Work Text:
Belle Reve Prison - Louisiana
Amanda Waller smiled to herself as she walked into her office. She had to rebuff another would-be suiter at the gym this morning and couldn't help but pause to appreciate the results of her hard work when she passed in front of the large mirror to the left of her desk. Everyone knew the skirt was too short for someone in her position, but since she had to deal with politicians on a regular basis, it often got them to shut up long enough for her to speak, so she didn't care. When she was on Team 7, she was a complete bad-ass, but now she wasn't a field agent, so she did what she always did; she used every weapon at her disposal to accomplish her goals.
Just as she was about to sit down, she was startled by the fact that her private cell phone began to ring. Only a half dozen people in the world had that number, so it must be very important to use it instead of going through regular channels. God help the cell company telemarketer that called to try to upgrade her calling plan.
She picked up the phone and put it to her ear.
"Go for Waller", she said.
"Hello, Amanda", the male voice said calmly. "Have you missed me as much as I've missed you?"
"Who is this?", she asked, confused. "How did you get this number?"
"Oh, come now, Dearest", the voice said in a playful tone. "You mean to tell me you don't recognize my voice?"
Amanda Waller was a woman that feared very little, but the recognition of the voice caused her to realize that something was very, very wrong.
"Gordon?", She breathed. "Oh my God. What do you want?"
"Why, I want you, of course", James Gordon, Jr. said with his voice full of amusement. "I know you have your precious little 'Task Force X', or 'Suicide Squad', or whatever you're calling them these days, and they're out in the field for an extended mission, so I have a little side mission for you."
Amanda couldn't fathom how he got this number or how he knew about The Squad's current mission, but whatever game he was playing would not be pleasant. James Gordon, Jr. was a dangerous psychopath and seriel killer that had worked for her ever so briefly, and had escaped during a massive breach at the prison, but not before professing his love for her and saving her life at least once that she was aware of.
And now he was back.
"What kind of 'side mission'?", she asked, knowing she wouldn't like the answer.
"The kind that will make you a hero and a legend, all in the space of a few precious hours that will be spread out over the course of just a few days, if you're as smart as I think you are."
"I don't want to play your game, Gordon", Amanda said. "Why don't you just come on back and I'll let you drink my bathwater instead, okay?"
"As tempting as that is, why don't we just call that 'Plan B' for the time being", Gordon said. "Here's the thing; I'm going to set my plan in motion anyway. I'm merely giving you the opportunity to get a handle on it before it gets completely out of hand, and it will get out of hand. Interested?"
"What are you up to, Gordon? Where are you?"
"Why, I'm back home, of course", he answered cheerfully. "I'm not going to stay on the line much longer so you can locate me, so I need to know if you're in or not because this is going to happen, like it or not."
"I need more information", she said quickly. "You want me to commit, but I don't even know what it is you want me to commit to."
Gordon chuckled. "You're absolutely right. What I'm going to do, my dear, is release the populations of Arham Asylum AND Blackgate Penitentiary. They will tear Gotham apart in days if you don't put together a team to stop them. Now, there are rules: You can't use the Justice League because they're already off planet for a major crisis, and you can't use Batman because I already have him on ice. I'm holding him in a secret location where he's completely helpless and drugged unconscious with a toxin in his bloodstream that will kill him in five days; no more, and when that happens, the same toxin will be released on the population of Gotham and it will effectively kill ninety percent of the city in retaliation. Once the plan is in motion, you'll have five days to get ninety percent of the escapees back in custody or Batman dies. I said 'in custody', so you can't just kill them. Oh, and just so you know, I also have the antidote that will cure Batman and save Gotham in another location. So even if you get lucky and find one, without the other, the city will die.
"So here are your choices, my dear Amanda; you can capture ninety percent of the inmates in five days, or you can find Batman within five days, or you can do both. Finding Batman right away won't do you any good because the antidote will take too much time for you to identify, create and administer. Your rules are simple: Nobody on your team can have powers. You can't use Supergirl or one of the Green Lanterns, or even your old pal, Black Canary. If you think Green Arrow would be an asset, then by all means call him, but I think your time would be better served by just using the ones that are already in Gotham and know the people they'll be dealing with, not to mention the fact that they'll have the lay of the land. I'm sure my dear sister would jump at the chance to help."
"If you have no further questions, I'll let you get to it. You have twenty-four hours before I unlesh the hounds. Good luck, my love."
Amanda Waller listened to the dial tone for a moment before hanging up the phone. She called her assistant and put the phone on speaker before beginning to open her safe.
"Yes, Ms. Waller?", came the voice of her assistant.
"I need a flight to Gotham City right now", she said as she opened the safe. "I don't care if it's by carrier pigeon. I want to be in Gotham before my coffee gets cold."
"Yes, Ma'am", the voice on the phone said, then broke the connection.
Waller grabbed a thick file labled "The Colony", closed the safe, grabbed her Go-Bag and hurried out the door.
.
Alfred Pennyworth went down to the Batcave expecting to find Master Bruce hard at work at the enormous computer, closing in on some elusive villain, but instead found that the breakfast he brought was untouched, so he put the sandwich and soup beside it.
"Ah, Master Bruce", Alfred sighed. "I know I'm not supposed to call you when you're engaging in your extracurricular activities, but you usually check in before now."
He picked up the comm set and said, "Penny-One to Ba..." He was interupted by the front door chime. He considered continuing to call, but decided to answer the door instead. If Master Bruce answered the comm, whoever was at the door would be left waiting. Better to handle the visitor first.
Alfred opened the door to find a stunning African-American woman standing before him, but the look on her face was anything but attractive. It took Alfred a moment, but he finally recognized her as Amanda Waller. He knew her because of his relationship with Batman, but had no reason to know her as Bruce Wayne's butler.
"May I help you?", he asked politely.
"Save it, Pennyworth", Waller said. "I saw recognition on your face when you saw me, but only for moment. You're good. I'm better. I need to talk to you."
"I'm sure we have nothing to discuss, Madam", Alfred said. "I'm very busy, so if you don't mind..."
"Have you talked to Batman lately?", Waller asked straight out. "Or Bruce Wayne? I have a call in to some people that should be dropping by, but if they don't, you should convince them to and tell them to bring their masks and capes. Probably ought to put on some coffe or tea as well. This is gonna take some time."
"I'm sure I have no idea what you are talking about, Madam", Alfred said. "I'm afraid I must ask you to leave."
"Not gonna happen", Waller said stubbornly. "Now, of course, you can call Batman's pal, Commissioner Gordon, but then that would ruin the whole secret identity thing, wouldn't it? Why don't you just wait and see which ones show up, then call the ones that don't. I'm not kidding, Pennyworth; this is huge. We'll need every one of Bruce Waynes extended family on this."
Alfred was clearly flustered by what Waller was saying, but tried to keep up the facade.
"I'm sure you're mistaken, Madam. Master Bruce's 'extended family', as you put it, leads their own lives and I don't currently know how to reach any of them. And as for Master Bruce, he's not in. Perhaps if you leave your name and contact information, I can pass them along to him when he returns."
"You don't get it", Waller said as she shook her head in annoyance. "Batman isn't coming back unless we get on the same page and find him right away. I've already called Kate Kane, Selina Kyle, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon, Stephanie Brown, Harper Row and Duke Thomas, so hopefully they'll know how to contact Jason Todd and Cassandra Cain. I understand Batman has brought Basil Karlo into the fold, but I was told that no one with powers was allowed, not even Black Canary or Grifter, so that means we sure as Hell can't use Clayface or any of my former Team 7 personnel. Huntress is another story entirely. It's my understanding that she's Batman's daughter from a parallel Earth, and on that Earth, Selina Kyle is her mother, so she's got a dog in this fight too, if she can be found and is interested. I'm also given to understand that Robin is Bruce Wayne's son Damian, so James Gordon, Jr. has Batman, and he's planning on killing them along with almost all of Gotham unless you stop playing games and start helping me. It would be very easy for me to just walk away, Pennyworth, but that won't stop Gordon. He'll just do the same thing somewhere else. How many cities need to die?"
"Pennyworth?", a small voice said from behind him. He turned and saw young Damian Wayne behind him. He had heard it all. "Let her in."
"Master Damian, I'm afraid I can't just..."
"Pennyworth, she knows", Damian said. "Trying to bluff your way out of it isn't going to help. I know how to reach the others, including 'Not-my-sister'. If my father really is in trouble, we need to get started right away. Let her in."
Alfred sighed and stepped aside, allowing Amanda Waller to enter. "Thank you", she said. "Which way to the cave?"
Before Alfred could say anything, Damian said, "Gaining access to Wayne Manor is one thing, Waller. The Bat-cave is off limits until and unless it becomes necessary. Now tell us why you're here."
"Shouldn't we wait until everybody else gets here, so this can just be done once?"
"No, for two reasons", Damian said. "One, we may be able to start formulating a plan while we're waiting for the others, and two, the chances may be small, but there's still a slim chance that we can put an end to this sooner if we get started sooner. I don't want to sit on my hands waiting for someone else to show up."
"Fair enough", she said, then played back a recording of the call she'd gotten from Gordon, thankful that she'd set up that phone to automatically redord each and every call that came in to it. When it finished, she shut it off and asked, "What do we do next?"
"You can go", Damian said, turning away from her.
"That's it?", Waller asked, dumbfounded. "I'm here to help."
"You have helped", the boy said. "But there's no way you'll ever get access to the cave, Waller. You're too duplicitous. I deal with my father everyday, and he has a backup plan for his backup plans. You're the same way. If you were allowed in the cave, I have no doubt that you'd find a way gather information that would serve you later. My father would rather die than know he helped you gain an advantage over good people."
"He has files on EVERYBODY, kid!", Waller said. "How is that any different than what I do?"
"He only goes after criminals, Waller", Damian said as he spun around to face her. "You try to use information to blackmail everyone you meet into doing things for you. Sometimes that information he has will tell him why a criminal is targeting someone." Damian grinned and added, "He even has a file on you, but doesn't do anything about it because you haven't crossed the line...yet."
"I was certain he did, and I already know about all of you", she countered. "Don't you think I already have enough to try to blackmail any one of you if that was what I wanted?"
Damian just stared at her, but remained silent.
"I believe in the good you all do, or I would've done something about it a long time ago", she continued. "Besides, you need me on this."
"That's where you're wrong", Damian said. "Unless you've held back something, we now know what you know. What further use could we possibly have for you?"
"How about the fact that I'm the one Gordon's infatuated with?", she said. "If there's something else he wants to share, he'll contact me. Without me, you won't get that information."
"And you would sit on that information instead of passing it along to us?", Alfred said. "You already know how to contact us."
"You don't get it, do you?", Waller shouted. "This is what I've done my entire life. I've had my own tragedies that shaped me, and I've done the same thing Bruce Wayne did, but using Goverment service to accomplish my goals instead of using children." She looked directly at Damian. "I've done a lot of good out there, you arrogant little brat, and I've been doing it since before you were born."
"As true as that may be, you run the Suicide Squad", Alfred said, "and that simply means that you send expendable operatives to complete your missions. I can assure you that no one in our group is expendable, and you've not been doing this since before I was born."
"I'm well aware of your past as an British Intelligence Operative", Waller said calmly. "I'm also aware that your daughter is a current Operative. Listen, when I was with Team 7, we put our lives on the line everyday, like your little Bat-club does. I believed in the mission, but I got tired of losing people I was close to; some of which I personally recruited onto the team. For the life of me, I can't understand why Batman would bring people he cares about into this life, especially his own son. You go up against people with guns and you're not allowed to shoot back. I swear I don't get it, but I don't need to. I just need your help to save Batmans life and the lives of a few million innocent people in the city you've all pledged to protect."
As Damian and Alfred were considering her words, the doorbell chimed again. Alfred turn and opened the door, and was surprised to see Kate Kane standing there.
"Ah", Waller said, recognizing her. "Bruce's cousin. Come on in, Batwoman."
Kate looked at Alfred, confusion evident on her face. Alfred sighed. "Apparently, Ms. Waller knows a great many things that she shouldn't."
.
Over the next hour, everyone showed up except Jason Todd and Helena Wayne, but soon Helena arrived. When Alfred opened the door for her, he nearly fainted when he saw the strikingly beautiful young woman.
"My word", he said breathlessly, then tried to recovere. "May I help you?"
"I'm Helena", she said, "but something tells me that you already knew that. I'm here because Damian contacted me."
"Of course, Miss Helena", Alfred said. "Please forgive me. Do come in."
Alfred escorted her to the rarely used giant dining room where everyone else was already in attendance, including Jason.
"Master Jason, I was unaware that you had arrived. Welcome back, young sir."
"Thanks, Alfie", the former Robin said. "I naturally assumed that I'd be needed in the 'Other' meeting place, so I came in that way. When nobody was there, I made my way here, and now I'm glad I did. Who is this stunning creature you're escorting?"
Damian ran over to Helena and they hugged. "Back off, Todd. She's 'Not-my-sister'."
"Good to see you too, 'Not-my-brother'. What's going on?"
"May I present Helena Wayne, formerly of Earth-2", Alfred said.
"Wow", Dick Grayson said, "She looks a lot like you did when I first met you, Selina."
Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman, nodded absently, still studying Helena's face. "What's going on here? This girl looks like I did at that age, but I can see plain as day that she has Bruce's eyes. Has he been experimenting with DNA and cloning?"
"No, nothing like that", Helena said. "I'm from another Earth that doesn't exist anymore. On that Earth, I was the only Robin that our Batman ever had, and I'm the daughter of Bruce Wayne and...", she looked sheepishly at Selena, "...and Selina Kyle. As far as I know, my friend Supergirl and I are the only survivors of our Earth, so here, we go by the names Power Girl and Huntress."
Everyone was stunned and didn't know what to say, so Jason broke the ice. "Good to know before I did something stupid and committed 'Suicide-by-Batman'. Getting shot down by hot girls is usually Dick's department."
Everyone laughed, and Barbara said, "Yes, but it never stops him from trying."
"He even tried it with me, and I'm not even into guys", Kate said. "Well, Helena, in a roundabout way, I guess I'm your cousin, Kate."
"Batwoman, yes", Helena said. "I know about all of you. Even you, Lark", she said to Duke Thomas, who just recently joined the team.
"Yep, definitely Batman's daughter", Waller said. "Can we get started?"
"Waitaminute", Selina said. "Dick, Jason, and Tim? How are you guys not freaked out by having a 'sister'? Apparently Damian knew about this, but I'm a little weirded out by having a girl here that's my daughter from another Earth."
"Relax, 'Not-my-Mom'", Helena said. "I'm just another former Robin in a group that's silly with them, and another girl that can take care of herself like you, Batgirl, Spoiler, and Orphan, not to mention Batwoman."
"What about me?", the blue haired girl with a half-shaved head protested.
"I'm sorry, Bluebird, but you're good; you're just not great. Yet. You'll get there, but you're not there right now. You're heart is in it, but you don't have the experience. You have all the tools, but you just don't have the skills yet. Give it time. You're going to be great, but you can't rush it."
"Well, she's more diplomatic than her 'Not-Dad'. That's something, at least", Harper grumbled. She didn't like what Helena had said, but she knew it was true so she accepted it.
"Alright, let's get down to business", Kate said. "Waller, play that recording for everyone again." Waller played it again, and when it was finished, Kate said, "Opinions?"
"That's definitely my brother", Barbara said. "He always was a demented little twerp."
"This group is too large for just one team, so I'm appointing Nightwing as co-team leader, and Huntress will be on his team, along with Damian. I don't know how many teams we'll break up into, but they go where he goes."
"I don't need a babysitter, 'Not-my-cousin'. I can pull my own weight", Helena said with a little more heat than she'd intended.
"I'm absolutely positive that you can", Kate said. "If I didn't think you could, you wouldn't be here now, or you'd be support like Waller, Lark and Bluebird. If you're going to be in the field, then I need you with the most experienced member of the team, and that's Nightwing. We can't assume YOUR Batman trained you and taught you the same way OUR Batman would've, but I'm sure your skill set is more than up to the task. It's merely a question of familiarity. Also, he was temporarily Batman a while back, and Damian was his Robin, so they've worked together, and Damian tells me that the two of you worked together once, so that means that putting the three of you together is a no-brainer. Barbara, you and Jason have worked together several times, and you have quite a bit of experience working both with and against Catwoman, so she'll be with you. I'll be with the team I've been working with; Tim, Stephanie and Cassandra. Tim, before you say anything, I'm not trying to say you need a babysiiter. We all know you've earned the right to lead your own team, so you will. I'm just going to be there to back you up. We've been training together, so I know all of you best. Lark, you and Penny-One will be running things here, with Waller and Bluebird as your support personnel. If Waller doesn't co-operate, you all know different ways to incapacitate her and keep her secured and out of the way. Waller, if you want to be in on this, follow orders and actually help. If you become a problem, you'll be distracting us from the mission and you'll be taken off the board for the duration. Either be part of the team and actually help, or you'll be removed and secluded. We're trying to save lives, so I'm letting you know up front that you better not decide to start playing games with us. Any questions about the teams?"
"I have one", Barbara said, raising her hand a little before realizing it was a little out of place. "James is a loner, and we all know he doesn't play well with others. My question is the obvious one; where do we begin?"
Kate looked around the assembled group. "Anybody want to answer that?"
Helena spoke up and said, "We find out who created this weapon. I've never heard of him having the background that makes him capable of creating something like this on his own."
"Correct", Kate said. "He has a genius level intellect, but that doesn't mean he can sit down in front of a chemistry set and come up with something like this on his own. Team One, you go after the known chemists and find out who knows anything about this. Team Two, you do Team One will shake the trees and the rest of us will pick up the falling fruit and find out what's good and what isn't. Everything is fluid at this point, so once we have something to act on, we will and we'll make adjustments as necessary. Home Team, I want you investigating chemicals that could produce something like what Gordon described and find out who purchased what. I know we don't often go out during the day, but we can't wait for the cover of darkness with millions of lives hanging in the balance. Oh, and Red Hood, you're not a very well liked person by either side of the law, so I would suggest you use the Wingman identity that you used in Batman Inc. against Leviathan. We're using non-lethal methods, and as effective as you can be, I don't think Batman would approve of people being shot in the face with rubber bullets or stabbed with knives. Let's all do this like good little Bats. Anything else?"
"I think my father should be brought in on this", Barbara said. "I don't mean into the Batcave, but he should know what's going on. There's a clear and present danger to the entire city, so he needs to be informed."
"I hate to admit it, but Red's right", Waller said. "With my government credentials, I'm the obvious choice to be the liason between all of you and the Comissioner. Besides, it's clear that you don't trust me and don't want me here anyway, so it's a way for me to contribute. Should he be informed it's his own son doing this?"
"No", Kate said. "He'll have enough on his plate without adding guilt to it. Waller, take this." She handed Waller an earpiece. "This will allow us to be in touch, but don't even try to trace the signal. You can't. Batman and Bluebird designed these, and that means you'll never learn the location of the cave, so don't even try. Lark will know if you even make an attempt. If that happens, he'll detonate the device, so you'll know what your operatives in the Suicide Squad feel like. It will also mean you're out. If you want in, play by my rules. If you want out, just break the rules. It's your call. Alright, everyone. Let's do this."
.(This is my first attempt at even using the site, so I'm hoping I did this right)