Author: I've got the general plot (mapped out quite nicely) of this story jotted down. I hope you will enjoy this one! c: I've only wrote out to the third chapter, which isn't done yet, still working on it. Each chapter's roughly.. 2000+ words, so they're fine length-wise. Some will be more. I'll try not to go below that. Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: DC totally isn't mine. I just own the Energy Court users and whatever else I create.
[MaraJade57]
:D I'm glad you liked the first part. Eventually I'll go back and add more to it; just details, fix errors, nothing major or important. It was kind of rushed I guess. I'm trying to take my time with this one.. but dunno, hopefully it'll turn out good. Thanks for loving the first one! n_n
Spring! It was now April 14th and summer was just around the corner. Flowers peppered the ground and the warm sun shone brightly in the sky, a few spots of small grey clouds lining the perimeter around it. If you looked closely you could see the silhouette of the moon just across from the sun. It was morning, around 10 AM and a yawn was stifled by a stretching form.
A light wind floating about tickled the skin and finally a yawn did manage to escape, filling the air in a long sigh. The salty smell of the sea wafted before the nose and she recalled just where she was. Molven Island. It had been two years.. well technically almost two years. She still had a several more months to go before the two year mark. She stretched, beaming a smile.
Man, she'd grown up!
Ruba was now almost 19 years old. Her birthday was at the end of May, the 24th to be exact. She was jittery, eager to be older, yet basking in her youth.
In the last.. 19 and a half months (1 year and 8 months) she'd become a better person. Her strength, stamina, endurance, speed.. everything had been refined, set to new heights. She cracked her fingers as she half turned, bending forward to pop her back, then did the same in the opposite direction. She smiled, content.
She had changed in that long span of time. Slade had taken her broken will and shaped her into a new person, one confident, witty and deadly.
"Aahh! What a beautiful day!" She cooed as she walked down to the beach area.
"Indeed so." She paused mid-step to see a shape standing beneath a tree a bit off the path she was on. Speak of the devil.. it was Slade.
She beamed a brilliant smile at him. "Good morning, master." She hadn't just been training.
Slade taught her so much. Weapons, advanced mathematical equations, science, history, a few bits of languages (the basics, enough to hold a meager conversation), how to drive and also how to get what she wanted without having to lift a finger. She was quite talented, more than he had originally thought. She was becoming the perfect heir to his legacy. In taking her on he began to no longer see her as merely an apprentice. She had become like.. one of his own.
The thought of Grant, Rose and Jericho churned his stomach, but he shoved his past family back into his caged memories where they belonged. He had to focus on his apprentice. She was here, they weren't.
Ruba, on her side, had begun to see Slade as a father-figure. It was hard not to. The man was actually kind to her, yet stern, unwavering in his determination to be the greatest mercenary.. and to make her the best as well.
"Good morning, Cecilia." He replied back, his white hair blowing around his face. She had grown use to him without his mask. Out here they were safe from detection; satellites, planes and boats couldn't see the island. It was as if it didn't exist. That was the beauty of advanced technology.
"Anything on the agenda for today?" She asked with a slightly tilted head as she placed her hands on her hips.
He shook his head. "Free day. Do as you like responsibly. Wintergreen and I are heading to New York. In our stead Jeremiah-" The owner of the island. "-will be here shortly to watch over you." Jeremiah Marcov was a very strange and quiet man, a brooder. He was a great host, hospitable, but he wasn't very social.. at least to her he wasn't.
"Anything exciting in New York?" She asked, head tilting further.
He smiled, his smooth face dark from the shadows of the tree behind him. "Lorius has found himself in trouble. I'm going to find and retrieve him. Wintergreen knows New York well so he will keep me from getting lost, plus he's going to gather supplies." He explained.
Slade could have sighed, but he kept that inside him. Lorius was young, rash and stubborn, but he was talented, with similar powers as Ruba so he kept him in his payroll for the time being. When he brought him back he'd teach the boy to be a better mercenary.
"I see." She said, turning to start walking again. He wanted to roll his eyes but instead trailed after her and walked beside her to the beach.
"There was something else I wished to discuss with you, Cecilia." She arched a brow as she glanced up at him, but redirected her gaze to the path. "Remember when I said you could be more than just my apprentice?"
She nodded. She recalled such words.
You will always have a place by my side. Perhaps some day.. even more.
The words tickled her heart pleasantly. "I remember." She said softly.
He pulled out a folded paper from within his pocket and handed it to her. She accepted it, curiosity rising as she opened it to see what it was. Her heart skipped a beat at the words printed on the very top.
CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION.
It was dated, signed, filled out. He gestured to a blank line with a black x mark beside it. She stopped on the pathway, reading it. "You sign here-" He gestured to the x. "-and it will be legal since you're of age to make your own recognized decisions."
She noticed his signature. Slade Wilson. Slade wasn't some codename.. It WAS his name. "Will I have to change my name?"
He shook his head. "Entirely up to you, but in my opinion Cecilia Entriger suits you."
"Yeah, yet I like the ring Cecilia Wilson has to it." She gave him a clever smirk. He just shook his head, smiling. She pocketed the paper after re-folding it.
Her thoughts turned to Sari and she felt a sudden wave of guilt and sadness wash over her. She frowned. Slade noticed this sudden change. "Something the matter?"
She fake-smiled and shook her head, tossing those thoughts aside. "Nothing, just my mind being a jerk is all."
He didn't respond, merely walked on ahead. She followed and soon they arrived at the beach. She smiled at the lapping light colored waves, the blue sky and the sunny weather. It was such a beautiful day.
The clear water met with golden sand that was fleck with black rocks. A few trees framed this area and the grass just at the ends of the sand and beyond were green and colored with various flowers and bushes. The aroma in the air, though, was the smell of the sea, a nice scent she had come to love. She could see a boat approaching on the horizon and knew it was Jeremiah. She had only met the guy a few times, mostly he avoided speaking to her like she was the plague.
"I will be leaving when he arrives. Mind yourself, Cecilia." He was looking at her with an expression she had come to associate with expectation. He was clearly warning her, not like he had to. She would be fine.
As morning sauntered by evening settled in. It was around 1 PM when the boat finally stopped at the long wooden dock a bit away from the beach. It was a pretty big vessel, but slow. They made their way over to greet Jeremiah just as Wintergreen came down with two suitcases. Disguises, he had told her sometime ago. He couldn't very well buy things as Slade or Deathstroke. Well he could but it was time consuming when cops were called and heroes appeared to take him down.
"Hello, my friend!" Slade smirked at the tall form moving down the stairs that had been laid out by the ship's workers.
The guy was like.. six foot even, just a bit under Slade, equally skinny, but built like the mercenary she trained under. They had worked together apparently, Slade had told her. He was dressed in sea-fairing clothes, mostly casual pieces; long dark pants rolled up to the knees with buckled boots and a loose navy jacket with no shirt beneath, revealing the abs the man had worked to obtain. He had such straight blonde hair that fell to his mid-back, with a clip holding it all in one bundle as it swayed behind him. His eyes were like the ocean, a strange mixture of light blue and green.
He glanced over as he finally hit the wooden dock and caught her eye. He frowned but looked at Wintergreen and Slade as he walked over.
"Hello, comrades." Jeremiah greeted them.
Movement on deck caught her attention and she studied the source, feeling a sudden chill race down her spine. A young boy was moving down the stairs, coming over to stand beside Jeremiah. He had spiked black hair that had streaks of gold in it with pale green eyes that swirled with a shimmer of murky brown, like that color was trying to override the green yet was unable to ever even get halfway. It was interesting to see. He had a green-grey jumpsuit on, a black ball cap blocking the sun from hurting his eyes.
That was the first time she had met this boy.. and the first time her heart started beating fast, outside of battle.
The boy stood beside Jeremiah, a bored expression on his face.
"And this is?" Slade asked, eye flicking to the boy after he shook hands with Jeremiah.
"Boy, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine, Slade Wilson. Slade this is Alex, my son." Jeremiah introduced the pair. "I brought him along in hopes of keeping your apprentice occupied and watched while I work."
"I didn't know you had a son." Slade smirked at the lad who seemed to not care about this man before him. He folded his arms across his chest, a frown on his face.
"Adopted." Jeremiah clarified.
"Hello, sir. I have heard so much about you." The boy spoke, his voice light and enchanting. It wasn't deep, but not youthful and he looked around her age. He stuck out a hand, expecting it to be shook.
Slade took the hand and smiled. The boy was respectful, if a bit distantly. Jeremiah had raised him to be cold like him likely.. unless he was like that before he was adopted. "Pleasure." He let go, turning to Wintergreen. "We must depart now." He walked past the trio, Wintergreen beside him, up the stairs and into the boat.
Jeremiah turned to Ruba and gestured to the boy. "Show him around, if you would."
She merely nodded as he turned and left the two alone. She studied the silent boy, who had refolded his arms and was staring off into the wooded area.
"So Alex.. It's nice to meet you." She hesitantly said, her voice causing him to turn to her. His eyes were.. dark from the shadow of his cap. He looked almost menacing with that unblinking stare.
"And you are who exactly? 'Dad' didn't brief me on this encounter."
She smiled, but it was a tense one, she was nervous. "Cecilia. I'm Slade's apprentice."
The corner of his lips twitched into a bare smirk. "Are you a mercenary like him?"
She shook her head. "I'm a fighter, but I don't do the whole contract, money business." She explained.
"Fight me." He demanded, turning his body to fully face her.
Her brows furrowed. "Why?"
"I haven't had a good fight in awhile. You look weak, it'll be an easy win for me." He stated.
She snorted. "I'm hardly weak." Just who did he think he was? She had improved greatly; she was hardly some pathetic foe.
His smirk faded. "Prove it, little girl."
Oh, no, he did not just call her little!
The wind picked up and tossed her hair. She lifted a finger and, restraining her desire to bite the challenge, said simply, "Perhaps after I give you the tour."
He dipped his head in a nod. "Acceptable." She turned and walked up the path, indicating with a swish of her hand for him to follow. She heard his gentle footsteps behind her and she led him toward the facility in relative silence. It was going to be a very long day, that much she knew.