Battle Of The Beasts (Part 2)
Hybrid stood aside unfazed by the sudden murder of one member of his prey, however he was curious about the source that stole his kill. A figure far across the shipyard fled on foot holding a rifle. He recognized that mask anywhere. A split second later he watched as the man was shot in the side off of his container, his rifle tumbling away from him.
Past memories flooded Hybrid's mind. All of the acts of evil this man had committed against him became clear to him again. He was so focused on taking his revenge on Deadshot, he had forgotten about the man who had just as much sin to answer for. "Ssslade!" Hybrid hissed. Deadshot was right beside him and he could strike while he tended to his loss. Hybrid knew this was his chance to strike on Deathstroke who would certainly be hurting from that shot.
Hybrid's powerful dragon wings forced him off the floor and well into the air. From this height, Hybrid could scout the trashed shipyard. Containers laid scattered with many on fire, the flames spreading around parts of the yard. Many of the containers contained flammable cylinders of gasses and others held raw ammunition. You wouldn't think a place like a shipyard would house such dangerous cargo. However, this is Gotham.
Hybrid spotted where Deathstroke was shot down and flew across the yard toward his new target.
With Hybrid flying away toward Deathstroke, the Suicide Squad had a chance to regroup. The criminals knelt down beside their fallen member. Killer Croc held her limp hand. Most bodies when lifeless fall cold once their blood stops pumping. Yet with Frost's body temperature at many degrees below zero, her hand was heating up inside Crocs. Like she was trying to warm his heart one last time.
Deadshot sighed and dusted the loose hair out of Frost's lifeless eyes. She looked so fragile. He shut her eyelids. At least she didn't look afraid anymore. "See you in another life, Krystal." Deadshot told her.
"Your brother dies tonight." Croc growled.
"Agreed. We need to hurry and find Slade before the kid does." Deadshot explained.
"Why?" Boomer asked.
Deadshot looked at him like this was blatantly obvious. "Because if we don't, the kid will." He repeated slowly.
"Can't we just leave your bro to be monster chow?" Harley asked.
"No. It has to be us. That's our orders."
"Thought our orders were to bring him in alive?" Boomer accused.
"Look! I spent the last god knows how many years waiting for this day. Now I don't care what Waller wants. Slade must DIE by the end of the night by OUR hands. Not Waller's, not the kid's, OURS! If you got a problem with that then I'll put a bullet in you too, got it?" Deadshot yelled at Harley and Boomer.
The two looked away toward the ground and shrugged.
"Croc. Waller will send a team to get her when we're done here. Get up." Deadshot voiced firmly.
Croc didn't budge. He didn't care who his boss was.
Grunting in annoyance, Deadshot pulled out a detonator from his belt. Flipping open the latch, all the bombs in the task force's necks become armed. Deadshot pressed Killer Croc's designated button and his bomb started beeping. The noise enough for everyone to stop dead in their tracks and pay attention to the man on the trigger. "I'm not asking twice."
Croc's head slowly turned to look at Deadshot. A low growl echoed from his throat. The reptilian man stood off the ground and towered over Deadshot, unfazed.
"You 'ad that this whole time?!" Boomer yelled.
"You've done great work so far, Croc. Don't waste it all now. Move."
Begrudgingly, Croc bumped Deadshot aside and walked away from his fallen partner. The sudden tension between members vanished as focus toward the mission was restored. Flipping the latch shut, Croc's bomb was deactivated.
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It had been a very long time since Deathstroke had felt vulnerable. He didn't feel as bad as he did when he was quite literally just Trigon's skeleton hell army general but this was bad. He could admit that he had lost his peek when he quit being a gun for hire but he should be better than this.
All these thoughts went through Deathstroke's head as he fell toward the ground from Deadshot's longshot. He hit the ground hard, dropping his rifle mid fall. He was in pain. His knee was still giving him grieve and he didn't have the time to allow it to heal and now his shoulder had a bullet lodged inside it.
The fall knocked the wind out of him. Slade ripped his mask off, breathing long raspy breaths. Even out of breath he didn't have time to stop. Detaching his shoulder pad, he tossed it aside. Unsheathing his hunting knife, Slade gritted his teeth and dug the blade into his shoulder. Nothing he hadn't done before. After a second of niggling pain the bullet was fished out of his shoulder.
With his shoulder fixed, Slade reattached the armour. His knee, while weak, was well enough to stand on. This he knew before he took the fall. Finding his rifle nearby, Slade walked over to obtain it when he felt the discomforting feeling of being watched.
He stood still, being as subtle as he could to not let his stalker know he was onto them. Whatever the Russians did to him all those years ago heightened his senses. He didn't mistake a sound or just get bad feelings about things. His immediate thought was his brother lining up another shot. But his brother was too good to take this long. So if he wasn't about to attack him that meant... Beast Boy.
"I hold nothing against you. However, if you insist on attacking. I won't be holding back." Ice cold delivery. Any man would think twice about attacking after hearing a threat like that. Only Hybrid was no man. From the smoke, Hybrid launched at Slade. He was too far away from his rifle to make an attempt to grab it. Instead, Slade drew one of two katanas and stuck behind him. The blade slashed up Hybrid's arm as Slade ducked under the swipe. Hybrid skidded across the floor and grasped his arm. For a second blood poured out of the wound but only a second later Hybrid's arm was already healing over. A healing ability it seemed. While he had a nasty scar in its place, the cut was no longer bleeding.
Looking up from his arm, Hybrid looked back at Slade, who was gone. The assassin had cut and run. Hybrid wouldn't let him get far, however. Blood spots trickled across the floor from the sword Slade sliced him with. Hybrid examined the blood and smelt the air, even a trickle of blood left enough of a trail for him to follow. The animal licked its lips, thirsty for his attacker's blood. The smell of his own blood enticing him for more.
The trail didn't lead far. The blood stopped outside of a busted open shipping crate, the door slightly ajar. A wicked growl hummed from Hybrid's throat. In a flash he ripped the door off its hinges and charged inside. Empty. Hybrid frowned angrily at his prey evading him.
*Beep Beep Beep*
Hybrid hardly had a chance to notice the plastic explosives stuck to the back of the second container door before the bomb exploded a mere moment after he morphed into his Dragon form. The shipping container boomed and shot Hybrid out of the other side of the container through the locked doors on the other side. Smoke and soot dirtied his scales but that split second reaction might have just saved his life. Unfortunately that wasn't the result Slade was after.
Dropping from above, Slade drove his sword into the path of Hybrid who quickly rolled out of the way. The sword was so deadly it cut through the pavement. With a hard tug, Slade pulled his weapon out of the ground and ran at Hybrid. Shifting into Beast form, Hybrid's incredibly long talons extended out to lengths rivalling Slade's sword. Hybrid's talons might not be as sharp or as sturdy as his foe's sword but he could retract them in a split second.
Slade brought his sword down at Hybrid who knocked the attack to the side. With the momentum, Slade spun rapidly and cracked Hybrid across the jaw with a roundhouse followed up with a hard side kick to the knee upon landing. Hybrid roared as his knee buckled to the floor. Not letting up, Slade thrusted his sword at Hybrid. No time to avoid the strike, Slade stabbed Hybrid through the animal's wrist. His wrist were in hideous pain and the sound Hybrid made showed it. The Beast fell onto his back but drove both feet into Slade's chest with a powerful kangaroo-like kick, sending him soaring through the air and slamming into a crate.
The impact was so hard, Slade's body left an indent in the crate. Wincing as he stood back to his feet, Slade pondered what to do. His training and instincts told him to get back in there and kill. But really, he knew that wasn't just some animal he was fighting. This was Beast Boy. What that meant to him now... Slade wasn't sure.
He knew the Suicide Squad wouldn't be gone long and sure enough the four remaining members arrived to finish the job.
"You two, take the kid. Boomer, you're with me. Kill them both." Deadshot's orders were clear. With zero hesitation, Deadshot drew his weapon and fired at Slade, who barely got away from his sight in time. Deadshot and Boomer gave chase while Croc and Harley engaged Hybrid.
Slade was outnumbered and outgunned. Injured and running. But he wasn't outclassed just yet. He may be very disadvantaged but his brother didn't even come close to his natural ability and training. And no Australian bank robber with a stupid gimmick was going to alter the odds between them. He needed a plan. Deadshot had him completely beat at range without his own rifle, which he dropped a short distance away. Only problem was that distance was in the opposite direction he was fleeing to.
His armour could only take so much damage and if he gave Deadshot the opportunity, he could land a killing shot almost anywhere. Slade had only just begun plotting a plan to seperate Boomer and Deadshot when he ran around the corner of a shipping crate, his knee hideously snapping sideways under the pressure. Crying out in pain, Slade fell and clenched his knee. Son of a bitch that was bad.
His trailers were sure to have heard his cry. In the past few hours his leg had been horribly snapped and shattered twice by an alien and a 50 calibre bullet. Slade hadn't been this vulnerable in a very long time. Cursing at himself, he knew he had to use his ace. Back in his home Slade had taken an EpiPen of sorts. Only this pen was for far more... Serious situations. And that says something.
"The world works in interesting ways, doesn't it?" Slade thought to himself before he took the pen and jammed it between a thin opening by his inner thigh. Slade's lungs emptied in an instant and just as quickly, he inhaled huge breaths. He couldn't hold it in any longer. Slade's head flew back, hitting the container he leant against while crying out in awful discomfort as the drug travelled quickly through his bloodstream.
The handy thing about a healing factor is that almost any drug wasn't fatal for Slade, especially after they're dosed and tested. If any normal man tried injecting themselves with Slade's concoction, their heart would surely and quite literally explode under the pressure. He had sort out the world's best chemists to try and invent him something stronger than the best painkillers on the black market but when they all either failed or refused, Slade was forced to design his own.
That small pen was an incredibly violent mix of acetaminophen, adrenaline, morphine and Venom. The same Venom he and his brother were tasked with to make sure it never entered the United states. The night he and the Suicide Squad infiltrated the Mexican Cartel where Deadshot left him for dead. Slade was forced to use the drug in a means of escape. His healing factor and Bane's strength made him virtually unstoppable. The only problem was just that. His bloodlust multiplied tenfold. Once Venom was active there was no stopping until the drug wore off. Over the years Slade fine tuned his doses so they didn't keep him out of control for too long or make his appendages grow to sizes rivalling Bane's. This cost him maximum strength from the drug but he preferred it this way.
His heart pounded as it viciously pumped blood around his body. His badly injured knee seemingly snapped back into place and any bullet wounds were healing in a second. Slade's eye sharpened, his pupil narrow and shallow - Like a shark ready for the kill.
Deadshot and Boomer cautiously walked toward where Slade's cries were last heard, weapons in hand. Neither knew why Slade was crying out in pain but they didn't like that the cries stopped as they came closer. The two stood still and shivered when Slade casually walked out from where he was hiding, sword hidden behind him. Deadshot didn't know why he hesitated to shoot but that didn't last long after Slade had stopped walking. He stood clouded in smoke, side to his enemies so his eye couldn't see them in his peripherals.
Lining up the shot, it should have been an easy kill at this distance and with the calibre of weapon. Yet, his shot didn't kill. In the split second between Deadshot pulling the trigger, Slade had readied his sword and swiped the bullet out of the air, cutting it down the middle all while not being able to see the shot.
Slade's drug didn't just affect his physical state. It empowered his mind to levels far surpassing even the most intelligently gifted. To put it plainly, Slade was using every single molecule of his mind to its maximum capability. He was so alert of his surroundings, he could calculate and register where Deadshot's bullet was and react to it.
"No way." Deadshot breathed. He was sure his brother was too injured to do anything about that shot. How does he have some much energy left?
"With aim as consistent as yours, Floyd, it makes you predicable." Slade explained.
The son of a bitch was mocking him. Like hell his was predictable.
"Well I ain't mate!" Boomer yelled before throwing a bangerang at Slade. Shooting down the boomerang with a dart, the two weapons exploded. The explosion shrouded the space between the men with blinding fire, the task force barely had a chance to dodge the sword welding assassin shooting out through the blast.
Slade's blade swiped at Deadshot, barely missing its target. Deadshot could hardly step back from the blade fast enough to avoid it. He couldn't avoid the blade forever though as he ran into a container, leaving him with nowhere to run to. Slade jabbed his sword at Deadshot, cutting his shoulder. Deadshot was forced to drop his rifle to grab Slade's wrist and punch him across the face. The punch landed hard but Slade just looked back at Deadshot somehow even more pissed off than before.
Slade punches landed repeated hard blows to Deadshot. The punches hurt like hell but it was better than being stabbed to death, so Deadshot held tightly onto Slade's wrist which held the sword. Coming to his leader's aid, Boomer leapt onto Slade's back and tried choking him out. Boomer held on like a maniac, desperate to end the fight but a juiced up Slade was far too much for him to handle.
Slade grabbed Boomer by the wrist and pried Boomer off his neck. Holding him in a vice like grip, Slade flung him over his shoulder like a Judo master and planted him on the floor. Still controlling his wrist, Slade leveraged himself under Boomer's arm and snapped the Austrians elbow out of its socket. The man's cry echoed around the shipyard. Boomer snarled and growled like a wild dog, furious at the man that broke his arm. His free hand grabbed one of his last boomerangs out of his coat and swiped at Slade.
Avoiding the double ended blade, Slade stepped away from the man when he heard Deadshot grabbing his gun behind him. Slade ran to the crate beside him and leapt onto the side of it before pushing off and kicking the end of the gun barrel away from his direction. The kick knocked the gun out of Deadshot's hands and onto the floor. With no more weapons at his disposal, he threw a punch at Slade who caught his fist and went to crush it with just his grip when he stopped. 'That would be far too easy...' Slade thought before throwing away the fist and kicking him in the gut, knocking him back.
The Suicide Squad may have Slade up against a wall but he didn't care. That only meant he didn't have to watch his back. He still had his swords but that was also too easy. Unclipping his bo staff from his back, he extended the pole and planted it into the ground, making a loud clanging sound echo around the yard. Stood there unmoving, he stared right through the two men. "Is that all?".
"I'm gonna take that pole and shove it up your ass." With that, Deadshot and Boomer charged in again.
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While Slade and Hybrid seemed like completely separate opponents, both were incredibly dangerous, physically powerful and intelligent individuals. Something Harley and Killer Croc hadn't considered when they were tasked with taking down this beast. Neither had witnessed Beast Boy like this before and had thought they got the easy job. They didn't.
"EEP!" Harley yelped as she ducked for cover from a fire breathing dragon dive-bombing right behind her. Scorching the earth beside her Hybrid swooped up reading for another dive-bomb.
This was crap. How were they supposed to fight a literal dragon who was flying out of their reach? The only members with any sort of range in their arsenal are fighting Deathstroke or are dead. Something they will be if they didn't think of something quickly.
Harley barely had a chance to tell herself this fight was going badly before Hybrid was soaring down toward her again. "Aw crud...". Harley sighed knowing she couldn't outrun this beast. Holding out her mallet, she shielded herself from him. The Dragon snapped at Harley but chewed on nothing but her wooden handle. Taking Harley on for the ride.
"Can't we- Argh! Talk about this kid?!" Harley pleaded, something Hybrid didn't appreciate. He spun suddenly in the air trying to shake Harley off. Something Harley was incredibly talented at however was gymnastics. With impressive skill, Harley flung herself with Hybrid and straddled the dragon's back. Harley held on for dear life as she pathetically tried to tame her dragon.
Hybrid snarled angrily at his unwanted rider. With Harley's mallet still in his jaw, the beast breathed a breath of fire onto the handle, melting it in two. Harley sat there looking at the two pieces of her favourite toy. "Y-you... THAT'S IT!" With her broken hammer, Harley clocked Hybrid across the back of the head. Something she didn't really think about before she did it.
The blow knocked Hybrid out of his senses and his flight path. The pair clipped a container which sent them crashing into the ground and through a bunch of wooden crates. Both tumbled through them and onto the floor. Both rubbed their head and Hybrid looked at Harley with murder in his eyes. Switching to Beast form, he extended his sword-like talons and slashed them with force. Harley had seen the damage those caused on Catwoman. That was something she didn't need in her life.
"Ahhh... What large claws ya have Gran'ma?" Harley shrugged, smiling sheepishly.
"All the better to cut you to pieces with my dear." Hybrid replied approaching Harley.
Walking backward slowly, Harley tripped on some of the contents of the crates. Hybrid growled knowing his prey was a sitting duck. Right before he leapt at her, a foul odour could be smelt behind him. Killer Croc grabbed Hybrid from behind and took a massive bite on Hybrid's neck and shoulder. With no scales protecting him, Croc's sharpened teeth dug into Hybrid's flesh. The beast screeched and started thrashing madly trying to fight off the powerful foe.
"Yeah! You ain't tha only one with big teeth and claws ya big bully!" Harley cheered. With Croc buying her some time, Harley went to stand to her feet when she noticed what she tripped over. "Oh Gotham City. I've missed ya." Harley sighed picking up the rocker launcher by her feet along with one of the many rockets nearby.
Hybrid and Croc tussled for dominance. Both males giving the other everything. Hybrid had managed to pry Croc's jaws away from his neck and the two had one another by their shoulders, both trying to wrestle the other to the floor.
WHOOOSH! Harley's rocket flew past at insane speeds, Croc just barely able to duck his head in time.
"Sorry Crocy! I'll get him this time!" Harley called out as she loaded another rocket.
"Harley! I'm right next to him you stupid Bi-" BOOM! Harley's rocket exploded right beside the two. The rocket hit the floor next to them, the explosion blowing them aside into the harbour. Both men hit the water with a big splash. Thankfully for them, their skins were thick enough for the explosion to not cause any major damage.
The waters of Gotham harbour were dark and dirty like the rest of the city. Killer Croc was at home in the water but he lost sight of Hybrid and suddenly he wasn't in his comfort zone. He couldn't see any sign of the kid. But how? They fell into the water right beside another.
Out of seemingly nowhere, Croc was slammed had into the wall of the dock. Hybrid was holding him and Croc could still hardly see him. Hybrid had went from Beast to Marine form. His thick fur was now colour changing yet translucent scales.
No matter where they fought him, Hybrid seemed to have the environmental advantage. Whether it was land, sea or air. Hybrid had them beat. Hybrid bit down on Croc's shoulder, returning the favour for what he had done to him earlier. Hybrid's mouth was lined with multiple rows of razor sharp teeth like a shark's. Only way Croc was getting out of this hold was if Hybrid let him.
Blood started dyeing the water. Only making Hybrid thrash around for more. In desperation, Croc grasped at the gills of Hybrid. His gills were protected by the sharp, hardened scales but they weren't enough to keep Croc from grabbing and twisting them. The rows of teeth were removed from his shoulder as Hybrid snuck away into the water, tending to his injured gills.
Wasting no time, Croc surfaced from the water and jumped ashore. His wound was bad. Lots of scales lost and blood flowed down his arm. "Crocy!" Cried Harley, not too far away.
"I can't move my arm Quinn..." Croc growled sadly.
"HARLEY?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"CROC MATE! YA THERE BUD?!"
Deadshot and Boomer were yelling for them nearby.
"We're ov'a here! Ya gotta hurry. Crocy's hurt bad!" Harley called back, running over toward the voices. "Come on Crocy. Let's get outta here. We'll get you patched up. Trust me. Imma doctor!" Both of them knew Harley wasn't that kind of doctor. Still. She knew how to lighten the mood. Harley was running for her teammates while Croc was following slowly behind while holding his shoulder.
"There you are. Where's Croc?" Deadshot asked hastily surveying the area looking for any sign of danger.
"And where's grumpy grey?" Boomer asked.
"Right behind me. Crocy and the kid went for a swim and the kid hasn't come outta tha water yet. Where's your big brotha, Cowboy?"
"He kicked the shit out of us and bolted. We figured he was coming after you. Now what's wrong with Croc?" Deadshot asked running with Harley and Boomer.
"His shoulder got torn up real bad. I don't know if he can-"
Harley's words were caught in her throat while her lungs tried to draw in breath. Deadshot and Boomer both stopped and stared equally taken back by what was before them. Not even ten metres away from them was Killer Croc's dead corpse lacking his head. Beside him stood Slade, staring emotionless at them like he was possessed. From behind his back he held out the decapitated head of Killer Croc.
Slade had murdered two members of the Suicide Squad. Just because he could. Slade had every opportunity to kill Deadshot and Boomer earlier but he made his brother a promise that he was going to kill all of his team before he killed him and he planned on fulfilling it.
"You... Fucking monster..." Deadshot sighed.
Boomer snapped at that moment. He knew he had given Killer Croc a hard time but this? This was inhumane. Croc didn't do anything to him. He didn't deserve that. Boomer screamed in a mix of emotions and pain while he reached into Deadshot's back pocket, pulling out the remote for the bombs in their necks and pressing the command to detonate Killer Croc's bomb.
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It's been a long time coming but I'm finally back. I realised I started losing passion for this fic halfway through this chapter and decided to step away for a brief period.I can thankfully say it helped ignite the joy I had when I started the story and I just can't leave it unfinished so close to the end.
The fight is almost over and we'll be getting back with Beast Boy versus his Paramore soon too so you'll find out how he overcomes his problems.
Deathstroke is my all-time favourite character so I've been taking inspiration for my Deathstroke / Slade from every piece of material I've seen. He's a killer. He's sentimental. He's a father, mentor and a mess. Hopefully all those aspects are coming across in my Deathstroke and isn't just "the evil bad guy" Teen Titans writes him to be.
Anyway I'm excited as hell for the Snyder Cut of Justice League. We're finally going to get some justice for that piece of shit the 2017 version was. And if I could ask for one thing I would hope plans for the Deathstroke stand alone movie with Joe Manganiello get put back on the schedule. I'd be at that movie opening night no doubt.
Please let me know what you think of the story so far. It's been a long journey but it's almost over.I'll do my best to keep the passion alive and finish this story soon.
DansaCharm