All right, time for the Terminator Arc! This arc is going to introduce a few new characters to the story, and these are characters I'm excited to write. Though I'm a little iffy on writing Grant since I've only read the Titans Rebirth comic he was in, and in that one he fucking died. But I've written him as close as I can get from that comic.
Because these chapters are so big, I always plan on a small number of them, so this arc will be between six to seven chapters, and I'm leaning strongly towards six.
Now, to reply to some…interesting reviews.
Guest: Well, if everyone does that, does it really defeat the purpose? If they all do the. Same. Thing then isn't that just a part of the story? That'd be like getting mad that a sci-fi film has spaceships or aliens. And I'm not rewriting my story 'cause you told me to, this is my story, not yours. If you want an SI that doesn't reveal his origins to the Justice League, then make an account and write it your damn self.
Tyfli barda: Well, like official DC comics, this has little story arcs before you hit the big crossover event, and I already have the end of this story planned, so this story does have a direction, hell, we've already hit the first overall arc with the Cult of Blood. Besides, Daichi will have his moments, and he already has some moments sprinkled throughout. Daichi's also been holding back (God, I've had to say this so many times, haven't I?) When he stops holding back, it'll be a spectacle. And this is my own DC universe, with elements of others added in, as are most other DC stories. And finally, only you and the guest have complained, but yes, his meta-knowledge will come to a head soon. If you wanna wait and see go ahead, if not, see ya.
Lightning-pays: Not this arc, more will be learned, but he won't appear just yet. Soon though.
DanieHimura: He didn't get weaker, that was excess energy he absorbed from the first Dr. Light's power-up ball. But he's aware she's getting her powers, just waiting for her to make the first move.
Quick little update: when Joseph signs, the words are supposed to be underlined, but it seems the transfer from Microsoft Word to Fanfiction's Doc Manager lost this little bit of info.
The Vitruvian Man Fun Fact 1: Daichi and The Evolutionary are based off of Adam Warlock and the High Evolutionary from Marvel comics.
Signing the Contract
"So, how's this work again?" Grant Wilson asks as he looks around the operating room.
Currently he's out of his armor, revealing a young man in his mid-twenties with black hair and blue eyes. He's also under a cover in the center of the operating room, surrounded by surgeons of the Cult of Blood.
"It's a procedure, not that different from the one your father underwent," a surgeon answers. "When it's complete, your physical attributes will be adaptable."
"The hell's that mean?" Grant asks as a mask is put over his face.
"Your strength will vary, depending on who you fight. At base, you'll be equivalent to your father, but if you were to fight…say, Apex, your strength will increase to match," the surgeon answers.
"Kick…ass…" Grant then fell asleep.
Outside of the room, Slade and Brother Blood watch as the surgeons begin the procedure. Slade then looks at his current employer from the corner of his eye. "How'd you get this enhancement process?"
Brother Blood smirks. "The base of it came from the procedure that made you you, Slade. Thought it was nearly thirty years old, so we had to update some parts of it."
"And the adaptive strength?" Slade asks, folding his arms.
"Magic," Brother Blood simply answers.
Slade keeps his eye on Brother Blood before he hums and watches the procedure again. "Hm."
A cultist walks up behind Brother Blood and whispers in his ear. After the cultist backs off, Brother Blood nods before turning around. "Come with me."
"Where to?" Slade asks.
"We have a…show that I believe you'd like to watch," Brother Blood answers before leaving the room.
Slade looks back in the operating room and watches the surgery before following after Brother Blood.
Metropolis
"Okay, but I've been thinking—you guys need to get gigs," Robin says as we hangout on a building in our suits.
Right now, me, him, and Speedy are hanging out in Metropolis.
Over the past few weeks, the Cult of Blood's become a right pain in our asses, which made us realize we've made our first supervillain team. Wonder Girl, Omen, and Bumblebee are currently in San Diego dealing with another group of cultists.
Zatanna's currently indisposed, dealing with some demons with her dad and Rachel if I heard her message right. Garth's stuck dealing with some culture festival in Atlantis. Kory's at Themiscyra. And Wally is currently dealing with the aftermath of the mass escape from Iron Heights.
I arch a brow and look at him as Speedy keeps an eye on the warehouse.
"What?" I ask.
"C'mon, the Brave and the Bold is a band without any gigs? That's not a band, that's two dudes making sound," Robin replies. "Just talk to me, I can get some gigs set up for you in Gotham, I've got some pull there."
I snort. "Yeah, sure, play our first show in Gotham. Not like Joker, Two-Face, Scarecrow, or Killer Croc won't attack."
"Why would they attack a concert?" Speedy asks. "They're pulling something in, by the way."
"Why wouldn't they?" Robin counters. "What's it look like?"
"Two boxes. Big," Speedy answers.
I stand next to him and use my telescopic and x-ray vision to see the boxes. But I grumble after realizing I can't. "They're lead-lined," I pull out my little circular radio. "This is Team Dude-Bro, the cultists brought in two big boxes. What do you see?"
"This is Team Feminine Touch," Wonder Girl replies. "Two big boxes here too. Any idea what's in them?"
These team names are getting ridiculous.
"No, they're lead-lined," I reply. "We're gonna get our attack started. Keep in contact if things get weird."
"Right back at you, Starman," Wonder Girl replies before ending the call.
"All right. Speedy, stay up top, hit them from above. Robin, find out what's in the boxes. I'll get their attention," I plan.
Robin and Speedy get their grappling hook and arrow and launch it at the warehouse a few buildings away. Once they sneak in and I see them get in position, I float to the front of the warehouse with my arms folded and activate my heat vision.
"Three…two…one," I tell the two mentally.
Once I finish counting down, I fire a powerful burst of heat vision that cuts through the front of the warehouse, and any cultists in the path are burnt and sent flying back.
The cultists that remain up shout and a few begin firing spells at me. But while they're doing that, Robin drops in a few smoke bombs and I can see some arrows from Speedy fly into the smoke and take more out.
I unfold my arms and coat my fists in energy before shooting myself into the warehouse. Once in the center, I spin around, and the energy on my fists spirals out, creating an energy hurricane in the room that destroys anything in its path.
I then stop and punch a cultist down with both of my fists on the back of his head and watch as a net arrow gets another five.
While the cultists still try to build up a defense, Speedy and I continue our assault, and in the smoke, I can see Robin bouncing around, taking out enemies and getting closer to the boxes.
I love it when a plan comes together.
Suddenly, from the smoke, Robin is sent flying back, and I fly over and catch him as he shakes his head.
"Ugh, the hell hit me?" He asks.
"I was about to ask you that," I reply.
My radio beeps, but since I don't have time, I just activate my earpiece. "What's up?"
"Uh, are you guys being attacked by giant pink hands by any chance?" Wonder Girl asks.
Robin and I look at each other confused. "What?" We both ask.
"Uh, guys! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Speedy asks from his position.
I quickly protect Robin as the few remaining cultists fire more spells at us. While the fireballs and stones hit my skin, the lightning and pure mana spells I just absorb. I then fire back with a pulse that sends them flying back.
"How many cultists left?" Robin asks.
"Non- move!" I shout, pushing him aside.
Something lands where we just were, and with how heavy the landing is, the smoke that's left gets blown out, revealing what's there.
A giant pink foot.
…
What?
I've seen things, but this, this is… This is the DC Universe, I should get used to this already, otherwise I'll continue to get weirded out by weird stuff.
"Behind you!" Speedy shouts.
I turn around and bring my arms up, blocking another giant pink foot from stomping on me. Huh, doesn't have a smell, surprisingly enough. I chance a look behind me to see Robin avoiding the other one, Speedy helping him with the left foot.
With a telekinetic thrust, I send my foot flying into the sky and hit it with some energy blasts before quickly activating my earpiece. "Not dealing with hands, but feet!"
"Okay, that's weird!" Wonder Girl replies. "We'll deal with our hands! Stay a step ahead of yours, guys!"
Wonder Girl ends the call and I hold back a groan at her pun before shooting another blast at the right foot, sending it flying further up.
I'm fighting a giant, pink, sentient right foot.
Sometimes I miss space.
"Why the hell do they have feet!?" Robin shouts as he narrowly dodges a stomp.
"Ask questions later!" I shout before flying up to follow…my…foot.
God, the report I'm gonna write up is going to be weird.
As I fly through the air, I see the right foot coming down hot, and I've already got a plan.
I fly ahead and backflip, hitting the right toe with my own foot, stubbing it. With my hit, the foot arched and writhes in pain mid-air before I front flip in the air and kick it down with the back of my foot.
The foot flies down and slams into the warehouse. Before it can recover, I shoot down like a missile and slam both of my fists into it, denting it into the ground and creating a crater in the warehouse.
"How's your guys'…foot…looking?" I ask.
"It's surprisingly durable!" Speedy shouts.
The foot I'm fighting gets up and kicks me in the side. Surprisingly strong too. I'm sent flying through the walls and bounce on the street a few times before coming to a stop by slamming into a light post.
My eyes open to reveal the foot's above me, it then stomps down on me, and I groan as it digs into the street.
I hope there's no one around to record this or take pictures. This'd be really embarrassing if there were.
While I'm pinned, I vibrate and sink into the street before flying through the sewers and phasing up, now behind the foot. I then fly up above it, take a deep breath, and hit it with my frost breath.
The foot jumps at me, but slowly comes to a stop mid-air, revealing a frozen foot statue in the middle of the street.
Man, today's a day.
"Yo, I see you've got your foot beat!" I look aside to see Robin and Speedy walking out of the warehouse, Speedy points at their foot, currently on its side with arrows and birdarangs in it.
I land next to them as we look at the frozen statue. "What's the Cult of Blood doing with this?" I wonder.
"No idea," Robin replies. "How's the other team doing?"
I pull out my radio and activate a video call. "Team Dude-Bro here, what's your status?"
After a few seconds, Wonder Girl answers, her hair disheveled. "We're good here, Apex! I mean, these things were surprisingly tough, but we got them!"
"Good, good," I nod. The three of us look down the street as the Metropolis Police Department rolls up with their cars to arrest the cultists. "MPD's here. I'll get things sorted out with them, teleport Robin and Speedy to the tower."
"Got it," Wonder Girl replies.
I then end the call and Robin punches my shoulder lightly. "Still think you should get a gig."
I smirk and shake my head a little. "I'll talk to Kid about it when the chance arises."
"All right! High five!" Robin and I high five.
But after the high five, I quickly look behind me and narrow my eyes as I notice a red portal close on a building a few miles away from us.
"What? What is it?" Speedy asks, him and Robin looking in the same direction.
"We were being watched," I answer.
"Oh, that's not at all worrying," Robin replies.
Speedy folds his arms. "Think it was Brother Blood?"
I sniff the air where the two just were and narrow my eyes. "Definitely someone with the Cult of Blood, a similar scent was there. But he wasn't alone, someone else was with them. Smelled like maintenance oil and metal."
"Well, whoever it is they sound like fun," Robin comments. His gauntlet beeps, and he sees that there's a teleport request for him. "They're already at the Tower. See you there, Apex."
Speedy pats my back. "See you, man."
I nod as they teleport away, and shortly after the MPD pulls over and the meta-human unit goes out and grabs the cultists. One officer, a woman in her early thirties with short, light brown hair and blue eyes. This is Maggie Sawyer
Next to her is an older officer with graying brown hair and brown eyes. He wears slacks and a dress shirt with a bowler hat on his head. And Maggie's partner, Dan Turpin.
"Hey, Maggie, Dan," I wave.
"Apex, hey!" Maggie greets. Her and Dan then stop and look up at the frozen foot statue. "So, what's this about?"
I rub the back of my head. "Yeah, even I don't have any answers for that."
"Well, that's just great," Dan comments.
"To make it even weirder the other Teen Titans found two giant, pink hands in San Diego," I say.
Dan sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "As much as I love having you guys here, life was so much easier before Wonder Woman came back into action."
"Yeah, but not as fun," Maggie chuckles.
"You're right about that, Mags," Dan nods. "All right, we've got this, kid, go back to your clubhouse."
I nod and say bye to the officers before I activate my radio. "This is Apex, teleport me to the tower."
"One teleport coming right up, boss man!" Bumblebee replies.
As my molecules are torn apart, I look one last time at the frozen foot statue.
The hell are you planning, Blood?"
Cult of Blood Facility
Slade and Brother Blood return to the secret Cult of Blood hospital.
Once the portal closed, Slade looks down at his hands and flexes them and rotates his neck a little. "Not used to teleporting. Even less used to magic."
"Well, if you do well, you'll work with us more often, Mr. Wilson, and get used to both experiences," Brother Blood responds.
"Hm," Slade then looks at Brother Blood with an arched brow. "But seriously? Some hands and some feet?"
While watching Team Dude-Bro in Metropolis, a magical view screen was next to Slade's good eye, showing Team Feminine Touch as they were fighting against the giant pink hands.
Brother Blood shrugs. "They were left over from my predecessor's time as Brother Blood. I think we have parts of the body in facilities throughout the world."
Slade's eye narrows. "Find the parts, I have a plan," he then looks through the window to see Grant resting in the bed, none of the surgeons inside. "They're done already?"
Brother Blood nods and stands next to Slade. "A quick procedure. His body will need time to rest and get used to its newfound strength."
"How long?" Slade asks.
"A few months," Brother Blood answers. "We can use that time to find more parts of the…Pink Creature. And you can use the time-"
"-To find the girl, and learn more about the Teen Titans," Slade finishes. "Keep me in contact about Grant," without waiting for an answer, Slade leaves.
Once he was gone, a White Cell assassin appears next to Brother Blood. "Brother Blood, if I may?"
"You may," Brother Blood nods.
"Can we really trust a mercenary to capture the Icon of Pride?" The White Cell asks.
"Deathstroke and Ravager are a highly skilled duo, with a 99% success rate. Even if they do not bring the girl to us, I can trust that they will at least give us an opening to strike," Brother Blood then pulls a remote from his pocket. "Besides, I have a plan…"
Denver, Colorado
Slade sighs and messes with the dog tags just below his shirt. He then looks at the home in front of him before taking a deep breath and walking over. He pulls a key out of his pocket and opens the door, once inside, he immediately sees his second son, Joseph.
Joseph's a young man, sixteen years old with curly blond hair and green eyes. He turns around and smiles before hopping up and running over to his father.
Slade smiles and hugs his son. "Damn, every time I see you, you get bigger and bigger. Don't tell Grant, but he's getting jealous of your height."
Joseph smiles sheepishly and rubs the back of his head before signing, "I don't know about that one, Dad. But how are you? How's work?"
Slade's smile shrinks a little as he looks at the scar along Joseph's neck before nodding. "I'm good, I'm good. Work's going well too. What about you? How's school? How's that Kole girl?"
Joseph blushes a little and looks away. "It's going good. And me and Kole are just friends, Dad."
"Yeah, sure, friends," Slade says slowly.
Joseph shakes his head in exasperation before looking around. "Where's Grant? I was hoping to play some games with him."
"You're brother's…busy," Slade answers. "What game were you hoping to play with him? Maybe I can keep his seat warm until then."
Joseph just smirks. "Dad, you had a hard time understanding Lego Star Wars."
Slade has a playful frown on his face. "Hey, how was I supposed to know where those… What were they called again?"
"Minikits," Joseph answers.
"How was I supposed to know where they were?" Slade asks.
Joseph shakes his head in amusement before heading back to the couch.
Slade watches as his son continues to play some video games with a small smile before he feels some eyes on him. Looking up, he sees his wife, Adeline Kane, a woman with green eyes and brown hair waiting in the doorway to the kitchen.
Slade walks over to her and the two walk into the kitchen, keeping their conversation quiet. "Where is Grant?" Adeline asks.
"We took a job, high risk and very high reward. Grant's undergoing some…training to prove himself," Slade answers.
Adeline sighs deeply and drinks some wine from a glass on the counter. "Dammit, Slade. You keep on promising that this is the last job. After this no more Deathstroke and Ravager. Yet here you are, another job."
"Ade-"
"Who's the target?" She interrupts.
"I can't say, it's bad for business," Slade replies as he leans on the counter with folded arms.
Adeline glares at him before sighing, finishes her wine, and leaves Slade alone in the kitchen.
'Last job, Slade. Last job,' he thinks to himself.
Titans Tower
I'm teleported to the Tower and Karen and I high five once all of my molecules are here.
"Everyone in the mission room?" I ask as the two of us walk towards it.
Karen nods. "Yeah, everyone's here. Sooo, the Brave and the Bold's gonna get an official gig?"
I sigh and shake my head. "Nothing's set in stone yet. Besides, I'm half of the group, I'd have to talk to Wally first."
"Do you really? I think we all know what he's gonna say," Karen replies.
I groan as I think about it too. Wally's for sure going to agree with Dick. "Let's put a pin on that, yeah?"
"Whatever, Dai," Karen chuckles.
The two of us enter the meeting room where we find the others waiting around. Lilith gives me a little nod and Donna waves with a smile as I stand in the front of the room, Dick standing next to me.
"Okay, well, today was…something," I begin the debriefing. "Team Dude-Bro (who comes up with these names, by the way?) dealt with the cultists in Metropolis before they pulled in boxes with giant pink feet in them."
"And Team Feminine Touch (me, by the way) dealt with the cultists in San Diego before they had some boxes with giant pink hands," Karen replies.
"Okay, so, any idea what the hell that was about?" Roy asks.
The thing is, the most exposure I got to the Cult of Blood before I became Daichi was from the later run of the Titans comic during the Rebirth era and from Teen Titans, but they were called the H.I.V.E. then if I remember correctly, so I don't know much about them.
I shake my head with a sigh. "No idea. Maybe a weapon to test us?" I throw out there.
"Weird weapon to use," Lilith comments. "Man, the others are not gonna believe this when we tell them."
"No, they are not," Donna adds with a smile. She then notices something on my face. "What is it, Daichi? There's more, isn't there?"
I shake my head before focusing my attention on the three girls. "After we finished fighting the feet (God, that sounds weird to even say) I noticed that we were being watched by two people—one from the cult and another unknown."
The girls share a glance. "Oh, that's not at all worrying," Donna comments. "Is that all?"
I think over the mission before nodding. "Yeah, that's all. Break."
As the others leave the room to go get changed, I activate a hologram and float in a seated position as I begin to write up the report.
After a few minutes I finish typing, and I look it over one more time, still in awe at the day we had, before hitting the confirm button, automatically putting it in our archives and sending a copy to the Justice League.
All right, should expect something from Batman in a few minutes, so while I wait, may as well get changed.
It's a few hours later, and right now Lilith's working on some homework in the living room, Karen's in the science lab, checking over her suit, and I'm just sitting in my room with Donna, just playing random songs on my guitar as she occasionally takes pictures.
Eventually I stop playing and lie down on my bed, my legs over the edge. I smile for one more picture before Donna lays down next to me, followed by one more of the both of us. When this picture prints, she shakes it and we both look at the photo of us smiling together.
I smile a little and rest my head on top of hers. "Glad to see you enjoy my gift."
"Glad to see you enjoy mine," she replies.
The two of us lay down in silence for a while. She then begins to hum a song in ancient Greek, and I only half-listen. Slowly, her hand intertwines with mine and she raises them both above us, continuing to hum her song.
After a few minutes she finishes and squeezes my hand. "In a few weeks it'll be one year since the Teen Titans formed, which will also be a year since you and Kory came into our lives."
"Really now? Unless the date was important, I never did care for the passing of days," I admit.
"Oh? Then do you know what'll happen a few months from now?" She asks.
I smirk and kiss the top of her head. "Of course I do. One year since we beat Dr. Light and the Fearsome Five!"
Donna scoffs and punches my side. "No!"
I laugh lightly and rub my side. "Of course, of course, I know," I feel a large smile on my face. "Our one-year anniversary, I won't forget that."
"Good, 'cause if you did then I'd just have to tell Mother," Donna warns with a humorous tone.
I chuckle a little and the two of us continue to lay down in silence and just enjoy the moment with each other.
But as always, someone interrupts it by knocking on my door. "Yo! Daichi! Donna! Cut your session short, Zee and Rachel are here!" Lilith shouts through the door.
"Buzz off, Lil!" Donna shouts. She then sighs and the two of us sit up. "Well, let's go, Dai."
With an annoyed groan, I float up and lazily float to the door and open it to see Lilith smirking as she leans on the railway. "C'mon, they're just down there," she points behind her and we see Rachel and Zatanna in the living room, the latter showing the former around the base.
I jump over the edge and land in front of them. "Rachel, hey! How'd your mission with Zee and her dad go?"
Rachel's currently wearing her Raven suit. It's form-fitting black pants and a black shirt, but from the chest up it's navy-blue, and her sides have three blue marks each, and connected to a navy-blue cloak that could cover her entire body if she wanted it to and a hood shaped like a raven's head which is currently down. She also has navy-blue thigh-high boots and a golden belt around her waist with red gems inserted throughout. The center of her chest also has a matching red gem outlined by gold.
Rachel shrugs and rubs her left arm. "It was…nice. Less chaotic than those Chaos Goblins, so that's a plus."
"Well, they are called Chaos Goblins," Lilith points out. "A name like that makes sense."
Rachel nods before looking around. "Nice place you've got here."
I chuckle a little and look around. "Yeah, it is. So, you thinking about joining? We'd be happy to have you."
Rachel nods. "It'd be nice to join, but not now, I still need to get acclimatized with my new life, you know?"
Donna nods and puts her hands on Rachel's shoulders. "Got it. Take all the time you need. But while you're here, may as well show you around, yeah?"
"That'd be nice," Rachel nods.
Her, Donna, and Zee then head over to the other rooms, leaving me and Lilith in the living room.
Once they were gone, Lilith turns to me. "So, get a reply from the Big Bad Bat yet?"
"Weirdly enough, no. He's probably busy with one of his many psycho enemies," I reply.
"Dick did leave after being called away, so that seems about right," Lilith nods. "GAH!" I jump in surprise at her sudden exclamation. "We're starting to get pulled apart!"
She's right about that—planning for the Atlantean cultural festival takes months to prepare, and lasts a whole week, and since Garth's more or less the prince he has to be there. No one knows what the Rogues are planning since their escape from Iron Heights, so the Flashes are needed more and more in their cities. And so on and so forth.
And now we're being watched.
Well, not now now, but someone's out there keeping an eye on us.
I need plans, contingencies, ways to counter whatever can come at us. I don't like this; it doesn't sit right with m-
I blink and try to look up, but Lilith stops me. "Don't! Move."
I look up with my eyes and watch as she balances more utensils on top of my head. "What are you doing?"
"It's pretty obvious what I'm doing."
I slowly look back at her. "Okay. Why?"
Lilith shrugs. "You stopped talking after I commented about the others being busy with their lives. So, I decided I'd practice my utensil balancing on your head."
"Right. How's that going for you?" I ask.
"Ten spoons and two forks," Lilith says, her tongue sticks a little out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrates.
I smile and stand perfectly still as she continues.
Shortly after though, Karen exits the lab. "All right, suit's looking goo- What the hell's this?"
"Utensil balancing," I answer. "This is a new record for you, right, Lil?"
Lilith just nods.
Karen looks between the two of us before she stands next to Lilith and looks at the forks, spoons, and now knives on top of my head. She hums and nods before pulling her phone out and taking a picture. "Group chat image of the week," she chuckles.
Shortly after, my phone vibrates, and I pull it out to see that Karen did as she said, I've again become the group chat's weekly picture.
Just before I put my phone away, I see I get a text message from Power Girl Karen.
Karen: Nephew, big white monkey in Metropolis. Down?
I arch a brow. White monkey, white monkey… Who's the-? My head shoots up, sending utensils flying all over the place. Ultra-Humanite!
Lilith groans in annoyance. "Aww, Daichi! Now I gotta start over, man!"
"Sorry, Lil, but Karen—cousin—just texted me about a villain in Metropolis, I'm gonna go help her deal with him," I tell her.
Lilith grumbles and moves all the utensils to the sink to clean them while friend Karen gives me a thumbs up. "Good luck with the monkey, Dai!"
I change back into my Apex suit and Karen teleports me to Metropolis.
Metropolis
As I near I see Power Girl dodges some laser bolts before she moves over and protects some civilians.
In front of her I see a giant white ape, with a comically oversized cranium with veins bulging along it. He has snow white fur with light gray skin that I can see and wears red and gold shorts with a harness. On his back is a giant battery connected to a machine gun he's currently firing around.
I smirk before angling myself so that I'm flying feet first with my arms folded. I watch as Power Girl smirks for a second before I kick Ultra-Humanite in the back, sending him flying into a flower shop.
"Ultra-Humanite, right?" I ask Power Girl as I land next to her.
She nods. "Super strong and tough, capable of controlling other gorillas, and he has telekinesis and telepathy."
"Second telepathic monkey I've fought," I comment. I quickly spread my arms out and create an energy shield as rapid machine gun laser fire is shot towards us. "I'll get the civvies out of here; can you take him?"
Power Girl smirks and palms her fist. "Oh, you don't even need to ask, nephew."
The albino gorilla leaps out of the store and slams into my shield. "Ah, Apex! I've been meaning to confront you! The pinnacle of humanity vs humanity's ancestral species! The story writes itself!"
"Hate to break it to you, but I fought Grodd first," I then push the shield forward and Power Girl follows it and hits him with a punch just as I drop it.
While she fights the gorilla, I turn around and help an injured kid up and run him over to his parents. "Get out of here! Help anyone who can't move on their own, okay?"
The father nods before running away with his two kids, helping an old lady as they leave.
Looking around, I see some rubble and destroyed cars and fires as some of the things that are keeping more civilians pinned.
I sigh quietly. "This is gonna take a minute."
Denver
Slade's currently out with Joseph as his son looks for new records to buy. He has a small smile on his face as his son looks over a David Bowie vinyl before it drops when his second phone rings.
That phone was only ever used for jobs.
Slade pulls his phone out to see just a number on it—he never saved contacts on this phone—but thanks to his enhanced brain power he can easily recognize phone numbers, and this number he knows.
Slade walks over and taps Joseph on the shoulder to get his attention. "Joe, I've got a phone call. Just wait in here, okay?"
Joseph nods before resuming his vinyl browsing.
Slade walks outside and into an alley and calls back Brother Blood just as the call ended. After a few rings, Brother Blood picks up. "You shouldn't keep me waiting, Slade."
"I was busy," Slade replies dryly. "What's this call about?"
"Apex is currently active in Metropolis, fighting another one of those super apes," Brother Blood answers. "Where are you? I wish to send you a live feed of it."
"Like I said, I'm busy," Slade replies.
"You're really willing to miss this crucial chance to study your enemy? For what?" Brother Blood asks.
Slade frowns. "None of your business."
"Hm," Brother Blood hums. "No updates on your other son, by the way," he then ends the call.
Slade's eye widens a little. "other son". He never brings up Joseph when he's Deathstroke. In fact, he hardly reveals that he's the father to Ravager. The fact that Brother Blood knows this doesn't sit well with Slade.
Slade puts his phone away with a sigh before entering the store and finding Joseph. He taps him on the shoulder to get his attention. "Hey, Joe? Something important came up," he then gave his son a few hundred-dollar bills and his car keys. "I don't know how long I'll be busy for, buy what you want and go home, okay?"
Joseph takes the money and keys but has some hurt in his eyes before nodding and resuming his scavenger hunt.
Slade has a frown on his face as he goes outside to pull out his work phone and calls Brother Blood back.
After the second ring, the cult leader answers. "Well, you changed your mind quick."
"No commentary just show me what's going on," Slade says angrily.
"Where are you?" Brother Blood asks.
"Jimi's Record Store in Denver, Colorado," Slade answers.
The call ends, and shortly after, a red tear appears in the space next to Slade. It then expands, and in it, Slade can now see what's happening in Metropolis, with Apex's fight against the Ultra-Humanite.
Metropolis
It got out of hand rather fast, I'll admit.
After I helped a few civilians get out of danger, four more super gorillas leaped in from out of nowhere. And then Ultra-Humanite knocked Power Girl down and she was swarmed by the four.
And now she's busy fighting them while Humanite laughs and points at me.
"Apex! This was a confrontation years in the making!" He shouts at me.
I look around at the chaos. Was it?
"Me, the Ultra-Humanite! The pinnacle of the primate species! And you, Apex! The pinnacle of man!" Humanite continues to shout. "This battle, that I witnessed in my superior mental state shall live on for the ages!"
Does he really think people are going to care about this fight? I honestly forgot about this guy until I read the files on him.
Other than being Dad's first super villain, he isn't that big of a deal. There are a ton of super smart mental villains, and when it comes to being the super smart telepathic gorilla villain Grodd's the first, and only one, people think of.
"-all prove who is better, man and their arrogance, or gorillas and their pure, unbridled strength! And then…"
I reach out to Power Girl. "How're the gorilla goons looking?"
"Eh, ain't too much," she replies. "Kind of bored, actually. How's Ultra-Humanite?"
Ultra-Humanite's still pacing around. "Then Grodd will be forced to kneel before me! Kneel before Humanite! Far better ring to it then Kneel before Grodd!"
I sigh deeply. "He's going on and on about how our fight will go on in history. Talking about Grodd now."
"Is this a fight people have really been looking forward to?" Power Girl wonders, confusion clear in her mind.
"No," I then turn off the link before flying forward towards Ultra-Humanite. I have my fists out and cover myself in a ball of energy. The ball then hits Ultra-Humanite, and I watch as he flattens against it as I swoop up into the air.
"Where's…your…sportsmanship?" Humanite mentally asks.
"Fights that test you deserve honor," I reply. "This isn't one of those fights."
With a roar, the front of my bubble shoots forward in a concussive blast, and hits Humanite point-blank, sending him flying through the air. A cloud shaped like a dragon is broken apart as he flies through it.
I look out of the corner of my eye to see Power Girl floating up next to me. "The other four are getting sent to Stryker's Island. So, when are you gonna get him?"
I use my telescopic vision to watch as Ultra-Humanite reaches the top of his journey before he arcs down. If I let him hit the floor, he'd crash through all the floors of the skyscraper two blocks from us and hit the ground hard. He'd most definitely die from that.
"Give it a few seconds," I reply with my arms folded. I tap a finger against my other bicep and hum a song.
"Hey, you're in that band with Kid Flash, right? The Brave and the Bald?" Power Girl asks.
"Bold," I correct. "The Brave and the Bold."
"Right, right… You guys got any gigs?" She asks.
I sigh in annoyance. "Did Robin put you to this?"
She arches a brow. "Huh? No, just something I've been talking about with Lois. Honestly, I hardly talk to that kid. Humanite's getting low, by the way."
"Hm," I fly over and grab Ultra-Humanite, careful to not give him whiplash when I catch him. Once I see that he's safe, I slowly drop down and hand him to the cops before flying up with Power Girl.
"Weird how when one person talks about something, everyone else decides to hop on the topic," I muse. "We're a two-man group, choices like this need to be unanimous. And with how things are going in Central and Keystone City I highly doubt a gig will be the first thing on his mind."
"Well, if you ever want a place for your debut show, just tell me. Starrware has some places you can perform at," she offers as we fly off to the Daily Planet.
I smile a little. "Thanks. But isn't that illegal? Giving me a show just because I'm your cousin?"
She smiles and flies backwards, her hands behind her head. "It'd be illegal if I offered you a job only for being family. By the way, where are you gonna work after the Daily Planet?"
I look at her with an arched brow and she just winks as the two of us continue flying.
Denver
The live feed cut out, and the portal closes, leaving Slade alone in the alley, the sun now beginning to set.
Shortly after, the work phone rings again, and he picks up immediately. "You saw how he fought?"
Slade nods even though Brother Blood can't see him. Or could he? Slade's good eye looks around for any hints of him being spied on. "Didn't waste any chances, just went for attacks with meaning behind them. Seemed a little bored too."
"That he did," Brother Blood agrees. "I trust you and your son won't bore Apex now, will you?"
"If we bore him, that'll be his first, and last, mistake," Slade sneers.
Brother Blood hums. "Good. There have been no changes to Ravagers, condition. When more of the Teen Titans are in action, I will inform you," without waiting for a reply, Blood ends the call.
Slade looks at the phone in his right hand silently for a few moments before sighing heavily. Sure, he's fought against his fair share of metahumans, hell, he fought Batman during that one Christmas Eve all those years ago with those seven other assassins after Black Mask hired them. But to fight a whole superhero team? And all for one girl…?
While he wouldn't say it aloud, considering it was a philosophy of his—don't question the employer. Slade wonders what makes this Rachel Roth girl so important for the Cult of Blood.
Then again, that's another one of Slade's philosophies—don't get too invested in what the employer wants. So, with a sigh, Slade gets out of the alley, and walks home.
'Adeline's gonna shoot out my other eye,' he thinks bitterly.
Metropolis
The first thing Karen and I see as we near the Daily Planet is Mom and Dad atop the roof, some great smelling bags in Mom's hands.
"Taco Tuesday!" She shouts. "What took you two so long? I was about to eat your food!"
Karen chuckles before landing and sitting next to Mom, already tearing into their bag. "Thank you for your patience, Lo. But if you should feel so inclined, it's because we fought the Ultra-Humanite and four of his gorilla cronies."
"We fight a lot of gorillas," I comment as I tear into my carne asada burrito. God, this is amazing. I then look at Dad. "Speaking of, why didn't you help?"
He shrugs with a smile. "I knew the two of you could handle it."
"Getting back on topic, you guys really do fight a lot of gorillas," Mom agrees. "What's up with that?"
"No idea," Dad shrugs. "You'd have to ask Barry; he's gone to Gorilla City more than any of us."
A fire lights in Mom's eyes, and I'm already worried. "That sounds like a great story! City of Gorillas!" She pauses to think. "Eh, title could use some work."
"You're not going, to Gorilla City, Lo, you've got three kids to take care of," Dad reminds her.
Mom just smiles before reaching out and patting the top of my head. "Eh, one of them can take care of himself. Besides, if I'm ever in trouble, all I gotta do is shout, I know the three of you will be there faster than I could finish shouting anyway."
"Point," I hum in agreement. Aw man, my burrito's almost done. A tragedy, really.
Karen looks down inside the building. "White's shouting."
"What's new?" Mom comments with a shrug.
"About what?" I ask before taking a drink. I love Taco Tuesdays.
"Something about his computer freezing up," Karen answers.
I get up with a sigh. "I guess I'll head in and help."
"But you're off today," Dad points out.
I shrug. "I'm here, may as well get it done. Ooh, can I see a bag? I could say I was coming over to drop off some lunch or something," I get handed a bag. "Thanks," I then fly home.
I land inside to find Jon and Lara watching some TV, with a young Caucasian man at the dining room table doing some homework.
He has auburn hair and blue eyes and is currently wearing a gray hoodie with a Hunter x Hunter shirt underneath. From what I see, he's doing physics homework for his college class.
"So, do you still have to work hard when your professor's the other half of your superhero duo or do you get some leeway?" I ask.
Ronnie jumps in his seat and holds a hand over his heart before calming down. "Oh, Daichi. Hey. God, you scared the crap outta me. But no, other than deadline extensions I don't get any leeway. Hell, first thing he always asks when we become Firestorm is, "did you do your homework?" And I can't lie! He's literally in my head, if I don't, I'm screwed."
I nod in understanding and look at the papers and pens all over the place. "I can see that," his phone then vibrates. He looks at it and blushes a little. "Do I want to ask?"
His blush intensifies as he scratches the back of his head. "Oh, just Beatriz."
I arch a brow in confusion. Huh, definitely didn't see this one coming. "Are you two a thing?"
Ronnie shrugs a little. "Kind of? We're…talking. A lot."
"That's good! Me and Donna were talking and now we're about to have our one-year anniversary. So, good start," I tell him.
"Cool, cool," he then groans and rests his chin on the table, staring ahead blankly. "Speaking of cool, Ice is being a pain."
I nod in understanding. "Best friends are like that. Every now and again Omen reminds me what would happen if I were to hurt Donna in any way. Though that won't happen," I whisper that last bit.
Ronnie just groans before replying to Beatriz's text. "So, am I good to go home now?"
"Not yet, I just gotta get changed and head back to the Daily Planet. When I get back you should be good though," I then change into civilian clothes. "See you later."
I go to fly out of the window, but just before I do, Jon and Lara each grab me by a leg. "What's up?" I ask them.
Jon points at the bag. "Do you have food in there?"
I open it and look inside to see there's a burrito left. I pull it out and wave it in front of his face. "Just Dad's burrito," I raise my arm up as Lara reaches for it. "Lara, you don't have teeth yet, don't try to eat it. You can handle this, right, Jon?"
He nods vigorously before cheering as I give him the burrito.
Lara pouts and I just chuckle before kissing her on the forehead. "Don't worry, Lara, once you get some teeth, I'll let you eat all the burritos in the world. Well, as many as Ma would let you. I'll be back in a bit!"
With one more two-finger salute, I fly out of the apartment, and land in a secluded spot between the Daily Planet and a building next to it. I look up and see Dad and Karen waving down at me, Mom following shortly after. I wave back before entering the building.
It takes some maneuvering, but eventually I reach the top floor and nearly bump into Jimmy as soon as the elevator doors open. "Oh, Daichi! Just the guy I was looking for!"
"MY DEAD GRANDFATHER COULD MOVE FASTER THAN THIS! AND HE LOST HIS LEG AFTER STEPPING ON A LANDMINE! SO HE'S ALWAYS CAREFUL ABOUT WHERE HE STEPS!"
Jimmy and I slowly make eye contact. "I see."
"WHAT THE HELL'S TAKING SO LONG!? I HIRED YOU FOR COMPUTER STUFF!" Perry continues to shout, his voice booming like thunder.
So glad I dialed back my hearing before I got here, I don't think even my healing factor could heal my ears if I hadn't.
The elevator opens again and Mom and Dad step in. "Hey, Dai-"
"HOW THE HELL DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN!?" Perry interrupts Dad.
"Ah, it's one of those days," Mom comments. "This'll be fun."
"When is it not one of those days?" Jimmy bemoans.
"KENT!"
The three of us stick our heads in his office. "Yeah?"
"DANIEL, GET OVER HERE!" Perry orders.
"It's Daichi, actually," I correct for the umpteenth time.
"WHATEVER!" He shouts for the umpteenth time. Will he ever learn my name? "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH MY COMPUTER!?"
I would love to see a shouting match between him and J. Jonah Jameson.
I lean over and click around on his computer to see that it is indeed incredibly slow. I click on Chrome, and after a few minutes, ten windows open, one lead to those websites that claim your data's in danger, download this app now!
So annoying.
After closing nine windows, I look through the search history. "How long's your computer been like this?"
"PAST WEEK!"
I wince and rub my right ear. Did he really have to shout? I'm right here.
I quickly scroll down to last week and find nothing of import. Just some emails, the Daily Planet website, and something about medicine for cholesterol. All in all what I'd expect from Perry.
"What's it look like?" Dad asks as he leans over and looks at the screen.
Mom comes over and points at a specific website. "Is that about hair los-?"
"YA FIND ANYTHING, KID!?" Perry shouts, surprising all of us.
"Now I know how you two feel," Mom whispers as she rubs her ear in pain.
"No, boss, I have not," I manage to say. While I continue to look, I notice Jimmy's very uneasy. He looks like a cornered animal. "You okay, Jimmy?" I ask, putting him on the spot.
"Huh? Yeah! No! Totally! Me? Fine! 100% a-okay!" He says, his eyes darting to each of us, the computer, the exit, and the window behind us.
"Riiight…" I slowly say. "Okay, well, I can't find the source of the virus here, but maybe I can find the history through incognito mode?"
"Incognito mode?" Dad asks.
"It's a way to browse without your history being saved on the computer," Mom answers. "Though your internet service provider and the websites you visit do know you were on the websites. And if what Daichi's doing works, then it seems incognito isn't a secretive as whoever was on the computer wishes it was."
Mom and I look at Jimmy and watch as he squirms a little more.
"So, how do we see it?" Perry asks.
I blink in surprise and look at him for a moment. Wow, he didn't sound like an Exploding Nebula Dragon for once. Man, fighting that thing was hell on my ears.
I shake my head as I notice Perry looking at me. "Uh, sorry. Well, it's a very arduous process that I'd have a hard time explaining. So, it'd be better if I just did it," so, I did it.
I look through the history from incognito visits and one in particular surprises me. Not because I didn't expect it, but just that I actually found it. I mean, to watch porn on your boss's computer in his office? That takes guts. Go, Jimmy Olsen.
"Well, found the problem," I say.
"What is it?" Mom asks, leaning over to see. I point at it. She squints to better read it before her eyes widen and she holds back a laugh. "Oh, God…"
"What? What is it?" Dad asks. He looks at the link and tilts his head in confusion. "I don't get it."
Perry hums. "Neither do I."
Mom's arm suddenly shoots forward and she clicks the link, shortly after, an adult website opens up.
"GREAT CAESER'S GHOST!" Perry shouts.
"WHOA!" Dad shouts, nearly leaping back through the window.
Mom breaks out in laughter.
With a sigh, I slowly close the window and find the virus connected to the website, I then delete it. "There, done."
"LOIS! WHAT THE HELL!?" Perry shouts in anger.
It takes a minute for her to stop laughing, and when she eventually does, she walks over and throws an arm over Jimmy's stiff shoulder, his face absolutely mortified. "It's fine, Perry. Now we know what caused the problems, and Daichi got rid of it. It all worked out in the end, didn't it, Jimmy?"
The redhead nods mutely before slowly slinking out of the office.
I rub the back of my head. "Well, that mystery was solved. See you later, Perry."
Perry waves as we exit the office. "Thanks, Daisuke."
"It's Dai- never mind," I sigh.
The three of us walk through the top floor, heading towards Mom's office. She turns the corner first and crinkles her nose in disgust before turning around and dragging the two of us away by the back of our shirts.
"Nope, not going that way," she says.
Dad and I share a confused glance. "Uh, why?" I ask.
"Cat Grant," Mom growls.
Oh, her.
She's a blue-eyed, blonde haired woman in her early to mid-thirties and she's in charge of the gossip and showbusiness column of the Planet. I've talked with her a few times and she seems nice enough.
But her and Mom have an intense rivalry, and somehow, I got stuck in the middle of it.
Cat consistently tries to get me to meet her niece, but even after constantly saying I'm taken, she doesn't seem to listen. It's annoying.
Eventually, we reach Mom's office, and she locks the door and dims the windows until they're damn near pitch-black. She flops down into her office chair and spins around, groaning.
"Oh man, how is it that no one else gets under my skin like her? I mean, my Dad constantly talks about killing my husband and arresting my son to study him, but somehow Cat Grant's mere presence just-" She lets out a strangled cry before dropping her head on the desk.
Dad crouches down next to her and rubs soothing circles on her back. "Well, to be fair, Lo, your dad doesn't know I'm Superman or that Daichi's Apex. I bet if he knew-"
"He'd double down," Mom interrupts. "Probably get Jon and Lara shipped off to some facility on the other side of the world where Daichi would be. Hell, maybe me too since I was "exposed to your alien germs"."
"Mom's actually got a point there," I comment.
I have yet to meet General Lane or Aunt Lucy, but I've heard a lot about them. Mom doesn't exactly have a good relationship with them, her own mother being the only one she talks to on a regular basis. Wonder where she is.
While Mom continues to seethe, Dad looks to me. "So, how're things with the Teen Titans going? Is Rachel joining anytime soon?"
I shrug before sitting down in one of the seats on the other side of Mom's desk. "She visited Titans Tower earlier today, and there's been some conversations but nothing much."
Dad nods. "Well, not everyone needs to join the team. You've got your planning face on, what's up?"
I scratch the back of my head as I retell my story. "Well, in the morning, some of us dealt a blow against the Cult of Blood in a two-prong attack, Wonder Girl, Bumblebee, and Omen hit San Diego, and Robin, Speedy, and I hit them here."
"Heard about that," Dad says. "Can I get some quotes? Perry's got me working on that."
I nod. "Right, yeah. But that wasn't all, after we fought some feet-"
"What?" They both ask.
"Giant, pink, sentient feet. The other team fought hands," I quickly say. "Anyway, we fought the feet and after I realized someone was watching us. They disappeared before I could figure out who they were."
"Well, that's not worrying at all," Dad whispers. "Any ideas who they could be?"
I shake my head. "One of them had the same blood smell that all of the cultists have, so I'd guess he was from the Cult of Blood. But the other smelled like weapons, guns, swords, armor, the like."
Dad hums and taps his chin with a finger. "We don't exactly fight a lot of guys like that in Metropolis. My best guess would be Intergang. But now that leads to the question about why they would work with the Cult of Blood. They prefer alien tech, not magic."
"Do we know if they have any bases? We could hit them in a strike, the two of us," I offer. It honestly feels like I spend most of my time as Apex either patrolling Metropolis alone or with the Teen Titans, so I'm excited to work with Superman.
Dad smirks and palms his fist. "Superman and Apex, huh? Sounds like fun."
"Uh, Apex and Superman," I correct. "Alphabetical order."
"But I've been active longer," he argues.
"But I'm cooler with the kids right now," I argue.
"I'm Superman."
"I'm… Yeah, I don't really have much against that," I admit.
Dad lets out a quick laugh and thumps his chest. "Ha! I win!"
There's a knock on the office door. "Lois? You in there?" Cat's voice asks.
Mom slowly leans back in her seat, groaning in annoyance and running her hands down her face. "Goddammit, not now of all times."
My eyes dart from the door to the windows and I suddenly understand where Jimmy was mentally a few minutes ago. Except I can't exactly fly out of here, a few people saw me come in, and if I suddenly disappeared there'd be questions.
"I told Ronnie I'd go home soon, and since the only way out is through the door…" I trail off.
Mom sighs and undims the windows. She winces as Cat looks in and waves, she waves back with a strained smile. "Goddammit," she then gets up and unlocks the door, letting Cat in. "Hey, Cat! To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I was just wondering if you heard about the fight that happened between Ultra-Humanite, Power Girl, and Apex," she begins. "Perry got you or your husband working on that yet?"
Mom shakes her head. "Nope. I'm still working on that previous piece Perry gave me. Maybe someone else will get the chance for that one."
Cat hums. "Well, I know what that's like. Having a kid can really slow down your mojo."
Mom arches a brow and tilts her head dangerously. "Are you blaming my daughter for this?"
"No! God, no! I'm a single mother, I've got it harder than you do, Lois! I'm just saying I understand," Cat tries to explain.
Mom hums before sighing. "Well, I'm not working on the recent Apex fight. I should work on my piece now, so please leave."
Cat has a fake smile on her face before she notices me and Dad. She waves at me and her eyes seem to sparkle. "Oh, hi there, Daichi! How've you been?"
I rub the back of my neck and smile a little. "Good, I'm good. My one-year anniversary with Donna's coming up in a few months, so I'm already planning for that. It's exciting, never had an anniversary date planned before."
Mom walks over and puts her hands on my shoulders before pushing me out of her office, which also pushes Cat out. "Isn't young love just great? Here's to many more anniversaries! Well, you've gotta go home and stay with your siblings, eh, Dai?"
"Uh, yeah! See you guys later!" I quickly say before speed-walking towards the elevator.
I let out a sigh once I got in the elevator and watched as Cat started to talk to Dad, much to Mom's annoyance.
Man, I hope this doesn't continue to be a problem.
And first chapter to the Terminator Arc complete! It's pretty standard fare at this point that first arc chapters just set up the arc itself, the players, the stakes, all that stuff. As I've done before, the next chapter will open a few days after this one, before we jump ahead a few months to when Deathstroke's hunt really begins.
As you've no doubt noticed, some of the Teen Titans are also indisposed right now, which is something that'll happen here and there. The team's pretty big, ten members with a potential eleventh member there, so I've decided to have some of them unavailable to make this more interesting. I mean, yes, Deathstroke and Ravager are skilled, but to fight the ten of them at once seems a little unfair for them.
Buuut, the mercenary team isn't done yet, there's still one more member that Deathstroke and Ravager have to get, and it's someone you definitely recognize.
Also, as you've noticed, I've humanized Slade! During New Earth, the DC wiki states Slade as an all-out villain, whereas the Prime-Earth Slade is neutral, and that's the Slade I'm going for. I want him to be a businessman, if the Titans wanted to, they could hire him, and know for a fact that he'd get the job done. And so, I've decided to humanize him, to make him better. And for all the faults Titans has, I feel they did a pretty good job with Slade's backstory.
Okay, now I wanna talk about one more thing before we part ways for now.
I've noticed that when people reboot their stories on this site, they post a whole new story, whereas when it comes to A Sinister Past, I'm thinking about replacing the chapters. I know the poll had people wanting me to post all the rewrites at once, but honestly, what I'm doing for that story's a whole ass reboot instead.
So, I'm beginning to wonder, should I just have a whole new story that's a reboot, which will be a complete clean slate that's a lot better than the story is right now, or just replace the chapters, which means keeping the views and reviews, but will also mean there's a lot for you guys to catch up on.
Well, that's all from me. If you have any questions or want to leave a constructive review you know where to leave 'em! Remember to stay awesome and see you next time you beautiful people!