Chapter 4 - Homecoming

Now. Arkham Asylum Airspace.

"Go! Go! Go!" The call came over the plane's comm system.

Mylo was the first out of the plane. Jumping out he directed his body and fell towards the quite literally asylum of horrors that awaited him. His commlink buzzed as it did. He tapped it as he opened his parachute.

"This is Thanatos."

"Thanatos, this is Phoenix. We are almost to Gotham. Call me when you have a location." Then the commlink went off.

Mylo sighed but didn't get a moment to rest as he sighted several muzzle flashes in the yard. It looked like a fight between the Arkham inmates and the guards.

Mylo signaled to the other soldiers to land in spots behind the inmates. Then as he got closer to the ground a group of inmates that were shooting at the guards spotted him. He pulled up his rifle and let six rounds loose. Killing the three inmates instantly and painting the wall with their brain matter. He landed on the ground and tossed his parachute off, making sure to wrap it in a bundle and toss it off to the side.

He then looked at the locations where prisoners were shooting at the guards from. seeing that the soldiers were about to land at several different positions he pressed his comlink. "This is Commander Mente, secure the courtyard then make your way into the lobby. I am near the security office, I will confirm Riddler's location and meet you there. Delta Commander Trax is in charge until then."

Mylo then moved in through the balcony. As he moved he made quick and silent steps. He was located in an upper corridor where a bunch of the psychiatrist offices were located. Just beyond it was the security room, where there would be a number of computers and video footage. As he moved he could make out the shadows of some of the psychiatrists hiding in their offices.

When he arrived at the door he listened in trying to hear through the door.

"Boss, what are we here for?"

"Come on, keep looking for the damn trigger. We need to unlock the collars for the metahumans."

'Well that is not happening.' Mylo pulled out a small disk that was an inch thick. He clicked the button on top and then cracked the door slightly and tossed it in. Then as the escapees inside started yelling, Mylo pulled out a gas mask and put it on.

When the inside was silent he opened the door and moved inside quickly finding the escapee occupants unconscious. As he started looking around he attached a silencer to his gun. Then started cycling the feeds. He saw that his new thrown together squad was about to clear the courtyard.

He could hear one of the inmates start groaning as he stood up shakily. Mylo just raised his rifle and blew the guys brains out. Then went back to looking through the footage. Some highlights were that Joker had gotten to the medical wing with a cohort of Scarecrow, Victor Zsasz, and Mad Hatter in tow. Then there was Two-Face leading a group of inmates to a boat that was set up at the north end of the island. Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, and Clayface were still in their cells, each cell was made for Metahumans so that is what these inmates were probably here for. But Poison Ivy seems to have escaped on her own and had thoroughly embedded herself in the large green house that was on the island.

Then he found him, The Riddler. He was still in his cell alongside Calendar Man and Professor Pyg. Bane was in the same area; it looked like the inmates were intentionally avoiding the area.

"Grgghh-" *Bang!* Another gunshot as another prisoner woke up, his brains splattered across a desk. As soon as he had the route to Riddler he put another disk on the computer and a second later all computer connections and inputs were locked. Then picking it up he walked over and grabbed the other disk he picked up earlier. He now had control of the asylum.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

Three more prisoners were killed as they woke up and as he walked out of the security room. Entering the hallway there were a number of bodies of security guards and doctors. He ignored them and saw a few inmates still killing some guards.

As he walked past six more gunshots sounded as the inmates fell to the ground, dead. Mylo ignored the surprised survivors and instead checked his rifle clip. He still had four more shots. Then as he arrived at the end of the corridor he looked into the lobby.

He was on the third floor. There were several inmates in this room, it looked like they organized when they saw the soldiers were clearing the courtyard. They were set up in blindspots and positions with a vantage point.

"Mente, we just finished clearing the courtyard and are about to enter the lobby." The delta commander stated over the comlink.

"Hold up on that, I just made my way to the lobby. Surprisingly they have organized themselves remarkably well, especially since this is an insane asylum." Mylo then saw a nearby guard's body and smiled. "But I have an idea." Mylo whispered.

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Four Years Ago. Location: Unknown.

"With that, your training is complete." Talia declared as she stood with her one year-old child in her arms.

In front of her was the latest flook of assassins. Standing behind them in the shadows was Mylo and Scarlett. They had long since been trained to completion, even becoming what Ra's calls 'auxiliary members'.

They both had even accumulated a large stash of wealth by assisting and doing jobs for Ra's and the League. For Scarlett it had been hacking and assassinations. While for Mylo it was profiling and assassinations as well.

Mylo was dressed in some black and purple armor with an attached black hood and a black mask with a skull painted on it. Scarlett was dressed in the same ninja gear that the others had. But she had armored gauntlets with retractable side blades and some tech implanted in it. She wore a red bird mask to cover her face.

"We are only here for a few more days. Are you ready?" Scarlett asked him.

Mylo nodded, "yes, as beneficial as this training has been. I want to get back to working with Project Cadmus on a new strike team. Not to mention that once we have full access to Project Cadmus' servers we can turn ourselves into ghosts."

"Oh, please. You and I both know you want to sleep around some more when you get back. You had a book full of numbers that were, 'friends with benefits', didn't you?" Scarlett was sarcastic in asking her question.

Mylo only chuckled in response. But before he could retort he felt a presence walking up behind him.

"Thanatos, Phoenix, I am glad you came at my request. I need to talk to both of you." Talia said as her son tried to reach out to touch Mylo.

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Now. Arkham Asylum. Lobby.

Mylo slowly grabbed the several gas grenades off the guards body. As well as the riot shield, that could be useful. As he positioned himself on the staircase he readied the tear gas grenades and then started throwing them across the room at spots where the inmates were at vantage points.

Then as the inmates realized his presence he started tossing the grenades to the floors and vantage points that were below him. As he did so bullets started ricocheting around him as the inmates shot at him.

"I have them distracted, I suggest you move in now." Mylo spoke over his comlink as he started shooting across the way at the ones that were coughing in the smoke. He still had his gas mask so he should be fine and the grenades were only on the second and third floors.

The front doors blew open as the inmates in the lobby started to get gunned down. Causing chaos the inmates started to get systematically gunned down. By the time they were done, Mylo had gone through two clips for his rifle.

Then he walked down the steps as the soldiers were watching the entrances. In addition to the ten soldiers he brought with him there were four Arkham security guards now.

"Trax report." Mylo stated as he walked up to the delta commander.

"Sir, we were able to clear the courtyard. We only lost a single Arkham security guard. That and one of my own-" Trax nodded towards one of his soldiers who had a splint on his leg, "broke his leg on impact." He then waved over an African American security guard, who started to walk over. "This is Aaron Cash, he is the head of security here."

Aaron Cash nodded, "sir, I assume you are in charge. I wasn't filled in on your objective but I am more than ready to assist because of any help you might provide in securing the place."

"Good, we need to interrogate Riddler."

Cash frowned, "then we need someone with a keycard in the security room and me by his cell. For the super villains like him it is two prong access. We didn't want another breakout so most of the newer cells have been switched to this system."

Mylo nodded in understanding, "in that case you will come with me Cash. Trax, pick two of your best in close quarters combat they will come with us. Cash, do you have a gas mask?"

Cash pulled a gas mask out and nodded. Mylo tossed him a tear gas grenade and walked towards the doorway that led to the high security prison cells.

"Trax, go hold up in the security room up there." Mylo pointed up to where he came from.

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Now. Space. Justice League Watchtower.

Martian Manhunter, Question, and Dr. Fate stood around a holoterminal. It showed the results of the scan of Supergirl's injury.

"Hmm… doesn't that shape look familiar?" Question asked as he tilted his head with a hand on his chin.

"Hmm… you are correct this is indeed the signature of magic. But there is something familiar and off about it." Dr. Fate looked over the magical signature that was generated.

"Last time Superman was spotted in public was in Star City when Hawkgirl was visiting Green Arrow. Perhaps one of them knows what he and Supergirl were investigating?" Question suggested.

Martian Manhunter nodded, "I agree, I will try to raise them on comms."

Question frowned and thought of something. But he needed to confirm it in person. But first they should talk with Hawkgirl and Green Arrow.

There was static as a picture of Green Arrow and Hawkgirl popped up. "Green Arrow, Hawkgirl, did Superman speak to either of you when he appeared in Star City two days ago?"

There was static for a moment before Green Arrow spoke, "Hey Martian, yes big blue visited the city a few days ago. He came to ask about Queen Consolidated's satellite defense system. Then I think he went to talk to Hawkgirl, and wanted to talk about Thanagarians."

That clenched it for Question.

Hawkgirl spoke next, "yes Superman spoke with me. He asked about Thanagarian habits when they prepare to conquer a new world. I told him but-" The line suddenly went static and then the comlink fully disconnected.

Martian Manhunter frowned, "Hawkgirl's comlink was just destroyed. Green Arrow I will meet you there. Question-" Martian Manhunter looked and saw that Question had disappeared. "I will call Captain Marvel or rather Shazam and Blue Beetle to come assist you. Dr. Fate-"

"I'm still trying to figure out what form of magic this is." Dr. Fate stated. Interrupting and slightly irritating the Martian.

Meanwhile in the dining room Supergirl was eating with Wonder Woman. But Supergirl suddenly stopped and tilted her head in confusion.

"Why doesn't he have a face?" Supergirl's statement caught her off guard.

Wonder Woman looked to the door and saw Question walking towards them. "Question? What are you doing here?"

"Double checking my theory," he stopped in front of Supergirl. "Ma'am, my I look over your head wound?" Question politely asked. It was a tone of voice that Wonder Woman had never heard before.

Supergirl nodded, "okay. But the green man and the nice lady just finished checking it."

Question nodded as he leaned in and looked closer at the head injury. "I know. I just wanted to confirm my suspicion about the shape of the weapon that hit your head. And I just did."

Wonder Woman stood up quickly causing her chair to screech, "you know who did this to her?" Her voice asked with a shake with it, clearly irritated.

Question shook his head, "not who. What. It wasn't caused by a fist. It was caused by a round object with bumps on it… Something similar to Hawkgirl's mace."

Wonder Woman punched the table. "Hawkgirl what has she-"

"Calm down Wonder Woman, I only know the shape of the object. I need to ask Dr. Fate something. I am starting to get an idea of what happened." Question backed away towards the door. If his theory about the weapon material was right. They were in for a fight.

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Four Years Ago. Location: Unknown.

They were Ra's study. Talia had set her child down for a nap. Usually this would be where you would find Ra's but he had gone to Gotham for some project. Apparently he saw an opportunity to distract Batman from his operations and was going to make a deal to make it happen.

"Okay here it is, I am looking to put together a special team in the future." Talia declared as she pulled out two devices which looked rectangular.

"Special team?" Scarlett asked with a raised eyebrow as she took off her mask. Mylo took his mask off as well and slid down his hood.

"Yes, my father is not aware of this but I am thinking many years down the line. When I put together this team I want you two to be a part of it. Just to clarify, the purpose of this team would be to track down and find all these … secret groups before they even pop up. We would stick to the shadows, hidden from the world." Talia explained.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow, "meaning you won't just need us for our combat capability."

"Correct, I would need you two for your specialties. I also need you because you aren't crazy or excited by the prospect of killing, you accept it as a part of life. But unlike my father and the other assassins I have trained it isn't part of your code to kill. Which is why he likes you, like he likes my beloved, but differently." Talia further explained.

Mylo glanced at the sleeping child. He always suspected but she just confirmed his suspicions. When they refer to the 'Detective' he figured out they meant Gotham's very own Batman. Mylo had a feeling the 'Detective' had no idea about his own son, who Ra's and Talia would be shaping into the heir of the Demon's Head… poor kid.

"Okay, I am in. As long as the pay is decent enough I am down for an adventure like that." Scarlett stated firmly then glanced at Mylo.

Mylo shrugged, "okay."

—-----------------------------

Now. Arkham Asylum. Intensive Treatment Elevator Lobby. Ground Floor.

Mylo led the way through several corpses of inmates who were trying to escape. Cash looked at the bodies with a frown.

"You really don't play around. Most people as capable as you usually try to take them alive y'know." Cash stated as he helped clear the elevator lobby. He then walked over to the control panel and swiped his card making the door to the elevator open. "Usually mass outbreaks like this shouldn't happen. But an inmate got their hands on Warden Sharpes' keycard."

Mylo grunted as he entered the elevator with the others joining him. Cash was the last one on. He swiped his card on a reader on the elevator and pressed the button labeled number 3. Mylo checked the clip on his gun.

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Four Years Ago. Metropolis. Project Cadmus.

"So you really won't say anything about what happened to you two for the last two years, and I am just supposed to accept that?" Waller asked with a growl of anger.

"I mean… yes. Look, you already know we were sent to steal from the League of Assassins by someone who bought off your people, by the way have you found the person yet?" Scarlett asked sarcastically with a grin on her face. She was enjoying this way too much.

Waller growled again, "that doesn't matter what does matter is that you are back. I assume you two are ready to go back to work? I have two missions that need the attention of Project Cadmus' strike team. Welcome Home." She surrendered to their demands quite quickly. Mostly due to her own need for them.