into the floor with a thud to sleep or just lay there, he didn't know.
"You too." The Australian man rose to his feet arms crossed over his chest as he looked at the tanned figure who had already risen to his feet. "It's like a bloody recurring nightmare."
Despite the Australian man's annoyance, the other man just remained stoic as he leaned against the wall. "Looks like we got rookies." The man's eyes panned over the group taking note of a brown-skinned man rising to his feet also clad in black tactical gear, the humanoids-shark, his eyes however lingered on Esau who was staring back at him with a calm gaze.
'Definitely not the first time for him.' Esau concurred as he looked at the remaining members in the white room, they were confined in. There was a large bulky guy with a bald head, the hair from it obviously having moved to other parts of his body. Though the most stand-out part was the hand that seemed to be missing and replaced with some sort of prosthetic that looked like it could be fitted with something on the end.
Then his eyes panned to the final member and he would admit that his eyes lingered more than they should have on the attractive young woman. She had pale blue hair and pale skin with her curvaceous body barely hidden by the skin-tight blue leotard. Though while his eyes did linger on her womanly assets longer than was acceptable, his eyes did take in the fact her hands were bound in some strange handcuffs, which completely covered her hands.
Wherever he was, Esau didn't like it.
So, another chapter is done and with it, Esau awakens in a strange place with a number of villains. However, we do see that Esau's defeat at the hands of the Hammer gave him the experience he needed to fight against a well-trained team of operatives. The only problem was the massive amount of drugs running through his system that slowed him down massively. That slowness cost him the fight which would have otherwise been his victory. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.
"Who are you people?" Floyd looked to see the well-built man with a goatee quickly rising to his feet, having already pulled the bandage from the back of his neck revealing a fresh scar. It almost amused the mercenary to see how confused someone who was quite obviously very serious and used to being in control was. "And why am I in uniform?" The man questioned as he looked down at himself.
Turning away from the man, Floyd studied the rest of the new Suicide Squad. 'Waller sure can pick 'em.' Floyd thought as he looked at those gathered.
He was definitely annoyed to be working with George Harkness again, neither of them got along very well, and the guy was just unprofessional and arrogant. Then there was Harley Quinn, the Joker's lover, or whatever their confusing relationship was, but he hadn't worked with her yet, though it was quite obvious by her reaction that she had been a part of some of the iterations of the Suicide Squad that he hadn't been a part of.
His eyes then took in the rest, each of them newbies to their situation.
Antoli Knyazev, or KGBeast an assassin and hired muscle. 'Should be interesting to work with him than against him for once.' Floyd had run into him a few times and each time they had been on opposite sides, usually due to Antoli being hired as a bodyguard for Floyd's targets. It usually ended with Floyd walking away successfully due to his superior aim, though there have been times when Antoli got a few hits in.
Crystal Frost or Killer Frost was the next person Floyd looked at.
In terms of powers, she was probably the most dangerous out of all the people here. 'Which was probably the reason why Waller got her.'
King Shark was next, the huge creature slowly rising to his feet, no doubt due to his great physical strength and durability he would be here as the tank of the group.
Especially considering the long-time member, Killer Croc had been killed by Black Hood as of a few days ago. 'Now that was surprising, who would have thought the kid had it in him.' Floyd thought honestly impressed at how good Black Hood had gotten since their last fight.
he ignored that train of thought too and instead study the final two members, the first was the black man who had asked the questions, he certainly looked impressive in terms of physique. His attitude and the casual way in which he demanded answers told Floyd that this was a guy used to getting what he wanted, most likely from beating his enemies, which in turn implied skill.
Then his eyes turned to the final and youngest member. 'Just a kid really, though he looks like he could prove to be a serious pain in my ass.' The casual way in which he sat there on the ground as he studied people around him was honestly, a little shocking. He was obviously concerned and curious as to what had happened, but he wasn't letting that stop him from studying the people he was stuck in a room with.
The idea that he would be a problem was further confirmed when he looked at the suit the kid was wearing, a suit very familiar seen as though he had fought the Dark Knight enough to recognise the protective suit. 'Now, that is interesting.' Before Floyd could think on it further, King Shark rose to his feet, his huge frame attracting attention.
"No bars." King Shark said shortly, his voice muffled by the muzzle he wore over his mouth while he looked at his clawed hands. "No chains." His eyes then raised to look hungrily at Killer Frost who was still recovering from the drugs that had been pumped throughout her body. "Time for meat."
The villain leaned forwards and wrapped his hand around Killer Frost's leg and dragged her towards him. "Huh!" She yelped, yet she was already in motion while her mind still reeled from the sudden movement.
Her free foot lashed out and hit King Shark in his balls. "Gah!" The villain cried out, releasing his grip on Killer Frost's leg as he did so while stumbling away.
Before he could even recover, Killer Frost had already swung her hands around, each encased in the metal container no doubt designed to keep her powers contained. The metal slammed into King Shark's face with enough force to knock the creature to the ground and she followed, straddling the big guy's chest while pushing the metal container up to the underside of his chin like it was a gun.
'Looks like the drugs they used on King Shark are still in effect.' Floyd deduced as he watched the villain get easily manhandled by someone who by all accounts, shouldn't have the necessary strength to knock him around. That left the only explanation being the drugs which would have been used in order to keep the villain sedated and easy to transport. 'Waller is nothing if not thorough.'
"Try it fish fingers and I'll show you the meaning of cold-blooded." She threatened all the while people watched with varying degrees of surprise and humour.
"You're feisty." Floyd didn't know whether to take that as a flirtatious comment or as a simple statement of fact, but whatever the meaning behind King Shark's words, he couldn't let people get distracted or Waller would use one of them as an example of what happens should they disobey. As of right now, the team set up besides Harley and George was one of the better teams and he didn't fancy losing a team member so early on. Especially not when it would be another suicidal mission that would be more dangerous than it actually needed to be.
"Everybody, shut up." Floyd stepped forwards, his steps echoing across the room as he drew everyone's attention to himself. "I've been here before..."
Before he could even finish what, he was saying, Antoli rushed past him with a roar and slammed a fist into the metal door. Floyd would give him this, he managed to put a dent into it, but Waller had designed this room to contain the likes of Killer Croc, he wouldn't be getting out of here unless she wanted it.
"Yah!" The Russian assassin turned to the rest of the room's inhabitants. "I am leaving." However, Floyd had stopped paying attention to him, instead, his eyes turned to where the blonde kid was staring and there she was, the big, bad bitch herself.
Amanda Waller.
"Stop." Sparing a glance at the rest of the Suicide Squad, Floyd couldn't help but tip his hat to her at how easily she commanded a room filled with powerful villains. "Sit down." She commanded as if they were children and one at a time, each villain did so.
None of the newer members knew why they did, but there was something about the calm and confidence she exuded as she walked into the room filled with some of the most dangerous people in the world.
It just screamed, 'don't fuck with me.'
None of them did.
"I'm Amanda Waller." She came to a stop as she introduced herself. "I'm here to indoctrinate you convicts into our special forces."
"Pass," Frost spoke up dryly.
"I kill to keep degenerates off the streets." The goatee man stated firmly as if insulted to be considered a convict. "I won't work alongside them."
"Fresh air and time of my sentence? Feel free to keep calling me up, love." George announced, almost happy to be a part of the team.
Without even giving them an answer, Amanda continued on. "Task Force X is an off-the-books government strike team. Made up of convicts," her eyes narrowed as she looked down upon them, emphasising this point. "With no hope for release. Serving as expendable agents for impossible missions." There was a brief pause as Amanda allowed that to settle in. "Succeed. And I'll shave time off your sentences."
"And if we don't?"
"You'll be dead. Any other stupid questions?"
"Yeah." Killer Frost spoke up. "What's in my neck? Tracker?"
"Yes." Amanda then raised one hand allowing a number of holographic screens to appear. One showed a map, the other showed the image of a brain and another showed a piece of technology followed by a full image of a human body. "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."
To further punctuate her point the holographic images all went red.
Again, silence permeated the room as they all digested the information that had been revealed to them.
Floyd himself crossed his arms across his chest as he looked around the room to see their reactions.
For the most part, shock was the common emotion which was something he expected.
It had been his reaction when he was first introduced to the Suicide Squad.
"You are lying." The growly voice of Antoli spoke firmly.
Everyone turned to see KGBeast getting to his feet, his arms outstretched.
"You would not take all of this trouble just to kill us." Instead of answering him, Amanda simply stepped to one side, her holographic images disappeared as one of the metal doors rose up to reveal a corridor.
"Try me." Amanda replied and Floyd released a sigh.
'There's always one.' Shaking his head, Floyd remained where he was.
While he would have liked to keep Antoli alive for his skill, Floyd wasn't going to risk his life for it and Amanda would make an example out of somebody to prove a point. It's why he chose to keep his mouth shut even when someone skilled and useful was walking to their graves, just like he was doing now.
Antoli grunted and started walking towards the door when all the convicts looked to see what he would do. "I wouldn't do that." Esau eventually spoke up as he sat comfortably on the floor.
"What?" Antoli asked, turning to face the blonde.
"Well, I'm simply saying that you're being stupid." Esau pointed out, the insult causing Antoli to grit his teeth in annoyance. "I mean come on, it's quite obvious she isn't bluffing and while I'm all for letting guys like you die." Esau then turned to look at Amanda out of the corner of his eye to see her staring at him calmly, giving nothing away. "But if we really are expendable, then that means she'll be sending us on some seriously difficult missions that by all accounts, no one would take. I like living, so I'm gonna ask you to stop being hasty and sit down."
"She will not kill us." Antoli responded and Esau shrugged his shoulders.
"If you want to believe that, then by all means do so, but the truth is already in front of you." With a wave of his hand, he indicated towards Floyd, George and Harley. "Those three have quite obviously been here before. They recovered the quickest out of all of you and they also complained about this situation in a way that says this isn't the first time it's happened to them. The fact that they didn't even blink an eye nor seem shocked at the bitch's words says all you need. She ain't bluffing."
Floyd quirked an eyebrow impressed at the kid's deduction.
It definitely showed that despite his young age, the kid was definitely skilled and he was forced to reevaluate his opinion on what he had written off as another body that would no doubt be killed. 'Though if Antoli does listen to his words then Amanda may make an example out of the kid just because she can.' Floyd thought as he watched Antoli think over Esau's words. 'It definitely wouldn't be the first time.'
Antoli looked at Esau who stared right back and while he certainly considered Esau's words, Antoli wasn't about to let some fat woman or some snot-nosed brat tell him what to do. So, without a sound, KGBeast walked towards the open door pausing only for a moment once he reached the threshold.
Then he stepped over.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Beeping sounded, clearly heard in the quiet and tense atmosphere of the room in which they resided.
With barely any chance to let out a shout, Antoli's head exploded the force of the explosion destroying the brain and skull leaving nothing except a few splatters of blood on the walls.
If it was possible, the silence of the room became even greater as they watched Antoli's headless body drop to its knees and then fell to the ground.
"Anyone else?"
No one said a word.
So, another chapter is done and with it, Esau has joined the Suicide Squad and Amanda Waller makes sure to put everyone in their place. Honestly, her no-nonsense character was so fun to write. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.
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