-1-Amanda Waller felt tired; more than that, she felt old.
She looked across at Manhunter. “This has been a complete disaster,” she said.
“I did point out to you that something was wrong with June,” Mark Shaw said. He was wearing his costume but his hood was off; he looked tired and sweaty. He was reaching for a a tone of voice that was more meek than accusatory. He failed.
“I know that,” Waller snapped irritably, and massaged the bridge of her nose. “I have to wonder now, if she didn't put some kind of spell on me too; a spell of distraction, or something.”
“Or something,” Agreed Mark cautiously.
“Wonder how far back it goes,” she murmured. “Was it when Enchantress first returned? Or was it before that? Maybe she never really left and June just didn't tell us....”
Mark spreads his hands. “I wish I knew,” he admitted. “I started being an investigator again far too late. For so much of that time I wasn't even being a proper leader, just reacting. When I finally stepped up to the plate again, everything had already gone wrong. ”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you trying to convince me to remove you as team leader?”
He shrugged, his eyes bleak. “I kinda figured you already did.”
She laughed, a short, bitter sound. “The thought of replacing you with Vixen did cross my mind. But really, would that change anything? I'd be happy to bite your head off for this, but the truth is I'm as much to blame as you. So is this the simple fact of the nature of the Squad's organization in the first place. Before you idiots even got back, I had already suggested to Steel that the Squad membership be more firmly organized, with less comings and goings; more missions before pardon, more incentives to stay on the team after pardon. Steel agreed, and passed my recommendations upward.”
There was a heavy pause.
“And?” Mark finally prompted.
“And, I was told that the President would take my recommendations under advisement. Which as I'm sure you can guess, means 'no'.”
Mark slumped back in the chair and said nothing.
What Waller didn't tell him was that the President had also responded, through Steel, that he knew she had been under a lot of stress, and perhaps she should consider a vacation or sabbatical. Which translated from polite beauracratese to, 'Shut up and shape up, or we'll replace you.'
“There's also the matter of Killer Frost,” Mark said. Tellingly, he didn't mention Resurrection Man; as far as he was concerned, Mitch and June were part of the same picture, and for what it was worth, Waller considered him to be more or less right.
“Frost? Good freakin riddance! We shoulda ditched her when she went AWOL in Gotham. I'm glad she's gone. Maybe she'll tangle with Firestorm again and he'll put her away. That was one thing the President did agree with,” she added with a small, grim smile. “If recaptured, Killer Frost is no longer eligible for the Suicide Squad program.”
“So if I'm still field commander, what happens now?” Mark prompted.
“After giving it some thought, I'm not going to replace any of the missing members for the time being. Maybe later there will be new additions, but for now, we will maintain a roster of those of you who were
loyal.” Waller spoke the last word in what was almost a snarl of hate. “Send in Vixen; dismissed.”
*****************
-2-Waller's tone with Vixen was very different, softer, almost conciliatory. “Mari, I know we're not friends....”
“I didn't think you believed in friends,” Mari said, more openly hostile than Mark had dared to be. Her eyes were smoldering embers that matched Waller's mood.
“Hah, mostly I don't,” Waller agreed, “And maybe I shouldn't at all. But woman to woman, Sister to Sister, tell me this. What the hell do you think
happened down there?”
Mari slumped back, and looked up at the ceiling. She was less tired than Mark but seemed more defeated. “We couldn't find a trace of any of them. It almost kills me to admit this, but I miss Catman. His skills, anyway.”
“True,” Waller agreed, thinking back to that earlier departure. “But that's not what I meant. I read all your reports, I got the sitrep down as clearly as I'm ever going to. But what do you think happened? To Enchantress, to June, to Frost, to Mitch? In their heads?”
“Clearly Enchantress corrupted June. I don't know what with. Power, presumably. And we know what happened to Mitch.”
Waller snorted bitter laughter. “Yeah, men are predictable that way. But I don't think it was purely sexual. I think there was a magical element to it, too.”
“She is called Enchantress for a reason,” Mari pointed out. “Not Witch or Sorceress.”
“Yes...but....that's not very helpful, Mari.” Waller held up a hand to forestall any objection. “Look. Mark may still be official team leader—even if he himself isn't sure he deserves it—but we both know you're the real brains between the two of you. Tell me what you really think, deep in your gut, happened.”
Mari looked at Waller for a long moment. “You really mean it, don't you? You think because I'm also a woman--”
“--and a Sister,” Waller interrupted, “And human. I can't talk this way with Knockout.”
“Heh. Yeah, I guess you can't. But you think I'm gonna have some magical insight into all this?”
“Not magical, no. Just better than anyone else on the team.”
Mari blew out a sigh. “You already know what happened, Waller. You just haven't sat back and thought about it. There's no mystery at all, really; the Suicide Squad is a team of villains. This was only a matter of time.”
“Even with you and Mark to keep an eye on them?”
“Keeping them on a short leash doesn't change who they are. You know that, Waller.”
Amanda Waller was angry, yes. Very. But she was also disappointed. She had hoped that Mari would indeed have some special insight. But her simple statement of the truth reminded her of what a no-win scenario the Squad was, from the word go. That was, after all, why she had passed on her recommendations to the President in the first place.
“All right,” she finally said, dispirited. “You think of anything else, let me know. Send in Cavalier.”
*****************
-3-“Harry,” Waller said dryly.
“Amanda,” Hudson 'Harry' Drake, aka the Cavalier, smirked at her, one eyebrow raised. He seemed the least fazed by the experience. Which was not to say he wouldn't bear scars from this; they all would.
Waller let his use of her first name go without comment, though she did glare at him and hold up a warning finger. And to his credit; he got the message, swallowing and nodding. He had acted like a spoiled brat during the Gotham excursion, but had matured some since then.
“You're a villain of the old school. A gentleman villain who remembers what that means, in an age when so many have never even heard of the concept.”
Harry inclined his head. “Thank you.”
“As I'm sure you know, Frost is not an old-school villain.”
“Indeed, no.” Harry grimaced. Was that a shiver? Almost, perhaps.
“To your mind, what do you think happened to her and Enchantress? And Mitch and June, as well?”
“For starters,” Harry said, “I think you have overlooked the fact that there was a war between the personalities of the Enchantress and June; that June liberated Mitch from whatever spell he was under, that they formed a united front against Enchantress and Killer Frost, if not with us.” He drew in a sigh, then blew it out. “As for what happened...well, Frost is in it for the thrill, but she had no class or style. I know you know that,” he added, putting up a hand. “But that's why stuff like this happens. Enchantress was playing a power game, and for a while June went along for the ride, largely because of her interest in Mitch, I'd wager. Frost just wants to kill people, that's her thrill. That, Waller, is what separates old school villains from the new. For guys like me, or say, the old Flash Rogues, being a bad guy meant something. Class style, taking down the sanctimonious fool 'heroes' who pretended they were better than us but were really no different. Today's villains? Just thugs with powers, nothing more. Today heroes ARE better than them. Not because the heroes have improved, but because the villains have gotten worse. That's the problem with the Squad, no offense. Precious and few are the villains like me; Frost and Enchantress are the rule, rather than the exception. And don't get me started on Knockout or that....that...pet dog of hers.”
“I'd...actually like to agree with you on that one, Harry,” Waller said, surprising herself. “But you forget, Enchantress is very old school. We don't know how far she goes back.”
Cavalier nodded. “And perhaps once she was a witch of great elegance. I wonder what she was like back then. Perhaps she was even worth following, as Frost thought, in those dim and distant days. But now...now she is just a thug. An extremely powerful magic wielding thug, but a thug nonetheless.”
Waller grunted. Cavalier was set in his ways, it was true...but in this particular case, she felt he was right. That this quaint sword-swinger might come closest to the truth disturbed her more than she cared to admit. “Very well, send in Electrocutioner. Dismissed.”
*****************
-4-“Paul?” Amanda prompted.
“Yeah, I'm here,” he responded wearily, his eyes blank. He had already taken his hood off. It looked like he had been weeping, but the tears had dried.
“I know this must be difficult for you.”
“I knew....” Electrocutioner began, then started again, “I knew that our relationship couldn't last. That eventually she'd do something I'd have to bust her for. Maybe...maybe even kill her for. But this....something so.....so stupid....”
“I think,” Waller said carefully, “That maybe you did come to love her, after all.”
Paul started, then thought about it. “Maybe.”
“Is there anything you can tell me about it?”
“We argued about what....what should be, during the fight. And at the end I knew she wasn't listening....that....that nobody was home. At the end, I knew I would have to kill her. If she hadn't run....I would've had killed her. Or her me.”
“And if you ever meet her again?” Waller prompted.
“Then....then I will kill her. Or she will kill me.”
There was a heavy silence.
“Well, don't let her kill you,” Waller said, lightly as she dared.
He looked up at her and his eyes gleamed.
“I won't.”
Another pause.
“Anything else about the mission you want to tell me?”
Electrocutioner looked unhappy. “Clearly there was some kind of falling out between Enchantress and June. But I don't know why they were on the same side in the first place, or why June and Mitch didn't come back to us. If they had, things would be better now....” he trailed off.
“Yes,” Waller agreed heavily. “Much better.”
*****************
-5-Knockout stood rather than sitting, tall and proud.
“We should have been with them from the start,” she said, voice filled with frustration and self-recrimination. “Frost clearly wanted to join them anyway. If we had all been there at once, perhaps this catastrophe could have been avoided.”
A sound tactical assessment, Waller knew, but not any kind of deeper insight into the situation. As she had expected. “What do you think happened to Enchantress and Frost? In their heads, I mean? You're from a world of evil; you might understand better than any.”
“Enchantress had ambition, so much is clear,” Knockout agreed. “The staff is obviously magical, and enhanced her powers in some undefined way. I suggest keeping it under lockup.”
“Thank you,” Waller said heavily.
Knockout ignored her sarcasm. “As for her ambitions, she may have indeed hoped to become something not unlike Darkseid. It is hard to be sure. Frost was, and is, merely a follower. A bloodthirsty thrill seeker. I know that doesn't tell you anything you didn't already know. But what I think happened is that ambition blinded them—both of them—to good tactical sense. It is a common problem. I would recommend tighter regulations of this team, if you really want to know. Or the same problem will manifest again.
“The thought had occurred. The President was not cooperative.”
Knockout snorted. “If there's nothing further?”
“There's no point in asking the Parademon what he thinks, is there?”
Knockout grimaced. “Not as such. Your world has mellowed him more than you might believe....but he still has a hard time with basic English, and his analysis would be along the lines of 'smash the enemy,' which I know is not what you want.”
Waller emitted a short laugh like a bark. “Very well. Dismissed.”
*****************
-6-Crack.
Crack.They were surprised to see Waller on the firing range. She ignored them and aimed a CZ-75 semi-automatic, which she had bought from a specialist bounty hunter and gun-shop owner in Chicago a couple years back.
Calm and focused, she went for head shots on every target, and got them all but thrice.....and on those three occasions she at least hit to wound.
There were times....yes, there were times....when she wanted to leave the administrator's desk behind and go out on a mission and shoot things. She believed that Vostok had felt that temptation, as well. It would never happen, of course....but she felt that maybe, just maybe, if she had been there....
Ridiculous, of course. But it was part of her desire to control things. Especially this mad, messy, motley crew of a team.
Another person may have wondered why the President had refused her request to alter the parameters of the Squad. She knew why; first of all, the Squad were supposed to be both deniable and disposable, and if something really went wrong—if they had failed to stop Enchantress, for example—she knew that the Administration would be only too happy to let the various superheroes clean up the mess. You'd think they'd have learned something from the Starro affair, but apparently not.
Sighing, she reloaded and began firing again.
Crack.
Crack. Crack. Crack!!The last silhouette's head was blown completely off.
“You using explosive rounds?” asked the voice of Sarge Steel. “Hollow points, maybe?”
“I thought you were busy with Checkmate business,” she said through gritted teeth, not turning around.
“I'm always busy with Checkmate business. Just as you are always busy here.”
Crack.“Have you decided what to do with the Squad?” he prompted, when she said nothing else.
“If I can't change the parameters of the team, at least I can keep the current membership stable, and under my control. But then, we've already discussed this.”
Crack.“Meaning no disrespect, but are any of us ever in control of the Squad?”
Crack.“I am
always in control, Steel. And, by the way...” she turned and pointed the gun at him. “You really
are somewhere else on Checkmate business.”
Steel flinched. “What--”
Crack.The body fell to the ground.....and turned into a splatter of orange goo.
Waller cursed loudly. “Immediate lock down! Code red! Metamorphs from the Paris incident are running loose!”
*****************
-7-At the time, the Paris incident had seemed to small that it wasn't even worth mentioning. It hadn't even required the full team's attention. Shortly after the engineered virus outbreak had been put down, Cavalier, Manhunter and Electrocutioner had been dispatched to Paris to take down a collection of amorphous shape shifters. They had been human once; some unethical experiment or other had transformed them. Luthor and Wilkerson had both been suspected, then later discounted. Interpol was still following the paper trail. There had been five; but between the Squad and Interpol, their numbers had been cut to three.
They had been buried in the lowest chamber of Belle Reve, and their powers were supposed to be canceled out, based on technology retrieved from the site of an old Teen Titans case. Waller had killed one, but now the other two were loose.
How they had gotten out of their little prison was something Waller wondered about very much indeed; she suspected inside help. There hadn't been a full personnel review since the Calculator affair; clearly one was overdue.
But in the meantime it was time to figure out where the remaining two were hiding. Waller had everyone in the prison, staff and inmates alike, blood tested. That was enough to roust one of them; hiding as a member of the medical staff, it had revealed it's true form and bolted.
The other didn't show up; and for a moment Waller was afraid it had escaped. But one thing they knew was that these shifters could only taking living forms of a reasonable size; they couldn't become desks or walls or floor, nor could the become something small like an insect.
Once they were cleared, the Squad was set to patrol the grounds.
*****************
-8-It was Vixen who noticed there was a dog at the front gate. The guard dogs were supposed to be in their kennels at this hour.
“Mark,” she whispered softly, nodding to it.
He hustled off to check the kennels; sure enough all were accounted for.
They didn't waste any time closing in or anything else to arouse it's suspicion; they simply radioed Waller, who in turn radioed the guard and ordered him to shoot. A little surprised and saddened, he nevertheless did as he was ordered.
The metamorph collapsed into a pool of orange goo, but not before it's dog form let out a dying whine.
*****************
-9-“Contain the remains,” Waller said into her phone. “Remember, electricity can resurrect their bodies, if not their minds.” She hung up the phone without waiting for an answer, then started bringing up personnel reports on her computer.
“I
am in control,” she said to the empty room. “I am, and so help me, I will mold the Squad into a group I can rely on.”
She was worried, yes. But also determined.
And woe betide those that stood between Amanda Waller and what she wanted.
