Chương 54: Probation 3

It came with a warning, now we're all out of time This romance with ignorance has left us behind Sit back, relax, begin It's too early for surrender Too late for a prayer We can't go to hell if we're already there They say the end is coming And I need to prepare We can't go to hell if we're already there

"I hath placed mine Diorama. They art entrapped," Ranni reported.

"Thanks," Tsunade smirked, cracking her knuckles. She loved this part. The former Hokage punched. The mountain shattered. The earth upended from the force of her blow, cratering and sending dirt flying into the air as the cave system below their feet collapsed spectacularly with a deafening rumble. Like an anthill crushed by an elephant, the collapse was total and catastrophic. Like an anthill, the survivors flooded from the tunnels as they tried to flee. They could not.

Any who tried were met by Ranni's dolls or Tsunade's clones who had been placed at the exits. Their bodies, blasted and frozen, warned of the futility of flight. As one, like marionettes dancing to the same tune, those few survivors of the collapse of the base and Ranni's culling turned to fight their way out. Tsunade met them easiliy. The blonde wove through body and blade, dodging with speed and grace born from long years on the battlefield.

The ninjas of her world were faster, stronger, had weirder abilities and were overall better in every way than The Hand. Ninja in this world were stealthier, trickier, and more subtle than those of the Elemental Nations. They had to be. They lacked the power and speed chakra gave those of Tsunade's homeland and lived in a world where they could be killed by a farmer with a hoe that got lucky. Tsunade lived in a world where men dropped meteors on each other.

Stealth still had its use in her world, and she knew her way around the clandestine arts, but its value decreased as one ascended the ranks. It doesn't matter if you can hide in a forest if your enemy can destroy the entire forest in a breath of fire. And Tsunade was the greatest kunoichi to ever live. It was not a battle. It was a slaughter. They were literally genin trying to take down a Kage. What few chunin and singular jonin that had been in the Hand's base were felled just as quickly as all the others.

The former Hokage might not be the strongest or most dangerous member of the Family, but any who underestimated her would die for it. Tsunade was not just the greatest kunoichi to ever live in her world. She had spent over a year learning Haki, had an Aura to protect her, and specialized in Taijutsu to the degree that Yoruichi was the only woman on the Island able to compete with her in hand-to-hand combat. The slaughter was over in just a few minutes.

Not a sound escaped the ninja as they were slaughtered to a man. They did not beg for their lives, cry out in pain, or ask questions. They just died. Tsunade was unbothered by this. Not only from her experience from her world, but this was hardly the first Hand base she had destroyed. They were all like this. The only difference this time was the companion with her.

"A few hath tried to escape by way of secret passages," Ranni reported.

"Mine dolls hath slain them."

"Got it," Tsunade nodded, dropping down into the crater she created and entering the tunnels.

"Just give me the directions."

"Follow my Grace," Ranni said as she floated beside the blonde. Tsunade could not see her reflection, or she would have seen a pale blue glow fill her irises. What the Hokage could see was a line of pale blue light leading her through the tunnel, guiding her toward her target.

"Useful," Tsunade nodded as she followed the guidance of blue Grace down the dim and claustrophobic halls of the mountain base.

"My thanks," Ranni said with a calm smile.

"Our Lord Husband taught me the trick of it whilst I was teaching him illusions. I hath centuries to go before I am the equal of Queen Marika and the Elden Beast."

"It's handy for missions like this one," Tsunade complimented. Typically, the kunoichi worked together with Yoruichi, their skills in stealth complimenting each other, but they had decided a magical expert was needed for this venture. Ranni was available, and Tsunade wasn't opposed to spending time with the goddess. She knew the blue-skinned woman had been starved for companionship, but the radiant smile that covered her face was a bit much in the blonde's eyes for a simple compliment.

Tsunade could see why Mikael and Yoruichi loved to tease her. Ranni reminded the Hokage of... Tsunade did not allow herself to continue that line of thought, focusing instead on following the blue light and keeping her senses open for any potential traps or ambushes. Just because The Hand had never managed to hurt her before didn't mean she should let down her guard.

"I do wish I needn't have such limits," Ranni admitted.

"Had I been as proficient as Marika, I needn't have talked to that boorish man and received the images of our targets. The need for a visual aid is a weakness a Princess of Caria can hardly accept in our spellcraft."

"We all start somewhere," Tsunade said philosophically. Even she had needed hand seals and chakra control training early in her career.

"And if Strange had been a problem, I would have flattened his house."

"T'would be no more than he deserves," Ranni sniffed haughtily.

"What manner of 'sorcerer supreme' would allow thieves into his sanctum without appropriate defences."

"To be fair," Tsunade said, punching a door blocking their way to pieces and stepping over its remains.

"Medea did get rid of his wards. I have no idea if magic like that takes a long time to fix."

"He should have prepared for the loss of his defences. My manor was not only protected by illusions and barriers but also by defenders, monsters, and a dragon. Most of which would return within hours of their destruction. That Strange did not account for such a possibility speaks poorly of the mages of this land." Tsunade did not know about magic to argue with the goddess, so she remained silent as they walked. Ranni broke the companionable silence a few minutes later.

"Hath he answered thy request?"

"Hm?" Tsunade grunted in question as she absently smashed the skulls of two Hand ninjas together when they tried to ambush her. There was a trick to smashing skulls hard enough to kill them without making a mess of splattered brains and grey matter. A trick Tsunade had learned years ago.

"On the subject of children," Ranni elaborated.

"Has our Lord Husband decided to bless you with child?"

"If he did, I wouldn't be drinking so much," Tsunade smirked, dusting her hands off as the dead bodies slumped to the ground.

"Why the question? You want kids?"

"In a few decades," Ranni nodded calmly through her cheeks were flushed a light azure.

"Once I hath mastered mine Order and the Elden Ring. T'was just an errant thought for the moment. Why the delay?"

"Mikael says he's waiting for Amelia to be released from their confinement," Tsunade explained.

"Is his body impaired?" Ranni asked in alarm.

"He's not infertile," Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"If he was, I'd know. One of the perks of the Catalogue is the ability to control one's fertility. None of us will get pregnant without his explicit intent."

"Then why hath he need of the fleshwarper?"

"No idea," Tsunade grunted.

"If it was a healing issue, I'd know about it."

"Most curious," Ranni said, floating to the side as Tsunade threw another body over her shoulder. How many of these ninja were there?

"Should it not be too personal a question, why dids't though request an infant so soon." Tsunade made a light misstep at the question and kicked the last ninja hard enough to completely render him into bloody chunks. The Hokage scowled. She hated getting blood on her sandals.

"Thy hath known our Lord Husband longer than I, in a manner," Ranni continued.

"Nevertheless, thy wish for children so soon after he hath regained his form is... uncharacteristic."

"You're right," Tsunade said, continuing to follow the Grace.

"That is too personal."

"My apologies," Ranni nodded, backing off.

"I meant no offence." Tsunade let out a weary sigh. It was easy to forget that Ranni and Melina had only been with the group for less than two months. The pair lacked the year of camaraderie the others had built together and were unaware which subjects were sensitive to whom. In her own way, Ranni was trying to reach out and build that friendship with Tsunade.

"I had a lover," Tsunade said suddenly, interrupting the silence that had fallen after the goddess' apology.

"We were planning on getting married. Starting a family. But we were at war, so we decided to wait. He died." So much went unsaid in those few sentences. The dream she shared with Dan. The other dream he had, to be Hokage, the one she had accomplished but never wanted. The necklace.

"Before that, I had lost my brother," Tsunade continued, not even bothering to keep punching the Hand ninja. They all died as roots grew from the ceiling and strangled them.

"After the war was over, I went into mourning for years, decades. I only returned to my home when my teacher, a man who had been a father to me, was killed." Ranni remained silent, letting the blonde continue. Tsunade appreciated it. This was hard enough as it is.

"A teammate of mine had been in love with me for years. I could never return his feelings as a child. God, was he an annoying pervert," Tsunade smiled slightly at the memories as genin under Sarutobi-sensei.

"When we were older, I met Dan and fell in love. Then I was grieving. It never seemed the right time to try and build something with him. Always something in the way, always something else to do. Most of it my fault."

"What happened?" Ranni asked softly.

"Right when he returns to the village after being gone for three years, right when I think about giving him a shot, he runs off and gets himself killed. By one of his former students!" Tsunade destroyed a wall she passed at the thought of Pein. Naruto and Jiraya were better people than her. If she had been in the Uzumaki's place, facing the source of so much of her pain, Tsunade would have killed him. She had tried to do so when he had invaded the Leaf, and it had nearly killed her.

It would have, if not for Naruto convincing Pein he was wrong.

"My last hope was a young man, a boy I loved like a son," Tsunade sighed.

"I was betting everything on him. Our people's hopes and dreams. My biggest dream was to pass my title, my hat, to him. I died fighting for that dream." They reached their destination, a storeroom filled with crates, barrels, and other containers.

"But I am still here," Tsunade sighed wearily. She couldn't be bothered to go through it all, so she started to seal the containers in seals for her transport.

"The fact that I am means my world no longer exists. He died. And I am still here." Even before Tsunade had learned that their worlds were gone, she had not been in a good place. Once more, she had lived where others had died. For months she had been listless. Tired. So goddamn tired. The beauty of the Island, the other women, the mystery of their imprisonment, none of that mattered to her. She only got out of bed in the morning to reach for the sake bottle.

As the best med-nin in the world, the blonde had recognized clinical depression when she saw it. It was one of the leading causes of death for ninja in her world. She could have tried jutsu, medication, or other techniques to try and mitigate it. Tsunade just didn't care enough to bother. So she retreated into herself and the bottle. When Yoruichi expressed interest in bedding her, the Hokage went along with it from pure apathy.

She wasn't opposed to a relationship with another woman, but Yoruichi had been a rebound, plain and simple. Over the year spent together, the kunoichi had come to develop feelings for her friend, but at the start, it was a physical relationship born of grief and loneliness. After her failure with men, why not try it with a woman? It wasn't like her luck could get worse.

"My condolences," Ranni said, levitating more crates onto the scroll.

"I hath never had a lover before Mikael, and cannot understand thy pain. My mother, however, was abandoned by my father. It destroyed her. That thee still find the willingness to love is proof of thy strength." Tsunade let out an unladylike snort as she sealed up the goods. Her strength. Right.

"It wasn't anything like that," Tsunade said as they left the storage room and exited the base. They took a different route as she wanted to clear out the remaining ninja before they left.

"I never wanted to fall in love again. Too much pain. Too much heartbreak. And certainly not with Mikael."

"Why so ever not," Ranni turned, floating backwards through the halls as she frowned at her companion.

"Our Lord Husband may be a letch, too infatuated with his own voice and a buffoon to the greatest degree, but he is still a fine man. Kind yet strong. Intelligent and humourous. Attractive and loyal. I hath found no greater man to be mine consort." Tsunade rolled her eyes. Save her from maidens in love. Ranni might be older than her by several millennia, but she was still very much her junior in matters of relationships.

"I'm not saying I don't love him now," Tsunade emphasized the last word.

"I'm saying he is the worst person I could fall in love with. You know about Warranty Plan?"

"I do."

"Mikael is paranoid that it won't work." Tsunade actually approved of that aspect of his character. Paranoia kept people alive.

"But if it does work, we will return to life so long as he lives. The only way for us to die for good is if he releases us, which he won't do unless we beg him or for him to already be dead. So we will all outlive him." It might not be soon, it might be in millions of years, but there would come a time where Tsunade outlived another man in her life. She wouldn't survive that. Not without something to hold onto.

"I waited too long with Dan. With Jiraya. I refuse to wait with Mikael!"

"I understand," Ranni nodded, idly freezing a group of ninja that had tried to attack her from behind.

"If thou will forgive another inquiry, what led to thy decision to pursue an amorous relation with our Lord Husband if such was thy fears?"

"Couldn't tell you," Tsunade shrugged.

"I do not understand," Ranni frowned in confusion.

"T'is it a secret?"

"I mean, there is no clear-cut day or reason I can point to and go, 'this is why I love him,'" Tsunade explained.

"I liked him well enough. As you said, he has redeeming qualities and is attractive enough, but for months I simply considered him a friendly face. It was like we were on a long-term mission together, and we got along by nature of the time spent together."

"Then how can thee declare thy love with such certainty? T'is my understanding that his 'lures' and 'aura' may increase positive emotions to him but may not create love from nothing."

"Sometimes, love sneaks up on us," Tsunade shrugged.

"It doesn't need a concrete reason, an overt moment or some grand gesture. Emotions are like that." Ranni's lips pursed together in thought. By now, Tsunade had a decent grasp on the goddess' character. She was a schemer, like Mikael, and most schemers did not like the idea of such randomness.

"The best I can give you is an approximation of the time and my best guess," Tsunade offered.

"If thee would be so kind."

"It was after we had been told our worlds were destroyed Mikael was between his second and third world," Tsunade narrated, thinking back to those days.

"We had this big sending-off party. Drank a lot. Cried a lot. Told stories of the people we'd miss, the dreams we never fulfilled, and stuff like that. We grieved for days, some for weeks. In many ways, we are still grieving." If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Ranni remained silent. Her world still lived. Another aspect that set her apart from the other women of the Island.

"I couldn't tell you the exact day, but it was at some point after we were summoned to the third world. I woke up one day and realized I would be summoned in a few hours. I got ready, spent time with the others, was summoned, came back, watched a few movies and went to bed."

"I do not understand," Ranni tilted her head in question as she bobbed lower in the air to duck under a doorway.

"In what manner would that indicate love? T'was nothing special in mine eyes."

"The next day, I realized I did not have a single drink the entire day before." Ranni still looked quizzical, not understanding the significance of that fact. Tsunade sighed. Of course, the goddess from a world with terrible medical information would not understand the link between alcoholism and depression. Why would she? She spent thousands of years as a doll without the need to eat or drink.

"At some point," Tsunade explained slowly.

"I stopped trying to numb the pain with sake. I couldn't tell you when that was, just that I started looking forward to my days. To waking up. It was no longer a chore. A few weeks before, I learned that my entire world was destroyed. I still mourn that loss, even today, but I realized that I could accept that. I made peace with the pain. With peace, came a willingness to love again." Tsunade still drank, of course. But she did it because she loved the taste of sake.

She did it not to numb the pain but for the pleasure of a good drink with good company. She did it with Family.

"I thank you for sharing," Ranni said as they reached the bottom of the hidden base. The last three ninja did not even move from their praying positions as her Ice Blade decapitated them.

"I admit, I have felt some fear of the disconnect I share with the rest of my Lord's consorts. I am glad we have talked, and if thee ever wish to ask questions in turn or need aid in locating something, please let me know."

"I'll probably take you up on that offer," Tsunade smirked.

"You made finding this place a breeze. Next time Yoruichi and I need to blow off some steam, you should come."

"I shall," Ranni smiled softly.

"Dos't thou wish to destroy this place, or shall I?"

"You do it," Tsunade said with a smirk.

"I haven't had the chance to see what you got."

"I shall endeavour to not disappoint," Ranni said with pride, raising her arms. But then she paused, head tilting in question.

"Before I do, pray tell me what these 'ninja' were worshiping?"

"That?" Tsunade asked, looking at the statue the goddess was indicating.

"That's supposed to be some sort of demon. I think it's called 'the Beast' or something. According to Mikael and Emma, the Hand is controlled by it, influencing them toward nihilism and annihilation. Why?"

"Idle curiosity," Ranni shook her head.

"I simply find the objects of worship of this land fascinating in their diversity. T'has become a hobby."

"This one isn't anything special," Tsunade shook her head.

"It's never done anything, given blessings or anything like that. No matter how many of its basses we've smashed. Honestly, I don't think a real demon is behind The Hand."

"How so?"

"The statues don't line up with what Mikael told me to expect," Tsunade explained, looking at the sculpture at the center of the room.

"He said the Beast is a 'fat bastard who never gets off his lazy ass.'""I would not call it fat," Ranni tilted her head as she looked at the statue. It was not fat at all. It depicted an incredibly large and muscular man with his arms crossed. It had no facial features, hair, or other identifying marks, but by its posture, it was clear it was looking down on the world in arrogance.

"I think this is another one of those differences between Emma's world and this one," Tsunade stated.

"Instead of a demon, some sort of psychic or Master is controlling the Hand. It would explain why they're not undead like in Emma's world and are completely unresponsive to words. Nothing is going on in their brains but their missions."

"How dull," Ranni said, conjuring a pale blue moon in her outstretched palm.

"Whosoever they are, they made the mistake of drawing our Lord Husband's attention by stealing his gift to the Sorcerer Supreme. There is nowhere to hide on this planet from mine Order."

"If we keep smashing bases like this, they'll have to do something," Tsunade said as she opened a portal to the Island. While Ranni, Medea, or Raven could teleport, they could all return to the Island at will so long as they had a few moments to concentrate.

"Each base might not mean much, but if we keep hounding them enough, it will force them to show their tail. It was a tactic we used during the shinobi wars to force stronger ninja to respond and give us information on their abilities and locations."

"Should the fiend appear, alert me. I wish to show it the error of standing against our Family."

"Meh," Tsunade led the goddess through the portal and closed it before Ranni's spell hit the ground. The Himalayas just lost a mountain.

"They're more of an annoyance at this point. The only reason Mikael cares is he's petty. Like what happened with the Titans, he doesn't like being toyed with. I agree with him that if there are players out there trying to manipulate us, we should know and stop it. Don't tell him I said that. His head will grow any larger."

"His ego is fragile for all its size," Ranni smiled mischievously.

"Let us alert Lady Melina. She shall add it to her chronicle." Tsunade chuckled. Melina's book, a recounting of Mikael's time in the Lands Between, was the worst-kept secret in the Family. The second worst-kept secret was how embarrassed it made the man. A dry retelling of the facts would not have mattered to him in the least, a helpful tool for propaganda, but Melina was making a special effort to point out all the good he had done. Call Mikael an abomination, a monster, or insult him, and he'll laugh it off.

Empty flattery would only stroke his ego, and trying to tease him would see him return the favour hundredfold. But give him a sincere compliment, or worse, write a book with him as the hero, and he'd squirm uncomfortably, blush, and flee the room or change the subject. All attack, no defence. Honestly, if there was one thing that showed how close Melina and Mikael were, it was how easily the maiden could get under his skin.

It was only after her arrival that the women managed to fight back against his constant teasing. Tsunade found it cute but also worrying. Mikael would be the first to crow about his achievements, taking pride in his actions and being self-aware enough to recognize their impact on the world. But he got uncomfortable the second someone tried to make him seem heroic. How isolated had Mikael been that some basic positive reinforcement could make him so uncomfortable?

It was a shame that he and Emma were still at odds, or she would have asked the mutant about her worries. Thoughts like these swirled in Tsunade's mind as they returned home. As Tsunade and Ranni walked up the path to the house, they passed Priscilla tending to the four young drakes outside the large building that was their home and stable. The massive red beasts, each the size of a house, rubbed up against the tall crossbreed affectionately as they vied for her attention.

Only, instead of petting them, feeding them or singing to them, the hybrid was staring northward, her eyes unfocused as she looked at the mountain range that separated their home from the rest of the Island. Ranni and Tsunade slowed to a stop at the uncommon sight. Andromeda and Hengeron II started tugging the crossbreed's dress for attention. Llamrei II and Cassandra started wrestling, their massive bodies tearing up the ground with spikes, tails, and wings.

Priscilla stared northward, paying no attention to the ruckus.

"Lady Priscilla," Ranni asked in concern. The crossbreed did not move, and the pair of women frowned. The goddess floated over to the woman and shook her shoulder gently. The crossbreed jerked into focus with a start, her eyes staring at Ranni in wide-eyed confusion.

"Lady Ranni," Priscilla asked in confusion.

"When didst thou arrive?"

"A mere moment ago," Ranni said, still frowning in concern.

"What has beguiled thee? Art thee well?"

"I am fine," the crossbreed shook her head but turned to look northward again.

"I merely felt an emanation of power from the Island that captured mine attention. T'is gone now."

"What sort of power?" Tsunade asked, approaching as well.

"One of a similar nature to my Element, though not the same."

"Death?" Tsunade asked, closing her eyes and extending her senses. Despite her chakra control, she had never been a sensor ninja. But, like all good ninja, she cheated. So long as she was on the Island, she could connect her Element to Mikael's and extend her senses through the plants that covered the land. It wasn't perfect, plenty of places did not have enough plants for her to sense completely, but it was enough to find pretty much anything. As Tsunade reached out, she found what she had expected.

The number of invaders had decreased to a few hundred again. After last week's interview, most who had entered the dimension had already died. A few were still clinging to life, but they'd fall to animals, plants, land, or Medea's experiments. Even as she 'watched,' more died. None of them felt like 'death.'

"Indeed," Priscilla nodded.

"I no longer sense it, but for a moment, t'was there. I am sure of it. T'was a strong presence, as potent as Diana's, but fleeting. It flickered in and out as a candle in the night." Tsunade frowned and redoubled her effort to search. Anything as strong as Diana was worrisome.

"We shall alert Lady Medea," Ranni declared.

"She is the one who ventures out beyond the mountains most frequently. We shall also tell our Lord Husband of this. T'is his Island. Nothing shall hide from his eyes if he brings forth another Dreaming."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Tsunade continued to frown. There was something there. Something on the edge of her senses that was utterly unknown to her yet familiar. It felt nothing like 'death' or the undead, but it was something.

"If it comes and goes like Priscilla says, it might not be a person but an ability. Something like Edo Tensei, a powerful technique that summons the dead, can be cast and rescinded. Unless they use it, we'd have no way of knowing who did what. They'd look like everyone else."

"Still, there will be value in the attempt, even should it fail," Ranni said.

"Though I shall request he let us deal with it. His rest need not be disturbed." Tsunade continued to search but found nothing. It did not ease her concerns. Something was on the Island, something powerful. The only things that could pass through the barrier were those with malicious intent. When the women reported their discoveries to Mikael, he facepalmed and shook his head in exasperation. Ninety percent of everything he said was bullshit, but people decided to test one of the few absolute truths.

He had told everyone of this world multiple times. Anyone who entered the dragon's den would die.

"This is bullshit!" Gavel swore as his hammer smashed the last of the massive ants to puss.

"We know it's bullshit," Killer Frost sighed.

"Stop being a little bitch about it. The ants are better than the bears."

"Or the dogs," Taskmaster interjected as he pulled one of his twin spears from an ant's head. All four of them shuddered at the memory. Even Sprial seemed to flinch at the memory of those massive dog/t-rex things that had chased them for hours. Taking on one or two each would have been fine, even thirty or forty, with the whole group with some injuries and advantageous terrain. But over a hundred?

Gavel might have survived, thanks to his ability to take limited damage, but the horde of beasts would have killed the rest and tortured the massive man for hours before he killed them all. Assuming more didn't show up. So they had fled underground into this cave system filled with enormous red ants. That had been over a day ago. The Suicide Squad had hoped that the tunnel system connected to another exit, but it just kept going deeper and deeper.

It was getting to the point that they were considering having Spiral teleport them all back to the ship, which would have set them back over a week in their explorations. One night they had tried to use her to teleport them back to the ship for the night. When they teleported in the morning to their previous farthest point, the group was surrounded by a bunch of golems made of crystal. They decided to keep teleportation to a minimum after that. For now, they were going to push on.

The ants weren't a threat, as giant and numerous as they might be. The Tunnels limited how many could attack at once. The real threat was the stench. The limited air in the caverns was filled with the smell of rotted meat, blood, death, and biological waste. The ants must not have any sense of smell, or they would not have pilled up their food in these grotesque mounds of blood and bones. The footing was treacherous as the bones would shift and slip under their feet as they fought off the massive insects.

"We should leave," Gavel growled, smashing his hammer on the ground for emphasis.

"I don't care if we gotta start over. I'm sick of smelling this shit. I want some good food, damnit! I'd kill for one of those boars right now." Deathstroke ignored him, shifting his blade through the piles of blood and bones. Where was it?

"As much as I hate to agree with this neanderthal." Killer Frost ignored Gavel flipping her off with long, practiced ease.

"We ain't getting anywhere. We should teleport to the forest before we ran into those dogs. Instead of heading north, we'll head south and circle around the mountain." Slade would swear he had seen that glint of metal, familiar to all soldiers, when an ant had been sent tumbling down when he cut its head off.

"The same forest filled with bears the size of a house?" Taskmaster asked, his derision for the idea plain in his voice.

"Those same super aggressive bears, covered in magic runes, that we could barely hurt?"

"I'd rather run from a fucking bear in the fresh air than stay here for another day!" There! In a pile of bones in shapes and forms unfamiliar to the mercenary were the remains of something he recognized at a glance. It was dented, shattered, and missing most of its pieces, but it was clearly a human rib cage. And wrapped around one of the ribs was his prize.

"After passing the forest of bears we can barely kill, we'd go around the mountain?" Taskmaster continued dryly.

"The mountains covered in wyverns that breathe fire and lightning? The wyverns that can fly when we can't?" Whatever counterargument Gavel and Killer Frost were going to present never left their lips.

"We keep going," Deathstroke ordered, his tone brokering no argument.

"Why should we?" Killer Frost denied, not cowed in the slightest. Rather than answer with words, the mercenary held up his discovery. Hanging on the end of his blade, dented and covered in blood, were the familiar metallic forms of dog tags.

"Where did you find those," Taskmaster asked, his eyes roaming the pile of bodies.

"A skeleton over there," Deathstroke nodded at the shattered ribcage.

"So the ants got some poor schmuck," Killer Frost rolled her eyes.

"We knew other people would be on this deathtrap. It just means we got here too late."

"No," Gavel denied, grasping the discovery's significance as he looked first to where they had come in from, then further down the passages.

"Dog tags mean soldiers. Military. Unless they were airdropped, unlikely with the dome, they came by ship. A military ship. What country are they from?"

"The writing is in Russian," Slade smirked.

"Ground Forces, 1107th." Taskmaster let out a low whistle that echoed in the dark tunnels.

"They were serious about this," Taskmaster said, stopping his search.

"Stop being so damn vague!" Killer Frost looked annoyed to be the only one out of the loop, so Deathstroke explained.

"There is no 1107th. It's a cover. It's a made-up group for soldiers in the Kremlin Guard. The elites, trained to work with the Winter Guard." Deathstroke knew of them thanks to a few contracts, and he imagined it was the same for Taskmaster.

"They sent their fucking national Supers to this hellhole!?" Killer Frost asked in disbelief.

"What if the dragon notices? He'd know right away who they were. Then they're fucked."

"Probably only one or two," Gavel denied with a smirk.

"The big wigs'll claim the Supes went rogue with their teams. Wipe their hands of them. Wouldn't be the first time."

"We saw no casings, bullet holes, or other signs of military action on the way in," Taskmaster said.

"The ants aren't sneaky enough to sneak up on a whole group of trained soldiers, nor would they only kill and eat one. The soldiers came in from somewhere else."

"Of thanks fuck," Killer Frost sighed in relief.

"A military ship sounds great and all, but I'd rather worry about finding it once I don't smell this shit anymore."

"We keep going," Deathstroke repeated his earlier words, and this time there was no more disagreement.

It took almost a day for them to find the next sign of other humans, the tunnels were winding and interconnected, and they had to backtrack a few times as they reached dead ends. They only found a few guns' bent and broken remains, but it was enough to show they were on the right track. More and more signs of soldiers appeared as they delved deeper into the tunnels under the mountain.

No bodies, the ants didn't leave any meat uneaten, but arms, bullet holes, and the destroyed remnants of clothes became increasingly common. They had discovered enough supplies to outfit fifty people by rough estimation. That was only what they found. There was certainly more in the tunnels. A small army had died in these tunnels. Recently too. It was impossible to get an exact date, but the few human skeletons they did find were fresh enough to know they had been eaten within a few weeks.

Something finally changed on the second day after they found the dog tags. All traces of the ants stopped. No footprints, no remains, no mark of any animal passing through those deep tunnels. The Suicide Squad would have turned back if not for the clear footprints in the dirt from standard-issue army boots. They had remained there for weeks, preserved in the caves, thanks to a lack of airflow, exposure to the elements, or other creatures walking over them.

The five criminals continued deeper under the mountain, following a clear trail unhindered by foes. They made much better time. It only took them a few hours to reach their 'destination.' The putrid stink of rotted meat and dead bodies, left behind with the ant caves, was replaced with a sickly sweet scent. The pinkish-red glow filled their eyes as they stepped out of the claustrophobic caves into a glowing cavern so large they couldn't see the ceiling or the other wall.

A pink mist filled the air, further obstructing their vision. The lake of red water, covered in sickly black spots, was glowing an eerie light, and sickly trees stood in its shallow depths as waves lapped the walls below the small outcropping they found themselves on.

"Why." Killer Frost bit out, enunciating every word slowly as her voice raised from a whisper to a shout.

"Does. Nothing. On. This. Fucking! Island! Make! Fucking! SENSE!" SENSE! Sense! Sense.

'ense. -se. Her voice echoed across the enormous lake, over and over. The rest of the group glared at her, but she glared back. She was sick of this nonsense. Massive bears? She could deal with that. Ants the size of an eighteen-wheeler? Squish them like all other bugs. Rotting dogs that look like fucking dinosaurs? Nightmare fuel, but manageable. But why the fuck was water red? And glowing! Was nothing sacred in this damn hell hole? Even the water was deadly!

For a tense moment, nobody moved, afraid that the unstable woman had alerted something to their presence and they'd need to flee. There was a response, but it came from an unexpected and welcome source."' ello," a raspy voice called out in a Russian accent.

"Someone there?" The squad looked around wildly for the source of the voice, not seeing anyone. Taskmaster found it first."'own here," the voice rasped out again before descending into a coughing fit.

"Down there!" He said, pointing to a pile of rubble jutting out from the red water. It looked like a part of the cavern wall had collapsed, taking part of their ledge down with it. The group could barely make out a tiny hole in the wall and a pallid face looking up at them.

"Got it," Gavel said, levelling his hammer in the direction of the rubble and pulling the stone toward him, then he banished it toward the lake. After a few boulders were cleared, the Suicide squad saw four bodies. One was still moving, the man who had called out to them, his body thin and his skin sallow. His legs had been crushed by the rubble. He stared up at them with bloodshot eyes. The other three soldiers were dead, one with a hole in his skull.

That same body was also undressed, and parts of it were missing. Deathstroke didn't even blink at the sight. You did what you had to survive.

"Bring him up," the mercenary told Gavel, who pulled the man toward them with a frown."'merican?" The cannibal asked softly, his voice was weak, but his eyes were alive and active with a frantic energy.

"'ave water? Out." He coughed harder this time. Blood flecking his lips. Thanks to Spiral being able to teleport, the Suicide Squad didn't have to worry about supplies, so Gavel passed the man his canteen, which he drank greedily from.

"We're not American," Slade said in Russian. Killer Frost and Gavel looked at him in confusion, but Taskmaster nodded.

"Mercenaries. We want to leave this Island. How'd you get here?"

"Followed orders," the soldier replied in his mother tongue, head twisting this way and that, never staying still.

"We need to find the source, ack-ack, of the dragon's power. Followed Powersurge to explore, and, cough, we found these caves. Dragon Koschei collapsed the path." His breathing was laboured, and he coughed intermittently, but his words made Slade frown. A dragon zombie?

"Where is the Koschei," he asked. Taskmaster was providing a translation to the others.

"There," the Russian nodded toward the red lake, eyes flickering to everyone in the group for a moment before moving on in a flash.

"Massive thing. Would have killed us all if not for Powersurge."

"Did Powersurge kill it?"

"No," the man bit out, teeth clenching and bloodshot eyes glaring at nothing.

"His armour was too strong for it. He would have killed it. But it got him. It got him. Got him. Killed him. Ate him. Opened his armour like a can of tuna and ate him. Wants to eat me. Won't let it. I'll win. I'll live."

"What ate him? The Koschei?" The Russian continued to glare at nothing, pupils dilated in fear and refusing to answer as his eyes scanned the red lake. Slade decided that answer could wait for now. Whatever had killed Powersurge had done so over a week ago, before they had even landed on the island. It hadn't killed this soldier either, so it was long gone. More critical was getting as much information as possible from the clearly unstable man.

"You came on a ship?" He asked, and the soldier nodded, taking another sip of water. His eyes continued to dart around, never staying in one place.

"If you take us to it and help us, we will get you off this Island. We have a portal." Deathstroke was taking a calculated risk, telling the man about the portal. It was a good bet, though. A man like this, who had done the things he did, would be willing to do almost anything to survive and escape. If the man betrayed them, it's not like they couldn't kill him immediately.

"That way," the soldier said immediately, desperately, pointing to the other side of the rubble where another cave was. His eyes, so scared a moment ago, were wild with hope now and even more frantic.

"We came in through there. You will bring me with you, or Fantasma will not believe you and attack. I'll explain what happened to her." With their current group, Slade thought they could take on a bunch of soldiers and Fantasma, a Russian magician, with little trouble. No need to tell him that.

"Spiral," he ordered the six-armed mutant.

"Heal him. He'll lead us to his ship." The Ziz bomb gyrated in her dance, and slowly, the man's crushed legs started to realign. With hesitant hope, the man sat up and slowly rose.

"Thank you," he said in broken english as he stared at the mutant. He doubled over, coughing again, but managed to get his breathing under control after a second and drained the rest of the flask of water before passing it back to Gavel with a grateful nod.

"Name is Alexi. Thank you all. It is day to surface, cough," he told the group in english before switching back to Russian and talking to Deathstroke.

"From there, it is three days to the coast and two more to the ship. We will need food, water, and a way to cross this gap. Do not touch to water!"

"Frost," Slade said simply as he nodded at the missing ledge.

"Yeah, yeah," the cryokinetic rolled her eyes but did as asked. With a wave of her hand, a bridge of ice connected the gap and gave them passage. The woman frowned.

"Hurry up. The mist dissolves the ice quickly."

"Let's go," Slade ordered, and the rest hurried across the bridge. The mercenary went last, staying behind Alexi as the soldier moved more slowly as warily tested the ice before stepping on it. Deathstroke was the only one to notice the Russian freeze as he looked up and out across the lake.

"No," the man whispered in Russian, his voice filled with disbelief. And terror.

"NononononononONONONONO."

"What?" Deathstroke asked, instincts and long experience having him throw himself into action in a moment, putting his back to the wall and palming his weapon.

"You!" Alexi shouted, whirling on Slade in a frenzy.

"You did this!"

"Did what!?" Gavel asked, looking around for a threat from the entrance of the other cave, his hammer raised and ready to strike.

"The fuck you talking about?"

"It toys, it bats, it plays, but I know. I know." The disturbed soldier babbled in Russian, stepping away from the group.

"He's crazy," Killer Frost said though she, too, was surveying the surroundings wearily.

"The Ruskies have all their soldiers doped up on something. He probably hasn't slept in days. He's seeing things."

"Calm down, Alexi," Slade spoke in Russian, his voice authoritative.

"Come with us. You will leave the island. You'll live. But only if you come with us."

"Live?" Alexi asked, giggling madly. Then he doubled over, coughing, hacking, and spewing blood. Teeth fell from his mouth and clattered noisily on the ice.

"Ack! That's what it wants. You run and run and run and run and hide and cry and hide. It likes that." His eyes, wild and mad, stared at them, then deeper into the mists over the lake. He continued to back away from them.

"Nobody lives. Nobody leaves. We're going to die. We're dead. You don't know it. Already dead." Alexi threw himself backward and over the edge. The fall wasn't long, only a few feet to the red water. The water wasn't deep either, and Alexi stood in the waist-deep liquid, arms wide in triumph. His skin bubbled and twisted, pustules growing and bursting in moments.

"I did it!" He crowed, a broad smile on his face. His clothes bubbled and hissed as they dissolved.

"I finally did it!" The meat from his thighs and legs floated to the water's surface as it disintegrated.

"I win! I win! You can't have me. You wanted me but can't have me!" Hair fell from his head in a rain as his face melted, cheeks, lips, and eyes sloughing off in a disgusting slurry of blood, muscle, and meat.

"I win, Bayun!" The soldier laughed joyfully as his organs fell from his torso with a 'plop' as they met the red water. Alexi kept laughing for the five seconds it took between touching the Lake of Rot and turning into Putrid Corpse. The Suicide Squad was long gone, fleeing down the passage toward the surface. Alexi had killed a comrade, eaten his body, and drank his blood in order to preserve his life. For days, he had been trapped with no hope of escape but had never used his gun to end the pain.

He had been willing to work with unknown mercenaries without question if it meant escaping alive. They did not want to stay around anything that could drive a man so desperate to survive to commit suicide in such a gruesome fashion. Half a mile from the tunnel entrance, sitting atop the boney head of a Dragonkin Soldier, with her round paws tucked under her like a loaf of bread, Medea tilted her head cutely. What was that about? Ultimately, the cat(?) closed her eyes and returned to sleep.

Unlike the one in the power armour from last week, she hadn't wanted to eat that guy anyway. Rot left a weird aftertaste. Medea debated eating another one now. Only the big one would fill her stomach, so the others were just for fun and flavour. The cat(?) decided against it for the moment. She was still digesting the other one. And Medea wanted to watch them squirm. But first, nap time.