Gar stared at the old house as a flood of memories rushed before his eyes. He could see his parents sitting on the porch, relaxing after a hard day working in their lab. Back then the house was fairly new and in good condition. Nearly twenty years had passed, and Father Time had taken its toll on the abandoned structure, which now looked decrepit and derelict.
The villagers of course had fled shortly after young Garfield was bitten by the legendary and feared green monkey, as they feared the legendary creature. The few that dared to stay changed their minds when they saw that the Logan boy was now as green as the terrifying monkeys and had no desire in sharing his fate. Not long after that was when the disaster happened, when his parents perished in the waterfall accident. When he heard of the accident the village chief took pity on the now mutant Garfield and cared for him until agents from the American government came to collect him.
Gar shook his head as he snapped out of his flashback. He turned to the sergeant.
"Please wait for me outside, in case the house collapses. If that happens I'll need someone to dig me out."
The sergeant nodded. As soon as Logan entered the house he turned to one of his soldiers.
"Get the radio out. We need to let the Commander know we found it."
The soldier dropped his backpack and as he was about to retrieve the radio, he heard something approach. He looked deep into the vegetation and saw a human figure leap out of the foliage with superhuman speed.
He never had a chance to warn his comrades.
-( - )-
The house looked worse on the inside than on the outside. All the windows were smashed, and the elements had done a number on the structure. The ceiling sagged in several places as the timbers holding up the roof were rotted. There were several holes in the roof as well and the afternoon sunlight leaked through them, casting weird and ominous shadows.
He walked carefully, but after several steps one of the floorboards snapped and he nearly fell into the basement below. He continued walking and made it to the wooden stairs that led down into the basement, but decided against using them as they were already in a state of partial collapse.
He walked back to where the broken floorboard was and began to pull the other boards off the floor. After a few minutes the basement was exposed, and he jumped down into it.
The remains of his parents' lab, which also were in a state of ruin, greeted him. He walked past the tables that were covered in dust and cobwebs, with beakers and test tubes that were long forgotten. He knew what he was looking for and made his way to his father's old office. Other than the dust and cobwebs, the office was eerily well preserved. There was a name plate on the desk, which announced its owner's name "Dr. Mark Logan.", and his father's journal was still open on the day of the waterfall accident. He looked at it, and it said:
"Marie is right; we need some more family time. The new canoe arrived yesterday and it's a beauty, it's amazing what you can buy from a catalogue these days. Marie is making a lunch to take and we'll go paddling down the river. For some reason there are no crocodiles downstream from the village and that suits me fine. I can't wait to see Gar's face when we head out. He's been asking for a canoe trip for ages."
Logan sniffled as a tear dripped down his face. Those were probably the last words his father ever wrote. He picked up the journal and slipped it into the knapsack on his back. He then saw a portrait on the desk. It was covered in dust and he wiped it clean with his sleeve. It was a family portrait of the three of them. He also slipped into knapsack. Those treasures secured, he returned to his original mission.
There was a small closet in the back of the room and in that closet was a safe where his father kept his notes. Gar knew the combination to the safe; it was the day, month and year of his birth.
He opened the closet door and as expected the safe was there. What was unexpected was that the safe was wide open.
It was also empty. Logan stared dumbfounded at the now vacant safe.
"It can't be … who would take his notes … who even knew about them?" He muttered to himself.
Gar began to fight back the tears welling in his eyes. His excursion had been completely in vain. His father's notes, with the formula for the serum were gone.
"I came here for nothing!" Gar shouted in anguish.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that." A familiar baritone announced.
Gar felt a chill run down his spine and he spun around.
"Slade! It was you! You took the notes!"
-( - )-
A black hemisphere rose out of the riverbank and melted away, revealing Raven's blue and black clad form. The jungle was oppressively hot and humid, but she paid no mind to it. She saw the jeep and walked up to it. She saw that all the gear had been taken from it. She quickly scanned the vicinity with her senses, but no one was nearby. She levitated about forty feet into the air and looked around. There were plenty of footprints, which seemed to go in every direction. After a brief moment she found some that led to a trail into the foliage. She landed at trailhead and followed the trail. She could feel his aura, though it was very weak by now, along the trail. Still, it was strong enough to follow and she continued to walk. The trail was long and when space allowed it she levitated and flew along it. After almost an hour she reached a clearing.
She initially hid in the foliage, surveying the scene. She could see a run down house from her hiding place. She could feel Gar's aura, but only residually. That meant he wasn't there. But there was more, his aura felt troubled … even threatened.
Raven's pulse quickened, and as she began to step out of the jungle she saw it: three supine forms lying on the ground, motionless and … lifeless.
There had been ambushed. And if they were dead them maybe he was …
No, that was not an option. Throwing all caution to the wind, Raven flew into the house. His aura felt stronger there, but it was still residual. Raven rubbed her temples as she tried to calm herself. He wasn't in the house … so where was he? Did he slay the soldiers? Was she too late and he accidentally converted himself into a monster?
She shook the thought away. No, he would never do that. But if he didn't, then who murdered those men?
Raven glided down into the basement lab. She could tell from its state that no serums had been prepared there and a sigh of relief escaped her lips. She then noticed the open and empty safe. What did he find in there? Whatever it was, he took it and left with it. But where did he go?
Raven reached out with her senses, straining to determine which way he had gone. And that was when she sensed the other aura. Its owner was well trained in hiding it, but she felt it, and recognized it.
"Slade" She murmured. "Why are you here?"
She suppressed a shudder.
"And where did you take Gar?"
-( - )-
A few hours earlier …
Gar balled his fists. He saw that Slade had a notebook in his hands. His father's notebook.
"That belongs to me. Hand it over, Slade."
The one eyed villain chuckled. "How does the saying go, Logan? 'Possession is nine tenths of the law'?"
"Give it to me."
Slade produced a retractable bo staff, which he extended. "If you want it, you'll have to take it from me."
Gar produced his own bo staff. "If that's how you want it."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Logan."
The two men began to fight. Bo staffs clashed. Kicks and punches were thrown. Slade didn't cut the smaller man any slack and the two fought furiously, until Slade was able to kick Garfield in the solar plexus. Logan fell down, but quickly remembered the technique Robin taught him to recover from having his wind knocked out and was back on his feet within a moment.
"Well done, Logan, well done. I see that Robin taught you well … but not well enough."
"I'm going to kick your ass, Slade."
"Garfield, Garfield." Slade chuckled. "You couldn't beat me when you had powers, what makes you think you can beat me now?"
"I'm gonna make you eat those words."
"Will you? I know you can't. Just like Robin knows you can't." He paused before continuing.
"Just like Raven knows you can't."
"Liar! She believes in me!"
Slade laughed loudly. "She believes in you? My dear boy, she only feels pity for you.
He paused again.
"She's only sticking with you because she's a creepy witch and demoness, and no one else will have her."
Gar screamed as he lunged at Slade, who parried his attacks. Slade counterattacked, but in a swift and elegant move Gar dropped to the ground and with a swift kick he swept Slade off his feet. Before the Titans' nemesis could recover he was on top of him, with a huge knife at Slade's throat.
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you." Gar snarled in a feral voice.
"I have a very good one." Slade calmly replied.
A Slade-bot walked out of the shadows. It wasn't armed with a laser pistol. It was carrying … a green monkey, which it threw at Gar.
It landed on him, knocking him over. Before he could react it sank its teeth into his shoulder and Gar screamed in pain. The monkey then bolted and was gone.
Gar rose to his feet, his hand covering the bite, which was now bleeding profusely. As Slade rose to his feet the robot applied first aid to the wound on Gar's shoulder, stopping the hemorrhage.
"I'm … I'm infected again!" Gar's voice warbled. "You had this planned from the beginning!"
"And without the serum you will die in twenty for hours. But I have good news, Logan. I already prepared the serum and will be happy to give it to you."
Logan glared at the former assassin known as Deathstroke. "What do you want from me, Slade?"
"A very small favor, Logan, a very small favor. And in exchange I will give you the serum."
"How do I know you'll give me the serum, or that you even have it?"
"You don't know that; but what other choice do you have? Tick Tock, Logan. Time isn't on your side. Just do what I ask and you'll live to see your precious Raven again. I might be a villain Logan, but I do have a code of honor. I stand by my word and I will give you the serum your parents invented. So what is your choice?"
Gar pursed his lips.
"OK, what do I have to do?"
-( - )-
Poor Gar, he just made a bargain with the devil. But what choice does he have? Will Raven catch up with them?