I was inside a room filled with high tech stuff. Dig was there, but I didn't recognize any of the other people.
"If you need me to draw up the smash and grab, done. But John isn't a field agent. He's not qualified. " said a woman.
"Judging from how he and Oliver Queen spend their free time, I'd say his credits transfer. As do Anna Dumas's." said a dark skinned woman who turned and looked at me, with a pointed look.
"Hey, look, I don't want this thing out in the open any more than you do. But I'm not sending my boss in on another one of your business trips." Dig said.
"I have no intention of involving the Arrow. I need you." Said the dark skinned woman.
"What for?" John asked.
"Gholem Qadir." Said the light skinned woman.
"We caught him." Dig said.
"D.O.D. turned Qadir loose a few years ago." Said the light skinned woman, who's name I learned was Lyla.
"Who thought that was a good idea?" Dig asked.
"It's a complicated world, Johnny." Lyla said.
"The nerve agent's not the only WMD Qadir's tried getting his scummy fingers on. Last month, he tried to buy Malcolm Merlyn's prototype earthquake machine." Said the dark skinned woman, named Amanda Waller.
"Thank you for stopping that by the way. Fortunately he doesn't know about your involvement in that.
He remembers you as the man who tried to save his life." Said Waller.
I tuned them out as I took in the room I was in. I was hoping to never come back here. Amanda Waller was a scary lady. I hoped to never cross her.
"I don't need you to get the nerve agent out. I need you to get your team in." Waller said, walking down a bunch of hallways, having us follow.
"My team?" Dig asked.
"They're designated Task Force X." Waller said.
"Give me a break." Said a familiar voice that I hadn't heard in a long, long time.
Three men stepped out of cells, in bright yellow jumpsuits.
"This aint no task force. Let's call it like it is. Welcome to the Suicide Squad." Floyd Lawton chuckled, smirking at me.
Some guards began to uncuff them.
"It's not only prisoners who grow course and hardened from corporal punishment, but those as well who perpetrate the act or who are present to witness it." Ranted someone.
"Oh, please stop giving him books." Said a taller dark skinned man.
"So this is your unit, huh, Waller?" Dig asked.
"What, OJ and Charles Manson weren't available?" I asked. Lawton chuckled.
"This is a dangerous operation. And these men have useful skills. Should the mission be compromised..." Waller began.
"You'll just write them off. The Suicide Squad." Dig said.
Lawton blew a kiss at Dig, mockingly as he went back into his cell. I noticed all of the photos of his daughter, Zoe on his wall.
I thought back to the photo I found in his wallet.
I felt bad about how I left him. It'd been so long since I'd seen him, even longer for him since my superpowers were time travel. I moved, wanting to get away from Amanda Waller and Deadshot.
I appeared in a shabby apartment, where Lyla was waiting for me. She was dressed up, and had a dress ready for me. I was seriously concerned about what I was doing here.
"How'd I get here?" I asked.
"We sent subconscious brainwaves to you when you were in ARGUS. We tricked you in to coming here, once you decided to move again." Lyla admitted.
"What the hell?" I asked, feeling violated.
"I promise not to do it again." Lyla said.
"I don't see why I'm needed." I stated.
"Lawton likes you. He won't harm you if he decides to betray us." Lyla said.
"He wouldn't." I said coldly.
I changed quickly, and for a moment, admired how the dress that Lyla picked out for me. It was a gorgeous vibrant red dress, with a sweetheart neckline and a deep v going down between my breasts.
I was Lawton's "date" for the night, which he was secretly happy about. Lawton and I went through security, and almost got through.
"Gosh, I'm so sorry." Lawton apologized, pulling out some keys, to get past the metal detector.
"Sorry. He's a little forgetful." I said, flirting with the guard.
He looked at me, then let Lawton pass.
I scanned my finger, coming up on the guest list as some woman I didn't know. Lawton got through with no problem. Deadshot and I got in position. We were just waiting for Lyla's go.
Deadshot and I found our way to the basement. Lawton walked first, while I trailed behind him.
"Bingo." Dead shot said, turning on his eye.
Deadshot touched the wall, then pushed on it. It opened to a hallway. We snuck down the hallway, and entered another room.
The nerve agent that Waller wanted us to get, was stored in a huge container that neither of us could carry.
"Harbinger..." Deadshot called for Lyla
"We got what I would describe as a little bit of a situation here."
"Explain." Lyla said over the COMs system.
"Well, I got eyes on the nerve agent, but I'm not gonna be able to move it, much less pocket it." Deadshot said.
"Stand by Deadshot. Anomaly keep an eye on him." Lyla told me.
"So you go by Anomaly now?" Lawton asked.
"I've been going by Anomaly for a long time now." I stated.
"Tiger move to extraction. Deadshot. Anomaly. Remain in position. Harbinger and Freelancer, evac and head to the rally point." Waller said over the COMs system.
I tried to move, but my brain was having troubles figuring out how to move. It was like I had no powers at all.
"Something's wrong. I can't move." I stated.
"Move?" Lawton asked.
"I have superpowers. Time travel to be exact." I stated.
"Hmm." Lawton hummed.
John ran down to us, with someone else following behind him.
"Tsk, Tsk. Disobeying orders, John. Behind you." Deadshot said, shooting two guards.
"That's two you owe me, Junior." Deadshot joked.
"We have to go." Dig said.
"Waller said to stay." I said
"Theres an incoming drone strike." Dig said.
"How contemporary. Get your team clear." Deadshot said.
"You're on my team. And it's time for you to go." Dig said, after he moved and Lawton pointed a gun at him.
"Yeah, that's right. It is time. And this is my way to go. Suicide Squad, remember? I'm expendable, John. Even got the damn bomb in my head to prove it." Lawton said.
"This way, at least, I get to go out doing something honorable." He added.
"You don't get to die that easy, Lawton." Dig said.
"Give me one good reason why not." Lawton asked.
"Zoe." I said.
Lawton struggled. He loved his daughter so much.
"What about the nerve gas?" I asked.
"Believe me. Waller's already got that covered." Dig said. We ran from the house and got into the van. Tiger sped off, down the road.
"The drones shifted course. They're following us." Lyla said.
Lawton laughed.
"Do you find that funny?" Dig asked.
"The wall. What a woman. How do you think she knew where to send the drone, huh? And I mean the precise coordinates." Lawton asked.
"The implants." Dig said.
"Bomb and GPS. Pretty clever right. The drone ain't targeting Gholem's house. It's targeting me." Lawton said.
I grabbed Tiger's claws, and moved towards Lawton.
"Whoa, hang on, do I get a say in this?" Lawton asked.
"Turn around." Lyla ordered.
"Anna, the chip is just below the base of the neck." Lyla told me. I nodded.
"What are you doing?" Dig asked.
"Look, I think I'd rather get blown up!" Lawton said as he pulled off his coat.
"Hold still. This is going to hurt." I said, digging the chip out of his back.
Lawton grunted in pain as I carved the chip out of his neck.
Dig tossed it out of the van, and it landed in the street. The drone struck behind us.
Back home, Waller fixed my brainwave patterns. I promised I'd never help her again. Waller sent me to the med bay where Lawton was getting patched up. The male nurse that was stitching him up, gave me a nasty glare. He did not like my carving skills.
After the nurse was done, he left Lawton and I alone. We were quiet for a long time, just staring at each other.
"I'm sorry." I apologized.
"For what?" Lawton questioned.
"For how I left." I stated.
"Heh. One minute I ask you to order take out, the next I hear that you've been put into a coma by some explosion. It's been a very long time Anna." Lawton drawled.
"I'm sorry." I apologized again.
A guard came into the room, and stood waiting for Lawton.
"Come visit sometime, will ya?" Lawton asked, jokingly.
"Of course." I replied in a fake English accent.
Lawton walked over to the guard, and then turned back to me.
"Anna." He nodded, telling me goodbye.
I smiled at him, and returned to Central City, April 2015.