Ipê Branco

Who are you?

The night wind blew the fabric of her dress up, revealing the curves of her brown calves. Her eyes, although unfocused, didn't show any signs of the turmoil inside her mind. Her bare feet touched the ground with purpose but her brain, as always, ignored the shattered glass from the building nearby and the red, sticky substance on her soles.

"Hey." The quiet voice startled her. "Easy, easy. It's just me. So why did you volunteer to be here?" Deadshot asked with pure curiosity in his voice.

"I couldn't just stay put and let people get hurt." She walked backwards to look into his eyes. "Why else would I be here for?" She shoved her hands in her pockets and shrugged.

He checked her from head to toe. "That's the thing, crazy girl. I have no idea, and it makes me curious. Are you with us?" He glanced at Croc and Chato. "Or them?" His nose pointed at Flag and the others.

She looked over her shoulder before answering, "Can't it be both?"

"Nah... You are here for a reason of your own, and I just haven't figured it out yet. Focus on yet."

Prim stopped, and Deadshot was forced to copy her. After several seconds of searching his face, she took her left hand from her pocket and opened it close enough for him to see her palm. "Do you know what this is?" She asked in an almost whisper. Her eyes on the small thing.

"A flower," Deadshot answered deadpan, and she laughed.

"Yes." Her lips curved in a genuine smile. "This is a hoya." She took his hand in hers and placed it there. "And I'd like you to have it." She curled his fingers around its delicate petals.

"A flower?" He asked with a brow raised.

"It's not just any flower." She rolled her eyes. "Its meaning is protection." He slouched, and she chuckled. "It also means wealth."

"That," he addressed her, "I like. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe it, but you can never be too careful."

Prim opened her mouth to speak, but a commotion not too far away from them stopped her. Slipknot tried to escape only to have his head explode when Rick activated the nanite. "Keep it, please." She pecked his cheek. "For me." She walked away before he could answer.

Deadshot kept his eyes on her back. His mind trying and failing to understand her. He carefully pocketed the flower with a long sigh and followed the group just to have Flag egg him on.

Once again, Deadshot startled her when he approached. "We have a plan." His voice lower than a whisper.

"For?" She glanced at him.

"I'll take Flag. You and the others can-"

"Sorry." She answered, already walking away. A sad look on her face and another murmured, "I'm sorry," on her lips.

Deadshot shook his head and walked away.

Not long after their conversation, they had their first encounter with the enemy. While the soldiers went ahead, the group of criminals stayed behind.

"What are those things?" Deadshot asked after he spotted the men and women ahead of them. The enemy carried weapons like soldiers, but their features were something he couldn't explain. The limbs of their bodies were normal enough with their legs and arms, but their skin... it was covered in eyes which moved and blinked in unison.

"Things that are not supposed to be," Prim answered and walked in the soldiers' direction.

"What the fuck?" Captain Boomerang asked no one in particular, and Croc shook his head.