CHAPTER 154

It was the perfect attack. Captain Cold and Red Hood had the men cornered on the last floor of the building. Those who were meant to reinforce from above were intercepted by Deathstroke, and the upper floor reinforcements were dealt with by Ace the Tyrant.

Deadshot's keen eye was locked on sniping anyone attempting to escape or reinforcements approaching from outside.

Captain Cold kept putting people on ice, freezing them as they came his way, while Red Hood ruthlessly mowed down anyone in his line of sight. Gunshots echoed through the room, punctuated by the staccato rhythm of Red Hood's twin pistols.

Cold held the left flank, leaving the right side to his vigilant partner.

Then, a curveball. One of Black Mask's goons began to grow in size, a metahuman with incredible strength. He charged toward Red Hood with clenched fists. "Come on, big guy, show me what you've got," Red Hood taunted as the hulking figure closed in. His fellow mobsters wisely cleared a path.

Red Hood raised his gun, ready to deliver a headshot when a shot from the shadows sent his weapon spinning from his hand. The interruption only widened his grin beneath his mask.

He dashed at the approaching behemoth, who paused to swing a massive blow. Just as the punch was about to connect, Red Hood gracefully ducked, retrieving his gun, and slid between the giant's legs. With a blade in hand, he sliced the Achilles heel of one leg. Rising from his slide, he was greeted by another adversary armed with a metal baseball bat, ready to strike his face.

A quick scan to the left revealed the gunman who had disarmed him earlier, taking aim for another shot. In one fluid motion, Red Hood executed a sideways flip, twisted mid-air, and fired two shots while in motion, both hitting their mark with lethal precision.

Meanwhile, Deathstroke methodically worked his way through the building, dispatching foes with ruthless efficiency. Armed with a gun in one hand and a sword in the other, he seamlessly alternated between the two, leaving his targets guessing which weapon would seal their fate. His speed and agility made him nearly impossible to predict.

Having cleared the current section, Deathstroke charged up to the next floor. He kicked down the door without hesitation, shattering it into a couple of surprised thugs who had held it at gunpoint. Bullets rained upon him as they opened fire, but his reflexes allowed him to deflect and evade most of them. The few that did connect harmlessly bounced off his formidable armor.

Deathstroke surged forward, his heavy boot slamming into the chest of the closest enemy, propelling him across the room.

"You fucking cunt!" one of them spat in anger and fear, unleashing a barrage of bullets at Deathstroke. The mercenary spun his blade and drove it through one foe's chest before swiftly withdrawing it. He dropped to the ground and rolled towards the shooter, beheading him in a single fluid motion.

… 

[Meanwhile Tom Hendricks' POV]

"What the hell is going on?" Black Mask roared in fury as the echoes of gunshots reverberated throughout the building.

"I'm afraid we're being raided, sir."

"Raided...?" Black Mask queried his assistant with disbelief, struggling to fathom who would dare to assault his stronghold. The specter of Ghost loomed large in his thoughts, but he refrained from jumping to conclusions just yet.

"Call a chopper; we'll be out of here in no time," he instructed.

"It's already in motion, sir. It should arrive shortly."

"Excellent." A malicious grin played across Black Mask's face as he contemplated the prospect that his trembling empire might yet be saved. "But why an audacious raid instead of targeting my money or properties, like I did to Ghost?" he mused aloud, addressing his bewildered security team stationed at the door, guns trained on potential intruders.

"Raid? Who mentioned anything about a raid?" A peculiar voice interrupted, emanating from behind them. They swiveled to identify the intruder.

"Well, this feels more like an extermination to me," the voice continued, and they beheld Ace the Tyrant, casually seated behind Black Mask's desk. He exuded an air of nonchalance.

"How did you get in here?" Black Mask demanded, all guns now aimed at Ace. "Relax, will you? Let's just say I'm a bit of a magician, and since magicians never reveal their secrets, I can't disclose how I got in," Ace replied, tapping his foot on the floor as he sealed the breach he'd used to enter.

"Don't just stand there... Shoot that bastard!!!" Black Mask yelled, and his henchmen opened fire on Ace. Simultaneously, Black Mask slipped away from the line of fire, attempting to escape through a concealed door in his office.

The hidden door swung open, and just as Black Mask was poised to make a dramatic exit, the ground beneath him surged upward, sealing the route. His eyes widened in shock as he realized he was trapped. Meanwhile, Ace gave him a slow, taunting wave, and bullets fired at him hung in mid-air, defying gravity.

"Ghost made it clear to me that you should experience the horrors of hell before joining the Joker there. So, let's begin by not disposing of your men too quickly but burning the torment into your very soul. Just so incase you get reincarnated, your last moments in this life time would hunt you in your dreams every single night of your life." Ace declared. The suspended bullets dropped to the ground, leaving the room in stunned silence.

"Ghost... Ghost sent you?" Black Mask stammered, fear creeping into his voice as he faced the grim possibility of his impending demise. "Why didn't he just use normal manpower like other crime bosses do?"

"Who makes the rules?" Ace retorted. "No one, I'd say. So, there's no reason for him to play by the unwritten book when he's clearly above it. Besides, all the manpower he needs is right here," Ace added, spreading his arms wide, indicating himself.

"Why are you just standing around?" Black Mask shouted at his henchmen in frustration. His men reloaded their guns.

"KILL HIM!!!" he screamed.

The men were about to pull their triggers when a sickening splatter sound erupted from behind them. They whirled around to witness the grisly aftermath: one of their own had his brains blown to bits. The body slumped to the ground, a small hole in its forehead, with the back of the head grotesquely shattered.

They turned back to Ace, who calmly rose from his seat. Black Mask's eyes were wide with terror as he watched in disbelief. In that brief moment, Ace had compressed air molecules, condensed them to the size of a pea, and flicked it through the henchman's head, controlling the explosion's direction to spare the entire head from annihilation.

"Holy shit!!!" one of the henchmen exclaimed as they all opened fire.

The deafening roar of revolver shots filled the room. When the shooting ceased, Ace had vanished from his previous position.

"Where is he?" a man in a black suit with a red undershirt asked, scanning the room.

"Over here, gentlemen." They turned to find Ace holding a fellow henchman hostage. Prepared to sacrifice their comrade to eliminate Ace, they were unprepared for Ace's next chilling move.

"You think taking a hostage will stop us from attacking you?" Black Mask gloated, his laughter tinged with desperation. "My men are willing to die for me."

Ace leaned in, tightening his grip on the hostage. In one horrifying motion, he ripped off the henchman's head, pulling out his spine along with it. The room fell silent, and the henchmen starred in grotesque disbelief.

"Here, I believe this belongs to you," Ace remarked casually, tossing the severed head toward Black Mask, who flinched but caught it instinctively. The spine dangled grotesquely, giving the impression of a macabre puppetry show.

Black Mask could hardly fathom the nightmare unfolding before him, as Ace continued to defy the laws of physics and sanity.

He immediately threw it off his hands. The room fell into horrified silence as the severed head sailed through the air and landed with a sickening thud at Black Mask's feet.

Black Mask recoiled in shock, his face contorted in a hideous mix of terror and disgust. What had transpired in those brief moments had left his once-confident demeanor in tatters.

Ace, undeterred by the gruesome display, continued to toy with his newfound audience. "Who might be my next victim in this room full of severable heads? I wonder." Ace said while pointing his finger at literally no one. Out of fear fired more shots at him, giving another go at trying to kill him before he killed them. 

With a sinister flourish, Ace released his hold on the bullets suspended in the air. They dropped harmlessly to the ground, and realization dawned on the henchmen that their firearms were utterly useless against this enigmatic adversary.

"Are you willing to die like this?" Ace taunted, his voice laced with dark amusement. The henchmen exchanged fearful glances, realizing that they might need to confront Ace physically.