Title: Welcome to Task Force X
There were very few reasons someone wanted to see Amanda.
None of them were good.
The room was cold.
Windowless.
Deliberately uncomfortable.
A single metal table sat in the center, accompanied by two chairs and a thick folder.
Amanda sat on one side.
Waiting.
The door opened.
A guard escorted in the newest candidate.
Another metahuman.
Another problem.
Another person the government had decided was too dangerous to leave unsupervised.
The door shut behind them with a heavy click.
Silence settled over the room.
Waller didn’t look up immediately.
She simply flipped through the file in front of her.
Page after page.
Criminal record.
Psychological evaluations.
Mission reports.
Casualty estimates.
Impressive, really.
Finally, she closed the folder.
Then looked up.
There it was.
The look she always had when evaluating someone.
Not fear.
Not curiosity.
Calculation.
Like she was already deciding where they fit on the board.
Because that’s what people were to Amanda Waller.
Pieces.
Assets.
Risks.
Tools.
She folded her hands.
“You’ve had an interesting life.”
Silence.
“You’ve also made some remarkably bad decisions.”
Another pause.
Then she pushed the folder across the table.
On the front was a single symbol.
A black X.
Most people didn’t know what it meant.
The smart ones did.
Amanda leaned back.
“Here’s the thing. You can stay exactly where you are… or you can work for me.”
The room seemed to grow colder.
“High-risk missions. Low survival rates. Absolutely no retirement package.”
A beat.
“But if you survive? You get a little more freedom than you currently have.”
Silence again.
Amanda almost smiled.
Almost.
Because she already knew how this conversation ended.
It always ended the same way.
The guards outside shifted.
The fluorescent lights hummed.
And somewhere deep beneath the prison, another file was being opened.
Another name added.
Another explosive collar prepared.
Another soul signed away to a team of expendable monsters.
Amanda Waller stood, gathered the folder, and headed for the door.
She paused only once.
Then looked back.
“Welcome to Task Force X.”
Because the Suicide Squad was always hiring.
And Amanda was always looking for one more weapon.