The Children in Silk were masters in martial arts, disciplined adherents to the ways of melee combat, victors in countless assassination missions and death matches. Against the reckless abandon of the superpowered and technologically superior Suicide Squad, it didn't matter. Goat screamed in agony and fear as Brie's bees swarmed him. Whether it was shock, suffocation, or the stings of her bees, he soon died and fell to the floor in a heap of swarming machines. Rooster and Dog tried to dodge Kommand'rs bolts but her wild drunken shots made it difficult to predict her movements, and neither was faster than the speed of light. A bolt cleaved straight through Rooster and left his chest a smoking crater, dropping him to the floor instantly as his heart and spinal column were completely vaporized. A stray bolt took out Dog's leg and he wildly flailed in the air before landing in the sand. 

Beast had already gunned Tiger down and Beast's superpowered throw left Monkey knocked out cold. Ambush Bug had disabled Rat and Pig, and Freeze's ice blast blasted Ox, Snake, and Rabbit. Snake screamed in pain as he was blinded and Ox's strong arm was blue to the elbow, he would likely lose it. Rabbit was the worst off with both his legs succumbing to frost bite but it was quickly solved when his brother Dragon disregarded his safety and peppered him with arrows to try and kill Freeze. Across the battlefield Horse still battled Javelin the two seemed at an equal match until Javelin suddenly disengaged and leaped back shouting, "Now!" Horse ran forward but stopped as the Checkmate soldiers riddled him with bullets. 

The other ninjas had taken heavy casualties and cloth garbed bodies littered the desert floor. The last ninja dropped to the ground with a large hole in his head as Plastique pumped her shotgun. Dragon tried to fire an arrow but screamed as his head started to swell and turn red and a few seconds later simply exploded, splattering his brains and skull across the sand. Luftballon groaned and stood up, "Fucking Ninjas." White Canary had seen that her brothers had fallen and as she fought Cavalier she reached for a communicator on her wrist, "Need pickup now!" Suddenly the air was wracked by the screeches and screams of inhuman throats. Dark shapes dropped out of the night sky, Man-Bats. The League of Shadows had copied Dr. Langstrom-s gene-splicing techniques and applied it to their men. The ninja Man-Bats swarmed, Checkmate soldiers dropping several as they covered White Canary. White Canary blocked Cavalier's swords and withdrew as he had to fight off two Man-Bats at the same time. She perched on a large albino Man-Bat with pale moon skin and blood red eyes before lifting off and flying into the night sky. 

Several Man-Bat and Ninja corpses were left behind with a few Checkmate soldiers. Checkmate soldiers went around and put down any Assassins who were still alive. Of the Twelve Brothers in Silk, Goat, Rooster, Tiger, Rabbit, Horse, and Dragon were all dead. Snake, Ox, and Dog were crippled. Only Monkey, Rat, and Pig remained alive and whole. The Suicide Squad had gotten the better of one of the League of Shadow's assassination teams. Amygdala groaned as he awoke. He screamed in rage and pain as he tore the knife from his eye and blood gushed down his face. He ripped off cloth from a dead ninja and made a makeshift eyepatch which also helped stop the bleeding for his metahuman healing to take into effect. He would forever have only one eye however. The Checkmate troopers hurriedly shackled the surviving brothers even the crippled ones in handcuffs. All the brothers were stripped of weapons and armor, left in only silk undergarments while hoods were pulled over their heads. 

Plastique reloaded and said, "Alright, reload and gather any equipment you can. Take the tags from our troopers. Amygdala, carry the bodies, we're not leaving anyone behind. Cavalier, grab blood samples from the Man-Bats, we'll see if our lab boys can get something from that. Ambush Bug scout you'll scout ahead as we move forward. Jump ahead, take a look around, and jump back. Deadshot, take the rear with the rest of the troopers. Larvan, I want you to screen our team with your bees providing a perimeter around us as we move. Beast, I want you to get Monkey, Rat, and Pig on their feet and moving. Keep an eye on them. If they try anything, shoot them immediately. We move in five, and we won't stop till we reach the safehouse." 

Deadshot spoke up, "What about the other brothers?" Plastique grimaced, "They're crippled and we can't move them safely with our reduced numbers. Plus they're enemy agents. You know what to do." Deadshot nodded and advanced to Snake, Ox, and Dog. Later six shots rang in the air as he double-tapped all three in the head. Amygdala lugged the corpses of the fallen Checkmate troopers on his back and Javelin mucked around with several spears. He planted them in the ground and placed nine helmets on the staffs, displaying the helms of the fallen brothers and arranging their bodies before them. They were placed in a circle on their positions in the Chinese Zodiac. The Children in Silk were now effectively defunct. Whether it was a sign of respect or meant to be a warning, none knew but they let him finish the macabre monument. 

Then the Suicide Squad set off with Cavalier and Plastique leading the survivors to safety. For a few hours they trekked through the desert and dawn started peaking through when finally Plastique motioned them to stop. They had reached a large mountain range in the middle of the desert, one of many rocky features that dotted the landscape. Plastique keyed her mic in a specific sequence and suddenly several troopers in desert-pattern Checkmate armor advanced on them from the hills. 

They raised their weapons until the man at their lead motioned them to relax. A man in a tight-fighting black suit with an insectoid visor nodded at Plastique, "Better late than never." Plastique grunted, "Good to see you too Black Spider. We got held up. Intel was right, the League of Shadows is involved somehow." Rat, Pig, and Monkey were forced to their knees and the Checkmate soldiers hustled them inside while others took the fallen troopers from Amygdala's shoulders and attended to them. Black Spider nodded at the hidden bunker, "We better get inside. Sun's almost up and the desert will be crawling with HIVE and Onslaught agents." Plastique nodded and the Suicide Squad hustled inside. 

Checkmate had turned the cave systems into a fortress. Hidden turrets screened the approach with a large monitor of camera screens displaying views inside and outside. A large armory filled to the brim with weapons and equipment beckoned while another room held several bunks and a cafeteria was open. A large common area held a pool table, a poker table, ping-pong, and a tv playing dvds with a game console nearby. A medical bay was also close by and Amygdala hurried in to be checked out. Monkey, Pig, and Rat were taken to the holding cells while the fallen troopers were placed in body bags and hustled off. Several other Squad members could be seen, infamous murderers and criminals who made names for themselves as well as numerous military operatives. 

Plastique turned to address her team, "We have time to rest now. Re-arm or modify your equipment if you wish. The fabricators here can help you make any weapon or gear you can think of. If you need it go see the doc for meds or help, and it might be a good idea to grab some shut-eye. Otherwise you have the run of the base, but get in trouble and you know who holds the button. We have all day to rest and plan our kidnapping of Isis. Meet again in the briefing room at noon." With that she walked off and Cavalier and Deadshot immediately went to the pool table.