I have no idea where this came from, it just happened...
Slade allowed me a few days of rest once we returned home. I didn't necessarily need it, but accepted it anyway. I spent the majority of that time either in my own room, lost in thought or in the gym, working, training, doing gymnastics, or beating the ever-living hell out of the punching bag. I didn't see Slade much, he told me was working on a new project and that when it was ready, I could see it. I wasn't sure what 'it' was, though. The time ticked by slowly, a few days with nothing relatively productive to do left me bored out of my mind.
But when the time came however, Slade threw me back into training with an almost unmerciful hand. As promised, he had gathered a few criminals from Jump City to initiate a mock fight between the Titans and myself. The Hive students he managed to get were nothing like the Titans. They were slow, ignorant, naïve kids with no idea how to execute a decent attack. I easily took them out time and time again. Slade sent that group back and requested another, and another and another, having been assured each time that he was receiving the best HIVE students the school had to offer. Despite his efforts, he was annoyed at the money he had put out for the students. He sent them back, dissatisfied. The head mistress urged him to accept another bunch of more professional students, but Slade denied her, saying that if the previous groups he had requested were the best, then she was running a shitty school. That being said, he hung up the phone and sparred with me himself. A much more difficult opponent than the others, but still, we fought well together at the same skill level. After 13 years of training with Slade and being raised by him, one wouldn't expect much less.
It took two weeks after our return for Slade to bring up the one thing I was dreading most.
"Dick," he said, "I know you don't want to, but it's time to begin your tolerance training with solitary confinement."
I groaned, wanting nothing more to un-hear what he had just said.
"Slade…no…"
"Don't argue," he ordered.
"Yes, sir…how long do I have to stay in there?"
"I don't know. Most likely for one week at first, then I'll let you out and increase the amount of time each time you're put back in."
"Can't I just…I don't know, like knock it out in one go?"
"Technically, yes, but it'll be much easier on your conscious if you start out small and increase every so often. That's how I did it when I went through it," he explained with regret in his voice.
He knew I didn't want to do this, but, hell, even I knew I had to. Slade stood up and walked to the door, waiting on me to follow him. Reluctantly, I did. He led me down to the third level of the house where he kept cells and random rooms. He stopped at a heavy metal door labeled 306. I felt dread coursing through me. Damn, I didn't want to go in there. Slade turned to look at me and slid the door open.
"It's for the best," he said, "trust me, I don't want you to have to do this either."
"Sure…" I stepped through the door. The room was sparsely stocked. A small cot sat in the far right corner, a simple shower head stuck out of the wall on the far left. Next to that sat a toilet and a sink with no mirror. I sighed.
I whipped around as the door slammed shut behind me.
"Slade?" I called, knocking on the door. There was no response. I let my hand fall to my side.
"And so it begins…" I moved over to the cot and sat down on it. The frame squeaked loudly, the mattress was hard and the room was cold.
One week. Seven days…
I could do this.
I didn't even have a clock. I didn't know how long I'd been in there, but I guessed about 6 hours or so. There were no windows so I couldn't see the sunlight. This was going to be harder than I thought. It wasn't as bad at the Tower when I didn't know how long I'd be there, but trying to guess how long I had left was awful.
My stomach was growling at me, begging for food, my eyes drooped, begging for sleep but my body was stiff and begging for physical activity. I sighed and pushed myself off the bed. At least I could do something about one of those things. I set myself up to do some pushups and went at it. Sweat dripped from my face and to the floor with a splat. My arms burned, but I kept going. I counted out loud to drown out the silence. At the 200th rep, I sat back and wiped the sweat from my brow.
Now for crunches. Man, I hate crunches. As I rolled over on my back to start, the small partition at the bottom of the door slid open. I waited as Slade slid a tray of food under it. He made no sound except for to slide the partition closed again.
"Thanks…" I scoffed. He had laid out chicken and vegetables covered in gravy with bread and water.
How appetizing. Once I finished with the food, I slid the tray back to the opening and sat back down on the bed, forgetting about the crunches, and curled up.
This was going to be a long week.
I was so damn bored. I don't know how many days had passed, I didn't know what time it was. But, I hadn't gone berserk, which I guess was a good sign. I couldn't work out enough, I wasn't fed as much as I usually ate, which I presume was from lack of exercise, and the silence was killing me. I didn't like this at all. I often found myself listening closely for any sound from the outside, but the only time I heard anything was when Slade slid the food under the door twice a day or a fresh change of clothes. I often found myself talking to myself or humming a melody just to drown out the silence. Heh, maybe I was going kind of crazy.
But finally, when my time in solitary had come to a close, I was amazed when the door finally actually opened. Slade stepped in as I stood from the bed, ready to leave the place for a few days.
"Hey," I said, walking up to him.
"Hi."
I pushed my way past him and went straight to the gym, dying for room to move. I headed to the cabinet where the weapons were kept and withdrew two bo staffs. Tossing one to Slade, I moved to the sparring ring. He followed me.
"Bored?" he asked with a lilt in his voice.
"You have no idea."
Slade chuckled and I attacked. My muscles were tight and my motions weren't as fluid as they could be. But, once I got going, I loosened up. Slade never went on offence and just let me get out the pent up energy I'd been storing for the past week. Once sweat started flowing, I backed off ending the spar as I retracted my staff.
"Miss me?" I asked, panting.
"No, not really," he joked.
"Whatever, dude." I placed my staff back where it came from and went upstairs to shower and change out of the clothes I'd been wearing for two days. The hot water felt amazing and I was in a state of ecstasy when I was finally able to wash my hair with shampoo. Solitary confinement meant I couldn't have anything except the bare necessities, and shampoo wasn't one of those things. I scrubbed my skin clean and stepped out once the water ran cold. I dressed quickly, drying and fixing my hair before brushing my teeth. Finally, I pulled a tube of makeup from the cabinet. Slade had purchased the make up to match my exact skin tone so I could hide the scar inflicted by Saran. I only wore it when I went out as Dick; Stygian had a scar. The scar made him more fierce and intimidating.
I walked back to the kitchen, looking for Slade. When I didn't find him, I wrote a note and stuck it on the fridge.
Going out.
-D
It had been a while since I'd been out on the town. After being at Marxis's haunt for 6 months, I was ready to see normal people again. So, I grabbed a hoodie to slip over my head, stuck my wallet in my pocket, grabbed the keys to my bike and rode off. Slade wouldn't care. I found a quiet place to park my bike downtown. Flipping my hood over my head, I walked down the street. Jump City. My home.
I wasn't born here, but I was raised here. I've never known anything else, save for the circus that I didn't remember. I knew some of the people well, but most I didn't. The criminals were stupid, but Slade insisted on being on their good side. Tonight, though, I wasn't going to spend my time at the bar that attracted them. No, I was going somewhere else. I was going to the club where people my age hung out. The Scream was the only place underage teens could get drinks and not get arrested. The cops stayed away for some reason or other. I suspect the owner kept them at bay somehow. I didn't care either way. I hadn't been there in a while, and I wasn't exactly considered a regular, but whenever I went out as Dick, I usually ended up there.
The Scream was crowded as usual, but I made my way in anyway. I found a stool near the bar and watched the people around me. They were clueless as to the threat I was. The girls were dancing drunk, the guys encouraging them to keep drinking so they could take advantage of them. I shook my head, ordered a beer, and lit a cigarette.
Slade always said to keep sober. He always said to just order a drink to fit in, but don't get drunk. Well, I didn't plan on getting drunk, but I didn't plan on going home sober either.
Slade locked me in a room for a week, I deserved this.
I finished my cigarette before drinking the beer. I tapped my foot to the music and watched, not interested in getting in on any of the action.
"Hey, what's up?" came a shrill voice from my left. She was a shorter girl with long black hair and blue eyes.
"Not interested," I said, waving her off. She scoffed and walked away with a flurry of hair. I ordered another beer and drank it slow.
"Hey, I know you. You're Richard Grayson," came another voice to my right.
I took a swig of my beer and looked her over. She had long white hair and pale skin. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place it.
"And you are?"
"I'm Rose."
"Well, Rose," I said, "I'm not interested in hooking up wit-"
"Oh trust me," she said, "I'm not either."
"Then what the hell do you want?" I asked, signaling the bartender for yet another beer as I finished the second.
"I want to talk to you about your guardian, Slade."
I paused and looked at her.
"Why? What do you know about him?"
"Can we take this somewhere a little quieter?" I stood up and waited for her to walk to wherever she wanted to talk. She led me out the back and up a fire escape.
"Ok…so?" I asked. My head was a little fuzzy, but I wasn't tipsy yet.
"How is he?"
"He…He's fine. Why do you care?"
"He's my father."
I spit what beer I had in my mouth onto the roof.
"What?!"
"My name is Sarah Rose Wilson. Hasn't he ever said anything about his kids?"
"Kids? There's more than one?"
"Yeah, there's three of us. He hasn't told you?"
"No, he hasn't."
"Has he told you anything about his past? Like…how he lost his eye or why his wounds heal so fast?"
I shook my head. I always assumed he was a metahumans like the Titans and had lost his eye during a fight or contract. I never really bothered to find out. But, I sat and listened to her story.
"When Slade was 16, he ran away from home. His father was an abusive bastard, and Slade just wanted to get away from him. He joined the Army. After he enlisted and had returned from his first tour, he had a new commander named Adeline Kane. She took a special interest in him and started him on an advanced training regimen; training him privately. She taught him how to fight. She taught him how to be selfless. She taught him how to kill. And she taught him how to love. When Adeline got pregnant with his child, she was discharged, but she never told anyone who's baby it was. She went back to her home in San Diego and had the baby. Through their correspondence, they decided on the name Grant. While Slade was in the military, he volunteered for and underwent an experiment. The military was attempting to develop a serum that would increase resistance to truth serums. It didn't work, though. Slade was put into a coma for ten months. Adeline went crazy with worry not being able to hear from him. When Slade came to, the scientists discovered they had created a super soldier. Slade's stamina and strength had increased a hundred fold, his reflexes quick, his brain capacity expanded, and his healing factor insanely quick. He woke up crazy and went on a path of destruction through the compound. After failing to sedate him, they managed to stay out of his way until he calmed down. Eventually he did, and after several tests, they found their serum had failed in its original purpose, and destroyed all they had left since it killed every other volunteer in the study. His commanders decided that his condition was unstable and honorably discharged him," she explained.
I took it all in, so Slade was in the military, that much I had figured out for myself. But the whole story seemed…insane. Why hadn't he told me this before? I had no reason not to believe this Rose chick. There was no doubt that she was in fact his daughter…but why am I just now hearing all this? I'd been with Slade for 13 years. He raised me for God's sake. I saw him like a father. Didn't he see me as a son?
Didn't fathers tell their sons things like this? All I could feel was…betrayal.
"Ok, so…what about the other kid?"
"When Slade was discharged, he returned home and called Adeline to come live with him so they could be a family and so he could meet his son for the first time. Ten months after their reunion, their second son was born. His name was Joseph."
"And you?"
"I was the third. Joseph is two years older than I am."
"Well, this is all terrific. Why haven't I ever heard of you?"
"Slade doesn't talk about his family."
"Why?"
"It's a long story."
"Well, let's go get a few beers. I'd love to hear it," I replied somewhat angrily. Rose nodded and I headed back downstairs. I ordered 6 more beers and took them to the roof. Turns out, she didn't drink. Oh well, more for me. I popped the top off my fourth beer and waited.
"Ok, so?"
"Slade was pretty torn up about being kicked out of the Army, so he made a new name for himself. Deathstroke the Terminator. Adeline never knew, but Grant had figured it out. He found Slade's keep under the house and confronted him about it. Slade, in hopes not to let Adeline find out, agreed to train Grant for his silence. He trained for 8 years. When Grant was 15 years old, he tried to take on a contract and follow in Slade's footsteps. But it was a set up. One of Slade's rivals had given him the contract, led him to a ware house and shot him dead in his tracks. Slade didn't tell Adeline right away, hoping to kill the man that killed his son first. She thought he was at a friends house and wouldn't be home until after school the next day. Well, the next day, that same man blew up my school. I was caught in the blast. Slade had no choice but to tell Adeline that not only was I dead, but Grant was as well. She was pissed. Slade swore to her that he would find the man, although he never did. The day after that, Joey was kidnapped. Slade went to look for him, but when he found him, Joey was tied to a chair, his throat slit open. It was then that Slade broke. His children, all three of us, had died. When he told Adeline about Joseph, she swore she was going to kill Slade, pulled a gun on him and shot out his right eye. She left him that day with nothing. His family ripped up by the roots and thrown away," Rose said. Tears fell down her eyes as she told her story.
"But wait," I said, cracking open beer number five, my head spinning slightly, "if you were caught in the blast of your school, how are you standing here talking to me?" I asked.
"Well, what Slade didn't know was the serum injected into his veins 15 years prior not only enhanced him as a human, but it changed his DNA as well. I have the same healing factor. I don't know if you know, but Slade is immortal. Thus, so am I. I woke up a few days later laying in a casket ready to be buried. When I woke up, I was surprised to see Adeline sitting there crying over my corpse. She too was surprised to see me rise from my death. Once she got over the initial shock, she took me and went to find Joey, assuming he too had the same healing factor. He was lying in a casket in another room where she waited for him to wake up. Soon, he did, but his healing factor wasn't as strong as mine. He's a mute now. He's also a Titan and goes by the name Jericho."
"Uh huh…and does Slade know about all this?"
"Yes,"
"The why the hell hasn't he told me?" I asked. My body swayed back and forth with the alcohol.
"I told you, he doesn't like to talk about it," she said.
I swallowed the rest of my beer and opened the next.
"What about your mom? Where is she?"
"Hell if I know, but if she ever sees him again, she'd probably still shoot out his other eye," she chuckled. I laughed too even though it wasn't really funny.
"So…if you and Joseph are alive, where is Grant?"
"He was born before the experiment. Grant is dead."
I nodded, not really caring at the moment.
"You kind of look like Grant, you know?"
"Hehehe, maybe that's why Slade let's me sleep under his roof," I laughed.
"Probably…so, how is it?"
"It's good," I said, offering her a beer. She turned it down.
"No, I meant how has it been living with Slade?"
"Oh! Fine. He can be a jerk sometimes. I just got out of solitary."
"Confinement?! Why?"
"It was…tolerable training."
"Tolerance training?"
"Yeah that. He's been good to me though. He's taught me a lot," I said, "We just got back from some island in the middle of the ocean."
She laughed, likely thinking I was imagining things.
"I almost died there. Sarxane and Nyssa did. But I'm alive. I got this scar there," I said, pointing to my face, not remembering I had make up over it.
She laughed again, "Ok, Richard. I think you've had too much to drink to carry on a decent conversation. I'm going to go, but I'm usually here if you ever want to talk," she said.
I nodded, "k."
She stood up and walked back downstairs leaving me to my drunken thoughts.
So, Slade had a family? He never told me about it. The jerk. I should give him a piece of my mind for keeping that information from me. He was an experiment. That's why he's so strong and smart and fast and heal-y. Hm. I opened my sixth beer and downed that one.
I wonder if I could find Joey? Why would I want to do that? He was a titan…that meant Slade's family was good. I wonder if Rose had another identity? I did. I was his family too, right? He adopted me…well. He took me in, he was my guardian. But I wasn't adopted. There were a lot of adopted kids…
Jason was adopted. I remember him telling me that. He was raised by Bruce Wayne…I wonder if he was adopted too? His parents were dead, he was rich. Jason wasn't rich though because he was just adopted.
I laughed out loud. That's a lot of adopted people.
I threw over the sixth bottle and opened the seventh. There were only 2 more to drink after this one…may as well not waste them. Slade always said not to waste stuff. I was suddenly hungry, I wonder what kind of food I should eat. The club had food. Slade would probably want me to eat food at home. I should finish the beer and go there to eat. I was in the mood for pizza. The Titan's like pizza…they fed me a lot of pizza. I wonder if Slade liked pizza? I'd never seen him eat any…I'd have to ask him. I looked at the last two bottles of beer…I wonder how quickly I could drink them…
I laughed, finished the beer I was on and popped open the last two. I looked at my watch and waited for the next minute to start…
I picked up the eighth beer, chugged it and then the next. I looked at my watch. It was fuzzy…what time was it? I squinted at it and moved it back and forth trying to see it…it said…
Oh shit. 3:27 AM. Slade was going to be pissed! I jumped up, ready to go back downstairs, but stumbled and faceplanted into the roof.
"Ok, Dick…take it slower," I slurred to myself. I pushed myself up and leaned against the wall that separated me and the sidewalk two stories below. I waited for my head to clear, but it didn't, so I walked down the fire escape shakily. I had to get home…Slade was going to be so mad at me…
I bypassed the entrance to the club, totally forgetting to pay for my drinks and made my way down the street. I wasn't totally aware that I was drunk, and I had no idea I was moving so slow. When I finally reached my bike, I fumbled around in my pocket for the keys. I found them beneath my cell phone and threw my leg over the bike. Just as I placed the keys in the ignition, my phone rang. I fumbled to answer it, almost missing the call.
"Hello?" I slurred.
"Dick, where are you? It's four in the morning."
"I'm…I don't remember…I was…"
"You went to The Scream. My god, you're drunk, aren't you?"
"I dunno…I'll be home in a minute…" I mumbled.
"No. Don't get on your bike."
"I'll be fine," I said, revving the engine, "I'll be there soon."
"No! Dick, turn off your bike, right now, that's and order!"
I paused a moment, sure I could get home by myself, but thought better of it once Slade barked at me again.
"Ok…I'll be here."
"Where is here?"
"I'm in the hallway."
"The hallway?"
"Yea…bye."
"Dick, no, wait-"
I hung up the phone on him and slid off the bike. I didn't know what to do, so I walked back out to the street. We didn't live far…I could walk.
But I was tired. I was sweating and it was really hot outside. I took off my hoodie and discarded it onto the ground. I leaned against the wall, pulled a cigarette from the pack and slid down to sit on the ground. I lit the cigarette. It seemed like hours passed, but Slade pulled up in his charger before I was even halfway done smoking. I watched as the car door opened. His keys jingled as he slid them into his pocket and walked over to where I was sitting. I tried to look up at him, but doing so made the world spin.
"You're a sorry sight," he said looking me over. I must have looked pitiful swaying the way I did. My cigarette held shakily in my fingers as I raised to my lips to take a drag on it. Slade slid down the wall and sat next to me in silence. I finished my cigarette and threw the butt away from me.
"What the hell are you doing, Dick?" Slade asked gently once I was thru.
"Gettin' drunk…" I shrugged, the movement causing me to fall over onto Slade, my head resting against his shoulder.
"How much did you drink?"
I shrugged again, not really sure how much I had or what it was. I felt like something important happened, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember what it was.
"Do you like pizza?"
"What?"
"Pizza. Do you like it?"
"Ah…no, not particularly."
"Oh…the Titans fed me a lot of pizza…I like pizza. I never eat it though…"
"Dick, you're talking nonsense."
"Nah…I was just curious, you know? Cuz pizza is good."
Slade sighed.
"Are you mad at me, Slade?" I asked, feeling sober in my musings.
"You wouldn't believe how disappointed I am in you. Yes, I'm mad."
"Oh…shit," I mumbled, "are you gonna…um…" I didn't finish, unsure where I was going with the question.
"I'll deal with it tomorrow, Dick. Right now, you need to go home and get some rest."
I nodded, closing my eyes as I leaned against Slade.
"I knew you'd be mad…I didn't mean to make you mad though. I'm sorry…please don't be disappointed in me."
Slade didn't respond, likely unsure of what to say, so I continued.
"I know I'm not your son, but I still look to you like a father…and thanks…"
"You don't have to thank me, Dick."
"But you didn't have to take me in…"
"No, but I did anyway. It's in the past, and I wouldn't change it."
"Not even now? You said you were disappointed."
"That doesn't mean I want to go back and leave you in that alley. Yes, I do consider you as a son, Dick. I'm proud of you, I'm proud of the man you've become."
"But you're not proud of me now," I mumbled into his shoulder.
"I'm still proud of you Dick, I'm just not proud of the choices you've made tonight," replied Slade.
"Are you gonna beat me?"
"We'll see, son."
I nodded, "I know you will…" I trailed, "I'm sorry I disappointed you."
Slade sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
"We all do stupid things, Dick."
"I know…but you said to stay sober, and I didn't."
Slade didn't speak. It probably wasn't the best idea for me to remind him that I disobeyed and order and a general rule of thumb, but my mind was too hazy to worry about it right at that moment.
Slade sat there another moment, allowing me the comfort I got from the simple arm draped across my shoulder. We never shared moments like this, but I felt a warmth every time he laid a comforting hand on my shoulder or those rare times when he soothed the pain from the leather strap. I felt the same comfort when he took time to care for my injuries when he himself never had any to take care of. I may not have been his son, but we shared the same bond.
After a few quiet minutes, Slade withdrew his arm and helped me to my feet. He essentially carried me to the car and strapped me in. I didn't protest. Slade went over to my bike and hid it well behind a dumpster. I assumed he'd come back for it later. He joined me in the car and drove off back home. I didn't stay awake long enough to make it there.
Ok, what do you think. I didn't expect this to happen. I only planned to write the solitary confinement stuff, but nooooo. My brain just had to start with the ideas. So yeah, I wrote this whole chapter today...
I doubt we'll see any more of Rose so don't ask.
If you have any ideas for the remainder of this story, I encourage you to submit a review today, otherwise you won't get to see it.
Also, in regards to another of my followers, Fireranger101...do any of you know what's going on with her? I haven't seen any of her reviews, and I sent her a PM a few weeks ago with no response. I'm worried she might not be well...PM me if you know.
Y'all have a good night, and smile at a stranger. Strangers love smiles.
