Sand Storms

A/N: Okay so this is a story that formed in my head at a random hour of the day. Currently the first part of this story is complete, and the second one is in the process of being written. Since I write fast, if I'm inspired enough it shouldn't take long for that one to be finished either. But I've fallen in love with this concept.

For those of you who don't know, by the way, Mason is Slade's adopted son in an AU that I've created, who was trained to be his next in line mercenary. Somewhere along the lines once he'd grown older he was then kidnapped by a man named Nicolas Trey- who tortured and manipulated him. Of course, Mason fell in love with this guy somewhere in the mix (not knowing they both had the same feelings for each other), and they both now live together in the man's mansion(because he's a rich bastard). True love, right? -Course Slade doesn't like this guy at ALL.

Which will make this story all the more interesting for you, I think. Enjoy!

Mason wasn't all that surprised that another blacklist swarm had increased in the world suddenly. What with all the illegal trades and deals going on, it was only a matter of time that a new group of guys would show up on top and demand things from people. Of course if the people couldn't fulfill these requests they would probably end up dead. Again, none of this surprised him as he read these things in the papers or saw them on the news.

What did surprise him, however, was that Slade had requested for him to join him on a contract out of country, and that he stay with him for at least a month while doing so. It didn't help that Trey and his own facility were busy looking into this new spree too, but now that he was considering taking the offer….

"Fine," Trey agreed, not even a few minutes after they had discussed this.

Mason's eyes widened slightly. The man that had done just about anything to make him his and take him away from everything he used to have to be with him, and that he had lived with for a few years now, for more ways than just one—was accepting him going back to be with his adoptive father, who he didn't favor much at all, for a whole month?

"Fine?" The boy gaped. "Are you….feeling okay?"

The man chuckled slightly. "The more help on this case, the better, even if it happens to be with him. You and I both know that if I refuse to let you go, he won't hesitate to come and get you himself."

"He does like to have things his way," Mason smirked. "As do you."

"And you as well," Trey sent him a light glare, but smirked back in return.

"Your point being…"

"My point is, be careful," The man stepped closer so that he could gently cup Mason's chin.

"Why are you worried? I can take care of myself."

Trey just raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, fine, okay. I'll be careful."

"Good."

"Well I guess I'll be packing," He shrugged.

"Not just yet," Trey smirked, and gently picked Mason up to head towards their bedroom.

The next morning, after a rather long surprise breakfast in bed with Trey, Mason set off to Slade's lair, which wasn't as far away as he remembered it being. Upon entering the lair, he was greeted briefly by Wintergreen, and then showed back to his old room.

There, he was told that Slade was busy with something and would see him momentarily. Mason didn't mind this, and took his time unpacking things he would need right away. His room wasn't any different than how he had left it. Old dirty clothes scattered about, unfixed bed, bottle of old wine on his desk…hm. Maybe it still tasted good…?

Most of the rest of his things were at his apartment, and so technically he had three homes, this one being his first. When his door opened without a knock, he wasn't all that shocked, and he turned to face the figure with a blank expression.

"Mason," Slade greeted, and subtlety looked his ex-apprentice over, a small frown on his face from behind the mask. "You've lost mass in areas."

The boy frowned back. He didn't expect some nice greeting from Slade, really, but as that being the first thing he said—it upset him, yes. Was that his way of saying he hadn't maintained his training? His strength?

"I already know the skill so I don't bother overworking myself," He managed to mutter.

"Hm," Slade narrowed his eye, un-amused. "You'll spend today training and learning the basic language of the tribe we're meeting. Don't bother unpacking, we'll be leaving early tomorrow morning."

Mason's eyes widened. Tomorrow morning? Why so soon? And why did he have to learn the basic language of a tribe in less than twenty-four hours? Nothing really had changed in Slade's mind. He still treated him like an apprentice who strived to be perfect. He didn't want to be his apprentice anymore, but of course, Slade refused to accept this.

"Right," He growled, and roughly brushed past the man to get to the training room. If he were lucky, he might actually be able to walk away from the session.

He wasn't. Well, at least he felt like he wasn't able to. The sore feeling he got all over his body returned in large waves of pain, but he was immediately swept away from his room upon entering by Wintergreen to go study the language of the tribe while icing his body.

The only time he was left alone was late at night, and he used that time to quietly call Trey and fill him in on everything. He could tell that Trey didn't seem all too amused over all of this, but they didn't argue over anything—and hung up on a good note after Trey told the boy to get some rest, knowing he'd need it later.

At first, Mason thought he was just being over worried, but when Slade woke him up at 3am in the morning to grab his things and have Wintergreen drive them to Slade's private airport, the exhaustion began to take its toll on him. The entire ride there Mason spent wondering about what they would be doing, and just where they were going. Maybe the tribe was against anything violent, and only wanted them to track down who they were looking for. This would make his decision to come along rather pointless, because he wanted to DO something, and he wanted action.

When they landed in the middle of nowhere, Mason's expectations fell greatly. The surrounding area seemed to look like deserts, sand dunes, and more deserts. He was led off the plane, and the three walked for what seemed like several miles. When they finally approached an area with tents scattered about, almost resembling a town of sorts, a man walked up to them to greet them.

"Welcome," was the only word he spoke in fluent English, immediately switching to his nation's language to continue the conversation. While Mason was confused, Slade replied in the same language, and they started up a conversation as the man led them to a large rug on the sand, which was covered by another large cloth looking material, held up by wooden poles.

After getting set up, the rest of the day dragged on in a boring tour around the small area, an early dinner, and an introduction to the tribe. The tribe seemed to be big on pottery, jewelry, and cloths—seeing as their area seemed to be covered in it. A few people even offered their creations to Mason as gifts, but he declined in the most polite manner he could, though it always ended with the person crying for some reason.

Soon, the sun began to set, and their tour guide, who Slade informed them was named Ishmi—led them back to the place they had unpacked at earlier. It seemed as though they were going to be sleeping here, much to Mason's dislike. He was really starting to miss his bed at the mansion about now. Just as he was about to place his half-emptied bag down to use as a pillow, though, Ishmi approached the three with a shy looking boy.

"This my son," He managed to speak in English once again, and pushed the boy forward.

"Hullo," The boy said in a bad attempt at an American accent. "My name Abdun. I speak English. You are?"

Mason almost face-palmed, and watched as Slade introduced them all. Compared to what they were wearing, the boy and his father didn't fit in at all. In fact the whole area liked to wear multi-colored clothing that flowed along their bodies. Abdun was wearing a mud colored version of the outfits. Along with a necklace and some bracelets, which Mason snorted at.

"Maysoon," Abdun tried with a wide grin. "Like hard-worker."

"Yeah, whatever. So why'd your dad over there bring you here anyway?"

"I explain! Your mission."

"Go on," The teen muttered.

"It to kill. Kill man who attack us."

"Who?" Slade butt in.

Abdun hummed, most likely thinking of a way to explain. "Big…mean."

"That explains so much," Mason scoffed.

Slade threw him a glare. "We can gather more information tomorrow. Thank you, Abdun."

"Yes! I welcome you!" He cheered, making Mason groan. "But I am staying."

"Here…? At night?" Mason blinked.

"Yes!" The boy cheered again with an enthusiastic nod.

"And your dad?"

"No. I stay and protect. Be protected."

"I see," Slade put in. "I'm sure there will be plenty of room for you here, Abdun."

Mason gave Slade a glare this time.

Aw, I love Abdun, he's the cutest isn't he? More chapters to come, so no worries!

Though this is a bit related to the Titans Universe, I don't consider it at all a part of it so you won't find it there. I'll categorize it elsewhere so you'll have to bookmark it or something to find it again if you're interested in this story.