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#3
MAY 06 |
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“Pest Control”
A light breeze blew across the deck of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Rhode Island as the ship drifted in a remote spot of the Caribbean Ocean, just a hundred miles from a small, lightly inhabited island.
A bulky and heavily armored chopper flew in from the horizon and gently landed on the deck of the ship. A ground crew waited for the landing, before walking over and checking the chopper for discrepancies, while a refueling hose was attached to its tank.
A lone figure, distinct because he was wearing a clean military uniform in contrast to the oily jumpsuits of the ground crew, stepped onto the deck out of the control tower and proceeded to the chopper. The man that went by the simple name ‘Mr. Nathan’ looked more like a linebacker than a liaison for the government.
He approached the helicopter with a packet of files and dossiers concerning the impending mission. Mr. Nathan stepped onto the chopper and took a seat on a side bench, looking over the four passengers, already waiting inside the craft. Each passenger was bound in specially modified capture devices, and each had an intricate metal collar around their necks.
Seconds after stepping on, the chopper finished refueling, and Mr. Nathan felt the vehicle lift itself into the air, heading towards its destination.
Mr. Nathan opened his packet and reviewed the information on the prisoners before he was ready to release them.
The first and most important prisoner was vital to the mission’s quick success. While he didn’t have a flashy nickname like his cellmates, the convicted serial killer Edgar Morris (sentenced to life in prison, crime: six counts of first degree murder) was a complete psychopath. The middle-aged man possessed electrical powers which he used with a never before seen effectiveness. He was able to get into computer systems and manipulate them like a skilled hacker with little more than a snap of his fingers and his bolts could fry flesh with the best of them, when brute strength was required. Morris used these powers to stalk, rape, and kill at least half a dozen different women. Unfortunately, he could only be convicted on the 6 counts of first-degree murder, since he had used his powers to burn away the physical evidence of assaults before being apprehended by specially trained U.S. marshals. He was perfectly expendable as his only known relatives were dead (most likely by his own hand) and those that knew him during his career as a telemarketer (his method of selecting victims) wished he was dead. Morris was bound in special plastic mitts, which prevented him from using his powers and made sure he would be unable to hack into the circuitry normally present in other similar restraints.
The second prisoner was a hulking 500 pound gorilla bound in similar metal shackles, keeping his hands legs behind his back and making him unable to move during the ride to the U.S.S. Rhode Island. Iron Cross (real name: Gunter Chandle, sentenced to 20 years in jail, crime: First Degree Murder, Attempted Genocide) was a German-American who was a member of ‘The Aryan Brigade’, a home-grown terrorist group who was stopped by the Justice League. Since then, the former members of the Aryan Brigade were a common sight on Task Force Delta missions. They were the perfect clay pigeons to throw at high-fatality scenarios. His super-strength and limited invulnerability made him a useful addition to any Suicide Squad mission.
Aside from the criminal pasts of the first two, the third convict was a bit of a mystery. The strangely named Larvanaut (real name: Unknown, sentenced to life in prison, crime: unknown) did not have a recorded criminal past. He rarely spoke, and when he did it was often in clicks and gibberish, which prevented prying into his past. His presence on the team was just as much a mystery to his teammates who wondered what his insect abilities would be needed for. His light green skin and a circular device on his mouth complemented the large green tail that drooped on the ground. He was certainly a strange creature to look at.
The fourth and final member was just as bizarre as Larvanaut. The aptly named Airstryke (real name: William Kavanaugh, sentenced to 30 years, crime: Assault and Battery, Armed Robbery) looked like a cross between a human and a pterodactyl. An odd metal, which was grafted to his bones during the work-release program that turned him into a dinosaur, enhanced his aerial abilities. Despite his long reptilian beak, he had no problem speaking the English language, even if it unnerved someone to see a living-breathing pterodactyl speaking like a normal human being.
Just twenty minutes from their destination, Mr. Nathan pulled out a small handheld device, which had accompanied his mission profile. Pressing a small red button on it, the shackles of each prisoner became loose.
Each of the four made quick work to take the bonds off themselves, aside from the significant metal collar, which remained fastened to their necks.
Airstryke flapped his large wings in the interior of the helicopter, happy to be able to move them after the long trip from the Slab. Larvanaut simply eyed his teammates suspiciously, not allowing anyone to know what he was thinking. Morris and Iron Cross just looked each other over before turning their attention to Mr. Nathan.
With the ‘Deltas’ ready to listen, Mr. Nathan chose this time to begin his briefing.
“All right, freaks,” the government man began. “You know why you’re here, and if you don’t, then it’s too late to change your minds now because there’s no turning back until your objective’s completed. Listen up because I’m only saying this once.”
Pulling out a handheld device from within his coat, Mr. Nathan pressed a button and the holographic image of a small island appeared.
“It’s a small mostly uninhabited island, just one of dozens in the Caribbean. In the center, there’s a small facility that’s conducting illegal genetics experiments, which the U.S. government wants to be shut down before they succeed in their current research. We’d like nothing better than to just nuke the place off the map, but nuclear strike capability is a no-go and previous fly-bys have been shot down. Your current mission is to bust into the facility and wipe all records of their research. Don’t get sloppy or get yourselves killed, or you’ll never have the chance of seeing civilian life, or at least a reasonable facsimile, again.” Mr. Nathan specifically looked at the freakish Larvanaut and Airstryke as he said that.
“What’s the plan?” Iron Cross asked, not wanting to spend the rest of his life running suicide missions or sitting in a prison cell.
“Our little electric psycho – that’s you, Sparky,” he said, pointing at Edgar Morris, “Will be the payload for his operation. He needs to make it safely to the facility’s computer core and hit it with a giant electromagnetic pulse. That’ll successfully wipe out their full research in one shot, but do a once-over with your hacking skills just to be safe. If he manages to get himself killed, then you’ll just have to tear up their mainframe the best that you can.” Mr. Nathan then pointed at Iron Cross. “Of course, it’ll be your job to make sure that doesn’t happen. Make sure Morris makes it to the target alive. You’re the designated bullet-catcher for this mission, so if anyone has to die, then you sure as hell better be the first one to buy it. Protect him like he’s the Fuhrer himself. Got it, Iron Cross?”
“I don’t need him. Just keep the frail man at home and I’ll take care of the base myself,” the strongman replied, angry at the orders.
“That’s too bad, because you’re collar is programmed to detonate if you get more than 50 feet away from him, so stay together.”
Mr. Nathan waited for a reply from Iron Cross, which never came. The neo-Nazi got the point.
He then continued, “Hopefully you won’t meet up with too much in the way of guards, but if you do it’ll be up to Larvanaut and Dactyl-man to try to take them out or at least warn you.” Pointing at Airstryke, he continued. “You’re gonna be their eye in the sky, so keep a sharp lookout for anything that looks like it may rip them apart. Also, stay near the trees to keep out of sight of the island’s air patrols.”
“What kind of air patrols?” Airstryke asked, wondering what he was going to have to go up against.
“I’ll get to that later,” the shady liaison replied before pointing at the bug-man. “Larva, you’ll be advance recon on the ground. Your unique powers should effectively mask you from the ground forces that the island boasts. Just use the comlink on your collar and spout a few clicks if you see anything hazardous.”
Larvanaut made a clicking sound in reply, but it was anyone’s guess what it meant. Despite his difficulty in speaking, he could still understand Nathan’s words perfectly well.
“As for the forces you’ll be facing, it’s time for me to show you what you’ll be up against.” Mr. Nathan clicked a button on the hologram projector and the image of a small beetle appeared. “It’s this times a hundred. The scientists on the island were originally trying to create some kind of giant bug, for reasons only they could possibly know. Dozens of wasps, mantises, bees, beetles, and any other insect you can think of inhabit the island. The enzyme they created was originally intended to be used on humans, but there was a hitch. The enzyme only affected skeletal growth. Their one recorded human test subject was torn apart from the inside as his skin was ripped apart by his growing skeleton.”
Nathan let the thought of someone’s bones growing at an alarming rate and the ensuing painful death sink in before he decided to continue.
“Anyway, we have reliable intel that says even though these things are carnivorous, they haven’t been eating each other, mostly subsisting on the large forests covering the island and any small game that’s probably extinct by now.” Nathan turned to Larvanaut. “We think it has something to do with a kind of insect pheromone they secrete, combined with a special indoctrination the insects go through during their creation, which helps them tell who to attack and who not to attack. Anyone not giving off the smell is food. Makes a little bit of sense. You don’t want bug soldiers turning on each other instead of the enemy. Our resident insect-boy here just so happens to have almost 50% insect DNA in his body, and we’re pretty sure that’s enough for the insect sentries not to attack him.”
“How sure?” Airstryke asked.
“Sure enough that he should be able to take any guards out before they have a chance to get to Cross or Morris.”
Larvanaut did not click in reply, but merely glared at Nathan.
“So if they’re not designing giant bugs anymore, what are they working on now?” Edgar Morris asked, interested in the subject.
“We believe their current project is a kind of insect humanoid. Probably, a lot like ‘Naut. We have reports that they already created a few unstable bugmen, and we need to shut them down before they create a stable specimen. That’s it for the briefing.” Finished, Mr. Nathan ended with, “I’ll reactivate your powers once we’re landed, then we’ll pick you up when the base is closed for business.”
Shortly after finishing, the chopper landed on the nondescript Caribbean Island. All four criminals disembarked the craft as Mr. Nathan waved goodbye.
“So long, reprobates,” Mr. Nathan said tauntingly, just out of earshot, as he pressed the small black device that restored their meta-human abilities.
Once landside, the four-man Suicide Squad went into action. Airstryke took to the sky, propelled by the anti-gravity metal on his bones, and began looking for flying insects to swoop down on, like a giant bird looking for its evening snack. Despite months of incarceration and learning to control his animal instincts, the dactyl-man freely showed his animal side when he had a chance to.
Larvanaut dashed quickly into the treeline, prepared to deal with anything that crossed his path.
Watching the dinosaur man fly into the air, Edgar Morris wished his limited electrical abilities allowed him a similar thrill. After a few seconds of thinking about what it would be like to fly like Superman, he turned to Iron Cross and said, “Well, let’s get going. Lead on, mein fuhrer.”
The unlikely duo then made their way to the edge of the forest. They kept a slow pace, sure to put plenty of distance between them and their two advance scouts.
Low in the sky, Airstryke gently glided a few yards above the trees, wary of any fast flyers that may spot him. He had gotten a lot better at flying since his fight with Hawkman several years ago, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
Suddenly, a giant wasp popped out of the canopy created by the dense forest. It headed right for the dactyl.
Swerving to the side, Airstryke flew higher to try to get the wasp through a downward dive. The insect’s larger body made it a bigger target, as the ‘Delta’ swooped down on it like the wasp was a giant bullseye.
Airstryke’s sharp metal claws ripped into the wasp’s body and completely eviscerated it. He quickly flew up as the wasp’s limp body dropped to the ground like a rock. The wasp’s lack of an exoskeleton made it too easy to kill.
The satisfied pterodactyl kept an eye out for other creatures for him to take out his anger on. His long beak bent slightly, and someone who looked at him would almost guess that Airstryke was smiling.
Farther in the forest on the ground, Larvanaut ran across his first foe, a giant Hercules Beetle. The insect was slow and lumbering in it’s movement, so the ‘Naut’s keen agility allowed him to easily evade it, assuming the beetle would have even attacked him.
Using his powerful legs to propel him into the air like a grasshopper, Larvanaut was quickly on the beetle’s back. Using the massive metal gauntlets covering his hands like clubs, he pounded on the beetle’s shell like a drum until it cracked open. Diving into the beetle’s juicy insides the insect man dug around, ripping what passed for the bug’s organs until everything was a gooey mass of fluids and flesh.
Crawling out of the fallen beetle, Larvanaut looked over his fallen ‘cousin’. “I am sorry to do this,” he clicked in his own special language. “I know you did not want to live as a beast like this, a slave to your unwanted instincts of brutality.”
Larvanaut then dashed away from the large beetle’s body towards the next enlarged insect he could sense.
I understand your pain, my brothers, he thought to himself. You are too big for life, no longer able to crawl the vast land you once called your kingdom, or able to admire the smaller things that large folk cannot appreciate. I will see your existence ended, so that you may once more commune with the world you love in death, if not in life.
Iron Cross and Morris were still cutting their way through the thick underbrush of the forest using a combination of brute strength and electrical powers used for lightly burning the branches.
Soon they had overlapped Larvanaut’s position, unaware that he was carrying out his own personal crusade.
Iron Cross, who was in the lead, noticed a side bush rustling gently, clearly not caused by the whistling wind.
“Bug boy?” he said, wondering what was causing it.
Without warning, a giant preying mantis ripped from the leaves and cut at the Aryan acolyte. One of the insect’s giant claws managed to hit his arm, drawing blood from Iron Cross’s abnormally thick skin.
“Look out, Cross,” Edgar shouted, unleashing his full electrical might at the insect foe.
The Mantis was momentarily dazed, but quickly recovered, continually trying to cut at the large morsel of food that was Iron Cross.
“What the hell…” Edgar said in amazement. His powers were completely ineffective against the insect. This was a suspicion that Mr. Nathan neglected to warn him about. Morris was terrified as his powers were the one thing he had that could help him feel like he was better than other people.
“Just stand back,” Iron Cross yelled, covering his wound. Pulling back a fist, he smashed it into the Mantis’s face, knocking it’s head clean off. “Don’t want to go through that again.” The Aryan did his best to bandage his wound as the two ‘Deltas’ continued through the forest. “Where the hell was bugboy’s warning?”
High above, Airstryke successfully downed his fourth flyer, remaining vigilant in his assignment.
He neglected to report this to any of his teammates, not wanting to get distracted from his hunt.
After half an hour of trudging through the forests, and a difficult encounter with a strange looking roach where Edgar Morris once more proved his uselessness, he and Iron Cross finally arrived at their destination.
The large complex was completely sealed in glass and concrete, preventing their monstrous protectors from disturbing whatever was going on inside.
Walking up to the door, Iron Cross pounded on the steel door until it collapsed from his strikes. "Anyone home," he said sarcastically. The door’s fall echoed through the halls.
“We’re at the complex,” Morris said through his restraint collar comlink. “Where’s the computer core?”
“Based on your estimated position, it’s the second right in the hall. You’ll have to have Cross bust down a few doors though,” Mr. Nathan’s voice said over the comlink in response.
“Not a problem,” Morris replied.
After walking past two secure cell-blocks with strange sounds coming out, the two ‘Deltas’ arrived at a thick steel door. Busting down the door, Iron Cross stepped through into a cross-junction point between the cellblocks, the barracks, the lab complex, and computer storage.
Going straight across, the two men arrived at a giant supercomputer. Unbeknownst to them, the device was continuously recording every second and iota of information from within the lab. Unfortunately for the residents, the lab’s confidentiality and remoteness prevented them from placing a regular security guard anywhere within the complex.
“Do your thing, blitzkrieg,” Morris said as Iron Cross lumbered on, leaving the room and walking to the lab complex to take his aggression out on small pathetic scientists who couldn’t defend themselves.
When he stepped into the room, the multinational group of researchers was horrified to see the large unknown Aryan enter.
Excited by their diverse ethnicity, Iron Cross said, “No one told me none of you were white. This is going to be fun." With a smile on his face, the hatemonger allowed his ingrained racism to take over.
Left alone, Edgar Morris unleashed the full might of his powers on the dozens of helpless computers. Like a giant magnet, he erased months of research in a heartbeat. He even allowed himself to cruise the now empty mainframe to make sure his objective was completed.
“Nooooo,” a cry called out from behind the middle-aged ex-telemarketer. Morris turned and watched a disheveled old man enter the room. “How could you do this?” the man said on the verge of tears. “We weren't going to betray you. We were still going to share our work with your government. This didn’t have to happen."
Ignoring the old man’s please, Edgar simply replied, "Frag off, old guy. Stop being a wimp." He shot a bolt of electricity at the helpless man, watching him burn to a crisp, as the smell of burnt flesh filled the room. The scientist’s tears evaporated into steam. Edgar Morris briefly felt upset that Iron Cross was having all the fun and this man was the only one he’d be able to fry with his electrical abilities. The insects outside made him feel impotent, unable to rain down death on others with a snap of his fingers.
Soon after, Iron Cross returned with blood dripping from his knuckles and a huge smile on his face. “Hopefully we’ll get to do another mission like this real soon.”
The German’s brutality aroused Edgar Morris, but he didn’t let the Aryan know it. After all, Morris just hated women. He wasn’t some racist.
Before the two had a chance to make their way out of the base, a loud klaxon began to ring throughout the compound. A cold pre-recorded voice was broadcast over the intercom system. “Computer Failure, Security system compromised, subjects free".
Rows of cells, which the duo had left unmolested during their trek through the compound, made a cold clicking sound as the magnetic locks holding the inmates became undone.
The failed subject burst from their unlocked cells almost in unison, realizing their newfound freedom. Suffering in solitary torment for days or even weeks since their respective creation, each subject had been quickly shuffled into the ‘failure’ block as soon as their horribly mutated forms were grown in the lab.
Masses of deformed wings, overgrown mandible jaws, extra short limbs, and other unnatural insect protrusions decorated the bodies of each failed test subject. Filled with an alarming amount of torment and the desire only to pass it on to others, the test subjects leaped into the hall filled with other creations like themselves they were unable or unwilling to harm.
The only adequate targets for their wraith were two strange scents, which were somewhere in the complex. In tune with their senses, every single one bounded through the halls towards the two subjects they could sense.
The two subjects they could hurt.
Iron Cross and Edgar Morris could hear the sounds of dozens of unknown creatures travelling through their one known path of escape. Walking to the cross-junction section, they were greeted by a swarm of hideous insect-humanoid failures.
Like a raging cyclone, the huge mob swarmed the duo, doing their best to each get a piece of their targets. The two ‘Deltas’ could only stand in defiance against the mob.
“Come on, bug freaks,” Iron Cross shouted as he leaped into the mob punching away, and ineffectively fighting the onslaught. One by one, with the swarm concentrated on him, he punched away taking out several insect men in multiple blows.
Pulling his fist back to knock the head of a horrible beetle-man, the Aryan felt the swift pain from his arm as he realized it wasn’t there. The mandibles of another insect-man behind him dripped with blood as his arm fell to the floor. The razor-sharp mandibles were a terrifying sight to the once brave German, as he screamed in pain and felt fear for the first time in his life. His extremely thick skin was no match for the bug’s talons and claws as they ripped him to shreds.
With half of the mob consumed with…well…consuming Iron Cross, the other half turned to their attention to the now horrified Edgar Morris.
He unleashed bolt after bolt of electrical shock against the bugmen, but each blast was nullified by their unnatural exoskeleton. He tried in vain to run away, but several of the beasts simply jumped up and tackled him to the ground.
Edgar Morris’s last feelings were excruciating pain, much like the pain he’d inflicted on the women he killed. A fitting death.
Outside the compound, Larvanaut finally finished dealing with the outside sentries and, approaching the compound, could sense the carnage within.
Carefully entering, he followed the smell of insect pheromones, which covered the island. However, these were different. They smelled similar to ‘Naut.
He finally came upon the large mass of insect men feasting on the bodies of Larvanaut’s two fallen teammates. The creatures were horrible to behold. The ‘delta’ didn’t want to believe that there were men who would still seek to create creatures like himself.
Some of the insect creations noticed Larvanaut’s appearance and looked at him with compassion, almost happy to see someone like themselves. Perhaps they could sense what Larvanaut intended to do.
Their suffering hit the ‘Naut’s senses like a jackhammer. Their mental conditioning and biological instincts prevented them from putting each other out of their misery, but Larvanaut was a different case entirely.
“Sleep, my brothers,” Lava clicked in his own unpronounceable language, as he put his hands on one of them. With an easy twist, the creature’s head came off. Larvanaut held the head in his hand for a second before dropping it.
He then moved on to the other failed creations. None of them even attempted to stop him, either because they couldn’t or were happy that their torment would finally end.
Exiting the lab complex with insect juices covering his gauntlets, Larvanaut turned and just looked at the wrecked compound, a permanent headstone for his fallen comrades. His insect brothers would finally be at peace, having suffered since their creation.
Behind him, Airstryke landed gently on the ground and surveyed the wreckage, while walking up next to his lone surviving teammate.
"Nice to see someone made it out. I guess Cross and sparky are…”
Larvanaut quickly raised a hand, cutting his teammate off. He looked Airstryke in the face, and even though his expression was difficult to understand, Airstryke could sense that Larvanaut was in a great deal of pain.
It was the same pain that William Kavanaugh felt every time that his wife and child came to visit him at the Slab. The closest he could ever get to them in his current state was a thick layer of glass, which might as well have been a mile. He had a family and he couldn’t do anything about it. Now he was just a monster after going through a corporate work-release program that promised good pay for what he was good at. An attempt to get out of prison for a felony only guaranteed that he’d be in prison for the rest of his life.
Airstryke patted ‘Naut on the shoulder, trying to comfort him, but not doing a very good job. “At least we're alive, bug."
Airstryke stepped away from his companion and tapped a button on the restraining collar. It activated a communicator to their helicopter.
“Mission accomplished,” were his only words.
The helicopter came into view, and the two remaining ‘Deltas’ watched it land.
Airstryke and Larvanaut both boarded the vessel and prepared for the trip back to their cells at the Slab.
“Just a 50% mortality rate. Not bad. Expected you two freaks to be the first to buy it. I was hoping that I’d get lucky and not have to see any of your ugly faces again,” Nathan said insultingly.
Neither of the two survivors responded to the taunt.
With the press of a button on his black handheld device, a stream of chemicals was released into the prisoners’ bodies and they went into a deep sleep, perfectly sedated for the trip home.
Binding them in their shackles once more, Nathan pulled out a cellphone and dialed an unlisted number.
After a single ring, the other end was quickly picked up.
“What do you have for me?” the voice on the other end of the line asked.
“You’ll be happy to know that the mission was a success. The researchers are all dead. Unfortunately, two of the prisoners survived. What do you want me to do? Dump them into the ocean? I bet they won’t be missed.”
“Keep them around, regardless of who they are, they may be useful to us in the future. Meanwhile, make sure that you and the pilots return to base once you’re stateside. Then destroy any paper trail you may have had to leave. I don’t want Waller finding out about this down the road.”
“Yes, sir,” Nathan replied to his superior.
“What about the workers? Are they all dead?”
“If they aren’t, then they won’t survive long with their experiments on the loose. They got what they had coming after they refused to deal with you, Mr. Rayner."
On the other end, a gray-haired man sat in a cushy private office in an underground Nevada bunker smiling. “I know. It was the doctor’s own fault for not giving me a monopoly on his insect-humanoid creations. If the Agency couldn't have exclusive use for our purposes, then no one can."
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The End...
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