280 Assault #280
Authro's note: as of right now, my new fic (One Piece: The Killer Method) is officically out. You can find it by searching its name or clicking on my profile.
Go read the first chapter or suffer conseqounces so grave I don't even dare put them into words!
...
Infinity Island's
East shore
Hook had a blank expression as he remained hidden in the shadows, calmly watching as soldiers from various countries gunned down the League's assassins after landing with Deadshot spearheading their assault.
"Easy now, Shellcase. You'll have your chance soon enough..." Hook said as he turned to the man hiding beside him, gripping his knife with what he could only assume to be an impatient expression behind the skull mask.
Hook and Shellcase were members of the Seven Men Of Death, the deadliest assassins in the League and the Demon Head's personal hit team, answering only to him and the sensei.
Ras Al-Ghul had personally instructed them to wait here and ambush the attacking soldiers alongside a number of handpicked assassins while other members would hold down the other shores.
The League of Assasins was many things, but being misinformed was not one of them. They had learned of the joint operation to assault Infinity Island and prepared for it accordingly, setting up an elaborate trap for the assailants.
Naturally, some assassins faltered as they learned how far the world's countries would go to be rid of them, especially after they realized people like Deadshot and Lady Vic were part of the assault.
However, the Demon Head and the unwavering confidence his plan that he displayed managed to sway them as Ras Al-Ghul refused to leave the island, but whether his self-belief is misplaced will soon be clear for all to see.
"Now!" Hook exclaimed as he watched the soldiers cut through the first line of defense, unknowingly walking into the kill zone of the League's assasins. He didn't delay as he emerged from the shadows and sent his hook flying toward the nearest soldier, impaling his gut.
Shellcase and the various assassins lying in wait followed suit as they emerged from the shadows and attacked the soldiers, each locking into an enemy as they charged.
The soldiers responded to the attacks as well as they could, but the assassins, especially Hook and Shellcase, still managed to inflict a few casualties before Deadshot sought them out and stopped them in their tracks.
Despite the casualties, the assault team was still in fighting form as the soldiers gunned down the assassins without faltering, but their position wasn't ideal, and they could only hold the line for so long, surrounded as they were.
The assains did not fight head-on as they utilized the shadows to move around the battlefield unseen, using their numbers and terrain advantage to take out the soldiers one after the other.
It only took a couple of minutes for the soldiers to run out of space as they could no longer retreat any further, impeded by the backs of their fellows, with the assassins approaching from all sides, hidden by the shadows.
Even Deadshot struggled as he faced two professional killers alongside a dozen assassins, forcing him to retreat alongside the soldiers, only to be cornered with them.
To their credit, the soldiers remained willful and refused to falter as they held the lines thanks to their training, even as they slowly lost hope and realized they were fighting a losing battle.
However, just as the lines began to break and the soldiers finally faltered, the unexpected happened as an intense golden light shined in the sky, illuminating the entire island and revealing the assassins.
Envigorated by the light, the soldiers shouted obscenities like only a serviceman could and opened fire with extreme prejudice, causing the assassins to fall like flies until none were left standing.
Even Deadshot made quick work of Hook and Shellcase as he finally received support from the soldiers who helped take the dozen assassins pestering him off the mercenary's hand.
"What do you know...? It Looks like the kid made it after all," Deadshot calmly said as he reloaded his rifle, watching as hundreds of insectoid machines fell from the sky and promptly went to work, tending to the injured soldiers.
"The machines will take care of the wounded. We're all sitting ducks here. Push through!" Deadshot instructed, raising his rifle as he headed deeper into the island, followed by the soldiers with the insectoid machines scouting ahead and clearing the way.
...
"Precise instant teleportation... definitely a convenient ability to have..." I muttered to no one in particular as I floated over Infinity Island, tossing the mother box I received from Jack in my hand.
The trip back to Earth took several hours, during which I didn't remain idle as I studied the mother box and slowly deciphered its system throughout the journey to learn how to use it.
I figured out a good portion of its mechanics and how to use them, but I still needed more time to master it, which would come in time, but that's neither here nor there.
I learned how to activate its teleportation function, and it's how I got here in time, despite going out of my way to escort Kara all the way to her apartment to end our date on the best note possible.
In any case, it's good that I got here when I did. The League seemed ready to take on the sudden assault, and it might have gone south had I not intervened.
Again, it shows you can't underestimate anyone in a comic book world, super-powered or otherwise. However, nothing could save the League now that I'm here, not even comics logic.
...
Infinity Island
Inside the throne room
"Our defenses are crumbling, master..." Reported an assassin in a reverent as he emerged from the room's shadows, promptly kneeling before the throne and bowing his head.
"The assailants have gunned down the seven men of death, and a good portion of our uninitiated brethren are either attempting to flee or surrendering," He continued as he slowly raised his head and looked Ras Al-Ghul in the eye.
"However, many warriors still stand firm and ready to fight to their last breaths. What are your orders...?" He asked as he paused, waiting for instructions from the demon head.
"Fret not, and hold the lines. Reinforcement will soon arrive from the other branches..." The demon head calmly replied as he leaned back into his stone throne. "Spread the word... I will soon stand shoulder with you and join the battle. The day is not lost yet," He firmly concluded, to which the assassins reverently bowed before disappearing into the shadow.
Ras Al-Ghul waited for the assassin to leave before getting off his throne, his expression instantly sinking as he approached a hidden escape route, leading to his personal aircraft that would leave attack jets in the dust.
The demon head was many things, but a fool he was not. The only reason he remained on the island despite knowing about the assault was that he assumed a certain someone wouldn't participate.
He had eyes and ears everywhere and knew about the operation as soon as the people in charge greenlighted it, but a group of regular soldiers, no matter how many or how well-trained, wouldn't scare him.
After all, Ras Al-Ghul had his own army of die-hard assassins, the least capable of which was able to take down a dozen men.
However, more than anything, the demon head was aware of his own limitations and those of his assassins. They were a force of nature, capable of even taking down powerful metahumans, but only when their target had a glaring weakness, which they had the means to abuse.
However, the young man casually levitating over his island had no such weaknesses. None that Ras Al-Ghul knew of, at least. The demon head knew confronting him would only end in incarceration, death, or whatever fate the sensei had to endure, which was far worse.
He only wanted to hold his ground and protect the island because he wished to protect the unique Lazarus pit at its center and send a message, but it wasn't worth his life. Nothing was.
"I will not forget today's humiliation..." The demon head muttered as he opened the hidden passage, promptly freezing as he heard a loud set of footsteps from behind.
"Is that so...? What do you intend to do about it...?" Came a playful voice from behind Ras Al-Ghul, and he instantly turned around, locking eyes with a young man in casual street clothes.
The demon head didn't reply as he immediately reached behind his back to retrieve a metallic canister and throw it toward the young man, watching it release a thick white gas as it rolled on the floor.
Much to his surprise, the young man merely chuckled as he bowed down and picked up the canister, taking a big whiff of the deadly gas as if to sample it.
"VX nerve agent... Odorless, tasteless, rapid-acting, extremely deadly, and altered to evaporate faster than propane to boot..." He said as he tossed he threw away the canister with a chuckle.
"It works through skin and eye contact, and inhalation... the optimal choice against someone like me..." He added with a nod as he slowly approached the demon head.
"Unfortunately, it doesn't work..."
