Disclaimer – Own nothing. Do you guys ever wonder if the people who created or own the content we right fanfiction about ever write fanfictions too? I totally would, just to mess with people.
AN – Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! I hope you all like it!
Enjoy!
Dick tried not to look grossed out and annoyed as Wally and Artemis flirted right beside him. True it was better than their constant bickering from before they started dating, but not by much. He and Zatanna certainly weren't that bad. He had never seen a couple all over each other like Artemis and Wally were. Sure, he'd see Wally constantly flirt with other girls and he'd see women throw themselves at Bruce, but it was different when it wasn't one-sided. Hopefully they'd stop when Batman arrived. It would be amusing to see the Dark Knight's reaction to it though.
Bruce told him this morning before school that he had a mission for the Team today. After school he was to come home, change into his Robin uniform and go straight to the Mountain. He did just that, but Bruce was still at work, so he gave Wally, Conner, Kaldur, M'gann and Artemis a quick warning before sitting down to play video games with Wally and Conner. It was another hour before Black Canary came into the room and told them to gather in the monitor room. They had been waiting for 10 minutes now until Batman finally come into the room and pulled something up on the computer, ready to get to work.
"This is Allison Montgomery. She was a reporter who would often report the conspiracies of crooked politicians." Batman informed them as a picture of a woman, possibly in her 30's with black hair appeared on the screen in front of them.
"AKA, every single politician in the world." Artemis sarcastically commented to her boyfriend. However, she wasn't trying to keep quiet so everyone in the room ended up hearing her, causing Dick and Wally both to chuckle. Conner and M'gann smirked, Kaldur remained straight-faced and stoic while Batman however, glared at the speedster and two humans, causing sheepish expressions to come upon their faces.
"Wait, 'was'?" Kaldur questioned, focusing on Batman's wording which had everyone else also refocusing on the task.
"She was found dead only an hour ago in her car. She apparently drove off the road, off a bridge and into a deep valley. Was pronounced dead on the scene." Batman replied.
"That sucks, but why does that concern us?" Wally wondered. Usually their missions had to do with super villains, or observing suspicious activity being done by someone who might have a connection to a super villain. Things like that. Not with someone dying in a car crash.
"Over the last several weeks, the League has noticed that many reporters, cops, and even the occasional politician have been dying under mysterious circumstances." Batman said.
"Is there a connection?" Dick questioned.
"All of them are either allies of the Justice League, or have been in the way of those we suspect to be a part of the Light." Batman revealed, causing Dick to realize, "You think that they've hired someone to kill them?"
"There is enough circumstantial evidence to suggest it. However, we don't know for sure. You will all look through the evidence and see if you can find proof." Batman ordered.
Dick, and he was sure everyone else, bit back a groan. The most boring assignments they were given were the ones where they had to go through evidence and to find proof if something illegal was going on. It was hours of looking at security footage and reading documents. Even with Wally using his powers to speed through the reading material, it could take hours. While Dick was used to it, having to do it several times when working with Bruce, he hated it.
Despite that, Kaldur stoically said, "Understood."
YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ
The next morning, Dick arrived back at the Mountain carrying several folders in his arms. This time, he was dressed in civilian clothes and sunglasses.
After Batman had given them their mission assignment yesterday, he and the Team had spent most of the late afternoon and early evening going through the reports they found on the car crash. However, due to him and Wally needing to patrol their respective cities with their mentors, they decided to continue today, which was Saturday. That really annoyed all of them, as they liked having their weekends to sleep in. Before Dick did come though, he did a quick search and got all of the reports of the other deaths the League found suspicious.
As Dick entered the kitchen, he found his teammates sitting at the table. They were also dressed in civvies, except for Kaldur which wasn't that surprising. The table was filled with papers, most likely all the information they were able to get on the crash that killed the reporter. In the center of the table though was a plate of muffins, a pitcher of water and several cups. It looked like they were getting ready to be there for a while, which they were. And Wally and Conner already looked bored out of their minds. They were not going to be happy when they saw what he was holding.
"How's it going?" Dick asked as he walked over to the table.
"I'm thinking of running head first into a wall for fun. It would hurt my brain less than this." Wally told him, leaning his head over the back of his chair far enough that he was now seeing everything upside down. "We have all gone over the reports on the car crash and haven't found anything that hinted that it was caused on purpose. It really does look like it was just an accident.
"And all the politicians that she had reported on have alibi's. We are looking through all their contact information and bank information in case they hired someone else to kill her." Conner added, closing the folder in his hands and putting it down so he could grab a different one.
"Which is more likely as politicians would never get their own hands dirty." Artemis chimed in, grabbing her mug to take a sip of her now cold coffee.
"Why can't villains be stupid and easy to catch?" Wally moaned, dramatically draping an arm over his eyes.
"Because then they wouldn't get away with it." M'gann answered with a grin even though she knew that the speedster wasn't seriously wanting an answer. Proving her right, Wally shot her a glare.
Trying to get everyone back on topic, Kaldur asked Robin, "Did you find anything?"
Putting all the files he was carrying onto the table, he pulled a plastic bag with a small, black device inside, out of his coat pocket and a said, "Found this."
"What is it?" Conner wondered as Kaldur took the bag from Dick to get a better look at what was inside without touching it directly.
"It's a device that can be remotely triggered to turn off anything electric within five yards." Dick explained, crossing his arms.
"Including a car?" Artemis inquired, leaning closer to Kaldur so she could also take a look at the device.
"If it's an electric car, yup. And Allison Montgomery's car was." Dick informed them.
Kaldur put the bag down on the table and reached for a file. Flipping through it, he said, "That was not noted in the report filed by the investigating police officer."
"Nope. Found it in the trash can behind the building where that police officer lives." Dick revealed.
"Doesn't necessarily mean anything. It could've been used by anyone else who lives in that building." M'gann pointed out.
Nodding, Dick said, "True. Except for the day of the car crash, someone transferred 10 grand into his bank account. It also has the cop's fingerprints all over it."
"He's dirty." Conner said, not really as shocked as someone else might be. Working as a superhero for nearly two years now, they had dealt with many dirty cops. It was actually a bit disgusting to see how many police officers were involved with criminal activity.
"Yup." Dick confirmed with a slightly smug expression.
"So this reporter's death was most definitely not an accident, which means," M'gann started and Conner finished, "There's a good chance the others aren't either."
"We need to find out who the killer is." Kaldur decided with a stronger conviction than he had when they first received the assignment from Batman.
"Well, here's the files on the people who have been killed in the last few weeks." Dick told them, tapping the large pile of folders he had put on the table only minutes earlier.
"That's a lot." Wally remarked. As Dick sat down beside him, Wally took the folder from the top of the pile and asked, "How come no one has questioned it before?"
"Because they don't live anywhere near each other and each death is different." Dick explained. Taking the next file on the top, he continued, "This one was another car crash due to faulty brakes."
"More like cut brakes." Artemis commented, holding her hand out. Dick handed her the folder as he agreed. "Most likely."
"This one was deathly allergic reaction." Wally said, flipping through his file.
Kaldur, having taken one of the folders and opened, told them, "And this one died of an overdose."
"If all these deaths were different, and happened in different places, it's going to be hard finding proof that they were actually murdered." Wally said, speed-reading through his file and reaching for another one.
"And murdered by the same person." Artemis said. A thought suddenly coming to her, she lowered her file and asked, "Do you think the Light had the same killer for all of them?"
"Usually assassins have an MO that they follow, but the really smart ones stay off the radar by not having an MO. And the Light would probably rather have only one killer on their payroll." Dick explained, handing some the of the files to Conner and M'gann.
"Great." The clone of Superman and Lex Luthor groaned, accepting the files given to him.
"So how do we find the killer?" M'gann wondered. If there wasn't a pattern, then they didn't have any place to start the search for the criminal who had killed their allies.
"We try to figure out who his next target is, and catch him in the act." Dick explained.
"Guess that means we have to cancel all our plans this weekend?" Wally questioned, causing everyone to look over at him with slight annoyance.
This time, the speedster loudly groaned, lowered his head and muttered, "Yeah, I thought so."
YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ
Slade Wilson, in his Deathstroke armour and helmet, stood in a large, bright, circular room filled with monitors all over the walls. 10 monitors to be exact. Each monitor held the silhouette of a person, but didn't reveal his or her face, as was the norm. The leaders of the Light never revealed their identities except to their highest-ranking members. Since he was simply their go-to assassin at the moment, he wasn't granted that privilege, not that he cared. As long as he was paid, he didn't mind.
"The reporter was taken care of?" One of the Light's member's, a man, asked.
"Just as you had requested." Slade responded. "She won't be sticking her nose in your business ever again."
"Perfect." The man said.
"Your payment will be transferred as soon as we are done here." A different voice, a woman this time, spoke up. "For now, we have another assignment for you."
"Another? You certainly have a lot of enemies." Slade remarked.
"That we do, and you have proven to be extremely effective in taking care of them. Far more skilled and discreet than other mercenaries we have hired in the past." The woman told him, then asked, "Will you continue to help us?"
"As long as the money keeps coming." Slade answered. "Send me the information and I'll take care of it."
"Of course." The man replied. Slade then gave a quick nod and left the room.
The minute he was gone, the woman said, "Deathstroke has proven to be extremely useful. We should consider truly inviting him into our endeavor."
"Useful he might be, but he's still a mercenary. He does what he's paid for. He has no sense of loyalty." A different male voice chimed in.
"True, but it is still something we should consider." The first male voice said. "After all, sooner or later, everyone sees the Light."
AN – Quick note, I just wanted to clarify that while this story is an 'Apprentice' story arc with Dick and Slade, the Teen Titans are not at all a part of this. I know a lot of people have stories and believe that during the time jump between season 1 and season 2 of Young Justice, Dick went off to Jump City and started the Teen Titans, but I don't see that having actually happened because of the different relationship Dick and Gar have (not to mention the age difference), the fact that the Teen Titans probably would've come and helped during the Invasion, and the fact that season 3 introduced us to Cyborg. So if you guys are hoping that the Titans are going to come into this story, I'm sorry but that won't be happening. Hope you guys liked this chapter! See you all next time!