10:48

Infinity Island, somewhere in the Caribbean Sea

November 9th, 2015 AD.

Rose Wilson. Rose fucking Wilson.

The first thing Julia noticed was that she was short. Really short. If she actually managed to reach Julia's shoulders, it'd be just barely. The second thing she noticed was that the smile on the woman's face was entirely fake, or at the very least, insincere.

Talia had arranged for her to meet the woman with snow white hair in one of the more secluded courtyards. Rose had arrived dressed in a grey suit with a matching sun hat, and flanked by bodyguards.

One was a young man who was probably about her age, with chestnut brown hair and a light dusting of freckles on his face. He was average height, lean in build and had an easy, relaxed air about him. The other was clearly older than Grayson, although only by a year or so. His hair was bright purple, tall and stick thin. He kept looking around, idly making finger-guns at the Shadows that were supposed to be hidden as they observed the meeting.

That wasn't to say that Rose was unarmed. Julia knew her guns, and recognised the weapon holstered at the woman's side as a Smith and Wesson M945 Compact. It was a damn good gun, especially in such close quarters. And if Rose Wilson was anything like her father, she knew how to use it.

"It is a pleasure to meet you!" Wilson exclaimed eagerly, shaking Julia's hand. "Quite a pleasure! I am quite the fan! I'd ask for your autograph, but I left my book on my ship."

Julia blinked, bewilderment plain on her face.

"I..am surprised." Julia admitted. "I mean..you're an arms dealer. Criminals aren't typically who I would think to be...fans of mine."

Wilson merely nodded enthusiastically. "Well, I'm more a fan of your work as Red Hood than your work as Robin. Far more entertaining."

"...I killed criminals as the Red Hood." Julia reminded her, before frowning pointedly. "Including arms dealers."

"No sense in lying." Rose shrugged. "I am an arms dealer. An unrepentant, unapologetic arms dealer. People have died due to weapons I've sold the world over, and people will continue to do so for as long as I supply them. And I will continue to profit from death and bloodshed for as long as I do."

"So why do it?" She had to know. If this woman wanted to recruit her, she had to know why, given who she was, who she had been, why she wanted her on her team. A former Hero-turned-crime lord wasn't usually the first option for an arms dealer to want on side.

"Simple." Rose smiled. "I can control the flow of weaponry and ammunition to a number of countries in eastern Asia. They can fight and squabble amongst themselves so long as I do. So what do you think will happen….when I put my foot on the artery?"

Julia's eyes widened as the pieces fell into place in her mind. "That's-"

"A similar idea to your own plan for Gotham?" Rose grinned. "I could tell! It's also a looong ass way off, but it's why I wanted you for my team. You came so close to succeeding in your plan, and were it not for a certain Bat, you'd have actually brought peace to that most wretched of cities. You and I..we have similar mindsets, although I will admit that you are far better at breaking faces than I am."

"Plus...y'know, I'm making a literal fortune." She laughed as she continued. "They do like their weapons in the Rhelasia's. And Russia. Sweet Christ do the Russian's love weapons."

Julia sighed, and glanced towards the pair of bodyguards Rose had brought with her, and a question formed in her mind. "...Why do you need me? You seem to already have a team."

"True, I do have a Team, and a damn fine one. As for why I want you in it...the various members of my team had nowhere to go. No place in the world." Her grin faded for a moment, for what had to be the first time during their meeting "Does that sound familiar?"

It did. God, it did. Park Row had been home, but it hadn't been 'her place in the world'. Park Row wasn't anyone's place in the world.

Wayne Manor had been home, once. But Bruce's side, Batman's side, wasn't 'her place in the world', they clashed too often. True, she wasn't for killing all criminals. Desperation forced people to make choices they would not otherwise make. But those that couldn't be 'salvaged', couldn't be helped, and would just keep killing...they should be killed.

Infinity Island was home, but was it 'her place'? She couldn't tell. Not yet, at least.

"Chester here.." Rose began, dragging Julia out of her thoughts. The woman gestured to the man with the purple hair, who waved lazily at the pair of them. "Is a telepath, and an entirely 'off the books' branch of the British Military was using his powers to...influence certain international players. There was an black Op in Kosovo to ensure that Prime Minister Thaçi remained in power. Like any sane person, He got the fuck outta dodge before things went south. He walked across the Balkans before ending up in Istanbul….after dealing with his handlers in a decidedly permanent manner. That's where I picked him up, and aside from my driver, he's been with me the longest."

"Now Raymond on the other hand.." She continued, gesturing to her other guard, who smiled warmly at the both of them. "He's the son of one of the world's 'greatest' geneticists, and used to work for my brother, Grant. He's a damn good infiltration expert...even if he's far too relaxed most of the time."

"The rest of our crew includes a techie with one hell of a napoleon complex and an unhealthy addiction to massive explosions, a magical prodigy with decidedly questionable luck, a man that can drive, sail and-or pilot practically anything he can get ahold of, and lastly of course, is myself. I think being Deathstroke's kid speaks for itself. We have someone else on occasion, but as she's currently busy being pregnant, she'll be out of action for a while."

"...A military expert, an infiltration expert, a tech expert, a magic expert and a vehicaluar expert." Julia snorted. "So what am I to be, Rose? Your expert on the criminal underworld?"

"Bingo!" Rose all but chirped. "Along with being my expert on the Superhero world and being my badass bodyguard. In return...we'll give you a place in this world."

There was a silence that enveloped both women for a few moments, before Julia broke it.

"One last question." She began, locking eyes with Rose. "What's the end goal?"

Rose told her, smiling all the while, before extending a hand.

Julia looked down at the hand, and burst into loud, howling laughter. Any and all hesitation she had vanishing in an instant as she grasped the extended hand. "Ha! Hahahaha! A-Alright Boss Lady, I'm in."

"I'm glad." Rose exclaimed, her smile turning from...to genuine. "Welcome to Wilson Shipping & Freight, Miss Todd."