Author's Notes

To Angel of Azarath, I'll be blending elements of comics Starfire with cartoon Starfire – she'll remain the lethal warrior she was on Tamaran (primarily because instead of being with the nonlethal vigilante Robin, she is with the soldier Slade) but she's still fairly clueless about Earth culture. With this story, I want to give a new interpretation of Starfire, exploring her past in greater detail and reimagining her, which resulted in the new version of Go!

To JP-Rider, things are going to get a lot more interesting in the coming chapters as we go into the pasts of Slade and Starfire, as well as bring Blackfire to Earth and to Robin.

To shadowyshadow, thanks for the review.

To Anon, your review was certainly long, but it was fairly complicated for me to read, yet I think I got out of it the necessary elements. None of the villains of this story are going to be imbeciles or buffoonish, primarily Blackfire, who will be very deceptive, like a smug snake, playing Robin in order to get what she wants, which we'll go further in depth before the end of the story. Slade definitely is more than a match for the Justice League, especially as shown in Identity Crisis, where he took down Flash, Zatanna, Hawkman, Black Canary, Atom, and Green Arrow in just seconds, courtesy of his enhanced brainpower and his reflexes. He could even go toe-to-toe with Batman, and the Caped Crusader would have his work cut out for him if Slade chose to go for hand-to-hand combat rather than simply stab him in the back or shoot him in the head. Your picture of the perfect Wilson family is going to have to wait for a different story – I had planned from the beginning to have Adeline and Grant dead and Joseph and Rose wounded before the start of the story. Slade is a patriot, but he wouldn't hesitate to go after his own government if they targeted those he holds dearest – he is a family man above all else. I wanted to have as many elements as possible from the comics while making it my own story. As for Wintergreen, you'll have to wait and see if I decide to use him in the story, but he'll at least be mentioned.

To sm4567, the songs I chose to use for this story were those that I have heard at one point or another and felt that would work in the context of this story. If you threaten Starfire, Slade, or those that they care about, you should have a will ready as they will pound you into submission if not kill you. As to how Slade's rounds killed the Gordonians, let's just say that the lizard aliens had armor that wasn't designed to counter bullets – how would they know that they would one day go to fight humans on Earth? I never meant for Trogaar and his men to have a significant part in the story, just one or two chapters – they were just build-up fodder for Blackfire, who Robin will be encountering very soon. And Raven will come into play eventually.

To ForeverMe65, compared to the Starfire from the series, the Starfire in Go! seems out-of-character, but when taking in account the society she grew up in - her behavior makes more sense. A lot of people tend to portray Slade as a sadistic antagonist, myself not excluded from that, but there are some people who make him a more sympathetic character - Slade now has a purpose in this story, and this chapter will go deeper into Slade.

Just as a heads up for the remainder of the story, flashbacks will be in italics and are narrated in first person.

Now, let's continue the story.

"What doesn't kill you
makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely
when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you
makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter
Doesn't mean I'm over
'cause you're gone
What doesn't kill you
makes you stronger, stronger
Just me, myself, and I
What doesn't kill you
makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely
when I'm alone"
-What Doesn't Kill You, Kelly Clarkson

After killing Lord Trogaar and his men, Slade drove the Zodiac boat containing himself and Starfire back to one of his bases in the city. He needed to make sure that she was still alive after Trogaar had hit her with his blaster. Arriving at his base, Slade made sure that the security was up so he wouldn't have to deal with any intruders before going to work on Starfire.

He began pulling off the armor that comprised Starfire's shirt so he could have a better view of her back. As he took off the armor that made up her clothing, he began readying a spare set of clothing for her to wear. Looking at Starfire's body, Slade noted that she looked very human-like. Only her pure green eyes, orange skin, and her powers differentiated her from a normal human girl.

After taking off the armor, leaving her in a red undershirt and a purple skirt, as well as dark purple undergarnments beneath them, Slade examined one of the pieces of it. To most humans, it would be very heavy, but for Slade, it was relatively light, as he had enhanced strength as a result of the super-serum. Slade thought to himself, How could she support this weight? She's, what, one hundred sixty, one hundred seventy pounds, and this armor weighs maybe two hundred or so pounds? Then again, she withstood a number of hard hits, and broke my sword. Yet again, there's more to her than meets the eye.

Examining the wound on Starfire's back, Slade was surprised to see that the impact was minimal, as if it barely made a dent. Slade took a look at the armor piece from her back and saw that the round had passed right through the armor. However, he could not find the rounds that had struck her. It was an energy blast, but from what he had seen from other blasters of its ilk was that there would be a more pronounced impact. It was as if Starfire was much more resilient than she should be.

He'd have to wait for Starfire to come to before she could provide answers to the questions he was looking for. One thing that did concern Slade, a man of relatively few concerns, was Starfire when she woke up and most likely attacked him. He went to his weapons cabinet and pulled out a Smith & Wesson Model 627 and readied it in the event Starfire attacked him. He removed the live .357 Magnum rounds, not wanting to permanently injure her, and replaced them with plaster rounds, which would sting, but not penetrate. Just what Slade needed in order to ensure that Starfire would be able to answer his questions.

After several minutes of waiting, Starfire finally began to awaken, twisting and turning on the bed Slade had placed her on. Her eyes fluttered open as she began to take in her surroundings, realizing first that she was not on the Gordonian ship. Second, she realized that she was laying down on her back, and she quickly turned upside to get a better view of her surroundings. She saw herself on a bed and soon saw that her armor had been removed. As she finished looking around, she saw Slade sitting down right in front of the bed.

Slade calmly remarked, "You've been out for a while, Starfire. Nice seeing you awake."

Starfire instantly began preparing a starbolt to fire at Slade, only for Slade to shoot her in the arm, forcing her back onto the bed. She screamed, "What did you do to me?"

Slade explained, "It was a simple bullet, modified not to kill, but to cause some pain to stop a certain reaction. It's the laws of stimulus and response. I have to know why your first thought upon awakening was to attack me with your starbolts."

"I was on a bed, unconscious, and you had removed my armor. I may not be of Earth, but there are certain implications that this brings up."

"I didn't rape you if that's what you are wondering. It goes against my code. And our attack on the Gordonian ship was a success. The ship's destroyed and all of them are dead."

"Thank X'Hal for that. But, Slade, why were you taking off my armor?"

"I needed to check your wound. Trogaar shot you twice in the back. But from the looks of it, the blast barely did anything to you."

"Ah, Lord Trogaar thought he could knock me out long enough to bring me back to the Citadel, but you intervened, did you not?"

"I kicked Trogaar's ass and got you out of the ship before it blew. And I brought you here. I do have to ask you though, how did you end up a prisoner? Why were they taking you to the Citadel?"

"It is a story most complicated. Just as you say your story about your enhancements is."

Slade walked over to the bed and pulled towards him a chair that he then sat down in. "So, which of us is going to go first?"

"We could play tikker to shobef to determine that." Upon noticing Slade's confusion, she continued, "It is a simple game where you try to finish the Poem of Eternity before your opponent. A quick game would take just fifteen hours."

"I don't think we have fifteen hours. How about we just flip a coin?" Slade then pulled out of his pocket a half-dollar coin and explained, "Call which side you think the coin is going to land on. Heads or tails. If you call it right, I'll tell my story first. You good with that?"

"I am good with that, and I call the tails." Slade flipped the coin up into the air before landing onto his palm. He closed his palm and deposited the coin on the top of his other hand.

"Tails. You called it. I guess it's my story now. I ask that you refrain from asking questions until I have finished."

Where to begin...okay, I come from a prestigious military family. My father was one of the first volunteers for the Vietnam War, and served the entire war, which was surprising given how many people actively tried to avoid being enlisted. My grandfather was a high-ranking officer during the First World War, and served as a commanding officer and trainer during the Second World War and the Korean War.

Needless to say, I had a lot to live up to. From birth, I was raised to become a soldier, the skills necessary for survival. Shortly after the Vietnam War, when I turned sixteen, I enlisted into the Army myself. Normally, you have to be eighteen to become part of the Army, so I used a false identification. While I know that they saw right through my fake credentials, my family's legacy persuaded them to look the other way.

For four years, I trained among the best to become the best, a soldier that would live up to the standards of my family. While I trained, I met the closest thing I had to a friend, a Special Air Service operative named William Randolph Wintergreen.

When training was finished, Wintergreen was sent out into the field while I was sent elsewhere. My skills had made me of particular interest to the Army, and they had Major Adeline Kane to observe me. She evaluated me, and they decided to test on me a new serum. From what I had overheard regarding the serum, it was supposed to make me resist lie detectors and enhance my brainpower.

Needless to say, it didn't go entirely according to plan. I underwent a severe reaction to the serum and was bedridded in a coma for some time. Adeline told me later on that they thought I would never be able to walk again, that I would be relegated to desk work. From what she had observed in me, she knew I hated desk work and said, and I quote, "You might as well shoot him now as he will not work from a desk."

I came to, and I began to notice things about me changing, not in my appearance, but in other aspects. I found that my muscles had become able to endure much more weight than they had normally, at least twice as much as a normal human would be able to handle. I also discovered that my brain capacity had been modified. They say that you can only use ten percent of your brain at any time, which is only partially true. You can only concentrate ten percent of your brainpower to any task, as the rest of it is used for other purposes, such as basic bodily functions and memory. Now, I could concentrate ninety percent of my brainpower to any one task.

They said I could think ten moves ahead of anyone. But, perhaps most importantly for me, my body now had more rapid healing, as now many of my injuries could be handled and wouldn't impede on my performance. Regardless of the gains I received from the serum, they sent me to be a paper-pusher, thinking I was no longer able to fight.

They wouldn't listen to me when I told them that I could still fight, and was better than ever. Around the same time, Wintergreen's unit was ambushed in southern Congo. Only he survived and was taken as a prisoner by rebels. Because this was a black operation, the government decided to leave him for dead.

I wouldn't, and since they wouldn't put me in the field, I went out on my own. I made a makeshift outfit, much like the one I have now, and flew out to Congo. Armed with a machete and a Colt M1911, I proceeded to slaughter the camp where Wintergreen was held, and rescued him, bringing him back to America.

It was this heroic action that got me discharged from the Army, and Adeline soon followed me, quitting the Army in disgust over their policies. We settled down in a nice home in the Colorado countryside and we got married. Wintergreen lived nearby and was a family friend to us.

When Adeline was pregnant with my first child, the government contacted me, and decided to send me out on classified missions as the mercenary Deathstroke. I agreed, and Adeline was kept in the dark, being told I was a businessman making ventures across the globe.

Ventures, yes, as I killed whoever they told me to. I was a soldier, and I always followed orders. And by completing these missions, I was once again the soldier I always wanted to be, and supported Adeline.

A few months after I was hired by the government, Adeline gave birth to my first son, Grant. Within four years, Adeline gave birth to two more children - Rose and Joseph.

Grant seemed most interested in my line of work, wanting to become a soldier like the other men in his family. But by this point, my grandfather was long dead and so was my father. The Wilson family line now rested with me. Joseph was the exact opposite, preferring his guitar and the piano, as well as painting to express himself. But I do suspect that Adeline had trained him in hand-to-hand combat. Rose, meanwhile, took after both of her brothers, proving herself with a katana and a violin.

By the time my youngest turned eight, about three years ago, the United States government decided I had gotten too old for the job, so they forcibly retired me.

Even though they did not want my services, I was not about to quit being Deathstroke. So, I instead decided to start selling my services to the highest bidder. And I found myself employed by Qurac, Bialya, and other people I had formerly been assigned to attack. Some of these missions soon brought me to the attention of this world's superhero protectors - the Justice League.

They sent an eight man force to capture me - Superman, Hawkman, Flash, Atom, Green Arrow, Red Tornado, Zatanna, and Ice. Unfortunately for them, I knew they were coming long enough to prepare an ambush against them. First, I figured that Flash would charge at me, so I had some proximity explosives set that trapped him on the ground.

Then, it was all a matter of handling the rest one on one. I took out Zatanna with a gag that covered her mouth so she couldn't use her spells offensively. Following that, Hawkman was the next one to handled, disarming him and binding his arms. Then, Red Tornado and Ice tried to trap me, but I eluded them and severed Red Tornado's leg, preventing him from using his abilities. Ice, I threw a flare at and forced her to retreat before she melted.

Green Arrow aimed an arrow at me, but I destroyed the arrow and sawed his arrows in two, preventing him from using them. Atom tried to sneak up on me but I pulled out my laser pointer to spot him as he flew towards my neck and it forced him back to his normal size and unconscious.

It was just me versus Superman. Sure, the Kryptonian was strong, nearly invincible, and was far more powerful, but I wasn't going to let up. I actually welcome a challenge and I charged at him.

We went blow for blow. At first, he was holding back against me, I could tell, but as I pushed against him, he increased the energy he put in against me. However, he didn't know that I had a piece of kryptonite on me and I used it against him, weakening him enough so I could make my getaway.

After I had beaten the League, I soon decided to retire once and for all to devote myself to be a family man. A year later, my home was attacked by men under the command of Carlos the Jackal, who abducted my youngest son Joseph. He threatened to kill him unless he told me who hired me to kill him. I was never hired to kill him, but the Jackal wouldn't believe it.

I put on my Deathstroke armor again, revealing the truth to Adeline, and attacked the Jackal. I took him out and his men, but he had pierced Joey's throat with a knife. It didn't kill him, but he could no longer talk. Adeline claims that I was too aggressive and my actions cost Joseph his voice. As I think back on it, there was no scenario in which Joseph ended up unharmed.

Adeline was enraged, and she tried to kill me for endangering our family. She aimed for between my eyes, but I turned before she could kill me, but she hit me right in my right eye. Unfortunately, while my healing abilities covered a lot, it did not cover my organs.

A few hours later, there was an AC-130 gunship headed towards my house. I quickly told the rest of my family to get out before they got hurt. Unfortunately, it began firing before we could escape. As the house was torn apart, Adeline and Grant were both killed by a cannon round.

Rose and Joseph managed to get out in time, but from what I saw, Rose was struck in the eye with shrapnel. Like father, like daughter.

I was still inside by the time the gunship finished blowing the house up. I survived, but before I could leave, I heard a squad of Navy SEALs and Marines heading my way.

All I did was lay on the ground, slowing my heartbeat enough to feign death, and they pronounced me as dead. But the van they were using to bring me to the morgue had a little...accident and derailed off the highway. I used that opportunity to escape.

After the explosion, I can only assume that Wintergreen fled to one of my safe houses for protection. I hope Rose and Joseph did the same, but I am not entirely sure. On foot, with their injuries, having to be hidden, with minimal supplies, their odds were bleak.

With the government having labeled me as having died when my home exploded because of a faulty gas main along with my wife and eldest son, I proceeded to Jump City to make a new name for myself.

And that is how, my dear, I ultimately came across you.

Starfire could not believe just what Slade had been through, what had happened to his family. Starfire quickly pulled Slade into a tight embrace and remarked, "I am sorry for what has happened to you."

Slade commented, "Helluva life, isn't it? You want to serve your country for so long, you do serve it, and as a reward, they try to kill you for it."

"They may have taken away your family, but I doubt that my story is much better."

Elsewhere in Jump City, Robin was continuing to examine the footage he took of the Gordonian ship. He was trying to figure out what exactly was going on with the ship, who they were, and what they were doing there, not to mention who killed them.

Robin already knew they weren't human, and by examining the features of their bodies, they appeared reptilian. However, he couldn't get much more information out of the body due to the massive burns that populated them.

Based on the explosives he found on the ship, Robin was beginning to suspect that the bomber was not the same species as those on the ship. Which helped make things add up a little better as only those unknown bodies were present - all the same species.

And the cause of death wasn't constant - many were killed directly in the explosion, some had been shot repeatedly with .45-caliber bullets, some had been slashed with a sword, and others were blasted right open with some sort of laser.

There had been at least two people on board the ship attacking it, and they had some serious firepower. Robin really needed to figure out just why they were on Earth, and he may gain a lead on who blew up the ship.

Before Robin could continue deliberating, he received a call from police dispatch. He answered, "Hello? Who is this?"

The answer he got from the other end of the phone was, "Robin, this is Detective Vincent Regan. We have a crime scene downtown in which we'd like your expertise."

"What exactly was the crime scene like?"

"A convienence store. Grubs to Go. Looks like there had been a robber, a bit of a shootout, the store front had been blown up, and at least ten bodies."

Something soon began to form together in Robin's mind. "Were any of the dead reptilian?"

"All of them. Not a single human was killed, but we did find .45-caliber shells at the scene."

"I'll be there soon."

Out in space, the Empress's ship was approaching Earth, now taking care to elude the Justice League Watchtower, which even species of far distant worlds were aware of, in case they wanted to try to invade the planet (in which case they would fail miserably).

The Empress was preparing to hop out of the ship and fly directly to Earth, which would only take a minute or so. As she was readying for her flight to Earth, Lord Damyn came to her with pertinent information.

He said, "Grand Empress, are you sure about this? If you are killed on Earth, then all hell will break loose."

She demanded, "I am sure about this. The cargo must be reclaimed. And I am the one most likely to pass as a human. Give me the location, Lord Damyn."

"We have traced the coordinates of the fallen Trogaar's ship to a city the Earthlings call Jump City, California. I am displaying them now on your tablet."

The Empress pulled out the tablet she kept at her side. The enhanced computer, roughly the size of a wallet, now had the location of the cargo that the Gordonians were supposed to send to the Citadel.

"I'll be back, Damyn. I promise. A promise that I will keep."

With that, the Grand Empress flew out of her ship, leaving behind a purple trail as she headed towards Earth.

I know you may have been expecting Starfire's backstory to be this chapter - I was actually going to do her story this chapter, but I ultimately felt that the song used for this chapter better suited Slade and some of the plot elements that will occur next chapter better fit having Starfire explain her past.

For Slade's backstory, I borrowed a number of elements from the comics, but I also added in a few elements of my own to better fit Slade's persona in this story. As for Rose and Joseph, you'll get to see them in a later chapter, I guarantee.

And for readers out there looking for a challenge, I still have the "Walking Away" challenge on the forum titled Walking Away. Look under Teen Titans forums and from there, under Contests. The contest closes June 30, 2014, and I will not accept late entries. And there has been one entry into the contest.