This is a kind of !CRACKISH! Fanfiction. I don't own Marvel and DC, nor am I some sort of loremaster.
Chapter 12: Capture.
DC Universe.
Omega Earth.
The USA.
The State of Virginia.
Outskirts of Cadmus Alpha.
Christmas of 2006.
Jade Nguyễn AKA Cheshire.
Third POV.
Cheshire slowly made her way toward the research facility, careful to avoid any unwanted patrol that had been set up by the attacking force against the facility. Thankfully, Her invisible cloaking module was installed into her equipment by Ianite, and the conveniently thick foliage made the task rather easy.
She silently made her way towards the front gate of the facility, her form concealed by the shadows and the night itself, the pair of COC soldiers stationed at the entrance were completely unaware of her presence as she drew both of her Adamantium Sai and activated its vibrating feature. The pair of Sai let off a low hum almost indistinguishable from the normal human ear and before the guards could even react, Cheshire stabbed them in the back, the Sai's blade easily piercing through their energy shield and their spinal cords, causing them to fall dead and twitching to the ground. Luckily, the surrounding area around the entire facility was completely in the dark meaning that the likely chance of anyone noticing the COC soldiers getting killed was unlikely.
"Two targets down, I am entering the facility now," Cheshire reported over the coms, her voice a low whisper as she moved forward, her steps silent and her movements smooth and precise.
"Copy that, process with caution, and continue to the objective."
"Affirmative."
The motion tracker and the thermal vision in her mask allowed her to see the enemies and track everything else perfectly without being noticed herself while remaining undetected. It also helped that she was quite used to this kind of sneaking around as her former life in the harsh jungle had often put her in such situations and the training from Shiva and the Doc was just the icing on the cake.
The facility was crawling with COC soldiers, the guards were heavily armed and equipped with heavy exoskeleton assault gear and were patrolling the entire area, the dead bodies of Cadmus employees could be seen strewn about, their bodies riddled with bullet holes and burn marks, and the facility was ablaze with gunfire.
It was a wonder how the authorities hadn't been alerted and responded yet. But then again, Cheshire had been told that the facility was located in a very remote location, and it was also kind of off the book so to speak, the majority of the government didn't even know about its existence.
But then again that hasn't stopped those COCs from finding out somehow and attacking the facility. Well… the word attacking was an understatement, judging by the sheer amount of the bodies strewn about, the destroyed buildings, the broken glass, the fire, the destruction, the wreckage, and the general carnage and chaos that was wrecked upon the area, Cheshire would say that what had happened was a complete massacre and bloodbath.
The COC troops were definitely not messing around.
Another thing she noticed about these soldiers was that they were being led by a Female Soldier wearing a golden mask, a Captain if she recalled Doctor Ianite's briefing correctly about the so-called Rogue Hidden Enigmatic Foreign Organization that can make the League of Assassins look like a bunch of sissies in comparison. Although… She still has some doubt believing that last particular point.
Regardless, These golden masked women were high-ranking officers and members of the COC, and their skill and training were said to be almost on par with the League of Assassins, maybe even greater if the rumors were to be believed. And considering what she had been told about the organization, and what she had seen during the briefing and intelligence, she would believe… for now… that they were indeed powerful but were they that powerful enough to pose a significant threat to the Demonhead position?
Anyway, the assassin could mull over those kinds of things later.
Cheshire slowly crept her way through what looked like a destroyed headquarters area and towards a pair of masked female COC Captains, making sure to keep her footsteps silent and her form low and close to the ground, the pair were busy discussing something and she could overhear their conversation.
"A-5, Have you been able to extract everything from the server?" The Golden-masked Captain with an advanced-looking sniper rifle on her back inquired, her voice calm and professional.
"Not yet, Not everything, Apostle-4," Another golden-masked Captain with a pair of machine guns replied with a hint of annoyance. "The system shows signs of being purged recently a day before we arrived."
"…"
"Someone knew we were coming here."
"The Vice-archon will not be pleased to hear that, we already have several delays, and our technician is still having trouble with the clone pod even with the help of Dr. Hamilton, not to mention that Apostle-2 and her platoon suffered many heavy casualties," Apostle-4 remarked with a sigh, the frustration and disappointment were evident in her tone. "The Vice-archon is definitely going to discipline Apostle-2 thoroughly after this."
Cheshire couldn't help but snicker, her body pressed against the wall, her breathing was shallow, and her movements were fluid and graceful. The assassin then activated her stealth cloak, her body disappearing from sight and the COC Captains were none the wiser.
"Well… there is some silver lining at least." Apostle-5 stated. "Apostle-3 was able to capture Deathstroke and Subject Skyfall, last I heard, the two are being moved to the medical center and are prepped and ready to be transferred to a provisional black site for interrogation and study."
Cheshire froze and her eyes widened underneath her mask at the mention of Slade Wilson. She is aware from her briefing that the super-mercenary is currently employed here and She also was well aware of the man's history and exploits, his reputation, and his skills by her sensei Lady Shiva. The man was a former soldier, a mercenary, and an assassin, a very dangerous one at that, and he was rumored to be the world's best. If indeed that was true, the fact that the COC managed to capture the man was no small feat, especially considering the man's track record.
She also didn't miss the mention of the Subject Skyfall or more specifically, Captain Avery Gallahan. Her prime HVT after Galatea. The Doc had mentioned that the Captain was a soldier, a special force that was enhanced by the good doctor. Cheshire wasn't privy about the details but that didn't matter right now. She had a mission to complete, and she had no intention of failing the Doctor, the woman who had rescued and raised her.
Cheshire quickly took the opportunity to sneak past the two female Captains, her body moving like a shadow, and her movements were like a cat, smooth and grateful. Yet despite her stealth and her careful steps, her luck had to run out somehow because the assassin had managed to step on a loose piece of glass. It was not loud enough to alert the two Captains, but it was loud enough to get the attention of a passing guard but she reacted first. Employing a special technique taught to her by Lady Shiva before he tried to make a move.
Her cloak is deactivated and Cheshire moves quickly to gain momentum, and then the Assassin suddenly jumps and Wraps her legs around the surprised soldier's arms and neck. Using the grip from her thighs, she holds onto her opponent's head securely then the assassin pulls down with her legs while pushing away with her hands to Execute a twist-and-drop technique to snap her target's neck.
The Golden Mask Captain with the pair of machine guns let out a hail of red energy beams toward her direction, the rounds impacting the ground, the concrete wall, and the metal, causing them to spark and explode upon impact, the energy rounds were extremely powerful, and Cheshire barely managed to avoid the barrage.
"I provide covering fire, you handle the intruder!" Apostle-5 ordered, pulling the trigger and sending another barrage of rounds toward the assassin's direction, the bullets impacting the area and exploding upon impact near Cheshire as she took cover behind a down pillar.
"Understood," Apostle-4 called out as she slowly approached where Cheshire was hiding with the sniper rifle aimed at the ready.
Cheshire could see on her motion tracker more red dots beginning to move to her location, her cover blown, and her stealth cloaking ability deactivated, the assassin immediately took a defensive stance as she pressed her back against the cover, her sais were drawn and held defensively, and the golden-masked female soldiers started closing in on her.
"Doc, we have a problem, and my cover has been blown. The situation is going FUBAR," Cheshire whispered as she moved and dodged from one cover to the next, her movements were smooth and graceful, and she had to mentally thank the doctor for her carbonadium-plated composite armor, with some of the energy beams dinging off her armor barely leaving noticeable marks and some missing entirely.
"Copy that, Cheshire. What are your options?" Doctor Ianite replies calmly over her earpiece.
"Well…" The Assassin began then moved her head just in time as a massive gaping hole suddenly appeared where her head had just been a moment before with the source being the sniper rifle in the hand of Apostle-4. "There! A vent on the roof!"
"Copy, If I remember correctly, that vent should lead you right above the medical center, you already have a plan in mind?" The doctor answered with a hint of amusement in her tone.
Cheshire could only smirk behind her mask as she took out a small smoke and flash bomb the size of a lighter on her utility belt, she then suddenly threw a kunai out of nowhere at the captain holding the pair of machine guns catching her off guard and causing the golden mask soldiers to dodge momentarily and making the barrage of laser fire to halt for a moment.
"Always."
BOOOMMMM!*
Flash!*
With that, the assassin throws her flash and smoke bomb onto the floor. The device exploded and the room was filled with a thick smoke, the sudden change in lighting blinded the golden mask soldiers momentarily, and before they could react, the assassin had already gone using the grappling hook on her to get up to the vent.
The COCs captains were confused and angry as the soldiers burst into the room, the golden mask woman then barked a series of orders, and the soldiers quickly fanned out, and started searching the room, but the assassin was long gone.
Cheshire was already in the ventilation system, her form hidden by the darkness as she crawled from the soldiers. Luckily the ventilation shaft was wide enough that she was able to crawl through effortlessly even with the duffel bag strapped to her side.
The assassin continued to crawl and climb through the vents, the sounds of the soldiers could be heard and felt from outside the walls, their footsteps and movement reverberating throughout the building and the surrounding area.
The air in the vents was musty and hot, and the stench of the dust was pungent and suffocating. But her advanced mask was able to filter out the dust and the smoke, allowing her to breathe without difficulty, and she was very grateful that the doctor had prepared her very well for this mission.
Her path was straightforward and the route was familiar from what she remembered from the schematic of Cadmus Alpha that the doctor had shown and had her memorized several times. After several minutes of crawling, the assassin finally made her way to the vent above the medical center.
The medical center was in various states of ruin. There were wrecked computers and advanced-looking medical machines all scattered and lying around on the floor, some were smashed and damaged, and there were wires and cables everywhere. The room was filled with COC soldiers and technicians, and the place was a flurry of activity, with the majority of technicians and personnel gathering around what looked like a sealed pod.
"Cheshire here, I'm at the medical center and am sending the footage to you now," Cheshire reported as she activated her mask's camera and sent the footage to Doctor Ianite.
"Copy that, Jade," The doctor replied and the assassin could hear her typing on the other end. "I have eyes on the secondary objective and I have to say, it looks like they still haven't been able to break through the pod yet, good."
Cheshire simply nodded. "What can you tell me about the pod?"
"Hmm… let see, It was a containment pod that can hold a powerful meta-human, that I secretly designed first then eventually built myself under Waller's Direct order as a precaution after the Kryptonian clone showed signs of… trouble… let's just say. But that was before I was given the go-ahead to "fix" her myself despite Doctor Hamilton's protest. But anyway, that pod is Carbonadium-reinforce and has one "surprise" offensive measure, many failsafe, and security measures in place so they won't be able to open the thing without the proper passcodes, or the access codes. Not even a nuke can crack this thing by my estimation."
"Hmm… I assume you have the access codes?" The assassin asked.
"Of course, I did. I was the one who designed the damn thing after all." The doctor scoffed a hint of amusement in her tone. "You should know that I already put the access drive in along with the other stuff in your bag, you know it when you see It. In fact, I could even hack and activate the pod offensive measures remotely from here using your mask as a link although I wouldn't recommend doing it… yet."
"Then I assume the mission will proceed smoothly then."
"Oh, It will, I have no doubt, but there's one more thing."
"What is it?"
"You see that guy? The only one wearing a lab coat and looking at some sort of watch? MY WATCH. That is Dr. Emil Hamilton, who is a brilliant scientist for sure but not as brilliant as me, and is very prideful although he keeps its contain under a veil of professionalism. He has a huge stick up his ass, not to mention that he is jealous of Project Skyfall and by extension me, so it is not surprising that he is with the enemy. Although I have no inkling of how the COCs have gotten to him."
Cheshire simply nodded. "Okay."
"And… yep! Lovely, there is our primary objective and what seems to be Slade besides him." Doctor Ianite Called out, after a second look through the medical lab. "There! See the ash-colored guy who seems to have both his arms and hands chained up and bound, and is being heavily guarded? That's the guy, you can't miss him, not even if you want to."
Cheshire moves her head and her mask zooms in toward the target, but then stops and her jaw drops slightly when she spots the very batter form of what seems to be Slade Wilson. The man was shirtless and she could see clearly black sickly veins all over his skin, his skin was pale and his face was gaunt, and his breathing was heavy and laborious.
"Is that Deathstroke?"
"Uh-huh…" The doctor confirms but she seems to be deep in thought.
"He doesn't look like the most dangerous and feared mercenary in the world."
"Well... looks can be deceiving, and I know that you have seen the footage before. Regardless, back to the matter at hand, about Hamilton. Now, you can either kill him, incapacitate him, or do whatever you want with him, I don't really care. But your objective remains the same, extracting the clone and Captain Gallahan, understood?"
"Understood, Doc," Cheshire said and she could practically hear the smile in the woman's voice.
"Good." Doctor Ianite nodded, and then she became thoughtful again. "Hmm… one more thing, I might know a way to help the mercenary with… whatever is going on with him but after you are done with this battle. Nonetheless, Good luck, and remember, Don't die."
"Will do."
With that, the transmission ended and the assassin could hear the sound of the soldiers below her. Some of The mask soldiers and grunt were gathered around the pod, the technicians and doctors were busily working around the pod, and the remaining soldier was busy securing the perimeter.
"All right, Cheshire, Let's rock," The assassin muttered, taking a deep breath and mentally preparing herself for the upcoming fight.
Bang!*
The assassin stopped what she was doing and spotted the double door of the medical lab suddenly open with a loud bang and everybody stopped what they were doing. A single COC captain entered. Her mask was golden, and she had a pair of swords strapped to her side.
"Apostle-1, Ma'am," One of the soldiers standing guard next to the pod answered and saluted.
"At ease." The captain replied her tone cold and the soldier nodded and relaxed his stance as the COCs captain began to approach the knocked-out Gallahan, she then nodded at Doctor Emil Hamilton for him to follow in tow with what looked like the same advanced-looking watch in his hand.
The Assassin narrowed her eyes as she began to rethink how she was going to proceed with the mission. The presence of a COC captain would make the task much harder and riskier and it would also alert the whole facility and possibly put the life of the unconscious Captain Gallahan at risk.
…
…
…
"Hmmm… Doc?"
"What is it, Jade?"
"What kind of offensive measures does the pod have?"
"…"
"…"
"It's a surprise, that's the point…" The doctor paused and stopped. "Hmm, You have a plan do you?"
"Well… that depends…"
The medical center.
Back to Avery's POV.
ZAP!*
"AH!"
My eyes shot open and hiss in discomfort as I felt like someone had briefly pressed a high-power Taser to my chest and turned it on for a second before turning it off. There was a lingering but fainting pain in my head, I winced, and it felt like someone had just taken a hammer and hit my head with it.
"Wakey Wakey." A Golden mask woman coldly called out mockingly with what seemed to be a sword of some kind pressed to my chest
"Oh… Boys. Right." I muttered quietly as the memory came flashing in like a tsunami.
I looked around and saw that I was in The medical center. But it was different, it looked like a complete mess from the last time I was here, there were multiple probably COC technicians personnel, and troopers gathered around a familiar pod that I was aware contained the Kryptonian clone, the pod was also different from the last time, it looked like it was completely sealed in some way with multiple large metal clasps holding it closed, and the glass of the pod was no longer there with what looked like multiple Technician of some kind working on something and there were two other COC personnel standing guard. I looked to the left and had to hold back a wince when I saw the very sorry state of the mercenary. But at least he looks alive somewhat…
I glanced around and saw Doctor Hamilton sitting not too far away and typing something into a small device and in his hand was what looked to be my watch that he had obviously taken from my wrist but that wasn't all. Yet For some… inexplicable reason… The COC Soldiers haven't removed the Draupnir ring around my finger. Either way, I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, my eyes narrowed when I saw the golden-mask woman and her sword pointing at me.
"Now… before we move you out of here, I have, or more appropriately as per his request, our doctor here has some questions to ask you if you don't mind, and if you answer all of them, I might be able to tell our vice-archon to be more… lenient about your treatment." The golden mask woman sounded off coldly.
I tried to move but then realized that both of my legs and hands were restrained with what looked like fairly strong cuffs and chains but I have no doubt that given enough time I might be able to break out of it in no time.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you unless you want to see your… Lady friend here gets shattered into a million pieces."
Lady friend? What the fuck is she… But then the masked woman took out a very familiar piece of mirror and my eyes went wide in horror and recognition. The familiar visage of Tala appears on the mirror surface with a look of panic and fear on the sorcerer's face and I have to resist the urge to yell out in anger as I look at the golden mask woman with pure malice and contempt. I gritted my teeth and the golden mask woman smirked underneath her mask as she looked at the mirror. The golden mask woman then turned towards the doctor and gave him a nod.
"His yours, Doctor Hamilton, just make it quick, we're on a tight schedule." The golden-mask woman told him, the man nodded and the masked woman stepped back and stood near the entrance and the pod.
Doctor Hamilton took a breath and adjusted his glasses as he approached me with an unreadable look behind those spectacles and a clipboard in his hands. "Codename: Skyfall-3, file and record is heavily redacted or expunged but it still said here that you are an African American and a former US Navy SEALs Captain, and it is considered a prime candidate by Director Waller to be leading a black ops unit known as Task Force X."
Huh? What the fuck? I blink and raise an eyebrow at that, honestly, a bit taken aback about that Timbits of information. Task Force X? You mean the fucking Suicide Squad? So Waller actually considered me to be the best guy to lead a group mostly consisting of… supervillains. Okay, that's a little disturbing but not exactly surprising.
"Hmm… interesting," Hamilton muttered, not noticing the look of confusion on my face, the man scribbled something on his clipboard and then looked at me again. "Anyway, moving on, This watch you have is quite different, this is not the same watch that Dr. Iamizaki gave you one year ago, or did she make another one for you?"
"…" I simply glared back, not bothering to say anything to the traitor, my mind racing as I tried to figure a way out of this mess.
"The silent treatment, huh? Well… That is quite disappointing For such a supposedly powerful being as yourself who is one of Cadmus's most successful experiments and is being trained by The Terminator himself-…"
"Why are you doing this?" I question and interrupt the traitor, glaring at him with contempt and disgust. "Why turn your back against Cadmus and Waller? What do you have against Doctor Iamizaki or me in particular? Why-"
Hamilton scoffed. "You don't understand and I don't need to tell you why but just know that I didn't have a choice-…"
"YES! I did it!" One of the technicians who was working on the pod suddenly yelled out in glee causing everyone in the medical lab to turn and look at him and his sudden outburst. "The pod is finally opening."
Hamilton was the first one to respond, the man quickly approached the technician as the pod suddenly let out some sort of mechanical noise, and the large metal clasps were beginning to unlock and retreat with metallic *clink* one by one in some sort of dramatic fashion. "Step back from the pod! She is going to need some space once she wakes up."
The soldiers and technicians obeyed and quickly stepped back from the pod.
clink*
clink*
clink*
clink*
clink*
clink*
CLANK!*
With a clank and a hiss, the last of the metal clasps retracted, and the pod's lid slowly began to open and lift up. The room was filled with the sound of hydraulics and mechanical systems, and the lid lifted up and slid open, allowing a cloud of freezing white mist and ice crystals to escape.
"Galatea?" Doctor Hamilton asked with a hopeful tone in his voice.
…
…
…
Thunk!*
Only for what seemed to be a cylindrical object the size of a volleyball to roll out of the fog and land on the black tile floor of the medical lab, then it continues to roll forward with everyone looking at the strange object with various degrees of surprise and confusion.
Beep*
Beep*
beep*
Beep*
"Oh… fuck." I muttered with a wide-eyed look.
BOOOMMMM!*
Suddenly, the cylindrical thing let out a loud beeping sound, and then a massive flash of light ensued, blinding everything including me followed by a sudden shockwave, sending me and everybody rolling back, the air all of a sudden became electric and I tasted copper in my mouth as what felt like multiple strong waves of energy washed over the room. The scent of ozone then became thick as what sounded like a thunderclap followed, and the next thing I knew everything electronic in the room unexpectedly short-circuit and blew up, sparks flying everywhere.
PEW*
BAM*
SLASH*
SHINK*
SHEEP WWW*
BOOOMMMM*
The Advanced gear that the COC soldiers were wearing began to spark and sizzle, then also blew up as the lights started flickering, and the entire medical center was plunged into darkness. Pain screams can be heard as everything from the Las-rifle that the soldiers are using to the advanced-looking grenade, all their guns and their ammo were destroyed. And also… at the same time conveniently destroys the cuff on both my hand and feet, allowing me to break free.
KRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPP!*
SSSSZZZZ!*
FW OOOHHH!*
BOOOOMMMM!*
KKKYYEEEEEEERRA SSSHHH!*
"AAAGGGHHH!" The woman's eyes widened in shock at the carnage around her as she lay there and pain as what looked like a part of her mask also exploded. The woman cried, stumbling backward and clutching her head. She fell backward and took off her mask. Her feminine ebony complexion was twisted in agony as Blood dripped from the massive wound on her face, and the scent of charred flesh filled the air.
Crack!*
Then something began to happen, something… disturbing that I did not anticipate at all. A very nasty surprise that makes something like the transformation of the necromorphs from the Dead Space game look cute in comparison.
"Ah... Aah..." The golden mask woman moaned, her eyes rolled back and her mouth was hanging open, her breathing was labored and she was gasping and sputtering for breath. Then what appeared to be a crack formed on her face, and her skin started to split apart. Blood began to pour from the cracks and then a black ooze began to leak from the cracks in her face.
"Oh Lord have mercy…"
I am not much of a religious guy but man… as I looked at the… woman as her body began to convulse then twisted unnaturally and her blood vessels started to become visible, her flesh began to turn dark and blacken, and her body began to grow in size and the golden mask woman screamed and cried in agony as her body continued to grow and mutate, and what used to be a golden mask woman was no more.
SNAP*
CRUNCH*
SQUELCH*
SCREECH*
THUNK*
It looks like some sort of horrendous bug.
It was tall and it was big, bigger than the zombie-like things that I slaughtered in the garage but it was not as big as the monster that killed Doomsday and Faust but it was the size of a 4 by 4 vehicle. A black, grotesque, and twisted humanoid form had sprouted from the corpse. The creature had no eyes and its skull was exposed and covered with a hard carapace. It had long, spindly arms with 4 legs and a huge abdomen that pulsed with veins. It had two long feelers that extended from its head and ended in sharp points.
"K̸̭̆E̷͔͒E̵̚ͅE̵̲̽E̴̝͂E̶͘͜e̵͎̕ḛ̵́ȅ̵͉e̴̗͝ë̴̡́!". The damn thing chitters menacingly.
Sigh… I am getting quite literally sick of this shit man…
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoy it. As always, please remember to leave a review and tell me what you think.
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