Suicide Squad #11 - Nostalgia (Return Flight, Part One)
DC Next presents:
Issue 11: Nostalgia
Written by Deadislandman1
Edited by AdamantAce
Writers note: Be sure to read Annual 2 first! As that’s the end of the latest arc! This is the start to the crossover with Batman and Robin! Better do it quick since there are big spoilerinos for that annual in here.
“And you’re sure it was her, because if it is, we may have a monumental problem on our hands.”
Flag sat across from Amanda Waller in her office, his fingers curled around the armrests of his chair. This was a standard debrief of the last mission, a repetitive, monotonous thing he’d done over and over again for years, but the sting of Lawton’s death, the death of his friend, made it all the harder to keep his focus on Waller’s questions.
“Flag? Flag!” Waller tapped her desk, trying to get Flag’s attention, “Head out of the clouds, now.”
“Sorry I….” Flag grimaced, “Raptor’s word is all we can go on, but as untrustworthy as he is, I doubt he’d really know the details about who Tatsu is.”
“Hmm.” Waller leaned back in her chair, rubbing her chin, “If she really is back, then it raises some troubling questions. How did she come back? Why did she want Red Star? Was it a coincidence that she wanted the same thing as the squad, or did she want Red Star because I wanted him on the team? If it’s the latter, then how would she know about our intentions in the first place?”
Waller sighed, leaning forward while clasping her hands together, “I need to think more on this and formulate a defense strategy, starting with a clean digital sweep of our communications and security systems. In the meantime, I have another job for you.”
Flag could feel his heart sink as the news hit him. Another mission? God help him it’s been hit after hit at this point, “With all due respect ma’am, if I have to go back to Russia, I’d much prefer a court martial.”
“Relax, Flag.” said Waller, “After the...incidents in El Paso and Pripyat, I understand that it’s best to give you something with less pressure involved.”
Opening her desk, Waller pulled out her laptop and a folder full of various documents and photographs. Taking the folder, the grizzled soldier opened it to read over its contents, picking up a photo depicting a man in a white t-shirt that had been shaved bald, “Who the hell is this?”
“His name is Ethan Avery,” said Waller, opening her Laptop and typing away at the keyboard, “Patriot made corporal in the main military. Got selected as part of a program to create super soldiers that was orchestrated by a private military company funded by our government.”
Flag raised an eyebrow, “Aren’t metahumans outlawed from joining the war effort?”
“They are, but when have we ever played by the rules.” snarked Waller, pulling up a video on her laptop before turning it around so Flag could see it, “The program wasn’t meant to produce soldiers with distinct or eye catching meta abilities, but to take the scrawny and limp and push them to the absolute peak of the human condition. Or as far above it as our lawyers could explain away. They would be a little faster, a little stronger, a little more accurate, and just a bit more durable than any normal man. A similar experiment produced the man we today call Deathstroke the Terminator. But as you’ll see here, the experiment didn’t exactly go as planned.”
Playing the video, Flag watched Corporal Avery get strapped into a gurney by a collection of scientists within a small lab. The head scientist moved into frame, holding up a needle before slowly inserting it into Avery’s wrist, giving him the testing serum before stepping back. Avery immediately began to respond violently, thrashing and struggling against his bonds while foaming from the mouth. His skin began to grey, his eyes began to grow red, and his muscles began to expand until the straps of the gurney snapped, freeing the now monstrous Avery from his shackles. Roaring, Avery lunged at the scientists, using his immense strength to crush or tear them in two to Flag’s horror. The footage stops abruptly, prompting Waller to take the laptop back, “The group couldn’t contain the failure, so they called the general heading the program. The general then ordered an airstrike on the lab to purge any evidence of the group or the experiment.”
Flag looked up at Waller, “Lemme guess, the kid survived.”
“He did,” said Waller, pointing at a particular photograph in the folder. Flag grabbed it, placing it on the desk to inspect it. The photo depicted a large red and white striped tent with a variety of trailers surrounding it, “Intel suggests he’s laying low in this traveling circus, namely as a strongman. I need him dead or in our custody.”
Flag stared at the picture, taking in every detail he could, “If we’re dealing with a circus, then we’re dealing with civilians. I don’t want another repeat of El Paso. I want a small team, three members maximum, not including me.”
Waller nodded, “After everything that’s happened thus far, I think it’s best you pick your own squadmates in this case.”
“Great, because I already have some people in mind.” said Flag.
“So...what’s the deal this time? Are we Waller’s new gang of movers?”
“I’ll tell you when we get there.”
Raptor leaned his head against the inside wall of the moving truck, tapping his fingers against its metal sheeting in a rhythmic motion. He hadn’t been given the usual gear this time around, but rather a dark suit with a red tie. Croc slept in the corner of the compartment, snoring away as the vehicle rumbled along the road, making occasional, abrupt turns that failed to get him to stir. Adella, AKA Brimstone, the girl whose life had been turned upside down ever since the squad killed her brother and forced her onto the team, sat in the middle of the compartment, keeping her distance from her teammates while exuding an understandable aura of bitterness. Flag was situated in the driver's seat, his hands over the steering wheel as he took them towards their destination.
“Right...and where exactly is this ‘there’?” asked Raptor.
“Blüdhaven.” answered Flag, “Mealtide Park specifically.”
“Is Waller’s mortal enemy having a picnic?” joked Raptor, “Seriously though, I’m surprised we’re in another city after last time...No offense kid.”
Brimstone turned towards Raptor, glaring at him while a small wave of smoke hazed off of her hair. Her eyes began to glow, burning like hot coals, only for them to dim as she frowned, turning away from Raptor once again, “Don’t speak of what happened...ever.”
Raptor opened his mouth to respond, only to close it again on the realization that it’d be best to not say anything. Feeling the truck roll to a stop, Raptor stood up, hearing the door to the driver’s compartment open and close before the back part of the compartment opened up.
Flag had parked the truck in a grimey alleyway across from the park entrance, a back area littered with trash and odd stains that Raptor couldn’t really identify. As Brimstone began to stand up as well, Flag raised his hand, “No, you stay here. This is Raptor’s stop, no one else’s.”
Raptor nodded, waltzing over to the back of the truck and hopping out next to Flag, “So… You gonna tell me what we’re doing here now...and why you dressed me in such a snazzy outfit?”
Flag reached into one of his bandoliers, pulling out an earpiece and a photograph of a bald man and giving them to Raptor. “Meet Corporal Avery, not that he's likely to still answer to that name. You don’t need to know who he is, only that given the opportunity, he’ll crush you into paste. He’s rumored to be hiding out in the traveling circus visiting the city, performing as their strongman.”
Flag pointed at the earpiece, “Your job is to put that on and scope the circus out, find out if the rumors are true and if possible, confirm his whereabouts. You are not to engage, just locate him then report back. From there we’ll plan a smash and grab or assassination.”
Raptor stuffed the earpiece in his ear, “Alright, find the guy, tell you, then you bring the big guns and we dogpile him. Easy stuff. Mind telling me where you’re going?”
Flag glanced back at the truck, “There’s a safehouse on the other side of the field. I’m gonna set up a FOB where we can plan the op. You’ll meet us there when you have the news.”
“Got it.” said Raptor, straightening his tie before turning to walk into the park, “I’ll see you later then.”
“Raptor.”
Raptor turned back to watch as Flag closed the door to the moving truck’s back compartment, “You’re here to do a job, not to watch some clowns juggle. Keep your priorities straight and don’t get distracted.”
Raptor sighed, throwing his hands up in apathy, “Sure...whatever you say.”
Flag got back into the truck, starting the engine before driving off, leaving Raptor alone in the alley. Cracking his knuckles, Raptor turned around, moving out of the alley and across the street before passing through the entrance to the park.
Mealtide was a big place, though he wouldn’t call it beautiful. The trees that were still alive were on the verge of joining the rest of their siblings in rot, their leaves wilting and turning brown. The grass was much the same, with many dead patches littered across the park’s grounds. While it wasn’t all that good of a place to walk your dog, Raptor could feel an odd sense of familiarity coming from the place as he walked through it’s well trodden paths. Could it have been the ever present stench of smothering infrastructure?
Then, rounding the corner of a large hill, he saw it.
A great big red and white striped tent dominated most of the open space in front of him, lit up by rainbow arrays of lights running from the lines stretching from the top of the tent to the various poles that had been dug into the ground. A collection of food carts and trailers littered the front and back areas of the tent respectively, but Raptor was transfixed by the sign that hung over the front entrance to the tent.
C.C. Haly and Norton Bros. Circus.
Hundreds of memories came flooding back to Raptor, most of them good, many of them traumatic. Suddenly unsure if he felt the Waller's bomb itch inside his spinal cord, or something deeper within his mind, Raptor resolved to soldier on. He had to focus on the good if he wanted to keep his grey matter inside his skull. As he slowly walked into the front entrance of Haly's Circus, Raptor thought back to the very first, truly happy memory he could recall. One so bright it had the chance to cut through the darkness that eclipsed his past.
The day he met Mary.
Thirty-five years ago
“Stay out of our place of business, gypsy!”
Richard busted his lip on the curb as he was thrown out of the hospital, rolling to a stop at the edge of the Parisian pavement as the door to the building closed behind him. Groaning, he sat up, realizing that the ratty t-shirt he’d been wearing all week had been torn up even more from the fall. Feeling a pit form in his stomach, Richard laid back down, completely and utterly defeated.
He’d been abandoned by the people he thought were his friends, his family, all because they couldn’t risk being associated with the blisters that formed behind his ears. The disease was supposed to be treatable, easily so in fact, but no matter where he went, no matter how much he begged, doctors refused to help him, both because of his complete lack of money and because of his blood. Because of his culture.
Staring up into the dark, clouded sky, Raptor couldn’t help but feel hopeless regarding his situation. He was at a complete loss of what he could do next.
Then… she appeared.
“Hey! Are you okay?”
Richard sat up in response to the honest question, coming face to face with a girl standing over him. She had sunny brown hair, with green eyes and an earnest smile on her face. Leaning over, she extended her hand, “You look a little out of sorts.”
Richard raised his own hand to take hers, only to stop, retracting it to her confusion.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“I...” Richard turned away, unable to look her in the eyes, “I have Hansen’s disease...leprosy. I don’t know if you want to touch me...or be anywhere near me.”
Richard’s feelings were not totally unfounded, fearing a reaction similar to the one he had garnered from his own family and friends, people he had known his whole life. For that reason, he felt the need to be honest with the people he met, not hiding his affliction and delaying the inevitable. Better to get it out of the way.
But she surprised him.
“So?” said the girl.
Richard blinked, “So? I mean...I have leprosy, I’m diseased. I got left behind because of it. You’re not...revolted?”
The girl frowned, “If someone needs help, I help them.” As if to prove her point, she reached out, grabbing Richard by the hand. He shied away from the contact at first, but after a few seconds, found himself to be calmed by the kind gesture. Closing his fingers around hers, Richard allowed her to pull him to his feet. As he dusted himself off, the girl glanced through the glass door of the hospital, staring at the man behind the reception desk in discontent.
“He’s a real jerk, isn’t he?”
“Yeah...”
“I think I spotted a shipping truck near the back of the building. My guess is it’s a new shipment of drugs.”
Richard glanced at the girl, “Where are you going with this?”
The girl looked Richard in the eyes, “You up to take what they’re getting in so we can give it to the people who really need it?”
For reasons that Richard couldn’t explain, the ends of his mouth curled, forming a smile. After so much pain, so much rejection, maybe it was time for him to get a little payback, “Heh...sounds like a plan.”
Orderlies milled about at the back area of the hospital, unloading containers filled with medicinal materials from the back of a shipping truck to the loading area of the hospital. Richard leaned out from behind the corner of the building, watching said orderlies do their work before turning back to the girl, “Okay, there’s a lot of them, and all of the boxes are way too big for us to carry.”
“Then we sneak into the backrooms,” said the girl, pulling out two plastic bags, “Go to where they're cracking them open and grab what we can from there.”
Richard took one of the bags, staring at it before looking back at the girl, “But...what happens if we get caught?”
The girl smirked, “We run.”
“Hey! Get back here you little shits!”
Richard wheezed as he ran as fast as he could down the street, shouldering a bag full of insulin while the girl led them both down the alley across the street from the hospital. Making a hard right turn, she led Richard past a flurry of coffee shops and cafes, jumping over chairs and sliding under tables effortlessly while Richard tried his hardest to keep pace. The police officer behind them huffed and puffed, struggling to keep up as the girl took another right, leading Richard down the street towards an apartment building. Spotting a person leaving said apartment building, the girl whirled around, grabbing Richard by the shirt before pulling him through the door before it closes, taking them both out of sight just as the officer rounded the corner in his pursuit of them.
Laying low, Richard watched with the girl as the officer ran right past their hiding place, keeping an eye on him until he was out of sight. Breathing a sigh of relief, Richard prepared to sit down, only for the girl to shake her head at him, “Not here. We can do better.”
“Wow.”
Richard stood in awe of the gorgeous sunset illuminating the city as the girl sat down on the edge of the apartment building’s roof, tapping her hand against the spot next to her. Putting the insulin down, Richard trudged over to the girl, sitting down next to her as he soaked in the French sunset with her.
Even after lugging a heavy bag of medicine up seven flights of stairs, particularly after getting so winded running from the hospital staff, the view right now made it all worth it.
“It’s...amazing.” said Richard.
“I know right?” said the girl, “I’ve been around these parts before, scoped out great spots like this one. I’m part of a job that has me moving around the country a lot, so when we come back to a city I know, I like to revisit these places.”
Richard nodded, basking in the warm glow of the sun before turning to look her in the eyes, “Why….why did you...do what you did back there?”
The girl raised her eyebrow, “How do you mean?”
Richard looked back at the sunset, “I just...you don’t even know my name...I don’t even know yours...but you helped me up and got me to do something that felt important and I just...I want to know why.”
The girl’s eyes drifted back to the sunset, “There’s a lot of people in the world who need help, and there are people who can help but just...don’t. They’d rather watch the people teetering on the edge fall than sacrifice just a teeny tiny bit of their own comfort to help others back up. It’s not fair, but it would be if more people were willing to do what we did today.” She turned to Richard, a smile on her face, “You needed help, so I helped you, and now we’re both doing what we can to help the people who need it.”
Richard felt his fingers curl around the roof’s edge as the girl turned back towards the sunset, eagerly enjoying its aura as he felt his heart begin to beat just a bit faster. This girl, who he’d met only an hour ago, this person, so full of drive, of purpose, had lit a fire in his mind. Things he’d always felt he needed to do, but didn’t know if he could, felt easier knowing that he had been able to do it with her help. Furthermore, Richard couldn’t help but move his hand closer to the girl’s, knowing her touch was the only touch that can welcomed him in a long yime. He was compelled by what he could only describe as a sense of companionship.
“Oh shit!” said the girl, moving her hand to check her watch with a frantic look on her face. Richard, surprised, quickly retracted his hand, making sure she hadn’t seen the awkward attempt at connection as she stood up rapidly, “I need to get back home quick before I'm late for the show! I can take the insulin with me, figure out how to get it to the people who need it later.”
Richard watched as the girl began to hurry over to the rooftop exit, at which point he, without thinking, sputtered “Wait!”
The girl stopped, turning around to face Richard, “What?”
“Um...” Richard rubbed the back of his head, “I...I’m a bit lost if that makes sense, and I don’t know where to go. I don't have anything on tonight so… if you're performing… maybe I could get a ticket?"
God, that was terrible. He didn't even know what she did. She could've been anything from a hula dancer to a heavy metal drummer for all he knew .
But the girl simply smiled, “Sure! In fact, I'll do you one better and sneak you behind the curtain before the show, and you can meet the freaks!"
“Mary Loyd! Fashionably late as always!”
Richard looked around at the inside of the circus tent in awe, watching all of the performers prepare for the show as the girl quickly walked up to a short, stout man in overalls with a cigar, “Sorry Mister Haly, I’ll be in uniform in a few minutes.”
“Better be, I can’t keep delaying the damn shows!” said Mister Haly, watching Mary head off before turning back to Richard, “Who the hell are you?”
“Oh...I um,” Richard rubbed the back of his head, “My name is Richard." Truly astounded, he happened upon a brilliant (if not desperate) idea. "You wouldn't happen to have any openings in the troupe, would you?"”
Haly took a hit from his cigar, blowing the smoke out in a ring, “Look kid, only work I’m offering is long term. We’re a traveling circus, go all around the world. If you wanna be a part of the C.C. Haly family, you gotta be able to come with us every time we pack up and move. Can ya do that?”
Some people would be mortified if they had to take a job that didn’t let them root themselves in one place, But Richard was the opposite. His old family was already one that traveled across the country, and as far as he was concerned, this would be no different, “Sir, that’d be perfect for me. I’m already pretty used to traveling place to place.”
“Is that so?” said Mister Haly, a grin forming on his face, “Well, you can start by counting tickets tonight.”
Richard nodded, “Thank you sir, I won’t let you down!”
Wrapping his arm around Richard’s shoulders, Haly looked on at the rest of the performers, “Trust me kid, I think you’ll fit right in.”
Now
There were many parts of that day that were a blur to Raptor, but then again, he felt that those parts were irrelevant anyway. The day he met Mary seemed like the first day of his life, and watching her fly through the air in that tent night after night, no matter the venue, only intensified that feeling. And watching from the edge of the ring, he couldn't deny that the aerialists that performed today we're Incredible, sure, but no one could hold a candle to Mary Loyd. Or Mary Grayson, rather. Except maybe one person.
Lost in his memories, Raptor had absentmindedly wandered into the audience’s area, leaning against the stands and unconsciously watching each performance go by as he relived one of the happiest days in his life. However, as the trumpets blared, he found himself shaken out of his dreamlike state of bliss.
He had a job to do.
Dredging up what determination he had left, Raptor pushed himself away from the stands, curling his hands into fists before making his way towards the back area of the tent, all the while taking one last fleeting glance into the audience.
While most of the faces amongst the crowd were unremarkable, one seemed to catch his attention, though for the first few seconds he looked at him, he couldn’t quite place why. Intrigued, he turned around, returning to his original spot and searching the audience member's face
Then it hit him.
Eyes wide, Raptor stepped back, his heart plummeting with the realization of who he had spotted in attendance He may not have seen him since he was nine, but he had been with them in their earliest years. The boy that had become a man while he wasn't looking.
In the audience, sat the child of Mary Lloyd, of Mary Grayson.
The daring young man from the flying trapeze.
Dick.
The story continues in Batman and Robin #5 - Coming May 19th
Posted May 6, 2021, 12:57 PM UTC