115 Negotiations...? #115

Author's note: Lots of people didn't seem to like yesterday's chapter, but consider that a win.

But why do I consider it a win, despite the many slurs and insults directed at me and my family in the comments with absolutely zero relevance to the story and the mostly negative feedback in the comments, you might ask?

Because this is WN! I've seen the trash some of ya'll consider good writing and seem to enjoy so I am very happy you don't like my writing since that would mean my story is just as bad.

In fact, every paragraph I write that ya'll don't enjoy and criticize on this site boosts my confidence in my writing capabilities, so thanks for assuring me that my writing is nothing like the garbage you can find anywhere here.

All jokes aside, the outburst was hinted at and overshadowed multiple times, and I thank god there were people who seemed to realize that, or my faith in human intelligence and evolution would have evaporated.

Some even realized there was more going on than meets the eye, proving to me that this site's reader base still has some intelligent life. A big capital W for you, my dudes.

Intelligence doesn't equal self-control, discipline, or self-control. So stop asking dumbass questions about why he did it that way despite being superhumanly smart.

I've mentioned this many times, but this is not a wish-fulfillment story. If you want a perfect protagonist, then this is not the story for you. Gray will continue to make mistakes and face obstacles until the very end, no matter how strong or smart he gets.

Finally, I'll be waiting for the usual spam of one-star reviews to get a good chuckle out before deleting them, so don't keep me waiting! Log into those alt accounts and spam away, kids!

And with that out of the way, enjoy the read, and have a good day!

...

'Captain Boomerang, Copperhead, Double Down, and there's still more...' I noted as I watched the trio walk out the gate, accompanied by even more costumed freaks I didn't recognize and a bunch of government agents.

I sighed, going still in Grundy's arms to think for a second since he was protecting me from getting shot, ironically enough. Even more, ironically, I still didn't feel like leaving.

The situation might seem bad, but only three people in this room could pose any threat to me here. Marauder, Deadshot, and Grundy. The rest were just numbers.

Marauder was already down, and Deadshot didn't have the time to pull off a batman and build some whack-ass custom-made rifle specifically designed to probe my ass or something.

Grundy? The slow, dimwitted zombie was where I wanted him, believe it or not. He might have pinned my arms, but I have other ways to attack, and I could easily escape whenever I wanted.

"Wraith, Right? Why are you here? How did you find this place?" Rick Flag blankly said as he approached me, stopping before Grundy and looking me in the eye after giving me once over.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I replied with a scoff. "Though I could ask you the same question, what's an elite soldier and government agent like you doing here, consorting with these convicted super villains?" I asked, looking around the room.

"And that chick in purple over there, isn't she a hero from the capital? I wonder what people would think if they find out this kind of shit is going on right under their noses..." I calmly concluded, chuckling as I kept my eye on Virtuoso, but the bitch was smart enough to maintain her distance.

"I imagine they'd be upset. But you'd need to get out of here to tell the tale first," Rick Flag said with a smile, shaking his head. "Why don't you make it easier on yourself and start talking?" he added, gesturing to the crowd of government agents and supervillains surrounding me.

"Look around you, son. You've already lost," he concluded, his expression hardening as he stepped forward and reached for my riot gear, clearly intent on unmasking me.

"All I see is dead men walking," or so I badly wanted to say, but that would be lame as fuck since I wasn't about to commit mass murder, but you get the idea.

I retrieved my steel wire and sent it flying at Grundy's eye, causing him to scream in agony as he let go of me. Capitalizing on my advantage, I injected energy into the wire and decapitated the undead brute with one swift swing.

Turning back to Rick Flag, I quickly caught him as he tried to flee. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, pointing Ebony at his head.

"You seem to misunderstand the situation... I'm not stuck here with you..." I said, using my steel wire to swing us away into a corner to make sure no one sneaks up on me.

"You're all stuck here with me," I added, making up for the missed quote opportunity, and Harley was quick to cheer and whistle, ruining the moment much to my chagrin.

Still, I delivered the quote and didn't get dragged into solitary to get beat up by a punch of fat, sweaty jail guards, so it's still a win as far as I'm concerned.

"Now be a good hostage and call Waller for me before I blow your fucking brains out," I remarked, pushing the barrel of my gun against the agent's head, and the only response I received was silence.

I sighed, lowering the pistol and shooting the government agent's foot to emphasize my point. He grunted in pain and twitched but still said nothing, clearly refusing to give in to my demands.

"Wait," King Faraday said, frowning as he watched me raise the gun to shoot Rick Flag in the arm next. "You won't get anything out of Rick even if you kill him. I'll call Waller for you," he added as he retrieved a phone from his pocket and fiddled with it.

He put it on speaker, and I could hear a firm feminine voice from the other side. "Agent Faraday?" Amanda Waller said in a questioning tone as she picked up the call.

"Our guest here specifically asked to speak with you. He's taken agent Flag hostage," Faraday replied, causing Waller to go quiet, likely contemplating how the situation turned this way.

"Give him the phone," Waller instructed, and Faraday obliged, nodding as he threw the phone at me, prompting me to scoff at the obvious bait.

'Nice try, buddy,' I mused, using my steel wire to catch the phone without letting go of my gun or my hold over Rick Flag.

It was the oldest trick in the book; throw something at the bad guy holding a hostage, and attack while he's distracted. I'd have to be fucking daft to fall for that kind of shit after all the movies and shit I've watched.

"Amanda The Wall Waller, Task Force X director, and the coldest bitch to ever work for the US government," I said as I put the phone near my face while keeping it on speaker.

I've already fucked up any chance of peacefully or subtly solving the conflict, so there was no point in hiding my cards. There was only one way this was going to end.

"You seem to know a good deal about my team and myself while I know little about you..." Amanda replied, maintaining a calm tone. "Care to even the playing field?" she added.

"Not one bit. You already know all you need to give me what I want," I replied, maintaining my posture and pretending to be oblivious as I watched Nightshade inching away towards a corner where I couldn't see her.

"And what is it that you want, exactly?" Amanda asked after a second of silence, and I immediately realized she was trying to buy time as her usual reply would have been to hang up on my face.

I didn't really care since I was trying to buy time myself. It would take me days of work to trace Waller's Signal through the satellite, but now that I had a direct link to her, I could easily pull it off in a minute or two.

"I want you to fuck out of Gotham and never come back. Not you, not any of the bitches you've got on a leash," I mockingly added as I looked at the gathered supervillains, who were none too pleased by my remark.

"And leave the bitch with the violin too," I concluded as I turned to Virtuoso, and she visibly flinched, seemingly confused and frightened in equal measure.

"You know I can't--" That was all Waller could say before I hung up the call myself, having already traced her signal. I had no more reasons to keep the conversation going.

I raised my gun and fired at the ceiling, watching as the bullet ricocheted and hit Nightshade, who was already behind cover away from my sight, attempting to open a portal.

The bullet hit her, and she was out cold, but it didn't reach her in time before she opened the portal, and sure enough, I could already spot a towering blue-skinned brute walking through it.

'Fucking King Shark...' I mused, my expression darkening as I watched the 7-foot-tall humanoid shark walk from behind cover, his nose twitching as he caught the smell of blood in the air.

"Shit..." Captain Boomerang, who was the closest to King Shark, said, immediately turning to flee as he noticed the latter's eyes turning red at the smell of blood.

However, he did not get far before the humanoid shark lunged at him, pinning him to the ground and biting his head off his neck.

King Shark growled as he surveyed the area and jumped towards a cluster of government agents, intent on shredding them to pieces. However, he stopped, his body stiffening as visible arcs of electricity coursed over his body.

He stopped moving, still seeming as if he wanted nothing more than biting the government agents' heads off, but the loud ringing from the oversized metallic belt he wore calmed him down.

The humanoid shark scowled and turned to me as his eyes reverted to normal. He began approaching me at a rapidly increasing pace, and something told me the hostage in my hand wouldn't do much to stop him.

...

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